THE EVERY-DAY LIFE OF 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
“ How beautiful to see 
 Once more a shepherd of mankind indeed. 
 
 Who loved his charge, but never loved to lead; 
 
 One whose meek flock the people joyed to be. 
 
 Not lured by any cheat of birth. 
 
 But by his clear-grained human worth. 
 
 And brave old wisdom of sincerity ! 
 
 They knew that outward grace is dust; 
 
 They could not choose but trust 
 In that sure-footed mind's unfaltering skill. 
 
 And supple-tempered will 
 
 That bent like perfect steel to spring again and thrust. 
 His was no lonely mountain-peak of mind. 
 
 Thrusting to thin air o'er our cloudy bars, 
 
 A sea-mark now, now lost in vapors blind; 
 
 Broad prairie rather, genial, level-lined. 
 
 Fruitful and friendly for all human kind. 
 
 Yet also nigh to heaven and loved of loftiest stars. 
 
 “Great captains, with their guns and drums. 
 Disturb our judgment for the hour. 
 
 But at last silence comes; 
 
 These all are gone, and, standing like a tower. 
 Our children shall behold his fame. 
 
 The kindly-earnest, brave, foreseeing man, 
 Sagacious, patient, dreading praise, not blame. 
 New birth of our new soil, the first American.” 
 
 James Russell Lowell. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/everydaylifeofab01brow_0 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 FROM AN UNPUBLISHED ORIGINAL DRAWING 
 BY JOHN NELSON MARBLE 
 
THE EVERY-DAY LIFE OF 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 A NARRATIVE AND. DESCRIPTIVE 
 BIOGRAPHY WITH PEN-PICTURES 
 AND PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS 
 BY THOSE WHO KNEW HIM 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANCIS FISHER BROWNE 
 
 Compiler of “ Golden Poems ” “ Bugle Echoes: Poems of 
 the Civil War” “ Laurel-Crowned Verse” etc. 
 
 NEW AND THOROUGHLY REVISED EDITION, FROM NEW PLATES, WITH 
 AN ENTIRELY NEW PORTRAIT OF LINCOLN, FROM A 
 CHARCOAL STUDY BY J. N. MARBLE 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 BROWNE & HOWELL COMPANY 
 1913 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1913 
 BY BROWNE & HOWELL COMPANY 
 
 All rights reserved 
 Copyright in England 
 
 PUBLISHED, NOVEMBER, 1913 
 
 THE'PLIUPTON'PRESS 
 
 NORWOOD-MASS-U-S-A 
 
? 2 
 L ; 
 
 FRANCIS FISHER BROWNE 
 
 1843-1913 
 
 The present revision of “ The Every-day Life of Abraham 
 Lincoln” was the last literary labor of its author. He 
 had long wished to undertake the work, and had talked 
 much of it for several years past. But favorable arrange- 
 ments for the book’s republication were not completed 
 until about a year ago. Then, though by no means 
 recovered from an attack of pneumonia late in the previous 
 winter, he took up the task of revision and recasting with 
 something of his old-time energy. It was a far heavier 
 task than he had anticipated, but he gave it practically 
 his undivided attention until within three or four weeks 
 of his death. Only when the last pages of manuscript 
 had been despatched to the printer did he yield to the 
 overwhelming physical suffering that had been upon him 
 for a long time past. His death occurred at Santa Bar- 
 bara, California, on May 11. 
 
 Francis Fisher Browne was born at South Halifax, 
 Vermont, on December 1, 1843. His parentage, on both 
 sides, was of the purest New England stock. Early in 
 his childhood, the family moved to Western Massachu- 
 setts, where the boy went to school and learned the print- 
 ing trade in his father’s newspaper office at Chicopee. As 
 a lad of eighteen, he left the high school in answer to the 
 government’s call for volunteers, serving for a year with 
 the 46th Massachusetts Regiment in North Carolina and 
 with the Army of the Potomac. When the regiment was 
 discharged, in 1863, he decided to take up the study of 
 
 301231 
 
VI 
 
 FRANCIS FISHER BROWNE 
 
 law. Removing to Rochester, N. Y., he entered a law 
 office in that city; and a year or two later began a brief 
 course in the law department of the University of Michi- 
 gan. He was unable to continue in college, however, 
 and returned to Rochester to follow his trade. 
 
 Immediately after his marriage, in 1867, he came to 
 Chicago, with the definite intention of engaging in literary 
 work. Here he became associated with “The Western 
 Monthly,” which, with the fuller establishment of his 
 control, he rechristened “The Lakeside Monthly.” The 
 best writers throughout the West were gradually enlisted 
 as contributors; and it was not long before the magazine 
 was generally recognized as the most creditable and 
 promising periodical west of the Atlantic seaboard. But 
 along with this increasing prestige came a series of ex- 
 traneous setbacks and calamities, culminating in a com- 
 plete physical breakdown of its editor and owner, which 
 made the magazine’s suspension imperative. 
 
 The six years immediately following, from 1874 to 1880, 
 were largely spent in a search for health. During part of 
 this time, however, Mr. Browne acted as literary editor 
 of “The Alliance,” and as special editorial writer for some 
 of the leading Chicago newspapers. But his mind was 
 preoccupied with plans for a new periodical — this time 
 a journal of literary criticism, modeled somewhat after 
 such English publications as “The Athenaeum” and “The 
 Academy.” In the furtherance of this bold conception 
 he was able to interest the publishing firm of Jansen, 
 McClurg & Co.; and under their imprint, in May, 1880, 
 appeared the first issue of The Dial, “a monthly review 
 and index of current literature.” At about the same time 
 he became literary adviser to the publishing department 
 of the house, and for twelve years thereafter toiled unre- 
 mittingly at his double task-work. In 1892, negotiations 
 were completed whereby he acquired Messrs. McClurg 
 & Co.’s interest in the periodical. It was enlarged in 
 
FRANCIS F. BROWNE 
 
FRANCIS FISHER BROWNE 
 
 vii 
 
 scope, and made a semi-monthly; and from that time 
 until his death it appeared uninterruptedly under his 
 guidance and his control. 
 
 Besides his writings in The Dial and other periodicals, 
 Mr. Browne is the author of a small volume of poems, 
 “Volunteer Grain” (1895). He also compiled and 
 edited several anthologies, — “Bugle Echoes,” a collec- 
 tion of Civil War poems (1886); “Golden Poems by 
 British and American Authors” (1881); “The Golden 
 Treasury of Poetry and Prose ” (1883) ; and seven volumes 
 of “Laurel-Crowned Verse” (1891-2). He was one of 
 the small group of men who, in 1874, founded the Chicago 
 Literary Club; and for a number of years past he has 
 been an honorary member of that organization, as well 
 as of the Caxton Club (Chicago) and the Twilight Club 
 (Pasadena, Cal.). During the summer of 1893 he served 
 as Chairman of the Committee on the Congress of Authors 
 of the World’s Congress Auxiliary of the Columbian 
 Exposition. 
 
 The Publishers 
 
 301231 
 
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 
 
 The original edition of this book was published about 
 twenty years after Lincoln’s death at the close of the 
 Civil War. At that time many of the men who had 
 taken a prominent part in the affairs, military and civil, 
 of that heroic period, many who had known Lincoln and 
 had come in personal contact with him during the war or 
 in his earlier years, were still living. It was a vivid con- 
 ception of the value of the personal recollections of these 
 men, gathered and recorded before it was too late, that 
 led to the preparation of this book. It was intended to 
 be, and in effect it was, largely an anecdotal Life of Lin- 
 coln built of material gathered from men still living 
 who had known him personally. The task was begun 
 none too soon. Of the hundreds who responded to the 
 requests for contributions of their memories of Lincoln 
 there were few whose lives extended very far into the 
 second quarter-century after his death, and few indeed 
 survive after the lapse of nearly fifty years, — though 
 in several instances the author has been so fortunate as 
 to get valuable material directly from persons still living 
 (1913). Of the more than five hundred friends and 
 contemporaries of Lincoln to whom credit for material 
 is given in the original edition, scarcely a dozen are living 
 at the date of this second edition. Therefore, the value 
 of these reminiscences increases with time. They were 
 gathered largely at first hand. They can never be 
 replaced, nor can they ever be very much extended. 
 
 This book brings Lincoln the man, not Lincoln the 
 tradition, very near to us. Browning asked, “And did 
 
X PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION 
 
 you once see Shelley plain? And did he stop and speak 
 to you?” The men whose narratives make up a large 
 part of this book all saw Lincoln plain, and here tell us 
 what he spoke to them, and how he looked and seemed 
 while saying it. The great events of Lincoln’s life, and 
 impressions of his character, are given in the actual 
 words of those who knew him — his friends, neighbors, 
 and daily associates — rather than condensed and 
 remolded into other form. While these utterances are 
 in some cases rude and unstudied, they have often a 
 power of delineation and a graphic force that more than 
 compensate for any lack of literary quality. 
 
 In a work prepared on such a plan as this, some repeti- 
 tions are unavoidable; nor are they undesirable. An 
 event or incident narrated by different observers is 
 thereby brought out with greater fulness of detail; and 
 phases of Lincoln’s many-sided character are revealed more 
 clearly by the varied impressions of numerous witnesses 
 whose accounts thus correct or verify each other. Some 
 inconsistencies and contradictions are inevitable, — but 
 these relate usually to minor matters, seldom or never 
 to the great essentials of Lincoln’s life and personality. 
 The author’s desire is to present material from which 
 the reader may form an opinion of Lincoln, rather than to 
 present opinions and judgments of his own. 
 
 Lincoln literature has increased amazingly in the past 
 twenty-five years. Mention of the principal biographies 
 in existence at the time of the original edition was included 
 in the Preface. Since then there have appeared, among 
 the more formal biographies, the comprehensive and 
 authoritative work by Nicolay and Hay, the subsequent 
 work by Miss Ida Tarbell, and that by Herndon and 
 Weik, besides many more or less fragmentary publica- 
 tions. Some additions, but not many, have been made 
 to the present edition from these sources. The recently- 
 published Diary of Gideon Welles, one of the most valu- 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION xi 
 
 able commentaries on the Civil War period now available, 
 has provided some material of exceptional interest con- 
 cerning Lincoln’s relations with the members of his 
 Cabinet. 
 
 In re-writing the present work, it has been compressed 
 into about two-thirds of its former compass, to render it 
 more popular both in form and in price, and to give it 
 in some places a greater measure of coherency and con- 
 tinuity as an outline narrative of the Civil War. But 
 its chief appeal to the interest of its readers will remain 
 substantially what it was in the beginning, as set forth 
 in its title, “The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln, by 
 Those Who Knew Him.” 
 
 F. F. B. 
 
 Santa Barbara, Cal., April, 1913. 
 
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 
 
 This book aims to give a view, clearer and more complete 
 than has been given before, of the personality of Abra- 
 ham Lincoln. A life so full of incident and a character 
 so many-sided as his can be understood only with the 
 lapse of time. A sense of the exhaustless interest of that 
 life and character, and the inadequacy of the ordinarily 
 constructed biography to portray his many-sidedness, 
 suggested the preparation of a work upon the novel plan 
 here represented. Begun several years ago, the under- 
 taking proved of such magnitude that its completion has 
 been delayed beyond the anticipated time. The exten- 
 sive correspondence, the exploration of available sources 
 of information in the books, pamphlets, magazines, and 
 newspapers of a quarter of a century, and in the scraps 
 and papers of historical collections, became an almost 
 interminable task. The examination and sifting of this 
 mass of material, its verification amidst often conflicting 
 testimony, and its final molding into shape, involved 
 time and labor that can be estimated only by those who 
 have had similar experience. 
 
 To the many who have kindly furnished original con- 
 tributions, to others who have aided the work by valuable 
 suggestions and information, to earlier biographies of 
 Lincoln — those of Raymond, Holland, Barrett, Lamon, 
 Carpenter, and (the best and latest of all) that of Hon. 
 I. N. Arnold — hearty acknowledgment is made. Much 
 that was offered could not be used. In the choice of 
 material, from whatever source, the purpose has been to 
 avoid mere opinions and eulogies of Lincoln and to give 
 
xiv PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION 
 
 abundantly those actual experiences, incidents, anec- 
 dotes, and reminiscences which reveal the phases of his 
 unique and striking personality. 
 
 It scarcely need be pointed out that this work does not 
 attempt to give a connected history of the Civil War, 
 but only to sketch briefly those episodes with which 
 Lincoln is personally identified and of which some knowl- 
 edge is essential to an understanding of his acts and 
 character. Others are brought into prominence only as 
 they are associated with the chief actor in the great 
 drama. Many of them are disappearing, ■ — fading into 
 the smoky and lurid background. But that colossal 
 central figure, playing one of the grandest roles ever set 
 upon the stage of human life, becomes more impressive 
 as the scenes recede. 
 
 F. F. B. 
 
 Chicago, October, 1886 . 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I page 
 
 Ancestry — The Lincolns in Kentucky — Death of Lincoln’s Grand- 
 father — Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks — Mordecai Lincoln 
 — Birth of Abraham Lincoln — Removal to Indiana — Early 
 Years — Dennis Hanks — Lincoln’s Boyhood — Death of Nancy 
 Hanks — Early School Days — Lincoln’s First Dollar — Presenti- 
 ments of Future Greatness — Down the Mississippi — Removal to 
 Illinois — Lincoln’s Father — Lincoln the Storekeeper — First 
 Official Act — Lincoln’s Short Sketch of His Own Life ... 1 
 
 CHAPTER H 
 
 A Turn in Affairs — The Black Hawk War — A Remarkable Mili- 
 tary Manoeuvre — Lincoln Protects an Indian — Lincoln and 
 Stuart — Lincoln’s Military Record — - Nominated for the Legis- 
 lature — Lincoln a Merchant — Postmaster at New Salem — • 
 
 Lincoln Studies Law — Elected to the Legislature — Personal 
 Characteristics — Lincoln’s Love for Anne Rutledge — Close of 
 Lincoln’s Youth 35 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Lincoln’s Beginning as a Lawyer — His Early Taste for Politics 
 
 — Lincoln and the Lightning-Rod Man — ■ Not an Aristocrat — 
 Reply to Dr. Early — A Manly Letter — Again in the Illinois 
 Legislature — The “Long Nine” — Lincoln on His Way to the 
 Capital — • His Ambition in 1836 — • First Meeting with Douglas 
 
 — Removal of the Illinois Capital — One of Lincoln’s Early 
 
 Speeches — Pro-Slavery Sentiment in Illinois — Lincoln’s Opposi- 
 tion to Slavery — Contest with General Ewing — Lincoln Lays 
 out a Town — The Title “ Honest Abe ” 55 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Lincoln’s Removal to Springfield — A Lawyer without Clients or 
 Money — Early Discouragements — Proposes to become a Car- 
 penter — “Stuart & Lincoln, Attorneys at Law” — “Riding the 
 Circuit” — Incidents of a Trip Round the Circuit — Pen Pictures 
 of Lincoln — Humane Traits — Kindness to Animals — Defend- 
 ing Fugitive Slaves — Incidents in Lincoln’s Life as a Lawyer — 
 
 His Fondness for Jokes and Stories 69 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Lincoln in the Legislature — Eight Consecutive Years of Service — 
 His Influence in the House — Leader of the Whig Party in Illinois 
 
 — Takes a Hand in National Politics — Presidential Election in 
 1840 — A “Log Cabin” Reminiscence — Some Memorable Politi- 
 cal Encounters — A Tilt with .Douglas — Lincoln Facing a Mob 
 
 — His Physical Courage — Lincoln as a Duellist — The Affair 
 
 with General Shields — An Eye-Witness’ Account of the Duel — 
 Courtship and Marriage 85 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Lincoln in National Politics — His Congressional Aspirations — Law- 
 
 Partnership of Lincoln and Herndon — The Presidential Campaign 
 of 1844 — Visit to Henry Clay — Lincoln Elected to Congress — 
 Congressional Reputation — Acquaintance with Distinguished 
 Men — First Speech in Congress — “Getting the Hang” of the 
 House — Lincoln’s Course on the Mexican War — Notable Speech 
 in Congress — Ridicule of General Cass — Bill for the Abolition 
 of Slavery — Delegate to the Whig National Convention of 1848 
 
 — Stumping the Country for Taylor — Advice to Young Politi- 
 
 cians — “Old Abe” — A Political Disappointment — Lincoln’s 
 Appearance as an Office Seeker in Washington — “A Divinity 
 that Shapes Our Ends” 97 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Lincoln again in Springfield — Back to the Circuit — His Personal 
 Manners and Appearance — Glimpses of Home-Life — His Family 
 
 — His Absent-Mindedness — A Painful Subject — Lincoln a 
 Man of Sorrows — Familiar Appearance on the Streets of Spring- 
 field — Scenes in the Law-Office — Forebodings of a “Great or 
 Miserable End” — An Evening with Lincoln in Chicago — Lin- 
 coln’s Tenderness to His Relatives — Death of His Father — • A 
 Sensible Adviser — Care of His Step-Mother — Tribute from Her 109 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Lincoln as a Lawyer — His Appearance in Court — Reminiscences 
 of a Law-Student in Lincoln’s Office — An “Office Copy” of Byron 
 
 — Novel Way of Keeping Partnership Accounts — Charges for 
 Legal Services — Trial of Bill Armstrong — Lincoln before a Jury 
 
 — Kindness toward Unfortunate Clients — Refusing to Defend 
 
 Guilty Men — Courtroom Anecdotes — Anecdotes of Lincoln at 
 the Bar — Some Striking Opinions of Lincoln as a Lawyer . . 125 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 xvn 
 
 CHAPTER IX PAGE 
 
 Lincoln and Slavery — The Issue Becoming More Sharply Defined 
 
 — Resistance to the Spread of Slavery — Views Expressed by Lin- 
 
 coln in 1850 — His Mind Made Up — Lincoln as a Party Leader 
 — The Kansas Struggle — Crossing Swords with Douglas — A 
 Notable Speech by Lincoln — Advice to Kansas Belligerents — 
 Honor in Politics — Anecdote of Lincoln and Yates — Contest 
 for the U. S. Senate in 1855 — Lincoln’s Defeat — Sketched by 
 Members of the Legislature 147 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Birth of the Republican Party — Lincoln One of Its Fathers — Takes 
 His Stand with the Abolitionists — The Bloomington Convention 
 
 — Lincoln’s Great Anti-Slavery Speech — A Ratification Meeting 
 of Three — The First National Republican Convention — Lin- 
 coln’s Name Presented for the Vice-Presidency — Nomination of 
 Fremont and Dayton — Lincoln in the Campaign of 1856 — His 
 Appearance and Influence on the Stump — Regarded as a Dan- 
 gerous Man — His Views on the Politics of the Future — First 
 Visit to Cincinnati — Meeting with Edwin M. Stanton — Stan- 
 ton’s First Impressions of Lincoln — Regards Him as a “Giraffe” 
 
 — A Visit to Cincinnati 165 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 The Great Lincoln-Douglas Debate — Rivals for the U. S. Senate — 
 Lincoln’s “House-Divided-against-Itself ” Speech — An Inspired 
 Oration — Alarming His Friends — Challenges Douglas to a Joint 
 Discussion — The Champions Contrasted — - Their Opinions of 
 Each Other — Lincoln and Douglas on the Stump — Slavery the 
 Leading Issue — Scenes and Anecdotes of the Great Debate — 
 Pen-Picture of Lincoln on the Stump — Humors of the Campaign 
 — Some Sharp Rejoinders — Words of Soberness — Close of the 
 Conflict 177 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 A Year of Waiting and Trial — Again Defeated for the Senate — 
 Depression and Neglect — Lincoln Enlarging His Boundaries — 
 
 On the Stump in Ohio — A Speech to Kentuckians — ■ Second Visit 
 to Cincinnati — A Short Trip to Kansas — Lincoln in New York 
 City — The Famous Cooper Institute Speech — A Strong and 
 Favorable Impression — Visits New England — Secret of Lin- 
 coln’s Success as an Orator — Back to Springfield — Disposing of 
 a Campaign Slander — Lincoln’s Account of His Visit to a Five 
 Points Sunday School 208 
 
xviii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIII p AQB 
 
 Looking towards the Presidency — The Illinois Republican Con- 
 vention of 1860 — A “Send-Off” for Lincoln — The National 
 Republican Convention at Chicago — Contract of the Leading 
 Candidates — Lincoln Nominated — Scenes at the Convention — 
 Sketches by Eye-Witnesses — Lincoln Hearing the News — The 
 Scene at Springfield — A Visit to Lincoln at His Home — Recol- 
 lections of a Distinguished Sculptor — Receiving the Committee 
 of the Convention — Nomination of Douglas — Campaign of 1860 
 
 — Various Campaign Reminiscences — Lincoln and the Tall 
 
 Southerner — The Vote of the Springfield Clergy — A Graceful 
 Letter to the Poet Bryant — “Looking up Hard Spots” . . . 227 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Lincoln Chosen President — The Election of 1860 — The Waiting- 
 Time at Springfield — A Deluge of Visitors — Various Impres- 
 sions of the President-Elect — Some Queer Callers — Looking over 
 the Situation with Friends — Talks about the Cabinet — Thurlow 
 Weed’s Visit to Springfield — The Serious Aspect of National 
 Affairs — The South in Rebellion — Treason at the National 
 Capital — Lincoln’s Farewell Visit to His Mother — The Old 
 Sign, “Lincoln & Herndon” — The Last Day at Springfield — 
 Farewell Speech to Friends and Neighbors — Off for the Capital 
 
 — The Journey to Washington — Receptions and Speeches along 
 the Route — • At Cincinnati: A Hitherto Unpublished Speech 
 by Lincoln — At Cleveland: Personal Descriptions of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lincoln — At New York City: Impressions of the New Presi- 
 dent — Perils of the Journey — The Baltimore Plot — Change 
 
 of Route — Arrival at the Capital 250 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 Lincoln at the Helm — First Days in Washington — Meeting Public 
 Men and Discussing Public Affairs — The Inauguration — The 
 Inaugural Address — A New Era Begun — Lincoln in the White 
 House — The First Cabinet — The President and the Office- 
 Seekers — Southern Prejudice against Lincoln — Ominous Por- 
 tents, but Lincoln not Dismayed — The President’s Reception 
 Room — Varied Impressions of the New President — Guarding 
 the White House 281 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Civil War — Uprising of the Nation — The President’s First Call for 
 Troops — Response of the Loyal North — The Riots in Balti- 
 more — Loyalty of Stephen A. Douglas — Douglas’s Death — 
 Blockade of Southern Ports — Additional War Measures — ■ Lincoln 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 x:x 
 
 Defines the Policy of the Government — His Conciliatory Course 
 — His Desire to Save Kentucky — The President’s First Message 
 to Congress — Gathering of Troops in Washington — Reviews and 
 Parades — Disaster at Bull Run — The President Visits the 
 Army — Good Advice to an Angry Officer — A Peculiar Cabinet 
 Meeting — Dark Days for Lincoln — A “Black Mood” in the 
 White House — Lincoln’s Unfaltering Courage — - Relief in Story- 
 Telling — -A Pretty Good Land Title — “Measuring up” with 
 Charles Sumner — General Scott “Unable as a Politician” — A 
 Good Drawing-Plaster — The New York Millionaires who Wanted 
 a Gunboat — A Good Bridge-Builder — A Sick Lot of Office- 
 Seekers 312 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Lincoln’s Wise Statesmanship — The Mason and Slidell Affair — 
 Complications with England — Lincoln’s “Little Story” on the 
 Trent Affair — Building of the “Monitor” — Lincoln’s Part in 
 the Enterprise — The President’s First Annual Message — Dis- 
 cussion of the Labor Question — A President’s Reception in 
 War Time — A Great Affliction — Death in the White House — - 
 Chapters from the Secret Service — A Morning Call on the Presi- 
 
 dent — Goldwin Smith’s Impressions of Lincoln — Other Notable 
 Tributes 340 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Lincoln and His Cabinet — An Odd Assortment of Officials — Mis- 
 conceptions of Rights and Duties — Frictions and Misunder- 
 standings — The Early Cabinet Meetings — Informal Conversa- 
 tional Affairs — - Queer Attitude toward the War — Regarded as a 
 Political Affair — Proximity to Washington a Hindrance to Mili- 
 tary Success — Disturbances in the Cabinet — A Senate Com- 
 mittee Demands Seward’s Removal from the Cabinet — - Lincoln’s 
 Mastery of the Situation — Harmony Restored — Stanton be- 
 comes War Secretary — ■ Sketch of a Remarkable Man — Next to 
 Lincoln, the Master-Mind of the Cabinet — Lincoln the Dominant 
 Power 363 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Lincoln’s Personal Attention to the Military Problems of the War 
 
 — Efforts to Push forward the War — Disheartening Delays — 
 Lincoln’s Worry and Perplexity Brightening Prospects — - 
 Union Victories in North Carolina and Tennessee — Proclamation 
 by the President — Lincoln Wants to See for Himself — Visits 
 Fortress Monroe — Witnesses an Attack on the Rebel Ram “ Merri- 
 mae” — The Capture of Norfolk — -Lincoln’s Account of the Affair 
 
 — Letter to McClellan — Lincoln and the Union Soldiers — His 
 
XX 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Tender Solicitude for the Boys in Blue — Soldiers Always Wel- 
 come at the White House — Pardoning Condemned Soldiers — 
 Letter to a Bereaved Mother — The Case of Cyrus Pringle — 
 Lincoln’s Love of Soldiers’ Humor — Visiting the Soldiers in 
 Trenches and Hospitals — Lincoln at “The Soldiers’ Rest ” . . 380 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 Lincoln and McClellan — The Peninsular Campaign of 1862 — Im- 
 patience with McClellan’s Delay — Lincoln Defends McClellan 
 from Unjust Criticism — Some Harrowing Experiences — Mc- 
 Clellan Recalled from the Peninsula — His Troops Given to Gen- 
 eral Pope — Pope’s Defeat at Manassas — A Critical Situation — 
 McClellan again in Command — Lincoln Takes the Responsi- 
 bility — McClellan’s Account of His Reinstatement — The Battle 
 of Antietam — The President Vindicated — Again Dissatisfied 
 with McClellan — Visits the Army in the Field — The President 
 in the Saddle — Correspondence between Lincoln and McClellan 
 — McClellan’s Final Removal — Lincoln’s Summing-Up of 
 McClellan — McClellan’s “Body-Guard ” 403 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 L Lincoln and Slavery — Plan for Gradual ^mancipation — Anti- 
 Slavery Legislation in 1862 — Pressure Brought to Bear on the 
 Executive — The Delegation of Quakers — A Visit from Chicago 
 Clergymen — Interview between Lincoln and Channing — Lin- 
 coln and Horace Greeley — The President’s Answer to “The 
 Prayer of Twenty Millions of People” — Conference between 
 Lincoln and Greeley — Emancipation Resolved on — The Pre- 
 liminary Proclamation — Lincoln’s Account of It — Preparing for 
 the Final Act — The Emancipation Proclamation — Particulars of 
 the Great Document — ■ Fate of the Original Draft — Lincoln’s 
 Outline of His Course and Views Regarding Slavery .... 
 
 419 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 President and People — Society at the White House in 1862-3 — 
 
 The President’s Informal Receptions — A Variety of Callers — 
 Characteristic Traits of Lincoln — His Ability to Say No when 
 Necessary — Would not Countenance Injustice — Good Sense 
 and Tact in Settling Quarrels — His Shrewd Knowledge of Men — 
 Getting Rid of Bores — Loyalty to His Friends — Views of His 
 Own Position — “Attorney for the People” — Desire that They 
 • Should Understand Him — His Practical Kindness — A Badly 
 Scared Petitioner — Telling a Story to Relieve Bad News — A 
 Breaking Heart beneath the Smiles — His Deeply Religious 
 Nature — The Changes Wrought by Grief 449 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 XXI 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII page 
 
 Lincoln’s Home-Life in the White House — Comfort in the Com- 
 panionship of his Youngest Son — “Little Tad” the Bright Spot 
 in the White House — The President and His Little Boy Review- 
 ing the Army of the Potomac — Various Phases of Lincoln’s Char- 
 acter — His Literary Tastes — Fondness for Poetry and Music — 
 
 His Remarkable Memory — Not a Latin Scholar — Never Read 
 a Novel — Solace in Theatrical Representation — Ancedotes of 
 Booth and McCullough — Methods of Literary Work — Lincoln 
 as an Orator — • Caution in Impromptu Speeches — His Literary 
 Style — ■ Management of His Private Correspondence — Knowl- 
 edge of Woodcraft — Trees and Human Character — Exchanging 
 Views with Professor Agassiz — Magnanimity toward Opponents 
 
 — Righteous Indignation — Lincoln’s Religious Nature . . . 464 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 Trials of the Administration in 1863 — Hostility to War Measures 
 
 — Lack of Confidence at the North — Opposition in Congress — - 
 How Lincoln Felt about the “Fire in the Rear” — Criticisms 
 from Various Quarters — Visit of “the Boston Set” — The Gov- 
 ernment on a Tight-Rope — The Enlistment of Colored Troops 
 
 — Interview between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass — Reverses 
 in the Field — Changes of Military Leaders — From Burnside to 
 Hooker — Lincoln’s First Meeting with “Fighting Joe” — The 
 President’s Solicitude — His Warning Letter to Hooker — His 
 Visit to the Rappahannock — Hooker’s Self-Confidence the 
 “Worst Thing about Him” — ■ The Defeat at Chancellorsville — 
 
 The Failure of Our Generals — “Wanted, a Man” .... 480 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 The Battle-Summer of 1863 — A Turn of the Tide — Lee’s Invasion 
 of Pennsylvania — A Threatening Crisis — Change of Union Com- 
 manders — Meade Succeeds Hooker — The Battle of Gettys- 
 burg — ■ Lincoln’s Anxiety during the Fight — The Retreat of 
 Lee — Union Victories in the Southwest — • The Capture of Vicks- 
 burg — Lincoln’s Thanks to Grant — Returning Cheerfulness — 
 Congratulations to the Country — Improved State of Feeling at 
 the North — State Elections of 1863 — The Ad min istration Sus- 
 tained — Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg — 
 Lincoln’s Address — Scenes and Incidents at the Dedication — - 
 Meeting with Old John Burns — Edward Everett’s Impressions 
 of Lincoln 496 
 
XXII 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI PAGE 
 
 Lincoln and Grant — Their Personal Relations — Grant’s Success at 
 Chattanooga — ■ Appointed Lieutenant-General — Grant’s First 
 Visit to Washington — His Meeting with Lincoln — Lincoln’s 
 First Impressions of Grant — The First “General” Lincoln had 
 Found — “That Presidential Grub” — True Version of the 
 Whiskey Anecdote — Lincoln Tells Grant the Story of Sykes’s 
 Dog — “We’d Better Let Mr. Grant Have His Own Way” — 
 Grant’s Estimate of Lincoln 516 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 Lincoln’s Second Presidential Term — His Attitude toward it — 
 Rival Candidates for the Nomination — Chase’s Achillean 
 Wrath — Harmony Restored — The Baltimore Convention — 
 Decision “not to Swap Horses while Crossing a Stream” — The 
 Summer of 1864 — Washington again Threatened — Lincoln 
 under Fire — Unpopular Measures — • The President’s Perplex- 
 ities and Trials — The Famous Letter “To Whom It May Con- 
 cern” — Little Expectation of Re-election — Dangers of Assassi- 
 nation — A Thrilling Experience — Lincoln’s Forced Serenity — 
 “The Saddest Man in the World” — A Break in the Clouds — 
 Lincoln Vindicated by Re-election — - Cheered and Reassured 
 
 — More Trouble with Chase — Lincoln’s Final Disposal of Him 
 
 — The President’s Fourth Annual Message — -His Position toward 
 
 the Rebellion and Slavery Reaffirmed — Colored Folks’ Reception 
 at the White House — Passage of the Amendment Prohibiting 
 Slavery — Lincoln and the Southern Peace Commissioners — The 
 Meeting in Hampton Roads — Lincoln’s Impression of A. H. 
 Stephens — The Second Inauguration — ■ Second Inaugural Ad- 
 dress — “ With Malice toward None, with Charity for All” — An 
 Auspicious Omen 528 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 Close of the Civil War — Last Acts in the Great Tragedy — Lincoln 
 at the Front — - A Memorable Meeting — Lincoln, Grant, Sher- 
 man, and Porter — Life on Shipboard — ■ Visit to Petersburg — 
 Lincoln and the Prisoners — Lincoln in Richmond — The Negroes 
 Welcoming Their “Great Messiah” — A Warm Reception — Lee’s 
 Surrender — Lincoln Receives the News — Universal Rejoicing — 
 Lincoln’s Last Speech to the Public — His Feelings and Inten- 
 tions toward the South — His Desire for Reconciliation . . . 561 
 
CONTENTS xxiii 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX PAGE 
 
 The Last of Earth — Events of the Last Day of Lincoln’s Life — 
 
 The Last Cabinet Meeting — The Last Drive with Mrs. Lincoln 
 — Incidents of the Afternoon — Riddance to Jacob Thompson — 
 
 A Final Act of Pardon — The Fatal Evening — The Visit to the 
 Theatre — The Assassin’s Shot — A Scene of Horror — Particu- 
 lars of the Crime — The Dying President — A Nation’s Grief — 
 Funeral Obsequies — The Return to Illinois — At Rest in Oak 
 Ridge Cemetery 582 
 
 INDEX 
 
 601 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Abraham Lincoln Frontispiece 
 
 From an Original Drawing by J. N. Marble, never before published 
 
 Francis F. Browne facing page vi 
 
 Abraham Lincoln ” ” 1 
 
THE EVERY-DAY LIFE 
 
 OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Ancestry — The Lincolns in Kentucky — Death of Lincoln’s Grand- 
 father — Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks — Mordecai Lincoln 
 — Birth of Abraham Lincoln — Removal to Indiana — Early 
 Years — Dennis Hanks — Lincoln’s Boyhood — Death of Nancy 
 Hanks — Early School Days — Lincoln’s First Dollar — Presenti- 
 ments of Future Greatness — Down the Mississippi — Removal to 
 Illinois — Lincoln’s Father — Lincoln the Storekeeper — First 
 Official Act — Lincoln’s Short Sketch of His Own Life. 
 
 HE year 1809 — that year which gave William E. 
 
 A Gladstone to England — was in our country the 
 birth-year of him who wears the most distinguished name 
 that has yet been written on the pages of American 
 history — Abraham Lincoln. In a rude cabin in a 
 clearing, in the wilds of that section which was once the 
 hunting-ground and later the battle-field of the Cherokees 
 and other war-like tribes, and which the Indians them- 
 selves had named Kentucky because it was “dark and 
 bloody ground,” the great War President of the United 
 States, after whose name History has written the word 
 “Emancipator,” first saw the light. Born and nurtured 
 in penury, inured to hardship, coarse food, and scanty 
 clothing, — the story of his youth is full of pathos. Small 
 wonder that when asked in his later years to tell something 
 of his early life, he replied by quoting a line from Gray’s 
 Elegy: 
 
 “The short and simple annals of the poor.” 
 
 Lincoln’s ancestry has been traced with tolerable cer- 
 tainty through five generations to Samuel Lincoln of 
 
2 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Norfolk County, England. Not many years after the 
 landing of the “Mayflower” at Plymouth — perhaps in 
 the year 1638 — Samuel Lincoln’s son Mordeeai had 
 emigrated to Hingham, Massachusetts. Perhaps because 
 he was a Quaker, a then persecuted sect, he did not remain 
 long at Hingham, but came westward as far as Berks 
 County, Pennsylvania. His son, John Lincoln, went 
 southward from Pennsylvania and settled in Rockingham 
 County, Virginia. Later, in 1782, while the last events 
 of the American Revolution were in progress, Abraham 
 Lincoln, son of John and grandfather of President Lincoln, 
 moved into Kentucky and took up a tract of government 
 land in Mercer County. In the Field Book of Daniel 
 Boone, the Kentucky pioneer, (now in possession of the 
 Wisconsin Historical Society), appears the following note of 
 purchase : 
 
 “Abraham Lincoln enters five hundred acres 
 of land on a Treasury warrant on the south 
 side of Licking Creek or River, in Kentucky.” 
 
 At this time Kentucky was included within the limits 
 and jurisdiction of Virginia. In 1775 Daniel Boone had 
 built a fort at Boonesborough, on the Kentucky river, and 
 it was not far from this site that Abraham Lincoln, Presi- 
 dent Lincoln’s grandfather, located his claim and put up 
 a rude log hut for the shelter of his family. The pioneers 
 of Kentucky cleared small spaces and erected their humble 
 dwellings. They had to contend not only with the wild 
 forces of nature, and to defend themselves from the beasts 
 of the forest, — more to be feared than either were the 
 hostile Indians. The settlers were filled with terror of 
 these stealthy foes. At home and abroad they kept their 
 guns ready for instant use both night and day. Many 
 a hard battle was fought between the Indian and the 
 pioneer. Many an unguarded woodsman was shot down 
 without warning while busy about his necessary work. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 3 
 
 Among these was Abraham Lincoln. The story of his 
 death is related by Mr. I. N. Arnold. “Thomas Lincoln 
 was with his father in the field when the savages suddenly 
 fell upon them. Mordecai and Josiah, his elder brothers, 
 were near by in the forest. Mordecai, startled by a shot, 
 saw his father fall, and running to the cabin seized the 
 loaded rifle, rushed to one of the loop-holes cut through 
 the logs of the cabin, and saw the Indian who had fired. 
 He had just caught the boy, Thomas, and was running 
 toward the forest. Pointing the rifle through the logs 
 and aiming at a medal on the breast of the Indian, Morde- 
 cai fired. The Indian fell, and springing to his feet the 
 boy ran to the open arms of his mother at the cabin door. 
 Meanwhile Josiah, who had run to the fort for aid, re- 
 turned with a party of settlers. The bodies of Abraham 
 Lincoln and the Indian who had been killed were brought 
 in. From this time forth Mordecai Lincoln was the 
 mortal enemy of the Indian, and it is said that he sacrificed 
 many in revenge for the murder of his father.” 
 
 In the presence of such dangers Thomas Lincoln spent 
 his boyhood. He was born in 1778, and could not have 
 been much more than four years old on that fatal day 
 when in one swift moment his father lay dead beside him 
 and vengeance had been exacted by his resolute boy 
 brother. It was such experiences as these that made of 
 the pioneers the sturdy men they were. They acquired 
 habits of heroism. Their sinews became wiry; their 
 nerves turned to steel. Their senses became sharpened. 
 They grew alert, steady, prompt and deft in every 
 emergency. 
 
 Of Mordecai Lincoln, the boy who had exhibited such 
 coolness and daring on the day of his father’s death, many 
 stories are told after he reached manhood. “He was 
 naturally a man of considerable genius,” says one who 
 knew him. “He was a man of great drollery. It would 
 almost make you laugh to look at him. I never saw but 
 
4 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 one other man who excited in me the same disposition to 
 laugh, and that was Artemus Ward. Abe Lincoln had a 
 very high opinion of his uncle, and on one occasion re- 
 marked that Uncle Mord had run off with all the talents 
 of the family.” 
 
 Thomas Lincoln was twenty-eight years old before he 
 sought a wife. His choice fell upon a young woman of 
 twenty-three whose name was Nancy Hanks. Like her 
 husband, she was of English descent. Like his, her 
 parents had followed in the path of emigration from 
 Virginia to Kentucky. The couple were married by the 
 Rev. Jesse Head, a Methodist minister located at Spring- 
 field, Washington County, Kentucky. They lived for a 
 time in Elizabethtown, but after the birth of their first 
 child, Sarah, they removed to Rock Spring farm, on 
 Nolin Creek, in Hardin (afterward LaRue) County. In 
 this desolate spot, a strange and unlikely place for the 
 birth of one destined to play so memorable a part in the 
 history of the world, on the twelfth day of February, 
 1809, Abraham Lincoln the President was born. 
 
 Of all the gross injustice ever done to the memory of 
 woman, that which has been accorded to Nancy Hanks 
 is the greatest. The story which cast a shadow upon her 
 parentage, and on that of her illustrious son as well, should 
 be sternly relegated to the oblivion whence it came. Mr. 
 Henry Watterson, in his brilliant address on Lincoln, 
 refers to him as “that strange, incomparable man, of whose 
 'parentage we neither know nor care.” In some localities, 
 particularly in Kentucky and South Carolina, the rumor 
 is definite and persistent that the President was not the 
 son of Thomas Lincoln, the illiterate and thriftless, but of 
 one Colonel Hardin for whom Hardin County was named; 
 that Nancy Hanks was herself the victim of unlegalized 
 motherhood, the natural daughter of an aristocratic, 
 wealthy, and well-educated Virginia planter, and that this 
 accounted for many of her son’s characteristics. The 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 5 
 
 story has long since been disproved. Efforts to verify it 
 brought forth the fact that it sprang into being in the 
 early days of the Civil War and was evidently a fabrication 
 born of the bitter spirit of the hour. 
 
 It was not from his father, however, that Lincoln in- 
 herited any of his remarkable traits. The dark coarse 
 hair, the gray eyes, sallow complexion, and brawny 
 strength, which were his, constituted his sole inheritance 
 on the paternal side. But Nancy Hanks was gentle and 
 refined, and would have adorned any station in life. She 
 was beautiful in youth, with dark hair, regular features, 
 and soft sparkling hazel eyes. She was unusually intelli- 
 gent, and read all the books she could obtain. Says Mr. 
 Arnold: “She was a woman of deep religious feeling, of 
 the most exemplary character, and most tenderly and 
 affectionately devoted to her family. Her home indicated 
 a love of beauty exceptional in the wild settlement in 
 which she lived, and judging from her early death it is 
 probable that she was of a physique less hardy than that 
 of those among whom she lived. Hers was a strong, 
 self-reliant spirit, which commanded the love and respect 
 of the rugged people among whom she dwelt.” 
 
 The tender and reverent spirit of Abraham Lincoln, 
 and the pensive melancholy of his disposition, he no doubt 
 inherited from his mother. Amid the toil and struggle of 
 her busy life she found time not only to teach him to read 
 and write but to impress upon him ineffaceably that love 
 of truth and justice, that perfect integrity and reverence 
 for God, for which he was noted all his life. Lincoln 
 always looked upon his mother with unspeakable affection, 
 and never ceased to cherish the memory of her life and 
 teaching. 
 
 A spirit of restlessness, a love of adventure, a longing 
 for new scenes, and possibly the hope of improving his 
 condition, led Thomas Lincoln to abandon the Rock 
 Spring farm, in the fall of 1816, and begin life over again 
 
6 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 in the wilds of southern Indiana. The way thither lay 
 through unbroken country and was beset with difficulties. 
 Often the travellers were obliged to cut their road as they 
 went. With the resolution of pioneers, however, they 
 began the journey. At the end of several days they had 
 gone but eighteen miles. Abraham Lincoln was then but 
 seven years old, but was already accustomed to the use of 
 axe and gun. He lent a willing hand, and bore his share 
 in the labor and fatigue connected with the difficult 
 journey. In after years he said that he had never passed 
 through a more trying experience than when he went from 
 Thompson’s Ferry to Spencer County, Indiana. On 
 arriving, a shanty for immediate use was hastily erected. 
 Three sides were enclosed, the fourth remaining open. 
 This served as a home for several months, when a more 
 comfortable cabin was built. On the eighteenth of 
 October, 1817, Thomas Lincoln entered a quarter-section 
 of government land eighteen miles north of the Ohio river 
 and about a mile and a half from the present village of 
 Gentryville. About a year later they were followed by 
 the family of Thomas and Betsy Sparrow, relatives of 
 Mrs. Lincoln and old-time neighbors on the Rock Spring 
 farm in Kentucky. Dennis Hanks, a member of the 
 Sparrow household and cousin of Abraham Lincoln, came 
 also. He has furnished some recollections of the Presi- 
 dent’s boyhood which are well worth recording. “Uncle 
 Dennis,” as he was familiarly called, was himself a striking 
 character, a man of original manners and racy conversa- 
 tion. A sketch of him as he appeared to an observer in 
 his later days is thus given : “ Uncle Dennis is a typical 
 
 Kentuckian, born in Hardin County in 1799. His face is 
 sun-bronzed and ploughed with the furrows of time, but 
 he has a resolute mouth, a firm grip of the jaws, and a 
 broad forehead above a pair of piercing eyes. The eyes 
 seem out of place in the weary, faded face, but they glow 
 and flash like two diamond sparks set in ridges of dull 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 7 
 
 gold. The face is a serious one, but the play of light in 
 the eyes, unquenchable by time, betrays a nature of sun- 
 shine and elate with life. A glance at the profile shows a 
 face strikingly Lincoln-like, — prominent cheek bones, 
 temple, nose, and chin; but best of all is that twinkling 
 drollery in the eye that flashed in the White House during 
 the dark days of the Civil War.” 
 
 Uncle Dennis’s recollections go back to the birth of 
 Abraham Lincoln. To use his own words: “I rikkilect 
 I run all the way, over two miles, to see Nancy Hanks’s 
 boy baby. Her name was Nancy Hanks before she 
 married Thomas Lincoln. ’Twas common for connections 
 to gather in them days to see new babies. I held the wee 
 one a minute. I was ten years old, and it tickled me to 
 hold the pulpy, red little Lincoln. The family moved to 
 Indiana,” he went on, “when Abe was about nine. Mr. 
 Lincoln moved first, and built a camp of brush in Spencer 
 County. We came a year later, and he had then a cabin. 
 So he gave us the shanty. Abe killed a turkey the day we 
 got there, and couldn’t get through tellin’ about it. The 
 name was pronounced Linkhorn by the folks then. We 
 was all uneducated. After a spell we learnt better. I 
 was the only boy in the place all them years, and Abe and 
 me was always together.” 
 
 Dennis Hanks claims to have taught his young cousin 
 to read, write, and cipher. “He knew his letters pretty 
 wellish, but no more. His mother had taught him. If 
 ever there was a good woman on earth, she was one, — a 
 true Christian of the Baptist church. But she died soon 
 after we arrived, and Abe was left without a teacher. 
 His father couldn’t read a word. The boy had only about 
 one quarter of schooling, hardly that. I then set in to 
 help him. I didn’t know much, but I did the best I could. 
 Sometimes he would write with a piece of charcoal or the 
 p’int of a burnt stick on the fence or floor. We got a little 
 paper at the country town, and I made some ink out of 
 
8 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 blackberry briar-root and a little copperas in it. It was 
 black, but the copperas ate the paper after a while. I 
 made Abe’s first pen out of a turkey-buzzard feather. 
 We had no geese them days. After he learned to write 
 his name he was scrawlin’ it everywhere. Sometimes he 
 would write it in the white sand down by the crick bank 
 and leave it there till the waves would blot it out. He 
 didn’t take to books in the beginnin’. We had to hire him 
 at first, but after he got a taste on’t it was the old story — 
 we had to pull the sow’s ears to get her to the trough, and 
 then pull her tail to get her away. He read a great deal, 
 and had a wonderful memory — wonderful. Never forgot 
 anything.” 
 
 Lincoln’s first reading book was Webster’s Speller. 
 “ When I got him through that,” said Uncle Dennis, “I had 
 only a copy of the Indiana Statutes. Then Abe got hold 
 of a book. I can’t rikkilect the name. It told a yarn about 
 a feller, a nigger or suthin’, that sailed a flatboat up to a 
 rock, and the rock was magnetized and drawed all the nails 
 out, and he got a duckin’ or drowned or suthin’, — I 
 forget now. [It was the “Arabian Nights.”] Abe would 
 lay on the floor with a chair under his head and laugh 
 over them stories by the hour. I told him they was likely 
 lies from beginnin’ to end, but he learned to read right well 
 in them. I borrowed for him the Life of Washington and 
 the Speeches of Henry Clay. They had a powerful in- 
 fluence on him. He told me afterwards in the White 
 House he wanted to live like Washington. His speeches 
 show it, too. But the other book did the most amazin’ 
 work. Abe was a Democrat, like his father and all of us, 
 when he began to read it. When he closed it he was a 
 Whig, heart and soul, and he went on step by step till he 
 became leader of the Republicans.” 
 
 These reminiscences of Dennis Hanks give the clearest 
 and undoubtedly the most accurate glimpse of Lincoln’s 
 youth. He says further, referring to the boy’s unusual 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 9 
 
 physical strength: “My, how he would chop! His axe 
 would flash and bite into a sugar-tree or sycamore, and 
 down it would come. If you heard him fellin’ trees in a 
 clearin’ you would say there was three men at work, the 
 way the trees fell. Abe was never sassy or quarrelsome. 
 I’ve seen him walk into a crowd of sawin’ rowdies and tell 
 some droll yarn and bust them all up. It was the same 
 after he got to be a lawyer. All eyes was on him whenever 
 he riz. There was suthin peculiarsome about him. I 
 moved from Indiana to Illinois when Abe did. I bought a 
 little improvement near him, six miles from Decatur. 
 Here the famous rails were split that were carried round in 
 the campaign. They were called his rails, but you never 
 can tell. I split some of ’em. He was a master hand at 
 maulin’ rails. I heard him say in a speech once, ‘If I 
 didn’t make these I made many just as good.’ Then the 
 crowd yelled.” 
 
 One of his playmates has furnished much that is of 
 interest in regard to the reputation which Lincoln left 
 behind him in the neighborhood where he passed his boy- 
 hood and much of his youth. This witness says : “When- 
 ever the court was in session he was a frequent attendant. 
 John A. Breckenridge was the foremost lawyer in the 
 community, and was famed as an advocate in criminal 
 cases. Lincoln was sure to be present when he spoke. 
 Doing the chores in the morning, he would walk to Boone- 
 ville, the county seat of Warwick County, seventeen miles 
 away, then home in time to do the chores at night, repeat- 
 ing this day after day. The lawyer soon came to know 
 him. Years afterwards, when Lincoln was President, a 
 venerable gentleman one day entered his office in the White 
 House, and standing before him said: ‘Mr. President, you 
 don’t know me.’ Mr. Lincoln eyed him sharply for. a 
 moment, and then quickly replied with a smile, ‘Yes I do. 
 You are John A. Breckenridge. I used to walk thirty-four 
 miles a day to hear you plead law in Booneville, and listen- 
 
10 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 ing to your speeches at the bar first inspired me with the 
 determination to be a lawyer.’ ” 
 
 Lincoln’s love for his gentle mother, and his grief over 
 her untimely death, is a touching story. Attacked by a 
 fatal disease, the life of Nancy Hanks wasted slowly away. 
 Day after day her son sat by her bed reading to her such 
 portions of the Bible as she desired to hear. At intervals 
 she talked to him, urging him to walk in the paths of honor, 
 goodness, and truth. At last she found rest, and her son 
 gave way to grief that could not be controlled. In an 
 opening in the timber, a short distance from the cabin, 
 sympathizing friends and neighbors laid her body away 
 and offered sincere prayers above her grave. The simple 
 service did not seem to the son adequate tribute to the 
 memory of the beloved mother whose loss he so sorely 
 felt, but no minister could be procured at the time to preach 
 a funeral sermon. In the spring, however, Abraham 
 Lincoln, then a lad of ten, wrote to Elder Elkin, who had 
 lived near them in Kentucky, begging that he would come 
 and preach a sermon above his mother’s grave, and adding 
 that by granting this request he would confer a lasting 
 favor upon his father, his sister, and himself. Although 
 it involved a journey of more than a hundred miles on 
 horseback, the good man cheerfully complied. Once 
 more the neighbors and friends gathered about the grave 
 of Nancy Hanks, and her son found comfort in their 
 sympathy and their presence. The spot where Lincoln’s 
 mother lies is now enclosed within a high iron fence. At 
 the head of the grave a white stone, simple, unaffected, 
 and in keeping with the surroundings, has been placed. 
 It bears the following inscription : 
 
 NANCY HANKS LINCOLN, 
 
 MOTHER OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN, 
 
 DIED OCTOBER 5, A.D. 1818. 
 
 AGED THIRTY-FIVE YEARS. 
 
 Erected by a friend of her martyred son. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 11 
 
 Lincoln always held the memory of his mother in the 
 deepest reverence and affection. Says Dr. J. G. Holland: 
 “Long after her sensitive heart and weary hands had 
 crumbled into dust, and had climbed to life again in forest 
 flowers, he said to a friend, with tears in his eyes, ‘All that 
 I am or ever hope to be I owe to my sainted mother.’” 
 
 The vacant place of wife and mother was sadly felt in 
 the Lincoln cabin, but before the year 1819 had closed it 
 was filled by a woman who nobly performed the duties of 
 her trying position. Thomas Lincoln had known Mrs. 
 Sarah Johnston when both were young and living in 
 Elizabethtown, Kentucky. They had married in the 
 same year; and now, being alike bereaved, he persuaded 
 her to unite their broken households into one. 
 
 By this union, a son and two daughters, John, Sarah, 
 and Matilda, were added to the Lincoln family. -All 
 dwelt together in perfect harmony, the mother showing no 
 difference in the treatment of her own children and the 
 two now committed to her charge. She exhibited a 
 special fondness for the little Abraham, whose precocious 
 talents and enduring qualities she was quick to apprehend. 
 Though he never forgot the “angel mother” sleeping on 
 the forest-covered hill-top, the boy rewarded with a pro- 
 found and lasting affection the devoted care of her who 
 proved a faithful friend and helper during the rest of his 
 childhood and youth. In her later life the step-mother 
 spoke of him always 'with the tenderest feeling. On one 
 occasion she said: “He never gave me a cross word or 
 look, and never refused, in fact or appearance, to do 
 anything I requested of him.” 
 
 The child had enjoyed a little irregular schooling while 
 living in Kentucky, getting what instruction was possible 
 of one Zachariah Birney, a Catholic, who taught for a 
 time close by his father’s house. He also attended, as 
 convenience permitted, a school kept by Caleb Hazel, 
 nearly four miles away, walking the distance back and 
 
12 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 forth with his sister. Soon after coming under the care 
 of his step-mother, the lad was afforded some similar 
 opportunities for learning. His first master in Indiana 
 was Azel Dorsey. The sort of education dispensed by 
 him, and the circumstances under which it was given, 
 are described by Mr. Ward H. Lamon, at one time 
 Lincoln’s law-partner at Springfield, Illinois. “Azel 
 Dorsey presided in a small house near the Little Pigeon 
 Creek meeting-house, a mile and a half from the Lincoln 
 cabin. It was built of unhewn logs, and had holes for ' 
 windows, in which greased paper served for glass. The 
 roof was just high enough for a man to stand erect. Here 
 the boy was taught reading, writing, and ciphering. 
 They spelt in classes, and ‘trapped’ up and down. These 
 juvenile contests were very exciting to the participants, 
 and it is said by the survivors that Abe was even then the 
 equal, if not the superior, of any scholar in his class. The 
 next teacher was Andrew Crawford. Mrs. Gentry says 
 he began teaching in the neighborhood in the winter of 
 1822-3. Crawford ‘kept school’ in the same little school- 
 house which had been the scene of Dorsey’s labors, and 
 the windows were still adorned with the greased leaves of 
 old copybooks that had come down from Dorsey’s time. 
 Abe was now in his fifteenth year, and began to exhibit 
 symptoms of gallantry toward the other sex. He was 
 growing at a tremendous rate, and two years later attained 
 his full height of six feet and four inches. He wore low 
 shoes, buckskin breeches, linsey-woolsey shirt, and a cap 
 made of the skin of a ’possum or a coon. The breeches 
 clung close to his thighs and legs, and failed by a large 
 space to meet the tops of his shoes. He would always 
 come to school thus, good-humoredly and laughing. He 
 was always in good health, never sick, had an excellent 
 constitution and took care of it.” 
 
 Crawford taught “manners” — a feature of backwoods 
 education to which Dorsey had not aspired. Crawford 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 13 
 
 had doubtless introduced it as a refinement which would 
 put to shame the humble efforts of his predecessor. One 
 of the scholars was required to retire, and then to re-enter 
 the room as a polite gentleman is supposed to enter a 
 drawing-room. He was received at the door by another 
 scholar and conducted from bench to bench until he had 
 been introduced to all the young ladies and gentlemen in 
 the room. Lincoln went through the ordeal countless 
 times. If he took a serious view of the performance it 
 must have put him to exquisite torture, for he was con- 
 scious that he was not a perfect type of manly beauty. 
 If, however, it struck him as at all funny, it must have 
 filled him with unspeakable mirth to be thus gravely led 
 about, angular and gawky, under the eyes of the precise 
 Crawford, to be introduced to the boys and girls of his 
 acquaintance. 
 
 While in Crawford’s school the lad wrote his first com- 
 positions. The exercise was not required by the teacher, 
 but, as Nat Grigsby has said, “he took it up on his own 
 account.” At first he wrote only short sentences against 
 cruelty to animals, but at last came forward with a regular 
 composition on the subject. He was annoyed and pained 
 by the conduct of the boys who were in the habit of catch- 
 ing terrapins and putting coals of fire on their backs. 
 “He would chide us,” says Grigsby, “tell us it was wrong, 
 and would write against it.” 
 
 One who has had the privilege of looking over some of 
 the boyish possessions of Lincoln says: “Among the most 
 touching relics which I saw was an old copy-book in which, 
 at the age of fourteen, Lincoln had taught himself to write 
 and cipher. Scratched in his boyish hand on the first 
 page were these lines: 
 
 Abraham Lincoln 
 his hand and pen. 
 he will be good but 
 god knows When ” 
 
14 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 The boy’s thirst for learning was not to be satisfied with 
 the meagre knowledge furnished in the miserable schools 
 he was able to attend at long intervals. His step-mother 
 says: “He read diligently. He read everything he could 
 lay his hands on, and when he came across a passage that 
 struck him he would write it down on boards, if he had 
 no paper, and keep it until he had got paper. Then he 
 would copy it, look at it, commit it to memory, and 
 repeat it. He kept a scrap-book into which he copied 
 everything which particularly pleased him.” Mr. Arnold 
 further states: “There were no libraries and but few 
 books in the back settlements in which Lincoln lived. 
 If by chance he heard of a book that he had not read he 
 would walk miles to borrow it. Among other volumes 
 borrowed from Crawford was Weems’s Life of Washington. 
 He read it with great earnestness. He took it to bed with 
 him in the loft and read till his ‘ nubbin’ of candle burned 
 out. Then he placed the book between the logs of the 
 cabin, that it might be near as soon as it was light enough 
 in the morning to read. In the night a heavy rain came 
 up and he awoke to find his book wet through and through. 
 Drying it as well as he could, he went to Crawford and 
 told him of the mishap. As he had no money to pay for 
 the injured book, he offered to work out the value of it. 
 Crawford fixed the price at three days’ work, and the future 
 President pulled corn for three days, thus becoming owner 
 of the coveted volume.” In addition to this, he was for- 
 tunate enough to get hold of dEsop’s Fables, Pilgrim’s 
 Progress, and the lives of Benjamin Franklin and Henry 
 Clay. He made these books his own by conning them over 
 and over, copying the more impressive portions until they 
 were firmly fixed in his memory. Commenting upon the 
 value of this sort of mental training, Dr. Holland wisely 
 remarks: “Those who have witnessed the dissipating 
 effect of many books upon the minds of modern children 
 do not find it hard to believe that Abraham Lincoln’s 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 15 
 
 poverty of books was the wealth of his life. The few he 
 had did much to perfect the teaching which his mother 
 had begun, and to form a character which for quaint 
 simplicity, earnestness, truthfulness, and purity, has never 
 been surpassed among the historic personages of the 
 world.” 
 
 It may well have been that Lincoln’s lack of books and 
 the means of learning threw him upon his ora resources 
 and led him into those modes of thought, of quaint and apt 
 illustration and logical reasoning, so peculiar to him. At 
 any rate, it is certain that books can no more make a 
 character like Lincoln than they can make a poet like 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 “By books may Learning sometimes befall, 
 
 But Wisdom never by books at all,” — 
 
 a saying peculiarly true of a man such as Lincoln. 
 
 A testimonial to the influence of this early reading upon 
 his childish mind was given by Lincoln himself many 
 years afterwards. While on his way to Washington to 
 assume the duties of the Presidency he passed through 
 Trenton, New Jersey, and in a speech made in the Senate 
 Chamber at that place he said: “May I be pardoned if, 
 upon this occasion, I mention that away back in my child- 
 hood, in the earliest days of my being able to read, I got 
 hold of a small book — such a one as few of the younger 
 members have seen, Weems’s Life of Washington. I 
 remember all the accounts there given of the battle-fields 
 and struggles for the liberties of the country; and none 
 fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the 
 struggle here at Trenton. The crossing of the river, the 
 contest with the Hessians, the great hardships endured 
 at that time, all fixed themselves in my memory more than 
 any single Revolutionary event ; and you all know, for you 
 have all been boys, how these early impressions last longer 
 than any others. I recollect thinking then, boy even 
 
16 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 though I was, that there must have been something more 
 than common that these men struggled for. I am exceed- 
 ingly anxious that that thing which they struggled for, 
 that something even more than National Independence, 
 that something that held out a great promise to all the 
 people of the world for all time to come, I am exceedingly 
 anxious that this Union, the Constitution, and the liberties 
 of the people, shall be perpetuated in accordance with the 
 original idea for which that struggle was made.” 
 
 Another incident in regard to the ruined volume which 
 Lincoln had borrowed from Crawford is related by Mr. 
 Lamon. “For a long time,” he says, “there was one 
 person in the neighborhood for whom Lincoln felt a decided 
 dislike, and that was Josiah Crawford, who had made him 
 pull fodder for three days to pay for Weems’s Washington. 
 On that score he was hurt and mad, and declared he would 
 have revenge. But being a poor boy, a fact of which 
 Crawford had already taken shameful advantage when he 
 extorted three days’ labor, Abe was glad to get work any- 
 where, and frequently hired out to his old adversary. 
 His first business in Crawford’s employ was daubing the 
 cabin, which was built of unhewn logs with the bark on. 
 In the loft of this house, thus finished by his own hands, 
 he slept for many weeks at a time. He spent his evenings 
 as he did at home, — writing on wooden shovels or boards 
 with ‘a coal, or keel, from the branch.’ This family was 
 rich in the possession of several books, which Abe read 
 through time and again, according to his usual custom. 
 One of the books was the ‘Kentucky Preceptor,’ from 
 which Mrs. Crawford insists that he ‘learned his school ora- 
 tions, speeches, and pieces to write.’ She tells us also that 
 ‘Abe was a sensitive lad, never coming where he was not 
 wanted’ ; that he always lifted his hat, and bowed, when 
 he made his appearance; and that ‘he was tender and kina,’ 
 like his sister, who was at the same time her maid-of-all- 
 work. His pay was twenty-five cents a day; ‘and when 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 17 
 
 he missed time, he would not charge for it.’ This latter 
 remark of Mrs. Crawford reveals the fact that her husband 
 was in the habit of docking Abe on his miserable wages 
 whenever he happened to lose a few minutes from steady 
 work. The time came, however, when Lincoln got his 
 revenge for all this petty brutality. Crawford was as 
 ugly as he was surly. His nose was a monstrosity — long 
 and crooked, with a huge mis-shapen stub at the end, 
 surmounted by a host of pimples, and the whole as blue 
 as the usual state of Mr. Crawford’s spirits. Upon this 
 member Abe levelled his attacks, in rhyme, song, and 
 chronicle; and though he could not reduce the nose he 
 gave it a fame as wide as to the Wabash and the Ohio. 
 It is not improbable that he learned the art of making the 
 doggerel rhymes in which he celebrated Crawford’s nose 
 from the study of Crawford’s own ‘ Kentucky Preceptor.’ ” 
 
 Lincoln’s sister Sarah was warmly attached to him, but 
 was taken from his companionship at an early age. It is 
 said that her face somewhat resembled his, that in repose 
 it had the gravity which they both inherited from their 
 mother, but it was capable of being lighted almost into 
 beauty by one of her brother’s ridiculous stories or sallies of 
 humor. She was a modest, plain, industrious girl, and was 
 remembered kindly by all who knew her. She was mar- 
 ried to Aaron Grigsby at eighteen, and died a year later. 
 Like her brother, she occasionally worked at the houses 
 of the neighbors. She lies buried, not with her mother, 
 but in the yard of the old Pigeon Creek meeting-house. 
 
 A story which belongs to this period was told by 
 Lincoln himself to Mr. Seward and a few friends one 
 evening in the Executive Mansion at Washington. The 
 President said: “Seward, you never heard, did you, 
 how I earned my first dollar?” “No,” rejoined Mr. 
 Seward. “Well,” continued Mr. Lincoln, “I belonged, 
 you know, to what they call down South the ‘scrubs.’ 
 We had succeeded in raising, chiefly by my labor, sufficient 
 
18 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 produce, as I thought, to justify me in taking it down 
 the river to sell. After much persuasion, I got the consent 
 of mother to go, and constructed a little flatboat, large 
 enough to take a barrel or two of things that we had 
 gathered, with myself and the bundle, down to the South- 
 ern market. A steamer was coming down the river. We 
 have, you know, no wharves on the Western streams; and 
 the custom was, if passengers were at any of the landings, 
 for them to go out in a boat, the steamer stopping and 
 taking them on board. I was contemplating my new 
 flatboat, and wondering whether I could make it stronger 
 or improve it in any way, when two men came down to 
 the shore in carriages with trunks. Looking at the 
 different boats, they singled out mine and asked, ‘Who 
 owns this?’ I answered somewhat modestly, ‘I do.’ 
 ‘Will you take US’ and our trunks to the steamer?’ asked 
 one of them. ‘Certainly,’ said I. I was glad to have the 
 chance of earning something. I supposed that each of 
 them would give me two or three bits. The trunks were 
 put on my flatboat, the passengers seated themselves on 
 the trunks, and I sculled them out to the steamer. They 
 got on board, and I lifted up their heavy trunks and put 
 them on the deck. The steamer was about to put on 
 steam again, when I called out to them that they had 
 forgotten to pay me. Each man took from his pocket a 
 silver half-dollar and threw it into the bottom of my boat. 
 I could scarcely believe my eyes. Gentlemen, you may 
 think it a little thing, and in these days it seems to me a 
 trifle; but it was a great event in my life. I could scarcely 
 credit that I, a poor boy, had earned a dollar in less than 
 a day, — that by honest work I had earned a dollar. The 
 world seemed wider and fairer to me. I was a more 
 hopeful and confident being from that time.” 
 
 Notwithstanding the limitations of every kind which 
 hemmed in the life of young Lincoln, he had an instinctive 
 feeling, born perhaps of his eager ambition, that he should 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 19 
 
 one day attain an exalted position. The first betrayal of 
 this premonition is thus related by Mr. Arnold: 
 
 “Lincoln attended court at Boone ville, to witness a 
 murder trial, at which one of the Breckenridges from 
 Kentucky made a very eloquent speech for the defense. 
 The boy was carried away with admiration, and was so 
 enthusiastic that, although a perfect stranger, he could 
 not resist expressing his admiration to Breckenridge. 
 He wanted to be a lawyer. He went home, dreamed of 
 courts, and got up mock trials, at which he would defend 
 imaginary prisoners. Several of his companions at this 
 period of his life, as well as those who knew him after he 
 went to Illinois, declare that he was often heard to say, 
 not in joke, but seriously, as if he were deeply impressed 
 rather than elated with the idea: ‘I shall some day be 
 President of the United States.’ It is stated by many 
 of Lincoln’s old friends that he often said while still 
 an obscure man, ‘Some day I shall be President.’ He 
 undoubtedly had for years some presentiment of this.” 
 
 At seventeen Lincoln wrote a clear, neat, legible hand, 
 was quick at figures and able to solve easily any arithmet- 
 ical problem not going beyond the “Rule of Three.” Mr. 
 Arnold, noting these facts, says: “I have in my posses- 
 sion a few pages from his manuscript ‘Book of Examples 
 in Arithmetic.’ One of these is dated March 1, 1826, 
 and headed ‘Discount,’ and then follows, in his careful 
 handwriting: ‘A definition of Discount,’ ‘Rules for its 
 computation,’ ‘Proofs and Various Examples,’ worked 
 out in figures, etc.; then ‘Interest on money’ is treated 
 in the same way, all in his own handwriting. I doubt 
 whether it would be easy to find among scholars of our 
 common or high schools, or any school of boys of the age 
 of seventeen, a better written specimen of this sort of 
 work, or a better knowledge of figures than is indicated by 
 this book of Lincoln’s, written at the age of seventeen.” 
 
 In March, 1828, Lincoln went to work for old Mr. 
 
20 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Gentry, the founder of Gentry ville. “Early the next 
 month the old gentleman furnished his son Allen with a 
 boat and a cargo of bacon and other produce with which 
 he was to go to New Orleans unless the stock should be 
 sooner disposed of. Abe, having been found faithful and 
 efficient, was employed to accompany the young man. 
 He was paid eight dollars per month, and ate and slept on 
 board.” The entire business of the trip was placed in 
 Abraham’s hands. The fact tells its own story touching 
 the young man’s reputation for capacity and integrity. 
 He had never made the trip, knew nothing of the journey, 
 was unaccustomed to business transactions, had never 
 been much upon the river, but his tact and ability and 
 honesty were so far trusted that the trader was willing to 
 risk the cargo in his care. The delight with which the 
 youth swung loose from the shore upon his clumsy craft, 
 with the prospect of a ride of eighteen hundred miles 
 before him, and a vision of the great world of which he had 
 read and thought so much, may be imagined. At this 
 time he had become a very tall and powerful young man. 
 He had reached the height of six feet and four inches, a 
 length of trunk and limb remarkable even among the tall 
 race of pioneers to which he belonged. 
 
 Just before the river expedition, Lincoln had walked 
 with a young girl down to the river to show her his flat- 
 boat. She relates a circumstance of the evening which 
 is full of significance. “We were sitting on the banks of 
 the Ohio, or rather on the boat he had made. I said to 
 Abe that the sun was going down. He said to me, ‘That’s 
 not so; it don’t really go down; it seems so. The earth 
 turns from west to east and the revolution of the earth 
 carries us under; we do the sinking, as you call it. The 
 sun, as to us, is comparatively still; the sun’s sinking is 
 only an appearance.’ I replied, ‘Abe, what a fool you 
 are!’ I know now that I was the fool, not Lincoln. I 
 am now thoroughly satisfied that he knew the general 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 21 
 
 laws of astronomy and the movements of the heavenly 
 bodies. He was better read then than the world knows 
 or is likely to know exactly. No man could talk to me as 
 he did that night unless he had known something of 
 geography as well as astronomy. He often commented or 
 talked to me about what he had read, — seemed to read 
 it out of the book as he went along. He was the learned 
 boy among us unlearned folks. He took great pains to 
 explain; could do it so simply. He was diffident, too.” 
 
 But another change was about to come into the life of 
 Abraham Lincoln. In 1830 his father set forth once more 
 on the trail of the emigrant. He had become dissatisfied 
 with his location in southern Indiana, and hearing favor- 
 able reports of the prairie lands of Illinois hoped for better 
 fortunes there. He parted with his farm and prepared for 
 the journey to Macon County, Illinois. Abraham visited 
 the neighbors and bade them goodbye; but on the morning 
 selected for their departure, when it came time to start, 
 he was missing. Lie was found weeping at his mother’s 
 grave, whither he had gone as soon as it was light. The 
 thought of leaving her behind filled him with unspeakable 
 anguish. The household goods were loaded, the oxen 
 yoked, the family got into the covered wagon, and Lincoln 
 took his place by the oxen to drive. One of the neighbors 
 has said of this incident: “Well do I remember the day 
 the Lincolns left for Illinois. Little did I think that I 
 was looking at a boy who would one day be President of 
 the United States!” 
 
 An interesting personal sketch of Thomas Lincoln is 
 given by Mr. George B. Balch, who was for many years a 
 resident of Lerna, Coles County, Illinois. Among other 
 things he says: “Thomas Lincoln, father of the great 
 President, was called Uncle Tommy by his friends and 
 Old Tom Lincoln by other people. His property consisted 
 of an old horse, a pair of oxen and a few sheep — seven or 
 eight head. My father bought two of the sheep, they 
 
22 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 being the first we owned after settling in Illinois. Thomas 
 Lincoln was a large, bulky man, six feet tall and weighing 
 about two hundred pounds. He was large-boned, coarse- 
 featured, had a large blunt nose, florid complexion, light 
 sandy hair and whiskers. He was slow in speech and slow 
 in gait. His whole appearance denoted a man of small 
 intellect and less ambition. It is generally supposed that 
 he was a farmer; and such he was, if one who tilled so 
 little land by such primitive modes could be so called. 
 He never planted more than a few acres, and instead of 
 gathering and hauling his crop in a wagon he usually 
 carried it in baskets or large trays. He was uneducated, 
 illiterate, content with living from hand to mouth. His 
 death occurred on the fifteenth day of January, 1851. 
 He was buried in a neighboring country graveyard, about 
 a mile north of Janesville, Coles County. There was 
 nothing to mark the place of his burial until February, 
 1861, when Abraham Lincoln paid a last visit to his grave 
 just before he left Springfield for Washington. On a piece 
 of oak board he cut the letters T. L. and placed it at the 
 head of the grave. It was carried away by some relic- 
 hunter, and the place remained as before, with nothing 
 to mark it, until the spring of 1876. Then the writer, 
 fearing that the grave of Lincoln’s father would become 
 entirely unknown, succeeded in awakening public opinion 
 on the subject. Soon afterward a marble shaft twelve 
 feet high was erected, bearing on its western face this 
 inscription : 
 
 THOMAS LINCOLN 
 FATHER OF 
 
 THE MARTYRED PRESIDENT. 
 
 BORN 
 
 JAN. 6th, 1778 
 
 DIED 
 
 jan. 15th, 1851. 
 
 LINCOLN. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 23 
 
 “And now,” concluded Mr. Balch, “I have given all 
 that can be known of Thomas Lincoln. I have written 
 impartially and with a strict regard to facts which can be 
 substantiated by many of the old settlers in this county. 
 Thomas Lincoln was a harmless and honest man. Beyond 
 this, one will search in vain for any ancestral clue to the 
 greatness of Abraham Lincoln.” 
 
 After reaching the new home in Illinois, young Lincoln 
 worked with his father until things were in shape for 
 comfortable living. He helped to build the log cabin, 
 break up the new land and fence it in, splitting the rails 
 with his own hands. It was these very rails over which 
 so much sentiment was expended years afterward at an 
 important epoch in Lincoln’s political career. During the 
 sitting of the State Convention at Decatur, a banner 
 attached to two of these rails and bearing an appropriate 
 inscription was brought into the assemblage and formally 
 presented to that body amid a scene of unparalleled 
 enthusiasm. After that they were in demand in every 
 State of the Union in which free labor was honored. They 
 were borne in processions by the people, and hailed by 
 hundreds of thousands as a symbol of triumph and a 
 glorious vindication of freedom and of the right and 
 dignity of labor. These, however, were not the first rails 
 made by Lincoln. He was a practiced hand at the 
 business. As a memento of his pioneer accomplishment 
 he preserved in later years a cane made from a rail which 
 he had split on his father’s farm. 
 
 The next important record of Lincoln’s career connects 
 him with Mr. Denton Offutt. The circumstances which 
 brought him into this relation are thus narrated by Mr. J. 
 H. Barrett: “While there was snow on the ground, at the 
 close of the year 1830, or early in 1831, a man came to that 
 part of Macon County where young Lincoln was living, 
 in pursuit of hands to aid him in a flatboat voyage down the 
 Mississippi. The fact was known that the youth had once 
 
24 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 made such a trip, and his services were sought for this 
 occasion. As one who had his own subsistence to earn, 
 with no capital but his hands, he accepted the proposition 
 made him. Perhaps there was something of his inherited 
 and acquired fondness for exciting adventure impelling 
 him to this decision. With him were also employed his 
 former fellow-laborer, John Hanks, and a son of his step- 
 mother named John Johnston. In the spring of 1831 
 Lincoln set out to fulfil his engagement. The floods had 
 so swollen the streams that the Sangamon country was a 
 vast sea before him. His first entrance into that county 
 was over these wide-spread waters in a canoe. The time 
 had come to join his employer on his journey to New 
 Orleans, but the latter had been disappointed by another 
 person on whom he relied to furnish him a boat on the 
 Illinois river. Accordingly all hands set to work, and 
 themselves built a boat on that river, for their purposes. 
 This done, they set out on their long trip, making a 
 successful voyage to New Orleans and back.” 
 
 Mr. Herndon says : “ Mr. Lincoln came into Sangamon 
 
 County down the North Fork of the Sangamon river, in 
 a frail canoe, in the spring of 1831. I can see from 
 where I write the identical place where he cut the tim- 
 bers for his flatboat, which he built at a little village 
 called Sangamon Town, seven miles northwest of Spring- 
 field. Here he had it loaded with corn, wheat, bacon, and 
 other provisions destined for New Orleans, at which place 
 he landed in the month of May, 1831. He returned home 
 in June of that year, and finally settled in another little 
 village called New Salem, on the high bluffs of the Sanga- 
 mon river, then in Sangamon County and now in Menard 
 County, and about twenty miles northwest of Springfield.” 
 
 The practical and ingenious character of Lincoln’s 
 mind is shown in the act that several years after his river 
 experience he invented and patented a device for over- 
 coming some of the difficulties in the navigation of western 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 25 
 
 rivers with which this trip had made him familiar. The 
 following interesting account of this invention is given: 
 “Occupying an ordinary and commonplace position in 
 one of the show-cases in the large hall of the Patent Office 
 is one little model which in ages to come will be prized 
 as one of the most curious and most sacred relics in that 
 vast museum of unique and priceless things. This is a 
 plain and simple model of a steamboat roughly fashioned 
 in wood by the hand of Abraham Lincoln. It bears date 
 1849, when the inventor was known simply as a successful 
 lawyer and rising politician of Central Illinois. Neither 
 his practice nor his politics took up so much of his time as 
 to prevent him from giving some attention to contrivances 
 which he hoped might be of benefit to the world and of 
 profit to himself. The design of this invention is sugges- 
 tive of one phase of Abraham Lincoln’s early life, when he 
 went up and down the Mississippi as a flatboatman and 
 became familiar with some of the dangers and incon- 
 veniences attending the navigation of the western rivers. 
 It is an attempt to make it an easy matter to transport 
 vessels over shoals and snags and ‘sawyers.’ The main 
 idea is that of an apparatus resembling a noiseless bellows 
 placed on each side of the hull of the craft just below the 
 water line and worked by an odd but not complicated 
 system of ropes, valves, and pulleys. When the keel of 
 the vessel grates against the sand or obstruction these 
 bellows are to be filled with air, and thus buoyed up the 
 ship is expected to float lightly and gayly over the shoal 
 which would otherwise have proved a serious interruption 
 to her voyage. The model, which is about eighteen or 
 twenty inches long and has the appearance of having been 
 whittled with a knife out of a shingle and a cigar-box, is 
 built without any elaboration or ornament or any extra 
 apparatus beyond that necessary to show the operation of 
 buoying the steamer over the obstructions. It is carved 
 as one might imagine a retired railsplitter would whittle, 
 
26 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 strongly but not smoothly, and evidently made with a 
 view solely to convey to the minds of the patent au- 
 thorities, by the simplest possible means, an idea of the 
 purpose and plan of the invention. The label on the 
 steamer’s deck informs us that the patent was obtained; 
 but we do not learn that the navigation of the western 
 rivers was revolutionized by this quaint conception. The 
 modest little model has reposed here for many years, and 
 the inventor has found it his task to guide the ship of state 
 over shoals more perilous and obstructions more obstinate 
 than any prophet dreamed of when Abraham Lincoln 
 wrote his bold autograph across the prow of his miniature 
 steamer.” 
 
 At the conclusion of his trip to New Orleans, Lincoln’s 
 employer, Mr. Offutt, entered into mercantile trade at 
 New Salem, a settlement on the Sangamon river, in 
 Menard County, two miles from Petersburg, the county 
 seat. He opened a store of the class usually to be found 
 in such small towns, and also set up a flouring- mill . In 
 the late expedition down the Mississippi Mr. Offutt had 
 learned Lincoln’s valuable qualities, and was anxious to 
 secure his help in his new enterprise. Says Mr. Barrett: 
 “For want of other immediate employment, and in the 
 same spirit which had heretofore actuated him, Abraham 
 Lincoln entered upon the duties of a clerk, having an eye 
 to both branches of his employer’s business. This con- 
 nection continued for nearly a year, all duties of his 
 position being faithfully performed.” It was to this year’s 
 humble but honorable service of young Lincoln that Mr. 
 Douglas tauntingly alluded in one of his speeches during 
 the canvass of 1858 as ‘keeping a groggery.’ 
 
 While engaged in the duties of Offutt’s store Lincoln 
 began the study of English grammar. There was not a 
 text-book to be obtained in the neighborhood ; but hearing 
 that there was a copy of Kirkham’s Grammar in the 
 possession of a person seven or eight miles distant he 
 
EYERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 27 
 
 walked to his house and succeeded in borrowing it. L. M. 
 Green, a lawyer of Petersburg, in Menard County, says 
 that every time he visited New Salem at this period 
 Lincoln took him out upon a hill and asked him to explain 
 some point in Kirkham that had given him trouble. After 
 having mastered the book he remarked to a friend that if 
 that was what they called a science he thought he could 
 “subdue another.” Mr. Green says that Lincoln’s talk 
 at this time showed that he was beginning to think of a 
 great life and a great destiny. Lincoln said to him on 
 one occasion that all his family seemed to have good sense 
 but somehow none had ever become distinguished. He 
 thought perhaps he might become so. He had talked, 
 he said, with men who had the reputation of being great 
 men, but he could not see that they differed much from 
 others. During this year he was also much engaged with 
 debating clubs, often walking six or seven miles to attend 
 them. One of these clubs held its meetings at an old 
 store-house in New Salem, and the first speech young 
 Lincoln ever made was made there. He used to call the 
 exercising “practicing polemics.” As these clubs were 
 composed principally of men of no education whatever, 
 some of their “polemics” are remembered as the most 
 laughable of farces. Lincoln’s favorite newspaper at this 
 time was the “Louisville Journal.” He received it regu- 
 larly by mail, and paid for it during a number of years 
 when he had not money enough to dress decently. He 
 liked its politics, and was particularly delighted with its 
 wit and humor, of which he had the keenest appreciation. 
 
 At this era Lincoln was as famous for his skill in athletic 
 sports as he was for his love of books. Mr. Offutt, who 
 had a strong regard for him, according to Mr. Arnold, 
 “often declared that his clerk, or salesman, knew more 
 than any man in the United States, and that he could 
 out-run, whip, or throw any man in the county. These 
 boasts came to the ears of the ‘Clary Grove Boys,’ a set 
 
28 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of rude, roystering, good-natured fellows, who lived in and 
 around Clary’s Grove, a settlement near New Salem. 
 Their leader was Jack Armstrong, a great square-built 
 fellow, strong as an ox, who was believed by his followers 
 to be able to whip any man on the Sangamon river. The 
 issue was thus made between Lincoln and Armstrong as to 
 which was the better man, and although Lincoln tried to 
 avoid such contests, nothing but an actual trial of strength 
 would satisfy their partisans. They met and wrestled 
 for some time without any decided advantage on either 
 side. Finally Armstrong resorted to some foul play, 
 which roused Lincoln’s indignation. Putting forth his 
 whole strength, he seized the great bully by the neck and 
 holding him at arm’s length shook him like a boy. The 
 Clary Grove Boys were ready to pitch in on behalf of their 
 champion; and as they were the greater part of the 
 lookers-on, a general onslaught upon Lincoln seemed 
 imminent. Lincoln backed up against Offutt’s store and 
 calmly awaited the attack; but his coolness and courage 
 made such an impression upon Armstrong that he stepped 
 forward, grasped Lincoln’s hand and shook it heartily, 
 saying: ‘Boys, Abe Lincoln is the best fellow that ever 
 broke into this settlement. He shall be one of us.’ From 
 that day forth Armstrong was Lincoln’s friend and most 
 willing servitor. His hand, his table, his purse, his vote, 
 and that of the Clary Grove Boys as well, belonged to 
 Lincoln. The latter’s popularity among them was un- 
 bounded. They saw that he would play fair. He could 
 stop a fight and quell a disturbance among these rude 
 neighbors when all others failed.” 
 
 Under whatever circumstances Lincoln was forced into 
 a fight, the end could be confidently predicted. He was 
 sure to thrash his opponent and gain the latter’s friendship 
 afterwards by a generous use of victory. Innumerable in- 
 stances could be cited in proof of this statement. It is 
 related that “One day while showing goods to two or three 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 29 
 
 women in Offutt’s store, a bully came in and began to 
 talk in an offensive manner, using much profanity and 
 evidently wishing to provoke a quarrel. Lincoln leaned 
 over the counter and begged him, as ladies were present, 
 not to indulge in such talk. The bully retorted that the 
 opportunity had come for which he had long sought, and 
 he would like to see the man who could hinder him from 
 saying anything he might choose to say. Lincoln, still 
 cool, told him that if he would wait until the ladies retired 
 he would hear what he had to say and give him any satis- 
 faction he desired. As soon as the women were gone the 
 man became furious. Lincoln heard his boasts and his 
 abuse for a time, and finding that he was not to be put off 
 without a fight, said, ‘Well, if you must be whipped, I 
 suppose I may as well whip you as any other man.’ This 
 was just what the bully had been seeking, he said; so out 
 of doors they went. Lincoln made short work of him. 
 He threw him upon the ground, and held him there as if 
 he had been a child, and gathering some ‘smart -weed’ 
 which grew upon the spot he rubbed it into his face and 
 eyes until the fellow bellowed with pain. Lincoln did all 
 this without a particle of anger, and when the job was 
 finished went immediately for water, washed his victim’s 
 face and did everything he could to alleviate his distress. 
 The upshot of the matter was that the man became his 
 life-long friend and was a better man from that day.” 
 
 The chief repute of a sturdy frontiersman is built upon 
 his deeds of prowess, and the fame of the great, rough, 
 strong-limbed, kind-hearted Titan was spread over all the 
 country around. Says Mr. Lamon: “On one occasion 
 while he was clerking for Offutt a stranger came into the 
 store and soon disclosed the fact that his name was 
 Smoot. Abe was behind the counter at the moment, but 
 hearing the name he sprang over and introduced himself. 
 Abe had often heard of Smoot and Smoot had often heard 
 of Abe. They had been as anxious to meet as ever two 
 
30 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 celebrities were, but hitherto they had never been able to 
 manage it. ‘Smoot,’ said Lincoln, after a steady survey 
 of his person, ‘I am very much disappointed in you; I 
 expected to see an old Probst of a fellow.’ (Probst, it 
 appears, was the most hideous specimen of humanity in all 
 that country). ‘Yes,’ replied Smoot, ‘and I am equally 
 disappointed, for I expected to see a good-looking man 
 when I saw you.’ A few neat compliments like the fore- 
 going laid the foundation of a lasting intimacy between 
 the two men, and in his present distress Lincoln knew no 
 one who would be more likely than Smoot to respond 
 favorably to an application for money.” After he was 
 elected to the Legislature, says -Mr. Smoot, “he came to 
 my house one day in company with Hugh Armstrong. 
 Says he, ‘Smoot, did you vote for me?’ I told him I did. 
 ‘Well,’ says he, ‘you must loan me money to buy suitable 
 clothing, for I want to make a decent appearance in the 
 Legislature.’ I then loaned him two hundred dollars, 
 which he returned to me according to promise.” 
 
 Lincoln’s old friend W. G. Greene relates that while he 
 was a student at the Illinois College at Jacksonville he 
 became acquainted with Richard Yates, then also a stu- 
 dent. One summer while Yates was his guest during the 
 vacation, Greene took him up to Salem and made him 
 acquainted with Lincoln. They found the latter flat on 
 his back on a cellar door reading a newspaper. Greene 
 introduced the two, and thus began the acquaintance 
 between the future War-Governor of Illinois and the 
 future President. 
 
 Lincoln was from boyhood an adept at expedients for 
 avoiding any unpleasant predicament, and one of his 
 modes of getting rid of troublesome friends, as well as 
 troublesome enemies, was by telling a story. He began 
 these tactics early in life, and he grew to be wonderfully 
 adept in them. If a man broached a subject which he 
 did not wish to discuss, he told a story which changed 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 31 
 
 the direction of the conversation. If he was called upon 
 to answer a question, he answered it by telling a story. 
 He had a story for everything; something had occurred 
 at some place where he used to live that illustrated every 
 possible phase of every possible subject with which he 
 might have connection. He acquired the habit of story- 
 telling naturally, as we learn from the following state- 
 ment: “At home, with his step-mother and the children, 
 he was the most agreeable fellow in the world. He was 
 always ready to do everything for everybody. When he 
 was not doing some special act of kindness, he told stories 
 or ‘cracked jokes.’ He was as full of his yarns in Indiana 
 as ever he was in Illinois. Dennis Hanks was a clever 
 hand at the same business, and so was old Tom Lincoln.” 
 
 It was while Lincoln was salesman for Offutt that he 
 acquired the sobriquet of “Honest Abe.” Says Mr. 
 Arnold: “Of many incidents illustrating his integrity, 
 one or two may be mentioned. One evening he found his 
 cash overran a little, and he discovered that in making 
 change for his last customer, an old woman who had come 
 in a little before sundown, he had made a mistake, not 
 having given her quite enough. Although the amount 
 was small, a few cents, he took the money, immediately 
 walked to her house, and corrected the error. At another 
 time, on his arrival at the store in the morning, he found 
 on the scales a weight which he remembered having used 
 just before closing, but which was not the one he had 
 intended to use. He had sold a parcel of tea, and in the 
 hurry had placed the wrong weight on the scales, so that 
 the purchaser had a few ounces less of tea than had been 
 paid for. He immediately sent the quantity required to 
 make up the deficiency. These and many similar incidents 
 are told regarding his scrupulous honesty in the most 
 trifling matters. It was for such things as these that 
 people gave him the name which clung to him as long as he 
 lived.” 
 
32 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 It was in the summer of 1831 that Abraham Lincoln 
 performed his first official act. Minter Graham, the 
 school-teacher, tells the story. “On the day of the 
 election, in the month of August, Abe was seen loitering 
 about the polling place. It was but a few days after his 
 arrival in New Salem. They were ‘short of a clerk’ at 
 the polls; and, after casting about in vain for some one 
 competent to fill the office, it occurred to one of the 
 judges that perhaps the tall stranger possessed the needful 
 qualifications. He thereupon accosted him, and asked if 
 he could write. He replied, ‘Yes, a little.’ ‘Will you 
 act as clerk of the election to-day?’ said the judge. ‘I 
 will try,’ returned Abe, ‘and do the best I can, if you so 
 request.’” He did try accordingly, and, in the language 
 of the schoolmaster, “performed the duties with great 
 facility, firmness, honesty, and impartiality. I clerked 
 with him,” says Mr. Graham, “on the same day and at 
 the same polls. The election books are now in the city 
 of Springfield, where they can be seen and inspected 
 any day.” 
 
 That the foregoing anecdotes bearing on the early life 
 of Abraham Lincoln are approximately correct is borne 
 out by Lincoln himself. At the urgent request of Hon. 
 Jesse W. Fell, of Bloomington, Illinois, Lincoln wrote a 
 sketch of himself to be used during the campaign of 1860. 
 In a note which accompanied the sketch he said: “Here- 
 with is a little sketch, as you requested. There is not 
 much to it, for the reason, I suppose, that there is not 
 much of me. If anything be made out of it I wish it to be 
 modest and not to go beyond the material.” The letter is 
 as follows: 
 
 I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. 
 My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguish- 
 able families — second families, perhaps I should say. 
 My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of 
 the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 33 
 
 and others in Macon Counties, Illinois. My paternal 
 grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rocking- 
 ham County, Virginia, to Kentucky, about 1781 or ’2, 
 where, a year or two later, he was killed by Indians, not 
 in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a 
 farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were Quakers, 
 went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania. An 
 effort to identify them with the New England family of 
 the same name, ended in nothing more than a similarity 
 of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, 
 Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like. 
 
 My father, at the death of his father, was but six years 
 of age, and he grew up literally without education. He 
 removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County, 
 Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home 
 about the time the State came into the Union. It was a 
 wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still 
 in the woods. There I grew up. There were some 
 schools, so called, but no qualification was ever required 
 of a teacher beyond ‘readin’, writin’ and cipherin’ ’ to the 
 Rule of Three. If a straggler, supposed to understand 
 Latin, happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was 
 looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing 
 to excite ambition for education. Of course when I came 
 of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could 
 read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three, but that was 
 all. I have not been to school since. The little advance 
 I now have upon this store of education, I have picked up 
 from time to time under the pressure of necessity. 
 
 I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was 
 twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, and passed 
 the first year in Macon County. Then I got to New 
 Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now in Menard County, 
 where I remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. Then 
 came the Black Hawk War, and I was elected a Captain of 
 Volunteers — a success which gave me more pleasure than 
 any I have had since. I went through the campaign, 
 was elated, ran for the Legislature the same year (1832), 
 and was beaten — the only time I have ever been beaten 
 by the people. The next, and three succeeding biennial 
 elections, I was elected to the Legislature. I was not a 
 candidate afterwards. During this legislative period I 
 had studied law, and removed to Springfield to practice 
 
34 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 it. In 1846 I was once elected to the Lower House of 
 Congress, but was not a candidate for re-election. From 
 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assidu- 
 ously than ever before. Always a Whig in politics, and 
 generally on the Whig electoral tickets, making active 
 canvasses. I was losing interest in politics, when the 
 repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. 
 What I have done since then is pretty well known. 
 
 If any personal description of me is thought desirable, 
 it may be said, I am in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; 
 lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and 
 eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, 
 and gray eyes. No other marks or brands recollected. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A Turn in Affairs — The Black Hawk War — A Remarkable Military 
 Manoeuvre — Lincoln Protects, an Indian — Lincoln and Stuart 
 — Lincoln’s Military Record — Nominated for the Legislature — 
 Lincoln a Merchant — Postmaster at New Salem — Lincoln 
 Studies Law — Elected to the Legislature — Personal Charac- 
 teristics — Lincoln’s Love for Anne Rutledge — Close of Lincoln’s 
 
 Youth. 
 
 HE spring of 1832 brought a new turn in Lincoln’s 
 
 X career. The year had been one of great advance- 
 ment in many respects. He had made new and valuable 
 acquaintances, read many books, mastered the grammar 
 of his own tongue, won a multitude of friends. Those 
 who could appreciate intelligence and character respected 
 him, and those whose highest ideas of a man related to his 
 physical prowess were devoted to him. Everyone trusted 
 him. He was judge, arbitrator, referee, authority in all 
 disputes, games, and matches whether of man-flesh or 
 horse-flesh. He was the peacemaker in all quarrels. 
 He was everybody’s friend — the best-natured, most 
 sensible, best-informed, most modest, unassuming, kindest, 
 gentlest, roughest, strongest, best young fellow in all New 
 Salem or the region about. But Mr. Offutt’s trading enter- 
 prises ended disastrously in the year 1832. The store 
 was closed, the mill was shut down, and Lincoln was out 
 of business. 
 
 At the very moment, however, that he found himself 
 adrift Illinois was filled with excitement over the Black 
 Hawk War. The centre of alarm was in the Rock Valley, 
 in the northern part of the State, which had been formerly 
 the home of the Sac tribe of Indians. Discontented with 
 their life on the reservation west of the Mississippi, to 
 
36 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 which they had been removed, the Sacs, with several other 
 tribes, resolved to recover their old hunting-grounds. 
 The warlike chief, Black Hawk, was at the head of the 
 revolt, and his march toward the Rock river was signalized 
 by a number of massacres. Governor Reynolds of Illinois 
 issued a proclamation calling for volunteers to aid the 
 regular troops in the emergency. Lincoln was one of the 
 first to answer the call, the brave “Clary Grove Boys” 
 also coming promptly to the rescue. “The volunteers 
 gathered,” writes Mr. Arnold, “at Rushville, in Schuyler 
 County, at which place they were to be organized, and 
 elected officers. Lincoln was a candidate for the place 
 of captain, and in opposition to him was one William 
 Kirkpatrick. The mode of election was novel. By 
 agreement, each candidate walked off to some distance 
 and took position by himself. The men were then to 
 form, and those who voted for Kirkpatrick were to range 
 on a line with their candidate. When the lines were 
 formed, Lincoln’s was three times as long as that of 
 Kirkpatrick, and so Lincoln was declared elected. Speak- 
 ing of this affair when President, he said that he was more 
 gratified with this his first success than with any other 
 election of his life. Neither Lincoln nor his company 
 was in any engagement during the campaign, but there 
 was plenty of hardships and fatigue, and some incidents 
 occurred to illustrate his courage and power over men.” 
 
 Many years afterward — in fact, while Lincoln was 
 President — he referred to those early scenes in a way 
 that illustrates his wonderful memory and his power of 
 recalling the minutest incidents of his past life. Meeting 
 an old Illinois friend, he naturally fell to talking of Illinois, 
 and related several stories of his early life in that region. 
 Particularly he remembered his share in the Black Hawk 
 War. He referred to his part of the campaign lightly, 
 and said that he saw but very little fighting. But he 
 remembered coming on a camp of white scouts one morn- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 37 
 
 ing just as the sun was rising. The Indians had surprised 
 the camp and killed and scalped every man. “I remember 
 just how those men looked,” said Lincoln, “as we rode 
 up the little hill where their camp was. The red light of 
 the morning sun was streaming upon them as they lay, 
 heads toward us, on the ground, and every man had a 
 round red spot on the top of his head, about as big as 
 a dollar, where the redskins had taken his scalp. It 
 was frightful, but it was grotesque, and the red sunlight 
 seemed to paint everything all over.” Lincoln paused 
 as if recalling the vivid picture, and added, somewhat 
 irrelevantly, “I remember that one man had buckskin 
 breeches on.” 
 
 Lincoln also told a good story of his first experience 
 in drilling raw troops during the Black Hawk War. He 
 was crossing a field with a front of twenty men when he 
 came to a gate through which it was necessary to pass. 
 In describing the incident he said: “I could not, for the 
 life of me, remember the proper word of command for 
 getting my company endwise, so that it could pass through 
 the gate. So, as we came near the gate, I shouted, ‘Halt! 
 this company is dismissed for two minutes, when it 
 will fall in again on the other side of the gate.’” The 
 manoeuvre was successfully executed. 
 
 During this campaign an incident occurred which well 
 serves to show Lincoln’s keen sense of justice, his great 
 common sense, and his resoluteness when aroused. One 
 day there came to the camp an old Indian, footsore and 
 hungry. He was provided with a letter of safe-conduct 
 from General Cass ; but there was a feeling of great irrita- 
 tion against the Indians, and the men objected strongly 
 to receiving him. They pronounced him a spy and his 
 passport a forgery, and were rushing upon the defenseless 
 Indian to kill him, when the tall figure of their captain, 
 Lincoln, suddenly appeared between them and their 
 victim. His men had never seen him so aroused, and 
 
38 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 they cowed before him. “Men,” said he, “this must 
 not be done! He must not be killed by us!” His voice 
 and manner produced an effect on the mob. They 
 paused, listened, fell back, and sullenly obeyed him, 
 although there were still some murmurs of disappointed 
 rage. At length one man, probably thinking he spoke 
 for the crowd, cried out: “This is cowardly on your part, 
 Lincoln!” Lincoln only gazed with contempt on the 
 men who would have murdered one unarmed Indian but 
 who quailed before his single hand. “If any man thinks 
 I am a coward,” said he, “let him test it.” “Lincoln,” 
 was the reply, “you are larger and heavier than any of 
 us.” “That you can guard against,” responded the 
 captain. “Choose your weapons!” The insubordination 
 ended, and the word “coward” was never associated with 
 Lincoln’s name again. He afterward said that at this 
 time he felt that his life and character were both at stake, 
 and would probably have been lost had he not at the 
 supreme moment forgotten the officer and asserted the 
 man. His men could hardly have been called soldiers. 
 They were merely armed citizens, with a military organiza- 
 tion in name only. Had he ordered them under arrest he 
 would have created a serious mutiny; and to have them 
 tried and punished would have been impossible. 
 
 It was while Lincoln was a militia captain that he made 
 the acquaintance of a man who was destined to have an 
 important influence on his life. This was Major John T. 
 Stuart, afterwards his law-partner. Stuart was already 
 a lawyer by profession. During the Black Hawk War he 
 commanded one of the Sangamon County companies, and 
 was soon afterward elected major of a spy battalion formed 
 from some of these companies. He had the best of 
 opportunities at this time to observe the merits of Captain 
 Lincoln, and testifies that the latter was exceedingly 
 popular among the soldiers on account of his excellent 
 care of the men in his command, his never-failing good 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 39 
 
 nature, and his ability to tell more stories and better ones 
 than any man in the service. He was popular also among 
 these hardy men on account of his great physical strength. 
 For several years after the Black Hawk War Lincoln 
 retained his military title and was usually addressed as 
 “Captain Lincoln.” But this in time was discontinued. 
 Stuart’s title of “Major,” on the contrary, adhered to 
 him through life. He was best known as “Major Stuart” 
 down to the time of his death, which occurred early in the 
 winter of 1886. 
 
 The time for which Captain Lincoln’s company enlisted 
 soon ran by, but the trouble with the Indians not being 
 ended Governor Reynolds called for a second body of 
 volunteers. Lincoln again responded, and was enrolled 
 as a private in the independent company commanded by 
 Elijah lies of Springfield. A note of this occurrence, 
 made in 1868 by Captain lies, contains the following 
 statement: “The term of Governor Reynolds’s first call 
 being about to expire, he made a second call, and the first 
 levy was disbanded. I was elected a captain of one of the 
 companies. We were mustered into service on the 29th 
 of May, 1832, at the mouth of Fox river, now Ottawa, by 
 Lieutenant Robert Anderson, Assistant Inspector General 
 in the United States Army.” 
 
 One day during the Black Hawk War there were in the 
 camp on Rock river four men afterward famed in the 
 history of the country. It was while Lincoln was a 
 member of the company under command of Captain lies. 
 These men were Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Taylor, 
 Lieutenant Jefferson Davis, Lieutenant Robert Anderson, 
 and Private Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln and Anderson 
 did not meet again until 1861, after the latter had evacu- 
 ated Fort Sumter. Major Anderson then visited Wash- 
 ington and called at the White House to pay his respects 
 to the President. After having expressed his thanks to 
 Anderson for his conduct in South Carolina, Lincoln said, 
 
40 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 “Major, do you remember ever meeting me before?” 
 “No, Mr. President, I do not remember having had the 
 pleasure before,” said Anderson. “Well,” said Lincoln, 
 “my memory is better than yours. You mustered me 
 into the service of the United States in 1832 at Dixon’s 
 Ferry, during the Black Hawk War.” 
 
 Lincoln displayed the same courage and fidelity in 
 performing the duties of a soldier that had marked his 
 conduct in all other relations of life. Father Dixon, the 
 guide who was attached to Captain Iles’s company of 
 mounted rangers, remarks that in their marches when 
 scouts were sent forward to examine thickets and ravines 
 in which it was thought the enemy might be lurking it 
 often became necessary for many of the men to dismount 
 and attend to their riding gear. Whenever Lincoln was 
 detailed for such service, however, his saddle was always 
 in order. 
 
 During the contest between General Lewis Cass and 
 General Zachary Taylor for the Presidency, in the year 
 1848, Lincoln made a speech in Congress in which he 
 referred to his services in the Black Hawk War with 
 characteristic humor: 
 
 “By the way, Mr. Speaker,” he said, “did you know 
 that I am a military hero? Yes, sir. In the days of the 
 Black Hawk War I fought, bled, and came away. Speak- 
 ing of General Cass’s career reminds me of my own. I 
 was not at Stillman’s defeat, but I was about as near it as 
 Cass was to Hull’s surrender, and, like him, I saw the place 
 very soon afterwards. It fs quite certain that I did not 
 break my sword, for I had none to break. But I bent my 
 musket pretty badly on one occasion. If Cass broke his 
 sword the idea is that he broke it in desperation. I bent 
 my musket by accident. If General Cass went ahead of 
 me in picking whortleberries, I guess I surpassed him in 
 charges upon the wild onions. If he saw any live fighting 
 Indians, it is more than I did, but I had a good many 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 41 
 
 bloody struggles with the mosquitos, and although I never 
 fainted from loss of blood I can truly say that I was often 
 very hungry. Mr. Speaker, if I should ever conclude to 
 doff whatever our Democratic friends may suppose there 
 is in me of black-cockade Federalism, and thereupon they 
 shall take me up as their candidate for the Presidency, I 
 protest they shall not make fun of me as they have of 
 General Cass by attempting to write me into a military 
 hero.” 
 
 Lincoln’s popularity among his comrades in the field 
 was so great that at the close of his military service, which 
 had lasted three months, he was nominated as a candidate 
 for the State Legislature. “His first appearance on the 
 stump in the course of the canvass was at Pappsville, about 
 eleven miles west of Springfield, upon the occasion of a 
 public sale. The sale over, speech-making was about to 
 begin, when Lincoln observed some strong symptoms of 
 inattention in his audience, which had taken that particu- 
 lar moment to engage in a general fight. Lincoln saw 
 that one of his friends was suffering more than he liked, 
 and stepping into the crowd he shouldered them sternly 
 away from his man until he met a fellow who refused to 
 fall back. Him he seized by the nape of the neck and the 
 seat of his breeches, and tossed him ‘ten or twelve feet 
 easily.’ After this episode — as characteristic of him as 
 of the times — he mounted the platform and delivered 
 with awkward modesty the following speech : ‘ Gentlemen 
 and Fellow-Citizens, I presume you all know who I am. 
 I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by 
 my friends to become a candidate for the Legislature. 
 My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman’s 
 dance. I am in favor of a national bank. I am in favor 
 of the internal-improvement system and a high protective 
 tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. 
 If elected I shall be thankful. If not, it will be all the 
 
 9 99 
 
 same. 
 
42 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Lincoln’s friend, Mr. - A. Y. Ellis, who was with him 
 during a part of this campaign, says: “He wore a mixed- 
 jeans coat, claw-hammer style, short in the sleeves and 
 bobtail, — in fact, it was so short in the tail that he could 
 not sit down on it, - — flax and tow linen pantaloons, and a 
 straw hat. I think he wore a vest, but I do not remember 
 how it looked. He wore pot-metal boots. I went with 
 him on one of his electioneering trips to Island Grove, 
 and he made a speech which pleased his party friends very 
 well, although some of the Jackson men tried to make 
 sport of it. He told several good anecdotes in the speech, 
 and applied them very well, I thought.” 
 
 The election took place in August, and although Lincoln 
 was defeated he received two hundred and seventy-seven 
 out of the two hundred and eighty-four votes cast in his 
 precincts. He was so little known outside of New Salem 
 that the chances of election were hopelessly against him, 
 yet the extraordinary evidence of favor shown by the vote 
 of his fellow-townsmen was a flattering success in the midst 
 of defeat. His failure to be elected, however, left him 
 once more without occupation. He was without means, 
 and felt the necessity of undertaking some business that 
 would provide him an income, however small. It seems 
 that at this time he considered seriously learning the 
 blacksmith’s trade, but while entertaining the idea an 
 event occurred which opened the way in another direction. 
 The particulars of this event are given by Mr. W. G. 
 Greene. “A man named Reuben Radford,” says Mr. 
 Greene, “was the keeper of a small store in the village of 
 New Salem. A friend told him to look out for the ‘Clary 
 Grove boys’ or they would smash him up. He said he 
 was not afraid. He was a great big fellow. But his 
 friend said, ‘They don’t come alone. If one can’t whip 
 you, two or three can, and they’ll do it.’ One day he left 
 his store in charge of his brother, with injunctions that if 
 the ‘Clary Grove boys’ came he must not let them have 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 43 
 
 more than two drinks apiece. All the stores in those days 
 kept liquor to sell and had a corner for drinking. The 
 store was nicely fitted up, and had many things in glass 
 jars nicely labelled. The ‘Clary Grove boys’ came, and 
 took two drinks each. The clerk refused them any more 
 as politely as he could. Then they went behind the 
 counter and helped themselves. They got roaring drunk 
 and went to work smashing everything in the store. The 
 fragments on the floor were an inch deep. They left 
 and went off on their horses whooping and yelling. Com- 
 ing across some herds of cattle, they took the bells from 
 their necks, fastened them to the tails of the leaders, 
 and chased them over the country yelling like mad. 
 Radford heard them, and, mounting his horse, rode in 
 hot haste to the store. I had been sent that morning with 
 grist to the mill, and had to pass the store. I saw Radford 
 ride up, his horse a lather of foam. He dismounted, and 
 looked in upon the wreck through the open door. He 
 was aghast at the sight, and said, ‘I’ll sell out this thing 
 to the first man that comes along.’ I rode up and said, 
 ‘I’ll give you four hundred dollars for it.’ ‘Done!’ said 
 he. ‘But,’ I said, ‘I have no money. I must have time.’ 
 ‘How much?’ ‘Six months.’ ‘Agreed.’ He drew up a 
 note for four hundred dollars at six months, and I signed 
 it. I began to think I was stuck. Then the boys came in, 
 and among them was Lincoln. ‘Cheer up, Billy,’ he said. 
 ‘It’s a good thing. We’ll take an inventory.’ ‘No more 
 inventories for me,’ said I, not knowing what he meant. 
 He explained that we should take an account of stock to 
 see how much was left. We found that it amounted to 
 about twelve hundred dollars. Lincoln and Berry con- 
 sulted over it, and offered me two hundred and fifty 
 dollars for my bargain. I accepted, stipulating that they 
 should assume my notes. Berry was a wild fellow — a 
 gambler. He had a fine horse, with a splendid saddle and 
 bridle. He turned over the horse as part pay. Lincoln 
 
44 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 let Berry run the store, and it soon ran out. I had to pay 
 the note. Lincoln said he would pay it some day and did, 
 with interest.” This ended Lincoln’s brief career as a 
 country merchant. 
 
 Many of the anecdotes in the foregoing pages touch 
 upon Lincoln’s ambition to fit himself for a public speaker. 
 Even at this early day the settlers in New Salem were 
 infected with the general desire to join in the march 
 toward intellectual improvement. To aid in this object, 
 they had established a club entitled the New Salem 
 Literary Society. Before this association, the studious 
 Lincoln was invited to speak. Mr. R. B. Rutledge, the 
 brother of Anne Rutledge, says of the event: “About 
 the year 1832 or 1833, Mr. Lincoln made his first effort at 
 public speaking. A debating club, of which James 
 Rutledge was president, was organized and held regular 
 meetings. As Lincoln arose to speak, his tall form towered 
 above the little assembly. Both hands were thrust down 
 deep in the pockets of his pantaloons. A perceptible 
 smile at once lit up the faces of the audience, for all 
 anticipated the relation of some humorous story. But 
 he opened up the discussion in splendid style, to the 
 infinite astonishment of his friends. As he warmed with 
 his subject, his hands would forsake his pockets and en- 
 force his ideas by awkward gestures, but would very soon 
 seek their easy resting-places. He pursued the question 
 with reason and argument so pithy and forcible that all 
 were amazed. The president, after the meeting, remarked 
 to his wife that there was more in Abe’s head than wit and 
 fun; that he was already a fine speaker; that all he lacked 
 was culture to enable him to reach the high destiny which 
 he knew was in store for him.” 
 
 On the 7th of May, 1833, Lincoln was appointed 
 postmaster at New Salem by President Jackson. The 
 duties of the position were light, there being only a weekly 
 mail, and the remuneration was correspondingly small. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 45 
 
 “The office was too insignificant to be considered politi- 
 cally, and it was given to the young man because every- 
 body liked him, and because he was the only man willing 
 to take it who could make out the returns. He was ex- 
 ceedingly pleased with the appointment, because it gave 
 him a chance to read every newspaper that was taken in 
 the vicinity. He had never been able to get half the news- 
 papers he wanted, and the office gave him the prospect of 
 a constant feast. Not wishing to be tied to the office, 
 as it yielded him no revenue that would reward him for 
 the confinement, he made a post-office of his hat. When- 
 ever he went out, the letters were placed in his hat. When 
 an anxious looker for a letter met the postmaster he found 
 also the post-office, and the public official, taking off his 
 hat, looked over and delivered the mail wherever the 
 public might find him. He kept the office until it was 
 discontinued, or was removed to Petersburg.” 
 
 A small balance due the government remained in the 
 hands of Lincoln at the discontinuance of the office. 
 Time passed on, and he had removed to Springfield and 
 was practicing law, having his place of business in Dr. 
 Henry’s office. Meanwhile his struggle with poverty was 
 unabated, and he had often been obliged to borrow money 
 from his friends to purchase the barest necessities. It 
 was at this juncture that the agent of the United States 
 called for a settlement of his post-office accounts. The 
 interview took place in the presence of Dr. Henry who 
 thus describes it: “I did not believe he had the money 
 on hand to meet the draft, and I was about to call him aside 
 and loan him the money, when he asked the agent to be 
 seated a moment. He went over to his trunk at his 
 boarding-house and returned with an old blue sock with a 
 quantity of silver and copper coin tied up in it. Untying 
 the sock, he poured the contents on the table and proceeded 
 to count the coin, which consisted of such silver and copper 
 pieces as the country people were then in the habit of using 
 
46 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 in paying postage. On counting it up, there was found the 
 exact amount of the draft to a cent, and in the identical 
 coin which had been received. He never, under any 
 circumstances, used trust funds.” 
 
 When Lincoln was about twenty-three years of age, 
 some time in 1832, he began studying law, using an old 
 copy of Blackstone’s Commentaries which he had bought 
 at auction in Springfield. This work was soon mastered, 
 and then the young man looked about him for more. 
 His friend of the Black Hawk War, Major John T. Stuart, 
 had a considerable law library for those days, and to him 
 Lincoln applied in his extremity. The library was placed 
 at his disposal, and thenceforth he was engrossed in the 
 acquisition of its contents. But the books were in Spring- 
 field, where their owner resided; and New Salem was 
 some fourteen miles distant. This proved no obstacle in 
 the way of Lincoln, who made nothing of the walk back 
 and forth in the pursuit of his purpose. Mr. Stuart’s 
 partner, Mr. H. C. Dummer, who took note of the youth 
 in his frequent visits to the office, describes him as “an 
 uncouth looking lad, who did not say much, but what he 
 did say he said straight and sharp.” “He used to read 
 law,” says Henry McHenry, “barefooted, seated in the 
 shade of a tree just opposite Berry’s grocery, and would 
 grind around with the shade, occasionally varying his 
 attitude by lying flat on his back and putting his feet up 
 the tree,” a situation which might have been unfavorable 
 to mental application in the case of a man with shorter 
 extremities. “The first time I ever saw Abe with a law- 
 book in his hand,” says Squire Godbey, “he was sitting 
 astride Jake Bates’s woodpile in New Salem. Says I, 
 ‘Abe, what are you studying?’ ‘Law,’ says Abe. ‘Good 
 God Almighty!’ responded I.” It was too much for 
 Godbey; he could not suppress the exclamation of surprise 
 at seeing such a figure acquiring learning in such an odd 
 situation. Mr. Arnold states that Lincoln made a practice 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 47 
 
 of reading in his walks between Springfield and New 
 Salem; and so intense was his application and so absorbed 
 was he in his study that he would pass his best friends 
 without observing them, and some people said that Lincoln 
 was going crazy with hard study. 
 
 He soon began to make a practical application of his 
 legal knowledge. He bought an old form-book and began 
 to draw up contracts, deeds, leases, mortgages, and all 
 sorts of legal instruments for his neighbors. He also 
 began to exercise his forensic ability in trying small cases 
 before justices of the peace and juries, and soon acquired 
 a local reputation as a speaker, which gave him consider- 
 able practice. But he was able in this way to earn scarcely 
 money enough for his maintenance. To add to his means, 
 he took up the study of surveying, and soon became, 
 like Washington, a skilful and accurate surveyor. John 
 Calhoun, an intelligent and courteous gentleman, was at 
 that time surveyor of the county of Sangamon. He 
 became interested in Lincoln and appointed him his 
 deputy. His work was so accurate and the settlers had 
 such confidence in him that he was much sought after to 
 survey, fix, and mark the boundaries of farms, and to plot 
 and lay off the town of Petersburg. His accuracy must 
 have been attained with some difficulty, for when he began 
 to survey his chain was a grape-vine. He did not specu- 
 late in the land he surveyed. Had he done so the rapid 
 advance in the value of real estate would have made it 
 easy for him to make good investments. But he was not 
 in the least like one of his own appointees when President, 
 — a surveyor-general of a Western territory, who bought 
 up much of the best land, and to whom the President said, 
 “I am told, sir, you are monarch of all you survey.” 
 
 The nomination of Lincoln for the State Legislature on 
 his return from the Black Hawk War was premature. 
 The people of New Salem voted for him almost to a man, 
 but his acquaintance had not then extended into the 
 
48 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 surrounding district far enough to insure his election. 
 In the campaign of 1834 the choice of a candidate again 
 fell upon him, and this time there was a prospect of success. 
 Lincoln entered into the contest with earnestness, and 
 used every legitimate means to secure a victory. Mr. 
 Herndon relates the following incident of this campaign: 
 “Lincoln came to my house, near Island Grove, during 
 harvest. There were some thirty men in the field. He 
 had his dinner, and then went out into the field where the 
 men were at work. I introduced him, and the boys said 
 they would not vote for a man unless he could ‘make a 
 hand.’ ‘Well, boys,’ he said, ‘if that is all that is needed 
 I am sure of your votes.’ He took hold of the cradle and 
 led the way all around with perfect ease. The boys were 
 satisfied. I don’t think he lost a vote in that crowd. The 
 next day there was speaking at Berlin. He went from my 
 house with Dr. Barnett, who had asked me who this man 
 Lincoln was. I told him he was a candidate for the 
 Legislature. He laughed and said, ‘ Can’t the party raise 
 better material than that?’ I said, ‘Go to-morrow and 
 hear him before you pass judgment.’ When he came back 
 I said, ‘Doctor, what have you to say now?’ ‘Why, sir,’ 
 he said, ‘he is a perfect talce-in. He knows more than all 
 the rest of them put together.’” 
 
 The result of the election was that Lincoln was 
 chosen to represent the Sangamon district. When the 
 Legislature convened at the opening session, he was in his 
 place in the lower house; but he bore himself quietly in 
 his new position. He had much to learn in his novel 
 situation as one of the lawmakers of the State, and as a 
 co-worker with an assembly comprising the most talented 
 and prominent men gathered from all parts of Illinois. 
 He was keenly watchful of the proceedings of the House, 
 weighing every measure with scrutinizing sagacity, but 
 except in the announcement of his vote his voice was 
 seldom heard. At the previous session, Mr. G. S. Hub- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 49 
 
 bard, afterwards a well-known citizen of Chicago, had 
 exerted himself to procure the passage of an act for the 
 construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. His 
 effort was defeated; but he continued, as a lobbyist, to 
 push the measure during several winters, until it was 
 finally adopted. Lincoln lent him efficient aid in the 
 accomplishment of his object. “Indeed,” remarks Mr. 
 Hubbard, “I very much doubt if the bill could have passed 
 as easily as it did without his valuable help.” “We were 
 thrown much together,” continues Mr. Hubbard, “our 
 intimacy increasing. I never had a friend to whom I was 
 more warmly attached. His character was almost 
 faultless; possessing a warm and generous heart, genial, 
 affable, honest, courteous to his opponents, persevering, 
 industrious in research, never losing sight of the principal 
 point under discussion, aptly illustrating by his stories 
 which were always brought into good effect. He was free 
 from political trickery or denunciation of the personal 
 character of his opponents. In debate he was firm and 
 collected. ‘With malice toward none, with charity for 
 all,’ he won the confidence of the public, even his political 
 opponents.” 
 
 Of all the stories of Lincoln’s boyhood and youth, the 
 most profoundly touching is that of his love for Anne 
 Rutledge. The existence of this romance was brief, but 
 it is believed by many that it was the memory of it which 
 threw over Lincoln that indescribable melancholy which 
 seemed to shadow his whole life. The Rutledges from 
 whom Anne was descended were an eminent family of the 
 Carolinas. She was about nineteen years old when 
 Lincoln knew her first. It was shortly after the Black 
 Hawk War. She was a winsome girl, with fair hair and 
 blue eyes, and Lincoln’s heart was captivated by her 
 sweet face and gentle manners. So attractive a girl was 
 not, of course, without suitors, and Anne had been wooed 
 by one James McNeill, a young man who had come to 
 
50 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 New Salem soon after the founding of the town. He had 
 been more than ordinarily successful, and had bought a 
 large farm a few miles north of the village. He was 
 unmarried — at least he so represented himself — and 
 paid devoted attention to Anne. They were engaged, 
 although both had acquiesced in the wishes of Anne’s 
 parents that they should not be married until she was 
 older. 
 
 About this time Lincoln appeared in New Salem and 
 went to board at the Rutledge tavern. Here he saw 
 Anne, and was much in her company. During the next 
 year McNeill became restless and discontented. He 
 said it was because he wanted to see his people. So he 
 decided to go East on a visit. He sold out his interests in 
 New Salem — an act not at all necessary if he were going 
 only on a visit, and which in the light of after events had 
 much significance — telling Anne that it was his hope to 
 bring his father and mother back with him and establish 
 them upon his farm. “This done,” he said, “we will be 
 married.” He then set out on his journey. 
 
 It was late in the summer before Anne heard from him. 
 He explained that he had been taken ill with chills and 
 fever on the way, and had been long delayed in getting 
 home. But the long wait had been a great strain upon 
 Anne. Lincoln, meanwhile, had become the postmaster 
 in New Salem, and it was to him that Anne came to 
 inquire for letters. He watched her anxiety with sym- 
 pathy, and in a way became her confidant. His tender 
 heart, which never could resist suffering, was deeply 
 touched at sight of her distress. Finally McNeill’s letters 
 ceased altogether; and then Anne confided to Lincoln 
 something which McNeill had told her before he left, and 
 which until now she had kept secret, — namely, that his 
 name was not McNeill but McNamar. He had explained 
 to her that he had made this change because his father had 
 failed in business and that as his oldest son it was his 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 51 
 
 duty to retrieve the family fortunes. So he had changed 
 his name, and come West, hoping to return in a few years 
 to his family a rich man. All this Anne had believed, and 
 had not repeated until now. 
 
 All New Salem joined in declaring McNamar an impostor 
 and his story a fabrication. “Who knew how many wives 
 he had?” they said. With one accord Anne’s friends 
 denounced him; and although his story turned out after- 
 ward to be not altogether false, it is small wonder that 
 Anne herself at last came to believe that either he was 
 dead or had ceased to love her. 
 
 While matters were in this state, Lincoln ventured to 
 show his love for Anne. It was a long time before she 
 would listen; but, convinced at last that her former lover 
 had deserted her, she promised, in the spring of 1835, to 
 become his wife. But Lincoln had nothing on which to 
 support a family, — in fact, could hardly support himself. 
 Besides, Anne was anxious to go to school another year. 
 So it was decided that she should spend the winter in an 
 academy in Jacksonville, while Lincoln devoted himself to 
 the study of the law. Then, when she should return from 
 school, he would be a member of the bar and they could 
 be married. 
 
 A happy spring and summer followed. All their friends 
 took an interest in the lovers, and their prospects seemed 
 bright. But Anne’s health began to fail. She could not 
 rid herself of her haunting memories. There was a 
 possibility that she had wronged McNamar. What if 
 he should love her still, and should return and find her 
 wedded to another? Had she wronged both men? In 
 her thoughts was perpetual conflict. The old love still 
 persisted. Her conscience troubled her. She doubted, 
 and was morbidly melancholy. All this wore upon her; 
 she fell ill. At last her condition became grave, then 
 hopeless. Lincoln was sent for. Anne’s last hour was 
 passed alone with him. She died at sunset, August 25, 
 
52 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 1835. An old neighbor who saw Lincoln just after his 
 parting with the dying girl says: “There were signs of the 
 most terrible distress in his face. His grief became frantic. 
 He lost all self-control, even the consciousness of his own 
 identity; and his closest friends in New Salem pronounced 
 him insane, crazy, mad. They watched him with especial 
 vigilance on dark and stormy days. At such times he 
 raved piteously, often saying, ‘I can never be reconciled 
 to having the snow fall and the rain beat upon her grave.’ ” 
 His old friend, Bowlin Greene, alone seemed possessed of 
 the power to quiet him. He took him to his own home and 
 kept him for several weeks, an object of undisguised 
 solicitude. At last it seemed safe to permit him to return 
 to his old haunts. Greene urged him to go back to the 
 law; and' he did so, but he was never the same man again. 
 He was thin, haggard, and careworn. He was as one who 
 had been at the brink of the grave. A long time after- 
 ward, when the grass had for nearly thirty years grown 
 over the grave of Anne Rutledge, Lincoln was one day 
 introduced to a man named Rutledge in the White House. 
 He looked at him a moment, then grasped his hand and 
 said with deep feeling: “I love the name of Rutledge to 
 this day. Anne was a lovely girl. She was natural, 
 well-educated. She would have made a good, loving 
 wife. I did honestly and truly love her, and I think 
 often, often of her now.” Mr. Herndon has said 
 that the love and the death of this young girl shattered 
 Lincoln’s purposes and tendencies. “He threw off his 
 infinite’ sorrow only by leaping wildly into the political 
 arena. He needed whip and spur to save him from 
 despair.” 
 
 The period of Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood and youth 
 had closed when he stood by the grave of Anne Rutledge. 
 He had long been a man in stature. He was now a man 
 in years; yet the rough path he had been forced to travel 
 had made his progress toward maturity painfully slow. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 53 
 
 In spite of his low birth, of his dire poverty, of the rudeness 
 and illiteracy of his associates, of the absence of refine- 
 ment in his surroundings, of his scanty means of education, 
 of his homely figure and awkward manners, of his coarse 
 fare and shabby dress, he dared to believe there was an 
 exalted career in store for him. He hewed out the founda- 
 tions for it with indomitable spirit. It was to be grounded 
 on manly virtues. It seems as though the boy felt the 
 consecration of a high destiny from the very dawn of his 
 intelligence, and it set him apart, secure amid the tempta- 
 tions and safe from the vices that corrupt many men. 
 In the rough garb of the backwoodsman he preserved the 
 instincts of a gentleman. He was the companion of 
 bullies and boors. He shared their work and their sports, 
 but he never stooped to their vulgarity. He very seldom 
 drank with them, and they never heard him speak an oath. 
 He could throw the stoutest in a wrestling match, and was 
 ready, when brought to it, to whip any insolent braggart 
 who made cruel use of his strength. He never flinched 
 from hardship or danger, yet his heart was as soft and 
 tender as a woman’s. The great gentle giant had a feeling 
 of sympathy for every living creature. He was not 
 ashamed to rock a cradle, or to carry a pail of water or 
 an armful of wood to spare a tired woman’s arms. Though 
 destitute of worldly goods, he was rich in friends. All the 
 people of his acquaintance knew they could count on his 
 doing the right thing always, so far as he was able. Hence 
 they trusted and loved him; and the title of “Honest 
 Abe,” which he bore through life, was a seal of knighthood 
 rarer and prouder than any king or queen could confer 
 with the sword. Abraham Lincoln was one of nature’s 
 noblemen. He showed himself a hero in every circum- 
 stance of his boyhood and youth. The elements of 
 greatness were visible even then. The boy who was true 
 to duty, patient in privation, modest in merit, kind to 
 every form of distress, determined to rise by wresting 
 
54 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 opportunities from the grudging hand of fate, was sure to 
 make a man distinguished among his fellows, — a man 
 noted among the great men of the world, as the boy had 
 been among his neighbors in the wilds of Spencer County 
 and New Salem. 
 
 The site of the town where Lincoln spent the last three 
 years of the period covered in this portion of his biography 
 is now a desolate waste. A gentleman who visited the 
 spot during the summer of 1885 thus describes the mourn- 
 ful scene: “From the hill where I sit, under the shade of 
 three trees whose branches make one, I look out over the 
 Sangamon river and its banks covered apparently with 
 primeval forests. Around are fields overgrown with 
 weeds and stunted oaks. It was a town of ten or twelve 
 years only. It began in 1824 and ended in 1836. Yet in 
 that time it had a history which the world will not let die 
 as long as it venerates the memory of the noble liberator 
 and martyr President, Abraham Lincoln.” 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Lincoln’s Beginning as a Lawyer — His Early Taste for Politics — 
 Lincoln and the Lightning-Rod Man — Not an Aristocrat — Reply 
 to Dr. Early — • A Manly Letter — Again in the Illinois Legislature 
 — The “Long Nine” — Lincoln on His Way to the Capital — His 
 Ambition in 1836 — First Meeting with Douglas — Removal of 
 the Illinois Capital — One of Lincoln’s Early Speeches — Pro- 
 Slavery Sentiment in Illinois — Lincoln’s Opposition to Slavery — 
 Contest with General Ewing — Lincoln Lays out a Town — The 
 Title “ Honest Abe.” 
 
 BRAHAM LINCOLN’S career as a lawyer covered 
 
 rv a period of a quarter of a century, beginning about 
 1834 or ’35, and ending with his election to the Presidency, 
 in November, 1860. When he began his professional life 
 he was an obscure and unpromising youth of twenty-five, 
 with but little learning and fewer accomplishments, and 
 without advantages of social influence or wealthy friends. 
 Step by step, with patient industry and unflinching de- 
 termination, he climbed the ladder of professional advance- 
 ment until he stood among the foremost lawyers of the 
 West. He had, indeed, won a national reputation; and 
 when he laid aside his law books, a mature man of fifty, 
 it was to enter upon the great honors and responsibilities 
 of the Presidency of the American Republic. 
 
 Lincoln was devoted to his profession, and his success 
 in it was earned by hard and constant application. But 
 his natural taste for politics led him to take a full share in 
 the activities of political life. He had already served a 
 term in the Illinois Legislature (1834-35), and so well 
 satisfied were his constituents that they renominated him 
 for the succeeding term. In the canvass which followed 
 he distinguished himself as a stump-speaker; showing, 
 
56 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 by his tact and ability, by the skill and ingenuity with 
 which he met his opponents in debate, by his shrewdness 
 in attack and readiness in retort, how much he had profited 
 by the training of the previous years. 
 
 An incident illustrating his ready wit and his keen 
 insight into human nature occurred early in this campaign, 
 at Springfield, where a public discussion was held between 
 the opposing candidates. An interesting version of this 
 incident is given by Mr. Arnold: “There lived at this time 
 in the most pretentious house in Springfield a prominent 
 citizen named George Forquer. He had been long in 
 public life, had been a leading Whig — the party to which 
 Lincoln belonged — but had lately gone over to the 
 Democrats, and had received from the Democratic admin- 
 istration an appointment to the lucrative post of Register 
 of the Land Office at Springfield. Upon his handsome 
 new house he had lately placed a lightning-rod, the first 
 one ever put up in Sangamon County. As Lincoln was 
 riding into town with his friends, they passed the fine house 
 of Forquer, and observed the novelty of the lightning-rod, 
 discussing the manner in which it protected the house 
 from being struck by lightning. In this discussion there 
 were seven Whig and seven Democratic candidates for 
 the lower branch of the Legislature; and after several had 
 spoken it fell to Lincoln to close the arguments. This he 
 did with great ability. Forquer, though not a candidate, 
 then asked to be heard for the Democrats in reply to 
 Lincoln. He was a good speaker and well-known through- 
 out the county. His special task that day was to attack 
 and ridicule the young man from Salem. Turning to 
 Lincoln, who stood within a few feet of him, he said: 
 ‘This young man must be taken down, and I am truly 
 sorry that the task devolves upon me.’ He then pro- 
 ceeded, in a very overbearing way, and with an assumption 
 of great superiority, to attack Lincoln and his speech. 
 Lincoln stood calm, but his flashing eye and pale cheek 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 57 
 
 showed his indignation. As soon as Forquer had closed 
 he took the stand and first answered his opponent’s argu- 
 ments fully and triumphantly. So impressive were his 
 words and manner that a hearer believes that he can 
 remember to this day, and repeat, some of the expressions. 
 Among other things, he said: ‘The gentleman com- 
 menced his speech by saying that this young man — allud- 
 ing to me — must be taken down. I am not so young 
 in years as I am in the tricks and trades of a politician; 
 but,’ said he, pointing to Forquer, ‘live long or die young, 
 I would rather die now, than, like the gentleman, change 
 my politics for a three thousand dollar office, and then 
 feel obliged to erect a lightning-rod over my house to 
 protect a guilty conscience from the vengeance of an 
 offended God!”’ 
 
 “It is difficult to-day,” says Mr. Arnold, “to appreciate 
 the effect on the old settlers, of this figure. This light- 
 ning-rod was the first which most of those present had ever 
 seen. They had slept all their lives in their cabins in 
 conscious security. Here was a man who seemed, to these 
 simple-minded people, to be afraid to sleep in his own 
 house without special and extraordinary protection from 
 Almighty God. These old settlers thought nothing but 
 the consciousness of guilt, the stings of a guilty conscience, 
 could account for such timidity. Forquer and his light- 
 ning-rod were talked over in every settlement from 
 Sangamon to the Illinois and the Wabash. Whenever 
 he rose to speak thereafter, they said, ‘There is the man 
 who dare not sleep in his own house without a lightning- 
 rod to keep off the vengeance of the Almighty.’” 
 
 Another amusing incident of the same campaign, and 
 one which illustrates Lincoln’s love of a practical joke, is 
 given as follows: “Among the Democrats stumping the 
 county at this time was one Dick Taylor, a most pompous 
 person, who was always arrayed in the richest attire — 
 ruffled shirts, seals, etc., besides a rich embroidered vest. 
 
58 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Notwithstanding this array, he made great pretentions of 
 being one of the ‘hard-handed yeomanry,’ and ridiculed 
 with much sarcasm the ‘rag barons’ and ‘manufacturing 
 lords ’ of the Whig party. One day, when he was particu- 
 larly aggravating in a speech of this kind, Lincoln decided 
 on a little sport, and sidling up to Taylor suddenly threw 
 open the latter’s coat, showing to the astonished spectators 
 a glittering mass of ruffled shirt, gold watch, and glittering 
 jewels. The crowd shouted uproariously. Lincoln said: 
 ‘While he [Colonel Taylor] was making these charges 
 against the Whigs over the country, riding in fine carriages, 
 wearing ruffled shirts, kid gloves, massive gold watch- 
 chains with large gold seals, and flourishing a heavy gold- 
 headed cane, I was a poor boy, hired on a flatboat at eight 
 dollars a month, and had only one pair of breeches to my 
 name, and they were buckskin, — and if you know the 
 nature of buckskin, when wet and dried by the sun it will 
 shrink, — and mine kept shrinking until they left several 
 inches of my legs bare between the tops of my socks and 
 the lower part of my breeches. Whilst I was growing 
 taller, they were becoming shorter and so much tighter that 
 they left a blue streak around my legs that can be seen to 
 this day. If you call this aristocracy, I plead guilty to the 
 charge.’” 
 
 “The Saturday evening preceding the election,” says 
 Mr. Lamon, “the candidates were addressing the people 
 in the Court House at Springfield. Dr. Early, one of 
 the candidates on the Democratic side, made some 
 charge which Mr. N. W. Edwards, one of the candidates 
 on the Whig side, deemed untrue. Edwards climbed on 
 a table, so as to be seen by Early and by everyone in the 
 house, and at the top of his voice told Early that the 
 charge was false. The excitement that followed was in- 
 tense - — so much so that fighting men thought a duel 
 must settle the difficulty. Lincoln, by the programme, 
 followed Early. He took up the subject in dispute and 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 59 
 
 handled it fairly and with such ability that everyone was 
 astonished and pleased. So that difficulty ended there. 
 Then for the first time, aroused by the excitement of the 
 occasion, he spoke in that tenor intonation of voice that 
 ultimately settled down into that clear, shrill monotone 
 style that afterwards characterized his public speaking, 
 and enabled his audience, however large, to hear distinctly 
 the lowest sound of his voice.” Mr. Arnold says’ that 
 Lincoln’s reply to Dr. Early was “often spoken of as 
 exhibiting wonderful ability, and a crushing power of 
 sarcasm and ridicule. When he began he was embar- 
 rassed, spoke slowly and with some hesitation and diffi- 
 culty. But becoming excited by his subject, he forgot 
 himself entirely, and went on with argument and wit, 
 anecdote and ridicule, until his opponent was completely 
 crushed. Old settlers of Sangamon County who heard 
 this reply speak of his personal transformation as wonder- 
 ful. When Lincoln began, they say, he seemed awkward, 
 homely, unprepossessing. As he went on, and became 
 excited, his figure rose to its full height and became com- 
 manding and majestic. His plain face was illuminated 
 and glowed with expression. His dreamy eye flashed with 
 inspiration, and his whole person, his voice, his gestures, 
 were full of the magnetism of powerful feeling, of conscious 
 strength and true eloquence.” 
 
 The inflexible honesty and fine sense of honor which 
 lay at the foundation of Lincoln’s character are nobly 
 exhibited in the following letter to a former friend but 
 now political opponent, Col. Robert Allen: 
 
 Dear Colonel: — I am told that during my absence 
 last week, you passed through this place, and stated pub- 
 licly that you were in possession of a fact or facts which, 
 if known to the public, would entirely destroy the prospects 
 of N. W. Edwards and myself at the ensuing election, but 
 that through favor to us you would forbear to divulge 
 them. No one has needed favors more than I, and 
 generally few have been less unwilling to accept them; 
 
60 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 but in this case favor to me would be injustice to the 
 public, and therefore I must beg your pardon for declining 
 it. That I once had the confidence of the people of Sanga- 
 mon County is sufficiently evident; and if I have since done 
 anything, either by design or misadventure, which if known 
 would subject me to a forfeiture of that confidence, he 
 who knows of that thing and conceals it is a traitor to his 
 country’s interest. 
 
 I find myself wholly unable to form any conjecture of 
 what fact or facts, real or supposed, you spoke. But my 
 opinion of your veracity will not permit me for a moment 
 to doubt that you at least believed what you said. I am 
 flattered with the personal regard you manifested for me; 
 but I do hope that on more mature reflection you will 
 view the public interest as a paramount consideration, 
 and therefore determine to let the worst come. 
 
 I assure you that the candid statement of facts on your 
 part, however low it may sink me, shall never break the 
 ties of personal friendship between us. 
 
 I wish an answer to this, and you are at liberty to pub- 
 lish both if you choose. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 Col. Robert Allen. 
 
 The campaign resulted in Lincoln’s election to the 
 Legislature of 1836. The nine delegates from Sangamon 
 County happened to be men of remarkable stature, 
 each one measuring six feet or more in height; and 
 very naturally they were nicknamed the “Long Nine.” 
 Lincoln overtopped all the rest, and as a consequence 
 was called “the Sangamon Chief.” The State capital 
 was then at Vandalia; and Lincoln’s journey there 
 from Springfield was made mainly on foot. As he 
 was trudging along the muddy road, he fell in with 
 Judge John Dean Caton, one of the early lawyers 
 of Illinois, afterwards Chief Justice of the State, who 
 became an intimate friend of Lincoln. Judge Caton 
 gives an interesting account of their first meeting, 
 which occurred at this time. “I first met Mr. Lincoln,” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 61 
 
 says Judge Caton, “about the last of November, 1835, 
 when on my way to Vandalia to join the Supreme Court, 
 which met there the first Monday in December, at the 
 same time as the meeting of the Legislature. There were 
 a great many people and all sorts of vehicles on the road 
 from Springfield to Vandalia. The roads were very bad, 
 and most of the passengers got out and walked a con- 
 siderable portion of the distance. It seemed almost like 
 the movement of a little army. While walking thus along 
 the side of the road I met Mr. Lincoln for the first time, 
 and in the course of a two days’ journey we became quite 
 well acquainted. If he had been admitted to the bar at 
 that time, he had not become known as a lawyer out of 
 his own immediate circuit. He was going to Vandalia as 
 a member of the Legislature. He was one of the ‘Long 
 Nine,’ as it was called, from Sangamon County, who by 
 their successful manoeuvring and united efforts succeeded 
 in getting the seat of government moved from Vandalia 
 to Springfield. During my stay of a few weeks in Vandalia 
 I frequently met Mr. Lincoln. He was a very pleasant 
 companion; but as we walked along the road on the occa- 
 sion referred to, talking about indifferent subjects, nothing 
 impressed me with any idea of his future greatness.” 
 
 When Lincoln took his seat in the first session of the 
 new Legislature at Vandalia, his mind was full of new 
 projects. His real public service was now about to begin, 
 and having spent his time in the previous Legislature 
 mainly as an observer and listener he was determined dur- 
 ing this session to identify himself conspicuously with the 
 “liberal” progressive legislation, dreaming of a fame far 
 different from that he actually obtained as an anti- 
 slavery leader. As he remarked to his friend Speed, he 
 hoped to obtain the great distinction of being called “the 
 De Witt Clinton of Illinois.” 
 
 It was at a special session of this Legislature that 
 Lincoln first saw Stephen A. Douglas, his great political 
 
62 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 antagonist of the future, whom he describes as “the least 
 man” he ever saw. Douglas had come into the State 
 from Vermont only the previous year, and having studied 
 law for several months considered himself eminently 
 qualified to be State’s attorney for the district in which 
 he lived. General Linder says of the two men at this 
 time: “I here had an opportunity, better than any I had 
 previously possessed, of measuring the intellectual stature 
 of Abraham Lincoln. He was then about twenty-seven 
 years old — my own age. Douglas was four years our 
 junior; consequently he could not have been over twenty- 
 three years old. Yet he was a very ready and expert 
 debater, even at that early period of his life. He and 
 Lincoln were very frequently pitted against each other, 
 being of different politics. They both commanded 
 marked attention and respect.” 
 
 A notable measure effected by the “Long Nine” during 
 this session of the Legislature was the removal of the 
 State Capital from Vandalia to Springfield. It was ac- 
 complished by dint of shrewd and persistent management, 
 in which Lincoln was a leading spirit. Mr. Robert 
 L. Wilson, one of his colleagues, says: “When our bill to 
 all appearance was dead beyond resuscitation, and our 
 friends could see no hope, Lincoln never for a moment 
 despaired. Collecting his colleagues in his room for 
 consultation, his practical common-sense, his thorough 
 knowledge of human nature, made him an overmatch for 
 his compeers, and for any man I have ever known.” 
 
 Lincoln’s reputation as an orator was gradually extend- 
 ing beyond the circle of his friends and constituents. He 
 was gaining notice as a ready and forcible speaker, with 
 shrewd and sensible ideas which he expressed with striking 
 originality and independence. He was invited to address 
 the Young Men’s Lyceum at Springfield, January 27, 
 1837, and read a carefully prepared paper on “The Per- 
 petuation of Our Political Institutions,” which was after- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 63 
 
 wards published in the Springfield “Weekly Journal.” 
 The address was crude and strained in style, but the feeling 
 pervading it was fervent and honest, and its patriotic 
 sentiment and sound reflection made it effective for the 
 occasion. A few paragraphs culled from this paper, some 
 of them containing remarkable prophetic passages, afford 
 a clue to the stage of intellectual development which 
 Lincoln had reached at the age of twenty-seven, and an 
 interesting contrast with the terser style of his later years. 
 
 In the great journal of things happening under the sun, 
 we, the American people, find our account running under 
 date of the nineteenth century of the Christian era. We 
 find ourselves in the peaceful possession of the fairest 
 portion of the earth, as regards extent of territory, fertility 
 of soil, and salubrity of climate. We find ourselves under 
 the government of a system of political institutions con- 
 ducing more essentially to the ends of civil and religious 
 liberty than any of which the history of former times tells 
 us. We, when mounting the stage of existence, found 
 ourselves the legal inheritors of these fundamental bless- 
 ings. W T e toiled not in the acquisition or establishment of 
 them; they are a legacy bequeathed us by a once hardy, 
 brave and patriotic, but now lamented and departed race 
 of ancestors. Theirs was the task (and nobly they per- 
 formed it) to possess themselves, and, through them- 
 selves, us, of this goodly land, and to uprear upon its hills 
 and valleys a political edifice of liberty and equal rights; 
 ’tis ours only to transmit these — the former unprofaned 
 by the foot of an invader, the latter undecayed by the 
 lapse of time and untorn by usurpation - — to the latest 
 generation that fate shall permit the world to know. 
 This task, gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, 
 duty to posterity, all imperatively require us faithfully 
 to perform. 
 
 How, then, shall we perform it? At what point shall we 
 expect the approach of danger? Shall we expect some 
 transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us 
 at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and 
 Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our 
 own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte 
 for a commander, could not, by force, take a drink from 
 
64 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of 
 a thousand years ! At what point, then, is the approach of 
 danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it 
 must spring up amongst ourselves. It cannot come from 
 abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be 
 its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we must 
 live through all time, or die by suicide. I hope I am not 
 over-wary; but, if I am not, there is even now something 
 of ill-omen amongst us. I mean the increasing disregard 
 for law which pervades the country, the growing disposi- 
 tion to substitute the wild and furious passions in lieu of 
 the sober judgment of the courts, and the worse than 
 savage mobs for the executive ministers of justice. This 
 disposition is awfully fearful in any community; and that 
 it now exists in ours, though grating to our feelings to ad- 
 mit it, it would be a violation of truth and an insult to our 
 intelligence to deny. Accounts of outrages committed by 
 mobs form the every-day news of the times. They have 
 pervaded the country from New England to Louisiana; 
 they are neither peculiar to the eternal snows of the former, 
 nor the burning sun of the latter. They are not the 
 creature of climate; neither are they confined to the 
 slaveholding or non-slaveholding States. Alike they 
 spring up among the pleasure-hunting masters of Southern 
 slaves and the order-loving citizens of the land of steady 
 habits. Whatever their course may be, it is common to 
 the whole country. Here, then, is one point at which 
 danger may be expected. The question recurs, How shall 
 we fortify against it? The answer is simple. Let every 
 American, every lover of liberty, every well-wisher to his 
 posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to 
 violate in the least particular the laws of the country, and 
 never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots 
 of ‘seventy-six’ did to the support of the Declaration of 
 Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and the 
 Laws let every American pledge his life, his property, and 
 his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate 
 the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to 
 tear the charter of his own and his children’s liberty. Let 
 reverence for the laws be breathed by every American 
 mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap. Let it 
 be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges. Let 
 it be written in primers, spelling-books, and in almanacs. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 65 
 
 Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legisla- 
 tive halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, 
 let it become the political religion of the nation. 
 
