They had won Peace and A Victorious Union.
It was far otherwise in the South, though Peace spread her mantle over
the whole united nation. Her people had fought valiantly, and made
sacrifices which no one beyond their borders can understand or
appreciate. If the devotion and self-sacrifice of the South, the bravery
and determination with which her sons fought, and the heroism with which
they suffered and died, were the only considerations, they deserved
success. But thirty years of peace have made the South more prosperous
than ever before, and her people enjoy the benefits of the Victorious
Union.
[Illustration: "Amid the cheers and applause of the ship's company."
Page 356.]
Homer Passford, like thousands of others in the South, was a ruined man
at the close of the war. He had lost his plantation, and he and his
family had nowhere to lay their heads. But he was a true Southerner,
and he did not regret or repent of what he had done for what he called
his country. His brother chartered a steamer to bring the family to
Bonnydale, but only for a friendly visit. The reunion was a happy one;
and neither brother was disposed to talk politics, and those of the
North did not indulge in a single "I told you so!" in the presence of
their defeated relatives. They were the same as they had been before the
war; and it is needless to say that Horatio generously helped out Homer
financially; and now he is as wealthy and prosperous as ever before.
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