The theatre was by no means the only show that appealed to Washington.  He went to the circus when opportunity offered, gave nine shillings to a “man who brought an elk as a show,” three shillings and ninepence “to hear the Armonica,” two dollars for tickets “to see the automatum,” treated the “Ladies to ye Microcosm” and paid to see waxworks, puppet shows, a dancing bear, and a lioness and tiger.  Nor did he avoid a favorite Virginia pastime, but attended cockfights when able.  His frequent going to concerts has been already mentioned.

Washington seems to have been little of a reader except of books on agriculture, which he bought, read, and even made careful abstracts of many, and on this subject alone did he ever seem to write from pleasure.  As a lad, he notes in his journal that he is reading The Spectator and a history of England, but after those two brief entries there is no further mention of books or reading in his daily memorandum of “where and how my time is spent.”  In his ledger, too, almost the least common expenditure entered is one for books.  Nor do his London invoices, so far as extant, order any books but those which treated of farming and horses.  In the settlement of the Custis estate, “I had no particular reason for keeping and handing down to his son, the books of the late Colo Custis saving that I thought it would be taking the advantage of a low appraisement, to make them my own property at it, and that to sell them was not an object.”

With the broadening that resulted from the command of the army more attention was paid to books, and immediately upon the close of the Revolution Washington ordered the following works:  “Life of Charles the Twelfth,” “Life of Louis the Fifteenth,” “Life and Reign of Peter the Great,” Robertson’s “History of America,” Voltaire’s “Letters,” Vertot’s “Revolution of Rome” and “Revolution of Portugal,” “Life of Gustavus Adolphus,” Sully’s “Memoirs,” Goldsmith’s “Natural History,” “Campaigns of Marshal Turenne,” Chambaud’s “French and English Dictionary,” Locke “on the Human Understanding,” and Robertson’s “Charles the Fifth.”  From this time on he was a fairly constant book-buyer, and subscribed as a “patron” to a good many forthcoming works, while many were sent him as gifts.  On politics he seems to have now read with interest; yet in 1797, after his retirement from the Presidency, in writing of the manner in which he spent his hours, he said, “it may strike you that in this detail no mention is made of any portion of time allotted to reading.  The remark would be just, for I have not looked into a book since I came home, nor shall I be able to do it until I have discharged my workmen; probably not before the nights grow long when possibly I may be looking into Doomsday book.”  There can be no doubt that through all his life Washington gave to reading only the time he could not use on more practical affairs.