before saved at the great risk of his own. Even in old age, after a period of rigid retirement for twenty years, we are attracted by the disinterested conduct of this exalted patriot.

When the Syracusians, groaning under every species of cruelty, which lust, avarice, and ambition could inflict, supplicated their generous neighbors for assistance to alleviate those miseries they themselves had been exposed to, Timolean, urged to accept the command of the Corinthian auxiliaries, at first hesitated, his age, his manners, ¡ his private happiness and the endearments of his family forbade it; but sensible that he was but a member of the community, and stung by the cries of innocence, his inclinations were of but trivial moment in competition with his duty.

View him at the head of his chosen army, assembled to plead the cause of suffering virtue. In possession of arms and of power, if inclined to pervert them, are his principles changed with his station? are his thoughts bent on conquest or on death? or does he entertain a secret wish to seize the moment of confidence, or build his greatness upon the ruins of the distressed, or to remove one tyrant to reinstate another? no! but fired with a generous glow of soul, fired with the manly sentiments of freedom, with an implacable hatred to oppression of all kinds, he marches his troops to the deliverance of his afflicted people, and with a firmness becoming soldiers fighting under the standard of liberty, after a series of fatigue and toil, harassing marches and fierce conflicts, he dethrones the tyrant, and is proclaimed the deliverer of Syracuse. Having restored tranquillity to this unhappy country, repeopled their cities, revived their laws, and dispensed justice to all ranks and classes, he resigned his command, and re. treated once again to the private walks of life, accompanied with the grateful acknowledgments of millions, as the patron of their liberty and the saviour of their country. Happy man! endowed with such a noble soul, prone to feel for the misfortunes, and rejoice in the happiness of his fellow-creatures.

But why need we resort to distant ages to furnish us with instances of the effects of patriotism upon individuals? will not the present day afford at least one illustrious example to our purpose? yes, my fellowcountrymen, America, young America too, can boast her patriots and heroes, men who have saved their country by their virtues, whose characters posterity will admire, aud with a pleased attention, listen on tiptoe to the story of their glorious exertions. Let us pause a moment only upon the select catalogue, and take the first upon the list.

View him in his private station, and here, as though Providence for his excellencies had selected him for her own from the extensive circle of humanity, we perceive him enjoying her richest dispensations. By an affluent fortune, placed beyond the reach of poverty or dependence, blessed with the social circle of friends, and happily connected

by yet more endearing ties, peaceful reflections are his companions through the day, and the soothing slumbers of innocence hover over his couch; charity presides steward of his household, and the distressed are ever sure to receive from his bosom that sigh which never fails to console, and from his cheek the alleviating tear of sympathy. Having reached the summit of human felicity, beyond even the picture of his most sanguine expectations, it is indifferent to him, as an individual, whether prince or people rule the state, but nurtured in the bosom of freedom, endowed with a greatness of soul, swallowed up with public spirit and the love of mankind, does oppression scatter her baleful prejudices, does ambition rear its guilty crest, friends, relation: and fortunes are like the dust of the balance. The pleas f nature give way to those of his country, and urged on by heavenly motives, he flies instantly to her relief. See him, while grief distracts his bosom at the effusion of human blood, grasp the sword of justice and buckle on the harness of the warrior. See him, with fortitude unparalleled, with perseverance indefatigable, deaf to pleasure and despising corruption, cheerfully encountering the severest tasks of duty, and the hardest toils of a military life. Modest in prosperity and shining like a meteor in adversity, we behold this patriotic hero, with a small army of determined freemen, attacking fighting, and conquering an army composed of the bravest veteran troops of Britain.

And shall we, my countrymen, stop the current of gratitude? and can we forbear testifying our joy upon the success of such singular exertions? shall we seal his death before we thank him for his services by no means. Our acknowledgments will irresistibly flow from us to this deserved object of admiration, and his very actions will sting the soul of the ungrateful wretch, until he is forced to admire their lustre, and confess his inability to equal them.

Some there are who, Roman-like, would banish him for his good conduct; but while we copy the spirit of this great people, let us not be as diligent to catch their vices. Such conduct is inconsistent with the sentiments of freemen, and surely we cannot forget that he has saved our country.

Rewards and punishments are in the hands of the public, and it is equally consistent with generosity and humanity to bestow the one,. as inflict the other. We cannot be too cautious in the objects of our gratitude; let merit, conspicuous merit, be the standard to which our praises shall resort, and it will excite a noble emulation in others, and let us rather forbear that respect, which is too often found attendant upon the rich, though their wealth has been amassed with the ruin of their country.

But the praises of us are not the patriot's only reward: with an approving conscience sweetening the declivity of life, his invitation is to the skies, there to receive a far more precious reward, for the estab

lishment of that principle to which, since the origin of mankind, heaven hath paid an immediate attention.

"Where the brave youth with love of glory fired,
Who greatly in his country's cause expired,
Shall know he conquered. The firm patriot there,
Who made the welfare of mankind his care,

Though still by faction, vice, and fortune crost,
Shall find his generous labor was not lost."-Cato.

Such is the progress of public spirit and the love of virtue, and it is the only pillar upon which can safely be erected the happiness of mankind. Without some play of the social affections in every society, without some barrier to oppose the stormy passions of individuals, without some general attachment to the public welfare, a door is open to ambition and political corruption; luxury and selfishness become fashionable vices, and the spirit of the government is perverted; the public good is neglected, the riches of the state insecure, the liberty of the subject slighted, and the attempt of the tyrant made successful by the follies of the people.

