SET SCENE: _The same as Act I at a quarter to eight the same evening_.
AT RISE: EDWARD, _the old Doorman, is straightening the furniture in
the room. He clumsily clears the floor of a litter of letters and
places them in the corner with the unopened bag. He draws the heavy
draperies of the windows and adjusts them so that no ray of light can
reach the outside._ MRS. LINCOLN _enters and watches him fix the
draperies._
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Speaking suddenly._]
Edward----!
EDWARD
[_Jumping in fright._]
Yes, Madam!
MRS. LINCOLN
What on earth are you doing in here----?
EDWARD
[_In terror of_ MRS. LINCOLN.]
Just--er drawin'--er the curtains, Madam.
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Sternly._]
These curtains haven't been drawn in a year----
EDWARD
[_Stammering._]
I-don't-think-they-have-either----
MRS. LINCOLN
You know they haven't!
EDWARD
[_Gulping wind._]
Yes'm----
MRS. LINCOLN
Who told you to draw them?
EDWARD
Colonel Nicolay!
MRS. LINCOLN
Where is he?
EDWARD
Down-stairs, on the door.
MRS. LINCOLN
In your place?
EDWARD
Yes'm----
MRS. LINCOLN
While you're up here acting as house maid?
EDWARD
[_Embarrassed._]
Well, so it seems, Madam----
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Sternly._]
What does this mean?
EDWARD
I do not know, Madam----
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Sarcastically._]
And you haven't the slightest idea--I suppose?
EDWARD
Not the slightest. My experience as Doorman of the White House has
taught me that my first duty is to obey the orders of my Chief----
MRS. LINCOLN
Mr. Lincoln asked you to remain on duty here to-night?
EDWARD
[_Bows._]
Asked me as a particular personal favor to him, that I remain on duty
until eight o'clock and dismiss all the other White House attendants----
MRS. LINCOLN
The _guard_ has been dismissed!
EDWARD
Yes, Madam, both of them--inside and out.
MRS. LINCOLN
Ask Colonel Nicolay to come here----
EDWARD
[_Hesitates._]
Yes'm----
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Sharply._]
Quick!
EDWARD
[_Jumps._]
Right away, Madam!
[MRS. LINCOLN _quickly examines the President's desk, looking for a
memorandum of his appointments--she finds a pad and reads._]
MRS. LINCOLN
At eight o'clock ---- ----
At nine o'clock--Miss Betty Winter----
[NICOLAY _enters hurriedly._]
NICOLAY
What is it, Madam?
MRS. LINCOLN
Who has this mysterious appointment with the President at eight
o'clock--the name is blank.
NICOLAY
I am forbidden to discuss it with any one.
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Angrily._]
Indeed!
NICOLAY
I am sorry.
MRS. LINCOLN
Do you know who is coming?
NICOLAY
Yes----
MRS. LINCOLN
Do you know the subject for discussion at this meeting?
NICOLAY
I wish to God I did----
[LINCOLN _enters and glances at his wife in surprise._]
LINCOLN
Will you go back to the door, John----
NICOLAY
At once--sir----
LINCOLN
And tell Edward I'm much obliged to him for staying, but he can go
now----
NICOLAY
Yes, sir----
LINCOLN
See that he goes before our visitor arrives. I have asked him to say
nothing about this appointment.
NICOLAY
You can trust him implicitly, sir----
[NICOLAY _exits._]
MRS. LINCOLN
But, you can't trust your wife, to-night, it seems----
LINCOLN
[_Whimsically._]
Well, you know you're a woman, Mother----
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Angrily._]
Thank God----
LINCOLN
Amen! So say I!
MRS. LINCOLN
You're _afraid_ to tell me--who this man is----?
LINCOLN
I may tell you to-morrow----
MRS. LINCOLN
When--you've-made-some-fatal-blunder----
LINCOLN
I'll make no mistake this time----
MRS. LINCOLN
Then why are you afraid of my woman's intuition----
LINCOLN
[_Smiling._]
I'm not afraid of your _intuition_, Mother----
MRS. LINCOLN
Thank you.
LINCOLN
I didn't say it!----
[_Laughs._]
--But you know you do _talk_ too much sometimes!
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Angrily._]
And I'm going to say something to you now. I thought this morning that
you would treat those scoundrels with the contempt they deserve when
they dared to ask you to sacrifice yourself and the cause of the Union
to the ambitions of some traitor behind them.
LINCOLN
No! No! They're honest in what they say----
MRS. LINCOLN
[_Furious._]
You're too good and simple for this world! Don't you know that some
schemer is behind all this----?
LINCOLN
Maybe---- It's not a crime, Mother, for a man to aspire to high office,
if the bee's in his bonnet. You know I've felt it tickle me lots of
times----
MRS. LINCOLN
Don't--don't--don't say such foolish things. You need a guardian. You
kept three men in your Cabinet who used their position to try to climb
into the Presidency over your head. And you didn't kick them out.
LINCOLN
The country needed them.
