I will not penetrate the sanctity of the home bereaved by his death. The
fond and noble wife and the sons who miss the husband and father, who
was representative to them of life's dearest boons, have in his memory
whatever earth can give them of consolation, and they learned from none
more than from him to look above in sorrow and affliction.
As a Representative in Congress Gen. LEE was diligent in the service of
his constituents and in behalf of policies which commended themselves to
his favor. He seldom spoke, but it was not because he could not speak
well and forcibly. He was not noted as the peculiar champion of any of
the great measures before Congress, but it was not because he did not
comprehend them nor take great interest in them, and I doubt if there be
many Representatives who have had a more wholesome or further-reaching
influence.
His fine character and engaging manner made friends for him and for his
people. His excellent judgment had great weight in council, his
political ideas were eminently liberal, and his tact and attention
reached results where perhaps more aggressive qualities would have been
ineffectual. On one occasion that I recall he was urging the passage of
the bill to pay for use and occupation of the Theological Seminary near
Alexandria during the war.
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