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.'"

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."

LINCOLN SAW STANTON ABOUT IT.

Mr. Lovejoy, heading a committee of Western men, discussed an important
scheme with the President, and the gentlemen were then directed to
explain it to Secretary of War Stanton.

Upon presenting themselves to the Secretary, and showing the President's
order, the Secretary said: "Did Lincoln give you an order of that kind?"

"He did, sir."

"Then he is a d--d fool," said the angry Secretary.

"Do you mean to say that the President is a d--d fool?" asked Lovejoy,
in amazement.

"Yes, sir, if he gave you such an order as that."

The bewildered Illinoisan betook himself at once to the President and
related the result of the conference.

"Did Stanton say I was a d--d fool?" asked Lincoln at the close of the
recital.

"He did, sir, and repeated it."

After a moment's pause, and looking up, the President said: "If Stanton
said I was a d--d fool, then I must be one, for he is nearly always
right, and generally says what he means. I will slip over and see him."

MRS. LINCOLN'S SURPRISE.

A good story is told of how Mrs. Lincoln made a little surprise for her
husband.

In the early days it was customary for lawyers to go from one county to
another on horseback, a journey which often required several weeks.
On returning from one of these trips, late one night, Mr. Lincoln
dismounted from his horse at the familiar corner and then turned to go
into the house, but stopped; a perfectly unknown structure was before
him. Surprised, and thinking there must be some mistake, he went across
the way and knocked at a neighbor's door. The family had retired, and so
called out:

"Who's there?"

"Abe Lincoln," was the reply. "I am looking for my house. I thought it
was