Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-06-11
THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON,


The following bit of humorous story
telling is from Grace Greenwood to til,
New York Times:
Yet while these Eoonomites" ar,
frantically protesting against expend
ing q few hundred thousand to pu
the Washington Monument in .
decent condition for the centennial
that grand golden wedding 81 libert,
and democracy-other Congressmer
are demanding that an appropriation
|shan be made for the pufpose Of com
pleting the monument to Mary, thu
mother Of Washington, 1t -Fredericks
burg. There is romantic interes,
about the unfinished, neglected pile ol
Berkshire marble as it stands. Some
forty years@ago -; =
"There ~ssss.h merchsst in Gotham did dwell, i
which hin name was .Bsrrons -Silas E.
and q came to pass that he fell NOR.
t orsr E 1ex;th Miss qest;s and i i.
the young lady's grand.8liaI piety, liz
commenced theserection Of this mona.
ment to Mary, che mother OF Washing:
ton, which was to have cost $50, 600.
President Jackson went from Washing.
ton o1ey tho conversions, and had his
nose pulled on tho way by one Lieut..
Randolph, which was . bad omen-and
before thayear was out, I,believe Miss
Custis grew tired of her northern lover
and rejected him, with tho Job still on
his hands: If she only could have
held onstil the thing sxas finished !
It seems the rich merchants love was
not Of that sort to sit eli ike Patience on
. monument, smiling al sRrief," He
iuamediataly> turned his bsck on the
young 4adyt went back on her great an
ce,tress, Mary, the mother of Washing
ton abandoning his pious and patriot
lc undertaking forever. ss.pm
A few days ago the Qdngressional
committee :: :: appointed 70 enquire into
the feasibility OF finishing. the monu-
ment to 1asJ, the mother Of Washing
ton, at Fredericksburg, Va" took an
excursionabys sboat and rail TO the men,
orable old town. They had = good
time-wefe hospitably luuched. and
wined, and "toted" .. about t-wept e& the
tomb Of The grandmother Of their
county, and at the hotel were rnn9 in
70 = banquet, by her identical old ta-
ble-bell. They proposed toasts, and
made speeches to-her honor, and drank
long to her blessed memory. Hon.
Horace Maynard, in, his speech, peril.
nentl a6ked-" What is there IL the
name of Mary, the mother Of Washing
ton, that sho should bring congress to
her grave2z She was not poetess, not
q letter-writer, not a novelist" Now,
1 was not aware that Congress was
in the habit of visiting, in q body, or by
squads, the tombsa of literary women.
We are poor, sinful creatures, especially
Washington letter writer's, but do We
quite deserve that? No. Mary, the moth
er Of Washington was NOT ga letter
to any extent. I. once had the
of perusing = little epistle
penned that illustrious matron. Il was
by stern breyity, 4 brave .disre-
gard of the rules of orthography, and sto.
tai freedom from theawful respectwith
which We regard her son, George. BY
The way, : distinguished Bohemian, who
some years ago visited Fredericksburg,
and prowled about the sacred WashinR-
ION precincts, tells me that the tradition
,aid that Mrs. Bushrod Washington was
, regular Spartan mother. The oldest
nhabitant told him that his father told
tim that his grandfather said she one
evening suddenly appeared in the bar
:oom Of the old fredericksburg tavern in |
'earch of her illustrious son, then
sbout seventeen years old, and finding
lim where she had positively forbidden
lim tocome; listening with open mouth
o. the talk oa travellers and village |
oungols. Bh0 drew q horsewhips from
lnder kercloak, and laid it over his
nointed .head md broad shouldess, and
o quis skenad his footsteps hons con-
ideeat Dsnbtaess she did light
hot ~ tie good a~tayto train and
ouRhen heroes-but. timess and man
ers have: changed in the Republic
ince then. Now mothers Of good fam
y, are poorer disciplinarians, but bet
er grammarists they use the rod less,
nd tho pen more hence the failure
4 the supply of goodsboys and great
len. n,fof instance, Mr.. Maynard had
ad forhis maternal parent such : wom-
n as Mary, the mother Of Washington,
quiet domestic babits,' poor spelling,
orseYhip, and all, then the history Of
is childhood might have .rivaled in
o,ue record of immortal mischief and
irtuous truth-telling the cherry-tree
nd hatchet story-then he might also
ave been General, perchanoe Pres
lent, scc0,,d in war, in peace, and in
be hearts Of his Fcountrymen- "a sort of
tep-P Pdter. Paeria. There is every
hing in a mother.
= Cruelty OF Isabella. 80
The Jews were tho :favorite victims of
he TnonisitiOn When history a hall