MRS. LINCOLN
[_With earnest dignity._]
The country needs you--you are the man, and the only man who has the
simple common sense to save this Union first, and settle all other
questions afterwards----
LINCOLN
That may be so--too----
MRS. LINCOLN
Tell me one thing--is the man who has this appointment at eight the
traitor whom Raymond's Committee is trying to put in your place----?
LINCOLN
No! Yet--if there _is_ anywhere a better man who can render the
country a greater service than I can, he _ought_ to be in my
place----
MRS. LINCOLN
But don't you see that it isn't really the man who can give the greater
service who will win in such a treacherous fight? It's the liar and the
hypocrite who may win.
LINCOLN
I have no right in such an hour to think of my own ambitions. My
personal desire for a second term is the biggest thing in my life, God
knows----
[_He pauses as his voice breaks--he struggles a moment and lifts
his hand as if to throw off an obsession with a determined smile._]
And yet, my personal desire is a petty thing! My duty to-day is the
_biggest_ thing in the world!
MRS. LINCOLN
You won't take my advice and send these men about their business?
LINCOLN
Mary, I've got to fight this thing out alone, with myself and God----
MRS. LINCOLN
I sometimes think, Father, that you're the stubbornest man the Lord
ever made!
LINCOLN
I've got to be--to do this job----
[MRS. LINCOLN _exits._]
[LINCOLN _paces the floor with his arms locked behind him in tense
thought._]
[NICOLAY _enters._]
NICOLAY
The carriage is approaching, sir.
LINCOLN
The coast is clear?
NICOLAY
Yes. Edward has gone----
[_He pauses._]
You, of course, realize, Chief, the importance of a cool head in
dealing with McClellan----
LINCOLN
I won't lose my temper, John.
NICOLAY
McClellan may lose his----
LINCOLN
I'll watch out----
[_Looking over his desk._]
That report of Baker's on the Copperhead Societies----
NICOLAY
[_Pointing._]
Under that paper weight, sir----
LINCOLN
Oh, yes, I see----
[_Picks up report, glances at it, and lays it back on his desk._]
I'm ready--bring him in. See that we are not interrupted, and when he
goes, I'll not need you any more to-night. I'll let in the young people
myself, at nine o'clock.
NICOLAY
Yes, sir.
[NICOLAY _exits and_ LINCOLN _returns to his desk and writes._]
[NICOLAY _enters with_ GENERAL MCCLELLAN. _The General is
thirty-eight years old, dressed in a uniform of immaculate cut,
flashing with gold. While his figure is short and stocky, in
striking contrast to the President, he is a man of commanding
appearance, and gives one the impression of a born leader of men.
He enters with quick military precision and salutes with studied
formality the President as his superior officer. The President
answers his salute, as_ NICOLAY _exits._]
LINCOLN
I suggest, General McClellan, that we forget for the moment that I am
the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy--and we have a little heart
to heart talk in a perfectly informal way----
McCLELLAN
[_Stiffening._]
May I enquire, Mr. President, at once, to what I owe this extraordinary
summons?
LINCOLN
[_Cordially._]
Will you be seated, General----?
McCLELLAN
Thank you, I prefer to stand.
[_Angrily._]
What right have you to send for me or ask anything, after the foul
injustice with which you have treated me as Commanding General----
LINCOLN
[_Interrupting._]
Just a moment--I have not treated you with injustice--I have treated
you with more than justice. I have treated you with the generous faith
and love of a father for a wayward boy----
McCLELLAN
Really!
LINCOLN
I have. When I appointed you to the chief command of our Army, you were
but thirty-four years old. I did it against the bitterest opposition of
my party leaders. They told me you were a pro-Slavery Democrat--a
political meddler, and that you were opposed to me on every issue
before the people. I refused to listen. I asked but one question: Is
McClellan the man to whip the new army into a mighty fighting machine,
and hurl it against the Confederacy? I said to them: "I don't care what
his religion is, or his politics may be. The question is, not whether I
shall save the Union--but that the Union shall be saved. My future and
the future of my party can take care of themselves"--and I appointed
you.
McCLELLAN
And forced me to march against Richmond before I was ready!
LINCOLN
I ordered you to move, because it was necessary to forestall a great
tragedy. Your army of 180,000 men had gone into winter quarters around
a glittering camp over which a young Napoleon presided. Fools about you
daily advised that you proclaim the end of the Republic and establish
yourself as Dictator. You do not deny this----?
McCLELLAN
No. The fact is well known. Besides, Stanton, your Secretary of War,
was at that time my attorney, and he knew----
LINCOLN
Exactly. I took the bull by the horns and ordered your grand army to
move on Richmond. When you failed and retreated, I refused to dismiss
you against the fierce protest of my Cabinet. I left you in command of
half our men and appointed General Pope to lead the other half.
McCLELLAN
[_Sneeringly._]
And he led them to overwhelming disaster at the second battle of
Manassas----
LINCOLN
[_Quickly._]
For which disaster, you must share the blame. You were ordered to join
Pope. You didn't move. Pope was broken by a deliberate design, that was
little short of treason, sir. But instead of agreeing to the demand for
your trial by court martial, I did the most unpopular act of my life. I
reappointed you to the chief command of the whole army--defied public
opinion, and faced a storm of abuse in my party councils.
