The Republican journal., 1882-11-02
A Boy in the White House.

Inc following amusing anecdotes of the late
President Lincons youngest son, ''Iad," are
taken from Noah Brooks sketch, entitled "a
Boy in the White House, in st. Nicholas for
November. Mr.. Brooks was President LincOln's
private secretary at one time, and great friend
OF his mlscheyous son:
sHoP-KEEPING IN TIE WHITE HOUSE.
Mingled with his boylsh simplicity Tad had a
great deal of native shrewdness. The White
House was infested with d numerous horde of
otflce-seekers. From day to day these men
crowded the corridors leading to the Pres-
dents office. Sometimes they We're so numcr-
Gus as TO line the halls all the way down the
stairs. 1t was not long before Tad found out
what this assemblage meant, and it then be-
came one of his greatest diversions, when other
resources failed, to go around among the office
seekers and sympathetically inquire what they
wanted, how long they had waited, and how
much longer they proposed to wait. To some
he gave good advice, telling them to go home
and chop wood for living. Others he tried to
dismiss by volunteering to speak to his father
in their behalf, if they would promise not to
| come again. Many Of these people We're at the
White House for weeks and even months, never
missing day, unless they learned that the
President was out Of town, or otherwise absent
from the house
Tad levied tribute on the men whose faces he
had learned to know. Once he mounted guard
at The foot of the staircase and compelled every
passenger to pay an admission fee of five cents.
for the benefit of the Sanitary Fund" as he
explained. Most of the visitors took it in good
part, and some f the fawning creatures, glad
of an opportunity to earn the good will of the
| little fellow, paid their way with a stamp of
some considerable value This venture was so
successful that Tad resolved on having one of
| the Sanitary Commission fairs then much in
! vogue all over the country. He placed table
i'll the grand corridor, or entrance hall. of the
| White House. stocked it with few broken
toys, some purchases of fruit, sundry articles
of food begged from the family pantry and
| lot of miscellaneous odds and ends contributed
| by admring friends. Before night, the sanitary
fair of the White House was closed out. No
| man who looked as if le had money in his
pocket was permitted to pass into the House
! that day without first buying something of
| Master Lncoln's stock in trade.
| His success in this venture emboldened him
| soon afterWard to branch out in a larger specu-
| latiOn. Having saved up quite a sum of pocket
money, he bought out the entire stock of an old
woman who sold apples and gingerbread near
| the Treasury building. A pair of trestles and
a board. eXtorted from the carpenters employ
ed Oh the building, gave the young merchant
his counter, and he set up his shop in the grand,
| historic pOrticO of the White House. much to
! the horror of some Of the eminentlv respectable
people who passed by and beheld this most
undignited proceeding. Before noon, almost
| every otfice-seeker who entered had bought a
! luncheon, under compulson, from the alert
| young shop-keeper. who drove Il brisk trade
| us lOlp its his SOouS laSttu. w nHn 1au naQ
! sold out all he had to sell, gOodlv lot of the
! fractional currency of those times was stuffed
into his pockets, his hat, and his little fist. He
was 1.-The Presidents SON." and that was enough
for the tlattererS, who We're glad to buy of him.
! But Tad was too generous and open-handed to
be long gamer by any such operations Be
| fore night, capital and profits had been squan-
! dered. and the little spcculator went pennless
! to bed
TAD LINCoLN's FAsI-DAY PICNIC.
If there ever a boy in danger of being
''spoied," it was the youngest son of President
| Lincoln. Much of the time it was impossible
! that he should not be left to run at large. He
| was fooliShly caresscd and petted by people
who wanted favors of his father, and who took
this way Of making friend in the family, as
| they thought; and he was living in the midst
! of most exciting epoch III the countrys his
| tory, when boy in the White House was in "A
| strange and somewhat unnatural atmosphere.
/ But ] am bound to say that Tad although he
| doubtless had his wits sharpcned by being in
! such strange surroundings. was never anything
| else, while | knew him, but boistcrous, roll
! licking, and absolutely real boy.
/ Great was 'Tad'S curiosity, in 1861, to know
what was meant by the Presidents procama-
ton for a day of fasting and prayer. His in
| quireS Were not satisfactorily answered, but
| from the servants he learned. to his great dis
may, that there would be nothing eaten in the
/ W Mto House from sunrise to sunset on Fast
| Day The boy, who was blessed with a yigOr-
Gus appetite, took measures to escape from the
ri@ors Of the day. 1t happened that. Just before
Fast Day came, the family carriage was brought
| out Of its houeo to be cleaned and put in order
| Tad stood by, with feelings Of alarm while Il
| general overhauling of the vehicle went on. the
coacEman dusting, rubbing, and pulling things
about, quite unconscious of Tad's anxious watch
on the proceedings. Pretty soon, drawing out Il
| queer-looklng bundle from one Of the boxes un-
der the seat, the man brought to light a part of
Il loaf of bread, some bits of cold meat and Va
| rous other fragments of food from the larder.
| Tad, now ready to burst with anger and disap-
pointment, cried, "Oh! oh. give that up, |
say That's my Fast Day picnic." The poor
lad, from dread of going hungry, had cautious
| ly hidden, from day to day. Il portion of food
against the day Of fasting. and had stood by
while his hoard was in danger, hoping that it
might escape the eyes of the servants.
lie was consoed by promise from his
mother to whom he ran with his tale of woe,
that he should not suffer hunger on Fast Dav,
even though his father, the President, had pro-
claimed q day of fasting. humiliation and pray
er for all the people.
VERY YOUNG LIEUTENANT.
One day, Tad, in search Of amusement, loi-
tered into the office of the Secretary of War,
and Mr.. Stanton, for the fun of the thing, COM
missioned him a Lieutenant of United States
| Volunteers. This elated the boy so much that
| he Went off Immediately and ordered II quantity
of mu>kets sent to the White House, and then
he organized and drilled the house servants and
| gardeners. and, without attracting anybody 5
attention, he actually discharged the regular
sentrieS about the premises ana ordered his un-
willing recruits on duty as guards.
Robert Lincoln soon discovered what had
been done. and as he thought it great hard
ship that men who had been at work all day
should be obliged to watch during the night to
| crafty a boyish freak, he demonstrated But
Tad would listen to nothing from his elder
brother. and Robert appealed to his father,
who only laughed at the matter as a good Joke.
Tad soon tired, however. of his self-mposed
duties and went 10 bed. The drafted men We're
quietly relieved from duty, and there was no
guard at the Presidents mansion that night,
much TO Mr.. Lncon, relief. He never ap-
proved Of the precauticn of mounting guard at
the White IIouse. While Tad sported his com
mission is lieutenant, he cut quite military
| figure From some source he procured a uni
form suitable to his supposed rank, and thus
] nrnullr attirnl he hal Limsnlf nhat ,.hcd