The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-10-21
To that mysterious realm, where each, shall take
His chamber in the silent halls Of death.
.heMIMEo1


The Cause q his Deaah-N00nnfng Of
fmuls1 ntoj1the Reople. esHod neat =
A correspondent oflthe New York
Tribune, writing from Lexington, Va,
says;H .fqai-shsiN .ysgu5a silaiiI
The facts in regard 10, the last ill
ness of Gen. Lee, as L obtain them
from those about him in his last
hours, are substantially these: On
Wednesday, Sept Is, he twas at
Washington College and about the
streets, diligently attending to the
duties Of the Presidency. ri During
the afternoon he presided at aIimeet-
ing of the vestrys sofl the church in
which he was q c0mmunicant. Thence
he went home, partoek of q light tea,
and while sitting surrounded by his
family he was attacked with. stupor,
becoming speeches, and SO continu-
ing during the night i In the morRing
he seemed better, and hopes were en-
tertained thatit was only q slight in
disposition from nervous prostration.
be- He continued apparently to i'm.
prove until Monday last, but spoke
very little, and that only in reply to
Questions as to how he felt He did
not seem as confident of recovery az
his physicians and friends. Hisintel-
lect, however, was without a cloud,
and he gave many signs that he knew
what was going on around him. On
Saturday DR.. Madison addressed him
cheerfully, remarking "General, you
must make haste and get well, for
Traveller (his favorite h0rse)i is getting
lazy, and you must give him some ex-
ercise." The only reply was d shake
of the sick mans head, accompanied
by a look that said as plainly as words
could say, that he had no hope of en-
gaging again in outdoor recreation. b
Monday found the General worse,
and though his sudden demise was
not anticipated, it was thought best
to telegraph for his sons, Gen. Fitz-
hugh, Gen. Gusts and Capt Robert
Lee to come to his bedside. Before
the message reached them their father
was dead. He died at half-past 9
o'clock on Monday morning. The
physicians who attended him in his
last moments say. that the remote
cause ofhis death was long-continued
depressing influences incident to re-
sponsibilities resting upon him during
the last year ofthe war, the disastrous
termination Of the struggle in which
all his energies were enlisted, and the
Affections Of the South since the sur
render of the Confederate armies.
What he has gone through since
few can know, who have not seen
how he has been burdened with the
sorrows of the whole people, who
seemed to look to him as d father.
He has borne q calm exterior, but the
very fibres Of his heart have been
wearing away by degrees, until at last
they have broken, and the vital spark
has fed His physicians concur in
the opinion that ne died rather from
mental than physical causes, declaring
that his physical development was al
most perfect, and that there was no
merely physical reason why he should
not have lived many years longer.
The immediate cause of his death,
however, was, they say, .Mental and
physical fatigue, inducing veneus con.
gestion of the brain, which, however
did not proceed so far rs apOplexy OF
paralysis, but gradually caused cereb.
raj exhaustion and DEATH ii1rsJ