ly not an exaggeration, as he
remained to the last distinguished for the elegance and dignity of
his person. He had not yet lost what the cares of command afterward
banished--his gayety and _abandon_--and was noted, it is said, for the
sweetness of his smile and the cordiality of his manners. The person
who gave the writer these details added, "He was a perfect gentleman."
Three years after graduating at West Point--in the year 1832--he
married Mary Custis, daughter of Mr. George Washington Parke Custis,
of Arlington, the adopted son of General Washington; and by this
marriage he came into possession of the estate of Arlington and the
White House--points afterward well known in the war.

The life of Lee up to the beginning of the great conflict of 1861-'65
is of moderate interest only, and we shall not dwell at length upon
it. He was employed on the coast defences, in New York and Virginia;
and, in 1835, in running the boundary line between the States of Ohio
and Michigan. In September, 1836, he was promoted to the rank of first
lieutenant; in July, 1838, to a captaincy; in 1844 he became a member
of the Board of Visitors to the Military Academy; in 1845 he was a
member of the Board of Engineers; and in 1846, when the Mexican War
broke out, was assigned to duty as chief engineer of the Central Army
of Mexico, in which capacity he served to the end of the war.

Up to the date of the Mexican War, Captain Lee had attracted no public
attention, but had impressed the military authorities, including
General Winfield Scott, with a favorable opinion of his ability as a
topographical engineer. For this department of military science he
exhibited endowments of the first class--what other faculties of the
soldier he possessed, it remained for events to show. This opportunity
was now given him in the Mexican War; and the efficient character of
his services may be seen in Scott's Autobiography, where "Captain Lee,
of the Engineers," is mentioned in every report, and everywhere with
commendation. From the beginning of operations, the young officer
seems to have been summoned to the councils of war, and General Scott
particularly mentions that held at Vera Cruz--so serious an affair,
that "a death-bed discussion could hardly have been more solemn."
The passages in which the lieutenant-general mentions Lee are too
numerous, and not of sufficient interest to quote, but two entries
will exhibit the general tenor of this "honorable menti