The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1870-10-30


loe fa!,Ihs,t d ii. i. 9ea
I|o1rioas sessi M F6s us so-night
||so INQUIRE ffhI I'll u 4a9 9asasi ionAbly
EtEer5 iSanI shia;is Blelai the asaensne Of
lIrece,e BID 10 blihd t6 al Che tputhg of
lIhistory ttbbRg ttabbRg8t sby alf rev6intiBps saho
!!doea not recognize a;aelect race, and se-
lileesi ,individuaIs ;of, that race; Ito make
|ithem. But pfetsrmitting allspeculstion
of that sort, when Virginia unfolds the
scroll of her Immortal sDns-not because
other illustricus names do not appear IN
the constellation, but because theirs
shine out from among them-we read
the name of George Washington; and
then, Mr.. President, after on interval Of
three.fourths of century, during which
other deeds are recorded, and names are
traced that history will never let die, we
come to the name-the only name in all
the annals of American history that can
be named in this perilous connection
that of Robert E. Lee, the second wash
ington. Applause. Well may old
Virginia be proud of her twin sons, al-
most century apart shining like those
stars which, combining their glory,
throw their splendor over the world.
Sir, this is not artificial rhetoric which
suggests this comparison; because these
two great names of American history
are naturally linked together, the sug-
gestion springs to the lips of every man.
1t is scarcely possible to discuss the
traits of one, without dropping hint
of the mysterious connection which
binds the two together. They were
alike in the early history of their boy
hood, both earnest, grave and sedate.
They we're alike in that peculiar purity
which belongs only to noble boy giving
promise of life, spotless, if not great,
until 1t closes in death. They were
alike in that commanding presence
which seems the signature which Heaven
sometimes places on the puro soul, when
to that soul is given fit dwelling; alike
in that noble courage and commanding
dignity which needs only to be witnessed
which subdues and melts with a power
that cannot be repressed. They wero
alike in the remarkable combination and
symmetry of their intellectual attri.
butes, oil brought up to the same equal
level; no faculty of the mind overlapped
any other; but all were so equally, SO
we'll developed in judgment and reason,
in memory, in fancy, that you are al
most disposed to deny him greatness,
because no single attribute of the mind
was projected on an independent scale,
Just as objects sometimes appear smaller
to the eye, because of their perfect SYM
metry. They were alike above all in
that grand, that Christian virtue, which
was the climax of the character in both,
as told you 80 beautifully in the tribute
which has been rendered to his memory
by my friend, whose high privilege it
was to be the compeer of Lee, although
engaged in another sphere of public
service. They were alike in their ances-
trail fortune, and yet 30 strikingly dis
similar. The one the representative of
q stupendcus revolution, which it pleased
Heaven to bless, and which gave birth
to one of the greatest nations of the
globe, to which was assigned continent
for home. The other the representa-
tive and agent of similar revolution,
upon which it pleased high Heaven to
throw the darkness of it's frown, SO that
by carrying upon his heart the weight of
this crush. he was at length stihed by it.
And the nation whom he led in bntte
gathers with spontaniety of grief all
over this land, strewn with graves and
Redeemed with blood, and the tears OF q
widowed nation, in their bereavement,
are shed over his honored grave. But,
sir, these rude suggestions, Which fall
almost impromptu, suggest what I do.
sire to throw before the audience to-
night.
I accept Robert E. Lee as the true type
of the American man and Southern gen
tleman. A brilliant English writer has
we'll remarked, with touch of philoso-
ply, that when O nation is rushing to de-
struction, the whole force of the nation
will shoot up in one grand character, like
the aloe, which blooms and stands for
hundred years, then shoots up in one
single sprout; and wherever civilization
has worked revolutions, it is possible to
place the finger on individual men who
are the exponents Of the natiou's cha
racter, after which others, though less
noble perhaps, have, nevertheless, been
fashioned. Thatgentleness and courtesy.
that perfect moderation, that self-com-
mand which enabled him to be SO self
possessed amidst the most trying cir
cumstances in his career, clothed him
with the stainless attribute of gentle
man, and character such as that of the