r
of resignation. I have no time for more.... May God guard and
protect you and yours, and shower upon you every blessing, is the
prayer of your devoted brother,

R.E. LEE.

The expression used in this letter--"though I recognize no necessity
for this state of things"--conveys very clearly the political
sentiments of the writer. He did not regard the election of a
Republican President, even by a strictly sectional vote, as sufficient
ground for a dissolution of the Union. It may be added here, that
such, we believe, was the opinion of a large number of Southern
officers at that time. Accustomed to look to the flag as that which
they were called upon to defend against all comers, they were loath to
admit the force of the reasoning which justified secession, and called
upon them to abandon it. Their final action seems to have been taken
from the same considerations which controlled the course of Lee. Their
States called them, and they obeyed.

In resigning his commission and going over to the South, Lee
sacrificed his private fortunes, in addition to all his hopes of
future promotion in the United States Army. His beautiful home,
Arlington, situated upon the heights opposite Washington, must be
abandoned forever, and fall into the hands of the enemy. This old
mansion was a model of peaceful loveliness and attraction. "All
around here," says a writer, describing the place, "Arlington Heights
presents a lovely picture of rural beauty. The 'General Lee house,'
as some term it, stands on a grassy lot, surrounded with a grove of
stately trees and underwood, except in front, where is a verdant
sloping ground for a few rods, when it descends into a valley,
spreading away in beautiful and broad expanse to the lovely Potomac.
This part of the splendid estate is apparently a highly-cultivated
meadow, the grass waving in the gentle breeze, like the undulating
bosom of Old Atlantic. To the south, north, and west, the grounds are
beautifully diversified into hill and valley, and richly stored with
oak, willow, and maple, though the oak is the principal wood. The view
from the height is a charming picture. Washington, Georgetown, and the
intermediate Potomac, are all before you in the foreground."

In this old mansion crowning the grassy hill, the young officer had
passed the happiest moments of his life. All around him were spots
associated with his hours of purest enjoyment. Each object in the
house--the old fur