treasurer of the United States, for the time being, under the direction of Congress, provided that honourable body should patronize the measure; and the dividends proceeding from the purchase of such stock are to be vested in more stock, and so on, until à sum adequate to the accomplishment of the object is obtained, of which I have not the smallest doubt before many years pass away, even if no aid or encouragement is given by legislative authority, or from any other source.

Item. The hundred shares which I hold in the James river company, I have given, and now confirm, in perpetuity, to and for the use and benefit of Liberty Hall Academy, in the county of Rockbridge, in the commonwealth of Virginia.

Item. I release, exonerate, and discharge, the estate of my de ceased brother, Samuel Washington, from the payment of the money which is due to me for the land I sold to Philip Pendleton, lying in the county of Berekley, who assigned the same to him, the said Samuel, who, by agreement, was to pay me therefor; and whereas by some contract, the purport of which was never communicated to me, between the said Samuel and his son Thornton Washington, the latter became possessed of the aforesaid land, without any conveyance having passed from me, either to the said. Pendleton, the said Samuel, or the said Thornton, and without any consideration having been made, by which neglect, neither the legal nor equitable title has been alienated; it rests therefore with me, to declare my intentions concerning the premises; and these are, to give and bequeath the said land to whomsoever the said Thornton Washington, who is also dead, devised the same, or to his heirs forever, if he died intestate, exonerating the estate of the said Thornton, equally with that of the said Samuel, from payment of the purchase money, which, with interest, agreeably to the original contract with the said Pendleton, would amount to more than 1000%. And whereas, two other sons of my said deceased brother Samuel, namely, George Steptoe Washington, and Lawrence Augustine Washington, were, by the decease of those to whose care they were committed, brought under my protection, and, in consequence, have occasioned advances on my part for their education at college and other schools, and for their board, clothing, and other incidental expenses, to the amount of near five thousand dollars, over and above the sums furnished by their estate; which sum it may be inconvenient for them or their father's estate to refund. I do, for these reasons, acquit them and the said estate from the payment thereof; my intention being, that all accounts between them and me, and their father's estate and me shall stand balanced.

Item. The balance due to me from the estate of Bartholomew Dandridge, deceased, my wife's brother, and which amounted, on the first day of October, 1795, to 4251. as will appear by an ac count rendered by his deceased son, John Dandridge who was the acting executor of his father's will, I release and acquit them from the payment thereof. And the negroes, then thirty three in numé

ber, formerly belonging to the said estate, who were taken in execution, sold, and purchased in on my account, in the year and ever since have remained in the possession and to the use of Mary, widow of the said Bartholomew Dandridge, with their increase, it is my will and desire, shall continue and be in her posses. sion, 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 upward, shall receive their freedom; and all under that age and above sixteen, shall serve seven years and no longer; and all under sixteen years, shall serve until they are twenty five years of age, and then be free. And 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 reJation, shall be final, and record thereof made, which may be ad duced as evidence at any time thereafter, if disputes should arise concerning the same. And I further direct, that the heirs of said Barth. Dandridge, shall equally share the benefits arising from the services of the said negroes, according to the tenor of this de vise, upon the decease of their mother.

Item. If Charles Carter, who intermarried with my niece Bet ty Lewis, is not sufficiently secured in the title to the lots he had of me in the town of Fredericksburg, it is my will and desire, that my executors shall make such conveyances of them as the law requires to render it perfect.

Item. To my nephew, Wm. Augustine Washington, and his heirs, if he should conceive them to be objects worth prosecuting, a lot in the town of Manchester, opposite to Richmond, No. 265, drawn on my sole account, and also the tenth of one or two hundred acre lots, and two or three half acre lots, in the city and vincinity of Richmond, drawn in partnership with nine others, all in the lot. tery of the deceased William Bird, are given as is also a lot which I purchased of John Hood, conveyed by William Willie and Samuel Gordon, trustees of the said John Hood, numbered 139, in the town of Edinburgh, in the county of Prince George, state of Virginia,

Item. To my nephew, Bushrod Washington, I give and bequeath all the papers in my possession which relate to my civil and mili tary administration of the affairs of this country; I leave to him also such of my private pape's as are worth preserving; and, at the decease of my wife, and before, if she is not inclined to retain them, I give and bequeath my library of books and pamphlets of every skind.

