Show N t 00 if L f its aj 64 U V t 4 it vi 4 VA 13 I 1 1 I 1 I 1 pig t THE BF BEST ST KNOWN PORTRAIT OF washington this has been cared called an idealized portrait of kurfirst our first president which has everywhere become the familiar one it was painted by gilbert stuart in 1795 MANY M AY N JEALOUS OF washington before his retirement great leader was not immune from the attacks of his enemies fame of george washington THE lived down every criticism and critic directed against him in today ills name IH 14 rov rev c rencey beyond that of any other american bild it Is hard kinrd to realize hint for tile greet great coeds lio lie lind accomplished lie ho should have made n grout great ninny many ene niles who tried by every menus means to blacker blacken his character and break ills his popularity with tile people this custom of celebrating february 22 la in lionor of birthday dates back bach to 1783 on blint lay day and year n number iiii niber of gentlemen who ati ad inbred him mot met in a tavern in ili now new york ono one lind had written nn nit odo and mother another brought a list of toasts the celebration nt at once became popular and the historian says march ita ana far gone before tho and advertisers verti sers ceased to publish narratives of the bonfires and tho the barbecues tile lie bell ringing the cannonading canno tho the feasting etc which camo lit in from froin every town in tho the land washington aristocrat but there was a consider considerable ablo part of tho the community who looked upon these celebrations with rago n writer lit in tho the pasadena star news observes these consisted mostly ot or the tha admirers ot of franco france arid the now republic and they claimed that the alio president proal dent wits was tin nn aristocrat lie ho not cold and reserved did li lie not carefully avoid abo uso use of tile word vord servant when lio lie signed ills his letters did lio lie not keep ft a fine alno conch ilas lie ho ever been seen mingling with tda his fellow men ut tit aho ho coffee house or on oil the street these fuld many other things thine were said to tb ills detriment hut dut washington paid no attention to tho the willful misconstruction of ills most innocent nets acts in 1703 for tho ilia first jelmo no in tile thu history of the country tile the alice of president wits wan open to combel belldon llon twice ludd washington beell chosen n by the unanimous vote of the electoral collego college and twice inaugural inaugurated with the warmest approbation of 0 the whole people dut but the times lind had now changed lit in 1789 1780 and 1702 1792 every man mail was tor for him in 1700 in every town and city ot of the land yere were men ho denounced litin him ns its nit aristocrat ns as n as nn nii yet much ns as ills his popularity suffered buffered it was still grent great aritt powerful thousands of men in tho the republican party would gladly have seen jilin him rented tor for the lie third time fiut lit lie ho refused and on sept IT 17 made public ills his farewell address nd dress ills ilia critics stated that tho the reason lie he refused to bo be n thard almo candidate was said to spring from a n knowledge that hint lie ho would not bo be elected not from froin a nant of ambition or a lust of power tho the republicans favored adams whom they said mild had tho the simplicity simplicia simp licit ot of a republican but washington lind tho the ostentation of tin nn eastern pasha when however it wits known that washington would not serve again the merits of n number of candidates urged and discussed and upon ills his retirement eti to mount vernon tho to him gradually grew less violent and finally ills his most bitter opponents began to recognize tho the wisdom of washington us na a statesman ns as well ns as they hud had appreciated ills his services ns as a soldier rn fierce criticism lind it been a second proclamation of neutrality or nn an open declaration of war against the ho french it could not have provoked more angry and ill kled refill replies eq ills diameter said bald one having been fouli founded ded on false appearances can only bo be respectable while it Is not known ills disposition la Is avaricious ile he has it great passion for or being seen without tiny skill shill ns as a dier lie he has crept into fame by the places lie ho lins lias held and by alio ho success of the cause he espoused ills tory wll will yet tear tho the page devoted demoted to ills praise onee ills his conduct was ani guided by candor the tha enemies of arty and his country claim him ns na their own mid tho the name of washington sank front from tho the high level of solon and lycurgus to the wean mean rank of it a dutch or the insignificance ot of n venetian dogo this was ns tile the opinion of tile anserlean franco fanatics who avore anable to prevail upon washington to lake up tho the side of tho the frencl french tile the rai english glish |