“‘Stanton is firing! listen! he is in his glory! noble man!’ he exclaimed.
“‘What is it, Mr. President?’ I asked.
“‘The firing!’
“‘What is it about, sir,’ I reiterated, ignorant of the cause.
“‘Why, don’t you know? Haven’t you heard the news? Charleston is ours!’ he answered, straightening up from the table on which he was writing for an instant, and then resuming it. He soon handed me a card, on which was written,—
‘February 8, 1865.
‘Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
‘Do not fail to have an interview with this most extraordinary and intelligent black man.
‘A. Lincoln.’