.0 <^ a- -Q ^,::;^ l\4;- rf -I 1 r •4il r^^i^ .. N 1- t f /. 1 > fc / •p- , ' i'^-. 1 N \ . 1 *- II "* fyxuW Wxnxuii f ihmg BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF ^. . t _ ■ Henrg M. Sage > A,..M.£.9M. %.-./.L. Cornell University Library E457 .L23 Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847-1 olin 3 1924 032 758 918 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032758918 RECOLLECTIONS ABRAHAM LINCOLN ABRAHAM LINCOLN. (From a painting by G. P. A. Heafy, rSbS.) RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 1847-1865 BY WARD HILL LAMON EDITED BY DOROTHY LAMON CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY 189s A--^^^] Copyright By Dorothy Lamon A.D. 1895 AU rights reserved PREFACE. ' I "HE reason for thinking that the public may -^ be interested in my father's recollections of Mr. Lincoln, will be found in the following letter from Hon. J. P. Usher, Secretary of the Interior during the war : — Lawrence, Kansas, May 20, 1885. Ward H. Lamon, Esq., Denver, Col. Dear Sir, — There are now but few left who were intimately acquainted with Mr. Lincoln. I do not call to mind any one who was so much with him as yourself. You were his partner for years in the practice of law, his confidential friend during the time he was President. I venture to say there is now none living other than your- self in whom he so much confided, and to whom he gave free expression of his feehng towards others, his trials and troubles in conducting his great office. You were with him, I know, more than any other one. I think, in view of all the circumstances and of the growing interest which the rising generation takes in all that he did and said, you ought to take the time, if you can, to commit to writing your recollections of him, his sayings and doings, which were not necessarily committed to writing vi PREFACE. and made public. Won't you do it? Can you not, through a series of articles to be published in some of the magazines, lay before the public a history of his inner life, so that the multitude may read and know much more of that wonderful man? Although I knew him quite well for many years, yet I am deeply interested in all that he said and did, and I am persuaded that the multitude of the people feel a like interest. Truly and sincerely yours, (Signed) J. P. Usher. In compiling this little volume, I have taken as a foundation some anecdotal reminiscences already published in newspapers by my father, and have added to them from letters and manuscript left by him. If the production seems fragmentary and lack- ing in purpose, the fault is due to the variety of sources from which I have selected the material. Some of it has been taken from serious manuscript which my father intended for a work of history, some from articles written in a lighter vein ; much has been gleaned from copies of letters which he wrote to friends, but most has been gathered from notes jotted down on a multitude of scraps scat- tered through a mass of miscellaneous material. D. L. Washington, D. C, March, 1895. CONTENTS. Letter from Ex-Secretary Usher. CHAPTER I. EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. Page Prominent Features of Mr. Lincoln's Life written by himself 9 Purpose of Present Volume 13 Riding the Circuit 14 Introduction to Mr. Lincoln 14 Difference in Work in Illinois and in Virginia 15 Mr. Lincoln's Victory over Rev. Peter Cartwright .... 15 Lincoln Subject Enough for the People 16 Mr. Lincoln's Love of a Joke — Could "Contribute Nothing to the End in View " i6 A Branch of Law Practice which Mr. Lincoln could not learn 17 Refusal to take Amount of Fee given in Scott Case . . . i8 Mr. Lincoln tried before a Mock Tribunal .... . . 19 Low Charges for Professional Service .... ... 20 Amount of Property owned by Mr. Lincoln when he took the Oath as President of the United States ... . . 20 Introduction to Mrs. Lincoln 21 Mrs. Lincoln's Prediction in 1847 that her Husband would be President ... 21 The Lincoln and Douglas Senatorial Campaign in 1858 . . 22 " Smelt no Royalty in our Carriage " 22 Mr. Lincoln denies that he voted against the Appropriation for Supplies to Soldiers during Mexican War .... 23 Jostles the Muscular Democracy of a Friend 24 Political Letter of 1858 26 Prediction of Hon. J. G. ^^laine regarding Lincoln and Douglas 27 VIU CONTENTS. CHAPTER 11. JOURNEY FROM SPRINGFIELD TO WASHINGTON. Page Time between Election and Departure for Washington . . 28 Mr. Lincoln's Farewell to his Friends in Springfield ... 30 At Indianapolis 32 Speeches made with the Obj ect of saying Nothing . . . . 33 At Albany — Letter of Mr. Thurlow Weed 34 Loss of Inaugural Address 35 At Philadelphia — Detective and alleged Conspiracy to mur- der Mr. Lincoln .... 38 Plans for Safety . . . 40 At Harrisburg . . . ... 40 Col. Sumner's Opinion of the Plan to thwart Conspiracy . 41 Selection of One Person to accompany Mr. Lincoln . . 42 At West Philadelphia — Careful Arrangements to avoid Dis- covery ....... . . 43 At Baltimore — " It 's Four O'clock " . . 45 At Washington .... 45 Arrival at Hotel 46 CHAPTER III. INAUGURATION. Formation of Cabinet and Administration Policy 48 Opposition to Mr. Chase ^o Alternative List of Cabinet Members cq Politicians realize for the First Time the Indomitable Will of Mr. Lincoln ci Mr. Seward and Mr. Chase, Men of Opposite Principles . . 51 Mr. Seward not to be the real Head of the Administration . 52 Preparations for Inauguration r-. Introduction by Senator Baker j^ Impression made by Inaugural Address .... • • • 54 Oath of Office Administered ^4 The Call of the New York Delegation on the President . . ^j CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER IV. GLOOMY FOREBODINGS OF COMING CONFLICT. Page Geographical Lines distinctly drawn 56 Beliavior of the 36th Congress 57 Letter of Hon. Joseph Holt on the " Impending Tragedy " . 58 South Carolina formally adopts the Ordinance of Secession 62 .Southern Men's Opinion of Slavery 62 Mr. Lincoln imagines Himself in the Place of the Slave- Holder 65 Judge J. S. Black on Slavery as regarded by the Southern Man i& Emancipation a Question of Figures as well as Feeling . . 66 Mission to Charleston 68 " Bring back a Palmetto, if you can't bring Good News " . . 70 Why General Stephen A. Hurlbut went to Charleston ... 70 Visit to Mr. James L. Pettigrew — Peaceable Secession or War Inevitable 71 "A great Goliath from the North" — "A Yankee Lincoln- Hireling " 72 Initiated into the great " Unpleasantness " 73 Interview with Governor Pickens — No Way out of Existing Difiiculties but to fight out 74 Passes written by Governor Pickens 7S> 78 Interview with Major Anderson ... 75 Rope strong enough to hang a Lincoln-Hireling 76 Timely Presence of Hon. Lawrence Keith 77 Extremes of Southern Character exemplified 77 Interview vrith the Postmaster of Charleston 78 Experience of General Hurlbut in Charleston 79 CHAPTER V. HIS SIMPLICIXy. The Ease with which Mr. Lincoln could be reached .... 80 Visit of a Cortimittee from Missouri 8l A Missouri " Orphan " in Trouble 82 Protection Paper for Betsy Ann Dougherty 83 Case of Young Man convicted of Sleeping at his Post ... 86 X CONTENTS. Page Reprieve given to a Man whom a " little Hanging would not hurt" 87 An Appeal for Mercy that failed 88 An Appeal for the Relejise of a Church in Alexandria ... 