greatness. There was a tone of patronage in his voice and in the
cock of his aristocratic young head as he spoke. "We can pay you, you
know--we're not paupers." He fixed his eyes on Lincoln's face to watch
the impression as he added, "My brother is Carter Hampton Blair, of
Georgia. I'm Warrington Blair. The Hampton Court Blairs, you know."

"Oh!" said the President.

The lad went on:

"It would have been all right if Nellie hadn't left Washington
to-day--my sister, Miss Eleanor Hampton Blair. Carter was better this
morning, and so she went with the Senator. She's secretary to Senator
Warrington, you know. He's on the Yankee side"--the tone was full of
contempt--"but yet he's our cousin, and when he offered Nellie the
position she would take it in spite of Carter and me. We were so
poor"--the lad's pride was off its guard for the moment, melted in the
soothing trust with which this stranger thrilled his soul. It was a
relief to him to talk, and the large hand which rested on his shoulder
as they walked seemed an assurance that his words were accorded
respect and understanding. "Of course, if Nellie had been here she
would have known how to get a lawyer, but Carter had a bad turn half
an hour ago, and the doctor said he might get better or he might die
any minute, and Carter remembered about the money, and got so excited
that they said it was hurting him, so I said I'd get a lawyer, and I
rushed out, and the first thing I ran against you. I'm afraid I wasn't
very polite." The smile on the gaunt face above him was all the answer
he needed. "I'm sorry. I apologize. It certainly was good of you to
come right back with me." The child's manner was full of the assured
graciousness of a high-born gentleman; there was a lovable quality in