JNO.  L. CAMPBELL,
     Clerk of the Faculty.

An intimate association with Gen. LEE in the Fifty-first Congress and as members of the board of trustees of Washington and Lee University at Lexington, Va., and in private life, enabled me to form a just estimate of his character and of those personal qualities of head and heart that made him beloved by all who really knew him.  While they have been well expressed in the foregoing minute, I may add from my own observations a brief summary of his noble character.  His mind was eminently practical, and arrived at its conclusions more from an unerring instinct of justice and common sense than through the exacting processes of logic.  His judgment was rarely at fault, for his intellect was not swerved by passion or prejudice, but was held in perfect equipoise to receive the truth on both sides of every question.  His deference to the opinions of others and his caution in seeking the views of those on whose discretion he relied suggested to some who did not know him that he was hesitating in temperament.  This was not true.  He sought all the light possible on every subject patiently and earnestly, and when he arrived at his conclusion no man adhered to it more tenaciously or enforced it more earnestly.

As a speaker, Gen. LEE possessed many of the attributes of the orator, a gift inherited from his grandfather, Light-Horse Harry Lee.  He was graceful in delivery, persuasive in manner, and forcible in argument.

His diction was pure, unpretentious, and simple.  His speeches were often embellished with references to ancient and modern history and mythology with which he seemed to be very familiar.

Dutifulness, I believe, was the most prominent trait of his character.  It was the star by which his life was guided.  Once persuaded that a certain measure or a certain line of policy was right, and he was unflinchingly firm in its support.  No burden was too heavy, no privation too severe, if only they were borne along the path of duty.

He exemplified in his life the noble utterance of his distinguished father:  “Duty is the sublimest word in the English language.”

In politics he was a Democrat, but not a partisan, and he firmly believed that the supremacy of his party was necessary for the good of the country and the welfare of the people.  His patriotism was exalted, and his faith in the ultimate triumph of the right never wavered.

His manly appearance, his gracious but dignified manner, his courtly bearing and pleasing conversation marked him as a gentleman of the “old school,” as one of nature’s noblemen.

Any sketch of Gen. LEE would indeed be imperfect that failed to mention his love for little children, and his friends will never fail to recall the tender interest he always manifested in the children of their families, especially in the youngest.