The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 18, 1900, Page 1

pieyed e potential that his name remalins after stracted parties; calm in the midst of con- zies at his back; Washington, inspiring Which of these is & true gentlemanp”’— Thagkeray, Novelist, Had Great Armerican. , the chief of a nation in arms, doing nst the open foe before him, and nto troops hungry and in rags, stung traying no anger, and ever ready ible, magnanimous in con- ne s on that day when he ious sword and sought his noble ed, is a character to admire and a stain, & fame without a flaw. most splendid spectacls ever ning feast of Prince George in Lon- of Washington? Which is the for after ages to admire—yon fribble and spangles or yonder hero who d after a life of spotless honor, a pur- a courage indomitable and a consum- HAT sort of & man was that George Washington, who, born pes Creek, Va., on Febru- ary 22, 1732, and dying at Mount Vernon en December 14 1799, at in HOUDON'S FAMO the STAT OF WASHINGTON. (FRONT VIEW) the lapse of & hundred years the mightiest in our history? There is a story teld of the late James Parton that some forty years ago he went to Virginia to gather material for a life of the first President, te be issued by the house of Harper. At the end of & fortnight he returned to New meantime & part York, sought the office of his publishers and sald, quizzically: ‘““Twon’t do, friend Harper; another bubble’'s burst. I can’t write the life of Washington, at least from the letters and records and traditions placed at my dls- posal in Fairfax County. “Why not? What is the reason?" asked James Harper, to whom few things were impossible. “Simply because I have a wife and fam- fly to support, and because I don’t want to see a mob of enraged patriots sack and destroy your publishing establishment ani hang me to & lamp post.” “Explain yourself,” sald the surprised publisher. “Well, the fact 1s,”” Mr. Parton went on, “that Washington, {llustrious character as he was and ever will be in history, was no saint. He was wise and prudent In council, brave and skillful in battle, dig- nified in demeanor and he brough: the colonies through their troubles. But he went to cockfights and horseraces and bet on both; was so close in his money af- falrs as to be almost penurious; was hard in his dealings with his neighbors; never genial or generous toward his tenants and inferiors; and some of his outings were— well, I am afraid they would net have re- celved the approval of the president of a village temperance soclety.’” “Enough sald,” interrupted Mr. Harper. “On second thought, I agres with you, Brother Parton, that we don’'t wan: an- other life of Washington.” For the vast majority of his country- men Washington has always been and is now & man so great and good as to be devoid of all miner human defects, fault- less as a statue and, one might add, as cold. Marshall, Bparks, Irving and the rest of his early blographers have all brought their bere down te posterity ea A 4 stilts, rarely If ever allowing his huge feet to touch the ground. On the other hand certain recent writ- ers of history, in a pralseworthy effort to rescue Washington’s personality from the fast deepening mist of legend, have gone to the other extreme and have convinced themselves, as they would now convince us, that the most illustrious of Americans was a man of obstinate will and only commonplace ability, and burdened be- sides with more than the average man's share of the. frailties of his kind. Attentive study of the mors than 3000 of Washington's letters avallable to the stu- dent will convince one that the truth about him lles between the two estimates indicated. If a man's relations toward his wife and mother be a test of his manhood and no- bility the test is one splendldly sustained by Washington. He was a dutiful, con- iderate and loving son; his union with Martha Custis proved a wise and happy one. Thelir marriage was probably not an affalr of the heart with either of them. When they met the days of romance were over for both, but they were fitted for one another, and although Washington's let- ters to his wife were destroyed by her there is not lacking abundant proof that they grew together as time went on, and that each never falled to show for the other that consideration and respect which are the best guarantees of marital happiness. Mrs. Washington had always at heart the happiness and comfort of her hus- band, while, of the many recorded in- stances of tender solicitude for her there is none more touching than that connected with his last iliness. Attacked suddenly and seriously after midnight, ‘Washington's malady was at least hast. ened by his uvowillingness that his wite should incur the risk of a cold by rising during the bitter winter night to relieve his sufferings. However, it may be noted in passing that Washington, like many other men, found it difficult to live under the same roof with a mother-in-law. At one time he invited his wife's mother to make Mount Vernon her home, but in a subsequent letter declared that he would never again have two women in his house when he was thére himself. His hospltality was open-handed and lavish, and his acts of charity wise, gen- erous and unceasing. He kept one crib of corn on each of his plantations for the poor, and during one vear of scarcity he actually bought corn for $1 a bushel for free distribution. He also maintained a boat and seine for the use of his neigh- bors, and sent a market cart to Alexan- dria three times a week to get money for his charitles. However, Washington brooked no interference with his private plans and permitted no Interference with his rights, be they of person or property. On the other hand, he gave equal consid- eration to the rights of others, and, when he found himself in the wrong was always brave enough to make acknowledgment of the fact. ‘Washington was once asked if the report ‘was true that one of his slaves had run away, taking with him oertain important papers. “Sir," sald he sternly, “I never had a slave run away,” and that, judged by the standard of his time, he was a most humane master, is evident to any one who reads his many letters to the superinten- dent of his estate during the years of his enforced absence. Food in plenty, good clothing, care in iNness, harvest rum, sea- sonable gifts, with moderate tasks—all these wers insisted upon again and again But he approved of the whip as & last Tesort with an unruly slave When Washington once told John Mar- shall that he had been making personal What Lord BrouGham, the Famcus Englishman, Tholght of Washington. “How grateful the relief which the friend of mame kind, the lover of virtus, experiences when, turning from the contemplation of such a character (Napelesm), his eye rests upon the greatest man of our owm o® of any age; the only one upen whom an epithet se thoughtlessly lavished by men to foster the crimes of their worst enemies may be innocently and justly be- towed! . . . This is the consummaste glory of the great American: A triumphant warrior where the most sanguine had a right to despair; a successful rules in all the difficulties of a course wholly untried; but =& warrior whose sword only left its sheath when the first law of our nature commanded it to be drawn, and a rules who, having tasted of supreme power, gently and unos- tentatiously desired that the cup might pass from him, nor would suffer more to wet his lips than the mest solemn and sacred dutyto his country and his God re- quired. . . . It will be the duty of the historiam and sage, in all ages, to omit no eccasion of commemngs rating this illustrious man. 78S § HOUDONS FAMOUS STATUE OR IDEVIEW) 'WASHINGTON T T - of a bank cashier, yet declining te & cent from Congress beyond it, the he was often pressed for money and sacrifices for the public all his life, he but spoke the truth. He refused to accept pay for his mili- tary services, kceping an account of his personal expenditures with the accuracy to borrow $2500 when he was elected Presie dent to discharge certain small obligae Centinued en Page Niam