Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1866-01-13
From the Londsn Fortnightly Review
The Confederacy.
ITS DYING HOURS AND STRUGGLES.

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It is said by Coleridge thatn no man
thrown to the surface of affairs, ev-
er succeeded in simultaneously gain
ing distinction and affection, unless
he possessed something Of an cpl
Gene nature, thatis to say, n mixture
of masculine and feminine qualities.
Without claiming for General Lee in
the highest sense Of the title great" "
it is impossible to deny that his
memory will be cherished by those
who, in the crisis of his three years
trial, stood and suffered by his side,
as an exceptionally dear and prec-
ious possession. Few soldiers, if
asked whether they would rather
have served under Lee on the one
hand, or under Cromwell, Frederick
the Great, Marlborough, or Napo-
leon on the other, would hesitate to
prefer the four famous generals to
the discounted Confederate. yet
it is doubtful whether any Of the
four, after they had passed away,
and had ceased to communicate the
electric shock Of their presence and
contact-an eye, voice; character and
influence-to others, possessed such
hold on the affections and esteem
as were inspired by Robert E. Lee.
The truth seems to be that tho
greatest men are necessarily and in
tensely selfish. All great men are
monsters, says a German proverb,
and it may, 1 think, bo conceded that
when a man is playing conspic-
uous role in life, and is generally
loved, he is not, in the worlds high
est sense, great. He is probably
something better. He has the
thoughtfulness about others, the un-
obtrusiveness :nd remuneration Of
self, the truthfulness, purity, mod
esty, charity, gentleness, which can
not long be- unnoticed by those
around him, and which lay firm hold
upon their hearts. But to be great,
to fill a very large space in the
worlds eyeduring mans few brief
years upon earth, he must throw
modesty and unobtrusiveness over
board; he must be grasping, aggres-
sive, discreetly greedy of praise,
covetous Of largo share Of honor,
judiciously envious; must know how
to undermine troublesome rivals
without being found out, and help
useful friends without being sup
planted. Heartily agreeing with
Coleridge that whore distinction and
affection have been won coincidently
there must be the epicene element
in their winner, / venture to doubt
whether mans affection is ever won
by the greatest, or in other words,
whether in the greatest any of the
woman is to be found. The men
who are brave from tenderness, are
braver than tho men who are brave
from pride. But the men who, to
encourage or spare Others are gratu-
itously brave are not selfish enough
to be great. The calm judgment of
posterity, especially if assisted by
the pen of Mr.. Carlyle, (who is said
to hold that Washington stands too
high, and who, if I am rightly in
formed, centemplates lowering his
pedestaD will, I think, reverse the
verdict of Mr.. Everett's we'll known
lecture, and will pronounce that
Washington was not greater than
Peter, or Frederic, or Marlborough,
as Mr.. Everett contends, but simply
more estimable.
The exceeding loveableness of Leo
became more patent, as your con-
sciousness that as a politician he
lacked vigor and and self-assertion
became more irresistible. This
loveableness was based upon new
er-tiring unselfishness, a contagious
endurance of hardship and danger,
a shrinking modesty, an abounding
tenderness. The child and the
young girl, who had never seen him
before, ran to him instinctively as
to friend. His look spoke of hon
esty, directness, kindliness, courage.
His smile was irresistably winning.
But the stuff which made Cromwell,
Napoleon, William the Silent, great
er as politicians than as soldiers,
was lacking in Lee. All that there
was of true and brave in the people
whom he so nearly made a nation,
called on him by signs that he who
ran might read, to put Congress
aside, to controlth press, to be Die
tater indeed; and yet he would not !
Nevertheless, in the belief that there
is no more powerful stimulant to a
noble ambition than the study Of
such a character as Lees. 1 desire
to throw my stone upon the cairn,
by gathering together few notes
for the general accuracy of which L
entirely vouch, exhibiting the main
features of the eventful six days
which intervened between the evac-
uation of the Confederate lines
around Petersburg and Richmond,
on the night Of April End and the
surrender of Lees army on the night
Of April the 9th.
In order rightly to understand