ENGLISH OPINION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN BY RUTH ALEXANDER WILLIAMS B. A. Rockford College, 1921 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, 1922 URBANA, ILLINOIS 499005 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 \ https://archive.org/details/englishopinionofOOwill TABLE OF CONTENTS. I. INTRODUCTION 1. II. CONTEMPORARY OPINION OF LINCOLN, THE STATESMAN 4 . III. CONTEMPORARY OPINION OF LINCOLN, THE MAN . . 26. IV. THE, EFFECT OF LINCOLN’S DEATH ' HP ON ENGLISH OPINION 35. V. MODERN HISTORICAL AND LITERARY TREATMENT OF LINCOLN 47. VI. THE INFLUENCE OF LINCOLN IN ENGLAND TODAY. . 56. VII. APPENDIX 65. VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY 69. -1 ENGLISH OPINION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN INTRODUCTION The personality and character of Abraham Lincoln have become the objects of such universal reverence in America, and there has grown up about his name so great a wealth of tradition, that this admiration and praise of him have come to be taken as a matter of course. We think of Lincoln not only as a man whose memory is honored in America, but we expect other nations to grant him like homage. It is something of a shock, therefore, to lovers of Lin- coln to realize that this greatness and goodness which his follow- ers have attributed to him have not always been granted to him by everyone. To be sure, it is well known that Lincoln incurred crit- icism during his presidency, but on the whole in the popular mind the Lincoln tradition has come to mean unqualified admiration. If the criticism of his contemporaries is considered at all, it is generally with the result of ascribing to his critics lack of fore- sight and understanding, rather than as casting any great reflec- tions upon the sagacity of Lincoln himself. This state of mind is not surprising when one considers the natural appeal of a character such as Lincoln’s was. One cannot study his life or read his utterances without realizing that he was both a great and good man. Mere blind adulation, however, honors a man's worth less than the calmer judgment that recognizes a man's defects as well as his merits. English opinion of Lincoln, then, offers great interest to Americans, for it is characterized by a perspective impossible to obtain in the land of his birth. While the attitude of- Englishmen was undoubtedly colored by economic consequences of the American - 2 - Civil War, nevertheless there are evidences of a more or less dis- interested discussion of measures employed by Lincoln. If we find that the verdict of Englishmen has been hostile, it will be of in- terest to note what elements in Lincoln's character and policies, as well as the workings of their own minds, have led them to that con- clusion; if they have been on the whole sympathetic, their praise will be the more valuable since it is given in spite of encroach- ments on English interests by some of the measures involved in the war, and since Englishmen, while of the same race as Lincoln, are yet not of the same land, and therefore lack the patriotic motive to praise him. While the writer has attempted to trace the development of English attitude toward Lincoln down to the present, the greater emphasis has been laid upon contemporary opinion as it existed be- fore time had softened the acuteness of feeling prevalent during the actual duration of the war. There is no intention, however, c f discussing English attitude toward the Civil War in general. The consideration of English opinion will be limited, as far as possible to ideas expressed directly upon Lincoln's conduct of his admini- stration, yet it will doubtless be helpful to the reader to remem- ber that there was in England considerable hostility to the North. This was due in part to the loss of cotton supply, as well as to the existence in England of a group of people concerned with the government who feared too great an extension of democracy in Eng- land, and who, therefore, would not be displeased to see the Ameri- can experiment in republican government end in disaster. Many also favored the South because of ignorance or misunderstanding of the real nature of the issues involved. On the other hand it must be remembered that the working classes together with prominent men of - 3 - liberal ideals were in sympathy with the North. Of this latter class Richard Cobden and John Bright are the most outstanding ex- amples. It is also true that on the whole the government main- tained its neutrality, with one or two notable exceptions such as the case of the Alabama , while its refusal to recognize the inde- pendence of the South was undoubtedly a blow to the Confederates. With these general tendencies of thought in England as a background, the discussion of the first chapter will proceed directly to the consideration of opinions of Lincoln's policies and abilities as a statesman. CHAPTER I. - 4 - CONTEMPORARY OPINION OF LINCOLN, THE STATESMAN. When Lincoln was elected to the presidency of the United States, his name meant little to the English public in general. Keen as was the interest in the impending crisis in America, the emphasis was chiefly upon events rather than upon the personality of the man who was to guide his country through the distressing years of civil war. As James Spence declared in his analysis, to the South the election of Lincoln represented the determination of the North to act upon the question of slavery in disregard of the constitution which protected it; the Southerner foresaw political extinction, destruction of his property, and ruin of his state, as well as danger to his life; consequently he had every incentive to the strongest feelings and to resolute action. In the words of Spence, "Looking at the election of Mr. Lincoln from a European point of view, it was an ordinary, an insignificant event; looking at it as seen by the Southerner, it was the knell of the departing independence and welfare of his portion of the continent . After Lincoln had been plunged into the conduct of the Civil War with its increasing effect upon British manufacturing interests, it was not surprising that those who were affected in England should be anxious for the war to cease, and consequently were not very sympathetic with Lincoln's determination to crush the rebellion. The early failures of the North made it easy for the English people to charge the government with mismanagement in carrying on the war. From the latter part of 1861 comments upon Lincoln's incapacity be- came ever more frequent. 1 Spence, The American Union, 107. -5- Naturally interest was displayed in Lincoln's attitude on the Trent Affair which brought a crisis in the relations between the two countries. While different shades of opinion were expressed, most of them were unfavorable, although it was conceded that his position was somewhat difficult. Trollope in his discussion grants that if Lincoln had disavowed the deed of Wilkes immediately and declared the intention of releasing the men unasked, a great clamour w r ould have been raised, but he charges Lincoln with assuming responsi- bility when he sent forward a report of Secretary belles expressing approval.^ A more sympathetic statement was that found in the Economist which prophesied that Lincoln would consult the Supreme Court, for with England before him and the mob behind him, one or the other of which he must brave, "even the most courageous states- man might naturally welcome a seasonable shelter." * i 2 3 4 The Times , on the other hand, was extremely hostile. Surprise was manifested that after Congress and the Secretary of the Navy had expressed approval, Lincoln’s government should have felt itself strong enough to avoid a war with England by a concession. Seward's des- patch was criticized severely as indescribably verbose and arrogant towards England.^ Hostile references to the affair appeared throughout the remainder of the month, until on January 30 the ar- rival of Mason and Slidell in England was noted. It may be that some of these articles were in the mind of Henry Adams when he i wrote that "The Trent affair passed like a snowstorm," leaving the American legation still in its place, while he as private secretary to his father, the American ambassador to England, continued to do 2 Trollope, North America, II. 45-46. 3 Quoted in The Times, Dec. 30, 1861. 4 Ibid . , Jan. 14, 1862. - 6 - his work and "to read newspaper accounts of the incapacity of Mr. Lincoln and the brutality of Mr. Seward." 5 A few especially stinging comments of this period on the gen- eral incapacity of Lincoln are worthy of note. In a comment upon England’s refusal to join in French mediation it was declared that without such intervention the war must last twenty years unless a revolution in the North should hurl Lincoln from power before the end of his period of office, and place a man at the head of the government "with sufficient brains, honesty, and patriotism to re- cognize the independence of the South as the best arrangement for both parties, and stop the horrible effusion of blood and the fiendish overflow of passions the war has excited." The year 1862 was characterized as having witnessed the occurrence of a series of n misfortunes and mistakes which had no parallel in history. The height of hostile comment was reached in a charge of in- consistency of Lincoln in the words, "among the marvels and para- doxes of the American Revolution there is none greater than the part played by President Lincoln himself. That such a man should have been called upon to guide the destinies of a mighty nation during a grand historical crisis is surely enough, but that he should have blundered and vacillated as he has, without for a mom- ent losing confidence in himself, or altogether forfeiting that of his countrymen, is stranger still. His language on the great questions at issue has varied so much at different times as to show that he can never have had anything worthy of being called a policy, 5 Education of Henry Adams, 121. 6 The Times, Dec. 10, 1862. 7 Ibid. , Dec. 29, 1862. - 7 - unless it be that which he described in the wisest of all his homely sayings as a resolution to ’keep pegging away’.” 8 Besides these more general conclusions on the relative merits of Lincoln as an executive, his management of military affairs was called into question. In judging the capabilities of officers Lincoln was declared to be inferior to Davis. It was felt that he had a sense of responsibility for his generals, but that when he did realize that they were incompetent, his good nature prevented him from removing them promptly, and kept him loyal to them even when they were severely criticized. 9 Another matter which did not escape attention was the opposi- tion with which Lincoln had to deal in his cabinet. The ambitions of Seward and the disrespect for Lincoln held by other cabinet mem- bers were faithfully reported to The Times by the New York Corres- pondent. The comment was not entirely derogatory, for in one in- stance Lincoln’s handling of the different factions was described as being carried on with a dexterity failing to confirm the titles „ tt 10 of idiot or half-witted fellow attributed to him by some journals. Punch showed its appreciation of the situation in verse pur- porting to be from Secretary Seward to Earl Russell. 8 The Times , Sept. 17, 1863. For other criticisms see ibid . , Aug. 22, 1&62 and Feb. 4, 1863, and for those referring to the Vallandigham case, June 1, 15, and 18, 1863. 9 For Lincoln’s relation to his officers see The Times , June 26, 1863, July 13, 1863, and Oct. 20, 1852; Moore, Rebellion Record , II. 120-121; and Smith in Macmillan , IX. 305, Feb. 1855. 10 The Times , Nov. 13, 1863. On this subject see also Jan. 9, 1863, March 9, and 11, 1864. - 8 - "This terrible tussle, The waste of blood, muscle. And treasure. Lord Russell, With sorrow you see, While letters voluminous, Reprimands- numerous , And Lincoln so humorous, Are too much for me. "From Halleck’s aridity, Cass Clay's acidity, Stanton’s stupidity, Fain would I flee. I hate a Democracy, Adore aristocracy, Is this base hypocrisy? Fiddle-de-dee . Lincoln’s messages in their political aspects received their full share of comment by The Times which throughout the war found little to praise in any phase of Lincoln’s administration. The message of December 1862 was deemed important chiefly because of the high position Lincoln held, for he was said to belong to that "very ordinary class of mortals for whose opinion we should feel little curiosity if he stood on plain ground with other men.”^ "Resembl- ing the report of a lost battle" was the description accorded the message of 1863 which was declared inferior in style and language to that of Davis, who, said The Times , spoke of the war without despondency, but with feeling creditable to his humanity, while the lack of such sentiment in Lincoln’s message rendered it one of "the most cold-blooded political documents ever published." Lincoln was given credit for being candid and fair in the message of 1864, but it was said to fail in inspiring hope.'*-' 11 Punch, Feb. 14, 1863. 12 The Times, Dec. 16, 1862. 13 Ibid., Dec. 21, and 23, 1863. 