Funeral Obsequies. 383 at intervals by the firing of artillery and the tolling of bells, the long procession moved slowly on to the old cemetery; and, after the brief and solemn Episcopal service had been read at the grave, the body was laid down in the ground where slept the dust of many great and good men, and some of more recent fame, who were the first martyrs of the war for the Union, among whom was the brilliant young Theodore Winthrop-but none nobler and truer than he who had now come to ask a place to rest beside them. Сс CHAPTER XXX. CONCLUDING WORDS AND LETTERS OF FRIENDS. It would seem superfluous to add aught to the simple record that has gone before-certainly not in the way of bestowing praise; for it has been a constant embarrassment to repress the uniform flow of eulogistic remark that has permeated these pages, because it has pervaded almost every letter, document, and public notice that has fallen into our hands. We are conscious, too, of the American fault of exaggeration; and it must be confessed that were the subject Washington himself, hardly nothing more could be said in the way of encomium than has been said by this one and that one of the subject of this memoir. Much doubtless has been said indiscriminately, and of the nature of mere rhetoric; but yet, when all this is deducted, there remains a residuum of pure gold. Admiral Foote, if not a great man when judged by the highest intellectual standards-and how few there are that are truly great in every sense of that word!—surpassed common men in some things. He surpassed them in moral force. The central element of his character was this-an immutable resolution, under a religious sense of duty, to pursue the right. The principles he had deliberately chosen he carried to sea with him and into public life, and into his intercourse with men every where and under all circumstances. He was an ardent believer in the Christian faith and a believer in prayer -these had been wrought into his spirit in his youth, and he sailed under that flag to the day of his death. He wrote to his wife after the capture of Fort Henry that "he had agonized in prayer for victory." Another man might have won Mental and Moral Qualities. 385 the battle, and not have prayed for it; but he did, and he recognized the hand of God in the victory that was gained. Some may doubt whether this had any thing to do with his military efficiency; but none can doubt that he acted on those principles, and that they formed the deepest spring of his vigor. He may be thought to have been too radical in his ideas of reform. Some of his naval friends held this opinion, and did not scruple to tell him so. Indeed, in his early professional career, he often endured contempt and persecution on this account; but all who knew him learned to respect him, because he was in earnest. He was one of the instances in history of "the saints who are in Caesar's household," or men true to their convictions of duty in circumstances of peculiar difficulty and temptation. He believed in total abstinence as the sheet-anchor of sailor character; therefore at the East and West he fought out his temperance principles, till at last --by his speeches, letters, and, above all, personal example-he carried through the temperance reform in the Navy, and abolished spirit-rations. His own crews were noted for their sobriety and good conduct, not only on shipboard, but when they were ashore, at home or in foreign ports. So it was with the observance of Sunday, the prohibition of profanity, and many other things that he had made up his mind about as being right—and because he believed them to be right, without much consultation with others, as far as his authority extended, he put them in practice. If reasoning would not do, he did it by command. He held to a principle to the last breath. Some of the latest acts of his life, during the short period that he was at the head of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting, had reference to the question of temperance reform on board government vessels. The venerable Admiral Smith writes: "Rear-Admiral Foote's character is well known in the Navy. One of the strongest traits of his char acter was great persistence in any thing he undertook. He was a man who could neither be shaken off nor choked off from what he attempted to carry out. He was truly a pious man, severely an honest man, and a philanthropist of the first order. He was one of our foremost Navy officers-none before him." There are hosts of good men; but of those who stand by their colors as an enthusiasm and a life, and who advance them into the enemy's line, who make conquests in the realm of evil-of such there are few. Admiral Foote was, as his old friend said of him, a true philanthropist. His wish seemed to be--his wisdom may not always have been commensurate with his zeal-but his earnest desire seemed to be to raise the character and condition of men about him, of sailors, of his fellow-officers, of all with whom he had any influence. His mental traits, if not extraordinary, were not commonplace. He had a strong, clear head. His mind was practical; but it had some finer grains that showed him capable of a highly scientific and even literary culture, had his career been one of books, and not of arms. He derived his ideas from men rather than books, and if he did not think profoundly, he was by no means wanting in sound ideas. His perceptive faculties were uncommonly acute, and his powers of invention and organization were by no means contemptible. If he did not possess genius, he had that vivific or energic quality of mind that, having clearly seized a point, drove toward it with power, and carried it by immense strength of will. He was not a dry-hearted egotist, either as a Christian or an officer. He was open, cordial, and confiding. He was extraordinarily social in temperament. When he was in good health and spirits, wherever he was, there was hearty life and hilariousness. He was not, perhaps, a man of real humor, * Private letter to author, dated August 13, 1872. Social Characteristics. 387 but he was noted for telling a good story, appreciating a good jest, and enjoying a good laugh; and, until borne down by the burden of care, he was the best company in the world, and to the day of his death his boyish and fun-loving spirit flashed out. A genial temper, thoroughly kind, though not without a sprinkle of the salt of rough ocean, made this hero of iron-clads a delightful man in society. The little that he was permitted to have of this kind of life on shore he was thoroughly happy in; and when with his own family and in the circle of his friends, both young and old, then he was seen at the best, and his frank, loving, cheerful nature came out to great advantage. Like many men whose professions doom them to the constant companionship of men, he enjoyed all the more the few opportunities he had of mingling in the society of the gentler sex, and he was every whit a sailor in this respect. His intercourse with the world, and with those of the highest position in all parts of the globe, had given his manners great ease and polish. He was not, too, without the faults that belong to warm and lively natures. He was sometimes surprised into anger under the sense of wrong, but was very placable, and could not rest, in opposing the will of others, until he had justified himself, if possible, in their minds. Although he possessed great natural hopefulness, yet he was sometimes sadly jangled and out of tune. In times of inglorious inactivity he grew dispirited, but cleared up again like a generous flame at the call of action. He was nervously anxious about results when only thinking of them or imagining them, and therefore overcautious in preparation; but when the moment came to do, his natural courage drove away all these mists of anxiety and apprehension. He never was so happy as when he was driven most. He loved praise and distinction. He had in this respect the military temperament, which, for some reason, is even more intense in the Navy than in the Army. He was |