Item. Having sold lands which I possessed in the state of Pennsylvania, and part of a tract held in equal right with George Clinton, late governor of New York; my share of land and interest in the Great Dismal Swamp, and a tract of land which I owned in the county of Gloucester; withholding the legal titles thereto, until the consideration money should be paid; and having moreover eased. and conditionally sold, as will appear by the tenor of the

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said leases, all my lands upon the Great Kenhawa, and a tract upon Difficult Run, in the county of Loudon, it is my will and direction, that whensover the contracts are fully and respectively complied with, according to the spirit, true intent, and meaning thereof, on the part of the purchasers, their heirs or assigns, that then, and in that case, conveyances are to be made, agreeable to the terms of said contracts, and the money arising therefrom, when paid, to be vested in bank stock; the dividends whereof, as of that also, which is alre dy vested therein, is to inure to my said wife during her life; but the stock itself is to remain and be subject to the general distribution hereafter directed.

Item. To the Earl of Buchan, I recommit "the box made of thecak that sheltered the brave Sir William Wallace after the battle of Falkirk,” presented to me by his lordship in terms too flattering for me to repeit, with a request to pa s it, on the event of my decease, to the man in my country who should appear to merit it best, upon the same conditions that have induced him to send it to me." Whether easy or not, to select THE MAN who might comport with his lordship's opinion in this respect, is not for me to say; but conceiving that no disposition of this valuable curiosity can be more eligible than the recommitment of it to his own cabinet, agreeably to the original design of the Goldsmith's company of Edinburg, who presented it to him, and, at his request, consented that it should be transferred to me. I do give and bequeath the same to his lordship; and, in case of his decease, to his heir, with my grateful thanks for the distinguished honour of presenting it to me, and more especially for the favourable sentiments with which he accompanied it.

Item. To my brother, Charles Washington, I give and bequeath the gold headed cane left me by Dr. Franklin, in his will. I add nothing to it, because of the ample provision I have made for his issue. To the acquaintances and friends of my juvenile years, Lawrence Washington, and Robert Washington, of Chotanct, I give my other two gold headed canes, having my arms engraved on them; and to each, as they will be useful where they live, I leave one of the spyglasses, which constituted part of my equipage during the late war. To my compatriot in arms, and old and intimate friend, Dr. Craik, I give my bureau, or, as the cabinetmakers call it, tambour secretary, and the cir cular chair an appendage of my study. To Dr. David Stewart, I give my large shaving and dressing table, and my telescope. To the Rev. now Bryan Lord Fairfax, I give a Bible, in three large folio volumes, with notes, presented to me by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Wilson, bishop of Sodor and Man. To Gen. De la Fayette, I give a pair of finely wrought steel pistols, taken from the enemy in the revolut onary war. To my sisters in law, Hannah Washington and Mildred Washington; to my friends, Eleanor Stuart, Hannah Washington, of Fairfield, and Eizab th Washington, of Hayfield, I give each a mourning ring of the value of one hundred dollars. These bequests are not made for the intrinsic value of them, but as mementos of my esteem and regard. To Tobias L'ar, I give the use of the farm which he now holds, in virtue of a lease from me to him and his deceased wife, for and during their natural lives, free from rent during his life; at the

expiration of which, it is to be disposed of as is hereinafter directed. To Sally B. Haynie, a distant relation of mine, I give and bequeath three hundred dollars. To Sarah Green, daughter of the deceased Thomas Bishop, and to Ann Walker, daughter of John Alton, also deceased, I give each one hundred dollars, in consideration of the attachment of their fathers to me, each of whom having lived nearly forty years in my family. To each of my nephews, William Augus tine Washington, George Lewis, George Steptoe Washington, Bushrod Washington, and Samuel Washington, I give one of the swords, or cutteaux, of which I may die possessed; and they are to choose in the order they are named. These swords are accompanied with an injunction, not to unsheath them for the purpose of shedding blood, except it be for self defence or in defence of their country and its rights ; and, in the latter case, to keep them unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in their hands, to the relinquishment thereof.

And now, having gone through these specific devises, with explanations for the more correct understanding of the meaning and design of them, I proceed to the distribution of the more important parts of my estate, in manner following.