 During the years of Lincoln’s service in the Illinois 
 Legislature the Democratic party was strongly dominant 
 throughout the State. The feeling on the subject of 
 slavery was decidedly in sympathy with the South. A 
 large percentage of the settlers in the southern and middle 
 portions of Illinois were from States in which slave labor 
 was maintained; and although the determination not to 
 per mi t the institution to obtain a foothold in the new 
 commonwealth was general, the people were opposed to 
 any action which should affect its condition where it 
 was already established. During the sessions of 1836-7 
 resolutions of an extreme pro-slavery character were 
 carried through the Legislature by the Democratic party, 
 aiming to prevent the Abolitionists from obtaining a 
 foothold in the State. Lincoln could not conscientiously 
 support the resolutions, nor hold his peace concerning 
 them. He did not shrink from the issue, but at the 
 hazard of losing his political popularity and the gratifying 
 prospects that were opening before him he drew up a 
 protest against the pro-slavery enactment and had it 
 entered upon the Journal of the House. The state of 
 public opinion in Illinois at that time may be judged by 
 the fact that of the hundred Representatives in the House 
 only one had the courage to sign the protest with him. 
 Lincoln’s protest was as follows: 
 
 March 3, 1837. 
 
 The following protest, presented to the House, was read 
 and ordered to be spread on the journals, to wit: 
 
 Resolutions upon the subject of domestic slavery having 
 passed both branches of the General Assembly at its pres- 
 ent session, the undersigned hereby protest against the 
 passage of the same. 
 
 They believe that the institution of slavery is founded 
 on both injustice and bad policy; but that the promulga- 
 
66 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 tion of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than 
 abate its evils. 
 
 They believe that the Congress of the United States has 
 no power, under the Constitution, to interfere with the 
 institution of slavery in the different States. 
 
 They believe that the Congress of the United States has 
 the power, under the Constitution, to abolish slavery in 
 the District of Columbia, but that the power ought not to 
 be exercised, unless at the request of the people of the 
 District. 
 
 The difference between these opinions and those con- 
 tained in the said resolutions, is their reason for entering 
 this protest. 
 
 (Signed) Dan Stone, 
 
 A. Lincoln, 
 
 Representatives from the County of Sangamon. 
 
 The great financial panic which swept over the country 
 in 1837 rendered expedient an extra session of the Legisla- 
 ture, which was called together in July. General Lee D. 
 Ewing had been elected to this session from Fayette 
 County for the express purpose of repealing the law re- 
 moving the capital from Vandalia to Springfield. “Gen- 
 eral Ewing was,” says Mr. Linder, “a man of considerable 
 notoriety, popularity, and talents. He had been a 
 member of Congress from Illinois, and had filled various 
 State offices in his time. He was a man of elegant man- 
 ners, great personal courage, and would grace either the 
 salons of fashion or the Senate chamber at Washington. 
 The Legislature opened its special session (I was there as a 
 spectator), and General Ewing sounded the tocsin of war. 
 He said that ‘the arrogance of Springfield, its presumption 
 in claiming the seat of government, was not to be endured; 
 that the law had been passed by chicanery and trickery; 
 that the Springfield delegation had sold out to the internal 
 improvement men, and had promised their support to 
 every measure that would gain them a vote to the law 
 removing the seat of government.’ He said many other 
 things, cutting and sarcastic. Lincoln was chosen by 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 67 
 
 his colleagues to reply to Ewing; and I want to say here 
 that this was the first time that I began to conceive a very 
 high opinion of the talents and personal courage of Abra- 
 ham Lincoln. He retorted upon Ewing with great severity, 
 denouncing his insinuations imputing corruption to 
 him and his colleagues, and paying back with usury all 
 that Ewing had said, when everybody thought and 
 believed that he was digging his own grave; for it was 
 known that Ewing would not quietly pocket any insinua- 
 tions that would degrade him personally. I recollect his 
 reply to Lincoln well. After addressing the Speaker, he 
 turned to the Sangamon delegation, who all sat in the 
 same portion of the house, and said: ‘Gentlemen, have 
 you no other champion than this coarse and vulgar fellow 
 to bring into the lists against me? Do you suppose that 
 I Will condescend to break a lance with your low and 
 obscure colleague?’ We were all very much alarmed for 
 fear there would be a personal conflict between Ewing and 
 Lincoln. It was confidently believed that a challenge 
 must pass between them; but friends on both sides took 
 the matter in hand, and it was settled without anything 
 serious growing out of it.” 
 
 When the legislative session ended, in February, 1837, 
 Lincoln returned to a job of surveying which he had 
 begun a year before at Petersburg, near his old home at 
 Salem. He spent a month or two at Petersburg, com- 
 pleting the surveying and planning of the towm. That 
 his work was well and satisfactorily done is attested by 
 many — among them by Mr. John Bennett, w r ho lived in 
 Petersburg at the time. “My earliest acquaintance with 
 Lincoln,” says Mr. Bennett, “began on his return from 
 Vandalia, where he had spent the winter as a member 
 of the Legislature from Sangamon County. Lincoln spent 
 most of the month of March in Petersburg, finishing up 
 the survey and planning of the town he had commenced 
 the year before. I was a great deal in his company, and 
 
68 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 formed a high estimate of his worth and social qualities, 
 which was strengthened by many years of subsequent 
 social intercourse and business transactions, finding him 
 always strictly honest. In fact, he was now generally 
 spoken of in this region as ‘Honest Abe.’ After Menard 
 County was formed out of a portion of Sangamon County, 
 and the county seat established at Petersburg, Mr. Lincoln 
 was a regular attendant at the courts. I was then keeping 
 a hotel, and he was one of my regular customers. Here 
 he met many of his old cronies of his early days at Salem, 
 and they spent the most of the nights in telling stories or 
 spinning long yarns, of which Mr. Lincoln was particularly 
 fond.” 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Lincoln’s Removal to Springfield — A Lawyer without Clients or Money 
 — Early Discouragements — Proposes to Become a Carpenter — 
 “ Stuart & Lincoln, Attorneys at Law ” — “ Riding the Circuit ” — 
 Incidents of a Trip Round the Circuit — Pen Pictures of Lincoln — 
 Humane Traits — Kindness to Animals — Defending Fugitive 
 Slaves — Incidents in Lincoln’s Life as a Lawyer — His Fondness 
 for Jokes and Stories. 
 
 INCOLN’S removal from New Salem to Springfield, 
 
 Lj where his more active life as a lawyer began, oc- 
 curred in April, 1837, soon after the completion of his 
 survey work at Petersburg. The event was closely 
 connected with the removal of the State capital from 
 Vandalia to Springfield, the law for which was passed at 
 the legislative session of 1836-7. As has been stated, 
 Lincoln was a member of that Legislature and was active 
 in procuring the passage of the bill. The citizens of 
 Springfield were very desirous of the removal of the 
 capital to their town, and many of them were present at 
 the session when the measure was up for discussion. They 
 had thus become acquainted with Lincoln; they were 
 favorably impressed as to his abilities and character, and 
 pleased with his efforts in the matter in which they were 
 so greatly interested. Through their influence and 
 encouragement he chose Springfield as his future home. 
 
 Lincoln’s first interview, after his arrival in Springfield, 
 was with Mr. Joshua F. Speed, with whom he already had 
 a slight acquaintance, and who details the circumstances 
 of their meeting. “He had ridden into town,” says Mr. 
 Speed, “on a borrowed horse, with no earthly property 
 save a pair of saddle-bags containing a few clothes. I was 
 a merchant at Springfield, and kept a large country store, 
 
70 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 embracing dry goods, groceries, hardware, books, medi- 
 cines, bed-clothes, mattresses, — in fact, everything that 
 country people needed. Lincoln came into the store 
 with his saddle-bags on his arm, and said he wanted to 
 buy the fixings for a single bed. The mattresses, blankets, 
 sheets, coverlid, and pillow, according to the figures made 
 by me, would cost seventeen dollars. He said that was 
 perhaps cheap enough, but small as the sum was he was 
 unable to pay it. But if I would credit him till Christmas, 
 and his experiment as a lawyer was a success, he would 
 pay then; adding, in the saddest tone, ‘If I fail in this, 
 I do not know that I can ever pay you.’ As I looked up 
 at him I thought then, and think now, that I never saw a 
 sadder face. I said to him, ‘You seem to be so much 
 pained at contracting so small a debt, I think I can suggest 
 a plan by which you can avoid the debt and at the same 
 time attain your end. I have a large room with a double 
 bed up-stairs which you are very welcome to share with 
 me.’ ‘Where is your room?’ said he. ‘L T p-stairs,’ said 
 I, pointing to a pair of winding stairs which led from the 
 store to my room. He took his saddle-bags on his arm, 
 went up-stairs, set them down on the floor, and came 
 down with the most changed countenance. Beaming with 
 pleasure, he exclaimed, ‘Well, Speed, I’m moved!’ Lincoln 
 was then twenty-eight years old. He was a lawyer with- 
 out a client, with no money, all his earthly wealth con- 
 sisting of the clothes he wore and the contents of his 
 saddle-bags.” 
 
 Lincoln shared the same room with Mr. Speed during his 
 early residence in Springfield, taking his meals with his 
 companion at the house of Mr. William Butler, with 
 whom he boarded for five years. His professional ad- 
 vancement at first was slow, and he had periods of great 
 discouragement. An old settler of Illinois, named Page 
 Eaton, says: “I knew Lincoln when he first came to 
 Springfield. He was an awkward but hard-working 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 71 
 
 young man. Everybody said he would never make a 
 good lawyer because he was too honest. He came to my 
 shop one day, after he had been here five or six months, 
 and said he had a notion to quit studying law and learn 
 carpentering. He thought there was more need of car- 
 penters out here than lawyers.” Soon after Lincoln’s 
 settlement in Springfield, he formed a law partnership 
 with Major John T. Stuart, whom he had known for some 
 years and who already had a good position at the bar. 
 This partnership began, according to the statement of 
 Major Stuart, on April £7, 1837. It continued just four 
 years, when it was dissolved, and Lincoln and Judge 
 Stephen T. Logan became partners. This latter partner- 
 ship continued about two years, when, on September £0, 
 1843, the firm of Lincoln & Herndon was formed, and 
 it continued to the time of Lincoln’s death. 
 
 When Lincoln began to practice law, it was the custom 
 in Illinois to “ride the circuit,” a proceeding of which the 
 older communities of the East know nothing. The State 
 of Illinois, for instance, is divided into a number of districts, 
 each composed of a number of counties, of which a single 
 judge, appointed or elected as the case may be, for that 
 purpose, makes the circuit, holding courts at each county 
 seat. Railroads being scarce, the earlier circuit judges 
 made their trips from county to county on horseback or 
 in a gig; and the prominent lawyers living within the 
 limits of the circuit made the tour of the circuit with the 
 judge. It is said that when Lincoln first began to 
 “ride the circuit” he was too poor to own a horse or 
 vehicle, and was compelled to borrow from his friends. 
 But in due time he became the proprietor of a horse, which 
 he fed and groomed himself, and to which he was very 
 much attached. On this animal he would set out from 
 home, to be gone for weeks together, with no baggage but 
 a pair of saddle-bags containing a change of linen, and an 
 old cotton umbrella to shelter him from sun or rain. 
 
72 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 When he got a little more of this world’s goods he set up 
 a one-horse buggy, a very sorry and shabby-looking affair 
 which he generally used when the weather promised to be 
 bad. The other lawyers were always glad to see him, and 
 landlords hailed his coming with pleasure; but he was one 
 of those gentle, uncomplaining men whom they would 
 put off with indifferent accommodations. It was a signifi- 
 cant remark of a lawyer who was thoroughly acquainted 
 with his habits and disposition that “Lincoln was never 
 seated next the landlord at a crowded table, and never 
 got a chicken-liver or the best cut from the roast.” Lincoln 
 once remarked to Mr. Gillespie that he never felt his own 
 unworthiness so much as when in the presence of a hotel 
 clerk or waiter. If rooms were scarce, and one, two, three, 
 or four gentlemen were required to lodge together in order 
 to accommodate some surly man who “stood upon his 
 rights,” Lincoln was sure to be one of the unfortunates. 
 Yet he loved the life of the circuit, and never went home 
 without reluctance. 
 
 In describing the many experiences of the lawyers 
 who travelled the circuits at this period, Mr. Arnold 
 says: “The State was settled with a hardy, fearless, 
 honest, but very litigious population. The court-house 
 was sometimes framed and boarded, but more fre- 
 quently it was built of logs. The judge sat upon a 
 raised platform behind a rough board, sometimes covered 
 with green baize, for a table on which to write his notes. 
 A small table stood on the floor in front for the clerk. 
 In the center of the room was another larger table around 
 which in rude chairs the lawyers were grouped, too often 
 with their feet on top of it. Rough benches were placed 
 there for the jury, the parties to the suit, witnesses and 
 bystanders. The court-rooms were nearly always crowded 
 for here were rehearsed and acted the dramas, the trag- 
 edies, and the comedies of real life. The court-house has 
 always been a very attractive place to the people of the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 73 
 
 frontier. It supplied the place of theatres, lecture and 
 concert rooms, and other places of interest and amuse- 
 ment in the older settlements and towns. The leading 
 lawyers and judges were the star actors, and had each his 
 partisans. Hence crowds attended the courts to see the 
 judges, to hear the lawyers contend, with argument and 
 law and wit, for success, victory, and fame. The merits 
 and ability of the leading advocates, their success or 
 discomfiture in examining or cross-examining a witness, 
 the ability of this or that one to obtain a verdict, were 
 canvassed at every cabin-raising, bee, or horse-race, and 
 at every log-house and school in the county. Thus the 
 lawyers were stimulated to the utmost exertion of their 
 powers, not only by controversy and desire of success, 
 but by the consciousness that their efforts were watched 
 with eagerness by friends, clients, partisans, or rivals. 
 From one to another of these rude court-houses the 
 gentlemen of the bar passed, following the judge around 
 his circuits from county to county, travelling generally 
 on horseback, with saddle-bags, brushes, an extra shirt or 
 two, and perhaps two or three law books. Sometimes 
 two or three lawyers would unite and travel in a buggy, 
 and the poorer and younger ones not seldom walked. 
 But a horse was not an unusual fee, and in those days when 
 horse thieves as clients were but too common, it was not 
 long before a young man of ability found himself well 
 mounted. 
 
 “ There was very great freedom in social intercourse. 
 Manners were rude, but genial, kind, and friendly. Each 
 was always ready to assist his fellows, and selfishness was 
 not tolerated. The relations between the bench and bar 
 were familiar, free and easy. Flashes of wit and humor 
 and repartee were constantly exchanged. Such was the 
 life upon which Lincoln now entered; and there gathered 
 with him around those pine tables of the frontier court- 
 house a very remarkable combination of men, men who 
 
74 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 would have been leaders of the bar at Boston or New York, 
 Philadelphia or Washington; men who would have made 
 their mark in Westminster Hall, or upon any English 
 circuit. At the capital were John T. Stuart, Stephen T. 
 Logan, Edward D. Baker, Ninian W. Edwards, Josiah 
 Lamborn, and many others. Among the leading lawyers 
 from other parts of the State who practiced in the Supreme 
 and Federal Courts at the capital were Stephen A. Douglas; 
 Lyman Trumbull, for many years chairman of the judiciary 
 committee of the United States Senate; O. II. Browning, 
 Senator and member of the Cabinet at Washington; 
 William H. Bissell, Member of Congress, and Governor 
 of the State; David Davis, justice of the Supreme Court, 
 Senator and Vice-President of the United States; Justin 
 Butterfield of Chicago, and many others almost or quite 
 equally distinguished. This ‘circuit riding’ involved all 
 sorts of adventures. Hard fare at miserable country 
 taverns, sleeping on the floor, and fording streams, were 
 every-day occurrences. All such occurrences were met 
 with good humor and often turned into sources of frolic 
 and fun. In fording swollen streams, Lincoln was fre- 
 quently sent forward as a scout or pioneer. His extremely 
 long legs enabled him, by taking off his boots and stock- 
 ings, and by rolling up or otherwise disposing of his 
 trousers, to test the depth of the stream, find the most 
 shallow water, and thus to pilot the party through the 
 current without wetting his garments.” 
 
 A gentleman who lived in one of the judicial circuits of 
 Illinois in which Lincoln had an extensive though not very 
 lucrative practice gives some graphic and interesting 
 reminiscences. “The terms of the court were held quar- 
 terly and usually lasted about two weeks. They were 
 always seasons of great importance and much gayety in 
 the little town that had the honor of being the county 
 seat. Distinguished members of the bar from surrounding 
 and even from distant counties, ex-judges and ex-Members 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 75 
 
 of Congress, attended and were personally and many of 
 them popularly known to almost every adult, male and 
 female, of the limited population. They came in by stages 
 and on horseback. Among them the one whose arrival 
 was looked forward to with the most pleasurable anticipa- 
 tions, and whose possible absence — although he almost 
 never was absent — was feared with the liveliest emotions 
 of anxiety, was ‘Uncle Abe,’ as he was lovingly called by 
 us all. Sometimes he might happen to be a day or two 
 late. Then, as the Bloomington stage came in at sundown, 
 the bench and bar, jurors and citizens, would gather in 
 crowds at the hotel where he always put up, to give him a 
 welcome if, happily, he should arrive, and to experience 
 the keenest feelings of disappointment if he should not. 
 If he arrived, as he alighted and stretched out both his 
 long arms to shake hands with those nearest to him and 
 with those who approached, his homely face handsome in 
 its broad and sunshiny smile, his voice touching in its 
 kindly and cheerful accents, everyone in his presence felt 
 lighter in heart and more joyous. He brought light with 
 him. He loved his fellow-men with all the strength of his 
 great nature, and those who came in contact with him 
 could not help reciprocating the love.” 
 
 Another old friend describes Lincoln as being at this 
 time “very plain in his costume, as well as rather uncourtly 
 in his address and general appearance. His clothing was 
 of home Kentucky jean, and the first impression made by 
 his tall, lank figure upon those who saw him was not 
 specially prepossessing. He had not outgrown his hard 
 backwoods experience, and showed no inclination to dis- 
 guise or to cast behind him the honest and manly though 
 unpolished characteristics of his earlier days. Never was 
 a man further removed from all snobbish affectation. As 
 little was there, also, of the demagogue art of assuming an 
 uncouthness or rusticity of manner and outward habit 
 with the mistaken notion of thus securing particular 
 
76 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 favor as ‘one of the masses.’ He chose to appear then, 
 as in all his later life, precisely what he was. His deport- 
 ment was unassuming, though without any awkwardness 
 of reserve.” 
 
 Mr. Crane, an old settler of Tazewell County, says he 
 used to see Lincoln when passing through Washington, 
 in that county, on his way to attend court at Metamora; 
 and he remembers him as “dressed in a homespun coat 
 that came below his knees and was out at both elbows.” 
 
 Lincoln’s tenderness of heart was displayed in his 
 treatment of animals, toward which he was often perform- 
 ing unusual acts of kindness. On one occasion, as Mr. 
 Speed relates, Lincoln and the other members of the 
 Springfield bar had been attending court at Christiansburg, 
 and Mr. Speed was riding with them toward Springfield. 
 There was quite a party of these lawyers, riding two by 
 two along a country lane. Lincoln and John J. Hardin 
 brought up the rear of the cavalcade. “We had passed 
 through a thicket of wild plum and crab-apple trees,” 
 says Mr. Speed, “and stopped to water our horses. 
 Hardin came up alone. ‘Where is Lincoln?’ we inquired. 
 ‘Oh,’ replied he, ‘when I saw him last he had caught two 
 young birds which the wind had blown out of their nests, 
 and he was hunting the nest to put them back.’ In a 
 short time Lincoln came up, having found the nest and 
 placed the young birds in it. The party laughed at him; 
 but he said, ‘I could not have slept if I had not restored 
 those little birds to their mother.’” 
 
 Again, as Dr. Holland narrates, “Lincoln was one day 
 riding by a deep slough or pit in which, to his exceeding 
 pain, he saw a pig struggling, and with such faint efforts 
 that it was evident that he could not extricate himself. 
 Lincoln looked at the pig and the mud that enveloped him, 
 and then looked ruefully at some new clothes in which 
 he had but a short time before enveloped himself. Decid- 
 ing against the claims of the pig he rode on; but he could 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 77 
 
 not get rid of the vision of the poor brute, and at last, 
 after riding two miles, he turned back, determined to rescue 
 the animal at the expense of his new clothes. Arrived at 
 the spot, he tied his horse, and coolly went to work to build 
 of old rails a passage to the bottom of the hole. Descend- 
 ing on these rails, he seized the pig and dragged him out, 
 but not without serious damage to the clothes he wore. 
 Washing his hands in the nearest brook and wiping them 
 on the grass, he mounted his gig and rode along. He 
 then fell to examining the motive that sent him back to 
 the release of the pig. At the first thought it seemed to be 
 pure benevolence; but at length he came to the conclusion 
 that it was selfishness, for he certainly went to the pig’s 
 relief in order (as he said to the friend to whom he related 
 the incident) to ‘take a pain out of his own mind.’” 
 
 Instances showing the integrity, candor, unselfishness, 
 and humanity of Lincoln’s conduct in his law practice 
 could be multiplied indefinitely. The following are 
 given by Dr. Holland: “The lawyers of Springfield, 
 particularly those who had political aspirations, were 
 afraid to undertake the defense of anyone who had been 
 engaged in helping off fugitives slaves. It was a very 
 unpopular business in those days and in that locality; 
 and few felt that they could afford to engage in it. One 
 who needed such aid went to Edward D. Baker, and was 
 refused, distinctly and frankly on the ground that as a 
 political man he could not afford it. The man applied to 
 an ardent anti-slavery friend for advice. He spoke of 
 Mr. Lincoln, and said, ‘He’s not afraid of an unpopular 
 case. When I go for a lawyer to defend an arrested fugi- 
 tive slave, other lawyers will refuse me. Blit if Mr. 
 Lincoln is at home he will always take my case.’” 
 
 An old woman of seventy -five years, the widow of a 
 revolutionary pensioner, came tottering into his law office 
 one day, and told him that a certain pension agent had 
 charged her the exorbitant fee of two hundred dollars for 
 
78 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 collecting her pension. Lincoln was satisfied by her 
 representations that she had been swindled, and finding 
 that she was not a resident of the town, and that she was 
 poor, gave her money, and set about the work of procuring 
 restitution. He immediately entered suit against the 
 agent to recover a portion of his ill-gotten money. This 
 suit was one of the most remarkable that Lincoln ever 
 conducted. The day before the case came up he asked 
 his partner, Mr. Herndon, to get him a “Life of Washing- 
 ton,” and he spent the whole afternoon reading it. His 
 speech to the jury was long remembered. The whole 
 court-room was in tears as he closed with these words: 
 “Gentlemen of the jury. Time rolls by. The heroes of 
 ’76 have passed away. They are encamped on the other 
 shore. This soldier has gone to his rest, and now, crippled, 
 blinded, and broken, his widow comes to you and to me, 
 gentlemen of the jury, to right her wrongs. She was not 
 always as you see her now. Once her step was elastic. 
 Her face was fair. Her voice was as sweet as any that 
 rang in the mountains of old Virginia. Now she is old. 
 She is poor and defenceless. Out here on the prairies of 
 Illinois, hundreds of miles from the scenes of her childhood, 
 she appeals to you and to me who enjoy the privileges 
 achieved for us by the patriots of the Revolution for our 
 sympathetic aid and manly protection. I have but one 
 question to ask you, gentlemen of the jury. Shall we 
 befriend her?” During the speech the defendant sat 
 huddled up in the court-room, writhing under the lash of 
 Lincoln’s tongue. The jury returned a verdict for every 
 cent that Lincoln had asked. He became the old lady’s 
 surety for costs, paid her hotel bill and sent her home 
 rejoicing. He made no charges for his own or his partner’s 
 services. A few days afterwards Mr. Herndon picked up 
 a little scrap of paper in the office. He looked at it a 
 moment, and burst into a roar of laughter. It was Lin- 
 coln’s notes for the argument of this case. They were 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 79 
 
 unique: — “No contract — Not professional services — • 
 Unreasonable charges — Money retained by Def’t not 
 given by Pl’ff. — Revolutionary War — Describe Valley 
 Forge — Ice — Soldiers’ bleeding feet — Pl’ff’s husband 
 
 — Soldiers leaving home for the army — Skin Deft — 
 Close.” 
 
 In his Autobiography, Joseph Jefferson tells how he 
 visited Springfield with a theatrical company in the early 
 days (1839) and planned to open a theatrical season in 
 that godly town. But “a religious revival was in pro- 
 gress, and the fathers of the church not only launched 
 forth against us in their sermons, but got the city to pass 
 a new law enjoining a heavy license against our ‘ unholy’ 
 calling. I forget the amount, but it was large enough 
 to be prohibitory.” The company had begun the build- 
 ing of a new theatre; and naturally the situation was 
 perplexing. In the midst of their trouble, says Mr. 
 Jefferson, “a young lawyer called on the Managers. He 
 had heard of the injustice, and offered, if they would 
 place the matter in his hands, to have the license taken 
 off, — declaring that he only wanted to see fair play, and 
 he would accept no fee whether he failed or succeeded. 
 The case was brought up before the council. The young 
 lawyer began his harangue. He handled the subject with 
 tact, skill, and humor, tracing the history of the drama 
 from the time when Thespis acted in a cart, to the stage 
 of to-day. He illustrated his speech with a number of 
 anecdotes, and kept the council in a roar of laughter. 
 His good humor prevailed, and the exorbitant tax was 
 taken off. This young lawyer was very popular in 
 Springfield, and was honored and beloved by all who 
 knew him; and after the time of which I write he held 
 rather an important position in the Government of the 
 United States. He now lies buried in Springfield, under 
 a monument commemorating his greatness and his virtues, 
 
 — and his name was Abraham Lincoln.” 
 
80 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Judge Gillespie tells a good story, to the effect that 
 Lincoln and General U. P. Linder were once defending a 
 man who was being tried on a criminal charge before 
 Judge David Davis, who said at dinner-time that the case 
 must be disposed of that night. Lincoln suggested that 
 the best thing they could do would be to run Benedict, 
 the prosecuting attorney, as far into the night as possible, 
 in hopes that he might, in his rage, commit some indiscre- 
 tion that would help their case. Lincoln began, but to 
 save his life he could not speak one hour, and the laboring 
 oar fell into Linder’s hands. “But,” said Lincoln, “he 
 was equal to the occasion. He spoke most interestingly 
 three mortal hours, about everything in the world. He 
 discussed Benedict from head to foot, and put in about 
 three-quarters of an hour on the subject of Benedict’s 
 whiskers.” Lincoln said he never envied a man so much 
 as he did Linder on that occasion. He thought he was 
 inimitable in his capacity to talk interestingly about 
 everything and nothing, by the hour. 
 
 But if Lincoln had not General Linder’s art of “talk- 
 ing against time,” his wit often suggested some readier 
 method of gaining advantage in a case. On one occasion, 
 a suit was on trial in the Circuit Court of Sangamon 
 County, in which Lincoln was attorney for the plaintiff, 
 and Mr. James C. Conkling, then a young man just enter- 
 ing practice, was attorney for the defendant. It was a 
 jury trial, and Lincoln waived the opening argument 
 to the jury, leaving Mr. Conkling to sum up his case for 
 the defense. The latter spoke at considerable length, 
 in a sophomoric style, laboring under the impression that 
 unless he made an extraordinary exertion to influence the 
 jury he would be quite eclipsed by Lincoln in his 
 closing speech. But he was completely taken back 
 by the unlooked-for light manner in which Lincoln 
 treated the case in his closing. Lincoln proceeded to 
 reply but, in doing so he talked on without making the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 81 
 
 slightest reference to the case on hearing or to the argu- 
 ment of Mr. Conkling. His summing-up to the jury was 
 to the following effect: “Gentlemen of the jury: In early 
 days there lived in this vicinity, over on the Sangamon 
 river, an old Indian of the Kickapoo tribe by the name of 
 Johnnie Kongapod. He had been taken in charge by some 
 good missionaries, converted to Christianity, and educated 
 to such extent that he could read and write. He took a 
 great fancy to poetry and became somewhat of a poet 
 himself. His desire was that after his death there should 
 be placed at the head of his grave an epitaph, which he 
 prepared himself, in rhyme, in the following words: 
 
 “‘Here lies poor Johnnie Kongapod; 
 
 Have mercy on him, gracious God, 
 
 As he would do if he were God 
 And you were Johnnie Kongapod.’” 
 
 Of course all this had no reference to the case, nor did 
 Lincoln intend it should have any. It was merely his way 
 of ridiculing the eloquence of his opponent. The verdict 
 of the jury was for the plaintiff, as Lincoln expected 
 it would be; and this was the reason of his treating the 
 case as he did. 
 
 A story somewhat similar to the above was told by the 
 late Judge John Pearson shortly before his death. In the 
 February term, 1850, of the Circuit Court of Vermilion 
 County, Illinois, a case was being tried in which a young 
 lady had brought suit for $10,000 against a recreant lover 
 w T ho had married another girl. The amount sued for was 
 thought to be an enormous sum in those days, and the 
 ablest talent to be found was brought into requisition by 
 both sides. Richard Thompson and Daniel W. Voorhees 
 were associated with O. L. Davis for the fair plaintiff. 
 H. W. Beckwith, Ward Lamon, and Abraham Lincoln 
 were for the defendant. The little town of Danville was 
 crowded with people from far and near who had come 
 
82 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 to hear the big speeches. The evidence brought out in 
 the trial was in every way against the defendant, and the 
 sympathy of the public was, naturally enough, with the 
 young lady plaintiff. Lincoln and his associate counsel 
 plainly saw the hopelessness of their cause; and they 
 wisely concluded to let their side of the case stand upon its 
 merits, without even a plea of extenuating circumstances. 
 Voorhees was young, ambitious, and anxious to display his 
 oratory. He arranged with his colleagues at the beginning 
 that he should make a speech, and he spent several hours 
 in his room at the hotel in the preparation of an oratorical 
 avalanche. It became generally known that Dan was 
 going to out-do himself, and the expectation of the com- 
 munity was at its highest tension. The little old court- 
 house was crowded. The ladies were out in full force. 
 Voorhees came in a little late, glowing with the excitement 
 of the occasion. It had been arranged that Davis was to 
 open, Lincoln was to follow, and Voorhees should come 
 next. Mr. Davis made a clear statement of the case, 
 recited the character of the evidence, and closed with a 
 plain logical argument. Then Lincoln arose, and stood 
 in silence for a moment, looking at the jury. He de- 
 liberately re-arranged some of the books and papers on 
 the table before him, as though “making a good ready,” 
 as he used to say, and began in a spirited but deliberate 
 way: “Your Honor, the evidence in this case is all in, 
 and doubtless all concerned comprehend its fullest import 
 without the aid of further argument. Therefore we will 
 rest our case here.” This move, of course, cut off all 
 future discussion. Voorhees, with his load of pyrotechnics 
 was shut out. An ominous silence followed Lincoln’s 
 remark; then Voorhees arose, white with rage, and 
 entered a protest against the tactics of the defense. All 
 the others were disappointed, but amused, and the only 
 consolation that Voorhees got out of this affair was a 
 verdict for the full amount claimed by his client. But he 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 83 
 
 never forgave Lincoln for thus “nipping” his great speech 
 “ in the bud.” 
 
 Mr. Wickizer gives a story which illustrates the off-hand 
 readiness of Lincoln’s wit. “In the court at Bloom- 
 ington Mr. Lincoln was engaged in a case of no great 
 importance; but the attorney on the other side, Mr. S., 
 a young lawyer of fine abilities, was always very sensitive 
 about being beaten, and in this case he manifested unusual 
 zeal and interest. The case lasted until late at night, 
 when it was finally submitted to the jury. Mr. S. spent 
 a sleepless night in anxiety, and early next morning learned, 
 to his great chagrin, that he had lost the case. Mr. 
 Lincoln met him at the court-house and asked him what 
 had become of his case. With lugubrious countenance 
 and melancholy tone, Mr. S. said, ‘It’s gone to hell!’ 
 ‘Oh, well!’ replied Lincoln, ‘Never mind, — you can try 
 it again there!”’ 
 
 Lincoln was always ready to join in a laugh at his own 
 expense, and used to tell the following story with intense 
 enjoyment: “In the days when I used to be ‘on the 
 circuit ’ I was accosted in the cars by a stranger who said, 
 ‘Excuse me, sir, but I have an article in my possession 
 which belongs to you.’ ‘How is that?’ I asked, con- 
 siderably astonished. The stranger took a jack-knife 
 from his pocket. ‘This knife,’ said he, ‘was placed in my 
 hands some years ago with the injunction that I was to 
 keep it until I found a man uglier than myself. I have 
 carried it from that time to this. Allow me to say, sir, 
 that I think you are fairly entitled to the property.’ ” 
 
 Mr. Gillespie says of Lincoln’s passion for story-telling: 
 “As a boon companion, Lincoln, although he never drank 
 liquor or used tobacco in any form, was without a rival. 
 No one would ever think of ‘putting in’ when he was 
 talking. He could illustrate any subject, it seemed to 
 me, with an appropriate and amusing anecdote. He did 
 not tell stories merely for the sake of telling them, but 
 
84 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 rather by way of illustration of something that had hap- 
 pened or been said. There seemed to be no end to his 
 fund of stories.” Mr. Lamon states: “Lincoln fre- 
 quently said that he lived by his humor and would have 
 died without it. His manner of telling a story was irre- 
 sistibly comical, the fun of it dancing in his eyes and 
 playing over every feature. His face changed in an in- 
 stant; the hard lines faded out of it, and the mirth seemed 
 to diffuse itself all over him like a spontaneous tickle. 
 You could see it coming long before he opened his mouth, 
 and he began to enjoy the ‘point’ before his eager auditors 
 could catch the faintest glimpse of it. Telling and hearing 
 ridiculous stories was one of his ruling passions.” A good 
 illustration of this fondness for story-telling is given by 
 Judge Sibley, of Quincy, Illinois, who knew Lincoln when 
 practicing law at Springfield. One day a party of lawyers 
 were sitting in the law library of the court-house at Spring- 
 field, awaiting the opening of court, and telling stories to 
 fill the time. Judge Breese of the Supreme bench — one 
 of the most distinguished of American jurists, and a man 
 of great personal dignity — passed through the room where 
 the lawyers were sitting, on his way to open court. Lin- 
 coln, seeing him, called out in his hearty way, “Hold on, 
 Breese! Don’t open court yet! Here’s Bob Blackwell 
 just going to tell a new story ! ” The judge passed on with- 
 out replying, evidently regarding it as beneath the dignity 
 of the Supreme Court to delay proceedings for the sake of 
 a story. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Lincoln in the Legislature — Eight Consecutive Years of Service — 
 His Influence in the House — Leader of the Whig Party in Illinois 
 — Takes a Hand in National Politics — Presidential Election in 
 1840 — A “Log Cabin” Reminiscence — Some Memorable Politi- 
 cal Encounters — A Tilt with Douglas — Lincoln Facing a Mob 
 — His Physical Courage — Lincoln as a Duellist — The Affair 
 with General Shields — An Eye-Witness’ Account of the Duel — 
 Courtship and Marriage. 
 
 I N 1838 Lincoln was for a third time a candidate for 
 the State Legislature. Mr. Wilson, one of his col- 
 leagues from Sangamon County, states that a question of 
 the division of the county was one of the local issues. 
 “Mr. Lincoln and myself,” says Mr. Wilson, “among 
 others residing in the portion of the county which sought 
 to be organized into a new county, opposed the division; 
 and it became necessary that I should make a special 
 canvass through the northwest part of the county, then 
 known as Sand Ridge. I made the canvass. Mr. Lincoln 
 accompanied me, and being personally acquainted with 
 everyone we called at nearly every house. At that time 
 it was the universal custom to keep some whiskey in the 
 house for private use and to treat friends. The subject 
 was always mentioned as a matter of politeness, but with 
 the usual remark to Mr. Lincoln, ‘We know you never 
 drink, but maybe your friend would like to take a little.’ 
 I never saw Mr. Lincoln drink. He often told me he never 
 drank; had no desire for drink, nor for the companionship 
 of drinking men.” 
 
 The result of this canvass was that Lincoln was elected 
 to the Legislature for the session of 1838-39. The next 
 
86 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 year he was elected for the session of 1840-41. This 
 ended his legislative service, which comprised eight 
 consecutive years, from 1834 to 1841. In these later 
 sessions he was as active and prominent in the House as 
 he had been in the earlier times when a member from 
 New Salem. 
 
 Lincoln’s faculty for getting the better of an adversary 
 by an apt illustration or anecdote was seldom better shown 
 than by an incident which occurred during his last term in 
 the Legislature. Hon. James C. Conkling has given the 
 following graphic description of the scene: “A gentleman 
 who had formerly been Attorney-General of the State was 
 also a member. Presuming upon his age, experience, and 
 former official position, he thought it incumbent upon 
 himself to oppose Lincoln, who was then one of the ac- 
 knowledged leaders of his party. He at length attracted 
 the attention of Lincoln, who replied to his remarks, 
 telling one of his humorous anecdotes and making a per- 
 sonal application to his opponent which placed the latter 
 in such a ridiculous attitude that it convulsed the 
 whole House. All business was suspended. In vain the 
 Speaker rapped with his gavel. Members of all parties, 
 without distinction, were compelled to laugh. They not 
 only laughed, they screamed and yelled; they thumped 
 upon the floor with their canes; they clapped their hands 
 and threw up their hats; they shouted and twisted them- 
 selves into all sorts of contortions, until their sides ached 
 and the tears rolled down their cheeks. One paroxysm 
 passed away, but was speedily succeeded by another, and 
 again they laughed and screamed and yelled. Another 
 lull occurred, and still another paroxysm, until they seemed 
 to be perfectly exhausted. The ambition of Lincoln’s 
 opponent was abundantly gratified, and for the remainder 
 of the session he lapsed into profound obscurity.” 
 
 In June, 1842, ex-President Van Buren was journeying 
 through Illinois with a company of friends. When near 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 87 
 
 Springfield they were delayed by bad roads, and were com- 
 pelled to spend the night at Rochester, some miles out. 
 The accommodations at this place were very poor, and a 
 few of the ex-President’s Springfield friends proposed to go 
 out to meet him and try to aid in entertaining him. Know- 
 ing Lincoln’s ability as a talker and story-teller, they 
 begged him to go with them and aid in making their guest 
 at the country inn pass the evening as pleasantly as possi- 
 ble. Lincoln, with his usual good nature, went with them, 
 and entertained the party for hours with graphic descrip- 
 tions of Western life, anecdotes and witty stories. Judge 
 Peck, who was of the party, and a warm friend of the ex- 
 President, says that Lincoln was at his best. There was 
 a constant succession of brilliant anecdotes and funny 
 stories, accompanied by loud laughter in which Van Buren 
 took his full share. “He also,” says the Judge, “gave us 
 incidents and anecdotes of Elisha Williams, and other 
 leading members of the New York bar, going back to the 
 days of Hamilton and Burr. Altogether there was a right 
 merry time. Mr. Van Buren said the only drawback upon 
 his enjoyment was that his sides were sore from laughing 
 at Lincoln’s stories for a week thereafter.” 
 
 Lincoln’s eight years of legislative service had given him 
 considerable reputation in politics, and he had become 
 the acknowledged leader of the Whig party in Illinois. 
 In the exciting Presidential campaign of 1840, known as 
 the “Log Cabin” campaign, he took a very active part. 
 He had been nominated as Presidential Elector on the 
 Harrison ticket, and stumped a large portion of the State. 
 A peculiarly interesting reminiscence of Lincoln’s appear- 
 ance on one occasion during the “Log Cabin” campaign 
 is furnished by Mr. G. W. Harris, who says: “In the fall 
 of the year 1840 there came into the log school-house in a 
 village in Southern Illinois where I, a lad, was a pupil, a 
 tall, awkward, plain-looking young man dressed in a full 
 suit of ‘blue jean.’ Approaching the master, he gave his 
 
88 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 name, and, apologizing for the intrusion, said, ‘I am told 
 you have a copy of Byron’s works. I would like to borrow 
 it for a few hours.’ The book was produced and loaned to 
 him. With his thanks and a ‘Good-day’ to the teacher, 
 and a smile such as I have never seen on any other man’s 
 face and a look that took in all of us lads and lassies, the 
 stranger passed out of the room. This was during a Presi- 
 dential canvass. Isaac Walker, candidate for Democratic 
 Elector, and Abraham Lincoln, candidate for Whig 
 Elector, were by appointment to discuss political matters 
 in the afternoon of that day. I asked for and got a half- 
 holiday. I had given no thought to the matter until the 
 appearance of Lincoln (for he it was) in the school-room. 
 But, something in the man had aroused, not only in me 
 but in others of the scholars, a strong desire to see him 
 again and to hear him speak. Isaac Walker in his younger 
 days had been a resident of the village. Lincoln was 
 aware of this, and shrewdly suspected that Walker in his 
 remarks would allude to the circumstance; so, having the 
 opening speech, he determined to ‘ take the wind out of his 
 sails.’ He did so — how effectually, it is hardly necessary 
 for me to say. He had borrowed Byron’s works to read 
 the opening lines of ‘ Lara ’ : 
 
 “He, their unhoped, but unforgotten lord, 
 
 The long self-exiled chieftain, is restored. 
 
 There be bright faces in the busy hall, 
 
 Bowls on the board, and banners on the wall; 
 
 “He comes at last in sudden loneliness. 
 
 And whence they know not, why they need not guess; 
 They more might marvel, when the greeting’s o’er, 
 
 Not that he came, but came not long before.” 
 
 During this period Lincoln continued to enjoy the 
 hospitality of Mr. Speed at Springfield. “After he made 
 his home with me,” says Mr. Speed, “on every winter’s 
 night at my store, by a big wood fire, no matter how 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 89 
 
 inclement the weather, eight or ten choice spirits as- 
 sembled, without distinction of party. It was a sort of 
 social club without organization. They came there be- 
 cause they were sure to find Lincoln. His habit was to 
 engage in conversation upon any and all subjects except 
 politics. But one evening a political argument sprang up 
 between Lincoln and Douglas, which for a time ran high. 
 Douglas sprang to his feet and said: ‘Gentlemen, this is 
 no place to talk politics; we will discuss the questions 
 publicly with you.”’ A few days later the Whigs held a 
 meeting and challenged the Democrats to a joint debate. 
 The challenge was accepted. Douglas, Lamborn, Calhoun, 
 and Jesse Thomas were deputed by the Democrats to 
 meet Logan, Baker, Browning, and Lincoln on the part 
 of the Whigs. The intellectual encounter between these 
 noted champions is still described by those who witnessed 
 it as “the great debate.” It took place in the Second 
 Presbyterian church at Springfield, and lasted eight 
 nights, each speaker occupying a night in turn. Mr. 
 Speed speaks thus of Lincoln’s effort : “Lincoln delivered his 
 speech without manuscript or notes. He had a wonderful 
 faculty in that way. He might be writing an important 
 document, be interrupted in the midst of a sentence, turn 
 his attention to other matters entirely foreign to the 
 subject on which he was engaged, and then take up his 
 pen and begin where he left off without reading the 
 previous part of the sentence. He could grasp, exhaust, 
 and quit any subject with more facility than any man I 
 have ever seen or heard of.” The subjoined paragraphs 
 from the speech above referred to show the impassioned 
 feeling which Lincoln poured forth that night. Those 
 familiar with his admirable style in his later years would 
 scarcely recognize him in these florid and rather over- 
 weighted periods: 
 
 Many free countries have lost their liberty, and ours 
 may lose hers; but if she shall, be it my proudest plume, 
 
90 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 not that I was the last to desert, but that I never deserted 
 her. I know that the great volcano at Washington, 
 aroused and directed by the evil spirit that reigns there, is 
 belching forth the lava of political corruption in a current 
 broad and deep, which is sweeping with frightful velocity 
 over the whole length and breadth of the land, bidding 
 fair to leave unscathed no green spot or living thing; 
 while on its bosom are riding, like demons on the waves of 
 hell, the imps of the Evil Spirit, and fiendishly torturing 
 and taunting all those who dare resist its destroying course 
 with the hopelessness of their effort; and knowing this, 
 I cannot deny that all may be swept away. Broken by 
 it, I too may be; bow to it, I never will. The probability 
 that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from 
 the support of a cause which we deem to be just. It shall 
 not deter me. If I ever feel the soul within me elevate 
 and expand to those dimensions not wholly unworthy of 
 its Almighty architect, it is when I contemplate the cause 
 of my country deserted by all the world beside, and I, 
 standing up boldly and alone, hurling defiance at her 
 victorious oppressors. And here, without contemplating 
 consequences, before high Heaven and in the face of the 
 whole world, I swear eternal fidelity to the just cause, as 
 I deem it, of the land of my life, my liberty, and my love. 
 And who that thinks with me will not fearlessly adopt 
 the oath I take? Let none falter who thinks he is right, 
 and we may succeed. But if, after all, we shall fail, be it 
 so. We shall have the proud consolation of saying to our 
 conscience and to the departed shade of our country’s 
 freedom, that the cause approved by our judgments and 
 adored by our hearts in disaster, in chains, in torture, and 
 in death, we never failed in defending. 
 
 In this canvass Lincoln came again into collision with 
 Douglas, the adversary whom he had met two years before 
 and with whom he was to sustain an almost life-long 
 political conflict. He also had occasion to show his 
 courage and presence of mind in rescuing from a mob his 
 distinguished friend, Col. E. D. Baker, afterwards a 
 Senator of the United States. “Baker was speaking in a 
 large room,” says Mr. Arnold, “rented and used for the 
 court sessions, and Lincoln’s office was in an apartment 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 91 
 
 over the court-room, communicating with it by a trap- 
 door. Lincoln was in his office listening to Baker through 
 the open trap-door, when Baker, becoming excited, 
 abused the Democrats, many of whom were present. 
 A cry was raised, ‘Pull him off the stand!’ The instant 
 Lincoln heard the cry, knowing a general fight was im- 
 minent, his athletic form was seen descending from above 
 through the opening of the trap-door, and, springing to 
 the side of Baker, and waving his hand for silence, he said 
 with dignity : ‘ Gentlemen, let us not disgrace the age and 
 country in which we live. This is a land where freedom 
 of speech is guaranteed. Baker has a right to speak. 
 I am here to protect him, and no man shall take him from 
 this stand if I can prevent it.’ Quiet was restored, and 
 Baker finished his speech without further interruption.” 
 
 A similar occurrence, happening about the same period, 
 is detailed by General Linder: “On a later occasion, when 
 Colonel Baker and myself were both battling together in 
 the Whig cause, at a convention held in Springfield, I 
 made a speech at the State House, which I think now, 
 looking back at it from this point, was the very best I 
 ever made in my life. While I was addressing the vast 
 assembly some ruffian in the galleries flung at me a gross 
 personal insult accompanied with a threat. Lincoln and 
 Colonel Baker, who were both present and were warm 
 personal and political friends of mine, anticipating that I 
 might be attacked when I left the State House, came upon 
 the stand a little while before I concluded my speech and 
 took their station on each side of me. When I was 
 through, and after my audience had greeted me with 
 three hearty cheers, each took one of my arms, and 
 Lincoln said to me : ‘ Linder, Baker and I are apprehensive 
 that you may be attacked by some of those ruffians who 
 insulted you from the galleries, and we have come up to 
 escort you to your hotel. We both think we can do a little 
 fighting, so we want you to walk between us until we get 
 
92 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 you to your hotel. Your quarrel is our quarrel and that 
 of the great Whig party of this nation. Your speech upon 
 this occasion is the greatest that has been made by any 
 of us, for which we wish to honor and defend you.’ This 
 I consider no ordinary compliment, coming from Lincoln, 
 for he was no flatterer nor disposed to bestow praise where 
 it was undeserved. Colonel Baker heartily concurred 
 in all he said, and between those two glorious men I left 
 the stand and we marched out of the State House through 
 our friends, who trooped after us evidently anticipating 
 what Lincoln and Baker had suggested to me, accompany- 
 ing us to my hotel.” 
 
 That Lincoln had an abundance of physical courage, 
 and was well able to defend himself when necessity de- 
 manded, is clear from the incidents just given. Mr. 
 Herndon, his intimate friend, adds his testimony on this 
 point. As Lincoln was grand in his good nature, says Mr. 
 Herndon, so he was grand in his rage. “Once I saw him 
 incensed at a judge for giving an unfair decision. It was 
 a terrible spectacle. At another time I saw two men 
 come to blows in his presence. He picked them up 
 separately and tossed them apart like a couple of kittens. 
 He was the strongest man I ever knew, and has been 
 known to lift a man of his own weight and throw him over 
 a worm fence. Once in Springfield the Irish voters medi- 
 tated taking possession of the polls. News came down 
 the street that they would permit nobody to vote but 
 those of their own party. Mr. Lincoln seized an axe- 
 handle from a hardware store and went alone to open a 
 way to the ballot-box. His appearance intimidated them, 
 and we had neither threats nor collisions all that day.” 
 
 An unsuspected side of Lincoln’s character was shown, 
 at this period of his life, in the affair with General Shields. 
 With all his gentleness and his scrupulous regard for the 
 rights of others, Lincoln was not one to submit to being 
 bullied; while his physical courage had been proved in 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 93 
 
 many a rough-and-tumble encounter, often against heavy 
 odds, with the rude and boisterous spirits of his time. 
 These encounters were usually with nature’s weapons; 
 but in the Shields affair — duel, it was sometimes called — 
 he showed that he would not shrink from the use of more 
 deadly weapons if forced to do so. In judging this phase 
 of his character, account must be taken of his Kentucky 
 birth and origin, and of the customs and standards of his 
 time. James Shields (afterwards a distinguished Union 
 General and U. S. Senator) w r as at this time (1842) living 
 at Springfield, holding the office of State Auditor. He is 
 described as “a gallant, hot-headed bachelor, from Tyrone 
 County, Ireland.” He was something of a beau in society, 
 and was the subject of some satirical articles which, in a 
 spirit of fun, Miss Mary Todd (afterwards Mrs. Lincoln) 
 had written and published in a local journal. Shields was 
 furious, and, demanding the name of the writer, Lincoln 
 sent him word that he would assume full responsibility 
 in the matter. A challenge to a duel followed, which 
 Lincoln accepted and named broadswords as the ■weapons. 
 General Linder states that Lincoln said to him that he did 
 not want to kill Shields, and felt sure he could disarm 
 him if they fought w T ith broadswords, while he felt sure 
 Shields would kill him if pistols wore the weapons. It 
 seems that Lincoln actually took lessons in broadsword 
 exercise from a Major Duncan; and at the appointed 
 time all parties proceeded to the chosen field, near Alton. 
 But friends appeared on the scene while the preliminaries 
 wore being arranged, and succeeded in effecting a recon- 
 ciliation. Major Lucas, of Springfield, who was on the 
 field, stated that he “had no doubt Lincoln meant to 
 fight. Lincoln w T as no coward, and he would unquestion- 
 ably have held his own against his antagonist, for he was 
 a powerful man and well skilled in the use of the broad- 
 sword. Lincoln said to me, after the affair was all over, 
 ‘I could have split him in two.’” But there can be little 
 
94 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 doubt that he was well pleased that the affair proved a 
 bloodless one. 
 
 The mention of Miss Mary Todd, in the preceding 
 paragraph, brings us to Lincoln’s marriage with that 
 lady, which occurred in 1842, he being then in his thirty- 
 fourth year. Miss Todd was the daughter of the Hon. 
 Robert T. Todd, of Lexington, Kentucky. She came to 
 Springfield in 1839, to live with her sister, Mrs. Ninian W. 
 Edwards. “She was young,” says Mr. Lamon, “just 
 twenty-one, — her family was of the best and her con- 
 nections in Illinois among the most refined and distin- 
 guished people. Her mother having died when she was a 
 little girl, she had been educated under the care of a French 
 lady. She was gifted with rare talehts, had a keen sense 
 of the ridiculous, a ready insight into the weaknesses of 
 individual character, and a most fiery and ungovernable 
 temper. Her tongue and her pen were equally sharp. 
 Highbred, proud, brilliant, witty, and with a will that 
 bent every one else to her purpose, she took Lincoln 
 captive. He was a rising politician, fresh from the people, 
 and possessed of great power among them. Miss Todd 
 was of aristocratic and distinguished family, able to lead 
 through the awful portals of ‘good society’ whomsoever 
 they chose to countenance. It was thought that a union 
 between them could not fail of numerous benefits to both 
 parties. Mr. Edwards thought so; Mrs. Edwards thought 
 so ; and it was not long before Mary Todd herself thought 
 so. She was very ambitious, and even before she left 
 Kentucky announced her belief that she was destined to 
 be the wife of some future President. For a while she was 
 courted by Douglas as well as by Lincoln. Being asked 
 which of them she intended to have, she answered, ‘The 
 one that has the best chance of being President.’ She 
 decided in favor of Lincoln; and in the opinion of some 
 of her husband’s friends she aided to no small extent in 
 the fulfilment of the prophecy which the bestowal of her 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 95 
 
 hand implied.” Mrs. Edwards, Miss Todd’s sister, has 
 related that “Lincoln was charmed with Mary’s wit and 
 fascinated with her quick sagacity, her will, her nature 
 and culture. I have happened in the room,” she says, 
 “where they were sitting, often and often, and Mary led 
 the conversation. Lincoln would listen, and gaze on her 
 as if drawn by some superior power — irresistibly so. 
 He listened, but seldom said a word.” 
 
 Preparations were made for the marriage between 
 Lincoln and Miss Todd. But they were interrupted by 
 a painful occurrence — a sudden breaking out of a fit of 
 melancholy, or temporary insanity, such as had afflicted 
 Lincoln on a former occasion. This event has been made 
 the subject of no little gossip, into which it is not now 
 necessary or desirable to go, further than to mention that 
 at about this time Lincoln seems to have formed a strong 
 attachment for Miss Matilda Edwards, a sister of Ninian 
 W. Edwards; and that the engagement with Miss Todd 
 was for a time broken off. In consequence of these com- 
 plications, Lincoln’s health was seriously affected. He 
 suffered from melancholy, which was so profound that 
 “his friends were alarmed for his life.” His intimate com- 
 panion, Mr. Speed, endeavored to rescue him from the 
 terrible depression, urging that he would die unless he 
 rallied. Lincoln replied, .“I am not afraid to die, and 
 would be more than willing. But I have an irrepressible 
 desire to live till I can be assured that the world is a little 
 better for my having been in it.” 
 
 Mr. Herndon gives as his opinion that Lincoln’s insanity 
 grew out of a most extraordinary complication of feelings 
 — aversion to the marriage proposed, a counter-attach- 
 ment to Miss Edwards, and a revival of his tenderness for 
 the memory of Anne Rutledge. At all events, his derange- 
 ment was nearly if not quite complete. “We had to 
 remove razors from his room,” says Mr. Speed, “take 
 away all knives, and other dangerous things. It was 
 
96 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 terrible.” Mr. Speed determined to do for him what 
 Bowlin Greene had done on a similar occasion at New 
 Salem. Having sold out his store on the first of January, 
 
 1841, he took Lincoln with him to his home in Kentucky 
 and kept him there during most of the summer and fall, 
 or until he seemed sufficiently restored to be given his 
 liberty again, when he was brought back to Springfield. 
 His health was soon regained, and on the 4th of November, 
 
 1842, the marriage between him and Miss Todd was 
 celebrated according to the rites of the Episcopal Church. 
 After the marriage Lincoln secured pleasant rooms 
 for himself and wife at the Globe Tavern, at a cost of four 
 dollars a week. In 1844 he purchased of the Rev. Nathan 
 Dressar the plain dwelling which was his home for the 
 ensuing seventeen years, and which he left in 1861 to 
 enter the White House. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Lincoln in National Politics — His Congressional Aspirations — Law- 
 Partnership of Lincoln and Herndon — The Presidential Campaign 
 of 1844 — Visit to Henry Clay — Lincoln Elected to Congress — 
 Congressional Reputation — Acquaintance with Distinguished 
 Men — First Speech in Congress — “Getting the Hang” of the 
 House — Lincoln’s Course on the Mexican War — Notable Speech 
 in Congress — Ridicule of General Cass — Bill for the Abolition 
 of Slavery — Delegate to the Whig National Convention of 1848 — 
 Stumping the Country for Taylor — Advice to Young Politicians 
 — “ Old Abe ” — A Political Disappointment — Lincoln’s Appear- 
 ance as an Office Seeker in Washington — “A Divinity that Shapes 
 our Ends.” 
 
 I N the spring of 1843 Lincoln was among the nominees 
 proposed to represent the Sangamon district in 
 Congress; but Col. Edward D. Baker carried the delega- 
 tion, and was elected. In writing to his friend Speed, 
 Lincoln treated the circumstance with his usual humor. 
 “We had,” he says, “a meeting of the Whigs of the county 
 here last Monday to appoint delegates to a district con- 
 vention. Baker beat me, and got the delegation instructed 
 to go for him. The meeting, in spite of my attempt to 
 decline it, appointed me one of the delegates; so that in 
 getting Baker the nomination I shall be ‘fixed’ a good 
 deal like a fellow who is made groomsman to the man 
 who ‘cut him out’ and is marrying his own girl.” 
 
 On the 20th of September, 1843, the partnership between 
 Lincoln and Judge Logan was dissolved; and the same 
 day a new association was formed with William H. 
 Herndon, a relative of one of Lincoln’s former friends of 
 Clary Grove. It is said that in spite of their close friend- 
 ship Mr. Herndon could not understand it when Lincoln 
 one day plunged up the office stairs and said, “Herndon, 
 should you like to be my partner?” “Don’t laugh at me, 
 
98 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Mr. Lincoln,” was the response. Persistent repetition of 
 the question could hardly gain a hearing; but at last Mr. 
 Herndon said: “Mr. Lincoln, you know I am too young, 
 and I have no standing and no money; but if you are in 
 earnest, there is nothing in this world that would make 
 me so happy.” Nothing more was said till the papers 
 were brought to Herndon to sign. The partnership of 
 “Lincoln & Herndon” was a happy one, and continued 
 until Lincoln became President, a period of nearly eighteen 
 years. 
 
 The life of Henry Clay, which Lincoln read in his boy- 
 hood, had filled him with enthusiasm for the great Whig 
 leader; and when the latter was nominated for the 
 Presidency, in 1844, there was no more earnest adherent 
 of his cause than the “Sangamon Chief,” as Lincoln was 
 now called. Lincoln canvassed Illinois and a part of 
 Indiana during the campaign, meeting the chief Demo- 
 cratic speakers, and especially Douglas, in debate. Lin- 
 coln had not at this time heard the “ silvery-tongued 
 orator” of Kentucky; but two years later the opportunity 
 was afforded and eagerly embraced. It is possible, as 
 Dr. Holland remarks, that he “needed the influence of 
 this visit to restore a healthy tone to his feelings, and to 
 teach him that the person whom his imagination had 
 transformed into a demigod was only a man, possessing 
 the full measure of weaknesses common to men. In 1846 
 Lincoln learned that Clay was to deliver a speech at 
 Lexington, Kentucky, in favor of gradual emancipation. 
 This event seemed to give him an excuse for breaking away 
 from his business and satisfying his desire to look his 
 demigod in the face and hear the music of his eloquence. 
 He accordingly went to Lexington, and arrived there in 
 time to attend the meeting. On returning to his home 
 from this visit he did not attempt to disguise his disap- 
 pointment. Clay’s speech was written and read; it 
 lacked entirely the fire and eloquence which Lincoln had 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 99 
 
 anticipated. At the close of the meeting Lincoln secured 
 an introduction to the great orator and as Clay knew what 
 a friend Lincoln had been to him, he invited his admirer 
 and partisan to Ashland. No invitation could have 
 delighted Lincoln more. But the result of his private 
 intercourse with Clay was no more satisfactory than that 
 which followed the speech. Those who have known 
 both men will not wonder at this; for two men could hardly 
 be more unlike in their motives and manners than the 
 two thus brought together. One was a proud man; the 
 other was a humble man. One was princely in his bear- 
 ing; the other was lowdy. One was distant and dignified; 
 the other was as simple and approachable as a child. 
 One received the deference of men as his due; the other 
 received it with an uncomfortable sense of his unworthi- 
 ness. A friend of Lincoln, who had a long conversation 
 with him after his return from Ashland, found that his old 
 enthusiasm was gone. Lincoln said that though Clay 
 was polished in his manners, and very hospitable, he 
 betrayed a consciousness of superiority that none could 
 mistake.” 
 
 For two years after the Presidential contest between 
 Clay and Polk, Lincoln devoted himself assiduously to 
 his law practice. But in 1846 he was again active in 
 politics, this time striving for a seat in the National 
 Congress. His chief opponent among the Whig candi- 
 dates was his old friend John J. Hardin, who soon with- 
 drew from the contest, leaving Mr. Lincoln alone in the 
 field. The candidate on the Democratic ticket was Peter 
 Cartwright, the famous Methodist preacher. It was 
 supposed from his great popularity as a pulpit orator that 
 Mr. Cartwright would run far ahead of his ticket. Instead 
 of this, Lincoln received a majority of 1,511 in his district, 
 which in 1844 had given Clay a majority of only 914 and 
 in 1848 had allowed the Whig candidate for Congress to 
 be defeated by 106 votes. 
 
100 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Lincoln took his seat in the Thirtieth Congress in 
 December, 1847, the only Whig member from Illinois. 
 Among the notable members of this Congress were ex- 
 president John Quincy Adams; Andrew Johnson, elected 
 Vice-President with Lincoln on his second election; A. H. 
 Stephens, afterwards Vice-President of the Confederacy; 
 Toombs, Rhett, Cobb, and others who afterwards became 
 leaders of the Rebellion. In the Senate were Daniel 
 Webster, Simon Cameron, Lewis Cass, Mason, Hunter, 
 John C. Calhoun, and Jefferson Davis. 
 
 Lincoln entered Congress as the Illinois leader of the 
 Whig party. He was reputed to be an able and effective 
 speaker. In speaking of the impression he made upon his 
 associates, the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop says: “I recall 
 vividly the impressions I then formed both of his ability 
 and amiability. We were old Whigs together, and agreed 
 entirely upon all questions of public interest. I could not 
 always concur in the policy of the party which made him 
 President, but I never lost my personal regard for him. 
 For shrewdness, sagacity, and keen practical sense, he has 
 had no superior in our day or generation.” 
 
 Alexander H. Stephens, writing seventeen years after 
 Lincoln’s death, recalled their service together in 
 Congress. “I knew Mr. Lincoln well and intimately,” 
 said Mr. Stephens. “We both were ardent supporters of 
 General Taylor for President in 1848. Lincoln, Toombs, 
 Preston, myself, and others, formed the first Congressional 
 Taylor Club, known as ‘The Young Indians,’ and or- 
 ganized the Taylor movement which resulted in his nomi- 
 nation. Mr. Lincoln was careless as to his manners and 
 awkward in his speech, but possessed a strong, clear, 
 vigorous mind. He always attracted and riveted the 
 attention of the House when he spoke. His manner of 
 speech as well as of thought was original. He had no 
 model. He was a man of strong convictions, and what 
 Carlyle would have called an earnest man. He abounded 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 101 
 
 in anecdote. He illustrated everything he was talking 
 about by an anecdote, always exceedingly apt and pointed; 
 and socially he always kept his company in a roar of 
 laughter.” 
 
 Alluding to his first speech in Congress — on some 
 post-office question of no special interest — Lincoln wrote 
 to his friend Herndon that his principal object was to “get 
 the hang of the House”; adding that he “found speaking 
 here and elsewhere about the same thing. I was about as 
 badly scared as when I spoke in court, but no more so.” 
 
 Lincoln’s mental power, as well as his self-confidence, 
 developed rapidly under the responsibilities of his new 
 position. During his term of service in the House he was 
 zealous in the performance of his duties, alert to seize every 
 opportunity to strike a blow for his party and acquit 
 himself to the satisfaction of his constituents. In January, 
 1848, he made a telling speech in support of the “Spot 
 Resolutions,” in which his antagonism to the course of the 
 Administration in regard to the war on Mexico was un- 
 compromisingly announced. These resolutions were 
 offered for the purpose of getting from President Polk a 
 statement of facts regarding the beginning of the war. 
 In this speech Lincoln warned the President not to try 
 to “escape scrutiny by fixing the public gaze upon the 
 exceeding brightness of military glory — that attractive 
 rainbow that rises in showers of blood, that serpent’s eye 
 that charms but to destroy.” In writing, a few days 
 after the delivery of this speech, to Mr. Herndon, Lincoln 
 said: “I will stake my life that if you had been in my 
 place you -would have voted just as I did. Would you 
 have voted what you felt and knew to be a lie? I know 
 you would not. Would you have gone out of the House 
 — skulked the vote? I expect not. If you had skulked 
 one vote you would have had to skulk many more before 
 the end of the session. Richardson’s resolutions, in- 
 troduced before I made any move or gave any vote upon 
 
102 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the subject, make a direct question of the justice of the 
 war; so no man can be silent if he would. You are com- 
 pelled to speak; and your only alternative is to tell the 
 truth or tell a lie. I cannot doubt which you would do.” 
 
 Lincoln’s position on the Mexican War has been gen- 
 erally approved by the moral sense of the country; but it 
 gave his political enemies an opportunity, which they were 
 not slow to improve, for trying to make political capital 
 out of it and using it to create a prejudice against him. 
 Douglas in particular never missed an opportunity of refer- 
 ring to it. In the great joint debate in 1858 he spoke 
 of Lincoln’s having “distinguished himself in Congress by 
 his opposition to the Mexican War, taking the side of the 
 common enemy against his own country.” No better 
 refutation of these oft-repeated charges could be made 
 than that given by Lincoln himself on this occasion. 
 “The Judge charges me,” he said, “with having, while in 
 Congress, opposed our soldiers who were fighting in the 
 Mexican War. I will tell you what he can prove by re- 
 ferring to the record. You remember I was an old Whig; 
 and whenever the Democratic party tried to get me to 
 vote that the war had been righteously begun by the Presi- 
 dent, I would not do it. But whenever they asked for 
 any money or land-warrants, or anything to pay the 
 soldiers, I gave the same vote that Judge Douglas did. 
 Such is the truth, and the Judge has a right to make all 
 he can out of it.” 
 
 The most ambitious utterance of Lincoln during 
 this term in Congress was that of July 27, 1848, when he 
 took for his subject the very comprehensive one of “The 
 Presidency and General Politics.” It was a piece of 
 sound and forcible argumentation, relieved by strong 
 and effective imagery and quiet humor. A considerable 
 portion of it was occupied with an exposure of the weak- 
 nesses of General Cass, the Presidential candidate opposed 
 to General Taylor. Lincoln ridiculed Cass with all the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 103 
 
 wit at his command. An extract from this speech has 
 already been quoted in this work, in the account of Lincoln 
 in the Black Hawk War. Another passage, equally telling, 
 relates to the vacillating action of General Cass on the 
 Wilmot Proviso. After citing a number of facts in refer- 
 ence to the case, Lincoln says: “These extracts show that 
 in 1846 General Cass was for the Proviso at once; that in 
 March, 1847, he was still for it, but not just then; and that 
 in December, 1847, he was against it altogether. This is 
 a true index to the whole man. When the question was 
 raised, in 1846, he was in a blustering hurry to take ground 
 for it. He sought to be in advance, and to avoid the 
 uninteresting position of a mere follower. But soon he 
 began to see glimpses of the great Democratic ox-gad 
 waving in his face, and to hear indistinctly a voice saying, 
 ‘Back! Back, sir! Back a little!’ He shakes his head 
 and bats his eyes and blunders back to his position of 
 March, 1847. But still the gad waves, and the voice 
 grows more distinct and sharper still, ‘Back, sir! Back, 
 Isay! Further back!’ And back he goes to the position 
 of December, 1847, at which the gad is still and the voice 
 soothingly says, ‘So! Stand still at that!”’ 
 
 Again, after extended comment on the extra charges of 
 General Cass upon the Treasury for military services, he 
 continued in a still more sarcastic vein: “But I have 
 introduced General Cass’s accounts here chiefly to show 
 the wonderful physical capacities of the man. They 
 show that he not only did the labor of several men at the 
 same time, but that he often did it at several places many 
 hundred miles apart at the same time. And at eating, 
 too, his capacities are shown to be quite as wonderful. 
 From October, 1821, to May, 1822, he ate ten rations a 
 day in Michigan, ten rations a day here in Washington, 
 and near five dollars’ worth a day besides, partly on the 
 road between the two places. And then there is an 
 important discovery in his example — the art of being 
 
104) EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 paid for what one eats, instead of having to pay .for it. 
 Hereafter if any nice young man shall owe a bill which he 
 cannot pay in any other way he can just board it out. 
 Mr. Speaker, we have all heard of the animal standing in 
 doubt between two stacks of hay and starving to death. 
 The like of that would never happen to General Cass. 
 Place the stacks a thousand miles apart, he would stand 
 stock-still midway between them and eat them both at 
 once; and the green grass along the line would be apt to 
 suffer some, too, at the same time. By all means make 
 him President, gentlemen. He will feed you bounteously 
 — if — if — there is any left after he shall have helped 
 himself.” 
 
 Lincoln’s most important act in the Congress of 1848-9 
 was the introduction of a bill for the gradual abolition of 
 slavery in the District of Columbia. But the state of 
 feeling on the subject of emancipation was so feverish at 
 the time that the bill could not even be got before the 
 House. 
 
 The Whig National Convention met at Philadelphia 
 the first of June, to nominate a candidate for the Presi- 
 dency. Lincoln attended the Convention as a delegate 
 from Illinois. During the campaign of 1848 he labored 
 earnestly for the election of General Taylor. This 
 campaign made him known more generally throughout 
 the country, as he spoke in New York and New England 
 as well as in Illinois and the West. 
 
 While in Washington, Lincoln kept up a free correspon- 
 dence with his friend and law-partner Herndon, which 
 affords many interesting glimpses of his thoughts and 
 views. In one of these letters, endeavoring to incite 
 Herndon to political ambition, he wrote: “Nothing could 
 afford me more satisfaction than to learn that you and 
 others of my young friends at home were doing battle in 
 the contest, endearing themselves to the people and 
 taking a stand far above any I have ever been able to 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 105 
 
 reach in their admiration. I cannot conceive that other 
 old men feel differently. Of course, I cannot demonstrate 
 what I say; but I was young once, and I am sure I was 
 never ungenerously thrust back. The way for a young 
 man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, 
 never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him. 
 Allow me to assure you that suspicion and jealousy never 
 did help any man in any situation. There may sometimes 
 be ungenerous attempts to keep a young man down; 
 and they will succeed, too, if he allows his mind to be 
 diverted from its true channel, to brood over the attempted 
 injury. Cast about and see if this feeling has not injured 
 every person you have ever known to fall into it. Now, 
 in what I have said I am sure you will suspect nothing 
 but sincere friendship. I would save you from a fatal 
 error. You have been a laborious, studious young man. 
 You are far better informed on almost all subjects than I 
 have ever been. You cannot fail in any laudable object 
 unless you allow your mind to be improperly directed. 
 I have some the advantage of you in the world’s experi- 
 ence, merely by being older; and it is this that induces 
 me to offer you this advice.” 
 
 It will be observed that, in this letter Lincoln speaks of 
 himself as an “old man.” This had been a habit with 
 him for years; and yet at this date he was under thirty- 
 nine. He was already beginning to be known as “Old 
 Abe.” Hon. E. B. Washburne states that he remembers 
 hearing him thus called, in Chicago, in July, 1847. “One 
 afternoon,” says Mr. Washburne, “several of us sat on the 
 sidewalk under the balcony in front of the Sherman House, 
 and among the number was the accomplished scholar and 
 unrivalled orator, Lisle Smith, who suddenly interrupted 
 the conversation by exclaiming, ‘There is Lincoln on the 
 other side of the street ! J ust look at old Abe ! ’ And from 
 that time we all called him ‘Old Abe.’ No one who saw 
 him can forget his personal appearance at that time. 
 
106 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Tall, angular, and awkward, he had on a short-waisted, 
 thin, swallow-tail coat, a short vest of the same material, 
 thin pantaloons scarcely coming down to his ankles, a 
 straw hat, and a pair of brogans, with woollen socks.” 
 
 During the summer following the expiration of 
 Lincoln’s term in Congress (March 4, 1849) he made a 
 strong effort to secure the position of Commissioner of 
 the General Land Office, but without success. The place 
 was given to Justin Butterfield of Chicago. It was a 
 severe disappointment to Lincoln. Major Wilcox, who 
 at the period referred to lived in McDonough County, 
 Illinois, and in early days was a Whig politician, visited 
 Washington to aid Lincoln in seeking this appointment, 
 and has furnished a graphic account of the circum- 
 stances and of Lincoln’s appearance at the national 
 capital in the novel capacity of an office-seeker. Major 
 Wilcox says that in June, 1849, he went to Washington 
 and had an interview with the newly-inaugurated Presi- 
 dent, General Taylor, regarding Lincoln’s appointment 
 to the desired office. The interview was but partially 
 satisfactory, the President remarking that he was favor- 
 able to Lincoln, but that Mr. Butterfield was very strongly 
 urged for the place and the chances of appointment were 
 in his favor. Lincoln had arranged to be in Washing- 
 ton at a time specified, after Major Wilcox should have 
 had opportunity to look the ground over. Major Wil- 
 cox says that he went to the railroad depot to meet 
 Lincoln at the train. It was in the afternoon, towards 
 night. The day had been quite warm, and the road was 
 dry and dusty. He found Lincoln just emerging from the 
 depot. He had on a thin suit of summer clothes, his coat 
 being a linen duster, much soiled. His whole appearance 
 was decidedly shabby. He carried in his hand an old- 
 fashioned carpet-sack, which added to the oddity of his 
 appearance. Major Wilcox says if it had been anybody 
 else he would have been rather shy of being seen in his 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 107 
 
 company, because of the awkward and unseemly appear- 
 ance he presented. Lincoln immediately began to talk 
 about his chances for the appointment; whereupon Major 
 Wilcox related to him everything that had transpired, 
 and what President Taylor had said to him. They 
 proceeded at once to Major Wilcox’s room, where they sat 
 down to look over the situation. Lincoln took from 
 his pocket a paper he had prepared in the case, which 
 comprised eleven reasons why he should be appointed 
 Commissioner of the General Land Office. Amongst 
 other things Lincoln presented the fact that he had been a 
 member of Congress from Illinois two years; that his 
 location was in the West, where the government lands 
 were; that he was a native of the West, and had been 
 reared under Western influences. He gave reasons why 
 the appointment should be given to Illinois, and particu- 
 larly to the southern part of the State. Major Wilcox 
 says that he was forcibly struck by the clear, convincing, 
 and methodical statement of Lincoln as contained in these 
 eleven reasons why he should have the appointment. 
 But it was given to Mr. Butterfield. 
 
 After Lincoln became President, a Member of Congress 
 asked him for an appointment in the army in behalf of a 
 son of the same Justin Butterfield. When the application 
 was presented, the President paused, and after a moment’s 
 silence, said: “Mr. Justin Butterfield once obtained an 
 appointment I very much wanted, in which my friends 
 believed I could have been useful, and to which they 
 thought I was fairly entitled. I hardly ever felt so bad 
 at any failure in my life. But I am glad of an opportunity 
 of doing a service to his son.” And he made an order for 
 his commission. In lieu of the desired office, General 
 Taylor offered Lincoln the post of Governor, and after- 
 wards of Secretary, of Oregon Territory; but these offers 
 he declined. In after years a friend remarked to him, 
 alluding to the event: “How fortunate that you declined! 
 
108 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 If you had gone to Oregon you might have come back as 
 Senator, but you would never have been President.” 
 “Yes, you are probably right,” said Lincoln; and then, 
 with a musing, dreamy look, he added: “I have all my 
 life been a fatalist. What is to be, will be; or, rather, I 
 have found all my life, as Hamlet says, — 
 
 ‘There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 Rough-hew them how we will.’ ” 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Lincoln again in Springfield — Back to the Circuit — His Personal 
 Manners and Appearance — Glimpses of Home-Life — His Family 
 — His Absent-Mindedness — A Painful Subject — Lincoln a 
 Man of Sorrows — Familiar Appearance on the Streets of Spring- 
 field — Scenes in the Law-Office — Forebodings of a “ Great or 
 Miserable End ” — An Evening with Lincoln in Chicago — Lin- 
 coln’s Tenderness to His Relatives — Death of His Father — A 
 Sensible Adviser — Care of His Step-Mother — Tribute from Her. 
 
 R ETIRING, somewhat reluctantly, from Washington 
 life, which he seems to have liked very much, 
 Lincoln returned to Springfield in 1849 and resumed the 
 practice of the law. He declined an advantageous offer 
 of a law-partnership at Chicago, made him by Judge 
 Goodrich, giving as a reason that if he went to Chicago 
 he would have to sit down and study hard, and this would 
 kill him; that he would rather go around the circuit in the 
 country than to sit down and die in a big city. So he 
 settled down once more in the rather uneventful and 
 fairly prosperous life of a country lawyer. 
 
 A gentleman who knew Lincoln intimately in Springfield, 
 in his maturity, has given the following capital description 
 of him. “He stands six feet four inches high in his stock- 
 ings. His frame is not muscular, but gaunt and wiry; 
 his arms are long, but not disproportionately so for a 
 person of his height; his lower limbs are not dispropor- 
 tioned to his body. In walking, his gait, though firm, is 
 never brisk. He steps slowly and deliberately, almost 
 always with his head inclined forward and his hands 
 clasped behind his back. In matters of dress he is by no 
 means precise. Always clean, he is never fashionable; 
 he is careless, but not slovenly. In manner he is re- 
 
110 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 markably cordial and at the same time simple. His 
 politeness is always sincere but never elaborate and 
 oppressive. A warm shake of the hand and a warmer 
 smile of recognition are his methods of greeting his friends. 
 At rest, his features, though those of a man of mark, are 
 not such as belong to a handsome man; but when his 
 fine dark gray eyes are lighted up by any emotion, and 
 his features begin their play, he would be chosen from 
 among a crowd as one who had in him not only the kindly 
 sentiments which women love but the heavier metal of 
 which full-grown men and Presidents are made. His 
 hair is black, and, though thin, is wiry. His head sits 
 well on his shoulders, but beyond that it defies description. 
 It nearer resembles that of Clay than that of Webster; 
 but it is unlike either. It is very large, and phrenologi- 
 cally well proportioned, betokening power in all its 
 developments. A slightly Roman nose, a wide-cut mouth, 
 and a dark complexion, with the appearance of having 
 been weather-beaten, complete the description.” 
 
 Of Lincoln’s life at this period, another writer says: 
 ‘‘He lived simply, comfortably, and respectably, with 
 neither expensive tastes nor habits. His wants were few 
 and simple. He occupied a small unostentatious house in 
 Springfield, and was in the habit of entertaining, in a very 
 simple way, his friends and his brethren of the bar during 
 the terms of the court and the sessions of the Legislature. 
 Mrs. Lincoln often entertained small numbers of friends 
 at dinner and somewhat larger numbers at evening parties. 
 In his modest and simple home everything was orderly 
 and refined, and there was always, on the part of both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln, a cordial and hearty Western wel- 
 come which put every guest at ease. Yet it was the wit 
 and humor, anecdote, and unrivalled conversation of the 
 host which formed the chief attraction and made a dinner 
 at Lincoln’s cottage an event to be remembered. Lincoln’s 
 income from his profession was now from $2,000 to $3,000 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 111 
 
 per annum. His property consisted of his house and lot 
 in Springfield, a lot in the town of Lincoln which had been 
 given to him, and 160 acres of wild land in Iowa which he 
 had received for his services in the Black Hawk War. 
 He owned a few law and miscellaneous books. All his 
 property may have been of the value of $10,000 or 
 $ 12 , 000 .” 
 
 Lincoln was at this time the father of two sons : Robert 
 Todd, born on the 1st day of August, 1843; and Edward 
 Baker, born on the 10th of March, 1846. In a letter to 
 his friend Speed, dated October 22 of the latter year, 
 Lincoln writes: “We have another boy, born the 10th of 
 March. He is very much such a child as Bob was at his 
 age, rather of a longer order. Bob is ‘short and low,’ 
 and I expect he always will be. He talks very plainly, 
 almost as plainly as anybody. He is quite smart enough. 
 I sometimes fear he is one of the little rare-ripe sort that 
 are smarter at about five than ever after. He has a great 
 deal of that sort of mischief that is the offspring of much 
 animal spirits. Since I began this letter a messenger came 
 to tell me Bob was lost; but by the time I reached the 
 house his mother had found him and had him whipped. 
 By now, very likely, he is run away again.” 
 
 December 21, 1850, a third son, William Wallace, was 
 born to him; and on April 4, 1853, a fourth and last child, 
 named Thomas. 
 
 “A young man bred in Springfield,” says Dr. Holland, 
 “speaks of a vision of Lincoln, as he appeared in those 
 days, that has clung to his memory very vividly. The 
 young man’s way to school led by the lawyer’s door. 
 On almost any fair summer morning he would find Lincoln 
 on the sidewalk in front of his house, drawing a child 
 backward and forward in a little gig. Without hat or 
 coat, wearing a pair of rough shoes, his hands behind h im 
 holding to the tongue of the gig, and his tall form bent 
 forward to accommodate himself to the service, he paced 
 
112 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 up and down the walk forgetful of everything around him 
 and intent only on some subject that absorbed his mind. 
 The young man says he remembers wondering in his 
 boyish way how so rough and plain a man should happen 
 to live in so respectable a house. The habit of mental 
 absorption, or ‘absent-mindedness’ as it is called, was 
 common with him always, but particularly during the 
 formative periods of his life. The New Salem people, it 
 will be remembered, thought him crazy because he passed 
 his best friends in the street without seeing them. At 
 the table, in his own family, he often sat down without 
 knowing or realizing where he was, and ate his food 
 mechanically. When he ‘came to himself’ it was a trick 
 with him to break the silence by the quotation of some 
 verse of poetry from a favorite author. It relieved the 
 awkwardness of the situation, served as a ‘blind’ to the 
 thoughts which had possessed him, and started conversa- 
 tion in a channel that led as far as possible from the 
 subject that he had set aside.” 
 
 Mr. Lamon has written with great freedom of the sorrow 
 that brooded over Lincoln’s home. Some knowledge of 
 the blight which this cast upon his life is necessary for a 
 right interpretation of the gloomy moods that constantly 
 oppressed him and left their indelible impress on his face 
 and character. Mr. Lamon states unreservedly that 
 Lincoln’s marriage was an unhappy one. The circum- 
 stances preceding his union with Miss Todd have been 
 related. Mr. Lamon says: “He was conscientious and 
 honorable and just. There was but one way of repairing 
 the injury he had done Miss Todd, and he adopted it. 
 They were married; but they understood each other, and 
 suffered the inevitable consequences. Such troubles 
 seldom fail to find a tongue; and it is not strange that in 
 this case neighbors and friends, and ultimately the whole 
 country, came to know the state of things in that house. 
 Lincoln scarcely attempted to conceal it. He talked of it 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 113 
 
 ■with little or no reserve to his wife’s relatives, as well as 
 to his own friends. Yet the gentleness and patience with 
 which he bore this affliction from day to day and from year 
 to year was enough to move the shade of Socrates. It 
 touched his acquaintances deeply, and they gave it the 
 widest publicity.” Mrs. Colonel Chapman, daughter of 
 Dennis Hanks and a relative of Lincoln, made him a long 
 visit previous to her marriage. “You ask me,” says she, 
 “how Mr. Lincoln acted at home. I can say, and that 
 truly, he was all that a husband, father, and neighbor 
 should be, kind and affectionate to his wife and child 
 (‘Bob’ being the only one they had when I was with 
 them), and very pleasant to all around him. Never did 
 I hear him utter an unkind word.” 
 
 It seems impossible to arrive at all the causes of Lincoln’s 
 melancholy disposition. He was, according to his most 
 intimate friends, totally unlike other people, — was, in 
 fact, “a mystery.” But whatever the history or the 
 cause, — whether physical reasons, the absence of domes- 
 tic concord, a series of painful recollections of his mother, 
 of early sorrows and hardships, of Anne Rutledge and 
 fruitless hopes, or all these combined, — Lincoln was a 
 terribly sad and gloomy man. “I do not think that he 
 knew what happiness was for twenty years,” says Mr. 
 Herndon. “‘ Terrible' is the word which all his friends 
 used to describe him in the black mood. ‘It was terrible! 
 It was terrible!’ said one to another.” Judge Davis 
 believes that Lincoln’s hilarity was mainly simulated, and 
 that “his stories and jokes were intended to whistle off 
 sadness.” “The groundwork of his social nature was sad,” 
 says Judge Scott. “But for the fact that he studiously 
 cultivated the humorous, it would have been very sad 
 indeed. His mirth always seemed to me to be put on; 
 like a plant produced in a hot-bed, it had an unnatural 
 and luxuriant growth.” Mr. Herndon, Lincoln’s law- 
 partner and most intimate friend, describes him at this 
 
114 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 period as a “thin, tall, wiry, sinewy, grizzly, raw-boned 
 man, looking ‘woe-struck.’ His countenance was haggard 
 and careworn, exhibiting all the marks of deep and pro- 
 tracted suffering. Every feature of the man — the hollow 
 eyes, with the dark rings beneath; the long, sallow, 
 cadaverous face intersected by those peculiar deep lines; 
 his whole air; his walk; his long silent reveries, broken at 
 long intervals by sudden and startling exclamations, as if 
 to confound an observer who might suspect the nature of 
 his thoughts, — showed he was a man of sorrows, not 
 sorrows of to-day or yesterday, but long-treasured and 
 deep, bearing with him a continual sense of weariness and 
 pain. He was a plain, homely, sad, weary-looking man, 
 to whom one’s heart warmed involuntarily because he 
 seemed at once miserable and kind.” 
 
 Mr. Page Eaton, an old resident of Springfield, says: 
 “Lincoln always did his own marketing, even after he 
 was elected President and before he went to Washington. 
 I used to see him at the butcher’s or baker’s every morning, 
 with his basket on his arm. He was kind and sociable, 
 and would always speak to everyone. He was so kind, 
 so childlike, that I don’t believe there was one in the city 
 who didn’t love him as a father or brother.” “On a 
 winter’s morning,” says Mr. Lamon, “he could be seen 
 wending his way to the market, with a basket on his arm 
 and at his side a little boy whose small feet rattled and 
 pattered over the ice-bound pavement, attempting to 
 make up by the number of his short steps for the long 
 strides of his father. The little fellow jerked at the bony 
 hand which held his, and prattled and questioned, begged 
 and grew petulant, in a vain effort to make his father 
 talk to him. But the latter was probably unconscious of 
 the other’s existence, and stalked on, absorbed in his own 
 reflections. He wore on such occasions an old gray shawl, 
 rolled into a coil and wrapped like a rope around his 
 neck. The rest of his clothes were in keeping. ‘He did 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 115 
 
 not walk cunningly — Indian-like — but cautiously and 
 fir ml y.’ His tread was even and strong. He was a little 
 pigeon-toed; and this, with another peculiarity, made, 
 his walk very singular. He set his whole foot flat on the 
 ground, and in turn lifted it all at once — not resting 
 momentarily upon the toe as the foot rose nor upon the 
 heel as it fell. He never wore his shoes out at the heel 
 and the toe, as most men do, more than at the middle. 
 Yet his gait was not altogether awkward, and there was 
 manifest physical power in his step. As he moved along 
 thus, silent and abstracted, his thoughts dimly reflected 
 in his sharp face, men turned to look after him as an object 
 of sympathy as well as curiosity. His melancholy, in 
 the words of Mr. Herndon, ‘ dripped from him as he walked.’ 
 If, however, he met a friend in the street, and was roused 
 by a hearty ‘ Good-morning, Lincoln ! ’ he would grasp the 
 friend’s hand with one or both of his own, and with his 
 usual expression of ‘Howdy! howdy!’ would detain him 
 to hear a story; something reminded him of it; it happened 
 in Indiana, and it must be told, for it was wonderfully 
 pertinent. It was not at home that he most enjoyed 
 seeing company. He preferred to meet his friends abroad, 
 — on a street-corner, in an office, at the court-house, or 
 sitting on nail-kegs in a country store.” Mrs. Lincoln 
 experienced great difficulty in securing the punctual 
 attendance of her husband at the family meals. Dr. 
 Bateman has repeatedly seen two of the boys pulling with 
 all their might at his coat-tails, and a third pushing in 
 front, while paterfamilias stood upon the street cordially 
 shaking the hand of an old acquaintance. 
 
 After his breakfast-hour, says Mr. Lamon, he would 
 appear at his office and go about the labors of the day with 
 all his might, displaying prodigious industry and capacity 
 for continuous application, although he never was a fast 
 worker. Sometimes it happened that he came without 
 his breakfast; and then he would have in his hands a piece 
 
116 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of cheese or bologna sausage, and a few crackers, bought 
 by the way. At such times he did not speak to his partner, 
 or his friends if any happened to be present; the tears 
 perhaps struggling into his eyes, while his pride was strug- 
 gling to keep them back. Mr. Herndon knew the whole 
 story at a glance. There was no speech between them, 
 but neither wished the visitors at the office to witness the 
 scene. So Lincoln retired to the back office while Mr. 
 Herndon locked the front one and walked away with the 
 key in his pocket. In an hour or more the latter would 
 return and perhaps find Lincoln calm and collected. 
 Otherwise he went out again and w T aited until he was so. 
 Then the office was opened and everything went on as 
 usual. 
 
 “His mind was filled with gloomy forebodings and 
 strong apprehensions of impending evil, mingled with 
 extravagant visions of personal grandeur and power. He 
 never doubted for a moment that he was formed for some 
 ‘great or miserable end.’ He talked about it frequently 
 and sometimes calmly. Mr. Herndon remembers many 
 of these conversations in their office at Springfield and in 
 their rides around the circuit. Lincoln said the impression 
 had grown in him all his life; but Mr. Herndon thinks it 
 was about 1840 that it took the character of a ‘religious 
 conviction.’ He had then suffered much, and consider- 
 ing his opportunities he had achieved great things. He 
 was already a leader among men, and a most brilliant 
 career had been promised him by the prophetic enthusiasm 
 of many friends. Thus encouraged and stimulated, and 
 feeling himself growing gradually stronger and stronger 
 in the estimation of ‘the plain people’ whose voice was 
 more potent than all the Warwicks, his ambition painted 
 the rainbow of glory in the sky, while his morbid mel- 
 ancholy supplied the clouds that were to overcast and 
 obliterate it w ith the wrath and ruin of the tempest. To 
 him it was fate, and there was no escape or defense. The 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 117 
 
 presentiment never deserted him. It was as clear, as 
 perfect, as certain as any image conveyed by the senses. 
 He had now entertained it so long that it was as much a 
 part of his nature as the consciousness of identity. All 
 doubts had faded away, and he submitted humbly to a 
 power which he could neither comprehend nor resist. 
 He was to fall, — fall from a lofty place and in the per- 
 formance of a great work.” 
 
 On one occasion Lincoln visited Chicago as counsel in 
 a case in the U. S. District Court. The Hon. N. B. Judd, 
 an intimate friend, was also engaged upon the case, and 
 took Mr. Lincoln home with him as a guest. The follow- 
 ing account of this visit is given by Mrs. Judd in Oldroyd’s 
 Memorial Album: “Mr. Judd had invited Mr. Lincoln 
 to spend the evening at our pleasant home on the shore of 
 Lake Michigan. After tea, and until quite late, we sat 
 on the broad piazza, looking out upon as lovely a scene as 
 that which has made the Bay of Naples so celebrated. 
 A number of vessels were availing themselves of a fine 
 breeze to leave the harbor, and the lake was studded with 
 many a white sail. I remember that a flock of sea-gulls 
 were flying along the beach, dipping their beaks and white- 
 lined wings in the foam that capped the short waves as 
 they fell upon the shore. Whilst we sat there the great 
 white moon appeared on the rim of the eastern horizon 
 and slowly crept above the water, throwing a perfect 
 flood of silver light upon the dancing waves. The stars 
 shone with the soft light of a midsummer night, and the 
 breaking of the low waves upon the shore added the charm 
 of pleasant sound to the beauty of the night. Mr. Lincoln, 
 whose home was far inland from the great lakes, seemed 
 greatly impressed with the wondrous beauty of the scene, 
 and carried by its impressiveness away from all thought 
 of jars and turmoil of earth. In that mild, pleasant voice, 
 attuned to harmony with his surroundings, as was his 
 wont when his soul was stirred by aught that was lovely or 
 
118 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 beautiful, Mr. Lincoln began to speak of the mystery which 
 for ages enshrouded and shut out those distant worlds 
 above us from our own; of the poetry and beauty which 
 was seen and felt by seers of old when they contemplated 
 Orion and Arcturus as they wheeled, seemingly around the 
 earth, in their nightly course; of the discoveries since the 
 invention of the telescope, which had thrown a flood of 
 light and knowledge on what before was incomprehensible 
 and mysterious; of the wonderful computations of 
 scientists who had measured the miles of seemingly endless 
 space which separated the planets in our solar system from 
 our central sun, and our sun from other suns. He specu- 
 lated on the possibilities of knowledge which an increased 
 power of the lens would give in the years to come. When 
 the night air became too chilling to remain longer on the 
 piazza we went into the parlor. Seated on the sofa, his 
 long limbs stretching across the carpet and his arms folded 
 behind him, Mr. Lincoln went on to speak of other dis- 
 coveries, of the inventions which had been made during 
 the long cycles of time lying between the present and those 
 early days when the sons of Adam began to make use of 
 material things about them and invent instruments of 
 various kinds in brass and gold and silver. He gave us a 
 short but succinct account of all the inventions referred 
 to in the Old Testament, from the time when Adam 
 walked in the garden of Eden until the Bible record ended, 
 600 b.c. I said, ‘Mr. Lincoln, I did not know you were 
 such a Bible student.’ He replied: ‘I must be honest, 
 Mrs. Judd, and tell you just how I come to know so much 
 about these early inventions.’ He then went on to say 
 that in discussing with some friend the relative age of the 
 discovery and use of the precious metals he went to the 
 Bible to satisfy himself and became so interested in his 
 researches that he made memoranda of the different 
 discoveries and inventions. Soon after, he was invited 
 to lecture before some literary society, I think in Bloom- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 119 
 
 ington. The interest he had felt in the study convinced 
 him that the subject would interest others, and he there- 
 fore prepared and delivered his lecture on The Age of 
 Different Inventions. ‘Of course,’ he added, ‘I could not 
 after that forget the order or time of such discoveries and 
 inventions.’ ” 
 
 In all the years that had passed since Lincoln left his 
 father’s humble house, he had preserved an affectionate 
 interest in the welfare of its various members. He paid 
 them visits whenever he could find opportunity, and never 
 failed to extend his aid and sympathy whenever needed. 
 He had risen to success in his profession, was widely 
 known throughout his section, and though still a poor 
 man he had good prospects and considerable influence. 
 Yet he ever retained a considerate regard and remembrance 
 for the poor and obscure relatives he had left plodding in 
 the humble ways of life. He never assumed the slightest 
 superiority to them. Whenever, upon his circuit, he found 
 time, he always visited them. Countless times he was 
 known to leave his companions at the village hotel after 
 a hard day’s work in the court-room and spend the evening 
 with these old friends and companions of his humbler 
 days. On one occasion, when urged not to go, he replied, 
 “Why, Aunt’s heart woidd be broken if I should leave 
 town without calling upon her,” — yet he was obliged to 
 walk several miles to make the call. As his fortunes 
 improved he often sent money and presents to his father 
 and step-mother, bought land for them, and tried in every 
 way to make them comfortable and happy. The father 
 was gratified at these marks of affection, and felt great 
 pride in the rising prosperity of his son. Mr. Herndon 
 says that “for years Lincoln supported or helped to 
 support his aged father and mother. It is to his honor 
 that he dearly loved his step-mother, and it is equally 
 true that she idolized her step-son. He purchased a 
 piece of property in Coles County as a home for his father 
 
120 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 and mother, and had it deeded in trust for their use and 
 benefit.” 
 
 In 1851 Lincoln’s father died, at the age of seventy- 
 three. The following letter, written a few days before 
 this event, reveals the affectionate solicitude of the son : 
 
 Springfield, Jan. 12, 1851. 
 
 Dear Brother : — On the day before yesterday I 
 received a letter from Harriet, written at Greenup. She 
 says she has just returned from your house, and that 
 father is very low and will hardly recover. She also says 
 that you have written me two letters, and that, although 
 you do not expect me to come now, you wonder that I do 
 not write. I received both your letters; and although I 
 have not answered them, it is not because I have forgotten 
 them, or not been interested about them, but because it 
 appeared to me I could write nothing which could do any 
 good. You already know I desire that neither father nor 
 mother shall be in want of any comfort, either in health or 
 sickness, while they live; and I feel sure you have not 
 failed to use my name, if necessary, to procure a doctor or 
 anything else for father in his present sickness. My 
 business is such that I could hardly leave home now, if it 
 were not, as it is, that my wife is sick a-bed. I sincerely 
 hope father may yet recover his health; but, at all events, 
 tell him to remember to call upon and confide in our great 
 and good and merciful Maker, who will not turn away from 
 him in any extremity. He notes the fall of a sparrow, and 
 numbers the hairs of our heads; and He will not forget the 
 dying man who puts his trust in Him. Say to him, that 
 if we could meet now it is doubtful whether it would not 
 be more painful than pleasant; but that if it be his lot to 
 go now he will soon have a joyous meeting with loved ones 
 gone before, and where the rest of us, through the help of 
 God, hope ere long to join them. 
 
 Write me again when you receive this. 
 
 Affectionately, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 The step-brother, John Johnston, to whom the fore- 
 going letter is addressed, was the cause of considerable 
 anxiety to Lincoln. It was with him that their parents 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 121 
 
 resided, and frequent were his appeals to Lincoln to ex- 
 tricate him from some pecuniary strait into which he had 
 fallen through his confirmed thriftlessness and improvi- 
 dence. “John Johnston,” Mr. Herndon says, “was an 
 indolent and shiftless man, one who was ‘born tired.’ 
 Yet he was clever, generous and hospitable.” The follow- 
 ing document affords a hint of Lincoln’s kindly patience 
 as well as of his capacity for sound practical advice when 
 it was much needed: 
 
 Dear Johnston: — Your request for eighty dollars I 
 do not think it best to comply with now. At the various 
 times when I have helped you a little you have said to me, 
 ‘We can get along very well now’; but in a very short time 
 I find you in the same difficulty again. Now, this can only 
 happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect 
 is, I think I know. You are not lazy, and still you are an 
 idler. I doubt whether, since I saw you, you have done 
 a good whole day’s work in any one day. You do not very 
 much dislike to work, and still you do not work much, merely 
 because it does not seem to you that you could get much 
 for it. This habit of uselessly wasting time is the whole 
 difficulty ; and it is vastly important to you, and still more 
 so to your children, that you should break the habit. It 
 is more important to them, because they have longer to 
 live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they are in it 
 easier than they can get out after they are in. You are 
 now in need of some money; and what I propose is that 
 you shall go to work, ‘tooth and nail,’ for somebody who 
 will give you money for it. Let father and your boys take 
 charge of things at home, prepare for a crop, and make the 
 crop, and you go to work for the best money-wages, or in 
 discharge of any debt you owe, that you can get; and, to 
 secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you, 
 that, for every dollar you will, between this and the first 
 of next May, get for your own labor, either in money or as 
 your own indebtedness, I will then give you one other 
 dollar. By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, 
 from me you will get ten more, making twenty dollars a 
 month for your work. In this I do not mean you shall go 
 off to St. Louis, or the lead-mines, or the gold-mines in 
 
122 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 California; but I mean for you to go at it, for the best 
 wages you can get, close to home, in Coles County. Now, 
 if you will do this you will soon be out of debt, and, what is 
 better, you will have a habit that will keep you from 
 getting in debt again. But if I should now clear you out 
 of debt, next year you would be in just as deep as ever. 
 You say you would almost give your place in heaven for 
 $70 or $80. Then you value your place in heaven very 
 cheap; for I am sure you can, with the offer I make, get 
 the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five months’ 
 work. You say, if I will furnish you the money, you will 
 deed me the land, and if you don’t pay the money back, 
 you will deliver possession. Nonsense! If you can’t 
 now live with the land, how will you then live without it? 
 You have always been kind to me, and I do not mean to 
 be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but follow 
 my advice, you will find it worth more than eighty times 
 eighty dollars to you. 
 
 Affectionately your brother, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 In other letters he wrote even more sharply to his 
 thriftless step-brother. 
 
 Shelbyville, Nov. 4, 1851 
 
 Dear Brother: — When I came into Charleston, day 
 before yesterday, I learned that you are anxious to sell 
 the land where you live, and move to Missouri. I have 
 been thinking of this ever since, and cannot but think 
 such a notion is utterly foolish. What can you do in 
 Missouri better than here? Is the land any richer? Can 
 you there, any more than here, raise corn and wheat and 
 oats without work? Will any body there, any more than 
 here, do your work for you? If you intend to go to work, 
 there is no better place than right where you are; if you 
 do not intend to go to work, you can not get along any- 
 where. Squirming and crawling about from place to place 
 can do no good. You have raised no crop this year; and 
 what you really want is to sell the land, get the money 
 and spend it. Part with the land you have, and, my life 
 upon it, you will never after own a spot big enough to 
 bury you in. Half of what you will get for the land you 
 will spend in moving to Missouri, and the other half you 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 123 
 
 will eat and drink and wear out, and no foot of land will 
 be bought. Now, I feel it is my duty to have no hand in 
 such a piece of foolery. I feel that it is so even on your 
 own account, and particularly on mother’s account. The 
 eastern forty acres I intend to keep for mother while she 
 lives; if you will not cultivate it, it will rent for enough to 
 support her; at least, it will rent for something. Her 
 dower in the other two forties she can let you have, and no 
 thanks to me. Now, do not misunderstand this letter. 
 I do not write it in any unkindness. I write it in order, if 
 possible, to get you to face the truth, which truth is, you 
 are destitute because you have idled away all your time. 
 Your thousand pretences for not getting along better are 
 all nonsense. They deceive nobody but yourself. Go to 
 work is the only cure for your case. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 In still another letter he reveals his tender solicitude 
 for his step-mother, as well as his care for his step-brother’s 
 unfortunate children. 
 
 Shelbyville, Nov. 9, 1851 
 
 Dear Brother : — When I wrote you before, I had not 
 received your letter. I still think as I did ; but if the land 
 can be sold so that I get $300 to put at interest for mother, 
 I will not object, if she does not. But before I will make a 
 deed, the money must be had, or secured beyond all doubt, 
 at ten per cent. As to Abram, I do not want him on my 
 own account; but I understand he wants to live with me, 
 so that he can go to school, and get a fair start in the world, 
 which I very much wish him to have. When I reach home, 
 if I can make it convenient I will take him, provided there 
 is no mistake between us as to the object and terms of my 
 taking him. 
 
 In haste, as ever, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 In speaking of Lincoln’s regard for his step-mother, it 
 is interesting also to learn her opinion of him. A gentle- 
 man visiting the old lady after her son’s death says: “She 
 is eighty-four years old, and quite feeble. She is a plain, 
 
124 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 unsophisticated old lady, with a frank, open countenance, 
 a warm heart full of kindness toward others, and in many 
 respects very much like the President. Abraham was 
 evidently her idol; she speaks of him still as her ‘good 
 boy,’ and with much feeling said, ‘He was always a good 
 boy, and willing to do just what I wanted. He and his 
 step-brother never quarrelled but once, and that, you 
 know, is a great deal for step-brothers. I didn’t want 
 him elected President. I knowed they would kill him.’” 
 She died in April, 1869, and was buried by the side of her 
 husband, Thomas Lincoln. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Lincoln as a Lawyer — His Appearance in Court — Reminiscences of 
 a Law-Student in Lincoln’s Office — An “ Office Copy ” of Byron 
 — Novel way of Keeping Partnership Accounts — Charges for Legal 
 Services — Trial of Bill Armstrong — Lincoln before a Jury — 
 Kindness toward Unfortunate Clients — Refusing to Defend 
 Guilty Men — Courtroom Anecdotes — Anecdotes of Lincoln at 
 the Bar — Some Striking Opinions of Lincoln as a Lawyer. 
 
 T HE ten years following the close of Lincoln’s Con- 
 gressional service, in 1849, were given to the unin- 
 terrupted practice of the law, to which he devoted himself 
 laboriously and successfully, though not with great pe- 
 cuniary gains. His legal fees were regarded by his brethren 
 at the bar as “ridiculously small.” His practice had 
 extended to the Supreme Court of his State and to the 
 United States District and Circuit Courts, and he was 
 occasionally retained for cases in other States. With 
 greater love of money and less sympathy for his fellows, 
 he might have acquired a fortune in his profession. 
 
 Lincoln never speculated. Apparently he had no great 
 desire to acquire wealth. He had many opportunities 
 in the days of the State’s early growth to make good and 
 safe investments, but he never took advantage of them. 
 Many of his fellow lawyers were becoming wealthy, but 
 Lincoln still rode the circuit wearing the familiar gray 
 shawl about his shoulders, carrying a carpet-bag filled 
 with papers and a change of underclothing, and a faded, 
 green cotton umbrella with “A. Lincoln” in large white 
 muslin letters on the inside. The knob was gone from 
 the handle of the umbrella and a piece of twine kept it 
 from falling open. A young lawyer who saw him for the 
 first time thus — one who grew to love him and who after- 
 
126 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 wards gave his life for the Union — in relating the cir- 
 cumstance a long time afterward, exclaimed: “He was the 
 ungodliest figure I ever saw.” 
 
 An interesting and vivid description of Lincoln’s per- 
 sonal appearance and manner in the trial of a case is 
 furnished by one who was a witness of the scenes which he 
 so admirably describes. The writer says: “While living 
 in Danville, Illinois, in 1854, I saw Abraham Lincoln for 
 the first time. The occasion of his visit was as prosecutor 
 of a slander suit brought by Dr. Fithian against a wealthy 
 farmer whose wife died under the doctor’s hands. The 
 defense was represented by Edward A. Hannegan, of 
 Indiana, ex-United States Senator and afterward Minister 
 to Berlin, an able and eloquent man; and 0. B. Ficklin, 
 who, after Douglas and Lincoln, was considered the best 
 lawyer in Illinois. Lincoln had all he could do to maintain 
 himself against his two formidable adversaries, but he was 
 equal to the occasion. The trial lasted three or four days, 
 the examination of witnesses consuming most of the time. 
 In this part of the work Lincoln displayed remarkable 
 tact. He did not badger the witnesses, or attempt to 
 confuse them. His questions were plain and practical, 
 and elicited answers that had a direct bearing upon the 
 case. He did nothing for effect, and made no attempt to 
 dazzle the jury or captivate the audience. When he arose 
 to speak he was confronted by an audience that was too 
 numerous for all to find seats in the court-room. He was 
 attired in a fine broadcloth suit, silk hat, and polished 
 boots. His neck was encircled by an old-fashioned silk 
 choker. He perspired freely, and used a red silk handker- 
 chief to remove the perspiration. His clothes fitted him, 
 and he was as genteel-looking as any man in the audience. 
 The slouchy appearance which he is said to have presented 
 on other occasions was conspicuously absent here. As 
 he stood before the vast audience, towering above every 
 person around him, he was the centre of attraction. I 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 127 
 
 can never forget how he looked, as he cast his eyes over 
 the crowd before beginning his argument. His face was 
 long and sallow; high cheek bones; large, deep-set eyes, 
 of a grayish-brown color, shaded by heavy eyebrows; 
 high but not broad forehead; large, well-formed head, 
 covered with an abundance of coarse black hair, worn 
 rather long, through which he frequently passed his 
 fingers; arms and legs of unusual length; head inclined 
 slightly forward, which made him appear stoop-shouldered. 
 His features betrayed neither excitement nor anxiety. 
 They were calm and fixed. In short, his appearance was 
 that of a man who felt the responsibility of his position 
 and was determined to acquit himself to the best of his 
 ability. I do not remember the points of his speech; but 
 his manner was so peculiar, so different from that of other 
 orators whom I have heard, that I can never forget it. 
 He spoke for almost two hours, entirely without notes 
 and with an eloquence that I have never heard surpassed. 
 He was all life, all motion; every muscle and fibre of his 
 body seemed brought into requisition. His voice was 
 clear, distinct, and well modulated. Every word was 
 clean-cut and exactly suited to its place. At times he 
 would stoop over until his hands almost swept the floor. 
 Then he would straighten himself up, fold his arms across 
 his breast, and take a few steps forward or back. This 
 movement completed, he would fling his arms above his 
 head, or thrust them beneath his coat-tails, elevating or 
 depressing his voice to suit the attitude assumed and the 
 sentiment expressed. Arms and legs were continually 
 in motion. It seemed impossible for him to stand still. 
 In the midst of the most impassioned or pathetic portions 
 of his speech, he would extend his long arms toward the 
 judge or jury, and shake his bony fingers with an effect 
 that is indescribable. He held his audience to the last; 
 and when he sat down there was a murmur of applause 
 which the judge with difficulty prevented from swelling 
 
128 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 to a roar. The argument must have been as able as the 
 manner of the speaker was attractive, for the verdict was 
 in favor of his client. 
 
 “When he had retired to his hotel after the trial, and 
 while conversing with a number of gentlemen who had 
 called to pay their respects to him, Lincoln was informed 
 that an old colored woman, who had known him years 
 before in Kentucky, wished to see him. She was too 
 feeble to come to him, and desired him to go to her. 
 Ascertaining where she lived, Lincoln started at once, 
 accompanied by a boy who acted as pilot. He found the 
 woman in a wretched hovel in the outskirts of the town, 
 sick and destitute. He remembered her very well, as she 
 had belonged to the owner of the farm upon which Lincoln 
 was born. He gave her money to supply her immediate 
 wants, promised her that he would see she did not suffer 
 for the necessaries of life, and when he returned to town 
 hunted up a physician and engaged him to give the old 
 woman all the medical attention that her case demanded.” 
 
 Mr. G. W. Harris, whose first meeting with Lincoln 
 in a log school-house has been previously described in 
 these pages, subsequently became a clerk in Lincoln’s 
 law-office at Springfield, and furnishes some excellent 
 reminiscences of that interesting period. “A crack- 
 brained attorney who lived in Springfield, supported 
 mainly by the other lawyers of the place, became in- 
 debted, in the sum of two dollars and fifty cents, to a 
 wealthy citizen of the county, a recent comer. The 
 creditor, failing after repeated efforts to collect the amount 
 due him, came to Mr. Lincoln and asked him to bring 
 suit. Lincoln explained the man’s condition and circum- 
 stances, and advised his client to let the matter rest; 
 but the creditor’s temper was up, and he insisted on 
 having suit brought. Again Lincoln urged him to let the 
 matter drop, adding, ‘You can make nothing out of him, 
 and it will cost you a good deal more than the debt to 
 
EYERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 129 
 
 bring suit.’ The creditor was still determined to have his 
 way, and threatened to seek some other attorney who 
 would be more willing to take charge of the matter than 
 Lincoln appeared to be. Lincoln then said, ‘Well, if 
 you are determined that suit shall be brought, I will bring 
 it; but my charge will be ten dollars.’ The money was 
 paid him, and peremptory orders were given that the suit 
 be brought that day. After the client’s departure, 
 Lincoln went out of the office, returning in about an hour 
 with an amused look on his face. I asked what pleased 
 
 him, and he replied, ‘ I brought suit against , and 
 
 then hunted him up, told him what I had done, handed 
 him half of the ten dollars, and we went over to the 
 squire’s office. He confessed judgment and paid the bill.’ 
 Lincoln added that he didn’t see any other way to make 
 things satisfactory for his client as well as the rest of the 
 parties. 
 
 “Mr. Lincoln had a heart that was more a woman’s 
 than a man’s — filled to overflowing with sympathy for 
 those in trouble, and ever ready to relieve them by any 
 means in his power. He was ever thoughtful of others’ 
 comforts, even to the forgetting of himself. In those 
 early days his face wore a sad look when at rest — a look 
 that made you feel that you would like to take from him 
 a part of his burden. One who knew him then and had 
 known his career since would be inclined to think that he 
 already felt premonitions of the heavy burdens that his 
 broad shoulders were to bear, and the sorrows that his 
 kind heart would have to endure. 
 
 “Mr. Lincoln was fond of playing chess and checkers, 
 and usually acted cautiously upon the defensive until the 
 game had reached a stage where aggressive movements 
 were clearly justified. He was also somewhat fond of 
 ten-pins, and occasionally indulged in a game. Whatever 
 may have been his tastes in his younger days, at this 
 period of his life he took no interest in fishing-rod or gun. 
 
130 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 He was indifferent to dress, careless almost to a fault of 
 his personal appearance. The same indifference extended 
 to money. So long as his wants were supplied — and they 
 were few and simple — he seemed to have no further use 
 for money, except in the giving or the lending of it, with 
 no expectation or desire for its return, to those whom he 
 thought needed it more than he. Debt he abhorred, and 
 under no circumstances would he incur it. He was ab- 
 stemious in every respect. I have heard him say that he 
 did not know the taste of liquor. At the table he preferred 
 plain food, and a very little satisfied him. 
 
 “Under no circumstances would he, as an attorney, 
 take a case he knew to be wrong. Every possible means 
 was used to get at the truth before he would undertake a 
 case. More cases, by his advice, were settled without 
 trial than he carried into the courts ; and that, too, without 
 charge. When on one occasion I suggested that he ought 
 to make a charge in such cases, he laughingly answered, 
 ‘They wouldn’t want to pay me; they don’t think I have 
 earned a fee unless I take the case into court and make 
 a speech or two.’ When trivial cases were brought to 
 him, such as would most probably be carried no farther 
 than a magistrate’s office, and he could not induce a 
 settlement without trial, he would generally refer them to 
 some young attorney, for whom he would speak a good 
 word at the same time. He was ever kind and courteous 
 to these young beginners when he was the opposing counsel. 
 He had a happy knack of setting them at their ease and 
 encouraging them. In consequence he was the favorite 
 of all who came in contact with him. When his heart was 
 in a case he was a powerful advocate. I have heard more 
 than one attorney say that it was little use to expect a 
 favorable verdict in any case where Lincoln was opposing 
 counsel, as his simple statements of the facts had more 
 weight with the jury than those of the witnesses. 
 
 “As a student (if such a term could be applied to Mr. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 131 
 
 Lincoln) one who did not know him might have called him 
 indolent. He would pick up a book and run rapidly over 
 the pages, pausing here and there. At the end of an hour 
 — never, as I remember, more than two or three hours — 
 he would close the book, stretch himself out on the office 
 lounge, and with hands under his head and eyes shut he 
 would digest the mental food he had just taken. 
 
 “In the spring of 1846, war between the United States 
 and Mexico broke out. Mr. Lincoln was opposed to the 
 war. He looked upon it as unnecessary and unjust. 
 Volunteers were called for. John J. Hardin, who lost his 
 life in that war, and Edward D. Baker, who was killed at 
 Ball’s Bluff during our Civil War — both Whigs — were 
 engaged in raising regiments. Meetings were held and 
 speeches made. At one of them, after Baker and others 
 had spoken, Lincoln, who was in the audience, was called 
 for, and the call was repeated until at last he ascended the 
 platform. He thanked the audience for the compliment 
 paid him in the wish they had expressed to hear him talk, 
 and said he would gladly make them a speech if he had 
 anything to say. But he was not going into the war; 
 and as he was not going himself, he did not feel like telling 
 others to go. He would simply leave it to each individual 
 to do as he thought his duty called for. After a few more 
 remarks, and a story ‘with a nib to it,’ he bowed himself 
 off the platform. 
 
 “About a year after this, Mr. Lincoln was seeking to be 
 nominated as a candidate for Congress. Finding the 
 writing of letters (at his dictation) to influential men in 
 the different counties and even precincts of the district 
 somewhat burdensome, I suggested printing circulars. 
 He objected, on the ground that a printed letter would 
 not have the same effect that a written one would; the 
 latter had the appearance of personality, it was more 
 flattering to the receiver, and would more certainly gain 
 his assistance, or at least his good-will. In discussing the 
 
132 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 probabilities of his nomination, I remarked that there was 
 so much unfairness, if not downright trickery, used that 
 it appeared to me almost useless to seek a nomination 
 without resort to similar means. His reply was: ‘I want 
 to be nominated; I would like to go to Congress; but if I 
 cannot do so by fair means, I prefer to stay at home.’ 
 He was nominated, and in the following fall was elected 
 by a majority over three times as large as the district 
 had ever before given. 
 
 “Mr. Lincoln, like many others in their callow days, 
 scribbled verses; and so far as I was capable of judging, 
 their quality was above the average. It was accidentally 
 that I learned this. In arranging the books and papers 
 in the office, I found two or three quires of letter-paper 
 stitched together in book form, nearly filled with poetical 
 effusions in Mr. Lincoln’s handwriting, and evidently 
 original. I looked through them somewhat hurriedly, and 
 when Lincoln came in I showed him the manuscript, asking 
 him if it was his. His response was, ‘ Where did you find 
 it?’ and rolling it up, he put it in his coat-tail pocket; 
 and I saw it no more. Afterwards, in speaking of the 
 matter to Mr. Lincoln’s partner, he said, ‘I believe he 
 has at times scribbled some verses; but he is, I think, 
 somewhat unwilling to have it known.’ ” 
 
 Lincoln’s love of poetry is further shown by the following 
 incident, related by a gentleman who visited the old law- 
 office of Lincoln & Herndon, at Springfield. He says: 
 “I took up carelessly, as I stood thinking, a handsome 
 octavo volume lying on the office table. It opened so 
 persistently at one place, as I handled it, that I looked to 
 see what it was, and found that somebody had thoroughly 
 thumbed the pages of ‘Don Juan.’ I knew Mr. Herndon 
 was not a man to dwell on it, and it darted through my 
 mind that perhaps it had been a favorite with Lincoln. 
 ‘Did Mr. Lincoln ever read this book?’ I said, hurriedly. 
 ‘That book!’ said Herndon, looking up from his writing 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 133 
 
 and taking it out of my hand. ‘Oh, yes; he read it often. 
 It is the office copy.’” Lincoln was so fond of the book 
 that he kept it ready to his hand. 
 
 Mr. John T. Stuart, Lincoln’s first law-partner, says 
 of him that his accounts were correctly kept, but in a 
 manner peculiar to himself. Soon after their law-partner- 
 ship was formed, Mr. Stuart was elected to Congress, 
 thereafter spending much of his time in Washington. 
 Lincoln conducted the business of the firm in his 
 absence. When Mr. Stuart reached home, at the close 
 of the first session of Congress, Lincoln proceeded to give 
 him an account of the earnings of the office during his 
 absence. The charges for fees and entry of receipts of 
 money were not in an account book, but stowed away in 
 a drawer in Lincoln’s desk, among the papers in each case. 
 He proceeded to lay the papers before Mr. Stuart, taking 
 up each case by itself. The account would run in this 
 
 way: 
 
 Fees charged in this case $ 
 
 Amount collected $ 
 
 Stuart’s half $ 
 
 The half that belonged to Mr. Stuart would invariably 
 * accompany the papers in the case. Lincoln had the 
 reputation of being very moderate in his charges. He 
 was never grasping, and seemed incapable of believing 
 that his services could be worth much to anyone. 
 
 One of the most famous cases in which Lincoln engaged 
 was that of William D. Armstrong, son of Jack and Hannah 
 Armstrong of New Salem, the child whom Lincoln had 
 rocked in the cradle while Mrs. Armstrong attended to 
 other household duties. Jack Armstrong, it will be 
 remembered, was an early friend of Lincoln’s, whom he 
 had beaten in a wrestling-match on his first arrival in 
 New Salem. He and his wife had from that time treated 
 the youth with the utmost kindness, giving him a home 
 when he was out of work, and showing him every kindness 
 
134 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 it was in their power to offer. Lincoln never forgot his 
 debt of gratitude to them; and when Hannah, now a 
 widow, wrote to him of the peril her boy was in, and 
 besought him to help them in their extremity, he replied 
 promptly that he would do what he could. The circum- 
 stances were these: “In the summer of 1857, at a camp- 
 meeting in Mason County, one Metzgar was most brutally 
 murdered. The affray took place about half a mile from 
 the place of worship, near some wagons loaded with liquor 
 and provisions. Two men, James H. Norris and William 
 D. Armstrong, were indicted for the crime. Norris was 
 tried in Mason County, convicted of manslaughter, and 
 sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of eight years. 
 The popular feeling being very high against Armstrong in 
 Mason County, he took a change of venue to Cass County, 
 and was there tried (at Beardstown) in the spring of 1858. 
 Hitherto Armstrong had had the services of two able 
 counsellors; but now their efforts were supplemented by 
 those of a most determined and zealous volunteer. The 
 case was so clear against the accused that defense seemed 
 almost useless. The strongest evidence was that of a 
 man who swore that at eleven o’clock at night he saw 
 Armstrong strike the deceased on the head; that the 
 moon was shining brightly, and was nearly full; and that 
 its position in the sky was just about that of the sun at 
 ten o’clock in the morning, and by it he saw Armstrong 
 give the mortal blow.” This was fatal, unless the effect 
 could be broken by contradiction or impeachment. Lin- 
 coln quietly looked up an almanac, and found that at the 
 time this witness declared the moon to have been shin- 
 ing with full light there was no moon at all. Lincoln 
 made the closing argument. “At first,” says Mr. Walker, 
 one of the counsel associated with him, “he spoke very 
 slowly and carefully, reviewing the testimony and pointing 
 out its contradictions, discrepancies and impossibilities. 
 When he had thus prepared the way, he called for an 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 135 
 
 almanac, and showed that at the hour at which the 
 principal witness swore he had seen, by the light of the 
 full moon, the mortal blow given, there was no moon. The 
 last fifteen minutes of his speech were as eloquent as I 
 ever heard; and such were the power and earnestness with 
 which he spoke to that jury, that all sat as if entranced, 
 and, when he was through, found relief in a gush of tears.” 
 Said one of the prosecutors: “He took the jury by storm. 
 There were tears in Mr. Lincoln’s eyes while he spoke, 
 but they were genuine. His sympathies were fully en- 
 listed in favor of the young man, and his terrible sincerity 
 could not help but arouse the same passion in the jury. 
 I have said a hundred times that it was Lincoln’s speech 
 that saved that man from the gallows.” “Armstrong 
 was not cleared by any want of testimony against him, 
 but by the irresistible appeal of Mr. Lincoln in his favor,” 
 says Mr. Shaw, one of the associates in the prosecution. 
 His mother, who sat near during Lincoln’s appeal, says: 
 “He told the stories about our first acquaintance, and 
 what I did for him and how I did it. Lincoln said to 
 me, ‘Hannah, your son will be cleared before sundown.’ 
 He and the other lawyers addressed the jury, and closed 
 the case. I went down to Thompson’s pasture. Stator 
 came to me and told me that my son was cleared and a 
 free man. I went up to the court-house; the jury shook 
 hands with me, so did the court, so did Lincoln. We 
 were all affected, and tears were in Lincoln’s eyes. He 
 then remarked to me, ‘Hannah, what did I tell you? I 
 pray to God that William may be a good boy hereafter; 
 that this lesson may prove in the end a good lesson to him 
 and to all.’ After the trial was over, Lincoln came down 
 to where I was in Beardstown. I asked him what he 
 charged me; told him I was poor. He said, ‘Why, 
 Hannah, I shan’t charge you a cent — never. Anything 
 I can do for you I will do willingly and without charges.’ 
 He wrote to me about some land which some men were 
 
136 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 trying to get from me, and said, ‘Hannah, they can’t get 
 your land. Let them try it in the Circuit Court, and then 
 you appeal it. Bring it to the Supreme Court, and 
 Herndon and I will attend to it for nothing.’” 
 
 Lincoln regarded himself not only as the legal adviser of 
 unfortunate people, but as their friend and protector; 
 and he would never press them for pay for his services. 
 A client named Cogdal was unfortunate in business, and 
 gave Lincoln a note in payment of legal fees. Soon after- 
 wards he met with an accident by which he lost a hand. 
 Meeting Lincoln some time after, on the steps of the 
 State House, the kind lawyer asked him how he was get- 
 ting along. “Badly enough,” replied Mr. Cogdal. “I 
 am both broken up in business and crippled.” Then he 
 added, “I have been thinking about that note of yours.” 
 Lincoln, who had probably known all about Mr. Cogdal’s 
 troubles, and had prepared himself for the meeting, took 
 out his pocket-book, and saying, with a laugh, “Well you 
 needn’t think any more about it,” handed him the note. 
 Mr. Cogdal protesting, Lincoln said, “Even if you had 
 the money, I would not take it,” and hurried away. 
 
 Mr. G. L. Austin thus describes an incident of Lincoln’s 
 career at the bar: “Mr. Lincoln was once associated with 
 Mr. Leonard Swett in defending a man accused of murder. 
 He listened to the testimony which witness after witness 
 gave against his client, until his honest heart could stand 
 it no longer; then, turning to his associate, he said: 
 ‘Swett, the man is guilty; you defend him; I can’t.’ 
 Swett did defend him, and the man was acquitted. When 
 proffered his share of the large fee, Lincoln most emphati- 
 cally declined it, on the ground that ‘all of it belonged to 
 Mr. Swett, whose ardor and eloquence saved a guilty man 
 from justice.’ ” 
 
 At a term of court in Logan County, a man named 
 Hoblit had brought suit against a man named Farmer. 
 The suit had been appealed from a justice of the peace, and 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 137 
 
 Lincoln knew nothing of it until he was retained by Hoblit 
 to try the case in the Circuit Court. G. A. Gridley, 
 then of Bloomington, appeared for the defendant. Judge 
 Treat, afterwards on the United States bench, was the 
 presiding judge at the trial. Lincoln’s client went upon 
 the witness stand and testified to the account he had 
 against the defendant, gave the amount due after allowing 
 all credits and set-offs, and swore positively that it had 
 not been paid. The attorney for the defendant simply 
 produced a receipt in full, signed by Hoblit prior to the 
 beginning of the case. Hoblit had to admit the signing of 
 the receipt, but told Lincoln he “supposed the cuss had 
 lost it.” Lincoln at once arose and left the court-x-oom. 
 The Judge told the parties to proceed with the case; and 
 Lincoln not appearing. Judge Treat directed a bailiff to 
 go to the hotel and call him. The bailiff ran across the 
 street to the hotel, and found Lincoln sitting in the office 
 with his feet on the stove, apparently in a deep study, 
 when he interrupted him with: “Mr. Lincoln, the Judge 
 wants you.” “Oh, does he?” replied Lincoln. “Well, 
 you go back and tell the Judge I cannot come. Tell 
 him I have to wash my hands.” The bailiff returned 
 with the message, and Lincoln’s client suffered a non-suit. 
 It was Lincoln’s way of saying he wanted nothing more 
 to do with such a case. 
 
 Lincoln would never advise clients into unwise or 
 unjust lawsuits. He would always sacrifice his own 
 interests, and refuse a retainer, rather than be a party 
 to a case which did not command the approval of his 
 sense of justice. He was once waited upon by a lady who 
 held a real-estate claim which she desired to have him 
 prosecute, putting into his hands, with the necessary 
 papers, a check for two hundred and fifty dollars as a 
 retaining fee. Lincoln said he would look the case over, 
 and asked her to call again the next day. Upon presenting 
 herself, he told her that he had gone through the papers 
 
138 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 very carefully, and was obliged to tell her frankly that 
 there was “not a peg” to hang her claim upon, and he 
 could not conscientiously advise her to bring an action. 
 The lady was satisfied, and, thanking him, rose to go. 
 “Wait,” said Lincoln, fumbling in his vest pocket; “here 
 is the check you left with me.” “But, Mr. Lincoln,” 
 returned the lady, “I think you have earned that.” “No, 
 no,” he responded, handing it back to her; “that would 
 not be right. I can’t take pay for doing my duty.” 
 To a would-be client who had carefully stated his case, 
 to which Lincoln had listened with the closest attention, 
 he said: “Yes, there is no reasonable doubt that I can 
 gain your case for you. I can set a whole neighborhood 
 at loggerheads; I can distress a widowed mother and her 
 six fatherless children, and thereby get for you six hundred 
 dollars, which rightfully belongs, it appears to me, as 
 much to the woman and her children as it does to you. 
 You must remember that some things that are legally 
 right are not morally right. I shall not take your case, 
 but will give you a little advice, for which I will charge 
 you nothing. You seem to be a sprightly, energetic man. 
 I would advise you to try your hand at making six hundred 
 dollars some other way.” 
 
 Senator McDonald states that he saw a jury trial in 
 Illinois, at which Lincoln defended an old man charged 
 with assault and battery. No blood had been spilled, 
 but there was malice in the prosecution, and the chief 
 witness was eager to make the most of it. On cross- 
 examination, Lincoln “gave him rope” and drew him out; 
 asked him how long the fight lasted and how much ground 
 it covered. The witness thought the fight must have 
 lasted half an hour and covered an acre of ground. Lin- 
 coln called his attention to the fact that nobody was hurt, 
 and then with an inimitable air asked him if he didn’t 
 think it was “a mighty small crop for an acre of ground.” 
 The jury rejected the prosecution’s claim. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 139 
 
 Many of the stories told of Lincoln at the bar are ex- 
 tremely ridiculous, and represent him in anything but a 
 dignified light. But they are a part of the character of the 
 man, and should be given wherever there is reason to 
 suppose they are genuine. Besides, they are usually full 
 of a humor that is irresistible. Such an incident is given 
 by the Hon. Lawrence Weldon, Lincoln’s old friend and 
 legal associate in Illinois. “I can see him now,” says 
 Judge Weldon, “through the decaying memories of thirty 
 years, standing in the corner of the old court-room, and 
 as I approached him with a paper I did not understand, 
 he said: ‘Wait until I fix this plug for my g alius, and I 
 will pitch into that like a dog at a root.’ While speaking, 
 he was busily engaged in trying to connect his suspender 
 with his trousers by making a ‘plug’ perform the function 
 of a button. Lincoln liked old-fashioned words, and 
 never failed to use them if they could be sustained as 
 proper. He was probably accustomed to say ‘gallows,’ 
 and he never adopted the modern word ‘suspender.’” 
 
 On a certain occasion Lincoln appeared at the trial of 
 a case in which his friend Judge Logan was his opponent. 
 It was a suit between two farmers who had had a disagree- 
 ment over a horse-trade. On the day of the trial, Mr. 
 Logan, having bought a new shirt, open in the back, with 
 a huge standing collar, dressed himself in extreme haste, 
 and put on the shirt with the bosom at the back, a linen 
 coat concealing the blunder. He dazed the jury with his 
 knowledge of “horse points”; and as the day was sultry, 
 took off his coat and “summed” up in his shirt-sleeves. 
 Lincoln, sitting behind him, took in the situation, and 
 when his turn came he remarked to the jury : “ Gentlemen, 
 Mr. Logan has been trying for over an hour to make you 
 believe he knows more about a horse than these honest 
 old farmers who are witnesses. He has quoted largely 
 from his ‘horse doctor,’ and now, gentlemen, I submit to 
 you,” (here he lifted Logan out of his chair, and turned 
 
140 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 him with his back to the jury and the crowd, at the same 
 time flapping up the enormous standing collar) “what 
 dependence can you place in his horse knowledge, when 
 he has not sense enough to put on his shirt?” Roars of 
 laughter greeted this exposition, and the verdict was given 
 to Lincoln. 
 
 The preceding incident leads to another, in which 
 Lincoln himself figures as a horse-trader. The scene is a 
 very humorous one; and, as usual in an encounter of wit, 
 Lincoln came out ahead. He and a certain Judge once 
 got to bantering each other about trading horses; and it 
 was agreed that the next morning at nine o’clock they 
 should make a trade, the horses to be unseen up to that 
 hour, — and no backing out, under a forfeit of twenty-five 
 dollars. At the hour appointed the Judge came up, 
 leading the sorriest looking specimen of a nag ever seen in 
 those parts. In a few minutes Lincoln was seen approach- 
 ing with a wooden saw-horse upon his shoulders. Great 
 were the shouts and the laughter of the crowd; and these 
 increased, when Lincoln, surveying the Judge’s animal, 
 set down his saw-horse, and exclaimed: “Well, Judge, 
 this is the first time I ever got the worst of it in a 
 horse-trade!” 
 
 There has been much discussion as to Lincoln’s rank and 
 ability as a lawyer. Opinion among his contemporaries 
 seems to have been somewhat divided. Mr. Herndon 
 felt warranted in saying that he was at the same time 
 a very great and a very insignificant lawyer. His 
 mind was logical and direct. Generalities and platitudes 
 had no charm for him. He had the ability to seize the 
 strong points of a case and present them with clearness 
 and compactness. His power of comparison was great. 
 He rarely failed in a legal discussion to use this mode of 
 reasoning. Yet he knew practically nothing of the rules 
 of evidence, of pleading, of practice, as laid down in the 
 text-books, and seemed to care little about them. Some- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 141 
 
 times he lost cases of the plainest justice which the most 
 inexperienced lawyer could have won. He looked upon 
 two things as essential to his success in a case. One was 
 time; he was slow in reasoning and slow in speech. The 
 other was confidence that the cause he represented was 
 just. “If either of these were lacking,” said Mr. Herndon, 
 “Lincoln was the weakest man at the bar. When it fell 
 to him to address the jury he often relied absolutely on 
 the inspiration of the moment, — but he seldom failed to 
 carry his point.” 
 
 Among the great number of opinions of Lincoln’s rank 
 as a lawyer, expressed by his professional brethren, a few 
 may properly be given in closing this chapter, which 
 is devoted chiefly to Mr. Lincoln’s professional career. 
 First we may quote the brief but emphatic words of the 
 distinguished jurist. Judge Sidney Breese, Chief Justice of 
 Illinois, who said: “For my single self, I have for a quarter 
 of a century regarded Mr. Lincoln as the finest lawyer I 
 ever knew, and of a professional bearing so high-toned and 
 honorable, as justly, and without derogating from the 
 claims of others, entitling him to be presented to the 
 profession as a model well worthy of the closest imitation.” 
 
 Another distinguished Chief Justice, Hon. John Dean 
 Caton, says: “In 1840 or 1841, I met Mr. Lincoln, and 
 was for the first time associated with him in a professional 
 way. We attended the Circuit Court at Pontiac, Judge 
 Treat presiding, where we w T ere both engaged in the 
 defense of a man by the name of Lavinia. That was the 
 first and only time I was associated with him at the bar. 
 He practiced in a circuit that was beyond the one in which 
 I practiced, and consequently we were not brought together 
 much in the practice of the law. He stood well at the bar 
 from the beginning. I was a younger man, but an older 
 lawyer. He was not admitted to the bar till after I was. 
 I was not closely connected with him. Indeed, I did not 
 meet him often, professionally, until I went on the bench 
 
142 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 in 1842; and he was then in full practice before the 
 Supreme Court, and continued to practice there regularly 
 at every term until he was elected President. Mr. Lincoln 
 understood the relations of things, and hence his deduc- 
 tions were rarely wrong from any given state of facts. So 
 he applied the principles of law to the transactions of men 
 with great clearness and precision. He was a close 
 reasoner. He reasoned by analogy, and enforced his 
 views by apt illustration. His mode of speaking was 
 generally of a plain and unimpassioned character, and yet 
 he was the author of some of the most beautiful and 
 eloquent passages in our language, which, if collected, 
 would form a valuable contribution to American literature. 
 The most punctilious honor ever marked his professional 
 and private life.” 
 
 The Hon. Thomas Drummond, for many years Judge 
 of the United States District Court at Chicago, said: 
 “It is not necessary to claim for Mr. Lincoln attributes or 
 qualities which he did not possess. He had enough to 
 entitle him to the love and respect and esteem of all who 
 knew him. He was not skilled in the learning of the 
 schools, and his knowledge of the law was acquired almost 
 entirely by his own unaided study and by the practice of 
 his profession. Nature gave him great clearness and 
 acuteness of intellect and a vast fund of common-sense; 
 and as a consequence of these he had much sagacity in 
 judging of the motives and springs of human conduct. 
 With a voice by no means pleasing, and, indeed, when 
 excited, in its shrill tones sometimes almost disagreeable; 
 without any of the personal graces of the orator; without 
 much in the outward man indicating superiority of in- 
 tellect; without great quickness of perception, — still, 
 his mind was so vigorous, his comprehension so exact 
 and clear, and his judgments so sure, that he easily 
 mastered the intricacies of his profession, and became one 
 of the ablest reasoners and most impressive speakers at 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 143 
 
 our bar. With a probity of character known to all, 
 with an intuitive insight into the human heart, with a 
 clearness of statement which was itself an argument, 
 with an uncommon power and facility of illustration, often, 
 it is true, of a plain and homely kind, and with that sin- 
 cerity and earnestness of manner to carry conviction, he 
 was perhaps one of the most successful jury lawyers we 
 have ever had in the State. He always tried a case fairly 
 and honestly. He never intentionally misrepresented the 
 testimony of a witness or the arguments of an opponent. 
 He met both squarely, and, if he could not explain the one 
 or answer the other, substantially admitted it. He never 
 misstated the law according to his own intelligent view of 
 it. Such was the transparent candor and integrity of his 
 nature that he could not well or strongly argue a side or a 
 cause that he thought wrong. Of course, he felt it his 
 duty to say what could be said, and to leave the decision 
 to others ; but there could be seen in such cases the inward 
 struggle in his ora mind. In trying a cause he might 
 occasionally dwell too long or give too much importance 
 to an inconsiderable point; but this was the exception, 
 and generally he went straight to the citadel of a cause or 
 a question, and struck home there, knowing if that were 
 won the outwork would necessarily fall. He could hardly 
 be called very learned in his profession, and yet he rarely 
 tried a cause without fully understanding the law appli- 
 cable to it. I have no hesitation in saying he was one of 
 the ablest lawyers I have ever known. If he was forcible 
 before the jury he was equally so with the court. He 
 detected with unerring sagacity the marked points of his 
 opponents’ arguments, and pressed his ora views with 
 overwhelming force. His efforts were quite unequal, and 
 it may have been that he would not on some occasions 
 strike one as at all remarkable; but let him be thoroughly 
 aroused, let him feel that he was right and that some great 
 principle was involved in his case, and he would come out 
 
144 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 with an earnestness of conviction, a power of argument, 
 and a wealth of illustration, that I have never seen sur- 
 passed. . . . Simple in his habits, without pretensions of 
 any kind, and distrustful of himself, he was willing to 
 yield precedence and place to others, when he ought- to 
 have claimed them for himself. He rarely, if ever, sought 
 office except at the urgent solicitations of his friends. 
 In substantiation of this, I may be permitted to relate an 
 incident which now occurs to me. Prior to his no min ation 
 for the Presidency, and, indeed, when his name was first 
 mentioned in connection with that high office, I broached 
 the subject upon the occasion of meeting him here. His 
 response was, ‘I hope they will select some abler man 
 than myself.’” 
 
 Mr. C. S. Parks, a lawyer associated with Lincoln 
 for some years, furnishes the following testimony concern- 
 ing his more prominent qualities: “I have often said that 
 for a man who was for a quarter of a century both a lawyer 
 and a politician he was the most honest man I ever knew. 
 He was not only morally honest, but intellectually so. 
 He could not reason falsely; if he attempted it, he failed. 
 In politics he would never try to mislead. At the bar, 
 when he thought he was wrong, he was the weakest lawyer 
 I ever saw.” 
 
 Hon. David Davis, afterwards Associate Justice U. S. 
 Supreme Court and U. S. Senator, presided over the 
 Eighth Judicial Circuit of Illinois during the remaining 
 years of Lincoln’s practice at the bar. He was united to 
 Lincoln in close bonds of friendship, and year after year 
 travelled with him over the circuit, put up with him at the 
 same hotels, and often occupied the same room with him. 
 “This simple life,” says Judge Davis, “Mr. Lincoln loved, 
 preferring it to the practice of the law in the city. In all 
 the elements that constitute the great lawyer, he had few 
 equals. He seized the strong points of a cause, and 
 presented them with clearness and great compactness. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 145 
 
 He read law-books but little, except when the cause in 
 hand made it necessary; yet he was unusually self-reliant, 
 depending on his own resources, and rarely consulting his 
 brother lawyers either on the management of his case or 
 the legal questions involved. He was the fairest and 
 most accommodating of practitioners, granting all favors 
 which he could do consistently with his duty to his client, 
 and rarely availing himself of an unwary oversight of his 
 adversary. He hated wrong and oppression everywhere, 
 and many a man, whose fraudulent conduct was under- 
 going review in a court of justice, has withered under his 
 terrific indignation and rebuke.” 
 
 Mr. Speed says: “As a lawyer, after his first year he 
 was acknowledged to be among the best in the State. 
 His analytical powers were marvellous. He always 
 resolved every question into its primary elements, and 
 gave up every point on his own side that did not seem to be 
 invulnerable. One would think, to hear him present his 
 case in the court, he was giving his case away. He would 
 concede point after point to his adversary. But he always 
 reserved a point upon which he claimed a decision in his 
 favor, and his concessions magnified the strength of his 
 claim. He rarely failed in gaining his cases in court.” 
 
 The special characteristics of Lincoln’s practice at 
 the bar are thus ably summed up: “He did not make a 
 specialty of criminal cases, but was engaged frequently in 
 them. He could not be called a great lawyer, measured 
 by the extent of his acquirement of legal knowledge; he 
 was not an encyclopaedia of cases; but in the clear percep- 
 tion of legal principles, with natural capacity to apply 
 them, he had great ability. He was not a case lawyer, 
 but a lawyer who dealt in the deep philosophy of the law. 
 He always knew the cases which might be quoted as 
 absolute authority, but beyond that he contented himself 
 in the application and discussion of general principles. 
 In the trial of a case he moved cautiously. He never 
 
146 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 examined or cross-examined a witness to the detriment of 
 his side. If the witness told the truth, he was safe from 
 his attacks; but woe betide the unlucky and dishonest 
 individual who suppressed the truth or colored it against 
 Mr. Lincoln’s side. His speeches to the jury were very 
 effective specimens of forensic oratory. He talked the 
 vocabulary of the people, and the jury understood every 
 point he made and every thought he uttered. I never 
 saw him when I thought he was trying to make an effort 
 for the sake of mere display; but his imagination was 
 simple and pure in the richest gems of true eloquence. 
 He constructed short sentences of small words, and never 
 wearied the minds of the jury by mazes of elaboration.” 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 Lincoln and Slavery — The Issue Becoming More Sharply Defined — 
 Resistance to the Spread of Slavery — Views Expressed by Lincoln 
 in 1850 — - His Mind Made Up — Lincoln as a Party Leader — 
 The Kansas Struggle — Crossing Swords with Douglas — A 
 Notable Speech by Lincoln — Advice to Kansas Belligerents — 
 Honor in Politics — Anecdote of Lincoln and Yates — Contest 
 for the U. S. Senate in 1855 — Lincoln’s Defeat — Sketched by 
 Members of the Legislature. 
 
 T the death of Henry Clay, in June, 1852, Lincoln 
 
 il was invited to deliver a eulogy on Clay’s life and 
 character before the citizens of Springfield. He complied 
 with the request on the 16th of July. The same season 
 he made a speech before the Scott Club of Springfield, in 
 reply to the addresses with which Douglas had opened 
 his extended campaign of that summer, at Richmond, 
 Virginia. Except on these two occasions, Lincoln took 
 but little part in politics until the passage of the Nebraska 
 Bill by Congress in 1854. The enactment of this measure 
 impelled him to take a firmer stand upon the question of 
 slavery than he had yet assumed. He had been opposed 
 to the institution on grounds of sentiment since his 
 boyhood; now he determined to fight it from principle. 
 Mr. Herndon states that Lincoln really became an anti- 
 slavery man in 1831, during his visit to New Orleans, 
 where he was deeply affected by the horrors of the traffic 
 in human beings. On one occasion he saw a slave, a 
 beautiful mulatto girl, sold at auction. She was felt 
 over, pinched, and trotted around to show bidders she 
 was sound. Lincoln walked away from the scene with a 
 feeling of deep abhorrence. He said to John Hanks, “If 
 I ever get a chance to hit that institution, John, I’ll hit it 
 
148 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 hard 1” Again, in the summer of 1841, he was painfully 
 impressed by a scene witnessed during his journey home 
 from Kentucky, described in a letter written at the time 
 to the sister of his friend Speed, in which he says: “A 
 fine example was presented on board the boat for con- 
 templating the effect of conditions upon human happi- 
 ness. A man had purchased twelve negroes in different 
 parts of Kentucky, and was taking them to a farm in the 
 South. They were chained six and six together; a small 
 iron clevis was around the left wrist of each, and this was 
 fastened to the main chain by a shorter one, at a con- 
 venient distance from the others, so that the negroes 
 were strung together like so many fish upon a trot-line. 
 In this condition they were being separated forever from 
 the scenes of their childhood, their friends, their fathers 
 and mothers, brothers and sisters, and many of them 
 from their wives and children, and going into perpetual 
 slavery.” 
 
