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BERTRAND    SMITH'S 

"AeRES  OF  eooKr' 

t  3  3    MAIN    «  T. 
CiNCINNATi,  OMIC 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

State  of  Indiana  through  the  Indiana  State  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/abrahamlincol2370thom 


,^/  ocX^y^^^.^c^r'V^ 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 


The  First  American. 


BY 


D.  D.  THOMPSON. 


Our  children  shall  behold  his  fame, 

The  kindly,  earnest,  brave,  foreseeingf  man, 

Sagacious,  patient,  dreading  praise,  not  blame; 
New  birth  of  our  new  soil— ihe  first  American. 

— I«OWBU» 


POPULAR  EDITION. 


CINCINNATI:    JENNINGS  &  PYE. 
NEW  YORK:    EATON   &   MAINS. 


Copyright 

By  CRANSTON  &  CURTS 

1894. 


Popular  I^dition, 


PREFACE. 


THIS  volume  is  designed  to  entertain  and  in- 
form those  who  desire  to  read  about  Abraham 
Lincohi,  his  words  and  deeds.  It  has  been  pre- 
pared with  special  reference  to  young  people,  and 
for  use  in  schools  in  connection  with  the  celebra- 
tion of  Lincoln^s  birthday.  Those  who  wish  to 
know  more  about  him  than  is  here  related  are  re- 
ferred to  the  following  excellent  books,  to  which 
the  writer  acknowledges  his  indebtedness : 

NicoLAY  AND  Hay  :  Life  of  Lincoln.     The  Century. 

NicoLAY  &  Hay  :  Complete  Works  of  Lincoln.  The 
Century. 

Isaac  N.  Arxold:  Life  of  Lincoln.  A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co., 
Chicago. 

"VV.  0.  Stoddard:  Life  of  Lincoln.  Fords,  Howard  &. 
Hulbert,  New  York. 

J.  G.  Holland  •  Life  of  Lincoln. 

Herxdon  and  Weik:  Story  of  a  Great  Life.  Belford, 
Clarke  &  Co.,  Chicago. 

John  Robert  Irelan  :  Life  of  Lincoln. 

John  T.  Morse,  Jr.  :  Life  of  Lincoln.  Houghton,  Mif- 
flin &  Co.,  Boston. 

Henry  J.  Raymond:  Lincoln's  Life  and  Times.  Hurst 
&  Co.,  New  York. 

Allen  Thorndike  Rice  :  Reminiscences  of  Lincoln. 
North  American  Review y  New  York. 

3 


*  P  EFFACE. 

L.  E.  Chittenden:  Recollections  of  Lincoln.  Harper 
and  Brothers,  New  York. 

L.  E.  Chittenden  :  Personal  Reminiscences.  Richmond, 
Croscup  &  Co.,  Kew  York. 

Noah  Brooks:  Life  of  Lincoln.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons, 
New  York. 

Chas.  W.  French:  Life  of  Lincoln.  Funk  and  Wcg- 
nalls.  New  York. 

F.  B.  Carpenter:  Six  Months  in  the  "White  House. 
The  Independent y  New  York. 

M.  Louise  Putnam  :  Children's  Life  of  Lincoln.  A.  C. 
McClurg  &  Co.,  Chicago. 

C.  G.  Leland  :  Life  of  Lincoln.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons, 
New  York. 

J.  B.  McClure:  Anecdotes  of  Lincoln.  Rhodes  and 
McClure,  Chicago. 

G.  M.  Van  Buren  :  Lincoln's  Voice  and  Pen.  Robert 
Clarke  &  Co.,  Cincinnati. 

J.  H.  Barrett  :  Life  and  Administration  of  Lincoln. 

D.  D.  T. 
Cbicago. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Lincoln's  Childhood, 9 

Eemoval  to  Indiana, 13 

Lincoln's  Boyhood, 16 

A  Storekeeper  in  Illinois, ' 24 

The  Black  Hawk  War, 31 

In  Public  Life, 33 

Lincoln's  "Keynote"  Speech, 45 

The  Lincoln  and  Douglas  Debate, 49 

Lincoln's  Cooper  Institute  Speech, 56 

Secret  of  Lincoln's  Power  as  a  Speaker, 58 

Lincoln's  Nomination  for  the  Presidency, 63 

The  Moral  Aspects  of  the  Campaign  of  1860, 68 

"  One  War  at  a  Time," 73 

Considering  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,   ....  77 

The  Gettysburg  Speech, 81 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Tenderness, 83 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Religious  Belief, 97 

Lincoln  and  his  Family, 105 


6  CONTE^^TS. 

Page. 

