Wearied with his long public service, and not deeming it for the best interests of the country that he should enter upon a third term, on the 16th of September, 1796, Washington published his “Farewell Address.” His tenure of office expiring on the 4th of March, 1797, he once more sought the tranquil enjoyment of life at Mount Vernon. War-clouds were gathering on the horizon; and when hostilities with France seemed inevitable, he again responded to the call of his country, and accepting on the 3d of July, 1798, the appointment of lieutenant-general and commander-in-chief, began the organization of an army. The difficulties were, however, settled without an appeal to arms, though Washington did not live to know it. Riding over his estate on the 12th of December, 1799, during a snow-storm, he contracted a severe chill from which he never seemed to rally, and died on the 14th, saying to Dr. Craik, his physician, “I die hard; but I am not afraid to go.” His funeral occurred on the 18th, Reverend Thomas Davis preaching the sermon, a schooner lying in the Potomac firing minute-guns, and his favorite horse being led after the coffin. Richard Henry Lee pronounced a eulogy before both Houses of Congress, in which occurred the since oft-quoted words,--“first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Napoleon ordered all the standards and flags in the French army to be bound with crape for ten days, and the British fleet of sixty ships-of-the-line, lying at Torbay, England, lowered their flags to half-mast upon hearing the sad intelligence. Sincerely mourned by the whole civilized world, his memory to-day is cherished as that of no other man has ever been, and the passing years but add to the lustre of his fame. Beautifully has it been said of him, “Providence left him childless that his country might call him father.” ARTEMUS WARD.