The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1911-11-08


itiis
new elee tea H hs.s el
ia sgNasiinE ton ten days before
he exact the morning Of the twenty.
lthird Of February. It was Satur-
fday. That same afternoon he came
Ito the capitol escorted BY Mr. Sew
ara, and being on the floor OF the
House / saw him for the hrst time
Hand was. indeed, presented to him. =
He continued as follows Early
Fin the morning Of March 4 dts
lowered, thrust into the keyhole OF
my bedroom. a slip OF paper which
read: For inaugural address see
Colonel Ward H Lamon-" Who
was .Colonel Ward H. Lamon?''
had never heard OF him. The city
was crowded with strangerst To
find one Of them was to look Tor a
needle in a haystack i went -
rectly to Willards hotel. AS
passed through the long corridor OF
the second floor, spliced with little
dark entree-ways, to the apartments
facing on Pennsylvania avenue, I
saw through a half-open door Mr.
Lincoln himself pacing to and fro.
apparently reading manuscript
II went straight in. He was alone,
and, as he turned and met me, ne
extended his hand, called my name,
ana said: What can do fsr
youq'' 4 told him my Grand and
dilemma, showing him the brief
memorandum. why" said he,
..you have come to the right shop:
Lamon is in the next room will
take YOU to him, and he Will fix you
all right NO sooner said than
done, and, supplied with the press
copy of the inaugural address, I
gratefully and gleefully took my
leaves
Two hours later I found myself
in the Senate chamber, witnessing
there the oath of Office administered
to vice President-elect HANNIBAL
Hamlin. Thence u followed the
cortege through the long passage
way and, across the rotunda to the
East portico, where a temporary
wooden platform had been erectec'
keeping close to Mr.. Lincoln He
was tall and ungainly. wearing
black suit a black tie and black
silk hat. He carried a gold or a
silver-headed walking cane. AS we
came out into the open and upon
the provisional stand, where there
was a table containing Bible. a,
pitcher and glass of water, he drew
from his breast pocket the manu-
script 4 had seen him reading at the
hotel. laid this before him, placing
the cane upon it as a paper-weishS
removed from their leathern case
his steel-rimmed. spectacles. and
raised his hand-he was exceedingly
deliberate and composed-to remove
his hat. AS he did so. l lifted my
hand TO receive it, but Judge Doug
las. who stood at my side, reached
over my arm, took the hat, and held
it during the delivery OF the in
augural address which followed
His self-possession was perfect
dignity, herself, could not have been
more unexcited His voice was
little high pitched, but resonant.
quite reaching the outer fringes of
the vast crowd in front; his express,
sion serious to the point of gravity;
not scintillation of humor. In
spite of the campaign pictures was
prepared to expect much. Judge
Douglas had said to me, upon his
return to Washington after the
famous campaign of 1883 for the
Illinois senatorship, from which the
little giant had come of victor:
..He is the greatest debater Il have
ever met, either here or anywhere
else
To me the address meant war. As
the crowd upon the porticO dispersed
back into the capitol found myself
wedged in between John Bell, OF
Tennessee, and Reverdy Johnson, OF
Maryland zach took me by an arm
and we sat down upon a bench just
outside the rotunda. They were
optimistic No. there would be no
war, no fight; all the troubles would
be tided over; the Union still was
safe. was but boy, Just one and
twenty. They were two Of the most
intellectual and renowned of the
surviving Whi.s leaders OF the school