What but the want of patriotism, that hath buried in ruins the mighty empires of Greece and Rome, that standing armies, the scourge of the innocent, prevail throughout all Europe, that the pages of history present to our view so melancholy a picture of the human species, and that America and Britain are not at this day running the road to greatness and glory in concert; and what is it but the want of patriotism that could induce that haughty nation, divested of every public virtue, of every bosom feeling, of every pretension to humanity, without apology or pretext, to usher a standing army, composed of vagrants, criminals, and mercenaries, into our peaceful country.

O my countrymen, it is the want of patriotism that we are at this time called to weep over the wanton massacre of innocent men; that this is not the only house of mourning; that the fields of America have become devoted to war, and scenes of slaughter familiar to her sons; that our oppressors yet persist in their destructive system of tyranny, and if their power was equal to their thirst of blood, with the spirit of ambition by which they are now directed, would lead them to destroy and extirpate the whole human race. But thanks be to heaven, that by the force of those virtues which they have discarded, we have nobly resisted the attempts of these cruel men, and the miseries they have so profusely dealt out to us, are returning, with additional vengeance, upon their own heads. The danger of the issue is now past, and if we but retain the same patriotic ardor, with which we first defended our rights from the grasp of our enemies, they are every day in our power. We have everything to hope; they on the other hand have everything to fear. Youth, vigor, and the invincible arm of justice, are on our side: The genius of liberty also is our advocate, who, though persecuted, hath never been conquered.

In our day we are called to see a happy country laid waste at the shrine of ambition; to experience those scenes of distress which history is filled with: but experience rivets its lessons upon the mind, and if we resolve with deliberation, and execute with vigor, we may yet be a free and flourishing people. Repine not too much at the ravages of war, nor murmur at the dispensations of Providence. We oftentimes rate our blessings in proportion to the difficulty in attaining them, and if, without a struggle, we had secured our liberties, perhaps we should have been less sensible of their value. Chastisements in youth are not without their advantages; blessings most commonly spring from them in old age. They lead us to reflect seriously in the hour of retirement, and to cherish those qualifications which are frequently lost in the glare of prosperity.

The important prophecy is nearly accomplished. The rising glory of this western hemisphere is already announced, and she is summoned to her seat among the nations. We have publicly declared ourselves convinced of the destructive tendency of standing armies: we have acknowledged the necessity of public spirit and the love of virtue to the happiness of any people, and we profess to be sensible of the great blessings that flow from them. Let us not then act unworthy of the reputable character we now sustain: like the nation we have abandoned, be content with freedom in form and tyranny in substance, profess virtue and practice vice, and convince an attentive world that in this glorious struggle for our lives and properties, the only men capable of prizing such exalted privileges, were an illustrious set of heroes, who have sealed their principles with their blood. Dwell, my fellow-citizens, upon the present situation of your country. Remem

ber that though our enemies have dispensed with the hopes of conquering, our land is not entirely freed of them, and should our resistance prove unsuccessful by our own inattention and inactivity, death will be far preferable to the yoke of bondage.

Let us therefore be still vigilent over our enemies-instil into our armies the righteous cause they protect and support, and let not the soldier and citizen be distinct characters among us. By our conduct let us convince them, that it is for the preservation of themselves and their country they are now fighting; that they, equally with us, are interested in the event, and abandon them not to the insatiable rapacity of the greedy executioner.

As a reward for our exertions in the great cause of freedom, we are now in the possession of those rights and privileges attendant upon the original state of nature, with the opportunity of establishing a government for ourselves, independent of any nation or any people upon the earth. We have the experience of ages to copy from, advan tages that have been denied to any that have gone before us. Let us then, my fellow-citizens, learn to value the blessing. Let integrity of heart, the spirit of freedom and rigid virtue be seen to actuate every

member of the commonwealth. Let not party rage, private animosities, or self interested motives, succeed that religious attachment to the public weal which has brought us successfully thus far; for vain are all the boasted charms of liberty if her greatest votaries are guided by such base passions. The trial of our patriotism is yet before us, and we have reason to thank heaven that its principles are so well known and diffused. Exercise towards each other the benevolent feelings of friendship, and let that unity of sentiment, which has shone in the field, be equally animating in our councils.

Remember that prosperity is dangerous: that though successful, we are not infallible: that like the rest of mankind we are capable of erring. The line of our happiness may be traced with exactness, and still there may be a difficulty in pursuing it. Let us not forget that our enemies have other arts in store for our destruction; that they are tempting us into those snares which, after successful struggles, proved the ruin of the empires of the east; and let this sacred maxim receive the deepest impression upon our minds, that if avarice, if extortion, if luxury and political corruption, are suffered to become popular among us, civil discord and the ruin of our country will be the speedy consequence of such fatal vices; but while patriotism is the leading principle, and our laws are contrived with wisdom, and executed with vigor, while industry, frugality and temperance are held in estimation, and we depend upon public spirit and the love of virtue for our social happiness, peace and affluence will throw their smiles upon the brow of the individual, our commonwealth will flourish, our land become the land of liberty, and America an asylum for the oppressed.

LETTER TO THE GOVERNORS.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Newburgh, N. Y., June 18, 1783.

SIR-The object for which I had the honor to hold an appointment in the service of my country, being accomplished, I am now preparing to resign it into the hands of Congress, and return to that domestic retirement, which, it is well known, I left with the greatest reluctance; a retirement for which I have never ceased to sigh through a long and painful absence, in which (remote from the noise and trouble of the world), I meditate to pass the remainder of life, in a state of undisturbed repose; but, before I carry this resolution into effect, I think it a duty incumbent on me to make this my last official communication, to congratulate you on the glorious events which heaven has been pleased to produce in our favor; to offer my sentiments respecting some important subjects, which appear to me to be intimately connected with the tranquillity of the United States; to take my leave of