nine o'clock
`` We came with his pass , but not by his request . We came as men and Christians , not as diplomats , hoping , in a frank talk with Mr. Davis , to discover some way by which this war may be stopped . '' `` Well , gentlemen , '' said Benjamin , `` I will repeat what you say to the President , and if he follows my advice , he will meet you . '' At nine o'clock the two men had entered the State Department and found Jefferson Davis seated at the long table on the right of his Secretary of State . John Vaughan was given a seat at the other end of the table to report the interview for Mr. Benjamin . He studied the distinguished President of the Confederate States with interest . He had never seen him before .