The Cincinnatus of the West
A man who’d fought to free the land from woe,
Like me, had left his farm a-soldiering to go;
But having gained his point, he had, like me,
Returned his own potato-ground to see;
But there he couldn’t rest;—with one accord
He’s called to be a kind of—, not a Lord,—
I don’t know what—he’s not a great man, sure,
For poor men love him, just as he was poor!
They love him like a father or a brother!
This little verse is from “Darby’s Return,” a play that President Washington went to see. The moment he entered the theatre the whole audience rose to its feet and cheered. And when “Darby” said these lines, the audience stared hard at Washington to see how he would take them. He looked horribly embarrassed. But when “Darby” quickly added that he had not seen the “man” at all at all because he was so plainly dressed that he passed by unnoticed, Washington burst into a hearty laugh.
In the ancient days of Rome, a terrible enemy threatened the city. There was no Roman general wise enough to lead the army against the foe. There was just one plain Roman citizen whom the people trusted. They believed that he had the wisdom to save them. This was Cincinnatus the Curly-haired. They sent hasty messengers to bid him come to the aid of Rome.
The messengers found him tilling his land, for he was a farmer. His feet were heavy with damp earth and his clothes covered with soil. He listened to their message, and to the request of the Roman Senate that he should come at once to the aid of his Country.
He called his wife to bring his toga from their hut. After he had wiped off the dust and sweat, he put on his toga and went with the messengers.
So he saved Rome.
Thus it was with Washington.
When the call came for him to save his Country, he left his plantation. So did many farmers and planters; at a moment’s notice they left their farms and plantations, took up their muskets and answered the call of their Country. They became officers in Washington’s Army.
After the war, these officers formed a society, called the Society of the Cincinnati, naming it after the patriotic old Roman farmer.
To it belonged Washington, Hamilton, Lafayette, Kosciuszko, and many other American and foreign officers, who had served with honour in the Continental army. To-day their descendants, one representing each officer, belong to the Society of the Cincinnati.
The French members presented Washington with a magnificent badge of the Order, studded with about two hundred precious stones—diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and amethysts.
Washington himself is called:—
“Yes—one—the first—the last—the best,
The Cincinnatus of the West.”