Behind the scenes in his Cabinet reigned5 confusion incredible. The tall dark backwoodsman who presided over these wrangling6 giants appeared at first to their superior wisdom a dazed spectator.
He had called them because they were indispensable. Now that the issues were to be faced, Mr. Seward, Mr. Chase, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Bates realized that the country lawyer who had won the Presidency7 over their superior claims knew his weakness and relied on their strength, training, and long experience in public affairs.
Certainly it had not occurred to one of them that his act in calling the greatest men of his party, and the party of opposition8 as well, into his Cabinet was a deed of such intellectual audacity9 that it scarcely had a parallel in history.
Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, had reluctantly consented to enter the Cabinet at the last moment as an act of patriotism10 to save the country from impending11 ruin too great for any other man to face. His attitude was a reasonable one. He was the undoubted leader of the triumphant12 party.
Without a moment's hesitation13 on the first day of his service as Secretary of State he assumed the position of a Prime Minister, whose duties included a general supervision14 of all the Departments of Government, as well as a Regent's supervision over the Executive.
Salmon15 P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury16, at once took up the gauntlet thrown down by his rival. He not only regarded the President with contempt, but he extended it to the political trickster who dared to assume the airs of Premiership in a Democratic Republic.
To these Cabinet meetings came no voices of comfort from the country. The Abolitionist press, which represented the aggressive conscience of the North, continued to ridicule18 and denounce the Inaugural19 address in unmeasured terms.
The simple truth was soon apparent to the sombre eyes of the President. He was facing the gravest problem that ever confronted a statesman without an organized party on which he could depend for support. But two of his Cabinet had any confidence in his ability or genuine loyalty—Gideon Welles, a Northern Democrat17, and Montgomery Blair, a Southern aristocrat2.
The problem before him was bigger than faction20, bigger than party, bigger than Slavery. Could a government founded on the genuine principles of Democracy live? Could such a union be held together composed of warring sections with vast territories extending over thousands of miles, washed by two oceans extending from the frozen mountains of Canada to the endless summers of the tropics?
If the Southern people should unite in a slave-holding Confederacy, it was not only a question as to whether he could shape an army mighty21 enough to conquer them, the more urgent and by far the graver problem was whether he could mould into unity22 the warring factions23 of the turbulent, passion-torn North. These people who had elected him—could he ever hope to bind24 them into a solid fighting unit? If their representatives in his Cabinet were truly representatives the task was beyond human power.
And yet the tall, lonely figure calmly faced it without a tremor25. In the depths of his cavernous eyes there burned a steady flame but few of the men about him saw, or understood if they saw—that flame was something new in the history of the race—a faith in the common man which dared to give a new valuation to the individual and set new standards for the Democracy of the world. He believed that the heart of the masses of the people North, South, East and West was sound at the core and that as their Chief Magistrate26 he could ultimately appeal to them over the heads of all traditions—all factions, and all accepted leaders.
He was the most advised man and the worst advised man in history. It became necessary to think for himself or cease to think at all.
General Scott, the venerable hero of Lundy Lane, in command of the army, had suggested as a solution of the turmoil27 the division of the country into four separate Confederacies and had roughly drawn28 their outlines!
Horace Greeley had made the Tribune the most powerful newspaper in the history of America. The Republicans throughout the country had been educated by its teachings and held its authority second only to the Word of God. And yet from the moment of Lincoln's election the chief occupation of this powerful paper was to criticize and condemn29 the measures and policies of the President.
Over and over he repeated the deadly advice to the Nation:
"If the Cotton States shall decide that they can do better out of the union than in it, we insist on letting them go in peace."
He serenely30 insisted:
"If eight Southern States, having five millions of people, choose to separate from us, they cannot be permanently31 withheld32 from doing so by Federal cannon33. The South has as good right to secede34 from the union as the Colonies had to secede from Great Britain. If they choose to form an independent Nation they have a clear moral right to do so, and we will do our best to forward their views."
Is it to be wondered at that the Southern people were absolutely clear in their conception of the right to secede if such doctrines35 were taught in the North by the highest authority within the party which had elected Abraham Lincoln?
If his own party leaders were boldly proclaiming such treason to the union how could he hope to stem the tide that had set in for its ruin?
The thousands of conservative men North and South who voted for Bell and Everett demanded peace at any price. An orator36 in New York at a great mass meeting dared to say:
"If a revolution of force is to begin it shall be inaugurated at home! It will be just as brutal37 to send men to butcher our brothers of the South as it will be to massacre38 them in the Northern States."
