New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-12-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
LINCOLN "REMINISCENCES.

known
usual opportunitlS OF seeing behind the scenes
I'D ~ es,imatinp the agencies and influences that
,vore AZ work moulding tie course OF the Admins
trotion Even al tins distance of time IRON inc
events of which he speaSs however Mt Stoodaru
preserves becoming reticcncc on many polh'S'
Clearly he does not consider that the lapse Oh "
quarter Of century emanclpateS him from al
resnonsbiltv and it is g3eatly his credit that
in nearly every instance in which hc writes from,
personal knowledge concerning the inner lie pi
the White House in IinconS time, II IS Tor INC
purpose of refutng some fallacy or brushing away
some calumnious report about the President or
Mrs Lincoln. II u csc pages do not ada greatly
10 our knowledge of Abraham Lincoln, they as
suredly tend cnnohle his character, and, above
all they throw a pathetic light upon the nature
and extent OF the burdens borne by the President
during the Rebellion.
II is principally with the details Of the White
House business life that Mr.. Stoddard deals. lie
shows us just what the duties of lincolns Secrc-
taries were: what the character of the heavy
and constant correspondence that poured in from
all parts of the country: how the President was
protected from the annoyances and irritations
with which the mail charged all the time:
how the President received his callers; his private
life his receptions: his Cabinet councils, and
generally speaking, the familiar and intimate
aspects of,tle Executive Mansion. That Lincolns |
mail should have been carefully siftcd was OBJ
viously necessary. That is more than is done
for every business man with a considerable cor |
respondcnce. But ii was the more necessary in
this case because during tho whole of the war |
the President mails to have become the |
main channel through which the malignity, mean !
ness, cruelty and madness OF the Nation poured |
itself Mr.. StOddards account of this feature of
the secretaries wor; deserves to he studied with |
al rbo bod eric
anmosity everybody who base enough |
TO wish TO wound wantonly: every rufian who |
needed outlet for his filthy soul: every crank |
and lunatic outside the aSylums. appear II have |
been absorbed in writing letters to the President
denonncinc, slanderinC, cursinG abusing, advising
or directing him
II is pity that these correspondents could not |
know that their letters al fell harmless into the |
convenient waste paper baskets which hahkcd the |
desks of the secretaries. By chance did my one
of the malignant epi>teS under the Presidents
notice. All such quietly burked. and were |
written in vain. Sometimes specially crazy |
letter of advice suggestion shown t. Lincoln. |
if only to cheat tie poor vcr-burlonc soul ont |
OF a laugh, but this not often W. StOldad !
was situated TO all the more sorld aud |
base aspects of the war. Al the White House and |
the Capitol centred all the passions AMI mean |
ncsses the greed and self cking, tie guile AMI |
intrigue of the time. The President literally |
bcsegcd by clamorous and hungry off e-sc'kc :
until he announced his intention not to Interfere
with the appointing power OF the heads of De |
partments As he said, he meant to have no more |
influence with that Administration But when |
the Ofice-seekcrS OF the ordinary kind Cra@cd T. |
throng the corridors and anterooms new breed |
took their place. These wanted commissions in |
the army. or had inventions they csrcd 70 have |
adoDted. principally military. % il came about |
that all the tables were loaded with models of |
guns and shells and hand prcnaAes and ships and
monitors, and all the inventors or their agent, |
on hand to explain and push the merits o
their work With these were mingled more
sinister class: gamblers fraudulent spectators
rascally swndhng army contractors, or those who
sought army contracts with the sole purpose OF
robbing the Government-and, in short. the choic
est specimens of the most thorough paced villa rs
and rascals the country could furnish.
These found their way to the White House and
many succeeded in obtaining audiences from the
President. But Mr.. Stoldard says that none of
them deceived Lincoln. His praotcc as a GRIM
inal lawyer had given him invaluable expert nee
in judging character. and no matter how carefully
or skilfully a rogue might disguise himself. he
sure to he found out. Mr.. StOddard gives one
striking instance of this in the ca.c Of a very
notorious crook" who got himself up quite ad-
mirably as a doctor of divinity and called upon
the President in prosecution of crafty swindline
scheme. Lincoln saw through the fellow, but did
not LET him perceive II, and the rascal, being en-
bodened to try again, was on the second occasion
elected from the Executive Office on the tsc of the
Presidents large boot. Mr. Stoddard denies the
truth of the popular belief that Lincoln was in
the habit of telling what. for want Of a better
chs ~aclerization, may be called cGb snoi;ir Z room
stories He says:
We who have been in and ont Of the White lIou,c
day after day. have failed 10 hear any Of those ob-
lions Of many keen cds"d piece az common,cn>".
but then they could have been ut'c"cd harm!"-lv any
where. ~ for number Of 40 called Jokes. attributed
VERY. very witty and dry and inSoent nun pcr1,a
trated by him upon a member Of h, own cabinet
through the inventive brains Of a well known n"W>
paper reporter representative great Northern daily
hi1 been carried 70 him, and the literary gentleman la-
been sent for lie has heretofore enjoyed special priv
although his journal i severely adverse cr+tc.
lerG he now , wa ait c5 ist TO- 20 h 'he
sent for. lie jolly fellow. full Of Wit of KIND.
cannot so o1 Keen in. ana ont # cone, Willie the paper
knife slice, open the envelopes. lie doe not dream
secretary IS puing out Of their envelopes. and that
ha, ieen respectfully referred" hut to the Com
see the Presidents face nuSh ard darkcn when tho
brand new pattern Of foul humor was given him ~
now however and he will hear something. for Loui,
has come to summon him across the hall. lie goes.
and other news i ready for him, even more
than that something from Europe. He ha~ been in
the Presidents only few moments. There he
: now. coming again, and he not smiling
Whatever new thing he has learned carrie, him ont Of
The White House with unusual haste. and he may b
taking with him the materials for another story.
This and other gmpscs into Lincolns White
House life and ways present him in a new light
and tend TO dissipatc the tradition of Icvity ano
coarseness which grew up during those tryin-
DAYS Humor there is, hut the Prcsi
dent INDUCING it solely indispensable relief
10 the gloom and anxiety which hang upon hin
rcrpctualy. As he said himself, if lie did no
laugh sometimes he should die, and, according t,
Mr. Stoddard, lie did not laugh frequently as +
Law himself open to any honest sane criticism
We have found these "reminiscences Of the W hit
unnsc in ,xar 1inrs hinhlN infercst and lnrt