ck
rivers. The grandson of one of these brothers was the father of our
hero, and was the owner of a moderate plantation on Bridges Creek, from
which he removed, shortly after the birth of his son, George, in 1732,
to an estate in Stafford County, opposite Fredericksburg.

It was here that the early years of Washington were passed, in sports
and pleasures peculiar to the sons of planters. His education was not
entirely neglected, but beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic, his
youthful attainments were small. In general knowledge he was far behind
the sons of wealthy farmers in New England at that time,--certainly far
behind Franklin when a mere apprentice to a printer. But he wrote a
fair, neat, legible hand, and kept accounts with accuracy. His
half-brother Lawrence had married a relative of Lord Fairfax, who had
settled in Virginia on the restoration of Charles II. Lawrence was also
the owner of the estate of Mount Vernon, on the Potomac,--the wealthiest
member of his family, and a prominent member of the Virginia House of
Burgesses. Through this fortunate brother, George became intimate with
the best families in Virginia. His associates were gentlemen of
position, with whom he hunted and feasted, and with whose sisters he
danced, it is said, with uncommon grace.

In person, young Washington was tall,--over six feet and two
inches,--his manners easy and dignified, his countenance urbane and
intelligent, his health perfect, his habits temperate, his morals
irreproachable, and his sentiments lofty. He was a model in all athletic
exercises and all manly sports,--strong, muscular, and inured to
exposure and fatigue. He was quick and impetuous in temper, a tendency
which he early learned to control. He was sullied with none of the vices
then so common with the sons of planters, and his character extorted
admiration and esteem.

Such a young man of course became a favorite in society. His most marked
peculiarities were good sense and the faculty of seeing things as they
are without exaggeration. He was truthful, practical, straight-forward,
and conscientious, with an uncommon insight into men, and a power of
inspiring confidence. I do not read that he was brilliant in
conversation, although he had a keen relish for the charms of society,
or that he was in any sense learned or original. He had not the
qualities to shine as an orator, or a lawyer, or a literary man; neither
in any of the learned professions would he have