Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1858-03-26
Volume III.---No. "a.

inulhereuce as tney WOulu ABOUT ulshvl-
wing civil contract, in which nothing
was involved but few dollars and cents.
Dissolve this Union. purchased by the
immortal Washington and his revolu-
tionary compatriots, and which should
be bound together by the indissolublc
bonds of a national differentiation For
bid it Heaven forbid it Almighty God !
For this purpose invoke the spirit and
the patriotism Of Washington to preside
over the deliberations Of tho American
Congress, and SO guide and direct our
national Legislators to that system Of
| legislation which shall, in the highest
fdcgree. conducc to the 'pcrmantnce. the
honor, the glory and the prosperity of
the American Republic. After the cxpi-
ration of his second Presidential term, he
returned to Mount Vernon, where he
remained until his death.
Such was the popularity of Washing
ton, and such the hold he had upon the
affections of the American people that
had he possessed the ambition of Caesar.
an Alexander, or Bonaparte, he would
have been proclaimed king of the Amer
lean republic, and welded the sceptre of
government with imperial sway had he
entertained the treason of an Arnold, he
would have sold for lucre the liberties of
his suffering country; had he been ca
pable of originating the conspiracy of
Burr, from motives Of personal nggran-
dizement, he might have converted tho
American republic into military dcs-
potism but no ambition of that charac-
ter could find a resting place in that boz
som where the love Of freedom grows
spontaneously lie had ambition, it is
true, but it was to see his country free,
and enjoy the blessings of civil aud re-
ligious liberty, suited to a people capable
of sclf-government, and DESTROYS of bask
ing in the sunshine of emancipation
from political thraldom; his was the am
bition that springs from pure desires and
disinterested motives, and aims at noble
ends and grasps at lofty objects.
Washington remained at Mount YER
non until the 14th day of December,
1888, when the messenger of death came,
and convoy of celestial visitants, sum
moned to the earth by the solomnity of
tho occasion, escorted his soul to, and
transplanted it in, more congenih
cline, where the aged aud venerable
Washington, the flower of America.
shall bloom and flourish forever ia im-
: mortal youth.
When a great man falls, the nation
mourns." When Washington expired,
our country was draped in the dark ha-
blllments OF mourning a universe grief
was felt, for nations benefactor had
been consigned to that "bourne from
whence no traveller returns" The ronr-
ing cannon, the firing artillery the sad
music of the drum, the toling of the
bells, and the grief depicted upon the
countenances of the multitudinous throngs
of the people, proclaimed that Washing
ton was no more Of earth, and that the
sun of American liberty had set. But
his name will never die while virtue an
mates the mind, or love Of liberty finds
lodgment in the human breast.
He met death, the enemy of man.
with that calmness and composure he did
the enemy upon the battle field; for no
lived as a Christian, and as Christian
he died having no fears for the terrors
Of the grave, he realized the truth that
q Tis pot the whole OF life to live,
Nor ali OF death to de'
But, sir, the gratitude of the Ameri-
can people towards Washington did not
cease when he paid the great debt of ma
ture, for they have erected towering
monuments to pcrpctuate the name and
fame of a nations hero, whose lofty
spires greet the first beams of the morn
ing sun, and invite the last rays of the
setting luminary to linger upon their
submits. What more appropriate Ian
guage could be used than that employed
by the Hon. r. G.. Winthrop upon tho
occasion Of laying the corner of monu-
ment to be erected to his memory at tho
city which has the honor Of his name,
our National Metropolis, few years ago,
in giving a proper idea Of his true char
acter, he says: Build it to the skies,
you cannot outreach the loftiness of bis
principles found il upon the massive
and eternal rock, you cannot make it
more enduring than bis fame; construct
il the peerless Parian marble, you cannot
make it purer than bis life; exhaust upon
it the rules and principles Of ancient and
modern art, you cannot make it more
propor;iosa:e than he character. "
In view Of the life, character and pub
lie services Of Washington. which | have
feebly and imperfectly attempted to de-
lineate, we are compelled to acknowledge
him as the master spirit Of the revolu-
ton, and that he has wrought out for US
such invaluable treasures, as all our civil
and religious privileges fully attest, and
infinitely greater than those attained by
any other nation on the habitable globe,
and which should induce the worthy
sons Of honored sires" to be inspired with
the words Of truth and wisdom which
came from his lips, that eternal vigilance
is the price Of liberty" to use all their
influence TO hand down unimpaired to
the remotest posterity the priceless gem
of freedom, bequcathod to us by the i'm
mortal Washington; aud looking upon
the American republic, while the elo.
qUence Of our lips utter. let the patriotic
emotions Of our hearts respond, "Esto
perpetua."
All hail DE day Of freedoms birth
Ne fame be echoed round tho earth,
Till every nation meath the sun,
Has learned the name Of wAcmSoror %