The Penn's Grove record., 1923-01-26


the Northern Neck-wishes to enter
on board of British man OF war
prOvidentially prevented by his
mOther-the first lightnings of his
soul to war.
Happily for America, George Wash
ington was born with "a silver spoon
in his mouth" The Rappahannock
plantation left him by his father, was
/ only in reversion-and his mother was
still in her prime. Seeing then no
chance of rising in the world but by
his own method, on leaving school he
went to Fairfax to see his brother
Lawrence; with whom he found Mr..
William Fairfax, one Of the COVER
nor's council, who was come up on a
visit to his sister, whom Lawrence had
married. The counsellor presently
took great liking to George, and
hearing him express a wish to get
employment as a surveyor, introduced
4 him to his relative, Lord Fairfax, the
wealthy proprietor of all those lands
generally called the Northern Neck,
i living between the Potomac and Rap
pahannock, and extending from
Smiths Point on the Chesapeake, to
the foot of the Great Allegheny. At
i the instance of the counsellor, Lord
Fairfax readily engaged George as a
surveyor, and sent him up into the
/ back-woods to work. He continued in
/ his lorship's service till his Goth year,
closely pursuing the laborous life of
woodsman.
From the manner in which Wash
ington used to amuse his leisure
hours during this period, one is al
most inclined to think he had pre-
sentiment of the great labours that
! lay before him. While in Frederick,
which at that time was very large,
containing the counties now called
Berkley, Jefferson and Shenandoah,
he boarded in the house of the widow
Stevenson, generally pronounced
Stinson. This lady had seven sons
William and Valentine Crawford,
by her first husband; and John and
Hugh, and Dick, and Jim, and Mark
Stinson, by her last husband. These
seven young men in Herculean size
and strength, were equal, perhaps, to
any seven sons of any one mother In
Christendom. This was family ex-
actly to Georges mind, because prom
Using him an abundance of that manly
exercise in which he delighted. In
front of the house lay fine extended
green, with a square of several hun
dred yards. Here it was every evening,
when his daily tolls of surveying were
ended, that George, like a young
Greek training for the Olympic games,
used to turn out with his sturdy
young companions, "to see," as they
termed it, (Which was the best man"
at running, jumping, and wrestling.
And so keen was their passion for
these sports, and so great their am
bition to out-do one another, that they
would often keep them up, especially
on moon-shining nights, till bed time.
The Crawfords and Stinsons, though
not taller than George, were much
heavier men; so that at wrestling, and
particularly at the close OF Indian
hug, he seldom gained much matter
of triumph. But in all trials of agil-
ity, they stood no chance with him!
From these Frederick county gym
natics or exercises, there followed an
effects which shews the very wide
difference between participating in
innocent and guilty pleasures. While |
companions in raking and gambling,
heartily despise and hate one another, |
and when they meet in the streets,
pass each other with looks cold and
shy as sheep-thieving curs-these
virtuous young men by spending their
evenings together in innocent and
manly exercises, contracted friend |
ship which lasted for life. When |
| George, twenty-five years after this,
was called to lead the American arm
les, he did not forget his old friends, .
the Stinsons and Crawfords, but gave
commissions to all of them who chose
to join his army; which several of
them did William Crawford, the eld-
est of them, and as brave a man as
ever shouldered a musket, was adj /
vanced as high as the rank of colo
mel, when he was burnt to death by
the Indians at Sandusky. And equally
cordial was the love of these young
men towards George, of whom they
always spoke of as a brother. Indeed,
Hugh Stinson, the second brother,
who had way of swapping his eyes
when he talked of anything that
greatly pleased him, used to brighten
up at the name of Washington, and
would tell his friends, that "he and
his brother John had often laid the
conqueror of England on his back"
But, at the same time, would agree,
that ''in running and jumping they
were no match for him."
Such was the way in which George .
spent his leisure hours in the service
of Lord Fairfax. Little did the old
gentleman expect that he was educat-
ing a youth, who should one day dis
member the British empire, and break
his own heart-which truly came to
pass. For on hearing that Washing
ton had captured CORVALLIS and all
his army, he called out to his black
waiter, "Come, Joe! carry me to my
bed! for Pm sure it's time for me to
dep
Then up rose Joe, all at the word,
And took his masters arm,
And to his bed he softly led
The lord of Green-way farm.
I II III