up, first as a youthful surveyor, then as the trusted messenger of
his colony, Virginia, to the commander of the French forts west of the
Alleghanies, and afterward as an aide of General Braddock when the war
with the French broke out.

In the discharge of all these duties and in all his relations with men,
whether above him in office or under his command, he had shown himself
trustworthy and efficient, a man of clear mind and decisive action--one
who commanded men's respect, obedience, and even love.

After the last battle of the Last French War Washington had returned to
his home at Mount Vernon, on the banks of the Potomac, and very soon
(1759) married Mrs. Martha Custis, a young widow whom he had met at a
friend's house while he was on the way to Williamsburg the year before.
With the addition of his wife's property to his own, he became a man of
much wealth and at one time was one of the largest landholders in America.

But with all his wealth and experience Washington had the modesty which
always goes with true greatness. In the Virginia House of Burgesses, to
which he was elected after the Last French War, he was given a vote of
thanks for his brave services in that war. Rising to reply, Washington,
still a young man, stood blushing and stammering, unable to say a word.
The speaker, liking him none the less for this embarrassment, said, with
much grace: "Sit down, Mr. Washington. Your modesty equals your valor, and
that surpasses the power of any language I possess."

Some years rolled by and the home-loving young planter lived the busy but
quiet life of a high-bred Virginia gentleman. Meanwhile the exciting
events of which we have been speaking were crowding upon one another and
leading up to the Revolution; and in this interval of quiet country life
Washington was unconsciously preparing for the greater task for which he
was soon to be chosen.

[Illustration: Washington, Henry, and Pendleton on the Way to Congress at
Philadelphia.]

In the events of these days Washington took his own part. He was one of
the representatives of Virginia at the first meeting of the Continental
Congress, in 1774, going to Philadelphia in company with Patrick Henry and
others. He was also a delegate to the second meeting of the Continental
Congress, in May, 1775.

He filled well each place of trust; and what more natural than that the
Congress should choose as commander-in-chief of the American army this
gentleman, young, ab