Privat (Gravelotte), or Desaix's famous rush at Marengo, which cost him his life, are not to be mentioned in the same connection. Lee's talents as a strategist, tactician and leader of men have never been a subject of controversy, as he is acknowledged to have been one of the most capable military men to whom this country has ever given birth; yet, like the assault of the Union troops at Cold Harbor, a mistake was made, but one to which Lee seldom referred. He took a desperate chance, trusting to fate that it might prove successful (and against other than American troops it might have been), but he underestimated the calibre of the men upon the other side. LEE GAVE UP WHEN GRANT CAME. Lee never admitted the possibility of the overthrow of the Confederacy until Grant took command of the Federal armies. The other Northern generals opposed to him had lacked the stability, which was one of the main elements in Grant's make-up. Lee realized that when Grant was in front of him, or, for that matter, within striking distance, an engagement was among the probabilities-and every battle weakened the Southern forces materially. On the other hand, Grant did not underestimate Lee. He put the situation in a nutshell when he said he would get to Richmond in four days "if Lee was willing;" if Lee was not—"well, a good deal longer." Some military authorities in Europe have persistently maintained that Lee was a greater general than Grant. General Lord Wolseley, ex-Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, was one of these, but as Grant commanded more men than Wolseley ever saw, it is a matter for debate as to whether his opinion carries as much weight with it as that of Field Marshal Count von Moltke, Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, who rated Grant's abilities highly. Von Moltke planned the campaigns. against Austria, in 1866, and France, in 1870-71, and was one of the most gifted soldiers ever born. Lee was superb both in attack and defense; Grant was unequaled in attack. He had no opportunity to display his ability in defense, as he was always on the aggressive. WILLIAM MCKINLEY. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE THIRD MARTYR-PRESIDENT-BEGAN LIFE AS SCHOOL 66 "G ENTLEMEN, let us ever remember that our interest is in concord, not conflict, and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war. We hope that all who are represented here may be moved to higher and nobler effort for their own and the world's good, and that out of this city may come not only greater commerce and trade for us all, but, more essential than these, relations of mutual respect, confidence and friendship, which will deepen and endure. "Our earnest prayer is that God will graciously vouchsafe prosperity, happiness and peace to all our neighbors and like blessings to all the peoples and powers of earth." Such was the last public utterance of William McKinley, twenty-fifth President of the United States, who at the time was addressing an assemblage of 150,000 people at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, N. Y. On the following day, Friday, September 6, 1901, while holding a public reception in the Temple of Music at the Exposition, he was shot down by an assassin, and eight days later died from the effects of his wounds. Of all the great public men America has produced, none has had so great a hold upon the affections of the people as President McKinley. Lincoln was assassinated at the end of a long and bloody civil war, when the people were still divided by passion and the memory of that bitter fratricidal 369. struggle; Garfield was shot down by a man inflamed by partisan politics, and at a time when there was much rancor and ill-feeling between factions of the party to which he belonged. McKinley's assassination differed in every respect from the assassinations of his martyred predecessors. The nation was one in sympathy and good feeling. Every section had been firmly reunited by a war against a foreign power and in the cause of humanity. Millions of square miles had been added to United States territory under McKinley's administration, and American trade and commerce had expanded until they reached into every corner of the globe. Peace and prosperity shed their blessings on the land, the hearts of all the people, regardless of party, were full of loyalty and good will for President McKinley. Hence, his violent death at the hands of an anarchist was in the nature of a personal sorrow. Not only was his assassination the death blow of the nation's most beloved son, but it was a blow aimed at the heart of the nation itself-Anarchy's red-handed attempt to destroy law and organized society. Thus it was that the whole American people were united in a feeling of horror and resentment for the crime and heartfelt grief for the illustrious victim. The rise of William McKinley from an humble station in life to the most exalted office in the land is a story to stimulate the American youth to patriotic efforts to serve their country. HIS EARLY LIFE. William McKinley was born in Ohio, his ancestors having emigrated to the United States from County Antrim, Ireland. In that ancestry, also, was mingled some of the sterling blood of the Scottish race, and it seems the child who was destined to become twenty-fifth President of the United States combined in his nature the choicest qualities of both races, enriched and broadened by generations of American life. His great-grandfather, David McKinley, was the son of a Revolutionary soldier, and was born in Pennsylvania the year before peace with England was declared. After the independence of the United States had been achieved, this David McKinley was brought by his soldier father from New York to Westmoreland County, Pa., and the lad himself, as he grew to manhood, chose the new State of Ohio as a place of residence, and established there the fortunes and the hopes of the McKinley family. His grandson, William McKinley, the father of the President, was the |