Evening journal., 1910-01-15
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
One Time When Lincoln
Wanted Cheering Up
BY "HoIland."

What do you do when you want
cheering up? How Lincoln, at the
dark period of the civil war, sent to
Connecticut for a typical down East
Yankee to cheer him up, was told to
me a few months before his death
by Isaac II. Bromley, TO whom Lin
coin appealed in his extremity for
help In getting the cheering up he so
badly needed. All his life long Mr..
Bromley was a newspaper man, but,
when he told me the snecdote, he as
sured me that he believed it had
never been printed, and until now
have never told the story in print
I'm 1850" said Mr.. Bromley to me,
Il was the proprietor of a Republican
newspaper at Norwich, Conn. l was
one of the citizens Of that town who
invited Mr.. Lincoln to visit Norwich
on the eve of a state political cam
paign, that visit to follow his now his
toric appearance at Cooper Union in
New York city. AS Mr.. Lincoln was on
his way to Harvard to visit his son
Robert, then a student there, we
thought that, without inconvenience
to himself, he could make one or two
political addresses in Connecticut
well, Mr.. Lincoln graciously ac-
cepted our invitation, and in due time
he delivered speech that became
traditional. A brilliant audience
heard him. Every person in it was
actually spellbound by the mans in
dividuality. his power of delivery and
thought, and years afterward / heard
men who we're there declare that
never before nor ever since had they
been so completely under the spell OF
spoken words.
yet an hour after the close of that
wonderful speech some of us who
heard 1t were little short of astounded
to behold Lincoln in another light
a light so utterly at variance with
our first one of him that we could
scarcely believe that here was the
same man who had moved us so
nightly earlier in the evening by the
sheer power of his intellect.
Before Mr.. Lincoln reached Nor
wich one who knew him slightly told
several of us that the great lllinoisan
dearly loved good teller Of tales,
and was rejoiced to meet an original
character who had fund of anec-
dotes always on tap.
Now, there lived in the neighbor'
ing town of Stonington an able law.
yer, who was also distinguished as a
brilliant story teller, Judge Trumbull,
a descendant Of that governor of Con
necticut who is known in history as
Brother onathan. This Judge Trum-
bull was invited by us to meet Mr.
Lincoln at his hotel, and a little after
ten o'clock that historic night es
corted Mr.. Lincoln to his room and
there introduced him and Judge
Trumbull
The instant the two men met,
Mr. Bromley continued, leach recog
nized in the other a congenial spirit
and with the formalities Of the intro
duction barely over, Lincoln sand:
Judge Trumbull, they tell me thai
you know more good stories than any
other man in your state, and from al
I've heard about Connecticut reckon
there are a good many good story
tellers in the state. Let's swaI
stories'
Lincoln began with an anecdote oI
the prairiers. When he had finished
Judge Trumbull came back with 9
down east yarn. And so they weni
on and on, matching stories. Time
passed, midnight struck, and still they
we're at e.
AT last it occurred to me that Mr.
Lincoln ought to get some sleep, so
said:
Judge Trumbuil, Mr.. Lincoln is tC
take the six o'clock train for Provi
dence. and he ought to have som,
sleep
Lincoln protested that he was get
ting better rest than sleep would give
him, the duel of story telling went on
and, as a result It was not until thre,
o'clock that Judge Trumbull and tn,
rest Of us bade Lincoln good night, al
except two or three of us never to Sc,
him again.
Two years later, when the exciting
events of the war had all but effaceC
the memory of the meeting Of Lincolr
| and Trumbull from my mind, / wa,
astonished to receive written wor,
| from Mr.. Lincoln that he would b,
very glad II could induce Judg,
Trumbull to come to Washington anC
spend the night with him.
That was all. So. without know
ing why the president wanted to Sc,
Judge Trumbull, extended the invi
tation to him, and he in turn, no
knowing what the president wante,
of him, accepted and went on I,
! Washington.
But no sooner had the Judge land
ed at the White House and beer
ushered into Lincoln's presence thar
he was informed by Lincoln that tn,
latter only wanted him to come OF
and swap stories with him once more
things we're not going exactly righ
with the war and he Oincofn) fel
the need of a little story telling relax
alton. So IL came about that. telliu,
stories to each other, these two mel
passed the greater part Of the. night
with no one else in all Washington
knowing about IL. And when It cam,