8M Mi w«w« M ren|ind5 me of a. ston LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY mmmm M yO 7 CC,l a. t^^/D &Uc< c^^~> && ■ 39 Lincoln's Marriage; Interesting Letters 51 Lincoln's Mother; How He Loved Her 54 Mrs. Brown's Story of Young Abe; How a Man Slept with a President of the United States 36 Reminiscences; The Turning Point m 59 Splitting Rails and Studying Mathemetics; Simmons, Lincoln & Company 42 Senator Cullom's Interesting Reminiscences of Lin- coln 66 • 'The Long Nine. " , 49 What Some Men Say About Lincoln; His First Meeting with Richard Yates 30 When and Where Lincoln Obtained the Name of "Honest Abe." 37 Young Lincoln's Kindness of Heart* He Carries Home and Nurses a Drunkard 21 8 CONTENTS. Young Lincoln and his Books; Their Influence on his Mind 22 PROFESSIONAL LIFE STORIES. A Remarkable Law Suit About a Colt 75 A Famous Story 78 A letter to His Beloved Stepmother 82 An Amusing Story Concerning Thompson Camp- bell 85 An Incident Related by one of Lincoln's Clients. ... 8y Attention Shown to Relatives 91 A Good Temperance Man 94 A Revolutionary Pensioner Defended by Lincoln. . . 101 Gen. Linder's Account of the Lincoln-Shields Duel. 95 Honest Abe and His Lady Client 89^ How Lincoln Kept His Business Accounts 91 How Lincoln Always Turned a Stury to His Advan- tage 103 Hon. Newton Bateman's Thrilling Story of Mr; Lin- coln; The Great Man Lookiag to See How the Springfield Preachers Voted 106 How Lincoln and Judge B. Swapped Horses 75 Lincoln's Story of a young Lawyer as he Told it to Gen. Garfield 79 Lincoln and His Stepmother 80 Lincoln's Story of Joe Wilson and his "Spotted Animals." 86 Lincoln Defends Col. Baker 88 Lincoln in Court 92 Lincoln Defends the Son of an Old Friend Indicted for Murder 97 Lincoln's Pungent Retort 100 CONTENTS. 9 Lincoln Threatens a Twenty Years' Agitation in Illi- nois i o I Lincoln's Visit to Kansas in Lincoln and the Little Chicago Girls 114 Lincoln's Simplicity 1 18 One of Lincoln's ' 'Hardest Hits. " 93 Some of Lincoln's "Cases" and how He Treated Them 99 The Lincoln-Shields Duel 83 The Judge and the Drunken Coachman 88 Why Mr. Lincoln Let His Whiskers Grow 115 WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. A Story Which Lincoln Told the Preachers 122 An Irish Soldier Who Wanted Something Stronger than Water 127 A Story About Jack Chase 128 A ' 'Pretty Tolerable Respectable Sort of a Clergy- man" . t . . . 132 An Apt Illustration 135 A Touching Incident 144 A Praying President 161 ' 'Browsed Around" 136 Bishop Turner's Remiscences. 164 Common Sense 131 Cutting Red Tape 1 36 Comments of Mr. Lincoln on the Emancipation Proclamation 148 Ejecting a Cashiered Officer from the White House. 153 How Lincoln Stood up for the Word "Sugar-Coat- ed." 123 IO CONTENTS. How Lincoln and Stanton Dismissed Applicants for Office. 138 How the Negroes Regarded ' 'Massa Lincoln" 1 54 Lincoln's Advice to a Prominent Bachelor 124 Looking Out for Breakers 128 Lincoln's Confab with a Committee on "Grant's Whisky." 131 Lincoln and the Artist 133 Lincoln and the Preacher 142 Lincoln and Little ' 'Tad." 142 Lincoln Wipes the Tears from his Eyes and Tells a Story 147 Lincoln Arguing Against the Emancipation Procla- mation that he May Learn all About It 149 Lincoln and the Newspapers 150 Lincoln's Bull-frog Story 150 Lincoln's Story of a Poodle Dog 151 Lincoln's Speech to the Union League 152 Lincoln and the Wall Street Gamblers 154 Lincoln's Habits in the White House 157 Lincoln's High Compliment to the Women of Amer- ica 158 Lincoln in the Hour of Great Sorrow 159 Mr. Lincoln and the Bashful Boys 125 Minnehaha and Minneboohoo! 133 More Light and Less Noise 135 Mr. Lincoln's Laugh 150 Mr. Lincoln's Remedy for Baldness 168 Opened his Eyes 132 One of Lincoln's Drolleries 137 One of Lincoln's Last Stories 156 Philosophy of Canes 130 CONTENTS. 1 1 Stories Illustrating Lincoln's Memory 129 Seward and Chase 167 Trying the "Greens" on Jake 121 Telling a Story and Pardoning a Soldier 162 Where the President's Mind Wandered 141 WAR STORIES. A Soldier that Knew no Royalty 173 A Little Soldier Boy 1 74 A Remarkable Letter 183 A ' 'Henpecked Husband" 185 A Short Practical Sermon 1 86 A Celebrated Case 186 A Church Which God Wanted for the Union Sol- diers 1 90 An Interesting Incident Connected with Signing the Emancipation Proclamation 194 A Dream that was Portentous; What Lincoln said to Gen. Grant Said About It 175 A Merciful President 201 A Touching Incident in the Life of Lincoln 207 A Joke on Mr. Chase 209 "A Great Deal of Shuck for a Little Nubbin" 226 A Position that Lincoln Wanted 228 An Inauguration Incident 238 A Lincoln Story About Little Dan Webster's Soiled Hands; How Dan Escaped a Flogging 229 "Borrowing the Army 178 D. L. Moody's Story of Lincoln's Compassion; What a Little Girl Did with Mr. Lincoln to Save her Brother 231 Dr. Edwards Bumping the President 236 12 CONTENTS. Gen. C. H. Howard's Reminiscences 221 Getting at the Pass-word 223 His Visits to the Hospitals 179 How Lincoln Relieved Rosecrans 192 How a Negro Argued the Point 203 How Lincoln Associated his Second Nomination with a very Singular Circumstance 205 How Lincoln Illustrated what Might be Done with Jeff Davis 208 How Lincoln Told a Secret 215 Hon. Frederick Douglas' Reminiscences 233 Hon. Leonard Sweet's Reminiscenses 216 Lincoln's Vow 178 Lincoln's Politeness 1 79 Lincoln's Curt Reply to a Clergyman 185 Lincoln's Cutting Reply to the Confederate Commis- sion 1 99 Lincoln and Judge Baldwin 200 Lincoln- and the Colored People of Richmond ...... 218 Lincoln's First Convictions of War; His Great Sad- ness 220 Lincoln and a Clergyman 224 Lincoln and the Little Baby; A Touching Story. ... 230 Lincoln "Taking up a Collection" 237 Lincoln and Stanton Fixing up Peace Between the Two Contending Armies 239 Mr. Lincoln and a Clergyman 182 No Mercy for the Man Stealer. . . . ; 202 Pardons a Soldier 176 Recollections of the War President by Judge Wil- liam Johnson 187 Story of Andy Johnson and his Doubtful Interest in CONTENTS. 1 3 Prayers 171 Sallie Ward's Practical Philosophy 175 The Serpent in Bed with Two Children 198 The President's Aversion to Bloodshed 212 The President Advises Secretary Stanton to Prepare for Death 225 ' 'Tad's" Rebel Flag 227 The Brigadier General and the Horses 238 Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Passes to Rich- mond 216 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES, ETC. Attending Henry Ward Beecher's Church 243 An Amusing Illustration 249 Abraham Lincoln's Death; Walt Whitman's Vivid Description of the Scene at Ford's Theater 281 Didn't Know his Own House; How Mrs. Lincoln Surprised her Husband 271 Funeral Services of Lincoln's Mother; The Old Pas- tor and Young Abraham 251 How Lincoln Took his Altitude; A Prophetic Bowl of Milk 255 Lincoln's Love for Little Tad 244 Lincoln at the Five Points House of Industry in New York 245 Lincoln and his New Hat 246 Lincoln's Failure as a Merchant; He, However, Six Years Later Pays the "National Debt." 247 Lincoln's Feat at the Washington Navy Yard with an Axe 248 How Lincoln won the Nomination for Congress. ... 257 How Lincoln won a Case from his Partner 263 14 CONTENTS. Lincoin's Life as Written by Himself; The Whole Thing in a Nut Shell 265 Lincoln's Foster-Mother; Her Romantic Marriage to Thomas Lincoln 272 Little Lincoln Stories 275 Lincoln's Last Story and Last Written Words and Conversation 279 Lincoln's Favorite Poem 288 Lincoln as a Lover 265 Something Concerning Mr. Lincoln's Religious Views 253 Thurlow Weed's Recollections 254 LINCOLN'S SPEECHES— 1832-1865. A Great Congressional Speech 326 A Fourth of July Speech 446 Douglas' Seven Question's 386 "God Bless the Women of America" 449 Exculpating the Whigs 302 Forquer's Lightning Rod is Struck 294 First Talk After Nomination 423 First Inaugural Address 429 First Speech After Nomination 423 Lincoln's First Political Speech 291 Lincoln's First Speech in the Supreme Court 301 Lincoln's Temperance Speech 309 Lincoln "Linked to Truth" 347 Lincoln's First Speech in the Senatorial Campaign.. 348 Lincoln's Great Cooper Institute Speech 393 Lincoln's Rail Splitting Speech 422 Lincoln's Speech at Gettysburg. 448 Lincoln's Second Inaugral 453 CONTENTS. 15 Lincoln's Religious Belief 464 Lincoln's Speech in Washington 426 Mr. Lincoln's Debate with Douglas 361 National Bank vs. Sub-Treasury 3°3 President Lincoln's Last Speech 45 8 Showing his Hand 293 Speech After the Battle of the Wilderness 450 Speech on the War . • • • 45 l Speech to 140th Indiana Regiment 455 The Perpetuity of Our Free Institutions 295 ' 'The Age is Not Dead" 345 The Ballot vs. the Bullet 345 The Emancipation Proclamation 443 ILLUSTRATIONS. Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln 19 Unforgotten 25 Early Home of the Lincolns in Illinois 31 White Pigeon Church 3$ The Old Capitol Building at Springfield, 111 48 Lincoln's Residence at Springfield, 111 73 Abraham Lincoln the Young Lawyer 74 Gen. James A. Garfield 79 Mrs. Sarah Bush Lincoln, Lincoln's Stepmother.. . 81 W. H. Herndon, Lincoln's Law Partner. 102 The Republican Wigwam at Chicago, Where Lin- coln was Nominated 107 John Hanks, Lincoln's Rail Splitting Companion.. 118 United States Capitol 120 Lincoln's Family at Home in the White House .... 146 Mrs. John A. Logan 158 The Dawn 195 1 6 ILLUSTRATIONS. Gen. Grant After his Return from a Tour of the World 1 96 Birthplace of Gen. U. S. Grant 207 Dwight L. Moody 231 Gen. Grant's Monument at Lincoln Park, Chicago . . 240 Henry Ward Beecher 242 Lincoln's Father's Monument, near Rockford, Ind.. 250 Triumphal Arch 258 The Original Fort Dearborn (as built in 1804) .... 261 The Lincoln Family Moving from Kentucky to Indi- ana in 1816 273 The House in Which Lincoln Died, April 15, 1865. 287 Monument of Abraham Lincoln at Lincoln Park, Chicago 292 George Washington, First President of the United States 299 The Fountain 308 Temptation 311 The Dance and the ' 'Gulf" 319 The Waiting Wife 323 Gen. Taylor's Army near Popocataptl, in Mexico.. 341 Capitol at Springfield 34J The Old Jerasulem Which Fell 369 Half Slave and Half Free 371 Our Savior Performing the Miracle in Cana 384 Lincoln Raising the Flag on Independence Hall, Philadelphia 425 First Inauguration 428 Lincoln's Burial 466 Lincoln's Tomb 470 Bronze Pieces, Etc 47 1 :o: LINCOLN'S STORIES, RELATED BY HIMSELF AND BY OTHERS. :o: EARLY LIFE. How Lincoln Earned His First Dollar. The following interesting storywas told by Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Seward and a few friends one evening in the Executive 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 [17] 1 8 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. whether I could make it strong or improve it in any par- ticular, when two men came down to the shore in car- riages with trunks, and looking at the different boats singled out mine, and asked, 'Who owns this?' I an- swered, somewhat modestly, 'I do.' 'Will you," said one ol 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 suppose 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. Gentlemen, 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 bo3% had earned a dollar. The world seemed wider and fairer before me. I was a more hopeful and confident being from that time." ■:o:- An Honest Boy — Young Lincoln "Pulls Fodder" Two Dajs for a Damaged Book. The following incident, illustrating several traits al- ready 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 20 LINCOLN STORIES AND SPEECHES. had borrowed of Mr. Crawford, a neighboring farmer, a copy of Weems' Life of Washington — the only one known to be in existence in that region of the country. Before he had finished reading the book, it had been left, by a not unnatural oversight, in a window. Meantime a rainstorm 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 the 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 delibera- tion, "as it's you, I won't be hard on you. Just come over and pull fodder for me two days, and we will call our accounts even." The offer was readily accepted, and the engagement literally fulfilled. As a boy, no less than since, Abraham Lincoln had an honorable conscientiousness, integrity, industry, and an ardent love of knowledge. :o: Little Lincoln Firing at Big Game Through the Cracks of His Cabin Home. i While yet a little boy, one day when Lincoln was in his cabin home, in what was then a wilderness in Indi- ana, he chanced to look through a crack in the log walls of the humble residence and espied a flock of wild tur- keys feeding within range of his father's trusty rifle. He at once took in the possibilities of the situation and ven- tured to take down the old gun, and putting the long barrel through the opening, with a hasty aim, fired into the flock. When the smoke had cleared away, it was ob- EARLY LIFE. 21 served 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. •:o: An Incident of Lincoln's Early Hardships and Narrow Escape from Death. A little incident occurred while young Lincoln lived in Indiana, which illustrates the early hardships and sur- roundings to which he was subjected. On one occasion he was obliged to take his grist upon the back of his father's horse, and go fifty miles to get it ground. The mill itself was very rude, and driven by horse-power, The customers were obliged to wait their "turn," with- out 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 "cluck- ing" to her in the usual way, he received a kick from her which prostrated him, and made him insensible. With the first instant of returning consciousness, he finished the cluck, 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 ar- rived at last, battered, but ready for further service. ■:o: Young Lincoln's Kindness of Heart — He Carries Home and Nurses a Drunkard. An instance of young Lincoln's practical humanity at 22 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. an early period of his life is recorded, as follows: One evening, while returning from a "raising" in his wide neighborhood, with a number of companions, he dis- covered a straying horse, with saddle and bridle upon him. The horse was recognized as belonging to a man who was accustomed to excess in drink, and it was sus- pected at once that the owner was not far off. A short search only was necessary to confirm the suspicions of the young men. 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 on 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 at- tended and nursed the man until the morning, and had the pleasure of believing that he had saved his life :o: 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, ^Esop's Fables, all of which he could repeat, Pilgrim's Progress, Weems' Life of Washington, and a Life of Henry Clay, which his mother had managed to purchase 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 EARLY LIFE. 23 Bible, yEsop 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 per- fect that which his mother's teachings had begun, and to form a character which, for quaint simplicity, earnest- ness, truthfulness and purity has never been surpassed among the historic personages of the world. The Life of Washington, while it gave him a lofty example of patriotism, incidentally conveyed to his mind a general knowledge of American history; and the Life of Henry Clay spoke to him of a living man who had risen to politi- cal and professional eminence from circumstances almost 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 partisan of Henry Clay. Abraham must have, been very young when he read Weems' Life of Washington, and we catch a glimpse of his precocity in the thoughts which it excited, as revealed by himself in a speech made to the New Jersey Senate, while on his way to Washington to assume the duties of the Presi- dency. Alluding 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. - * * I rccol* lect thinking then, a boy even though I was, that there must hrve been something more than common that those 24 Lincoln's stories and speeches. men struggled for." Even at this age, he was not only an interested reader of the story, but a student of motives. :o: Lincoln and His Gentle Annie — A Touching Incident. The following interesting particulars connected with the early life of Abraham Linclon, are from the Virginia i (111.) Euqtiirer, of date March I, 1879: John McNamer was buried last Sunday, near Peters- burg, Menard County. A long while ago he was Assessor and Treasurer of the county for several successive terms. Mr. McNamer was an early settler in that section, and before the Town of Petersburg was laid out was in busi- ness at Old Salem, a village that existed many years ago two miles south of the present site of Petersburg. Abe Lincoln was then postmaster of the place, and sold whisky to its inhabitants. There are old-timers yet liv- ing in Menard who bought many a jug of corn-juice from Old Abe, when he lived at Salem. It was here that Annie Rutlege dwelt, and in whose grave Lincoln wrote that his heart was burried. As the story runs, the fair and gentle Annie was originally John McNamer's sweet- heart, but Abe took a ' 'shine" to the young lady, and succeeded in heading off McNamer, and won her affec- tions. But Annie Rutlege died, and Lincoln 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 sons pardon, who was then in prison under sentence of death for belonging to a band of guerrillas who had committed many murders and outrages. With the mother 26 Lincoln's stories and speeches. was her daughter, a beautiful young lady, who was an accomplished musician. Mr. Lincoln received the visi- tors 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 inci- dents. 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 yet entirely forgotten, for that matter. It is to be presumed that the young lady sang the song with more plaintiveness 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 hlhrible life on the banks of the Sangamon, and with visions of Old Salem and its rustic people, who once gathered in his primitive store, came a picture of the "Gentle 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 EARLY LIFE. 2J7 pardon 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. :o:- Incidents Illustrating Lincoln's Honesty. Lincoln could not rest for an instant under the con- sciousness that he had, even unwittingly, defrauded any- body. On one occasion, while clerking in Offutt's store, at New Salem, 111., he sold a woman a little bill of goods, amounting in value by the reckoning, to two dollars six and a quarter cents. He received the money, and the woman went away. On adding the items of the bill again, to make himself 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 the night, a woman entered, and asked for a half pound of tea. The 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 day, when he discovered a four-ounce weight on the scales. He saw at once that he had made a mistake, and, shutting the store, he took a long walk before breakfast to deliver the 28 Lincoln's stories and speeches. 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. :o:- How Lincoln Helped 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 Springfield. 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 manner of swine, were difficult to manage. They had, however, been gathered and penned, but not an inch could they be made to move toward the boat. All the ordinary resources were ex- hausted 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 them as in a vise, and to transfer them rapidly from the shore to the boat. They then took the boat to New Orleans, ac- cording to contract. EARLY LIFE. 2Q How Lincoln Resented an Insult. While showing goods to two or three women in Offutt'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 saying anything he might choose to say. Lincoln, still cool, told him that if he would wait until the ladies re- tired he would hear what he had to say, and give him any satisfaction he desired. As soon as the women were gone, the man became furi- ous. 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 you 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, and it always remained for Lincoln to cherish resentment or revenge. 30 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. What Some Men Say About Lincoln — His First Meeting With Richard Yates. Lincoln was a marked and peculiar young man. Peo- ple talked about him . His studious habits, his greed for information, his thorough mastery of the difficulties of every new position in which he was placed, his intelli- gence touching all matters of public concern, his un- wearying 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 employer in the store, said, after having a conversation with Lincoln, that the young man "had talent enough in him to make a President." In every circle in which he found himself, whether refined or coarse, he was always the center of attraction. William G. Greene says that when he (Greene) was a member of the Illinois College, he brought home with him, on a vacation, Richard 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 occupa- tion. He was flat on his back, on a cellar door, reading a newspaper. That was the manner in which a Presi- dent of the United States and a Governor of Illinois be- came acquainted with one another. Mr. Greene says that Lincoln then repeated the whole of Burns, and was a devoted student of Shakspeare. So the rough back- woodsman, self-educated, entertained the 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 mat- 32 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. ter of history, but the fact that he did so, as is the furth- er fact that Greene's mother, who loved Lincoln, tried to smooth over the accident and relieve the young man's embarassment. ■:o:- A Pig Story — Lincoln's Kindness to the Brute Creation. An amusing incident occurred in connection with "riding the circuit," which gives a pleasant glimpse into the good lawyer's heart. He was riding by a deep slough, in which, to his exceeding pain, he saw a pig struggling, and with such faint efforts that it was evident that he could not extricate himself 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. De- ciding 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, determined to rescue the animal at the expense of his new clothes. Arrived at the spot, he tied his horse, and cooly 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 dragged 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 mo- tive 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 certainly went to the pig's relief in order (as he EARLY LIFE. 33 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 sympathy; and one which it will be well for the casuist to examine. ■:o:- A Hard Tussle With Seven Negroes — Life on a Mississippi Fiat-Boat. At the age of nineteen, Abraham made his second es- say in navigation, and this time caught something more than a glimpse of the great world in which he was des- tined 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 young man ( s reputation for capacity and integrity. He had never made the trip, knew nothing of the journey, was unaccustomed to busi- ness 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 Lin- coln'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. Ar- riving 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 oc- curred which was sufficiently exciting, and one which, in the memory of recent events, reads somewhat strangely. 34 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Here seven negroes attempted the life of the future lib- erator of the race, and it is not improbable that some of them have lived to be emancipated by his proclamation. Night had fallen, and the two tired voyagers had lain down on their hard bed for sleep. Hearing a noise on shore, Abraham shouted: "Who's 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 towards 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 same 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 legs could carry them. Abraham and his fellow in the fight were both injured, but not disabled. Not being armed, and unwilling to wait until the negroes had received reinforcements, they cut adrift, and floated 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 EARLY LIFE. 35 young men retraced the passage, partly, at least, on shore and on foot, occupying several weeks in the diffi- cult and tedious journey. :o: Lincoln Splits Several Hundred Rails for a Pair of Pants — How He Looked, as Described by a Companion. A gentleman by the name of George Cluse, who used to work with Abraham Lincoln during his first years in Illinois, says that at that time he was the roughest look- ing person he ever saw. He was tall, angular and un- gainly, wore trousers made of flax and tow, cut tight at the ankle and out at both knees. He was known to be very poor, but he was a welcome guest in every house in the neighborhoood. Mi. Cluse 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 cloth- ing, 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 necessary to make him a pair of trousers, In these days Lincoln used to walk five, six and seven miles to work. -:o:- Lincoln's Story of a Girl in New Salem. Among the numerous delegations which thronged Washington during the early part of the war, was one from New York, which urged very strenously the send- ing of a fleet to the Southern cities — Charleston, Mobile and Savannah — with the object of drawing off the rebel 36 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. army from Washington. 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. Var- ious remedies were suggested by the neighbors, but noth- ing tried afforded any relief. At last a man came along — "a common sense sort of a man," inclining his head toward the gentlemen complimentarily — "who was ask- ed to prescribe for the difficulty. After due inquiry and examination, he said the cure was very simple. 'What is it?' was the question. •Make a plaster of psalm-tunes ; and apply to her feet, and draw the "singing" down" was the rejoinder." :o:- Mrs. Brown's Story of Young Abe — How a Man Slept With the President of the United States. Rev. 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 remember 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 the next winter they hauled the crap all the way to Galena, and sold it for two dollars and a half a bushel. At that time there were no public houses, and travelers were obliged to stay at any house along the road that could take them EARLY LIFE. 37 in . One evening a right smart looking 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. Linken 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." :o:- When and Where Lincoln Obtained the Name of "Honest Abe." During the year that Lincoln was in Denton Offcutt'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 business. The year had been one of great advance, in many respects. He had made new and val- uable acquaintances, read many books, mastered the grammar of his own tongue, won multitudes of friends, EARLY LIFE. 39 and became ready for a step still further in advance. Those who could appreciate brains respected him, and those whose ideas of a man related to his muscles were devoted to him. It was while he was performing the work of the store that he acquired the soubriquet " Hon- est Abe." — a characterization that he never dishonored, and an abbreviation that he never outgrew. He was judge, arbitrator, referee, umpire, authority, in all dis- putes, 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 kindest, gentlest, roughest, strongest, best young fellow in all New Salem and the region round about. :o: Lincoln's Mechanical Ingenuity. That he had enough mechanical genius 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 professional affairs he often recurred to his mechanical dreams for amusement. One of his dreams took form, and he endeavored to make a practical mat- ter of it. He had had experience in the early naviga- tion of the Western rivers. One of the most serious hindrances to this navigation was low water, and the lodgment of the various craft on the shifting shoals and bars with which these rivers abound. He undertook to contrive an apparatus which, folded to the hull of the boat like a bellows, might be inflated on occasion, and, by its levity, lift it over any obstruction upon which it 40 Lincoln's stories and speeches. 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 Post. master. Mr. Lincoln was appointed Postmaster by President Jackson. The office was too insignificant to be consider- ed politically, and it was given to the young man because everybody liked him, and because he was the only man willing 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 newspapers he wanted before, and the office gave him the prospect of a constant feast. Not wishing 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 Petersburg. One of the most beautiful exhibitions of Mr. Lincoln's rigid honesty occurred in connection with the settlement of his accounts with the Post-office Department, several vears afterward. EARLY LIFE. 4 1 It was after he had become a lawyer, and had been a legislator. He had passed through a period of great poverty, had acquired his education in the law in the midst of many perplexities, inconviencies, and hardships, 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 law office of his partner, the agent of the Post-office Department en- tered, and inquired if Abraham Lincoln was within. Mr. Lincoln responded to his name, and was informed that the agent had called to collect a balance due the Depart- ment since the discontinuance of the New Salem office. A shade of perplexity passed over Mr. Lincoln's face, which did not escape the notice of friends present. One of them said at once: "Lincoln if you are in want of money, let us help you." He made no reply, but suddenly rose, and pulled out from a pile of books a little old trunk, and, returning to the 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 sum, amounting to something more than seventeen dollars. After the agent had left the room, he remarked quietly that he had 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 use of his own. :o: 42 Lincoln's stories and speeches. 