e United
States."

Then with deep earnestness he bent and kissed the Bible held before him,
with the whispered prayer: "So help me God!"

"Long live George Washington, President of the United States!" exclaimed
Livingston, and the excited throng took up the cry, shouting with wild
enthusiasm. Thus was inaugurated our first President.

Returning to the Senate Chamber, Washington there delivered a short
address. He was very much agitated, for he had a deep sense of the
responsibility which had been put upon him. After he had given his address
he attended service in St. Paul's Church, and then went to his new home in
New York City.

His life as President was one of dignity and elegance. It was his custom
to pay no calls and accept no invitations, but between three and four
o'clock on every Tuesday afternoon he held a public reception. On such
occasions he appeared in court dress, with powdered hair, yellow gloves in
his hands, a long sword in a scabbard of white polished leather at his
side, and a cocked hat under his arm. Standing before the fireplace, with
his right hand behind him, he bowed formally as each guest was presented
to him.

[Illustration: Washington's Inaugural Chair.]

The visitors formed a circle about the room. At a quarter past three the
door was closed, and Washington went around the circle, speaking to each
person. Then he returned to his first position by the fireplace, where
each visitor approached him, bowed, and retired.

One of his first public duties was the choosing of strong men to form his
cabinet and help him in his new tasks as President. Thomas Jefferson was
made Secretary of State; Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury;
Henry Knox, Secretary of War; and Edmund Randolph, Attorney-General. John
Jay was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The new government had to settle more than one important question. One of
these related to the method of paying the State debts which had been the
outcome of the Revolutionary War. The northern States were in favor of
having the National Government take care of these debts. Washington
himself wished in this way to unite the interests of all the States as
well as have them feel that they had a share in the new government. The
southern States, however, were bitterly opposed to this plan, but they, in
their turn, were eager to have the national capital located on the Potomac
River.

Alexander Hamilton, by a clever arrangement, pers