Washington sentinel., 1855-02-16

resources, whose developemeni is so important to
high national character
1.-THE uses OF human history be such as approxi-
mate TO those have described, how can we over
estimate their importance, that of the faithful
hisiorianf When | speak Of the historian, do
NOT mean him only who narrates events in letters
ana sentences. He who preserves record OF
thoughts and sentiments, Is as much 10 be valued
| as a historian, as he who chronices human ac-
tons and passions; aud he who preserves great
conception for the uses OF posterty performs the
duty oi historian, no matter what the shape in
which u may he pcrpclualed as possession 10
| mankind. Thucydides was no more historian OF
the time Of Pericles than Phdias; from the one we
learn the march OF its events from the other the
state oi the arts; and realize a conception OF the
beautiful so preserved TO be food for the thought
OF after ages. The Elgin marbles are as valuable
| 10 us IN an historical point OF view, the most
splendid passages Of Thucyddes, and the friezes of
| The Parthenon are 30 many pictured pages, which
speak OF the past both 10 the mind aud eye of the
oehoder and almost with the force OF n living wit
ness. Whatever preserves an idea or the memory
OF a fact for the benefit OF man, is historical in
| rs uses; and all the various forms in which this
object - attained, deserve our study and consde-
ration. The great historians who distinguish
ed alike Tor powers OF narration, sagacious criti-
cisn and faithful dclneaions of the characters of
nations, or individuals, are truly OF rare occur
| renee, "hohaIHes 6eRtcRaJiL' Ii is not for every
era, or every people, 10 produce even one OF them
The Ihucydidcs, or Taeiius, even the Hcrodo
tus, or Livy, OF the English language, has not yet
| appeared But IN all civilized countries, the
| means anu the men exist for collecting monuments
| and traditions, from which their history may be
understood, or written; 10 collect, and ii possible
| 10 arrange them, 10 the great duty OF an assoca
| Ton such as yours, duty which IL may be said
that every people, so far as their own annals are
concerned, owe 10 their ancestors, TO themselves,
| and 10 humanity.
| Many Of the civilized nations OF the earth seem
TO be acting under sense Of their Obligations in
| this regard, and most extraordinary success has
| rewarded their abors With the expedition of
| Napoleon 10 Egypt, commenced series OF re-
searches into the monumental history Of the earth
| whose results have been at once startling and
| gratifying. Thanks to modern discovery the Ro.
setta tablet now ranks with Arundean marbles
in point OF political Importance and the pictured
pages on the books Of stone OF monumental Egypt
which for SO many ages have defed his scrutiny
are now forced TO yield up their secrets TO the in
quisitlon OF man. The boundaries OF authentic
history have been set back for several ages in the
past, monuments Of more than five thousand years
of age have been identified, and period Of many
| centuries has been recovered from the realms Of
night and chaos into which il had iallen.*
Almost everywhere enterprises have been set
ON loot by government, by associations, and even
by individuals, TO explore the monumcn ntal records
OF our race, and 10 wrest from the cold, impassive
lace oi the silent stone, some portion nj least of
| The story OF humanity. The land of ED the
immutable and immortal East, is everywhere
searched Tor its traditionary treasures Of human
| lore, and whole cities OF the dead have been nm.
covered TO the astonished gaze Of civilized man.
| Heroes whose very existence had seemed tabu
ious, now take their appropriate niche in the TEN.
pie OF Fame, and eras whose traditions bnJ been
hid in the "awful hoarn of innumerable ages,
| once more assume their place in the page
OF authentic history. Still, as we tread these
silent chambers of the long-forgotten dead, we
| start at the unmistakable signs OF their fellowship
.ltrlS IN all nx,
| race Amidst The mazes of winged bulls, and
sculptured hons We SEQ pictured on the everlast-
ing stone, the same dark story OF human suffering
and human wrong. The conqueror, returning
rom aiar, rode then as afterwards, triumphant in
his chariot, and detected files of the captives Of
| his bow and spear, in sad procession followed in
| his train Then, as now, man soue ht 10 pcrpctu-
| ate the story of his power and prowcss, by monu-
| menls so lasting as 10 defy the ravages Of time
| As the wayfarer on distant shore leaves som.
sign by which he seeks 10 perpetuate sense Of
| his presence TO those who may succeed him. so
we hnd that humanity has set its marks in these
remote and newly-discovered regions of the Past
Light begins 10 stream in many dark crypt through
i assures made by the investigating hand Of man,
| and night slowly lifts its curtain from events upon
| which its shadow had reposed until they had be.
| come forgotten, and unknown II would be snrpris.
ing indeed If such things these had not served 10
| awaken expectation, and excite inquiry In the
| midst OF so stirring a scene, and in the view of
the honorable rivalry amongst civilized nations for
precedence in the path of historical inquiry shall
apathy be found only here in the ancient Do.
minion," as Virginia styled herself by her own
| House OF Burgesses so far back as 1899? Shall
| we suffer the very records of our own history 10
| be lost rrevocably, when they might be preserved
| with so little trouble! Surely there never started
| an argosy more richly freighed with human des.
Tiny, than the little fleet OF three vessels which,
on the 10Th of December, 1906, left the shores Of
England in search of Virginia for il was the ven.
| ture which first planted successfully the germ Of
| Ango-Saxon civilization upon the continent OF
| America. Had this enterprise been the favorite
subject OF an imagination as lively as that Of the
| Greeks, who made so much OF the voyage Of the
| Argonauts, and their first exploring expedition
into the Euxine, IL would long since have been
| celebrated as q chosen theme in history and in
| song. Each had its fablcd dangers TO encounter
| and each gave rich promise 10 real results If
/ the Symplegadcs threatened TO nclose the ship
| OF the one in their deadly embrace the astill
| vexed Bermoolhesn or aisle of Devils as the
early adventures called i'll lay in the way of the
other. The fleece of gold was the charm which
i attracted both.
In the whole history Of human adventure, per.
| haps none ever beheld scene more wild and
| strange than that which stretched before the eyes
of the first settlers OF Virginia, they laid upon
the quiet bosom ol the James, whose silent waters
/ rolled from they knew not where, and whose sill
yer line made the only break in the vast and dark
| expanse around them. The painted Indian, in
/ his wild array Of skins and feathers, stood like
| some pictured hgurr IN the silent scene Of which
| he formed part. Painless forests stretched far
away in boundless and unknown space, whose
silence was disturbed only by the strange cries OF
| animals rs yet unseen, and whose eternal shad-
| ows seemed 10 rest upon mysteries as deep as
/ the solitude in which they were hidden. Secrets
| Of human destiny were there, and future whose
i vast and manifold scroll was as yet unroled even
| 10 the eye Of imagination itself Upon this vast
field, the human race was 10 take fresh departure
/ and they themselves were 10 plant the germ
| of a new civilization, whose growth was 10 be al
least as rich as the lately discovered world around
| them. Had some one arisen, as of old, more pre-
scient than the rest 10 oretell the destiny which
| awaited them, like the Hebrew mother they
would have smiled with ncredulity at the magni-
| ude of the promise, and turned faithless ear TO
| the prophet and his prophecy.
| In all that crowd perhaps there was one whose
| Imagination might have been filed with such n con
| ception. | mean Captain John Smith, the true
| founder Of the colony, and the first historian OF
Virginia, whose strangely chequercd life had been
such as 10 teach him distinction between the
anIt n -