Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-08-27
LIgcoLNs PORTRAIT.
A Full length ri; tave which ras had
Curious History.

A Fun lcnglh ri t-rs which tas had q
Curious History.
Many have notice the ;ull-largth por-
trait Of President lincoln which hang in
the Riggs House. There is a curious tory
lCgardh g l., say sthc Washington Hatchct.
The figure is of heroic size, and Tepr, MS
the "maityr President" staudiI z at q table
holding thu Constitution in his hard It's
fidelity to allure has been commended by
many old friends Of Mr. Lincoln ard pasi-
lively testified to by his on, the ey-Sccrc-
tary of War. It is the work o. young
German al fist named w. X. Travis, and
the circums; ances surrounding its eXCcu-
ton are quite romantic.
In the ea;ly summer Of 1852, a bright
eyed German of about 20 appeared at the
Capital. He was the son OF portTait
PAINTER of local repui G in Frankfort-on-the-
Main. According TO the son, the father
had served under Butcher during 1.-THE
Hundred days that eliminated in the
battle of Waterloo. Young Travis had q
military education in addition to an adj
mirable course of instruction in the GYM
nasium OF lis native city. Like the CoJnt
de Paris and other foreigners of greater
distiI ctiJn than this poor artists son,
Travis came TO see some real war He
offel ed his services in New \ ok before
coming to Washington, had been taken to
Governors Island, but had been rejected
on account Of clearly marked pulmonary
affection. When he reached here Travis
was desPondeLt. He wandered about the
city for several weeks, bat made few ne
quaintautes because of lis limited know
ledge of the Fngl sh Ian yuage One day
he visited the White House and saw th'
portraits of the cy-Plcsidcnts. An idea
occurred TO him. If he could not fight for
the struggling nation, he could at east
paint a picture of its President, who oc-
cupied q hal.owed place in the artists
heart. But realization of his fancy was
not so easy IN vain he personally APP
piled at the White House to arrange for a
'tsitting" with Mr. LinColn. He could not
even get to sec him. But he continued to
co. One day he met Mr. Lin DIN on the
street He approached and INTRODUCED
himself in very bro en- English. He told
| how he, an allen, hal tried to fight fer
this country, had bscn rejected, and what
| he desled to do to leave something as a
momentO to tie strange land he loved 50
well. Though he probably didnot under
| stand more than hah Il ut the yOurg art st
said, the President was imrreS sed with lis
manlinesS AID his Carrestncss lie gave
him an appointment for the following DAY,
| and kept il to the exclusion Of everything
else. He sat fer an hour and told the
stranger scycl al good s!oriCs-not twenty
words Of which Travis understood. A
subsequent sitting was arranged, but it
was interrupted just after it was began,
ard Travis never saw Mr. Lincoln again.
He went to New Yolk and sailed for
home.
Now comes the really curious part OF
the story. General Webster, q lelGtiyc
of BENJAMIN f. Butler, was one OF Pres
dent Grants first foreign appointments.
He was made ConsIIl-Gencral at Frank
fort In the sping of 1865 tall, tu!l
bearded man entered the consulate, intro
duced himself and said that lie had painted
q portrait OF PrCsi lent Lincoln ard asked
that he might bring it there for ins pc,
ton and criticism by Americans. Cen
eral Webster, supFOsing that it was a
small Tortrait, gave the permission in 4
spirit of friendlircss to the people anon.
whom he was residing. Imagine his sir
pie, ther, as n heavy truck backed III
before the door and deposited this gigantic
piece of canvas Il required Il dO2cI
porters to place it on the walls of til,
consulate AS those know who have GcCi
the picture at the Riggs. tie canvas l.
fully ten feet high by six feet lrt al TIL,
frame is LcGr,y one foot in width
The picture attrac ed much attention
Consul-Ccnera Webster pure hased it
Ten years later it was sent TO the CCnten
NAL Exhibition at Philadelphia. At th'
; close of that show the pictures rema'nin!
unclaimed were stored in the vaults Of tn
Academy of Fine Artsin that tiy. Thel
it narrowly escaped destruction b. fire
About this time two grown children 0
Mr.. Webster died; his wife soon followed
and he passed to tie grave i'll 1877. TIL
existence of the picture was totally fol-
gotten by his only immediate heir Nj
Bentice Webster Of Lowell, Mass.
slumbered in the darkness Of the cellar i
Philadelphia until the winter Of 1885,
when it was rediscovered A friend c
the Webster family brought it to the Al
tention of the only surviving heir. H
placed it in the custody Of that FRIEND
who brought it to Washington last yea,
and, by Mr.. Spoford's courtesy, found
, place at the Riggs House. Surely
4 curious story; but tue. Go take loo
e OF the picture.