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. Lin- coln, 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; af- fording a forcible illustration of the ready ingenuity of the future President in the quick invention of moral ex- pedients. :o: Splitting Rails and Studying Mathemetics-Sim- mons, 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 ^busi- ness 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. 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 you sleep with that man yonder. He has the only one we have to spare." EARLY LIFE. 43 "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 me Lincoln at home," was the reply. "Lincoln!" repeated the stranger; "any connection of our Illinois Abraham?" "No," replied Mr. L., "I fear not." "Well," said the old gentleman, "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. "No 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 Sim- mons. 'Abe' and I used to live and work together when we were young men. Many a job of wood-cutting and rail-splitting have I done up with him. Abe Lincoln was the likeliest boy in God's world. He would work all day as hard as any of us— and study by fire-light in the log house half the night; and in this way he made him- self a thorough, practical surveyor. Once, during those days, I was in the upper part of the State, and I met General Ewing, whom President Jackson had sent to the Northwest to make surveys. I told him about Abe Lin- coln, what a student he was, and that I wanted he should give him a job. He looked over his memorandum, 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 44 LIOCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. 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 you very sincerely for your kindness, but I don't think I will undertake the job.' " 'In the name of wonder,' said I, 'why? Six hundred dollars does not grow upon every bush out here in Illinois.' " 'I know that,' said Abe, 'and I need the money bad enough, Simmons, as you know; but I have never been under obligation to a Democratic administration, and I never intend to be so long as I can get my living another way. 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 were true. "Pollard Simmons!" said Lincoln, "well do I remem- ber him. It is correct about our working together, but the old man must have stretched the facts somewhat about the survey of the county. I think I should have been very glad of the job at that time, no matter what administration was in power. " Notwithstanding this, however, Mr. Carpenter was in- clined to believe Mr. Simmons was not far out of the way and thought this seemed very characteristic of what Abraham Lincoln may be supposed to have been at twenty-three or twenty-five years of age. :o: EARLY LIFE. 45 How Lincoln Became a Captain. In the threatening aspect of affairs at the time of the Black Hawk War, Governor Reynolds issued a call for volunteers. au< among the companies that immediately responded was one from Menard County, Illinois. Many of the volunteers were from New Salem and Clarey's Grove, and Lincoln, being out of business, was first to enlist. The company being full, they held a meeting at Richland for the election of officers. Lincoln had won many hearts and they told him that he must be their captain. It was an office that he did not aspire to, and one for which he felt that he had no special fitness; but he consented to be a candidate. There was but one other candidate for the office (a Mr. Kirkpatrick), and he was one of the most influential men in the county. Prev- iously, Kirkpatrick had been an employer of Lincoln, and was so overbearing in his treatment of the young man that the latter left him. The simple mode of electing their captain, adopted by the company, was by placing the candidates apart, and telling the men to go and stand with the one they preferred. 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 ranged themselves with the other candidate that Lincoln was the choice of the majority of the com- pany, they left their places, one by one, and came over to the successful side, until Lincoln's opponent in the friendly strife was left standing almost alone. "I felt badly to see him cut so," says a witness of the scene. 46 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Here was an opportunity for revenge. The humble laborer was his employer's captain, but the opportunity was never improved. Mr. Lincoln frequently confessed that no subsequent success of his life had given him half the satisfaction that this election did. He had acheived public recognition; and to one so humbly bred, the dis- tinction was inexpressibly delightful. :o:- 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 representative in Congress, delivered a speech be- fore the House, which in its allusions to Mr. Cass, was exquisitely sarcastic and irresistably 1 humorous: "By the way, Mr. Speaker,"- said Mr. Lincoln, "do you know I am a military hero? "Yes, sir, in the days of the Black Hawh War, I fought, bled and came away. Speaking of General Cass' career reminds me of my own. I was not at Stillman's Defeat, but I was about 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. * * * * If General Cass went in advance of me in picking whortle- berries, I guess I surpassed him in charges upon the wild onion. If he saw any live; fighting Indians , it is more than I did, but I had a good many bloody strugles with the musquitoes, and although I never fainted from loss of blood, I can truly say I was often very hungry." EARLY LIEE. 47 Mr. Lincoln concluded by saying that if he ever turn- ed Democrat and should run for the Presidency, he hoped they would not make fun of him by attempting to make him a military hero! -:o:- Elected to the Legislature. In 1834, Lincoln was a candidate for the legislature, and was elected by the highest vote cast for any candi- date. Major John T. Stuart, an officer in the Black Hawk War, and whose acquaintance Lincoln made at Beardstown, was also elected. Major Stuart had al- ready conceived the highest opinion of the young man, and seeing much of him during the canvass for the elec- tion, privately advised him to study law. Stuart was him- self engaged in a large and lucrative practice at Spring- field. Lincoln said he was poor — that he had no money to buy books, or to live where books might be borrowed or used. Major Stuart offered to lend him all he needed, and he decided to take the kind lawyer's advice, and ac- cept his offer. At the close of the canvass which re- sulted in his election, he walked to Springfield, borrowed " a load" of books of Stuart, and took them home with him to New 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 he went, day after day, for weeks, and sat under an oak tree near New Salem and read, moving around EARLY LIFE. 49 to keep in the shade as the sun moved. He was so much absorbed that some people thought and said that he was crazy. Not unfrequently he met and passed his best friends without noticing 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 rode a horse, to procure which he had quite likely sold his com- pass and chain, for, as soon as the canvass had closed, he sold the horse and bought these instruments indispen- sable to him in the only pursuit by which he could make his living. When the time for the assembling of the legislature had arrived 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. .o: j* "The Long Nine.' The Sangamon County delegation to the Illinois Leg- islature, in 1834, of which Lincoln was a member, con- sisting of nine representatives, was so remarkable for the physical altitude of its members that they were known as "The Long Nine." Not 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; Jas. 50 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. Semple, afterwards twice the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and subsequently United States Sena- tor; Robert Smith, afterwards member of Congress; John Hogan, afterwards a member of Congress from St. Louis; General James Shields, afterwards United States Sena- tor (who died recently); John Dement, who has since been Treasurer of the State; Stephen A. Douglas, whose subsequent career is familiar to all; Newton Cloud, Pres- ident of the convention which framed the present State Constitution of Illinois; John J. Hardin, who fell at Bu- ena Vista; John Moore, afterwards Lieutenant Governor of the State; William A. Richardson, subsequently Uni- ted States Senator, and William McMurtry, who has since been Lieutenant Governor of the State. This list does not embrace 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 legisla- ture, thrown into association, and often into antagon- ism, with the brightest men of the new State. :o:- A Joke on Lincoln's Big Feet. He had walked his hundred miles to Vandalia; in 1836, as he did in 1834, and when 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 ex- cept Lincoln, who had thus far kept up with them on foot. If he had money he was hoarding it for more import- ant purposes than that of saving leg- weariness and leath- EARLY LIFE. 5 I er. The weather was raw, and Lincoln's clothing was none of the warmest. Complaining of being cold to one of his companions, this irreverent member of ' ' The Long Nine " told his fu- ture President that it was no wonder he was cold — "there was so much of him on the ground." None of the party appreciated this homely joke at the expense of his feet (they were doubtless able to bear it) more thor- oughly than Lincoln himself. We can imagine the cross-fires of wit and humor by which the way was enlivened during this cold and tedi- ous journey. The scene was certainly a rude one, and seems more like a dream than a reality, when we remem- ber that it occurred not very many years ago, in a State which contains hardly less than three millions of peo- ple and seven thousand and six hundred miles of rail- way. :o: Lincoln's Marriage — Interesting Letters. In 1842, in his thirty-third year, Mr. Lincoln married Miss Mary Todd, a daughter of Hon. Robert S. Todd, of Lexington, Kentucky. The marriage took place in Springfield, where the lady had for several years resid- ed, on the fourth of November of the year mentioned. It is probable that he married as early as the circum- stances of his life permitted, for he had always loved the society of women, and possessed a nature that took pro- found delight in intimate female companionship. A letter written on the eighteenth of May following his marriage, to J. F. Speed, Esq., of Louisville, Ken- tucky, an early and a life-long personal friend, gives a LIBRARY ' UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 52 Lincoln's stories and speeches. 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, which is very well kept 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. * * * I most heartily wish you and your Fanny will not fail 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 together for awhile." He seems to have been in excellent spirits, and to have been very hearty in the enjoyment of his new relation. The private letters of Mr. Lincoln were charmingly nat- ural and sincere. His personal friendships were the sweet- est sources of his happiness. To a particular friend, he wrote February 25, 1842: " Yours of the 16th, 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 hap- piness I wish you both, though I believe you both can conceive it. I feel somewhat jealous of both of you now, for you will be so exclusively concerned for one another that I shall be forgotten entirely. My acquaintance with Miss (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 cannot remind her of that debt she owes me, and be sure you do not interfere to prevent her paying it. ' ' I regret to learn that you have resolved not to return to Illinois. I shall be very lonesome without you. How miserably things seem to be arranged in this world! If mwm nBHH III . ^miMm 54 Lincoln's stories and speeches. we have no friends we have no pleasure ;and if we have 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 relations and friends. As to friends, she should 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. :o:- Lincoln's 3Iother — 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 unspeakable affection. Long after her sensitive heart and weary hands had crumbled into dust, and had climbed to 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. EARLY LIFE. 55 Her death occurred in 1818, scarely two years after her removal from Kentucky to Indiana, and when Abra- ham 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. ■:o:- Gen. Linder's Early Recollections — Amusing Stories. I did not travel, says Gen. 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, Jus- tin Harlan. It was here I first met Abraham Lincoln, of Spring- field, at that time a very retiring and modest young man, dressed in a plain suit of mixed jeans. He did not make any marked impression upon me, 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 cannot say. Certain it is, he had been admitted to the bar, al- though he had some celebrity, having been a captain in the Blackhawk campaign, and served a term in the Illi- nois Legislature; but if he won any fame at that season I have never heard of it. He had been one of the repre- sentatives from Sangamon. If Lincoln at this time felt the divine afflatus of great- ness stir within him I have never heard of it. It was rather common with us then in the West to suppose that $6 Lincoln's stories and speeches. there was no Presidential timber growing in the North- west, yet, he doubtless had at that time the stuff out of which to make half a dozen Presidents. I had known his relatives in Kentucky, and he asked me about them. His uncle, Mordecai Lincoln, I had known from my boyhood, and he was naturally a man of considerable 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 Artemus Ward. He was quite a story-teller, and in this Abe resembled his Uncle Mord, as we called him. He was an honest man, as tender-hearted as a woman, and to the last de- gree charitable and benevolent. No one ever took offense at Uncle Mord's stories — not even the ladies. I heard him once tell a bevy of fash- ionable girls that he knew a very large woman who had a husband so small that in the night she often mistook him for the baby, and that upon one occasion she took him up and was singing to him a soothing lullaby, 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 run off with the talents of the fam- ily." Old Mord, as we sometimes called him, had been in his younger days a very stout man, and was quite fond of playing a game of fisticuffs with any one who was noted as a champion. He told a parcel of us once of a pitched battle that he EARLY LIFE. J " had fought on the side of a hill or ridge: that at the bot- was a rut or canal, which had been cut ou: the freshets. He said they soon clinched, and he threw - man and fell on top of him. He said he alv ought he had the bes: .d for measuring distances, and having measured the distance to the bottom of the hill, he concluded that by roll - er and over till they came to the bottom his an- g nist's . Id fill it, and he would be wedged in s : ight that I Id whip him at his leisure. So he let the fellow turn him, and over and over they went, when about the twentieth revolution brought Uncle Word's ntact with the rut, ** and," said he. '* before fire could scorch a feather, I cried out in stentorian vc • Take him off! ' " " Clary's Grove Boys" — A Wrestling Match. There lived at the time young Lincoln resided at N Salem, Illinois, in and around the village, a band of rol- licking fellows, or more properly, : ing rowdi known as the *• CI. . rove F The special tie that united them was physical courage and prov. ;~~ These fellows, although they embraced in their number many men who have since become respectable and influential, e wild and rough beyond toleration in any commu- not made up like that which produced them. They pretended to be g lators," and were the terror of all i did not acknowledge their rule; and their mode of .ring allegiance egging man who failed to acknowledge it. They took it upon then> the mettle of i 58 LINCOLN SSTORIES AND SPEECHES. ery new comer, and to learn the sort of stuff 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 or- deal. Perceiving that he was a man who would not easily be floored; they selected their champion, Jack Armstrong, and imposed upon him the task of laying Lincoln upon his back. There is no evidence that Lincoln was an unwilling party to the sport, for it was what he had always been accustomed to. The bout was entered upon, but Arm- strong soon discovered that he had met 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 man- ner of such irresponsible bands. They gathered around Lincoln, struck and disabled 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 Lincoin was either, he did not show it. Getting up in perfect good humor, he fell to laughing over his discom- fiture, and joking about it. They had all calculated upon making him angry, and 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. :o. EARLY LIFE. 59 Reminiscences — The Turning Point. 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 neigh- borhood, 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 in Petersburg, Menard County, says that every time he visited New Salem, at this period, Lincoln took him out upon a hill and asked him to ex- plain some point in Kirkham that had given him trouble. After having mastered the book, he remarked to a friend that if that was what they 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, some- how, 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 much engaged with de- bating clubs, often walking six or seven miles to attend them. One of these clubs held its meetings at an old storehouse in New Salem, and the first speech young Lincoln ever made was made there. He used to call the exercise "practicing polemics." 60 Lincoln's stories and speeches. As these clubs were composed principally of men of no ed- ucation whatever, some of their " polemics" are remem- bered as the most laughable of farces. His favorite newspaper, at this time, was the Louis- ville 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 knowl- edge. One gentlemen 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 rockinq a cradle with his foot. The whole scene, however, was entirely characteristic — Lincoln reading and studying, and at the same time helping his landlady by quieting her child. " 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 but plenty of friends.'" Says J. G. Holland: " No man ever lived, probably, who was more a self-made man than Abraham Lincoln. Not a circumstance of life favored the development which he had reached." After the customary handshaking on one occasion at Washington, several gentlemen came forward and asked EARLY LIFE. 6 1 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! 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 His personal supervision of the affairs 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 be- lief 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 Lincoln he was ' ' in the Sangamon River, with his trowsersrolled up five feet, more or less, trying to pilot a flatboat 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." A prominent writer says: "Lincoln was a childlike man. No public 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 was exactly what he seemed." Mr. Lincoln and Douglas met for the first time when the latter was only 23 years of age. Lincoln, in speak- ing of the fact, subsequently said that Douglas was then « ' the least man he ever saw. " He was not only very short, but very slender. 62 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Lincoln's mother died in 1 8 1 8, scarcely two years after her removal to Indiana from Kentucky, and when Abra- ham was in his tenth year. They laid her to rest under the trees near the cabin, and, sitting on her grave, the lit- tle boy wept his irreparable loss. The Blackhawk 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 engaged in it afterwards became Presidents of the United States, viz: General (then Colonel) Zachary Tay- lor, and then 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 in- strument for turning the military pretensions of another into ridicule. :o: How Lincoln Treated His Early Friend, Dennis Hanks, in Washington. Dennis Hanks was once asked to visit Washington to secure the pardon of certain persons in jail for partici- pation in copperheadism. Dennis went and arrived in Washington, and instead of going, as he said, to a "tav- ern," he went to the White House. There was a porter on guard, and he asked: "Is Abe in? " " Do you mean Mr. Lincoln," asked the porter. "Yes: is he in there? " and brushing the porter aside he strode into the room and said: " Hello, Abe, how are you?" " And Abe said: " Well, well," and just gathered him up in his arms and talked of the days gone by. EARLY LIFE. 63 O, the days gone by! They talked of their boyhood days, and by and by Lincoln said: What brings you here all the way from Illinois?" And then Dennis told him his mission and Lincoln re- plied: " I will grant it, Dennis, for old times' sake. I will send for Mr. Stanton. It is his business." Stanton came into the room and strode up and down and said the men ought to be punished more than they were. Mr. Lincoln sat quietly in his chair and awaited for the tempest to subside and then quietly said to Stan- ton he would like to have the papers the next day. When he had gone Dennis said: « ' Abe, if I was as big and ugly as you are I would take him over my knee and spank him." Lincoln replied: "No, Stanton is an able and valuable man to this nation, and I am glad to bear his anger for the service he can give this nation. :o:- Judge Ewing's Story. Judge Ewing, at a Lincoln banquet in Chicago, Febru- ary, 1894, speaking on the " Reminiscences of Lincoln, " said his first acquaintance with the war President was very early in his own life. " It was in McLean County, Illinois;" he said, "about 1840. My father was then a candidate for the State Sen- ate, on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Lincoln was stump- ing the State as an elector for William Henry Harrison. One day he stopped at my father's house and, after a friendly discussion of antagonistic party principles, said, by way of a partial compromise: ' You have got a lot of 64 LINCOLN STORIES AND SPEECHES. fine-looKing boys here, Mr. Ewing, can't you give me one of them to raise up for a good Whig? ' " ' Well, there is my youngest son,' said my father, pointing to me. ' He is about the no-accountest chap of the lot, you can take him.' Mr. Lincoln patted me on the chin with a smile of ac- ceptance, and from that day until I was grown the neigh- borhood boys called me ' Whig Ewing." ' -:o:- Judge Moses' Early Recollections of Lincoln. Judge John Moses, President of the Chicago Historical Society, at a Lincoln celebration in Chicago, February 12, 1894, gave the following interesting account of the early life of the war President. ' ' Besides myself there are at present living in Chicago only two men who knew Lincoln as well as I. Mr. Lin- coln began his public career nearly half a century ago. The first time I saw him was at the great convention at Peoria, in June, 1844, during the Clay-Polk campaign. Great crowds were gathered at the city, and among them were all the leaders of the old Whig party. At that time I was only a boy. I can well remember the tall, slim, sallow-complex- ioned man, with long, bushy hair, addressing the crowd from one of the many platforms. The man was Abra- ham Lincoln, and he was discussing the tariff question. He was then 35 years old, married, and had one son, Robert T. Lincoln. In 1836, Lincoln, who was living on a farm in West Salem, borrowed a horse and rode to Springfield. He se- cured a room of Mr. Steel, and in partnership with John EARLY LIFE. 65 T. Stuart started a law office. The business was only partially successful, and in a short time Lincoln returned home and rented a room at the home of old ' Aunt Su- san ' Johnson. There he stayed for ten weeks and stud- ied hard. He then returned to Springfield, and previous to the Peoria convention was an elector and canvassed the State. Two years afterwards, in 1 846, he was elected to Con- gress and took a prominent part in the election of 1848, when General Taylor was elected President. During Taylor's administration Lincoln was a candidate for land commissioner at Washington, but failed to get the office. He then retired from politics for a time and studied and continued to practice law Lincoln's really active political life began in 1854, af- ter the repeal of the Missouri compromise. He went to Winchester, 111. , where he made his first speech on the Missouri compromise. At that time it was generally con- ceded that Lincoln ought to be a nominee for Senator, and he was afterward indorsed as such, but on account of the refusal of three Democrats to support him he lost the ballot. After the campaign came the presidential election of 1856. The Republican party was then formed in the State by a conference of editors at Decatur. A large convention was called at Bloomington, and Lincoln was the most conspicuous person there and seemed to domi- nate the convention. Among the speakers were O. H. Browning, Owen Lovejoy and Colonel Bissell. Lincoln was the first to speak, and at the convention made a platform against slavery. During this great speech the audience became 66 LINCOLN STORIES AND SPEECHES. so excited that it rose to its feet in a body, and Lincoln with both hands raised said: ' We will not dissolve the Union, and they shall not." -:o:- Senator Cullum's Interesting Reminiscences of Lincoln. At the third annual banquet of the Lincoln Associa- tion of Philadelphia, given February 12, 1894, Senator Cullum of Illinois, among other good things, gave the fol- lowing reminisceoces: It was my fortune to know Mr. Lincoln well. My knowledge of him dates baek in my own life to the time I was ten or twelve years old, and even before this time I can remember that men would come twenty or thirty miles to see my father in those pioneer days to learn whom to employ as a lawyer when they were likely to have cases in court. He would say to them: "If Judge Stephen T . Logan is there employ him ; if he is not ; there is a young man by the name of Lincoln who will do just about as well." In my boyhood days I was permittad to attend the ses- sions of the Circuit Court one week, twice a year. The first time I enjoyed the privilege I saw Mr. Lincoln and the gallant Col. E. D. Baker engaged in defence of a man charged with the crime of murder, That great trial, es- pceially the defence hy those great lawyers, made an im- pression on my mind which will never be effaced. Late in 1846, when Mr. Lincoln became the Whig can- didate for Congress, I heard him deliver a political speech. The county in which my father and family resided was a EARLY LIFE. 6j part of his Congressional district . When Mr, Lincoln came to the county my father met him with his carriage and took him to all his appointments. I went to the meeting nearest my home; it was an open-air meeting in a grove- On being introduced Mr. Lincoln began his speech as follows: "Fellow-citizens: Ever since I have been in Taze- well county my old friend Major Cullum has taken me around; he has heard all my speeches, and the only way I can fool the old Major and make him believe I am making a new speech is by turning it end for end once in awhile. "I knew him at the bar, both when I was a boy and afterwards when I came to the practice of the law in the capital of Illinois, his home then, mine now. I knew him in the private walks of life, in the law office, in the court room, in the political campaigns of the time, and to the close of his great career. I knew him as the leader of the great Republican party, when, as now, it was full of enthusiasm for liberty and equal rights, when the plat- form was, in substance the declaration of independence, and he was its champion . "He believed in 'preserving the jewel of liberty in the family of freedom.' Aye, he believed in making the American people one great family of freedom. "I heard much of the great debate between him and Douglas, the greatest political debate which ever took place in America. I heard him utter the memorable words in the Republican Convention of my State, in 1858. "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I be- 68 Lincoln's stories and speeches. lieve this Government cannot permanently endure half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall, but I do ex- pect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other "What words of wisdom! He could look through the veil between him and the future and see the end. It is said that before this great speech was delivered he read it to friends, and all of them but one advised against its delivery. With a self-reliance born of earnest convic- tion he said the time had come when these sentiments should be uttered, and that, if he should go down be- cause of their utterances by him, then he would go down linked with the truth. "It lifts up and ennobles mankind to hear and study brave words of truth uttered by great men. 'Let me die in the advocacy of what is just and right,' he said again. • "In these days of apparent shallow convictions on many subjects; days of greed for wealth, of rushing for the mighty dollar, is it not well to pause and think over the lives of great men of our own country and the world? We are now in the very shadow of the death of a great and good man — George W. Childs— just passed away. A man who lived to do good; to make the pathway of his fellows smoother and easier; a great hearted philan- thropist whose fame is world-wide, and will endure as long as sympathy and generosity are found in the human heart. "Mr. Lincoln was a great debater, as was Douglas. They often met in debate. On one occasion Douglas EARLY LIFE. 69 charged that there was an alliance between Lincoln and the Federal office holders, and that he would deal with them as the Russians did with the allies in the Crimean War, not stopping to inquire whether an Englishman, Frenchman or Turk was hit. Lincoln replied, denying the alliance, but mildly suggested to Douglas that the al- lies took Sebastapol. 