Lincoln's Yarns and Stories Part 35

He made no reply, but suddenly rose, and pulled out from a pile of books a little old trunk, and, returning to the table, asked the agent how much the amount of his debt was.

The sum was named, and then Lincoln opened the trunk, pulled out a little package of coin wrapped in a cotton rag, and counted out the exact sum, amounting to more than seventeen dollars.

After the agent had left the room, he remarked quietly that he had never used any man's money but his own. Although this sum had been in his hands during all those years, he had never regarded it as available, even for any temporary use of his own.

WELCOMED THE LITTLE GIRLS.

At a Sat.u.r.day afternoon reception at the White House, many persons noticed three little girls, poorly dressed, the children of some mechanic or laboring man, who had followed the visitors into the White House to gratify their curiosity. They pa.s.sed around from room to room, and were hastening through the reception-room, with some trepidation, when the President called to them:

"Little girls, are you going to pa.s.s me without shaking hands?"

Then he bent his tall, awkward form down, and shook each little girl warmly by the hand. Everybody in the apartment was spellbound by the incident, so simple in itself.

"DON'T SWAP HORSES"

Uncle Sam was pretty well satisfied with his horse, "Old Abe," and, as shown at the Presidential election of 1864, made up his mind to keep him, and not "swap" the tried and true animal for a strange one.

"Harper's Weekly" of November 12th, 1864, had a cartoon which ill.u.s.trated how the people of the United States felt about the matter better than anything published at the time. We reproduce it on this page. Beneath the picture was this text:

JOHN BULL: "Why don't you ride the other horse a bit? He's the best animal." (Pointing to McClellan in the bushes at the rear.)

BROTHER JONATHAN: "Well, that may be; but the fact is, OLD ABE is just where I can put my finger on him; and as for the other--though they say he's some when out in the scrub yonder--I never know where to find him."

MOST VALUABLE POLITICAL ATTRIBUTE.

"One time I remember I asked Mr. Lincoln what attribute he considered most valuable to the successful politician," said Captain T. W. S. Kidd, of Springfield.

"He laid his hand on my shoulder and said, very earnestly:

"'To be able to raise a cause which shall produce an effect, and then fight the effect.'

"The more you think about it, the more profound does it become."

"ABE" RESENTED THE INSULT.

A cas.h.i.+ered officer, seeking to be restored through the power of the executive, became insolent, because the President, who believed the man guilty, would not accede to his repeated requests, at last said, "Well, Mr. President, I see you are fully determined not to do me justice!"

This was too aggravating even for Mr. Lincoln; rising he suddenly seized the disgraced officer by the coat collar, and marched him forcibly to the door, saying as he ejected him into the pa.s.sage:

"Sir, I give you fair warning never to show your face in this room again. I can bear censure, but not insult. I never wish to see your face again."

ONE MAN ISN'T MISSED.

Salmon P. Chase, when Secretary of the Treasury, had a disagreement with other members of the Cabinet, and resigned.

The President was urged not to accept it, as "Secretary Chase is to-day a national necessity," his advisers said.

"How mistaken you are!" Lincoln quietly observed. "Yet it is not strange; I used to have similar notions. No! If we should all be turned out to-morrow, and could come back here in a week, we should find our places filled by a lot of fellows doing just as well as we did, and in many instances better.

"Now, this reminds me of what the Irishman said. His verdict was that 'in this country one man is as good as another; and, for the matter of that, very often a great deal better.' No; this Government does not depend upon the life of any man."

"STRETCHED THE FACTS."

George B. Lincoln, a prominent merchant of Brooklyn, was traveling through the West in 1855-56, and found himself one night in a town on the Illinois River, by the name of Naples. The only tavern of the place had evidently been constructed with reference to business on a small scale. Poor as the prospect seemed, Mr. Lincoln had no alternative but to put up at the place.

The supper-room was also used as a lodging-room. Mr. Lincoln told his host that he thought he would "go to bed."

"Bed!" echoed the landlord. "There is no bed for you in this house unless you sleep with that man yonder. He has the only one we have to spare."

"Well," returned Mr. Lincoln, "the gentleman has possession, and perhaps would not like a bed-fellow."

Upon this a grizzly head appeared out of the pillows, and said:

"What is your name?"

"They call me Lincoln at home," was the reply.

"Lincoln!" repeated the stranger; "any connection of our Illinois Abraham?"

"No," replied Mr. Lincoln. "I fear not."

"Well," said the old gentleman, "I will let any man by the name of 'Lincoln' sleep with me, just for the sake of the name. You have heard of Abe?" he inquired.

"Oh, yes, very often," replied Mr. Lincoln. "No man could travel far in this State without hearing of him, and I would be very glad to claim connection if I could do so honestly."

"Well," said the old gentleman, "my name is Simmons. 'Abe' and I used to live and work together when young men. Many a job of woodcutting and rail-splitting have I done up with him. Abe Lincoln was the likeliest boy in G.o.d's world. He would work all day as hard as any of us and study by firelight in the log-house half the night; and in this way he made himself a thorough, practical surveyor. Once, during those days, I was in the upper part of the State, and I met General Ewing, whom President Jackson had sent to the Northwest to make surveys. I told him about Abe Lincoln, what a student he was, and that I wanted he should give him a job. He looked over his memorandum, and, holding out a paper, said:

"'There is County must be surveyed; if your friend can do the work properly, I shall be glad to have him undertake it--the compensation will be six hundred dollars.'

"Pleased as I could be, I hastened to Abe, after I got home, with an account of what I had secured for him. He was sitting before the fire in the log-cabin when I told him; and what do you think was his answer?

When I finished, he looked up very quietly, and said: