Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-12-07


olution, to deduce a new and fourishing Empire
Over every problem of war, and every scheme of
civil admin istration 10 which his attention was
called-no matter how tangled may have been the
web Of facts, or how tumultuous the low of
events, or how pressing the emergency Of doubt
or danger in which he was placed, he diffused
that calm and comprehensive foresight which
mirrors eonseq uences In their full light, and i'm
parts, Of course, to the selection Of measures Just
choice, and unwavering confidence Signal ex-
emplifcations Of this prudential feature of his
mind, especially In his military policies, must
strike the memories Of us all.
l cannot dwell upon them Su1ice II to say
here that in every crisis Of the Revolutionary war,
In every draught Of operations, in every device OF
measures, In every emergency OF failing troops or
failing supplies, In every dilemma Of uncertainty
or peril, officers, soldiers, towns, cities, States,
the old Continental Congress, the whole country,
all looked up to Washington for the boon and
events rarely. IL ever, failed to prove the sound.
ness Of his circumspection and the wisdom Of his
conclusions. The past, the present, and to a re-
markable extent the eeentualities Of the future,
seemed gafnered In his thoughtfulness. and
suspicious results, sooner or later, flowed almost
as a matter of course from his profound delibera-
tons and the determinations Of his sagacious
mind. With the characteristics Of Washington,
which have now described, were united q viii
which, once made up, was steadfast al the sun; a
courage that was invineible, zeal which no OBJ
stacles could deaden; patience that was exhaust
less; and a cheerfuness which the most poignant
OF trials could scarcely discompose. With them
were united also sensibility from which both
affection and compassion could nike extract the
sweetest responses aliberalty, the result Of over
flowing goodness Of heart, that was unbounded,
great disnterestedness Of motive. aud profound
and unfaltering moral and religious trust. And
all these elements were % harmoniously blended
in his imposition, acted and reacted with such
Just adaptation each to the other, and all to the
great ends Of human conduct like rays Of the en-
riching light, were so beautifully combined, as
to Constitute Washington, as Is now the almost
tIo
a whole, in the full accomplishments of his
being, in all the massive completeness Of his ma
ture, the most perfect man upon whom the earth
has looked since the morning stars sang together
in the primeval glory Of creation.
Other men may have achieved greater distinc-
ton simply as warriors and conquerors, Caesar,
| Hannibal, Turenne, Marlborough, a NaPo-
| leon, or a Wellington could marshal hosts upon
the battle field with ''skill more scientific, doubt
less, than his own, and glitter more magnificent
| ly in the sheen Of blood-bought victories.
Other men may have plucked more snowy
| laurels simply as orators and statesmen. A
Chatham, a Burke, Mirabeau, a Hamilton, a
Henry, Mason, a Madison, an Ames, and an
Adams, In civil Jurisprudence, in political law.
| and In welding assemblies by rhetorical power
| were doubtless his supefiors, but for the even
| combination Of high military with high civil
attachments, for the just balance and perfect con-
1 sonance, in its entire development of his whole
nature, moral, intellectual, physical, and sensi-
| tive, and for a philanthropic cOmprehensveness
i Of enlightened patriotic power, Washington
stands the peer among the great men of the earth;
an Aristides for integrity Pericles for admins
/ tative talent Wellington for steady couragey
Leonidas for the pass Of danger; Fabius for cir
cumspection; . Napoleon for alertncss in con-
/ ceft.d conduct Trumbull for reliance on Prov
idence, and poria, and more than Doria, fol
4 the Waterloo of Yorktown, and the accomplished
salvation of his country, uniting more or less the
/ greatness and genius Of each and all in the one
4 sublime congeries OF himself alone.
