you must have if at once, give me two lines to that effect," said Mr. Weed. President Lincoln turned to his desk and wrote the following: " 'MR. WEED: The matters I spoke to you about are important. I hope you will not neglect them. A. LINCOLN." "The money will be at your disposal to-morrow morning," said Mr. Weed. He then took an abrupt departure, for he must catch the morning return train to New York, and those who saw that striking figure, with firm, elastic step passing swiftly through the gate and springing upon the train while it was already moving out of the station, little dreamed of the significance of Executive Alansion. Washington, March 15., 1805 Thuislow. Weew, Org Every one likes an compliment, Thanks as well as, you for yours on my little notification speech, annow the recent Inaugural Andres, expect the father tower perhaps better thaw_ anything I have produces, but I believe it is pot, immediately pope. lava Mariano pot flattered by being shown that their has been a difference of parpon between the Almuigh.. ty and them. To deny it, however, in this case is to that thew is w: Gove governing It is a the world, linths which I thought needia to be toler and, as whatever of humiliations then is in war fall Myself, той онлость отпра for and to tellon FAC-SIMILE OF A LETTER FROM PRESIDENT LINCOLN. the incident. He reached New York before five o'clock in the afternoon, and that same evening fifteen thousand dollars was sent to the President for the important uses of the government. It was contributed by New York merchants and capitalists, of whom were Marshall O. Roberts, Isaac Bell, Alexander T. Stewart, William H. Aspinwall, C. Vanderbilt, Russell Sturges, Charles Knapp, and others. Prior to this, in the latter part of the autumn of 1861, Mr. Weed had been summoned imperatively to Washington on business of another kind, and the results of that particular wearisome night journey were far-reaching in their results. When, after his breakfast with Mr. Seward, he reached the White House, the chief topic of conversation was the embarrassment of the President in relation to the appointment of commissioners to proceed immediately to Europe for the purpose of correcting the erroneous impressions about the Civil War then in progress. Confederate agents were already abroad, and others were about to go, eliciting, as far as they could, the sympathy of foreign powers. There were ominous rumblings and covert threats: there were prospects that were unpleasant to contemplate. War with England, or with any of the nations of the civilized world, must be avoided if expert statesmanship and astute diplomacy could achieve such a victory. Our readers all know by heart the magnitude of the dangers at that crisis. Four gentlemen had already been appointed to this commission-Edward Everett, of Boston; Archbishop Hughes, of New York; J. R. Kennedy, of Baltimore; and Bishop McIlvaine, of Ohio, to go abroad without compensation, their expenses only to be paid. But Mr. Everett had declined, on the ground that having previously been minister to England it seemed improper for him to go again to that country in a subordinate capacity; and Mr. Kennedy had declined because of imperative business engagements. Mr. Seward requested Mr. Weed to suggest two suitable persons to fill the vacancies, and he named Robert C. Winthrop, of Boston, and Thomas Ewing, of Ohio. Neither of those gentlemen, however, could be prevailed upon to accept the delicate and important mission. Archbishop Hughes was urged to accept, as it was thought he might undo the work of the Bishop of Charleston who had confused the mind of the Pope : but he was not in perfect health, and in a matter of such moment would only consent to the appointment on condition that Thurlow Weed would go with him as his colleague. This proposition Mr. Weed at first emphatically declined, but the strongest arguments were brought to bear upon the great politician, and he reluctantly assented. The three commissioners-Bishop McIlvaine having accepted-were duly appointed a few days. before the exploit of Commodore Wilkes, and they sailed, Mr. Weed ac companied by his daughter, Miss Harriet Weed, about the same time that Mason and Slidell were captured. A cyclone of momentous and startling events followed Mr. Weed's arrival in Paris, where he was met by John Bigelow, and Mr. Sanford then minister to Belgium. These gentlemen sought to impress the unwelcome truth upon his mind, which he was slow to believe, that the intelligent classes among the French sympathized with the Southern Confederacy. News came by a steamer, following within a few hours of the one on which ers. Mr. Weed was a passenger, of the capture of the Confederate commissionThe excitement over it was intense. In England there was one universal and indignant war cry. After brief but earnest consultations with Minister Dayton, Archbishop Hughes, General Scott, and John Bigelow, Mr. Weed hastened to join Bishop McIlvaine in England. The whole story of Mr. Weed's European experiences, told by him in this library, the very walls of which seem saturated through and through with historic memories, would form a chapter such as history seldom produces. A few glimpses by the way must suffice, however, for our present purpose. While in England, for some eight months, Mr. Weed generally breakfasted with Mr. Edward Ellice, one of the most influential commoners in England (sixty-two years in Parliament), who was in the practice of gathering daily about his table the lights of literature and statesmanship. Mr. George Moffat, a wealthy banker, to whom he carried a letter, hastened to give Mr. Weed a handsome dinner, in order to bring him into personal acquaintance with the members of Parliament, inviting twenty-one of the leaders in that august body to meet him. At the office of George Peabody Mr. Weed found a throng of merchants, both English and American, panic-stricken by the clamor of war. Mr. Peabody introduced Mr. Weed to Mr. McCullagh Torrens, who urged an immediate interview with Earl Russell, England, to all appearances, was hopelessly disgruntled. In his first interview with Charles Francis Adams, then minister to England, by whom he was cordially received, Mr. Weed was informed that war with America was seriously contemplated, and that orders had gone out to all the arsenals and dock-yards to prepare for immediate service. Mr. Weed dined on the evening after meeting Mr. Torrens with Sir J. Emerson Pennent, meeting there a large war party of gentlemen, among them Lord Clarence Paget, of the Admiralty. On returning from this dinner he found Mr. Torrens waiting for him at his hotel, who, having arranged with Earl Russell to receive him, directed that Mr. Weed should drive to Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Hill, the Earl's country seat, next morning at eleven o'clock. Mr. Weed found the minister quite alone, and was treated with extreme courtesy. But conversation was at first very much embarrassed by the Earl's evident belief that the Northerners were the aggressors in America. After noting the temper of his host, Mr. Weed used every endeavor to soften his resentment at the "insult to the English flag," as he called the capture of Mason and Slidell, and reminded him, in a gentle and cautious manner that, in the impressment of American seamen, our government submitted to more than six thousand violations of its flag, and waited three years before resorting to war-in 1812. The Earl listened with sur |