davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1902-06-08
SOME UNIQUE "REMINISCENCES OF STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS

only In numbers. They would not dare
to venture there singly. Just on the
edge of this settlement my fathers at
tention was attracted by the cries OF a
woman. who was evidently in pain or
terror. or both. Stepping in a an open
door. he found man engaged in beat
ing his wife, who was screaming Justify.
Filed with more Indignation than discre-
ton. father ordered the man to cease,
but the fellow paid no attention to him.
continuing to devote all of his atten-
ton to the unhappy wife.
In my fathers hands was q cane-one
that had been presented to him by some
Californians. 1t was grapevine
around a slender sapling, carved to rep
resent a snake. formidable looking, but
with this. naturally q suppose) expect
ing the thanks and gratitude of the
wife. She. however, Immediately seized
a fryingpan and began to rain blows
upon my father, fairly driving him out
of the house. and telling him at the top
of her voice that she would teach him
to interfere with the di-var-sions of an
honest family"
In the melee fathers silk hat was
knocked into the gutter. picked it up
and took great care to conceal the fact
that ! was laughing. We walked up to
the corner without a word being said
and then with smiling eyes, but a very
dignified manner. father said to me:
MY son. let this teach you never to in
terfere between man and Wife
Rewarded Sons Victory in Street Fight
On another occasion my stepmother,
who was a very lovely woman. and who
treated me with the greatest of kind
ness, had dressed me up in velvet, with
little silk beaver and a cane, and !
had gone visiting somewhere. 1t was On
a Sunday afternoon. In returning home
ward l ran into some street boys. who
began to guy me ON account of the I'M
warranted lin their eyes, richness of my
attire. This led to blows, and the first
thing that l distinctly knew was that l
was on Top Oh one OF them IN the gutter.
l had the best of the fight-but / was
sight to behold, and in this scandalous
plight l got up, victorious, and with
misgivings, resumed my march home.
Naturally. l was somewhat uneasy as to
how the parental authorities would view
my condition. My father must have
seen me from the window, for he met
me at the door and called me into the
library. There he took me on his knee
and asked me TO tell him all about it,
which | did. giving every detail. After |
had finished my recital father took from
his pocket large. oldfashioned wallet,
and taking from 1t a s. gold piece, he
gave the money to me and said: my
son. if, under the circumstances, you
had not whipped that boy. l should GER
tainly have whipped you myself
Whether the parental decision were
wise may be problematical. for the re-
suit was that | went around looking for
another boy to meet in battle. combat
The Washington times., 1902-06-08

to them appears to be as deliberately or
namented with designs in colors. and
seems to be bursting at various seams
Now continues the auctioneer
don't stand there and rubber all day
Time is money, you know. and you are
wasting my money in doing so. Here
you start it for a dollar-a dollar, gen.
tlemen, for divan that the Sultan's
boss wife would be happy to lie upon
a dollar l say-one dollar-iollar-
look here. you cheap skates. are you
afraid of a dollar"
Thirty cents says some one Just
about that juncture.
At the bid the auctioneer turns tC
the bidder, and for a moment looks al
him with perfectly feigned expression
of absolutely GREATNESS amazement
Then after moment, he gulps down
something. struggles a second or two
with his voice, after the fashion OF a
man deeply touched with sorrow. and
finally says, in sad and gentle tones
MY poor friend-I didn't say wanted
to rent that lounge-I'm offering it for
sale," ..
sympathetic retort. and the rash would
be buyer falls back in confusion.
Then the auctioneer's face becomes
fierce. and he looks about him. and Sc
lects some one in the crowd, and gazes
straight at him. and says:
Toll M o' 10
a dollar and five. dollar and five, dol
lar and five!'
Dollar and five." finally says some
one iimidly.
Immediately the voice speaks, the auc-
tioneer brings his hand down with a
smack. and shouts:
Sold"
Then he adds:
Reach for the money. Robert-reach
for it,"
At this there comes from the pur-
chaser, woman, gentle protest: I'm
all right
Whereupon the auctioneer turns upon
her and says, in loud, sarcastic tones:
"Of course you are all right-we are
all of us all right, and | like you all.
But like your money better!''
During the course Of that speech Rob-
ert Is energetically reaching" for the
money. and by the time the auctiOneer
has finished Robert has the coin in
hand, which the auctioneer Immediately
scizes. and the instant he has done so.
he turns to the purchaser. and says.
shaking the money at her:
Yes, Fam; you are all right. but
don't care how good you are, your money
Is better"
Having said this he proceeds to move
on to another piece of furniture, sud-
denly stops, as If he had recollected
something. turns, and says fiercely:
There's one thing I want to tell you
people-now you had better listen for
your own good. This stuff I'm selling
is the finest in the world before l sell
It. But ii is trash to me just as soon
as you buy it. So it is up to you to
get it away from here as soon as you
can. Else somebody else may cart ii on
for you We arg not responsible for
it after you buy it-understand that.
And we don't want you to come around
The Washington times., 1902-06-08
X A QUART OF-DoLLAR. a quart
II of-beer, n quart ofa-dollar,
1 \ a quart Of beer-do | hear

