d terrible
necessity, ever to be avoided, except in cases where the safety of his
country should demand it as a last desperate remedy. Unlike most men
of a bold and adventurous disposition, he all his life long took the
greatest pleasure in the pursuits of a husbandman; and, to his manner
of thinking, there was no lot or calling in life so happy, and none
more honorable. Having now ample time for the indulgence of his
tastes, he set about improving and beautifying his plantations, of
which he had several, in the most approved style of that day. He
planted orchards of various fruits; set his hillsides in grass;
drained his marshes, and turned them into rich meadow-lands; built
mills and blacksmith-shops; enlarged his family mansion to a size
better befitting his elegant and hospitable style of living; adorned
the grounds about it with shrubbery, trees, and gardens; and converted
the wild woods hard by into open and verdant parks. To his negro
slaves he was the kindest of masters; ever mindful of their comfort,
and extremely careful of them in sickness. Being of industrious habits
himself, he would not make the least grain of allowance for sloth or
idleness in them, or indeed in any one about him, but was strict in
exacting of them the speedy and full performance of their allotted
tasks; which, however, he always took care should come under rather
than up to the measure of their strength. In his business habits, he
was methodical to a nicety; kept his own books, and was his own
overseer: for, having a strong aversion to being waited on, he never
suffered others to do for him what he could do for himself. He kept a
close and clear account, in writing, of the profits arising from the
grain, tobacco, and other produce of his lands; and also the amount of
his personal, household, and plantation expenses: by which means he
could tell at a glance whether he were on the making or losing order,
and readily detect whether any of whom he had dealings were given to
careless or dishonest practices. So superior was the quality of every
thing produced on his estate, and so widely known did he become for
his honesty and uprightness in all business transactions, that, in
time, a box of tobacco or a barrel of flour marked "George Washington,
Mount Vernon, Va.," would be received into many foreign ports without
the custom-house authorities opening or inspecting it.

He was an early riser. In winter, getting up before day, and lighting
his