At the Capitol, before the inauguration ceremony began, Buchanan took Lincoln aside. Private secretary John Hay watched. “I waited with boyish wonder and credulity to see what momentous counsels were to come from that gray and weather-beaten head. Every word must have its value at such an instant. Buchanan said: ‘I think you will find the water of the right-hand well at the White House better than that of the left.’ ”
