Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1858-05-06
NEW SERIES. VOL 2. NO l9.1
Washington.

uIio vi tnc nistoly VI bne OniteQ States-
Washington was then 4s,, yesrs of age
In stature he little exceeded six feet; his
limbs were sinewy and well proportione1;
his chest broad; his figure stately, blending
dignity of presence with ease. His robust
constitution had been tried and invigorated
by his early life in the wilderness, his habit
OF occupation out of doors, and his rigid
Temperance; SO that few equaled him in
strsgth of arm or power Of endurance. His
complexion was forid; bis hair dark brown;
his head in its shape perfectly round. His
broad nostrils seemed formed to give express
sion and escape to scornful anger. His
Gsrk blue eyes, which were deeply set. had
an expression Of resignation, and an earnest
ness that was almost sadness
At eleven years old left an orphan to the
care ii an excellent but unlettered mother,
he gre Y up without learning. OF arithme-
tic and geometry lie acquired just knowl
edge enough 10 be aole to practice measur-
ing land; but all his instructions at school
tsugh. him not 50 much as the orthography
or rules of grammar of his own tongue
His culture was altogether his own work,
and he was in the strictest sense self made
man; ye, from his early life he never seem.
Cd uneducated. At sixteen he went into
the wilderness q 4 surveyor, and for three
years continued the pursuit, where the for.
ests trained him, in meditative solitude, to
freedom and iargeness Of mind; and Nature
revealed to him her obedience to serene and
silent laws. In his intervals from toll, he
seemed always to be attracted TO the best
men, and to be cherished BY them. Fair
fax, his employer, an Oxford scholar, already
aged, became his fast friend. He read little
but with close attention. Whatever he
took in hand he sppled himself to with care;
and his papers which have been preserved
show how he almost imperceptibly gained
the power of writing correctly--always ex-
pressing himself with clearness and direct
ness, often with felicity of language and
grace.
When the frontiers on the West became
disturbed, he at nineteen was commissioned
an adjutant-general, with the rank of major.
At tHenty.one he went As the envoy of Vir-
ginia to the council of Indian chiefs on the
Ohio and to the French officers near Lake
Erie. Fame waited upon him from his youth
and no one of his Colony was so much
spoken of. He conducted the first military
expedition from Virginia that crossed the
Alleghanies. Brsddock selected him as an
aid, and he was the only man who came out
Of the disastrous defeat near the Morongahela
with increased reputation, which extended
to England. The next year, when he was
but four-and-twen:y, "the great esteem" in
which he was held in Virginia, and his, "real
merit" led the Lieutenant Governor of
Maryland to request that he might be 'com-
missioned and appointed second in COM
mand" of the army designed to oe marched
to the Ohio; and Shirley, the commander.
in-chief, heard the proposal "with great salts
faction and pleasure" for "he knew no pro-
vincial officer upon the continent to whom
he would SC readily give it as to Washing.
ton" In 175S he acted under Forbes as a
brigadier, and but for him that general would
never have been able to cross the mountains.
Courage was SO natural to him that it
was hardly spoken of to his praise; no one
ever at any moment of his life discovered in
him the least shrinking in danger; and he
had hardihood Of daring which escaped
notice, because it was so enveloped by su.
periof calmness and wisdom.
He was as cheerful as he was spirited
frank and communicative in the society Of
friends, fond Of the fox chase snd the dance
often sportive in his letters, and liked q
hearty laugh. This joyousness of disposi.
ton remained to the last, though the vast
ness of his responsibilities was soon to take
from him the right of displaying the im
puisive qualities Of his nature, and the weight
which he was to bear up was to over'ay ant
repress his gayety and openness.
His haad was liberal; giving quietly ant
without observation, Is though he wa.
ashamed of nothing but being discovered il
doing good. He was kindly and compss
sionste, snd of lively sensibility to the sor
rows OF others; so that il his country hat
only resded victim for its relief, he woul,
have willingly offered himself se sacrifice
But while he was prodigal Of himself, he
was considerste for others; ever parsimo
. nous of the blood of his countrymen.
Z He was prudent in the management o
his private affairs, purchased rich lands from
| the Mohawk Valley to the fats of the Kan
1 awha. and improved his fortune BY the cor
f reetness OF his judgment. but as public
; man he knew no other aim than the good o
his country, and in the hour of his country
/ poverty, he refused personal emolument fo
4 his services.
t His faculties were so we'll balanced an,
, combined that his constitution, free from
4 excess, was tempered evenly With all th'
elements of activity, and his mind resem
t bIed a well.ordered commonwealth; hi
e passions, which had the intensest vigor
e owned allegiance to reason; and, with al
: the fiery quickness of his spirit, his impetu
!, Gus and massive will was held in the checl
J. by consumma.e judgment. He had in hi
9 composition cain, which gave him in mo
/. meuts of highest excitement the power O
d self-control, and enabled him to excel i
e patience, even when he bad most cause fo
y disgust. Washington was offered com
10 mand when there was little to bring out th
e unorgsnized resources of the continent b.
i. his own influence, and authority was cor
nected with the people by the most frai
most sttenuated, scarcely discernibIe thread
yet vehement as was his nature, impassior
. ed as was his courage, he SO restrained h
y srdor that he never failed continuously I
= exert the attracting power Of that infusnc
- and never exerted 1t so sharply as to brea