The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-01-20

4 |
jolclng. Such, in brief, is the biograpti
cal sketch OF Lee. whose career as a sol
der was immortalized during the fou
years OF an unequal contest.
1t was Lord Wolseley who in tribut
to Lee said: I have met many of tn
greatest men of my time, but Lee I'M
pressed me with the feeling that | wa
IN the presence Of a man who was cas-
IN grander mold and made Of different
and finer metal than all other men. H
IS stamped upon my memory as being
apart and superior to all others in every
way, man with whom none | ever
knew and very few Of whom | have read
are worthy to be classed."
Indeed, Lee was one of Gods noble
men, the most perfect creation of man
kind, standing III his simplicity and 10y
atty above all the stalWartS of the ages,
and as said by General Ben Hill, one OF
the South's most brilliant orators, in a
tribute to General Lee delivered in At
lanta: When the future historian comes
to survey the character of Lee. he will
ind ii rising like huge mountain above
the uidulatlng plains of humanity, and
he will have to lift his eyes high towards
| heaven to catch its summit. He DOS
SeSsed the virtues of the other great
commanders without their vices. He
was a foe without hate; friend
without treachery; soldier with
out cruelty and a victim without
murmuring. He was public Of
ticer without vices; Christian
without hypocrisy: private citizen
without wrong, and man without guilt.
He was Caesar without ambition;
a Frederick without his tyranny; Napo-
leon without his selhshness, and Wash
lngton without his reward He was
obedlent to authority as a servant, and
royal in authority as a true king. He was
gentle as woman in life: modest and
pure as a virgin in thought; watchful as
Roman vestal in duty; submissive to
law as Socrates, and grand in battle as
Achilles. !"
While Lee was great in war. he was
sublime III the pursuit sof peace. For
months after the South's aspirations had
been buried at Appomatox, Lee was the
president of Washington and Lee Uni
versity at Lexington, Va, a position he
held until his death, October II, 1870
Lee was remarkable for his ease and
composure. He was simplicity in man
ner and dress. He was always a Vir-
glnia gentleman, devoted to Duty, which
was his guide. In the word Duty he
centralized and emphasized all the re-
sponsiblity of men. 1t is not possible
tor anyone to be laggard. not possible
to be untrue if their guide be Duty. 1t |
Is IN letter to his son dated AIRING
ton House, April 5, 1852, that he i'm
presses on his son the Importance of
duty, and his words should sink deep
i'll the hearts of every girl and boy as
well as women and men:
l am just In the act of leaving home |
for New Mexico he wrote. My fine
old regiment has been ordered to that
distant region, and | must hurry on to
see that they are properly cared for. I |
have but little to add in reply to your
letters of March 26. II and 20. Your
letters breathe the true spirit OF frank
ness; they have given myself and your
mother graf pleasure You must study |
to be frank with the world; frankness
is the child of honesty and courage Say
Just what you mean to do, and take it |
for granted you mean to do right If a
friend asks favor you should grant it
if it is reasonable; if not, tell him plain
ly why you can not; you will wrong him
and wrong yourself by equivocation of
any kind. Never do a wrong thing to
make friend or to keep one; the man
who requires you to do so is dearly pur-
chased at a sacrifice Deal kindly but
firmly with all your classmates you
will find it the policy that wears best
Above all, do not appear to others what
YOU are not. If you have any fault to
find with anyone, tell him, not others, of
what you complain: there is no more
dangerous experiment than that of I'M
1ertaking to be one thing before mans
face and another behind his back.
1--WE should live, act and say nothing
% the injury of any one 1t is not only
he best as a matter of principle, but it
5 the path to peace and honor.
In concluding this letter General Lee
Wrote:
In regard to duty, let me, in conclu-
ion of this hasty letter, inform you that
nearly hundred years ago Their was
lay of remarkable gloom and darkness
still known as the dark day--a day
when the light of the sun was slowly
extlnguished, as if by an eclipse. The
of Connecticut was in SEES
ion, and as the members saw the I'M
and unaccountabie darkness
coming on, they shared in the general
I'VE and terror. 1t was supposed by
many that the last day, the day of judy
1, a. l..