Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-22
ANECDOTE OF LINCOLN.
A Related by the Late Rev. DIR. Cur.
ley of This City.

ley OF This city.
d. II. Mitchell in the Independent.
The Rev. DR.. p. d. Gurley was the minis
ter in charge of the New York Avenue
Presbyterian Church, Washington, D. c.,
during Lincoln's administration. DIR. Cur
ley was Lincoln's pastor and in many mat
tiers his confidential adviser, a post he was
admirably fitted to fill, being a strong, ro-
bust, honest personality and a man of
sweet disposition. great ability and excel
lent Judgment.
During the meeting of the first general
assembly of the Presbyterian church after
the war, which convened in st. Louis. Dr.
Gurley, who was a delegate, was one day
the guest of the Rev. DIR. Niccolls. in whose
church the assembly met, and the following
anecdote of Lincoln was related by L.
Gurley at dinner in the presence of a num-
Der of friends, among whom was the pres
ent writer:
Soon after the outbreak of hostilities
hot-bloodtd, fire-eating young man, a son
OF members of DR.. Gurleys church, made
his way through our lines and enlisted in
the confederate army. The fortunes of war
threw him into our hands as a prisoner.
II was deemed best to make an example of
MIN, and he was consequently court-mar-
tailed and sentenced to be shot. Dr. Gurley
interested himself in the young mans be-
halr and secured q Communication OF the SEN
tence. short time after the father of the
boy came to DIR. Gurley and solicited his
aid to obtain pardon. DR.. Gurley strongly
advised against the effort. He pointed out
that the young mans life had been saved
by the President and that 1t would be ex-
tremely unwise and imprudent to apply for
pardon so soon. The father replied that
he felt so himself, but that his wife took on
so about her son that he feared she would
lose her mind If something were not done
must, said he, make the attempt on his
mothers account. 1t is better to fall than
lv nr r1a Gle nod
the petition for pardon and the father
took it to President Lincoln.
When the father made known his er-
rand the President became very much eX-
cited and fiercely said: L saved the life of
your son after he had been condemned to
De shot; and now you come here so soon,
when you know l am overwhelmed with
care ana anxiety, asking for his pardon
You should have been content with what 1
have done. Go; and If you annoy me any
more shall feel 1T to be my duty to con-
slider whether / ought not to recall what /
have already done
"A few days after the President sent for
the father. apologized for the way he had
spoken to him. and, to his utter astonish-
ment, handed him a pardon.
Not long after, and before knowing what
had transpired, DR.. Gurley met the Presi-
dent. Having transacted his business, he
was about to go when Mr.. Lincoln said:
By the way, doctor, you signed the pc
ttion for Mr.. IS sons pardon, didn't
you?
The doctor replied that he had done so,
but explained that he had advised against
making the application at that time, and
that he was induced to sign 1t only by the
statement of the father that he feared his
wife would lose her mind if something were
not done to relieve her.
The President then remarked: Well
Mr.. - came to ME with the petition. 1t
made me very angry and l dismissed him
roughly. Afterward / felt so ashamed of
myself for having lost my temper that l
made out a pardon for the man and gave
ii to him.
And then, after a pause and with a
broad smile, he added:
All, doctor these wives of ours have
the inside track on US, don't they?'"