The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1871-03-31
HAWTHORSE on LINCOLN.

hitherto been in print, Mr.. Fields
writes:
CATER his return home from Wash
ington, HawthroDe sent to me, during
Atlantic MShtEs4 Which ne entitled
"Chiefiy about War Matters" The pa
per, excellently well done throughout,
of course, contained a personal descrip-
ton of President Lincoln, which !
thought, considered as q portrait of
living man, and drawn by Hawthorne,
it would not be wise or tasteful to print.
The Office of an editor, dear Jack, is q
disagreeable one sometimes, and the
| case of Hawthorne on Lincoln disturb
ed me not little. After reading the
manuscript, wrote to the author, and
| asked his permission to omit his de-
scription of the Presidents personal
appearance. AS usual, for he was the
kindest and sweetest of contributors,
tie most good-natured and the most
amenable man to advice / ever knew,
he consented to my proposal, and al
| lowed me to print the article with the
alterations. If you turn to the paper,
dear Jack (you will find it in the num-
Der for July, 1862 you will observe
] there are several notes all of these were
written by Hawthorne himself. He
complied with my request without
|
wrong in my decision. He said the
whole description of the interview and
the Presidents personal appearance
were, to his mind, the only parts of the
article worth publishing. What ter
rible thing he complained, it is to try
to let off little bit of truth into this
miserable humbug of worldp Presi-
dent Lincoln is dead, and as Hawthorne
once wrote to me, Upon my honor, it
seems to me the passage omitted has a
historical value will read to you, ver-
batim, what 1 advised my friend, both
on his own account and the Presidents,
not to print nine years ago. Hawthorne
and his party had gone into the Presi-
dsnt's room, annexed, as he says, as su-
pernulh eraries to a deputation from a
Massachusetts, whip factory, with a
present of a splendid whip to the Chief
Magistrate
''By and by there was little stir on
the staircase and in the passage way,
and in lounged tall, loose-jointed fig
ure, of an exaggerated Yankee port
and demeanor, whom Gas being about
the homliest man l ever saw, yet by
no means repulsive or disagreeable,) it
was impossible not to recognize as
| Uncle Abe.
"Unguestionably, Western man
.
President Lincoln is the essential repre-
sentative of all Yankees, and the verit-
able specimen, physically what the
world seems determined to regard as
our characteristic qualities. 1t is the
strangest and yet the fittest thing in
the tumble of human vicissitudes, that
he, out of SO many millions, unlocked
for, unsolicited by any Ineligible pro-
cess that could be based upon his gen.
uine qualities unknown te those who
chose him, and unsupported of what
endowments may adapt him for his
| tremendous responsibility, should have
found the way open for him to fling his
lank personality into the chair of State
| where, l presume. it was his first i'm
pulse to throw his legs on the council
table, and tell the Cabinet Ministers a
story. There is no describing his lengthy
awkwardness, nor the uncouthness of
his movement, and yet it seemed as if l
had been in the habit of seeing him
daily, and had shaken hands with him
a thousand times in some village street,
so true was he to the aspect of the pat
tern American, though with a certain
extravaganza of which, possibly, l ex-
aggerated still further by the delight
full eagerness with which took it in.
If put to guess his calling and liveli-
hood, l should have taken him for a
country schoolmaster as soon as any
thing else. He was dressed in rusty
black frock-coat and pantaloons, I'M
brushed, and worn SO faithfully that the
suit had adapted itself to the curves and
irregularities of his figure, and had grown
to be an outer skin of the man. He had
shabby slippers ON his feet. His hair
was black, still unmixed with gray,
stiff, somewhat bushy, and had appar-
entity been acquainted with neither
brush nor comb that morning, after the
| disarrangement of the pillow; and as
to a nightcap, Uncle Abe probably
knows nothing of such effieminacies.
HIS complexion is dark and sallow, be-
tokening, fear, an insalubrious atmos-
phere around the White House he has
thick black eyebrows and an impend-
ing brow; his nose is large, and the
lines about his mouth are very strongly
defined.
''The whole physiognomy is as coarse
q one as yoa meet with anywhere in
the length and breadth of the State but
withal, it is redeemed, illuminated, soft
tened and frightened by a kindly,
though serious, look out of the eyes, and
and an expression of homeIy sagacity,
that seems weighted with rich results
of village experience. A great deal of
native sense; no bookish cultivation ::
no refinement; honest at heart, and
| thoroughly so, and, yet in some sort
| sly-at least endowed with a sort of
| tact and wisdom that are akin to craft,
and would impel, 1 think; to take an an
tagonist in flank, rather than to make
bull-run at him right in front. But, on
the whole, liked this sallow, queer,
sagacious visage, with the homely hu-
man sympathies that warmed it; and,
for my small share in the matter, would
as lief have Uncle Abe for ruler as any
man whom it would have been practi-
cable to have put in the place.
Immediately on his entrance the
President accosted our member of Con-
gress, who had US in charge, and, with
comical twist of the face made some
jocular remark about the length of his
breakfast. He then greeted US all
round, not waiting for an introduction,
but shaking and squeezing everybedy's
hand with the utmost cordially, wheth-
er the individuals name was announced
to him or not. His manner toward us
was wholly without pretense, but yet
had kind of natural dignity quite suf-
ficient to keep the forWardest of us
from clapping him on the shoulder and
asking for a story. A mutual acquain-
lance being established, our leader took
the whip out of the case and began to
reAQ the address OF presentation. Inc
whip was an exceedingly long one, its
handle wrought in ivory, (by some ar
fist in the Massachusetts, State Prison,
BELIEF and ornamented with q medal
lion of the President, and other equally
beautiful devices; and along its whole
length there was succession of golden
bands ana ferules. The address was
shorter than the whip, but eqally well
made, consisting chiefly of an explana-
tory description of these artistic de-
signs, and closing with hint that the
gift was suggestive and emblematic
one, and that the President would rec
ognize the use to which such an instru-
ment should be put.
This suggestion gave Uncle Abe
rather delicate task to reply; because, |
slight as the matter seemed, it appar-
emily called for some dsalaration or in |
timation, or faint foreshaduwing OF pol |
icy in reference TO the conduct of the |
war, and the final treatment of the reb-
els. But the Presidents Yankee apt
ness stood him in good stead, and he
jerked or wiggled him out OF the diiem-
ma with AZ gncosth dexterity that was
entirely in character although, without /