present day. It has been repeatedly revived by numerous pleasant memorials. When General Hancock was last at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, aiding, by his powerful personal influence, in the great work of obtaining reinforcements for the noble Army.of the Potomac, he was waited upon by Mr. Everman, in company with other gentlemen of the Philadelphia city government. The pages of the records of the past were often reviewed by the two friends on this occasion. It was here the General was informed that he was voted the freedom of Philadelphia, and that the sacred area of old Independence Hall—the room in which the Declaration of American Independence was signed — had been opened to his use, for the reception of himself and his visits from the people. The scenes of that occasion will long be remembered in Philadelphia. The honor is one seldom conferred on any American citizen. No one but a President or Ex-president of the United States, or a servant of the Republic similarly distinguished, has ever enjoyed it. Here, within these consecrated walls, the two friends-Winfield and little Johnny - enjoyed the renewal of the friendship of their boyhood days. As the crowd gathered around him, to do him honor for his brilliant services on the field of battle, to uphold the Union our patriot fathers had met here to establish, the General bent down close to his friend, and whispered in his ear: "You shall hear from me again." A gentleman approaching touched on the political questions of the day. "I know no politics," said General Hancock; “especially in such a presence as this,"-looking reverently on the portraits of the fathers of the Republic, hung around the old hall - firmly adding: "A good soldier knows no party but his country." In receiving the Philadelphia resolutions, forwarded by Mr. Everman, the same noble impulse guided the pen of the General. By his direction they were enclosed to Mrs. Hancock, at her residence at Longwood, St. Louis county, Missouri, who acknowledged them from the friend of her husband in a beautiful and appropriate letter. A copy was placed in the hands of the parents of the General, where they ornament the family mansion, overlooking a portion of the youthful playgrounds of Winfield and 'little Johnny,' at Norristown. CHAPTER IV. HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. "Statesman, yet friend of truth; of soul sincere, Pope. T the time of which we are now writing, there AT resided in a populous part of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, a gentleman well known for his extensive influence in political circles. His deep interest in the arrangement of public matters induced him to take long and frequent rides through different parts of the county, and places adjacent. He once represented that district in the Congress of the United States. His type of character led him to be strong in his likes and dislikes; to be decided in his friendship and equally decided in his enmity. For quite a number of years, in the prosecution of his profession, he had employed one of the best horses in that section of the country. With his trusty steed, when a pressing occasion demanded, he 4* (41) was accustomed to start off, at times in the middle of the night, reach the dwellings of the members of his party he desired to see, rouse them from their slumbers, communicate the intelligence or counsel he thought of importance, and then, after driving or riding miles in his solitary routes of duty, to return to his office as the first beams of day gilded the surrounding landscape. Many a public movement has been announced in the papers, many a political event has controlled the party destinies of that district, and, to some extent, of the state and country, which had its unknown origin in the midnight journeys of this Montgomery county traveller. Like other somewhat eccentric men, having no wife to love, he loved his horse. The noble animal was his companion in all these secret trips. It had become accustomed to his night approaches in the comfortable stables; it had sped for him, either bearing him on its back or drawing him in his vehicle, through highways and byways; it had patiently and quietly waited for him, through summer and winter, in sunshine and in storm, at the places selected by its master for his strategic interviews; and had thus, in many ways, enabled him to accomplish objects that were dear to his heart. But, strong and enduring as is the horse, it cannot |