Two centuries ago, lacking six years, George Washington
was born on the banks of the Potomac in Westmoreland,
a Virginia county that produced three Signers of the
Declaration of Independence, two Presidents of the
United States, a Justice of the Supreme Court, and --
Robert E. Lee. In 1932 the two hundredth anniversary of
Washington's birth will be celebrated officially by the
Nation, and with more or less ceremony throughout this
land and in foreign countries as well. His fame, growing
with the years, keeps him one of the foremost characters
of the world.

Washington was very human. True, he became a
personage before attaining his majority and during
nearly half a century of public life maintained his suprem-
acy; but there never was a time in camp or forum when he
was out of touch with his farms, or when his deeply af-
fectionate nature even temporarily lost concern for his
wife and his relatives.

A radius of a hundred miles from the city that bears
his name comprises the scene of his activities, save when
he was called from home by public duties, or when he made
a few journeys North or South or West. He dearly loved
companionship; he did not like to be alone, and when
condemned to pass the time with only himself for company
he sets the fact down in his diaries almost with a note of
complaint. His affections overflowed toward his own and

-V-