Death  op  Lincoln, 109 

Lincoln's  Autobiography, 113 

LiNCOLNIANA, 121 

My  Captain, 215 

"Words  of  Lincoln, 216 

Lincoln's  Temperance  Address, 223 


Hbrabam  Xlncolm 


%OTn  xn  >KBnfutft2»  Jebntarg  12, 1809. 
lEDDBb  Iq  ^nbiana  in  1817. 
BntJEb  fo  :J[Umot2  m  1830. 
(ElEtfBb  fo  fIjB  ^Iltnnts  XBgisIafure  in  1834. 
prEstbEnttal  (BlBtfor  on  H)Ijtg  OLtckBf,  1840. 
BlarriEb  Hlarg  Cobb,  BocsmbBr  4, 1842. 
(ElBdBb  fo  QTongrEgs,  1846. 
%mtDln-3onglaB  ^EbalE,  1858. 
BomtnaiBb  fnr  prBStbBnf  af  CH^tcagD,  Mag  16, 1860. 
CBlEtfBb  prBStbBnf  BotiBmbBr  6,  1860. 
IlnaugurafEb  prEstbEnf,  lEarr^  4, 1861. 
:!r«guBb  firBf  rail  for  75,000  Br>InnfBBrs,  :HprtI  16,  1861. 
3InaugurafEb  ^xtmtitnl  fur  j§Btnnb  ®Brm,  Hlarr^  4, 1865. 
;§»&tif  bg  :JoIjn  H)ilkB2  Buoflj,  Jrtbag,  3,pn)ri4;,  1865. 
^TBb  mpnl  15,  1865. 
BurtBb  af  ;§prttt0t:Blb,  ^[11.,  Mag  3, 1865. 

7 


Abraham  Lincoln. 


LINCOLN'S  CHILDHOOD. 

"  \  LL  that  I  am,  or  hope  to  be,  I  owe  to  my 
^l\.  angel  mother — blessings  on  her  memory/' 
So  spoke  Abraham  Lincoln  of  his  mother,  after  he 
had  become  famous.  She  died  when  he  was  yet  a 
child.  From  his  father  he  inherited  his  name,  his 
humble  condition,  and  his  love  of  story-telling ;  but 
from  his  mother  the  nobility  of  character  which 
made  him  great,  and  won  the  admiration  of  the 
world. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  February  12,  1809, 
in  a  floorless  log-hut  that  was  little  better  than  a 
novel,  that  stood  near  the  banks  of  a  creek  in  what 
is  now  La  Rue  County,  Kentucky.  His  grand- 
father, also  named  Abraham  Lincoln,  was  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Kentucky,  and  had  been  killed 
by  the  Indians  in  1784,  while  plowing  in  his  field. 
The  Indian  who  fired  the  shot  seized  the  youngest 
boy,  Thomas,  six  years  old,  the  father  of  the  future 
President,  and   started   off,  when   suddenly  he   fell 

9 


10  ABRAHA3£  LINCOLN: 

dead,  sliot  by  an  older  brother,  Mordecai,  a  boy 
ten  years  old. 

Thomas  Lincoln  grew  to  manhood  in  the  wilds 
of  Kentucky,  and  when  twenty-eight  years  old  mar- 
ried Nancy  Hanks,  daughter  of  Joseph  Hanks, 
whose  ancestors  and  those  of  her  husband  had  been 
neighbors  in  the  Shenandoah  Yalley  half  a  century 
before. 

