Part 4

“We have the legislature clearly enough on joint ballot, but the senate is very close, and Cullom told me to-day that the Nebraska men will stave off the election if they can. Even if we get into joint vote we shall have difficulty to unite our forces. Please write me and let this be confidential. Your friend as ever.

“A. LINCOLN.”

MAKING LINCOLN PRESENTABLE.

In narrating “When Lincoln Was First Inaugurated,” Stephen Fiske tells of Mrs. Lincoln’s efforts to have her husband look presentable when receiving a delegation that was to greet them upon reaching New York City.

“The train stopped,” writes Mr. Fiske, “and through the windows immense crowds could be seen; the cheering drowning the blowing off of steam of the locomotive. Then Mrs. Lincoln opened her hand bag and said:

“‘Abraham, I must fix you up a bit for these city folks.’

“Mr. Lincoln gently lifted her upon the seat before him; she parted, combed and brushed his hair and arranged his black necktie.

“‘Do I look nice now, mother?’ he affectionately asked.

“‘Well, you’ll do, Abraham,’ replied Mrs. Lincoln critically. So he kissed her and lifted her down from the seat, and turned to meet Mayor Wood, courtly and suave, and to have his hand shaken by the other New York officials.”

EVIDENCE OF LINCOLN’S RELIGIOUS BELIEF.

There has been much controversy over Lincoln’s religious beliefs, many claiming that he was a deist while others have sought to prove that he was an infidel. Although never a member of any church, there is much documentary as well as corroborative evidence which show him to have been a believer in Providence; and in his parting address to his Springfield neighbors, when leaving for Washington, he said:

“Washington would never have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine blessing which sustained him; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support. And I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain.”

LINCOLN A TEMPERANCE MAN.

After his nomination for the Presidency at the Republican convention of Chicago, a committee visited him in Springfield and gave him official notification of his nomination.

The ceremony over, Lincoln informed the company that custom demanded that he should treat them with something to drink. He thereupon opened a door that led into a room in the rear and called a girl servant. When she appeared Lincoln spoke something to her in an undertone, and returned to his guests. In a few minutes the girl appeared, bearing a large waiter, containing several glass tumblers, and a large pitcher in the midst, which she placed upon the 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.” So saying he took a tumbler, 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.--From Lincoln’s Stories, by J. B. McClure.

LINCOLN’S FAMOUS GETTYSBURG ADDRESS.

Speaking of the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg and President Lincoln’s famous address, delivered on that occasion, Nov. 19, 1863, Gov. Curtain, of Pennsylvania, said that there had been much discussion as to how and when that address was written, and he continued:

“I can tell you all about that. Of course I was there, and the President and his cabinet had arrived and were at the hotel. Soon after his arrival, as we were sitting around in the parlor, Mr. Lincoln looked thoughtful for a moment or two, and then said: ‘I believe, gentlemen, the committee are expecting me to say something here to-day. If you will excuse me I will go into this room here and prepare it.’ After a time he returned, holding in his hand a large, yellow government envelope, on which he had written his address.

“‘Here, gentlemen,’ he said, ‘I want to read this to you to see if it will do;’ and sitting down he read it to us, and then said: ‘Now for your criticisms. Will it do? What do you say?’

“Several spoke in favor of it, and one or two commended it in strong terms. ‘Well,’ says the President, ‘haven’t you any criticisms? What do you say Seward?’

“Mr. Seward made one or two suggestions, bearing on some slight verbal changes, which I believe Mr. Lincoln incorporated.

“‘Now if you will allow me, gentlemen,’ continued the President, ‘I will copy this off;’ and again withdrew and made a copy of the address.”

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS.

“Ladies and Gentlemen: Four score and seven years ago your fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

“But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add to or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here; but it can never forget what they did here.

“It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

LINCOLN AS A RULER.

Mr. Henry Watterson, the distinguished and scholarly editor of the widely-read Louisville Courier Journal, once delivered a lecture on “Lincoln.” The following is part of what he said:

“After he was inaugurated President, Mr. Lincoln evinced four great qualities of mind and heart so great indeed that it is doubtful if such a combination of kingly talents was ever before or since concentrated in the same man.” Mr. Watterson then elaborated from historical facts, incidents, and conclusions, as also from quotations from Mr. Lincoln’s speeches and letters, his direction and management of generals and cabinet officers, his knowledge of law, diplomacy, and military affairs, his firmness for the right, his great kindness of heart, and love of humanity, the following propositions:

1. Lincoln was the wisest ruler of this or any other age.

2. He had the firmness of the everlasting hills.

3. His love of justice and righteousness between man and man, and between nations guided him in all things.

4. His kindness of heart, and his sympathies for mankind were as an overflowing fountain.

5. Abraham Lincoln was raised up of God, and in a sense inspired for the place and work he fulfilled in the world.

“Perhaps the most striking illustration of superior wisdom and power as a ruler,” said the speaker, “was his reply to Mr. Seward’s proposition to declare war against France and Spain, and impliedly against England and Russia, only one month after Lincoln’s inauguration. The reply was complete; so was his mastery over the most astute and scholarly statesman and diplomatist of the age. While preparing that reply, the same night after receiving Mr. Seward’s wonderful proposals,--a reply which the best critics of the world have declared needed not another word, and would not have been complete with one word lacking,--he was overheard repeating to himself audibly over and over, ‘One war at a time, one war at a time, one war at a time.’”

LINCOLN’S REAL OBJECT IN CONDUCTING THE WAR.

The great Horace Greeley was wont to criticize Lincoln’s plan of conducting the war. He finally wanted to know “what were the purposes and aims of the President, anyway?” The following is Lincoln’s reply, showing that his sole purpose was to save the Union at whatever cost.

“If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. If I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race I do because I believe it helps to save the Union, and what I forbear I forbear because I do not believe it helps to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe that what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I believe doing more will help the cause.”

LINCOLN ASKED FOR SOME OF GRANT’S WHISKY.

When officious intermeddlers went to President Lincoln and demanded Gen. Grant’s removal from the command of the armies, charging that he was in the habit of getting drunk, Lincoln coolly asked them where he could get some of the brand of whisky that Grant was using; he wanted to supply it to his other generals. This remark of his silenced his callers, and he heard no more complaints about Grant getting drunk.

LINCOLN BELIEVED HIMSELF UGLY.

Mrs. Benjamin Price, of Baltimore, told, at a meeting of the Woman’s Literary Club of that city, two anecdotes of Abraham Lincoln. In one of them she said that her father-in-law had at one time been appointed to a government position in place of Mr. Addison, who was a most polished but notably plain-featured man. The two gentlemen went together to call upon President Lincoln, who received them cheerfully in the midst of the somewhat embarrassing operation of shaving. His face was a lather of soap, he extended a hand to each, and upon Mr. Addison enumerating the good qualities of his successor, and congratulating the President upon securing so eminent an officer, Mr. Lincoln exclaimed:

“Yes, Addison, I have no doubt Mr. Price is all that you say, but nothing can compensate me for the loss of you, for when you retire I shall be the homeliest man in the employment of the government.”

LINCOLN’S KINDNESS TO A DISABLED SOLDIER.

One summer morning, shortly before the close of the civil war, the not unusual sight in Washington of an old veteran hobbling along could have been seen on a shady path that led from the executive mansion to the war office. The old man was in pain, and the pale, sunken cheeks and vague, far-away stare in his eyes betokened a short-lived existence. He halted a moment and then slowly approached a tall gentleman who was walking along. “Good morning, sir. I am an old soldier and would like to ask your advice.”

The gentleman turned, and smiling kindly, invited the poor old veteran to a seat under a shady tree. There he listened to the man’s story of how he had fought for the Union and was severely wounded, incapacitating him for other work in life, and begged directions how to apply for back pay due him and a pension, offering his papers for examination.

The gentleman looked over the papers and then took out a card and wrote directions on it, also a few words to the pension bureau, desiring that speedy attention be given to the applicant, and handed it to him.

The old soldier looked at it, and with tears in his eyes, thanked the tall gentleman, who, with a sad look, bade him good luck and hurried up the walk. Slowly the old soldier read the card again, and then turned it over to read the name of the owner. More tears welled in his eyes when he knew whom he had addressed himself to, and his lips muttered: “I am glad I fought for him and the country, for he never forgets. God bless Abraham Lincoln!”

A SAMPLE OF LINCOLN’S STATESMANSHIP.

President Lincoln, the man who said and did so many kindly things, taught Seward how to write state papers. He was not only master of the situation in this country, but when England and France were about combining to recognize the Confederacy he so won the admiration of Lord Lyon, the British ambassador at Washington, that that official informed Lord Russell that he was in error when he sent instructions to prepare the government for the recognition of the South by England, and Lord Lyon afterwards resigned his office in consequence of the opposition to Lincoln. At that time there was a Russian fleet in New York harbor under sealed instructions, to be opened when France and England made their move, and the instructions were afterward found to be a command to the admiral to report to his excellency, President Lincoln.

