the bitter, even
ruinous end; everything to lose by leaving the work half done. The South
is said to be fighting for its very existence; yet not by a thousand
degrees can this be as truly said of them as of us. Therefore should our
earnestness, our enthusiasm, our determination, our _desperation_ be a
thousand times greater than theirs. Do you tell me that we cannot
conquer so united, so brave, and so desperate a people? I answer, WE
MUST. In the whole wide world of human destiny there is no other road
left open for us; the path to defeat is blocked by our own dead bodies.
Unless the people of the North arouse and take hold of the work with an
energy, an earnestness of purpose, to which the past bears no parallel,
too late will they repent the folly of their own supineness, their own
blindness. As in the affairs of men, so in those of nations, there is a
critical point when those who hope for success must seize the winged
moment as it flies and work steadily on with singleness of aim and
unchangeable, unfaltering devotion of purpose. That moment, once past,
will never return. Now is our golden opportunity, and according as we
improve or neglect it will our future be one of greatness and power or
one of utter nothingness among the nations of the earth. No subsequent
time can repair the errors or failures of to-day.

Since the greater part of this article was written, the prospect of our
success has immeasurably brightened. But let us not by the fairness of
the sky be lulled into a false sense of security; let us not be again
deceived by the _ignis fatuus_ glare which plays around our banners, and
which has already so often lured us to forgetfulness and defeat. For the
storm may again break forth in a moment when we think not of it, and
from a quarter where we seemed the most secure. A single week may
reverse every move upon the great chess board of strategy. There should
be no relaxation of the sinews of war until the end is accomplished. So
should we be safest in our watchfulness and strength, and, by the
irresistible influence of overwhelming numbers and might, render that
permanent which is now but evanescent.

But, it will be asked, if there is between North and South an antipathy
so deep seated and of such long standing, how shall we ever succeed in
conquering a lasting peace? how shall we ever persuade the people of the
South to live in amity with a race so cordially hated and despised? The
question has often bee