Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-01-14

Of his Country" How far he differed
from many Of our leading public menof
the present day in this respect We win
not here discuss.
There are scattered over these pages
many personal illustrations Of General
Lees temper aud tone that are very in-
teresting. Take, for example, his mod
Grafton Of language (and language mis-
directed can do . great deal Of DAM
age) even in the excitement Of war
He never applied 70 his enemies any
,atronenr plnse then .;tbose people :"
Here IS one specimen. Il Is the testi-
mony of one of General Jackson's staff:
On Monday morning, at the request
Of the officer in command Of the Stone
wall Brigade, l went to ask General
Lee if in his Judgment it was proper to
permi: the old brigade, or part of il, to
accompany the remains of ofGeneral Jack
son to Richmond as an escort. found
the commander-in-chiefw walking in front
of his tent, looking sad and thoughtful.
He listened attentively to my request,
and then. in a voice "a gentle and sad
as his looks, replied: II am surcno one
can feel the loss of General jackson
more deeply than / do, for no one has
the same reason. I have lost a dear
friend and an invaluable officer. l can
fully appreciate the feelings of the men
Of his old brigade; they have reason to
mourn for him, for he was proud of
them. They have been with him and
true to him since the beginning of the
war. / should be glad TO grant any re-
quest they might make, the object Of
which was to show their regard for their
los. General; and I am sorry that the
situation of affairs viii not justify me
in permitting them to go with his corpse,
not only to Richmond, but to Lexing-
ton, that they might see it deposi-
ted in its last resting place. But it
may not be. Those people orer the rirer
are AGAIN sho,cins signs Of Increment, and
it is SO necessary for NE to be on hand
that 1 cannot leave my headquarters
long enough to ride to the depot and
pay nv dear friend the poor tribute Of
seeing his body placed upon the cars.
So again we read:
Upon several occasions the writer has
heard him rebuke others for bitter ex-
pressions, and the severest terms he was
accustomed to employ were such IS be
used to his son Robert, to whom he said
one day as he was braveiy working one
of the guns Of the Rockbridge Artillery,
which was engaged in fierce fight with
the enemy That's right, my son; drive
those people back"
When told Of Jackson's wound, ard
of his plan to cut Hooker off from the
United States ford. and drive back his
army on Charlottesville, the eve Of the
great captain spark!ed and his face
flushed rs he remembered that in the
loss of his lieutenant he had been ''dc-
prived of his right arm;" but his quiet
reply was, General Jackson's plans
shall be carried out-those people shall
be driven to-day"
He used sometimes to speak Of .the
enemy as General Meade's people"
General Grant people" " or "our friends
across the river"
There was in this heroic man a vein
of gentle, quiet humor that is simply
delicious. We venture on one or two
specimens
Stopping in his Office one day I heard
a visitor inquire how q certain student
was getting on, when President Lee
promptly replied: He is a very quiet,
orderly young man, but seems very
careful not to injure the health of his
fathers son. He got last month only
forty on his Greek, thirty-tive on his
mathematics, forty seven on his Latin,
and fifty on his English, which is a very
low stand, as loo is our maximum
Now, | do not want our young len to
really iniure their health; but 1 wish
them to come as near it as possible
Again:
Twas walking with him one day in
Lexington, during the sway of the mil
itary, when, seeing young man stag
ger out one of the bar-rooms, he seemed
very much annoyed by the spectacle,
and said: 81 wish that these military
gentlemen. while they are doing SO
many things which they have no righ.
to do, would close up all Of these grog.
shops which are Turing our young met
to destruction"
1t seems that General David Hunter
who once. when Radicalism was in the
ascendant, was a hero" wrote to Gen
eral Lee an interrosative letter rafterths
close of the war, and here is the re.
ply:
The information upon which your
campaign was undertaken was errone.
GUS / had TO troops 10 spare General
Johnston. and no intention of sending
him aay-certainly not 1000, as that
would have taken about all / had.
! As to the second point, would say
that am not advised as to the motives
which induced YOU TO adopt the line ol
retreat which you took, as l an not
perhaps, competent to judge of the
question; but certainly expected YOU
/ to retreat BY way of the Shenandoah
Valley, and WAS gratifed at the time
that you preferred the route through
the mountains to the Ohio-leaving TIE
valley open for General Early advance
! into Maryland.