The Burlington weekly hawk-eye., 1865-06-03


true Of Mr.. Lincoln a. Il wa Of Stakes
peare. The capacity - tell And enjoy .
good annecdofe NO doubt prolonged hls
HE. have often heard this asserted by
one Of ~ most intimase frieadA And the
public impsoooion Of him In this respect
Was not e1aggeyated. k1. DesoheY once
observed 70 meof his own wealth OF illus
other words, that an argument habituauy
took on that form in his mind. This was
Epoints" 9! his Argument nm ~ we1s driven M
homo in this wey. ~ they could DO In no
other. In the social circle this characieris-
TO had full play. lnever know him TO ri,
down with friend for i've minutes chat,
about somebody alluded &c In the course OF
tho conversa'ion- In Q corner Of his desk
he kept . copy Of some humorous work
AuA il was frequently his habit, when
greatly fatiGued, annoyed or depressed, TO
take this up and read chapter, with
great relief
The Saturday evening before he left
Washington 70 &c to the front, juss previ-
ous to the capture OF Richmond. l was
with him from seven O'Clock till nearly
twelve. II had been q very hard dEy with
him. Tho pressure Of ofice-eeekers WAS
greater at this juncture than ever knew
1t to be, and he was almost worn out
Among the callers that evening was . par
ty composed Of Q senator, q representative,
an e1-Heutenant governor Of q western
State. and several private citizens. They
had business Of great Importance, involv-
ingthe necessity Of the President . examin-
alton Of v0luminous documents. Pushing
everything aside, he said 70 one of the par
y, "Have you seen tho Nasby papers 2"
ssNo, have not" was the answer !;
who is Nasby ?" '1here is chap ont in
Ohio" returned the President, who has
been writing series u letters il the
um v. Nasby. some one sent mo u pam
ph!et collection Of them tho other dny.
am going to write TO petroleum" 70 como
down here. and intend 70 tell him il he
will communicate his talent 10 me, will
sseap places with him u Tnereupon he
arose and went to = drawer In his desk
and, taking out tho letters" he sat down
their enjoyment Of it tho temporary ex-
oitenoent and relief which another man
would have found in q glaas groRi The
instant he had ceased, the book was thrown
aside, hiD countenanoe yelapoed into its
hahitual serious expression, and The buei-
ness was entered upon with tho utmost
earneotnees.
Just here ! may soy with propriety, and
feel that It 10 due 70 Mr.. linooin'e mono
~ 70 state, that during Tho entire period
Of my ssayin Washington,a after witnesssng
his intercourse with alnnose all Glasses Of
people, Including goyorneYs, senators,
membeEg Of Congress, officers Of The army,
and familiar friends, I cannot recollect 20
have ever heard him relate circumstance
toany one Of them q all that woald have
been out o. plaoe uttered in q ledts's
ct 0timpfe0ston prevails, fouadsd it may
- In some instances upon fActs, but whore
there y oAo Iact Of the kind an pessua-
dod that theeo aro forty Al0ehoodA S least
At any yato. What have stated = volun.
taxy teetineoy. ffom 9 etaad-peint, sub
Amoog h1s stories ffeoheos in my mind,
ono Wlioh - related 70 NJ eho1tly afser
IT'D oeeux1eooe, belongD % u Ai6eoSy q
The famous interview on board ~ River
Queen q Hampton Roade. between hin.
oeli and Secretary Seward, a1A Tho Rebel
Peace Commis9ioners. .t was reported at
the time that the President told 'little
story" on that occasion, and tho inquiry
Msnt .: e,on.d 3D., smsng Tie % %nsxsPspel.,
publishsd what pu1ported % b. version
81 II, but the 'spo:nt'' Was entirely loat,
and it attracted no attention. Being il
Washington few days subsequent % the
interview With the CommissionefS tiny
previous so3ou1n there having terminated
30008 S0O 1US 0I Jo0t AuSUotJ, 3010u 0Ss
Lincoln enc day III It was tue that he
told 9tephens, Hunter, and Campbell .
storyS" "Why, yen" be replied manifest
inR some surprise, 'sbut has it leaked outf
was In hopes nothing would b eaid
about il, lest some ever sensitive people
should imagine there was a degree Of lev
ity in the intercourse between us." Ho
then went on to relate the circumstances
which called it out. "YoG sea," said be,
sswe had reached and wero discussing the
slavsry question. Mr.. Stephens said, sub
stantially, that TIE slaves. always, sccus-
toned to an overseer, end to work u.>er
compul,icp, suddenly freco. ss they woa Il
be if the South should consent to peaoo Oh
the basis Of the Emancipation Proclsma
ticn,' would precipita.e not only them
selves bat tho entire Southern socsety into
irremediabie ruin. No wosk would be
donc, nothing would be cultivated, end
both black ind whites would sso11ef'---
Said the President, II waited for Seward
20 answer that Argument, but as ho waS o.
lent, at length said: Mr.. etephens, yos
ought to know . great deal better abeut
this matter than !, for you have always
lived under tho slave system. can
only sag in reply 70 your statement Of ehe
Gao that It reminds me Of man ons ID