"Permit me, sir, who, enlisted in no political party, have, as a public man, looked up to you with veneration; who have seen the beginning of your career against England with approbation, because I felt England was unjust; who have seen you discontinue your hostility toward England, when, in good faith, she was no longer acting as an enemy to America, by honest counsels endeavoring to be as closely connected with amity, as she is by natural and mutual interests; who have seen you the instrument, in the hand of Providence, of wresting from the British Parliament an influence destructive of the just rights of both countries and of establishing the independence of America, which, I am persuaded, will continually, if your principles and your wisdom shall actuate your successors, be the means of securing them respectively to us both; who have seen you, in adversity and prosperity alike, the good, the firm, the moderate, the disinterested patriot; permit me, I say, as an Englishman and as a man, to rejoice at the completion of such a character, and to offer my unfeigned wishes for a peaceful evening of your life and the realization (as is my sincere belief) of your posthumous fame and your eternal happiness.
"I have the honor to subscribe myself, etc.,
"RADNOR.
"LONGFORD CASTLE, January 19, 1797."
The following is Washington's reply:
"MY LORD.—The sentiments which your lordship has been pleased to express, in your favor of the 19th of January last, relative to my public conduct, do me great honor, and I pray you to accept my grateful acknowledgment of the unequivocal evidence, conveyed in your letter, of the favorable opinion you entertain of the principles by which it was actuated.
"For having performed duties which I conceive every country has a right to require of its citizens, I claim no merit; but no man can feel more sensibly the reward of approbation for such services than I do. Next to the consciousness of having acted faithfully in discharging the several trusts to which I have been called, the thanks of one's country and the esteem of good men are the highest gratification my mind is susceptible of.
"At the age of sixty-five, I am now recommencing my agricultural and rural pursuits, which were always more congenial to my temper and disposition than the noise and bustle of public employments, notwithstanding so small a portion of my life has been engaged in the former.
"I reciprocate, with great cordiality, the good wishes you have been pleased to bestow on me, and pray devoutly that we may both witness, and that shortly, the return of peace; for a more bloody, expensive, and eventful war is not recorded in modern, if to be found in ancient history."
Before leaving the subject of Washington's European reputation it is proper to quote the remarks made by the celebrated orator and statesman, Charles James Fox, in the British Parliament, January 31, 1794. It was in reference to Washington's communications to Congress at the opening of the session, December 3, 1793: