Newspapers / Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, … / Feb. 18, 1910, edition 1 / Page 2
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f AGE TWO. THE GA8TOXL1 GAZETTE. , , - -rN FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1910. WOMEN WHO ! KNEWJJfiCOLN. By GERALD PRIME. fOoprrUrht. U10. by American Press Asso-elation.) kESPITE his rather floomy tem perament and always present realization of the fearful re sponsibility which the civil had fastened upon him. Mr. Lin coln never held himself aloof from the Tartona forms of popular amuse- ADXLISA FATTI, 11161 vent prevalent in the early sixties. Utbough they had found little oppor tunity In early life to cultivate a taste for the theater, both tbe president and bis wife were especially fond of the play and were familiar figures at the capital's rather primitive places of amusement. Although bis musical ap preciation did not extend beyond a Hearty enjoyment of the homely sing ing of the Hutchinson family, whose ballads had contributed so powerfully to the spread of anti-slavery sentiment throughout tbe Union, Mr. Lincoln ometlmes went to the opera. On one f these occasions he beard Adelina Pattl. then in the first flush of her fame as a prima donna. The opera uras "Marta." and the diva sang "The last Rose of Summer" in English. The president was delighted with tbe song, ought an introduction to tbe singer and invited ber to come to tbe White Douse. The following day when the wonder ful young song bird arrived at the ex ecutive mansion Mr. Lincoln was deep la the discussion of some perplexing rar problem with the members of hia cabinet. When he entered the parlor In which tbe singer was waiting rather Impatiently bis solemn countenance aras almost convulsed with anxiety am) apprehension. At sight of tbe diva hi drawn features lightened perceptibly. CHABLOTTB CRABTBEE, 1865. ana he greeted her warmly and told ber of the pleasure her singing had lven him. "I hope to hear you sing 'The Last iEose of Summer' again." ho said. "I'll sing it now," said Pattl Impul sively, drawing off her gloves and seat ing herself at the piano. She was In fine voice, and the in spiration of her distinguished and high ly appreciative audience of one made lier singing especially effective. De spite the fact that on that very even ing she was billed to sing a most ex acting role in opera, she poured forth a 'wealth of melody with unstinted generosity, "Home. Sweet Home." -Su- AJHTA S. OTrXTXSOH, 1861 fwanee River." "Old Kentucky Home." HSomln' Thro the Rye" and half a aloeen other folk songs following In ajolck succession. Throughout this Impromptu concert sVr. Lincoln sat motionless with his Song arms folded and bis eyes half When Pattl bad finished she p vf turned on tbe piano (tool with a nalvt "Mr. President, la that enough for to day r Tbe tired, homely face of the great president relaxed into a amile which tbe BaroneM Cederstroiu has not for rotten to this day. so kindly was It and to eiDreeslve of wouder and ad miration for tbe singer's art. "I look upon your visit to me as a special providence." he said. "I shall always remember It." Another woman whose talent afford ed Mr. Uncoln many moments of res pite from his arduous and soul rack ing labors was Charlotte Crabtree. who under the stage name of Little Lotta was tbe favorite American comedienne of that period. Although Miss Crabtree wua still in her teeus, sbe bud already achieved a national reputation as a brllllnut Impersonator of light comedy roles and had sung and danced herself Into the affections of the theater going public with a cleverness that speedily brought her fame and fortune. Not long before the dreadful tragedy In Ford's theater she played an engagement In Wash ington, and The president and his fam ily were among ber most appreciative admirers. A famous woman whose intellectual ity and remarkable oratorical power made her a person of remarkable In terest to the Lincoln family wns Anna E. Dickinson, who at that time was at the renlth of her fame as a lecturer against slavery and disunion and kin dred tonics. Miss IMcklnson was an tarly ndvocate of emancipation and was accustomed to make frequent visits to the White House to urge Mr. Lincoln to take the step. Ou these occasions Miss IMcklnson wns received with the most generous (Hospitality, and her ultra radical views were given respectful consideration. A fourth woman who has carried with her during her long and success ful professional career the happy mem- TKBBSA OARBKNO, 186L ory of once having been the means of contributing to the entertainment of Abraham Lincoln Is Teresa Carreno. now the most distinguished female piano artist of the day. In those days she was being exploited as a "musical prodigy," and even at that early age she was the mistress of a wonderful technique. The Liucolus went to hear