Hence arises a new human unity, pulling the ends of
earth nearer, and all men, black, yellow, and white. The
larger humanity strives to feel in this contact of living Nations
and sleeping hordes a thrill of new life in the world, crying,
"If the contact of Life and Sleep be Death, shame on such
Life." To be sure, behind this thought lurks the afterthought
of force and dominion,--the making of brown men to delve
when the temptation of beads and red calico cloys.
The second thought streaming from the death-ship and the
curving river is the thought of the older South,--the sincere
and passionate belief that somewhere between men and cattle,
God created a tertium quid, and called it a Negro,--a clown-
ish, simple creature, at times even lovable within its limita-
tions, but straitly foreordained to walk within the Veil. To be
sure, behind the thought lurks the afterthought,--some of
them with favoring chance might become men, but in sheer
self-defence we dare not let them, and we build about them
walls so high, and hang between them and the light a veil so
thick, that they shall not even think of breaking through.
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