emonstrations are tendered to me personally. They are
tendered to the country, to the institutions of the country, and to the
perpetuity of the liberties of the country, for which these institutions
were made and created.

Your worthy mayor has thought fit to express the hope that I may be able
to relieve the country from the present, or, I should say, the threatened
difficulties. I am sure I bring a heart true to the work. For the ability
to perform it, I must trust in that Supreme Being who has never forsaken
this favored land, through the instrumentality of this great and
intelligent people. Without that assistance I shall surely fail; with it,
I cannot fail. When we speak of threatened difficulties to the Country,
it is natural that it should be expected that something should be said by
myself with regard to particular measures. Upon more mature reflection,
however, others will agree with me that, when it is considered that these
difficulties are without precedent, and have never been acted upon by any
individual situated as I am, it is most proper I should wait and see the
developments, and get all the light possible, so that when I do speak
authoritatively, I may be as near right as possible. When I shall speak
authoritatively, I hope to say nothing inconsistent with the Constitution,
the Union, the rights of all the States, of each State, and of each
section of the country, and not to disappoint the reasonable expectations
of those who have confided to me their votes. In this connection allow me
to say that you, as a portion of the great American people, need only to
maintain your composure, stand up to your sober convictions of right, to
your obligations to the Constitution, and act in accordance with those
sober convictions, and the clouds now on the horizon will be dispelled,
and we shall have a bright and glorious future; and when this generation
has passed away, tens of thousands will inhabit this country where only
thousands inhabit it now. I do not propose to address you at length; I
have no voice for it. Allow me again to thank you for this magnificent
reception, and bid you farewell.

ADDRESS AT ROCHESTER, NEW YORK,

FEBRUARY 18, 1861

I confess myself, after having seen many large audiences since leaving
home, overwhelmed with this vast number of faces at this hour of the
morning. I am not vain enough to believe that you are here from any
wish to see me as an individual, but because I am for th