[WASHINGTON THE BOY.]
And now some of you are ready to ask me if these elements of character were combined in the illustrious Washington, the father of his country, whom I have held up as a model character for the American youth. Let us see if such be the case. Let us recur for a moment to the history of that unequalled man. And first, let us see what he was in his youth, and under the training of his parents. And, as a boy, how is he shown to you in history? He is shown to you as the very boy I have described. He was the dutiful and obedient son. He was the simple-hearted, affectionate, studious boy, who, by his gentle manners, and open and candid disposition, made himself the idol of his parents. If you turn to the history of Washington’s youth, and read it, you will find him amiable, and honorable, and dignified, and pure. You will see him almost without a fault, and with a soul made of such noble materials that he becomes at once the object of your admiration and your love. Why, of such a boy as Washington, his mother might well be proud. Aye, his friends and his country might well be proud of him. What! A nation proud of a boy? Yes, a nation proud of a boy! The free nation of American citizens is proud, to this day, and ever will be proud of the boyhood of Washington. He stands out in history in bold advance of the boys of America. He stands out in bold advance of the boys of the world. He is the model boy, and boys are great and wise, and good in proportion to their imitation of his character. Let the light of his boyhood’s example be the guiding star of the American youth. Let those youth be what he was at the fire-side, at his mother’s knee, and at the school, and their country shall be blessed in their manhood’s years.
[WASHINGTON THE MAN.]
And what is the character of Washington the man? Let the patriotism of his professional life speak for him. Where is he in the hour of peace, when the trump of war is hushed, and the stillness of the Sabbath rests upon the woods and wilds of his native state. In the time of peace he is a man of peace. He is just the man that you might expect the boy Washington to make. A talented, active, industrious citizen. His occupation is that of a surveyor, and so eminent is he in his profession, rendered so by study and industrious application—so eminent is he, that he attracts public attention and receives the appointment of public surveyor at the age of but little more than seventeen years. And so manly is his character, and so decided his attainments, that when he is but nineteen years of age, in addition to his office of public surveyor, he is made the commissioned head of the militia of his district to guard it against the depredations of the Indians. And he is yet devoted to his mother, and ready to obey her in all that she commands. Washington the man is like Washington the boy, the dutiful and obedient son. He loves his mother tenderly and devotedly, and his mother, in return, loves him with all the ardor of a mother’s deep and abiding affection. And he is loved and respected by all who know him and have the opportunities of appreciating his worth.
[WASHINGTON THE PATRIOTIC SOLDIER.]
And where is Washington when the storm of war begins, and clouds of darkness and danger gather over his beloved land. Where is he when the fierce thunder of war’s tempest is heard among the hills of his nativity. He is among the very first that offers for the service of their country. The mild, the gentle, the obedient boy is a patriot, and he becomes a soldier to fight in the defence of the country of his love. He takes his place in the army, and still a student, still active and industrious, his path to fame is onward and upward. He was the idol of his mother in his boyhood, and now he becomes the idol of another mother, his country. He fights his way as commander in chief of the American army, through a fierce and bloody revolution, and he conquers a fierce and blood-thirsty foe. And when the British flag is in his hand, and the British lion cowering before the eagle that spreads her wings upon his own proud ensign, he lays the trophies of his victory upon the altar of his country, and becomes a private citizen. Like the Roman Cincinnatus, he resigns his honors when the period of duty has passed, and retires to the peace and quiet of his farm. He is the patriot that does all for his country, and seems to show but little concern for himself. And there is a scene at the close of his military life which shows him to his countrymen and to the world, the most glorious patriot that ever lifted his arm in his country’s defence. It holds up his character higher than that of the most renowned Greek. It shows him to be the more than Roman in all that was great in the Roman’s estimate of fame. When the army that he has led to victory is about to be disbanded, a source of dissatisfaction arises, and the soldiers that are wearing the badges of triumph over a foreign enemy murmur at the treatment they receive by the government at home. The congress of the country they have served, so long and so faithfully, refuses to pay them for their services, and would have them dismissed and sent home poor, penniless, and in rags. With tears in his eyes, Washington communicates the sad intelligence to his brave comrades in arms. They hear the tale in silence and in sorrow. And scarcely is it told, when the fire of indignation flashes in every eye. The men that have fought and conquered under Washington, and have fought and conquered for their country, now propose to have their own