I
had loved Isabel and lost her. Douglas had loved the North and the Great
West. Was he to lose them?
Thus Douglas and I seemed to have arrived at the same place in life. He
was broken in fortune and without a party. I was burdened with what more
and more seemed to me a tainted fortune. And I was as isolated as he
was. I could not help but think of him constantly, of his long years of
labor, his great struggles, his heroic fight, his undaunted courage.
Could anything lift him out of his complication to honor and freedom?
He was the most talked of man for the Presidency. If he could only win
that now and stand as a master man for nationalism, union, progress,
peace, popular sovereignty, all the great liberties for which he had
battled. He had already failed twice to be nominated. If now he could
not win the prize, what would be his future as against the growing power
of the Republican party?
As my heart was set upon Douglas' ambition I set off for Charleston,
South Carolina, in April. Anything to alleviate my regret over Isabel.
When I arrived there I sought Douglas and found him deep in consultation
with his advisers. He was unmistakably confronted with the severest
contest of his life. He was delighted to see me and got me admission to
the convention hall. I had tried to come as a delegate; but Illinois had
split in a fight over her own son, and there were two delegations, one
for and one against Douglas.
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