Washington sentinel., 1856-03-15

the steam engines--the progress OF science,
and of the great moral enterprises OF the age,
were alluded TO in this connection. Of all the
great names connected with these events, al
though many shone with Brightness each in its
peculiar sphere, Warrington, by general ad-
mission, on the whole, outshone them all. The
position was further illustrated by comparison
of Washington, individually, with the three
persons who, in this period have received the
designation Of "great," viz: Peter the Great
OF Russia, Frederick the Second of Prussia,
and Napoleon.
The speaker observed, however that though
Washington was great in IN age Of great men,
his greatness was not borrowed nor reflected,
but original. In common with his distinguished
associates, he derived but little aid in the for
nation of his character and the grandeur of
his course from the preceding century. In
this respect his position was widely different
from that of the men of this age, who are SO
amply furnished with examples and illustra-
tons of every kind, from the revolutionary and
constitutional period. There no Washing
ton in the seventeenth century, on the model
of whom the Washington Of the eighteenth
could form himself "There was none IN Anne
rica, there was none in Europe, there was none
in the modern world, there was none in the
hncient. cast my eyo ksdiu ihr. rScTcUy
along the far-stretching galleries Of history
behold with admiration the statues of the great
and good with which they are adorned-Hamp-
den, Alfred, Cato, Epaminondas- see no
other Washington"
Mr.. Everett then passed to the in quiry in
what the true greatness of Washington con-
sists, and admitted that he found 1t difficult to
furnish an answer to the question which fully
satisfied his own conceptions. After all the
usual points of great character were enume-
rated, there was still something in Washington
that escaped analysis, as there was an indescri-
bable charm in his portraits by Stuart, impart-
ing an interest to them, but which it was not
easy to refer to its precise source
There could, however, be no doubt that the
essence and strength of Washington's charac-
ter lay in two things; first, in his possession,
in due proportion, each in the golden mean,
of all the powers and qualities required for the
useful and honorable discharge of the duties
Of life; and second, in the pure morality which
lay at the foundation. In reference to the first
point, the speaker maintained that the absence
Of dazzling traits which strike the Imagination,
so far from needing an apology, was in reality
one of the chief excellencies Of the character
of Washington. They are in reality defects,
and would impair the beauty of a well-balanced
character. Such character also includes the
sober and little popular qualities-such as pru-
dence, justice, common sense-whch, although
by far the most useful qualities in public
man, neither win applause nor strike the i'm
agination. They place their possessor, how
ever, in harmony with the great powers which
govern the universe, material and moral
which, the higher we rise in the scale of being,
are the more characterized by quiet equiib-
rum and silent energy.
But the pure morality of Washington's char
acter was the most important feature, and Mr..
Everett declared it to be his decided convic-
ton, "that it was an important part of the de-.
sign of Providence, in raising up Washington
to be the leader of the revolutionary struggle,
and afterwards the first President of the United
States, to set before the people of America, in
the morning of their national existence, liv.
ing example to prove that armies may be best
conducted, Just wars most successfully fought,
and governments most ably and honorably ad-
ministered by uen of sound moral principle
to teach to gifted and aspiring individuals, and
the parties they lead, that, though hundred
crooked paths may conduct to tempory sue
cess the one plain and straight path Of public
and private virtue can alone lead to pure and
lasting fame and the blessings of posterity.'
The speaker then glanced at the course of
Washington in moral point of view, begin
ming with his nurture as "a good boy,n by
mother worthy to be named with the noblest
matrons Of "Rome and Israel" on through
the various stages of his career and asked
whether the judgment of mankind was so de-
praved that they would withhold their admira-
tion from such a man and bestow it on men
like Alexander, Cesar, and Marlborough
whose characters and conduct we're briefly
passed in review? In this connection Mr..
Everett described Blenheim Castle, the SPLEEN
did palace erected TO perpetuate the fame of
Marlborough, compared with Mount Vernon,
the modest home Of Washington, and contrast
ed the opposite feelings which they awaken in
the mind of the observer. Possessing all the
lovely traits of character the love of the peo-
pie mounted into veneration, and reverence
melted agaia into love.
In drawing his address TO close, Mr.. Eve
rett quoted the language Of Hamilton in his
general orders communicating the tidings of
Washingtons decease, 10 the army in 1899,
that the . voice of praise would in vain en-.
deavor TO exalt name, unrivalled in the lists
of true glory;" aud he spoke of the privilege
enjoyed by America, in the FIRST generation Of
her national existence Of being permitted, in
exchange for the bright examples she had in.
Hcilicu IrOui ObHtI hHu ayes, W give
back a name by acknowledgment brighter than
them all. He quoted the remark Of Charles
James Fox, that "a character of virtues so
happily tempered by one another, and so wholly
unalloyed by any vices as Washington's, was
hardly to be found in history He referred
also TO the account given by Mr.. King in 1897,
Of the veneration in which the name Of Wash
ington was held in England. notwithstanding
his leading agency in depriving her of great
colonial empire; and also to the honors paid
to his memory in Paris by order Of Napoleon
in 1900, when pompous ceremonial was had
in the hralides and eulogy pronounced by
Fontanes. He remarked on the different re-
suit that might have been expected to the re-
volutions Of the last generation in the Spanish
and Portuguese possessions on this continent
in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Germany, had
they been led by men like Washington.
Finally, Mr.. Everett observed that it was pc
culiarly incumbent on the citizens Of America
as repositories Of the fame and memory of
Washington, to follow his advice and obey his
councils especially as contained in his Fare