THE BURDEN OF THE DESERT1

A PARAPHRASE, — ISAIAH XXI

[FROM "POETICAL WORKS," 1853.]

I

THE burden of the Desert,

The Desert like the deep,
That from the south in whirl-winds
Comes rushing up the steep;

I see the spoiler spoiling,

I hear the strife of blows;

Up, watchman, to thy heights, and say How the dread conflict goes!

II

What hear'st thou from the desert?

"A sound, as if a world Were from its axle lifted up

And to an ocean hurled;

The roaring as of waters,

The rushing as of hills,

And lo! the tempest-smoke and cloud, That all the desert fills."

III

What seest thou on the desert?
"A chariot comes," he cried,
"With camels and with horsemen,
That travel by its side;

And now a lion darteth

From out the cloud, and he Looks backward ever as he flies, As fearing still to see!"

1 The poem dates from about 1848.

[ROBERT EDWARD LEE was born at Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia, January 19, 1807, and died in Lexington, Virginia, October 12, 1870. He was the third son of the famous “Light-Horse Harry” Lee (see p. 74, note), who died when his still more famous son was a boy of eleven. The youth was the mainstay of his widowed and invalid mother, and was noted for his exemplary conduct both in and out of school. In 1825 he entered the military academy at West Point, where four years later he graduated second in his class. He was appointed second lieutenant of engineers, and his mother lived just long enough to see him wear his honors. He was assigned to duty at Hampton Roads, Virginia. In 1831 he married the beautiful heiress, Mary Randolph Custis of Arlington. He remained in the army, and from 1834 to 1837 was in Washington, assistant to the chief engineer. Among his friends at this time were Hugh S. Legaré (9.v.) and Joseph E. Johnston, afterward the distinguished Southern general. In 1837 he went to St. Louis and superintended most efficiently the improvement of the upper Mississippi for the

purposes of navigation. The next year he was made captain of engineers. In 1841 he was put in charge of the defences of New York Harbor at Fort Hamilton, and there he remained until the outbreak of the Mexican War. He spent most of his private time studying the art of war, and enjoyed the opportunity of being constantly with his wife and his numerous children. In the contest with Mexico he first gave proof of his great military skill and of his fine personal courage. His services in arranging batteries, in reconnoitring, and in conducting troops to their stations under fire won from General Winfield Scott the statement that his favorite staff-officer was "the greatest military genius in America." After the capture of the City of Mexico, Lee was busy for months taking surveys of the place. Then for three years he was in charge of the defences of Baltimore, and for three years more (18521855) superintendent of the academy at West Point. Then he was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of the Second Cavalry and ordered to Texas, where he served three years against the Indians. In the autumn of 1859, while on leave of absence, he was ordered to Harper's Ferry to put down the John Brown insurrection, a duty which he discharged with discretion. Then during 1860 he took command of the department of Texas. In February, 1861, in the midst of the disturbances preceding Lincoln's inauguration, he was recalled to Washington. On March 16, he was appointed colonel of the First Cavalry, and a month later was offered the command of the armies of the United States. This offer he refused because, although opposed to secession, he felt that he could not take part in an invasion of the Southern states that is, in what he regarded as a war upon his people. Then on April 20 he resigned his colonelcy in the army of the United States, and three days after accepted the command of the Virginia forces. For a few months he helped President Davis to organize troops; then in the summer and fall he conducted, under immense difficulties, an ineffectual campaign in what is now West Virginia. From November, 1861, to March, 1862, he took charge of the coast defences in South Carolina and Georgia, doing his work admirably, but longing for more active and hazardous employment. In March, 1862, he became military adviser to President Davis, and on June 1, after the wounding of General Joseph E. Johnston, he was put at the head of the Army of Northern Virginia. He now began to display his genius as a commander. The, Seven Days' fighting about Richmond, the defeat of Pope at Second Manassas, the invasion of Maryland, the hard-fought battle of Sharpsburg, or Antietam, the great victory of Fredericksburg — these achievements of 1862 placed him among the chief soldiers of the world. Then came the victory of Chancellorsville, with the death of "Stonewall" Jackson, the defeat at Gettysburg, the masterly retreat across the Potomac. In 1864 the long-continued resistance against Grant's great army- from the Wilderness to Petersburg showed that the end was approaching so far as concerned the strength of the South, but saw no diminution of Lee's magnificent bravery and skill, or of those lovable qualities that made him the idol of his soldiers and the hero of

