Washington telegraph., 1856-05-14

pressed with the responsibilities resting
upon him, and conscious of the great des
tiny before him. There is authentic ira
dition that afterward the 'Father of his
Country never smiled. 1t would not be
too much to say that more was owing to
the goodness, sagacity, and great abilities
OF Washington that our country was made
tree than to any other man. Heaven for
bid that the claims of other great men at
that critical period should be deprecated.
Heaven forbid that injustice should be
done to those who aided in promoting the
welfare of the nation. But this might be
said, that Washington was the beacon
light which guided the nation through the
stormy seas of the revolution Due praise
should be awarded to all those who con-
trlbuted to his success in this wonderful
career-the Henrys, Adams, Hancock,
Jefferson, Hamilton, and others.-but.
above all, to Washington, who was born
and cradled almost in arms. Washington,
as first President of the United States, in
lIS9, was unanimously chosen in the
hearts of the people, in advance not mere
ly of the constitutional forms of election,
but of the poor machinery of caucuses
SAAA NOAf fSAeAOhS, III lttcI tluicS,
it has been found convenient to relieve
the people from the trouble of choosing
their rulers. The relation of Washington
to the country at these three periods was
briefly alluded to, and reference made to
the time when the great man stepped for
ward and took the oath from Chancellor
Livingston to support the Constitution
and Laws of the country. Oh that his
voice might now speak to the North and
say, 30, give up" and to the South.
..Keep not back ~ Oh that that voice
might now be heard from Heaven in words
of reconciliation, to bind the North and
the South by one indissoluble bond of
| Constitutional Union, and make it, as
1t once WAS, one In the hearts of the people.
Mr. Everett quoted remark OF Lord
Broughman, that Washington was e.the
| greatest man of our own or any age -
adding that if the first part Of this remark
was true the last must be equally so, in
asmuch as the period dating from the COM
mencement of the last century was un-
questionably the richest in great events,
great names, and the general progress of
intelligence IN the history of the world. To
illustrate this remark, and show that Wash
ington was not Ike Alfred or Charlemagne,
bright light shining in dark age, but
the principal ornament of an age in al
most every respect the most distinguish
ed, a rapid survey was taken by the speak
er of what may be called the age of Wash
ington. commencing with the eighteenth
century. The entrance of Russia into
the European system; the foundation of
f! the British Empire in the East; the COM
menceEent of the great Australian sys-
TEN the colonization and civilization of
Africa the downfall of feudalism the
establishment of the liberty of speech
and the press; the development of jour
nalism; the growth of manufactures the
application of the steam-engine the pro-
gress Of science and of the great moral
enterprise of the age were alluded to in
this connection Of all the great names
connected with these events, although
many shone with brightness, each in It's
peculiar sphere, Washington, b. general
admission, on 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 'sgreat,"
viz: Peter the Great of Russia, Frederick
the Second of Prussia, and Napoleon
The speaker observed, however, that, tho
! Washington was great in an 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 formation of his charac-
ter 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 illustrations
of every kind from the revolutionary and
constitutional period. There was no Wash
ington in the seventeenth century on the
the model of whom the Washington of
the eighteenth could form himself
'.There was none in America, there was
none in Europe; there was none In the
modern world, there was none In the an
cient- | cast my eye (said Mr. Everett)
along the far-stretching galleries of histo-
ry; [ behold with admiration the statues
of the great and good with which they
are adorned, d,-Hampden, Alfred, Cato,
EpanlnOndas-bu l see no other Wash
Mr. Everett then passed to the inquiry
IN what the true greatness of Washington
consists, and admitted that he found it
difficult to furnish an answer to the oues-
ton which fully satisfied his own concep-
tions- After all the usual points of a
great character were enumerated there
was still something in Washington that
escaped analysis, as there was an inde-
scribable charm in his portraits by Stuart,
imparting 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 character lay in two things
first, in his possession, in a due proper
tion, each in the golden mean, of all the
powers and qualities required for the use
full and honorable discharge of the duties
of life; and, second, in the pure morality
which lay at the foundation. In reference