whether of good material or poor we cannot say, whether well-fitting or
ill-fitting we do not know, though we may easily guess. But we do know
that it had been crowded into a small carpet-bag and came out a mass of
wrinkles. And during the speech the collar or lappel annoyed both
speaker and audience by persisting in rising up unbidden.

These details are mentioned to show the difficulty of the task before
the orator. In the audience and on the platform were many of the most
brilliant and scholarly men of the metropolis. There were also large
numbers who had come chiefly to hear the westerner tell a lot of funny
stories. The orator was introduced by Bryant.

The speech was strictly intellectual from beginning to end. Though
Lincoln was not known in New York, Douglas was. So he fittingly took
his start from a quotation of Douglas. The speech cannot be epitomized,
but its general drift may be divined from its opening and closing
sentences.

The quotation from Douglas was that which had been uttered at Columbus
a few months before: "Our fathers, when they framed the government
under which we live, understood this question (the question of slavery)
just as well, and even better, than we do now." To this proposition the
orator assented. That raised the inquiry, What was their understanding
of the question? This was a historical question, and could be answered
only by honest and painstaking research.

Continuing, the speaker said: "Does the proper division of local from
Federal authority, or anything in the Constitution, forbid our Federal
government to control as to slavery in our Federal territories? Upon
this Senator Douglas holds the affirmative and the republicans the