voice was naturally plaintive, and it sounded sadly and with pathetic pleading as he ended his address with the eloquent words:

"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 cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and 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."

The oration was done. Its affectionate and tender appeal fell on unheeding ears, so far as it was addressed to the South and to the Southern leaders. They were resolved on war-war for which they had long been secretly preparing. Their response to these loving words was only in terms of coarse jest and derision. But a responsive shout of approval went up from the loyal North. Lincoln's speech was especially indorsed by the calm judgment of patriotic people. And among those who pressed about President Lincoln, when he had solemnly taken his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the Republic, was Stephen A. Doulgas, Lincoln's ancient opponent in the field of politics. When Lincoln rose to begin his address, he held his hat in his hand. Looking about in the press for a place to bestow his head-covering, his eye caught that of Douglas, who immediately reached forward and took it; and he held Lincoln's hat while he delivered his inaugural oration. When it was finished, Douglas

restored the hat to its owner, and, at the same time, grasped the new President's hand and warmly assured him that he, his sometime political rival, not only congratulated him on his accession to high office, but pledged him that he would stand by him and give him hearty support in upholding the Constitution and enforcing the laws of the country. The two men clasped hands, and the "Sangamon Chief” and the "Little Giant of Illinois" were friends ever after.

It had been feared that some attempt would be made on Lincoln's life while on his way to or from the Capitol, where the inauguration ceremony took place. Gen. Scott, who was in charge of the military arrangements, used every possible precaution to thwart any such plot as might have been on foot. But, even then, many timid people were afraid that sharp-shooters might be concealed on the roofs or in the upper floors of the houses along the route of the procession, and fire at Lincoln as he was slowly driven to and fro. Therefore, everybody felt relieved when the ceremony was over and President Lincoln was safely in the White House, his family about him, and his term of office formally begun. Mr. Buchanan the outgoing President, accompanied Mr. Lincoln to the Capitol and returned with him to the White House, where, after shaking hands with his successor, ex-President Buchanan left him. He was undoubtedly glad to lay down the cares of the Government; and, having so administered affairs as to make things very difficult for him who came after him in office, he went away leaving few people to

regret his going out of office. Buchanan went out of place when the affairs of the Government were in the most hopeless condition of disorder and confusion. Lincoln came in when treason was rampant in every department of the Government; the army and navy were scattered far and wide; the national treasury was empty and the national credit at a very low ebb; an armed rebellion was threatening the existence of the Union and the permanency of the Government; and many people who were not friends of the secessionists were uncertain whether the National Government had the lawful right, if it had the power, to prevent the Southern States from going out of the Union and staying out of it, as they proposed to do. Even at this late day, when Lincoln was inaugurated, there were not a few loyal men who thought that it would be best, rather than resort to blows, to say to the Southern States, "Erring sisters, go in peace.' Lincoln could not possibly take that view of the case. How would he try to preserve the Federal Union? Everybody was asking this grave question.

The first duty of the President was the formation of his Cabinet. These were the men selected for the purpose of assisting Lincoln in carrying on the Government in the trying times that were coming: Secretary of State, William H. Seward; Secretary of War, Simon Cameron; Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase; Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles; Postmaster-General, Montgomery Blair; Secretary of the Interior, Caleb B. Smith; AttorneyGeneral, Edward Bates.

It will be noticed that of these seven men, four

Seward, Chase, Bates, and Cameron-had been candidates for the Presidential nomination when Lincoln was, in 1860; but Mr. Cameron's candidacy was not very seriously pressed. Many of Lincoln's friends were troubled by his having selected for Cabinet councillors men who were ambitious of occupying the Presidential office, and who might prove mischievous by scheming for the next nomination, which would be made in 1864. Mr. Seward and Mr. Chase, especially, were men who each had a great political following, and who might naturally be active in schemes to secure the Presidential office by and by. But, although Lincoln's friends were thus disturbed, the President was sure he was right. It was necessary, he thought, to unite in the support of his administration all the factions and all the contending interests of the loyal States, as far as that was possible. With one exception, that of Mr. Welles, each man in the Cabinet represented a large political following and a different section of the country at large. Lincoln said to his personal advisers: "The times are too grave and perilous for ambitious schemes and personal rivalries." He could not believe it possible that statesmen of the ability and renown of those whom he had called around him could cherish plans for their personal aggrandizement while the life of the Republic was in danger. "I need them all," he said; "they enjoy the confidence of their several States and sections, and they will strengthen the administration." To others associated with him in the management of affairs, he said: "Let us forget ourselves and join hands, like brothers, to save

the Republic. If we succeed, there will be glory enough for all."

It is not generally the custom of our people to call any man the leader of the Cabinet, the premier, but Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, was a statesman of commanding ability and wisdom; and his high qualities as a scholar, diplomatist, writer, and speaker, unquestionably adorned his office and shed lustre on the Lincoln administration. During his term, for the first time in our history, the Secretary of State was often spoken of as "the premier," although that title was never officially recognized. Mr. Seward had been Governor of the great State of New York, and Senator of the United States. A skilful politician and a most persuasive orator, he had done much to consolidate and harmonize the Republican party. His selection to what is popularly regarded as the first place in the Cabinet greatly pleased the people.

Of the other members of the Cabinet, Mr. Chase was probably the best known and respected, after Mr. Seward. He, too, had been Governor of his State (Ohio) as well as Senator of the United States. He was a more advanced, or radical, Republican than any of his colleagues in the Cabinet, having been regarded as an Abolitionist. He framed the platform of the Liberty, or Free-Soil, party that was adopted in Buffalo in 1848. He was a lawyer of profound learning, and his mind was judicial and well-balanced. He had had much to do with the upbuilding of the Republican party, and, like Mr. Seward, had been the beloved candidate of many