Nancy  Lincoln  is  described  as  *'tall,  dark- 
haired,  comely,  dignified,  and  winsome,  by  her 
grace  and  kindness.  She  seemed  at  times  as  if 
looking  far  away,  seeing  what  others  did  not  see. 
She  had  attended  school  in  Virginia,  and  stood 
upon  a  higher  intellectual  plane  than  those  around 
her.  The  Bible  was  read  morning  and  evening, 
and  her  conduct  was  in  accordance  with  its  precepts. 
She  was  on  the  frontier,  where  few  books  were  to 
be  had  to  satisfy  her  thirst  for  knowledge,  and 
where  there  was  little  intellectual  culture.^' 

To  Thomas  and  Nancy  Lincoln  were  born  three 
children — a  daughter  and  two  sons.  One  boy  died 
in  childliood.  The  sister,  named  Sarah,  lived  to 
womanhood.  Thomas  and  Nancy  Lincoln  were 
very  poor,  and  they  began  life  together  in  very 
humble  circumstances.  Their  first  home  was  a 
cabin  in  Elizabethtown.  In  1809,  Thomas  Lincoln 
secured  a  quarter-section  of  land  on  Nolin's  Creek, 
near  Hodgensville,  on  which  he  built  a  one-room 


LINCOLN'S  CHILDHOOD.  11 

<abin.  Their  needs  were  few,  and  with  a  Dutch 
oven,  frying-pan,  a  few  tin  dishes,  wooden  plates, 
and  a  bucket,  the  family  lived  in  comparative 
comfort. 

Nancy  Lincoln  was  wife,  mother,  and  teacher. 
From  his  wife,  Thomas  Lincoln  learned  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet,  as  did  also  her  children.  On  Sun- 
days Nancy  Lincoln  would  gather  her  children 
around  her,  and  read  to  them  the  wonderful  stories 
in  the  Bible,  and  pray  with  them.  After  he  had 
become  President,  Lincoln,  speaking  of  his  mother, 
said :  "  I  remember  her  prayers,  and  they  have  al- 
ways followed  me.  They  have  clung  to  me  all  my 
life." 

These  Bible  stories  not  only  interested  him,  but 
they  molded  his  character,  and  aroused  a  desire  to 
be  able  to  read  for  himself — a  desire  that,  in  later 
years,  developed  into  an  almost  insatiable  thirst  for 
knowledge. 

In  the  week  evenings,  Thomas  Lincoln  would 
entertain  his  family  with  stories,  many  of  which 
related  to  the  adventures  of  Daniel  Boone  and 
other  pioneers  of  Kentucky.  The  most  interesting 
were  those  of  the  boy^s  grandfather,  and  the  most 
thrilling  of  all,  the  account  of  the  grandfather's 
death,  and  the  escape  of  little  Thomas  himself. 

Traveling  preachers  occasionally  visited  the 
neighborhood,  and  a  log  meeting-house  had  been 


12  ABRAHAM  Lincoln: 

erected  at  Little  Mound,  about  ttwe  miles  from 
the  Lincoln  home.  Here  little  Abe  attended  serv- 
ices with  his  parents,  and,  when  only  five  years  old, 
was  so  impressed  with  what  he  heard,  that  on  his 
return  home  he  would  mount  a  stool,  and  preach  a 
sermon  of  his  own,  shouting  and  pounding  the 
table  with  his  little  fist  in  imitation  of  the  preacher. 
His  favorite  among  these  itinerants  was  Rev.  David 
Elkin. 

Little  Abe  started  to  attend  school  when  about 
five  years  old.  It  was  "  kept  ^^  by  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic priest,  named  Zachariah  Riney,  who  traveled 
through  the  settlements,  teaching  for  a  few  weeks 
at  a  time.  The  school  did  not  amount  to  much; 
but  such  as  it  was,  the  boys  and  girls,  and  even 
young  men  and  young  women  of  the  country,  for 
many  miles  around,  attended  it.  The  only  text- 
book was  a  ^^  Speller,"  with  easy  reading-lessons. 
Thanks  to  the  careful  instruction  of  his  intelli- 
gent mother,  little  five-year-old  Abe  was  soon 
head  of  the  class,  to  the  great  chagrin  of  the  older 
scholars. 

