A second ballot was begun at last, and, obeying a force as sure as the law of gravitation, the former complimentary votes came rushing to Lincoln.  The whole 10 votes of Collamer, 44 from Cameron, 6 from Chase and McLean, were now cast for him, followed by a scatter of additions along the roll-call.  In this ballot Lincoln gained 79 votes, Seward only 11.  The faces of the New York delegation whitened as the balloting progressed and the torrent of Lincoln’s popularity became a river.  The result of the second ballot was:  Seward, 184-1/2; Lincoln, 181; scattering, 99-1/2[9].  When the vote of Lincoln was announced, there was a tremendous burst of applause, which the chairman prudently but with difficulty controlled and silenced.

The third ballot was begun amid a breathless suspense; hundreds of pencils kept pace with the roll-call, and nervously marked the changes on their tally-sheets.  The Lincoln figures steadily grew.  Votes came to him from all the other candidates—­4-1/2 from Seward, 2 from Cameron, 13 from Bates, 18 from Chase, 9 from Dayton, 3 from McLean, 1 from Clay.  Lincoln had gained 50-1/2, Seward had lost 4-1/2.  Long before the official tellers footed up their columns, spectators and delegates rapidly made the reckoning and knew the result:  Lincoln, 231-1/2; Seward, 180.[10] Counting the scattering votes, 465 ballots had been cast, and 233 were necessary to a choice; only 1-1/2 votes more were needed to make a nomination.

A profound stillness suddenly fell upon the wigwam; the men ceased to talk and the ladies to flutter their fans; one could distinctly hear the scratching of pencils and the ticking of telegraph instruments on the reporters’ tables.  No announcement had been made by the chair; changes were in order, and it was only a question of seconds who should speak first.  While every one was leaning forward in intense expectancy, David K. Cartter sprang upon his chair and reported a change of four Ohio votes from Chase to Lincoln.  There was a moment’s pause,—­a teller waved his tally-sheet towards the skylight and shouted a name,—­and then the boom of a cannon on the roof of the wigwam announced the nomination to the crowds in the streets, where shouts and salutes took up and spread the news.  In the convention the Lincoln river now became an inundation.  Amid the wildest hurrahs, delegation after delegation changed its vote to the victor.

[Illustration:  FAC-SIMILE OF LINCOLN’S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE.]

A graceful custom prevails in orderly American conventions, that the chairman of the vanquished delegation is first to greet the nominee with a short address of party fealty and promise of party support.  Mr. Evarts, the spokesman for New York, essayed promptly to perform this courteous office, but was delayed a while by the enthusiasm and confusion.  The din at length subsided, and the presiding officer announced that on the third ballot Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, received 364 votes, and “is selected as your candidate for President of the United States.”  Then Mr. Evarts, in a voice of unconcealed emotion, but with admirable dignity and touching eloquence, speaking for Seward and for New York, moved to make the nomination unanimous.