He makes no explanation. They have no knowledge of its contents. They write their names, and the package is laid away.

Why had the President written the remarkable words? Why had he asked the members of the Cabinet to write their names? To understand his action we must remember that it was one of the gloomiest hours in the history of the country. If we take the premium on gold as a standard of probabilities it was the darkest period of the war. In August, 1862, when the Union army was drifting back to Washington, after the disaster at Manassas, gold could be purchased by paying 20 per cent. premium. Very soon after the battle of Fredericksburg, the following December, specie disappeared. People were hiding it in safe places. On that summer morning, 1864, $2.60 in paper-money were required to purchase $1 in gold. The credit of the Government was at its lowest ebb. The country stood aghast at the slaughter on the battle-fields. The President was about to call for 300,000 men. Seemingly the sentiment of the country was for peace. McClellan, if elected, would succeed to the Presidency on such a basis.

Mr. Lincoln, at such

a gloomy hour, called the members of the Cabinet to witness that he would do all in his power to aid McClellan, if possible.

The Cabinet meeting over, the members departed, and R. E. Fenton, member of Congress from New York, entered the chamber in response to a telegram sent by the President.

"Mr. Fenton," said Mr. Lincoln, "you are to be nominated by our folks for Governor of your State. Seymour, of course, will be the Democratic nominee. You will have a hard fight. I am very desirous you should win the battle. New York should be on our side by honest possession. There is some trouble among our folks over there which we must try and manage-or, rather, there is one man who may give us trouble because of his indifference, if in no other way. He has great influence, and his feelings may be reflected in many of his friends. We must have his counsel and co-operation in holding friendly relations with Mr. Weed."

We have seen Mr. Thurlow Weed meeting defeat and disappointment by the defeat of Mr. Seward in the Chicago Convention of 1860. He was not heartily in sympathy with the Administration, and had not been consulted in regard to the appointment of the collector of customs and surveyor in New York, whom he regarded as hostile to himself. Political patronage was dear to Mr. Weed; in the eyes of Abraham Lincoln it was no more than a bauble. If Mr. Weed could be brought to wield his far-reaching influence for saving the nation, he would give

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him the toy. Mr. Fenton was sent to New York. He brought about the resignation of the surveyor, and the appointment of a gentleman who could be of service in saving the nation-one who was agreeable to Mr. Weed. Such was Mr. Lincoln's statesmanship.

No principle had been sacrificed, but harmony essential to the welfare of the nation had been attained.

Little did the President foresee how events beyond his control would dissipate the gloom: how through the obstinacy of Jeff..

Davis, through the blundering and malignity of the Peace Democracy, by the heroism and steadfastness of the great army of the republic the nation was to be saved.

There were others than William Cornell Jewett and Horace Greeley who thought themselves called upon to bring about peace. Mr. John R. Gilmore, of New York, and Rev. Mr. Jacques, of Illinois, desired to visit Richmond on an errand of peace, and were allowed by General Grant to pass his lines. They reached the Confederate Capitol and held a conference with Jefferson Davis. They expressed a desire to have the war ended. The Northern people longed for peace, they said.

"I desire," Mr. Davis replied, "peace as much as you do; but I feel that not one drop of blood is on my hands. I can look up to God and say this: I tried all in my power to avert this war. I saw it coming, and for twelve years I worked night and day to prevent it; but I could not. The North was mad and blind; but it would not let us govern ourselves, and so the war came; and now it must go on till the last man of this generation falls in his tracks, and his children seize his musket and fight our battle, unless you acknowledge our right to selfgovernment. We are not fighting for slavery. We are fighting for independence; and that or extermination we will have.... Say to Mr. Lincoln, from me, that I shall at any time be proud to receive proposals for peace on the basis of our independence. It will be useless to approach us with any other."

The Peace Democrats maintained that the President was waging war solely to abolish slavery. Jefferson Davis by this declaration informed them that the South was not fighting to maintain slavery, but for independence.

"We may lose much," wrote the editor of a Southern newspaper, "by presenting a hostile movement to the Peace Democracy. Live with them under the same government we never will; but if they will use the ballot-box against Mr. Lincoln while we use the cartridge-box, each side will help the other, and both co-operate to accomplish the grandest work which this country has ever witnessed."

NOTES TO CHAPTER XXII.

