In speaking of the sons of New England sires, I know that one name is uppermost in all minds here to-night—­the name of one who added new lustre to the fame of his distinguished ancestors.  The members of your Society, like the Nation at large, found themselves within the shadow of a profound grief, and oppressed by a sense of sadness akin to the sorrow of a personal bereavement, as they stood with uncovered heads beside the bier of William T. Sherman; when the echo of his guns gave place to the tolling of cathedral bells; when the flag of his country, which had never been lowered in his presence, dropped to half-mast, as if conscious that his strong arm was no longer there to hold it to the peak; when he passed from the living here to join the other living, commonly called the dead.  We shall never meet the great soldier again until he stands forth to answer to his name at roll-call on the morning of the last great reveille.  At this board he was always a thrice welcome guest.  The same blood coursed in his veins which flows in yours.  All hearts warmed to him with the glow of an abiding affection.  He was a many-sided man.  He possessed all the characteristics of the successful soldier:  bold in conception, vigorous in execution, and unshrinking under grave responsibilities.  He was singularly self-reliant, demonstrating by all his acts that “much danger makes great hearts most resolute.”  He combined in his temperament the restlessness of a Hotspur with the patience of a Fabius.  Under the magnetism of his presence his troops rushed to victory with all the dash of Caesar’s Tenth Legion.  Opposing ranks went down before the fierceness of his onsets, never to rise again.  He paused not till he saw the folds of his banners wave above the strongholds he had wrested from the foe.

While mankind will always appreciate the practical workings of the mind of the great strategist, they will also see in his marvellous career much which savors of romance as well as reality, appeals to the imagination and excites the fancy.  They will picture him as a legendary knight moving at the head of conquering columns, whose marches were measured not by single miles, but by thousands; as a general who could make a Christmas gift to his President of a great seaboard city; as a chieftain whose field of military operations covered nearly half a continent; who had penetrated everglades and bayous; the inspiration of whose commands forged weaklings into giants; whose orders all spoke with the true bluntness of the soldier; who fought from valley’s depth to mountain height, and marched from inland rivers to the sea.  No one can rob him of his laurels; no man can lessen the measure of his fame.  His friends will never cease to sing paeans in his honor, and even the wrath of his enemies may be counted in his praise. [Prolonged applause.]

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THE ASSIMILATED DUTCHMAN