Lincoln。EveninthathalfoftheUnionwhichacknowledgedhimasPresident，therewasalarge，andatthattimedangerous，minority，thathardlyadmittedhisclaimtotheoffice，andeveninthepartythatelectedhimtherewasalsoalargeminoritythatsuspectedhimofbeingsecretlyacommunicantwiththechurchofLaodicea。（1）
Allhedidwassuretobevirulentlyattackedasultrabyoneside;allthatheleftundone，tobestigmatizedasproofoflukewarmnessandbackslidingbytheother。Meanwhilehewastocarryonatrulycolossalwarbymeansofboth;hewastodisengagethecountryfromdiplomaticentanglementsofunprecedentedperilundisturbedbythehelporthehindranceofeither，andtowinfromthecrowningdangersofhisadministration，intheconfidenceofthepeople，themeansofhissafetyandtheirown。Hehascontrivedtodoit，andperhapsnoneofourPresidentssinceWashingtonhasstoodsofirmintheconfidenceofthepeopleashedoesafterthreeyearsofstormyadministration。
（1）See*Revelation，*chapter3，verse15。
Mr。Lincoln\'spolicywasatentativeone，andrightlyso。Helaiddownnoprogrammewhichmustcompelhimtobeeitherinconsistentorunwise，nocast—irontheoremtowhichcircumstancesmustbefittedastheyrose，orelsebeuselesstohisends。HeseemedtohavechosenMazarin\'smotto，*Letempsetmoi。*（1）The*moi，*tobesure，wasnotveryprominentatfirst;
butithasgrownmoreandmoreso，tilltheworldisbeginningtobepersuadedthatitstandsforacharacterofmarkedindividualityandcapacityforaffairs。Timewashisprime—minister，and，webegantothink，atoneperiod，hisgeneral—in—chiefalso。Atfirsthewassoslowthathetiredoutallthosewhoseenoevidenceofprogressbutinblowinguptheengine;thenhewassofast，thathetookthebreathawayfromthosewhothinkthereisnogettingonsafetywhilethereisasparkoffireundertheboilers。Godistheonlybeingwhohastimeenough;butaprudentman，whoknowshowtoseizeoccasion，cancommonlymakeashifttofindasmuchasheneeds。Mr。Lincoln，asitseemstousinreviewinghiscareer，thoughwehavesometimesinourimpatiencethoughtotherwise，hasalwayswaited，asawisemanshould，tilltherightmomentbroughtupallhisreserves。*Sempernocuitdifferreparatis，*（2）isasoundaxiom，butthereallyefficaciousmanwillalsobesuretoknowwhenheis*not*ready，andbefirmagainstallpersuasionandreproachtillheis。