114 CONFEDERATE PORTRAITS
those not concerning him. Thus, he propounded to Fre- mantle at the beginning of the war a scheme for the speedy ending of it,^^ and was only too ready to impart similar schemes to the Government at any time. He was quite prepared to undertake the business of Congress, when the pressure of his own afTairs was not too great : " If I can find time before the assembling of Congress again, I may submit the details of these plans for your consideration as a legislator." On the other hand, when a minor expedition is entrusted to a subordinate, the commander throws his imagination as vividly into the detail of it as if he were writing a novel : " About dark on the first calm night (the sooner the better) I would rendezvous all my boats at the mouth of the creek in rear of Cummings Point, Morris Island. Then I would await the proper time of the night, which should not be too early nor too late, in order to take advantage of the present condition of the moon ; I would then coast quietly along the beach of Morris Island to a point nearest the enemy's present position, where General Ripley shall station a picket to communicate with you and show proper lights immediately after your attack to guide the return of your boats." ^^ Lee would simply have picked out the right man for the job and told him to go and do it. And note that with Beauregard it is not so much a disposition to interfere in the execution of orders as a tendency to outrun in thought the desired course of an artistic conGeption,
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