the little Venezuelan maiden play and were delighted with ber. She was in vited to the White House and played for the president. All of these women of genius whose blessed privilege it was to dispel a little of the gloom which was even then enshrouding the personality of the greatest man of his age are still in the flesh. Adelina Pattl, now the Baroness Cederstrom, is growing old gracefully in her castle in Wales; Lotta, who is as thrifty as she Is men tally alert, lives in New York city in a beautiful home of her own; Mate. Carreno, whose art has developed Into splendid fulfillment of her youthful promise, is still America's premiere planlste, and Anna Dickinson, broken physically and mentally wrecked. Is living In retirement in New York city. Lincoln's Favorite Poem. According to those who knew him most intimately, Mr. Lincoln waa never again the same man after the death of Ann Rutledge, the "best beloved" of his early manhood. He had always been subject to attacks of mental de pression, but after her death they be came more frequent and alarming. It was about that time that he came across Home verses in the "Poets' Cor ner'' of a rural uewspaper which made a strong Impression ou him. This was the poem beginning "Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud V" None who ever heard him repeat these won derfully plaintive yet curiously empty lines In after life realized that they served to keep in his memory a grief which remained with perpetual In sistence in his heart, to which be could not with becoming delicacy allude di rectly, but there is little doubt that Lincoln never recovered wholly from the loss of his youthful fiancee. For many months after the passing of this beautiful young woman Lin coln was utterly disconsolate and made no secret of tbe fact It was then that these ultra somber lines seemed to furnish him with a vehicle by means of which he might give ex pression to .some of the sadness of soul which overshadowed him. in the i words of one who knew him at the time: "lie waa heard to murmur them ro mmseir as ne slipped Into the vll- , lage at nightfall after an evening visit to the cemetery, and he would sudden- ly break out with them In little social ' assemblies after iietiods of silent g.oom. They seemed to come unbld- I den to his lips." That poem is now Lincoln's very own. The nam of the obscure poet la lost to posterity, but his unpretentious wont is associated imperisbabl; with the memory of one of the world's greatest men and interwoven wiUj the history of his supreme sorrow. Hbrabam Hy F'RA.JWK H. SWEET Copyright. 1010. by American Prcia Association Only a baby, fair and small, Like many another baby son. Whose smiles and tears came swift at call. Who ate and slept and grew; that s all Our Abraham Lincoln. Only a boy like other boys, With tasks and studies, sports and fun. Fond of his books and games and toys, Living his childish griefs and joys Our backwoods boy, Lincoln. Only a rad, awkward and shy, Skilled in handling his ax and gun. Mastering knowledge that by and by Should aid him in duties great and high Our sturdy lad, Lincoln. WHEN LINCOLN DIED. By JAMES A. EDCERTON. Copyright, 1910. by American Press Asso ciation. When Lincoln died a universal srlef Went round the earth. Men loved him In that hour. The north her leader lost, the south her friend; The nation lost its savior, and the slave Lost his deliverer, the most of all. Oh, there was sorrow mid the humble poor When Llncolp died! When Lincoln died from earth. a great soul passed A great white soul, as tender as a child And yet as Iron willed as Hercules. In him were strength and gentleness so mixed That each upheld the other. lie pos sessed The patient flrmsess of a loving heart. In power he out-kinped emperors, and yet His mercy was as boundless as his power. And he was Jovial, laughter loving; still His heart was ever torn with suffering-. There was divine compassion In the man, A godlike love and pity for his race. The world saw the full measure of that love When Lincoln died. When Lincoln died a type was lost to men. The earth has had her conquerors and kings And many of the common great. Through all She only had one Lincoln. There Is none Like him In all the annals of the past. He was a growth of our new soil, a child Of our new time, a symbol of the race That freedom breeds; was of the lowest rank. And yet he scaled with ease the highest height. Mankind one of its few Immortals lost When Lincoln died. 