 Judge Gillespie records a conversation which he had 
 with Lincoln in 1850 on the slavery question, remarking 
 by way of introduction that the subject of slavery was the 
 only one on which he (Lincoln) was apt to become excited. 
 “ I recollect meeting him once at Shelby ville,” says Judge 
 Gillespie, “when he remarked that something must be 
 done or slavery would overrun the whole country. He 
 said there were about six hundred thousand non-slave- 
 holding whites in Kentucky to about thirty-three thou- 
 sand slaveholders; that in the convention then recently 
 held it was expected that the delegates would represent 
 these classes about in proportion to their respective num- 
 bers; but when the convention assembled, there was not 
 a single representative of the non-slaveholding class; 
 everyone was in the interest of the slaveholders; ‘and,’ 
 said he, ‘the thing is spreading like wildfire over the 
 country. In a few years we will be ready to accept the 
 institution in Illinois, and the whole country will adopt 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 149 
 
 it.’ I asked him to what he attributed the change that 
 was going on in public opinion. He said he had recently 
 put that question to a Kentuckian, who answered by 
 saying, ‘You might have any amount of land, money in 
 your pocket, or bank-stock, and while travelling around 
 nobody would be any wiser; but if you had a darkey 
 trudging at your heels, everybody would see him and 
 know that you owned a slave. It is the most ostentatious 
 way of displaying property in the world; if a young man 
 goes courting, the only inquiry is as to how many negroes 
 he owns.’ The love for slave property was swallowing 
 up every other mercenary possession. Its ownership 
 not only betokened the possession of wealth, but indi- 
 cated the gentleman of leisure who scorned labor. These 
 things Mr. Lincoln regarded as highly pernicious to the 
 thoughtless and giddy young men who were too much 
 inclined to look upon work as vulgar and ungentlemanly. 
 He was much excited, and said with great earnestness 
 that this spirit ought to be met, and if possible checked; 
 that slavery was a great and crying injustice, an enormous 
 national crime, and we could not expect to escape punish- 
 ment for it. I asked him how he would proceed in his 
 efforts to check the spread of slavery. He confessed he 
 did not see his way clearly; but I think he made up his 
 mind that from that time he would oppose slavery actively. 
 I know that Lincoln always contended that no man had 
 any right, other than what mere brute force gave him, 
 to hold a slave. He used to say it was singular that the 
 courts would hold that a man never lost his right to 
 property that had been stolen from him, but that he 
 instantly lost his right to himself if he was stolen. Lincoln 
 always contended that the cheapest way of getting rid 
 of slavery was for the nation to buy the slaves and set 
 them free.” 
 
 While in Congress, Lincoln had declared himself 
 plainly as opposed to slavery; and in public speeches not 
 
150 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 less than private conversations he had not hesitated to 
 express his convictions on the subject. In 1850 he said 
 to Major Stuart: “The time will soon come when we 
 must all be Democrats or Abolitionists. When that time 
 comes, my mind is made up. The slavery question cannot 
 be compromised.” The hour had now struck in which 
 Lincoln was to espouse with his whole heart and soul that 
 cause for which finally he was to lay down his life. In 
 the language of Mr. Arnold, “He had bided his time. 
 He had waited until the harvest was ripe. With uner- 
 ring sagacity he realized that the triumph of freedom was 
 at hand. He entered upon the conflict with the deepest 
 conviction that the perpetuity of the Republic required 
 the extinction of slavery. So, adopting as his motto, 
 ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,’ he girded 
 himself for the contest. The years from 1854 to 1860 
 were on his part years of constant, active, and unwearied 
 effort. His position in the State of Illinois was central 
 and commanding. He was now to become the recognized 
 leader of the anti-slavery party in the Northwest, and in 
 all the Valley of the Mississippi. Lincoln was a practical 
 statesman, never attempting the impossible, but seeking 
 to do the best thing practicable under existing circum- 
 stances. He knew that prohibition in the territories 
 would result in no more slave states and no slave territory. 
 And now, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise 
 shattered all parties into fragments, he came forward to 
 build up the Free Soil party and threw into the conflict 
 all his strength and vigor. The conviction of his duty 
 was deep and sincere. Hence he pleaded the cause of 
 liberty with an energy, ability, and power which rapidly 
 gained for him a national reputation. Conscious of the 
 greatness of his cause, inspired by a genuine love of 
 liberty, animated and made strong by the moral sublim- 
 ity of the conflict, he solemnly announced his determina- 
 tion to speak for freedom and against slavery until — in 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 151 
 
 his own words — wherever the Federal Government has 
 power, ‘the sun shall shine, the rain shall fall, and the 
 wind shall blow upon no man who goes forth to unre- 
 quited toil.’” 
 
 The absorbing political topic in 1855 was the contest 
 in Kansas, which proved the battle-ground for the strug- 
 gle over the introduction of slavery into the territories 
 north of the line established by the “Missouri Compro- 
 mise.” Lincoln’s views on the subject are defined in a 
 notable letter to his friend Joshua Speed, a resident of 
 Kentucky. The following passages show, in Lincoln’s 
 own words, where he stood on the slavery question at 
 this memorable epoch: 
 
 Springfield, August 24 , 1855 . 
 
 Dear Speed : — You know what a poor correspondent 
 I am. Ever since I received your very agreeable letter 
 of the twenty-second of May, I have been intending to 
 write you in answer to it. You suggest that in political 
 action now, you and I would differ. You know I dislike 
 slavery, and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it. 
 So far, there is no cause of difference. But you say that 
 sooner than yield your legal right to the slave, especially 
 at the bidding of those who are not themselves interested, 
 you -would see the Union dissolved. I am not aware 
 that any one is bidding you yield that right — very cer- 
 tainly I am not. I leave the matter entirely to yourself. 
 I also acknowledge your rights and my obligations under 
 the Constitution, in regard to your slaves. I confess I 
 hate to see the poor creatures hunted down, and caught, 
 and carried back to their stripes and unrequited toil; 
 but I bite my lip and keep quiet. In 1841 you and I had 
 together a tedious low-water trip on a steamboat from 
 Louisville to St. Louis. You may remember, as I well 
 do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio, there 
 were on board ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together 
 with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; 
 and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or 
 any other slave border. It is not fair for you to assume that 
 I have no interest in a thing which has, and continually 
 exercises, the power of making me miserable. You ought 
 
152 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 rather to appreciate how much the great body of the 
 people of the North do crucify their feelings in order to 
 maintain their loyalty to the Constitution and the Union. 
 
 I do oppose the extension of slavery, because my judg- 
 ment and feelings so prompt me; and I am under no 
 obligations to the contrary. If for this you and I must 
 differ, differ we must. You say, if you were President 
 you would send an army and hang the leaders of the 
 Missouri outrages upon the Kansas elections; still, if 
 Kansas fairly votes herself a slave State, she must be 
 admitted, or the Union must be dissolved. But how if 
 she votes herself a slave State unfairly — that is, by the 
 very means for which you would hang men? Must she 
 still be admitted, or the Union dissolved? That will be 
 the phase of the question when it first becomes a practical 
 one. In your assumption that there may be a fair de- 
 cision of the slavery question in Kansas, I plainly see you 
 and I would differ about the Nebraska law. I look upon 
 that enactment not as a law but a violence from the 
 beginning. It was conceived in violence, passed in vio- 
 lence, is maintained in violence, and is being executed in 
 violence. I say it was conceived in violence, because 
 the destruction of the Missouri Compromise under the 
 Constitution was nothing less than violence. It was 
 passed in violence, because it could not have passed at all 
 but for the votes of many members in violent disregard of 
 the known will of their constituents. It is maintained 
 in violence, because the elections since clearly demand 
 its repeal; and the demand is openly disregarded. That 
 Kansas will form a slave constitution, and with it will 
 ask to be admitted into the Union, I take to be already a 
 settled question, and so settled by the very means you so 
 pointedly condemn. By every principle of law ever held 
 by any court, North or South, every negro taken to 
 Kansas is free; yet in utter disregard of this — in the 
 spirit of violence merely — that beautiful Legislature 
 gravely passes a law to hang any man who shall venture 
 to inform a negro of his legal rights. This is the sub- 
 stance and real object of the law. If, like Haman, they 
 should hang upon the gallows of their own building, I 
 shall not be among the mourners for their fate. In my 
 humble sphere I shall advocate the restoration of the 
 Missouri Compromise so long as Kansas remains a Terri- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 153 
 
 tory; and, when, by all these foul means, it seeks to come 
 into the Union as a slave State, I shall oppose it. . . . 
 You inquire where I now stand. That is a disputed 
 point. I think I am a Whig; but others say there are no 
 Whigs, and that I am an Abolitionist. When I was in 
 Washington I voted for the Wilmot Proviso as good as 
 forty times, and I never heard of any attempt to unwhig 
 me for that. I now do no more than oppose the exten- 
 sion of slavery. I am not a Know-Nothing — that is 
 certain. How could I be? How can anyone who abhors 
 the oppression of the negroes be in favor of degrading 
 classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy 
 appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation we began 
 by declaring that ‘all men are created equal.’ We now 
 practically read it ‘all men are created equal, except 
 negroes.’ When the Know-Nothings get control, it will 
 read, ‘ all men are created equals, except negroes and for- 
 eigners and Catholics.’ When it comes to that, I should 
 prefer emigrating to some other country where they 
 make no pretense of loving liberty — to Russia for in- 
 stance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without 
 the base alloy of hypocrisy. 
 
 Your friend forever, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 Lincoln was soon accorded an opportunity to cross 
 swords again with his former political antagonist, Douglas, 
 who had lately come from his place in the Senate Cham- 
 ber at Washington, where he had carried the obnoxious 
 Nebraska Bill against the utmost efforts of Chase, Seward, 
 Sumner, and others, to defeat it. As Mr. Arnold narrates 
 the incident, — “When, late in September, 1854, Douglas 
 returned to Illinois he was received with a storm of 
 indignation which would have crushed a man of less 
 power and will. A bold and courageous leader, conscious 
 of his personal power over his party, he bravely met the 
 storm and sought to allay it. In October, 1854, the 
 State Fair being then in session at Springfield, with a 
 great crowd of people in attendance from all parts of the 
 State, Douglas went there and made an elaborate and 
 
154 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 able speech in defense of the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
 promise. Lincoln was called upon by the opponents of 
 this repeal to reply, and he did so with a power which he 
 never surpassed and had never before equalled. All 
 other issues which had divided the people were as chaff, 
 and were scattered to the winds by the intense agitation 
 which arose on the question of extending slavery, not 
 merely into free territory, but into territory which had 
 been declared free by solemn compact. Lincoln’s speech 
 occupied more than three hours in delivery, and dur- 
 ing all that time he held the vast crowd in the deepest 
 attention.” 
 
 Mr. Herndon said of this event: “This anti-Nebraska 
 speech of Mr. Lincoln was the profoundest that he made 
 in his whole life. He felt burning upon his soul the 
 truths which he uttered, and all present felt that he was 
 true to his own soul. His feelings once or twice came 
 near stifling utterance. He quivered with emotion. He 
 attacked the Nebraska Bill with such warmth and energy 
 that all felt that a man of strength was its enemy, and 
 that he intended to blast it, if he could, by strong and 
 manly efforts. He was most successful, and the house 
 approved his triumph by loud and continued huzzas, 
 while women waved their white handkerchiefs in token of 
 heartfelt assent. Douglas felt the sting, and he frequently 
 interrupted Mr. Lincoln; his friends felt that he was 
 crushed by the powerful argument of his opponent. The 
 Nebraska Bill was shivered, and, like a tree of the forest, 
 was torn and rent asunder by hot bolts of truth. At 
 the conclusion of this speech, every man, woman, and 
 child felt that it was unanswerable.” In speaking of the 
 same occasion, Mr. Lamon says: “Many fine speeches 
 were made upon the one absorbing topic; but it is no 
 shame to any one of these orators that their really im- 
 pressive speeches were but slightly appreciated or long 
 remembered beside Mr. Lincoln’s splendid and enduring 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 155 
 
 performance, — enduring in the memory of his auditors, 
 although preserved upon no written or printed page.” 
 
 A few days after this encounter, Douglas spoke in 
 Peoria, and was followed by Lincoln with the same 
 crushing arguments that had served him at the State 
 Fair, and with the same triumphant effect. His Peoria 
 speech was written out by him and published after its 
 delivery. A few specimens will show its style and argu- 
 mentative power. 
 
 Argue as you will, and as long as you will, this is the 
 naked front and aspect of the measure; and in this aspect 
 it could not but produce agitation. Slavery is founded 
 in the selfishness of man’s nature; opposition to it, in his 
 love of justice. These principles are an eternal antag- 
 onism; and when brought into collision so fiercely as 
 slavery extension brings them, shocks, throes, and con- 
 vulsions must ceaselessly follow. Repeal the Missouri 
 Compromise; repeal all compromises; repeal the Decla- 
 ration of Independence; repeal all past history, — you 
 still cannot repeal human nature. It still will be the 
 abundance of man’s heart, that slavery extension is wrong; 
 and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will 
 continue to speak. . . . When Mr. Pettit, in connection 
 with his support of the Nebraska Bill, called the Declara- 
 tion of Independence ‘a self-evident lie,’ he only did 
 what consistency and candor require all other Nebraska 
 men to do. Of the forty-odd Nebraska Senators who sat 
 present and heard him, no one rebuked him. ... If 
 this had been said among Marion’s men, Southerners 
 though they were, what would have become of the man 
 who said it? If this had been said to the men who cap- 
 tured Andre, the man who said it would probably have 
 been hung sooner than Andre was. If it had been said 
 in old Independence Hall seventy-eight years ago, the 
 very doorkeeper would have throttled the man, and 
 thrust him into the street. . . . Thus we see the plain, 
 unmistakable spirit of that early age towards slavery 
 was hostility to the principle, and toleration only by 
 necessity. But now it is to be transformed into a ‘sacred 
 right.’ Nebraska brings it forth, places it on the high 
 
156 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 road to extension and perpetuity, and with a pat on its 
 back says to it: ‘Go, and God speed you.’ Henceforth 
 it is to be the chief jewel of the nation, the very figure- 
 head of the ship of state. Little by little, but steadily as 
 man’s march to the grave, w r e have been giving the old 
 for the new faith. Nearly eighty years ago we began by 
 declaring that all men are created equal; but now from 
 that beginning we have run down to that other declaration, 
 ‘that for some men to enslave others is a sacred right of 
 self-government.’ ... In our greedy chase to make 
 profit of the negro, let us beware lest we cancel and tear 
 to pieces even the white man’s charter of freedom. . . . 
 If all earthly power were given me, I should not know 
 what to do as to the existing institution. My first im- 
 pulse would be to free all the slaves, and send them to 
 Liberia — to their own native land. But, if they were 
 all landed there in a day, they would all perish in the next 
 ten days; and there are not surplus shipping and surplus 
 money enough to carry them there in many times ten 
 days. What then? Free them all, and keep them among 
 us as underlings? Is it quite certain that this betters 
 their condition? I think I would not hold one in slavery 
 at any rate; yet the point is not clear enough for me to 
 denounce people upon. What next? Free them, and 
 make them politically and socially our equals? My own 
 feelings will not admit of this; and, if mine would, we 
 well know that those of the great mass of white people 
 will not. A universal feeling, whether well or ill founded, 
 cannot be safely disregarded. We cannot then make 
 them equals. It does seem to me that systems of gradual 
 emancipation might be adopted; but, for their tardiness 
 in this, I will not undertake to judge our brethren of the 
 South. 
 
 Our Republican robe is soiled — trailed in the dust. 
 Let us repurify it. Let us turn and wash it white, in the 
 spirit, if not the blood, of the Revolution. Let us turn 
 slavery from its claims of ‘moral right,’ back upon its 
 existing legal rights and its arguments of ‘necessity.’ 
 Let us return it to the position our fathers gave it, and 
 there let it rest in peace. Let us re-adopt the Declaration 
 of Independence, and with it the practices and policy 
 which harmonize with it. Let North and South — let 
 all Americans — let all lovers of liberty everywhere — 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 157 
 
 join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall 
 not only have saved the Union, but we shall have so saved 
 it as to make and to keep it forever worthy of the saving. 
 We shall have so saved it that the succeeding millions of 
 free and happy people, the world over, shall rise up and 
 call us blessed to the latest generations. 
 
 It was in one of these speeches that Lincoln’s power of 
 repartee was admirably illustrated by a most laughable 
 retort made by him to Douglas. Mr. Ralph E. Hoyt, 
 who was present, says: “In the course of his speech, Mr. 
 Douglas had said, ‘The Whigs are all dead.’ For some 
 time before speaking, Lincoln sat on the platform with 
 only his homely face visible to the audience above the 
 high desk before him. On being introduced, he arose 
 from his chair and proceeded to straighten himself up. 
 For a few seconds I wondered when and where his head 
 would cease its ascent; but at last it did stop, and ‘Honest 
 Old Abe’ stood before us. He commenced, ‘Fellow- 
 citizens: My friend, Mr. Douglas, made the startling 
 announcement to-day that the Whigs are all dead. If 
 this be so, fellow-citizens, you will now experience the 
 novelty of hearing a speech from a dead man; and I 
 suppose you might properly say, in the language of the 
 old hymn: 
 
 “Hark! from the tombs a doleful sound!”’ 
 
 This set the audience fairly wild with delight, and at once 
 brought them into full confidence with the speaker.” 
 
 Hating slavery though he did, Lincoln was steadily 
 opposed to all forms of unlawful or violent opposition to it. 
 At about the time of which we are speaking a party of 
 Abolitionists in Illinois had become so excited over the 
 Kansas struggle that they were determined to go to the 
 aid of the Free-State men in that territory. As soon as 
 Lincoln learned of this project, he opposed it strongly. 
 When they spoke to him of “Liberty, Justice, and God’s 
 
158 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 higher law,” he replied in this temperate and judicious 
 strain : 
 
 Friends, you are in the minority — in a sad minority; 
 and you can’t hope to succeed, reasoning from all human 
 experience. You would rebel against the Government, 
 and redden your hands in the blood of your countrymen. 
 If you have the majority, as some of you say you have, 
 you can succeed with the ballot, throwing away the 
 bullet. You can peaceably, then, redeem the Govern- 
 ment and preserve the liberties of mankind, through your 
 votes and voice and moral influence. Let there be peace . 
 In a democracy, where the majority rule by the ballot 
 through the forms of law, these physical rebellions and 
 bloody resistances are radically wrong, unconstitutional, 
 and are treason. Better bear the ills you have than fly 
 to those you know not of. Our own Declaration of 
 Independence says that governments long established 
 should not be resisted for trivial causes. Revolutionize 
 through the ballot-box, and restore the Government once 
 more to the affection and hearts of men, by making it 
 express, as it was intended to do, the highest spirit of 
 justice and liberty. Your attempt, if there be such, to 
 resist the laws of Kansas by force, will be criminal and 
 wicked; and all your feeble attempts will be follies, and 
 end in bringing sorrow on your heads, and ruin the cause 
 you would freely die to preserve. 
 
 No doubt was felt of Lincoln’s sympathies; indeed, he 
 is known to have contributed money to the Free-State 
 cause. But it is noticeable that in this exciting episode 
 he showed the same coolness, wisdom, moderation, love 
 of law and order that so strongly characterized his con- 
 duct in the stormier period of the Civil War, and without 
 which it is doubtful if he would have been able to save the 
 nation. 
 
 Some interesting recollections of the events of this 
 stirring period, and of Lincoln’s part in them, are given 
 by Mr. Paul Selby, for a long time editor of the “State 
 Journal” at Springfield, and one of Lincoln’s old-time 
 friends and political associates. “While Abraham Lin- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 159 
 
 coin had the reputation of being inspired by an almost 
 unbounded ambition,” says Mr. Selby, “it was of that 
 generous quality which characterized his other attributes, 
 and often led him voluntarily to restrain its gratification 
 in deference to the conflicting aspirations of his friends. 
 All remember his magnanimity towards Col. Edward D. 
 Baker, when the latter was elected to Congress from the 
 Springfield District in 1844, and the frankness with which 
 he informed Baker of his own desire to be a candidate in 
 1846 — when for the only time in his life, he was elected 
 to that body. In 1852, Richard Yates of Jacksonville, 
 then recognized as one of the rising young orators and 
 statesmen of the West, was elected to Congress for the 
 second time from the Springfield District. It was during 
 the term following this election that the Kansas-Nebraska 
 issue was precipitated upon the country by Senator 
 Douglas, in the introduction of his bill for the repeal of 
 the Missouri Compromise. Yates, in obedience to his 
 impulses, which were always on the side of freedom, took 
 strong ground against the measure — notwithstanding 
 the fact that a majority of his constituents, though 
 originally Whigs, were strongly conservative, as was 
 generally the case with people who were largely of Ken- 
 tucky and Tennessee origin. In 1854 the Whig party, 
 which had been divided on the Kansas-Nebraska question, 
 began to manifest symptoms of disintegration; while the 
 Republican party, though not yet known by that name, 
 began to take form. At this time I was publishing a 
 paper at Jacksonville, Yates’s home; and although from 
 the date of my connection with it, in 1852, it had not 
 been a political paper, the introduction of a new issue 
 soon led me to take decided ground on the side of free 
 territory. Lincoln at once sprang into prominence as 
 one of the boldest, most vigorous and eloquent oppo- 
 nents of Mr. Douglas’s measure, which was construed as a 
 scheme to secure the admission of slavery into all the new 
 
160 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 territories of the United States. At that time Lincoln’s 
 election to a seat in Congress would probably have been 
 very grateful to his ambition, as well as acceptable in a 
 pecuniary point of view; and his prominence and ability 
 had already attracted the eyes of the whole State toward 
 him in a special degree. Having occasion to visit Spring- 
 field one day while the subject of the selection of a candi- 
 date was under consideration among the opponents of 
 the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, I encountered Mr. Lincoln on 
 the street. As we walked along, the subject of the choice 
 of a candidate for Congress to succeed Yates came up, 
 when I stated that many of the old-line Whigs and anti- 
 Nebraska men in the western part of the district were 
 looking to him as an available leader. While he seemed 
 gratified by the compliment, he said : ‘No; Yates has been 
 a true and faithful Representative, and should be re- 
 turned.’ Yates was re-nominated; and although he ran 
 ahead of his ticket, yet so far had the disorganization of 
 the Whig party then progressed, and so strong a foothold 
 had the pro-slavery sentiment obtained in the district, 
 that he was defeated by Major Thomas L. Harris, of 
 Petersburg, whom he had defeated when he first entered 
 the field as a candidate four years before. While it is 
 scarcely probable that Lincoln, if he had been a candidate, 
 could have changed the result, yet the prize was one 
 which he would then have considered worth contending 
 for; and if the nomination could have been tendered him 
 without doing injustice to his friend, he would undoubtedly 
 have accepted it gladly and thrown all the earnestness and 
 ability which he possessed into the contest. This in- 
 stance only illustrates a feature of his character which 
 has so often been recognized and commented upon — 
 his generosity toward those among his political friends 
 who might be regarded as occupying the position of 
 rivals.” 
 
 In 1854, during Lincoln’s absence from Springfield, he 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 161 
 
 was nominated as a candidate for the State Legislature. 
 It was in one of Lincoln’s periods of profound depression, 
 and it was with the greatest difficulty that he could be 
 persuaded to accept the nomination. “I went to see 
 him,” says one of his close political friends, Mr. William 
 Jayne, “in order to get his consent to run. This was at 
 his house. He was then the saddest man I ever saw — 
 the gloomiest. He walked up and down the floor, almost 
 crying; and to all my persuasions to let his name stand in 
 the paper, he said, ‘No, I can’t. You don’t know all. 
 I say you don’t begin to know one-half; and that’s 
 enough.’ ” His name, however, was allowed to stand, 
 and he was elected by about 600 majority. But Lincoln 
 was then extremely desirous of succeeding General James 
 Shields, whose term in the United States Senate was to 
 expire the following March. The Senate Chamber had 
 long been the goal of his ambition. He summed up his 
 feelings in a letter to Hon. N. B. Judd, some years after, 
 saying, “I would rather have a full term in the United 
 States Senate than the Presidency.” He therefore re- 
 signed his seat in the Legislature — the fact that a major- 
 ity in both houses was opposed to the Nebraska Bill 
 allowing him to do so without injury to his party — and 
 became a candidate for the Senate. But the act was 
 futile. When the Legislature met, in February, 1855, to 
 make choice of a Senator, a clique of anti-Nebraska 
 Democrats held out so firmly against the nomination of 
 Lincoln that there was danger of the Whigs leaving their 
 candidate altogether. In this dilemma Lincoln was con- 
 sulted. Mr. Lamon thus describes the incident: “Lin- 
 coln said, unhesitatingly, ‘You ought to drop me and go 
 for Trumbull; that is the only way you can defeat Matte- 
 son.’ Judge Logan came up about that time, and in- 
 sisted on running Lincoln still; but the latter said, ‘If 
 you do, you will lose both Trumbull and myself; and I 
 think the cause in this case is to be preferred to men.’ 
 
162 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 We adopted his suggestion, and took up Trumbull and 
 elected him, although it grieved us to the heart to give 
 up Lincoln.” Mr. Parks, a member of the Legislature 
 at this time, and one of Lincoln’s intimate friends, said: 
 “Mr. Lincoln was very much disappointed, for I think it 
 was the height of his ambition to get into the United 
 States Senate. Yet he manifested no bitterness toward 
 Mr. Judd or the other anti-Nebraska Democrats by 
 whom politically he was beaten, but evidently thought 
 their motives were right. He told me several times 
 afterwards that the election of Trumbull was the best 
 thing that could have happened.” 
 
 Hon. Elijah M. Haines, ex-Speaker of the Illinois 
 Legislature, a resident of the State for over half a century, 
 and one of Lincoln’s early friends, was a member of the 
 Legislature during the Senatorial struggle just referred 
 to. His familiarity with all its incidents lends value to 
 his distinct and vivid recollections. “Abraham Lincoln 
 had been elected a member of the House on the Fusion 
 ticket, with Judge Stephen T. Logan, for the district 
 composed of Sangamon County,” writes Mr. Haines. 
 “But it being settled that the Fusion party — which was 
 an anti-Douglas combination, including Whigs, Free- 
 Soilers, Know-Nothings, etc. — would have a majority 
 of the two houses on ballot, Mr. Lincoln was induced to 
 become a candidate for United States Senator, for the 
 support of that party. He therefore did not qualify as a 
 member. Although Mr. Lincoln never acquired the 
 reputation of being an office-seeker, yet it happened fre- 
 quently that his name would be mentioned in connection 
 with some important position. He became quite early 
 in life one of the prominent leaders of the Whig party of 
 the State, and for a long time, in connection with a few 
 devoted associates, led the forlorn hope of that party. 
 During a period of about twenty years there was seldom 
 more than one Whig member in the Illinois delegation of 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 163 
 
 Congressmen. The Sangamon district, in which Mr. 
 Lincoln lived, was always sure to elect a Whig member 
 when the party was united; but it contained quite a 
 number of aspiring Whig orators, and there was a kind of 
 understanding between them that no one who attained 
 the position of Representative in Congress should hold it 
 longer than one term; that he would then give way for 
 the next favorite. Mr. Lincoln had held the position 
 once, and its return to him was far in the future. The 
 Fusion triumph in the Legislature was considered by the 
 Whig element as a success, in which they acknowledged 
 great obligation to Mr. Lincoln. That element in the 
 Fusion party therefore urged his claims as the successor 
 of General Shields. His old associate and tried friend 
 in the Whig cause, Judge Logan, became the champion 
 of his interests in the House of Representatives. I was 
 present and saw something of Mr. Lincoln during the 
 early part of the session, before the vote for Senator was 
 taken. He was around among the members much of the 
 time. His manner was agreeable and unassuming; he 
 was not forward in pressing his case upon the attention 
 of members, yet before the interview would come to a 
 close some allusion to the Senatorship would generally 
 occur, when he would respond in some such way as this: 
 ‘Gentlemen, that is rather a delicate subject for me to 
 talk upon; but I must confess that I would be glad of 
 your support for the office, if you shall conclude that I 
 am the proper person for it.’ When he had finished, he 
 would generally take occasion to withdraw before any 
 discussion on the subject arose. When the election of 
 Senator occurred, in February, Lincoln received 45 votes 
 — the highest number of any of the candidates, and 
 within six votes of enough to secure his election. This 
 was on the first ballot, after which Lincoln’s votes de- 
 clined. After the ninth ballot, Mr. Lincoln stepped 
 forward — or, as Mr. Richmond expresses it, leaned for- 
 
164- EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 ward from his position in the lobby — and requested the 
 committee to withdraw his name. On the tenth ballot 
 Judge Trumbull received fifty-one votes and was de- 
 clared elected.” Thus were Lincoln’s political ambitions 
 again frustrated. But their realization was only delayed 
 for the far grander triumph that was so soon to come, 
 although no man then foresaw its coming. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 Birth of the Republican Party — Lincoln One of Its Fathers — Takes 
 His Stand with the Abolitionists — The Bloomington Convention 
 — Lincoln’s Great Anti-Slavery Speech — A Ratification Meeting 
 of Three — The First National Republican Convention — Lincoln’s 
 Name Presented for the Vice-Presidency — Nomination of Fremont 
 and Dayton — Lincoln in the Campaign of 1856 — His Appear- 
 ance and Influence on the Stump — Regarded as a Dangerous 
 Man — His Views on the Politics of the Future — First Visit to 
 Cincinnati — Meeting with Edwin M. Stanton — Stanton’s First 
 Impressions of Lincoln — Regards Him as a “ Giraffe ” — A Visit 
 to Cincinnati. 
 
 HE year 1856 saw the dissolution of the old Whig 
 
 X party. It had become too narrow and restricted 
 to answer the needs of the hour. A new platform was 
 demanded, one that would admit the great principles and 
 issues growing out of the slavery agitation. A conven- 
 tion of the Whig leaders throughout the country met at 
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the 22d of February of that 
 year, to consider the necessity of a new organization. A 
 little later, Mr. Herndon, in the office of Lincoln, pre- 
 pared a call for a convention at Bloomington, Illinois, 
 “summoning together all those who wished to see the gov- 
 ernment conducted on the principles of Washington and 
 Jefferson.” This call was signed by the most prominent 
 Abolitionists of Illinois, with the name of A. Lincoln at 
 the head. The morning after its publication, Major 
 Stuart entered Mr. Herndon’s office in a state of extreme 
 excitement, and, as the latter relates, demanded: “ ‘Sir, 
 did Mr. Lincoln sign that Abolition call which is pub- 
 lished this morning?’ I answered, ‘Mr. Lincoln did not 
 sign that call.’ ‘Did Lincoln authorize you to sign it?’ 
 
166 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 ‘No, he never authorized me to sign it.’ ‘Then do you 
 know that you have ruined Mr. Lincoln?’ ‘I did not 
 know that I had ruined Mr. Lincoln; did not intend to 
 do so; thought he was a made man by it; that the time 
 had come when conservatism was a crime and a blunder.’ 
 ‘You, then, take the responsibility of your acts, do you?’ 
 ‘I do, most emphatically.’ However, I instantly sat 
 down and wrote to Mr. Lincoln, who was then in Pekin 
 or Tremont — possibly at court. He received my letter, 
 and instantly replied, either by letter or telegraph — most 
 likely by letter — that he adopted in toto what I had 
 done, and promised to meet the radicals — Lovejoy and 
 such like men — among us.” Mr. Herndon adds : “ Never 
 did a man change as Lincoln did from that hour. No 
 sooner had he planted himself right on the slavery question 
 than his whole soul seemed burning. He blossomed right 
 out. Then, too, other spiritual things grew more real to 
 him.” 
 
 Mr. Herndon had been an Abolitionist from birth. It 
 was an inheritance with him; but Lincoln’s conversion 
 was a gradual process, stimulated and confirmed by the 
 influence of his companion. “From 1854 to 1860,” says 
 Mr. Herndon, “I kept putting into Lincoln’s hands the 
 speeches and sermons of Theodore Parker, Wendell 
 Phillips, and Henry Ward Beecher. I took ‘The Anti- 
 Slavery Standard’ for years before 1856, ‘The Chicago 
 Tribune,’ and ‘The New York Tribune’; kept them in 
 my office, kept them purposely on my table, and would 
 read to Lincoln the good, sharp, solid things, well put. 
 Lincoln was a natural anti-slavery man, as I think, and 
 yet he needed watching, — needed hope, faith, energy; 
 and I think I warmed him.” 
 
 It is stated that “when Herndon was very young — 
 probably before Mr. Lincoln made his first protest in the 
 Legislature of the State in behalf of liberty — Lincoln 
 once said to him: ‘I cannot see what makes your con- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 167 
 
 victions so decided as regards the future of slavery. What 
 tells you the thing must be rooted out?’ ‘I feel it in my 
 bones,’ was Herndon’s emphatic answer. ‘This conti- 
 nent is not broad enough to endure the contest between 
 freedom and slavery ! ’ It was almost in these very words 
 that Lincoln afterwards opened the great contest with 
 Douglas. From this time forward he submitted all 
 public questions to what he called ‘the test of Bill Hern- 
 don’s bone philosophy’; and their arguments were close 
 and protracted.” 
 
 Lincoln’s attitude on slavery aroused formidable oppo- 
 sition among his friends, and even in his own family. 
 Mrs. Lincoln was decidedly pro-slavery in her views. 
 Once while riding with a friend she said: “If my husband 
 dies, his spirit will never find me residing outside the 
 limits of a slave State.” But opposition, whether from 
 without or within, could never swerve him from a course to 
 which conscience and reason clearly impelled him. Long 
 before Mr. Herndon published the call for the Blooming- 
 ton convention, he had said to a deputation of men from 
 Chicago, in answer to the inquiry whether Lincoln could 
 be trusted for freedom: “Can you trust yourselves? If 
 you can, you can trust Lincoln forever.” 
 
 The convention met at Bloomington, May 29, 1856. 
 One of its chief incidents was a speech by Lincoln. This 
 speech was one of the great efforts of his life, and had a 
 powerful influence on the convention. “Never,” says 
 one of the delegates, “ was an audience more completely 
 electrified by human eloquence. Again and again his 
 hearers sprang to their feet, and by long continued cheers 
 expressed how deeply the speaker had aroused them.” 
 “It was there,” says Mr. Herndon in one of his lectures, 
 “that Lincoln was baptized and Joined our church. He 
 made a speech to us. I have heard or read all of Mr. 
 Lincoln’s great speeches; and I give it as my opinion that 
 the Bloomington speech was the grand effort of his life. 
 
168 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Heretofore, and up to this moment, he had simply argued 
 the slavery question on grounds of policy, — on what are 
 called the statesman's grounds, — never reaching the 
 question of the radical and eternal right. Now he was 
 newly baptized and freshly born; he had the fervor of a 
 new convert; the smothered flame broke out; enthusiasm 
 unusual to him blazed up; his eyes were aglow with 
 inspiration; he felt a new and more vital justice; his 
 heart was alive to the right; his sympathies burst forth; 
 and he stood before the throne of the eternal Right, in 
 presence of his God, and then and there unburdened his 
 penitential and fired soul. This speech was fresh, new, 
 genuine, odd, original; filled with fervor not unmixed 
 with a divine enthusiasm ; his head breathing out through 
 his tender heart its truths, its sense of right, and its feeling 
 of the good and for the good. This speech was full 
 of fire and energy and force; it was logic; it was pathos; 
 it was enthusiasm; it was justice, equity, truth, right, 
 and good, set ablaze by the divine fires of a soul maddened 
 by wrong; it was hard, heavy, knotty, gnarly, edged, and 
 heated. I attempted for about fifteen minutes, as was 
 usual with me then, to take notes; but at the end of that 
 time I threw pen and paper to the dogs, and lived only in 
 the inspiration of the hour. If Mr. Lincoln was six feet four 
 inches high usually, at Bloomington he was seven feet, and 
 inspired at that. From that day to the day of his death, 
 he stood firm on the right. He felt his great cross, had 
 his great idea, nursed it, kept it, taught it to others, and 
 in his fidelity bore witness of it to his death, and finally 
 sealed it with his precious blood.” 
 
 The committee on resolutions at the convention found 
 themselves, after hours of discussion, unable to agree; 
 and at last they sent for Lincoln. He suggested that all 
 could unite on the principles of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence and hostility to the extension of slavery. “Let 
 us,” said he, “in building our new party make our corner- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 169 
 
 stone the Declaration of Independence; let us build on 
 this rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 us.” The problem was mastered, and the convention 
 adopted the following: 
 
 Resolved, That we hold, in accordance with the opin- 
 ions and practices of all the great statesmen of all parties 
 for the first sixty years of the administration of the 
 government, that under the Constitution Congress 
 possesses full power to prohibit slavery in the territories; 
 and that while we will maintain all constitutional rights 
 of the South, we also hold that justice, humanity, the 
 principles of freedom, as expressed in our Declaration of 
 Independence and our National Constitution, and the 
 purity and perpetuity of our government, require that 
 that power should be exerted to prevent the extension of 
 slavery into territories heretofore free. 
 
 The Bloomington convention concluded its work by 
 choosing delegates to the National Republican con- 
 vention to be held at Philadelphia the following month, 
 for the nomination of candidates for the Presidency and 
 Vice-presidency of the United States. And thus was 
 organized the Republican party in Illinois, which revolu- 
 tionized the politics of the State and elected Lincoln to 
 the Presidency. 
 
 The people of Bloomington seem to have had but 
 little sympathy with this convention. A few days later, 
 Herndon and Lincoln tried to hold a ratification meeting; 
 but only three persons were present — Lincoln, Herndon, 
 and John Pain. “When Lincoln came into the court- 
 room where the meeting was to be held,” says Herndon, 
 “there was an expression of sadness and amusement on 
 his face. He walked to the stand, mounted it in a kind 
 of mockery — mirth and sadness all combined — and 
 said, ‘Gentlemen, this meeting is larger than I thought 
 it would be. I knew that Herndon and myself would 
 come, but I did not know that anyone else would be here; 
 and yet another has come — you, John Pain. These are 
 
170 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 sad times, and seem out of joint. All seems dead; but 
 the age is not yet dead; it liveth as sure as our Maker 
 liveth. Under all this seeming want of life and motion, 
 the world does move nevertheless. Be hopeful. And 
 now let us adjourn and appeal to the people.’ ” 
 
 The National convention of the Republican party met 
 at Philadelphia in June, 1856, and adopted a declaration 
 of principles substantially based upon those of the Bloom- 
 ington convention. John C. Fremont was nominated as 
 candidate for President. Among the names presented 
 for Vice-president was that of Abraham Lincoln, who 
 received 110 votes. William L. Dayton received 259 
 votes and was unanimously declared the nominee. Fre- 
 mont and Dayton thus became the standard-bearers of 
 the new national party. When the news reached Lincoln, 
 in Illinois, that he had received 110 votes as nominee for 
 the Vice-presidency, he could not at first believe that he 
 was the man voted for, and said, “No, it could not be; 
 it must have been the great Lincoln of Massachusetts!” 
 He was then in one of his melancholy moods, full of 
 depression and despondency. 
 
 In the stirring presidential campaign of 1856, Lincoln 
 was particularly active, and rendered most efficient 
 service to the Republican party. He spoke constantly, 
 discussing the great question of “slavery in the terri- 
 tories” in a manner at once original and masterly. A 
 graphic picture of one of these campaign gatherings is 
 furnished by Hon. William Bross, afterwards Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Illinois. “I first met Mr. Lincoln, to know 
 him,” says Governor Bross, “at Vandalia, the old capital 
 of the State, in October, 1856. There was to be a political 
 meeting in front of the old State House, in the center of 
 the square, at 2 o’clock. Soon after that hour the sono- 
 rous voice of Dr. Curdy rang through the town : ‘ O, yes ! 
 O, yes! All ye who want to hear public speaking, draw 
 near ! ’ The crowd at once began to gather from all sides 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 171 
 
 of the square. The Doctor then introduced the first 
 speaker, and he proceeded to make the best presentation 
 he could of the principles of the newly-formed Republican 
 party, and the reasons why Fremont, ‘the gallant path- 
 finder of the West,’ should be elected President. About 
 the time the first speaker closed his remarks, Hon. Eben- 
 ezer Peck and Abraham Lincoln arrived and took the 
 stand; and both made able and effective speeches. After 
 that, Lincoln and I frequently met during the canvass, 
 and often afterwards I spoke with him from the same 
 platform. The probable result of an election was often 
 canvassed, and a noticeable fact was that in most cases 
 he would mark the probable result below rather than 
 above the actual majority.” 
 
 Some lively reminiscences of Lincoln’s appearance 
 and efforts in this campaign are given by Mr. Noah 
 Brooks, the well-known journalist and author, who at 
 that time lived in Northern Illinois and attended many 
 of the great Republican mass-meetings. “At one of these 
 great assemblies in Ogle County,” says Mr. Brooks, “to 
 which the country people came on horseback, in farm 
 wagons, or afoot, from far and near, there were several 
 speakers of local celebrity. Dr. Egan of Chicago, famous 
 for his racy stories, was one; and Joe Knox of Bureau 
 County, a stump speaker of renown, was another attrac- 
 tion. Several other orators were ‘on the bills’ for this 
 long-advertised ‘Fremont and Dayton rally,’ among 
 them being a Springfield lawyer who had won some 
 reputation as a close reasoner, and a capital speaker on 
 the stump. This was Abraham Lincoln, popularly known 
 as ‘Honest Abe Lincoln.’ In those days he was not so 
 famous in our part of the State as the two speakers whom 
 I have named. Possibly he was not so popular among 
 the masses of the people; but his ready wit, his unfailing 
 good humor, and the candor which gave him his character 
 for honesty, won for him the admiration and respect of 
 
172 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 all who heard him. I remember once meeting a choleric 
 old Democrat striding away from an open-air meeting 
 where Lincoln was speaking, striking the earth with his 
 cane as he stumped along, and exclaiming, ‘ He’s a danger- 
 ous man, sir ! A d d dangerous man ! He makes you 
 
 believe what he says, in spite of yourself!’ It was Lin- 
 coln’s manner. He admitted away his whole case ap- 
 parently — and yet, as his political opponents complained, 
 he usually carried conviction with him. As he reasoned 
 with his audience, he bent his long form over the railing 
 of the platform, stooping lower and lower as he pursued 
 his argument, until, having reached his point, he clinched 
 it, usually with a question, and then suddenly sprang 
 upright, reminding one of the springing open of a jack- 
 knife blade. At the Ogle County meeting to which I 
 refer, Lincoln led off, the raciest speakers being reserved 
 for the latter part of the political entertainment. I am 
 bound to say that Lincoln did not awaken the boisterous 
 applause which some of those who followed him did, but 
 his speech made a more lasting impression. It was 
 talked about for weeks afterward in the neighborhood, 
 and it probably changed many votes; for that was the 
 time when Free-soil votes were being made in Northern 
 Illinois.” 
 
 Mr. Brooks had made Lincoln’s acquaintance early 
 in the day referred to; and after Lincoln had spoken, 
 and while some of the other orators were entertaining 
 the audience, the two drew a little off from the crowd and 
 fell into a discussion over the political situation and 
 prospects. “We crawled under the pendulous branches 
 of a tree,” says Mr. Brooks, “and Lincoln, lying flat on 
 the ground, with his chin in his hands, talked on, rather 
 gloomily as to the present but absolutely confident as to 
 the future. I was dismayed to find that he did not 
 believe it possible that Fremont could be elected. As 
 if half pitying my youthful ignorance, but admiring my 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 173 
 
 enthusiasm, he said, ‘Don’t be discouraged if we don’t 
 carry the day this year. We can’t do it, that’s certain. 
 We can’t carry Pennsylvania; those old Whigs down 
 there are too strong for us. But we shall sooner or later 
 elect our President. I feel confident of that.’ ‘Do you 
 think we shall elect a Free-soil President in I860?’ I asked. 
 ‘Well, I don’t know. Everything depends on the course 
 of the Democracy. There’s a big anti-slavery element 
 in the Democratic party, and if we could get hold of that 
 we might possibly elect our man in 1860. But it’s doubt- 
 ful, very doubtful. Perhaps we shall be able to fetch it 
 by 1864; perhaps not. As I said before, the Free-soil 
 party is bound to win in the long run. It may not be in 
 my day; but it will be in yours, I do really believe.’ ” 
 The defeat of Fremont soon verified Lincoln’s prediction 
 on that score. 
 
 A peculiarly interesting episode of Lincoln’s life belongs 
 to this period, though unrelated to political events. This 
 was the meeting, in a professional way, with Edwin M. 
 Stanton, at that time a prominent lawyer of Pittsburgh, 
 afterwards the great War Secretary of President Lin- 
 coln’s cabinet. The circumstances were briefly these: 
 Among Lincoln’s law cases was one connected with the 
 patent of the McCormick Reaper; and in the summer of 
 1857 he visited Cincinnati to argue the case before Judge 
 McLean of the United States Circuit Court. It was a 
 case of great importance, involving the foundation 
 patent of the machine which was destined to revolutionize 
 the harvesting of grain. Reverdy Johnson was on one 
 side of the case, and E. M. Stanton and George Harding 
 on the other. It became necessary, in addition, to have a 
 lawyer who was a resident of Illinois; and inquiry was 
 made of Hon. E. B. Washburne, then in Congress, as 
 to whether he knew a suitable man. The latter replied 
 that “there was a man named Lincoln at Springfield, who 
 had considerable reputation in the State.” Lincoln was 
 
174 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 retained in the case, and came on to Cincinnati with a 
 brief. Stanton and Harding saw in their associate coun- 
 sel “a tall, dark, uncouth man, who did not strike them 
 as of any account, and, indeed, they gave him hardly 
 any chance.” An interesting account of this visit, and 
 of various incidents connected with it, has been prepared 
 by the Hon. W. M. Dickson of Cincinnati. “Mr. Lin- 
 coln came to the city,” says Mr. Dickson, “a few days 
 before the argument took place, and remained during his 
 stay at the house of a friend. The case was one of large 
 importance pecuniarily, and in the law questions involved. 
 Reverdy Johnson represented the plaintiff. Mr. Lincoln 
 had prepared himself with the greatest care; his ambition 
 was to speak in the case, and to measure swords with the 
 renowned lawyer from Baltimore. It was understood 
 between his client and himself, before his coming, that 
 Mr. Harding of Philadelphia was to be associated with 
 him in the case, and was to make the ‘mechanical argu- 
 ment.’ Mr. Lincoln was a little surprised and annoyed 
 after reaching Cincinnati, to learn that his client had also 
 associated with him Mr. Edwin M. Stanton, of Pitts- 
 burgh, and a lawyer of our own bar; the reason assigned 
 being that the importance of the case required a man 
 of the experience and power of Mr. Stanton to meet Mr. 
 Johnson. The reasons given did not remove the slight 
 conveyed in the employment, without consultation with 
 Lincoln, of this additional counsel. He keenly felt it, 
 but acquiesced. The trial of the case came on; the 
 counsel for defense met each morning for consultation. 
 On one of these occasions one of the counsel moved that 
 only two of them should speak in the case. This motion 
 was also acquiesced in. It had always been understood 
 that Mr. Harding was to speak to explain the mechanism 
 of the reapers. So this motion excluded either Mr. Lin- 
 coln or Mr. Stanton. By the custom of the bar, as be- 
 tween counsel of equal standing and in the absence of 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 175 
 
 any action of the client, the original counsel speaks. By 
 this rule Mr. Lincoln had precedence. Mr. Stanton 
 suggested to Mr. Lincoln to make the speech. Mr. 
 Lincoln answered, ‘No; you speak,’ Mr. Stanton re- 
 plied, ‘I will,’ and taking up his hat, said he would go 
 and make preparation. Mr. Lincoln acquiesced in this, 
 but was deeply grieved and mortified; he took but little 
 more interest in the case, though remaining until the 
 conclusion of the trial. He seemed to be greatly de- 
 pressed, and gave evidence of that tendency to melan- 
 choly which so marked his character. His parting on 
 leaving the city cannot be forgotten. Cordially shaking 
 the hand of his hostess, he said: ‘You have made my 
 stay here most agreeable, and I am a thousand times 
 obliged to you; but as for repeating my visit, I must say 
 to you I never expect to be in Cincinnati again. I have 
 nothing against the city, but things have so happened 
 here as to make it undesirable for me ever to return.’ 
 Thus untowardly met for the first time, Lincoln and 
 Stanton. Little did either then suspect that they were 
 to meet again on a larger theatre, to become the chief 
 actors in a great historical epoch.” 
 
 If Lincoln was “surprised and annoyed” at the treat- 
 ment he received from Stanton, the latter was no less 
 surprised, and a good deal more disgusted, on seeing 
 Lincoln and learning of his connection with the case. He 
 made no secret of his contempt for the “long, lank crea- 
 ture from Illinois,” as he afterwards described him, 
 “wearing a dirty linen duster for a coat, on the back of 
 which the perspiration had splotched wide stains that 
 resembled a dirty map of the continent.” He blurted 
 out his wrath and indignation to his associate counsel, 
 declaring that if “that giraffe” was permitted to appear 
 in the case he would throw up his brief and leave it. 
 Lincoln keenly felt the affront, but his great nature for- 
 gave it so entirely that, recognizing the singular abilities 
 
176 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of Stanton beneath his brusque exterior, he afterwards, 
 for the public good, appointed him to a seat in his cabinet. 
 
 Lincoln, says Mr. Dickson, “remained in Cincinnati 
 about a week, moving freely about. Yet not twenty men 
 in the city knew him personally, or knew he was here; 
 not a hundred would have known who he was had his 
 name been given to them. He came with the fond hope 
 of making fame in a forensic contest with Reverdy John- 
 son. He was pushed aside, humiliated and mortified. 
 He attached to the innocent city the displeasure that 
 filled his bosom, and shook its dust from his feet.” 
 
 In his Autobiography, Moncure D. Conway records a 
 glimpse of Lincoln during his Cincinnati visit that seems 
 worth transcribing. “ One warm evening in 1859, passing 
 through the market-place in Cincinnati, I found there 
 a crowd listening to a political speech in the open air. 
 The speaker stood on the balcony of a small brick house, 
 some lamps assisting the moonlight. Something about 
 the speaker, and some words that reached me, led me to 
 press nearer. I asked the speaker’s name, and learned 
 that it was Abraham Lincoln. Browning’s description of 
 the German professor, ‘Three parts sublime to one gro- 
 tesque,’ was applicable to this man. The face had a 
 battered and bronzed look, without being hard. His nose 
 was prominent, and buttressed a strong and high forehead. 
 His eyes were high-vaulted, and had an expression of 
 sadness; his mouth and chin were too close together, the 
 cheeks hollow. On the whole, Lincoln’s appearance was 
 not attractive until one heard his voice, which possessed 
 variety of expression, earnestness, and shrewdness in every 
 tone. The charm of his manner was that he had no 
 manner; he was simple, direct, humorous. He pleasantly 
 repeated a mannerism of his opponent, — ‘This is what 
 Douglas calls his ‘ gur-reat per-rinciple .’ But the next 
 words I remember were these: ‘ Slavery is wrong .’” 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 The Great Lincoln-Douglas Debate — Rivals for the U. S. Senate — 
 Lincoln’s “ House-Divided-against-Itself ” Speech — An Inspired 
 Oration — Alarming His Friends — Challenges Douglas to a Joint 
 Discussion — The Champions Contrasted — Their Opinions of Each 
 Other — Lincoln and Douglas on the Stump — Slavery the Leading 
 Issue — Scenes and Anecdotes of the Great Debate — Pen-Picture 
 of Lincoln on the Stump — Humors of the Campaign — Some 
 Sharp Rejoinders — Words of Soberness — Close of the Conflict. 
 
 HE year 1858 is memorable alike in the career of 
 
 X Lincoln and in the political history of the country. 
 It was distinguished by the joint discussions between the 
 two great political leaders of Illinois, which rank among 
 the ablest forensic debates that have taken place since 
 the foundation of the republic. The occasion was one 
 to call out the greatest powers of the two remarkable 
 men who there contested for political supremacy. It 
 was not alone that Lincoln and Douglas were opposing 
 candidates for a high office — that of Senator of the 
 United States: they were the champions and spokesmen 
 of their parties at a critical period when great issues 
 were to be discussed and great movements outlined and 
 directed. It was naturally expected that the winner in 
 the contest would become the political leader of his State. 
 Little was it imagined that the loser would become the 
 leader and savior of the Nation. 
 
 On the 21st of April the Democratic convention of 
 Illinois met at Springfield and announced Stephen A. 
 Douglas, then United States Senator, as its choice for 
 another term. June 16 the Republican convention met 
 at the same place and declared unanimously that “Abra- 
 ham Lincoln is our first and only choice for United States 
 
178 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Senator to fill the vacancy about to be created by the 
 expiration of Mr. Douglas’s term of office.” For a num- 
 ber of days previous to the meeting of the Republican 
 convention Lincoln had been engaged in preparing a 
 speech for the occasion. It was composed after his usual 
 method — the separate thoughts jotted down as they 
 came to him, on scraps of paper at hand at the moment, 
 and these notes were arranged in order and elaborated 
 into a finished essay, copied on large sheets of paper in a 
 plain and legible handwriting. This was the speech 
 which afterwards came to be so celebrated as the “house- 
 divided-against-itself ” speech. Lincoln was gravely con- 
 scious of its unusual importance, and gave great care and 
 deliberation to its composition. The evening of June 16 
 — the day of his nomination by the convention — 
 Lincoln went to his office, accompanied by his friend 
 Herndon, and having locked the door proceeded to read 
 his speech. Slowly and distinctly he read the first para- 
 graph, and then turned to Herndon with, “What do you 
 think of that?” Mr. Herndon was startled at its bold- 
 ness. “I think,” said he, “it is all true. But is it entirely 
 politic to read or speak it as it is written? ” “That makes 
 no difference,” said Lincoln. “That expression is a 
 truth of all human experience, — ‘ a house divided against 
 itself cannot stand.’ The proposition is indisputably 
 true, and has been true for more than six thousand years; 
 I want to use some universally known figure, expressed 
 in simple language, that may strike home to the minds of 
 men in order to rouse them to the peril of the times.” 
 Mr. Herndon was convinced by Lincoln’s language, and 
 advised him to deliver the speech just as it was written. 
 Lincoln was satisfied, but thought it would be prudent 
 to consult a few other friends in the matter, and about a 
 dozen were called in. “After seating them at the round 
 table,” says John Armstrong, one of the number, “he 
 read that clause or section of his speech which reads, ‘a 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 179 
 
 house divided against itself cannot stand,’ etc. He read 
 it slowly and cautiously, so as to let each man fully under- 
 stand it. After he had finished the reading, he asked 
 the opinions of his friends as to the wisdom or policy of 
 it. Every man among them condemned the speech in 
 substance and spirit, especially that section quoted above, 
 as unwise and impolitic if not untrue. They unani- 
 mously declared that the whole speech was too far in 
 advance of the times. Herndon sat still while they were 
 giving their respective opinions of its unwisdom and 
 impolicy; then he sprang to his feet and said, ‘Lincoln, 
 deliver it just as it reads. If it is in advance of the times, 
 let us lift the people to its level. The speech is true, wise, 
 and politic, and will succeed now or in the future. Nay, 
 it will aid you, if it will not make you President of the 
 United States.’ Mr. Lincoln sat still a moment, then 
 rose from his chair, walked backwards and forwards in 
 the hall, stopped, and said: ‘Friends, I have thought 
 about this matter a great deal, have weighed the questions 
 from all corners, and am thoroughly convinced the time 
 has come when this speech should be uttered; and if it 
 be that I must go down because of it, then let me go 
 down linked to truth — die in the advocacy of what is 
 right and just. This nation cannot live on injustice; “a 
 house divided against itself cannot stand,” I say again 
 and again.’ This was spoken with emotion — the effects 
 of his love of truth, and sorrow from the disagreement 
 of his friends.” 
 
 On the next evening the speech was delivered to an 
 immense audience in the hall of the House of Representa- 
 tives at Springfield. “The hall and lobbies and galleries 
 were even more densely crowded and packed than at any 
 time during the day,” says the official report; and as 
 Lincoln “approached the speaker’s stand, he was greeted 
 with shouts and hurrahs, and prolonged cheers.” The 
 prophetic sentences which dropped first from the lips of 
 
180 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the speaker were freighted with a solemn import which 
 even he could scarcely have divined in full. The seers 
 of old were not more inspired than he who now, out of 
 the irresistible conviction of his heart, said to his surprised 
 and unbelieving listeners: 
 
 If we could first know where we are and whither we are 
 tending, we could then better judge what to do and how 
 to do it. We are now far on in the fifth year since a policy 
 was initiated with the avowed object and confident 
 promise of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under 
 the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not 
 ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion 
 it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and 
 passed. ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ 
 I believe this Government cannot endure, permanently, 
 half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be 
 dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do 
 expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one 
 thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery 
 will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the 
 public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of 
 ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward 
 till it shall become alike lawful in all the States — old as 
 well as new — North as well as South. 
 
 Mr. Jeriah Bonham, an old citizen of Illinois, relates 
 that he was present as a delegate at the Springfield con- 
 vention and heard the famous speech of Lincoln. Ac- 
 cording to Mr. Bonham, “The speech was prepared with 
 unusual care, every paragraph and sentence carefully 
 weighed. The firm bedrock of principles, the issues of 
 the campaign on which he proposed to stand and fight 
 his battles, were all well considered, and his arguments 
 were incontrovertible. In that memorable speech cul- 
 minated all the grand thoughts he had ever uttered, 
 embodying divinity, statesmanship, law, and morals, and 
 even fraught with prophecy. As he advanced in this 
 argument he towered to his full height, forgetting himself 
 entirely as he grew warm in his work. Men and women 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 181 
 
 who heard that speech well remember the wonderful 
 transformation wrought in Lincoln’s appearance. The 
 plain, homely man towered up majestically; his face lit 
 as with angelic light; the long, bent, angular figure, like 
 the strong oak of the forest, stood erect, and his eyes 
 flashed with the fire of inspiration.” 
 
 The party that had nominated Lincoln for the Senate 
 was not prepared to endorse his restriction of the coming 
 struggle to the single issue of the slavery question. His 
 friends dreaded the result of his uncompromising frank- 
 ness, while politicians quite generally condemned it. 
 Even so stanch a friend as Leonard Swett, whose devo- 
 tion to Lincoln never wavered throughout his whole 
 career, shared these apprehensions. Says Mr. Swett: 
 “The first ten lines of that speech defeated him. The 
 sentiment of the ‘house divided against itself’ seemed 
 wholly inappropriate. It was a speech made at the com- 
 mencement of a campaign, and apparently made for the 
 campaign. Viewing it in this light alone, nothing could 
 have been more unfortunate or inappropriate. It was 
 saying the wrong thing first; yet he felt that it was an 
 abstract truth, and that standing by the speech would 
 ultimately find him in the right place. I was inclined at 
 the time to believe these words were hastily and incon- 
 siderately uttered; but subsequent facts have convinced 
 me they were deliberate and had been well matured.” 
 
 A few days after the delivery of this speech, a gentle- 
 man named Dr. Long called on Lincoln and gave him 
 a foretaste of the remarks he was to hear during the 
 next few months. “Well, Lincoln,” said he, “that foolish 
 speech of yours will kill you — will defeat you in this 
 contest, and probably for all offices for all time to come. 
 I am sorry, sorry, very sorry. I wish it was wiped out 
 of existence. Don’t you wish so too?” Laying down 
 the pen with which he had been writing, and slowly 
 raising his head and adjusting his spectacles, Lincoln 
 
182 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 replied: “Well, Doctor, if I had to draw a pen across and 
 erase my whole life from existence, and I had one poor 
 gift or choice left as to what I should save from the 
 wreck, I should choose that speech, and leave it to the 
 world unerased.” 
 
 The Senatorial campaign was now well begun. Douglas 
 opened it by a speech at Chicago on the 9th of July. 
 Lincoln was present, and on the next evening spoke in 
 reply from the same place — the balcony of the Tremont 
 House. A week later Douglas spoke at Bloomington, with 
 Lincoln again in the audience. The notion of a joint 
 discussion seems to have originated with Lincoln, who on 
 the 24th of July addressed a note to Douglas as follows: 
 
 Hon. S. A. Douglas — My Dear Sir: — Will it be 
 agreeable to you to make an arrangement for you and 
 myself to divide time, and address the same audiences 
 during the present canvass? Mr. Judd, who will hand 
 you this, is authorized to receive your answer, and, if 
 agreeable to you, to enter into the terms of such arrange- 
 ment. Your obedient servant, a. Lincoln. 
 
 The result of this proposal was an agreement that there 
 should be a joint discussion between the two candidates 
 in each of the seven Congressional districts in which they 
 had not both already been heard. Places were named 
 and dates fixed extending to the middle of October. It 
 was agreed that the opening speech on each occasion 
 should occupy one hour; the reply, one hour and a half; 
 the close, half an hour; and that Mr. Douglas should have 
 the first and last voice in four of the seven meetings. 
 
 The champions who were thus to enter the lists in a 
 decisive trial of forensic strength and skill are forcibly 
 contrasted by Mr. Speed, who says: “They were the 
 respective leaders of their parties in the State. They 
 were as opposite in character as they were unlike in their 
 persons. Lincoln was long and ungainly; Douglas was 
 short and compact. Douglas, in all elections, was the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 183 
 
 moving spirit and manager. He was content with 
 nothing short of a blind submission to himself. He 
 could not tolerate opposition to his will within his party 
 organization. He held the reins and controlled the 
 movements of the Democratic chariot. With a large 
 State majority, with many able and ambitious men in it, 
 he stepped to the front in his youth and held his place till 
 his death. Lincoln, on the other hand, shrank from any 
 controversy with his friends. His party being in a minority 
 in the State, he was forced to the front because his friends 
 thought he was the only man with whom they could win. 
 In a canvass his friends had to do all the management. 
 He knew nothing of how to reach the people except by 
 addressing their reason. If the situation had been re- 
 versed — Lincoln representing the majority and Douglas 
 the minority — I think it most likely Lincoln would 
 never have had the place. He had no heart for a fight 
 with friends.” 
 
 The Hon. James G. Blaine has given a masterly de- 
 scription and analysis of the comparative powers of the 
 two illustrious debaters. Douglas, says Mr. Blaine, 
 “was everywhere known as a debater of singular skill. 
 His mind was fertile in resources. He was a master of 
 logic. No man perceived more quickly than he the 
 strength or the weakness of an argument, and no one 
 excelled him in the use of sophistry and fallacy. Where 
 he could not elucidate a point to his own advantage, he 
 would fatally becloud it for his opponent. In that 
 peculiar style of debate which in intensity resembles a 
 physical combat, he had no equal. He spoke with extraor- 
 dinary readiness. There was no halting in his phrase. 
 He used good English, terse, vigorous, pointed. He 
 disregarded the adornments of rhetoric — rarely used a 
 simile. He was utterly destitute of humor, and had 
 slight appreciation of wit. He never cited historical 
 precedents except from the domain of American politics. 
 
184 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Inside that field his knowledge was comprehensive, 
 minute, critical; beyond it his learning was limited. He 
 was not a reader. His recreations were not in literature. 
 In the whole range of his voluminous speaking, it would 
 be difficult to find either a line of poetry or a classical 
 allusion. But he was by nature an orator, and by long 
 practice a debater. He could lead a crowd almost irre- 
 sistibly to his own conclusions. He could, if he wished, 
 incite a mob to desperate deeds. He was, in short, an 
 able, audacious, almost unconquerable opponent in 
 public discussion. It would have been impossible to 
 find any man of the same type able to meet him before 
 the people of Illinois. Whoever attempted it would 
 probably have been destroyed in the first encounter. 
 But the man who was chosen to meet him, who chal- 
 lenged him to the combat, was radically different in every 
 phase of character. Scarcely could two men be more 
 unlike in mental and moral constitution than Abraham 
 Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln was calm and 
 philosophic. He loved the truth for the truth’s sake. 
 He would not argue from a false premise, or be deceived 
 himself or deceive others by a false conclusion. He had 
 pondered deeply on the issues which aroused him to 
 action. He had given anxious thought to the problems 
 of free government, and to the destiny of the Republic. 
 He had marked out a path of duty for himself, and he 
 walked it fearlessly. His mental processes were slower 
 but more profound than those of Douglas. He did not 
 seek to say merely the thing which was best for that 
 day’s debate, but the thing which would stand the test 
 of time and square itself with eternal justice. He wished 
 nothing to appear white unless it was white. His logic 
 was severe and faultless. He did not resort to fallacy, 
 and could detect it in his opponent and expose it with 
 merciless directness. He had an abounding sense of 
 humor, and always employed it in illustration of his 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 185 
 
 argument — but never for the mere sake of provoking 
 merriment. In this respect he had the wonderful aptness 
 of Franklin. He often taught a great truth with the felici- 
 tous brevity of an iEsop fable. His words did not flow in 
 an impetuous torrent, as did those of Douglas; but they 
 were always well chosen, deliberate and conclusive.” 
 
 Mr. Arnold, in the course of an extended comparison, 
 says: “At the time of these discussions, both Lincoln and 
 Douglas were in the full maturity of their powers. Doug- 
 las was forty-five and Lincoln forty-nine years of age. 
 Physically and mentally, they were as unlike as possible. 
 Douglas was short, not much more than five feet high, 
 with a large head, massive brain, broad shoulders, a wide, 
 deep chest, and features strongly marked. He impressed 
 every one, at first sight, as a strong, sturdy, resolute, 
 fearless man. Lincoln’s herculean stature has already 
 been described. A stranger who listened to him for five 
 minutes would say: ‘This is a kind, genial, sincere, 
 genuine man; a man you can trust, plain, straightforward, 
 honest, and true.’ If this stranger were to hear him make 
 a speech, he would be impressed with his clear good sense, 
 by his wit and humor, by his general intelligence, and by 
 the simple, homely, but pure and accurate language he 
 used. In his long residence at Washington, Douglas 
 had acquired the bearing and manners of a gentleman 
 and a man of the world. But he was always a fascinating 
 and attractive man, and always and everywhere person- 
 ally popular. He had been for years carefully and 
 thoroughly trained on the stump, in Congress, and in the 
 Senate, to meet in debate the ablest speakers in the State 
 and Nation. For years he had been accustomed to meet 
 on the floor of the Capitol the leaders of the old Whig 
 and Free-soil parties. Among them were Webster and 
 Seward, Fessenden and Crittenden, Chase, Trumbull, 
 Hale and others of nearly equal eminence; and his en- 
 thusiastic friends insisted that never, either in single 
 
186 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 conflict or when receiving the assault of the senatorial 
 leaders of a whole party, had he been discomfited. His 
 style was bold, vigorous, and aggressive; at times even 
 defiant. He was ready, fluent, fertile in resources, famil- 
 iar with national and party history, severe in denunciation, 
 and he handled with skill nearly all the weapons of debate. 
 His iron will and restless energy, together with great 
 personal magnetism, made him the idol of his friends 
 and party. His long, brilliant, and almost universally 
 successful career, gave him perfect confidence in himself, 
 and at times he was arrogant and overbearing. . . . 
 Lincoln also was a thoroughly trained speaker. He had 
 met successfully, year after year, at the bar and on the 
 stump, the ablest men of Illinois and the Northwest, 
 including Lamborn, Stephen T. Logan, John Calhoun, 
 and many others. He had contended, in generous 
 emulation, with Hardin, Baker, Logan, and Browning; 
 and had very often met Douglas, a conflict with whom 
 he always courted rather than shunned. His speeches, 
 as we read them to-day, show a more familiar knowledge 
 of the slavery question than those of any other states- 
 man of our country. This is especially true of the Peoria 
 speech and the Cooper Institute speech. Lincoln was 
 powerful in argument, always seizing the strong points, 
 and demonstrating his propositions with a clearness and 
 logic approaching the certainty of mathematics. He had, 
 in wit and humor, a great advantage over Douglas. Then 
 he had the better temper; he was always good humored, 
 while Douglas, when hard pressed, was sometimes irritable. 
 Douglas perhaps carried away the more popular applause ; 
 Lincoln made the deeper and more lasting impression. 
 Douglas did not disdain an immediate ad captandum 
 triumph; while Lincoln aimed at permanent conviction. 
 Sometimes, when Lincoln’s friends urged him to raise a 
 storm of applause, which he could always do by his happy 
 illustrations and amusing stories, he refused, saying, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 187 
 
 ‘The occasion is too serious; the issues are too grave. I 
 do not seek applause, or to amuse the people, but to 
 convince them.’ It was observed in the canvass that 
 while Douglas was greeted with the loudest cheers, when 
 Lincoln closed the people seemed serious and thoughtful, 
 and could be heard all through the crowd, gravely and 
 anxiously discussing the subjects on which he had been 
 speaking.” 
 
 Soon after the arrangements for the debate had been 
 made, Senator Douglas visited Alton, Illinois. A dele- 
 gation of prominent Democrats there paid their respects 
 to him, and during the conversation one of them con- 
 gratulated Douglas on the easy task he would have in 
 defeating Lincoln; at the same time expressing surprise 
 at the champion whom he had selected. Douglas replied : 
 “Gentlemen, you do not know Mr. Lincoln. I have 
 known him long and well, and I know that I shall have 
 anything but an easy task. I assure you I would rather 
 meet any other man in the country than Abraham Lincoln .” 
 This was Douglas’s mature opinion of the man of whom, 
 years before, he had said, in his characteristic way: “Of 
 all the d — — d Whig rascals about Springfield, Abe 
 Lincoln is the ablest and honestest.” On another occa- 
 sion, Douglas said: “I have known Lincoln for nearly 
 twenty-five years. There were many points of sympathy 
 between us when we first got acquainted. We were both 
 comparatively boys, and both struggling with poverty 
 in a strange land. I was a school-teacher in the town of 
 Winchester, and he a flourishing grocery-keeper in the 
 town of Salem. He was more successful in his occupation 
 than I was in mine, and hence more fortunate in the 
 world’s goods. Lincoln is one of those peculiar men who 
 perform with admirable skill everything they undertake. 
 I made as good a school-teacher as I could, and when a 
 cabinet-maker I made as good bedsteads and tables as I 
 could — although my old boss says that I succeeded 
 
188 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 better with bureaus and secretaries than with anything 
 else. But I believe that Lincoln was always more suc- 
 cessful in business than I, for his business enabled bim to 
 get into the Legislature. I met him there, however, and 
 had a sympathy with him because of the up-hill struggle 
 we both had had in life. He was then just as good at 
 telling an anecdote as now. He could beat any of the 
 boys in wrestling or running a foot-race, in pitching quoits 
 or pitching a copper; and the dignity and impartiality 
 with which he presided at a horse-race or fist-fight ex- 
 cited the admiration and won the praise of everybody 
 that was present. I sympathized with him because he 
 was struggling with difficulties, and so was I. Mr. 
 Lincoln served with me in the Legislature of 1836; then 
 we both retired, and he subsided, or became submerged, 
 and was lost sight of as a public man for some years. In 
 1846, when Wilmot introduced his celebrated proviso, 
 and the Abolition tornado swept over the country, Lincoln 
 again turned up as a Member of Congress from the Sanga- 
 mon district. I was then in the Senate of the United 
 States, and was glad to welcome my old friend.” 
 
 Lincoln, in a speech delivered two years before the joint 
 debate, had spoken thus of Senator Douglas: “Twenty-two 
 years ago, Judge Douglas and I first became acquainted; 
 we were both young then — he a trifle younger than I. 
 Even then, we were both ambitious — I perhaps quite 
 as much as he. With me, the race of ambition has been 
 a failure — a flat failure; with him, it has been one of 
 splendid success. His name fills the nation, and is not 
 unknown even in foreign lands. I affect no contempt for 
 the high eminence he has reached; so reached that the 
 oppressed of my species might have shared with me in 
 the elevation, I would rather stand on that eminence 
 than wear the richest crown that ever pressed a monarch’s 
 brow.” 
 
 A few days before the first discussion was to take place, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 189 
 
 Lincoln, who had become conscious that some of his party 
 friends distrusted his ability to meet successfully a man 
 who, as the Democrats declared and believed, had never 
 had his equal on the stump, met an old friend from 
 Vermilion County, and, shaking hands, inquired the 
 news. His friend replied, “All looks well; our friends 
 are wide awake, but they are looking forward with some 
 anxiety to these approaching joint discussions with 
 Douglas.” A shade passed over Lincoln’s face, a sad 
 expression came and instantly passed, and then a blaze of 
 light flashed from his eyes, and with his lips compressed 
 and in a manner peculiar to him, half serious and half 
 jocular, he said: “My friend, sit down a minute, and 
 I will tell you a story. You and I, as we have travelled 
 the circuit together attending court, have often seen two 
 men about to fight. One of them, the big or the little 
 giant, as the case may be, is noisy and boastful; he jumps 
 high in the air, strikes his feet together, smites his fists, 
 brags about what he is going to do, and tries hard to 
 ‘sheer’ the other man. The other man says not a word; 
 his arms are at his side, his fists are clenched, his teeth 
 set, his head settled firmly on his shoulders; he saves his 
 breath and strength for the struggle. This man will whip, 
 as sure as the fight comes off. Good-bye, and remember 
 what I say.” 
 
 The spirit and purpose witfi which Lincoln went into 
 the contest are shown also in the following words: “I shall 
 not ask any favors at all. Judge Douglas asks me if I 
 wish to push this matter to the point of personal difficulty. 
 I tell him, No! He did not make a mistake, in one of 
 his early speeches, when he called me an ‘amiable’ man, 
 though perhaps he did when he called me an ‘intelligent’ 
 man. I again tell him, No! I very much prefer, when 
 this canvass shall be over, however it may result, that we 
 at least part without any bitter recollections of personal 
 difficulties.” 
 
190 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 The speeches in these joint discussions were entirely 
 extemporaneous in form, yet they were reported and 
 printed in all the prominent papers in the West, and 
 found eager readers throughout the country. The voice 
 and manner, which add so much to the effect of a speaker, 
 could not be reproduced on the printed page; nor could 
 full justice be done, in a hasty transcript, to the force 
 and fitness of the language employed. Still, the impres- 
 sions of those who heard them at the time, as well as later 
 and cooler analyses of them, have agreed in pronouncing 
 these debates among the most able and interesting on 
 record. The scenes connected with the different meetings 
 were intensely exciting. Vast throngs were invariably 
 in attendance, while a whole nation was watching the 
 result. “At Freeport,” says an observer, “Mr. Douglas 
 appeared in an elegant barouche drawn by four white 
 horses, and was received with great applause. But when 
 Mr. Lincoln came up, in a ‘prairie schooner,’ — an old- 
 fashioned canvas-covered pioneer wagon, — the enthu- 
 siasm of the vast throng was unbounded.” 
 
 At Charleston Lincoln opened and closed the day’s 
 debate. It was the fourth discussion, and there was 
 no more doubt of his ability to sustain the conflict. Ac- 
 cording to Mr. Arnold, “Douglas’s reply to Lincoln was 
 mainly a defense. Lincoln’s close was intensely interest- 
 ing and dramatic. His logic and arguments were crush- 
 ing, and Douglas’s evasions were exposed with a power 
 and clearness that left him utterly discomfited. Repub- 
 licans saw it. Democrats realized it, and a sort of panic 
 seized them, and ran through the crowd of upturned 
 faces. Douglas realized his defeat, and, as Lincoln’s 
 blows fell fast and heavy, he lost his temper. He could 
 not keep his seat; he rose and walked rapidly up and 
 down the platform, behind Lincoln, holding his watch 
 in his hand, and obviously impatient for the call of ‘time.’ 
 A spectator says: ‘He was greatly agitated, his long 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 191 
 
 grizzled hair waving in the wind, like the shaggy locks of 
 an enraged lion.’ It was while Douglas was thus exhibit- 
 ing to the crowd his eager desire to stop Lincoln, that the 
 latter, holding the audience entranced by his eloquence, 
 was striking his heaviest blows. The instant the second- 
 hand of his watch reached the point at which Lincoln’s 
 time was up, Douglas, holding up the watch, called out: 
 ‘Sit down, Lincoln, sit down! Your time is up!’ Turn- 
 ing to Douglas, Lincoln said calmly: ‘I will. I will quit. 
 I believe my time is up.’ ‘Yes,’ said a voice from the 
 platform, ‘Douglas has had enough; it is time you let 
 up on him.’ 
 
 The institution of slavery was, of course, the topic 
 around which circled all the arguments in these joint 
 discussions. It was the great topic of the hour — the 
 important point of division between the Republican and 
 Democratic parties. Lincoln’s exposition of the subject 
 was profound and masterly. At the meeting in Quincy 
 the issue was defined and the argument driven home 
 with unsparing logic and directness. In closing the 
 debate, he said: 
 
 I wish to return to Judge Douglas my profound thanks 
 for his public annunciation here to-day, to be put on 
 record, that his system of policy in regard to the institu- 
 tion of slavery contemplates that it shall last forever. We 
 are getting a little nearer the true issue of this contro- 
 versy, and I am profoundly grateful for this one sentence. 
 Judge Douglas asks you, ‘Why cannot the institution of 
 slavery, or, rather, why cannot the nation, part slave and 
 part free, continue as our fathers made it forever?’ In 
 the first place, I insist that our fathers did not make this 
 nation half slave and half free, or part slave and part 
 free. I insist that they found the institution of slavery 
 existing here. They did not make it so, but they left it 
 so, because they knew of no way to get rid of it at that 
 time. When Judge Douglas undertakes to say that, as a 
 matter of choice, the fathers of the Government made 
 this nation part slave and part free, he assumes what is 
 
192 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 historically a falsehood. More than that; when the 
 fathers of the Government cut off the source of slavery 
 by the abolition of the slave-trade, and adopted a system 
 of restricting it from the new Territories where it had 
 not existed, I maintain that they placed it where they 
 understood, and all sensible men understood, it was in 
 the course of ultimate extinction; and when Judge 
 Douglas asks me why it cannot continue as our fathers 
 made it, I ask him why he and his friends could not let 
 it remain as our friends made it? It is precisely all I ask 
 of him in relation to the institution of slavery, that it 
 shall be placed upon the basis that our fathers placed it 
 upon. Mr. Brooks, of South Carolina, once said, and 
 truly said, that when this Government was established, 
 no one expected the institution of slavery to last until 
 this day; and that the men who formed this Government 
 were wiser and better than the men of these days; but 
 the men of these days had experience which the fathers 
 had not, and that experience had taught them the inven- 
 tion of the cotton-gin, and this had made the perpetuation 
 of the institution of slavery a necessity in this coun- 
 try. Judge Douglas could not let it stand upon the basis 
 on which our fathers placed it, but removed it, and put 
 it upon the cotton-gin basis. It is a question, therefore, 
 for him and his friends to answer — why they could not 
 let it remain where the fathers of the Government 
 originally placed it. 
 
 In these debates Lincoln often seemed like one trans- 
 figured — carried away by his own eloquence and the 
 force of his conviction. He said to a friend during the 
 canvass: “Sometimes, in the excitement of speaking, I 
 seem to see the end of slavery. I feel that the time is 
 soon coming when the sun shall shine, the rain shall 
 fall, on no man who shall go forth to unrequited toil. 
 
 . . . How this will come, when it will come, by whom 
 it will come, I cannot tell; — but that time will surely 
 come.” Again, at the first encounter at Alton, he uttered 
 these pregnant sentences: 
 
 On this subject of treating slavery as a wrong, and 
 limiting its spread, let me say a word. Has anything 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 193 
 
 ever threatened the existence of this Union save and 
 except this very institution of slavery? What is it that 
 we hold most dear among us? Our own liberty and 
 prosperity. What has ever threatened our liberty and 
 prosperity, save and except this institution of slavery? 
 If this is true, how do you propose to improve the condi- 
 tion of things by enlarging slavery? — by spreading it 
 out and making it bigger? You may have a wen or 
 cancer upon your person, and not be able to cut it out 
 lest you bleed to death; but surely it is no way to cure 
 it to ingraft it and spread it over your whole body — that 
 is no proper way of treating what you regard a wrong. 
 This peaceful way of dealing with it as a wrong — restrict- 
 ing the spread of it, and not allowing it to go into new 
 countries where it has not already existed ■ — that is the 
 peaceful way, the old-fashioned way, the way in which 
 the fathers themselves set us the example. Is slavery 
 wrong? That is the real issue. That is the issue that 
 will continue in this country when these poor tongues of 
 Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the 
 eternal struggle between these two principles — right 
 and wrong — throughout the world. They are two 
 principles that have stood face to face from the beginning 
 of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is 
 the common right of humanity, and the other the divine 
 right of kings. It is the same principle, in whatever 
 shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says: 
 ‘You work, and toil, and earn bread, and I’ll eat it.’ 
 No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the 
 mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his 
 own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from 
 one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, 
 it is the same tyrannical principle. 
 
 On still another occasion he used these unmistakable 
 words : 
 
 My declarations upon this subject of negro slavery may 
 be misrepresented, but cannot be misunderstood. I have 
 said that I do not understand the Declaration to mean 
 that all men were created equal in all respects. They are 
 not our equal in color. But I suppose that it does mean 
 to declare that all men are created equal in some respects; 
 
194 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 they are equal in their right to ‘life, liberty, and the 
 pursuit of happiness.’ Certainly the negro is not our 
 equal in color, perhaps not in many other respects; still, 
 in the right to put into his mouth the bread that his own 
 hands have earned, he is the equal of every other man, white 
 or black. 
 
 It is not in the scope of this narrative to print extended 
 quotations from the speeches made in this memorable 
 contest, but rather to give such reminiscences and anec- 
 dotes, and description by eye-witnesses, as will best serve 
 to bring the scenes and actors vividly to mind. Fortu- 
 nately, many such records are still in existence, and from 
 them some most entertaining personal accounts have 
 been obtained. Among these is an impressive pen- 
 picture of Lincoln on the stump, as admirably sketched by 
 the Rev. Dr. George C. Noyes, of Chicago. “Mr. Lin- 
 coln in repose,” says Dr. Noyes, “was a very different 
 man in personal appearance from Mr. Lincoln on the 
 platform or on the stump, when his whole nature was 
 roused by his masterful interest in the subject of his 
 discourse. In the former case he was, as has often been 
 described, a man of awkward and ungainly appearance 
 and exceedingly homely countenance. In the latter case, 
 he was a man of magnificent presence and remarkably 
 impressive manner. The writer retains to this day a very 
 vivid impression of his appearance in both these charac- 
 ters, and both on the same day. It was in Jacksonville, 
 in the summer of 1858, and during the great contest with 
 Douglas, when the prize contended for was a seat in the 
 United States Senate. The day was warm; the streets 
 were dusty, and filled with great crowds of people. When 
 Lincoln arrived on the train from Springfield, he was met 
 by an immense procession of people on horseback, in 
 carriages, in wagons and vehicles of every description, 
 and on foot, who escorted him through the principal 
 streets to his hotel. The enthusiasm of the multitude 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 195 
 
 was great; but Lincoln’s extremely homely face wore an 
 expression of sadness. He rode in a carriage near the 
 head of the procession, looking dust-begrimed and worn 
 and weary; and though he frequently lifted his hat in 
 recognition of the cheers of the crowds lining the streets, 
 I saw no smile on his face, and he seemed to take no 
 pleasure in the demonstrations of enthusiasm which his 
 presence called forth. His clothes were very ill-fitting, 
 and his long arms and hands protruded far through his 
 coat sleeves, giving him a peculiarly uncouth appearance. 
 Though I had often seen him before, and had heard him 
 in court — always with delight in his clearness and 
 cogency of statement, his illuminating humor, and his 
 conspicuous fairness and candor — yet I had never before 
 seen him when he appeared so homely; and I thought 
 him about the ugliest man I had ever seen. There was 
 nothing in his looks or manner that was prepossessing. 
 Such he appeared as he rode in the procession on the fore- 
 noon of that warm summer day. His appearance was 
 not different in the afternoon of that day, when, in the 
 public square, he first stood before the great multitude 
 who had assembled there to hear him. His powers were 
 aroused gradually as he went on with his speech. There 
 was much play of humor. ‘Judge Douglas has,’ he said, 
 ‘one great advantage of me in this contest. When he 
 stands before his admiring friends, who gather in great 
 numbers to hear him, they can easily see, with half an 
 eye, all kinds of fat offices sprouting out of his fat and 
 jocund face, and, indeed, from every part of his plump 
 and well-rounded body. His appearance is therefore 
 irresistibly attractive. His friends expect him to be 
 President, and they expect their reward. But when I 
 stand before the people, not the sharpest vision is able 
 to detect in my lean and lank person, or in my sunken 
 and hollow cheeks, the faintest sign or promise of an office. 
 I am not a candidate for the Presidency, and hence there 
 
196 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 is no beauty in me that men should desire me.’ The 
 crowd was convulsed with laughter at this sally. As the 
 speech went on, the speaker, though often impressing his 
 points with apposite and laughter-provoking stories, grew 
 more and more earnest. He showed that the government 
 was founded in the interest of freedom, not slavery. He 
 traced the steady aggressions of the slave power step by 
 step, until he came to declare and to dwell upon the fact 
 of the irrepressible conflict between the two. Then, as 
 he went on to show, with wonderful eloquence of speech 
 and of manner, that the country must and would ulti- 
 mately become, not all slave, but all free, he was trans- 
 figured before his audience. His homely countenance 
 fairly glowed with the splendor of his prophetic speech; 
 and his body, no longer awkward and ungainly, but 
 mastered and swayed by his thought, became an obedient 
 and graceful instrument of eloquent expression. The 
 whole man seemed to speak. He seemed like some grand 
 Hebrew prophet, whose face was glorified by the bright 
 visions of a better day which he saw and declared. His 
 eloquence was not merely that of clear and luminous 
 statement, felicitous illustration, or excited yet restrained 
 feeling; it was the eloquence also of thought. With some- 
 thing of the imaginative, he united rare dialectic power. 
 He felt the truth before he expounded it; but when once 
 it was felt by him, then his logical power came into re- 
 markably effective play. Step by step he led his hearers 
 onward, till at last he placed them on the summit whence 
 they could see all the landscape of his subject in harmo- 
 nious and connected order. Of these two contrasted 
 pictures of Lincoln, it is only the last which shows him as 
 he was in his real and essential greatness. And not this 
 fully; for it was in his character that he was greatest. 
 He was not merely a thinker, but a thinker for man, 
 directing his thought to the ends of justice, freedom, and 
 humanity. If he desired and sought high position, it 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 197 
 
 was only that he might thus better serve the cause of 
 freedom to which he was devoted. From the time when 
 he withdrew, in a spirit of magnanimity that was never 
 appreciated, in favor of a rival candidate for the United 
 States Senate, it was evident that the cause was more to 
 him than any personal advantage or advancement.” 
 
 Another graphic description of Lincoln’s • appearance 
 and manner on the stump is given by Mr. Jeriah 
 Bonham, whose account of the famous “ house-divided- 
 against-itself ” speech has already found a place in this 
 narrative. “When Mr. Lincoln took the stand,” says 
 Mr. Bonham, “he did not, on rising, show his full height, 
 but stood in a stooping posture, his long-tailed coat 
 hanging loosely around his body, and descending over 
 an ill-fitting pair of pantaloons that covered his not very 
 symmetrical legs. He began his speech in a rather diffi- 
 dent manner, seeming for awhile at a loss for words; his 
 voice was irregular, even a little tremulous, as he began 
 his argument. As he proceeded he seemed to gain more 
 confidence, his form straightened up, his face brightened, 
 his language became free and animated. Soon he had 
 drawn the attention of the crowd by two or three well- 
 told stories that illustrated his argument; and then he 
 became eloquent, carrying his audience at will, as tumul- 
 tuous applause greeted every telling point he made.” 
 
 Mrs. John A. Logan, in her “Recollections of a Soldier’s 
 Wife,” says: “I always like to think of Mr. Lincoln as he 
 was when I saw him with the eyes of an opponent. His 
 awkwardness has not been exaggerated, but it gave no 
 effect of self-consciousness. There was something about 
 his ungainliness and his homely face which would have 
 made anyone who simply passed him in the street remem- 
 ber him. His very awkwardness was an asset in public 
 life, in that it attracted attention to him. Douglas, on 
 the other hand, won by the magnetism of his personality. 
 Lincoln did not seem to have any magnetism, though of 
 
198 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 course he actually did have the rarest and most precious 
 kind. Give Mr. Lincoln five minutes and Mr. Douglas 
 five minutes before an audience which knew neither, and 
 Mr. Douglas would make the greater impression. But 
 give them each an hour, and the contrary would be 
 true.” 
 
 In the party that attended Lincoln in the Senatorial 
 campaign was the Hon. Andrew Shuman, afterwards 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Illinois and one of the veteran 
 journalists of Chicago. Mr. Shuman was detailed to 
 report the joint debates for his paper; and he accompanied 
 Lincoln through nearly all of the campaign, travelling 
 with him by night — sometimes occupying the same 
 room, and when in crowded quarters the same bed. He 
 thus saw much of Lincoln, and had the best of oppor- 
 tunities for studying his character; not only hearing all 
 his public speeches, but having long conversations with 
 him in private, and listening to the stories, anecdotes, 
 and gay or grave discourse by which the journeys and the 
 frequent “waits” were enlivened. The group consisted 
 of several gentlemen, including Norman B. Judd of Chi- 
 cago, afterwards a member of Congress; Robert R. Hitt, 
 who was Lincoln’s shorthand reporter, afterwards member 
 of Congress from Illinois; Mr. Villard, later the President 
 of the Northern Pacific Railroad, then a newspaper cor- 
 respondent; Mr. Shuman; and, at various times, other 
 politicians and journalists. Of this party Lincoln was 
 always the leading spirit in conversation. He would tell 
 stories himself, and draw out stories from others; and his 
 laugh, though not the loudest, was always the heartiest. 
 Then he would pass to soberer themes, and discuss them 
 with a tinge of that melancholy which, however he might 
 be surrounded, never seemed far distant from him. At 
 night, stopping at the country tavern or at some friend’s 
 house, the evenings would be spent in discussion and 
 story-telling, or perhaps in a humorous review of the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 199 
 
 events of the day; and after retiring, Lincoln would 
 entertain his companion, often far into the night, dis- 
 coursing on many varied subjects, - — politics, literature, 
 views of human life and character, or the prominent men 
 and measures then before the country. 
 
 One day, according to Governor Shuman, Lincoln 
 had been announced to speak in a town in the extreme 
 southern part of Illinois, in the very heart of “Egypt,” 
 where there was a strong pro-slavery sentiment; and it 
 was feared there might be trouble, as Lincoln’s anti- 
 slavery tendencies were well known. To make matters 
 worse, a party of Kentuckians and Missourians had come 
 over to attend the meeting, and it was noised about that 
 they would not allow Lincoln to speak. He heard of it, 
 and both he and his friends were somewhat apprehensive 
 of trouble. The place of the meeting was a grove in the 
 edge of the town, the speakers occupying an improvised 
 stand. The gathering was a large one, and it had every 
 appearance of a Southern crowd. It was customary in 
 those times for the men in that section of the country to 
 carry pistols and ugly-looking knives strapped to their 
 persons, on public occasions. It was a semi-barbarous 
 community, and their hatred of the Abolitionists, as 
 they called all anti-slavery men, was as intense as was 
 their love of bad whiskey. Lincoln privately told his 
 friends, who in that locality were very few in number, 
 that “if only they will give me a fair chance to say a few 
 opening words, I’ll fix them all right.” Before mounting 
 the speaker’s stand he was introduced to many of the 
 crowd, and shook their hands in the usual Western way. 
 Getting a small company of the rough-looking fellows 
 around him, he opened on them. “Fellow-citizens of 
 Southern Illinois — fellow-citizens of the State of Ken- 
 tucky — fellow-citizens of Missouri,” he said, in a tone 
 more of conversation than of oratory, looking them 
 straight in the eye, “I am told that there are some of 
 
200 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 you here present who would like to make trouble for me. 
 I don’t understand why they should. I am a plain, com- 
 mon man, like the rest of you; and why should not I have 
 as good a right to speak my sentiments as the rest of you? 
 Why, good friends, I am one of you; I am not an inter- 
 loper here! I was born in Kentucky, raised in Illinois, 
 just like the most of you, and worked my way right along 
 by hard scratching. I know the people of Kentucky, 
 and I know the people of Southern Illinois, and I think I 
 know the Missourians. I am one of them, and therefore 
 ought to know them, and they ought to know me better, 
 and if they did know me better they would know that I 
 am not disposed to make them trouble; then why should 
 they, or any one of them, want to make trouble for me? 
 Don’t do any such foolish thing, fellow-citizens. Let us 
 be friends, and treat each other like friends. I am one 
 of the humblest and most peaceable men in the world — 
 would wrong no man, would interfere with no man’s 
 rights; and all I ask is that, having something to say, you 
 will give me a decent hearing. And, being Illinoisans, 
 Kentuckians, and Missourians — brave and gallant peo- 
 ple — I feel sure that you will do that. And now let us 
 reason together, like the honest fellows we are,” Having 
 uttered these words, his face the very picture of good- 
 nature and his voice full of sympathetic earnestness, he 
 mounted the speaker’s stand and proceeded to make one 
 of the most impressive speeches against the further 
 extension of slavery that he ever made in his life. He 
 was listened to attentively; was applauded when he 
 indulged in flashes of humor, and once or twice his elo- 
 quent passages were lustily cheered. His little opening 
 remarks had calmed the threatening storm, had con- 
 quered his enemies, and he had smooth sailing. From 
 that day to the time of his death, Abraham Lincoln 
 held a warm place in the respect of very many of those 
 rough and rude “Egyptians,” and he had no warmer 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 201 
 
 supporters for the Presidency, or while he was President, 
 than they were. 
 
 Mr. Leonard Volk, the sculptor who afterwards made 
 an excellent bust of Lincoln, says: “My first meeting 
 with Abraham Lincoln was in 1858, when the celebrated 
 Senatorial contest opened between him and Stephen A. 
 Douglas. I was invited by the latter to accompany him 
 and his party by a special train to Springfield, to which 
 train was attached a platform-car having on board a 
 cannon, which made considerable noise on the journey. 
 At Bloomington we all stopped over night, as Douglas 
 had a speech to make there in the evening. The party 
 went to the Landon House — the only hotel, I believe, 
 in the place at that time. While we were sitting in the 
 hotel office after supper, Mr. Lincoln entered, carrying 
 an old carpet-bag in his hand, and wearing a weather- 
 beaten silk hat — too large, apparently, for his head — 
 a long, loosely-fitting frock-coat of black alpaca, and vest 
 and trousers of the same material. He walked up to 
 the counter, and, saluting the clerk pleasantly, passed 
 the bag over to him, and inquired if he was too late for 
 supper. The clerk replied that supper was over, but 
 perhaps enough could be ‘scraped up’ for him. ‘All 
 right,’ said Mr. Lincoln; ‘I don’t want much.’ Mean- 
 while, he said, he would wash the dust off. He was 
 certainly very dusty; it was the month of June, and quite 
 warm. While he was so engaged, several old friends, 
 who had learned of his arrival, rushed in to see him, some 
 of them shouting, ‘How are you. Old Abe?’ Mr. Lincoln 
 grasped them by the hand in his cordial manner, with 
 the broadest and pleasantest smile on his rugged face. 
 This was the first good view I had of the ‘coming man.’ 
 The next day we all stopped at the town of Lincoln, where 
 short speeches were made by the contestants, and dinner 
 was served at the hotel; after which, as Mr. Lincoln came 
 out on the plank-walk in front, I was formally presented 
 
202 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 to him. He saluted me with his natural cordiality, grasp- 
 ing my hand in both his large hands with a vice-like grip, 
 and looking down into my face with his beaming, dark, 
 full eyes, said : ‘How do you do? I am glad to meet you. 
 I have read of you in the papers. You are making a 
 statue of Judge Douglas for Governor Matteson’s new 
 house.’ ‘Yes, sir,’ I answered; ‘and sometime when 
 you are in Chicago, and can spare the time, I would like 
 to have you sit to me for a bust.’ ‘Yes, I will, Mr. Volk; 
 I shall be glad to, the first opportunity I have.’ All were 
 soon on board the long train, crowded with people, going 
 to hear the speeches at Springfield. The train stopped 
 on the track, near Edward’s Grove, in the northern out- 
 skirts of the town, where staging was erected and a vast 
 crowd waited under the shade of the trees. On leaving 
 the train, most of the passengers climbed over the fences 
 and crossed the stubble-field, taking a short-cut to the 
 grove, — among them Mr. Lincoln, who stalked forward 
 alone, taking immense strides, the before-mentioned car- 
 pet-bag and an umbrella in his hands, and his coat 
 skirts flying in the breeze. I managed to keep pretty 
 close in the rear of the tall, gaunt figure, with the head 
 craned forward, apparently much over the balance, like 
 the Leaning Tower of Pisa, that was moving something 
 like a hurricane across that rough stubble-field.” 
 
 The contest between Lincoln and Douglas seemed to 
 be, as expressed by Dr. Newton Bateman, “one between 
 sharpness and greatness.” Lincoln seemed to Dr. Bate- 
 man, “a man strongly possessed by a belief to which 
 he was earnestly striving to win the people over; while 
 the aim of Mr. Douglas seemed rather to be simply 
 to defeat Mr. Lincoln.” Yet, although Lincoln was 
 usually earnest and considerate of his opponent, he could, 
 when occasion required, bring his powers of humor and 
 sarcasm into play in a very effective manner. A few 
 pointed illustrations may be given. In his speech at 
 
 A 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 203 
 
 Galesburg, Douglas sneeringly informed the citizens that 
 “Honest Abe” had been a liquor-seller. Lincoln met 
 this with the candid admission that once in early life he 
 had, under the pressure of poverty, accepted and for a 
 few months held a position in a store where it was neces- 
 sary for him to retail liquor. “But the difference between 
 Judge Douglas and myself is just this,” he added, “that 
 while I was behind the bar, he was in front of it.” 
 
 At the close of the joint discussion at Alton, Douglas led 
 off with a speech an hour long, in which he showed no 
 little irritability. The campaign was evidently wearing 
 on him. Lincoln, on the contrary, was in capital spirits. 
 “He sat taking in the speech of Douglas with seeming 
 immobility,” says Mr. Jeriah Bonham, who was present, 
 “and when it was ended, he rose to reply. As in the 
 opening of all his speeches, he spoke slowly, did not rise 
 to his full height, leaning forward in a stooping posture 
 at first, his person showing all the angularities of limb and 
 face. For the first five or ten minutes he was both 
 awkward and diffident, as in almost monotonous tones he 
 began to untangle the meshes of Douglas’s sophistry. 
 Proceeding, he gained confidence gradually; his voice 
 rang out strong and clear; his tall form towered to its 
 full height; his face grew radiant with impassioned feeling, 
 as he poured forth an outburst of crushing argument and 
 inspiring eloquence. The people became wild with 
 enthusiasm, but his voice rang loud above their cheers. 
 Frequently in his speech he would turn toward Douglas, 
 and say with emphasis, ‘You know these things are so, 
 Mr. Douglas!’ or ‘You know these things are not so, Mr. 
 Douglas!’ At one time he bent his long body over his 
 adversary, pouring in his arguments so sharply, that 
 Douglas, chafing under the attack, rose to explain; but 
 Lincoln would not allow it. ‘ Sit down, Mr. Doug- 
 las!’ said he peremptorily. ‘I did not interrupt you, 
 and you shall not interrupt me. You will have oppor- 
 
204 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 tunity to reply to me — if you can — in your closing 
 speech.’ ” 
 
 A good story is told of the occasion on which Lincoln and 
 Douglas spoke in Chicago. A well-known citizen who on 
 account of his age was known familiarly as “Father 
 Brewster” — a man of standing, and a member of the 
 Board of Education — was one of the listeners on the 
 platform. Lincoln admired the old gentleman very 
 much, and the admiration was mutual. They sat to- 
 gether while Douglas made the opening speech. He spoke 
 for more than an hour, and never more brilliantly. When 
 Lincoln’s turn came he could see that Father Brewster 
 was exceedingly anxious as to the outcome. Lincoln 
 arose, let out all the joints in his long body, slowly removed 
 his overcoat and laid it across Mr. Brewster’s knees. 
 “Father Brewster,” he said, “will you hold my overcoat 
 while I stone Stephen?” Everybody shouted and cheered, 
 and even Douglas joined in the laugh at his own expense. 
 
 Beneath the humors and excitements of the campaign, 
 the prevailing tone of Lincoln’s thought was deeply serious 
 and reflective. Toward the close, when indications 
 pointed to his defeat for the Senate, he seemed somewhat 
 depressed, and occasionally his old habitual melancholy 
 would steal over him and impart to his words a touching 
 pathos. On such an occasion, in one of the smaller cities 
 of Illinois, Douglas, having the first speech, made an 
 unusually brilliant effort. He carried the crowd with 
 him; and when Lincoln rose to reply, it was evident that 
 he felt his disadvantage - — felt, too, that do what he would 
 final defeat was probable. He made a good speech, but 
 not one of his best. Concluding his argument, he stopped 
 and stood silent for a moment, looking around upon the 
 throng of half-indifferent, half-friendly faces before him, 
 with »those deep-sunken weary eyes that always seemed 
 full of unshed tears. Folding his hands, as if they too 
 were tired of the hopeless fight, he said, in his peculiar 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 205 
 
 monotone: “My friends, it makes little difference, very 
 little difference, whether Judge Douglas or myself is 
 elected to the United States Senate; but the great issue 
 which we have submitted to you to-day is far above and 
 beyond any personal interests or the political fortunes of 
 any man. And, my friends, that issue will live and 
 breathe and burn when the poor, feeble, stammering 
 tongues of Judge Douglas and myself are silent in the 
 grave.” The crowd swayed as if smitten by a mighty 
 wind. The simple words, and the manner in which they 
 were spoken, touched every heart to the core. 
 
 Lincoln spoke in all about fifty times during the cam- 
 paign. At its close, says Mr. Arnold, “both Douglas 
 and Lincoln visited Chicago. Douglas was so hoarse 
 that he could hardly articulate, and it was painful to hear 
 him attempt to speak. Lincoln’s voice was clear and 
 vigorous, and he really seemed in better tone than usual. 
 His dark complexion was bronzed by the prairie sun and 
 winds; his eye was clear, his step firm, and he looked like 
 a trained athlete, ready to enter, rather than one who 
 had closed, a conflict.” 
 
 Of the speeches in this campaign, Mr. Henry J. Ray- 
 mond, the distinguished journalist, pronounced the fol- 
 lowing well-considered opinion: “While Douglas fully 
 sustained his previous reputation, and justified the esti- 
 mate his friends had placed upon his abilities, he labored 
 under the comparative disadvantage of being much better 
 known to the country at large than was his antagonist. 
 During his long public career, people had become partially 
 accustomed to his manner of presenting arguments and 
 enforcing them. The novelty and freshness of Lincoln’s 
 addresses, on the other hand, the homeliness and force 
 of his illustrations, their wonderful pertinence, his ex- 
 haustless humor, his confidence in his own resources, 
 engendered by his firm belief in the justice of the cause 
 he so ably advocated, never once rising, however, to the 
 
206 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 point of arrogance or superciliousness, fastened upon him 
 the eyes of the people everywhere, friends and opponents 
 alike. It was not strange that more than once, during 
 the course of the unparalleled excitement which marked 
 this canvass, Douglas should have been thrown off his 
 guard by the singular self-possession displayed by his 
 antagonist, and by the imperturbable firmness with which 
 he maintained and defended a position once taken. The 
 unassuming confidence which marked Lincoln’s conduct 
 was early imparted to his supporters, and each succeed- 
 ing encounter added largely to the number of his friends, 
 until they began to indulge the hope that a triumph might 
 be secured in spite of the adverse circumstances under 
 which the struggle was commenced.” 
 
 Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield (Mass.) “Re- 
 publican,” said that Lincoln “handled Douglas as he 
 would an eel — by main strength. Sometimes, perhaps, he 
 handled him so strongly that he slipped through his fingers.” 
 
 “In this canvass,” says Mr. Lamon, “Mr. Lincoln 
 earned a reputation as a popular debater second to that 
 of no man in America — certainly not second to that of 
 his famous antagonist. He kept his temper; he was not 
 prone to personalities; he was fair, frank, and manly; 
 and, if the contest had shown nothing else, it would have 
 shown at least that ‘ Old Abe ’ could behave like a gentle- 
 man under very trying circumstances. His marked 
 success in these discussions was probably no surprise to 
 the people of the Springfield district, who knew him as 
 well as they did Mr. Douglas, or even better. But in 
 the greater part of the State, and throughout the Union, 
 the series of brilliant victories successively won by an 
 obscure man over an orator of such wide experience and 
 renown was received with exclamations of astonishment 
 alike by listeners and readers.” 
 
 Caleb Cushing, the distinguished Massachusetts lawyer, 
 was one of those acute minds whose attention was at- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 207 
 
 traded to Lincoln by his debates with Douglas. Mr. 
 Cushing said that these debates showed Lincoln to be the 
 superior of Douglas “in every vital element of power”; 
 and added that “the world does not yet know how much 
 of a man Lincoln really is.” It was soon to know him 
 much more clearly. In less than two years after the 
 great debate this lately obscure Illinois lawyer was 
 elected President of the United States. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 A Year of Waiting and Trial — Again Defeated for the Senate — 
 Depression and Neglect — Lincoln Enlarging His Boundaries — 
 On the Stump in Ohio — A Speech to Kentuckians — Second Visit 
 to Cincinnati — A Short Trip to Kansas — Lincoln in New York 
 City — The Famous Cooper Institute Speech — A Strong and 
 Favorable Impression — Visits New England — Secret of Lincoln’s 
 Success as an Orator — Back to Springfield — Disposing of a 
 Campaign Slander — Lincoln’s Account of His Visit to a Five 
 Points Sunday School. 
 
 O N the 2d of November, 1858, the State election was 
 held in Illinois. The chief significance of this 
 election was due to the fact that the Legislature then 
 chosen would decide whether Douglas or Lincoln should 
 be sent to the Senate at Washington. The result showed 
 that Lincoln had, by his hard efforts, won a victory for 
 his cause and for his party, but not for himself. The 
 Republican State ticket was elected by a majority of 
 about 4,000 votes; but in the Legislature a number of 
 members held over from the election of two years before, 
 and the Republican gains, though considerable, were not 
 quite sufficient to overcome this adverse element. When 
 the Legislature met, Douglas was re-elected to the Senate 
 by a small majority. It is said that Lincoln was deeply 
 grieved by his defeat. When some one inquired of him 
 how he felt over the result, he answered that he felt “ like 
 the boy that stubbed his toe, — ‘it hurt too bad to laugh, 
 and he was too big to cry!’ ” 
 
 A few days after his return to Springfield, there was 
 pressed on the attention of the defeated candidate a 
 matter which must have been peculiarly unwelcome 
 at the time, but which was accepted with habitual 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 209 
 
 fortitude. What this matter was is revealed in the fol- 
 lowing letter: 
 
 Springfield, Nov. 16 , 1858 . 
 
 Hon. N. B. Judd — My Dear Sir: — Yours of the 15th 
 is just received. I wrote you the same day. As to the 
 pecuniary matter, I am willing to pay according to my 
 ability, but I am the poorest hand living to get others to 
 pay. I have been on expense so long, without earning 
 anything, that I am absolutely without money now for even 
 household expenses. Still, if you can put in two hundred 
 and fifty dollars for me towards discharging the debt of 
 the committee, I will allow it when you and I settle the 
 private matter between us. This, with what I have 
 already paid with an outstanding note of mine, will ex- 
 ceed my subscription of five hundred dollars. This, too, 
 is exclusive of my ordinary expenses during the campaign, 
 all of which, being added to my loss of time and busi- 
 ness, bears pretty heavily upon one no better off than I 
 am. But as I had the post of honor, it is not for me to 
 be over-nice. 
 
 You are feeling badly. And this, too, shall pass away; 
 never fear. 
 
 Yours as ever, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 Hon. E. M. Haines, who was a member of the Legis- 
 lature of 1858-9, and a supporter of Lincoln for the 
 Senate, states that Lincoln seemed greatly depressed 
 by his defeat, and that his friends were also somewhat 
 disheartened regarding his future prospects, and neglected 
 him to some extent. “Some time after the Senatorial 
 election,” says Mr. Haines, “Governor Bissell gave a 
 reception at his house, which I attended with my wife. 
 After we had paid our respects to the Governor and Mrs. 
 Bissell, we passed on to an adjoining room, where there 
 was quite a throng of people engaged in conversation. 
 Mr. Lincoln was standing near the centre of the room, 
 entirely alone, with his usual sad countenance, and ap- 
 parently unnoticed by anyone. I said to my wife, ‘Here 
 
210 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 is Mr. Lincoln; he looks as if he had lost all his friends; 
 come and have an introduction to him, and cheer him 
 up.’ Mr. Lincoln received us very cordially, and we 
 entered into a general conversation, apparently unno- 
 ticed, and attracting no attention from others as they 
 passed and repassed around us. Dancing was going on 
 in the adjacent rooms, and Mr. Lincoln invited my wife 
 to join him in the dancing, which she did, and he appar- 
 ently took much pleasure in the recreation. My wife 
 afterwards related to me much that Mr. Lincoln said in 
 their conversation during the evening. His despond- 
 ency became much dispelled after they became engaged 
 in conversation; indeed, she said that he seemed to be 
 putting forth an effort to get out of the gloomy condition 
 which had come upon him from the result of his Sena- 
 torial canvass. He had occasion during their conversa- 
 tion to refer to his age, remarking incidentally that he 
 was almost fifty years old; whereupon, as if suddenly 
 reflecting that his age was a good part of a man’s life, and 
 as if unwilling to relinquish his hold upon the future, he 
 suddenly braced himself up, and said, ‘But, Mrs. Haines, 
 I feel that I am good for another fifty years yet.’ ” 
 
 During the winter following the Senatorial debate 
 Lincoln was occupied with his private affairs. The love 
 of public speaking had become so strong with him that he 
 prepared a lecture and delivered it to the public at sev- 
 eral places during the winter. It was somewhat humorous 
 in character, but was not much of a success, and he soon 
 declined further invitations to deliver it. To one corre- 
 spondent he wrote, in March, 1859: “Your note, inviting 
 me to deliver a lecture in Galesburg, is received. I 
 regret to say that I cannot do so now. I must stick to 
 the courts for awhile. I read a sort of a lecture to three 
 different audiences during the last month and this; but 
 I did so under circumstances which made it a waste of 
 time, of no value whatever.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 211 
 
 The following autumn (1859) Senator Douglas visited 
 Ohio and made speeches for the Democratic party there. 
 From the Republican ranks there arose a cry for Lincoln, 
 whose superiority to Douglas in the great debate of the 
 preceding year was still fresh in the public mind. He 
 promptly answered it, and spoke in that State with 
 marked effect. At Cincinnati he addressed himself es- 
 pecially to Kentuckians, and said, in a strain which is 
 now seen to be prophetic: 
 
 I should not wonder if there were some Kentuckians 
 in this audience; we are close to Kentucky; but whether 
 that be so or not, we are on elevated ground, and by 
 speaking distinctly I should not wonder if some of the 
 Kentuckians would hear me on the other side of the 
 river. For that purpose I propose to address a portion 
 of what I have to say to the Kentuckians. I say, then, in 
 the first place, to the Kentuckians, that I am what they 
 call, as I understand it, a ‘Black Republican.’ I think 
 slavery is wrong, morally and politically. I desire that 
 it should be no further spread in these United States, and 
 I should not object if it should gradually terminate in the 
 whole Union. While I say this for myself, I say to you 
 Kentuckians, that I understand you differ radically with 
 me upon this proposition; that you believe slavery is a 
 good thing; that slavery is right; that it ought to be 
 extended and perpetuated in this Union. Now, there 
 being this broad difference between us, I do not pretend, 
 in addressing myself to you Kentuckians, to attempt 
 proselyting you; that would be a vain effort. I will 
 tell you, so far as I am authorized to speak for the oppo- 
 sition, what we mean to do with you. We mean to treat 
 you, as nearly as we possibly can, as Washington, Jeffer- 
 son, and Madison treated you. We mean to leave you 
 alone, and in no way to interfere with your institution; 
 to abide by all and every compromise of the Constitution, 
 and, in a word, coming back to the original proposition, 
 to treat you, so far as degenerated men (if we have de- 
 generated) may, according to the examples of those noble 
 fathers — Washington, Jefferson and Madison. We mean 
 to remember that you are as good as we; that there is no 
 
212 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 difference between us, other than the difference of circum- 
 stances. We mean to recognize and bear in mind always, 
 that you have as good hearts in your bosoms as other 
 people, or as we claim to have, and treat you accordingly. 
 We mean to marry your girls, when we have a chance — 
 the white ones, I mean — and I have the honor to inform 
 you that I once did have a chance in that way. I have 
 told you what we mean to do. I want to know now what 
 you mean to do. I often hear it intimated that you 
 mean to divide the Union whenever a Republican, or 
 anything like it, is elected President of the United States. 
 [A voice — ‘That is so.’] ‘That is so,’ one of them 
 says; I wonder if he is a Kentuckian? [A voice — ‘He 
 is a Douglas man.’] Well, then, I want to know what 
 you are going to do with your half of it? Are you going 
 to split the Ohio down through, and push your half off a 
 piece? Or are you going to keep it right alongside of us 
 outrageous fellows? Or are you going to build up a wall 
 some way between your country and ours, by which 
 that movable property of yours can’t come over here any 
 more, to the danger of your losing it? Do you think you 
 can better yourselves on that subject by leaving us here 
 under no obligation whatever to return those specimens 
 of your movable property that come hither? You have 
 divided the Union because we would not do right with 
 you, as you think, upon that subject; when we cease to 
 be under obligations to do anything for you, how much 
 better off do you think you will be? Will you make war 
 upon us and kill us all? Why, gentlemen, I think you 
 are as gallant and as brave men as live; that you can 
 fight as bravely in a good cause, man for man, as any 
 other people living; that you have shown yourselves 
 capable of this upon various occasions; but man for man, 
 you are not better than we are, and there are not so many 
 of you as there are of us. You will never make much of a 
 hand at whipping us. If we were fewer in numbers than 
 you, I think that you could whip us; if we were equal, it 
 would likely be a drawn battle; but being inferior in num- 
 bers, you will make nothing by attempting to master us. 
 
 The Hon. W. M. Dickson, whose interesting account 
 of Lincoln’s first visit to Cincinnati and the disappoint- 
 ments attending it has already been given in this narra- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 213 
 
 tive, says of this second visit as contrasted with the 
 obscurity of the first: “Lincoln returned to the city with 
 a fame wide as the continent, with the laurels of the 
 Douglas contest on his brow, and the Presidency almost 
 in his grasp. He returned, greeted with the thunder of 
 cannon, the strains of martial music, and the joyous 
 plaudits of thousands of citizens thronging the streets. 
 He addressed a vast concourse on Fifth Street Market; 
 was entertained in princely style at the Burnet House; 
 and there received with courtesy the foremost citizens, 
 come to greet this Western rising star.” 
 
 In December of the same year Lincoln visited Kansas 
 and addressed the people of that troubled State upon the 
 political questions then before the country. At Leaven- 
 worth, Atchison, Elwood, and other places, he was met 
 by large gatherings of eager listeners who were charmed 
 and convinced by his fresh and reassuring utterances. 
 His journeys were complete ovations, and he returned to 
 Illinois leaving a host of new friends behind him. As 
 several of Lincoln’s biographers make no reference to his 
 Kansas visit, and the entire matter seems more or less 
 obscured, the following letter, lately written by Mr. 
 Harry W. Stewart, of Carlsbad, New Mexico, is of much 
 interest: “I have recently seen a reference to Lincoln’s 
 visit to Kansas as if the fact were not clearly established. 
 In this connection I may offer a personal recollection of 
 my father, James G. Stewart, who was a physician prac- 
 ticing in the little town of Elwood, Kansas, from 1856 to 
 1860. He said that both Lincoln and Seward came out 
 and spoke in St. Joseph, Mo., just across the river from 
 Elwood. On each occasion a large following of ‘free 
 state’ men went over to St. Jo to hear the speech and 
 incidentally to support the speaker in case of violence, 
 which had been freely predicted. According to this 
 reminiscence, Lincoln crossed the Missouri into Kansas, 
 my father having the honor of taking him in a buggy to 
 
214 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 a small town fourteen miles distant from Elwood in Doni- 
 phan County. They drove out to Troy, where Mr. 
 Lincoln made a speech. From here I think he went on 
 to Lawrence and other places before returning to St. 
 Joseph, but have no account of his movements beyond 
 Troy. I think it was in the year 1858 and must have 
 been in the summer time, for the party took Mr. Lincoln 
 over the Missouri on a ferry. It did not make trips 
 oftener than about once in two hours. When Lincoln 
 came to the bank on the Missouri side the boat had just 
 gone. There was no waiting-room or benches to sit on 
 and some of the party were inclined to think they were 
 in hard luck. When Lincoln found out how it was, he 
 said: ‘It’s all right. We’ll sit right down on the sand 
 and wait for the boat.’ Then they all sat down on the 
 ground and listened to genuine Lincoln stories till the 
 time was up. My father often spoke with delight of this 
 incident. I have looked in vain in Lincoln histories for 
 a more definite account of this Kansas trip. Of the 
 actual fact there can be no doubt.” 
 
 Lincoln’s fame, as we have seen, had now extended to 
 the East, where he seems to have been looked upon as a 
 rising man and an interesting figure in national politics. 
 Invitations to visit the East now began to reach him. In 
 the following February (1860) he went to Brooklyn, for 
 the purpose of delivering a lecture in Mr. Beecher’s church. 
 The invitation had given him much pleasure, and he 
 prepared himself thoroughly; indeed, it is said that no 
 effort of his life cost him so much labor as this. In the 
 Plymouth congregation of Brooklyn there was an associa- 
 tion of young men which was successful in getting an 
 annual course of six lectures of the highest order. This 
 association discerned in Lincoln a man worthy of a place 
 in its course, and invited him to give such a lecture. 
 Meanwhile, some prominent Republican politicians of 
 New York had heard of him as a possible candidate for 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 215 
 
 the Presidency, and desired him to make a speech in that 
 city in order to determine whether he would be the man 
 to present to the Republican National convention in case 
 Mr. Seward could not be nominated. Lincoln informed 
 these gentlemen of his Brooklyn engagement, but said 
 he would speak in New York if the Brooklyn club gave 
 its consent. That club agreed to this arrangement; and 
 thus it was decided that Lincoln’s speech should be 
 delivered in New York City, instead of Brooklyn, as had 
 been first intended. Mr. R. C. McCormick, who was a 
 member of the committee in charge of the arrangements, 
 says: “When Mr. Lincoln came to New York City, there 
 was some confusion in the arrangements. He had at 
 first been invited to appear in Brooklyn, but upon de- 
 liberation his friends thought it best that he should be 
 heard in New York. Reaching the Astor House on 
 Saturday, February 25, he was surprised to find by 
 announcement in the public prints that he was to speak 
 at the Cooper Institute. He said he must review his 
 address if it was to be delivered in New York. What he 
 had prepared for Mr. Beecher’s church-folks might not 
 be altogether appropriate to a miscellaneous political 
 audience. Saturday was spent in a review of the speech, 
 and on Sunday morning he went to Plymouth church, 
 where apparently he greatly enjoyed the service. On 
 Monday morning I waited upon him with several mem- 
 bers of the Young Men’s Republican Union, into whose 
 hands the preparations for the meeting at the Cooper 
 Institute had fallen. We found him in a suit of black, 
 much wrinkled from its careless packing in a small valise. 
 He received us cordially, apologizing for the awkward 
 and uncomfortable appearance he made in his new suit, 
 and expressing himself surprised at being in New York. 
 His form and manner were indeed very odd, and we 
 thought him the most unprepossessing public man we 
 had ever met. I spoke to him of the manuscript of his 
 
216 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 forthcoming address, and suggested to him that it should 
 be given to the press at his earliest convenience, in order 
 that it might be published in full on the morning following 
 its delivery. He appeared in much doubt as to whether 
 any of the papers would care to print it; and it was only 
 when I accompanied a reporter to his room and made a 
 request for it, that he began to think his words might be 
 of interest to the metropolitan public. He seemed 
 wholly ignorant of the custom of supplying slips to the 
 different journals from the office first putting the addresses 
 in type, and was charmingly innocent of the machinery 
 so generally used, even by some of our most popular 
 orators, to give success and eclat to their public efforts. 
 The address was written upon blue foolscap paper, all 
 in his own hand, and with few interlineations. I was 
 bold enough to read portions of it, and had no doubt that 
 its delivery would create a marked sensation throughout 
 the country. Lincoln referred frequently to Douglas, 
 but always in a generous and kindly manner. It was 
 difficult to regard them as antagonists. Many stories 
 of the famous Illinois debates were told us, and in a very 
 short time his frank and sparkling conversation won our 
 hearts and made his plain face pleasant to us all. Dur- 
 ing the day it was suggested that he should be taken up 
 Broadway and shown the city, of which he knew but 
 little — stating, I think, that he had been here but once 
 before. At one place he met an Illinois acquaintance of 
 former years, to whom he said, in his dry, good-natured 
 way : ‘ Well, B., how have you fared since you left Illinois? ’ 
 To which B. replied, ‘I have made a hundred thousand 
 dollars, and lost all. How is it with you, Mr. Lincoln?’ 
 ‘Oh, very well,’ said Lincoln. ‘I have the cottage at 
 Springfield, and about eight thousand dollars in money. 
 If they make me Vice-president with Seward, as some 
 say they will, I hope I shall be able to increase it to 
 twenty thousand; and that is as much as any man ought 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 217 
 
 to want.’ We visited a photographic establishment upon 
 the corner of Broadway and Bleeker streets, where he sat 
 for his picture, the first taken in New York. At the 
 gallery he met and was introduced to Hon. George Ban- 
 croft, and had a brief conversation with that gentleman, 
 who welcomed him to New York. The contrast in the 
 appearance of the men was most striking; the one courtly 
 and precise in his every word and gesture, with the air 
 of a trans-Atlantic statesman; the other bluff and awk- 
 ward, his very utterance an apology for his ignorance of 
 metropolitan manners and customs. ‘ I am on my way to 
 Massachusetts,’ he said to Mr. Bancroft, ‘where I have a 
 son at school, who, if report be true, already knows much 
 more than his father.’ 
 
 On the evening of February 27 a large and brilliant 
 audience gathered at Cooper Institute, to hear the famous 
 Western orator. The scene was one never to be for- 
 gotten by those who witnessed it. Upon the platform 
 sat many of the prominent men of the Republican party, 
 and in the body of the hall were many ladies. The 
 meeting was presided over by the distinguished citizen and 
 poet William Cullen Bryant, of whom Mr. Lincoln after- 
 ward said, “It was worth a journey to the East merely 
 to see such a man.” The orator of the evening was intro- 
 duced by Mr. Bryant with some very complimentary 
 allusions, especially to his controversy with Douglas. 
 “When Mr. Lincoln came on the platform and was intro- 
 duced by Mr. Bryant,” says one who was present, “he 
 seemed a giant in contrast with him. His first sentence 
 was delivered in a peculiarly high-keyed voice, and dis- 
 appointed us. In a short time the sharp points of his 
 address began to come, and he had not been speaking for 
 half an hour before his audience seemed wild with en- 
 thusiasm.” Another account says : “ His manner was, to 
 a New York audience, a very strange one, but it was cap- 
 tivating. He held the vast meeting spell-bound, and as 
 
218 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 one by one his oddly expressed but trenchant and con- 
 vincing arguments confirmed the soundness of his political 
 conclusions, the house broke out in wild and prolonged 
 enthusiasm. I think I never saw an audience more thor- 
 oughly carried away by an orator.” This speech was 
 full of trenchant passages, which called forth tumultuous 
 applause. The following is a specimen: 
 
 I defy anyone to show that any living man in the 
 whole world ever did, prior to the beginning of the present 
 century (and I might almost say prior to the beginning 
 of the last half of the present century), declare that, in 
 his understanding, any proper division of local from 
 Federal authority, or any part of the Constitution, forbade 
 the Federal Government to control slavery in the Federal 
 territories. To those who now so declare, I give not only 
 our fathers who framed the government under which we 
 live, but with them all other living men within the century 
 in which it was framed, among whom to search, and they 
 shall not be able to find the evidence of a single man 
 agreeing with them. 
 
 Referring to the South, and the growing political dis- 
 content in that quarter, he said: 
 
 Let all who believe that our fathers understood this 
 question just as well as, and even better than, we do now, 
 speak as they spoke and act as they acted upon it. This 
 is all Republicans ask — all Republicans desire — in 
 relation to slavery. As those fathers marked it, so let 
 it be again marked, as an evil not to be extended, but to 
 be tolerated and protected only because, and so far as, 
 its actual presence among us makes that toleration and 
 protection a necessity. Let all the guarantees those 
 fathers gave it be not grudgingly but fully and fairly 
 maintained. 
 
 His counsel to the young Republican party was timely 
 and full of wisdom. 
 
 A few words now to Republicans: It is exceedingly 
 desirable that all parts of this great Confederacy shall be 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 219 
 
 at peace, and in harmony one with another. Let us 
 Republicans do our part to have it so. Even though 
 much provoked, let us do nothing through passion and 
 ill-temper. Even though the Southern people will not 
 so much as listen to us, let us calmly consider their de- 
 mands, and yield to them, if in our deliberate view of our 
 duty we possibly can. 
 
 The address closed with the following impressive 
 words : 
 
 Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet afford to let 
 it alone where it is, because that much is due to the 
 necessity arising from its actual presence in the nation; 
 but can we, while our votes will prevent it, allow it to 
 spread into the National Territories, and to overrun us 
 here in these free States? If our sense of duty forbids 
 this, then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effect- 
 ively. Let us be diverted by none of those sophistical 
 contrivances wherewith we are so industriously plied and 
 belabored — contrivances such as groping for some middle 
 ground between the right and the wrong, vain as the 
 search for a man who should be neither a living man nor 
 a dead man, — such as a policy of * don’t care ’ on a 
 question about which all true men do care, — such as 
 Union appeals, beseeching true Union men to yield to 
 Disunionists, reversing the divine rule, and calling not 
 the sinners but the righteous to repentance, — such as 
 invocations of Washington, imploring men to unsay what 
 Washington said and undo what Washington did. Neither 
 let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations 
 against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruc- 
 tion to the Government nor of dungeons to ourselves. 
 Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that 
 faith, let us to the end dare to do our duty as we under- 
 stand it. 
 
 The Cooper Institute speech made a profound im- 
 pression upon the public. All who saw and heard Lin- 
 coln on that occasion felt the influence of his strange but 
 powerful personality; and acute minds recognized in the 
 unsophisticated Western lawyer a new force in American 
 
220 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 politics. This speech made Lincoln known throughout 
 the country, and undoubtedly did more than anything 
 else to secure him the nomination for the Presidency. 
 Aside from its extensive publication in the newspapers, 
 various editions of it appeared in pamphlet form, one of 
 the best of which was issued by Messrs. C. C. Nott and 
 Cephas Brainard, who appended to their edition an esti- 
 mate of the speech that is well worth reprinting here: 
 “No one who has not actually attempted to verify its 
 details can understand the patient research and historical 
 labor which it embodies. The history of our earlier 
 politics is scattered through numerous journals, statutes, 
 pamphlets, and letters; and these are defective in com- 
 pleteness and accuracy of statement, and in indexes and 
 tables of contents. Neither can any one who has not 
 travelled over this precise ground appreciate the accu- 
 racy of every trivial detail, or the self-denying impartiality 
 with which Mr. Lincoln has turned from the testimony 
 of ‘the fathers’ on the general question of slavery to 
 present the single question which he discusses. From 
 the first line to the last, from his premises to his con- 
 clusion, he travels with a swift, unerring directness 
 which no logician ever excelled, — an argument complete 
 and full, without the affectation of learning, and without 
 the stiffness which usually accompanies dates and details. 
 A single easy, simple sentence of plain Anglo-Saxon words 
 contains a chapter of history that, in some instances, has 
 taken days of labor to verify, and must have cost the 
 author months of investigation to acquire; and though 
 the public should justly estimate the labor bestowed on 
 the facts which are stated, they cannot estimate the 
 greater labor involved on those which are omitted — 
 how many pages have been read — how many works ex- 
 amined — what numerous statutes, resolutions, speeches, 
 letters, and biographies have been looked through. Com- 
 mencing with this address as a political pamphlet, the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 221 
 
 reader will leave it as an historical work — brief, complete, 
 profound, impartial, truthful, — which will survive the 
 time and the occasion that called it forth, and be es- 
 teemed hereafter no less for its intrinsic worth than for 
 its unpretending modesty.” 
 
 Lincoln’s oldest son, Robert, was at this time a stu- 
 dent in Harvard University, and, chiefly to visit him, 
 Lincoln made a brief trip to New England. While 
 there he spoke at Concord and Manchester in New 
 Hampshire; at Woonsocket in Rhode Island; and at 
 Hartford, New Haven, Norwich, Meriden, and Bridge- 
 port in Connecticut. These speeches were heard with 
 delight by large audiences, and received hearty praise 
 from the press. At Manchester, “The Mirror,” a neu- 
 tral paper, published the following remarks on Lincoln’s 
 style of oratory: “He spoke an hour and a half, with great 
 fairness, great apparent candor, and with wonderful 
 interest. He did not abuse the South, the administration, 
 or the Democrats, nor indulge in any personalities, with 
 the exception of a few hits at ‘Douglas’s notions.’ He 
 is far from prepossessing in personal appearance, and his 
 voice is disagreeable; and yet he wins attention and 
 good-will from the start. He indulges in no flowers of 
 rhetoric, no eloquent passages. He is not a wit, a hu- 
 morist, or a clown; yet so fine a vein of pleasantry and 
 good-nature pervades what he says, gliding over a deep 
 current of poetical arguments, that he keeps his hearers 
 in a smiling mood, ready to swallow all he says. His 
 sense of the ludicrous is very keen; and an exhibition of 
 that is the clincher of all his arguments — not the ludi- 
 crous acts of persons, but ludicrous ideas. For the first 
 half-hour his opponents would agree with every word 
 he uttered; and from that point he began to lead them 
 off little by little, until it seemed as if he had got them 
 all into his fold.” 
 
 The Rev. John. P. Gulliver, of Norwich, Connecticut, 
 
222 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 has given a most interesting reminiscence of Lincoln’s 
 speech in that city while on his tour through New Eng- 
 land. On the morning following the speech he met Lin- 
 coln on a railroad train, and entered into conversation 
 with him. In speaking of his speech, Mr. Gulliver re- 
 marked to Lincoln that he thought it the most remarkable 
 one he ever heard. “Are you sincere in what you say?” 
 inquired Lincoln. “I mean every word of it,” replied 
 the minister; “indeed, I learned more of the art of public 
 speaking last evening than I could from a whole course 
 of lectures on rhetoric.” Then Lincoln informed him of 
 a “most extraordinary circumstance” that had occurred 
 at New Haven a few days previous. A professor of 
 rhetoric in Yale College, he had been told, came to hear 
 him, took notes of his speech, and gave a lecture on it 
 to his class the following day, and, not satisfied with 
 that, followed him to Meriden the next evening and 
 heard him again for the same purpose. All this seemed 
 to Lincoln to be “very extraordinary.” He had been 
 sufficiently astonished by his success in the West, but he 
 had no expectation of any marked success in the East, 
 particularly among literary and learned men. “Now,” 
 said Lincoln, “I should like very much to know what it is 
 in my speech which you thought so remarkable, and 
 which interested my friend the professor so much.” Mr. 
 Gulliver’s answer was: “The clearness of your statements, 
 the unanswerable style of your reasoning, and especially 
 your illustrations, which were romance and pathos and 
 fun and logic all welded together.” After Mr. Gulliver 
 had fully satisfied his curiosity by a further exposition 
 of the politician’s peculiar power, Lincoln said: “I am 
 much obliged to you for this. I have been wishing for 
 a long time to find someone who would make this analy- 
 sis for me. It throws light on a subject which has been 
 dark to me. I can understand very readily how such a 
 power as you have ascribed to me will account for the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 223 
 
 effect which seems to be produced by my speeches. I hope 
 you have not been too flattering in your estimate. Cer- 
 tainly I have had a most wonderful success for a man of 
 my limited education.” Mr. Gulliver then inquired 
 into the processes by which he had acquired his educa- 
 tion, and was rewarded with many interesting details. 
 When they were about to part, the minister said: “Mr. 
 Lincoln, may I say one thing to you before we separate?” 
 “Certainly; anything you please,” was the response. 
 “You have just spoken,” said Mr. Gulliver, “of the 
 tendency of political life in Washington to debase the 
 moral convictions of our representatives there, by the ad- 
 mixture of considerations of mere political expediency. 
 You have become, by the controversy with Mr. Douglas, 
 one of our leaders in this great struggle with slavery, 
 which is undoubtedly the struggle of the nation and the 
 age. What I would like to say is this, and I say it with 
 a full heart: Be true to your principles, and we will be 
 true to you, and God will be true to us all.” Mr. Lincoln, 
 touched by the earnestness of his interlocutor, took his 
 hand in both his own, and, with his face full of sym- 
 pathetic light, exclaimed: “I say amen to that! amen 
 to that!” 
 
 After the New England tour, Lincoln returned to 
 his home in Springfield. As often happens, those least 
 appreciative of his success were his own neighbors; and 
 certain reflections gained vogue concerning his motives 
 in visiting the East. It was charged that he had been 
 mercenary; that his political speeches had been paid 
 for. Something of this sort having been brought to 
 Lincoln’s notice, he disposed of the matter in the following 
 manly and characteristic letter: 
 
 C. F. McNeill, Esq. — Dear Sir: — Reaching home 
 yesterday, I found yours of the 23d March, enclosing 
 a slip from the ‘Middleport Press.’ It is not true that 
 I ever charged anything for a political speech in my life; 
 
224 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 but this much is true: Last October I was requested by 
 letter to deliver some sort of speech in Mr. Beecher’s 
 church in Brooklyn, $200 being offered in the first letter. 
 I wrote that I could do it in February, provided they would 
 take a political speech if I could find time to get up no 
 other. They agreed; and subsequently I informed them 
 the speech would have to be a political one. When I 
 reached New York, I learned for the first time that the 
 place was changed to Cooper Institute. I made the 
 speech, and left for New England, where I have a son at 
 school, neither asking for pay nor having any offered me. 
 Three days after, a check for $200 was sent me, and I 
 took it, and did not know it was wrong. My understand- 
 ing now is — though I knew nothing of it at the time — 
 that they did charge for admittance at the Cooper Insti- 
 tute, and that they took in more than twice $200. I have 
 made this explanation to you as a friend; but I wish no 
 explanation made to our enemies. What they want is a 
 squabble and a fuss; and that they can have if we explain; 
 and they cannot have it if we don’t. When I returned 
 through New York from New England, I was told by the 
 gentleman who sent me the check that a drunken vaga- 
 bond in the club, having learned something about the 
 $200, made the exhibition out of which the ‘Herald’ 
 manufactured the article quoted by the ‘Press’ of your 
 town. My judgment is, and therefore my request is, 
 that you give no denial, and no explanations. 
 
 Thanking you for your kind interest in the matter, I 
 remain, 
 
 Yours truly, A. Lincoln. 
 
 It appears that on the Sunday which Lincoln spent 
 in New York City he visited a Sunday School in the 
 notorious region called Five Points, and there made a 
 short address to the scholars. After his return to Spring- 
 field, one of his neighbors, hearing of this, thought it 
 would be a good subject for bantering Lincoln about, 
 and accordingly visited him for that purpose. This 
 neighbor was generally known as “Jim,” just as Lincoln 
 was called “Abe.” The following account of his visit, 
 furnished by Mr. Edward Eggleston, shows that he did 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 225 
 
 not derive as much fun from the “bantering” as he had 
 expected: “He started for ‘Old Abe’s’ office; but burst- 
 ing open the door impulsively, found a stranger in con- 
 versation with Mr. Lincoln. He turned to retrace his 
 steps, when Lincoln called out, ‘Jim! What do you want? ’ 
 ‘Nothing.’ ‘Yes, you do; come back.’ After some 
 entreaty ‘Jim’ approached Mr. Lincoln, and remarked, 
 with a twinkle in his eye, ‘Well, Abe, I see you have been 
 making a speech to Sunday School children. What’s 
 the matter?’ ‘Sit down, Jim, and I’ll tell you all about 
 it.’ And with that Lincoln put his feet on the stove, and 
 began: ‘When Sunday morning came, I didn’t know 
 exactly what to do. Mr. Washburne asked me where I 
 was going. I told him I had nowhere to go; and he 
 proposed to take me down to the Five Points Sunday 
 School, to show me something worth seeing. I was very 
 much interested by what I saw. Presently, Mr. Pease 
 came up and spoke to Mr. Washburne, who introduced 
 me. Mr. Pease wanted us to speak. Washburne spoke, 
 and then I was urged to speak. I told them I did not 
 know anything about talking to Sunday Schools, but 
 Mr. Pease said many of the children were friendless and 
 homeless, and that a few words would do them good. 
 Washburne said I must talk. And so I rose to speak; 
 but I tell you, Jim, I didn’t know what to say. I re- 
 membered that Mr. Pease said they were homeless and 
 friendless, and I thought of the time when I had been 
 pinched by terrible poverty. And so I told them that I 
 had been poor; that I remembered when my toes stuck 
 out through my broken shoes in winter; when my arms 
 were out at the elbows; when I shivered with the cold. 
 And I told them there was only one rule; that was, always 
 do the very best you can. I told them that I had always 
 tried to do the very best I could; and that, if they would 
 follow that rule, they would get along somehow. That 
 was about what I said. And when I got through, Mr. 
 
226 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Pease said it was just the thing they needed. And when 
 the school was dismissed, all the teachers came up and 
 shook hands with me, and thanked me; although I did 
 not know that I had been saying anything of any account. 
 But the next morning I saw my remarks noticed in the 
 papers.’ Just here Mr. Lincoln put his hand in his pocket, 
 and remarked that he had never heard anything that 
 touched him as had the songs which those children sang. 
 With that he drew forth a little book, saying that they 
 had given him one of the books from which they sang. 
 He began to read a piece with all the earnestness of his 
 great, earnest soul. In the middle of the second verse 
 his friend ‘Jim’ felt a choking in his throat and a tick- 
 ling in his nose. At the beginning of the third verse he 
 saw that the stranger was weeping, and his own tears 
 fell fast. Turning toward Lincoln, who was reading 
 straight on, he saw the great blinding tears in his eyes, 
 so that he could not possibly see the pages. He was 
 repeating that little song from memory. How often he 
 had read it, or how long its sweet and simple accents 
 continued to reverberate through his soul, no one can 
 know.” 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Looking Towards the Presidency — The Illinois Republican Conven- 
 tion of 1860 — A “Send-Off” for Lincoln — The National Re- 
 publican Convention at Chicago — Contract of the Leading 
 Candidates — -Lincoln Nominated — Scenes at the Convention — 
 Sketches by Eye-Witnesses — Lincoln Hearing the News — The 
 Scene at Springfield — A Visit to Lincoln at His Home — Recol- 
 lections of a Distinguished Sculptor — Receiving the Committee 
 of the Convention — Nomination of Douglas- — Campaign of 1860 
 — Various Campaign Reminiscences — Lincoln and the Tall 
 Southerner — The Vote of the Springfield Clergy — A Graceful 
 Letter to the Poet Bryant — “ Looking up Hard Spots.” 
 
 I N the latter part of the year 1859, after Lincoln had 
 gained considerable national prominence through 
 events already briefly narrated, some of his friends began 
 to consider the expediency of bringing him forward as a 
 candidate for the Presidency in 1860. The young Repub- 
 lican party had thus far been in the minority, and the 
 necessity was generally felt of nominating a man who 
 would not render himself objectionable by advocating 
 extreme or unpopular measures. The subject was men- 
 tioned to Lincoln, but he seems not to have taken it very 
 seriously. He said that there were distinguished men 
 in the party who were more worthy of the nomination, 
 and whose public services entitled them to it. Toward 
 spring in 1860 Lincoln consented to a conference on the 
 subject with some of his more intimate friends. The 
 meeting took place in a committee-room in the State 
 House. Mr. Bushnell, Mr. Hatch (then Secretary of 
 State), Mr. Judd (Chairman of the Republican State 
 Central Committee), Mr. Peck, and Mr. Grimshaw were 
 present. They were unanimous in opinion as to the 
 expediency and propriety of making Lincoln a candidate. 
 
228 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 But he was still reluctant; he doubted that he could get 
 the nomination even if he wished it, and asked until the 
 next morning to consider the matter. The next day he 
 authorized his friends to work for him, if they so desired, 
 as a candidate for the Presidency, at the National Repub- 
 lican convention to be held in May at Chicago. 
 
 It is evident that while Lincoln had no serious expec- 
 tation of receiving the nomination, yet having consented 
 to become a candidate he was by no means indifferent 
 on the subject. The following confidential letter to his 
 friend N. B. Judd shows his feelings at this time. 
 
 Springfield, III., February 9, 1860. 
 
 Hon. N. B. Judd — Dear Sir: — I am not in a position 
 where it would hurt much for me not to be nominated on 
 the national ticket; but I am where it would hurt some 
 for me not to get the Illinois delegates. What I expected 
 when I wrote the letter to Messrs. Dole and others is now 
 happening. Your discomfited assailants are more bitter 
 against me, and they will, for revenge upon me, lay to 
 the Bates egg in the South and the Seward egg in the 
 North, and go far towards squeezing me out in the middle 
 with nothing. Can you not help me a little in this 
 matter in your end of the vineyard? (I mean this to be 
 private.) 
 
 Yours as ever, A. Lincoln. 
 
 It would seem that the original intention of Lincoln’s 
 friends had been to bring him out as a candidate for the 
 Vice-Presidency. Hon. E. M. Haines states that as early 
 as the spring of 1859, before the adjournment of the 
 Legislature of which he was a member, some of the 
 Republican members discussed the feasibility of urging 
 Lincoln’s name for the Vice-Presidency. Lincoln appears 
 not to have taken very strongly to the suggestion. “I 
 recollect,” says Mr. Haines, “that one day Mr. Lincoln 
 came to my desk in the House of Representatives, to 
 make some inquiry regarding another member; and 
 during the conversation, referring to his growing reputa- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 229 
 
 tion, I remarked to him that I did not know that we would 
 be able to make him President, but perhaps we could do 
 the next best thing, and make him Vice-President. He 
 brightened up somewhat, and answered by a story which 
 I do not clearly recall, but the application of which was 
 that he scarcely considered himself a big enough man 
 for President, while the Vice-Presidency was scarcely big 
 enough office for one who had aspired to a seat in the 
 Senate of the United States.” 
 
