davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15
The Greatest of Americans.

The striking thing about the fame Of
George Washington is, that of all Americans
he is the only one that has gone into history
with a non-partisan position. Every other
famous man has been considered representa-
tive of some special idea in politics. This is
true with Hamilton and jefferson, the leaders
of the opposing schools of political thought,
as well as Of their disciples who, from the
early days of tho government, have divided
public attention.
The only other American Of whom it can
be said that he had anything like a universal
or non-partisan fame is Benjamin Franklin
but he died in the year following the final
adoption of the constitution, as signalized by
the inauguration of the first president The
statement that all our Americans are looked
upon as partsans is even true of the judiciary.
Marshall, Jay and fancy, whose careers COW
cred the first three-quarters Of a century of
our history, are considered almost univers-
ally from the standpoint of their achievements
in carrying out political ideas.-New York
Press
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15
That Rem arkable Statue.

The statue in front of the Capitol at Wash
ington, which was designed by Greenough,
has been the butt of all the jokes of senators,
representatives, strangers and guides Even
Allen G.. Thurman is said to have aided In
the ridiculing.
"The outstretched hand of George" re-
marked the Ohio statesman once, 'seems to
me to say, Here's my sword; my clothes are
In the patent Office"
Another wag, commenting on the statue of
Columbus on the front steps of the capital
balancing tho world in his right hand, re-
marked:
George Washington is playing ball with
Columbus and saying, Quit your fooling and
play ball."
Still this statue has longer history than
any other at the Capitol, probably. 1t was
begun at the end of Andrew Jaclsons first
term, and took eight years for Horatio
Greenough to make it. He did the work in
Florence, Italy, and made the statue in sit
ting posture instead of standing erect, as the
act of congress commanded. 1t was designed
to stand in the center of the rotunda inside
the Capitol, when it was completed in 1870
The next question was how to get it from
Italy to America. Congress haggled over it
for some time, and finally sent a man-of-war
In the meanwhile, Mr.. Grcenough had
started it to Genoa. 1t weighed twelve tons
and it took twenty-five yoke of oxen to haul
it. AS it went on its way through Italy, the
peasants thought it an image of some saint,
and here and there they kneeled and crossed
their breasts as it went by When it got to
Genoa it was found that it was so large it
could not be gotten through the hatchway of
the man-of-war which was to carry it to
Washington, and a merchant vessel had to
be chartered.
At last it arrived at the Washington navy
yard, and congress was Mortified to see that
the statue, which they expected was to stand
upright, was sitting in chair, and that it
was nude to the waist. Henry A. Wise then
said:
The man does not live, and never did live,
who saw Washington without his shirt"
And the country applauded the sentiment
But the navy yard is not the Capitol, and
1t cost 5000 to bring the statue from it to
the rotunda. When it reached the Capitol
doors it was found that the statue, like the
painting Of the Vicar Of Wakeield's family,
was too large to go through and the mason
ry had to be cut away and the door en-
larged. When it was finally put in, it is
said that the floor began to sink, and pedes-
tai had to be built to support it.
1t was soon found that the rotunda was no
place for it. Some people thought it was too
large and out Of proportion with its sur
roundings, and Others, hurrying from the
senate over TO the house, found it an obstacle
In their path; still others insisted that it
lacked artistic merit. But whatever the rea-
son, the statue, after a number of removals,
was taken to where it now stands in the bit
ter cold bleak air of the Capitol plateau,
where the winds can howl out Washington's
agony as they go tearing by, and where his
nakedness has the boundless arch Of the sky
for his canopy New York Tribune.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

