The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-08-02
The Temper and Character {
Washington.

. 10 QepreClale the character Oh w ASH
ington Tie verdict of his country
men has been and still is so nearly
unanimous in placing him at the head
of all the men illustrious for virtue
for talent, and for patriotism, that the
few dissentients among his cotempo
raries have made no impression upor
the public opinion of after times. :
Yet it is unquestionable that there
has been great mistake committed
in the investing of Washington in the
popular apprehension with all the vir'
tues, without any of the foibles of hu.
manity. His Incompatible services
to his country, and the rare dignity,
usefulness, and moderation of his char.
ter, have helped to throw around him
mirage of ideal perfection, such as
he himself would have been the fore
most to disown.
There has been much romancin g
about General Washington's early life,
and it is safe to say that nine tenths
of all the circumstantial statements
about it in print, up to the time OF
Braddock's expedition, in 1755, are
pure inventions. To this class belong
nearly all the incidents in the Rev.
Mason l.. Weems' so-called "Life OF
Washington" which has formed. for
more than half century, the leading
source of misinformation about this
famous man, in all parts of the United
States. and especially among the young
and the uncultivated. Thus, the story
Of Washington and the cherry tree,
which the juvenile truth teller cut with
his hatchet and confessed to his faith
er, is one of Parson Wcems' myths,
picked up between seventy aud eighty
years after.it purports to have occur
red. It is not found at all in the first
or second editions Of Weems' "Wssh-
ington.' printed in 1909, but was in
terpolated by the Industrious old ro-
mancer into subsequent issues of the
work.
That Washington was naturally a
man of strong passions that he some
times (though rarely) burst out into
uncomfortable paroXysms Of wrath
that he was punctilious and tenacious
of forms to an inconvenient degree ;
that he was esteemed by those who
dealt with him penurious in money
matters; that ha sometimes kicked
boot blacks and hostlers, and. swore
terribly upon adequate provocation,
these are apparently well established
facts, although entirely ignored by the
Sparks and Everett school of histor-
ians. Ever since Mr.. Sparks permit
ted himself, in editing the letters of
Washington, to correct the grammar
of his illustrious subject, to prime
passages which he deemed indecorous
or undignifed, and to submit to the
public perusal twelve volumes of Wash
ington not as he was, but as his fas-
tidous editor thought he should be, we
have had a profound distrust of the
whole school of Cambridge Professors.
If we go to Washington's cotempor-
aries for evidence as to what manner
of man he was, we shall find the
Sparks Everett view largely modified.
The great man will appear to US not
less great for sometimes sharing in the
passions and even blunders which be-
set strong natures, but the sanity
mirage with which the devotees OF
perfection have surrounded him will
disappear, and leave us not a saint,
but a man.
In the battle of Monmouth, where
Major General Charles Lee had very
nearly lost the day by ordering re-
treat, it is related by Irving, that
Washington "galloped forward to stop
the retreat, his indignation kindling as
he rode" The commander in chief
soon encountered Lee approaching with
the body at his command in full re-
treat. "By this time," says irving,
''he was thoroughly exasperated.-
What is the meaning of all this, sir ?
he, in the sternest and even
fercest tone, as Lee rode up to him.
Lee, stung by the manner, more than
the words of the demand, made an
angry reply, and provoked still sharp
er expressions. which have been vari-
ously reported" The "variously re-
ported" expressions are the swearing,
the quality of which all
the great historians, including Irving,
are silent. But the Marques de La
fayette, when relating the circumstance
TO Governor Tompkins in 1924, de:
clared that "this was the only time I
ever heard General Washington swear.
He called Lee damned paltroon, and
was in towering rage" Another
witness said that Washington cried out
70 Lee, ''In the devils name, sir, go
back to the front, or go to he'll" And
he late General Charles Scott, of Vir
yinia who had himself most inveter
lte habit of swearing, being asked
after the revolutionary war, whether
It was possible that the beloved and
admired Washington ever swore? re-
piled in his inimitable way, eyes, sir,
le did swear once. 1t was at Mon
and on day that would have
made any man swear. Yes, sir, he
;wore that day till the leaves shook on |
he trees, charming, delightful. Never
,ave 1 enjoyed such swearing before
,r since. Sir, on that memorable day
lie s&ore like an angel from heaven4' |
On another occasion, as related by
lis Private Secretary, the venerable
Thomas Lear, to Hon. Richard Rush,
Washington was provoked into an ex-
,losian of passion, in which he became
,rofane. 1t was in 1871, during hist
irst Presidency, on the first news
'eaching him of General St. Clair's |
disastrous defeat. We give the incl
lent in Mr.. Rushe's words, as noted
lown by him at the time from Mr..
Lear's narration
"The General now walked backward
and forward slowly for some minutes
without speaking. Then he sat down
On sofa near the fire, telling Mr..
Lear.to sit down. Mr.. Lear now per-
,eived emotion. This rising in him,
he broke out suddenly; Its all over !