. Lincoln at work : sketches from life. estern and eastern Virginia,Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and was a subject with which General Dix, forsome reason, was> supposed to be exceptionallyfamiliar, and concerning which he had formeddecided opinions of his own. These views, asthey were now brought out conversationally,were found to be very nearly, but not quite, inaccord with those of the President and thesecretary of state. It was a curiously informaland yet unspeakably important night the decisions made then and theremight depend the immediate future of largepopula
. Lincoln at work : sketches from life. estern and eastern Virginia,Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and was a subject with which General Dix, forsome reason, was> supposed to be exceptionallyfamiliar, and concerning which he had formeddecided opinions of his own. These views, asthey were now brought out conversationally,were found to be very nearly, but not quite, inaccord with those of the President and thesecretary of state. It was a curiously informaland yet unspeakably important night the decisions made then and theremight depend the immediate future of largepopulations, States, and, in proportional con-sequence, the welfare of the whole nation, theoutcome of the Civil War itself. TEE NIGHT COUNCIL 89 The long conference ended at last. Themaps and papers were restored to the three great men shook hands heartily,and Mr. Lincoln set out homeward. It wasraining only lightly; but the umbrella was up,and the President walked on under it veryslowly, as if he were thinking. Perhaps it was. It was a curiously informal council. my State pride which induced me to venturethe question, Now, Mr. Lincoln, what doyou think of General Dix ? He was silent for a moment. What do I think of him ? he then said. Well! This is the first time I ever met him ;but from what he has said to-night, from theadvice he has given, I should say that General Dix is a wise, a very wise man. 90 LINCOLN AT WORK That was satisfactory, and we walked on tothe breastwork-like stone parapet of the side-walk at the northeasterly corner of the WhiteHouse. Here the President halted and stoodstill, gazing southward. In that rainy, mistygloom, it was impossible for him to see the Po-tomac or the fort-crowned heights beyond were dimly glimmering points of lighthere and there, but all that he was staring intowas as a sort of symbol of the great darknesswhich at that date had settled over the like rain were falling everywhere, andthe wisest as well as
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