89 " Reason " why Sentence of Death should not be passed upon a Parricide 90 The Tennessee Rebel Prisoner who was Religious .... 90 The Lord on our Side or We on the Side of the Lord . . . gi Clergymen at the White House 91 Number of Rebels in the Field 92 Mr. Lincoln dismisses Committee of Fault-Finding Clergy- men 93 Mistaken Identity and the Sequel . . .... 94 Desire to be /z.J^ as well as ff/'andyi?- the People .... 96 Hat Reform Mr. Lincoln and his Gloves ... . . . . , 97 97 Bearing a Title should not injure the Austrian Count ... 99 CHAPTER VI. HIS TENDERNESS. Mr. Lincoln's Tenderness toward Animals ... ... loi Mr. Lincoln refuses to sign Death Warrants for Deserters — Kind Words better than Cold Lead io2 How Mr. Lincoln shared the Sufferings of the Wounded Soldiers . 103 Letter of Condolence . io6 CHAPTER VII. DREAMS AND PRESENTIMENTS. Superstition — A Rent in the Veil which hides from Mortal View what the Future holds no The Day of Mr. Lincoln's Renomination at Baltimore . . m Double Image in Looking-Glass — Premonition of Impend- ing Doom Ill Mr. Lincoln relates a Dream which he had a Few Days be- fore his Assassination 113 CONTENTS. xi Page A Dream that always portended an Event of National Im- portance 117 Mr. Lincoln's Last Drive :i8 Mr. Lincoln's Philosophy concerning Presentiments and Dreams 120 CHAPTER VIII. THE HUMOROUS SIDE OF HIS CHARACTER. Mr. Lincoln calls himself " Only a Retail Story-Dealer " . . 122 The Purpose of Mr. Lincoln's Stories 123 Mr. Lincoln shocks the Public Printer 123 A General who had formed an Intimate Acquaintance with himself 124 Charles I. held up as a Model for Mr. Lincoln's Guidance in Dealing with Insurgents — Had no Head to Spare . . 126 Question of whether Slaves would starve if Emancipated . 126 Mr. Lincoln expresses his Opinion of Rebel Leaders to Con- federate Commissioners at the Peace Conference . . 127 Impression made upon Mr. Lincoln by Alex. H. Stephens . 128 Heading a Barrel 128 A Fight, its Serious Outcome, and Mr. Lincoln's Kindly View of the Affair 129 Not always easy for Presidents to have Special Trains fur- nished them . 131 Mr. Lincoln's Reason for not being in a Hurry to Catch the Train 132 " Something must be done in the Interest of the Dutch " . 133 San Domingo Affair 133 Cabinet had shrunk up North 134 111 Health of Candidates for the Position of Commissioner of the Sandwich Islands 134 Encouragement to Young Lawyer who lost his Case . . . 135 Settle the Difficulty without Reference to Who commenced the Fuss 136 " Doubts about the Abutment on the Other Side " .... 137 Mr. Anthony J. Bleeker tells his Experience in Applying for a Position — Believed in Punishment after Death . . 137 Mr. Lincoln points out a Marked Trait in one of the North- em Governors i39 xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. THE ANTIETAM EPISODE. — LINCOLN'S LOVE OF SONG. Page If a Cause of Action is Good it needs no Vindication . . 140 Letter from A. J. Perkins 142 Mr. Lincoln's Own Statement of the Antietam Affair ... 144 One " Little Sad Song " 147 Well Timed Rudeness of Kind Intent 148 Favorite Songs i49 Adam and Eve's Wedding Day 150 Favorite Poem : " O Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud?" 151 CHAPTER X. HIS LOVE OF CHILDREN. The Incident which led Mr. Lincoln to wear a Beard ... 1 56 The Knife that fairly belonged to Mr. Lincoln 1 57 Mr. Lincoln is introduced to the Painter of his " Beautiful Portrait" 158 Death of Mr. Lincoln's Favorite Child 159 Measures taken to break the Force of Mr. Lincoln's Grief . 160 The Invasion of Tad's Theatre . . 162 Tad introduces some Kentucky Gentlemen 164 CHAPTER XI. THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE GETTYSBURG SPEECH. The Gettysburg Speech 167 A Modesty which scorned Eulogy for Achievements not his Own 168 Mr. Lincoln's Regret that he had not prepared the Gettys- burg Speech with Greater Care 171 Mr. Everett's and Secretary Seward's Opinion of the Speech 172 The Reported Opinion of Mr. Everett 172 Had unconsciously risen to a Height above the Cultured Thought of the Period 174 Intrinsic Excellence of the Speech first discovered by Euro- pean Journals 174 CONTENTS. Xlii Page How the News of Mr. Lincoln's Death was received by Other Nations 174 Origin of Phrase " Government of the People, by the Peo- ple, and for the People " 175 CHAPTER XII. HIS UNSWERVING FIDELITY TO PURPOSE. An Intrigue to appoint a Dictator 178 " Power, Plunder, and Extended Rule " 179 Feared Nothing except to commit an Involuntary Wrong . 180 President of One Part of a Divided Country — Not a Bed of Roses 180 Mr. Lincoln asserts himself 182 Demands for General Grant's Removal 182 Distance from the White House to the Capitol 183 Stoical Firmness of Mr. Lincoln in standing by General Grant 183 Letter from Mr. Lincoln to General Grant 184 The Only Occasion of a Misunderstanding between the Presi- dent and General Grant 185 Special Order Relative to Trade-Permits 186 Extract from Wendell Phillips's Speech 187 Willing to abide the Decision of Time 188 Unworthy Ambition of Politicians and the Jealousies in the Army 189 Resignation of General Bumside — Appointment of Suc- cessor 190 War conducted at the Dictation of Political Bureaucracy . 191 Letter to General Hooker 192 Mr. Lincoln's Treatment of the Subject of Dictatorship . . 193 Symphony of Bull-Frogs 194 " A Little More Light and a Little Less Noise " . . . 195 CHAPTER XIII. HIS TRUE RELATIONS WITH MCCLELLAN. Mr. Lincoln not a Creature of Circumstances 197 Subordination of High Officials to Mr. Lincoln 198 The Condition of the Army at Beginning and Close of Gen- eral McClellan's Command 199 CONTENTS. Mr. Lincoln wanted to "borrow" the Army if General McClellan did not want to use it 200 Mr. Lincoln's Opinion of General McClellan. A Protest denouncing the Conduct of McClellan 201 Mr. Lincoln Alone Responsible to the Country for General McClellan's Appointment as Commander of the Forces at Washington 202 Confidential Relationship between Francis P. Blair and Mr. Lincoln .... ... 203 Mr. Blair's Message to General McClellan 204 General McClellan repudiates the Obvious Meaning of the Democratic Platform 205 Mr. Lincoln hopes to be " Dumped on the Right Side of the Stream " 205 Last Appeal to General McClellan's Patriotism 206 Propositign Declined 208 CHAPTER XIV. HIS MAGNANIMITY. Public Offices in no Sense a Fund upon which to draw for the Payment of Private Accounts . 210 Busy Letting Rooms while the House was on Fire . . . . 212 Peremptory Order to General Meade 212 Conditions of Proposition to renounce all Claims to Presi- dency and throw Entire Influence in Behalf of Horatio Seymour 213 Mr. Thurlow Weed to effect Negotiation . . . .214 Mr. Lincoln deterred from making the Magnanimous Self- Sacrifice 215 How Mr. Lincoln thought the Currency was Made . . . . 215 Mr. Chase explains the System of Checks — The President impressed with Danger from this Source 216 First Proposition to Mr. Lincoln to issue Interest-Bearing Notes as Currency — The Interview between David Taylor and Secretary Chase 218 Mr. Lincoln's Honesty — Some Legal Rights and Moral Wrongs 220 Mr. Lincoln annuls the Proceedings of Court-Martial in Case of Franklin W. Smith and Brother 220 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XV. CABINET COUNSELS. Page The "Trent "Affair 222 Spirit of Forgiveness ( ? ) toward England 224 Tiie Interview which led to the Appointment of Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War 225 Correspondence with Hon. William A. Wheeler .... 