h; the law
of love, which is the law of God, must rule; that so our Heaven-Stars
may again cluster in ever-growing brilliancy and lustre over a land of
equality, progress, law, order, unity, and happiness. Men and brethren,
this is our allotted task, and we must all work in our allotted spheres.
Men, women, and children, there is enough to do, and that which will
task us all to our utmost strength and capacity. We must be brave,
strong, helpful, and unselfish; we must shirk no duty on the score of
sex or weakness; we must find excuse for no idleness on the ground of
incapacity. We are all capable! We must feel and make others feel that
there is no true hope for ourselves or them save in the triumph of our
sacred cause. Our stars alone form canopy wide enough to shelter the
ever-accumulating ranks of humanity. We must, every one of us, learn the
lesson of self-abnegation--it is the sublime lesson of the cross,
learned by St. Paul, lived by St. John, worshipped by the Magdalene, and
incarnated through the Virgin Mary--thus proving it is for all classes,
characters, and sexes. He who will not learn it, is neither hero nor
Christian, be he general or bishop.

We shall first (because it is necessary for the progress of the race)
conquer our enemies; and then, true to ourselves and our principles,
forgive, aid, and love them. Many of them have learned, many more are
learning, the misery and shame of slavery. That truth once acknowledged
and digested, their hearts will grow glad in the peace of the just, and
their desolated land blossom like the rose.

We will all learn to bear with the negro, because he has qualities
necessary to fill up the harmony of life. As a general thing, the Irish
servants are perhaps more honest, and dull as they seem, have more head;
but the negro has more heart. His nature is irrepressible and joyous; he
is full of comicality and drollery, of fun, jeers, jokes, yah-yas, and
merriment; and this element will be needed in our midst to temper our
puritan and national seriousness. He loves music whether sad, burlesque,
or gay; is devoted to those who treat him worthily, his affections being
easily won; and there is something touching, soothing, and delightful in
his inherent respect for gentleman and lady. His aptitude for domestic
service; his love for and his power of amusing children and winning
their fickle heart, their attachment to him being one of the most
delightful traits of Southern life; his