The New York Election--Mr. Lincoln tells a Story--Cannot do Justice to the Subject--Mr. Lincoln Feels Bad--The Major Amuses him by a Joke--How to get up a Message--Keeping a Party Together--The Excelsior Political Prepared Glue--The Different Stripes of Abolitionists--Boating on the Mississippi River--Poleing Along. 175 LETTER XXI. The Message--A Cabinet Council--Speeches of Seward, Chase, Stanton, Welles, Blair and Bates--Mr. Lincoln tells a Story--The Major gives His Opinion--Mr. Chase Accuses Him of Disloyalty--The Major Demands a Retraction--It is Given. 182 LETTER XXII. The Message Finished--Mr. Sumner says it is not Grammatical--The Major's Excuse--Mr. Sumner Finds Fault with the Major's Spelling --The Major Stumps Him--He Gives His Views on "Edication"--Mr. Lincoln Proposes a Conundrum--The Major tells a Story--Mr. Seward's Opinion on the War. 191 LETTER XXIII. The Major Goes to See the Postmaster-General about Stopping Papers--Mr. Blair Promises to Release Them--The President Again in Trouble--A Change in the Cabinet Demanded--The Major Suggests a Remedy for "the Crysis." 199 LETTER XXIV. The Emancipation Proclamation--The Way to Get to Richmond--Splitting the Union--The Major tells a Story about Splitting--The President Gets Indignant--Seizes the Boot-jack--The Major Pacifies Him--A Dream--The Major Returns to Downingville. 207 LETTER XXV. The Major Feels Sorrowful over the Fate of His Country--The Story of the Black Heifer--The Man who Made a "Siss"--The Union--"Insine" Stebbins Again--His Reception at Downingville--"The Insensibles"--A Provoking Accident. 214 LETTER XXVI. The Democratic Party Whipped--Things as bad as they can be--A Story in Point--Mr. Lincoln sends for the Major again--The Major writes him a Letter--The Return of "Kernel" Stebbins, formerly "Insine" --His Reception at Downingville--"Kernel" Doolittle's Speech-- "Kernel" Stebbins' Reply--Elder Sniffles' Preaches a Sermon. 221 LETTER XXVII. The Major starts for Washington--Takes his Axe with Him--Mr. Lincoln Glad to see Him--The Cabinet in Session--The opinion of Seward, Chase, Stanton and others--The Major called on for an opinion--The Story of Old Sam Odum--Mr. Stanton gets Excited. 228 LETTER XXVIII. The Major and the "Kernel" at work on the Message--The Major visits Mr. Chase again--Sees the Machines for Printing Greenbacks--A Machine for every General--The Accounts mixed Up--Mr. Lincoln gets Flighty over them--The Major Puts him to bed, and applies a mustard-plaster--He Revives, and proposes a Conundrum--The Major also proposes one. 235 LETTER XXIX.