St. Cloud Democrat., 1863-04-02
OUD STEARNS CO., MINNESOTA, THURSDAY APRIL q 1888

ssas iiks hint i not the height Of fash.
ion, sinos II ~ nA6s alaEiy sovss ysan
ago, has seen hard service, and was never
altssod. But a. there Vas no lack of silks,
laoes, feather, jewels, trails, hosnccs, pun,
quilting, fans aud flowers, it was very veil,
and when presented to tho Presids1t do
not belie7e he saw that I had my clsak
over my arm, and hood in my hand, a ho
stood shaking hands with the immortal
million, and working harder than ,hesvsr
did splitting Ia,h. S.
AS custom required me to add to h,s u.
Dor, I could not help saying to him that
hoped the Lord would have mercy on him,
as the people had none; and IN the midst
Of his drudgery he laug he'd great hearty,
honest laugh. 1t was pleasure to sse him
"A man whose honesty has never been
questioned by friend Or foe, aud stood
back against the wall to look At him, still
determined that I would not play hypocrite
by paying external forms Of respect to Mrs.
Lincoln. She was pointed out, and + for
got to look at him, she appeared so differ
ent from what had expected. Her COM
plexion is fair as that of young girl, her
cheeks soft, plump and blooming, and her
expression tender and kindly. 1t was one
of those faces feel like stopping on the
street to kiss, because it recalls one that
was dearest Of all in childhood's days. I
think the FEATURES are not classical, but 1
forgot to look at them. The dress was
something that looked elegant and appro-
priate-nothing incongruous, nothing taw.
dry. They tell me since that it was black
velvet, with pearls in the hair. saw
them as I looked down on her hair, which
is abundant, dark aud glossy. She is not
SO tall as |. She stood receiving her guests
with quite as much grace and more digni-
ty than had seen the celebrated Betty
Bliss when in the same position. l con-
cluded to be presented. On hearing my
name, she looked up with pleased surprise,
and offered her hand with a cordiality and
kindliness which greatly surprised 10th
myself and the friends who were with me
-one Of whom remarked, afterwards, that
it was "the most cordial thing he had ever
seen her do" She shakes hands With very
few of her guests, and it is not etiquette
to offe, her ones hand. This is a matter
of necessity. No one who has not served
an apprenticeship to hard manual labor
would be able to shake hands With half the
people who go to the White House; and
it is labor from which good sense and
good manners should relieve the President.
l went home that night thinking what
it could mean: why should pro-slavery
woman, secessionist at heart, show that
sudden feeling of kindness to an old Aboll-
tionist-one who, twenty-five years ago,
was threatened with coat of tar and
feathers in her native State There was
10 acting about it, for it was the first i'm
pulse Of surprise, and if she had wished to
play such a part would have been poor
subject on which to begin. Ii she was
vain, as folks say, and fond Of geutlemen's 8
admiration, and wished to stand we'll with
anti-slavery people, she could, very easily,
play the agreeable to good-looking gentle
men, radical editors who do so much
abroad. 10 give one of the brightest smiles
Of the evening to little, old woman, noted
for nothing but Abolitionism, was an odd
move for a vain secessionist. So resoly
ed to reconsider some of the evidence on
which | had formed my opinion, and have
found some breaks in the chain. I have
also learned several facts in her history,
both before and since her husbands elec.
tion to his present post, which place her
in very different Ii ght from that in which
she is generally regarded. In atonemeut
for the wrong have done her in thought
and private conversation, in justice to hel
and to the cause which must suffer by ev-
erything which lessons the respect Of the
people for, and their confidence in, those
whom they elected to preside over the
Government, l intend to publish all the
evidence l have and all I can get of her
loyalty and good feeling; but as this letter
has spun out unaccountably, must post
Pone to another much that I intended to
say. Respectfully.
JANE G. SWISSHELM,