s, sympathetic faces of the public. As he studied the strangely
rough-hewn countenance a sense of the great worth and dignity of the man
came over him.

"A real man, that," he thought; "a wonderful temperament." His every
gesture came upon him with great force. He watched him enter his
carriage, thinking "So that is the railsplitter, the country lawyer.
Well, fate has picked a great man for this crisis."

For days the face of Lincoln haunted him, and very often during the
war his mind reverted to that singular figure. It seemed to him
unquestionable that fortuitously he had been permitted to look upon one
of the world's really great men. War and statesmanship were not for him;
but he knew how important those things were--at times.

Chapter XI

It was while the war was on, and after it was perfectly plain that it
was not to be of a few days' duration, that Cowperwood's first great
financial opportunity came to him. There was a strong demand for money
at the time on the part of the nation, the State, and the city. In July,
1861, Congress had authorized a loan of fifty million dollars, to be
secured by twenty-year bonds with interest not to exceed seven per
cent., and the State authorized a loan of three millions on much the
same security, the first being handled by financiers of Boston, New
York, and Philadelphia, the second by Philadelphia financiers alone.
Cowperwood had no hand in this. He was not big enough. He read in the
papers of gatherings of men whom he knew personally or by reputation,
"to consider the best way to aid the nation or the State"; but he was
not included. And yet his soul yearned to be of them. He noticed
how often a rich man's word sufficed--no money, no certificates, no
collateral, no anything--just his word. If Drexel & Co., or Jay Cooke &
Co., or Gould & Fiske were rumored to be behind anything, how secure
it was! Jay Cooke, a young man in Philadelphia, had made a great strike
taking this State loan in company with Drexel & Co., and selling it at
par. The general opinion was that it ought to be and could only be sold
at ninety. Cooke did not believe this. He believed that State pride
and State patriotism would warrant offering the loan to small banks
and private citizens, and that they would subscribe it fully and more.
Events justified Cooke magnificently, and his public reputation was
assured. Cowperwood wished he could make some such strike; but he was
too practical to worry ove