Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1938-05-26
JOHN BASSETT
MOORE LETTERS
CONTINUED From Page Two)

was was that of strength and not
of weakness. On becoming Presi-
dent, while recognizing his respon-
sibilities, he manifested a consci-
BUSINESS Of his capacity to dis
charge them. This was notably
shown in his reply to the letter of
Seward, his Secretary of State,
recommending a somewhat cratic
course of action in terms both i'm
patient and peremptory. Lincoln's
response was brief, but pointed.
Seward, after stating his proposals,
had observed that whatever policy
was adopted must be theoretically
prosecuted; that the President
must either do this himself or de
yolve it on some member of his
cabinet, and that once the policy
was adopted, debates on it must
end, and all agree and abide. /"
Lincoln calmly replied that, eff this
must be done, I must do it,; that,
when a policy was adopted, ne did
not apprehend that it would be
changed without good reason, and
that, upon any points arising in its
progress, he supposed that he was
entitled to have the advice of all
the cabinet"
Among the things that enabled
Lincoln to reach the human heart
was his sense of humor. Of the
fact that he also found in the in
diligence of this faculty diversion
and relief in the midst of his heavy
responsibilities I had in my early
years a personal testimony from
the Honorable Gerge P. Fisher of
Delaware, whom Lincoln early in
1863 appointed an Associate jus
tice of the Supreme Court Of the
District of Columbia. At that time
there lived in Dover, Delaware, a
man named John K. Jarvis, who
was locally celebrated for his
quips and drolleries. Judge Fisher
invited him to Washington and
presented him to the President,
with whom on more than one occa-
sion he snapped stories"
That Lincoln was to his great
advantage occasionally safeguard
ed against the over-indulgence Of
his propensity to reach the multi
tude by homely saws is shown in
the case of his celebrated reply of
August %, 1862, to Horace Gree
leys Incorporate attack, personal
~ addressed to him through the
New York Tribune of August 10,
for his failure to issue an emanci-
patton proclamation. In the body
Of the reply, which otherwise was
perfect, Lincoln had inserted the
sentence: Broken eggs can never
be mended, and the longer the
breaking proceeds the more will he
broken" This passage the editor
Of the National Intelligencer, Jam
es G. yelling, man exceptionally
versed in national politics and pos
sessed of unusual tact and judg-
ment, to whom the reply was sent
for publication in that journal, per-
suaded Lincoln to omit as excep-
tionable in a presidential document
Of such dignity. The incident was
not publicly known until 1880.
("The Emancipation Proclama-
ton" by James c. yelling, LID,
North American Review, Jan. June,
1880, p. 1851
John Hay once told me an anus
ing story Of Matthew Arnold's
comment on the Gettysburg ad-
dress. While Arnold was visiting
Washington, Hay invited number
Of friends to meet him at dinner
and when, in the course of the
evening, Hay mentioned the Get
tysburg address, he was surprised
70 find that Arnold was not ac-
quainted with it. Hay then pro
duced it and handed it to Arnold
70 read. This Arnold proceeded
critically to do, but when, at the
end of the first sentence, he came
upon the phrase dedicated to the
proposition that all men are Gre
ated equal" he stopped, reflected,
and then deprecatingly drawled
dedicated to the proposition-ded-
lcated to the proposition Plato
would not have said dedicated to
ne proposition z; and with this he
seemed to lose interest in the
speech. Arnold, it may be super
nuous to say, prided himself on the
immaculate finish Of his own style.
lis father, Thomas Arnold, the
famous head-master of Rugby,
might have taken a more lenient
view.
AZ is generally agreed that Abra-
nam Lincoln on occasion used the
English language in its greatest
simplicity and power. His ability
. 90 this no doubt may largely be
ascribed to the fact that among
me few books within his reach in
MS early days was the King
James's version Of the Bible. before