t critical audiences
that ever assembled in the Cooper Union. The Hon. Joseph H. Choate,
who was present, writes of his appearance: "When he spoke he was
transformed, his eye kindled, his voice rang, his face shone and seemed
to light up the whole assembly. For an hour and a half he held his
audience in the hollow of his hand." This address may be regarded as a
precursor, and a worthy precursor, of the First Inaugural, and by many
competent critics it has been given the first place among the
discussions of the political situation just before the war. After such
a performance there could be no hesitation on the part of those that
heard it in acknowledging Abraham Lincoln as one of the most powerful
speakers of his day. Before returning to Illinois Lincoln travelled
through several of the New England States, making speeches in a number
of the larger towns.

The speeches delivered by Lincoln on the journey to Washington, in
1860, beginning with the exquisite Farewell Address at Springfield,
include some of the best of his shorter addresses. The most
interesting of these is the one delivered in Independence Hall.

The First Inaugural Address was not received at the time of its first
publication in the newspapers, even at the North, with the general
enthusiasm that we should now be inclined to assume; and in the South
it was severely criticised for its alleged lack of force and
definiteness. Its effect, however, upon the immense audience gathered
in front of the Capitol seems to have been immediate. The document had
been written with great care at Springfield, some changes being made
after the arrival at Washington. The most important of these were the
substitution for the original closing paragraph of the beautiful
peroration suggested by Secretary Seward. In beauty of language and
elevation of thought this first public utterance by President Lincoln
may be compared to the great political utterances of Burke.

First among the little classics of the world stands the Gettysburg
Address. At the time of its delivery it does not seem to have been
generally accepted as a notable utterance. By many of the newspaper
correspondents it was referred to as "remarks by the President," and
some of the papers contained no comment upon it. By others it was
dismissed with a few words of mild praise. Even after the death of
Lincoln there was no general agreement as to its supreme merits as a
part of our national literature.