226 The Appointment of Mr. Stanton a Surprise to the Country 227 Mr. Stanton's Rudeness to Mr. Lincoln in 1858 231 Mr. Lincoln abandons a Message to Congress in Deference to the Opinion of his Cabinet — Proposed Appropriation of $3,000,000 as Compensation to Owners of Liberated Slaves 232 Mr. Stanton's Refusal of Permits to go through the Lines into Insurgent Districts ... 234 Not Much Influence with this Administration 234 Mr. Stanton's Resignation not accepted . . 234 The Seven Words added by Mr. Chase to the Proclamation of Emancipation 235 Difference between " Qualified Voters " and " Citizens of the State " 235 Letter of Governor Hahn ... 236 Universal Suffrage One of Doubtful Propriety 237 Not in Favor of Unlimited Social Equality 237 The Conditions under which Mr. Lincoln wanted the War to Terminate 238 The Rights and Duties of the Gentleman and of the Vagrant are the Same in Time of War 240 What was to be the Disposition of the Leaders of the Re- bellion 241 Mr. Lincoln and Jefferson Davis on an Imaginary Island . 242 Disposition of Jefferson Davis discussed at a Cabinet Meeting 243 Principal Events of Life of Mr. Davis after the War . . . 244 Discussing the Military Situation — Terms of Peace must emanate from Mr. Lincoln 245 Telegram to General Grant 246 Dignified Reply of General Grant 247 XVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. CONFLICT BETWEEN CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITY. Page Difficulties attending the Execution of the Fugitive Slave Law 249 Civil Authority outranked the Military 250 District Jail an Objective Point 252 Resignation of Marshal . . .... 253 Marshal's Office made a Subject of Legislation in Congress 254 A Result of Blundering Legislation . .... . . 254 Mr. Lincoln's Existence embittered by Personal- and Political Attacks 255 Rev. Robert CoUyer and the Rustic Employee 256 CHAPTER XVn. PLOTS AND ASSASSINATION. Conspiracy to kidnap Mr. Buchanan 259 Second Scheme of Abduction 260 Mr. Lincoln relates the Details of a Dangerous Ride . . . 260 A Search for Mr. Lincoln 265 Mr. Lincoln's Peril during Ceremonies of his Second In- auguration — Booth's Phenomenal Audacity .... 266 The Polish Exile from whom Mr. Lincoln feared Assault . 268 An Impatient Letter appealing to Mr. Lincoln's Prudence . 269 Mr. Lincoln's high Administrative Qualities 271 But Few Persons apprehended Danger to Mr. Lincoln . . 271 General Grant receives the News of the Assassination of Mr. Lincoln — A Narrow Escape 273 Last Passport written by Mr. Lincoln . 275 Mr. Lincoln requested to make a Promise 275 Mr. Lincoln's Farewell to his Marshal 276 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. CHAPTER I. EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. \^7"HEN Mr. Lincoln was nominated for the Presi- dency in i860, a campaign book-maker asked him to give the prominent features of his life. He replied in the language of Gray's " Elegy," that his life presented nothing but " The short and simple annals of the poor." He had, however, a few months previously, written for his friend Jesse W. Fell the following : — I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Harden County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families — second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, some others in Macon counties, Illinois — My paternal grand- father, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky, about 1 781 or 2, where, a year lO RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. or two later, he was killed by Indians, — not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest — His ancestors, who were quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania — An effort to identify them with the New England family of the same name ended in nothing more definite, than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like — My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age; and he grew up, literally without education — He re- moved from Kentucky to what is now Spencer county, Indiana, in my eighth year — We reached our new home about the time the State came into the Union — It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods — There I grew up — There were some schools, so called ; but no qualification was ever required of a teacher, beyond " readtn, writin, and cipherin'" to the Rule of Three — If a straggler supposed to understand latin hap- pened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizzard — There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course when I came of age I did not know much — Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three; but that was all — I have not been to school since — The little advance I now have upon this store of education, I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity — I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was twenty two — At twenty one I came to Illinois, and passed the first year in Macon county — Then I got to New-Salem at that time in Sangamon, now in Menard county, where I remained a year as a sort of Clerk in a store — Then came the Black Hawk war ; and I was elected a Captain of Volunteers — a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since — I went the campaign, was elected, ran for the Legislature the same year YV^ h-^^^-~^ t-i^-c~t/ itorCJ^ Xj'jry^j <-w ^L'/X.oX,^.^*.*^ a-/'' '■^■^•■'■ ^ ■^•^^ .^■'■^■-'r-^ /--f^^S M;!f^^ J»/'-<2^— ^<-J, ' '^ C^^"-*^—! o*— ^if-^i^K-LAJ (\j~tiun^ cr*'^^ ry^-m^-^ ^^e-o-v-j < P v -i^ ^^^^^^-^Zj ^^ <;,,,-iX/y<..v«>^ ^A?*-'*-*^ flX^ £jli^ O_o*v»».-«J a^ /K^^~r- -/ja~i-J t-^^-r^ ^^*^'-, fi^G^-^ i-f'tjrl.—^^^ vfkj'^.jcur^ (ltn-yiJ^_ dj^yit^^ «/ eyfi-»ft. «V-^i-.w //" r l7~ '^ ^.w ^a-\^.xji>\~.ur^ fh-tnJ' O'^ I /^"'-'-■ti^^iC (Lft—t-^C^ f-WTLt-w^ ay/\. •'/W-, A>o_^. ^;*S-W ifi-^O 4/ 'fs-gi-tr-^ ■f^^x—^/u- •**-_«:> , J fJ-C^i^ji' i^Ku ,^.^ *-«_«,xtw — t:*;; «-^/25..^ ^^-^-^>t-— >T^/^-si^ /k-^-e--i^-^t-<_e«y ,£A^4-y O'^-^tT*^-*-' / .-, ■f^"'^, y^"-^ /~'-^, P'~'^'-~^; -^-a-W A— ^^^-v-^ ^'^'^^^Ihf^ EARL Y ACQ UAINTANCE. 1 1 (1832) and was beaten — the only time I ever have been beaten by the people — The next, and three succeeding biennial elections, I was elected to the Legislature — I was not a candidate afterwards. During this Legislative period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield to practice it — In 1846 I was once elected to the lower House of Con- gress — Was not a candidate for re-election — From 1849 to i8i4, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before — Always a whig in politics ; and generally on the whig electoral tickets, making active canvasses — I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again — What I have done since then is pretty well known — If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly ; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds ; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and grey eyes — No other marks or brands recollected — Yours very truly A. Lincoln. J. W. Fell, Esq. Washington, D. C, March 20, 1872. We the undersigned hereby certify that the foregoing statement is in the hand-writing of Abraham Lincoln. David Davis. Lyman Trumbull. Charles Sumner. 