It was left for his successor, with the two armies disbanded, but still whetted for slaughter, to expel the French by the mere threat of their union to restore the republic. * * * * * PASSES NO GOOD FOR RICHMOND. A person solicited the President for a pass to Richmond. But the other replied caustically: "I should be happy to oblige you if my passes thither were respected; but I have issued two hundred and fifty thousand to go to Richmond, and not one man has got there yet!" * * * * * THE MAYOR IS THE BETTER HORSE. The Lowell _Citizen_ editor participated in a presidential reception in 1864, just before the fall of Richmond. The usher giving intimation that the President would see his audience at once, all were ushered into the inner room. "Abraham Lincoln's countenance bore that open, benignant outline expected; but what struck us especially was its cheerful, wide-awake expressiveness, never met with in the pictures of our beloved chief. The secret may have been that Secretary Stanton--middle-aged, well-built, stern-visaged man--had brought in his budget good news from Grant." After saluting his little circle of callers, they were seated and attended to in turn. First in order was a citizen of Washington, praying for pardon in the case of a deserter. "Well," said the President, after carefully reading the petition, "it is only natural for one to want pardon; but I must in that case have a responsible name that I _know_. I don't know you. Do you live in the city?" "Yes." "Do you know--h'm! the mayor?" "Yes." "Well, the _mayor_ is the better horse. Bring me his name and I will let the boy off." The soldier was pardoned. * * * * * THE REAL THING SUPERIOR TO THE SHAM BATTLE. On the 25th of March, 1864, in honor of the President's renewal of office, a grand review had been fixed at City Point, outside the capital. Whatever the opinion of the old military, the volunteers gave the civilian commander "the soldiers' vote." In imitation of the French soldiers dubbing Bonaparte "the Little Corporal," after his Italian victories, the Americans promoted Lincoln to be their "captain," as Walt Whitman worded it, after his repeated reinstatement. He was rapturously greeted by "his boys in blue." But the arrangements made at Washington in the undisturbed council were upset by General Lee. On that very morning he had attacked and taken Fort Stedman. To drive him out required a veritable action not terminating for several hours. Lincoln visited the scene of restoration after the carnage, and, on hearing regrets that the review--the chief _recreation_ of the Washingtonians--he checked the light-souled attendants with: "This victory is better than any review." * * * * * THE TOOL TURNED ON THE HANDLE.