(1) Robert J. Breckinridge was born in Kentucky, March 8, 1800. He attended Princeton, Yale, and Union colleges, graduating at the latter, 1819. He studied law, was elected to the Legislature four successive years, but in 1832, in obedience to religious convictions, studied theology, and became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church,

Baltimore, where he remained till elected to the presidency of Jefferson College, 1845. He took great interest in promoting the public schools of Kentucky. In 1853 he accepted an appointment as Professor of Polemics in Danville Theological Seminary. He published several volumes upon theological subjects, and edited the Danville "Review." He was intensely loyal to the Union. Although his son and nephew, John C. Breckinridge, joined the Confederacy, he denounced secession as an unpardouable crime.—Author. (*) F. B. Carpenter, "Six Months in the White House," p. 166.

(') Ibid.

(4) Theodore Tilton, in New York "Independent," June 14, 1864.

($) Clement L. Vallandigham was of Huguenot descent. He was born in New Lisbon, O., 1822. He taught an academy at Snow Hill, Md., studied law, and was admitted to the bar, 1842. He was elected to the Legislature of Ohio, and edited a newspaper at Dayton. He was an intense Democrat, and secured an election to Congress, 1857. His sympathies were with the Secessionists to an extent which led him to oppose the prosecution of the war. On the floor of Congress, at political gatherings, and through the Press he wielded his influence against the Government, and was arrested for treasonable utterances by General Burnside. He was tried by court-martial, sentenced to imprisonment in one of the forts in Boston Harbor; but President Lincoln overruled the decision and transferred him to the Confederate lines. He received scant courtesy in Richmond, where he remained but a short time. He ran the blockade to Bermuda, went from there to Canada, was nominated by the Democratic Party as candidate for Governor, 1863. He was defeated by John Brough by an overwhelming majority. He returned to Ohio, was elected delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Chicago, and wrote its platform. While engaged in a suit at court, and explaining the construction of a pistol, he was mortally wounded by its accidental discharge. He was a man of great earnestness and force-an intense partisan.-Author.

(") The Secretary of the Treasury, William P. Fessenden, appointed to succeed Mr. Chase, was born in Boscawen, N. H., October 16, 1806. He received his education at Bowdoin College, studied law, began practice in Bridgeton, and subsequently in Portland. He was elected to the Legislature, 1832, but refused a nomination as member of Congress. He gave his attention wholly to his profession, attaining a high position as member of the bar. He was elected Senator, 1854, and took conspicuous part in the debates upon the Kansas troubles. He was re-elected, 1859. Upon the assembling of the Peace Congress, 1861, he was appointed a member of that body by the Governor of Maine. Upon the accession of the Republican Party to power he was made chairman of the Committee on Finance. His ability in that position elicited a glowing eulogy from Senator Sumner, who said, "In the financial field he is what the best generals are on the battle-field." Mr. Lincoln placed Senator Fessenden in charge of the finances at the darkest period of the war, when viewed from the financial stand-point. Mr. Chase had advertised a loan, but there was no response from the public, and it had been withdrawn. In the mouth of February, 1864, gold was at a premium of 225. Secretary Fessenden resolved that no more treasury notes should be issued. He devised a loan bearing 7 per cent. interest. He believed that the people, if appealed to, would subscribe to such a loan. They had shown their patriotism in raising men, they would be equally patriotic in furnishing money. He determined to appeal to the small investor and issue $50 bonds. He judged rightly; and the people, having confidence in the stability of the Government, accepted the bonds, and gave the Government the needed funds to carry on the war. Mr. Fessenden was re-elected to the Senate in 1865, and was made chairman of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. He opposed the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. He died in 1869.-Author.

(1) Zachariah Chandler was born in Bedford, N. H., 1813. He attended the public

schools of his native town, and taught one term. At the age of twenty he became clerk in a dry-goods store; removed to Detroit, Mich., and engaged in business. He was elected mayor of that city, 1851. He was a Whig, but took an active part in the formation of the Republican Party. In 1857 he succeeded Lewis Cass as Senator from Michigan. He was ever outspoken in his denunciation of slavery. He vehemently opposed the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. He had the courage of his convictions. In a letter to Governor Blair, written February 11, 1861, he said that "without a little blood-letting the Union was not worth a rush." When the President called for 75,000 troops to put down the Rebellion, Senator Chandler regretted that he had not called for 500,000. He reported in 1861 a bill for the confiscation of the property of those in rebellion. In July, 1862, he informed several Senators that he intended to assail McClellan in a speech on the floor of the Senate. He was informed that it would be fatal to his reelection to the Senate, then pending. He replied that the good of the country demanded an exposure of the inefficiency of the commander of the army, and delivered the speech as contemplated. It did not imperil his re-election. He was plain, straightforward,