Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-10
Some Anecdotes of Lincoln.

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This great Hercules of man had q
heart as kind and tender as woman
Sterner men thought it weakness. Il
saddened him to see others suffer, and he
shrank from inhicting pain Let me
illustrate his kindness and tenderness by
one or two Incidents One summer
day, walking along the shaded path lead
ing from the executive mansion to the
war office, saw the tall, awkward form
of the president seated on the grass under
a tree. A wounded soldier, seeking back
pay and pension, had met the president
and having recognized him, asked his
counsel. Lincoln sat down, examined
the papers of the soldier, and told him
what to do, and sent him to the proper
bureau with note, which secured prompt
attention
After the terrible destructive battles
between Grant and Lee in the Wilderness
of Virginia, after days of terrible slaught-
er, the lines of ambulances, conveying the
wounded from the steamers on the Poto-
mac to the great field hospitals on the
heights around Washington, would be
continuous-one unbroken line from the
wharf to the hospital. At such a time
have seen the president, in his carriage
driving slowly along the line, and he
looked as though he had lost the dearest
member Of his own family. On one such
occasion, meeting me, he stopped and
said:
81 cannot bear this; this suffering-this
loss of life-ls dreadful
| recalled to him line from letter he
had written to friend years before, whose
great sorrow he had sought to console.
Reminding him of the incident, l asked
him:
"Do you remember writing to your
suffering friend these words: sAnd this,
too, shall pass away, never fear. Vic
tory shall Gomez
An Atlantic port in one of the British
provinces was, during the war, a great
and large cOntraband trade was said to
have been carried on from that port with
the cOnfederates. Late in the summer of
1864, while the election of president was
pending, Lincoln being candidate, the
governor-general of that province, with
some of the principal officers, visited
Washington, and called to pay their re-
spects to the executive. Mr.. Lincoln had
been very much annoyed by the failure
of these officials to enforce very strictly
the rules of neutrality, but he treated his
guests with great courtesy. After
pleasant interview, the governor, allud-
ing to the approaching presidential cleo
ton, said jokingly, but with a grain of
sarcasm: 81 understand, Mr.. President,
everybody votes in this country. If we
remain until November can we voter"
"You remind me-" replied the presi-
dent, "of countryman of yours, green
emigrant from Ireland Pat arrived IN
New York on election day, and was,
perhaps, as eager as your excellency to
vote, and to vote early and late and Of
ten. So upon his landing at Castle Gar
den he FASTENED to the nearest voting
place, and as he approached, the judge
who received the ballots inquired,
"Whom do you want to vote for? on
which side are your" Poor Pat was en-
barrassed, he did not know who were the
candidates. He stopped, scratched his
head, then, with the readiness of his
countrymen, he said:
~ am torment the government, any,
how. Tell me, if your honor phases,
which is the rebellion side, and I'll tell
you how want to vote. In ould Ireland
l was always on the rebellion side, and
by Saint Patrick, I'll stick to the same in
America"
"Your Excellency," said Mr. Lincoln,
"would, should think, not be at all at
loss ON which side to vote.''
The two books he read most were the
Bible and Shakespeare With them he
was familiar, reading and quoting from
them constantly. Next to Shakespeare,
among the poets, was Burns, with whom
he had a hearty sympathy, and upon
whose poetry he wrote lecture. He
was extremely fond of ballads, and of
simple, sad and plaintive music.
| called one day at the White House
to introduce two officers of the Union
army, both Swedes. Immediately he be-
gan and repeated from memory, to the de-
light of his visitors, long ballad, de-
scriptive of Norwegian scenery, Morse
legend, and the adventures of an old
Viking among the lords of the North.
He said he had read the poem in a
newspaper, and the visit of these Swedes
recalled it to his memory
On the last Sunday of his life, as he
was sailing up the Potomac, returning to
Washington from his visit to Richmond,
he read aloud many extracts from Mac
beth, and among others the following,
and with tone and accent so Impressive
that, after his death, it was vivldly re-
called by those who heard him:
s'Duncan is in his grave;
After life's fitful fever, he sleeps WE'LL
Treason has done his worst; nor steel, nor
poison,
Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing
Can touch him further!"
1t is strange that any reader Of Lin
coins speeches and writings should have
had the hardihood to charge him with
infdelity, but the charge having been re-
peatedly made, reply. in the light of
facts accessible to all, that no more rever-
ent Christian mot excepting Washing
toni ever filled the chair of president
Declarations of his trust in God, his faith
in the efficacy of prayer, prevade in his
speeches and writings. From the time
he left Springfield to his death he not on
ly himself continually prayed for divine
assistance, but never failed to ask the
prayers of others for himself and for his
country.
His reply to the negroes of Baltimore,
who, in 1854, presented him with beau
tiful Bible, as an expression of their love
and gratitude, ought to have silenced all
who have made such charges. After
thanking them, he said:
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