14 Ibid, , Dec. 22, 1864. - 9 - The phases of opinion thus far noted have been judgments of a more or less general character upon Lincoln's conduct in office. Certain specific policies elicited comments which give an insight into the way Englishmen looked upon the methods used by Lincoln in solving his problems. At the very outset, of course, was the ques- tion as to whether Lincoln was right in claiming that the South could not secede from the Union. Opinions on this matter varied somewhat. W. H. Russell stated that secession was an accomplished fact months before Lincoln came into office. Indeed he was of the opinion that many people in t he North were willing to accept a separation of the North and South into two separate states. A belief in the right of secession, with a rather interesting application is found in Spence's discussion of the question. He mentions the fact that those who argue against secession ask how the English government would like Ireland to secede. His reply is, "If Ireland were a slave-holding country, we should not only approve of her seceding, but insist upon it." In the light of the long struggle of Ireland for independence it is difficult to imagine England insisting upon her withdrawal on any grounds, but Spence thought England would have first endeavored to induce Ireland to alter her slave system, (if she should have such a system); if she refused, no profit or advantage would induce England to maintain such a partnership. He then points out that the argument was not pertinent to England, for she had never proclaimed the sovereignty of the people there, nor taught them that government rests upon the consent of the governed, and may be abolished when no longer pro- 15 Russell's Diary , 355. June, 1861, exact date not given. ! - 10 - 1 6 moting the pursuit of happiness. In contrast to these views are opinions of those who held that Lincoln was right in attempting to crush the secession move- ment as rebellion. An example of this is to be found in the London Economist in April 1861. Fhile disclaiming all attempts to pass judgment on the wisdom or folly of the war, or on the ability of the North to enforce its point, this article clearly states that there was no question whatever as to the constitutional right of President Lincoln to treat the confederation as a treasonable re- bellion, and to resist it by force if it encroached on Federal pro- 17 perty and laws. In his chapters on the war Anthony Trollope gives perhaps as thorough a discussion of the secession question as can be found in English contemporary thought. He shows insight into the situation by proclaiming slavery rather than secession as an abstract princi- ple as the real cause of the war. Secession itself he declared ab- solutely unconstitutional, and contrary to the intention of the framers of the constitution who were trying to erect a more effec- tive government than that existing under the Articles of Confedera- tion which left each state sovereign, free, and independent. This view is interesting to students of American political philosophy who know of the great struggle over state sovereignty in the fed- eral convention, and later in the fight for ratification of the constitution. To Trollope the secession of the Southern States was an unjustifiable rebellion. Not only did he think Lincoln 16 Spence, The American Union, 211-212. 17 Quoted in Moore’s Rebellion Record I. 230. - 11 - right in coercing the South, but in his opinion Lincoln could not have failed to do so without being the most dishonest politician in America in neglecting to carry out the wishes of those who had elected him. "it is easy to say now," writes Trollope, "that ac- quiescence in secession would have been better than war, but there was no moment when he could have said so with any avail. It was incumbent for him to put down rebellion, or to be put down by it. 18 So it was with us in America in 1776." Another question which caused a great deal of discussion in America did not pass by unnoticed in England, that is, Lincoln's suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus . As might be expected. The Times was quick to blame, Lincoln was said to be employing a very forced and unnatural construction of the constitution. Thankfulness was expressed that the chief magistrate of England, Queen though she was, did not dream of claiming such a power, which should be left to the legislature. "There are not wanting," sneered The Times , "as there were not wanting in the reigns of our own Charles I, Charles II, and James II mercenary sophists ready to postulate their legal ingenuity in defense of tyranny and arbitrary power. Legal opinions have been pro- cured which give to the power of making war a construction at which the founders of the American Republic would • shudder The complete suspension of the privilege of the writ w r as called the most astounding of all outrages perpetrated upon a free people, for "to assert that because Maryland is dangerous, there- 18 Trollope, North America, I. 440. For his views on secession see especially i . £76-277", '”434-440 , and II. 59-82. 19 The Times, Sept. 16, 1922. - 12 - fore the rights of California, three thousand miles away are to be sacrificed is on the face of it an absurdity." The act was attri- 20 buted to fear of the success of Vallandigham in Ohio. The hostility of the press towards this measure was censured by a writer in the London Quarterly Review a year after the close of the war. "Never," he states, "did so large a part of the press of this great country show itself so blindly, so heartlessly par- tial. It has since universally approved of the suspension of the habeas corpus in Canada and in Ireland under circumstances fully justifying the measure, but far less extreme, for the Eritish em- pire has little to fear from the wild enterprises of the "Fenian, but when America was rent from east to west, struggling for nation- al existence in the fiercest civil war that history has recorded, our journalists lifted up their hands in horror if the guarantees of individual liberty did not remain the same as in times of peace and public order. William H. Russell and Anthony Trollope both felt that Lin- coln had exceeded his constitutional authority, and that he was em- ploying a measure very destructive to freedom. Trollope thought, however, that Lincoln might have derived such power from the fact that the Union as such no longer existed, and hence Mr. Lincoln had the power "whether it be given him by the law or no." Yet it seemed evident to Trollope that Lincoln had committed a breach a- gainst the letter and spirit of the constitution which was aimed to guard the liberties of the people. Since the statement concerning 20 The Times, Oct. 9, 1863, and similarly in Sent. 30, 1863. 21 London Quarterly Review , XXVI. 292, July 1866. part of the constitution enumerating the the suspension was found in thg/powers of Congress, he felt that it was monstrous to hold that this power was in the hands of the ex- 22 ecutive . The attitude of the English government was made clear by Earl Russell in the House of Lords in answer to the Earl of Carn- avon, who brought up the case of a British subject who had been imprisoned in America. Russell explained that the belief in Eng- land that the suspension had been irregular was a natural misappre- hension due to ignorance of the constitution of the United States. In England since the writ depended upon an act of Parliament, its suspension also depended upon an act of Parliament, but in America no such act was necessary. Although the constitution left vague the authority by which the writ might be suspended, it had been assumed that such power should reside in the President and the Secretary of State acting under his orders. While Russell depre- cated the necessity of resorting to such measures, he felt that the condition of danger warranted unusual means of dealing with the 23 great civil war. One of Lincoln’s measures which aroused even more comment was the Emancipation Proclamation. This involved a question which appealed to the people of England, a country which had not only freed her own slaves, but had also been most zealous in striving to effect the abolition of the slave trade. Indeed the United States had. even been censured by Viscount Palmerston in the House 22 For Trollope’s view see his North America , I. 279-281, and II. 276-282. Russell's statement is in his Diary , 63 and 550. April 5, 1861, Oct. 8, 1861. 23 3 Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, CLXV. 418-423. -14 of Commons for failing to render England the assistance which was 24 to be expected in this regard. ' It would not be unreasonable to expect considerable sympathy for Lincoln when he issued his pro- clamation, but in many cases this appreciation was entirely lack- ing. It was pronounced by the Saturday Review to be mischievous and reckless, and "the most extravagant outrage on justice and common sense which has been perpetrated even during the present struggle. Horsman, rrember of Parliament from the town of Stroud, when speaking in the House of Commons, denounced it as "one of the most atrocious crimes against the laws of civilization and humanity which the world has ever seen," and expressed astonishment that any Englishman could contemplate the proclamation with feelings other than those of sorrow and indignation. While he admitted slavery to be a crime, he considered it worse "to incite a negro to achieve his freedom by a carnival of crime," and expressed his belief that the proclamation would destroy every chance of English 26 sympathy with the North. Typical of its attitude toward Lincoln was the tirade of abuse issuing from The Times , which merits quotation in part not only since it shows how far the editor was willing to go in con- demnation of Lincoln, but because the policy of which this editor- ial is typical provoked censure by English writers. Lincoln's assertion that he would not repress the efforts of the slaves to free themselves was taken to mean that he was desirous of exciting a servile war. The Times expresses its conviction in this graphic 24 3 Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, CLXI. 985. Apr. 24, 1863. 25 Saturday Review, Jan. 17, 1863. 26 3 Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, CLXX. 743 - 15 - way, "He will appeal to the black blood of the African; he will whisper of the pleasures of spoil and of the gratification of yet fiercer instincts; and when blood begins to flow and shrieks come piercing through the darkness, Mr. Lincoln will wait till the ris- ing flames tell that all is consummated, and then he will rub his hands and think that revenge is sweet Mr. Lincoln avows there- fore, that he proposes to excite the negroes of the Southern plantations to murder the families of their masters while these are engaged in the war. The conception of such, a crime is horrible. The employment of Indians sinks to a level with civilized warfare in comparison with it; the most detestable doctrines of Mazzini are almost less atrocious; even Mr. Lincoln’s own recent achieve- ments of burning by gunboats the defenceless villages on the Mississippi are dwarfed by this giganitc wickedness..... Mr. Lin- coln by this proclamation constitutes himself a sort of moral Amer- ican. Pope. He claims to sell indulgences to his own votaries, and he offers them with full hands to all who will fall down and wor- ship him. It is his to bind, and it is his to loose. His decree of emancipation is to go into remote states, where his temporal power cannot be made manifest, and where no stars and stripes are to be seen; and in those distant swamps he is, by a sort of Yankee ?7 excommunication, to lay the land under a slavery interdict." Among those who censured this severe criticism of The Times was Cairnes who called these comments very unjust. Henry Adams, however, found some encouragement in the harsh attitude of this 27 The Times , Oct. 6 and 7, 1862. See also Oct. 13, 1862, Dec. 16 and 17, T862, and Jan. 7 and 15, 1863. 28 Cairnes, Polit ica l Essays , 98-99. For similar comments see Rogers Speeches of" 'Bright 'TI IH6, and Ludlow, President Lincoln Self- portrayed , TD9. TEe last named reference does not refer particu- larly to the criticism of emancipation. -16- paper which, he wrote, "scolds like a drunken drab..... But The Times is on its last legs and has lost its temper. They say it always does lose its temper when it finds such a feeling (the popular reaction in favor of emancipation) too strong for it, and its next step will be to come around and try to guide it." Adams felt that the proclamation had done more for the Northern cause in England than all former victories and diplomacy, for it had caused an almost convulsive reaction among the people of England. He tells of meetings, addresses to Lincoln, deputations to the Ameri- can legation, and standing committees to agitate the question. He adds that these symptons of a great popular movement were unpleas- ant to the upper classes because they rested upon the spontaneous action of the laboring classes in sympathy with republicanism.^ The addresses mentioned by Henry Adams came chiefly from workingmen’s and anti-slavery associations. All expressed similar ideas in sending sympathy to Lincoln in abolishing slavery, and conveying their approval of Lincoln’s emancipation policy. They seemed to fee,l that the struggle in America was in some way akin to their own efforts to better their condition. In commenting upon these meetings Bright said he thought in every town in the 29 Cycle of Adams’ Letters , edited by W. C. Ford, I. 243. Henry Adams to C. F. Adams, Junior. Jan. 23, 1853. For the attitude of Delane, the editor of The Times, see Atkins, The Life of Sir William Howard Russell, II. 92. 30 For some of these addresses see the Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States, 39 Cong., 1 Sess., pt. I., 41-48, 63-64, 71- 72, 83, 89-90, 320. Also 39 Cong., 3 Sess., pt. I., 261-262. Senate Documents 49 and 50, 37 Cong., 3 Sess. give several more. Moore's Rebellion Record , VI. 344-345 gives the address from the citizens of Manchester, and 420-421 gives Lincoln’s reply. . -17- kingdom a public meeting would go by an overwhelming majority in favor of President Lincoln and the North. He added a hope that these meetings might have an effect upon the Cabinet and Parlia- . 31 ment . Thus the working classes were not alone in their sympathy with Lincoln. Cairnes called the proclamation a grand achievement and one hopeful for the history of mankind. He explained that Lincoln's statement when he assumed office, that he did not intend to interfere with slavery where it already existed, had arrested the flow of public sentiment favorable to the North, for the people assumed that the war was not connected with slavery. Consequently Cairnes approved of the proclamation, making it evident that Lin- coln was concerned with the abolition of slavery. The suggestion regarding compensated emancipation he regarded as being one of the wisest and most important questions ever submitted to a legisla- 32 tive body. Richard Cobden was one of those who believed the abolition of slavery to be a necessity. Any compromise on that question would, he thought, cover the cause with external infamy, and render the civil war which had desolated the North and South a "useless butchery. " 33 His testimony is added to that of Cairnes in showing the generally advantageous effect of allowing the issuing of the pro- 31 Trevelyan, Life of John Bright, 321. Bright to Summer Jan. 30, 1363. 32 Cairnes, The Slave Power, Preface XXX. and 332, and Political Essays, 90-02 . 