Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-05-16
Mary Washington, the Mother Of Gen
Gen. n aSilinStOn

In referring to the dedication, on
last Thursday, at Fredericksburg, of
the monument to Mary Washington,
The mother of Gen. George Washing
ton. the Baltimore Sun thus speaks Of
her -
The best memol ial of such a wO
man vas her great son, and every mon
umebt that has been erected to him
has been to large extent monument
to her. But it is in every way fitting
and appropriate that her own individ
ua excellence should receive the rec
ogni,ion that is given it in the celebra
ton at Fredericksburg. What is rec
ogniz.d and hOnOred in Mary Wash
ington are the womanly and domestic
virtues which lie at the foundation of
all national health and greatness. She
is one of the true heroines of history,
who have done their work aud exerted
their influence from the home circle,
and who without clamor or ostenta
ton have accomplished great results
for he nation and he world from their
quiet places by the family hearthstone.
She vas not great pDetess. or II great
~, ist, or au int lectua' female With
u -, lie mission. She fTn~ s'fi'''i> Il
wo;t. n and motl,rr, with IL tau c'iu
prelia nsiun of the dir ~ ant 70 p II
sibiliGy that belonged TO her us SUCH.
and with no longings for any greater
over or fame than were involved in
the simple majesty OF her domestic
fuuc; ions. The monument at Ere
| deri .:zsburg is an especial tribute to
the nobility, strength and far reach
| ing Influence of pure and wise mother
| hoo to the exalted greatness of wo
man hood that is true to itself and its
| highest ideals and Purposes"
! i Great Comet l.; the Heavens.
| II tlley's comet is coming and there
is a prospect OF a Fl le sight III the heav
| ems 1t is one of tie most magnificent
of the wanderers OF the sky. les visits
are few and far bet ween, but when il
comes it attracts the whole worlds at
tehtiOn.
| Professor Garrett P. Serviss, writing
to the New York Sun, says:
| Now that astronomers have under
taken the prediction of the exact peri
cd of it's return it will be interesting tC
see who will first complete his calcula
lions and who will hit nearest to the
mark. Aud those of us who actually
see the great comet on its return will
surely find it dOubly interesting. be
cause it is like a slowly revolving hanC
upon the dial of history. 1t passed
arro.s the sky twelve years before the
birth of Christ. 1t passed again wheI
N.r, was Emperor; again when the
first of the Antonines had just begun
his pacific reign; again when the Cloths
were preparing to attack Rome, anC
yet again in the days of Diocletian
the advancing Huns beheld its transi
in the year 373: and it was blazing il
the sky when their great King Attils
was defeated at Chaions in Ash
Belisarius may have watched it a.
it swung across the heavens just after
| he had begun his victorious career il
$50. 1t passed again while Mohammet
was still worshipping the idols of hi:
fathers in COS. The world saw the
great index in the armament again ir
684, in 760, in 1877, in 912 and in 9S9. L
was on the noon mark for William, the
CouQueror, in 1866. 1t returned il
1145; in 1928 it was thought to have
predicted the death of Philip Angus
tus; in 1901 it was watched with aston
ishment from Iceland to China; in 1871
! Chinese and Europeans once more re
corded its transit in their annals. w,
have seen how Islam and Christendon
were terrified by it in 1856. 1t wal
back again in 1881 and 1917, and when
in 1852, it shone once more in the sky
the man had come who was to read it
riddle and solve IFS mystery.
Is it possible to look forward to TIN
return of a comet having such a his
tory as this without feeling that TIN
proper field of human interest is no
limited by the narrow round of thi
earth?