Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1913-03-19
Gen. Lee on Duty, a Character
istic Letter Written to His
Son in 1852.
Son in 1852.

lne Qeatn or zen. u. w. u. Lee,
eldest son of Gen. r. E. Lee, chron-
icled in the Sun of February l9, re-
called to mind a private letter of
th, famous general written to this
son, under date of April 5, 1852,
when Custis Lee was a cadet at the
United States military academy at
West Point and which was found
at Arlington House during the civil
war. The letter throughout is char
acterized by concisencss. Concinnity
and clarity, and on this account
should lind place in any antholo-
gy as masterpiece of correct Eng
lish and a model of parental char
acler building advice:
Arlington HouS,,, April 5, 1852.
Ny dear son ] am just in the act
of leaving home for New Mexico.
My old regiment has been ordered
to that distant region and | must
hasten to see thai they are properly
taken care Of. l nave but little to
add in reply 20 your letters Of
March 36, 81 ard %. Your letters
breathe true spirit of frankness.
They have given myself and your
mother great pleasure. You must
study to be frank with the world;
frankness is the child of honesty
and courage. Say what you mean to
do on every occasion, and take it for
granted you mean to do right. If a
friend asks a favor, you should
grant it, if 1t is reasonable; if not,
tell him plainly why you cannot.
You will wrong him and wrong
yourself by equivocation of any
kind. Never do wrong thing to
make friend or keep one; the man
who requires you to do so is dearly
purchased at sacrifice.
Deal kindly, but firmly with
your classmates. You will find it the
policy which wears best. Above all,
do not appear to others what you
are not. If you have any fault to
find with any one, tell him, not
others, of what you complain. There
is no more dangerous experiment
than that of undertaking to be one
thing before a mans face and an
other behind his back. We should
live, act and say nothing to the in
jury of any one. 1t is not only best
as a matter of principle, but it is
the path of peace and honor. In re-
gard to duty, let me, in conclusion,
of this hasty letter, inform you that
nearly hundred years ago there
was day of remarkable gloom and
darkness known as the dark
day, a day when the light of the
sun was slowly extinguished, as if
in an eclipse. The legislature of
Connecticut was in session, and as
its members saw the unexpected and
unsccountable darkness coming on J
they shared in the general awe and
terror. 1t was supposed by many
that the last day, the day of judg-
ment had come. Some one in the
CONSERVATION of the hour, moved
an adjournment. Then there arose
an old Puritan legislator, Daven-
port, of Stamford, and said that if
the last day had come he desired to
be found at his place doing his du-
ty, and therefore moved that can
dies be brought in 80 that the house
could proceed with its duty.
There was auietness in that
mans soul, the quietness of heaven
y wisdom and inhexiblc willingness
20 present duty.
Duty then, is the subimest word
n our language. Do your duty in
I'll things like the old Puritan. You
'annot do more. You should never
Wish to do less. Never let me and
our mother wear one gray hair for
my lack of duty on your part.
Your aff.ctionate father,
R. E. Lee.
G. w. Curtis Lee.''