As one by one withdraw the lofty actors,From that great play on history's stage eterne,That lurid, partial act of war and peace—of old and new con- tending,Fought out through wrath, fears, dark dismays, and many a long suspense;All past—and since, in countless graves receding, mellowing,Victor's and vanquish'd—Lincoln's and Lee's—now thou with them,
[ begin page 393 ]ppp.00707.401.jpgMan of the mighty days—and equal to the days!Thou from the prairies!—tangled and many-vein'd and hard has been thy part,To admiration has it been enacted!