In  1814,  Thomas  Lincoln,  who  had  been  unable 
to  pay  for  his  land  on  Nolin's  Creek,  bargained  for 
a  two-hundred-acre  tract  of  land  on  Knob  Creek, 
a  few  miles  away.  Here  his  son  attended  a  school 
taught  by  George  Hazel,  whose  only  text-book  was 
also  a  ''  Speller.'' 


REMOVAL  TO  INDIANA- 

SLAVERY  and  imperfect  land-titles  together 
bad  made  the  lot  of  the  poor  white  man  in 
Kentucky  exceedingly  unpleasant.  When  Thomas 
Lincoln  and  his  wife  learned  that  fertile  govern- 
ment land  could  be  bought  in  Indiana  for  §2  an 
acre,  they  caught  the  '^  emigrant  fever/'  and  in 
1817  decided  to  move  to  the  free  State  where 
rich  and  poor  were  alike  respected,  and  where  the 
poorest  could  secure  a  home. 

Thomas  Lincoln  had  cleared  a  portion  of  the 
Knob  Creek  farm,  built  a  cabin,  dug  a  well,  and 
made  other  improvements,  and  in  consideration  of 
these  he  found  a  purchaser  who  would  pay  him  his 
price  for  the  place — three  hundred  dollars.  The 
man  had  but  little  money,  but  Lincoln  accepted  the 
terms  offered — twenty  dollars  in  money  and  ten 
barrels  of  whisky  worth  $28  a  barrel.  Whisky  in 
those  days  was  salable  everywhere,  and  was  consid- 
ered as  safe  as  money.  But  it  was  inconvenient  to 
carry.  This  compelled  Lincoln  to  construct  a  raft 
on  which  he  placed  his  few  carpenter  tools  and  the 

whisky. 

13 


14  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  raft  was  built  at  the  junction  of  Knob 
Creek  and  the  Rolling  Fork  River.  Leaving  his 
family,  Lincoln  floated  down  the  Rolling  Fork  to 
Salt  River;  thence  into  the  Ohio.  The  latter  was 
at  flood  height,  and  the  current  very  swift.  The 
raft  was  capsized,  and  the  whisky  and  the  other 
freight  went  to  the  bottom.  Lincoln  swam  ashore. 
He  w^as  penniless.  What  should  he  do?  He  de- 
cided to  wait  until  the  waters  should  recede.  This 
they  did  in  a  few  days,  w^hen  he  recovered  his  prop- 
erty, secured  another  boat,  and  drifted  down  the 
Ohio  to  Thompson's  Landing.  He  then  traveled 
inland,  until  he  reached  Pigeon  Creek,  w4iere  he  se- 
lected a  quarter-section  of  land,  went  to  Vincennes 
to  enter  it,  and  then  returned  to  Kentucky. 

The  family  moved  to  Indiana  in  November. 
There  was  no  house  for  them  to  occupy,  not  even 
a  cabin.  Their  only  shelter  was  a  shed  or  three- 
faced  '^  camp,'^  one  side  of  which  was  open  to  the 
weather.  This  shelter  was  the  home  of  the  family 
during  the  winter,  while  the  father  was  hewing 
timber  and  preparing  it  for  the  more  pretentious 
house  he  was  to  build. 

The  family  moved  into  the  new  home  before  the 
floor  had  been  laid  or  the  door  hung.  Soon  after- 
ward, an  epidemic,  known  as  ^^milk-sickness,'' 
broke  out.  It  was  attributed  to  the  poisoning  of 
the  milk  by  herbs  which  the  cows  ate,  and  attacked 


JtEMOVAL  TO  INDIANA.  15 

human  beings  and  cattle  alike.  Physicians  had  no 
remedy,  and  many  people  died.  Nancy  Lincoln  was 
stricken,  and,  after  a  brief  illness,  died,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-five  years. 

Not  long  before  her  death,  Mrs.  Lincoln  called 
little  Abe  to  her  bedside,  and  said  to  him  :  "  I  am 
going  away  from  you,  Abraham,  and  shall  not  re- 
turn. I  know  that  you  will  be  a  good  boy;  that 
you  will  be  kind  to  Sarah  and  to  your  father.  I 
want  you  to  live  as  I  have  taught  you,  and  to  love 
your  Heavenly  Father.^^  The  husband  made  a 
coffin,  and  kind  neighbors  buried  her  on  the  sum- 
mit of  a  hill  within  sight  of  her  home. 

