Middletown transcript., 1883-03-02
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
CHAPTER II.

CHATTER IL.
George had an excellent father who
could impress the ductile mind of a boy
with high maxims Of virtue, and imbue
him with scrupulous love of truth |
without wearing out shingle on him
every day of his life. Augustine Wash
ington was an indulgent parent-just |
indulgent enough, but not too indul-
gent He raised crop Of fine boys |
and never spoiled one of them. He |
was the father of six sons, and history |
does not record that any one of the six
ever parted his hair in the middle,
carried copy Of " Hoyle" in his pistol |
pocket, played on the accordion, or at
tempted to give his father advice in the
matter of his plan of bringing up a
family, before be had raised his second
crop of teeth. Truly, Augustine Wash
ington was wise and much favored
father He might have done good to
the generations that came after him
had he written book entitled, I" How
to Raise Good Boy, in Six Easy Les
sons But, alas, Augustine Wash
ington died, and the art Of raising
good boy died with him. The mother
of our George was woman of consid-
cradle firmness. We may say that she
had a wealth of frmness in her char
acter. When she said No'' she meant
it in the biggest kind Of display type.
When she took hold of an opinion she
held on till the first day of January,
and then she took fresh hold. When
she invited one Of her boys into the
woodshed to a matinee, he knew there
was going to be a full program. He
knew that nothing would be omitted.
He expected all that was on the, bill.
And he went right along knowing tfrSt
the entertainment was arranged sol
for his benefit, but feeling that
Judgment Day was enough for boy Of
his size. And at the close of the per-
formance he had more feelings than he
could express. Possibly he could not
have sent them all bygfreight. Mary
Washington was emineRtly capable Of
bringing a boy up by the straight and
narrow route, and that is the way she
travelled with hers. She didn't allow
them to take any short cuts, or to go
around by the big highway that leads
to trouble. She was not that sort of
woman. She was an able leader of
family, and her husband was an able
First Lieutenant. Therefore, the little
band Of boys were well disciplined sol
diers. When Mary gave a command
the whole procession was unanimous.
A biography of George Washington
without at least brief reference to the
charming little anecdote concerning
George and the cherry-tree and the lit
tie hatchet would be as milk punch
with the punch left out. One Of the
strangest things about this little hatchet
story is the fact that George Washing
ton himself never heard of it until long
after it happened. And you may be-
lieve he was surprised when he read it
in the newspapers. We shall give
new and reliable version of this pretty
little story, CLEANED from the lips Of one
of Georges old colored nurses, who
died recently in poverty, or in Ohio, we
are not sure which, at an advanced age.
Shortly before her demise she cut her
third set Of teeth and was able to thread
needle without squirting She was
making bed quilt, to be composed of
645, 900, ,OOO,OOO,OOO pieces, which she
never finished because she was called
away too soon. She began it when she
was little girl. But we are wander
ing away from the anecdote. Let US
return to George and the cherry-tree
and the little hatchet.
When George was about six years Of
age, more or less, New York man
with an open countenance, wealth Of
tongue, and big book full Of beautiful
colored plates Of apples, pears, peaches,
grapes, strawberries and cherries, mean
dered in at the front door of the house
of Augustine Washington and pro-
ceeded to business. Before Augustine
was aware of his peril he had signed an
order for S32 worth Of trees and vines,
including a white grape at S. that was
to keep all winter, and a PollyuolpuS
cherry-tree that was to bear fruit the
second season after it was set out,
Mrs. Washington was not at home
when this tree agent called. She had
gone over to visit neighbor to get a
recipe for hard soap, which was just
then coming in fashion. 1t was well
for the tree agent, perhaps, that she
was away. If she had been at home he
might have meandered out faster than
he had meandered in. When the trees
came &c, o, D, the next spring, Au-
gustine Washington had them planted
with much care. He took particular
pride in his cherry-tree, for he was
passionat6ly fond Of cherries, and he
believed every word the New York tree
agent had told him. He had never heard
a New York tree agent lie before. He
was one of that rare old stock Of men