The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-02-23
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fpvu,soelohIa TIme,, 22d.J


philadelphia Times, 22dI
"Cmsar. we who are about 10 die salute
you., was The gadlators' cry. The gladla-
tors of ANOTHER sort, and who are not about
10 die, salute The CGsar who can never die.
Fifty millions OF gladiators, grappllbg WIN
the gigantic forces OF nature. flling WIN
their prowess an arena whose limits are The
whole world, salute the gcnins OF the ma
tons creation-tbe man Whose ii1e-wofk
made classic herolsm, magnanimity, ana
yalor but sounding symbol and an empty
memory. But after all the figure oil WASH
| ington Is not studied TO the best advantage
| m the heroic strain. That he conquered
n king whose armies were strangers
TO defeat: that he made a nation where
| he found mob; that his Dlgn
soul was as serene and self-contained under
| the delirious homage OF his rescued c0un-
| trymen and the magniloquent plaudlts OF
stranger nations a. In the dlrest misfortuDes
and most potent victorlPs-this Is the price
less treasure OF familiar household legend.
Marble has embalmed him in the cold guise
Of hero and leader; history has emDlazODeu
bis incompatible cbaracler;> tradition en-
sbrInes his matches virtues, his inyircl-
bic modesty, his ncorrigiblc equipoise, his
| forbearance, his benignity, in the I'M
measurable vcssiludes OF position
from which none other cast IN bu-
man mould emerged more biameiess,
mole perfect. There is another wash
inglon that appeals more tender'y 10
those who hold the precious heritage OF MS
lofty lie.work. In all the pictures that I'M
ger in memOry's balls, none Is more VIVA,
more bumanly instinct with the nameless
charm that makes men OF all time akin, than
~ bnrn nainfp1 nv
Tbackcray. Though storicd urn or ami
mated bust cannot call back to the body's
mansion the feeting breath, the portrait Of
lover. friend, and neigbbor in the priceless
gallery Of the yirgiuians gives ne the Father
Of his Country lust as we love 10 imagine
bim-patient under wrong, slow 10 anger,
respectful tender, measured in his wrath,
fDreiylng 10 the ultermost, and. In The END,
linked with the gentle infrmities OF heart
and temperament, which strips him OF the
unattrac,iye garb in which the dim-eyed
| goddess OF history loves TO veil the masters
OF human destinies.
Who that has come under the m1tcbless
spell Of this recreation in the Flrglnians
that would be willing to exchange that pre-
Raplaelitc ygnette for the stately clnvises
OF the laborious CHI onicles Of history! In
| that bomely and humane narrative there i
no tagging Of interest from the moment the
thoughtful young stalwart, in King Georges
uniform, sets out with Burgoyne to the sol
emn comedy OF his cOnrtship with rosy
Martina Cu,ls. In the dry.as-dust details
of the historic mise we look IN VAN
for the sentimental sidc-the gentle
humanitics OF The man-whlch place
| blm near enough our own klnd 10
enlist the heart a. well as the brain
i'm our admiration Of bin. or the long list
OF men who were born great, or VINO
achieved greatness. or who had greatness
thrust upon them. Washington stands with
ont a prototype. Had Plutarch written his
| lives after the epic Of which Washington
va, the .Eneas he would have been puzzled
| for the antilheSes 10 give the ngure OF Tue
coun;ry's founder fitting reIie~o. Cincln-
natus preserved a faction, he dld NOT create
a nation; William the Silent fought Tor
dynasty, not for people; CFolnWell
wrought for creed, not Tor humanity.
Judge Black, in 1876, spcakingo OF Washing
ton-and he was a well grown boy when
the Father OF The Republic d ed-ayerTcd
that history had not yet given him ms
due: that ne was inc0mparably not ohly
the greatest. man OF his time, but The
greatest man OF all time-a verdict which
every day shows to be Just and wel-grounC-
ed II the teachers apOthem be true. that
the man who can rule himself is the hteSt
TO rule his fellows, then Washington must
stand in the full white light OF history rs
the one man OF the race OF Adam who ful-
ills this almost impossible test. when his
work was done he made no pilgrimages IN
foreign lands TO exact consideration from
monarchs and princes. lie made himself
no centre OF faction TO promote his resump-
ton Of place. The sword that be had Weld
ed in the cause of his people was never
thrown into the balance 10 extort from the
gratitude OF his country pcrpetuation OF
his personality which might establish pre-
cedent menacing to the stability OF demo-
cratic government.
| To-day ii is meet and good to recall these
phases OF the ilustrious life to whom the
holiday Is dedicated. To recall how clear
he was in his great office, the spotesS magls'
trate. the bIameless hero Of crisis more
irving than any captain was ever called
upon to aIay, the founder OF the most or
Derry democracy that time and man ever
welded into life. crusader whose sword
won a holicr land than the millions who
perished on the sands OF Syria and on The
bInkS Of the BOSphorus.