The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-04-12
THE FAREWELL OF LEE.

From what is come to be TO Amcri
cans the sliminess of diplomatic stag
nancy. there sparkles forth one voice
steady. warm. welcome. wholesome
effervcscent.
1t was heard on the Fern Saturday
afternoon when General Fitzhugh Lee.
surrounded by the remnan of -Ameri
cans who were accompanying him from
Cuba. gave orders:
Tell the Olivette to get under way at
once. Captain Cowles. signal the Bacho
thar the United States fleet is ready to
clear out of Havana, and please follow
the Rache out.
In that sentence was cOmpaSSed. per
hapS, the whole personality of this pic
turcSquc hero of the moment Dare
devil coolneSS. Il humor that thrlvcS on
danger. and Il chivalry that even in so
hive of conspiracy against his life,
while. from the shore. even could be
heard the e~xecration~ of Death to the
Yankee Swine" on the hot lips of those
~ "ptlHl ndNt Slttils Stt1 lllll dilioiiS
our battleship's dead.
1t is the first time we have seen Nir-
ginia's Cavalier in the clear. The eyes
of this country were turned upOn him
Saturday afternoon as he stood on that
deck against Il Spanish twilight twink
ling with treachery. Men have not yet
disguised his figure with the parapherna-
liza of political probability, they have be
held him simply. the clear-cut soldier. the
clean-hearted refuge of Americans in
Cuba. Men saw more-they beheld in
Lee Il man in whom their spirits met.
The consensus of American opinion has
not long been decidedly of one shade.
II is about cryStalized now. If men
cannot express themselves clearly, they
yet feel strongly. and in answer, say
that is what we think" pointing to Lee
standing on the deck Of the Fern.
We have heard comparatively little of
what this chevalier Lee has done, we
have rather become acquainted with hi
personality through the atmosphere OF
the man than from his words, which, to
say truth. have been few. We have
come TO the conclusion that there is Il
deal of tenderness and COMMON sense III
his short. soldierlike frame. There has
been the toss and abandon Of the
royalist about him at moments. with the
grim note Of the round-head underneath
the flash Of mirth. which was, however,
Il mirth underlaid with meaning. But
better than the roundhead or ~royalist
in him is that union which involves q
result different from either in what is
familiarly known among us as the
American just what an "American
is is possibly a thing impossible to define.
but again turning their eyes toward the
deck Of the Fern, the people of this
country with one accord ac-
claim. there stands the .Ameri- |
in all this matter.'' and
Lee was steaming out on the Fern. fol
lowing the Oliyette and the Bache, his |
twinkling as looking upon the pa
thctically ludicrous procession he said:
Tell the Ollyette to get under way al
once, Captain CoWleS. signal the Rachc |
mat the tnIted states fleet Is ready 10
clear out Of Havana, and please follow
the Bache out"
Virginia looks proudly on. as his
country salutes her son.. and thanks go
mp from all lips as a gallant heart. calm
md kind under many hidden dangers.
may now feel Il thrill that only love.
not peril, may awaken in the heart of a
Lee.
As he steps ashore. his hand seems
pnfstrctched III grace to that hand
maiden of peace. Clara Barton. whose
healln@ touch and sanity heroism are a
cohl~panlon-piece to the loyalty aid
Vl@or Of the oldier-Statesman
lhe two together represent the best
manhood and the best vomanhood .1f
the new continent. nor should tba
lflnnlphs In modesty and mercy of the
'le ne forgotten i'll the ~splendor of the
Of the other.