Spirit of the age., 1859-12-14

were all picturesque and suggestive He
had assembled sort of backwoods court,
at his house in the wilderness; and the
man who had hirted the fans of Duchesses,
and walked arm in arm with nv Lord Bo-
lingbroke, and the famous Mr. Joseph Ad-
ison, in London, now contented himself
with the society of frontiersmen, hunters,
and trappers. All about the green in trout !
Of his rude building, dogs gambolled, or /,
basked in the sun tall hunters, with deer
skin garments, and buck-tails in their caps,
might be seen leaning on their long rifles,
and arranging the sport for the morrow:
in the midst of them, the young surveyor,
lust from the Alleghaneys, would relate his
adventures, or compare notes upon the
country which he had traverscd. The an
ecdotes which remain of Lord Fairfax are
Interesting, and some of them amusing
He is said to have bad passion for hoard |
ing British gold, and to have preserved
something of the state of England, even in
the wilderness He had his London char
lot, his rich velvet dress of ceremony, and
bis Yorkshire servants. One Of these was
great favorite with him, and would assist
him in the following trick on his brother
huntsmen. They would start x,~and
while every one was running reynard, the
Earl, advised by his body servant Of the
habits Of the game, wonld ride round to
the spot where the fox would double to,
be in at the death, and hold up the tail in
triumph, when the less fortunate part of the
company came up, on their jaded horses
On these hunts, il is certain that young
Washington accompanied his friend, as be
had done at Belvoir; and their early inti-
macy was still further cemented.
The result Of the youths expeditions in
to the wild woods of the west, and the
hardships which he endured, was tough
ness Of body and mind, which very early
made him equal to any emergency or re-
sponsibilty. The society of Lord Fairfax
had first expanded and cultivated his men
tai powers and the respectable tasks en-
trusted to him by the Earl ripeneG him, SC
. to speak, all at once into a strong man.
But there were other results still more i'm
portant. These years laid the Foundation
of the whole Of Washington's subsequen
# career. When the French war came, sool
4 afterwards, the first person who was though
y of to be sent on the dangerous expedition
through the wilderness was young Nj
> Washington. Braddock required an e1
e pcrienced aid-the young man was select
l. ed. Then the Virginia frontier was e1
J. posed to the savages. Col. Washington ;
!. twenty-three was entrusted with the entil
. responsibility ofguarding the border. ST
n toned at Winchester, where with blacI
ID smiths from Mount Vernon, he had himse
IN constructed old Fort Loudon, he bore f
~ months upon his youthful shoulders tt
:. awful burden of the public safety. II
nt letters to Gov. Dnwiddie at this period a
a noble memorials of his great soul, and dee
ou ly affecting. All was in confusion. II
~ settlers at every alarm were flying to Wi
.. chester, and thence east. Every one loo
'"I ed to the youg Colonel, and to him alol
vi He wrote that if he knew his own heart,
would pour out the last drop of his bio
ell to protect these poor families, whose sutf
ld. 40 ings filled him with deadly anguish. FL
nc long agony tried to the utmost all
'uec strength of his heroic spirit. When he b
ol come forth from the furnace, he was ha
DDS eued forever. Thenceforth no human tt
e. ,eF could break his constancy. He was fit
or Si for the grand career which he was to !
or for the suherings of Valley Forge;
ng- ingratitude of his own officers the N
iou' murs, complaints, misconceptions and
nee tlities of all. Nothing could move b
1arl As the honorable fame which he had
cen quired in these early days secured for
: % in June, ITS, the appointment Of Gene
"a. ~u- in-Chief Of the armies of North Amer
.i Ino so the terrible responsibility, the care,
're suspense, the agony of his trials, made
ioi superior to all other tests.
soro Such was the part which the Ems
| oo. nobleman had in the career of the An
tho can man Of the people. The old
n;on made this comparison after Yorktown
~ rov. "An English noble !" he exclaimed, 1T
oc- beaten by Virginia buckskin!" He
,s;da eighty-two years old when CORVALLIS
tho rendered; and as soon as he heard
.noc. news said t0 his body servant, "Tak
ond to bed, Joe it is time for me to die !!
mo was traly the end of the old world in "
! on he bad witnessed so many splendid SC
1sb;n The youth whom he had adopted
|, ond were, and fitted for the contest, wa:
ovor- conquerer Of the first general of Eng
his Greenway Court still stands, vene
The landmark of the past. You lean OF
oung oiu worih-e%1en W raiiilg' anu t"lnA tn'
Is be> ooy george washington once festea
,ition it the weary arms which in after years
IA the to sustain the hopes of great nati
dven- ~ o. ~ rT, p-'"' s.1@ - 70
ment. on Tue o'o lawn' Ahey are the 81
md in ana unKhewn ooy, ana the aged mob
with bhndiy training the great GLADIATOR
, wild was 10 iead the future, ana lnaugu
y visi- new order OF anairS IN the history OF
alley; tlnent' JNo' EsTEN Coe
alizing ----------=--.----=--.
ha ar