The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1913-04-23
GENERAL LEE ON DUTY
LETTER WRITTEN TO SON AT
WEST POINT IN 1852.
Characteristic utterance Of the Fam
Gus Civil War General Is Master
piece of Parental Character
Building Advice.


The death of Gen. G. w. G. Lee. eld-
est son of Gen. r. e. Lee, recalled
to mind private letter Of the famous
general written to this son, under
date OF April s. 1852, when Custis Lee
was a cadet at the United States mill
tary academy at West Point, and
which was found at Arlington house
during the Civil war, says the New
York Sun. The letter throughout Is
characterized by conciseness. concin-
nifty and clarity. and on this account
should find a place In any anthology
as a masterpiece of correct English
and q model of parental character
building advice:
Arlington House, April 5, 1859.
my Dear SOM 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 that they are properly taken care
Of. | have but little to add In reply
| to your letters of March rs, ~ and ~,
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 IL for,
| granted you mean TO do right. II
| friend asks q favor you should grant
It. IL It is reasonable; If not, tell him
plainly why you cannot. You Will
wrong him and wrong yourself by
eouivocation of any kind. Never DO
wrong thing to make a friend or
keep one; the man who requires you
to do SO is dearly purchased at q sac
rifce.
Deal kindly, but firmly, with your
classmates. You will find 1t the pol
icy which wears best. Above all. do
not appear to others what you are not.
II 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 lace
and another behind his back. We
should live, act and say nothing to
the injury of any one. 1t is not only
best as matter of principle, but II
is the path of peace and honor. In
regard to duty, let me. in conclusion
of this hasty letter. inform you thai
nearly hundred years ago there wat
a day of remarkable gloom and dark
ness-still known as the dark day.
day when the light of the sun wal
slowly extinguished, as II by al
eclipse. The legislature of Connect
cut was In session, and as the mem
{, bers saw the unexpected and unac
f countable darkness coming on the.
shared in the general awe and terror
It was supposed by many that tn
last day, the day Of judgment, ha'
Q come. Some one, in the consterna
d ton of the hour, moved an adjourn
ment. Then there arose AN old puri
: tan legislator, Davenport, Of Stan
ford, and said that II the last day! f,a
II come he desired TO be found az hi
{ place doing his duty, and therefor
moved that candles be brought in 8
that the house could proceed with 1t
y duty.
W There was quietness in that man
soul the quietness Of heavenly Wi
:" dom and infiexible willingness to ODE
'e present duty.
" Duty, then, is the sublimest wor
to in our language. Do your duty in a
IT things like the old puritan. You ca
- not do more, You should never wis
to do less. Never let me and Vol
mother wear one gray hair for an
n lack of duty on your. part, Your 4
r. fectionate father. X. y. LEE.
u 90. w. Gusts Lee"
IT. How simple, true and honest r.
IN Lee appears in this letter: what
: noble and conscientious charact
stands revealed In the tenderness
m his devoted paternal solicitude al
~ the grandeur of his terse maxims.
~.