Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-20

AT1 = snos during the
Pennsylvania cam
paign of 1860, but never saw him. I wa,
summoned to him at Springfield by tele
gram, and it Is proper to say that this invi
tation was in answer to telegram from me
advising him against the appointment oi
General Cameron as Secretary of War.
The factional feuds and bitter antag.
onisms of that day have long since per.
ished, and 1 do not propose in any way to
rfvive them. On the 31st of December
Lincoln had delivered to Cameron at
Springfield letter notifying him that he
would be nominated for Cabine. position.
The fact became known Immediately upon
Cameron's return, and inspired very vigor-
Gus opposition to his appointment, in which
Governor Curtin, Thaddeus Stevens, David
W1lmot and many others participated. AL
though the Senate, of which was a men,
Der, was just about to organize. fastened
to Springfield and reached there about
o'clock in the evening. had telegraphed
Lincoln of the hour that 1 would arrive and
that must return at IL the same night. I
went directly from the depot to Lincoln s
house and rang the bell, which was answered
by Lincoln himself opening the door.
DISAPPOINTED AT HIS APPEARANCE.
doubt whether I wholly concealed my
disappointment at meeting him. Tall,
gaunt, ungainly, i'll clad, with homeliness
of manner that was unique in itself, I con-
fess that my heart sunk within me as re-
membered that this was the man chosen by
q great nation to become its ruler in the
gravest period of its history. remember
his dress as if it were but yesterday-snuff-
colored and slouchy pantaloons; open black
vest, held by few brass buttons; straight or
evening dress coat, with tightly fitting
sleeves to exaggerate his long, bony arms,
and all supplemented by an awkwardness
that was uncommon among men of intelli-
gence-such was the picture I met in the
person of Abraham Lincoln. We sat down
in his plainly furnished parlor and were un-
interrupted during the nearly four hours
that remained with him, and little by lit
tie as his earnestness, sincerity and candor
were developed in conversation, forgot all
the grotesque qualities which so confounded
me when 1 first greeted him. Before half
an hour had passed learned not only to re-
spect but, indeed, to reverence the man.
1t is needless to give any account of
the special mission ON which was called to
Springfield, beyond the fact that the tender
of a Cabinet position to Pennsylvania was
recalled by him on the following day, al
later, when the Cabinet was finally formed
in Washington, 1t was after the Pennsyl-
vania Cabinet imbroglio was disposed of
that Lincoln exhibited his true self without
reserv7,
CONFIDENCE ROSE WITH THE TALK.
For more than two hours he discussed the
gravity of the situation and the appalling
danger of civil war. Although he had never
been in public Office outside of the Illinois
Legislature, beyond single session of Con-
gress, and had little intercourse with the
public men of the nation during the IL wears
after his return from Washington, he ex-
hibited remarkable knowledge of all the
leading public men of the country, and none
could mistake the patriotic purposes that
inspired him in approaching the mighty re-
sponsibility that had been cast upon him by
the people. He discussed the slavery ques-
tion in all its aspects, and all the
various causes which were used as
pretexts for rebellion, and he was not
only master of the whole question, but he
thoroughly understood his duty and was
prepared to perform it. During this con-
versation had little to say beyond answer
ing an occasional question or suggestion
from him, and 1 finally left him fully salts
fed that he understood the political con-
ditions in Pennsylvania nearly as well as I
did myself, and entirely assured that of all
the public men named for the Presidency at
Chicago, he was the most competent and the
safest to take the helm of the ship of State
and guide it through the impending storm.
next met Abraham Lincoln at Harris
burg on the 22d of February, 1861, when he
passed through the most trying ordeal of
his life. He had been in Philadelphia the
night before, where he was advised by let
tiers from General Winfield Scott and his
prospective Premier, Senator Seward, that
he could not pass through Baltimore on the
23d without grave peril to his life. His
route as published to the world for some
days, was from Harrisburg to Philadelphia
Harrisburg over night as the guest of Gov
ernor Curtin, and to leave for Washington
the next morning by the Northern Central
Railway that would take him through Balti-
more about midday.
THEY FEARED ASSASSINATION.
A number of detectives under the direc-
ton of President FELTON,, of the Philadel-
phia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad,
and Allan Pinkerton, chief of the we'll
known detective agency, were convinced
from the information they obtained that
Lincoln would be assassinated if he at
tempted to pass through Baltimore accord
ing to the published programme. A con-
ference at the Continental Hotel in Phila-
delphia on the night of the 21st, at which
Lincoln was advised of the admonitions of
Scott and Seward, had not resulted in any
final determination as to his route to Wash
ington. He was from the first extremely
reluctant about any change, but it was
finally decided that he should proceed to
Harrisburg on the morning of the 22d and
be guided by events as they should transpire
there.
The two speeches made by Lincoln on the
22d of February do not exhibit a single
trace of mental disturbance by the appall-
ing news he had received. He hoisted the
stars and stripes to the pinnacle of Inde-
pendence Hall early in the morning and de-
hvered brief address that was eminently
characteristic of the man. He arrived at
Harrisburg about noon, was received in the
House of Representatives by the Governor
and both branches of the Legislature, and
there spoke with the same calm delibera-
tion and incisiveness which marked all his
speeches during the journey from Spring
field to Washington. After the reception
ut the House another conference was had on
the subject of his route to Washington; and,
while every person present, with the e1cep-
ton of Lincoln, was positive in the demand
that the programme should be changed, he
obstinatelv hesitated. He did not believe
that the danger of assassination was serious.
IT WAS DECIDED AT DINNER
The afternoon conference practically de-
cided nothing, but at dinner it was finally
that Lincoln should return to
Philadelphia and go thence to Washington
that night. No one who heard the discus
sion of the question could efface it from his
memory. The admonitions received from
General Scott and Senator Seward were
made known to Governor Curtin at the