st
_played_; a tragedy is best _read_ at home." He was much pleased one
night with Mr. McCullough's delineation of the character of "Edgar,"
which the actor played in support of Edwin Forrest's "Lear." He wished
to convey his approval to the young actor, and asked Mr. Brooks, his
companion at the moment, with characteristic simplicity, "Do you suppose
he would come to the box if we sent word?" Mr. McCullough was summoned,
and, standing at the door of the box in his stage attire, received the
thanks of the President, accompanied with words of discriminating praise
for the excellence of his delineation.

With his keen sense of humor, Lincoln appreciated to the utmost the
inimitable presentation of "Falstaff" by a well-known actor of the time.
His desire to accord praise wherever it was merited led him to express
his admiration in a note to the actor. An interchange of slight
civilities followed, ending at last in a singular situation. Entering
the President's office late one evening, Mr. Brooks noticed the actor
sitting in the waiting-room. Lincoln inquired anxiously if there were
anyone outside. On being told, he said, half sadly, almost desperately,
"Oh, I can't see him; I can't see him! I was in hopes he had gone away."
Then he added, "Now, this illustrates the difficulty of having pleasant
friends in this place. You know I liked him as an actor, and that I
wrote to tell him so. He sent me a book, and there I thought the matter
would end. He is a master of his place in the profession, I suppose, and
well fixed in it. But just because we had a little friendly
correspondence, such as any two men might have, he wants something. What
do you suppose he wants?" I could not guess, and Lincoln added, "Well,
he wants to be consul at London. Oh, dear!"

Lincoln was not a ready writer, and when preparing documents or speeches
of special importance he altered and elaborated his sentences with
patient care. His public utterances were so widely reported and so
mercilessly discussed that he acquired caution in expressing himself
without due preparation. It is stated, on what seems sufficient
authority, that his Gettysburg speech, brief and simple as it is, was
rewritten many times before it finally met his approval. He began also
to be guarded in responding to demands for impromptu speeches, which
were constantly being called for. Mr. Brooks relates that "once, being
notified that he was to be serenaded, just after some notable mili