New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-03-17

all bis men who are not dead or dying are
smiling. with a grateful appre ,iaion Of the
of that remark Of their prancDg Chief
Like hra, they also are IN high state OF freshness
health and good aylorism; their tbreecornsred hats,
bue coa,, and buckskin breeches with all the gos' Of
holiday uniforms; their long curls a. smugy dres'ed
and faces as clearly shaved as Jost out Oh 'oe VI
a" tonsorsl emporium" show us what neas, PHEASANT
work that evolutionary war was generally. ana "nAs
charming morning excursion night re'fea. ,"a'
ended in running fight must have been 10 arI'c''
Now the fact, we presume, was that Washington ~
this particular fight, when be saw bis msit'a ru"'
swoe literally like trooper; that when the regnAs
charged and the enemy reireated depressed on with DIS
body head bent in the esgernees Of the chase he
ballooed at ALL the shout bad good deal Of the yell
in it, and was given with his face turned toward the
running "Brtithes, and not arranged for porrsifJr
the infinite future. Neither he nor his horse IN
prsneing humor. The animal, we have no doubt, was
faded and bedraggled with hard nights work, and
bis master, with his clothes awry, with fatigue,
mad with excitement but exultiDg IN victory pressed
his beast on nstesd Of stopping him for curvet, to be
sure that there was further back-down IN hts own
men, and no rally in the flying enemy. And the men
they were any hing must think, but these festive
and natty gentlemen Of Mr.. Leu1e's peture-on the
contrary. a very rough get of fello1s, their faces
beprimed with powder and other dirt all the smiles
on the wrong side OF them, not one among them IHa'
bad been shaved for week; their clothes ragged,
their bsts torn their shoes worn out and aceoutred
altogether in very forlorn and shabby fasnon, lney
had little time and lees inclination for line speeene
ard would have had much more stomach 70
club the COMMANDMENT Chief with the butt end o. d
musket than to look up TO him with SIM ing 8 l.
miration if be had stopped at that moment when 10 %
we're in desperate haDd-to band fight within ten feet o
him, to indulge in the graees Of witsbing horsem' >
chip, and the charms Of sententions eloquencs al
dressed, with flourish of ebGpcau bras to tie
coming time
Thus much for the conception Of the picsur',
which, we think, il utterly false. For r'
execution, after all that be said IN ~
praise for tone, and color, and atmosphere, an
landing, and anagement Of certain details, we
confess that these lose their effect when we look upon
the ground over which, it s supposed, fierce bate
has Just passed, upon which men are now lying dead
and diving and zee only field Of untrsmpled snow,
the undisturbed spires of grass still holding up their
fretted frcst-work, the forms of dead and dying
men living not in the snow, but OH it-ay figures IN
short Of men and horse without weight substance,
standing or lying upon interchangeable ofpressure-
unsubsianal entities resting upon shadowy counter
felt of the solid earth. Had the artist panied,
instead, bloody, broken ground; grass torn
up with the strong hoOfs Of horses msd with
fright; the dead weight Of dead men asserting
already their claim to be part of that dust upon
which they rest SO heavily the helpless rage OF the
wounded the desperate courage Of the ragged soldiers
pressing On to vctOryhad he spread upon hs canvas
all the wild elements of fierce fight, led by leader
well nigh driven distraction by the desperation Of
bis circumstances instead of all this prettAess Of uni
fern, this exutation of gala-day excitement, this
posuIDg this attitudnzng, this prancing and speech
flying, we might have had picture which would have
given to this generation some notion OF what the real
Washington and the real Contnentals did and were IN
that Winter campaign in the Jerseys, wheo their daily
struggle with hunger and cold, and poverty, and des-
pair was enlivened and varied by fierce skirmish in
the early morning after nights retreat.