HIS SIMPLICITY AND UNOSTENTATIOUSNESS

The simplicity and absence of all ostentation on the part of Mr. Lincoln, is well illustrated by an incident which occurred on the occasion of a visit he made to Commodore Porter, at Fortress Monroe.  Noticing that the banks of the river were dotted with flowers, he said:  “Commodore, Tad (the pet name for his youngest son, who had accompanied him on the excursion) is very fond of flowers; won’t you let a couple of men take a boat and go with him for an hour or two, along the banks of the river, and gather the flowers?” Look at this picture, and then endeavour to imagine the head of a European nation making a similar request, in this humble way, of one of his subordinates!

A PENITENT MAN CAN BE PARDONED

One day I took a couple of friends from New York upstairs, who wished to be introduced to the President.  It was after the hour for business calls, and we found him alone, and, for once, at leisure.  Soon after the introduction, one of my friends took occasion to indorse, very decidedly, the President’s Amnesty Proclamation, which had been severely censured by many friends of the Administration.  Mr. S——­’s approval touched Mr. Lincoln.  He said, with a great deal of emphasis, and with an expression of countenance I shall never forget:  “When a man is sincerely penitent for his misdeeds, and gives satisfactory evidence of the same, he can safely be pardoned, and there is no exception to the rule!”

“KEEP SILENCE, AND WE’LL GET YOU SAFE ACROSS”

At the White House one day some gentlemen were present from the West, excited and troubled about the commissions and omissions of the Administration.  The President heard them patiently, and then replied:  “Gentlemen, suppose all the property you were worth was in gold, and you had put it in the hands of Blondin to carry across the Niagara River on a rope, would you shake the cable, or keep shouting out to him, ’Blondin, stand up a little straighter—­Blondin, stoop a little more—­go a little faster—­lean a little more to the north—­lean a little more to the south?’ No, you would hold your breath as well as your tongue, and keep your hands off until he was safe over.  The Government are carrying an immense weight.  Untold treasures are in their hands.  They are doing the very best they can.  Don’t badger them.  Keep silence, and we’ll get you safe across.”

REBUFF TO A MAN WITH A SMALL CLAIM

During a public “reception,” a farmer, from one of the border counties of Virginia, told the President that the Union soldiers, in passing his farm, had helped themselves not only to hay, but his horse, and he hoped the President would urge the proper officer to consider his claim immediately.