New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1881-08-24
some ANECDOTES OF LINCOLN.

This great Hercules of man had q
heart as kind and tender as a woman.
Sterner men thought il a weakness. 1t
saddened him to see others suffer, and
ne shrunk from inflicting pain. Let
me illustrate his kindness and tender
ness by one or two incidents. One
summers day, walking along the
shaded path leading from tho Execu-
two Mansion to the War Office. saw
the tall, awkward form of the Presi-
dent seated OH the grass, under a tree.
A wounded soldier, seeking back paw
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. sent him to the proper bu-
reau with note, which secured prompt
attention.
After the terribly destructive battles
between Grant and Lee, in the Wilder
ness of Virginia, after days of dread
slaughter, tho lines of ambulances,
conveying the wounded from the
steamers on the Potomac to the great
field hospitals on the heights around
Washington. would be continuous
ono unbroken line from the wharf to
tho hospital. At such q time I have
seen the President, in his carriage,
driving slowly along the line. and he
looked like ono who had lost the dear
est members of his own family. On
one such occasion, meeting me-, he
stopped and said, Il cannot bear this;
this suffering, this loss of life-is dread
f111 ~ I roo01lo1 RI hin, n 1:,,n r,,o,x, =.
letter he had years before written to a
friend, whose great sorrow he had
sought to console. Reminding him of
the incident, | asked him, do you re-
member writing to your suffering friend
these words: And this, too, shall pass
away; never fear. Victory will come :"
An atlantic port, in one of the Brit
ish provinces, was, during the war, a
great resort and refuge for blockade
runners. 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 cleo
ton OF President was pending, Lincoln
being candidate, the Governor Gem
eral of that province, with some of tho
principal officers, visited Washington,
aud called to pay their respects to the
Executive. Mr.. Lincoln had been very
much annoyed by the failure of those
officials to enforce, very strictly, the
rules of neutrality. but he treated his
guests with great courtesy. After a
pleasant interview, the Governor, al
luding to the approaching Presidential
election, said, jokingly, but with q
grain of sarcasm, II understand, Mr..
President, everybody votes in this coun-
try. If we remain until November, can
we votep''
"You remind NO." replied the Pres
| ident, 'of a countryman of yours, q
green cmigrant from Ireland. Pat
arrived in New York on election day,
and was, perhaps, as eager as your
| Excelloncy to vote, and to vote early
and late and often. So, upon his land
| ing at Castle Garden, he fastened to
the nearest voting place, and, as he APP
preached, the judge who received the
ballots inquired, Whom do you want
to vote FORE on which side are your
Poor Pat was embarrassed, he did not
know who were the candidates. He
stopped, scratched his head, then, with
the readiness of his countrymen, he
said:
"I am, torment the Government, any
| how. Tell me, it your Honor phases,
which is tho rebellion side. and I'll tell
you how l want to vote. In Guild Ire
| land was always on the rebellion side,
| and, by Saint Patrick III stick to that
same in America
''Your Excellency," said Mr. Lin
| onln i<ro,,lC oE1nll kb:rl- 49, l..
a loss on which side to vote.''
The two books he read most.were the
Bible and Shakespeare. With Thorn he
was familiar, reading and quoting from
them constantly. Next to Shakespeare,
! among tho poets. was Burns, with
whom he bad 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
began and repeated from memory, to
the delight of his visitors, long bal
lad, descriptive of Norwegian scenery.
a Morse legend, and the adventures of
an old Viking among the fiords of the
North.
He said he had read tho poem in q
newspaper, and the visit of these Swedcs
| recalled it to his memory.
On the last Sunday of his life, as he
was sailing up tho Potomac, returni ng
to Washington from his visit to Rich
mond, he real aloud many extracts
from Macbeth, and, among others, the
following, and with tone and accent
! so impressive that, after his death, it
was wildly recalled by those who
| heard him:
Duncan is in his grave;
| After lifes filful fever, he sleeps. well:
| Treason has done his worst: nor stccl nor
poison,
Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing.
Can touch him furtherl''
It is strange that any reader of Lin
coins speeches aud writings should
have had tho hardihood to charge him
with intidelity, but, the charge having
been repeatedly made, I reply, in the
light Of facts accessible to all, that no
more reverent Christian mot excepting
Washington) ever filled the chair Of
President. Declarations of his trust
in God, his faith in the efficacy of pray.
er, pervade his speeches and writings.
From the time he left Springfield, to
his death, he had not only himself con-
tinuedly prayed for Divine assistance,
but never failed to ask the prayers Of
others for himself and his country.
His reply to tho negroes of Balti-
more, who, in 1864, presented him with
q beautiful Bible, as an expression Of
their love and gratitude, ought to have
silenced all who have made such
charges. After making them. he said !:
This great book is tho best gift God
has given to man. All the good from
the Saviour of the world is commune
Gated through this book. =
Whom member Of Congress, know
ing his religious character, asked him
"why he did not join some church?''
Mr.. Lincoln replied: ''Because I have
found difficulty, without mental reser-
walton, in giving my assent to their
long and complicated confessions Of
faith. When any church will inscribe
over its altar the S4viour's condensed
ctOforaank ~ 1ow on1 rr0ovNnl. x'Tho,.