234 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



baby cab charge right through the line. They were not 

 as dangerous as they used to be. But though broken in 

 body they are still strong in spirit. Their condition re- 

 minds me of an incident I have heard in regard to some 

 Japanese students in this county. In learning our lan- 

 guage they first translated a sentence into Japanese, 

 passed it to another one of the class who translated it 

 back into English. They tried their apprentice hands on 

 this sentence, ' ' The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. ' ' 

 It was translated into Japanese, given a coat of Japan 

 varnish, and retranslated into English, when it was ren- 

 dered: "The ghost wants to, but the fresh meat is 

 feeble." And such is the situation of the boys here to- 

 day. 



Last year four thousand of the veterans of '61 went 

 down to their honored graves. It is well that these 

 schools of patriotism should meet to revive the lessons 

 of the past. The Grand Army dies day by day, and takes 

 in no recruits ; but whilst the army dies its spirit and its 

 principles live in the next generation. 



In looking back now over that stirring period, events 

 seem to have been shaped by the hand of God; history 

 has been directed by choice rather than chance. When 

 Miltiades, the night before Marathon, called a council of 

 war, the decision of the generals to fight was passed by 

 a majority of one. The battle was fought, and the civil- 

 ization of the whole world depended upon its success, and 

 the effect of that battle has been projected into remote 

 ages. The Greek civilization which triumphed on that 

 day has shaped the destiny of the world. 



On the evening of the first day at Shiloh, General 

 McPherson asked General Grant what steps he proposed 

 to take to cross the river and save his army. Grant re- 

 plied that he intended to resume the battle in the morn- 

 ing and had no doubt of winning the victory. Choice 



