SUSAN brings in tea-tray, and hands tea round. LINCOLN takes none. SUSAN goes.
Mrs. Otherly: Mr. President.
Lincoln: Yes, ma'am.
Mrs. Otherly: I don't like to impose upon your hospitality. I know how difficult everything is for you. But one has to take one's opportunities. May I ask you a question?
Lincoln: Certainly, ma'am.
Mrs. Otherly: Isn't it possible for you to stop this war? In the name of a suffering country, I ask you that.
Mrs. Blow: I'm sure such a question would never have entered my head.
Lincoln: It is a perfectly right question. Ma'am, I have but one thought always—how can this thing be stopped? But we must ensure the integrity of the Union. In two years war has become an hourly bitterness to me. I believe I suffer no less than any man. But it must be endured. The cause was a right one two years ago. It is unchanged.
Mrs. Otherly: I know you are noble and generous. But I believe that war must be wrong under any circumstances, for any cause.
Mrs. Blow: I'm afraid the President would have but little encouragement if he listened often to this kind of talk.