1 1 The circumstances under which the original preceding sketch was written are explained in the following letter : — National Hotel, Washington, D. C, Feb. 19, 1872. Colonel Ward H. Lamon : Dear Sir, — In compliance with your request, I place in your hands a copy of a manuscript in my possession written by Abraham Lincoln, giving a brief account of his early history, and the com- 12 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Were I to say in this polite age that Abraham Lincoln was born in a condition of life most humble and obscure, and that he was surrounded by circumstances most unfavorable to culture and to the development of that nobility and purity which his wonderful character after- ward displayed, it would shock the fastidious and super- fine sensibilities of the average reader, would be regarded as prima facie evidence of felonious intent, and would subject me to the charge of being inspired by an antago- mencement of that political career which terminated in his election to the Presidency. It may not be inappropriate to say, that some time preceding the writing of the enclosed, finding, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, a laudable curiosity in the public mind to know more about the early history of Mr. Lincoln, and looking, too, to the possibilities of his being an available candidate for the Presidency in i860, I had on several occasions requested of him this information, and that it was not without some hesitation he placed in my hands even this very modest account of himself, which he did in the month of December, 1859. To this were added, by myself, other facts bearing upon his legislative and political history, and the whole forwarded to a friend residing in my native county (Chester, Pa.), — the Hon. Joseph J. Lewis, former Commissioner of Internal Revenue, — who made them the basis of an ably-written and somewhat elabo- rate memoir of the late President, which appeared in the Pennsyl- vania and other papers of the country in January, i860, and which contributed to prepare the way for the subsequent nomination at Chicago the following June. Believing this brief and unpretending narrative, written by him- self in his own peculiar vein, — and in justice to him I should add, without the remotest expectation of its ever appearing in public, — with the attending circumstances, may be of interest to the numerous admirers of that historic and truly great man, I place it at your disposal. I am truly yours, Jesse W. Fell. EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. 13 nistic animus. In justice to the truth of history, how- ever, it must be acknowledged that such are the facts concerning this great man, regarding whom nothing should be concealed from public scrutiny, either in the surroundings of his birth, his youth, his manhood, or his private and public life and character. Let all the facts concerning him be known, and he will appear brighter and purer by the test. It may well be said of him that he is probably the only man, dead or living, whose true and faithful life could be written and leave the subject more ennobled by the minutiae of the record. His faults are but " the shadows which his virtues cast." It is my purpose in these recollections to give the reader a closer view of the great war President than is afforded by current biographies, which deal mainly with the outward phases of his life ; and in carrying out this purpose I will en- deavor to present that many-sided man in those relations where his distinguishing traits manifest themselves most strongly. With the grandeur of his figure in history, with his genius and his achievements as the model statesman and chief magistrate, all men are now familiar ; but there yet remain to be sketched many phases of his inner life. Many of the incidents related in these sketches came to my knowledge through my long-continued association with him both in his private and public life ; therefore, if the Ego shall seem at times pushed forward to undue prominence, it will be because of its convenience, or 14 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. rather necessity, certainly not from any motive of self- adulation. My personal acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln dates back to the autumn of 1847. In that year, attracted by glowing accounts of material growth and progress in that part of the West, I left my home in what was then Berkeley County, Virginia, and settled at Danville, Ver- million County, Illinois. That county and Sangamon, including Springfield, the new capital of the State, were embraced in the Eighth Judicial Circuit, which at that early day consisted of fourteen counties. It was then the custom of lawyers, like their brethren of England, " to ride the circuit." By that circumstance the people came in contact with all the lawyers in the circuit, and were enabled to note their distinguishing traits. I soon learned that the man most celebrated, even in those pioneer days, for oddity, originality, wit, ability, and elo- quence in that region of the State was Abraham Lincoln. My great curiosity to see him was gratified soon after I took up my residence at Danville. I was introduced to Mr. Lincoln by the Hon. John T. Stuart, for some years his partner at Springfield. After a comical survey of my fashionable toggery, — my swal- low-tail coat, white neck-cloth, and ruffled shirt (an astonishing outfit for a young limb of the law in that set- tlement), — Mr. Lincoln said : "And so you are a cousin of our friend John J. Brown ; he told me you were com- ing. Going to try your hand at the law, are you? I should know at a glance that you were a Virginian ; but EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. 15 I don't think you would succeed at splitting rails. That was my occupation at your age, and I don't think I have taken as much pleasure in anything else from that day to- this." I assured him, perhaps as a sort of defence against the eloquent condemnation implied in my fashionable claw- hammer, that I had done a deal of hard manual labor in my time. Much "amused at this solemn declaration, Mr. Lincoln said : " Oh, yes ; you Virginians shed barrels of perspiration while standing off at a distance and superin- tending the work your slaves do for you. It is different with us. Here it is every fellow for himself, or he does n't get there." Mr. Lincoln soon learned, however, that my detesta- tion of slave labor was quite as pronounced as his own, and from that hour we were friends. Until the day of his death it was my pleasure and good fortune to retain his confidence unshaken, as he retained my affection unbroken. I was his local partner, first at Danville, and afterward at Bloomington. We rode the circuit together, traveling by buggy in the dry seasons and on horse-back in bad weather, there being no railroads then in that part of the State. Mr. Lincoln had defeated that redoubtable cham- pion of pioneer Methodism, the Rev. Peter Cartwright, in the last race for Congress. Cartwright was an