And yet, during those eighty-one days was heard
neither groan nor complaint. Always brave and cheerful, he answered the
fear of the surgeons with the remark: 'I have faced death before; I am
not afraid to meet him now.' And again, 'I have strength enough left to
fight him yet'--and he could whisper to the Secretary of the Treasury an
inquiry about the success of the funding scheme, and ask the
Postmaster-General how much public money he had saved.

"As he lay in the cottage by the sea, looking out upon the ocean, whose
broad expanse was in harmony with his own grand nature, and heard the
beating of the waves upon the shore, and felt the pulsations of millions
of hearts against his chamber door, there was no posing for history and
no preparation of last words for dramatic effect. With simple
naturalness he gave the military salute to the sentinel gazing at his
window, and that soldier, returning it in tears, will probably carry
its memory to his dying day and transmit it to his children. The voice
of his faithful wife came from her devotions in another room, singing,
'Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah.' 'Listen,' he cries, 'is not that
glorious?' and in a few hours heaven's portals opened and upborne upon
prayers as never before wafted spirit above he entered the presence of
God. It is the alleviation of all sorrow, public or private, that close
upon it press the duties of and to the living.

"The tolling bells, the minute-guns upon land and sea, the muffled drums
and funeral hymns fill the air while our chief is borne to his last
resting-place. The busy world is stilled for the hour when loving hands
are preparing his grave. A stately shaft will rise, overlooking the lake
and commemorating his deeds. But his fame will not live alone in marble
or brass. His story will be treasured and kept warm in the hearts of
millions for generations to come, and boys hearing it from their mothers
will be fired with nobler ambitions. To his countrymen he will always be
a typical American, soldier, and statesman. A year ago and not a
thousand people of the old world had ever heard his name, and now there
is scarcely a thousand who do not mourn his loss. The peasant loves him
because from the same humble lot he became one of the mighty of earth,
and sovereigns respect him because in his royal gifts and kingly nature
God made him their equal."

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE LESSONS OF HIS LIFE.

Probably the nearest and closest friend of