tear it out. It had been rooted in tyranny, and propagated and nourished in the midst of sectional strife and jealousy, until the mighty force of the Government was all but inadequate to overthrow

it.

For a

When Mr. Lincoln came upon the platform he appeared awkward and ill at ease. He was clad in a new suit of clothes and carried in his hand a new silk hat, a style which he had never before worn. As he stepped to the front he looked helplessly around for some place to put his hat but could find none. moment he stood holding it in his hands, evidently unwilling to trust it upon the floor, when Mr. Douglas, who had seen his embarrassment and its cause, stepped forward and took the hat and held it during the address, while he listened with eager interest to every word that fell from the lips of the speaker and from time to time showed plainly his approval of the sentiments expressed.

When the ceremonies were ended, the hearers slowly dispersed and went to their homes and the new administration entered upon its difficult duties amid embarrassments far greater than could have been expected and which were destined to increase rapidly both in numbers and extent.

Of all the congratulations extended to Mr. Lincoln none were more sincere and heartfelt than those of Mr. Douglas who, realizing the magnitude of the task undertaken by his erstwhile rival, gave him the assurance that he would aid him to the utmost in upholding the Constitution and enforcing the laws of the country. And he nobly kept his pledge.

Mr. Arnold, in his "Life of Lincoln," relates the fol

lowing remarkable story of a prophecy made by Mr. Douglas at this time:

"Senator Douglas and his wife, one of the most beautiful and fascinating women of America, occupied one of the houses which formed the Minnesota block. On New Year's Day, 1861, General Stewart, of New York, was making a New Year's call on Senator Douglas and, after some conversation, asked him: 'What will be the result, Senator, of the efforts of Jefferson Davis and his associates, to divide the Union?'

"We were,' says Stewart, sitting on the sofa together, when I asked the question. Douglas rose, walked rapidly up and down the room for a moment, and then, pausing, he exclaimed, with deep feeling and excitement:

"The cotton States are making an effort to draw in the border States to their schemes of secession, and I am but too fearful they will succeed. If they do, there will be the most fearful civil war the world has ever seen, lasting for years.'

"Pausing a moment, he looked like one inspired, while he proceeded: 'Virginia, over yonder, across the Potomac,' pointing to Arlington, 'will become a charnel-house; but, in the end the Union will triumph. They will try to get possession of this Capital, to give them prestige abroad, but in that effort they will never succeed; the North will arise en masse to defend it. But Washington will become a city of hospitals, the churches will be used for the sick and wounded. This house,' he continued, 'the Minnesota block, will be devoted to that purpose before the end of the war.'

"Every word of this prediction was literally fulfilled; nearly all the churches were used for the wounded and the Minnesota block and the very room, in which this declaration was made, became the 'Douglas Hospital.'

"What justification is there for all this?' asked Stewart.

"There is no justification,' replied Douglas. 'I will go as far as the Constitution will permit to maintain their just rights. But,' said he, rising to his feet and raising his arm, if the Southern States attempt to secede, I am in favor of their having just so many slaves, and just so much slave territory, as they can hold at the point of the bayonet, and no more.'

Five months after this remarkable conversation Stephen A. Douglas was no more.

CHAPTER XV.

WHEN Mr. Lincoln entered the White House on the night of March 4, 1861, he was nominally the President of the United States, but in fact his recognized authority extended only over the Northern and border States. the Southern tier was in a state of open revolt. The Union was disintegrated, the Constitution nullified and the opposing political theories of States' rights and centralization, brought into hostile. relations by the unholy institution of slavery, were now preparing to decide the great dispute by force of arms.

Seven States had already passed ordinances of secession and had set up a provisional government, with Montgomery as the capital. North Carolina was the only Southern State that still hesitated. At first, the majority of its people were opposed to secession. This grand old State had special reason to cling to and reverence the Union. Within its borders had been fought some of the most sanguinary conflicts of the Revolution and, in the past, no State had been more loyal to the Constitution or more ready to sacrifice blood and treasure in its defense. Her patriotic feelings, however, were strongly opposed by the common sentiment of her sister States, to whom she was bound by ties of strongest sympathy and common interest. The disunion influences were thus too

strong to be resisted and the secession ordinance was passed, May 21, and the Southern Confederacy was complete.

The fight in the border States of Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri was long and bitter. The people were about equally divided, but the Union party finally triumphed, assisted, as it was, by the active sympathy and support of the North and the earnest co-operation of the administration. Mr. Lincoln clearly perceived the importance of retaining these States in the Union, not only for their moral influence but also because they formed a belt of neutral territory between the loyal and disloyal States. these States seceded, the war would, no doubt, have been greatly prolonged, the National Capital could not have been held against the enemy, and the issue would have been more doubtful than it was.

Had

The difficulties that surrounded the administration. were almost insuperable. There was incipient war, and no means of crushing it; rebellion, but the hands of the Government were tied. The majority of the army officers, who had been educated at West Point, and had gained skill from actual experience, violated their oaths and entered the armies of the South. The army and navy were demoralized and almost disorganized. The munitions of war had been largely transported to the South, and were now in the hands of the recalcitrants. The Treasury was empty, and the public credit exhausted. The administration. was in the hands of men who were untried and inexperienced in the details of the governmental machinery. Moreover, the constant defections of men, who were believed to be thoroughly loyal, and the