It is the hope of every loving heart--the spark and flame in every noble breast--the gem in every splendid soul--the many-colored dream in every honest brain. This word has filled the dungeon with its holy light,--has put the halo round the martyr's head,--has raised the convict far above the king, and clad even the scaffold with a glory that dimmed and darkened every throne. To the wise man, to the wise nation, the mistakes of the past are the torches of the present. The war is over. The institution that caused it has perished. The prejudices that fanned the flames are only ashes now. We are one people. We will stand or fall together. At last, with clear eyes we see that the triumph of right was a triumph for all. Together we reap the fruits of the great victory. We are all conquerors. Around the graves of the heroes--North and South, white and colored--together we stand and with uncovered heads reverently thank the saviors of our native land. We are now far enough away from the conflict--from its hatreds, its passions, its follies and its glories, to fairly and philosophically examine the causes and in some measure at least to appreciate the results. States and nations, like individuals, do as they must. Back of revolution, of rebellion, of slavery and freedom, are the efficient causes. Knowing this, we occupy that serene height from which it is possible to calmly pronounce a judgment upon the past. We know now that the seeds of our war were sown hundreds and thousands of years ago--sown by the vicious and the just, by prince and peasant, by king and slave, by all the virtues and by all the vices, by all the victories and all the defeats, by all the labor and the love, the loss and gain, by all the evil and the good, and by all the heroes of the world. Of the great conflict we remember only its glory and its lessons. We remember only the heroes who made the Republic the first of nations, and who laid the foundation for the freedom of mankind. This will be known as the century of freedom. Slowly the hosts of darkness have been driven back.