thirty,-don't | hear thirty?
bah, what lot of plungers you are.
Gentlemen. you are here, but you dldn't
Gene to buy-you came TO pay me a
social call! Get out. I'm not look
ing for visitors,
Such words have been and may be
heard any Saturday morning, year in
and year out, ON a downtown corner, ut
tered by a figure whose business in life
is disposing of second hand articles at
public outcry, and who, by reason of his
personality, furnishes to Washington on
the final day of each week the most pic
turesque feature Of the city's varied life
Since the memory OF man runneth not
to the contrary, each Saturday has seen
a motley lot of household furniture of
every description piled along the curb
at this corner, and has witnessed its sale
at what the auctioneer terms heart
breaking prices"
The assortment of articles is usually
laid out tolerably early Saturday morn
ing, and it presents picture that is
for all the world like the pictures made
on "bailiff sales day" in the various
smaller communities of the country. AL
ways there is in the lot bedsteads and
dressers, chairs, and tables of various
sorts, lounges, mattresses and springs,
and now and then piano, an organ, or
some of the more pretentious articles
are in evidence.
Along about o'clock usually the auc
tioneer steps out from his queer-looking
shop, crosses the sidewalk, mounts one
OF the tables or chairs, signals to his
assistants, and prepares to begin.
He. this auctioneer is rather tall,
thin figure. with a rather thin and rather
rosy face, ferce-eyed and large mouthed
and he has lately taken to wearing a
Panama hat and carrying an umbrella.
AS soon as he has secured a coign
somewhere in the middle OF the stuff
piled In the street people OF all sorts
and kinds begin to grayitate toward him.
There are negro boOtblacks and negro
draymen, negro women of many and
various types, from the ancient "auntie"
10 the latest production OIL COiOTeu It-
male seminaries: white men of all
grades and conditions from the seeming
tramp to the seeming millionaire Sena
tor, and a few white women, mostly in
the winter of life. among the assem-
Llage which surrounds him.
AS soon as these possible patrons
have swarmed up In proper numbers. the
auctioneer proceeds to search out some
article for starter, and when he has
found it, begins performance that is
absolutely inlmitable. and which marks
him. the star. as the unrlvaled genius
of his calling.
Now here" he says, us q lounge
one OF the most comfortable and orna-
mental lounges I've ever seen-and you
can bet I've seen thousands.-what am
l offered for this matchless lounge.
BY that time various members of the
CROWD have edged and screwed their way
to position whence they can behold
the paragon. and are studying what
appears to them to be peculiarly dis
affair-an affair whose cover
The Washington times., 1902-06-08

