oman and childhood had heaped upon them. As he descended from
the platform he was surrounded by old and young, who thronged about him
to shake his hand or give expression to a friendly greeting. Admiration
and affection were expressed upon their countenances for the brave man
before them, whose gallant deeds had been told at every fireside in the
country around, and who was loved and honored because, in addition to
his own merits and virtues, he represented the great leader whose name
was the embodiment of a precious memory.
I have portrayed WILLIAM HENRY FITZHUGH LEE as a student, a soldier, a
planter, a public man representing his people in the State legislature
and the National Congress.
Some have united in paying tribute to his memory because they were born
and reared in the State which gave him birth, some because they shared
with him the hardships and dangers of his military career, some because
they were associated with him in Congressional life and committee work.
But while I take a great pride in all that he accomplished in the after
years, it is more pleasant to me to recollect him as the student, for in
that relation I was first drawn into companionship with him; it was
during that period of our lives that I first learned to regard him, and
my tribute is to my classmate and friend of auld lang syne. May he rest
in peace in the bosom of the honored State he loved so well and served
so faithfully.
ADDRESS OF MR. STEWART, OF NEVADA.
Mr. PRESIDENT: The biography of WILLIAM H.F. LEE has been furnished by
his colleagues and associates. I do not propose to dwell upon the
details of his public or private career, or that of his distinguished
ancestors, who acted so conspicuous a part in the history of the
American Colonies and in the trying times of the Revolution by which our
independence was gained.
I had the good fortune to form the acquaintance of Gen. LEE and his
estimable wife at the beginning of the Fiftieth Congress. I was strongly
impressed with his noble presence, and his genial, modest, and dignified
bearing. He seemed to me an ideal specimen of true American manhood. His
wife was a lady whose appearance at once attracted attention and whose
qualities of head and heart charmed and delighted friends and
associates. He was a devoted husband. His tender and gentle bearing
toward his wife were natural and unaffected. The daily life and conduct
of both were a conspicuous example of the benign i
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