to his servant; "Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, "Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child?" And she answered, "It is well." Though her child was dead, yet she says "It is well." It was the Lord's doing; therefore she acquiesced, and commended the dispensation as right in itself. And thus testified the renowned Sufferer of the land of Uz. When oppressed with a sore affliction "he fell upon the earth and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this," adds the sacred writer, "Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." His pious resignation was virtually expressed in the words, "It is well."

Mr. Lear, in his description of the closing scene, has these words:"Dr. Craik placed his hands over his eyes; and he expired without a struggle or a sigh." This statement is no doubt true, but it does not contain the whole truth. It was said and believed at the time, that General Washington closed his own eyes; and the writer is assured that such was the fact, since he heard it asserted by one who had the best opportunity of knowing the certainty of it. The matter, indeed, is one of no great importance; but serves to show that some things escaped the notice of Mr. Lear, or were thought too trivial for record by him. This circumstance, however, is not without interest, as indicating a perfect selfpossession and composure of mind. It was of a piece with the act nearly simultaneous, of feeling his own pulse. After this he lingered but a few moments;—the

curtain of time was drawn to him, and he passed quickly through the gates of Eternity, into the presence of his Maker and his Judge.

On

He died on Saturday night, 14th of December. Wednesday the 18th, his body, attended by military honours and the offices of religion, was placed in the family vault.

It has engaged the notice and remark of some, that no spiritual attendance or service distinguished the last sickness of Washington-that there was no minister of Christ with him, nor any of the offices of the church administered in aid of his faith and hope. Whatever may have been his views or wishes in reference to this particular religious privilege, it is very certain, that it would have been next to impossible for him, had he desired it, to have been gratified. He did not survive twenty-four hours from the time of his attack. Of that period there was not more than ten hours of day-light. It was also the depth of winter; and the earth was covered with a heavy snow. Nor was there a clergyman within a less distance than nine miles of Mount Vernon. The General, moreover, was dying through a greater part of the day. He considered himself to be going before others did. In these things alone, we think, a sufficient reason will be found for the alleged omission, no matter how great the importance attached to the observances in question. That they were not undervalued by the subject of these pages we have sufficient reason for believing. But the circumstances of his dying lot, rendered it impossible to evince his estimation of them, whatever that may have been.*

*The subjoined notice of the death of Mrs. Washington may

Thus did the Father of his Country meet a sudden, though not an untimely end. He had lived to fulfil the exalted purposes of his creation. The measure of his distinguished usefulness was full. At a period of high political excitement and temptation was he taken away. In his removal, he left behind him a name of surpassing moral weight-as unimpaired in death, as in life. Since living, he conferred on others so much good; and dying, bequeathed them so many blessings; we cannot but cherish the grateful assurance, that the stroke which severed the mortal tie, dismissed him also from every care and pain, the heir of a happy immortality. In this belief and holy confidence, no doubt, did his chosen successor at Mount Vernon, cause the entrance of his lowly sepulchre to be adorned with the animating declaration of

not be here inappropriate. It is taken from the Alexandria Advertiser of May, 1802.

On Saturday the 22d of May, at 12 o'clock, P. M. Mrs. Washington terminated her well-spent life. Composure and resignation were uniformly displayed during seventeen days depredations of a severe fever. From the commencement she declared that she was undergoing the final trial, and had long been prepared for her dissolution. She took the sacrament from Dr. Davis, (Rector of Christ Church, Alexandria,) imparted her last advice and benediction to her weeping relations; and sent for a white gown, which she had previously laid by for her last dress. Thus, in the closing scene, as in all the preceding ones, nothing was omitted. The conjugal, maternal, and domestic duties had all been fulfilled in an exemplary manner. She was the worthy partner of the worthiest of men, and those who witnessed their conduct could not determine which excelled in their different characters; both were so well sustained on every occasion. They lived an honour and a pattern to their country, and are taken from us to receive the rewards promised to the faithful and just."

the Divine Redeemer :-"I am the resurrection, and the life he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.”—May the issues of the Last Day abundantly confirm the pious hopes of such as loved him in life, and honoured him in death.

CHAPTER XVIII.

POSTHUMOUS HONOUR S.

THE death of Washington, unexpected as it was by his fellow-citizens, produced a sensation among them, resembling the shock which agitates the members of a family circle, suddenly bereaved of a beloved parent. The melancholy tidings, borne as it were on the wings of the wind, spread with the velocity of a dark cloud, which, rising in some distant corner of the heavens, soon covers all the land with gloom and terror. One feeling pervaded every section of the country, followed by a consentaneous movement among the people, in manifestation of an unfeigned sorrow for his death, and their high appreciation of his illustrious services and distinguished personal excellence. A system of public mourning was unanimously adopted by all classes of the community, in which, Congress, then in session, took the lead. By every suitable and appropriate method was the general feeling declared, but chiefly by funeral eulogies and orations, pronounced in all the principal towns and cities of the Union by eminent individuals, designated for the purpose by the public voice.

In the various productions of the pen, to which these