 On the 9th and 10th of May, 1860, the Republicans of 
 Illinois met in convention at Decatur. Lincoln was 
 present, although he is said to have been there as a mere 
 spectator. It was, Mr. Lamon tells us, “A very large and 
 spirited body, comprising the most brilliant as well as the 
 shrewdest men in the party. It was evident that some- 
 thing of more than usual importance was expected to 
 transpire. A few moments after the convention organized, 
 ‘Old Abe’ was seen squatting, or sitting on his heels, just 
 within the door of the convention building. Governor 
 Oglesby rose and said, amid increasing silence, ‘I am 
 informed that a distinguished citizen of Illinois, and one 
 whom Illinois will ever delight to honor, is present; and 
 I wish to move that this body invite him to a seat on the 
 stand.’ Here the Governor paused, as if to work curiosity 
 up to the highest point; then he shouted the magic name, 
 ‘ Abraham Lincoln!’ A roar of applause shook every 
 board and joist of the building. The motion was seconded 
 and passed. A rush was made for the hero, who still 
 sat on his heels. He was seized and jerked to his feet. 
 An effort was made to ‘jam him through the crowd’ to 
 his place of honor on the stage; but the crowd was too 
 dense. Then he was ‘boosted’ — lifted up bodily — 
 and lay for a few seconds sprawling and kicking upon the 
 heads and shoulders of the great throng. In this manner 
 he was gradually pushed toward the stand, and finally 
 reached it, doubtless to his great relief, ‘in the arms of 
 
230 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 some half-dozen gentlemen,’ who set him down in full 
 view of his clamorous admirers. ‘The cheering was like 
 the roar of the sea. Hats were thrown up by the Chicago 
 delegation, as if hats were no longer useful.’ Mr. Lincoln 
 rose, bowed, smiled, blushed, and thanked the assembly 
 as well as he could in the midst of such a tumult. A 
 gentleman who saw it all says, ‘I then thought him one 
 of the most diffident and worst-plagued men I ever saw.’ 
 At another stage of the proceedings. Governor Oglesby 
 rose again with another provoking and mysterious speech. 
 ‘There was,’ he said, ‘an old Democrat outside who had 
 something he wished to present to the convention.’ 
 ‘Receive it!’ ‘Receive it!’ cried some. ‘What is it?’ 
 ‘What is it?’ yelled some of the lower Egyptians, who 
 seemed to have an idea that the ‘old Democrat’ might 
 want to blow them up with an infernal machine. The 
 door opened; and a fine, robust old fellow, with an open 
 countenance and bronzed cheeks, marched into the midst 
 of the assemblage, bearing on his shoulder ‘two small 
 triangular heart rails,’ surmounted by a banner with this 
 inscription: ‘Two rails from a lot made by Abraham 
 Lincoln and John Hanks, in the Sangamon Bottom, in the 
 year 1830 .’ The sturdy rail-bearer was old John Hanks 
 himself, enjoying the great field-day of his life. He was 
 met with wild and tumultuous cheers, prolonged through 
 several minutes; and it was observed that the Chicago 
 and Central-Illinois men sent up the loudest and longest 
 cheering. The scene was tempestuous and bewildering. 
 But it ended at last; and now the whole body, those in 
 the secret and those out of it, clamored for a speech from 
 Mr. Lincoln, who in the meantime ‘blushed,’ but seemed 
 to shake with inward laughter. In response to the 
 repeated calls he rose and said: ‘Gentlemen, I suppose 
 you want to know something about those things’ (point- 
 ing to old John and the rails). ‘Well, the truth is, John 
 Hanks and I did make rails in the Sangamon Bottom. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 231 
 
 I don’t know whether we made those rails or not; the 
 fact is, I don’t think they are a credit to the makers’ 
 (laughing as he spoke). ‘But I do know this: I made 
 rails then, and I think I could make better ones than 
 these now.’ By this time the innocent Egyptians began 
 to open their eyes; they saw plainly enough the admirable 
 Presidential scheme unfolded to their view. The result 
 of it all was a resolution declaring that ‘Abraham Lincoln 
 is the first choice of the Republican party of Illinois for 
 the Presidency, and instructing the delegates to the 
 Chicago convention to use all honorable means to secure 
 his nomination, and to cast the vote of the State as a unit 
 for him.’ 
 
 On the 16th of May, 1860, the National Republican 
 convention met at Chicago. An immense building 
 called “The Wigwam,” erected for the occasion, was 
 filled with an excited throng numbering fully twelve 
 thousand. After the usual preliminaries the convention 
 settled down to the serious work of nominating a candidate 
 for the Presidency. From the outset the contest was 
 clearly between Abraham Lincoln of Illinois and William 
 H. Seward of New York. On the first ballot, Seward’s vote 
 of 173| was followed by Lincoln with 102 — the latter 
 having more than double the vote of his next competitor, 
 Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania (51 votes), who was 
 followed by Salmon P. Chase of Ohio (49 votes) and 
 Edward Bates of Missouri (48 votes). A contrast be- 
 tween these two remarkable men, Seward and Lincoln, 
 now political antagonists but soon to be intimately asso- 
 ciated at the head of the Government — one as President 
 and the other as his prime minister — is most interesting 
 and instructive. Seward was a trained statesman and 
 experienced politician of ripe culture and great sagacity, 
 the acknowledged leader of the Republican party, New 
 York’s ex-Governor and now its most distinguished 
 Senator. His position and career were therefore far more 
 
232 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 conspicuous than those of Lincoln. His supporters in 
 the convention were well-organized, bold, confident, and 
 expected that he would be nominated by acclamation. 
 Lincoln, on the other hand, was still essentially a coun- 
 try lawyer, who had come into prominence mainly as 
 the competitor of Senator Douglas in Illinois in 1858. 
 With all his native strength of mind and force of character, 
 he was, compared with the polished Seward, a rude back- 
 woodsman, unskilled in handling the reins of government, 
 unfamiliar with the wiles of statecraft, and unused to 
 the company of diplomats and social leaders. His political 
 reputation, and his support in the convention, were chiefly 
 Western. Yet his Cooper Institute speech, delivered 
 three months before the convention met, had done much 
 for him in the East; and the homely title of “Honest Old 
 Abe” had extended throughout the free States. Unlike 
 Seward, he had no political enemies, and was the second 
 choice of most of the delegates whose first choice was 
 some other candidate. 
 
 In political management and strategy the Western men 
 at the convention soon showed that they were at best a 
 match for those from the East. Soon after the opening 
 of the convention, Lincoln’s friends saw that there was an 
 organized body of men in the crowd who cheered vocifer- 
 ously whenever Seward’s name was mentioned. “At a 
 meeting of the Illinois delegation at the Tremont House,” 
 says Mr. Arnold, “on the evening of the first day, at 
 which Judd, Davis, Cook and others were present, it was 
 decided that on the second day Illinois and the West 
 should be heard. There was then living in Chicago a 
 man whose voice could drown the roar of Lake Michigan 
 in its wildest fury; nay, it was said that his shout could 
 be heard on a calm day across that lake. Cook of Ottawa 
 knew another man living on the Illinois river, a Dr. Ames, 
 who had never found his equal in his ability to shout and 
 hurrah. He was, however, a Democrat. Cook telegraphed 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 233 
 
 to him to come to Chicago by the first train. These two 
 men with stentorian voices met some of the Illinois dele- 
 gation at the Tremont House, and were instructed to 
 organize each a body of men to cheer and shout, which 
 they speedily did, out of the crowds which were in attend- 
 ance from the Northwest. They were placed on oppo- 
 site sides of the Wigwam, and instructed that when they 
 saw Cook take out his white handkerchief they were to 
 cheer and not to cease until he returned it to his pocket. 
 Cook was conspicuous on the platform, and at the first 
 utterance of the name of Lincoln, simultaneously with 
 the wave of Cook’s handkerchief, there went up such a 
 cheer, such a shout as had never before been heard, and 
 which startled the friends of Seward as the cry of ‘Mar- 
 mion’ on Flodden Field ‘startled the Scottish foe.’ The 
 New Yorkers tried to follow when the name of Seward 
 was spoken, but, beaten at their own game, their voices 
 were drowned by the cheers for Lincoln. This was kept 
 up until Lincoln was nominated, amidst a storm of 
 applause probably never before equalled at a political 
 convention.” 
 
 The result on the first ballot, with Seward leading 
 Lincoln by 71 \ votes, has already been given. On the 
 second ballot Seward gained 11 votes, giving him 184^; 
 while Lincoln made the astonishing gain of 78 votes, 
 giving him a total of 181 and reducing Seward’s lead of 
 71 1 votes to 3f votes. There was no longer doubt of 
 the result. The third ballot came, and Lincoln, passing 
 Seward who had fallen off 3f votes from the previous 
 ballot, ran rapidly up to 23 1| votes — 233 being the 
 number required to nominate. Lincoln now lacked but 
 a vote and a half to make him the nominee. At this 
 juncture, the chairman of the Ohio delegation rose and 
 changed four votes from Chase to Lincoln, giving him 
 the nomination. The Wigwam was shaken to its founda- 
 tion by the roaring cheers. The multitude in the streets 
 
234 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 answered the multitude within, and in a moment more 
 all the volunteer artillery of Chicago joined in the grand 
 acclamation. After a time the business of the conven- 
 tion proceeded, amid great excitement. All the votes 
 that had heretofore been cast against Lincoln were cast 
 for him before this ballot concluded. The convention 
 completed its work by the nomination of Hannibal 
 Hamlin of Maine for Vice-President. 
 
 Mr. F. B. Carpenter, who was present at Lincoln’s 
 nomination, furnishes a graphic sketch of this dramatic 
 episode. “The scene surpassed description. Men had 
 been stationed upon the roof of the Wigwam to com- 
 municate the result of the different ballots to the thou- 
 sands outside, far outnumbering the packed crowd inside. 
 To these men one of the secretaries shouted: ‘Fire the 
 salute ! Lincoln is nominated ! ’ Then, as the cheering in- 
 side died away, the roar began on the outside, and swelled 
 up from the excited masses like the noise of many waters. 
 This the insiders heard, and to it they replied. Thus 
 deep called to deep with such a frenzy of sympathetic 
 enthusiasm that even the thundering salute of cannon 
 was unheard by many on the platform. When the ex- 
 citement had partly subsided, Mr. Evarts of New York 
 arose, and in appropriate words expressed his grief that 
 Seward had not been nominated. He then moved that 
 the nomination of Abraham Lincoln be made unanimous. 
 Governor John A. Andrew of Massachusetts and Hon. 
 Carl Schurz of Wisconsin seconded the motion, and it was 
 carried. Then the enthusiasm of the multitude burst 
 out anew. • A large banner, prepared by the Pennsyl- 
 vania delegation, was conspicuously displayed, bearing 
 the inscription, ‘Pennsylvania good for twenty thousand 
 majority for the people’s candidate, Abe Lincoln.’ Dele- 
 gates tore up the sticks and boards bearing the names 
 of their several States, and waved them aloft over their 
 heads. A brawny man jumped upon the platform, and 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 235 
 
 pulling his coat-sleeves up to his elbows, shouted: ‘I 
 can’t stop! Three times three more cheers for our next 
 President, Abe Lincoln!’ A full-length portrait of the 
 candidate was produced upon the platform. Mr. Greeley 
 telegraphed to the N. Y. Tribune: ‘There was never 
 another such scene in America.’ Chicago went wild. 
 One hundred guns were fired from the top of the Tremont 
 House. At night the city was in a blaze of glory. Bon- 
 fires, processions, torchlights, fire-works, illuminations 
 and salutes, ‘filled the air with noise and the eye with 
 beauty.’ ‘Honest Old Abe’ was the utterance of every 
 man in the streets. The Illinois delegation before it 
 separated ‘resolved’ that the millennium had come.” 
 
 Governor Andrew, who was destined to have highly 
 important and intimate relations with Lincoln during the 
 Civil War, records his first impressions of him in a few 
 vivid sentences. “ Beyond the experiences of the journey 
 from Boston to Chicago,” says Andrew’s biographer, 
 “beyond even the strain and excitement of those hours 
 in caucus and convention, was the impression made on. 
 him by Lincoln as he saw him for the first time.” 
 Andrew was one of the committee of delegates who went 
 to Springfield to notify Lincoln of his nomination at 
 Chicago. He and the other delegates, he says, “saw in 
 a flash that here was a man who was master of himself. 
 For the first time they understood that he whom they 
 had supposed to be little more than a loquacious and 
 clever State politician, had force, insight, conscience; that 
 their misgivings were vain. . . . My eyes were never 
 visited with the vision of a human face in which more 
 transparent honesty and more benignant kindness were 
 combined with more of the intellect and firmness which 
 belong to masculine humanity. I would trust my case 
 with the honesty and intellect and heart and brain of 
 Abraham Lincoln as a lawyer; and I would trust my 
 country’s cause in the care of Abraham Lincoln as its 
 
236 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 chief magistrate, while the wind blows and the water 
 runs.” 
 
 Dr. J. G. Holland gives a vivid picture of Lincoln’s 
 reception of the exciting news. “In the little city of 
 Springfield,” says Dr. Holland, “in the heart of Illinois, 
 two hundred miles from where these exciting events were 
 in progress, sat Abraham Lincoln, in constant telegraphic 
 communication with his friends in Chicago. He was 
 apprised of the results of every ballot, and with some of 
 his friends sat in the ‘Journal’ office receiving and com- 
 menting upon the dispatches. It was one of the decisive 
 moments of his life — a moment on which hung his fate 
 as a public man, his place in history. He fully appre- 
 ciated the momentous results of the convention to himself 
 and the nation, and foresaw the nature of the great strug- 
 gle which his nomination and election would inaugurate. 
 At last, in the midst of intense excitement, a messenger 
 from the telegraph office entered with the decisive dis- 
 patch in his hand. Without handing it to anyone, he 
 took his way solemnly to the side of Mr. Lincoln, and 
 said: ‘The convention has made a nomination, and Mr. 
 
 Seward is the second man on the list.’ Then he 
 
 jumped upon the editorial table and shouted, ‘Gentlemen, 
 I propose three cheers for Abraham Lincoln, the next 
 President of the United States!’ and the call was bois- 
 terously responded to. He then handed the dispatch 
 to Mr. Lincoln, who read it in silence, and then aloud. 
 After exchanging greetings and receiving congratulations 
 from those around him, he strove to get out of the crowd, 
 and as he moved off he remarked to those near him: 
 ‘Well, there is a little woman who will be interested in 
 this news, and I will go home and tell her,’ and he hurried 
 on, with the crowd following and cheering.” 
 
 As soon as the news spread about Springfield a salute 
 of a hundred guns was fired, and during the afternoon 
 Lincoln’s friends and neighbors thronged his house to 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 237 
 
 tender their congratulations and express their joy. “In 
 the evening,” says one narrator, “the State House was 
 thrown open and a most enthusiastic meeting held by 
 the Republicans. At the close they marched in a body to 
 the Lincoln mansion and called for the nominee. Mr. 
 Lincoln appeared, and after a brief, modest, and hearty 
 speech, invited as many as could get into the house to 
 enter; the crowd responding that after the fourth of 
 March they would give him a larger house. The people 
 did not retire until a late hour, and then moved off re- 
 luctantly, leaving the excited household to their rest.” 
 
 Among the more significant and intimate of the per- 
 sonal reminiscences of Lincoln are those by Mr. Leonard 
 W. Yolk, the distinguished sculptor already mentioned 
 in these pages. Mr. Volk arrived in Springfield on the 
 day of Lincoln’s nomination, and had some unusually 
 interesting conversation with him. He had already, 
 only a month before, made the life-mask of Lincoln that 
 became so well and favorably known. It is one of the 
 last representations showing him without a beard. The 
 circumstances and incidents attending the taking of this 
 life-mask, as narrated by Mr. Volk, are well worth re- 
 producing here. “One morning in April, 1860,” says 
 Mr. Volk, “I noticed in the paper that Abraham Lincoln 
 was in Chicago, — retained as one of the counsel in a 
 ‘Sand-bar’ trial in which the Michigan Central Railroad 
 was either plaintiff or defendant. I at once decided to 
 remind h i m of his promise to sit to me, made two years 
 before. I found him in the United States District Court 
 room, his feet on the edge of the table, and his long dark 
 hair standing out at every imaginable angle. He was 
 surrounded by a group of lawyers, such as James F. Joy, 
 Isaac N. Arnold, Thomas Hoyne, and others. Mr. 
 Arnold obtained his attention in my behalf, when he 
 instantly arose and met me outside the rail, recognizing 
 me at once with his usual grip of both hands. He re- 
 
238 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 membered his promise, and said, in answer to my ques- 
 tion, that he expected to be detained by the case for a 
 week. He added : ‘ I shall be glad to give you the sittings. 
 When shall I come, and how long will you need me each 
 time?’ Just after breakfast every morning would, he 
 said, suit him the best, and he could remain till court 
 opened at ten o’clock. I answered that I would be ready 
 for him the next morning (Thursday). ‘Very well, Mr. 
 Volk, I will be there, and I’ll go to a barber and have my 
 hair cut before I come.’ I requested him not to let the 
 barber cut it too short, and said I would rather he would 
 leave it as it was; but to this he would not consent. . . . 
 He was on hand promptly at the time appointed; indeed, 
 he never failed to be on time. My studio was in the 
 fifth story. There were no elevators in those days, and 
 I soon learned to distinguish his step on the stairs, and 
 am sure he frequently came up two, if not three, steps at 
 a stride. When he sat down the first time in that hard, 
 wooden, low-armed chair which I still possess, and which 
 has been occupied by Douglas, Seward, and Generals 
 Grant and Dix, he said, ‘Mr. Volk, I have never sat 
 before to sculptor or painter — only for daguerreotypes 
 and photographs. What shall I do? ’ I told him I would 
 only take the measurements of his head and shoulders 
 that time, and that the next morning I would make a 
 cast of his face, which would save him a number of sittings. 
 He stood up against the wall, and I made a mark above 
 his head, and then measured up to it from the floor and 
 said: ‘You are just twelve inches taller than Judge 
 Douglas; that is, just six feet four inches.’ 
 
 “Before commencing the cast next morning, and 
 knowing Mr. Lincoln’s fondness for a story, I told him 
 one in order to remove what I thought an apprehensive 
 expression — as though he feared the operation might 
 be dangerous. He sat naturally in the chair when I made 
 the cast, and saw every move I made in a mirror opposite, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 239 
 
 as I put the plaster on without interference with his 
 eyesight or his free breathing through the nostrils. It 
 was about an hour before the mould was ready to be 
 removed, and being all in one piece, with both ears per- 
 fectly taken, it clung pretty hard, as the cheek-bones 
 were higher than the jaws at the lobe of the ear. He 
 bent his head low, and worked the cast off without break- 
 ing or injury; it hurt a little, as a few hairs of the tender 
 temples pulled out with the plaster and made his eyes 
 water. 
 
 “He entered my studio on Sunday morning, remarking 
 that a friend at the hotel (Tremont House) had invited 
 him to go to church, ‘but,’ said Mr. Lincoln, ‘I thought 
 I’d rather come and sit for the bust. The fact is,’ he 
 continued, ‘I don’t like to hear cut-and-dried sermons. 
 No — when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act 
 as if he were fighting bees!' And he extended his long 
 arms, at the same time suiting the action to the words. 
 He gave me on this day a long sitting of more than four 
 hours, and when it was concluded we went to our family 
 apartment to look at a collection of photographs which 
 I had made in 1855-6-7 in Rome and Florence. While 
 sitting in the rocking-chair, he took my little son on his 
 lap and spoke kindly to him, asking his name, age, etc. 
 I held the photographs up and explained them to him; 
 but I noticed a growing weariness, and his eyelids closed 
 occasionally as if he were sleepy, or were thinking of 
 something besides Grecian and Roman statuary and 
 architecture. Finally he said, ‘These things must be 
 very interesting to you, Mr. Volk; but the truth is, I 
 don’t know much of history, and all I do know of it 
 I have learned from law books.’ 
 
 “The sittings were continued daily till the Thursday 
 following; and during their continuance he would talk 
 almost unceasingly, telling some of the funniest and most 
 laughable of stories, but he talked little of politics or 
 
240 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 religion during these sittings. He said, ‘I am bored 
 nearly every time I sit down to a public dining-table by 
 some one pitching into me on politics.’ Many people, 
 presumably political aspirants with an eye to future 
 prospects, besieged my door for interviews, but I made 
 it a rule to keep it locked, and I think Mr. Lincoln appre- 
 ciated the precaution. On our last sitting I noticed that 
 Mr. Lincoln was in something of a hurry. I had finished 
 the head, but desired to represent his breast and brawny 
 shoulders as nature presented them; so he stripped off 
 his coat, waistcoat, shirt, cravat, and collar, threw them 
 on a chair, pulled his undershirt down a short distance, 
 tying the sleeves behind him, and stood up without a 
 murmur for an hour or so. I then said I had done, and 
 was a thousand times obliged to him for his promptness 
 and patience, and offered to assist him to re-dress, but he 
 said, ‘No, I can do it better alone.’ I kept at my work 
 without looking toward him, wishing to catch the form as 
 accurately as possible while it was fresh in my memory. 
 He left hurriedly, saying he had an engagement; and 
 with a cordial ‘Good-bye! I will see you again soon,’ 
 passed out. A few minutes after, I recognized his steps 
 rapidly returning. The door opened and in he came, 
 exclaiming, ‘Hello, Mr. Volk! I got down on the sidewalk, 
 and found I had forgotten to put on my undershirt, and 
 thought it wouldn’t do to go through the streets this way.’ 
 Sure enough, there were the sleeves of that garment 
 dangling below the skirts of his broadcloth frock-coat! 
 I went at once to his assistance, and helped to undress 
 and re-dress him all right, and out he went with a hearty 
 laugh at the absurdity of the thing.” 
 
 Returning to the visit with Lincoln at Springfield on 
 the day of his nomination, Mr. Volk says: “The after- 
 noon was lovely — bright and sunny, neither too warm 
 nor too cool; the grass, trees, and the hosts of blooming 
 roses, so profuse in Springfield, appeared to be vying 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 241 
 
 with the ringing bells and waving flags. I went straight 
 to Mr. Lincoln’s unpretentious little two-story house. 
 He saw me from his door or window coming down the 
 street, and as I entered the gate he was on the platform in 
 front of the door, and quite alone. His face looked 
 radiant. I exclaimed: ‘I am the first man from Chicago, 
 I believe, who has the honor of congratulating you on 
 your nomination for President.’ Then those two great 
 hands took both of mine with a grasp never to be forgot- 
 ten. And while shaking them, I said: ‘Now that you 
 will doubtless be the next President of the United States, 
 I want to make a statue of you, and shall do my best to 
 do you justice.’ Said he, ‘I don’t doubt it, for I have 
 come to the conclusion that you- are an honest man,’ and 
 with that greeting I thought my hands were in a fair 
 way of being crushed. I was invited into the parlor, 
 and soon Mrs. Lincoln entered, holding a rose-bouquet 
 in her hand, which she presented to me after the intro- 
 duction; and in return I gave her a cabinet-size bust of 
 her husband, which I had modelled from the large one, 
 and happened to have with me. Before leaving the 
 house it was arranged that Mr. Lincoln would give 
 Saturday forenoon to obtaining full-length photographs 
 to serve me for the proposed statue. On Saturday 
 evening, the committee appointed by the convention to 
 notify Mr. Lincoln formally of his nomination, headed 
 by Mr. Ashmun of Massachusetts, reached Springfield 
 by special train, bearing a large number of people, two 
 or three hundred of whom carried rails on their shoulders, 
 marching in military style from the train to the old State 
 House Hall of Representatives, where they stacked them 
 like muskets. The evening was beautiful and clear, and 
 the entire population was astir. The bells pealed, flags 
 waved, and cannon thundered forth the triumphant 
 nomination of Springfield’s distinguished citizen. The 
 bonfires blazed brightly, and especially in front of that 
 
242 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 prim-looking white house on Eighth street. The com- 
 mittee and the vast crowd following it passed in at the 
 front door, and made their exit through the kitchen door 
 in the rear, Mr. Lincoln giving them all a hearty shake 
 of the hand as they passed him in the parlor. By ap- 
 pointment, I was to cast Mr. Lincoln’s hands on the 
 Sunday following this memorable Saturday, at nine a.m. 
 I found him ready, but he looked more grave and serious 
 than he had appeared on the previous days. I wished 
 him to hold something in his right hand, and he looked 
 for a piece of pasteboard, but could find none. I told 
 him a round stick would do as well as anything. There- 
 upon he went to the wood-shed, and I heard the saw go, 
 and he soon returned to the dining-room (where I did the 
 work), whittling off the end of a piece of broom-handle. 
 I remarked to him that he need not whittle off the edges. 
 ‘Oh, well,’ said he, ‘I thought I would like to have it 
 nice.’ When I had successfully cast the mould of the 
 right hand, I began the left, pausing a few moments to 
 hear Mr. Lincoln tell me about a scar on the thumb. 
 ‘You have heard that they call me a rail-splitter, and you 
 saw them carrying rails in the procession Saturday even- 
 ing; well, it is true that I did split rails, and one day, 
 while I was sharpening a wedge on a log, the axe glanced 
 and nearly took my thumb off, and there is the scar, you 
 see.’ The right hand appeared swollen as compared with 
 the left, on account of excessive hand-shaking the evening 
 before; this difference is distinctly shown in the cast. 
 That Sunday evening I returned to Chicago with the 
 moulds of his hands, three photographic negatives of 
 him, the identical black alpaca campaign suit of 1858, 
 and a pair of Lynn newly-made pegged boots. The 
 clothes were all burned up in the great Chicago fire. The 
 casts of the face and hands I saved by taking them with 
 me to Rome, and they have crossed the sea four times. 
 The last time I saw Mr. Lincoln was in January, 1861, at 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 243 
 
 his house in Springfield. His little parlor was full of 
 friends and politicians. He introduced me to them all, 
 and remarked to me aside that since he had sat to me for 
 his bust, eight or nine months before, he had lost forty 
 pounds in weight. This was easily perceptible, for the 
 lines of his jaws were very sharply defined through the 
 short beard which he was allowing to grow. Then he 
 turned to the company and explained in a general way 
 that I had made a bust of him before his nomination, 
 and that he was then giving daily sittings to another 
 sculptor; that he had sat to him for a week or more, but 
 could not see the likeness, though he might yet bring it 
 out. ‘But,’ continued Mr. Lincoln, ‘in two or three days 
 after Mr. Volk began my bust, there was the animal 
 himself!’ And this was about the last, if not the last, 
 remark I ever heard him utter, except the good-bye and 
 his good wishes for my success.” 
 
 Saturday, May 19, the committee of the Chicago con- 
 vention arrived at Springfield to notify Mr. Lincoln of 
 his nomination. The Hon. George Ashmun, as chair- 
 man of the committee, delivered the formal address, to 
 which Lincoln listened with dignity, but with an air 
 of profound sadness, as though the trials in store for him 
 had already “cast their shadows before.” In response 
 to the address, Lincoln said: 
 
 Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: 
 — I tender to you and through you to the Republican 
 National convention, and all the people represented in it, 
 my profoundest thanks for the high honor done me, which 
 you now formally announce. Deeply and even pain- 
 fully sensible of the great responsibility which is insepa- 
 rable from this high honor — a responsibility which I 
 could almost wish had fallen upon some one of the far 
 more eminent men and experienced statesmen whose 
 distinguished names were before the convention — I 
 shall, by your leave, consider more fully the resolutions 
 of the convention, denominated the platform, and, with- 
 
244 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 out unnecessary and unreasonable delay, respond to you, 
 Mr. Chairman, in writing, not doubting that the platform 
 will be found satisfactory, and the nomination gratefully 
 accepted. And now I will not longer defer the pleasure 
 of taking you, and each of you, by the hand. 
 
 A letter was then handed Lincoln containing the 
 official notice, accompanied by the resolutions of the 
 convention. To this letter he replied, a few days later, 
 as follows: 
 
 Springfield, Illinois, Mat 23 , 1860 . 
 
 Sir — I accept the nomination tendered to me by the 
 convention over which you presided, of which I am 
 formally apprised in a letter of yourself and others acting 
 as a Committee of the Convention for that purpose. 
 The declaration of principles and sentiments which 
 accompanies your letter meets my approval, and it shall 
 be my care not to violate it, or disregard it in any part. 
 Imploring the assistance of Divine Providence, and with 
 due regard to the views and feelings of all who were 
 represented in the convention, to the rights of all the 
 States and Territories and people of the nation, to the 
 inviolability of the Constitution, and the perpetual 
 union, harmony and prosperity of all, I am most happy 
 to co-operate for the practical success of the principles 
 declared by the convention. 
 
 In June Mr. Douglas was nominated for the Presidency 
 by the Democratic convention, which met at Baltimore 
 on the 18th. Mr. Douglas made a personal canvass, 
 speaking in most of the states, North and South, and 
 exerting all the powers of which he was master to win 
 success. The campaign, as Mr. Arnold states, “has had 
 no parallel. The enthusiasm of the people was like a 
 great conflagration, like a prairie fire before a wild tornado. 
 A little more than twenty years had passed since Owen 
 Lovejoy, brother of Elijah Lovejoy, on the bank of the 
 Mississippi, kneeling on the turf not then green over the 
 grave of the brother who had been killed for his fidelity 
 to freedom, had sworn eternal war against slavery. From 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 245 
 
 that time on, he and his associate Abolitionists had gone 
 forth preaching their crusade against oppression, with 
 hearts of fire and tongues of lightning; and now the 
 consummation was to be realized of a President elected 
 on the distinct ground of opposition to the extension of 
 slavery. For years the hatred of that institution had 
 been growing and gathering force. Whittier, Bryant, 
 Lowell, Longfellow, and others, had written the lyrics of 
 liberty; the graphic pen of Mrs. Stowe, in ‘Uncle Tom’s 
 Cabin,’ had painted the cruelties of the overseer and the 
 slaveholder; but the acts of slaveholders themselves 
 did more to promote the growth of anti-slavery than all 
 other causes. The persecutions of Abolitionists in the 
 South; the harshness and cruelty attending the execu- 
 tion of the fugitive laws; the brutality of Brooks in 
 knocking dow r n, on the floor of the Senate, Charles Sum- 
 ner, for words spoken in debate: these and many other 
 outrages had fired the hearts of the people of the free 
 States against this barbarous institution. Beecher, Phil- 
 lips, Channing, Sumner, and Seward, with their eloquence; 
 Chase with his logic; Lincoln, with his appeals to the 
 principles of the Declaration of Independence, and to 
 the opinions of the founders of the republic, his clear 
 statements, his apt illustrations, and, above all, his wise 
 moderation, — all had swelled the voice of the people, 
 which found expression through the ballot-box, and which 
 declared that slavery should go no further.” 
 
 Among the various reminiscences of the memorable 
 Presidential campaign of 1860, some of peculiar interest 
 are furnished by Dr. Newton Bateman, President of 
 Knox College, Illinois. Dr. Bateman had known 
 Lincoln since 1842; and from the year 1858, when Dr. 
 Bateman was elected State Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction in Illinois, to the close of Lincoln’s resi- 
 dence in Springfield in 1861, they saw each other daily. 
 The testimony of so intimate an acquaintance, and one 
 
246 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 so well qualified to judge the character and abilities of 
 men, is of unusual value; and it is worth noting that Dr. 
 Bateman remarks that, while he was always an admirer 
 of Lincoln, yet the greatness of the man grew upon 
 him as the years pass by. In his professional and public 
 work, says Dr. Bateman, Lincoln not only proved 
 himself equal to every emergency and to every successive 
 task, but made, from the outset, the impression upon 
 the mind of those who knew him of being in possession 
 of great reserve force. Perhaps the secret of this lies in 
 part in the fact that he was accustomed to ponder deeply 
 upon the ultimate principles of government and society, 
 and strove to base his discussions upon the firm ground 
 of ethical truth. Says Dr. Bateman, “He was the sad- 
 dest man I ever knew.” It was a necessity of his nature 
 to be much alone; and he said that all his serious work — 
 by which he meant the process of getting down to the 
 bed-rock of first principles — must be done in solitude. 
 Upon one occasion he called Dr. Bateman to him, and 
 spent more than two hours in earnest conversation upon 
 the most serious themes. At the close, Dr. Bateman 
 said: “I did not know, Mr. Lincoln, that it was your 
 habit to think so deeply upon this class of subjects.” 
 “Didn’t you?” said Mr. Lincoln. “I can almost say 
 that I think of nothing else.” 
 
 One day there entered Lincoln’s room a tall South- 
 erner, a Colonel Somebody from Mississippi, whose eye’s 
 hard glitter spoke supercilious distrust and whose stiff 
 bearing betokened suppressed hostility. It was beauti- 
 ful, says Dr. Bateman, to see the cold flash of the South- 
 erner’s dark eye yield to a warmer glow, and the haughty 
 constraint melt into frank good-nature, under the in- 
 fluence of Lincoln’s words of simple earnestness and 
 unaffected cordiality. They got so far in half an hour 
 that Lincoln could say, in his hearty way: “Colonel, 
 how tall are you? ” “Well, taller than you, Mr. Lincoln,” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 247 
 
 replied the Mississippian. “You are mistaken there,” 
 retorted Lincoln. “Dr. Bateman, will you measure 
 us?” “You will have to permit me to stand on a chair 
 for that,” responded the Doctor. So a big book was 
 adjusted above the head of each, and pencil marks made 
 at the respective points of contact with the white wall. 
 Lincoln’s altitude, as thus indicated, was a quarter 
 inch above that of the Colonel. “I knew it,” said 
 Lincoln. “They raise tall men down in Mississippi, but 
 you go home and tell your folks that Old Abe tops you a 
 little.” The Colonel went away much mollified and 
 impressed. “My God!” said he to Dr. Bateman, as he 
 went out. “There’s going to be war; but could my 
 people know what I have learned within the last hour, 
 there need be no war.” 
 
 During the Presidential campaign, the vote of the city 
 of Springfield was canvassed house by house. There 
 were at that time twenty-three clergymen residing in 
 the city (not all pastors). All but three of these signi- 
 fied their intention to vote against Lincoln. This fact 
 seemed to grieve him somewhat. Soon after, in con- 
 versing upon the subject with Dr. Bateman, he said, as 
 if thinking aloud: “These gentlemen know that Judge 
 Douglas does not care a cent whether slavery in the 
 territories is voted up or voted down, for he has repeatedly 
 told them so. They know that I do care.” Then, draw- 
 ing from a breast pocket a well-thumbed copy of the 
 New Testament, he added, after a pause, tapping upon 
 the book with his bony finger: “I do not so understand 
 this book.” 
 
 The poet Bryant was conspicuous among the promi- 
 nent Eastern men who favored Lincoln’s nomination 
 for the Presidency in 1860. He had introduced 
 Lincoln to the people of New York at the Cooper Insti- 
 tute meeting of the previous winter, and was a firm 
 believer in the Western politician. After the convention 
 
248 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Mr. Bryant wrote Lincoln a most friendly and timely 
 letter, full of good feeling and of wise advice. Especially 
 did he warn Lincoln to be cautious in committing 
 himself to any specific policy, or making pledges or en- 
 gagements of any kind. Mr. Bryant’s letter contained 
 much political wisdom, and was written in that scholarly 
 style for which he was distinguished. But it could not 
 surpass the simple dignity and grace of Lincoln’s reply: 
 
 Springfield, III., June 28 , 1860 . 
 
 Please accept my thanks for the honor done me by 
 your kind letter of the 16th. I appreciate the danger 
 against which you would guard me; nor am I wanting 
 in the purpose to avoid it. I thank you for the additional 
 strength your words give me to maintain that purpose. 
 
 Your friend and servant, A. Lincoln. 
 
 Mr. A. J. Grover relates that about this time he met 
 Lincoln, and had a memorable conversation with 
 him on the Fugitive Slave Law. Lincoln detested this 
 law, but argued that until it was declared unconsti- 
 tutional it must be obeyed. This was a short time after 
 the rescue of a fugitive slave at Ottawa, Illinois, by John 
 Hossack, James Stout, Major Campbell, and others, 
 after Judge John D. Caton, acting as United States 
 Commissioner, had given his decision remanding him to 
 the custody of his alleged owner; and the rescuers were 
 either in prison or out on bail, awaiting their trials. Says 
 Mr. Grover: “When Mr. Lincoln had finished his argu- 
 ment I said, ‘Constitutional or not, I will never obey the 
 Fugitive Slave Law. I would have done as Hossack and 
 Stout and Campbell did at Ottawa. I will never catch 
 and return slaves in obedience to any law or constitution. 
 I do not believe a man’s liberty can be taken from him 
 constitutionally without a trial by jury. I believe the 
 law to be not only unconstitutional, but most inhuman.’ 
 ‘Oh,’ said Mr. Lincoln, and I shall never forget his earnest- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 249 
 
 ness as he emphasized it by striking his hand on his knee, 
 ‘it is ungodly! it is ungodly! no doubt it is ungodly! 
 but it is the law of the land, and we must obey it as we 
 find it.’ I said: ‘ Mr. Lincoln, how often have you sworn 
 to support the Constitution? We propose to elect you 
 President. How would you look taking an oath to sup- 
 port what you declare is an ungodly Constitution, and 
 asking God to help you?’ He felt the force of the ques- 
 tion, and, inclining his head forward and running his 
 fingers through his hair several times, seemed lost in 
 reflection; then he placed his hand upon my knee and 
 said, very earnestly: ‘Grover, it’s no use to be always 
 looking up these hard spots S' 1 ” In the terrible years then 
 almost upon him, Lincoln found many such “hard 
 spots” without taking the trouble to look them up. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Lincoln Chosen President — The Election of 1860 — The Waiting-time 
 at Springfield — A Deluge of Visitors — Various Impressions of the 
 President-elect — Some Queer Callers — Looking over the Situation 
 with Friends — Talks about the Cabinet — Thurlow Weed’s Visit 
 to Springfield — The Serious Aspect of National Affairs — The 
 South in Rebellion — Treason at the National Capital — Lincoln’s 
 Farewell Visit to his Mother — The Old Sign, “Lincoln & Herndon” 
 — The Last Day at Springfield — Farewell Speech to Friends and 
 Neighbors — Off for the Capital — The Journey to Washington — • 
 Receptions and Speeches along the Route — At Cincinnati: A 
 Hitherto Unpublished Speech by Lincoln — At Cleveland : Personal 
 Descriptions of Mr. and Mrs.' Lincoln — At New York City: Im- 
 pressions of the New President — Perils of the Journey — The Bal- 
 timore Plot — Change of Route — Arrival at the Capital. 
 
 HE Presidential campaign of 1860, with its ex- 
 
 fl citements and struggles, its “ Wide-awake ” clubs 
 and boisterous enthusiasm throughout the North, and its 
 bitter and threatening character throughout the South, 
 was at last ended; and on the 6th of November 
 Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United 
 States. 1 His cause had been aided not a little by an 
 unexpected division in the Democratic party. Douglas 
 had been nominated for the Presidency by this party 
 in its convention at Baltimore on the 18th of June; 
 but he was bitterly opposed by the extreme slavery 
 element of the Democracy, and this faction held a con- 
 vention of its own at Baltimore ten days later and 
 nominated for President John C. Breckenridge of Ken- 
 tucky. There was still another party, though a very 
 
 1 The popular vote was as follows: Lincoln, 1,857,610; Douglas, 
 1,291,574; Breckenridge, 850,082; Bell, 646,124. Of the electoral votes, 
 Lincoln had 180; Breckenridge, 72; Bell, 39; and Douglas, 12. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 251 
 
 minor one, in the field — the “Constitutional Union 
 Party,” based chiefly on a desire to avoid the issue of 
 slavery in national politics — which on the 9th of May 
 had nominated John Bell of Tennessee as its candidate 
 for the Presidency, with Edward Everett of Massa- 
 chusetts for the Vice-Presidency. There were thus four 
 tickets in the field — the Republican, including if not 
 representing the anti-slavery element in the North; 
 the Democratic, which was pro-slavery in its tendencies 
 but had so far failed to satisfy the Southern wing — 
 now grown alarmed and restless at the growth and ten- 
 dencies of the Republican party — that this element 
 nominated as a third ticket an out-and-out pro-slavery 
 candidate; and (fourth) a “Constitutional Union” 
 ticket, representing a well-meant but fatuous desire to 
 keep slavery out of national politics altogether. 
 
 This eventful contest was therefore determined 
 largely on sectional lines, with slavery as the great 
 underlying issue. Lincoln’s gratification at his elec- 
 tion was not untempered with disappointments. While 
 he had a substantial majority of the electoral vote 
 (180 to 123), the popular vote was toward a million 
 (930,170), more against him than for him. Fifteen 
 States gave him no electoral vote, and in nine States' 
 he received not a single popular vote. The slave 
 States — “ the Solid South ” — were squarely against 
 him. Lincoln saw the significance of this, and it filled 
 him with regret and apprehension. But he faced the 
 future without dismay, and with a calm resolve to do 
 his duty. With all his hatred of slavery, loyalty to 
 the Constitution had always been paramount in his 
 mind ; and those who knew him best never doubted 
 that it would continue so. 
 
 Lincoln took no active part in the campaign, prefer- 
 ring to remain quietly at his home in Springfield. 
 Scarcely was the election decided than he was beset with 
 
252 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 visitors from all parts of the country, who came to 
 gratify curiosity or solicit personal favors of the incom- 
 ing President. The throng became at last so great, and 
 interfered so much with the comfort of Lincoln’s home, 
 that the Executive Chamber in the State House was 
 set apart as his reception room. Here he met all who 
 chose to come — “ the millionaire and the menial, the 
 ]3riest and the politician, men, women, and children, 
 old friends and new friends, those who called for love 
 and those who sought for office. From morning until 
 night this was his occupation ; and he performed it 
 with conscientious care and the most unwearying 
 patience.” The situation at the Lincoln home at this 
 time, and the spirit prevailing there, is well depicted 
 by one of these callers, Mr. R. C. McCormick, whose 
 interesting account of his meeting with Lincoln in New 
 York City has already been quoted in these pages. 
 “In January, 1861,” says Mr. McCormick, “at the 
 instance of various friends in New York who wished 
 a position in the Cabinet for a prominent Kentuckian, 
 I went to Springfield armed with documents for his 
 consideration. I remained there a week or more, and 
 was at the Lincoln cottage daily. Of the numerous 
 formal and informal interviews that I witnessed, I re- 
 member all with the sincerest pleasure. I never found 
 the man upon whom rested the great responsibilities of 
 the nation impatient or ill-humored. The plainest and 
 most tedious visitors were made welcome and happy in 
 his presence; the poor commanded as much of his 
 time as the rich. His recognition of old friends and 
 companions in frontier life, whom many elevated as 
 he had been would have found it convenient to forget, 
 was especially hearty. His correspondence was already 
 immense, and the town was alive with cabinet-makers 
 and office-seekers ; but he met all with a calm temper.” 
 
 Mr. Don Piatt relates that he had met Lincoln dur- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 253 
 
 ing the Presidential campaign, and had been invited 
 to visit Springfield. He did so, and was asked to 
 supper at the Lincoln house. “It was a. plain, com- 
 fortable structure,” says Mr. Piatt, “ and the supper 
 was mainly of cake, pies, and chickens, the last evi- 
 dently killed in the morning, to be eaten that evening. 
 After the supper we sat far into the night, talking over 
 the situation. Mr. Lincoln was the homeliest man I 
 ever saw. His body seemed to me a huge skeleton in 
 clothes. Tall as he was, his hands and feet looked out 
 of proportion, so long and clumsy were they. Every 
 movement was awkward in the extreme. He sat with 
 one leg thrown over the other, and the pendent foot 
 swung almost to the floor. And all the while two little 
 boys, his sons, clambered over those legs, patted his 
 cheeks, pulled his nose, and poked their fingers in his 
 eyes, without reprimand. He had a face that defied 
 artistic skill to soften or idealize. It was capable of 
 few expressions, but those were extremely striking. 
 When in repose, his face was dull, heavy, and repel- 
 lent. It brightened like a lit lantern when animated. 
 His dull eyes would fairly sparkle with fun, or ex- 
 press as kindly a look as I ever saw, when moved by 
 some matter of human interest.” 
 
 Hon. George W. Julian, of Indiana, was another vis- 
 itor to the Lincoln home in January. He says: “I 
 had a curiosity to see the famous ‘ rail-splitter,’ as 
 he was then familiarly called, and as a member-elect 
 of the Thirty-seventh Congress I desired to form some 
 acquaintance with the man who was to play so con- 
 spicuous a part in the impending national crisis. On 
 meeting him I found him far better looking than the 
 campaign pictures had represented him. His face, 
 when lighted up in conversation, was not unhandsome, 
 and the kindly and winning tones of his voice pleaded 
 for him like the smile that played about his rugged 
 
254 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 features. He was full of anecdote and humor, and 
 readily found his way to the hearts of those who 
 enjoyed a welcome to his fireside. His face, however, 
 was sometimes marked by that touching expression of 
 sadness which became so noticeable in the years follow- 
 ing. On the subject of slavery I was gratified to find 
 him less reserved and more emphatic than I had ex- 
 pected. I was much pleased with our first Republican 
 Executive, and I returned home more fully inspired 
 than ever with the purpose to sustain him to the ut- 
 most in facing the duties of his great office.” 
 
 The wide range of these callers and their diverse 
 errands are illustrated by examples furnished by Mr. 
 Lamon. Two tall, ungainly fellows, — “Suckers,” as 
 they were called, — entered Lincoln’s room one day while 
 he was engaged in conversation with a friend. They 
 lingered bashfully near the door, and Lincoln, notic- 
 ing their embarrassment, rose and said good-naturedly, 
 “ How do you do, my good fellows ? What can I do 
 for you? Will you sit down? ” The spokesman of 
 the pair, the shorter of the two, declined to sit, and 
 explained the object of the call. He had had a talk 
 about the relative height of Lincoln and his com- 
 panion, and had asserted his belief that they were of 
 exactly the same height. He had come in to verify his 
 judgment. Lincoln smiled, then got his cane, and 
 placing the end of it upon the wall said, “ Here, young 
 man, come under here ! ” The young man came under 
 the cane, as Lincoln held it, and when it was perfectly 
 adjusted to his height Lincoln said, “Now come out 
 and hold up the cane.” This he did, while Lincoln 
 stepped under. Rubbing his head back and forth to 
 see that it worked easily under the measurement, he 
 stepped out, and declared that the young man had 
 guessed with remarkable accuracy — that he and the 
 tall fellow were exactly of the same height. Then 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 255 
 
 he shook hands with them and sent them on their way. 
 The next caller was a very different person — an old 
 and modestly dressed woman who tried to explain that 
 she knew Lincoln. As he did not at first recognize 
 her, she tried to recall to his memory certain incidents 
 connected with his rides upon the circuit — especially 
 his dining at her house upon the road at different times. 
 Then he remembered her and her home. Having fixed 
 her own place in his recollection, she tried to recall to 
 him a certain scanty dinner of bread and milk that he 
 once ate at her house. He could not remember it — 
 on the contrary, he only remembered that he had 
 always fared well at her house. “ Well,” said she, 
 “ one day you came along after we had got through 
 dinner, and we had eaten up everything, and I could 
 give you nothing but a bowl of bread and milk; you 
 ate it, and when you got up you said it was good 
 enough for the President of the United States .” The 
 good woman, remembering the remark, had come in 
 from the country, making a journey of eight or ten 
 miles, to relate to Lincoln this incident, which in her 
 mind had doubtless taken the form of prophecy. Lin- 
 coln placed her at her ease, chatted with her of old 
 times, and dismissed her in the most happy and com- 
 placent frame of mind. 
 
 Among the judicious friends of Lincoln who gave 
 him timely counsel at this important epoch of his life 
 was Judge John D. Caton, who, though a Democrat, 
 was a far-sighted man who saw plainly the tendency of 
 political affairs and was anxious for the preservation 
 of the Union. “ I met Lincoln in Springfield,” writes 
 Judge Caton, “ and we had a conference in the law- 
 library. I told him it was plain that he had a war on 
 his hands ; that there was a determination on the part 
 of the South to secede from the Union, and that there 
 would be throughout the North an equal determination 
 
256 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 to maintain the Union. I advised him to avoid bring- 
 ing on the war by precipitate action, but let the South- 
 erners begin it ; to forbear as long as forbearance could 
 be tolerated, in order to unite the North the more effec- 
 tually to support his hands in the struggle that was 
 certain to come ; that by such a course the great body 
 of the people of the North, of all parties, would come 
 to his support. Mr. Lincoln listened intently, and re- 
 plied that he foresaw that the struggle was inevitable, 
 but that it would be his desire and effort to unite the 
 people in support of the Government and for the main- 
 tenance of the Union ; that he was aware that no single 
 party could sustain him successfully, and that he must 
 rely upon the great masses of the people of all parties, 
 and he would try to pursue such a course as would 
 secure their support. The interview continued perhaps 
 an hour.” 
 
 Judge David Davis, a most intimate and confidential 
 friend of Lincoln, states that the latter was firmly de- 
 termined to appoint “ Democrats and Republicans alike 
 to office.” Mr. Lamon corroborates the statement, 
 pointedly remarking : “ He felt that his strength lay in 
 conciliation at the outset ; that was his ruling con- 
 viction during all those months of preparation for the 
 great task before him. It showed itself not only in 
 the appointments which he sought to make but in those 
 which he did make. Harboring no jealousies, enter- 
 taining no fears concerning his personal interests in 
 the future, he called around him the most powerful of 
 his late rivals — Seward, Chase, Bates — and unhesi- 
 tatingly gave into their hands powers which most Presi- 
 dents would have shrunk from committing to their 
 equals, and much more to their superiors, in the con- 
 duct of public affairs.” In a noted instance where 
 the most powerful influence was brought to bear upon 
 Lincoln to induce him to make what he regarded as an 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 257 
 
 unworthy appointment, he exclaimed : “ All that I am 
 in the world — the Presidency and all else — I owe 
 to the opinion of me w T hich the people express when 
 they call me ‘ Honest Old Abe.’ Now, what would 
 they think of their honest Abe if he should make such 
 an appointment as the one proposed? ” 
 
 Hon. Leonard Swett, who knew Lincoln from 184*8 
 to the time of his death, and had “ traveled the cir- 
 cuit ” with him in Illinois, relates that soon after the 
 election he and Judge Davis advised Lincoln to consult 
 Thurlow Weed regarding the formation of the Cabinet 
 and on political affairs generally. “ Mr. Lincoln asked 
 me,” says Mr. Swett, “ to write Mr. Weed and invite 
 him to a conference at Lincoln’s house in Springfield. 
 I did so, and the result was that Judge Davis, Thurlow 
 Weed, and myself spent a whole day with him in dis- 
 cussing the men and measures of his administration. 
 At that meeting, which took place in less than a month 
 after Lincoln’s election, or early in December, 1860, 
 Lincoln became convinced that war was imminent be- 
 tween the North and the South. Mr. Weed was a very 
 astute man, and had a wonderful knowledge of what 
 was going on. He told Lincoln of preparations being 
 made in the Southern States that could mean nothing 
 less than war. It was a serious time with all of us, 
 of course, but Lincoln took it with the imperturbability 
 that always distinguished him.” 
 
 The account given by Thurlow Weed, the veteran 
 New York editor and journalist, of his visit to Lincoln 
 on this occasion is of peculiar interest. Mr. Weed 
 remained in Springfield two or three days in close con- 
 sultation with the President-elect, the formation of the 
 new Cabinet being the subject principally discussed. 
 After expressing gratification at his election, and an 
 apprehension of the dangers which threatened the in- 
 coming administration, says Mr. Weed, in his autobi- 
 
258 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 ography, “ Mr. Lincoln remarked, smiling, that he sup- 
 posed I had had some experience in cabinet-making; 
 that he had a job on hand, and as he had never learned 
 that trade he was disposed to avail himself of the sug- 
 gestions of friends. The question thus opened became 
 the subject of conversation, at intervals, during that 
 and the following day. I say at intervals, because 
 many hours were consumed in talking of the public 
 men connected with former administrations, inter- 
 spersed, illustrated, and seasoned pleasantly with Mr. 
 Lincoln’s stories, anecdotes, etc. And here I feel called 
 upon to vindicate Mr. Lincoln, as far as my oppor- 
 tunities and observation go, from the frequent impu- 
 tation of telling indelicate and ribald stories. I saw 
 much of him during his whole Presidential term, with 
 familiar friends and alone, when he talked without 
 restraint; but I never heard him use a profane or 
 indecent word, or tell a story that might not he re- 
 peated in the presence of ladies 
 
 “ Mr. Lincoln observed,” continues Mr. Weed, “ that 
 the making of a Cabinet, now that he had it to do, was 
 by no means as easy as he had supposed ; that he had, 
 even before the result of the election was known, as- 
 suming the probability of success, fixed upon the two 
 leading members of his Cabinet, but that in looking 
 about for suitable men to fill the other departments 
 he had been much embarrassed, partly from his want 
 of acquaintance with the prominent men of the day, 
 and partly because he believed that while the popu- 
 lation of the country had immensely increased really 
 great men were scarcer than they used to be. ... As 
 the conversation progressed, Lincoln remarked that he 
 intended to invite Governor Seward to take the State 
 Department and Governor Chase the Treasury De- 
 partment, remarking that aside from their long expe- 
 rience in public affairs and their eminent fitness they 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 259 
 
 were prominently before the people and the convention 
 as competitors for the Presidency, each having higher 
 claims than his own for the place which he was to 
 occupy. On naming Hon. Gideon Welles as the man 
 he thought of as the representative of New England 
 in the Cabinet, I remarked that I thought he could 
 find several New England gentlemen whose selection 
 for a place in his Cabinet would be more acceptable 
 to the people of New England. ‘ But,’ said Mr. Lin- 
 coln, ‘ we must remember that the Republican party 
 is constituted of two elements, and that we must have 
 men of Democratic as well as of Whig antecedents in 
 the Cabinet.’ ... In the course of our conversations 
 Mr. Lincoln remarked that it was particularly pleas- 
 ant to him to reflect that he was coming into office 
 unembarrassed by promises. He owed, he supposed, 
 his exemption from importunities to the circumstance 
 that his name as a candidate was but a short time 
 before the people, and that only a few sanguine friends 
 anticipated the possibility of his nomination. ‘ I have 
 not,’ said he, ‘ promised an office to any man, nor 
 have I, but in a single instance, mentally committed 
 myself to an appointment.’ ” 
 
 “ In this way two days passed very pleasantly,” 
 says Mr. Weed, “ the conversation being alternately 
 earnest and playful. I wish it were possible to give, 
 in Mr. Lincoln’s amusing but quaint manner, the many 
 stories, anecdotes, and witticisms with which he inter- 
 larded and enlivened what with almost any of his 
 predecessors in the high office of President would have 
 been a grave, dry consultation. The great merit of 
 Mr. Lincoln’s stories, like Captain Bunsby’s opinion, 
 ‘ lays in the application on it.’ They always and 
 exactly suited the occasion and the object, and none 
 to which I ever listened seemed far-fetched or point- 
 less. I will attempt to repeat one of them. If I 
 
260 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 have an especial fondness for any particular luxury, 
 it manifests itself in a remarkable way when properly 
 made December sausages are placed before me. While 
 at breakfast, Judge Davis, noticing that, after having 
 been bountifully served with sausage, like Oliver Twist 
 I wanted some more, said, ‘ You seem fond of our 
 Illinois sausages.’ To which I responded affirmatively, 
 adding that I thought the article might be relied on 
 where pork was cheaper than dogs. ‘ That,’ said Mr. 
 Lincoln, ‘ reminds me of what occurred down at Joliet, 
 where a popular grocer supplied all the villagers with 
 sausages. One Saturday evening, when his grocery 
 was filled with customers for whom he and his boys 
 were busily engaged in weighing sausages, a neigh- 
 bor with whom he had had a violent quarrel that day, 
 came into the grocery and made his way up to the 
 counter holding by the tail two enormous dead cats 
 which he deliberately threw on to the counter, saying, 
 ‘ This makes seven to-day. I ’ll call around Monday 
 and get my money for them.’ ” 
 
 During the months intervening between his elec- 
 tion and his departure for Washington, Lincoln main- 
 tained a keen though quiet watchfulness of the threat- 
 ening aspect of affairs at the national capital and 
 throughout the South. He was careful not to commit 
 himself by needless utterances as to his future policy ; 
 but in all his demeanor, as a friend said, he displayed 
 the firmness and determination, without the temper, of 
 Jackson. In December following his election he wrote 
 the following letters to his intimate friend, Hon. E. B. 
 Washburne, then a member of Congress from Illinois: 
 
 Springfield, III., Dec. 13, 1860. 
 
 Hon. E. B. Washburne — My Dear Sir: Your 
 long letter received. Prevent, as far as possible, any 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 261 
 
 of our friends from demoralizing themselves and our 
 cause by entertaining propositions for compromise of 
 any sort on the slavery extension. There is no possible 
 compromise upon it but which puts us under again, 
 and leaves us all our work to do over again. Whether 
 it be a Missouri line, or Eli Thayer’s Popular Sover- 
 eignty, it is all the same. Let either be done, and im- 
 mediately filibustering and extending slavery recom- 
 mences. On that point hold firm, as with a chain of 
 steel. Yours as ever, A. Lincoln. 
 
 Springfield, III., Dec. 21, 1860. 
 
 Hon. E. B. Washbtirne — My Dear Sir: Last 
 night I received your letter giving an account of your 
 interview with General Scott, and for which I thank 
 you. Please present my respects to the General, and 
 tell him confidentially that I shall be obliged to him 
 to be as well prepared as he can to either hold or re- 
 take the forts, as the case may require, at and after 
 the inauguration. Yours as ever, A. Lincoln. 
 
 The Southern States, led on by South Carolina, 
 which formally severed its connection with the Union 
 November IT, 1860 (only eleven days after Lincoln’s 
 election), were preparing to dissolve their alliance with 
 the Free States. Mississippi passed the ordinance of 
 secession January 9, 1861; Florida followed on the 
 10th; Alabama on the 11th; Georgia on the 19th; 
 Louisiana on the 25th; and Texas on the 1st day of 
 February. The plans of the seceders went on, un- 
 molested by the Buchanan administration. South- 
 erners in the Cabinet and in Congress conspired to de- 
 plete the resources of the Government, leaving it help- 
 less to contest the assumptions of the revolted States. 
 The treasury was deliberately bankrupted; the ships 
 of the navy were banished to distant ports; the North- 
 ern arsenals were rifled to furnish arms for the seceded 
 
262 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 States ; the United States forts and armaments on the 
 Southern coast were delivered into the hands of the 
 enemy, with the exception of Fort Sumter, which was 
 gallantly held by Major Robert Anderson. While 
 this system of bold and unscrupulous treachery was 
 carried on by men in the highest places of trust, the 
 chief executive of the nation remained a passive spec- 
 tator. The South was in open rebellion, and the North 
 was powerless to interfere. The weeks prior to the 
 inauguration of the new administration dragged slowly 
 along, each day adding fresh cause for anxiety and 
 alarm. 
 
 Amidst these portentous scenes Lincoln, watching 
 them from a distance, maintained his calm and vigilant 
 attitude. No one knew better than he the significance 
 of these ominous events that were taking place at the 
 nation’s capital and in the disaffected States ; but 
 there was nothing he could do about them. His time 
 for action had not yet come. He said little, but 
 enough to show unmistakably what he thought of the 
 situation and what course he had resolved upon to 
 meet it. As early as December 17, 1860 — a little 
 more than a month after his election — in writing to 
 Thurlow Weed, he said: “ My opinion is that no State 
 can in any way get out of the Union without the con- 
 sent of the other States; and that it is the duty of the 
 President to run the machine as it is.” He had been 
 made the pilot of the ship of State, and his duty and 
 purpose were to save the vessel. 1 Upon this mighty 
 task were concentrated all the powers of his intellect 
 and will; and through all the desperate voyage that 
 followed he never wavered or faltered in his course, 
 
 1 On the very day of Lincoln’s arrival in Washington, he said to 
 some prominent men who had called upon him at his hotel, “ As the 
 country has placed me at the helm of the ship, I ’ll try to steer her 
 through.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 263 
 
 from the time of his supreme resolve, made in the quiet 
 of his country home, to the hour when 
 
 44 From fearful trip the victor ship came in with object 
 won ” — 
 
 but with her more than heroic but now victorious Cap- 
 tain “ fallen cold and dead ” upon her deck. 
 
 As the winter wore away, and the time for Lincoln’s 
 inauguration as President drew near, he began making 
 preparation for leaving the familiar scenes where his 
 life had thus far been spent. Early in February he 
 made a parting visit to his relatives in Coles County, to 
 whom in this hour of grave trial and anxiety his heart 
 turned with fresh yearning. He spent a night at 
 Charleston, where his cousin Dennis Hanks, and Mrs. 
 Colonel Chapman, a daughter of Dennis, resided. 
 We are told that 44 the people crowded by hundreds 
 to see him ; and he was serenaded by ‘ both the string 
 and brass bands of the town, but declined making a 
 speech.” The following morning he passed on to 
 Farmington, to the home of his beloved step-mother, 
 who was living with her daughter, Mrs. Moore. Mr. 
 Lamon relates that 44 the meeting between him and the 
 old lady was of a most affectionate and tender char- 
 acter. She fondled him as her own 4 Abe,’ and he her 
 as his own mother. Then Lincoln arid Colonel Chap- 
 man drove to the house of John Hall, who lived on the 
 old 4 Lincoln farm ’ where Abe split the celebrated 
 rails and fenced in the little clearing in 1830. Thence 
 they went to the spot where Lincoln’s father was 
 buried. The grave was unmarked and utterly neg- 
 lected. Lincoln said he wanted to 4 have it enclosed, 
 and a suitable tombstone erected,’ ” and gave the neces- 
 sary instructions for this purpose. 44 We then re- 
 turned,” says Colonel Chapman, 44 to Farmington, 
 where we found a large crowd of citizens — nearly 
 
264 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 all old acquaintances — waiting to see him. His re- 
 ception was very enthusiastic, and seemed to gratify 
 him very much. After taking dinner at his step- 
 sister’s (Mrs. Moore’s), he returned to Charleston. 
 Our conversation during the trip was mostly concern- 
 ing family affairs. On the way down to Farming- 
 ton Mr. Lincoln spoke to me of his step-mother in the 
 most affectionate manner; said she had been his best 
 friend, and that no son could love a mother more than 
 he loved her. He also told me of the condition of 
 his father’s family at the time he married his step- 
 mother, and of the change she made in the family, and 
 of the encouragement he had received from her. . . . 
 He spoke of his father, and related some amusing in- 
 cidents of the bull-dog’s biting the old man on his 
 return from New Orleans; of the old man’s escape, 
 when a boy, from an Indian who was shot by his uncle 
 Mordecai, etc. He spoke of his uncle Mordecai as 
 being a man of very great natural gifts. At Charles- 
 ton we found the house crowded by people wishing 
 to see him. The crowd finally became so great that 
 it was decided to hold a public reception at the Town 
 Hall that evening at seven o’clock; until then Lin- 
 coln wished to be left with relatives and friends. At 
 the Town Hall large numbers of people from the town 
 and surrounding country, irrespective of party, called 
 to see him. His reception by his old acquaintances 
 \ was very gratifying to him.” 
 
 A characteristic anecdote showing Lincoln’s friend- 
 ship and love of old associations is told among those 
 relating to his last days at Springfield. When he 
 was about to leave for Washington he went to the 
 dingy little law office, sat down on the couch, and said 
 to his law-partner, Herndon, “ Billy, you and I have 
 been together nearly twenty years, and have never 
 ‘ passed a word.’ Will you let my name stay on the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 265 
 
 old sign till I come back from Washington? ” The 
 tears started to Mr. Herndon’s eyes. He put out 
 his hand. “ Mr. Lincoln,” said he, “ I will never have 
 any other partner while you live ” ; and to the day 
 of the assassination all the doings of the firm were 
 in the name of “ Lincoln & Herndon.” 
 
 Governor Bross, of Illinois, relates that he was with 
 Lincoln at Springfield on the day before he left for 
 Washington. “ We were walking slowly to his home 
 from some place where we had met, and the condition 
 and prospects of the country, and his vast respon- 
 sibility in assuming the position of President, were the 
 subjects of his thoughts. These were discussed with 
 a breadth and anxiety full of that pathos peculiar 
 to Mr. Lincoln in his thoughtful moods. He seemed 
 to have a thorough prescience of the dangers through 
 which his administration was to pass. No President, 
 he said, had ever had before him such vast and far- 
 reaching responsibilities. He regarded war — — long, 
 bitter, and dreadful — as almost sure to come. He 
 distinctly and reverently placed his hopes for the 
 result in the strength and guidance of Him on whom 
 Washington relied in the darkest hours of the Revo- 
 lution. He would take the place to which Providence 
 and his countrymen had called him, and do the best 
 he could for the integrity and the welfare of the 
 Republic. For himself, he scarcely expected ever to 
 see Illinois again.” 
 
 On the morning of the 11th of February, 1861, 
 Lincoln left his home in Springfield for the scene where 
 he was to spend the most anxious, toilsome, and painful 
 years of his life. An elaborate programme had been 
 prepared for his journey to Washington, which was to 
 conduct him through the principal cities of Indiana, 
 Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Mary- 
 land, and consume much of the time intervening before 
 
266 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the 4th of March. Special trains, preceded by pilot- 
 engines, were prepared for his accommodation. He 
 was accompanied at his departure by his wife and three 
 sons, and a party of friends, including Governor Yates, 
 ex-Governor Moore, Dr. W. M. Wallace (his brother- 
 in-law), N. B. Judd, O. H. Browning, Ward H. Lamon, 
 David Davis, Col. E. E. Ellsworth, and John M. Haj f 
 and J. G. Nicolay, the two latter to be his private 
 secretaries. Mr. Lamon thus graphically describes the 
 incidents of his leave-taking: “It was a gloomy day; 
 heavy clouds floated overhead, and a cold rain was 
 falling. Long before eight o’clock a great mass of 
 people had collected at the railway station. At pre- 
 cisely five minutes before eight, Mr. Lincoln, pre- 
 ceded by Mr. Wood, emerged from a private room in 
 the depot building, and passed slowly to the car, the 
 people falling back respectfully on either side, and as 
 many as possible shaking his hands. Having reached 
 the train, he ascended the rear platform, and, facing 
 about to the throng which had closed around him, drew 
 himself up to his full height, removed his hat, and 
 stood for several seconds in profound silence. His eye 
 roved sadly over that sea of upturned faces, as if 
 seeking to read in them the sympathy and friendship 
 which he never needed more than then. There was 
 an unusual quiver in his lip, and a still more unusual 
 tear on his shriveled cheek. His solemn manner, his 
 long silence, were as full of melancholy eloquence as 
 any words he could have uttered. What did he think 
 of? Of the mighty changes which had lifted him from 
 the lowest to the highest estate on earth? Of the 
 weary road which had brought him to this lofty 
 summit? Of his poor mother lying beneath the tan- 
 gled underbrush in a distant forest? Of that other 
 grave in the quiet Concord cemetery? Whatever the 
 character of his thoughts, it is evident that they wei’e 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 267 
 
 retrospective and sad. To those who were anxiously 
 waiting to catch his words it seemed long until he 
 had mastered his feelings sufficiently to speak. At 
 length he began, in a husky voice, and slowly and im- 
 pressively delivered his farewell to his neighbors. 
 Imitating his example, many in the crowd stood with 
 heads uncovered in the fast-falling rain.” Abraham 
 Lincoln spoke none but true and sincere words, and 
 none more true and heartfelt ever fell from his lips 
 than these, so laden with pathos, with humility, with 
 a craving for the sympathy of his friends and the 
 people, and for help above and beyond all earthly power 
 and love. 
 
 My Friends: — No one not in my position can real- 
 ize the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people 
 I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a 
 quarter of a century. Here my children were born, 
 and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon 
 I shall see you again. I go to assume a task more 
 difficult than that which has devolved upon any other 
 man since the days of Washington. He never would 
 have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, 
 upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot 
 succeed without the same Divine blessing which sus- 
 tained him ; and on the same Almighty Being I place 
 mv reliance for support. And I hope you, my friends, 
 will all pray that I may receive that Divine assistance, 
 without which I cannot succeed, but with which suc- 
 cess is certain. Again I bid you an affectionate 
 farewell. 
 
 The route chosen for the journey to Washington, 
 as has been stated, was a circuitous one. It seems to 
 have been Lincoln’s desire to meet personally the 
 people of the great Northern States upon whose devo- 
 tion and loyalty he .prophetically felt he must depend 
 for the salvation of the Republic. Everywhere he 
 
208 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 met the warmest and most generous greetings from 
 the throngs assembled at the railway stations in the 
 various cities through which he passed. At Indianapo- 
 lis, where the first important halt was made, cannon 
 announced the arrival of the party, and a royal wel- 
 come was accorded the distinguished traveler. In 
 this, as in the other cities at which he stopped, Lin- 
 coln made a brief address to the people. His remarks 
 were well considered and temperate ; his manner was 
 serious, his expressions thoughtful and full of feeling. 
 He entreated the people to be calm and patient ; to 
 stand by the principles of liberty inwrought into the 
 fabric of the Constitution ; to have faith in the 
 strength and reality of the Government, and faith in 
 his purpose to discharge his duties honestly and im- 
 partially. He referred continually to his trust in the 
 Almighty Ruler of the Universe to guide the nation 
 safely out of its present peril and perplexity. “ I 
 judge,” he said at Columbus, “ that all we want is time 
 and patience, and a reliance in that God who has never 
 forsaken His people.” Again, he said : “ Let the 
 
 people on both sides keep their self-possession, and 
 just as other clouds have cleared away in due time, so 
 will this ; and this great nation shall continue to 
 prosper as heretofore.” Alluding more definitely to 
 his purposes for the future, he declared : “ I shall do 
 all that may be in my power to promote a peaceful 
 settlement of all our difficulties. The man does not live 
 who is more devoted to peace than I am — none who 
 would do more to preserve it. But it may be necessary 
 to put the foot down firmly .” 
 
 At the conclusion of Lincoln’s speech at Columbus, 
 a tremendous crowd surged forward to shake his hand. 
 Says Dr. Holland : “ Every man in the crowd was 
 anxious to wrench the hand of Abraham Lincoln. He 
 finally gave both hands to the work, with great good 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 269 
 
 nature. To quote one of the reports of the occasion: 
 ‘ People plunged at his arms with frantic enthusiasm, 
 and all the infinite variety of shakes, from the wild and 
 irrepressible pump-handle movement to the dead grip, 
 was executed upon the devoted dexter and sinister of 
 the President. Some glanced at his face as they 
 grasped his hand; others invoked the blessings of 
 heaven upon him; others affectionately gave him their 
 last gasping assurance of devotion; others, bewildered 
 and furious, with hats crushed over their eyes, seized 
 his hands in a convulsive grasp, and passed on as if 
 they had not the remotest idea who, what, or where 
 they were.’ The President at last escaped, and took 
 refuge in the Governor’s residence, although he held a 
 levee at the State House in the evening, where in a 
 more quiet way he met many prominent citizens.” 
 
 At Cincinnati, where Lincoln had had so distasteful 
 an experience a few years before, a magnificent ovation 
 greeted him. The scene is described by one who wit- 
 nessed it — Hon. William Henry Smith, at that time 
 a resident of Cincinnati. “ It was on the 13th of 
 February that Mr. Lincoln reached the Queen City. 
 The day was mild for mid-winter, but the sky was 
 overcast with clouds, emblematic of the gloom that 
 filled the hearts of the unnumbered thousands who 
 thronged the streets and covered the house-tops. Lin- 
 coln rode in an open carriage, standing erect with 
 uncovered head, and steadying himself by holding on 
 to a board fastened to the front part of the vehicle. 
 A more uncomfortable ride than this, over the boul- 
 dered streets of Cincinnati, cannot well be imagined. 
 Perhaps a journey over the broken roads of Eastern 
 Russia, in a tarantass, would secure to the traveler as 
 great a degree of discomfort. Mr. Lincoln bore it 
 with characteristic patience. His face was very sad, 
 but he seemed to take a deep interest in everything. 
 
270 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 It was not without due consideration that the Presi- 
 dent-elect touched on the border of a slave State on 
 his way to the capital. In his speech in reply to the 
 Mayor of Cincinnati, recognizing the fact that among 
 his auditors were thousands of Kentuckians, he ad- 
 dressed them directly, calling them ‘ Friends,’ ‘ Breth- 
 ren.’ He reminded them that when speaking in Fifth 
 Street Market square in 1859 he had promised that 
 when the Republicans came into power they would 
 treat the Southern or slave-holding people as Wash- 
 ington, Jefferson, and Madison treated them; that 
 they would interfere with their institutions in no way, 
 but abide by all and every compromise of the Con- 
 stitution, and ‘ recognize and bear in mind always that 
 you have as good hearts in your bosoms as other 
 people, or as we claim to have, and treat you accord- 
 ingly.’ Then, to emphasize this, he said — in a pas- 
 sage omitted by Mr. Raymond and all other biog- 
 raphers of Lincoln — 
 
 And now, fellow-citizens of Ohio, have you who agree 
 in political sentiment with him who now addresses you 
 ever entertained other sentiments towards our breth- 
 ren of Kentucky than those I have expressed to you? 
 [ Loud and repeated cries of ‘ No! ’ ‘ No! ’] If not, 
 then why shall we not, as heretofore, be recognized and 
 acknowledged as brethren again, living in peace and 
 harmony, one with another? [ Cries of ‘ We will! ’] 
 I take your response as the most reliable evidence that 
 it may be so, along with other evidence, trusting to the 
 good sense of the American people, on all sides of all 
 rivers in America, under the Providence of God, who 
 has never deserted us, that we shall again be brethren, 
 forgetting all parties — ignoring all parties. 
 
 “ This statesmanlike expression of conservative 
 opinion,” continues Mr. Smith, “ alarmed some of the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 271 
 
 Republicans, who feared that the new President might 
 sell out his party; and steps were taken, later in the 
 day, to remind him of certain principles deemed funda- 
 mental by those who had been attracted to the party 
 of Freedom. The sequel will show how this was done, 
 and how successfully Mr. Lincoln met the unexpected 
 attack. In the evening I called, with other citizens, at 
 Mr. Lincoln’s rooms at the Burnet House to pay my 
 respects. Mr. Lincoln had put off the melancholy 
 mood that appeared to control him during the day, and 
 was entertaining those present with genial, even lively, 
 conversation. The pleasant entertainment was inter- 
 rupted by the announcement that a delegation of 
 German workingmen were about to serenade Mr. Lin- 
 coln. Proceeding to the balcony, there were seen the 
 faces of nearly two thousand of the substantial Ger- 
 man citizens who had voted for Mr.- Lincoln because 
 they believed him to be a stout champion of free labor 
 and free homesteads. The remarks of their spokesman, 
 Frederick Oberkleine, set forth in clear terms what 
 they expected. He said: 
 
 We, the German free workingmen of Cincinnati, avail 
 ourselves of this opportunity to assure you, our chosen 
 Chief Magistrate, of our sincere and heartfelt regard. 
 You earned our votes as the champion of Free Labor 
 and Free Homesteads. Our vanquished opponents 
 have, in recent times, made frequent use of the terms 
 “ Workingmen ” and “ Workingmen’s Meetings,” in 
 order to create an impression that the mass of work- 
 ingmen were in favor of compromises between the in- 
 terests of free labor and slave labor, bp which the vic- 
 tory just won would be turned into a defeat. This 
 is a despicable device of dishonest men. We spurn such 
 compromises. We firmly adhere to the principles which 
 directed our votes in your favor. We trust that you, 
 the self-reliant because self-made man, will uphold the 
 
272 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Constitution and the laws against secret treachery and 
 avowed treason. If to this end you should be in need 
 of men, the German free workingmen, with others, will 
 rise as one man at your call, ready to risk their lives in 
 the effort to maintain the victory already won by free- 
 dom over slavery. 
 
 “ This was bringing the rugged issue boldly to the 
 front, and challenging the President-elect to meet the 
 issue or risk the loss of the support of an important 
 section of his own party. Oberkleine spoke with great 
 effect, but the remarks were hardly his own. Some 
 abler man had put into his mouth these significant 
 words. Mr. Lincoln replied, very deliberately, but 
 without hesitation, as follows: 
 
 Me. Chairman : — I thank you, and those you repre- 
 sent, for the compliment paid me by the tender of 
 this address. In so far as there is an allusion to our 
 present national difficulty, and the suggestion of the 
 views of the gentlemen who present this address, I 
 beg you will excuse me from entering particularly upon 
 it. I deem it due to myself and the wdiole country, in 
 the present extraordinary condition of the country 
 and of public opinion, that I should wait and see the 
 last development of public opinion before I give my 
 views or express myself at the time of the inaugura- 
 tion. I hope at that time to be false to nothing you 
 have been taught to' expect of me. [ Cheers .] 
 
 I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, and with the ad- 
 dress of your constituents, in the declaration that 
 workingmen are the basis of all governments. That 
 remark is due to them more than to any other class, 
 for the reason that there are more of them than of 
 any other class. And as your address is presented to 
 me not only on behalf of workingmen, but especially 
 of Germans, I may say a word as to classes. I hold 
 that the value of life is to improve one’s condition. 
 Whatever is calculated to advance the condition of 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 273 
 
 the honest, struggling laboring man, so far as my 
 judgment will enable me to judge of a correct thing, 
 I am for that thing. 
 
 An allusion has been made to the Homestead Law. 
 I think it worthy of consideration, and that the wild 
 lands of the country should be distributed so that 
 every man should have the means and opportunity of 
 benefiting his condition. [ Cheers .] I have said that 
 I do not desire to enter into details, nor will I. 
 
 In regard to Germans and foreigners, I esteem for- 
 eigners no better than other people - — - nor any worse. 
 [Laughter and cheers .] They are all of the great 
 family of men, and if there is one shackle upon any 
 of them it would be far better to lift the load from 
 them than to pile additional loads upon them. 
 [ Cheers .] And inasmuch as the continent of America 
 is comparatively a new country, and the other coun- 
 tries of the world are old countries, there is more room 
 here, comparatively speaking, than there is elsewhere ; 
 and if they can better their condition by leaving their 
 old homes, there is nothing in my heart to forbid them 
 coming, and I bid them all God speed. [ Cheers .] 
 Again, gentlemen, thanking you for your address, I 
 bid you good night. 
 
 “ If anyone,” says Mr. Smith, “ had expected to 
 trap Mr. Lincoln into imprudent utterances, or the 
 indulgence of the rhetoric of a demagogue, this ad- 
 mirable reply showed how completely they were disap- 
 pointed. The preservation of this speech is due to 
 my accidental presence. The visitation of the Ger- 
 mans was not on the programme, and none of the 
 representatives of the press charged with the duty of 
 reporting the events of the day were present. Ob- 
 serving this, I took short-hand notes on the envelope 
 of an old letter loaned me for the occasion, and after- 
 wards wrote them out. The words of Mr. Lincoln, 
 exactly as spoken, are given above.” 
 
274 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 At Cleveland the party remained over for a day, 
 and Lincoln was greeted with the usual friendly enthu- 
 siasm. An immense crowd met him at the depot, and 
 he was escorted to the Weddell House, where a recep- 
 tion was given him in the evening. Hon. A. G. Riddle, 
 then a resident of Cleveland, and a newly elected 
 member of the Congress which was to share with Lin- 
 coln the burdens and responsibilities of the Civil War, 
 was present on that occasion, and furnishes the follow- 
 ing interesting personal recollections of it : “I saw 
 Abraham Lincoln for the first time, at the Weddell 
 House that evening. He stood on the landing-place 
 at the top of a broad stairway, and the crowd ap- 
 proached him from below. This gave him an exag- 
 gerated advantage of his six feet four inches of length. 
 The shapelessness of the lathy form, the shock of 
 coarse black hair surmounting the large head, the re- 
 treating forehead - — these were not apparent where we 
 stood. My heart sprang up to him — the coming man. 
 Of the thousand times I afterward saw him, the first 
 view remains the most distinct impression ; and never 
 again to me was he more imposing. As we approached, 
 someone whispered of me to him; he took my hand in 
 both his for an instant, and we wheeled into the al- 
 ready crowded rooms. His manner was strongly West- 
 ern ; his speech and pronunciation Southwestern. 
 Wholly without self-consciousness with men, he was 
 constrained and ill at ease when surrounded, as he 
 several times was, by fashionably dressed ladies. One 
 incident of the evening I particularly recall. Ab 
 McElrath was in the crowd — a handsome giant, an 
 Apollo in youth, of about Mr. Lincoln’s height. What 
 brought it about, I do not know ; but I saw them stand- 
 ing back to back, in a contest of altitude — Mr. Lin- 
 coln and Ab McElrath — the President-elect, the 
 chosen, the nation’s leader in the thick-coming dark- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 275 
 
 ness, and the tavern-keeper and fox-hunter. The crowd 
 applauded. 
 
 “ Mr. Lincoln presented me to the gentlemen of 
 his party — Mr. Browning, Mr. Judd, and Mr. Lamon, 
 I remember, as I later became very well acquainted 
 with them ; also the rough-looking Colonel Sumner of 
 the army. Mr. Lincoln invited me to accompany him 
 for at least a day on his eastward journey. I joined 
 him the next morning at the station. The vivacity of 
 the night before had utterly vanished, and the rudely 
 sculptured cliffy face struck me as one of the saddest 
 I had ever seen. The eyes especially had a depth of 
 melancholy which I had never seen in human eyes 
 before. Some things he wished to know from me, 
 especially regarding Mr. Chase, whom, among others, 
 he had called to Springfield. He asked me no direct 
 questions, but I very soon found myself speaking freely 
 to him, and was able to explain some not well-known 
 features of Ohio politics — and much to his satisfac- 
 tion, as he let me see. There was then some talk of 
 Mr. Seward, and more of Senator Cameron. All three 
 had been his rivals at Chicago, and were, as I then 
 thought, in his mind as possible Cabinet ministers ; 
 although no word was said by him of such an idea in 
 reference to either. Presently he conducted me to 
 Mrs. Lincoln, whom I had not before seen. Present- 
 ing me, he returned to the gentlemen of the party, and 
 I saw little more of him except once when he returned 
 to us, before I left the train. Mrs. Lincoln impressed 
 me very favorably, as a woman of spirit, intelligence, 
 and decided opinions, which she put very clearly. Our 
 conversation was mainly of her husband. I remarked 
 that all the likenesses I had ever seen of him did him 
 injustice. This evidently pleased her. I suggested 
 that a full beard from the underlip down (his face 
 was shaven) would relieve and help him very much. 
 
276 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 This interested her, and we discussed it and the char- 
 acter of his face quite fully. The impression I then 
 formed of this most unfortunate lady was only deep- 
 ened by the pleasant acquaintance she permitted, down 
 to the time of the national calamity, which unsettled 
 - her mind as I always thought.” 
 
 Of the New York City visit, an excellent account is 
 given by the distinguished preacher and writer, Dr. S. 
 Irenaeus Prime. “ The country was at that moment,” 
 says Dr. Prime, “ in the first throes of the great 
 rebellion. Millions of hearts were beating anxiously in 
 view of the advent to power of this untried man. Had 
 he been called of God to the throne of power at such 
 a time as this, to be the leader and deliverer of the 
 people? As the carriage in which he sat passed slowly 
 by me on the Fifth avenue, he was looking weary, 
 sad, feeble, and faint. My disappointment was ex- 
 cessive ; so great, indeed, as to be almost overwhelming. 
 He did not look to me to be the man for the hour. 
 The next day I was with him and others in the Gov- 
 ernor’s room in the City Hall, when the Mayor of the 
 city made an official address. Mr. Lincoln’s reply was 
 so modest, firm, patriotic, and pertinent, that my 
 fears of the day before began to subside, and I saw 
 in this new man a promise of great things to come. 
 It was not boldness or dash, or high-sounding pledges ; 
 nor did he while in office, with the mighty armies of 
 a roused nation at his command, ever assume to be 
 more than he promised in that little upper chamber 
 in New York, on his journey to the seat of Govern- 
 ment, to take the helm of the ship of state then tossing 
 in the storm.” 
 
 Before the end of the journey, strong fears pre- 
 vailed in the minds of Lincoln’s friends that an at- 
 tempt would be made to assassinate him before he 
 should reach Washington. Every precaution was 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 277 
 
 taken to thwart such endeavor ; although Lincoln him- 
 self was disturbed by no thought of danger. He had 
 done, he contemplated doing, no wrong, no injustice 
 to any citizen of the United States ; why then should 
 there be a desire to strike him down? Thus he 
 reasoned ; and he was free from any dread of personal 
 peril. But the officials of the railroads over which 
 he was to pass, and his friends in Washington, felt 
 that there was cause for apprehension. It was believed 
 by them that a plot existed for making away with Lin- 
 coln while passing through Baltimore, a city in the 
 heart of a slave State, and rife with the spirit of 
 rebellion. Detectives had been employed to discover 
 the facts in the matter, and their reports served to 
 confirm the most alarming conjectures. A messenger 
 was despatched from Washington to intercept the 
 Presidential party and warn Lincoln of the impending 
 danger. Dr. Holland states that “ the detective and 
 Mr. Lincoln reached Philadelphia nearly at the same 
 time, and there the former submitted to a few of the 
 President’s friends the information he had secured. 
 An interview between Mr. Lincoln and the detective 
 was immediately arranged, and took place in the apart- 
 ments of the former at the Continental Hotel. Mr. 
 Lincoln, having heard the officer’s statement in detail, 
 then informed him that he had promised to raise the 
 American flag on Independence Hall the following 
 morning — the anniversary of Washington’s birthday 
 — and that he had accepted an invitation to a recep- 
 tion by the Pennsylvania Legislature in the afternoon 
 of the same day. ‘ Both of these engagements I will 
 keep,’ said Mr. Lincoln, ‘ if it costs me my life’ For 
 the rest, he authorized the detective to make such ar- 
 rangements as he thought proper for his safe conduct 
 to Washington.” 
 
 In the meantime, according to Dr. Holland, General 
 
278 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Scott and Senator Seward, both of whom were in 
 Washington, learned from independent sources that 
 Lincoln’s life was in danger, and concurred in sending 
 Mr. Frederick W. Seward to Philadelphia to urge upon 
 him the necessity of proceeding immediately to Wash- 
 ington in a quiet way. The messenger arrived late on 
 Thursday night, after Lincoln had retired, and re- 
 quested an audience. Lincoln’s fears had already 
 been aroused, and he was cautious, of course, in the 
 matter of receiving a stranger. But satisfied that the 
 messenger was indeed the son of Mr. Seward, he re- 
 ceived him. Nothing needed to be done except to 
 inform him of the plan entered into with the detec- 
 tive, by which the President was to arrive in Wash- 
 ington early on Saturday morning, in advance of 
 his family and party. 
 
 On the morning of the 22d, Lincoln, as he had prom- 
 ised, attended the flag-raising at Independence Hall 
 in Philadelphia, the historic building in which had been 
 adopted the Declaration of Independence. The occa- 
 sion was a memorable one, and Lincoln’s address elo- 
 quent and impressive. “ All the political sentiments 
 I entertain,” said he, “ have been drawn from the 
 sentiments which were given to the world from this 
 hall.” He spoke calmly but firmly of his resolve to 
 stand by the principles of the immortal Declaration 
 and of the Constitution of his country ; and, as though 
 conscious of the dangers of his position, he added 
 solemnly : “ I have said nothing but what I am willing 
 to live by, and, if it be the 'pleasure of Almighty God, 
 to die by” 
 
 From Philadelphia Lincoln went immediately to 
 Harrisburg, and attended the reception given him by 
 the Pennsylvania Legislature, in the afternoon of the 
 same day. Then, leaving his hotel in the evening, at- 
 tended only by Mr. Lamon and the detective (Mr. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 279 
 
 Allan Pinkerton), he was driven to the depot, where 
 he took the regular train for Washington. The train 
 passed through Baltimore in the night, and early the 
 next morning (February 23) reached the capital. Mr. 
 Washburne, who had been notified to be at the depot on 
 the arrival of the train, says : “ I planted myself 
 
 behind one of the great pillars in the old Washington 
 and Baltimore depot, where I could see and not be 
 observed. Presently, the train came rumbling in on 
 time. When it came to a stop I watched with fear 
 and trembling to see the passengers descend. I saw 
 every car emptied, and there was no Mr. Lincoln. I 
 was well-nigh in despair, and when about to leave I 
 saw three persons slowly emerge from the last sleep- 
 ing-car. I could not mistake the long, lank form of 
 Mr. Lincoln, and my heart bounded with joy and grati- 
 tude. He had on a soft low-crowned hat, a muffler 
 around his neck, and a short overcoat. Anyone who 
 knew him at that time could not have failed to recog- 
 nize him at once; but I must confess he looked more 
 like a well-to-do farmer from one of the back towns 
 of Jo Daviess County, coming to Washington to see 
 the city, take out his land warrant and get the patent 
 for his farm, than the President of the United States. 
 The only persons that accompanied Mr. Lincoln were 
 Pinkerton, the well-known detective, and Ward H. 
 Lamon. When they were fairly on the platform, and a 
 short distance from the car, I stepped forward and 
 accosted the President: ‘ How are you, Lincoln? ’ At 
 this unexpected and rather familiar salutation the 
 gentlemen were apparently somewhat startled ; but 
 Mr. Lincoln, who had recognized me, relieved them at 
 once by remarking in his peculiar voice : ‘ This is only 
 Washburne ! ’ Then we all exchanged congratulations, 
 and walked out to the front of the depot, where I had 
 a carriage in waiting. Entering the carriage (all four 
 
280 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of us), we drove rapidly to Willard’s Hotel, entering 
 x on Fourteenth Street, before it was fairly daylight.” 
 
 General Stone, who was in command at Washing- 
 ton at that time, states that both General Scott and 
 himself “ considered it almost a certainty that Mr. 
 Lincoln could not pass through Baltimore alive on the 
 day fixed,” and adds : “ I recommended that Mr. Lin- 
 coln should be officially warned ; and suggested that 
 it would be best that he should take the train that 
 evening from Philadelphia, and so reach Washington 
 early the next day. General Scott directed me to see 
 Mr. Seward, to whom he wrote a few lines, which he 
 handed me. I did not succeed in finding Mr. Seward 
 until past noon. I handed him the General’s note. 
 He listened attentively to what I said, and asked me 
 to write down my information and suggestions. Then, 
 taking the paper I had written, he hastily left. The 
 note I wrote was what Mr. Frederick Seward car- 
 ried to Mr. Lincoln in Philadelphia. Mr. Lincoln has 
 stated that it was this note which induced him to change 
 his journey as he did. The stories of disguises are all 
 nonsense. Mr. Lincoln merely took the sleeping-car 
 in the night train.” 
 
 There is little doubt that the fears of Lincoln’s 
 friends regarding his passage through Baltimore were 
 well grounded; and that but for the timely warnings 
 and precautions the assassination of April, 1865, 
 might have taken place in February of 1861. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Lincoln at the Helm — First Days in Washington — Meeting Public 
 Men and Discussing Public Affairs — The Inauguration — The 
 Inaugural Address — A New Era Begun — Lincoln in the White 
 House — The First Cabinet — The President and the Office- 
 seekers — Southern Prejudice against Lincoln — Ominous Portents, 
 but Lincoln not Dismayed — The President’s Reception Room — 
 Varied Impressions of the New President — Guarding the White 
 House. 
 
 HE week following Lincoln’s arrival in Washing- 
 
 1 ton, and preceding his inauguration, was for him 
 one of incessant activity. From almost the first mo- 
 ment he was engrossed either in preparations for his in- 
 auguration and the official responsibilities which would 
 immediately follow that event, or in receiving the dis- 
 tinguished callers who hastened to meet him and in 
 discussing with them the grave aspects of political 
 affairs. Without rest or opportunity to survey the 
 field that lay before him, or any preparations save 
 such as the resources of his own strong character 
 might afford him, he was plunged instantly into the 
 great political maelstrom in which he was to remain for 
 four long years, and whose wild vortex might well 
 have bewildered an eye less sure, a will less resolute, 
 and a brain less cool than his. As Emerson put it, 
 “ The new pilot was hurried to the helm in a tornado.” 
 
 “ Mr. Lincoln’s headquarters,” says Congressman 
 Riddle of Ohio, “ were at Willard’s Hotel ; and the 
 few days before the inauguration were given up to a 
 continuous reception in the broad corridor of the 
 second floor, near the stairway. I remember a notable 
 morning when the majestic General Scott, in full dress, 
 
282 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 sword, plumes, and bullion, came to pay his respects to 
 the incoming President. The scene was impressive. 
 By the unknown law that ruled his spirits, Mr. Lincoln 
 was at his best, complete master of himself and of all 
 who came within the magic of his presence. Never 
 was he happier, speaking most of the time, flashing 
 with anecdote and story. That time now seems as 
 remote as things of a hundred years ago. The war 
 antiquated all that went before it. The Washington, 
 the men, the spirit of that now ancient time, have 
 faded past all power to recall and reproduce them. 
 The real Washington was as essentially Southern as 
 Richmond or Baltimore. ‘ Lincoln and his vandals,’ 
 fresh from the North and West, were thronging the 
 wide, squat, unattractive city, from which the bolder 
 \ and braver rebel element had not yet departed.” 
 
 Dr. George B. Loring, of Massachusetts, who was 
 one of the first to meet Lincoln after his arrival in 
 Washington, says : “ I saw him on his arrival, and 
 when he made his first appearance in a public place. 
 I was standing in the upper hall of Willard’s Hotel, 
 conversing with a friend and listening to the confused 
 talk of the crowded drawing-room adjoining. As we 
 stood there, a tall and awkward form appeared above 
 the stairs, especially conspicuous, as it came into view, 
 for a new and stylish hat. It was evidently President 
 Lincoln, whom neither of us had seen before. As soon 
 as his presence was known, the hall was thronged from 
 the drawing-rooms. He seemed somewhat startled by 
 the crowd, did not remove his hat, wended his way 
 somewhat rapidly and with mere passing recognition, 
 and took shelter in his room. When the crowd had 
 dispersed, my friend and myself — although we had 
 opposed his election — called upon him to pay our 
 respects. He received us with great cordiality, spoke 
 freely of the difficulties by which he was surrounded, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 283 
 
 and referred with evident satisfaction to the support 
 he had received in Massachusetts. ‘ I like your man 
 Banks,’ said he, ‘ and have tried to find a place for him 
 in my Cabinet ; but I am afraid I shall not quite fetch 
 it.’ He bore the marks of anxiety in his countenance, 
 which, in its expression of patience, determination, 
 resolve, and deep innate modesty, was extremely 
 touching.” 
 
 Before leaving Springfield Lincoln had prepared 
 his inaugural message with great care, and placed it 
 in a “ gripsack ” for transportation to Washington. 
 An odd incident, by which the message came near being 
 lost on the journey, was afterwards related by Lin- 
 coln to a friend. When the party reached Harrisburg 
 Lincoln asked his son Robert where the message was, 
 and was taken aback by his son’s confession that in the 
 excitement caused by the enthusiastic reception he be- 
 lieved he had let a waiter have the gripsack. Lincoln, 
 in narrating the incident, said : “ My heart went up 
 into my mouth, and I started downstairs, where I 
 was told that if a waiter had taken the gripsack I 
 should probably find it in the baggage-room. Going 
 there, I saw a large pile of gripsacks and other bag- 
 gage, and thought that I discovered mine. My key 
 fitted it, but on opening there was nothing inside but 
 a few paper collars and a flask of whisky. A few 
 moments afterward I came across my own gripsack, 
 with the document in it all right.” 
 
 The fourth of March soon came, and with it the 
 impressive ceremonies of Lincoln’s inauguration as 
 President. A good description of the scene is given 
 by Dr. J. G. Holland. “ The morning broke beauti- 
 fully clear, and it found General Scott and the Wash- 
 ington police in readiness. In the hearts of the surg- 
 ing crowds there was anxiety ; but outside all looked 
 as usual on such occasions, with the exception of an 
 
284 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 extraordinary display of soldiers. The public build- 
 ings, the schools, and most of the places of business, 
 were closed during the day, and the stars and stripes 
 were floating from every flag-staff. There was a 
 great desire to hear Lincoln’s inaugural ; and at an 
 early hour Pennsylvania Avenue was full of people 
 wending their way to the east front of the Capitol 
 where it was to be delivered. As the Presidential party 
 reached the platform erected for the ceremonies, Sena- 
 tor Baker of Oregon, one of Lincoln’s old friends and 
 political rivals in Illinois, introduced him to the as- 
 sembly. There was not a very hearty welcome given 
 to the President as he stepped forward to read his 
 inaugural. The reading was listened to with profound 
 attention, those passages which contained any allusion 
 to the Union being vociferously cheered. None listened 
 more carefully than Mr. Buchanan and Judge Taney, 
 the latter of whom, with noticeable agitation, admin- 
 istered the oath of office to Mr. Lincoln when his 
 address was ended.” 
 
 Another eye-witness has described the dramatic 
 scene, and the principal actors in it, in the following 
 graphic paragraphs: “Near noon I found myself a 
 member of the motley crowd gathered around the side 
 entrance to Willard’s Hotel. Soon an open barouche 
 drove up, and the only occupant stepped out. A large, 
 heav} r , awkward-moving man, far advanced in years, 
 short and thin gray hair, full face plentifully seamed 
 and wrinkled, head curiously inclined to the left shoul- 
 der, a low-crowned, broad-brimmed silk hat, an im- 
 mense white cravat like a poultice thrusting the old- 
 fashioned standing collar up to the ears, dressed in 
 black throughout, with swallow-tail coat not of the 
 newest style. It was President Buchanan, calling to 
 take his successor to the Capitol. In a few minutes 
 he reappeared, with Mr. Lincoln on his arm; the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 285 
 
 two took seats side by side, and the carriage rolled 
 away, followed by a rather disorderly and certainly not 
 very imposing procession. I had ample time to walk 
 to the Capitol, and no difficulty in securing a place 
 where everything could be seen and heard to the best 
 advantage. The attendance at the inauguration was, 
 they told me, unusually small ; many being kept away 
 by anticipated disturbance, as it had been ru- 
 mored — not without good grounds — that General 
 Scott himself was fearful of an outbreak, and had 
 made all possible military preparations to meet the 
 emergency. A square platform had been built out 
 from the steps to the eastern portico, with benches for 
 distinguished spectators on three sides. Senator Doug- 
 las, the only one I recognized, sat at the extreme end 
 of the seat on the right of the narrow passage lead- 
 ing from the steps. There was no delay, and the gaunt 
 form of the President-elect was soon visible, slowly 
 making his way to the front. To me, at least, he was 
 completely metamorphosed — partly by his own fault, 
 and partly through the efforts of injudicious friends 
 and ambitious tailors. He was raising (to gratify a 
 very young lady, it is said) a crop of whiskers, of the 
 blacking-brush variety, coarse, stiff, and ungraceful ; 
 and in so doing spoiled, or at least seriously impaired, 
 a face which, though never handsome, had in its origi- 
 nal state a peculiar power and pathos. On the present 
 occasion the whiskers were reinforced by brand-new 
 clothes from top to toe; black dress coat instead of 
 the usual frock ; black cloth or satin vest, black panta- 
 loons, and a glossy hat evidently just out of the box. 
 To cap the climax of novelty, he carried a huge ebony 
 cane, with a gold head the size of an egg. In these, to 
 him, strange habiliments, he looked so miserably uncom- 
 fortable that I could not help pitying him. Reaching 
 the platform, his discomfort was visibly increased by 
 
286 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 not knowing what to do with hat and cane; and so 
 he stood there, the target for ten thousand eyes, hold- 
 ing his cane in one hand and his hat in the other, the 
 picture of helpless embarrassment. After some hesi- 
 tation, he pushed the cane into a corner of the railing, 
 but could not find a place for the hat, except on the 
 floor, where I could see he did not like to risk it. 
 Douglas, who fully took in the situation, came to the 
 rescue of his old friend and rival, and held the precious 
 hat until the owner needed it again; a service which, 
 if predicted two years before, would probably have 
 astonished him. The oath of office was administered 
 by Chief Justice Taney, whose black robes, attenuated 
 figure, and cadaverous countenance reminded me of a 
 galvanized corpse. Then the President came forward 
 and read his inaugural address in a clear and distinct 
 voice. It was attentively listened to by all; but the 
 closest listener was Douglas, who leaned forward as if 
 to catch every word, nodding his head emphatically at 
 those passages which most pleased him. I must not 
 forget to mention the presence of a Mephistopheles in 
 the person of Senator Wigfall of Texas, who stood with 
 folded arms leaning against the doorway of the Capitol, 
 looking down upon the crowd and the ceremony with a 
 contemptuous air which sufficiently indicated his opin- 
 ion of the whole performance. To him, the Southern 
 Confederacy was already an accomplished fact.” 
 
 “ Under the shadow of the great Eastern portico of 
 the Capitol,” says General John A. Logan, “with the 
 retiring President and Cabinet, the Supreme Court Jus- 
 tices, the Foreign Diplomatic Corps, and hundreds of 
 Senators, Representatives, and other distinguished per- 
 sons filling the great platform on either side and be- 
 hind them, Abraham Lincoln stood bareheaded before 
 full thirty thousand people, upon whose uplifted faces 
 the unveiled glory of the mild Spring sun now shone — 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 287 
 
 stood reverently before that far greater and mightier 
 Presence termed by himself, ‘ My rightful masters, the 
 American people ’ — and pleaded in a manly, earnest, 
 and affectionate strain with ‘ such as were dissatisfied ’ 
 to listen to the ‘ better angels ’ of their nature. ‘ Tem- 
 perate, reasonable, kindly persuasive ’ — it seems 
 strange that Lincoln’s inaugural address did not dis- 
 arm at least the personal resentment of the South 
 toward him, and sufficiently strengthen Union-loving 
 people there against the red-hot Secessionists, to put 
 the ‘ brakes ’ down on rebellion.” 
 
 The address was devoted almost exclusively to the 
 great absorbing topic of the hour — the attempt of the 
 Southern States to withdraw from the Union and erect 
 an independent republic. The calm, firm, moderate, 
 judicious spirit which pervaded Lincoln’s address is 
 apparent in the following quotations, which contain 
 its most significant and memorable passages : 
 
 Fellow-Citizens of the United States: — In compli- 
 ance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I 
 appear before you to address you briefly, and to take 
 in your presence the oath prescribed by the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States to be taken by the President 
 “ before he enters on the execution of his office.” . . . 
 Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the 
 Southern States, that by the accession of a Republican 
 Administration their property and their peace and per- 
 sonal security are to be endangered. There has never 
 been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. In- 
 deed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all 
 the while existed and been open to their inspection. It 
 is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who 
 now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those 
 speeches when I declare that “ I have no purpose, 
 directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution 
 of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I 
 
288 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination 
 to do so.” Those who nominated and elected me did 
 so with full knowledge that I had made this and many 
 similar declarations, and have never recanted them. 
 . . . I now reiterate these sentiments ; and, in doing 
 so, I only press upon the public attention the most 
 conclusive evidence of which the case is susceptible, 
 that the property, peace, and security of no section are 
 to be in anywise endangered by the now incoming Ad- 
 ministration. I add, too, that all the protection which, 
 consistently with the Constitution and the laws, can be 
 given, will be cheerfully given to all the States, when 
 lawfully demanded, for whatever cause — as cheer- 
 fully to one section as to another. ... I hold that, in 
 contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution, 
 the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is 
 implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all 
 National Governments. It is safe to assert that no 
 Government proper ever had a provision in its organic 
 law for its own termination. Continue to execute all 
 the express provisions of our National Constitution, 
 and the Union will endure forever. ... I therefore 
 consider that, in view of the Constitution and the laws, 
 the Union is unbroken, and to the extent of my ability 
 I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly 
 enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faith- 
 fully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem 
 to be only a simple duty on my part; and I shall per- 
 form it, so far as practicable, unless my rightful mas- 
 ters, the American people, shall withhold the requisite 
 means, or, in some authoritative manner, direct the 
 contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a men- 
 ace, but only as the declared purpose of the Union that 
 it will constitutionally defend and maintain itself. In 
 doing this, there need be no bloodshed or violence; and 
 there shall be none, unless it be forced upon the national 
 authority. The power confided to me will be used to 
 hold, occupy, and possess the property and places be- 
 longing to the Government, and to collect the duties 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 289 
 
 and imposts ; but beyond what may be but necessary 
 for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using 
 of force against or among the people anywhere. . . . 
 Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot 
 remove our respective sections from each other, nor 
 build an impassable wall between them. A husband 
 and wife may be divorced, and go out of the presence 
 and beyond the reach of each other; but the different 
 parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot but 
 remain face to face; and intercourse, either amicable 
 or hostile, must continue between them. It is impossi- 
 ble, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous 
 or more satisfactory after separation than before. 
 Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make 
 law? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between 
 aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go 
 to war, you cannot fight always ; and when, after much 
 loss on both sides and no gain on either, you cease 
 fighting, the identical old questions, as to terms of 
 intercourse, are again upon you. . . . This country, 
 with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit 
 it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing 
 Government, they can exercise their constitutional right 
 of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dis- 
 member or overthrow it. I cannot be ignorant of the 
 fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are de- 
 sirous of having the National Constitution amended. 
 While I make no recommendation of amendments, I 
 fully recognize the rightful authority of the people over 
 the whole subject, to be exercised in either of the modes 
 prescribed in the instrument itself ; and I should, under 
 existing circumstances, favor rather than oppose a fair 
 opportunity being afforded the people to act upon it. 
 . . . The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority 
 from the people, and they have conferred none upon 
 him to fix terms for the separation of the States. The 
 people themselves can do this also, if they choose; but 
 the Executive, as such, has nothing to do with it. His 
 duty is to administer the present Government as it 
 
290 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 came to his hands, and to transmit it, unimpaired by 
 him, to his successor. . . . By the frame of the Gov- 
 ernment under which we live, the same people have 
 wisely given their public servants but little power for 
 mischief ; and have, with equal wisdom, provided for 
 the return of that little to their own hands at very 
 short intervals. While the people retain their virtue 
 and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of 
 wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the Gov- 
 ernment in the short space of four years. 
 
 My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well 
 upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost 
 by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any of 
 you in hot haste to a step which you would never take 
 deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking 
 time; but no good can be frustrated by it. Such of 
 you as are now dissatisfied still have the old Consti- 
 tution unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws 
 of your own framing under it ; while the new adminis- 
 tration will have no immediate power, if it would, to 
 change either. If it were admitted that you who are 
 dissatisfied hold the right side in the dispute, there still 
 is no single good reason for precipitate action. Intelli- 
 gence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on 
 Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are 
 still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our 
 present difficulty. 
 
 In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, 
 and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. 
 The Government will not qssail you. You can have 
 no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. 
 You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the 
 Government ; while I shall have the most solemn one to 
 “ preserve, protect, and defend ” it. 
 
 I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but friends. 
 We must not be enemies. Though passion may have 
 strained, it must not break, our bonds of affection. 
 The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every 
 battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 291 
 
 hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the 
 chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they 
 will be, by the better angels of our nature. 
 
 At the close of the address, which was delivered with 
 the utmost earnestness and solemnity, Lincoln, “ with 
 reverent look and impressive emphasis, repeated the 
 oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution 
 of his country. Douglas, who knew the conspirators 
 and their plots, with patriotic magnanimity then 
 grasped the hand of the President, gracefully extended 
 his congratulations, and the assurance that in the dark 
 future he would stand by him, and give to him his 
 utmost aid in upholding the Constitution and enforcing 
 the laws of his country.” 
 
 “ At the inauguration,” says Congressman Riddle, 
 “ I stood within a yard of Mr. Lincoln when he pro- 
 nounced his famous address. How full of life and 
 power it then was, with the unction of his utterance! 
 Surely, we thought, the South, which rejected the con- 
 cessions of Congress, would accept him. How dry and 
 quaint, yet ingenious, much of that inaugural appears 
 to me now, when the life and soul seem to have gone 
 out of it ! A sad thing — a spectre of the day — 
 will forever haunt my memory: Poor old President 
 Buchanan, short, stout, pale, white-haired, yet bear- 
 ing himself resolutely throughout, linked by the arm 
 to the new President, into whom from himself was 
 passing the qualifying unction of the Constitution, 
 jostled hither and thither, as already out of men’s 
 sight, yet bravely maintaining the shadow of dignity 
 and place. How glad he must have been to take leave 
 of his successor at the White House when all was 
 ended ! ” 
 
 The formalities of the inauguration concluded, Lin- 
 coln passed back through the Senate Chamber, and, 
 
292 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 again escorted by Mr. Buchanan, was conducted to 
 the White House, where the cares and anxieties of his 
 position immediately descended upon him. “ Strange 
 indeed,” says General Logan, “ must have been the 
 thoughts that crowded through the brain and oppressed 
 the heart of Abraham Lincoln that night — his first 
 at the White House. The City of Washington swarmed 
 with rebels and rebel sympathizers, and all the depart- 
 ments of Government were honeycombed with treason 
 and shadowed with treachery and espionage. Every 
 step proposed or contemplated by the Government 
 would be known to the so-called Government of the 
 Confederate States almost as soon as thought of. All 
 means to thwart and delay the carrying out of the 
 Government’s purposes that the excuses of routine and 
 red tape admitted of would be used by the traitors 
 within the camp to aid the traitors without. No one 
 knew all this better than Mr. Lincoln. With no army, 
 no navy, not even a revenue cutter left — with forts 
 and arsenals, ammunition and arms, in possession of 
 the South, with no money in the National Treasury, 
 and the National credit blasted — the position must, 
 even to his hopeful nature, have seemed desperate. 
 Yet even in this awful hour, he was sustained by con- 
 fidence in the good effects of his conciliatory message 
 to the South, and by his trust in the patriotism of the 
 \ people and the Providence of God.” 
 
 Mr. Welles, the incoming Secretary of the Navy, in 
 writing of the period immediately following the in- 
 auguration, says : “ A strange state of things existed 
 at that time in Washington. The atmosphere was thick 
 with treason. Party spirit and old party differences 
 prevailed amidst the accumulating dangers. Secession 
 was considered by most persons as a political party 
 question, not as rebellion. Democrats to a large ex- 
 tent sympathized with the Rebels more than with the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 293 
 
 Administration. The Republicans, on the other hand, 
 were scarcely less partisan and unreasonable . . . 
 clamorous for the removal of all Democrats, indis- 
 criminately, from office.” 
 
 The President’s first official act was the announce- 
 ment of his Cabinet, which was composed of the follow- 
 ing persons: William H. Seward, Secretary of State; 
 Simon Cameron, Secretary of War; Salmon P. Chase, 
 Secretary of the Treasury ; Gideon Welles, Secretary 
 of the Navy; Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of the In- 
 terior ; Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General ; and 
 Edward Bates, Attorney General. Lincoln had selected 
 these counselors with grave deliberation. In reply to 
 the remonstrances urged, on political grounds, against 
 the appointment of one or two of them, he had said : 
 “ The times are too grave and perilous for ambitious 
 schemes and personal rivalries. I need the aid of all 
 of these men. They enjoy the confidence of their sev- 
 eral States and sections, and they will strengthen the 
 administration.” On another occasion he remarked: 
 “ It w r ill require the utmost skill, influence, and sa- 
 gacity of all of us, to save the country ; let us forget 
 ourselves, and join hands like brothers to save the 
 Republic. If we succeed, there will be glory enough 
 for all.” 
 
 Speculations have been almost endless as to how the 
 Cabinet came to be made up as it was. But the truth 
 is, according to Secretary Welles, that it was practi- 
 cally made up in Springfield almost as soon as Lincoln 
 found himself elected. In Lincoln’s own words, as 
 given by Mr. Welles : “ On the day of the Presidential 
 election the operator of the telegraph in Springfield 
 placed his instrument at my disposal. I was there 
 without leaving, after the returns began to come in, 
 until we had enough to satisfy us how the election had 
 gone. This was about two in the morning of Wednes- 
 
294 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 day. I went home, but not to get much sleep ; for I 
 then felt, as I never had before, the responsibility that 
 was upon me. I began at once to feel that I needed 
 support, — others to share with me the burden. This 
 was on Wednesday morning, and before the sun went 
 down I had made up my Cabinet. It was almost the 
 same that I finally appointed.” 
 
 The only two members of the Cabinet who served 
 from the beginning to the end of Lincoln’s adminis- 
 tration were Welles and Seward. Stanton was not 
 appointed until January 13, 1862, succeeding Simon 
 Cameron. Chase left the Treasury Department to be- 
 come Chief Justice, and was succeeded in the Treasury 
 Department by ex-Governor Fessenden of Vermont, 
 who in his turn was succeeded by Hugh McCulloch. 
 The Attorney General’s chair was filled successively by 
 Bates and Speed. Caleb B. Smith was the first Secre- 
 tary of the Interior, succeeded (January 1, 1863) by 
 John P. Usher. The first Postmaster General was 
 Montgomery Blair, who was followed (September 4, 
 1864) by ex-Governor Dennison of Ohio. The appoint- 
 ment that gave the greatest surprise of any in the 
 Cabinet was that of Stanton as Secretary of War. 
 Stanton had been in Buchanan’s cabinet as Attorney 
 General. He had been outspoken, almost brutal, in 
 his scornful hostility to Lincoln, and the appointment 
 by him was as great a surprise to Stanton as his 
 acceptance of it was to everyone. When asked, some- 
 what incredulously, what he would do as War Secre- 
 tary Stanton replied, “ I will make Abe Lincoln Presi- 
 dent of the United States .” Of the character of this 
 remarkable man, Mr. Alonzo Rothschild, in his inter- 
 esting study of the relations between Lincoln and 
 Stanton (“Lincoln, Master of Men,” p. 229), says: 
 “ Intense earnestness marked Stanton’s every act. So 
 sharply were all his faculties focused upon the purpose 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 295 
 
 of the hour that he is to be classed among the one-idea 
 men of history. Whatever came between him and his 
 goal encountered an iron will. . . . Quick to penetrate 
 through the husks of fraud into the very nubbin of 
 things, he was even more swiftly moved by relentless 
 wrath to insist upon exposure and punishment. The 
 brief career [as Attorney General] in Buchanan’s 
 cabinet had been long enough to demonstrate his almost 
 savage hostility toward official dishonesty, as well as 
 his moral courage to grapple with treason in high 
 places. Above all, he evinced a loyalty to the Union 
 that rose above the party creed of a lifetime — that 
 might demand of him any sacrifice however great.” 
 
 The first weeks of President Lincoln’s residence in the 
 Executive Mansion were occupied with the arduous work 
 of selecting loyal and capable men for responsible posi- 
 tions in the Government service. The departments at 
 Washington were filled with disloyal men, who used 
 the means and influence pertaining to their places to 
 aid the rebellious States. It was of vital importance 
 that these faithless officials should be removed at the 
 earliest moment, and their positions filled with men 
 of tried integrity. Lincoln desired to appoint for this 
 purpose stanch, competent, and trustworthy citizens, 
 regardless of party distinctions. But the labor in- 
 volved in this duty was enormous and exhausting. 
 There was a multitude of vacant places, there were 
 difficult questions to be considered in a majority of 
 cases, and there was a host of applicants and their 
 friends to be satisfied. Mr. Charles A. Dana relates 
 a circumstance which hints at the troubles encountered 
 by Lincoln in this province of his Presidential duties. 
 “ The first time I saw Mr. Lincoln,” says Mr. Dana, 
 “ was shortly after his inauguration. He had ap- 
 pointed Mr. Seward to be his Secretary of State; 
 and some of the Republican leaders of New York, who 
 
296 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 had been instrumental in preventing Mr. Seward’s 
 nomination to the Presidency and in securing that of 
 Mr. Lincoln, had begun to fear that they would be 
 left out in the cold in the distribution of the offices. 
 Accordingly several of them determined to go to Wash- 
 ington, and I was asked to go with them. We all 
 went up to the White House together, except Mr. 
 Stanton, who stayed away because he was himself an 
 applicant for office. Mr. Lincoln received us in the 
 large room upstairs in the east wing of the White 
 House, where the President had his working office, and 
 stood up while General Wadsworth, who was our prin- 
 cipal spokesman, stated what was desired. After the 
 interview was begun, a big Indianian, who was a mes- 
 senger in attendance in the White House, came into 
 the room and said to the President, ‘ She wants you.’ 
 ‘ Yes, yes,’ said Mr. Lincoln, without stirring. Soon 
 afterward the messenger returned again, exclaiming, 
 ‘ I say she wants you.’ The President was evidently 
 annoyed, but instead of going out after the messenger 
 he remarked to us : ‘ One side shall not gobble up 
 everything. Make out a list of the places and men 
 you want, and I will endeavor to apply the rule of 
 give and take.’ General Wadsworth answered: ‘Our 
 party will not be able to remain in Washington, but 
 we will leave such a list with Mr. Carroll, and what- 
 ever he agrees to will be agreeable to us.’ Mr. Lincoln 
 continued, ‘ Let Mr. Carroll come in to-morrow, and 
 we will see what can be done.’ ” 
 
 Lincoln was regarded with violent animosity by all 
 who were in sympathy with the peculiar prejudices of 
 the slave States. The inhabitants of the District of 
 Columbia looked upon him with especial dislike. He 
 was to them an odious embodiment of the abhorred 
 principles of Abolitionism. As an illustration of this 
 bitter feeling, Mr. Arnold narrates the following anec- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 297 
 
 dote : “ A distinguished South Carolina lady — one 
 of the Howards — the widow of a Northern scholar, 
 called upon him out of curiosity. She was very proud 
 and aristocratic, and was curious to see a man who 
 had been represented to her as a monster, a mixture 
 of the ape and the tiger. She was shown into the room 
 where were Mr. Lincoln and Senators Seward, Hale, 
 Chase, and other prominent members of Congress. As 
 Mr. Seward, whom she knew, presented her to the Presi- 
 dent, she hissed in his ear : ‘ I am a South Carolinian.’ 
 Instantly reading her character, he turned and ad- 
 dressed her with the greatest coui'tesy, and dignified 
 and gentlemanly politeness. After listening a few 
 moments, astonished to find him so different from what 
 he had been described to her, she said : ‘ Why, Mr. 
 Lincoln, you look, act, and speak like a kind, good- 
 hearted, generous man.’ ‘ And did you expect to meet 
 a savage?’ said he. ‘Certainly I did, 'or even some- 
 thing worse,’ replied she. ‘ I am glad I have met you,’ 
 she continued, ‘ and now the best way to preserve peace 
 is for you to go to Charleston and show the people 
 what you are, and tell them you have no intention of 
 injuring them.’ Returning home, she found a party of 
 Secessionists, and on entering the room she exclaimed, 
 ‘ I have seen him ! I have seen him ! ’ ‘ Who ? ’ they 
 
 inquired. ‘ That terrible monster, Lincoln, and I found 
 him a gentleman, and I am going to his first levee after 
 his inauguration.’ At his first reception, this tall 
 daughter of South Carolina, dressing herself in black 
 velvet, with two long white plumes in her hair, repaired 
 to the White House. She was nearly six feet high, with 
 black eyes and black hair, and in her velvet and white 
 feathers she was a striking and majestic figure. As 
 she approached the President he recognized her imme- 
 diately. ‘ Here I am again,’ said she, ‘ that South 
 Carolinian.’ ‘ I am glad to see you,’ replied he, ‘ and 
 
298 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 to assure you that the first object of my heart is to 
 preserve peace, and I wish that not only you but 
 every son and daughter of South Carolina were here, 
 that I might tell them so.’ Mr. Cameron, Secretary 
 of War, came up, and after some remarks he said, 
 ‘ South Carolina [which had already seceded] is the 
 prodigal son.’ ‘ Ah, Mr. Secretary,’ said she, ‘ if 
 South Carolina is the prodigal son, Uncle Sam, our 
 father, ought to divide the inheritance, and let her 
 go ; but they say you are going to make war upon 
 us; is it so?’ ‘Oh, come back,’ said Lincoln, ‘tell 
 South Carolina to come back now, and we will kill the 
 fatted calf.’ ” 
 
 The impression which Lincoln made on those who 
 met him at the outset of his career as President, and 
 their varied comments and descriptions, are matters 
 of peculiar interest. At first, many people did not 
 understand him — hardly knew what to make of a 
 personality so unlike any they had ever seen in high 
 places before. But he soon began to show those quali- 
 ties of calm self-reliance, quickness to grasp the essen- 
 tial factors of a situation and readiness to meet it, 
 courage, patience, firmness, breadth of view and kindli- 
 ness, practical tact and wisdom, which were a surprise 
 to all who knew him, and are now seen to be but a. rapid 
 and logical unfolding, under the stimulus of his enor- 
 mous responsibilities, of his great natural powers. The 
 test had come, the crisis was upon him ; and he met 
 them marvelously well. 
 
 General W. T. Sherman contributes an interesting 
 reminiscence at this point. “ One day,” says General 
 Sherman, “ my brother, Senator Sherman, took me 
 with him to see Mr. Lincoln. We found the room full 
 of people. Mr. Lincoln sat at the end of a table, 
 talking with three or four gentlemen, who soon left. 
 John walked up, shook hands, and took a chair near 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 299 
 
 him, holding in his hand some papers referring to 
 minor appointments in the State of Ohio, which formed 
 the subject of conversation. Mr. Lincoln took the 
 papers, said he would refer them to the proper heads 
 of departments, and would be glad to make the ap- 
 pointments asked for, if not already pi’omised. John 
 then turned to me, and said, ‘ Mr. President, this is 
 my brother, Colonel Sherman, who is just up from 
 Louisiana; he may give you some information you 
 want.’ 4 Ah ! ’ said Mr. Lincoln, 4 how are they getting 
 along down there? ’ I said, 4 They think they are 
 getting along swimmingly — they are preparing for 
 war.’ 4 Oh, well ! ’ said he, 4 1 guess we ’ll manage to 
 keep house.’ I was silenced, said no more to him, and 
 we soon left. I was sadly disappointed, and remember 
 that I broke out on John, cursing the politicians 
 
 generally, saying, 4 You have got things in a of 
 
 a fix, and you may get them out as best you can,’ 
 adding that the country was sleeping on a volcano 
 that might burst forth at any minute, but that I was 
 going to St. Louis to take care of my family, and 
 would have no more to do with it. John begged me 
 to be more patient, but I said I would not ; that I had 
 no time to wait, that I was off for St. Louis; and off 
 I went.” 
 
 The apartment which Lincoln used as an office in 
 which to transact daily business and to receive in- 
 formal visits was on the second floor of the White 
 House. Its simple equipments are thus described by 
 Mr. Arnold : 44 It was about twenty-five by forty feet 
 in size. In the centre, on the west, was a large white 
 marble fireplace, with big old-fashioned brass and- 
 irons, and a large and high brass fender. A wood 
 fire was burning in cool weather. The large windows 
 opened on the beautiful lawn to the south, with a view 
 of the unfinished Washington Monument, the Smith- 
 
300 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 sonian Institution, the Potomac, Alexandria, and on 
 down the river toward Mt. Vernon. Across the Poto- 
 mac were Arlington Heights and Arlington House, late 
 the residence of Robert E. Lee. On the hills around, 
 during nearly all Lincoln’s administration, were the 
 white tents of soldiers, field fortifications and camps, 
 and in every direction could be seen the brilliant colors 
 of the national flag. The furniture of this room 
 consisted of a large oak table covered with cloth, ex- 
 tending north and south ; and it was around this table 
 that the Cabinet sat when it held its meetings. Near 
 the end of the table, and between the windows, was 
 another table, on the west side of which the President 
 sat in a large armchair, and at this table he wrote. 
 A tall desk with pigeon-holes for papers stood against 
 the south wall. The only books usually found in 
 this room were the Bible, the United States Statutes, 
 and a copy of Shakespeare. There were a few chairs 
 and two plain hair-covered sofas. There were two or 
 three map frames, from which hung military maps on 
 which the position and movements of the armies were 
 traced. On the mantel was an old and discolored 
 engraving of General Jackson and a later photograph 
 of John Bright. Doors opened into this room from 
 the room of the Secretary, and from the outside hall 
 running east and west across the House. A bell cord 
 within reach of his hand extended to the Secretary’s 
 office. A messenger who stood at the door opening 
 from the hall took in the cards and names of visitors. 
 Here, in this plain room, Lincoln spent most of his 
 time while President. Here he received everyone, from 
 the Chief Justice and Lieutenant-General to the pri- 
 vate soldier and humblest citizen. Custom had fixed 
 certain rules of precedence, and the order in which 
 officials should be received. Members of the Cabinet 
 and the high officers of the army and navy were gener- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 301 
 
 ally promptly admitted. Senators and members of 
 Congress were received in the order of their arrival. 
 Sometimes there would be a crowd of them waiting 
 their turn. While thus waiting, the loud ringing 
 laugh of Mr. Lincoln would be heard by the waiting 
 and impatient crowd. Here, day after day, often 
 from early morning to late at night, Lincoln sat, 
 listened, talked, and decided. He was patient, just, 
 considerate, and hopeful. The people came to him as 
 to a father. He saw everyone, and many wasted 
 his precious time. Governors, Senators, Congressmen, 
 officers, clergymen, bankers, merchants — all classes 
 approached him with familiarity. This incessant 
 labor, the study of the great problems he had to 
 decide, the worry of constant importunity, the quarrels 
 of officers of the army, the care, anxiety, and re- 
 sponsibility of his position, wore upon his vigorous 
 frame.” 
 
 Mr. Ben. Perley Poore states that “ the White 
 House, while Mr. Lincoln occupied it, was a fertile field 
 for news, which he was always ready to give those 
 correspondents in whom he had confidence ; but the 
 surveillance of the press — first by Secretary Seward, 
 and then by Secretary Stanton — was as annoying 
 as it was inefficient. . . . Often when Mr. Lincoln was 
 engaged, correspondents would send in their cards, 
 bearing requests for some desired item of news or for 
 the verification of some rumor. He would either come 
 out and give the coveted information, or he would 
 write it on the back of the card and send it to the 
 owner. He wrote a legible hand, slowly and laboriously 
 perfecting his sentences before he placed them on 
 paper. The long epistles that he wrote to his gen- 
 erals he copied himself, not wishing anyone else to see 
 them, and these copies were kept in pigeon-holes for 
 reference. . . . Mr. Lincoln used to wear at the White 
 
302 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 House in the morning, and after dinner, a long-skirted 
 faded dressing-gown, belted around his waist, and 
 slippers. His favorite attitude when listening — and 
 he was a good listener — was to lean forward, and 
 clasp his left knee with both hands, as if fondling it, 
 and his face would then wear a sad and wearied look. 
 But when the time came for him to give an opinion 
 on what he had heard, or to tell a story which some- 
 thing ‘ reminded him of,’ his face would lighten up 
 with its homely, rugged smile, and he would run his 
 fingers through his bristly black hair, which would 
 stand out in every direction like that of an electric 
 experiment doll.” 
 
 John G. Nicolay, afterward Lincoln’s private secre- 
 tary, says : “ The people beheld in the new President 
 a man six feet four inches in height, a stature which 
 of itself would be hailed in any assemblage as one of 
 the outward signs of leadership; joined to this was a 
 spare but muscular frame, and large strongly-marked 
 features corresponding to his unusual stature. Quiet 
 in demeanor but erect in bearing, his face even in re- 
 pose was not unattractive ; and when lit up by his 
 open, genial smile, or illuminated in the utterance of 
 a strong or stirring thought, his countenance was posi- 
 tively handsome. His voice, pitched in rather a high 
 key, but of great clearness and penetration, made his 
 public remarks audible to a wide circle of listeners.” 
 
 Henry Champion Deming says of Lincoln’s appear- 
 ance at this time: “ Conceive a tall and giant figure, 
 more than six feet in height, not only unencumbered 
 with superfluous flesh, but reduced to the minimum 
 working standard of cord and sinew and muscle, strong 
 and indurated by exposure and toil, with legs and 
 arms long and attenuated, but not dispi’oportionately 
 to the long and attenuated trunk; in posture and car- 
 riage not ungraceful, but with the grace of unstudied 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 303 
 
 and careless ease rather than of cultivated airs and 
 high-bred pretensions. His dress is uniformly of black 
 throughout, and would attract but little attention in 
 a well-dressed circle, if it hung less loosely upon him, 
 and if the ample white shirt collar were not turned 
 over his cravat in Western style. The face that sur- 
 mounts this figure is half Roman and half Indian, 
 bronzed by climate, furrowed by life struggles, seamed 
 with humor ; the head is massive and covered with 
 dark, thick, and unmanageable hair; the brow is wide 
 and well developed, the nose large and fleshy, the lips 
 full, cheeks thin and drawn down in strong, corded 
 lines, which, but for the wiry whiskers, would disclose 
 the machinery which moves the broad jaw. The eyes 
 are dark gray, sunk in deep sockets, but bright, soft 
 and beautiful in expression, sometimes lost and half 
 abstracted, as if their glance was reversed and turned 
 inward, or as if the soul which lighted them was far 
 away. The teeth are white and regular, and it is only 
 when a smile, radiant, captivating, and winning as was 
 ever given to mortal, transfigures the plain counte- 
 nance, that you begin to realize that it is not impos- 
 sible for artists to admire and women to love it.” 
 
 Mr. John Bigelow, who was appointed consul to 
 Paris in 1861, and was afterwards minister to France, 
 describes in his “ Retrospections of an Active Life ” 
 his first visit to Lincoln and the impressions gained by 
 him at that early period in Lincoln’s official career. 
 “ The day following my arrival in Washington Pres- 
 ton King, Senator from New York, invited me to go 
 with him to be presented to President Lincoln, an 
 invitation which of course I embraced with alacrity; 
 for as yet I had not met him, and knew him only by his 
 famous senatorial campaign against Douglas in Illi- 
 nois and the masterly address which he delivered at 
 the Cooper Institute shortly before his nomination in 
 
304 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 New York. . . . The new President received us in his 
 private room at an early hour of the morning; another 
 gentleman was with him at the time, a member of the 
 Senate, I believe. We were with him from a half to 
 three-quarters of an hour. The conversation, in which 
 I took little or no part, turned upon the operations in 
 the field. I observed no sign of weakness in anything 
 the President said; neither did I hear anything that 
 particularly impressed me, which, under the circum- 
 stances, was not surprising. What did impress me, 
 however, was what I can only describe as a certain 
 lack of sovereignty. He seemed to me, nor was it in 
 the least strange that he did, like a man utterly un- 
 conscious of the space which the President of the 
 United States occupied that day in the history of the 
 human race, and of the vast power for the exercise 
 of which he had become personally responsible. This 
 impression was strengthened by Mr. Lincoln’s modest 
 habit of disclaiming knowledge of affairs and familiar- 
 ity with duties, and frequent avowals of ignorance, 
 which, even where it exists, it is as well for a captain 
 as far as possible to conceal from the public. The 
 authority of an executive officer largely consists in 
 what his constituents think it is. Up to that time 
 Mr. Lincoln had had few opportunities of showing the 
 nation the qualities which won all hearts and made him 
 one of the most consjdcuous and enduring historic 
 characters of the century.” 
 
 Some uncommonly vivid “ first impressions ” of Lin- 
 coln are given in the Journals of Ralph Waldo Emer- 
 son, who early in February of 1862 made a visit to 
 Washington for the purpose of delivering a lecture 
 before the Smithsonian Institution — a lecture which 
 Lincoln is said to have attended. A day or two 
 afterwards Emerson was taken by Senator Sumner 
 of Massachusetts to call at the White House. “ The 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 305 
 
 President impressed me,” says Emerson, “ more favor- 
 ably than I had hoped. A frank, sincere, well-meaning 
 man, with a lawyer’s habit of mind, good clear state- 
 ment of his facts ; correct enough, not vulgar, as 
 described, but with a sort of boyish cheerfulness, or 
 that kind of sincerity and jolly good meaning that 
 our class-meetings on Commencement Days show, in 
 telling our old stories over. When he has made his 
 remark he looks up at you with great satisfaction, and 
 shows all his white teeth, and laughs. . . . When I 
 was introduced to him he said, ‘ Oh, Mr. Emerson, I 
 once heard you say in a lecture that a Kentuckian 
 seems to say by his air and manners, “ Here am I ; 
 if you don’t like me, the worse for you.” ’ ” (The 
 point of this of course is that Lincoln was himself a 
 Kentuckian.) A day or two later Emerson again called 
 on the President, this time in the company of Secre- 
 tary Seward. It being Sunday evening, Seward asked 
 the President if he had been to church, to which the 
 latter answered that he had not — that he had been 
 reading, for the first time, Senator Sumner’s speech 
 in the Senate on the Trent affair. This was followed 
 by some general conversation on the Trent affair, in 
 which the President expressed his gratification at the 
 friendly attitude taken in the matter by France and 
 Spain. 
 
 Private Secretary Hay thus writes of Lincoln’s 
 character and disposition : “ All agree that the most 
 marked characteristic of Mr. Lincoln’s manners was 
 his simplicity and artlessness ; this immediately im- 
 pressed itself upon the observation of those who met 
 him for the first time, and each successive interview 
 deepened the impression. People seemed delighted to 
 find in the ruler of the nation freedom from pomposity 
 and affectation, mingled with a certain simple dignity 
 which never forsook him. Though oppressed with the 
 
306 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 weight of responsibility resting upon him as President 
 of the United States, he shrank from assuming any 
 of the honors, or even the titles, of the position. After 
 years of intimate acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln, the 
 writer cannot now recall a single instance in which 
 he spoke of himself as President, or used that title 
 for himself except when acting in an official capacity. 
 He always spoke of his position and office vaguely, as, 
 4 this place,’ ‘ here,’ or other modest phrase. Once, 
 speaking of the room in the Capitol used by the Presi- 
 dents of the United States during the close of a session 
 of Congress, he said, 4 That room, you know, that they 
 call ’ — dropping his voice and hesitating — 4 the 
 President’s room.’ To an intimate friend who ad- 
 dressed him always by his own proper title, he said, 
 ‘ Now call me Lincoln, and I ’ll promise not to tell of 
 the breach of etiquette — if you won’t — and I shall 
 have a resting-spell from 44 Mister President.” ’ With 
 all his simplicity and unacquaintance with courtly man- 
 ners, his native dignity never forsook him in the pres- 
 ence of critical polished strangers ; but mixed with 
 his angularities and bonhomie was something which 
 spoke the fine fiber of the man ; and while his sovereign 
 disregard of courtly conventionalities was somewhat 
 ludicrous, his native sweetness and straightforwardness 
 of manner served to disarm criticism and impress the 
 visitor that he was before a man pure, self-poised, 
 collected, and strong in unconscious strength. Of 
 him, an accomplished foreigner, whose knowledge of 
 the courts was more perfect than that of the English 
 language, said, 4 He seems to me one grand gentilhomme 
 in disguise.’ ” Mr. Hay adds that Lincoln’s sim- 
 plicity of manner 44 was marked in his total lack of 
 consideration of what was due his exalted station. He 
 had an almost morbid dread of what he called 4 a scene ’ 
 — that is, a demonstration of applause, such as always 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 307 
 
 greeted his appearance in public. The first sign of a 
 cheer sobered him; he appeared sad and oppressed, 
 suspended conversation, and looked out into vacancy ; 
 and when it was over, resumed the conversation just 
 where it was interrupted, with an obvious feeling of 
 relief. . . . Speaking of an early acquaintance who was 
 an applicant for an office which he thought him hardly 
 qualified to fill, the President said, ‘ Well, now, I never 
 
 thought M had any more than average ability, 
 
 when we were young men together ; really I did not.’ 
 [A pause.] ‘ But, then, I suppose he thought just the 
 same about me ; he had reason to, and — here I am ! ’ ” 
 
 General Carl Schurz says : “ In the White House, as 
 in his simple home in Springfield, Mr. Lincoln was the 
 same plain, unaffected, unpretentious citizen. Lie won 
 the admiration and affection of even the most punc- 
 tilious of the foreign diplomats by the tenderness of 
 his nature and the touching simplicity of his demeanor. 
 . . . He was, in mind and heart, the very highest 
 type of development of a plain man. He was a born 
 leader of men, and the qualities that made him a 
 leader were of the plain, common-sense type. . . . Lin- 
 coln had one great advantage over all the chief states- 
 men of his day. He had a thorough knowledge of 
 the plain people. He knew their habits, their modes 
 of thought, their unfailing sense of justice and right. 
 He relied upon the popular feeling, in great measure, 
 for his guidance.” 
 
 Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe said of the qualities 
 which Lincoln exhibited in the White House : “ Lin- 
 coln is a strong man, but his strength is of a peculiar 
 kind; it is not aggressive so much as passive; and 
 among passive things, it is like the strength not so 
 much of a stone buttress as of a wire cable. It is 
 strength swaying to every influence, yielding on this 
 side and on that, to popular needs, yet tenaciously 
 
308 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 and inflexibly bound to carry its great end. . . . Slow 
 and careful in coming to resolutions, willing to talk 
 with every person who has anything to show on any 
 side of a disputed subject, long in weighing and pon- 
 dering, attached to constitutional limits and time- 
 honored landmarks, Lincoln certainly was the safest 
 leader a nation could have at a time when the habeas 
 corpus must be suspended and all the constitutional 
 and minor rights of citizens be thrown into the hands 
 of their military leader. A reckless, bold, theorizing, 
 dashing man of genius might have wrecked our 
 Constitution and ended us in a splendid military 
 despotism.” 
 
 The fear lest the virulent enemies of the adminis- 
 tration should attempt to assassinate Lincoln was so 
 wide-spread that military measures were enforced to 
 protect him from secret assault. General Charles P. 
 Stone, to whom the duty was entrusted of establishing 
 the necessary precautions, has furnished a brief report 
 on the subject. “From the first,” says General Stone, 
 “ I took, under the orders of the General-in-chief, es- 
 pecial care in guarding the Executive Mansion — with- 
 out, however, doing it so ostentatiously as to attract 
 public attention. It was not considered advisable that 
 it should appear that the President of the United 
 States was, for his personal safety, obliged to sur- 
 round himself by armed guards. Mr. Lincoln was 
 not consulted in the matter. But Captain Todd, 
 formerly an officer of the regular army, who was, I 
 believe, the brother-in-law of Mr. Lincoln, was then 
 residing in the Presidential Mansion, and with him I 
 was daily and nightly in communication, in order that 
 in case of danger one person in the President’s house- 
 hold should know where to find the main body of the 
 guard, to the officer commanding which Captain Todd 
 was each night introduced. Double sentries were 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 309 
 
 placed in the shrubbery all around the mansion, and 
 the main body of the guard was posted in a vacant 
 basement-room, from which a staircase led to the 
 upper floors. A person entering by the main gate and 
 walking up to the front door of the Executive Man- 
 sion during the night could see no sign of a guard; 
 but from the moment anyone entered the grounds by 
 any entrance, he was under the view of at least two 
 riflemen standing silent in the shrubbery, and any 
 suspicious movement on his part would have caused 
 his immediate arrest ; while inside, the call of Cap- 
 tain Todd would have been promptly answered by 
 armed men. The precautions were taken before Fort 
 Sumter was fired on, as well as afterward. One night 
 near midnight,” continues General Stone, “ I entered 
 the grounds for the purpose of inspecting the guard, 
 and was surprised to see a bright light in the East 
 room. As I entered the basement I heard a loud 
 noise, as of many voices talking loudly, mingled with 
 the ringing of arms, coming from the great reception 
 room. On questioning the commander of the guard, 
 I learned that many gentlemen had entered the house 
 at a late hour, but they had come in boldty; no objec- 
 tion had been made from within, but on the contrary 
 Captain Todd had told him all was right. I ascended 
 the interior staircase and entered the East room, where 
 I found more than fifty men, among whom were Hon. 
 Cassius M. Clay and General Lane. All were armed 
 with muskets, which they were generally examining, 
 and it was the ringing of many rammers in the musket 
 barrels which had caused the noise I had heard. Mr. 
 Clay informed me that he and a large number of politi- 
 cal friends, deeming it very improper that the Presi- 
 dent's person should in such times he unguarded, had 
 formed a voluntary guard which would remain there 
 every night and see to it that Mr. Lincoln was well 
 
310 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 protected. I applauded the good spirit exhibited, but 
 did not, however, cease the posting of the outside 
 guards, nor the nightly inspections myself as before, 
 until the time came when others than myself became 
 responsible for the safety of the President.” 
 
 It is stated that Lincoln “ had an almost morbid 
 dislike to an escort, or guard, and daily exposed him- 
 self to the deadly aim of an assassin.” To the remon- 
 strances of friends, who feared his constant exposure to 
 danger, he had but one answer : “ If they kill me, the 
 next man will be just as bad for them; and in a 
 country like this, where our habits are simple, and 
 must be, assassination is always possible, and will 
 come if they are determined upon it.” A cavalry 
 guard was once placed at the gates of the White House 
 for a while, and Lincoln said that he “ worried until 
 he got rid of it.” He once remarked to Colonel Hal- 
 pine: “It would never do for a President to have 
 guards with drawn sabers at his door, as if he fancied 
 he were, or were trying to be, or were assuming to be, 
 an emperor.” While the President’s family were at 
 their summer-house, near Washington, he rode into 
 town of a morning, or out at night, attended by a 
 mounted escort ; but if he returned to town for a 
 while after dark, he rode in unguarded, and often 
 alone, in his open carriage. On more than one occa- 
 sion, the same writer tells us, he “ has gone through 
 the streets of Washington at a late hour of the night 
 with the President, without escort, or even the company 
 of a servant, walking all the way, going and returning. 
 Considering the many open and secret threats to take 
 his life, it is not surprising that Lincoln had many 
 thoughts about his coming to a sudden and violent 
 end. He once said that he felt the force of the expres- 
 sion, ‘ To take one’s life in his hand ’ ; but that he 
 would not like to face death suddenly. He said that 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 311 
 
 he thought himself a great coward physically, and 
 was sure that he would make a poor soldier, for unless 
 there was something inspiriting in the excitement of 
 a battle he was sure that he would drop his gun and 
 run at the first symptom of danger. That was said 
 sportively, and he added, ‘ Moral cowardice is some- 
 thing which I think I never had.’ ” 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Civil War — Uprising of the Nation — The President’s First Call for 
 Troops — Response of the Loyal North — The Riots in Baltimore 
 — Loyalty of Stephen A. Douglas — Douglas’s Death — Blockade 
 of Southern Ports — Additional War Measures — Lincoln Defines 
 the Policy of the Government — His Conciliatory Course — His 
 Desire to Save Kentucky — The President’s First Message to Con- 
 gress — Gathering of Troops in Washington — Reviews and Parades 
 — Disaster at Bull Run — The President Visits the Army — Good 
 Advice to an Angry Officer — A Peculiar Cabinet Meeting — Dark 
 Days for Lincoln — A “Black Mood" in the White House — Lin- 
 coln’s Unfaltering Courage — Relief in Story-telling — A Pretty 
 Good Land Title — “Measuring up” with Charles Sumner — Gen- 
 eral Scott “Unable as a Politician” — A Good Drawing-plaster — 
 The New York Millionaires who Wanted a Gunboat — A Good 
 Bridge-builder — A Sick Lot of Office-seekers. 
 
 HE Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter — a 
 
 United States fort situated at the mouth of 
 
 Charleston Harbor, South Carolina — April 12, 1861, 
 was the signal that civil war had actually begun. Lin- 
 coln had thus far maintained a conciliatory policy 
 toward the States in rebellion, hoping to the last that 
 good sense and reason prevailing over rash and violent 
 impulses would induce them to resume their allegiance 
 to the Government. Their resort to arms and capture 
 of forts and property of the United States decided 
 the course of the administration; and on the 15th of 
 April — forty-two days after his accession to the 
 Presidency — Lincoln issued a proclamation asking 
 for the immediate enlistment of 75,000 volunteers, 1 
 
 1 This first call for troops was supplemented a month later (May 16) 
 by a call for 42,034 volunteers for three years, for 22,114 officers and 
 men for the regular army, and 18,000 seamen for the navy. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 313 
 
 and summoning Congress to convene in an extra ses- 
 sion on the 4th of July. The call was sent forth 
 in the following form : 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 By the President of the United States. 
 
 Whereas, the laws of the United States have been 
 for some time past and now are opposed and the 
 execution thereof obstructed in the States of South 
 Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, 
 Louisiana and Texas, by combinations too powerful 
 to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial 
 proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals 
 by law; now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, Presi- 
 dent of the United States, in virtue of the power in 
 me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have 
 thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the 
 militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggre- 
 gate number of seventy-five thousand, in order to sup- 
 press said combinations and to cause the laws to be 
 duly executed. 
 
 The details of this object will be immediately com- 
 municated to the State authorities through the War 
 Department. I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, 
 facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, 
 the integrity and existence of our National Union, and 
 the perpetuity of popular government, and to redress 
 wrongs already long enough endured. I deem it proper 
 to say that the first service assigned to the forces 
 hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the 
 forts, places, and property which have been seized from 
 the Union; and in every event the utmost care will 
 be observed, consistently with the objects aforesaid, to 
 avoid any devastation, any destruction of, or inter- 
 ference with, property, or any disturbance of peaceful 
 citizens of any part of the country; and I hereby 
 command the persons composing the combinations 
 
314 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 aforesaid to disperse and retire peaceably to their 
 respective abodes, within twenty days from this date. 
 
 Deeming that the present condition of public affairs 
 presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in vir- 
 tue of the power in me vested by the Constitution, con- 
 vene both Houses of Congress. The Senators and 
 Representatives are, therefore, summoned to assemble 
 at their respective chambers, at twelve o’clock, noon, on 
 Thursday, the fourth day of July next, then and 
 there to consider and determine such measures as, in 
 their wisdom, the public safety and interest may seem 
 to demand. 
 
 In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and 
 caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 
 
 Done at the City of Washington, this fifteenth day 
 of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and sixty-one, and of the independence of 
 the United States the eighty-fifth. 
 
 By the President, Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 
 
 The issue of this proclamation created the wildest 
 enthusiasm throughout the North. Scarcely a voice 
 was raised against it, as it was seen to be a measure 
 of absolute necessity and of self-defense on the part 
 of the Government. “ Every Northern State,” says 
 Mr. Henry I. Raymond, “ responded promptly to the 
 President’s demand, and from private persons, as well 
 as by the Legislatures, men, arms, and money were 
 offered in unstinted profusion, and with the most 
 zealous alacrity, in support of the Government. 
 Massachusetts was first in the field, and on the first 
 day after the issue of the proclamation her Sixth 
 regiment, completely equipped, started from Boston 
 for the national capital. Two more regiments were 
 also made ready, and took their departure within 
 forty-eight hours.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 315 
 
 The Sixth Massachusetts regiment was attacked on 
 its way to Washington, on the 19th of April, by a mob 
 in Baltimore, carrying a Confederate flag, and several 
 of its members were killed or severely wounded. “ This,” 
 continues Mr. Raymond, “ inflamed to a still higher 
 point the excitement which already pervaded the coun- 
 try. The whole Northern section of the Union felt 
 outraged that troops should be assailed and murdered 
 on their way to protect the capital of the nation. 
 In Maryland, where the secession party was strong, 
 there was also great excitement, and the Governor 
 of the State and the Mayor of Baltimore united in 
 urging, for prudential reasons, that no more troops 
 should be brought through that city.” In answer to 
 the remonstrances of Governor Hicks and a com- 
 mittee from Mai’yland, who presented their petition 
 in person, Lincoln, intent on avoiding every cause of 
 offense, and with a forbearance that now seems in- 
 credible, replied: “ Troops must be brought here; but 
 I make no point of bringing them through Baltimore. 
 Without any military knowledge myself, of course I 
 must leave details to General Scott. He hastily said 
 this morning, in the presence of these gentlemen, 
 ‘ March them around Baltimore, and not through it.’ 
 I sincerely hope the General, on fuller reflection, will 
 consider this practical and proper, and that you will 
 not object to it. By this, a collision of the people 
 of Baltimore with the troops will be avoided, unless 
 they go out of their way to seek it. I hope you will 
 exert your influence to prevent this. Now and ever, 
 I shall do all in my power for peace, consistently with 
 the maintenance of the Government.” 
 
