Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1865-11-21
[FROn THE LONDON DAILY TELEenApH.
:, ROBERT E. LEE, =. ~,

/ at Lexington, in the State of, Virginia, is
college which bears the name of the most
! illustrious citizen ever born ii the " Old Do.
!. minion," fertile as. that pleasant land has
been in heroes; nor coul d GeCtge Washing
| ton himself have wished that the college
erected in his honor should have for Presi-
] dent Worthier chief than the one who quiz
city entered upon his duties just a fortnight
! ago. The new President is still in the prime
of manhood though already his hair and
beard are gray; he has been long accustomed
to command; he is familiar with hardships
as with tame-has slept for months amid the
woods of Virginia, and has crossed the Rap
| pahannock nOrthward at the head of a victo-
rioug army; he has been proved alike by good
and evil fortune, and, whether when threat
cning the Federal capital or when surrender
ing his sword to Federal captain, he has
ever borne himself, as bcseemcd a man noble
alike by ancestry and by nature. The de-
scendantof " Light Horse Harry has doffed
the gray uniform for the garb of peaceful
professor; nor can we own that the change
is degradation, even for Robert f. Lee
There is difference in the mode of action,
but no alteration in the object, which is sim
ply to render the best service he can to his
native State. To that single aim he has never
once been untaithful and lie will still pur-
sue 1t, we may rest assured with the old,
high enthusiasm, tempered by a cautious
BRAIN. Throughout the war nothingwas more
remarkable than Lees personal influence
the manner in which he impressed every one
who approached hiIiE That men with Jack
sons purity and earnestness, or with the de-
60nGtre and graceful valor Of Stuart, shoRld
appreciate the illustrious quality Of their lead
er, was only natural; but even the humblest
soldiers in the ranks felt, though they might
not have been able to express. the moral
power which Lee cxcrted. The war vas. in
all conscience, sangulnary enough bus there
would have been a very carnival Of carnage,
devilish outbreak of all mems tierccst pas
sions, had the Southern leader been Of differ
ent temper. Calamity as the Contederatcs
fought, we must never forget that their ar>
mics were often composed of somewhat qucs-
tionabIe raw material; that the volunteers,
with all the instinct Of bravery which seldom
deserts q dominant class, had likewise many
OF the vices which are inevitably cngendcrcd
by the possession Of arbitrary ard lawless
power. Accustomed to the unchecked IL
ccnse of authority, the slavcholdcrs might
perchancc have been ready enough to rive
the character of irternccine hatreC
and it was cminently due to Robert +. Lee
that the corrtcsics and humanities of civil
lzed warfare were, on TIE whole, Observed
The gentle nature of the man never degene-
rated into weq kness; with high hand he
eqEidsFestEa1n sxeesses.apd admigahsEdid he:
MS f0weF. 1i1efe are no fJtfeF PAGES
in the history of the civil war than those
which relate to his invasion of Maryland and
Pennsy ylvania, at time when the temper Of
the Southern people was sorely tried Such
Qualities as lie displayed could not fail, in the
long run, to win the regard of manly and
attectionate people; and while we find that he
was loved like a father by all those who
shared his immediate perils, we have not vet
forgotten that when the victorious veterans
OF the North were marching home through
Richmond, they burst into splendid shout
of enthusiasm as they recognized, gravey
contemplating them from curtained window.
the familiar form and face Of Robert E. Lee.
1.-THE old order changes, giving place to
new and God tulfils himself in many wavs."
To teach young lads their classics and mathe-
niatics may seem but a poor occupation for
one whose word was lately the supreme law
for a hundfGd thousand fighting men and
yet there need be no sense Of humiliation in
vOlFed in the deliberate acceptance of such
employment. The "new order is that Of
peace for time, the finest thing that Lee
could do was o"set an example cf valor and
virtue to the whole manhood Of the South :;
but no less pure is the glory Of one who by
honest and patient labor prepares the young
for that longer conflict which fills the whole
length and breadth Of human life. Our age,
| to quote the French phrase, is s:lcrtlc in emo
tions,' is swift and sudden in its changes
The ruler of yesterday is the exile Of to-day;
the exile Of to-day may be the ruler Of to-
morrow. Many Il bright sword is in its scab-
bard beside that Of the great Nirginian.-
Only few weeks ago the FuncMrS of Paris
could gaze on one whom Victor Hugo called
''spectrc i'll Il white burnous"-on one who
for years fought after the old Numidian lash
| iou against Bugeaud and Bcdeau, against
,Cavaignac, Pelissicr and LamOricierc; and
now, the survivor of them ALL Abd>cl-Kadcr,
| journeys slowly homeward to Damascus. In
Russian city, far within the heart of the
mighty empire whose power lie withstood for
nearly thirty years, quietly lives an old, gray
bearded, wCaG-cyed man, against whom, when
he held possession of his mountain tastncss
Grabbe and Woranzoff vainly hurled their
disciplined battalions and as calm is now the
order of his life that only with e strange
thrill of wonder does the traveller hear that
he has indeed seen Schamyl the ,Circassian.
The hero of Rome, Verese, and Marsala, limps
about along the rocky pathways of Capresa.
| uaC IIuSllSn tOuTlst on the Continent who
casually meets George klapa, but remembers
Immediately the exploits of the man who held
Comorn against the Austrian, and once sailed
forth as far as Raab on the road to Vienna
itself? The actions of these leaders are al
ready passing into history, and may surely be
viewed with historic impartiality and calm
nesss Beaten like them, Lee screnely ac-
cepts the altered conditions of his life Had
he consulted a poor and outworn feeling of
personal dignity" ho would have left the
country in which he had held command so
absolute, and suffered Il discontinue so over
whelming. By men OF all parties in Europe
he would have been hailed with acclamation;