enced by two considerations. In the first place, they felt it incumbent on them, conformably with the intention of rendering the Peabody fund reproductive, to charge for each room such a moderate percentage on the actual cost of the houses as would bring in a reasonable actual income to the general fund. In the second place, they were desirous, without coming into undue competition with the owners of house-property less favorably circumstanced, to demonstrate to their proprietors the practicability of rendering the dwellings of the laboring poor healthful, cheerful and attractive, and at the same time securing to the landlords a fair return for their investments."

GAVE THREE MILLIONS TO THE SOUTH.

The crowning act of philanthropy of Mr. Peabody's life was his gift of $3,000,000 to the cause of education in the South. The purpose of this gift was clearly stated by Mr. Peabody in his letter to the trustees of the Southern Educational Fund:

"I beg to address you on a subject which occupied my mind long before I left England.

* * * * *

"I refer to the educational needs of those portions of our beloved and common country which have suffered from the destructive ravages and the not less disastrous consequences of civil war.

"With my advancing years, my attachment to my native land has but become more devoted. My hope and faith in its successful and glorious future have grown brighter and stronger; and now, looking forward beyond my stay on earth, as may be permitted to one who has passed the limit of three-score and ten years, I see our country, united and prosperous, emerging from the clouds which still surround her, taking a higher rank among the nations and becoming richer and more powerful than ever before.

"But to make her prosperity more than superficial, her moral and intellectual development should keep pace with her material growth; and, in those portions of our nation to which I have referred the urgent and pressing physical needs of an almost impoverished people must, for some years, preclude them from making, by unaided effort, such advances in education and such progress in the diffusion of knowledge among all classes, as every lover of his country must earnestly desire.

"I feel most deeply, therefore, that it is the duty and privilege of the more favored and wealthy portions of our nation to assist those who are less fortunate; and with the wish to discharge, so far as I may be able, my own responsibility in this matter, as well as to gratify my desire to aid those

to whom I am bound by so many ties of attachment and regard, I give you, gentlemen, etc."

This princely gift was followed by donations of $150,000 each to Yale and Harvard Colleges to found museums of Natural History.

GAVE MILLIONS TO HUMANITY.

The following is a complete list of Mr. Peabody's benefactions during his lifetime, including the bequests contained in his last will and testament:

To the State of Maryland, for negotiating the loan of $8,000,000.$ 60,000 To the Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Md., including accrued in

terest....

To the Southern Education Fund.

To Yale College...

To Harvard College..

To Peabody Academy, Massachusetts..

To Phillips Academy, Massachusetts...

To Peabody Institute, etc., at Peabody, Mass.

To Kenyon College, Ohio....

To Memorial Church, in Georgetown, Mass...

To Houses for the Poor in London..

To libraries in Georgetown, Mass., and Thetford, Vt.
To Kane's Arctic Expedition...

To unpaid moneys advanced to uphold the credit of states.

Total..

40,000

.$8,470,000

He bequeathed the remainder of his fortune, about three millions of dollars, to relatives and friends.

ROBERT EDWARD LEE.

CHAPTER XXXV.

LEE AND PICKETT'S FATAL CHARGE AT GETTYSBURG— BEGINNING OF THE DOWNFALL OF THE CONFEDERACY-ONE OF THE MOST HEROIC

FEATS IN HISTORY.

66

T'S mere murder, General, to send men against that line," said Gen. eral Longstreet to General Lee, as the latter gave the order for Pickett's charge at Gettysburg.

Lee shook his head sadly, but did not reply. He well knew the simple order for attack he had just issued meant the death of thousands of his gallant men, but it was an absolute necessity that the Federal line be broken.

Better men than those veterans of Lee's army who were dashed to death against that stubborn wall of blue at Gettysburg never lived. They had fought under "Marse Bob" since the beginning of the Civil War, knew their general had full confidence in them, and they did not doubt for a moment that the charge would succeed.

But the men who awaited the shock of the assault were veterans, too, and General Hancock, "the superb," as he was known after that bloody day, was not a man to yield.

"Steady! Steady!" was the word which rang along the Federal line as the gallant Southerners, in perfect order and presenting a magnificent sight, began the advance.