,nies had ceased to exist, and a new nation
was born.
The Declaration was signed on the day Of
its adoption by every member present who
voted for 1t. John Hancock, whose name
headed all the others, said: 1--WE must be
unanimous; there must be no pulling differ
ent ways; we must all hang together"
EYES," said Franklin, 1--WE must all hang
together or we shall all hang separately"
On the 9th of July, 1776, the Declaration
of Independence was read to the army. Most
of the Tories had fled from New York,
and those who remained kept their sentiments
hidden, but the loyal people were in frenzy
of joy. They felt that the great step was
taken, and that it was only question Of
time when they would be a free nation.
There was leaden statue Of George III in
Bowling Green, and this they threw down
and nodded into bullets Washington dis
approved greatly Of this act. 1t seemed to
him to be lawless and riotous, and he wrote
an order requesting his men to act as be-
comes Christian men, defending the dearest
rights and liberties of their country. On other
occasions when he heard any swearing
among men or officers he at oncc stigmatized
such as wicked and ungentlemanly. Indeed, he
had an order that if soldiers were heard to
DlaSpnene .ney were 10 receive twenty-five
lashes, and on ono occasion when at dinner
which he gave to his officers and some others
some of them swore, he rose saying, II
thought l had invited gentlemen only"
Throughout all his life Washington was
austere and rigid in the observances of the
respect due to sacred things, and he was often
found praying fervently for the success of his
handful of starving troops.
Everywhere the Declaration was hailed
with joy. 1t was read to the army amidst
exulting shouts. 1t gave them tho inspira-
ton of great cause, and sustained them in
the dark days of that long, revolutionary
struggle, until that which was declared in
Independence hall in l7T6 was gloriously
achieved by Washington in 17S3-the liberty
of our land
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15
Washington Was an Athlete.

Every historic character must pass through
two eras, that of undue exaltation and lauda-
ton, and that of depreciation and defama-
ton. George Washington escaped neither Of
them. The detraction with which he was
met in his military career was temporary
For the most part his life was triumph.
His presidency was royalty beyond anything
since experienced by our executives. His
torians We'd in exaggerating his excellences,
and inventing illustrations of his extraor-
binary character The reaction was natural
to startling abatement of belief in his saint
illness, and a conviction that his military
career did not exhibit the least genius. Slowly
the final verdict has been rendered, and
we may assuredly say that among the
truly well poised and superbly developed he
roes Of humanity Washington stands among
the very princeliest. Perhaps our special
generation, influenced by an awakening in
terest in athletics and physical development,
is inclined to consider with more emphasis
the really magnificent bodily proportions and
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15
THE WASHINGTON FAMILY.
Age and High Standing of the English
Family of Washingtons.

The history of George Washington's British
ancestors has been traced back on one side to
the Norman conquerors of England, and on
the other to the Saxons, and from the earliest
dates the family appears to have belonged to
the landed gentry or lower nobility. Free
man, the historian, says; 1.-THE TeutSnic clan,
which in some unrecorded settlement of our
folk planted on spot of English soil the OBJ
scure name of the Wascingas, dreamed not
that the name of their little mark should be-
come the first of names in younger and
vaster England"
While the name of Washington is of Ger
man origin, the blood is largely Norman.
The old record says that when Henry VIII
dissolved the monasteres in 152S-29 he gave
the land in Sulgrave with other estates In
Northampton to Laurence Washington, Of
northampton, gentleman, who built a stone
house on the estate; and there eleven children
and sixteen grandchildren were born Din
GLIDING John and Laurence, the emigrants to
America), and fourteen great-grandchildre
1t Is almost in the center of England and in a
quiet rural neighborhood. Irving thought
that the three red stars and two red stripes Of
the family coat of arms furnished the germ
idea of the American flag, but the accepted
history of the flag is somewhat different.
Three generations of Washingtons lived
there. Then the fortunes of the family
declined but were afterwards restored by
wealthy marriages. Cave Castle, in York
shire, was the home Of the Washingtons dur
ing the commonwealth, and from there Col
John Washington, the great-grandfather of
George, emigrated to America in 1857 or
1869 Among the notable neighbors Of the
Washingtons were the Fairfaxes and the
Harrisons. Maj. Gen. Thomas Fairfax and
Maj Gen. Thomas Harrison were fellow sol
diers in Cromwells army. The brothers
John and Laurence, sons of Sir William
Washington, left England during the rule
of Cromwell and came to Virginia. John
married Anna Polk. Their son Laurence
married Mildred Warner. Their son Angus
tin married for his second wife, in 1870,
Mary Ball, who became the mother of
George. But Sir William Washington, the
father of John and Laurence, the emigrants,
married Eleanor Harrison, and thus the re-
mote ancestry of our first and last presidents
were connected by marriage.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15
Washington Sings the derby RAM"

