llxxx ^ 6e^>t/lxx^^t^ ■aa.'. -.aff eifsaBB;;?^!*-?.-. LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER ABRAHAM LTNCOL^^ THB 16th president OP THE UNITED STATES. ANECDOTES OF Abraham Lincoln AND LINCOLN'S STORIES. [DNITED STAIEi CAPITOL.] INCLUDING Early Life Stories, Professional Life Stories, White House Stories, War Stories, Miscellaneous Stories. Edited by J. B. McCLURE, Compiler of '■'' Moody's Anecdotes :" ^^ Moody's Child Stories ;'" '■'■ Edison an i His • Inventions;" ^^ Entertaining Anecdotes ;" ^^ Mistakes of Inger soil :" ''^ Ingersoir s Ans2vers ;''' etc., etc. CHICAGO: RHODES & McCLURE, PUBLISHERS. 1879. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by J. B. JIcClueb & R. S. Rhodes, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. All Rights Reserved. Electrotyped and Printed by Ottawat & Company. DoNOHUE & Hejtneberrt, Binders. / w' » /• /-~ {ff . RM IS 7ci.^«-^>w/ Said Mr. Lincoln, to Dr. Gulliver, on a certain occasion when the versatile Doctor had highly complimented the then coming President concerning one of his speeches : " I should very much like to know what it was in my speech which you thought so remarkable, and which interested my friend, the Profes- sor (of Yale College), so much?" " The clearness," answered Dr. G., " of your statements, the unanswer- able style of your reasoning and especially your illustrations, which were romance, and -pathos, and fun, and logic, all icelded together.'" The great Lincoln thanked the clerical celebrity, and said : " That reminds me of a storj-," and then proceeded to tell how the Yale Professor had taken notes on his New Haven speech, and had lectured his class, and had followed him to Meriden for further " notes,"' etc. Thus is demonstrated the superior value that attaches to Mr. Lincoln's "illustrations," which, as all the world knows, were made of pointed, pungent, pithy and practical stories, drawn from an inexhaustible source, and always available on every possible occasion. Perhaps there never lived a greater story-teller than Abraham Lincoln, and one who told them alwaj-s with such magic effect. "With him, the "appropriate story " was SLjyower, and his remarkable faculty in telling tiicm was an essential factor in his greatness. In this volume the compiler has aimed to present, in a conveniently classified form, the Anecdotes and Stories of this wonderful man, as narrated bj' him to the lowly and the great, in peace and war, at the fireside and bar, in the wilderness and White-house, with that zest and potency which made Mr. Lincoln such a remarkable man. It is our sincere desire that in this form the book may be of real interest and prove a further means of usefulnas to every reader. Our indebtedness is specially acknowledged for aid found in F. B. Carpenter's "Six Months in the White-house;" J. G. Holland's "Life ■of Lincoln;" the Press, and to the many friends who have contributed. J. B. McCLURE. Chicago, III., July 4, 1879. 5 EARLY LIFE. A Batch of Lincoln's Reminiscences 49 A Hard Tussle with Seven Negroes — Life on a Mississippi Flat Boat 27 A Humorous Speech — Lincoln in the Black Hawk War 39 A Pig Story — Lincoln's Kindness to the Brute Creation - . 2& An Honest Boy — Young Lincoln " Pulls Fodder " Two Days for a Damaged Book 14 An Incident of Lincoln's Early Hardships 18 An Incident or Two Illustrating Lincoln's Honesty 22 Captain Lincoln — How he Became Captain 38 Elected to the Legislature — Lincoln Walks to the State Capitol.. . 41 General Linder's Early Recollections of Lincoln 46 How Lincoln Earned his First Dollar 13 How Lincoln Helped to Build- a Boat — How he Loaded the Live Stock 23 How Lincoln Piloted a Flat Boat over a Mill Dam 84 Lincoln and his Gentle Annie — A Touching Incident 20 Lincoln's First Political Speech 40 Lincoln's Marriage — Some very Interesting Letters 44 Lincoln's Mechanical Ingenuity — His Patent Boat 31 Lincoln's Mother — How he Loved Her 45 Lincoln Splits Several Hundred Rails for a Pair of Pants 28 Lincoln's Story of a Girl in New Salem 29 Little Lincoln Firing at Big Game Through the Cracks of his Cabin Home _ 17 Mrs. Brown's Story of Young Abe 30 Remarkable Story — " Honest Abe " as Postmaster 32 Returning from the Legislature — A Joke on Lincoln's Big Feet.. 43 Showing How Lincoln Resented an Insult 24 6 CONTENTS. > r Ijyplitting Bails ard Studying Mathematics 34 '"The Long Nine " — Lincoln the Longest of All 42 What some Men say About Young Lincoln 25 When and Where Lincoln Obtained the Name of " Honest Abe," 31 Young Lincoln and his Books — Their Influence on his Mind 19 Young Lincoln and the '' Clary's Grove Boys," 48 Young Lincoln's' Ivlndness of Heart 18 '■a PROFESSIONAL LIFE. A Famous Story — How Lincoln was Presented with a Knife 60 A Revolutionary Prisoner Defended by Lincoln 75 An Amusing Story concerning Thompson Campbell 60 An Honest Lawyer — Some of Lincoln's Cases - 74 An Incident Related by one of Lincoln's Clients. 64 General Liuder's Account of the Lincoln-Shields Duel 71 How Lincoln and Judge B Swapped Horses 55 How Lincoln kept his Business Accounts 68 Honest Abe and his Lady Client. 67 Hon. Newton Bateman's Story of Mr. Lincoln. 79 Incident Connected with Lincoln's Nommation 70 Lincoln and " His Sisters and his Cousins, and his Aunts," 67 Lincoln and his Step-mother — How he Bought her a Farm 59 Lincoln as a Story Teller — A Practical ,E.\ample. 77 Lincoln Defends the Son of an Old Friend Indicted for Murder.. 72 Lincoln in Court 68 Lincoln's Pungent Retort 74 Lincoln's Story of a Young Lawyer as told to General Garfield.. 58 Lincoln's Story of Joe Wilson and his " Spotted Animals," 63 Lincoln's Valor — He Defends Col. Baker 65 One of Lincoln's Hardest Hits 69 Remarkable Law Suit about a Colt — How Lincoln Won the Case, 55 The Lincoln-Shields Duel — How it Originated 16 Thrilling Story— Lincoln's Twenty Years' Agitation in Illinois... 76. WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. A Home Incident — Lincoln and Little " Tad," 105 A Little Story which Lincoln told the Preachers 85 A Praying President — " Prayer and Praise," 120 A " Pretty Tolerable Respectable Sort of a Clergyman," 94 An Apt Illustration 99 8 CONTENTS. An Instance where the President's Mind "Wandered 104 An Irish Soldier who wanted Something Stronger than Soda "Water --- 90 Comments of Mr. Lincoln on the Emancipation Proclamation... 109 Common Sense -.. 93 Criticism— Its Effect on Mr. Lincoln— A Bull Frog Story 111 Ejecting a Cashiered Officer from the "White House 113 How Lincoln and Stanton Dismissed Applicants for Office 101 How Lincoln "Browsed Around," 100 How Lincoln Opened the Eyes of a "Visitor 97 How Lincoln Stood up for the "Word " Sugar Coated," 86 How the Negroes Regarded " Massa Linkum," 115 Lincoln's Advice to a Prominent Bachelor 87 Lincoln and the Committee on " Grant's Whisky,". 94 Lincoln and the Newspapers. 111 Lincoln and the Preacher 104 Lincoln and the Wall Street Gold Gamblers 114 Lincoln Arguing Against the Emancipation Proclamation 110 Lincoln Cutting Red Tape. 100 Lincoln's Habits in the White House— The Same " Old Abe," 117 Lincoln's High Compliment to the Women of America 118 Lincoln in the Hour of Deep Sorrow — He Recalls his Mother's Praj'ers 118 Lincoln's Laugh Ill Lincoln's Little Speech to the Union League Committee - . 113 Lincoln Mourning for his Lost Son is Comforted by Rev. Dr. Vinton, 106 Looking out for Breakers 91 Lincoln's Story of a Poodle Dog 112 Lincoln Wipes the Tears from his Eyes, and Tells a Story 109 Minnehaha and Minneboohoo 97 More Light and Less Noise 99 Mr. Lincoln and the Bashful Boys 88 One of Lincoln's Drolleries 101 One of Lincoln's Last Stories. 116 President Lincoln and the Artist, Carpenter 97 Telling a Story and Pardoning a Soldier — Lincoln did Both 121 The Kind of Cane Lincoln Made and Carried when a Boy. 93 Trying the " Greens " on Jake— A Serious Experiment 85 Stories Illustrating Lincoln's Memory 92 Work Enough for Twenty Presidents 91 CONTENTS. WAR STORIES. A Celebrated Case Settled with lancoln-like Celerity 140 A Church which God Wanted for the Wounded Soldiers.. 144 A Dream that was Portentous— What Lincoln Said to Geueial Grant About it , 147 A Little Soldier Boy that Lincoln wanted to Bow to. 127 Amusing Anecdote of a " Hen-pecked Husband," 138 A Short Practical Sermon 139 A Soldier that Knew no Royalty 126 A Touching Incident in the Life of Lincoln 132 An Interesting Visit to the Hospitals — How the Soldiers Received Him.. 132 Could not allow a Soldier to be more Polite than Himself 131 Cutting Reply to the Confederate Commission — His Story of " Root Hog or Die," 155 How Lincoln Illustrated What Might Be Done with Jeff Davis.. 154 How Lincoln Relieved Rosecrans 145 Interesting Incident Connected with Signing the Emancipation Proclamation •. 146 Lincoln and Judge Baldwin 148 Lmcolu's Curt Reply to a Clergyman 139 Lincoln Proposes to " Borrow the Army " from one of his Gen- erals 131 Lincoln's Second Nomination — Lincoln Sees Two Images of him- self in a Mirror 153 Lincoln's War Story of Andy Johnson — Col. Moody's Prayers 125 Lincoln While in Bed Pardons a Soldier 128 Mr. Lincoln and a Clergyman 134 No Mercy for the Man Stealer— Lincoln Uses Very Strong Lan- guage 151 Recollections of the War President, by Judge William Johnson.. 141 Hemarkable Letter from Lincoln to General Hooker 135 Sallie Ward's Practical Philosophy 128 The Great Thing About General Grant as Lincoln Saw it ... 153 The Merciful President 150 The Serpent in Bed with Two Children 143 What Lincoln Considered the " Great Event of the Nineteenth Centurv" 130 10 CONTENTS. MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. A couple of good Stories — How Lincoln took his Altitude — A Prophetic Bowl of Milk. 169 Abraham Lincoln's Death — Walt Whitman's description of the Scene at Ford's Theatre 184 An Amusing Illustration. 168 Attending Henry Ward Beechers Church — What Lincoln said of Beecher 15» D. L. Moody's Story of Lincoln's Compassion 176 Feat at the Washington Navy Yard with an Axe 163 Funeral Services of Lincoln's Mother— The Old Pastor and Young Abraham 1.. 164 How Lincoln Won a Case from his Partner — Laughable Toilet Ignorance 17J> Interesting Anecdote of Lincoln related by Rev. J. P. Gulliver... 173 Lincoln and his New Hat 163 Lincoln and the Little Baby— A Touching Story. 175 Lincoln at the Five Points House of Industry at New York 161 Lincoln's Failure as a Merchant — Six Years later he pays his Debts 163 Lincoln Joking Douglas — A Splendid " Whisky Cask," 178 Lmcoln's Last Story and Last Written Words and Conversations. 183 Lincoln's Life as written by himself — The whole thing in a Nut- shell - 179 Lincoln's Love for Little Tad '. „ 160 Lincoln's Love for the Little Ones 170 Lincoln's Story about Dan Webster's Soiled Hands 175 Little Lincoln Stories l80 Something concerning Mr. Lincoln's Religious Views 166 Thurlow Weed's Recollections 167. Abraham Lincoln, Sixteenth President of the U. S Frontispiece United States Capitol Vignette, Title Page Early Home of the Lincolns in Illinois 36 Birth Place of Abraham Lincoln 16 Illinois State Capitol, Springfield, Illinois 54 Abraham Lincoln, the Lawyer 66 United States Capitol at Washington 84 White Pigeon Church 96 Lincoln Monument, Springfield, Illinois 124 Douglas Monument, Chicago 138 Home of the Lincolns in Indiana 158 Abraham Lincoln's Residence at Springfield, Illinois 173 -^f^- CLASSIFICATION. "^^^ Early Life Stories 13 Professional Life Stories 55 White-House Incidents 85 War Stories 125 Miscellaneous Stories 159 11 ANECDOTES OF Abraham Lincoln. EARLY LIFE. How Lincoln Sarned His First Dollar. The following interesting story was told by Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Seward and a few friends one evening in the E:xecntive Mansion at Washington. The President said : " Seward, you never heard, did you, how I earned my first dollar ? " " No," rejoined Mr. Seward. '' Well," continued Mr. Lincoln, "I belonged, you know, to what they call down South, the 'scrubs.' We had succeeded in raising^ chiefly by my labor, sufficient produce, as I thought, to justify me in taking it down the river to sell. " After much persuasion, I got the consent of mother to go, and constructed a little flatboat, large enough to take a barrel or two of things that we had gathered, with myself and little bundle, down to the Southern market. A steamer was coming down the river. We have, you know, no wharves on the Western streams ; and the custom was, if passengers were at any of the landings, for them to go out in a boat, the steamer stopping and taking them on board. " I was contemplating my new flatboat, and wondering whether I could make it stronger or improve it in any par- 13 14 LINCOLN STORIES. ticular, when two men came down to the shore in carriages with trunks, and looking at the different boats singled out mine, and asked, 'Who owns this V I answered, somewhat modestly, ' I do.' ' Will you,' said one of them, ' take us and our trunks out to the steamer ?' ' Certainly,' said I. I was very glad to have the chance of earning something. I supposed that each of them would give me two or three bits. The trunks were put on my flatboat, the passengers seated themselves on the trunks, and I sculled them out to the steamboat. " They got on board, and I lifted up their heavy trunks, and put them on deck. The steamer was about to put on steam again, when I called out that they had forgotten to pay me. Each of them took from his pocket a silver half- dollar, and threw it on the floor of my boat. I could scarcely believe my eyes as I picked up the money. Gentle- men, you may think it was a very little thing, and in these days it seems to me a trifle ; but it was a most important incident in my life. I could scarcely credit that I, a poor boy, had earned a dollar in less than a day — tlmt by honest work I had earned a dollar. The world seemed wider and fairer before me. I was a more hopeful and confident being from that time." X An Honest Boy— Young Lincoln "Pulls Fodder" Two Days for a Damaged Book. The following incident, illustrating several traits already developed in the early boyhood of Lincoln, is vouched for by a citizen of Evansville, Ind., who knew him in the days referred to : /In his eagerness to acquire knowledge, young Lincoln had borrowed of Mr. Crawford, a neighboring farmer, a copy of Weeras' Life of Washington — the only one known i^' # ' lliiili I p liiji^ I llii|||{||p iiiiiiliili,,, iii P !l' i I III 03 O EARLY LIFE. 17 to be in existence in that region of country. Before he had finished reading the book, it had been left, by a not unnatural oversight, in a window. Meantime, a rain storm came on, and the book was so thoroughly wet as to make it nearly worthless. This mishap caused him much pain ; but he went, in all honesty, to Mr. Crawford with the ruined book, explained tlie calamity that had happened through his neglect, and offered, not having sufficient money, to " work out " the value of the book. " Well, Abe," said Mr. Crawford, after due deliberation, " as it's you, I won't be hard on you. Just come over and pull fodder for me for two days, and we will call our accounts even." The offer was readily accepted, and the engagement lit- erally fulfilled. As a boy, no less than since, Abraham Lincoln had an honorable conscientiousness, integrity, industry, and an ardent love of knowledge. liittle Lincoln Firing at Big Game Through the Cracks of His Cabin Home. While yet a little boy, one day when Lincoln was in his cabin home, in what was then a wilderness in Indiana, he chanced to look through a crack in the log walls of the humble residence and espied a flock of wild turkeys feeding within range of his father's trusty rifle. He at once took in the possibilities of the situation and ventured to take down the old gun, and quietly putting the long barrel through the opening, with a hasty aim, fired into the flock. When the smoke had cleared away, it was observed that one of the turkeys lay dead on the field. This is said to have been the largest game on which Lincoln ever pulled a trigger, his brilliant success in this instance having no power to excite in him the passion for hunting. 2 18 LINCOLN STORIES. An Incident of Lincoln's Early Hardships and Narrow Escape from Death. A little incident occurred while young Lincoln lived ir. Indiana, wliich illustrates the early hardships and surround- ings to which he was subjected. On one occasion he was obliged to take his grist upon the back of his father's horse, and ^o fifty unites to get it ground. The mill itselt was very rude, and driven by horse-power. The customers were obliged to wait their " turn," without reference to their distance from home, and then use their own horse to propel the machinery ! On this occasion, Abraham, having arrived at his turn, fastened his mare to the lever, and was following her closely upon her rounds, when, urging her with a switch, and "clucking" to her in the usual way, he received a kick from her Avhich prostrated liiui, and made him insensible. With the first instant of returning con- sciousness, he finished the chick, which he had commenced when he received the kick (a fact for the psychologist), and with the next he probably thought about getting home, where he arrived at last, battered, but ready for further service. Young Lincoln's Kindness of Heart — He Carries Home and Nurses a Drunkard. An instance of young Lincoln's practical humanity at an early period of his life is recorded, as follows : One even- ing, while returning from a " raising " in his wide neigh- borhood, with a number of companions, he discovered a straying horse, with saddle and bridle upon him. The horse was recognized as belonging to a man who was accus- tomed to excess in drink, and it was suspected at once that the owner was not far off. A short search only was neces- sary to confirm tlie suspicions of the young men. EARLY LIFE. 19 The poor drunkard was found in a perfectly helpless con- dition, upon the chilly ground. Abraham's companions urged the cowardly policy of leaving him to his fate, but young Lincoln would not hear to the proposition. At his request, the miserable sot was lifted to his shoulders, and he actually carried him eighty rods to the nearest house. Sending" word to his father that he should not be back that night, with the reason for his absence, he attended and nursed the man until the morning, and had the pleasure of believing that he had saved his life. Young Lincoln and His Books — Their Influence on His Mind. The books which Abraham had the early privilege of reading were the Bible, much of which he could repeat, ^sop's Fables, all of which he could repeat. Pilgrim's Prog- ress, Weems' Life of Washington, and a Life of Henry Clay, which his mother had managed to ])urchase for him. Subsequently he read the Life of Franklin and Ramsey's Life of Washington. In these books, read and re-read, he found meat for his hungry mind. The Holy Bible, ^sop and John Bunyan — could three better books have been chosen for him from the richest library? For those who have witnessed the dissipating effects of many books upon the minds of modern children it is not hard to believe that Abraham's poverty of books was the wealth of his life. These three books did much to perfect that which his mother's teachings had begun, and to form a character which, for quaint simplicity, earnestness, truth- fulness and purity has never been surpassed among the his- toric personages of the world. The Life of Washington, while it gave to him a lofty example of patriotism, incident- ally conveyed to his mind a general kno"«'ledge of Ameri- can history; and the Life of Henry Clay spoke to him of a 20 LINCOLN STORIES. living man who had risen to political and professional emi- nence from circumstances ahnost as humble as his own. The latter book undoubtedly did much to excite his taste for politics, to kindle his ambition, and to make him a warm admirer and j^artisan of Henry Clay. Abraham must have been very young when he read Weems' Life of Washing- ton, and we catch a glimpse of his precocity in the thoughts which it excited, as revealed by himself in a speech made to the I^ew Jersey Senate, while on his way to Washington to assume the duties of the Pi'esidency. .Vlluding to his early reading of this book, he says: "I remember all the accounts there given of the battle fields and struggles for the liberties of the country, and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. * * * 7 recol- lect tldnkbig then, hoy even though I loas, that there must have heen something more than common that those men utr higgled for r Even at this age, he was not only an inter- ested reader of the story, but a student of motives. Lincoln and His Gentle Annie — A Touching Incident. The following interesting particulars connected with the early life of Abraham Lincoln, are from the Yirginia (111.) Enquirer, of date. March 1, 1S79: John McNamer was buried last Sunday, near Petersburg,. Menard County. A long while ago he was Assessor and Treasurer of the county for several successive terms. Mr. Mci*^amer was an early settler in that section, and before the Town of Petersburg was laid out was in business at Old Salem, a village that existed many years ago two miles south of tlie present site of Petersburg. Abe Lincoln was then postmaster of the place, and sold whisky to its inhabi- tants. There are old-timers yet living in Menard wlio EARLY LIFE. 21 l)ought many a jug of corn-juice from Old Abe when he lived at Salem. It was here that Annie Kutlege dwelt, and in whose grave Lincoln wrote that his heart was buried. As the story runs, the fair and gentle Annie was originally John McNaraer's sweetheart, but Abe took a " shine " to the young lady, and succeeded in heading off McNamer, and won her affections. But Annie Rutlege died, and Lin- coln went to Springfield, where he some time afterwards married. It is related that during the war a lady belonging to a prominent Kentucky family visited Washington to beg for her son's pardon, who was then in prison under sentence of death for belonging to a band of guerrillas who had com- mitted manv murders and outraaces. With the mother was her daughter, a beautiful young lady, who was an accom- plished musician. Mr. Lincoln received the visitors in his usual kind manner, and the mother made known the object of her visit, accompanying her plea with tears and sobs and all the customary dramatic incidents. There were probably extenuating circumstances in favor •of the young Rebel prisoner, and while the President seemed to be deeply pondering, the young lady moved to a piano near by, and taking a seat commenced to sing " Gentle Annie,'' a very sweet and pathetic ballad, which, before the war, was a familiar song in almost every household in the Union, and is not vet entirelv forgotten, for that matter. It is to be presumed the young lady sang the song with moreplaintiveness and effect than Old Abe had ever heard it in Springfield. During its rendition, he arose from his seat, crossed the room to a window in the westward, through which he gazed for several minutes with that " sad, far- away look," which has so often been noted as one of his peculiarities. His memory, no doubt, went back to the ■days of his humble life on the banks of the Sangamon, and 22 LINCOLN STORIES. witli visions of Old Salem and its rustic people, who once gathered in his primitive store, came a picture of the " Gen- tle Annie " of his youth, whose ashes had rested for many long years under the wild flowers and brambles of the old rural burying-ground, but whose spirit then, perhaps, guided him to the side of mercy. Be that as it may, Mr. Lincoln drew a large red silk handkerchief from his coat-pocket, with which he wiped his face vigorously. Then he turned,, advanced quickly to his desk, wrote a brief note, which he handed to the lady, and informed her that it was the par- don she sought. The scene was no doubt touching in a great degree, and proves that a nice song, well sung, has often a powerful influence in recalling tender recollections. It proves, also, that Abraham Lincoln was a man of fine feelings, and that, if the occurrence was a put-up job on the lady's part, it accomplished its purpose all the same. An Incident or Two Illustrating Lincoln's Honesty. Lincoln could not rest for an instant under the conscious- ness that he had, even unwittingly, defrauded anybody. On one occasion, while clerking in Oft'utt's store, at New Salem, 111., he sold a woman a little bill of goods, amount- ing in value by the reckoning, to two dollars six and a quar- ter cents. He received the money, and the woman went away. On adding the items of the bill again, to make him- self sure of correctness, he found that he had taken six and a quarter cents too much. It was night, and, closing and locking the store, he started out on foot, a distance of two or three miles, for the house of his defrauded customer, and, delivering over to her the sum whose possession had so much troubled him, went home satisfied. On another occasion, just as he was closing the store for EARLY LIFE. 23 the niglit, a woman entered, and asked for a half pound of tea. Tiie tea was weighed out and paid for, and the store was left for the night. The next morning, Lincoln entered to begin the duties of the daj, when he discovered a four- ounce weio'ht on the scales. Pie saw at once that he had made a mistake, and, shutting the store, he took a long walk before breakfast to deliver the remainder of the tea. These are very humble incidents, but they illustrate the man's perfect conscientiousness — his sensitive honesty — better perhaps than they would if they were of greater moment. How Lincoln Helpad to Build a Boat, and How He Loaded the Live Stock. While a laboring man, Lincoln, Hanks & Johnston on one occasion contracted to build a boat on Sangamon River, at Sangamon Town, about seven miles northwest of Spring- field. For this work they were to receive twelve dollars a month each. When the boat was finished (and every plank of it was sawed by hand with a whip-saw), it was launched on the Sangamon, and floated to a point below New Salem, in Menard (then Sangamon) County, where a drove of hogs was to be taken on board. At this time, the hogs of the region ran wild, as they do now in portions of the border states. Some of them were savage, and all, after the man- ner of swine, were difficult to manage. They had, how- ever, been gathered and penned, but not an inch could they be made to move toward the boat. All the ordinary resources were exhausted in the attempts to get them on board. There was but one alternative, and this Abraham adopted. He actually carried them on board, one by one. His long arms and great strength enabled him to grasp tliem as in a vise, and to transfer them rapidly from the 24 LINCOLN STORIES. shore to the boat. They then took the boat to New Orleans, according to contract. An Incident Showing How Lincoln Resented an Insult — He Gave the Victim a Thrashing. While showing: oroods to two or three women in Offiitt's store one day, a bully came in and began to talk in an offensive manner, using much profanity, and evidently wishing to provoke a quarrel. Lincoln leaned over the counter, and begged him, as ladies were present, not to indulge in such talk. The bully retorted that the oppor- tunity had come for which he had long sought, and he would like to see the man who could hinder him from say- ing anything he might choose to say. Lincoln, still cool, told him that if he would wait until the ladies retired, he would hear what he had to say, and give him any satisfac- tion he desired. As soon as the women were gone, the man became furious. Lincoln heard his boasts and. his abuse for a time, and finding that he was not to be put off without a fight, said — " Well, if you must be whipped, I suppose I may as well whip 3^ou as any other man." This was just what the bully had been seeking, he said, so out of doors they went, and Lincoln made short work with him. He threw him upon the ground, held him there as if he had been a child, and gathering some " smart- weed " which grew upon the spot, rubbed it into his face and eyes, until the fellow bel- lowed with pain. Lincoln did all this without a particle of anger, and when the job was finished, went immediately for water, washed his victim's face, and did everything he could to alleviate his distress. The upshot of the matter was that the man became his fast and life-long friend, and was a better man from that day. It was impossible then, EARLY LIFE. 25 and it always remained impossible, for Lincoln to cherish resentment or revenge. What Some Men Say About Young Lincoln— His First Meeting With Richard Yates. Lincoln was a marked and peculiar young man. People talked about him. His studious liabits, his greed for infor- mation, his thorough mastery of the difficulties of every new position in which he was placed, his intelligence touch- ing all matters of public concern, his unwearying good nature, his skill in telling a story, his great athletic power, his quaint, odd ways, his uncouth appearance, all tending to bring him in sharp contrast with the dull mediocrity by which he was surrounded. Denton Offutt, his old e?nployer in the store, said, in the extravagance of his admiration, that he knew more than any other man in the United States. The Governor of Indiana, one of OjBFutt's acquaintances, said, after having a conversation with Lincoln, that the young man "had talent enough in him to make a Presi- dent." In every circle in which he found himself, whether refined or coarse, he was always the centre of attraction. William G. Greene says that when he (Greene) was a member of Illinois College, he brought home with him, on a vacation, Pichard Yates, afterwards Governor of the state, and some other boys, and, in order to entertain them, took them all up to see Lincoln. He found him in his usual position and at his usual occupation. He was flat on his