Evening star., 1924-02-10

ing what It really meant for the
country, when Mr.. Lincoln partly
turned in his saddle and told me to
come up and ride beside him.
We rode on in the soft night air,
past darkened houses, past occa-
sional street lights burning feebly,
with the stars far, far overhead.
To my surprise. President Lincoln
commenced TO talk soon after I had
come abreast of him.
How old are you?" he inquired.
Nineteenth last March. sir"
rs your mother living?" he cor
tinued.
Yes, sir.
DO you send money to her regu-
larry"
Yes, sir"
He went on in this strain for sew
eral minutes, telling me what It
means for a mother to have a good
son, and the tragedy a mother lives
who has son that is not trust
worthy and loving.
Sixty years and more have passed
since that midnight ride with Presi-
don't Lincoln. Yet when I recall IL
today I am as aston:shed as I was
then to find that this great man, even
under all his strain and anxiety,
could turn his thoughts to a nineteen
year-old cavalryman and talk to the
lad like kind, wise father. His
words really were few, but the
thought back OF them, the spirit un-
derlying them, was an impression
that time has not dimmed.
Whan he fpi bis Ia
qufries and comment Mr.. Lincoln
again lapsed into silence, and SO we
rode on, striking into High street to
Halleck's house.
dismounted and held the Presi-
dents horse, but a moment later one
of Halleck's bodyguard called an or
derly to hold both the horses and in
vited me into the front hall Of the
house, where 1 remained while Mr..
Lincoln and Halleck were shut up to-
gether in the parlor close by.
1t was nearly an hour later when
the President came out and walked
out Of the house, mounted his horse
and rode back to the Executive Man
sion, while / followed alert and at
tentive.
This experience was repeated a
good deal later, when dispatches
poured in telling of the battle of the
Wilderness; then again / rode with
the President late at night to Hal
leck's headquarters.
EVERY morning went on duty at
the White House. arriving outside
the Presidents Office at about
o'clock, and never missed seeing him
a single day while serving as his or
dcrly. from September, 1852. until
October, 1864, when my regiment was
ordered out of the department.
AS I look back upon those two
years of constant attendance on Pres
ident Lincoln, I do not seem to see
him wearied as a rule, or suffering
the tortures of incessant anxiety as
he has so often been described In
print And certainly he did not SO
appear to me at the time.
In his view, the Union must be pre-
served at all hazards, all sacrifice, all
cost. For this he stood immovable
as a mountain of granite, upheld by
sheer nobility of spirit, by supreme
faith that the God Of Mercy as we'll
as the God Of Battle would guide and
direct his efforts. And his faith went
so far as unquestioning belief that
some day, when the war was over.
the people of the south would see
that he had tried to do what was
right.
An instance of Lincoln's true great
ness of spirit, of his breadth of SYM
pathy toward a foe, was given about
a year after / became his orderly. 1t
is as vivid now as at the time Il oc-
CURED. ! was out in the grounds
just back of the White House, play
ing with the children. when the
President appeared and sat down on
Il wooden garden-seat to watch
them. His face wore a kindly smile
and his eyes were alight with inter
est-until we heard the music of
band marching along Pennsylvania
avenue. AS it was passing the White
House the band burst into an air
then being sung all over the north:
We'll Hang jeff Davis to a Sour Ap-
pie Tree"
Hardly had the first bars biared
forth into the air when 1 saw the
Presidents head sink forward. bury
ing his face in his hands. I sprang
to where he sat, fearing he had been
suddenly taken Ill; and then I saw he
was surcharged with utter grief,
utter pathos. 1t was tragic, terrible
to my boyish heart, to see the Presi-
dent of tthe United States. the COM
mander-i In chief of the Army and
Navy, so stricken. No shudder passed
over his great frame, no tears weiled
out OF his eyes. He simply sat there
. for a few moments, rigid, silent. Then
! he Strengthened up, his hands fell TO
, his knees, and he looked off toward
the beautiful trees, and the soft green
, turf, and the river in the distance.
But his voice trembled with feeling
as he said:
TITS wrong to play such things. We
must win this war, but we want to
be their friends, and we want the
! south to be our friend"
| Copyright. 1924. o. s. and Great Britain. by
North American Newspaper Alliance.
All rights reserved.)