The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1882-05-20

While olDojally resident IN Washlng-
10 0orlog the lite var I oooe I'D %.
oAoj00 % oo1l uDoo Prea6do0t Lincoln
With Tie )ate Senator Henry Wilson,
upoo ~ esJand q . publie nature IN
which We we've mutually ioteeested.
In The yeo4nised order { pgecede0t .
nsesube1 q the house Of Representatives,
- ] then W., 00u)d not in times Of
psessuve Tor audience with the president
gain admit anoe % long - there were
cabinet minisless, unembess Of the dip
)0nsatjc corps, senatOgD Or Justices Of the
sepgssne oourt defining audience with
him, and I'LL civilians Ouoe wait their
opportunity until after n,embefs OF con-
gre1s aad 0(lIceso Of the army and navy,
and Of the rtvil service aud others had
had their turns respectively. Having .
ioint esSand with Senator Wilson, /
culd avail Of his privilege Of earlier ID
mts~is'n; but ~ were obliged to wsit
some time In the ante-Fn0am be ere We
could b received, and when Ut length
the door was opened to o.. . small lid,
perhaps ten Or twelve yearo old, who
b d been waiting for admission several
days without success, clipped In be-
tween "a aud approached the pre- ident
In advance. The latter 9ave the senator
and myself cOrrlial but brief saluti0n,
and turning Immediately 70 the led,
xaid: And who X the little boy?''
During their conference the senator and
myself were apparently forgotten. The
boy s00n told his story, which was In
substance that he had come to Waxh-
ington seeking employment - . page
in the house Of representatives., and he
wished the president tn give him such
IN appointment. TO this the president
replied that such appointments were not
must Be made to the door keeper Of the
the led. stil) un()aunted, II ann . good
and one from the supervisors Of my
teacher, and they all told me that !
my mother and the rest Of ~ comforts
bic the remainder az the year" The
president took the lad'x papers, and ran
bic eye over them with that penetrating
and sbeorl,ent look 10 familiar to al
who knew him, and then tos,k his pen
and write upon the back ofOne Ofthesn:
If Captain 0Oodn0w can give q place
to this gsnD(D little boy, I shall l,e graft
flei," and signed /. "A. Linc.,lu.''
The boys face became radiant with
hope, and he walked out of the room
with . step ~ light 40 though oil the
angels were whispering their congratu-
l~tiOna.
ONLY after the lad had gone did the
presiuent seem to realize that . senator
aud another person had been waiting
sDnle time to zee him.
Think for . moment Of the president
Of great nation. aud that nation en-
gagged In cne Of the most terrible wars
ever waged among men, himself worn
down with anxiety and labor, subjected
to the alterations Of success and defeat,
hacked by com, 'laints Of the envious,
the dtslOyal and the unreasonable,
pressed to the decision Ut grave ques-
lions of public policy, and encum 6erei
by the numberless and nanleless incl
dents Of civil and martial responsibility,
yet able 10 far to forget them oil ~ to
give himself up for the time being to the
errand of little boy who had buaved
an Interview unlimited, and Of whom
he knew nothing. but that he had . sto-
~ to tell Of his widowed mother, and Of
his ambition to serve her!-Er-G ovrrn0r
Rice in Il forthcoming NJ ns0rial Volume.