back, on a cellar door, reading a newspaper. That was the manner in which a President of the United States and a Governor of Illinois became acquainted with one another. Mr. Greene says that Lincoln then could repeat the whole of Burns, and was a devoted student of Shakspeare. So the rough backwoodsman, self-educated, entertained the 26 LINCOLN STORIES. college boys, and was invited to dine with them on bread and milk. How he managed to upset his bowl of milk is not a matter of history, but the fact that he did so is, as is the further fact that Greene's mother, who loved Lincoln, tried to smooth over the accident and relieve the young man's embarrassment. A Pig story — Lincoln's Kindness to the Brute Creation. An amusincr incident occurred in connection with " ridino- the circuit," which gives a pleasant ghmpse into the good lawyer's heart. lie was riding by a deep slough, in which, to his exceeding pain, he saw a pig struggling, and with such faint eflPorts that it was evident that lie could not extricate him- self from the mud. Mr. Lincoln looked at the pig and the mud which enveloped him, and then looked at some new clothes with which he had but a short time before enveloped himself. Deciding against the claims of the pig, he rode on, but he could not get rid of the vision of the poor brute, and, at last, after riding two miles, he turned back, deter- mined to rescue the animal at the expense of his new clothes. Arrived at the spot, he tied his horse, and coolly went to work to build of old rails a passage to the bottom of the hole. Descending on these rails, he seized the pig and drasrsred him out, but not without serious damage to the clothes he wore. Washing his hands in the nearest brook, and wiping them on the grass, he mounted his gig and rode along. He then fell to examining the motive that sent him back to the release of the pig. At the first thought it seemed to be pure benevolence, but, at length, he came to the conclusion that it was selfishness, for he certainlv went to the pig's relief in order (as he said to the friend to whom he related the incident,) to " take a pain out of his own mind." This is certainly a new view of the nature of EARLY LIFE. 27 sympathy, and one which it will be well for the casuist to examine. A Hard Tussle with Seven Negroes — Life on a Mississippi Flat Boat. At the age of nineteen, Abraham made his second essay in navigation, and this time caught something more than a glimpse of the great world in which he was destined to play so important a part. A trading neighbor applied to him to take charge of a flat-boat and its cargo, and, in company with his own son, to take it to the sugar plantations near New Orleans. The entire business of the trip was placed in Abraham's hands. The fact tells its own story touching the j^oung man's reputation for capacity and integrity. He had never made the trip, knew nothing of the journey, was unaccustomed to business transactions, had never been much upon the river; but his tact, ability and honesty were so trusted that the trader was willing to risk his cargo and his son in Lincoln's care. The incidents of a trip like this were not likely to be exciting, but there were many social chats with settlers and hunters along the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi, and there was much hailing of similar craft afloat. Arriving at a sugar plantation somewhere between Natchez and New Orleans, the boat was pulled in, and tied to the shore for purposes of trade; and here an incident occurred which was sufiiciently exciting, and one which, in the memory of recent events, reads somewhat strangely. Here seven negroes attacked the life of the future liberator of the race, and it is not improbable that some of them have lived to be eman- cipated by his proclamation. Night had fallen, and the two tired voyagers had lain down upoii their hard bed for sleep. Hearing a noise on shore, A braham shouted : " Who's 28 LINCOLN STORIES. there?" The noise continuing, and no voice replying, he sprang to his feet, and saw seven negroes, evidently bent on plunder. Abraham guessed the errand at once, and seizing a hand- spike, rushed toward them, and knocked one into the water the moment he touched the boat. The second, third and fourth who leaped on board were served in the samo rough way. Seeing that they were not likely to make headway in their thieving enterprise, the remainder turned to flee. Abraham and his companion growing excited and warm with their work, leaped on shore, and followed them. Both were too swift on foot for the negroes, and all of them received a severe pounding. They returned to their boat just as the others escaped from the water, but the latter fled into the darkness as fast as their feet could carry them. Abraham and his fellow in the fight wei*e both injured, but not dis- abled. Not being armed, and unwilling to wait until the negroes liad received reinforcements, they cut adrift, and floating down a mile or two, tied up to the bank again, and watched and waited for the morning. The trip was brought at length to a successful end. The cargo, or " load," as they called it, was all disposed of for money, the boat itself sold for lumber, and the young men retraced the passage, partly, at least, on shore and on foot, occupying several weeks in the difficult and tedio.us journey. Lincoln Splits Several Hundred Rails for a Pair of Pants— How He Looked, as Described by a Companion. A gentleman by the name of C4eorge Cluse, who used to work with Abraham Lincoln during his first years in Illi- nois, says that at that time he was the roughest lookinof person he ever saw. He was tall, angular and ungainly, wore trowsers made of flax and tow, cut tight at the ankle EARLY LIFE. 29 and out at both knees. He was known to be ver}- poor, but he was a welcome guest in every house in the neighborhood. Mr. Chise speaks of splitting rails with Abraham, and reveals some very interesting facts concerning wages. Money was a commodity never reckoned upon. Lincoln split rails to get clothing, and he made a bargain with Mrs. Nancy Miller 'to split four hundred rails for every yard of brown jeans, dyed with white walnut bark, that would be nescessary to make him a pair of trowsers. In these days Lincoln used to walk five, six, and seven miles to work. Lincola's Story of a Girl in New Salem. Among the numerous delegations which thronged "Wash- ington in the early part of the war, was one from New York, which urged very strenuously the sending of a fleet to the southern cities — Charleston, Mobile and Savannah — with the object of drawing off the rebel army from Wash- ington. Mr. Lincoln said the object reminded him of the case of a girl in New Salem, who was greatly troubled with a " singing '' in her head. Various remedies were suggested by the neighbors, but nothing tried afforded any relief. At last a man came along — '• a common-sense sort of man," said he, inclining his head towards the gentleman compli- mentarily — " who was asked to prescribe for the difficulty. After due inquiry and examination, he said the cure wa& very simple. *What is it?' was the question. ' Make plaster of psalm-tuiies, and apply to her feet, and draw the " singing " down,'' was the rejoinder." 30 LINCOLN STORIES. Mrs. Brown's Story of Young Abe— How a Man Slept with the President of the United States. JRev. A. Hale, of Springfield, 111., is responsible for the following interesting story: Mr. Hale, in May, 1861 (after Lincoln's election to the Presidency), went out about seven miles from his home to visit a sick lady, and found there a Mrs. Brown who had come in as a neighbor. Mr. Lincoln's name having been mentioned, Mrs . Brown said : " "Well, I remem- ber Mr. Linken. He worked with my old man thirty- four year ago, and made a crap. We lived on the same farm where we live now, and he worked all the season, and made a crap of corn, and the next Winter they hauled the crap all the way to Galena, and sold it for two dollers and a half a bushel. At that time there was no public houses, and travelers were obliged to stay at any house along the road that could take them in. One evening a right smart look- ing man rode up to the fence, and asked my old man if he could get to stay over night. ' Well,' said Mr. Brown, ' we can feed your crittur, and give you something to eat, but we can't lodge you unless you can sleep on the same bed with the hired man.' The man hesitated, and asked, ' Where is he?' ' Well, said Mr. Brown, ' you can come and see him.' So the man got down from his crittur, and Mr. Brown took him around to where, in the shade of the house, Mr. Lin- coln lay his full length on the ground, with an open book before him. ' There,' said Mr. Brown, pointing at him, 'he is.' The stranger looked at him a minute, and said, ' Well, I think he'll do,' and he staid and slept with the President of the United States." EARLY LIFE. 31 When and Where Lincoln Obtained the Name of " Honest Abe." During the year that Lincoln was in Denton Offutt's store, that gentleman, whose business was somewhat widely and unwisely spread about the country, ceased to prosper in his finances, and finally failed. The store was shut up, the mill was closed, and Abraham Lincoln was out of busi- ness. The year had been one of great advances, in many respects. He had made new and valuable acquaintances, read many books, mastered the grammar of his own tongue, won multitudes of friends, and become ready for a step still further in advance. Those who could appreciate brains respected him, and those whose highest ideas of a man related to his muscles were devoted to him. Every one trusted him. It was while he was preforming the duties of the store that he acquired the soubriquet " Honest Abe " — a characterization that he never dishonored, and an abbre- viation that he never outgrew. He was judge, arbritrator, referee, umpire, authority, in all disputes, games and matches of man-flesh and horse-flesh; a pacificator in all quarrels; everybody's friend; the best natured, the most sensible, the best informed, the most modest and unassuming, the kind- est, gentlest, roughest, strongest, best young fellow in all New Salem and the region round about. Lincoln's Mechanical Ingenuity — His Patent Boat. That he had enough mechanical s^enius to make him a good mechanic, there is no doubt. With such rude tools as were at his command he had made cabins and flat-boats; and after his mind had become absorbed in public and pro- fessional affairs he often recurred to his mechanical dreams for amusement. One of his dreams took form, and he en- deavored to make a practical matter of it. He had had 32 LINCOLN STORIES. experience in the early navigation of the Western rivers. One of the most serious hinderances to this navigation was low water, and the lodgment of the various craft on the shiftin2" shoals and bars with which these rivers abound. He undertook to contrive an apparatus which, folded to the hull of a boat like a bellows, might be inflated on occa- sion, and, by its levity, lift it over any obstruction upon which it might rest. On this contrivance, illustrated by a model whittled out by himself, and now preserved in the Patent Office at Washington, he secured letters patent; but it is certain that the navigation of the Western rivers was not revolutionized by it. A Remarkable Story— " Honest Abe" as Postmaster— How He Kept the Identical Money in Trust for Many Years. Mr. Lincoln was appointed Postmaster by President Jackson. The office was too insignificant to be considered politically, and it was given to the young man because everybody liked him, and l)ecause he was the only man will- ing to take it who could make out the returns. He was exceedingly pleased with the appointment, because it gave him a chance to read every newspaper that was taken in the vicinity. He had never been able to get half the news- papers he wanted before, and the office gave him the pros- pect of a constant feast. Not wisliing to be tied to the office, as it yielded him no revenue that would reward him for the confinement, he made a Post-office of his hat. Whenever he went out, the letters were placed in his hat. When an anxious looker for a letter found the Postmaster, he had found his office; and the public officer, taking off his hat, looked over his mail wherever the' public might find him. He kept the office until it was discontinued, or removed to Petersburar. '&• EARLY LIFE. • 33 One of the most beautiful exhibitions of Mr. Lincoln's rigid honesty occurred in connection with the settlement of his accounts with the Post-oflBce Department, several years afterwards. It was after he had become a lawver, and had been a legislator. lie had passed through a period of great poverty, had acquired his education in the law in the midst of many perplexities, inconveniences, and hardshios, and had met with temptations, such as few men could resist, to make a temporary use of any money he might have in his hands. One day, seated in the lav/ office of his partner, the agent of the Post-office Department entered, and inquired if Abraham Lincoln was within. Mr. Lincoln responded to his name, and was informed that the ao-ent had called to collect a balance due the Department since the discon- tinuance of the jS^ew Salem office. A shade of perplexity passed over Mr. Lincoln's face, which did not escape the notice of friends who were present. One of them said at once: "Lincoln, if you are in want of money, let us help you." He made no reply, but sudderdy rose, and pulled out from a pile of books a little old trunk, and, returning to tlie table, asked the agent how much the amount of his debt was. The sum was named, and then Mr. Lincoln opened the trunk, pulled out a little package of coin wrapped in a cotton rag, and counted out the exact surriy amounting to something more than seventeen dollars. After the agent had left the room, he remarked quietly that he never used any man's money but his own. Although this sum had been in his hands during all these years, he had never regarded it as available, even for any temporary purpose of his own. 3 34 LINCOLN STORIES. How Lincoln Piloted a Flat-Boat Over a Mill-Dam. Governor Yates, of Illinois, in a speech at Springfield, quoted one of Mr. Lincoln's early friends — "W". T. Greene — as having said that the first time he ever saw Mr. Lincoln, he was in the Sangamon River with his trousers rolled up five feet, more or less, trying to pilot a flat-boat over a mill- dam. The boat was so full of water that it was hard to manage. Lincoln got the prow over, and then, instead of waiting to bail the water out, bored a hole through the projecting part and let it run out; alFordinga forcible illus- tration of the ready ingenuity of the future President in the quick invention of moral expedients. Splitting Rails and Studying Mathematics — Simmons, Lincoln &, Company. In the year 1855 or '56, George B. Lincoln, Esq., of Brooklyn, was traveling through the West in connection with a large New York dry-goods establishment. He found himself one" night in a town on the Illinois River, by the name of Naples. The only tavern of the place had evidently been constructed with reference to business on a small scale. Poor as the prospect seemed, Mr. Lincoln had no alternative but to put up at the place. The supper- room was also used as a lodging-room. After supper and a. comfortable hour before the fire, Mr. L. told his host that he thought he would " go to bed." " Bed ! " echoed the landlord ; "there is no bed for you in this house, unless jou sleep with that man yonder. He has the only one we have to spare." "• Well," returned Mr. Lincoln, " the gentleman has possession, and perhaps would not like a bedfellow." Upon this, a grizzly head appeared out of the pillows, and said, " What is your name ? " " They call EARLY LIFE. 37 me Lincoln at home,'' was the reply. '•' Lincoln ! " re- peated the stran^^er ; '' any connection of our Illinois Abraham ? " '' ko," replied Mr. L., '^ I feai- not." *' Well," said the old man, "I will let any man by the name of ' Lincoln ' sleep with me, just for the sake of the name. You have heard of Abe ? " he inquired. " Oh, yes, very often," replied Mr. Lincoln. '• Xo man could travel far in this State without hearing of him, and I would be very glad to claim connection, if I could do so honestly." " Well," said the old gentleman, " my name is Simmons. ' Abe ' and I used to live and work t02:ether when we were young men. Many a job of wood-cutting and rail-splitting have I done up with him. Abe Lin- coln," said he, with emphasis, " was the likeliest boy in God's world. He would work all day as hard as any of us — and study by firelight in the log-house lialf the night ; and in this way he made himself a thorough practical surveyor. Once, during those days, I was in the upper part of the State, and I met General Ewing, whom Presi- dent Jackson had sent to the IS'orthvvest to make surveys. I told him about Abe Lincoln, what a student he was, and that I wanted he should give him a job. He looked over his memoranda, and, pulling out a paper, said: ' There is county must be surveyed ; if your friend can do the work properly, I shall be glad to have him undertake it — the compensation will be six hundred dollars ! ' Pleased as I could be, I hastened to Abe, after I got home, with an account of what I had secured for him. He was sitting before the fire in the log-cabin when I told him ; and what •do you think was his answer? When I finished, he looked up very quietly, and said, ' Mr. Simmons, I thank yon very sincerely for your kindness, but I don't think I will under- take the job.' ' In the name of wonder,' said I, ' why ? Six hundred dollars does not grow upon every bush out 38 LINCOLN STORIES. here in Iliinois.' ' I know that,' said Abe, ' and I need the monej bad enough, Simmons, as you know; but I have never been under obhgation to a Democratic admin- istration, and I never intend to be so long as I can get my livinof another wav. General Ewing must find another man to do his work.' " Mr. Carpenter related this story to the President one day, and asked him if it was true. " Pollard Simmons ! " said Lincoln : " well do I remember him. It is correct about our working togethc: ■, but the old man must have stretched the facts somev/liat about the survey of the county. 1 think I should have been very glad of the job at that time, no matter what administration was in power." ]S^otwithstanding this, however, Mr. Carpenter was inclined to believe Mr. Simmons was not far out of the way and thought his statement seemed verv characteristic of what Abraham Lincoln maybe supposed to have been at twenty- three or twentv-five vears of age. Captain Lincoln — How he Became Captain. In the threatening aspect of affairs at the time of the Black Hawk "Wr.r, Governor Reynolds issued a call for volunteers, and amonp the companies that immediately responded was one from Menard County, Illinois. Many of the volunteers were from Xew Salem and Clary's Grove, and Lincoln, being out of business, was the first to enlist. The company being full, they held a meeting at Eichland for the election of ofiicers. Lincoln had won many hearts, and they told him that he must be their cap- tain. It was an oflace that he did not aspire to, and one for which he folt that he had no special fitness; but he consented to be a candidate. There was but one other candidate for the oflice (a Mr. Kirkpatrick), and he was EARLY LIFE. 33 one of the most influential men in the county. Previo'isly, Kirkpatrick had been kn employer of Lincoln, and was so overbearinof in his treatment of the vouno^ man that the latter left him. The simple mode of electing their captain, adopted bj the company, was by i^lacing the candidates apart, and telling the men to go and stand with the one they pre- ferred. Lincoln and his competitor took their positions, and then the word was given. At least three out of every four went to Lincoln at once. "When it was seen by those who had ranored themselves with the other candidate that Lincoln was the choice of the majority of the company, they left their places, one by one, and came over to the successful side, until Lincoln's opponent in the friendly strife was left standinor almost alone. " 1 felt badlv to see him cut so,*' savs a witness of the scone. Here was an opportunity for revenge. The humble laborer was his em- ployer's captain, but the opportunity was never improved. Mr. Lincoln frequently confessed that no subsequent suc- cess of his life had given him half the satisfaction that this election did. He had achieved public recognition : and to one so humbly bred, the distinction was inexpressibly delio;htfuL A Humorous Speech — Lincoln in the Black Hawk War. The friends of General Cass, when that gentleman was a candidate for the presidency, endeavored to endow him with a military reputation. Mr. Lincoln, at that time a repre- sentative in Congress, delivered a speech before the House, which, in its allusions to General Cass, was exquisitely sar- castic and irresistiby humorous : ''By the way, Mr. Speaker,"" said Mr. Lincoln, "-do you know I am a military hero i Yes, sir, in the days 40 LINCOLN STORIES. of the Black Hawk War, I fought, hied and caine away. Speaking of General Cass' career reminds me of niv own. 1 was not at Still man's Defeat, hut I was ahout as near it as Cass to Hull's surrender ; and like him I saw the place very soon afterward. It is quite certain I did not break, my sword, for I had none to break; but I bent my musket pretty badly on one occasion. * -^ « vt jf General Cass went in advance of me in picking whortle- berries, I guess I surpassed him in charges upon the wild onions. If he saw any live, fighting Indians, it was more than I did, but I had a good many bloody struggles with the musquitoes; and although I never fainted from loss of blood, I can truly say I was often very hungry." Mr. Lin- coln concluded by saying if he ever turned democrat and should run for the Presidency, he hoped they would not make fun of him by attempting to make him a military hero ! Lincoln's First Political Speech. Mr. Lincoln made his first political speech in 1832, at the age of twenty-three, when he was a candidate for the Illinois Legislature. His opponent had wearied the audi- ence by a long speech, leaving him but a short time in which to ])resent his viuw.-^. He condensed all he had to say into a iev^ words, as follows : " Gentlemen, Fellow-citizens : I presume you know who 1 am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become a candidate for the legislature. My politics can be briefly stated. I am in favor of the internal improvement system, and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I shall be thankful. If not, it will be all the same." EARLY LIFE. 41 ^Elected to the Legislature — Lincoln Walks to the State Capitol, Distant 100 Miles ! In 1834, Lincoln was a candidate for tlie legislature, and was elected by the highest vote cast for any candidate. Major John T. Stuart, an officer in the Black Hawk War, and whose acquaintance Lincoln made at Beardstown, was also elected. Major Stuart had already conceived the highest opinion of the young man, and seeing much of him during the canvass for the election, privately advised him to study law. Stuart was himself engaged in a large xmd lucrative legal practice at Springfield. Lincoln said he was poor — that he had no money to buy books, or to live where books might be borrowed and used. Major Stuart offered to lend him all lie needed, and he decided to take the kind lawyer's advice, and accept his offer. At the close of the canvass which resulted in his election, he walked to Springfield, borrowed " a load " of books of Stuart, and took them home with him to I^ew Salem. Here he began the study of law in good earnest, though with no preceptor. He studied while he had bread, and then started out on a surveying tour, to win the money that would buy more. One who remembers his habits during this period says that ho went, day after day, for weeks, and sat under an oak tree on a hill near ISTew Salem and read, moving around to kee]) in the shade, as the sun moved. He was so much absorbed that some people thought and said that he was crazy. JSTot unfreqnently he met and passed his best friends without noticins: them. The truth was that he had found the pursuit of his life, and had become very much in earnest. During Lincoln's campaign, he possessed and rodie a liorse, to procure which he had quite likely sold his com- pass and chain, for, as soon as the canvass had closed, he 42 LINCOLN STORIES. sold the liorse, and bonglit these instruments indispensable to him in the only pursuit by which he could make his living. When the time for the assembling of the legisla- ture approached, Lincoln dropped his law books, shouldered his pack, and, on foot, trudged to Vandalia, then the capital of the State, about a hundred miles, to make his entrance into public life. " The Long Nine" — Lincoln the Longest of All. The Sangamon Countv delegation to the Illinois Legisla- ture, in 183J:, of which Lincoln was a member, consisting of nine representatives, was so remarkable for the physical altitude of its members that they were known as " The Long Nine." Kot a member of the number was less than. six feet high, and Lincoln was the tallest of the nine, as he was the leading man intellectually, in and out of the House. Among those who composed the House, were General John- A. McClernand, afterwards a member of Congress; Jesse K. Dubois, afterwards Auditor of the State; James Semple,, afterwards twice the Speaker of the House of Representa- tives, and subsequently United States Senator; Robert Smith, afterwards member of Congress; John Hogan,. afterwards a member of Cong^ress from St. Louis; General James Shields, afterwards United States Senator (whO' died I'ecently); John Dement, who has since been Treasurer of the State; Stephen A. Douglas, whose subserpient public career is fiimiliar to all; Newton Cloud,. President of the Convention which framed the present State Constitution of Illinois; John J. Hardin, who fell at Buena Yista; John Moore, afterwards Lieutenant Governor of the State; William A. Richardson, subsequently United States Senator, and William McMurtry, who has since been Lieu- tenant Governor of the State. This list does not embrace EARLY LIFE. 43 all who had then, or who have since been distinguished, but it is large enough to show that Lincoln was, during the term of this- legislature, thrown into association, and often into antagonism, with the brightest men of the new state. Returning from the Legislature—" No Wonder Lincoln was Cold" — A Joke on Lincoln's Big Feet. He had walked his hundred miles to Yandalia, in 1836, as he did in 1834, and wlien the session closed he walked home again. A gentleman in Menard County remembers meeting him and a detachment of " The Long Nine " on their way home. They were all mounted except Lincoln, who had thus far kept up with them on foot. If he had money he was hoarding it for more important purposes than that of saving leg-weariness and leather. The weather was raw, and Lincoln's clothing were aone of the warmest. Complaining of being cold to one of his companions, this irreverent member of " The Lono: jSTine " told his future President that it was no wonder he was cold — " there was so much of him on the ground." Xone of the party appre- ciated this homely joke at the expense of his feet (they were doubtless able to bear it) more thoroughly than Lincoln himself. We can imagine the cross-fires of wit and humor by which the way was enlivened during this cold and tedious journey. The scene was certainly a rude one, and seems more like a dream than a reality, when we remember that it occurred not very man}'- years ago, in a state which now contains hardly less than three millions of people and seven thousand six hundred miles of railway. 