New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-05-27

Z
! cause, be hung up his sword never again to take
/ down Glory, that blatant word. which haan.s SOM
military minds ike the bray 81 the trumpet formed
port Of his aspirations To oct justly his instinc,
10 promote the public veal he instant effort 10 de-
! serve the " affections Of good men" his amoi,ion
I With such qualifications for the pure exercise oi
I sound judgment and comprehs nsiye wisdom, be A.
! eended the Presidential chair.
| There for ID. present We leave him 81 far our
work is complete, ehending the whole military
bfe Of Washington, and bis agency in public affairs
mn 10 the formation OF our Constitution. How well
We have executed il, leave 70 the public 10 de-
termine hoping 20 md il, heretofore, tar more
easily satisfied of the ut of abOrs than are
ourselyes. should the measure Of health and good
spirits with which kind Providence has blessed us
b. yond the usua term of literary labor, be still
tnu.d we may go on, aud in another volume give he
Presidential career and closing life Of Washington.
In the mean time, having found restn. place in our
task We stay our hands, lay by our pen. aud see K
that relaxation and which gathering years re-
quire.
The manner in which Mr.. Irving has thus far ac-
auitted himself Of his eongenial task shows the
delicate refinement of taste. the seductive felicity
of narrative and the curious graces of expression
which have given him such noble prominence
among modern writers. 1t is TOO late, however,
to use the language Of criticism in regard to an su-
thor who enjoys the enviable privilege of looking
on an unsullied record Of q protracted literary
career with the consciousness that be has left no
line which, either for dicton or sentiment he would
wish to blot" Our readers would prefer TO b.
RECALLED with foretaste Of some of the beauties of
this volume before addressing themselves 70 its pc
rusa. But our space permits only single extract:
WASHINGTON IN RETIREMENT.
At the opening OF the year l'5o the entries in his
IL. =.
improve his gr-ves and shrubbery. On the 10th Of
January he notes that the white thorn is full in berry
On the 10Th he begins to clear the pine groves OF un
dergrOwth IL February be transplant ivy underth
walls If the garden 70 which still clings. In March
he is planting hemlock trees, that most beautiful spe
cles Of American evergreen, number, Of which had
been brought hiiher from OecOqu8n. la April he j.
sowing holly berries in drills, some adjoining green
bier hedge the north side Of the garden gate others
in a semcircle the lawn. Many OF the holly bushes
thus produced are stil Ourishing about the place in
ful vigor. He had learned the policy no; sufficiently
adopted in our country, Of clothing his ornamented
grounds as much Us possible with evergreens, which
resist the rigors Of Winter aud keep cheering
verduTe throughout the year. or the trees fitted for
shade in pasture land be notes the locust maple, black
mulberry, black walnut black gum, dogwood aud
airas OF which, he observes, materially in
lure the grass beneath them.
L. then for once a soldiers dream realized Is
he in perfect enjoyment of that seclusion from the
world and its distractions which he had often pic
tuitu 70 himself anna tne lsnlis ana
III" canpl Alas, MOI The post" tina. " herald Of
noisy world" nvades his quiet aud loads bis table
cradle burden.
Of unanswered letters. MANY mistakenly think -
writes he that am retired to % and =, that kind
of tranquility which would grow tresone want Of
employment but at no period OF my life, not IN ril.
eight years l served the public, have been obliged
to write so much myself, as have done since my re-
trement" Again: 1t il not the letters from my
friends which give me trouble, or add aught 20 my
perplexty. II is references to old matters With which
have nothing 10 do applications which often cannot
be complied with; inquiries which would require the
pen Of historian TO satisfy; letters OF compliment az
meaning perhaps as they are troublesome, bu.
which must be attended to: and the commonplace
business which employs my pen and my tune often
dssgreeably. These, with company, deprive me of
exercise and unless can obtain relief, must be pre-
ductive Of disagreeable consequences.
From much of this drudgery of the pen he was sub
sequently relieved by Mr. Tobias Lear, young gen
tleman Of New Hampshire, and graduate Of Harvard
College who acted as his private secretary, ana al the
same time took charge of the instruction of the two
children of the late Mr. Parke Gusts, whom Washing
ton Lad adopted.
upon his time and patience. Applications were con
tnualy made TO him TO sit for his likeness. The fol-
lowing is his sportiye reply to Mr.. Francis Hopkinson
who applied in behalf of Mr.. Pine:
I'm for penny in for pound is an old adage.
i
pencil that am altogether at their beck and SIT like
Patience on n monument while they delineating
the lines OF my face. Ii is proof, among many 9TH
ers, Of What habit end custom can accomplish. At
first was impatient at the request and az FESTIVE
under the operation a colt ls under the saddle.
The next time submitted very reluctantly, but with
less founcing. Now, no dray-horse moves more
readily to his thl than TO the painters chair. 1t
NAV easily be conceived, therefore, that yield q
ready obedience to your request and 10 the views Of
Mr.. Pine"
II was not long after this that NJ. Houdon artist
of great merit chosen by Mr. Jefferson and Dr. Frank
lin arrived from Paris to make study Washington
for a statue for the Legislature OF Virginia. He re-
manned a fortnight at Mount Vernon, and having
formed his model took il with him 10 Paris, where he
produced that excellent statue and likeness 10 be
in the State House in Richmond, Virginia.
BEING now in some measure relieved from the labors
Of the Den. Washington had time 10 devote to
his plan for ornamental cultivation OF the grounds
about his dwelling.
We find in his diary noted down with curious exact
ness each DAYS labor and the share he took in It, his
frequent rides to the Mill Swamp; the Dogue Greek;
the plantation on the Neck, and other places along
the Potomac in quest of young ems ash trees waite
thorn, crab-appes, NAPLES, mulber1es, willows ana
lilacs the winding walks which he lays out, and the
trees and shrub. which he plants along them. NOW
he sows acorns and buckeye nuts brought by himself
from the Monongahea now he opens vistas through
the Pine Grove, commanding distant views through
the woodlands and now he twines round his columns
scarlet honeysuckles wnlch Ms gtiucher teIs nih
will blow all the Summer.
His care-worn spirit freshens up IN these employ
ments. With him Mount Vernon il a kind OF hyL
The transient glow Of poetical feeling which once ys-
tied his bosom, when in boyhood he rhymed beneath
It's groves seems about 10 return once more ana we
please ourselves with noting among the trees set out
by him, group of young horsecbestnuts from West
moreland his sative county, the haunt OF his school
boy DAYS: which had been sent to hun 0y Colonel
Lee Yigbt Horse Harryl. the son Of his "Lowland
Beauty
diagram of the plan in which he had lad out his
grounds, still remains among the papers at Mount Yer
nom the places are marked on Tor particular trees
and shrubs Sme Of those trees and shrubs are sriu
Ia he opnd IN tha nlaees thus assigned 10 them. In