McCLELLAN
And when I led that superb, reorganized army to our first victory at
Antietam, you removed me from my command before I could win my
campaign.
LINCOLN
I removed you from your command because, after you had cut Lee's army
to pieces, and he had but 23,000 men left, and you had 75,000--three to
one--you lay down on your arms and allowed Lee to escape across the
river without a blow--while Jeb. Stuart with his cavalry once more
insulted you by riding around your army. Come now, can't we leave to
posterity to settle the merits of our controversy over the command of
armies? Can't you believe me to-day, when I tell you with God as my
witness, that I have never allowed a personal motive to enter into a
single appointment or removal which I have made----?
McCLELLAN
I cannot believe it----
LINCOLN
In spite of the fact that when I reappointed you to the chief command
of the army after the disaster to Pope, _you_ thought that my
messenger was an officer with a warrant for your arrest! You still say
no----?
McCLELLAN
I still say no--you _had_ to do it--and you know that you
_had_ to reappoint me.
LINCOLN
Well, I'll not pretend that I didn't understand the seriousness of that
hour. The Army _was_ behind you, to a man! I sounded the officers,
I sounded the men. They were against me and with you. If the leaders
had dared risk their necks on a revolution, they might have won and set
up a Dictatorship!
McCLELLAN
Just so!
LINCOLN
This power over men which you possess, General McClellan, is a
marvelous thing. It is a dangerous force. It can be used to create a
Nation, or destroy one. Because you held this power over your men, I
honestly believed you were the ablest General in sight, and I called
you back to your high position.
McCLELLAN
[_With a smile._]
Very kind!
LINCOLN
You had to win or lose at Antietam. If you had won I was vindicated,
and your success would have been mine! But when Lee's army escaped, you
lost the power over the imagination of your men, the threat of a
Dictatorship had passed--the supremacy of the civil government was
restored, and I removed you from command----
McCLELLAN
[_Angrily._]
I repeat that your act was one of foul injustice!
LINCOLN
[_Cordially._]
All right then. I've given you my side. Granted for the sake of
argument that I have treated you unfairly, I'm going to put you to a
supreme test. I am going to propose, on a certain condition, to the man
whom I have wronged, an amazing thing----
McCLELLAN
Hence the secrecy with which I am summoned!
LINCOLN
Yes. I have just written out on this sheet of paper----
[_Takes up the sheet._]
and addressed to Henry Raymond, Chairman of our National Committee, my
resignation as a Candidate for the Presidency for a second term--and I
will give it to him to-night, if you will agree to take my place and
_save_ the Union?
McCLELLAN
[_Overwhelmed with excitement._]
What-can-you-mean----?
LINCOLN
Exactly what I've said.
McCLELLAN
[_Paces the floor trembling._]
And your conditions----?
LINCOLN
Very simple. Agree to preside to-morrow night at a great Democratic
Union Mass Meeting in New York, and boldly put yourself at the head of
that wing of your party which stands for the preservation of the
Union----
McCLELLAN
And you----?
LINCOLN
I will withdraw from the race, secure your endorsement, or prevent my
party from naming a successor, take the stump for you and guarantee
your election.
McCLELLAN
[_Studies_ LINCOLN _a moment with suspicion._]
You are in earnest----?
LINCOLN
I was never more so.
McCLELLAN
And there is no string to this offer?
LINCOLN
On my word of honor----
[_Dreamily._]
It is needless for me to say that I came into this office with high
ambitions to serve my country. My dream of glory may be at an end and I
have left only the agony and the tears----
[_He pauses, breathes deeply, and struggles with his emotions,
recovers himself, and goes on wistfully._]
I did want a chance to stay here for another term to see the sun shine
again, to heal my country's wounds, and show all the people, North,
South, East and West, that I love them. But I can't risk the chances of
this election--if you and I can come to a perfect understanding, and
you agree to take my place upon the solemn pledge to save the Union
without division. I've made up my mind to this, because I have on my
desk here a report from our Secret Service----
[_Pauses and picks up the report._]
showing that the Copperhead Societies are of your party and are
thoroughly organized in every state of the North--that they demand an
immediate peace and will accept a division of the Union----
McCLELLAN
[_Interrupting._]
What has this to do with me, may I ask----?
LINCOLN
[_Evenly._]
This report shows that they propose to end the war on the night of the
election by a revolutionary uprising which will result in the
recognition of the Confederacy. I am now being urged to arrest their
leaders.
[_He pauses and watches_ McCLELLAN _closely._]
I shall answer no. Let sleeping dogs lie. One revolution at a time. If
the Union candidate wins the election, they won't dare to rise. If he
loses, it's all over anyhow--and it makes no difference what they do.
McCLELLAN
A sensible decision----
LINCOLN
I'm glad you agree with it. Now the Democratic Convention meets in
Chicago next week--you have no opposition. Your nomination will be
unanimous. The question is,--what will they do on the issue of the war?
