Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 13.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[480] by the medical men of the Union. Their conventions, their social intercourse with their professional fellows, whether of the North, South, East, or West, is a beautiful illustration of that unity of sentiment and feeling, which has ever been a marked characteristic of our profession.

Fortunately, Time, that great healer of all our woes, is silently, yet surely working, and the day is surely come when the dead past should bury its dead issues and the living join hands in reconciliation. Among us, at least, there are no explanations to be made, and no apologies to be demanded. You feel that you have done your duty. We know that we have done ours. We both feel that the dead of the revolution of 1861 are sanctified in our memories. Now the war is ended, and—

The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
     The soldier's last tattoo;
No more on life's parade shall meet
     That brave and fallen few.
On fame's eternal camping-ground,
     Their silent tents are spread;
And glory guards, with solemn round,
     That bivouac of the dead.

As medical men, our duties do not lead us in the path of political struggle, but indirectly we may be drawn into the whirl of excitement incident to the great political questions of the day. May we not then exert an influence in quieting the passions of men, and by our efforts, aid in effecting the consummation so devoutly wished of rebuilding the fabric of our national prosperity? May we not, by precept and example, help to restore the harmony and unity of feeling, which, as one sentiment, dear to the great American heart, should pervade the entire Union of the States?