how
slightly, the story of some of the heroic deeds of American history,
that noble figure must always stand in the fore-front. But to sketch the
life of Washington even in the barest outline is to write the history
of the events which made the United States independent and gave birth
to the American nation. Even to give alist of what he did, to name his
battles and recount his acts as president, would be beyond the limit and
the scope of this book. Yet it is always possible to recall the man and
to consider what he was and what he meant for us and for mankind He is
worthy the study and the remembrance of all men, and to Americans he is
at once a great glory of their past and an inspiration and an assurance
of their future.

* John Richard Green.

To understand Washington at all we must first strip off all the myths
which have gathered about him. We must cast aside into the dust-heaps
all the wretched inventions of the cherry-tree variety, which were
fastened upon him nearly seventy years after his birth. We must look at
him as he looked at life and the facts about him, without any illusion
or deception, and no man in history can better stand such a scrutiny.

Born of a distinguished family in the days when the American colonies
were still ruled by an aristocracy, Washington started with all that
good birth and tradition could give. Beyond this, however, he had
little. His family was poor, his mother was left early a widow, and he
was forced after a very limited education to go out into the world to
fight for himself He had strong within him the adventurous spirit of
his race. He became a surveyor, and in the pursuit of this profession
plunged into the wilderness, where he soon grew to be an expert hunter
and backwoodsman. Even as a boy the gravity of his character and
his mental and physical vigor commended him to those about him, and
responsibility and military command were put in his hands at an age when
most young men are just leaving college. As the times grew threatening
on the frontier, he was sent on a perilous mission to the Indians, in
which, after passing through many hardships and dangers, he achieved
success. When the troubles came with France it was by the soldiers under
his command that the first shots were fired in the war which was to
determine whether the North American continent should be French or
English. In his earliest expedition he was defeated by the enemy. Later
he was with Braddock,