New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-03-30
Literary .Nese,s and Criticism

| life his childhood, boyhood and youth
| we know but little, and even or his
| career as cadet at West POINT le"
| narticulars have come down to us pc
vond the fact that at the Academy he
WAS not in the least the ardent student
Of his profession that Stonewah jack
| son. for instance, is known to have peeh'
| The record begins practically with the
! Mexican War and even here the mate
rial is scanty, consisting chiefly OF his
commanders opinion of his brilliant
] promise as a military man. However
| biographers-and psychographers-may
| probe, Lee, the man. stands out clearly
| before us, his character already formed
| in the heroic chapter of the Civil War,
and in the trying period Of Reconstruc-
ton. when the man proved himself as
| great as a citizen as he had proved him
self TO be as a commander In the held
| in victory and defeat. We have giimpses
| Of him in his letters TO his family, but
| on the whole. our approach to the man
must be through the historical parsonage
Mr.. Bradford therefore devotes only
| single Introductory chapter to Lee Be-
| fore the WAR" and finds the keynote Oh
! his character in the sense Of duty tow
! ard his state. which led him to resign
! from the United States army and TO
| throw in his fortune with secession.
| Thereafter ever sitting the testimony or
J many others, favorable and unfavorable
! presenting It fully before sitting ard
weighing it, Mr.. Bradford seeks the
| character. the soul, of Lee. in camp and
on the battlefield, in his tactful treatment
| of Jefferson Davis and his relations with
| the Confederate government and In
those he held with his officers. especially
with Jackson.
When he comes to deal with the
Spiritual life OF the great commanded,
the author more than hints at the reti-
cences, the mysteries, that lay below the
nobly simple surface familiar TO us all.
In certain ways, he points out, Lee, the
son of Light Horse Harry. was a child
of eighteenth century Virginia. He had
| little intellectual culture. owing, no
doubt, to his education. Mr.. Bradford
I has found no evidence that Lee ever
| gave a thought TO the vast specuatons"
! that followed in the wake Of Darwinism,
| and he does not appear TO have been IN
| any way sensitive to aesthetic pleasures.
| He may have enjoyed poetry. painting
and music, but "he makes no mention
| Of his enjoyment" The beauty Of nat
ure appears to have made a quiet appeal
/ TO him. but on the whole the bent of his
! character was absolutely moral and
practical" Nevertheless. he had good,
! hot temper. and. Notwithstanding the
horror Of war, could pass from the cool
, est solf-control on the battlefield TO what
, LCngstreet considered his weakness S a
general. AN excessive fury of combat"
which time and again drove him into UNI
necessary physical danger. Mr.. Brad
: ford thus voices one Of the mysteries of
Lees character:
The thing that puzzles me. as It has
doubtless puzzled many, is how much per-
. sUual ambition had Lee under this august
! sacrifice Of self To- duty? What led him
into the army frst2 He is reported 10 have
said in later years; The great mistake Of
my lie was taking a military education"
! Why did lie make this mistake? Did
I he-EFn .TaCkSOn--in his early days cherish
dreams Of distant glory? Glimpses Of such
| a passion may be caught IN Washington {
/ youthful letters. ! lind no trace OF II in
Lees When his trends display anxiety for
| bis advancement. he discourages them.
. . BY the time the Civil War came this
I Indifference To hOnors had become a fixed
| habit But there is harder test
Of self-sacrihce in these matters than even
! the WILLINGNESS to fOrego rank; and that i
| patience Under criticism. Here, too, Lee IS
! ronsUCuOus. The more widely one
| reads III the literature Of the war. the more
one appreciates the greatness or Lee : in
difference to glory ms abSolute freedom
| from Jealousy and Standardization.
As Darwin confessed that all he needed
! for happiness in life was his scientific
pursuits and the family affections, So
I our psychographer says, An Lee needed
was the family affections and religion"
| Mr. Pages book has grown to It's pres
ent proportions out Of an original inten-
ton 10 prepare a now edition OF his
Robert f. Lee, the Southerner," pub
Hshed some years ago He might we'll
have retained the earlier title. or, better
still. substituted Robert +. Lee. the Nir-
gilman" for that selected by him for the
present book since in summing up, he
bids us after many comparisons with
the heroes Of antiquity, with the Knights
OF the Table Round, with Bayard and
Sidney and William the Silent, TO see in
Lee tine perfect flower OF Virginias
later civilization. as Washington was the
consummate flower Of her Colonial days"
The two books inevitably parallel each
other in many ways, since both authors
have drawn upon the same sources. and
| Mr.. Bradford on Mr.. Page as well. In
fact the Southern writer has, probably
unconsciously applied the rules Of "psy-
Geography in many details In drawing
his character study Of his "parlit gentle
| knight" OF the South, his modern gentle
man sans pCH ct sans reprOche. While
/ lauding the virtues of the men who
fought for the Lost Cause, Mr.. Page
| too, is impartial, less perhaps in the
/ scientific than in the patriotic spirit Of
! the day He devotes far more space to
Lees glorious campaigns-mOst glorious.
he points out, in defeat. Indeed, beyond
his Lee the Nirginian, as beyond Mr..
| Bradfords Lee the man, we find the Lee
| who by his character and virtues no less
/ than by his talents has become one OF
! the heroes of all the nation. There is no
| choice between these two studies. They
should stand side by side on the shelf
| -e---
TOURING IN ALGERIA