"
"The new leaven?"
"The conviction that democratic government is a failure."
"And then--?"
"An emperor, or dictator--call him what you will. The main fact is,
that he will rule the country by the bayonet--North and South
impartially."
Mr. X----- lit a fresh cigar.
"Things are going on straight to that," he said. "The future is
perfectly plain to me, for I read it in the light of history. These
events are going to follow step by step. Lee is brave--no man is
braver; a great leader. I think him one of the first captains of the
world. But in spite of his courage and skill--in spite of the heroism
of his army--in spite of the high character and pure motives of the
president--we are going to fail. Then the rest will follow--negro
suffrage and the bayonet. Then the third era will begin--the disgust of
the white man at the equality of the negro; his distrust of a
government which makes such a farce possible; consequent revulsion
against democracy; a tendency toward monarchy; a king, emperor or
dictator, who will restore order out of the chaos of misrule and
madness. England is rushing toward a democracy, America is hastening to
become an empire. For my own part I think I prefer the imperial to the
popular idea--Imperator to Demos. It is a matter of taste, however.
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