The leaders of the Copperhead Societies are now in touch with the rebel
government in Richmond----
McCLELLAN
That's a large statement, sir--even about Copperhead Societies----
LINCOLN
I have the _proofs_ in this document----
[_Touches_ BAKER'S _report._]
My fear is, that they may get complete control of your Convention----
McCLELLAN
[_Angrily._]
Indeed----?
LINCOLN
I have heard the ugly rumor that they are counting on you----
McCLELLAN
[_Advancing._]
Stop----!
LINCOLN
[_Going to meet_ McCLELLAN _and holding his gaze firmly._]
Well----?
McCLELLAN
No man can couple the word Treason with my name, sir----!
LINCOLN
Have I done so----?
McCLELLAN
You are insinuating it!
LINCOLN
_Am_ I?
McCLELLAN
I demand a retraction!
LINCOLN
[_Smiling._]
Then, I apologize for my careless expressions. I am glad to see you
meet the ugly subject in this way! I have never believed you a traitor
to the Union. That's why I sent for you to-night. Will you denounce
these men publicly at a Union Mass Meeting, and let me resign and take
the stump for you----?
McCLELLAN
[_Hesitates._]
I am sure of this election without your help, sir!
LINCOLN
You can't be----
McCLELLAN
A straw vote was taken yesterday in the Carver Hospital. The wounded
soldiers gave me three votes to your one. Straws show which way the
wind is blowing. I know that your party is divided--that John C.
Fremont has split your organization, and is daily gaining ground--that
unless _he_ retires, _you_ can't be elected! Your party is in
a hopeless panic--and my election is conceded. Yet, you ask me allow
you to dictate the policy of my administration!
LINCOLN
[_Evenly and pressingly._]
Will you denounce these conspirators within your party----?
McCLELLAN
No----! When I need your advice on any public utterance, I'll let you
know.
LINCOLN
Will you preside over this Union Meeting?
McCLELLAN
[_Firmly._]
Never! I'll do my best to save my country, but in my own way without
suggestion or assistance from you----
LINCOLN
[_With firm conviction._]
Then, sir, you _are_ committed by your pledges to the possible division
of this Union! I suspected it--but I had hoped for the best--good
night!
[_The General bows stiffly and leaves the President standing in
sorrowful silence, his deep eyes staring into space, seeing nothing
as_ NICOLAY _enters._]
[_Pausing, and looking up._]
I thought you'd gone----?
NICOLAY
I hope there may be something else I can do for you, sir----?
LINCOLN
Yes--there is----
NICOLAY
What?
LINCOLN
Bear witness with me to this, the blackest hour of my life--I have
touched the depths of despair----
[_Springs to his feet._]
But I can't give up--there's too much at stake!
NICOLAY
Corruption, intrigue and malice are doing their work, Chief--but you
can't be beaten! Unless _you should_ give up!
LINCOLN
Well! I won't give up!
NICOLAY
McClellan refused the pledge you asked?
LINCOLN
Yes. He is bound hand and foot to the Copperhead leaders who will
control his convention----
NICOLAY
I thought so----
LINCOLN
John, if I could win one man out of the inner councils of the
Copperhead orders--one man who really loves his country----
NICOLAY
Can a Copperhead love his country----?
LINCOLN
Why not----? A rattlesnake might love his own fence corner! There are
plenty of honest misguided men among them. I have been studying Baker's
report this afternoon---- If I could just get hold of _one_
Copperhead who knows the signs and passwords of their inner council,
I've worked out A PLAN THAT CAN WIN THIS FIGHT!
NICOLAY
[_Suddenly._]
The very man may be on the way here at this moment!
LINCOLN
[_Eagerly._]
What's that----?
NICOLAY
[_Thinking._]
Miss Winter is due here with her lover--a young Captain of Grant's
Army----
[_Pauses._]
LINCOLN
Well----?
NICOLAY
[_Slowly._]
In view of the attempts to take your life--I made some inquiries to-day
about him--I knew the White House would be without guards to-night----
[_Pauses._]
LINCOLN
Yes--yes--go on----! What about him?
NICOLAY
He was on McClellan's staff at one time----
LINCOLN
That's promising----!
NICOLAY
He's a McClellan man--then----
LINCOLN
Beyond a doubt----
NICOLAY
In the hospital the past two months he has heard a lot of bitter
talk----
LINCOLN
[_Quickly._]
And may have joined The Knights of the Golden Circle----!
NICOLAY
It's almost a certainty----
LINCOLN
Of course. Their infernal agents haunt our hospitals daily, and pour
their poison into every open wound----
NICOLAY
Prove to this boy to-night that these men are liars----
LINCOLN
If he'll listen----
NICOLAY
He's got to listen! He comes to ask of you a great favor----
LINCOLN
I wonder what?
NICOLAY
I couldn't find out. But you can use the opportunity to gain his
confidence. He is engaged to a girl who is Mrs. Lincoln's intimate
friend--a girl who admires and trusts you. You can _win him_,
Chief, if you only try!
LINCOLN
[_With excited emphasis._]
Don't you worry--I'm going to try----!
