Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-12-16
THE JOURNAL.
FROM WASHINGTON.


FROM WASHINGTON.
Congress n Session-A Peep into the Ho-
teA-" LtnkensaIe" and his Book
Persoaal Items, &C., &c.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., Dec. S.
Once more have the wise heads of the
nation assembled in the National Capt.
tai to legislate for the veal or woe of the
Republic I don't know whether all
the members and Senators are yet here.
It is to be hoped that some of them may
get lost on the way and never arrive.
The country could we'll spare them. /
understand that "Sunset" Cox and
James A. McDougal are both in the city.
I am quite sure the latter is, for / saw
him this afternoon at Wizards Hotel,
imbibing very freely from bottle of
"Oh! be joyful" Both these two wor-
thies are, to use familiar phrase,
"about played OUT" as both are invet-
crate Cops. Nobody is sorry for it,
There is quite rush of population here
just now. Pennsylvania Avenue is con-
TRANS vending their way here and there.
At the hour for the re-assembling of
Congress to-day, the galleries of both
houses were packed to overlooking. In
the Senate Mr.. Clark, of New Hamp-
shire, President pro tenn, called to order,
after which, Rev. Mr.. Bowman, the
Chaplain, offered fervent prayer
After transacting some business Of.mi-
nor Importance the Senate adjourned.
In the House of Representatives q
prayer was offered up to the Throne Of
Grace by the Rev. Mr.. Charming, the
able and eloquent Chaplain of that
Dody. The Presidents message was not
read; it will undoubtedly appear to-
morrow. d
One of the first measures of vital i'm
portance which will come before Con-
gress will undoubtedly be an amend
ment to the Constitution abolishing
slavery. The institution which has
been the bane of our political institu-
tions must be gotten out OF the way
This dark and damnable stain must be
wiped from our national escutcheon.-
The amendment was defeated last win
ter-this session it will undoubtedly be
adopted.
1t is somewhat amusing to visit the
principal hotels in this city, about the
time Congress re-assembles. 1t is q
good place to study human nature. |
saw nearly every one knew in Wash
ington, and many I didn't know. Our
Iowa men are all wide awake. for
Hawkeyes generally keep their eyes
and ears open. This evening saw sew
eral of them on the alert for news
news of any descriptiOn-politica
financial or military.
About the hardest worker know of
here is your old correspondent L. d. In
gersoll, known to the reading public by
the nome dc plume of of g Linkensale.
He works seven hours day at the
Treasury and about ten at home, giving
the other seven, as he iaughingly says
himself, to "fun, sleeping. eating>and
labor. In very truth, know of no one
who is better situated in that way. His
home is comfortable, having an air of
taste and refinement all about it. In
his parlor are several fine oil-paintings,
one of them being a short-trowsered
news-boy. That was taken while
was boy, - says Link. Another is a
portrait of his beautiful little daughter
May, gol!en-haired girl, between five
and six, who has taught herself to read
and write. (She writes printed letters
But where I like to be the best is in his
back parlor, which he calls his eden"
Here is where he used to write his let
tiers for the JOURNAL, where now he
is arranging, scissoring, studying and
writing on his History of the Iowa
Troops. "
On the walls are several engravlngs.
Right above his great writing table is a
group of four-Wa Washington, Shakespeare,
Webster and Cooper. His table is all
that a writer could ask. Large, with
eight or ten big drawers, an ink-stand
on top that will hold gallon, and as
broad bottomed as flat-boat. On the
centre is the finest bronze bust of Shaks-
peare 1 ever saw. On the table and
round about are cyclop@dias, diction-
newspapers. On the opposite side of
the room is a library of choice and valu-
able books. Among them you will find
pretty much all the books which have
appeared bearing on this rebellion. In
the big drawers you will find fif you get
the privilege of looking in, as | did,
about bushel of letters from our boys
in the army, and about a cart-load of
their correspondence which has been
printed in our papers. Mr.. Ingersoll is
now engaged in arranging these materi-
ais, and in becoming familiar with them,
with view of soon confnencing the
actual composition of his history, and
which part of the work, he assures me,
will constitute but small portion OF the
labor. In turning over the facts in his
mind, in reading from books which may
have something to say bearing OH mat
ters Of which he will speak, in studying
maps, and reports of battles, ct ceter0,
he spends several hours day. ! came
in on him the other night, and found
him porting over the third part OF the
Report on the Conduct of the War. l
learned that he had read every word of
it, and was going over it again in the
way OF review. / pumped him, and
learned he was in a ''stew" about the
battle of Wilson's Creek. ''What with
rebel authorities and Union authorities,
newspapers, official reports, this Con-
gressional report, and Henry O'Con-
nor's pamphlet" said he, II have read
at least thousand pages bearing Oh
that battle, and haven't made up my
mind which side whipped. I rather
guess the absolute fact is, we whaled
them and they whaled us!'
I asked him how he was ever going to
get his history done, if he had so much
reading about every battle. swell ;" he
said, 'as soon as Fremont and Frank
Blair get out of the way have but lit
tie trouble comparatively. We thrashed
'em so numerically after that for the
most part, that even the rebel writer's
admit 'reverses.
Linkinsale is giving to this work great
labor, much more than any one would
be likely to suppose. But it is all labor
of love. He is an enthusiast on Iowa
generally, and especially on Iowa