4 • Lincoln was a man of faith in the right when the great contest between him and Douglas ended and the election was over. Lincoln had carried the popular vote of the State, but Douglas secured a majority of the Leg- islature. "When it was settled that Douglas had triumphed in securing a majority of the Legislature, I happened to meet him in the street and said to Mr. Lincoln, is it true that Douglas has a majority of the Legislature? ' ' He said ' yes.' "I felt greatly disappointed, and so expressed myself, when he said: " * Never mind, my boy, it will come all right,' and in two years from that day the country was ablaze with bonfires all over the land celebrating its first national Re- publican victory in his election as President of the Uni- ted States. " It has been said Mr. Lincoln never went to school. He never did very much, but in the broad sense he was an educated man. He was a student — a thinker — he ed- ucated himself, and mastered any question which claimed his attention. " In my belief there has been no man in this country possessing greater power of analyzation than he did. Webster and Lincoln, while unlike in intellect, were two yo LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. of the greatest men intellectually this country has pro-^ duced. " Mr. Lincoln was said to be slow and timid when, as President he walked along the danger path before him. He learned the truth of an observation by Cicero, ' that whoever enters upon public life should take care that the question how far the measure is virtuous be not the sole consideration, but also how far he may have the means of carrying it into execution. ' So in the great struggle for national life he sought to go on no faster than he could induce the loyal people to go with him. "As we lookback over the period of agitation of slav- ery and of the great Civil War, we see Lincoln towering above all as the savior of his country and as the liberator of three millions of slaves. Lincoln was a shrewd and crafty man. After, as you remember, Vallandigham, of Ohio, was sent South, through the Rebel lines, he got round on the Canada border and finally returned home without leave. People thought his return would cause trouble. " It is. said that Fernando Wood called on the Presi- dent and cautiously inquired if he had been informed that Vallandigham had got home. Lincoln knew that by sending him South he had broken his power for evil, and in reply to Mr. Wood he said: " 'No, sir; I have received no official information of that act, and what is more, sir, don't intend to." "Another illustration of his great good nature and shrewdness is told. As the war approached its close, Mr. Lincoln and General Sherman were in consultation at City point. One of the questions considered was what should be done with Jeff Davis when captured. EARLY LIFE. 7 1 General Sherman inquired if he should let him escape. Mr. Lincoln told him the story of the temperance lec- turer who was plentifully supplied with lemonade. The host in a modest way inquired if the least bit of some- thing stronger to brace him up would be agreeable. The lecturer answered he could not think of it — he was op- posed to it on principal; but, glancing at the black bot- tle near by, he added: " 'If you could manage to put in a little drop un- beknown to me, it wouldn't hurt me much.' " 'Now, General,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'I am bound to oppose the escape of Jeff Davis, but if you can manage to let him slip out unbeknown'st like, I guess it won't hurt me much.' "Mr. Lincoln was never disturbed by little things. Mr. Chase was President Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury. As the time approached the Presidential nomination, Mr. Lincoln was understood to be a candi- date, and Mr. Chase was a candidate, retaining his place in the Cabinet. Being in Washington for a time, I had a conversation with Mr. Lincoln about Mr. Chase's can- didacy, and I advised Mr. Lincoln to turn him out. He replied: " 'No, let him alone; he can do me no more harm in office than out.' "When the President was considering Mr. Chase in connection with the high office of Chief Justice of the United States, a deputation of great men from Ohio — Ohio always had and has yet many — came to Washing- ton to protest against Mr. Chase's appointment, and presented some letters at some time written by Mr. 72 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Chase,, criticising Mr. Lincoln. He read them, and with his usual good nature, remarked: " 'If Mr. Chase has said some hard things about me, I in turn have said some hard things about him, which, I guess, squares the account.' "Mr. Chase was appointed. "He was an American in the highest sense. He stood for America, for liberty, for the Declaration of Inde- pendence, for equality of rights, and he journeyed from his home to the National Capital to obey the call of the people and guide the ship of state through the portend- ing storm, he came to his own historic city and in old Independence Hall he declared 'that if the Government could not be saved without giving up the Declaration of Independence, he would rather be assassinated on the spot than surrender it.' "He was a Republican, as we are; he not only believ- ed in union, liberty and equality, but under his guidance the policy of the Government was established, which has been maintained for more than thirty years and never seriously interfered with until now, and which has given the people unexampled prosperity. "Mr. President and gentlemen, his life and public ut- terances speak to us now in this period of peril to busi- ness and commerce. Yes, to sustain the honor of our nation as a Republic, to stand fast by our colors, save the people from poverty and distress, the nation from financial wreck, and its flag in this and other lands from dishonor." ■:o:- EARLY LIFE. 73 Baby Foot Prints. The Rev. Robert Mclntyre in a Lincoln Eulogy at the Auditorium, Chicago, among other good things, said: One day at the cabin in which Mr. Lincoln spent his early years I was told this story: Sometime before he was elected President Mr. Lincoln visited some of his people there and he stood in the doorway watching a summer shower hunted by a pack of sunbeams, which laid the rain in puddles gleaming in the yard. They say that Mr. Lincoln, taking up a little girl who was kin to him, carried her out into the yard and dipped her baby feet in the mud-puddle. Then, carrying her into the cabin he lifted her and mark- ed the ceiling with her feet, leaving marks that remained there for many years. We are told that something of that kind happened to him, by a power greater than him- self that lifted him up among the heights and leaving those footprints that will shine forever in the animls of human endeavor. I do not like this theory because it takes away hope from our youth. Lincoln was like other men. He was not a miraculous man in any sense of the word. He had indeed less of the supernatural about him than any man in history and more of the natural, and it was this that made him so great and lovable in the eyes of the people. Washington has been idealized until we have forgotten his real character. I confess he is a nebulous character to me. Now they are going to refine and sandpaper and veneer Lincoln until nothing of the simple, loving, common- place soul is left to us. We don't want this. We want him just as he is. 74 Lincoln's stories and speeches. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, WHEN A YOUNG LAWYER. PROFESSIONAL LIFE STORIES. How Lincoln and Judge B. Swapped Horses. When Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Illinois, he and a certain Judge once got to bantering 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 that 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 was seen approach- ing with a wooden saw-horse upon his shoulders. Great were the shouts and the laughter of the crowd, and both were greatly increased when Mr. Lincoln, on surveying the Judge's animal, set down his saw-horse, and exclaim- ed: "Well, Judge, this is the first time I ever got the worst of it in a horse trade." -:o:- A Remarkable Law Suit About a Colt. The controversy was about a colt, in which thirty- four witnesses swore that they had known the colt from its falling, and it was the property of the plaintiff, while [75] ' j6 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. thirty swore that they had known the colt from its fall- ing, 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 re- semblances which the two colts bore to each other. One circumstance was proven by all the witnesses, or nearly all of them, 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 belong- ed to. The meeting occurred according to agreement, and, as it was a singular case and excited a good deal of popular interest, 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 retutned, and was not to be found. The moment the two mares were brought upon the ground, the defendant's mare and the colt gave signs of recogoition. The colt went to its dam and would not leave her. They fondled each other; and although the plaintiff brought his mare between them, and tried in various ways to divert the colt's attention, the colt would not be separated from the dam. It then fol- lowed her home, a distance of eight or ten miles, and when within a mile or two of the stables, took a short cut to them in advance of its dam. The plaintiff had sued to recover the colt thus gone back to his owner. In the presentation of this case to the jury, there were thirty-four witnesses on the side of the plaintiff, while the PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 77 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 pre- ponderance of evidence. All the witnesses were equally positive, and equally credible. Mr. Lincoln was on the side of the defendant, and contended that the voice of nature in the mare and colt ought to outweigh the testi- mony of a hundred men. The jury were all farmers, and all illiterate men, and he took great pains to make them understand what was meant by the "preponder- ance of evidence." He said that in a civil suit, absolute certainty, or such certainty as would be required to con- vict a man of crime, wos not essential. They must de- cide the case according to the impression which the evi- dence 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. "it you were going, to bet on this case, on which side would you be willing to risk a picayune? That side on which you would be willing to bet a picay- nue is the side on which rests the preponderance of evi- deuce 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 preponderance of evidence lies, and you can judge exactly where it lies in your minds by de- ciding as to which side you would be willing to bet on. The jury understood this. There was no mystifica- tion about it. They had got hold of a test by which thej could render an intelligent verdict. Mr. Lincoln saw into their minds, aud knew exactly what they needed; 78 Lincoln's stories and speeches. and the moment they received it he knew his case was safe, as a quick verdict for the defendant proved it to be. In nothing connected with this case was the ingenuity of Mr. Lincoln more evident, perhaps, than in the insignif- icance of the sum which he placed in risk by the hypo- thetical wager. It was not a hundred dollars, or a thous- and dollars, or even a dollar, but the smallest silver coin, to show to them that the verdict should go with the pre- ponderance of evidence, even if the preponderance should be only a hair's weight. :o:- A Famous Story. It is said that Mr. Lincoln was always ready to join in a laugh at the expense of his person, concerning which he was indifferent. Many of his friends will recognize the following story — the incident actually occurred — which he always told with great glee: v 'In the days when I used to be 'on the circuit,' " said Lincoln, "I was accosted in the cars by a stranger, who said: "Excuse me, sir, but I have an article in my possession which 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." 79 PROFESSIONAL LIFE. .^°- GEN. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 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: "By the way, Garfield," said Mr. Lincoln, "you never 80 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. heard, did you, that Chase, Stanton and I had a cam- paign of our own? We went down to Fortress Monroe in Chase's revenue cutter and consulted with Admiral Goldsborough as to the feasibility of taking Norfolk by landing on the north shore and making 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 sonth 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 abil- ity to manage his own case, he employed a fellow-lawyer to manage it for him. He had only a confused idea of the meaning of law terms, but was anxious to make a display of learning, and on the trial constantly made sug- gestions to his lawyer, who paid no attention to him. At last, fearing that his lawyer was not handling the oppos- iog 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 nunum-prctum? % ■:o' Lincoln and His SteprMother. Soon after Mr. Lincoln entered upon his profession at Springfield, he was engaged in a criminal case in which it was thought there was little chance of success. Throw- ing all his powers into it he came off victorious, and promptly received for his services five hundred dollars. PROFSSIONAL LIFE. 81 A legal friend calling upon him the next morning found him sitting before a table, upon which his money was spread out, counting it over and over. "Look here, Judge," said he; "See what a heap of MRS. SARAH BUSH LINCOLN; LINCOLN S STEPMOTHER. money I've got from the case. Did you ever see anything like it? Why, 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 add- ed, "I have got just five hundred dollars; if it were only 82 Lincoln's stories and speeches. seven hundred and fifty, I 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 he 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 thing. It is a poor return at 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 saying, he gathered up his money and proceeded forthwith to carry his long-cherished purpose into execution. : o : A Letter to His Beloved Stepmother. Lincoln's love for his second mother was most filial and affectionate. In a letter of Nov. 4, 1851, just after the death of his father, he writes to her as follows: "Dear Mother: Chapman tells me he wants you to go and live with him. If I were you I would try it awhile. If you get tired of it (as I think you will not) you can return to your own home. Chapman feels very kindly to you, and I have no doubt he will make your situation very pleasant. Sincerely, your son, A. Lincoln. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 83 The Lincoln-Shields Duel. The late Gen. Shields was Auditor of the State of Illi- nois in 1839. While he occupied this important office he was involved in an "affair of honor" with a Spring- field lawyer— no less a personage than Abraham Lincoln. At this time "James Shields, Auditor," was the pride of the young Democracy, and was considered a dashing fellow by all, the ladies included. In the summer of 1842 the Springfield Journal con- tained some letters from the !'Lost Township," by a contributor whose non 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 substance, just like a lot of cat-fur where cats had been fightin'." These letters caused intense excitement in the town. Nobody 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 furnace of his wrath seven times hotter than before, in which 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 compromise 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 84 Lincoln's stories and speeches. sorter let the old grudge drap if I was to consent to be — be — his wife. I know he is a fightin' man, and would rather fight than eat; but isn't marryin better than fightin', though it does sometimes 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 just four feet three in my bare feet, and not much more round the gerth; 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 brocmsticks 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 choice, however, in one thing, and that is whether, when we fight, I shall wear breeches or he petticoats, for I presume this change is sufficient 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 responsibility of her sharp pen-thrusts. Mr. Lincoln accepted the situation . Not long after the two men, with their seconds, were on their way to the field of of honor. But the affair was fixed up without any fight- PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 85 ing, and thus ended in a fizzle the Lincoln-Shields duel of the Lost Township. -:o: 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 Hon. Thomas Shannon of California. Soon after the cnstomary greeting, Mr. Shannon said: "Mr. President, I met an old friend of yours in Cali- fornia last summer, Thompson Campbell, who had a good deal to say of your Springfield life." "Ah!" returned Mr. Lincoln, "lam glad to hear of him. Campbell used to be a dry fellow," he continued. "For a time he was Secretary of State. One day, dur- ing the legislative vacation, a meek, cadaverous-looking man, with a white neck-cloth, introduced himself to him at his office, and stating that he had been informed that Mr. C. had the letting of the Assembly Chamber, said that he wished to secure it, if possible, for a course to lec- ture he desired to deliver in Springfield. "May I ask," said the Secretary, "what is to be the subject of your lectures? " "Certainly," was the reply, with a very solemn expres- sion of countenance. "The course I wish to deliver is on the second coming of our Lord." "It is no use," said Mr. C. "If you will take my ad- vice 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! " 86 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Lincoln's Story of Joe Wilson and His "Spotted Animals." Although the friendly relations which existed between the President and Secretary Cameron were not inter- rupted by the retirement of the latter from the War Office, 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 gentle- men called upon the President, and expressing much sat- isfaction at the change, intimated that in their judgment the interests of the country required an entire reconstruc- tion of the Cabinet. Mr. Lincoln heard them through, and then shaking his head dubiously, replied, with his peculiar smile: "Gentlemen, 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 very 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 running in and out of the shadow of the shed. Very wrathy, Joe put a double charge into his old musket, and thought he would 'clean' out the whole tribe at one shot. Somehow he only killed one, and the balance scampered PROFESSIONAL LIFE. $7 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 got over killin' one. If you want anymore skirmishing in that line you can just do it yourselves !' " -:o:- 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 1843. 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. Lincoln some time after the acci- dent, 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. At this same date he was frankly writing about his pov- 88 Lincoln's stories and speeches. erty to his friends, as a reason for not making them a visit, and probably found it no easy task to take care of his family, even when board at the Globe Tavern was "only four dollars a week." :o: Lincoln Defends Col. Baker. On one occasion when Col. Baker was speaking in a court-house, which had been a store-house, and, on mak- ing some remarks that were offensive to certain political rowdies 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 Col. Baker's side. He raised his hand, and the assembly subsided immediately into silence. "Gentlemen," said Mr, Lincoln, "let us not disgrace the age and country in which we live. This is a land 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 calm- ness and fairness, and the knowledge that he would do what he had promised to do, quieted all disturbance, and the speaker concluded his remarks without difficulty. :o The Judge and the Drunken Coachman. Attorney-General Bates was once remonstrating with the President against the appointment to a judicial posi- PROFESSIONAL LIFE 89 tion of considerable importance of a western man, who, though on the "bench," was of indifferent reputation as a lawyer. "Well now, Judge," returned Mr. Lincoln, "I think you are rather too hard on . Besides that, I must tell you, he did me a good turn long ago. When I took to the law, I was walking to court one morning, with some ten or twelve miles of bad road before me, when overtook me in his wagon . " 'Hallo, Lincoln !' said he; 'going to the court-house? Come in and I will give you a seat. ' "Well. I got in, and went on reading his papers. Presently the wagon struck a stump on one side of the road: then it hopped off to the other. I looked out and saw the driver was jerking from side to side in his seat; so said I, 'Judge; I think your coachman has been tak- ing a drop too much this morning.' " 'Well, I declare, Lincoln,' said he, 'I should not much wonder if you are right, for he has nearly upset me half-a-dozen times since starting.' So, putting his head out of the window, he shouted, 'Why, you infernal scoun- drel you are drunk !' "Upon which pulling up his horses and turning round with great gravity, the coachman said. 'Be dad ! but that's the first rightful decision your honor has given for the last twelve months !' " •cot- Honest Abe and His Lady Client. About the time Mr. Lincoln began to be known as a successful lawyer, he was waited upon by a lady, who held a real-estate claim which she desired to have him 9o LICCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. 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 must tell her frankly that there was not a ' 'peg" to hang her claim upon, and he could not conscientiously 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 earned that. " PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 9 I •'No, no," he responded, handing it back to her; "that would not be right. I can't take pay for doing my duty." :o: Attention Shown to Relatives. One of the most beautiful traits of Mr. Lincoln was his considerate 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 con- venient, made their houses his home. He never assumed in their presence the slightest superiority to them, in the facts and conditions of his 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 the court room, and spend the evening with these old friends and campanions of his humbler days. On one occasion, when urged not to go, he replied, "Why, aunt's heart would be broken if I should leave town without calling upon her;" yet he was obliged to walk several miles to make the call. :o: How Lincoln Kept His Business Accounts. A little fact in Lincoln's work will illustrate his ever present desire to deal honestly and justly with men. He had always a partner in his professional life, and, when he went out upon the circuit, this partner was usually at home. When 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 92 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. 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 partners due. This may seem trivial, nay, boyish, but it was like Mr. Lincoln. :o:- 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. No 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-ex- amination, Lincoln gave him rope and drew him out; asked him how long the fight lasted, and how much ground it covered. 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 contempt as beneath the dignity of twelve brave, good men and true. In another cause the son of his old friend, who had employed him and loaned him books, was charged with a murder committed in a riot at a camp-meeting. Lincoln volunteered for the defense. A witness swore that he saw the prisoner strike the fatal blow. It was night, but be swore that the full moon was shining clear, and he saw everything distinctly. The case seemed hopeless, but PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 93 Lincoln produced an almanac, and showed that at the hour there was no moon . Then he depicted the crime of perjury 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 his weeping mother's arms, and then turned to thank Mr. Linclon, who, looking out at the sun, said: "It is not yet sundown, and you are free." •:o:- One of Lincoln's ''Hardest Hits." In Abbott's "History of the Civil War," the following story is told of 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 committee having in charge the erection of a bridge over a dangerous and rapid river. Several architects failed, and at last Brown said he had a friend named Jones, who had built several bridges and undoubtedly could build that one. So Mr. Jones was called in. " 'Can you 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 positivgly that he can build a bridge to — to , why, I believe it; but I feel bound 94 LINCOLN S SHORIES AND SPEECHES. 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." A Good Temperance Man. Immediately after Mr. Lincoln's nomination for Presi- dent at the Chicago Convention, a committee, of which PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 95 Governor Morgan, of New York, was Chairman, visited him in Springfield, 111. , where he was officially 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 something to drink; and opening a door that led into a room in the rear, he called out, "Mary! Mary!" A girl responded to the call, to whom Mr. Lincoln spoke a few words in an under-tone, and, closing the door, returned again to con- verse with his guests. In a few minutes the maiden en- tered, bearing a large waiter, containing several glass tumblers, and a large pitcher in the midst, and placed it upon the center-table. Mr. Lincoln arose, and gravely addressing the company, said: "Gentlemen, we must pledge our mutual 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 cannot 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 water. Of course, all his guests were constrained to admire his consistency, and to join in his example. ;o; Gen. Linder's Account of the Lincoln-Shields Duel. When the famous challenge was sent by General Shields to Mr. Lincoln, it was at once accepted, and by 96 Lincoln's stories and speeches. the advice of his especial friend and second, Dr. Merri- man, he chose broadswords as the weapons with which 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 discom- fited, 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 fight on the neck of land between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, near their confluence. John J. Hardin, hearing of the con- templated duel, determined to prevent it, and hastened to Alton, with all imaginable celerity, where he fell in with the belligerent parties, and aided by some other friends of both Lincoln and Shields, succeeded in effect- ing a reconciliation. