The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1864-02-26


only used it for his country's good
His own goodness was his greatness
the power his country gave him =
the COMMANDMENTS Chief of its arme
and as its chief magistrate, was IN or
cheerfully lain aside than it was a.
suncd. Ia his individual characte
we find the cmbodiments Of the high
est moral and military qualities. Hi
patriotism was of KIND which neve
halted or faltcred between loyalty an,
treason. British acts OF OUT lawry
the carping of his enemies, tho vindi
cative malice of Lee and Conway, th,
treason Of Arnold, the neglect of Con
gress, the sufferings of Valley Forge
could not all tempt him to tarnish hi
loyalty OF shake his soul from its higE
purposes. Whether we see him as th,
fond, atfectionate, dutiful hoy, loving
his mother, obedient to the slightest
indications of her will, toiling thro
the Western forests, compass in hand
training his youth into q sturdy man
hood by the hardships and privations
Of forest life, gallantly striving to raj
lv Braddocks broken hosts at Monon.
gahela, skillfully out-mannvering and
defeating CORVALLIS, furiously scold
ing Lee at Monmouth, ut Kipp's Bay
da5hing fearlessly against British bat
teries. taking leave of his Officers al
Francis Tavern, bidding farewell tc
his soldiers. administering the Gov.
ernment as its Chief Magistrate, ol
peacefully cnioying his repose at Mt
Vernon, we behold in him the same
unrivalled charaster, built up upon tho
noblest virtues and endowed with the
highest attributes.
Is it then in an age like this among
men Gercely and dielonorably con
tending for power, little heeding the
obligations of religion, caring more
for party than for country, that We
are to find his equal? We may hava
a Napoleon, we may find Cromwell,
doubtless we have our TalleyrandS.
our Pitts and our Richelieus-have we
got our Washington? Il have not lost
my faith in man, nor do / conceive it
impossible, that our country shall con
tain not only one, but many Washing
tons; and if they wait but for the cri-
sis, it has come. lie who saves the
country from its present danger will
divide its gratitude with asAington;
"Bnt he who governeth himself is
greater than he who taSeth Il city 49,
Let me then control my thoughts to n
proper channel.
Our rrieads invite US to their hospi-
tality--byithe fond admiring faces they
show us the regard in which they hold
US. We have made ourselves their
representatives in the armies Of our
country; they are loyal, proud
constituency. Whilst we are fighting
our country's battles, they are con
voying her forward in a career of un-
rivalled prosperity. The land of eur
homes, protected by our arms from
the desolation and spoil of war, under
their thriving industry, gestates, fruc-
tifies and blooms as some broad Eden.
We return not to homes lain in ashes,
to look upon fields made barren by
the tramp of hostile armies, to behold
suffering and want. Ceres has seen her
plentiful harvest garnercd in; the Cor
nucopia has poured its plenty upon the
land; and though avarice may strive
for more. and Mammon reign in mar
row hearts, yet our friends meet us
with liberal tokens of the bounty they
are willing to divide with us, and they
assure us OF their never failing remcm
brance of the sollier. In the field, in
the hospital, in defeat or victory, we
shall have their prayers, their aid,
their gratitude The ladies' of our
land, true to their noble nature, are
achieving wonders in our behalf
They weary not, nor fail in their great
undertakings. To their generous
providence the sick and wounded sol
dier is indebted for comfortable food
and clothing. The living praise. the
dying bless them; in their sympathy
we have sure comfort; amongst our
mothers, wives, daughters and sisters
we know there ia many Florence
Nightingale, whose tears OF pity tlow.
and pure hearts bleed for our suffer
ings. Their acts are engraven upon
our hearts, whilst they are recorded in
Heaven; our arms shall protect them,
our hearts shall treasure them. What
is virtuous, what is heroic in us, they
are the authors or But are all the
faces we behold here wreathed in
smiles and joy? Are all eyes free
from tears? Are there no sad hearts,?
Let the places now vacant, which three
short years ago were filled by bloom
ing youth and sturdy manhood, an-
swer this sad interrogatory ] will
not open the wounds arresh, by here
repeating the names OF the loved but
lost. The sad hearts, the badges Of
the widow and the orphan.
5ell us of wars vicissitudes, casualties
and calamities. War is the harvest Of
lcath, the feast of the destroyer: to
which he invites his vultures and his
beasts OF prey. The bones of our com
aides, now bleaching, unburied, upon
,he battlefield, tell sad part of our
story; but we say to their friends
rriaua nat nuar t,,uoh. tl,a,, ,,,l - -