44 LINCOLN STORIES. Lincoln's Marriage— Boarding atS4per Week— Some Very Interest- ing Letters— A Peep into Lincoln'^ Social Life. In 1842, in liis tliirt}^- third year, Mr. Lincoln married Miss Mary Todd, a danghter of Hon. Kobert S. Todd, of Lexington, Kentucky. The marriage took pLace in Spring- £eld, where the lady had for several years resided, on the fourth of November of the year mentioned. It is probable tliat he married as early as the circumstances of his life per- mitted, for he had always loved the society of women, and possessed a nature that took profound delight in intimate female companionship. A letter written on the eighteenth of May following his marriage, to J. F. Speed, Esq., of Louisville, Kentucky, an early and a life-long personal friend, gives a pleasant glimpse of his domestic arrangements at this time. " We are not keeping house," Mr. Lincoln says in this letter, " but boarding at the Globe Tavern, \vhich is very well kept now by a widow lady of the name of Beck. Our rooms are the same Dr. Wallace occupied there, and boarding only costs four dollars a week. -;^ * * j jjjQgt heartily wish you and your Fanny will not tail to come. Just let us know the time, a week in advance, and we will have a room prepared for you, and we'll all be merry too-etl.er for awhile." He seems to have been in excellent spirits, and to have been very hearty in the enjoyment of his new rela- tion. The private letters of Mr. Lincoln were charminglv natural and sincere. His personal friendships were the sweetest sources of his hajDpiness. To a particular friend, he wrote February 25, 1842: "Yours of the sixteenth, announcing that Miss and you 'are no longer twain, but one flesh,' reached me this morning. I have no way of telling you how much happi- ness I wish you both, though I believe 3'ou both can con- •ceive it. I feel somewhat jealous of both of you now, for EARLY LIFE. 45. you will be so exclusively concerned for one another that I shall be forgotten entirely. My acquaintance with Mis* (I call her thus lest you should think I am speaking of your mother,) was too short for me to reasonably hope to long be remembered by her; and still I am sure I shall not forget her soon. Try if you can not remind her of that debt she owes me, and be sure you do not interfere to pre- vent her paying it. '• I regret to learn that you have resolved not to return to Illinois. I shall be very lonesome without you. How mis- erably things seem to be arranged in this world! If we have no friends we have no pleasure; and if we hav^e them, we are sure to lose them, and be doubly pained by the loss. I did hope she and you would make your home here, yet I own I have no right to insist. You owe obligations to her ten thousand times more sacred than any you can owe to others, and in that light let them be respected and observed. It is natural that she should desire to remain with her rela- tions and friends. As to friends, she could not need them anywhere — she would have them in abundance here. Give my kind regards to Mr. and his family, particularly to- Miss E. Also to your mother, brothers and sisters. Ask little E. D if she will ride to town with me if I come there again. And, finally, give a double reciprocation of all the love she sent me. Write me often, and believe-- me, yours forever, Lincoln. Lincoln's Mother— How He Loved Her. "A great man," says J. G. Holland, " never drew his infant life from a purer or more womanly bosom than her own; and Mr. Lincoln always looked back to her with an unspeakable affection. Long after her sensitive heart and weary hands had crumbled into dust, and had climbed to 46 LINCOLN STORIES. life again in forest flowers, he said to a friend, with tears in his eyes: 'All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother — blessings on her memory!' " She was five feet, five inches high, a slender, pale, sad and sensitive woman, with much in her nature that was truly heroic, and much that shrank from the rude life around her. Her death occurred in 1818, scarcely two years after her removal from Kentucky to Indiana, and when Abraham was in his tenth year. They laid her to rest under the trees near their cabin home, and, sitting on her grave, the little boy wept his irreparable loss. Gen. Linder's Early Recollections of Lincoln — Some Amusing Stories of Lincoln's Uncle Mord. I did not travel, says General Linder, on the circuit in 1835, on account of my health and the health of my wife, but attended court at Charleston that Fall, held by Judge Grant, who had exchanged circuits with our judge, Justin Harlan. It M^as here I first met Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield, at that time a very modest and retiring man, dressed in a plain suit of mixed jeans. He did not make any marked impression upon rae, or any other member of the bar. He was on a visit to his relations in Coles, where his father and stepmother lived, and some of her children. Lincoln put up at the hotel, and here was where I saw him. Whether he was reading law at this time I can not say. Certain it is, he had not been admitted to the bar, although he had some celebrity, having been a captain in the Black- Hawk campaign, and served a term in the Illinois Legisla- ture; but if he won any fame at that season I have never heard of it. He had been one of the representatives from Sangamon. If Lincoln at this time felt the divine afflatus of greatness stir within him I have never heard of it. It EARLY LIFE. 47 •was rather common among us then in the West to suppose that there was no Presidential timber growing in tlie North- west, yet, he doubtless had at that time the stuff out of which to make half a do::en Presidents. I had known his relatives in Kentuckyj and he asked me about them. His uncle, Mordecai Lincoln, I had known form my boyhood, and he was naturally a man of consider- able genius; he was a man of great drollery, and it would almost make you laugh to look at him. I never saw but one other man whose quiet, droll look excited in me the same disposition to laugh, and that was Artemas Ward. He was quite a story-teller, and in this Abe resembled his Uncle Mord, as we all called him. He was an honest man, as tender-hearted as a woman, and to the last degree charit- able and benevolent. No one ever took offense at Uncle Mord's stories — not even the ladies. I heard him once tell a bevy of fashion- able girls that he knew a very large woman who had a hus- band so small that in the night she often mistook him for the baby, and that upon one occasion she took him up and was sinffins: to him a soothinu; lullabv, when he awoke and told her that she was mistaken, that the baby was on the other side of the bed. Lincoln had a very high opinion of his uncle, and on one occasion he said to me: " Linder, I have often said that Uncle Mord had run off with the talents of the family." Old Mord, as we sometimes called him, had been in his younger days a very stout man, and was quite fond of play- ing a game of fisticuffs with any one who was noted as a champion. He told a parcel of us once of a pitched battle he had fought with one of the champions of that day. He said they fought on the side of a hill or ridge; that at the bottom there was a rut or canal, which had been cut out by the freshets. He said they soon clinched, and he threw his 48 LINCOLN STORIES. man and fell on top of him. He said he always thought he hud the best eyes in the world for measuring distances, and having measured the distance to the bottom of the hill, he concluded that by rolling over and over till they came to the bottom his antagonist's body would fill it, and he would be wedged in so tight that he could whip him at his leisure. So he let the fellow turn him, and over and over they went, when about the twentieth revolution brouo-ht Uncle Mord's back in contact with the bottom of the rut, "and," said he,, ''before fire could scorch a feather, I cried out in stentorian voice: ' Take him ofif !' '' Young Lincoln and the " Clary's Grove Boys"— A Wrestling Match. and How it Terminated. There lived at the time young Lincoln resided at New Salem, Illinois, in and around the village, a band of rollick- ing fellows, or, more properly, roystering rowdies, known as the "Clary's Grove Boys." The special tie that united them was physical counige and prowess. These fellows, although they embraced in their number many men who have since become respectable and influential, were v/ild and rough beyond toleration in any community not made up like that which produced them. They pretended to be •' regulators," and were the terror of all who did not ac- kiiowledge their rule; and their mode of securing allegiance was by flogging every man who failed to acknowledge it. They took it upon themselves to try the mettle of every new comer, and to learn the sort of stufi" he was made of. Some of their number was appointed to fight, wrestle, or run a foot-race with each incoming stranger. Of course Abraham Lincoln was obliged to pass the ordeal. Perceiving that he was a man who would not easily be floored, they selected their champion, Jack Armstrong, and EARLY LIFE. 49 imposed upon him the task of laying Lincohi upon his back. There is no evidence that Lincohi was an unwilling party in the sport, for it was what he had always been accus- tomed to. The bout was entered upon, but Armstrong soon discovered that he had met with more than his match. The " Boys " were looking on, and, seeing that their cham- pion was likely to get the worst of it, did after the manner of such irresponsible bands. They gathered around Lin- coln, struck and disal)led him, and then Armstrong, by *' legging" him, got him down. Most men would have been indignant, not to say furi- ously angry, under such foul treatment as this; but if Lin- coln was either, he did not show it. Getting up in perfect good humor, he fell to laughing over his discomfiture, and joking about it. They had all calculated upon making him angry, and then they intended, with the amiable spirit which characterized the " Clary's Grove Boys," to give him a terrible drubbing. They were disappointed, and, in their admiration . of him, immediately invited him to become one of the company. A Batch of Lincoln Reminiscences — The Turning Point in the Great Man's Life. It was while young Lincoln was engaged in the duties of OfFutt's store that the turning point in his life occurred. Here he commenced the study of English grammar. There was not a text-book to be obtained in the neighbor- hood, but, hearing that there was a copy of Kirkham's Grammar in the possession of a person seven or eight miles distant, he walked to his house and succeeded in borrowing it. L. M. Green, a lawyer of Petersburg, in Menard County, says that every time he visited New Salem, at this period, Lincoln took him out upon a hill, and asked him, to explahi 50 • LINCOLN STORIES. some point in Kirkham that had given him tronble. After having mastered the book, he remarked to a friend, that if that was what thej called a science, he thought he could ^^ subdue another.^' Mr. Green says that Mr. Lincoln's talk at this time showed that he was beginning to think of a great life and a great destiny. Lincoln said to him, on one occasion, that all his family seemed to have good sense, but, somehow, none had ever become distinguished. He thought that perhaps he might become so. He had talked, he said, with men who had the reputation of being great men, but he could not see that they differed much from others! During this year, he was also mnch engaged with de- bating clubs, often walking six or seven miles to attend them. One of these clubs held its meetings at an old store- house in New Salem, and the first speech young Lincoln ever made was made there. He used to call the exercise " practicing j^olemics." x\s these clubs were composed principally of men of no education whatever, some of their " polemics " are remembered as the most laughable of farces. His favorite newspaper, at this time, was the Louisville Journal, a paper which he received regularly by mail, and paid for during a number of years when he had not money enough to dress decently. He liked its politics, and was particularly delighted with its wit and humor, of which he had the keenest appreciation^ "When out of the store, he was always busy in the pursuit of knowledge. One gentleman who met him during this period, says that the first time he saw him he was lying on a trundle- bed, covered with books and papers, and rocking a cradle with his foot. The whole scene, however, was entirely char- acteristic — Lincoln reading and studying, and at the Same time helping his landlady by quieting her child. EARLY LIFE. 51 " My early history," said Mr. Lincoln to J. L, Scripps, "is perfectly characterized by a single line of Gray's Elegy: ' The short and simple annals of the poor.' " A GENTLEMAN who knew Mr. Lincoln well in early man- hood says: " Lincoln at this period had nothing hwi jplenty of friends.''^ Says J. G. Holland: "No man ever lived, probably, who was more a self-made man than Abraham Lincoln. ISTot a circumstance of life favored the development which he had reached." In his seventh year Lincoln attended his first school. Zacharia Riney, a Catholic, whose memory Lincoln always revered, was the teacher. Caleb Hazel was the second teacher, under whose instructions Lincoln learned to write a good legible hand in three months. After the customary hand- shaking, on one occasion at Washington, several gentlemen came forward and asked the President for his autograph. One of them gave his name as " Cruikshank." " That reminds me," said Mr. Lincoln, " of what I used to be called when a young man — '■ Long -shanks P " Mr. Holland says: "Lincoln was a religious man. The fact may be stated without any reservation — with only an explanation. He believed in God, and in Plis personal supervision of the aifairs of men. He believed himself to be under His control and guidance. He believed in the power and ultimate triumph of the right, through his belief in God." Governor Yates, in a speech at Springfield, before a meeting at which William G. Greene presided, quoted Mr. Greene as having said that the first time he ever saw Lin- coln he was " in the Sangamon River, with his trousers OhIVtKSITY OP ILLINOW LIBRARY 52 LINCOLN STORIES. rolled up five feet more or less, trying to pilot a flat-boat over a mill-dam. The boat was so full of water that it was hard to manage. Lincoln got the prow over, and then, in- stead of waiting to bail the water out, bored a hole through the projecting jDart, and let it run out^ A PROMINENT writer says: ''Lincoln was a child-like man. No j)nblic man of modern days has been fortunate enough to carry into his manhood so much of the direct- ness, truthfulness, and simplicity of childhood as distin- guished him. He xoas exactly what he seemed. Mr. Lincoln and Douarlas met for the first time when the latter was only 23 years of age. Lincoln, in speaking of the fact, subsequently said that Douglas was then " the least man he ever saw." He was not only very short, but very slender. Lincoln's mother died in 1818, scarcely two years after her removal to Indiana from Kentucky, and when Abraham was in his tenth year. They laid her to rest under the trees near the cabin, and, sitting on her grave, the little boy wept his irrejjarable loss. The Black Hawk war was not a very remarkable affair. It made no military reputations, but it was noteworthy in the single fact that the two simplest, homliest and truest men eno^ao'ed in it afterward became Presidents of the United States, viz : General (then Colonel) Zachary Taylor, and Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln never spoke of it as anything more than an interesting episode in his life, except upon one occasion when he used it as an instrument for .turning the military pretensions of another into< ridicule. STATE CAPITOL AT SPRINGFIELD, ILL. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. - 55 PEOrESSIO:N^AL LIFE STOKIES. How Lincoln and Judge B Swapped Horses. When Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Illinois, he and a certain Judge once ffot to banterins: one another about trading horses ; and it was agreed that the next morning at 9 o'clock they should make a trade, the horses to be unseen up to tliat hour, and no backing out, under a forfeiture of $25. At the hour appointed the Judge came up, leading the sorriest looking specimen of a horse ever seen in those parts. In a few minutes Mr. Lincoln w'as seen approach- ing with a wooden saw-horse upon his shoulders. Great Avere the shouts and the laughter of the crowd, and both w^ere greatly increased when Mr. Lincoln, on surveying tlie Judge's animal, set down his saw-horse, and exclaimed: " Well, Judge, this is the first time I ever got the worst of it in a horse trade." A Remarkable Law Suit About a Colt — How Lincoln Won the Case — Thirty-Four Men Against Thirty Men and Two Brutes. The controversy was about a colt, in which thirty-four witnesses swore that they had known the colt from its fall- ing, and that it was the property of the plaintiff, while thirty swore that they had known the colt from its falling, and that it was the property of the defendant. It may be stated, at starting, that these witnesses were all honest, and that the mistake grew out of the exact resemblances which two colts bore to each other. 56 LINCOLN STORIES. One circumstance was proven by all the witnesses, or nearly all of thera, viz. : that the two claimants of the colt agreed to meet on a certain day with the two mares which were respectively claimed to be the dams of the colt, and permit the colt to decide which of the two he belonged to. The meeting occurred according to agreement, and, as it was a singular case and excited a good deal of popular in- terest, there were probably a hundred men assembled on their horses and mares, from far and near. Now, the colt really belonged to the defendant in the case. It had strayed away and fallen into company with the plaintiff's horses. The plaintiff's colt had, at the same time, strayed away, and had not returned, and was not to be found. The moment the two m.ares were brought upon the ground, the defendant's mare and the colt gave signs of recognition. The colt went to its dam, and would not leave her. They fondled each other ; and, although the plaintiff brought his mare betv/een them, and tried in various wa\ - to divert the colt's attention, the colt would not be separated from its dam. It then followed her home, a distance uf eiglit or ten miles, and, when within a mile or two of the stables, took a short cut to thrra in advance of its dam. The plaintiff had sued to recover the colt thus gone back to its owner. In the presentation of this case to the jury, there were thirty-four witnesses on the side of the plaintiff, while the defendant had, on his side, only thirty witnesses; but he had on his side the colt itself and its dam — thirty- four men against thirty men and two brutes. Here was a case that was to be decided by the preponderance of evidence. All the witnesses were equally positive, and equally credible. Mr. Lincoln was on the side of the defendant, and con- tended that the voice of nature in the mare and colt ought to outweigh the testimony of a hundred men. The jury PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 57 were all farmers, and all illiterate men, and he took great pains to make them understand what was meant by the " preponderance of evidence." Pie said that in a civil suit, absolute certainty, or such certainty as would be re- quired to convict a man of crime, was not essential. Tliej must decide the case according to the impression which the evidence had produced upon their minds, and, if they felt puzzled at all, he would give them a test by which they could bring themselves to a just conclusion. " Now," said he, "if you were going to bet on this case, on which side would you I'e willing to risk a picayune? That side on which you would be willing to bet a picayune, is the side on which rests the preponderance of evidence in your minds. It is possible that you may not be right, but that is not the question. The question is as to where the pre- ponderance of evidence lies, and you can judge exactly where it lies in your minds, by deciding as to which side you would be willing to bet on." The jury understood this. There was no mystification about it. They had got hold of a test by which they could render an intelligent verdict. Mr. Lincoln saw into their minds, and knew exactly what they needed; and the moment they received it, he knew that his case was safe, as a quick verdict for the defendant proved it to be. lu nothing connected with this case was the ingenuity of Mr. Lincoln more evident, perhaps, than in the insignificance of the sum which he placed in risk by the hypothetical wager. It was not a hundred dollars, or a thousand dollars, or even a dollar, but the smallest silver coin, to show to them that the verdict should go with the preponderance of evidence, even if the preponderance should be only a liair's weight. 58 LINCOLN STORIES. Lincoln's Story of a Young Lawyer as He Told it to General Garfield. General Garfield, of Ohio, received from the President the account of the capture of Norfolk with the following- preface: '' Bj the way, Garfield," said Mr. Lincoln, " 3'ou never heard, did yon, that Chase, Stanton, and I, had a campaign of our own ? "We went down to Fortress Monroe in Chase's revenue cutter, and consulted Svith Admiral Goldsborouo-h as to the feasibility of takino; Norfolk bv landing: on the north shore and makino- a march of eight miles. The Admiral said, very positively, there was no landing on that shore, and we should have to double the cape and approach the place from the south side, which would be a long and difficult journey. I thereupon asked him if he had ever tried to find a landing, and he replied that he had not. " ' Now,' said I, ' Admiral, that reminds me of a chap out West who had studied law, but had never tried a case. Being sued, and not having confidence in his ability to manage his own case, he employed a fellow- lawyer to man- age it for him. He had only a confused idea of the mean- ing of law terms, but was anxious to make a display of learning, and on the trial constantly made suggestions to his lawyer, who paid no attention to him. At last, fearing that his lawyer was not handling the opposing counsel very well, he lost all patience, and, springing to his feet, cried out: "Why don't you go at him with a capias^ or a surre- butter, or something, and not stand there like a confounded old nudum-iyactumf'' PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 59 Iiincoln and His Step-Mother — How He Bought Her a Farm. Soon after Mr. Lincoln entered upon his profession at Springfield, he was engaged in a criminal case in which it was thouo-ht there was little chance of success. Throwino- all his powers into it he *aine oflP victorious, and proraptl_y receiv'Cd for his services five hundred dollars. A leo^al friend calling upon him the next morning found him sitting before a table, upon which his money was spread out, counting it over and ov^er. "Look here, Judge," said Lincoln; "See what a heap of money I've got from the case. Did you ever see anything like it ? Whj', I never had so much money in my life before, put it all together ? " Then crossing his arms upon the table, his manner sobering down, he added, " I have got just five hundred dollars : if it were only seven hundred and fifty, 1 would go directly and purchase a quarter section of land, and settle it upon my old step- mother." His friend said that if the deficiency was all he needed lie would loan him the amount, taking his note, to which Mr. Lincoln instantly acceded. His friend then said : " Lincoln, I would not do just what you have indicated. Your step-mother is getting old, and will not probably live many years. I would settle the property upon her for her use during her lifetime, to revert to you upon her death." "With much feeling, Mr. Lincoln replied: " I shall do no such thinof. It is a poor return, at the best, for all the good woman's devotion and fidelity to me, and there is not going to be any half-way business about it ;" and so sa3nng, he gathered up his money, and proceeded forthwith to carrv his long-cherished purpose into execution. CO LINCOLN STORIES. A Famous Story — How Lincoln was Presented with a Knife \ It is said that Mr. Lincoln was always ready to join in a laugh at the expense of his person, concerning which he was indilfcrent. Many of his friends will recognize the following story — the incident having actually occurred — which Lincoln always told with great glee : " In the days when I used to be ' on the circuit,' " said Lincoln, " I was accosted in the cars by a strans-er, wha said : '' ' Excuse me, sir, but I have an article in my p'ossession (vhich belongs to you.' " ' How is that ? ' I asked, considerably astonished. " The stranger took a jack-knife from his pocket. ' This knife,' said he, ' was placed in my hands some years ago,, with the injunction that I was to keep it until I found a man uglier than myself. I have carried it from that time to this. Allow me now to say, sir, that I think you are fairly entitled to the property.' " An Amusing Story Concerning Thompson Campbell. Among the numerous visitors on one of the President's reception days, were a party of Congressmen, among whom was the Plon. Thomas Shannon, of California. Soon after the customary greeting, Mr. Shitnnon said : " Mr. President, I met an old friend of yours in Califor- nia last Summer, Thompson Campbell, who had a good deal to say of your Springfield life." "Ah!" returned Mr. Lincoln, "I am glad to hear of him. Campbell used to be a dry fellow," he continued. " For a time he was Secretary of State. One day, during the legislative vacation, a meek, cadaverous-looking man, with a white neck-cloth, introduced himself to him at his. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 61 office, and, stating that he had been informed that Mr. C had the lettino^ of the Assembly Chamber, said that he wislied to secure it, if possible, for a course of lectures he desired to deliver in Springfield. " ' May I ask,' said the SL-cretary, ' what is to be the subject of your lectures ? ' " ' Certainly,' was the reply, with a very solemn expres- sion of countenance. ' The cotirse I wish to deliver, is on the Second Coming of our Lord.' " ' It is of no use,' said C. ' If you will take my advice, you will not waste your time in this city. It is my private opinion that if the Lord has been in Springfield once, He will not come the second time /' " The Lincoln-Shields Duel — How it Originated. The late Gen. Shields was Auditor of the State of Illi- nois in 1S39. While he occupied this important office he was involved in an " affair of honor " with a Springfield lawyer — no less a personage than Abraham Lincoln. At this time " James Shields, Auditor," was the pride of the joung Democracy, and was considered a dashing fellow by all, the ladies included. In the Summer of 1842 the Spring- field Journal contained some letters from the " Lost Town- ships," by a contributor whose nom de plume was "Aunt Becca," which held up the gallant young Auditor as " a ball- room dandy, floatin' about on the earth without heft or sub- stance, just like a lot of cat-fur where cats had been fightin'." These letters caused intense excitement in the town, l^obody knew or guessed their authorship. Shields swore it would be coffee and pistols for two if he should find out who had been lampooning him so unmercifully. Thereupon "Aunt Becca" wrote another letter, which made the fur- nace of his wrath seven times hotter than before, in which 63 LINCOLN STORIES. she made a very humble apology, and offered to let him squeeze her hand for satisfaction, adding: "If this should not answer, there is one thing more I would rather do than to get a lickin'. I have all along expected to die a widow; but, as Mr. Shields is rather good- looking than otherwise, I must say I don't care if we com- promise the matter by — really, Mr. Printer, I can't help blushin' — but I — must come out — I — but widowed modesty — well, if I must, I must — wouldn't he — maybe sorter let the old grudge drap if I was to consent to be — be — his wife? I know he is a figlitin' man, and would rather fight than eat; but isn't marrvin' better than fio-htin', though it does some- times run into it? And I don't think, upon the whole, I'd be sich a bad match, neither; I'm not over sixty, and am jest four feet three in my bare feet, and. not much more round the girth; and for color, I wouldn't turn my back to nary a girl in the Lost Townships. But, after all, maybe I'm countin' my chickens before they're hatched, and. dreamin' of matrimonial bliss when the only alternative reserved for me maybe a lickin'. Jeff tells me the way these fire-eaters do is to give the challenged party the choice of weapons, which, being the case, I tell you in confidence, I never fight with anything but broomsticks or hot water, or a shovelful of coals or some such thing; the former of which, being somewhat like a shillelah, may not be so very objectionable to him. I will give him a ^hoice, however, in one thing, and that is whether, when we fight, I shall wear breeches or he petticoats, for I presume this change is sufiicient to place us on an equality." Of course some one had to shoulder the responsibility of these letters after such a shot. The real author was none other than Miss Mary Todd, afterward the wife of Abraham Lincoln, to whom she was engaged, and who was in honor bound to assume, for belligerent purposes, the responsibil- PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 6$ ity of her sharp pen-thrnsis. Mr. Lincoln accepted the situation. Not long after the two men, with their seconds, were on thetr way to the field of honor. But the affair was fixed up without any fighting, and thus ended in a fizzle the Lincoln-Shields duel of the Lost Townships. Lincoln's Story of Joe Wilson and His " Spotted Animals " — Slow Progress in Killing Cats. Although the friendly relations which existed between the President and Secretary Cameron were not interrupted by the retirement of the latter from the War Ofiice, so important a change in the Administration could not of course take place without the irrepressible "story" from Mr. Lincoln. Shortly after this event some gentlemen called upon the President, and expressing much satisfac- tion at the change, intimated that in their judgment the interests of the country required an entire reconstruction of the Cabinet. Mr. Lincoln heard them through, and tlien shaking his head dubioush', replied, with his peculiar smile: " Gentle- men, when I was a young man I used to know very well one Joe Wilson, who built himself a log-cabin not far from where I lived. Joe was verv fond of eggs and chickens, and he took a good deal of pains in fitting up a poultry shed. Having at length got together a choice lot of young fowls — of which he was very proud — he began to be much annoyed by the depredations of those little black and white spotted animals, which it is not necessary to name. One night Joe was awakened by an unusual cackling and fluttering among his chickens. Getting up, he crept out to see what was going on. " It was a moonlight night, and he soon caught sight of half a dozen of the little pests, which, with their dam, were 64 LINCOLN STORIES. running in and out of the shadow of the shed. Yerj wratliy, Joe put a double charge into his old musket, and thought he would ' clean ' out the whole tribe* at one shot. Somehow he onlj killed one, and the balance scampered off across the field. In telling the story, Joe would always pause here, and hold his nose. "'Why didn't you follow them up, and kill the rest?' inquired the neighbors. " ' Blast it,' said Joe, ' why, it was eleven weeks before I ^ot over killin' one. If you want any more skirmishing in that line you can just do it yourselves!' " An Incident Related by One of Lincoln's Clients. It was not possible for Mr. Lincoln to regard his clients simply in the light of business. An unfortunate man was a subject of his sympathy, a Mr. Cogdal, who related the incident to Mr. Holland, met with a financial wreck in 1S43. He employed Mr. Lincoln as his lawyer, and at the close of the business, gave him a note to cover the regular lawyer's fees. He was soon afterwards blown up by an accidental discharge of powder, and lost his hand. Meeting Mr. Lin- coln some time after the accident, on the steps of the State House, the kind lawyer asked him how he was getting along. " Badly enough," replied Mr. Cogdal, "I am both broken up in business and crippled." Then he added, " I have been thinking about that note of yours." Mr. Lincoln, who had probably known all about Mr. Cogdal's troubles, and had prepared himself for the meet- ing, took out his pocket-book, and saying, with a laugh, " well, you needn't think any more about it," handed him the note. Mr. Cogdal protesting, Mr. Lincoln said, " if you had the money, I would not take it," and hurried away. