Year: 1867

TIE NEW HAM.fN


Two years ago last Spring the people of the
North, wishing to honor man whom they had
been dcluded into supp0sing faithful citizen
and a sclf-sacricing patriot, placed him on
that more than royal throne which, in their
modest homc-sDun way, they call the Presl-
Dental Chair They honOred him for what he
had made them believe he had done in the
past for the bold part which. by his own
showing, he had played i'll time OF great
public peril, and for the hope he held out that,
as far as in him lay, he would carry out the work
so greatly began by his murdered predecessor.
To believe these things was u blunder. But,
however inexcusable the bundcr, it was blind
ness almost universal. llaman sat on his royal
throne, and all of us for time bowed down
before him and revercnced him. Swollen and
pulled up with vanity and conccit as the OBJ
jcCt of our admiration was we could not see
him in his proper shape. We read everything
in the light of our desires and our faith, ana,
though often sadly put To it for Il favorable III
tcrprciation. we remembered his early injustice
To Lincoln and held fast to charity until charity
became foolishncss. one by one the worship
ers dropped oil, little 10y little the incense





the palace and listened to the believing and
raying within as if il were the voice oil
an oracle. The lIaman whom we had
set in this place of power, with the
foollshncss of his tribe, did not mark those who
went away: lac only marked those who stayed;
and seeing u crowd, and hearing din OF Office
holding shontS. he took it for unanimous
voice of approvaI and went on from bad to
worse. Vainly confident in his illgot power,
he set no measure to his evil purposes and.
feeling himself strongly seated, he determined
ON plavinc a game of treason such as never
had parallel in the history of the world.
But one keen eye saw through the trcachery
and refused to second the traitor i'll his wicked
ness one brave knee refused to bow when
the command went forth and, when We all I'M
capped to the lordly lIaman. one high-hearted
Mor,lecai bowed not nor did him reverence


And when Ilaman saw that Mordecai bowed
not, nor did him reverence, then was llaman
full of wrath. Yet he dissembled. and took
Gift i'm his hand and went to him by night and
offered il to him if he would do him honor.
But Mordccai looked neither to the right nor
To the left nor answered a word whereat
IIaman was more angry than ever, and made





from oil the face of the earth. But he thought
scorn to lay hands on Mordccai alone; he
determined to strike all the people of Nor
decai. and make them rue the day when they
had insuted linn through their representative.
When IiamanS plots were ready, he struck,
and struck home. Blow after blow fell where
ever his keen wicked eye saw place unpro-
tected In one great city he set cruel bloody
wrctchcs at work TO slay his unsuspecting enc
mics shut mp in al unprotected building. and
for time lac hoped that he had crushed ont
the last of those who dared To question his
acts ; but when the noise of their dying cries
had ceased and when The shouting of those
who still upheld him had died away, he heard
the clear voice of Mordeca calling out from the
cate where he sat with covered head and stead
fast eye "This that thy servants have done is
"a massacre, oh IIaman" And llaman's wroh
rose higher and higher, and III his rage he
struck blindly here and there, and he sent out
his servants to do his cruel will wherever they
saw a way, and he himself laid hands on lIa-
man. and would have shamed him in the sight
of the whole people


But the people, who knew the worth OF
Mordccai and the worthlessness of Iaman. rose
as one man and vowed that Mordecai should
suffer no harm. They put him into no end of
barouches and covered him up with flowers,
and swarmcd about his wheels with shouts and
cheers; fair women smiled upon him, brave
men took him in their arms, children splang to
greet him, and the blessings of the faithful
and the true fell over him Like Il fruitful rain
Too much honor they were not afraid to do
him, for they had proved his worth; they
knew that there would he no need to unsay
their pr1lises-that he was really the brave and
honorable man that his acts had shown him.


As for IIaman, it was black day for him
when he stood upon the gallows he had built
for M0rlccai, with the halter round his neck
and not friend in sight hut the hangman
and saw the glad procession wind through the
streets with banners, and festive lights, and
wreahs of flowers and the gay hurly-burly OF
trumpets and cy1nbals, with the shouts of IN
adoIing people mounting to the laughing stars
How he cursed the foolish spite that had de
feated its own ends, and wished that he had
stayed his hand while yet it was in his power
His history is u perpetual moral. II is story
wherein tragedy and comedy are subtly mixed
II has now and then had a parallel in human
experience but never have the ignorant prldc,
the spite, the besotted vanity of the original
Hannah been so startlingly recalled as IN An
drew johnson, standing as he does to-day with
the halter of popular Indignation round his
neck, while Sheridan, that faithful copy in all
its not' f'alurcs Of Tho stcadfVt and ncoi<