When the Republican party came into power, Washington swarmed with
office-seekers. They overran the White House and gave the President
great annoyance. The incongruity of a man in his position, and with
the very life of the country at stake, pausing to appoint postmasters,
struck Mr. Lincoln forcibly. “What is the matter, Mr. Lincoln,” said
a friend one day, when he saw him looking particularly grave and
dispirited. “Has anything gone wrong at the front?” “No,” said the
President, with a tired smile. “It isn’t the war; it’s the postoffice at
Brownsville, Missouri.”