[_Pauses._]
--You wait and show them in. I'll report to Mother my talk with
McClellan. She'll be uneasy about it. I'll be back in a minute----
NICOLAY
All right, sir.
[LINCOLN _exits._]
[NICOLAY _watches him go with deep sympathy, shaking his head as_
BETTY _and_ VAUGHAN _enter._]
Oh, Miss Winter----
BETTY
Captain Vaughan,--Colonel Nicolay----
NICOLAY
[_Studying_ VAUGHAN.]
Pleased to meet you, Captain--the President will be back in a moment.
He has just stepped in to speak to Mrs. Lincoln. He is expecting
you--make yourselves at home----
BETTY
Thank you, Colonel----
[NICOLAY _exits._]
What's the matter, dear----?
VAUGHAN
Nothing--nothing----
BETTY
But your arm is trembling---- I didn't realize you're so weak--I keep
forgetting that you're just out of the hospital----
VAUGHAN
Oh--I'm all right----
BETTY
I'm afraid of the strain of this interview----!
[_Pauses._]
--You've never told me, dear--for what _was_ your father imprisoned?
VAUGHAN
[_Deliberately._]
He made a speech against the war in our town in Missouri and printed it
in a pamphlet----
BETTY
Oh--for making and circulating seditious writing----
VAUGHAN
Technically, yes--in reality for exercising the right of free speech on
a policy of the government----
BETTY
It may be very serious----
[_Pauses._]
--I've an idea----! Let me stay and help you----
VAUGHAN
But I may have something to say that a girl's ears should not hear----
BETTY
Please don't say it! You differ with the President in politics. You
must say nothing to offend him----
VAUGHAN
I'll not----! I think I love my country as well as I love my father----
BETTY
Let me stay!
VAUGHAN
You mustn't--I don't need a chaperone----
BETTY
But you may need a friend----
VAUGHAN
[_Bitterly._]
He does wield a terrible power, doesn't he?
BETTY
Yes--with the tenderness and love of a father----
VAUGHAN
[_Lightly._]
All right, dear, run along now, see Mrs. Lincoln and get the President
to come----
BETTY
Can't I stay and help you----?
VAUGHAN
No, no----
BETTY
It means so much to me now----!
[_She nestles in his arms and_ VAUGHAN _kisses her._]
VAUGHAN
I'll know how to plead my cause----
BETTY
All right--good luck. I'm sure you'll win----
[BETTY _exits._]
[VAUGHAN _walks to the door leading to the Lincoln Apartments, and
listens a moment, and walks to the President's desk. His eye rests
on the worn copy of the Bible which_ LINCOLN _always kept on his
desk. He gazes at the thumbed pages in amazement._]
VAUGHAN
The Bible--My God!
[_Turns its leaves._]
And every page thumbed----!
[_He continues to turn the leaves of the Bible._]
[_The sound of_ LINCOLN'S _voice is heard outside talking to_ MRS.
LINCOLN.]
LINCOLN
[_Outside._]
Go back, and talk to Miss Betty!
[VAUGHAN _quickly places the Bible back on his desk and takes his
stand near the door to the hall, as if he had just entered._
LINCOLN _enters from the other door, still talking to his wife who
follows him._]
Don't worry, Mother! Who cares for a few old dresses more or less in
these times! But if I'd known they cost that much, I'd taken a second
look at them and tried to get my money's worth!
MRS. LINCOLN
You're sure it won't influence your decision?
LINCOLN
Not a bit! If we stay here--it'll be all right. We can skimp a little.
If we don't stay--the old sign still swings on the door in
Springfield--Billy Herndon's waiting for me and the law business will
be better than ever. Go back now, and don't worry! It's my business to
do _all_ the worrying----
[LINCOLN _closes the door after she goes, and comes down toward the
desk, lifts his haggard eyes in a dazed way and looks about the
room. Anxiety and suffering again mark his rugged face. He sees_
VAUGHAN, _and at once throws off the spell of his troubles,
advances to meet him and takes his hand._]
I'm glad to see you, my boy--Will you pull up a chair?
[LINCOLN _drops wearily into his chair and his voice has a far-away
dreamy expression in its tones while he studies_ VAUGHAN
_carefully._]
And what can I do for you?
VAUGHAN
My name is Vaughan--the elder son of Dr. Richard Vaughan of Palmyra,
Missouri----
LINCOLN
[_Thoughtfully._]
Vaughan--Richard Vaughan--I've heard that name--But you're _one_ of our
boys fighting with Grant's army?
VAUGHAN
Yes----
LINCOLN
[_Looking him over._]
You've been very ill, I see--wounded of course?
VAUGHAN
Yes----
LINCOLN
[_Rises, takes_ VAUGHAN'S _hands in both his, and presses it._]
There's nothing I won't do for one of our wounded boys--if I can----
VAUGHAN
Thank you----
LINCOLN
What is it?
VAUGHAN
[_With cold precision._]
My mother writes me that my father has been arrested without warrant,
is held in prison without bail, and denied the right of trial----
[_He pauses, trembling with excitement._]
LINCOLN
Go on--my boy----
VAUGHAN
I have come to ask for justice----
LINCOLN
He shall have it----
VAUGHAN
I ask that he be confronted by his accusers in open court and given a
fair trial----
LINCOLN
[_Interrupting._]
For what was he arrested?
