Washington reached Mount Vernon. It must
have been a happy and a merry Christmas in that beautiful home, for the
toils and dangers of war were over, peace was smiling upon all the land,
and the people were free and independent. The enjoyment of his home,
under these circumstances, was an exquisite one to the retired soldier;
and in his letters to his friends he gives frequent and touching
evidence of his happiness in private life. To Lafayette he wrote on the
first of February:--

"At length, my dear marquis, I am become a private citizen on the
banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own vine and my own
fig-tree, free from the bustle of a camp, and the busy scenes of
public life. I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments, of
which the soldier, who is ever in pursuit of fame, the statesman,
whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising
schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other
countries, as if this globe was insufficient for us all, and the
courtier, who is always watching the countenance of his prince, in
hopes of catching a gracious smile, can have very little conception.
I have not only retired from all public employments, but I am
retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk,
and tread the paths of private life, with a heartfelt satisfaction.
Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all; and this my
dear friend, being the order of my march, I will move gently down
the stream of life, until I sleep with my fathers."

A little later he wrote to Madam Lafayette, saying:--

"Freed from the clangor of arms and the bustle of a camp, from the
cares of public employment and the responsibility of office, I am
now enjoying domestic ease under the shadow of my own vine and my
own fig-tree; and in a small villa, with the implements of husbandry
and lambkins around me, I expect to glide gently down the stream of
life, till I am entombed in the mansion of my fathers.

"Come, then, let me entreat you, and call my cottage your home; for
your own doors do not open to you with more readiness than mine
would. You will see the plain manner in which we live, and meet with
rustic civility; and you shall taste the simplicity of rural life.
It will diversify the scene, and may give you a higher relish for
the gayeties of the court,