33 Morley, Life of Richard Cobden, II. 451. Cobden to Sumner, Feb. 13, “18637 -18- clamation. Nevertheless it was due to these measures of Lincoln that he was not infrequently accused of employing unconstitutional means to effect his policies. It would almost seem as if The Times dubbed his every deed "unconstitutional." In one of his despatches to the American ambassador at Paris Seward called the constitution of the United States a sacred instrument, whereupon the remark was immediately made, "it has certainly not been sacred to him or Mr. Lincoln, for both of them have trodden it under foot." 5 '^ Punch had its contribution to make to this phase of opinion of Lincoln, for it noted that Lincoln had been granted the degree of Doctor of Laws by a college of New Jersey. This was said to be the stroke of irony after the way in which Lincoln had dealt with the laws and constitution. "The military government exercised by Mr. Lincoln," said Punch , "will perhaps procure from some other equally learned and complimentary body the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law." u6 On the other hand Goldwin Smith and John Bright both describe* Lincoln as being constitutional in all his act3.°^ Bright’s loy- alty to Lincoln brought him. not a little censure from the British press. The Times believed that few men would agree with Cobden and Bright in considering the election of Lincoln, a man poorly trained for office, as proof of the excellence of American insti- 34 Morley, Life of Bichard Cobden , II. 403-404. Cobden to Sumner, w e b. 13, 1863 . 35 The Times , Feb. 27, 1863. Similar charges are made Aug. 25, 1S62 and Oct. 5, 1863. 36 Punch, Jan, 21, 1865. 37 Rogers, Speec hes of Bright, I. 190. Smith’s view is in Macmillan' Magazine , XI. 302. -19- tutions; more would hold that thanks should be given that in such 7 0 hands the state had hitherto escaped total destruction.' The brief comment of Punch on Bright's attitude is suggestive, "To get a cheerful view of affairs in the United States only look at them 39 from the Bright side." There is no doubt that Bright felt a per- sonal interest in Lincoln and his cause. In his Journal he men- tions a call upon an American woman in these words, "Not a very pleasant visit; boasting of her loyalty to her country but loud in her abuse of Mr. Lincoln and all connected with his government. I told her such language was offensive to us from an Englishman, and I did not wish to hear it from an American." 4 ^ Bright's views were rather exceptional among the greater number of people who held that Lincoln was an arbitrary ruler. It is only fair to admit that Lincoln did undoubtedly assume unusual powers. One of the things which seemed to impress English minds with particular emphasis was Lincoln's security of tenure of office due to the fixed nature of the four year presidential term. One finds frequently such phrases as "The American President is an autocrat for four years," " The President of the Federal States is as absolute during his four years as an Emperor elected for life," the description of Lincoln as "the quadrennial despot who fills the President's chair," and the statement that Lincoln "being an elected President, more absolute during his four years in office than any king or emperor in the world, and not being a constitu- 38 The Times, Nov. 28, 1863. 39 Punch, Jan. 4, 1862. 40 Trevelyan, Life of John Bright , 324. From Journal June 1~, 1864. - 20 - tional King, did not have to remember the unpleasant consequences that have followed in other countries when the king and the people ,.41 took different sides.’ Many expressions are to be found that Lincoln exercised his power arising from security of office in a tyrannical fashion. It was predicted that Northerners would forgive Lincoln all his other shortcomings and absurdities if he c ould manage to play the tyrant so as to give them victory over all their enemies. ’’Martial Law, irresponsible rule, and summary justice is what these descendants of Franklin and the Adamses are crying out for.“ " Indeed, Mrs. Lincoln was described as being loyal to her family and "Lincoln the 4 '< First." Similarly an American writer accusing Lincoln of having rebelled against the only true sovereign, ’’the majesty of the peo- ple,” was given hearty endorsement by The Times which declared this . 44 critic to be far ahead of his countrymen. Yet the belief in Lincoln's tyranny was not universal in England. Goldwin Smith who had an interview with Lincoln testified ”No calumny, to all appearances can be more grotesque than that which charges Mr. Lincoln with aiming at arbitrary power. Judging from all that he says and does, no man can be more deeply imbued with reverence for liberty and law, or more sincerely desirous of identifying h5 s name with the preservation of free institutions.” 41 The Times , Nov. 17, 1862 and Feb. 4, 1863. Trollope, North Amer- ica, rn 307-308. Russell's Diary, 307. Aug. 26, 1861. 42. The Times, June 4, 1863. 43 Russell's Diary, 567, Nov. 3, 1861. 44 Hon. Genjamin Wood, quoted in The Times June 17, 1862. Lincoln was hailed as a dictator by The "Times May 27, 1863, and Oct. 10, 1862; Puhch Sept. 26, 1863 and Nov. 28, 1863. -21 Smith describes his entrance into the room of the ^resident simply through an ante room with no formality ».nd no guard, and tells how he thought, “if this man is really a tyrant worse than Robespierre, 45 he must have great confidence in rhe long-sufferance of his kind." The discussion thus far has shown varied opinion of Lincoln and the policies of his first administration, un the whole criti- cism and censure have outweighed the words of praise. When the question regarding his re-election arose, considerable interest was manifested in England. Luring the early months of 1864 The Times on numerous occasions expressed disapproval at the thought of Lin- coln's succeeding himself in the presidency. If Lincoln were wise he would leave the exalted position which he so uncomfortably filled “to some bolder statesman, some more accomplished gentleman, some higher principled philosopher, and some more astute politician and manager than himself." The denunciation continues, "As a ^resident he is the worst failure that America has ever produced, and both parties in the states admit him to be so. ±t is a pity that he cannot see himself in the same light, and that he does not earn the respect of his true friends and the forbearance of his foe by retiring into private life. That he may yet do so is possible, it will be happy for himself as well as for his country if such be his determination."^ When the news of his election reached England, the Democratic party was declared to be expelled from the arena of politics, and 45 Macmillan , XL . bOO . 46 The Times , July 4, 1864. For earlier comments note the issues Jan. 2§, Feb. 4, March 7, April 4, and June 20, 1864. Charges of abuse in the campaign may be round in the issues of Uct. 8, 10, 11, 26, Nov. 1 and 22, and Dec. b, and ol, 1864. t - 22 - destined either to purchase impunity by inaction, or "to suffer all the miseries that tyrants can inflict or martyrs endure." Lincoln’^ re-election was called a signification of the abdication of the American people of the right of self-government. A prophecy fol- lowed that future historians would probably date from the second presidency of Lincoln "the period when the constitution was thor- oughly abrogated, and had entered on that transition stage so well kno?m to the students of histor?/, through which Republics pass on 4-7 their way from democracy to tyranny. His triumphant re-election was, however, conceded to show he was given the confidence of the North in spite of his short-comings and failures, while his in- augural address was given some favorable comment as displaying qualities of prudent statesmanship. 48 While at the outset the Saturday Review expressed utter in- difference to the outcome, it did not evince surprise at the re- sult of the election, since there were strong arguments against opposing in time of war the government or party identified with the prosecution of the struggle. 48 The comment on Andrew Johnson's proceedings in applying tests to the voters in Tennessee is inter- esting in the light of subsequent events, for it included a state- ment that the blessings of equality would be severely tried if through some accident the "despotic tailor of Tennessee" should be transfigured into the civil and military head of the nation. The sanction of Johnson's conduct by Lincoln was said to be perhaps 47 The Times, Nov. 22, 1864. 48 Ibid., March 17 and 20, 1865. 49 Saturday Review, Oct. 29, 1864 and Nov. 2d, 1864. - 23 - the most serious charge against him, and it was even conceded that according to the North American standard of morality he might be honest, patriotic, and even in his strange electioneering proceed- ings he might have been working less consciously ror himself than for the party whose triumph he thought necessary ror the safety of the Republic.* 30 Of a more positive nature of approval are the words of Cobden and Bright, who hoped for the re-election of Lincoln that he might continue with the abolition of slavery. Pleasure was also expressed by Mr. E. n. Leatham in a speech K O to electors at Huddersfield, while numerous societies sent ad- dresses similar to those on emancipation. All of these expressed sympathy with Lincoln, and entertained the hope that he might soon bring peace, with freedom of the slaves.* 33 It has been shown that England watched with keen interest the struggle in America, without hesitating to pass .judgment on the methods by which Lincoln was attempting to perform his gigantic task. Not only did his handling of domestic problems attract at- tention, but his attitude toward England continued to be observed with jealousy throughout the course of uhe war. On the whole The Times did not view Lincoln' s re-election as a cause for alarm re- garding the relations between the two countries. He had already 50 Saturday Review, Nov. 5 and 19, 1364. 51 ' Morley, Life of Richard Cobden , II. 540-451. Cobden to Sumner, Jan, 7, 18647 Also ibidT , it. 414-415, Cobden to Bright, Oct. 4, 1864. Trevelyan, Life of John Bright, 324. 52 Diplomatic Correspondence, 39 Cong., 1 Sess., pt. I., 103. 53 Ibid . , 42-48. -24- gone through the course of defying England, the traditional way of securing the Irish vote, and when once fairly established in office his conduct toward England had given no very great cause for com- plaint. His tone was less exciting and his language less offensive than might have been that of others in his difficult situation, and 54 a new president might displa:/ a more hostile spirit. This rather patronizing attitude of tolerance was resented by Goldwin Smith who called the accusation regarding the Irish vote highly irrational. Lincoln, he said, was one of the few public men in America who had never joined in denunciations of England. His re-election was to be desired not only for the good of his country, but for the peace of the world. Lincoln's advocates. Bright and Cobden, upheld the view that Lincoln was throughout friendly to England in so far as lay within his power. Bright challenged the most critical investigator to point to a single instance since Lincoln's accession to power wnich betrayed anger against England or any of the vindictive feeling which some persons in England imagined was possessed by Lincoln 56 and his cabinet. Cobden declared that Lincoln showed solid sense in the pertinacity with which he avoided all outside compli- cations. "His truthful elevation of character," wrote Cobden to Sumner, "and his somewhat stolid placidity of nature, put It quite beyond the power of other governments to fasten a quarrel on him, and inspire the fullest confidence in those who are committing 64 The Times, Nov. 22, 1864. 55 Macmillan, X I , 305 . 56 Rogers, Speeches of Bright , I. 128. - 25 - 57 themselves to the side of the North."'" Lincoln’s policies had run the gauntlet of English public opinion, receiving much criticism and disapproval. Cobden, Bright, and the working classes found all too little patience with their sympathy for Lincoln. This is especially true of the press which un- doubtedly was a potent factor in the shaping of public opinion. During his lifetime Lincoln very evidently did not receive from the English people as a whole his present high rank as a statesman. liorley, Life of Pi chard Cobden , IT. 450-451. Cobden to Sumner, . T an. 7, 1364. CHAPTER II. - 26 - CONTEMPORARY OPINION OF LINCOLN, THE MAN. Although much deference is accorded to Lincoln’s statesman- ship by Americans today, the love for him is perhaps more deeply rooted in the appeal of his character, his quaint homeliness, his honesty, and his mercy with which we have become familiar through the great wealth of Lincoln stories. We may well pause to consider what men of his own time, but of another nation, thought of the character of the man who has become an ideal to Americans, First of all it is interesting to note the impression made on English writers by Lincoln’s personal appearance, W. H. Russell gives us a very complete picture of his impressions of Lincoln’s un- gainly figure and rather careless habits of dress. In his Diary Russell writes, ’’Soon afterwards there entered, with a shambling loose irregular, almost unsteady gait, a tall, lank, lean man, con- siderably over six feet in height, with stooping shoulders, long pendulous arms, terminating in hands of extraordinary dimensions, which, however, were far exceeded in proportion by his feet. He was dressed in an ill-fitting, wrinkled suit of black, which put one in mind of an undertaker’s uniform at a funeral; round his neck a rope of black silk was knotted in a large bulb, with flying ends project- ing beyond the collar of his coat; his turned-down shirt-collar dis- closed a sinewy muscular yellow neck, and above that, nestling in a great black mass of hair, bustling and compact like a ruff of mourn- ing pins, rose the strange quaint face and head, covered with its thatch of wild republican hair, of President Lincoln. The impres- sion produced by the size of his extremities, and by his flapping and wide projecting ears, may be removed by the appearance of kind- - 27 - liness, sagacity, and the awkward bonhomie of his face; the mouth is absolutely prodigious; the lies, straggling and extending almost from one line of the black beard to the other, are only kept in order by two deep furrows from the nostril to the chin; the nose itself-- a prominent organ--stands out from the face, with an inquiring, an- xious air, as though it were snuffing for some good thing in the wind; the eyes dark, full and deeply set, are penetrating, but full of an expression which almost amounts to tenderness; and above them pro- jects the shaggy brow, running into the small hard frontal space, the development of which can scarcely be estimated accurately, owing to the irregular flocks of thick hair carelessly brushed across it. One would say that, although the mouth was made to enjoy a joke, it could also utter the severest sentence which the head could dictate, but that Mr. Lincoln would be ever more willing to temper justice with mercy, and to enjoy what he consideres the amenities of life, than to take a harsh view of men's nature and of the world, and to esti- mate things in an ascetic or puritan spirit" ^ An even more grotesque description of Lincoln is found in Macmillan ' s Magazine, yet the general impression of Lincoln is said to depict physical and moral strength, while something essentially p fine about his appearance bespoke an infinite good breeding. An interesting description is that which compares Lincoln to an English yoeman. His large-boned and sinewy frame was said to resemble that of the yoemen of North England in the district from 1 Russell’s Diary , 37-38. March 27, 1861. Other comments on Lin- coln's appearance may be found in ibid . , 552 and Atkins biography of Russell, II. 50. 