Page:Poems of Nature and Life.djvu/134

 126 INTRODUCTION

secessions among ourselves. But I will suppose that we conquer the Southern States : then the difficulty occurs which troubled the man who inherited the elephant, and who was ruined by his board bills. We must keep a great army among them, and pay the South for feeding it. Now all people who must be borne down to the dust by taxation are slaves, the natural escape from which state would be in our case repudiation. Perhaps some dictator will yet arise whose control of the army may render that escape impossible ; nevertheless, I do not see any way of bringing the war to a close save by conquest on one side or the other, or at least an adjournment through total exhaustion, because no geographical line can be drawn between the combatants and no compromise can be made satisfactory for long to both parties. 'Tis the battle of the Kilkenny cats to determine the end of whose tail shall survive as a trophy of victory ; thus far we devour each other pretty fast. 'Tis useless now to speculate, but I think that the number of Union men at the South is not great ; many may bear this name, but not precisely in our Northern sense. After actual separation, they will take part with their own people. Neither do I see how a division can be made into free and slave States, except by expulsion or confirmation of slavery in the Border States. Which side will ever willingly consent to abandon the so-called Border States to the other }

We stand in need, truly, of much hope ; for I doubt not that each side is perfectly united against the other. Were it not for the Border States, a separation would be prob- ably at last agreed on. Meantime I wish that the bigger cats across the water may keep the peace, but fear they will not ; yet I do not believe the British government can easily draw their people into war with us.

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