Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-02-24

his active life he retired to enjoy ,l..,.
and reposc Of home a quiet and r.,..o
hardly earned and to which h. va. :. ,..
entitled. From here, although rakr.,
part in public affairs. he ceased u,r H..
gard, with anxious solicitudc. the nc,p, +
public Here, with all the phiIo<ophir .,,.
ness which distinguished HIM throu,l h..
he awaited its quiet close. and
..Gaye his honors to the world again,
His better part to Heaven and ,.clr :gr.....
If the spirits Of the blessed can ever T..
regard for this earth, surely hi> pur. ....
must look down with especial Interest M.
this locality.
With Mount Vernon are CONNECTED ..
most cherished recollcctions of the Amor.
people. 1t is to the worshipper of nation.
liberty what Mecca is to the Mahoma,.r
Mount Gerizim to the Samaritan. or .Jc-u,.
lem to the Jew. The attachment of S,r.,,
ians is. and ought to be, stronger than II
of the inhabitants of any other State, fo-,r.
day can never come when Nirginiau. u
cease to yenerate the name of Wa>hio,,
or cease to be proud that he was her son
On this anniversary, until the last. g..
have been accustomed to see the yenrri
form. and listen to the sa.e-Iikr counsel.
the "child of Mount Vernon" the b..
George Washington Parke Gusts. Ne ~r..
like link connecting Us with the rg.
Ever bearing in his bosom the precrpts I'M.
bibed from his great connexion, he wa, m.
worthy pupil of so pure so good an nstru,.
tor. You have often listened 10 the rln,urr..
of his tongue, and heard the prompting. n,
generous heart. Enjoying To the fullest -.
tent, the respect, the confidence. and the l.,-
of you all, at ripe old age he was gatherei
to his fathers. and. | doubt not ha, kaI
happy reunion in better land with III.
illustrious man whose name he bore.
shall enter upon no account of the lifau
Washington, as familiar 10 all Of You A. e,
me; nor shall | speak Of any particular a,.
of his, except to Illustrate some peculiar tra..
of his character To do either the one ,r
the other would be to depart from Inv pra.
sent intention of not intiicting upon YOU
long speech.
You may search the pages of history in
vain for a parallel to the character of Wash.
ington. 1t affords not only the widest fell
for study and contemplation, but the finest
model for the formation of our own. Per.
fectly methodical, and strictly accurate in
all of his transactions, his history. in ti,
particular, affords IA most useful lesson to the
man of business in every department Na-
ture has, in general, given accuracy Of detail
to some minds, prehenslveneSs to Others.
In Washington'S, the two were most uuu>u-
ally and happily blended. While 10 subjc,.
was too great for the grasp of his intellect,
Al. Il
IIo was incapable of idlenesS, and hence
arose the idea, prevalent amongst those WHO
did not understand him, that he was stern
and inaccessible. He 4lways had ample
time to receive and to impair useful iniorna-
ton, but never time to listen to those WIN
had nothing to say. I'm the clearness Of his
perception. and the soundness Of hi juds,
ment, he displayed the most profound saga
city, even in his youth. When he gave his
advice as to the best method of Indian war
fare, the opinion of the unskiled Nlrgiulsn
was rejected by the veteran trained III Eur.
pean tactics and the consequence was tha;
the army of Braddock met with disastrous
defeat, and with his own life he paid the tor.
felt Of his rashness. When yet young, AMI
possessed of such maiden-like modcsty as %
be covered with confusion when thanked by
the Virginia House of Burgesscs, he was 81
calm and collected in the face Of danger
whether effecting retreat for his troops or
leading them to the charge.
Through life, the ruling passions Of hl'
soul were love of justice and stern adb'.
renee to everything which duty required: lie
steadily pursued the path of duty, unseducel
by the Establishments of temptation; una
palled by any dangers which might surround
him; as a great ship, blowing the seas, pre-
sents her fgure-head to the waves, fixed,
immovable. unmindful Of the beauty Of tie
calm, regardless of the storm.
While not possessed Of extraordinary ora
torical abilities, WashingtOn's perNuaylNr
powers were of the highest order. H.
views were impressed upon, and adopted i!,
almost every one with whom he came in con.
tact. This was owing to two causes: IN Vii
erring Judgment and practical informaton.
together with the implicit confidence rcposoi
in his integrity by all who knew him. On"
Of his biographers says that. he seldom
spoke, never harangued, aud it j, no, known
that he ever made a set speech, OF entered
into stormy debate. But his attention wt'
at all times awake"
The attachment to him personally was .n-
tense; rs great as that of Napoleon's sold'-'
to himself. In the Conway cahal the 80.
diers preferred being under him, with whun
they had suffered defeat than under Ua'''
who had led them 10 victory. That Of ,on"
Of his fellow actors on the great stage Of The
times, like Lafayette's was romantic IN j.
character. No better illustration could -
given than the result of his course in cot
nexion with the celebrated "Newburg Al
dresses" These addresses were drawn ur
with great eloqucnce; and the officers, a.-
though admitted by Washington to have lu,-
tice on their side, upon a conirrene" H'
him, not only receded from their prrylol'
position, but unanimously expressed th'IE
thanks to the commander-in-chici tor t"r
course he had pursued and their unahat''
attachment to himself,
One might reasonably have supposed iha'
the shafts of envy and malice would "''
have been aimed at character - Lur"'
disnterested, so free from reproach. Bnt
was not so. He formed no exception. M ~,
respect, to the universal history OF rNai'''
individuals. Unfortunately, for "'cn u'
wsest and the best, human natur" o., NOR
prone to detract than TO praise. Poster
ty alone can hold the scales Of justice W.
an equal hand. When the grave Snail nav.
closed alike on friend and foe. then. aI'
then only, can the record Of a man j" mar
up, and even handed justice be met"i 'u"
And where NOW in the whole world. J. ''