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 65 At this same date, he was frankly writing about liis pov- erty to liis friends, as a reason for not making them a visit, and probably found it no easy task to take care of his fam- ily, even when board at the Globe Tavern was " only four dollars a week." Lincoln's Valor — He Defends Col. Baker. On one occasion when Col. Baker was speaking in a court-house, which had been a store-house, and, on making some remarks that were offensive to certain political row- dies in the crowd, they cried : " Take him off the stand." Immediate confusion ensued, and there was an attempt to carry the demand into execution. Directly over the speaker's head was an old scuttle, at which it appeared Mr. Lincoln had been listening to the speech. In an instant, Mr. Lincoln's feet came through the scuttle, followed by his tall and sinewy frame, and he was standing by Colonel Baker's side. He raised his hand, and the assembly sub- sided immediately into silence. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "let us not disgrace the age and country in which we live. This is aland where freedom of speech is guaranteed. Mr. Baker has a right to speak, and ought to be permitted to do so. I am here to protect him, and no man shall take him from this stand if I can. prevent it." The suddenness of his appearance, his perfect calmness and fairness, and the knowledo-e that he would do what he had promised to do, quieted all disturbance, and the speaker concluded his remarks without difficulty. 5 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. THE LAWTEB. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 67 Honest Abe and his Lady Client. About the time Mr. Lincoln began to be known as a suc- cessful lawyer, he was waited upon by a lady, who held a real-estate claim which she desired to have him prosecute, putting into his hands, with the necessary papers, a check for two hundred and fifty dollars, as a retaining fee, Mr. Lincoln said he would look the case over, and asked her to call again the next day. Upon presenting herself, Mr. Lincoln told her that he had gone through the papers very carefully, and he must tell her frankly that there was not a " peg " to hang her claim upon, and he could not con- scientiously advise her to bring an action. The lady was satisfied, and, thanking him, rose to go. "Wait," said Mr. Lincoln, fumbling in his vest pocket; . "" here is the check you left with me." "But, Mr. Lincoln," returned the lady, "I think you have earned thatP " No, no," he responded, handing it back to her; " that would not be right. I can't take pay for doing my duty." Attention Shown to Relatives — Lincoln and "His Sisters and His Cousins and His Aunts." One of the most beautiful traits of Mr. Lincoln was his <5onsiderate regard for the poor and obscure relatives he had left, plodding along in their humble ways of life. Wherever upon his circuit he found them, he always went to their dwellings, ate' with them, and, when convenient, made their houses his home. lie never assumed in their presence the slightest superiority to them, in the facts and conditions of Jiis life. He gave them money when they needed and he possessed it. Countless times he was known to leave his companions at the village hotel, after a hard day's work in che court room, and spend the evening with these old 68 LINCOLN STORI'ES. friends and companions of his humbler days. On one: occasion, when urged not to go, he replied, "Why, aunt's heart would be brokon if I should leave town without call- ing upon her;" yet he was obliged to walk several miles to- make the call. How Lincoln Kept His Business Accounts — His Remarkable Honesty. A little fact in Lincoln's Work will illustrate his ever- present desire to deal honestly and justh^ with men. He- had always a partner in his professional life, and, when ho went out upon the circuit, this partner was usually at home. "While out, he frequently took up and disposed of cases that were never entered at the office. In these cases, after, receiving his fees, he divided the money in his pocket-book, labeling each sum (wrapped in a piece of paper^, that belonged to his partner, stating his name, and the case on which it was received. He could not be content to keep an account. He divided the money, so that if he, by any casualty, should fail of an opportunity to pay it over, there could be no dispute as to the exact amount that was his partner's due. This may seem trivial, nay, boyish, but it was like Mr. Lincoln. Lincoln in Court. Senator McDonald states that he saw a jury trial in Illinois, at which Lincoln defended an old man charged with assault and battery. Xo blood had been spilled, but there was malice in the prosecution, and the chief witness was eager to make the most of it. On cross-examination, Lincoln gave him rope and drew him out; asked him how long the fight lasted, and how much ground it covered. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 69 The witness thought the fight must have lasted half an hour, and covered an acre of ground. Lincoln called his .attention to the fact that nobody was^hurt, and then, with an inimitable air, asked him if he didn't think it was "a mighty small crop for an acre of ground!''^ The jury rejected the case with contem];>t as beneath the dignity of twelve brave, good men and true. In another cause the son of his old friend, who had em- ployed him and loaned him books, was charged with a murder committed in a riot at a camp-meeting. Lincoln volunteered for the diefense. A witness swore that he saw !the prisoner strike the fatal blow. It was night, but he swore that the full moon was shining clear, and he saw •everj^thing distinctl3\ The case seemed hopeless, but Lin- coln produced an almanac, and showed that at the hour there was no moon. Then he depicted the crime of per- jury with such eloquence that the false witness fled the Court House. One who heard the trial says: "It was near night when he concluded, saying: ' If justice was done, before the sun set it would shine upon his client a free man.' " The Court charged the jury; they retired, and presently returned a verdict — " Not guilty." The prisoner fell into Ills weeping mother's arms, and then turned to thank Mr. Lincoln, who, looking out at the sun, said: " It is not yet sundown, and you are free;" One of Lincoln's "Hardest Hits." In Abbott's " History of the Civil War," the following .story is told as one of Lincoln's "hardest hits:" ,'' I once knew," said Lincoln, " a sound churchman by the name of Brown, who was a member of a very sober and pious com- anittee having in charo-e the erection of a brido:e over a 70 LINCOLN STORIES. dangerous and rapid river. Several architects failed, and at last Brown said he had a friend named Jones, who bad- built several bridges and undoubtedly could build that one. So 3Ir. Jones was called in. '• ' Can vou build this bridge?' inquired the committee. " ' Yes,' replied Jones, ' or any other. I could build a bridge to the infernal regions, if necessary !' The committee were shocked, and Brown felt called upon to defend his friend. ' I know Jones so well,' said he, ' and he is so honest a man and so good an architect, that if he states soberly and- positively that he can build a bridge to — to , why. I believe it; but I feel bound to say that I have my doubts about the abutment on the infernal side.* '• So,"' said Mr. Lincoln, '• when politicians told me that the northern and southern wings of the Democracy could be harmonized, why, I believed them, of course; but I always had my doubts about the ' abutment ' on the other- side." An Incident Connected with Lincoln's Nomination — A Good Temperance Man. Immediatelv after Mr. Lincoln's nomination for Presi- dent at the Chicago Convention, a committee, of wdiich Governor Morgan, of j^ew York, was Chairman, visited him in Springfield, 111., where he was officiallj^ informed of his nomination. After this ceremony had passed, Mr. Lincoln remarked to the company, that as an appropriate conclusion to an interview so important and interesting as that which had just transpired, he supposed good manners would require that he should treat the committee with somethin": to drink ; and opening a door that led into a room in the rear, he called out " Mary ! Mary ! '' A girl responded to- PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 71 the call, to whom Mr. Lincoln spoke a few words in an under-tone, and, closing the door, returned again to converse with his guests. In a few minutes the maiden entered, bearing a large waiter, containing several glass tumblers, and a large pitcher in the midst, and placed it upon the centre-table. Mr. Lincoln ar.ise, and gravely addressing the company, said : '• Gentlemen, we must pledge our mu- tual healths in the most healthy beverage which God has given to man — it is the only beverage I have ever used or allowed in my family, and I can not conscientiously depart from it on the present occasion — it is pure Adam's ale from the spring ; "' and, taking a tumbler, he touched it to his lips, and pledged them his highest respects in a cup of cold vmter. Of course, all his guests were constrained to admire his consistency, and to join in his example. Gen. Ijinder'8 Account of the Lincoln-Shields Duel — Why Lincoln Chose Broadsw^ords as Weapons. "When the famous challenge was sent by General Shields to Mr. Lincoln, it was at once accepted, and by the advice of his especial friend and second, Dr. Merriraan. he chose broadswords as the weapons with whicli to fight. Dr. Merriman being a splendid swordsman trained him in the use of that instrument, which made it almost certain that Shields would be killed or discomfited, for he was a small, short-armed man, while Lincoln was a tall, sinewy, long- armed man, and as stout as Hercules. They went to Alton, and were to fi^ht on the neck of land between the Missouri and Mississippi Hivers, near their confluence. John J. Ilardin, hearing of the contemplated duel, determined to prevent it, and liastened to Alton, with all imaginable celerity, where he fell in with the belligerent 72 LINCOLN STOUT ES. parties, and aided by some otlier friends of both Lincoln and Shields, succeeded in effecting a reconciliation. After this affair between Lincoln and Shields, I met Lin- coln at the Danville court, and in a walk we took together, seeing him make passes with a stick, such as are made in the broadsword exercise, I was induced to ask him why he had selected that weapon with which to fight Shields. He promptly answered in that sharp, ear-splitting voice of his: " To tell you the truth, Linder, I did not want to kill Shields, and felt sure I could disarm him, having had about a month tolearn the broadsword exercise; and furthermore, I didn't want the darned fellow to kill me, which I rather think he would have done if we had selected pistols." Lincoln's Gratitude — He Volunteers to Defend the Son of an Old Friend Indicted for Murder — How He Was Acquitted. Jack Armstrong, the leader of the " Clary Grove Boys," with whom Lincoln in early life had a scuffle which "Jack" agreed to call "a drawn battle," in consequence of his own foul play, afterwards became a life-long, warm friend of Mr. Lincoln. Later in life the rising lawyer would stop at Jack's cabin home, and here Mrs. Armstrong, a most womanly person, learned to respect Mr. Lincoln. There was no service to which she did not make her guest abund- antly welcome, and he never ceased to feel the tenderest gratitude for her kindness. At length lier husband died, and she became dependent upon her sons. The oldest of these, while in attendance upon a camp-meeting, found himself involved in a melee, which resulted in the death of a young man, and 3^)ung Armstrong was charged by one of his associates with strik- ing the fatal blow. He was arrested, examined, and im- prisoned to await his trial. The public mind was in a PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 73 'blaze of excitement, and interested parties fed the flame. Mr. Lincoln knew nothing of the merits of this case, that is •certain. He only knew that liis old friend Mrs. Armstrong was in sore trouble; and he sat down at once, and volun- teered by letter to defend her son. His first act was to procure the postponement and a change of the place of the trial. There was too much fever in the minds of the immediate public to permit of fair treatment. When the trial came on, the case looked very hopeless to all but Mr. Lincoln, who had assured himself that the young man was not gnilt3^ The evidence on behalf of the state being all in, and looking like a solid and consistent mass of testi- mony against the prisoner, Mr. Lincoln undertook the task of analyzing and destroying it, which he did in a m*anner that surprised every one. The principal witness testified that " by the aid of the brightly shining moon, he saw the prisoner inflict the death blow with a slung shot." Mr. Lincoln proved by tlie almanac that there was no moon shining at the time. The mass of testimony against the prisoner melted away, until " not guilty " was the verdict of every man present in the crowded court-room. There is, of course, no record of the plea made on this occasion, l)ut it is remembered as one in which Mr. Lincoln made an appeal to the sympathies of the jury, which quite sur- passed his usual efforts of the kind, and melted all to tears. The jury were out but half an hour, when they returned with their verdict of "not guilty." The widow fainted in the arms of her son, who divided his attention between his services to her and his thanks to his deliverer. And thus tile kind woman wlio cared for the poor young man, and showed herself a mother to him in his need, received the life of a son, saved from a cruel conspiracy, as her reward, from the hand of her grateful beneficiary. 74 LINCOLN STORIES. An Honest Lawyer — ^Some of Lincoln's "Cases" and How He Treated Them. A sheep-grower on a certain occasion sold a number of sheep at a stipulated average price. When he delivered the animals, he delivered many lambs, or sheep too young to come fairly within the terms of the contract. He was sued for damages by the injured party, and Mr. Lincoln was his attorne3\ At the trial, the facts as to the character of the sheep delivered were proved, and several witnesses testified as to the usuage by which all under a certain age were regarded as lambs, and of inferior value, Mr. Lincoln, on comprehending the facts, at once changed his line of effort, and confined himself to ascertaining the real number of inffirior sheep delivered. On addressing the jury, he said that from the facts proved, they must give a verdict against his client, and he only asked their scrutiny as to the actual damage suffered. in another case, Mr. Lincoln was conducting a suit against a railroad company. Judgment having been given in his favor, and the court being about to allow the amount claimed by him, deducting a proved and allowed offset, he rose and stated that his opponents had not proved all that was justly due them in offset; and proceeded to state and allow a further sum against his client, which the court allowed in its iudo-ment. His desire for the establishment of exact justice overcame his own selfish love of victory, as well as his partiality for his clients' feelings and interests. Lincoln's Pungent Retort. A little incident occurred during a political campaign that illustrated Mr. Lincoln's readiness in turning a polit- ical point. He was making ft speech at Charleston, Coles County, Illinois, when a voice called out, " Mr. Lincoln, is. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 75 it true that yon entered this state barefoot, driving a yoke of oxen?" Mr. Lincoln paused for full half a minute, as if considering whether he should notice such cruel impertin- ence, and then said that he thought he could prove the fact by at least a dozen men in the crowd, any one of whom was more respectable than his questioner. But the question seemed to inspire him, and he went on to show what free institutions had done for himself, and to exhibit the evils of slavery to the white man wherever it existed, and asked if it was not natural that he should hate slavery and agitate against it. '• Yes," said he, " we will speak for freedom and against slavery, as long as the Constitution of our country guarantees free speech, until everywhere on this wide land the sun shall shine, and the rain shall fall, and the wind shall blow upon no man who goes forth to unre- quited toil." A Revolutionary Pensioner Defended by Lincoln — An Interesting Incident. An old woman of seventy-five years, the widow of a rev- olutionary pensioner, came tottering into his law ofiice one day, and, taking a seat, told him tiiat a certain pension agent had ciiarged her the exorbitant fee of two hundred dollars for collecting her claim. Mr. Lincoln was satisfied by her representations that she had been swindled, and find- ing that she was not a resident of the town, and that she- was poor, gave her money, and set about the work of pro- curing restitution. He immediately entered suit against tlie agent to recover a portion of his ill-gotten money. The suit was entirely successful, and Mr. Lincoln's address to the jury before which the case was tried is remembered to have been peculiarly touching in its allusions to the poverty of the widow, and tlie patriotism of the husband 76 LINCOLN STORIES. * A she had sacrificed to secure the nation's independence. He had the gratification of paying back to her a hundred dol- lars, and sending her home rejoicing. A Thrilling Story — Lincoln Threatens a Twenty Years' Agitation in Illinois. One afternoon an old negro woman came into the oflSce of Lincoln & Herndon, in Springfield, and told the story of her trouble, to which both lawyers listened. It appeared that she and her offspring were born slaves in Kentucky, and that her owner, one Hinkle, had brought the whole family into Illinois, and given them their freedom. Her son had gone down the Mississippi as a waiter or deck hand, on a steamboat. Arriving at I^ew Orleans, he had imprudently gone ashore, and had been snatched up by the police, in accordance with the law then in force concerning free negroes from other states, and thrown into confine- ment. Subsequently, he was brought out and tried. Of course he was fined, and, the boat having left, he was sold, or was in immediate danger of being sold, to pay his fine and the expenses. Mr. Lincoln was very much moved, and requested Mr. Herndon to go over to the State House, and inquire of Governor Bissell if there was not something lie could do to obtain possession of the negro. Mr. Herndon made the inquiry, and returned with the report that the Governor regretted to say that he had no legal or constitu- tional right to do anything in the premises. Mr. Lincoln rose to his feet in m-eat excitem.ent, and exclaimed. '• Bv the Almighty, I'll have that negro back soon, or I'll have a twentv years' ao^itation in Illinois, until the Governor does have a legal and constitutional ria^ht to do something in the premises." He was saved from the latter alternative — at least in the direct form which he pi'oposed. The lawyers PROFESSIONAL LIFE • 77 sent money to a J^ew Orleans correspondent — money of their own — who procured the negro, and returned him to liis mother. Lincoln as a Story Teller — How he always Turned the Story to his advantage — A Practical Example. One of his modes of getting rid of troublesome friends, as well as troublesome enemies, was by telling a story. He began these tactics early in life, and he grew to be wonder- fully adept in them. If a man broached a subject which he did not wish to discuss, he told a story which changed the direction of the conversation. If he was called upon to answer a question, he answered it by telling a story. He had a story for everything — something had occurred at some place where he used to live, that illustrated every pos- sible phase of every possible subject with which he might have connection. His faculty of finding or making a story to match every event in his history, and every event to which he bore any relation, was really marvelous. That he made, or adapted, some of his stories, there is no question. It is beyond belief that those which entered his mind left it no richer than they came. It is not to be supposed that he spent any time in elaborating them, but by some law of association every event that occurred sug- gested some "story, and, almost by an involuntary process, his mind harmonized their discordant points, and the story was pronounced " pat," because it was made so before it was uttered. Every truth, or combination of truths, seemed immediately to clothe itself in a form of life, where he kept it for reference. His mind was full of stories ; and the great facts of his life and history on entering 'his mind seemed to take up their abode in these stories, and if the garment did not fit them it was so modified that it did. T8 LINCOLN STORIES. A ii-ood instance of the execution which he sometimes effected with a story, occurred in the legislature. There was a troublesome member from Wabash County, who i^loried particularly in being a " strict constructionist." He found something '• unconstitutional " in every measure that was brought forward for discussion. He was a member of the Judiciary Committee, and was very apt, after giving every measure a heavy pounding, to advocate its reference to this committee. Xo amount of sober argument could floor the member from Wabash. At last he came to be ■considered a man to be silenced, and Mr. Lincoln was resorted to for an expedient by which this object might be accomplished. He soon afterwards honored the draft thus made uj^on him. A measure was brought forward in which Mr. Lincoln's constituents were interested, when the member from Wabash rose and discharged all his batteries upon its un- constitutional points. Mr. Lincoln then took the floor^ and, with the quizzical expression of features which he could assume at will, and a mirthful twinkle in his gray eyes, said: "Mr. Speaker, the attack of the member from Wa- bash on the constitutionality of this measure, reminds me of an old friend of mine. He's a peculiar looking old fel- low, with shaggy, overhanging eyebrows, and a pair of spectacles under them. (Everybody turned to the member from Wabash, and recognized a personal description.) One morning just after the old man got up, he imagined, on looking out of his door, that he saw rather a lively squir- rel on a tree near his house. So he took down his rifle and fired at the squirrel, but the squirrel paid no attention to the shot. He loaded and fired again, and again, until, at the thirteenth shot, he sot down his gun impatiently, and jsaid to his boy, who was looking on: " ' Boy, there's something wrong about this rifle.' PBOFESSIONAL LIFE. 79 " ' Rifle's all right, I know 'tis,' responded the boy, ' but where's j'oiir S(|nirrel?' " ' Don't 3'ou see him, humped up about half way up tne tree?' inquired the old man, peering over his spectacles, and getting mystiiied. "'No, I don't,' responded the boy; and then turning and looking into his father's face, he exclaimed, ' I see your squirrel! You 've been firing at a louse on your eyebrow! ' " The story needed neither application nor explanation. The House was in convulsions of laughter; for Mr. Lin- coln's skill in telling a story was not inferioi* to his appre- ciation of its points and his power of adapting them to the case in hand. It killed off the member from Wabash, who was very careful afterwards not to provoke any allusion to his " eyebrows." Hon. Newt:n Bateman's Thrilling Story of Mr. Lincoln — The Great Man Looking to See How the Springfield Preachers Voted — His Stirprise, and What Lincoln Said About It. At the time of the Lincoln nomination, at Chicago, Mr. Newton Bateman, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Illinois, occupied a room adjoining and opening into the Executive Chamber at Springfield. Fre- quently this door was open during Mr. Lincoln's receptions, and throughout the seven months or more of his occupa- tion, he saw him nearly every -day. Often when Mr. Lin- coln was tired, he closed the door against all intruders, and called Mr. Bateman into his room for a quiet talk. On one of these occasions, Mr. Lincoln took up a book contain- ing a careful canvass of the city of Springfield, in which he lived, showing the candidate for whom each citizen had declared it his intention to vote in the approaching election. Mr. Lincoln's friends had, doubtless at his own request, 80 • LINCOLN STORIES. placed the result of the canvass in his hands. This was towards the close of October, and only a few days before' election. Calling Mr. Bateman to a seat by his side, hav- ing previously locked all the doors, he said : ' Let us look over this book; I wish particularly to see how the ministers of Springfield are going to vote.' The leaves were turned,, one by one, and as the names were examined Mr." Lincoln frequently asked if this one and that were not a minister, or an elder, or a member of such or such church, and sadly expressed his surprise on receiving an affirmative answer. In that manner they went through the book, and then he closed it and sat silently for some njinutes regarding a memorandum in pencil which lay before him. At length he turned to Mr. Bateman, with a face full of sadness, and said : ' Here are twenty-three ministers, of different denominations, and all of them are against me but three, and here are a great many prominent members of the' churches, a very large majority are against me. Mr. Bate- man, I am not a Christian, — God knows 1 would be one, — but I have carefully read the Bible, and I do not so under- stand this book; ' and he drew forth a pocket New Testa- ment. ' These men well know,' he continued, ' that I am for freedom in the Territories, freedom everywhere as free as the Constitution and the laws will permit, and that my opponents are for slavery. They know this, and yet, with this book in their hands, in the light of which human bond- age can not live a moment, they are going to vote against me; I do not understand it at all.' "Here Mr. Lincoln paused — paused for long minutes — his features surcharged with emotion. Then he rose and walked up and down the reception-room in the effort to retain or regain his self-possession. Stopping at last, he said, with a trembling voice and cheeks wet with tears: ' I know there is a God, and that he hates injustice and PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 81 slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and work for me, and I think He has, I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but Truth is everything. I know I am right, because I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God. I have told them that a house divided against itself can not stand; and Christ and Eeason say the same; and they will find it so.' "'Douglas don't care whether slavery is voted up or down, but God cares, and humanity cares, and I care; and with God's help I shall not fail. I may not see the end; but it will come, and I shall be vindicated; and these men will find that they have not read their Bible right.' " Much of this was uttered as if he was speaking to him- self, and with a sad, earnest solemnity of manner impossi. ble to be described. After a pause, he resumed: 'Doesn't it appear strange that men can ignore the moral aspect of this contest? A revelation could not make it plainer to me that slavery or the Government must be destroyed. The future would be something awful, as I look at it, but for this rock on which I stand,' (alluding to the Testament which he still held in his hand,) ' especially with the knowl- edge of how these ministers are going to vote. It seems as if God had borne with this thing (slavery) until the very teachers of religion had come to defend it from the Bible, and to claim for it a divine character and sanction; and now the ciip of iniquity is full, and the vials of wrath will be poured out.' After this the conversation was continued for a long time. Everything he said was of a peculiarly deep, tender, and religious tone, and all was tinged with a touching melancholy. He repeatedly referred to his con- viction that the day of wrath was at hand, and that he was to be an actor in the terrible struggle which would issue in the overthrow of slavery, though he might not live to see the end. 83 LINCOLN STORIES. "After further reference to a belief in Divine Providence, and the fact of God in history, the conversation turned upon prayer. He freely stated his belief in the duty, privilege, and efficacy of prayer, and intimated, in no unmistakable terms, that he had sought in that way the Divine guidance and favor. The effect of this conversation upon the mind of Mr. Bateman, a Christian gentleman whom Mr. Lincoln profoundly respected, was to convince him that Mr. Lincoln had, in his quiet way, found a path to the Christian stand- point — that he had found God, and rested on the eternal truth of God. As the two men were about to separate, Mr. Bateman remarked : ' I have not supposed that you were accustomed to think so much upon this class of subjects ; certainly your friends generally are ignorant of the senti- ments you have expressed to me.' He replied quickly : ' I know they are, but I think more on these subjects than upon all others, and I have done so for years; and I am willing you should know it.' " When his clients had practiced gross deception upon him, Mr. Lincoln forsook their cases in mid-passage; and he al- ways refused to accept fees of those whom he advised not to prosecute. Ou one occasion, while engaged upon an important case, he discovered that he was on the wrong side. His associate in the case was immediately informed that he (Lincoln) would not make the plea. The associate made it, and the case, much to the surprise of Lincoln, was decided for his client. Perfectly convinced that his client was wfong, he would not receive one cent of the fee of nine hundred dollars which he paid. It is not wonderful that one who knew him well spoke of him as " perversely honest." o < o !» CO Q Eh liiP'f WHITE.UOUSE INCIDENTS. 