he had sought in that way
Divine guidance and favor. The effect of this conversation upon the
mind of Mr. Bateman, a Christian gentleman whom Mr. Lincoln profoundly
respected, was to convince him that Mr. Lincoln had, in a quiet way,
found a path to the Christian standpoint--that he had found God,
and rested on the eternal truth of God. As the two men were about to
separate, Mr. Bateman remarked:

"I have not supposed that you were accustomed to think so much upon this
class of subjects; certainly your friends generally are ignorant of the
sentiments you have expressed to me."

He replied quickly: "I know they are, but I think more on these subjects
than upon all others, and I have done so for years; and I am willing you
should know it."

HARDTACK BETTER THAN GENERALS.

Secretary of War Stanton told the President the following story, which
greatly amused the latter, as he was especially fond of a joke at the
expense of some high military or civil dignitary.

Stanton had little or no sense of humor.

When Secretary Stanton was making a trip up the Broad River in North
Carolina, in a tugboat, a Federal picket yelled out, "What have you got
on board of that tug?"

The severe and dignified answer was, "The Secretary of War and
Major-General Foster."

Instantly the picket roared back, "We've got Major-Generals enough up
here. Why don't you bring us up some hardtack?"

GOT THE PREACHER.

A story told by a Cabinet member tended to show how accurately Lincoln
could calculate political results in advance--a faculty which remained
with him all his life.

"A friend, who was a Democrat, had come to him early in the canvass and
told him he wanted to see him elected, but did not like to vote against
his party; still he would vote for him, if the contest was to be so
close that every vote was needed.

"A short time before the election Lincoln said to him: 'I have got the
preacher, and I don't want your vote.'"

BIG JOKE ON HALLECK.

When General Halleck was Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces, with
headquarters at Washington, President Lincoln unconsciously played a big
practical joke upon that dignified officer. The President had spent
the night at the Soldiers' Home, and the next morning asked Captain
Derickson, commanding the company of Pennsylvania soldiers, which was
the Presidential guard at the White House and the Home--wherever the
President happened to be--to go to town with him.

Ca