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Show j THE LATE GEN. SCHENCK. I Anecdotes Vfhlch Show Ills Real Character. Char-acter. Like all .men of strong convictions, aggressive ag-gressive peisonality and extreme capacity for making wixm friends or bitter foes, Gen. I Robert C. Schenck, who died recently at "Washington, was the object during his lifn time of much exaggerated praise and an j equal amount of undue criticism. Perhaps the greatest storm of abuse that ever poured upon his head fell just after President Lincoln Lin-coln had commissioned him brigadier general of voluntes at the outbreak of the late civil war. Schenck was a civilian, a lawyer, a successful suc-cessful politician, an ex -diplomat; but of military affairs he knew nothing, and those opposed to him said so in plain terms. Hi3 appointment was denounced In one leading newspaper as an outrage on the soldiers, and it was suggested that he be turned over to some orderly sergeant of the regular army and "made to drill like sixty for a month." It was only a little after his entering on active military service that Scheuck's critics found a new occasion for reiterating their original views. The general was engaged in securing possession of the Loudon and Hampshire Hamp-shire railroad. At Vienna the train conveying convey-ing his forces was fired upon, the engineer uncoupled un-coupled the locomotive and ran away, and Scheuck's handful of men had to face a band of very eager and active opponents. The truth of the matter, as afterward established, was that the combatants on both sides displayed dis-played creditable courage and came out of the contest with honor, but Schenck's enemies en-emies declared that he had been ignominious-ly ignominious-ly routed, and sarcastically dubbed him the "hero of Vienna." The probable reasons why President Lincoln Lin-coln gave Schenck his commission were two in number. For one he knew the man to be able, aggressive and brave. And again he considered himself under great personal obligation. obli-gation. It may not be generally known, but it is an actual fact that Mr. Lincoln gave Schenck the credit of first naming him for the presidency. Ia September, 1850, the former for-mer addressed a meeting at Dayton, O., on the politiol issues of that period. Allusion being made to the subject of the next presidency, presi-dency, Mr. Schenck suggested "that if an honest, sensible man was wanted, it would bo well to nominate the distinguished c-entlemAn from Illinois who had just addressed them." However, if the beginning of Schenck's military career was not glorious, either j through lack of experience or want of oppor- i tunity, he showed conspicuous gallantry and i ability later on. At the second battle of Bull j Run, while in the thickest of tho fight and urging his men forward, a ball struck his : right wrist and his sword dropped from his ' hand. Says one of the historians of the war: "Soldiers still enjoy telling of tho general's " rage and fearful imprecations at the losa of : his sword." He refused to leave the field I until he had recovered it. The wound per- j maneutly injured his right arm, and for the j reniuiuder of his life Gen. Schenck wrote ' with his left hand. '. When minister to England Gen. Schenck became the target of a good deal of adverse comment becauso he was reported to have ; published a book on poker playing for the use of tho English aristocracy. " Poker Bob," as he was afterwards called by his op-ponents, op-ponents, never took the trouble to deny the j charge, but his friends claimed that he sim- j ply wrote out the rules of the game in com- f pliance with the request of a lady. She had the manuscript put iu type and issued a few copies of tho pamphlet for private circular tion. ' Gen. Schenck spent the last years of his: ' life in absolute fetirement. He gathered! i about him a few old friends, but cared tc make no new ones. As one of his biographer says: "His enemies spoke of him as selflshq his friends called him whole souled, generous, big hearted, hosnitable." i Wanted to Patronize Him Himself. I Speaking at a supper given to him in LIt- i erpool recently, Toole, the celebrated com- I dian, said that once when playing in Edla- I ourgh the part of the Artful Dodger, ia I .vhich he wore a pair of trousers to which E there was quite history attached, he met a I 3cotch gentleman to whom, in course of CO a- C versatiou, he recounted the fact of having ft I pair of trousers wfcich had been worn for I nearly forty yearn. The Scotchman ejacn- f lated, "Guid ! Wha's your tailorf Morning Journal ,1 |