thousands of men will be lost to you, or will give you a reluctant vote
because of the Blairs."(2)

If this was really true, the selfless man would not hesitate to' require
of Blair the same sort of sacrifice he would, in other conditions,
require of himself. Lincoln debated this in his own mind nearly three
weeks.

Meanwhile, various other politicians joined the hue and cry. An old
friend of Lincoln's, Ebenezer Peck, came east from Illinois to work upon
him against Blair.(3) Chandler, who like Wade was eager to get out of
the wrong ship, appeared at Washington as a friend of the Administration
and an enemy of Blair.(4) But still Lincoln did not respond. After all,
was it certain that one of these votes would change if Blair did not
resign? Would anything be accomplished, should Lincoln require his
resignation, except the humiliation of a friend, the gratification of
a pack of malcontents? And then some one thought of a mode for giving
definite political value to Blair's removal. Who did it? The anonymous
author of the only biography of Chandler claims this doubtful honor for
the great Jacobin. Lincoln's secretaries, including Colonel Stoddard who
had charge of his correspondence, are ignorant on the subject.(5) It may
well have been Chandler who negotiated a bargain with Fremont, if
the story is to be trusted, which concerned Blair. A long-standing,
relentless quarrel separated these two. That Fremont as a candidate was
nobody had long been apparent; and yet it was worth while to get rid
of him. Chandler, or another, extracted a promise from Fremont that if
Blair were removed, he would resign. On the strength of this promise, a
last appeal was made to Lincoln. Such is the legend. The known fact is
that on September twenty-second Fremont withdrew his candidacy. The next
day Lincoln sent this note to Blair:

"You have generously said to me more than once that whenever your
resignation could be a relief to me, it was at my disposal. The time has
come. You very well know that this proceeds from no dissatisfaction of
mine, with you personally or officially. Your uniform kindness has been
unsurpassed by that of any friend."(6)

No incident displays more clearly the hold which Lincoln had acquired on
the confidence and the affection of his immediate associates. Blair at
once tendered his resignation: "I can not take leave of you," said
he, "without renewing the expression of my gratitude for the uniform
kindness which ha