ADDRESSES OF MAJOR LACEY 283 



of serfdom. No one now thinks of the desirability of any 

 return to the old conditions on this question. 



Ours is a composite nation. The Toledo blade was 

 famous for its temper and quality. It was made by the 

 mixture of a variety of kinds of steel. Every country 

 consists of its soil, its climate, its people, and its laws. 



There were 20,000 arms-bearing Greeks in the day of 

 Marathon. They were the Greeks of Miltiades. There 

 were 20,000 Greeks of the same age in the days of De- 

 metrius Phalerias, but they were real Greeks no longer. 

 These were the days of Attic decadence. 



The Arch of Constantine is built out of old material in 

 part. The old part, carved in the days of Roman glory, 

 is very different from the newer portions. All nations 

 must guard against decay. When a nation ceases to ad- 

 vance it must recede. Nothing ever stands still. 



These are the days of national reconciliation. It is 

 hard now to realize the bitterness which prevailed at the 

 close of our Civil War. Bishop Wilmer came north to 

 solicit aid for his church. He expressed his feelings by 

 saying that the South was like Lazarus, and when asked 

 to explain he said, ' ' She has been licked by dogs. ' ' Some 

 one then asked him why he came north for money, and he 

 said, ' ' The hair of the dog would cure the bite. ' ' 



An ex-Confederate was one day in 1866 going along the 

 streets of Washington, when he saw a blind Union sol- 

 dier, who had lost both arms and legs, sitting by the way- 

 side with a placard calling attention to his condition. The 

 Johnny Reb dropped a quarter in the box and passed on. 

 In a few minutes he came back and put in a dollar. He 

 then started on but returned and put in a ten-dollar bill. 

 Some one inquired the reason for his actions and he ex- 

 plained it by saying, ' ' That this was the first Yankee that 

 he had ever seen who was carved just to his taste." 



But we have an entire change of sentiment. It was the 



