Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: AN INQUIRY, ETC. From the first publication of Washington's Farewell .Address, in September, 1796, it has never been universally agreed, that the paper was written altogether by the illus- Jrious man whose name is subscribed to it. The first intimations of doubt on this point, were confined to private conversation or society, and with the admission that the paper spoke Washington's well-known sentiments, and was not above the high intellectual capacity he had uniformly exhibited; but the doubt was excused by suggestions, that the paper wanted the presence of Washington's characteristic forms of expression and construction, and that it manifested more systematic arrangement and connection, with fuller argumental supports, than were usual in his writings. This language was confined, also, to comparatively few persons, as only a few were, at that time, familiar with Washington's writings. But in subsequent years, as this familiarity was enlarged, and as rival or unfriendly sentiments towards Washington and some of his confidential friends, ) were more disposed to reveal themselves, the doubts grew , stronger; and, as special facts bearing upon the question 10- -: ' : -- Later Opinions came out from time to time, they became more general. At length there arose a popular repugnance to the opinion, which in some degree suppressed further curiosity and inquiry. The deep and undivided reverence of the people for Washington, was unwilling to leam, that, even on an occasion of ceremony, he had worn any vesture but his own. It was, perhaps, a prejudice; but it was a natural one, in such a country as ours was, and some of it may still remain. The lapse of more years, however, and the express mention of Alexander Hamilton's name as an assistant in the work, opened the inqui...