Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1 i SAID OF WASHINGTON. That he was too modest to propose to beautiful belle Mary Phillipse, of New York, when she won his heart long before the war. THAT HE RAN WITH THE MACHINE. That had he le<l Brad'lock's army tliere would be no "Braddock'a Defeat" in , colonial annals. That he gave up his commission in the king's army because American officers' were snubbed by the British war office and by the epauleted redcoats from over the sea. That lie did not say he could not tell that particular cherry tree lie and must ' ~ \y$k THAT IIP. WENT OUT WITH THE liOYS. own up, but that lviu^ was a habit he liad nut cultivated. That he "ran with the machine" to Alexandria fires, and the old hand lire engine is now a relic in the hands of the same old Friendship Fire company, and rests from its labors in the engine house at Alexandria. That lie went out with the boys on various occasions, loved lost horses and ! /'XT+^NX i 1, I rjj (u5Sv ill I C'Vf>A im'f i\ v h w r, i% i ?f yliwMMM WHOM WASHINGTON IlISSI'S. bet upon them, made long trirs with good fellows and entertained them royally. That once, during the war, he wished to be made monarch. ufsWi^ That never, during the war or at ai other time, did he wish to be made mo arch. That on occasions, especially in t heat of battle, he used the big, big D. That at Monmouth he restrained t ^nilirnr Atror noacin^G nf fl .TpT*Q UUUlii^ VIW V* v* -bivn V w volunteer bjT getting off this grim jot "Pat up your reeking sword, my go man, and don't be making a slaught house right here on the battle field." That he had an old Cremona of 161 which he discovered in a negro cabi and that he played for the girls and bo on many festive occasions; that the o Cremona is in the hands of a viol maker in Astoria, N. Y.; that it is n a Cremona, but a Tyrolean instrumei but Washington owned it, anyhow. >3'-hi 1/ ft, i|. Irnl %lkm f j ,Bk TOMI TIT AT IIE HAD AN OLD CREMONA. That it was a current saying in Rev lutionary times, ''Whom Washingti kisses marry young," and all the gii flocked to him to be kissed, and thi "went off like hot cakes." \ That he got off this biting sarcasm < the ubiquitous generation which is ev on hand to tell president, congress ai all just how to run the governmei "The affairs of this country cannot j amiss. There are so many watch f guardians of them and such infallil guides that one is at no loss for a direc or at any turn." itt ui* yt'p.j i:i:kking- &\vok:>. That lie- wax fciiuplv an "English gc lli-man in AinvJicu," air.l l?v no mean: type of tiiij J I< volutionnrv patriot. That l:u was not an "English gent ntjin in -\ri: yir;L.'' Tint a olain. nractl'ci pioneer wo rker. simple in manners a: habits, and as far as piissible remuv from the ailed od s>tvlo of Europe courtiers and aristocrats. Gumm: L. Mount Yt-nitm lias .su long been pub property thai lev/ iviuoiuber what tedious negotiation v.\ns required to c tain it anil how oiiu of the Wiisliiugto Speculated on t!ie nation's love. In 16 l tlie Ladies' Mount Vernon ussoriati . paid John A. Washington $2()t),l)0U 1 the mansion and 200 acres of Laud. T , country hits therefore consented to l'< {jet John. * 11 if 31 I De Tt Jn WASHINGTON. 0f _ C+1 [n" [Written upon contemplating Stuart's portrait in the Boston Athen?um.] | ^ he The autumn sun caresses Vernon's tomb, Whose presence doth the country's honor leaven; I u Two suns they are that dissipate man's ploom, For one's the index to Earth's freeborn bloom, ey The other to our burning hope iu Heaven! :e, > Thy dast may molder in the hollow rock, Cut every day thy soul makes some new capter lire! Nations unborn will swell thy thankful flock, rrj And Fancy tremble that she cannot mock ' Thy history's Truth that will enchant with raptn> ure. ys i(-i How vain the daring to compute in words The height of homage that the heart would 111 render! ot And yet how proud?to feel no speech affords ^ Harmonious measure to the subtle chords ' That fill the soui beneath thy placid splendor I The steady (Ire that battled in thy breast Lit up our gloom with radiance, good though gory; Like some red sun which the dull earth caressed Into a wealthy adoration, blest To be its glory's great reflected glory. |S Thou, when the earthly heaven of man's soul? I' The heaven of home, of liberty, of honor? Shuddered with darkness, didst the clouds uproll til' j And burst such liprht upon the nation's dole I lo< That every state still feels thy breath upon her. | prl ) -John Savage (18G0.). , ele History Doesn't Always Repeat Itself. go ' --r ' ' ul Tommy Bingo?My brother and my- g do self wanted to bo like Wellington, so ' ;t- we got up this morning, took a hatchet and went down in the yard and hacked away at father's cherry tree.