known in the later days of civilization. I do
not speak of open warfare on stricken fields, or even of pitiless
slaughter wrought by those who, when their blood is hot, "do not their
work negligently;" but of bitter by-blows, dealt on either side, such as
humanity cannot lightly forget or forgive--of passions roused, that will
rankle savagely long after this generation shall be dust. There remains
the chance of utterly quelling and annihilating the insurrection (I
speak as a Federal) with the strong hand.

On the one side is ranged an innumerable multitude--who can hardly be
looked upon as a distinct nation, for in it mingles all the blood of
Western Europe--doggedly determined, perhaps, to persevere in its
purpose, yet strangely apathetic when a crisis seems really
imminent--easily discouraged by reverses, and fatally prone to
discontent and distrust of all ruling powers--divided by political
jealousies, often more bitter than the hatred of the Commonwealth's
foe--mingling always with their patriotism a certain commercial
calculation, that if all tales are true, makes them, from the highest to
the lowest, peculiarly open to the temptations of the Almighty Dollar;
these men are fighting for a positive gain, for the reacquisition of a
vast territory, that if they win, they must watch, as Russia has watched
Poland.

On the other side I see a real nation, numerically small, in whose veins
the Anglo-Saxon blood flows almost untainted; I see rich men casting
down their gold, and strong men casting down their lives, as if both
were dross, in the cause they have sworn to win; I see Sybarites
enduring hardships that _un vieux de la vieille_ would have grumbled at,
without a whispered murmur; I hear gentle and tender women echo in
simple earnestness the words that once were spoken to me by a fair
Southern wife--"I pray that Philip may die in the front, and that they
may burn me in the plantation, before the Confederacy makes peace on any
terms but our own." I see that reverses, instead of making this people
cashier their generals, or cavil at their rulers, only intensifies their
fierce energy of resistance. Here men are fighting--not to gain a foot
of ground, but simply to hold their own, with the liberty which they
believe to be their birthright.

It may well be that darker days are in store for the South than she has
ever yet known; it may be that she will only attain her object at the
cost of utter commercial ruin; it may