2 Macmillan, VI. 23. . . • ' -28- which Lincoln's name suggests that his forefathers came. The simi- larity was borne out by his face which denoted an English yoeman's solidity of character and good sense, with something added from the 3 enterprising life and sharp habits of the Western Yankee. Several writers were impressed with the sadness of Lincoln's face, and with the expression in his eyes. Bright said that Lincoln's sad but gentle countenance as seen in his portraits would never be forgotten by that generation of Englishmen.^ Dicey, who had seen Lincoln, declared that never in his life had he seen a sadder face. This writer found himself incapable of doing justice to the "exceed- ing sadness of the eyes and also to their strange sweetness; they were the one redeeming feature in a face of unusual plainness, and there was about them that odd, weird look, which some eyes possess, of seeming to see more than the outer objects of the world around." Another English journalist describes Lincoln's eyes as giving his face an unf orgettable expression, difficult to analyze, which be- longed to his very soul and made him appear a man of sorrows and ac- quainted with grief. Of his awkward figure, continued this writer, "the visitor could not- be blind to the moral strength, an inherent spiritual dignity of the man." When engrossed in serious conversa- tion and after the first few sentences of public utterances he lost his awkwardness and the things "which detracted from his manhood and mastery, and revealed himself as worthy of the truths he uttered and 3 Smith in Macmillan, XI. 300, 4 Curtis, Motley, II. 206. Bright to Motley, July 31, 1865. 5 Dicey in Macmillan, XII. 190. ■ - 29 - 0 the great office entrusted, to him." It was natural that Lincoln’s figure should be seized upon as an object of caricature. Indeed Lincoln seemed to one observer to be the actual model from which the stock caricatures had been drawn without exaggeration.' Throughout the period of the war Lincoln’s tall gaunt figure appeared constantly in the pages of Punch which not only ridiculed him and his policies in pictures, but in verse and gibes innumerable, as was shown in the preceding chapter. 9 ’ Vanity Fair contributed its share to the caricature of Lin- coln, an example being one in which the forthcoming of emancipation is heralded. Lincoln is pictured as a bird peddler whom an absence of customers has impelled to remark, "Darn these here blackbirds. If nobody won’t buy ’em I’ll have to open the cages and let ’em fly." 9 Lincoln's jokes were often quoted in Punch or The Times under the heading "Old Abe’s Latest" or some similar caption. 19 The fre- quency with which such jests appeared tended to give the impression that one of Lincoln's chief interests was telling jokes. Some of the more serious English thinkers attempted to seek an explanation 6 Krans, Lincoln Tribute Book , 65-69, quoting Henry Bryan Binns, Abra - ham Lincoln , 223 - 226 . A similar interpretation of Lincoln’s char- acter read through his appearance is found in Macmillan, VI. 23. 7 Ibid.., 65. 8 Good examples are in issues: Feb. 7 and 14, May 9, Oct. 10, 24, and 31, 1863; also May 11, 1861 and Sept. 27, 1862. 9 Wilson, Lincoln in Caricature , Plate 14. Plates 2 and 3 are also re- produced from Vanity Fair. 10 ‘ Punch, July 23, 1864 is an example. Those in The Times are too numerous to mention but may easily be found in the Index to the issues of that period. '' * ' • • £ 1 . -30- of this characteristic of Lincoln, and concluded that he had a deeper purpose than the mere telling of a story for its own sake. W. H. Russell thought that Lincoln used his jokes rather cleverly in avoid- ing awkward situations, for he says, "Where men bred in courts, ac- customed. to the world, or versed in diplomacy, would use some subter- fuge, or would make a polite speech, or give a shrug of the shoulders as the means of getting out of an embarrassing position, Mr. Lincoln raises a laugh by some bold west country anecdote, and moves off in the cloud of merriment produced by his joke." 11 Dicey also thought that Lincoln, shrewd enough to realize that he had small knowledge as to the arts of governing, turned awkward questions by jokes so as to gain time to weigh matters more fully. Goldwin Smith concluded that Lincoln's stories, told to illustrate points rather than for the sake of the anecdotes themselves, did not indicate a particularly jocular temperament, ncr yet an addiction to brutal levity. He held that it was a very superficial knowledge of American character which refused to recognize that a certain levity of expression was per- I r Z fectly compatible with earnestness and seriousness. Cobden wrote to Sumner "it is the fashion to underrate Lincoln intellectually in part, because he illustrates his arguments with amusing anecdotes. But Franklin was not less given to apologues, and some of them not of the most refined character. It is quite certain that an inferior man could never have maintained such a contest as Lincoln went through with Douglas," 1 ^ 11 Russell’s ©ia3?y, 43, March 28, 1861. 12 Dicey in Macmillan, XII. 189. 13 Smith in Macmillan, XI. 301. 14 Morley, Life of Richard Cobden, II. 414. Cobden to Bright, Oct. 4, 1864. . - 31 - Varylng opinions may also be found of Lincoln’s literary ability as manifested in his speeches and writings. There are many expressions tending to show that his State papers were not considered very commendable from the standpoint of literary form. Though Gold- win Smith was an admirer of Lincoln, he admitted that to do him. justice one must look to the substance rather than the form of his writings which displayed at times a great lack of cultivation, al- though they never fell into the ’’worst faults of inflation and rho- domontade so common in American State paper writers." Another con- tribution is that though Lincoln might be the best of presidents, he was the worst of state paper writers. ^ Critical of Lincoln in every other respect The Times added to its onslaughts by ridiculing a letter of Lincoln to the unconditional Union men of Illinois. Unbelief was expressed that a man in his sober senses could have sat down to compose such a rhapsody, or after reading it over, have ordered it to be printed. The article con- tinues to describe the letter as something between a prophecy and an oracular response with a dash of Yankee slang and terms of expression reminiscent of school-boy translations from corrupt choruses in Greek tragedies. Furthermore, "Cromwell never spoke and Mr. Carlyle never wrote anything so hopelessly obscure, and the persons, if there be any such, to whom such a jargon can appear impressive or even in- telligible must have faculties and tastes of which we can form no idea.” It was held doubtful that Lincoln could have been himself when he penned so grotesque a production. The writer of the editor- 15 Smith in Macmillan, XI. 303. 16 London Quarterly Review , XVII. 517. - 32 - ial did not apply his condemns tion to the entire letter, for he said, "the early part, though by no means free from faults of grammar, or compatible with our nations of literary dignity, is not devoid of a certain rough honesty and force. It is this, tempered by a lawyer- like smartness, that secures to Mr. Lincoln, in spite of his arbitrar weakness, a certain popularity among a people who enjoy a joke even when it is practiced at the expense of themselves or the dearest 7 interests of their country. To the Saturday Review what was termed Lincoln’s lack of natural fluency in speaking and writing, seemed a not unmixed dis- advantage, since he was thereby seldom "tempted to commit himself to the vapouring professions of his Ministers and political supporters. He allowed Seward to bluster to foreign Governments but he never 1 P blustered himself." Lincoln’s writings, however, were not wholly without their admirers even in his lifetime, for Bright wrote to Motley that he had seen in Lincoln’s speeches, public papers, and addresses some- thing different and higher than anything that had ever before pro- ceeded from the tongue of president or potentate, a something which had endeared him to the great masses of the people in England , 5 " Smith’s comment upon the Gettysburg Speech is the forerunner of the universal admiration and praise later accorded this address by English writers. He admits that there are one or two phrases, such as "dedicated to the proposition," which betray a hand untrained 17 The Times, Sept. 17, 1863. 18 Saturday Review, April 29, 1865. 19 Curtis, Motley , II. 206. Bright to Motley, July 31, 1865. - ■ - 33 - in writing, and are proofs that the composition is Lincoln’s own. Yet he declares that it may be doubted whether any king in Europe would have expressed himself more royally, and utters these words in conclusion, ’’Even as to the form, we cannot help remarking that sim- plicity of structure and pregnancy of meaning are the true character- istics of the classical style." 20 We have seen how various expressions of ideas have contributed to our knowledge of contemporary opinion of certain phases of Lin- coln's character. In addition to these there are to be observed con- flicting statements bearing upon his character as a whole. Henry Adams tells us of his impression of the contempt in which Lincoln was held by some classes in England. He writes of the violent social prejudice with which British society had begun in their attitude to- ward Lincoln, Seward, and all Republicans except Sumner. Probably the coolness with which his father was treated was partly responsible for the somewhat bitter tinge to the remarks of Henry Adams, but there is no doubt a large element of truth in them. He declared that if Lincoln and. Seward had been the ruffians supposed, that the average Englishman would have liked them better. London, he said, had created a nightmare, and given it the name of Lincoln. Behind this nightmare it had placed another demon, if possible more devil- ish, and called it Seward. English society seemed demented in re- gard to these two men. Defence was useless; explanation was vain; the passion had to exhaust itself, "for the belief in poor Mr. Lin- 20 Smith in Macmillan, XI. 302. For the praise later accorded to the Gettysburg Speech and the second Inaugural see, Ludlow, President Lincoln Sel f -P ourtrayed , 209; Spectator, Feb. 13, 1909; and Atkins, Life of TTT . R. Russell, II. 5. 21 Adams, Education of Henry Adams , 122. 34 - coln's brutality and Seward's ferocity became a dogma of popular faith." Adams gave point to these remarks by referring to a con- versation of his father with Thackeray who denounced Lincoln and his hirelings as notoriously cruel. If the American ambassador had had in his pocket proofs that such charges were unjust, it would have done no good to have shown them, we arp told, for at that moment Thackeray and all London needed the nervous relief of exnressing emotion, for "if Lincoln was not what they said he was- -what were they?" 22 Indeed Lincoln was even accused of losing his honesty, the one virtue which most Englishmen had been willing to accord to him.^ 3 Perhaps as sharp a thrust as any is the quotation by The Times from the Chicago Post narrating an incident depicting Lincoln reading hostile comments of the press. Fhen he had finished reading them, he asked himself, "Abraham Lincoln, are you a man or a dog?" The correspondent, The Times informs its readers, did not state Lincoln fe conclusion, but left it as an open question, and the comment con- cludes with the thrust, "Possibly he may be waiting to see which side the Almighty is on." 2 ^ Keeping in mind these adverse statements upon the character of Lincoln, it is vastly illuminating to turn to a consideration of the outburst of popular sympathy which was occasioned by his death. 22 Adams, Education of Henry Adams , 130-131. See also ibid.” 136 . 23 The Times, Anril 17 and 30, 1864. 24 Ibid. , Jan. 8, 1863. CHAPTER III. THE EEEECT OF LINCOLN’S DEATH UPON ENGLISH OPINION. - 35 - When one considers the extent of abuse heaped upon Lincoln during his lifetime, it is nothing short of astounding to note the wave of reaction which spread over the country when the news of his assassination reached England. The expressions of grief and horror could scarcely have been more sincere and more universal in his own country. Charles Francis Adams reported that the excitement was deep and wide, spreading through all classes of society, and that his table was piled with cards, letters, and resolutions.' The intensity of feeling made a d eep impression upon many Englishmen. It was said that the crime which threw a deep gloom o over the triumph the North belonged to general history. Bright de- clared hat the murder of Lincoln had created a sensation greater than had been caused by any event for fifty years; that the whole people mourned, making it seem that England was one nation with the United States in its universal grief. ^ Even in The Times was re- corded the conviction that "no incident in the history of a foreign state could, have excited a more universal or a more genuine sensa- tion,” while the intention was expressed of putting on record and communicating to Americans a feeling which could, differ only in in- 4 tensity from that of the Americans themselves. Elsewhere is ex- pressed the belief that it had never before happened "that a common 1 Cycle of Adams Letters, ed. by f . C. Ford., II. 267. 2 Bernard, The Neutrality of Great Britain during the American Civil far, 477. 3 Trevelyan, Life of John Bright, 326. Bright to Sumner, Apr. 29,1865. 