Blessed lot, amidst the harshness of war, to
wield the arms and deal the blows under which the monster will surely
fall!
But while thus steady in our purpose at home, we must not neglect
that proper moderation abroad, which becomes the consciousness of our
strength and the nobleness of our cause. The mistaken sympathy which
foreign powers now bestow upon slavery,--or it may be the mistaken
insensibility,--under the plausible name of "neutrality," which they
profess,--will be worse for them than for us. For them it will be a
record of shame which their children would gladly wash out with tears.
For us it will be only another obstacle vanquished in the battle for
civilization, where unhappily false friends are mingled with open
enemies. Even if the cause shall seem for a while imperilled from
foreign powers, yet our duties are none the less urgent. If the pressure
be great, the resistance must be greater; nor can there be any retreat.
Come weal or woe this is the place for us to stand.
I know not if a republic like ours can count even now upon the certain
friendship of any European power, unless it be the republic of William
Tell. The very name is unwelcome to the full-blown representatives of
monarchical Europe, who forget how proudly, even in modern history,
Venice bore the title of _Serenissima Respublica_.
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