HE pOllJlcai history OF my laIner.
Stephen Arnold Douglas. is, of
course, well known. writes Ste
phen A. Douglas, jr., in the
Chicago Inter Ocean, The history
of his private life, however has never
been thoroughly written. Much of the
material for it dies out as those who
know him personally pass from the
scene.
Without doubt very great, if not the
greatest and most potential, element in
his character, that element which Sc
cured to him the absolute and unfalter-
ing devotion of his friends and the ad-
mira :ion ard regard of all who became
acquainted with him, was the warm, the
genial. the affectionate side of his ma
ture, which the public could never see
as 1.-THE public" or excepting as it is
composed of individuals. Everybody
around him loved him, and this love
still lingering warns the hearts of the
few who are alive today who remember
him-a fact of which touching and con-
vincing evidences are presented to me
from time to time.
Weighed But los Pounds.
When my father was first elected to
Congress he weighed only 1O5 pounds.
In the distribution of seats he was
placed next to a new member, beginning
his first session, David s. Reid, of North
Carolina. An intimacy arose immediate
ly between the two men, who were with
in a pound of each other in weight,
whose ages differed by only five days,
and who were of exactly the same
height.
During that winter my father met
the family OF an uncle of Mr.. Reid, Col.
Robert Martin, of North Carolina, then
chairman of the board of governors of
the State Bank of North Carolina, one
of whose daughters, Miss Martha Denny
Martin, my father married the follow
ing year His visits to Carolina, both
before and after his marriage. and his
rising reputation, brought him into con-
tact with the Democratic leaders in that
State They were leaders practically
without an army, as the Wings con-
trolled the State by some 10000 ma
io-ity.
Overthrow Wings in North Carolina.
At that time no man was allowed to
hold seat in either branch of the Leg
islature unless he owned 200 acres of
land, and no one was permitted to vote
for State senator unless he was the
owner of fifty acres of land. In a speech
before the State convention in Raleigh,
my father enunciated the radical doe
trine of manhood suffrage, and succeeded
, in placing the party in North Carolina
on that platform. The nomination for
governor was not much sought. Large
ly through my fathers influence David
S. Reid, my mothers first cousin. was
terminated for governor. running against
the incumbent OF that office. Governor
Marley.
Reid was fearless and stood by his
guns, facing an adverse majority of go
600, and had q joint debate with his OPP
The Washington times., 1902-06-08

have country left to fight about or
not"
He paused; then laughingly added:
when the matter OF the Union is set
tied. why. I'll probably go back to fight
ing your Administration
From this period events followed each
other very rapidly. The last time saw
my father in life was on Sunday after
noon, as the train drew out. taking him
to Chicago, where he was going. at the
suggestion of Mr. Lincoln. on his way
to Springfield to make his famous speech
before the Legislature, and to do what
ever he could toward quieting some
what rebellious feeling which existed in
portions of southern Illinois. After the
Springfield speech he came back to Chi
cago and delivered his last address. in
the Wigwam. For some weeks he had
been suffering from rheumatism. and
was very much broken down by the five
years fight that he had been engaged in
The afternoon after his Wigwam speech
he took a walk and was caught in a rain
storm. Returning to the hotel he went
to bed. and never arose again.
Old Irish Servants Affection.
/ have said at the outset that loving
memories of my father still linger with
old people who met him on one occasion
or another, or who were associated with
him, and who are still in the land of the
living. Occasionally l meet them in
unexpected places and unexpected cir
cumstances, bringing back unexpected
glimpses of the old DAYS Some years
ago. for instance, I was lecturing in
South Bend. Ind. when whom should
find but the old Irishman who announced
Senator's Davis and Toombs and Ste
phens to my father on that Sunday aft
ernoon of which I have told you? Our
Irishman was lay brother in the Notre
Dame University. The old man got a
half day on and came to see me. We
sat together, talking of the old times,
and the lay brother. who was once Ste
phen A. Douglas man servant, cried like
a child as he talked of his old employer.
My fatherS son might De pdruoneu LOT
thinking with filial pride that it is not
often that man is remembered by his
servants with an affection and devotion
which remain long after the death of the
master, and which linger with them,
through all the years and into old age,
for period longer than the average
life OF man.
In 1858, before the memorable fight
really began, my father was sent for by
President Buchanan, and a rather warm
ensued. Toward the close
OF it the President. in his most emphatic
manner. begged to recall to Senator
Douglas mind the fact that no Demo-
cratic leader had survived who had
fought a national Democratic Admins
some instances from An
drew Jackson's Administration. Father,
in his most courteous but dignifed man
ner, replied: MIR. President. l beg
leave to recall to you the fact that An
drew Jackson is dead
The Washington times., 1902-06-08

