| Show BIRTHDAY among numerous lives that will ever be en shined in the hearts of the american people that will bo canonized among american heroes that will be immortalized in american history eliat will be apotheosized in american folklore that will be revered and studied as long as earth shall revolve a habitable globe is that of washington first in war first in peace first in the hearts of his countrymen all this is true and all is due the memory of our great compatriot with this high tribute we beg leave to that on the core of posthumous eulley there are a great many undiscriminating and unappreciative commendations ions when people began to talk of the honored dead they think it necessary to renounce all claim to critical accuracy our funeral discourses are tame because they seldom poss sess the characteristics of truth and verisimilitude mili tude nobody knows that jones was a really good man until he dies then everybody learns for the first time that ho was a saint what is worse nobody is willing to reverence the memory of anybody if it remains a current fact that there were strata of base mineral in his otherwise valuable and worthy makeup make up our heroes must be demigods demi gods or we relegate them to chaos or hades wn see this same weakness in christians who stand ready to reject the bible if it be that it is not infallible in every respect see the presbyterians pitching dr briggs and others overboard because they claim that the bible is tar less perfect and unerring than god himself this tendency of human nature is a very crude and feeble one if most people knew the real lives of those historic and renowned characters whom they revere and worship they would cast them away in supreme disgust whereas they should revere them alie more for rising above the cil that was constantly with them and sometimes leading them astray our great americans have all been men of great faults and imperfections lincoln was often in dishabille morally speaking but the side of his character was almost harmless to others and full of roaring fun that relieved the strain on his higher life washington was a boisterous high tempered man among his household retinue biad little patience with servants and sometimes beat them unmercifully he was a born aristocrat and naturally lv loved all the pomp and ceremony of regal etiquette he would not consent to bo king but lie displayed many of the weaknesses of kingly grandeur now if all this seems to bo derogatory we must be reminded that very many kings of the past leavo been as noble and true in performance of recognize d duties as kingly and imperious washington was brave batern cautious watchful practical prompt methodical judicious discerning generous exacting imperious Withal he was open was well as open to the obsequiousness of the cuckoos aa grover cleveland prime traits were nobility candor and bense of representative greatness he identified the people and the times with himself when the nation was called upon he felt impelled to respond he bo lieveld in strong government and was alie corner itono stono of the federal party whose spirit was transmitted through alie party to the party of abraham lincoln who is the moses of liberty and freedom the demigod and uncrowned king of the coming humanity washington didiot count for much in originating american independence this was the work of jefferson the adamsey Ad amses paine franklin and a other divinely illuminated spirits but washington was a safeguard and a conservator of all the beal gains made in the liberty movement in the seven years revolutionary war he performed a part and achieved a triumph that would have been a failure in the hands of any other man how gladly and sincerely we bow the knee and alie heart in profound reverence and respect for his memory and his heroism not because he was without many of the faults and weaknesses common to our halt developed humanity but because being human like ourselves he rose above the common plane of human sympathy and self approbation and became the leader and captain of a new dispensation of divine unfold mentin human destiny but let us remember for the sako of truth eliat we have these treasures in earthly vessels that tho glory may be that in alie midst of error and imperfection the divinely human risea into the grandeur of noble achievement |
