56 Ducere Est Servire: THE LEADERSHIP JOURNAL OF DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY after the Union defeat at Second Bull Run, Lincoln told his cabinet, he “was about ready to hang” himself. On more than one occasion, he told his closest friends that he had such a deep weariness that nothing could touch it. Both of these instances are examples of types of behaviors—making statements of despair and/or feeling a deep, untouchable weariness—frequently cited by psychologists as markers for clinical depression. Despite these and other instances, Lincoln managed to find retreats where he could remove himself from the intense pressure he dealt with on a daily basis. For example, Ron White writes that he often found solace “in his bottomless barrel of humor.”10 In humor and in storytelling, he managed to find temporary sanctuaries. He retired every evening to re-read the works of Shakespeare and the Bible, as well as contemporary humorists. Ironically, the theater provided another escape from countless woes. Of course, tragically we know that even the theater proved not to be a safe place. Why these places provided his only refuge from the immense stress of presidential leadership is demonstrated in another somewhat recent book, Lincoln’s Sanctuary (2003). In it the author, Matthew Pinsker, recounts a story of Abraham Lincoln residing at the Old Soldiers’ Home. The home provided a relatively cool and relaxing respite for the Lincolns throughout the summers during their sojourn in DC. During the summer of 1862, however, two visitors interrupted Lincoln’s rest and solitude on a late Saturday afternoon, and he uncharacteristically erupted. The two men, John R. French, a New Hampshire man working in the Treasury Department, and a Colonel Charles Scott arrived at the Old Soldiers’ Home to see Lincoln. They hoped to see Lincoln and appeal to his legendary reputation for kindness and his sympathetic heart. After listening to Scott’s sad story without interruptions, Lincoln angrily exploded, “Am I to have no rest? Is there no hour or spot when or where I may escape this constant call? Why do you follow me out here with such business?” Shocked and embarrassed, the men tried to press Lincoln but he dismissed them without responding. However, in typical Lincoln fashion, the next day he went to Scott’s hotel in D.C., apologized profusely, and ultimately intervened to help Scott. His unexpected outburst demonstrated how necessary having a sanctuary is for a leader. That summer had been unusually stressful for the
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