'When Lincoln died it seemed a provl- "" whom. "wITen Th.7 MdW summoned home, He led a splendid fight for liberty, And Jav th nackle tM tn Una WM He laid his armnr hv an.l Mn.M hi Mt A glory sent from heaven covered him when Lincoln died. She Hurried Home. When South Carolina declared for secession Mrs. Llucoln waa visiting In the south, where she had gone to at tend the wedding of an Intimate friend i - " Lincoln Only a man of finest bent. Hero of battles fought and won, Woodchopper, lawyer, president. Who served his country and died content Our patriot true, Lincoln. Only! Ah, what was the secret, then, Of his being America's honored son? Why was he famed above all men. His name upon ever' tongue and pen The illustrious Lincoln? A mighty brain, a will to endure, Passions subdued, a slave to none, A heart that was brave and strong and sure, A soul that was noble, great and pure Our Abraham Lincoln. LINCOLN A BRIGHT BOY. When Lincoln was about nineteen he was employed by Mr. Gentry of Gen tryville. Ind.. to go with his son Allen down the river to New Orleans with a cargo of bacon and other produce. While they were loading at Rockport, on the Ohio, Lincoln saw a good deal of the pretty Miss Roby who after ward became the wife of Allen Gen try. At this time the young lady evi dently had a strong liking for the fu ture emancipator. This, however, did not prevent her from writing of him in her diary as follows: "Abe is a long, leggy, gawky boy, dried up and shriveled. One evening he and 1 were sitting on the boat, and I remarked that the sun was going down. He said to me: That's not so. It doesn't really go down. It only seems to. The earth turns from west to east, and the revolution of the earth carries us under, as It were. We do the sink ing, as you call it. The sun. as to us, is comparatively still; its sinking is only an appearance.' I replied. Abe. what a fool you are!' I found out after ward that I was the fool, not Lincoln." In after years Mrs. Gentry wrote to one of Llucoln's friends as follows: "I am now thoroughly satisfied that at that time Mr. Lincoln knew the gen- eral laws of astronomy and the move ments of the heavenly bodies. lie was better read then than the world knows or Is ever likely to know. lie was the learned boy among us unlearned folk." Lincoln's Modesty. When John Locke Scripps went to him In 1860 for materials for a cam paign life Lincoln replied: "Why, gcripps. it is a great piece of folly to attempt to make anything out of me or my early life. It can all be condensed in a single sentence, and that sentence yon will find In Gray's Elegy.-" "The short and simple annals of the poor.' "That's my life, and that's ail you or any one else can make of It." I HARRlCTBEECHEn STOWE Hew 6he Helped Llaooln With "Unsls Tern's Cabin." Id tost little heroic advance guard of men and women who battled val lantly for the spread of anti-slavery sentiment In this republic Harriet Beecber Stowe was most conspicu ous. Her propaganda was conduct ed within ber own domestic circle, and ber oteut weapon was ber pen, but it accomplished t marvels. tier "Uncle Tom's Cabin" waa a real In rtnclble armada. Once launched, there waa nothing that could alienee Its guns. On Its earliest appearance In serial form It began Its career as an educative force, and It grew dally as a maker of sentiment. Nor did It matter much that It was a work wbh?h. measured even by tbe standards of tbe time, was not esteem ed a notable example of literary handi craft That it was never accepted by those whose opinion should have been final as a true picture of conditions as tbey actually were did not In tbe least militate against Its potency as a re forming agent It kept tight on In Its victorious and convincing way regard- HABB1IT BXBCHKB BTOWK, 1861 less of the protests that there were no Legrees or Markses. that the slave market scene was the product of a dis eased imagination and that half the horrors revealed in Its pages were non existent. It was an avant-courier of Abraham Lincoln and bis mission, and the great emancipator always regarded It as such. . For Its author he had the most appreciative admiration, and sbe was always welcomed at tbe White House. Why Lincoln Told Stories. Lincoln undoubtedly appropriated all tbe stories he could acquaint himself with, regardless of their antiquity, and often, no doubt, be adapted their point to the conditions of the people be lived among. His own explanation of his extraordinary propensity to anec dote in speech or conversation is ex cellently given in tbe Century Maga zine by Colonel Silas W. Burt, who re lates a remarkable incident, hitherto unpublished, of civil war history. It is not necessary in this connection to do more than quote the words. "I believe 1 have the popular reputa tion of being a story teller, but I do not deserve the name in its general sense, for It is not the story Itself, but its purpose or effect that interests me. I often avoid a long and useless dis cussion by others or a laborious ex planation on my own part by a short story that illustrates my point of view. So, too, the sharpness of a refusal or the edge of a rebuke may be blunted by an appropriate story, so as to save wounded feeling and yet serve the