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 97 After this affair between Lincoln and Shields, I met Lincoln at the Danville court, and in a walk we took to- gether, 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 to learn 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 se- lected pistols." ■:o:- Lincoln Defends the Son of An Old Friend In- dicted for Murder. Jack Armstrong, the leader of the "Clarey Grove Boys," with whom Lincoln in early life had a scuffle which "Jack" agreed to call "a drawn battle," in conse- quence of his own foul play, afterwards became a life- long, warm friend of Mr. Lincoln, Later in life the ris- ing lawyer would stop at Jack's cabin home, and here Mrs. Armstrong, a most womanly person, learned to re- spect Mr. Lincoln. There was no service to which she did not make her guest abundantly welcome, and he never ceased to feel the tenderest gratitude for her kindness. At length her husband died, and she became depend- ent upon her sons. The oldest of these, while in at- tendance upon a camp-meeting; found himself involved in a melee, which resulted in the death of a young man, 98 Lincoln's stories and speeches. and young Armstrong was charged by one of his asso- ciates with striking the fatal blow. He was examined, and imprisoned to await his trial. The public mind was in a 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 his old friend Mrs. Armstrong was in sore trouble; and he sat down at once, and volunteered by letter to defend her son. His first act was to procure the postponement and a change of the place of trial. There was too much fever in the minds of the immediate public to permit of fair treat- ment. When the trial came on, the case looked very hopeless to all but Mr. Lincoln, who had assured him- self that the young man was not guilty. The evidence on behalf of the State being all in, and looking like a solid and consistent mass of testimony against the pris- oner, Mr. Lincoln undertook the task of analyzing and destroying it, which he did in a manner 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 the 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, but it is remembered as one in which Mr. Lin- coln made an appeal to the sympathies of the jury, which quite surpassed 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 PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 99 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 the kind woman who 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. •:o: 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 deliv- ered 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 attorney. At the trial, the facts as to the character of the sheep were proved, and several wit- nesses testified as to the usage by which all under a cer- tain age were regarded as lambs, and of inferior value. Mr. Lincoln, on comprehending the facts, at once chang- ed his line of effort, and confined himself to ascertaining the real number of inferior sheep delivered. On address- ing 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 giv- en in his favor, and the court being about to allow the amount claimed by him, deducting an approved and al- lowed offset, he rose and stated that his opponents had not proved all that was justly due them in an offset; and IOO LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. proceeded to state and allow a further sum against his client, which the court allowed in its judgment. His de- sire for the establishment of exact justice overcame his own selfish love of victory, as well as his partiality for his clients' feelings and interests. •:o: 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 a speech at Charleston, Coles County, Illinois, when a voice called out: "Mr. Lincoln, is it true that you entered this State barefoot, driving a yoke of oxen?" Mr. Lincoln paused for full half a minute, as if con- sidering 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 guar- antees 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 unrequitted toil." PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 10 1 A Revolutionary Pensioner Defended by Lin- coln. An old woman of seventy-five years, the widow of a revolutionary pensioner, came tottering into his law of- fice one day, and, taking a seat, told him that a certain pension agent had charged her the exhorbitant fee of two hundred dollars for collecting her claim. Mr. Lincoln was satisfied by her representations that she had been swindled, and finding that she was not a resident of the town, and that she was poor, gave her money, and set about the work of procuring restitution. He immedi- ately entered suit against the agent to recover a portion of his ill-gotten money. The suit was entirely success- ful, and Mr. Lincoln's address to the jury before which the case was tried is remembered to have been peculiar- ly touching in its allusions to the poverty of the wid- ow, and the patriotism of the husband she had sacrificed to secure the Nation's independence. He had the grati- fication of paying back to her a hundred dollars, and sending her home rejoicing. •:o:- Lincoln Threatens a Twenty Years' Agitation in Illinois. One afternoon an old negro woman came into the of- fice of Lincoln & Herndon, in Springfield, and told the story of her trouble, to which both lawyers listened. It appeared that she and her offspring had been born slaves in Kentucky, and that her owner, one Hinkle, had brought the whole family into Illinois, and given them them their freedom. Her son had gone down the Mis- 102 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. sissippi as a waiter or deck hand, on a steamboat. Ar- riving at New 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 confinement. Subsequent- ly, he was brought out and tried. Of course he was fined, and, the boat having left, he was sold, or was in W. H. HERNDON, LINCOLN'S LAW PARTNER. immediate danger of being sold, to pay his fine and ex- penses. Mr. Lincoln was very much moved, and re- quested Mr. Herndon to go over to the State House, and inquire of Governor Bissel if there was not something he could do to obtain possession of the negro. Mr. Hern- don made the inquiry, and returned with the report that PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 103 the Governor regretted to say that he had no legal or constitutional right to do anything in the premises. Mr. Lincoln rose to his feet in great excitement and ex- claimed: "By the Almighty, I'll have that negro back here, or I'll have a twenty years' agitation in Illinois, until the Governor does have a legal and constitutional right to do something in the premises." He was saved from the latter alternative — at least in the direct form which he proposed. The lawyers sent money to a New Orleans correspondent — money of their 0W n — who procured the negro, and returned him to his mother. :o: How Lincoln Always Turned a Story to His Advantage. 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 wonder- fully adept in them. If a man broached a subject which he did not wish to discuss, he told a story which chang- ed 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 illus- trated every possible phase of every possible subject with which he might have connection. His faculty of making or finding 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 en- 104 Lincoln's stories and speeches. tered 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 suggested some story, and, almost by an invol- untary 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 it- self 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 it was so modified that it did . A good instance of the execution which he sometimes effected with a story, occurred in the legislature. There was a troublesome member from Wabash County, who gloried 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. No 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 honored the draft thus made upon him. A measure was brought forward in which Mr. Lincoln's constiuents were interested, when the member from Wabash arose and discharged all his batteries upon its unconstitutional 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 hi? gray eyes, said: PROFESSIONAL Lll - rnber from W; upon the constitutionality of tl reminds me of an old friend of mine. He's a peculiar looking old fellow, with shaggy, 01 of • j ndcr them, ady turned to the • mber from Wabash, and ;••-••■ zed a persona] prion,) One morning jnsf aftei ttu old mai up, be imagined, on looking out of bis door, that he saw rather a lively squirrel on a I :■■ ■ house, So he took down his rifle and fired at the vjuirre!, but the squir- paid u tion to the shot. He loaded and fi , until, at the thirteenth shot, he set impatiently aid to his boy, wh looking on: " »Boy, th< • mething wrong about this rift " 'Rifle's all right, [know I tided tl , 'but wh> •• 'Don't you see him, humped up about half way up the treer inquired the old man, pei • over h: cles, and getting mystified, " 'No I don't. nded the boy; and then turn and looking into his father's face he exclaimed, 'J your squirrel! You've been firing at a louse on your < brow!' 'J he story needed neither application nor explanation. The H inconvul f laughter; for Mr. Lin- coln's skill in telling a story was not inferior to his ap- preciation of its points and his power of adapting them to the case in hand. It killed off the member from Wabash, who was ve; ful afterwards not to provoke any allusion to his "eyebro 106 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Hon. Newton Bateinan's Thrilling Story of Mr. Lincoln — The Great Man Looking to See How the Springfield Preachers Voted. At the time of Lincoln's 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. Frequently this door was open during Mr . Lincoln's re- ceptions, and throughout the seven months or more of his occupation, he saw him nearly every day. Often when Mr. Lincoln 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 containing a careful canvass of the city of Springfield, in which he lived, showing the candi- date 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, placed the re- sult 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, having pre- viously 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 Q W H < Z l— I o z c/) z J o o z w w i — i < ' — ' o I— ( u h < z < u PL. w « W E H 108 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. sat silently for some minutes 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 denom- inations, and all of them are against me but three, and here are a great many prominent members of churches, a very large majority are against me. Mr. Bateman, I am not a Christian, — God knows I 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 will 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 bondage cannot 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 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 noth- ing, but Truth is everything: I know I am right, be- cause I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God. I have told them that a house div- ided against itself can not stand; and Christ and Reason say the same; and they will find it so.' 11 'Douglas don't care whether slavery is voted up or PROFESSIONAL LIFE. IO9 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 they have not read their Bible right. "Much of this was uttered as if he were speaking to himself, and with a sad, earnest solemnity of manner impossible to be described. After a pause, he resumed: " 'Dosen't it seem strange that men can ignore the moral aspect of this contest? No revelation could 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,) 'es- pecially with the knowledge 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 cup of in- iquity is full, and the vials of wrath will be poured out.' "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 conviction that the day of wrath was at hand, and that he was to be an actor in the terrible struggle which would issue on the overthrow of slavery, although he might not live to see the end. "After further reference to a belief in the Divine Providence, and the fact of God in history, the conver- sation turned upon prayer. He freely stated his belief in the duty, privilege, and efficacy of prayer, and intim- ated, in no unmistakable terms, that he had sought in that way the Divine guidance and favor. The effect of IIO LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. this conversation upon the mind of Mr. Bateman, a Christian gentleman whom Mr. Lincoln profoundly re- spected, was to convince him that Mr. Lincoln had, in a quiet way, found a path to the Christian standpoint — 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; cetainly your friends generally are ignorant of the sentiments 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 always refused to accept fees of those whom he advised not to prosecute. On one occasion, while en- gaged 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. Per- fectly convinced that his client was wrong, 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. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. Ill Lincolns Visit to Kansas. Captain J. R. Fitch, of Evanston, 111., in a contribution to the N. \V. Christion Advocate, gives a very interesting account of Mr. Lincoln's visit to Kansas, which is as fol- lows : In the winter of 1859, shortly after the memorable con- test between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas for the United States Senate, jn which, although Illi- nois had given a Republican majority of 4,000 votes, the Democrats secured a majority of the Legislature on joint ballot, thereby securing the election of the minor- ity candidate, an invitation was extended to Mr. Lincoln to pay a visit to the then Territoryof Kansas. Mr. Lincoln graciously accepted the invitation, and ap- pointed a time convenient for him to come. A commit- tee was appointed to meet him at the nearest railroad station, which was in Missouri between St. Joseph and Neston. If my memory serves me, the committee consisted of Mark W. Delahay, afterwards United States District Judge; D. J. Brewer, now one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court; Hon. Henry J. Adams, Uncle George Keller, Josiah H. Kellogg, and myself. On the appointed day we met Mr. Lincoln at the station with car- riages and drove down to Leavenworth city. In the evening a meeting was held in Stockton's hall. The hall was crowded to its utmost capacity, and when Mr. Lincoln rose to speak he seemed to unwind himself, and, as he straightened himself up, he reminded me of a telescope being opened out, joint by joint. He stood there at first like a whipped boy at school, the most awk- 112 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. ward specimen of humanity it had ever been my pleasure to look upon. When he began his address, however, the impression was instantaneous that an orator was talking — a man who thoroughly believed every word he was saying. The audience was spellbound as he told of the crimes com- mitted for the perpetuation of slavery. The pro-slavery Democrats had secured seats for them- selves in one part of the hall. Among them was a Presbyterian minister from Kentucky, a fine looking but very vain man. After Mr. Lincoln had poured his hot shot into the pro- slavery party as long as the minister, whose name was Pitzer, could stand it, he rose and called out in a loud voice: "How about amalgamation?" Mr. Lincoln, turning toward him, said: "I'll attend to you in a minute, young man," then went on and finished his sentence. Then, turning to where Mr. Pitzer had been standing, said: " Where is the young man who asked me about amal- gamation?" Mr. Pitzer rose in all dignity, and in a tone of voice that seemed to say: "Watch me squelch him," replied, "lam the gentleman." Mr. Lincoln, pointing his long, bony finger at him, and swinging his arm up and down, replied: " I never knew but one decent, respectable white man to marry a colored woman, and that was an ex-Demo- cratic Vice-president from the State of Kentucky." Mr. Pitzer turned, and with the exclamation of, "I never heard Colonel Richard M. Johnson so insulted be- PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 113 fore," made his way out of the hall amid the jeers and gibes of the crowd. Whether Mr. Lincoln knew that Mr. Pitzer was from Kentucky or not I never knew, but all Democrats and Republicans alike felt that the rebuke was well mer- ited. After the meeting was over, Mr. Lincoln and friends were invited to the home of Judge Delahay, where Mr. Lincoln was entertained. We had refreshments, includ- ing wine, of which almost everyone, except Mr. Lin- coln, partook. The next day we escorted him back to the train, and to my dying day I shall never forget our parting. I was only twenty-two years old. Mr. Lincoln bade each one good-bye, and gave each a hearty grasp of the hand. He bade me good-bye last, and as he took my hand in both of his, and stood there towering above me, he looked down into my eyes with that sad, kindly look of his, and said: " My young friend, do not put an enemy in your mouth to steal away your brains." At that moment I thought I never should again. And, oh, how that look haunted me in after years before I knew the better way, when in my moments of weakness I was tempted to put the intoxicating cup to my lips. And though those loving eyes are closed in death, yet that look is never very far from me. It is with me now while I pen these lines; it is photographed on my heart, a blessed memory of our martyred President. :o: ii4 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. Lincoln and the Little Chicago Girls. Mr. Lincoln made a hurried trip to Chicago on busi- ness, and was received with great enthusiasm by Demo- crats as well as Republicans. At the house of a friend he beholds a group of little girls. One of them gazes at him wistfully. "What is it you would like, dear? " " I would like, if you please, to have you write your name for me." " But here are several of your mates, quite a number of them, and they will feel badly if I write my name for you and not for them also. How many are there, all told?" "Eight of us." " Oh, very well; then give me eight slips of paper and pen and ink, and I will see what I can do." Eeach of the little misses, when she went home that evening carried his autograph. :o: PROFESSIONAL LIFE. I I 5 Why Mr. Lincoln Let His Whiskers Grow. If we had been in the village of Westfield, on the shore of Lake Erie, Chautauqua County, N. Y., on an Octo- ber evening, we might have seen little Grace Bedell look- ing at a portrait of Mr. Lincoln and a picture of the log cabin which he helped build for his father in 1830. "Mother," said Grace, "I think that Mr. Lincoln would look better if he wore whiskers, and I mean to write and tell him so." "Well, you may. if you want to," the mother an- swered. Grace's father was a Republican and was going to vote for Mr. Lincoln. Two older brothers were Democrats, but she was a Republican . Among the letters going West the next day was one with this inscription: "Hon. Abraham Lincoln, Esq., Springfield, Illinois." It was Grace's letter, telling him how old she was, where she lived, that she was a Republican, that she thought he would make a good President, but would look better if he would let his whiskers grow. If he would she would try to coax her brothers to vote for him. She thought the rail fence around the cabin very pretty. " If you have not time to answer my letter, will you allow your little girl to reply for you?" wrote Grace at the end. Mr. Lincoln was sitting in his room at the State house with a great pile of letters before him from the leading Republicans all over the Northern States in regard to the progress of the campaign; letters from men who would want an office after his inauguration; letters abusive and u6 Lincoln's stories and speeches. indecent, which were tossed into the waste basket. He came to one from Westfield, N. Y. It was not from any- one who wanted an office, but from a little girl who wanted him to let his whiskers grow. That was a letter which he must answer, A day or two later Grace Bedell comes out of the West- field postoffice with a letter in her hand postmarked Springfield, 111. Her pulse beat as never before. It is a cold morning — the wind blowing bleak and chill across the tossing waves of the lake. Snowflakes are falling. She cannot wait till she reaches home, but tears open the letter. The melting flakes blur the writing, but this is what she reads: "Springfield, III., Oct. 19, i860. Miss Grace Bedell: My Dear Little Miss— Your very agreeable letter of the 1 5th is received. I regret the necessity of saying I have no daughter. I have three sons, one seventeen, one nine, and one seven years of age. They, with their mother, constitute my whole family. As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think peo- ple would call it a piece of silly affection (affectation) if I should begin it now? Your very sincere well-wisher, A. Lincoln." It was natural that the people should desire to see the man who had been elected President, and the route to Washington was arranged to take in a number of the large cities — Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pitts- burg, Cleveland and Buffalo. In each of these he spent a night and addressed great, crowds of people. When PROFESSIONAL LIFE. I I 7 the train left Cleveland, Mr. Patterson, of Westfield, was invited into Mr. Lincoln's car. " Did I understand that your home is in Westfield?" Mr. Lincoln asked. "Yes, sir, that is my home." " Oh, by the way, do you know of anyone living there by the name of Bedell?" "Yes, sir, I know the family very well." 41 1 have a corresdondent in that family. Mr. Bedell's little girl, Grace, wrote me a very interesting letter ad- vising me to wear whiskers, as she thought it would im- prove my looks. You see that I have followed her sug- gestion. Her letter was so unlike many that I have re- ceived — some that threatened assassination in case I was elected — that it was really a relief to receive it and a pleasure to answer it." The train reached Westfield, and Mr. LincDln stood upon the platform of the car to say a few words to the people. " I have a little correspondent here, Grace Bedell, and if the little miss is present I would like to see her." Grace was far down the platform, and the crowd pre- vented her seeing or hearing him . "Grace, Grace, the President is calling for you!" they shouted. A friend made his way with her through the crowd. " Here she is." Mr. Lincoln stepped down from the car, took her by the hand, and gave her a kiss. "You see, Grace, I have let my whiskers grow for you." 1 1 8 Lincoln's stories and speeches. The kinldy smile was upon his face. The train whirled on. His heart was lighter. For one brief moment he had forgotten the burdens that were pressing on him. :o: m i " m JOHN HANKS, LINCOLN'S RAIL-SPLITTING COMPANION. Lincoln's Simplicity. It was during the dark days of 1863, says Schuyler Colfax, on the evening of a public reception given at the White House. The foreign legations were there gathered about the President. PROFESSIONAL LIFE. I I 9 A young English nobleman was just being presented to the President. Inside the door, evidently overawed by the splendid assemblage, was an honest-faced old farmer, who shrank from the passing crowd until he and the plain-faced old lady clinging to his arm were pressed back to the wall. The President, tall and, in a measure, stately in his personal presence, looking over the heads of the assem- bly, said to the English nobleman: "Excuse me, my Lord, there's an old friend of mine." Passing backward to the door, Mr. Lincoln said, as he grasped the old farmer's hand: "Why, John, I'm glad to see you. I haven't seen you since you and I made rails for old Mrs. in Sanga- mon county, in 1837. How are you ?" The old man turned to his wife with quivering lip, and without replying to the President's salutation, said: "Mother, he's just the same old Abe !" "Mr. Lincoln," he said finally, "you know we had three boys; they all enlisted in the same company; John was killed in the 'seven days' fight;' Sam was taken prisoner and starved to death, and Henry is in the hos- pital . We had a little money, an' I said: 'Mother, we'll go to Washington an' see him. An' while we were here I said we'll go up and see the President." Mr. Lincoln's eyes grew dim, and across his rugged, homely, tender face swept the wave of sadness his friends had learned to know, and he said: "John, we all hope this miserable war will soon be over. I must see all these folks here for an hour or so and I want to talk with you." The old lady and her husband were hustled into a private room in spite of their protests. [UNITED ST4TSS CAPITOL.) [I 20] WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. Trying the "Greens" on Jake. 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 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 a dish which they called greens, though the fashionable name for it now-a-days is spinach, I believe. One day after dinner, a large fam- ily were taken very ill. The doctor was called in, who attributed it to the greens, of which all had frequently partaken. Living in the family was a half-witted boy named Jake. On a subsequent 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.' [121] 122 LINXOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. "And just so, I suppose," said Mr. Lincoln, "Con- gress thought it would try this tax on State Banks!" :o: A Story Which Lincoln Told the Preachers. A year or more before Mr. Lincoln's death, a delega- tion of clergymen waited upon him in reference to the appointment of the army chaplains The delegation consisted of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, and an Episcopal clergyman. 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 discre- tion in these appointments. "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 system. Mr. Lincoln heard them through 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 church,' 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 frontdoor — here the pews, where the folks set — and there's the pulpit.' ■WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 123 " Yes, I see,' said I; 'but why don't you make a min- ister?' " 'Laws,' answered Dick, with a grin, 'I hain't got mud enough.' " :o: How Lincoln Stood Up for the Word "Sugar- Coated." Mr. Defrees, the Government printer, states, that, when one of the President's message 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 relations to each other being of the most in- timate character, he told the President frankly, that he ought to remember that a message to Congress was a different affair from a speech at a mass meeting in Illi- nois; that the messages became a part of history, and should be written accordingly. "What is the matter now?" inquired the President. ''Why," said Mr. Defrees, "you have used 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 exactly 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 it in the proof-copy, the latter acknowledged the force of the 124 Lincoln's stories and speeches. objection raised, and said, "Go home, Defrees, and see if you can better it." The next day Mr, Dufrees took into him his amend- ment. Mr. Lincoln met him by saying: "Seward found the same fault that you did, and he has been rewriting the paragraph, also." Then, reading Mr. Defrees' version, he said, "I believe you have beaten Seward; but, 'I jings,' I think I can beat you both." Then, taking up his pen, he wrote the sentence as it was finally printed. :o: - Lincoln's Advice to a Prominent Bachelor. Upon the bethrothal of the Prince of Wales to the Princess Alexandra, Queen Victoria sent a letter to each of the European sovereigns, and also to President Lin- coln, announcing the fact. Lord Lyons, her ambassa- dor at Washington, — a "bachelor," by the way, — re- quested an audience of Mr. Lincoln, that he might pre- sent this important document in person. At the time appointed he was received at the White House, in com- pany with Mr. Seward. "May it please your Excellency," said Lord Lyons, "I hold in my hand an autograph letter from my royal mistress, Queen Victoria, which I have been commanded to present to your Excellency. In it she informs your Excellency that her son, his Royal Highness tbe Prince of Wales, is about to contract a matrimonial alliance with her Royal Highness the Princess Alexander of Den- mark. " After continuing in this strain for a few minutes, Lord Lyons tendered the letter to the President and awaited WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 125 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 embassador was ever ad- dressed in this manner before, and it would be interest- ing to learn what success he met with in putting the reply in diplomatic language when he reported it to her Majesty. -:o:- Mr. Lincoln and the Bashful Boys. The President and a friend were standing upon the threshold 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 customary, up and down the promenade, which leads through the grounds of the War Department, crossing, of course, the portico. Attention was attracted to an approaching party, apparently a countryman, plainly 126 Lincoln's stories and speeches. dressed, with his wife and two little boys, who had evi- dently been straying about, looking at the places of pub- lic interest in the city. As they reached the portico the father, who was in advance, caught sight of the tall figure of Mr. Lincoln, absorbed in his 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 Presi- dent !" Then leaving them, he slowly made a 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 any longer 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, reach- ing 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 people, too, sir; and the peo- ple, too !" A few moments later Mr. Lincoln remarked to his friend: "Great men have various estimates. When Daniel Webster made his tour throgh the West years ago, he visited Springfield among other places, where great preparations had been made to receive him. As WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 127 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 ?' " '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 off down the street, but presently returned, with a very disap- pointed air. " 'Well, did you see him ?' inquired T. " 'Yees,' returned Jack; 'but laws he ain't half as big as old G.',' :o:- An Irish Soldier Who Wanted Something Stronger Than Soda Water. Upon Mr. Lincoln's return to Washington, after the capture 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 Port- land. The President, as usual, was disposed to be merci- ful, 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 sanc- tion it." "Well," replied Mr. Liucoln, "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 drug-shop, where he espied a soda- fountain. 128 Lincoln's stories and speeches. " 'Mr. Doctor said he, 'give me, plase, a glass of soda wather, an' if yees can put in a few drops of whisky un- beknown to any 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." :o: Looking Out for Breakers. 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 pronounoe the names 'Shadrach,' 'Meshach,' and 'Abednego.' He had been repeatedly whipped for it without effect. Some times afterwards he saw the names of 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 !" :o: 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 them- selves not only to hay but to his horse; and he hoped the proper officer would be required to consider his claim im- mediately. "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 WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 29 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 skillful with a raft, and always kept her straight in the channel. Finally a steamer was put on, and Jack — he's dead now, poor fellow ! — was made cap- tain of her. He always used to take the wheel going through the rapids. One day when the boat was plung- ing and wallowing along the boiling current, and Jack's utmost vigilance was being exercised to keep her in the narrow channel, a boy pulled his coat-tail and hailed him with: 'Say, Mister Captain ! I wish you would just stop your boat a minute — I've lost an apple overboard !' -:o:- 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 re- marked, casually, that he was elected to Congress about the time Mr. Lincon's term as representative expired, which happened many years before. "Yes, ' said the President, "you are from ," men- tioning the state. "I remember reading of your election in a newspaper one morning on a steamboat going down to Mount Vernon." At another time a gentleman addressed him, saying, "I presume, Mr. President, 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 130 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. from various sections were introduced one day by the Secretary of the Treasury. After a few moments of gen- eral conversation, 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 i860." ':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 bookcase the official canvass of i860 and 1864 he referred to the vote or the district named and proved to be quite right in his assertion. :o: Philosophy of Canes. A gentleman calling at the White House one evening carried a cane which in the course of conversation at- tracted the President's attention. Taking it in his hand he said: "I always 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 character in sticks. Don't you think so ? You have seen these fishing-polls that fit into a cane ? Well, that was an old idea of mine. Dogwood clubs were favorite ones with the boys. 