Commodore Wilks.
When the president heard of the capture of Slidell and Mason on board the Trent, he foresaw that it would be likely to breed a rupture with England, but dismissed the consideration of it by saying that “should the commander’s foolish conduct place him in difficulties, he would not fail to give Wilks a hoister (an oyster).” On another occasion in alluding to the same personage and affair, he remarked that “it would serve Wilks right if he lost his place” (plaice).
A proper Cognomen.
When Captain Frye, the son of Canon Frye, was, for his distinguished bravery at the Battle of Bull’s Run, jokingly alluded to by Sumner as a son of a gun. Old Abe remarked that “he could with far greater propriety call him a son of a Canon” (cannon).
A Princely Pun.
Upon hearing that our Prince, Alfred, had declined to become King of the Greeks, Abraham remarked that “the reason he did not mount the throne of Greece was because he preferred his own native isle” (oil).
A Severe Retort.
General Grant once applied for permission to be employed in a special service on the ground that he commanded none but tried men. “Yes,” replied the president, “I admit the truthfulness of your plea, for if they have not been tried in the field they have been tried elsewhere!”