The True George Washington [10th Ed.]

Paul Leicester Ford

Informations

• Publié par: arre
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 23
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The True George
Washington [10th Ed.] by Paul Leicester Ford
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at
no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.
You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the
terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The True George Washington [10th Ed.]
Author: Paul Leicester Ford
Release Date: May 8, 2004 [EBook #12300]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG
EBOOK GEORGE WASHINGTON ***
Produced by John R. Bilderback and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.
[Illustration: SHARPLESS MINIATURE OF
WASHINGTON, 1795]The True George Washington
By
Paul Leicester Ford
Author of "The Honorable Peter Stirling"
Editor of "The Writings of Thomas Jefferson"
and
"The Sayings of Poor Richard"
"That I have foibles, and perhaps many of them, I
shall not deny. I should esteem myself, as the
world would, vain and empty, were I to arrogate
perfection."
—Washington
"Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, nor set
down aught in malice."
—Shakespeare
1896
BY
J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
Tenth Edition
Electrotyped and Printed by J.B. LippincottCompany, Philadelphia, UTHIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
WILLIAM F. HAVEMEYER,
IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE
INDEBTEDNESS OF THE AUTHOR TO HIS
COLLECTION OF WASHINGTONIANA.
+Note+
In every country boasting a history there may be
observed a tendency to make its leaders or great
men superhuman. Whether we turn to the legends
of the East, the folk-lore of Europe, or the
traditions of the native races of America, we find a
mythology based upon the acts of man gifted with
superhuman powers. In the unscientific, primeval
periods in which these beliefs were born and
elaborated into oral and written form, their origin is
not surprising. But to all who have studied the
creation of a mythology, no phase is a more
curious one than that the keen, practical American
of to-day should engage in the same process of
hero-building which has given us Jupiter, Wotan,
King Arthur, and others. By a slow evolution we
have well-nigh discarded from the lives of our
greatest men of the past all human faults and
feelings; have enclosed their greatness in glass of
the clearest crystal, and hung up a sign, "Do not
touch." Indeed, with such characters as
Washington, Franklin, and Lincoln we havepractically adopted the English maxim that "the
king can do no wrong." In place of men, limited by
human limits, and influenced by human passions,
we have demi-gods, so stripped of human
characteristics as to make us question even
whether they deserve much credit for their
sacrifices and deeds.
But with this process of canonization have we not
lost more than we have gained, both in example
and in interest? Many, no doubt, with the greatest
veneration for our first citizen, have sympathized
with the view expressed by Mark Twain, when he
said that he was a greater man than Washington,
for the latter "couldn't tell a lie, while he could, but
wouldn't" We have endless biographies of Franklin,
picturing him in all the public stations of life, but all
together they do not equal in popularity his own
human autobiography, in which we see him walking
down Market Street with a roll under each arm,
and devouring a third. And so it seems as if the
time had come to put the shadow-boxes of
humanity round our historic portraits, not because
they are ornamental in themselves, but because
they will make them examples, not mere idols.
If the present work succeeds in humanizing
Washington, and making him a man rather than a
historical figure, its purpose will have been fulfilled.
In the attempt to accomplish this, Washington has,
so far as is possible, been made to speak for
himself, even though at times it has compelled the
sacrifice of literary form, in the hope that his own
words would convey a greater sense of thepersonality of the man. So, too, liberal drafts have
been made on the opinions and statements of his
contemporaries; but, unless the contrary is stated
or is obvious, all quoted matter is from
Washington's own pen. It is with pleasure that the
author adds that the result of his study has only
served to make Washington the greater to him.
The writer is under the greatest obligation to his
brother, Worthington Chauncey Ford, not merely
for his numerous books on Washington, of which
his "Writings of George Washington" is easily first
in importance of all works relating to the great
American, but also for much manuscript material
which he has placed at the author's service.
Hitherto unpublished facts have been drawn from
many other sources, but notably from the rich
collection of Mr. William F. Havemeyer, of New
York, from the Department of State in Washington,
and from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. To
Mr. S.M. Hamilton, of the former institution, and to
Mr. Frederick D. Stone, of the latter, the writer is
particularly indebted for assistance.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.—FAMILY RELATIONS
II.—PHYSIQUEII.—PHYSIQUE
III.—EDUCATION
IV.—RELATIONS WITH THE FAIR SEX
V.—FARMER AND PROPRIETOR
VI.—MASTER AND EMPLOYER
VII.—SOCIAL LIFE
VIII.—TASTES AND AMUSEMENTS
IX.—FRIENDS
X.—ENEMIES
XI.—SOLDIER
XII.—CITIZEN AND OFFICE-HOLDER
List of Illustrations with Notes
MINIATURE OF WASHINGTON. By JAMES
SHARPLESSPainted for Washington in 1795, and presented by
him to Nelly (Calvert)
Stuart, widow of John Parke Custis, Washington's
adopted son. Her son
George Washington Parke Custis, in whose
presence the sittings were made,
often spoke of the likeness as "almost perfect."
MEMORIAL TABLET OF LAURENCE AND AMEE
WASHINGTON, IN SULGRAVE CHURCH,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
The injury of the effigy of Laurence Washington
and the entire disappearance of the effigy of Amee
antedate the early part of the present century, and
probably were done in the Puritan period. Since the
above tracing was made the brasses of the eleven
children have been stolen, leaving nothing but the
lettering and the shield of the Washington arms.
BETTY WASHINGTON, WIFE OF FIELDING
LEWIS
Painted about 1750, and erroneously alleged to be
by Copley. Original in the possession of Mr. R.
Byrd Lewis, of Marmion, Virginia.
JOHN AND MARTHA CUSTIS
Original in the possession of General G.W. Custis
Lee, of Lexington,Virginia.
MINIATURE OF ELEANOR PARKE CUSTIS
From the miniature by Gilbert Stuart, in the
possession of her grandson,
Edward Parke Lewis Custis, of Hoboken, New
Jersey.
FICTITIOUS PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON
The lettering reads, "Done from an original Drawn
from the Life, by Alex'r Campbell of Williamsburg in
Virginia. Published as the act directs 9 Sept'r 1775
by C. Shepherd." It is the first engraved portrait of
Washington, and was issued to satisfy the English
curiosity concerning the new commander-in-chief
of the rebels. From the original print in the
possession of Mr. W.F. Havemeyer, of New York.
COPY SHEET FROM YOUNG MAN'S
COMPANION
The sheet from which Washington modelled his
handwriting, and to which his earliest script shows
a marked resemblance. From the original in the
possession of the author.
LETTER TO MRS. FAIRFAX