The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1902-02-14
ARP WRITES OF LEE.
Met the General on Two Occasions
During Civil War.
Impressed with Grandeur-Army Did
Not Know What Great Man
Was Their Leader-Hard-
ships of War.

OuIy is the SuDIllHeSJ WOTu III our
language" That is what Gen. Lee
wrote to his son soon after Gen.
Scott offered him the supreme COM
mand of the northern army. Vir-
ginia had just seeded and Lee saw
on one side that there were no hon
ors to which he might not aspire. On
the other side, if he cast his des-
tiny with that of his state, he saw,
or he thought he saw, that mis-
cries and trials awaited him without
having found it, it was ever the prin-
ciple of his actions. These strong
and beautiful words about duty were
not original with Gen. Lee, and in
his letter he has them in quotation
marks. The expression came from
Rev. John. Davenport, famous Pu-
ritan preacher of New England-the
man who gave shelter to the three
regicides who condemned Charles l..
to death and after the restoration
fed for their lives to New England,
and were hidden by John Davenport
in his barn. When this act of treason
became known among his people he
neither quailed nor repented, but
preached sermon the next Sabbath
from that passage in Isaiah which
says: Hide the outcasts. Betray not
him that VANDERBILT. Let my out
casts dwell with thee and be thou
covert unto them from the spoiler."
1t was in that sermon that he made
use of this notable expressions: "It
is my duty to shield them, and duty
is the sublimest word in our Ian
gnage."
During the war it was my privilege
to see Gen. Lee quite often, but never
did l meet him face to face and have
brief conversation with him but
twice. Even then we did not know
how great man he was. Gen. john
ston had been wounded at. Seven
Pines and Gen. Lee came from West
Virginia to take his place. He was
almost stranger to the Army of
Northern Virginia. He had been in
command but a week or two when
Gen. Black, of Rome, came to see
his boys of the Eighth Georgia and
asked me to ride with him to Gen.
Lees headquarters and introduce him,
for he was very DESTROYS of meeting
him before he returned to Georgia.
Of course l complied, for Gen. Black
was a man of no small consequence
at home. He was old and gray and
of commanding presence and military
bearing. Introducing myself first,
presented Gen. Black, and after we
were seated, I said nothing. I was
soon impressed with the grandeur of
the man before me, and, of course,
as he expanded. l very naturally
shrank up little to keep the equi-
librium. Not long after this the sew
en- Days battles began and ended in
McClellan's defeat and our army be-
gan to realize how great man Lee
was. 1t was on the sixth day that
was sent to his headquarters near
Meadow bridge to receive orders, and
there | met him again. He was
standing uncovered and unarmed in
front of his tent, and "stonewall"
jackson was asleep inside upon the
straw, and the servant had set the
dinner tables over him so as not to
disturb his rest, for, as Gen. Lee
said, she needs it, and nothing but
artillery will awake him now"
said that the army did not know
at first how great a man Lee was.
Neither did they know fully at the
last, for he was one of the few great
characters that develops and grows
brighter and grander as the years roll
on. For some years after the war he
received but little praise at the north
and great national cyclopedia gave
more space and praise to old John
Brown than to Gen. Lee, who arrest
ed and executed him. But now, in the
International, of Is volumes-a stand
ard work, edited and compiled by 200
of the most distinguished scholars
and professors of the northern col
leges-the sketches of Gen. Lee and
Stonewall Jackson are all that we
could ask for.
That of Lee closes with this para
graph: "In person he was one of the
noblest types of manly beauty. Tall,
broad shouldered, erect, with a dignity
as impressive as that of Washington,
vet not so cold. OF habits as pure
as Washington, but more warmly re-
ligious and always maintaining n
calm, confident and kindly manner
that no disaster could disturb or
change" The world knows him now
and venerates his memory and the
people he fought against have given
him a place in their hall of fame.
Verify, old Father Time is good