relaxation, was quite charming, and made him warm
friends. His own pleasure and gratification were plain, and gratified
others, who, in the simple and kindly gentleman in the plain gray
uniform, found it difficult to recognize the commander-in-chief of the
Southern army.

These moments of relaxation were, however, only occasional. All the
rest was toil, and the routine of hard work and grave assiduity went
on month after month, and year after year, with little interruption.
With the exceptions which we have noted, all pleasures and
distractions seemed of little interest to Lee, and to the present
writer, at least, he seemed on all occasions to bear the most striking
resemblance to the traditional idea of Washington. High principle and
devotion to duty were plainly this human being's springs of action,
and he went through the hard and continuous labor incident to army
command with a grave and systematic attention, wholly indifferent, it
seemed, to almost every species of diversion and relaxation.

This attempt to show how Lee appeared at that time to his solders, has
extended to undue length, and we shall be compelled to defer a full
notice of the most interesting and beautiful trait of his character.
This was his humble and profound piety. The world has by no means done
him justice upon this subject. No one doubted during the war that
General Lee was a sincere Christian in conviction, and his exemplary
moral character and life were beyond criticism. Beyond this it is
doubtful if any save his intimate associates understood the depth
of his feeling on the greatest of all subjects. Jackson's strong
religious fervor was known and often alluded to, but it is doubtful
if Lee was regarded as a person of equally fervent convictions and
feelings. And yet the fact is certain that faith in God's providence
and reliance upon the Almighty were the foundation of all his actions,
and the secret of his supreme composure under all trials. He was
naturally of such reserve that it is not singular that the extent of
this sentiment was not understood. Even then, however, good men
who frequently visited him, and conversed with him upon religious
subjects, came away with their hearts burning within them. When the
Rev. J. William Jones, with another clergyman, went, in 1863, to
consult him in reference to the better observance of the Sabbath in
the army, "his eye brightened, and his whole countenance glowed with
pleasure; and as, in his simp