e, in
whatever sphere they move, are, on the whole, good and worthy of
approval. Every one must at least pretend to be controlled by honest and
patriotic motives; and in such an emergency hypocrisy cannot possibly be
universal or even predominant. Although men may seek chiefly their own
interest and profit, they must do so through some effort of public
usefulness. They must commend themselves, their works, and ideas, as of
superior importance to the cause of the country; and in this universal
struggle and competition--this mighty effervescence of popular thought
and action, it would be strange and unexampled, if some great, new
conceptions should not dawn upon us. The very condition, physical,
social, and moral, of our twenty millions of people in the loyal States
is unlike all that has ever preceded it. Their general intelligence, the
result of universal education, makes available their unlimited freedom,
and establishes their capacity for great achievements. The present
momentous occasion makes an imperative demand upon all their highest
faculties, and they cannot fail to respond in a manner which will
satisfy every just expectation.

What the Government has undertaken in this crisis is worthy of a great
people and springs from the large ideas habitual to Americans. The
blockade of the whole Southern coast, with its vast shore line, and its
intricate network of inlets, harbors, and rivers; the controlling of the
mighty Mississippi from Cairo to the gulf; the campaigns in Virginia,
Tennessee, and Arkansas; and the pending attacks on Charleston and
Savannah--these gigantic and tremendous operations have something of
that grandeur which is familiar to our thoughts--which, indeed,
constitutes the staple of the ordinary American speech, apparently
having all the characteristics of exaggerated jesting and idle boast. We
frequently hear our enthusiastic countrymen talk of anchoring Great
Britain in one of our northern lakes. They speak contemptuously of the
petty jurisdictions of European powers contrasted with the magnificent
domain of our States, and they sneer at the rivers of the old continent
as mere rills by the side of the mighty 'father of waters.' The men
whose very jests are on a scale of such magnitude, do not seem to find
the extensive military operations too large for their serious thoughts.
No American considers them beyond our power, or for one moment hesitates
to admit their ultimate success. No difficulties