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 appearance ? Old women and witches wouldn't look so without sticks. Meg Merrilies understands that." WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 131 Common Sense. The Hon. Mr, Hubbard, of Connecticut, once called upon the President in reference to a newly invented gun, concerning 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 occasionally 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." -:o:- Lincoln's Confab with a Committee on "Grant's Whisky." Just previous to the fall of Vicksburg a self-constituted committee, solicitous for the morale of our armies, took it upon themselves to visit the President and urge theje- moval 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 it !" 132 Lincoln's stories and speeches. A "Pretty Tolerable Respectable Sort of a Cler- gyman." Some one was discussing in the presence of Mr. Lin- coln the character of a time-serving Washington clergy. . man Said Mr. Lincoln to his visitor: "I think you are rather hard upon Mr. . He re- minds me of a man in Illinois, who was tried for passing a counterfeit 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 you 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 talerable, respectable sort of a clergyman." :o; Opened His Eyes. Mr. Lincoln sometimes had a very effective way of dealing with men who troubled him with questions. A visitor once asked him how many men the Rebels had in the field. The President replied, very seriously, " Twelve hun- dred thousand, according to the best authority. " The interrogator blanched in the face, and ejaculated. " Good Heavens ! " "Yes, sir, twelve hundred thousand — no doubt of it. WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 133 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 hundred thou- sand men in the field, and three times four makes twelve. Don't you see it? " :o: Minnehaha and Minneboohoo ! Some gentlemen fresh from a Western tour, during a call at the White House, referred in the course of con- versation to a body of water in Nebraska, which bore an Indian name signifying "weeping water." Mr. Lincoln instantly responded: " As ' laughing water,' according to Mr. Longfellow, is ' Minnehaha, " this evidently should be ' Minneboohoo. ' " -:o:- Lincoln and the Artist. F. B. Carpenter, the celebrated artist and author of the well-known painting of Lincoln and his Cabinet is- suing the Emancipation Proclamation, describes his first meeting with the President, as follows: "Two o'clock found me one of the throng pressing to- ward the center of attraction, the ' blue ' room. From the threshold of the ' crimson ' parlor as I passed, I had a glimpse of the gaunt figure of Mr. Lincoln in the dis- tance, haggard-looking, dressed in black, relieved only by the prescribed white gloves; standing, it saemed to me, solitary and alone, though surrounded by the crowd, bending low now and then in the process of hand-shak- ing, and responding half abstractedly to the well-meant greetings of the miscellaneous assemblage. 134 Lincoln's stories and speeches. " Never shall I forget the electric thrill which went through my whole being at this instant. I seemed to see lines radiating from every part of the globe, converging to a focus 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 sym- phony of triumph and blessing, swelled with an ever-in- creasing volume. It was the voice of those who had been bondmen and bondwomen, 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 secretaries, who stood by his side. "Retaining 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 twin- kle of the eye, he added, playfully, ' Do you think, Mr. C , that you could make a hadsome picture of vie? ' emphasizing strongly the last word. "Somewhat confused at this point-blank shot, uttered in a voice so loud as to attract the attention of those in immediate proximity, I made a random reply, and took the occasion to ask if I could see him in his study at the close of the reception. " To this he replied in the peculiar vernacular of the West, ' I reckon, ' resuming meanwhile the mechanical and traditional exercise 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. " WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 135 An Apt Illustration. At the White House one day some gentlemen were present from the West, excited and troubled about the comissions or omissions of the Admistration. The Pres- ident heard them patiently, and then replied: " Gentle- men, suppose all the property you have were 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 fast- er — 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 her hands. They are doing the very best they can. Don't badger them. Keep silence, and we'll get you safe across." ■:o:- More Light and Less Noise. An editorial in a New York journal opposing Lincoln's re-nomination, is said to have called out from him the following story: A traveler on the frontier found himself out of his reck- oning one night in a most inhospitable region. A ter- rific thunder storm came up to add to his trouble. He floundered along until his horse at length gave out. The lightning afforded him the 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. 136 Lincoln's stories and spfeches. By no means a praying man, his petition was short and to the point — " O, Lord, if it is all the same to you, give us a little more light and a little less noise! " :o: "Browsed Around." A party of gentlemen, among whom was a doctor of divinity of much dignity of manner, calling at the White House one day, was informed by the porter that the Pres- ident was at dinner, but that he would present their cards. The doctor demurred at this, saying that he would call again. " Edward " assured them that he thought it would make no difference, and went in with the cards. In a few minutes the President walked into the room, with a kindly salutation, and a request that the friends would take seats. The doctor expressed regret that their visit was so ill-timed, and that his Excellency was disturbed while at dinner. " 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. " -:o:- Cutting Red Tape. Upon entering the President's office one afternoon, says a Washington correspondent, I found the President busily counting greenbacks. "This, sir," said he, " is something out of my usual line; but a President of the United States has a multi- plicity of duties not specified in the Constitution or acts of Congress. This is one of them. This money belongs WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 37 to a poor negro who is a porter in the Treasary Depart- ment, at present very bad with the small-pox. He is now in the hospital, and could not draw his pay because he could not sign his name. " I have been at considerable trouble to over comethe difficulty and get it for him, and have at length succeeded in cutting red tape, as you newspaper men say. I am now dividing the money and putting by a portion labeled, in an envelope, with my own hands, according to his wish; " and he proceeded to indorse the package very care- fully. No one witnessing the transaction could fail to appre- ciate the goodness of heart which prompted the Presi- dent of the United States to turn aside for a time from his weighty cares to succor one of the humblest of his fellow-creatures in sickness and sorrow. •:o:- 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 in- troduced by the Austrian Minister, he needed, of course, no further recommendation; but, as if fearing that his importance might not be duly appreciated, he proceeded to explain that he was a Count, that his family were an- cient and highly respectable, when Lincoln, with a mer- ry twinkle in his eye, tapping the aristiocratic lover of titles on the shoulder, in a fatherly way, as if the man 138 Lincoln's stories and speeches. had confessed to some wrong, interrupted in a soothing tone: " Never mind; you shall be treated with just as much consideration for all that . •:o:- How Lincoln and Stanton Dismissed Appli- cants 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 sutlership at Point Lookout. My father being interested, we made application to Mr. Stan- ton, 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 his hand for me to stop at a given dis- tance 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." I 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, 1861 He then said: "I think we can give this position to a soldier who has lost an arm or leg. he being more deserving; " and he then said that I looked hearty and healthy enough WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 39 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 my 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 full of ladies and gentlemen when we entered, and the scene was one I shall never forget. On her knees was a woman in the agonies of des- pair, with tears rolling down her cheeks, imploring for the life of her son, who had deserted and had been condemned to be shot. I heard Mr. Lincoln say: "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." At this speech the woman fainted. Lincoln motioned to his attendant, who picked the woman up and car- ried 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, bux- om 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." I4O LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. 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 dis- missed each case as quickly as the above, with satis- faction to all. My turn soon came. Lincoln turned to my father and said: • " Now, gentlemen, be pleased to be as quick as pos- sible 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 my father to sit, while I stood. My father stated the business to him as stated above. He then said: "Have you seen Mr. Stanton?" We told him yes, that he had refused. He (Mr. Lin- coln) then said: "Gentlemen, this is Mr. Stanton's business; I cannot interfere with him; he attends to all these matters, and I am sorry I cannot 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 Repub- lican. Mr. Lincoln then said: WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 141 "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 these positions are like office seekers — there are too many pigs 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 hu- mor. We then left the presence of the greatest and most just man who ever lived to fill the Presidential chair. :o: Where the President's Mind Wandered. An amusing, yet 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 pass- ing him in a continuous stream. An intimate acquaint- ance 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 President, 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 you. I was thinking of a man down South." He afterwards privately acknowledged that the " man down South " was Sherman, then on his march to the ■ sea. :o: 142 Lincoln's stories and speeches. 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 Rev. Mr F. , of . He has expressed a de- sire to see you and have some conversation with you, and I am happy to be the means of introducing him." The President shook hands with Mr. F. , and desiring him to be seated took a seat himself. Then his counte- nance, having 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 grasp- ing that of his visitor, " I am very glad to see you, in- deed. I thought you had come to preach to me! " :o: 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 serv- ants had fitted up a miniature theatre, with stage, cur- WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 43 tains, orchestra, stalls, parquette and all. Knowing that the use required would interfere with none of his arrange- ments, I 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 op- erator came back to the office and said that "Tad" had taken great offense at the occupation of his room without his consent, and had locked the door, refusing all admis- sion. 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 fear- ful 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 their things. He had locked the door and they should not go there again — ' ' they had no business in his room!" Mr. Lincoln was sitting for a photograph, and was still in the chair. He said, very mildly, " Tad, go and unlock the door. " Tad went off muttering into his mother's room, refusing to obey. I followed him into the passage, but no coaxing would pacify him. Upon my return to the Pres- ident I found him still patiently in the chair, from which be 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 firmly, 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 re- turned with the key to the theatre, which he unlocked himself. "Tad," said he, half apologetically, " is a peculiar 144 Lincoln's stories and speeches. child. He was violently excited when I went to him. I said, ' Tad, do you know that you are making your father a great deal of trouble?' He burst into tears, instantly giving me up the key." A Touching Incident. After the. funeral of his son, William Wallace Lincoln, in February, 1862, the President resumed his official du- ties, but mechanically, and with a terrible weight at his heart. The following Thursday he gave way to his feel- ings, and shut himself from all society. The second Thurs- day it was the same; he would see no one, and seemed a prey to the deepest melancholy. About this time the Rev. Francis Vinton, of Trinity, Church, New York, had occa- sion to spend a few days in Washington. An acquaint- ance 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 be- gan 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 decree of Providence. He told him plainly that the indulgence of such feelings, though natural, was sinful. It was un- worthy one who believed in the Christian religion. He had duties to the living greater than those of any other man, as the chosen father, and leader of the people, and he was unfitting himself for his responsibilities by thus WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 145 giving way to his grief. To mourn the departed as lost belonged to heathenism — 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 Him?'" The President had listened as one in a stupor, until his ear caught the words: "Your son is alive." Starting from the sofa, he exclaimed, "Alive! alive! Surely you mock me." "No, sir, believe me," replied Dr. Vinton, "it is a most comfortiog doctrine of the church, founded upon the words of Christ Himself." Mr. Lincoln looked at him a moment, and then step- ping forward, he threw his arm around the clergyman's neck, and, laying his head upon his breast, sobbed aloud, "Alive? alive?" he repeated. "My dear sir," said Dr. Vinton, greatly moved, as he twined his own arm around the weeping father, "believe this, for it is God's most precious truth. Seek not your 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 Sadducees. 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, for all live unto Him! Did not the aged patriarch mourn his sons as dead? 'Jo- LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. I47 seph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benja- min, 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 kingdom and an existence as real, more real, than your own. It may be that he, too. like Joseph, has gone, in God's good providence, to be the salvation of his father's household. It is a part of the Lord's plan for the ultimate happiness of you and yours. Doubt it not. I have a sermon," continued Dr. Vin- ton, "upon this subject, which I think might interest you." 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 made for his own private use before it was returned. ■:o:- Lincoln Wipes the Tears from His Eyes and Tells a Story. A . W. Clark, member of Congress from Watertown, New York, relates the following interesting story: During the war a constituent came to me and stated that one of his sons was killed in a battle, and another died at Andersonville, while the third and only 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 re- 148 Lincoln's stories and speeches. store 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 af- fected, 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, "Bring in that man," rather as if he felt bored, which caused me to ask why it was so. He replied that it was a writing-master who had spent a long time in copying his Emancipation Proclamation, had ornamented it with flourishes, and which made him think of an Irishman who said it took him an hour to catch his old horse, and when he had caught him he was not worth a darn! -:o:- Comments of Mr. Lincoln on the Emancipation Proclamation. The final proclamation was signed on New Year's day, 1863. The President remarked to Mr. Colfax, the same evening, that the signature appeared somewhat tremu- lous and uneven. "Not," said he, "because of any un- certainty or hesitation on my part; but it was just after the public reception, and three hours' hand-shaking is not calculated to improve a man's chirography." Then changing his tone, he added: "The South had fair warn- ing, that if they did not return to their duty, I should strike at this pillar of their strength. The promise must now be kept, and I shall never recall one word." WHITE HOUSE INCIDNETS. 1 49 Lincoln Arguing against the Emancipation Pro- clamation that he may learn all About it. When Lincoln's judgment, which acted slowly, but which was almost as immovable as the eternal hills when settled, was grasping some subject of importance, the ar- guments against his own desires seemed uppermest in his mind, and, in conversing upon it, he would present those arguments to see if they could be rebutted. This is illustrated by the interview between himself and the Chicago delegation of clergymen, appointed to urge upon him the issue of a Proclamation of Emancipa- tion, which occurred September 13, 1862, more than a month after he had declared to the Cabinet his establish- ed purpose to take this step. He said to this committee: ' 'I do not want to issue a document that the whole world will see must necessarily be inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the comet! " After drawing out their views upon the subject, he con- cluded the interview with these memorable words: "Do not misunderstand me, because I have mentioned these objections. They indicate the difficulties which have thus far prevented my action in some such way as you desire. I have not decided against a proclamation of liberty to the slaves, but hold the matter under advise- ment. And I can assure you that the subject is on my mind, by day and night, more than any other. What- ever shall appear to be God's will, I will do! I trust that, in the freedom with which I have canvassed your views, I have not in any respect injured your feelings." 150 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Mr. Lincoln's Laugh. Mr. Lincoln's "laugh" stood by itself. The neigh of a wild horse on his native prairie is not more undisguised and hearty. A group of gentlemen, among whom was his old Springfield friend and associate, Hon. Isaac N. Arnold, were one day conversing in the passage near his office, while awaiting admission. A congressional dele- gation had proceded them, and presently an unmistakable voice was heard through the partition, in a burst of mirth. Mr. Arnold remarked, as the sound died away: "That laugh has been the President's life- preserver! " Lincoln and the Newspapers." On a certain occasion, the President was induced by a committee of gentlemen to examine a newly-invented 1 'repeating" gun, the peculiarity of which was, that it pre- vented the escape of gas. After due inspection, he said: "Well, I believe this really does what it is represented to do. Now, have any of you heard of any machine or in- vention for preventing the escape of 'gas' from news- paper establishments? " :o; Lincoln's Bull-frog Story. Violent criticism, attacks and denunciations, coming either from radicals or conservatives, rarely ruffled the President, if they reached his ears. It must have been in connection with something of this kind, that he once told a friend this story: WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. I 5 I "Some years ago," said he, "a couple of emigrants, fresh from the Emerald Isle, seeking labor, were making their way toward the West. Coming suddenly one even- ing upon a pond of water, they were greeted with a grand chorus of frogs — a kind of music they had never before heard. 'B-a-u-m! B-a-u-m!' "Overcome with terror, they clutched their 'shilleluhs,' and crept cautiously forward, straining their eyes in every direction to catch a glimpse of the enemy; but he was not to be found! "At last a happy idea seized the foremost one — he sprang to his companion and exclaimed, 'And sure, Jamie! it is my opinion it is nothing but a noise! ' -:o:- Lincoln's Story of a Poodle Dog. A friend who was walking over from the White House to the War Department with Mr. Lincoln, repeated to him the story of a ' 'contraband" who had fallen into the hands of some good, pious people, and was being taught by them to read and pray. Going off by himself one day, he was overheard to com- mence a prayer by the introduction of himself as "Jim Williams — a berry good nigga' to wash windows; 'spec's you know me now? " After a hearty laugh at what he called this "direct way of putting the case, " Mr . Lincoln said: 'The story that suggests to me, has no resemblance to it, save in the 'washing windows' part. A lady in Phila- delphia had a pet poodle dog, which mysterionsly disap- peared. Rewards were offered for him, and a great ado 152 Lincoln's stories and speeches. made without efiect. Some weeks passed, and all hope of the favorite's return had been given up, when a servant brought him in one day in the filthiest condition imagina- ble. The lady was overjoyed to see her pet again, but hor- riffed at his appearance. "Where did you find him! " she exclaimed. "Oh," replied the man, very unconcernedly, "a negro down the street had him tied to the end of a pole, swabbing windows. " :o: Lincoln's Speech to the Union League. The day following the adjournment at Baltimore, vari- ous political organizations call to pay their respects to the President. First came the conventjon committee, em- bracing one from each state represented — appointed to an- nounce to him, formally, the aomination. Next came the Ohio delegation, with Mentor'y band, of Cincinnati. Fol- lowing these were the representatives of the National Union League, to whom he saiid, in concluding his brief response: "I do not allow myself to suppose that either the con- vention or the League have concluded to decide that I am either the greatest or the best n.ian in America; but, rather they have concluded that it is no t best to swap horses while crossing the river, and have fur ther concluded that I am not so poor a horse, but that t' ney might make a botch of itintryingto swap!" WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 153 Ejecting a Cashiered Officer frum the White House. Among the callers at the White House one day was an officer who had been cashiered from the service. He had prepared an elaborate defence of himself, which he con- sumed much time in reading to the President. When he had finished, Mr. Lincoln replied, that even upon his own statement of the case, the facts would not warrant execu- tive interference. Disappointed and considerably crest- fallen, the man withdrew. A few days afterwards he made a second attempt to al- ter the President's convictions, going over substantially the same ground, and occupying about the same space of time, but without accomplishing his end. The third time he succeeded in forcing himself into Mr. Lincoln's presence, who with great forbearance listened to another repetition of the case to its conclusion, but made no reply. Waiting for a moment, the man gathered from the expression of his countenance that his mind was un- convinced. Turning very abruptly, he said: "Well, Mr. President, I see you are fully determined not to do me justice." This was too aggravating, even for Mr. Lincoln. Man- ifesting, however, no more feeling than that indicated by a slight compression of the lips, he very quietly arose, laid down a package of papers he held in his hand, and then suddenly seiziug the defunct officer by the coat-collar, he marched him forcibly to the door, saying, as he ejected him into the passage: "Sir, I give you fair warning never to show yourself in this room again . I can bear censure, but not insult!" 154 Lincoln's stories and speeches. In a whining tone the man begged for his papers, which he had dropped. "Begone, sir," said the President, ' 'your papers will be sent to you. I never wish to see your face again! " Lincoln and the Wall Street Gold Gamblers. Mr. Carpenter, the artist, is responsible for the fol- lowing: The bill empowering the Secretary of the Treasury to sell the surplus gold had recently passed, and Mr. Chase was then in New York giving his attention personally to the experiment. Governor Curtin referred to this, saying to the President: "I see by the quotations that Chase's movement has already knocked gold down several per cent. " This gave occasion for the strongest expression I ever heard fall from the lips of Mr. Lincoln. Knotting his face in the intensity of his feeling, he said: "Curtin, what do you think of those fellows in Wall Street who are gambling in gold at such a time as this? " ' 'They are a set of sharks, " returned Curtin. "For my part," continued the President, bringing his clinched hand down upon the table, "I wish every one of them had his devilish head shot off! " -:o:- How the Negroes Regarded "3Iassa Lincoln." In 1863, Colonel McKaye of New York, with Robert Dale Owen and one or two other gentlemen, were asso- ciated as a committee to investigate the condition of the WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 55 freedmen on the coast of North Carolina. Upon their return from Hilton Head they reported to the President, and in the course of the interview Col. McKaye related the following incident: He had been speaking of the ideas of power entertain- ed by these people. He said they had an idea of God, as the Almighty, and they had realized in their former condition the power of their masters. Up to the time of the arrival among them of the Union forces, they had no knowledge of any other power. Their masters fled upon the approach of our soldiers, and this gave the slaves a conception of a power greater than that exercised by them. This power they called "Massa Linkum." Colonel McKaye said that their place of worship was a large building which they called "the praise house;" and the leader of the meeting, a venerable black man, was known as "the praise man." On a certain day, when there was quite a large gathering of the people, considerable confusion was created by different persons attempting to tell who and what "Massa Linkum" was. In the midst of the excitement the white-headed leader commanded silence. "Brederin," said he, "you don't know nosen' what you'se talkin' 'bout. Now, you just listen to me. Massa Linkum, he eberywhar. He know eberyting. " Then, solemnly looking up, he added, — "He walk de earf like de Lord! " Colonel McKaye said that Mr. Lincoln seemed much affected by this account. He did not smile, as another man might have done, but got up from his chair and walked 156 Lincoln's stories and speeches. in silence two or three times across the floor. As he re- sumed his seat, he said very impressively: "It is a momentous thing to be the instrument, under Providence, of the liberation of a race." -:o:- One of Lincoln's Last Stories. One of the last stories heard from Mr. Lincoln wass concerning John Tyler, for whom it was to be expected, as an old Henry Clay Whig, he would entertain no great respect. "A year or two after Tyler's accession to the Presidency," said he, "contemplating an excursion in some direction, his son went to order a special train of cars. It so happened that the railroad superintendent was a very strong Whig . On Bob's making known his errand, that official bluntly informed him that his road did not run any special trains for the President. "What!" said Bob, "did you not furnish a special train for the funeral of General Harrison? " "Yes," said the superintendent, stroking his whiskers; "and if you will only bring your father here in that shape you shall have the best train on the road! " WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 57 Lincoln's Habits in the White House. Mr. Lincoln's habits at the White House were as sim- ple as they were at his old home in Illinois. He never alluded to himself as "Presideut," or as occupying "the Presidency. His office he always designated as "the place." Call me Lincoln," said he to a friend; "Mr. President" had become so very tiresome to him. "If you see a newsboy down the street send him up this way," said he to a passenger, as he stood waiting for the morn- ing news at his gate. Friends cautioned him against exposing himself so openly in the midst of enemies; but he never heeded them, He frequently walked the streets at night, entirely unprotected; and felt any check upon his free movements a great annoyance. He delighted to see his familiar Western friends; and he gave them al- ways a cordial welcome. He met them on the old foot- ing, and fell at once into the accustomed habits of talk and story-telling. An old acquaintance, with his wife, visited Washing- ton. