The Newtown bee., 1907-12-06

south who has ever studied history could question the purity of Gen Lees private life. or his Christian char acter or of the sincerity of his purpose in defending with the sword the prin- ciples for which he fought. as God had given him to see the right. nor can we ever foret with what magnanimity Gen Grant received the surrender of the sword of the vanquished at Appomat- tox, bidding them all to go back to their homes and again engage in the civic duties of home life. As the years go bs. brighter and brighter glow the tenderness of feeling that showed itself in that last act, the closing scene of the Civil War. They had fought well, they had fallen silently, and no one can meet their descendants in their re- constructed homes without saying "they have risen without bitterness, " and to-day wherever the battle scared veterans of the war between the states, the one, clad in his suit of gray, the other in his suit of blue, meet, the hand clasp is hearty and hearts beat in unison as they deal in victorious rem iniscences of vanquishhment. or ex- change their experiences around the camp fires of running the guard, and of army life in general. Rapidly their ranks are thinning out but they will make a joy of life 80 long as it is pos sible and when that ceases to be they will do the next.best thing and make friend with death. Gen Lee died in 1870 but it was twenty years before the people of Richmond, poverty strlck- en as they were by the war, could raise the money sufficient to assure a mon ument. On May 30, 1890, an Equestri- an statue of Gen Lee was unveiled on Monument avenue. It was on Memo rial day, and the occasion, one of the greatest Confederate reunions ever seen in Richmond. These extended notes are given, as showing what devot- ed loyalty exists in the southern heart for the memory of husbands, sons and brothers who lost their lives in the Civil War, and at the same time 1t does not detract one whit from their loyalty now, to the old Flag and the principles for which it stands.
 In this same connection we will call attention to the Confederate Museum which was one of the places visited. It is a very pretentious stone building of three stories, originally built as a dwelling house, with massive pillars in front and it was sold to the city in 1862, for the use of the Confederate Govern ment after the Capital was changed from Montgomery, Ala, to Richmond, Va. It was rented for the Executive mansion, and Jefferson Davis lived here for nearly four years, until the evacuation of'Richmond, April 22, 1865. It became known as the "White House of the Confederacy. After the war it was occupied by the U. s. Government for five years. Then it was used for school purposes for twenty years, when the city conveyed the title to society called "The Confederate Memorial Lit erary Society,"" which raised the sum of $32, 900 the half of which sum was used in making it a fire and burglar proof building Tn which to collect and preserve interesting things, as silent but eloquent reminders of the Lost Cause". The best part of one day was given to research and investigation, and, although there was a continu al coming and going of those, like my self, bent upon gaining information or satisfying curiosity, there was no crowd, and all were decorous with a marked degree of reverance as well. Strange feelings and thoughts crowded tl ugh my mind, as the surround Nings called to mind the anxieties of those evenful years, the history of winch was written with pen of blood. It is natural when one goes among relics pertaining to some war, to be looking for trophies of victory, but to thinking mind there comes very soon, with tremendous force, the thought,
 'these things gathered and garner ed here with so much care, are none of them trophies that came as the con quering hero comes along with the glare of trumpets and the beat of drums, but mementoes of a Lost Cause" :"
 There is plenty of space in the build ing to give each state of the Confeder- acy room, and in each room are cases containing almost an endless variety of