When Washington, after the revolutionary
war, was travelling through Connecticut he
visited Hartford, staying at the Bulls tav-
ern there. A boy came into the kitchen Of
the tavern and said II want to see Gen.
Washington. The functionary on duty did
not propose to let any mere boy see Gen.
Washington merely for the asking, and said
as much. But | have note for him." re-
monstrated the boy. "From whomf' my
father, Chief Justice Ellsworth" "Oh,
WELL" and the functionary relented. Gen.
Washington read the note and said to the
boy: "Your father invites me to dinner, and
] will do more than that, | will 60 and break
fast with him" And he did the next morn
ing. And after breakfast he took the twin
sons of the justice, each on a knee and sang
them 1.-THE Derby RAM" an old English bal
lad beginning, 1T was on a market day."
and setting forth that the ram of Derby was
so big that the birds built nests in the wool
on his back, and the butcher who undertook
to kill him was drowned in the blood.-Cor.
New York Independent.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15
Was He Bled to Death?

George Washington was of superb physical
development, absolutely free from all faint
of hereditary disease, a very temperate man,
and lived during most Of his life in conditions
favorable to longevity. Yet he died at the
comparatively early age of G.. When we
read in his biography that the first action of
each successive medical adviser was to asls if
the patient had been bled, and then to pro-
coed to moro bleeding to make a sure thing of
it, our wonder at an early death may be mod
Grated. On the last day he was bled four
times, and the physician innocently says of
the last time that the blood did not flow
freely" One would suppose not.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15
He Held the Bible for wasbinctop

An extremely interesting incident in con-
nection with the preparations for the centen-
NAL celebration of Washington's Inaugural
ton as president of the United States is the
election of Gen. Alexander S. Webb, presi-
dent of the College of the City of New York,
as member of the committee which will
have the celebration in charge. Gen Webb,
besides being a gallant soldier who fought
bravely at Gettysburg and on many another
battlefield of the civil war, is the son of Gen.
James Watson Webb, whose father was
grand marshal of the day ON the historical
occasion that is to be celebrated in April.
The following extract from the notes Of
James Watson Webb, who was editor of The
Courier and Enquirer, will prove of interest
at this time
"At the first Inauguration of Washington
as president of the United States, my father
was grand marshal of the day, and Gen.
Morgan Lewis and Col Richard Platt were
his assistant marshals. The semi-centennial
anniversary of that event was celebrated In
New York in 1889, and John Quincy Adams,
ex-president of the United States, was the
orator of the day. On that occasion repub-
lished in The Courier and Enquirer the full
proceedings of the Inauguration of President
Washington, and Col Platt informed me In
1919 that my father, In his official capacity
as grand marshal, held the Bible while Wash
ington took the oath Of office / am aware
that this honor has been attributed to an
other, but in view of the fact that my father
was the grand marshal Of the day, and of the
high character Of Col Plat, his assistant
marshal, there can be no doubt of the accu-
racy of the statement. New York Tribune.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15
by George! Washington!

By George our victories were won,
By George! our liberties secured;
By Georgel immortal Washington
By Georgel who suffered and endured
In wars alarms, through battles ills,
At Trenton and at Valley Forge;
In peace, on Vernon's sunny hills,
The honors all were won, By George
By Georgel we stand; By Georgei we swear;
One day the nation gives to thee,
The soldier brave, the statesman rare,
For monumental memory. .
By George, whose glory is our famei
By Georgel whose deeds we call our own!
By Georgel whose honor and whose name,
By George! is ours. and ours alone
10 King In Puck.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