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln proposed to these friends a ride in the Presidential carriage. It should be stated in advance that the two men had probably never seen each other with gloves on in their lives, unless when they were used as protection from the cold. The question of each— »Mr. Lincoln at the White House and his friend at the hotel — was, whether he should wear gloves. Of course the ladies urged gloves; but Mr. Lin- coln only put his in his pocket, to be used or not, ac- cording to circumstances. When the Presidential party arrived at the hotel, to take in their friends, they found the gentleman, over- 158 Lincoln's stories and speeches. come by his wife's persuasions, very handsomely gloved. The moment he took his seat he began to draw off the clinging kids, while Mr. Lincoln began to draw his on ! "No ! no ! no !" protested his friend, tugging at his gloves. "It is none of my doings; put up your gloves, Mr. Lincoln." So the two old friends were on even and easy terms, and had their ride after their old fashion. :o: MRS. GEN. JOHN A LOGAN. Lincoln's High Compliment to the Women of America. A Fair for the benefit of the soldiers, held at the Patent Office, in Washington, called out Mr. Lincoln as WHITE HOUSE I XCTDENTS. I 59 an interested visitor; and he was not permitted to retire without giving a word to those in attendance. "In this extraordinary war, " said he, "extraordinary developments have manifested themselves, such as have not been seen in former wars; and among these manifestations nothing has been more remarkable than these fairs for the relief of suffering soldiers and their families, And the chief agents in these fairs are the women of America. I am not accustomed to the use of language of eulogy; I have never studied the art of paying compliments to women; but I must say that if all that has been said by orators and poets since the creation of the world, in praise of women, were applied to the women of America, it would not do them justice for their conduct during the war. I will close by saying, God bless the women of America !'' -:o: Lincoln in the Hour of Great Sorrow. In February, 1862, Mr. Lincoln was visited by a severe affliction in the death of his beautiful son, Willie, and the extreme illness of his son Thomas, familiarly called "Tad." This was a new burden, and the visitation which, in his firm faith in Providence, he regarded as providential, was also inexplicable. A Christian lady from Massachusetts, who was officiating as nurse in one of the hospitals at the time, came to attend the sick chil- dren. She reports that Mr. Lincoln watched with her about the bedside of the sick ones, and that he often walked the room, saying sadly: "This is the hardest trial of my life; why is it ? Why is it ?" In the course of conversations with her, he questioned l6o LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. her concerning his situation. She told him that she was a widow, and that her husbad and two children were in heaven; and added that she saw the hand of God in it all, and that she had never loved Him so much before as she had since her affliction. "How is that brought about ?" inquired Mr. Lincoln. "Simply by trusting in God, and feeling that He does all things well," she replied. "Did you submit fully under the first loss ?" he asked, "No," she answered, "not wholly; but, as blow came upon blow, and all were taken, I could and did submit, and was very happy." He responded: "I am glad to hear you say that. Your experience will help me to bear my affliction." WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. l6l On being assured that many Christians were praying for him on the morning of the funeral, he wiped away the tears that sprang in his eyes, and said: "I am glad to hear that. I want them to pray for me. I need their prayers." As he was going out to the burial, the good lady ex- pressed her sympathy with him. He thanked her gently, and said: "I will try to go to God with my sorrows." A few days afterward she asked him if he could trust God. He replied: "I think I can, and will try. I wish I had that child- like faith you speak of, and I trust He will give it to me." And then he spoke of his mother, whom so many years before he had committed to the dust among the wilds of Indiana. In this hour of his great trial the memory of her who had held him upon her bosom, and soothed his childish griefs, came back to him with tenderest recollec- tions. "I remember her prayers," said he, "and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." -:c:- A Praying President. After the second defeat of Bull Run, Mr. Lincoln ap- peared very much distressed about the number of killed and wounded, and said to a lady friend: "I have done the best I could. I have asked God to guide me, and now I must leave the event with him." On another occasion, having been made acquainted with the fact that a great battle was in progress at a dis- tant but important point, he came into the room where 1 62 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. this lady was engaged in nursing a member of the family, looking worn and haggard, and saying that he was so anxious that he could eat nothing. The possibility of de- feat depressed him greatly; but the lady told him he must trust, and that he could at least pray. ''Yes," said he, and taking up a Bible, he started for his room. Could all the people of the nation have overheard the earnest petition that went up from that inner chamber as it reached the ears of the nurse, they would have fallen upon their knees with tearful and reverential sym- pathy. At one o'clock in the afternoon, a telegram reached him announcing a Union victory; and then he came di- rectly to the room, his face beaming with joy, saying: "Good news ! Good news ! The victory is ours, and God is good." "Nothing like prayer," suggested the pious lady, who traced a direct connection between the event and the prayer which preceded it. "Yes, there is," he replied — "praise — prayer and praise." The good lady who communicates these incidents, closes them with the words: "I do believe he was a true Christian, though he had very little confidence in him- self. :o: Telling a Story and Pardoning a Soldier. General Fisk, attending the reception at the White House on one occasion saw, waiting in the ante-room, a poor old man from Tennessee. Sitting down beside him. WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 163 he inquired his errand, and learned that he had been waiting three or four days to get an audience, and that on his seeing Mr. Lincoln probably depended the life of his son, who was under sentence of death for some mili- tary offense. General Fisk wrote his case in outline on a card, and sent it in, with a special request that the President would see the man. In a moment the order came; and past senators, governors and generals, waiting impatiently, the old man went into the President's presence. He showed Mr. Lincoln his papers, and he, on taking them, said he would look into the case and give him the result on the following day. The old man, in an agony of apprehension, looked up into the President's sympathetic face, and actually cried out: "To-morrow may be too late ! My son is under sen- tence of death ! The decision ought to be made now !" and the streaming tears told how much he was moved. "Come," said Mr. Lincoln, "wait a bit, and I'll tell you a story;" and then he told the old man General Fisk's story about the swearing driver, as follows: The- General had begun his military life as a Colonel, and, when he raised his regiment in Missouri, he pro- posed to his men that he should do all the swearing of the regiment. They assented; and for months no in- stance was known of the violation of the promise. The Colonel had ^c teamster named John Todd, who, as roads were not always the best, had some difficulty in com- manding his temper and his tongue. John happened to be driving a mule team through a series of mud-holes a little worse than usual, when, unable to restrain himself 164 Lincoln's stories a\*n speeches. any longer, he burst forth into a volley of energetic oaths. The Colonel took notice of the offense, and brought John to an account. "John," said he, "didn't you promise to let me do all the swearing of the regiment ?" "Yes, I did, Colonel," he replied, "but the fact was the swearing had to be done then or not at all, and you weren't thereto do it." As he told the story, the old man forgot his boy, and both the President and his listener had a hearty laugh to- gether at its conclusion. Then he wrote a few words which the old man read, and in which he found new oc- casion for tears; but the tears were tears of joy, for the words saved the life of his son. :o:- Bishop Turner's Reminiscences. Bishop H. M. Turner, of the African M E. Church, in the Northwestern Advocate, says: I well remember President Lincoln. My recollections of his form, size, visage, walk, the easy swing of his body, stern but pleasant countenan,c, eyeflash and rapid wink, the forward bend of his person, when speaking, the genial smile which lit up his face occasionally, re- moving the impression that he was a man of sad and for- lorn disposition, the prominent forehead somewhat re- ceding toward the top, and visibly wrinkled just above the eyebrows, the projecting nose, and disheveled hair — are vivid and distinct. There was nothing about him that was repulsive or frigorific, yet there was a dignity and genial majesty that would make anyone feel when brought in contact with him that he was in the presence WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 65 of no ordinary man. A little child might be wooed by the magic touch of his friendship, gentleness and the ten- derness of his nature; while a king or an emperor might feel that a peer was in his presence. He had none of the qualities of the dude, the assumptions of a cavalier, the display of the knight, nor the pretensions of an aristo- crat . If he ever had a suit of clothes that fitted him I never saw it. Yet I have seen him scores of times — walking the streets, riding in his carriage, speaking from the platform, delivering his inaugural on the east side of the capitol, in the executive mansion, inspecting the army in front of Petersburg with General Grant, and in the de- partment of war exchanging words with that lordly, stern, and inflexible man of iron nerve, Edwin M. Stan- ton, his great Secretary of war. Late in the fall of 1862 a portly but venerable-looking colored gentleman from Poughkeepsie, N. Y., came to Washington and assuming to represent a large body of colored men who were anxious to enlist as soldiers in the army to defend their country and its flag, he delivered a most eloquent speech to a crowded house in my church, and requested me to accompany him in waiting upon the President and presenting the readiness of his constituents to bleed and die for the country. After some delay we succeeded in reaching the President, and he delivered one of the most eloquent addresses to President Lincoln in the space of ten minutes I have ever heard since or be- fore. At the conclusion of his grandiloquent speech the President responded in a few words, thanking him for his visit, for his patriotic sentiments, and requested him to return home and get the names, streets, and numbers of this army of would-be colored soldiers and bring them to 1 66 Lincoln's stories and speeches. him, and he would call for them at his earliest con- venience. We left the White House together; he was a little chagrined and crestfallen, and disappeared from the city to return no more. The truth is, he represented no- body but himself. He thought that Mr. Lincoln would commission him a lieutenant or captain to drum up col- ored soldiers; but when the President failed to do so he had no further use for him. The first colored regiment which was raised and or- ganized under the direct auspices of the general govern- ment (I do not refer to those enlisted by General Butler in New Orleans or Governor Andrews in Massachusetts) was raised in Washington, D. C. The first two com- panies were enlisted in the basement of Israel Church; but the regiment was completed on Mason's Island, just across the Potomac from Washington City. All the com- missioned officers, being white, were appointed from the colonel down, and a white chaplain had been assigned to duty in the same regiment temporarily by the colonel in command. This writer, however, was the choice of the colored members of the regiment for the position of chap- lain, and, at their solicitation, I applied for the same. WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 67 Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, and Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, and after- ward Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, were favorable; but the other cabinet officers were either unfavorable or in doubt as to the advisability of making a colored man a commissioned officer in any form; at least, I was so informed by Secretary Chase. When the question came up in the cabinet for final decision before Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Stanton and Mr. Chase held that the colored soldiers should have their own spiritual director and guide, and that my labors in the organization of the regiment entitled me to the position. Messrs. Seward, Blair, Welles, and others of the cabinet thought it rather too early to risk public sentiment in commissioning a col- ored man to any position whatever. Mr. Lincoln sat with great patience and heard the discussion, but finally put a quietus to the question at issue by saying, "Well, we have far graver matters for consideration than this," and, turning to the secretary of war, simply said, "Stan- ton, issue his commission as chaplain. Now, gentlemen, let us proceed to business-" Mr. Chase sent for me the same afternoon to come to his residence, and, after con- gratulating me upon being a United States chaplain, and the first one of my race to receive a commission, gave a detailed narrative of the whole transaction, but pledged me to secresy. I do not think I am violating the con- tract in relating it at this remote period. -:o: Seward and Chase. The antagonism between the conservatives repre- sented in the cabinet by Seward and the radicals, rep- 1 68 Lincoln's stories and speeches. resented by Chase, was a source of much embarrassment to Mr. Lincoln. Finally the radicals appointed a com- mittee to demand the dismissal of Seward. Before the committee arrived Mr. Seward, in order to relieve the President of embarrassment, tendered his resignation. In the course of the discussion with the committee Mr. Chase found his position so embarrassing and equivocal that he thought it wise to tender his resignation the next day. Mr. Lincoln refused to accept either, stating that "the public interest does not admit of it." When it was all over he said: "Now I can ride; I have got a pumpkin in each end of my bag. " Later on he said: "I do not see how it could have been done better. I am sure it was right. If I had yielded to that storm, and dismissed Seward, the thing would have slumped over one way, and we should have been left with a scanty handful of sup- porters, " :o: Mr. Lincoln's Remedy for Baldness. In 1864 Mr. Lincoln was greatly bothered by the well- meant but ill-advised efforts of certain good Northern men to bring about a termination of the war. An old gentleman from Massachusetts, very bland and entirely bald, was especially persistent and troublesome. Again and again he appeared before the President, and was got rid of by one and another ingenious expedient. One day when this angel of mercy had been boring Mr. Lincoln for half an hour to the interruption of important business, the President suddenly arose, went to a closet, and took out of it a large bottle. "Did you ever try this remedy for baldness ?" he asked, holding up the bottle before his WHITE HOUSE INCIDENTS. 1 69 astonished visitor. No; the man was obliged to confess that he never had tried it. Mr. Lincoln called a servant, had the bottle wrapped up, and handed it to the bald philanthropist. "There," said he, "go and rub some of that on your head. Persevere. They say it will make your hair grow. Come back in about three months and report." And almost before he knew it the good man was outside of the door with the package under his arm. ■:o:- In all the great emergencies of his closing years Mr. Lincoln's reliance upon Divine guidance and assistance was often extremely touching. "I have been driven many times to my knees," he once remarked, "by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for that day." (i7o) WAR STORIES. Story of Andy Johnson and His Doubtful Interest in Prayers. Col. Moody, "the fighting. Methodist parson," as he was called in Tennessee, while attending a conference in Philadelphia, met the President and related to him the following story, which we give as repeated by Mr. Lin- coln to a friend. "He told me," said Lincoln, "this story of Andy Johnson and General Buel which interested me in- tensely: The Colonel happened to be in Nashville the day it was reported that Buel had decided to evacuate the city. The Rebels, strongly re-enforced, were said to be within two days' march of the capitol. 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 [I7i] 1/2 LIX'COLNS stories and speeches. on each side. As he entered, they retired, leaving him alone with Johnson, who came up to him, manifesting in- tense 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 his hands and chafing like a caged tiger, utterly insensible to 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, and instantly both went down upon their knees, at oppo- site sides of the room. As the prayer waxed fervent Johnson began 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 long breath and said with empha- sis: ' « 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: WAR STORIES. T73 " 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, I am not, and never pretended to be, religious. No one knows this better than you, but, 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 Nash- ville shall be surrendered! " And Nashville was not surrendered. :o:- A Soldier that Knew No Royalty. Captain Mix, the commander at one period of the President's body-guard, told this story to a friend: On their way to town one sultry morning, from the Soldiers' Home, they came upon a regiment marching in- to the city. A "stragler," very heavily loaded with camp equipage, was accosted by the President with the ques- tion: ■'My lad, what is that?" referring to the designation of his regiment. " It's a regiment," said the soldier curtly, plodding on, his gaze bent steadily upon the ground. " Yes, I see that," responded the President, " but I want to know what 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 Cap- tain Mix and said, with a merry laugh: "It is very evident that fellow smells no blood of 'roy- alty' in this establishment." 174 Lincoln's stories and speeches. A Little Soldier Boy. "President Lincoln," says the Hon . W. D. Kell, "was a large and many-sided man, and yet so simple that no one, not even a child, could approach him without feel- ing 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 the gunboat Ottawa, and had been in two important en- gagements; in the first as a powder-monkey, when he had conducted himself with such coolness that he had chosen as captain's messenger in the second; and I sug- gested to the President that it was within his power to send to the Naval School annually three boys who had served at least a year in the navy. He at once wrote on the back of a letter from the commander of the Ottawa, 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 appointment had not been made, and I brought it home with me. It directed the lad to report for ex- amination at the school in July. 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 until September follow- ing. 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 Chamber with his father. WAR STORIES. I 75 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, finds a difficulty about his appointment. You have directed him to appear at the school in July; but he is not yet fourteen years of age." But before I got half of this out, Mr. Lincoln, laying down his spectacles, 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 graceful bow. The President took the papers at once, and as soon as a postponement until September would suffice, 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. :o: Sallie Ward's Practical Philosophy. When the telegram from Cumberland Gap reached Mr. Lincoln that " firing was heard in the direction of Knoxville," he remarked that he was "glad of it." Some person present, who had the perils of Burnside's posi- 176 Lincoln's stories and speeches.* tion uppermost in his mind, could not see why Mr. Lin- coln 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 my children that isn't dead yet.'" ■:o: Pardons a Soldier. The Hon. Mr. Kellogg, representative from Essex Co. , N. Y. , received a dispatch one evening from the army to the effect 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 da}-. Greatly agitated, Mr. Kellogg went to the Secretary of War and urged, in the strongest manner, a reprieve. Stanton was inexorable. "Too many cases of the kind had been let off," he said, "and it was time an example was made." Exhausting his eloquence in vain, Mr. Kellogg said: ' ' Well, Mr. Secretary, the boy is not going to be shot, of that I give you fair warning!" Leaving the War Department, he went directly to the White 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. M. Lincoln had retired, but indifferent to etiquette or cer- imony, Judge Kellogg pressed his way through all obsta- WAR STORIES. 1 77 cles to his sleeping apartment. In an excited manner he stated that the dispatch announcing the hour of execu- tion 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 Congress together). He at length said: "Well, I don't believe shooting will do him any good. Give me that pen." And so saying "red tape" was uncerimoniously cut, and another poor fellow's life was indefinitely ex- tended. Lincoln's Vow. The following incident, remarkable for its significant facts, is related by Mr. Carpenter, the artist: Mr. Chase, said Mr. Carpenter, told me that at the Cabinet meeting immediately after the battle of Antie- tam and just prior to the issue of the September procla- mation, the President entered upon the business before them by saying: 11 The time for the annunciation of the emancipation proclamation 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 would do it! " The last part of this was uttered in a low tone, and ap- peared to be heard by no one but Secretary Chase, who 178 Lincoln's stories and speeches. was sitting near him. He asked the President if he cor- rectly understood him. Mr. Lincoln replied: " I made a solemn vow before God that if General Lee was driven back from Pennsylvania, I would crowm 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 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 Eman- cipation; that subsequent occurrences had only confirm- ed my first judgment of that act as the most sublime moral event in our history. "Yes," said he — and never do I remember to have no- ticed in him more earnestness of expression or manner — "as affairs have turned, it is the central act of my ad- ministration, and the great event of the nineteenth cen- tury. :o: "Borrowing the Army." On a certain occasion the President said to a friend that he was in great distress; he had been to General McClellan's house and the General did not ask to see him; and as he must talk to somebody he had sent for General Franklin and my self, to obtain our opinions as to the possibility of soon commencing active operations with the army of tho Potomac . To use his own expres- sion, if something was not done soon the bottom would fall out of the whole affair; and if General McClellan WAR STORIES. I 79 did not want to use the army, he would like to borrow it, provided he could see how it could be made to do some- thing. :o: Lincoln's Politeness. I was always touched, says Mr. Carpenter, by the President's manner of receiving a salute of the guard at the White House. Whenever he appeared in the portico, on his way to or from the War or Treasury Departments, or on any ex- cursion down the avenue, the first glimpse of him was, of course, the signal for the sentinel on duty to " present arms" and "call out the guard." This was always acknowledged by 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 al- ways seemed to me as much of a compliment to the de- votion of the soldiers, on his part, as it was the sign of duty and deference on the part of the guard. ■:o:- His Visits to the Hospitals. On the Monday before the assassination, when the President was on his way 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 hos- pitals under his charge and shake hands with every sol- dier. The surgeon asked if he knew what he was undertak- ing, there being five or six thousand soldiers at that place, and it would be quite a tax upon his strength to i8o Lincoln's stories and spfeches. 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 had 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 sympathy to some, making kind inquiries of oth- ers, and welcomed bv all with the heartiest cordial- ity- As they passed along they came to a ward in which lay a rebel who had been wounded and was a prisoner. As the tall figure of the kindly visitor appeared in sight, he was recognized by the rebel soldier, who, raising himself on his elbow in bed, watched Mr. Lincoln as he ap- proached 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 WAR STORIES. iSl "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 knowingly omit no one, ' 'the boys" would be so disappointed. So he went with the messenger, accompanied by the surgeon, and shook hands with the gratified soldiers, and then returned again to the office. The surgeon expressed the fear that the President's arm would be lamed with so much hand-shaking, saying it certainly must ache. Mr- Lincoln smiled, and saying 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 ex- tended his right arm to its full length, holding the axe out horizontally, without its even quivering as he held it. Stong men who looked on — men accustomed to man- ual labor — could not hold the same axe in that position for a moment. Returning to the office he 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 safely cared for by a hospital steward because they were " the chips that Father Abraham chopped." 1 82 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Mr. Lincoln and a Clergyman. At the semi-annual meeting of the New Jersey Histor- ical Society, held in Newark, N. J. , Rev. Dr. Sheldon, at Princeton, read a memorial of their late President, Rev. R. K. Rodgers, D. D . , in which appears the following interesting incident concerning Mr. Lincoln and the war: One day during the war Dr. Rodgers was called on by 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 min- ister's interposition. The Doctor went to Washington with the wife and in- fant 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? " 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 pre- pare 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. 1 83 On being told, he turned to his secretary, said a few words in an undertone, of which that official made note, and added to Dr. Rodgers: "Ycu have your request. Tell his friends I have re- prieved him." With a " God bless you, Mr. President," Dr. Rodgers turned away to bear the glad news to the distressed fam- ily. -:o: A Remarkable Letter. The following remarkable letter from Lincoln to Gen- eral Hooker was written after the latter had taken com- mand 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 President 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 ac- companied the President to General Hooker's headquar- ters on a visit. One night General Hooker, alone with this gentleman in his tent, 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. The tears stood in the General's bright blue eyes as he added: "It is such a letter as a father might have written to his son, and yet it hurt me." And then, dashing the water from his eyes, he said: 1 84 Lincoln's stories and speeches. " 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 cer- tain 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 letter, which is herewith reprinted, must have been written by Lincoln: Executive Mansion, Washington, D, C, Jan, 26, 1863. Maj.-Gen. Hooker — General: I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Po- tomac. Of course I have done this upon what appears to me to be suffi- cient reasons; and yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which I am not qnite 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 with your profession — in which you are right. You have confidence in yourself — 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 ambi- tion 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- officer. I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that 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 win victories can set up Dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the Dictator- ship. The government will support you to the utmost of its ability — which is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all com- manders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into tne 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 be- ware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but, with energy and sleepless vigilance, go forward and give us victories. Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln. WAR STORIES. 1 85 A "Hen-Pecked" Husband. When General Phelps took possession of Ship Island, near New Orleans, early in the war, it will be remem- bered that he issued a proclamation, somewhat bombas- tic in tone, freeing the slaves. To the surprise of many people, on both sides, the President took no official no- tice of this movement. Some time had elapsed, when one day a friend took him to task for his seeming indif- ference 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 you, 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 look- ed up with a wink, patting his friend on the back, ' 'Now don't," said he, "why, it didn't hurt me any; and you've no idea what a power of good it did Sarah Ann? " •:o:- 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 response 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. 