85 WHITE-HOUSE i:n^cide:n^ts. Trying the " Greens " on Jake — A Serious Experiment. A deputation of bankers were one day introduced to the President by the Secretary of the Treasury. One of the party, Mr. P of Chelsea, Mass., took occasion to refer to the severity of the tax laid by Congress upon the State Banks. " Now," said Mr. Lincoln, " that reminds me of a cir- 'Cumstance that took place in a neighborhood where I lived when I was a boy. In the spring of the year the farmers were very fond of the dish which they called greens, though the fashionable name for it now-a-days is spinach, 1 believe. One day after dinner, a large family were taken very ill. The doctor was called in, who attributed it to the :greens, of which all had freely partaken. Living in the family was a half-witted boy named Jake. On a subse- quent occasion, when greens had been gathered for dinner, the head of the house said : ' Now, boys, before running ■any further risk in this thing, we will first try them on Jake. If he stands it, we are all right.' And just so, I suppose," said Mr. Lincoln, " Congress thought it would try this tax on the State Banks ! " A Little Story which Lincoln told the Preachers. A year or more before Mr. Lincoln's death, a delegation of clergymen waited upon him in reference to the appoint- ment of the army chaplains. The delegation consisted of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, and an Episcopal clergyman. 86 LINCOLN STORIES. They stated that the character of many of the chaplains was notoriously bad, and they had come to urge upon the President the necessity of more discretion in these ap- pointments. " But, gentlemen," said the President, " that is a matter which the Government has nothing to do with; the chap- lains are chosen by the regiments." Not satisfied with this, the clergymen pressed, in turn, a. change in the svstem. Mr. Lincoln heard them througli without remark, and then said, " Without any disrespect,, gentlemen, I will tell you a ' little story.' " Once, in Springfield, I was going off on a short jour- ney, and reached the depot a little ahead of time. Leaning against the fence just outside the depot was a little darkey boy, whom I knew, named ' Dick,' busily digging with his toe in a mud-puddle. As I came up, I said, ' Dick, what are you about ?' " ' Making a church,^ said he. " ' A cliurch?' said I ; ' what do you mean ?' " ' Why, yes,' said Dick, pointing with his toe, ' don't you see ? there is the shape of it ; there's the steps and front-door — here the pews, where the folks set — and there 's the pulpit.' " ' Yes, I see,' said I, ' but why don't you make a minister ? ' " ' Laws,' answered Dick, with a grin, ' I hain't got mud, enough ! ' " How Lincoln Stood up for the Word " Sugar-Coated." Mr. Defrees, the government printer, states, that, when one of the President's messages was being printed, he was. a good deal disturbed by the use of the term " sugar- coated," and finally went to Mr. Lincoln about it. Their WHITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 87 relations to each other being of the most intimate character, he told the President frankly, that he ought to remember that a message to Concyress was a different affair from a speech at a mass meeting in Illinois ; that the mes- sages became a part of history, and should be written accordino-lv. " What is the matter now ?" inquired the President. "Why," said Mr. Defrees, "you have nsed an undig- nified expression in the message ;" and then, reading the paragraph aloud, he added, " I would alter the structure of that, if I were you." " Defrees," replied Mr. Lincoln, " that word expresses precisely my idea, and I am not going to change it. The time will never come in this country when the people won't know exactly what sugar-coated means ! " On a subsequent occasion, Mr. Defrees states that a certain sentence of another message was very awkwardly constructed. Calling the President's attention to in the proof-copy, the latter acknowledged the force of the objec- tion raised, and said, " Go home, Defrees, and see if you can better it." The next day Mr. Defrees took in to him his amendment. Mr. Lincoln met him by saying : " Seward found the same fault that you did. and he has been rewriting tlie paragraph, also." Then, reading Mr. Defrees' version, he said, " I believe you have beaten Seward; but, ' I jings,' I think 1 can beat you both." Then, taking up his pen, he wrote the sentence as it was finally printed. Lincoln's Advice to a Prominent Bachelor. Upon the bethrothal of the Prince of Wales to the Prin- cess Alexandra, Queen V^ictoria sent a letter to each of the European sovereigns, and also to President Lincoln, 88 LINCOLN STORIES. announcing the fact. Lord Lyons, her ambassador at Washington, — a " bachelor," by the way, — requested an audience of Mr. Lincoln, that he might present this im- portant document in person. At the time appointed he was received at the "White House, in company with Mr. Seward. "May it please your Excellency,^' said Lord Lyons, "I hold in my hand an autograph letter from ray royal mis- tress, Queen Victoria, which I have been commanded to present to your Excellency. In it she informs your Excel- lency, tliat her son, his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, is about to contract a matrimonial alliance with her Eoyal Highness the Princess Alexandra of Denmark." After continuing in this strain for a few minutes, Lord Lyons tendered the letter to the President and awaited his reply. It was short, simple, and expressive, and consisted simply of the words : " Lord Lyons, go thou and do likewise.''^ It is doubtful if an English ambassador was ever ad- dressed in this manner before, and it would be interestinof to learn what success he met with in putting the reply in diplomatic language when he reported it to her Majesty. Mr. Lincoln and the Bashful Boys — He Tells a Story of Daniel Webster. The President and a friend were standing upon the thresh- old of the door under the portico of the White House awaiting the coachman, when a letter was put into his hand. While he was reading this, people were passing, as is cus- tomary, up and down the promenade, which leads through the grounds to the War Department, crossing, of course, the portico. Attention was attracted to an approaching party, apparently a countryman, plainly dressed, with his WHITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 89 wife and two little boys, who had evidently been straying about, looking at the places of public interest in the city. As they reached tlie portico, the father, who was in advance, caught sight of the tall figure of Mr. Lincoln, absorbed in liis letter. His wife and the little boys were ascending the steps. The man stopped suddenly, put out his hand with a " hush " to his family, and, after a moment's gaze, he bent down and whispered to them, " There is the President!" Then leav- ing them, he slowly made a half circuit around Mr. Lincoln, watching him intently all the while. At this point, having finished his letter, the President turned and said: "■"Well, we will not wait anv lonsrer for the carriage; it won't hurt you and me to walk down." The countryman here approached very diffidently, and .asked if he might be allowed to take the President by the hand; after which, "Would he extend the same privilege to his wife and little boys ?" Mr. Lincoln, good-naturedly, approached the latter, who had remained where they were stopped, and, reaching down said a kind word to the bashful little fellows, who shrank close up to their mother, and did not reply. This simple act filled the father's cup full. " The Lord is with you, Mr. President," he said, rever- ently; and then, hesitating a moment, he added, with strong •emphasis, '■'■ and the yeople^ too, sir; and the people, tooP^ A few moments later Mr. Lincoln remarked to his friend: "Great men have various estimates. "When Daniel "Webster made his tour through the "West years ago, lie visited Spring- field among other places, where great jjreparations had been made to receive him. ' As the procession was going through the town, a barefooted little darkey boy pulled the sleeve of ;a man named T., and asked : " '"What the folks were all doing down the street?' 90 LINCOLN STORIES. " ' Why, Jack,' was the reply, ' the biggest man in the world is coming.' " Now, there lived in Springfield a man by the name of G. — a very corpulent man. Jack darted oif down the street, but presently returned, with a very disappointed air, " ' Well, did you see him?' inquired T. " ' Yees,' returned Jack; ' but laws — he ain't half as hig as old ar' An Irish Soldier Who Wanted Something Stronger than Soda- Water, Upon Mr. Lincoln's return to "Washington, after the cap- ture of Richmond, a member of the Cabinet asked him if it would be proper to permit Jacob Thompson to slip through Maine in disguise, and embark from Portland. Tlie Presi- dent, as usual, was disposed to be merciful, and to permit the arch-rebel to pass unmolested, but the Secretary urged that he should be arrested as a traitor. " By permitting him to escape the penalties of treason," persistently remarked the Secretary, " you sanction it." " Well," replied Mr. Lin- coln, " let me tell you a story. " There was an Irish soldier here last Summer, who wanted something to drink stronger than water, and stopped at a. drng-shop, where he espied a soda-fountain. " ■• Mr. Doctor,' said he, ' give me, plase, a glass of soda- wather, an' if yees can put in a few drops of whisky unbe- known to anv one, I'll be obleeged.' " Now," said Mr. Lincoln, " if Jake Thompson is per- mitted to go through Maine unbeknown to any one, what's- the harm? So don't have him arrested." WHITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 91 Looking Out for Breakers — How the President Illustrated It. In a time of despondency, some visitors were telling the President of the " breakers " so often seen ahead — " this time surely coming." '• That," said he, " suggests the story of the school-boy, who never could pronounce the names ' Sliadrach,' ' Meshach,' and ' Abednego.' He had been repeatedly whipped for it without eifect. Sometime after- wards he saw the names in the regular lesson for the day. Putting his finger upon the place, he turned to his next neighbor, an older boy, and whispered, ' Here comes those " tormented Hebrews'''' again!'' " Work Enough for Twenty Presidents Illustrated by a Story About Jack Chase. A farmer from one of the border counties went to the President on a certain occasion with the complaint that the Union soldiers in passing his farm had helped themselves not only to hay but to his horse; and he hoped the proper oflBcer would be required to consider his claim immediately. " Why, my good sir," replied Mr. Lincoln, " if I should attempt to consider every such individual case, I should find work enough for twenty Presidents ! " In my early days, I knew one Jack Chase, who was a lumberman on the Illinois, and, when steady and sober, the best raftsman on the river. It was quite a trick twenty- five years ago to take the logs over the rapids, but he was skillfiil with a raft, and always kept her straight in the chan- nel. Finally a steamer was put on, and Jack — he's dead now, poor fellow ! — was made captain of her. He always used to take the wheel going through the rapids. One day, when the boat was plunging and wallowing along the boiling current, and Jack's utmost vigilance was being exercised to keep her in the narrow channel, a boy pulled -92 LINCOLN STORIES. his coat-tail and hailed him with: ' Say, Mister Captain! I wish you would just stop your boat a minute — I've lost my apple overboard !' " Philosophy of Canes — The Kind Lincoln Made and Carried When a Boy. A gentleman calling at the White House one evening ■carried a cane, which, in the course of conversation, attracted the President's attention. Taking it in his hand, he said: " I alwavs used a cane when I was a boy. It was a freak of mine. My favorite one was a knotted beech stick, and I carved the head myself. There's a mighty amount of char- acter in sticks. Don't you think so ? You have seen these fishino-'Doles that fit into a cane ? Well, that was an old idea of mine. Dogwood clubs were favorite ones with the l^oys. I suppose they use them yet. Hickory is too heavy, unless you get it from a young sapling. Have you ever noticed how a stick in one's hand will change his appear- ance? Old women and witches wouldn't look so without sticks. Meg Merrilies understands that." Stories Illustrating Lincoln's Memory. Mr. Lincoln's memory was very remarkable. At one of the afternoon receptions at the White House, a stranger shook hands with him, and, as he did so, remarked, casually, that he was elected to Congress about the time Mr. Lin- ■coln's term as representative expired, M'liich happened many years before. "Yes," said the President, "you are from ," men- tionino^ the state. " I remember readino; of vour election in a newspaper one morning on a steamboat going down to Mount Yernon." WHITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 9^ At another time a gentleman addressed him, saying, " I presume, Mr. President, that you have forgotten me?" " No," was the prompt reply; " your name is Flood. I saw you last, twelve years ago, at ," naming the place and the occasion. " I am .glad to see," he continued, " that the Flood flows on." Subsequent to his re-election a deputation of bankers from various sections were introduced one day by the Secre- tary of the Treasury. After a few moments of general con- versation, Mr. Lincoln turned to one of them, and said: " Your district did not give me so strong a vote at the last election as it did in 1860." '' I think, sir, that you must be mistaken," replied the banker. " I have the impression that your majority was considerably increased at the last election." " No," rejoined the President, " you fell off about six hundred votes." Then taking down from the book-case the official canvass of 1860 and 1864, he referred to the vote of the district named, and proved to be quite right in his assertion. Common Sense. The Hon. Mr. Hubbard, of Connecticut, once called upon' the President in reference to a newly invented gun, concern- ing which a committee had been appointed to make a report. The "report " was sent for, and when it came in was found to be of the most voluminous description. Mr. Lincoln glanced at it, and said : " I should want a new lease of life to read this through !" Throwing it down upon the table, he added : " Why can't a committee of this kind occasion- ally exhibit a grain of common sense? If I send a man to buy a horse for me, I expect him to tell me his points — not how many hairs there are in his tail. «4 ■ LINCOLN STORIES. Lincoln's Confab with a Committee on " Grant's Whisky." Just previous to the fall of Yicksburg, a self-constituted committee, solicitous for the morale of our armies, took it upon themselves to visit the President and urge the removal of General Grant. In some surprise Mr. Lincoln inquired, " For what rea- son?" " "Why," replied the spokesman, " he drinks too much whisky." "Ah!" rejoined Mr. Lincoln, dropping his lower lip. *'By the way, gentlemen, can either of you tell me where General Grant procures his whisky? because, if I can find out, I will send every general in the field a barrel of itP^ A "Pretty Tolerable Respectable Sort of a Clergyman." Some one was discussing, in the presence of Mr. Lincoln, the character of a time-serving Washington clergyman. Said Mr. Lincoln to his visitor: '' I think you are rather hard upon Mr. . He reminds me of a man in Illinois, who was tried for passing a count- erfeit bill. It was in evidence that before passing it he had taken it to the cashier of a bank and asked his opinion of the bill, and he received a very prompt reply that it was a counterfeit. His lawyer, who had heard the evidence to be brought against his client, asked him, just before going into court, ' Did vou take the bill to the cashier of the bank and ask him if it was good?' " ' I did,' was the reply. " ' Well, what was the reply of the cashier?' " The rascal was in a corner, but he got out of it in this fashion: ' He said it was a pretty tolerable, respectable sort of a bill.' " Mr. Lincoln thought the clergyman was '• a pretty tolerable, respectable sort of a clergyman." WHITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 97 Ho'w Lincoln Opened the Eyes of an Inquisitive Visitor. Mr. Lincoln sometimes had a very effective way of dealing with men who troubled him with questions. A visitor cnce asked him how many men the Rebels had in the field. The President replied, very seriously, ^'•Tioelve hundred thousand, according to the hest author ity^ The interrogator blanched in the face, and ejaculated, " Good Heavens!-'' " Yes, sir, twelve hundred thousand — -no doubt of it. You see, all of our generals, when they get whipped, say the enemy outnumbers them from three or five to one, and I must believe them. We have four liundred thousand men in the field, and three times four make twelve. Don't you see it?" Minnehaha and Minneboohoo! Some gentlemen fresh from a Western tour, during'a call at the White House, referred in the course of conversation to a body of water in Nebraska, wliich bore an Indian name signifying " weeping water." Mr. Lincoln instantly re- sponded: "As ' laughing watei*,' according to Longfellow, is ' Minnehaha,' this evidently should be ' Minneboohoo.' " Meeting of President Lincoln and the Artist, Carpenter. F. B. Carpenter, the celebrated artist and author of the well-known painting of Lincoln and his Cabinet issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, describes his first meeting with the President, as follows: " Two o'clock found me one of the throng pressing toward the center of attraction, the ' blue ' room. From the thresh- old of the ' crimson ' parlor as I passed, I had a glimpse ? •.^^ D8 LINCOLN STORIES. of the gaunt figure of Mr. Lincoln in the distance, haggard- looking, dressed in black, relieved only by the prescribed white gloves; standing, it seemed to nie, solitary and alone, though surrounded by the crowd, bending low now and then in the process of hand shaking, ^nd responding half abstractedly to the well-meant greetings of the miscel- laneous assemblage. " Xever shall I forget the electric thrill whicli went through my whole being at this instant, 1 seemed to see lines radiating from every part of the globe, converging to a focus at the point where that plain, awkward-looking man stood, and to hear in spirit a million prayers, ' as the sound of many waters,' ascending in his behalf. Mingled with supplication I could discern a clear symphony of triumph and blessing, swelling with an ever-increasing volume. It was the voice of those who had been bondmen and bond- women, and the grand diapason swept up from the coming ages. " It was soon my privilege, in the regular succession, to take that honored hand. Accompanying the act, my name and profession were announced to him in a low tone by one of the assistant private secretaries, who stood by his side. Hetaining my hand, he looked at me inquiringly for an instant, and said, ' Oh, yes; I know; this is the painter.' Then straightening himself to his full height, with a twinkle of the eye, he added, playfully, " Do you think, Mr. C , that you can make a handsome picture of 'mer emphasizing strongly the last word. Somewhat confused at this point- blank shot, uttered in a tone so loud as to attract the attention of those in immediate proximity, I made a ran- dom reply, and took the occasion to ask if I could see him in his study at the close of the reception. To this he re- sponded in the peculiar vernacular of the West, ' I reckon,' resuming meanwhile the mechanical and traditional exer- WHITE-ROUSE INCIDENTS. 99 cise of the hand which no President has ever yet been able to avoid, and which, severe as is the ordeal, is likely to attach to the position so long as the Republic endures." An Apt Illustration. At the White House one day some gentlemen were pres- ent from the West, excited and troubled about the com- missions or omissions of the Administration. The President heard them patiently, and then replied: " Gentlemen, sup- pose all the property you were worth was in gold, and you had put it in the hands of Blondin to carry across the Niagara River on a rope, would you shake the cable, or keep shouting out to him, 'Blondin, stand up a little straighter — Blondin, stoop a little more — go a little faster — lean a little more to the north — lean a little more to the south?' No ! you would hold your breath as well as your tongue, and keep your hands off until he was safe over. The Government is carrying an immense weight. Untold treasures are in their hands. They are doing the very best they can. Don't badger them. Keep silence, and we'll get you safe across." More Light and Less Noise. Ah editorial, in a New York journal, opposing Lincoln's re-nominatiou, is said to have called out from him the fol- lowino; storv: A traveler on the frontier found himself out of his reckoning one night in a most inhospitable region. A terrific thunder-storm came up, to add to his trouble. -He floundered along until his horse at length gave out. The lightning afforded him t'he only clew to his way, but the peals of thunder were frightful. One bolt, which seemed to crash the earth beneath him, brought him to his knees. 100 LINCOLN STORIES. By 110 means a j^rajing man, his petition was short and to the point — " O Lord, if it is all the same to von, give us a little Tnore light and a little less noiseP^ How Lincoln Browsed'' Around. A party of gentlemen, among whom was a doctor of divinity of iiuicli dignity of manner, calling at the White House one day, was informed by tlie porter that the President was at dinner, but that he would present their cards. The doctor demurred at this, savinof that he would call again. " Edward "' assured them that he thought it would make no difference, and went in with the cards. In a fe\y minutes the President walked into the room, with a kindly salutation, and a requesl: that the friends would take seats. The doctor expressed his regret that their visit was so ill- timed, and that his Excellency was disturbed while at din- ner. " Oh ! no consequence at all," said Mr. Lincoln, good-naturedly. " Mrs. Lincoln is absent at present, and when she is away, I generally ' browse ' around." Lincoln Cutting Red Tape. " Upon entering the President's office one afternoon," says a Washington correspondent, " I found Mr. Lincoln busilv countino^ s^reenbacks. . '• ' This, sir,' said he, 'is something out of my usual line; but a President of the United States has a multiplicity of duties not specified in the Constitution or acts of Congress. This is one of them. This money belongs to a poor negro who is a porter in the Treasury" Department, at present? very bad with the small-pox. " He is now in hospital, and could not draw his pay because he could not sign his name. I have been at considerable trouble to overcome the ditfi- WHITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 101 cnlty and get it for him, and have at length succeeded in cutting red taj^e^ as you newspaper men say. I am now dividing the money and putting by a portion labelled, in an envelope, with my own hands, according to his wish ; ' and be proceeded to indorse the package very carefully." No one witnessing the transaction could fail to appreciate the goodness of heart which prompted the President of the United States to turn aside for a time from his weighty <;ares to succor one of the humblest of his fellow-creatures in sickness and sorrow. One of Lincoln's Drolleries. Concerning a drollery of President Lincoln, this story is told : " During the Rebellion an Austrian Count applied to President Lincoln for a position in the army. Being intro- duced by the Austrian Minister, he needed, of course, no further recommendation ; but, as if fearing that his im- porfance might not be duly appreciated, he proceeded to explain that he was a Count ; that his family were ancient and highly respectable; when Lincoln, with a merry twinkle in his eye, tapping the aristocratic lover of titles on the shoulder, in a fatherly way, as if the man had con- fessed to some wrong, interrupted in a soothing tone, * Never mind; you shall be treated with just as much consideration for all that ? ' " Anecdote Showing the Methods by vrhich Lincoln and Stanton Dismissed Applicants for Office. A gentleman states in a Chicago journal: In the Winter of 1864, after serving three years in the Union army, and being honorably discharged, I made application for the post 103 LINCOLN STORIES. sutlership at Point Lookout. My father being interested, we made application to Mr. Stanton, then Secretary of War. We obtained an audience, and was ushered into the presence- of the most pompous man I ever met. As I entered he waved liis hand for me to stop at a given distance from him, and then put these questions, viz.: " Did you serve three years in the army?" " I did, sir." " Were you honorably discharged?" " I was, sir?" "Let me see your discharge?" 1 gave it to him. He looked it over, and then said: "Were you ever wounded?" I told him yes, at the battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 18G1, He then said: " I think we can give this position to a soldier who has losi an arm or leg, he being more deserving,'* and he then said that I looked hearty and healthy enough to serve three years more. He would not give me a chance to argue my case. The audience was at an end. He waved his hand to me. I was then dismissed from the august presence of the Honorable Secretary of War. My father was waiting for me in the hallway, who saw by my countenance that I was not successful. I said to ray father, "Let us go over to Mr. Lincoln; he may give us more satisfaction." He said it would do no good, but we went over. Mr. Lincoln's reception room was fall of ladies and o-entlemen when we entered, and the scene was one I shall never forget. On her knees was a woman in the agonies of despair, with tears rolling down her cheeks, imploring for the life of her son, who had deserted and had been con- demned to be shot. I heard Mr. Lincoln sav: "Madam do not act this way, it is agony to me; I would pardon your son if it was in my power, but there must be an example made, or I will have no army." WHITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 103 At this speech the woman fainted. Lincoln motioned to his attendant, who picked the woman up and carried her out. All in the room were in tears. But, now changing the scene from the sublime to the ridiculous, the next applicant for favor was a big, buxom Irish woman, who stood before the President with arms akimbo, saying, " Mr. Lincoln, can't I sell apples on the railroad?" Lincoln said: "Certainly, madam; you can sell all you wish." But she said, " You must give me a pass or the soldiers will not let me." Lincoln then wrote a few lines and gave it to her, who said, "Thank you, sir; God bless, you." This shows how quick and clear were all this man's decisions. I stood and watched him for two hours, and he dismissed each case as quickly as the above, with satisfaction to all. My turn soon came. Lincoln spoke to my father, aud said, " Now, gentlemen, be pleased to be as quick as possi- ble with your business, as it is growing late." My father then stepped up to Lincoln and introduced me to him. Lincoln then said, " Take a seat, gentlemen, and state your business as quick as possible." There was but one chair by Lincoln, so he motioned to my father to sit, while I stood. My father stated the business to him as stated above. He then said, "Have vou seen Mr. Stanton?" We told him yes, that he had refused. He (Mr. Lincoln) then said: "Gentlemen, this is Mr. Stanton's business; I can not interfere with him; he attends to all these matters, and I am sorry I can not help you." He saw that we were disappointed, and did his best to revive our spirits. He succeeded well with my father, who was a Lincoln man, and who was a staunch Republican. Mr. Lincoln then said: "Now, gentlemen, I will tell you what it is; I have thousands of applications like this every day, but we can not satisfy all for this reason, that 104 LINCOLN STOELES. these positions are like office-seekers, there are too manj jpigs for the tits.''