The Placer herald., 1866-12-29
Glowing Triuute to the Character of Cen
eral Lee.


eral Lee.
In long editorial, the London Standard
speaks Of Gen. Lee as follows:
There is no living hero-there are few, II
any, amopg those whose names shine with
the rurest lustre in hislory-whose charac,
ter has commanded SO b bgh a tribute of af-
fection and admiration from their friends,
Of respect and honor from their foes, a. that
Of General Lee. No life more perfsctly
heroic, no reputation more untarnished even
by the minor b'emi.hes which are not un-
commonly found in union with the highest
heroism, has ever been connected with a
great national struggle. No shade of vanity
or egotism, nothing of the self-wl or petu.
lance SO often characteristic of concious
genius, no tinge of affectsion, no tant even
Of the pride almost inseparabIe from ordi-
nary greatness of mind, which can endure
everything but humiliation, and regards sub
mission as disgrace, alloy the simple grand
eur of the soldiers nature. A pie'y without
ii G slightest shadow Of Pba,saism, sense
OF duty TO which the sacrifice of every per-
sonaI feeling and interest appears matter Of
course, having marked his whole course and
guided his every public act, whether as a
soldier or as a citizen. A family connection
aud The nearest living representative of the
great champion Of American lud, pendence
General Lee has been the Washington Of
the Confederate war; like Washington, a
man whom envy dared no: hate" but With
out even the one dark stain OF doubt, if not
of dishonor, which the death of Maj II Andre
has LETT on the memory of his prototype
No more "setl SIS man and stainless gentle.
man ever lived; no soldier ever set more
admirable example of the soIdierly virtues of
honor, chivalrc generosity and manly sim.
plIclly; TO great man ever retired into Oh
scurly, after Witnessing al Ike the rnin of his
cause ard the destruction of his private for,
tune, with more Christian patience aud un
shaken fortude.
OF his military achievements, we need not
speak. 1t is enough 10 say that nearly all
his victories were won against enormous
odds, and that his four years defence of Vir
gnla has few parallels in history as an ex
ample of great results accomplished with
small means and at fearful disadvantages.
| What it is now more interesting to remem-
Ter is the personal character Of the man, as
""P'"y SN ~ NuO No' iouS ShiScuClcS VI lUdt
tying struggle; the simple honesty and
kindly feeling which prompted him to con
sole his soldiers as they recoied from the
"""""" "r"wned h. iohts of Gettysburg. with
the assurance, ut is all my fault" the un
affected seIf-deprecation which pronounced,
when S:onewaIl Jackson fell, 81 would wish,
for the sake Of our cause, that had been
disabled rather than you;" the Christian
chivary, which no outrage could provoke to
retaliation, which, after Virginia hsdbeen rem
dered desert, withheld the army that invad.
sl Pennsylvania from uflic'iug the most trivial
injury on person or property, which, when bis
own estates had been pIundered, rav'ged and
coufscated, took care to protect the houses
and property Of his enemies, the horrors Of
useless bloodshed which witbstood the cry
for re.ribu,ion excited by the murder OF
Southern prisoners in cold blood and sup
ported the resolve Of the President that un'
less tie actual murderers were taken no
blood should be shed but on the field of bat
tie; the touching unselfshness of his last
words TO his di,banding army on the sorrow
flI 9h Of April, Il have done my best for
you' But il was when all was over, when the
chief Of a great and long victorious army
was private man and paroed prisoner
that peculiar greatness of General Lees nal
,ure shines out with unequaled brightness"
NOVEL SonNE AT WEEpIxG. - The
Wheeling wv. Va.) Register of October 9th
is Of opinion that North Wheeling is en-,
phatically the eccentric part Of the city, and
adds:
A short time ago we noticed the marriage
of an ancient female to a modern male.
Two other couple have come to our notice.
A somewba, faded widow Of forty five Wins
to was lately united in the holy bonds of
wedlock to young man Of thirty Summers.
who said he "had never been married BEFORE"
Their friends were invited to the marriage
feast, which consisted of a keg Of beer and
a balf bushel Of pretzels. But here follows
one that appeals with touching tenderness
to the vibrating hearts,rings Of all loving
swains. A maid--an old mad--of fifty
Summers and Winters, which have left their
traces there, who is possessed of three chill
dren (this is in North Wheeling) was few
evenings since married to good looking
man twenty-five years Of age. A large
party was pesent, some Of whom were invi-
ted and some not. The repast consisted of
cake-heavy sponge cake-cbeese, beer, ale.
some whiskey in jug under the table aud
''stogies" for desert. A bridesmaid and
groomsman stood up with the blnshing pair.
in the loving arms Of the fair old bride was
blooming girl Of two Summers, aud when
the bride would become embarrassed she
kissed the baby. But the "touchingist"
scene Of all was when the Squire alluded to
the love they must bear each other "through
thick and thin,'-she wiIted, she wept, she
sobbed aloud; and the baby cried 10 its moth
er's arms; and then the young groom, bis
hear, full of utterance, tenderly entwined
bis arms around the bride and baby and
bowed his bead between them, and was only
aroused to consciousness by baby pulling his
hair The 'Snura then "Hnishedn marrying