Show TALES OF THE DAY Lincoln WaitIng In McClellnns AnteRoom General Sickles rarely sits down to a table ta-ble with old soldiers without contributing contribut-ing some valuable historical reminiscence At this same banquet he told this story i I was I should think very early in I the winter of 612 that having some business i busi-ness with General McClellan I walked upI up-I one forenoon to his headquarters Admiral I Ad-miral Semmes house opposite the Arlington Ar-lington The man on duty said the gen I l eral was engaged and asked me to wait I took a seat and shortly the secretary I t I of war came in and Inquired for the gent gen-t eral An officer came out of the next room said the general was busy just I then and asked the secretary of war to take a seat and wait 11 Cameron set I down and we fell into conversation In I a few minutes 11 Lincoln came in and inquired for General McClellan The officer of-ficer repeated what he had said to us that the general was very busy and Mr Lincoln would have to wait The president I presi-dent sat down with us and said l right j Ill wait The secretary of war remarked i that the president ought In some way to i i have access to one of the generals LAn I coin threw one leg over the other as if prepared for a long seige and said Oh no Its all right my time is of no special value and the general Is engaged in attending at-tending to our business I can wait as well as not And he fell Into his famous story telling showing not the slightest impatience at the necessity of cooling his heels In the anteroom of a man Who wa a civilian less than a year before and whom he himself had appointed to office The incident illustrated added General Sickles two things first that Mr Lin I coin was one of the most unpretentious of men and second that at that time everybody including McClellan himself I expected McClellan to put down the rebellion re-bellion Washington Post |