tive as to time. but it indicated with no
uncertain sound his views on the subject
of the preservation of the Union.
When He Held Lincoln's Hat.
I remember well the first Inaugural
ton of Mr. Lincoln. 1t may not be i'm
proper for me In that connection to re-
call some facts, the memory OF which,
il not wiped out, were at least blurred
by the exciting events of the war and by
the many years which have since
passed.
The world then knew what Mr.. Lin
coin was going to do. or trying to do
namely, to preserve the Union. The
world knew what the Southern Democ-
racy was trying to do, which was to
dissolve the Union. But up to this time
10 opportunity had been offered of tell
ing the world officially what Mr.. Doug
las was going to do. You must remem-
Der that he stood there, in the Senate,
representing .499, COO voters. while Mr..
Lincoln only represented 100000, and
that these 1,490,O voters were follow
ers. personally. of Douglas, who had 70
platform except his record, and no po-
litical beliefs excepting what he him
self believed. Naturally that body of
voters, which contained men like Ulysses
S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman
who was then living in Mississippi;
Philip H. Sheridan, W. S. Hancock, John
A. Logan, David G. Farragut, and, in
fact. a host of men who wrote their
names in indelible letters upon the ma
tons history in the struggle for ma
tional existence. then just beginning,
naturally this host had taken and could
take no action as body until they
could hear officially from their leader.
At the inauguration my father stood
upon the platform near Mr.. Lincoln, and
when Lincoln. tall. awkward. ungainly
and gaunt, but with world of mingled
power and sweetness in his face. came
forward to take the oath of office. his
not seem to know where to put it, SEEM
ed to be at loss. Immediately my ia
Their stepped forward. took the hat, and
held it during the ceremony. Under or
binary circumstances, as all the world
knew and knows, Stephen A. Douglas
was not hat holder for anybody. But
/ believe that what he did was done as
a first step toward showing where he
would stand with regard to Mr.. Lincoln.
Pledged His Support to the Union.
That night Stephen A. Douglas, By re-
quest of the President, opened the lnau-
guration ball with Mrs. Lincoln. and
the next day. he called upon President
Lincoln and offered his service to him
in any capacity for the cause OF the
preservation of the Union, saying to
him in substance:
Under ordinary circumstances, sir,
would continue to oppose you and to
fight you from my seat in the Senate,
but as the life of the nation is in dan
ger l will stand by you the Chief Mag
istrate of the nation, through thick and |
thin, and until we know whether we still |
The Washington times., 1902-06-08

