Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1895-02-21
WHEN WASHINGTON wANTEDMoNsY
During His Retirement at Mount Vernon
the Sheriff Was Constantly Threatening.

During His Retirement at Mount Vernon
the Sheriff Was Constantly Threatening.
Down to the date Of bis leaving the
command Of the continental troops and
retiring" to Mount Vernon the life
Of Washington had been one continual
series Of anxieties and conflicts, but these
had been borne Oh behalf Of the public
and not himself or any Of his friends
or family. He was to find, however,
that contests aud struggle come to the
private individual as well as to the man
of affairs, and these smaller matters
were to greatly try his soul, whereat
perhaps many Of the rest Of us, who are
sometimes unduly worried by small
matters, may take courage to begin anew.
1t may have been anticipated by
Washington that after military career
with triumphant termination he
might find plantation life a little irk-
some, but he never complained Of that
He did complain, and bitterly, however,
of his lack of money. His complainings
were not unnatural, seeing that not be-
fore since his fifteenth birthday had he
been hard up. and that both he and his
wife had begun life in the possession
of what We're il those days ample for
tunes" Washington straitened cir
cumstances at this time were not in any
sense due to extravaganza or to lack Of
attention to business. On the contrary,
he appears to have been one of the most
industrious, most methodical and most
frugal planters going. Every morning
he was up at O'Clock, and clad in the
coarsest homespun he rode daily IS or
20 miles over his plantation, inspecting
the crops and the work that was being
done on them Mrs. Washington was as
industrious az her husband, as indeed
hold on plantation of thousands Of
acres like Mount Vernon. There were,
however, times that might have been
spent i'll recreation or possibly rest, but
we are told that neither repose nor pleas
ure was INDUCED in at these times.
Instead she devoted herself to knitting
fine woolen hosie<r" for herself, her
family and its friends. One would at
first imagine that the Father of His
Country and his spouse lived the lives
Of pair Of money grubbers but for the
further recorded fact that at least once
a week ''the horns rang out through the
merry glades, ladies and gentlemen in
scarlet coats and dresses followed the
baying hounds, the gray fox doubled
through the may woods, and Washing
ton, with shouts and cheers, mounted
ON his feetest horse, was always in at
the death. :"
The administration of the estate and
household at this time is reported to
have been almost perfect Visitors were
charmed with universal order and sim
plicity, but The cruel fact remained that
the man who had won the American
Revolution could not pay his bills and
was constantly being annoyed by the
sheriffs, who threatened with ''dis-
tress, - whatever that may have been.
Washington tried bard to sell part of
his land in order that he might meet
some of his more pressing obligations,
but in vain. He had plenty Of money,
such as it was, awarded to him by con-
gress, but it was nearly worthless
through depreciation
He wrote to his mother, then an old
woman, and described his situation terse-
ly, saying that he knew not where to
find shilling" Finally in 17SS he had
to borrow few hundred pounds of a
neighbor, to whom he wrote in apology
for soliciting aid: 81 have put off the
sheriff of the county three times, If he
comes again, must suffer him to make
distress.
Just when his personal affairs were
at the lowest ebb he was again called
by his country, but not to war This
time his services were needed at the con
stitutional convention, and the results
of that gathering are well known. The
constitution was adopted, Washington
was made president, and the life of the
federal government was begun,