ere always taken in good faith, because he was the
President's son, and known to be such a favourite that he might be a
valuable ally. Some of the office-seekers came day after day without
ever obtaining an interview with Lincoln, and with these Tad grew quite
intimate; some of them he shrewdly advised to go home and chop wood for
a living, others he tried to dismiss by promising them that he would
speak to his father of their case, if they would not come back again
unless they were sent for, and with one and all he was a great
favourite, he was so bright and cunning, and too, all were eager to
have the good will of the little fellow, for motives not always the
highest. This, shrewd little Tad discovered, and he decided to put his
popularity to use, so one morning when the line of callers began to
form, they found Tad standing at the foot of the staircase, where he
made every one who passed up pay him five cents for the benefit of the
Sanitary Fund, as he explained while he was gathering in the nickels.

This enterprise was so satisfactory that he decided to give one of the
Sanitary Commission Fairs which were then being held all over the
country, and placing a table in the entrance hall of the White House he
stocked it with all the odds and ends which his amused friends could be
made to contribute, as well as with some food begged from the pantry,
and some of his own broken toys. One can well imagine the difficulty of
getting in or out of the White House that day with any change in one's
pocket, and when night came Tad's accounts made him chuckle with
delight, and decide on a still bolder enterprise. This required
capital, however, but that did not daunt him, for he had quite an
amount of pocket money saved up, and with it he bought out the entire
stock of an old woman who sold gingerbread and apples near the Treasury
Building, wheedled a pair of trestles and a board from a carpenter, and
set up shop in the very shadow of the stately portico of the White
House, to the horror of some who saw the performance, and to the
intense amusement of others who were always watching to see what Tad
would do next.

As long as his stock lasted, he did a heavy business, for it was an
excellent chance for those who wished to buy his favour, to do so, and
his pockets were well lined with bills when he shut up shop that night,
but being as generous as he was shrewd, capital and profit were soon
squandered, and it is said the little merc