oddity in his way, quite as original as Lincoln himself. He was a foeman worthy of Spartan steel, and Mr. Lincoln's fame was greatly enhanced by his victory over the famous 1 6 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. preacher. Whenever it was known that Lincoln was to make a speech or argue a case, there was a general rush and a crowded house. It mattered little what subject he was discussing, — Lincoln was subject enough for the people. It was Lincoln they wanted to hear and see ; and his progress round the circuit was marked by a constantly recurring series of ovations. Mr. Lincoln was from the beginning of his circuit- riding the light and life of the court. The most trivial circumstance furnished a back-ground for his wit. The following incident, which illustrates his love of a joke, occurred in the early days of our acquaintance. I, being at the time on the infant side of twenty-one, took par- ticular pleasure in athletic sports. One day when we were attending the circuit court which met at Blooming- ton, 111., I was wrestling near the court house with some one who had challenged me to a trial, and in the scuffle made a large rent in the rear of my trousers. Before I had time to make any change, I was called into court to take up a case. The evidence was finished. I, being the Prosecuting Attorney at the time, got up to address the jury. Having on a somewhat short coat, my misfor- tune was rather apparent. One of the lawyers, for a joke, started a subscription paper which was passed from one member of the bar to another as they sat by a long table fronting the bench, to buy a pair of pantaloons for Lamon, — " he being," the paper said, " a poor but worthy young man." Several put down their names with some ludicrous subscription, and finally the paper EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. 17 was laid by some one in front of Mr. Lincoln, he being engaged in writing at the time. He quietly glanced over the paper, and, immediately taking up his pen, wrote after his name, " I can contribute nothing to the end in view." Although Mr. Lincoln was my senior by eighteen years, in one important particular I certainly was in a marvelous degree his acknowledged superior. One of the first things I learned after getting fairly under way as a lawyer was to charge well for legal services, — a branch of the practice that Mr. Lincoln never could learn. In fact, the lawyers of the circuit often complained that his fees were not at all commensurate with the service ren- dered. He at length left that branch of the business wholly to me ; and to my tender mercy clients were turned over, to be slaughtered according to my pop- ular and more advanced ideas of the dignity of our profession. This soon led to serious and shocking embarrassment. Early in our practice a gentleman named Scott placed in my hands a case of some importance. He had a demented sister who possessed property to the amount of ;?io,ooo, mostly in cash. A " conservator," as he was called, had been appointed to take charge of the estate, and we were employed to resist a motion to remove the conservator. A designing adventurer had become acquainted with the unfortunate girl, and know- ing that she had money, sought to marry her ; hence the motion. Scott, the brother and conservator, before we 1 8 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. entered upon the case, insisted that I should fix the amount of the fee. I told him that it would be ^250, adding, however, that he had better wait ; it might not give us much trouble, and in that event a less amount would do. He agreed at once to pay I250, as he ex- pected a hard contest over the motion. The case was tried inside of twenty minutes; our success was complete. Scott was satisfied, and cheer- fully paid over the money to me inside the bar, Mr. Lincoln looking on. Scott then went out, and Mr. Lin- coln asked, "What did you charge that man?" I told him ;?25o. Said he : " Lamon, that is all wrong. The service was not worth that sum. Give him back at least half of it." I protested that the fee was fixed in advance ; that Scott was perfectly satisfied, and had so expressed him- self. " That may be," retorted Mr. Lincoln, with a look of distress and of undisguised displeasure, " but I am not satisfied. This is positively wrong. Go, call him back and return half the money at least, or I will not receive one cent of it for my share." I did go, and Scott was astonished when I handed back half the fee. This conversation had attracted the attention of the lawyers and the court. Judge David Davis, then on our circuit bench, called Mr. Lincoln to him. The judge never could whisper, but in this instance he probably did his best. At all events, in attempting to whisper to Mr. Lincoln he trumpeted his rebuke in about these EARL V A CQUAINTANCE. \ 9 words, and in rasping tones that could be heard all over the court room : " Lincoln, I have been watching you and Lamon. You are impoverishing this bar by your picayune charges of fees, and the lawyers have reason to complain of you. You are now almost as poor as Lazarus, and if you don't make people pay you more for your services you will die as poor as Job's turkey ! " Judge O. L. Davis, the leading lawyer in that part of the State, promptly applauded this malediction from the bench; but Mr. Lincoln was immovable. "That money," said he, "comes out of the pocket of a poor, demented girl, and I would rather starve than swindle her in this manner.'' That evening the lawyers got together and tried Mr. Lincoln before a moot tribunal called " The Ogmathorial Court." He was found guilty and fined for his awful crime against the pockets of his brethren of the bar. The fine he paid with great good humor, and then kept the crowd of lawyers in uproarious laughter until after midnight. He persisted in his revolt, however, declar- ing that with his consent his firm should never during its life, or after its dissolution, deserve the reputation en- joyed by those shining lights of the profession, " Catch 'em and Cheat 'em." In these early days Mr. Lincoln was once employed in a case against a railroad company in Illinois. The case was concluded in his favor, except as to the pronounce- ment of judgment. Before this was done, he rose and 20 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Stated that his opponents had not proved all that was justly due to them in offset, and proceeded to state briefly that justice required that an allowance should be made against his client for a certain amount. The court at once acquiesced in his statement, and immedi- ately proceeded to pronounce judgment in accordance therewith. He was ever ready to sink his selfish love of victory as well as his partiality for his client's favor and interest for the sake of exact justice. In many of the courts on the circuit Mr. Lincoln would be engaged on one side or the other of every case on the docket, and yet, owing to his low charges and the large amount of professional work which he did for noth- ing, at the time he left Springfield for Washington to take the oath of office as President of the United States he was not worth more than seven thousand dollars, — his property consisting of the house in which he had lived, and eighty acres of land on the opposite side of the river from Omaha, Neb. This land he had entered with his bounty land-warrant obtained for services in the Black Hawk War. Mr. Lincoln was always simple in his habits and tastes. He was economical in everything, and his wants were few. He was a good liver ; and his family, though not extravagant, were much given to entertainments, and saw and enjoyed many ways of spending money not observable by him. After all his inexpensive habits, and a long life of successful law practice, he was reduced to the necessity of borrowing money to defray expenses for EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. 