Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1870-10-29

deliberations of the most gifted
MINDS. His life WAS an epic--a grand
heroic poem, TT for tile study of the
artist, the poet, the philosopher and
the christian.
ROBERT Il. LEE was great man,
and we use the word In its legitimate
sense, and give 1t its fullest emphasis.
He was great in all the relations of
character. From the minutest incl
dents of life, which imperceptibly af-
feet the character anil mould our des-
tiny, up to those mighty deeds which
attract the gaze Of men and provoke
public applause, he filled up the true
measure " human greatness. In
private rs In public life, in peace and
war, he was of the very first order of
men; and the beautiful symetry of
his life was marred by no grave de-
fects q character, sullied by no UNI
worthy act. All the elements of gen.
uine worth were SO mingled In him,
ard held such just equipoise in his
nature that the whole world, with
united voice and with cheerful en-
phasis, declare him to have been u
man. He was as true type of royal
manhood, of natures own nobility,
us this or any other age has ever wit
messed. He bore on his entire life
the mint stamp of greatness.
The manly virtues Of his charac-
ter, which had long shone so brightly
mainly in the private and subordinate
relations of life, became conspicuous
in the late unfortunate civil war, and
at once challenged the admiration of
mankind. He was the chosen leader
of the brave thousands who sacrificed
everything for home and country and
imperilled life for liberty. A more
gallant chieftain never commanded
veteran legions, nor unfurled the ban
ner of defiance In the face of deter
mined and inveterate foe. With SUI
perior skill, and with matchless en-
many victorious conflict against
the invaders of the soil of his native
State, the proud old Commonwealth,
which, in the presence of the enemy
and under the very shadow of his
capital, cast her destiny with the
South, to abide the fortuneso of war
His brilliant campaigns, often made
under every possible encouragement,
and sometimes in the very face of dis
asters, have associated in undying
fame the valleys of Virginia with all
the great battlefields of history, and
linked his name in imperishable
glory with the foremost captains of
the world. Austerlitz, Jena, Mara
thon, will have no brighter page i'm
history than Charlottesville, the
Wilderness, Seven Pines; and the
name of LEE is crowned with laurels
as rich and enduring as ever decked
the brow of chivairy.
The loftiness of his character was
evinced during the entire war, and
under all the trying circumstances of
that eventful period. His chivalrous
bearing towards the enemy, his gen
erosity towards those whom the for
tunes of war placed in his power, and
his answering fidelity to the high
trusts committed to him, provoked
universal applause, and none but
those whose praise would throw sus-
picion on his honor, now that he is
no more, withhold from his memory
the tribute of their admiration. He
came out of that long, bloody and
bitter conflict in which there We're
more than a thousand provOcations
to wrong, with his name untarnished
by single unworthy act. Malice,
nay, hatred itself, may be safely chal-
lenged to find a loop in his character
on which to hang story of dishonor.
| The remembrance of the cruel injuries
perpetrated against his own country
men, the desolations of his own beau
tiful home, the dissertations of the
| heritage of illustriOus ancestry, never
| for one moment tempted him from
the path of honor, nor betrayed him
| into malignant retaliations. He
made no war upon unarmed men,
and the cries of helpless women and
children never reproached him as the
despoiler of their homes. No desola-
ton marked his progress, when, to
conquer peace, he marched his
soldiers into the enemies country;
and no burning buildings lighted his
retreating path from the disasters of
Gettysburg, as, broken hearted, he led
| his Chartered columns back to their
entertainments around Richmond
He came back as he went, in the full
possession Of his integrity, and with
out u stain of dishonor.
" Lay his sword on his breast, there's no
spot on its blade,
In whose cankerlng breath his bright
! laurcls will fade.f
And of him it may be said, if ofany
warrior that ever unsheathed his
sword against his fellow-man,
Let him pass. with his sword to the pres
ence of Cod"
He was great in war, but he was
greater still in peace. We admire
him as the great captain, planning
campaigns, organizing armies, and
/ leading his veteran soldiers to battle
and victory; but we admire him still
more in his quiet resumption of the
peaceful avocations of life, after the
storm of battle was over. If he was
grand in his moderation when fortune
smiled upon him, he was grander still
/ in the fortitude with which he bore
I nothing more sublime in all history,
than the silence of that majestic sor-
row with which he bows to destiny.
There are no useless repinings. Not
n murmur escapes him. The drum
mullled, the arms reversed, the bat
tie flag furled forever, he adjusted
himself to the new order of things, as
If the quietude of his life had never
been disturbed by the shock of arms.
And whilst the nations of the earth
are recounting his deeds, and the
world is ringing with his fame, he
quietly enters Washington College,
and seeks TO retrieve the shattered
fortunes of his beloved South, by
training her youth in art and science,
that they may he qualified for the du-
ties and responsibilities Of peaceful
life. Here is true greatness, the very
summit of human excellence. Let
history, If it can, furnish q parallel.
Grand old hero thou art enshrined
forever in the hearts of thy country
men. Affection shall long weep at
thy grave, and weave green garlands
to thy memory. Thy name shall be
l.. To-. q l.