Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1858-10-23

GERS, never made IN council any one sugges-
ton that was not sublime but impracicable,
never in action took to himself the praise or
blame Of undertakings astonishing in cOncep-
ton but beyond the means Of execution 1t
was The most wonderful accomplishment Of
this man, that, placed upon the largest thea
ter Of events, At the head Of the great revOlu-
ton in human Affairs, he never failed TO OBJ
serve au that was possible, and at the same
time to bound his aspirations by that which
was possible.
A slight tinge in his character, perceptible
only to the close observer, revealed the region
from which he sprung, and he might be des=
cribed rs the best specimen Of manhood a. de-
veloped in the South; but his qualities were
so faultlessly propOrtioned, that his whole
country rather claimed him as its choisest
representative, the most complete expression
Of all its attainments and aspirations. lie
studied his country and conIormed TO it His
c0untrymen felt that he Was the best type Of
America, and rSjOiced IL it and were proud
Of it They lived in his life, and made his
success and his praise their own.
Profoundly impressed with confidence in
Gods providence, and exemplary in his re-
spect for the forms Of public worship, no phi
losopher Of the eighteenth eentHry was more
firm in 'the support Of freedom Of religious
opinions; none more tolerant or more remote
from higotry; but belief in God, and trust in
his oveTruling power, formed the essence of his
character. Divine wisdom not only illumines
the spirit it inspires the will.
Washington was = man Of action. and not
OF theory or words; his creed appears in biz
| life, not in his professions, which burst from
A,,,, SnI o,,l,- 0h,so
mentS Of crisis in the fortunes Of his country
when earth and heaven seemed actually TO
meet and his emotions became too intense for
suppression but his whole being was one
continued act Of faith in the eternal. intelli.
gent, moral order OF the universe. Integrity
| was 50 completely the law If his nature that
planet would sooner have shot from its sphere
! than he have departed from his uprishtneSs,
which was 50 constant that it often seemed to
be almost impcr>onal.
They say of ~Gioito. that he introduced
/ goodness into the art of painting; Washing
ton carried il with him into the cabinet, and
established a new criterion Of human great
ness. The purity Of his will confirmed his
fortitude, and As lac never fatcred in his faith
| in virtue, he stood fast bv that which he
knew to be just, free from illusions, never de
jcctcd by the apprehension OF the difficulties
and pcrilS that went before him, and drawing
the promise Of success from the justice Of his
cause. Hence he was pcrScvcring, leaving
nothing unfinished free from all faint Of OBJ
stinacy in his tirmncSS, seeking and gladly re-
cciving advice, but immovable in his devoted
ness to right.
OF retiring modcsty and habtual re-
serve, his ambition was more than the con-
seriousness 0f his power, and was subordinate
to his sense Of duty; he took the formoSt
place, for he knew, from Unborn magnanimity,
that it belonged to him. and he dared not
withhold the service required of him so that.
with all his humility, he was by necessity the
first, though never for himself OF for private
ends. lie loved fame. the approval Of GINNING
generations, the good opinion Of his fellow
men, Of his own time, and he desired to make
his conduct coincide with their wishes but
not fear Of censure, nor the prospect Of ap-
Plausc, could tempt him to swcrvc from recti
tude and the praise which he coveted was
the sympathy Of that moral sentiment which
exists in every human breast, and goes forth
only to the welcome Of virtue.
There have been soldiers who have achieved
miShtier victories in the field and made CON
quests more nearly corresponding to the
boundlessness Of selfish ambition; statesmen
who have been connected with more startling
upheavals of society; but it is the greatness
Of Washington, that in public trusts he used
power solely for the public good that he was
the life, and moderator, and stay, Of the most
moment5us revolution in human affairs, its
moving impulse and its restraining power
Combining the centripetal and the centrifugal
forces in their utmost strength and in perfect
relations, with creative grandeur of instinct
he held ruin in check, and renewed and per-
fccted the institutions Of his country. Find
ing the colonies disconnected and dependent,
he LEFT them such united and well ordered
commonwealth a. no visionary had believed
to be possible. So that it has been truly said,
"he was as fortunate as great and good"