|Plate Number Two--This cartoon, "The Inside Track," published in _Vanity Fair_, on March 2, 1861, has for its motive the popular doubt and incertitude attending the make-up of the Cabinet and the policy of the new Administration toward the South. The President-elect is shown, with a doubtful expression on his face, flanked on either side by Thurlow Weed, who is drawn to represent a western river gambler of the period, and William H. Seward, while Horace Greeley, their sworn political foe, thrusts his head through the door in time to hear Weed remark impressively: "Trust to my friend Seward--trust to us. We'll compromise this little difficulty for you. But trust to us. Gentlemen from the country are often swindled by unprincipled sharpers. Trust to us." Seward, as we know, became Lincoln's Secretary of State, and Weed one of his trusted advisers, while the editor of the _Tribune_ remained until the end a thorn in the side of the President. [Illustration: 003] |Plate Number Three--This cartoon, "The Flight of Abraham," published in _Harper's Weekly_, on March 9, 1861, holds up to ridicule Lincoln's memorable secret journey from Harrisburg to Washington, but its point-of-view is a mistaken one. Lincoln's advisers had good grounds for believing that there existed a plot to murder him during his passage through Baltimore, and every consideration forbade needless risk. The trip across Maryland was, therefore, made suddenly and in private, but there was no attempt at personal disguise, as the cartoon infers, nor any undignified concealment on the part of Lincoln or the friends who accompanied him. [Illustration: 004] |Plate Number Four--This cartoon "Winding Off the Tangled Skein," published in _Harper's Weekly_, on March 30, 1861, recalls the days of doubt and waiting which preceded the firing on Sumter and the first call for troops. [Illustration: 005] |Plate Number Five--This cartoon, "The Spirit of '76," published in _Vanity Fair_, on May 4, 1861, breathes the spirit which prompted the great uprising of the North when the truth was brought home to its people that a war between the sections was not to be avoided. It shows the President watering a flower bed with the "Spirit of '76," and remarking to Columbia, who watches his work: "Ain't there a nice crop! There's the hardy Bunker Hill flower, the Seventh Regiment pink, the firebug tulip. That tri-colored flower grows near Independence Hall. The western blossoms and prairie flowers will soon begin to shoot." "What charming plant is this?" asks Columbia, pointing to a miniature gallows. "That is rare in this country," answers the President. "It will blossom soon and bear the Jeffersonia Davisiana." [Illustration: 006]