of this phase of his character, but I will only mention one. I quote from a letter written by me to Maj.-Gen. George H. Thomas, of date May 23d, 1867 :

"General-I have had in my possession since the day it was written a telegram penned by our late loved President. Its history is this: Robert A. Maxwell, a quixotic individual, a resident of Philadelphia, has, during the War and since, humored a propensity for addressing numerous dictatorial and sensational dispatches to the President, his Cabinet and prominent officials of the Government. Those who are familiar with his character give no consideration to them."

On receipt of one of these dispatches, a copy of which I enclose, as follows:

"NEW YORK CITY, September 23d, 1863. "HIS EXCELLENCY, A. LINCOLN, President United States:

"Will Buell's testamentary executor, George Thomas, ever let Rosecrans succeed? Is Bragg dumb enough to punish Thomas severely and disgracingly ?

President Lincoln came to the Department and handed me his reply, marked "Cipher," as follows:

"TO ROBERT A. MAXWELL, New York:

"I hasten to say that in the state of information we have here nothing could be more ungracious than to indulge any suspicion toward General Thomas. It is doubtful whether his heroism and skill exhibited last Sunday afternoon has ever been surpassed in the world. (Signed) A. LINCOLN."

He lingered in the office while I was preparing it for transmission, and when nearly ready he remarked: “I guess, on the whole, Mr. Tinker, you need not send that. I will pay no more attention to the crazy fellow." I put

it into my pocket, and have preserved it as a precious autograph. It is a priceless tribute to a noble hero, whose dauntless courage on that fatal day saved the Army of the Cumberland. My letter-press copy of the letter has this note:

"Delivered to him in person at Willard's Hotel, Monday evening, May 27th, 1867."

Mr. Lincoln was a plain, modest man, having little thought or care for the conventionalities of life. He would not wait an introduction if he had aught to say to his fellow-man. He was easily approached, and gave ready ear to any communication, but quickly manifested. impatience if he found it was a subject without interest to him. He would frankly speak the truth and guide the applicant or supplicant, to the proper department, or dismiss him with words of wisdom, and resume his own path of duty. I hardly think there was any member of his Cabinet who enjoyed listening to his stories, although perhaps none of them would manifest impatience, except Mr. Stanton. He would never tell a story himself, and would not willingly spend his time listening to others. I have seen him abruptly leave the office for his own when Mr. Lincoln was reminded of a story and began to tell it. Mr. Lincoln paid no attention to the slight. the contrary, treating it as a matter of fact- a personal trait of Mr. Stanton for which he was not responsible. He often called Mr. Stanton "Mars" and appeared to enjoy his discomfort at the fitting title.

On

Mr. Lincoln was an early riser, and often reached the office as early as any of the morning arrivals. His custom was to come over at least twice a day-morning, and evening after the Department hours—and when there

was anything of importance transpiring about which he was especially anxious, he was frequently at the telegraph office till long after midnight. We took three copies of all the important dispatches addressed to the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Navy, General of the Army, or to the President. The hard copy for the official files, and two tissue copies, one for the Secretary of War, and one to be retained in the office. This retained copy was put in a little drawer on top of the cipher operators' desk, handy for reference, and accessible to the Secretary or President. Mr. Lincoln went direct to that drawer, took out all the copies and sat down at the desk and read the dispatches in order, laying them on one side, face down, till he had finished; and returned them to the drawer in the same order. If he came again the same day, he would go through the same operation until he had reached the previous pile, face down, when he would remark, "There, I have got down to the raisins," and replace them in the drawer. His reference to "the raisins was illustrated by his story of the countryman who sat down to dinner at a city hotel, and undertook to get away with the entire bill of fare, and found relief when he reached the raisins.

The last time I saw Mr. Lincoln was on the afternoon of April 11th, three days prior to his assassination. He came to the office as usual that afternoon, and something reminded him of a story, and to illustrate the finale he gathered his coattails under his arms and, with about three long strides, crossed the room and passed out of the door with the last words of the story echoing from his lips. That evening I went home from the office ill with a slight fever which prevented my resuming duty until the early morning of April 15th, when I was

I

aroused by loud voices in the street, from which I gathered that the President had been assassinated. arose and dressed and hastily made my way to the office, passing crowds here and there in muffled debate; by Secretary Seward's house, where a sentinel was pacing to and fro; on to the War Department, where I learned the terrible truth of the ghastly events of the night just passed. My brief journal of that date contains their narrative, with this reference:

"Departments are closed and being draped in mourning. Our office feels most keenly the affliction which has thus been brought to the whole country in the death of Abraham Lincoln; for we had learned to look upon him in his daily visits there almost as a companion, while we venerated him for his goodness as a father. We had no heart to work; bitter tears flooded every eye, and grief choked utterance."

Thus ends my personal reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln. It is a blessing to have known him, and still a greater one to have enjoyed his almost daily companionship, as we of the War Department Telegraph Office did during his Presidential life.

NEW YORK CITY.

LINCOLN AND THE SLAVE TRADER GORDON.

REFUSING A REPRIEVE.

BY ETHAN ALLEN.

IN 1861, E. Delafield Smith was United States District Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and I was his chief deputy. One of the first and most important trials in which I participated was the trial of William Gordon for slave trading. The trial was long and bitterly contested, and Gordon was convicted, the first conviction under the Slave Law that was ever had in the United States, either North or South.

Gordon was sentenced to be hanged by Judge Nelson, then the presiding Judge of the Supreme Court for this district. An effort was immediately made to have Mr. Lincoln pardon him, and the effort was very extraordinary and powerful in influence. Mr. Smith, the District Attorney, hearing of this fact, deemed it his duty (and he alone is responsible in the matter) to go to Washington and plead with Mr. Lincoln against clemency. When he met Mr. Lincoln, as he afterward reported to me on his return, Mr. Lincoln took out from his desk the reprieve already prepared and laid it before him. He picked up a pen, which he held in his hand while he listened to the argument of Mr. Smith on the imperative necessity of making an example of this man.