Mr. Lincoln for sending such a
messenger, and a lively quarrel between Greeley and the rebel agents as
to who was responsible for the misunderstandings that arose.

The summer and autumn of 1864 were likewise filled with the bitterness
and high excitement of a presidential campaign; for, according to law,
Mr. Lincoln's successor had to be elected on the "Tuesday after the
first Monday" of November in that year. The great mass of Republicans
wished Mr. Lincoln to be reelected. The Democrats had long ago fixed
upon General McClellan, with his grievances against the President, as
their future candidate. It is not unusual for Presidents to discover
would-be rivals in their own cabinets. Considering the strong men who
formed Mr. Lincoln's cabinet, and the fact that four years earlier more
than one of them had active hopes of being chosen in his stead, it is
remarkable that there was so little of this.

The one who developed the most serious desire to succeed him was Salmon
P. Chase, his Secretary of the Treasury. Devoted with all his powers
to the cause of the Union, Mr. Chase was yet strangely at fault in his
judgment of men. He regarded himself as the friend of Mr. Lincoln,
but nevertheless held so poor an opinion of the President's mind and
character, compared with his own, that he could not believe people blind
enough to prefer the President to himself. He imagined that he did
not want the office, and was anxious only for the public good; yet
he listened eagerly to the critics of the President who flattered his
hopes, and found time in spite of his great labors to write letters to
all parts of the country, which, although protesting that he did not
want the honor, showed his entire willingness to accept it. Mr. Lincoln
was well aware of this. Indeed, it was impossible not to know about it,
though he refused to hear the matter discussed or to read any letters
concerning it. He had his own opinion of the taste displayed by Mr.
Chase, but chose to take no notice of his actions. "I have determined,"
he said, "to shut my eyes, so far as possible, to everything of the
sort. Mr. Chase makes a good Secretary, and I shall keep him where he
is. If he becomes President, all right. I hope we may never have a
worse man," and he not only kept him where he was, but went on
appointing Chase's friends to office.

There was also some talk of making General Grant the Republican
candidate for President, and an attempt was even made to tr