again to the front. He then, jocosely I think, referred to the numerous appointments of brigadiers, and then said that a Paymastership of Volunteers was not only one of the most desirable positions in the army but one that might enable me to keep my promise. Without yielding my objection to office I admitted that his last suggestion offered the most plausible solution to the situation, but suggested that such a position in the regular army might more certainly insure my location near home. He said he would write to the Secretary and fix that. He wrote, read to me and then sealed the following letter, which I have never used, and the seal of which I never broke until after his assassination:

"EXECUTIVE MANSION, October 1st, 1861. "HONORABLE SECRETARY OF WAR:

"My dear Sir:- The Postmaster-General and myself have special reasons for wishing to oblige Mr. Benjamin F. Watson, of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He has been appointed an Assistant Paymaster, or Paymaster of Volunteers, but he wishes the same post in the regular army. If there is any vacancy, not committed to any other person, let Mr. Watson have it. If there be no such vacancy, oblige him, as far as you can, by sending him to service at the place which suits him best. Yours truly,

"A. LINCOLN."

He then wrote on the envelope "Hon. Sec. of War," and added a memorandum most necessary in those days when the Government buildings were filled with crowds vainly seeking personal interviews with officials, "Please see Mr. Watson." No other justification existed for the statement in this letter, that I had been appointed, etc., than that I have herein narrated, excepting, probably, his determination to right that which he thought was a wrong, his desire to do nothing detrimental to the Union

cause, his belief that he had hit upon that which I was bound patriotically to accept, and his decision that the appointment should be tendered whether accepted or not. I was gazetted Paymaster all over the country the next morning, but I did not for six weeks thereafter finally conclude to accept the office. After the President had read his letter and I was about to retire, Gen. B. F. Butler was announced. He was then in his zenith and all governmental doors were open to him. In his peculiar manner the General scanned me from head to foot and demanded what had brought me there. I replied that the Commander-in-Chief had sent for me. In reply the General, in his rough way, informed the President that we were friends and neighbors, whereupon the President narrated to him what had taken place between us and said that he had been trying to induce me to accept office. To this General Butler replied that he wanted me to be appointed Paymaster of the Gulf, with permission to employ all requisite clerks, and he added, "I will go on his bond." The President said it should be done accordingly. I said nothing. General Butler assumed that I was from that moment on his staff and made an appointment to call for me that evening at my hotel, and I left the President and the General together. That night I went with General Butler to visit the members of the Cabinet and heard the proposed expedition for the capture of New Orleans discussed in all its details. I subsequently accepted the office of Paymaster of Volunteers, and served until seriously disabled in the performance of duty, when, declining an appointment in the Veteran Reserve Corps, I resigned in October, 1864.

I never saw Abraham Lincoln again, but I shall carry through life the impression of his remarkable personality.

It need not be claimed that he was a perfect man; at times he may have exhibited weakness on the side of amiability; but if he was thereby led into error, his determination to be the fearless, upright man he was by nature, ultimately snapped asunder all of the cords woven by the influence of the strong and ambitious men who surrounded him- such men as Sumner, Seward, Chase, Ben Wade, Oliver Morton and others. His strength is shown by the fact that while bearing the burden of the leadership of a country disrupted by a great and bloody conflict, which in the beginning was of doubtful issue, he curbed and controlled the extraordinary men who, in a generation of intellectual conflict, dethroned King Cotton and destroyed the mighty institution of Slavery, before which the fathers of the Revolution were impotent.

Notwithstanding Abraham Lincoln's humor, his whimsical playfulness of expression and his keen appreciation of wit, which were always evident, the impression made by him at the time of which I write was of a man anxious, weary and heavy laden, earnestly laboring to perform the duties laid upon him. This impression was, of course, deepened and made permanent by the time and manner of his tragic death. In my opinion, he was the instrument chosen by Providence to effect the salvation of the Union and the triumph of the Flag.

NEW YORK CITY.

L

THE HOUR OF HIS THANKSGIVING.

"A THUNDERING OLD GLORY" THE NEWS OF HIS ASSASSINATION-ANGRY CROWD AT THE SUB-TREAS

URY.

BY THE HON. L. E. CHITTENDEN,

EX-REGISTRAR OF THE TREASURY.

THE number of men whose acquaintance with Abraham Lincoln was intimate enough to enable them to form any just estimate of his character, is small and rapidly diminishing. If they are true to his memory, as they recall his voice and presence through the softening influences of thirty years, they will experience a sensation of regret that they did not better improve their opportunities and more fully appreciate his statesmanship and other great qualities. They are asking themselves how it could have happened that, when he was delivering his first inaugural address, writing his letter of August 22d, 1862, to Mr. Greeley, that of August 26th, 1863, to Mr. J. C. Conkling, and the address at Gettysburg, all which will be read and admired as the gems of our English speech while history endures, they did not recognize him as the greatest patriot, statesman and writer of his time? I suppose the reason must have been that our hopes and fears for the safety of the Union so engrossed all our thoughts that we had no time for other subjects, and as we knew that nothing but the success of our arms

could save it, nothing greatly impressed us but victory on the field.

At last, after years of weary waiting, victory had come - not alone in one bloody battle, but all over the theatre of war. Around the seacoasts, up gulf, bayou and river, from the Ohio down through Nashville and Atlanta to the rice fields of the Savannah, up through Carolina pines and down through Virginia swamps, everywhere the eagles of victory were borne upon our standards. Lee, Gordon and other great war generals had sheathed their swords, and promised never again to draw them from their scabbards except under the Stars and Stripes. Grant had said to his prisoners, "Take your horses and goods to your homes, plough, sow and reap, and become good citizens." And all over the free North gray-haired sires, true-hearted wives and bright-faced children were making ready to welcome sons, husbands and fathers home from the War.

There was one form which it was grand to look upon in those days. Truly he wist not that his face shone like that of Moses when he came down from Sinai with the tables of the testimony in his hands. It was like a picture drawn by a great artist to express all the noble qualities of humanity-chiefly benevolence, kindness and charity; as grand a face as ever was given to man. I need scarcely be more specific. Such a face could belong only to Abraham Lincoln. In this hour of thanksgiving we were chiefly grateful for one mercy - I might well write above all others. It was that the trials of our Greatheart had come to an end. We had seen him when they began when his face was smooth, genial and, on occasion, humorous. As his duties multiplied and his responsibilities were greater, we had seen them