possibly did, the work he wanted done in the East must be done by him.  He went West again for a few days only, to settle his plans with Sherman.  Sherman with his army of 100,000 was to follow Johnston’s army of about 60,000, wherever it went, till he destroyed it.  Grant with his 120,000 was to keep up an equally unfaltering fight with Lee’s army, also of 60,000.  There was, of course, nothing original about this conception except the idea, fully present to both men’s minds, of the risk and sacrifice with which it was worth while to carry it out.  Lincoln and Grant had never met till this month.  Grant at the first encounter was evidently somewhat on his guard.  He was prepared to like Lincoln, but he was afraid of mistaken dictation from him, and determined to discourage it.  Also Stanton had advised him that Lincoln, out of mere good nature, would talk unwisely of any plans discussed with him.  This was probably quite unjust.  Stanton, in order to keep politicians and officers in their places, was accustomed to bite off the noses of all comers.  Lincoln, on the contrary, would talk to all sorts of people with a readiness which was sometimes astonishing, but there was a good deal of method in this—­he learnt something from these people all the time—­and he certainly had a very great power of keeping his own counsel when he chose.  In any case, when Grant at the end of April left Washington for the front, he parted with Lincoln on terms of mutual trust which never afterwards varied.  Lincoln in fact, satisfied as to his general purpose, had been happy to leave him to make his plans for himself.  He wrote to Grant:  “Not expecting to see you again before the spring campaign begins, I wish to express in this way my entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time so far as I understand it.  The particulars of your plan I neither know nor seek to know.  You are vigilant and self-reliant, and, pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any constraints or restraints upon you.  While I am very anxious that any great disaster or capture of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I know these points are less likely to escape your attention than they would be mine.  If there is anything wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me know it.  And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain you.”  Grant replied:  “From my first entrance into the volunteer service of the country to the present day I have never had cause of complaint—­have never expressed or implied a complaint against the Administration, or the Secretary of War, for throwing any embarrassment in the way of my vigorously prosecuting what appeared to me my duty.  Indeed, since the promotion which placed me in command of all the armies, and in view of the great responsibility and importance of success, I have been astonished at the readiness with which everything asked for has been yielded, without even an explanation being asked.  Should my success be less than I desire or expect, the least I can say is, the fault is not with you.”  At this point the real responsibility of Lincoln in regard to military events became comparatively small, and to the end of the war those events may be traced with even less detail than has hitherto been necessary.