4 The Times , Apr. 29, 1865. -36- feeling did so completely unite governments and populations, official and unofficial bodies, hostile parties, and warring opinions in one spontaneous and irresistible expression of sympathy with a nation and of homage to a man. In Manchester, which had been one of the few centers of Eng- lish sympathy, there existed a degree of excitement never before witnessed there. The news put a stop to all business, and the day passed away in mere talk and excitement. In Birmingham also the news spread rapidly. The faces of the people who thronged to read the telegrams depicted an expression of deepest anxiety. The ab- horrence of the crime was said to be sufficient to assure the Ameri- can people that there was nothing but detestation at the murder of Lincoln, although the city had entertained a strong feeling of sym- pathy for the southerners, and never more so than in the last hours of the gigantic efforts of Lee and his valiant soldiers. The flags on the Town Hall and Stock Exchange at Liverpool were hoisted at half- mast, while a proposal to hold separate meetings of the Northern and. Southern men to express horror at the crime met with general ac- quiescence . ® In London itself the news was not believed at first, but the second editions of the papers wafted the knowledge far and wide. Be- tween one and two o'clock the third edition of The Times , with a circumstantial narrative of the affair, appeared and was in extra- ordinary demand. Newsvenders in the Royal Exchange sold it for one- half a crown a copy, and by three-thirty it could not be had there for any price. Evening papers sold in unexpected numbers often at 5 Tributes of the Nations, 485, quoting Dublin Evening Post, Anril 29, 1865 . 6 ihe Times , April 27, 1865. - 37 - 7 double and treble the ordinary price. From all parts of England came addresses of sympathy for Mrs. Lincoln and the peoole' of the United States. All expressed great horror at the crime, admiration and affection for Lincoln, pleasure in the triumph of negro emancipation, and sincere wishes for the future welfare of America. The communications of Charles Francis Adams are full of references to these addresses which he transmitted to the secretary of state. The enclosures in single communications in some cases were as many as a hundred. The mere process of filing and cataloguing them occupied the large part of the time of one of O the secretaries to Adams. 0 About five hundred British residents in America held a meet- ing to express sympathy for the United States and resoect for "the eminent private virtues and public character of the late President, as well as for the integrity with which he devoted himself to the promotion of the prosperity and welfare of the whole country, in n 9 whose service he has fallen an honored and ever -memorable victim. Many notable comments were made by individuals of prominence. Goldwin Smith, always friendly to Lincoln, described the assassina- tion as a blow struck b:f slavery, but a blow which would make him immortal and cause his name to live in the love of his nation and of mankind forever."^ John Stuart Mill in speaking of the crime of 7 The Times, April 27, 1865. 8 Many of these addresses have been gathered in the Government publi- cation , The Tributes of the Nations , 205-472. See also Diplomatic Correspondence, 39 Cong., 1 Sess., pt. I, 343, 364-5; ptT TIT', “137, 140, 155-160, 166, 181; pt. IV., 146-421. Davis, The Book of Lincoln, 185. 9 Lincoln Obsequies, 233-235. ID Mac millan , XII. 177, July 8, 1865. - 38 - striking down the great American citizen, "a noble example of quali- ties befitting the first magistrate of a free people," said that it was impossible to have wished him a better end than to have added the crown of martyrdom to his other honors.” 1 " 1 The man above all others who was moved deeply by the death of Lincoln was John Bright, who recorded in his Journal that when he heard of the shocking tragedy at Washington he felt stunned and ill. "I will nott write an eulogy of the. character of "President Lincoln," wrote Bright, "--there will be many to do that now he is dead. I have spoken of him when living In him I have observed a singu- lar resolution honestly to do his duty a great gentleness of temper and nobleness of soul, proved by the absence of irritation and menace under circumstances of the most desparate provocation, and a pity and mercifulness to his enemies which seemed drawn as from the very fount of Christian charity and love. His simplicity for a time did much to hide his greatness, but all good men everywhere will mourn him, and history will place him high among the best and noblest of men." 1 ^ In the latter part of July 1865, Bright noted that since Lincoln's death there had been a rapid change of opinion and feeling in England on all American questions. These are the words of the man who admired Lincoln during his lifetime, and foresaw the fame which would be his. The relationship between these two men was almost that of personal friendship. There 11 Krans, The Lincoln Tribute Book, 127. 12 Trevelyan, The Life of John Bright , 326. Other expressions of his grief are found, in Curtis, Motley , II. 206, Bright to Motley, July 31, 1865, and Pierce, Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner , IV. 240, Bright to Sumner, April 2^, 1865 . - - 39 - was a photograph of Bright in Lincoln s office, while on a portrait Lincoln gave Bright, the latter had written, M and if there he on earth and among men any right Divine to govern, surely it r^sts with the Ruler so chosen and so appointed."-*- 4 According to Lincoln’s desire, after his death, his gold-headed staff was given to Bright 1 3 in recognition of his friendship to Lincoln and the North. Not only did Lincoln’s death occasion expressions of popular sympathy, but the measures adopted by the Government were of a nature calculated to do much toward allaying the bitter feelings which had existed between the two countries. In both houses of Parliament motions were passed unanimously to ask the Queen to express their sorrow and indignation. 4 ® The Queen replied that she entirely parti- cipated in these sentiments, and had directed her minister at Wash- ington to make known to the government of America, the feelings en- tertained by her, by the members of Parliament, and the whole people 17 of England with regard to the deplorable event. In presenting his motion to the House of Lords Earl Russell spoke of the integrity and sincerity of Lincoln, as well as of his kindness which would have made him the person most fitted to alle- 13 Goldwin Smith noticed this during an interview with Lincoln, as recorded in Macmillan, XI. 300. 14 O’Brien, John Bright, a Monograph, 138. 15 Smith, The Life and Speeches of the Right Honorable John Bright, II. 115. 16 Earl Russell’s motion passed the House of Lords May 1, 1865 ; a similar motion was passed in the House of Commons on the same day. 3 Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, CLXXVIII. 1073-1074 and 1228 and 1247. 17 Ibid.., CLXXVIII. 1471. His words show he still had sympathy for IHe South. *• - 40 - viate the pain and animosities which had prevailed during the war. Lincoln was the type of man needed to temper the pride of victory and. to show respect for the valour on the opposite side. He deeply deplored that the death of Lincoln had deprived the United States of a man who was qualified to propose such measures as might have been acceptable to those opposed to the change in the status of the ne- groes, and who might have preserved the peace of the Republic during 18 the trying process of reorganization.'"" More than one of the speeches on this occasion contained the hope that whatever had been the differences of opinion on the merits of the two contending parties and on Lincoln’s qualities and inten- tions, that all such differences would disappear in the face of the tragedy, and that there would result a more friendly feeling between 1 Q England and America. The attitude of the governing body found its best expression in the words of Disraeli who said that the homely and innocent character of Lincoln carried the tragedy out of all the pomp of history and the ceremonial of d.iolomacy, for it touched the heart of nations and appealed to the domestic sentiment of mankind. Lincoln, he said, had fulfilled his duty with simplicity and strength in one of the severest trials which ever tested the moral qualities of man. The English people could never forget that he sprang from the same Fatherland, and spoke the same Mother tongue.^ 0 18 3 Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, CLXXVIII. 1219-1222. 19 Earl of Derby, ibid., 1224-1225; Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, 1227; Sir GeorgeVJrey, 1243-1244. 20 Ibid . , 1245-1246. For comment on these speeches and upon the change of attitude generally, see Herbert Paul, History of Modern England , II. 372. -41- Perhaps the moat striking example of the change from blame to praise is to be found in the portion of the press which had been on the whole very hostile to Lincoln. This is especially evident in The Times which was as generous in its praise as it had before been fluent in vituperation. In a finely written editorial was developed the theme of Lincoln’s gradual improvement from his entrance into office, handicapped with defective education, an obscure past, oner- ous duties, and faults in manner and taste, until by conservative progress he had felt his way gradually to his conclusions, his mind growing and his policies changing in the process until Englishmen had. learned to respect a man who showed the best characteristics of their race in his respect for what was good in the past, as well as a recognition of what was made necessar?/ by the passing of history. ^ It seemed as if the press all over England could not say enough in praise of this man whose work had been a bruptly interrupted just as his efforts seemed crowned with success. These eulogies contain certain general lines of thought which may be noted. A tendency of interest to Americans is the frequency with which Lin- coln was compared to Washington. It was evidently deemed the high- est honor that could be a ccorded to Lincoln to call him equal in greatness to the man who had played so lsrge a part in England’s loss of the American colonies, and in the establishment of a new govern- 21 The Times, April 27, 1865. Other favorable expressions are found in the issues of April 29 and May 1, 1865. The Re nfrewshire Independent , Paisley comments upon this reversal of former policy, April 29, 1865. This is found in the .tributes of the Nations, 549-550. - 42 - ment , Constantly recurring in these papers are expressions of regret that Lincoln should have met death before the difficult task of re- construction was accomplished. His mild, peace-loving nature, with its accompanying spirit of forgiveness and yet of sagacity was thought most suited to the completion of the work still unfulfilled. Many feared that the loss of Lincoln at this critical time was dis- astrous to the South. ^ Even the measures which had aroused so much unfavorable com- ment now were accorded wisdom. These papers attributed to Lincoln a keen discernment as a statesman, a high sense of responsibility, and entire forgetfulness of self. His election to office was de- clared a high tribute to the sagacity of the American people. ^ It is curious to note the frank admissions of previous lack of understanding, and regret for the general attitude of the Dress as displayed during the duration of the war. His sudden death, re- port these articles, had aroused all to the realization of his good 22 London Quarterly Review , July 1866. Herald and ^est Coast Advertiser , Apr. 29, 1865. 472. Gateshead Observer , Apr. 29, 1865, 493. London Morning Star , Apr. 27, 1865, 508. Dublin Express , Apr. 29, 1865, 486. Dublin Ref orme~r , Apr. 29, 1865, 489. Carlisle Examiner , Apr. 29, 1865, 481. The numbers following the dates indicate page in Tribute of the Nations. 23 London Mor ning Post , Apr. 27, 1865, 49^-499 . Glasgow*" ~Herald , May 1, 1865, 495. Bradford Review, Apr. 29, 1865, 478. Liverpool Daily Post , Apr. 27, 1865, 541. Leeds Mercury , Apr. 27, 1865, 544 and 548. The above are all in Tributes of the Nations. London Quarterly R e v i e w , "OCVI . 31 4 , July 1866. 24 The Time s , Apr. 29, 1865, Saturday Review , Apr. 29, 1865, London Quarterly Review , 7X71. 290-291, and Macmillan, XII. 177. In Tributes of the Nations , Dublin Freeman's Journal , 484, Edin- burgh Caledonian Mercury, 491, Spectator. 531, and Renfrewshire Indepe n den t - ; - - PalS ' ley, t?ou . — - 43 - qualities and had not only wiped out the former belief in his ”imbe- cility”, but had silenced the faction opnosed to him and the cause of 25 ’ the N 0 rth. '' A contributor to The Times declared that the lesson for Englishmen to learn from the history of a character like Lincoln, was in the future to abstain from hasty judgments of untried men.^ Not only did these journalists give voice to regrets for former failure to appreciate Lincoln, but in many instances they prophecy an ever 97 increasing fame. - '' The change in attitude at Lincoln’s death is characterized by many expressions in poetical form. While some of these are mediocre, and others highly oratorical, they are nevertheless sincere attempts to pay tribute to Lincoln. One significant of the realization of the new feeling is that of John Nichol, who, after praising Lincoln re- cords , ’’Too late the pioneers of modern spite, Awe-stricken by the universal gloom. See his name lustrous in Death’s sable might, And offer tardy tribute at his tomb. 25 Tribute of the Nations Liverpool Daily Dost , Apr. 27, 1865, 541. Renfrewshire Independent . Paisley, Apr. 29, 1865, 549. London Daily Telegraph , Apr. 27, 1865, 522. London Spectator , Apr. 29, 1865, 530 and 533. London Evening Star , May 2, 1865, 519. London Daily News , Apr. 27, 1865, 503. London Evening Standard , Apr. 27, 1865, 499. Dublin Express, Apr. 29, 1865, 486. 26 ” Historicus to The Times, May 2, 1865. 