That  there  was  no  religious  service  held  weighed 
on  little  Abe's  heart.  Some  time  after  he  wrote 
to  Rev.  David  Elkin,  the  itinerant  he  had  heard 
preach  at  Little  Mound,  Ky.,  and  asked  him  to 
preach  the  funeral  sermon  at  his  mother's  grave. 
The  preacher  replied  that  he  would  come.  An 
appointment  was  made,  and  the  settlers  from  many 
miles  around  gathered  to  hear  the  sermon  at 
Nancy  Lincoln's  grave.  The  grave  is  now  marked 
by  a  marble  slab  and  iron  fence,  erected  by  P.  E. 
Studebaker,  of  South  Bend,  Indiana.  On  the  stone 
is  the  inscription  :  "  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln,  mother 
of  President  Lincoln;  died  October  5,  A.  D.,  1818, 
aged  thirty-five  years.  Erected  by  a  friend  of  her 
martyred  son,  1879.'' 


LINCOLN'S  BOYHOOD. 

THE  death  of  bis  mother  was  the  first  great  sor- 
row of  Abraham  Lincoln's  life.  It  left  its 
impression  upon  bis  character  forever.  It  was  soon 
after  that  he  began  to  exhibit  that  sadness  and 
sympathy  which  characterized  him  throughout  his 
life.  His  tenderness  was  also  manifest  at  this  early 
age,  and  he  seldom  indulged  even  in  the  most  pop- 
ular sport  of  the  day — hunting — because  it  appeared 
to  him  to  be  cruel.  Once  he  shot  a  wild  turkey, 
bat  he  fired  through  a  crevice  of  the  cabin  so  that 
he  might  not  see  the  bird  die. 

Not  long  after  Mrs.  Lincoln's  death,  Thonias 
Lincoln,  while  visiting  a  friend  about  twenty  miles 
distant,  observed  an  old,  soiled  copy  of  Bunyan's 
^'  Pilgrim's  Progress.''  "  What  a  treasure  that  would 
be  to  Abe !"  he  thought.  He  asked  his  friend  to 
loan  him  the  book,  and  he  did  so.  When  he  placed 
the  book  in  Abe's  hands  the  boy  was  so  delighted, 
his  eyes  sparkled,  and  that  day  he  could  not  eat, 
and  that  night  he  could  not  sleep. 

It  did  not  take  Abe  a  great  while  to  read  the 
book  through.  So  soon  as  he  had  finished  it  he 
16 


LINCOLN'S  BOYHOOD.  17 

began  a  second  time.  When  he  was  about  half 
through  a  lady  friend,  who  heard  of  his  love  for 
reading,  presented  him  a  copy  of  ^sop's  Fables. 
Of  this,  his  first  book  that  he  might  call  his  own,  he 
was  no  doubt  more  proud  than  of  his  election  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States  in  later  years.  He 
read  and  re-read  the  fables  until  he  knew  them  all 
by  heart.  He  not  only  learned  the  story  of  each 
fable,  but  he  caught  the  lesson  it  was  designed  to 
teach. 

It  was  from  this  book  he  learned  the  value  of  a 
story  as  a  teacher,  of  which  he  made  such  remarka- 
ble use  when,  to  make  men  understand  him,  he 
would  say,  ^'  That  reminds  me  of  a  story,^^  and 
then  relate  some  incident  that  would  convey  his 
meaning  as  a  statement  of  mere  words  could  not. 

A  little  more  than  a  year  after  the  death  of  his 
wife,  Thomas  Lincoln  suddenly  left  home.  A  few 
weeks  later  he  presented  himself  at  the  house  of 
Sarah  Bush  Johnson,  in  Elizabethtown,  Kentucky. 
Mrs.  Johnson  and  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  playmates 
in  childhood,  but  now  she  was  a  widow  with  three 
children.  Mr.  Lincoln  asked  her  to  marry  him. 
She  did  not  refuse,  but  said  she  owed  some  debts, 
and  could  not  go  away  until  they  were  paid.  Mr. 
Lincoln  inquired  and  found  that  the  debts  amounted 
to  ^12,  Avhich  was  a  large  sum  to  Mrs.  Johnson. 
These  he  paid,  and  the  next  day  they  were  married. 