VAUGHAN
For exercising the right of free speech. In a public address, he
denounced the war----
LINCOLN
Oh!--And his address was printed?
[LINCOLN _picks up the little booklet and looks again at the title
page and then at_ VAUGHAN.]
VAUGHAN
He had as much right to print as to speak it----
LINCOLN
No, he hadn't----
[_Pauses and looks at_ VAUGHAN.]
You say your father's name is Richard Vaughan----?
VAUGHAN
Yes--Dr. Richard Vaughan--and I ask for him a fair trial confronted by
his accusers--I ask for justice--will you grant him this trial----?
[LINCOLN _lays the pamphlet down on his desk and rises._]
LINCOLN
[_Shakes his head._]
I cannot----! I cannot do it!
[_He folds his arms behind his back and paces the floor,
unconscious of the glitter of murder in_ VAUGHAN'S _eyes_. VAUGHAN
_slowly draws his revolver and is about to lift to fire, when_
LINCOLN _suddenly turns and speaks._]
[_With sharp emphasis._]
That little pamphlet, sir, found its way into the ranks and caused a
number of soldiers to desert----
VAUGHAN
Who says this?
LINCOLN
I happen to know it!
[LINCOLN _pauses and shakes his head sorrowfully._]
You see, my boy, your house is divided against itself--the symbol of
our unhappy country. Of course, I didn't know of this particular case.
Such things hurt me so, I refuse to know them unless I must. They tell
me that Seward and Stanton have arrested without warrant and hold in
jail more than thirty-five thousand men at this moment. I hope the
number is exaggerated--still it may be so----
VAUGHAN
[_Angrily._]
It's true--I've learned it since my father's arrest!
LINCOLN
[_Tenderly._]
But, come now, my son, put yourself in my place! I'm here to save the
Union for which you are fighting--for which you have poured out your
blood. I've armed two million men and we are spending four millions a
day, to fight the South for trying to secede. My opponents, taking
advantage of our sorrow, harangue the people and elect hostile
legislatures in the Northern states. They were about to pass ordinances
of Secession and establish a Northwestern Confederacy! Shall I fight
Secession in the South and merely argue with it here? I was compelled
to suspend the civil law, arrest these men and hold them without bail
or trial----
VAUGHAN
You _are_ using the naked power of an emperor then?
LINCOLN
[_Shaking his head sadly._]
I have been entrusted with that power for a brief term by the people. I
am using it sorrowfully but firmly--and I am backed by the prayers of
the mothers whose sons are dying for our cause--and the silent millions
out there, whom I can't at this moment see--but whom I love and trust.
VAUGHAN
[_With angry tears._]
The Constitution of the Republic guarantees to every freeman the right
to trial in open court, confronted by his accusers----
LINCOLN
[_Passionately._]
But we are fighting a war for the life of the Constitution itself! I
did not begin it. Once begun it must be fought to the end and the
Nation saved. We must prove now that among freemen there _can be_
no successful appeal from the ballot to the bayonet. To preserve the
Constitution of the Republic I must in this crisis strain some of its
provisions----
VAUGHAN
[_In hard tones._]
And you will not interfere to give these accused men a trial?
LINCOLN
I dare not interfere! The civil law must be suspended for the
moment--as the law of life is suspended while the surgeon cuts a cancer
out of bleeding flesh! I cannot shoot one soldier for desertion if I
allow the man to go free who causes him to desert----
[_He pauses, and puts his hands on_ VAUGHAN'S _shoulders._]
Don't think, my son, that all the suffering of this war is not mine!
Every shell from those guns finds _my_ heart. The tears of widows and
orphans--all, the blue and the gray--are mine! For we are equally
responsible for this war! When I came here from the West, I found a
panic-stricken North, strangling with the poison of Secession. Our
fathers had only _dreamed_ a Union--they never lived to see it. The
North had threatened Secession for thirty years. Horace Greeley in his
great paper on the day of my inauguration was telling the millions who
hung on his word as the oracle from Heaven, that Secession was
inevitable! "Therefore let our erring sisters of the South go!" was his
daily cry. I could not have prevented this war, nor could Jefferson
Davis. We are in the grip of mighty forces sweeping in from the
centuries. We are fighting the battle of the ages----
[_He pauses again._]
But our country's worth it, my boy, if we can only save it! Out of this
agony will be born a united people. There has never been a democracy
_in this world_ because there's never been one without the shadow of a
slave. We must build a real Government of the people, by the people,
for the people. It's not the question merely of four million black
slaves. It's a question of the life of freemen yet unborn. I hear the
tread of these coming millions. Their destiny is in your hands and
mine. A mighty Union of free democratic states without a slave--the
hope, refuge and inspiration of the world--a beacon light on the shores
of time!
[_Pauses._]
--There's but one tragedy, that can have no ray of light, and that is
that this blood we are now pouring out shall have flowed in vain, and
these brave men shall die for naught, that the old curse shall remain,
the Union be broken into hostile sections and these battles must be
fought again.