This statue Of Washington was modelled by
Browne and is fourteen and half feet high,
the entire monument, including the pedestal,
being twenty nine feet. The statue is of
bronze, and the pedestal of polished granite
This work has been generally and justly adj
mired and is generally decorated with flow
ers on Decoration Day Two or three years
ago that monument was strangely overlooked
and patriotic little newsboy started a sub
scription among his confreres and they soon
had it covered with green leaves and lovely
flowers
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

health of the father of his country. Science
likes to point to him as notable illustration
of the linens sana in corpore sano" princi-
pie. The stories Of his physica. proves now
seem to be significant Of more than power
and sport; they show that endurance that
was absolutely requisite to carry the general
of rebel colonies successfully through the
trials and anxieties Of a revolution-St.
Louis Globe-Democrat.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

Father--Of course he is-a long time ago.
Young America-Then why does he keep
on having birthdaysl
George Washington himself occasionally
perpetrated mild joke. On one instance he
and some brother officers went to see a
dwarf, whose head was seventeen inches long
and his body but twenty-seven. The general
asked him whether he was a Wing or Tory,
to which the boy answered as he had been
taught that he had never taken an active
part on either side" Hostilities had ceased
and the army at Newburg was only waiting
for the definite treaty Of peace; so an officer
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

There was a very curious contrast between
the first and the second Inauguration oe
George Washington; the first was conducted
with all the pomp and ceremonial the young
republic could muster, the second as quietly
as possible
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

First American Citizen - Who Is that
ancient looking darky over therei
Second American Citizen-Why, that's one
of Washington's body servants.
First American Citizen - Washington
Who's hel
Is it even remotely possible that the mag
nitude of the late war will in time make the
Revolution seem like a mere series of skir-
mishess j. II. BEADLE.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

STATUE OF WASHINGTON AT PRINCETON"
A Washington statue stands at the inter-
section of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire
avenues, Washington, and was designed by
Clark Mills 1t was voted by congress in
1853, and cost $4,000 1t was cast from cam
non, and represents Washington as at the
battle of Princeton.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

Teacher-Who was the father Of his coun-
try2
Class-George Washington.
Teacher-Right. Now, wha: particular
thing was he noted for when he was boya
GSIence.) Well well, what did he raise on
his plantation9
Bright Boy-Nurses.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-02-15

Yorker whose patriotism was suspected-fh
fact, quiet Tory''-but most unwisely did
it with sort Of apology.
80, never mind" said Washington; "Mr.
s. is like that big headed boy at Mattea~
wan-hc has never taken an active part on
either side.'"
In conclusion the following are offered as
mild attempts to do up two prominent pro-
LESSONS:
rONa LIME on TrrFM
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04
Don't

Don't snub q boy because he wears
shabby clothes. When Edison, the
inventor of the telephone, first enter
ed Boston, he wore pair of yellow
linen breeches in the depth of winter.
Don't snub boy because his home
is plain and unpretending. Abraham
LincoIn's early home was log cabin
Don't snub a boy because of the
Ignorance of his parents. Shakes
peare, the worlds poet, was the son
of man who was unable to write
his own name.
Don't snuh a boy because he
chooses an humble trade. The au-
thor of the Pilgrims Progress was a
tinker.
Don't snub n boy because of ply
steal disability. Milton was blind.
Don't snub boy because of dull
ness in his lessons. Hogarth, the
celebrated painter aud engraver, was
a stupid boy at his books.
Don't snub boy because he slut
ters. Demosthenes, the greatest
orator of Greece, overcame a harsh
and stammering voice.
Don't snub any one. Not alone
because, some day, they may far OUT
strip you in the race of life, but be-
cause it is neither kind, nor right, nor
Christian Christian AdVoodte.
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04

the Threshing Machines then
in use were almost wholly of
the class known as the Endless
Apron" style. Then it was that
Nichols & Shepard, of Battle
Greek, Mich, inventedandbegan
20 develop an entirely new and
novel style of Grain Thresher and
Separator, which theyvery appro-
priately named the "yibrator."
1t was revolution in Thresh-
ing Machines, and from a small
beginning of Ave machines in
1853 they soon reached pro-
duct of 1900 yearly.
Their Vibrator drove the End
less Apron" machine out of mar
ket, and all other makers copied
it as closely as they dared. To-
day all Threshing Machines of
any reputation or merit use the
principles of the old Vibrator.
Nichols & Shepard have con-
tinued in the business without
change of name, location, or
management; and during the
past three years have brought
out and developed another new
lhreshing Machine for grain and
seeds, as superior to all existing
machines as their former was to
me me: Endless Apron They name
TINS new and improved Thresher
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04
pon't Waste Your Zinc

