nishes an account of an interview with
Lincoln during this dark period: "The last time I saw Mr. Lincoln, till,
as a pallbearer, I accompanied his remains to their last resting-place,
was in the early part of August, 1864. It was directly after the
frightful disaster at Petersburg, and I was on my way to the front, to
recover, if possible, the body of my brother, Colonel John A. Bross, who
fell there at the head of his regiment. I found the President with a
large pile of documents before him. He laid down his pen and gave me a
cordial but rather melancholy welcome, asking anxiously for news from
the West. Neither of us could shut our eyes to the gloom which hung over
the entire country. The terrible losses of the Wilderness, and the awful
disaster at Petersburg, weighed heavily upon our spirits. To a question,
I answered that the people expected a still more vigorous prosecution
of the war; more troops and needful appliances would, if called for, be
forthcoming. 'I will tell you what the people want,' said the President,
'they want, and must have, _success_. But whether that come or not, I
shall stay _right here_ and do my duty. Here I shall be; and they may
come and hang me on that tree' (pointing out of the window to one),
'but, God helping me, I shall never desert my post.' This was said in a
way that assured me that these were the sentiments of his inmost soul."

The President, about this time, was greatly worried by Horace Greeley
and others, who importuned him to receive negotiations for peace from
the Confederate authorities. He at length said to Mr. Greeley, "I not
only intend a sincere effort for peace, but you shall be a personal
witness that it is made." On the same day that the call for additional
troops was made, the President issued, through Mr. Greeley, the famous
letter, "To Whom It May Concern," promising safe conduct to any person
or persons authorized to present "any proposition which embraces the
restoration of peace, the _integrity of the whole Union_, and the
_abandonment of slavery_." Nothing came of the proposed negotiations,
except to stop for a time the mischievous fault-finding; which was, of
course, the result aimed at by Lincoln. The act was severely condemned
by many Republicans; but Lincoln only said, "It is hardly fair for them
to say the letter amounts to _nothing_. It will shut up Greeley, and
satisfy the people who are clamoring for peace. That's _something_,
anyhow!"

So much blame w