i've boys being firmly associated in my
mind with 81 gold pieces.
His Sense of Humor.
1t has been frequently stated that
stephen A. Douglas hNd no sense of hui
NOR. This is true, undoubtedly. as re-
CARDS public matters, for he lived in
times that tried mems souls-times in
which there was no room for humor. 1t
was period of the gravest danger.
which, as l believe. he more fully, more
thoroughly. appreciated than did any
other man. But the criticism that he
manifested no sense of humor did not
at all apply to his private or family life.
Indeed. he there frequently showed a
very strong and keen sense OF humor.
Under a Constant Strain.
There was a medical convention held
in Washington. and to the delegates
some 500 physicians and ssurgeons-was
given reception at our house. l GER
tainly got my share of the good things
from the supper table. In fact. l had
my share to such an extent that was
indisposed. My father came to me and
putting his arms around me, said: my
boy. you must not be sick. Remember,
there are 500 doctors in the house. and
you would have no chance whatever
Of recovery
The years Immediately preceding the
war were troublcus ones. and kept
father constantly under strain which
can be scarcely appreciated nowadays.
BY his opposition to the admission of
Kansas to the Unicn, under the Lecomp-
ton slave observation-disclosures he de-
clared that upon the face of it it was
not the will OF the people of Kansas-he
drew upon himself the deadly enmity
of the Buchanan Administration, and of
the Southern Democracy which con
trolled the party in Congress. It has
been practically forgotten that in the
campaign of 1858, when the famous Lin
coln-Douglas debates took place. the
fight was three-corne-ed one-Douglas.
Lincoln, and the Buchanan Admnistra-
ton, which ran a legislative ticket in
every district, seeking to draw votes
from Douglas, and thereby insure the
election of MIR. Lincoln. 1t was, indeed.
the irony of fate that the slave power
should by its own act make possible
the election to the Presidency OF Abra-
ham Lincoln. who was TO crush slavery
beneath his heel
Upon his return to the Senate nv
father was driven from the Democratic
caucus, deprived of his places upon the
committees. and was made, in fact. a
political pariah. the political divisions
of the country being three-the Repub-
lican party, the Southern Democracy
and Stephen A. Douglas.
Keeping Parades From Meeting.
/ can remember that campaign quite
distinctly. my memory. of course, having
been subsequently, REINFORCED by read
ing and family traditions.
In the midst of 1t. one night in Chi
cago. there were two parades-a Doug
The Washington times., 1902-06-08

ponent in every one of the ninety coun
ties of the State. Governor Manley was
reelected by about 5000 majority. The
next year my father again appeared be-
fore the convention. Mr.. Reid was re-
nominated and elected by over 10000
majority. and the Wing party never ran
another candidate in North Carolina.
This has never before been published.
Played Horse for His Son.
In January. 1853. my mother died, and
my father went to Europe. remaining
away from the United States for some
| eighteen months. 1t was upon his re-
turn at which time was five years old
that ! really became acquainted with
him. From that time until his death,
was with him as constantly as the cir
cumstances of his position would per-
nit
recall wildly one little incident of
those days which has Influenced my
opinion with regard to Jefferson Davis
all nv life. and comes back TO me as if
it had happened yesterday. My fathers
sister was keeping house for him in
Washington, and we were living in an
old mansion which was built before the
city reached that section occupying an
entire block We had an Irish servant
who generally attended the door. and
who had thereby become acquainted
with most of the regular callers. One
Sunday afternoon my father and l. who
had become great chums. were playing
horse in the library. Father was in
somewhat undignificd position on his
hands and knees with the bride across
his forehead. | was the rider. While
he was prancirg around the room on all
tours with me on his back, the door
opened suddenly and John announced
Senator Davis of Mississippi and Robert
Toombs and Alexander Stephens of
Georgia. This was that Stephens, who,
although a Union man, and against Sc
cession to the very last, became vice
president of the Confederacy under Mr..
Davis.
An Experience in Swampoodle.
bOln 1OOHlDS anu SltpHtuS enter Gu
into the spirit, of the occasion and looked
on appreciatively and made encouraging
remarks. But Mr.. Davis seemed to be
utterly disguised with the idea that
United States Senator should condescend
to play horse with his children. / was
then and there willing to swear, al
though / had never as yet heard the
expression that Mr.. Davis was 'fit for
treasons. stratagems and spoils," etc,
and | have never yet lost the opinion
that formed of him upon that occasion.
That incident of my fathers family
life is a fair instance of all of 1t. He
was a family man, fond of his home and
of his children.
One Sunday afternoon. some three
years later. / went out for walk with
him. Very near to our house in Wash
ington was the edge of the classic neigh
borhood called Swampoodle. which was
a settlement of shanties. 1t was place
which the officers of the law went to
The Washington times., 1902-06-08
Scene-Anywhere.

Castomer-Id like piece suitable for
roast.
Meat Market Man-How much madam?
Customer-As much as l can get for
half a dollar. / want to make a roast
beef andwich.-Chicago Tribune.