The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-06-30
A Story About Lincoln.

While officially resident in Washing
ton during the late war, says Ex-Gov-
ernor Rice, | once had occasion to call
upon President Lincoln with the late
Senator Henry Wilson. upon an errand
of public nature in which we were
mutually Interested. In the recognized
order Of precedent Il member of the
House of Representatives. rs then was,
could not in times of pressure for audi
ence with the President gain admittancc
so long rs there were Cabinet Ministers,
members of the Diplomatic Corps, SEN
ators or Justices of the Supreme Court,
desiring audience with him, and all ci-
Whites must wait their opportunity UNI
til after members of Congress and Off
GERS of the Army and Navy, and of the
Civil Service, and others, had .,.,d their
turns respectively. Having -joint er-
rand with Senator Wilson, / could avail
OF his privilege of earlier admissions; but
we were obliged to wait some time in
the ante-room before we could be re-
ceivcd. and when at length the doorwas
opened to us, small lad, perhaps ten
or twelve years old, who had been wait
ing for admission several days without
success, slipped in between us, and APP
preached the President in advance. The
latter gave the Senator and myself a
cordial but brief salutation, and turn
ing Immediately to the lad, said, "And
who is the little boy?'
During their conference the Senator
and myself were apparently forgotten.
The boy soon told his story, which was
In, ,l,st, th,t h., hal 80
ington seeking employment as page in
the House of Representatives, and he
wished the President to give him such
an appointment. To this the President
replied that such appointments We're
not at his disposal, and that application
must be made to the doorkceper of the
House ut the Capitol. "But, sir" said
the lad, still undaunted, II am a good
boy, and have Il letter from my mother,
and one from the Supervisors of my
town, and one from my Sunday-schoOl
teacher, and they all told me that
could earn enough in one session of
Congress to keep my mother and the
rest of us comfortable all the remainder
of the year"
The President took the lads papers.
and ran his eye over them with that
penetrating and absorbent look so fami-
liar to all who knew him, and then took
his pen and wrote upon the back Of one
of them: 'If Captain Goodnow can give
place to this good little hoy, shall be
gratiiied," and signed it "A. Lincoln"
The boys face became radiant with
hope, and he walked out OF the room
with step as light rs though all the
angels were whispering their congratu-
latiOns.
Only after the lad had gone did the
President seem to realize that a Sena-
tor and another person had been some
time waiting to see him.
Think for moment of the President
of q great nation, and that nation Ell
gagged in one of the most terrible wars
ever waged among men, himself worn
down with anxiety and labor, subjected
to the alterations Of success and de
feat, rackcd by complaints af the on
vious, the disioyal, and the unrcasona-
BILE, pressed TO the decision of grave
questions of public policy, and cncum-
bercd by the numberless and namelcss
incidents of civil and martial RESPONSE
biliiy, yet able SD far to forget them all
us to give himself up for the time being
to the errand of little boy who had
braved an interview unlimited, and of
whom he knew nothing but that he had
a story to tell of his widowed mother,
and of his ambition to serve her!