Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-03-09
From the Philadelphis Press.
Anecdotes OF Public Men.


No character of history, not even Georg
Washington, has figured so largely in art n
Abraham Lincoln, and yet no man of IN,
time cared less for art than the martyret
President. The tragedy of his death was tn,
cause that inspired the painter, the sculptor
and the engraver. At present there is hard
| ly a Northern household, certainly not
| loyal Northern household, that does not con
tain some memorial of Abraham Lincoln.
have now in my editorial-room an engraving
of the death-bed scene of the great President
after the assassin had done his fatal work, OF
Friday night, the 14th of April, 1865, at tn,
theatre on Tenth street, in the city of Wash
ington. The body was removed from th.
box, after Booths bullet had accomplished
its mission, to private house across the
street. 1t is from II photograph by Gardner
The body lies on the bed, and life is slowly
| passing away Mrs. Lincoln is kneeling al
her husbands side; John Hay, his private
| secretary, is seated at the head on the right
while around the bed are clustered Post
master General W. A. Dennison, of Ohio
Attorney General Speed, of Kentucky, Sec
retary of War Edwin NJ. Stanton, Senator
Sumner, Surgeon General Barnes, Hamilton
Fish, Acting President Andrew johnson,
Doctor Stone, Secretary of the Treasury
Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Navy
Gideon Welles, and several more. 1t is q sad
picture. The best likeness OF Lincoln is
that which represents him and his little son
Tad, or Thaddeus, reading the Scriptures.
Everybody recollects Carpenters painting in
the White House, the Signing of the Eman-
cipation Proclamation" and the historic pic
ture celebrating that great event belonging
to the Union League of Philadelphia and
afterwards in the art memorial OF the Cen
tennial, not in themselves great works, but
possessing historical value. To attempt to
enumerate all the Lincoln pictures, portraits,
medalions, and emblems would require a
volume. and do not write with any such OBJ
ject There is now in this city an artist,
Matthew Wilson, a portrait painter with a
singularly fine touch, well known all over
this continent, travelled man, who is doing
some excellent work in Philadelphia at the
present time for some of our best citizens,
and whose acquaintance l made in Washing
ton Just at the close of MIR. Lincoln's Ad-
mnistration and short time before he was
assassinate6. Wilson's studio was on Twelfth
street, and l was attracted to it by the re-
port that he had painted an unusually fine
portrait of President Lincoln. The Secre-
tpry of the navy, Hon. Gideon Welles, still
living in Connecticut, presented me TO Mr..
Wilson, and thus enabled me to secure a copy
of the great Lincoln portrait now in the par
lor of my private residence on Washington
Square. The original of this great portrait
was painted in the White House, and my
friend Wilson tells in his quiet way many in
teresting incidents of the martyred President
while he was perfecting it. One of these is
particularly touching, as it relates to the
many threats of Mr.. Lincoln's assassination.
While Wilson was painting his fine picture,
Mr.. Seward standing behind his chair, Mr..
Lincoln opened a note and said, ''Here is an
other of these letters" which he read to both
his auditors, after doing which he pointed to
pigeon-hole and said: In that place l
have filed eighty just such things as these. l
know am in danger; but am not going to
worry over threats like these" and then he
resumed his usual animation, and the quiet
interested artist went on with his work. In
two weeks from that date Abraham Lincoln
was assassinated. OF this fine portrait of
Lincoln, the last ever taken OF him, there are
several copies. Good judges of art-for l
am not one myself-pronounce it work of
rare fidelity and l am quite sure that no mon
ey could get mine from me.
Governor Hayes has been receiving the
same sort of letters that preceded Mr.. Lin
coins murder. 1t is noteworthy that no such
missives ever come from Republicans. The
duellist and assassin are the natural fruits of
human slavery, and just now, when the air is
again full of revolution, and when it would
really seem as if the Democrats in the House
Of Representatives at Washington are resolv-
ed TO defeat the declaration OF the election of
Governor Hayes, it is appropriate to reprint
the following letter of Abraham Lincoln,
taken from the history of the early settlers of
Sangamon county, Illinois, which have nev-
yet The h0nk lG
Just out, and is the work of John Carol
Power, assisted by his wife, Mrs. S. A. Pow
er, and is published under the auspices of the
''Old Settlers Society,"" l give this not as q
warning against those who are plotting an
other good mans death, but to show the
character of the illustrious martyr who was
removed from his high place by the hands of
Just such wretches as would rather plunge
the country into another war than to allow
the Judgment of their own arbitration TO
stand. Rutherford B. Hayes resembles Abra-
ham Lincoln in many things. and, most of
all, in his unselfsh devotion to his country
and in his conceded incorruptibility. Every
word that Abraham Lincoln wrote in the fol-
lowing letter recalls the gentle and religious
example of Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio.
During the war to suppress the rebellion, as
is well known. Mr.. Lincoln was frequently
waited upon by delegations from religious
bodies. Among others large number of
women belonging to the Society of Friends
gave him u call. One of their number, the
widow of fJoseph John Gurney.a distinguished
Quaker preacher of England, wrote him
letter. The following is Mr.. Lincolns reply.
1t will lie highly priced because it contains
such emphatic and unequivocal expressions
of his belief in the overruling providence of
God: