''Abe'' Lincoln's Yarns and Stories - University of Macau Library

Yarns and Stories, by Alexander K. McClure 228Rebellion had its origin in an effort to determine whether there should orshould not be slavery in the United States, and was fought with this as themain end in view. "Punch" of August 15th, 1863, contained the cartoonreproduced on this page, the title being "Brutus and Caesar."President Lincoln was pictured as Brutus, while the ghost of Caesar, whichappeared in the tent of the American Brutus during the dark hours of thenight, was represented in the shape of a husky and anything but ghost-likeAfrican, whose complexion would tend to make the blackest tar look likeskimmed milk in comparison. This was the text below the cartoon: (Fromthe American Edition of Shakespeare.) The Tent of Brutus (Lincoln).Night. Enter the Ghost of Caesar.BRUTUS: "Wall, now! Do tell! Who's you?"CAESAR: "I am dy ebil genus, Massa Linking. Dis child am awfulimpressional!""Punch's" cartoons were decidedly unfriendly in tone toward PresidentLincoln, some of them being not only objectionable in the display of badtaste, but offensive and vulgar. It is true that after the assassination of thePresident, "Punch," in illustrations, paid marked and deserved tribute to thememory of the Great Emancipator, but it had little that was good to say ofhim while he was among the living and engaged in carrying out the greatwork for which he was destined to win eternal fame.HOW STANTON GOT INTO THE CABINET.President Lincoln, well aware of Stanton's unfriendliness, was surprisedwhen Secretary of the Treasury Chase told him that Stanton had expressedthe opinion that the arrest of the Confederate Commissioners, Mason andSlidell, was legal and justified by international law. The President askedSecretary Chase to invite Stanton to the White House, and Stanton came.Mr. Lincoln thanked him for the opinion he had expressed, and asked himto put it in writing.