21 the first months of his residence at the White House. This money he repaid after receiving his salary as Presi- dent for the first quarter. A few months after meeting Mr. Lincoln, I attended an entertainment given at his residence in Springfield. After introducing me to Mrs. Lincoln, he left us in con- versation. I remarked to her that her husband was a great favorite in the eastern part of the State, where I had been stopping. " Yes," she replied, " he is a great favorite everywhere. He is to be President of the United States some day ; if I had not thought so I never would have married him, for you can see he is not pretty. But look at him ! Does n't he look as if he would make a magnificent President? " "Magnificent" somewhat staggered me; but there was, without appearing ungallant, but one reply to make to this pointed question. I made it, but did so under a mental protest, for I am free to admit that he did not look promising for that office ; on the contrary, to me he looked about as unpromising a candidate as I could well imagine the American people were ever likely to put forward. At that time I felt convinced that Mrs. Lin- coln was running Abraham beyond his proper distance in that race. I did not thoroughly know the man then ; afterward I never saw the time when I was not willing to apologize for my misguided secret protest. Mrs. Lin- coln, from that day to the day of his inauguration, never wavered in her faith that her hopes in this respect would be realized. 22 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN: In 1858, when Mr. Lincoln and Judge Douglas were candidates for the United States Senate, and were mak- ing their celebrated campaign in Illinois, General McClel- lan was Superintendent of the Illinois Central Railroad, and favored the election of Judge Douglas. At all points on the road where meetings between the two great politicians were held, either a special train or a special car was furnished to Judge Douglas ; but Mr. Lincoln, when he failed to get transportation on the regular trains in time to meet his appointments, was re- duced to the necessity of going as freight. There being orders from headquarters to permit no passenger to travel on freight trains, Mr. Lincoln's persuasive powers were often brought into requisition. The favor was granted or refused according to the politics of the conductor. On one occasion, in going to meet an appointment in the southern part of the State, — that section of Illinois called Egypt, — Mr. Lincoln and I, with other friends, were traveling in the " caboose " of a freight train, when we were switched off the main track to allow a special train to pass in which Mr. Lincoln's more aristocratic rival was being conveyed. The passing train was deco- rated with banners and flags, and carried a band of music which was playing " Hail to the Chief." As the train whistled past, Mr. Lincoln broke out in a fit of laughter and said, "Boys, the gentleman in that car evidently smelt no royalty in our carriage." On arriving at the point where these two political EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. 23 gladiators were to test their strength, there was the same contrast between their respective receptions. The judge was met at the station by the distinguished Democratic citizens of the place, who constituted almost the whole population, and was marched to the camping ground to the sound of music, shouts from the populace, and under floating banners borne by his enthusiastic admirers. Mr. Lincoln was escorted by a few Republican politicians ; no enthusiasm was displayed, no music greeted his ears, nor, in fact, any other sound except the warble of the bull-frogs in a neighboring swamp. The signs and pros- pects for Mr. Lincoln's election by the support of the people looked gloomy indeed. Judge Douglas spoke first, and so great was the enthu- siasm excited by his speech that Mr. Lincoln's friends became apprehensive of trouble. When spoken to on the subject he said : " I am not going to be terrified by an excited populace, and hindered from speaking my honest sentiments upon this infernal subject of human slavery.'' He rose, took off his hat, and stood before that audience for a considerable space of time in a seem- ingly reflective mood, looking over the vast throng of people as if making a preliminary survey of their tenden- cies. He then bowed, and commenced by saying : " My fellow-citizens, I learn that my friend Judge Douglas said in a public speech that I, while in Congress, had voted against the appropriation for supplies to the Mexican soldiers during the late war. This, fellow-citizens, is a perversion of the facts. It is true that I was opposed to 24 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. the policy of the Administration in declaring war against Mexico ; but when war was declared, I never failed to vote for the support of any proposition looking to the comfort of our poor fellows who were maintaining the dignity of our flag in a war that I thought unnecessary and unjust." ' He gradually became more and more excited ; his voice thrilled and his whole frame shook. I was at the time sitting on the stand beside Hon. O. B. Ficklin, who had served in Congress with Mr. Lincoln in 1847. Mr. Lincoln reached back and took Ficklin by the coat-collar, back of his neck, and in no gentle man- ner lifted him from his seat as if he had been a kitten, and said : " Fellow-citizens, here is Ficklin, who was at that time in Congress with me, and he knows it is a lie." He shook Ficklin until his teeth chattered. Fearing that he would shake Ficklin's head off, I grasped Mr. Lincoln's hand and broke his grip. Mr. Ficklin sat down, and Lincoln continued his address. After the speaking was over, Mr. Ficklin, who had been opposed to Lincoln in politics, but was on terms of 1 For some time before this speech Mr. Lincoln had been receiving letters from friends inquiring as to the truth or falsity of Mr. Douglas's charge. Knowing that he had opposed the war with Mexico, while in Congress, they were in doubt whether or not the charge was true, and believed that if true it would be dan- gerous to his prospects. To one of these anxious friends he writes under date of June 24, 1858 : " Give yourself no concern about my voting against the supplies, unless you are without faith that a lie can be successfully contradicted. There is not a word of truth in the charge, and I am just considering a little as to the best shape to put a contradiction in. Show this to whom you please, but do not publish it in the papers." MARLY ACQUAINTANCE. 