 One of the most encouraging incidents of this open- 
 ing chapter of the war was the announcement that 
 Stephen A. Douglas, the great leader of the Democracy 
 and the life-long political opponent of Lincoln, had 
 
316 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 declared his purpose to stand by the Government. 
 The effect of this action, at this crisis, was most salu- 
 tary ; it ranged the Northern Democrats with the de- 
 fenders of the Union, and gave Lincoln a united North 
 as the act of no other individual could have done. 
 From that time until his death Douglas never faltered 
 in his loyalty, and stood by the Government with a 
 zeal and patriotism which were above all lower con- 
 siderations of person or of party. On Sunday, the 
 14th of April, when Washington was thrilling with 
 excitement over the fall of Fort Sumter, Douglas called 
 on the President and after a brief conversation author- 
 ized a statement to be telegraphed throughout the 
 country that he was “ fully prepared to sustain the 
 President in the exercise of all his Constitutional func- 
 tions, to preserve the Union, maintain the Govern- 
 ment, and defend the Federal capital. A firm policy 
 and prompt action were necessary. The capital was 
 in danger, and must be defended at all hazards, and 
 at any expense of men and money.” Faithful to his 
 pledge, Douglas immediately set out upon a tour 
 through the Northwest, to strengthen, by his words 
 and presence, the spirit of loyalty among the people. 
 He made a series of eloquent speeches on his journey 
 to Chicago, where he arrived worn and spent with the 
 fatigue and excitement of his undertaking. It was 
 the last and noblest service of his life. Illness ensued, 
 and after a few weeks of suffering he passed away, 
 June 3, at the age of forty-eight. His death was an 
 irreparable loss, mourned by the President and the 
 nation. 
 
 The President’s call for troops was succeeded on the 
 19th of April by a proclamation declaring a blockade 
 of Southern ports. The text of this document is 
 historically important, as definitely formulating the 
 attitude and policy of the Government. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 317 
 
 Whereas, An insurrection against the Government 
 of the United States has broken out in the States of 
 South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Missis- 
 sippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and the laws of the 
 United States for the collection of the revenue cannot 
 be efficiently executed therein, conformably to that 
 provision of the Constitution which requires duties to 
 be uniform throughout the United States: 
 
 And whereas, A combination of persons, engaged in 
 such insurrection, have threatened to grant pretended 
 letters of marque to authorize the bearers thereof to 
 commit assaults on the lives, vessels, and property of 
 good citizens of the country lawfully engaged in com- 
 merce on the high seas, and in waters of the United 
 States : 
 
 And whereas. An Executive Proclamation has al- 
 ready been issued, requiring the persons engaged in 
 these disorderly proceedings to desist therefrom, 
 calling out a militia force for the purpose of 
 repressing the same, and convening Congress in 
 extraordinary session to deliberate and determine 
 thereon : 
 
 Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of 
 the United States, with a view to the same purposes 
 before mentioned, and to the protection of the public 
 peace, and the lives and property of quiet and orderly 
 citizens pursuing their lawful occupations, until Con- 
 gress shall have assembled and deliberated on the said 
 unlawful proceedings, or until the same shall have 
 ceased, have further deemed it advisable to set on foot 
 a blockade of the ports within the States aforesaid, in 
 pursuance of the laws of the United States, and of 
 the laws of nations in such cases provided. For this 
 purpose a competent force will be posted so as to 
 prevent entrance and exit of vessels from the ports 
 aforesaid. If, therefore, with a view to violate such 
 blockade, a vessel shall approach or shall attempt to 
 leave any of the said ports, she shall be duly warned 
 by the commander of one of the blockading vessels, 
 
318 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 who shall indorse on her register the fact and date of 
 such warning ; and if the same vessel shall again 
 attempt to enter or leave the blockaded port, she will 
 be captured and sent to the nearest convenient port, 
 for such proceedings against her and her cargo, as 
 prize, as may be deemed advisable. 
 
 And I hereby proclaim and declare, that if any 
 person, under the pretended authority of said States, 
 or under any other pretense, shall molest a vessel of 
 the United States, or the persons or cargo on board 
 of her, such person will be held amenable to the laws 
 of the United States for the prevention and punish- 
 ment of piracy. 
 
 By the President, Abraham Lincoln. 
 William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 
 
 Washington, April 19, 1861. 
 
 On the 27th of April tl?e President issued a proc- 
 lamation by which the blockade of Southern ports 
 was extended to the ports of North Carolina and Vir- 
 ginia. And on the 16th of May, by another procla- 
 mation, the President directed the commander of the 
 United States forces in Florida to “ permit no person 
 to exercise any office or authority upon the islands 
 of Key West, Tortugas, and Santa Rosa, which may 
 be inconsistent with the laws and Constitution of the 
 United States; authorizing him, at the same time, 
 if he shall find it necessary, to suspend the writ of 
 habeas corpus, and to remove from the vicinity of the 
 United States fortresses all dangerous and suspected 
 persons.” 
 
 The Virginia Convention which passed the ordinance 
 of secession (April 17) having appointed a com- 
 mittee to wait upon the President and “ respectfully 
 ask him to communicate to this Convention the policy 
 which the Federal Executive intends to pursue in 
 regard to the Confederate States,” Lincoln in reply 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 319 
 
 thus clearly outlined the policy and purposes of the 
 Government : 
 
 In answer I have to say, that having at the begin- 
 ning of my official term expressed my intended policy 
 as plainly as I was able, it is with deep regret and 
 mortification I now learn there is great and injurious 
 uncertainty in the public mind as to what that policy 
 is and what course I intend to pursue. Not having as 
 yet seen occasion to change, it is now my purpose to 
 pursue the course marked out in the Inaugural Ad- 
 dress. I commend a careful consideration of the whole 
 document as the best expression I can give to my pur- 
 poses. As I then and therein said, I now repeat : 
 “ The power confided in me will be used to hold, occupy, 
 and possess property and places belonging to the 
 Government, and to collect the duties and imposts ; 
 but beyond what is necessary for these objects there 
 will be no invasion, no using of force against or among 
 the people anywhere.” By the words “ property and 
 places belonging to the Government,” I chiefly allude 
 to the military posts and property which were in pos- 
 session of the Government when it came into my hands. 
 But if, as now appears to be true, in pursuit of a 
 purpose to drive the United States authority from 
 these places, an unprovoked assault has been made 
 upon Fort Sumter, I shall hold myself at liberty to 
 repossess, if I can, like places which had been seized 
 before the Government was devolved upon me ; and 
 in any event I shall, to the best of my ability, repel 
 force by force. In case it proves true that Fort 
 Sumter has been assaulted, as is reported, I shall, 
 perhaps, cause the United States mails to be withdrawn 
 from all the States which claim to have seceded, believ- 
 ing that the commencement of actual war against the 
 Government justifies and possibly demands it. I 
 scarcely need to say that I consider the military posts 
 and property situated within the States which claim 
 to have seceded, as yet belonging to the Government 
 
320 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of the United States as much as they did before the 
 supposed secession. Whatever else I may do for the 
 purpose, I shall not attempt to collect the duties and 
 imposts by any armed invasion of any part of the 
 country; not meaning by this, however, that I may 
 not land a force deemed necessary to relieve a fort 
 upon the border of the country. From the fact that I 
 have quoted a part of the Inaugural Address, it must 
 not be inferred that I repudiate any other part, the 
 whole of which I reaffirm, except so far as what I now 
 say of the mails may be regarded as a modification. 
 
 Abbaham Lincoln. 
 
 In the early period of Lincoln’s administration he 
 was hopeful that many serious phases of the threat- 
 ened trouble might be averted, and that the better 
 judgment of the citizens of the South might prevail. 
 “ For more than a month after his inauguration,” 
 says Secretary Welles, “ President Lincoln indulged 
 the hope, I may say felt a strong confidence, that 
 Virginia would not secede but would adhere to the 
 Union. . . . That there should be no cause of offense, 
 no step that would precipitate or justify secession, he 
 enjoined forbearance from all unnecessary exercise of 
 political party authority.” But he was very decided 
 and determined as to what his duty was and what his 
 action would be if the secessionists and disunionists 
 pressed their case. He said: “The disunionists did 
 not want me to take the oath of office. I have taken 
 it, and I intend to administer the office for the benefit 
 of the people, in accordance with the Constitution and 
 the law.” He was especially anxious that Kentucky 
 should not be plunged into a rebellious war, as he saw 
 that this State would be of the utmost importance 
 to the Union cause. Soon after the bombardment of 
 Fort Sumter a conference was held between the Presi- 
 dent and a number of prominent Kentuckians then 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 321 
 
 in Washington, at which Lincoln expressed himself 
 in the most earnest words. Kentucky, he declared, 
 “ must not be precipitated into secession. She is the 
 key to the situation. With her faithful to the Union, 
 the discord in the other States will come to an end. 
 She is now in the hands of those who do not represent 
 the people. The sentiment of her State officials must 
 be counteracted. We must arouse the young men 
 of the State to action for the Union. We must know 
 what men in Kentucky have the confidence of the 
 people, and who can be relied on for good judgment, 
 that they may be brought to the support of the Gov- 
 ernment at once.” He paid a high tribute to the 
 patriotism of the Southern men who had stood up 
 against secession. “ But,” said he, “ they are, as a 
 rule, beyond the meridian of life, and their counsel and 
 example do not operate quickly, if at all, on the ex- 
 citable nature of young men who become inflamed by 
 the preparations for war, and who in such a war as 
 this will be, if it goes on, are apt to go in on the side 
 that gives the first opportunity. The young men 
 must not be permitted to drift away from us. I know 
 that the men who voted against me in Kentucky 
 will not permit this Government to be swept away 
 by any such issue as that framed by the disunionists.” 
 
 As Mr. Markland, a prominent Kentuckian, relates, 
 in his reminiscences of the period : “ Immediately a 
 campaign for the Union was begun in Kentucky. The 
 State could not be dragooned into open secession, 
 therefore the neutrality policy was adopted. That 
 policy was more rigidly observed by Mr. Lincoln than 
 it was by his opponents, but he was not misled by it. 
 Judge Joseph Holt made eloquent appeals for the 
 Union through the columns of the press and from 
 the forum, as did the Speeds, the Goodloes, and many 
 others of prominence. Rousseau, Jacobs, Pound- 
 
322 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 baker, and others, stood guard in the Legislature, and 
 by their eloquence stayed the tide of disunion there. 
 The labors of Judge Holt, the Speeds, the Goodloes, 
 Cassius M. Clay, and their followers, had brought forth 
 fruit for the Union. The patriotic men in the Legis- 
 lature had done their work well. The men in the camps 
 on the north side of the Ohio river moved over into 
 Kentucky, and the invasion of Confederates which 
 was to sweep Kentucky into secession was at an end. 
 Kentucky was saved to the Union by the wise counsel 
 and pacific policy of Abraham Lincoln.” 
 
 A special session of Congress convened on the 4th 
 of July, in obedience to the summons of the President 
 in his proclamation of April 15. The following day 
 the message of the Executive rehearsed to the joint 
 Houses the circumstances which had rendered their 
 assembling necessary. It portrayed in clear and suc- 
 cinct words the situation of affairs, the aggressive acts 
 of the States aiming to disrupt the Federal Union, 
 and the measures adopted by the administration to 
 frustrate their attempts. The assailants of the Gov- 
 ernment, said the President, “ have forced upon the 
 country the distinct issue, ‘ immediate dissolution or 
 blood.’ And this issue embraces more than the fate of 
 these United States. It presents to the whole family 
 of man the question whether a constitutional Republic 
 or Democracy — a Government of the people by the 
 same people — can or cannot maintain its territorial 
 integrity against its own domestic foes. It presents 
 the question whether discontented individuals, too few 
 in numbers to control administration according to 
 organic law in any case, can always, upon the pre- 
 tenses made in this case, or on any other pretenses, 
 or arbitrarily, without any pretense, break up their 
 Government, and thus practically put an end to free 
 government upon the earth. It forces us to ask, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 323 
 
 ‘ Is there, in all Republics, this inherent and fatal 
 weakness? Must a Government, of necessity, be too 
 strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak 
 to maintain its own existence? ’ ” The message re- 
 quested of Congress “ the legal means for making this 
 contest a short and decisive one; that you place at 
 the control of the Government, for the work, at least 
 four hundred thousand men and $400,000,000. That 
 number of men is about one-tenth of those of proper 
 ages within the regions where, apparently, all are will- 
 ing to engage; and the sum is less than a twenty-third 
 part of the money value owned by the men who seem 
 ready to devote the whole. A debt of $600,000,000 
 now is a less sum per head than was the debt of 
 our Revolution when we came out of that struggle; 
 and the money value in the country now bears even a 
 greater proportion to what it was then than does the 
 population. Surely each man has as strong a motive 
 now to preserve our liberties as each had then to 
 establish them.” The message dwelt upon the encour- 
 aging facts “that the free institutions we enjoy 
 have developed the powers and improved the condition 
 of our whole people beyond any example in the world. 
 Of this we now have a striking and an impressive 
 illustration. So large an army as the Government has 
 now on foot was never before known without a soldier 
 in it but had taken his place there of his own free 
 choice. But more than this ; there are many single 
 regiments whose members, one and another, possess 
 full practical knowledge of all the arts, sciences, pro- 
 fessions, and whatever else, whether useful or elegant, 
 is known in the world ; and there is scarcely one from 
 which there could not be selected a President, a Cabi- 
 net, a Congress, and perhaps a Court, abundantly 
 competent to administer the Government itself.” 
 Finally, and eloquently, the message demonstrated the 
 
324 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 significance of the war in its effect upon the liberties 
 and prayers of all mankind. This message again 
 illustrates Lincoln’s singular power of stating clearly 
 and convincingly the nature and exigencies of the 
 struggle for the Preservation of the Union. Said he: 
 
 This is essentially a people’s contest. On the side 
 of the Union it is a struggle for maintaining in the 
 world that form and substance of government whose 
 leading object is to elevate the condition of men; to 
 lift artificial weights from all shoulders ; to clear the 
 paths of laudable pursuits for all; to afford all an 
 unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life. 
 Yielding to partial and temporary departures, from 
 necessity, this is the leading object of the Government 
 for whose existence we contend. I am most happy 
 to believe that the plain people understand and appre- 
 ciate this. It is worthy of note that while, in this 
 the Government’s hour of trial, large numbers of those 
 in the army and navy who have been favored with the 
 offices have resigned and proved false to the hand 
 which had pampered them, not one common soldier 
 or common sailor is known to have deserted his flag. 
 Great honor is due to those officers who remained true, 
 despite the example of their treacherous associates ; 
 but the greatest honor, and most important fact of 
 all, is the unanimous firmness of the common soldiers 
 and common sailors. To the last man, so far as 
 known, they have successfully resisted the traitorous 
 efforts of those whose commands but an hour before 
 they obeyed as absolute law. This is the patriotic in- 
 stinct of plain people. They understand, without an 
 argument, that destroying the Government which was 
 made by Washington means no good to them. Our 
 popular Government has often been called an experi- 
 ment. Two points in it our people have already set- 
 tled — the successful establishing and the successful 
 administering of it. One still remains — its successful 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 325 
 
 maintenance against a formidable internal attempt to 
 overthrow it. It is now for them to demonstrate to 
 the world that those who can fairly carry an election 
 can also suppress a rebellion ; that ballots are the 
 rightful and peaceful successors of bullets ; and that 
 when ballots have fairly and constitutionally decided, 
 there can be no successful appeal back to bullets ; that 
 there can be no successful appeal, except to ballots 
 themselves, at succeeding elections. Such will be a 
 great lesson of peace : teaching men that what they 
 cannot take by an election, neither can they take by a 
 war ; teaching all the folly of being the beginners of 
 a war. 
 
 Through the early summer of 1861 Washington 
 was alive with preparations for a military movement 
 against the enemy in Virginia. Troops from the North 
 were constantly arriving, and as rapidly as possible 
 were assigned to different organizations and drilled 
 in the art of war. “ Few comparatively know or can 
 appreciate the actual condition of things and the 
 state of feeling of the members of the Administration 
 in those days,” says Secretary Welles. “ Nearly sixty 
 years of peace had unfitted us for any war; but 
 the most terrible of all wars, a civil war, was upon 
 us, and it had to be met. Congress had adjourned 
 without making any provision for the storm, though 
 aware it was at hand and soon to burst upon the 
 country. A new Administration, its members scarcely 
 acquainted with each other, and differing essentially 
 in the past, was compelled to act, promptly and 
 decisively.” The burden upon the President began 
 to grow tremendous ; but he did not shrink or falter. 
 
 Upon his back a more than Atlas-load, 
 
 The burden of the Commonwealth, was laid; 
 
 He stooped, and rose up to it, though the road 
 Shot suddenly downwards, not a whit dismayed. 
 
326 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 He labored incessantly in urging forward the prepa- 
 rations for the great struggle which, however he 
 might regret it, he now saw was inevitable. He was 
 in daily conference with the officers of the army 
 and of the War Department, and was present at in- 
 numerable reviews and parades of the soldiers. The 
 4th of July was memorable for a grand review of all 
 the New York troops in and about the city. It was 
 a brilliant and impressive scene. Says a spectator, 
 Hon. A. G. Riddle : “ As they swept past — twenty- 
 five thousand boys in blue — their muskets flashing, 
 bands playing, and banners waving, I stood near a 
 distinguished group surrounding the President, and 
 noted his countenance as he turned to the massive 
 moving column. All about him were excited, confident, 
 exultant. He stood silent, pale, profoundly sad, as 
 though his prophetic soul saw what was to follow. 
 He seemed to be gazing beyond the splendid pageant 
 before him, upon things hidden from other eyes. Was 
 there presaged to him a vision of that grander review 
 of our victorious armies at the close of the war, which 
 he was not to see? ” 
 
 A few days later, all the troops in Washington 
 crossed the Long Bridge and marched, gallant and 
 exultant, straight toward the enemy in Virginia. The 
 advance of our army resulted, on the 21st of July, in 
 the shameful disaster at Bull Run. The North was 
 filled with surprise and dismay, and even the stoutest 
 hearts were burdened with anxiety for the future. 
 Lincoln at first shared somewhat in the general de- 
 pression, but his elastic spirits quickly rallied from 
 the shock. Three or four days after the battle, some 
 gentlemen who had been on the field called upon him. 
 He inquired very minutely regarding all the circum- 
 stances of the affair, and after listening with the ut- 
 most attention, said, with a touch of humor : “ So it ’s 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 327 
 
 jour notion that we whipped the rebels, and then ran 
 away from them! ” Not long after this, the President 
 made a personal visit to the army in Virginia. General 
 Sherman, at that time connected with the Army of 
 the Potomac, says : “ I was near the river-bank, look- 
 ing at a block-house which had been built for the 
 defense of the aqueduct, when I saw a carriage coming 
 by the road that crossed the Potomac river at George- 
 town by a ferry. I thought I recognized in the car- 
 riage the person of President Lincoln. I hurried 
 across a bend, so as to stand by the roadside as the 
 carriage passed. I was in uniform, with a sword 
 on, and was recognized by Mr. Lincoln and Mr. 
 Seward, who rode side by side in an open hack. I 
 inquired if they were going to m} r camp, and Mr. 
 Lincoln said : ‘ Yes ; we heard that you had got 
 over the big scare, and we thought we would come over 
 and see the boys.’ The roads had been much changed 
 and were rough. I asked if I might give directions to 
 his coachman; he promptly invited me to jump in, and 
 to tell the coachman which way to drive. Intending 
 to begin on the right and follow round to the left, 
 I turned the driver into a side-road which led up a 
 very steep hill, and, seeing a soldier, called to him 
 and sent him up hurriedly to announce to the Colonel 
 whose camp we were approaching that the President 
 was coming. As we slowly ascended the hill, I dis- 
 covered that Mr. Lincoln was full of feeling, and 
 wanted to encourage our men. I asked if he in- 
 tended to speak to them, and he said he would like to. 
 I asked him then to please discourage all cheering, 
 noise, or any sort of confusion; that we had had 
 enough of it before Bull Run to ruin any set of men, 
 and that what we needed were cool, thoughtful, hard- 
 fighting soldiers — no more hurrahing, no more hum- 
 bug. He took my remarks in the most perfect good- 
 
328 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 nature. Before we had reached the first camp, I 
 heard the drum beating the ‘ assembly,’ saw the men 
 running for their tents, and in a few minutes the 
 regiment was in line, arms presented, and then brought 
 to an ‘ order ’ and ‘ parade rest.’ Mr. Lincoln stood 
 up in the carriage, and made one of the neatest, best, 
 and most feeling addresses I ever listened to, referring 
 to our late disaster at Bull Run, the high duties that 
 still devolved on us, and the brighter days yet to 
 come. At one or two points the soldiers began to 
 cheer, but he promptly checked them, saying: ‘Don’t 
 cheer, boys. I confess I rather like it myself, but 
 Colonel Sherman here says that it is not military ; 
 and I guess we had better defer to his opinion.’ In 
 winding up, he explained that, as President, he was 
 commander-in-chief ; that he was resolved that the 
 soldiers should have everything that the law allowed; 
 and he called on one and all to appeal to him person- 
 ally in case they were wronged. The effect of this 
 speech was excellent. We passed along in the same 
 manner to all the camps of my brigade; and Mr. 
 Lincoln complimented me highly for the order, clean- 
 liness, and discipline that he observed. Indeed, he 
 and Mr. Seward both assured me that it was the first 
 bright moment that they had experienced since the 
 battle.” 
 
 “ In the .crowd at Fort Corcoran,” continues Gen- 
 eral Sherman, “ I saw an officer with whom I had 
 had a little difficulty that morning. His face was 
 pale and his lips were compressed. I foresaw a scene, 
 but sat on the front seat of the carriage as quiet 
 as a lamb. This officer forced his way through the 
 crowd to the carriage, and said : ‘ Mr. President, I 
 have a cause of grievance. This morning I went to 
 speak to Colonel Sherman, and he threatened to shoot 
 ine.’ Mr. Lincoln, who was still standing, said, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 329 
 
 4 Threatened to shoot you? ’ 4 Yes, sir, he threatened 
 
 to shoot me.’ Mr. Lincoln looked at him, then at 
 me ; and stooping his tall, spare form toward the 
 officer, said to him in a loud stage-whisper, easily 
 heard for some yards around : 4 Well, if I were you, 
 and he threatened to shoot, I would not trust him, for 
 I believe he would do it .’ The officer turned about 
 and disappeared, and the men laughed at him. Soon 
 the carriage drove on, and as we descended the hill I 
 explained the facts to the President, who answered, 
 4 Of course I did n’t know anything about it, but 
 I thought you knew your own business best.’ I thanked 
 him for his confidence, and assured him that what he 
 had done would go far to enable me to maintain good 
 discipline; and it did.” 
 
 The days following the Bull Run disaster were full 
 of depression and discouragement, but Lincoln bore 
 up bravely. He began to feel the terrible realities of 
 his position, and saw himself brought face to face 
 with the most awful responsibilities that ever rested 
 upon human shoulders. A disrupted Union, the down- 
 fall of the great American Republic, so long pre- 
 dicted by envious critics of our institutions, seemed 
 about to be accomplished. At the best, the Union 
 could be saved only by the shedding of seas of priceless 
 blood and the expenditure of untold treasures. And 
 he must act, control, choose, and direct the measures 
 of the Government and the movements of its vast 
 armies. And what if all should fail? What if the 
 resources of the Government should prove inadequate, 
 and its enemies too powerful to be subdued by force? 
 No wonder he was appalled and well-nigh over- 
 whelmed by the dark prospect before him. 
 
 Rev. Robert Collyer tells of seeing Lincoln in the 
 summer of 1861, on the steps of the White House, 
 44 answering very simply and kindly to the marks of 
 
330 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 respect some soldiers had come to pay him, who 
 stood in deep ranks on the grass, that had been 
 top-dressed with compost enough to cover the whole 
 District of Columbia, as the chairman of the com- 
 mittee that had to pass the account told me. And 
 once, curiously, I saw only his feet. It was soon after 
 the battle of Bull Run, when some say that we ran, 
 and some say that they ran. And all was quiet on the 
 Potomac; but the nation was stamping and champing 
 the bit. And passing the White House one day, I 
 saw three pairs of feet on the sill of an open window ; 
 and pausing for a moment, a good-natured fellow 
 said, ‘ That ’s the Cabinet a sitting and them big feet ’ s 
 old Abe's.’ So, lecturing in Boston not long after, I 
 said, like a fool as I was, ‘ That ’s about all they are 
 good for in Washington, to point their feet out o’ 
 window and talk, but go nowhere and do nothing.’ 
 When, indeed, the good President’s heart was even 
 then breaking with anxiety and trouble.” 
 
 “ One day,” says Mr. A. G. Riddle, “ I called at the 
 White House to present a distinguished stranger, who 
 had important matters to bring to Mr. Lincoln’s notice. 
 It was evening — cold, rainy, and cheerless. The 
 Executive Mansion was gloomy and silent. At Mr. 
 Lincoln’s door we were told by the attendant to enter. 
 We found the room quite dark, and seemingly vacant. 
 I advanced a step or two, to determine if anyone were 
 present, and was arrested by a strange apparition, 
 at first not distinguishable: the long, seemingly life- 
 less, limbs of a man, as if thrown upon a chair and left 
 to sprawl in unseemly disorder. A step further, and 
 the fallen head disclosed the features of the President. 
 I turned back; a word from my companion reached 
 the drooping figure, and a sepulchral voice bade us 
 advance. We came upon a man, in some respects the 
 most remarkable of any time, in the hour of his pros- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 331 
 
 tration and weakness — in the depths of that de- 
 pression to which his inherited melancholy at times 
 reduced him, now perhaps coming to overwhelm him 
 as he thought of the calamities of his country.” 
 
 An old and intimate friend from Springfield, who 
 visited Lincoln at this period, found the door of his 
 office in the White House locked; but going through a 
 private room and a side entrance, he found the Presi- 
 dent lying on a sofa, evidently greatly disturbed and 
 much excited, manifestly displeased with the outlook. 
 Jumping up from his reclining position, he advanced, 
 saying: “You know better than any man living that 
 from my boyhood up my ambition was to be Presi- 
 dent. I am President of one part of this divided coun- 
 try at least ; but look at me ! I wish I had never been 
 born ! I’ve a white elephant on my hands, one hard 
 to manage. With a fire in my front and rear, having 
 to contend with the jealousies of the military com- 
 manders, and not receiving that cordial co-operation 
 and support from Congress that could reasonably be 
 expected, with an active and formidable enemy in the 
 field threatening the very life-blood of the Govern- 
 ment, my position is anything but a bed of roses.” 
 
 But in the darkest hours of the nation’s peril, Lin- 
 coln never wavered in his purpose. Anxious and care- 
 worn, his heart bleeding with grief for the losses 
 of our brave soldiers, and harassed by the grave 
 duties constantly demanding his attention, he had but 
 one purpose, — to go on unfalteringly and unhesi- 
 tatingly in his course until the supremacy of the Gov- 
 ernment was restored in every portion of its territory. 
 He wrote in a private letter : “ I expect to maintain 
 this contest until successful, or till I die, or am con- 
 quered, or my term expires, or Congress or the country 
 forsake me.” 
 
 Besides his invincible will and courage, Lincoln had 
 
332 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 one important resource in his dark hours, an ever- 
 read} T relief for his overcharged emotions. Byron said 
 that he sometimes laughed in order that he might not 
 weep. Lincoln’s life-long solace was his love of story- 
 telling. Hon. Hugh McCulloch, afterward Secretary 
 of the Treasury, relates that about a week after the 
 battle of Bull Run he called at the White House, in 
 company with a few friends, and was amazed when, re- 
 ferring to something which had been said by one of 
 the company about the battle that was so disastrous 
 to the Union forces, the President remarked, in his 
 usual quiet manner, “ That reminds me of a story,” 
 which he told in a manner so humorous as almost to 
 lead his listeners to believe that he was free from 
 care and apprehension. Mr. McCulloch could not 
 then understand how the President could feel like 
 telling a story, when Washington was in danger of 
 being captured and the whole North was dismayed. 
 He learned his mistake afterwards, however, and per- 
 ceived that his estimate of Lincoln before his election 
 was well grounded, and that he possessed even higher 
 qualities than he had been given credit for; that he 
 was “ a man of sound judgment, great singleness and 
 tenacity of purpose, and extraordinary sagacity; 
 that story-telling was to him a safety-valve, and that 
 he indulged in it, not only for the pleasure it afforded 
 him, but for a temporary relief from oppressing cares.” 
 It is related that on the morning after the battle at 
 Fredericksburg, Hon. I. N. Arnold, then a member of 
 Congress from Illinois, called on the President, and 
 to his amazement found him engaged in reading “ Arte- 
 mus Ward.” Making no reference to that which occu- 
 pied the universal thought, he asked Mr. Arnold to 
 sit down while he read to him Artemus’ description 
 of his visit to the Shakers. Shocked at this proposi- 
 tion, Mr. Arnold said: “Mr. President, is it possible 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 333 
 
 that with the whole land bowed in sorrow and covered 
 with a pall in the presence of yesterday’s fearful re- 
 verse, you can indulge in such levity? ” Throwing 
 down the book, with the tears streaming down his 
 cheeks and his huge frame quivering with emotion, 
 Lincoln answered : “ Mr. Arnold, if I could not get 
 momentary respite from the crushing burden I am con- 
 stantly carding, my heart would break ! ” 
 
 Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “His broad good 
 humor, running easily into jocular talk, in which he 
 delighted, and in which he excelled, was a rich gift 
 to this wise man. It enabled him to keep his secret, 
 to meet every kind of man, and every rank in society; 
 to take off the edge of the severest decisions, to mask 
 his own purpose and sound his companion, and to 
 catch, with true instinct, the temper of every com- 
 pany he addressed. And, more than all, it is to a 
 man of severe labor, in anxious and exhausting crises, 
 the natural restorative, good as sleep, and is the pro- 
 tection of the overdriven brain against rancor and 
 insanity.” 
 
 Even amidst the stern realities of war, Lincoln 
 was keenly appreciative of anything that disclosed 
 the comic or grotesque side of men or happenings, 
 — largely, doubtless, for the relief afforded him. At 
 the beginning of Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania, in 
 June, 1863, when the Union forces under Colonel Mil- 
 roy were driven out of Harper’s Ferry by the Con- 
 federates, great consternation and alarm were caused 
 by reports that the Army of the Potomac had been 
 routed and was retreating before Lee, who was pressing 
 forward toward Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsyl- 
 vania. Mr. Welles records in his Diary (June 17, 
 1863) that he was at the War Department with the 
 President and Secretary Stanton, when “ a messenger 
 came in from General Schenck, declaring that the 
 
334 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 stragglers and baggage-trains of Milroy had run away 
 in affright, and squads of them on different parallel 
 roads had alarmed each other, and each fled in terror 
 with all speed to Harrisburg. This alone was as- 
 serted to be the basis of the great panic which had 
 alarmed Pennsylvania and the country. The Presi- 
 dent,” continues Mr. Welles, “ was in excellent humor. 
 He said this flight would be a capital joke for Orpheus 
 C. Kerr 1 to get hold of. He could give scope to his 
 imagination over the terror of broken squads of panic- 
 stricken teamsters, frightened at each other and 
 alarming all Pennsylvania. General Meigs, who was 
 present, inquired with great simplicity who this person 
 (Orpheus C. Kerr) was. ‘ Why,’ said the President, 
 ‘have you not read those papers? They are in two 
 volumes ; anyone who has not read them is a heathen.’ 
 He said he had enj oyed them greatly — except when 
 they attempted to play their wit on him, which did 
 not strike him as very successful, but rather dis- 
 gusted him. ‘ Now, the hits that are given to you, 
 Mr. Welles, or to Chase,’ he said, ‘I can enjoy; but 
 I daresay they may have disgusted you while I was 
 laughing at them. So vice versa as regards myself.’ ” 
 
 Hon. Lawrence Weldon relates that on one occasion 
 he called upon the President to inquire as to the prob- 
 able outcome of a conflict between the civil and military 
 authorities for the possession of a quantity of cotton 
 in a certain insurrectionary district. As soon as the 
 inquiry had been made, Lincoln’s face began lighting 
 up, and he said: “ What has become of our old friend 
 Bob Lewis, of DeWitt County? Do you remember a 
 story that Bob used to tell us about, his going to 
 Missouri to look up some Mormon lands that belonged 
 
 1 Orpheus C. Kerr ( Office Seeker) was the pseudonymn of Robert H. 
 Newell, a popular humorist of the war period, who dealt particularly 
 with the comic aspects of Washington and army life. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 335 
 
 to his father? You know that when Robert became of 
 age he found among the papers of his father a number 
 of warrants and patents for lands in Northeast Mis- 
 souri, and he concluded the best thing he could do was 
 to go to Missouri and investigate the condition of 
 things. It being before the days of railroads, he 
 started on horseback, with a pair of old-fashioned 
 saddlebags. When he arrived where he supposed his 
 land was situated, he stopped, hitched his horse, and 
 went into a cabin standing close by the roadside. He 
 found the proprietor, a lean, lank, leathery looking 
 man, engaged in the pioneer business of making bullets 
 preparatory to a hunt. On entering, Mr. Lewis ob- 
 served a rifle suspended in a couple of buck-horns 
 above the fire. He said to the man, ‘ I am looking up 
 some lands that I think belong to my father,’ and in- 
 quired of the man in what section he lived. Without 
 having ascertained the section, Mr. Lewis proceeded to 
 exhibit his title papers in evidence, and, having es- 
 tablished a good title, as he thought, said to the man, 
 ‘Now, that is my title. What is yours?’ The pio- 
 neer, who had by this time become somewhat interested 
 in the proceedings, pointed his long finger toward the 
 rifle. Said he, ‘Young man, do you see that gun?’ 
 Mr. Lewis frankly admitted that he did. ‘ Well,’ said 
 he, ‘ that is my title, and if you don’t get out of here 
 pretty d — — d quick you will feel the force of it.’ Mr. 
 Lewis very hurriedly put his title papers in his saddle- 
 bags, mounted his pony and galloped down the road, 
 and, as Bob says, the old pioneer snapped his gun 
 twice at him before he could turn the corner. Lewis 
 said that he had never been back to disturb that man’s 
 title since. ‘ Now,’ said Mr. Lincoln, ‘ the military 
 authorities have the same title against the civil au- 
 thorities that closed out Bob’s Mormon title in Mis- 
 souri.’ ” Judge Weldon says that after this anecdote 
 
336 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 he understood what would be the policy of the Gov- 
 ernment in the matter referred to as well as though a 
 proclamation had been issued. 
 
 The tedium of meetings of the Cabinet was often 
 relieved, and troublesome matters before it were 
 illuminated, by some apt and pithy story. Secretary 
 Welles tells of such an occasion when “ Seward was 
 embarrassed about the Dominican [sic] question. To 
 move either way threatened difficulty. On one side 
 was Spain, on the other side the negro. The Presi- 
 dent remarked that the dilemma reminded him of the 
 interview between two negroes, one of whom was a 
 preacher endeavoring to admonish and enlighten the 
 other. ‘ There are,’ said Josh the preacher, ‘ two 
 roads for you, Joe. Be careful which you take. One 
 ob dem leads straight to hell, de odder go right to 
 damnation.’ Joe opened his eyes under the impres- 
 sive eloquence and visions of an awful future, and ex- 
 claimed, ‘Josh, take which road you please; I go 
 troo de wood.’ ‘ I am not disposed to take any new 
 trouble,’ said the President, ‘just at this time, and 
 shall neither go for Spain nor the negro in this matter, 
 but shall take to the woods.’ ” 
 
 It is related that Charles Sumner, who was a very 
 tall man, and proud of his height, once worried the 
 President about some perplexing matter, when Lincoln 
 sought to change the subject by abruptly challenging 
 his visitor to measure backs. “ Sumner,” said Mr. 
 Lincoln, “ declined to stand up with me, back to back, 
 to see which was the tallest man, and made a fine speech 
 about this being the time for uniting our fronts against 
 the enemy, and not our backs. But I guess he was 
 afraid to measure, though he is a good piece of a man. 
 I have never had much to do with Bishops where I 
 live, but, do you know, Sumner is my idea of a Bishop.” 
 
 A good story of President Lincoln and General 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 337 
 
 Scott is reported by Major-General Keyes, who at the 
 beginning of the war was on the staff of General Scott, 
 then commander-in-chief of the armies of the United 
 States. “ I was sent,” says General Keyes, “ by my 
 chief to the President with a message that referred 
 to a military subject, and that led to a discussion. 
 Finding that Mr. Lincoln’s observations were begin- 
 ning to tangle my arguments, I said, ‘ That is the 
 opinion of General Scott, and you know, Mr. Presi- 
 dent, he is a very able military man.’ ‘ Well,’ said the 
 President, ‘ if he is as able a military man as he is un- 
 able as a politician, I give up.’ This was said with 
 an expression of the eye, which he turned on me, that 
 w r as peculiar to him, and which signified a great deal. 
 The astounding force of Mr. Lincoln’s observation was 
 not at all diminished by the fact that I had long 
 suspected that my chief lacked something which is 
 necessary to make a successful politician.” 
 
 Among the numerous delegations which thronged 
 Washington in the early part of the war was one 
 from New York, which urged very strenuously the 
 sending of a fleet to the southern cities — Charleston, 
 Mobile, and Savannah — with the object of drawing 
 off the rebel army from Washington. Lincoln said 
 the object reminded him of the case of a girl in New 
 Salem, who was greatly troubled with a “ singing ” 
 in her head. Various remedies were suggested by the 
 neighbors, but nothing seemed to afford any relief. 
 At last a man came along — “a common-sense sort 
 of man,” said he, inclining his head towards his callers 
 pleasantly, — “ w r ho was asked to prescribe for the 
 difficulty. After due inquiry and examination, he said 
 the cure was very simple. ‘ What is it ? ’ was the ques- 
 tion. ‘ Make a plaster of psalm-tunes, and apply to 
 her feet, and draw the singing down,’ was the re- 
 joinder.” Still better was his reply to another dele- 
 
338 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINC6LN 
 
 gation of New York millionaires who waited upon him 
 in 1862, after the appearance of the rebel ram “ Merri- 
 mac,” and represented to him that they were very un- 
 easy about the unprotected situation of their city, 
 which was exposed to attack and bombardment by 
 rebel rams ; and they requested him to detail a gun- 
 boat to defend the city. The gentlemen were fifty in 
 number, very dignified and respectable in appearance, 
 and stated that they represented in their own right 
 $100,000,000. Lincoln did not wish to offend these 
 gentlemen, and yet he intended to give them a little 
 lesson. He listened with great attention, and seemed 
 to be much impressed by their presence and their state- 
 ments. Then he replied, very deliberately : “ Gentle- 
 men, I am by the Constitution commander-in-chief of 
 the army and navy of the United States; and, as a 
 matter of law, can order anything done that is prac- 
 ticable to be done. But, as a matter of fact, I am not 
 in command of the gun-boats or ships of war; as a 
 matter of fact, I do not know exactly where they are, 
 but presume they are actively engaged. It is impossible 
 for me, in the present condition of things, to furnish 
 you a gun-boat. The credit of the Government is at 
 a very low ebb; greenbacks are not worth more than 
 forty or fifty cents on the dollar ; and in this condition 
 of things, if I was worth half as much as you, gentle- 
 men, are represented to be, and as badly scared as 
 you seem to be, I would build a guru-boat and give it to 
 the Government .” A gentleman who accompanied the 
 delegation says he never saw one hundred millions 
 sink to such insignificant proportions, as the com- 
 mittee recrossed the threshold of the White House, 
 sadder but wiser men. 
 
 “ Mr. Lincoln had his joke and his ‘ little story ’ 
 over the disruption of the Democracy. He once knew, 
 he said, a sound churchman, of the name of Brown, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 339 
 
 who was the member of a very sober and pious com- 
 mittee, having in charge the erection of a bridge over a 
 dangerous and rapid river. Several architects had 
 failed, and at last Brown said he had a friend named 
 Jones who had built several bridges, and could un- 
 doubtedly build that one. So Mr. Jones was called 
 in. ‘ Can you build this bridge? ’ inquired the com- 
 mittee. 4 Yes,’ replied Jones, ‘ or any other. I could 
 build a bridge to h — 1, if necessary.’ The committee 
 were shocked, and Brown felt called upon to defend his 
 friend. ‘ I know Jones so well,’ said he, 4 and he is so 
 honest a man, and so good an architect, that if he 
 states soberly and positively that he can build a bridge 
 to — to — the infernal regions, why, I believe it ; but 
 I feel bound to say that I have my doubts about the 
 abutment on the other side.’ 4 So,’ said Mr. Lincoln, 
 4 when politicians told me that the Northern and South- 
 ern wings of the Democracy could be harmonized, why, 
 I believed them, of course; but I always had my doubts 
 about the abutment on the other side.’ ” 
 
 A delegation once called on Lincoln to ask the ap- 
 pointment of a gentleman as commissioner to the Sand- 
 wich Islands. They presented their case as earnestly 
 as possible, and, besides his fitness for the place, they 
 urged that he was in bad health and a residence in that 
 balmy climate would be of great benefit to him. The 
 President closed the interview with the good-humored 
 remark : 44 Gentlemen, I am sorry to say that there 
 are eight other applicants for that place, and they 
 are all sicker than your man .” 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Lincoln’s Wise Statesmanship — The Mason and Slidell Affair — Com- 
 plications with England — Lincoln’s “Little Story” on the Trent 
 Affair — Building of the “ Monitor ” — Lincoln’s Part in the En- 
 terprise — The President’s First Annual Message — Discussion of 
 the Labor Question — ■ A President’s Reception in War Time — A 
 Great Affliction — Death in the White House — Chapters from the 
 Secret Service — A Morning Call on the President — Goldwin 
 Smith’s Impressions of Lincoln — Other Notable Tributes. 
 
 I N November of 1861 occurred one of the most im- 
 portant and perilous episodes of the war ; one whose 
 full significance was not understood, except by a few 
 cool heads, until long afterwards. Two influential 
 Southern politicians, Mason and Slidell, had been sent 
 by the Confederate Government as Commissioners to 
 Great Britain and France, to try to secure the recog- 
 nition of the Confederacy ; and while on board the 
 British steamer “ Trent ” they were taken prisoners by 
 the U. S. steamer “ San Jacinto,” and were brought 
 to Washington. Great Britain loudly protested 
 against what she regarded as an unwarrantable seizure 
 of passengers under the British flag, and for a time 
 excitement ran high and war with England seemed 
 almost inevitable. Fortunately for our country, the 
 controversy was amicably settled by the surrender of 
 the prisoners, without any sacrifice of the dignity of 
 the Government of the United States. As stated by 
 “ Hosea Biglow,” — 
 
 We gave the critters back, John, 
 
 Cos Abraham thought ’t was right ; 
 
 It wa’nt your bullyin’ clack, John, 
 
 Provokin’ us to fight. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 341 
 
 The statesmanship displayed b} r our Government 
 throughout this difficult affair was of the highest 
 order. Credit for it has been given to Mr. Seward, 
 the Secretary of State, by whom the correspondence 
 and negotiations were conducted. Few men could 
 have managed these details better ; yet the course that 
 was so happily determined on was undoubtedly due to 
 the good sense and shrewd wisdom of the President. 
 He not only dictated the policy to be followed by 
 Mr. Seward in his despatches to the American Minister 
 in London, but the more important documents were 
 revised and materially altered by Lincoln’s own hand. 
 His management of the Trent affair alone, it has been 
 said, would suffice to establish his reputation as the 
 ablest diplomatist of the war. Coming, as it did, at a 
 time when Lincoln was overwhelmed with the burden of 
 home affairs, it showed the surprising resources of his 
 character. The readiness and ability with which he met 
 this perilous emergency, in a field in which he had had 
 absolutely no experience or preparation, was equaled 
 only by his cool courage and self-reliance in following 
 a course radically opposed to the prevailing public 
 sentiment, to the views of Congress, and to the advice 
 of his own Cabinet. The Secretary of the Navy had 
 hastened to approve officially the act of Captain 
 Wilkes, commander of the “ San Jacinto,” and Secre- 
 tary Stanton “ cheered and applauded ” it. Even Mr. 
 Seward, cautious and conservative diplomat as he was, 
 at first “ opposed any concession or surrender of the 
 prisoners.” But Lincoln said significantly, “ One war 
 at a time.” Events have long since afforded the most 
 ample vindication of his course in this important 
 matter. He avoided a foreign war, while at the same 
 time, by committing Great Britain to the doctrine of 
 “ peace between neutrals,” gained a substantial diplo- 
 matic victory over that government. 
 
342 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 An excellent account of the circumstances of the 
 Trent affair is given by Benson J. Lossing, the author 
 and historian, who was in Washington when the events 
 occurred. “ The act of Captain Wilkes,” says Mr. 
 Lossing, “ was universally applauded by all loyal 
 Americans, and the land was filled with rejoicings be- 
 cause two of the most mischievous men among the 
 enemies of the Government were in custody. For the 
 moment, men did not stop to consider the law or the 
 expediency involved in the act. Public honors were 
 tendered to Captain Wilkes, and resolutions of thanks 
 were passed by public bodies. The Secretary of the 
 Navy wrote him a congratulatory letter on the ‘ great 
 public services ’ he had rendered in ‘ capturing the 
 rebel emissaries, Mason and Slidell,’ and assured him 
 that his conduct had 4 the emphatic approval of the 
 department.’ The House of Representatives tendered 
 him their thanks for the service he had done. But 
 there was one thoughtful man in the nation, in whom 
 was vested the tremendous executive power of the 
 Republic at that time, and whose vision was con- 
 stantly endeavoring to explore the mysteries of the 
 near future, who held calmer and wiser thoughts than 
 most men at that critical moment, because his feelings 
 were kept in subjection to his judgment by a sense of 
 heavy responsibility. That man was Abraham Lin- 
 coln. The writer was in the office of the Secretary of 
 War when the telegraphic despatch announcing the 
 capture of Mason and Slidell was brought in and 
 read. He can never forget the scene that ensued. Led 
 by Secretary Stanton, who was followed by Governor 
 Andrew of Massachusetts and others who were pres- 
 ent, cheer after cheer was heartily given by the 
 company. A little later, the writer was favored with 
 a brief interview with the President, when the clear 
 judgment of that far-seeing and sagacious statesman 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 343 
 
 uttered through his lips the words which formed the 
 suggestion of, and the keynote to, the judicious action 
 of the Secretary of State afterwards. ‘ I fear the 
 traitors will prove to be white elephants,’ said Mr. 
 Lincoln. 4 We must stick to American principles con- 
 cerning the rights of neutrals,’ he continued. 4 We 
 fought Great Britain for insisting, by theory and prac- 
 tise, on the right to do just what Captain Wilkes has 
 just done. If Great Britain shall now protest against 
 the act, and demand their release, we must give them 
 upj apologize for the act as a violation of our own 
 doctrines, and thus forever bind her over to keep the 
 peace in relation to neutrals, and so acknowledge that 
 she has been wrong for sixty years.’ Great Britain did 
 protest and make the demand, and at the same time 
 made preparations for war against the United States. 
 On the same day that Lord John Russell sent the pro- 
 test and demand to Lord Lyons, the British Minister 
 at Washington, Secretary Seward forwarded a des- 
 patch to Minister Adams in London, informing him 
 that this Government disclaimed the act of Captain 
 Wilkes, and giving assurance that it was ready to 
 make a satisfactory arrangement of all difficulties aris- 
 ing out of the unauthorized act. These despatches 
 passed each other in mid-ocean. The Government, in 
 opposition to popular sentiment, decided at once to 
 restore Mason and Slidell to the protection of the 
 British flag. It was soon afterwards done, war be- 
 tween the two nations was averted, and, in the lan- 
 guage of President Lincoln, the British Government 
 was 4 forever bound to keep the peace in relation to 
 neutrals.’ The wise statesmanship exhibited at that 
 critical time was originated by Abraham Lincoln.” 
 
 Lincoln once confessed that the Trent affair, occur- 
 ring as it did at a very critical period of the war, had 
 given him great uneasiness. When asked whether it 
 
344 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 was not a great trial to surrender the two captured 
 Commissioners, he said: “ Yes, that was a pretty bitter 
 pill to swallow, but I contented myself with believing 
 that England’s triumph in the matter would be short- 
 lived, and that after ending our war successfully we 
 could if we wished call England to account for the 
 embarrassments she had inflicted upon us. I felt a 
 good deal like the sick man in Illinois who was told 
 he probably had n’t many days longer to live, and that 
 he ought to make peace with any enemies he might 
 have. He said the man he hated worst of all was a 
 fellow named Brown, in the next village, and he guessed 
 he had better begin on him. So Brown was sent for, 
 and when he came the sick man began to say, in a 
 voice as meek as Moses’, that he wanted to die at peace 
 with all his fellow-creatures, and hoped he and Brown 
 could now shake hands and bury all their enmity. 
 The scene was becoming altogether too pathetic for 
 Brown, who had to get out his handkerchief and wipe 
 the gathering tears from his eyes. It was n’t long be- 
 fore he melted and gave his hand to his neighbor, and 
 they had a regular love-feast. After a parting that 
 would have softened the heart of a grindstone, Brown 
 had about reached the room door, when the sick man 
 rose up on his elbow and said, 4 But, see here, Brown, 
 if I should happen to get well, mind that old grudge 
 stands! ’ So I thought if this nation should happen 
 to get well, we might want that old grudge against 
 England to stand.” 
 
 Other controversies with England arose during the 
 progress of the war — over the fitting out of Con- 
 federate cruisers at English ports to prey upon the 
 commerce of the United States, over captured mails, 
 etc. — in which all of Lincoln’s sagacity and patience 
 were needed to avert an open rupture with the British 
 government. That the strain was severe and the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 315 
 
 danger great is made clear by an entry in Mr. Welles’s 
 Diary, in which he says: “ We are in no condition for 
 a foreign war. Torn by dissensions, an exhausting 
 civil war on our hands, we have a gloomy prospect, 
 but a righteous cause that will ultimately succeed. 
 God alone knows through what trials, darkness, and 
 suffering we are to pass.” Again, in dealing with the 
 French invasion of Mexico, Lincoln — as Mr. John 
 Bigelow (then minister to France) puts it — “wisely 
 limited himself to a firm repetition of the views and 
 principles held by the United States in relation to 
 foreign invasion,” and thereby gained a diplomatic 
 victory. How Avell “ the old grudge against Eng- 
 land ” stood is shown by the substantial damages ob- 
 tained from her, some years after the war, on the 
 claims against the Alabama and other privateers, the 
 foundations of which had been wisely laid by President 
 Lincoln. 
 
 In the autumn of 1861 was originated the plan of 
 a new naval vessel, which became the “ Monitor ” — 
 the forerunner of the modern iron-clad, and the 
 formidable little craft that beat back the “ Merrimac ” 
 ram at Hampton Roads, March 9, 1862, saved the 
 Federal Navy, and revolutionized naval architecture. 
 The interesting story of the project, and of Lincoln’s 
 relation to it, is thus told : “ The invention belongs 
 to Captain John Ericsson, a man of marvelous ability 
 and most fertile brain ; but the creation of the ‘ Moni- 
 tor ’ belongs to two distinguished iron-masters of the 
 State of New York, viz. : the Hon. John F. Winslow 
 and his partner in business, the Hon. John A. Gris- 
 wold. These two gentlemen were in Washington in the 
 autumn of 1861, for the adjustment of some claims 
 against the Government for iron plating furnished by 
 them for the war-ship 4 Galena.’ There, through Mr. 
 C. S. Bushnell, the agent of Captain Ericsson, they 
 
346 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 learned that the plans and specifications for a naval 
 machine, or a floating iron battery, presented by Cap- 
 tain Ericsson, found no favor with the special board 
 appointed by Congress in 1861 to examine and report 
 upon the subject of iron-clad ships of war. Ericsson 
 and his agent, Mr. Bushnell, were thoroughly dis- 
 heartened and demoralized at this failure to interest 
 the Government in their plans. The papers were 
 placed in the hands of Messrs. Winslow and Griswold, 
 with the earnest request that they would examine them, 
 and, if they thought well of them, use their influence 
 with the Government for their favorable consideration. 
 Mr. Winslow carefully read the papers and became 
 satisfied that Ericsson’s plan was both feasible and 
 desirable. After conference with his friend and part- 
 ner, Mr. Griswold, it was determined to take the whole 
 matter to President Lincoln. Accordingly, an inter- 
 view was arranged with Mr. Lincoln, to whom the plans 
 of Captain Ericsson were presented, with all the unc- 
 tion and enthusiasm of an honest and mastering con- 
 viction, by Mr. Winslow and Mr. Griswold, who had 
 now become thoroughly interested in the undertaking. 
 The President listened with attention and growing in- 
 terest. When they were done, Mr. Lincoln said, 
 ‘ Gentlemen, why do you bring this matter to me? 
 Why not take it to the Department having these things 
 in charge ? ’ ‘It has been taken already to the Depart- 
 ment, and there met with a repulse, and we come now 
 to you with it, Mr. President, to secure your influence. 
 We are here not simply as business men, but as lovers 
 of our country, and we believe most thoroughly that 
 here is something upon which we can enter that will be 
 of vast benefit to the Republic,’ was the answer. Mr. 
 Lincoln was roused by the terrible earnestness of Mr. 
 Winslow and his friend Griswold, and said, in his in- 
 imitable manner, ‘ Well, I don’t know much about 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 317 
 
 ships, though I once contrived a canal-boat — the 
 model of which is down in the Patent Office — the 
 great merit of which was that it could run where there 
 was no water. But I think there is something in this 
 plan of Ericsson’s. I ’ll tell you what I will do. I 
 will meet you to-morrow at ten o’clock, at the office of 
 Commodore Smith, and we w T ill talk it all over.’ The 
 next morning the meeting took place according to the 
 appointment. Mr. Lincoln was present. The Secre- 
 tary of the Navy, with many of the influential men of 
 the Navy Department, also were there. The office 
 where they met was rude in its belongings. Mr. Lin- 
 coln sat upon a rough box. Mr. Winslow, without 
 any knowledge of naval affairs other than that which 
 general reading would give, entered upon his task wflth 
 considerable trepidation, but his whole heart was in 
 it, and his showing was so earnest, practical, and 
 patriotic, that a profound impression was made. 
 ‘ Well,’ said Mr. Lincoln, after Mr. Winslow had 
 finished, ‘ well, Commodore Smith, what do you think 
 of it? ’ The Commodore made some general and non- 
 committal reply, whereupon the President, rising from 
 the box, added, 4 Well, I think there is something in 
 it. Good morning, gentlemen,’ and went out. From 
 this interview grew a Government contract with Messrs. 
 Winslow and Griswold for the construction of the 
 4 Monitor,’ the vessel to be placed in the hands of the 
 Government within a hundred days at a cost of 
 $275,000. The work was pushed with all diligence 
 till the 30th of January, 1862, when the ship was 
 launched at Greenpoint, one hundred and one days 
 from the execution of the contract, thus making the 
 work probably the most expeditious of any recorded 
 in the annals of mechanical engineering.” 
 
 At the assembling of Congress in December, 1861, 
 Lincoln presented his first Annual Message. Among 
 
348 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 its most noteworthy passages was that which touched 
 upon the relations between labor and capital — a sub- 
 ject so prominent in our later day. It was alluded 
 to in its connection with the evident tendency of the 
 Southern Confederacy to discriminate in its legislation 
 in favor of the moneyed class and against the laboring 
 people. On this point the President said: 
 
 In my present position, I could scarcely be justified 
 were I to omit raising a warning voice against this 
 approach of returning despotism. It is not needed 
 nor fitting here, that a general argument should be 
 made in favor of popular institutions ; but there is one 
 point, with its connections, not so hackneyed as most 
 others, to which I ask a brief attention. It is the 
 effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if 
 not above, labor, in the structure of government. It is 
 assumed that labor is available only in connection with 
 capital; that nobody labors unless somebody else, 
 owning capital, somehow, by the use of it, induces him 
 to labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether 
 it is best that capital shall hire laborers, and thus 
 induce them to work by their own consent, or buy 
 them, and drive them to it without their consent. 
 Having proceeded so far, it is naturally concluded 
 that all laborers are either hired laborers or what we 
 call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever 
 is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for 
 life. Now, there is no such relation between capital 
 and labor as assumed; nor is there any such thing 
 as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of 
 a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and 
 all inferences from them are groundless. Labor is 
 prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only 
 the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor 
 had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, 
 and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital 
 has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 319 
 
 any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and 
 probably always will be, a relation between labor and 
 capital, producing mutual benefits. The error is in 
 assuming that the whole labor of community exists 
 within that relation. A few men own capital, and 
 those few avoid labor themselves, and, with their capi- 
 tal, hire or buy another few to labor for them. A 
 large majority belong to neither class — neither work 
 for others, nor have others working for them. In 
 most of the Southern States, a majority of the whole 
 people of all colors are neither slaves nor masters ; 
 while in the North, a large majority are neither hirers 
 nor hired. Men, with their families — wives, sons, and 
 daughters — work for themselves, on their farms, in 
 their houses, and in their shops, taking the whole pro- 
 duct to themselves, and asking no favors of capital 
 on the one hand, nor of hired laborers or slaves on the 
 other. It is not forgotten that a considerable number 
 of persons mingle their own labor with capital — that 
 is, they labor with their own hands, and also buy or 
 hire others to labor for them; but this is only a 
 mixed, not a distinct class. No principle stated is dis- 
 turbed by the existence of this mixed class. Again, as 
 has already been said, there is not, of necessity, any 
 such thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that 
 condition for life. Many independent men everywhere 
 in these States, a few years back in their lives, were 
 hired laborers. The prudent, penniless beginner in 
 the world labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus 
 with which to buy tools or land for himself ; then labors 
 on his own account another while, and at length hires 
 another new beginner to help him. This is the just 
 and generous and prosperous system, which opens the 
 way to all, gives hope to all, and consequent energy 
 and progress and improvement of condition to all. 
 No men living are more worthy to be trusted than 
 those who toil up from poverty — none less inclined to 
 take, or touch, aught which they have not honestly 
 earned. Let them beware of surrendering a political 
 
350 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 power which they already possess, and which, if sur- 
 rendered, will surely be used to close the door of ad- 
 vancement against such as they, and to fix new disa- 
 bilities and burdens upon them till all of liberty shall 
 be lost. 
 
 The struggle of to-day is not altogether for to-day 
 — it is for a vast future also. With a reliance on 
 Providence, all the more firm and earnest, let us pro- 
 ceed in the great task which events have devolved 
 upon us. 
 
 The reception given at the White House on New 
 Year’s day, 1862, was a brilliant and memorable af- 
 fair. It was attended by distinguished army officers, 
 prominent men from civil life, and the leading ladies 
 of Washington society. “ Army uniforms prepon- 
 derated over black dress coats, and the young Ger- 
 mans of Blenker’s division were gorgeously arrayed in 
 tunics embroidered with gold on the collars and cuffs, 
 sword-belts of gold lace, high boots, and jingling 
 spurs.” It was such a scene as that before the battle 
 of Waterloo, when the 
 
 . . . capital had gathered then 
 
 Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright 
 
 The lamps shone o’er fair women and brave men ; 
 
 A thousand hearts beat happily ; and when 
 Music arose, with its voluptuous swell, 
 
 Soft eyes looked love to eyes that spake again, 
 
 And all went merry as a marriage bell. 
 
 How many of these brave men were destined never to 
 see another New Year’s day; and how many of those 
 soft eyes would soon be dimmed with tears ! Some- 
 thing of this feeling must have come over the sad soul 
 of Lincoln. An eye-witness says that he “ looked care- 
 worn and thoughtful, if not anxious ; yet he had a 
 pleasant word for all.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 351 
 
 Early in 1862 an event occurred which added to 
 the sorrow that seemed to enshroud the life of Lincoln, 
 and afforded a glimpse into the depths of his tender 
 and sorrowful nature. It was the death of his son 
 Willie, a bright and promising boy, to whom his father 
 was devotedly attached. “ This,” says Dr. J. G. 
 Holland, “ was a new burden ; and the visitation which, 
 in his firm faith in Providence, he regarded as provi- 
 dential, was also inexplicable. Why should he, with 
 so many burdens upon him, and with such necessity 
 for solace in his home and his affections, be brought 
 into so tender a trial? It was to him a trial of faith, 
 indeed. A Christian lady of Massachusetts, who was 
 officiating as nurse in one of the hospitals, came in to 
 attend the sick children. She reports that Mr. Lin- 
 coln watched with her about the bedside of the sick 
 ones, and that he often walked the room, saying sadly: 
 ‘ This is the hardest trial of my life. Why is it? 
 Why is it? ’ In the course of conversations with her, 
 he questioned her concerning her situation. She told 
 him she was a widow, and that her husband and two 
 children were in heaven; and added that she saw the 
 hand of God in it all, and that she had never loved 
 Him so much before as she had since her affliction. 
 ‘How is that brought about?’ inquired Mr. Lincoln. 
 ‘ Simply by trusting in God, and feeling that He does 
 all things well,’ she replied. ‘ Did you submit fully 
 under the first loss?’ he asked. ‘No,’ she answered, 
 ‘ not wholly ; but as blow came upon blow, and all 
 were taken, I could and did submit, and was very 
 happy.’ He responded, ‘ I am glad to hear you say 
 that. ’Your experience will help me to bear my afflic- 
 tions.’ On being assured that many Christians were 
 praying for him on the morning of the funeral, he 
 wiped away the tears that sprang in his eyes, and said, 
 ‘ I am glad to hear that. I want them to pray for me. 
 
352 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 I need their prayers.’ As he was going out to the 
 burial, the good lady expressed her sympathy with him. 
 He thanked her gently, and said, ‘ I will try to go to 
 God with my sorrows.’ A few days afterward she 
 asked him if he could trust God. He replied, ‘ I think 
 I can. I will try. I wish I had that childlike faith 
 you speak of, and I trust He will give it to me.’ And 
 then he spoke of his mother, whom so many years 
 before he had committed to the dust among the wilds 
 of Indiana. In this hour of his great trial, the memory 
 of her who had held him upon her bosom and soothed 
 his childish griefs came back to him with tenderest 
 recollections. ‘ I remember her prayers,’ said he, ‘ and 
 they have always followed me. They have clung to me 
 all my life.’ ” 
 
 An interesting passage in the secret history of the 
 war at this period is narrated by one of the chief 
 actors, Mr. A. M. Ross, a distinguished ornithologist 
 of Canada, whose contribution embodies also so many 
 interesting details of Lincoln’s daily life that it seems 
 worth giving rather fully. A few months after the 
 inauguration of President Lincoln, Mr. Ross received a 
 letter from the Hon. Charles Sumner, requesting him 
 to come to Washington at his earliest convenience. 
 “ The day after my arrival in Washington,” says Mr. 
 Ross, “ I was introduced to the President. Mr. Lin- 
 coln received me very cordially, and invited me to 
 dine with him. After dinner he led me to a window, 
 distant from the rest of the party, and said : ‘ Mr. 
 Sumner sent for you at my request; we need a confi- 
 dential person in Canada to look after our interests, 
 and keep us posted as to the schemes of the Con- 
 federates in Canada. You have been strongly recom- 
 mended to me for the position. Your mission shall be 
 as confidential as you please; no one here but your 
 friend Mr. Sumner and myself shall have any knowl- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 353 
 
 edge of your position. Think it over tonight, and if 
 you can accept the mission come up and see me at 
 nine o’clock tomorrow morning.’ When I took my 
 leave of him, he said, ‘ I hope you will decide to serve 
 us.’ The position thus offered was one not suited to 
 my tastes, but, as Mr. Lincoln appeared very desirous 
 that I should accept it, I concluded to lay aside my 
 prejudices and accept the responsibilities of the mis- 
 sion. I was also persuaded to this conclusion by the 
 wishes of my friend, Mr. Sumner. 
 
 “ At nine o’clock next morning, I waited upon the 
 President, and announced my decision. He grasped 
 my hand in a hearty manner, and said : ‘ Thank you, 
 thank you; I am glad of it. You must help us to 
 circumvent the machinations of the rebel agents in 
 Canada. There is no doubt they will use your coun- 
 try as a communicating link with Europe, and also 
 with their friends in New York. It is quite possible, 
 also, that they may make Canada a base from which 
 to harass and annoy our people along the frontier.’ 
 
 “ After a lengthy conversation relative to private 
 matters connected with my mission, I rose to leave, 
 when he said, ‘ I will walk down to Willard’s with you; 
 the hotel is on my way to the Capitol, where I have 
 an engagement at noon.’ Before we reached the hotel 
 a man came up to the President and thrust a letter 
 into his hand, at the same time applying for some 
 office in Wisconsin. I saw that the President was 
 offended at the rudeness, for he passed the letter back 
 without looking at it, saying, ‘ No, sir ! I am not 
 going to open shop here.’ This was said in a most 
 emphatic manner, but accompanied by a comical ges- 
 ture which caused the rejected applicant to smile. As 
 we continued our walk, the President spoke of the 
 annoyances incident to his position, saying: ‘These 
 office-seekers are a curse to the country ; no sooner 
 
354 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 was my election certain, than I became the prey of 
 hundreds of hungry, persistent applicants for office, 
 ■whose highest ambition is to feed at the Government 
 crib.’ When he bade me good-bye, he said, ‘ Let me 
 hear from you once a week at least.’ As he turned to 
 leave me, a young army officer stopped him and made 
 some request, to which the President replied with a 
 good deal of humor, ‘ No, I can’t do that ; I must not 
 interfere; they would scratch my eyes out if I did. 
 You must go to the proper department.’ 
 
 “ Some time later,” says Mr. Ross, “ I again visited 
 Washington. On my arrival there (about midnight) 
 I went direct to the Executive Mansion, and sent my 
 card to the President, who had retired. In a few 
 minutes the porter returned and requested me to ac- 
 company him to the President’s office, where Mr. Lin- 
 coln would shortly join me. The room into which I 
 was ushered was the same in which I had spent several 
 hours with the President on the occasion of my first 
 interview with him. Scattered about the floor and 
 lying open on the table were several military maps and 
 documents, indicating recent use. In a few minutes 
 the President came in and welcomed me in a most 
 friendly manner; I expressed my regret at disturb- 
 ing him at such an hour. He replied in a good-hu- 
 mored manner, saying, ‘ No, no! You did right; you 
 may waken me up whenever you please. I have slept 
 with one eye open ever since I came to Washington; 
 I never close both, except when an office-seeker is look- 
 ing for me.’ I then laid before the President the ‘ rebel 
 mail.’ He carefully examined the address of each 
 letter, making occasional remarks. At length he found 
 one addressed to Franklin Pierce, ex-President of the 
 United States, then residing in New Hampshire; and 
 another to ex- Attorney-General Cushing, a resident of 
 Massachusetts. He appeared much surprised, and re- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 355 
 
 marked with a sigh, but without the slightest tone of 
 asperity, 4 I will have these letters enclosed in official 
 envelopes, and sent to these parties.’ When he had 
 finished examining the addresses, he tied up all those 
 addressed to private individuals, saying, ‘ I won’t 
 bother with them ; but these look like official letters ; 
 I guess I ’ll go through them now.’ He then opened 
 them, and read their contents, slowly and carefully. 
 While he was thus occupied, I had an excellent oppor- 
 tunity of studying this extraordinary man. A marked 
 change had taken place in his countenance since my 
 first interview with him. He looked much older, and 
 bore traces of having passed through months of pain- 
 ful anxiety and trouble. There was a sad and serious 
 look in his eyes that spoke louder than words of the 
 disappointments, trials, and discouragements he had 
 encountered since the war began. The wrinkles about 
 the eyes and forehead were deeper ; the lips were 
 firmer, but indicative of kindness and forbearance. 
 The great struggle had brought out the hidden riches 
 of his noble nature, and developed virtues and capa- 
 cities which surprised his oldest and most intimate 
 friends. He was simple, but astute; he possessed the 
 rare faculty of seeing things just as they are. He was 
 a just, charitable, and honest man. 
 
 “ When Mr. Lincoln finished reading the letters, I 
 rose to go, saying that I would go to Willard’s, and 
 have a rest. ‘ No, no,’ said the President, 4 it is now 
 three o’clock ; you shall stay with me while you are in 
 town ; I ’ll find you a bed ’ ; and leading the way, he 
 took me into a bedroom, spying, £ Take a good sleep ; 
 you shall not be disturbed.’ Bidding me 4 good night,’ 
 he left the room to go back and pore over the rebel 
 letters until daylight, as he afterwards told me. I 
 did not awaken from my sleep until eleven o’clock in 
 the forenoon, soon after which Mr. Lincoln came into 
 
356 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 my room, and laughingly said, ‘ When you are ready, 
 I ’ll pilot you down to breakfast,’ which he did. Seat- 
 ing himself at the table near me, he expressed his fears 
 that trouble was brewing on the New Brunswick bor- 
 der; he said he had gathered further information on 
 that point from the correspondence, which convinced 
 him that such was the case. He was here interrupted 
 by a servant, who handed him a card, upon reading 
 which he arose, saying, ‘ The Secretary of War has 
 received important tidings ; I must leave you for the 
 present ; come to my room after breakfast and we ’ll 
 talk over this New Brunswick affair.” 
 
 “ On entering his room again, I found him busily 
 engaged in writing, at the same time repeating in a low 
 voice the words of a poem which I remembered reading 
 many years before. When he stopped writing I asked 
 him who was the author of that poem. He replied, 
 ‘ I do not know. I have written the verses down from 
 memory, at the request of a lady who is much pleased 
 with them.’ He passed the ^ sheet, on which he had 
 written the verses, to me, saying, ‘ Have you ever read 
 them? ’ I replied that I had, many years previously, 
 and that I should be pleased to have a copy of them in 
 his handwriting, when he had time and an inclination 
 for such work. He said, ‘ Well, you may keep that 
 copy, if you wish.’ ” 
 
 Hon. William D. Kelly, a Member of Congress from 
 Pennsylvania, relates that during the time of McClel- 
 lan’s Peninsular campaign he called at the White 
 House one morning, and while waiting to see the Presi- 
 dent, Senator Wilson of Massachusetts entered the 
 chamber, having with him four distinguished-looking 
 Englishmen. The President, says Mr. Kelly, “ had 
 evidently had an early appointment, and had not com- 
 pleted his toilet. He was in slippers, and his panta- 
 loons, when he crossed one knee over the other, dis- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 357 
 
 closed the fact that he wore heavy blue woollen stock- 
 ings. It was an agreeable surprise to learn that the 
 chief of the visiting party was Professor Goldwin 
 Smith of Canada, one of the firmest of our British 
 friends. As the President rose to greet them, he was 
 the very impersonation of easy dignity, notwithstand- 
 ing the negligence of his costume. With a tact that 
 never deserted him, he opened the conversation with an 
 inquiry as to the health of his friend John Bright, 
 whom he said he regarded as a friend of our country 
 and of freedom everywhere. The visitors having been 
 seated, the magnitude of recent battles was referred to 
 by Professor Smith as preliminary to the question 
 whether the enormous losses which were so frequently 
 occurring would not so reduce the industrial resources 
 of the North as to affect seriously the prosperity of 
 individual citizens and consequently the revenue of the 
 country. He justified the question by proceeding to 
 recite the number of killed, wounded, and missing, re- 
 ported after some of the great battles recently fought. 
 There were two of Mr. Lincoln’s official friends who 
 lived in dread of his little stories. Neither of them was 
 gifted with humor, and both could understand his 
 propositions, which were always distinct and clean cut, 
 without such familiar illustrations as those in which 
 he so often indulged; and they were chagrined when- 
 ever they were compelled to hear him resort to his 
 stories in the presence of distinguished strangers. 
 They were Senator Wilson of Massachusetts and Mr. 
 Stanton, Secretary of War; and, as Professor Smith 
 closed his arithmetical statement, the time came for 
 the Massachusetts Senator to bite his lips, for the 
 President, crossing his legs in such a manner as to 
 show that his blue stockings were long as well as thick, 
 said that, in settling such matters as that, we must re- 
 sort to ‘ darkey arithmetic.’ 4 To darkey arithmetic ! ’ 
 
358 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 exclaimed the dignified representative of the learning 
 and higher thought of Great Britain and her American 
 Dominion. ‘ I did not know, Mr. President, that you 
 have two systems of arithmetic.’ ‘ Oh, yes,’ said the 
 President ; ‘ I will illustrate that point by a little story. 
 Two young contrabands, as we have learned to call 
 them, were seated together, when one said to the other, 
 “ Jim, do you know ’rithmetic? ” Jim answered, “ No; 
 what is ’rithmetic?” “Well,” said the other, “it’s 
 when you add up things. When you have one and one, 
 and you put dem togedder, dey makes two. And when 
 you subtracts things, when if you have two things and 
 you takes one away, only one remains.” “ Is dat ’rith- 
 metic? ” “Yah.” “Well, ’tain’t true, den. It’s no 
 good! ” Here a dispute arose, when Jim said, “ Now, 
 you ’spose three pigeons sit on that fence, and some- 
 body shoot one of dem; do t’other two stay dar? I 
 guess not ! dey flies away quickern odder feller falls.” 
 And, Professor, trifling as the story seems, it illustrates 
 the arithmetic you must use in estimating the actual 
 losses resulting from our great battles. The statements 
 you have referred to give the killed, wounded, and miss- 
 ing at the first roll-call after the battle, which always 
 exhibits a greatly exaggerated total, especially in the 
 column of missing.’ ” 
 
 Mr. Goldwin Smith, the gentleman referred to in 
 the foregoing anecdote, has summarized his impressions 
 of Lincoln in the following paragraph: “ Such a 
 person as Abraham Lincoln is quite unknown to our 
 official circles or to those of Continental nations. In- 
 deed, I think his place in history will be unique. He has 
 not been trained to diplomacy or administrative affairs, 
 and is in all respects one of the people. But how won- 
 derfully he is endowed and equipped for the perform- 
 ance of the duties of the chief executive officer of the 
 United States at this time! The precision and minute- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 359 
 
 ness of his information on all questions to which we 
 referred was a succession of surprises to me.” 
 
 Still terser, but hardly less expressive, is Emerson’s 
 characterization of Lincoln as one who had been “ per- 
 mitted to do more for America than any other Ameri- 
 can man.” 
 
 A striking passage by Mr. Norman Hapgood should 
 have place among these tributes. “ Lincoln had no 
 artificial aids. He merely proved the weapon of finest 
 temper in the fire in which he was tested. In the 
 struggle for survival in a national upheaval, he not 
 only proved the living power of integrity and elasticity, 
 but he easily combined with his feats of strength and 
 shrewdness some of the highest flights of taste. As we 
 look back across the changes of his life, — see him pass- 
 ing over the high places and the low, and across the 
 long stretches of the prairie ; spending years in the 
 Socratic arguments of the tavern, and anon holding 
 the rudder of state in grim silence; choosing jests 
 which have the freshness of earth, and principles of 
 eternal right; judging potentates and laborers in the 
 clear light of nature, and at ease with both ; alone 
 by virtue of a large and melancholy soul, at home 
 with every man by virtue of love and faith, — this 
 figure takes its place high in our minds and hearts, 
 not solely through the natural right of strength and 
 success, but also because his strength is ours, and the 
 success won by him rested on the fundamental purity 
 and health of the popular will of which he was the 
 leader and the servant. Abraham Lincoln was in a deep 
 and lasting sense the first American.” 
 
 Mr. John Bigelow, already quoted in these pages, 
 summarized Lincoln’s character and achievements in a 
 passage of singular eloquence and force. “ Lincoln’s 
 greatness must be sought for in the constituents of his 
 moral nature. He was so modest by nature that he 
 
300 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 was perfectly content to walk behind any man who 
 wished to walk before him. I do not know that history 
 lias made a record of the attainment of any correspond- 
 ing eminence by any other man who so habitually, so 
 constitutionally, did to others as lie would have them 
 do to him. Without any pretensions to religious excel- 
 lence, from the time he first was brought under the 
 observation of the nation he seemed, like Milton, to 
 have walked ‘ as ever in his great Taskmaster’s eye.’ 
 St. Paul hardly endured more indignities and buffetings 
 without complaint. He was not a learned man. He 
 was not even one who would deserve to be called in 
 our day an educated man — knew little rather than 
 much of what the world is proud of. He had never 
 been out of the United States, or seen much of the 
 portion of them lying east of the Alleghany Mountains. 
 But the spiritual side of his nature was so highly or- 
 ganized that it rendered superfluous much of the ex- 
 perience which to most men is indispensable — the 
 choicest prerogative of genius. It lifted him uncon- 
 sciously above the world, above most of the men who 
 surrounded him, and gave him a wisdom in emergencies 
 which is bestowed only on those who love their fellow- 
 man as themselves. ... In the ordinary sense of the 
 word, Mr. Lincoln was not a statesman. Had he come 
 to power when Van Buren did, or when Cleveland did, 
 he would probably have left Washington at the close 
 of his term as obscure as either of them. The issues 
 presented to the people of the United States at the 
 Presidential election of 1860 were to a larger extent 
 moral questions, humanly speaking, than were those 
 presented at any other Presidential election. They 
 were: first, the right of the majority to rule; second, 
 the right of eight millions, more or less, of our fellow- 
 beings to their freedom; and, third, the institutions 
 and traditions which Washington planted and Jefferson 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 361 
 
 watered, with the sacrifices necessary for their preser- 
 vation. These questions subordinated all other political 
 issues, and appealed more directly and forcibly to the 
 moral sentiments of this nation than any issues they 
 had ever before been called to settle either at the ballot- 
 box or by force of arms. A President was needed at 
 Washington to represent these moral forces. Such a 
 President was providentially found in Lincoln . . . 
 a President who walked by faith and not by sight ; who 
 did not rely upon his own compass, but followed a 
 cloud by day and a fire by night, which he had learned 
 to trust implicitly.” 
 
 A very graphic summing-up of Lincoln in person 
 and character is that of Mr. John G. Nicolay, one of 
 his private secretaries, who knew him intimately and 
 understood him well. “ President Lincoln was of un- 
 usual stature, six feet four inches, and of spare but 
 muscular build,” says Mr. Nicolay. “ He had been 
 in youth remarkably strong and skilful in the athletic 
 games of the frontier, where, however, his popularity 
 and recognized impartiality oftener made him an um- 
 pire than a champion. He had regular and prepossess- 
 ing features, dark complexion, broad, high forehead, 
 prominent cheek bones, gray, deep-set eyes, and bushy, 
 black hair, turning to gray at the time of his death. 
 Abstemious in his habits, he possessed great physical 
 endurance. He was almost as tender-hearted as a wo- 
 man. ‘ I have not willingly planted a thorn in any 
 man’s bosom,’ he was able to say. His patience was 
 inexhaustible. He had naturally a most cheerful and 
 sunny temper, was highly social and sympathetic, loved 
 pleasant conversation, wit, anecdote, and laughter. Be- 
 neath this, however, ran an undercurrent of sadness ; 
 he was occasionally subject to hours of deep silence 
 and introspection that approached a condition of 
 trance. In manner he was simple, direct, void of the 
 
362 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 least affectation, and entirely free from awkwardness, 
 oddity, or eccentricity. His mental qualities were a 
 quick analytic perception, strong logical powers, a 
 tenacious memory, a liberal estimate and tolerance of 
 the opinions of others, ready intuition of human na- 
 ture ; and perhaps his most valuable faculty was rare 
 ability to divest himself of ail feeling or passion in 
 weighing motives of persons or problems of state. His 
 speech and diction were plain, terse, forcible. Relating 
 anecdotes with appreciating humor and fascinating dra- 
 matic skill, he used them freely and effectively in con- 
 versation and argument. He loved manliness, truth, 
 and justice. He despised all trickery and selfish greed. 
 In arguments at the bar he was so fair to his opponent 
 that he frequently appeared to concede away his client’s 
 case. He was ever ready to take blame on himself and 
 bestow praise on others. ‘ I claim not to have con- 
 trolled events,’ he said, ‘ but confess plainly that events 
 have controlled me.’ The Declaration of Independence 
 was his political chart and inspiration. He acknowl- 
 edged a universal equality of human rights. ‘ Cer- 
 tainly the negro is not our equal in color,’ he said, 
 ‘ perhaps not in many other respects ; still, in the 
 right to put into his mouth the bread that his own 
 hands have earned, he is the equal of every other man, 
 white or black.’ He had unchanging faith in self- 
 government. ‘ The people,’ he said, ‘ are the rightful 
 masters of both congresses and courts, not to over- 
 throw the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who 
 pervert the Constitution.’ Yielding and accommodat- 
 ing in non-essentials, he was inflexibly firm in a principle 
 or position deliberately taken. 4 Let us have faith that 
 right makes might,’ he said, ‘ and in that faith let us to 
 the end dare to do our duty as we understand it.’ . . 
 
CHAPTER XVm 
 
 Lincoln and his Cabinet — An Odd Assortment of Officials — Miscon- 
 ceptions of Rights and Duties — Frictions and Misunderstandings 
 — The Early Cabinet Meetings — Informal Conversational Affairs 
 — Queer Attitude toward the War — Regarded as a Political Af- 
 fair — Proximity to Washington a Hindrance to Military Success — 
 Disturbances in the Cabinet — A Senate Committee Demands 
 Seward’s Removal from the Cabinet — Lincoln’s Mastery of the 
 Situation — - Harmony Restored — Stanton becomes War Secre- 
 tary — Sketch of a Remarkable Man — Next to Lincoln, the 
 Master-mind of the Cabinet — Lincoln the Dominant Power. 
 
 P RESIDENT LINCOLN’S Cabinet, while contain- 
 ing men of marked ability and fitness for their 
 positions, was in some respects about as ill-assorted and 
 heterogeneous a body of men as were ever called to 
 serve together as ministers and advisers of a great gov- 
 ernment. Its selection was a surprise to the country. 
 Mr. John Bigelow said it “ had the appearance of being 
 selected from a grab-bag.” “ Not one of the members,” 
 continues Mr. Bigelow, “ was a personal or much of a 
 political friend of Mr. Lincoln ; -not one of them had 
 ever had any experience or training in any executive 
 office, except Welles of Connecticut, if he could be 
 claimed as an exception because of having served three 
 years in a bureau of the Navy in Washington. Of 
 military administration, still less of actual war, no 
 member knew anything by experience. The heads of 
 the two most important departments, the Secretaries 
 of State and the Treasury, were both disappointed 
 candidates for the chair occupied by Mr. Lincoln. It 
 was nothing less than Providential that the President 
 was so happily constituted as neither to share nor to 
 
364. EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 provoke any of the jealousies or envies of either of 
 them, and by his absolute freedom from every selfish 
 impulse gradually compelled them all to look up to 
 him as the one person in whose singleness of eye they 
 could all and always confide. Not immediately, but in 
 the course of two or three years, they got into the habit 
 of turning to him like quarrelling children to their 
 mother to settle all the questions that temporarily 
 divided them.” 
 
 These Cabinet ministers were a devoted and patriotic 
 body of men, but their misconceptions of their respec- 
 ' tive rights and duties were at first grotesque. Mr. 
 Sew T ard, a man of far greater administrative experience 
 than Lincoln, assumed that he, rather than the Presi- 
 dent, was to be the master mind of the new adminis- 
 tration. “ Premier ” he at first called himself. Mr. 
 Stanton, the Secretary of War, thought the Navy 
 should be a sort of adjunct to the War Department — 
 an error of which Secretary Welles of the Navy De- 
 partment speedily relieved him. These two men were 
 altogether too unlike to get on well together. The cold 
 and somewhat stately Welles was repelled by Stanton’s 
 impulsiveness and violence, while Stanton was exasper- 
 ated by Welles’s calmness and lack of excitability. 
 “ Lincoln’s ministers had no idea that he towered above 
 them,” says Mr. John T. Morse, Jr., “and no one of 
 them was at all overawed by him in those days. Pre- 
 siding over them at the Cabinet, casually meeting them, 
 chatting with them or lounging as was his habit in 
 Stanton’s room, Lincoln seemed only officially superior 
 to them. One of them had expected to be President, 
 and another meant to be; a third dared to be insolent 
 and unruly ; it seemed to be only by a chance of politics 
 that these men stood to him as junior partners to a 
 senior, or like a board of directors to the president of 
 a corporation.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 365 
 
 The unfriendly feeling existing between members of 
 the Cabinet comes out in many entries in Welles’s 
 Diary. “ Pressing, assuming, violent, impatient, in- 
 triguing, harsh, and arbitrary,” are examples of the 
 terms in which Stanton is spoken of by Welles His 
 contempt for the Committee on the Conduct of the 
 War is expressed in no less stinging words. The mem- 
 bers of this committee “ are most of them narrow and 
 prejudiced partisans, mischievous busybodies, and a 
 discredit to Congress. Mean and contemptible parti- 
 sanship colors all their acts.” It is amusing to note 
 that while Secretary Welles was thus outspoken in his 
 criticisms of others, he himself did not escape calumny. 
 One critic (Thurlow Weed, who, it may be remembered, 
 had objected to Welles’s appointment to a Cabinet posi- 
 tion when Lincoln suggested it to him in their con- 
 sultation at Springfield before the inauguration) de- 
 clared that “ It is worse than a fault, it is a crime, to 
 keep that old imbecile at the head of the Navy De- 
 partment.” And another critic expressed the uncom- 
 plimentary opinion that “ If Lincoln would send old 
 Welles back to Hartford, it would be better for the 
 Navy and for the country.” 
 
 The accounts of the earliest Cabinet meetings, as 
 given by Secretary Welles, who was nearly always pres- 
 ent, are full of interest. “ Cabinet meetings, which 
 at that exciting period should have been daily, were 
 infrequent, irregular, and without system,” says Mr. 
 Welles. “ The Secretary of State notified his asso- 
 ciates wdien the President desired a meeting of the 
 heads of Departments. It seemed unadvisable to the 
 Premier — as he liked to be called and considered — 
 that the members should meet often, and they did not. 
 Consequently there was very little concerted action. 
 At the earlier meetings there was little or no formality ; 
 the Cabinet meetings were a sort of privy council or 
 
366 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 gathering of equals, much like a Senatorial caucus, 
 where there was no recognized leader and the Secretary 
 of State put himself in advance of the President. No 
 seats were assigned or regularly taken. The Secretary 
 of State was invariably present some little time before 
 the Cabinet assembled, and from his former position 
 as the chief executive of the largest State in the Union 
 as well as from his recent place as a Senator, and from 
 his admitted experience and familiarity with affairs, 
 assumed, and was allowed, as was proper, to take the 
 lead in consultations and also to give tone and direction 
 to the manner and mode of proceedings. The Presi- 
 dent, if he did not actually wish, readily acquiesced in, 
 this. Mr. Lincoln, having never had experience in ad- 
 ministering the Government, State or National, de- 
 ferred to the suggestions and course of those who had. 
 Mr. Seward was not slow in taking upon himself to 
 prescribe action and to do most of the talking, without 
 much regard to the modest chief, but often to the dis- 
 gust of his associates, particularly Mr. Bates, who was 
 himself always courteous and respectful, and to the 
 annoyance of Mr. Chase, who had had, like Mr. Seward, 
 experience as a chief magistrate. Discussions were 
 desultory and without order or system ; but in the 
 summing-up and conclusions the President, who was a 
 patient listener and learner, concentrated results, and 
 often determined questions adverse to the Secretary of 
 State, regarding him and his opinions, as he did those 
 of his other advisers, for what they were worth and 
 generally no more.” 
 
 It was perhaps natural, in a country so long free 
 from wars as ours had been, that the Civil War should 
 be regarded as a sort of political affair to be directed 
 from Washington rather than by commanders in the 
 field. For the first year or so the feeling was quite 
 general that military affairs should be directed by 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 367 
 
 Congress, acting through its Committee on the Conduct 
 of the War, and by the Secretary of War, who com- 
 plained bitterly that he was not allowed to assume 
 control of military movements and that his plans were 
 thwarted by McClellan (whom he especially hated). 
 The President himself did not escape this condemna- 
 tion. The feeling at this time is expressed in a sen- 
 tence in Stanton’s complaint, reflected through Chase, 
 that “ the President takes counsel of none but army 
 officers in army matters.” Chase declared to Welles, 
 according to the latter, that the Treasury as well as 
 other departments “ ought to be informed of the par- 
 ticulars of every movement.” Tlfe generals engaged 
 in planning the campaigns and fighting the battles of 
 the war, and their commander-in-chief the President, 
 could hardly fail to find their task an uphill one when 
 ideas so naive and fatuous as these prevailed. It is no 
 wonder that General Grant recorded in his Memoirs 
 the opinion that the great difficulty with the Army of 
 the Potomac during the first year of the war was its 
 proximity to Washington; that the conditions made 
 success practically impossible; and that neither he, 
 nor General Sherman, nor any officer known to him, 
 could have succeeded in General McClellan’s place, un- 
 der the conditions that then existed. Gradually, and 
 by slow and often painful experience, a clearer concep- 
 tion of the meaning and methods of war prevailed. 
 In this, as in so many things, Lincoln’s insight was 
 first and surest. By patience, tact, shrewdness, firm- 
 ness, and diplomatic skill, he held the Cabinet together 
 and stimulated its members to their best efforts for the 
 common cause. 
 
 But the personal frictions and dissensions in the 
 Cabinet, and the more or less meddlesome attitude of 
 leaders in the Senate and the House, at times sorely 
 tried the strength and patience of the harassed Presi- 
 
368 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 dent, compelling him to act the part of peacemaker, 
 and sometimes of judge and arbiter as well. At one 
 time Secretary Stanton threatened to resign ; and 
 Chase declared that in that case he should go with 
 him. Stanton and Welles were in frequent antagonism, 
 Welles stating in his Diary that Stanton assumed, or 
 tried to assume, that the Navy should be subject to the 
 direction of the War Department. Seward was “ med- 
 dlesome ” toward other departments ; “ runs to the 
 President two or three times a day ; wants to be 
 Premier,” etc., says Welles. “ Between Seward and 
 Chase there was perpetual rivalry and mutual but 
 courtly distrust ; they entered the Cabinet as rivals, 
 and in cold courtesy so continued.” The most serious 
 of these Cabinet embroglios occurred late in December 
 of 1862, while Lincoln was well-nigh overwhelmed by 
 Burnside’s dreadful repulse at Fredericksburg. The 
 gist of the affair, as given by Mr. Welles, is that the 
 opposition to Seward in the Senate grew to such a 
 point that a committee was appointed to wait on the 
 President and request Seward’s removal from the office 
 of Secretary of State. The President, Mr. Welles tells 
 us, was “ shocked and grieved ” at this demonstration. 
 He asked all the members of his Cabinet to meet the 
 Senate committee with him. All the members of the 
 Cabinet were present except Seward, who had already 
 sent the President his resignation. The meeting was 
 attended also by Senators Collamer, Fessenden, Harris, 
 Trumbull, Grimes, Howard, Sumner, and Pomeroy. 
 The President, says Mr. Welles, opened the subject 
 for which the meeting was called, taking a conciliatory 
 tone toward the Senators, and requesting from each 
 in turn an expression of opinion as to the wisdom of 
 dropping Seward from the Cabinet. Most of them 
 were strongly of the opinion that Seward ought to go. 
 The President presented his own views, which were, in 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 369 
 
 effect, that it would be a mistake to let Seward leave 
 the Cabinet at that particular time. “ He managed 
 his own case,” says Mr. Welles, “ speaking freely, and 
 showing great tact, shrewdness, and ability.” The meet- 
 ing continued until nearly midnight, and the matter 
 was left still in the President’s hands. The next morn- 
 ing Mr. Welles called early at the White House and 
 found Lincoln practically decided not to accept Sew- 
 ard’s resignation, saying that it would never do to take 
 the course prescribed by the Senators ; that “ the 
 Government would cave in ; it could not stand — would 
 not hold water ; the bottom would be out,” etc. He 
 requested Welles to go at once to Seward and ask him 
 not to press his resignation. Lincoln’s intuitional mind 
 seemed at once to connect Secretary Chase with the 
 attack on Seward. Before Welles left the room, the 
 President rang a bell and directed that a message be 
 sent to Chase requesting him to come at once to the 
 White House. When Welles returned from his inter- 
 view with Seward, who readily promised to withdraw 
 his resignation at the President’s request, he found both 
 Chase and Seward waiting for the President. The lat- 
 ter soon came in, and his first words were to ask Welles 
 if he “ had seen the man,” to which Welles answered 
 that he had, and that he assented to what had been 
 asked of him. The dramatic scene that followed is thus 
 described by Mr. Welles in his Diary: “ The President 
 turned to Chase and said, ‘ I sent for you, for this 
 matter is giving me great trouble.’ Chase said he had 
 been painfully affected by the meeting last evening, 
 which was a total surprise to him ; and, after some not 
 very explicit remarks as to how he was affected, in- 
 formed the President he had prepared his resignation 
 of the office of Secretary of the Treasury. £ Where is 
 it? ’ said the President quickly, his eye lighting up in 
 a moment. ‘ I brought it with me,’ said Chase, taking 
 
370 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the paper from his pocket ; ‘ I wrote it this morning.’ 
 ‘ Let me have it,’ said the President, reaching his long 
 arm and fingers toward Chase, who held on, seemingly 
 reluctant to part with the letter, which was sealed, and 
 which he apparently hesitated to surrender. Some- 
 thing further he wished to say; but the President was 
 eager and did not perceive it, and took and hastily 
 opened the letter. ‘ This,’ said he, looking toward me 
 with a triumphant air, ‘ cuts the Gordian Knot. I can 
 now dispose of this subject without difficulty. I see my 
 way clear.’ Chase sat by Stanton, fronting the fire; 
 the President beside the fire, his face toward them, 
 Stanton nearest him. I was on the sofa, near the 
 east window. ‘ Mr. President,’ said Stanton, with 
 solemnity, ‘ I informed you day before yesterday that I 
 was ready to tender you my resignation. I wish you, 
 sir, to consider my resignation at this time in your 
 possession.’ £ You may go to your department,’ said 
 the President ; ‘ I don’t want yours. This,’ holding out 
 Chase’s letter, ‘ is all I want ; this relieves me ; my way 
 is clear ; the trouble is ended. I will detain neither of 
 you longer.’ We all rose to leave,” concludes Mr. 
 Welles. “ Chase and myself came downstairs together. 
 He was moody and taciturn. Someone stopped him on 
 the lower stairs, and I passed on.” 
 
 A few days later, the President requested both Sew- 
 ard and Chase to withdraw their resignations and re- 
 sume their duties. This was done, and the trouble was 
 ended for the time. Both Secretaries had got their 
 lessons, and profited by them. By the exercise of tact 
 and patience, with firmness and decision when required, 
 the President had let it be known that he was the head 
 and chief of the Administration. 
 
 Next to the President, it was not Secretary Seward, 
 the “ Premier ” as he wished to be regarded, but the 
 War Secretary, Stanton, who was the master-mind of 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 371 
 
 the Cabinet. He was the incarnation of energy, the 
 embodiment of patriotic zeal. With all his faults 
 of temper and disposition, he was a man of singular 
 fitness for the responsible position he occupied, and 
 his services to the Government can hardly be over- 
 estimated. He had been a Democrat, a member of 
 Buchanan’s Cabinet, and was, says Dr. Holland, “ the 
 first one in that Cabinet to protest against the down- 
 right treason into which it was drifting. He was a 
 man of indomitable energy, devoted loyalty, and thor- 
 ough honesty. Contractors could not manipulate him, 
 traitors could not deceive him. Impulsive, perhaps, but 
 true; wilful, it is possible, but placable; impatient, but 
 persistent and efficient, — he became at once one of the 
 most marked and important of the members of the 
 Cabinet.” Lincoln and Stanton together were em- 
 phatically “ a strong team.” 
 
 Stanton was not a member of Lincoln’s first Cabinet, 
 but came into it at the beginning of 1862, in place of 
 Simon Cameron, who had just been appointed Minister 
 to Russia. A very interesting account of Cameron’s 
 personal relations with Lincoln, the causes that led to 
 his retirement from the Cabinet, and the appointment 
 of Stanton in his place, is given by Cameron himself. 
 He had been the choice of the Pennsylvania delegation 
 for President, at the Chicago Convention in 1860, and 
 it was largely due to him that Lincoln received the 
 nomination. “ After the election,” said Mr. Cameron, 
 “ I made a trip to the West at Mr. Lincoln’s request. 
 He had, by letter, tendered me the position of either 
 Secretary of War or Secretary of the Treasury; but 
 when I went to see him he said that he had concluded 
 to make Mr. Seward Secretary of State, and he wanted 
 to give a place to Mr. Chase. ‘ Salmon P. Chase,’ said 
 he, ‘ is a very ambitious man.’ ‘ Very well,’ said I, 
 ‘ then the War Department is the place for him. We 
 
372 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 are going to have an armed conflict over your election, 
 and the place for an ambitious man is in the War 
 Department. There he will have lots of room to make 
 a reputation.’ These thoughts of mine, that we were 
 to have war, disturbed Mr. Lincoln very much, and 
 lie seemed to think I was entirely too certain about 
 it. Finally, when he came to make up his Cabinet, 
 doubtless remembei'ing what I had said about the 
 War Department, he appointed me Secretary of 
 War.” 
 
 “ There has been,” continues Mr. Cameron, “ a 
 great deal of misstatement as to Mr. Stanton’s appoint- 
 ment as my successor. Stanton had been my attorney 
 from the time I went into the War Department until 
 he took my place as Secretary. I had hardly made 
 a move in which the legality of any question could arise. 
 I had taken his advice. I believed in the vigorous 
 prosecution of the war from the start, while Mr. Sew- 
 ard believed in dallying and compromising, and Mr. 
 Chase was constantly agitated about the expenditure 
 of money; therefore it was that I was careful to have 
 the advice of an able lawyer. When the question of 
 changing me from the War Department to the Russian 
 mission came up, Mr. Lincoln said to me, ‘ Whom shall 
 I appoint in your place? ’ My prompt response was, 
 ‘ Edwin M. Stanton.’ ‘ But,’ said he, ‘ I had thought 
 of giving it to Holt.’ ‘ Mr. Lincoln,’ said I, ‘ if I am 
 to retire in the present situation of affairs, it seems but 
 proper that a friend of mine, or at least a man not 
 unfriendly to me, should be appointed in my place. If 
 you give Mr. Stanton the position, you will not only 
 accomplish this object but will please the State of 
 Pennsylvania and also get an excellent officer.’ ‘ Very 
 well,’ said Mr. Lincoln, ‘ you go and see him, and if he 
 will accept the place he shall have it.’ I left the White 
 House and started to find Stanton, passing through the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 373 
 
 Treasury Department on my way. As I passed Mr. 
 Chase’s office, I stepped in and told him what had oc- 
 curred between the President and myself. He said, 
 ‘ Let ’s send for Stanton ; bring him here and talk it 
 over.’ 4 Very well,’ said I, and a messenger was at 
 once sent. Stanton came immediately, and I told him 
 of the conference between the President and myself. 
 He agreed to accept. We walked to the White House, 
 and the matter was settled. 
 
 “ One of the troubles in the Cabinet which brought 
 about this change was that I had recommended in my 
 annual report, in the fall of 1861, that the negroes 
 should be enlisted as soldiers after they left their mas- 
 ters. This advanced step was regarded by most of 
 the Cabinet with alarm. Mr. Lincoln thought it would 
 frighten the border States out of the Union, and Mr. 
 Seward and Mr. Chase thought it would never do 
 at all.” 
 
 Just before the retirement of Mr. Cameron, a num- 
 ber of influential Senators waited upon the President 
 and represented to him that inasmuch as the Cabinet 
 had not been chosen with reference to the war and had 
 more or less lost the confidence of the country, and 
 since the President had decided to select a new war 
 minister, they thought the occasion was opportune to 
 change the whole seven Cabinet ministers. They there- 
 fore earnestly advised him to make a clean sweep, select 
 seven new men, and so restore the waning confidence of 
 the country. The President listened with patient cour- 
 tesy, and when the Senators had concluded, he said, 
 with a characteristic gleam of humor in his eye : 
 “ Gentlemen, your request for a change of the whole 
 Cabinet because I have made one change, reminds me 
 of a story I once heard in Illinois of a farmer who 
 was much troubled by skunks, ^hey annoyed his 
 household at night, and his wife insisted that he should 
 
374 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 take measures to get rid of them. One moonlight night 
 he loaded his old shot-gun and stationed himself in the 
 yard to watch for the intruders, his wife remaining in 
 the house anxiously awaiting the result. After some 
 time she heard the shotgun go off, and in a few minutes 
 the farmer entered the house. ‘ What luck had you? ’ 
 said she. ‘ I hid myself behind the woodpile,’ said the 
 old man, 4 with the shot-gun pointed toward the hen- 
 roost, and before long there appeared, not one skunk, 
 but seven. I took aim, blazed away, and killed one — 
 and he raised such a fearful smell I concluded it was 
 best to let the other six alone.’ ” The Senators re- 
 tired, and nothing more was heard from them about 
 Cabinet reconstruction. 
 
 Of the character and abilities of Secretary Stanton, 
 and the relations between him and the President, Gen- 
 eral Grant has admirably said : “ I had the fullest sup- 
 port of the President and Secretary of War. No Gen- 
 eral could want better backing; for the President was 
 a, man of great wisdom and moderation, the Secretary 
 a man of enormous character and will. Very often 
 where Lincoln would want to say Yes, his Secretary 
 would make him say No; and more frequently, when the 
 Secretary was driving on in a violent course, the Presi- 
 dent would check him. United, Lincoln and Stanton 
 made about as perfect a combination as I believe could, 
 by any possibility, govern a great nation in time of 
 war. . . . The two men were the very opposite of 
 each other in almost every particular, except that each 
 possessed great ability. Mr. Lincoln gained influence 
 over men by making them feel that it was a pleasure 
 to serve them. He preferred yielding his own wish to 
 gratify others, rather than to insist upon having his 
 own way. It distressed him to disappoint others. In 
 matters of public duty, however, he had what he wished, 
 but in the least offensive way. Mr. Stanton never ques- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 375 
 
 tioned his own authority to command, unless resisted. 
 He cared nothing for the feeling of others.” In a fur- 
 ther comparison of the two men, General Grant said: 
 “ Lincoln was not timid, and he was willing to trust his 
 generals in making and executing plans. The Secre- 
 tary [Stanton] was very timid, and it was impossible 
 for him to avoid interfering with the armies covering 
 the capital when it was sought to defend it by an 
 offensive movement against the army guarding the Con- 
 federate capital. He could see our weakness, but he 
 could not see that the enemy was in danger. The 
 enemy would not have been in danger if Mr. Stanton 
 had been in the field.” 
 
 With all his force of character, and his overbearing 
 disposition, Stanton did not undertake to rule the Presi- 
 dent — though this has sometimes been asserted. He 
 would frequently overawe and browbeat others, but he 
 was never imperious in dealing with Lincoln. Mr. 
 Watson, for some time Assistant Secretary of War, 
 and Mr. Whiting, Solicitor of the War Department, 
 with many others in a position to know, have borne 
 positive testimony to this fact. Hon. George W. Julian, 
 a member of the House Committee on the Conduct of 
 the War, says: “ On the 24th of March, 1862, Secre- 
 tary Stanton sent for the Committee for the purpose of 
 having a confidential conference as to military affairs. 
 Stanton was thoroughly discouraged. He told us the 
 President had gone back to his first love, General 
 McClellan, and that it w T as needless for him or 
 for us to labor with him.” This language clearly 
 shows that Lincoln, not Stanton, was the dominant 
 mind. 
 
 Wherever it was possible, Lincoln gave Stanton his 
 own way, and did not oppose him. But there were occa- 
 sions when, in a phrase used by Lincoln long before, 
 it was “ necessary to put the foot down firmly .” Such 
 
376 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 an occasion is described by General J. B. Fry, Provost 
 Marshal of the United States during the war. An en- 
 listment agent had applied to the President to have 
 certain credits of troops made to his county, and the 
 President promised him it should be done. The agent 
 then went to Secretary Stanton, who flatly refused to 
 allow the credits as described. The agent returned to 
 the President, who reiterated the order, but again with- 
 out effect. Lincoln then went in person to Stanton’s 
 office. General Fry was called in by Stanton to state 
 the facts in the case. After he concluded, Stanton re- 
 marked that Lincoln must see, in view of such facts, 
 that his order could not be executed. What followed 
 is thus related by General Fry: “Lincoln sat upon a 
 sofa, with his legs crossed, and did not say a word 
 until the Secretary’s last remark. Then he said, in a 
 somewhat positive tone, ‘ Mr. Secretary, I reckon 
 you ’ll have to execute the order.’ Stanton replied, 
 with asperity, ‘ Mr. President, I cannot do it. The 
 order is an improper one, and I cannot execute it.’ 
 Lincoln fixed his eye upon Stanton, and in a firm voice 
 and with an accent that clearly showed his determina- 
 tion, he said, ‘ Mr. Secretary, it will have to be done.' 
 Stanton then realized that he was overmatched. He 
 had made a square issue with the President, and had 
 been defeated. Upon an intimation from him, I 
 withdrew, and did not witness his surrender. A few 
 minutes after I reached my office I received instruc- 
 tions from the Secretary to carry out the President’s 
 order.” 
 
 Vice-President Wheeler relates a characteristic inci- 
 dent illustrating the relations between Lincoln and 
 Stanton. The President had promised Mr. Wheeler 
 an appointment for an old friend as army paymaster, 
 stating that the Secretary of War would instruct the 
 gentleman to report for duty. Hearing nothing fur- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 377 
 
 ther from the matter, Mr. Wheeler at length called 
 upon the Secretary and reminded him of the appoint- 
 ment. Mr. Stanton denied all knowledge of the matter, 
 but stated, in his brusque manner, that the name would 
 be sent in, with hundreds of others, to the Senate for 
 its consideration. Mr. Wheeler argued that his friend 
 had been appointed by the Commander-in-chief of the 
 Army, and that it was unjust to ask him to wait for 
 the tardy action of the Senate upon the nomination, 
 and that he was entitled to be mustered in at once. 
 But all in vain; the only reply that could be got from 
 the iron Secretary was, “You have my answer; no 
 argument.” Mr. Wheeler went to the chief clerk of the 
 department, and asked for the President’s letter direct- 
 ing the appointment. Receiving it, he proceeded to the 
 White House, although it was after executive hours. 
 “ I can see Mr. Lincoln now,” says Mr. Wheeler, “ as 
 he looked when I entered the room. He wore a long 
 calico dressing-gown, reaching to his heels ; his feet 
 were encased in a pair of old-fashioned leathern slip- 
 pers, such as we used to find in the old-time country 
 hotels, and which had evidently seen much service in 
 Springfield. Above these appeared the home-made blue 
 woollen stockings which he wore at all seasons of the 
 year. He was sitting in a splint rocking-chair, with his 
 legs elevated and stretched across his office table. He 
 greeted me warmly. Apologizing for my intrusion at 
 that unofficial hour, I told him I had called simply to 
 ascertain which was the paramount power in the Gov- 
 ernment, he or the Secretary of War. Letting down 
 his legs and straightening himself up in his chair, he 
 answered, ‘ Well, it is generally supposed I am. 
 What ’s the matter? ’ I then briefly recalled the facts 
 attending Sabin’s appointment, when, without com- 
 ment, he said, ‘ Give me my letter.’ Then, taking his 
 pen, he indorsed upon it: 
 
378 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Let the within named J. A. Sabin be mustered at 
 once. It is due to him and to Mr. W., under the cir- 
 cumstances. A. Lincoln.” 
 
 Armed with this peremptory order, Mr. Wheeler called 
 on Stanton the next morning. The Secretary was 
 furious. He charged Mr. Wheeler with interfering 
 with his prerogatives. Mr. Wheeler remarked that 
 he would call the next morning for the order to muster 
 in. He called accordingly, and, handing him the order, 
 in a rage, Stanton said, “ I hope I shall never hear of 
 this matter again.” 
 
 It is related by Hon. George W. Julian, already 
 quoted, that on a certain occasion a committee of 
 Western men, headed by Mr. Lovejoy, procured from 
 the President an important order looking to the ex- 
 change and transfer of Eastern and Western sol- 
 diers, with a view to more effective work. “ Repair- 
 ing to the office of the Secretary, Mr. Lovejoy ex- 
 plained the scheme, as he had before done to the Presi- 
 dent, but was met with a flat refusal. ‘ But we have 
 the President’s order, sir,’ said Lovejoy. ‘ Did Lin- 
 coln give you an order of that kind? ’ said Stanton. 
 ‘ He did, sir.’ ‘ Then he is a d — d fool,’ said the irate 
 Secretary. ‘ Do you mean to say the President is a 
 d— d fool?’ asked Lovejoy, in amazement. ‘Yes, sir, 
 if he gave you such an order as that.’ The bewil- 
 dered Illinoisan betook himself at once to the Presi- 
 dent, and related the result of his conference. ‘ Did 
 Stanton say I was a d — d fool? ’ asked Lincoln, at the 
 close of the recital. ‘ He did, sir, and repeated it.’ 
 After a moment’s pause, and looking up, the Presi- 
 dent said, ‘ If Stanton said I was a d — d fool, then 
 I must be one, for he is nearly always right, and gen- 
 erally says what he means. I will step over and see 
 him.’ ” The two men met, and the matter was easily 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 379 
 
 adjusted. It was this rare combination of good- 
 humor and firmness with an understanding of the 
 other’s trials and appreciation of his good qualities, 
 that reduced the friction of official life and enabled 
 Lincoln and Stanton to work together, in the main 
 harmoniously and efficiently, in their great task of 
 prosecuting the war and maintaining the integrity 
 of the Union. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Lincoln’s Personal Attention to the Military Problems of the War — 
 Efforts to Push forward the War — Disheartening Delays — Lin- 
 coln’s Worry and Perplexity — Brightening Prospects — Union 
 Victories in North Carolina and Tennessee — Proclamation by the 
 President — Lincoln Wants to See for Himself — Visits Fortress 
 Monroe — -Witnesses an Attack on the Rebel Ram “Merrimac” — 
 The Capture of Norfolk — Lincoln’s Account of the Affair — Letter 
 to McClellan — Lincoln and the Union Soldiers — His Tender Solici- 
 tude for the Boys in Blue — Soldiers Always Welcome at the White 
 House — Pardoning Condemned Soldiers — Letter to a Bereaved 
 Mother — The Case of Cyrus Pringle — Lincoln's Love of Soldiers’ 
 Humor — Visiting the Soldiers in Trenches and Hospitals — Lincoln 
 at “The Soldiers’ Rest.” 
 
 E ARLY in 1862 Lincoln began giving more of his 
 personal attention to military affairs. He was 
 dissatisfied with the slow movements and small achieve- 
 ments of our armies, and sought to infuse new zeal 
 and energy into the Union commanders. He also 
 began a careful study of the great military problems 
 pressing for solution ; and he seemed resolved to assume 
 the full responsibilities of his position, not only as the 
 civil head of the Government but as the commander- 
 in-chief of the armies and navies of the United States. 
 In this he was influenced by no desire for personal 
 control of the commanders in the field or interference 
 with their plans; he always preferred to leave them 
 the fullest liberty of action. But he felt that the 
 situation demanded a single head, ready and able to 
 take full responsibility for the most important steps ; 
 and, true to himself and his habits of a lifetime, he 
 neither sought responsibility nor flinched from it. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 381 
 
 The leading officers of the Union army were mostly 
 young and inexperienced men, and none of them had 
 as yet demonstrated the capacity of a great com- 
 mander. At best it was a process of experiment, to 
 see what generals and what strategic movements were 
 most likely to succeed. In order to be able to judge 
 correctly of measures and men, Lincoln undertook to 
 familiarize himself with the practical details of mili- 
 tary affairs and operations. Here was developed a 
 new and unsuspected phase of his character. The 
 plain country lawyer, unversed in the art of war, was 
 suddenly transformed into the great civil ruler and 
 military chieftain. “ He was already,” says Mr. A. G. 
 Riddle, “ one of the wariest, coolest, and most skilful 
 managers of men. A born strategist , he was now 
 rapidly mastering the great outline ideas of the art 
 of war.” “ The elements of selfishness and ferocity 
 which are not unusual with first-class military chiefs,” 
 said General Keyes, a prominent officer of the Union 
 army, “ were wholly foreign to Lincoln’s nature. 
 Nevertheless, there was not one of his most trusted 
 warlike counselors in the beginning of tlie war who 
 equaled him in military sagacity .” His reliance, in 
 the new duties and perils that confronted him, was 
 upon his simple common-sense, his native power of 
 judgment and discernment. “ Military science,” says 
 a distinguished officer, “ is common-sense applied to 
 the affairs of war.” While Lincoln made no claim 
 to technical knowledge in this sphere, and preferred 
 to leave details to his subordinates, he yet developed 
 an insight into military problems and an understand- 
 ing of practical operations in the field which enabled 
 him not only to approve or disapprove judiciously, 
 but to direct and plan. A striking confirmation of this 
 is given by Mr. J. M. Winchell, who thus relates what 
 happened in a personal interview with the President: 
 
382 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 “ I was accompanied by one of Mr. Lincoln’s personal 
 friends ; and when we entered the well-known recep- 
 tion-room, a very tall, lanky man came quickly for- 
 ward to meet us. His manner seemed to me the per- 
 fection of courtesy. I was struck with the simplicity, 
 kindness, and dignity of his deportment, so different 
 from the clownish manners with which it was then 
 customary to invest him. His face was a pleasant 
 surprise, formed as my expectations had been from 
 the poor photographs then in vogue, and the general 
 belief in his ugliness. I remember thinking how much 
 better-looking he was than I had anticipated, and 
 wondering that anyone should consider him ugly. His 
 expression was grave and care-worn, but still 'enlivened 
 with a cheerfulness that gave me instant hope. After 
 a brief interchange of commonplaces, he entered on a 
 description of the situation, giving the numbers of the 
 contending armies, their movements, and the general 
 strategical purposes which should govern them both. 
 Taking from the wall a large map of the United States, 
 and laying it on the table, he pointed out with his long 
 finger the geographical features of the vicinity, clearly 
 describing the various movements so far as known, 
 reasoning rigidly from step to step, and creating a 
 chain of probabilities too strong for serious dispute. 
 His apparent knowledge of military science, and his 
 familiarity with the special features of the present 
 campaign, were surprising in a man who had been all 
 his life a civilian, engrossed with politics and the 
 practise of the law, and whose attention must neces- 
 sarily be so much occupied with the perplexing de- 
 tail of duties incident to his position. It was clear 
 that he made the various campaigns of the war a 
 subject of profound and intelligent study, forming 
 opinions thereon as positive and clear as those he 
 held in regard to civil affairs.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 383 
 
 Toward the end of January, 1862, Lincoln sought 
 to overcome the inertia that seemed settling upon 
 the Union forces by issuing the “ President’s General 
 Order, No. 1,” directing that, on the 22d day of Febru- 
 ary following, “ a general movement of the land and 
 naval forces of the United States ” be made against 
 the insurgent forces, and giving warning that “ the 
 heads of departments, and especially the Secretaries 
 of War and of the Navy, with all their subordinates, 
 and the General-in-Chief, with all other commanders 
 and subordinates of land and naval forces, will sever- 
 ally be held 'to their strict and full responsibilities 
 for prompt execution of this order.” This order, 
 while it doubtless served to infuse activity into com- 
 manders and officials, did not result in any substan- 
 tial successes to our arms. The President, worn by 
 his ceaseless activities and anxieties, seems to have 
 been momentarily disheartened at the situation. Ad- 
 miral Dahlgren, who was in command of the Washing- 
 ton navy-yard in 1862, narrates that one day, at this 
 period, “ the President drove down to see the hun- 
 dred-and-fifty-pounder cannon fired. For the first 
 time I heard the President speak of the bare possibility 
 of our being two nations — as if alluding to a pre- 
 vious suggestion. He could not see how the two could 
 exist so near each other. He was evidently much 
 worried at our lack of military success, and remarked 
 that ‘ no one seemed ready.’ ” 
 
 It is difficult to portray the worry and perplexity 
 that beset Lincoln’s life, and the incessant demands 
 upon his attention, in his efforts to familiarize himself, 
 as he felt compelled to do, with the practical opera- 
 tions of the war. Admiral Dahlgren, who saw him 
 almost daily, relates that one morning the President 
 sent for him, and said, “ Well, Captain, here ’s a letter 
 about some new powder.” He read the letter and 
 
384 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 showed the sample of powder, — adding that he had 
 burned some of it and it did not seem a good article; 
 there was too much residuum. “Now I ’ll show you,” 
 said he. So he got a small sheet of paper and placed 
 some of the powder on it, then went to the fire, and 
 with the tongs picked up a coal, which he blew, with 
 his spectacles still on his nose ; then he clapped the 
 coal to the powder, and after the explosion, remarked: 
 “ There is too much left there.” There is something 
 almost grotesque, but touching and pathetic as well, 
 in this picture of the President of the United States, 
 with all his enormous cares and responsibilities, en- 
 gaged in so petty a matter as testing a sample of 
 powder. And yet so great was his anxiety for the 
 success of the armies and navies under his control 
 that he wished to become personally satisfied as to 
 every detail. He did not wish our armies or our war- 
 vessels to lose battles on account of bad powder. “ At 
 another time,” Admiral Dahlgren has related, “ the 
 President sent for me regarding some new invention. 
 After the agent of the inventor left, the President 
 began on army matters. ‘Now,’ said he, ‘I am to 
 have a sweat of five or six days’” (alluding to an 
 impending battle, for the result of which he was very 
 anxious). Again: “The President sent for me. Some 
 man in trouble about arms ; President holding a 
 breech-loader in his hand. He asked me about the 
 iron-clads, and Charleston.” And again : “ Went to 
 the Department and found the President there. He 
 looks thin, and is very nervous. Said they were doing 
 nothing at Charleston, only asking for one iron-clad 
 after another. The canal at Vicksburg was of no 
 account, and he w’ondered how any sensible man could 
 favor it. He feared the favorable state of public 
 expectation would pass away before anything was 
 done. Then he leveled a couple of jokes at the doings 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 385 
 
 at Vicksburg and Charleston.,” No wonder the sym- 
 pathetic Dahlgren, witnessing the sufferings of the 
 tortured President, should exclaim: “ Poor gentleman! 
 How thin and wasted he is ! ” 
 
 The gloomy outlook in the Spring of 1862 was 
 relieved by the substantial victories of General Burn- 
 side in North Carolina and of General Grant in Ten- 
 nessee. The President was cheered and elated by these 
 successes. It is related that General Burnside, visiting 
 Washington at this time, called on the President, and 
 that “ the meeting was a grand spectacle. The two 
 stalwart men rushed into each other’s arms, and 
 warmly clasped each other for some minutes. When 
 General Burnside was about to leave, the President 
 inquired, ‘ Is there anything, my dear General, that 
 I can do for you? ’ ‘Yes! yes! ’ was the quick reply, 
 ‘ and I am glad you asked me that question. My 
 three brigadiers, you know; everything depended on 
 them, and they did their duty grandly ! — Oh, Mr. 
 President, we owe so much to them ! I should so much 
 like, when I go back, to take them their promotions.’ 
 ‘ It shall be done ! ’ was Lincoln’s hearty response, 
 and on the instant the promotions were ordered, and 
 General Burnside had the pleasure of taking back 
 with him to Foster, Reno, and Parke their commis- 
 sions as Major-Generals.” 
 
 Our brightening prospects impelled the President to 
 issue, on the 10th of April, the following proclama- 
 tion, breathing his deeply religious spirit: 
 
 It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal vic- 
 tories to the land and naval forces engaged in sup- 
 pressing an internal rebellion, and at the same time 
 to avert from our country the dangers of foreign in- 
 tervention and invasion. It is therefore recommended 
 to the people of the United States that at their next 
 weekly assemblages in their accustomed places of pub- 
 
386 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 lie worship which shall occur after the notice of this 
 Proclamation shall have been received, they especially 
 acknowledge and render thanks to our Heavenly 
 Father for these inestimable blessings; that they then 
 and there implore spiritual consolation in behalf of 
 all those who have been brought into affliction by the 
 casualties and calamities of sedition and civil war ; 
 and that they reverently invoke the Divine guidance 
 for our national counsels, to the end that they may 
 speedily result in the restoration of peace, harmony, 
 and unity throughout our borders, and hasten the es- 
 tablishment of fraternal relations among all the coun- 
 tries of the earth. Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 Early in May the President determined on a per- 
 sonal visit to Fortress Monroe, in order to learn what 
 he could from his own observation of affairs in that 
 region. The trip was a welcome respite from the 
 cares and burdens of official life, and he gave himself 
 up, as far as he could, to its enjoyment. The Secre- 
 tary of War (Stanton) and the Secretary of the 
 Treasury (Chase) accompanied the President. A 
 most interesting account of the expedition is given by 
 General Viele, who was a member of the party and 
 thus had an opportunity to observe Lincoln closely. 
 “ When on the afternoon of May 4,” says General 
 Viele, “ I was requested by the Secretary of War to 
 meet him within an hour at the navy-yard, with the 
 somewhat mysterious caution to speak to no one of 
 my movements, I had no conception whatever of the 
 purpose or intention of the meeting. It was quite dark 
 when I arrived there simultaneously with the Secre- 
 tary, who led the way to the wharf on the Potomac, 
 to which a steamer was moored that proved to be a 
 revenue cutter, the ‘ Miami.’ We went on board and 
 proceeded at once to the cabin, where to my surprise 
 I found the President and Mr. Chase, who had pre- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 387 
 
 ceded us. The vessel immediately got under way and 
 steamed down the Potomac. . . . After supper the 
 table was cleared, and the remainder of the evening 
 was spent in a general review of the situation, which 
 lasted long into the night. The positions of the differ- 
 ent armies in the field, the last reports from their 
 several commanders, the probabilities and possibilities 
 as they appeared to each member of the group, to- 
 gether with many other topics, relevant and irrevelant, 
 were discussed, interspersed with the usual number of 
 anecdotes from the never-failing supply with which 
 the President’s mind was stored. It was a most in- 
 teresting study to see these men relieved for the mo- 
 ment from the surroundings of their onerous official 
 duties. The President, of course, was the centre of 
 the group — kind, genial, thoughtful, tender-hearted, 
 magnanimous Abraham Lincoln ! It was difficult to 
 know him without knowing him intimately, for he was 
 as guileless and single-hearted as a child ; and no 
 man ever knew him intimately who did not recognize 
 and admire his great abilities, both natural and ac- 
 quired, his large-heartedness and sincerity of purpose. 
 . . . He would sit for hours during the trip, repeating 
 passages of Shakespeare’s plays, page after page of 
 Browning, and whole cantos of Byron. His inex- 
 haustible stock of anecdotes gave to superficial minds 
 the impression that he was not a thoughtful and re- 
 flecting man; whereas the fact was directly the reverse. 
 These anecdotes formed no more a part of Mr. Lin- 
 coln’s mind than a smile forms a part of the face. 
 They came unbidden, and, like a forced smile, were 
 often employed to conceal a depth of anxiety in his 
 own heart, and to dissipate the care that weighed 
 upon the minds of his associates. Both Mr. Chase 
 and Mr. Stanton were under great depression of 
 spirits when we started, and Mr. Chase remarked with 
 
388 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 a good deal of seriousness that he had forgotten to 
 write a very important letter before leaving. It was 
 too late to remedy the omission, and Mr. Lincoln at 
 once drove the thought of it from his mind by telling 
 him that a man was sometimes lucky in forgetting to 
 write a letter, for he seldom knew what it contained 
 until it appeared again some day to confront him with 
 an indiscreet word or expression ; and then he told 
 a humorous story of a sad catastrophe that happened 
 in a family, which was ascribed to something that 
 came in a letter — a catastrophe so far beyond the 
 region of possibility that it set us all laughing, and 
 Mr. Chase lost his anxious look. That reminded Mr. 
 Stanton of the dilemma he had been placed in, just 
 before leaving, by the receipt of a telegram from Gen- 
 eral Mitchell, who was in Northern Alabama. The 
 telegram was indistinct, and could not be clearly 
 understood; there was no time for further explana- 
 tion, and yet an immediate answer was required ; so 
 the Secretary took the chances and answered back, 4 All 
 right; go ahead.’ 4 Now, Mr. President,’ said he, 4 if 
 I have made a mistake, I must countermand my in- 
 structions.’ 4 1 suppose you meant,’ said Mr. Lin- 
 coln, 4 that it was all right if it was good for him, 
 and all wrong if it was not. That reminds me,’ said 
 he, 4 of a story about a horse that was sold at the 
 cross-roads near where I once lived. The horse was 
 supposed to be fast, and quite a number of people 
 were present at the time appointed for the sale. A 
 small boy was employed to ride the horse backward 
 and forward to exhibit his points. One of the would-be 
 buyers followed the boy down the road and asked him 
 confidentially if the horse had a splint. 4 Well, mister,’ 
 said the boy, 4 if it ’s good for him he ’s got it, but 
 if it is n’t good for him he has n’t.’ 4 And that ’s the 
 
 position,’ said the President, 4 you seem to have left 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 389 
 
 General Mitchell in. Well, Stanton, I guess he ’ll come 
 out right ; but at any rate you can’t help him 
 now.’ . . . Mr. Lincoln always had a pleasant word 
 to say the last thing at night and the first thing in 
 the morning. He was always the first one to awake, 
 although not the first to rise. The day-time was 
 spent principally upon the quarter-deck, and the 
 President entertained us with numerous anecdotes and 
 incidents of his life, of the most interesting character. 
 Few were aware of the physical strength possessed by 
 Mr. Lincoln. In muscular power he was one in a 
 thousand. One morning, while we were sitting on 
 deck, he saw an axe in a socket on the bulwarks, and 
 taking it up, he held it at arm’s length at the extrem- 
 ity of the helve with his thumb and forefinger, con- 
 tinuing to hold it there for a number of minutes. The 
 most powerful sailors on board tried in vain to imitate 
 him. Mr. Lincoln said he could do this when he was 
 eighteen years of age, and had never seen a day since 
 that time when he could not. 1 
 
 “ It was late in the evening,” continues General 
 Viele, “ when we arrived at Fortress Monroe. . . . 
 Answering the hail of the guard-boats, we made a 
 landing, and the Secretary of War immediately des- 
 patched a messenger for General Wool, the commander 
 
 1 Lincoln never lost his interest in exhibitions of physical strength, and 
 involuntarily he always compared its possessor with himself. On one 
 occasion — it was in 1859 — he was asked to make an address at the 
 State Fair of Wisconsin, which was held at Milwaukee. Among the 
 attractions was a “strong man” who went through the usual perfor- 
 mance of tossing iron balls and letting them roll back down his arms, 
 lifting heavy weights, etc. Apparently Lincoln had never seen such a 
 combination of strength and agility before. He was greatly interested. 
 Every now and then he gave vent to the ejaculation, “By George! By 
 George!” After the speech was over. Governor Hoyt introduced him 
 to the athlete; and as Lincoln stood looking down at him from his great 
 height, evidently pondering that one so small could be so strong, he 
 suddenly gave utterance to one of his quaint speeches. “Why,” he said, 
 “I could lick salt off the top of your hat!” 
 
390 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of the fort; on whose arrival it was decided to con- 
 sult at once with Admiral Goldsborough, the com- 
 mander of the fleet, whose flag-ship, the ‘ Minnesota,’ 
 a superb model of naval architecture, lay a short dis- 
 tance off the shore. The result of this conference was 
 a plan to get up an engagement the next day between 
 the 4 Merrimac ’ and the ‘ Monitor,’ so that during the 
 fight the ‘ Vanderbilt,’ which had been immensely 
 strengthened for the purpose, might put on all steam 
 and run her down. Accordingly, the next morning, 
 the President and party went over to the Rip Raps 
 to see the naval combat. The ‘ Merrimac ’ moved out 
 of the mouth of the Elizabeth river, quietly and 
 steadily, just as she had come out only a few weeks 
 before when she had sunk the ‘ Congress ’ and the 
 * Cumberland.’ She wore an air of defiance and de- 
 termination even at that distance. The £ Monitor ’ 
 moved up and waited for hex*. All the other vessels 
 got out of the way to give the ‘Vanderbilt’ and the 
 ‘ Minnesota ’ room to bear down upon the rebel terror 
 as soon as she should clear the coast line. It was a 
 calm Sabbath morning, and the air was still and tran- 
 quil. Suddenly the stillness was broken by the cannon 
 from the vessels and the great guns from the Rip 
 Raps, that filled the air with sulphurous smoke and 
 a terrific noise that reverberated from the fortress 
 and the opposite shore like thunder. The firing was 
 maintained for several hours, but all to no purpose; 
 the ‘ Merrimac ’ moved sullenly back to her position. 
 It was determined that night that on the following 
 day vigorous offensive operations should be under- 
 taken. The whole available naval force was to bom- 
 bard Sewall’s Point, and under cover of the bombard- 
 ment the available troops from Fortress Monroe were 
 to be landed at that point and move on Norfolk. Ac- 
 cordingly, the next morning a tremendous cannon- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 391 
 
 ading of Sewall’s Point took place. The wooden sheds 
 at that place were set on fire and the battery was 
 silenced. The ‘ Merrimac,’ coated with mail and lying 
 low in the water, looked on but took no part. Night 
 came on, and the cannonading ceased. It was so evi-. 
 dent that the ‘ Merrimac ’ intended to act only on the 
 defensive, and that as long as she remained where she 
 was no troops could be landed in that vicinity, that 
 they were ordered to disembark. That night the Presi- 
 dent, with the Secretary of War and the Secretary of 
 the Treasury, went over on the ‘ Miami ’ to the Vir- 
 ginia shore, and by the light of the moon landed on 
 the beach and walked up and down a considerable dis- 
 tance to assure himself that there could be no mistake 
 in the matter. How little the Confederacy dreamed 
 what a visitor it had that night to the ‘ sacred soil.’ ” 
 The following morning an advance was made upon 
 Norfolk by the route proposed by General Viele. The 
 attempt was successful, and before night our forces 
 were in control of the captured city. Some time after 
 midnight, as General Viele records, “ with a shock that 
 shook the city, and with an ominous sound that could 
 not be mistaken, the magazine of the * Merrimac ’ was 
 exploded, the vessel having been cut off from supplies 
 and deserted by the crew; and thus this most formid- 
 able engine of destruction, that had so long been a 
 terror, not only to Hampton Roads, but to the Atlan- 
 tic coast, went to her doom, a tragic and glorious 
 finale to the trip of the ‘ Miami.’ ” 
 
 Secretary Chase had accompanied the expedition 
 against Norfolk, returning to Fortress Monroe with 
 General Wool immediately after the surrender of the 
 city. The scene which ensued on the announcement 
 of the good tidings they brought back to the anxious 
 parties awaiting news of them was thus described by 
 the President himself : “ Chase and Stanton had ac- 
 
392 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 companied me to Fortress Monroe. While we were 
 there, an expedition was fitted out for an attack on 
 Norfolk. Chase and General Wool disappeared about 
 the time we began to look for tidings of the result, 
 and after vainly waiting their return till late in the 
 evening, Stanton and I concluded to retire. My room 
 was on the second floor of the Commandant’s house, and 
 Stanton’s was below. The night was very warm, — 
 the moon shining brightly, — and, too restless to sleep, 
 I sat for some time by the table, reading. Suddenly 
 hearing footsteps, I looked out of the window, and saw 
 two persons approaching, whom I knew by their rela- 
 tive size to be the missing men. They came into the 
 passage, and I heard them rap at Stanton’s door and 
 tell him to get up and come upstairs. A moment 
 afterward they entered my room. ‘ No time for cere- 
 mony, Mr. President,’ said General Wool; ‘Norfolk 
 is ours! ’ Stanton here burst in, just out of bed, clad 
 in a long night-gown which nearly swept the floor, 
 his ear catching, as he crossed the threshold, Wool’s 
 last words. Perfectly overjoyed, he rushed at the 
 General, whom he hugged most affectionately, fairly 
 lifting him from the floor in his delight. The scene 
 altogether must have been a comical one, though at 
 the time we were all too greatly excited to take much 
 note of mere appearances.” 
 
 Lincoln’s general grasp of military strategy, and 
 his keen understanding of the specific problems con- 
 fronting the Army of the Potomac in the critical au- 
 tumn of 1862, are well indicated in the following com- 
 munication to General McClellan: 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, 
 
 October 13, 1862. 
 
 My Dear Sir: — You remember my speaking to you 
 of what I called your over-cautiousness. Are you not 
 over-cautious when you assume that you cannot do 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 393 
 
 what the enemy is constantly doing? Should you not 
 claim to be at least his equal in prowess, and act upon 
 the claim? 
 
 As I understand, you telegraphed General Halleck 
 that you cannot subsist your army at Winchester un- 
 less the railroad from Harper’s Ferry to that point 
 be put in working order. But the enemy does now 
 subsist his army at Winchester, at a distance nearly 
 twice as great from railroad transportation as you 
 would have to do, without the railroad last named. 
 He now wagons from Culpepper Court-House, which 
 is just about twice as far as you would have to do 
 from Harper’s Ferry. He is certainly not more than 
 half as well provided with wagons as you are. I 
 certainly should be pleased for you to have the ad- 
 vantage of the railroad from Harper’s Ferry to Win- 
 chester; but it wastes all the remainder of autumn 
 to give it to you, and, in fact, ignores the question of 
 time, which cannot and must not be ignored. 
 
 Again, one of the standard maxims of war, as you 
 know, is, “ to operate upon the enemy’s communica- 
 tions as much as possible, without exposing your own.” 
 You seem to act as if this applies against you, but 
 cannot apply in your favor. Change positions with 
 the enemy, and think you not he would break your 
 communication with Richmond within the next twenty- 
 four hours? You dread his going into Pennsylvania. 
 But if he does so in full force, he gives up his com- 
 munications to you absolutely, and you have nothing 
 to do but to follow and ruin him; if he does so with 
 less than full force, fall upon and beat what is left 
 behind all the easier. Exclusive of the water line, you 
 are now nearer Richmond than the enemy is, by the 
 route that you can and he must take. Why can you 
 not reach there before him, unless you admit that he 
 is more than your equal on the march? His route 
 is the arc of a circle, while yours is the chord. The 
 roads are as good on yours as on his. 
 
 You know I desired, but did not order, you to cross 
 
394 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the Potomac below instead of above the Shenandoah 
 and Blue Ridge. My idea was, that this would at once 
 menace the enemy’s communications, which I would 
 seize if he would permit. If he should move north- 
 ward, I would follow him closely, holding his com- 
 munications. If he should prevent our seizing his 
 communications, and move toward Richmond, I would 
 press closely to him, fight him if a favorable oppor- 
 tunity should present, and at least try to beat him to 
 Richmond on the inside track. I say “ try,” for if we 
 never try, we shall never succeed. If he make a stand 
 at Winchester, moving neither north nor south, I would 
 fight him there, on the idea that if we cannot beat 
 him when he bears the wastage of coming to us, we 
 never can when we bear the wastage of going to him. 
 This proposition is a simple truth, and is too impor- 
 tant to be lost sight of for a moment. In coming 
 to us, he tenders us an advantage which we should not 
 waive. We should not so operate as to merely drive 
 him away. As we must beat him somewhere, or fail 
 finally, we can do it, if at all, easier near to us than 
 far away. If we cannot beat the enemy where he now 
 is, we never can, he again being within the intrench- 
 ments of Richmond. Recurring to the idea of going 
 to Richmond on the inside track, the facility of supply- 
 ing from the side away from the enemy is remarkable, 
 as it were, by the different spokes of a wheel, ex- 
 tending from the hub toward the rim, and this whether 
 you move directly by the chord, or on the inside arc, 
 hugging the Blue Ridge more closely. The chord-line, 
 as you see, carries you by Aldie, Haymarket, and 
 Fredericksburg, and you see how turnpikes, railroads, 
 and finally the Potomac by Aquia Creek, meet you at 
 all points from Washington. The same, only the lines 
 lengthened a little, if you press closer to the Blue Ridge 
 part of the way. The gaps through the Blue Ridge I 
 understand to be about the following distances from 
 Harper’s Ferry, to wit: Vestal’s, five miles; Gregory’s, 
 thirteen ; Snicker’s, eighteen ; Ashby’s, twenty-eight ; 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 395 
 
 Manassas, thirty-eight ; Chester, forty-five ; and Thorn- 
 ton’s, fifty-three. I should think it preferable to take 
 the route nearest the enemy, disabling him to make an 
 important move without your knowledge, and compel- 
 ling him to keep his forces together for dread of you. 
 The gaps would enable you to attack if you should 
 wish. For a great part of the way you would be prac- 
 tically between the enemy and both Washington and 
 Richmond, enabling us to spare you the greatest num- 
 ber of troops from here. When, at length, running to 
 Richmond ahead of him enables him to move this way, 
 if he does so, turn and attack him in the rear. But I 
 think he should be engaged long before such point is 
 reached. It is all easy if our troops march as -well as 
 the enemy, and it is unmanly to say they cannot do it. 
 This letter is in no sense an order. 
 
 Yours truly, A. Lincoln. 
 
 Major-General McClellan. 
 
 Throughout the entire war President Lincoln was 
 always keenly solicitous for the welfare of the Union 
 soldiers. He knew that upon them everything de- 
 pended ; and he felt bound to them not only by official 
 relations, but by the tenderer ties of human interest 
 and love. In all his proclamations and public utter- 
 ances he gave the fullest credit to the brave men in the 
 field, and claimed for them the country’s thanks and 
 gratitude. His sympathy for the soldiers was as tender 
 as that of a woman, and his tears were ever ready to 
 start at the mention of their hardships, their bravery, 
 their sufferings and losses. Nothing that he could do 
 was left undone to minister to their comfort in field 
 or camp or hospital. His most exacting cares were 
 never permitted to divert his thoughts from them, and 
 his anxious and tender sympathy included all whom they 
 held dear. Said Mr. Riddle, in a speech in Congress 
 in 1863: “Let not the distant mother, who has given 
 
396 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 up a loved one to fearful death, think that the Presi- 
 dent does not sympathize with her sorrow, and 'would 
 not have been glad — oh, how glad — to so shape events 
 as to spare the sacrifices. And let not fathers and 
 mothers and wives anywhere think that as he sees the 
 long blue regiments of brave ones marching away, step- 
 ping to- the drum-beat, he does not contemplate them 
 and feel his responsibility as he thinks how many of 
 them shall go to nameless graves, unmarked save by 
 the down-looking eyes of God’s pitying angels.” The 
 feeling of the soldiers toward Lincoln was one of filial 
 respect and love. Fie was not only the President, the 
 commander-in-chief of all the armies and navies of the 
 United States, but their good “ Father Abraham,” who 
 loved every man, even the humblest, that wore the 
 Union blue. 
 
 Of Lincoln’s personal relations with the soldiers, 
 enough interesting anecdotes could be collected to fill 
 a volume. He saw much of them in Washington, as 
 they marched through that city on their way to the 
 front, or returned on furlough or discharge, or filled 
 the overcrowded hospitals of the capital. Often they 
 called upon him, singly or with companions ; and he 
 always had for them a word, however brief, of sym- 
 pathy and cheer. He was always glad to see them at 
 the White House. They were the one class of visitors 
 who seldom came to ask for favors, and never to 
 pester him with advice. It was a real treat for the 
 harried President to escape from the politicians and 
 have a quiet talk with a private soldier. Among the 
 innumerable petitioners for executive clemency or favor, 
 none were so graciously received as those who appeared 
 in behalf of soldiers. It was half a victory to say that 
 the person for whom the favor was desired was a 
 member of the Union army. 
 
 As he wrote the pardon of a young soldier, sen- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 397 
 
 tenced to be shot for sleeping while on sentinel duty, 
 the President remarked to a friend standing by : “I 
 could not think of going into eternity with the blood 
 of that poor young man on my hands. It is not to 
 be wondered at that a boy raised on a farm, probably 
 in the habit of going to bed at dark, should, when re- 
 quired to watch, fall asleep ; and I cannot consent 
 that he be shot for such an act.” The youth thus 
 reprieved was afterwards found among the slain on 
 the field of Fredericksburg, with a photograph of Lin- 
 coln, on which he had written, “ God bless President 
 Lincoln,” worn nest his heart. 
 
 Rev. Newman Hall, of London, has repeated in a 
 sermon an anecdote told him by a Union general. 
 “ The first week of my command,” said the officer, 
 “ there were twenty-four deserters sentenced by court 
 martial to be shot, and the warrants for their execu- 
 tion were sent to the President to be signed. He re- 
 fused. I went to Washington and had an interview. 
 I said: ‘Mr. President, unless these men are made an 
 example of, the army itself is in danger. Mercy to 
 the few is cruelty to the many.’ He replied : ‘ Mr. 
 General, there are already too many weeping widows 
 in the United States. For God’s sake, don’t ask me 
 to add to the number, for I won't do it .’ ” 
 
 It came to the knowledge of Lincoln that a widow 
 living in Boston — a Mrs. Bixby — had lost five sons 
 in the service of their country. Without delay he ad- 
 dressed to the bereaved mother the following touching 
 note : 
 
 I have been shown on the file of the War Department 
 a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts, 
 that you are the mother of five sons who have died 
 gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and 
 fruitless must be any word of mine which should at- 
 tempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so over- 
 
398 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 whelming; but I cannot refrain from tendering to you 
 the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the 
 Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly 
 Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavements, 
 and leave only the cherished memory of the loved and 
 lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have 
 laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. 
 
 Yours, very sincerely and respectfully, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 A case of unusual interest is that of Cyrus Pringle, 
 a Vermont Quaker who was drafted into the military 
 service in 1863, and refused to serve on the ground 
 that his religion and his conscience would not permit 
 him to bear arms. His story, as recorded in his diary, 
 was given to the world after his death (“ Atlantic 
 Monthly,” February, 1913). In spite of his protests, 
 Pringle was taken South and forced to wear a uniform 
 and carry a gun, though he refused to use it or even 
 to clean it. His obstinacy, as it was supposed to be, 
 caused him much suffering, sometimes even physical 
 punishment, all of which he bore patiently, believing 
 that if he was steadfast in his faith relief would some- 
 how come. It did come, but not until — after five 
 months of hardship and distress of mind and body — 
 his case, with that of other Quakers, finally reached 
 the President. “ I w r ant you to go and tell Stanton,” 
 said Lincoln to the gentleman who had presented the 
 case to him, “ that it is my wish that all those young 
 men be sent home at once.” The gentleman went to 
 Stanton with the message, but Stanton was unwilling 
 to obey it. While they were arguing the matter, the 
 President entered the room. “ It is my urgent •wish,'" 
 said he. Stanton yielded, and the unfortunate Quakers 
 were given permission to return to their homes — none 
 too soon to save the life of Pringle, who records in his 
 diary: “Upon my arrival in New York I was seized 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 399 
 
 with delirium, from which I only recovered after many 
 weeks, through the mercy and favor of Him who in 
 all this trial had been our guide and strength and 
 comfort.” 
 
 Anything that savored of the wit and humor of the 
 soldiers was especially relished by Lincoln. Any inci- 
 dent that showed that “ the boys ” were mirthful and 
 jolly amidst their privations seemed to commend itself 
 to him. There was a story of a soldier in the Army 
 of the Potomac, carried to the rear of battle with both 
 legs shot off, who, seeing a pie-woman hovei'ing about, 
 asked, “ Say, old lady, are them pies sewed or pegged? ” 
 And there was another one of a soldier at the battle 
 of Chancellorsville, whose regiment, waiting to be called 
 into the fight, was taking coffee. The hero of the story 
 put to his lips a crockery mug which he had carried, 
 with infinite care, through several campaigns. A stray 
 bullet, just missing the coffee-drinker’s head, dashed 
 the mug into fragments and left only its handle on his 
 finger. Turning his head in that direction, the soldier 
 angrily growled, “Johnny, you can’t do that again!” 
 Lincoln, relating these two stories together, said, “ It 
 seems as if neither death nor danger could quench the 
 grim humor of the American soldier.” 
 
 A juvenile “ brigadier ” from New York, with a small 
 detachment of cavalry, having imprudently gone within 
 the rebel lines near Fairfax Court House, was captured 
 by “ guerillas.” Upon the fact being reported to 
 Lincoln, he said that he was very sorry to lose the 
 horses. “What do you mean?” inquired his inform- 
 ant. “Why,” rejoined the President, “I can make a 
 ‘ brigadier ’ any day ; but those horses cost the gov- 
 ernment a hundred and twenty-five dollars a head ! ” 
 
 Lincoln was especially fond of a joke at the expense 
 of some high military or civil dignitary. He was 
 intensely amused by a story told by Secretary Stanton, 
 
400 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of a trip made by him and General Foster up the Broad 
 river in North Carolina, in a tug-boat, when, reaching 
 our outposts on the river bank, a Federal picket yelled 
 out, “ Who have you got on board that tug? ” The 
 severe and dignified answer was, “ The Secretary of 
 War and Major-General Foster.” Instantly the picket 
 roared back: “We’ve got Major-Generals enough up 
 here — why don't you bring us up some hardtack? ” 
 
 On one occasion, when the enemy were threatening 
 the defenses of Washington, the President made a per- 
 sonal visit to the men in the trenches, for the purpose, 
 as he stated, of “ encouraging the boys.” He w y alked 
 about among them, telling them to hold their ground 
 and he would soon give them reinforcements. His 
 presence had a most inspiring effect, and the trenches 
 were held by a few hundred soldiers of the Invalid 
 Corps until the promised help came and the enemy 
 withdrew. 
 
 On a visit to City Point, Lincoln called upon the 
 head surgeon at that place and said he wished to visit 
 all the hospitals under his charge. The surgeon asked 
 if he knew what he was undertaking; there were five 
 or six thousand soldiers at that place, and it would 
 be quite a tax upon his strength to visit all the wards. 
 Lincoln answered, with a smile, that he guessed he was 
 equal to the task; at any rate he would try, and go 
 as far as he could; he should never, probably, see the 
 boys again, and he wanted them to know that he ap- 
 preciated what they had done for their country. Find- 
 ing it useless to try to dissuade him, the surgeon began 
 his rounds with the President, who walked from bed 
 to bed, extending his hand and saying a few words of 
 sympathy to some, making kind inquiries of others, 
 and welcomed by all with the heartiest cordiality. After 
 some hours the tour of the various hospitals was made, 
 and Lincoln returned with the surgeon to his office. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 401 
 
 They had scarcely entered, however, when a messenger 
 came saying that one ward had been overlooked, and 
 “ the boys ” wanted to see the President. The sur- 
 geon, who was thoroughly tired, and knew Lincoln 
 must be, tried to dissuade him from going; but the 
 good man said he must go back ; “ the boys ” would be 
 so disappointed. So he went with the messenger, ac- 
 companied by the surgeon, shook hands with the grati- 
 fied soldiers, and then returned to the office. The sur- 
 geon expressed the fear that the President’s arm would 
 be lamed with so much hand-shaking, saying that it 
 certainly must ache. Lincoln smiled, and saying some- 
 thing about his “ strong muscles,” stepped out at the 
 open door, took up a very large heavy axe which lay 
 there by a log of wood, and chopped vigorously for a 
 few moments, sending the chips flying in all directions ; 
 and then, pausing, he extended his right arm to its 
 full length, holding the axe out horizontally, without 
 its even quivering as he held it. Strong men who looked 
 on — men accustomed to manual labor — could not 
 hold the axe in that position for a moment. 
 
 In summer Lincoln’s favorite home was at “ The 
 Soldiers’ Rest,” a place a few miles out of Washing- 
 ton, on the Maryland side, where old and disabled 
 soldiers of the regular army found a refuge. It was 
 a lovely spot, situated on a beautifully wooded hill, 
 reached by a winding road, shaded by thick-set 
 branches. On his way there he often passed long lines 
 of ambulances, laden with the suffering victims of a 
 recent battle. A friend who met him on such an oc- 
 casion, says : “ When I met the President, his attitude 
 and expression spoke the deepest sadness. He paused, 
 and, pointing his hand towards the wounded men, he 
 said: ‘Look yonder at those poor fellows. I cannot 
 bear it ! This suffering, this loss of life, is dreadful ! ’ 
 Recalling a letter he had written years before to a 
 
402 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 suffering friend whose grief he had sought to console, 
 I reminded him of the incident, and asked him : 4 Do 
 you remember writing to your sorrowing friend these 
 words : “ And this too shall pass away. Never fear. 
 Victory will come.” ’ ‘ Yes,’ replied he, ‘ victory will 
 
 come, but it comes slowly .’ ” 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 Lincoln and McClellan — The Peninsular Campaign of 1862 — Impa- 
 tience with McClellan’s Delay — Lincoln Defends McClellan from 
 Unjust Criticism — Some Harrowing Experiences — McClellan 
 Recalled from the Peninsula — His Troops Given to General Pope 
 — Pope's Defeat at Manassas — A Critical Situation — McClellan 
 again in Command — Lincoln Takes the Responsibility — McClel- 
 lan’s Account of his Reinstatement — The Battle of Antietam — 
 The President Vindicated — Again Dissatisfied with McClellan — 
 Visits the Army in the Field — The President in the Saddle — Cor- 
 respondence between Lincoln and McClellan — McClellan’s Final 
 Removal — Lincoln’s Summing-up of McClellan — McClellan’s 
 “Body-guard.” 
 
 P RESIDENT LINCOLN’S relations with no other 
 person have been so much discussed as those with 
 General McClellan. Volumes have been written on this 
 subject; many heated and intemperate words have been 
 uttered and wrong conclusions reached. Whatever de- 
 fects may have marked McClellan’s qualities as a sol- 
 dier, he must remain historically one of the most con- 
 spicuous figures of the war. He organized the largest 
 and most important of the Union armies, and was its 
 first commander in the field. He was one of the two out 
 of the five commanders of the Army of the Potomac, 
 before Grant, who led that army to victory; the other 
 three having led it only to disastrous defeat. Great 
 things were expected of him ; and when he failed to 
 realize the extravagant expectations of those who 
 thought the war should be ended within a year, he re- 
 ceived equally extravagant condemnation. It is notice- 
 able that this condemnation came chiefly from civilians 
 — from politicians, from Congress, from the press : 
 not the best judges of military affairs. His own army 
 
404 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 — the men who were with him on the battlefield and 
 risked their lives and their cause under his leadership — 
 never lost faith in him. Of all the commanders of the 
 Army of the Potomac, he was the one most believed in 
 by his troops. Even after his removal, at a grand re- 
 view of the army by the President, after the battle of 
 Fredericksburg, it was not for the new commander, 
 Burnside, but the old commander, McClellan, that the 
 troops gave their heartiest cheers. It is worth remem- 
 bering also that the war was not ended until two and a 
 half years after McClellan’s retirement, and until trial 
 after trial had been made and failure after failure had 
 been met in the effort to find a successful leader for our 
 armies. The initial task of organization, of creating a 
 great army in the field, fell upon him — a task so well 
 performed that General Meade, his first efficient suc- 
 cessor, said, “ Had there been no McClellan there could 
 have been no Grant, for the army [organization] made 
 no essential improvements under any of his successors.” 
 And Grant, the last and finally victorious of these suc- 
 cessors — who was at one time criticized as being “ as 
 great a discouragement as McClellan ” — recorded in 
 his Memoirs the conviction (already quoted in these 
 pages) that the conditions under which McClellan 
 worked were fatal to success, and that he him- 
 self could not have succeeded in his place under those 
 conditions. 
 
 It is not in the province of the present narrative 
 to enter into a consideration of the merits or demerits 
 of McClellan as a soldier, but to treat of his personal 
 relations with President Lincoln. Between the two men, 
 notwithstanding many sharp differences of opinion and 
 of policy, there seems to have been a feeling of warm 
 personal friendship and sincere respect. Now that 
 both have passed beyond the reach of earthly praise 
 or blame, we may well honor their memory and credit 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 405 
 
 each with having done the best he could to serve his 
 country. 
 
 McClellan was appointed to the command of the 
 Union armies upon the retirement of the veteran Gen- 
 eral Scott, in November of 1861. He had been but a 
 captain in the regular army, but his high reputation 
 and brilliant soldierly qualities had led to his being sent 
 abroad to study the organization and movements of 
 European armies ; and this brought him into promi- 
 nence as a military man. It was soon after McClellan 
 took command that President Lincoln began giving 
 close personal attention to the direction of military 
 affairs. He formed a plan of operations against the 
 Confederate army defending Richmond, which differed 
 entirely from the plan pi’oposed by McClellan. The 
 President’s plan was, in effect, to repeat the Bull Run 
 expedition by moving against the enemy in Virginia at 
 or near Manassas. McClellan preferred a transference 
 of the army to the region of the lower Chesapeake, 
 thence moving up the Peninsula by the shortest land 
 route to Richmond. (This was a movement, it may 
 be remarked, which was finally carried out before Rich- 
 mond fell in 1865.) The President discussed the rela- 
 tive merits of the two plans in the following frank and 
 explicit letter to McClellan: 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C., 
 
 February 3, 1862. 
 
 Major-General McClellan. 
 
 My Dear Sir : You and I have distinct and different 
 plans for a movement of the Army of the Potomac; 
 yours to be done by the Chesapeake, up the Rappa- 
 hannock to Urbana, and across to the terminus of the 
 railroad on the York river; mine to move directly to 
 a point on the railroad southwest of Manassas. If 
 you will give me satisfactory answers to the following 
 questions, I shall gladly yield my plan to yours : 
 
406 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 1st. Does jour plan Involve a greatly larger ex- 
 penditure of time and money than mine? 
 
 2d. Wherein is a victory more certain by your plan 
 than mine? 
 
 3d. Wherein is a victory more valuable by your plan 
 than mine? 
 
 4th. In fact, would it not be less valuable in this, 
 that it would break no great line of the enemy’s com- 
 munication, while mine would? 
 
 5th. In case of a disaster, would not a retreat be 
 more difficult by your plan than mine ? 
 
 Yours truly, Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 To this communication McClellan made an elaborate 
 reply, discussing the situation very fully, and answer- 
 ing the inquiries apparently to the satisfaction of the 
 President, who consented to the plan submitted by 
 McClellan and concurred in by a council of his division 
 commanders, by which the base of the Army of the 
 Potomac should be transferred from Washington to 
 the lower Chesapeake. Yet Lincoln must have had 
 misgivings in the matter, for some weeks later he wrote 
 to McClellan: “ You will do me the justice to remember 
 I always insisted that going down the bay in search of 
 a field, instead of fighting at or near Manassas, was 
 only shifting, and not surmounting, a difficulty; that 
 we would find the same enemy, and the same or equal 
 intrenchments, at either place.” 
 
 After the transfer of the Army of the Potomac to 
 the Peninsula there was great impatience at the delays 
 in the expected advance on Richmond. The President 
 shared this impatience, and his despatches to McClellan 
 took an urgent and imperative though always friendly 
 tone. April 9 he wrote: “Your despatches, complain- 
 ing that you are not properly sustained, while they do 
 not offend me, do pain me very much. I suppose the 
 whole force which has gone forward for you is with you 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 407 
 
 by this time. And, if so, I think it is the precise time 
 for you to strike a blow. By delay, the enemy will 
 relatively gain upon you — that is, he will gain faster 
 by fortifications and reinforcements than you can by 
 reinforcements alone. And once more let me tell you, 
 it is indispensable to you that you strike a blow. . . . 
 I beg to assure you that I have never written to you 
 or spoken to you in greater kindness of feeling than 
 now, nor with a fuller purpose to sustain you, so far 
 as, in my most anxious judgment, I consistently can. 
 But you must act.” 
 
 While Lincoln was thus imperative toward Mc- 
 Clellan, he would not permit him to be unjustly criti- 
 cized. Considerable ill-feeling having been developed 
 between McClellan and Secretary Stanton, which was 
 made worse by certain meddlesome persons in Wash- 
 ington, the President took occasion, at a public meet- 
 ing, to express his views in these frank and manly 
 words : “ There has been a very wide-spread attempt to 
 have a quarrel between General McClellan and the 
 Secretary of War. Now, I occupy a position that en- 
 ables me to observe that these two gentlemen are not 
 nearly so deep in the quarrel as some pretending to be 
 their friends. General McClellan’s attitude is such 
 that, in the very selfishness of his nature, he cannot 
 but wish to be successful, as I hope he will be ; and the 
 Secretary of War is in precisely the same situation. 
 If the military commanders in the field cannot be suc- 
 cessful, not only the Secretary of War but myself, for 
 the time being the master of them both, cannot but be 
 failures. I know General McClellan wishes to be suc- 
 cessful, and I know he does not wish it any more than 
 the Secretary of War wishes it for him, and both of 
 them together no more than I wish it. Sometimes we 
 have a dispute about how many men General McClellan 
 has had, and those who would disparage him say he 
 
408 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 has had a very large number, and those who would dis- 
 parage the Secretary of War insist that General Mc- 
 Clellan has had a very small number. The basis for 
 this is, there is always a wide difference, and on this 
 occasion perhaps a wider one than usual, between the 
 grand total on McClellan’s rolls and the men actually 
 fit for duty ; and those who would disparage him talk 
 of the grand total on paper, and those who would dis- 
 parage the Secretary of War talk of those at present 
 fit for duty. General McClellan has sometimes asked 
 for things that the Secretary of War did not give him. 
 General McClellan is not to blame for asking what he 
 wanted and needed, and the Secretary of War is not to 
 blame for not giving when he had none to give.” 
 
 The summer of 1862 was a sad one for the country, 
 and peculiarly sad for Lincoln. The Army of the Po- 
 tomac fought battle after battle, often with temporary 
 successes, but without apparent substantial results ; 
 while many thousands of our brave soldiers perished 
 on the field, or filled the hospitals from the fever- 
 swamps of the Chickahominy. The terrible realities 
 of that dreadful summer, and their strain on Lincoln, 
 are well shown in the following incident : Colonel Scott, 
 of a New Hampshire regiment, had been ill, and his 
 wife nursed him in the hospital. After his convales- 
 cence, he received leave of absence, and started for 
 home ; but by a steamboat collision in Hampton Roads, 
 his noble wife was drowned. Colonel Scott reached 
 Washington, and learning, a few days later, of the 
 recovery of his wife’s body, he requested permission of 
 the Secretary of War to return for it. A great battle 
 was imminent, and the request was denied. Colonel 
 Scott thereupon sought the President. It was Satur- 
 day evening; and Lincoln, worn with the cares and 
 anxieties of the week, sat alone in his room, coat thrown 
 off, and seemingly lost in thought, perhaps pondering 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 409 
 
 the issue of the coming battle. Silently he listened to 
 Colonel Scott’s sad story; then, with an unusual irri- 
 tation, which was probably a part of his excessive 
 weariness, he exclaimed : “ Am I to have no rest ? Is 
 there no hour or spot when or where I may escape these 
 constant calls? Why do } r ou follow me here with such 
 business as this? Why do you not go to the War- 
 office, where they have charge of all this matter of 
 papers and transportation? ” Colonel Scott told of 
 Mr. Stanton’s refusal ; and the President continued : 
 “ Then probably you ought not to go down the river. 
 Mr. Stanton knows all about the necessities of the 
 hour; he knows what rules are necessary, and rules 
 are made to be enforced. It would be wrong for me 
 to override his rules and decisions in cases of this kind; 
 it might work disaster to important movements. And 
 then, you ought to remember that I have other duties 
 to attend to — heaven knows, enough for one man ! — 
 and I can give no thought to questions of this kind. 
 Why do you come here to appeal to my 'humanity? 
 Don’t you know that we are in the midst of war? 
 That suffering and death press upon all of us? That 
 works of humanity and affection, which we would cheer- 
 fully perform in days of peace, are all trampled upon 
 and outlawed by war? That there is no room left for 
 them? There is but one duty now — to fight. The 
 only call of humanity now is to conquer peace through 
 unrelenting warfare. War, and war alone, is the duty 
 of all of us. Your wife might have trusted you to the 
 care which the Government has provided for its sick 
 soldiers. At any rate, you must not vex me with your 
 family troubles. Why, every family in the land is 
 crushed with sorrow; but they must not each come to 
 me for help. I have all the burden I can carry. Go to 
 the War Department. Your business belongs there. 
 If they cannot help you, then bear your burden, as 
 
410 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 we all must, until this war is over. Everything must 
 yield to the paramount duty of finishing the war.” 
 Colonel Scott withdrew, crushed and overwhelmed. The 
 next morning, as he sat in his hotel pondering upon his 
 troubles, he heard a rap at his door, and opening it 
 found to his surprise the President standing before 
 him. Grasping his hands impulsively and sympa- 
 thetically, Lincoln broke out : “ My dear Colonel, I 
 was a brute last night. I have no excuse for my con- 
 duct. Indeed, I was weary to the last extent; but I 
 had no right to treat a man with rudeness who had 
 offered his life for his country, much more a man who 
 came to me in great affliction. I have had a regretful 
 night, and come now to beg your forgiveness.” He 
 added that he had just seen Secretary Stanton, and 
 all the details were arranged for sending the Colonel 
 down the Potomac and recovering the body ; then, 
 taking him in his carriage, he drove to the steamer’s 
 wharf, where, again pressing his hand, he wished him 
 God-speed on his sad errand. 
 
 Such were Lincoln’s harrowing experiences ; and 
 thus did his noble and sympathetic nature assert itself 
 over his momentary weakness and depression. 
 
 In August of 1862 General McClellan was ordered 
 to withdraw his army from the Peninsula. “ With a 
 heavy heart,” says McClellan, “ I relinquished the posi- 
 tion gained at the cost of so much time and blood.” 
 Without being removed from his command, his troops 
 were taken away from him and sent to join General 
 Pope, who had been placed in command of a consider- 
 able force in Virginia, for the purpose of trying the 
 President’s favorite plan of an advance on Richmond 
 by way of Manassas. Either from a confusion of 
 orders or a lack of zeal in executing them, the Union 
 forces failed to co-operate ; and Pope’s expected victory 
 (Manassas, August 30) proved a disastrous and hu- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 411 
 
 miliating defeat. His army was beaten and driven back 
 on Washington in a rout little less disgraceful than 
 that of Bull Run a year before. This battle came to 
 be known as the “ Second Bull Run.” 
 
 Thus the autumn of 1862 set in amidst gloom, dis- 
 order, and dismay. Our armies in and around the 
 national capital were on the defensive; while the vic- 
 torious Lee, following up his successes at Manassas, 
 was invading Maryland and threatening Washington 
 and the North. The President was anxious ; the Cabi- 
 net and Congress were alarmed. The troops had lost 
 confidence in General Pope, and there was practically 
 no one in chief command. The situation was most 
 critical; but Lincoln faced it, as he always did, un- 
 flinchingly. He took what he felt to be the wisest and 
 at the same time the most unpopular step possible 
 under the circumstances : he placed McClellan in com- 
 mand of all the troops in and around Washington. It 
 was a bold act, and required no ordinary amount of 
 moral courage and self-reliance. Outside the army, 
 it was about the most unpopular thing that could have 
 been done. McClellan was disliked by all the members 
 of the Cabinet and prominent officials, and with especial 
 bitterness by Secretary Stanton. Secretary Welles 
 speaks, in his Diary, of “ Stanton’s implacable hos- 
 tility to McClellan,” and records his belief that “ Stan- 
 ton is determined to destroy McClellan.” Welles relates 
 that on the very day of Pope’s defeat at Manassas, 
 Secretary Stanton, accompanied by Secretary Chase, 
 called on him and asked him to join in signing a com- 
 munication to the President demanding McClellan’s 
 immediate dismissal from command of the Army of 
 the Potomac, saying all the members of the Cabinet 
 would sign it. The document was in Stanton’s hand- 
 writing. Welles, though far from friendly toward Mc- 
 Clellan, refused to sign the paper, and the matter was 
 
412 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 dropped. Welles adds the comment, “ There was a 
 fixed determination to remove, and, if possible, to dis- 
 grace, McClellan.” 
 
 When it was rumored in Washington that McClellan 
 was to be reinstated, everyone was thunderstruck. A 
 Cabinet meeting was held on the second day of Sep- 
 tember, at which the President, without asking any- 
 one’s opinion, announced that he had reinstated Mc- 
 Clellan. Regret and surprise were openly expressed. 
 Mr. Stanton, with some excitement, remarked that no 
 such order had issued from the War Department. The 
 President then said, with great calmness, “ No, Mr. 
 Secretary, the order was mine, and I will he responsible 
 for it to the country .” He added, by way of explana- 
 tion, that, with a retreating and demoralized army 
 tumbling in upon the capital, and alarm and panic in 
 the community, something had to be done, and as there 
 did not appear to be anyone else to do it he took the 
 responsibility on himself. He remarked that McClellan 
 had the confidence of the troops beyond any other 
 officer, and could, under the circumstances, more 
 speedily and effectually reorganize them and put them 
 in fighting trim than any other general. “ This is 
 what is now wanted most,” said he, “ and these were 
 my reasons for placing McClellan in command.” 
 
 Perhaps at no other crisis of the war did Lincoln’s 
 strength of character and power of making quick and 
 important decisions in the face of general opposition, 
 come out more clearly than on this occasion. Secre- 
 tary Welles, who was present at the dramatic and 
 stormy Cabinet meeting referred to, says : “ In stating 
 what he had done, the President was deliberate, but 
 firm and decisive. His language and manner were kind 
 and affectionate, especially toward two of the members, 
 who were greatly disturbed; but every person present 
 felt that he was truly the chief, and every one knew 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 113 
 
 his decision was as fixed and unalterable as if given 
 out with the imperious command and determined will 
 of Andrew Jackson. A long discussion followed, clos- 
 ing with acquiescence in the decision of the President. 
 In this instance the President, unaided by others, put 
 forth with firmness and determination the executive 
 will — the one-man power — against the temporary 
 general sense of the community, as well as of his Cabi- 
 net, two of whom, it has been generally supposed, had 
 with him an influence almost as great as the Secretary 
 of State. They had been ready to make issue and re- 
 sign their places unless McClellan was dismissed; but 
 knowing their opposition, and in spite of it and of the 
 general dissatisfaction in the community, the President 
 had in that perilous moment exalted him to new and 
 important trusts.” 
 
 It appears from the statement of General McClellan, 
 made shortly before his death, that on the morning of 
 his reinstatement (before the Cabinet meeting just 
 described) the President visited him at his headquar- 
 ters, near Washington, to ask if he would again assume 
 command. “ While at breakfast, at an early hour,” 
 says McClellan, “ I received a call from the President, 
 accompanied by General Halleck. The President in- 
 formed me that Colonel Kelton had returned and repre- 
 sented the condition of affairs as much worse than I 
 had stated to Halleck on the previous day ; that there 
 were 30,000 stragglers on the roads ; that the army 
 was entirely defeated and falling back to Washington 
 in confusion. He then said that he regarded Washing- 
 ton as lost, and asked me if I would, under the circum- 
 stances, consent to accept command of all the forces. 
 Without a moment’s hesitation, and without making 
 any conditions whatever, I at once said that I would 
 accept the command, and would stake my life that I 
 would save the city. Both the President and Halleck 
 
414 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 again asserted their belief that it was impossible to 
 save the city, and I repeated my firm conviction that 
 I could and would save it. They then left, the Presi- 
 dent verbally placing me in entire command of the city 
 and of the troops falling back upon it from the front.” 
 
 The result of the reappointment of McClellan soon 
 vindicated the wisdom of the step. He possessed the 
 confidence of the army beyond any other general at 
 that time, and was able to inspire it with renewed hope 
 and courage. Leaving Washington on the 7th of 
 September, in command of Pope’s beaten and disinte- 
 grated forces which he had to reorganize on the march, 
 he within two weeks met the flushed and lately vic- 
 torious troops of Lee and Jackson and fought the 
 bloody but successful battle of Antietam (September 
 17, 1862), which compelled Lee to retreat to the south- 
 ern side of the Potomac, and relieved Washington of 
 any immediate danger. 
 
 After the Antietam campaign, the Army of the 
 Potomac rested awhile from its exhausting and disor- 
 ganizing labors. Supplies and reinforcements were 
 necessary before resuming active operations. This de- 
 lay gave rise to no little dissatisfaction in Washington, 
 where a clamor arose that McClellan should have fol- 
 lowed up his successes at Antietam by immediately pur- 
 suing Lee into Virginia. In this dissatisfaction the 
 President shared to some extent. He made a personal 
 visit to the army for the purpose of satisfying himself 
 of its condition. Of this occasion McClellan says : 
 “ On the first day of October, his Excellency the Presi- 
 dent honored the Army of the Potomac with a visit, 
 and remained several days, during which he went 
 through the different encampments, reviewed the 
 troops, and went over the battle-field of South Moun- 
 tain and Antietam. I had the opportunity, during 
 this visit, to describe to him the operations of the army 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 415 
 
 since it left Washington, and gave him my reasons for 
 not following the enemy after he recrossed the 
 Potomac.” 
 
 Before the grand review that was to be made by the 
 President, some of McClellan’s staff, knowing that the 
 General was a man of great endurance and expertness 
 in the saddle, laughed at the idea of Lincoln’s attempt- 
 ing to keep up with him in the severe ordeal of “ riding 
 down the lines.” “ They rather hinted,” says a nar- 
 rator, “ that the General would move somewhat rapidly, 
 to test Mr. Lincoln’s capacity as a rider. There were 
 those on the field, however, who had seen Mr. Lincoln 
 in the saddle in Illinois ; and they were confident of his 
 staying powers. A splendid black horse, very spirited, 
 was selected for the President to ride. When the time 
 came, Mr. Lincoln walked up to the animal, and the 
 instant he seized the bridle to mount, it was evident 
 to horsemen that he £ knew his business.’ He had the 
 animal in hand at once. No sooner was he in the saddle 
 than the coal-black steed began to prance and whirl 
 and dance as if he was proud of his burden. But the 
 President sat as unconcerned and fixed to the saddle as 
 if he and the horse were one. The test of endurance 
 soon came. McClellan, with his magnificent staff, ap- 
 proached the President, who joined them, and away 
 they dashed to a distant part of the field. The artil- 
 lery began to thunder, the drums beat, and the bands 
 struck up ‘ Hail to the Chief,’ while the troops cheered. 
 Mr. Lincoln, holding the bridle-rein in one hand, lifted 
 his tall hat from his head, and much of the time held 
 it in the other hand. Grandly did Lincoln receive the 
 salute, appearing as little disturbed bv the dashing 
 movements of the proud-spirited animal as if he had 
 passed through such an ordeal with the same creature 
 many times before. Next came a further test of en- 
 durance — a long dash over very rough untraveled 
 
416 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 ground, with here and there a ditch or a hole to be 
 jumped or a siding to be passed. But Mr. Lincoln 
 kept well up to McClellan, who made good time. 
 Finally, the ‘ riding down the lines ’ was performed, 
 amidst the flaunting of standards, the beating of drums, 
 the loud cheering of the men and rapid discharges of 
 artillery, startling even the best-trained horses. Lin- 
 coln sat easily to the end, when he wheeled his horse 
 into position to witness the vast columns march in 
 review. McClellan was surprised at so remarkable a 
 display of horsemanship. Mr. Lincoln was a great 
 lover of the horse, and a skilled rider. His awkward- 
 ness of form did not show in the saddle. He always 
 looked well when mounted.” 
 
 After the President’s return to Washington he began 
 urging McClellan to resume active operations ; desir- 
 ing him to “ cross the Potomac, and give battle to the 
 enemy or drive him south.” On the 13th of October 
 he addressed to him the long letter quoted at the end 
 of the preceding chapter. Subsequent communications 
 from the President to McClellan showed more and more 
 impatience. On the 25th he telegraphed: “ I have just 
 read your despatch about sore-tongue and fatigued 
 horses. Will you pardon me for asking what the horses 
 of your army have done since the battle of Antietam 
 that fatigues anything? ” And the next day, after 
 receiving McClellan’s answer to his inquiry, he re- 
 sponded: “ Most certainly I intend no injustice to any- 
 one, and if I have done any I deeply regret it. To 
 be told, after more than five weeks’ total inaction of 
 the army, and during which period we had sent to 
 that army every fresh horse we possibly could, amount- 
 ing in the whole to 7,918, that the cavalry horses were 
 too much fatigued to move, presented a very cheer- 
 less, almost hopeless, prospect for the future, and it 
 may have forced something of impatience into my 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 417 
 
 despatches. If not recruited and rested then, when 
 could they ever be? I suppose the river is rising, and 
 I am glad to believe you are crossing.” But McClellan 
 did not cross; his preparations for a new campaign 
 were not yet complete; and the President, at last 
 losing patience, removed him from command, and put 
 Burnside in his place, November 5, 1862. And a dis- 
 astrous step this proved to be. Burnside was under 
 peremptory orders from Washington to move imme- 
 diately against the Confederate forces. The result was 
 the ill-advised attack upon Fredericksburg (December 
 12, 1862) and Burnside’s bloody repulse. The move- 
 ment was made against the judgment of the army offi- 
 cers then, and has been generally condemned by military 
 critics since. Secretary Welles thus guardedly com- 
 mented upon it in his Diary : “ It appears to me a 
 mistake to fight the enemy in so strong a position. 
 They have selected their own ground, and we meet 
 them there.” But it was McClellan’s unwillingness to 
 do the very thing that Burnside is censured for having 
 done, and that proved so overwhelming a disaster, that 
 was the occasion for McClellan’s removal. 
 
 A good illustration of Lincoln’s disappointed, per- 
 haps unreasonable, state of mind before McClellan’s 
 removal is furnished by Hon. O. M. Hatch, a former 
 Secretary of State of Illinois and an old friend of 
 Lincoln’s. Mr. Hatch relates that a short time before 
 McClellan’s removal from command he went with Presi- 
 dent Lincoln to visit the army, still near Antietam. 
 They reached Antietam late in the afternoon of a very 
 hot day, and were assigned a special tent for their 
 occupancy during the night. “ Early next morning,” 
 says Mr. Hatch, “ I was awakened by Mr. Lincoln. It 
 was very early — daylight was just lighting the east — 
 the soldiers were all asleep in their tents. Scarce a 
 sound could be heard except the notes of early birds, 
 
418 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 and the farm-yard voices from distant farms. Lincoln 
 said to me, ‘ Come, Hatch, I want you to take a walk 
 with me.’ His tone was serious and impressive. I 
 arose without a word, and as soon as we were dressed 
 we left the tent together. He led me about the camp, 
 and then we walked upon the surrounding hills over- 
 looking the great city of white tents and sleeping sol- 
 diers. Very little was spoken between us, beyond a few 
 words as to the pleasantness of the morning or similar 
 casual observations. Lincoln seemed to be peculiarly 
 serious, and his quiet, abstract way affected me also. 
 It did not seem a time to speak. We walked slowly 
 and quietly, meeting here and there a guard, our 
 thoughts leading us to reflect on that wonderful situa- 
 tion. A nation in peril - — • the whole world looking 
 at America — a million men in arms — the whole ma- 
 chinery of war engaged throughout the country, while 
 I stood by that kind-hearted, simple-minded man who 
 might be regarded as the Director-General, looking at 
 the beautiful sunrise and the magnificent scene before 
 us. Nothing was .to be said, nothing needed to be 
 said. Finally, reaching a commanding point where 
 almost that entire camp could be seen — the men were 
 just beginning their morning duties, and evidences of 
 life and activity were becoming apparent — we invol- 
 untarily stopped. The President, waving his hand 
 towards the scene before us, and leaning towards me, 
 said in an almost whispering voice: ‘Hatch — Hatch, 
 what is all this?’ ‘Why, Mr. Lincoln,’ said I, ‘this 
 is the Army of the Potomac.’ He hesitated a moment, 
 and then, straightening up, said in a louder tone: ‘ No, 
 Hatch, no. This is General McClellan's body-guard 
 Nothing more was said. We walked to our tent, and 
 the subject was not alluded to again.” 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 Lincoln and Slavery — Plan for Gradual Emancipatiorf — Anti-slavery 
 Legislation in 1862 — • Pressure Brought to Bear on the Executive — 
 The Delegation of Quakers — A Visit from Chicago Clergymen — • 
 Interview between Lincoln and Channing — Lincoln and Horace 
 Greeley — The President’s Answer to “The Prayer of Twenty Mil- 
 lions of People” — Conference between Lincoln and Greeley — 
 Emancipation Resolved on — The Preliminary Proclamation — 
 Lincoln's Account of It — Preparing for the Final Act — The Eman- 
 cipation Proclamation — Particulars of the Great Document — 
 Fate of the Original Draft — Lincoln’s Outline of his Course and 
 Views regarding Slavery. 
 
 HE emancipation of slaves in America — the 
 
 1 crowning act of Lincoln’s eventful career and 
 the one with which his fame is most indissolubly linked 
 — is a subject of supreme interest in a study of his 
 life and character. For this great act all his previous 
 life and training had been but a preparation. From 
 the first awakening of his convictions of the moral 
 wrong of human slavery, through all his public and 
 private utterances, may be traced one logical and con- 
 sistent development of the principles which at last 
 found sublime expression in the Proclamation of Eman- 
 cipation. In this, as always, he was true to his own 
 inner promptings. He would not be hurried or wor- 
 ried or badgered into premature and impracticable 
 measures. He bided his time ; and when that time 
 came the deed was done, unalterably and irrevocably: 
 approved by the logic of events, and by the enlightened 
 conscience of the world. 
 
 The final Emancipation Proclamation was issued on 
 the first day of January, 1863. The various official 
 
420 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 measures that preceded it may be briefly sketched, to- 
 gether with closely related incidents. As early as the 
 autumn of 1861 the problem of the relation of the 
 war to slavery was brought forcibly to the President’s 
 attention by the action of General J. C. Fremont, the 
 Union commander in Missouri, who issued an order 
 declaring the slaves of rebels in his department free. 
 The order was premature and unauthorized, and the 
 President promptly annulled it. General Fremont was 
 thus, in a sense, the pioneer in military emancipation; 
 and he lived to see the policy proposed by him carried 
 into practical operation by all our armies. Lincoln 
 afterwards said : “ I have great respect for General 
 Fremont and his abilities, but the fact is that the 
 pioneer in any movement is not generally the best man 
 to carry that movement to a successful issue. It was 
 so in old times ; Moses began the emancipation of the 
 Jews, but did n’t take Israel to the Promised Land 
 after all. He had to make way for Joshua to complete 
 the work. It looks as if the first reformer of a thing 
 has to meet such a hard opposition and gets so bat- 
 tered and bespattered that afterward when people find 
 they have to accept his reform they will accept it more 
 easily from another man.” 
 
 Lincoln at first favored a policy of gradual emanci- 
 pation. In a special message to Congress, on the 6th 
 of March, 1862, he proposed such a plan for the aboli- 
 tion of slavery. “ In my judgment,” he remarked, 
 “ gradual, and not sudden, emancipation is better for 
 all.” He suggested to Congress the adoption of a joint 
 resolution declaring “ that the United States ought to 
 co-operate with any State which may adopt a gradual 
 abolition of slavery, giving to such State pecuniary aid 
 to compensate for the inconvenience, public and pri- 
 vate, produced by such change of system.” In con- 
 clusion he urged: “In full view of my great responsi- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 421 
 
 bility to my God and to my country, I earnestly beg 
 the attention of Congress and the people to this 
 subject.” 
 
 On the 16th of April of this year, Congress passed 
 a bill abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia — 
 a measure for which Lincoln had himself introduced a 
 bill while a member of Congress. In confirming the 
 act as President, he remarked privately : “ Little did 
 I dream in 1849, when as a member of Congress I 
 proposed to abolish slavery at this capital, and could 
 scarcely get a hearing for the proposition, that it would 
 be so soon accomplished.” 
 
 Emancipation measures moved rapidly in 1862. On 
 June 19 Congress enacted a measure prohibiting slavery 
 forever in all present and future territories of the 
 United States. July 17 a law was passed authorizing 
 the employment of negroes as soldiers, and conferring 
 freedom on all who should render military service, and 
 on the families of all such as belonged to disloyal 
 owners. Two days later, in a conference appointed 
 by him at the Executive Mansion, the President sub- 
 mitted to the members of Congress from the Border 
 States a written appeal, in. which he said : 
 
 Believing that you, in the border States, hold more 
 power for good than any other equal number of mem- 
 bers, I feel it a duty which I cannot justifiably waive, 
 to make this appeal to you. ... I intend no reproach 
 or complaint when I assure you that, in my opinion, 
 if you all had voted for the resolution in the gradual 
 emancipation message of last March, the war would 
 now be substantially ended. And the plan therein pro- 
 posed is yet one of the most potent and swift means 
 of ending it. Let the States which are in rebellion see 
 definitely and certainly that in no event will the States 
 you represent ever join their proposed confederacy, and 
 they cannot much longer maintain the contest. ... If 
 
422 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the war continues long, as it must if the object be not 
 sooner attained, the institution in your States will be 
 extinguished by mere friction and abrasion, by the mere 
 incidents of the war. It will be gone, and you will 
 have nothing valuable in lieu of it. Much of its value 
 is gone already. How much better for you and for 
 your people to take the step which at once shortens 
 the war and secures substantial compensation for that 
 which is sure to be wholly lost in any other event ! How 
 much better to thus save the money which else we sink 
 forever in the war ! How much better to do it while 
 we can, lest the war ere long render us pecuniarily 
 unable to do it ! How much better for you as seller, 
 and the nation as buyer, to sell out and buy out that 
 without which the war could never have been, than to 
 sink both the thing to be sold and the price of it in 
 cutting one another’s throats ! ... I do not speak of 
 emancipation at once, but of a decision to emancipate 
 gradually. . . . Upon these considerations I have again 
 begged your attention to the message of March last. 
 Before leaving the capital, consider and discuss it 
 among yourselves. You are patriots and statesmen, 
 and as such I pray you consider this proposition, and at 
 the least commend it to the consideration of your States 
 and people. As you would perpetuate popular govern- 
 ment for the best people in the world, I beseech you 
 that you do in nowise omit this. Our common country 
 is in great peril, demanding the loftiest views and 
 boldest action to bring a speedy relief. Once relieved, 
 its form of government is saved to the world, its be- 
 loved history and cherished memories are vindicated, 
 and its happy future fully assured and rendered in- 
 conceivably grand. To you, more than any others, the 
 privilege is given to assure that happiness and swell 
 that grandeur, and to link your own names therewith 
 forever. 
 
 In an interview with Mr. Lovejoy and Mr. Arnold, 
 of Illinois, the day following this conference, Lincoln 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 423 
 
 exclaimed : “ Oh, how I wish the border States would 
 accept my proposition! Then you, Lovejoy, and you, 
 Arnold, and all of us, would not have lived in vain! 
 The labor of your life, Lovejoy, would be crowned with 
 success. You would live to see the end of slavery.” 
 
 The first occasion on which the President definitely 
 discussed emancipation plans with members of his 
 Cabinet, according to Secretary Welles, was on the 
 13th of July, 1862. On that day, says Mr. Welles, 
 “ President Lincoln invited me to accompany him in 
 his carriage to the funeral of an infant child of Mr. 
 Stanton. Secretary Seward and Mrs. Frederick Seward 
 were also in the carriage. Mr. Stanton occujned at 
 that time for a summer residence the house of a naval 
 officer, some two or three miles west or northwest of 
 Georgetown. It was on this occasion and on this ride 
 that he first mentioned to Mr. Seward and myself the 
 subject of emancipating the slaves by proclamation in 
 case the Rebels did not cease to persist in their war 
 on the Government and the Union, of which he saw 
 no evidence. He dwelt earnestly on the gravity, im- 
 portance, and delicacy of the movement ; said he had 
 given it much thought, and had about come to the 
 conclusion that it was a military necessity absolutely 
 essential for the salvation of the Union; that we must 
 free the slaves or be ourselves subdued, etc. . . . This 
 was, the President said, the first occasion when he had 
 mentioned the subject to anyone, and wished us to 
 frankly state how the proposition struck us. Mr. 
 Seward said the subject involved consequences so vast 
 and momentous that he should wish to bestow on it 
 mature reflection before giving a decisive answer; but 
 his present opinion inclined to the measure as justifi- 
 able, and perhaps he might say expedient and neces- 
 sary. These were also my views. Two or three times 
 on that ride the subject, which was of course an ab- 
 
424 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 sorbing one for each and all, was adverted to ; and 
 before separating, the President desired us to give the 
 question special and deliberate attention, for he was 
 earnest in the conviction that something must be done. 
 It was a new departure for the President, for until 
 this time, in all our previous interviews, whenever the 
 question of emancipation or the mitigation of slavery 
 had been in any way alluded to, he had been prompt 
 and emphatic in denouncing any interference by the 
 General Government with the subject. This was, I 
 think, the sentiment of every member of the Cabinet, 
 all of whom, including the President, considered it a 
 local, domestic question, appertaining to the States re- 
 spectively, who had never parted with their authority 
 over it. But the reverses before Richmond, and the 
 formidable power and dimensions of the insurrection, 
 which extended through all the Slave States, and had 
 combined most of them in a confederacy to destroy 
 the Union, impelled the Administration to adopt ex- 
 traordinary measures to preserve the national existence. 
 The slaves, if not armed and disciplined, were in the 
 service of those who were, not only as field laborers 
 and producers, but thousands of them were in attend- 
 ance upon the armies in the field, employed as waiters 
 and teamsters, and the fortifications and intrenchments 
 were constructed by them.” 
 
 It has been shown again and again, by the words of 
 Lincoln and by the testimony of his friends, that he 
 heartily detested the practice of slavery, and would 
 joyfully have set every bondman free. Before his 
 nomination for the Presidency — indeed, from the very 
 beginning of his public life — he had repeatedly put 
 himself on record as opposed to slavery, but perhaps 
 nowhere more tersely and unequivocally than in these 
 words : “ There is no reason in the world why the negro 
 is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 425 
 
 the Declaration of Independence — the right to life, 
 liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I hold that he 
 is as much entitled to them as the white man.” But his 
 respect for the laws of the land deterred him from 
 measures that might seem of doubtful constitutionality, 
 and he waited patiently until the right hour had struck 
 before he issued the edict of emancipation so eagerly 
 demanded by a large class of earnest and loyal people 
 at the North. Many of these people, misunderstand- 
 ing his views and intentions, were very impatient; and 
 their criticisms and expostulations were a constant 
 burden to the sorely tried Executive. 
 
 In June of this year (1862) the President was waited 
 on by a deputation of Quakers, or Friends, fifteen or 
 twenty in number, who had been charged by the 
 Yearly Meeting of their association to present a 
 “minute” to the President on the subject of slavery 
 and the duty of immediate emancipation. The visit 
 of these excellent people was not altogether timely. 
 Bad news had been received from McClellan’s army on 
 the Peninsula, and Lincoln was harassed with cares 
 and anxieties. But he gave the deputation a cordial 
 though brief greeting, as he announced that he was 
 ready to hear from the Friends. In the reading of the 
 minute, it appeared that the document took occasion 
 to remind the President that, years before, he had 
 said, “ I believe that this Government cannot perma- 
 nently endure half slave and half free,” and from this 
 was implied a suggestion of his failure to perform his 
 duty as he had then seen it. Lincoln was decidedly 
 displeased with this criticism; and after the document 
 had been read to the close, he received it from the 
 speaker, then drawing himself up, he said, with un- 
 usual severity of manner: “ It is true that on the 17th 
 of June, 1858, I said, ‘ I believe that this Government 
 cannot permanently endure half slave and half free,’ 
 
426 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 but I said it in connection with other things from which 
 it should not have been separated in an address dis- 
 cussing moral obligations ; for this is a case in which 
 the repetition of half a truth, in connection with the 
 remarks just read, produces the effect of a whole false- 
 hood. What I did say was, ‘ If we could first know 
 [where we are, and whither we are tending, we could 
 better judge what to do and how to do it. We are 
 now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated 
 ;with the avowed object and confident promise of put- 
 ting an end to the slavery agitation. Under the opera- 
 tion of that policy this agitation has not only not 
 ceased but has constantly augmented. In my opinion 
 it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached 
 and passed. “ A house divided against itself cannot 
 stand.” I believe that this Government cannot per- 
 manently endure half slave and half free. I do not 
 expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the 
 house to fall — but I do expect that it will cease to 
 be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. 
 Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further 
 spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall 
 rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate 
 extinction, or its advocates will push it forward till it 
 shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well 
 as new, North as well as South.’ Take this statement 
 as a whole, and it does not furnish a text for the 
 homily to which this audience has listened.” 
 
 As Lincoln concluded, he was turning away, when 
 another member of the delegation, a woman, requested 
 permission to detain him with a few words. Somewhat 
 impatiently he said, “ I will hear the Friend.” Her 
 remarks were a plea for the emancipation of the slaves, 
 urging that he was the appointed minister of the Lord 
 to do the work, and enforcing her argument by many 
 Scriptural citations. At the close he asked, “ Has the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 427 
 
 Friend finished? ” and receiving an affirmative answer, 
 he said : “ I have neither time nor disposition to enter 
 into discussion with the Friend, and end this occa- 
 sion by suggesting for her consideration the question 
 whether, if it be true that the Lord has appointed me 
 to do the work she has indicated, it is not probable 
 that He would have communicated knowledge of the 
 fact to me as well as to her? ” 
 
 Something like the same views were expressed by 
 Lincoln, on another occasion, when, in response to a 
 memorial presented by a delegation representing most 
 of the religious organizations of Chicago, he said, re- 
 spectfully but pointedly : “ I am approached with the 
 most opposite opinions and advice, and by religious 
 men who are certain they represent the Divine Will. 
 ... I hope it will not be irreverent in me to say that 
 if it be probable that God would reveal His will to 
 others, on a point so closely connected with my duty, it 
 might be supposed he would reveal it directly to me. 
 
 . . . If I can learn His will, I will do it. These, how- 
 ever, are not the days of miracles, and I suppose I am 
 not to expect a direct revelation. I must study the 
 plain physical facts of the case, and learn what appears 
 to be wise and right. . . . Do not misunderstand me 
 because I have mentioned these objections. They indi- 
 cate the difficulties which have thus far prevented my 
 action in some such way as you desire. I have not 
 decided against a proclamation of emancipation, but 
 hold the matter in advisement. The subject is in my 
 mind by day and by night. Whatever shall appear 
 to be God’s will, I will do.” 
 
 About this period the President had a very interest- 
 ing conversation with Rev. William Henry Channing, 
 in which the question of emancipation was frankly dis- 
 cussed. Mr. M. D. Conway, who was present at the 
 interview, says : “ Mr. Channing having begun by ex- 
 
428 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 pressing his belief that the opportunity of the nation 
 to rid itself of slavery had arrived, Mr. Lincoln asked 
 how he thought they might avail themselves of it. 
 Channing suggested emancipation, with compensation 
 for the slaves. The President said he had for years 
 been in favor of that plan. When the President turned 
 to me, I asked whether we might not look to him as 
 the coming deliverer of the nation from its one great 
 evil? What would not that man achieve for mankind 
 who should free America from slavery? He said, ‘ Per- 
 haps we may be better able to do something in that 
 direction after a while than we are now.’ I said : 
 ‘ Mr. President, do you believe the masses of the 
 American people would hail you as their deliverer if, 
 at the end of this war, the Union should be surviving 
 and slavery still in it? ’ ‘ Yes, if they were to see that 
 slavery was on the down hill.’ I ventured to say: 
 ‘ Our fathers compromised with slavery because they 
 thought it on the down hill ; hence war to-day.’ The 
 President said : ‘ I think the country grows in this 
 direction daily, and I am not without hope that some- 
 thing of the desire of you and your friends may be 
 accomplished. When the hour comes for dealing with 
 slavery, I trust I shall he willing to do my duty, though 
 it costs my life. And, gentlemen, lives will be lost.’ 
 These last words were said with a smile, yet with a 
 sad and weary tone. During the conversation Mr. 
 Lincoln recurred several times to Channing’s sugges- 
 tion of pecuniary compensation for emancipated slaves, 
 and professed profound sympathy with the Southerners 
 who, by no fault of their own, had become socially and 
 commercially bound up with their peculiar institution. 
 Being a Virginian myself, with many dear relatives and 
 beloved companions of my youth in the Confederate 
 ranks, I responded warmly to his kindly sentiments 
 toward the South, albeit feeling more angry than he 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 429 
 
 seemed to be against the institution preying upon the 
 land like a ghoul. I forget whether it was on this 
 occasion or on a subsequent one when I was present 
 that he said, in parting: ‘We shall need all the anti- 
 slavery feeling in the country, and more; you can go 
 home and try to bring the people to your views; and 
 you may say anything you like about me, if that will 
 help. Don’t spare me ! ’ This was said with some 
 laughter, but still in earnest.” 
 
 One of the severest opponents of President Lincoln’s 
 policy regarding slavery was Horace Greeley. He 
 criticized Lincoln freely in the New York “ Tribune,” 
 of which he was editor, and said many harsh and bitter 
 things of the administration. Lincoln took the abuse 
 good-naturedly, saying on one occasion : “ It reminds 
 me of the big fellow whose little wife was wont to beat 
 him over the head without resistance. When remon- 
 strated with, the man said, ‘ Let her alone. It don’t 
 hurt me, and it does her a power of good.’ ” 
 
 In August, 1862, Mr. Greeley published a letter in 
 the New York “ Tribune,” headed “ The prayer of 
 twenty millions of people,” in which he urged the 
 President, with extreme emphasis, to delay the act of 
 emancipation no longer. Lincoln answered the vehe- 
 ment entreaty in the following calm, firm, and explicit 
 words : 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, 
 Friday, Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Hon. Horace Greeley. 
 
 Dear Sir: I have just read yours of the 19th in- 
 stant, addressed to myself, through the New York 
 Tribune. 
 
 If there be in it any statements or assumptions of 
 fact, which I may know to be erroneous, I do not now 
 and here controvert them. If there be any inferences 
 which I believe to be falsely drawn, I do not now and 
 
430 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 here argue against them. If there be perceptible in it 
 an impatient and dictatorial tone, I waive it, in defer- 
 ence to an old friend whose heart I have always sup- 
 posed to be right. 
 
 As to the policy I “ seem to be pursuing,” as you say, 
 I have not meant to leave anyone in doubt. I would 
 save the Union. I would save it in the shortest way 
 under the Constitution. The sooner the national au- 
 thority can be restored, the nearer the Union will be 
 — the Union as it was. If there be those who would 
 not save the Union unless they could at the same time 
 save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be 
 those who would not save the Union unless they could 
 at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with 
 them. My paramount object is to save the Union, and 
 not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save 
 the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. 
 And if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would 
 do it. And if I could save it by freeing some, and leav- 
 ing others alone, I would do that. 
 
 What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do 
 because I believe it helps to save the Union ; and what 
 I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would 
 help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I be- 
 lieve what I am doing hurts the cause; and shall do 
 more whenever I believe doing more will help the cause. 
 I shall try to correct errors, when shown to be errors ; 
 and I shall adopt new views, so fast as they shall appear 
 to be true views. 
 
 I have here stated my purpose, according to my view 
 of official duty, and I intend no modification of my oft- 
 expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could 
 
 be free - Yours * T 
 
 lours, a. Lincoln. 
 
 Mr. Greeley being dissatisfied with Lincoln’s explana- 
 tion, and the “ Tribune ” still teeming with complaints 
 and criticisms of the administration, Lincoln requested 
 Mr. Greeley to come to Washington and make known in 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 431 
 
 person his complaints, to the end that they might be 
 obviated if possible. The editor of the “ Tribune ” 
 came. Lincoln said: “You complain of me. What 
 have I done, or omitted to do, which has provoked the 
 hostility of the ‘ Tribune ’? ” The reply was, “ You 
 should issue a proclamation abolishing slavery.” Lin- 
 coln answered : “ Suppose I do that. There are now 
 twenty thousand of our muskets on the shoulders of 
 Kentuckians, who are bravely fighting our battles. 
 Every one of them will be thrown down or carried over 
 to the rebels.” The reply was : “ Let them do it. The 
 cause of the Union will be stronger if Kentucky should 
 secede with the rest than it is now.” Lincoln answered, 
 “ Oh, I can’t think that.” 
 
 It is evident that these solicitations and counsellings 
 from outside persons were unnecessary and idle. Lin- 
 coln’s far-seeing and practical mind had already 
 grasped, more surely than had his would-be advisers, 
 the ultimate wisdom and justice of the emancipation of 
 the slaves. But he was resolved to do nothing rashly. 
 He would wait till the time was ripe, and then abolish 
 slavery on grounds that would be approved throughout 
 the world : he would destroy slavery as a necessary step 
 to the preservation of the Union. In the first year of 
 the war he had said to a Southern Unionist, who warned 
 him against meddling with slavery, “ You must not ex- 
 pect me to give up this Government without playing 
 my last card.” This “ last card ” was undoubtedly the 
 freeing of the slaves ; and when the time came, Lincoln 
 played it unhesitatingly and triumphantly. How 
 strong a card it was may be judged by a statement 
 made in Congress by Mr. Ashmore, a Representative 
 from South Carolina, who said shortly before the war: 
 “ The South can sustain more men in the field than 
 the North can. Her four millions of slaves alone will 
 enable her to support an army of half a million.” This 
 
432 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 view makes the issue plain. If the South could main- 
 tain armies in the field supported, or partly supported, 
 by slave labor, it was as much the right and the duty 
 of the Government to destroy that support as to de- 
 stroy an establishment for the manufacture of arms 
 or munitions of war for the Southern armies. The 
 logic of events had demonstrated the necessity and 
 justice of the measure, and Lincoln now had with him 
 a Cabinet practically united in its favor. The case 
 was well stated by Secretary Welles — perhaps the 
 most cool-headed and conservative member of Lincoln’s 
 Cabinet — at a Cabinet meeting held six or eight weeks 
 after the Emancipation measure had been brought for- 
 ward by the President. Mr. Welles, as he relates in 
 his Diary, pointed out “ the strong exercise of power ” 
 involved in the proposal, and denied the power of the 
 Executive to take such a step under ordinary condi- 
 tions. “ But,” said Mr. Welles, “ the Rebels them- 
 selves had invoked war on the subject of slavery, had 
 appealed to arms, and must abide the consequences.” 
 Mr. Welles admitted that it was “ an extreme exercise 
 of war powers” which he believed justifiable “under 
 the circumstances, and in view of the condition of the 
 country and the magnitude of the contest. The slaves 
 were now an element of strength to the Rebels — were 
 laborers, producers, and army attendants; they were 
 considered as property by the Rebels, and if property 
 they were subject to confiscation; if not property, but 
 persons residing in the insurrectionary region, we 
 should invite them as well as the whites to unite with 
 us in putting down the Rebellion.” This view was in 
 the main concurred in by the Cabinet members present, 
 and greatly heartened the President in his course. On 
 the 22d of September, 1862, he issued what is known 
 as the “ Preliminary Proclamation.” The text of this 
 momentous document is as follows: 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 433 
 
 I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States 
 of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and 
 Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare that here- 
 after, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the 
 object of practically restoring the constitutional rela- 
 tions between the United States and each of the States 
 and the people thereof, in which States that relation is 
 or may be suspended or disturbed. 
 
 That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of 
 Congress, to again recommend the adoption of a prac- 
 tical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free ac- 
 ceptance or rejection of all slave States, so called, the 
 people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the 
 United States, and which States may then have volun- 
 tarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt, 
 immediate or gradual abolishment of slavery within 
 their respective limits ; and that the effort to colonize 
 persons of African descent, with their consent, upon 
 this continent or elsewhere, with the previously obtained 
 consent of the governments existing there, will be 
 continued. 
 
 That on the first day of January, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all 
 persons held as slaves within any State or designated 
 part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in re- 
 bellion against the United States, shall be then, thence- 
 forward, and forever free; and the Executive govern- 
 ment of the United States, including the military and 
 naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the 
 freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to 
 repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts 
 they may make for their actual freedom. 
 
 That the Executive will, on the first day of January 
 aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and 
 parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof re- 
 spectively shall then be in rebellion against the United 
 States ; and the fact that any State, or the people 
 thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented 
 in the Congress of the United States by members 
 
434 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the 
 qualified voters of such State shall have participated, 
 shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, 
 be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the 
 people thereof, are not in rebellion against the United 
 States. 
 
 That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress 
 entitled “ An act to make an additional article of war,” 
 approved March 13, 1862, and which act is in the words 
 and figures following: 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives of the United States of America in Congress assem- 
 * bled. That hereafter the following shall be promulgated as 
 an additional article of war, for the government of the army 
 of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as 
 such. 
 
 Article. — All officers or persons in the military or 
 naval service of the United States are prohibited from em- 
 ploying any of the forces under their respective commands 
 for the purpose of returning fugitives from service or labor 
 who may have escaped from any persons to whom such 
 service or labor is claimed to be due, and any officer who 
 shall be found guilty by a court-martial of violating this 
 article shall be dismissed from the service. 
 
 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That this act shall 
 take effect from and after its passage. 
 
 Also to the ninth and tenth sections of an act en- 
 titled “ An act to suppress insurrection, to punish 
 treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate property 
 of rebels, and for other purposes,” approved July 17, 
 1862, and which sections are in the words and figures 
 following: 
 
 Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That all slaves of 
 persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against 
 the government of the United States or who shall in any 
 way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons 
 and taking refuge within the lines of the army ; and all 
 slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them, and 
 coming under the control of the government of the United 
 States ; and all slaves of such persons found on [or] being 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 435 
 
 within any place occupied by rebel forces, and afterwards 
 occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be 
 deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their 
 servitude, and not again held as slaves. 
 
 Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That no slave, es- 
 caping into any State, Territory, or the District of Colum- 
 bia, from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any 
 way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime, 
 or some offense against the laws, unless the person claim- 
 ing said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to 
 whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be 
 due is Lis lawful owner, and has not borne arms against 
 the United States in the present rebellion, nor in any way 
 given aid and comfort thereto; and no person engaged in 
 the military or naval service of the United States shall, 
 under any pretense whatever, assume to decide on the 
 validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor 
 of any other person, or surrender up any such person to 
 the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service. 
 
 And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons 
 engaged in the military and naval service of the United 
 States to observe, obey, and enforce, within their re- 
 spective spheres of service, the act and sections above 
 recited. 
 
 And the Executive will in due time recommend that 
 all the citizens of the United States who shall have re- 
 mained loyal thereto throughout the rebellion, shall 
 (upon the restoration of the constitutional relation be- 
 tween the United States and their respective States and 
 people, if that relation shall have been suspended or 
 disturbed) be compensated for all losses by acts of the 
 United States, including the loss of slaves. 
 
 In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and 
 caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 
 
 Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-second 
 day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the Inde- 
 pendence of the United States the eighty-seventh. 
 
 By the President : Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 William H. Seward, Secretary of State, 
 
436 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Lincoln’s own account of this proclamation, and of 
 the steps that led to it, is given as reported by Mr. 
 F. B. Carpenter. “ It had,” said Lincoln, “ got to be 
 midsummer, 1862. Things had gone on from bad to 
 worse, until I felt that we had reached the end of our 
 rope on the plan of operations we had been pursuing; 
 that we must change our tactics and play our last 
 card, or lose the game. I now determined upon the 
 adoption of the emancipation policy; and, without 
 consultation with, or the knowledge of, the Cabinet, 
 I prepared the original draft of the proclamation, and, 
 after much anxious thought, called a Cabinet meeting 
 upon the subject. This was the last of July, or the 
 first part of the month of August, 1862. This Cabinet 
 meeting took place, I think, upon a Saturday. All 
 were present excepting Mr. Blair, the Postmaster- 
 general, who was absent at the opening of the discus- 
 sion, but came in subsequently. I said to the Cabinet 
 that I had resolved upon this step, and had called 
 them together, not to ask their advice, but to lay the 
 subject-matter of a proclamation before them; sug- 
 gestions as to which would be in order, after they had 
 heard it read. Mr. Lovejoy was in error when he 
 informed you that it excited no comment, excepting on 
 the part of Secretary Seward. Various suggestions 
 were offered. Secretary Chase wished the language 
 stronger in reference to the arming of the blacks. 
 Mr. Blair, after he came in, deprecated the policy, on 
 the ground that it would cost the administration the 
 fall elections. Nothing, however, was offered that I 
 had not already fully anticipated and settled in my 
 own mind, until Secretary Seward spoke. He said in 
 substance : ‘ Mr. President, I approve of the proclama- 
 tion, but I question the expediency of its issue at this 
 juncture. The depression of the public mind, conse- 
 quent upon our repeated reverses, is so great that I 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 437 
 
 fear the effect of so important a step. It may be viewed 
 as the last measure of an exhausted government, a cry 
 for help ; the government stretching forth its hands 
 to Ethiopia, instead of Ethiopia stretching forth her 
 hands to the government.’ ‘ His idea,’ said the Presi- 
 dent, ‘ was that it would be considered our last shriek 
 on the retreat.’ (This was his precise expression.) 
 ‘ Now,’ continued Mr. Seward, ‘ while I approve the 
 measure, I suggest, sir, that you postpone its issue 
 until you can give it to the country supported by 
 military success, instead of issuing it, as would be the 
 case now, upon the greatest disasters of the war ! ’ ” 
 Lincoln continued: “The wisdom of the view of the 
 Secretary of State struck me with very great force. 
 It was an aspect of the case that, in all my thought 
 upon the subject, I had entirely overlooked. The result 
 was that I put the draft of the proclamation aside, 
 waiting for a victory. From time to time I added or 
 changed a line, touching it up here and there, anxiously 
 waiting the progress of events. Well, the next news we 
 had was of Pope’s disaster at Bull Run. Things looked 
 darker than ever. Finally, came the week of the battle 
 of Antietam. I determined to wait no longer. 1 The 
 news came, I think, on Wednesday, that the advantage 
 was on our side. I was then staying at the Soldiers’ 
 Home (three miles out of Washington). Here I fin- 
 ished writing the second draft of the preliminary proc- 
 lamation ; came up on Saturday ; called the Cabinet 
 together to hear it ; and it was published the following 
 Monday.” 
 
 1 Hon. George S. Boutwell of Massaehusetts stated' Lincoln said to 
 him personally: “When Lee came over the river, I made a resolution 
 that if McClellan drove him back I would send the proclamation after 
 him. The battle of Antietam was fought Wednesday, and until Satur- 
 day I could not find out whether we had gained a victory or lost a 
 battle. It was then too late to issue the proclamation that day; and 
 the fact is, I fixed it up a little on Sunday, and Monday I let them 
 have it.’’ 
 
438 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Another interesting incident occurred at this Cabinet 
 meeting in connection with Secretary Seward. The 
 President had written the important part of the procla- 
 mation in these words : “ That on the first day of 
 January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves 
 within any State or designated part of a State, the 
 people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the 
 United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever 
 free ; and the Executive Government of the United 
 States, including the military and naval authority 
 thereof, will recognize the freedom of such persons, and 
 will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any 
 of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual 
 freedom.” “ When I finished reading this paragraph,” 
 remarked Lincoln, “ Mr. Seward stopped me, and said, 
 ‘ I think, Mr. President, that you should insert after 
 the wmrd “ recognize ” “ and maintain ” ’ I replied 
 that I had already fully considered the import of that 
 expression in this connection, but I had not introduced 
 it, because it was not my way to promise what I was 
 not entirely sure that I could perform, and I was not 
 prepared to say that I thought we were exactly able 
 to maintain this. But Seward insisted that we ought 
 to take this ground, and the words finally went in.” 
 
 The special Cabinet meeting to which Lincoln here 
 refers was one of uncommon interest even in that day 
 of heroic things. An account of it is given by Secre- 
 tary Welles, who was present. “ At the Cabinet meet- 
 ing of September 22,” says Mr. Welles in his 'Diary, 
 “ the special subject was the Proclamation for emanci- 
 pating the slaves after a certain date, in States that 
 shall then be in rebellion. For several weeks the sub- 
 ject has been suspended, but the President says never 
 lost sight of. In faking up the Proclamation, the 
 President stated that the question was finally decided, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 439 
 
 the act and the consequences were his, but that he felt 
 it due to us to make us acquainted with the fact and to 
 invite criticism on the paper which he had prepared. 
 There were, he had found, not unexpectedly, some dif- 
 ferences in the Cabinet, but he had, after ascertaining 
 in his own way the views of each and all, individually 
 and collectively, formed his own conclusions and made 
 his own decisions. In the course of the discussion on 
 this paper, which was long, earnest, and, on the general 
 principle involved, harmonious, he remarked that he 
 had made a vow, a covenant, that if God gave us the 
 victory in the approaching battle, he would consider it 
 an indication of Divine will, and that it was his duty 
 to move forward in the cause of emancipation. It 
 might be thought strange, he said, that he had in this 
 way submitted the disposal of important matters when 
 the way was not clear to his mind what he should do. 
 God had decided his questions in favor of the slaves. 
 He was satisfied it was right ; and he was confirmed 
 and strengthened in his action by the vow and the 
 results. His mind was fixed, his decision made, but he 
 wished his paper announcing his course to be as correct 
 in terms as it could be made without any change in his 
 determination. He read the document. One or two 
 unimportant amendments suggested by Seward were 
 approved. It was then handed to the Secretary of 
 State to publish to-morrow.” 
 
 The discussion of Emancipation brought up at once 
 the problem of what should be done with the freed 
 negroes. The very next day after the preliminary 
 proclamation was issued (September 23, 1862), the 
 President presented the matter to the assembled Cabi- 
 net. Deportation was considered, and some of those 
 present urged that this should be compulsory. The 
 President, however, would not consider this ; the emi- 
 gration of the negroes, he said, must be voluntary, and 
 
440 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 without expense to themselves. It was proposed to 
 deport the freedmen to Costa Rica, where a large 
 tract of land (known as the Chiriqui Grant) had been 
 obtained from the government of Central America. 
 Lincoln favored this in a general way. He “ thought 
 it essential to provide an asylum for a race which we 
 had emancipated but which could never be recognized 
 or admitted to be our equals,” says Mr. Welles. But 
 there was some doubt as to the validity of the title 
 to the Costa Rica lands, and the matter was dropped. 
 
 In his second annual message to Congress, trans- 
 mitted to that body in December, 1862, Lincoln 
 touched, in conclusion, upon the great subject of 
 Emancipation, in these words of deep import: 
 
 I do not forget the gravity which should character- 
 ize a paper addressed to the Congress of the nation by 
 the Chief Magistrate of the nation. Nor do I forget 
 that some of you are my seniors, nor that many of 
 you have more experience than I in the conduct of 
 public affairs. Yet I trust that in view of the great 
 responsibility resting upon me, you will perceive no 
 want of respect to yourselves in any undue earnestness 
 I may seem to display. . . . The dogmas of the quiet 
 past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occa- 
 sion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with 
 the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think 
 anew and act anew. 
 
 Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of 
 this Congress and this administration will be remem- 
 bered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, 
 or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The 
 fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, 
 in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say 
 we are for the Union. The world will not forget that 
 we say this. We know how to save the Union. The 
 world knows we do know how to save it. We — even 
 we here — hold the power and bear the responsibility. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 441 
 
 In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the 
 free — honorable alike in what we give and what we 
 preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last 
 best hope of earth. Other means may succeed, this 
 could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, 
 just — a way which, if followed, the world will forever 
 applaud, and God must forever bless. 
 
 An immense concourse attended the reception at the 
 White House on the first day of 1863, and the Presi- 
 dent stood for several hours shaking hands with the 
 endless train of men and women who pressed forward 
 to greet him. The exhausting ceremonial being ended, 
 the proclamation which finally and forever abrogated 
 the institution of slavery in the United States was 
 handed to him for his signature. “ Mr. Seward,” re- 
 marked the President, “ I have been shaking hands all 
 day, and my right hand is almost paralyzed. If my 
 name ever gets into history, it will be for this act, and 
 my whole soul is in it. If my hand trembles when I 
 sign the proclamation, those who examine the document 
 hereafter will say I hesitated.” Then, resting his arm 
 a moment, he turned to the table, took up the pen, and 
 slowly and firmly wrote, Abraham Lincoln. He 
 smiled as, handing the paper to Mr. Seward, he said, 
 “That will do.” A few hours after, he remarked: 
 “ The signature looks a little tremulous, for my hand 
 was tired; but my resolution Was firm. I told them 
 in September that if they did not return to their alle- 
 giance I would strike at this pillar of their strength. 
 And now the promise shall be kept, and not one word 
 of it will I ever recall.” 
 
 The text of the great Emancipation Proclamation is 
 as follows : 
 
 Whereas, on the 22d day of September, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, 
 
442 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 a proclamation was issued by the President of the 
 United States, containing, among other things, the fol- 
 lowing, to-wit: 
 
 That on the first day of January, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixtv-three, all per- 
 sons held as slaves within any States or designated part 
 of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion 
 against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward and 
 forever free; and the Executive Government of the United 
 States, including the military and naval authority thereof, 
 will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, 
 and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any 
 of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual 
 freedom. 
 
 That the Executive will, on the first day of January 
 aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts 
 of States, if any, in which the people thereof respectively 
 shall then be in rebellion against the United States ; and 
 the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that 
 day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the 
 United States, by members chosen thereto at elections 
 wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State 
 shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong 
 countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence 
 that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in 
 rebellion against the United States. 
 
 Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the 
 United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as 
 Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the 
 United States in time of actual armed rebellion against 
 the authority and Government of the United States, 
 and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing 
 said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
 three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, 
 publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred 
 days, from the day first above mentioned, order and 
 designate as the States and parts of States wherein 
 the people thereof respectively are this day in rebellion 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 443 
 
 against the United States, the following, to-wit: Arkan- 
 sas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Ber- 
 nard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, 
 St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, La- 
 fourche, Ste. Marie, St. Martin, and Orleans, including 
 the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, 
 Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and 
 Virginia (except the forty-eight counties designated as 
 West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, 
 Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Prin- 
 cess Anne, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk 
 and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are for the 
 present left precisely as if this proclamation were not 
 issued. 
 
 And by virtue of the power and for the purpose 
 aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held 
 as slaves within said designated States and parts of 
 States are and henceforward shall be free ; and that 
 the Executive Government of the United States, includ- 
 ing the military and naval authorities thereof, will 
 recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. 
 
 And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to 
 be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary 
 self-defense; and I recommend to them that, in all 
 cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable 
 wages. 
 
 And I further declare and make known that such per- 
 sons, of suitable condition, will be received into the 
 armed service of the United States to garrison forts, 
 positions, stations, and other places, and to man ves- 
 sels of all sorts in said service. 
 
 And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of 
 justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military 
 necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of man- 
 kind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. 
 
 In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name, 
 and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 
 
 Done at the City of Washington, this first day of 
 January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 
444 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of 
 the United States the eighty-seventh. 
 
 By the President: Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 
 
 It is stated that Lincoln gave the most earnest study 
 to the composition of the Emancipation Proclamation. 
 He realized, as he afterwards said, that the proclama- 
 tion was the central act of his administration and the 
 great event of the nineteenth century. When the 
 document was completed a printed copy of it was placed 
 in the hands of each member of the Cabinet, and criti- 
 cisms and suggestions were invited. Mr. Chase re- 
 marked : “ This paper is of the utmost importance, 
 greater than any state paper ever made by this Gov- 
 ernment. A paper of so much importance, and in- 
 volving the liberties of so many people, ought, I think, 
 to make some reference to Deity. I do not observe 
 anything of the kind in it.” Lincoln said: “No, I 
 overlooked it. Some reference to Deity must be in- 
 serted. Mr. Chase, won’t you make a draft of what 
 you think ought to be inserted? ” Mr. Chase promised 
 to do so, and at the next meeting presented the fol- 
 lowing: “ And upon this act, sincerely believed to be 
 an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon 
 military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment 
 of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.” 
 When Lincoln read the paragraph, Mr. Chase said: 
 “ You may not approve it, but I thought this, or some- 
 thing like it, would be appropriate.” Lincoln replied: 
 “ I do approve it ; it cannot be bettered, and I will 
 adopt it in the very words you have written.” 
 
 To a large concourse of people who, two days after 
 the proclamation was issued, assembled before the 
 White House, with music, the President said: “What 
 I did, I did after a very full deliberation, and under 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 445 
 
 a heavy and solemn sense of responsibility. I can only 
 trust in God I have made no mistake.” That he real- 
 ized to the full the gravity of the step before taking it 
 is shown again in an incident related by Hon. John 
 Covode, who, calling on the President a few days before 
 the issue of the final proclamation, found him walking 
 his room in considerable agitation. Reference being 
 made to the forthcoming proclamation, Lincoln said 
 with great earnestness : “ I have studied that matter 
 well; my mind is made up — it must be done. I am 
 driven to it. There is to me no other way out of our 
 troubles. But although my duty is plain, it is in 
 some respects painful, and I trust the people will 
 understand that I act not in anger but in expectation 
 of a greater good.” 
 
 Mr. Ben. Perley Poore makes the interesting state- 
 ment that “ Mr. Lincoln carefully put away the pen 
 which he had used in signing the document, for Mr. 
 Sumner, who had promised it to his friend, George 
 Livermore, of Cambridge, the author of an interesting 
 work on slavery. It was a steel pen with a wooden 
 handle, the end of which had been gnawed by Mr. 
 Lincoln — a habit that he had when composing any- 
 thing that required thought.” 
 
 In response to a request of the ladies in charge of 
 the Northwestern Fair for the Sanitary Commission, 
 which was held in Chicago in the autumn of 1863, 
 Lincoln conveyed to them the original draft of the 
 proclamation ; saying, in his note of presentation, “ I 
 had some desire to retain the paper; but if it shall 
 contribute to the relief or comfort of the soldiers, 
 that will be better.” The document was purchased at 
 the Fair by Mr. Thomas B. Bryan, and given by him 
 to the Chicago Historical Society. It perished in the 
 great fire of October, 1871. 
 
 More than a year after the issue of the Emancipa- 
 
446 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 tion Proclamation, Lincoln, in writing to a prominent 
 Kentucky Unionist, gave a synopsis of his views and 
 course regarding slavery, which is so clear in statement, 
 and so forceful and convincing in logic, that a place 
 must be given it in this chapter. 
 
 I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, 
 nothing is wrong. I cannot remember when I did not 
 so think and feel ; and yet I have never understood 
 that the Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted 
 right to act officially upon this judgment and feeling. 
 It was in the oath I took that I would, to the best of 
 my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Consti- 
 tution of the United States. I could not take the office 
 without taking the oath. Nor was it my view that I 
 might take an oath to get power, and break the oath 
 in using the power. I understood, too, that in ordinary 
 civil administration this oath even forbade me to prac- 
 tically indulge my primary abstract judgment on the 
 moral question of slavery. I had publicly declared 
 this many times and in many ways. And I aver that, 
 to this day, I have done no official act in mere deference 
 to my abstract judgment and feeling on slavery. I did 
 understand, however, that my oath to preserve the Con- 
 stitution to the best of my ability imposed upon me the 
 duty of preserving, by every indispensable means, that 
 Government — that Nation of which that Constitution 
 was the organic law. Was it possible to lose the nation 
 and yet preserve the Constitution? By general law, 
 life and limb must be protected ; yet often a limb must 
 be amputated to save a life; but a life is never wisely 
 given to save a limb. I felt that measures, otherwise 
 unconstitutional, might become lawful, by becoming in- 
 dispensable to the preservation of the Constitution, 
 through the preservation of the nation. Right or 
 wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I 
 could not feel that, to the best of my ability, I had 
 even tried to preserve the Constitution, if, to save 
 slavery, or any minor matter, I should permit the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 417 
 
 wreck of government, country, and constitution, alto- 
 gether. When, early in the war, General Fremont at- 
 tempted military emancipation, I forbade it, because I 
 did not then think it an indispensable necessity. When 
 a little later, General Cameron, then Secretary of War, 
 suggested the arming of the blacks, I objected, because 
 I did not yet think it an indispensable necessity. When, 
 still later, General Hunter attempted military emanci- 
 pation, I again forbade it, because I did not yet think 
 the indispensable necessity had come. When, in March 
 and May and July, 1862, I made earnest and successive 
 appeals to the border States to favor compensated 
 emancipation, I believed the indispensable necessity 
 for military emancipation and arming the blacks would 
 come, unless averted by that measure. They declined 
 the proposition; and I was, in my best judgment, 
 driven to the alternative of either surrendering the 
 Union, and with it the Constitution, or of laying strong 
 hand upon the colored element. I chose the latter. 
 In choosing it, I hoped for greater gain than loss ; but 
 of this I was not entirely confident. More than a year 
 of trial now shows no loss by it in our foreign relations, 
 none in our home popular sentiment, none in our white 
 military force, no loss by it anyhow or anywhere. On 
 the contrary, it shows a gain of quite a hundred and 
 thirty 7 thousand soldiers, seamen, and laborers. These 
 are palpable facts, about which, as facts, there can be 
 no cavilling. We have the men; and as we could not 
 have had them without the measure. 
 
 And now let any Union man who complains of the 
 measure, test himself by writing down in one line that 
 he is for subduing the rebellion by force of arms ; and 
 in the next, that he is for taking three hundred and 
 thirty thousand men from the Union side, and placing 
 them where they would be but for the measure he con- 
 demns. If he cannot face his case so stated, it is only 
 because he cannot face the truth. 
 
 I attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. I 
 claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly 
 
448 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of 
 three years’ struggle, the nation’s condition is not what 
 either party or any man devised or expected. God 
 alone can claim it. Whither it is tending seems plain. 
 If God now Avills the removal of a great wrong, and 
 wdlls also that we of the North, as well as you of the 
 South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that 
 wrong, impartial history will find therein new causes 
 to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
CHAPTER XXn 
 
 President and People — Society at the White House in 1862-3 — The 
 President’s Informal Receptions — A Variety of Callers — Charac- 
 teristic Traits of Lincoln — His Ability to Say No when Necessary 
 — Would not Countenance Injustice — Good Sense and Tact in 
 Settling Quarrels — ■ His Shrewd Knowledge of Men — Getting Rid 
 of Bores — Loyalty to his Friends — Views of his Own Position — 
 “Attorney for the People” — Desire that they Should Under- 
 stand him — ■ His Practical Kindness — A Badly Scared Petitioner 
 — Telling a Story to Relieve Bad News — A Breaking Heart 
 beneath the Smiles — His Deeply Religious Nature — The Changes 
 Wrought by Grief. 
 
 I N a work which is not intended to cover fully the 
 events of a great historic period, but rather to trace 
 out the life of a single individual connected with that 
 period, much must be included which, although not 
 possessing special historical significance, cannot be over- 
 looked in a personal study of the subject of the biog- 
 raphy. Lincoln’s life as President was by no means 
 made up of Cabinet meetings, official messages and 
 proclamations, or reviews of armies ; interspersed with 
 these conspicuous acts was a multitude of less heroic 
 but scarcely less interesting details, with incidents and 
 experiences humorous or sad, but all, even the most 
 trivial, being expressions of the life and character of 
 the man whom we are seeking to portray. 
 
 “ Society,” as now understood at the national capi- 
 tal, had but little existence during the war. At the 
 White House there were the usual President’s recep- 
 tions, which were quite public in character and were 
 largely attended. Aside from these democratic gather- 
 ings there was little enough of gaiety. The feeling 
 that prevailed is shown by an incident that occurred 
 
450 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 during the winter of 1862-3, when a good deal of 
 clamor was raised over a party given by Mrs. Lincoln, 
 at which, it was asserted, dancing was indulged in ; 
 and Mrs. Lincoln was severely censured for what was 
 regarded as inexcusable frivolity. Hon. A. G. Riddle, 
 who was present on the occasion referred to, states 
 positively that thei’e was no dancing; the party was 
 a quiet one, intended only to relieve the rather dull 
 and formal receptions. But the President was pained 
 by the rumors that “ fashionable balls ” were per- 
 mitted at the White House in war-time ; and the party 
 was not repeated. 
 
 It was the custom of President Lincoln to open, 
 twice a week, the doors of his office in the Executive 
 Mansion for the admission of all visitors who might 
 wish to speak with him. These brief interviews, quite 
 devoid of ceremony, seemed to reveal the man in his 
 true character, and to set forth the salient traits that 
 fitted him for his great position, and endeared him 
 so greatly to the popular heart. They showed how 
 easily accessible he was to all classes of citizens, how 
 readily he could adapt himself to people of any station 
 or degree, how deep and true were his human sympa- 
 thies, how quickly and keenly he could discriminate 
 character, and how heartily he detested meanness and 
 all unworthy acts and appliances to compass a selfish 
 or sordid end. On these occasions, as may well be 
 imagined, many curious incidents occurred. Lincoln 
 was usually clad “ in a black broadcloth suit, nothing 
 in his dress betokening disregard of conventionality, 
 save perhaps his neat cloth slippers, which were doubt- 
 less worn for comfort. He was seated beside a plain 
 cloth-covered table, in a commodious arm-chair.” As 
 each visitor approached the President he was greeted 
 with an encouraging nod and smile, and a few moments 
 were cordially given him in which to state the object 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 451 
 
 of the visit; the President listening with the most re- 
 spectful and patient attention, and deciding each case 
 with tact, sympathy, and good humor. 44 His Yes,” 
 says Mr. Riddle, 44 was most gracious and satisfactory ; 
 his No, when reached, was often spoken by the peti- 
 tioner, and left only a soothed disappointment. He 
 saw the point of a case unerringly. He had a con- 
 fidence in the homely views and speech of the common 
 people, with whom his heart and sympathies ever were.” 
 
 At these informal meetings with people who usually 
 wanted some favor from him, no case was too trivial 
 to receive his attention. Taking advantage of the op- 
 portunity, there came one day, says Mr. C. Van Sant- 
 voord, “ a sturdy, honest-looking German soldier, minus 
 a leg, who hobbled up to the President on crutches. 
 In consideration of his disabled condition, he wanted 
 some situation about Washington, the duties of which 
 he might be able to discharge ; and he had come to the 
 President, hoping that he would provide the desired 
 situation for him. On being interrogated as to how 
 he had lost his leg, he answered that it was the effect 
 of a wound received in battle, mentioning the time and 
 the place. 4 Let me look at your papers,’ said Mr. 
 Lincoln. The man replied that he had none, and that 
 he supposed his word would be sufficient. 4 What ! ’ 
 exclaimed the President, 4 no papers, no credentials, 
 nothing to show how you lost your leg! How am I 
 to know that you did not lose it by a trap after get- 
 ting into somebody’s orchard? ’ This was spoken with 
 a droll expression which amused the bystanders, all 
 except the applicant, who with a very solemn visage 
 earnestly protested the truth of his statement, mutter- 
 ing something about the reasons for not being able 
 to produce his papers. 4 Well, well,’ said the President, 
 4 it is a little risky for an army man to be wandering 
 around without papers to show where he belongs and 
 
452 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 what he is, but I will see what can be done for you.’ 
 And taking a blank card from a little pile of similar 
 blanks on the table, he wrote some lines upon it, ad- 
 dressed it, and handing it to the man bade him deliver 
 it to a certain quartermaster, who would attend to his 
 case.” 
 
 The President could, however, be emphatic and even 
 severe when necessary on such occasions. One day, we 
 are told, “ he was approached by a man apparently 
 sixty years of age, with dress and manner which showed 
 that he was acquainted with the usages of good society, 
 whose whole exterior, indeed, would have favorably im- 
 pressed people who form opinions from appearances. 
 The object of his visit was to solicit aid in some com- 
 mission project, for the success of which Mr. Lincoln’s 
 favor was regarded as essential. The President heard 
 him patiently, but demurred against being connected 
 with or countenancing the affair, suggesting mildly that 
 the applicant would better set up an office of the kind 
 described, and run it in his own way and at his own 
 risk. The man pleaded his advanced years and ob- 
 scurity as a reason for not attempting this, but said 
 if the President would only let him use his name to 
 advertise and recommend the enterprise, he would then, 
 he thought, need nothing more. At this the eyes of 
 the President flashed with sudden indignation, and his 
 whole aspect and manner underwent a portentous 
 change. ‘ No ! ’ he broke forth, with startling vehe- 
 mence, springing from his seat under the impulse of 
 his emotion. ‘ No ! I ’ll have nothing to do with this 
 business, nor with any man who comes to me with such 
 degrading propositions. What ! Do you take the 
 President of the United States to be a commission 
 broker? You have come to the wrong place; and for 
 you and every one who comes for such purposes, there 
 is the door ! ’ The man’s face blanched as he cowered 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 453 
 
 and slunk away confounded, without uttering a word. 
 The President’s wrath subsided as speedily as it had 
 risen.” 
 
 Another example of Lincoln’s power to dispose sum- 
 marily of people who tried his patience too far is given 
 by Secretary Welles, who records that a Mrs. White 
 — a sister or half-sister of Mrs. Lincoln — made her- 
 self so obnoxious as a Southern sympathizer in Wash- 
 ington in 1864, that the President sent her word that 
 “ if she did not leave forthwith she might expect to 
 find herself within twenty-four hours in the Old Capitol 
 Prison.” 
 
 With all his kindness and desire to do what was 
 asked of him, Lincoln could not be persuaded to con- 
 sent to anything which he felt to be distinctly wrong, 
 regardless of any unfavorable consequences which his 
 refusal might bring upon himself. When the members 
 of Congress from Minnesota, late in 1862, called on 
 him in a body to urge him to order the execution of 
 three hundred Indian prisoners, captured in their State 
 and charged with great atrocities, he positively refused, 
 although realizing that it might cost him the support 
 of those members of the House, which he greatly needed 
 at that time. 
 
 “ The President is always disposed to mitigate 
 punishments and grant favors,” says a member of his 
 Cabinet. “ As a matter of duty and friendship, I one 
 day mentioned to him the case of Laura Jones, a young 
 lady residing in Richmond and there engaged to be mar- 
 ried, who came up three years ago to attend her sick 
 mother and had been unable to pass through the lines 
 and return. A touching appeal was made by the poor 
 girl, who truly says her youth is passing. The Presi- 
 dent at once said he would give her a pass. I told 
 him her sympathies were with the secessionists. But 
 he said he would let her go ; the war had depopulated 
 
454 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the country and prevented marriages enough, and if 
 he could do a kindness of this sort he would do it.” 
 
 Another applicant for a pass through the lines was 
 less fortunate than the one just noted. One day, in the 
 spring of 1862, a gentleman from some Northern 
 city entered Lincoln’s private office, and earnestly re- 
 quested a pass to Richmond. “ A pass to Richmond ! ” 
 exclaimed the President. “ Why, my dear sir, if I 
 should give you one it would do you no good. You 
 may think it very strange, but there ’s a lot of fellows 
 between here and Richmond who either can’t read or 
 are prejudiced against every man who totes a pass 
 from me. I have given McClellan and more than two 
 hundred thousand others passes to Richmond, and not 
 a single one of 'em, has got there yet!” 
 
 Lincoln sometimes had a very effective way of deal- 
 ing with men who asked troublesome or improper ques- 
 tions. A visitor once asked him how many men the 
 rebels had in the field. The President replied, very 
 seriously, “ Twelve hundred thousand, according to the 
 best authority.” The interrogator blanched in the face, 
 and ejaculated, “Good heavens!” “Yes, sir, twelve 
 hundred thousand — no doubt of it. You see, all of 
 our generals, when they get whipped, say the enemy 
 outnumbered them from three or five to one, and I must 
 believe them. We have four hundred thousand men in 
 the field, and three times four makes twelve. Don’t 
 you see it? ” 
 
 Among the many illustrations of the sturdy sense 
 and firmness of Lincoln’s character, the following should 
 be recorded: During the early part of 1863 the Union 
 men in Missouri were divided into two factions, which 
 waged a bitter controversy with each other. General 
 Curtis, commander of the military district comprising 
 Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas, was at the head of 
 one faction, while Governor Gamble led the other. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 455 
 
 Their differences were a source of great embarrassment 
 to the Government at Washington, and of harm to the 
 Union cause. The President was in constant receipt 
 of remonstrances and protests from the contesting par- 
 ties, to one of which he made the following curt reply : 
 
 Your despatch of to-day is just received. It is very 
 painful to me that you in Missouri cannot, or will not, 
 settle your factional quarrel among yourselves. I have 
 been tormented with it beyond endurance, for months, 
 by both sides. Neither side pays the least respect to 
 my appeals to reason. I am now compelled to take 
 hold of the case. A. Lincoln. 
 
 The President promptly followed up this warning by 
 removing General Curtis, and appointing in his place 
 General Schofield, to whom he soon after addressed the 
 following letter: 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, 
 
 May 27, 1863. 
 
 General J. M. Schofield. 
 
 Dear Sir: Having removed General Curtis and as- 
 signed you to the command of the Department of the 
 Missouri, I think it may be of some advantage to me 
 to state to you why I did it. I did not remove Gen- 
 eral Curtis because of my full conviction that he had 
 done wrong by commission or omission. I did it be- 
 cause of a conviction in my mind that the Union men 
 of Missouri, constituting, when united, a vast majority 
 of the people, have entered into a pestilent, factious 
 quarrel among themselves ; General Curtis, perhaps not 
 of choice, being the head of one faction, and Governor 
 Gamble that of the other. After months of labor to 
 reconcile the difficulty, it seemed to grow worse and 
 worse, until I felt it my duty to break it up somehow, 
 and as I could not remove Governor Gamble, I had 
 to remove General Curtis. Now that you are in the 
 position, I wish you to undo nothing merely because 
 
456 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 General Curtis or Governor Gamble did it, but to ex- 
 ercise your own judgment, and do right for the public 
 interest. Let your military measures be strong enough 
 to repel the invaders and keep the peace, and not so 
 strong as to unnecessarily harass and persecute the 
 people. It is a difficult role, and so much greater will 
 be the honor if you perform it well. If both factions, 
 or neither, shall abuse you, you will probably be about 
 right. Beware of being assailed by one and praised 
 by the other. 
 
 Yours truly, A. Lincoln. 
 
 Firm and unyielding as he was when necessity com- 
 pelled him to be, Lincoln was by nature a peace-maker, 
 and was ever anxious that personal differences be ad- 
 justed happily. In his efforts to this end he never 
 failed to show tact and shrewdness, and would if neces- 
 sary sacrifice his own preferences in the interests of 
 peace and harmony. A characteristic instance of the 
 exercise of these traits occurred in connection with the 
 Missouri troubles just referred to. General Schofield’s 
 course in command of his department proved satisfac- 
 tory, and he had been nominated for a Major-General’s 
 commission. He was, however, a somewhat conservative 
 man, and in spite of his efforts to carry out the Presi- 
 dent’s injunctions of impartiality, he had given offense 
 to certain Missouri radicals, who now opposed his pro- 
 motion, and were able to exert sufficient influence in 
 the Senate to prevent the confirmation of his appoint- 
 ment as a Major-General. The Missouri delegation 
 appealed to the more radical Senators, and the nomi- 
 nation was “ hung up ” for about six weeks. Lincoln 
 was very desirous that it should be confirmed, and the 
 Missouri Congressmen were equally bent on its defeat. 
 In this dilemma, Lincoln sent for Senator Zack Chand- 
 ler of Michigan, and proposed a compromise. “ Gen- 
 eral Rosecrans,” said he, “ has a great many friends ; 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 457 
 
 he fought the battle of Stone River and won a brilliant 
 victory, and his advocates begin to grumble about his 
 treatment. Now, I will tell you what I have been 
 thinking about. If you will confirm Schofield in the 
 Senate, I will remove him from the command in Mis- 
 souri and send him down to Sherman. That will satisfy 
 the radicals. Then I will send Rosecrans to Missouri, 
 and that will please the latter’s friends. In this way 
 the whole thing can be harmonized.” As soon as the 
 Senate grasped the plan of the President there was no 
 longer any opposition to the confirmation of Schofield. 
 He was sent to join Sherman in the South, Rosecrans 
 was appointed to the command in Missouri, and every- 
 thing worked harmoniously and pleasantly as the Presi- 
 dent had predicted and desired. 
 
 Secretary Welles remarks that “ the President was a 
 much more shrewd and accurate observer of the char- 
 acteristics of men- — -better and more correctly formed 
 an estimate of their power and capabilities — than the 
 Secretary of State or most others. Those in the public 
 service he closely scanned, but was deliberate in forming 
 a conclusion adverse to any one he had appointed. In 
 giving or withdrawing confidence he was discriminating 
 and just in his final decision, careful never to wound 
 unnecessai'ily the sensibilities of any of their infirmi- 
 ties, always ready to praise, but nevertheless firm and 
 resolute in discharging the to him always painful duty 
 of censure, reproof, or dismissal.” As an instance of 
 this sure judgment of the abilities and characters of 
 men, Mr. Welles gives an anecdote relating to the naval 
 movement under Admiral Du Pont, against Charleston, 
 S. C. “ One day,” says Mr. Welles, “ the President 
 said to me that he had but slight expectation that we 
 should have any great success from Du Pont. ‘ He, 
 as well as McClellan,’ said Mr. Lincoln, ‘ hesitates — 
 has the slows. McClellan always wanted more regi- 
 
458 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 ments ; Du Pont is everlastingly asking for more gun- 
 boats — more iron-clads. He will do nothing with any. 
 He has intelligence and system and will maintain a 
 good blockade. You did well in selecting him for that 
 command, but he will never take Sumter or get to 
 Charleston. He is no Farragut, though unquestion- 
 ably a good routine officer, who obeys orders and in a 
 general way carries out his instructions.’ ” The out- 
 come of events proved the soundness of Lincoln’s 
 judgment. 
 
 Lo} r alty to his friends was always a strong trait of 
 Lincoln’s character. It was put to the proof daily 
 during his life in Washington. Mr. Gurdon S. Hub- 
 bard, in a brief but interesting memorial, relates one 
 or two interviews held with the President, in which the 
 simplicity of his character and his fidelity to old friend- 
 ships appear very conspicuously. Mr. Hubbard’s ac- 
 quaintance with Lincoln was of long standing. “ I 
 called on him in Washington the year of his inaugura- 
 tion,” says Mr. Hubbard, “ and was alone with him 
 for an hour or more. I found him greatly changed, 
 his countenance bearing an expression of great mental 
 anxiety. The whole topic of our conversation was the 
 war, which affected him deeply. . . . Two years after, 
 I again visited Washington, and went to the White 
 House to pay my respects, in company with my friend 
 Thomas L. Forrest. It was Saturday; and, as usual, 
 about six o’clock the band from the navy-yard appeared 
 and began to play. The President, with Adjutant- 
 General Thomas, was seated on the balcony. The 
 crowd was great, marching compactly past the Presi- 
 dent, the men raising their hats in salutation. As my 
 friend and myself passed he said to me, ‘ The President 
 seems to notice you — turn toward him.’ * No,’ I said, 
 
 4 1 don’t care to be recognized.’ At that instant Mr. 
 Lincoln started from his seat, advancing quickly to the 
 
EVERY -BAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 459 
 
 iron railing, and leaning over, beckoning with his long 
 arm, called : 4 Hubbard ! Hubbard ! come here ! ’ I 
 left the ranks and ascended the stone steps to the gate 
 of the balcony, which was locked, General Thomas say- 
 ing, 4 Wait a moment, I will get the key.’ 4 Never 
 mind, General,’ said Mr. Lincoln, 4 Hubbard is used 
 to jumping — he can scale that fence.’ I climbed over, 
 and for about an hour we conversed and watched the 
 large crowd, the rebel flag being in sight on Arlington 
 Heights. This was the last time I ever saw his face 
 in life.” 
 
 It was noted by those about Lincoln during his resi- 
 dence at the White House that he usually avoided 
 speaking of himself as President or making any refer- 
 ence to the office which he held. He used some such 
 roundabout phrase as 44 since I came into this place,” 
 instead of saying 44 since I became President.” The 
 war he usually spoke of as 44 this great trouble,” and he 
 almost never alluded to the enemy as 44 Confederates ” 
 or 44 the Confederate Government.” He had an uncon- 
 querable reluctance to appear to lead public opinion, 
 and often spoke of himself as the 44 attorney for the 
 people.” Once, however, when a Senator was urging 
 on him a certain course which the President was not 
 disposed to pursue, the Senator said, 44 You say you 
 are the people’s attorney. Now, you will admit that 
 this course would be most popular.” 44 But I am not 
 going to let my client manage the case against my 
 judgment,” Lincoln replied quickly. 44 As long as I 
 am attorney for the people I shall manage the case to 
 the best of my ability. They will have a chance to 
 put me out by and by if my management is not 
 satisfactory.” 
 
 The President was so tormented by visitors seeking 
 interviews for every sort of frivolous and impertinent 
 matter, that he resorted sometimes, in desperation, to 
 
460 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 curious and effective inventions to rid himself of the 
 intolerable nuisance. At one time, when he was im- 
 portuned by some influential people to interfere to 
 prevent the punishment of certain persons convicted of 
 fraudulent dealings with the government — a class of 
 cases too common at that time — the President wrote 
 Secretary Welles that he desired to see the records of 
 the case before it was disposed of. Upon Mr. Welles 
 calling upon him with the desired information, the Presi- 
 dent said, as if by way of apology, “ There was no 
 way to get rid of the crowd that was upon me but by 
 sending you a note.” On another occasion, when he 
 had been quite ill, and therefore less inclined than usual 
 to listen to these bores, one of them had just seated 
 himself for a long visit, when the President’s physician 
 happened to enter the room, and Lincoln said, holding 
 out his hands, “ Doctor, what are these blotches ? ” 
 “ That ’s varioloid, or mild small-pox,” said the doctor. 
 “ They ’re all over me. It is contagious, I believe,” 
 said Lincoln. “ Very contagious, indeed ! ” replied the 
 doctor. “ Well, I can’t stop, Mr. Lincoln ; I just called 
 to see how you were,” said the visitor. “ Oh, don’t 
 be in a hurry, sir ! ” placidly remarked the Executive. 
 “ Thank you, sir ; I ’ll call again,” replied the visitor, 
 executing a masterly retreat from the White House. 
 “ Some people,” said the President, looking after him, 
 “ said they could not take very well to my proclama- 
 tion ; but now, I am happy to say, I have something 
 that everybody can take .” 
 
 Among the innumerable nuisances and “ cranks ” who 
 called on Lincoln at the White House, were the many 
 who sought to win his favor by claiming to have 
 been the first to suggest his nomination as President. 
 One of these claimants, who was the editor of a weekly 
 paper published in a little village in Missouri, called 
 one day, and was admitted to Lincoln’s presence. He 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 461 
 
 at once began explaining that he was the man who 
 first suggested Lincoln’s name for the Presidency, and 
 pulling from his pocket an old, worn, defaced copy of 
 his paper, exhibited to the President an item on the 
 subject. “ Do you really think,” said Lincoln, “ that 
 announcement was the occasion of my nomination? ” 
 “ Certainly,” said the editor, “ the suggestion was so 
 opportune that it was at once taken up by other papers, 
 and the result was your nomination and election.” 
 “ All, well,” said Lincoln, with a sigh, and assuming a 
 rather gloomy countenance, “ I am glad to see you and 
 to know this ; but you will have to excuse me, I am 
 just going to the War Department to see Mr. Stanton.” 
 “Well,” said the editor, “I will walk over with you.” 
 The President, with that apt good nature so charac- 
 teristic of him, took up his hat and said, “ Come along.” 
 When they reached the door of the Secretary’s office, 
 Mr. Lincoln turned to his companion and said, “ I 
 shall have to see Mr. Stanton alone, and you must 
 excuse me,” and taking him by the hand he continued, 
 “ Good-bye. I hope you will feel perfectly easy about 
 having nominated me ; don’t be troubled about it ; I 
 forgive you.” 
 
 A gentleman who, after the dreadful disaster at 
 Fredericksburg, called at the White House with news 
 direct from the front, says that Lincoln appeared so 
 overwhelmed with grief that he was led to remark, “ I 
 heartily wish I might be a welcome messenger of good 
 news instead, — that I could tell you how to conquer 
 or get rid of these rebellious States.” Looking up 
 quickly, with a marked change of expression, Lincoln 
 said: “That reminds me of two boys in Illinois who 
 took a short cut across an orchard, and did not be- 
 come aware of the presence of a vicious dog until it 
 was too late to reach either fence. One was spry 
 enough to escape the attack by climbing a tree; but 
 
462 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the other started around the tree, with the dog in hot 
 pursuit, until by making smaller circles than it was 
 possible for his pursuer to make, he gained sufficiently 
 to grasp the dog’s tail, and held with desperate grip 
 until nearly exhausted, when he hailed his companion 
 and called to him to come down. ‘What for?’ said 
 the boy. ‘ I want you to help me let this dog go.’ If 
 I could only let them go ! ” said the President, in con- 
 clusion ; “ but that is the trouble. I am compelled to 
 hold on to them and make them stay.” 
 
 In speaking of Lincoln’s fortitude under his trials 
 and sufferings, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote: 
 “ Although we believe he has never made any religious 
 profession, we see evidence that in passing through this 
 dreadful national crisis he has been forced by the very 
 anguish of the struggle to look upward, where any 
 rational creature must look for support. No man has 
 suffered more and deeper, albeit with a dry, weary, 
 patient pain, that seemed to some like insensibility. 
 ‘ Whichever way it ends,’ he said to the writer, ‘ I have 
 the impression that I sha’n’t last long after it ’s over.’ 
 After the dreadful repulse of Fredericksburg, his heavy 
 eyes and worn and weary air told how our reverses 
 wore upon him ; and yet there was a never-failing fund 
 of patience at bottom that sometimes rose to the sur- 
 face in some droll, quaint saying or story, that forced 
 a laugh even from himself.” 
 
 The care and sorrow which Lincoln was called upon 
 to endure in the responsibilities of his high position 
 graved their melancholy marks on each feature of his 
 face. He was a changed man. A pathetic picture of 
 his appearance at this time is given by his old friend, 
 Noah Brooks, whose description of him as he appeared 
 in 1856, on the stump in Ogle County, has already been 
 given a place in these pages. “ I did not see Lincoln 
 again,” says Mr. Brooks, “ until 1862, when I went to 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 463 
 
 Washington as a newspaper correspondent from Cali- 
 fornia. When Lincoln was on the stump in 1856, his 
 face, though naturally sallow, had a rosy flush. His 
 eyes were full and bright, and he was in the fulness 
 of health and vigor. I shall never forget the shock 
 which the sight of him gave me six years later in 1862, 
 I took it for granted that he had forgotten the young 
 man whom he had met five or six times during the 
 Fremont and Dayton Campaign. He was now Presi- 
 dent, and was, like Brutus, 4 vexed with many cares.’ 
 The change which a few j^ears had made was simply 
 appalling. His whiskers had grown and had given 
 additional cadaverousness to his face as it appeared 
 to me. The light seemed to have gone out of his eyes, 
 which were sunken far under his enormous brows. But 
 there was over his whole face an expression of sadness, 
 and a far-away look in the eyes, which were utterly 
 unlike the Lincoln of other days. I was intensely dis- 
 appointed. I confess that I was so pained that I 
 could almost have shed tears.” 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 Lincoln’s Home-life in the White House — Comfort in the Companion- 
 ship of his Youngest Son — “Little Tad” the Bright Spot in the 
 White House — The President and his Little Boy Reviewing the 
 Army of the Potomac — - Various Phases of Lincoln’s Character — - 
 His Literary Tastes — Fondness for Poetry and Music — His Re- 
 markable Memory — Not a Latin Scholar — Never Read a Novel 
 — Solace in Theatrical Representation — Anecdotes of Booth and 
 McCullough — Methods of Literary Work — Lincoln as an Orator — • 
 Caution in Impromptu Speeches — His Literary Style — Manage- 
 ment of his Private Correspondence — Knowledge of Woodcraft — - 
 Trees and Human Character — Exchanging Views with Professor 
 Agassiz — Magnanimity toward Opponents — Righteous Indigna- 
 tion — Lincoln’s Religious Nature. 
 
 O F the two sons left to Lincoln after the death 
 of Willie in 1862, Robert, the older, was a stu- 
 dent in Harvard College until appointed to service on 
 the staff of General Grant ; and “ Little Tad,” or 
 Thomas, the youngest, was the only one remaining in 
 the White House during the last hard years. He was 
 ten years old in 1863, a bright and lovable child, with 
 whom his father was associated in constant and affec- 
 tionate companionship. The boy was much with him 
 in his walks and journeys about Washington, and even 
 in his visits to the army in the field. The father would 
 often gain a brief respite from his heavy cares by 
 sharing in the sports and frolics of the light-hearted 
 boy, who was a general favorite at the White House, 
 where he was free to go and come at will. No matter 
 who was with the President, or how intently he might 
 be absorbed, little Tad was always welcome. “ It was 
 an impressive and affecting sight,” says Mr. Carpenter, 
 an inmate of the White House for several months, “ to 
 see the burdened President lost for the time being in 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 465 
 
 the affectionate parent, as he would take the little fel- 
 low in his arms upon the withdrawal of visitors, and 
 caress him with all the fondness of a mother for the 
 babe upon her bosom.” Hon. W. D. Kelley, a member 
 of Congress at that time, says : “ I think no father 
 ever loved his children more fondly than he. The 
 President never seemed grander in my sight than when, 
 stealing upon him in the evening, I would find him with 
 a book open before him, with little Tad beside him. 
 There were, of course, a great many curious books 
 sent to him, and it seemed to be one of the special 
 delights of his life to open those books at a time 
 when his boy could stand beside him, and they could 
 talk as he turned over the pages, the father thus 
 giving to the son a portion of that care and attention 
 of which he was ordinarily deprived by the heavy 
 duties pressing upon him.” Tad lived to be eighteen 
 years old, dying in Chicago in 1871. It was well said 
 of him that he “ gave to the sad and solemn White 
 House the only comic relief it knew.” 
 
 When President Lincoln visited General Hooker’s 
 headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, just be- 
 fore the battle of Chancellorsville, little Tad went with 
 him, and rode with his father and General Hooker 
 through the grand reviews that were held. “ Over hill 
 and dale,” says a member of the Presidential party, 
 “ dashed the brilliant cavalcade of the General-in-Chief, 
 surrounded by a company of officers in gay attire and 
 sparkling with gold lace, the party being escorted by 
 the Philadelphia Lancers, a showy troop of soldiers. 
 In the midst, or at the head, rose and fell, as the 
 horses galloped afar, the form of Lincoln, conspicu- 
 ous by his height and his tall black hat. And ever on 
 the flanks of the hurrying column flew, like a flag or 
 banneret, Tad’s little gray riding-cloak. The soldiers 
 soon learned of Tad’s presence in the army, and wher- 
 
466 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 ever he went on horseback he easily divided the honors 
 with his father. The men cheered and shouted and 
 waved their hats when they saw the dear face and tall 
 figure of the good President, then the best-beloved man 
 in the world ; but to these men of war, far away from 
 home and children, the sight of that fresh-faced and 
 laughing boy seemed an inspiration. They cheered 
 like mad.” 
 
 There were various phases of Lincoln’s character, as 
 manifested during his life in the White House, that 
 afford material for an interesting study. It has been 
 said of him that he lacked imagination. This was cer- 
 tainly not one of the faculties of his mind which had 
 been largely cultivated. He relied more upon the exer- 
 cise of reason and logic, in all his intellectual processes, 
 than upon fancy or imagination. Still, there are often 
 striking figures of speech to be met with in his writings, 
 and he had a great fondness for poetry and music. He 
 had studied Shakespeare diligently in his youth, and 
 portions of the plays he repeated with singular ac- 
 curacy. He had a special liking for the minor poems 
 of Thomas Hood and of Oliver Wendell Holmes. Dr. 
 Holmes, writing in July, 1885, says that of all the 
 tributes received by him, the one of which he was most 
 proud was from “ good Abraham Lincoln,” who had 
 a great liking for the poem of “ The Last Leaf,” and 
 “ repeated it from memory to Governor Andrew, as the 
 Governor himself told me.” Mr. Arnold says: “He 
 had a great love for poetry and eloquence, and his 
 taste and judgment were excellent. Next to Shake- 
 speare among the poets, his favorite was Burns. There 
 was a lecture of his upon Burns full of favorite quo- 
 tations and sound criticisms.” His musical tastes, says 
 Mr. Brooks, who knew him well, “ were simple and un- 
 cultivated, his choice being old airs, songs, and ballads, 
 among which the plaintive Scotch songs were best 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 467 
 
 liked. ‘ Annie Laurie,’ ‘ Mary of Argyle,’ and espe- 
 cially ‘ Auld Robin Gra} 7 ,’ never lost their charm for 
 him ; and all songs which had for their theme the 
 rapid flight of time, decay, the recollections of early 
 days, were sure to make a deep impression. The song 
 which he liked best, above all others, was one called 
 ‘ Twenty Years Ago ’ — a simple air, the words to 
 which are supposed to be uttered by a man who re- 
 visits the playground of his youth. I remember that 
 one night at the White House, when a few ladies were 
 with the family, singing at the piano-forte, he asked for 
 a little song in which the writer describes his sensations 
 when revisiting the scenes of his boyhood, dwelling 
 mournfully on the vanished joys and the delightful 
 associations of forty years ago. It is not likely that 
 there was much in Lincoln’s lost youth that he would 
 wish to recall ; but there was a cei'tain melancholy and 
 half-morbid strain in that song which struck a respon- 
 sive chord in his heart. The lines sank into his memory, 
 and I remember that he quoted them, as if to himself, 
 long afterward.” 
 
 Lincoln’s memory was extraordinarily retentive, and 
 he seemed, without conscious effort, to have stored in 
 his mind almost every whimsical or ludicrous narrative 
 which he had read or heard. “ On several occasions,” 
 says Mr. Brooks, “ I have held in my hand a printed 
 slip while he was repeating its contents to somebody 
 else, and the precision with which he delivered every 
 word was marvellous.” He was fond of the writings 
 of “ Orpheus C. Kerr ” and “ Petroleum V. Nasby,” 
 who were famous humorists at the time of the Civil 
 War; and he amused himself and others in the darkest 
 hours by quoting passages from these now forgotten 
 authors. Nasby’s letter from “ Wingert’s Corners, 
 Ohio,” on the threatening prospects of a migration of 
 the negroes from the South, and the President’s “ evi- 
 
468 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 dent intenshun of colonizin’ on ’em in the North,” he 
 especially relished. After rehearsing a portion of this 
 letter to his guests at the Soldiers’ Home one evening, 
 a sedate New England gentleman expressed surprise 
 that he could find time for memorizing such things. 
 “ Oh,” said Lincoln, “ I don’t. If I like a thing, it 
 just sticks after once reading it or hearing it.” He 
 once recited a long and doleful ballad, something like 
 “ Viiikins and his Dinah,” the production of a rural 
 Kentucky bard, and when he had finished he added with 
 a laugh, “ I don’t believe I have thought of that before 
 for forty years.” Mr. Arnold testifies that “ although 
 his reading was not extensive, yet his memory was so 
 retentive and so ready that in history, poetry, and in 
 general literature, few if any marked any deficiency. 
 As an illustration of the powers of his memory, may be 
 related the following: A gentleman called at the White 
 House one day, and introduced to him two officers 
 serving in the army, one a Swede and the other a 
 Norwegian. Immediately he repeated, to their delight, 
 a poem of some eight or ten verses descriptive of Scan- 
 dinavian scenery, and an old Norse legend. He said 
 he had read the poem in a newspaper some years be- 
 fore, and liked it, but it had passed out of his memory 
 until their visit had recalled it. The two books which 
 he read most were the Bible and Shakespeare. With 
 these he was perfectly familiar. From the Bible, as 
 has before been stated, he quoted frequently, and he 
 read it daily, while Shakespeare was his constant com- 
 panion. He took a copy with him almost always when 
 travelling, and read it at leisure moments.” 
 
 Lincoln was never ashamed to confess the deficiencies 
 in his early education. A distinguished party, com- 
 prising George Thompson, the English anti-slavery 
 orator, Rev. John Pierpont, Oliver Johnson, and 
 Hon. Lewis Clephane, once called upon him, and during 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 469 
 
 the conversation Mr. Pierpont turned to Mr. Thompson 
 and repeated a Latin quotation from the classics. Mr. 
 Lincoln, leaning forward in his chair, looked from one 
 to the other inquiringly, and then remarked, with a 
 smile, “ Which, I suppose you are both aware, I do 
 not understand.” 
 
 While Edwin Forrest was playing an engagement at 
 Ford’s Theatre, Mr. Carpenter spoke to the President 
 one day of the actor’s fine interpretation of the char- 
 acter of Richelieu, and advised him to witness the 
 performance. “ Who wrote the play? ” asked the 
 President of Mr. Carpenter. “ Bulwer,” was the reply. 
 “ Ah! ” he rejoined; “ well, I knew Bulwer wrote novels, 
 but I did not know he was a play-writer also. It may 
 seem somewhat strange to say,” he continued, “ but 
 I never read an entire novel in my life. I once com- 
 menced ‘ Ivanhoe,’ but never finished it.” 
 
 Among the few diversions which Lincoln allowed 
 himself in Washington was an occasional visit to the 
 theater to witness a representation of some good play 
 by a favorite actor. He felt the necessity of some 
 relaxation from the terrible strain of anxiety and care ; 
 and while seated behind the screen in a box at the 
 theatre he was secure from the everlasting impor- 
 tunities of politicians and office-seekers. He could for- 
 get himself and his problems while watching the 
 scenes on the mimic stage before him. He enjoyed 
 the renditions of Booth with great zest ; yet after 
 witnessing “ The Merchant of Venice ” he remarked 
 on the way home : “ It was a good performance, 
 
 but I had a thousand times rather read it at home, 
 if it were not for Booth’s playing. A farce or 
 a comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read 
 at home.” He was much pleased one night with Mr. 
 McCullough’s delineation of the character of “ Edgar,” 
 which the actor played in support of Edwin Forrest’s 
 
470 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 “ Lear.” He wished to convey his approval to the 
 young actor, and asked Mr. Brooks, his companion at 
 the moment, with characteristic simplicity, “ Do you 
 suppose he would come to the box if we sent word? ” 
 Mr. McCullough was summoned, and, standing at the 
 door of the box in his stage attire, received the thanks 
 of the President, accompanied with words of discrimi- 
 nating praise for the excellence of his delineation. 
 
 With his keen sense of humor, Lincoln appreciated 
 to the utmost the inimitable presentation of “ Falstaff ” 
 by a well-known actor of the time. His desire to ac- 
 cord praise wherever it was merited led him to express 
 his admiration in a note to the actor. An interchange 
 of slight civilities followed, ending at last in a singular 
 situation. Entering the President’s office late one even- 
 ing, Mr. Brooks noticed the actor sitting in the wait- 
 ing-room. Lincoln inquired anxiously if there were 
 anyone outside. On being told, he said, half sadly, 
 almost desperately, “ Oh, I can’t see him ; I can’t see 
 him ! I was in hopes he had gone away.” Then he 
 added, “ Now, this illustrates the difficulty of having 
 pleasant friends in this place. You know I liked him 
 as an actor, and that I wrote to tell him so. He sent 
 me a book, and there I thought the matter would end. 
 He is a master of his place in the profession, I sup- 
 pose, and well fixed in it. But just because we had 
 a little friendly correspondence, such as any two men 
 might have, he wants something. What do you sup- 
 pose he wants? ” I could not guess, and Lincoln added, 
 “ Well, he wants to be consul at London. Oh, dear! ” 
 
 Lincoln was not a ready writer, and when preparing 
 documents or speeches of special importance he altered 
 and elaborated his sentences with patient care. His 
 public utterances were so widely reported and so merci- 
 lessly discussed that he acquired caution in expressing 
 himself without due preparation. It is stated, on what 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 471 
 
 seems sufficient authority, that his Gettysburg speech, 
 brief and simple as it is, was rewritten many times 
 before it finally met his approval. He began also to 
 be guarded in responding to demands for impromptu 
 speeches, which were constantly being called for. Mr. 
 Brooks relates that “ once, being notified that he was 
 to be serenaded, just after some notable military or 
 political event, he asked me to come to dinner, ‘ so as 
 to be on hand and see the fun afterward,’ as he said. 
 He excused himself as soon as we had dined, and while 
 the bands were playing, the crowds cheering and the 
 rockets bursting outside the house, he made his re- 
 appearance in the parlor with a roll of manuscript in 
 his hand. Perhaps noticing a look of surprise on my 
 face, he said, ‘ I know what you are thinking about. 
 You think it mighty queer that an old stump-speaker 
 like myself should not be able to address a crowd like 
 this outside without a written speech. But you must 
 remember that in a certain way I am talking to the 
 country, and I have to be mighty careful. Now, the 
 last time I made an off-hand speech, in answer to a 
 serenade, I used the phrase, as applied to the rebels, 
 “ turned tail and ran.” Some very nice Boston folks, I 
 am grieved to hear, were very much outraged by that 
 phrase, which they thought improper. So I resolved to 
 make no more impromptu speeches if I could help it.’ ” 
 In all Lincoln’s writings, even his most important 
 state papers, his chief desire was to make himself 
 clearly understood by the common reader. He had a 
 great aversion to what he called “ machine writing,” 
 and used the fewest words possible to express his mean- 
 ing. He never hesitated to employ a homely expression 
 when it suited his purpose. In his first message the 
 phrase “ sugar-coated ” occurred ; and when it was 
 printed, Mr. Defrees, the Public Printer, being on 
 familiar terms with the President, ventured an ob- 
 
472 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 jection to the phrase — suggesting that Lincoln was 
 not now preparing a campaign document or delivering 
 a stump speech in Illinois, but constructing an impor- 
 tant state paper that would go down historically to all 
 coming time; and that therefore he did not consider 
 the phrase “ sugar-coated ” as entirely a becoming and 
 dignified one. “ Well, Defrees,” replied Lincoln, good- 
 naturedly, “ if you think the time will ever come 
 when the people will not understand what ‘ sugar- 
 coated ’ means, I ’ll alter it ; otherwise, I think I ’ll 
 let it go.” 
 
 On the same subject, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe 
 says : “ Our own politicians were somewhat shocked 
 with his state papers at first. ‘ Why not let us make 
 them a little more conventional, and file them to a 
 classical pattern? ’ ‘No,’ was his reply, ‘ I shall write 
 them myself. The people will understand them .’ ‘ But 
 this or that form of expression is not elegant, not 
 classical.’ * The people will understand it,’ has been 
 his invariable reply. And whatever may be said of his 
 state papers as compared with the classic standards, 
 it has been a fact that they have always been won- 
 derfully well understood by the people, and that since 
 the time of Washington the state papers of no Presi- 
 dent have more controlled the popular mind. One rea- 
 son for this is that they have been informal and undiplo- 
 matic. They have more resembled a father’s talk to 
 his children than a state paper. They have had that 
 relish and smack of the soil that appeal to the simple 
 human heart and head, which is a greater power in 
 writing than the most artful devices of rhetoric. Lin- 
 coln might well say with the apostle, ‘ But though I be 
 rude in speech, yet not in knowledge, but we have been 
 thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.’ 
 His rejection of what is called ‘fine writing’ was as 
 deliberate as St. Paul’s, and for the same reason — 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 473 
 
 because he felt that he was speaking on a subject 
 which must be made clear to the lowest intellect, though 
 it should fail to captivate the highest. But we say of 
 Lincoln’s writing, that for all true manly purposes 
 there are passages in his state papers that could not 
 be better put; they are absolutely perfect. They are 
 brief, condensed, intense, and with a power of insight 
 and expression which make them worthy to be inscribed 
 in letters of gold.” 
 
 Hon. William J. Bryan, certainly a competent judge 
 of oratory, says of Lincoln as an orator: “Brevity 
 is the soul of wit, and a part of Lincoln’s reputation 
 for wit lies in his ability to condense a great deal into 
 a few words. He was epigrammatic. His Gettysburg 
 speech is the world’s model in eloquence, elegance, and 
 condensation. He was apt in illustration — no one 
 more so. A simple story or simile drawn from every- 
 day life flashed before his hearers the argument that 
 he wanted to present. He made frequent use of p 
 Bible language, and of illustrations drawn from 
 Holy Writ. It is said that when he was preparing 
 his Springfield speech of 1858 he spent hours in 
 trying to find language that would express the 
 central idea — that a republic could not permanently 
 endure part free and part slave. Finally a Bible 
 passage flashed through his mind, and he exclaimed, 
 
 ‘I have found it — a house divided against itself 
 cannot stand.' Probably no other Bible passage ever 
 exerted as much influence as this one in the settlement 
 of a great controversy.” 
 
 Lincoln was a tireless worker, and delegated no 
 duties to others which he could perform himself. His 
 health seemed to bear the strain of his terrible bur- 
 dens wonderfully well. There are but few references 
 anywhere to his being incapacitated by illness. One 
 such reference occurs in Welles’s Diary, dated March 
 
474 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 14, 1865: “The President was somewhat indisposed, 
 but not seriously ill. The members [of the Cabinet] 
 met in his bedroom.” His correspondence was exten- 
 sive and burdensome, and as a rule he wrote his most 
 important letters with his own hand, frequently going 
 to the trouble of taking copies, which were filed with 
 careful order in a cabinet, the interior of which was 
 divided into pigeon-holes. These pigeon-holes, as Mr. 
 Brooks tells us, “ were lettered in alphabetical order, 
 but a few were devoted to individuals. Horace Greeley 
 had a pigeon-hole by himself ; so did each of several 
 generals who wrote often to him. One compartment, 
 labelled ‘ W. & W.,’ excited much curiosity, but I 
 never asked what it meant, and one night, being sent to 
 the cabinet for a letter which the President wanted, 
 he said, ‘ I see you looking at my “ W. & W.” Can 
 you guess what that stands for? ’ Of course it was 
 useless to guess. ‘ Well,’ said he, with a roguish twin- 
 kle of the eye, ‘that’s Weed and Wood- — • Thurlow 
 and Fernandy.’ Then he added, with an indescribable 
 chuckle, ‘ That ’s a pair of ’em.’ When asked why he 
 did not have a letter -book and copying-press, he said, 
 ‘ A letter-book might be easily stolen and carried off, 
 but that stock of filed letters would be a bach-load .’ ” 
 
 A lady who once rode with Lincoln, in the Presi- 
 dential carriage, to the Soldiers’ Home, gives some 
 interesting details concerning his knowledge of wood- 
 craft. “ Around the ‘ Home,’ ” says this lady, “ grows 
 every variety of tree, particularly of the evergreen 
 class. Their branches brushed into the carriage as we 
 passed along, and left with us that pleasant woodsy 
 smell belonging to fresh leaves. One of the ladies, 
 catching a bit of green from one of these intruding 
 branches, said it was cedar, and another thought it 
 spruce. ‘ Let me discourse on a theme I understand,’ 
 said the President. ‘ I know all about trees, by right of 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 475 
 
 being a backwoodsman. I ’ll show you the difference 
 between spruce, pine, and cedar, and this shred of green, 
 which is neither one nor the other, but a kind of illegiti- 
 mate cypress.’ He then proceeded to gather specimens 
 of each, and explain the distinctive formation of foliage 
 belonging to every species. ‘ Trees,’ he said, ‘ are as 
 deceptive in their likeness to one another as are cer- 
 tain classes of men, amongst whom none but a physiog- 
 nomist’s eye can detect dissimilar moral features until 
 events have developed them. Do you know it would be 
 a good thing if in all the schools proposed and carried 
 out by the improvement of modern thinkers, we could 
 have a school of events? ’ ‘A school of events?’ re- 
 peated the lady addressed. ‘ Yes,’ he continued, ‘ since 
 it is only by that active development that character 
 and ability can be tested. Understand me, I now mean 
 men, not trees ; they can be tried, and an analysis of 
 their strength obtained less expensive to life and hu- 
 man interests than man’s. What I say now is a mere 
 whim, you know; but when I speak of a school of 
 events, I mean one in which, before entering real life, 
 students might pass through the mimic vicissitudes and 
 situations that are necessary to bring out their powers 
 and mark the calibre to which they are assigned. Thus, 
 one could select from the graduates an invincible sol- 
 dier, equal to any position, with no such word as fail; 
 a martyr to right, ready to give up life in the cause ; 
 a politician too cunning to be outwitted; and so on. 
 These things have all to be tried, and their sometime 
 failure creates confusion as well as disappointment. 
 There is no more dangerous or expensive analysis than 
 that which consists of trying a man .’ ” 
 
 Among Lincoln’s callers one Sunday evening, was 
 the distinguished scientist Louis Agassiz. The two 
 men were somewhat alike in their simple, shy, and 
 unpretending nature, and at first felt their way with 
 
476 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 each other like two bashful schoolboys. Lincoln be- 
 gan conversation by saying to Agassiz, “ I never knew 
 how to pronounce your name properly ; won’t you give 
 me a little lesson at that, please? ” Then he asked 
 if the name were of French or Swiss derivation, to 
 which the Professor replied that it was partly of each. 
 That led to a discussion of different languages, the 
 President speaking several words in different languages 
 which had the same root as similar words in our own 
 tongue ; then he illustrated that by one or two anec- 
 dotes. But he soon returned to his gentle cross-exami- 
 nation of Agassiz, and found out how the Professor 
 studied, how he composed, and how he delivered his lec- 
 tures ; how he found different tastes in his audiences in 
 different portions of the country. When afterwards 
 asked why he put such questions to his learned visitor, 
 he said, “ Why, what we got from him is n’t printed 
 in the books ; the other things are.” But Lincoln did 
 not do all the questioning. In his turn, Agassiz asked 
 Lincoln if he had ever engaged in lecturing. Lincoln 
 gave the outline of a lecture, which he had partly writ- 
 ten years before, to show the origin of inventions and 
 prove that there is nothing new under the sun. “ I 
 think I can show,” said he, “ at least, in a fanciful way, 
 that all the modern inventions were known centuries 
 ago.” Agassiz begged that Lincoln would finish the 
 lecture sometime. Lincoln replied that he had the 
 manuscript somewhere in his papers, “ and,” said he, 
 “ when I get out of this place, I ’ll finish it up, perhaps.” 
 
 So great was Lincoln’s magnanimity, and so keen his 
 sense of justice, that he never allowed personal con- 
 siderations to influence his official acts. It is probably 
 true that it was easy for him to forgive an injury; 
 but he was incapable of using his position as President 
 to gratify his private resentments. It was once repre- 
 sented to him that a recent appointee to an important 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 477 
 
 office had been bitterly opposed to him politically. “ I 
 suppose,” said he, “ the Judge did behave pretty ugly ; 
 but that would n’t make him any less fit for this place, 
 and I have a Scriptural authority for appointing 
 him. You recollect that while the Lord on Mount 
 Sinai was getting out a commission for Aaron, that 
 same Aaron was at the foot of the mountain making 
 a false god, a golden calf, for the people to worship ; 
 yet Aaron got his commission, you know.” At another 
 time, when remonstrated with upon the appointment 
 to place of one of his former opponents, he said: “ No- 
 body will deny that he is a first-rate man for the place, 
 and I am bound to see that his opposition to me per- 
 sonally shall not interfere with my giving the people 
 a good officer.” And on another similar occasion, when 
 remonstrated with by members of his Cabinet, he said : 
 “ Oh, I can’t afford to punish every person who has 
 seen fit to oppose my election. We want a competent 
 man in this office, and I know of no one who could per- 
 form the duties better than the one proposed.” 
 
 With all his self-abnegation, Lincoln could be stern 
 when the occasion warranted it. As an illustration the 
 following incident is related: An officer who had been 
 cashiered from the service, forced himself several times 
 into Lincoln’s presence, to plead for a reversal of his 
 sentence. Each time he read a long argument attempt- 
 ing to prove that he had received unjust treatment. 
 The President listened to him patiently; but the facts, 
 on their most favorable showing, did not seem to him 
 to sanction his interference. In the last interview, the 
 man became angry, and turning abruptly said: “ Well, 
 Mr. President, I see you are determined not to do me 
 justice!” This was too much, even for the long- 
 suffering Lincoln. Manifesting, however, no more feel- 
 ing than that indicated by a slight compression of the 
 lips, he quietly arose, laid down a package of papers 
 
478 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 he held in his hands, and then, suddenly seizing the dis- 
 graced officer by the coat collar, he marched him forci- 
 bly to the door, saying, as he ejected him into the 
 passage, “ Sir, I give you fair warning never to show 
 yourself in this room again. I can bear censure, but 
 not insult ! ” In a whining tone the man begged for 
 his papers, which he had dropped. “ Begone, sir,” said 
 the President, “ your papers will be sent to you. I 
 wish never to see your face again ! ” 
 
 Much has been said about Lincoln’s views on re- 
 ligion. Like many other great men, he was not what 
 might technically be called a Christian. He was a re- 
 ligious man in spirit and by nature; yet he never 
 joined a church. Mrs. Lincoln says that he had no 
 religious faith, in the usual acceptation of the word, 
 but that religion was a sort of poetry in his nature. 
 “ Twice during his life,” she said, “ he seemed especially 
 to think about it. Once was when our boy Willie died. 
 Once — and this time he thought of it more deeply — 
 was when he went to Gettysburg.” But whatever his 
 inner thoughts may have been, no man on earth had a 
 firmer faith in Providence than Abraham Lincoln. Per- 
 haps he did not himself know just where he stood. He 
 believed in God — in immortality. He did not believe 
 in eternal punishment, but was confident of rest and 
 peace after this life was over. He may not have felt 
 certain of the divine origin of all parts of the Bible, 
 but he valued its precepts, and his whole life gave evi- 
 dence of faith in a higher power than that of man. 
 Mr. Nicolay, his secretary, testifies that “ his nature 
 was deeply religious, but he belonged to no denomina- 
 tion; he had faith in the eternal justice and boundless 
 mercy of Providence, and made the Golden Rule of 
 Christ his practical creed.” And Dr. Phillips Brooks, 
 in an eloquent and expressive passage, calls him “ Shep- 
 herd of the people — that old name that the best rulers 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 479 
 
 ever craved. What ruler ever won it like this President 
 of ours? He fed us faithfully and truly. He fed us 
 with counsel when we were in doubt, with inspiration 
 when we sometimes faltered, with caution when we would 
 be rash, with calm, clear, trustful cheerfulness through 
 many an hour when our hearts were dark. He fed hun- 
 gry souls all over the country with sympathy and con- 
 solation. He spread before the whole land feasts of 
 great duty and devotion and patriotism on which the 
 land grew strong. He fed us with solemn, solid truths. 
 He taught us the sacredness of government, the wicked- 
 ness of treason. He made our souls glad and vigorous 
 with the love of Liberty that was in his. He showed 
 us how to love truth, and yet be charitable; how to 
 hate wrong and all oppression, and yet not treasure 
 one personal injury or insult. He fed all his people, 
 from the highest to the lowest, from the most privileged 
 down to the most enslaved. ‘ He fed them with a faith- 
 ful and true heart.’ ” 
 
CHAPTER XXIV] 
 
 Trials of the Administration in 1863 — Hostility to War Measures — 
 Lack of Confidence at the North — Opposition in Congress — How 
 Lincoln felt about the “Fire in the Rear” — Criticisms from Vari- 
 ous Quarters — Visit of “the Boston Set” — The Government on 
 a Tight-rope — The Enlistment of Colored Troops — Interview 
 between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass — Reverses in the Field 
 — Changes of Military Leaders — From Burnside to Hooker — 
 Lincoln’s First Meeting with “Fighting Joe” — The President’s 
 Solicitude — His Warning Letter to Hooker — His Visit to the 
 Rappahannock — Hooker’s Self-confidence the “Worst Thing 
 about Him” — The Defeat at Chancellorsville — The Failure of 
 our Generals — “Wanted, a Man.” 
 
 I T is impossible, without a close study of the inner 
 history of the war and of the acts of the adminis- 
 tration, to conceive of the harassing and baffling diffi- 
 culties which beset President Lincoln’s course in every 
 direction, and of the jealous, narrow, and bitter oppo- 
 sition which his more important measures provoked. 
 As the struggle advanced he found in his front a solid 
 and defiant South, behind him a divided and distrustful 
 North. What might be called the party of action and 
 of extreme measures developed a sharp hostility to the 
 President. He would not go fast enough to suit them; 
 they thought him disposed to compromise. They began 
 by criticizing his policy, and his methods of prosecuting 
 the war ; from this they passed rapidly to a criticism 
 of the President himself. In the affectionate admira- 
 tion felt for him now, people have forgotten how weak 
 and poor and craven they found him then. So far 
 had this disapproval and hostility gone, that early in 
 1863 we find Mr. Greeley searching everywhere for a 
 fitting successor to Lincoln for the Presidency at the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 481 
 
 next term. There were but few men in high official 
 station in Washington who at that time unqualifiedly 
 sustained him. In the House of Representatives there 
 were but two members who could make themselves 
 heard, who stood actively by him. This matter, long 
 since forgotten, must be recalled to show clearly the 
 President’s straits, and his action and bearing amidst 
 his difficulties. It should be remembered that party 
 lines, which disappeared at the beginning of the war, 
 were again clearly drawn; and the Democratic wing 
 of Congress, under the leadership of Vallandigham of 
 Ohio, actively opposed many of the necessary measures 
 for the prosecution of the war. The cry had already 
 been raised in Congress, “ The South cannot be subju- 
 gated ” ; and every fresh disaster to the national arms 
 was hailed as proof of the assertion. 
 
 The effect of this abuse and opposition was exceed- 
 ingly painful to Lincoln. He said : “ I have been 
 caused more anxiety, I have passed more sleepless 
 nights, on account of the temper and attitude of the 
 Democratic party in the North regarding the suppres- 
 sion of the rebellion than by the rebels in the South. I 
 have always had faith that our armies would ultimately 
 and completely triumph; but these enemies in the 
 North cause me a great deal of anxiety and appre- 
 hension. Can it be that there are opposing opinions 
 in the North as to the necessity of putting down this 
 rebellion? How can men hesitate a moment as to the 
 duty of the Government to restore its authority in 
 every part of the country? It is incomprehensible to 
 me that men living in their quiet homes under the pro- 
 tection of laws, in possession of their property, can 
 sympathize with and give aid and comfort to those 
 who are doing their utmost to overthrow that Govern- 
 ment which makes life and everything they possess 
 valuable.” 
 
482 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 In January, 1863, a party of distinguished gentle- 
 men from Boston visited the national capital, in order 
 to confer with the President on the workings of the 
 emancipation policy. They made the visit chiefly at 
 the suggestion of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who during 
 all the trying years of the war never lost faith in Lin- 
 coln’s honesty and sense of justice. Secretary Stanton 
 made no secret of his opposition to these gentlemen, who 
 were spoken of rather slightingly as “ that Boston set.” 
 The “ Boston set ” were uncompromising abolitionists, 
 and nothing would satisfy them but immediate and 
 aggressive measures for enforcing the policy of emanci- 
 pation. As it was the President’s instinct to feel his 
 way slowly in pushing on the great measures necessary 
 to the safe guidance of the nation in its perilous crisis, 
 they were naturally dissatisfied with his conservative 
 methods and tendencies. The visitors — including 
 Senator Wilson, Wendell Phillips, Francis W. Bird, 
 Elizur Wright, J. H. Stephenson, George L. Stearns, 
 Oakes Ames, and Moncure D. Conway — called on the 
 President one Sunday evening, at the White House. 
 “ The President met us,” says Mr. Conway, “ laugh- 
 ing like a boy, saying that in the morning one of his 
 children had come to inform him that the cat had 
 kittens, and now another had just announced that the 
 dog had puppies, and the White House was in a de- 
 cidedly sensational state. Some of our party looked 
 a little glum at this hilarity; but it was pathetic to 
 see the change in the President’s face when he presently 
 resumed his burden of care. We were introduced by 
 Senator Wilson, who began to speak of us severally, 
 when Mr. Lincoln said he knew perfectly who we were, 
 and requested us to be seated. Nothing could be more 
 gracious than his manner, or more simple. The con- 
 versation was introduced by Wendell Phillips, who, 
 with all his courtesy, expressed our gratitude and joy 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 483 
 
 at the Proclamation of Emancipation, and asked how 
 it seemed to be working-. The President said that he 
 had not expected much from it at first, and conse- 
 quent^' had not been disappointed; he had hoped, and 
 still hoped, that something would come of it after 
 awhile. Phillips then alluded to the deadly hostility 
 which the proclamation had naturally excited in pro- 
 slavery quarters, and gently hinted that the Northern 
 people, now generally anti-slavery, were not satisfied 
 that it was being honestly carried out by all of the 
 nation’s agents and Generals in the South. £ My own 
 impression, Mr. Phillips,’ said the President, ‘ is that 
 the masses of the country generally are dissatisfied 
 chiefly at our lack of military successes. Defeat and 
 failure in the field make everything seem wrong.’ His 
 face was now clouded, and his next words were some- 
 what bitter. £ Most of us here present,’ he said, £ have 
 been nearly all our lives working in minorities, and 
 many have got into a habit of being dissatisfied.’ Sev- 
 eral of those present having deprecated this, the Presi- 
 dent said, £ At any rate, it has been very rare that an 
 opportunity of ££ running ” this administration has 
 been lost.’ To this Mr. Phillips answered, in his 
 sweetest voice : £ If we see this administration earnestly 
 working to free the country from slavery and its re- 
 bellion, we will show you how we can ££ run ” it into 
 another four years of power.’ The President’s good 
 humor was restored by this, and he said: £ Oh, Mr. 
 Phillips, I have ceased to have any personal feeling or 
 expectation in that matter — I do not say I never had 
 any — so abused and borne upon as I have been.’ . . . 
 On taking our leave we expressed to the President our 
 thanks for his kindly reception, and for his attention 
 to statements of which some were naturally not wel- 
 come. The President bowed graciously at this, and, 
 after saying he was happy to have met gentlemen 
 
484 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 known to him by distinguished services, if not person- 
 ally, and glad to listen to their views, added, ‘ I must 
 bear this load which the country has intrusted to me 
 as well as I can, and do the best I can with it.’ ” 
 
 To another self-constituted delegation — this time 
 from the West — who called at the White House one 
 day, excited and troubled about some of the commis- 
 sions or omissions of the administration, the President, 
 after hearing them patiently, replied : “ Gentlemen, sup- 
 pose all the property you were worth was in gold, and 
 you had put it in the hands of Blondin to carry across 
 the Niagara river on a rope; would you shake the 
 cable, or keep shouting out to him, ‘ Blondin, stand 
 up a little straighter ! — - Blondin, stoop a little more — 
 go a little faster — lean a little more to the north — 
 lean a little more to the south’? No! you wmuld hold 
 your breath as well as your tongue, and keep your 
 hands off until he was safe over. The Government is 
 carrying an immense weight. Untold treasures are in 
 their hands. They are doing the very best they can. 
 Don’t badger them. Keep silence, and we ’ll get you 
 safe across.” 
 
 In 1863 the Government, following logically the 
 policy of the Emancipation act, began the experiment 
 of introducing colored soldiers into our armies. This 
 caused not only intense anger at the South, but much 
 doubt and dissatisfaction at the North. To discuss 
 some of the practical and difficult questions growing 
 out of this measure, Frederick Douglass, the most dis- 
 tinguished representative of the race which America 
 had so long held in chains, was presented to the Presi- 
 dent. The account of the conference, given by Doug- 
 lass, is singularly interesting. He says : “ I was never 
 more quickly or more completely put at ease in the 
 presence of a great man than in that of Abraham 
 Lincoln. He was seated, when I entered, in a low 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 485 
 
 arm-chair, with his feet extended on the floor, sur- 
 rounded by a large number of documents and several 
 busy secretaries. The room bore the marks of business, 
 and the persons in it, the President included, appeared 
 to be much overworked and tired. Long lines of care 
 were already deeply written on Mr. Lincoln’s brow, 
 and his strong face, full of earnestness, lighted up as 
 soon as my name was mentioned. As I approached 
 and was introduced to him, he arose and extended his 
 hand, and bade me welcome. I at once felt myself in 
 the presence of an honest man — one whom I could 
 love, honor, and trust, without reserve or doubt. Pro- 
 ceeding to tell him who I was and what I was doing, 
 he promptly but kindly stopped me, saying: ‘I know 
 who you are, Mr. Douglass; Mr. Seward has told me 
 all about you. Sit down ; I am glad to see you.’ I 
 urged, among other things, the necessity of granting 
 the colored soldiers equal pay and promotion with 
 white soldiers, and retaliation for colored prisoners 
 killed by the enemy. Mr. Lincoln admitted the justice 
 of my demand for equal pay and promotion of colored 
 soldiers, but on the matter of retaliation he differed 
 from me entirely. I shall never forget the benignant 
 expression of his face, the tearful look of his eye, and 
 the quiver in his voice, when he deprecated a resort to 
 retaliatory measures. ‘ Once begun,’ said he, ‘ I do not 
 know where such a measure would stop.’ He said he 
 could not take men out and kill them in cold blood 
 for what was done by others. If he could get hold of 
 the persons who were guilty of killing the colored pris- 
 oners in cold blood, the case would be different ; but 
 he could not kill the innocent for the guilty. After- 
 wards we discussed the means most desirable to be em- 
 ployed outside the army to induce the slaves in the 
 rebel States to come within the Federal lines. The in- 
 creasing opposition to the war in the North, and the 
 
486 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 mad cry against it because it was being made an aboli- 
 tion war, alarmed Mr. Lincoln, and made him appre- 
 hensive that a peace might be forced upon him which 
 would leave still in slavery all who had not come within 
 our lines. What he wanted was to make his proclama- 
 tion as effective as possible in the event of such a 
 peace. He said, in a regretful tone, ‘ The slaves are 
 not coming into our lines as rapidly and numerously 
 as I had hoped.’ I replied that the slaveholders knew 
 how to keep such things from their slaves, and probably 
 very few knew of his proclamation. ‘ Well,’ he said, 
 ‘ I want you to set about devising some means of 
 making them acquainted with it, and for bringing them 
 into our lines.’ What he said showed a deeper moral 
 conviction against slavery than I had ever seen before 
 in anything spoken or written by him. I listened with 
 the deepest interest and profoundest satisfaction, and, 
 at his suggestion, agreed to undertake the organizing 
 of a band of scouts, composed of colored men, whose 
 business should be, somewhat after the original plan of 
 John Brown, to go into the rebel States beyond the 
 lines of our armies, carry the news of emancipation, 
 and urge the slaves to come within our boundaries.” 
 
 Frederick Douglass once remarked that Lincoln was 
 one of the few white men he ever passed an hour with 
 who failed to remind him in some way, before the inter- 
 view terminated, that he was a negro. “ He always 
 impressed me as a strong, earnest man, having no time 
 or disposition to trifle; grappling with all his might 
 the work he had in hand. The expression of his face 
 was a blending of suffering with patience and fortitude. 
 Men called him homely, and homely he was ; but it was 
 manifestly a human homeliness. His eyes had in them 
 the tenderness of motherhood, and his mouth and other 
 features the highest perfection of a genuine manhood.” 
 
 As though the political difficulties that beset Presi- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 487 
 
 dent Lincoln in the first half of 1863 were not dis- 
 couragement enough, they were attended by dishearten- 
 ing reverses to our arms. It will be remembered that 
 on the removal of General McClellan from command 
 of the Army of the Potomac, in November, 1862, Gen- 
 eral Burnside succeeded him. The change proved an 
 unfortunate one. General Burnside was an earnest and 
 gallant soldier, but was not equal to the vast responsi- 
 bilities of his new position. It is said, to his credit, 
 that he was three times offered the command of the 
 Army of the Potomac, and three times he declined. 
 Finally it was pressed upon him by positive orders, and 
 he could no longer, without insubordination, refuse it. 
 In addressing General Halleck, after his appointment, 
 he said : “ Had I been asked to take it, I should have 
 declined ; but being ordered, I cheerfully obey.” After 
 his fearful defeat at Fredericksburg (December 13, 
 1862), he said: “ The fault was mine. The entire re- 
 sponsibility of failure must rest on my shoulders.” 
 By his manly and courageous bearing, and the strong 
 sincerity of his character, he retained the respect and 
 s} r mpathy of the President and of the country. He 
 immediately retired from command of the Army of the 
 Potomac, which, under his brief leadership, had fought 
 the most bloody and disastrous battle in its history. 
 
 General Joseph Hooker, the fourth commander of 
 the heroic but unfortunate Army of the Potomac, was 
 appointed to that position by President Lincoln in 
 January, 1863. The two men had met briefly early in 
 the war, when Hooker, then living in California, has- 
 tened to Washington to offer his services to the Gov- 
 ernment ; but for some reason General Scott disliked 
 him, and his offer was not accepted. After some 
 months, Hooker, giving up the idea of getting a com- 
 mand, decided to return to California ; but before 
 leaving he called to pay his respects to the President. 
 
488 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 He was introduced as “ Captain Hooker.” The Presi- 
 dent, being pressed for time, was about to dismiss him 
 with a few civil phrases ; when, to his surprise, Hooker 
 began the following speech : “ Mr. President, my friend 
 makes a mistake. I am not ‘ Captain Hooker,’ but 
 was once ‘ Lieutenant-Colonel Hooker ’ of the regular 
 army. I was lately a farmer in California. Since the 
 rebellion broke out I have been trying to get into the 
 service; but I find I am not wanted. I am about to 
 return home ; but before going, I was anxious to pay 
 my respects to you, and to express my wishes for yoifr 
 personal welfare and success in quelling this rebellion. 
 And I want to say one word more. I was at Bull Run 
 the other day, Mr. President, and it is no vanity in me 
 
 to say I am a d d sight better general than yon had 
 
 on that field.” This was said, not in the tone of a brag- 
 gart, but of a man who knew what he was talking 
 about ; and, as the President afterward said, he ap- 
 peared at that moment as if perfectly able to make good 
 his words. Lincoln seized his hand, making him sit 
 down, and began an extended chat. The result was 
 that Hooker did not return to California, but in a few 
 weeks Captain Hooker was Brigadier-General Hooker. 
 He served with distinction under McClellan in the 
 Peninsular campaign and at Antietam, and commanded 
 the right wing of the army at Fredericksburg. He had 
 come to be known as “ Fighting Joe Hooker,” and was 
 generally regarded as one of the most vigorous and 
 efficient Generals of the Union army. 
 