[_He pauses, breathes deeply, and lifts his figure as if to throw
off another nightmare and slips his arm around_ VAUGHAN.]
My enemies call me a tyrant and usurper! I who came up here from a
pioneer's cabin in the wilderness, out of rags and poverty----
[_Pauses._]
--How well I remember when my mother looked at them and said--"This is
nothing--it doesn't count here--it's what you feel--it's what you
believe--it's what you see that counts----"
[_Struggles with his emotions._]
Now I'm going to show you something, my son, and I'll let _you_ be
the judge as to whether I'm a tyrant--
[_He takes up the booklet and hands it to_ VAUGHAN.]
Read the title page.
VAUGHAN
[_Reading in amazement._]
"Why Should Brothers Fight?" By Dr. Richard Vaughan.
LINCOLN
That pamphlet was taken by his sister from the pocket of a poor
ignorant boy, who was sentenced to be shot for desertion to-morrow at
sunrise----
VAUGHAN
No! No!----
LINCOLN
I pardoned him this morning----
[VAUGHAN _sighs his relief._]
Your father wrote and printed that poison, and has forfeited his life
for that boy's act----
VAUGHAN
[_Trembling._]
I know you could order his execution----
LINCOLN
I said to-day that I'd hang such a man on a gallows forty cubits
high--but now that I see you trembling----
[_He pauses._]
I shall _not_ order his execution. I shall only hold him until the
war is over, and then let him and all the others go----
[_Pauses._]
Tyrant and usurper they call me! And I'm the humblest man who walks the
earth to-night!
VAUGHAN
[_Slowly sinking to a seat and covering his face with his hands in
a cry of despair._]
Oh,--my God----!
LINCOLN
[_Bending in sorrowful amazement and touching_ VAUGHAN'S _head._]
Why,--what's the matter, my boy----? I'm the only man to despair.
You're just a Captain in the army. You have only to obey your superior
officer. If to be the head of hell is as hard as what I've had to
undergo here, I could find it in my heart to pity Satan himself. And if
there's a man outside of perdition who suffers more than I do, I pity
him----!
VAUGHAN
[_Springing to his feet and throwing his hands up in anguish._]
You don't understand----! You don't understand----!
LINCOLN
Understand--what----?
VAUGHAN
[_Impetuously._]
When I lay in the hospital suffering from my wounds, I received the
letter telling me of my father's imprisonment. I must have gone
mad--for when you refused to-night to give him a trial--I started
to--kill--you---- Oh, my God!
[_Breaks down._]
LINCOLN
To kill me----! You are the second man to try it. He'll get me the next
time--I who envy the dead their rest!
[_Laughs._]
What a strange thing this life of ours!
[_Pauses._]
Why didn't you _do_ it----?
VAUGHAN
Because, for the first time you made me see things as they are, and I
got a glimpse of the inside----
LINCOLN
[_Eagerly._]
Then, I won--didn't I----?
VAUGHAN
Yes--and I can never forgive myself the thought of harming you----!
LINCOLN
[_Ignoring his grief._]
If I've won _you_, I can win others, if I only get their ear and make
them know as you know! All I need is a little time! And I'm going to
fight for it now----
[_With quick uplift of spirit._]
I've told you the truth and the truth has turned a murderer into my
friend! If only the people can know--can have time to think, I'll
win--I'll win--! Look here--I've _won_ you now----?
VAUGHAN
[_Eagerly._]
Just give me a chance to prove it----!
[LINCOLN _studies_ VAUGHAN _thoughtfully._]
LINCOLN
You doubtless said many bitter things in Washington?
VAUGHAN
Many of them----
LINCOLN
Then, you were approached by the leaders of a Copperhead Secret Order
called The Knights of the Golden Circle--were you not?
VAUGHAN
Yes----!
LINCOLN
I thought so----
[_Cautiously._]
You--joined the Order----?
VAUGHAN
[_Hesitates._]
I joined, and I'm one of their officers----
LINCOLN
[_Carefully._]
Of their inner council?
VAUGHAN
Yes----
LINCOLN
You--know--all their signs and passwords?
VAUGHAN
Every one----
LINCOLN
[_With sudden deep excitement._]
Young man, you may have thought you came here to-night with murder in
your heart--but Almighty God sent you for a different purpose----!
VAUGHAN
What do you mean?
LINCOLN
You'll stand by me now, through thick and thin?
VAUGHAN
[_Passionately._]
I'd count it an honor to die for you----!
LINCOLN
Well, I'm going to ask you to do something harder than that for a man
of sensitive honor. These Copperhead traitors took advantage of your
illness and grief over your father to inveigle you into a scheme of
high treason----
VAUGHAN
What----!
LINCOLN
You believed their purpose to be patriotic--didn't you----?
VAUGHAN
Of course----
LINCOLN
[_Seizing_ BAKER'S _Report._]
This document from Baker's Office contains the original order of their
Chief for an uprising on the night of the election----
VAUGHAN
Uprising for what----?
