His Interview with President Lincoln.
In an exquisitely pithy autograph letter, Mr. Lincoln replied, if he had known earlier that Cairo, Illinois, was in Dr. Johnson's Kentucky Senatorial District, he certainly should not have established either the guns or the troops there! Singularly enough—for a keen sense of humor was very rare among our "erring brethren"—Johnson appreciated the joke.
While Rousseau was urging the necessity of enlisting troops, he remarked:
"I have half pretended to submit to Kentucky neutrality, but, in discussing the matter before the people, while apparently standing upon the line, I have almost always poked."
This word was not in the Cabinet vocabulary. General Cameron looked inquiringly at Mr. Lincoln, who was supposed to be familiar with the dialect of his native State.
"General," asked the President, "you don't know what 'poke' means? Why, when you play marbles, you are required to shoot from a mark on the ground; and when you reach over with your hand, beyond the line, that is poking!"
Cameron favored enlistments in Kentucky, without delay. Mr. Lincoln replied:
"General, don't be too hasty; you know we have seen another man to-day, and we should act with caution." Rousseau explained:
"The masses in Kentucky are loyal. I can get as many soldiers as are wanted; but if the Rebels raise troops, while we do not, our young men will go into their army, taking the sympathies of kindred and friends, and may finally cause the State to secede. It is of vital importance that we give loyal direction to the sentiment of our people."
At the next interview, the President showed him this indorsement on the back of one of his papers: