The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-02-13

The book and magazine articles
about Lincoln and every phase Of his
life both private and public that have
appeared, are almost without number;
not that much had not been given to
the public in the past, but new i'm
petus has been given on account If
the centennial OF his birth occurring
the 18th Of this month. The public
will as a consequence know, or 1t
least have an opportunity of knowing
him, better than any other great man
of our history, not even excepting
George Washington.
The sentiment has bordered almost
on the line Of mere hero worship and
may well be used by our brethren Of
the fold as a pertinent answer to the
accusation of hero-worship when we
venerate some great hero of the
Church, as st. Augustine, a st. Vim
cent de Paul or st. Ignatius Loyola,
..sxriAssSs sR.sSC. Cleaner in the Catholic
Columbian.
Lincoln was an unique character m
every way, and no matter from what
angle of vision you gaze upon him,
lie is revealed to you as character
that bravely met his burden and vet
remained very human and tender
hearted through all the agony and dis
tress Of the greatest Civil war in all
history. Perhaps of no man in all
history has been told more incidents,
anecdotes and stories, and new ones
appear every day, though the susp1c-
ion is frequently justified that some
Of them are spurious.
An old army officer told me some
years ago that lie had occasion quite
often to meet Lincoln during the early
Period of the Civil war and that it
was really marvellous, the facility that
Lincoln possessed to meet every con-
"ersation with an apt story to illus
trate his point Of view. This fact frc-
Guently irritated Stanton, the famous
War Secretary, who was always
gruff, glum and imperious.
On one occasion, not long after the
G1sastrious battle of Bull Run, STAN
ton went to the White House, one
evening, on some important business
and was astounded to find Lincoln
slapping his thigh and laughing over
tie contents of book he was read
ing. He roared with laughter until
the tears coursed down his cheeks.
Stanton expressed his establishment at
finding the President in such high
glee while the whole North was in
sorrow and dismay. The President
said the tension Of public business
Lad been so great upon his mind for
so many days, that he had to find
relief in reading a humorous article,
which came from the pen Of Artemus
Ward, and the particular paragraph
that gave him so much pleasure, he
pointed out to Stanton and it was to
the effect that Artemus Ward claimed
that he was a great patriot; although
he did not go to war himself, he had
succeeded in sending all his wifes
relations.
This old officer said that little
anecdote Lincoln often told to army
officers who called to see him, was
to the effect that in the early days If
the war, after slight skirmish IN
which some were killed and some
wounded, certain soldier, slightly
wounded, was making in the tempor-
ary hospital an unusual amount Of
roise, groaning and moaning. The
General in command, passing through
the hospital quarters. approached the
soldier and in stern voice, asked:
Whats the matter with you?" Tho
soldier pointing to his foot, replied:
I'm wounded" The General glared
at him for an instant and said: "Sto2
your noise! Stop your groaning!
There are men out on the field with