mindin' th' action iv
th' threasury department durin' th' late war; 'but,' says he, 'I
cannot,' he says, 'so far forget mesilf,' he says, 'as not to mintion,'
he says, 'that,' he says, 'if it hadn't been f'r the sublime
pathreetism an' courage,' he says, 'iv th' gintleman whom we honor,' he
says, 'in puttin' me on th' foorce,' he says, 'I might not be here
to-night,' he says.

"Th' Sicrety iv th' Threasury was followed be th' Gin'ral Shafter.
'Gintlemen,' says he, 'it gives me,' he says, 'gr-reat pleasure,' he
says, 'to be prisint in th' mist iv so manny an' so various vittles,' he
says. 'Iv coorse,' he says, 'I re-elize me own gr-reat worth,' he says;
'but,' he says, 'I wud have to be more thin human,' he says, 'to
overlook th' debt iv gratichood,' he says, 'th' counthry owes,' he says,
'to th' man whose foresight, wisdom, an' prudence brought me for-ard at
such an opparchune time,' he says. 'Gintlemen,' he says, 'onless ye have
lived in th' buckboard f'r months on th' parched deserts iv Cubia,' he
says, 'ye little know what a pleasure it is,' he says, 'to dhrink,' he
says, 'to th' author iv our bein' here,' he says. An' Gin-ral Miles wint
out an' punched th' bell-boy. Mack r-rose up in a perfect hurcane iv
applause, an' says he, 'Gintlemen,' he says, 'an' fellow-heroes,' he
says, 'ye do me too much honor;' he says. 'I alone shud not have th'
credit iv this gloryous victhry. They ar-re others.' [A voice:
'Shafter.' Another voice: 'Gage.' Another voice: 'Dooley.'] 'But I pass
to a more conganial line iv thought,' he says. 'We have just emerged
fr'm a turrible war,' he says. 'Again,' he says, 'we ar-re a united
union,' he says. 'No north,' he says, 'no south, no east,' he says, 'no
west. No north east a point east,' he says. 'Th' inimies iv our counthry
has been cr-rushed,' he says, 'or is stuck down in Floridy with his
rig'mint talkin',' he says, 'his hellish docthrines to th' allygatars,'
he says. 'Th' nation is wanst more at peace undher th' gran' goold
standard,' he says. 'Now,' he says, 'th' question is what shall we do
with th' fruits iv victhry?' he says. [A voice, 'Can thim.'] 'Our duty
to civilization commands us to be up an' doin',' he says. 'We ar-re
bound,' he says, 'to--to re-elize our destiny, whativer it may be,' he
says. 'We can not tur-rn back,' he says, 'th hands iv th' clock that,
even as I speak, he says, 'is r-rushin' through th' hear-rts iv men,' he
says, 'dashin' its spray against th' star iv liber