...Hay had retired; Mr. Nicolay sat by the table with his boots off, and the President was leaning over the footboard of the bed, laughing and talking with the hilarity of a schoolboy. It seemed that Hay , or John, as the President called him, had met with a singular adventure, which was the subject of the amusement. Glancing through the half-open door, Mr. Lincoln caught sight of me, and the story...