/ such, fellow-soldiers, such was the illustriou:
i man by whose tomb we now reverentv stand
| here TO evoke the good genius which presided a
| the birth OF our Republic, and from its contem
paton to gather fresh inspiration for our patriot
ism. The philanthropist the civilian, the sage
| the lofty soldier of lberty-his duty done, hi
| mission all fulRlled-here he sleeps that sleeI
from which, In this world, there Is no awakening
| Yet Welding from his silent dust the phenix Of
soul whose elemental breath it was that germi
paed the great seed plot of American liberty,
that glorously fructifies IL still; and which, IL bu
piously embalmed by the American people In tn
| myrrh Of their united patriotic affection, and kep
In their temple Of the sun, will render that ibert
/ immortal as itself
Sainted father of our country Spirit, grea
spirit Of the just man made perfect-oh teach tho
unto us such due reverence Of Thee. From th
| dazzling repose upon the bosom Of thy God, an
| Of our fathers God, shine thou in the light q
thine own pure example, shine ever upon US th
descendants of the patriotic la6ofs here on eartf
and as generation after generation Of America
freemen shall come to this sacred spot, here 10y
, | ingly to contemplate thy virtues, and woo to
/, | mighty shade, impart thOu 10 tnem from tnlH
own essence Of power, elements, the blush
| their earth, embracing with thy hpaven; be u th
: sacerdotal trust to wait their prisons on high
, worthy united possessors Of that goodly heritae
| which thou hast bequeathed Of Liberty itself,
. heaven-born in It's own nature, ETHEREAL an
> sublime, az the inspiration Of God In the heart
r man, angels have charge. The banners OF arc
z angels are over Ii. Cherubims and seraphims
. sing its praise. Be Ii then thine, with a hal
= | strung to the glOries Of its Creator, TO hyH
= its tIiumphs upon the dim arena Of our mort
life and to magnify US In It's glorious stature uni
the last rays of human intellect shall have Hume
. | eternity
A few words more, fellow soldiers, and sha
have done. With Washington, gathered as v
n are upon the soil Of the Old DOminion-that 81
!. | so full of historic renown which, like our ov
. ! beloved New England, yielded Its blood and
> treasure most lavishly TO that sacred cause viii
| we commemorative us also call to nd tho
: other great and good Tnen who were his associa
n from this his own native region In the tolls a
- | perils Of that war Of which he was 30 the
knowledged leader and guide. Let us rememf
= the zeal and affection with which they all unit
in coincidence aud I'm liberal aid for the oppress
= metropolis OF New England-the noble SLEEP
=. here, at that time when the fatal port bill hu
Dr. over Boston like pail. heading suoscripti
" for its suffering people with his own fifty ponn'
y | Let us recall Henry, a Mason, a Bland, Carr
=. a Pendleton, Madison and a Monroe, most
a. whom, l believe all, were members OF that J
"A | moral Virginia convention Of May, 17f6, VIII
~ was the first upon the American continent,
= lish upon declared rights a constitution OF I'M
ne pendent local COVER Iment, one which, defyi
q. transatlantic power, model and marvel to
"a people Of the earth moved like pillar Of
- before the whole country. Let us recall the her
Vs. Rich'd Henry Lee, who was the first OF the old G
= tinental Congress to move that immortal resolut
Us for Independence which the equally heroic Jc
=, Adams, Of our own region, was the first TO seco
:. Let US recall that idolater of freedom, the RI
~, | osopher Jefferson, who embodied the princiT
Ia | of that Independence in a memorial which 10 d
=, tined TO endure for all time, infusing into ei
10 one OF its world startling paragraphs that "a
~ spirit In which he himself uttered the rem
-; that sooner than yield the right Of American
- lonial egislation 10 British control, he wo
~ a. lend his own hand to sink the whole Eng
-, | Isle into oceans depths And aIMuhlenbur
~ | that distinguished patriot who, upon the earl
~, | rumor from blood stained Lexington, forsak
"a | at once the cassock and the gown, was one Of
- first to rouse from the glades Of the Blue Rids
~ noble company Of srtillerymen for the conn
~ defence; that dauntless Morgan, who, upon
a.. first blast from the bugie Of wal, with the 81
-. almost Of the wind, poured ninety-six Of the n
~, gallant sharp shooters, fully armed and equip
Us from Winchester, Virginia, into the camp arc
! =, Boston. There are others, the Revolutionary
VI riors and Revolutionary statesmen Of the he
,h i Old Dominion. Let Us here and now recall q
~. all, rejecting with fond pride upon that sxa
~ sympathy Of SOUL which, In the olden time
Il To urhfch refeF cemPnted them with