18  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Mrs.  Sarali  Lincoln^s  possessions  consisted  of  a 
bureau,  a  couple  of  feather-beds,  a  few  chairs,  and 
a  heart  so  large  that  it  at  once  received  as  her 
own  the  motherless  children  of  Nancy  Hanks.  Her 
arrival  with  her  two  girls  and  boy  brought  cheer 
to  the  desolate  home. 

The  new  mother  was  a  superior  woman,  and 
Lincoln  loved  her  dearly.  After  he  had  become 
prominent  as  a  law^yer,  a  friend  who  called  at  his 
office  found  him  sitting  before  a  table,  on  which 
was  a  small  pile  of  money,  which  he  was  counting 
over  and  over. 

"  Look  here,  Judge,^^  said  Lincoln  .  ^^  See  what 

a   heap   of  money    I  've   got   from   the  case. 

Did  you  ever  see  anything  like  it  ?  Why,  I  never 
had  so  much  money  in  my  life  before,  put  it  all  to- 
gether V^  Then  crossing  his  arms  upon  the  table, 
his  manner  sobering  down,  he  added :  "  I  Ve  got 
just  five  hundred  dollars;  if  it  were  only  seven 
hundred  and  fifty,  I  would  go  directly  and  purchase 
a  quarter-section  of  land,  and  settle  it  upon  my  old 
stepmother.^^ 

His  friend  said  that  if  the  deficiency  was  all  he 
needed,  he  would  loan  him  the  amount,  taking  his 
note,  to  which  Mr,  Lincoln  instantly  acceded. 

His  friend  then  said  :  ^^  Lincoln,  I  would  not  do 
Just  what  you  have  indicated.  Your  stepmother  is 
getting  old,  and  will  not  probably  live  many  years. 


LINCOLN'S  BOYHOOD.  19 

I  would  settle  the  property  upon  her  for  her  use 
duriug  her  lifetime,  to  revert  to  you  upon  her  death." 

With  much  feeling,  Mr.  Lincoln  replied  :  "  I 
shall  do  no  such  thing.  It  is  a  poor  return,  at  the 
best,  for  all  the  good  woman's  devotion  and  fidelity 
to  me,  and  there  is  not  going  to  be  any  half-way 
business  about  it ;''  and  so  saying,  he  gathered  up 
his  money,  and  proceeded  forthwith  to  carry  his 
long-cherished  purpose  into  execution. 

In  1822  a  log  school-house  was  built  on  Pigeon 
Creek.  The  teacher  was  a  young  man  named  Azel 
Dorsey.  He  taught  reading,  writing,  spelling,  and 
arithmetic.  There  is  a  tradition  that  Abe^s  mother 
taught  him  to  write,  but  he  had  not  become  pro- 
ficient. His  stepmother,  who  had  noticed  his  love 
of  reading,  gladly  sent  him  to  Dorsey's  school,  and 
assisted  him  as  best  she  could  at  home.  It  soon 
became  known  that  he  was  the  best  '^  speller  '^  in 
the  school,  and  his  fame  went  abroad.  He  also  be- 
came greatly  interested  in  arithmetic,  and,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  a  slate,  worked  his  problems  on  the  back 
of  a  wooden  shovel.  His  pencils  were  a  piece  of 
chalk  or  the  burnt  end  of  a  stick.  For  writing: 
books  he  used  the  top  of  his  mother's  table,  the 
stools  in  their  cabin,  the  trunks  of  trees,  and  some- 
times the  ground.  Once  he  wrote  "Abraham  Lin- 
coln "  on  the  ground  in  his  father's  cornfield,  as 
children  write  their  names  in  the  sand  on  the  sea- 


20  ABB  Air  A  JI  LINCOLN. 

shore.  He  loved  his  books,  but  even  they  were  not 
too  precious  to  be  defaced.  In  his  arithmetic  were 
found  these  lines  : 

'*  Abraham  Lincoln, 
His  hand  and  pen  ; 
He  will  be  good — 
But  God  knows  when." 