private wrongs redressed by fighting for their matchless leader. They would hurl the members of congress from their seats, and upon the throne of a newly erected kingdom they would place their Washington. And what is the import of this proposition from the triumphant American army? It is no less than to make Washington a king; no less than to crown him king of conquerless America. They would have crowned him, as many a warrior of past ages had been crowned, after they had been victorious over their enemies. They would have laid a nation’s honors and a nation’s homage at his feet. And does Washington accede to their proposal? Does he receive the gift of the crown, and mount his throne a king? No! He scorns the deed. He becomes indignant at the proposition, and he pities from his heart the brave sufferers whose wrongs induced them to make it. He turns from the disheartened troops that stood by him in the trials of many a stormy hour, and lays the laurels that he won, as their chief, at his country’s feet. He resigns his commission as an American general, and he walks from his place at the head of his army, not an American king, but a private American citizen. And may I not ask, where is the deed in history that stands out in such strong relief, and in such glowing colors, as does that deed of the most glorious of heroes. Where is the victorious general of Greece, or Rome, or of any other nation, that refused such brilliant honors, and at a time of such trying interest? Where is the hero who, with the crown in view, held out by his weeping, suffering troops, and under such touching circumstances, that went out from before them, of helm and plume bereft, “a man of private mien?” The deed, like the man, stands out in history in solitary isolation.
And glow on fame’s immortal height,
Inscribed in lines of living light,
The name, the deed, they are but one,
Unrivalled in our Washington.
[WASHINGTON THE PATRIOTIC STATESMAN.]
And, as a statesman, our model of the American character is scarcely less distinguished than he is as a victorious general. In the halls of his country’s legislation, as in the field of battle, his deeds, and not his words, proclaim his character. He is as far sighted upon the platform of state, as he is amid the smoke of war; and as he looked forward and fought for the victory that was to crown his career in the future, so did he watch, with an eagle eye, the sun of his country’s glory, as it ascended to its meridian, and so did legislate that the beams and genial warmth of that sun might be shed over future generations. He is the statesman in the nobleness and dignity which the character should ever maintain. In his acts, which are always of general application, and for the public good, the blustering partisan is shamed into silence, and the tongue of the wily politician stilled. He speaks only when he has something to say. His words are the words of the heart, and they are full of meaning. He sees not himself, and knows nothing of his own success, but he pleads for the land that he has perilled his life to save. He labors with his might for his country’s prosperity; and while he asks not office, he feels that it is not his place to decline it when the voice of duty calls him to the post, and while there is work for him to perform. His countrymen witness his patriotic zeal for their prosperity, and for the prosperity and elevation of their government, and they pass by hundreds that seek honor in her councils, and at her head, and offer him the highest place of honor in their gift. The people, over whom he so nobly refused to reign as a king, ask his services as their chief magistrate, and he consents at once. He is the statesman that is ever ready for service—always at hand when there is labor for him to perform. And when the hour of honor comes he is hardly to be seen. He is the statesman that loses sight of self and of all selfish considerations, and plans and purposes only for the welfare of the nation. See him, when he deems that his labors for the state are accomplished, and her honor, and peace, and prosperity secured. When there are no more toils for him to undergo, he lays the honors of office at the feet of those who conferred them, and from his distinguished seat, at the head of the government, he comes down to the place of a private citizen. He is the lofty spirit that deals in mighty works, and when there are no more mighty works for him to do, he retires to be mighty still in the circles of private life. He fights while there is a gun to be fired, or a foe to be subdued, and he is the last to leave the field. And so stands he at the helm of state. He is there till the impending danger is passed. And he leaves not his post while there is a trial near. While the clouds of war are curling around him, he appears unmoved, and the smile of peace is upon his cheek to tell how little concern he has for himself when the storm is sweeping over his country. And while the waves of civil commotion are dashing at his feet, his form is seen standing firm amid the threatening peril, and his hand is outstretched for the calming of the troubled waters. And when all is tranquil, and the country safe, we find our patriot among the quiet shades of Mount Vernon. As a statesman, as well as a victorious warrior, we see the sunlight of a glorious fame encircling the brow of Washington. The deeds that exhibit the model Washington, as a patriotic soldier and statesman, are unparalleled in history. And as in his social virtues, and in his patriotic character, so stands out, in bold relief,