TWO GOOD STORIES.

At a cabinet meeting once the advisability of putting a legend on greenbacks similar to the In God We Trust legend on the silver coins was discussed, and the President was asked what his view was. He replied: “If you are going to put a legend on the greenbacks I would suggest that of Peter and Paul: ‘Silver and gold we have not, but what we have we’ll give you.’”

On another occasion when Mr. Lincoln was going to attend a political convention one of his rivals, a liveryman, provided him with a slow horse, hoping that he would not reach his destination in time. Mr. Lincoln got there, however, and when he returned with the horse he said: “You keep this horse for funerals, don’t you?” “Oh, no,” replied the liveryman. “Well, I’m glad of that, for if you did you’d never get a corpse to the grave in time for the resurrection.”

LINCOLN RAISES A WARNING VOICE AGAINST THE CONCENTRATION OF GREAT WEALTH.

“Liberty cannot long endure,” said Webster, “when the tendency is to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few.”

President Lincoln, in a message to Congress, said of this danger: “Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted at as a possible refuge from the power of the people. In my present position I could scarcely be justified were I to omit raising a warning voice against approaching despotism. There is one point to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above, labor in the structure of the government. Let them beware of surrendering a political power which they already have, and which if surrendered will surely be used to close the door of advancement against such as they, and to fix new disabilities and burdens upon them till all liberty shall be lost.”

LINCOLN AND THE DYING SOLDIER BOY.

One day in May, 1863, while the great war was raging between the North and South, President Lincoln paid a visit to one of the military hospitals, says an exchange. He had spoken many cheering words of sympathy to the wounded as he proceeded through the various wards, and now he was at the bedside of a Vermont boy of about sixteen years of age, who lay there mortally wounded.

Taking the dying boy’s thin, white hands in his own, the President said, in a tender tone:

“Well, my poor boy, what can I do for you?”

The young fellow looked up into the President’s kindly face and asked: “Won’t you write to my mother for me?”

“That I will,” answered Mr. Lincoln; and calling for a pen, ink and paper, he seated himself by the side of the bed and wrote from the boy’s dictation. It was a long letter, but the President betrayed no sign of weariness. When it was finished, he rose, saying:

“I will post this as soon as I get back to my office. Now is there anything else I can do for you?”

The boy looked up appealingly to the President.

“Won’t you stay with me?” he asked. “I do want to hold on to your hand.”

Mr. Lincoln at once perceived the lad’s meaning. The appeal was too strong for him to resist; so he sat down by his side and took hold of his hand. For two hours the President sat there patiently as though he had been the boy’s father.

When the end came he bent over and folded the thin hands over his breast. As he did so he burst into tears, and when, soon afterward, he left the hospital, they were still streaming down his cheeks.

THE DANDY, THE BUGS AND THE PRESIDENT.

President Lincoln appointed as consul to a South American country a young man from Ohio who was a dandy. A wag met the new appointee on his way to the White House to thank the President. He was dressed in the most extravagant style. The wag horrified him by telling him that the country to which he was assigned was noted chiefly for the bugs that abounded there and made life unbearable. “They’ll bore a hole clean through you before a week has passed,” was the comforting assurance of the wag as they parted at the White House steps. The new consul approached Lincoln with disappointment clearly written all over his face. Instead of joyously thanking the President, he told him the wag’s story of the bugs. “I am informed, Mr. President,” he said, “that the place is full of vermin and that they could eat me up in a week’s time.” “Well, young man,” replied Lincoln, “if that’s true all I’ve got to say is that if such a thing happened they would leave a mighty good suit of clothes behind.”

LINCOLN UPHELD THE HANDS OF GENERAL GRANT.

In his “Campaigning With Grant,” in the Century, Gen. Horace Porter told of Gen. Halleck’s fear of trouble from enforcing of the draft, and his desire that Grant should send troops to the Northern cities. Gen. Porter says:

On the evening of August 17 General Grant was sitting in front of his quarters, with several staff officers about him, when the telegraph operator came over from his tent and handed him a dispatch. He opened it, and as he proceeded with the reading of it his face became suffused with smiles. After he had finished it he broke into a hearty laugh. We were curious to know what could produce so much merriment in the general in the midst of the trying circumstances which surrounded him. He cast his eyes over the dispatch again, and then remarked: “The President has more nerve than any of his advisers. This is what he says after reading my reply to Halleck’s dispatch.” He then read aloud to us the following:

“I have seen your dispatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where we are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.

“A. LINCOLN.”

WHY LINCOLN TOLD STORIES.

Mr. Edward Rosewater, editor of the Omaha Bee, said he believed Lincoln got relaxation by his story telling, and that the hearing of a good story gave him the mental rest that he so much needed during those brain-taxing days. These stories came out under the most trying circumstances and at the most solemn times. A striking instance of this was just after the battle of Fredericksburg. After the Union armies were defeated an official who had seen the battle hurried to Washington. He reached there about midnight and went directly to the White House. President Lincoln had not yet retired, and the man was at once received. Lincoln had already heard some reports of the battle. He was feeling very sad and rested his head upon his hands while the story was repeated to him. As the man saw his intense suffering he remarked:

“I wish, Mr. President, that I might be a messenger of good news instead of bad. I wish I could tell you how to conquer or to get rid of those rebellious States.”

At this President Lincoln looked up and a smile came across his face as he said: “That reminds me of two boys out in Illinois who took a short cut across an orchard. When they were in the middle of the field they saw a vicious dog bounding toward them. One of the boys was sly enough to climb a tree, but the other ran around the tree, with the dog following. He kept running until, by making smaller circles than it was possible for his pursuer to make, he gained upon the dog sufficiently to grasp his tail. He held on to the tail with a desperate grip until nearly exhausted, when he called to the boy up the tree to come down and help.

“What for?” said the boy.

“I want you to help me let this dog go.”

“Now,” concluded President Lincoln, “if I could only let the rebel States go it would be all right. But I am compelled to hold on to them and make them stay.”

LINCOLN REWARDS A MAN FOR KINDNESS THIRTY YEARS AFTER THE OCCURRENCE.

Lincoln’s indebtedness, in consequence of the closing out of his general store at New Salem, was such that it took him many years to extinguish all. There was one man among his creditors who would not wait, but secured a judgment against Lincoln and his personal effects were levied upon. Among them was his surveying instrument on which he depended for his living. At the sale a farmer friend of Lincoln’s named James Short bought the horse and surveying instruments for $120 and generously turned them over to their former owner. This kindness deeply touched the future President of the United States, who, some years later, repaid with interest the money so kindly advanced by Mr. Short.

Thirty years later, while Lincoln was President, he heard that James Short was living in California. Financial reverses had overtaken him some years previously and he left his home near New Salem and emigrated with his family to the State on the Pacific Ocean. One day Mr. Short received a letter from Washington informing him that he had been appointed an Indian agent. It will thus be seen that Lincoln never forgot a benefactor.

LINCOLN A MERCIFUL MAN.

Abraham Lincoln had a heart that was full of mercy; he could not bear to see even an animal suffer, and would not tolerate any wanton cruelty to animals. There are numerous instances of his mercifulness, but the following story will serve to show how kindly disposed the man was:

One day the major-general commanding the forces in and around Washington, came to the office of Mr. Dana with a spy whom one of his men had captured. Mr. Dana was assistant secretary of war. The officer informed Mr. Dana that the spy had been tried by court-martial and had been sentenced to death. He handed Mr. Dana the warrant for his execution, which was to take place at six o’clock the following morning. The warrant must be signed by the President, or in his absence by some officer with authority to sign it. President Lincoln was absent from Washington at that time and was not expected back before the afternoon of the next day. It therefore became necessary for Mr. Dana to sign the warrant for the execution of the spy, in accordance with the decision of the court. But President Lincoln got home at two o’clock in the early morning and on learning of the affair at once stopped the whole thing and thus spared the man’s life. It may be here stated that the law of nations in regard to the punishment of spies when captured is death.

LINCOLN’S HUMOROUS ADVICE TO A DISTINGUISHED BACHELOR.

When the Prince of Wales was betrothed to the Princess Alexandria, Queen Victoria sent a letter to every sovereign of Europe, and to President Lincoln, announcing the fact. The ambassador of England then at Washington was Lord Lyons, and he was a bachelor. He requested an audience with President Lincoln in order that he might present the important letter in person.

He called at the White House in company with Secretary Seward and addressed the President as follows: