Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1870-12-03

questionable cause, But her drCis
lU' having been ma ic, Il was no
Tor him 10 challenge il-n0l for hin
even 20 choose. With true soldier
ly obediehre he held himself read!
10 take his States eommands
though they might wiring hia heag
, 10 execute them,
We just now observed that lh'
key TO this great and COOL man
character might DO found gt thi'
turning point Qf his career, To do
the right when his Judgment
duly exercised, had satisfied him n
10 what was right--no matter with
what prospects, no matter at wha,
cost 10 himsclf-to msrgo his will
in the will that had the olcarost title
TO commanl-lhis 'tds The life germ
of General Fees character, lie had
cared Aoi 70 please men, nor was
love of appreciation any weakness
I of his. Sill less did ho seek or val
no case or scl;inddlgcnec in any OF
its forms. lle trampled upon his
very pride when II stood In the way
Of true service. Strength of will in
/ him and in the face of adverse cir
cumstanccs st was indomitahle--
rested not 80 much on physical con,
stitution us upon moral considcra'
tion. But that strength was seldom
evoked, save at tho bidding oi calm
and deliberate judgment, and show.
cd itself quite rs conspicuonsly in
his kindlincss as in his severity
He believed that IL was right for him
to share tho hard ships Of his men,
and hc did 70 with cheerful and un-
ostcntalious pcrtinacity throughout
tho war, maintaining 10 tho end II
Spartan simplicity. The mans
whole soul lived, not so much in his
profession, us in tho responsibilities
which il imposed on him. These
he welded with all lovar's deva.
ton, and watched. and hooded, and
obcycd them with martial stcadi.
ness and sobricty. His impulses
were tondcr as a woman's; his iu'
flexibility in al things relating to
his scnSb Of obligation was adaman-
tine.
Ii is not surprising that General
Leo, thus sclfconsccratcd to public
duty.-thus sparing, whore duty
would allow il, of everybody but
himsclf-should have become the
idol of his army. His glance thrill. 1,
cd through them and dispclled all
hesitation aud doubt from their |
minds like the bursting of sun
beam through ovcrhanging clouds, !
in tho gentle splendcr Of which na' |
tire 8uddonly breaks into a laugh. |
Ragged, shoclcss, haggard, half |
starving, they would bravo any ,
risks and GttS ally odds at his com
mad. "Uncle RUbcFt. tho appel
ation of familiarity and fondness
by which his men spoke of him
was never Juspected Of wasting
their lives by stragetic blundcrs. He
rinado mistakes, Of course, as, in so
gigantic y .trugglc it was impossi.
bic to avoid making mistakes; but
he never laid the blame Of them up
on his officers. lie was tho "trgan-
izcr ofvictory.' |
But even victory, in the case of
the Confcderates, only eshered
the way to ultimate exhaustion and
defEht. The South had many tri-
umphs, ard won worldwide renown
about which Lee cared nothing;
and when at last he gave up his
sword to General Grant, at Apo
mattox Courthouse, his sympathy
with those whom he had led thro'
80 many privation5, dangers and
conflicts, and his siipreme regard
for what lie d66ihed right, blazcd
out its last brilliant fash. Grand.
ly but sadly he said, turning to the
rcmant Of his once powerful army;
Men, we have fought through tho
army together have done the
best FOR you l could"
More beautiful, moro touching,
perhaps, than any feature or Gen.
Lcc's career throughout the war,
was his conduct front tie close OF
the wat 70 his death. His anccs-
trail estates were gone, hia sword
was surrendered, his high position
WAS lost but the man remained
lust what ho had Been. He mod,
eslly asquicsced in tho mournfn
lot which had fallen to him. Ho
poured forth iio repinings into the
worlds car; he Uttered no malcdic-
tons against his victors. He ac-
coptcd the post of President over
the Military Academy at Lexing-
ton--a sort OF Virginia Sandhurst
--and he discharged the duties Of
that narrow sphere with the samo
conscicntiousness that had marked
all his grander achievements.
Ho died of congestion of the
brain. In death, as in life, his
Christian character ,shonc forth
with steady glow. Much of what
Macaulay. in his review Of Milton,
wrote of the Puritans of the sew
cnth century; was true of Lec-a
descendant, however, from a Cava-
lier family-'The intensity ofthcir
feelings on one subject made them
tranquil on every other. Ono over
powering sentiment had subjected |
10 itself pity aud hatred, ambition !
and fear. Death had lost its ter
rors and pleasure its charms. They |
bad their smiles and their raptures
and their sorrows but not for the |
thinps of this world "