In his fidelity to this cause he never wavered nor faltered.

From the first burst of boyish oratory to the sleepless nights at Marshfield, when, waiting for death, he looked through the window at the light which showed him the national flag fluttering from its staff, his first thought was of a united country.

To his large nature the Union appealed powerfully by the mere sense of magnitude which it conveyed.

The vision of future empire, the dream of the destiny of an unbroken union touched and kindled his imagination.

He could hardly speak in public without an allusion to the grandeur of American nationality, and a fervent appeal to keep it sacred and intact.