"Stand by your guns, men!" was the command given the artillerymen, who, ready and alert, stood by their pieces. In front were the Confederates, marching as though on parade, who would soon be at the very muzzles of the guns; behind were the supporting infantry regiments. The field batteries were the ones to feel the force of Southern impetuosity, and Hancock was determined that his division should die on the ground rather than permit the guns to be captured.

With the precision which only results from perfect discipline, the Confederates swept over the field, their every movement being anxiously noted by General Lee; his impassive face was apparently calm, but his eyes, strained upon the assaulting columns, had that look in them which denotes apprehension and doubt. When the order to charge was finally given, and the glittering mass, like a gigantic animal freed from the leash, sprang forward and hurled itself upon the Union batteries, a gleam of hope overspread his face, but it was only for an instant. The trained artillerymen, like the machines, worked their pieces as coolly as if at target practice, and sent shot, shell, grape and cannister into the closely formed ranks in a frightful storm. Before that fearful iron hail men went down by companies and battalions; regiments were almost annihilated, brigades were decimated, and yet the assailants did not fall back.

TORN RANKS CLOSE UP AGAIN.

Time after time the columns would stagger, but at the word the gaps in the torn ranks were closed, and the rush continued. Their hearts filled with the rage of battle, determined to conquer or go to glorious death, the Confederates forged nearer and nearer the line of flaming batteries, and then, with shouts of triumph, were fairly among the guns, the sunlight glinting upon the bright steel as they plied their bayonets.

But victory was not yet won. From their position behind the batteries the impatient blue-clad infantrymen fell in a mighty torrent upon the heroic foe; their volleys created awful slaughter, and the weight of their onslaught forced the Confederates backward. Like frenzied men the opposing forces fought hand to hand; the bayonet reaped a rich harvest, and at such close quarters the fire from the Federal guns was more destructive than before.

It was a battle of heroes and of giants, and General Meade, commanding the Union army, watched the struggling masses with serious earnestness. Hancock was wounded, but refused to leave the field; the Federal losses were heavy, and some of the guns had been taken by the Confederates, whose persistency, at one time, so it seemed, was to be rewarded by success, but the Northern veterans were not to be overcome, and slowly but surely they drove the enemy from their front.

Fiercely fighting for every inch of ground, the Southerners fell back, their numbers so diminished that it was impossible to recognize in the tangled groups of dogged survivors the splendidly organized body which, a short time before, had sped so blithely to the charge.

Brigades, regiments, battalions and companies were mixed in together; General Armistead and other commanders had been killed or wounded; officers fought with other men than their own, and large bodies were often directed by sergeants and corporals, the colonels, majors, captains and lieutenants having been slain.

Human beings cannot stand everything, and in the face of such resistance as was offered by the Federals the Confederates could not win. As they fell back, beaten but still noble in defeat, they yielded obstinately and grudgingly; they were unsuccessful, but their foes did not withhold the admiration due such fearless warriors.

LEE ORDERS HIS ARMY TO RETREAT.

When, at last, the remnants of Pickett's division rejoined the main body of Lee's army, it was found that the losses had been fearful, and the Southern chieftain, disheartened and gloomy, reluctantly gave the order to withdraw from the soil of Pennsylvania. He had anticipated a triumph through the invasion of the North, and was pleased when General Meade accepted battle at Gettysburg. But the repulse of Pickett, together with the unlooked-for firmness of General Meade's defense, so disconcerted him that he yielded to this dictate of his better judgment and reluctantly gave up all thoughts of carrying the war into Northern territory.

Lee could never quite comprehend how it was that Pickett failed at Gettysburg. The Southern Commander-in-Chief was thoroughly imbued with the idea that his veterans were invincible, and that no troops could stand against them; further than this, it was evident that he did not realize the difficulty presented when he ordered that famous charge.

Pickett's charge at Gettysburg was, in reality, the great tragedy of the Civil War. It was the very acme of heroism. Never did men go to death. more willingly nor more gladly than the fearless Southrons led by Pickett, but why the charge was ever ordered is one of the problems of that gigantic conflict, which cost the lives of nearly one million men and ten billion dollars. At one time or another probably three million five hundred thousand men were under arms.

For pure heroism nothing in the history of war excels it, and there are few instances to compare with it. The charge of the Imperial Guard at Waterloo was not so splendid a feat; the onslaught of Marguerite's division. of cuirassiers at Sedan, the attack of the Germans upon the works at St.