Daily Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1854-1855, 1855-12-15
1rcoIITcTIoNs Of wAsAIxarox.

4
niscences Of the Father Of his Country pub
fishes another part Of his 'Recollections'
in late number OF that paper. The article
ia chiefly confined to the comparative merits
Of the portraits of Washington which have
been taken at different times, but it is also
inserspersed with minute descriptions OF the
personal attributes and traits Of the man,
as he appeared to very partial but discrim-
mating observer. Those Of our readers
who have nst yet read il entire will be
pleased with the subjoined and concluding
paragraphs
"The eyes of the Chief ere light gray
| ish blue, deep .unken in their sockets, Civ
| ing the expression of gravity and thought.
Stuart painted those eyes of deeper blue,
saying in hundred years they will have
faded to the right color. His hair was of a
hazel brown, and very thin in his latter days.
! In his movements he preserved, in remark
able degree and to advantage, the elastic
step that he had acquired in his service on
| the frontier
Being ordered one morning very early in
1 to the library at Mount Vernon, spot that
| being warm, we found the Chief very much
undressed, and, while looking on his manly
frame, we discovered that the centre Of his
chest was indented. This is an exception
| to the general rule laid down by anatomists.
| that where the human frame possesses great
muscular power the chest should rather be
rounded out and protubersnt than indented.
We were equally surprised to find how thin
1 ho holm uytfh a sAn 80
Of fesh, literally a man Of "thews and
sinsws." lie wore around his neck the
miniature portrait of his wife. This he had
worn through all the vcissitndes of his
eventual career. from the period OF his mar
rage to the "last days at Mount Vernon"
! In the appearance of Washington there
was nothing of bulkiness, but there was
united all that was digniied and graceful,
| while his air and manner were at once noble
and commanding. No one approached him
that did not feel for him, as Lord Erskine
observed, ga degree OF awful reverence"
He wore sword with peculiar grace. The
Viscomte de Nouilles said j, was because
81! e man was made for the sword, and not
the sword for the man,"
Lafayette, not long after the war OF the
Revolution, wrote letter to Col. Trumbull
|
of the Chief as he appeared on the field Of
Monmouth. The iilustrious Frenchman,
Americas great benefac. Dr., said to US: Il
was a very young Major General on that
memorable day, and had great deal to do,
but took time, amid the heat and fury of the
fight to gaze upon and admire Washington,
as, mounted on splendid charger covered
with foam, he rallied our line with words
never TO be forgotten. Stand fast, my boys,
and receive your enemy; the Southern
troops are advancing to support you!"
thought tn n as do now continued the
good Lafayette. shat never have seen SO
superb man.
Our readers may ask, shall the standard
portraisure be equestrian! We reply, to
the portrait Of SO accomplished cava
lier as Washington was, the white charger
with the leopard-skin housings, &c, would
be an Establishment, the Ghetto be dis
mounted, with arm resting on the saddle,
after the manner of Trumbul.
But whether equestrian or not, the Ameri.
cans hare the materials for the standard be-
fore them in the head from Stuart, with
some light notifications from the original
Of l772, and the figure from Trumbu.l en-
tire. They have only to choose their artist,
and let the work be done.
When this noble Empire shall have
achieved its high destiny, and, embracing
Continent, attained power and grandeur
unexampled in the history of nations, the
future American, from the topmost height
Of his greatness. will look back upon the
early days of his country and call up the
"time-honored' memories of the heroic era
and the age Of Washington; and, when con-
templating the image of the Paier Patrie,
perpeiuated by the mellowed tints of the
| canvass and the freshness of time .enduring
bronze, with honest pride of ancestry he
will exclaim, My forefather was the asso-
cia'e of that great man in the peris and
glories of the struggle for American indie.
| pendence. Let there be undying honor to
the memory of Washington. Ever green be
the laurels that deck his t1ophicd tomb; ev-
er living be the homage in the hearts Of his
countrymen aud mankind for the patriot. the
hero, and the sage, who, under Providence,
with humble means, SO much contributed to
raise his native land from the depths OF
dependence and TO place her in the rank of
nations; who presided over her civic destinies
in the dawn Of the great experiment of self
government; and who, after an illustrious
life spent in the service Of liberty and man.
kind, and without cloud to dim the lustre |
Of his fame, descended to the grave with tive !
august title uf the Father Of lis Countryn' |
The SfoCx AND OMAHA IsDfAH.. The |
Young America, of the 2s,h ult., pub shed |
at Bellevue, Nebraska states that deputa.
ton from several bands Of the Sioux had /
arrived at the Omaha camp, and had pro-
Pc sed terms Of peace, and it WIS expected |
that through the good Offices of Col. Peter !
A. Sarpy, who has been for thirty years an