ion,
both in letter and spirit, of the slaveholders of the South."

"Then the world is their debtor, and their work is a monument of
imperishable glory to them and to their children. I have sworn to preserve
it!"

"We have outgrown the swaddling clothes of a babe. We will make new
constitutions!"

"'Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,'" softly spoke the tall,
self-contained man.

For the first time the old leader winced. He had long ago exhausted the
vocabulary of contempt on the President, his character, ability, and
policy. He felt as a shock the first impression of supreme authority with
which he spoke. The man he had despised had grown into the great
constructive statesman who would dispute with him every inch of ground in
the attainment of his sinister life purpose.

His hatred grew more intense as he realized the prestige and power with
which he was clothed by his mighty office.

With an effort he restrained his anger, and assumed an argumentative
tone.

"Can't you see that your so-called States are now but conquered provinces?
That North Carolina and other waste territories of the United States are
unfit to associate with civilized communities?"

"We fought no war of conquest," quietly urged the President, "but one of
self-preservation as an indissoluble Union. No State ever got out of it,
by the grace of God and the power of our arms. Now that we have won, and
established for all time its unity, shall we stultify ourselves by
declaring we were wrong? These States must be immediately restored to
their rights, or we shall betray the blood we have shed. There are no
'conquered provinces' for us to spoil. A nation cannot make conquest of
its own territory."

"But we are acting outside the Constitution," interrupted Stoneman.

"Congress has no existence outside the Constitution," was the quick
answer.

The old Commoner scowled, and his beetling brows hid for a moment his
eyes. His keen intellect was catching its first glimpse of the
intellectual grandeur of the man with whom he was grappling. The facility
with which he could see all sides of a question, and the vivid imagination
which lit his mental processes, were a revelation. We always underestimate
the men we despise.

"Why not out with it?" cried Stoneman, suddenly changing his tack. "You
are determined to oppose negro suffrage?"

"I have suggested to Governor Hahn of Louisiana to consider the policy of
admitting the more intelligent and