Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1908-12-31

Richmond, Va.
81 have just seen Judge CampbeIrs let
ter TO you Of the 7th. He assumes. as an
pears to me, thatI have called the insur-
gent legislature of Virginia together as
the rightfui legislature OF the state to set
tie all differences with the United States.
have done no such thing. / spoke Of
them not as a legislature, but as the gem
tlemen who have acted e. the legislature
in support Of the rebellion. / did this
ON purpose to exclude the assumption
that was recognizing them as . rightful
body. dealt with them as men having
power de facto to do q specific thing, TO
wit--to withdraw the Virginia troops
and other support from resistance to the
general government. for which, in the
paper handed Judge Campbell. 1 prom
ised specific equivalent, to wit, remis-
sion to the people Of the state, except in
certain cases, OF the confscation OF their
property. meant this and no more.
Inasmuchs however, as Judge Campbell
misconstrues this, and is still pressing
for an armistice contrary to the explicit
statement Of the paper gave him, and
particularly as General Grant has since
captured the Virginia troops 50 that Civ
ing consideration for their Withdrawal
Is no longer applicable, let my letter to
you and the paper to Judge Campbell both
be Withdrawn or countermanded and he
be notified Of it. Do not now allow them
to assemble; but IL any have come allow
them safe return to their homes"
1t Is we'll ascertained that this Is the
last telegram ever written by Mr.. Lin
coin. He was In our Office two evenings
later, about three or four hours before
ur.<saH -. -.
he wrote nothing on that OCCASION.
During my knowledge Of him, Mr.. Lin
coin always dressed in plain black, his
clothes sometimes showing wear. Il
think never saw him wear an overcoat.
Instead OF that, he wore an ample, plain,
but peculiarly figured, gray shawl, and
his usual way Of disposing Of it as he en-
tered the Office was to hang II across the
top Of the inner door. which was nearly
always standing open and 50 high that II
was out Of reach OF a person Of ordinary
height. When sitting at a desk writing
be sometimes assumed a half kneeling,
half sitting posture, with one knee on
the carpet. When composing at some
length, it was his habit to look out Of the
window and, apparently unconsciously,
scratch bis head, particularly his temples,
often moving his lips in whisper, until
be had his sentence framed, when be
would put Il on paper. He wrote rather
slowly, but quite legibly. taking care to
punctuate accurately. His spelling was
faultless, which is not always true Of
great men, even those Of education, and
yet on two OF three occasions he asked
me while writing ns to the use OF one or
two 'si's'' or sst's''. He rarely erased or
interlined, and his diction, 50 peculiar to
himself, always seemed to me the perfec-
ton Of plain and simple English.
He sometimes read aloud, and on one oc-
sasion remember his reading to me ct
'ome length. rather slowly and thought
fully, and purposely mispronounciDg GER
tain words, placing the accent on the
wrong syllable and the like. He was ct
this time sitting opposite me, beside the
large table on which ! VAS writing, his
chair leaned back against the wall, his
legs crossed, one foot resting upon the
round Of his chair and the other suspend
ed in space. During this reading be
stopped occasionally 70 remark upon the
subject Of his reading, which was de-
tailed description Of q battle; and one Of
his remarks remember was upon the
meagreness Of adiectives in our language
to express the different degrees OF feeling
atoms seemed to have q charm for him,
and be would repeat them over and over
TO himself. He was in the habit Of talk
ing to himself as several times observed
when be was walking between the White
House and the department.
II would have seemed Incredible to
those Of rs who, in the dreadful years,
1851 to 1855, were watching with keen
anxiety the movements of those who
sought to establish a government opposed
TO that Of the United States that within
the comparatively short period Of our
own lives Il would be 30 nearly univer-
sally recognized even by the people OF the
South that the destruction of human
slavery and the maintenance OF this coun-
try as one great, united and prosperous
nation, are blessings indeed. No less in
credible would il have seemed IL we had
been told that We Of the North would
I Join heartily and sincerely in honoring
the memory OF Lee and others of the
South, whose bravery and devotion to
the cause which they then believed to be
right nov commands the admiration Of
the world. The example and teaching Of
Lincoln have contributed more, believe,
than any other single influence to make
such result possible. / also believe that
ii could not have occurred in any other
country in the world. And so we may
now all rejoice together in carrying out
Grants kindly admonition, "Let us have
peace and Lincoln's characteristic ut
terance, now so universally applauded,
ssWith malice toward none, and with
charity for all"
Mrs. McRanevss Exuarience.