and money experimenting with doubtful rem.
edies, when DR.. Pierce's Golden Medical Dis
covery is so positively certain in Its curative ac
ton rs to warrant its manufacturers In supply
ing it to the public, as they are doing through
druggists, under At duly executed certificate of
guarantee, that it will accomplish all it is rec
commended to do or money paid for it will DO
promptly refunded. 1t cures torpid liver. or
biliousness, indigestion, or dyspepsia, all hue
mors or blood tRints from whatever cause aris-
ing. skin and scalp diseases, scOrfulous affec-
tions. mot excepting consumption or lung
scrofuln, } if taken In time and given fair trial
Thousands of cures follow the use of DR..
Sage's Catarrh Remedy so ceuts
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04

Gentlemen of the jury" said the
counsel, in an agricultural case,
'sthere were thirty-six hogs in that
lot-thirty-six. l want you to re-
member the rumber-thirty-six hogs
Just three times the number that
are in the jury box
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04

The :. PUssY Willow. Mrs.
Cleveland has caused revolution in
the flower trade. At a luncheon
party given by her some three weeks
since, the table was decorated with
willow catkins, and she wore a clus-
ter of them in her bodice. The fluff
fy softness of the greenish yellow
catkins has obtained for them in
America the name of pussy willow,
and there is now quite craze for
them, not only in their natural con-
dition as table decorations, but in
their counterfeit presentment by the
needles art.
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04

DIED by INCHES. There died at
Weston, w. Va, yesterday morning
man whose case has been a puzzle
to the local medical authorities. His
name was John Ryan, and about six
years age his physicians told him
that he was suffering from locomoter
ataxia. He staggered in his walk at
first, and finally his fingers and toes
began to mortify. Joint by joint
they fell off until only the bare
stumps Of his limbs were left. The
disease did not stop here, but his
whole body seemed to be subject to
the decaying process. Large pieces
of his flesh loosened and fell from
him without pain. His nerves were
deadened and his body was practi-
cally senseless. His six years liv-
ing death ended yesterday morning.
Mr.. Ryan was a well known man,
and universally esteemed.
Cumberland Times.
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04

When Baby was sick, We gave her castoria,
When she was Child, she cried for Castoria,
When she became Miss, she chung TO Cnstoria.
When she had Children, she gave them Csstoria,
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04
George L. travis.
TIE BOSS BARBER,

u EsPECTFULIY announces to his friends
q aud the public that has removed to the
front upper room in the Gibson building, I'd
fOinjnG the courthouse yard
Myshop has been Thoroughly Furnished and
Improved. with the Best Patent Spring Chairs,
&c. is large and roomy. and shall constantly
have the services of a competent assistant.
Promptncss. neatness, and politeness. my mot
20.
April G, 1856.
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04

LADIES
Needing tonic, or children that want building
up. should lake
BROWNS IRON BlTTERS.
tits pleasant TO take, cures Malaria. Indiges-
ton and BiliousnetS. All dealers Eeepi6
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04
WhItney side-Bar spring

pleasant riding wagon. Also all styles and pat
2crns of Carriages, Bug.sics. Jaglers. Jenny
Kinds and PhWt0us. / keep OH hand large
stock but am prepared to ill orders at short
nutfee. Prices suited To tle tines and satisfac-
ton guaranteed. 4 liberal discount allowed on
old vchicles in exchange for new ones / use
HItowcthcr the Old Reliable
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04
MISCELLANEOUS.
Fresh. strong. Convincing Facts.

Best Results. East Providsnos r /. June 'ss
While in the employ Of ths BarEtow Stove Co.
spilled your st. Jacobs oil TO many bad burns Of
the mouiders and always with best results.
GEO. ". HORTON.
Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-06-04

Doctor-You say you have a feel
ing of distress after eating? Patient
Yes Doctor-What sort of fe ell
ing? Patient-As if I hadn't had
enough to eat.