ce. He was a changed man. A pathetic picture of
his appearance at this time is given by his old friend, Noah Brooks,
whose description of him as he appeared in 1856, on the stump in Ogle
County, has already been given a place in these pages. "I did not see
Lincoln again," says Mr. Brooks, "until 1862, when I went to Washington
as a newspaper correspondent from California. When Lincoln was on the
stump in 1856, his face, though naturally sallow, had a rosy flush. His
eyes were full and bright, and he was in the fulness of health and
vigor. I shall never forget the shock which the sight of him gave me six
years later in 1862, I took it for granted that he had forgotten the
young man whom he had met five or six times during the Fremont and
Dayton Campaign. He was now President, and was, like Brutus, 'vexed with
many cares.' The change which a few years had made was simply appalling.
His whiskers had grown and had given additional cadaverousness to his
face as it appeared to me. The light seemed to have gone out of his
eyes, which were sunken far under his enormous brows. But there was over
his whole face an expression of sadness, and a far-away look in the
eyes, which were utterly unlike the Lincoln of other days. I was
intensely disappointed. I confess that I was so pained that I could
almost have shed tears."

CHAPTER XXIII

Lincoln's Home-life in the White House--Comfort in the
Companionship of his Youngest Son--"Little Tad" the Bright Spot in
the White House--The President and his Little Boy Reviewing the
Army of the Potomac--Various Phases of Lincoln's Character--His
Literary Tastes--Fondness for Poetry and Music--His Remarkable
Memory--Not a Latin Scholar--Never Read a Novel--Solace in
Theatrical Representation--Anecdotes of Booth and
McCullough--Methods of Literary Work--Lincoln as an Orator--Caution
in Impromptu Speeches--His Literary Style--Management of his
Private Correspondence--Knowledge of Woodcraft--Trees and Human
Character--Exchanging Views with Professor Agassiz--Magnanimity
toward Opponents--Righteous Indignation--Lincoln's Religious
Nature.

Of the two sons left to Lincoln after the death of Willie in 1862,
Robert, the older, was a student in Harvard College until appointed to
service on the staff of General Grant; and "Little Tad," or Thomas, the
youngest, was the only one remaining in the White House during the last
hard year