The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

AEIT. 67.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 531
were appropriate and solemn. A procession, consisting
of the members of the two houses, public officers, and a
large assemblage of citizens, moved from the hall of
Congress to the German Lutheran Church, where a discourse was delivered by General Lee, then a representative in Congress.*
But no formal act of the national legislature was
required to stir up the hearts of the people, or to remind
them of the loss they had sustained in the death of a
man, whom they had so long been accustomed to love
and revere, and the remembrance of whose deeds and
virtues was so closely connected with that of their former perils, and of the causes of their present prosperity
and happiness. The mourning was universal. It was
manifested by every token, which could indicate the
public sentiment and feeling. Orators, divines, journalists, and writers of every class, responded to the generalvoice in all parts of the country, and employed their
talents to solemnize the event, and to honor the memory
of him, who, more than any other man, of ancient or
modern renown, may claim to be called THE FATHER
OF HIS COUNTRY.t
* See Appendix, No. III.
f Bonaparte rendered unusual honors to the name of Washington, not
long after the event of his death was made known in France. By
what motives he was prompted, it is needless to inquire. At any rate,
both the act itself and his manner of performing it are somewhat remarkable, when regarded in connexion with his subsequent career. He was
then First Consul. On the 9th of February, he issued the following order.
of the day to the army. "Washington is dead! This great man fought
against tyranny; he established the liberty of his country. His memory
will always be dear to the French people, as it will be to all free men of
the two worlds; and especially to French soldiers, who, like him and the
American soldiers, have combated for liberty and equality." The First
Consul likewise ordered, that, during ten days, black crape should be
suspended from all the standards and flags throughout the Republic. Onb
the same day a splendid ceremony took place in the Champ de Mars, and
the trophies brought by the army from Egypt were displayed with great