[160] multitudes. In the religion of Robert E. Lee there was faith without fanaticism, prayer without pretension, a reality, a gentleness and simplicity that kept him brave in peril and tranquil in disaster. He feared God and was strong. ‘He loved God and little children.’ In a life of simple Christian faith, of high and noble purposes, of unweary discharge of duty, he who had not won the independence of the Confederacy of the South, taught all his countrymen lessons that will not be obliterated, but will help to establish the American people in that righteousness which exalteth a nation, which is the strength and honor of any people, and gave them a monumental light that will never go out. The Confederacy of the South long ago furled its banner, and the people accepted the arbitrament of war. Whatever else it gave to the common country, not the least will be the memory of the young soldiers who, with valor and devotion, freely gave their lives at the stone walls on the heights of Gettysburg. And not the least splendid contribution to American history is the character of their great captain, Robert E. Lee.
No seed is lost that makes a fruitful Nature
Bring from her breast a grand, majestic tree:
Nor can a cause be wholly unavailing
That yields the world a perfect flower like Lee.
