sity compels, until I can substitute some other expedient, by which expenses not in my power to avoid, (however well disposed I may be to do it,) can be defrayed.

1794.

SLAVES LIBERATED.

Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will and desire that all the slaves whom I hold in my own right, shall receive their freedom.

To emancipate them during her life, would, though earnestly wished by me, be attended with such insuperable difficulties, on account of their intermixture by marriage with the dower negroes, as to excite the most painful sensations, if not disagreeable consequences to the latter, while both descriptions are in the occupancy of the same proprietor; it not being in my power, under the tenure by which the dower negroes are held, to manumit them.

PROVISION FOR AGED, INFIRM, AND INFANT SLAVES.

And whereas among those who will receive freedom according to this devise, there may be some, who, from old age or bodily infirmities, and others, who, on ac

By Washington's Will, dated July 9th, 1799.

count of their infancy, will be unable to support themselves, it is my will and desire, that all, who come under the first and second description, shall be comfortably clothed and fed by my heirs while they live; and that such of the latter description as have no parents living, or, if living, are unable or unwilling to provide for them, shall be bound by the Court, until they shall arrive at the age of twenty-five years; and, in cases where no record can be produced, whereby their ages can be ascertained, the judgment of the Court, upon its own view of the subject, shall be adequate and final.

NEGROES, TO BE TAUGHT TO READ AND WRITE.

The negroes thus bound, are (by their masters or mistresses) to be taught to read and write, and to be brought up to some useful occupation, agreeably to the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, providing for the support of orphan and other poor children.

LIBERATED NEGROES, NOT TO BE SOLD.

I expressly forbid the sale or transportation out of the said Commonwealth, of any slave I may die possessed of, under any pretence whatsoever.

PERMANENT FUND FOR AGED AND INFIRM NEGROES.

I do, moreover, most pointedly and most solemnly enjoin it upon my executors, to see that this clause respecting slaves, and every part thereof, be religiously fulfilled, at the epoch at which it is directed to take place, without evasion, neglect, or delay, after the crops which may then be on the ground are harvested, particularly as it respects the aged and infirm; seeing that a regular and permanent fund be established for their support, as long as there are subjects requiring it; not trusting to the uncertain provision to be made by individuals.

WILLIAM LEE'S IMMEDIATE FREEDOM.

To my mulatto man, William, calling himself William Lee, I give immediate freedom, or, if he should prefer it, (on account of the accidents which have befallen him, and which have rendered him incapable of walking, or of any active employment,) to remain in the situation he now is, it shall be optional in him to do so; in either case, however, I allow him an annuity of thirty dollars, during his natural life, which shall be independent of the victuals and clothes he has been accustomed to receive, if he chooses the last alternative; but in full with his freedom, if he prefers the first. And this I give him, as a testimony

of my sense of his attachment to me, and for his faithful services during the Revolutionary War.

FREEDOM OF THE DANDRIDGE SLAVES.

The negroes, thirty-three in number, which have remained in the possession of Mary, widow of Bartholomew Dandridge, with their increase, it is my will and desire shall continue and be in her possession, without paying hire, or making compensation for the same, for the time past or to come, during her natural life; at the expiration of which, I direct that all of them who are forty years old and upwards, shall receive their freedom.

All under that age, and above sixteen, shall serve seven years and no longer.

All under sixteen years shall serve until they are twenty-five years of age, and then be free.

To avoid disputes respecting the ages of any of these negroes, they are to be taken into the court of the county in which they reside, and the judgment thereof, in this relation, shall be final, and record thereof made, which may be adduced as evidence at any time thereafter, if disputes should arise concerning the same.

1799.

PUNCTILIOS OF HONOR.

Trifling punctilios should have no influence upon a man's conduct, in such a case and at such a time as this.

1777.

If smaller matters do not yield to greater; if trifles light as air, in comparison with what we are contending for, can withdraw or withhold gentlemen from service, when our all is at stake, and a single cast of a die may turn the tables; what are we to expect? It is not a common contest we are engaged in. Every thing valuable to us depends upon the success of it; and the success, upon a steady and vigorous exertion.

1777.

DUELLING CONDEMNED.

The generous spirit of chivalry, exploded by the rest of the world, finds a refuge, my dear friend,* in the sensibility of your nation only. But it is in vain to cherish it, unless you can find antagonists to support it; and, however well adapted it might have been to the times in which it existed, in our days, it is to be feared, that your opponent, sheltering himself behind modern opinions, and under his present public character of Commissioner, would turn a virtue of such ancient date into ridicule.

* Lafayette, about to challenge Lord Carlisle, for speaking offensively of France.