Who wrote this?

[David Lockmiller]

Marquis Adolphe de Chambrun letter to his wife dated February 27, 1865:

The happenings on Saturday were far more sensational. I went to see a certain Mr. Kennedy, director of the Census. . . . He told me that Mrs. Lincoln was receiving and that, if I wished, we might go together. . . . In brief, I accepted, dressed and started out for the White House. That was Saturday, February 25th, at three o'clock.

The reception was almost over. Many guests had already left. In we went. Upon entering the first parlor, I at once perceived a tall man standing near the door, surrounded by an atmosphere of great respect. No mistake was possible; it was Mr. Lincoln himself! Apparently, when there are so many visitors in Washington, as is now the case on account of the Union victories, the President is apt to come to his wife's receptions. What an anxious moment! Here I was alone, without anyone to help, obliged to say a polite word in English to each of them. No possibility of retreat, though. I had time, while waiting my turn, to observe Mr. Lincoln closely. He is exceedingly thin, not so very tall. His face denotes an immense force of resistance and extreme melancholy.

It is plain that this man has suffered deeply. His eyes are superb, large and with a very profound expression when he fixes them on you. It cannot be said that he is awkward; his simplicity is too great for that. He has no pretense to having worldly ways and is unused to society, but there is nothing shocking in this, quite the contrary. The elevation of his mind is too evident; his heroic sentiments are so apparent that one thinks of nothing else. Nobody could be less of a parvenu. As President of a mighty nation, he remains just the same as he must have appeared while felling trees in Illinois. But I must add that he dominates everyone present and maintains his exalted position without the slightest effort.

I waited fifteen minutes before Mr. Kennedy could bring me up to him and then managed to say that my whole heart was engaged on the side of his political ideals; that I participated enthusiastically in his present success and that of his armies, feeling, as I did, that Union victory was the victory of all mankind. This seemed to please him, for he took my hand in both of his as he said how glad he was to find his policies so well understood.

[book pages 20-22.]