OCR Text |
Show No Nation or people ever had a richer legacy than Americans have in their ideal of Washington. Washing-ton. Great as was his real character and inestimable as were his services serv-ices to the coun- ir Wcdiinctrtn ing evidence of his common humanity human-ity in the fact that while quite young he fell easily in love and wrote verses and sentimental verses at that.. When he was twelve years old, shortly short-ly after the death of his father, he was sent to school at Fredericksburg after promising his elder brother to be "steady." It was a mixed school of boys and girls and one of his schoolmates, a cousin, said in later life that while George was remarkably remark-ably studious he was alsoi fond of "romping with one of the largest girls; this was so unusual that it excited ex-cited no little comment among the other lads." It was while at this school that George wrote the following follow-ing acrostic: From your bright sparkling eyes I was undone1 Rays you have more transparent than the sun. Amidst its glory in the rising day. None can you equal in your bright array: Constant in your calm and unspotted mind, "Equal to all, but will to none prove kind: So knowing, seldom one so young you'll find. Ah, woe's me that I should love and conceal con-ceal Long have I wished but never Csre reveal. re-veal. Even though severely love's pain T feel; Xerxes the Great wasn't free from Cupid's Cu-pid's dart. And all the greatest heroes felt the smart. The first letters spell Frances Alexa. Alexa was the abbreviation of Alexander, and the acrostic was addressed either to a schoolmate of that name or to some fail1 Frances living liv-ing in Alexandria, where the boy was well acquainted. There is reason to believe that young Washington was as susceptible as the average young man of the present day. When about seventeen years old he fell in love with a young lady, whom lie refers to in a letter to a friends as "your Lowland brai'ty," and says going into company simply revives his former passion for her. lie adds: "Were 1 to live more r"Mred from young women. I might alleviale in some measure my sorrows, by burying bury-ing that chaste and troublesome pas-rion pas-rion in the urave of oblivion or eternal eter-nal forget fulness, for as 1 am very well assured that is the only amiJoto or remedy Ihv.t 1 ever shall lm relieved re-lieved by or only recess that c;in administer ad-minister any cure or help to ine. as I am well convinced, were I ever lo attempt anything, I should only get a denial, which would be only adding grief to uneasiness." was not a demi god nor even a man of genius. But he did possess a genius for honesty and patriotism and was the incarnation of common sense. His mother, after reading a letter from him during the Revolutionary war which conveyed good news, said: "George generally carries through anything he undertakes." Mrs. U. S. Grant once said, referring to her husband's hus-band's determination and persistance: "He is a very obstinate man." Grant was not a genius any more than Washington, but both men had the gift of success. It is well for the American people that they have idealized Washington, and it is to be hoped that they may never lower nor change their ideal, and yet he was very human. As a young man and even after his marriage mar-riage he was very fond of fox hunting. He could get very angry on fit occasions occa-sions and sometimes swore. He drank a generous glass of wine every day at dinner and allowed his negro butler but-ler and cook each a bottle of beer a cay. Nearly thirty years ago a friendly friend-ly biographer wrote: "Eighty years have now passed since the death of George Washington, Washing-ton, and already he is hidden from us in some degree by a haze of eulogy and tradition. He has been so uniformly uni-formly extolled that some of our young men tell us with a yawn, that they are tired of hearing Aristidcs called "The Just." lie has been edited into obscurity, like a Greek play. Where the genial and friendly soldier referred to one of his cherished cher-ished friends as "Old Put," a respectable respect-able editor, devoid of humor, has substituted sub-stituted "Geneial Putnam;" until, at length, a lover of the man lias to defend de-fend him against the charge of perfection." per-fection." Washington himself never pretended pretend-ed to be more than an average man, though all bis contemporaries knew he was. All that he claimed was to be perfect master of himself and to use such powers as God had givo:; him the best be knp,v how. Once as a procession in his honor passed through the streets of a civ he heard a little boy exclaim: "Why. father. General Washington is only a man!" He looked with thoughtful interest oi he child and patting him on the head -pplied: "Thp.t'n all, my little fellow, hat's all." He was one of the raoM 'ignified men that ever lived, yet one -,f the most modest. One finds pleas- |