The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-02-24

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= organized and directed this great moyont " - "
- - man ma society; there Is one name which above oI
n 9thers represents this mighty epoch in bistorr
ID IIat Is the name OF George Washington tb e. a-( ~
!. Virginia, the Father of his country H. N I sun "
perhaps the wisest of all who have ruled H. an.
II mes OF our race-a name which represents moro ~
u y human lame, because it has more deeply afTactad
i human destiny, than any other which 6gureS ;n tI
: annals of man, ~ III 'le
1t is duty, then, which Virginia owes TO him =,
herself and to posterity to tell the great story oi
i,as NE IN all the forms In which it reach the
{ hearts and minds of men. Let it be told in fba
graceful numbers of the poet; let it be carried down
IN the everlasting traditions of history: let If ha
lnaged forth in the highest mpersonations of the
pailIet ana the sculptors genius. There great
moral IN that story which ought to be felt by
human heart for it is the story of one who alone cf
al the great rulers of men has proved by consist
@ eLt example that IN the midst of temptations and
te most seducmg opportunities for the qualification
or selfish ambition he preferred the duties of if
10 lts pleasure, Its power, and even to life itself LET
tnen Virginia on this his natal day raise the effgy
VI iieI hopeSt son before the eyes of admirng men:
ana VINO shall blame her if some touch of maternal
PRIDE should be mingled with the tears of pons ra
gard which she may shed for him who was the worlds
great paragon for all that is sublime in public yir
tue and all that is patient and brave in the human
soul she raises this image not to refresh the foun
talns OF her grief, not to take tribute from human
| sympathy Tor the souls deep wound not to express
@ lne sau sense OF bereavement in whatever form of
uttefance may be most enduring: but she this day
eleyates it in the face of the world to ~
memory IN the best affections of every heart and
" 9euic"te MS name TO the great cause of humanity
ana as a common possession to all mankind
ms Is no idle ceremonial of grief which we cola
Drate to-day; but State is inauguratng, with the
| reVerental sorrow which such greatness NAV in
Spire IN even mothers heart, the influence of per
maps the highest human example, which is 10 he a.
wide as the world in its operation and to com,nord
| love and sympathy from every human heart. Lone
| then, may yonder expansive bronze continue IN
speak Its lessons of virtue and wisdom to each suc
J pf mar | ~ +bo II
her boy hlther that she may teach him in this nras
chce as her earliest lesson much of the great sto
| ry or Washington as he may be able to appreciate
"nI .tohPIGhend' Let the aspiring youth whose
am9ltlon, ike Cesar may have been fired by the
STUDY OF examples OF early successes so much GREAT
ef tnan his own, pause to behold that calm face and
consider its associated story of patience and fort
tude and noble perseverance, Or shouId be in ~,
eagerness for fame find that he is in DANGER 70 mo
Ter the prizes of ambition goodness let him pur-
sue mat story to its conclusion, and learn that it
was was Wasnlngtons untaltering loyalty to duty and
1alth IN virtue which endowed him with an almost
superhuman strength, and made his name immorts
among men.
Is 1t man Of maturer years, who, disappointed
IN ms aspirations and miscOnstrued in his best and
nobest efforts for his race begins grow weary in
the struggle and to despair of achieving anv thing
great or even good, let him consider how sternIYY
the great soul of which that statue speaks was tried
and with what courage and faith it passed through
the fires OF consuming strife, until every difficulty
was surmounted and it stood purified and anneaIa1
by the fierce ordeal to which it had been aInosad
W no amongst US all might not gather from his med
ltatons, IN this calm presence, precious lessons for
the guidance and direction of his future conduct ,
Here, then, is the 'genius loc which should invite
the universal pilgrimage of man. for all its influences
are sacred to the great cause of humanity itself
louched by the inspired hand of human genius that
mute bronze pOurs forth its full tide of Iiyinp asso
Citations, which, like water from the rock of Horeb
may refresh the soul of him whose homes and
strength are failing under the toisome and it NAV
be of Har-i,, IL
life. '''ouSn
This statue is not merely monument to Wash
ngton, but an altar erected Heroic Virtue itself
before which the human heart may purify IFS own
aspirations, under the chasteninp influence of tba
great example of the Father of his Country. and
upon which it may sacrifice every wild or mad de-
sire that may be adverse to the cOuntrv's pood
And yet this monument itself will pass away when
time, with blow cOrrodinp tooth shall have diso;no
ted, atom by atom, its consecrated dust But when
all its particles, fugitive on the winds shall have
disappeared from human view, there will still sur
vlVc the monument which Washngton's own penius
has erected for ITSELF for there is promise in which
we all conhde, that the good which men do shall
1--we after them. How much of all we admire in hu-
man achievement must lose its influence in the and
because it is founded in i'll The very nrocoss of
its progress dssipates it last for the circles of m
impulse grow fainter it grows broader until they
hnaly disappear altogether the fate of the great
oceanof llte But the good which men do in this life
and especially such as Washington achieved sbaIIv
always as an efficient cause and permanent intu-
ence In the progress of human affairs The foot of
the spoiler may trample for awhile what is hest in
the garden OF life, but heaven soon or late will
send Its rains to wash out all traces of the step Its
tempered airs will visit the terminating seed its
genial light will guide the upward growth until bv
full development of leaf and flower and fruit and
seed 1t has not only completed the course of one
charming circle of existence, but provided for the
re-appearance of another.
