Who can understand his errors?

Cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;

Let them not have dominion over me;

Then shall I be upright,

And I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, Be acceptable in thy sight,

O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.

-The Bible

IN MEMORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

(Soon after the death of Washington in 1799, formal memorial exercises were held in the House of Representatives. Col. Henry Lee of Virginia delivered a funeral oration, from which this selection is taken. Colonel Lee was himself a famous soldier, known during the Revolution as a gallant cavalry leader. He loved and respected Washington as his leader and friend.)

TOW, my fellow-citizens, shall I single to your grateful hearts his preeminent worth? Where shall I begin in opening to your view a character throughout sublime? Shall I speak of his warlike achievements, all springing from obedience to his country's will-all directed to his country's good?

Will you go with me to the banks of the Monongahela, to see our youthful Washington supporting, in the dismal hour of Indian victory, the ill-fated Braddock and saving, by his judgment and his valor, the remains of a defeated army, pressed by the conquering savage foe? Or when, oppressed America nobly resolving to risk her all in defense of her violated right, he was elevated by the unanimous vote of Congress to the command of her armies?

Will you follow him to the high grounds of Boston, where to

an undisciplined, courageous, and virtuous yeomanry his presence gave the stability of system and infused the invincibility of love of country? Or shall I carry you to the painful scenes of Long Island, York Island, and New Jersey, when, combating superior and gallant armies, aided by powerful fleets and led by chiefs high in the roll of fame, he stood the bulwark of our safety, undismayed by disasters, unchanged by change of fortune?

Or will you view him in the precarious fields of Trenton, where deep gloom, unnerving every arm, reigned triumphant through our thinned, worn-down, unaided ranks, to himself unknown? Dreadful was the night. It was about this time of winter; the storm raged; the Delaware, rolling furiously with floating ice, forbade the approach of man.

Washington, self-collected, viewed the tremendous scene. His country called; unappalled by surrounding dangers, he passed to the hostile shore; he fought, he conquered. The morning sun cheered the American world. Our country rose on the event, and her dauntless chief, pursuing his blow, completed in the lawns of Princeton what his vast soul had conceived on the shores of the Delaware.

Thence to the strong grounds of Morristown he led his small but gallant band; and through an eventful winter, by the high effort of his genius, whose matchless force was measurable only by the growth of difficulties, he held in check formidable hostile legions, conducted by a chief experienced in the arts of war, and famed for his valor on the ever memorable Heights of Abraham, where fell Wolfe, Montcalm, and since our muchlamented Montgomery, all covered with glory. In this fortunate interval, produced by his masterly conduct, our fathers, ourselves, animated by his resistless example, rallied around our country's standard, and continued to follow her beloved chief through the various and trying scenes to which the destinies of our union led.

Who is there that has forgotten the vales of Brandywine, the fields of Germantown, or the plains of Monmouth? Everywhere present, wants of every kind obstructing, numerous and valiant armies encountering, himself a host, he assuaged our sufferings, limited our privations, and upheld our tottering Republic. Shall I display to you the spread of the fire of his soul, by rehearsing the praises of the hero of Saratoga and his much-loved compeer of the Carolinas? No; our Washington wears not borrowed glory. To Gates, to Greene, he gave without reserve the applause due to their eminent merit; and long may the chiefs of Saratoga and of Eutaw receive the grateful respect of a grateful people.

Moving in his own orbit, he imparted heat and light to his most distant satellites; and combining the physical and moral force of all within his sphere, with irresistible weight he took his course, commiserating folly, disdaining vice, dismaying treason, and invigorating despondency; until the auspicious hour arrived when united with the intrepid° forces of a potent and magnanimous ally, he brought to submission the since conqueror of India; thus finishing his long career of military glory with a luster corresponding to his great name, and in this, his last act of war, affixing the seal of fate to our nation's birth.

First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere, uniform, dignified, and commanding, his example was edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting.

To his equals he was condescending; to his inferiors, kind; and to the dear object of his affections, exemplarily° tender. Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always felt his fostering hand; the purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues. His last scene comported with the whole tenor of his life. Although in

extreme pain, not a sigh, not a groan, escaped him; and with undisturbed serenity he closed his well-spent life. Such was the man America has lost! Such was the man for whom our nation mourns!

-Henry Lee

Words: single-present; yeomanry-freemen; precarious difficult, dangerous; unappalled-not afraid; assuaged-relieved, lessened; compeer-equal, companion; commiserating-pitying; intrepid—fearless; edifying — instructive, uplifting; condescending courteous; exemplarily commendably, in a manner worthy of imitation; effulgence-brightness; comported-fitted in with.

Questions: Which appealed most to Col. Henry Lee, Washington's ability as a soldier or as a statesman? How do words and phrases in an oration compare with those in an ordinary story or poem? Can you suggest a reason why this difference should be? In the paragraph preceding the last, there is an expression that has become famous. Can you find it? What famous general of the Civil War was a son of Col. Henry Lee?

Pleasure Reading:

Scudder's Life of George Washington

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON

(In this selection we have an Irish orator's estimate of Washington. Surely Washington must have been a great soul to command respect and admiration all over the world-even from those to whom he was opposed in battle. We might well expect strong praise of Washington from Col. Henry Lee, for the two men were lifelong friends. But when a foreigner and a stranger places this wreath upon Washington's brow, it shows us that Washington's fame is as great abroad as it is in our own country.)

T MATTERS very little what immediate spot may have been the birth-place of such a man as Washington. No people can claim, no country can appropriate him. The boon of Providence to the human race, his fame is eternity, and his. residence, creation. Though it was the defeat of our arms, and the disgrace of our policy, I almost bless the convulsion in which he had his origin.