Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1870-12-03
LEE.
a SPLENDID TRIBUTE FROM THE LON
DON ILLuSTRATED NEMs,


Tho grandGsl soldier of recent
times has been borno TO his rest.
The late Confederate General, Rob
ert u. lee, whose name, less than
ten years ago, was a tower of dc.
tense to the State in which he drew
his breath, whose word frightened
the eyes, filled tho heart, and nerved
the arus, Of every man who served
under him-thc dauntlcss, the dis
interested, the devoted chief Of d
cause prcdcstincd TO perish, has
quietly glided, from the humble post
of duty which he had accepted after
his final defeat, into the unseen and
higher sphere to which throughout
the greater part Of his life lie had
looked forward with ycarning HIS
piyations and assured iuith.
General Lees career was just one
of those, occurring only now and
then in history, over which, as one
bends in studous contemplation,
some of the most perpltxing 9ucs.
tions present themselves unbiddcn,
and cry in vain for u really sutlicing
answer. How came tin conform
ity With what difineiy providentihl
law did it happcn--that Il social re-
gime to which he himself was but
loosely, if at all attached, which
even its most enthusiastic. friends
would hesitate to recall from de-
struction which l;ir,lcd and fed
the vilost passions ofhumanity, and
which ranked as q bnrbcd and
poisbned arrow in the side of the
great Republic ofthe West, obtained
for its military champion in lis last
years struggle the ca NEST, pureSt,
most unsclfsh and most unaffeotedly
devout man, as well as tho ablosL
commander whom the genius of
america could have chosen from
among her citiz6ns? What less ons
does the sharp contrast between Il
system condemned by conscience
and the character of the hero who
upheld it to the last impress upon
tli6 human heart? For we must
not confound Gen. Lee with the
"peculiar institution" which his
success in the field Wctld have pre-,
served. 1t was not with Il view to
give slavery permanence that he
cast in his lot with his native State;
nevertheless, the whole of his pro-
fessional service, in the Mexican
war, as in the civil war, chanced to
be in support of that happily oxtin.
guishod cause.
We shall pot .attempt avs solution
Of the mystery. Indeed, we have
presumed to call attention to IT only
because, in our opinion, Justice 10
the memory of the great Confcdcr-
ate captain requires that the mo-
tivos which prevailed with him to
withdraw his allegiance from the
North, and tender it to the South
furhisiics The true key to his charac
ter. There was magnanimity even
in the choice which constituted him
rebel. His political judgment,
f6ffned in early days, pronounced
loyalty to be due to the State befofS
il was due 10 the Union. Nearly
every motive but simple duty which
could have swayed such mind as
Robert L. Lees, must have drawn
him toward the North-or, rather.
toward that Federal Republic which
the North represented. His father
had been soldier in its service,
and, through him, he was connected
with the immortal Washington.
Robert, too, had received his mill
tary education from the Union, and
had restefl it's salt"
he had not tocomplain of neglect
or ofmistrust. His worth had been
recognizcd-Lis promotion promised
to be rapid as well as sure. But
when the secession of Virgihia had
been effected. and war was lowering
along the border of tho State, in
his anxious effnrt 10 discover his
own path Of duty, he sternly sup
pressed every personal inclination,
and calmly surrendered his indi-
viduai views and feelings at tho de-
mand Of public duty. Virginia, he
believed. was entitled 10 claim him
a. Der own, and Virginia's claim
should be satisfied. She might
haze acted unadvisedlv. She might
have been foolish in throwing her