the President, when, at a given signal, a great tumult was to be raised, and some were to shoot at him with their pistols, and others to throw hand grenades into his carriage. In the inevitable confusion the assassins expected to escape to a vessel waiting for them in the harbor, which would convey them to Mobile, in Alabama, where they would be safe from all harm. General Scott and Senator Seward had been apprised, by the police, of this dan ger, and immediately dispatched Mr. Frederick W. Seward, a son of the Senator, to Philadelphia, to inform Mr. Lincoln of his peril. After consultation with friends, it was deemed advisable, in the then excited state of the country, when even a slight disturbance would plunge the country into all the horrors of civil war, that Mr. Lincoln should frustrate the plans of the conspirators, by taking an earlier express train, and passing through Baltimore incognito, as an ordinary traveler. The wisdom of this decision few now, upon reflection, will dispute. Mr. Lincoln received this information at Philadelphia, but, according to his plan, proceeded to Harrisburg.

'

"After the public reception at Harrisburg, the President, with a few of his confidential friends, retired to his private apartments, in the Jones House, at six o'clock in the evening. As he was known to be weary with the toils of the day, he was exposed to no interruptions. As soon as it was dark, he, in company with Col. Lamon, unobserved, entered a hack, and drove to the Pennsylvania railroad, where a special train was waiting for him. The telegraph wires were in the mean time cut, so that the knowledge of his departure, if discovered or suspected, could not be sent abroad. The train reached Philadelphia at 10 o'clock that night. They drove immediately across the city to the Baltimore and Washington depot. The regular night train was just leaving, at past 11. The party took berths in a sleeping car, and, without any change, passed directly through Baltimore to Washington, where they arrived safely, and all unexpected, at past 6 o'clock in the morning, Mr. Lincoln did not find it necessary to assume any disguise, but journeyed in his ordinary traveling dress.

“The Hon. Mr. Washburn, of Illinois, who had been privately informed of the arrangement, was at the station to receive the President. They drove directly to Willard's Hotel, where they were met by Mr. Seward. The active agents in this infamous plot were of course well known by the detectives; but it was deemed, at that time, desirable to avoid everything which could

add to the excitement of the public mind, already so sorely agitated. The President-elect thus silently entered Washington, Saturday morning, February 23. The news of his arrival was immediately flashed over the land, and the next day his family entered the city by the special train designed for the Presidential party."

"By this time it had become quite evident, that the secessionists wished for no compromise. They felt strong, sure of success, and with unflinching determination advanced in their measures to break up the Union, form a Confederacy of the Cotton States, on a thoroughly pro-slavery Constitution; then draw in the border States, which without any doubt would be eager to follow them, and then, through their partisans in the Middle and North Western States, draw those States in, and thus thoroughly reconstruct and reunite the country, leaving New England out, in a cold corner, to be attached to Canada, or, if independent, to be so weak as to be quite at the disposal of the great pro-slavery republic, which, grasping Cuba and Mexico, would overshadow the whole land. The plot of the secessionists to seize defenseless Washington was so palpable, and manifestly so feasible, surrounded as it was by slaveholding Virginia and Maryland, that even President Buchanan became alarmed. General Scott was there urging him to decisive measures. During the first week in January, General Scott had succeeded, with some difficulty, in collecting about three hundred troops in the vicinity of Washington. President Buchan was excessively averse to any show of power, lest it might be regarded as a menace, by a foe whom he dreaded, and who had gained almost entire dominion over his mind.

"On the 4th of February, forty-two of the secessionists met in Montgomery, Alabama, representing the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and North Carolina. They proceeded immediately to organize a new nation, the Southern Confederacy, to consist of the above-mentioned seven States, and such others as might subesequently be added. And then these forty two men chose Jefferson Davis, President, and Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Southern Confederacy. In all the Southern States there were large numbers opposed to all these measures of revolt, and in some of the States there were, undoubtedly, a decided majority; but the leading

t Abbott's Hist. of the Civil War, p. 64.

slaveholders had got the power entirely in their hands, and all opposition was overawed. On the 18th, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated President, at Montgomery.

"These forty-two delegates, without the slightest misgivings, undertook to revolutionize a nation of thirty millions. They deemed themselves umpires from whom there was no appeal. They framed a Constitution, adopted articles of Confederation, chose a President and Vice-President, confirmed Cabinet and Ministerial appointments, and set in operation all the machinery of what they believed would prove a powerful and perpetual government. History affords no parallel to such an audacious usurpation. The people had no voice in the organization of the government. And yet so sagaciously was the whole thing managed, that the ignorant masses at the South were led as obediently as slaves on the plantations. Those who ventured to utter the slightest murmurs were instantly silenced with the most inexorable cruelty.