LINCOLN
To overturn the Government, recognize the Confederacy, and divide the
Union----
VAUGHAN
Is it possible----!
LINCOLN
You know--after what has passed between us to-night--that I speak the
truth----
VAUGHAN
Yes----!
LINCOLN
You came in here to demand a trial for your father--and find him in
reality justly condemned to death. I have pardoned him. I want you to
atone for his wrongs and your own tragic mistake, by placing yourself
with the signs and passwords of that Society at my disposal. You have
been basely deceived and betrayed--will you do it?
VAUGHAN
If my country calls--yes--and I'll thank God for the chance to
atone----!
LINCOLN
Good----! You are the one man on earth to-night whom I need and didn't
think I could get! I'm going to send you on a dangerous mission. I need
two things to carry this election and save the Union--a single victory
in the field to lift our people out of the dumps, and a word from
Jefferson Davis _that there can be no peace save in division_! I
know Davis. We were both born in Kentucky, on almost the same day. He
holds that position. But the peace party of the North refuse to believe
it. They say he will compromise. Now I've sent two men down
there--Colonel Jacquess, a Methodist clergyman, of our hospital
service, and John R. Gilmore of the _Tribune_, old Greeley's
paper. They go as private citizens of the North, who desire peace. They
are to draw Davis out, and get his declaration for me. Technically,
they are spies--for they have no credentials. They may be imprisoned or
executed. They passed through our lines but twenty miles from Richmond,
seven days ago. I haven't been able to hear from them. The silence is
ominous.
VAUGHAN
And you wish me to find out what has happened to them----?
LINCOLN
[_Eagerly._]
I want another man in Richmond, quick--whose identity will be
unknown--a man who can win the confidence of Judah P. Benjamin, Davis'
Secretary of State, who is preventing my interview with the Confederate
President. Benjamin is the ablest and by far the most dangerous man in
the South to-day. I know from this document on my desk----
[_Touches_ BAKER'S _Report._]
that he is in close touch with the Copperhead Societies of the
North--if his keen mind is not actually directing them. You have their
signs and passwords. It seems too good to be true! If you carry to
Benjamin a special report of this planned uprising, you can gain his
confidence, and persuade him to let my men see Davis. If you can only
get through the lines and reach him before being arrested----!
VAUGHAN
I've a brother in General Lee's army--sir--for whom I've often been
mistaken before the war----
LINCOLN
That's great----!
VAUGHAN
He is an officer too--a First Lieutenant.
LINCOLN
Fine! Before you go, confer with Baker. He will give you the names of
our agents in Richmond and decide on your disguise. He will probably
put you in Confederate uniform and make out in your brother's name a
rebel leave of absence to use in an emergency. You are a Southern man.
Your accent is perfect. Your chances of success great. I want you to
leave within an hour----
[_He writes on two cards._]
VAUGHAN
In five minutes, if you wish----
LINCOLN
If you can get for Jacquess and Gilmore a hearing and they are allowed
to return and tell their story, all right--your work in Richmond is
done. But if they are imprisoned or executed, report this fact and Mr.
Davis' answer, and it will be _doubly_ effective--you understand----?
VAUGHAN
Perfectly, sir----
LINCOLN
That's your first job. Your next will be to get a special message
through from _inside the Confederacy_ to General Sherman, who is
laying siege to Atlanta.
[_Takes up telegram._]
This message from him, received this morning, says that he has as yet
been unable to locate and count up Hood's second line of defense which
he must fight in a flank movement. Take the train from Richmond to
Atlanta. Keep your eyes open every foot of the way. Find out from
inside, the position of this second line, and the number of regiments
holding it. Make no mistake about it. Break through to Sherman, and
report to him----
VAUGHAN
A tough job, sir--but I believe I can do it----
LINCOLN
That's the way to talk, my boy----! When you reach General Sherman, you
will deliver to him a verbal message--I'll give you a sign that will
identify you. This is the big thing I'm sending you to do. I could
telegraph my order direct to Sherman, but it would have to be filed in
the War Office, and might offend General Grant. As an officer, you
understand that----
VAUGHAN
Clearly, sir----
LINCOLN
For this reason I'm sending you on this urgent and dangerous business.
Tell General Sherman for me, that if he can take Atlanta at once, the
blow will lift our people from despair, carry the election, and save
the Union! I send by you the order for him to strike. If he wins, the
order will remain a secret--the credit shall all be his! If he strikes
and loses, I'll publish my order and take the blame on myself.--You
_think_ you can _do this_----?
VAUGHAN
[_Quietly._]
I'll do it--or I'll die trying, sir----
LINCOLN
[_Writing on the back of his card._]
All right, take this card to Stanton's Office and tell him what I've
told you. Ask him to arrange to send you by boat to Aquia, Virginia, by
horse from there. This card to Baker's Office--Return here for your
papers, and say good-by to your sweetheart----
VAUGHAN
At once, sir----
LINCOLN
My boy--I trust you implicitly! My mother's God has been talking to me
since you entered this room! You've lifted my spirit to the heights!
[VAUGHAN _exits._]
CURTAIN