- But my ^ brother was too sharp, 'cause when pa called he sneaked away and left me with '^r the hatchet, lie got ahead of me. er] Miss Summit (sympathetically)?Dear me. Tommy! What did you get? j Tommy?I got licked. I A Weapon of Defense. : _-7 he n* * P' ^t''"*yf^ i S' - iiWili.5 - till 'rvfe'lv S?1 sisl^^C i Tramp?Mailr.m. as I was pairing by 1 (j, j. picked up in your front yard this little (,t; hateket, left there by some thoughtless ,ll! ouo- " 8? Kind Lady?Such honesty shall not go unrewarded. Step inside and I will i10 | get you a piece of my Washington pie. ^ ? Tramp?In that ca.se, madam, I havo ^ .or but one request to make. ai] 10 Kind Lady?Certainly. What is it? ^ >r~ Tramp?Let mo keep the hatchet. Si - v, ;, . 7** ' : ; . ' v. ' f' ELKS OF WASHINGTON. I OBSCURE BUNDLE OF ANTIQUIriES FROM THE LAST CENTURY. ;r Correspondent Fays a Visit to Maj. Jeorge B. Clitherall, of Mobile, and he Discoveries He Made Will Be of interest to All of Uncle Sam's People. Not far from Government, on St. oanuel street, in Mobile, Ala., there mds an unpretentious brick house, te curious stranger will be faintly rended as he enters the arcade of this mely dwelling, with its solitary occunt, of those houses which are common some auarters of New Orleans. Of is, however, there is perhaps more oat tfce air of the place than any real semblance to those antiquated Creole arters. As he enters the parlor, with central bay window that juts out to 3 sidewalk, he will involuntarily pause fore an ancient and venerable book36, and if he be of a literary turn of nd will note with a more than passl interest the heterogeneous mass of oks that with all their variety of idings crowd close to each other upon time honored shelves. It was before this musty piece of furture that I stood just about a year ago leu I was in Mobile. Upon the top elf was a chaotic piece of accumulated ic-a-brac such as you may see clus-ed together on the top shelf of any 1 bookcase, and among other things ere was a brown paper parcel tied th a piece of old string, and of such unassuming appearance that if it ire lying in the street it would attract irrelv a clanrft from the nasser bv: d yet it would be difficult to find a ister of objects of such unusual inter5 as this faded brown paper contained, [t contained, among other colonial reli, George Washington's slipper, a part liia vest, his Masonic apron and two ver spoons from his camp chest, lere were also copies of some old newspers?The New York Morning Post of )v. 7, 1783, The Boston Gazette and untry Journal of March 12, 1770, The ?w England Weekly Journal (publishin Boston) of April 8,1728, The Newrn (N. C.) Spectator, Dec. 19, 1829, and le Federal Republican (Newbern, N. C.) ily 31,1813. There was also a package colonial money and an old time pock book. To the right of the bookcase, th its mahogany back leaning against GEORGE P. CLITHERALL. e wall, stood an old fashioned chair >king very much like those stiff kitchchairs of the present day, albeit more :gant in appearance. This piece of animated mahogany is a bedroom chair rich was the property of Martha Washjton, or, as she was lovingly called by aj. Clitlierall's family, "Mistress Wash?ton." Maj. George E. Clitherall, whose death s occurred since my visit to Mobile, is the devoted possessor of these relics, d the last survivor of a family which mds among the first in a republic that ined its independence through the imjrtal name of George "Washington. The history of the Clitherall family in hfwnrrji on the maternal side dates ck to the Rev. Richard Marsden, who j is chaplain to the Duke of Portland, d who received from the original lords oprietors the ownership of the two intations known as liThe Hermitage" d "Castle Haynes," lying on opposite lea of the old country road, eight miles rtli of Wilmington, N. C. Maj. Clitherall's father, Dr. George Clitlierall, was a relative and intiite friend of Gen. Ben Smith, of >rth Carolina, who died at Fort Jolm>n in 1S2G. Gen. Smith was a man high social position and great wealth, d married Sarah, daughter of Col. illiam Dry, who was colonial govPor/ T^nrirur flip UWi L/l. AV'UU VIWUH4.HI. V**s, | ;volution Gen. Smith was a volunteer J 2uiber of Washington's staff anil mili- | ry family, and there always existed ! tween them the warmest friendship, hen Gen. Smith learned of tbe illness Washington he immediately left his me in North Carolina iind hastened to p bedside of his chief, where he relined until Washington died. Many the personal belongings of Wasliingn were presented by liis family to Gey. nitli, who cherished them as long as lived, and ;it liis death they were be- I leatlied ti> Dr. Clitherall. RIaj. Clithcmll hail but one of the sliprs (the left) in his possession, the mate been tfiven by his mother to the itish Museum in In 1S70 tlie iijor presented one of Yvashiniton's usonie aprons (of which there an- two) j a lod^o in Philadelphia, and on the ' ,y of my visit be sent Wasliiu^t oil's >rary chair to the Minnesota Historical ciety. With the exception oC this j air, the riijht slipper and one of the i ;isoilie aprons, the rest of the articles J ri: in jvluj. v iiiiKTau s possession. Hie now f:unons slippers did notreach 11. Smith in the same way that thu lior relies did. Gun. Washington, after s farewell address, went to pay Gen. nith a vi.?