The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1870-04-01
IL. T.. LEE.
An Interview with the Ex-COn-
iederute Chicitain.

.aw tScollamd) Herald" with a series
~ interesting sketches of American
,".n and women. lie described his first
;",cryicw with Geml. Lee as follows:
When | got back To the hotel, | found
,hat Lee, who was aware Of my coming.
Ind already (with the courtesy 30 con-
.nicuous among IL class Of AIncricans.)
IN, his secvant to enquire if | had ar
,iy,d: and IL say that he would like to
.re me ut the college.
.On going there after breakfast, ! was
,,leu up stairs and shown into the room
ri aside for the use Of the College Pres
idcnt.
"A noblc-looking man. dressed in gray
military coat, who had been writing al
,he table near the window. rose rs
entered. lie was tall. straight, and sol
dier.likc, it'll crisp hair turning white +;
hort trimmed beard, pointed at the
dim. and dark impcrial-lookin9 eyes,
yery keen and searching. Ii was Eott.
+. Lee. the Confederate commander.
As the first words OF greeting passed
between us, there wa, a hidden sadness
IN his look which impressed me pain
mlly. lie was suffering from i'll licaiti,
n, the time: but il was no Il look oi
p,r seal para. Perhaps il was only my
,c,linu, bmt il .tyIucd ~ ii the shadow
ofihc past vas over him--a. il you could
read behind the vigilance u his dark
ewes the fate of the South. and Of the
ayriad- who lay slcvpin. on the baii!c.
fields.
when ! was seated he logan to in
uuire where | had been in Inc Souii,
aud about my journey up = smiling al
the somewhat dolcful account had IL
yive him OF my experience in the stage
.yo.n GivsLep. He said there was M
,ihsr road | might have taKem-t the on'
.gou. Stanton. "Duf the, say which
,scr ivad YOU take. you wish b. tha
.ou had taken The other. lie had b"r
,wicr by the Go .i,en road on horseback
The s.c;scry was vcsy grand. /.
lie sS.au TO stAc:x about Scotland
and said: You will meet with man.
ii your countrymrn here The Vale!
Of Virginia j. pcoplcd with ScUtcil-lrisi
people who have come FROM ScotIad'
ly way of Ireland. They are Il fine race
They have the courage and deiermina
lion Of the Scotch. with the lrish dasl
md intrcpidii!. They nakc fine sol
licrs."
lie said ii was m old wish OF his t
visit this country : but il would never b
.alizcd now. Stoncwall Jaci;.un ha'
) en- in Scotland before the war. lie ha'
.tard him speak OF it.
when some reference was inadc I
the odds against which the South la
fought. and the want there was of ae
curate statistics, ] told him il was under
stood he was preparing u history OF ia
var himself.
IL have had that in view" he said
"but the time is not yet conc for an III
partial history. In the truth were tol
just now il would not be credited
when the books that had already nj
lwarcd were spoken OF, aud ! mcntione
one. the proof. sheet OF which. il was a
serted. had been submitted to Gelcr
Grant and himself Tor revision, lac >sit
1T is IA mistake. l have never read
history Of the war nor the biography
any man engaged in it. My own Ii
has been written. but | have not look,
into it," lie added after a pause, ~ I
not wish to awaken memories of Il
past"
lie spoke highly Of Shcrman's abi'
ties : said Sherman had always been
good soldier.
lie seemed much gratiticd when
told him OF the estimation in which
and Stonewall Jackson had been he
from the first by the British people,
snspcctivc altogether Of Northern Il:
Southern sympathies. lie said after
seasc, jackson lies in the Presby'cri
turying-ground at the other cXtrcmi
Of Lexington"