“On reaching the bank of the Potomac, near where the _Mount Vernon_ steam vessel was in waiting, all the carriages in the procession, except the general’s, wheeled off, and the citizens in them assembled on foot around that of the general. The whole military body then passed him in review, as he stood in the barouche of the President, attended by the secretaries of state, of the treasury, and of the navy. After the review, the general proceeded to the steam vessel, under a salute of artillery, surrounded by as many citizens, all eager to catch the last look, as could press on the large wharf; and at four o’clock, this great and good and extraordinary man trod for the last time the soil of America, followed by the blessings of every patriotic heart that lives on it. “As the vessel moved off, and for a short time after, the deepest silence was observed by the whole of the vast multitude that lined the shore. The feeling that pervaded them was that of children bidding a final farewell to a venerated parent. The crowd remained gazing after the retiring vessel, until she had passed Greenleaf’s Point, where another salute repeated the valedictory sounds of respect, and these again were, not long after, echoed by the heavy guns of Fort Washington, and reminded us of the rapidity with which this benefactor and friend of our country was borne from it. “The general was accompanied to the _Brandywine_ by the Secretary of the Navy, the mayors of the three cities of the district, the commander-in-chief of the army, the generals of the militia of the district, Commodore Bainbridge, Mr. Custis, of Arlington, and several other gentlemen.” The trip to the _Brandywine_, and the ceremonies on board of the frigate on the reception of the general, are thus described by one of the passengers in the steamboat _Mount Vernon_:— “The moment of separation arrived. The _Mount Vernon_ received her venerable freight, and the general, from the midst of the suite, whom the government had detailed as an escort of honor, waved his hand and bowed to the thousands who thronged the shores, an affectionate adieu. “Under the discharge of artillery, and the fervent benedictions of the vast assemblage who still lingered and looked, when they no longer spoke, a last farewell, the _Mount Vernon_ proceeded on her way.