The work OF him who planted the good seed shall
live long after all traces of the DESTROYER shall have
been lost and forgotten. If then the good which
men do be the charmed seed of life, which must in
crease and multiply in the successive processes of
a continued reproduction, who shall afiix limits to
the growth or existence of that which Washington
planted as deep the foundations of human society
itself? Who does not believe that the seed which
ne soWed Will continue to bear the rich fruits of hu
man happiness and social progress until man shall
nave completed his destiny upon earth? He who
bequeaths great moral influence to his race wheth-
er 1t be the influence of precept example shall
continue to repeat his existence throuoh each suc
ceedng generation of men, and its interest will live
and grow throughout the whole march of the great
story of humanity, until the book of mans life Hpon
this earth is closed forever.
''Immortale nihil mundi compage tenetur
Non orbiS, non regina hominum, non aurea Roma
The cloudcapped towers, the gorgeous palaces
The solemn temples, the great globe itself
Yea, all which it inherit shall dissolve
And like the unsubstantal pageant faded
Leaves not wreck behind
And still surviving all the good which men have
done on earth must live 1t will live in the eternal
of the soul from which it emanated
the seed, it may be, of new life, which is to be
constantly reproduced in the ascending scale of a
continued succession of higher developments from
the old. But must not obtrude with profane gaze
upon mysteries so infinitely beyond my ken II is
enough for me to have proclaimed that the influence
OF what is good in the reputation of man is alone
and so much was bound to saw in ius-
tice to the great memory which we celebrate to-
day. Forupon this great truth found the predic-
i0n that his example will be felt beyond those of
md pf V-ot1, I.
But Virginia here raises monuments to more than
one OF her children, and, she bends over that
group OF her departed sons, she may well shed the
mingled tears of pride and grief. AMONGST these
she will place Lewis, her bold pioneer who wrestled
With the red man from the waters of the Hoston to
hose of the Great Kanawha, and finally made good
he title of his State to the possession Of the West
ern wilderness, on the bloody field of Point Pleas
mt, from which he drove the Indian beyond the
Ohio.
THE CLOSING FESTIVITIES.
A state banquet was provided at the new custom
house for the governor, the legislature the State
guests, and other distinguished individuals. The
Knights Templars dined at Corinthan Hall, where
he "brethrcn of the mystic tie" had refreshments
provided throughout the day. The military were
veil cared for, and the citizens exercised prodigal
At eight O'Clock grand illumination was eene,-
lily commenced and kept up until ten, with blazing
onhres at various points. There has been no illu-
nlnation in Richmond since that in 1880, on the
ccasion of the "three-days' revolution" Some of
he transparencies were admirably executed
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS.
Among the many distinguished persons present
we're Governors Floyd and Brown, of the cabinet;
'ov. Holley, of Connecticut; Gov. Howell of New
Jersey; Lent. General Scott, Brigadier Generals
larney and Smith, Col. Fauntleroy, Lit. Col. Law,
lajor Selden, Captains Magruder, Van Vliet. and
I'LL, with other officers of the United States Army
EDWARD Everett, of Massachusetts, Wm L. Yancv,
Alabama; w. c. Rives, John A. Washington and
'ol. l.. W. Washington. Mrs. Crawford (the widow
f the scuptor) was also in Richmond as puest Of
he State, accompanied bY her two eldest dannhtnra