Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1889-05-04
raj CuARACFEK OF GEORGE
WASHINGTON.


; A. dsiinsstsd By nonss Jsasrs0n-
. think | knew General Washington
Intimately add thoroughly. and were
,lIsd on to delineste his character ID
houId be in terms like these: His mind
70. great and powerful. without being
4 the very first order; his penetration
,trone, though not 30 acute ss that OF
Newton, Bacon or Locke; and as far a.
70 saw, no Judgment was ever souBder.
q vas slow 10 operation, being little
,ided by invention OF imagination, but
sure in conclusion. Hence the common
.emark Of his officers Of the advantage
ne derived from councils Of war, where,
rearing all suggestions. be selected what
,ver was best, and certainly no General
ever planned his battles more judi
ciously. Bot il deranged during the
course Of the action, il any member OF
his plan was dislocated BY sudden cir
cumstances, he was slow in ~readiust-
ment. The consequence vas that be
often failed in the field and rarely
against an enemy in station, ~ At
Boston and New York. he was inca
psbls Of fear. meeting personal dan
gers with the calmest Per-
haps the strongest feature Of bis ehsrse-
ter was prudence, never acting until
every circumstance, every consideration
was maturely weighed; retaining II he
saw . doubt, but when once decided 60
ing through with his purpose whatever
obstacles opposed. His integrity was
most pure, his Justice the most inhsxi-
BILE I have ever known. no motives Of in
terest or consanguinity, Of friendship or
hatred, being able to bias his decision.
He was, indeed, in every sense Of the
word, . good and . great man. His
temper was naturally irritable and high
strung. bat reflection and resolution
had obtained q firm and habitual ascend.
and over il. IL ever, however. il broke
its bonds he was most tremendous in his
wrath. In his expenses he was honors-
BILE but exact, liberal in contributions to
Whatever promised utility, bat frowning
and unyielding on all visionary projects
and all unworthy calls on his charity.
His heart wss not warm in its affections,
but he exactly calculated every mans
value and gave him solid esteem proper
toned to ID. His person wal fine, his
stature all one could wish, department
easy, erect and noble; the best horse.
man Of his age, and the most graceful
figure that could be seen on horseback.
Although in the circle Of bis friends
where he might be unreserved with
safety, he took . free share in CONVERSE
ton, his colloquial talents were not
above mediocrity, possessing neither CO.
-piousness Of ideas nor iuency Of words.
10 public, when called upon for . sud
den opinion, be was unsteady. short and
embarrassed. Yet he wrote readily,
rather diffusely. in an easy and correct
style. This he had squired by CONVEX
sation with the world, for his education
was merely reading. writing and COM
mon Arith.netic, to which he added sur.
veyiug at . later day. His time was
employed in action chiefly, reading little
and that only in agriculture and Eng.
lish history. His correspondence be-
came necessarily extensive. and. with
.journalizing his agricultural proceedings,
occupied most Of his leisure hours within
doors.
On the whole, his character was in its
mass perfect. In nothing bad. in few
points Indifferent. and it may truly be
said that never did nature and fortune
combine more perfectly to make q man
great and to place him in the same con-
stellation with whatever worthless have
msrited from man an everlasting remem.
brance. For his was the singular des-
tiny and merit Of leading the armies Of
his country successfully through an ar.
duous war for the establishment Of its
Independence, Of conducting its councils
through the birth Of . Government. new
in its forms and principles, until it had
settled down into q quiet and orderly
training. and of scrupulously obeying
the laws through the whole Of his career,
civil and military, OF which the world
furnishes no other example.