^ The ladies who were listening to the conversation placed their handkerchiefs to their faces and turned away. But the joke of Old Abe put us all in a good humor. "We then left the presence of the greatest and most just man who ever lived to fill the Presidential chair. An Instance Where the President's Mind Wandered. An amusing, jet touching instance of the President's pre-occupation of mind, occurred at one of his levees, when he was shaking hands with a host of visitors passing him in a continuous stream. An intimate acquaintance received the usual conventional hand-shake and salutation, but perceiving that he was not recognized, kept his ground instead of moving on, and spoke again; when the Presi- dent, roused to a dim consciousness that something unusual had happened, perceived who stood before him, and seizing his friend's hand, shook it again heartily, saying, " How do you do? How do you do? Excuse me for not noticing vou. I was thinkinoj of a man down South." He after- ward privately acknowledged that the " man down. South " was Sherman, then on his march to the sea. Lincoln and the Preacher. An officer of the Government called one day at the White House, and introduced a clerical friend. "Mr. President,*' said he, "allow me to present to you my friend, the Pev. Mr. F., of . He has expressed a desire to see yon and have some conversation with yon, and I am happy to be the means of introducing him." The President shook hands with Mr. F., and desiring WHITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 105 him to be seated took a seat himself. Then, his counte- nance havin*^ assumed an air of patient waiting, he said: " I am now ready to hear what you have to say." "Oh, bless you, sir," said Mr. F., "I have nothing special to say; I merely called to pay my respects to you, and, as one of the million, to assure you of my hearty sympathy and support." " My dear sir," said the President, rising promptly, his face showing instant relief, and with both hands grasping that of his visitor, '•! am very glad to see you, indeed. / thouglit you had come to preach to ■meP'' A Home Incident— Lincoln and Little " Tad." The day after the review of Burnside's division some photographers, says Mr. Carpenter, came up to the White House to make some stereoscopic studies for me of the President's office. They requested a dark closet, in which to develop the pictures; and without a thought that I was infringing upon anybody's rights, I took them to an unoc- cupied room of which little "Tad " had taken possession a few days before, and with the aid of a couple of the ser- vants, had fitted up as a miniature theatre, with stage, cur- tains, orchestra, stalls, parquette, and all. KnoM'ing that the use required would interfere with none of his arrange- ments,! led the way to this apartment. Everything went on well, and one or two pictures had been taken, when suddenly there was an uproar. The operator came back to the office, and said that " Tad " had taken great offence at the occupation of his room without his consent, and had locked the door, refusing all admission. The chemicals had been taken inside, and there was no way of getting at them, he having carried off the key. In the midst of this conversation, " Tad " burst in, in a fearful lOG LINCOLN STORIES. passion. He laid all the blame upon me — said that I had no right to use his room, and the men should not go in even to get thei,r things. He had locked the door, and they should not go there again — " they had no business in his I'oom !" Mr. Lincoln was sitting for a photograph, and was still in the chair. Ho said, very mildly, " Tad, go and unlock the door." Tad went off muttering into his mother's room, refnsing to obey. 1 followed him into the passage, but no coaxing would pacify him. Upon my return to the Presi- dent, I found him still sitting patiently in the chair, from which he had not risen. He said: " Has not the boy opened the door? ' I replied that we could do nothing with him — he had gone off in a great pet. Mr. Lincoln's lips came together iirmly, and then, suddenly rising, he strode across the passage with the air of one bent on punishment, and disappeared in the domestic apartments. Directly he returned with the key to the theatre, which he unlocked himself " There," said he, "go ahead, it is all right now." He then went back to his office, followed by myself, and resumed his seat. "Tad," said he, half apologetically, " is a peculiar child. He was violently excited when I went to him. I said, ' Tad, do you know you are making your father a great deal of trouble?' He burst into tears, instantly giving me up the key." A Touching Incident — Lincoln Mourning for His Lost Son is Comforted by Rev. Dr. Vinton. After the funeral of his son, William Wallace Lincoln, in February, 1862, the President resumed his official duties, but mechanically, and with a terrible weight at his heart. The following Thursday he gave way to his feelings, and shut himself from all society. The second Thursday it was WEITE-HOUSE INCIDENTS. 107 the same; be would see no one, and seemed a prev to the deepest nielaneholj. About tbis time tlie Rev. Francis Yinton, of Trinity Church, New York, had occasion to spend a few days in Wasliin^ton. An acquaintance of Mrs. Lincoln and of her sister, Mrs. Edwards, of Springfield, he was requested by them to come up and see the President. The setting apart of Thursday for the indulgence of his grief had gone on for several weeks, and Mrs. Lincoln began to be seriously alarmed for the health of her husband, of which fact Dr. Vinton was apprised. Mr. Lincoln received him in the parlor, and an oppor- tunity was soon embraced by the clergyman to chide him for showing so rebellious a disposition to the decrees of Providence. He told him plainly that the indulgence of such feelings, though natural, was sinful. It was unworthy one who believed in the Christian relio-ion. lie had duties to the living, greater than those of any other man, as tlie chosen father, and leader of the people, and he was unfitting himself for his responsibilities by thus giving way to his grief. To mourn the departed as lost belonged to heathen- ism — not to Christianity. "Your son," said Dr. Vinton, " is alive, in Paradise. Do you remember that passage in the Gospels: 'God is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live unto Ilim?' " The President had listened as one in a stupor, until his ear caught he words, " Your son is alive." Starting from the sofa, he exclaimed," Alive! alive! Sarely you mock me." " No, sir, believe me," replied Dr. Vinton; " it is a most comforting doctrine of the Church, founded upon the words of Christ Himself." Mr. Lincoln looked at liim a moment, and then, stepping forward, he threw his arm around the clergyman's neck, and, laying his head upon his breast, sobbed aloud, " Alive f alive f^ he repeated. 108 LINCOLN STORIES. " Mv dear sir," said Dr. Yinton, grreatlv moved, as he twined his own arm around the weeping father, " believe this, for it is God's most precious truth. Seek not jour son among the dead; he is not there; he lives to-day in Paradise! Think of the full import of the words I have quoted. The Saddueees, when they questioned Jesus, had no other conception than that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were dead and buried. Mark the reply: 'Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, y<9?' «/^ ZeYv unto fUmf Did not the aged patriarch mourn his sons as dead? — 'Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin, also.' But Joseph and Simeon were both living, though he believed it not. Indeed, Joseph being taken from him, was the eventual means of the preservation of the whole family. And so God has called your son into His upper kingdom — a king- dom and an existence as real, more real, than your own. It may be that he, too, like Joseph, has gone, in God's good j^rovidence, to be the salvation of his father's household. It is a part of the Lord's plan for the ultimate happiness of vou and vours. Doubt it not. I have a sermon," con- tinned Dr. Yinton, '' upon this subject, which I think might interest vou." Mr. Lincoln begged him to send it at an early day — thanking him repeatedly for his cheering and hopeful words. The sermon was sent, and read over and over by the President, who caused a copy to be inade for his own private use before it was returned. WHITE-HOUSE INGIDEXTS. 109 Lincoln Wipes the Tears from His Eyes and Tells a Story. > A. W. Clark, member of Congress from Watertown, New York, relates the following interestinor story: Dnrinir the war a ct)nstitnent came to me and stated that one of his sons was killed in a battle, and another died at Aiiderson- ville, while the third and onlv remaining- son was sick at Harper's Ferry. These disasters had such effect on his wife that she had become insane. He wanted to get this last and sick son discharged, and take him home, hoping it would restore his wife to reason. I went with him to President Lincoln and related the facts as well as I could, the father sitting by and weeping. The President, much affected, asked for the papers and wrote across them, " Discharge this man."' Then, wiping the tear from his cheek, he turned to the man at the door, and said " Brm^' in thi.t nan," rather as if he felt bored, which caused mc to ask why it was so. He replied that it was - writi: g-master who had spent a long time in copying nis Eman:'_ tion Proclamation, had ornamented it with tlourishes, r.nd . hich made him think of an Irishm n who said i'; tr >k him ;.n hour to catch his old horse, and when he had caught him he was not worth a darn! Comments of Mr. Lincoln on the Emancipation Proclamation — What He Told Mr. Colfax. The final proclamation was s gned on Xew Tear's Day, 1S63. The President remarked to Mr. Colfax, the same evening, that the signature appeared somewhat tremulous and uneven. "Not." said he, "because of any uncertainty or hesitation on my part; but it was just after the public reception, and three hours' hand-shaking is not calculated to impr^ ft. Total height from CTOund line to apex of obelisk, 98 ft. 4J^ in. Total expense of erection, about $200,000. WAR STOniES. 125 WAR STORIES. Lincoln's War Story of Andy Johnson. — Andy Seeks a Doubtful Interest in Col. Moody's Prayers. Col. Moody, " the fighting Methodist parson," as he was called in Tennessee, while attending a conference in Phila- delphia, met the President and related to him the following^ story, which we give as repeated by Mr. Lincoln to a i'riend : '*' He told me," said Lincoln, " this story of Andy John- son and General Buel, which interested me intensely. Tiie Colonel happened to be in jS^ashville the day it was reported that Buel had decided to evacuate the city. The Pebels, strongly re-enforced, were said to be within two days' march of the capital. Of course, the city was greatly excited. Moody said he went in search of Johnson, at the edge of the evening, and found him at his office, closeted with two gentlemen, who were walking the floor with him, one on each side. As he entered they retired, leaving him alone with Johnson, who came up to him, manifesting intense feeling, and said, ' Moody, we are sold out! Buel is a. traitor! He is going to evacuate the city, and in forty- eight hours we will all be in the hands of the Rebels!' Then he commenced pacing the floor again, twisting liis- hands, and chafing like a caged tiger, utterly insensible ta his friend's entreaties to become calm. Suddenly he turned and said: " ' Moody, can you pray?' " ' That is my business, sir, as a minister of the Gospel,'' returned the Colonel. " ' Well, Moody, I wish you would pray,' said Johnson ;. 12G LINCOLN STORIES. and instantly both went down upon their knees, at opposite sides of the room. As the prayer waxed fervent,"Johnson be^^an to respond in true Methodist style. Presently he crawled over on his hands and knees to Moody's side, and put his arm over him, manifesting- the deepest emotion. Closing the prayer with a hearty ' Amen' from each, they arose. "Johnson took a lon^ breath, and said, with emphasis, * Moody, I feel better ! ' Shortly afterwards he asked, *■ Will you stand by me ?' " ' Certainly, I will,' was the answer. " ' Well, Moody, I can depend upon you ; you are one in a hundred thousand ! ' He then commenced pacing the floor again. Suddenly he wheeled, the current of his thought having changed, and said, ' Oh ! Moody, I don't want you to think I have become a religious man because I asked you to pray. I am sorry to say it, but I am not, an 1 have never pretended to be, religious. No one knows this better than you ; bat, Moody, there is one thing about it — I DO believe in Almighty God ! And I believe also in the Bible, and I say d n me. if Nashville shall be surrendered ! ' " And Nashville was not surrendered. A Soldier that Knew no Royalty. Captain Mix, the commander, at one period, of the Pres- ident's body-guard, told this story to a friend: On their way to town one sultry morning, trom the Soldier's Home, they came upon a regiment marching into the city. A " straggler," very heavily loaded with camp equipage, was accosted by the President with the question: " My lad, what is that?" referring to the designation of his regiment. WAR STORIES. 127 '' It's a regiment/' said the soldier, curtly, plodding on, his gaze beat steadily upon the ground. " Yes, I see that," rejoined the President, " but I want to linow tvhai regiment." '' Pennsylvania," replied the man in the same tone, looking: neither to the right nor the left. As the carriage passed on, Mr. Lincoln turned to Captain Mix and said, with a merry laugh, " It is very evident that chap smells no blood of ' royalty ' in this establishment." A Little Soldier Boy that Lincoln Wanted to Bow to. " President Lincoln," says the Hon. AY. D. Kell, " was a large and many-sided man, and yet so simple that no one, not even a child, could approach him without feeling that he had found in him a sympathizing friend. I remember that I apprised him of the fact that a lad, the son of one of my townsmen, had served a year on board the gunboat Ottawa.^ and had been in two important engagements; in the first as a powder-monkey, when he had conducted him- self with such coolness that he had been chosen as captain's messenger in the second; and I suggested to the President that it was in his power to send to the ]N^aval School, an- nually, three boys who had served at least a year in the navy. " He at once wrote on the back of a letter from the com- mander of the Ottaica, which I had handed him, to the Secretary of the Navy: 'If the appointments for this year have not been made, let this boy be appointed.' The ap- pointment had not been made, and I brought it home with me. It directed the lad to report for examination at the school in Juh'. Just as he was ready to start, his father, looking over the law, discovered that he could not report until he was fourteen years of age, which he would not be 128 LINCOLN STORIES. until September following. The poor child sat down and wept. He feared that he was not to go to the Naval School- He was, however, soon consoled by being told that ' the- President could make it right.' It was my fortune to meet him the next morning at the door of the Executive Cham- ber with his father. " Taking by the hand the little fellow — short for his age^ dressed in the sailor's blue pants and shirt — I advanced with, him to the President, who sat in his usual seat, and said: " ' Mr. President, my young friend, Willie Bladen, tinds- a difficulty about his appointment. You have directed him to apj^ear at the school in July; but he is not yet fourteen years of age.' But before I got half of this out, Mr, Lin- coln, laying down his spectacles, rose and said: " ' Bless me! is that the boy who did so gallantly in those- two great battles? Why, I feel that I should bow to him^ and not he to me.' The little fellow had made his grace- ful bow. " The President took the papers at once, and as soon as he learned that a postponement until September would suf- fice, made the order that the lad should report in that month. Then putting his hand on Willie's head, he said: " ' Now, my boy, go home and have good fun during the two months, for they are about the last holiday you will get.' The little fellow bowed himself out, feeling that the President of the United States, though a very great man, was one that he would nevertheless like to have a game of romps with." The Story of Sallie Ward's Practical Philosophy. When the telegram from Cumberland Gap reached Mr. Lincoln that " firing was heard in the direction of Kuox- ville," he remarked that he " was glad of it." Some per- WAR STORIES. 139 son present, who had the perils of Burnside's position uppermost in his mind, could not see why Mr. Lincoln should be glad of it, and so expressed himself. '* Why, you see," responded the President, " it reminds me of Mrs. Sallie Ward, a neighbor of mine, who had a very large family. Occasionally one of her numerous progeny would be heard crying in some out-of-the-way place, upon which Mrs. Ward would exclaim : ' There's one of viy children that isiiH dead yet.^ " Lincoln While in Bed Pardons a Soldier. The Hon. Mr. Kellogg, representative from Essex County, New York, received a dispatch one evening from the army, to the eifect that a young townsman, who had been induced to enlist through his instrumentality, had, for a serious misdemeanor, been convicted by a court-martial, and was to be shot the next day. Greatly agitated, Mr. Kellogg went to the Secretary of War, and urged, in the strongest jnanner, a reprieve. Stanton was inexorable. '' Too manv cases of the kind had been let off," he said, t/ 7 7 "and it was time an example was made." Exhausting his eloquence in vain, Mr. Kellogg said: '• Well, Mr. Secretary, the bo}' is not going to be shot — of that I give you fair warning! " Leaving the War Department, he went directly to the AVhite House, although the hour was late. The sentinel on duty told him that special orders had been issued to admit no one whatever that night. After a long parley, by pledging himself to assume the responsibility of the act, the congressman passed in. The President had retired, but, indifferent to etiquette or ceremony, Judge Kellogg pressed his way through all obstacles to his sleeping apartment. 9 130 LINCOLN STORIES. In an excited manner lie stated that the dispatch announc- ing the hour of execution had but just reached him. "This man must not be shot, Mr. President," said he. *' I can't help what he may have done. Why, he is an old neighbor of mine; I can't allow him to be shot! " Mr. Lincoln had remained in bed, quietly listening to the vehement protestations of his old friend (they were in Con- gress together). He at length said: " Well, I don't believe shooting him will do him any good. Give me that pen." And, §0 saying, "red tape" was unceremoniously cut, and another poor fellow's lease of life was indeiinitely extended. What Lincoln Considered the " Great Event of the Nineteenth Century." — Lincoln's Vow Before God. The following incident, remarkable for its significant facts, is related by Mr. Carpenter, the artist : Mr. Chase, says Mr. Carpenter, told me that at the Cabinet meeting immediately after the battle of Antietam, and just prior to the issue of the September proclamation, the President entered upon the business before them, by saying that " the time for the annunciation of the emanci- pation policy could be no longer delayed. Public senti- ment would sustain it — many of his warmest friends and supporters demanded it — and he had promised his God he toould do it ! " The last part of this was uttered in a low tone, and appeared to be heard by no one but Secretary Chase, who was sitting near him. He asked the President if he correctly understood him. Mr. Lincoln replied : "7 made a solemn vow before God that if Gen. Lee was driven back from Pennsylvania., I would crown the result by the declaration of freedom to the slaves.'''' In February, 1865, a few days after the Constitutional Amendment, I went to Washington, and was received by WAE STORIES. 131 Mr. Lincoln with the kindness and familiarity which had characterized our previous intercourse. I said to him at this time that I was very proud to have been the artist to have first conceived of the design of painting a picture commemorative of the Act of Emancipation ; that sub- sequent occurrences had only confirmed ray own first judg- ment of that act as the most sublime moral event in our history. " Yes," said he, — and never do I remember to have noticed in him more earnestness of expression or manner, — " as affairs have turned, it is the central act of my administration., and the greed event of the nineteenth century.'''' Lincoln Proposes to "Borrow the Army" ficm one of his Generals. On a certain occasion the President said to a friend that he was in great distress; he had been to General McClel- lan's house, and the General did not ask to see him; and as he must talk to somebody, he had sent for General Frank- lin and myself, to obtain our opinion as to the possibility of soon commencing active operations with the Army of the Potomac. To use his own expression, if something was not soon done, the bottom would fall out of the whole affair; and if General McClellan did not want to use the army, he would like to horroio it, provided he could see how it could be made to do something. Lincoln Could not Allow a Soldier to be More Polite than Himself. I was always touched, says Mr. Carpenter, by the Presi- dent's manner of I'eceiving the salute of the guard at the White House. Whenever he appeared in the portico, on his way to or from the War or Treasury Department, or on any excursion down the avenue, the first glimpse of him 132 LINCOLN STORIES. was, of course, the signal for the sentinel on dutj to *• present arms," and " call out the guard." This was always acknowledged hj Mr. Lincoln with a peculiar bow and touch of the hat, no matter how many times it might occur in the course of a day ; and it always seemed to me as much a compliment to the devotion of the soldiers, on his part, as it was the sign of duty and deference on the part of the guard. An Interesting Visit to the Ho3pitals — How the Soldiers Received Him — He Mee^s a Wounded Confederate -who Asks His Pardon — The President Weeps. " On the Monday before the assassination, when the Presi- dent was on liis return from Richmond, he stopped at City Point. Calling upon the head surgeon at that place, Mr. Lincoln told him that he wished to visit all the hospitals under his charge, and shake hands with every soldier. The surgeon asked if he knew what he was undertaking, there being five or six thousand soldiers at that place, and it would be quite a tax upon his strength to visit all the wards and shake hands with every soldier. Mr. Lincoln answered, with a smile, he ' guessed he was equal to the task; at any rate he would try, and go as far as he could; he should never, probably, see the boys again, and he wanted them to know that he appreciated what they liad done for their country.' " Finding it useless to try to dissuade him, the surgeon began his rounds with the President, who walked from bed to bed, extending his hand to all, saying a few words of syiyipathy to some, making kind inquiries of others, and welcomed bv all with the heartiest cordialitv. "As they passed along, they came to a ward in which lay a rebel who had been wounded and was a prisoner. As WAR STORIES. 133 the tall figure of tlie kindly visitor appeared in sight, he was recognized by the rebel soldier, who, raising himself on his elbow in bed, watclied Mr. Lincoln as he approached, and extending his hand exclaimed, while tears ran down his cheeks, — " ' Mr. Lincoln, I have long wanted to see you, to ask your forgiveness for ever raising my hand against the old flag.' '• Mr. Lincoln was moved to tears. He heartily shook the hand of the repentant rebel, and assured him of his good -will, and with a few words of kind advice passed on. "After some hours the tour of the various hospitals was made, and Mr. Lincoln returned with the surgeon to his office. They had scarcely entered, however, when a mes- senger came saying that one ward had been omitted, and ^ the boys ' wanted to see the President. The surgeon, who was thoroughly tired, and knew Mr. Lincoln must be, tried to dissuade him from going; but the good man said he must go back; he would not knowingly omit one, 'the boys ' would be so disappointed. So he went with the mes- senger, accompanied by the surgeon, and shook hands with the gratified soldiers, and then returned again to the ofiice. " The surgeon expressed the fear that the President's arm would be lamed with so much hand-shaking, saying that it certainly must ache. Mr. Lincoln smiled, and say. ing something about his ' strong muscles,' stepped out at the open door, took up a very large, heavy axe which lay there by a log of wood, and chopped vigorously for a few moments, sending the chips flying in all directions; and then, pausing, he extended his right arm to its full length, holding the axe out horizontally, without its even quivering as he held it. Strong men who looked on — men accus- tomed to manual labor — could not hold the same axe in that position for a moment. Returning to the office, he 134 LINCOLN STORIES. took a glass of lemonade, for he would take no stronger beverage; and while he was within, the chips he had chopped were gathered up and safel}' cared for by a hospital steward, because they were ' the chips that Father Abraham chopped,' " Mr. Lincoln and a Clergyman. At the semi-annual meeting of the Kew Jersey Histor- ical Society, held recently in ISTewark, N. J., Rev. Dr. Sheldon, of Princeton, read a memorial of their late Presi- dent, Rev. R. K. Rodgers, D.D., in which appears the fol- lowino- fresh incident concerning Mr. Lincoln and the war: " One day daring the war. Dr. Rodgers was called on bj a man in his congregation, who, in the greatest distress, told him that his son, a soldier in the army, had just been sentenced to be shot for desertion, and begged the minister's interposition. The Doctor went to Washington with the wife and infant child of the condemned man, and sent his card up to Mr. Lincoln. When admitted, the President said : " ' You are a minister, I believe. What can I do for you, my friend V "The reply was: ' A young man from my congregation in the army has so far forgotten his duty to his country and his God as to desert his colors, and is sentenced to die. I have come to ask you to spare him.' 'With characteristic quaintness the President replied: ' Then you don't want him hurt, do you?' '" Oh, no,' said the petitioner, I did not mean that; he deserves punishment, but I beg for him time to prepare to meet his God.' " • Do you say he has father, wife and child?' said Mr. Lincoln. " ' Yes.' " ' Where do you say he is?' WAR STORIES. 135 . " On bein^ told, he turned to his secretary, said a few words in an undertone, of which that official made note, and added to Dr. Rodgers, ' You have your request. Tell his friends I have reprieved him.' " With a ' God bless you, Mr. President,' Dr. Rodgers turned away to bear the glad news to the distressed family." A Remarkable Letter From Lincoln to Gen. Hooker. The following remarkable letter from Lincoln to General Hooker was written after the latter had taken command of the Army of the Potomac, in January, 1863, and while the President yet retained it in his possession, an intimate friend chanced to be in his Cabinet one night, and the Pres- ident read it to him, remarking, " I shall not read this to anybody else, but I want to know how it strikes you." During the following April or May, while the Army of the Potomac lay opposite Fredericksburg, this friend accom- panied the President to General Hooker's headquarters on a visit. One night General Hooker, alone in his tent with this gentleman, said: " The President says that he showed you this letter," and he then took out that document, which was closely written on a sheet of letter-paper. Tlie tears stood in the General's bright blue eyes as he added: ''It is such a letter as a father mio^ht have written to his son. And yet it hurt me." Then, dashing the water from his eyes, he said: " When I have been to Richmond, I shall have this letter published." This was more than sixteen years ago, and the letter has just now seen the light of day. There are in it certain sharp passages which, after this long lapse of time, can not be verified by the memory of any who heard it read in 1863. There are others which seem missing. Nevertheless, the 136 LINCOLN STORIES. letter, which is herewith reprinted, must have been written by Lincohi : Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C, Jan. 26, 1863.— Ifrt/.-G'en-. Hooker — General: I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient reasons; and yet I thinlc it best for you to kuov? that there are some things in regard to -which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and skillful soldier — which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics witli your profession — in which you arc right. You have confidence in j^ourself — which is a valuable, if not an indispensable, quality. You are ambitious — which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm; but I think that, during General Burnside's command of the army, you have taken counsel of your ambition and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country, and to a most meritorious and honorable brother-oflicer. I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying tliat both the army and the Government needed a Dictator. Of course, it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those Generals who gain suc- cesses can set up Dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the Dictatorship. The Government will sup- port you to the utmost of its ability — which is neither more nor less than jt has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the army, of criticising their commander and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army while such a spirit prevails in it. And now beware of rashness. Be- ware of rashness, but, with energy and sleepless vigilance, go forward and give us victories. Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln. An Amusing Anecdote of a "Hen-Pecked Husband." "When Genera] Phelps took possession of Ship Island, near New Orleans, early in the war, it will be remembered that he issued a proclamation, somewhat bombastic in tone, freeing the slaves. To the surprise of many people, on both sides, the President took no official noticeof this move- ment. Some time had elapsed, when one day a friend took DOUGLAS MONUMENT. On the banks of Lake Michigan, near foot of 35th Street, Chicago, in the midst of a beautiful park. It is built of granite from Hollowell, Me., with an altitude of 104 feet, and at an expense of about $100,000. Douglas and Lincoln began public life together as members of t'e Illinois Legislature. Though differing in political faith, they were really life-long friends. WAR STORIES. 139 him to task for his seeming indifference on so important a matter. " Well," said Mr. Lincoln, " I feel about that a good deal as a man whom I will call ' Jones,' whom I once knew, did about his wife. He was one of your meek men, and had the reputation of being badly hen-pecked. At last, one day his wife was seen switching him out of the house. A day or two afterward a friend met him in the street, and said: 'Jones, I have always stood up for 3'ou, as you know; but I am not going to do it any longer. Any man who will stand quietly and take a switching from his wife, deserves to be horsewhipped.* Jones looked up with a wink, patting his friend on the back. ' Now cZo^j-Y,' said he; ' why, it didn't hurt me any; and you've no idea what a power of good it did Sarah Ann ?'" . Lincoln's Curt Reply to a Clergyman. No nobler reply ever fell from the lips of a ruler, than that uttered by President Lincoln in resj^onse to the clergyman who ventured to say, in his presence during the war. that he hoped ''the Lord was on our side." *' I am not at all concerned about that," replied Mr. Lin- coln, " for I know that the Lord is ahvays on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that / and this nation should be on the Lord's side" A Short Practical Sermon. " On a certain occasion, two ladies, from Tennessee, came before the President, asking the release of their husbands^ held as prisoners of war at Johnson's Island. They were put off until the following Fi'iday, when they came again, 140 LINCOLN STORIES. and were again put off until Saturday. At each of the in- terviews one of the ladies urged that her husband was a religions man. On Saturday, when the President ordered the release of the prisoner, he said to this lady: *•' You say your husband is a religious man; tell him, when you meet him, that I say I am not much of a judge of religion, but that in my opinion the religion which sets men to rebel and fight against their Government, because, as they think, that Government does not sufficiently help some men to eat their bread in the sweat of other men's faces, is not the sort of religion upon which people can get to heaven.' " A Celebrated Case Settled w^th Lincoln-like Celerity. The celebrated case of Franklin W. Smith and brother, was one of those which most largely helped to bring mill- • tary tribunals into public contempt. Those two gentlemen were arrested and kept in confinement, their papers seized, their business destroyed, their reputation damaged, and a naval court-martial, -'organized to convict," pursued them unrelentingly till a wiser and juster hand arrested the malice of their persecutors. It is known that President Lincoln, after full investigation of the case, annulled the whole proceedings, but it is remarkable that the actual record of his decision could never be obtained from the !N"avy Department. An exact copy being withheld, the fol- lowing was presented to the Boston Board of Trade as being very nearly the words of the late President : " Whereas, Franklin W. Smith had transactions with the Navy Department to the amount of one million and a quarter of a million of dollars; and, whereas, he had the chance to steal a quarter of a million, and was only charged with stealing twenty-two hundred dollars — and the question now is about his stealing a hundred — \ don't believe he stole anything at all. Therefore, the record and findings are disap- WAR STORIES. 141 proved — declared null and void, and the defendants are fully dis- charged." " It would be difficult," says the New York Tribune, "to sura up the rights and wrongs of the business more briefly than that, or to find a paragraph more characteristically and unmistakably Mr. Lincoln's. Recollections of the War President by Judge William Johnston. I rendered, says Judge Johnston, Mr. Lincoln some service in my time. When I went to Washington I ob- served that among Congressmen, and others in high places, Mr. Lincoln had very few friends. Montgomery Blair was the only one I heard speak of him for a second term. This was about the middle of his first Administration. I went to Washington by w\ay of Columbus, and G. Tod asked me to carry a verbal message to Mr. Lincoln, and that was to tell him that there were certain elements indispensable to the success of the war that would be seriously affected by any interference with McClellan. I suppose that the liberal translation of Tod's language would be thus : " I am keeping the Democratic soldiers in the field, and if McClellan is interfered with I shall not be able to do it." We all felt some trouble about it. McClellan had been relieved, and one bright moonlight night I saw a regiment, I suppose Pennsylvanians mostly, marching from the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue, yelling at the top of their lungs, " Hurrah for Little Mac ! " and, making a pause before the White House, they kept up that bawling and hurrahing for McClellan. I went to see Mr. Lincoln early the next morning, and asked him if he had witnessed the performance on the pre- vious night. He said he had. I asked him what he thought of it. He said it was very perplexing. I told him I had 143 LINCOLN STORIES. come to make a snono-estion. I told him I would introduce him to a young man of fine talents and liberal education, who had lost an arm in the service, and I wanted him to tell one of his Cabinet Ministers to give that young man a good place in the Civil Service, and to avail himself of the occasion to declare that the policy of the Administration was, whenever the qualifications were equal, to give those who had been wounded or disabled in the service of the country the preference in the Civil Department. He said it was an idea he would like to think of, and asked me how soon I would wait upon him in the morning. I said any hour; and I went at 7 o'clock and found him in the hands of a barber. Says he: ''I have been thinking about your proposition, and I have a question to ask you: Did you ever know Colonel Smith, of Kockford, 111. ?" I said I had an introduction to him when attending to the defense of Governor Bebb. " You know," said he, " that he was killed at Vicksburg; that his head was carried ofif by a shell. He was Postmaster, and his wife wants the place," and he inquired if that would come up to my idea; and thereupon he and I concocted a letter — I have the corre-^ spondence in my possession — to Postmaster General Blair, directing him to appoint the widow of Colonel Smith Post- mistress, in the room of her deceased husband, who .had fallen in battle, and stating that in consideration of what was due to the men who were fighting our battles, he had made up his mind that the families of those who had fallen, and those disabled in the service, their qualifications being equal, should always have a preference in the Civil Service. I told him I was not personally acquainted with Blair, and he gave me a note of introduction to him with the let- ter. I told Blair that I proposed to take a copy of Mr. Lincoln's letter, which he had then made out by the clerk. I took the letter to the Chronicle office in AVashington, in WAB STORIES. 143 which paper it was published, and the next morning I jumped into an ambulance and went to the convalescing camp, where there were about 7,000 convalescents, a great many of them Ohio men, and when I made my appearance they called on me for a speech. I got upon a terrace and made them a few remarks, and, coming round to the old saw, " that Kepublics are always ungrateful," I told them I could not vouch for the Eepublic, but 1 thought I could vouch for the chief man at the head of the Administration, and he had already spoken on that subject, and when I read Lincoln's letter the boys flung their hats into the aii and made the welkin ring for a long while. I hurried back to the city, and with a.])air of shears cut out Lincoln's letter, and then attached some editorial remarks, and that letter went around, and I believe was published in every friendly newspaper in the United States. About that time Congress passed a resolution to the same effect, that those disabled in the military service of the country, wherever qualified, ought to have a preference over others. This may have been a small matter, but it made a marvelous impression on the armv. The Serpent in Bed With Two Children. A number of Kentuckians insisted that troops should not be sent through that state for the purpose of putting down the war in Tennessee. The President was hesitating what to do, and they were pressing immediate action. " I am," he said, " a good deal like the farmer who, re- turning to his home one Winter night, found his two sweet little boys asleep with a hideous serpent crawling over their bodies. He could not strike the serpent without wounding or killino; the children, so he calmlv waited until it had moved awav, Now, I do not want to act in a hurry about 144 LINCOLX STORIES. this matter: I don't want to hurt anybody in Kentucky: but I will get the serpent out of Tennessee. •'And he did march throuofh Kentucky, to the aid of Andrew Johnson's mountaineers.'' A Church Which God Wanted for the Union Soldiers. "Among the various applicants at the White House one day was a well-dressed lady, who came forward, without apparent embarrassment in her air of manner, and addressed the President. Gi\"ing her a verv close and scrutinizinor look, he said: *' • "Well, madam, what can I do for you? ' '' She proceeded to tell him that she lived in Alexandria; that the church where she worshiped had been taken for a hospital. '• • "What church, madam T Mr. Lincoln asked, in a quick, nervous manner. •• • The Church." she replied ; • and as there are onlv two or three wounded soldiers in it, I came to see if you would not let us have it, as we want it very much to worship God in.' " • Madam, liave you been to see the Post Surgeon at Alexandria about this matter?' '"Tes, sir: but we could do nothing with him.' " ' "Well, we put him there to attend to just such busi- ness, and it is reasonable to suppose that he knows better what should be done under the circumstances than I do. See here: you say you live in Alexandria: probably you own property there. How much will you give to assist in building a hospital?' '' • You know, Mr. Lincoln, our property is very much embarrassed by the war; — so, really, I could hardly afford to give much for such a purpose.' WAH STORIES. 145 " ' Well, madam, I expect -^-e shall have another fight soon; and mv candid opinion is, God icanU t?iat church for poor wounded Union soldiers^ as much as He does for secesh people to worship in.' Turning to his table, he said, quite abruptly. ' You will excuse me: I can do nothing for Tou. Good-dav. madam.' " How Lincoln Relieved Rosecrans. General James B. Steedman, familiarly known as " Old Chickamauga." relates the following: Some weeks after the disastrous battle of Chickamaucra. while vet Chattanooora was in a state of sieore. General Steedman was surorised one day to receive a telegram fjom Abraham Lincoln to come to ^ashirgton. Seeking out Thomas, he laid the telegram before liim, and was instructed to set out at once. Eepairing to the White House, he was warmly received by [XTr. Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln's first question was abrupt and to the point : '• General Steedman, what is your opinion of General Rosecrans C' General Steedman. hesitatinor a moment, said: "Mr. President, I would ratlier not exT:>ress my opinion of my superior officer.'' Mr. Lincohi said: " It is the man who does not want to express an opinion whose opinion I want. I am besieged on all sides with advice. Everv dav I get letters from armv ofiScers askinsr me to allow them to come to TTashinorton to impart some valuable knowledge in their possession.'' *' Well, Mr. President," said General Steedman, '* you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Armv, and if vou order me to speak I will do so." Mr. Lincoln said: *• Then I will order an opinion.'" General Steedman then answered: "Since you com- 10 146 LINCOLN STORIES. mand me, Mr, President, I will say General Rosecrans is a splendid man to command a victorious army." "But what kind of a man is lie to command a defeated armv?" said Mr. Lincoln. General Steedman in reply said, cautiously: " I think there are two or three men in that army that would be better." Then, with his quaint humor, Mr. Lincoln propounded this question: " Who, besides yourself, General Steedman. is there in that army who would make a better com- mander?" General Steedman said promptly: "General George H. Thomas." " I am glad to hear you say so," said Mr. Lincoln, "' that is my own opinion exactly. But Mr. Stanton is against him, and it was only yesterday that a powerful New York delegation was here to protest against his appointment be- cause he is from a Bebel State and can not be trusted." Said General Steedman: "A man who will leave his own state (Thomas was a Virginian), his friends, all his associations, to follow the flag of his country, can be trusted in any position to which he may be called." That night the order went forth from Washington relieving General Eosecrans of the command of the Army of the Cumber- land and appointing Thomas in his place. An Interesting Incident Connected With Signing the Emancipa- tion Proclamation. " The roll containing the Emancipation Proclamation was taken to Mr. Lincoln at noon on the first dav of Januarv, 1863, by Secretary Seward and his son Frederick. As it lay unrolled before him, Mr. Lincoln took a pen, dipped it in ink, moved his hand to the place for they signature, held WAR STORIES. 147 it a moment, and tlien removed his hand and dropped the pen. After a little hesitation he attain took up the pen and went throucjh the same movement as before. 3Ir, Lincoln then turned to Mr. Seward, and said: '' ' I have been shaking hands since nine o'clock this morning, and my right arm is almost paralyzed. If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. If mv hand trembles when I sign the Proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say, ' He hesitated.' " He then turned to the table, took up the pen again, and slowly, firmly wrote ' Abraham Lincoln,' with which the whole world is now familiar. He then looked up, smiled, and said: ' That will do^ " A Dream That Was Portentous — What Lincoln said to General Grant About It At the Cabinet meeting held the morning of the dav of the assassination, it was afterward remembered, a remark- able circnmstance occurred. General Grant was present, and during a lull in the discussion the President turned to him and asked if he had heard from General Sherman. General Grant replied that he had not, but was in hourly expectation of receiving despatches from him announcing the surrender of Johnson. " Well," said the President, •' you will hear very soon now, and the news will be important." " Whv do vou think so?" said the General. " Because," said Mr. Lincoln, '• I had a dream last night; and ever since the war began, I have invariablv had the same dream before any important military event occurred." He then instanced Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, etc., and said that before each of these events, he had had the 148 LINCOLN STORIES. same dream ; and turning to Secretary "Welles, said : " It is in your line, too, Mr. Welles. The dream is, that I saw a ship sailing very rapidly; and I am sure that it portends some important national event." Later in the day, dismissing all business, the carriage was ordered for a drive. When asked by Mrs. Lincoln if he would like any one to accompany them, he replied: "ISo; I prefer to ride by ourselves to-day." Mrs. Lincoln subsequently said that she never saw him seem so supremely happy as on this occasion. In reply to a remark to this effect, the President said: " And well 1 may feel so, Mary, for I consider this day the war has come to a close." And then added: "We must both be more cheerful in the future; between the war and the loss of our darling Willie, we have been very miserable." Lincoln and Judge Baldwin. " Judge Baldwin, of California, being in Washington, called one day on General Halleck, and, presuming upon a familiar acquaintance in California a few years before, solicited a pass outside of our lines to see a brother in Virginia, not thinking that he would meet with a refusal, as both his brother and himself were good Union men. "'We have been deceived too often,' said General Hal- leck, ' and I regret I can't grant it.' Judge B. then went to Stanton, and was very briefly disposed of, with the same result. Finally, he obtained an interview witli Mi- Lincoln, and stated his case. " ' Have you applied to General Halleck V inquired the President. " * Yes, and met with a flat refusal,' said Judge B. WAB STOJilES. 149 " 'Then you must see Stanton,' continued the President. " ' I have, and with the same result,' was the reply. " ' Well, then,' said Mr. Lincoln, with a smile, ' I can do nothing; for you must know t/iat I have very little injlu- ■ence with this Administration.^ " Lincoln and Stanton Fixing up Peace Between the Two Con- tending Armies. '' On the night of the 3d of March, the Secretary of War, with others of the Cabinet, were in the company of the President, at the Capitol, awaiting the passage of the final bills of Concrress, In the intervals of reading and signing these documents, the military situation was con- sidered — the lively conversation tinged by the confident and glowing account of General Grant, of his mastery of the position, and of his belief that a few days more would see Richmond in our possession, and the array of Lee either dispersed utterly or captured bodily — when the telegram from Grant was received, saying that Lee had asked an in- terview with reference to peace. Mr. Lincoln was elated, and the kindness of his heart was manifest in intimations of favorable terms to be granted to the conquered Kebels. " Stanton listened in silence, restraining his emotion, but at length the tide burst forth. ' Mr. President,' said he, ' to-morrow is inauguration day. If you are not to be the President of an obedient and united people, you had better not be inaugurated. Your work is already done, if any other authority than yours is for one moment to be recog- nized, or any terms made that do not signify you are the supreme head of the nation. If generals in the field are to negotiate peace, or any other chief magistrate is to be acknowledged on this continent, then yon are not needed, and you had better not take the oath of oflice.' 150 LINCOLN STORIES. " ' Stanton you are right ! ' said the President, his whole tone changing, ' Let me have a pen.' " Mr. Lincoln sat down at the table, and wrote as fol- lows : " ' The President directs me to say to you tliat he wishes you to have no conference with General Lee, unless it be for tlie capitulation of Lee's army, or on some minor or purely military matter. He instructs me ta say that you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. In the mean time you are to press to the utmost your military advantages.' " The President read over what he had written, and thea said : " ' Now, Stanton, date and sign this paper, and send it to Grant. We'll see about this peace business.' " The duty was discharged only too gladly by the ener- getic Secretary," The Merciful President. A personal friend of President Lincoln says : " I called on him one day in the early part of the war. He had just written a pardon for a young man who had been sentenced to be shot, for sleeping at his post, as a sentinel. He re- marked as he read it to me : " ' I could not think of going into eternity with the blood of the poor young man on my skirts.' Tlien he added : ' It is not to be wondered at that a boy, raised on a farm, probably in the habit of going to bed at dark, should, when required to watch, fall asleejj; and I can not consent to shoot him for such an act.' " This, story, with its moral, is made complete by Pev, Newman Hall, of London, who, in a sermon preached after and upon Mr. Lincoln's death, says that the dead body of this youth was found among the slain on the field of Fred- WAR STORIES. 151 ericksbnrg, wearing next his heart a photograph of his pre- server, beneath which the grateful fellow had written, " God bless President Lincoln ! " From the same sermon another anecdote is gleaned, of a similar character, which is evidently authentic. ♦An officer of the army, in conversation with the preacher, said : " The first week of my command, there were twenty-four deserters sentenced by court martial to be shot, and the warrants for their execution were sent to the President to be signed. He refused. I went to Washington and had an interview. I said : " ' Mr. President, unless these men are made an example of, the army itself is in danger. Mercy to the few is cruelty to the many.' " He replied : ' Mr. General, there are already too many weeping widows in the United States. For God's sake, don't ask me to add to the number, for I won't do it' " No Mercy for the Man Stealer — Lincoln Uses Very Strong Language. Hon. John B. Alley, of Lynn, Massachusetts, was made the bearer to the President of a petition for pardon, by a person confined in the Newburyport jail for being engaged in the slave-trade. He had been sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and the payment of a fine of one thousand dollars. The petition was accompanied by a letter to Mr. Alle3^ in which the prisoner acknowledged his guilt and the justice of his sentence. He was very penitent — at least, on paper — and had received the full measure of his punish- ment, so far as it related to the term of his imprisonment ; but he was still held because he could not pay his fine. Mr. Alley read the letter to the President, who was much moved by its pathetic appeals ; and when he had himself read the 152 LINCOLN STORIES. petition, he looked up and said : " My friend that is a verv touching appeal to our feelings. You know my weakness is to be, if possible, too easily moved by appeals for mercy, and, if this man were guilty of the foulest murder that the arm of man could perpetrate, I might forgive him on such an appeal ; but the man who could go to Africa, and rob her of her children, and sell them into interminable bond- age, with no other motive than that which is furnished by dollars and cents, is so much worse than the most depraved murderer, that he can never receive pardon at my hands. 1^0 I He may rot in jail before he shall have liberty by any act of mine." A sudden crime, committed iinder strong temptation, was venial in his eyes, on evidence of repentance ; but the calculating, mercenary crime of man- stealing and man-selling, with all the cruelties that are essential accompaniments of the business, could win from him, as an officer of the people, no pardon. A Touching Incident in the Life of Lincoln. A few days before the President's death, Secretary Stan- ton tendered his resignation of the War Department. He accompanied the act with a heartfelt tribute to Mr. Lin- coln's constant friendship and faithful devotion to the coun- try; saying, also, that he as Secretary had accepted the pos- ition to hold it only until the war should end, and that now he felt his work was done, and his duty was to resign. Mr. Lincoln was greatly moved by the Secretary's words, and tearing in pieces the paper containing the resignation, and throwing his arms about the Secretary, he said: "Stanton, you have been a good friend and a faithful public servant, and it is not for you to say when you will no longer be needed here." Several friends of both parties were present on the occasion, and there was not a dry eye that witnessed the scene. WAR STORIES. 153 The Groat Thing About Gen. Grant as Lincoln Saw It. Mr. Carpenter, the artist, made particular inquiry of the President, during the progress of the Battles of the "Wil- derness, how General Grant personally in pressed him as compared to other officers of the army, and especially those who had been in command. "The great thing about Grant," said he, " I take it, is hiQ perfect coolness and 2?ersistency of jpuvpose. I judge he is not easily excited, which is a great element in an offi- "cer, and has the grit of a bull-dog ! Once let him get his ' teeth ' in, and nothing can shake him off." Lincoln's Second Nomination — How He Associated it with a Very Singular Circumstance — Lincoln Sees Two Images of Himself in a Mirror. It appeared that the dispatch announcing Lincoln's re- nomination for President had been sent to his office from the War Department while he was at lunch. Afterward, without going back to the official chamber, he proceeded to the War Department. While there, the telegram came in announcing the nomination of Johnson. " What ! " said he to the operator, " do they nominate a Yice-President before they do a President? " " Why! " rejoined the astonished official, " have you not heard of your own nomination? It was sent to the White House two hours ago." "It is all right," was the reply; "I shall probably find it on my return." Laughing pleasantly over this incident, he said, soon afterwards : "A very singular occurence took place the day I was nominated at Chicago, four years ago, of which I am reminded to-night. In the afternoon of the day, re- turning home from down town, I went up-stairs to Mrs. 154 LINCOLN STORIES. Lincoln's reading-room. Feeling somewhat tired, I lay down upon a couch in the room, directly opposite a bureau upon which was a looking-glass. As I reclined, my eye fell upon the glass, and / saw distinctly two images of my- self, exactly alike, except tJiat one was a little paler than the other. I arose, and lav down again, with the same result. It made me quite uncomfortable for a few moments, but some friends coming in, the matter passed out of my mind. " The next day, while walking in the street, I was sud- denly reminded of the circumstance, and the disagreeable sensation produced by it returned. I had never seen any- thing of the kind befoie, and did not know what to make of it. " I determined to go home and place myself in the same position, and if the same eiFect was produced, I would make up my mind that it was the natural result of some principle of refraction or optics which I did not under- stand, and dismiss it. I tried the experiment, with a like result; and, as I had said to myself, accounting for it on some principle unknown to me, it ceased to trouble me. But," said he, " some time ago, I tried to produce the same effect here, by arranging a glass and couch in the same position, without success.^^ He did not say, at this time, that either he or Mrs. Lin- coln attached any omen to the phenomenon, but it is well known that Mrs. Lincoln regarded it as a sign that the President would be re-elected. How Lincoln Illustrated What Might Be Done With Jeff. Davis. One of the latest of Mr. Lincoln's stories, was told to a party of gentlemen, who, among the tumljling ruins of the Confederacy, anxiously asked " what he would do with Jeff. Davis?" WAR STORIES. . 