The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1865-06-22
VOL. XXNS.

indeed, two attendants-one for tie ont
er door and the other for the door OF thu
official ekambcrs bnt tLese-t'inking =
: L suuposc, that none would call afte
office hours save persons who were per
sonaIl acquainted, Or had the right o.
official cntrv-were, not unfrcquently
somewhat remiss III their duties.
To this fact now ventnred to call the
President attention, saying that to me
perhaps from my European elucation-
it appeared a deliberate courting Of dan
ger, even if the country were in a state
of the profo undest peace, for the person
at the head of the nation TO remain sc
unprotected. .... q
4. Even granting. Mr. Lincoln | said
"that no assassin should seek your life
the large number of lunatics always in Z
community, and always larger in times
like these, and the tendency which insani.
ty has to strike ut shining objects, OF
whom soever is most talked about, should
lead-I submit-to some guards about
the place, aud To some permanent officer
with the power and duty of questioning z
all who seek to enter" To this | added
some brief sketch Of the all but innumera-
bic crazy letters and projects which were
continually being received at General
| lIalleck's headquarters, and which he
had one day, laughingly turned over to
me, on the ground that / now and then
wrote verses.
There are two dangers, therefore"
| wound up by saying: The danger of
deliberate political assassination, and
the mere brute violence Of insanity"
Mr.. Lincoln had heard me with
smile, his hands still locked across his
z l., 4 L. l.
and forth-the common indication that
he was amused.
"Now, as to political assassination"
he said, '.do you think the Richmond
people would like to have hannibal Ham
lin here any better than mysef2 In
that Que Alternative, | haze an insurance
on my life worth half the prairie land of
Illinois And besides this more grave
ly-"if there were such plot, and they
wanted to get at me, no vigilance could
keep them out. We are so mixed up in
our affairs, that-no matter what the
system established-a conspiracy to as
sassinate, if such there were, could easily
obtain pass to see me for any one or
more of its instruments.
''To betray fear of this, by placing
guards or so forth, would only pat the
idea into their heads, and perhaps lead
to the very result it was intended to pre-
vent. As to the crazy folks, Major, why
| must only take nv chances-the worst
crazy people present | fear being some
of my own too Jealous adherents. That
there may be such dangers as Won and
many others have suggested to me. is
quite possible; but | guess it wouldn't
improve things any to publish that we
were afraid of them in advance
At this point, the President turned to
the papers I had brought over for his
and, signing them, handed
them to me with some message II Gen.
Hallcck. Whereupon | bowed myself
out, and the stream OF omnium gather
um humanity from waiting rooms again
flowed in upon him--sometimes i'll indt-
vidual-sometimes in deputationIl or
collective waves.
The whole interview I have here mar
rated, though taking so much longer to
tell had not endured over ten or fifteen
minutes, aud it was the first, although
not the only time, that heard Mr., Lin
coin discuss the possibility of an attempt
to ,sssassinate him.
The second time was when he came
over one evening after dinner to General
Halleck' 5 private quarters to protest, half
jocularlF, half in earneSt-againSt a
small detachment of cavalay which had
been detailed without his request, and
partly against his will, by the lamented
Gen. w adsworth, as a guard to his car
riage in going to and returning from the
Soldiers Home. The burden of his
complaint was that he and Mrs. Lincoln
couldn't hear themselves talk for the
clatter of their sabres and spurs; and
that many ofthem appeared to be new
hands and very awkward, he was more
afraid of being shot hy the accidental
discharge of one of their carbines or re.
than of any attempt upon his
life, or for his capture by the rowing
squads of Jeb. Stuart cavalry, then
hovering all around the exterior works of
the city.
The conversation is related, as repro
daced by memory ofperhaps mo~e than
average tenacity, as the writer would re-
word matter if giving evidence there
of in a court of justice Nothing has
been added to it, nor anything suppress
sed, that can recollect The Presidents
rcmarks-perhaps soliloquy were the
better term-relative to the necessity of
constant iutercommunicatiou with the
average people of the country, made
deep impression on me, and his calling
llS>c SrHtfdl itCtptlcuS fub4lC
opinion baths, was a phrase not so soon
forgotten.
From the 25th Of August, 1862. until
relieved from Gen. Halleck's staf-late
in the December of the same vear-the
writer had the good fortune of enjoying
frequent opportunities of seeing and
hearing Mr.. Lincoln: and more especial
ly during the dark days from General
Pope's disastrous defeats at the second
Bull Run and Chantiliy until after the
enemy. beaten by Mcclellan at ARtietam
had again been driven South. During all
this period the President, accompanied
bv either Major Hay or Mr.. Nichoiay.
spent some hours several evenings in
each week at General Halleck's private
quarters and it Is certainly not too much
TO say,tlat the more any candid mind
saw of Mr. Lincoln-eyen If opposed to
his political views-the~ more deeply
must it have become impressed hy the
homely honesty, kindliness. force, ori
Cinaljtv. shrewdness. huInor and self