2$ warm personal friendship with him, turned to him and said : " Lincoln, you nearly shook all the Democracy out of me to-day." Mr. Lincoln replied : " That reminds me of what Paul said to Agrippa, which in language and substance I will formulate as follows : I would to God that such Democracy as you folks here in Egypt have were not only almost, but altogether shaken out of, not only you, but all that heard me this day, and that you would all join in assisting in shaking ofif the shackles of the bondmen by all legitimate means, so that this country may be made free as the good Lord intended it." Ficklin continued : " Lincoln, I remember of reading somewhere in the same book from which you get your Agrippa story, that Paul, whom you seem to desire to personate, admonished all servants (slaves) to be obedi- ent to them that are their masters according to the flesh, in fear and trembling. It would seem that neither our Saviour nor Paul saw the iniquity of slavery as you and your party do. But you must not think that where you fail by argument to convince an old friend like myself and win him over to your heterodox abolition opinions, you are justified in resorting to violence such as you practiced on me to-day. Why, I never had such a shak- ing up in the whole course of my life. Recollect that that good old book that you quote from somewhere says in effect this, ' Woe be unto him who goeth to Egypt for help, for he shall fall. The holpen shall fall, and they shall all fall together.' The next thing we know, Lin- 26 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. coin, you and your party will be advocating a war to kill all of us pro-slavery people off." " No, " said Lincoln, " I will never advocate such an extremity ; but it will be well for you folks if you don't force such a necessity on the country." Lincoln then apologized for his rudeness in jostling the muscular Democracy of his friend, and they sepa- rated, each going his own way, little thinking then that what they had just said in badinage would be so soon realized in such terrible consequences to the country. The following letter shows Lincoln's view of the politi- cal situation at that time : — Springfield, June ii, 1858. W. H. Lamon, Esq. : My dear Sir, — Yours of the 9th written at Joliet is just received. Two or three days ago I learned that McLean had appointed delegates in favor of Lovejoy, and thencefor- ward I have considered his renomination a fixed fact. My opinion — if my opinion is of any consequence in this case, in which it is no business of mine to interfere — remains un- changed, that running an independent candidate against Lovejoy will not do ; that it will result in nothing but disas- ter all round. In the first place, whoever so runs will be beaten and will be spotted for life; in the second place, while the race is in progress, he will be under the strongest temptation to trade with the Democrats, and to favor the election of certain of their friends to the Legislature; thirdlv, I shall be held responsible for it, and Republican members of the Legislature, who are partial to Lovejoy, will for that purpose oppose us ; and, lastly, it will in the end lose us the District altogether. There is no safe way but a convention ; and if in that convention, upon a common platform which all are willing to stand upon, one who has been known as an EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. 2/ Abolitionist, but who is now occupying none but common ground, can get the majority of the votes to which all look for an election, there is no safe way but to submit. As to the inclination of some Republicans to favor Doug- las, that is one of the chances I have to run, and which I intend to run with patience. I write in the court room. Court has opened, and I must close. Yours as ever, (Signed) A. Lincoln. During this senatorial campaign in 1858, Hon. James G. Blaine predicted in a letter, which was extensively published, that Douglas would beat Lincoln for the United States Senate, but that Lincoln would beat Douglas for President in i860. Mr. Lincoln cut out the paragraph of the letter containing this prediction, and placed it in his pocket-book, where I have no doubt it was found after his death, for only a very short time before that event I saw it in his possession. After Mr. Lincoln's election he was sorely beset by rival claimants for the spoils of office in his own State, and distracted by jealousies among his own party adhe- rents. The State was divided so far as the Republican party was concerned into three cliques or factions. The Chicago faction was headed by Norman B. Judd and Ebenezer Peck, the Bloomington faction by Judge David Davis, Leonard Swett, and others, and that of Springfield by J. K. Dubois, O. M. Hatch, William Butler, and others ; and however anxious Mr. Lincoln might be to honor his State by a Cabinet appointment, he was power- 28 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. less to do so without incurring the hostility of the factions from which he could not make a selection. Harmony was, however, in a large measure preserved among the Republican politicians by sending Judd as Minister to Prussia, and by anticipating a place on the Supreme Bench for Judge Davis. Swett wanted nothing, and middle Illinois was satisfied. Springfield controlled the lion's share of State patronage, and satisfaction was given all round as far as circumstances would allow. Between the time of Mr. Lincoln's election and the nth of February, 1861, he spent his time in a room in the State House which was assigned to him as an office. Young Mr. Nicolay, a very clever and competent clerk, was lent to him by the Secretary of State to do his writ- ing. During this time he was overrun with visitors from all quarters of the country, — some to assist in forming his Cabinet, some to direct how patronage should be dis- tributed, others to beg for or demand personal advance- ment. So painstaking was he, that every one of the many thousand letters which poured in upon him was read and promptly answered. The burden of the new and overwhelming labor came near prostrating him with serious illness. Some days before his departure for Washington, he wrote to me at Bloomington that he desired to see me at once. I went to Springfield, and Mr. Lincoln said to me : " Hill, on the nth I go to Washington, and I want you to go along with me. Our friends have already asked me to send you as Consul to Paris. You know I EARLY ACQUAINTANCE. 