r An-dre; but on his way to the
Brit-ish lines this young man was caught by three of our men. They found
the note in his boots and he was brought to the A-mer-i-can camp, tried
for his life and hung as a spy. Ben-e-dict Ar-nold had made his way to a
ship and set sail for Eng-land, and his name is hat-ed, not on-ly by his
own land, but by e-ven the land to whom he tried to sell his coun-try.

It was in March, 1783, that the news of peace spread through the land,
and it is said that Wash-ing-ton wept with joy, as he read the glad news
to his troops; he gave or-ders that the whole ar-my should give thanks
to God; and this was done at a great meet-ing on the day af-ter Lord
Corn-wal-lis laid down his sword. Then there was a great ball giv-en at
Fred-er-icks-burg, and Wash-ing-ton's old moth-er, sev-en-ty-four years
old, was there lean-ing on the arm of her son; and do you not think she
was proud, as one af-ter an-oth-er of the great French of-fi-cers bowed
to her, and spoke in her son's praise?

[Illustration: SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN.]

It was on Christ-mas eve that Wash-ing-ton came home to Mt. Vernon,
af-ter eight years of war: rid-ing in state, with his wife at his side,
this great A-mer-i-can, feared now by kings, and loved more than ev-er
by the coun-try he had made free, came glad-ly back to take up the
qui-et coun-try life he loved so well; and here, could he have had his
way, he would have lived un-til his death; but this new coun-try need-ed
at its head a man whom folks loved and trust-ed, and of whom oth-er
lands stood in fear. No man but Wash-ing-ton could fill this great
place; and so, at the end of three years, once more at his coun-try's
call, he left his home,--this time to be-come the first Pres-i-dent of
the U-ni-ted States. Not one voice was a-gainst him; eve-ry man in the
new coun-try vot-ed to give him this last hon-or; and on Ap-ril 30th,
1789, in New York Ci-ty, he took the oath of of-fice. Wash-ing-ton, who
was a ve-ry rich man, had tak-en no mon-ey for serv-ing his coun-try
in the war; and said he would take none now; but be-cause oth-er
Pres-i-dents might not be rich e-nough or good e-nough to want to do
the same, the peo-ple made him take $25,000 a year; now, you know, the
Pres-i-dent gets $50,000 a year.

Wash-ing-ton was in New York but one year, then the cap-i-tal was moved
to Phil-a-del-phia, and here he lived in great state, un-til af-ter
eight years in the Pres-i-dent's chair,