Gloom
darkened the North as a consequence of these unfortunate
speeches, for they expressed an optimism which we cannot believe
he really felt, and which hurt him in the estimation of the
country. "There is no crisis but an artificial one," was one of
his ill-timed assurances, and another, "There is nothing going
wrong.... There is nothing that really hurts any one." Of his
supporters some were discouraged; others were exasperated; and an
able but angry partisan even went so far as to write in a private
letter, "Lincoln is a Simple Susan."
The fourth of March arrived, and with it the end of Lincoln's
blundering. One good omen for the success of the new
Administration was the presence of Douglas on the inaugural
platform. He had accepted fate, deeply as it wounded him, and
had come out of the shattered party of evasion on the side of his
section. For the purpose of showing his support of the
administration at this critical time, he had taken a place on the
stand where Lincoln was to speak. By one of those curious little
dramatic touches with which chance loves to embroider history,
the presence of Douglas became a gracious detail in the memory of
the day. Lincoln, worn and awkward, continued to hold his hat in
his hand. Douglas, with the tact born of social experience,
stepped forward and took it from him without--exposing Lincoln's
embarrassment.
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