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THE FIRST DISAPPOINTMENT.

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except to say "Good-bye" to his mother. But after all, the good ship sailed without George Washington. His mother was in such sore distress at the parting that he could not bear it, and all the cherished hope and the glorious future were given up for her sake. The bright dream went away out of sight for ever, as the tall masts were hidden by the wooded banks of the Potomac; and George, disappointed, and graver than before, went back to school.

He now began to give his attention to land-surveying ; and it is a proof of the real greatness of his character, even in boyhood, that unlike most boys, who would have felt, when once disappointed of their chief hope, a recklessness as to other employments, George gave his whole thought to his new work-considered it no drudgery to master details, and laboured perseveringly at making surveys of the neighbourhood. His books and diagrams were made with the greatest exactness and nicety. It has been said of him by his biographer, Washington Irving, that "the habit of mind thus cultivated continued throughout life; so that, however complicated his tasks and overwhelming his care, he found time to do everything, and to do it well. He had acquired the magic of method, which of itself works wonders."

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In the autumn of 1747 he left school, and went to live with Lawrence at Mount Vernon; he was then rather more than fifteen, tall, strong, and handsome, but very shy. It is said that he wrote love-songs at this time to some lowland beauty" whom he left behind him. What survive of them do not show any special gift of poetry. "Cupid's darts," "bleeding hearts," &c., figure in them largely, and flow in such couplets as this :

"Ah, woe is me, that I should love and conceal !

Long have I wished and never dare reveal."

Sometimes George went to stay at Belvoir with the Fairfaxes, and there he made acquaintance with the eccentric old bachelor, who proved such a good friend to him, Thomas, Lord Fairfax. This nobleman had large possessions in Virginia, and had come out from England to visit them. Charmed with the climate, the beauty, and the good sport, Lord Fairfax remained with his relations at Belvoir, and took a great fancy to the quiet boy whom he occasionally met there; the fancy ripened into respect and admiration when he found how well George could sit a horse and join him in fox-hunting, which the old gentleman kept up in regular English fashion. Young Washington became his constant companion, and he encouraged his sporting tastes in every possible way. But he did more than this for him; he wished to have a distant part of his property, which lay beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, thoroughly surveyed, and he gave the task to George. When he was only just sixteen, Washington set out on this expedition, in company with Lord Fairfax's cousin and agent, George William Fairfax.

CHAPTER IL

It was in March, 1748, that George Washington and Mr. Fairfax started on their journey. They went on horseback, and it was probably the first expedition of any length or distance that George had made. The road lay over a pass amongst the Blue Ridge Mountains; the snow was still on the heights, and, as it melted, it rushed in torrents to the rivers, and rendered some of them impassable. "But in the great valley of Virginia spring had begun its work." Washington speaks in his diary of "the beautiful trees, groves of sugar-maples on the banks of the river, called by the Indians the Shenandoah, or Daughter of the Stars."

Most of this region was in its natural wild condition; only here and there a settler had made a small clearing, and proved, by his abundant crops of grain, hemp, and tobacco, the great fertility of the soil.

Washington and his party were shown hospitality by the settlers, though the accommodation was rough. One night they rested at the house of Captain Hite; most of the company, accustomed to the life of the backwoods, lay down before the fire, but the young surveyor was shown to a bedroom. He was very tired, and there was a feeling of luxury in the prospect of a room to himself and a comfortable bed. But a very few minutes of this dignified seclusion were enough for him; the matted straw and dirty blanket were a contrast to the comfortable mattress and clean sheets at home, and he was soon glad to get up, dress himself, and

take up his quarters for the night at the fire with his friends.

They came to the banks of the Potomac, but found the river too much swollen to be fordable; so they had to get a canoe, and make the horses swim. This is how Washington describes their adventures on the Maryland side of the river, in his brief, concise diary :

"March 21. Travelled up the Maryland side all day, in a continued rain, to Colonel Cresap's, over against the mouth of the south branch, about forty miles from our place of starting in the morning, and over the worst road, I believe, that ever was trod by man or beast.

"March 23. Rained till about two o'clock, and then cleared up, when we were agreeably surprised at the sight of more than thirty Indians, coming from war with only one scalp. We had a war-dance. After clearing a large space, and making a great fire in the middle, the men seated themselves around it, and the speaker made a great speech, telling them in what manner they were to dance. After he had finished, the best dancer jumped up, as one awaked from sleep, and ran and jumped about the ring in a most comical manner. He was followed by

the rest. Then began their music, which was performed with a pot half-full of water, and a deer-skin stretched tight over it, and a gourd, with some shot in it, to rattle, and a piece of horse's tail tied to it, to make it look fine. One person kept rattling and another drumming all the time they were dancing."

We can picture from the boy's few and graphic words of description the great fire, surrounded by the fantastic group of Indians in their war-paint and feathers, the lurid glow lighting up the swarthy dancers, and the amused faces of the white men who were watching their grotesque movements, while the broad river Potomac rolled by, mingling the roar of its swollen waters with the strange music of the savages, and sweeping down from the Indian's wild country to the civilised haunts of the English emigrants.

Here was the life of adventure the boy had panted for—

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S DIARY.

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riding through strange lands by day, at night sleeping out under the stars; doing his work steadily, and finding plenty of enjoyment in it.

"March 29. This morning, went out and surveyed five hundred acres of land. Shot two wild turkeys.

"March 30. Began our intended business of laying off lots.

"April 2. A blowing, rainy night. Our straw upon which we were lying took fire; but I was luckily preserved by one of our men awaking when it was in a flame.

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'April 4. This day our tent was blown down by the violence of the wind.

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‘April 6. The last night was so intolerably smoky that we were obliged to leave our tent to the mercy of the wind and fire.

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April 7. This morning one of our men killed a wild turkey that weighed twenty pounds. We surveyed fifteen hundred acres of land, and returned to Vanunter's about one o'clock. We slept in Cassey's house, which was the first night I had slept in a house since we first came to the branch.

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"April 8. We camped in the woods; and after we had pitched our tent and made a large fire, we pulled out our knapsacks to recruit ourselves. Every one was his own cook. Our spits were forked sticks; our plates were large chips; as for dishes we had none.”

Once they went to supper at the house of a local magistrate, Mr. Solomon Hedge. "There were no forks at table, nor any knives but such as the guests brought in their pockets."

About this time Washington wrote a letter, probably to one of his school friends, which gives us some idea of the severity of his life.

"DEAR RICHARD,-Since you received my letter of October last, I have not slept above three or four nights in a bed; but after walking a good deal all the day, I have lain down before the fire upon a little hay, straw, fodder, or a bear-skin, whichever was to be had, with man, wife, and children, like dogs and cats, and happy is he who gets the berth nearest the fire. A doubloon is my constant gain every

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