Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-09-17
His Devotion TO HIS Wife-His
Office Habits.
Now York sun Letter


New York sun Letter
The devotion of General Butler to
to his charming wife, who died some
years ago during his presence under a
surgical operation, is insts need in
many ways by his circle of friends,
and his rugged nature and bold tenn
per yield to nothing so quickly as to
her memory. He has studiously kept
her room in the condition in which
she left it. Her pictures are nearly
all within his own apartment, with
specimens of her needlework and re-
mainder of her womanly neatness.
The volume Of Shakespeare she used
to read aloud, with all the skill that
came from her training as an actress,
is treasured by the husband. The
ardor with which. as a youth, he fol.
lowed the beautiful actress from New
England to the banks of the Ohio,
where he at length made an irresisti-
BILE declaration Of his love, never
dimmed Through life, and seems now
as strong in his devotion to her mem
DRY. Her theatrical genius found ap.
probation aud opportunity in her own
home, for General Butler provided
her with a theater under her own
roof, and one most complete in its ap
pointments. 1t is now his billiard
room; but it was then also his theater.
The billiard table is upon wheels rest.
ing on a track. When a performance
was designed the billiard table was
run upon its track against the wall,
and covered with the flooring for
the stage. The foOtlights were ar.
ranged, the scenery was placed, and
the curtain was hung. There was a
dressing room back Of the stage and
a wardrobe adequate for all needs.
Here Mrs Butler and her little com
pany of children and friends often
gave theatrical entertainments to rare
audiences, and no one appreciated the
performances more than Maj. Gen. B,
+. Butler, the general manager.
General Butler is overrun with
business for six hours on a stretch.
and he sometimes does not leave his
seat all day except to get a law book.
When his Office hours are over he
darts out of a private entrance and
dashes off in a coach, leaving his
clients to be informed that he has
gone for the day, and that they must
take their turn the next morning.
General Butler cleans up each days
correspondence as it comes, and scru-
~pulously answers every respectful let.
ter. He gets the meat" out of each
letter, and dictates to his private Sec
rotary the answer. He dispatches
business with astonishing rapidity,
and keeps none but bright men about
him, who save him a waste of words
or repetition OF instructions, and he
looks to them to carry out his plans
with the anne energy and sagacity as
he would use in executing them.
While most polite to subordinates,
and while addressing them always as
"Si;," he is severe in reprimands for
shortcomings, and apparently has alb.
solutely no patience with stupidity.
His favorite expletive is Since Adam
was a boy" and when annoyed he
always declares that since that period
there has never been such an instance
Of stupidity as the one under consid-
Grafton. His eXactions in point oil
work are so great that a former part
ner says he is in danger of overwork-
ing those about him. His own ca.
pacity for work he divides by two, and
then makes a task which one man can
scarcely complete in a given time.
General Buffers income from fees
alone is between $4,000 and $780,
600 a year. Some time ago be received
a retainer of 500, 900 in one case. His
liberality is great, and his brother
lawyers in Boston say that he does a
larger gratuitous practice than any
other man in America. He never
charges a cent for obtaining a pension,
and pays all the incidental fees. His
subordinates know that they would be
instantly discharged if he discovered
that they had ever charged a pensioner
a fee. He often takes a trip to Wash.
ington purposely to hurry up some poor
widows pension.
Any story of outrage, especially any
story of legal wrong, quickly moves
General Butler, and he has been
known to put aside a millionaire
business to start the machinery of his
Office to work upon a poor widows
case. The more intricate and difficult
the case, the better he seems to relish
it. His intellectual disposition runs
toward the most ingenious legal
methods. His mind, fully equipped
with all legal weapons, races over
every commonplace road leading to
probable victory and hen finds enjoy
ment in seeking out the most extra
ordinary path, and if the same result
can be reached by that course, Gen.
eral Butler will take it with the great
est delight. His methods are chiefly
ingenious, and one of the best in.
stances illustrative Of this fact was
when he attached the water wheel of
a mill in Lowell and brought hisoppo-
nents to terms. He revels in sur
prises in litigation and in untying the
hard knots Into which the courts
some times get cases. He says that
he never gets a case unless it is diff
cult.