Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-07-01
..p.Han LINCOLN.
o,f the .PIain Peoples.
coFFEY RECALLS ANECDOTES OF TIE
TiilAN " WARTIME. II

sH .. rbether his career as Presidep.
n-a' 4e-,a,,ator through the trying scenes Of
e. ,rraat civil war, or even the tragic and
tab;,o incidents OF MS upumely death
''S.,Ia I've excited and kept alive the affee-
-, md ever increasing interest in his
.,sa.oo.er if that character had not been
.--'-,-od nv traits some of them quaint, origi-
I'D bomelv. that appealed to the common
haarf of mankind and revealed that touch of
MA NAT makes The whole world kin. II has
tan ofteu and truthfully said or him that he
DC q Inan whose heart lay close to the 1reat
rcnuIar heart and felt its bcatlngs. Even after
e. had reached the perilous elevation of the
White House, where the truth IS apt to be seen
,hnn,pgI ver- refracted mediums, he never for
o rnoment lost the faculty OF reading the mind
Of those whom ne called 'the plain people" In
truth he was by birth, education, experience and
srmpi1thv one of 1.-THE plain people himself and
The traits that make him so uniquely interest
inc were simply the outgrowth OF mind origi-
nal and vigorous, and a kindly heart. devel-
n,ad hv and taking shape from the modes Of
thougbt and expression, the habits and man
ner of life of the people amid whom he had
ben brought up and lived Born in ENGLAND
or Massachusetts and educated in Conventional
fashion at oxford or Harvard, he would doubt
less have been a man OF marx and power but
ne would not have been the Abraham Lincoln
whom the people know and love. As Macau-
lev argued that Millions learning tended 70
clip the wings of his Imagination, so it NAV be
said that the training of the schools wouM
nrohablv have polished away, not indeed the
native humor and shTeWd faculty Of Observe
tinn, but that quaint and original habit Of
Thought and speech which found constant e.
preston in l;lcy and effective phrase and il
stories OF western life, often homely but
never obscene, and always singularly apt in j.
luStration.
But am not writing an essay on Mr. Lii
coins character or genus-a theme well won
but not yet exhausted. My less ambitiois
work is to record few examples Of his "preac-
ing by parable, and of his habit of condensilg
an idea in single telling phrase.
When these Incidents happened I NAV pc
Nlxsfv in nIlhl nrx..a,
virtue OF a custom established by Mr. Lincoi,.I
had occasional access to the cabinet meetings
during the absence of my departmental Chef,
the Attorney General But had no such ilti-
macy with the President or Opportunities of
gathering the good things that felt from his ips
as Others, some of them yet living had aud
what l have to tell is, with small exceptoa.
doubtless well known to those who were nesrer
to him than l. But / think it has not beon
been published.
The skill and success with which Mr. Iineoh
would dispose of an embarrassing quest. on a.
avoid premature coInlnittal to policy adve-
Gated by others IS we'll known. He knew .box
to send applicants away in good humor eva
when they failed to extract the desired r.
sponse.
\ story told of him after General Camesons
retirement from the War department. wIfehI
have never seen in print illustrates this Habit.
Every one knows that Mr.. Lincoln's cabinst
was chosen chiefly from his rivals for the fred-
DENTAL nomination and from considerations
largely political. But the exigencies of TIE VA
demanded, in the opinion of many good RpuS-
the special fitness of each member for the ktat
work in hand. OF this opinion were soheof
the leading republican Senators. Aftef ne
retirement of General Cameron they hlda
caucus and appointed committee toll wit
on the President. The committee representa-
that inaslnuch as the cabinet had mott ben
chosen with reference TO the war; ad
had more or less lost the confidence Of
the country, and since the President I'D
decided TO select. new War minister thy
thought the occasion was opportune to chage
the whole seven cabinet ministers. fey
therefore earnestly advised him to max:
clean sweep and select seven new men antso
The President listened with patient coursy
and when the Senators had concluded he
said with a characteristic gleam Of hulnon
his eye: Gentlemen, your request for a chage
OF the whole cabinet because have made ne
change, reminds me of a story once heardn
Illinois of q farmer who was much troub1edy
skunks. They annoyed his household atniat
and his wife insisted that he should take mis-
ures TO get rid OF them One moonlight init
ne loaded his old shotgun and stationed m-
self in the yard TO watch for the intrud efsI ia;
wife remaining in the house anxiouslylapit-
Ing the result. After sometime she heard he
shotgun go on and in a few minutes the farer
entered the house. What luck had your id
she. hid myself behind the wood pile i'd
the old man. with the shotgun pointed tovrd
the hen-roOst and before long there appeed
not one skunk but seUen. / took aim, bled
away, killed one, and he raised such feaul
smell that concluded it was best to lethe
other six co."
