Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1865-05-25
"Reminiscences Of lIr. Lincoln.

= ~ J Tsa - o
MI. F. B. CARPENTER, the artist who painted
the picture of 4e Signing ., ,the Emancipa
ton Proclamation contributes to the Indc
pendent, his a Personal Impressions Of, Mr.
Lincoln" embodyihg some Interesting rem
iniscences, whicbwe copy below4. IA. ss5 stls
anon v, MR., LIScoLN's SADNESS. i,4e4g eh
Tt has been thssbusiness of my life, as vol
know, to study the human fate, and / say now
as have said repeatedly to NY friends, s8ir
Lincoln had yIesaddest faeeiI ever painted
During some 6f The dark DAYS Of last spring
and SUMMER slH him, at times, .whcbahii
care worn, troubled appearance, was eirougf
to bring tears of sympathy into the eyes o
his most violent enemies. 1rccall particular
ly one day when, having occasion to pass
through the main hall of the domestic apart
ments, i found him all alone, pacing up and
down a narrow passage, his hands behind him
his head bent forward upon his breast heavy
black rings under his eyes, showing sleepless
nishts-altogether sucha picture OF the effects
of weighty cares and responsibilities as never
had seen. And yethe always had kind word
and almost always genial smile, and it was
his way frequently to relieve himself at such
times by some harmless pleasantly Irecol
lect an instance told me by one of the most
radical members of the last Congress. 1t was
during the darkest days of 1862. He called
upon the President early one morning, Just
after news Of disaster. 1t was time OF
great anxiety if not despondency Mr. Lin;
coin commenced telling some trining incident
which the Congressman was in no mood to
hear. He rose to his feet and said, "Mr Pres.
ident, did not come here this morning to
hear stories; It's too serious time" Instant
ly the smile disappeared from Mr. Lincoln
face, who exclaimed: "A., sit down; respect
you as an earnest, sincere man. You cannot
be more anxious than an constantly, and |
say to you now, that were It not for this occa.
sional vent, should die" '''. Z. ,o"'.''tAi'
+" ,n'p l' HIS SYMPATHY. '','
A large number of those whom he saw ev
cry day, came with appeals to his feelings in
ment and under sentence of death 1t was a
constant marvel to me that, with all his other
cares and duties he could give so much time
and be so patient with that multitude. 4 have
known him to sit for. hours patiently listening
to details Of domestic troubles from poor peo
ple-much of which, of course, irrelevant
carefully sitting the facts and manifesting as
much anxiety to do exactly right, as in mat
ters of the greatest interest Poorly clad peo
pie we're more likely to get good hearing
than those who came in silks and velvets. No
one was ever turned away from his door be-
cause Of poverty. If he erred, it was sure tc
be on the side of mercy. 1t was one of his
most painful tasks to confirm sentence ot
death, I recollect the case of somewhat
noted rebel prisoner, who had been condemn
ed TO death, believe, as o spy. A strong ap
plication had been, made to have his sentence
conmuted While this was pending, he at
tempted TO escape from confinement and was
shot by sentinel on guard, = Although he
richly deserved death, Mr. Lincoln told Judge
Holt, in, my presence, "it was a great reliet
to him that the man took his fate into his own
hands"
If the slightest occasion existed for show
ing clemency, he was sure to improve it *
Judge Bates, in the same conversation re
ferred to above, said that he had often told the
President that she was hardly fit to be in
trusted with the pardoning power. y Why
said the Judge, r''he can scarcely turn away
from the application Gift touches his feelings)
of a man, and the tears Of a woman are sure
to overcome him." toe ItYar5lt Nv
tlG hsAlH Fl A PARDON.
A touching incident Of his kindness Of heart
occurred quite recently, and was told me in
cidentally by one of the servants A poor
woman from Philadelphia, Pennsylyania, had
been waiting with baby in her arms for three
days to see the President. Her husband had
furnished d substitute for the army, but some
time afterwardswas one day made intoxica,
ted byisome companions, and in this state in.
dnced to enlist So6nIafter he reached the ar
my he deserted, thinking that as he had pro,
vided q substitute, the Government was NOT
entitled to his services. Returning home, be
was, ofrcourse, arrested tried, convicted, and
sentenced to be shot. The sentence was to be
executed on Saturday. On Monday his wife
left her home, with her baby to endeavor tc
see the President Said old Daniel. "She bad
been waiting here three days, and there was
no chance for her to get in. Later in the af