1 86 Lincoln's stories and speeches. Lincoln, '. 'for I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right . But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that this nation should be on the Lord's side." :o:- A Short Practical Sermon. On a certain occasion, two ladies from Tennessee came before the President, asking the release of their hus- bands, held as prisoners of war at Johnson's Island. They were put off until the following Friday, when they came again, and were again put off until Saturday, At each of the interviews one of the ladies urged that her husband was a religious 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 be- cause, as they think, that Government does not suffici- ently 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. " -:o:- A Celebrated Case. The celebrated case of Franklin W. Smith and broth- er, was one of those which most largely helped to bring military tribunals into public contempt. Those two gen- tleman were arrested and kept in confinement, their pa- pers seized, their business destroyed, their reputation WAR STORIES. I 87 damaged and a naval court-martial "organized to con- vict," pursued them unrelentingly till a wiser and juster hand arrested the malice of their prosecutors. It is known that President Lincoln, after full investi- gation of the case, annulled the whole proceedings, but it is remarkable that the actual record of his decision could never be obtained from the Navy Department. An exact copy being withheld, the following was presented to the Boston Board of Trade as being very nearly the words of the late President: "W/iereas, 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 — I don't believe he stole anything at all. Therefore, the record and findings are disapproved — declared null and void, and the defendants are fully discharged." "It would be difficult," says the New York Tribune, "to sum up the rights and wrongs of the business more briefly than that, or to find a paragraph more character- istically and unmistakably Mr. Lincoln's. :o, 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 observed that among Congressmen and others in high 1 88 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. 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 way 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 el- ements 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 lang- uage 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 tbe White House, they ke*pt 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 previous night. He said he had. I asked him what he thought of it. He said it was very perplexing. I told him I had come to make a suggestion. 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 WAR STORIES. 189 policy of the Administration was, whenever the qualifi- cations 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 morn- ing. 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 proposi- tion, and I have a question to ask you; Did you ever know Colonel Smith, of Rockford, 111?" "I said I had an introduction to him when attending to the defense of of Governor Bebb. " "You know," said he, "that he was killed at Vicks- burg; that his head was carried off by a shell. He was postmaster and his wife wants the place," and he inquir- ed if that would come up to my idea; and thereupon he and I concocted a letter — I have the correspondence in my possession — to Postmaster General Blair, directing him to appoint the widow of Colonel Smith Postmistress, 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 righting 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 Mr. Blair, and he gave me a note of introduction to him with the letter. I told Blair that I proposed to take a copy of Mr. Lincoln's letter, which he had then made out by 190 Lincoln's stories and speeches. the clerk. I took the letter to the Chronicle office in Washington, in 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 re- marks, and coming round to the old saw, 'that Repub- lics are always ungrateful,' I told them I could not vouch for the Republic, but I thought I could vouch for the chief man at the head of the Administration, and he had al- ready spoken on that subject, and when I read Lincoln's letter the boys flung their hats into the air and made the welkin ring for a long while . "I hurried back to the city, and with a pair of shears cut out Lincoln's letter, and then attached some editor- ial 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 prefer- ence over others. This may have been a small matter, but it made a marvelous impression on the army. :o:- 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 embarrassmeni in her manner, and addressed WAR STORIES. 191 the President. Giving her a very close and scrutinizing 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?" Mr. Lincoln asked, in a quick, nervous manner. "The church," she replied; "and as there are only 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." 192 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. "Madam, have you been to see the post surgeon at Alexandria about this matter? " "Yes, 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. "Well, madam, I expect we shall have another fight soon, and my candid opinion is, God wants that 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 you. Good-day, madam." ■:o: How Lincoln Relieved Rosecrans. General James B. Steedman, familiarly known as old "Old Chickamauga," relates the following: Some weeks after the disastrous battle of Chicka- mauga, while yet Chattanooga was in a state of siege, General Steedman was surprised one day to receive a telegram from Abraham Lincoln to come to Washington. Seeking out Thomas, he laid the telegram before him, and was instructed to set out at once. Repairing to the White House, he was warmly received by Mr. Lincoln. WAR STORIES. 1 93 Mr. Lincoln's first question was abrupt and to the point: "General Steedman, what is your opinion of General Rosecrans? " General Steedman, hesitating a moment, said; "Mr. President, I would rather not express my opinion of my superior officer." Mr. Lincoln said: "It is the man who does not want to express an opinion whose opinion I want. I am be- sieged on all sides with advice. Every day I get letters from army officers asking me to allow them to come to Washington to impart some valuable knowledge in their possession. " "Well, Mr. President," said Mr. Steedman, "you are the Commander-inChief of the Army, and if you order me to speak I will do so." Mr. Lincoln said: "Then I will order an opinion." General Steedman then answered: "Since you command me, Mr. President, I will say General Rosecrans is a splendid man to command a vic- torious army." ' 'But what kind of a man is he to command a defeated army? " 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 quaint humor, Mr. Lincoln propounded this question: "Who, besides yourself, General Steedman, is there in that army who would make a better commander?" General Steedman promptly said; "General George H. Thomas." 194 Lincoln's stories and speeches. '•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 ap- pointment because he is from a rebel 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 re- lieving General Rosecrans of the command of the Army of the Cumberland and appointing General Thomas in his place. :o:- An Interesting Incident Connected with Sign- ing the Emancipation Proclamation. The roll containing the Emancipation Proclamation was taken to Mr. Lincoln at noon on the first day of Jan- uary, 1863, by Secretary Seward and his son Frederick. As it lay unrolled before him, Mr. Lincoln took a pen, dipped it in the ink, moved his hand to the place for the signature, held it a moment, and then removed his hand and dropped the pen. After a little hesitation he again took up the pen and went through the same movement as before. Mr. Lincoln then turned to Mr. Seward, and said: •T have been shaking hands since nine o'clock this morning and my right arm is almost paralyzed. If my WAR STORIES. 195 name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it . If my hand trembles when I sign the Proclamation, all who examine the document here- after will say, 'He hesitated.'" He then turned to the table, took up the pen again, THE DAWN. and slowly, firmly wrote "Abraham Lincoln," with which the whole world is now familiar. He then looked up, smiled, and said. "That will do!" -:o: A Dream that was Portentous — What Lincoln said to General Grant about it. At the Cabinet meeting held the morning of the day of the assassination, it was afterward remembered, a re- markable circumstance 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 ■^5598 GEN. U. S. GRANT, AFTER HIS RETURN FROM TOUR OF THE WORLD. [196] WAR STORIES. 1 97 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." "Why do you think so? " said the General. "Because," said Mr. Lincoln, "I had a dream last night; and ever since the war began, I have invariably had the same dream before any important military event occurred." He then instanced Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, etc. , and said that before each of those events he had had the same dream; and turning to Secretary Wells, said: "It is in your line, too, Mr. Wells. 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. Lin- coln if he would like any one to accompany them, he replied: "No; 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 I 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. " :o:- 198 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. 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 imme- diate 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 killing the children, so he calmly waited until it had moved away. Now, I do not want to act in a hurry about the matter; I don't want to hurt anybody in Kentucky; but I will get the serpent out of Tenn- essee. •'And he did march through Kentucky, to the aid of Andrew Johnson's mountaineer's." WAR STORIES. 199 Lincoln's Cutting Reply to the Confederate Com- mission. 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 Hamp- ton Roads, on the 3d of February, 1865, between Presi- dent Lincoln and Mr. Seward, representing the govern- ment, and Messrs. Alexander H. Stephens, J. A. Camp- bell and Mr. 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 illustrate his point, he referred to the cor- respondence between King Charles the First and his Par- liament, as a reliable precedent of a constitutional ruler treating with rebels. Mr. Lincoln's face wore that inde- scribable expression which generally preceded his hardest hits; and he remarked: "Upon questions of history I must refer you to Mr. Seward, for he is posted in such things, and I don't pro- fess to be: but my only 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 upon compulsion, un- der an overseer, would, if suddenly freed, precipitate not only themselves, but the entire society of the South, into irremediable 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 un- 200 Lincoln's stories and speeches. der 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 few 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 puzzle 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 hogs, but that also of digging the potatoes ! Charmed with his sagacity, he stood one day leaning against the fence, counting his hogs, when a neighbor came along: "'Well, well,' said he, 'Mr. Case this is 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 !' " :o: 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. WAR STORIES. 20 1 "We have been deceived too often," said General Hal- leck, 'and I regret I can't grant it." Judge Baldwin then went to Stanton, and was very briefly disposed of, with the same result. Finally, he obtained an interview with Mr. Lincoln, and stated his case. "Have you applied to General Halleck?" inquired the President. "Yes, and met with a flat refusal," said Judge B. " 'Then you must see Stanton,' continued the Presi- dent. " '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 that I have very little in- fluence with this Administration.' " :o:- 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 sen- tenced to be shot, for sleeping at his post, as a sentinel. He remarked 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.' Then 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 asleep; and I cannot consent to shoot him for such an act.' " This story, with its moral, is made complete by Rev, Newman Hall, of London, who, in a sermon preached after and upon Mr. Lincoln's death, says that the dead 202 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPFECHES. body of this youth was found among the slain on the field of Fredericksburg, wearing next his heart a photograph of his preserver, 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 Presi- dent to be signed. He refused. I went to Washington and had an interview. I said: " 'Mr. President, unless these men are made an exam- ple 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.'" :o: No Mercy for the Man Stealer. 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. Alley, 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 WAR STORIES. 203 measure of his punishment, 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 petition, he looked up and said: "My friend, that is a very touching appeal to our feelings. You know my weakness is to be, if possi- ble, 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 ap- peal; but the man who could go to Africa, and rob her of her children, and sell them into interminable bondage, 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. No ! He may rot in jail before he shall have liberty by any act of mine. " A sudden crime, committed under 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 to the business, could win from him, as an officer of the people, no pardon. •:o:- How a Negro Argued the Point. The following story is attributed to Mr. Lincoln upon the hurricane deck of one of our gun-boats: An elderly darkey with a very philosophical and re- trospective cast of countenance, squatted upon his bundle, toasting his shins against the chimney, and ap- parently plunged in a state of profound meditation. Finding, upon inquiry, that he belonged to the Ninth II- 204 Lincoln's stories and speeches. linois, one of the most gallantly behaved and heavy los- ing regiments at the Fort Donaldson battle, and a part of which was aboard, I began to interrogate him upon the subject: "Were you in the fight?" "Had a little taste of it, sa." "Stood your ground, did you?" "No sa; I runs." "Run at the first fire, did you?" "Yes sa, and would hab run soona had I knowd it war coming." "Why, that wasn't very creditable to your courage.' "Dat isn't my line, sa; cooking's my perfeshun." "Well, but have you no regard for your reputa- tion?" "Reputation's nuffin to me by de side of life." "Do you consider your life worth more than other people's?" "It is worth more to me, sa." "Then you must value it very highly?" "Yes, sa, I does; more dan all dis wuld, more dan a million ob dollars, sa; for what wud dat be wuf to a man wid de bref out of him? Self-preserbation am de fust law wid me." "But why should you act upon a different rule from other men?" "Because different men set different values upon their lives; mine is not in de market." "But if you lost it, you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you died for your country." ' 'What satisfaction would dat be to me when de power ob feelin' was gone?" WAR STORIES. 205 "Then patriotism and honor are nothing to you?" "Nuffin whatever, sa; I regard them as among the van- ities." "If our soldiers were like you, traitors might have broken up the Government without resistance." "Yes. sa; dar would hab been no help for it. I wouldn't put my life in de scale 'ginst any gobernment dat eber existed, for no gobernment could replace de loss to me. 1 'Do you think any of your company would have miss- ed you if you had been killed?" "Maybe not, sa; a dead man ain't much to dese sogers, let alone a dead nigga; but I'd a missed myself and dat was de pint wid me." •:o: How Lincoln Associated His Second Nomination with a Very Singular Circumstance. 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 Vice Pdesident 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 2o6 LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES. afterwards : « 'A very singular occurrence 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, returning home from down town, I went up-stairs to Mrs. 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 I saw distinctly two im- ages of myself, exactly alike, except that one was a little paler than the other. I arose, and lay 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 disagreea- ble sensation produced by it returned. I had never seen anything of the kind before, 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 effect was produced, I would make up my mind that it was the natural result of some principle of refraction of 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 unkown 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. Lincoln attached any omen to the phenomenon, but it is known that Mrs. Lincoln regarded it as a sign that the President would be re-elected. WAR STORIES. 2C>7 A Touching Incident in the Life of Lincoln. A few days before the President's death, Secretary Stanton tendered his resignation of the War Department. He accompanied the act with a heartfelt tribute to Mr. Lincoln's constant friendship and faithful devotion to the country; saying, also, that he as Secrstary had accepted the position to hold it only until the war should end, and that now he felt his work was done, and his duty was to resign. BIRTHPLACE OF GENERAL U. S. GRANT. Mr. Lincoln was greatly moved by the Secretary's words, and tearing in pieces the paper containing the resignation, and throwing his arms adout 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 frieuds of both parties were present on the occasion, and there was not a dry eye that wituessed the scene. 208 Lincoln's stories and speeches. 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 tumbling ruins of the Confederacy, anxiously asked "what he would do with Jeff. Davis ?" "There was a boy in Springfield," 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 appear- ance, and asked the matter. " 'Qh,' was the only reply, 'this coon is such a trouble to me.' ' 'Why don't you get rid of him then ?" said the gentle- man. " '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!'" :o: The Great 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 Wilderness, how General Grant personally impressed him as compared to other officers of the army, and especially those who had been in command. WAR STORIES. 209 "The great thing about Grant," said he, "I take it, is his perfect coolness and persistency of purpose. I judge he is not easily excited, which is a great element in an officer, and has the grit of a bull-dog ! Once let him get his 'teeth' in, and nothing can shake him off." ■:o: A Joke on Mr. Chase. One day, while the Americau war was going on, and Secretary Chase was issuing the paper money, known as /greenbacks," in large quantities, he found upon a desk in his office a drawing of an ingenious invention for turn- ing gold eagles into "greenbacks," with a portrait of him- self feeding it with "yellor boys," at one end, while the government currency came out at the other end, flying about like leaves of autumn. While he was examining the drawing, President Lincoln came in, and recognizing the likeness of the secretary, exclaimed: "Capital joke, isn't it, Mr. Chase?" "A joke," said the irate financier, "I'd give a thousand dollars to know who left that here." "Would you, indeed," said the President, "and which end would you pay from?" The answer is not "recorded." :o:- A Curious Story of Lincoln and the Spirits. It is stated on the authority of the Boston Evening Gazette, that Abraham Lincoln once gave a spiritual soiree at the Presidential residence to test the wonderful alleged supernatural powers of one Mr. Charles E: Shockle. The party consisted of the President, Mrs. 210 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. Lincoln, Mr. Wells, Mr. Stanton and two other gentlemen. For some half-hour the demonstrations were ol a phys- ical character — tables were moved, and a picture of Henry Clay, which hangs on the wall, was swayed more than a foot, and two candelabra, presented by the Dey of Algiers to President Adams, was twice raised nearly to the ceiling. At length loud rappings was heard directly beneath the President's feet, and Mr. Shockle stated that an Indian desired to communicate . "I shall be happy to hear what his Indian majesty has to say," replied the President, "for I have very re- cently received a deputation of our red brethren, and it was the only delegation, black, white or blue, which did not volunteer some advice about the conduct of the war. " The medium then called for a pencil and paper, which were laid upon the table, and afterwards covered with a handkerchief. Presently knocks were heard and the pa- per was uncovered, To the surprise of all present, it read as follows: '.Haste makes waste, but delays cause vexations. Give vitality by energy. Use every means to subdue. Proclamations are useless, Make a bold front and fight the enemy; leave traitors at home to the care of loyal men. Less note of preparation, less parade and policy- talk, and more action. — Henry Knox." "That is not Indian talk, Mr. Shockle," said the Pres- ident. "Who is Henry Knox? The medium, speaking in a strange voice, replied, "The first Secretary of War." WAR STORIES. 21 I "Oh, yes; General Knox," said the President. "Stan- ton, that message is for you; it is from your predecessor. I should like to ask General Knox to tell us when this re- bellion will be put down." The answer was oracularly indefinite. The spirit said that Napoleon thought one thing, Lafayette another, and that Franklin differed from both. 'Ah," exclaimed the President, "opinions differ among the saints as well as among the sinners. Their talk is very much like the talk of my cabinet . I wish the spir- its would tell us how to catch the Alabama?" The lights almost instantaneously became so dim that it was impossible to distinguish the features of any one in the room, and on the large mirror over the mantlepiece, there appeared a sea-view, the Alabama, with all steam up, flying from the pursuit of another large steamer. Two merchantmen in the distance were seen partially destroy- ed by fire. The picture changed, and the Alabama was seen at anchor under the shadow of an English fort, from which an English flag was flying. The Alabama was floating idly, not a soul on board, and no signs of life visible about her. The picture vanished, and, in letters of pur- ple, appeared: "The American people demand this of the English aristocracy." "So England is to seize the Alabama, finally?" said the President. "It may be possible, but Mr. Wells, do not let one gunboat or one monitor less be con- structed." "Well, Mr. Shockle," continued he, "I have seen 212 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. strange things, and heard rather odd remarks, but noth- ing that convinces me, except the pictures, that there is anything very heavenly about all this. I should like, if possible, to hear what Judge Douglas says about this war. " After an interval of about three minutes, Mr. Shockle rose quickly from his chair and stood behind it. Resting his left hand on the back, his right into his bosom, he spoke in a voice such as no one could mistake who had ever heard Mr. Douglas. He urged the President to throw aside all advisers who hesitated about the policy to be pursued, and said that if victory were followed up by energetic action, all would be well. "I believe that," said the President, "whether it comes from spirit or human. It needs not a ghost from 'the bourne from which no traveler returns' to tell that." ■:o:- The President's Aversion to Bloodshed. A striking incident in Mr. Lincoln's official life is re- lated by Judge Bromwell, of Denver, who visited the White House in March, 1865. Mr. Seward and several other gentlemen were also present, and the President gradually came to talk on decisions of life and death. All other matters submitted to him, he declared, were nothing in comparison to these, and he added: ' 'I reckon there never was a man raised in the country on a farm, where they are always butchering cattle and hogs and think nothing of it, that ever grew up with such an aversion to bloodshed as I have; and yet I've had more WAR SI OKIES. 213 questions of life and death to settle in four years than all the men who ever sat in this chair put to- gether. "But I've managed to get along and do my duty, as I [.The Massacre.] believe, and still save most of them, and there's no man knows the distress of my mind. But there have been 214 Lincoln's stories and speeches. some of them I couldn't save — there are some'cases where the law must be executed. ' 'There was that man , who was sentenced for piracy and slave-trading on the high seas. That was a case where there must be an example, and you don't know how they followed and pressed to get him pardon- ed, or his sentence commuted; but there was no use of talking. It had to be done; I could not help the poor man. ' 'And then there was that , who was caught spying and recruiting within Pope's lines in Missouri. That was another case. They besieged me day and night but I couldn't give way. "We had come to a point where something must be done that would put a stop to such work. "And then there was the case of Beal on the lakes. That was a case where there had to be an example. They tried me every way. They wouldn't give up; but I had to stand firm on that, and I even had turned away his poor sister when she came and begged for his life, and let him be executed, and he was executed, and I can't get the distress out of my mind." As the kindly man uttered these words the tears ran down his cheeks, and the eyes of the men surrounding him moistened in sympathy. There was a profound si- lence in which they rose to depart. Three weeks after, the President was killed. WAR STORIES. How Lincoln Told a Secret. 215 When the Sherman expedition which captured Port Royal went out, there was great curiosity to know where it had gone. A person visiting President Lincoln at his official residence importuned him to disclose the destina- tion. "Will you keep it entirely secret'" asked the Presi- dent. "Oh yes, upon my honor." "Well," said the President, "I will tell you." As- suming an air of great .mystery, and drawing the man close to him, he kept him a moment awaiting the revela- 216 Lincoln's stories and speeches. tion with an open mouth and in great anxiety, and then said in a loud whisper, which was heard all over the room, "The expedition has gone to — sea," •:o:- Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Passes to Richmond. A gentleman called upon President Lincoln before the fall of Richmond and solicited a pass for that place. <( I should be very happy to oblige you," said the President, "if my passes were respected; but the fact is, I have, within the past two years given passes to two hundred and fifty thousand men to go to Richmond and not one has got there yet. Hon. Leonard Swett's Reminiscences. "I saw him," says the late Mr. Sweet, who was a most intimate friend of Lincoln, "early one morning, when the President, alluding to the proposed Emancipation Proc- lamation, invited me to sit down, as he wished to confer with me on the subject. The conference lasted until the time came for the Cabinet Council, and during the whole time Lincoln did all the talking, He did not really want my advice, he wanted simply to go over the ground with me. ' 'During the conference the President read a very able letter from Robert Dale Owen, urging reasons why the war could never be gone through successfully without the Emancipation Proclamation. As Lincoln read it he re- WAR STORIES. 2\J marked, 'this is a very able paper, ' at the same time stating that he had prepared a paper on the same sub- ject but that Mr. Owen's paper was much the abler of the two. The President then offered to read letters of another kind, — letters complaining of his administration, piling upon him the most frightful abuse for a do nothing in the Presidential chair. The reading of letters of this class occupied an hour, He also read a letter from the French- man Gasparin, who advised him to do nothing that was revolutionary, and urging the claims of legitimacy. He argued that the South were revolutionists, and asked whether a proclamation freeing the slaves might not render the Northerners revolutionists themselves. Lincoln then reviewed the three kinds of letters, and also gave his own views as to the probable results of freeing the negroes, his great fear being that they might, thus freed, become an element of weakness to their liberators. "Before the interview was ended, I, pondering upon what Mr. Lincoln had said about having written some- thing upon the subject of emancipation, made a guess that he had in the drawer before him the proclamation ready written, and I asked the President to let me see what he had prepared on the subject. Lincoln asked me not to press the request, and I abstained from doing so, but three weeks afterward, when the proclamation had been issued, the President acknowledged to me that my guess had been a correct one, and that the document was, at the time of the interview, lying in the very spot I had mentioned. 