27 1 Examples of this are London Evening Star , May 2, 1865. Tribute of the Nations , 519. Belfast tllster Observer , Apr. 27, 1565, ibid., 474. Macmillan^ XIT ". ”1 7 5 - 1 7 6 for Goldwin SmitE s" statement and 192 for that of Edward Dicey. V. ' -44- "But we who have b^en with him all the while. Who knew his worth and loved him long age. Rejoice that in the circuit of our isle There is no room at last for Lincoln’s foe." ° "Sic Semper Tyrannis", the short poem of Robert Leighton, of Liverpool is among the more worthy English poems on Lincoln. "'Sic semper tyrannis I' the assassin cried, As Lincoln fell. 0 villain! who than he More lived to set both slave and tyrant free? Or so enrapt with plans of freedom died. That even thy treacherous deed shall glance aside, And do the dead man’s will by land and sea Win bloodless battles, and make that to be Which to his living mandate was denied ! Peace to that gentle heart ! The peace .he sought For all mankind, nor for it dies in vain. Rest to the uncrowned king, who, toiling, brought His bleeding country through that dreadful reign, Who, living, earned a world's revering thought^ And, dying, leaves his name without a stain. The most noted poem which appeared at that time is the famous recantation of Punch . In regard, to these verses George Somes Layard in his book on Shirley Brooks of Punch writes, "It was a great op- portunity for Punch to show of what mettle he was made, and he seized it. After all he was an honourable hunchback, and did not subscribe to that astounding dictum of Emerson's that 'no sensible person ever made an apology.' The thing must be handsomely done or not done at all, and certainly his recantation was the amplest imaginable Retraction and self-abasement could surely not have been more com- plete. The words in which, the recantation was made no doubt were rough and rugged, but they were instinct with generous shame and honest repentance. A great wrong had been done. A complete re- 28 Krans, The Lincoln Tribute Book, 134. 29 Leighton. Liverpool May 5, 1865. Quoted in Davis, The Book of Lincoln , 186. For other poems see Oldroyd, The Poets* Lincoln , 153 and 200-201. Davis, The Book of Lincoln , 1&4. Blair, One Hundredth Anniversary of Lincoln, 33-34. - 45 - cantation must "be made.... it was almost worth, while to have been wrong to have the opportunity of making so honourable an amend.... The sincerity, manliness, sympathy, and above all, the humility of the verses spoke straight to the heart of a great nation and soothed a wound which should never have been opened and which constant teasing had kept cruelly at the raw. Since that time Punch has, whilst reserving to himself the right of laughing at our cousins’ foibles as at our own, steadily used his great influence for concili- ation and kindly feeling, and has been instant in removing those mis- nations understandings which never should be allowed to exist betweery'so nearly related by blood, and united at their best by a common noble ideal.” 30 The entire poem should be quoted to give an adequate idea of its full force, but a few extracts will serve to indicate the spirit of this significant expression of the effect of Lincoln’s assassina- tion upon opinion in England. ”You lay a wreath on murdered Lincoln’s bier, You, who with mocking pencil wont to trace Broad for the self-complacent British sneer His length of shambling limb, his furrowed face. ’’You, whose smart pen backed up the pencil's laugh. Judging each step as is the way were plain. Feckless, so it could point its paragraph Of chief’s perplexity, of people’s pain. 30 Layard, A Great Punch Editer , 239-248. This includes a discussion of the authorship of the verses, and gives conflicting opinions of the staff as to whether these verses should have appeared. , . ■ .. rj - 46 - "Beside the corpse that bears the winding sheet The stars and stripes he lived to rear anew. Between the mourners at his head and feet Say, scurrile jester, is there room for you? "Yes, he had lived to shame me from my sneer. To lame my pencil, and confute my pen-- To make me own this kind of princes peer. This rail-splitter, a true born king of men. "The words of mercy were upon his lips. Forgiveness in his heart and on his pen, When this vile murderer brought swift eclipse To thoughts of peace on earth, good-will to men. "The old world and the new, from, sea to sea, Utter one voice of sympathy and shame-- Sore heart, so stopped when it at last beat high; Sad life, cut short just as its triumph came ! "Vile hand, that brandest murder on a strife, Fhate’er its grounds, stoutly and nobly striven; And with the martyr’s crown crownest a life Fith much to praise, little to be forgiven. 31 Punch , May 6 , 1865. - 47 - CHAPTER IV. MODERN HISTORICAL AND LITERARY TREATMENT OF LINCOLN. From the time of Lincoln’s death to the present there has been a constant growth in sympathetic treatment of Lincoln by English writers in the fields of history and literature. As a forerunner of the more recent works on Lincoln, it is significant that the Univer- sity of Cambridge in 1866 set him as the subject for the prize Latin oration, proving that he had already taken rank as a popular hero. The oration by the student, now Sir John Sandy s , was highly sympathe- tic with Lincoln.'" Similarly, Lincoln's biography by Charles G. Leland, although the author was not an Englishman, was written in 1879 for a firm of publishers in England who were interested esneci- ally in popular literature, and formed one of a series of biographies including among other great figures, Alexander, Hannibal, and Charle- p magne . In the works of modern English historians are to be found words of praise of Lincoln. One of these writers is Herbert Paul, whose History of Modern England is declared by Lord Charnwood to be n. by far the most important work on the period covered. A few of his comments will suffice to show his friendly treatment of Lincoln. He tells us that Lincoln’ s farewell speech to friends and neighbors in Springfield before his journey to Washington, may be set beside the simplest and choicest passages in the oratory of John Bright: Lin- coln's rich and racy humor has never been surpassed even in his own 1 Appendix, 65 2 Ibid., 66-67. 3 Ibid. , 67-68. ' ■ ' . ' -48- country; his temper in prosperity was magnanimous, he possessed calm fortitude in adversity, patience with folly and error, and. long- sighted wisdom; with the doubtful exception of Washington he was the greatest of all Americans, and while Washington was substantially a Eritish Aristocrat, Lincoln was racy of the soil. 4 J. B. Atkins in his biography of William H. Russell expresses some of his own views regarding Lincoln. In speaking of the earlier criticism, he writes, "And all the time there was the character of Lincoln, --nobly shrewd, tolerant, serene, and resolved--open to be studied and vindicated by those who had eyes to see. The failure of so many Englishmen to do either him or themselves justice at that time is a distressing example of political short-sightedness." 0 Atkins mentions the reproach that Lincoln at the beginning of the war did not make a clear statement against slavery, and replies that there was good reason to think that if he had done so he would, have lost the assistance of the border states. Moreover, no matter how much he hated slavery, he was willing to grant to the Southern States such rights as he judged to be legitimate. In the estimation of Atkins there has never been another ruler who had so little hate in his heart for the enemies he opposed with such vigour. 0 Higher praise could not be granted any statesman than is ac- corded to Lincoln by Spencer Walpole, who stated that perhaps of all men born to the Anglo-Saxon race in the nineteenth century, Lincoln deserved the highest place in history. When one considers the names of Tennyson, Gladstone, and Darwin, and others of great influence in 4 Paul, History of Modern England , II. 299-300. See also 336. 5 Atkins, The Life of Sir William Howard Russell, II. 5. 6 Ibid. , II. 5. - 49 - their various fields of activities, Walpoles praises assume a vast significance. "No man," he said, "ever displayed more moderation in counsel or more resolution in administration, or held a calmer or steadier course through the channel of difficulty and danger In his public utterances he rose to a force of argument, and, as in his Gettysburg speech, to a dignity of language, which few of the great speakers on either side of the Atlantic have equalled and perhaps none have surpassed." To him it seemed that Lincoln was fortunate in his death, since, as he had seen the virtual conclusion of the war, he was stuck down in the hour of victory, rather than, like most 7 men, surviving his reputation for greatness. From an historical, and in a sense also a literary point of vie?/, the outstanding modern Fnglish treatment of Lincoln is the biography by Lord Charnwood. American critics agree in favorable comment upon the book which they pronounce to be the most complete interpretation of Lincoln yet produced, artistic in form, obviousl?/ sympathetic , but not blindly eulogistic. Lord Charnwood is said to have conscientiously stressed Lincoln’s faults to avoid any tendency towards hero worship. The book is not intended as "milk for babes," but for the intelligent whether they are informed or not, but not for O the informed unless they are intelligent. An example of English re- action to the book is found in the words of Drinkwater, who thinks it a "masterly analysis of Lincoln’s career and character" and " a model of what the historian’s work should, be." 0 Lord Charnwood himself ex- 7 Holland’s edition of Walpole’s Essays Political and Biograohical , 291-292. 5 Carl Russell Fish in American Historical Revie?/ , XXII. 413-415. Other reviews are: F . k . Colby in Hew Republic, IX. 101-102, Nov. 25, 1916; Nation. CIV. 20-21. Jan. 4, W17T " and D. Howells in Harper’s Mag a z i n e y 1 "u j g Xv 1 1 1 . 134-136, Dec? 1915. 1 3 Editorial note to Drinkwater s Abraham Lincoln, Charnwood s bio- graphy is the chief source for this play. 8 -50- perienced astonishment, when his book appeared, at the number of his acquaintances, who, he discovered, had long cherished an enthusiam for Lincoln and had made themselves familiar with him through Nicolay and Hay . ^ A few examples will serve to illustrate Charnwood' s recogni- tion of defects in spite of his great admiration for Lincoln. He admits that Lincoln was inexperienced in military affairs, and while he attempted to understand them and to get a clear view of the pro- blem as a whole, he was not a strategist. "He could pick out main objects, but a s to how to economize effort, what force and how com- posed and equipped was necessary for a particular enterprise, whether in given conditions of roads, weather, supplies, and how long it would take, any clever subaltern with actual experience of campaigning ought to have been a better judge than he."^ Whether Charnwood’s judgment is correct need not be considered here, but these words show that Charnwood made an effort to recognize limitations in Lin- coln. It seemed to Charnwood also that Lincoln's judgment of men was not always sound. His own sure grasp of the largest things in life gave him a rare knowledge of the mind of people in the mass, and he sometimes developed great insight in regard to men whom, he had known long or who had been involved with him in important trans- actions. On the other hand he had no gift of rapid perception and no instinctive tact or prudence in regard to the numerous men with whom he had slight dealings. This lack, said Charnwood, is common in men who have risen from poverty, for, if they had not become hard 10 Appendix, 67. 11 Charnwood, Abraham Lincoln, 272-277, quotation is on p. 277. • J If .! . - 51 - and suspicious, they were not alive to certain minor indications by which men of education recognize the imposter. They are also in- dulgent to little meannesses in others which they themselves would 12 be incapable of performing. These illustrations only tend to show that the book is in- tended to be a fair portrayal of Lincoln. The appreciation apparent throughout the book is the more valuable because of this willingness to concede that Lincoln’s character was not oerfect, but human. Particular appreciation is shown for Lincoln’s literary merits. He describes some of the passages in the Lincoln-Douglas debates as arresting for their simple beauty, and of their kind ”a classic and probably unsurpassed achievement.” The speech at Gettysburg and the second Inaugural Address are mentioned as the chief oustanding ex- amples of his oratorical power which was individual and perhaps more like that of a great speaker in drama than of most great speakers in history. ' Lincoln’s greatest claim to distinction as a great man, was his association with popular government and his belief in the possible dignity of common men and common things. Another noteworthy illustration of the admiration expressed for Lincoln in modern English writings is Drinkwater’s little book, Lincoln, The World Emancipator. To this author Lincoln represents the spiritual liberator of mankind, for "among all men in the modern history of the world there is none who has so persuasively that magnetic union of mastery and sympathy that fills our minds when we 12 Charnwood, Abraham Lincoln, 163. For other examples see po. 9, 103, 153, and 233. “ 13 Ibid., 435-436. 14 Ibid., 452-453. 