f we should differ as to
the means it is important that such difference should be as small as
possible; that it should not be enhanced by unjust suspicions on one
side or the other. In the performance of my duty the cooeperation of
your State, as that of others, is needed,--in fact, is indispensable.
This alone is a sufficient reason why I should wish to be at a good
understanding with you. Please write me at least as long a letter as
this, of course saying in it just what you think fit."[889]

[Footnote 888: T.W. Barnes, _Life of Thurlow Weed_, Vol. 2, p. 428.]

[Footnote 889: Nicolay-Hay, _Abraham Lincoln_, Vol. 7, pp. 10, 11.]

It is difficult to fathom the impression made upon Seymour by this
letter. The more cultivated Democrats about him entertained the belief
that Lincoln, somewhat uncouth and grotesque, was a weak though
well-meaning man, and the Governor doubtless held a similar opinion.
Moreover, he believed that the President, alarmed by the existence of
a conspiracy of prominent Republicans to force him from the White
House, sought to establish friendly relations that he might have an
anchor to windward.[890] One can imagine the Governor, as the letter
lingered in his hand, smiling superciliously and wondering what manner
of man this Illinoisan is, who could say to a stranger what a little
boy frequently puts in his missive, "Please write me at least as long
a letter as this." At all events, he treated the President very
cavalierly.[891] On April 14, after delaying three weeks, he wrote a
cold and guarded reply, promising to address him again after the
Legislature adjourned. "In the meanwhile," he concluded, "I assure you
that no political resentments, or no personal objects, will turn me
aside from the pathway I have marked out for myself. I intend to show
to those charged with the administration of public affairs a due
deference and respect, and to yield to them a just and generous
support in all measures they may adopt within the scope of their
constitutional powers. For the preservation of this Union I am ready
to make any sacrifice of interest, passion, or prejudice."[892]

[Footnote 890: New York _Times_, August 18, 1879.]

[Footnote 891: "Governor Seymour was a patriotic man, after his
fashion, but his hatred of the Lincoln Administration was evidently
deep; and it was also clear that he did not believe that the war for
the Union could be brought to a successful termination."--Andrew D.
White, _A