ere was a rush from the gallery to the corridor that
threatened the loss of life or limb, so eager were the throng to catch
a last look of one who had so long been the object of public
veneration. When Washington was in the street he waved his hat in
return for the cheers of the multitude, his countenance radiant with
benignity, his gray hairs streaming in the wind. The crowd followed
him to his door; there, turning round, his countenance assumed a grave
and almost melancholy expression, his eyes were bathed in tears, his
emotions were too great for utterance, and only by gestures could he
indicate his thanks and convey his farewell blessing.

In the evening a splendid banquet was given to him by the principal
inhabitants of Philadelphia in the Amphitheatre, which was decorated
with emblematical paintings. All the heads of departments, the foreign
ministers, several officers of the late army, and various persons of
note, were present. Among the paintings, one represented the home of
his heart, the home to which he was about to hasten--Mount Vernon.

CHAPTER LXXVI.
WASHINGTON'S RETIREMENT AND DEATH.

[The limitations of this volume render it necessary to condense the
remaining portions of Washington's biography into as few sentences as
possible.

Washington's official career being terminated, he set off for Mount
Vernon accompanied by Mrs. Washington, her grand-daughter, Miss Nelly
Custis, and George Washington Lafayette, with his preceptor. Once more
at Mount Vernon, that haven of repose to which he had so often turned
a wistful eye, he surrendered himself to those agricultural and rural
pursuits for which he had a fondness. He was beset with many visitors,
and as a relief from some of the duties of hospitality he persuaded
his nephew, Lawrence Lewis, to become an inmate of Mount Vernon. An
attachment grew up between young Lewis and Miss Nelly Custis, which
eventuated in their union.

The fate of Lafayette, who had been thrown into prison at Olmutz, had
awakened the earnest solicitude of Washington, but in the autumn of
this year (1797), letters were received by young Lafayette that his
father had been released and was on his way to Paris. George
Lafayette, anxious to join his father's family, immediately sailed
from New York with his tutor, on the 26th of October.

The differences between France and America were now assuming an
alarming aspect. The French government, in the recall of Mr. Monroe,
had ref