be forever remembered by all Americans. His amiability
of disposition, deep sympathy with those in pain or sorrow, his love
for children, nice sense of personal honor, and genial courtesy
endeared him to all his friends. I shall never forget his sweet,
winning smile, nor his clear, honest eyes, that seemed to look into
your brain. I have met many of the great men of my time, but Lee alone
impressed me with the feeling that I was in the presence of a man who
was cast in a grander mould, and made of different and of finer metal
than all other men. He is stamped upon my memory as a being apart and
superior to all others in every way: a man with whom none I ever knew,
and very few of whom I have read, are worthy to be classed. I have met
but two men who realize my ideas of what a true hero should be: my
friend Charles Gordon, was one, General Lee was the other.

* * * * *

The following beautiful letter was written by Lee to his son in
1860:[11]

[Footnote 11: Copied, with the kind permission of the
publisher, G. W. Dillingham, from John Esten Cooke's Life of
Lee.]

"You must study to be frank with the world; frankness is the child of
honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do on every occasion,
and take it for granted you mean to do right. If a friend asks a
favor, you should grant it, if it is reasonable; if not, tell him
plainly why you cannot; you will wrong him and wrong yourself by
equivocation of any kind. Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or
keep one; the man who requires you to do so, is dearly purchased at a
sacrifice. Deal kindly, but firmly, with all your classmates; you will
find it the policy which wears best. Above all, do not appear to
others what you are not. If you have any fault to find with anyone,
tell him, not others, of what you complain; there is no more dangerous
experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's
face and another behind his back. We should live, act, and say,
nothing to the injury of anyone. It is not only best as a matter of
principle, but it is the path to peace and honor.

"In regard to duty, let me, in conclusion of this hasty letter, inform
you that, nearly a hundred years ago, there was a day of remarkable
gloom and darkness--still known as 'the dark day'--a day when the
light of the sun was slowly extinguished, as if by an eclipse. The
Legislature of Connecticut was in session, and as