“He died as he had lived, a model to mankind.”
Metropolitan Club,
New York City, January 3, 1904.
Dear Mrs. Longstreet,—I can not express to you the regret I felt when I read to-day of the death of my noble chief, your dear husband. A flood of vivid recollections overwhelmed me. It was no surprise to me, as I knew the nature of the ill he suffered under; still he was dead, and a blank left in my life which no time can heal. He was so much to me. For four years I had ridden at his side, and shared his confidence, and had learned to love him well. No unkind word or look stands between us, and my sorrow is that of one of his sons.
To you he has owed many happy years, and his old comrades will always bear you in tender thought.
In your last letter to me you wrote that the doctors had said he had “a fighting chance.” But alas! his time had come, and it found him ready I am sure. His life was blameless as it was brave, and he died as he had lived, a model to mankind.
To you and his children I offer my heartfelt sympathy. I can say no more, as my heart is very full. As I see that he is to be buried to-morrow I can not be present, but my heart will be with you at his grave.
Always most warmly yours,
Osman Latrobe.
*****
“The country had no more devoted patriot.”