P.M. The daring, skill, and energy of this great and good
soldier, by the decree of an all-wise Providence, are now lost to
us. But while we mourn his death, we feel that his spirit still
lives, and will inspire the whole army with his indomitable courage
and unshaken confidence in God as our hope and our strength. Let
his name be a watchword to his corps, who have followed him to
victory on so many fields. Let officers and soldiers emulate his
invincible determination to do everything in the defense of our
beloved country.

"R. E. LEE, _General_."

_The Letter of Gen. Lee to Gen. Jackson._

The letter written by Gen. Lee to Gen. Jackson before the death of the
latter is as follows:

"CHANCELLORVILLE, May 4th.

"GENERAL:--

"I have just received your note informing me that you were wounded.
I cannot express my regret at the occurrence. Could I have dictated
events, I should have chosen for the good of the country to have
been disabled in your stead.

"I congratulate you upon the victory which is due to your skill and
energy.

"Most truly yours,

"R. E. LEE.

"_To Gen. T. J. Jackson_."

"The nation's agony," as it is termed in a Washington paper, in an
appeal for 500,000 more men, now demands a prompt response from the
people. And yet that paper, under the eye and in the interest of the
Federal Government, would make it appear that "the Army of the Potomac"
has sustained no considerable disaster. What, then, constitutes the
"nation's agony"? Is it the imminency of war with England? It may be,
judging from the debates in Parliament, relating to the liberties the
United States have been taking with British commerce. But what do they
mean by the "_nation_?" They have nothing resembling a homogeneous race
in the North, and nearly a moiety of the people are Germans and Irish.
How ridiculous it would have been even for a Galba to call his people
the Roman _nation_! An idiot may produce a conflagration, but he can
never rise to the dignity of a high-minded man. Yet that word "Nation"
may raise a million Yankee troops. It is a "new thing."

The Northern papers say Charleston is to be assailed again immediately;
that large reinforcements are going to Hooker, and that they captured
_six or eight thousand prisoners_ in their flight on the Rappahannock.
All these fictions are understood and appreciated here; but they