The Cairo bulletin., 1904-06-05

LIZ I'm, SOINDh I MOt(INLH
the heavenly armament. After thc war
was over q rich financial company IL
New York city, In order TO catch the
southern trade through Robert Il. Lees
popularity offered Lee $4,000 per
year at a salary to become its manager
What said General Lcct no, | can
not come. | must stay among my own
people to help teach them to become
true Christian citizens, 20 help teach
them how to have fifth In their God
and patriotic love for their Whole
land Robert H. Lee turned his back
at that time upon the most princely
salary then offered In the city If New
York, In order to teach his people to
love- reunited country and 70 lave
faith in God he accepted humble
position as the president of one Of N'ir-
ginia's bankrupt schools Rather than
live for mercouary gain he quietly and
yet nobly and unselfShly went to live
among the shattered walls of Wash
ington college in lexington He lived
there until the close Of his life. Some
people may tell you that the greatest
service the American soldier did for
his country was when he suffered up
ON the field of battle | tell you that
the greatest service the Confederate
army and the Federal army ever did
for their native land was when they
dissolved and when their Christian sol
dicrs became the earnest, cousecrated
advocates of Christian peace So to-
day | praise no less highly than the
soldier who went out in 1861 to fight
his country's battles the soldier in
1866 returning TO civil life and striy
ing in home and factory and store to
heal the wounds of the nation and re-
unite its people in the bonds Of Chris
tian love.
The SentincIs Call.
Some time ago | stood ON the top of
the Washington monument and looked
off upon the battlcdclds of America and
dreamed my dreams. | saw hundreds
of thousands of human bones bleaching
in the sunlight. guawed of the yulture
and the wolf ! heard the mutlled !
drums beating the tattoo at sunset, As
the artillery wagons rumbled away to
the rear and star twinkled to star,
heard sentinel 10y the glare Of the
campfire call TO sentinel. "Alrs well.
AIS well along the Potomac"
There 20 the booming Of the can
non and the sharp commands of the |
officers, STEADY, boys; steady, steady. |
There Is the ping of the bullet, and the /
dying soldier clutches at his heart as !
he means, "My babies, Q God, my poor |
babies" and then drops dead There |
comes the blood curdling Confederate !
cry, I'll Hi, Iii, Hi, Iii" There is |
the long line of set faces behind the !
gilttering bayonets, The heavens red |
den and glow. The flames leap and |
hiss and dance and make merry over /
the burning homes The falling beams |
so crash, crash. crash, The rivers are /
deep with flowing blood; the grave |
are filed with million dead.
As | turn and look upon the great |
white dome Of the capitol the old ma
tional flag flaps and waves. lis stars !
glitter like the eyes of the mothers |
waiting for their boys who never came
back, and like the eyes Of the maidcns
who, after awhile rs old women read |
and reread the torn ana the yellow let |
tcrs which their heroes just before the |
fatal battle wrote about the bridal |
homes which were destined never to |
be built. And as | look upon the old |
flag again the white stripes look like
the white banduges which were put |
about the shattered arms. The long,
deep streaks of red prove that it's folds
had once been dipped into pools of
human blood. Then the great white
dome of the legislative hall, glisicning
in the sunlight, looks as though it were
built ont Of the broken tombstoneS
Of Arlington Heights and Gettysburg
and the Wilderness,
The War Forever Ended
Then, MS | look up and down the
great Pennsylvania avenue. | seem to
see the united armies of the boys in
blue and of the boys in gray marching,
marching. marching | see the lines
melt away. Following with my eye
one soldier, | see him take his dis
charge, and he starts for home.
cannot tell whether this discharged
soldier is now heading for the AIichi-
gan hills or for the Georgia planta-
tons. In his civilian dress he has no
distinctive insignia telling me whether
he fought under Grant or under Lee.
Then / see this soldier coming up to
the farm gate aud being welcomed
home 10y his dear ones. Now his wife
nearly faints away for JOY Then in
The evening hour | see him gather thc
little children about him lie opens
the old hook; he reads n chapter. the [
family kneel in prayer. then the lights
are put out. and know the war Is for
eyer ended
The Christian soldier Of conflict has
become the Christian citizen Of patri
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