One of the universal topics of the early sixties was the feats of the
acrobat Blondin. This daring rope-walker crossed the waters by Niagara
Falls on a slack wire. On one occasion he carried a man on his back, to
whom he imparted the caution, "grappling as with hooks of steel":
"If you upset me with trembling, I shall drop you! I shall catch the
rope and be safe! As for you, inexperienced one--_pfitt!_"
The chain of defeats and "flashes in the pan" attending the opening of
the campaign beginning as a march upon Richmond, [Footnote: Some
Northern newspapers kept a standing head: "On to Richmond!"] but
eventuating in a defense of Washington, humiliating as was this
reverse, promoted all sorts and conditions of men, moneyed,
well-grounded, and investing in the new government securities,
fluctuating like wildcat stock, to pester the President with Jeremiads
and counsel. To one deputation from his home parts he administered this
caustic rebuke in such illustration as was habitual to him:
"Gentlemen, suppose all the property you were worth was in gold, and
you had put it in the hands of Blondin, to carry across the Niagara
River on a rope, would you shake the cable, or keep shouting out to him:
"'Blondin, stand up straighter! Blondin, stoop a little more! go a
little faster! _lean a little more to the North!_ to the South?'
"No; you would hold your breath as well as your tongue, and keep your
hands off all, until he was safe over.
"The government [Footnote: Lincoln always used "Government" and "U. S."
as nouns carrying a plural verb.] are carrying an immense weight.
Untold treasures are in their hands. They are doing the very best they
can. Don't pester them! Keep silence, and we will get you safe across."
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