nfluence of a husband
and wife who love, honor, and respect each other.

My impressions of him were so favorable and agreeable as to create a
desire on my part to cultivate his acquaintance and know more of his
character. We met frequently, and discussed freely the social and
political topics which engaged the attention of members of Congress at
the national capital. He was modest and unobtrusive in the expression of
his opinions; but as I knew him better I was profoundly impressed with
the scope and breadth of his information.

His judgment of men and measures was as free from local prejudice and
partisan bias as any man's I ever met. He was induced by his generous
nature to attribute good rather than unworthy motives to those with whom
he differed. He was honest, true, and unsuspicious. On all occasions he
expressed attachment to the Union of the States, and manifested a
patriotic devotion to the Constitution as the charter of our liberties.

He was a brave soldier, and fought on the losing side in a war that
convulsed the continent and astonished the civilized world; and as a
brave soldier he accepted without reservation the verdict of the war. It
is to be regretted that his heroic services were not on the side of the
Union, but the conditions which placed him in hostility to the flag of
the United States are forever removed. Every cause which produced that
terrible conflict was eradicated and obliterated in carnage and blood.
The horrors of that fratricidal war are now history. The glorious
results achieved are being realized in the abolition of slavery; in the
Union of the States restored, strengthened, and cemented; in the
respect, confidence, and just estimation of the people of all the
sections for each other, and in the establishment beyond question of the
capacity of the citizens of the Republic to dare and to do in great
emergencies what to all the world seemed impossible.

To-day the virtue, the patriotism, and the renown of the fathers of the
Revolution and the founders of our free institutions are the common
heritage of all the people, both North and South. The gallant and daring
exploits of Legion Harry or Light-Horse Harry Lee, the grandsire of the
deceased, inspire the same admiration and respect in the sons of the
North as in the sons of the South. It is most gratifying that the
descendants of the comrades in war and associates in council who gained
the independence and established the Government of