 Such was the man who, in one of the darkest hours 
 of the Union cause, was selected to lead once more the 
 Army of the Potomac against the enemy. This army, 
 since its defeat at Fredericksburg, had remained dis- 
 organized and ineffective. Its new commander, unlike 
 his predecessor Burnside, was full of confidence. The 
 President, made cautious by experience, deemed it his 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 489 
 
 duty to accompany the appointment by some timely 
 words of warning; and accordingly he addressed to 
 General Hooker the following frank, manly, and 
 judicious letter. 
 
 Executive Mansion Washington, D. C. 
 
 January 26, 1863. 
 
 Major-General Hooker. 
 
 General : — I have placed you at the head of the 
 Army of the Potomac. Of course, I have done this 
 upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons ; and 
 yet I think it best for you to know that there are 
 some things in regard to which I am not satisfied 
 with you. I believe you to be a brave and skilful 
 soldier, which of course I like. I also believe that 
 you do not mix politics with your profession, in 
 which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, 
 which is a valuable if not indispensable quality. You 
 are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does 
 good rather than harm ; but I think that during 
 General Burnside’s command of the army you have 
 taken counsel with your ambition, and thwarted him 
 as much as you could, in which you did a great 
 wrong to the country and to a most meritorious and 
 honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such a way 
 as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the 
 army and the Government needed a dictator. Of 
 course, it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I 
 have given you the command. Only those generals who 
 gain success can be dictators. What I now ask from 
 you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship. 
 The Government will support you to the utmost of its 
 ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done 
 and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the 
 spirit which you have aided to infuse into the army, 
 of criticizing their commander and withholding confi- 
 dence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist 
 you, as far as I can, to pull it down. Neither you nor 
 Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get anj r good 
 
490 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 out of an army while such a spirit prevails in it. And 
 now, beware of rashness. Beware of rashness; but with 
 energy and sleepless vigilance, go forward and give us 
 victories. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln. 
 
 In all Lincoln’s writings there are few things finer 
 than this letter. In its candor and friendliness, its 
 simplicity and deep wisdom, and its clearness of ex- 
 pression, it is almost perfect ; and the President’s deep 
 solicitude for the safety of the army and anxiety for 
 its success give a pathetic touch to the closing sen- 
 tences. This solicitude found partial relief in a per- 
 sonal inspection of the Army of the Potomac, which was 
 made in April, just before the battle of Chancellorsville, 
 and occupied five or six days. The President was ac- 
 companied by Attorney-General Bates, Mrs. Lincoln, 
 his son Tad, and Mr. Noah P. Brooks. The first night 
 out was spent on the little steamer which conveyed the 
 party to their destination. After all had retired to 
 rest except the anxious President and one or two others, 
 Lincoln gave utterance to his deep-seated apprehen- 
 sions in the whispered query to his friend, “ How 
 many of our monitors will you wager are at the bottom 
 of Charleston Harbor? ” “ I essayed,” writes Mr. 
 
 Brooks, “ to give a cheerful view of the Charleston 
 situation. But he would not be encouraged. He then 
 went on to say that he did not believe that an attack 
 by water on Charleston could ever possibly succeed. 
 He talked a long time about his ‘ notions,’ as he called 
 them ; and at General Halleck’s headquarters next day, 
 the first inquiries were for 4 rebel papers,’ which were 
 usually brought in from the picket lines. These he 
 examined with great anxiety, hoping that he might find 
 an item of news from Charleston. One day, having 
 looked all over a Richmond paper several times with- 
 out finding a paragraph which he had been told was in 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 491 
 
 it, he was mightily pleased to have it pointed out to 
 him, and said, ‘ It is plain that newspapers are made 
 for newspaper men ; being only a layman, it was im- 
 possible for me to find that.’ ” 
 
 The out-door life, the constant riding, and the res- 
 pite from the monstrous burdens at the capital, ap- 
 peared to afford mental and physical benefit to the 
 worn President. But in answer to a remark expressing 
 this conviction, he replied sadly, 44 I don’t know about 
 4 the rest ’ as you call it. I suppose it is good for the 
 body. But the tired part of me is inside and out of 
 reach.” 44 He rode a great deal,” says Mr. Brooks, 
 “ while with the army, always preferring the saddle to 
 the elegant ambulance which had been provided for 
 him. He sat his horse well, but he rode hard, and 
 during his stay I think he regularly used up at least one 
 horse each day. Little Tad invariably followed in his 
 father’s train ; and, mounted on a smaller horse, accom- 
 panied by an orderly, the youngster was a conspicuous 
 figure, as his gray cloak flew in the wind while we hung 
 on the flanks of Hooker and his generals.” 
 
 General Hooker was now planning his great move- 
 ment against Richmond, and talked freely of the matter 
 with the President. In the course of a conversation, 
 Lincoln casually remarked, 44 If you get to Richmond, 
 General.” But Hooker interrupted him with — “ Ex- 
 cuse me, Mr. President, but there is no 4 if ’ in the case. 
 I am going straight to Richmond, if I live! ” Later in 
 the day, Lincoln, privately referring to this self-confi- 
 dence of the General, said to Mr. Brooks, rather mourn- 
 fully, 44 It is about the worst thing I have seen since I 
 have been down here.” In further illustration of 
 Hooker’s confidence in himself, Mr. Brooks says : 44 One 
 night, Hooker and I being alone in his hut, the General 
 standing with his back to the fireplace, alert, handsome, 
 full of courage and confidence, said laughingly, 4 The 
 
492 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 President says you know about that letter he wrote me 
 on taking command.’ I acknowledged that the Presi- 
 dent had read it to me. The General seemed to think 
 that the advice was well-meant, but unnecessary. Then 
 he added, with that charming assurance which became 
 him so well, ‘ After I have been to Richmond, I am 
 going to have that letter printed.’ ” But all that came 
 of Hooker’s confidence, after three months of elaborate 
 preparation, was a grand forward movement into Vir- 
 ginia and another bloody and humiliating defeat for 
 the heroic but unfortunate army under his command. 
 
 The first of May, 1863, the Army of the Potomac 
 under Hooker met the Army of Northern Virginia 
 under Lee and Jackson, near Chancellorsville, Virginia. 
 It was here that Jackson executed his brilliant and suc- 
 cessful flank movement around the Union right, en- 
 suring a victory for his side but losing his own life. 
 After a contest of several days, involving the fruitless 
 sacrifice of thousands of gallant soldiers, Hooker’s 
 army fell back and recrossed the Rappahannock. 1 
 
 The news of this fresh disaster was an almost stun- 
 ning shock to President Lincoln. During the progress 
 of the battle he was under a cruel strain of anxiety 
 
 1 The cause of General Hooker’s seeming stupefaction at the criti- 
 cal point of the Chancellorsville battle has been much discussed but 
 never satisfactorily explained. It has been thought that he was dis- 
 abled by the shock of a cannon-ball striking a post or pillar of the 
 house where he had his headquarters. An interesting entry in 
 Welles’s Diary, made soon after the battle, reflects somewhat the feel- 
 ing at the time. “Sumner expresses an absolute want of confidence 
 in Hooker; says he knows him to be a blasphemous wretch; that 
 after crossing the Rappahannock and reaching Centreville, Hooker 
 exultingly exclaimed, ‘The enemy are in my power, and God Al- 
 mighty cannot deprive me of them.’ I have heard before of this, but 
 not so direct and positive. The sudden paralysis that followed, when 
 the army in the midst of a successful career was suddenly checked and 
 commenced its retreat, has never been explained. Whiskey is said by 
 Sumner to have done the work. The President said that if Hooker 
 had been killed by the shot which knocked over the pillar that stunned 
 him, we should have been successful.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 493 
 
 and suspense. Secretary Welles, who was with him a 
 part of the time, says : “ He had a feverish eagerness 
 for facts ; was constantly up and down, for nothing 
 reliable came from the front.” Mr. Noah Brooks re- 
 lates that in company with an old friend of Lincoln’s 
 he was waiting in one of the family rooms of the White 
 House. “ A door opened and Lincoln appeared, hold- 
 ing an open telegram in his hand. The sight of his 
 face and figure, was frightful. He seemed stricken 
 with death. Almost tottering to a chair, he sat down; 
 and then I mechanically noticed that his face was of 
 the same color as the wall behind him — not pale, not 
 even sallow, but gray, like ashes. Extending the des- 
 patch to me, he said, with a hollow, far-off voice, 
 ‘ Read it — news from the army.’ The telegram was 
 from General Butterfield, I think, then chief of staff 
 to Hooker. It was very brief, simply saying that the 
 Army of the Potomac had 4 safely recrossed the Rappa- 
 hannock,’ and was now at its old position on the north 
 bank of that stream. The President’s friend, Dr. 
 Henry, an old man and somewhat impressionable, burst 
 into tears, — not so much, probably, at the news as 
 on account of its effect upon Lincoln. The President 
 regarded the old man for an instant with dry eyes, 
 and said, 4 What will the country say? Oh, what will 
 the country say? ’ He seemed hungry for consolation 
 and cheer, and sat a little while talking about the fail- 
 ure. Yet it did not seem that he was disappointed so 
 much for himself, but that he thought the country 
 would be.” 
 
 Lincoln’s anxiety regarding the effect at the North 
 of these repeated reverses was not without sufficient 
 cause. Aside from those who were positively opposed 
 to the war, the loyal people were wearying of the use- 
 less slaughter, the unavailing struggles, of the gallant 
 soldiers. The growing distrust of the capacity of their 
 
494 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 military leaders was also keenly felt. The feeling of 
 that time is so well expressed in a stirring poem en- 
 titled “ Wanted, a Man,” written by Mr. E. C. Sted- 
 man, that it is given place here. It has an additional 
 personal interest connected with President Lincoln in 
 the fact that he was so impressed with the piece that 
 he read it aloud to his assembled Cabinet. 
 
 Back from the trebly crimsoned field 
 Terrible words are thunder-tost; 
 
 Full of the wrath that will not yield, 
 
 Full of revenge for battles lost! 
 
 Hark to their echo, as it crost 
 The Capital, making faces wan : 
 
 End this murderous holocaust; 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, give us a man ! 
 
 Give us a man of God’s own mould, 
 
 Born to marshal his fellow-men; 
 
 One whose fame is not bought and sold 
 At the stroke of a politician’s pen; 
 
 Give us the man of thousands ten, 
 
 Fit to do as well as to plan; 
 
 Give us a rallying-cry, and then, 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, give us a man ! 
 
 No leader to shirk the boasting foe, 
 
 And to march and countermarch our brave 
 Till they fall like ghosts in the marshes low, 
 
 And swamp-grass covers each nameless grave; 
 Nor another, whose fatal banners wave 
 Aye in Disaster’s shameful van; 
 
 Nor another, to bluster, and lie, and rave, — 
 Abraham Lincoln, give us a man ! 
 
 Hearts are mourning in the North, 
 
 While the sister rivers seek the main, 
 
 Red with our life-blood flowing forth — 
 
 Who shall gather it up again? 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 495 
 
 Though we march to the battle-plain 
 Firmly as when the strife began, 
 
 Shall all our offerings be in vain? — 
 Abraham Lincoln, give us a man ! 
 
 Is there never one in all the land, 
 
 One on whose might the Cause may lean? 
 Are all the common ones so grand, 
 
 And all the titled ones so mean? 
 
 What if your failure may have been 
 In trying to make good bread from bran, 
 From worthless metal a weapon keen? — 
 Abraham Lincoln, find us a man ! 
 
 O, we will follow him to the death, 
 
 Where the foeman’s fiercest columns are ! 
 O, we will use our latest breath, 
 
 Cheering for every sacred star! 
 
 His to marshal us high and far; 
 
 Ours to battle, as patriots can 
 
 When a Hero leads the Holy War! — 
 Abraham Lincoln, give us a man ! 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 The Battle-summer of 1863 — A Turn of the Tide — Lee’s Invasion of 
 Pennsylvania — A Threatening Crisis — Change of Union Com- 
 manders — Meade succeeds Hooker — The Battle of Gettysburg — 
 Lincoln’s Anxiety during the Fight — The Retreat of Lee — Union 
 Victories in the Southwest — The Capture of Vicksburg — Lin- 
 coln’s Thanks to Grant — Returning Cheerfulness — Congratula- 
 tions to the Country — Improved State of Feeling at the North — 
 State Elections of 1863 — The Administration Sustained — Ded- 
 ication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg — Lincoln’s Ad- 
 dress — Scenes and Incidents at the Dedication — Meeting with 
 Old John Burns — Edward Everett’s Impressions of Lincoln. 
 
 M IDSUMMER of 1863 brought a turn in the 
 tide of military affairs. It came none too soon 
 for the safety of the nation. The repeated reverses to 
 the Union arms ending with the shocking disasters at 
 Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville — although slightly 
 relieved by the costly success of Stone River — had 
 seemed to throw the chances of war in favor of the 
 South ; and the Union cause was at the crisis of its fate. 
 But now fortune smiled upon the North, and its lost 
 hope and lost ground were regained at Gettysburg and 
 Vicksburg. These great battles are justly regarded 
 as marking the turning-point of the war. It was yet 
 far from finished ; there remained nearly two years of 
 desperate fighting, with heroic struggles and terrible 
 sacrifice of life, before the end should come. But from 
 this time the character of the struggle seemed to 
 change. The armies of the South fought, not less 
 desperately, but more on the defensive; and their final 
 overthrow was in all human probability chiefly a ques- 
 tion of time. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 497 
 
 Emboldened by his success at Chancellorsville in 
 May, General Lee again assumed the offensive, and 
 recrossed the Potomac river into Maryland. Late in 
 June he invaded Pennsylvania, and occupied a position 
 threatening Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. 
 The situation was most critical. If Lee could once 
 more beat the Army of the Potomac, as he had done 
 so many times, these three great cities, and even New 
 York, might be at his mercy. The feeling in Washing- 
 ton is reflected in entries made at the time in Mr. 
 Welles’s Diary. “ Something of a panic pervades the 
 city,” says Mr. Welles. “ Singular rumors reach us 
 of Rebel advances into Maryland. It is said they have 
 reached Hagerstown, and some of them have penetrated 
 as far as Chambersburg in Pennsylvania. . . . The 
 city is full of strange, wild rumors of Rebel raids in 
 the vicinity and of trains seized in sight of the Capital. 
 The War Department is wholly unprepared for an 
 irruption here, and J. E. B. Stuart might have dashed 
 into the city to-day [June 28] with impunity. . . . 
 I have a panic telegraph from Governor Curtin of 
 Pennsylvania, w r ho is excitable and easily alarmed, en- 
 treating that guns and gunners may be sent from the 
 Navy Yard at Philadelphia to Harrisburg without 
 delay. ... I went again, at a late hour, to the War 
 Department, but could get no facts or intelligence 
 from the Secretary. All was vague, opaque, thick 
 darkness. I really think Stanton is no better posted 
 than myself, and from what Stanton says am afraid 
 Hooker does not comprehend Lee’s intentions nor 
 know how to counteract them. It looks to me as if 
 Lee was putting forth his whole energy and force 
 in one great and desperate struggle which shall be 
 decisive.” 
 
 Following Lee, the Army of the Potomac, under 
 General Hooker, also recrossed the Potomac, and pur- 
 
498 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 sued the enemy by a somewhat pai’allel route, but keep- 
 ing carefully between him and Washington. The oc- 
 casion was one calling for the best resources of a great 
 military commander; and General Hooker, realizing 
 his unfitness for the responsibility, asked to be relieved 
 of the command. Thus was thrown upon the President 
 the hazardous necessity of changing commanders upon 
 the very eve of a great battle. It was a terrible emer- 
 gency. Even the stout-hearted Stanton was appalled. 
 He afterward stated that when he received the despatch 
 from Hooker, asking to be relieved, his heart sank 
 within him, and he was more depressed than at any 
 other moment of the war. “ I could not say,” said Mr. 
 Stanton, “ that any other officer knew General Hooker’s 
 plans, or the position even of the various divisions of 
 the army. I sent for the President to come at once 
 to the War Office. It was in the evening, but the Presi- 
 dent soon appeared. I handed him the despatch. As 
 he read it his face became like lead, and I said, ‘ What 
 shall be done?’ He replied instantly, ‘ Accept his 
 resignation.’ ” 
 
 Immediately an order was sent to Major-General 
 George G. Meade, one of the most efficient of the corps 
 commanders of the Army of the Potomac, appointing 
 him to the chief command. Meade was a quiet, un- 
 assuming man, very unlike Hooker. Three days after 
 assuming command, he led his army against the 
 Southern host at Gettysburg, where, after a most 
 bloody and memorable battle of three days’ duration 
 (July 1, 2, and 3, 1863), was won the first decisive 
 victory in the history of the gallant Army of the 
 Potomac. Lee retired, with disastrous losses, across 
 the Potomac to Virginia; and Washington and the 
 North breathed free again. 
 
 Senator Chandler of Michigan, speaking of the ter- 
 rible strain on Lincoln during the progress of the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 499 
 
 battle of Gettysburg, said : “ I shall never forget the 
 painful anxiety of those few days when the fate of 
 the nation seemed to hang in the balance ; nor the 
 restless solicitude of Mr. Lincoln, as he paced up and 
 down the room, reading despatches, soliloquizing, and 
 often stopping to trace the position of the contending 
 armies on the map which hung on the wall; nor the 
 relief we all felt when the fact was established that 
 victory, though gained at such fearful cost, was indeed 
 on the side of the Union.” 
 
 Amidst the murk and gloom of those dark days in 
 Washington, when the suspense was breathless and the 
 heart of the nation responded in muffled beats to the 
 dull booming of the cannon of Meade and Lee at 
 Gettysburg, an episode occurred, with Lincoln as the 
 central figure, which reveals perhaps more poignantly 
 than any other in his whole career the depths of feel- 
 ing in that tender and reverential soul. On Sunday 
 evening, July 4, — the fourth day of that terrible 
 battle, with nothing definite yet known of the result, — 
 the President drove out in a carriage, in company with 
 two daughters of Secretary Stanton, to the line of 
 defenses near Arlington. It was toward sundown ; and 
 a brigade of troops were forming in position for an 
 evening parade or review. The commander of the bri- 
 gade, General Tannatt, recognizing the President and 
 his party, rode up to the carriage and invited them to 
 witness the parade. The President assented. His face 
 was drawn and haggard in its expression of anxiety 
 and sorrow. As it was Sunday evening, some of the 
 regimental bands played familiar religious pieces. The 
 President, hearing them, inquired of General Tannatt 
 if any of his bands could play “ Lead Kindly Light.” 
 Then in a low voice and with touching accents he re- 
 peated, as if to himself, the familiar lines — never more 
 expressive or appropriate than now, — 
 
500 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, 
 Lead thou me on. 
 
 Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see 
 
 The distant scene, — one step enough for me. 
 
 As the sweet strains of the familiar hymn floated on 
 the evening air, Lincoln’s sad face became sadder still, 
 and tears were seen coursing down his cheeks. What 
 emotions were his, who can tell, as he thought of that 
 great battle-field not far away, its issues yet unknown, 
 its ground still covered with dead and wounded soldiers 
 whose heroic deeds — to use his noble words spoken a 
 few months later on that historic field — “have con- 
 secrated it far above our power to add or detract.” 
 
 General Tannatt, who knew Lincoln well and had 
 spoken with him many times, never saw him again; 
 and his view of that tragic, tear-wet face remains to 
 him a vivid and precious memory. 1 
 
 While the eyes of the nation were fastened upon the 
 great drama being enacted near the capital, events 
 scarcely less momentous were occurring in the South- 
 west. The campaign against Vicksburg, the great 
 Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi river, had 
 been in active progress, under the personal command 
 of General Grant, for several months. The importance 
 of this strategic point was fully understood by the 
 enemy, and it was defended most stubbornly. At first 
 Grant’s plans proved unsuccessful; the cutting of 
 canals and opening of bayous failed — as President 
 Lincoln had expected and predicted. But these failures 
 only served to develop the unsuspected energy of 
 Grant’s character and the extent of his military re- 
 sources. He boldly changed his entire plan of opera- 
 
 1 General T. R. Tannatt, a graduate of West Point in 1858, is now 
 (1913) an active and honored citizen of Spokane, Washington. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 501 
 
 tions, abandoned his line of communication, removed 
 his army to a point below Vicksburg and attacked the 
 city in the rear. With dogged persistence he pressed 
 forward, gaining point by point, beating off General 
 Johnston’s forces on one side and driving Pemberton 
 before him into Vicksburg; until finally, by the aid 
 of Admiral Porter’s gunboats on the Mississippi, he 
 had entirely invested the city. Gradually and per- 
 sistently his lines closed in, pushed forward by assault 
 and siege; until Vicksburg accepted its doom, and on 
 the 4th of July, 1863, — the day of Lee’s retreat from 
 Gettysburg, — the city and garrison surrendered to 
 the victorious Grant. 
 
 Lincoln’s exuberant joy over the capture of Vicks- 
 burg is revealed in an entry made at the time in Mr. 
 Welles’s Diary. “ I was handed a despatch from Ad- 
 miral Porter, communicating the fall of Vicksburg on 
 the Fourth of July,” says Mr. Welles. 44 I immediately 
 returned to the Executive Mansion. The President 
 was detailing certain points relative to Grant’s move- 
 ments on the map to Chase and two or three others, 
 when I gave him the tidings. Putting down the map 
 he rose at once, said he would drop these topics, and 
 added, 4 I myself will telegraph this news to General 
 Meade.’ He seized his hat, but suddenly stopped, his 
 countenance beaming with joy; he caught my hand, 
 and throwing his arm around me, exclaimed, ‘ What can 
 we do for the Secretary of the Navy for this glorious 
 intelligence? He is always giving us good news. I 
 cannot, in words, tell you my joy over this result. It 
 is great, Mr. Welles, it is great!’ . . . We walked 
 the lawn together. ‘ This,’ said he, 4 will relieve Banks. 
 It will inspire me.’ ” 
 
 The Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg 
 caused great rejoicing at the North, and gave added 
 zest to the celebration of the national patriotic holiday. 
 
502 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 President Lincoln, mindful of the “ almost inestimable 
 services,” as he termed them, of General Grant, and 
 as it was his wont to do in such circumstances, made 
 haste to acknowledge his own and the country’s in- 
 debtedness to the man who had accomplished a great 
 deed. He addressed to the conqueror of Vicksburg 
 the following letter: 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C. 
 
 July 13, 1863. 
 
 Major-General Grant. 
 
 My Dear General : — I do not remember that you 
 and I ever met personally. I write this now as a 
 grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable 
 services you have done the country. I write to say 
 a word further. When you first reached the vicinity 
 of Vicksburg, I thought you should do what you 
 finally did — march the troops across the neck, run 
 the batteries with the transports, and thus go below; 
 and I never had any faith, except a general hope 
 that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass 
 expedition, and the like, could succeed. When you got 
 below, and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vicinity, 
 I thought you should go down the river, and join Gen- 
 eral Banks, and when you turned northward, east of the 
 Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to 
 make the personal acknowledgment that you were right 
 and I was wrong. 
 
 Yours truly, A. Lincoln. 
 
 An officer who was the first from Grant’s army to 
 reach Washington after the surrender of Vicksburg, has 
 recorded the circumstances of his interview with the 
 President. “ Mr. Lincoln received me very cordially,” 
 says this officer, “ and drawing a chair near to him- 
 self and motioning me to be seated said, ‘ Now I want 
 to hear all about Vicksburg.’ I gave him all the in- 
 formation I could, though he appeared to be remark- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 503 
 
 ably well posted himself. He put to me a great many 
 questions in detail touching the siege, the losses, the 
 morale of the army, its sanitary condition, the hospital 
 service, and General Grant. Said he : ‘ I guess I was 
 right in standing by Grant, although there was great 
 pressure made after Pittsburg Landing to have him 
 removed. I thought I saw enough in Grant to convince 
 me that he was one on whom the country could de- 
 pend. That ‘ unconditional surrender ’ message to 
 Buckner at Donelson suited me. It indicated the spirit 
 of the man.” 
 
 It is interesting to note that before the capture of 
 Vicksburg the protracted campaign had occasioned no 
 little dissatisfaction with General Grant ; the President 
 had been importuned to remove him, and had much 
 formidable opposition to encounter in his determina- 
 tion to stand by him. Only a few days before the 
 capitulation of the beleaguered city, Senator Wade of 
 Ohio — “ Bluff Ben Wade,” as he was termed — called 
 upon the President and urged Grant’s dismissal ; to 
 which Lincoln good-naturedly replied, “ Senator, that 
 reminds me of a story.” “Yes, yes,” rejoined 
 Wade petulantly, “ that is the way it is with you, sir, 
 all story — story! You are the father of every mili- 
 tary blunder that has been made during the war. You 
 are on your road to h — 1, sir, with this Government, 
 and you are not a mile off this minute.” Lincoln 
 calmly retorted, “ Senator, that is just about the dis- 
 tance from here to the Capitol, is it not?” The ex- 
 asperated Wade grabbed his hat and rushed angrily 
 from the White House. 
 
 It is not pleasant to record that the cordial and 
 generous congratulations to Grant for his achieve- 
 ments at Vicksburg were in marked contrast to the 
 rather grudging recognition of Meade’s much more 
 important and hard-won victory at Gettysburg. In 
 
504 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the latter case the despatches from Washington took 
 the form not so much of acknowledgments of what 
 had been done as of complaints at what had not been 
 done. It is hard to believe that the President dictated, 
 or even authorized, the ill-timed and peevish despatch 
 sent to General Meade 1 by the inopportune Halleck, 
 a few days after the battle of Gettysburg, in which the 
 victor on that desperate field is officially informed that 
 “ the escape of Lee’s army has created great dissatis- 
 faction in the mind of the President, and it will require 
 an active and energetic pursuit to remove the impres- 
 sion that it has not been sufficiently active before.” 
 To this extraordinary message Meade at once made 
 a simple and manly rejoinder in which he said: “ Hav- 
 ing performed my duty conscientiously and to the best 
 of my ability, the censure of the President, as con- 
 veyed in your despatch, is in my judgment so unde- 
 served that I feel compelled most respectfully to ask 
 to be immediately relieved from the command of this 
 army.” Halleck replied, rather ineptly, that his 
 despatch had not been intended as a censure, but as 
 a “ stimulus,” and was not regarded as a sufficient 
 cause for Meade’s request to be relieved. When one 
 thinks of the ill-fortunes of the Army of the Potomac 
 
 1 The criticism of Meade for not attacking Lee before he recrossed 
 the Potomac is based on the assumption that the attack must be suc- 
 cessful. On this point Meade’s words to Halleck, written in reply to 
 the latter’s conciliatory letter of July 28, can hardly be ignored. “ Had 
 I attacked Lee the day I proposed to do so, and in the ignorance that 
 then existed of his position, I have every reason to believe the attack 
 would have been unsuccessful, and would have resulted disastrously. 
 This opinion is founded on the judgment of a number of distinguished 
 officers after inspecting Lee’s vacated works and position. Among 
 these officers I could name Generals Sedgwick, Wright, Slocum, Hays, 
 Sykes, and others.” In other words the attack which Meade has 
 been so severely blamed for not making might have ended in reversing 
 the results at Gettysburg, losing all we had gained at such terrible 
 cost, placed Washington and other Northern cities in far more deadly 
 peril, and changing the whole subsequent issues of the war. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 505 
 
 under previous commanders, and of the unlikelihood 
 of finding a successor to Meade as capable as he had 
 shown himself to be, one shudders at the chances of 
 what might have happened had another change of 
 leaders been forced upon that long-suffering and now 
 victorious army. General Meade did not press his 
 resignation after Halleck’s conciliatory telegrams, and 
 remained in immediate command of the Army of the 
 Potomac until the close of the war — Grant’s accession 
 to the chief command of all the armies having marked 
 the end of the well-meant but often ill-advised and 
 troublesome interference with military affairs from 
 Washington. 
 
 Mr. Isaac R. Pennypacker, in his Life of General 
 Meade, speaks of Halleck and other prominent offi- 
 cials in Washington in these terms: “ Possessing much 
 of the skill of the lawyer and disputant, Halleck was 
 without military ability. The Secretary of War, like 
 many other men who exercise vast power, was not 
 great enough to refrain from the use of his authority 
 in matters where his knowledge and experience did not 
 qualify him to form the soundest views. Acting with 
 these military authorities were men like Wade and 
 Chandler, whose patriotism was of the exuberant kind, 
 whose judgment in military affairs was without value, 
 but whose personal energy impelled them to have a 
 controlling hand, if possible, in the conduct of the 
 war.” 
 
 Lincoln’s dissatisfaction with General Meade after 
 the battle of Gettysburg was due, as we now see, to his 
 elation over the splendid victory for the Union, his 
 intense desire for further and overwhelming successes, 
 and his failure (a quite natural one) to realize that 
 what might seem desirable and feasible viewed from 
 Washington might look very different to the practical 
 and experienced men actually on the ground and 
 
506 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 familiar as he could not be with all the factors in the 
 situation. 1 “ He thought,” wrote General Halleck in 
 an explanatory letter sent to Meade two weeks after his 
 despatch of censure, “ that Lee’s defeat was so certain 
 that he felt no little impatience at his unexpected es- 
 cape.” Among military authorities, such a retreat as 
 that of Lee after Gettysburg is hardly regarded as an 
 “ escape.” If it were, then great must be the fault of 
 Lee as a general in allowing the defeated armies of 
 Burnside and Hooker to “ escape ” after the battles 
 of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, where their 
 repulse was much worse than was Lee’s at Gettysburg. 
 That Lincoln’s first feelings of disappointment and 
 dissatisfaction with General Meade w T ere greatly modi- 
 fied with fuller knowledge of the actual situation after 
 the battle of Gettysburg is shown by a remark made 
 by him to Senator Cameron, referring to Meade : “ Why 
 should we censure a man who has done so much for his 
 
 1 A curious revelation of the estimate of General Halleck held by at 
 least one member of the Cabinet, and of the relations between Halleck 
 and the President, is found in Welles’s Diary in the record of a rather 
 free conversation with the President during the anxious period about 
 the time of the battle of Gettysburg. Says Mr. Welles: “I stated I 
 had observed the inertness if not the incapacity of the General-in-Chief, 
 and had hoped that he [the President], who had better and more 
 correct views, would issue peremptory orders. The President imme- 
 diately softened his tone, and said, ‘ Halleck knows better than I 
 what to do. He is a military man, has had a military education. I 
 brought him here to give me military advice. His views and mine 
 are widely different. It is better that I, who am not a military man, 
 should defer to him, rather than he to me.’ This,” continues Mr. 
 Welles, “ is the President’s error. His own convictions and conclusions 
 are infinitely superior to Halleck’s; even in military operations, more 
 sensible and more correct always. . . . Halleck has no activity; never 
 exhibits sagacity or foresight.” And in another place in the same 
 Diary we are given this singular picture by a Cabinet minister of the 
 man who was at that moment the General-in-Chief of the Union 
 armies and the military adviser of the President: “Halleck sits and 
 smokes, and swears, and scratches his arm, but exhibits little military 
 capacity or intelligence; is obfuscated, muddy, uncertain, stupid aa 
 to what is doing or to be done.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIRE OF LINCOLN 507 
 
 country because he did not do a little more? ” And if 
 any debt of recognition or of gratitude yet remained 
 due from him, it was more than paid a few months 
 later in the unsurpassed tribute at Gettysburg to “ the 
 brave men, living and dead,” who gained the victory 
 on that hallowed field. 
 
 The improved condition of public affairs, and the 
 increasing cheerfulness of the President, after the vic- 
 tories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, are exhibited in 
 a letter written by him a few weeks later to friends 
 at Springfield, Illinois, who had urgently invited him 
 to attend “ a mass-meeting of Unconditional Union 
 men ” at his old home. In this letter he took occasion 
 to declare his sentiments on various questions para- 
 mount at the time. Among these was the subject of 
 a compromise with the South, against which he argued 
 with great force and feeling. Again, he defended the 
 Emancipation Proclamation, a measure to which many 
 Union men were still unreconciled. He referred also 
 to the arming of the negroes as a just and wise ex- 
 pedient; finally concluding with these expressive and 
 felicitous words : 
 
 The signs look better. The Father of Waters again 
 goes unvexed to the sea. Thanks to the great North- 
 west for it ; nor yet wholly to them. Three hundred 
 miles up they met New England, Empire, Keystone, and 
 Jersey, hewing their way right and left. The sunny 
 South, too, in more colors than one, also lent a helping 
 hand. On the spot, their part of the history was 
 jotted down in black and white. The job was a great 
 national one, and let none be slighted who bore an 
 honorable part in it. And while those who have cleared 
 the great river may well be proud, even that is not all. 
 It is hard to say that anything has been more bravely 
 and well done than at Antietam, Murfreesboro, Gettys- 
 burg, and on many fields of less note. Nor must Uncle 
 
508 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Sam’s web-feet be forgotten. At all the watery mar- 
 gins they have been present, not only on the deep sea, 
 the broad bay, and the rapid river, but also up the 
 narrow, muddy bayou, and wherever the ground was 
 a little damp they have been and made their tracks. 
 Thanks to all. For the great Republic — for the prin- 
 ciple it lives by and keeps alive — for man’s vast future 
 — thanks to all. Peace does not appear so distant as 
 it did. I hope it will come soon and come to stay; 
 and so come as to be worth the keeping in all future 
 time. It will then have been proved that among free- 
 men there can be no successful appeal from the ballot 
 to the bullet, and that they who take such appeal are 
 sure to lose their case and pay the cost. And there will 
 be some black men who can remember that, with silent 
 tongue, and clinched teeth, and steady eye, and well- 
 poised bayonet, they have helped mankind on to this 
 great consummation; while I fear there will be some 
 white ones unable to forget that with malignant heart 
 and deceitful speech they have striven to hinder it. 
 Still, let us not be over-sanguine of a speedy final 
 triumph. Let us be quite sober. Let us diligently 
 apply the means, never doubting that a just God, in 
 His own good time, will give us the rightful result. 
 
 In a public proclamation, issued October 3, the 
 President gives more formal expression to his satis- 
 faction and gratitude, and calls upon the loyal people 
 of the Union to unite in a day of thanksgiving for the 
 improved prospects of the country. 
 
 The year that is drawing toward its close has been 
 filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful 
 skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly en- 
 joyed that we are prone to forget the source from 
 which they come, others have been added which are of 
 so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to 
 penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually 
 insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 509 
 
 God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magni- 
 tude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to invite 
 and provoke the aggressions of foreign states, peace 
 has been preserved with all nations, order has been 
 maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, 
 and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the 
 theatre of military conflict, while that theatre has been 
 greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies 
 of the Union. The needful diversion of wealth and 
 strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the 
 national defense has not arrested the plough, the 
 shuttle, or the ship. The axe has enlarged the borders 
 of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and 
 coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more 
 abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily 
 increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been 
 made in the camp, the siege, and the battle-field; and 
 the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of aug- 
 mented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect a 
 continuance of years with large increase of freedom. 
 No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal 
 hand worked out these great things. They are the 
 gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while deal- 
 ing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless re- 
 membered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper 
 that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully 
 acknowledged, as with one heart and voice, by the whole 
 American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow- 
 citizens in every part of the United States, and also 
 those who are at sea, and those who are sojourning in 
 foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thurs- 
 day of November next as a day of thanksgiving and 
 prayer to our beneficent Father, who dwelleth in the 
 heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering 
 up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular 
 deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble 
 penitence for our national perverseness and disobedi- 
 ence, commend to His tender care all those, who have 
 become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the 
 
510 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably 
 engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the 
 Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and 
 to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the 
 divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, har- 
 mony, tranquility, and union. 
 
 The brightening prospects of the Union cause quickly 
 produced a better state of feeling at the North. In 
 the fall elections of 1863, every State except New 
 Jersey gave solid majorities on the Republican side, 
 thus strengthening the administration and giving the 
 President welcome assurances of popular approval. 
 He had awaited with special anxiety the returns from 
 Ohio, where the contest was fraught with peculiar sig- 
 nificance. The Democrats had chosen for their can- 
 didate the notorious peace-at-any-price Vallandigham, 
 against whom the Republicans had placed John Brough 
 of Cleveland. On the night of the election, about ten 
 o’clock, a message clicked on the wires in the telegraph 
 office of the latter city, saying, “ Where is John 
 Brough? A. Lincoln.” Brough was at hand, and 
 directly the electric voice inquired, “ Brough, about 
 what is your majority now? ” Brough replied, “ Over 
 
 30.000. ” Lincoln requested Brough to remain at the 
 office during the night. A little past midnight the 
 question came again from Lincoln, “ Brough, what is 
 your majority by this time? ” Brough replied, “ Over 
 
 50.000. ” And the question was thus repeated and an- 
 swered several times, with rapidly increasing majori- 
 ties, till five o’clock in the morning, when the question 
 came again, “Brough, what is your majority now?” 
 The latter was able to respond, “ Over 100,000.” As 
 soon as the words could be flashed back over the wire, 
 there came : “ Glory to God in the highest. Ohio has 
 saved the Nation. A. Lincoln .” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 511 
 
 The day after the election in Ohio (October 14, 
 1863) Lincoln said to Secretary Welles that he had 
 felt more anxiety in regard to the results than he had 
 in 1860 when he was chosen President. He could not 
 have believed four years ago, he said, that one genuine 
 American would or could be induced to vote for such 
 a man as Vallandigham. Yet he had been made the 
 candidate of a large party, and received a vote that 
 is a discredit to the country. Mr. Welles adds : “ The 
 President showed a good deal of emotion as he dwelt 
 on this subject.” 
 
 After the battle of Gettysburg, a portion of the 
 ground on which the engagement was fought was pur- 
 chased by the State of Pennsylvania for a burial-place 
 for the Union soldiers who were slain in that bloody 
 encounter. The tract included seventeen and a half 
 acres adjoining the town cemetery. It was planned 
 to consecrate the ground with imposing ceremonies, in 
 which the President, accompanied by his Cabinet and 
 a large body of the military, was invited to assist. 
 The day appointed was the 19th of November; and 
 the chief orator selected was Massachusetts’ eloquent 
 son, Hon. Edward Everett. Following him it was 
 expected that the President would add some testimonials 
 in honor of the dead. 
 
 Lincoln and Everett were representatives of two 
 contrasting phases of American civilization: the one, 
 an outgrowth of the rough pioneer life of the West; 
 the other, the product of the highest culture of the 
 East. They had met for the first time on this memo- 
 rable day. Everett’s oration was a finished literary 
 production. Smooth, euphonious, and elegant, it was 
 delivered with the silvery tones and the graceful ges- 
 tures of a trained and consummate speaker. When he 
 had finished, and the applause that greeted him had 
 died away, the multitude called vociferously for an 
 
512 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 address from Lincoln. With an unconscious air, the 
 President came forward at the call, put his spectacles 
 on his nose, and read, in a quiet voice which gradually 
 warmed with feeling, while his careworn face became 
 radiant with the light of genuine emotion, the follow- 
 ing brief address : 
 
 Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought 
 forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in 
 liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men 
 are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil 
 war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so con- 
 ceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met 
 on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to 
 dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place of 
 those who here gave their lives that that nation might 
 live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should 
 do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we 
 cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The 
 brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have 
 consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or de- 
 tract. The world will little note nor long remember 
 what we say here, but it can never forget what they did 
 here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated 
 here to the unfinished work which they who fought here 
 have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to 
 be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, 
 that from these honored dead we take increased devotion 
 to that cause for which they gave the last full measure 
 of devotion ; that we here highly resolve that these dead 
 shall not have died in vain ; that this nation, under God, 
 shall have a new birth of freedom; and that govern- 
 ment of the people, by the people, for the people, shall 
 not perish from the earth. 
 
 The simple and sublime words of this short address 
 shook the hearts of the listeners, and before the first 
 sentence was ended they were under the spell of a 
 mighty magician. They stood hushed, awed, and 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 513 
 
 melted, as the speaker enforced the solemn lesson of 
 the hour, and brought home to them, in plain un- 
 varnished terms, the duty which remained for them 
 to do — to finish the work which the dead around 
 them had given their lives to carry on. It was one 
 of the briefest of the many speeches with which Lincoln 
 had swayed the impulses and opinions of crowds of his 
 fellow-men, but it is the one which will be remembered 
 above all others as hallowed by the truest and loftiest 
 inspiration. As the final sentence ended, amid the 
 tears and sobs and cheers of the excited throng, the 
 President turned to Mr. Everett, and, grasping his 
 hand, exclaimed with sincerity, “ I congratulate you 
 on your success.” Mr. Everett responded in the fervor 
 of his emotion, “ Ah, Mr. President, how gladly would 
 I exchange all my hundred pages to have been the 
 author of your twenty lines ! ” 
 
 Of all Lincoln’s public utterances, this is unquestion- 
 ably the most remarkable. The oration, brief and un- 
 pretending as it is, will remain a classic of the English 
 language. “ The Westminster Review,” one of the fore- 
 most of the great English quarterlies, said of it : “ It 
 has but one equal, in that pronounced upon those who 
 fell in the first year of the Peloponnesian War ; and 
 in one respect it is superior to that great speech. It 
 is not only more natural, fuller of feeling, more touch- 
 ing and pathetic, but we know with absolute certainty 
 that it was really delivered. Nature here takes prece- 
 dence of art — even though it be the art of 
 Thucydides.” 
 
 “ An illustration of the difference between oratory 
 and inspiration ” is Mr. John Bigelow’s happy char- 
 acterization of the Gettysburg address. “ It was,” 
 he adds, “ one of the most momentous incidents in the 
 history of the Civil War. It may be doubted whether 
 anything had then, or has since, been said of that 
 
514 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 national strife conceived upon a higher and wiser 
 spiritual plane. ... It is perhaps, on the whole, the 
 most enduring bit of eloquence that has ever been 
 uttered on this continent ; and yet one finds in it none 
 of the tricks of the forum or the stage, nor any trace 
 of the learning of the scholar, nor the need of it.” 
 
 Major Harry T. Lee, who was himself a partici- 
 pant in the battle of Gettysburg and occupied a seat 
 on the platform at the dedication, says that the people 
 listened with marked attention through the two hours 
 of Everett’s noble and scholarly oration; but that 
 when Lincoln came forward, and in a voice burdened 
 Avith emotion uttered his simple and touching eulogy 
 on “ the brave men, living and dead, who struggled 
 here,” there was scarcely a dry eye in the whole vast 
 audience. 
 
 Mr. John Russell Young, afterwards U. S. Minister 
 to China, was present at the Gettysburg dedication, 
 and says : “ I sat behind Mr. Lincoln while Mr. Everett 
 delivered his oration. I remember the great orator 
 had a way of raising and dropping his handkerchief 
 as he spoke. He spoke for two hours, and was very 
 impressive, with his white hair and venerable figure. 
 He was a great orator, but it was like a bit of Greek 
 sculpture — beautiful, but cold as ice. It was perfect 
 art, but without feeling. The art and beauty of it 
 captured your imagination and judgment. Mr. Everett 
 went over the campaign with resonant, clear, splendid 
 rhetoric. There was not a word or a sentence or a 
 thought that could be corrected. You felt that every 
 gesture had been carefully studied out beforehand. It 
 was like a great actor playing a great part. . . . Mr. 
 Lincoln rose, walked to the edge of the platform, took 
 out his glasses, and put them on. He was awkward. 
 He bowed to the assemblage in his homely manner, 
 and took out of his coat pocket a page of foolscap. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 515 
 
 In front of Mr. Lincoln was a photographer with his 
 camera, endeavoring to take a picture of the scene. 
 We all supposed that Mr. Lincoln would make rather 
 a long speech — a half-hour at least. He took the 
 single sheet of foolscap, held it almost to his nose, 
 and in his high tenor voice, without the least attempt 
 at effect, delivered that most extraordinary address 
 which belongs to the classics of literature. The photog- 
 rapher was bustling about, preparing to take the 
 President’s picture while he was speaking, but Mr. 
 Lincoln finished before the photographer was ready.” 
 
 It is stated that when President Lincoln reached the 
 town of Gettysburg, on his way to attend the exercises 
 at the cemetery, he inquired for “Old John Burns,” 
 the hero of the battle of Gettysburg, who left his farm 
 and fought with the Union soldiers upon that bloody 
 field. The veteran was sent for; and on his arrival 
 the President showed him marked attention, taking 
 him by the arm and walking with him in the procession 
 through the streets to the cemetery. 
 
 Edward Everett, who was associated with Lincoln 
 during these two or three days, says of the impression 
 the President made on him: “ I recognized in the Presi- 
 dent a full measure of the qualities which entitle him 
 to the personal respect of the people. On the only 
 social occasion on which I ever had the honor to be 
 in his company, viz., the Commemoration at Gettys- 
 burg, he sat at the table of my friend David Willis, 
 by the side of several distinguished persons, foreigners 
 and Americans ; and in gentlemanly appearance, man- 
 ners, and conversation, he was the peer of any man 
 at the table.” 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 Lincoln and Grant — Their Personal Relations — Grant’s Successes at 
 Chattanooga — Appointed Lieutenant-general — Grant’s First Visit 
 to Washington — His Meeting with Lincoln — Lincoln’s First Im- 
 pressions of Grant — The First “General” Lincoln Had Found — 
 “That Presidential Grub” — True Version of the Whiskey Anecdote 
 — Lincoln Tells Grant the Story of Sykes’s Dog — “We’d Better 
 Let Mr. Grant Have his Own Way” — Grant’s Estimate of Lincoln. 
 
 F ROM the hour of Grant’s triumph at Vicksburg 
 to the close of the war, Lincoln never withdrew 
 his confidence from the quiet, persistent, unpretending 
 man who led our armies slowly but surely along the 
 path of victory. As soon as the campaign at Vicks- 
 burg was over, Grant’s sphere of operations was en- 
 larged by his appointment to the command of the mili- 
 tary division of the Mississippi. In November follow- 
 ing he fought the famous battles of Chattanooga, in- 
 cluding Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge ; and, 
 aided by his efficient corps commanders, Sherman, 
 Thomas, and Hooker, gained a succession of brilliant 
 victories for the Union cause. The wisdom of Grant’s 
 policy of concentration and “ fighting it out ” had now 
 become apparent. 
 
 President Lincoln had watched closely the progress 
 of these events, and had come to recognize in Grant 
 the master spirit of the war, on the Northern side. 
 Accordingly he determined to give him general com- 
 mand of all the Union armies. In December, 1863, a 
 bill was introduced in the Senate by Hon. E. B. Wash- 
 burne, of Illinois, and passed both houses of Congress, 
 creating the rank of Lieutenant-General in the army. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 517 
 
 President Lincoln approved the act, and immediately 
 nominated Grant for the position. The nomination 
 was confirmed; and on the 17th of March, 1864, Grant 
 issued his first order as Lieutenant-General, assuming 
 command of the armies of the United States, and an- 
 nouncing that his headquarters would be in the field 
 and until further orders with the Army of the Potomac. 
 Of this army he shrewdly remarked that it seemed to 
 him it “ had never fought its battles through.” He 
 proposed, first of all, to teach that army “ not to be 
 afraid of Lee.” “ I had known him personally,” said 
 Grant, “ and knew that he was mortal” With char- 
 acteristic energy he formed a simple but comprehensive 
 plan of operations both East and West; sending Sher- 
 man on his great march to Atlanta and the sea, while 
 he, with the Army of the Potomac, pushed straight 
 for Richmond. These operations were vigorously 
 urged, and when they were ended the war was ended. 
 It was but little more than a year from the date of 
 Grant’s commission as Lieutenant-General till he re- 
 ceived Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. 
 
 Immediately upon Grant’s appointment as Lieuten- 
 ant-General, he was summoned to Washington. It was 
 his first visit to the capital since the war began, and 
 he was a stranger to nearly everyone from the President 
 down. He arrived in the city on the 8th of March 
 (1864), taking quarters at Willard’s Hotel, where, 
 wdien he went in to dinner, none knew “ the quiet, rather 
 stumpy-looking man, who came in leading a little boy 
 — the boy who had ridden by his father’s side through 
 all the campaign of Vicksburg.” But soon it was 
 whispered about who was in the room, and there was 
 a loud call for three cheers for Ulysses S. Grant, which 
 were given with a will. In the evening General Grant 
 attended a reception at the White House, passing in 
 with the throng alone and unannounced. The quick 
 
518 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 eye of the President discovered the identity of the 
 modest soldier, and he was most heartily welcomed. 
 “ As soon as it was known that he was present, the 
 pressure of the crowd to see the hero of Vicksburg 
 was so great that he was forced to shelter himself 
 behind a sofa. So irrepressible was the desire to see 
 him that Secretary Seward finally induced him to 
 mount a sofa, that this curiosity might be gratified. 
 When parting from the President, he said, ‘ This has 
 been rather the warmest campaign I have witnessed 
 during the war.’ ” A graphic account of this interest- 
 ing event is given by Secretary Welles, who records in 
 his Diary (March 9, 1864) : “ Went last evening to the 
 Presidential reception. Quite a gathering; very many 
 that are not usually seen at receptions were attracted 
 thither, I presume, from the fact that General Grant 
 was expected to be there. He came about half-past 
 nine. I was near the centre of the reception-room, 
 when a stir and buzz attracted attention, and it was 
 whispered that General Grant had arrived. The room 
 was not full, the crowd having passed through to the 
 East Room. I saw some men in uniform standing at 
 the entrance, and one of them, a short, brown, dark- 
 haired man, was talking with the President. There 
 was hesitation, a degree of awkwardness, in the General. 
 Soon word was passed around — 4 Mr. Seward, General 
 Grant is here,’ and Seward, who was just behind me, 
 hurried and took the General by the hand and led him 
 to Mrs. Lincoln, near whom I was standing. The 
 crowd gathered around the circle rapidly, and it being 
 intimated that it would be necessary the throng should 
 pass on, Seward took the General’s arm and went with 
 him to the East Room. There was clapping of hands 
 in the next room as he passed through, and all in the 
 East Room joined in it as he entered.” 
 
 The next day at noon the General waited on the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 519 
 
 President to receive his commission. The interview 
 took place in the Cabinet room. There were present, 
 besides the members of the Cabinet, General Halleck, 
 a member of Congress, two of General Grant’s staff- 
 officers, his eldest son, Frederick D. Grant, and the 
 President’s private secretary. The ceremony was 
 simple, the President saying, as he proffered the 
 papers : “ The nation’s appreciation of what you have 
 done, and its reliance upon you for what remains to 
 be done in the existing great struggle, are now pre- 
 sented with this commission, constituting you Lieuten- 
 ant-General in the Army of the United States. With 
 this high honor devolves upon you also a correspond- 
 ing responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, 
 so, under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to 
 add that with what I here speak for the nation goes 
 my own hearty personal concurrence.” The General 
 responded briefly, promising to “ accept the commis- 
 sion with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With 
 the aid of the noble armies that have fought on so 
 many fields for our common country, it will be my 
 earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expectations. I 
 feel the full weight of the responsibilities now devolving 
 on me, and I know that if they are met it will be due 
 to those armies, and above all to the favor of that 
 Providence which leads both nations and men.” 
 
 Before assuming personal command of the Army of 
 the Potomac, as he had determined to do, General 
 Grant found it necessary to return once more to the 
 West. In his parting interview with Lincoln, he was 
 urged to remain to dinner the next day and meet a 
 brilliant party whom the lady of the White House had 
 invited to do him special honor. The General an- 
 swered, apologetically : “ Mrs. Lincoln must excuse me. 
 I must be in Tennessee at a given time.” “ But we 
 can’t excuse you,” said the President. “ Mrs. Lincoln’s 
 
520 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 dinner without you would be Hamlet with Hamlet left 
 out.” “ I appreciate the honor Mrs. Lincoln would 
 do me,” said the General, “ but time is very important 
 now. I ought to be at the front, and a dinner to me 
 means a million dollars a day lost to the country.” 
 Lincoln was pleased with this answer, and said cheer- 
 fully, “ Well, we ’ll have the dinner without you.” 
 
 After Lincoln’s first meeting with General Grant he 
 was asked regarding his personal impressions of the 
 new commander. He replied, “ Well, I hardly know 
 what to think of him. He ’s the quietest little fellow 
 you ever saw. He makes the least fuss of any man 
 I ever knew. I believe on several occasions he has been 
 in this room a minute or so before I knew he was here. 
 It ’s about so all around. The only evidence you have 
 that he ’s in any particular place is that he makes 
 things move.” To a subsequent inquiry as to his 
 estimate of Grant’s military capacities, Lincoln re- 
 sponded, with emphasis : “ Grant is the first General 
 I ’ve had. He ’ s a General .” “ How do you mean, 
 Mr. Lincoln? ” his visitor asked. “ Well, I ’ll tell you 
 what I mean,” replied Lincoln. “ You know how it ’s 
 been Avith all the rest. As soon as I put a man in 
 command of the army, he ’d come to me with the plan 
 of a campaign, and about as much as to say: ‘Now 
 I don’t believe I can do it, but if you say so I ’ll try 
 it on,’ and so put the responsibility of success or failure 
 on me. They all wanted me to be the General. Now, 
 it is n’t so AA'ith Grant. He has n’t told me what his 
 plans are. I don’t know and I don’t want to know. 
 I am glad to find a man who can go ahead without 
 me. When any of the rest set out on a campaign 
 they ’d look over matters and pick out some one thing 
 they were short of and they knew I could n’t give them, 
 and tell me they could n’t hope to win unless they had 
 it — and it was most generally cavalry. Now when 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 521 
 
 Grant took hold I was waiting to see what his pet im- 
 possibility would be, and I reckoned it would be cavalry, 
 of course, for we had n’t horses enough to mount what 
 men we had. There were fifteen thousand men, or 
 thereabouts, up near Harper’s Ferry, and no horses 
 to put them on. Well, the other day Grant sent to 
 me about these very men, just as I expected; but what 
 he wanted to know was whether he could make infantry 
 of ’em or disband ’em. He does n’t ask impossibilities 
 of me, and he ’s the first General I ’ve had that did n’t.” 
 On another occasion Lincoln said of Grant : “ The 
 great thing about him is his cool persistency of pur- 
 pose. He is not easily excited, and he has the grip 
 of a bulldog. When he once gets his teeth in, nothing 
 can shake him off.” 
 
 The President’s satisfaction with the new commander 
 was speedily communicated to him in a characteristic- 
 ally frank manner, in a letter dated April 30, 1861. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Grant : — 
 
 Not expecting to see you before the Spring 
 campaign opens, I wish to express in this way my 
 entire satisfaction with what you have done up to 
 this time, so far as I understand it. The particulars 
 of your plan I neither know nor seek to know. 
 You are vigilant and self-reliant; and, pleased with 
 this, I wish not to obtrude any restraints or con- 
 straints upon you. While I am very anxious that 
 any great disaster or capture of our men in great 
 numbers shall be avoided, I know that these points are 
 less likely to escape your attention than they would be 
 mine. If there be anything wanting which is in my 
 power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And now, 
 with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain 
 you. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln. 
 
 General Grant himself wrote, on this point : “ In my 
 first interview with Mr. Lincoln alone, he stated to 
 
522 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 me that he had never professed to be a military man, 
 or to know how campaigns should be conducted, and 
 never wanted to interfere in them ; but that procras- 
 tination on the part of commanders, and the pressure 
 of the people at the North and Congress, which was 
 always with him, forced him into issuing his series of 
 ‘ Military Orders ’ — one, two, three, etc. He did not 
 know but they were all wrong, and did know that some 
 of them were. All he wanted or had ever wanted was 
 someone who would take the responsibility and act, and 
 call on him for all the assistance needed, pledging him- 
 self to use all the power of the government in rendering 
 such assistance. . . . The President told me he did not 
 want to know what I proposed to do. But he sub- 
 mitted a plan of campaign of his own which he wanted 
 me to hear and then do as I pleased about. He brought 
 out a map of Virginia on which he had evidently 
 marked every position occupied by the Federal and 
 Confederate armies up to that time. He pointed out 
 on the map two streams which empty into the Potomac, 
 and suggested that the army might be moved on boats 
 and landed between the mouths of these streams. We 
 would then have the Potomac to bring our supplies, 
 and the tributaries would protect our flanks while 
 we moved out. I listened respectfully, but did not 
 suggest that the same streams would protect Lee’s 
 flanks while he was shutting us up.” 
 
 General Horace Porter, for some time Grant’s chief 
 of staff, says : “ The nearest Mr. Lincoln ever came 
 to giving General Grant an order for the movement 
 of troops was during Early’s raid upon Washington. 
 On July 10, 1864, he telegraphed a long despatch from 
 Washington, which contained the following language: 
 
 ‘ What I think is that you should provide to retain 
 your hold where you are, certainly, and bring the 
 rest with you personally, and make a vigorous effort 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 523 
 
 to defeat the enemy’s force in this vicinity. I think 
 there is really a fair chance to do this, if the move- 
 ment is prompt. This is what I think — given upon 
 your suggestion, — and is not an order.’ Grant re- 
 plied that on reflection he thought it would have a bad 
 effect for him to leave City Point, then his head- 
 quarters, in front of Richmond and Petersburg; and 
 the President was satisfied with the dispositions which 
 Grant made for the repulse of Early without taking 
 command against him in person.” 
 
 A curious incident revealing the intense interest with 
 which Lincoln w'atched the career of Grant is related 
 by Mr. J. Russell Jones, an old and trusted friend of 
 the President, who joined the army at Vicksburg in 
 time to witness its final triumph. Soon after Mr. 
 Jones’s return to Chicago, the President summoned him 
 to Washington. With eager haste, after the first salu- 
 tations v T ere over, Lincoln declared the object for 
 which he had secured the interview : “ ‘ I have sent for 
 you, Mr. Jones, to know if that man Grant wants to 
 be President.’ Mr. Jones, although somewhat aston- 
 ished at the question and the circumstances under which 
 it was asked, replied at once, ‘ No, Mr. President.’ 
 ‘Are you sure?’ queried the latter. ‘ Yes,’ said Mr. 
 Jones, ‘perfectly sure. I have just come from Vicks- 
 burg. I have seen General Grant frequently, and 
 talked fully and freely with him about that and every 
 other question ; and I know he has no political aspira- 
 tions whatever, and certainly none for the Presidency. 
 His only desire is to see you re-elected and to do what 
 he can under your orders to put down the rebellion 
 and restore peace to the country.’ ‘Ah, Mr. Jones,’ 
 said Lincoln, ‘ you have lifted a great weight off my 
 mind, and done me an immense amount of good; for 
 I tell you, my friend, no man knows how deeply that 
 Presidential grub gnaws till he has had it himself.’ ” 
 
524 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 We cannot believe that Lincoln cherished any feeling 
 of jealousy of the rising commander, or desired to 
 interfere with whatever political ambition he might 
 nourish. It was rather his desire to be assured of the 
 single-hearted purpose of a military leader whom he 
 had trusted and to whom he wished to confide still 
 more important services in the conduct of the war. 
 
 It may be remembered that early in the war an an- 
 ecdote went the rounds of the press to the effect that, 
 in reply to a complaint that Grant had been guilty 
 of drunkenness in the campaigns in the West, Lincoln 
 remarked that he would “ like to find out what kind 
 of liquor Grant drank,” so that he might “ send some 
 of it to the other Generals.” The true version of that 
 characteristic anecdote is this, as given by the late 
 Judge T. Lyle Dickey, who was a Judge of the Illinois 
 Supreme Court at the time of his death, and at the 
 time of Grant’s famous Vicksburg campaign was on 
 the General’s staff as chief of cavalry. Judge (then 
 Colonel) Dickey had been sent to Washington with 
 private despatches for the President and the Secretary 
 of War. Lincoln and Dickey had been intimate friends 
 for years, and during the latter’s visit to the former 
 on that occasion, Dickey remarked, “ I hear that some 
 one has been trying to poison you against Grant by 
 reporting that he gets drunk. I wish to assure you, 
 Mr. President, that there is not a scintilla of truth 
 in the report.” “ Oh, Colonel,” replied the President, 
 “ we get all sorts of reports here, but I ’ll say this to 
 you : that if those accusing General Grant of getting 
 drunk will tell me where he gets his whiskey, I will get 
 a lot of it and send it around to some of the other 
 Generals, who are badly in need of something of the 
 kind.” 
 
 After Lincoln and General Grant had become per- 
 sonally intimate, they had many enjoyable conversa- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 525 
 
 tions and exchanges of anecdotes. Lincoln especially 
 enjoyed telling the General of the various persons who 
 had come to him with complaints and criticisms about 
 the Vicksburg campaign. “ After the place had ac- 
 tually surrendered,” said the President, “ I thought it 
 was about time to shut down on this sort of thing. So 
 one day, when a delegation came to see me, and had 
 spent half an hour trying to show me the fatal mis- 
 take you had made in paroling Pemberton’s army, and 
 insisting that the rebels would violate their paroles and 
 in less than a month confront you again in the ranks 
 and have to be whipped all over again, I thought I 
 could get rid of them best by telling them a story 
 about Sykes’s dog. ‘ Have you ever heard about 
 Sykes’s yellow dog? ’ said I to the spokesman of the 
 delegation. He said he hadn’t. ‘Well, I must tell 
 you about him,’ said I. ‘ Sykes had a yellow dog he 
 set great store by, but there were a lot of small boys 
 around the village, and that ’s always a bad thing for 
 dogs, you know. These boys didn’t share Sykes’s 
 views, and they were not disposed to let the dog have 
 a ‘fair show. Even Sykes had to admit that the dog 
 was getting unpopular ; in fact, it was soon seen that 
 a prejudice was growing up against that dog that 
 threatened to wreck all his future prospects in life. 
 The boys, after meditating how they could get the best 
 of him, finally fixed up a cartridge with a long fuse, 
 put the cartridge in a piece of meat, dropped the meat 
 in the road in front of Sykes’s door, and then perched 
 themselves on a fence a good distance off with the end 
 of the fuse in their hands. Then they whistled for 
 the dog. When he came out he scented the bait, and 
 bolted the meat, cartridge and all. The boys touched 
 off the fuse with a cigar, and in about a second a re- 
 port came from that dog that sounded like a small 
 clap of thunder. Sykes came bouncing out of the 
 
526 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 house, and yelled : “ What ’s up ! Anything busted ? ” 
 There was no reply, except a snicker from the small 
 boys roosting on the fence; but as Sykes looked up 
 he saw the whole air filled with pieces of yellow dog. 
 He picked up the biggest piece he could find — a por- 
 tion of the back, with a part of the tail still hanging 
 to it, and, after turning it around and looking it all 
 over, he said, “ Well, I guess he ’ll never be much 
 account again — as a dog.” And I guess Pemberton’s 
 forces will never be much account again — as an army.’’ 
 The delegation began looking around for their hats 
 before I had quite got to the end of the story, and 
 I was never bothered any more about superseding the 
 commander of the Army of the Tennessee.” 
 
 When General Grant was ready to begin active 
 operations with the Army of the Potomac, he sent 
 forward all available men from Washington. Secre- 
 tary Stanton, anxious about the safety of the city, 
 said to Grant one day : “ General, I suppose you have 
 left us enough men to strongly garrison the forts?” 
 “ No, I can’t do that,” was Grant’s quiet answer. 
 “Why not? Why not?” repeated the Secretary ner- 
 vously. “ Because I have already sent the men to the 
 front.” Said the Secretary, still more nervously : “ That 
 won’t do. It ’s contrary to my plans. I cannot allow 
 it. I will order the men back.” To this Grant returned 
 with quiet determination : “ I shall need the men there, 
 and you cannot order them back.” “ Why not? Why 
 not?” cried the Secretary. “I believe that I rank 
 the Secretary in this matter,” remarked Grant. “ Very 
 well, we will see the President about that,” responded 
 the Secretary sharply. “ I will have to take you to 
 the President.” “ That is right. The President ranks 
 us both.” So they went to the President; and the 
 Secretary, turning to General Grant, said, “ Now, 
 General, state your case.” But the General calmly re- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 527 
 
 plied, “ I have no case to state. I am satisfied as it 
 
 is. ” This threw the burden of statement on Secretary 
 Stanton, and was excellent strategy. Meanwhile, Gen- 
 eral Grant had the men. When the Secretary had 
 concluded, Lincoln crossed his legs, rested his elbow 
 on his knee, and said in his quaint way and with a 
 twinkle in his eye: “Now, Mr. Secretary, you know 
 we have been trying to manage this army for nearly 
 three years, and you know we have n’t done much with 
 
 it. We sent over the mountains and brought Mr. 
 Grant, as Mrs. Grant calls him, to manage it for us ; 
 and now I guess we ’d better let Mr. Grant have his 
 own way.” And Mr. Grant had it. 
 
 The favorable opinion which Lincoln held of Grant 
 was strongly reciprocated. A short time before the 
 former’s death, Grant said: “ I regard Lincoln as one 
 of the greatest of men. He is unquestionably the 
 greatest man I have ever encountered. The more I 
 see of him and exchange views with him, the more he 
 impresses me. I admire his courage, and respect the 
 firmness he always displays. Many think from the 
 gentleness of his character that he has a yielding na- 
 ture; but while he has the courage to change his mind 
 when convinced that he is wrong, he has all the te- 
 nacity of purpose which could be desired in a great 
 statesman. His quickness of perception often aston- 
 ishes me. Long before the statement of a complicated 
 question is finished, his mind will grasp the main points, 
 and he will seem to comprehend the whole subject 
 better than the person who is stating it. He will take 
 rank in history alongside of Washington.” 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 Lincoln’s Second Presidential Term — His Attitude toward it — Rival 
 Candidates for the Nomination — Chase’s Achillean Wrath — Har- 
 mony Restored — The Baltimore Convention — Decision “not to 
 Swap Horses while Crossing a Stream” — ■ The Summer of 1864 — 
 Washington again Threatened — Lincoln under Fire — Unpopular 
 Measures — The President’s Perplexities and Trials — The Famous 
 Letter “To Whom It May Concern” — Little Expectation of Re- 
 election — Dangers of Assassination — A Thrilling Experience — 
 Lincoln’s Forced Serenity — “The Saddest Man in the World” — 
 A Break in the Clouds — Lincoln Vindicated by Re-election — 
 Cheered and Reassured — More Trouble with Chase — Lincoln’s 
 Final Disposal of him — The President’s Fourth Annual Message 
 — His Position toward the Rebellion and Slavery Reaffirmed — 
 Colored Folks’ Reception at the White House — Passage of the 
 Amendment Prohibiting Slavery — Lincoln and the Southern Peace 
 Commissioners — The Meeting in Hampton Roads — Lincoln’s 
 Impression of A. H. Stephens — The Second Inauguration — Sec- 
 ond Inaugural Address — “With Malice toward None, with Char- 
 ity for All” — An Auspicious Omen. 
 
 HE year 1864 witnessed another Presidential 
 
 B election, and one which was attended by the most 
 novel and extraordinary circumstances. It was held 
 while a considerable portion of the people were engaged 
 in armed rebellion against the authority of the National 
 Government ; and it was not participated in by the 
 voters of several entire States. Aside from these unique 
 features, it marked a most critical epoch in the history 
 of the country, and in that of Abraham Lincoln as 
 well. The policy and acts of the administration, even 
 the question of the further prosecution of the war, were 
 to be submitted to the sovereign tribunal of the people ; 
 and with their verdict would be recorded also the popu- 
 lar measure of approval or disapproval of President 
 Lincoln. Those who knew him best during his first 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 529 
 
 official term pronounce him singularly free from plans 
 and calculations regarding his own political future. 
 He was too absorbed in public cares and duties, too 
 nearly crushed by the great burdens resting upon him, 
 to give thought or attention to questions of personal 
 ambition. It had never been his aim, ^hiring his Presi- 
 dential life, to look far ahead. He was content to deal 
 wisely and soberly with important questions as they 
 arose from day to day and hour to hour ; to adapt 
 himself and his actions to the exigencies of the present, 
 and in that way to earn security for the future. He 
 himself said, using a forcible and apt illustration bor- 
 rowed from his early life: “ The pilots on our Western 
 rivers steer from point to point, as they call it — set- 
 ting the course of the boat no farther than they can see ; 
 and that is all I propose to do in the great problems 
 that are set before me.” 
 
 Such a policy as that outlined by Lincoln, embraced 
 in his homely and characteristic phrase of “ pegging 
 away,” caused him to be greatly misunderstood and 
 even distrusted in some quarters. As the time for the 
 new election drew near, there was very pronounced dis- 
 satisfaction with him, particularly in New England. 
 It was said of him, among other things, that he 
 “ lacked the essential qualities of a leader.” Mr. Henry 
 Greenleaf Pearson, the biographer of Governor Andrew 
 of Massachusetts, illuminates this point in a few in- 
 structive sentences. “ To comprehend this objection, 
 which to us seems so astonishingly wide of the mark,” 
 says Mr. Pearson, “ we must realize that whenever a 
 New Englander of that generation uttered the word 
 ‘ leader ’ his mind’s eye was filled with the image of 
 Daniel Webster. Even those who called the fallen 
 statesman 4 Ichabod ’ could not forget his commanding 
 presence, his lofty tone about affairs of state, his 
 sonorous professions of an ideal, his whole ex cathedra 
 
530 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 attitude. All these characteristics supplied the aristo- 
 cratic connotation of the word ‘ leader.’ Of the broad 
 democratic meaning of the term, the world had as yet 
 received no demonstration. That Lincoln was in very 
 truth the ‘ new birth of a new soil,’ Lowell, with the 
 advantage of literary detachment, was one of the first 
 to discover and proclaim, both in his political essays 
 and in the splendid stanzas of the ‘ Commemoration 
 Ode.’ ” 
 
 While Lincoln seemingly gave little heed to the 
 question of a second Presidential term, it must not be 
 inferred that he was indifferent regarding it. His 
 nature was one of those strong ones which, though 
 desiring approbation, are yet able to live without it. 
 His whole life had been a schooling in self-reliance 
 and independence, and the last three years especially 
 had rendered him an adept in that stern philosophy. 
 But he was thoroughly human, and deep down in his 
 nature was a craving for human sympathy and sup- 
 port. Knowing that he had done his best and was 
 entitled to the full approval of his countrymen, he no 
 doubt felt that it would be a pleasant thing to receive 
 that approval by being called to serve them for an- 
 other term. To one friend he remarked, using his old 
 figure of “ the people’s attorney,” “ If the people think 
 I have managed their case for them well enough to trust 
 me to carry it up to the next term, I am sure I shall 
 be glad to take it.” He evidently dreaded the rebuke 
 that would be implied in a failure to be renominated ; 
 yet it seemed unbecoming to him, in the critical condi- 
 tion of the country, to make any personal effort to 
 that end. To these considerations were added his ex- 
 treme weariness and longing for release from his op- 
 pressive burdens. He was also, as Mr. Welles records 
 in his Diary, “ greatly importuned and pressed by 
 cunning intrigues.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 531 
 
 From these various complications, Lincoln’s embar- 
 rassment and perplexity as the time for holding the 
 Republican Convention drew near were extreme. A 
 journalistic friend (Mr. J. M. Winchell), who had a 
 lengthy conversation with him on the subject, gives 
 what is no doubt a correct idea of his state of mind at 
 that period. “ Mr. Lincoln received me,” says Mr. 
 Winchell, “kindly and courteously; but his manner 
 was quite changed. It was not now the country about 
 which his anxiety prevailed, but himself. There was 
 an embarrassment about him which he could not quite 
 conceal. I thought it proper to state in the outset 
 that I wished simply to know whatever he was free to 
 tell me in regard to his own willingness or unwilling- 
 ness to accept a renomination. The reply was a mono- 
 logue of an hour’s duration, and one that wholly ab- 
 sorbed me, as it seemed to absorb himself. He remained 
 seated nearly all the time. He was restless, often 
 changing position, and occasionally, in some intense 
 moment, wheeling his body around in his chair and 
 throwing a leg over the arm. This was the only gro- 
 tesque thing I recollect about him; his voice and man- 
 ner were very earnest, and he uttered no jokes and told 
 no anecdotes. He began by saying that as yet he was 
 not a candidate for renomination. He distinctly denied 
 that he was a party to any effort to that end, not- 
 withstanding I knew that there were movements in his 
 favor in all parts of the Northern States. These 
 movements were, of course, without his prompting, as 
 he positively assured me that with one or two excep- 
 tions he had scarcely conversed on the subject with 
 his most intimate friends. He was not quite sure 
 whether he desired a renomination. Such had been the 
 responsibility of the office — so oppressive had he 
 found its cares, so terrible its perplexities — that he 
 felt as though the moment when he could relinquish 
 
532 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 the burden and retire to private life would be the 
 sweetest he could possibly experience. But, he said, 
 he would not deny that a re-election would also have 
 its gratification to his feelings. He did not seek it, 
 nor would he do so ; he did not desire it for any 
 ambitious or selfish purpose ; but after the crisis the 
 country was passing through under his Presidency, and 
 the efforts he had made conscientiously to discharge 
 the duties imposed upon him, it would be a very sweet 
 satisfaction to him to know that he had secured the 
 approval of his fellow citizens and earned the highest 
 testimonial of confidence they could bestow. J. This was 
 the gist of the hour’s monologue ; and I believe he 
 spoke sincerely. His voice, his manner, gave his modest 
 and sensible words a power of conviction. He seldom 
 looked me in the face while he was talking; he seemed 
 almost to be gazing into the future. I am sure it was 
 not a pleasant thing for him to seem to be speaking 
 in his own behalf. For himself, he affirmed that he 
 should make no promises of office to anyone as an 
 inducement for support. If nominated and elected, 
 he should be grateful to his friends ; but the interests 
 of the country must always be first considered.” 
 
 The principal candidates talked of as successors to 
 Lincoln were Secretary Chase, General Fremont, and 
 General Grant. Of the latter, Lincoln said, with char- 
 acteristic frankness and generosity: “If he could be 
 more useful as President in putting down the rebellion, 
 I would be content. He is pledged to our policy of 
 emancipation and the employment of negro soldiers ; 
 and if this policy is carried out, it will not make much 
 difference who is President.” But General Grant’s 
 good sense prevailed over his injudicious advisers, and 
 he promptly refused to allow his name to be presented 
 to the convention. 
 
 The most formidable candidate for the Republican 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 533 
 
 nomination was Secretary Chase. The relations be- 
 tween him and the President had not latterly been very 
 harmonious ; and the breach was greatly widened by a 
 bitter personal assault on Mr. Chase by General F. P. 
 Blair, a newly elected Congressman from Missouri, 
 made on the floor of the House, about the middle of 
 April, under circumstances which led Mr. Chase to 
 believe that the President inspired, or at least ap- 
 proved, the attack. Mr. Chase was very angry, and 
 an open rupture between his friends and those of the 
 President was narrowly averted. Mr. Riddle, Con- 
 gressman from Mr. Chase’s State (Ohio), relates that 
 on the evening after General Blair’s offensive speech 
 he was to accompany Mr. Chase on a visit to Balti- 
 more. “ I was shown,” says Mr. Riddle, “ to the 
 Secretary’s private car, where I found him alone and 
 in a frenzy of rage. A copy of Blair’s speech had 
 been shown him at the station, and I was the sole wit- 
 ness of his Achillean wrath. He threatened to leave 
 the train at once and send the President his resignation ; 
 but was persuaded to go on to Baltimore. He wished 
 to forward his resignation from there, but concluded to 
 withhold it till his return to Washington the next day. 
 At Baltimore,” continues Mr. Riddle, “ I excused my- 
 self, and took the return train for Washington. I 
 did not overestimate the danger to the Union cause. 
 It would be a fatal error to defeat Mr. Lincoln at the 
 Baltimore Convention; yet how could he succeed, with 
 the angry resignation of Mr. Chase, and the defection 
 of his friends — the powerful and aggressive radicals? 
 Reaching Washington, I went to the White House 
 direct. I knew the President could not have been a 
 party to Blair’s assault, and I wanted his personal 
 assurances to communicate to Mr. Chase at the earliest 
 moment. I was accompanied by Judge Spaulding, an 
 eminent member of the House, fully sharing Mr. 
 
531 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Chase’s confidence, and somewhat cool toward the 
 President. We found Mr. Lincoln drawn up behind 
 his table, with papers before him, quite grim, evidently 
 prepared for the battle which he supposed awaited 
 him. Without taking a seat, hat in hand, I stated 
 frankly, not without emotion, the condition of affairs, 
 — the public danger, my entire confidence in him, my 
 sole purpose there, the reason of Judge Spaulding’s 
 presence, and that we were there in no way as repre- 
 sentatives of Mr. Chase. Mr. Lincoln was visibly 
 affected. The tones of confidence, sympathy, personal 
 regard, were strangers to him at that time. Softening, 
 almost melting, he came round to us, shook our hands 
 again and again, returned to his place, and standing 
 there, took up and opened out, from their remote 
 origin, the whole web of matters connected with the 
 present complication. He spoke an hour — calm, clear, 
 direct, simple. He reprehended Blair severely, and 
 stated that he had no knowledge of his speech until 
 after Blair left Washington. We were permitted to 
 communicate this to Mr. Chase. He was satisfied with 
 the President’s explanation, and at the Baltimore Con- 
 vention my large acquaintance enabled me to open the 
 way for Governor Dennison of Ohio to become its pre- 
 siding officer. All recognized the good effect of the 
 organization of that body by the friends of Mr. Chase.” 
 
 The National Republican Convention which met at 
 Baltimore on the 8th of June adopted resolutions 
 heartily approving the course of the administration 
 and especially the policy of emancipation, and com- 
 pleted its good work by nominating Abraham Lincoln 
 as its candidate for President for another term. 
 Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, was nominated for Vice- 
 President. That Lincoln was gratified at this proof 
 of confidence and esteem there can be no doubt. In his 
 acceptance of the nomination, he said, with the most 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 535 
 
 delicate modesty : “ I view this call to a second term 
 as in no wise more flattering to myself than as an 
 expression of the public judgment that I may better 
 finish a difficult work than could one less severely 
 schooled to the task.” And with characteristic humor, 
 he thanked a visiting delegation for their good opinion 
 of him, saying, “ I have not permitted myself to con- 
 clude that I am the best man in the country; but I 
 am reminded of the old Dutch farmer who remarked 
 to a companion that it was not best to swap horses 
 while crossing a stream .” 
 
 In July, 1864, great excitement and alarm were occa- 
 sioned in Washington by a body of Confederate cavalry 
 under General Early, who actually attacked the forti- 
 fications of the city, cut off its railroad communication 
 with the North, and ravaged the country about with 
 fire and sword. For several days skirmishing was go- 
 ing on between the raiders and the troops in our 
 fortifications. The fact that the President himself 
 was under fire from the enemy on this occasion gave 
 the episode a decided thrill of realism. He, with other 
 government officials — largely, no doubt, from motives 
 of curiosity — visited the scene of the disturbance and 
 witnessed the miniature but sometimes spirited engage- 
 ments. Among these visitors was Secretary Welles, 
 who thus records his experiences (Diary, July 12, 
 1864) : “ Rode out today to Fort Stevens. Looking 
 out over the valley below, where the continual popping 
 of pickets was going on, I saw a line of our men lying 
 close near the bottom of the valley. Senator Wade 
 came up beside me. We went into the Fort, where we 
 found the President, who was sitting in the shade, his 
 back against the parapet toward the' enemy. ... As 
 the firing from the Fort ceased, our men ran to the 
 charge and the Rebels fled. We could see them run- 
 ning across the fields, seeking the woods on the brow 
 
536 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of the opposite hills. Below, we could see here and 
 there some of our own men bearing away their wounded 
 comrades. Occasionally a bullet from some long-range 
 rifle passed over our heads. It was an interesting and 
 exciting spectacle.” Another account says : “ Presi- 
 dent Lincoln visited the lines in person, and refused to 
 retire, although urged to do so. He exposed himself 
 freely at Fort Stevens, and a surgeon standing along- 
 side of him was wounded by a ball which struck a gun 
 and glanced.” A gentleman named Neill, who lived in 
 the counti’y, about twelve miles from the city, gives a 
 vivid conception of the imminence of the danger. 
 “ After breakfast, on Tuesday, July 12,” says Mr. 
 Neill, “ I went as usual in a railway car to the city, 
 and before noon my house was surrounded by General 
 Bradley Johnson’s insurgent cavalry, who had made 
 an attempt to capture the New York express train, 
 and had robbed the country store near by of its con- 
 tents. The presence of the cavalry stopped all travel 
 by railroad; and Senator Ramsey of Minnesota, who 
 happened to be in Washington, could find no way to 
 the North except by descending the Potomac to its 
 mouth and then ascending Chesapeake Bay to Balti- 
 more. While the cavalry was in the fields around my 
 home, the enemy’s infantry was marching toward the 
 capital by what was called the Seventh Street road, 
 and they set fire to the residence of Hon. Montgomery 
 Blair, who had been Postmaster-General. As I sat in 
 my room at the President’s, the smoke of the burning 
 mansion was visible ; but business was transacted with 
 as much quietness as if the foe were hundreds of miles 
 distant. Mr. Fox, the assistant Secretary of the Navy, 
 had in a private note informed the President that if 
 there should be a necessity for him to leave the city 
 he would find a steamer in readiness at the wharf at 
 the foot of Sixth Street. About one o’clock in the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 587 
 
 afternoon of each day of the skirmishing, the President 
 would enter his carriage, and drive to the forts, in the 
 suburbs, and watch the soldiers repulse the invaders.” 
 For several days Washington was in great danger of 
 capture. Nearly all the forces had been sent forward 
 to reinforce Grant, and the city was comparatively 
 defenseless. But its slender garrison, mostly raw re- 
 cruits, held out gallantly under the encouragement of 
 the President, until Grant sent a column to attack 
 Early, who promptly withdrew, and the crisis was 
 over. This was the last time the enemy threatened 
 the national capital. From that time he had enough 
 to do to defend Richmond. 
 
 Lincoln labored under deep depression during the 
 summer of 1864. The Army of the Potomac achieved 
 apparently very little in return for its enormous ex- 
 penditure of blood and treasure. Until the victories 
 of Farragut in Mobile Bay, late in August, and Sher- 
 man at Atlanta a few days later, the gloom was unre- 
 lieved. The people were restless and impatient, and 
 vented their displeasure upon the administration, hold- 
 ing it responsible for all reverses and disappointments, 
 and giving grudging praise for success at any point. 
 The popular displeasure was increased by the Presi- 
 dent’s call for 500,000 additional troops, made July 
 18, — a measure which some of his strongest friends 
 deprecated, as likely to jeopardize his re-election in 
 November. “ It is not a personal question at all,” 
 said Lincoln. “ It matters not what becomes of me. 
 We must have the men. If I go down, I intend to go 
 like the Cumberland, with my colors flying.” To the 
 question, When is the war to end? he said, “ Surely I 
 feel as deep an interest in this question as any other 
 can; but I do not wish to name a day, a month, or a 
 year, when it is to end. We accepted this war for an 
 object — a worthy object; and the war will end when 
 
538 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 that object is attained. Under God, I hope it never 
 will end until that time” 
 
 The President’s mind seemed constantly weighted 
 with anxiety as to the movements and fortunes of our 
 armies in the field. He could not sleep at night under 
 this crushing load. Secretary Welles’s Diary gives 
 frequent instances of this. Once, after an engagement 
 between the Western armies, the President, says Mr. 
 Welles, “ came to me with the latest news. He was 
 feeling badly. Tells me a despatch was sent to him 
 at the Soldiers’ Home last night shortly after he got 
 asleep, and so disturbed him that he had no more rest, 
 but arose and came to the city and passed the re- 
 mainder of the night awake and watchful.” At another 
 time, after a desperate battle between Grant and Lee, 
 Mr. Welles says : “ The President came into my room 
 about one p. m . and told me he had slept none last 
 night. He lay down for a short time on the sofa in 
 my room, and detailed all the news he had gathered.” 
 
 Ex-Governor Bross of Illinois furnishes an account 
 of an interview with Lincoln during this dark period: 
 “ The last time I saw Mr. Lincoln, till, as a pall- 
 bearer, I accompanied his remains to their last resting- 
 place, was in the early part of August, 1864*. It was 
 directly after the frightful disaster at Petersburg, and 
 I was on my way to the front, to recover, if possible, 
 the body of my brother, Colonel John A. Bross, who 
 fell there at the head of his regiment. I found the 
 President with a large pile of documents before him. 
 He laid down his pen and gave me a cordial but rather 
 melancholy welcome, asking anxiously for news from 
 the West. Neither of us could shut our eyes to the 
 gloom which hung over the entire country. The terri- 
 ble losses of the Wilderness, and the awful disaster at 
 Petersburg, weighed heavily upon our spirits. To a 
 question, I answered that the people expected a still 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 539 
 
 more vigorous prosecution of the war ; more troops 
 and needful appliances would, if called for, be forth- 
 coming. ‘ I will tell you what the people want,’ said 
 the President, ‘ they want, and must have, success. 
 But whether that come or not, I shall stay right here 
 and do my duty. Here I shall be ; and they may 
 come and hang me on that tree ’ (pointing out of the 
 window to one), ‘but, God helping me, I shall never 
 desert my post.’ This was said in a way that assured 
 me that these were the sentiments of his inmost soul.” 
 
 The President, about this time, was greatly worried 
 by Horace Greeley and others, who importuned him 
 to receive negotiations for peace from the Confederate 
 authorities. He at length said to Mr. Greeley, “ I not 
 only intend a sincere effort for peace, but you shall be 
 a personal witness that it is made.” On the same day 
 that the call for additional troops was made, the 
 President issued, through Mr. Greeley, the famous let- 
 ter, “ To Whom It May Concern,” promising safe con- 
 duct to any person or persons authorized to present 
 “ any proposition which embraces the restoration of 
 peace, the integrity of the whole Union , and the aban- 
 donment of slavery .” Nothing came of the proposed 
 negotiations, except to stop for a time the mischievous 
 fault-finding; which was, of course, the result aimed 
 at by Lincoln. The act was severely condemned by 
 many Republicans ; but Lincoln only said, “ It is 
 hardly fair for them to say the letter amounts to 
 nothing. It will shut up Greeley, and satisfy the 
 people who are clamoring for peace. That’s some- 
 thing, anyhow ! ” 
 
 So much blame was heaped upon the Government, 
 and so great was the dissatisfaction at the North, that 
 Lincoln looked upon the election of his competitor, 
 General McClellan, and his own retirement, as not im- 
 probable. An incident in evidence of his discourage- 
 
540 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 ment is related by Secretary Welles. Entering the 
 Executive office one day, Mr. Welles was asked to 
 write his name across the back of a sealed paper which 
 the President handed him. The names of several other 
 members of the Cabinet were already on the paper, 
 with the dates of signature. After the election, Lincoln 
 opened the document in the presence of his Cabinet and 
 read to them its contents, as follows : 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, 
 August 23, 1864. 
 
 This morning, as for some days past, it seems ex- 
 ceedingly probable that this administration will not be 
 re-elected. Then it will be my duty to co-operate with 
 the President-elect so as to save the Union between the 
 election and the inauguration. A. Lincoln. 
 
 By this careful prevision had Lincoln pledged himself 
 to give to his successor that unselfish and patriotic 
 assistance of which he himself had stood so sorely 
 in need. 
 
 As the desperation of the South and the opposition 
 to Lincoln at the North increased, fears were enter- 
 tained by his friends that an attempt might be made 
 upon his life. Lincoln himself paid but little heed to 
 these forebodings of evil. He said, philosophically: 
 “ I long ago made up my mind that if anybody wants 
 to kill me, he will do it. If I wore a shirt of mail and 
 kept myself surrounded by a bodyguard, it would be 
 all the same. There are a thousand ways of getting 
 at a man if it is desired that he should be killed. Be- 
 sides, in this case, it seems to me, the man who would 
 succeed me would be just as objectionable to my ene- 
 mies — if I have any.” One dark night, as he was 
 going out with a friend, he took along a heavy cane, 
 remarking good-humoredly that “ mother ” (Mrs. Lin- 
 coln) had “ got a notion into her head that I shall be 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 541 
 
 assassinated, and to please her I take a cane when I 
 go over to the War Department at nights — when I 
 don’t forget it.” 
 
 It is probable that the attempts upon the life of 
 President Lincoln were more numerous than is gen- 
 erally known. An incident of a very thrilling char- 
 acter, which might easily have involved a shocking 
 tragedy, is related by Mr. John W. Nichols, who from 
 the summer of 1862 until 1865 was one of the Presi- 
 dent’s body-guard. “ One night, about the middle of 
 August, 1864,” says Mr. Nichols, “ I was doing senti- 
 nel duty at the large gate through which entrance was 
 had to the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home, near Wash- 
 ington, where Mr. Lincoln spent much time in summer. 
 About eleven o’clock I heard a rifle-shot in the direction 
 of the city, and shortly afterwards I heard approaching 
 hoof-beats. In two or three minutes a horse came 
 dashing up, and I recognized the belated President. 
 The horse he rode was a very spirited one, and was 
 Mr. Lincoln’s favorite saddle-horse. As horse and rider 
 approached the gate, I noticed that the President was 
 bareheaded. As soon as I had assisted him in check- 
 ing his steed, the President said to me : ‘ He came 
 pretty near getting away with me, didn’t he? He 
 got the bit in his teeth before I could draw the rein.’ 
 I then asked him where his hat was ; and he replied 
 that somebody had fired a gun off down at the foot of 
 the hill, and that his horse had become scared and 
 had jerked his hat off. I led the animal to the Ex- 
 ecutive Cottage, and the President dismounted and 
 entered. Thinking the affair rather strange, a corporal 
 and myself started off to investigate. When we 
 reached the place whence the sound of the shot had 
 come — a point where the driveway intersects with the 
 main road — we found the President’s hat. It was a 
 plain silk hat, and upon examination we discovered a 
 
542 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 bullet-hole through the crown. We searched the lo- 
 cality thoroughly, but without avail. Next day I gave 
 Mr. Lincoln his hat, and called his attention to the 
 bullet-hole. He made some humorous remark, to the 
 effect that it was made by some foolish marksman and 
 was not intended for him ; but added that he wished 
 nothing said about the matter. We all felt confident 
 it was an attempt to kill the President, and after that 
 he never rode alone.” 
 
 Amidst his terrible trials, Lincoln often exhibited a 
 forced and sorrowful serenity, which many mistook for 
 apathy. Even his oldest and best friends were some- 
 times deceived in this way. Hon. Leonard Swett re- 
 lates a touching instance: “In the summer of 1864, 
 when Grant was pounding his way toward Richmond 
 in those terrible battles of the Wilderness, myself and 
 wife were in Washington trying to do what little two 
 persons could do toward alleviating the sufferings of 
 the maimed and dying in the vast hospitals of that 
 city. We tried to be thorough and systematic. We 
 took the first man we came to, brought him delicacies, 
 wrote letters to his friends, or did for him whatever 
 else he most needed; then the next man, and so on. 
 Day after day cars and ambulances were coming in, 
 laden with untold sorrows for thousands of homes. 
 After weeks of this kind of experience my feelings 
 became so wrought up that I said to myself: The 
 country cannot long endure this sacrifice. In mercy, 
 both to North and South, every man capable of bearing 
 arms must be hurried forward to Grant to end this 
 fearful slaughter at the earliest possible moment. I 
 went to President Lincoln at the White House, and 
 poured myself out to him. He was sitting by an open 
 window; and as I paused, a bird lit upon a branch just 
 outside and was twittering and singing most joyously. 
 Mr. Lincoln, imitating the bird, said: ‘ Tweet , tweet, 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 543 
 
 tweet; is n’t he singing sweetly? ’ I felt as if my legs 
 had been cut from under me. I rose, took my hat, 
 and said, ‘ I see the country is safer than I thought.’ 
 As I moved toward the door, Mr. Lincoln called out, 
 in his hearty, familiar way, ‘ Here, Swett, come back 
 and sit down.’ Then he went on : ‘It is impossible 
 for a man in my position not to have thought of all 
 those things. Weeks ago every man capable of bearing 
 arms was ordered to the front, and everything you have 
 suggested has been done.’ ” 
 
 The burdens borne by Lincoln seemed never to tell 
 so seriously on his strength and vitality as in this 
 terrible battle-summer of 1861. For him there had 
 been no respite, no holiday. Others left the heat and 
 dust of Washington for rest and recuperation; but 
 he remained at his post. The demands upon him were 
 incessant ; one anxiety and excitement followed an- 
 other, and under the relentless strain even his sturdy 
 strength began to give way. “ I sometimes fancy,” 
 said he, with pathetic good-humor, “ that every one 
 of the numerous grist ground through here daily, from 
 a Senator seeking a war with France down to a poor 
 woman after a place in the Treasury Department, 
 darted at me with thumb and finger, picked out their 
 especial piece of my vitality, and carried it off. When 
 I get through with such a day’s work there is only one 
 word which can express my condition, and that is 
 flabbiness .” Once Mr. Brooks “ found him sitting in 
 his chair so collapsed and weary that he did not look 
 up or speak when I addressed him. He put out his 
 hand, mechanically, as if to shake hands, when I told 
 him I had come at his bidding. Presently he roused 
 a little, and remarked that he had had ‘ a mighty hard 
 day.’ ” Mr. Riddle, who saw him at this period, after 
 some months’ absence, says he was shocked, on gaining 
 admission to the President, “ by his appearance — that 
 
544 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 of a baited, cornered man, always on the defense against 
 attacks that he could not openly meet and defy or 
 punish.” Mr. Carpenter, an inmate of the White 
 House, says : “ Absorbed in his papers, he would be- 
 come unconscious of my presence, while I intently 
 studied every line and shade of expression in that fur- 
 rowed face. There were days when I could scarcely 
 look into it without crying. During the first week of 
 the battles of the Wilderness he scarcely slept at all. 
 Passing through the main hall of the domestic apart- 
 ment on one of these days, I met him, clad in a long 
 morning wrapper, pacing back and forth a narrow 
 passage leading to one of the windows, his hands be- 
 hind him, great black rings under his eyes, his head 
 bent forward upon his breast, — altogether such a 
 picture of the effects of sorrow, care, and anxiety as 
 would have melted the hearts of the worst of his 
 adversaries, who so mistakenly applied to him the 
 epithets of tyrant and usurper.” 
 
 Mr. Edward Dicey, the English historian, says: 
 “ Never in my knowledge have I seen a sadder face 
 than that of the late President during the time his 
 features were familiar to me. It is so easy to be wise 
 after the event ; but it seems to me now that one ought 
 somehow to have foreseen that the stamp of a sad end 
 was impressed by nature on that rugged, haggard face. 
 The exceeding sadness of the eyes and their strange 
 sweetness were the one redeeming feature in a face of 
 unusual plainness, and there was about them that odd, 
 weird look, which some eyes possess, of seeming to see 
 more than the outer objects of the world around.” 
 
 Lincoln’s family and friends strove to beguile him 
 of his melancholy. They took him to places of amuse- 
 ment; they walked and drove with him in the pleas- 
 antest scenes about the capital; and above all, they 
 talked with him of times past, seeking to divert his 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 545 
 
 mind from its present distress by reviving memories 
 of more joyous days. His old friends were, as Mr. 
 Arnold states, “ shocked with the change in his ap- 
 pearance. They had known him at his home, and at 
 the courts in Illinois, with a frame of iron and nerves 
 of steel; as a man who hardly knew what illness was, 
 ever genial and sparkling with frolic and fun, nearly 
 always cheery and bright. Now they saw the wrinkles 
 on his face and forehead deepen into furrows ; the 
 laugh of old days was less frequent, and it did not 
 seem to come from the heart. Anxiety, responsibility, 
 care, thought, disasters, defeats, the injustice of 
 friends, wore upon his giant frame, and his nerves of 
 steel became at times irritable. He said one day, 
 with a pathos which language cannot describe, ‘ I feel 
 as though I shall never be glad again.' ” 
 
 Hon. Schuyler Colfax repeats a similarly pathetic 
 expression which fell from the lips of the afflicted 
 President. “ One morning,” says Mr. Colfax, “ calling 
 upon him on business, I found him looking more than 
 usually pale and careworn, and inquired the reason. 
 He replied with the bad news he had received at a late 
 hour the previous night, which had not yet been com- 
 municated to the press, adding that he had not closed 
 his eyes or breakfasted; and, with an expression I 
 shall never forget, he exclaimed, £ How willingly would 
 I exchange places today with the soldier who sleeps on 
 the ground in the Army of the Potomac ! ’ ” 
 
 A lady who saw Lincoln in the summer of 1864 
 for the first time, and who had expected to see “ a very 
 homely man,” says : “ I was totally unprepared for the 
 impression instantly made upon me. So bowed and 
 sorrow-laden was his whole person, expressing such 
 weariness of mind and body, as he dropped himself 
 heavily from step to step down to the ground. But 
 his face ! — oh, the pathos of it ! — haggard, drawn 
 
546 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 into fixed lines of unutterable sadness, with a look of 
 loneliness, as of a soul whose depth of sorrow and 
 bitterness no human sympathy could ever reach. I was 
 so penetrated with the anguish and settled grief in 
 every feature, that I gazed at him through tears, and 
 felt I had stepped upon the threshold of a sanctuary 
 too sacred for human feet. The impression I carried 
 away was that I had seen, not so much the President 
 of the United States, as the saddest man in the world.” 
 
 The changes in Lincoln’s appearance were noted in 
 the subdued, refined, purified expression of his face, as 
 of one struggling almost against hope, but still pa- 
 tiently enduring. Mr. Brooks says, “ I have known 
 impressionable women, touched by his sad face and his 
 gentle bearing, to go away in tears.” Another ob- 
 server, Rev. C. B. Crane, wrote at the time : “ The 
 President looks thin and careworn. His form is bowed 
 as by a crushing load ; his flesh is wasted as by in- 
 cessant solicitude; and his face is thin and furrowed 
 and pale, as though it had become spiritualized by the 
 vicarious pain which he endured in bearing on himself 
 all the calamities of his country.” Truly it might be 
 said of him, in the words of Matthew Arnold: 
 
 With aching hands and bleeding feet 
 We dig and heap, lay stone on stone; 
 
 We bear the burden and the heat 
 
 Of the long day, and wish ’t were done. 
 
 Not till the hours of light return 
 
 All we have built do we discern. 
 
 In the tragic experiences of Lincoln in these dark 
 days, the outlook was less gloomy than it had seemed 
 to his tortured soul. He was even then, as Mr. John 
 Bigelow puts it, “ making for himself a larger place 
 in history than he had any idea of.” He “ builded 
 better than he knew ” ; and the “ hours of light ” were 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 517 
 
 soon to come when he would know what he had built 
 and see the signs that promised better things. The 
 Presidential election of 1864 demonstrated the abiding 
 confidence of the people in him and his administration. 
 Every loyal State but three — New Jersey, Delaware, 
 and Kentucky — gave him its electoral vote ; and his 
 popular majority over McClellan, the Democratic 
 candidate, was upwards of 400,000. Lincoln was 
 cheered but not exultant at the news. Late in the 
 evening of election day (November 8, 1864) he said, 
 in response to public congratulations : “ I am thankful 
 to God for this approval of the people. But while 
 deeply grateful for this mark of their confidence in me, 
 if I know my own heart my gratitude is free from any 
 taint of personal triumph. It is not in my nature to 
 triumph over anyone ; but I give thanks to Almighty 
 God for this evidence of the people’s resolution to stand 
 by free government and the rights of humanity.” 
 
 While the election returns were coming in, early in 
 the evening, Lincoln was at the War Department with 
 a little group assembled to hear them read. How dif- 
 ferent the scene from that in the quiet country town 
 where he had waited for the returns on a similar occa- 
 sion four years before ! Then all was peace — the lull 
 before the storm. Now the storm had broken, and its 
 greatest fury was raging about that patient and de- 
 voted man who waited to hear the decision of the na- 
 tion’s supreme tribunal — the voice of the people whose 
 decree would settle the fate of himself and of the 
 country. Mr. Charles A. Dana, Assistant Secretary 
 of War, who was in the group, gives this description 
 of the scene : “ General Eckert was coming in continu- 
 ally with telegrams containing election returns. Mr. 
 Stanton would read them, and the President would look 
 at them and comment upon them. Presently there came 
 a lull in the returns, and Mr. Lincoln called me up 
 
548 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 to a place by his side. ‘ Dana,’ said he, ‘ have you 
 ever read any of the writings of Petroleum V. Nasby? ’ 
 ‘ No, sir,’ I said, ‘ I have only looked at some of them, 
 and they seemed to me funny.’ ‘ Well,’ said he, ‘ let 
 me read you a specimen,’ and pulling out a thin yellow- 
 covered pamphlet from his breast pocket he began to 
 read aloud. Mr. Stanton viewed this proceeding with 
 great impatience, as I could see; but Mr. Lincoln paid 
 no attention to that. He would read a page or a story, 
 pause to con a new election telegram, and then open 
 the book again and go ahead with a new passage. 
 Finally Mr. Chase came in; and presently Mr. White- 
 law Reid, and then the reading was interrupted. Mr. 
 Stanton went to the door and beckoned me into the 
 next room. I shall never forget his indignation at 
 what seemed to him disgusting nonsense.” 
 
 The morning following the election one of his private 
 secretaries, Mr. Neill, coming to the Executive office 
 earlier than usual, found Lincoln at his table engaged 
 in his regular routine of official work. “ Entering the 
 room,” says Mr. Neill, “ I took a seat by his side, 
 extended my hand, and congratulated him upon the 
 vote; for the country’s sake and for his own sake. 
 Turning away from the papers which had been occupy- 
 ing his attention, he spoke kindly of his competitor, 
 the calm, prudent General, and great organizer.” 
 
 The importance of Lincoln’s re-election, to the coun- 
 try and to himself, is forcibly stated by General Grant 
 and Secretary Seward. The former telegraphed from 
 City Point, the day following: “The victory is worth 
 more to the country than a battle won.” And the 
 same evening, at a public gathering held to celebrate 
 the event, Mr. Seward said : “ The election has placed 
 our President beyond the pale of human envy or human 
 harm, as he is above the pale of human ambition. 
 Henceforth all men will come to see him as we have 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 549 
 
 seen him — a true, loyal, patient, patriotic, and benevo- 
 lent man. Having no longer any motive to malign or 
 injure him, detraction will cease, and Abraham Lincoln 
 will take his place with Washington and Franklin and 
 Jefferson and Adams and Jackson — among the bene- 
 factors of the country and of the human race.” 
 
 Lincoln evidently felt greatly reassured by the result 
 of what had seemed to him a very doubtful contest; but 
 with the return of cheerfulness came also the dread of 
 continuing his official labors. He began to long and 
 plan for that happy period at the end of the second 
 term when he should be free from public burdens. 
 “ Mrs. Lincoln desired to go to Europe for a long tour 
 of pleasure,” says Mr. Brooks. “ The President was 
 disposed to gratify her wish; but he fixed his eyes on 
 California as a place of permanent residence. He had 
 heard so much of the delightful climate and the abun- 
 dant natural productions of California that he had 
 become possessed of a strong desire to visit the State 
 and remain there if he were satisfied with the results 
 of his observations. ‘ When we leave this place,’ he 
 said, one day, ‘ we shall have enough, I think, to take 
 care of us old people. The boys must look out for 
 themselves. I guess mother will be satisfied with six 
 months or so in Europe. After that I should really 
 like to go to California and take a look at the Pacific 
 coast.’ ” 
 
 After the Baltimore Convention, Mr. Chase pro- 
 posed to resign his position as Secretary of the Treas- 
 ury, but he was persuaded by influential friends of 
 himself and Lincoln to reconsider his determination. 
 Chief among these friends was Hon. John Brough, the 
 sturdy “ War Governor ” of Ohio. Later in the sum- 
 mer of 1864 the relations between the President and 
 Secretary Chase again became inharmonious ; the lat- 
 ter determined a second time to resign, and communi- 
 
550 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 cated that fact in a confidential letter to Governor 
 Brough. Hon. Win. Henry Smith, at that time Ohio’s 
 Secretary of State, and intimately acquainted with the 
 circumstances as they occurred, says : “ Mr. Brough 
 went directly to Washington to bring about another 
 reconciliation. After talking the matter over with Mr. 
 Chase and Mr. Stanton, he called on the President and 
 urged a settlement that would retain the services of 
 Mr. Chase in the Treasury Department. Mr. Lincoln 
 was very kind, and admitted the force of all that was 
 urged; but finally said, with a quiet but impressive 
 firmness, ‘ Brough, I think you had better give up the 
 job this time.’ And thereupon he gave reasons why 
 it was unwise for Mr. Chase to continue longer in the 
 Cabinet.” 
 
 In the autumn, the Chief-Justiceship became vacant 
 by the death of Judge R. B. Taney (October 11, 1864), 
 and the friends of Mr. Chase, who was then in retire- 
 ment, desired his elevation to that honorable seat. 
 Congressman Riddle, who was designated to present the 
 matter to the President, says : “ After hearing what I 
 had to say, Mr. Lincoln asked, ‘ Will this content Mr. 
 Chase? ’ ‘ It is said that those bitten of the Presidency 
 die of it,’ I replied. His smile showed he would not 
 take that answer. I added: ‘ Mr. Chase is conscious of 
 ability to serve the country as President. We should 
 expect the greatest from him.’ ‘ He would not dis- 
 appoint you, were it in his reach. But I should be 
 sorry to see a Chief- Justice anxious to swap for it.’ 
 I said then what I had already said to Mr. Chase : 
 that I would rather be the Chief-Justice than the 
 President. I urged that the purity and elevation of 
 Mr. Chase’s character guaranteed the dignity of the 
 station from all compromise; that momentous ques- 
 tions must arise, involving recent exercises of power, 
 without precedents to guide the court; that the honor 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 551 
 
 of the Government would be safe in the hands of Mr. 
 Chase. ( Would you pack the Supreme Court? ’ he 
 asked, a little sharply. ‘ Would you have a Judge 
 with no preconceived notions of law? ’ was my response. 
 £ True, true,’ was his laughing reply ; ‘ how could I 
 find anyone, fit for the place, who has not some definite 
 notions on all questions likely to arise? ’ ” 
 
 The proposed appointment of Mr. Chase as Chief- 
 Justice was severely criticized by certain friends of 
 Lincoln, who believed Mr. Chase was personally hostile 
 to the President, and could not understand the latter’s 
 magnanimity in thus ignoring personal considerations. 
 W r hen told of these criticisms, Lincoln said : “ My 
 friends all over the country are trying to put up the 
 bars between me and Governor Chase. I have a vast 
 number of messages and letters from men who think 
 they are my friends, imploring and warning me not to 
 appoint him. Now I know more about Governor 
 Chase’s hostility to me than any of these men can tell 
 me; but I am going to nominate him” Which he did, 
 and Chase became Chief-Justice in December, 1864. 
 
 The withdrawal of Secretary Chase from the Cabinet 
 was soon followed by that of Postmaster-General Blair, 
 who was succeeded by ex-Governor Dennison of Ohio. 
 Blair received, says Mr. Welles in his Diary, a let- 
 ter from the President, which, though friendly in tone, 
 informed him that the time had arrived when it seemed 
 best that he should retire, and requesting his resigna- 
 tion, which was promptly given. Mr. Welles says 
 that the President subsequently informed him that 
 “ Mr. Chase had many friends who felt wounded that 
 he should have left the Cabinet, and left alone. The 
 friends of Blair had been his assailants, and the Presi- 
 dent thought that if he also left the Cabinet Chase 
 and his friends would be satisfied and the administra- 
 tion would be relieved of irritating bickerings. The 
 
552 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 relations of Blair with Stanton also were such that 
 it was difficult for the two to remain.” A little later 
 came the resignation of Attorney-General Bates, which, 
 says Mr. Welles, “ has initiated more intrigues. A 
 host of candidates are thrust forward — Evarts, Holt, 
 Cushing, Whiting, and the Lord knows who, are all 
 candidates.” This gives but a faint idea of the. em- 
 barrassments and dissensions among Lincoln’s friends 
 and official advisers, and of the ceaseless efforts and 
 infinite tact that were needed to maintain a decent de- 
 gree of harmony among them. 
 
 Early in December the President submitted to Con- 
 gress his fourth annual message — a brief and business- 
 like statement of the prospects and purposes of the 
 Government. Its first sentence is : “ The most remark- 
 able feature in the military operations of the year is 
 General Sherman’s attempted march of three hundred 
 miles directly through the insurgent region.” Then 
 follows a reference to the important movements that 
 had occurred during the year, “ to the effect of mould- 
 ing society for durability in the Union.” The docu- 
 ment closes with the following explicit statement : “ In 
 presenting the abandonment of armed resistance to the 
 national authority, on the part of the insurgents, as the 
 only indispensable condition to ending the war on the 
 part of the Government, I retract nothing heretofore 
 said as to slavery. If the people should, by whatever 
 mode or means, make it an executive duty to re-enslave 
 such persons, another, and not I, must be their instru- 
 ment to perform it. In stating a single condition of 
 peace, I mean simply to say that the war will cease on 
 the part of the Government whenever it shall have 
 ceased on the part of those who began it.” 
 
 New Year’s day, 1865, was marked by a memorable 
 incident. Among the crowds gathered in the White 
 House grounds stood groups of colored people, watch- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 553 
 
 mg with eager eyes the tide of people flowing in at the 
 open door to exchange salutations with the President. 
 It was a privilege heretofore reserved for the white 
 race; but now, as the line of visitors thinned, showing 
 that the reception was nearly over, the boldest of the 
 colored men drew near the door with faltering step. 
 Some were in conventional attire, others in fantastic 
 dress, and others again in laborers’ garb. The novel 
 procession moved into the vestibule and on into the 
 room where the President was holding the republican 
 court. Timid and doubting, though determined, they 
 ventured where their oppressed and down-trodden race 
 had never appeared before, and with the keen, anxious, 
 inquiring look on their dark faces, seemed like a herd 
 of wild creatures from the woods, in a strange and 
 dangerous place. The reception had been unusually 
 well attended, and the President was nearly overcome 
 with weariness ; but when he saw the dusky faces of 
 his unwonted visitors, he rallied from his fatigue and 
 gave them a hearty welcome. They were wild with joy. 
 Thronging about him, they pressed and kissed his hand, 
 laughing and weeping at once, and exclaiming, “ God 
 bless Massa Linkum ! ” It was a scene not easy to 
 forget: the thanks and adoration of a race paid to 
 their deliverer. 
 
 Ever since issuing the Emancipation Proclamation 
 Lincoln had earnestly desired that that measure should 
 be perfected by a Constitutional amendment forever 
 prohibiting slavery in the territory of the United 
 States. He had discussed the matter fully with his 
 friends in Congress, and repeatedly urged them to press 
 it to an issue. Just before the Baltimore Convention, 
 he urged Senator Morgan of New York, chairman of 
 the National Republican Committee, to have the pro- 
 posed amendment made the “ key-note of the speeches 
 and the key-note of the platform.” Congressman 
 
554 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Rollins of Missouri relates that the President said to 
 him, “ The passage of the amendment will clinch the 
 whole matter .” The subject was already definitely be- 
 fore Congress. In December, 1863, joint resolutions 
 for this great end had been introduced in the House 
 by Hon. James M. Ashley of Ohio, and in the Senate 
 by Hon. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts and Hon. 
 J. B. Henderson of Missouri. Senator Trumbull of 
 the Judiciary Committee, to whom the Senate resolu- 
 tions were referred, reported a substitute for the amend- 
 ment, which, in April, 1864, passed the Senate by a 
 vote of thirty-eight to six; but reaching the House, 
 June 15, it failed to get the necessary two-thirds vote 
 and was defeated. At the next session of Congress the 
 resolutions were again presented to the House, and 
 after a protracted debate were passed (January 13, 
 1865) by a vote of one hundred and nineteen to fifty- 
 six. Illinois was the first State to ratify the amend- 
 ment ; and others promptly followed. Lincoln was 
 grateful and delighted. He remarked, “ This ends the 
 job”; adding, “ I feel proud that Illinois is a little 
 ahead.” 
 
 Overtures having been made, through General Grant, 
 for a meeting between the President and certain “ peace 
 commissioners ” representing the belligerents, Lincoln, 
 anxious that nothing should be left undone that might 
 evidence his desire to bring the war to a close, con- 
 sented to the interview. On the morning of February 
 2, 1865, he left Washington, quite privately, in order 
 to accomplish his mission without awakening the gossip 
 and criticism which publicity would excite. At Fortress 
 Monroe he was joined by Secretary Seward, who seems 
 to have been the only member of the Cabinet who knew 
 of the President’s intention to meet the Southern Com- 
 missioners. Lincoln took the full responsibility, as he 
 often did when dealing with risky or unpopular 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 555 
 
 measures. “ None of the Cabinet were advised of this 
 move, and without exception I think it struck them 
 unfavorably that the Chief Magistrate should have 
 gone on such a mission,” is the comment of Secretary 
 Welles, — although he adds, “The discussion will be 
 likely to tend to peace.” 
 
 The next morning (February 3) the President and 
 Mr. Seward received the Southern Commissioners — 
 Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell — on board the U. S. 
 steam transport “ River Queen ” in Hampton Roads. 
 The conference, says Mr. Seward, “ was altogether in- 
 formal. There was no attendance of secretaries, clerks, 
 or other witnesses. Nothing was written or read. The 
 conversation, although earnest and free, was calm and 
 courteous and kind on both sides. The Richmond 
 party approached the subject rather indirectly, and at 
 no time did they either make categorical demands or 
 tender formal stipulations or absolute refusals. Nevei’- 
 theless, during the conference, which lasted four hours, 
 the several points at issue between the Government and 
 the insurgents were distinctly raised and discussed, 
 fully, intelligently, and in an amicable spirit.” 
 
 The meeting was fruitless. The commissioners asked, 
 as a preliminary step, the recognition of Jefferson 
 Davis as President of the Southern Confederacy. 
 Lincoln declined, stating that “ the only ground on 
 which he could rest the justice of the war — either with 
 his own people or with foreign powers — was that it 
 was not a war of conquest, for the States had never been 
 separated from the Union. Consequently he could not 
 recognize another government inside of the one of 
 which he alone was President, nor admit the separate 
 independence of States that were yet a part of the 
 Union. ‘ That,’ said he, * would be doing what you 
 have so long asked Europe to do in vain, and be re- 
 signing the only thing the armies of the Union have 
 
556 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 been fighting for.’ Mr. Hunter, one of the commission- 
 ers, made a long reply to this, insisting that the recog- 
 nition of Davis’s power to make a treaty was the first 
 and indispensable step to peace, and referred to the 
 correspondence between King Charles I. and his Par- 
 liament as a trustworthy precedent of a constitutional 
 ruler treating with rebels. Lincoln’s face then wore 
 that indescribable expression which generally preceded 
 his hardest hits, as he remarked: ‘Upon questions of 
 history I must refer you to Mr. Seward, for he is 
 posted in such things, and I don’t pretend to be. My 
 only distinct recollection of the matter is that Charles 
 lost his head .’ ” 
 
 Alexander H. Stephens, one of the commissioners at 
 the meeting on board the “ River Queen,” and the Vice- 
 President of the waning Confederacy, was a very small 
 man physically, with a complexion so yellow as to sug- 
 gest an ear of ripe corn. Lincoln gave the following 
 humorous account of the meeting with him : “ Mr. 
 
 Stephens had on an overcoat about three sizes too big 
 for him, with an old-fashioned high collar. The cabin 
 soon began to get pretty warm, and after a while he 
 stood up and pulled off his big coat. He slipped it 
 off just about as you would husk an ear of corn. I 
 could n’t help thinking, as I looked first at the overcoat 
 and then at the man, ‘ Well, that ’s the biggest shuck 
 and the smallest nubbin I ever laid eyes on.’ ” 
 
 So strongly were Lincoln’s hopes fixed on finding 
 some possible basis for a peaceful restoration of the 
 Union that a few days after his return from his meeting 
 with the Southern Peace Commissioners he presented to 
 the Cabinet (February 5, 1865) a scheme for paying 
 to the Southern States a partial compensation for the 
 loss of their slaves, provided they would at once dis- 
 continue armed resistance to the Federal Government. 
 It was, says Mr. Welles, who was present at the meet- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 557 
 
 in g referred to, as “ a proposition for paying the ex- 
 penses of the war for two hundred days, or four hun- 
 dred millions of dollars, to the rebellious States, to be 
 for the extinguishment of slavery. The scheme did not 
 meet with favor, and was dropped.” But it showed, 
 adds Mr. Welles, “ the earnest desire of the President 
 to conciliate and effect peace.” 
 
 The evening of March 3, 1865, the President had 
 remained with his Cabinet at the Capitol until a late 
 hour, finishing the business pertaining to the last acts 
 of the old Congress. His face had the ineffaceable 
 care-worn look, yet his manner was cheerful, and he 
 appeared to be occupied with the work of the moment, 
 to the exclusion of all thoughts of the future or of the 
 great event of the morrow. 
 
 Rain prevailed during the morning of inauguration 
 day, but before noon it had ceased falling. The new 
 Senate, convened for a special session, was organized, 
 and Andrew Johnson was sworn in its presence into the 
 office of Vice-President. Shortly after twelve o’clock, 
 Lincoln entered the chamber and joined the august 
 procession, which then moved to the eastern portico. 
 As Lincoln stepped forward to take the oath of office, 
 a flood of sunlight suddenly burst from the clouds, 
 illuminating his face and form as he bowed to the 
 acclamations of the people. Speaking of this incident 
 next day, he said, “ Did you notice that sunburst? It 
 made my heart jump.” Cheers and shouts rent the air 
 as the President prepared to speak his inaugural. He 
 raised his arm, and the crowd hushed to catch his open- 
 ing words. He paused, as though thronging memories 
 impeded utterance ; then, in a voice clear and strong, 
 but touched with pathos, he read that eloquent and im- 
 perishable composition, the Second Inaugural Address. 
 
 Fellow-Countrymen: At this second appearing to 
 take the oath of the Presidential office, there is less 
 
558 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 occasion for an extended address than there was at the 
 first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a 
 course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, 
 at the expiration of four years, during which public 
 declarations have been constantly called forth on every 
 point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs 
 the attention and engrosses the energies of the Nation, 
 little that is new could be presented. The progress of 
 our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well 
 known to the public as to myself ; and it is, I trust, 
 reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With 
 high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it 
 is ventured. 
 
 On the occasion corresponding to this, four years 
 ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an im- 
 pending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avoid 
 it. While the inaugural address was being delivered 
 from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union 
 without war, insurgent agents were in the city, seeking 
 to destroy it with war, — seeking to dissolve the Union, 
 and divide the effects by negotiation. Both parties 
 deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather 
 than let the Nation survive, and the other would accept 
 war rather than let it perish ; and the war came. One- 
 eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not 
 distributed generally over the Union, but localized in 
 the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a 
 peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this 
 interest was somehow the cause of the war. To 
 strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was 
 the object for which the insurgents would rend the 
 Union by war, while the Government claimed no right 
 to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement 
 of it. 
 
 Neither party expected for the war the magnitude 
 or the duration which it has already attained. Neither 
 anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease 
 when, or even before the conflict itself should cease. 
 Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 559 
 
 fundamental and astounding. Both read the same 
 Bible, and pray to the same God, and each invokes His 
 aid against the other. It may seem strange that any 
 men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in 
 wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s 
 faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged. 
 The prayer of both could not be answered. That of 
 neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his 
 own purposes. “ Woe unto the world because of 
 offenses, for it must needs be that offenses come, but 
 woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.” If we 
 shall suppose that American slavery is one of those 
 offenses, which, in the Providence of God, must needs 
 come, but which, having continued through His ap- 
 pointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives 
 to North and South this terrible war, as the woe due 
 to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern 
 therein any departure from those Divine attributes 
 which the believers in a living God always ascribe to 
 Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that 
 this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. 
 Yet if God wills that it continue until all the wealth 
 piled by the bondman’s two hundred and fifty years of 
 unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of 
 blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn 
 with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, 
 so still it must be said: “ The judgments of the Lord 
 are true and righteous altogether.” 
 
 With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
 firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, 
 let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind 
 up the nation’s wounds ; to care for him who shall have 
 borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphan ; 
 to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and 
 lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. 
 
 This address was probably, next to the Gettysburg 
 oration, Lincoln’s most eloquent and touching public 
 appeal. Gladstone of England said of it: “ I am taken 
 
560 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 captive by so striking an utterance as this. I see in it 
 the effect of sharp trial, when rightly borne, to raise 
 men to a higher level of thought and action. It is by 
 cruel suffering that nations are sometimes born to a 
 better life. So it is with individual men. Lincoln’s 
 words show that upon him anxiety and sorrow have 
 wrought their true effect.” 
 
 As the procession moved from the Capitol to the 
 White House, at the close of the inaugural ceremonies, 
 a bright star was visible in the heavens. The crowds 
 gazing upon the unwonted phenomenon noted it as an 
 auspicious omen, like the baptism of sunshine which 
 had seemed to consecrate the President anew to his 
 exalted office. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 Close of the Civil War — Last Acts in the Great Tragedy — Lincoln at 
 the Front — A Memorable Meeting — Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, 
 and Porter — Life on Shipboard — Visit to Petersburg — Lincoln 
 and the Prisoners — Lincoln in Richmond — The Negroes Wel- 
 coming their “Great Messiah” — A Warm Reception — Lee’s Sur- 
 render — Lincoln Receives the News — Universal Rejoicing — Lin- 
 coln’s Last Speech to the Public — His Feelings and Intentions 
 toward the South — His Desire for Reconciliation. 
 
 G REAT events crowded upon each other in the 
 last few weeks of the Civil War ; and we must 
 pass rapidly over them, giving special prominence only 
 to those with which President Lincoln was personally 
 connected. The Army of the Potomac under Grant, 
 which for nearly a year had been incessantly engaged 
 with the army of General Lee, had forced the latter, 
 fighting desperately at every step, back through the 
 Wilderness, into the defenses about Richmond; and 
 Lee’s early surrender or retreat southward seemed the 
 only remaining alternatives. But the latter course, 
 disastrous as it would have been for the Confederacy, 
 was rendered impracticable by the comprehensive plan 
 of operations that had been adopted a year before. 
 Interposed between Richmond and the South was now 
 the powerful army of General Sherman. This daring 
 and self-reliant officer, after his brilliant triumph at 
 Atlanta the previous fall, had pushed on to Savannah 
 and captured that city also ; then turning his veteran 
 columns northward, he had swept like a dread meteor 
 through South Carolina, destroying the proud city of 
 Charleston, and then Columbia, the State capital. 
 General Johnston, with a strong force, vainly tried to 
 
562 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 stay his progress through North Carolina; but after 
 a desperate though unsuccessful battle at Bentonville 
 (March 20, 1865), the opposition gave way, and the 
 Union troops occupied Goldsboro, an important point 
 a hundred miles south of Richmond, commanding the 
 Southern railway communications of the Confederate 
 capital. The situation was singularly dramatic and 
 impressive. In this narrow theatre of war were now 
 being rendered, with all the leading actors on the stage, 
 the closing scenes of that great and bloody tragedy. 
 Grant on the north and Sherman on the south were 
 grinding Lee and Johnston between them like upper 
 and nether millstones. 
 
 The last days of March brought unmistakable signs 
 of the speedy breaking-up of the rebellion. Lincoln, 
 filled with anticipation not unmixed with anxiety, wished 
 to be at the front. “ When we came to the end of the 
 War and the breaking-up of things,” says General 
 Grant, “ one of Lincoln’s friends said to me, ‘ I think 
 Lincoln would like to come down and spend a few days 
 at City Point, but he is afraid if he does come it might 
 look like interfering with the movements of the army, 
 and after all that has been said about other Generals 
 he hesitates,’ I was told that if Lincoln had a hint 
 from me that he would be welcome he would come by 
 the first boat. Of course I sent word that the Presi- 
 dent could do me no greater honor than to come down 
 and be my guest. He came down, and we spent several 
 days riding around the lines. He was a fine horseman. 
 He talked, and talked, and talked; he seemed to enjoy 
 it, and said, ‘ How grateful I feel to be with the boys 
 and see what is being done at Richmond ! ’ He never 
 asked a question about the movements. He would say, 
 ‘ Tell me what has been done ; not what is to be done.’ 
 He would sit for hours tilted back in his chair, with 
 his hand shading his eyes, watching the movements 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 563 
 
 of the men with the greatest interest.” Another ac- 
 count says : “ Lincoln made many visits with Grant to 
 the lines around Richmond and Petersburg. On such 
 occasions he usually rode one of the General’s fine bay 
 horses, called ‘ Cincinnati.’ He was a good horseman, 
 and made his way through swamps and over corduroy 
 roads as well as the best trooper in the command. The 
 soldiers invariably recognized him, and greeted him, 
 wherever he appeared amongst them, with cheers that 
 were no lip service, but came from the depth of their 
 hearts. He always had a pleasant salute or a friendly 
 word for the men in the ranks.” 
 
 Aside from the President’s desire to be at the front 
 at this critical time, he had an almost feverish anxiety 
 to escape from the petty concerns and details of official 
 life in Washington. In Welles’s Diary is this entry 
 (March 23, 1865) : “ The President has gone to the 
 front, partly to get rid of the throng [office-seekers, 
 politicians, etc.] that is pressing on him. The more 
 he yields, the greater the pressure. It has now become 
 such that he is compelled to flee. There is no doubt 
 he is much worn down. Besides, he wishes the war 
 terminated, and, to this end, that severe terms shall 
 not be exacted of the Rebels.” 
 
 Much of the time during the President’s visit to the 
 army he had his quarters on the steamer “ River 
 Queen,” lying in the James river at City Point. It 
 was the same vessel on which he had received the 
 Southern peace commissioners a month before, and 
 the one on which he had made the journey from 
 Washington. On the 27th of March a memorable in- 
 terview occurred in the cabin of this vessel, between 
 President Lincoln, Generals Grant and Sherman, and 
 Admiral Porter. General Sherman thus describes the 
 interview: “I left Goldsboro on the 25th of March 
 and reached City Point on the afternoon of the 27th. 
 
564 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 I found General Grant and staff occupying a neat set 
 of log huts, on a bluff overlooking the James river. 
 The General’s family was with him. We had quite a 
 long and friendly talk, when Grant remarked that the 
 President was near by in a steamer lying at the dock, 
 and he proposed that we should call at once. We did 
 so, and found Mr. Lincoln on board the ‘ River Queen.’ 
 We had met in the early part of the war; he recog- 
 nized me, and received me with a warmth of manner 
 and expression that was most grateful. We sat some 
 time in the after-cabin, and Mr. Lincoln made many 
 inquiries about the events which attended the march 
 from Savannah to Goldsboro, and seemed to enjoy the 
 humorous stories about 4 our bummers,’ of which he 
 had heard much. When in lively conversation his face 
 brightened wonderfully, but if the conversation flagged 
 it assumed a sad and sorrowful expression. General 
 Grant and I explained to him that my next move from 
 Goldsboro would bring my army, increased to 80,000 
 men by Schofield’s and Terry’s reinforcements, in close 
 communication with Grant’s army then investing Lee 
 and Richmond; and that unless Lee could effect his 
 escape and make junction with Johnston in North 
 Carolina, he would soon be shut up in Richmond with 
 no possibility of supplies, and would have to surrender. 
 Mr. Lincoln was extremely interested in this view of 
 the case, and we explained that Lee’s only chance was 
 to escape, join Johnston, and, being then between me 
 in North Carolina and Grant in Virginia, he could 
 choose which to fight. Mr. Lincoln seemed impressed 
 with this ; but General Grant explained that at the 
 very moment of our conversation General Sheridan was 
 pressing his cavalry across James River from the north 
 to the south, that with this cavalry he would so extend 
 his left below Petersburg as to meet the South Shore 
 Road, and that if Lee should ‘ let go ’ his fortified 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 565 
 
 lines he (Grant) would follow him so close that he 
 could not possibly fall on me alone in North Carolina. 
 I in like manner expressed the fullest confidence that 
 my army in North Carolina was willing to cope with 
 Lee and Johnston combined, till Grant could come up. 
 But we both agreed that one more bloody battle was 
 likely to occur before the close of the war. Mr. Lin- 
 coln repeatedly inquired as to General Schofield’s ability 
 to maintain his position in my absence, and seemed 
 anxious that I should return to North Carolina. More 
 than once he exclaimed, 4 Must more blood be shed? 
 Cannot this last bloody battle be avoided? ’ We ex- 
 plained that we had to presume that General Lee was 
 a real general; that he must see that Johnston alone 
 was no barrier to my progress, and that if my army 
 of 80,000 veterans should reach Burksville he was lost 
 in Richmond ; and that we were forced to believe he 
 would not await that inevitable conclusion, but would 
 make one more desperate effort.” 
 
 General Sherman adds this personal tribute to Lin- 
 coln to the account of the interview on board the 
 44 River Queen ” : 44 When I left Mr. Lincoln I was 
 more than ever impressed by his kindly nature, his 
 deep and earnest sympathy with the afflictions of the 
 whole people, resulting from the war, and by the march 
 of hostile armies through the South. I felt that his 
 earnest desire was to end the war speedily, without 
 more bloodshed or devastation, and to restore all the 
 men of both sections to their homes. In the language 
 of his second inaugural address, he seemed to have 
 4 charity for all, malice toward none,’ and above all an 
 absolute faith in the courage, manliness, and integrity 
 of the armies in the field. When at rest or listening, 
 his legs and arms seemed to hang almost lifeless, and 
 his face was careworn and haggard ; but the moment 
 he began to talk his face lightened up, his tall form, 
 
566 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 as it were, unfolded, and he was the very impersona- 
 tion of good humor and fellowship. The last words 
 I recall as addressed to me were that he would feel 
 better when I was back at Goldsboro. We parted at 
 the gangway of the ‘ River Queen,’ about noon of 
 March 28, and I never saw him again. Of all the 
 men I ever met, he seemed to possess more of the ele- 
 ments of greatness, combined with goodness, than any 
 other.” 
 
 A few days after the interview described by General 
 Sherman, the President changed his quarters to the 
 cabin of the “ Malvern,” Admiral Porter’s flagship. 
 The Admiral says : “ The ‘ Malvern ’ was a small vessel 
 with poor accommodations, and not at all fitted to 
 receive high personages. She was a captured blockade- 
 runner, and had been given to me as a flag-ship. I 
 offered the President my bed, but he positively de- 
 clined it, and elected to sleep in a small state-room 
 outside of the cabin occupied by my secretary. It was 
 the smallest kind of a room, six feet long by four and 
 a half feet wide — a small kind of a room for the 
 President of the United States to be domiciled in ; but 
 Mr. Lincoln seemed pleased with it. When he came 
 to breakfast the next morning, I inquired how he had 
 slept : ‘ I slept well,’ he answered, * but you can’t put 
 a long sword into a short scabbard. I was too long 
 for that berth.’ Then I remembered he was over six 
 feet four inches, while the berth was only six feet. 
 That day, while we were out of the ship, all the car- 
 penters were put to work ; the state-room was taken 
 down and increased in size to eight feet by six and a 
 half feet. The mattress was widened to suit a berth 
 of four feet width, and the entire state-room remodelled. 
 Nothing was said to the President about the change 
 in his quarters when he went to bed ; but next morning 
 he came out smiling, and said : ‘ A miracle happened 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 567 
 
 last night; I shrank six inches in length and about a 
 foot sideways. I got somebody else’s big pillow, and 
 slept in a better bed than I did on the “ River Queen.” ’ 
 He enjoyed it greatly; but I do think if I had given 
 him two fence-rails to sleep on he would not have 
 found fault. That was Abraham Lincoln in all things 
 relating to his own comfort. He would never permit 
 people to put themselves out for him under any 
 circumstances.” 
 
 On the 2d of April the stronghold of Petersburg fell 
 into the hands of the Union troops. Lincoln, accom- 
 panied by Admiral Porter, visited the city. They 
 joined General Grant, and sat with him for nearly 
 two hours upon the porch of a comfortable little house 
 with a small yard in front. Crowds of citizens soon 
 gathered at the fence to gaze upon these remarkable 
 men of whom they had heard so much. The Presi- 
 dent’s heart was filled w r ith joy, for he felt that this 
 was “ the beginning of the end.” Admiral Porter says: 
 “ Several regiments passed us en route, and they all 
 seemed to recognize the President at once. ‘ Three 
 cheers for Uncle Abe ! ’ passed along among them, and 
 the cheers were given with a vim which showed the 
 estimation in which he was held by the soldiers. That 
 evening,” continues Admiral Porter, “ the sailors and 
 marines were sent out to guard and escort in some 
 prisoners, who were placed on board a large transport 
 lying in the stream. There were about a thousand 
 prisoners, more or less. The President expressed a 
 desire to go on shore. I ordered the barge and went 
 with him. We had to pass the transport with the 
 prisoners. They all rushed to the side with eager 
 curiosity. All wanted to see the Northern President. 
 They were perfectly content. Every man had a chunk 
 of meat and a piece of bread in his hand, and was 
 doing his best to dispose of it. ‘ That ’s Old Abe,’ 
 
568 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 said one, in a low voice. 4 Give the old fellow three 
 cheers,’ said another ; while a third called out, 4 Hello, 
 Abe, your bread and meat ’s better than pop-corn ! ’ 
 It was all good-natured, and not meant in unkindness. 
 I could see no difference between them and our own 
 men, except that they were ragged and attenuated for 
 want of wholesome food. They were as happy a 
 set of men as ever I saw. They could see their homes 
 looming up before them in the distance, and knew that 
 the war was over. 4 They will never shoulder a musket 
 again in anger,’ said the President, 4 and if Grant is 
 wise he will leave them their guns to shoot crows with. 
 It would do no harm.’ ” 
 
 The next day (April 3) the Union advance, under 
 General Weitzel, reached and occupied Richmond. 
 Lee was in retreat, with Grant in close pursuit. When 
 the news of the downfall of the Confederate capital 
 reached Lincoln on board the 44 Malvern,” he exclaimed 
 fervently : 44 Thank God that I have lived to see this ! 
 It seems to me I have been dreaming a horrid dream 
 for four years, and now the nightmare is gone. I 
 •want to see Richmond ” 
 
 The vessel started up the river, but found it ex- 
 tremely difficult to proceed, as the channel was filled 
 with torpedoes and obstructions, and they were obliged 
 to wait until a passage could be cleared. Admiral 
 Porter thus describes what followed : 44 When the chan- 
 nel was reported clear of torpedoes (a large number 
 of which were taken up), I proceeded up to Richmond 
 in the 4 Malvern,’ with President Lincoln. Every 
 vessel that got through the obstructions wished to be 
 the first one up, and pushed ahead with all steam ; 
 but they grounded, one after another, the 4 Malvern ’ 
 passing them all, until she also took the ground. Not 
 to be delayed, I took the President in my barge, and 
 with a tug ahead with a file of marines on board we 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 569 
 
 continued on up to the city. There was a large bridge 
 across the James about a mile below the landing, and 
 under this a party in a small steamer were caught 
 and held by the current, with no prospect of release 
 without assistance. I ordered the tug to cast off and 
 help them, leaving us in the barge to go on alone. 
 Here we were in a solitary boat, after having set out 
 with a number of vessels flying flags at every mast- 
 head, hoping to enter the conquered capital in a man- 
 ner befitting the rank of the President of the United 
 States, with a further intention of firing a national 
 salute in honor of the happy result. Mr. Lincoln was 
 cheerful, and had his 4 little story ’ ready for the oc- 
 casion. 4 Admiral, this brings to my mind a fellow 
 who once came to me to ask for an appointment as 
 minister abroad. Finding he could not get that, he 
 came down to some more modest position. Finally 
 he asked to be made a tide-waiter. When he saw he 
 could not get that, he asked me for an old pair of 
 trousers. It is sometimes well to be lmmble 
 
 44 1 had never been to Richmond before by that 
 route,” continues Admiral Porter, 44 and did not know 
 where the landing was; neither did the cockswain nor 
 any of the barge’s crew. We pulled on, hoping to see 
 someone of whom we could inquire, but no one was in 
 sight. The street along the river-front was as de- 
 serted as if this had been a city of the dead. The, 
 troops had been in possession some hours, but not a 
 soldier was to be seen. The current was now rushing 
 past us over and among rocks, on one of which we 
 finally stuck; but I backed out and pointed for the 
 nearest landing. There was a small house on this 
 landing, and behind it were some twelve negroes dig- 
 ging with spades. The leader of them was an old 
 man sixty years of age. He raised himself to an up- 
 right position as we landed, and put his hands up to 
 
570 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 his eyes. Then he dropped his spade and sprang for- 
 ward. ‘ Bress dc Lord,’ he said, ‘ dere is de great 
 Messiah! I knowed him as soon as I seed him. He ’s 
 bin in my heart fo’ long yeahs, an’ he ’s cum at las’ 
 to free his chillun from deir bondage! Glory, Halle- 
 lujah!’ And he fell upon his knees before the Presi- 
 dent and kissed his feet. The others followed his 
 example, and in a minute Mr. Lincoln was surrounded 
 by these people, who had treasured up the recollection 
 of him caught from a photograph, and had looked up 
 to him for four years as the one who was to lead them 
 out of captivity. It was a touching sight — that aged 
 negro kneeling at the feet of the tall, gaunt-looking 
 man who seemed in himself to be bearing all the grief 
 of the nation, and whose sad face seemed to say, ‘ I 
 suffer for you all, but will do all I can to help you.’ 
 Mr. Lincoln looked down on the poor creatures at 
 his feet. He was much embarrassed at his position. 
 ‘ Don’t kneel to me,’ he said, ‘ that is not right. You 
 must kneel to God only, and thank Him for the liberty 
 you will hereafter enjoy. I am but God’s humble 
 instrument ; but you may rest assured that as long 
 as I live no one shall put a shackle on your limbs, and 
 you shall have all the rights which God has given to 
 every other free citizen of this Republic.’ It was a 
 minute or two before I could get the negroes to rise 
 and leave the President. The scene was so touching 
 that I hated to disturb it, yet we could not stay there 
 all day ; we had to move on ; so I requested the pa- 
 triarch to withdraw from about the President with his 
 companions, and let us pass on. ‘ Yes, Mars,’ said 
 the old man, ‘ but after bein’ so many yeahs in de 
 desert widout water, it ’s mighty pleasant to be lookin’ 
 at las’ on our spring of life. ’Scuse us, sir; we means 
 no disrepec’ to Mars Lincoln; we means all love and 
 gratitude.’ And then, joining hands together in a 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 571 
 
 ring, the negroes sang a hymn, with the melodious and 
 touching voices possessed only by the negroes of the 
 South. The President and all of us listened respect- 
 fully while the hymn was being sung. Four minutes 
 at most had passed away since we first landed at a 
 point where, as far as the eye could reach, the streets 
 were entirely deserted; but now what a different scene 
 appeared as that hymn went forth from the negroes’ 
 lips ! The streets seemed to be suddenly alive with the 
 colored race. They seemed to spring from the earth. 
 They came tumbling and shouting, from over the hills 
 and from the water-side, where no one was seen as we 
 had passed. The crowd immediately became very op- 
 pressive. We needed our marines to keep them off. I 
 ordered twelve of the boat’s crew to fix bayonets to 
 their rifles and surround the President, all of which 
 was quickly done ; but the crowd poured in so fearfully 
 that I thought we all stood a chance of being crushed 
 to death. At length the President spoke. He could 
 not move for the mass of people — he had to do some- 
 thing. ‘My poor friends,’ he said, ‘you are free — 
 free as air. You can cast off the name of slave and 
 trample upon it ; it will come to you no more. Lib- 
 erty is your birthright. God gave it to you as He 
 gave it to others, and it is a sin that you have been 
 deprived of it for so many years. But you must try 
 to deserve this priceless boon. Let the world see that 
 you merit it, and are able to maintain it by your good 
 works. Don’t let your joy carry you into excesses. 
 Learn the laws and obey them ; obey God’s command- 
 ments and thank Him for giving you liberty, for to 
 Him you owe all things. There, now, let me pass on ; 
 I have but little time to spare. I want to see the 
 capital, and must return at once to Washington to 
 secure to you that liberty which you seem to prize so 
 highly.’ The crowd shouted and screeched as if they 
 
572 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 would split the firmament, though while the President 
 was speaking you might have heard a pin drop.” 
 
 Presently the little party was able to move on. 
 “ It never struck me,” says Admiral Porter, “ there 
 was anyone in that multitude who would injure Mr. 
 Lincoln; it seemed to me that he had an army of 
 supporters there who could and would defend him 
 against all the world. Our progress was very slow; 
 we did not move a mile an hour, and the crowd was 
 still increasing. It was a warm day, and the streets 
 were dusty, owing to the immense gathering which 
 covered every part of them, kicking up the dirt. The 
 atmosphere was suffocating; but Mr. Lincoln could 
 be seen plainly by every man, woman, and child, tower- 
 ing head and shoulders above that crowd; he over- 
 topped every man there. He carried his hat in his 
 hand, fanning his face, from which the perspiration 
 was pouring. He looked as if he would have given his 
 Presidency for a glass of water — I would have given 
 my commission for half that. 
 
 “ Now came another phase in the procession. As 
 we entered the city every window flew up, from ground 
 to roof, and every one was filled with eager, peering 
 faces, which turned one to another, and seemed to 
 ask, ‘ Is this large man, with soft eyes, and kind, be- 
 nevolent face, the one who has been held up to us 
 as the incarnation of wickedness, the destroyer of the 
 South? ’ There was nothing like taunt or defiance in 
 the faces of those who were gazing from the windows 
 or craning their necks from the sidewalks to catch 
 a view of the President. The look of every one was 
 that of eager curiosity — nothing more. In a short 
 time we reached the mansion of Mr. Davis, President 
 of the Confederacy, occupied after the evacuation as 
 the headquarters of General Weitzel and Shepley. 
 There was great cheering going on. Hundreds of 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 573 
 
 civilians — I don’t know who they were — assembled 
 at the front of the house to welcome Mr. Lincoln. Gen- 
 eral Shepley made a speech and gave us a lunch, after 
 which we entered a carriage and visited the State 
 House — the late seat of the Confederate Congress. 
 It was in dreadful disorder, betokening a sudden and 
 unexpected flight ; members’ tables were upset, bales 
 of Confederate scrip were lying about the floor, and 
 many official documents of some value were scattered 
 about. 
 
 “ After this inspection I urged the President to go 
 on board the ‘ Malvern.’ I began to feel more heavily 
 the responsibility resting upon me through the care 
 of his person. ‘The evening was approaching, and we 
 were in a carriage open on all sides. He was glad to 
 go ; he was tired out, and wanted the quiet of the 
 flag-ship. I was oppressed with uneasiness until we 
 got on board and stood on the deck with the President 
 safe; then there was not a happier man anywhere 
 than myself.” 
 
 On Sunday, April 9, the President returned to 
 Washington; and there he heard the thrilling news 
 that Lee, with his whole army, had that day surren- 
 dered to Grant at Appomattox. Lincoln’s first visit, 
 after reaching the capital, was to the house of Secre- 
 tary Seward, who had met with a severe accident dur- 
 ing his absence, and was a prisoner in a sick room. 
 Lincoln’s heart was full of joy, and he entered im- 
 mediately upon an account of his visit to Richmond 
 and the glorious successes of the Union army ; “ throw- 
 ing himself,” as Mr. Carpenter says, “ in his almost 
 boyish exultation, at full length across the bed, sup- 
 porting his head upon one hand, and in this manner 
 reciting the story of the collapse of the Rebellion. 
 Concluding, he lifted himself up and said, ‘ And now 
 for a day of Thanksgiving ! ’ ” 
 
574 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 In Washington, as in every city and town in the 
 loyal States, there was the wildest enthusiasm over 
 the good news from the army. Flags were flying every- 
 where, cannon were sounding, business was suspended, 
 and the people gave themselves up to the impulses 
 of joy and thanksgiving. Monday afternoon the work- 
 men of the navy-yard marched to the White House, 
 joining the thousands already there, and with bands 
 playing and a tumult of rejoicing, called persistently 
 for the President. After some delay Lincoln appeared 
 at the window above the main entrance, and was greeted 
 with loud and prolonged cheers and demonstrations 
 of love and respect. He declined to make a formal 
 speech, saying to the excited throng beneath: 
 
 I am very greatly rejoiced that an occasion has 
 occurred so pleasurable that the people can’t restrain 
 themselves. I suppose that arrangements are being 
 made for some sort of formal demonstration, perhaps 
 this evening or to-morrow night. If there should be 
 such a demonstration, I, of course, shall have to respond 
 to it, and I shall have nothing to say if I dribble it out 
 before. I see you have a band. I propose now closing 
 up by requesting you to play a certain air or tune. I 
 have always thought “ Dixie ” one of the best tunes I 
 ever heard. I have heard that our adversaries over the 
 way have attempted to appropriate it as a national air. 
 I insisted yesterday that we had fairly captured it. I 
 presented the question to the Attorney-General, and he 
 gave his opinion that it is our lawful prize. I ask the 
 band to give us a good turn upon it. 
 
 The band did give “ a good turn ” not only to 
 “ Dixie,” but to the whimsical tune of “ Yankee 
 Doodle,” after which Lincoln proposed three cheers 
 for General Grant and all under his command ; and 
 then “ three more cheers for our gallant navy,” at the 
 close of which he bowed and retired amid the inspiring 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 575 
 
 strains of “ Hail Columbia ” discoursed with vigor by 
 the patriotic musicians. 
 
