frequent interruptions. He seemed to have the right of way
wherever his father happened to be. No matter if Senator Sumner or
Secretary Stanton was discussing some weighty matter of State or war, if
Tad came in, his father turned from the men of high estate to minister
to the wants of his little boy. He did it to get rid of him, for of
course he knew Tad would raise such a racket that no one could talk or
think till _his_ wants were disposed of.

AN EXECUTIVE ORDER ON THE COMMISSARY DEPARTMENT FOR TAD AND HIS BOY
FRIENDS

A story is told of the boy's interruption of a council of war. This
habit of Tad's enraged Secretary Stanton, whose horror of the boy was
similar to that of an elephant for a mouse. The President was giving his
opinion on a certain piece of strategy which he thought the general in
question might carry out--when a great noise was heard out in the hall,
followed by a number of sharp raps on the door of the cabinet room.

Strategy, war, everything was, for the moment forgotten by the
President, whose wan face assumed an expression of unusual pleasure,
while he gathered up his great, weary length from different parts of the
room as he had half lain, sprawling about, across and around his chair
and the great table.

"That's Tad," he exclaimed, "I wonder what that boy wants now." On his
way to open the door, Mr. Lincoln explained that those knocks had just
been adopted by the boy and himself, as part of the telegraph system,
and that he was obliged to let the lad in--"for it wouldn't do to go
back on the code now," he added, half in apology for permitting such a
sudden break in their deliberations.

When the door was opened, Tad, with flushed face and sparkling eyes,
sprang in and threw his arms around his father's neck. The President
straightened up and embraced the boy with an expression of happiness
never seen on his face except while playing with his little son.

Mr. Lincoln turned, with the boy still in his arms, to explain that he
and Tad had agreed upon this telegraphic code to prevent the lad from
bursting in upon them without warning. The members of the cabinet looked
puzzled or disgusted, as though they failed to see that several
startling raps could be any better than having Tad break in with a whoop
or a wail, as had been the boy's custom.

ISSUING THE EXECUTIVE ORDER ON PETER FOR PIE

The boy raised a question of right. He had besieged Peter, the colored
steward, demanding that a di