With hearty laugh the Senators retirtdnd
nothing more was heard of cabinet recotslc-
ton.
One of Mr.. Lincoln's most amiable uiaIes
was the patience and gentleness with w1iehe
would listen To people who thought tleyad
sometimes when his patience had beenhbed
for selfish or unworthy purposes he Wa dte
capable OF administering a caustic rebuke ihis
own way.
One day when he was alone and bu6ilen-
gagged on an important subject, involving VA
ton and anxiety, he was, by some misch;ce,
n tod
men who, without apology, proceeded tday
their claim before him. The Spokesman 0tie
three reminded the President that they ere
the owners of some torpedo or other warIl in
vention which, if the government wouli ally
adopt ii, would soon crush the refeion.
Now, said the spokesman, I'VE have zen
ferred Us TO the Secretary of War, TO ths dief
OF Ordnance and the General of the Arny.ud
they will give us satisfaction. We hsSse zen
kept here, waiting till money and pati&ear
exhausted; and we now come to demand ofou
final reply to our application"
Mr. Lincoln listened quietly to this tsent
tirade, and at its close the old twinkle akentO
You three gentlemen remind me of aey
once heard, said he, ''of poor little e0yCut
west who had lost his mother. Hid fiber
wanted TO give him a religious educa1 bnlnd
SO placed him in the family of Gle gr,n,
whom he directed 10 instruct the littk felow
carefully in the Scriptures Every dayfheooy
was required to commit to memory al Il cite
one chapter of the Bible. Things picaded
smoothly until they reached that chapt& Vhch
details the story of the trials of ShadrDct Ne
shach and Abednego in the firery furntce The
boy got on well until he was asked % rs,eat
these three names, but he had forgotteh tipm.
His teacher told him he must learn them and
gave him another day to do SO. NeXrtaythe
boy again forgot them. Now said thetaaer
you have again failed TO remember faose
names, and You can go no further till uave
learned them. / will give you anothefdar on
this lesson, and If you don't repeat theAanes
will punish YOU third time the b<y anne
to recite and got down to the stumbliu: block
when the clergyman said: Now tell ne the
names OF the men in the 6rery furnace Oh
said the boy, here come those three Lesnal
bores i wish the devil had themr"
Having received their "inaI answC' the
three patriots retired, and at the Cabins meet
Ing which followed directly after, the Pfsieent,
III high good hunlor, related how he lad dis
missed his untine1y visitors.
The humorous aspect vi subject nevGfiiled
TO strike him, and the Illustrative storS Vas as
lighter hours. Often during the war Tilted
States narshas made arrests and sei1tns the
legality OF which would be tested by adcial
proceedings against them. For their prstsstion
Congress appropriated 500, 600 tobe eaeaded
under the direction of the President ipdaend-
Ing United states officers in such suie Some
OF the marstais thus sued had been cl9norOus
for orders from the Attorney Genes To the
United states district attorneys to defed these
suits. But when il became known hat the
President had Sl00OO0 for this prlrose the
narshals ceased to imporlune the -ttorney
General for counsel and .went" fof tn money.
IN submitting TO the President some ules for
his approval under which the funt should
be paid to the marshals, / Ike q The fact
that they no longer sought TIE att of the
district attorneys, but were all apxOs to get
control OF the money. ayes said h, "they
will now all be after the money asd beontent
with nothing else. They are Ikea ma I'm Hi
noiS whose cabin was burned down. anGaccord.
ing to the kindly custom of earIf day in the