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.

196 WASHINGTON'S WRITINGS. [1791.
country, and by giving efficacy to such a system, as
will ensure the general welfare and conciliate the public mind.
I desire, Gentlemen, to make acceptable to you
my acknowledgments for the kind concern you take
in the restoration of my health and preservation of
my life, and in the retribution I may receive after
the conclusion of this mortal existence. May you,
and the State, in whose government you have the
principal agency, be also the peculiar care of Divine
Providence.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
TO THE INTENDANT AND WARDENS, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CITIZENS OF-CHARLESTON.*
MAY 3D, 1791.
GENTLEMEN,
The gratification you are pleased to express, at my
arrival in your metropolis, is replied to with sincerity,
in a grateful acknowledgment of the pleasing sensations, which your affectionate urbanity has excited.
Highly sensible of your attachment and favorable opinions, I entreat you to be persuaded of the lasting
gratitude which they impress, and of the cordial regard with wlch they are returned.
It is the peculiar boast of our country, that her
happiness is alone dependent on the collective wisdom
and virtue of her citizens, and rests not on the exertions of any individual. While a just sense is entertained of our natural and political advantages, we
* The President was at this time m Charleston, on his tour through
the southern States.