The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-05-07
THE PRESIDENT AND THE OFFICE SEEKERS.

until CABINET meeting, III receiving and list
ening to visitors. At an early hour the
doors are opened, and Jimmy, the polite
door-keeper, stands at his post with a COM
forting word for evey applicant. "Can tho
President be seen to.day?" ooh, c-e-s,
to DO sure," is the polite reply of Jimmy,
"only he is engaged with his Private Sec
retary or some Cabinet officer" Presently
there collects in the hall as many as twenty
or thirty civil and nervous individuals, of
various ages and aspects. Jimmy takes
their cards and trots up the stairway lead
ing to tue Presidents rooms, in the cast
cna CT the White House. Quickly Jimmy
returns with encouraging answers" The
President will receive you all in minute,
gentlemen" But Ji,nmy's minute slaves
closely on half or three. quarters of an
hour, when the anxious crowd at the foot
OF the staircase, with their upturncd faces,
Is suddenly relieved by the appearance of a
red head over the bannistcrs, far up at the
head of the stairs, and tic pleasing invita-
ton, "to walk up, gentlemen"
The invitation is promptly accepted, and
the miscellaneous crowd hulrcdly asceuds
the long stairs, at the top Of which door,
wide open, leads into very plain room,
one side Of which is filled with shelves Of
law books, and which contains a round ia.
bic with writing apparatus, a stardng
desk III the corner, very cheap and COM
mon clock, and is carpclcd with very
SNOWY imitation Of Brussels, doubtless fur
nished to Uncle Sam, from Connecticut, as
tile rcyutdr article. Near the centre Of the
room stands the President. in his velvet
moccasins and his invariable white neck
cloth and vest. In very philanlhropic
manner lie receives the gentlemen and
as each one enters the room, shakes hands
very cordially with him, and if anything
private is to be said, hc leads the inquirer
to tho standing desks, where he hears his
petition and makes his response. The other
visitors form themselves en- queue, and each
one in his turn presents his requests, or his
case to the President, and passes out in the
opposite direction.
Very probably the queue is a long one,
and the hand of the clock warns of the
rapid approach of the fatal hour of eleven,
when the Cabinet will meet and the Presi-
dent is compelled to lump all his visitors
in one general expression Of good will and
kindly regard, coupled with distinct hints at
the necessity Of his Withdrawing into the
adjoining room, where seven inexorable
Ogres are demanding his presence. at
this signal the crowd melts away, pouring
slowly down the winding staircase, and
emerges from those sarcastically and de-
lusively wide-opened DOORS where the in
variable Jimmy wishes them good NOR
ming, and receives with very roguish ex-
preston several dismal efforts to be smart,
funny and familiar, on the part of some
despondent ofIicc-secker.
After tho Cabinet assemblies, his Excel
lency is "sealed" for the remainder of the
day. Special friends, or those who want a
private talk, may have chance by previous
agreement, after o'clock, P. NJ. Such is
the daily life Of the President of the United
States, and such the weary and humiliating
routine OF the office seekers. And yet, let
no one who goes into that business imagine
that Hercules will help him without his
putting his shoulder to the wheel. That is
very pretty conceit lately so rijiculously
paraphrased by our KnowNothing friends
-" the Office should seek the man, not the
man the ofiice"-but it is certainly the Wild
est Eutopiapism Of the day Cfncinnato
Enquirer.