The business interests of the Northern cities were bitterly and unanimously arrayed against any attempt to use force against the South. The city of New York was thoroughly39 imbued40 with Secession sentiment, and its Mayor, through Daniel E. Sickles41, one of the members of Congress, demanded the establishment of a free and independent Municipal State on the island of Manhattan.
Seward had just written to Charles F. Adams, our minister to England:
"Only an imperial and despotic government could subjugate42 thoroughly disaffected43 and insurrectionary members of the State. This Federal Republican country of ours is, of all forms of Government, the very one which is the most unfitted for such a labor44."
This letter could only mean one of two things, either that the first member of the Cabinet was a Secessionist and meant to allow the South to go unmolested, or he planned to change our form of Government by a coup45 d'état in the crisis and assume the Dictatorship. In either event his attitude boded46 ill for the new President and his future.
Wendell Phillips, the eloquent47 friend of Senator Winter, declared in Boston in a public address:
"Here are a series of states who think their peculiar48 institutions require that they should have a separate government. They have the right to decide that question without appealing to you or me. Standing49 with the principles of '76 behind us, who can deny them the right? Abraham Lincoln has no right to a soldier in Fort Sumter. There is no longer a union. You can not go through Massachusetts and recruit men to bombard Charleston or New Orleans. Nothing but madness can provoke a war with the Gulf50 States."
The last member of his distracted, divided, passion-ridden Cabinet had gone at the close of its first eventful sitting. The dark figure of the President stood beside the window looking over the mirror-like surface of the Potomac to the hills of Virginia.
The shadow of a great sorrow shrouded51 his face and form. The shoulders drooped52. But the light in the depths of his sombre eyes was growing steadily53 in intensity54.
Old Edward, the veteran hallman, appeared at the door with his endless effort to wash his hands without water.
"A young gentleman wishes to see you, sir, a reporter I think—Mr. Ned Vaughan, of the Daily Republican."
Without lifting his eyes from the Virginia hills, the quiet voice said:
"Let him in."
In vain the wily diplomat55 of the press sought to obtain a declaration of policy on the question of the relief of Fort Sumter. In his easy, friendly way the President made him welcome, but only smiled and slowly shook his head in answer to each pointed56 question, or laughed aloud at the skillful traps he was invited to enter.
"It's no use, my boy," he said at last, with a weary gesture. "I'm not going to tell you anything to-day——" he paused, and the light suddenly flashed from beneath his shaggy brows, "——except this—you can say to your readers that my course is as plain as a turnpike road. It is marked out by the Constitution. I am in no doubt which way to go. I am going to try to save the union."
"In short," Ned laughed, "you propose to stand by your Inaugural?"
"That's a pretty good guess, young man! I'm surprised that you paid such close attention to my address."
"Perhaps I had an interpreter?"
"Did you?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"A very beautiful young woman, Mr. President," Ned answered serenely.
The hazel-grey eyes twinkled:
"What's her name, sir?"
"Miss Betty Winter."
"Not the daughter of that old grizzly57 bear who's always camping on my trail?"
"The same, sir."
The swarthy face lighted with a radiant smile:
"What did she say about my Inaugural?"
"That it was the utterance58 of a wise, patient, great man."
Two big hands suddenly closed on Ned's and the tall figure bent59 low.
"Thank you for telling me that, my boy. It helps me after a hard day!"
"She said many other things, too, sir," Ned added.
"Did she?"
"With enthusiasm."
"Tell her to come to me," the President said slowly. "I want to talk to her."
He paused, turned to his desk and seized a pen:
"I'll send a subp?na for her—that's better."
On one of his cards he quickly wrote:
"My Dear Miss Winter:
"You are hereby summoned to immediately appear before the Chief Magistrate to testify concerning grave matters of State.
A. Lincoln.
He slipped his long arm around Ned's shoulder and walked with him to the door:
"Serve that on her for me, will you, right away?"
With a nod and a smile, the reporter bowed and turned his steps toward the Senator's house.
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1
inauguration
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| n.开幕、就职典礼 | |
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aristocrat
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| n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物 | |
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skeptical
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| adj.怀疑的，多疑的 | |
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sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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wrangling
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| v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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democrat
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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inaugural
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| adj.就职的；n.就职典礼 | |
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faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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factions
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| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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29
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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secede
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| v.退出，脱离 | |
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35
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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40
imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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41
sickles
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| n.镰刀( sickle的名词复数 ) | |
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42
subjugate
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| v.征服；抑制 | |
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disaffected
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| adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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boded
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的过去式和过去分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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51
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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52
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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55
diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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