One of the incidents connected with Edward Bok that Theodore Roosevelt never forgot was when Bok's eldest boy chose the colonel as a Christmas present.And no incident better portrays the wonderful character of the colonel than did his remarkable response to the compliment.
A vicious attack of double pneumonia had left the heart of the boy very weak--and Christmas was close by! So the father said:
"It's a quiet Christmas for you this year, boy.Suppose you do this:
think of the one thing in the world that you would rather have than anything else and I'll give you that, and that will have to be your Christmas.""I know now," came the instant reply.
"But the world is a big place, and there are lots of things in it, you know.""I know that," said the boy, "but this is something I have wanted for a long time, and would rather have than anything else in the world." And he looked as if he meant it.
"Well, out with it, then, if you're so sure."And to the father's astonished ears came this request:
"Take me to Washington as soon as my heart is all right, introduce me to President Roosevelt, and let me shake hands with him.""All right," said the father, after recovering from his surprise."I'll see whether I can fix it." And that morning a letter went to the President saying that he had been chosen as a Christmas present.
Naturally, any man would have felt pleased, no matter how high his station, and for Theodore Roosevelt, father of boys, the message had a special appeal.
The letter had no sooner reached Washington than back came an answer, addressed not to the father but to the boy! It read:
"The White House, Washington.
"November 13th, 1907.
"Dear Curtis:
"Your father has just written me, and I want him to bring you on and shake hands with me as soon as you are well enough to travel.Then I am going to give you, myself, a copy of the book containing my hunting trips since I have been President; unless you will wait until the new edition, which contains two more chapters, is out.If so, I will send it to you, as this new edition probably won't be ready when you come on here.
"Give my warm regards to your father and mother.
"Sincerely yours, "Theodore Roosevelt."
Here was joy serene! But the boy's heart had acted queerly for a few days, and so the father wrote, thanked the President, and said that as soon as the heart moderated a bit the letter would be given the boy.It was a rare bit of consideration that now followed.No sooner had the father's letter reached the White House than an answer came back by first post--this time with a special-delivery stamp on it.It was Theodore Roosevelt, the father, who wrote this time; his mind and time filled with affairs of state, and yet full of tender thoughtfulness for a little boy:
"Dear Mr.Bok:--
"I have your letter of the 16th instant.I hope the little fellow will soon be all right.Instead of giving him my letter, give him a message from me based on the letter, if that will be better for him.Tell Mrs.
Bok how deeply Mrs.Roosevelt and I sympathize with her.We know just how she feels.
"Sincerely yours, "Theodore Roosevelt."
"That's pretty fine consideration," said the father.He got the letter during a business conference and he read it aloud to the group of business men.Some there were in that group who keenly differed with the President on national issues, but they were all fathers, and two of the sturdiest turned and walked to the window as they said: "Yes, that is fine!"Then came the boy's pleasure when he was handed the letter; the next few days were spent inditing an answer to "my friend, the President." At last the momentous epistle seemed satisfactory, and off to the busy presidential desk went the boyish note, full of thanks and assurances that he would come just as soon as he could, and that Mr.Roosevelt must not get impatient!
The "soon as he could" time, however, did not come as quickly as all had hoped!--a little heart pumped for days full of oxygen and accelerated by hypodermic injections is slow to mend.But the President's framed letter, hanging on the spot on the wall first seen in the morning, was a daily consolation.
Then, in March, although four months after the promise--and it would not have been strange, in his busy life, for the President to have forgotten or at least overlooked it--on the very day that the book was published came a special "large-paper" copy of The Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter, and on the fly-leaf there greeted the boy, in the President's own hand:
"To Master Curtis Bok, "With the best wishes of his friend, "Theodore Roosevelt.
"March 11, 1908."
