How Mr. Lincoln Shakes Hands — 247
The correspondent of the New York World, in an account of Mr. Lincoln’s late visit to Philadelphia, writes:—“Mr. Lincoln passed some time in shaking hands. This salutation is with him a peculiarity. It is not the pump-handle ‘shake,’ nor a twist, nor a spasmodic motion from side to side, nor yet a reach towards the knee and a squeeze at arm’s length. When Mr. Lincoln performs this rite, it becomes a solemnity. A ghastly smile overspreads his peculiar countenance; then, after an instant’s pause, he suddenly thrusts his ‘flapper’ at you, as a sword is thrust in tierce; you feel your hand enveloped as in a fleshy vice, a cold clamminess overspreads your unfortunate digits, a corkscrew burrows its way from your finger nails to your shoulder, the smile disappears, and you know that you are unshackled. You carefully count your fingers to see that none of them are missing, or that they have not become assimilated in a common mass.”