Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-03-22
. STEVENS AND LINCOLN.

]
boldly laid upon their memories. But
no Two men, perhaps, 50 entirely diff
lerent In character, ever threw off
more spontaneous jokes. Mr.. Stevens
Larely tola story. He was strong in
IePartee. IL retort, in quiet interroga-
toFy. be must have been terrible at
Ine eross-examination Of a witness
Ihere is nothing finer, think, in the
annals OF humOr than his quaint ques-
ton to David Reese and John Chaun-
1 cey, the two officers of the House who
IN his last days, used TO carry him in
a large armchair from his lodgings
across the public grounds up the
/ broad stairs of the noble Capitol,
! who will be so good to me ana take
me up i'm their strong arms Wnen you
I two mighty men are gone I'' here
/ was not only uncommon wit, but q
sense of intellectual Immortality. A
Consciousness of superiority of anoth-
[ er sort was his answer to John Hiek-
man, who called as Stevens laid on
h bed, when he felt the grip of the
! grim messenger fastening on him.
/ Hickman told the old man he was
| looking well. "Ah, John !" was his
/ quick reply, ''it is not my appearance
I but my disappearance that troubles
me-" A member of the House, who
was known for his uncertain course
on all questions, and who often con-
fessed that he never fully investigated
a mOOted point without finding him
self neutral, asked for leave of alb
senee. ''Afr. Speaker" said Stevens,
81 do not rise to object, but TO suggest
that the honorable member need not
ask this favor, for he can easily pair
Off with himself.n He was eharita-
bic, but never SYSTEMATICALLY so. ""Oh,
sir!n said a beggar woman to him one
cold morning. as he was limping to
the House, "Oh, sir! / have Just lost
all the money / had in the world. -
"And how much was that ?n "Oh,
/ sir! it was seventy-five cents" 'iYou
/ don't say so, was the old mans an
swer, as he put five dollar bill in her
/ hand land how wonderful il is that
l should have just found what you
I had lost"
Shortly after was elected Clerk Of
/ the House, in 1860, lady friend, since
I deceased, called nv attention to the
fact that the wife Of one Of her best
] servants, Sam, was about to be sent
L
unless over eight hundred dollars
could be raised for her In forty-eight
hours, her master, 4 man living at
Georgetown, D. c., would be sure to
sell her to strangers. The case was
terrible one. Sam was fine fellow,
and his distress was grievous. I sat
down and wrote out the facts, headed
the subscription, and in a few hours
raised the money, paying over three
hundred dollars myself. The papers
were made out to me, and / set the
woman free. "WelI, y said Mr.. Ste
vens, as he paid his fifty dollars, this
. is the first time I ever heard Of a
Democrat buying Negro and then
giving her her libeFty.l1
He affected much Indignation when
President Lincoln consigned Roger
A. Pryor to me as sort Of prisoner
guest in 1865, and regularly every
morning would greet me with the
grim remark: ''HOw is your Demo
cratic friend. Gen. Pryor ? I hope you
are both weH.n I was little annoy
ed by his sarcasm, and when an ap-
peal was made to me by an old citizen
to assist in pardOning another Con-
federate, / referred him to Mr.. Ste
vens. He happened to know the
great Commoner, and vent over to
him with my message. Judge of my
surprise when he returned with the
proposition that whatever wrote he
(Stevens) would sign. dictated the
strongest appeal to the President, and
Mr.. Stevans put his name to 1t. OF
course indorsed the petition; but I
did not fail to remind my neighbor
that very day of his inconsistency
"Oh you need not be so riled about
it, +" was the retOrt "I saw you were
going heavily into the pardon busi-
ness, and thought I would take a
hand in it myself"
Mr.. Lincoln was a, humorist Of
another school. He delighted in par
ables and stories. His treasures Of
memory were iuexhaustible. He
never failed for an illustration. He
liked the short farce better than the
five act tragedy. He would shout
with laughter over a French, German,
or negro anecdote, and he was always
ready to match the best with better.
More than once, when / bore a mes
sage to him from the Senate, he de-
tained me with some amusing sketch
Of Western life. He seemed 20 have
read the character, and to know the
peculiarities, of every leading man in
Congress and the country, and would
play of many an innocent joke upon
them. / viii not attempt to repeat
what has been so often described
There was also a sacred confidence
around many Of those scenes which
could not he violated without offense
to many living good men; and as I
do not wite to wound the feelings, I
will not profane an illustrious memo
ry by reviving what would only give
unnecessary pain.
His two inaugurations were accom-
panied by apprehensions Of his assas-
sinatiOn, and the second was followed
in a little more than month by his
murder. At the Inauguration Of
March 4, 1861, was. present as Clerk
of the House. Atthe Inauguration of
March 4, 1865, l was present as Seere-
taTy Of the Senate. James Buchanan,
as ex-President, heard the remarkable
first message of the man who succeed
ed him, just as Andrew johnson
heard the still more remarkable in
auguratiOn of the man he succeeded.
War followed the one, peace and as
sassination the other. The scene in
the Senate Of the United States on the
4th of March, 1865, when Andrew
johnson was sworn in as Vice-Presi-
dent, has too often been printed to be
set out into daylight again. Let it
rest. refer to it now only to relate
one incident. After we reached the
eastern and middle portico OF the
Capitol, where Mr.. Lincoln took the
oath, Johnson was under state Of
great excitement, and was in my i'm
mediate charge. 1 was confident,
however, that he would be subdued
before the President finished his in
augural. To the surprise of every
body, however, except, perhaps, the
Cabinet, Mr.. Lincoln did not consume
five minutes in repeating it. As soon
as the people outside saw that he was
done, loud cries were raised for John
son, upon which we hastily retreated
10 the Senate Chamber, and closed
the unhappy and inauspicious day
On the l4th of the succeeding month
OF April, the murder, planned four
years before, and baffled by superior
foresight, was executed, and Abraham
Lincoln was dying from the pistol
shot Of Booth.
An ambitious citizen of Rome. Ga,
endeavOFed to eat three quarts of oys-
ters recently. A local paper says, ''it
was a way he had Of signing An en-
gagement to slumberin the valley"