SPEECH BEFORE THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION

193

his fellow-Southerners. In February, 1865, he was appointed commander-inchief of the Confederate armies, but it was too late. On April 2 he retreated from Petersburg, and on the 9th he surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court-House, both victor and vanquished conducting themselves most nobly in their interview. In the trying months that followed General Lee did all that he could to cheer up his despondent fellow-citizens and to induce them to yield an honest allegiance to the Union. In August, 1865, he was elected President of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) at Lexington, Virginia. He discharged the duties of his office most successfully until his death, declining to enter politics, and setting an example of fortitude and charity to young and old. His memory is, if possible, more and more warmly cherished in the South as the years go by, and his noble character as a man and his brilliant genius as a soldier are being more and more acknowledged both throughout the rest of America and throughout the world. As a writer he may be legitimately included in a volume like the present for the reason that prompts one to admit Washington. His character was so lofty that it made whatever he did and wrote worthy of admiration. For his life see biographies by John Esten Cooke (q.v., 1871), General A. L. Long (1887), General Fitzhugh Lee, his nephew ("Great Commanders," 1894), Professor Henry A. White ("Heroes of the Nations," 1897), and W. P. Trent (" Beacon Biographies," 1899). An important, delightful volume, entitled, "Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee," has been edited by his son, Captain Robert E. Lee (1904).]

SPEECH OF APRIL 23, 1861, BEFORE THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION 1

[FROM "RECOLLECTIONS AND LETTERS OF GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE," BY CAPTAIN ROBERT E. LEE. 1904.]

[General Lee had been introduced to the Convention and welcomed by its president, John Janney. He had been made major-general and commander of the Virginia forces, and in this short speech, worthy of Washington in its dignity, he accepted the charge.]

"Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention: Deeply impressed with the solemnity of the occasion on which I appear before you, and profoundly grateful for the honor conferred upon me, I accept the position your partiality has assigned me,

1 Copyright, 1904. By kind permission of Captain Robert E. Lee and the publishers, Doubleday, Page & Co.

though I would greatly have preferred that your choice should have fallen on one more capable.

"Trusting to Almighty God, an approving conscience, and the aid of my fellow-citizens, I will devote myself to the defense and service of my native State, in whose behalf alone would I have ever drawn my sword."

TO MRS. LEE, AFTER THE FIRST BATTLE OF

MANASSAS 1

[FROM THE SAME. LETTER OF JULY 27, 1861.]

"... THAT indeed was a glorious victory and has lightened the pressure upon our front amazingly. Do not grieve for the brave dead. Sorrow for those they left behind-friends, relatives, and families. The former are at rest. The latter must suffer. The battle will be repeated there in great force. I hope God will again smile on us and strengthen our hearts and arms. I wished to partake in the former struggle, and am mortified at my absence, but the President thought it more important I should be here. I could not have done as well as has been done, but I could have helped, and taken part in the struggle for my home and neighbourhood. So the work is done I care not by whom it is done. I leave to-morrow for the Northwest Army. I wished to go before, as I wrote you, and was all prepared, but the indications were so evident of the coming battle, and in the uncertainty of the result, the President forbade my departure. Now it is necessary and he consents. I cannot say for how long, but will write you."

TRAVELLER, AS DESCRIBED BY HIS MASTER 2

[FROM THE SAME. DICTATED BY GENERAL LEE TO HIS DAUGHTER, MISS AGNES LEE, AT LEXINGTON, SHORTLY AFTER THE WAR.]

"If I were an artist like you I would draw a true picture of Traveller-representing his fine proportions, muscular figure, 1 Copyright, 1904. By kind permission of Captain Robert E. Lee and the publishers, Doubleday, Page & Co. 2 Copyright, etc.