New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-06-23
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
A BRILLIANT WORK.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. by Henry Ca9 eo,, aSpus
II two volumes. lemo' pp' 81 '"''
u 10 exceedingly difficult 70 write with nesn
uess Of interest about George washington an
% tell anything new Of him may wei DC 'n'"s"
almost. II not quite, impossible. For, ~ '',
Ioare observes In his introduction TO these VOL
nmex: IThe antiquarian. the historian ana 'ne
critic have exhausted every source, aho tne nios'
minnie details have been, and still are, inc SUI
iect of endless writing and constant discussion
Every house he ever lived IN mas reen ora"H ON,
painted: every portrait and statue anu n'eu"'
have becn catalogued and engraved. His private
ar.;r. his servants, his horses, his arms even
IA. .1o.hes have all passed beneath the mcrc,iess
-,,.-o..one of history His biography has been
.,-,tt.n and rewritten. His letters nave oeeh
draxn out from every lurking-place, ana nave
been Given 30 the world in masses ana IN de'"cn,
msnts His battles have been fought over anu
ever again, and his state papers nave uiuer so''o
an almost verbal examination IL woulu seem
that a new biography could. TO use Mr. Louse
own words, "have but little result oeyohu inc
MULTIPLICATION Of printed Iapers.' hut ne mas
fornd a valid excuse for reopening so weHth'rShsu
a tonic for, despite his vast fame anu al ','e
,,hors ~ the ANTIQUARIAN and bicgrapher, wash
,u,tor is s,ill not understocd-as man he Is I'M
familiar TO the posterity that rcverences his mem
orr He has been misrcprcscnted more or less
nnve,tlv nv hostile critics and by candid 1riehoS'
ond has been disguised and hidden away Dy 'le
vn;.to..n euloey and erroneous theories OF de'ouU
,amirers y There remains, then, an opport"h'V
"a, n new idea of Washington, ana MI Aes
has nr,posed il to himself TO endeaVor IRON, .'
vnass Of material to depict the very man H .H....
In the various conjectares OF his HE, "N aa,t
IN see what he really was anu "ha' II. -. -.
thsn and what he is and what he means " "'
and to the world to-day .os.,r,
A ca,cfuI reading of these highly lh'er'''S
and weli-written volumes produces "ie ,io,,,
,ion that IL, with this special purpose - -.
with all the accumulated material Vi '"e .r,at
century to draw from. with every help ',,~
culture knowledge, preparation anu H sSod
,,.,i.nce can afford, Mr.. Lodge mas not auu.o
- - onr knowledec of George Washington the
-. a.. fault does not lie in the biographer' ouV
:. irhor.pt IN the subject. Mr.. Lodge protes'o
n,.r,lr AGAINST the view which repieSeh'
woshircton as cold, and he gives gooo re"so' iol
.hi. r,o,cx+ But when he attacks the 'r"oi'ioi
~ wasbinpton's reserve and aloo'ncss' as uo'
las than justice TO him, he has against nun "1
.vrav of evidence too strong 10 DC
- r,nreover he is in conflict to certain en-
font with his own final CONCLUSIONS
-. ,hs nure MYTHS, such as Mason "eenis ia
,,.rt.d from q desire to popularize inc Nauo""l
haroa desire so natural that 1t cannot oe s''''
,.s.nted-the fact remains that, as MI Louse nm
self uts it: In death, as IN me- 'ne,. 70 a.
.,,n, about Washington, call it greatness o't-
.;.str what Won will, which seems 10
Ia van ,loof and keep them from knowing nun
~ 9TH no was a most difficult man 10 Know
n...is.Iv so. and no application Of The historian
..s.-,s.one brings us any nearer to the Kuo"e"So
--.,,.d co eagerly But what MI Louse n"'
A.. as IL has never been done before j. W ,"O"
,rhv this endeavor TO reach any hl'hi"'S u y,
.naintance with Washington must always
a.-s 7, IL because Washington never uh-
bosomed himself TO any one we ats No,
-,..,rrs that had lis letters to his "iie HUI
-, 40 ,ef,lv DESTROYED by him. they nilgh' NV
,h,o,vn new and deeper hight upon MS 'n"ei -
Ru. the more reasonable presumption u ' t' ~
,on,aired no revelations; that they "ouiu "a,
have added to our information on p''h'S "''e"N'
sufficiently known
N, Lodge has worked faithfully ana u'i,sen"y
.rs vet the effect Of his e'enrch anu anu!
% empbssize the isolation OF WaSh'nE0on' o
.c,er These volumes prove more cieaIS w. -
.vsr how self-contained he was anu ho" ~.
e,s,rents of greatness in him SO o:o'ai' -
.ntiated him from his generation as u
hone,ess the most conscientious at'empV " ~
n.r' y. an ordinary man. No doubt. as Mr.. Lodge
,-a,r.rv men. who instinctively repel a-a'n'V
.',.s.. ,,,hich raise their possessor above the
.ommon herd. This is true. no DOUBT ou' ueoi-
Wash;ngton does not yield 10 any process OF oe'ho-
..,.a,;or lie is and remains the great man,
II Oh. man who is alphabetically not ike oChei
-, hut sunerior 10 them : and the more his chhr-
$50, ne exempliied in his career Is examiner INC
-,oiner will il appear that the immense serNic'a
:. ,erformed for his country were the 1ruie o'
rrecisely those qualities and g'f's WHICH I'M.
excited perplexity or vague resentment o'''
=, the difficulty experienced in comprehenoihS 'h'"
To reabze all that distinguished ana Separ"'u
Wasbinpton from his contemporaries IL Is NOT e' G.
necessary to reflect upon what he did u % oi'iy
necessary TO consider what he suffered. Na'on"
vanity has always CLOSED over this aspect oi h''
.a.. hes nreferred cxtolling his resourcetuiness'
..t..onoe and executive powers to dweihh:
,,ror the bindrances which were incessanty put
e. his xav by those to whose interests MS hic
was devoted.
Ia ,rutb his greatness IS best measured oy the
,,t,,cncss OF his fellows. The common ''e",
which takes in only his battles. manocuVfeS anu
o.mnaiens is wholly inadequate. 1t may DE
.,,;s,n that the independence Of the colonies wouu
90. have been secured but for him: 1t is certainty
not a mere truism to soy that no othef man 'ieN
living could have accomplished that oo!ecC III '''
,.ne of the obstacles raised by the colonies them
caves II was not the English who were 70 ot
,.ared Had Washington been properly served
and supported he could-for he possessed the mn
ta<V penius-have driven them 70 their ships IN
wear His main difficulties were OF another kina
piseordant couisels, apathy. lack Of public splrl'
,.,Ashness greed, poltroonery, were the enemies
,ha, naralvzed him, that starved and froze III
ragged army at Valley Forge, that frustrated NJ
net n,ans In the Trenton campaign, that shooi
~, Authority with mutiny enforced by despera
ton. that crippled and bafiied him at every turn
Il was his greatness alone that enabled MN u
carry out his purposes despite all these swarmin
d,fseulties, and the more the nature OF his triai
4, .a,a The bicber must the estimate OF hi