the presence of the President.

After being ushered into the "Blue Parlor" we were kept waiting for some
time. Expectancy was on tip-toe, for few if any of the officers had seen
Mr. Lincoln. But no introduction was needed when the door opened and the
President stood before us. That was to me a memorable moment, for it was
the first and last time that I saw Abraham Lincoln. There was no
mistaking the tall, gaunt figure, the thin, care-worn face, the slovenly
gait, as he entered the room. In appearance he was almost as unique as
his place in history is unexampled. But spare, haggard and bent as he
looked, he was yet a strikingly handsome man, for there was on his brow
the stamp of greatness. We saw him as in a halo, and looked beyond the
plain lineaments and habiliments of the man to the ideal figure of the
statesman and president, struggling for the freedom of his country and
the unity of his race, whom we all saw in the "Railsplitter" from
Illinois; and he seemed, in his absent-minded way, to be looking beyond
those present to the infinite realm of responsibility and care in which
he dwelt.

It is the misfortune of Lincoln that his portraits have not been
idealized like those of Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and
Washington. It remains for some great artist, inspired by the nobility
of his subject, to make those homely features so transparent that his
reverent and grateful countrymen may look through them and see a
presentment of the great soul and beautiful character that irradiated
and glorified them in his life, and which will grow brighter and more
lovely as the fugitive ages glide away.

The officers were introduced, one by one, and Mr. Lincoln gave each hand
a shake as he uttered a perfunctory, but kindly, "How do you do?" and
then turned quickly toward the door, as though his mind was still on the
work which he had left in order to grant the interview, which must have
trenched sadly upon his time.

But he was not to escape so easily, for the Congressman, rising to the
occasion, said:

"Mr. President, these are the officers of a regiment of cavalry who have
just come from my state of Michigan. They are 'Wolverines' and are on
the track of 'Jeb' Stuart, whom they propose to pursue and capture if
there is any virtue in a name."

"Gentlemen," said the President, with a twinkle of the eye, and the
first and only indication of humor that he gave, "I can assure you that
it would give me much greater pleasure