Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-02-06

him once chOpplng WOOD lor
his supper when his wife was
away.
In the evening, having no @f z
club. Lincoln would ordinarily l. e
20 to the grocery store and 1zzz-xoy =,
spellbind the cracker box = L1aLCz-s.L 1Cr+ =
habitues with some more of his N<1lzSMLEl
everlasting anecdotes-Only two " 1~11~-
of which, he insisted we're his
own invention. II a minstrel
show came to town he sure
TO be frontrow, 1rst-night patron, and, next to
blackface comedy, he was enamored of magic
lantern" entertainments He had passion for
probing into the mysteries of anything mechanical,
and IL he were alive today the automobile would
have given him great joy.
When circuit riding in the anterailway days he
would utilize the rest of the hour after lunch
con at some wayside farmhouse in crawling under
and prowling over the harvest machinery, as full
Of questions as a schoolboy, insatiably
curious than any of Ewes daughters AS he
walked the streets of Springfield every vehicle he
saw interested him, and the interior economy Of
the kitchen clock pleased him unutterably.
In the house he spent most of his time indulging
his children, playing with the cat, like Montagne,
or lying sprawled out like Caban, on the floor of
the hall reading He didn't like the parlor, be-
cause the haircloth chairs and marble table, the
wax flowers under glass bell, the portrait al
Aum and the family Bible with their huge glass
clasps represented Mrs. Lincoln's ideas of mag
niicence and not his own notion of solid comfort
He would be in his shirt sleeves, and If loud
knocking at the front door disturbed his elegant
le.sure he would go to the door just as he was
and promise to 'trot the women folks out" without
delay. Mrs. Lincoln never forgave him for help
ing himself to butter at the table with his own
Knife.
Lincolns favorite outer garb as he sailed forth
IN winter for his Office ancient gray shawl;
ne took particular pains never to have his hat
brushed or his shoes BACKED; his carpet bag
threatened at the seams to dsgorge its burthen of
legal documents; his green cotton umbrella had
no handle to speak of, and inside the legend
"A. Lincoln" the letters cut out of white muslin
and sewed to the faded cloth. Altogether he
hooked like the advance agent of Denman
Thompson show. In 1856 a pair of spectacles
cost him thirty-seven and onehalf cents.
The Office was in character with the notorious
Indifference to appearances of the senior partner
of the firm Once young law student attempted
to blaze trail through the accumulated rubbish,
and found that some seeds given by congress
man had taken root and sprouted in the dirt.
The mailbox was Lincolns old plug hat,
Formerly the case when he was postmaster at
New Salem. He also used the hat repository
for legal papers Of Importance Miscellaneous
transactions were confided to the safekeeping of
a mammoth envelope, which Lincoln had
scrawled when you can't find 1T anywhere else
look into this"
When Lincoln went into court there
of the see-the-conquering-hero swagger about him.
see me?" and if in the course of the argument it
was necessary for him to concede point to the
other side he would remark, Il reckon it would be
fair to let in that" and when oVerruled by the
court would laugh and say Well, l reckon must
be wrong"
When a lawyer asked him if an attachment had
the force OF a summons his confession of ignor-
ance was cheerfully frank, 'Damfno.@ On long
palavering letter requesting his legal service he
wrote laconically, Count me in. A. Lincoln"
r-r- ~-4Iz liz
he left all that to Herndon He never disfgured
the account book himself with reckoning. When
anybody gave him money for legal services he
would divide with Herndon, If the latter in
the office, and when Herndon was not there he
would wrap the money. up in piece Of paper,
mark it in pencil Case Of Smith VS.. Jones
Herndons half and leave it in drawer of his
partners desk
When they made him president and he just
about to take tie train for Washington he went
to the old Office for the last time and found Hern-
don there