The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-06

Centennial celebrations seem 20 be III,
order of the day. and before long anothe
anniversary will be observed in America
No brilliant pageantry, however, viii
mark this event The one hundredth an
niversary of the appointment of JohI
Marshall as Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States will be marked
with ceremonies which are in keepin;
with the character Of the man, his ex
allied position in the history of this coun
try. and the dignity with which he occu
pied his high Office. They will be i'm.
pressive. dignifed, and patriotic. Every
public school throughout this country is
making active preparations to observe
February 4. 1901. in manner becoming
the import of the occasion; every bar as
sociatiCn and institution of learning as
well as municipal corporations is doing
likewise. and it is most likely that Con-
gress viii pass resolutions regarding the
historical event
The American nation could not select
more worthy subjects to dwell upon than
the heroic and noble deeds of the found
ers OF this great Commonwealth. The
men endowed with brilliant intellectual
attachments or of dazzling wit; they were
plain men, most of them "self-made"
men, and withal they were uncommonly
practical men. One of these solid men of
the Revolution and founders of this ma
ton was the immortal John Marshall,
the Chief Justice par excellence.
short review of his life and career In
revering memory of the centennial Of his
elevation to the office of Chief Justice OF
the Supreme Court of the United States
will without doubt prove Of deep interest
since he has the welI-merited honor Of
having graced this high post Of response
hility with unexcelled ability, and for
longer term of years than any Of his hen
orable predecessors or followers.
The conception of John Marshalls life,
or even a sketch OF it. should be formed
at his tomb. and under the influence Of the
simple republican grandeur of its last two
days. There is a light in the last OF
Garth" that gives true relief to the past
The manner in which great men leave
their earthly stage. and close the drama
of life. opens up answ its plot and defines
its character. True to this conviction,
can be recalled the last resting place and
the last Oh Tue great MARSHALL
There is in the beautiful cemetery on
shoccoe Hill. at Richmond. Va, a plain,
white marble stone. with the following
inscription: John Marshall, son of Thorn
as and Mary Marshall; was born on the
Path of September, 1855; intermarried with
Mary Willis Amber on the Cd of January,
1888; and departed this life on the 9Th day
OF July, 1885" This inscription, so sim
pie and Characteristic OF the man, was
81, .
the last dates not more than two days be-
fore his death, at which time he directed
that his body should be laid with his yife's
who had died a short time before, and that
a plain stone should mark the place OF
their rest. They were lovely and united
in their lives and death did not divide
them.
BY that tomb one can feel in company
with the dust of one of the greatest men
of the Revolution. His deeds underlie the
of the nations greatness. I
His spirit still lives in the defenders Of /
the Constitution. "A superior and COM !
intellect" II has been eloQuently |
said. sis not a temporary fame. burning |
brightly for a while and then giving place /
TO returning darkness. 1t is rather spark |
OF fervent heat, as well as radiant Ight, |
with power to enkindle the common mass /
of human mind: SO that when it glim- |
mers in its own decay, and finally goes out I
in death, no night follows, but 1t leaves
the world all light, all on fire, from the 1
potent contact of its own spirit"
John Marshall, the soldier, the lawyer,
the Senator, the Secretary of War. and
also Of State and the Chief Justice, was
born in Germantown, Farquier county,
Va, on the 9th of September, 1855, twenty
7ears before the Revolution, the eldest Of
family of fifteen children. all Of whom
fine intellects. Col Thomas
Marshall, his father, was a planter Of
Moderate fortune and education, but rich
n the gifts of nature. He was self
made" man, and one Of no second-rate
bility. AS parent. he bears to his sen
relation somewhat similar to that which
fartha Washington sustains to 1.-THE Fa-
her of His Country" The characters Of
10Th were mainly the results OF their do
nestle education
The scenes in which he learned TO think
ma built up his own character, under
he guidance of an observing father, we're
Il rural and pleasing nature. Eau
luier county was at the time of his
,irth. a comparatively new settlement of
he whites. The Oceoquan and the head
gaters CT the RapTahannock were not then
household streams. Their names were I
somewhat strange in the talk by the Ere
7ide. The agTeeablY diversified surface
vas but partly subdued. In such scenes
7oung Marshall felt the power OF nature,
md in converse with the land and-wa- /
er features Of his native country. nursed
lis dawning poetic Imagination, and that
power that gave him such as
,endancy as an expounde- and teacher Of
he principles Of constitutional law
Inc early education Of the children in
hose circumstances, necessarily deYolyed
Ipon the father. He assumed IL as
rust and devoted himself TO the nobiest
4 parental duties-the informing and
raining Of the mind OF the children.
Ie superintended the studies of his cid
st sen. and early formed in him a taste
OF English literature. Young Marshall
ad transcribed Pope's Essay on Man"
I the age OF twelve
This early introduction to poetry can
e regarded IS a happy event in the chain
{ influences that developed his charac-
er. Poetry harmonizes the diversity OF
arly life, and becomes main agent in | ,
ducating he conceptive faculty-a facul
Y SO necessary to every noble character.
he sentiments OF Pope's poetry, and
specially his Essay on Man" SO inter-
woven with a material pantheism, are
ot always healthy nor well adapted to
ourIsh the rising thoughts Of the young .
mind. The poison is fortunately 80 la
ent as not to be called into action by ,
he contact OF the Juvenile reader. ,
This was the case with young Marshall Z
Is mind was too young. fresh, and
ealthy, and under too good teaching to
1tract the evil. and took to itself those 1
assages that impress US with the folly {
petty conventional distinctions and the (
ignity OF human nature. and in after s
Re contribute not little TO the .leva-
on OF the individual in his views of civ
lzation and the character Of a true ]