First. To my nephew, Bushrod Washington, and his heirs, partly in consideration of an intimation to his deceased father, while we were bachelors, and he had kindly undertaken to superintend my estate during my military services in the former war between Great Britain and France, that if I should fall therein, Mount Vernon, then less extensive in domain than at present, should become his property, I give and bequeath all that part thereof which is comprehended within the following limits, viz. Beginning at the ford of Dogue run, near my mill, and extending along the road, and bounded thereby, as it now goes, and ever has gone, since my recollection of it, to the ford of Little Hunting creek, at the Gum Spring, until it comes to a knowl opposite to an old road which formerly passed through the lower field of Muddyhole farm, at which, on the north side of the said road, are three red or Spanish oaks, marked as a corner, and a stone placed; thence by a line of trees to be marked rectangular, to the back line or outer boundary of the tract between Thomas Mason and myself; thence with that line easterly, now double ditching, with a post and rail fence thereon, to the run of Little Hunting creek; thence with that run, which is the boundary between the lands of the late H. Peake and met to the tide water of the said creek; thence by that water to Potomac river; thence with the river to the mouth of Dogue creek, and thence with the said Dogue creek to the place of beginning at the aforesaid ford; containing upward of four thousand acres, be the same more or less, together with the mansion house and all other buildings and improvements thereon.

Second. In consideration of the consanguinity between them and my wife, being as nearly related to her as to myself, as on account of the affection I had for, and the obligation I was under to, their father, when living, who from his youth, had attached himself to my person, and followed my fortunes through the vicissitudes of the late revolution, afterward devoting his time to the superintendance

of my private concerns for many years, whilst my public employments rendered it impracticable for me to do it myself, thereby affording me essential services, and always performing them in a manner the most filial and respectful. For these reasons, I say, I give and bequeath to George Fayette Washington, and Lawrence Augustine Washington, and their heirs, my estate east of Little Hunting Creek, lying on the river Potowmac, including the farm of three hundred and sixty acres, leased to Tobias Lear, as noticed before, and containing in the whole, by deed, two thousand and thirtyseven acres, be it more or less; which said estate it is my will and desire should be equitably and advantageously divided between them, according to quantity, quality and other circumstances, when the youngest shall have arrived at the age of twenty one years, by three judicious and disinterested men; one to be chosen by each of the brothers, and the third by these two. In the mean time, if the termination of my wife's interest therein should have ceased, the pro. fits arising therefrom are to be applied for their joint uses and benefit.

Third. And whereas, it has always been my intention, since my expectation of having issue has ceased, to consider the grand chil dren of my wife, in the same light as I do my own relations, and to act a friendly part by them, more especially by the two whom we have raised from their earliest infancy; namely, Eleanor Park Custis, and George Washington Park Custis; and whereas, the former of these hath lately intermarried with Lawrence Lewis, a son of my deceased sister, Betty Lewis, by which union the inducement to provide for them both has been increased; wherefore I give and bequeath to the said Lawrence Lewis, and Eleanor Park Lewis, his wife, and their heirs, the residue of my Mount Vernon estate, not already devised to my nephew, Bushrod Washington, comprehended within the following description, viz. All the land north of the road leading from the ford of Dogue run to the Gum Spring, as described in the devise of the other part of the tract to Bushrod Washington, until it comes to the stone, and three red, or Spanish oaks on the knowl; thence with the rectangular line to the back line, between Mr Mason and me; thence with that line westerly along the new double ditch to Dogue run, by the tumbling dam of my mill; thence with the said run to the ford aforementioned; to which I add all the land I possess west of the said Dogue run and Dogue creek, bounded easterly and southerly thereby; together with the mill, distillery, and all other houses and improvements on the premises; making together about two thousand acres, be it more or less.

Fourth. Actuated by the principle already mentioned, I give and bequeath to George Washington Park Custis, the grandson of my wife, and my ward, and to his heirs, the tract I hold on Four Mile Run, in the vicinity of Alexandria, containing one thousand two hundred acres, more or less, and my entre aquare, No. 21, in the city of Washington.

Fifth. All the rest and residue of my estate, real and personal, not disposed of in manner aforesaid, in whatsoever consisting, whereso-