Washington had immense physical courage. In all the battles in which he fought he exposed himself fearlessly. His moral courage was even greater. He never shrank from doing what he thought right because it was likely to make him unpopular. Perhaps Washington's greatest qualities were his wisdom and prudence. These traits were very important in the leader of a young people engaged in a revolutionary struggle. He had few brilliant military successes, but it is impossible to say what he might not have done had he not been weighed down by immense difficulties. His influence over men was great, and those who were under him loved him. He was never swayed by mean motives, his actions were always honorable, and he was generous even to those who were his bitter opponents. Though he was a man of action, he thought deeply on many subjects. "Never," said Jefferson, "did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance." FOOTNOTES: [17] "The Story of Washington." D. Appleton & Co., 1893. * * * * * THE MOUNT VERNON TRIBUTE[18] WASHINGTON The Defender of His Country, The Founder of Liberty, THE FRIEND OF MAN. History and Tradition are Explored in Vain for a Parallel to His Character. IN THE ANNALS OF MODERN GREATNESS, HE STANDS ALONE, And the Noblest Names of Antiquity Lose Their Lustre In His Presence. Born the Benefactor of Mankind, He United All The Qualities Necessary to An Illustrious Career. NATURE MADE HIM GREAT; He made himself virtuous. Called By His Country To The Defence of Her Liberties, He Triumphantly Vindicated The Rights of Humanity, And on The Pillars of National Independence Laid the Foundations Of A Great Republic. Twice Invested With the Supreme Magistracy, By the Unanimous Voice of a Free People, He Surpassed In The Cabinet THE GLORIES OF THE FIELD, And Voluntarily Resigning the Sceptre and the Sword, Retired to the Shades of Private Life. A Spectacle So New and So Sublime Was Contemplated With the Profoundest Admiration; And the Name of WASHINGTON, Adding New Lustre to Humanity, Resounded To The Remotest Regions Of the Earth. Magnanimous in Youth, GLORIOUS THROUGH LIFE, GREAT IN DEATH, His Highest Ambition the Happiness of Mankind, His Noblest Victory the Conquest of Himself, Bequeathing to Posterity the Inheritance of His Fame, _And Building His Monument in the Hearts of His Countrymen,_ He Lived the Ornament Of the Eighteenth Century, and Died Regretted By a Mourning World. FOOTNOTES: [18] The author of this inscription is not known. It has been transcribed from a manuscript copy written on the back of a picture-frame, in which is set a miniature likeness of Washington, and which hangs in one of the rooms of the mansion at Mount Vernon, where it was left some time after Washington's death.--H.B. CARRINGTON. * * * * *