-it at the residence of the tter in North Carolina, and it was re tliat ho brought than. On reining home he left them behind him, i d they were carelessly put away in i old closet, and laid there in neglect itil their value came to be recognized, ace then they have been carefully pro * > ' ; served. The onein Maj. ChtheraU'i possession is exactly eleven and one-half inches in length, and across its widest part, where the ball of the foot lies, it measures fotrr and one-half inches. (While the Father of his Country undeniably had a substantial foundation it will be seen from this that his foot was not too large for a man of his stature.) The slipper is of red morocco leather, but time has covered it with a dusty brown color, and a careless observer would place it in the rank of those cheap brown leather foot? coverings which, however much of comfort they may possess, cannot be allowed to have that stylish appearance which marks the slipper of the' man of fashion. Originally the slippers are said to have been lined with white silk. When the imagination goes bacfc to tne time tnat tnese now taoea y j WASHINGTON'S CHAIR. pieces of antiquity were new, and pictures them in their original colors, the rich and elegant red of the morocco contrasted with the white silk, the flaps, which somehow Remind us of those old fashioned curled up skates that the Hollanders used of yore, and the deej wrinkles which lent to them their easj and comfortable air, we must readilj believe that these slippers presented i simple, rich and elegant appearance. They serve in a great measure to show that the taste of this great man tendec toward simplicity, at the same tim< uniting with that refinement which al ways selects the be6t. We have aa an other example of this the story of Wash ington's watch?familiar to every school boy?which he desired should come tc him from France, of pure gold, but per fectly plain, so that its smooth and polished sides, had the Father of his Country been a vain man, might have servec the uses of a looking glass. JNotning remains or tne waistcoai which has already been alluded to bul the huge hip flap and pocket laps whict were such an important part of this garment during the colonial days. From this flap it is impossible to obtain a com plete idea of the whole. It may be said, however, that it is sea green in color richly embroidered in silk with figures, and when new must have presented ? very handsome appearance. Only one thing more remains to be said. Muj. Clitherall was, from time to time, in receipt of various letters of inquiry from different parts of the country' bearing upon these unique and valuable possessions, and I have endeavored in the present article to cover the entire ground, however briefly, and it is to be hoped that it will be copied wide!} enough to fall into the hands of all those who have been more especially interested in the matters touched upon. It was not without a feeling of veneration that I said good-by to these ancienl relics, whose authenticity cannot be Washington's slipper. questional. and paid 'a sorrowful r.dici to the courteous and scholarly owner o: so much that is of historical valne. Tom Masson. Other 'Wiislilnjjtoii*. There were two Wasliingtons in Revo lution days who would doubtless iiav< filled bigger places in history if they liai bonie some other name. Buslirod nephew of George Washington, servet with distinction in the cavalry and ii TTivivi'nin /mtirnnfimi nn/1 ftn j IIIU ) V.V/UIVWHVUJ UUVl TV ??|/ pointed justice of the United States su preine court. Col. William W.'ishingtoi won honor iu several battles, especially at Cowpeus. Handed Down. ! ^ w fs?r | ----- aawai /*?>* r-\.? | - ?i' mf/tw r ".:~' /' .. .. '2SSSJ&9V }' BS5 She?My poor, dear fcitluT know ^ .. -j.: 4 ,1 1 I WaSUlUgUm SO iUllUiiKCi,), <um X, uxj sell', w;w born on the 22d of February, so of course 1 i'ed like?like lie (helping !nr out}?Like si relic? From tho death ol: Washington till the civil war it was an aliuost invariable j rule that each now statu should have ;i ; Wjishington county, and many counties in each a Washington township. So, oi ! the thirteen states without a Washing; ton county, six were too old and live arc 1 apparently too new. mag* THE LITTLE HATCHET MYTH. ^BE It* Orlyin and Development?Brolnd by a Highly Moral Liar. / "Father, I cannot tell a lie?I did it V\ J with my little hatchet!" Who can think of the Father of his Country without recalling this affecting story? And yet, like so many other cherished anecdotes of great men, it is absolutely Without foundation. His name was M. L. Weems. He-was a clergyman or preacher by profession, an adventurer by nature, and loved notoriety, money and a wandering life. So he wrote