The Americanism of Washington

By Van Dyke, Henry

Book Id: WPLBN0000630222
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 0.5 MB
Reproduction Date: 2005

Title:	The Americanism of Washington
Author:	Van Dyke, Henry
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Literature, Literature & thought, Writing.
Collections:	Classic Literature Collection, Blackmask Online Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Blackmask Online


Citation APA MLA Chicago Van Dyke, B. H. (n.d.). The Americanism of Washington. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
Excerpt: THE character of Washington, emerging splendid from the dust and tumult of those great conflicts in which he played the leading part, has passed successively into three media of obscuration, from each of which his figure, like the sun shining through vapors, has received some disguise of shape and color. First came the mist of mythology, in which we discerned the new St. George, serene, impeccable, moving through an orchard of ever?blooming cherry?trees, gracefully vanquishing dragons with a touch, and shedding fragrance and radiance around him. Out of that mythological mist we groped our way, to find ourselves beneath the rolling clouds of oratory, above which the head of the hero was pinnacled in remote grandeur, like a sphinx poised upon a volcanic peak, isolated and mysterious. That altitudinous figure still dominates the cloudy landscapes of the after?dinner orator; but the frigid, academic mind has turned away from it, and looking through the fog of criticism has descried another Washington, not really an American, not amazingly a hero, but a very decent English country gentleman, honorable, courageous, good, shrewd, slow, and above all immensely lucky.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents: The Americanism of Washington, 1 -- Henry Van Dyke, 1