218 Lincoln's stories and speeches. As soon as Lincoln saw that the negro slave could be- come a soldier he saw that he had the material out of which the rebellion could be crushed, and it is my belief that from this time forward Lincoln had a clear sight of the victory that stood at the end of the war. Speaking of Lincoln's habits, the Hon. Leonard Swett says: "The martyr-President was used to work all his life, but never to its dissipations. With him morning meant 6 o'clock a. m. , and, as a rule, he had finished breakfast and was at work at 7 o'olock. What tore his heart most of all during the war, was an approval of the death pen- alty. He had a horror of blood, and although he knew that under certain circumstances he could not avoid sign- ing the death-warrant for desertion, it always caused him infinite pain to do so. One morning Mr. Swett found him sitting in the "east room" before a pile of papers. They sat together, chatt- ed and told stories. It was a Thursday, and Friday was always the day upon which deserters were shot. Sudden- ly Lincoln arose and said: "Swett, go out of here; to-morrow is butcher's day, and I've got to go through these papers notto see if they are regular, but if I can't find something by which I can let them off. " ■:o:- Lincoln and the Colored People of Richmond. G. F. Shepley gives the following interesting remin- iscence: After Mr. Lincoln's interview with Judge Campbell, WAR SCENES. 2IO, the President, about to return to the Wabash, I took him and Admiral Porter in my carriage. An immense con- course of colored people thronged the streets, accomp- anied and followed the carriage, calling upon the Presi- dent with the wildest exclamations of gratitude and delight. He was the Moses, the Messiah, to the slaves of the South. Hundreds of colored women tossed their hands high in the air and then bent down to the ground weep- ing for joy. Some shouted songs of deliverance, and sang the old plantation refrains, which had prophesied the coming of a deliverer from bondage. "God bless you, Father Abraham!" went up from a thousand throats. Those only who have seen the paroxysmal enthusiasm of a religious meeting of slaves can form an adequate conception of the way in which the tears and smiles, and shouts of these emancipated people evinced the frenzy of their gratitude to their deliverer. He looked at all at- tentively, with a face expressive only of a sort of pathetic wonder. Occasionally its sadness would alternate with one of his peculiar smiles, and he would remark on the great proportion of those whose color indicated a mixed line- age from the white master and the black slave; and that reminded him of some little story of his life in Kentucky, which he would smilingly tell; aud then his face would relapse again into that sad expression which all will re- member who saw him during the last few weeks of the rebellion. Perhaps it was a presentiment of his impend- ing fate. I accompanied him to the ship, bade him farewell and left him to see his face no more. Not long after, 220 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. the bullet of i;he assassin arrested the beatings of one of the kindest hearts that ever throbbed in human bosom. :o: Lincoln's First Convictions of War. — His Great Sadness. The Hon. Leonard Swett, in an address before the Union Veteran Club at Chicago, gives the following in- teresting reminiscence: I remember well the first time that the belief that war was inevitable took hold of Lincoln's mind. Some time after the election Lincoln asked me to write a letter to Thurlow Weed to come to Springfield and consult with him (Lincoln). Mr. Weed came, and he, the President- elect, and myself had a meeting, in which Lincoln for the first time acknowledged that he was in possession of facts that showed that the South meant war. These facts consisted of the steps which the disaffect- ed States were taking to spirit away the arms belonging to the Government, and, taking them into consideration, Lincoln was forced to the belief that his Administration was to be one of blood. As he made this admission his countenance rather than his words demonstrated the sadness which it occa- sioned, and he wanted to know if there was not some way of avoiding the disaster. He felt as if he could not go forward to an era of war, and these days were to him a sort of forty days in the wilderness, passed under great stress of doubt and, perhaps to him, of temptations of weakness. Finally, however, he seemed quietly to put on the armor and prepare himself for the great responsi- bility and struggle before him. WAR STORIES. 221 Gen C. H. Howard's Reminiscences. Gen. Howard in the Northwestern Christian Advocate says: It was soon after the battle of Antietam, and while our army was resting and refitting with clothing and other needed supplies in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry, that I first saw Abraham Lincoln. He visited the dif- ferent corps and divisions, reviewed the troops and held brief interviews with the leading officers. It need not be stated that he was warm in his commendation of the valor and endurance of the troops. Cheer upon cheer greeted him as he passed from brigade to brigade, and sometimes he had a few words of encouragement for a single regiment which had distinguished itself. Subordinate officers, when asked about the condition of their soldiers, were not backward in speaking of the need of shoes and other clothing, and of the decimated condition of many of the regiments resulting from the diseases and hard campaigning of the Chickahominy swamps scarcely less from the numerous battles in which they had taken a noble part. The fact that a campaign or a battle had been badly conducted and was disastrous was neither proof that the troops had not done their duty nor that their losses had not been great. President Lin- coln expressed in the most kindly and feeling way his sympathy with the rank and file of the army . There was a gentle and serious expression of countenance which seemed to comport with his known character for truth and serenity of heart. Nearly two years elapsed when I ha<3 another inter- view with Abraham Lincoln which it is the purpose of 222 Lincoln's stories and speeches. this paper to mention. The writer had been transferred to the Western department, and had taken part in the Atlanta campaign and in Sherman's famous "March to the Sea. " On the first day of January, 1865, he had left Savannah to go via steamship to New York, and thence by rail to Washington with official dispatches. Sherman had sent his unique telegram to the President on Christmas eve announcing as a Christmas present the capture of Savannah. Owing to the fact that the rail- roads had been destroyed this dispatch had been sent by special steamer to Fortress Monroe and thence by tele- graph to Washington. But President Lincoln had not yet seen any person who had marched through Georgia with Sherman. It was early in the day when my card was given to the messenger in the ante-room of the White House. He shook his head and pointed to the crowds in waiting, fill- ing the ante-room and thronging even the lower hall and the stairway. He called my attention to the fact that there were congressmen of the number who were suppos- ed to have precedence in calling upon the President. Nevertheless, I requested him to give the President the card which indicated that I had dispatches from Sher- man's army. The messenger returned within a few min- utes and invited me in. First, we entered a room occu- pied by the President's secretaries, and there I saw one or two senators in waiting, and passing through this room I was ushered into a smaller room, where I saw President Lincoln standing at a glass shaving himself. He paused a moment, came to me with a droll look, heightened no doubt by the half-lathered, half-shaved face, gave me his hand, and asked me to take a seat on the sofa, saying, as WAR STORIES. 223 he returned to the mirror, that he could not even wait till he had finished shaving when an officer from Sher- man's army had come. Of course the youthful staff offi- cer was somewhat abashed in coming into the presence of the President of the United States, his commander-in- chief, and the now world-renowned Abraham Lincoln. But the President's frank and cordial manner when, on the completion of his toilet, he came and took the right hand of his visitor between both of his large hands and then sat down beside him on the sofa, immediately put him at his ease. Naturally, the President had many questions to ask concerning the "March to the Sea." It was apparent he had been very anxious, as no doubt had the entire North, during the thirty days or more when nothing was heard from the vanquished army. He was interested to know in detail the daily operations. :o: Getting at the Pass-Word. An amusing story is attributed to the late President Lincoln about the Iowa First, and the changes which a certain pass-word underwent about the time of the battle of Springfield. One of the Dubuque officers, whose duty it was to fur- nish the guards with a pass- word at night, gave the word "Potomac." A German on guard, not comprehending distinctly the difference between B's and P's, understood it to be "Bot- tomic," and this, on being transferred to another, was corrupted into "Buttermilk." Soon afterward the officer who had given the word wished to return through the lines, and on approaching 224 Lincoln's stories and speeches. the sentinel was ordered to halt, and the word demand- ed. He gave the word "Potomac." "Nicht right; you don't pass mit me dis way." "But this is the word, and I will pass." "No, you stan'," at the same time placing a bayonet at his breast, in a manner that told the officer that "Po- tomac" didn't pass in Missouri. "What is the word then?" "Buttermilk." "Well, then, buttermilk." "Dat is right; now you pass mit yourself all about your piziness." There was then a general overhauling of the pass- word, and the difference between Potomac and Butter- milk being understood, the joke became one of the laughable incidents of the campaign. -:o:- Lincoln and a Clergyman. At the semi-annual meeting of the New Jersey Histor- ical Society,, held in Newark, N. J., Rev. Dr. Sheldon, of Princeton, read a memorial of their late President, Rev. R. R. Rodgers, D. D., in which occurs the follow- ing incident concerning Mr. Lincoln, and the war. One day during the war, Dr . Rodgers was called on by a man in his congregation, who, in great 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 in- fant child of the condemned man, and sent his card up to Mr. Lincoln. When admitted, the President said: WAR STORIES. 22 5 ' 'You are a minister, I believe. What can I do for you, my friend?" 'The reply was: "A young man from my congrega- tion in the army has so far forgotten his duty to his country and his God as to desert his colors, and is sen- tenced 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?' On being 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 your 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." -:o: The President Advises Secretary Stanton to Prepare for Death. The imperious Stanton, when Secretary of War, took a fancy one day for a house in Washington that Lamon had just bargained for. Lamon not only did not vacate, but went to Stanton and said he would kill him if he in- terfered with the house. Stanton was furious at the 226 Lincoln's stories and speeches. threat, and made it known at once to Lincoln. The lat- ter said to the astonished War Secretary: "Well, Stanton, if Ward has said he will kill you, he certainly will, and I'd advise you to prepare for death without further delay." The President promised, however, to do what he could to appease the murderous Marshal, and this was the end of Stanton's attempt on the house. ■:o:- ••A Great Deal of Shuck for a Little Nubbin." At the peace conference which occured in February, 1865, at Fortress Monroe, President Lincoln and Secre- tary Seward were on one side, and Alexander H. Stephens, John A Campbell and R. M. T. Hunter on the other. The attenuation of Mr. Stephens has so long been a matter of such general notoriety that it is not of- fensive to speak of it. It seems that Mr. Lincoln had never seen Mr. Stephens before. At that time a kind of cloth was worn by Southern gentlemen, nearly the shade of ordinary corn husk, and Mr. Stephens' great coat was made of that material. But Mr. Stephens, who always had been a frail man, wore many other garments be- neath to protect him against the raw wind of Hampton Roads; and Mr. Lincoln watched with much interest the process of shedding until the man was finally reached. At last Mr. Stephens stood forth in his physical entity, ready for business. Mr. Lincoln, giving Gov. Seward one of his most comical looks, and pointing to the dis- carded coats, said: WAR STORIES. 227 "Well, I never saw as much shuck for as little a nub- bin in my life." :o: "Tad's" Rebel Flag. One of the prettiest incident's in the closing days of the civil war occurred when the troops ' 'marching home again" passed in grand form, if with well-worn uniforms and tattered bunting, before the White House, says Harper's Young People. Naturally, an immense crowd had assembled on the streets, the lawns, porches, balconies, and windows, even those of the executive mansion itself being crowded to excess. A central figure was that of the President, Abraham Lincoln, who, with bared head, unfurled and waved our nation's flag in the midst of lusty cheers. But suddenly there was an unexpected sight. A small boy leaned forward and sent streaming to the air the banner of the boys in gray. It was an old flag which had been captured from the Confederates, and which the urchin, the President's second son, Tad, had obtained possession of and considered an additional triumph to unfurl on this all-important day. Vainly did the servant who had followed him to the window plead with him to desist. No, Master Tad, the Pet of the White House, was not to be prevented from adding to the loyal demonstration of the hour. To his surprise, however, the crowd viewed it differ- ently. Had it floated from any other window in the cap- ital that day, no doubt it would have been the target of contempt and abuse; but when the President, under- standing what had happened, turned, with a smile on his 228 Lincoln's stories and speeches. grand, plain face and showed his approval by a gesture and expression, cheer after cheer rent the air. It was, surely enough, the expression of peace and good will which, of all our commanders, none was bet- ter pleased to promote than our commander-in-chief. -:o:- A Position That Lincoln Wanted. A gentleman named Farquhar of York, Pa. , did not enlist because he was a Quaker. In the course of the war General Early marched before York and threatened to burn the houses of its peaceful citizens unless a ran- some of $25,000 was forthcoming. Mr. F was foremost in arranging matters and struck a bargain with the Confederates which, while they were near, seemed very clever to his fellow-towns- men, but when they marched away, brought forth many bitter complaints. The whole matter set Mr. F thinking. The war ought to be ended. So he set out for Washington to offer his services to the government. He called upon Mr. Lincoln, told him how he felt, and said he wished to help his country. "Well," said Mr. Lincoln, "come with me to the Sec- retary of war and I will give you a position which I would gladly take myself." They were soon in Mr. Stanton's office. Lincoln made a sign to the Secretary, who produced a Bible and proceeded to swear Mr. F into the United States service. The ceremony had not gone very far when he discov- WAR STORIES. 229 ered that the position Mr. Lincoln coveted was that of a a private soldier. Mr. F showed alarm and the President laughingly released him. •:o:- A Lincoln 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 young Daniel Webster: When quite young, at school, Daniel was one day guilty of a gross violation of the rules. He was detected in the act, and called up by the teacher for punishment. This was to be the old fashioned "feruling" of the hand. His hands happened to be very dirty. Knowing this, on the way to the teacher's desk, he spit upon the palm of his right hand, wiping it off upon the side of his pant- aloons. "Give me your hand, sir," said the teacher, very sternly. Out went the right hand, partly cleansed. The teach- er looked at it a moment, and said: "Daniel! if you will find another hand in this school- room as filthy as that, I will let you off this time!" Instantly from behind the back came the left hand. "Here it is sir," was the ready reply. ' 'That will do, " said the teacher, ' ' for this time ; you can take your seat, sir." :o: 230 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. Lincoln and the LittJe Baby — A Touching Story. "Old Daniel," who was one of the White House ush- ers, is responsible for the following touching story: A poor woman from Philadelphia had been waiting with a baby in her arms for several days to see the President. It appeared by her story, that her husband had furnished a substitute for the army, but some time afterward, in a state of intoxication, was induced to en- list. Upon reaching the post assigned his regiment, he deserted, thinking the Government was not entitled to his services. Returning home, he was arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to be shot. The sentence was to be executed on a Saturday. On Monday his wife left home with her baby to endeavor to see the President . Said Daniel, "She had been waiting here three days, and there was no chance for her to get in. Late in the afternoon of the third day, the President was going through the passage to his private room to get a cup of tea. On the way he heard the baby cry. He instantly went back to his office and rang the bell. "Daniel," said he, "is there a woman with a baby in the ante-room?" I said there was, and if he would allow me to say it, it was a case he ought to see; for it was a matter of life and death. "Said he, "Send her to me at once." She went in, told her story, and the President pardon- ed her husband. As the woman came out from his presence, her eyes WAR STORIES. 231 were lifted and her lips moving in prayer, the tears streaming down her cheeks. Said Daniel, "I went up to her, and pulling her shawl, said, 'Madam, it was the baby that did it.' " -:o:- DWIGHT L. MOODY. D. L. Moody's Story of Lincoln's Compassion —What a Little Girl Did With Mr. Lincoln to Save Her Brother. During the war, says D. L. Moody, I remember a young man, not twenty, who was court-martialed at the front and sentenced to be shot. The story was this: 232 Lincoln's stories and speeches. The young fellow had enlisted. He was not obliged to, but he went off with another young man. They were what we would call "chums." One night his companion was ordered out on picket duty, and he asked the young man to go for him. The next night he was ordered out himself; and having been awake two nights, and not being used to it, fell asleep at his post, and for the offense he was tried and sen- tenced to death. It was right after the order issued by the President that no interference would be allowed in cases of this kind. This sort of thing had become too frequent, and it must be stopped. When the news reached the father and mother in Vermont it nearly broke their hearts. The thought that their son should be shot was too great for them. They had no hope that he could be saved by anything that they could do. But they had a little daughter who had read the life of Abraham Lincoln, and knew how he loved his own children, and she said: "If Abraham Lincoln knew how my father and mother loved my brother he wouldn't let him be shot." The little girl thought this matter over and made up her mind to see the President. She went to the White House, and the sentinel, when he saw her imploring looks, passed her in, and when she came to the door and told the private secretary that she wanted to see the President, he could not refuse her. She came into the chamber and found Abraham Lincoln surrounded by his generals and counselors, and when he saw the little country girl the asked her what she wanted. WAR STORIES. . 233 The little maid told her plain, simple story — how her brother, whom her father and mother loved very dearly, had been sentenced to be shot; how they were mourn- ing for him, and if he was to die in that way it would break their hearts. The President's heart was touched with compassion, and he immediately sent a dispatch canceling the sen- tence and giving the boy a parole so that he could come home and see his father and mother. I just tell you this to show you how Abraham Lincoln's heart was moved by compassion for the sorrow of that father and mother, and if he showed so much do you think the Son of Godwill not have compassion upon you, sinner, if you only take that crushed, bruised heart to him? -:o:- Honorable Frederick Douglas' Reminiscences. The well-known Frederick Douglas in the Northwest- ern Advocate says: I saw and conversed with this great man for the first time in the darkest hours of the military situation when the armies of the rebellion seemed more confident, de- fiant and aggressive than ever. I had never before had an interview with a President of the United States, and though I felt I had something important to say, considering his exalted position and my lowly origin and the people whose cause I came to plead, I approached him with much trepidation as to how this great man might receive me; but one word and look from him banished all my fears and set me perfectly at ease. I have often said since that meeting it was 234 LINCOLN S STORIES AND SPEECHES. much easier to see and converse with a great man than a small man. On that occasion he said: ' 'Douglas, you need not tell me who you are, Mr. Seward has told me all about you . " I then saw that there was no reason to tell him my personal story, however interesting it might be to myself or others, so I told him at once the object of my visit. It was to get some expression from him upon three points. i. Equal pay to colored soldiers. 2. Their promotion when they had earned it on the battlefield. 3. Should they be taken prisoners and enslaved or hanged, as Jefferson Davis had threatened, an equal number of Confederate prisoners should be executed within our lines. A declaration to that effect I thought would prevent the execution of the rebel threat. To all but the last President Lincoln assented, He argued, however, that neither equal pay nor promotion could be granted at once. He said that in view of existing prejudices it was a great step forward to employ colored troops at all; that it was necessary to avoid everything that would offend this prejudice and increase opposition to the measure. He detailed the steps by which white soldiers were reconciled to the employment of colored troops; how these were first employed as laborers; how it was thought they should not be armed or uniformed like white sold- iers; how they should only be made to wear a peculiar uniform; how they should be employed to hold forts and WAR STORIES. 235 arsenals in sickly locations, and not enter the field like other soldiers. With all these restrictions and limitations he easily made me see that much would be gained when the col- ored man loomed before the country as a full-fledged United States soldier to fight, flourish or fall in defense of a united republic. The great soul of Lincoln halted only when he came to the point of retaliation. The thought of hanging men in cold blood, even though the rebels should murder a few of the colored prisoners, was a horror from which he shrunk. "Oh, Douglas! I cannot do that. If I could get hold of the actual murderers of colored prisoners, I would re- taliate; but to hang those who had no hand in such mur- ders, I cannot." The contemplation of such an act brought to his countenance such an expression of sadness and pity that it made it hard for me to press my point, though I told him it would tend to save rather than destroy life. He, however, insisted that this work of blood once begun would be hard to stop; that such violence would beget violence. He argued more like a disciple of Christ than a commander-in-chief of the army and navy of a war- like nation already involved in a terrible war. How sad and strange the fate of this great and good man, the savior of his country, the embodiment of hu- man charity, whose heart, though strong, was as tender as the heart of childhood; who always tempered justice with mercy; who sought to supplant the sword with the counsel of reason, to suppress passion by kindness and moderation; who had a sigh for every human grief and a tear for every human woe, should at last perish by the 236 LINCOLN STORIES AND SPEECHES. hand of a desperate assassin, against whom no thought of malice had ever entered his heart. :o: Dr. Edwards Bumping the President. The popular editor of the Northwestern Advocate, Dr. Arthur Edwards, is responsible for the following, which we take from the editorials of his excellent paper: Early in the war it became this writer's duty, for a brief period, to carry certain reports to the War Depart- ment in Washington, at about nine in the morning. Be- ing late one morning, we were in a desperate hurry to deliver the papers in order to be able to catch the train returning to camp. • On the winding, dark staircase of the old War De- partment, which many will remember, it was our mis- fortune, while taking about three stairs at a time, to run a certain head like a catapult into the body of the President, striking him in the region of the right lower vest pocket. The usual surprised and relaxed human grunt of a man thus assailed came promptly. We quickly sent an apology in the direction of the dimly seen form, feeling that the ungracious shock was expensive, even to the humblest clerk in the department. A second glance revealed to us the President as the victim of the collision. Then followed a special tender of "ten thousand pardons," and the President's reply: "One's enough; I wish the whole army would charge like that." :o: WAR STORIES. 237 Lincoln "Taking Up a Collection." While the army of the Potomac was near Falmouth, on the river opposite Fredericksburg, Va. , early in the war, Mr. Lincoln reviewed, says Dr. Edwards in the Northwestern Advocate, and inspected that splendid body of troops, 100,000 strong. Those who were pres- ent remember the quiet Dobbin ridden by the President. The steed proceeded soberly, as if he had been put upon his equine honor to be kind to his illustrious rider. During a part of the formality when the reviewing of- ficer or personage is specially the center of all eyes, Mr. Lincoln carried his tall "plug hat" in his hand, and, as he bumped up and down in his saddle, bowed right and left to the magnificent military lines. The right arm was extended almost horizontally, and the hand grasped the hat's ample brim. The whole aspect of the now historic man abundantly justified the suggestion of a certain Methodist who was present, to the effect that "the dear old gentleman looks as if he were about to take up a collection." The joker was discounted on the ground that he was indulging in his Methodfst traditions as far as the collec- tion was concerned, but the second look at the horse and rider aided many a kindly smile. It was said at the time that Mr. Lincoln's visit to the army was in part to enable him to escape the importunities of office-seekers and in- dustrious advisers in Washington. -:o:- 238 Lincoln's stories and speeches. An Inauguration Incident. Noah Brooks, in his "Reminiscences," relates the fol- lowing incident: While the ceremonies of the second inauguration were in progress, just as Lincoln stepped forward to take the oath of office, the sun, which had been obscured by rain- clouds, burst forth in splendor. In conversation the next day, the President asked: "Did you notice that sun-burst? It made my heart jump." Later in the month, Miss Anna Dickinson, in a lecture delivered in the hall of the House of Representatives, elo- quently alluded to the sun-burst as a happy omen. The President sat directly in front of the speaker, and from the reporter's gallery, behind her, I had caught his eye, soon after he sat down. When Miss Dickinson referred to the sunbeam, he looked up to me, involuntarily, and I thought his eyes were suffused with moisture. Per- haps they were; but the next day he said: "I wonder if Miss Dickinson saw me wink at you?" :o:- The Brigadier Generals and the Horses. When President Lincoln heard of the rebel raid at Fairfax, in which a brigadier-general and a number of valuable horses were captured, he gravely observed: "Well, I am sorry for the horses." "Sorry for the horses, Mr. President!' exclaimed the Secretary of War, raising his spectacles, and throwing himself back in his chair in astonishment. 'iYes," replied Mr. Lincoln, "I can make a brigadier- WAR STORIES. 239 general in five minutes, but it is not easy to replace a hundred and ten horses. " :o:- Lincoln and Stanton Fixing up Peace Between the Two Contending 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 Congress. 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 posession, and the army of Lee either dispersed utterly or captured bodily — when the telegram from Grant was received, saying that Lee had asked an interview 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 con- quered Rebels. "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 recognized, 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 you are not needed, and you had better not take the oath of office.' o o < £ u Cm < Oh z o u z < h z u P Z o h z < o < W z w o o N WAR STORIES, 24I "'Stanton, you are right!' said the President, his whole tone changing, 'Let me have a pen.' ' 'Mr. Linclon sat down at the table, and wrote as fol- lows: ' ' 'The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no conference with General Lee, unless it be for the capitulation of Lee's army, or on some minor or purely military matter. He instructs me to 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 meantime you are to press to the utmost your military advantages.' ' 'The President read over what he had written, and then 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. ■:o:- A /