Douglas, in spite of threats against his life, went into the Far South
appealing to them to consider the dangers ahead. The Democratic party
was hopelessly divided. Some partisan newspapers were carrying two
tickets on the editorial page. Others were fighting Douglas bitterly;
others supporting with fierce energy Breckenridge of Kentucky. Many were
scheming with a view to the contingency that the election would be a tie
and that the House of Representatives, in making the choice, would
select Douglas.
Chicago was a whirlpool of excitement. In the middle summer Albert
Edward, Prince of Wales, traveling in America as Baron Renfrew, came to
Chicago on his way hunting in Illinois. The fate of the nation was a
passing play to him. While he was here he was a greater object of
interest than either Douglas or Lincoln. We heard that he was to stand
on the balcony of his hotel to watch the political parades of the
evening. Mr. Williams and I went forth to see the future King of
England.
The city was thronged with people. Bands were playing everywhere. The
Wide-awakes, a Republican organization, were out in force marching as
soldiers, dressed in glazed caps and capes, carrying torches. Mottoes
and transparencies were borne aloft by hundreds. "Free soil for free
men." "No more slave territories.
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