The following day , Everett wrote a letter to Lincoln . In the letter , he praised the President for his speech , saying , `` I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central ( main ) idea of the occasion , in two hours , as you did in two minutes '' . In a letter to Lincoln written the following day , Everett praised the President for his eloquent and concise speech , saying , `` I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion , in two hours , as you did in two minutes . ''