After the delivery of this address, Mr. Lincoln devoted some hours to the reception of visitors, and at six o'clock retired to his room. The next morning the whole country was surprised to learn that he had arrived in Washington--twelve hours sooner than he had originally intended. His sudden departure proved to have been a measure of precaution for which events subsequently disclosed afforded a full justification. For some time pre vious to his departure from home, the rumor had been current that he would never reach the Capital alive. An attempt was made on the Toledo and Western Railroad, on the 11th of February, to throw from the track the train on which he was journeying, and just as he was leaving Cincinnati a hand grenade was found to have been secreted on board the cars. These and other circumstances led to an organized and thorough investigation, under the direction of a police detective, carried on with great skill and perseverance at Baltimore, and which resulted in disclosing the fact that a small gang of assassins, under the leadership of an Italian who assumed the name of Orsini, had arranged to take his life during his passage through Baltimore. General Scott and Mr. Seward had both been apprised of the same fact through another source, and they had sent Mr. F. W. Seward as a special messenger to Philadelphia, to meet the President-elect there, previous to his departure for Harrisburg, and give him notice of these circumstances. Mr. Lincoln did not deviate from the programme he had marked out for himself, in consequence of these communications; except that, under the advice of friends, he deemed it prudent to anticipate by one train the time he was expected to arrive in Washington He reached there on the morning

of Saturday, the 23d. On Wednesday, the

27th, the Mayor and Common

Council of the city waited upon Mr. Lincoln, and ten dered him a welcome He replied to them as follows:

MR. MAYOR:-I thank you, and through you the municipal authorities of this city who accompany you, for this welcome. And as it is the first

time in my life, since the present phase of politics has presented itself in this country, that I have said any thing publicly within a region of country where the institution of slavery exists, I will take this occasion to say, that I think very much of the ill-feeling that has existed and still exists between the people in the sections from which I came and the people here, is dependent upon a misunderstanding of one another. I tu-refʊre avail myself of this opportunity to assure you, Mr. Mayor, and all the gentlemen present, that I have not now, and never have had, any other than as kindly feelings towards you as the people of my own section. I have not now, and never have had, any disposition to treat you in any respect otherwise than as my own neighbors. I have not aow any purpose to withhold from you any of the benefits of the Constitution, under any circumstances, that I would not feel myself constrained to withhold froin my own neighbors; and I hope, in a word, that when we shall become better acquainted—and I say it with great confidencewe shall like each other the more. I thank you for the kindness of thin reception.

On the next evening a serenade was given to Mr. Lincoln by the members of the Republican Association, and he then addressed the crowd which the occasion had brought together as follows:

MY FRIENDS:-I suppose that I may take this as a compliment paid to me, and as such please accept my thanks for it. I have reached this City of Washington under circumstances considerably differing from those under which any other man has ever reached it. I am here for the purpose of taking an official position amongst the people, almost all of whom were politically opposed to me, and are yet opposed to me, as I suppose.

I propose no lengthy address to you. I only propose to say, as I did on yesterday, when your worthy Mayor and Board of Aldermen called ap on me, that I thought much of the ill feeling that has existed between on and the people of your surroundings and that people from among whom I came, has depended, and now depends, upon a misunderstanding.

I hope that, if things shall go along as prosperously as I believe we all desire they may, I may have it in my power to remove something of this misunderstanding; that I may be enabled to convince you, and the people of your section of the country, that we regard you as in all things our equals, and in all things entitled to the same respect and the same treat ment that we claim for ourselves; that we are in no wise disposed, if it were in our power, to oppress ycu, to deprive you of any of you rights under the Constitution of the United States, or even narrowly to split hairs with you in regard to these rights, but are determined to give you, as far as lies in our hands, all your rights under the Constitution-not

grudgingly, but fully and fairly. [Applause. I hope that, by thus dealing with you, we will become better acquainted, and be better friends.

And now, my friends, with these few remarks, and again returning my thanks for this compliment, and expressing my desire to hear a littl nore of your good music, I bid you good-night.

This closed Mr. Lincoln's public speeches down to the late of his inauguration.

CHAPTER VI.

FROM THE INAUGURATION TO THE MEETING OF CONGRESA JULY 4, 1861.

THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS.-ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT.- [R BOMBARDMENT OF FORT SUMTER.-PASSAGE OF TROOРs through ВALTIMORE.—INTERVIEW WITH THE MAYOR OF BALTIMORE.-THE BLOCKADE OF REBEL PORTS.-THE PRESIDENT AND THE VIRGINIA COMMISSIONERS.-INSTRUCTION TO OUR MINISTERS ABROAD.-RECOGNITION OF THE REBELS AS BELLIGERENTS.-RIGHTS OF NEUTRALS.

On the 4th of March, 1861, Mr. Lincoln took the oath and assumed the duties of the Presidential office. He was quite right in saying, on the eve of his departure from his home in Springfield, that those duties were greater than had devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. A conspiracy which had been on foot for thirty years had reached its crisis Yet in spite of all that had been done by the leading spirits in this movement, the people of the slaveholding States were by no means a unit in its support. Seven of those States-South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, and Louisiana-had passed secession ordinances, and united in the establishment of a hostile Confederacy; but in nearly all of them a considerable portion of the people were opposed to the movement, while in all the remaining slaveholding States a very active canvass was carried on between the friends and the opponents of secession. In Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee especially, the Government of the United States was vindicated and its authority sustained by men of pre-eminent ability and of commanding reputation, and there seemed abundant reason for hoping that, by the adoption of prudent meas ures, the slaveholding section might be divided, and the Border Slave States retained in the Union. The authorities of the rebel Confederacy saw the importance of push

ing the issue to an instant decision. Under their directions nearly all the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, custom-houses, &c., belonging to the United States, within the limits of the seceded States, had been seized, and were held by representatives of the rebel government. The only forts in the South which remained in possession of the Union were Forts Pickens, Taylor, and Jefferson on the Florida coast, and Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, and prepa rations were far advanced for the reduction and capture of these. Officers of the army and navy from the South had resigned their commissions and entered the rebel service. Civil officers representing the United States within the limits of the Southern States could no longer discharge their functions, and all the powers of that Government were practically paralyzed.

It was under these circumstances that Mr. Lincoln entered upon the duties of his office, and addressed himself to the task, first, of withholding the Border States from joining the Confederacy, as an indispensable preliminary to the great work of quelling the rebellion and restoring the authority of the Constitution.

The ceremony of inauguration took place as usual in front of the Capitol, and in presence of an immense multitude of spectators. A large military force was in attendance, under the immediate command of General Scott, but nothing occurred to interrupt the harmony of the occasion. Before taking the oath of office, Mr. Lincoln delivered the following

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

Fellow-Citizens of the United States:

In compliance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly, and to take in your presence the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by the President "before he enters on the execution of his office."

I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement.

Apprehension seems to exist, among the people of the Southern States, that by the accession of a Republican Administration their prope ty and