pur pose. No; I am not simply a story teller, but story telling as an emollient eaves me much friction and distress." It may be added that this accords with the view which most students of Lincoln's character had reached. Lincoln's Cabinet. Lincoln bated to dictate. He shrank from assuming to control tbe members of his cabinet until forced by circum stances to take upon himself the re sponsibility. His natural preference was to work with rather than to lead men. He could not bear to bumble any fellow being, however low his rank. But be found as emergencies arose that some one must rule and that as president he alone was re sponsible to tbe people. His courage never permitted him to shirk a duty, and thus little by little his power was modestly put forth. When tbe members of Lincoln's cab inet first met probably no one among them suspected that tbeir counsels would be ruled by tbe man who sat at the head of the table. None of them knew him. and most of them felt they were tbe superiors of the un tried and untrained president. Tbey had all been chosen by him for polit ical or party reasons. Four had been bis competitors for the nomination at Chicago. Lincoln's Odd Appearance. Lincoln's favorite outer garb as he sallied forth in winter for bis office was an ancient gray shawl. He took particular pains never to bare his bat brushed or his shoes blacked. His carpetbag threatened at the seams to disgorge Its burden of legal docu ments. His green cotton umbrella bad no handle to speak of. and Inside was the legeud. "A. Lincoln." the letters cut out of white muslin and sewed to the faded cloth. Altogether be looked like tbe advance agent of a Den man Thompson snow. In 1856 pair of spectacles cost blm S7M cents. Tbe office was In character with tbe notorious Indifference to appearances of tbe senior partner of tbe firm. Once a young law student attempted to blaze trail through tbe accumulated rubbish and found tbat some seeds given by a congressman bad; taken root and sprouted In the dirt v 'Xjx' ; ft tuaJLTr t jr N 1 I .. .J PAVED THE WAY FOR LINCOLN. By WILLARD JAMES. Copyright una. by Americas rreaa Aaso , elation. J A" BOUT the time that .Abraham '' Lincoln began to lisp bis ear liest words In the humble home In Kentucky In 1811 there was born In the old Bay 8tate an Individual who was destined to be come a powerful molder of the nation- c : - 'V'.,:-S CHARLES SUMNER. 1860. al sentiment which bore tbe great war president Into the White House. He was Charles Sumner, whose mission It was to become the successor of Dan iel Webster In tbe United States sen ate and the uncompromising foe of slavery and disunion. He pitted him self against the advocates of tbe fugi tive slave law In the Berate and made a speech which upset all the specious theories of those who were its cham pions. In the famous debate on tbe Kansas-Nebraska bill lu 1854 be di rected all the keenest shafts of bis wit and logic against the measure, and be won. Two years later be made the famous speech on the contest In Kan sas, which so excited tbe Ire of tbe bellicose Preston Brooks that besought fistic satisfaction. His speech entitled "The Barbarism of Slavery" was read all over the country and produced a tremendous effect Gerrit Smith was a pioneer In the dissemination of anti-slavery doctrine. As early as 183ft he practically with drew from all other enterprises and devoted himself and bis substance to tbe spread of anti-slavery principles. 1 GKBBIT SMITH, 186L He inherited one of the largest landed estates in tbe country, and as an ear nest of bis devotion to the cause he proceeded to distribute 200,000 acres of It among the needy without distinction of color, which was a daring deed for that time. He was more censured than commended for his Indiscriminate gen erosity, but he met tbe criticisms of bis opponents with a dignity of speech and manner that won him hosts of friends. In those days the term "abo litionist" was used only as an expres sion of reproach, but Smith assumed it boldly and was prepared to defend it on all occasions. He was pre-eminently one of those who made it possi ble to elect Abraham Lincoln. Edward Everett was by temperament firmly conservative. He was first of all a scholar, and bis tastes and his principles made him tbe foe of all dis cord and violence. He bad a profound ZDWAJtD ItTEHtflT. 186a distaste for the storm which was brewing, and bis love of concord in- ; spired him to work for. conciliation rather than to take sides with those v who regarded tbe struggle ss Inevita ble. It was bis very hesitation In avowing himself an abolitionist that contributed to the gtuwth of Lincoln . and bis principles. . ' Jo I In mmmmmmmnmrmmm VyK.JT.it..ii'inrtVi''Hi ! i 1 t -
Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Feb. 18, 1910, edition 1
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