Who knows, and for his knowledge stands Against the darkness in dispute, And dedicates industrious hands, And keeps a spirit resolute, Prevailing in the battle, then A steward of his word is made, To bring it honour among men, Or know his captaincy betrayed. SCENE V. _An April evening in 1865. A farmhouse near Appomattox_. GENERAL GRANT, _Commander-in-Chief, under Lincoln, of the Northern armies, is seated at a table with_ CAPTAIN MALINS, _an aide-de-camp. He is smoking a cigar, and at intervals he replenishes his glass of whiskey_. DENNIS, _an orderly, sits at a table in the corner, writing_. _Grant (consulting a large watch lying in front of him_): An hour and a half. There ought to be something more from Meade by now. Dennis. _Dennis (coming to the table_): Yes, sir. _Grant_: Take these papers to Captain Templeman, and ask Colonel West if the twenty-third are in action yet. Tell the cook to send some soup at ten o'clock. Say it was cold yesterday. _Dennis_: Yes, sir. _He goes_. _Grant_: Give me that map, Malins. MALINS _hands him the map at which he is working_. (_After studying it in silence_): Yes. There's no doubt about it. Unless Meade goes to sleep it can only be a question of hours. Lee's a great man, but he can't get out of that. _Making a ring on the map with his finger_. _Malins (taking the map again_): This ought to be the end, sir. _Grant_: Yes. If Lee surrenders, we can all pack up for home. _Malins_: By God, sir, it will be splendid, won't it, to be back again? _Grant_: By God, sir, it will. _Malins_: I beg your pardon, sir. _Grant_: You're quite right, Malins. My boy goes away to school next week. Now I may be able to go down with him and see him settled. DENNIS _comes back_. _Dennis_: Colonel West says, yes, sir, for the last half-hour. The cook says he's sorry, sir. It was a mistake. _Grant_: Tell him to keep his mistakes in the kitchen. _Dennis_: I will, sir. _He goes back to his place. Grant (at his papers_): Those rifles went up this afternoon? _Malins_: Yes, sir. _Another_ ORDERLY _comes in. Orderly_: Mr. Lincoln has just arrived, sir. He's in the yard now. _Grant_: All right, I'll come. THE ORDERLY _goes_. GRANT _rises and crosses to the door, but is met there by_ LINCOLN _and_ HAY. LINCOLN, _in top boots and tall hat that has seen many campaigns, shakes hands with_ GRANT _and takes_ MALINS'S _salute_. _Grant:_ I wasn't expecting you, sir. _Lincoln_: No; but I couldn't keep away. How's it going? _They sit_. _Grant_: Meade sent word an hour and a half ago that Lee was surrounded all but two miles, which was closing in. _Lincoln_: That ought about to settle it, eh? _Grant_: Unless anything goes wrong in those two miles, sir. I'm expecting a further report from Meade every minute. _Lincoln_: Would there be more fighting? _Grant_: It will probably mean fighting through the night, more or less. But Lee must realise it's hopeless by the morning.