in 1862, Mr.
Emerson gave me his support and during my term I received many letters
from him in approval of my course, which to many others seemed extreme
and unwise. My acquaintance with Mr. Emerson was never intimate, but
it was always friendly and I rest in the belief that he so wished our
relations to continue. It began in the Forties, when he honored me
with his presence at the Concord Lyceum, where, for a period, I had an
opportunity to speak. It was my better fortune to hear Mr. Emerson
speak on many occasions. He was not an orator in a popular sense, but
he had the capacity to make his auditors anxious to hear what he would
say in his next sentence, which, not infrequently, was far removed from
the preceding sentence.

In April, 1859, I presided at a dinner in honor of Jefferson. In the
speech that I then made, I predicted the Rebellion, although at that
time there were but few who expected an event more serious than a
political struggle. I then said:

"The great issue with slavery is upon us. We cannot escape it. The
policy of men may have precipitated the contest; but, from the first,
it was inevitable. The result is not doubtful. The labor, the
business, the wealth, the learning, the civilization, of the whole
country, South as well as North, will ultimately be found on the side
of freedom. The power of the North is not in injustice. We are bound
to be just; we can afford to be generous. Concede to our brethren of
the South every constitutional right without murmuring and without
complaint. Under the Constitution and in the Union every difficulty
will disappear, every obstacle will be overcome. But, rendering
justice to others, let us secure justice for ourselves; and we of the
North, not they of the South, shall be held responsible, if the slave-
trade upon the high seas is openly pursued or covertly permitted, if
new territory is consigned to slavery, or if the gigantic powers of
this government are longer perverted to the support of an institution
dangerous to the welfare of the people and hostile to the perpetuity of
the Union."

A letter from Abraham Lincoln was read at the Jefferson dinner. As Mr.
Lincoln's letter has more value, manifestly, in the year 1901, than it
appeared to have in the year 1859, I reprint the important parts of
that communication:

"Bearing in mind that about seventy years ago two great political
parties were first formed in this country--that Jefferson was t