"I should say so!"
"And now, sir, I claim your daughter's fair hand!"
"Boy, she is yours. But hold! Look me in the eye. Throughout all this have you been loyal?"
"To the core!" cried William Barker.
"And," continued the old man, in a voice husky with emotion, "are you in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war?"
"I am, I am!"
"Then, boy take her! Maria, child, come hither. Your William claims thee. Be happy, my children! And whatever our lot in life may be, let us all support the government"
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[Which may bother the reader a little unless he is familiar with the music of the day.]