hose who knew him only when he was absorbed
in the cares of command before the enemy likely to see far below the
surface. The dominant trait in Jackson's character was his intense
earnestness, and when work was doing, every faculty of his nature was
engrossed in the accomplishment of the task on hand. But precise,
methodical, and matter-of-fact as he appeared, his was no commonplace
and prosaic nature. He had "the delicacy and the tenderness which are
the rarest and most beautiful ornament of the strong."* (* Marion
Crawford.) Beneath his habitual gravity a vivid imagination,
restrained indeed by strong sense and indulging in no vain visions,
was ever at work; and a lofty enthusiasm, which seldom betrayed
itself in words, inspired his whole being. He was essentially
chivalrous. His deference to woman, even in a land where such
deference was still the fashion, was remarkable, and his sympathy
with the oppressed was as deep as his loyalty to Virginia. He was an
ardent lover of nature. The autumnal glories of the forest, the songs
of the birds, the splendours of the sunset, were sources of unfailing
pleasure. More than all, the strength of his imagination carried him
further than the confines of the material world, and he saw with
unclouded vision the radiant heights that lie beyond.

Jackson, then, was something more than a man of virile temperament;
he was gifted with other qualities than energy, determination, and
common sense. He was not witty. He had no talent for repartee, and
the most industrious collector of anecdotes will find few good things
attributed to him. But he possessed a kindly humour which found vent
in playful expressions of endearment, or in practical jokes of the
most innocent description; and if these outbursts of high spirits
were confined to the precincts of his own home, they proved at least
that neither by temperament nor principle was he inclined to look
upon the darker side. His eye for a ludicrous situation was very
quick, and a joke which told against himself always caused him the
most intense amusement. It is impossible to read the letters which
Mrs. Jackson has published and to entertain the belief that his
temper was ever in the least degree morose. To use her own words,
"they are the overflow of a heart full of tenderness;" it is true
that they seldom omit some reference to that higher life which both
husband and wife were striving hand in hand to lead, but they are
instinct from first t