1 ' « - 52 - 1 R think of the spiritual liberator, " The main theme in this book might be designated as the moder- ating influence of Lincoln in the feeling between England, and the United States. Drinkwater grants that in the years 1851 to 1865 there was a body of opinion in England antagonistic, "and very stupidly so," to Lincoln, including a majority in governmental authority. Yet he maintains, and rightly, that it is equally true that a large and very populous part of England supported the Union. "There are still living men," Drinkwater tells us, "who remember the almost starving crowds of cotton operatives kneeling down in the great town-square at Manchester when the first cotton bale was brought, in after the war, and it was an act, not merely of thanksgiving for returning livelihood, but of grave assurance that the right, for which they had suffered three thousand miles away, had won. .... ^e in England today who look to Lincoln as the exemplar of a crusade in which we so profoundly believe, are not without an ancestry who would bless our judgment . "- LD In Drinkwater’ s opinion Lincoln is the reconciler between England and America, and is tjrpical of the best 17 qualities of the two nations. Cherishing this spirit toward Lincoln, Drinkwater has in his drama given to the world an excellent literary treatment of Lincoln, and one which has had a great appeal to the hearts of Englishmen and Americans alike. The reception accorded the play in England is as significant of the admiration felt for Lincoln as is the text of the 15 16 17* Drinkwater, Lincoln, The Uorld Emancipator , 1. Ibid., 37-38. Ibid. , 83-84, "■ - 53 - play itself. Arnold Bennett, in his introductory notes, describes briefly the history of the presentation of the play, and suggests what appear to him to be the reasons for its great success. It was originally produced by the Birmingham Repertory Theater, and had great success there. The rumor of this success reached London, but theater managers there ignored it. T! ' r hen Nigel Playfair and Arnold Bennett started the Hammersmith Playhouse for presentation of the best plays, they inquired about the Lincoln drama, and decided to produce it. The first appearance was a tremendous success, both for author and for William J. Rea, the Irish actor who played the role of Lincoln. Bennett's reason warned him that the play should not succeed for it had no love interest, and was a political play with a theme of a sort never before imposed upon a London public; his in- stinctive feeling, however, that it was bound to succeed, proved to be correct. "Nobody," worte Bennett in April 1919, "can dine out in London today and admit without a blush that he has not seen Abraham Lincoln . Monarchs and princes have seen it. Archbishops have seen it." 18 Bennett ascribes the success of the play to the following causes; the author, with a deep practical knowledge of the stage, disdained all stage tricks; he had not only selected for his hero one of the world's finest and greatest characters, but he handled his gigantic theme with simplicity; he had the courage of his artistic and moral convictions; and, finally, a great contributing factor was the emotional power with which Rea played the role of Lincoln. Bennett's attempt to analyze the reaction of the audience is interesting. "At the end of the first scene the audience, vaguely 18 See also Lincoln Holding the London Theater Forld in Literary Digest , July 28, 1919. - 54 - feeling the spell, wonders what on earth the nature of the spell is. At the end of the play it is perhaps still wondering what precisely the nature of the spell is But it fully and rapturously admits the reality of the spell. Indeed after the fall of the curtain, and after the many falls of the curtain, the spell persists, the audience cannot somehow leave its seats, and the thought of the worry of the journey home and of last busses and trains is banished. Strange phenomenon! It occurs ever?/ night. Assuredly no one can read the play without being alive to its spell, for Drinkwater has caught the spirit of Lincoln’s personality which is felt by everyone today, but which rarely finds as adequate an expression. The play skillfully blends historical incidents and familar sayings of Lincoln, not neglecting to recognize the opposi- tion with which he was forced to contend. A fine appreciation of the mercy of Lincoln and of his real abhorrence for the war which he felt was essential to the preservation of the Union, is shown in the passage giving Lincoln's answer to a woman who advocated harsh treat- ment of the South, "I accepted this war with a sick heart, and I’ve a heart that’s near to breaking every day. I accepted it in the name of humanity and just merciful dealing, and the hope of love and charity on earth. And you come to me, talking of revenge and 20 destruction, and malice and enduring hate.”"' The words spoken by the chronicler at the close of the play fittingly portray the impression of Lincoln's greatness existing 19 20 Bennett in Introduction to Drinkwater, Abraham Lincoln Drinkwater 's Abraham Lincoln , , Scene III. IX-XII. ' : ■ I ■ - 55 - throughout this literary interpretation of the character of Lincoln, "But, as we spoke, presiding everywhere Upon event was one man’s character And that endure; it is the token sent ? Always to man for man's own government." 21 Drinkwater, Abraham Lincoln , closing words of the play. - 56 - CHAPTER V. THE INFLUENCE OF LINCOLN IN ENGLAND TODAY. In the preceding chapter we have seen how modern English writ- ers have taken a position of admiration and praise of Lincoln. In the present chapter an attempt will be made to show the growth of the influence of Lincoln in the minds and lives of the English people. His present fame could scarcely present a more marked contrast to the prophecy made by an English journalist in 1863, ’’Happy will it be for him if at the end of his troubled career, health, a good appetite, and the power to indulge in his little jokes be still left to him; happy also, if he do not expect the gratitude which he will never ob- tain, or any other place in his country’s history but that reserved for all weak men of good intentions who do mischief without meaning it, and ruin the country which it was their ambition to save."^ The total unfulfillment of this forecasting of Lincoln's obli- vion is shown in Drinkwater's words, "Already half a century after his death, the mind of man perceives in this single-hearted champion of a moral idea a figure to whom all sorrows and ambitions may be brought, a touchstone by which every ideal of conduct may be tried, a p witness for the encouragement of the forlornest hope." Fe have seen the beginning of the process by which Lincoln has reached his present fame in the outburst of sympathy at rraise at the time of his death. This attitude was not lost after the first shock of his assassination had passed away. The change was permanent and ever increasing. Lord Charnwood, born in 1864, tells us that he cannot remember the time 1 The Times, June 13, 1863. (New York correspondent). 2 Drinkwater, Lincoln, the World Emancipator , 4. -57- when Lincoln* s name, as a great man and as the emancipator of the slaves in America, was not familiar to him. To illustrate this he tells of an incident in his boyhood when he was staying at an English country house, and was asked to name his three chief heroes in history. At his reply, **Sir Walter Raleigh, Oliver Cromwell, and Abraham Lincoln," the older people present differed about his choice of Cromwell, but Raleigh and Lincoln seemed to them natural choices for an English boy to make. From Lincoln's assassination down to the present day there are many instances of esteem. An example is the favorable notice given to Lincoln's biography by Nicolay and Hay in the isso.es of the Spectator in April and Hay, 1891. These notices contain nothing but praise of Lincoln, and give especially favorable comment upon his 4 speeches and writings. A noteworthy instance of Lincoln's increasing influence is the reception given to the address of Joseph H. Choate before the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, November 13, 1900. Choate de- clares that the English people were eager to learn about a man whose 5 record seemed to them little short of miraculous. His address was given high oraise by The Times as a glowing tribute to one of the most remarkable representatives of the typical American character that is recorded in history. The American ambassador, said The Times saying of did not use exaggerated language in/the object of his eulogy," when he died by the assassin's hand, in the supreme hour of victory, the 3 Appendix, 66. 4 The Spectator, LXVI. 563, April 25, 1891. LXVI . 628-629 .May 2. 1891. 5 ' Choate, Abraham Lincoln and Other Addresses in England, p reface, VI. ; M ; 58 - vanquished lost their best friend and the human race one of its noblest examples.”^ The centenar?/ - of Lincoln’s birth was made the occasion of comments upon the place he held in English opinion. The House of Commons applauded the reading of a despatch from the British govern- ment tendering its sympathy with this celebration. The two addresses delivered by Lord Bryce at Springfield, Illinois, are notable ex- pressions of sympathy. Mentioning the names of famous Englishmen born that year, Tennyson, Gladstone, and Darwin, Lord Bryce said that while Lincoln had quit this world long before them, he had left a record to which a long life could scarcely add more luster. Lin- coln will endure, he added, in memory as one who saved the American Republic by his wisdom, constancy, and faith in the people and in 7 freedom. An interesting tendency often manifested, is the comparison of Lincoln with other men of high rank, and especially with great Eng- lish statesmen. As early as 1865 Goldwin Smith wrote that no popu- lar chief had played so great a part since Cromwell,® while recently Drinkwater wrote that Lincoln and Cromwell both rose from comparative obscurity to the direction of a troubled people.® Another example is 6 The Times, Nov. 14, 1900. For comment on this address and one by Whitelaw Reed on the same topic, see Living Age , March 4, 1911, 572. This article points out the sure appeal of Lincoln to the minds and hearts of Englishmen. 7 Lincoln Centennial Addresses, 29-35, 83-87. Lh e one entitled Char- acter and Career '"of "Abraham Lincoln is also in Bryce’s University and Historical Addresses. 8 Macmillan, XII. 176. 9 Drinkwater, Lincoln, The ^orld Emancipator, 80. - 59 - Hugh Sadler's comparison of Lincoln and Disraeli. While these two men grew up in widely differing environments, and possessed the greatest disparity of temperament, both rose to the highest place in their respective countries, and each, surmounting the greatest obstacles, became a trusted leader of a nation. During the Great War English writers thought that they saw elements of similarity in the ideals of Lincoln and President Wilson. F. W. Wile at the Lincoln celebration in London in 1918 said that there was another Lincoln in the White House, "a man as averse from war as Lincoln was, and who faced its immeasurable trials and sacri- fices unflinchingly and unafraid.." 11 In a brief poem R. W. Macon helftl that the spirit of Lincoln was not dead, for "Wilson's are Lincoln's words to living men." 10 One of the ways in which Lincoln's influence has been mani- fested was in the comments elicited by the presentation of Lincoln statues by Americans to the people of England. The controversy re- garding the relative merits of the Barnard and St. Gaudens tatues, and the ultimate decision to send both to England, do not concern us here, but some of the words uttered at that time are significant of the feeling toward Lincoln. For example, "the country will warmly welcome a representation worthy of this illustrious American states- 10 Hugh Sadler, Contrasts- -Ben;] amin Disraeli and Abraham Lincoln. Liv- ing Age. March 18, 1916, 754-759. 11 The Times, Feb. 13, 1918. 12 Ibid., Apr. 7, 1917. 13 ™ The course of this controversy may be followed in the columns of The Times . The references are too numerous to mention here, but may easily be found in the index of The Times , and cover the per- iod 1914 to 1920 when the final unveiling of the statues occurred. - 60 - man in the capitol of the Empire" 14 and "By all means let us have our memorial of Lincoln, whos size and achievement were never so fully recognized in England as today." The importance ascribed to the erection of these statues is also shown in the elaborate plans for *i r* the unveiling ceremonies. The addresses, editorials, and articles which appeared at thfe time bespeak an understanding of Lincoln not to be surpassed by his most fervent followers in this country. All of the words express not only a deep admiration for Lincoln, but an almost anxious hope for 17 ever increasing friendly relations between the two countries. During the Great War Lincoln's name was often spoken in Eng- land in other connections as well as in the interest displayed in the 18 statues. ' An early indication of this is found in the publication of a card entitled, "Lincoln's Mar Motto," giving the closing words 1 Q of the Second Inaugural. ' Various meetings held, on Lincoln's birth- 14 Sir A. Mond, House of Commons, Oct. 18, 1917, quoted in The Times, Oct. 19, 1917. 15 The Times, Sept. 24, 1917. 16 The ceremony at Man Chester is described in The Times , May 6, 1919, while that at Westminster is found in the issues July 10 and 29, 1920, the former giving the plans for, and the latter the report of the ceremony. 17 Good examples are: Editorial in The Time s , July 29, 1920. The speech of the Duke of Cornaught reported in the above issue An article by Lord Charnwood in T'he Times , July 28, 1920. In relation, to this subject it is interesting to know that The Times , Feb. 24, 1921, reproduced a cut of the Lincoln Memorial soon to be dedicated at Washington. 18 See Appendix, 67. 19 Notice of this appeared in The Times , Aug. 20, 1914, -61- day or at the anniversary of his death, in 1915, 1917, 1918, and 1919 show how earnest were his admirers in England.^ 0 The speeches made refer to Lincoln's inspiration in the war then in progress, and urge the leaders and people to emulate his patience and fortitude. Illustrative of the use of Lincoln's name to further the in- terest of Anglo-American friendship is the message of February 12, 1917, sent by Lloyd George at the request of Charles H. Grasty of the Hew York Tribune . In this message he expressed his admiration of Lincoln's statesmanship, declaring his belief that the battle then being fought was in reality the same battle which Americans had 21 fought under Lincoln's leadership. Lincoln was frequently quoted as an example for Englishmen to follow. This is especially true of the endeavor to overcome the opposition to the proposed measures of conscription. Citing Lincolrfs use of the draft as a precedent, Englishmen made appeals to their countrymen to use every means to fight their cause with the same re- 22 solution and the same success as Lincoln had fought his.~ Lincoln's proclamation of April 19, 1861 establishing a block- ade of the Southern ports was said to lend interest to the free dis- cussion of the press of the United States of Great Britain's pro- clamation of a blockade of Germany, and the suggestion was made that 20 Accounts of such meetings appear in The Times, Apr. 16, 1915, Feb. 13, 1917, Fev. 13, 1918, and Feb. 13, 1919. 21 The Times , Feb. 12, 1917. For a similar idea see the quotation from nloyd George on the cover of the Independent, Feb. 26, 1917. 22 The Times, Apr. 16, 1915 (editorial). Article entitled The Ameri- can Precedent , ibid . . Dec. 30, 1915. Bonar Law in House of Commons, quoted in The Times, Apr. 11, 1918. -62- the British government might follow his firmness of attitude as a valuable precedent. Englishmen today are almost unanimous in claiming that Lincoln is not only a great American, but one of the noblest men of the Eng- lish race. This attitude was foretold by James Pussell Lowell in 1864 in a letter to Motley, in which he was discussing the relations between England and America. Lowell wrote, "It won’t be long before 24 Victoria addresses Abraham as consanguineus noster . Choate’s statement that the English people were proud to claim Lincoln as one of the greatest treasures of the English speaking p c race finds ample justification. The English journalist who com- mented upon Choate’s address declared that in Lincoln were drawn to- gether all the best characters of Anglo -Saxondom, and that he had given absolute practicality to the virtues which had emerged through 26 centuries as most praiseworthy in those who used the English tongue. The Spectator at the centenary of Lincoln’s birth declared him to be already established as one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon heroes. Moreover, he was a typical one, because he possessed the qualities of simplicity, calmness, justice, humor, and courage which appeal to the English speaking race. His name called forth the big- gest cheers of any American mentioned in England.