and thus commenced the great war of the rebellion—a war which in some respects has never had its parallel. commencing but a few weeks after mr. lincoln’s administration began, it was at its last gasp when upon the 4th of march, 1865, he was for the second time inaugurated.
if i were to write a full account of mr. lincoln’s administration, it must include a history of the war. i propose to do neither. as my title imports, i have aimed only to show by what steps a backwoods boy, born and brought up on the western prairies, with the smallest possible advantages of education and fortune, came to stand in the foremost place among his fellow-citizens. i might, therefore, consider my task accomplished; but, if i should stop here, i should have failed to set forth fully the character{218} and traits of this remarkable man; for it was only in the years of his presidency that the world, and, i may add, his friends, came to know him as he was. i doubt even if he knew himself until the responsibilities of office fell upon him; and, under the burden, he expanded to the full stature of a providential man. there are some aspects in which i shall consider him, and, in the incidents and anecdotes i may have to relate, i shall not attempt to preserve the order of time.
first, then, the consciousness of official rank never appeared present to mr. lincoln. in the white house, as in his modest western home, he was the same plain, unpretending abraham lincoln. nor did he lose his sympathy for the humble class from which he had himself sprung. upon this point i quote from mr. f. b. carpenter’s very interesting volume, already referred to:
“the hon. mr. odell gave me a deeply interesting incident which occurred in the winter of 1864 at one of the most crowded of the presidential levees, illustrating very perfectly mr. lincoln’s true politeness and delicacy of feeling.
“on the occasion referred to the pressure became so great that the usual ceremony of {219}hand-shaking was for once discontinued. the president had been standing for some time, bowing his acknowledgments to the thronging multitude, when his eye fell upon a couple who had entered unobserved—a wounded soldier and his plainly-dressed mother. before they could pass out he made his way to where they stood, and, taking each of them by the hand, with a delicacy and cordiality which brought tears to many eyes, he assured them of his interest and welcome. governors, senators, and diplomats passed with simply a nod; but that pale, young face he might never see again. to him and to others like him did the nation owe his life; and abraham lincoln was not the man to forget this, even in the crowded and brilliant assembly of the distinguished of the land.”
“mr. lincoln’s heart was always open to children,” says the same writer. “i shall never forget his coming into the studio one day and finding my own little boy of two summers playing on the floor. a member of the cabinet was with him, but, laying aside all restraint, he took the little fellow at once in his arms, and they were soon on the best of terms.{220}
“old daniel gave me a touching illustration of this element in his character. a poor woman from philadelphia had been waiting with a baby in her arms for several days to see the president. it appeared by her story that her husband had furnished a substitute for the army, but some time afterward, in a state of intoxication, was induced to enlist. when reaching the post assigned his regiment he deserted, thinking the government was not entitled to his services. returning home he was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to be shot. the sentence was to be executed on a saturday. on monday his wife left her home with her baby to endeavor to see the president.
“said daniel, ‘she had been waiting here three days, and there was no chance for her to get in. late in the afternoon of the third day, the president was going through the passage to his private room to get a cup of tea. on the way he heard the baby cry. he instantly went back to his office and rang the bell.
“ ’ “daniel,” said he, “is there a woman with a baby in the anteroom?”
“ ‘i said there was, and if he would allow me{221} to say it, it was a case he ought to see; for it was a matter of life and death.
“ ’ “send her to me at once,” said he.
“ ‘she went in, told her story, and the president pardoned her husband. as the woman came out from his presence her eyes were lifted and her lips moving in prayer, the tears streaming down her cheeks.’ said daniel, ‘i went up to her, and, pulling her shawl, said, “madam, it was the baby that did it.” ’ ”
it may readily be supposed that a man of mr. lincoln’s democratic tastes and training might on some occasions act very unconventionally, and in a way to shock those who are sticklers for etiquette. certainly, he was very far from aping royalty, as may be judged from the following incident:
when the prince of wales was betrothed to the princess alexandra, queen victoria announced the fact to each of the european sovereigns and to the rulers of other countries by an autograph letter. lord lyons, the british ambassador at washington, who was a bachelor, called upon president lincoln to present this important document in person.{222}
“may it please your excellency,” said the ambassador, with formal dignity, “i hold in my hand an autograph letter from my royal mistress, queen victoria, which i have been commanded to present to your excellency. in it she informs your excellency that her son, his royal highness, the prince of wales, is about to contract a matrimonial alliance with her royal highness, the princess alexandra, of denmark.”
the president’s eye twinkled as he answered, briefly, “lord lyons, go thou and do likewise.”
says dr. holland: “mr. lincoln’s habits at the white house were as simple as they were at his old home in illinois. he never alluded to himself as ‘president,’ or as occupying ‘the presidency.’ his office he always designated as ‘this place.’ ‘call me lincoln,’ said he to a friend. ‘mr. president’ had become so very tiresome to him. ‘if you see a newsboy down the street, send him up this way,’ said he to a passenger as he stood waiting for the morning news at his gate.
“friends cautioned him against exposing himself so openly in the midst of enemies, but he never heeded them. he frequently walked the streets at{223} night entirely unprotected, and he felt any check upon his free movements as a great annoyance. he delighted to see his familiar western friends, and he gave them always a cordial welcome. he met them on the old footing, and fell at once into the accustomed habits of talking and story-telling. an old acquaintance with his wife visited washington. mr. and mrs. lincoln proposed to these friends a ride in the presidential carriage. it should be stated in advance that the two men had probably never seen each other with gloves on in their lives, unless when they were used as protection from the cold. the question of each—mr. lincoln at the white house and his friend at the hotel—was whether he should wear gloves. of course, the ladies urged gloves; but mr. lincoln only put his in his pocket, to be used or not, according to circumstances.
“when the presidential party arrived at the hotel to take in their friends, they found the gentleman, overcome by his wife’s persuasions, very handsomely gloved. the moment he took his seat he began to draw off the clinging kids, while mr. lincoln began to draw his on.
“ ‘no, no, no!’ protested his friend, tugging{224} at his gloves; ‘it is none of my doings. put up your gloves, mr. lincoln.’
“so the two old friends were on even and easy terms, and had their ride after their old fashion.”
the president of the united states can afford to be more unconventional than kings and emperors, but i should not be surprised to learn that they too, at times, would be glad to escape from the rigid rules of etiquette and enjoy the freedom of a private citizen. even queen victoria, it is related, can unbend when she meets her early friends, and forget for the time that she must maintain the dignity of a queen.
