I believe it was on the private staircase, that, meeting him one evening, I ventured to introduce the subject. I assured him of the entire good faith and loyalty of both father and son. Of course he had never heard of the case before. Considering the subject a moment, he said, "Come up-stairs by-and-by, and I guess we can fix it up."
An hour later I entered his room, and gave him very briefly the particulars of the case; reading one or two letters from the young man to his father. "That will do," said the President, putting on his spectacles, and taking the letter out of my hand, he turned it over and wrote on the back of it, "Release this man upon his taking the oath. A. Lincoln." "There," said he, "you can take that over to the War Department yourself, if you choose. You will find it all right."
XV.
Wednesday night, February 10th, was an exciting one at the White House, the stables belonging to the mansion being burned to the ground. The loss most severely felt was of the two ponies, one of which had belonged to Willie Lincoln, the President's second son, who died in 1862; and the other to Tad, the youngest, and pet of his father, who in his infancy nicknamed him Tad-pole, subsequently abbreviated to Taddie, and then Tad. His real name is Thomas, named
