no mystery; for in that illimitable hereafter, which must be populated
by all the sons of men, it must be, it will be, well with all of us.




ADDRESS OF MR. WILSON, OF WEST VIRGINIA.


Mr. SPEAKER: The House has already heard from his friend and successor
the story of Gen. LEE's life. I shall not, therefore, repeat it even in
briefest outline. Enough for me to say that he was one in a long lineage
of noted men, who by some innate force and virtue had stood forth in
three generations as leaders of their fellow-men; that he was the son of
the greatest of all who have borne the name, and that in early manhood
he exhibited the soldierly instincts and the soldierly capacity that
seemed to be historically associated with it.

With such a lineage and with such a history he came to this House, and I
believe I can offer no higher tribute to his memory to-day than to say
that in all his associations with us here he was the embodiment of
gentleness and modesty. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, as I now recall Gen. LEE,
and explore with aching heart the memory of a close and cordial
friendship with him, I can say with confidence that in the blending of
these rare traits I have never known his equal. They were a part of his
nature, not more illustrated in business and social intercourse with
fellow-members than in his relations with the page who did him service
and who learned to regard himself in some way as the special friend and
associate of Gen. LEE.