^ 7 23 The Times, Jan. 21, 1916. 24 Curtis, Motley, II. 197. Lowell to Motley, Dec. 28, 1864. 25 Choate, Abraham Lincoln and Other Addresses in England, Preface, VI. 26 Spectator, on Abraham Lincoln, Living Age, March 4, 1911, 572. 27“ Ibid . , Feb. 13, 1909. Also Atkins, The Life of Sir William Howard Hus sell, II. 5 for similar words. - 63 - It is almost amusing to note the attempts to trace Lincoln’s ancestry far back into English sources. Falter Aye thinks he had succeeded in tracing the name ’’Abraham Lincoln" to an English ancestor born about 1685.^ Drinkwater happily expresses the bond between America and England in Lincoln in the words, "In salient qualities an Englishman finds his own best potentiality expressed as surely and fully in Lincoln as if though this man had spent his life in an English en- vironment The best thought in ever r land is becoming more and more aware of Lincoln's greatness, but it is with no jealous sense of proprietorship that we know that the last essence of that great- ness must remain always in clearer revelation to us--I embody my hopes by speaking already of America and England as us- -than to the QQ rest of the world." Bryce tells us that Lincoln was of both American and English- stock, and grew up under the influence of tradition common to the English race. In introducing the American ambassador, Elihu Root, at the ceremony of the unveiling of the St. G-audens statue in England, Bryce said, "Thus thinking of him as belonging to both branches of the old stock, we wish to commemorate him here among the great ones of England To us he stands as a model of that uprightness and loyalty and truth, that steadfastness and courage, which men of British stock had so often displayed in war and peace. He is ours, Mr. Root, almost as much as he is yours (cheers) -- a pledge of 28 Walter Aye, Abraham Lincoln, His Ancestry and Name in the Literary Supolement to The Times, Lee . 57 1918. 29 ' * Drinkwater, Lincoln, the World Emancipator , 43-48. For Charnwood's statement that Lincoln ranks as the greatest of our race, see his Abraham Lincoln, 451. 64 - 30 brotherhood and of friendship. ” At the same ceremony Lloyd George gave excellent expression to Lincoln’s position as a -world figure. The words of this statesman may fittingly stand as the final embodiment of English opinion of Lincoln today. After declaring that Lincoln’s mere features were probably more widely known than those of any other statesman of the world, he said, ’’I doubt whether any statesman who ever lived sank so deeply into the hearts of the people of many lands as Abraham Lincoln did. I am not sure that you Americans realize the extent to which he is also our possession and. our pride. His courage, fortitude patience, humanity, clemency, his trust in the people, his belief in democracy, and, may I add, some of the phrases in which he gave ex- pression to those attributes, will stand forever as beacons to guide troubled nations and their perplexed leaders. Resolute inwar, he was moderate in victory. Misrepresented, misunderstood, under-estimated, he was patient to the last. But the people believed in him all the time, and they still believe in him. In life he 77 as a great Ameri- can. He is an American no longer. He is one of those giant figures, of whom there are very fev7 in history, who lose their nationality in death. 30 The Times, July 29, 1920. 31 Ibid. , July 29, 1920. 65 - APPENDIX LETTER 0^ LORD CHARNWOOD 108 Eaton Square, S. W. 15 Nov. 1921 My dear Miss Williams, I am sorry that, having been very busy, I reply somewhat late to your letter. You will I fear find it difficult to discover de- finite sources. Probably you know the verses in which our Punch after his death offered amends for its previous caricatures of him. I have seen the said caricatures bitterly complained of by an Ameri- can writer, but they do not seem to me ill-natured, and they are not a bit more disrespectful than Punch * s caricature of thoroughly re- spected statesmen here at the time. The verses are good. They of course are significant of a wide spread feeling. But there is little else to refer you to because the English books dealing with American politics or recent American history have all along been few, as have been the American books of a corresponding sort dealing with England, and prevailing opinion on such subjects has to be found so to speak in the air. Very significant of feeling here after Lincoln' s death is the fact that the University of Cambridge in 1866 set him as the subject for the prize Latin Oration, ^his proves that he had already taken rank as a popular hero. The prize oration was by a student who is now Sir John Sandys and has been "Public Orator" at Cambridge and is a considerable scholar. It dwelt upon just those pathetic and moving circumstances of his humble origin and tragic death and those obvious • ly enduring features of his character, his clemency and pitifulness, which a young fellow of his age would have been able to tumble to. If I remember (for I have read it) there is rather a fine passage - 66 - about his entry into Richmond after it had fallen. I fear I cannot procure it for you. Of his statesmanship I do not suppose that any general esti- mate at all was found at first. The misunderstanding of the causes and issues of the Civil War, among the leading political and literary people in London though not equally so in the bulk of the nation, was complete and profound. They knew no more about it than the people among you who expected an Anglo -Japanese alliance against you lately, knew about England. So it was as personally a noble and lovable man, and as having borne the burden of the war bravely and patiently, that he became well known here; probably without at first any widespread opinion one way or the other as to the Y/isdom of his statesmanship. Anyhow, I, who was born 1864, cannot remember the time when his name, as a great man and as the emancipator of the slaves in America, was not familiar to me. I recall, as illustra- ting this, that when I was about 16 or 17 I v/as staying at a more or less typical English country house, and was asked by an elderly gentleman there wh o were my three chief heroes in history, and answered, "Sir ^alter Raleigh, Oliver Cromwell, and. Abraham Lincoln." The two or three older people before whom T was subjected to this testing question, naturally rather differed about my choice of Oli- ver Cromwell, but I can distinctly remember that Raleigh (about whom I now have my doubts) and Lincoln evidently seemed to them natural choices for an English boy to have made. This is a very trivial in- cident but it is enough to bear out my general impression that by that time Lincoln's name was currently accepted here as that of one of the great historical heroes. I find that Chsrles G. Leland's little Life of him was written for a firm of publishers here who went in specially for popular literature, in 1879, and formed one of - 67 - a series of such, biographies, 13 I think in all, which included such great figures as Alexander, Hannibal, and Charlemagne. Lincoln’s name was thus widely held in honour, not the less for the fact I cannot point to any marked trace of this in books of the time which have a permanent value and which you would be able to find easily, a fact which of course could be found to apply equally to most illustrious figures. Similarly, though no English person of my age can forget that Garibaldi was a household word in our very early years and has continued so, there has been no important book about him in England till very recent years. When the war broke out in 1914 it was remarkable how Lincoln began to be quoted and appealed to as an e xample and authority in the English press ,- -particularly in the Spectator and The Times . And when my own book appeared I was astonished at the number of my own acquaintances who, I discovered, had long cherished an enthusiasm for Lincoln and had made themselves familiar with him through Uicolay and Hay. The present Prime Minister, Mr. Lloyd George, is among those who have several times told me of their life-long devotion to Lincoln. He constantly refers to Lincoln’s life. I am sorry that I can give you little but this testimony of an individual observer. I find hO¥ievcr one authority to which you might well refer. Herbert Paul’s History of Modern England (published by Macmillan); Vol. II, pages 298-300, and 372. Mr. Paul, though now in ill health, was for many years one of our leading journalists, a man of letters with a great knowledge of political life, and his book is by far the most important book on the period of E n gii s h history which it covers, so that your University Library ought to possess it and - 68 - probably does so. spread opinion. His estimate of Lincoln is typical of very wide- wish I could help you better. Very truly, Charnwood . - 69 - BIBLIOGRAPHY. I. Government Documents and Publications . Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States, first and third sessions of the thirty- ninth Congress. Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, especially CLXV, CLXI , and CLXXVIII. Senate Documents, third session of the thirty- seventh Congress. Tributes of the Nations, Government Printing Office 1867. Unofficial Record. Moore, Frank, The Rebellion Record (eight volumes) (New York, 1864). II. Newspapers and Periodicals. American Historical Revie?;, XXII. 413-415. Harper’s Magazine, Dec. 1915. Howell’s, W. D. , Charnwood's Biography of Lincoln. Independent, Feb. 26, 1917. Quotation on cover from Lloyd George. Literary Digest. 1. Deciding on Barnard’s Lincoln without Seeing it, Jan. 18, 1919. 2. British Drama of Lincoln, Dec. 28, 1918. 3. Lincoln Holding the London Theater World, June 28, 1919. Living Age. 1. Hugh Sadler, Contrasts - Benjamin Disraeli and Abraham Lincoln, March 13, 1916. 2. Spectator, Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1911. 3. Review of Drinkwater’s play, March 8, 1919. London Quarterly Review. 1. Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln, Ap r ii 1866. 2. The Message of President Lincoln to Congress, Jan. 1862. Macmillan’ s Magazine . 1. Goldwin Smith, The Death of President Lindoln . Edward Dicey, Lincolniana June 1865 f ; r. • ' -70- 2. Goldwin Smith, President Lincoln. Peb. 1365. 3. Special Correspondent in America, Washington during the War, May 1862. The Nation, Jan. 4, 1917. Review of Charnwood' s biography. The New Republic, Nov. 25, 1915. Review of Charnwood’ s biography. Punch, 1361-1865. Saturday Review. Jan. 17, 1863, Oct. 29, 1864, Nov. 26, 1864, Apr. 29, 1865. Spectator. Jan. 17, 1863 and Feb. 13, 1909. The Times, especially 1861-1865, 1900, 1909, 1914-1920. Tribute of the Nations, contains a vast amount of material from the press of all parts of Engl and . Wilson, Rufus R., Lincoln in Caricature. Printed for private distribution, 1903. Gives reproductions of caricatures from Punch and Vanity Fair. III. Auto-biographies, Biographies, and Diaries. Adams, Henry, Education of Henry Adams. (Boston and New York, 1913). Atkins, John Black, The Life of Sir Williams Howard Russell, Two volumes, (London, 1911). Charnwood, Godfrey Rathbone Benson, Abraham Lincoln, (London, 1917). Layard, George Somes, A Great Punch Editor, Being the Life, Letters and Diaries of Shirley Brooks. (London, 1907). Ludlow, J. M. , President Lincoln, Self-Pourtrayed. (London, 1866). Morley, John, The Life of Richard Cobden, two volumes. (London, 1883 and 1908) Evers ley edition. O'Brien, R. Barry, John Bright, a Monograph. (Boston and New York, 1911). '* $ .1 -Tv ' U ■ . - 71 - Pierce. Edward L., Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, four volumes. (London, 1378-1893). Russell, William Howard, May Diary North and South, (Boston, 1863). Smith, George Barnett, The Life and Speeches of the Right Hon. John Bright, two volumes. (London, 1881.). Trevelyan, George M, , The Life of John Bright. (Boston, New York, and London, 1913). IV. Collections of Addresses, Correspondence, Essays, and Speeches. Bryce, James, Character and Career of Abraham Lincoln, University and Historical Addresses. (New York, 1913). Cairnes, J. E., Political Essays, (London, 1873). Choate, Joseph H. , Abraham Lincoln and other Addresses in England. (New York, 1910). Curtis, George ¥., The Correspondence of John Lothrop Motley, two volumes (New York, 1899) . Ford, Worthington C., A Cycle of Adams Letters ^ 1861-1865, two volumes (Boston and New York, 1920). Holland, Francis, Essays Political and Biograph- ical by Sir Spencer ^alpole (New York, 1908). Rogers, James E. T., Speeches on Questions of Public Policy by John Bright, two volumes (London, 1868). Collections of Lincoln Material containing English Writings. Blair, F. G., The One Hundredth A nniverary of the Birth of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield, 1908). Davis, Mary Wnight, The Book of Lincoln (New York, 1909). Krans, Horatio S. , The Lincoln Tribute Book (New York and London, 1909) . Lincoln Centennial, (published by Lincoln Cen- tennial Commission, 1909) , contains two addresses by Lord Bryce. Lincoln Obsequies, compiled by a special com- mittee under David T. Valentine, Clerk of - 72 - the Coramon Council (New York, 1866). Oldroyd, Osborn H. , The Poets’ Lincoln "(Washington, D. C., 1915). VI. Special Works on the A merican Civil War. Bernard, Montague, A Historical Account of the Neutrality of Great Britain during the American Civil War (London, 1870). Cairnes, J. E. , The Slave Power (London, 1863, second edition) . Spence, James, The American Union (London, S 1862, fourth edition) . Trollope, Anthony, North America, two volumes (London, 1862). v VII. Special Treatment of Lincoln. Drinkwater, John, Lincoln, the World Emancipator (Boston and New York, 1920). Also his drama, Abraham Lincoln (Boston and New York, 1919) . VIII. Miscellaneous. Paul, Herbert, A History of Modern England, five volumes (London and New York, 1904). Personal letter from Lord Charnwood, see Appendix. * I f .