 As additional despatches were received from ithe 
 army, the joyful excitement in Washington increased. 
 Tuesday evening, April 11, the President’s mansion, 
 the Executive Departments, and many of the business 
 places and private residences, were illuminated, bon- 
 fires were kindled, and fireworks sent off, in celebration 
 of the great event which stirred the hearts of the 
 people. A vast mass of citizens crowded about the 
 White House, as Lincoln appeared at the historic East 
 window and made his last speech to the American 
 public. It was a somewhat lengthy address, and had 
 been prepared and written out for the occasion. “ We 
 meet this evening, not in sorrow but in gladness of 
 heart,” began the President. “ No part of the honor 
 or praise is mine. To General Grant, his skilful offi- 
 cers and brave men, all belongs.” Mr. Brooks, who 
 was in the White House during the delivery of this 
 address, gives the following glimpses behind the scenes : 
 “ As Lincoln spoke, the multitude was as silent as if 
 the court-yard had been deserted. Then, as his speech 
 was written on loose sheets, and the candles placed for 
 him were too low, he took a light in his hand and went 
 on with his reading. Soon coming to the end of a 
 page, he found some difficulty in handling the manu- 
 script and holding the candlestick. A friend who stood 
 behind the drapery of the window reached out and 
 took the candle, and held it until the end of the speech, 
 and the President let the loose pages fall on the floor, 
 one by one, as fast as he was through with them. 
 Presently Tad, having refreshed himself at the dinner- 
 table, came back in search of amusement. He gathered 
 up the scattered sheets of the President’s speech, and 
 then amused himself by chasing the leaves as they 
 fluttered from the speaker’s hand. Growing impatient 
 
576 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 at his father’s delay to drop another page, Tad whis- 
 pered, ‘ Come, give me another ! ’ The President made 
 a queer motion with his foot toward the boy, but other- 
 wise showed no sign that he had other thoughts than 
 those which he was dropping to the listeners beneath. 
 Without was a vast sea of upturned faces, each eye 
 fixed on the form of the President. Around the tall 
 white pillars of the portico flowed an undulating sur- 
 face of human beings, stirred by emotion and lighted 
 with the fantastic colors of fireworks. At the window, 
 his face irradiated with patriotic joy, was the much- 
 beloved Lincoln, reading the speech that was to be his 
 last to the people. Behind him crept back and forth, 
 on his hands and knees, the boy of the White House, 
 gathering up his father’s carefully written pages, and 
 occasionally lifting up his eager face waiting for more. 
 It was before and behind the scenes. Sometimes I 
 wonder, when I recall that night, how much of a father’s 
 love and thought of his boy might have been mingled 
 in Lincoln’s last speech to the eager multitude.” 
 
 The President’s speech on this occasion was largely 
 devoted to the impending problem of Reconstruction 
 in the South. The problem was complex and difficult, 
 with no recognized principles or precedent for guidance. 
 Said Lincoln : “ Unlike the case of a war between 
 
 independent nations, there is no authorized organiza- 
 tion for us to treat with. No one man has authority 
 to give up the rebellion for any other man. We 
 simply must begin with and mould from disorganized 
 and discordant elements. Nor is it a small additional 
 embarrassment, that we, the loyal people, differ 
 amongst ourselves as to the mode, manner, and 
 measure of reconstruction. Let us all join in doing 
 the acts necessary to restoring the proper practical 
 relations between these States and the Union.” The 
 problem thus touched upon was one that had long 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 577 
 
 occupied the thoughts of Lincoln, especially since the 
 downfall of the Confederacy had been imminent. His 
 practical and far-seeing mind was already addressing 
 itself to the new issues, duties, and responsibilities, 
 which he saw opening before him, and which he well 
 knew would demand all of his wisdom, firmness, and 
 political sagacity. As was to be expected, a great 
 diversity of views prevailed. A powerful faction in 
 Congress, sympathized with by some members of the 
 Cabinet, was for “ making treason odious ” and deal- 
 ing with the insurgent States as conquered provinces 
 that had forfeited all rights once held under the Con- 
 stitution and were entitled only to such treatment as 
 the Government chose to give them. Lincoln’s ideas 
 were very different. His mind was occupied with for- 
 mulating a policy having for its object the welfare 
 of the Southern people and the restoration of the 
 rebellious States to the Union. His broad and states- 
 manlike views were outlined, the day after the public 
 address just referred to, in discussing Secretary 
 Welles’s plans for convening the legislature of Virginia. 
 Says Mr. Welles in his Diary: “ His idea was that the 
 members of the legislature, comprising the prominent 
 and influential men of their respective counties, had 
 better come together and undo their own work. Civil 
 government must be reestablished, he said, as soon as 
 possible; there must be courts, and law and order, or 
 societj r would be broken up, the disbanded armies would 
 turn into robber bands and guerillas, which we must 
 strive to prevent. These were the reasons why he 
 wished prominent Virginians who had the confidence 
 of the people to come together and turn themselves and 
 their neighbors into good Union men.” Lincoln had 
 no thought of leaving any of these questions to the 
 military authorities. In March he had directed a 
 despatch from Stanton to Grant, saying: M The Presi- 
 
578 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 dent wishes you to have no conference with General 
 Lee, unless it be for the capitulation of his army, or 
 on some other minor and purely military matter. He 
 instructs me to say that you are not to decide, discuss, 
 or confer upon any political question. Such questions 
 the President holds in his own hands, and will submit 
 them to no military conferences or conventions.” Dur- 
 ing his meeting with Grant at Petersburg the President 
 revealed to the General many of his plans for the 
 rehabilitation of the South, and it could easily be seen 
 that a spirit of magnanimity was uppermost in his 
 heart. And at the conference with Grant, Sherman, 
 and Porter, on board the “ River Queen,” the same 
 subject was broached. “ Though I cannot attempt to 
 recall the words spoken by any one of the persons 
 present on that occasion,” says General Sherman, “ I 
 know we talked generally about what was to be done 
 when Lee’s and Johnston’s armies were beaten and dis- 
 persed. On this point Mr. Lincoln was very full. He 
 said that he had long thought of it, that he hoped this 
 end could be reached without more bloodshed, but in 
 any event he wanted us to get the men of the Southern 
 armies disarmed and back to their homes ; that he 
 contemplated no revenge, no harsh measures, but quite 
 the contrary, and that their suffering and hardships 
 during the war would make them the more submissive 
 to law.” Says Hon. George Bancroft: “It was the 
 nature of Mr. Lincoln to forgive. When hostilities 
 ceased he who had always sent forth the flag with 
 every one of its stars in the field was eager to receive 
 back his returning countrymen.” 
 
 One of the last stories of personal interviews with 
 President Lincoln relates to his feeling of clemency 
 for the men lately in rebellion. It is told by Senator 
 Henderson of Missouri. “ About the middle of March, 
 1865,” says Senator Henderson, “ I went to the White 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 579 
 
 House to ask the President to pardon a number of 
 men who had been languishing in Missouri prisons for 
 various offenses, all political. Some of them had been 
 my schoolmates, and their mothers and sisters and 
 sweethearts had persisted in appeals that I should use 
 my influence for their release. Since it was evident 
 to me that the Confederacy was in its last throes, I 
 felt that the pardon of most of these prisoners would 
 do more good than harm. I had separated them, ac- 
 cording to the gravity of their offenses, into three 
 classes ; and handing the first list to him, I said, ‘ Mr. 
 President, the session of the Senate is closed, and I am 
 about to start for home. The war is virtually over. 
 Grant is pretty certain to get Lee and his army, and 
 Sherman is plainly able to take care of Johnston. In 
 my opinion the best way to prevent guerilla warfare 
 at the end of organized resistance will be to show 
 clemency to these Southern sympathizers.’ Lincoln 
 shook his head and said, ‘ Henderson, I am deeply in- 
 debted to you, and I want to show it ; but don’t ask 
 me at this time to pardon rebels. I can’t do it. 
 People are continually blaming me for being too lenient. 
 Don’t encourage such fellows by inducing me to turn 
 loose a lot of men who perhaps ought to be hanged.’ 
 I answered, ‘ Mr. President, these prisoners and their 
 friends tell me that for them the war is over; and it 
 will surely have a good influence now to let them go.’ 
 Fie replied, ‘ Henderson, my conscience tells me that 
 I must not do it.’ But I persisted. ‘ Mr. President, 
 you should do it. It is necessary for good feeling in 
 Missouri that these people be released.’ ‘ If I sign 
 this list as a whole, will you be responsible for the 
 future good behavior of these men? ’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ 
 I replied, ‘ I will.’ 4 Then I ’ll take the risk.’ He wrote 
 the word Pardoned, signed the order of release, and 
 returned the paper to me. ‘ Thank you, Mr. Presi- 
 
580 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 dent,’ I said, 4 but that is not all. I have another list.’ 
 4 You ’re not going to make me let loose another lot! ’ 
 he exclaimed. 4 Yes,’ I answered, 4 and my argument 
 is the same as before. The guilt of these men is doubt- 
 ful. Mercy must be the policy of peace.’ With the 
 only words approaching profanity that I ever heard 
 him utter, he exclaimed, ‘ I ’ll be durned if I don’t sign 
 it! Now, Henderson,’ he said, as he handed me the list, 
 ‘ remember that you are responsible to me for these 
 men, and if they don’t behave I ’ll put you in prison 
 for their sins’ ” 
 
 Lincoln’s whole feeling toward the vanquished South- 
 ern people was one of peace and magnanimity. While 
 many were clamoring for the execution of the Southern 
 leaders, and especially Jefferson Davis, Lincoln said, 
 only a day or two before his death: “ This talk about 
 Mr. Davis wearies me. I hope he will mount a fleet 
 horse, reach the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and ride 
 so far into its waters that we shall never see him again.” 
 And then he told a pat story - — perhaps his last — 
 of a boy in Springfield, 44 who saved up his money and 
 bought a 4 coon,’ which, after the novelty wore off, 
 became a great nuisance. He was one day leading him 
 through the streets, and had his hands full to keep 
 clear of the little vixen, who had torn his clothes half 
 off him. At length he sat down on the curb-stone, 
 completely fagged out. A man passing was stopped 
 by the lad’s disconsolate appearance, and asked the 
 matter. 4 Oh,’ was the only reply, ‘ this coon is such 
 a trouble to me ! ’ 4 Why don’t you get rid of him, 
 
 then?’ said the gentleman. ‘Hush!’ said the boy, 
 4 don’t you see he is gnawing his rope off? I am going 
 to let him do it, and then I will go home and tell the 
 folks that he got away from me.’ ” 
 
 At the last Cabinet meeting ever attended by Lin- 
 coln, held in the morning of the day on which he was 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 581 
 
 shot, the subject of Reconstruction was again upper- 
 most, and various plans were presented and discussed. 
 Secretary Stanton brought forward a plan or ordi- 
 nance which he said he had prepared with much care 
 and after a great deal of reflection. It was arranged 
 that a copy of this should be furnished to each mem- 
 ber of the Cabinet, for criticism and suggestion. “ In 
 the meantime,” says Secretary Welles, “ we were re- 
 quested by the President to deliberate and carefully 
 consider the proposition. He remarked that this was 
 the great question now before us, and we must soon 
 begin to act.” What that action would have been had 
 Lincoln lived — what wrong and misery would have 
 been spared to the South and shame and dishonor to 
 the North — no one can doubt who comprehends the 
 fibre of that kindly, just, and indomitable soul. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 The Last of Earth — Events of the Last Day of Lincoln’s Life — The 
 Last Cabinet Meeting — The Last Drive with Mrs. Lincoln — 
 Incidents of the Afternoon — Riddance to Jacob Thompson — A 
 Final Act of Pardon — The Fatal Evening — The Visit to the The- 
 atre — The Assassin’s Shot — A Scene of Horror — Particulars of 
 the Crime — The Dying President — ■ A Nation’s Grief — Funeral 
 Obsequies — The Return to Illinois — At Rest in Oak Ridge 
 Cemetery. 
 
 I T is something to be ever gratefully remembered, 
 that the last day of Lincoln’s life was filled with 
 sunshine. His cares and burdens slipped from him like 
 a garment, and his spirit was filled with a blessed and 
 benignant peace. 
 
 On the morning of that fatal Friday, the 14th day 
 of April, the President had a long conversation at 
 breakfast with his son Robert, then a member of Grant’s 
 staff, who had just arrived from the front with addi- 
 tional particulars of Lee’s surrender, of which event 
 he had been a witness. The President listened with 
 close attention to the interesting recital; then, taking 
 up a portrait of General Lee, which his son had brought 
 him, he placed it on the table before him, where he 
 scanned it long and thoughtfully. Presently he said : 
 “ It is a good face. It is the face of a noble, brave 
 man. I am glad that the Avar is over at last.” Look- 
 ing upon Robert, he continued: “Well, my son, you 
 have returned safely from the front. The war is now 
 closed, and we will soon live in peace with the brave 
 men who have been fighting against us. I trust that 
 the era of good feeling has returned, and that hence- 
 forth we shall live in harmony together.” 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 583 
 
 After breakfast the President received Speaker Col- 
 fax, spending an hour or more in discussing his plans 
 regarding the adjustment of matters in the South. 
 This was followed by an interview with Hon. John P. 
 Hale, the newly appointed Minister to Spain, and by 
 calls of congratulation from members of Congress and 
 old friends fi’om Illinois. Afterwards he took a short 
 drive with General Grant, who had just come to the 
 city to consult regarding the disbandment of the army 
 and the parole of prisoners. The people were wild 
 with enthusiasm, and wherever the President and Gen- 
 eral Grant appeared they were greeted with cheers, 
 the clapping of hands, waving of handkerchiefs, and 
 every possible demonstration of delight. 
 
 At the Cabinet meeting held at noon the President 
 was accompanied by General Grant. The meeting is 
 thus described by one who was present, Secretary 
 Welles : “ Congratulations were interchanged, and ear- 
 nest inquirjr was made whether any information had 
 been received from General Sherman. General Grant, 
 who was invited to remain, said he was expecting hourly 
 to hear from Sherman, and had a good deal of anxiety 
 on the subject. The President remarked that the news 
 would come soon and come favorably, he had no doubt, 
 for he had last night his usual dream which had pre- 
 ceded nearly every important event of the war. I 
 inquired the particulars of this remarkable dream. He 
 said it was in my department — it related to the 
 water ; that he seemed to be in a singular and inde- 
 scribable vessel, but always the same, and that he was 
 moving with great rapidity toward a dark and in- 
 definite shore ; that he had had this singular dream 
 preceding the firing on Sumter, the battles of Bull 
 Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, Stone River, Vicksburg, 
 Wilmington, etc. General Grant remarked, with some 
 emphasis and asperity, that Stone River was no vie- 
 
584 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 tory — that a few such victories would have ruined the 
 country, and he knew of no important results from 
 it. The President said that perhaps he should not 
 altogether agree with him, but whatever might be the 
 facts his singular di'eam preceded that fight. Victory 
 did not always follow his dream, but the event and 
 results were important. He had no doubt that a 
 battle had taken place or was about being fought, ‘ and 
 Johnston will be beaten, for I had this strange di’eam 
 again last night. It must relate to Sherman ; my 
 thoughts are in that direction, and I know of no other 
 very important event which is likely just now to 
 occur.' ” “ Great events,” adds Mr. Welles in his 
 Diary, “ did indeed follow ; for within a few hours the 
 good and gentle as well as truly great man who nar- 
 rated his dream closed forever his earthly career.” 
 
 After the Cabinet meeting the President took a drive 
 with Mrs. Lincoln, expressing a wish that no one 
 should accompany them. His heart was filled with a 
 solemn joy, w T hich awoke memories of the past to 
 mingle with hopes for the future; and in this subdued 
 moment he desired to be alone with the one who stood 
 nearest to him in human relationship. In the course 
 of their talk together, he said : “ Mary, we have had 
 a hard time of it since we came to Washington; but 
 the war is over, and with God’s blessing we may hope 
 for four years of peace and happiness, and then we 
 will go back to Illinois and pass the rest of our lives 
 in quiet.” He spoke, says Mr. Arnold, “ of his old 
 Springfield home ; and recollections of his early days, 
 his little brown cottage, the law office, the court room, 
 the green bag for his briefs and law papers, his ad- 
 ventures when riding the circuit, came thronging back 
 to him. The tension under which he had for so long 
 been kept was removed, and he was like a boy out of 
 school. ‘ We have laid by,’ said he to his wife, ‘ some 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 585 
 
 money, and during this term we will try and save up 
 more, but shall not have enough to support us. We 
 will go back to Illinois, and I will open a law office 
 at Springfield or Chicago, and practise law, and at 
 least do enough to help give us a livelihood.’ Such 
 were the dreams, the day-dreams of Lincoln, on the 
 last day of his earthly life.” 
 
 Mr. Neill, the President’s private secretary, states 
 that between three and four o’clock of this day he had 
 occasion to seek the President to procure his signature 
 to a paper. “ I found,” says Mr. Neill, “ that he had 
 retired to the private parlor of the house for lunch. 
 While I was looking over the papers on his table, to 
 see if I could find the desired commission, he came 
 back, eating an apple. I told him what I was looking 
 for, and as I talked he placed his hand upon the bell- 
 pull. I said: ‘For whom are you going to ring?’ 
 Placing his hand upon my coat, he spoke but two 
 words: ‘Andrew Johnson.’ ‘Then,’ I said, ‘I will 
 come in again.’ As I was leaving the room, the Vice- 
 President had been ushered in, and the President ad- 
 vanced and took him by the hand.” 
 
 Charles A. Dana, the Assistant Secretary of War, 
 says that his last recollections of President Lincoln 
 are indelibly associated with the seditious Jacob Thomp- 
 son. “ Late in the afternoon,” says Mr. Dana, “ a 
 despatch was received at the War Department from 
 the provost marshal of Portland, Maine, saying that 
 he had received information that Jacob Thompson 
 would arrive in Portland during that night, in order 
 to take there the Canadian steamer which was to sail 
 for Liverpool. On reading this despatch to Mr. Stan- 
 ton, the latter said, ‘ Order him to be arrested — but 
 no ; you had better take it over to the President.’ I 
 found Mr. Lincoln in the inner room of his business 
 office at the White House, with his coat off, washing 
 
586 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 his hands preparatory to a drive. ‘ Hello,’ said he, 
 ‘what is it?’ Listening to the despatch, he asked, 
 ‘What does Stanton say?’ ‘He thinks he ought to 
 be arrested,’ I replied. ‘ Well,’ he continued, drawling 
 his words, ‘ I rather guess not. When you have an 
 elephant on your hands, and he wants to run away, 
 better let him run.’ ” 
 
 During the afternoon the President signed a pardon 
 for a soldier sentenced to be shot for desertion; re- 
 marking, as he did so, “ Well, I think the boy can do 
 us more good above ground than under ground.” He 
 also approved an application for the discharge, on tak- 
 ing the oath of allegiance, of a Southern prisoner, on 
 whose petition he wrote, “ Let it be done.” This act 
 of mercy was his last official order. 
 
 It had been decided early in the day that the Presi- 
 dent and Mrs. Lincoln would attend Ford’s Theatre 
 in the evening, to witness the play of “ The American 
 Cousin.” Lincoln had invited General Grant to ac- 
 company his party to the theatre, saying that the 
 people would expect to see him and should not be 
 disappointed. But the General had declined, as Mrs. 
 Grant was anxious to start that afternoon to visit 
 their children, who were at school in Burlington, New 
 Jersey. 
 
 As the hour approached for leaving for the theatre, 
 the President was engaged in a conversation with two 
 friends — Speaker Colfax and Hon. George Ashmun 
 of Massachusetts. The business on which they had 
 met not being concluded, the President gave Mr. Ash- 
 mun a card on which he had written these words : 
 “ Allow Mr. Ashmun and friend to come in at 9 a. m. 
 to-morrow — A. Lincoln.” He then turned to Mr. 
 Colfax, saying, “ You are going with Mrs. Lincoln 
 and me to the theatre, I hope.” Mr. Colfax pleaded 
 other engagements, when Lincoln remarked : “ Mr. Sum- 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 587 
 
 ner has the gavel of the Confederate Congress, which 
 he got at Richmond to hand to the Secretary of War. 
 But I insisted then that he must give it to you ; and 
 you tell him for me to hand it over.” He then rose, 
 but seemed reluctant to go, expressing a half-determina- 
 tion to delay a while longer. It was undoubtedly to 
 avoid disappointing the audience, to whom his presence 
 had been promised, that he went to the play-house 
 that night. At the door he stopped and said to 
 Speaker Colfax, who was about to leave for the Pacific 
 coast, “ Colfax, do not forget to tell the people in the 
 mining regions, as you pass through, what I told you 
 this morning about the development w'hen peace comes. 
 I will telegraph you at San Francisco.” 
 
 It was nine o’clock when the Presidential party 
 reached the theatre. The place was crowded ; “ many 
 ladies in rich and gay costumes, officers in their uni- 
 forms, many well-known citizens, young folks, the 
 usual clusters of gaslights, the usual magnetism of 
 so many people, cheerful, with perfumes, music of 
 violins and flutes — and over all, and saturating all, 
 that vast, vague wonder, Victory, the Nation’s victory, 
 the triumph of the Union, filling the air, the thought, 
 the sense, with exhilaration more than all perfumes.” 
 As the President entered he was greeted with tremen- 
 dous cheers, to which he responded with genial cour- 
 tesy. The box reserved for him, at the right of the 
 stage, a little above the floor, was draped and festooned 
 with flags. As the party were seated, the daughter 
 of Senator Harris of New York occupied the corner 
 nearest the stage ; next her was Mrs. Lincoln ; and 
 behind them sat the President and Major Rathbone, 
 the former being nearest the door. 
 
 In his quiet chair he sate, 
 
 Pure of malice or guile, 
 
588 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Stainless of fear or hate ; 
 
 And there played a pleasant smile 
 On the rough and careworn face, — 
 
 For his heart was all the while 
 On means of mercy and grace. 
 
 The brave old flag drooped o’er him, — • 
 
 A fold in the hard hand lay ; 
 
 He looked perchance on the play, ■ — - 
 But the scene was a shadow before him, 
 
 For his thoughts were far away. 
 
 It was half-past ten o’clock, and the audience was 
 absorbed in the progress of the play, when suddenly 
 a pistol shot, loud and sharp, rang through the theatre. 
 All eyes were instantly directed toward the President’s 
 box, whence the report proceeded. A moment later, 
 the figure of a man, holding a smoking pistol in one 
 hand and a dagger in the other, appeared at the front 
 of the President’s box, and sprang to the stage, some 
 eight or ten feet below, shouting as he did so, “ Sic 
 semper tyrannis! ” He fell as he struck the stage; but 
 quickly recovering himself, sprang through the side- 
 wings and escaped from the theatre by a rear door. 
 
 At the moment of the assassination a single actor, 
 Mr. Hawk, was on the stage. In his account of the 
 tragical event he says : “ When I heard the shot fired, 
 I turned, looked up at the President’s box, heard the 
 man exclaim, £ Sic semper tyrannis! ’ saw him jump 
 from the box, seize the flag on the staff, and drop to 
 the stage. He slipped when he struck the stage, but 
 got upon his feet in a moment, brandished a large 
 knife, crying, ‘ The South shall be free,’ turned his 
 face in the direction where I stood, and I recognized 
 him as John Wilkes Booth. He ran towards me, and 
 I, seeing the knife, thought I was the one he was after, 
 and ran off the stage and up a flight of stairs. He 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 589 
 
 made his escape out of a door directly in the rear 
 of the theatre, mounted a horse, and rode off. The 
 above all occurred in the space of a quarter of a 
 minute, and at the time I did not know the President 
 was shot.” 
 
 Scarcely had the horror-stricken audience witnessed 
 the leap and flight of the asassin when a woman’s 
 shriek pierced through the theatre, recalling all eyes 
 to the President’s box. The scene that ensued is de- 
 scribed with singular vividness by the poet Walt Whit- 
 man, who was present : “ A moment’s hush — a scream 
 ■ — the cry of murder — Airs. Lincoln leaning out of 
 the box, with ashy cheeks and lips, with involuntary 
 cry, pointing to the retreating figure, ‘ He has killed 
 the President ! ’ And still a moment’s strange, incredu- 
 lous suspense — and then the deluge ! — then that mix- 
 ture of horror, noises, uncertainty — (the sound, some- 
 where back, of a horse’s hoofs clattering with speed) 
 
 • — the people burst through chairs and railing, and 
 break them up — that noise adds to the queerness of 
 the scene — there is inextricable confusion and terror 
 ■ — women faint — feeble persons fall and are trampled 
 on — many cries of agony are heard — the broad stage 
 suddenly fills to suffocation with a dense and motley 
 crowd, like some horrible carnival — the audience rush 
 generally upon it — at least the strong men do — the 
 actors and actresses are there in their play costumes 
 and painted faces, with mortal fright showing through 
 the rouge — some trembling, some in tears — the 
 screams and calls, confused talk — redoubled, trebled 
 — two or three manage to pass up water from the stage 
 to the President’s box — others try to clamber up. 
 Amidst all this, a party of soldiers, two hundred or 
 more, hearing what is done, suddenly appear; they 
 storm the house, inflamed with fury, literally charging 
 the audience with fixed bayonets, muskets, and pistols, 
 
590 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 shouting, ‘ Clear out ! clear out ! ’ . . . And in the 
 midst of that pandemonium of senseless haste — the in- 
 furiated soldiers, the audience, the stage, its actors 
 and actresses, its paints and spangles and gaslights, — 
 the life blood from those veins, the best and sweetest 
 of the land, drips slowly down, and death’s ooze already 
 begins its little bubbles on the lips.” 
 
 It appears that Booth, the assassin, had long been 
 plotting the murder of the President, and was await- 
 ing a favorable moment for its execution. He had 
 visited the theatre at half-past eleven on the morning 
 of the 14th, and learned that a box had been taken 
 for the President that evening. He engaged a fleet 
 horse for a saddle-ride in the afternoon, and left it at 
 a convenient place. In the evening he rode to the 
 theatre, and, leaving the animal in charge of an ac- 
 complice, entered the house. Making his way to the 
 door of the President’s box, and taking a small Der- 
 ringer pistol in one hand and a double-edged dagger 
 in the other, he thrust his arm into the entrance, where 
 the President, sitting in an arm-chair, presented to his 
 view the back and side of his head. A flash, a sharp 
 report, a puff of smoke, and the fatal bullet had en- 
 tered the President’s brain. 
 
 Major Rathbone, who occupied a seat in the Presi- 
 dent’s box, testifies that he was sitting with his back 
 toward the door, when he heard the discharge of a 
 pistol behind him, and looking around saw through the 
 smoke a man between the door and the President. 
 Major Rathbone instantly sprang toward him and 
 seized him ; the man wrested himself from his grasp, 
 and made a violent thrust at the Major’s breast with 
 a large knife. The Major parried the blow by striking 
 it up, and received a wound in his left arm. The man 
 rushed to the front of the box, and the Major en- 
 deavored to seize him again, but only caught his clothes 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 591 
 
 as he was leaping over the railing of the box. Major 
 Rathbone then turned to the President. His position 
 was not changed; his head was slightly bent forward, 
 and his eyes were closed. 
 
 As soon as the surgeons who had been summoned 
 completed their hasty examination, the unconscious 
 form of the President was borne from the theatre to 
 a house across the street, and laid upon his death-bed. 
 Around him were gathered Surgeon-General Barnes, 
 Vice-President Johnson, Senator Sumner, Secretaries 
 Stanton and Welles, Generals Halleck and Meigs, 
 Attorney-General Speed, Postmaster-General Denni- 
 son, Mr. McCulloch, Speaker Colfax, and other inti- 
 mate friends who had been hastily summoned. Mrs. 
 Lincoln sat in an adjoining room, prostrate and over- 
 whelmed, with her son Robert. The examination of 
 the surgeons had left no room for hope. The watchers 
 remained through the night by the bedside of the 
 stricken man, who showed no signs of consciousness ; 
 and a little after seven o’clock in the morning — Satur- 
 day the 15th of April — he breathed his last. 
 
 A vivid account of the death-bed scene, together with 
 particulars of the attacks upon Secretary Seward and 
 his son Frederick a half-hour later than the attack 
 upon the President, is furnished in the contemporane- 
 ous record of Secretary Welles, a singularly cool ob- 
 server and clear narrator. “ I had retired to bed about 
 half-past ten on the evening of the 14th of April,” 
 writes Mr. Welles, “ and was just getting asleep when 
 Mrs. Welles, my wife, said some one was at our 
 door. ... I arose at once and raised a window, when 
 my messenger, James Smith, called to me that Mr. 
 Lincoln, the President, had been shot ; and said Secre- 
 tary Seward and his son, Assistant Secretary Frederick 
 Seward, were assassinated. ... I immediately dressed 
 myself, and, against the earnest remonstrance and ap- 
 
592 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 peals of my wife, went directly to Mr. Seward’s, whose 
 residence was on the east side of the square, mine being 
 on the north. . . . Entering the house, I found the 
 lower hall and office full of persons, and among them 
 most of the foreign legations, all anxiously inquiring 
 what truth there was in the horrible rumors afloat. . . . 
 At the head of the first stairs I met the elder Mrs. 
 Seward, who was scarcely able to speak, but desired me 
 to proceed up to Mr. Seward’s room. ... As I entered, 
 I met Miss Fanny Seward, with whom I exchanged a 
 single word, and proceeded to the foot of the bed. 
 Dr. Verdi, and, I think, two others, were there. The 
 bed was saturated with blood. The Secretary was 
 lying on his back, the upper part of his head covered 
 by a cloth, which extended down over his eyes. His 
 mouth was open, the lower jaw dropping down. I 
 exchanged a few whispered words with Dr. Vei’di. 
 Secretary Stanton, who came after but almost simul- 
 taneously with me, made inquiries in a louder tone till 
 admonished by a word from one of the physicians. We 
 almost immediately withdrew and went into the ad- 
 joining front room, where lay Frederick Seward. His 
 eyes were open, but he did not move them, nor a limb, 
 nor did he speak. Doctor White, who was in attend- 
 ance, told me he was unconscious and more danger- 
 ously injured than his father. ... As we descended 
 the stairs, I asked Stanton what he had heard in re- 
 gard to the President that was reliable. He said the 
 President was shot at Ford’s Theatre, that he had seen 
 a man who was present and witnessed the occurrence. 
 I said I would go immediately to the White House. 
 Stanton told me the President was not there but was 
 at the theatre. ‘ Then,’ said I, ‘ let us go immediately 
 there.’ . . . The President had been carried across the 
 street from the theatre, to the house of a Mr. Peterson. 
 We entered by ascending a flight of steps above the 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 593 
 
 basement and passing through a long hall to the rear, 
 where the President lay extended on a bed, breathing 
 heavily. Several surgeons were present, at least six, 
 I should think more. Among them I was glad to ob- 
 serve Dr. Hall, who, however, soon left. I inquired 
 of Dr. H., as I entered, the true condition of the Presi- 
 dent. He replied the President was dead to all in- 
 tents, although he might live three hours or perhaps 
 longer. . . . The giant sufferer lay extended diago- 
 nally across the bed, which was not long enough for 
 him. He had been stripped of his clothes. His large 
 arms, which were occasionally exposed, were of a size 
 which one would scarce have expected from his spare 
 appearance. His slow, full respiration lifted the 
 clothes with each breath that he took. His features 
 were calm and striking. I had never seen them appear 
 to better advantage than for the first hour, perhaps, 
 that I was there. After that, his right eye began to 
 swell and that part of his face became discolored. . . . 
 Senator Sumner was there, I think, when I entered. 
 If not, he came in soon after, as did Speaker Colfax, 
 Mr. Secretary McCulloch, and the other members of 
 the Cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Seward. A 
 double guard was stationed at the door and on the 
 sidewalk, to repress the crowd, which was of course 
 highly excited and anxious. The room was small and 
 overcrowded. The surgeons and members of the Cabi- 
 net were as many as should have been in the room, 
 but there w T ere many more, and the hall and other 
 rooms in the front or main house were full. One of 
 these rooms was occupied by Mrs. Lincoln and her at- 
 tendants, with Miss Harris. Mrs. Dixon and Mrs. 
 Kinney came to her about twelve o’clock. About once 
 an hour Mrs. Lincoln would repair to the bedside of 
 her dying husband and with lamentations and tears 
 remain until overcome by emotion. ... A door which 
 
594 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 opened upon a porch or gallery, and also the windows, 
 were kept open for fresh air. The night was dark, 
 cloudy, and damp, and about six it began to rain. I 
 remained in the room until then without sitting or 
 leaving it, when, there being a vacant chair which some 
 one left at the foot of the bed, I occupied it for nearly 
 two hours, listening to the heavy groans, and witness- 
 ing the wasting life of the good and great man who 
 was expiring before me. ... A little before seven in 
 the morning I re-entered the room where the dying 
 President was rapidly drawing near the closing mo- 
 ments. His wife soon after made her last visit to 
 him. The death-struggle had begun. Robei’t, his son, 
 stood with several others at the head of the bed. The 
 respiration of the President became suspended at in- 
 tervals, and at last entirely ceased at twenty-two 
 minutes past seven o’clock.” 
 
 The news of the President’s assassination flashed 
 rapidly over the country, everywhere causing the great- 
 est consternation and grief. The revulsion from the 
 joy which had filled all loyal hearts at the prospects 
 of peace was sudden and profound. All business ceased, 
 and gave way to mourning and lamentation. The flags, 
 so lately unfurled in exultation, were now dropped at 
 half-mast, and emblems of sorrow were hung from 
 every door and window. Men walked with a dejected 
 air. They gathered together in groups in the street, 
 and spoke of the murder of the President as of a 
 personal calamity. The nation’s heart was smitten 
 sorely, and signs of woe were in every face and 
 movement. 
 
 A scene which transpired in Philadelphia, the morn- 
 ing after the murder, reflects the picture presented in 
 every city and town in the United States. “ We had 
 taken our seats,” says the delineator, “ in the early 
 car to ride down town, men and boys going to work. 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 595 
 
 The morning papers had come up from town as usual, 
 and the men unrolled them to read as the car started. 
 The eye fell on the black border and ominous column- 
 lines. Before we could speak, a good Quaker at the 
 head of the car broke out in horror : ‘ My God ! 
 What’s this? Lincoln is assassinated .’ The driver 
 stopped the car, and came in to hear the awful tidings. 
 There stood the car, mid-street, as the heavy news was 
 read in the gray dawn of that ill-fated day. Men 
 bowed their faces in their hands, and on the straw- 
 covered floor hot tears fell fast. Silently the driver 
 took the bells from his horses, and we started like a 
 hearse cityward. What a changed city since the day 
 before!' Then all was joy over the end of the war; 
 now we were plunged in a deeper gulf of woe. The 
 sun rose on a city smitten and weeping. All traffic 
 stood still; the icy hand of death lay flat on the heart 
 of commerce, and it gave not a throb. Men stood by 
 their open stores saying, with hands on each other’s 
 shoulders, ‘ Our President is dead.’ Over and over, in 
 a dazed way, they said the fateful syllables, as if the 
 bullet that tore through the weary brain at Washing- 
 ton had palsied the nation. The mute news-boy on the 
 corner said never a word as he handed to the speech- 
 less buyers the damp sheets from the press ; only he 
 brushed, with unwashed hand, the tears from his dirty 
 cheeks. Groups stood listening on the pavement with 
 faces to the earth, while one, in choking voice, read 
 the telegrams ; then with a look they departed in un- 
 worded woe, each cursing bitterly in his breast the 
 ‘ deep damnation of his taking off.’ Mill operatives, 
 clerks, workers, school children, all came home, the 
 faltering voice of the teacher telling the wondering 
 children to ‘ go home, there will be no school to-day.’ 
 The housewife looked up amazed to see husband and 
 children coming home so soon. The father’s face 
 
596 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 frightened her and she cried, ‘ What is wrong, hus- 
 band? ’ He could not speak the news, but the wee 
 girl with the school-books said, ‘ Mamma, they ’ve killed 
 the President.’ Ere noon every house wore crape; 
 it was as if there lay a dead son in every home. For 
 hours a sad group hung around the bulletins, hoping 
 against hope ; then, when the last hope died, turned 
 sullenly homeward, saying, ‘ When all was won, and 
 all was done, then to strike him down ! ’ The flags 
 in the harbor fell to half-mast ; the streets were rivers 
 of inky streamers ; from door-knobs floated crape ; 
 and even the unbelled car-horses seemed to draw the 
 black-robed cars more quietly than before.” 
 
 On Saturday the remains were borne to the White 
 House, where they were embalmed and placed on a 
 grand catafalque in the East Room. Little “ Tad ” 
 was overcome with grief. All day Saturday he was 
 inconsolable, but on Sunday morning the sun rose 
 bright and beautiful and into his childish heart came 
 the thought that all was well with his father. He said 
 to a gentleman who called upon Mrs. Lincoln, “ Do 
 you think, sir, that my father has gone to heaven ? ” 
 “ I have not a doubt of it,” was the reply. “ Then,” 
 said the little fellow in broken voice, “ I am glad he 
 has gone there, for he was never happy after he came 
 here. This was not a good place for him ! ” Tuesday 
 the White House was thrown open to admit friends who 
 desired to look upon the still form as it lay in death. 
 Wednesday, the 19th, the funeral services took place. 
 Mrs. Lincoln was too ill to be present ; but her two 
 sons sat near the coffin in the East Room. Next in 
 order were ranged Andrew Johnson (now President) 
 and the members of the Cabinet, and after them the 
 foreign representatives, the chief men of the nation, 
 and a large body of mourning citizens. The services 
 were conducted jointly by the Rev. Dr. Hall, Bishop 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 597 
 
 Simpson, Dr. Gray, and the Rev. Dr. Gurley, the 
 latter delivering the discourse. At two o’clock the 
 funeral cortege started for the Capitol, where the re- 
 mains were to lie in state until the following morning. 
 The procession was long and imposing. “ There were 
 no truer mourners,” says Secretary Welles, “ than the 
 poor colored people who crowded the streets, joined 
 the procession, and exhibited their woe, bewailing the 
 loss of him whom they regarded as a benefactor and 
 father. Women as well as men, with their little chil- 
 dren, thronged the streets, sorrow and trouble and 
 distress depicted on their countenances and in their 
 bearing. The vacant holiday expression had given way 
 to real grief.” The body was borne into the rotunda, 
 amidst funeral dirges and military salutes ; and the 
 religious exercises of the occasion were concluded. A 
 guard was stationed near the coffin, and the public 
 were again admitted to take their farewell of the dead. 
 
 While these obsequies were being performed at 
 Washington, similar ceremonies were observed in every 
 part of the country. It had been decided to convey 
 the remains of Lincoln to the home which he left 
 four years before with such solemn and affectionate 
 words of parting. The funeral train left Washington 
 on the 21st. Its passage through the principal East- 
 ern States and cities of the Union was a most mournful 
 and impressive spectacle. The heavily craped train, 
 its sombre engine swathed in black, moved through 
 the land like an eclipse. At every point vast crowds 
 assembled to gain a tearful glimpse as it sped past. 
 
 Over the breast of the spring, the land, amid cities, 
 
 Amid lanes and through old woods, where lately the 
 violets peep’d from the ground, spotting the 
 gray debris, 
 
 Amid the grass in the fields each side of the lanes, 
 passing the endless grass, 
 
598 EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 
 
 Passing the yellow-spear’d wheat, every grain from 
 its shroud in the dark-brown fields uprisen, 
 
 Passing the apple-tree blows of white and pink in the 
 orchards, 
 
 Carrying a corpse to where it shall rest in the grave, 
 
 Night and day journeys a coffin. 
 
 Coffin that passes through lanes and streets, 
 
 Through day and night with the great cloud darken- 
 ing the land, 
 
 With the pomp of the inloop’d flags, with the cities 
 draped in black, 
 
 With the show of the States themselves as of crape- 
 veil’d women standing, 
 
 With processions long and winding and the flambeaus 
 of the night, 
 
 With the countless torches lit, with the silent sea of 
 faces and the unbared heads, 
 
 With the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and the 
 sombre faces, 
 
 With dirges through the night, with the thousand 
 voices rising strong and solemn, 
 
 With all the mournful voices of the dirges pour’d 
 around the coffin, 
 
 The dim-lit churches and the shuddering organs — 
 
 With the tolling, tolling bells’ perpetual clang. 
 
 At the principal cities delays were made to enable 
 the people to pay their tribute of respect to the re- 
 mains of their beloved President. Through Baltimore, 
 Harrisburg, Philadelphia, the train passed to New 
 York City, where a magnificent funeral was held; 
 thence along the shore of the Hudson river to Albany, 
 thence westward through the principal cities of New 
 York, Ohio, and Northern Indiana, the cortege wended 
 its solemn way, reaching, on the 1st of May, the city 
 of Chicago. Here very extensive preparations for 
 funeral obsequies had been made by the thousands who 
 
EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN 599 
 
 had known him in his life, and other thousands who 
 had learned to love him and now mourned his death. 
 
 On the 3d of May the funeral train reached Spring- 
 field, where old friends and neighbors tenderly re- 
 ceived the dust of their beloved dead. Funeral services 
 were held, and for twenty-four hours the catafalque 
 remained in the hall of the House, where thousands of 
 tear-dimmed eyes gazed for the last time upon the 
 familiar face. Then, on the morning of the 4th of 
 May, a sorrowing procession escorted the remains to 
 the beautiful grounds of Oak Ridge Cemetery, to rest 
 at last from the care and tumult of a troubled life. 
 To this hallowed spot have come the gray-haired sol- 
 diers of that stormy war, reverently to salute their 
 great commander’s tomb. Here shall long be paid the 
 loving homage of the dusky race that he redeemed. 
 And pilgrims from every land, who value human worth 
 and human liberty, bring here their tributes of respect. 
 And here, while the Government that he saved endures, 
 shall throng his patriot countrymen, not idly to lament 
 his loss, but to resolve that from this honored dead 
 they take increased devotion to that cause for which 
 he gave the last full measure of devotion; that the 
 dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, under 
 God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that 
 government of the people, by the people, for the people, 
 shall not perish from the earth. 
 
 \ 
 

INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 [The abbreviation “L.,” as used in this index , refers in every case to the subject of 
 this biography.] 
 
 Abolitionists, Bloomington convention, 
 165-169; crusade against slavery, 244- 
 245; “Boston set” visits L., 482-484 
 Adams, Charles Francis, 343 
 Adams, John Quincy, 100, 549 
 Agassiz, Louis, visits L., 475-476 
 Alabama, secedes, 261 
 Allen, Robert, L’s letter to, 59 
 Ames, Dr., 232 
 Ames, Oakes, 482 
 
 Anderson, Robert, meetings with L., 39— 
 40; holds Fort Sumter, 262 
 Andrew, John A., mentioned, 234, 342, 466; 
 impression of L., 235 
 
 Anecdotes of L., Aaron’s commission from 
 the Lord, 477; Abolitionist call for a con- 
 vention, 165-166; About his wealth, 216; 
 Actor who wanted consulship, 470; An- 
 derson and L’s good memory, 39-40; 
 Anxiety during summer of 1864, 542- 
 546; Artemus Ward, reading of, 332- 
 333; Attorney for the people, 459; Au- 
 thenticity of, 32; Baker rescued from 
 opponents, 91; “Biggest shuck and 
 smallest nubbin,” 556; Birds restored to 
 nest, 76; Black Hawk War, 37, 38, 40; 
 Bob Lewis and the Mormon lands, 334- 
 335; Booth’s acting, 469; Bores, getting 
 rid of, 460; Breach of promise suit, 81- 
 82; Bread and butter dinner, 255; 
 Bullet-hole through L’s hat, 541-542; 
 Burnside’s brigadiers, promoted, 385; 
 Butterfield’s son, appointment, 107; 
 “Cabinet a-sittin’,” 330; Call for addi- 
 tional troops “not a personal question,” 
 537; Cashiered officer, censured, 477- 
 478; Challenge to work in field for votes, 
 48; “Charles I. lost his head,” 556; 
 Chase’s appointment as chief-justice, 
 550-551; Client’s fee divided with de- 
 fendant, 128-129; Cogdal note returned 
 by L., 136; Confederate soldiers greeting 
 at Petersburg, 567-568; Congress, first 
 speech in, 101; Credits of troops, Stanton 
 overmatched, 376; Coward, “If any 
 man calls me coward let him test it,” 38; 
 Darkey arithmetic, 357-358; Dennis 
 
 Hanks’ recollections, 6-9; Douglas re- 
 proved, 203; Dreams significant, 583- 
 584; DuPont’s slowness, 457-458; 
 Earning the first dollar, 17-18; Editor 
 who nominated L., 460-461; Election 
 clerk, first official act, 32; Five Points 
 Sunday School visit, 225-226; Forced 
 serenity deceptive, 542; Free-soil party, 
 prediction, 172-174; Gavel of Confeder- 
 ate congress, 586-587; Gettysburg bat- 
 tle, L’s anxiety during, 499-500; “Give 
 and take” rule for office-seekers, 295- 
 296; Government on a tight rope, 484; 
 Grant accused of drunkenness, 524; 
 Grant invited to dinner, 520-521; Grant’s 
 ability to manage the army, 526-527; 
 Grant’s political aspirations, 523; 
 Greeley’s criticism, 429; Gunboat advice 
 to New Yorkers, 338; Herndon’s con- 
 victions on slavery, 166-167; Hooker’s 
 appointment, 487-488; Hooker’s self- 
 confidence, 491-492; Horsemanship 
 tested by McClellan, 415-416; Horses 
 captured by guerillas, 399; Horse- 
 trading, 140; Ignorance of Latin ad- 
 mitted, 468-469; Impromptu speeches 
 written, 471; Inaugural message, loss of, 
 283; Indian protected by L., 37; Jack- 
 knife given him because of ugliness, 83; 
 Jacob Thompson, proposed arrest, 585- 
 586; Jefferson Davis and the trouble- 
 some coon story, 580; Johnnie Konga- 
 pod, 81; Joseph Jefferson and his players, 
 79; Kerr’s papers enjoyed, 334; Kind- 
 ness to birds, 76; Kindness to old colored 
 woman, 128; Kindness to old John 
 Burns, 515; Last drive with wife, 584- 
 585; Law cases refused on moral grounds, 
 137-138; Lawsuits, gaining advantage 
 in, 80-82; Lee, attitude of L. toward, 
 582; Lightning rod and Forquer, 56-57; 
 Logan and his shirt, 139-140; “Long 
 sword in a short scabbard,” 566-567; 
 Loyalty to old friends, Hubbard, 458- 
 459; McClellan’s body-guard, 417—418; 
 McClellan’s fatigued horses, 416; Mc- 
 Clellan’s pass to Richmond, 454; McCor- 
 
604 
 
 INDEX 
 
 raick reaper case, 173-175; McCullough 
 thanked by L., 469-470; Major-generals 
 and hard tack, 400; Manners, first lesson, 
 13; Measuring backs with Sumner, 336; 
 Measuring height with Ab McElrath, 
 274-275; Measuring height with a 
 Southerner, 247; Measuring height with 
 a young “Sucker,” 254; Meeting with 
 Smoot, 29-30; Mrs. White, southern 
 sympathizer, 453; “Monarch of all you 
 survey,” 47; Name refused for commer- 
 cial use, 452; Negroes at White House 
 reception, 552-553; Negroes welcome 
 their “Great Messiah,” 569-571; Noisy 
 and boastful fighter, 189; Office-seeker 
 from Wisconsin repulsed, 353; Office- 
 seeker, unfit, 307 ; Old sign, “ Lincoln and 
 Herndon,” 264-265; Old woman and the 
 bread and milk, 255; One-legged soldier, 
 lack of credentials, 451-452; Oratorical 
 success discussed with Gulliver, 222-223; 
 Pardon for deserters, 397; Pardon for 
 young soldier, 396-397; Pardoning 
 prisoners of war, 578-580; Pass given 
 Laura Jones, Southerner, 453; Pay- 
 master, appointment, 377-378; Phila- 
 delphia receives news of L’s death, 594- 
 596; Pig rescued from a pit, 76-77; 
 Pigeon holes versus letter files, 474; 
 Powder sample, testing, 383-384; Quaker 
 demand for emancipation, 425-427; 
 Quakers sent home, 398; Rail making, 
 230-231 ; Reading Nasby during election 
 returns, 548; Rebel mail examined, 354- 
 355; Rebels number twelve hundred 
 thousand, 454; Revolutionary War de- 
 fended, 77-78; Sandwich Islands* 
 commissioner, applicants, 339; School 
 of events, suggestion, 475; Scott’s re- 
 quest concerning wife’s body, 408-410; 
 Scott “unable as a politician,” 337; 
 Sherman and the officer, 328-329; 
 Sherman after Bull Run, 327-329; 
 Sherman’s visit from Louisiana, 299; 
 Sitting for life-mask, 237-243; Skunks, 
 shooting, 373-374; Slave girl sold, 147; 
 Slavery speech criticised by Long, 181— 
 182; Soldiers’ humor, 399, 400; “Some- 
 thing everybody can take,” 460; South 
 Carolina lady’s visit, 297-298; Stanton 
 calls L. a d — d fool, 378; “Stoning 
 Stephen,” 204; Storekeeper in New 
 Salem, 43; Strength, physical, 92-93; 
 Stump speech, first appearance, 41; Sun 
 doesn’t set, 20; Swapping horses mid 
 stream, 535; Sykes’s yellow dog, 525-526; 
 Tad and the scattered pages of L’s 
 speech, 575-576; Tad’s grief over death 
 of father, 596; “Taking the wind out of 
 his sails,” 88; Talking against time, 80; 
 Taylor’s fine clothes, 57-58; Thrashing 
 
 a bully, 28-29; “To whom it may con- 
 cern,” 539; Trousers requested by office- 
 seeker, 569; Trust in God, 351-352; 
 Use of old-fashioned words, 139; Used 
 on adversaries, 86; Verses written from 
 memory, 356; Vicksburg, joy of L., 501; 
 Wade’s effort to remove Grant, 503; 
 Weem’s life of Washington, 15; Whigs 
 all dead, 157; Wood-craft knowledge, 
 474-475; Wrestling match with Jack 
 Armstrong, 28 
 
 Antietam, battle of, 414, 437; L’s dream, 
 583 
 
 Appomattox, Lee’s surrender at, 573 
 Armstrong, Hannah, 133-135 
 Armstrong, Hugh, 30 
 
 Armstrong, Jack, trial of strength, 28; 
 
 early friend, 133 
 Armstrong, John, quoted, 178 
 Armstrong, William D., defended by L., 
 133-135 
 
 Arnold, Isaac N., quoted, 3, 14, 19, 31, 56, 
 59, 72, 150, 153, 185, 190, 205, 232, 244, 
 297-298, 299-301, 332-333, 422-423, 
 466-467, 468, 545, 584-585; interview 
 with L., 422-423; mentioned, 237 
 Arnold, Matthew, quoted, 546 
 Ashley, Hon. James M., constitutional 
 amendment introduced by, 554 
 Ashmore, Congressman, of South Carolina, 
 quoted, 431 
 
 Ashmun, George, mentioned, 241-243, 586 
 Austin, G. L., quoted, 136 
 
 Baker, Edward D., mentioned, 74, 186; 
 refuses to defend slaves, 77; Whig de- 
 bater, 89; personal and political friend 
 of L., 91; elected congressman, 97; killed 
 at Balls’ Bluff, 131; magnanimity of L. 
 towards, 159; introduced L. at inaugura- 
 tion, 284 
 
 Balch, George B., quoted, 21-23 
 Baltimore, republican convention at, 1864, 
 534 
 
 Bancroft, George, contrasted with L., 217; 
 quoted, 578 
 
 Banks, Nathaniel P., 501 
 Barnes, Surgeon-General, 591 
 Barrett, J. H., quoted, 23-^4, 26 
 Bateman, Newton, quoted, 202-203, 245- 
 247 
 
 Bates, Edward, candidate for president, 
 231; made attorney general, 293, 294; 
 characterized, 366; visits army with L., 
 490; resignation, 552 
 Beckwith, H. W., 81 
 
 Beecher, Henry Ward, abolition sermons 
 read by L., 166; invites L. to speak in 
 his church, 214; eloquent abolitionist, 
 245 
 
 Bell, John, nominated for president, 251 
 
INDEX 
 
 605 
 
 Bennett, John, impressions of L., 67-68 
 Bible, L’s knowledge of, 118; L. quotes 
 from, 473; L's opinion of, 478 
 Bigelow, John, quoted, 303-304, 345, 359- 
 361, 363-364, 513, 514, 546-547 
 Bird, Francis, TV., 482 
 Birney, Zachariah, L’s school-master, 11 
 Bissell, TYilliam H., mentioned, 74-209 
 Bixby, Mrs., 397-398 
 Black Hawk War, L’s military experience 
 in, 35-40 
 
 Blaine, James G., compares Lincoln and 
 Douglas, 183-185 
 
 Blair, F. P., attacks Chase, 533; repre- 
 hended by L., 534 
 
 Blair, Montgomery, made postmaster 
 general, 293-294; arming of negroes de- 
 precated by, 436; residence fired, 536; 
 resignation, 551 
 
 Bloomington Convention, 165-169 
 Bonham, Jeriah, quoted, 180, 197, 203 
 Boone, Daniel, 2 
 
 Booneville, Ind., L. attends court, 9, 19 
 Booth, Edwin, L’s enjoyment of his acting, 
 469 
 
 Booth, John Wilkes, assassination of L., 
 588-590 
 
 Boston delegation, conference with L., 
 482 
 
 Boutwell, George S., quoted, 437 
 Bowles, Samuel, quoted, 206 
 Brainard and Knott, quoted, 220 
 Breckenridge, John A., early influence on 
 L., 9, 19 
 
 Breckenridge, John C., nominated for 
 president, 250 
 
 Breese, Sidney, dignity, 84; quoted, 141 
 Brewster, Father, 204 
 Bright, John, 357 
 
 Brooklyn, L’s lecture trip, 214-215 
 Brooks, Senator, knocks down Sumner, 
 245; quoted, 192 
 
 Brooks, Noah P., 470; quoted, 171-173, 
 462-463, 466-467, 471, 474, 490, 491- 
 492, 493, 543, 546; describes L’s last 
 speech, 575-576 
 
 Brooks, Phillips, quoted, 478-479 
 Bross, John A., 538 
 
 Bross, William, first meeting with L., 170; 
 
 interview with L., 265, 538-539 
 Brough, John, victorious governor of Ohio, 
 510; effort to reconcile L. and Chase, 
 549 
 
 Brown, John, 485 
 
 Browne, Francis Fisher, biographical 
 sketch, v-vii 
 
 Browning, O. H., mentioned, 74-186; 
 Whig debater, 89; inaugural party, 
 member of, 266, 275 
 
 Browning Robert, L’s fondness for his 
 poetry, 387 
 
 Bryan, Thomas B., purchases MS. of 
 emancipation proclamation, 445 
 Bryan, William J., on L. as an orator, 473 
 Bryant, William Cullen, presided over 
 Cooper Institute meeting, 217; aboli- 
 tionist, 245; favored L. for presidency, 
 247-248 
 
 Buchanan, James, mentioned, 294, 295; 
 treachery during his administration, 261- 
 262; escorts L. to Capitol, 284-286; 
 characterized, 291; escorts L. to White 
 House, 292 
 
 Bull Run, battle of, depression after, 326- 
 437; L’s dream, 583, second battle, 411 
 Bulwer-Lytton, mentioned, 469 
 Burns, John, 515 
 
 Burns, Robert, L’s fondness for his poetry, 
 466 
 
 Burnside, Ambrose E., Fredericksburg 
 repulse, 368, 487, 488; victories in N. C., 
 385; unpopularity, 404; replaces Mc- 
 Clellan, 417; L’s opinion of, 487 
 Bushnell, C. S., agent for Ericsson, 345, 
 346 
 
 Butler, William, L. boards with, in Spring- 
 field, 70 
 
 Butterfield, Daniel, 493 
 Butterfield, Justin, mentioned, 74; ap- 
 pointed commissioner of land office, 106; 
 son of, desires appointment, 107 
 Byron, Lord, L’s fondness for his poetry, 
 132; quoted, 350 
 
 Cabinet, L’s political rivals chosen, 256; 
 L’s non-partisan ideas, 256, 259; make- 
 up discussed with Weed, 257-259; with 
 Riddle, 275; Banks considered, 283; 
 final appointments and how decided, 
 293; changes during administration, 
 294; meetings enlivened by stories, 336; 
 L’s relations with, 363; misconceptions 
 of rights and duties, 364; unfriendly 
 feeling between members, 365; earliest 
 meetings informal, 365-366; attitude 
 toward the war, 366-367; personal dis- 
 sensions, 367-370; Seward’s removal 
 demanded, 368; Chase and Seward resig- 
 nations, 368-370; Stanton the master- 
 mind, 370-371; Cameron’s relations 
 with L., 371-373; Stanton succeeds 
 Cameron, 372-373; Senators advise 
 reconstruction of, 373-374; Stanton’s 
 relations with L., 374-379; opposes L’s 
 reinstatement of McClellan, 412-413; 
 attitude toward emancipation, 432; pre- 
 liminary proclamation discussed, L’s 
 own account, 436-438; second draft 
 discussed, 437-439, 444; disposal of 
 freedmen discussed, 439-440; Chase 
 finally disposed of, 549-550; Blair suc- 
 ceeded by Dennison, 551; Bates resigns, 
 
606 
 
 INDEX 
 
 552; ignored by L., 555; last meeting 
 attended by L., 580-581, 583-584 
 Calhoun, John C., mentioned, 186; ap- 
 points L. deputy surveyor, 47; demo- 
 cratic debater, 89; congressman, 100 
 California, L.’s desire to live in, 549 
 Cameron, Simon, mentioned, 506; con- 
 gressman, 100; presidential candidate, 
 231; cabinet possibility, 275; secretary 
 of war, 293, 294, 298; retirement from 
 the cabinet, 371-373; advocates arming 
 the blacks, 447 
 
 Campbell, Major, rescues fugitive slaves, 
 248 
 
 Campbell, John A., Southern peace com- 
 missioner, 555 
 
 Canada, rebel agents in, 352-353 
 Capital and labor. See Labor and capital 
 Carpenter, Francis B., mentioned, 469; 
 
 quoted, 234, 436-437, 464-465, 544, 573 
 Cartwright, Peter, 99 
 Cass, Lewis, mentioned, 100; ridiculed by 
 L., 102-104 
 
 Caton, John Dean, first meeting with L., 
 60-61; opinion of L. as lawyer, 141-142; 
 fugitive slave decision, 248; advice on 
 war policy, 255-256 
 
 Chancellorsville, battle of, 492-494, 496- 
 497, 506 
 
 Chandler, Zack, aids L. in Schofield matter, 
 456; quoted, 498-499; lack of military 
 judgment, 505 
 
 Channing, William Henry, abolitionist, 
 245; conversation with L. on slavery, 
 427-428 
 
 Chapman, Colonel, quoted, 263-264 
 Chapman, Mrs., 263; quoted, 113 
 Charleston, L’s opinion of situation, 490- 
 491 
 
 Chase, Salmon P., mentioned, 185, 501, 
 548; opposes Nebraska bill, 153; presi- 
 dential candidate, 231-233, 532; logic of, 
 245; cabinet possibility, 258-275, 371; 
 secretary of the treasury, 293, 294, 297; 
 rivalry with Seward, 366-370; upholds 
 Stanton, 368; resignation and with- 
 drawal, 369-370; consulted about Stan- 
 ton, 373; oppoges negro enlistment, 373; 
 visits Fortress Monroe with L., 386-392; 
 opinion of emancipation proclamation, 
 436; contribution to emancipation proc- 
 lamation, 444; rupture with Lincoln, 
 532-534; second resignation offered, 549; 
 accepted, 550; appointed Chief Justice, 
 550-551; quoted, 367 
 Chattanooga, Grant’s success, 516 
 Chicago, L. visits N. B. Judd, 117-118; 
 national republican convention, 231-237; 
 memorial on emancipation, 427; North- 
 western fair, 445; funeral services for L., 
 598 
 
 Chicago Historical Society, owned emanci- 
 pation proclamation MS., 445 
 Cincinnati, L’s first visit, 173-176; L’s 
 second visit, 213; visits on inaugural 
 journey, 270-273 
 City Point, visited by L., 562-566 
 Civil War, L’s peace pleas before war, 
 extract, 158, 270; L. foresees coming 
 struggle, 255-256; L. promises to pro- 
 mote peace, 268; workingmen offer 
 support for freedom, 271-273; L’s re- 
 luctance to express opinion, 272-273; 
 L’s peace plea in inaugural speech, 287- 
 291; Washington swarms with rebels, 
 292; desperate condition of treasury, 
 292; secession a political issue, 292-293; 
 Stanton’s loyalty to Union, 295; faith- 
 less officials in departments, 295; L’s 
 conquest of a South Carolinian, 297-298; 
 Louisiana’s war preparations, 299; 
 Sumter attack, 312; call for volunteers, 
 312-314; Massachusetts first in field, 
 314; Baltimore attack, 315; Douglas 
 stands by government, 315-316; Wash- 
 ington thrills over Sumter, 316; blockade 
 of Southern ports, proclamation, 316- 
 318; Key West, Tortugas, and Santa 
 Rosa proclamation, 318; Virginia asks 
 expression of federal policy, 318; L ’s 
 reply, 319-320; L’s hope for Union, 320; 
 L’s desire to retain Kentucky, 320-321; 
 Kentucky saved to Union, 321-322; 
 special session of Congress, 322; L’s 
 appeal for funds and men, 323-325; 
 preparations, 325-326; review of N. Y. 
 troops, 326; Bull Run, 326; L. visits 
 army in Virginia, 327-329; L’s anxiety 
 after Bull Run, 329*331; Harper’s 
 Ferry, 333-334; fleet urged to draw 
 rebels from Washington, 337; L. refuses 
 gun-boat to New Yorkers, 338; Trent 
 affair, Mason and Slidell, 340-345; 
 English neutrality established, 343; Eng- 
 lish controversies, 344-345; Ericsson’s 
 “ Monitor,” 345-347; Ross’s mission 
 to Canada, 352-355; L’s reply on num- 
 ber of losses, 357-358; friction concern- 
 ing direction, 366-368; negro enlistment, 
 recommended, 373; Sabin’s appoint- 
 ment, 377-378; inertia of proceedings, 
 
 380- 381; L. develops military sagacity, 
 
 381- 385; brightening prospects, proc- 
 lamation, 385-386; L. visits Fortress 
 Monroe, 386-392; Merrimac and Moni- 
 tor, 390-391; Norfolk captured, 391- 
 392; L’s letter to McClellan on over- 
 cautiousness, 392-395; L’s sympathy 
 for soldiers, 395-402; visits hospitals, 
 400-401; L’s letter to McClellan con- 
 cerning route to Richmond, 405-407; 
 impatience over approach to Richmond, 
 
INDEX 
 
 607 
 
 406-408; strain of summer of 1862, 408; 
 refusal of leave for Scott, 408-410; 
 McClellan’s army ordered withdrawn, 
 410; Pope’s defeat at Manassas, 410- 
 411; McClellan’s reinstatement, 411- 
 413; Washington peril, 413; Antietam 
 victory, 414; L. visits Army of Potomac, 
 414-416, 417-418; Fredericksburg at- 
 tacked, 417; L’s dissatisfaction with 
 McClellan, 418; Missouri factional 
 quarrels, 454-457; L’s dissatisfaction 
 with DuPont, 457-458; Fredericksburg, 
 L’s grief over, 461-462; L’s visit to 
 army before Chancellorsville, 465-466, 
 490-491; L’s method criticised, 480- 
 484, 485; negro enlistment, 484-486; 
 retaliation opposed by L., 485; Freder- 
 icksburg defeat, 487, 488; Hooker suc- 
 ceeds Burnside, 487-490; naval opera- 
 tions, 490; Chancellorsville defeat, 492- 
 494; defeat, dissatisfaction of North, 
 493-494; turning-point of war, 496; 
 Pennsylvania invaded, 497; Northern 
 fear of Lee, 497; Hooker succeeded by 
 Meade, 497-498; Gettysburg, 498-499; 
 Vicksburg campaign, 500-503; L’s joy 
 over victory, 501; Wade urges Grant’s 
 dismissal, 503; Gettysburg victory, 503- 
 504; Washington criticisms, 505; Meade’s 
 leadership, 504-507; Chancellorsville 
 defeat, 506; Fredericksburg defeat, 506; 
 L. against compromise, 507; brightening 
 prospects after elections, 510; L’s con- 
 fidence in Grant, 516, 520-521; Grant’s 
 victories after Vicksburg, 516; his plans, 
 516-517; Grant’s commission received, 
 519; L ’s plan of campaign for Grant, 
 522; Early’s raid, L’s plan against, 522; 
 Grant’s reply, 523; Vicksburg, criticisms 
 of campaign, anecdote, 525-526; Grant 
 and Stanton clash, 526-527; Early’s 
 attack on Washington, 525-537; call for 
 additional troops, July 18, 1864, 537; 
 gloomy prospects, 537-539, 542-546; 
 Wilderness and Petersburg losses, 538- 
 539; peace negotiations, “To whom it 
 may concern,” 539; effect of L’s re- 
 election, 548; Sherman’s march to the 
 sea, 552; L’s conditions for peace, 552; 
 peace negotiations with Southern com- 
 missioners, 554-557; Lee’s last efforts, 
 561-562; closing events, 562; L. visits 
 army, 562-573; fall of Petersburg, 567; 
 fall of Richmond, 568; Lee’s surrender, 
 573; end of war, 573-576; pardoning 
 prisoners, 578-580. See also Emancipa- 
 tion; Secession 
 
 Clary Grove boys, attack on L., 27-28; 
 volunteers in Black Hawk War, 36; 
 smash store in New Salem, 42-43 
 
 Clay, Cassius M., 309-322 
 
 Clay, Henry, influence of speeches on L., 8; 
 L’s admiration and disillusion, 98-99; 
 gradual emancipation speech, 98; L’s 
 eulogy of, 147 
 Clephane, Lewis, 468-469 
 Cleveland, Grover, 360 
 Cleveland, Ohio, visit on inaugural journey, 
 274-275 
 
 Clinton, DeWitt, 61 
 
 Cobb, Howell, distinguished in civil war, 
 100 
 
 Cogdal’s note, 136 
 
 Colfax, Schuyler, interview with L., 545, 
 583, 586-587; L.’s death-bed, 591, 593 
 Collamer, Jacob, 368 
 Collyer, Robert, quoted, 329 
 Columbus, Ohio, welcome on inaugural 
 journey, 268-269 
 
 Confederate States, considered a fact by 
 Wigfall, 286; knowledge of Union moves, 
 292; Trent affair, 340-345; favored 
 capital, 348; Canadian machinations, 
 352-353 
 
 Congress, special session, July 4, 1861, 322; 
 
 emancipation measures, 421 
 Conkling, James C., 80; quoted, 86 
 Constitution, slavery amendment, 553-554 
 Constitutional Union Party, 251 
 Conway, Moncure D., impression of L., 
 176; interview with L., 482-484; quoted, 
 427-429 
 
 Cook, Mr., of Illinois, 232, 233 
 Cooper Institute speech, 215-221, 223-224, 
 232 
 
 Costa Rica, asylum for freedom, 440 
 Covode, John, 445 
 Crane, C. B., quoted, 546 
 Crawford, Andrew, L’s schoolmaster, 12 
 Crawford, Josiah, incident of the ruined 
 book, 14-16 
 
 Crawford, Mrs. Josiah, quoted, 16 
 Crittenden, John J., 185 
 Curdy, Dr., 170 
 Curtin, Andrew G., 497 
 Curtis-Gamble controversy, 454-456 
 Cushing, Caleb, 354; candidate for attor- 
 ney general, 552 quoted, 207 
 
 Dahlgren, John A., quoted, 383, 384, 385 
 Dana, Charles A., quoted, 295, 547-548, 
 585-586 
 
 Davis, David, mentioned, 74, 232-260; 
 quoted, 113, 144-145, 256; advised L. 
 on cabinet, 257; member of inaugural 
 party, 266 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, in Black Hawk War, 39; 
 in senate, 100; recognition asked by 
 Southern commissioners, 555-556; man- 
 sion occupied by Weitzel, 572; L’s 
 clemency toward, 580 
 Davis, O. L., 81 
 
608 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Dayton, William L., vice-presidential 
 nominee, 170 
 
 Defrees, public printer, objects to L’s 
 colloquialisms, 471-472 
 Deming, Henry Champion, quoted, 302- 
 303 
 
 Democratic Party, dominates Illinois, 65; 
 pro-slavery tendencies, 251; rebel sym- 
 pathisers, 292; opposes congressional 
 war measures, 481 
 
 Dennison, William, postmaster general, 
 294; presides over Baltimore convention, 
 534; replaces Blair, 551; at L’s death- 
 bed, 591 
 
 Dicey, Edward, quoted, 544 
 Dickey, T. Lyle, quoted, 524 
 Dickson, W. M., quoted, 174, 176, 213 
 District of Columbia, slavery abolished, 421 
 Dixon, Father, quoted, 40 
 Dominican question, Seward’s embarrass- 
 ment, 336 
 
 Dorsey, Azel, L’s schoolmaster, 12 
 Douglas, Stephen A., mentioned, 74, 285, 
 286, 303; groggery taunt about L., 26; 
 L’s first impression of, 62, 188; debates 
 with L., 89-90, 153-154, 177, 182-207; 
 courts Mary Todd, 94; Mexican War, 
 blames L. for opposition, 102; opens 
 campaign, 1852, 147; defends Missouri 
 compromise, 154-155, 157, 159; claims 
 Whigs are dead, 157; senatorial nomina- 
 tion, 177; oratory compared with L., 
 182-207; debater and orator, 183-184, 
 186, 190, 205; appearance and charac- 
 teristics, 185-186, 188-189, 190-191; 
 quoted, 187-188; senator in 1846, 188; 
 magnetism, 197; re-elected senator in 
 1858, 208; speeches in Ohio in 1859, 211; 
 L’s attitude toward, 216; democratic 
 nominee for president, 244, 250; mag- 
 nanimity, 291; sustains the government, 
 315-316; death, 316 
 
 Douglass, Frederick, conference with L., 
 484-486; impression of L., 486 
 Dresser, Rev. Nathan, residence of, in 
 Springfield, purchased by L., 96 
 Drummond, Thomas, quoted, 142-144 
 Dummer, H. C., quoted, 46 
 Duncan, Major, teaches L. use of broad- 
 sword, 93 
 
 DuPont, Admiral, characterized by L., 
 457-458 
 
 Early, Dr., L’s reply to, 58-59 
 Early, Jubal A., raid on Washington, 522, 
 535 
 
 Eaton, Page, quoted, 70, 114 
 Eckert, General, 547 
 Edwards, Matilda, admired by L., 95 
 Edwards, Ninian W., mentioned, 74; 
 candidate for legislature, 58 
 
 Edwards, Mrs. Ninian W., sister of Mary 
 Todd, 94 
 
 Egan, Dr., of Chicago, 171 
 Eggleston, Edward, quoted, 225 
 Elkin, Elder, funeral services for Nancy 
 Hanks, 10 
 
 Ellis, A. Y„, quoted, 42 
 Ellsworth, E. E., member of inaugural 
 party, 266 
 
 Emancipation, discussion of measures, 419- 
 448; Fremont’s proclamation, 420; 
 gradual, advocated, 420-423; first dis- 
 cussed by L. with cabinet members, 
 423-424; military, authorized, 421; 
 Quaker delegation demands, 425-427; 
 Chicago clergymen demand, 427; Lincoln 
 and Channing interview, 427; Lincoln 
 and Greeley, 429-431; Greeley’s “ Prayer 
 of twenty millions,” and L’s reply, 429- 
 430; compensation suggested, 428, 433, 
 447; deportation suggested, 439-440; 
 L’s message to congress, 1862, 440-441; 
 “Boston set” discussed with L., 482-484; 
 defended by L., 507 
 
 Emancipation proclamation, issued, 419; 
 official measures preceding, 419-422; 
 preliminary text, 432-435; L’s own 
 account of, 436-438, 444-445; Seward’s 
 view of, 436-437; Welles’s account, 
 438-439; text, 441-443; signed, 441; 
 pen used, 445 
 
 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, quoted, 304-305, 
 359; belief in L., 482 
 
 England, neutrality established, 343; con- 
 troversies with, 344-345 
 Ericsson, John, inventor of “Monitor,” 
 345-346 
 
 Evarts, Mr., of N. Y., grieved over Seward’s 
 defeat, 234 
 
 Everett, Edward, nominated for vice- 
 president, 251; appreciation of L’s 
 Gettysburg address, 513; impression of 
 L„ 515 
 
 Ewing, Lee D., opposed to change in 
 Illinois State capital, 66 
 
 Farragut, David G., 537; compared with 
 DuPont, 458 
 Fell, Jesse W., 32 
 
 Fessenden, William P., 185, 368; secretary 
 of the treasury, 294 
 Ficklin, O. B., 126 
 Fithian, Dr., 126 
 
 Flatboat, constructed by L., 17-18 
 Florida, secedes, 261 
 
 Ford’s Theatre, scene of assassination, 586- 
 591 
 
 Forquer, George, lightning rod anecdote, 
 57 
 
 Forrest, Edwin, 469 
 Forrest, Thomas L., 458 
 
INDEX 
 
 609 
 
 Fort Sumter, held by Anderson, 262; 
 
 attack, 312, 316; L’s dream, 583 
 Fortress Monroe, L. visits, 386-392 
 Foster, Major-General, 385, 400 
 Fox, G. V., assistant secretary of the navy, 
 536 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, L. ranked with, 549 
 Fredericksburg, repulse at, 368; attacked, 
 417; L’s grief over, 461-462; defeat, 
 487, 488, 506 
 
 Free-Soil Party, 150, 172, 173 
 Free-state cause, L. sympathises with, 158 
 Freedmen. See Negroes 
 Fremont, John C., nominated for presi- 
 dent, 170; defeated, 173; pioneer eman- 
 cipator, 420, 447; presidential possi- 
 bility in, 1864, 532 
 Fry, J. R,, quoted, 376 
 Fugitive Slave Law, detested by L., 248- 
 249; text, 434-435 
 
 Fusion Party, L. candidate of, for senator, 
 162 
 
 Gamble, Governor, Curtis-Gamble faction, 
 454-456 
 
 Gentry, Allen, 19-20 
 Gentry, Mrs. Allen, quoted, 12 
 Georgia, seceded, 261 
 
 Germans in Cincinnati, welcome L., 271- 
 272 
 
 Gettysburg, mentioned, 478, 496; victory, 
 498-499, 503-504; L’s feeling during 
 battle, 499-500; victory cheers L., 507; 
 battle-field purchase and dedication, 
 511-515; L’s dream, 583 
 Gettysburg Address, rewritten many times, 
 471; world’s model, 473; text, 512-515 
 Gillespie, Joseph, quoted, 80, 83; conversa- 
 tion with L. on slavery, 148-149 
 Grant, Frederick D., 519 
 Grant, Ulysses S., mentioned, 403, 464, 
 542; opinion of McClellan’s difficulties, 
 367, 404; victories in Tenn., 385; 
 Vicksburg campaign, 500-502; L’s 
 letter on Vicksburg, 502; L’s dissatis- 
 faction before Vicksburg, 503; com- 
 mands military division of Miss., 516; 
 rank of Lieut.-General created for, 516; 
 assumes command of army, 517; sum- 
 moned to Washington, 517; at White 
 House reception, 517-518; receives 
 commission from L., 519; refusal to dine 
 at White House, 519-520; L’s impres- 
 sions of personality and military capa- 
 cities, 510-521; L.’s letter of commenda- 
 tion, 521; interview with L. on military 
 matters, Grant’s own account, 521-522; 
 L’s suggestion about Early’s repulse, 
 522; Grant’s reply, 523; L. seeks to 
 know his political aspirations, 523; true 
 version of whiskey anecdote, 524; L. 
 
 tells story of Sykes’s dog, 525-526; 
 dispute with Stanton, 526; upheld by 
 president, 526-527; presidential possi- 
 bility, 532; attacks Early, 537; telegram 
 to L. on re-election, 548; peace overture 
 made through, 554; forces Lee to Rich- 
 mond, 561-562; visited by L. at City 
 Point, 562-563; interview with L. at 
 City Point, 563-566; L’s visit at 
 Petersburg, 567-568; Lee’s surrender, 
 573; praised by L., 574, 575; instruc- 
 tions for conference with Lee, 577-578; 
 denies Stone River victory, 583; drives 
 with L. and attends last cabinet meeting, 
 583; declines invitation to theater, 586 
 Grant, Mrs. Ulysses S., 527 
 Gray, Dr., officiated at L’s funeral, 597 
 Great Britain. See England 
 Gladstone, William Ewart, opinion of 
 second inaugural address, 559-560 
 Globe Tavern, Springfield, 111., L’s first 
 home after marriage, 96 
 Godbey, Squire, quoted, 46 
 Goldsborough, Lewis M., 390 
 Goodrich, Judge, L. declines partnership, 
 109 
 
 Greeley, Horace, opposes L’s policy in 
 N. Y. “Tribune,” 429—431; publishes 
 “The prayer of twenty millions,” 429; 
 L’s reply, 429-430; conference with L., 
 430-431; L.’s “pigeonhole” for, 474; 
 seeks successor to L., 480; peace im- 
 portunities and L’s famous reply, 539 
 Green, L. M., quoted, 27 
 Greene, Bowlin, friend of L., 52 
 Greene, W. G., 30 
 Gridley, G. A., 137 
 Grigsby, Aaron, 17 
 Grigsby, Nat, quoted, 13 
 Griswold, John A., builder of “Monitor,” 
 345-347 
 
 Grimes, James W., 368 
 Grover, A. J., quoted, 248-249 
 Gulliver, John P., estimate of L’s speeches, 
 221-223 
 
 Gurley, Rev. Dr., officiated at L’s funeral, 
 597 
 
 Haines, Elijah M., quoted, 162-164; 209, 
 228-229 
 
 Hale, John P., mentioned, 185, 297; calls 
 on L., 583 
 
 Hall, Doctor, attends L., 593 
 Hall, John, 263 
 
 Hall, Newman, quoted, 397; officiated at 
 L’s funeral, 596 
 
 Halleck, Henry W., mentioned, 393, 413, 
 487, 490, 519; telegrams to Meade, 504- 
 505; military ability, 505-506; at L’s 
 death-bed, 591 
 Halpine, Colonel, 310 
 
610 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Hamlin, Hannibal, nominated for vice- 
 president, 234 
 
 Hampton Roads, meeting of peace com- 
 missioners, 555-557 
 
 Hanks, Dennis, recollections of L’s boy- 
 hood, 6-9; story-telling ability, 31; L. 
 visits, 263 
 
 Hanks, John, L’s fellow-laborer, 24; bears 
 campaign banner, 230 
 Hanks, Nancy. See Lincoln; Nancy Hanks 
 Hannegan, Edward A., 126 
 Hapgood, Norman, quoted, 359 
 Hardin, Colonel, 4 
 
 Hardin, John J., mentioned, 186; congres- 
 sional candidate, 99; killed in Mexican 
 War, 131 
 
 Harding, George, attorney in McCormick 
 Reaper case, 173-174 
 
 Harper’s Ferry, Union forces driven out, 
 333-334 
 
 Harris, G. W., quoted, 87-88, 128 
 Harris, Ira, 368; daughter, 587, 593 
 Harris, Thomas L., 160 
 Harrisburg, L’s visit on inaugural journey, 
 278 
 
 Hatch, O. M., mentioned, 227; quoted, 
 417-418 
 
 Hawk, Mr., actor, describes assassination, 
 588 
 
 Hay, John M., private secretary, 266; 
 
 quoted, 305-307 
 Hayes, General, 504 
 Hazel, Caleb, L’s schoolmaster, 11 
 Henderson, J. B., constitutional amend- 
 ment introduced by, 554; interviews 
 L. about pardons, 578-580 
 Henry, Dr., 493 
 
 Herndon, William H., law partnership with 
 L., 71, 97-98; letter of advice from L., 
 104-105; quoted, 24-26, 48, 92, 95, 113, 
 114, 115, 116, 121, 132, 140, 154, 165, 
 166, 167-168, 178; sympathy for L., 116; 
 abolitionist efforts, 165-169; “Lincoln 
 and Herndon’’ law sign, 264 
 Hitt, Robert R., 198 
 
 Holland, Josiah G., quoted, 11, 14-15, 76- 
 77, 98, 111, 236, 268-269, 277-278, 283- 
 284, 351, 371 
 
 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, L’s fondness for 
 his poetry, 466 
 
 Holt, Joseph, appeals for Union, 321, 322; 
 possibility as secretary of war, 372; 
 candidate for attorney general, 552 
 Homestead law, opinion of L. on, 273 
 Hood, Thomas, L’s fondness for his poetry, 
 466 
 
 Hooker, Joseph, 493; visited by L. before 
 Chancellorsville, 465; interview with L. 
 and promotion, 487-488; “Fighting Joe 
 Hooker,” 488; L’s letter to, 489-490; 
 Hooker’s comment, 492; accused of 
 
 drunkenness, 492; Sumner’s opinion of, 
 492; self-confidence, 491-492; unequal 
 to responsibility, 497; asked to be re- 
 lieved, 498; aids Grant in victories, 516 
 Hossack, John, 248 
 
 “ House-Divided-Against-Itself ” speech, 
 quoted, 180, 426, 473 
 Howard, Senator, 368 
 Hoyne, Thomas, 237 
 Hoyt, Governor, 389 
 
 Hubbard, Gurdon S., quoted, 49; works 
 for Illinois and Michigan Canal, 49; 
 interview with L., 458-459 
 Hunter, David, attempts military emanci- 
 pation, 447 
 
 Hunter, Robert M. T., Southern peace 
 commissioner, 555-556 
 
 lies, Elijah, service in Black Hawk War, 39 
 Illinois, Lincoln family settles in, 21; 
 slavery sentiment, 65-66; first to ratify 
 13th amendment, 554 
 Illinois and Michigan Canal, favored by 
 Lincoln, 49 
 
 Indiana, early home of Lincoln, 6 
 Indianapolis, speech, on inaugural journey, 
 268 
 
 Indians, hostile in Kentucky, 2; execution 
 refused by L., 453 
 
 Invention, L’s interest in history of, 1 18— 
 119; navigation device, 24-26 
 
 Jackson, Andrew, L. compared with, 413, 
 549 
 
 Jackson, Thomas Jonathan (Stonewall), 
 414; death, 492 
 Jayne, William, quoted, 161 
 Jefferson, Joseph, quoted, 79 
 Jefferson, Thomas, 360; L. ranked with, 
 549 
 
 Johnson, Andrew, mentioned, 100, 585; 
 nominated for vice-president, 534; sworn 
 in, 557; at L’s death-bed, 591; at 
 funeral, 596 
 
 Johnson, Bradley, Confederate general, 
 raid of country around Washington, 536 
 Johnson, Oliver, visit to L., 468-469 
 Johnson, Reverdy, attorney in McCormick 
 case, 173, 174, 176 
 
 Johnston, Albert Sidney, at Vicksburg, 501 
 Johnston, Joseph E., mentioned, 578, 
 579; Sherman defeats, 561-562; plan 
 to force surrender, 564-565; L’s dream, 
 584 
 
 Johnston, John, step-brother of L., 24; 
 indolent and shiftless nature, 121; L’s 
 letters to, 120-123 
 
 Jones, J. Russell, L. consults about Grant 
 523 
 
 Jones, Laura, L’s leniency to, 453 
 Joy, James F., 237 
 
INDEX 
 
 611 
 
 Judd, Norman B., L. visits, 117-118; 
 member of inaugural party, 266, 275; 
 mentioned, 161, 162, 189, 227, 232 
 Judd, Mrs. Norman B., quoted, 117-118 
 Julian, George W., quoted, 253-254, 375, 
 378 
 
 Kansas, L’s visit to, 213-214 
 Kansas-Nebraska Bill, controversy, 147, 
 152-155, 159-161 
 
 Kelly, William D., quoted, 356-358, 465 
 Kelton, Colonel, 413 
 
 Kentucky, Lincoln family in, 2; plea for 
 neutrality, 270; importance of neutral- 
 ity, 320-322; concessions made to, 431 
 “Kerr, Orpheus C.,” (Robert Henry 
 Newell), 334, foot-note; L’s great fond- 
 ness for his writings, 334, 467 
 Keyes, General, quoted, 381 
 King, Preston, 303 
 Kirkpatrick, William, 36 
 K,now-Nothing-Party, 153 
 Knox, Joe, 171 
 
 Labor and capital discussed by Lincoln, 
 348-350 
 
 Laboring-men, L’s speech to Cincinnati 
 Germans, 272-273 
 Lamborn, Josiah, 74, 89, 186 
 Lamon, Ward H., mentioned, 81; member 
 of inaugural party, 266, 275, 278; quoted, 
 12, 16, 29-30, 58, 84, 112, 114, 115, 154, 
 161, 229, 254-255, 256, 263, 266, 267 
 Lane, General, 309 
 
 Lectures. See Speeches and Lectures 
 Lee, Harry T., impression of Gettysburg 
 address, 514 
 
 Lee, Robert E., mentioned, 300, 437, 499, 
 517; Pennsylvania invasion, 333, 497; 
 Manassas successes, 411, 414; Antietam 
 defeat, 414; Chancellorsville victory, 
 492; Gettysburg defeat, 498, 501; 
 
 Appomattox surrender, 517, 573; Rich- 
 mond, retreat to, 561-562; Union plans 
 for capture, 564— 565; Richmond, re- 
 treat from, 568; Grant ordered not to 
 confer with, 577-578; L’s comment on 
 portrait, 582 
 
 Letters and telegrams, acceptance of presi- 
 dential nomination, 244; correspondence 
 burdensome, 474; written by hand, 474; 
 to Bryant concerning party pledges, 248; 
 to Mrs. Bixby on loss of sons, 397-398; 
 to Curtis on factional quarrels, 455; to 
 Douglas, invitation to debate, 182; 
 telegram to Grant during Early’s raid; 
 522-523; to Grant after Vicksburg, 502, 
 to Grant, expressing satisfaction, 521; 
 to Greeley on emancipation, 429-430; 
 to Herndon, giving advice, 104-105; to 
 Hooker, on latter’s appointment, 489- 
 
 490; to Judd about campaign contribu- 
 tion, 209; to Judd regarding the presi- 
 dency, 228; to Kentucky unionist on 
 slavery, 446-448; to McClellan on over- 
 cautiousness, 392-395; to McClellan 
 concerning route to Richmond, 405-407; 
 to McNeill relating to fees for speeches, 
 223-224; to Schofield, advice on fac- 
 tional quarrels, 455-456; to Speed on 
 slavery, 151-153; to Speed’s sister on 
 slavery, 148; to Springfield friends after 
 Gettysburg and Vicksburg, 507-508; to 
 step-brother on death of father, 120-123; 
 to Washburne, about forts, 261; to 
 Washburne, against compromises, 260- 
 261; to Weed on secession, 262; “To 
 whom it may concern,” safe conduct for 
 peace envoys, 539 
 Lewis, Robert, 334 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, grandfather of L., 
 settles in Kentucky, 2; death, 3 
 LINCOLN, ABRAHAM 
 Characteristics, inherited, 5, 11; in 
 boyhood and youth, 9, 16, 20, 35, 49, 
 53, 75-77; handwriting, 19; elements 
 of greatness, 53; claims to be a fatalist, 
 108; absent-mindedness, 112, 114; 
 debt abhorred, 130; as a lawyer, 142- 
 146, 235; as a public speaker, 171-172, 
 183-188, 194-197, 204-206; master of 
 himself, 235; compared with Jackson, 
 260; attitude toward public visitors, 
 301-302; lack of sovereignty, 304; 
 simplicity of manner, 305-306; quali- 
 ties of a leader, 307-308; morbid 
 dislike of guard, 310-311; forbear- 
 ance, 315, 320; precision and minute- 
 ness of information, 358; living power 
 of integrity and elasticity, 359; great- 
 ness in moral strength, 359-361; 
 summed up by Nicolay, 361-362; 
 peace-maker, 364, 456; wisdom and 
 moderation, 374; guileless and single- 
 hearted, 387; power to make quick 
 and important decisions, 412; will 
 compared to Andrew Jackson, 413; 
 easily accessible to visitors, 450; no 
 case too trivial, 451; ability to say no, 
 451, 452; diplomacy in Schofield- 
 Rosecrans episode, 456-457; loyalty 
 to friends, 458; fortitude, 462; imagi- 
 nation versus reason, 466; tireless 
 worker, 473; magnanimity toward op- 
 ponents, 476-477; stern when neces- 
 sary, 477-478; candor and friendliness 
 in criticism, 489-490; willingness to 
 admit errors, 502; quickness of per- 
 ception, 527; tenacity, 527; Sher- 
 man’s tribute, 565-566; unselfishness, 
 566-567; magnanimity toward south- 
 ern leaders, 580; clemency in granting 
 pardons, 586 
 
612 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Ambitions, presentiment of future 
 greatness, 18-19, 27, 53; desire to 
 be the “DeWitt Clinton of Illi- 
 nois,” 61; encouraged by friends, 
 116; generous quality of, 159; 
 senatorial, 161-164; presidential, 
 331; not concerned over political 
 future, 529-532 
 
 Appearance , at fifteen, 12; at nine- 
 teen, 20; in 1832., 42; in 1847, 
 105-106; in 1849, 190-110, 111; 
 “man of sorrows,” 113-114; 
 singular walk, 114-115; on the 
 circuit, 125-127, 175-176; face 
 transformed in speaking, 181; in 
 repose and on the stump, 194-195, 
 197, in 1858, 201, 205; in 1860, 
 215; height, 247; as President- 
 elect, 253-254, 274-275, 279; 
 arrival at Washington, 282; in- 
 auguration, 285-286; in his re- 
 ception room, 302-303; changed 
 by anxiety, 355; Nicolay’s de- 
 scription, 361; face a surprise to 
 Winchell, 382; unconventional 
 dress, 356-357, 377, 450; changed 
 by grief, 462-463; Frederick 
 Douglass’ impressions, 484, 485, 
 486; saddest man in the world, 
 543-546 
 
 Courage , fighting qualities, 27-29; 
 encounter with a bully, 29; in 
 Black Hawk War, 38-40; rescues 
 Baker from a fight, 91-92; duel 
 with Shields, 93; under discour- 
 agements, 292, 331; did not fear 
 attempt upon his life, 540-542 
 
 Honesty , at nineteen, 20; as a sales- 
 man, 31; “Honest Abe,” 31, 53, 
 68, 171; trust funds never used, 
 46; in voting, 101-102; as a 
 lawyer, 130, 138, 143; refused to 
 defend the guilty, 136-137; in- 
 tellectual and moral, 144 
 
 Horsemanship , 415-416, 491, 562, 
 563 
 
 Justice , anecdote of Black Hawk 
 War, 38; refusal to countenance 
 injustice, 130-131, 453; sense of, 
 476-478; injustice to Gen. Meade, 
 503-506 
 
 Literary methods and style, early 
 example, 63-65; example from 
 Douglas debates, 89-90; methods, 
 470-471; style, 471-473 
 
 Kindness and sympathy, 16; to 
 animals, 13, 76; everybody’s 
 friend, 35; in his home, 113; 
 regard for old friends and relatives, 
 119, 121-123; to old colored 
 woman, 128; to young attorneys, 
 130; for Col. Scott, 410; for 
 
 soldiers, 395-397, 400-401, 499- 
 500; embarrassing results of 
 friendliness, 470 
 
 Melancholy and sadness, caused by 
 love of Anne Rutledge, 49; 
 temporary attack, 95-96; causes, 
 112-113; struggles with, 115-117; 
 depression in 1854, 161; evidence 
 of, 170, 175, 198, 246, 361; over 
 defeat for senate, 204; on inau- 
 gural journey, 266-267; after 
 Bull Run, 330-331; over war 
 victims, 401-402, 500; engraved 
 on features, 462-463; summer of 
 1864, 537-538, 542-546; Matthew 
 Arnold’s poem, 546 
 Memory, for faces and names, 9, 39, 
 40; for events, 36; retentive, 
 467, 468 
 
 Military sagacity , 380-386, 390-395, 
 405-407, 411-414, 416-417, 502, 
 506 
 
 Modesty , unassuming manner in 
 politics, 163; about printing 
 speeches, 216; in regard to presi- 
 dential nomination, 227-228; as 
 president, 304, 306, 307, 459; 
 natural, 360; about second nomi- 
 nation, 535; on news of second 
 election, 547 
 
 Popularity, as a young man, 28-29, 
 75; in New Salem, 35, 53; in 
 Black Hawk War, 39, 41; uni- 
 versal favorite, 130; in Kansas, 
 213, 214; at Republican conven- 
 tion in 1860, 229-230; among old 
 friends and relatives, 263-264; 
 Confederate soldiers’ greeting at 
 Petersburg, 567-568 
 Physical strength, in boyhood, 9; 
 
 incidents showing, 91-93, 389, 401 
 Religious nature, knowledge of the 
 Bible, 1 18-119; shown in letter to 
 step-brother, 120; reliance on 
 Divine help, 265, 267, 268; in- 
 fluence of son’s death, 351-352; 
 spirituality highly organized, 360, 
 361, 362; religious spirit, 385- 
 386; shown in fortitude, 462; 
 quotes the Bible, 473; his views 
 on, 478-479; not a church mem- 
 ber, 478; shown in second inau- 
 gural address, 557-559 
 Tact, 357; in official relations, 368- 
 370, 378; anecdotes illustrating, 
 451-457 
 
 Temperance, reply to Douglas’s 
 taunt, 83, 85, 130, 203 
 Voice, magnetism of, 59; not pleas- 
 ing, 142, 221; clear and vigorous, 
 205; high but clear, 302, 515 
 Wit and humor, power of satire, 17; 
 
INDEX 
 
 613 
 
 examples of, 56-57, 80-83, 139- 
 140; love of practical joke, 57; 
 no end to his fund of, 84; used 
 against adversaries, 87, 139-140, 
 202-204; chief attraction at 
 dinners, 110; cultivated, 113; 
 stories not always dignified, 139; 
 repartee, 157; advantage of L. 
 over Douglas, 186, 195; indelicacy 
 charge refuted, 258; safety-valve 
 of L., 332-333; enjoyment of 
 “Orpheus C. Kerr,” 334; at 
 cabinet meetings, 336; soldiers’ 
 humor appreciated by L., 399- 
 400; humorists liked by L., 467- 
 468 
 
 Private Life: ancestry, 1-5; L’s own 
 account, 32-33; birth, 1, 4; illegitimate 
 parentage legend, 4; Lincoln family in 
 Kentucky, 4; removal to Indiana, 5-6; 
 in Indiana, 6-19; reminiscences by 
 Dennis Hanks, 7-9; death of his 
 mother, 10; love for his mother, 5,10, 
 21; tribute to her influence, 11; his 
 father remarries, 11; affection for 
 step-mother, 11, 119, 123, 124, 263; 
 moves to Macon Co., 111., 21, 33; his 
 father’s possessions, 21; death of 
 father, 22; L. helps build log cabin, 
 23; splitting rails, 23; flatboat 
 voyages down the Mississippi, 23-24; 
 settles in New Salem, 24-26, 33; 
 patent for navigation device, 24-26; 
 athletic skill, 27-29; first meeting 
 with Smoot, 29; meets Governor 
 Yates, 30; love of story-telling, 30-31; 
 home life, 31, 113, 115; autobiography, 
 32-34; struggle with poverty, 45, 47, 
 69-71, 209, 225; love for Anne Rut- 
 ledge, 49-52; close of his boyhood and 
 youth, 52-54; New Salem a desolate 
 waste, 54; moves to Springfield, 33, 
 69-70; struggles of a young lawyer, 
 69-84; meeting with Speed, 69; 
 shares his home, 70, 88; in state 
 politics, 85-96; Mary Todd’s satirical 
 article, 93; love affairs with Matilda 
 Edwards and Mary Todd, 94-95; de- 
 rangement, 95; goes to Kentucky with 
 Speed, 96; marriage to Mary Todd, 
 95, 96; lives at Globe Tavern, 96; 
 purchases Dressar home, 96; enters 
 national politics, 97-108; back in 
 Springfield, 109; simplicity of home 
 life in Springfield, 110; income from 
 law practice, 110; property owned, 
 111; his children, 111-112; L. as 
 husband and father, 113; marriage 
 unhappy, 112-117; did his own 
 marketing, 114; visits Chicago, 117; 
 regard for relatives, 119; purchases 
 home for father, 119; letters to step- 
 
 brother, 120-123; idol of his step- 
 mother, 123-124; wealth, not desired 
 by L., 125; L. as a lawyer, 125-146; 
 careless about money, 130; keeping 
 partnership accounts, 133; anecdote 
 about his wealth, 216; summer home 
 during presidency, 401; home life in 
 White House, 464-465; desire to live 
 in California, 549; plans for retire- 
 ment, 584-585. 
 
 Education , early education, 7-9, 
 11-19; early schools attended, 
 11-13; his copy book inscription, 
 13; first efforts in oomposition, 
 13; mental training from reading, 
 14; scrap-book kept in youth, 14; 
 handwriting at seventeen, 19; 
 book of arithmetic examples, 19; 
 knowledge of astronomy and 
 geology, 20-21; study of gram- 
 mar, 26-27; L.’s own account, 33; 
 knowledge of drama, 79; L. as 
 a student, 130-131; musical 
 taste, 466-467; unashamed of 
 early deficiencies, 468-469 
 Books and reading , influence of first 
 books, 8, 14-16; his own testi- 
 mony, 15; the ruined volume, 14, 
 16; method of reading, 131; 
 wrote verses, 132; books in White 
 House office, 300; love for Shake- 
 speare, Browning, and Byron, 387; 
 memory for poetry, 356; poets 
 best loved, 466-467; humorists 
 liked, 467; best-loved books, 468; 
 novel reading, 469 
 Employments , first work, 16; first 
 dollar earned, 17-18; flatboat 
 constructed for commerical enter- 
 prise, 17-18; his first employer, 
 19-20; first flatboat journey to 
 New Orleans, 195; second flat- 
 boat journey to New Orleans, 
 23-24; clerk at New Salem, 26- 
 34; Offutt’s store closed, 35; 
 brief career as country merchant, 
 42-44; blacksmith trade con- 
 sidered, 42; surveys and plans 
 Petersburg, 47, 67; notion to 
 become a carpenter, 71 
 Law career , early interest in law, 9, 
 19; study and practice, 33-43; 
 begins study of, 46-47; begins 
 practice, 47; period covered, 55; 
 reverence for law, 64; in Spring- 
 field, 69; without plans or money, 
 69-70; asking credit, 70; partner- 
 ship with Stuart and Logan, 71; 
 with Herndon, 71; riding the 
 circuit, 71-84; borrows, then 
 owns a horse, 71; welcome by 
 other lawyers, 72; humility, 72; 
 
614 
 
 INDEX 
 
 court scene, 72-73; freedom in 
 social intercourse, 73; leading 
 lawyers of the day, 73-74; ad- 
 ventures and hardships, 74; 
 popularity and appearance, 75- 
 76; not afraid of unpopular cases, 
 77; wins case of widow of revolu- 
 tionary pensioner, 77-79; wins 
 case for Jefferson, 79; ridiculing 
 the eloquence of opponent, 80-81; 
 breach of promise suit, 81-82; 
 ready wit, 83-84; dissolved part- 
 nership with Logan, 97; partner- 
 ship with Herndon, 97-98; de- 
 clined partnership with Goodrich, 
 109; resumes practice in 1849, 
 109, 125-146; legal fee ridiculously 
 small, 125; appearance in court, 
 125-128; defending a colored 
 woman, 128; dividing fee with 
 defendant, 128-129; refused to 
 take unjust cases, 130-131; 
 keeping accounts, 133; fees 
 moderate, 133; defends son of 
 Jack Armstrong, 133-136; would 
 not press for pay, 135-136; refused 
 to defend guilty, 136-137; would 
 never advise unwise suits, 137- 
 138; returns fee, 138; anecdotes 
 of L. at the bar, 138-140; his 
 rank as a lawyer, 140-146; special 
 characteristics, 145 
 
 Recreations, games, 129; dancing, 
 210; theatre, 469-470; fondness 
 for walking, 46 
 Public Life, 
 
 Nicknames, “Railsplitter,” 9, 23, 
 230-231; “Uncle Abe,” 75; “Old 
 Abe,” 105; “Honest Abe,” 31, 
 53, 68, 171 
 
 Oratory, first efforts, 27; reputation, 
 62; spoke without manuscript, 
 89; manner of speaking described, 
 100, 127, 172; used old-fashioned 
 words, 139, 146; jury speeches, 
 146; eloquence of Bloomington 
 speech, 167-168; compared with 
 Douglas, 89, 177, 182-207; 
 
 Cooper Institute speech, 217-221; 
 New England tour, 221-223; 
 W. J. Bryan’s opinion, 473; 
 Gettysburg address, 512-515; 
 eloquence of second inaugural, 
 557-559 
 
 Public questions , L’s views on: 
 Mexican war, 101-102, 131; 
 
 Missouri compromise, 150-160; 
 Kansas-Nebraska bill, 152-155; 
 secession views, 262, 287-291, 
 320-321; labor and capital, 348- 
 350; emancipation, 447, 482-484; 
 reconstruction policy, 576-581 
 
 Slavery , L. opposes pro-slavery 
 enactment in Illinois, 65-66; 
 attitude shown in Douglas de- 
 bates, 89-90, 191-194, 205; sale 
 of slave girl, 147-148; early view’s, 
 148-149; opposed slavery in 
 Congress and in speeches, 149- 
 151; views in letters to Speed, 
 151-153; argues eternal right at 
 Bloomington Convention, 167- 
 168; resolution adopted, 169; 
 “House divided against itself,” 
 177-182; Cincinnati speech, 211— 
 212; L.’s policy, 419-446; Chan- 
 ning interview, 427; Chicago 
 clergymen’s delegation, 427; Gree- 
 ley and L., 429-431; L’s own 
 account, 446-448; 4th annual 
 message, 552 
 
 Early political career , change in 
 views, 8; made election clerk, 32; 
 appointed postmaster at Salem, 
 44; made deputy surveyor, 47; 
 natural taste for politics, 55; 
 candidate for presidential elector, 
 87; Whig leader, 87; canvassed 
 Illinois in Clay-Polk campaign, 
 99; leader of Whigs in Congress, 
 100; Whig delegate to National 
 Convention, 104; seeks appoint- 
 ment as land commissioner, 106- 
 107; little interested in politics 
 until 1854, 147; building up the 
 Free Soil party, 150; admits 
 being a Whig, 153, 157; generosity 
 toward rivals, 160; considered 
 for vice president, 170, 228-229; 
 activity in Fremont campaign, 
 170-173; no political enemies, 232; 
 bored with talk on politics, 240 
 
 Illinois legislature , defeat and elec- 
 tion, 33; first candidacy unsuc- 
 cessful, 41-42, 47; campaign of 
 1834, and election, 48; aids canal 
 bill, 49; reputation in, 49; re- 
 nominated, 1836, 55; campaign 
 methods, 56-60; lightning rod 
 anecdote, 56-57; not an aristo- 
 crat, 57-58; reply to Early, 58- 
 59; letter to Allen, 59-60; elec- 
 tion, 60; journey to capital, 60; 
 meets Judge Caton, 61; first 
 meeting with Douglas, 61-62; 
 removal of Illinois Capitol, 62; 
 an early speech, 62-65; opposes 
 pro-slavery enactment, 65-66; 
 contest with Ewing, 66-67; 
 campaign of 1838 and election, 
 85; end of legislative service, 86; 
 election and resignation, 1864, 
 160-161; senatorial contest, 161- 
 161 
 
INDEX 
 
 615 
 
 Black Hawk War, 33; candidate for 
 captain, 36; memories of L., 36— 
 37 ; first experience drilling troops, 
 37; rescues an Indian, 37-38; 
 meeting with Stuart, 38-39; L. 
 re-enlists, 39; recollects Major 
 Anderson after 29 years, 39; 
 courage as a soldier, 40; his own 
 account of his service, 40—41; 
 popularity with comrades, 41 
 Congress , aspirations, 97; elected to 
 lower house, 1846, 34, 99-100, 159; 
 Whig leader, 100; reputation in, 
 100; first speech, 101; Mexican 
 War attitude, 101-102; notable 
 speech and ridicule of Gen. Cass, 
 102-104; bill for abolition of 
 slavery, 104; campaign methods, 
 131-132; senatorial contest, 
 1855, 161-163; defeated, 164; 
 senatorial contest with Douglas, 
 1858, 177-207; defeated, 208; 
 depression of L. over, 208-209 
 Presidency , presentiment of L. con- 
 cerning, 18-19; modest over 
 proposed nomination, 144; almost 
 in his grasp, 213; Cooper In- 
 stitute speech aids toward, 220, 
 232; suggested as a candidate, 
 227-228; nomination, 231-237; 
 sittings for life mask, 237-243; 
 cast of hands, 242; notified of 
 nomination, 243-244; opposi- 
 tion of Springfield clergymen, 
 247; election, 1860, 250-251; 
 non-partisan appointments, 256— 
 257; unembarrassed by promises, 
 259, 260; preparation for in- 
 auguration, 263; journey to 
 Washington, 265-280; stories of 
 disguises, 280; week preceding 
 inauguration, 281-283; cere- 
 monies described, 283-292; oath 
 administered, 284, 291; first 
 night at the White House, 292; 
 cabinet appointments, 293; cabi- 
 net changes, 294; difficulties 
 selecting loyal and capable men, 
 295; impression on people, 298— 
 310; modest as president, 306— 
 307; fears for attempted assassi- 
 nation, 308-310; L’s dislike for 
 guard, 311; Civil War begun, 
 312; first call for troops, 312-314; 
 creates excitement, 314; Boston 
 riots, 315; loyalty of Douglas, 
 315-316; proclamation of block- 
 ade of Southern ports, 316-318; 
 blockade extended, 318; Virginia 
 convention waits on L., 318; L’s 
 war policy outlined, 319-320; 
 L’s conciliatory course, 320-321; 
 
 tries to save Kentucky, 321-322; 
 special session of Congress, 322; 
 L’s first message, 322-325; diffi- 
 culties of a new administration, 
 325—326; Bull Run disaster, 326; 
 visits the army in Virginia, 327; 
 depression following Bull Run, 
 329-331; unfaltering courage, 
 331; relief in story-telling, 332- 
 333; depression relieved by hu- 
 mor, 333—336; measuring up with 
 Sumner, 336; diplomacy in 
 Mason and Slidell affair, 340- 
 344; in French invasion of Mexi- 
 co, 345; building the “ Monitor,” 
 
 346- 347; first annual message, 
 
 347- 350; reception at White 
 House, 350; illness and death at 
 the White House, 351-352; secret 
 service incidents, 352-353; an- 
 noyed by office-seekers, 353; Mr. 
 Ross at the White House, 353— 
 356; William Kelley at the White 
 House, 356; Goldwin Smith’s 
 impressions, 356-359; tributes 
 from Hapgood, Bigelow, and 
 Nicolay, 359-362; cabinet rela- 
 tions, 363-379; with Stanton, 
 364-379; with Seward, 366-371; 
 Cameron and Stanton, 371-373; 
 L. considers McClellan over- 
 cautious, 392-395; L. visits 
 hospitals, 400-401; differences 
 of opinion with McClellan, 404; 
 letter to him about campaign, 
 405-406; urges action, 406-407; 
 L’s defence of him, 407; L. re- 
 calls him, 410; reinstates him, 
 411-412; McClellan’s own ac- 
 count, 413; correspondence, 416- 
 417; L’s summing up of McClel- 
 lan, 417—418; signs emancipa- 
 tion proclamation, 441; his life 
 as president, 449; society at the 
 White House, 449-450; public 
 receptions, 450; tact with favor 
 seekers and bores, 451-453; sense 
 of justice, 453; answering im- 
 proper questions, 454; settles the 
 Curtis-Gamble dispute, 454-457; 
 appoints Schofield, 455-457; 
 views of his own position, 459; 
 dealing with cranks, 459-461; 
 Fredericksburg disaster, 461-462; 
 responsibility of his position, 462- 
 463; home life in the White 
 House, 464-465; visits Army of 
 the Potomac, 465-466; tireless 
 worker, 473; health, 473-474; 
 his letter file, 474; Agassiz and L., 
 475-476; his official acts not 
 influenced by personal considera- 
 
616 
 
 INDEX 
 
 tion, 476-477; criticism of the 
 administration, 480-481; war 
 policy opposed by Greeley, 480; 
 by high official, 481; Democrats 
 of the North, 481; Boston aboli- 
 tionists, 482-484; effect of abuse, 
 481; Western delegation, 484; 
 personal responsibility for policy, 
 484; interview with Douglas on 
 enlisting colored soldiers, 484-486; 
 McClellan’s removal, 487; rela- 
 tions with Burnside, 487; with 
 Hooker, 487-490; candor and 
 friendliness with officers, 489- 
 490; visits army of the Potomac, 
 490-492; his view of Charleston 
 attack, 490; effect of Chancellors- 
 ville on L. 492-493; reads Sted- 
 mau’s poem to cabinet, 494-495; 
 the tide turns, 495; Lee invades 
 Pennsylvania, 497; Hooker 
 proves unfit, 497-498; Meade 
 appointed, 498; L’s feelings dur- 
 ing Gettysburg battle, 498-500; 
 joy over Vicksburg, 501-503; 
 praise of Grant, 502; criticism of 
 Meade for Lee’s escape, 503-504; 
 Meade asks to be relieved, 504; 
 criticism answered, 504; resigna- 
 tion not insisted upon, 505; L’s 
 opinion modified, 506-507; im- 
 proved conditions, 507; defence 
 of emancipation proclamation 
 507-508; Thanksgiving proclama- 
 tion, 508-510; fall election, 1863, 
 510; L. upheld, 511; his own 
 comment, 511; Gettysburg dedi- 
 cation, 512-515; relations with 
 Grant, 516-527; appoints Grant 
 Lieut-General, 516; summons 
 him to Washington, 517; Grant 
 receives commission, 517-519; 
 first meeting with Grant, 520; L’s 
 letter of satisfaction, 521 ; military 
 orders issued by L., 522; interested 
 in Grant’s career, 523; interest 
 in Grant’s political aspirations, 
 523; Grant-Stanton episode, 526- 
 527; Grant’s opinion of Lincoln, 
 527; campaign of 1864, 528-535; 
 L’s attitude toward a second 
 term, 528-532; New England’s 
 attitude toward the administra- 
 tion, 529; relations with Chase, 
 532-534, 549-550; candidates of 
 1864, 532-533; L’s nomination, 
 1864, 534; acceptance speech, 
 535; Early’s raid, 532-537; call 
 for more troops, 537; war policy 
 criticized, 537; depression of L., 
 
 538- 539; campaign of 1864, 
 
 539- 540; McClellan a candidate, 
 
 539; L’s secret pledge to support 
 successor, 540; attempt on life, 
 540-541; effect of burdens and 
 anxiety during war, 542-546; 
 election of 1864, victory, 546- 
 549; Grant’s telegram, 548; 
 Seward’s tribute, 548-549; 
 Chase’s resignation, 549-550; 
 other cabinet changes, 550-552: 
 fourth annual message, 552; 
 colored people at White House 
 reception, 552-553; negotiates 
 with Southern peace commis- 
 sioners, 554-556; assumes re- 
 sponsibility for unpopular mea- 
 sures, 554-555; scheme for com- 
 pensation emancipation, 556-557; 
 second inauguration, 557-560; 
 close of the war, 561-563; escapes 
 office-seekers, 563; with Grant, 
 Sherman, and Porter at City 
 Point, 562-566; on the River 
 Queen, 563-566; concern about 
 Schofield, 565; on the Malvern 
 566-567; at Petersburg, 567- 
 568; at Richmond, 568-573; 
 news of Richmond’s fall, 568; 
 visit to Richmond, 569; wel- 
 comed by the negroes, 571; 
 Southerners’ reception, 572; joy 
 over Lee’s surrender, 573; scene 
 at Capitol, 574-575; L.’s speech 
 to the multitude, 576; recon- 
 struction views, 576-581; in- 
 structions to Grant on final con- 
 ference with Lee, 577-578; feeling 
 toward the South, 577-580; 
 pardoning confederates, 579-580; 
 the last day: talk with Robert, 
 582; receives visitors, 583; last 
 cabinet meeting, 583-584; signifi- 
 cant dreams, 583-584; drive with 
 Mrs. Lincoln, 584-585; last offi- 
 cial acts, 585-587; reaches theatre, 
 587; the shot fired, 588; Booth’s 
 escape, 588-589; Walt Whitman’s 
 description, 589; Booth’s plan, 
 590; Rathbone’s account, 590; 
 death-bed, 591; Welles’s account, 
 591-594; a nation’s grief, 594- 
 599; funeral ceremonies at the 
 White House, 596; lying in state 
 at Capitol, 597; funeral train to 
 Springfield, 597-598; interment, 
 599 
 
 Lincoln, Edward Baker, L’s son, birth, 111 
 Lincoln, John, L’s great-grandfather, 2 
 Lincoln, John, L’s half-brother, 11 
 Lincoln, Josiah, L’s uncle, 3 
 Lincoln, Mary Todd, L’s wife, published 
 satirical articles about James Shields, 93; 
 ambitions, 94; characteristics, 94; en- 
 
INDEX 
 
 617 
 
 gagement to L. broken, 95; marriage, 94, 
 96; hospitality, 110; pro-slavery views, 
 167; meeting with Volk, 241; on in- 
 augural journey, 266; opinion of Riddle 
 on, 275-276; censured for frivolity, 450; 
 defines L’s religion, 478; visits Army of 
 Potomac, 490; receives Grant, 518-520; 
 fears of L’s assassination, 540; desired 
 to visit Europe, 549; last drive with L., 
 584-585; plans to visit theatre, 586; at 
 theatre, 587; shock at assassination, 
 589; prostrated by L’s death, 591; at 
 L’s death-bed, 593; unable to attend 
 obsequies, 596 
 
 Lincoln, Matilda, L’s half-sister, 11 
 
 Lincoln, Mordecai, son of Samuel Lin- 
 coln, 2 
 
 Lincoln, Mordecai, L’s uncle, adventure 
 with Indians, 3; character, 3-4; L’s 
 characterization of, 5; opinion of L. 
 about, 264 
 
 Lincoln, Nancy Hanks, L’s mother, 
 marriage, 4; slurs upon her name, 4-5; 
 character and appearance, 5; Dennis 
 Hanks’s opinion of, 7; death and funeral, 
 10; epitaph, 10; love of L. for, 10, 21; 
 influence on L., 10-11; tribute of L. to, 
 11, 352 
 
 Lincoln, Robert Todd, L’s son, birth, 111; 
 student at Harvard, 221; gripsack 
 anecdote, 283; student and soldier, 464; 
 interview with L. about war, 582; with 
 his mother after assassination, 591; at 
 L’s death-bed, 594 
 
 Lincoln, Samuel, L’s English forbear, 1 
 
 Lincoln, Sarah, L’s half-sister, 11; death, 
 17 
 
 Lincoln, Sarah, L’s sister, birth, 4 
 
 Lincoln, Sarah Johnston, L’s step-mother, 
 marries Thomas Lincoln, 11; mutual 
 fondness of L. and, 11, 119, 123-124, 
 263; quoted, 14; death, 124; visit of L. 
 before inauguration, 263 
 
 Lincoln, Thomas, L’s father, birth, 3; 
 rescue from Indians, 3; marriage to 
 Nancy Hanks, 4; moves to Rock Spring 
 farm, 4; moves to Indiana, 5-6; second 
 marriage, 11; moves to Illinois, 21; 
 nicknames, 21; character-sketch, 21-23; 
 death, 22, 120; epitaph, 22; story- 
 telling ability, 31; death 120; solicitude 
 for, 120-121; L. visits grave, 263 
 
 Lincoln, Thomas, L’s son, birth, 111; 
 “Little Tad,” 464; companion of 
 father, 464-466, 490, 491; death, 465; 
 loved by soldiers, 465-466; anecdote of 
 L’s last speech, 575-576; grief over 
 death of father, 596 
 
 Lincoln, William Wallace, L’s son, birth, 
 111; death, 351, 464; influence of death 
 on L., 478 
 
 Lincoln-Douglas Debates, comparative 
 
 powers of speakers, 89, 177, 182-207. 
 Extracts, Springfield, 89-90; Peoria, 
 155-157; Quincy and Alton, 191-194; 205 
 Linder, General, quoted, 62, 66, 91; talks 
 against time, 80 
 
 Livermore, George, given proclamation 
 pen, 445 
 
 Logan, John A., quoted, 286, 292 
 Logan, Mrs. John A., quoted, 197 
 Logan, Stephen T., mentioned, 74, 186; 
 law partner of L., 71; Whig debater, 89; 
 partnership dissolved, 97; anecdote of 
 shirt, 139; favors L. for legislature, 161; 
 elected to legislature, 162; L’s champion 
 in legislature, 163 
 
 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, abolitionist, 
 345 
 
 Long, Dr., quoted, 181 
 “ Long Nine,” delegates to senate conven- 
 tion, 1836, 60, 62 
 
 Lookout Mountain, Grant’s success, 516 
 Loring, George B., quoted, 282-283 
 Lossing, Benson J., quoted, 342-343 
 Louisiana, seceded, 261 
 Louisville “Journal,” L’s liking for, 27 
 Love joy, Elijah, 244 
 
 Lovejoy, Owen, abolitionist, 244; men- 
 tioned, 378, 422, 423, 436 
 Lowell, James Russell, abolitionist, 245; 
 quoted, 340 
 
 Lucas, Major, quoted, 93 
 Lyons, Lord, 343 
 
 McClellan, George B., mentioned, 356, 
 375, 488; Stanton’s hostility, 367, 407, 
 411; difficulties with Army of Potomac, 
 367; letter from L. on over-cautiousness, 
 392—395; as a soldier, 403-404; Meade 
 and Grant quoted, 404; L’s personal re- 
 gard for, 404; appointed general of Union 
 armies, 405; L.’s letter about plan of 
 campaign, 405-406; urging action, 406- 
 407; L. defends, 407; recalled from 
 Peninsula; succeeded by Pope, 410; 
 reinstated, 411-412; own account, 413; 
 Antietam victory, 414; inaction after 
 Antietam criticized, 414; quoted on L’s 
 visit to army, 414-415; correspondence 
 with L., 416; replaced by Burnside, 417; 
 L’s opinion, 417-418, 457-458; bad 
 
 news from the Peninsula, 425; fails to 
 reach Richmond, 454; removal from 
 Army of the Potomac, 487; L’s presi- 
 dential competitor, 539; defeated for 
 presidency, 547 
 
 McCormick, R. C., quoted, 215, 252 
 McCormick reaper case, in 1857, 173-176 
 McCulloch, Hugh, quoted, 332; secretary 
 of the treasury, 294; at L’s death-bed, 
 591-593 
 
 McCullough, John Edward, summoned to 
 meet L., 469-470 
 
618 
 
 INDEX 
 
 McDonald, Senator, 138 
 McHenry, Henry, quoted, 46 
 McNeill, James, (McNamar), Anne Rut- 
 ledge’s suitor, 49-50 
 
 Macon County, HI., Lincoln family settle 
 in, 21 
 
 Manassas defeat, 410-411 
 Markland, Mr., quoted, 321-322 
 Mason, Senator, 100 
 Mason and Slidell affair, 340-344 
 Massachusetts, first to put regiment in the 
 field in Civil War, 314 
 Meade, George G., mentioned, 499, 501; 
 opinion of McClellan, 401; succeeds 
 Hooker, 498; criticized for Lee’s escape, 
 503-504; asks to be relieved, 504; 
 answers criticism, 504; does not press 
 resignation, 505; L.’s opinion modified, 
 506-507 
 
 Meigs, Montgomery C., 334; at L’s 
 
 death-bed, 591 
 
 “ Merrimac,” frightens New Yorkers, 338; 
 Hampton Roads defeat, 345; engage- 
 ment with “Monitor,” 390-391 
 Messages and proclamations, inaugural 
 message, loss feared, 283; colloquialisms 
 in, 471-473 
 
 Messages and proclamations, quotations, 
 inaugural address, 287-291; volunteers 
 called for, 313-314; blockade of southern 
 ports, 317-318; Key West, Tortugas, 
 and Santa Rosa, concerning authority, 
 318; Virginia convention, response to, 
 319-320; to congress, July 4, 1861, 
 322-325; first annual message, 348-350; 
 President’s general order. No. 1, Feb. 
 22, 1862, 383; thanksgiving proclama- 
 tion, April 10, 1862, 385-386; emancipa- 
 tion, appeal to border states, 421-422; 
 final proclamation, 433-435, 438, 441- 
 444; second annual message, 440-441; 
 Thanksgiving, 1863, 508-510; fourth 
 annual message, 552; inaugural address, 
 second, 557-559; Gladstone’s tribute, 
 559-560. See also Speeches and Lectures 
 Metzgar murder case, 134 
 Mexican War, attitude of L. toward, 101- 
 102, 131 
 
 Mexico, French invasion, 345 
 “Miami,” Federal steamboat, 386, 391 
 Milroy, R. H., 333, 334 
 Milwaukee, speech of L. at State Fair, 389 
 Minnesota, asks execution of Indians, 453 
 Minter, Graham, L’s schoolmaster, quoted, 
 32 
 
 “Mirror,” The Manchester (N. H.) t 
 quoted, 221 
 
 Missionary Ridge, Grant’s success, 516 
 Mississippi, seceded, 261 
 Missouri Compromise, views of L. and 
 Douglas, 150-160 
 
 Missouri, factional quarrels, 454-457 
 
 Mitchell, General, telegram from, 388, 389 
 “Monitor,” engagement with “Merrimac,” 
 390-391; origin of, 345-347 
 Moore, Ex-governor, 266 
 Moore, Mrs., step-sister, 263, 264 
 Morgan, Edwin D., 533 
 Morse, John T., quoted, 364 
 
 “Nasby, Petroleum V.” (David Ross 
 Locke), read by L., 467-468, 548 
 Nebraska Bill. See Kansas-Nebraska Bill 
 Negroes, enlistment in army, 373, 484-486; 
 justified by L., 507; New Year’s recep- 
 tion, 552-553; grief over death of L., 
 597. See also Emancipation; Slavery 
 Neill, Secretary to L., quoted, 536-537, 585 
 New Brunswick affair, 356 
 New England, dissatisfaction with L., 529, 
 speeches and visit of L., 221-223 
 New Salem, 111., L. settles at, 24; L. ap- 
 pointed postmaster, 44; speech of L. 
 before literary society, 44; now a deso- 
 late waste, 54 
 
 New Year’s presidential reception, in 1862, 
 350; in 1863, 441; in 1865, 552-553 
 New York City, visit of L. in 1860, 215- 
 221, 225-226; on inaugural journey, 276; 
 funeral ceremonies, 598 
 New York “Tribune.” See Greeley, 
 Horace 
 
 New York troops, reviewed July 4, 1861, 
 326 
 
 Newpapers, L’s favorite newspaper, 27; 
 surveillance, 301 
 
 Nichols, John W., quoted, 541-542 
 Nicolay, John G., L’s private secretary, 
 266;* quoted, 302, 361-362, 478 
 Norfolk captured, 391-392 
 Norris, James H., 134 
 Nott and Brainard, quoted, 220 
 Noyes, George C., quoted, 194 
 
 Oberkleine, Frederick, address to L. at 
 Cincinnati, 271-272; L’s reply, 272-273 
 Office-seekers, patience of L. toward, 252; 
 demands of, 296; annoy L., 353-354; 
 actor who wanted consulship, 470 
 Offutt, Denton, 26; relations with L., 23- 
 24; 26, quoted, 27; store closed in 1832, 
 35 
 
 Oglesby, Richard J., quoted, 229, 230 
 Oregon, federal office offered L., 107 
 
 Pain, John, 169 
 Parke, John G., 385 
 Parker, Theodore, abolitionist, 166 
 Parks, C. S., quoted, 144, 162 
 Pearson, John, quoted, 81 
 Pearson, Henry Greenleaf, quoted, 529- 
 530 
 
 Peck, Ebenezer, mentioned, 171, 227; 
 quoted, 87 
 
INDEX 
 
 619 
 
 Pemberton, J. C., 501, 525, 526 
 Pennsylvania, invaded by Lee, 497 
 Pennypacker, Isaac R., quoted, 505 
 Petersburg, 111., surveyed and planned by 
 L., 67 
 
 Petersburg, Va., victory, and visit by L., 567 
 Philadelphia, visited on inaugural journey, 
 277-278; receives news of L’s death, 
 594-596 
 
 Phillips, Wendell, abolitionist, 166, 245; 
 
 interview with L., 482-484 
 Piatt, Don, quoted, 252-253 
 Pierce, Franklin, 354 
 Pierpont, John, visits L., 468-469 
 Pinkerton, Allan, 179 
 Polk, James K., campaign, 98-99 
 Pomeroy, Senator, 368 
 Poore, Benjamin Perley, quoted, 301-302, 
 445 
 
 Pope, John, defeat at Manassas, 410-411; 
 succeeded by McClellan, 411, 414; Bull 
 Run disaster, 437 
 
 Porter, D. D., aids Grant, 501; interview 
 with L. at City Point, 563-566, 578; L’s 
 visit to the Malvern, 566-567; visits 
 Petersburg with L., 567-568; described 
 visit to Richmond with L., 568-573; 
 interview with L. at City Point, 578; 
 quoted, 522-523 
 Prime, Irenaeus, quoted, 276 
 Pringle, Cyrus, the case of, 398-399 
 Proclamations. See Messages and Procla- 
 mations 
 
 Quakers, L’s ancestry, 2; war scruples, 
 398-399; demand emancipation, 425-427 
 
 Rail-splitting episode, 23 
 
 Ramsey, Senator, 536 
 
 Rathbone, Major, at Ford’s Theatre, 587; 
 
 struggles with Booth, 590-591 
 Raymond, Henry J., quoted, 205, 314-315 
 Rebellion, War of. See Civil War 
 Reconstruction, L.’s speech on, quoted, 
 575-576; policy of L., 576-581 
 Reid, Whitelaw, 548 
 Reno, Jesse L., 385 
 
 Republican party, birth of, 159; organized 
 in Illinois, 169; national convention in 
 1856, 170; asked L. to speak in Ohio, 
 211; advice of L. to, 219; Illinois con- 
 vention of 1860, 229; national conven- 
 tion, 1860, 231-237; growth and 
 
 tendencies, 251; fears for L’s loyalty, 
 271; partisan and unreasonable, 293; 
 office-seekers, 296; elections of 1863, 
 510-511; national convention of 1864, 
 534 
 
 Reynolds, John, call for volunteers, 36, 39 
 Rhett, Robert B., 100 
 Richardson, William A., resolution sup- 
 ported by L., 101 
 
 Richmond, plans to capture, 405-407; fall 
 of, 568; visited by L., 568-573 
 Riddle, A. G. part in Lincoln-Chase affair, 
 533-534; urges Chase’s appointment as 
 chief justice’, 550-551; quoted, 274, 276, 
 281, 291, 381, 395-396, 450, 451, 543-544 
 Rock Valley, 35 
 Rollins, James S., quoted, 554 
 Rosecrans, W. S., sent to Missouri, 456- 
 457 
 
 Ross, A. M., quoted, 352-356 
 Rothschild, Alonzo, quoted, 294-295 
 Rousseau, Kentucky legislator, 321 
 Russell, Lord John, protest of, in Trent 
 affair, 343 
 
 Rutledge, Anne, L’s love-affair with, 49- 
 52 
 
 Schenck, Robert C., 333 
 Schofield, J. M., mentioned, 564, 565; 
 replaces Curtis, L’s letter of appoint- 
 ment, 455-457; joins Sherman, 457; 
 L’s concern about ability, 565 
 Scott, Colonel, refused leave on death of 
 wife, 408-410 
 
 Scott, Winfield, L’s order to hold or retake 
 forts, 281; warns L. of danger, 278; 
 pays respects to L., 281-282; lacking as 
 politician, 337; dislike of Hooker, 487 
 Schurz, Carl, seconded L’s nomination, 
 234; quoted, 307 
 
 Secession, states that withdrew, 261; 
 attitude of L. toward, 262, 287-291, 
 320-321; not considered rebellion, 292 
 Sedgwick, John, view of Meade’s failure to 
 attack Lee, 504 
 Selby, Paul, quoted, 158-160 
 Seward, Fanny, 592 
 
 Seward, Frederick W., warns L. of danger, 
 278, 280; attacked and wounded, 591- 
 592 
 
 Seward, Mrs. Frederick W., 423 
 Seward, William H., mentioned, 17, 185, 
 296, 297, 305, 343, 441, 485, 593; opposes 
 Nebraska bill, 153; doubt of his nomi- 
 nation, 215; statesmanship, 231; candi- 
 date for president, 231-234; eloquence 
 of, 245; cabinet possibility, 258, 275; 
 sends warning ]:o L., 278; appointment 
 as secretary of state, 293, 294, 295; 
 press refused information, 301; diplo- 
 macy, credited to, 341; “Premier,” 
 self-styled, 364; arrogance, 366-368; 
 rivalry with Chase, 366-370; resigna- 
 tion, 368; senate, opposition of, 368; 
 L’s objection to his resignation, 369; 
 opposes negro enlistment, 373; emanci- 
 pation views, 423; preliminary proclama- 
 tion views, 436-437, 438; with Grant at 
 White House reception, 518; tribute to 
 L. on his re-election, 548-549; with L. 
 meets peace commission, 554-557; L’s 
 
620 INDEX 
 
 visit, after Richmond, 573; attacked 
 and wounded, 591-592 
 Seward, Mrs. William H., 592 
 Shakespeare, L’s fondness for his works, 
 387, 466 
 
 Shepley, General, receives L. at Richmond, 
 572-573 
 
 Sherman, John, introduces brother to L., 
 298-299 
 
 Sherman, William T., mentioned, 367, 457, 
 516, 579; quoted, 298-299; march to the 
 sea, 517; L ’s opinion, 552; at Atlanta, 
 537; yictories after Atlanta, 561-562; 
 interview with L. at City Point, 563- 
 566, 578; tribute to L., 565-566; anxiety 
 of L. and Grant, 583, 584 
 Shields, James, ridiculed by Mary Todd, 
 93; duel with L., 93; L. wishes to suc- 
 ceed in congress, 161, 163 
 Shuman, Andrew, reports Lincoln-Douglas 
 debates, 198; quoted, 199 
 Sibley, Judge, quoted, 84 
 Simpson, Bishop, officiates at L’s funeral, 
 596 
 
 Slavery, protest against pro-slavery act 
 in Illinois, 65; L’s defense of fugitive 
 slaves, 77; Independence Hall flag- 
 raising, 278; L. introduces bill against, 
 104; L’s growing opposition to, 147- 
 153; L’s attitude in letter to Speed, 
 151-153; Peoria speech, extract, 155- 
 157; L’s growing opposition to, 166-169, 
 178-182; knowledge of L. regarding, 
 186; Cincinnati speech, 211-212; Cooper 
 Institute speech, 218-220; L’s hatred 
 for, growing, 245; fugitive slave law, 
 248-249, 434-435; political issue, 251; 
 attitude of L. toward, 254; L. opposes 
 compromises, 261; legislation against, 
 1862, 421; L’s own account of his views, 
 446-448; L’s attitude in fourth annual 
 message, 552; constitutional amend- 
 ment, 553-554. See also Emancipation 
 Slocum, Henry W., 504 
 Smith, Caleb B., secretary of the interior, 
 293, 294; non-committal on Ericsson’s 
 invention, 347 
 
 Smith, Goldwin, visits L., 357-358; quoted, 
 358-359 
 
 Smith, James, 591 
 
 Smith, William Henry, quoted, 269-273, 
 550 
 
 Smoot, Coleman, friendship with L., 29-30 
 “Soldiers’ Rest,” Lincoln’s summer home 
 during presidency, 401 
 South Carolina, seceded, 261 
 Southern Confederacy. See Confederate 
 states 
 
 Sparrow, Thomas and Betsy, 6 
 Spaulding, Judge, 533, 534 
 Speeches and lectures, in congress in 1848, 
 40; candidate for member of legislature, 
 
 41; to New Salem literary society, 44; 
 stump-speaking, 55; on “Spot Resolu- 
 tions,” 101; on the presidency and 
 general politics, 102; age of different 
 inventions, 119; to Scott club of Spring- 
 field, 147; eulogy on death of Clay, 
 147; Bloomington convention, 167-168; 
 “ House-divided-against-itself,” 178-182, 
 473; lectures in winter of 1859, 
 210; political speeches in Ohio, 211; 
 political speeches in Kansas, 213; in- 
 vitation to lecture in Beecher’s church, 
 214; Cooper Institute speech, 215-221, 
 223-224; in New England, 221-223; 
 accusation of fees received for speeches, 
 223-224; Five Points Sunday School, 
 N. Y., talk, 225-226; inaugural journey, 
 268-276; Wisconsin state fair, 389 
 Speeches and lectures, quotations, influ- 
 ence of Weem’s life of Washington, 15; 
 Perpetuation of our political institu- 
 tions, 63-65; Peace plea, 158; Bloom- 
 ington ratification meeting, 169-170; 
 “House-divided-against-itself,” 180, 426, 
 473; Appeal for a hearing in southern 
 Illinois, 199-200; Cincinnati, 1859, 211; 
 Cooper Institute speech, 218-219; 
 Presidential nomination, response, 243; 
 Springfield farewell, 267; Cincinnati in 
 1861, 270; Cincinnati, reply to Ober- 
 kleine, 272-273; Philadelphia, on in- 
 augural journey, 278; after Bull Run, 
 328; Slavery, 426; Emancipation proc- 
 lamation, speech following, 444-445; 
 Gettysburg address, text, 512, com- 
 ments, 512-515; Grant’s commission, 
 presentation of, 519; Richmond, to 
 negroes, 571; Close of war, 574; Recon- 
 struction, last speech, 575-576. See also 
 Lincoln-Douglas debates; Messages and 
 proclamations 
 
 Speed, Joshua F., mentioned, 294, 322; 
 first interview with L., 69-70; L’s 
 home with, 88; intimate friend of L., 
 95-96; opinion of L’s ability as a 
 lawyer, 145-146; L’s letter to sister of 
 Speed, quoted, 148; L’s letter to, on 
 slavery, 151; compares L. and Douglas, 
 182-183; appointed attorney general, 
 294; at L’s death-bed, 591 
 “Spot Resolutions,” speech, 101 
 Springfield, 111., L. moves to, 60; agitation 
 over removal of capital, 62, 66; removal 
 accomplished, 69; L. returns to, 109; 
 L’s departure, Feb. 11, 1861, 265-266; 
 recollections of L. about, 584; funeral 
 ceremonies for L., 599 
 Stanton, Edwin M., mentioned, 356, 357, 
 399, 461, 497; professional meeting with 
 L., 173-176; contempt for L., 175; 
 appointed secretary of war, 294; member 
 of Buchanan’s cabinet, 294, 295; appli- 
 
INDEX 
 
 621 
 
 cant for office, 296; press refused in- 
 formation, 301; Mason and Slidell cap- 
 ture approved, 341; impulsiveness and 
 violence, 364; antagonism to Welles, 
 364, 368; relations with L., 364-379; 
 resignation threatened, 368; resignation 
 withdrawn, 370; master-mind of cabi- 
 net, 370-371; replaces Cameron in 
 cabinet, 371; Cameron’s own account, 
 372-373; Fortress Monroe, visit to, 
 386-392; hostility to McClellan, 407, 
 411-412; refuses Col. Scott leave of 
 absence, 408-410; death of his child, 
 423; opposes the “Boston set,” 482; 
 discouraged at Hooker’s resignation, 
 498; dispute with Grant, 526-527; 
 irritated by L’s humor, 548; relations 
 with Blair, 552; dispatch to Grant, 577; 
 reconstruction plan proposed, 581; at 
 L’s death-bed, 591, 593; at Seward’s 
 bedside, 592 
 
 Steamboat Invention, L’s, 24-26 
 Stearns, George L., 482 
 Stedman, E. C., quoted, 494—495 
 Stephens, Alexander IL, mentioned, 100; 
 opinion of L. as a speaker, 100-101; 
 Southern peace commissioner, 555; L’s 
 description of, 556 
 Stephenson, J. IL, 482 
 Stewart, Harry W., quoted, 213 
 Stewart, James G., recollection of L’s 
 visit to Kansas, 213 
 
 Stone, Charles P., quoted, 280, 308-310 
 Stone River, costly success, 496; L’s 
 dream, 583; Grant denies victory, 583 
 Stories told by L., Bob Lewis and the 
 Mormon lands, 334-335; Big fellow 
 beaten by little wife, 429; Boy and the 
 troublesome coon, 580; Darkey arithme- 
 tic, 357-358; Horse sold at cross-roads, 
 388; Johnnie Kongapod, 81; Jones and 
 his bridge to the infernal regions, 338- 
 339; Letting the dog go, 461-462; 
 Plaster of psalm-tunes, 337; Sausages 
 and cats, 260; Shooting skunks, 373— 
 374; Sick man of Illinois and his grudge, 
 344; Swapping horses in mid-stream, 
 535; Sykes’s yellow dog, 525-526; 
 Taking to the woods, 336 
 Story-telling, used on troublesome visitors, 
 30-31; fondness of L. for, 68, 84, 101, 
 198; L. entertains Van Buren, 87; 
 indelicacy charge refuted, 258; applica- 
 tion of stories, 259; safety-valve of L., 
 332-333, 387; chagrins friends, 357; 
 relieves bad news by, 461 
 Stowe, Harriet Beecher, “Uncle Tom’s 
 Cabin,” 245; quoted, 307-308, 462, 
 472-473 
 
 Stuart, J. E. B., 150, 165, 497 
 Stuart, John T., mentioned, 74; L’s first 
 acquaintance with, 38; law partner of 
 
 L., 71; on L’s method of accounting, 
 133 
 
 Sumner, Charles, mentioned, 304, 305, 
 352, 368, 445, 586; opposes Nebraska 
 Bill, 153; eloquence of, 245; assault 
 upon, 245; member of inaugural party, 
 275; declined to measure backs with L., 
 336; lacks confidence in Hooker, 492; 
 introduces constitutional amendment, 
 554; at L’s death-bed, 591 
 Sumter. See Fort Sumter 
 Swett, Leonard, associate of L. in law case, 
 136; quoted, 181, 257, 542-543 
 Sykes, George, 504 
 
 Taney, R. B., administered oath of office 
 to L., 284, 286; death, 550 
 Tannatt, T. R., 499, 500 
 Taylor Club, “the young Indians,” 100 
 Taylor, Richard (Dick), L’s discomfiture 
 of, 57-58 
 
 Taylor, Zachary, Black Hawk War, 39; 
 presidency supported byL. and Stephens, 
 100 
 
 Terry, Alfred H., 564 
 Texas, seceded, 261 
 
 Thirteenth Amendment passed, 553-554 
 Thomas, Jesse, 89 
 Thomas, George II., 459, 516 
 Thompson George, 468-469 
 Thompson, Jacob, 585-586 
 Thompson, Richard, 81 
 Todd, Captain, guards L. at White House, 
 308-309 
 
 Todd, Mary. See Lincoln, Mary Todd 
 Todd, Robert S., 94 
 Toombs, Robert, 100 
 Treat, Judge, 137, 141 
 Trent Affair, friendly attitude of France 
 and Spain, 305; L’s diplomacy in, 340- 
 344 
 
 Trumbull, Lyman, mentioned, 74; 185, 
 
 368; elected senator, 161, 162, 164; sub- 
 stitute amendment introduced by 554 
 
 Usher, John D., appointed secretary of the 
 interior, 294 
 
 Vallandigham, Clement L., opposes war 
 policy, 481; candidate for governor of 
 Ohio, 510; L’s opinion of, 511 
 Van Buren, Martin, mentioned, 360; 
 
 entertained by L’s stories, 87 
 Vandalia, 111., proposed change of state 
 capital, 62, 66 
 
 Van Santvoord, C., quoted, 451-452 
 Verdi, Dr., 592 
 
 Vicksburg, mentioned, 516, 517, 518, 524; 
 turning-point in war, 496; campaign, 
 500-503; L’s joy over victory, 501, 
 507; L. meets criticism with anecdote, 
 525; L’s dream, 583 
 
622 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Viele, General, describes visit to Fortress 
 Monroe, 386-391 
 
 Virginia Convention, asks expression of 
 Federal policy, 318 
 
 Volk, Leonard W., impressions of L., 
 201-202; makes cast of L., 237-243 
 Voorhees, Daniel W., 81 
 
 Wade, Benjamin, mentioned, 535; urges 
 Grant’s dismissal, 503; lack of military 
 judgment, 505 
 Wadsworth, James S., 296 
 Walker, Isaac, recollections of L., 88 
 Washburne, E. B., mentioned 225; L’s 
 letters to, against compromise, 260- 
 261; giving orders for Scott, 261; 
 quoted, 105, 173, 279; bill creating rank 
 of lieutenant-general, 516 
 Washington, D. C., L. reluctant to leave 
 in 1849, 109; L’s arrival, Feb. 23, 1861, 
 279-280; inaugural week, 281-290; 
 rebels and rebel sympathizers in, 292; 
 defenses visited by L., 400; regarded as 
 lost, 413; relieved, 414; society in 1862- 
 1863, 449-450; Early’s attack, 533, 
 537; enthusiasm over Lee’s surrender, 
 574-575 
 
 Washington, George, mentioned, 360; 
 influence of Weem’s life of W. on L., 8, 
 15; life read by L. as case preparation, 
 78; L. ranked with, 527, 549 
 Watson, assistant secretary of state, 375 
 Watterson, Henry, quoted 4 
 Webster, Daniel, mentioned, 100, 185; 
 
 considered a leader, 529-530 
 W T eed, Thurlow, mentioned, 474; quoted, 
 257-260; discusses cabinet appoint- 
 ments, 257-259; L’s letter to, Dec. 17, 
 1860, extract, 262; objects to W'elles, 365 
 Weitzel, Godfrey, occupies Richmond, 
 568; headquarters in Richmond, 572 
 W r eldon, Lawrence, quoted, 139, 334 
 Welles, Gideon, mentioned, 347, 460, 511; 
 cabinet possibility, 259; appointed 
 secretary of the navy, 293; approves 
 Mason and Slidell capture, 341; calm- 
 ness of, 364; antagonism to Stanton, 
 364, 368; at L’s death-bed, 591-594; 
 quoted, 292-293, 320, 325, 333, 345„ 
 365-366, 367, 368-369, 411-412, 412- 
 413, 417, 423-424, 432, 438, 439, 440, 
 457-458, 473-474, 492, 493, 497, 501, 
 506, 511, 531, 535, 538, 540, 551-552, 
 555, 556-557, 563, 577, 581, 583-584, 
 591-594, 597 
 
 Welles, Mrs. Gideon, mentioned, 591 
 “ Westminster Review,” on Gettysburg 
 address, 513 
 
 Wheeler, William A., quoted, 376-378 
 Whig Party, L. a delegate to presidential 
 convention, 104; L. believes he is a 
 Whig, 153, 157; symptoms of disinte- 
 gration, 159; L. a leader, 162-163; 
 dissolution, 165 
 White, Dr., 592 
 White, Mrs., 453 
 
 W hite House, L.’s first night at, 292, L’s 
 family life, 464-465; office of L. de- 
 scribed, 299-300; official precedence, 
 300-301; New Year’s receptions, 350, 
 441; society in 1862-63, 449-450; L’s 
 informal receptions, 450-451; freedom 
 of access, 459-461; Grant’s ovation at 
 reception, 517-518; reception, 1865, ne- 
 groes attend, 552-553 
 Whiting, solicitor of war department, 375; 
 
 candidate for attorney general, 522 
 Whitman, Walt, quoted, 263, 589-590, 
 597-598 
 
 Whittier, John Greenleaf, abolitionist, 245 
 “Wide-awake” clubs, 250 
 Wigfall, Senator, 286 
 W’ilcox, Major, quoted, 106 
 Wullard’s Hotel, Washington, headquar- 
 ters of L., 281, 282 
 W T illis, David, 515 
 W’ilmington, L’s dream, 583 
 W’ilmot Proviso, L. votes for, 153 
 W 7 ilkes, Charles, 341, 342 
 W'ilson, Robert L., quoted, 62, 85 
 Wilson, Henry, 357, 482 
 Winchell, J. M., quoted, 382; interview 
 with L., 531 
 
 W 7 inslow, John F., builder of “Monitor,” 
 345-347 
 
 Winthrop, Robert C., quoted, 100 
 Wisconsin State Fair, addressed by L. in 
 1859, 389 
 
 W r ood, Fernando, 474 
 Wool, John E., 392 
 W’orkingmen, L’s speech to, 272-273 
 Wright, Elizur, 492 
 Wright, Horatio, 504 
 
 Writings. See Letters and telegrams; Mes- 
 sages and proclamations; Speeches and 
 lectures 
 
 Yates, Richard, mentioned, 266; beginning 
 of friendship with L., 30; opposes 
 Missouri Compromise, 159; election to 
 Congress, 150 
 
 “Young Indians,” Taylor club, 100 
 Young, John Russell, quoted, 514 
 Young Men’s Lyceum, address of L. 
 quoted, 62 
 
^ue 
 
 
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