No American can write such narratives about his own countrymen without extreme reluctance. But these facts must be known, or one can not understand how every voice of opposition was silenced at the South. The apparent unanimity at the South, was simply the silence enforced by the bludgeon, the lash, the halter, and the stake. Hume has remarked upon the barbarizing influence of slavery in ancient Rome. Its influence has been equally debasing in our own land. Its influence upon woman's character has been still more marked than upon the character of men. That there are noble men, and lovely and lovable women at the South, all must gladly affirm. The writer knows many such, whose memory he must ever cherish with affection. But this rebellion has proved beyond all dispute, that such are the exceptions. It is the unanimous declaration of our army, that the venom exhibited by the secession females of the South was amazing and very general. Ladies, so called, would spit upon our soldiers in the streets of Baltimore. One clergyman testifies that a woman, a member of his church, whom he had always considered a worthy member, said to him, that "she would be perfectly willing to go to hell, if she could but shoot a Yankee first." Another lady said, to a gentleman who related it to the writer, that she hoped yet 'to sleep under a blanket made of the scalps of Northerners.'

While such outrageous proceedings were carried on by active, malignant traitors, the people of the free States were waiting quietly, but with intense latent emotion, for the inauguration of

Abraham Lincoln as President. Nothing could be hoped for while Mr. Buchanan remained in the Presidential chair. He, himself, was probably the most impatient man in the United States for the hour to arrive in which he could retire. But, the secessionists had no idea of allowing President Lincoln to be inaugurated. To be sure, they had failed in their plans to assassinate him on his journey to the capital. But they were still quite confident of their ability to seize Washington, and make it the capital of their new confederacy, and they were fully determined to carry out their wicked designs. Mr. Abbott, in his history of the Civil War has so admirably described the state of affairs at the date of the inauguration, that it is thought well to give the account of it in substantially his words.

"The week preceding the 4th of March, when Mr. Lincoln was to be inaugurated, was one of intense solicitude and excitement. The air was filled with rumors of conspiracies, to prevent the inauguration by a bloody tumult, and by seizing the Capital. Washington was thronged with strangers, many from the South, armed with bowie-knives and revolvers. Apparently there would have been but little difficulty in a few thousand men, at a concerted signal, making a rush which would sweep all opposition before them. Gen. Scott and Secretary Holt were in the meantime making quiet, but effectual preparations, to meet any emergency. An important military escort was provided to conduct the President to the Capitol, and back again, after the inauguration, to the White House.

"The eventful morning dawned propitiously. At an early hour, Pennsylvania Avenue was thronged, the center of attraction being. Willard's Hotel, where, thus far, the President elect had occupied apartments. The procession began to form about 9 o'clock. It was very brilliant and imposing. One very striking feature was, a large triumphal car, the Constitution, bearing thirty-four very beautiful girls, robed in white, as representatives of the several States. It was thus manifest that the government had no idea of recognizing the Union as dissolved. Mr. Buchanan and Mr, Lincoln sat, side by side, in the carriage. They ascended the steps of the Capitol arm in arm. It was noticed that Mr. Buchanan looked pale, sad, and nervous; he sighed audibly and frequently. Mr. Lincoln's face was slightly flushed, and his lips compressed, with an expression of much gravity and firmness."

The President elect took his stand upon the platform of the

portico of the Capitol. The Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Foreign Ministers, and a vast crowd of privileged persons, soon occupied every seat. A countless throng filled the grounds below, a surging mass of friends and foes. There were exasperated secessionists, watching for a chance to strike a blow, and pure patriots ready to repel that blow, at any hazard of life. Senator Baker, of Oregon, introduced the President to the people. Mr. Lincoln then, with strength of voice which arrested every ear, delivered his inaugural address. Speaking of secession,

he said:

66

Physically speaking, we cannot separate,-we can not 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 courtry can not do this. They can not but remain face to face; and intercourse, either amiable or hostile, must continue between them. Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war; you can not fight always, and when, after much loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical questions, as to terms of intercourse, are again upon you." In reference to the policy to be pursued, he said :

"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 faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on my part. I shall perfectly perform it, so far as is practicable, unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the requisition, or, in some authoritative manner, direct the contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, 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 is forced upon the national authority. The power confided in me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government, and collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere."