the good news. Instead, he was allowed to
borrow from the fleet a ship which he sent, as swiftly as possible, to
the land of his heart. The ship lent him was _Le Triomphe_, well named
for this message, and this was the first ship to bring the news of the
Peace to our shores.

His work in Spain being successfully accomplished, he returned to
Paris by swift posts, which means that he went in a carriage, with
relays of good horses; and by driving day and night, over the
mountains and through the valleys, following ancient Roman roads and
crossing through many historic sites and cities, he covered the wide
distance between the capital of Spain and that of France.

The war being over, Washington, as every one knows, retired to his
estate at Mount Vernon, an act incomprehensible to some, but fully
understood by his "adopted son," Lafayette, who wrote:

"Your return to a private station is called the finishing stroke of an
unparalleled character. Never did a man exist who stands so honorably
in the opinion of mankind, and your name if possible will become
greater to posterity. Everything that is great and everything that is
good were never hitherto united in one man; never did that man live
whom the soldier, statesman, patriot, and philosopher could equally
admire; and never was a revolution brought about which, in all its
motives, its conduct, its consequences, could so well immortalize its
glorious chief. I am proud of you, my dear General; your glory makes
me feel as if it were my own; and while the world is gaping upon you,
I am pleased to think and to tell that the qualities of your heart do
render you still more valuable than anything you have done."

From Mount Vernon, where the wearied and peace-loving warrior was
very glad to be, Washington, in February, 1784, wrote to Lafayette:

"At length, my dear Marquis, I am become a private citizen on the
banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own vine and
fig-tree, free from the bustle of the camp, and the busy scenes of
public life, I am pleasing myself with those tranquil enjoyments of
which the soldier who is ever in pursuit of fame; the statesman whose
watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to
promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries,
as if this globe was insufficient for us all; the courtier who is
always watching the countenance of his prince in hopes of catching a
gracious smile, can have but little con