Jennings: It's a delicate matter, Mr. Lincoln. Ours is just an informal visit.
Lincoln: Quite, quite. But we shall lose nothing by knowing each other's minds.
White: Shall we tell the President what we came to say, Mr. Seward?
Lincoln: I shall be grateful. If I should fail to understand, Mr. Seward, no doubt, will enlighten me.
Jennings: We thought it hardly worth while to trouble you at so early a stage.
Lincoln: So early a stage of what?
Jennings: I mean—
Seward: These gentlemen, in a common anxiety for peace, were merely seeking the best channel through which suggestions could be made.
Lincoln: To whom?
Seward: To the government.