de is as follows: Chandler beheld with
aching heart the estrangement between Lincoln and Wade; he set to work
to bring them together; at a conference which he had with Wade, in Ohio,
a working understanding was effected; Chandler hurried to Washington;
with infinite pains he accomplished a party deal, the three elements of
which were Lincoln's removal of Blair, Fremont's resignation, and Wade's
appearance in the Administration ranks. Whatever may be said of the
physical facts of this narrative, its mental facts, its tone and
atmosphere, are historical fiction. And I have to protest that the
significance of the episode has been greatly exaggerated. The series
of dates given in the text can not be reconciled with any theory
which makes the turn of the tide toward Lincoln at all dependent on a
Blair-Fremont deal. Speaking of the tradition that Chandler called
upon Lincoln and made a definite agreement with him looking toward the
removal of Blair, Colonel W. O. Stoddard writes me that his "opinion, or
half memory, would be that the tradition is a myth." See also, Welles,
II, 156-158.

6. Lincoln, X, 228-229.

7. Times, September 24, 1864.

8. Times, September 28, 1864.

9. N. and H., IX, 364.

10. Thayer, II, 214; Hay MS.

11. N. and H., IX, 377.

12. Thayer, II, 216; Hay MS, III, 29.

13. Lincoln, X, 261.

14. N. and H., IX, 378-379.

XXXV. THE MASTER OF THE MOMENT.

1. Lincoln, X, 283.

2. N. and H., IX, 392-394.

3. N. and H., IX, 210-211.

4. One of the traditions that has grown up around Lincoln makes the
passage of the Thirteenth Amendment a matter of threats. Two votes were
needed. It was discovered according to this simpleminded bit of art that
two members of the opposition had been guilty of illegal practices, the
precise nature of which is conveniently left vague. Lincoln, even in
some highly reputable biographies, sent for these secret criminals,
told them that the power of the President of the United States was
very great, and that he expected them to vote for the amendment. The
authority for the story appears to be a member of Congress, John B.
Aley. Reminiscences, 585-586; Lord Charnwood, Abraham Lincoln, 335-336.
To a great many minds it has always seemed out of key. Fortunately,
there is a rival version. Shrewd, careful Riddle has a vastly different
tale in which Lincoln does not figure at all, in which three necessary
votes were bought for the amendment by Ashley. Riddle is so careful to