Part 8 (1/2)

The friends of Gen. LEE enjoy the perfect a.s.surance that in every walk of life, on every occasion when duty called him, his responses were ever marked by a dignified and intelligent performance of the tasks a.s.signed him.

What higher honor can we ask for him than this: that weighty as were the responsibilities that devolved upon him by inheritance and high as the expectations which were the natural implications of this inheritance, he fully and n.o.bly met them. Much as was expected of him, he more than realized the claims and obligations of a n.o.ble lineage. His fellow-citizens and his contemporaries regard his career as an honor and his companions.h.i.+p as a delight and a resource that adds poignancy to their grief in the loss of so loved and valued a friend.

I might refer to the incidents of his military career to ill.u.s.trate his courage and fidelity, but it may not be considered appropriate to the time and the occasion. It is cheering, however, to believe that in this exalted body there is not to be found that spirit of truculent uncharitableness which refuses any credit to an honorable adversary.

Time, which touches all things with mellowing hand, has softened the recollections of past contests, and they who looked upon him as a foe now only remember the glory of the fight, and would join hands with us to weave the garland of his fame.

Securely may the friends and admirers of this n.o.ble character rest in the belief that his name for generations to come will be enrolled in the glorious list of worthies that has for all time made the name of Virginia ill.u.s.trious and among the foremost of all the commonwealths of the ages past.

ADDRESS OF MR. BUTLER, OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

It was my good fortune, Mr. President, to know Gen. WILLIAM H.F. LEE with the intimacy of personal friends.h.i.+p for more than a quarter of a century, and I can pa.s.s no higher encomium upon him than by saying he had all the qualities that const.i.tute a true gentleman, a gentleman in the highest and best sense. He inherited from a very ill.u.s.trious and distinguished ancestry a prestige rarely enjoyed in this country, and yet he was as unpretending, unaffected, and modest as the humblest man.

His self-contained dignity of character never deserted him. His placid, well-balanced, well-poised equanimity always sustained him.

It would be extravagant to say he inherited the commanding abilities of his ill.u.s.trious father, but it would be entirely within the line of a just criticism to affirm that he did inherit many of the highest characteristics and qualities of that great man. In personal demeanor, in that suave, gracious, considerate, self-respecting, and respectful bearing which give a.s.surance of the perfect gentleman he very much resembled his father. He was always approachable and cordial, and yet I doubt if any man ever attempted an improper liberty or ventured undue familiarity with him. His high character and affability of manner protected him against such relations.

In the late civil war we served side by side in the same cavalry corps in the same army almost continuously from the beginning to the end. I therefore had the best opportunities of forming a correct estimate of him as a soldier and man, and it is within the bounds of just judgment to place him among the most distinguished in that brilliant array of American soldiers and men of that eventful period.

I recall with vivid recollection my first a.s.sociation with him at Ashland, Va., in June, 1861, where he was stationed as a young captain of cavalry at a school of instruction. Thence he rose by regular gradations to major-general of division, resigning his sword with that rank.

Gen. LEE never aspired to be what is sometimes called a ”das.h.i.+ng”

soldier. He was quite content with the serious, earnest, steady performance of his duties. It would be no compliment to say that a son of Robert E. Lee and grandson of ”Light-Horse” Harry Lee had courage.

Such a quality is a necessary ingredient of such a man's character. But his courage was not of that frothy, noisy kind so often paraded to attract attention. In battle he was as steady, firm, and immovable as any soldier who ever wielded a sword or placed a squadron in the field.

In his relations to his subordinates he was the perfection of military propriety, always considerate and kindly, but firm and impartial in the enforcement of discipline.

Towards his equals and superiors in rank he bore himself with a knightly chivalry that at once commanded respect and confidence. How could he have been otherwise, descended from such a n.o.ble sire, with such an example of courtly dignity and untarnished manhood?

After the close of hostilities, having discharged his whole duty as he understood it with fidelity and courage, he retired to his native State, to his farm, and there, by the same quiet, honorable, manly course of conduct devoted himself to the duties of civil life, establis.h.i.+ng by his example a standard of citizens.h.i.+p worthy the great Republic to which he renewed his allegiance.

The people of the Commonwealth of Virginia could not and did not permit a man of his exalted character, sound intellectual qualities, and safe, conservative judgment to remain in private life. His services and example were too valuable to the public, and he was called into the public service, first as senator in the State legislature, later into the lower House of Congress.

There, as elsewhere, he soon took rank among the wisest and safest legislators in the body pursuing the even, modest tenor of his way with that faithful regard for his duty to his const.i.tuents and his country that characterized every relation and position of his life.

Those of us, Mr. President, who were favored with his acquaintance recall with a respect bordering on reverence his commanding figure as he came in this Chamber, his courtly presence, his gentle bearing, persuasive conversation, amiable, respectful manners. The consciousness that we shall never see him again is a sad and depressing reflection, and a mournful reminder that it is only a question of time--how long mortal man can not foretell--when those of us who survive him must obey a similar summons, and disappear, as he has done, from the scenes of life forever.

In paying tributes of respect and affection to departed friends I know how hard it is to impose restraint upon our partiality for them and how strong the temptation to indulge in expressions of exaggerated eulogy.

Knowing Gen. LEE as I did, I can say of him with absolute sincerity and truth that he was as free from the small and petty faults of our nature as any man I have ever known. In his private relations he was literally without guile or deceit. Straightforward, honorable, just in all his dealings, he was a model citizen and faithful friend.

In his public life he proved himself equal to every station. Zealous, attentive, conscientious, untiring, he met every responsibility with fidelity and confidence. He never disappointed a friend, betrayed a trust, or took unfair advantage of an opponent. In a word, Mr.

President, he lived a perfect gentleman, discharged faithfully every duty of life, and died honored and beloved by his friends.

Others have spoken of the life and character of this distinguished man more in detail, more eloquently, with more finished oratory, but I yield to none in the sincerity of my humble tribute to his memory.

ADDRESS OF MR. DOLPH, OF OREGON.