He rarely drank even so much as a single glass of wine, and it was a matter of general notoriety in the army afterward, that he cared not what he ate.

The ruddy appearance which characterized him from first to last was the result of the most perfectly-developed physical health, which no species of indulgence had ever impaired.

He used no tobacco then or afterward, in any shape--that seductive weed which has been called "the soldier's comfort"-- and seemed, indeed, superior to all those small vices which assail men of his profession.

Grave, silent, with a military composure of bearing which amounted at times, as we have said, to stiffness, he resembled a machine in the shape of a man.

At least this was the impression which he produced upon those who saw him in public at this time.
The writer's design, here, is to indicate the personal appearance and bearing of General Lee on the threshold of the war.