with a merry twinkle in
his eyes:

"Well, mother, who must I talk with to-night--shall it be Mrs. D.?"

"That deceitful woman! No, you shall not listen to her flattery."

"Well, then, what do you say to Miss C.? She is too young and handsome
to practise deceit."

"Young and handsome, you call her! You should not judge beauty for me.
No, she is in league with Mrs. D., and you shall not talk with her."

"Well, mother, I must talk with some one. Is there any one that you do
not object to?" trying to button his glove, with a mock expression of
gravity.

"I don't know as it is necessary that you should talk to anybody in
particular. You know well enough, Mr. Lincoln, that I do not approve of
your flirtations with silly women, just as if you were a beardless boy,
fresh from school."

"But, mother, I insist that I must talk with somebody. I can't stand
around like a simpleton, and say nothing. If you will not tell me who I
may talk with, please tell me who I may _not_ talk with."

"There is Mrs. D. and Miss C. in particular. I detest them both. Mrs. B.
also will come around you, but you need not listen to her flattery.
These are the ones in particular."

"Very well, mother; now that we have settled the question to your
satisfaction, we will go down-stairs;" and always with stately dignity,
he proffered his arm and led the way.

[Footnote B: The Sheffield Anti-Slavery Society of England
contributed through Mr. Frederick Douglass, to the Freedmen's
Relief Association, $24.00; Aberdeen Ladies' Society, $40.00;
Anti-Slavery Society of Edinburgh, Scotland, $48.00; Friends at
Bristol, England, $176.00; Birmingham Negro's Friend Society,
$50.00. Also received through Mr. Charles R. Douglass, from the
Birmingham Society, $33.00.]

CHAPTER VIII

CANDID OPINIONS

Often Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln discussed the relations of Cabinet officers,
and gentlemen prominent in politics, in my presence. I soon learned that
the wife of the President had no love for Mr. Salmon P. Chase, at that
time Secretary of the Treasury. She was well versed in human character,
was somewhat suspicious of those by whom she was surrounded, and often
her judgment was correct. Her intuition about the sincerity of
individuals was more accurate than that of her husband. She looked
beyond, and read the reflection of action in the future. Her hostility
to Mr. Chase was very bitter. She claimed that he was a selfish
politician instead of a