[82] with green cloth, and filled with a multitude of “state papers.” At this table sat the Secretary. He rose as we entered, and, as Judge Ould introduced us, took our hands, and said:
I am glad, very glad, to meet you, gentlemen. I have read your note, and--bowing to me--“the open letter you bring from----. Your errand commands my respect and sympathy. Pray be seated.” As we took the proffered seats, the Colonel, drawing off his “duster,” and displaying his uniform, said:
We thank you for this cordial reception, Mr. Benjamin. We trust you will be as glad to hear us as you are to see us.“No doubt I shall be, for you come to talk of peace. Peace is what we all want.” “It is, indeed; and for that reason we are here to see Mr. Davis. Can we see him, sir?” “Do you bring any overtures to him from your Government?” “No, sir. We bring no overtures and have no authority from our Government. We state that in our note. We would be glad, however, to know what terms will be acceptable to Mr. Davis. If they at all harmonize with Mr. Lincoln's views, we will report them to him, and so open the door for official negotiations.” “Are you acquainted with Mr. Lincoln's views?” “One of us is, fully.” “Did Mr. Lincoln, in any way, authorize you to come here?” “No, sir. We came with his pass, but not by his request. We say, distinctly, we have no official, or unofficial, authority. We come as men and Christians, not as diplomatists, hoping, in a frank talk with Mr. Davis, to discover some way by which this war may be stopped.” “Well, gentlemen, I will repeat what you say to the President, and if he follows my advice — and I think he will — he will meet you. He will be at church this afternoon; so, suppose you call here at nine this evening. If anything should occur in the meantime to prevent his seeing you, I will let you know through Judge Ould.” Throughout this interview the manner of the Secretary was cordial; but with this cordiality was a strange constraint and diffidence, almost amounting to timidity, which struck both my companion and myself. Contrasting his manner with the quiet dignity of the Colonel, I almost fancied our positions reversed — that, instead of our being in his power, the Secretary was in ours, and momently expecting to hear some unwelcome sentence from our lips. There is something, after all, in moral power. Mr. Benjamin does not possess it, nor is he a great man. He has a keen, shrewd, ready intellect, but not the stamina to originate, or even to execute, any great good or great wickedness. After a day spent in our room, conversing with the Judge, or watching the passers-by in the street — I should like to tell who they were and how they looked, but such information is just now contraband — we called again, at nine o'clock, at the State Department. Mr. Benjamin occupied his previous seat at the table, and at his right sat a spare, thin-featured man, with iron-gray hair and beard, and a clear, gray eye, full of life and vigor. He had a broad, massive forehead, and a mouth and chin denoting great energy and strength of will. His face was emaciated, and much wrinkled, but his features were good, especially his eyes — though one of them bore a scar, apparently made by some sharp instrument. He wore a suit of grayish-brown, evidently of foreign manufacture, and, as he rose, I saw that he was about five feet ten inches high, with a slight stoop in the shoulders. His manners were simple, easy, and quite fascinating; and he threw an indescribable charm into his voice, as he extended his hand, and said to us:
I am glad to see you, gentlemen. You are very welcome to Richmond.And this was the man who was President of the United States under Franklin Pierce, and who is now the heart, soul, and brains of the Southern Confederacy! His manner put me entirely at my ease — the Colonel would be at his, if he stood before Caesar — and I replied:
We thank you, Mr. Davis. It is not often you meet men of our clothes, and our principles, in Richmond.“Not often — not so often as I could wish; and I trust your coming may lead to a more frequent and a more friendly intercourse between the North and the South.” “We sincerely hope it may.” “Mr. Benjamin tells me you have asked to see me, to” ---- And he paused, as if desiring we should finish the sentence. The Colonel replied:
Yes, sir. We have asked this interview in the hope that you may suggest some way by which this war can be stopped. Our people want peace — your people do, and your Congress has recently said that you do. We have come to ask how it can be brought about.“In a very simple way. Withdraw your armies from our territory, and peace will come of itself. We do not seek to subjugate you. We are not waging an offensive war, except so far as it is offensive-defensive — that is, so far as we are forced to invade you to prevent your invading us. Let us alone, and peace will come at once.” “But we cannot let you alone so long as you repudiate the Union. That is the one thing the Northern people will not surrender.” “I know. You would deny to us what you exact for yourselves — the right of self-government.” “No, sir,” I remarked. “We would deny you no natural right. But we think Union essential to peace; and, Mr. Davis, could two people, with the same language, separated by ”
