ar power of the government
forced upon him;" but he "must perform his duty, or surrender the
existence of the government." Compromise had been urged upon the
President from every quarter. He answered all such requests frankly:
"No compromise by public servants could in this case be a cure;
not that compromises are not often proper, but that no popular
government can long survive a marked precedent that those who carry
an election can only save the government from immediate destruction
by giving up the main point upon which the people gave the election.
The people themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse
their own deliberate decision."

Mr. Lincoln thus saw his duty clearly and met it boldly. In his
own person was centred, as he profoundly realized, the fate of
Republican government. He had been elected President of the United
States in strict accordance with all the requirements of the
Constitution. He had been chosen without bribe, without violence,
without undue pressure, by a majority of the electoral votes. If
there had been outrage upon the freedom of the ballot it was not
among his supporters; if there had been a terror of public opinion,
overawing the right of private judgment, it was not in the States
which had voted for him, but in those Southern communities where,
by threats of violence, the opportunity to cast a ballot was denied
to electors favorable to his cause. If he should now yield, he
evil results would be immeasurable and irremediable. "As a private
citizen," he said, "the Executive could not have consented that
Republican institutions shall perish; much less could he in betrayal
of so vast and so sacred a trust as these free people have confided
to him." He avowed that, in full view of his great responsibility,
he had so far done what he had deemed his duty. His words were
almost to foreshadow the great tragedy of after years when declaring
that _he felt he had no moral right to shirk, or even to count the
chances of his own life in what might follow_. In conclusion he
said to Congress, "having thus chosen our own course without guile,
and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward
without fear, and with manly hearts."

The effect of this message upon the public opinion of the North
was very great. If there had been hesitation by any party or any
class upon the subsidence of the first glow of patriotism which
had animated the country after the assaul