Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1855-09-06

!
the book. Great lawyers make bad judges,
for they decide too often on principle, regard
less of authority Accurate lawyers, men Of
good memories, revere authority, deem it al
most proi;,nc to inquire into the reasons OF
such authority, have stare dri>is for their
guide and motto, and make indifferent adyo-
Gates and admirable judges. We knew dis
tin@ushcd juriSt whose advice TO his students
waS "take care to comprehend what you read
but never trouble yourself about remembering
it." TO all readers, this is admirable advice
There is very little that We read worth rcmcm-
bcring yet scarce anything we read, see or
hear, that may not suggest useful reflection,
and add thus to the volume of our intellect.
IRVING'S WASHINGTON.
This noble work is the graceful homage Of
irrrd bya Great and GOOD writer 10 Great
and Good man. There is the eclectic affinity
which links together in one carh-cnn"hlim@
agapcmonc the souls of the pure and the gentle
inSpirin" this volume and from the beginning
TO the end this spirit may he seen lowering
around it, gently bcckonng the readers heart
10 love him whose life is told, and to love him
who tells it.
The patho> of the epic and the cnchantinrnt
! of stated y rhyme surrounded, like majestic >rn-
tinel<, til" hccatomb<. of the heroes of anti
uuity. But no such <rntncl> are needed where
a worlds love stands .uard--no such majestic
pagcan,ry Is required where the majesty ofthe
achieved Glory sheds forth such radiant lu>trr,
where the reality is So grcat-->o great beyond
all need of di>play-that di<.lay could only
offend. The life Of Washington shrinks in
stnctively from the gorgecr> drapery Of Ihc
I lyric loom, and, like i':.T'iiul maiden who
looks most beautiful in the white virgin dress,
shines brightest in that chas:r garment of no.
| bic simplicity in which Wasi + gton has cloth
ed it,
! But still cha>tcr inference looms in the
LOGICAL aspect of this simplicity 1t is bccom-
ing the hero who inau9urncd rcpublicani>m.
p, 1t l.: becoming the American citizen, who, with
I'LL his supreme lifts Of superiority, preserves
dignifed modcSty, and in lis very life actu-
allies that noble idea of equality which teach
cs the high to curb pride-thuS inspiring the
low y to emulate grcatnc,>-and which, dis
carding in the HIGH cravings oI arrogance, re-
moves from the lowly the sting Of bitterness.
Irving's tale unfnld> the life Of one who
worked out his lofty nature with the same hui
mili,y that the lowicst works out his lowly
nature the life of one Flushing almost under
the sublime load of those wonderfully balanced
harmonics Of mind and soul which makes him
soar above his fellows, and bearing his maies-
tic cross with such lovely meckncSs that, as
we follow him from his rural home in Virginia
tohis grave at Mount Vernon, there is in every
word, in every deed in every thought, in eve
ry performance Of his, that which makes the
highest intellccts love, and the lowliest heart
worship-almost defy him. There is that sad
and loving voice which once spoke to us from
the Mount speaking again through him who
was libcrty's greatest apostle, gently remind
ing us that there are diversity of gifts, but
only one spirit. In him, VIC sec that spirit
which alike frowns upon the tyrannical auto
crat who abuses power, and upon the tyrannl-
cal people who misuse. freedom, teaching un-
hinching resistance to the one, while caution
ing against the dangerous cravings of the 9TH
er. No; the life of one who blended so much
power of thought with so much serenity of
temper, so much love for freedom with so much
aversion for licentiousness, so much vaEor with
so much meekness, so much crush of ideas
with so much equanimity of mind, so much
reverence for religion with so much tolerance
of opinion, so much of the many-sided genius
of Julius Caesar with so much of the undying
consistency of Socrates, so much of the daz-
zling features of the impetuous hero-warrlor
with the genial aspirations of the plain country
gentleman-the life of such one is too pure
in its simplicity to need the surroundings of
verse, too towering in its majesty to lose by
the absence of poetic glitter Such life if
told at all, should only be told with that SIM
pie yet classic purity which constitutes the
charm of Irving's writings but not even the
most faithful adoption of simplicity of tone to
match the simplicity of the theme, could Crap
pie with this life and tell this tale so as to
arouse in our hearts feelings of admiration for
the book akin to those inspired by its hero, if
there was not that inexpressible symphony of
unity between the nobility of heart of the wri-
terand that of him whose life is written, which
infuses vitality into every line.
Not only Americans, but freemen and phi
lanthropists all over the world, will read this
graceful volume, and from its teachings Gull
fresh lessons for emulation of those virtues
which constituted the glory of Washington
But yet another thought suggests itself The
connection of two names which reverence link
ed together, will be made dear to posterity by
all the entertainments of virtue and genius, OF
power and heroism.
IfWashington is the reverend father of our
Republic of freedom, is not Irving the beloved
father of our Republic of letters From the
inspirations which glow on the page of Dante
and Shakespeare, and the gentle influences
which plead through the lovely voice Of Ir.
wing and Scott, blossom those ideas, thoughts,
and sympathies, which falling upon giant