The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-02-22


No native born citizen of the United States,
whose nature is attuned to the institutions Of
his country, has any profound sympathy with
the scepticism that relegates the anniversary
of Washington's Birthday to the same OBJ
Gvious shelf to which most national anniver-
saries are sooner or later consigned. The
American idea is that that anniversary is to
survive forever. Practically its recurrence is
infinite, or to cease only with that apocalyptic
moment when the heavens shall be rolled
together like parchment and tho earth be
consumed in flame. The Father Of his
Country is to have the right immortality-a
post-mortem existence measured by chiliads
rather than decades. His birthday has
solemn sanctity that the Fourth of July is
without 1t is more serious than Christmas,
is as far as possible removed from the revelry
of New Years Day, and has something of the
religion of the Thanksgiving season without
its table conviviality. Englishmen smile ct
the shooting cracker and pin-wheel with which
we seek to give effect to the glorious Fourth,
but find it impossible to do aught but take off
their hats when we come to the benefcent
Twenty-second.
An Independence Day grafton is not usually
remarkable for originality of thought and
temperateness of tone. 1t is as full of sparkle
and evanescent splendor as any other sort of
pyrotechnics And the same causes which
prevent speech of this nature from being
distinguished by the characteristics of true
eloquence preclude the character of Washing
ton from being viewed by the average Ameri-
can in its true light. Dignity is apt to evap-
crate when subjected t2 the strong heat Of
buncombe, and when the American eagle
screams the proud birds loneliness is likely to
be lost sight of. The reputation of Washing
ton is beleaguered by so many braggart crudi-
ties from vulgar minds that, withal ON effort
at abstraction, it is often impossible to con-
ceive him as he really was Throughout all the
bell-ringing and dinner-eating, throughout all
the speech-making and toast-drinking that
to-day are to mark the progress and conclu-
sion Of the anniversary, there is probably
little general appreciation of his character
and services. We do not say that there is not
profound and general admiration for him
as a hero, but that that admiration is
too often based upon vague knowledge
and a Evolutionary sentiment, unstrengthened
by patient study of his best biographers and
that almost personal love which the magnet
ism of the great and good wins for them from
posterity. We confess that we like to see that
sort of appreciation which manifests itself in
the noble imitation of some Of the best quail
ties of the admired character. The present
feeling of the masses has too much of the
effect of tableau vivant, with touch of blue
light And this consideration throws us back
again upon the low level of the average indi-
vidual and his incapability of sounding the
depsh and measuring the breadth of genuine
heroism. But we cannot believe that the SEN
timent of our people with respect to the
beauty and dignity of Washington character
will not grow purS and deeper with the
slowly-refning sweep Of years. His record
lies before us like broad meadow lit by a
liberal but not intense sunlight We might,
perhaps, wish that there were more pic
turesque points and warmer tints and more
alluring intermixture of light and shadow;
but, such as it is, the world shows scarcely
another example of such calmness, power and
equipoise with just sufficient tincture of
sweetness to beget warmer feeling than mere
national admiration.