eign influences. He desired to have the sons of the United States imbued with that same love of country which burned in his own breast. He proposed to bequeath to such an institution a large tract of land that had come into his possession. In his last message to Congress he urgently presses on them to consider this scheme; but it has never obtained favor. This deep appreciation of the importance of education began in Washington's boyhood. His own advantages in this respect were limited, and he realized his deficiency. He was particular about style, and especially in regard to punctuation. Later he studied the best English authors, and was fond of history; hence in this Farewell he relied much on the literary taste of Hamilton to improve his rhetoric. His standard in regard to general education was beyond his time and far in advance of his own State. In Virginia there had not been that love of learning which prevailed in the New England Colonies and in New Jersey. At an early day one Governor of Virginia taxed schoolmasters twenty shillings a year. Others opposed education because it would arouse a spirit of rebellion; but Washington's views were far broader and nobler. He wrote on one occasion, "Fully apprised of the influence which sound learning has on religion and manners, on government, liberty, and law, I shall only lament my want of abilities to make it still more extensive."

Washington bestowed constant care on the education of his own family. His letters to his wife's son and grandson disclose his broad and practical views. Young men whom he knew to be earnest were generously aided by him in obtaining an education. He was especially interested in securing school advantages for children of indigent parents. He wrote in December, 1785, "It has long been my intention to invest at my death, 1000 pounds, the interest of which is to be devoted to educate orphan children." By his will he bequeathed four thousand pounds for such a school in Alexandria, Virginia, the interest of which alone was to be used. Like Alfred the Great, who has well been eulogized as the "Father of the English nation," Washington, the

"Father of his country," was the friend and patron of learning. Surely we may claim that he was the first statesman of America who advocated the essential principles of our invaluable system of public schools. His standard for the education of all classes was indeed ahead of his age.1

This Farewell Address so breathes the lofty spirit of the last words of those old Hebrew patriots and statesmen, Moses, Joshua, and Samuel, that it is entitled to veneration second only to that which should be rendered to their farewells, recorded on the pages of Holy Writ. And as their solemn counsels were prophetic, so his admonitions and exhortations are prophecy, and have become the national oracle of this century. Indeed, painfully applicable to us are its admonitions. All thoughtful observers of the time are as anxious for our future as was Washington at the close of the last century. Had this Address received as much attention as has been given to the Declaration of Independence, we may reasonably believe that a more conciliatory spirit would have pervaded the differing sections of our country. Far more beneficial would it have been, at each recurring anniversary of our independence, to have read a part or the whole of this Address, and to have made its themes the substance of Fourth of July oratory. His fatherly counsel fused with patriotic speech might have abated angry passions. Indeed, such a course might have prevented the bloody civil war.

We need to revive and quicken to-day those salutary counsels. As King Saul, in the closing hours of his reign, when troubles glowered dark and sore, went back to old Samuel, the wise and faithful but neglected counsellor of his youth, so we may plead with all the powers that patriotism can evoke, Bring us up Washington. Let this Address occupy a place of honor in those buildings which are dedicated as the Head-quarters of Washington, or which are associated with events in his campaigns. Let all our people become familiar with its patriotic sentiments. Let the 1 For an excellent article on Washington's interest in education, see New England Magazine, May, 1890.

children from the thirty nations who study in our public schools hear it read on each recurring celebration of Washington's birthday. Let extracts from its pages be honored as subjects of declamation, as have been the ardent eloquence of Patrick Henry and the glowing paragraphs of Webster. Thus may we vivify Washington's Farewell Address to the American People into a practical existence. The time passed has sufficed for eulogizing the Declaration of Independence. Let us go on from this foundation to the perfecting and embellishing of the Temple of Liberty. As we enter upon a new century, we should give to this Farewell a supreme significance equal to that with which it first thrilled every patriot's heart. The need of it is the prophecy of its coming. In this is the hope of deliverance.

Washington is the brightest star in the galaxy of America's great men, and his lustre is undimmed and is diffused all over the earth. Almost every civilized nation during this century has had its great hero. Poland had its Kosciusko, Italy its Cavour, Hungary its Kossuth, England its Wellington, France its Napoleon, Germany its Bismarck; but Washington alone is the man who has captured the veneration of the world. His name is known in China. In the huts of Greece you may see his portrait. The young patriots of Japan make him their model. Wherever are aspirations for human freedom, wherever a lofty patriotism has shone out, there Washington has been an inspiration. Were we a pagan nation he would have been deified.

Alison, the eminent English historian, in his scholarly eulogy of Washington, declares, "It is the highest glory of England to have given birth, even amidst transatlantic wilds, to such a man."

"Many shall commend his understanding,

And to eternity he shall not pass away;

His memorial shall not depart,

And his name shall live from generation to generation;

Nations shall show forth his wisdom

And the congregation shall publish his praise."

ECCLESIASTICUS, Chap. XXXIX. Lange's Commentary.

The Late Dr. Frederick Dawson Stone.

Ir becomes our mournful duty to announce to the readers of the Magazine the unexpected death of DR. FREDERICK DAWSON STONE, its chief Editor, and Librarian of the Historical Society, which took place at his home, in Germantown, on the 12th of August last. DR. STONE had been an invalid for some years, and his friends had hoped that his health would be improved by the short vacation which he allowed himself from the exhausting labors of his position; but on his return home from the country he was suddenly snatched from the affection of his friends and from his great usefulness as an official of the Society by an attack of heart disease.

It is hard to say whether DR. STONE was more closely bound to his friends by the strong tie of the love they bore him, or by the implicit trust and confidence with which his administration of the affairs of the Society inspired them. He was elected a member on March 9, 1863, and he soon became marked out as a devoted student of history, and especially for his acquaintance with books relating to American history. His knowledge in this special branch of the work became so conspicuous that he was in 1876 elected with great unanimity Librarian of the Society, an office which he held with increasing reputation to the day of his death. Of the many of our readers who have had occasion to consult him on points connected with their historical inquiries, there is probably not one who has not been

struck by the extent and variety of his information, the ease with which he cleared up obscure points, and the uniform kindness and sweetness of temper with which he imparted his knowledge to those who sought aid from him. We risk nothing in saying that by such persons DR. STONE was always recognized as one of the foremost students of American history, and in Pennsylvania history, without doubt, the very first. His critical knowledge of American history was to the last degree minute and accurate. His researches corrected many popular errors, and he was a most trustworthy guide in a field where so many have been misleading.

DR. STONE was an earnest advocate for the establishment of this Magazine, and he was its chief editor from the beginning. If the Magazine has done anything during the period of its existence to aid historical studies or to maintain and advance the reputation of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, it must be said that much of the credit is due to DR. STONE's judgment and skill in conducting it.