d you look taking an oath to support what you declare is an
ungodly Constitution, and asking God to help you?' He felt the force of
the question, and, inclining his head forward and running his fingers
through his hair several times, seemed lost in reflection; then he
placed his hand upon my knee and said, very earnestly: 'Grover, it's no
use to be always _looking up these hard spots_!'" In the terrible years
then almost upon him, Lincoln found many such "hard spots" without
taking the trouble to look them up.

CHAPTER XIV

Lincoln Chosen President--The Election of 1860--The Waiting-time at
Springfield--A Deluge of Visitors--Various Impressions of the
President-elect--Some Queer Callers--Looking over the Situation
with Friends--Talks about the Cabinet--Thurlow Weed's Visit to
Springfield--The Serious Aspect of National Affairs--The South in
Rebellion--Treason at the National Capital--Lincoln's Farewell
Visit to his Mother--The Old Sign, "Lincoln & Herndon"--The Last
Day at Springfield--Farewell Speech to Friends and Neighbors--Off
for the Capital--The Journey to Washington--Receptions and Speeches
along the Route--At Cincinnati: A Hitherto Unpublished Speech by
Lincoln--At Cleveland: Personal Descriptions of Mr. and Mrs.
Lincoln--At New York City: Impressions of the New President--Perils
of the Journey--The Baltimore Plot--Change of Route--Arrival at the
Capital.

The Presidential campaign of 1860, with its excitements and struggles,
its "Wide-awake" clubs and boisterous enthusiasm throughout the North,
and its bitter and threatening character throughout the South, was at
last ended; and on the 6th of November Abraham Lincoln was elected
President of the United States.[A] His cause had been aided not a little
by an unexpected division in the Democratic party. Douglas had been
nominated for the Presidency by this party in its convention at
Baltimore on the 18th of June; but he was bitterly opposed by the
extreme slavery element of the Democracy, and this faction held a
convention of its own at Baltimore ten days later and nominated for
President John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky. There was still another
party, though a very minor one, in the field--the "Constitutional Union
Party," based chiefly on a desire to avoid the issue of slavery in
national politics--which on the 9th of May had nominated John Bell of
Tennessee as its candidate for the