The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1875-07-23

artist, mounted on "Traveller" at Spott-
sylvaniA among his advancing regiments,
is grandsshntLee, writing to his faithful
lieutenan&ho had been w6pnded Mt
Chancellofsss 3! eongFatu You on
and epergy, rand der, STILL Lee, as
describsd 81 the Wilderness, again at the
head Of his Advancing lines. but forced
to retire from the 9ont by his men, Gun
easy for his safety with the assurance
would go to the front, is glorious;, bnt
Ice, after the repulse at Gettysburg,
saying ''a}l-this is my fault" and as
suming the responsibility of the reverse,
is more glorious, still; it is sublime
showing US how true greatness, gene
roUs and nlaSnanirlOus can bear itself in
defcat Lees military genius is con-
acded, and he will unqucstionablv rank
among the foremost captains of history
but his noble manhood exhibited in the
hour of disaster ut Appomnttox, and in
the subsequent days of advcrsity, is n
priceless legacy to us rs an example far
more precious than his military rcnown.
Lord Bacon has told us that the
virtues of aivcrsity are of higher
order than the virtues of success,
blessing of the Old Testament, al-
yersity is that of the New. While Wash
ington, then, represents in the history Of
this country the virtues of success, Lee
will represent the virtues of advcrsity.
The classic mntron was wont to study
and dwell upon the lives of great, great
heroes, hoping thus to transmit 70 her
sons their virtues and thcirvnlor; and in
one sense, there was deep philosophy in
the idea, MS the mother herself mnst be-
come fully i,nbucd with the spirit of
those virtues she would iRpart to her
son. In the case of Lee, both parents
rcverence1. and veneratcd Washington
and the happiest Of maternal Influences
presided over his infancy and youth.
The love of the elder Leo for Washington
naturally impressed itself upon the son,
who adopted him as the ideal of his
youth, as the model by which he sought
to mould his own character. It is not
surprising, therefore, that the good seed
of Washington's example, sown in such
soil, should have yielded an abundant
harvest Of virtue and Of valor; and that
we should, accordingly, have in Lee n
greater even than Washington for onr
matrons to admire and honor, and our
South to initiate. Lee, himself then, is
the choice fruit of Washington's exam
pie, and furnishes distinguished illus
tration Of the value of great exemplars
in forming the character of youth. When
we recollect that Lee, lavishly endowed
by nature, was reared under these hal
lowed influences; TINT duty (Which he
styled the sublimcst word in our Ian
guage) was the "key note" Of his life, the
pole-star of his every thought and action
and that he was ever sustained by his
rnIr rrvSn W. k1,e 4
tious adherence through life to the call of
duty; we recognize the presence of every
essential for developing the most exalted
of mankind. We have, accordingly, in
Lee that rnre combination, the highest
order of genius with the purest morality
of its day; the supreme valor of an Alex
nnder with the tnswerving Justice of nm
Aristcdes; the brilliant talents of n Crsar
with the stern virtues of Cato; the
tmnscendant genius of Napoleon with
the unseltish patriotism of Washing
tom
ga combination and form indeed,
Where every god did seem to set his seal
To give tho world assurance Of n man."
We have, accordingly, in Lee the lust
best gift of the mother of States and
statesmen, uniting the valor of the war
rior with the gcntlcncss of the woman
the wisdom of the sage with the purity of
the saint; the virtue of the patriot with
the humility of the Christian; the bril-
liancy of genius with the simplicity Of
faith. We have, accordingly, in Lee, the
most perfect embodiment yet developed
of the ideal manhood of our Christian
civilization. Nature, birth, home intiu-
ence and social advantages, with his
own high aspirations for moral and
Christian excellence, all combining most
happily to produce in him the purest
and the greatest man of all the ages
May his grand character rs bright ex-
ample, shining light, bless his country
men to remotest generations.
Whose Fault is.it7
Mr.. EDrToR: Last night, l received a