Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications (Volume 29) - Tapa blanda

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920. Excerpt: ... Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier De Lafayette. From a portrait by Sully in 1824 for the city of Philadelphia, now in Independence Hall. LAFAYETTE'S VISIT TO OHIO VALLEY STATES. BY C. B. GALBREATH. The fame of those who rose to eminence in the American Revolution is secure. Time has not dimmed the luster of their achievements or our gratitude for their patriotic service. The monument reared to them in the hearts of the American people has withstood the test of the critic, the sneer of the cynic and the hammer of the iconoclast. This is well. If they have been idealized and idolized it is not to the discredit of their posterity and the Republic that they founded. In the quest for historic truth, however, it is inevitable that there should be a revision of opinions in regard to incidents and men. No serious fault can be found with "the man from Missouri" who wishes "to be shown." There can be no objection to his doubt so long as it is a reasonable and honest doubt. Dispassionate consideration of evidence in the determination of facts is as timely in historic investigation as in the study of the natural sciences. This, however, does not warrant conclusions based upon unsupported assertion, however novel and original they may be and however startling because they run counter to long established public opinion. The "higher criticism" is entitled to respect and some of its revelations may well provoke a smile when applied to the romance and legends of the Revolution. But the story of the famous hatchet and cherry tree does not diminish the regard for the Father of His Country, however much it may shake faith in the narrative of the Reverend Mason Locke Wcems. Nor shall mirth provoking humor, even when used to camouflage the keen shafts of sarcasm, prevai...