books which he correctly believed would meet with popular favor, >. and peddled them himself as he trav- ? . eled through the country. Chance brought him to Mount Vernou in the closing days of Washington's'life, and his commercial instinct at once told him hero was a chance for distinction and dollars such as he had never met before. So he produced his famous biog raphy, and being the first on the ground he had things his own way and ran riot v in language and alleged reminiscences. The best known of his myths are those concerning the little hatchet, the refusal to fight or permit fighting among the boys at school, and the initials in the garden. The last is to the effect that ~ little George's father planted seeds in > such a manner that when they sprouted they formed the initials of the boy's and ho Vvn-nrr mnr>h d olier the elder Washington explained that it was the work of the Creator, and thna inculcated a-profound belief in God. This tale is stolen bodily from Dr. Beat- v tie's biographical sketch of his son, published in England in 1799. There is not a scintilla of evidence to support the J others. r But let us examine the little hatchet ! story. The father of the young hero, we are tola, tooa great pains to inspire j his son with an early love of truth. Af- f ter describing the downward course Of the prevaricator he is made to exclaim: ] "Rather than see you come to this pass, "I DID IT WITH MY LITTLE HATCHET." dear as you are to my heart, gladly would I assist to nail you up in your little coffin and follow you to your grave. Hard, indeed, would it be to give up ? my son, whose little feet are always so 4 ready to run about with me, and whose fondly looking eyes and sweet prattle make so large a part of my happiness, but still I would give him up "rather than see him a common liar." He next assures George that while some parents compel their children to become liars "by barbarously beating them for every little fault," it. shall not be so in their ? J case. "Whenever, by accident, you do I anything wrong, which must often be the case, as you are but a poor little boy yet, without experience or knowledge, i you must never tell a falsehood to coni ceal it, but come bravely up, my son, like a little man, and tell me of it, and instead of beating you, George, I will but the more honor and love you for it, my dear." Need we longer marvel at George's penchant for mischief and his .* readiness to own up? The anecdote, told in Weems1 rambling manner, is as amusing as the preliminary remarks. He1 gives as his authority "an excellent old lady," and declares that the narrative is "too valuable to be 1 lost and too true to be doubted." The f climax reminds one of Bill Nye in his happiest vein: "Presently George and his little hatchet made their appearance. 'George,' said his father, 'do you know who killed. ~ that beautiful little cherry tree yonder t . , in the garden?' This was a tough ques* a 9 1 /~1 1 A4 | non, anu weorge bia^^citju. uuuu 11> iui . j!a momeut, but quickly recovered himj self, and looking at his father with the _' sweet face of youth brightened with the " _ | inexpressible charm of all conquering j truth, he bravely cried out: 'I can't tell , r! a lie, pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I j did cut it with my hatchet.' 'Run to my j arms, you dearest boy,' cried liis father j in transports, 'run to my arms; glad am : I, George, that you killed iny tree [he pnts a premium upon mischief for the J sake of hearing the truth], for you have j paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism [although the lad knew in I advance that lie would not be punished j but"commended], my son, is more worth 1 than a thousand trees, though blossomed 'with silver and their l'ruits of purest . 'gold.'" i! Thou.irli ignored by Sparks, Marshall, , Washington Irving, Ramsay, Lossing and attacked by other serious biographers, the mytli of the Little batcliet has survived, and probably will survive for ages to come. 'Its acccptancc and popularity are largely due to writers like Mrs. C. M. Kirkland, who, in 1857, published a life of Washington "esp?.fially adapted to young people," in which she praises j Weems' "entertaining book" and "the pm-tic style of the narrator," and declares that the varions anecdotes are "told with f<' : - P.,?l ? in W . till; J IV ItUv C'O V'l i . uj'inion, on j^ood authority. Shorn <>t its wait preliminaries ana told as if the youthful culprit expected ' j punishment, tin.- liatcliet story became a j l'avorite .selection in the common school j readers, and served . excellent a puri hjso as the best fable from JEsop. ' 'flit? advent of the American humorist 1 and the birth of the comic press made it '< still more familiar, and what with the i naming of a comedy and a newspaper in : its honor, the little hatchet has passed into a proverb, and, strange to say, bei come the very synonym, for truth. "Wh.uam Mill JBctleb. ;j