155 "There was a boy in Sprin^^fickl," replied Mr. Lincoln, " who saved up his money and bought a ' coon,' which, after the novelty wore off, became a great nuisance. " He was one day leading him through the streets, and had his hands full to keep clear of the little vixen, who had torn his clothes half off of him. At length he sat down on the curb-stone, completely fagged out. A man passing was stopped by the lad's disconsolate appearance, and asked the matter. " ' Oh,' was the only reply, ' this coon is such a trouble to me." "'Why don't you get rid of him, then?' said the gentleman. " '■Hush!'' said the boy; ' don't you see he is gnawing his rope off? I am going to let him do it, and then I will go home and tell the folks that he got away from ■me!'' " Lincoln's Cutting Reply to the Confederate Commission — His Story of " Root Kog or Die." At a so-called " peace conference " procured by the vol- untary' and irresponsible agency of Mr. Francis P. Blair, which was held on the steamer River Queen, in Hampton Eoads, on the 3d of February, 1865, between President Lincoln and Mr. Seward, representing the government, and Messrs. Alexander H. Stephens, J. A. Campbell and P. M. T. Hunter, representing the rebel confederacy, Mr. Hunter replied that the recognition of Jeff Davis' power was the first and indispensable step to peace; and, to illus- trate his point, he referred to the correspondence between King Charles the First and his Parliament, as a reliable precedent of a constitutional ruler treating with rebels. Mr. Lincoln's face wore that indescribable expression which generally preceded his hardest hits ; and he remarked : " Upon questions of history I must refer you to Mr. 156 LTNCOLJS^ STORIES. Seward, for he is posted in such things, and I don't profess to be ; but my onlj distinct recollection of the matter is that Charles lost his head ! " Mr. Hunter remarked, on the same occasion, that the slaves, always accustomed to work upoil compulsion, under an overseer, would, if suddenly freed, precipitate not only themselves, but the entire society of the South, into irre- mediable ruin. No work would be done, but blacks and whites would starve together. The President waited for Mr. Seward to answer the argument, but, as that gentleman hesitated, he said : '' Mr. Hunter, you ought to know a great deal better about this matter than I, for you have always lived under the slave system. I can only say, in reply to your statement of the case, that it reminds me of a man out in Illinois, by the name of Case, who undertook, a iqw^ years ago, to raise a very large herd of hogs. It was a great trouble to feed them ; and how to get around this was a pnzzle to him. At length he hit upon the plan of planting an immense field of potatoes, and, when they were sufficiently grown, he turned the whole herd into the field and let them have full swing, thus saving not only the labor of feeding the hoo-s, but that also of digging the potatoes ! Charmed with his sagacity, he stood one day leaning against the fence, count- ing his hogs, when a neighbor came along : " ' Well, well,' said he, ' Mr. Case this is all very fine. Your hogs are doing very well just now ; but you know out here in Illinois the frost comes early, and the ground freezes a foot deep. Then what are they going to do ? ' '-This was a view of the matter which Mr. Case had not taken into account. Butchering time for hogs was away on in December or January. He scratched his head and at length stammered : ' Well, it may come pretty hard on their snouts^ but I don't see but it will be root hog or die!'''''' MISCELLANEOUS. 159 MISCELLANEOUS ST DRIES. Attending Henry Ward Beecher's Church — What Lincoln said of Beecher. Mr, Nelson Sizer, one of the gallery ushers of Henry "Ward Beecher's church in Brooklyn, told a friend that about the time of the Cooper Institute speech, Mr. Lin- coln was twice present at the morning services of th-at church. On the first occasion, he was accompanied by his friend, George B. Lincoln, Esq., and occupied a prominent seat in the centre of the house. On a subsequent Sunday morning, not long afterwards, the church was packed^ as usual, and the services had proceeded to the announcement of tlie text, when the gallery door at the right of the organ- loft opened, and the tall figure of Mr. Lincoln entered, alone. Again in the city over Sunday, he started out by himself to find the church, which he reached considerably behind time. Every seat was occupied; but the gentle- manly usher at once surrendered his own, and, stepping back, became much interested in watching the effect of the sermon u]3on the western orator. As Mr. Beecher devel- oped his line of argument, Mr. Lincoln's body swayed for- ward, his lips parted, and he seemed at length entirely unconscious of his surroundings — frequently giving vent to his satisfaction, at a well-put point or illustration, with a kind of involuntary Indian exclamation — "^^j/A/" — not audible beyond his immediate presence, but v^ry expressive! Mr. Lincoln henceforward, had a profound admiration for the talents of the famous pastor of Plymouth Church. He once remarked to the Rev. Henry M. Field, of New York, 160 LINCOLN STORIES. that " he thought there was not upon record, in ancient or modern biography, so productive a mind, as had been ex- hibited in the career of Henry Ward Beecher ! " Lincoln's Love for Little Tad. No matter who was with the President, or how intently absorbed, his little son Tad was always welcome. He almost always accompanied his father. Once on the way to Fortress. Monroe, he became very troublesome. The President was much engaged in conversation with the party who accom- panied him, and he at length said: " Tad, if you will be a good boy, and not disturb me any more till we get to Fortress Monroe, I will give you a dollar." The hope of reward was effectual for a while in securing silence, but, boy-like. Tad soon forgot his promise, and was as noisy as ever. Upon reaching their destination, how- ever, he said, very promptly, " Father, I want my dollar." Mr. Lincoln turned to him with the inquiry: "Tad, do you think you have earned it ? " " Yes,"' was the sturdy reply. Mr. Lincoln looked at him half repi;oachfully for an in- stant, and then taking from his pocket-book a dollar note, he said: " Well, my son, at any rate, I will keep my part of the hargaiii?'' While paying a visit to Commodore Porter at Fortress Monroe, on one occasion, an incident occurred, subsequently related bv Lieutenant Braine, one of the officers on board the flag-ship, to the Eev. Dr. Ewer, of New York. ISToticing that the banks of the river were dotted with Spring blos- soms, the President said, with the manner of one asking a special favor: " Commodore, Tad is very fond of flowers; — won't you let a couple of your men take a boat and go MISCELLANEOUS. 161 with liim for an hour or two along shore, and gather a few? It will be a o-reat gratification to hira." An Interesting Story — Lincoln at the Five Points' House of In- dustry in New^ York. "When Mr. Lincoln visited Kew York in 1860, he felt a great interest in many of the institutions for reforming criminals and saving the young from a life of crime. Among others, he visited, unattended, the Five Points' House of Industry, and the Superintendent of the Sabbath- school there gave the following account of the event: •' One Sunday morning, I saw a tall, remarkable-looking man enter the room and take a seat amone: us. He lis- tened with fixed attention to our exercises, and his coun- tenance expressed such genuine interest that I approached him and suggested that he might be willing to sa}^ some- thing to the children. He accepted the invitation with evi- dent pleasure; and, coming forward, began a simple address, which at once fascinated every little hearer and hushed the room into silence. His language was strikingly beautiful, and his tones musical with intense, feeling. The little faces would droop into sad conviction as he uttered sentences of warning, and would brighten into sunshine as he spoke cheerful words of promise. Once or twice he attempted to close his remarks, but the imperative shout of 'Goon! Oh, do go on!' would compel him to resume. As I looked upon the gaunt and sinewy frame of the stranger, and marked his powerful head and determined features, now touched into softness by the impressions of the moment, I felt an irrepressible curiosity to learn some- thing more about him, and while he was quietly leaving the room I begged to know his name. He courteously replied: ' It is Abraham Lincoln, from Illinois.' " 11 162 LINCOLN UTORIES. Lincoln and His New^ Hat. Mr. G. B. Lincoln tells of an amusing circumstance which took place at Springfield soon after Mr. Lincoln's nomination in 18G0. A hatter in Brooklyn secretly obtained the size of the future President's head, and made for him a very elegant hat, which he sent by his townsman, Lincoln, to Springfield. About the time it was presented, various other testimonials of a similar character had come in from different sections. Mr. Lincoln took the hat, and after admiring its texture and workmanship, put it on his head and walked up to a looking-glass. Glancing from the reflection to Mrs. Lincoln, he said, with his peculiar twinkle of the eye, " Well, wife, there is one thing likely to come ont of this scrape, any how. "We are going to have some new clothes!" Lincoln's Feat at ths Washington Navy Yard With an Axe. One afternoon during the Summer of 1862, the President accompanied several gentlemen to the Washington Navy Yard, to witness some experiments with a newly-invented gun. Subsequently the party went aboard of one of the steamers lying at the wharf, A discussion was going on as to the merits of the invention, in the midst of which Mr. Lincoln caught sight of some axes hanging up outside of the cabin. Leaving the group, he quietly went forward, and taking one down, returned with it, and said: " Gentlemen, you may talk about 3'our ' Baphael repeat- ers ' and ' eleven-inch DahloTens;' but here is an institution which I guess I understand better than either of you." With that he held the axe out at arm's length by the end of the handle, or '' helve," as the wood-cutters call it — a feat not another person of the party could perform, though all made the attempt. MISCELLANEOUS. 163 In such acts as tins, sliowing that he neither forgot nor was ashamed of his humble origin, the good President ex- hibited his true nobility of character. He was a perfect illustration of his favorite poet's words : " The rank is but the guinea's stamp, , The man's the gold, for a' that!" Lincoln's Failure as a Merchant — He, However, SiK Years Later Pays the " National Debt." It is interesting to recall the fact that at one time Mr. Lincoln seriously took into consideration the project of learning the blacksmith's trade. He was without means, and felt the immediate necessity of undertaking some busi- ness that would give him bread. It was while he was en- tertaining this project that an event occuri-ed which, in his nndeterminded state of mind, seemed to open a way to success in another quarter. A man named Ileuben Radford, the keeper of a small store in the Village of New Salem, had somehow incurred the displeasure of the Clary's Grove Boys, who had exer- cised their "regulating" prerogatives by irregularly break- ing in his windows. "William G. Greene, a friend of young Lincoln, riding by Radford's store soon afterward, was hailed by him, and told that he intended to sell out. Mr. Greene went into the store, and, looking around, offered him at random four hundred dollars for his stock. The offer was immediately accepted. Lincoln happening in the next da}^, and being familiar with the value of the goods, Mr. Greene proposed to him to take an inventorj^ of tlie stock, and see what sort of a bargain he had made. This he did, and it was found that the goods were worth six hundred dollars. Lincoln then made him an offer of a hundred and twenty-five dollars for 164 LINCOLN STORIES. his bargain, with the proposition tliat he and a man named' Berry, as his partner, should take his (Greene's) place in the notes given to Radford. Mr. Green,e agreed to the arrange- ment, bat Radford declined it, except on condition that Greene would be their security, and this he at last as- sen ted to. Berry proved to be a dissipated, trifling man, and the business soon became a wreck. Mr. Greene was obliged to go in and help Lincoln close it up, and not only do this but pay Radford's notes. All that young Lincoln won from the store was some very valuable experience, and the burden of a debt to Greene which, in conversations with the latter, he always spoke of as the National debt. But this national debt, unlike the majority of those v/hich bear the title, was paid to the uttermost farthing in after years. Six years afterwards, Mr. Greene, who knew nothing of the law in such cases, and had not troubled himself to in- quire about it, and who had in the meantime removed tO' Tennessee, received notice from Mr. Lincoln that he was ready to pay him what he had paid for Berry — he (Lincoln) being legally bound to pay the liabilities of his partner. Funeral Services of Lincoln's Mother — The Old Pastor and Young Abraham — A Remarkable Service. Several months after the death of Lincoln's mother which occurred when he was but a few years old, child aa he was, he wrote to Parson Elkin who had been their pas- tor when residing in Kentuck}', begging him to come to Indiana, and preach her funeral sermon. This was asking a great favor of their former minister^ for it would require him to ride on horseback a hundred miles through the wilderness; and it is something to be re- MISCELLANEOUS. 165 membered to the humble itinerant's honor that he was will- ing to pay this tribute of respect to the woman who had so thorouojhlj honored him and his sacred office. He replied to Abraham's invitation, that he would preach the sermon on a certain future Sunday, and gave him liberty to notify the neighbors of the promised service. As the appointed day approached, notice was given to the whole neighborhood, embracing every family Vvdthin twenty miles. [Neighbor carried the notice to neighbor. It was scattered from every little school. There was probably not a family that did not receive intelligence of the anx- iously-anticipated event. On a bright Sabbath morning, the settlers of the region started for the cabin of the Lincolns ; and, as they gathered in, they presented a picture worthy the pencil of the worthiest painter. Some came in carts of the rudest con- struction, their wheels consisting of sections of the huge boles of forest trees, and every other member the product of the axe and auger; some came on horseback, two or three upon a horse; others came in wagons drawn by oxen, and still others came on foot. Two hundred persons in all were assembled when Parson Elkin came out from the Lin- <;oln cabin, accompanied by the little family, and proceeded to the tree* under which the precious dust of a wife and mother was buried. The congregation, seated upon stumps and logs around the grave, received the preacher and the mourning family in a silence broken only by the songs of birds, and the mur- mur of insects, or the creaking cart of some late comer. Taking his stand at the foot of the grave, Parson Elkin lifted his voice in prayer and sacred song, and then preached & sermon. The occasion, the eager faces around him, and all the isweet influences of the morning, inspired him with an un- 166 LINCOLN STORIES. usual fluency and fervor; and the flickerino- sunljofht, as it glanced through the M'ind-parted leaves, caught many a tear upon the bronzed cheeks of his auditors, while father and son were overcome b}' the revival of their great grief. He spoke of the precious Christian woman v/ho had gone with the warm praise which she deserved, and held her up as an example of true womanhood. Those who knew the tender and reverent spirit of Abra- ham Lincoln later in life, will not doubt that he returned to his cabin-home deeply impressed by all that he had heard. It was the roundino; ud for him of the influences of a Christian mother's life and teachinors. It recalled her sweet and patient example, her assiduous efforts to inspire him with pure and noble motives, her simple instructions in divine truth, her devoted love for him, and the motherly offices she had rendered him during all his tender years. His character was planted in this Christian mother's life. Its roots were fed by this Christian mother's love; and those that have wondered at the truthfulness and earnest- ness of his mature character, have only to remember that the tree was true to the soil from which it sprung. Something Concerning Mr. Lincoln's Religious Views. The Rev. Mr. AYillets, of Brooklyn, gives an account of a conversation with Mr. Lincoln, on the part of a lady of his acquaintance, connected with the "Christian Commission,'* who in the prosecution of her duties had several interviews with him. The President, it seemed, had been much impressed with the devotion and earnestness of purpose manifested by the lady, and on one occasion, after she had discharged the object of her visit, he said to her : " Mrs. , I have formed a high opinion of your Chris- MISCELLANEOUS. 107 tian character, and now, as we are alone, I have a mind to ask you to give me, in brief, your idea of what constitutes a true religious experience." The lady replied at some length, stating that, in her judgment, it consisted of a conviction of one's own sinful- ness and weakness, and personal need of the Saviour for strength and support; that views of mere doctrine might and would differ, hut when one was really brought to feel his need of Divine help, and to seek the aid of the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance, it was satisfactory evidence of his having been born again. This was the substance of her reply. When she had concluded, Mr. Lincoln was very thought- ful for a few moments. He at length said, very earnestly, " If what you have told me is really a correct view of this great subject, I think I can say with sincerity, that I hope I am a Christian. 1 had lived," he continued, " until my boy Willie died, without realizing fully these things. That blow overwhelmed me. It showed me my weakness as I had never felt it before, and if I can take what you have stated as a test, I think I can safely say that 1 know some- thing of that change of which you speak; and I will fur- ther add, that it has been my intention for some time, at a suitable opportunity, to make a public religious profession." Thuriow Weed's Recollections. In a letter to the New York Lincoln Club, Thuriow Weed remarks: I went to the Whig National Convention, at Chicago, in 1860, warmly in favor of and confidently ex- jDecting the nomination of Governor Seward. That disap- pointment of long-cherished hopes was a bitter one. I then accepted, very reluctantly, an invitation to visit Mr. Lincoln at his residence in Springfield, where, in an interesting con- 168 LINCOLN STORIES. versation, even while smartino' under the sense of injustice to Mr. Seward, confidence m Mr. Lincohi's good sense, ca- pacity and fidelity was inspired. A campaign programme was agreed upon, and, returning to Albany, I went to work as zealou^ly and as cheerfully as I should have done with Mr. Seward as our Presidential nominee, Mr. Lincoln's inauguration siniultaneouslv in- augurated rebellion. Events soon pro%'ed that the Chicago Convention had been wisely if not providentially guided. The country in its greatest emergency had, what it so greatly needed, the services of two, instead of one, of its greatest and best men. "With Lincoln as President and Seward as Secretary of State, the right men were in the right places. , With ample opportunities to study the character of Abra- ham Lincoln, I never hesitated in declaring that his sense of public and private duty and honor was as high and his patriotism as devoted as that of George "Washington. Their names and their memories should ddscend to future generations as examples worthy of imitation. An Amusing Illustration. One of Mr. Lincoln's illustrations viven bv him on one occasion was that of a man who, in driving the hoops of a hogshead to "head "' it up, was much annoyed by the con- stant falling in of the top. At length the bright idea struck him of j^utting his little boy inside to '• hold it up." This he did; it never occurring to him till the job was done, how he was to get his child out. -'This," said Lin- coln, " is a fair sample of the way some people always do business. ^^ MISCELLANEOUS. 169- A Couple of Good Stories— How Lincoln took His Altitude— A Prophetic Bowl of Milk. Soon after Mr. Lincoln's nomination for the Presidency, the Executive Chamber, a large line room in the State House at Springfield was set apart for him, where he met the public until after his election. As illustrative of the nature of many of his calls, the following brace of incidents were related to Mr, H(jHand by an eye witness: " Mr. Lincoln, being seated in conversa- tion with a gentleman one day, two raw, plainly-dressed young 'Suckers ' entered the room, and bashfully lingered near the door. As soon as he observed them, and appre- hended their embarrassment, he rose and walked to them? saying, " How do you do, my good fellows ? What can I do for you ? Will you sit down V The spokesman of the pair, the shorter of the two, declined to sit, and explained the object of the call thus: he had had a talk about the relative height of Mr. Lincoln and his companion, and had .asserted his belief that the}^ were of exactly the same height. He had come in to verify his judgment. Mr. Lincoln smiled, went and got his cane, and, placing the end of it upon the wall, said: " Here, young man, come under here." The young man came under the cane, as Mr. Lincoln held it, and when it was perfectly adjusted to his height, Mr. Lincoln said: '" Now, come out, and hold up the cane." This he did while Mr. Lincoln stepped under. Kubbing 3»is head back and forth to see that it worked easily under the measurement, he stepped out, and declared to the saga- •cious fellow who was curioush' looking on, that he had guessed with remarkable accuracy — that he and the young man were exactly of the same height. Then he shook hands "with them and sent them on their way. Mr. Lincoln would 170 LINCOLN STORIES. just as soon liave thought of cutting off his right hand as he would have thought of turning those boys awaj with tlie impression that they had in any way insulted his dignity. They had hardly disappeared when an old and modestly- dressed woman made her appearance. She knew Mr. Lin- coln, but Mr. Lincoln did not at first recognize her. Then she undertook to recall to his memory certain incidents con- nected with his rides upon the circuit — especially his dining at her house npon the road at different times. Then he re- membered her and her home. Having fixed her own place in his recollection, she tried to recall to him a certain scanty dinner of bread and milk that he once ate at her house. He could not remember it — on the contrary, he only remem- bered that he had always fared well at her house. '' "Well," said she, '* one day you can:ie along after we had got through diimer, and we had eaten up everything, and I could ffive vou nothino- but a bowl of bread and milk; and you ate it: and when you got up you said it was good enough f 07' the President of the United States!^'' The good woman had come in from the countr}^ making a iournev of eight or ten miles, to relate to Mr. Lincoln this incident, which, in her mind, had doubtless taken the form of prophecy. Mr. Lincoln placed the hon- est creature at her ease, chatted with her of old times, and dismissed her in the most happy and complacent frame of mind. Lincoln's Lov9 for the Little Ones. Soon after his election as President and while visiting- Chicago, one evening at a social gathering Mr. Lincoln saw a little girl timidly approaching him. He at once called her to him, and asked the little girl what she wished. She replied that she wanted his name. L "''''«'" ™'i-»mi«^^^ ^^^^^ .:.ri'i | .i'ii!;i!i!ii,r;ii!iiiini,ii'ii MISCELLANEOUS. 173 Mr. Lincoln looked back into the room and said : " But here are other little girls — they would feel badly if I should give iny name only to you." The little girl replied that there were eight of them in all. " Then," said Mr. Lincoln, " get me eight sheets of paper, and a pen and ink, and I will see what I can do for you." The paper was brought, and Mr. Lincoln sat down in the crowded drawing-room, and wrote a sentence upon each sheet, appending his name; and thus every little girl car- ried off her souvenir. During the same visit and while giving a reception at one of the hotels, a fond father took in a little boy by the hand who was anxious to see the new President. The moment the child entered the parlor door he, of his own accord and quite to the surprise of his father, took off his hat, and, giv^- ing it a swing, cried: "'Hurrah for Lincoln ! " There was a crowd, but as soon as Mr. Lincoln could get hold of the little fellow, he lifted him in his hands, and, tossing him towards the ceiling, laughingly shouted: "Hurrah for you ! " It was evidently a refreshing incident to Lincoln in the dreary work of hand-shaking. An Interesting Anecdote of Lincoln Related by Rev. J. P. Gulliver. Dn the morning following Lincoln's speech, in ^Norwich, Conn., Mr. Gulliver met Mr. Lincoln upon a train of cars, and entered into conversation with him. In speaking of his speech, Mr. Gulliver remarked to Mr. Lincoln that he thought it the most remarkable one he ever heard. " Are you sincere in what you say? " inquired Mr. Lin- coln. " I mean every word of it," replied the minister. " In- deed, sir," he continued, " I learned more of the art of 174 LINCOLN STORIES. public speaking last evening than I could from a whole course of lectures on rhetoric." Then Mr. Lincoln informed hiui of " a most extraordinary circumstance " that occurred at Xew Haven a few days previously. A professor of rhetoric in Yale College, he had been told, came to hear him, took notes of his speech, and gave a lecture on it to his class the following day; and, not satisfied with that, followed him to Meriden the next evening, and heard liim again for the same purpose. All this seemed to Mr. Lincoln to be '' very extraordinary."^ He had been siifiiciently astonished by his success at the the West, but he had no expectation of any marked success at the East, particularly among literary and learned men. " ISTow," said Mr. Lincoln, " I should very much like to know what it was in my speech which you thought so re- markable, and which interested my friend the professor so much? " Mr. Gulliver's answer was, '' The clearness of vour statements, the unanswerable style of your reasoning, and,' especially, your illustrations, which were romance and pathos and fun and logic all welded together." After Mr. Gulliver had fully satisfied his curiosity by a further exposition of the politician's peculiar power, Mr. Lincoln said: " I am much obliged to you for this. I have been wish- ins: for a lono; time to find some one who would make this analysis for me. It throws light on a subject which has been dark to me. I can understand very readily how such a power as you have ascribed to me will account for the effect which seems to be produced by my speeches. I hope you have not been too flattering in your estimate. Cer- tainly, I have had a most wonderful success for a man of my limited education." MISCELLANEOUS. ' 175 -A. Liucoln Story about Little Dan Webster's Soiled Hands!— How- Dan Escaped a Flogging. Mr. Lincoln, on one occasion narrated to Hon. Mr. Odell and others, with much zest, the following story about vounze already begins its little bubbles on the lips. Such, hurriedly sketched, were the accompaniments of the death of President Lincoln. So suddenly, and in mur- der and horror unsurpassed, he was taken from us. But his death was painless. THE END, POPOLAE BOOKS PUBLISHED BY RHODES & McCLDEE, CtllC^VOO. SI32:TIETt£ THOUSA-lSri^. MOODY'S ANECDOTES & ILLUSTRATIONS EDITED BY J. B. McCLURE. 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This Volume comprises all the Stories Mr. Moody has told about Children in his great Revival Work in Europe and ."Vmerica. In every instance the Child is in the foreground of the picture, and Mr. Moody, in his own language, tells the story. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, ETC. 'An excellent book, and I most heartily endorse it and commend it to every family. L. HITCHCOCK, D.D. In all the " Moody Literature" that has gone abroad so widely, so usefully, nothing has appeared more unique, more attractive, more reallv useful, than this little volume of his Child Stories. REV. SIMEON GILBERT, Editor Advance. The compiler has been very happy in the choice of his selections, and the admirable manner in which the book is prod' ced. C. R. BLACKALL, Depositary American Baptist Publication Society. This small volume is destined to gladden the hearts ot more little ones than any dozen of other child-books combined. — Chicago Times. _ Mr. Moody's Child Stories comprise a veiy impressive portion of his discourses, teach- ing important truths, and his admirers will rejoice that they are now published in a separate book. — Chicago Evening Journal. Children cry for it. — Chicago Tribune. PRICE IN CL.OTH, FJNK, 75 CENTS. PAPER, 35 CENTS. Sent by mail, on receipt of price, by the publishers. POPULAR BOOKS PUBLISHED BY RHODES & McCLURE, CHICA&O. J_ MISTAKES OF OGERSOLL, AS SHOWN EY PROF. SWING. BISHOP CHENEY, W. H. RYDER, D.D. CHAPLAIN McCABE, BROOKE HEkFORD, D.D. REV. W. F. CRAFTS, J. MONRO GIBSON, D.D. ROBERT COLLYER, D.D. RABBI WISE, ARTHUR SWAZEY, D.D. FRED. PERRY PO^VERS AND OTHERS. INCLUDING .\LSO INGERSOLL'S ANSWERS — TO — PROF. SWING, BROOKE HERFORD, D.D. W. H. RYDER, D.D. DR. H. W. THOMAS, ROBT. COLLYER, D.D. DR. KOEHLER. AND OTHER CRITICS. ALSO, INGERSOLL'S LECTURES ENTITLED "MISTAKES OF MOSES" and "SKULLS," And his Funeral Oration at his Brother's Grave. With comments on the same by HENRY WARD BEECHER and HON. ISAAC N. ARNOLD. All complete. Svc, 270 Pages. EDITED BY J. B. .McCLURE. PRICE, I.> CLOTH, EXTRA FIXE, ?l.O0. " The collection is timely and creditable, and its fairness in presenting both the text and comments is commendable."— C/izVa_5'<7 Evening Journal. ".•\n interesting book ; it is not often that a public character like this is subjected to criticism, which is at once so fair and so acute, so civil in manner, and yet so just, as in these instances." — Advance. Sent hy Mail, on vreijit of Price, by the Publishers . "THAT REMINDS ME OF A STORY." S o O ENTERTAINING ANECDOTES .SUCH AS Daniel Webster's Fish Story ; Queen Victoria's Love for Prince Albert and their Mar.- riage; How Lincoln Dispatched Business; Selecting a Wife in the Cars; A Scared Conductor; An Incident of Prof. Saving's E.irly Life; Too iSIuch for Gen. Wash- ington; How the Elephant Got Oi.t of Difficulties; A Polite Horse; A Cunning Sparrow; The Phantom Whistle; How Great Men Escaped; Mark Twain's Watch ; Curiosities of Etiquette ; General Stark and " His Molly " ; Two Yards Jaconet, or a Husband ; etc., etc. CLASSIFIED AS FOLLOWS: AMUSING STORIES; LOVE STORIES; ANECDOTES OF NOTED PERSONS; ANIMAL STORIES; MARVELOUS STORIEG; FALLING LEAVES. Edited by J. B. McCLURE. 8vo, 256 Pages, Illustrated. PRICE IN CI.OTH, FINE, 75 CENTS. PAPER, 35 CENTS. Sent by mail, on receipt of price, by the publishers. i i 1