nes together, but I
cannot remember that there was ever aught but perfect harmony between
us. If ever there was difference of opinion, it was dissipated
by discussion, and harmony was the result. I repeat, _we never
disagreed_; and I may add that I never in my life saw in him the
slightest tendency to self-seeking. It was not his to make a record,
it was not his to shift blame to other shoulders; but it was his, with
an eye fixed upon the welfare of his country, never faltering, to
follow the line of duty to the end. His was the heart that braved
every difficulty; his was the mind that wrought victory out of defeat.

"He has been charged with 'want of dash.' I wish to say that I never
knew Lee to falter to attempt any thing ever man could dare. An
attempt has also been made to throw a cloud upon his character because
he left the Army of the United States to join in the struggle for the
liberty of his State. Without trenching at all upon politics, I deem
it my duty to say one word in reference to this charge. Virginian
born, descended from a family illustrious in Virginia's annals, given
by Virginia to the service of the United States, he represented her in
the Military Academy at West Point. He was not educated by the Federal
Government, but by Virginia; for she paid her full share for the
support of that institution, and was entitled to demand in return
the services of her sons. Entering the Army of the United States, he
represented Virginia there also, and nobly. On many a hard-fought
field Lee was conspicuous, battling for his native State as much as
for the Union. He came from Mexico crowned with honors, covered by
brevets, and recognized, young as he was, as one of the ablest of his
country's soldiers. And, to prove that he was estimated then as such,
let me tell you that when Lee was a captain of engineers stationed in
Baltimore, the Cuban Junta in New York selected him to be their leader
in the struggle for the independence of their native country. They
were anxious to secure his services, and offered him every temptation
that ambition could desire. He thought the matter over, and, I
remember, came to Washington to consult me as to what he should do;
and when I began to discuss the complications which might arise from
his acceptance of the trust, he gently rebuked me, saying that this
was not the line upon which he wished my advice: the simple question
was, 'Whether it was right or not?' He had been educated by t