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moment, then said with great innocence, "Why didn't Governor Chase print some more greenbacks?''

TAD THE COMMISSIONED OFFICER.

Tad, having been sportively commissioned a lieutenant in the United States Army by Secretary Stanton, procured several muskets and drilled the men-servants of the house in the manual of arms without attracting the attention of his father. And one night, to his consternation, he put them all on duty, and relieved the regular sentries, who, seeing the lad in full uniform, or perhaps appreciating the joke, gladly went to their quarters. His brother objected; but Tad insisted upon his rights as an officer. The President laughed but declined to interfere, but when the lad had lost his little authority in his boyish sleep, the Commanderin-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States went down and personally discharged the sentries his son had put on the post.

MR. LINCOLN AS HISTORIAN,

Jefferson Davis, it appears, insisted on being recognized as commander or President in the regular negotiation with the government. This Mr. Lincoln would not consent to.

Mr. Hunter hereupon referred to the correspondence between King Charles the First and his Parliament as a precedent for a negotiation between a constitutional ruler and rebels. Mr. Lincoln's face then wore that indescribable expression which generally preceded his hardest hits, and he remarked: "Upon questions of history, I must refer you to Mr. Seward, for he is

posted in such things, and I don't profess to be; but my only distinct recollection of the matter is, that Charles lost his head."

THE PRESIDENT AND “FIGHTING JOE.”

General Joe Hooker, the fourth commander of the noble but unfortunate Army of the Potomac, was appointed to that position by President Lincoln, in January, 1863. General Scott, for some reason, disliked Hooker and would not appoint him. Hooker, after some months of discouraging waiting, decided to return to California, and called to pay his respects to Mr. Lincoln. He was introduced as Captain Hooker, and to the surprise of the President began the following speech: "Mr. President, my friend makes a mistake. I am not Captain Hooker, but was once Lieutenant-Colonel Hooker of the regular army. was lately a farmer in California, but since the rebellion broke out I have been trying to get into service, but I find I am not wanted.

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"I am about to return home; but before going, I was anxious to pay my respects to you, and express my wishes for your personal welfare and success in quelling this rebellion. And I want to say to you a word more.

"I was at Bull Run the other day, Mr. President, and it is no vanity in me to say, I am a d-d sight better general than you had on the field."

This was said, not in the tone of a braggart, but of a man who knew what he was talking about. Hooker did not return to California, but in a few weeks Captain Hooker was Brigadier-General Hooker, and

"Fighting Joe" was regarded as one of the most vigorous and efficient Generals of the Union Army.

MR. LINCOLN'S MILITARY TALENT.

To Hooker on the 5th of June, 1863: He warns Hooker not to run any risk of being entangled on the Rappahannock "like an ox jumped half over a fence and liable to be torn by dogs, front and rear, without a fair chance to give one way or kick the other." On the 10th he warns Hooker not to go south of the Rappahannock upon Lee's moving north of it. “T think Lee's army and not Richmond is your true objective power. If he comes toward the upper Potomac, follow on his flank, and on the inside track, shortening your lines while he lengthens his. Fight him, too, when opportunity offers. If he stay where he is, fret him, and fret him." On the 14th again he says: "So far as we can make out here, the enemy have Milroy surrounded at Winchester, and Tyler at Martinsburg. If they could hold out for a few days, could you help them? If the head of Lee's army is at Martinsburg, and the tail of it on the flank road between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the animal must be very slim somewhere; could you not break him?"

WHY MR. LINCOLN HESITATED BEFORE SIGNING THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.

The roll containing the Emancipation Proclamation was taken to Mr. Lincoln at noon on the first day of January, 1863, by Secretary Seward and his son Frederick. As it lay unrolled before him, Mr. Lincoln

took a pen, dipped it in the ink, moved his hand to the place for the signature, held it a moment, then removed his hand and dropped the pen. After a little hesitation he again took up the pen and went through the same movement as before. Mr. Lincoln then turned to Mr. Seward, and said:

"I have been shaking hands since nine o'clock this morning, and my right arm is almost paralyzed. If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. If my hand trembles when I sign the Proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say, 'He hesitated.'

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He then turned to the table, took up the pen again, and slowly, firmly wrote "Abraham Lincoln," with which the whole world is now familiar. He then looked up, smiled, and said, "That will do!"'

"MAKING A FIZZLE ANYHOW."

The President, in company with General Grant, was inspecting the Dutch Gap Canal at City Point.

His opinion of the success of the enterprise he made known to General Grant in his usual manner.

"Grant, do you know what this reminds me of? Out in Springfield, Ill., there was a blacksmith named One day, not having much to do, he took a piece of soft iron, and attempted to weld it into an agricultural implement, but discovered that the iron would not hold out; then he concluded it would make a claw hammer; but having too much iron attempted to make an ax, but decided after working a while that there was not enough iron left. Finally, becoming dis

gusted, he filled the forge full of coal and brought the iron to a white heat; then with his tongs he lifted it from the bed of coals, and thrusting it into a tub of water near by, exclaimed with an oath, 'Well, if I can't make anything else of you, I will make a fizzle anyhow.' I was afraid that was about what we had done with the Dutch Gap Canal."

A STORY ILLUSTRATING LINCOLN'S IMPATIENCE AT MCCLELLAN'S SLOW MOVEMENTS.

“On a certain occasion the President said to a friend that he was in great distress; he had been to General McClellan's house and the General did not ask to see him; and as he must talk to somebody he had sent for General Franklin and myself, to obtain our opinions. as to the possibility of soon commencing operations with the Army of the Potomac. To use his own expression, if something was not done soon the bottom would fall out of the whole affair; and if General McClellan did not want to use the army, he would like to borrow it, provided he could see how it could be made to do something."

LINCOLN'S SUMMING UP OF MCCLELLAN.

"If General McClellan does not want to use the army for some days, I should like to borrow it and see if it cannot be made to do something."

Mr. Lincoln said, McClellan's tardiness reminded him of a man who knew a few law phrases but whose lawyer lacked aggressiveness. The man finally lost

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