grave men in an earnest mood. Besides Seward and Chase
and Lincoln, Messrs. Cameron of Pennsylvania and Bates of Missouri, of
whom we shall hear later, were proposed for the Presidency. So also
were Messrs. Dayton and Collamer, politicians of some repute; and
McLean, of the Supreme Court, had some supporters. The prevalent
expectation in the States was that Seward would easily secure the
nomination, but it very soon appeared in the Convention that his
opponents were too strong for that. Several ballots took place; there
were the usual conferences and bargainings, which probably affected the
result but little; Lincoln's managers, especially Judge David Davis,
afterwards of the Supreme Court, were shrewd people; Lincoln had
written to them expressly that they could make no bargain binding on
him, but when Cameron was clearly out of the running they did promise
Cameron's supporters a place in Lincoln's Cabinet, and a similar
promise was made for one Caleb Smith. The delegates from Pennsylvania
went on to Lincoln; then those of Ohio; and before long his victory was
assured. A Committee of the Convention, some of them sick at heart,
was sent to bear the invitation to Lincoln. He received them in his
little house with a simple dignity which one of them has recorded; and
as they came away one said, "Well, we might have chosen a handsomer
article, but I doubt whether a better."

On the whole, if we can put aside the illusion which besets us, who
read the preceding history if at all in the light of Lincoln's
speeches, and to whom his competitors are mere names, this was the most
surprising nomination ever made in America. Other Presidential
candidates have been born in poverty, but none ever wore the scars of
poverty so plainly; others have been intrinsically more obscure, but
these have usually been chosen as bearing the hall-mark of eminent
prosperity or gentility. Lincoln had indeed at this time displayed
brilliant ability in the debates with Douglas, and he had really shown
a statesman's grasp of the situation more than any other Republican
leader. The friends in Illinois who put him forward--men like David
Davis, who was a man of distinction himself--did so from a true
appreciation of his powers. But this does not seem to have been the
case with the bulk of the delegates from other States. The explanation
given us of their action is curious. The choice was not the result of
merit; on the other hand, it was not