Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1903-02-28


terrain Church, Chicago
Chicago. Feb. 22.-In this dis
course. appropriate to the patriots
character Of the day. the preacher ex
tolls the patriotism, the craftsmanship
and the Christianity of "the Father o.
His Country" as worthy of the emula
ton Of all good Americans. The tex
is Genesis xvii, /, Thou shalt be
father of many nations"
Among the monarchs Of Europe there
Is only one whose lot | consider envi
able. Justin Mccarthy once wrote thai
the princes who were born to thrones
ought to be the most pitied of all men
The kings and queens of Europe, as q
rule, are doomed to lives Of oppressive
and circumscrlbed servitude. The
would be assassins are always skulk-
ing around. ready to dig their graves,
Kings cannot marry those with whom
they fall in love, as other men are al
lowed to do. When they wed, consid-
eratlons of state policy and Of inter
national alliance govern the choice of
a partner, and they must not marry
simply to satisfy the cravings of their
own hearts. They must breathe, for
the most part. the tainted atmosphere
of sycophantal praise and insincere
adulation. Royalty has its drawbacks
as we'll as its dangers; but there is one
example Of their being
overcome. Even a freebOrn American
citizen can afford to admire the do
nestle relations of the German emper-
or. The six bright. healthy, intelligent
boys and the lovely little girl who
his family circle are a group
to make a fathers heart glad. TO be
the head of such a family is more graf
flying than to be the head Of the Ger
man empire.
1t was so that the beautiful Cornelia
felt when she declared that no wealth
was comparable to being the mother of
the Gracchi. What. then, must be the
ioy of that man who is told that he is
to be the father Of many nations"
For that reason the Hebrew people
honor the name of Father Abraham;
for that reason the American people
ought to honor the name Of George
AS the Hebrews to this
lay venerate the man from whom their
race sprang. so we have in the leader
and founder of our commonwealth a
nan whose character is worthy Of all
)ur honor and veneratiOn. Thousands
upon thousands of pilgrims have jour
leyed to the shrines of Machpelah, in
which are supposed to be buried Fa-
her Abraham and Sarah, his wife. On
his national holiday in imagination
We should be willing TO journey to the
Mount Vernon tombs In which slumber
he moldering bodies Of Father Wash
ngton and Martha. his wife. We should
N this Washington's birthday be glad
O give up at least one service to the
tudy of the life and the character of
his great and good man. whose name
lot only towers above all other names
n American history. but whose life
las won the admiration Of other ma
ions as we'll as of our own.
A Well Rounded Man.
George Washington was a well round
d man. His was not the brilliant gen
US of Napoleon or a Richelieu or a
iaZarin or Cardinal Wolsey. His |
Military career was not spectacular. |
Ike that Of Arnold or Greene or Nor
an or Light Horse" Harry Lee or |
Mad" Anthony Wayne. His pen was
OF facile. like that Of Hamilton or |
efferson. He bad no oratorical gifts,
Ike those Of Henry or Adams or VIII
am Pinkncy: but. as he had not the
aZzl.ng talents Of such men, neither
id he have the moral weaknesses
-h.ch marred their characters.
wherever we touch the life and char
:ter Of Washington there we find that
lie had any genius. his" as David
regg wrote. "was the genius of char
ter" and Of character alone. AS
)y he was not q brilliant boy. but a
)od boy. u noble, high principled boy.
re do not have to refer to the fabled
ltchet story TO prove this. There are
i'll preserved in his own boyish hand
riting the famous rules he made to
,vern his future life, which he wrote
It at thirteen. Among those rules are
ese words: "EnGeavor to keep alive
your bosom that little divine spark
lied conscience" AS a young man
e do not find him a brilliant young
an. but a conscientious and painstak.
e young man. He was appointed
lbic surveyor by Lord Fairfax. Why?
ecause Lord Fairfax knew that when
e plodder, George Washington, record
a measurement there would never be
doubt of the one fact, that that meas
ement was right. AS matured man
e cannot portray the well rounded
.ss Of Washington's life better than
quoting these words written by Mr.
ear. his private secretary, who lived
lth him as a member of his family in
cunt Vernon General Washington
l believe, almost the only man OF
alted character who does not lose
me part of his responsibility by an
innate acquaintance. have never
und a single thing that could lessen
= respect for him. A complete knowl-
ge of his honesty, uprightness and
ndor In all his private transactions
s sometimes led me to think him
)re than a man."
character was not the
andeur Of snow capped mountain.
II of crevasses and fatal precipices.
was that Of a well chiseled piece OF
arble. over which the sculptors hand
IS gone again and again. His charac-
r was not developed in an instant. as
comet leaps into existence and then
But his character growth
n aptly be compared to the sunrise,
hich grows brighter and brighter and
eds forth a more refulgent light until