29 would cheerfully give you anything for which our friends may ask or which you may desire, but it looks as if we might have war. In that case I want you with me. In fact, I must have you. So get yourself ready and come along. It will be handy to have you around. If there is to be a fight, I want you to help me to do my share of it, as you have done in times past. You must go, and go to stay." CHAPTER II. JOURNEY FROM SPRINGFIELD TO WASHINGTON. ON the iith of February, 1861, the arrangements for Mr. Lincoln's departure from Springfield were completed. It was intended to occupy the time remain- ing between that date and the 4th of March with a grand tour from State to State and city to city. Mr. Wood, " recommended by Senator Seward," was the chief manager. He provided special trains, to be preceded by pilot engines all the way through. It was a gloomy day : heavy clouds floated overhead, and a cold rain was falling. Long before eight o'clock, a great mass of people had collected at the station of the Great Western Railway to witness the event of the day. At precisely five minutes before eight, Mr. Lincoln, pre- ceded by Mr. Wood, emerged from a private room in the station, and passed slowly to the car, the people falling back respectfully on either side, and as many as possible shaking his hand. Having reached the train he ascended the rear platform, and, facing the throng which had closed around him, drew himself up to his full height, removed his hat, and stood for several seconds in pro- found silence. His eye roved sadly over that sea of up- turned faces ; and he thought he read in them again the FROM SPRINGFIELD TO WASHINGTON. 3 1 sympathy and friendship which he had often tried, and which he never needed more than he did then. There was an unusual quiver on his lip, and a still more unusual tear on his furrowed cheek. His solemn man- ner, his long silence, were as full of melancholy eloquence as any words he could have uttered. Of what was he thinking ? Of the mighty changes which had lifted him from the lowest to the highest estate in the nation ; of the weary road which had brought him to this lofty summit ; of his poverty-stricken boyhood; of his poor mother lying beneath the tangled underbrush in a distant for- est ? Whatever the particular character of his thoughts, it is evident that they were retrospective and painful. To those who were anxiously waiting to catch words upon which the fate of the nation might hang, it seemed long until he had mastered his feeUngs sufficiently to speak. At length he began in a husky tone of voice, and slowly and impressively delivered his farewell to his neighbors. Imitating his example, every man in the crowd stood -vith his head uncovered in the fast- falling rain. "Friends, no one who has never been placed in a like position can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting. For more than a quarter of a century I have lived among you, and during all that time I have received nothing but kindness at your hands. Here I have lived from my youth, until now I am an old man. Here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed ; here all my children were born ; and here one of them lies buried. To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. ' All 32 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. the strange, checkered past seems to crowd now upon my mind.'' To-day I leave you. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon Washington. Unless the great God, who assisted him, shall be with me and aid me, I must fail ; but if the same omniscient mind and almighty arm that directed and protected him shall guide and support me, I shall not fail, — I shall succeed. Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now. To Him I commend you all. Permit me to ask that, with equal security and faith, you will invoke His wisdom and guidance for me. With these few words I must leave you, — for how long I know not. Friends, one and all, I must now bid you an affectionate farewell." Few more impressive utterances were ever made by any one than found expression in this simple speech. This farewell meant more to him than to his hearers. To them it meant, " Good-by for the present," — a commendation of his dearest friends to the watchful care of God until his return. To him it foreboded eternity ere their reunion, — his last solemn benediction until the resurrection. He never believed he would return to the hallowed scenes of his adopted State, to his friends and his home. He had felt for many years that he would suffer a violent death, and at different times expressed his apprehensions before and after his election as President. The first night after our departure from Springfield was spent in Indianapolis. Governor Yates, the Hon. O. H. Browning, Jesse K. Dubois, O. M. Hatch, Josiah Allen, of Indiana, and others, after taking leave of Mr. Lincoln to return to their respective homes, took me FROM SPRINGFIELD TO WASHINGTON. 33 into a room, locked the door, and proceeded in the most solemn and impressive manner to instruct me as to my duties as the special guardian of Mr. Lincoln's person during the rest of his journey to Washington. The lesson was concluded by Uncle Jesse, as Mr. Dubois was commonly called, who said : " Now, Lamon, we have regarded you as the Tom Hyer of Illinois, with Morrissey attachment. We intrust the sacred life of Mr. Lincoln to your keeping ; and if you don't protect it, never return to Illinois, for we will murder you on sight." With this amiable threat, delivered in a jocular tone, but with a feeling of deep, ill-disguised alarm for the safety of the President-elect, in which they all shared, the door was unlocked and they took their leave. If I had been remiss in my duty toward Mr. Lincoln during that memorable journey, I have no doubt those sturdy men would have made good some part of their threat. The journey from Springfield to Philadelphia was not characterized by any scene unusual or more eventful than what was ordinary on such occasions, notwithstand- ing that so much has been written about thrilling dangers, all of which were imagined but not encountered. Mr. Lincoln's speeches were the all-absorbing events of the hour. The people everywhere were eager to hear a forecast of his policy, and he was as eager to keep silence on that subject until it was made manifest in his Inaugural Address. After having been en route a day or two, he told me that he had done much hard work in his life, but to make speeches day after day, 3 34 RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. with the object of speaking and saying nothing, was the hardest work he ever had done. " I wish," said he, "that this thing were through with, and I could find peace and quiet somewhere." On arriving at Albany, N. Y., Mr. Thurlow Weed asked me where Mr. Lincoln was going to be domiciled in Washington until he was inaugurated. I told him Messrs. Trumbull and Washburne had provided quarters for him ; that they had rented a house on Thirteenth or Fourteenth Street, N. W., for his reception, and that Mr. Lincoln had submitted the matter to me, asking me to confer with Capt. John Pope, one of our party who was an old friend of his, and to make just such arrange- ments as I thought best for his quarters in Washington. Mr. Weed said, "It will never do to allow him to go to a private house to be under the iniluence of State control. He is now public property, and ought to be where he can be reached by the people until he is inaugurated." We then agreed that Willard's Hotel would be the best place, and the following letter was written to Mr. Willard to arrange for the reception of the Presidential party : — Albany, Feb. 19, 1861. Dear Willard, — Mr. Lincoln will be your guest. In arranging his apartments, please reserve nearest him apartments for two of his friends, Judge Davis and Mr. Lamon. Truly yours, (Signed) Thurlow Weed. Mrs. Lincoln and one son accompany him. Y)^nA- ^"^--i*- ^s''^-^ ^^^.^iC..^^^ ,^ />>v^, ^:Pt:i^^ »-. /^ EXEOtrriVE DEPARTMENT. -t/l-.^ ,^y^^^