Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1858-11-05
EVER ETT'S
EULOGY ON WASHINGTON.

rs was 10 nave Deen expected, from tne
reputation of the orator, the interest of his
subject and the worthiness of his object, one
Of the very largest and best audiences ever
collected on a similar occasion, in Burling-
ton, assembled in the Town Hall, Oct
9th.
Mr.. Everett was introduced by Rev DR..
Wheeler, (who, in a few words alluded to the
obligations of Vermont, at the commencement
of her history, to the sagacious foresight of
Washington and prefaced his remarks by a
short statement of the claims of the Ladies
Mt. Vernon Association to confidence and
cooperation in their noble design of rescuing
the Tomb and Estate of Washington from the
vicissitudes of private fortune The contract
for its purchase had been made and eighteen
thousand dollars of the purchase money paid,
and the amplcr sum needed to complete the
purchase and restore the grounds was in pro-
cess of collection.
We shall not attempt to give even an alb
stract of the main body OF the discourse. 1t
was not sketch of Washington's life, nor a
statement of his achievements. nor a close
analysis of his character. 1t was, first, an
enumeration Of some of the great character
istics of the century of Washington, with
illusions to some of its great and noble char
acters-its Give and Pitt, it's Howard and
Kane, its Florence Nightingale and Mary
Patten. In all this century, so prolific of no.
bic action, the star of Washington shines
above all Next it was q comparison Of
Washingtons character with those of the
three men of his age whom the world has call
ed great, Peter the Great Frederick the
Great, and the Great Napoleon, Next the
question what was the distinctive charac-
teristic Of Washington's greatness" was
asked and answered 1t was not alone his
sincerity, truth, justice, modesty, punctu-
atty and common sense; it was that all these
qualities, so strongly seen in him, rested on
the basis of Christian Morality. He was
great because he was good.
a defence of his character from the charge
of lack of genius and brilliancy, followed,
and a somewhat labored appeal to his hear
ers to preserve the Union, devotion to
which was SO earnestly inculcated in Washing
ton S Farewell Address, closed the discourse.
The grafton was marked by the elegant
rhetoric, the polished diction, and the graces
of stvle and manner for which Mr.. Everett is
SO noted, There were many passages of I'M
common beauty and force in it, such as the
comparison of the appearance of Russia
among the powers Of the continent, to the
! guest at banquet as in the tales of antiqui-
ty, and the description Of the achievements
of the American ship-captain's wife, Mary
Patten and, though more than two hours
long, it held the large audience
interested and attentive to the end. Still we
are constrained to say that to us it seemed
an elegant, rather than a great effort. 1t
lacked the ability and vivacity of some of
Mr., Everctt's other speeches which we re-
member, and it failed to impress us, as we
expected to be impressed, by an adequate re-
presentation of the massive grandeur Of the
character of the beloved Father of his coun-
try. The concluding portion, also, might as
well have been umilted-as being better
adapted to the meridian Of South Carolina.
where disunionlsm is rampant, than to Yer
mont, where the people do not talk disunion,
do not share the honorable speakers dread
of disunion. and are doing all they can to
perpetuate the Union, by bringing the coun-
try back to the principles and policy of its
founders.
The mummy ofan Egyptian princess, from
Egypt, has been landed IN England for e1-
hibition. An embalmed cat was found in
the same case with the lady, which fact is
considered sufficient evidence that the lady
was never married.