he honor of raising it
to the head of its staff, and when it went up I was pleased that it went
to its place by the strength of my own feeble arm. When, according to the
arrangement, the cord was pulled, and it floated gloriously to the wind,
without an accident, in the bright, glowing sunshine of the morning,
I could not help hoping that there was in the entire success of that
beautiful ceremony at least something of an omen of what is to come. Nor
could I help feeling then, as I have often felt, that in the whole of that
proceeding I was a very humbled instrument. I had not provided the flag; I
had not made the arrangements for elevating it to its place; I had applied
but a very small portion of even my feeble strength in raising it. In the
whole transaction I was in the hands of the people who had arranged it,
and if I can have the same generous co-operation of the people of
this nation, I think the flag of our country may yet be kept flaunting
gloriously.

I recur for a moment but to repeat some words uttered at the hotel in
regard to what has been said about the military support which the General
Government may expect from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a proper
emergency. To guard against any possible mistake do I recur to this. It is
not with any pleasure that I contemplate the possibility that a necessity
may arise in this country for the use of the military arm. While I am
exceedingly gratified to see the manifestation upon your streets of your
military force here, and exceedingly gratified at your promise to use that
force upon a proper emergency--while I make these acknowledgments I desire
to repeat, in order to preclude any possible misconstruction, that I do
most sincerely hope that we shall have no use for them; that it will
never become their duty to shed blood, and most especially never to shed
fraternal blood. I promise that so far as I may have wisdom to direct,
if so painful a result shall in any wise be brought about, it shall be
through no fault of mine.

Allusion has also been made by one of your honored speakers to some
remarks recently made by myself at Pittsburg in regard to what is supposed
to be the especial interest of this great commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I
now wish only to say in regard to that matter, that the few remarks which
I uttered on that occasion were rather carefully worded. I took pains
that they should be so. I have seen no occasion since to add to them or
subtract from