reproof.

The long terrible months of the War of Secession wore slowly away, now
illuminated by the joy of a victory, now overshadowed by the gloom of
defeat, and meanwhile President Lincoln was criticised by friends and
foes, alike by those who did not understand, and by those who would not
appreciate the vastness of the ideal underlying the pain and tragedy of
the war. But the President struggled on, wearing out his heart and his
strength, but his courage and his faith never failed, and through all
the suspense and responsibility of those years, Abraham Lincoln stood
firm, Captain of the Ship of State, steering her safely into the
desired haven.

The war came to an end. The armies of the Union had crushed out the
great rebellion. Peace came to the troubled land, and Lincoln felt that
he had fulfilled his mission,--that he could now enjoy in unclouded
happiness that second term on which he was just entering.

At that time, when though men were jubilant over the end of the great
struggle, there was still in some hearts a revengeful spirit towards
the conquered, and when in one of his speeches Lincoln asked:

"What shall we do with the rebels?"

A man in the audience cried:

"Hang them!"

The President's elbow received a violent jerk and Lincoln looked
hastily down before replying. As usual Tad was close beside his father,
and had taken the only means of attracting his attention:

"No, father," he said, "don't hang them--hang on to them!"

"Tad's got it," said Mr. Lincoln, beaming with pleasure at the little
fellow's idea. "He's right, we'll hang on to them!"--and that remark of
Tad's with the response it brought out, has become one of the most
famous memories of Tad.

In another historic scene we find him figuring. It was the night of
President Lincoln's last long speech, that of April 11, 1865. News had
just come of the fall of Richmond and Petersburg, and the White House
was a blaze of lights from attic to cellar, in honour of the occasion,
while all over the country a wave of joy swept, for now it was felt
that the end of the long struggle was in sight. A great crowd of people
had gathered outside the White House and the sound of their cheers and
shouts was like the roar of the ocean, and the clamour of brass bands
and the explosion of fireworks, added to the general confusion and
noise.

Inside the White House, the President and some friends sat long at
dinner, after which the President would be expec