Dorsey's  school  continued  only  a  few  weeks,  and 
there  was  no  other  for  two  years.  In  the  meantime 
Abe  was  reading  everything  that  he  could  find. 
The  books  he  read  were  ^'  Pilgrim^s  Progress/^ 
Weems's  '^  Life  of  Washington/'  and  ^'Robinson 
Crusoe. '^  The  "  Life  of  Washington  ''  he  borrowed 
from  Josiah  Crawford.  One  day,  during  a  rain- 
storm, some  of  the  leaves  got  wet.  It  is  not  prob- 
able that  Crawford  really  attached  much  value  to 
the  book,  but  he  charged  Abe  seventy-five  cents 
for  the  damage  done.  The  boy  had  no  money,  and 
paid  the  bill  by  pulling  corn  in  Crawford's  field  for 
three  days.  This,  the  first  book  he  bought,  was 
most  highly  prized. 

Perhaps  the  most  helpful  school-teacher  he  had 
was  Andrew  Crawford,  who  followed  Dorsey.  Craw- 
ford trained  the  scholars,  not  only  in  reading,  writ- 
ing, and  arithmetic,  but  in  "  manners"  and  elocution. 
He  greatly  enjoyed  '^speaking  pieces,''  and  after 
school  would  often  mount  a  stump,  and  repeat  some 
piece  from  the  "  American  Preceptor,"  or  make  an 


LINCOLN'S  BOYHOOD.  21 

impromptu  speech.  His  audience  usually  consisted 
of  his  own  sister  Sarah,  his  stepsisters  Sarah  and 
Matilda  Johnson,  his  stepbrother  John  Johnson, 
and  his  cousin  Dennis  Hanks,  who  lived  with  the 
Lincoln  family.  A  more  appreciative  audience  no 
speaker  ever  had. 

The  aggregate  of  Lincoln's  schooling  did  not 
amount  to  one  year.  His  eagerness  to  learn  led 
him  not  only  to  read  books,  but  to  attend  meetings 
of  all  kinds  where  he  might  hear  men  speak. 
Among  the  books  that  had  fallen  into  his  hands  was 
a  copy  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  Indiana.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  his  study  of  law. 

Once  he  walked  fifteen  miles  to  Booneville,  to 
listen  to  the  plea  of  the  famous  Kentuckiau,  John 
Breckinridge,  who  defended  a  man  accused  of  mur- 
der. He  was  delighted  with  the  speech,  which  was  the 
greatest  he  had  ever  heard.  In  his  enthusiasm,  so 
soon  as  the  plea  was  concluded,  he  pushed  his  way 
to  the  front,  to  congratulate  the  orator.  Mr.  Breck- 
inridge paid  no  attention  whatever  to  the  out- 
stretched hand  of  the  coatless  young  man,  who  was 
expressing  his  thanks  and  commending  the  ability 
and  eloquence  of  the  stranger,  who  had  not  only 
pleased  but  instructed  him.  The  presumption  of 
the  boy  was  treated  with  silence,  save  a  contemp- 
tuous glance  at  one  of  those  who,  to  him,  were 
*^  poor  white  trash.'' 


22  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

He  and  Breckinridge  met  again  in  1862,  at  the 
White  House,  in  Washington.  The  coatless  boy 
had  become  President  of  the  United  States.  He 
reminded  Mr.  Breckinridge  of  their  first  meeting, 
and  again  complimented  him  on  his  great  effort. 
This  time  the  lawyer  was  pleased. 

Lincoln  related  to  Secretary  Seward  and  a  few 
friends  in  the  White  House,  one  evening,  the  fol- 
lowing incident  in  his  life  : 

^^  Seward,^'  the  President  said,  ^^  you  never  heard, 
did  you,  how  I  earned  my  first  dollar?^' 

"  Xo,"  rejoined  Mr.  Seward. 

^'  Weiy  continued  Lincoln,  "  I  belonged,  you 
know,  to  what  they  call  down  South,  the  '  scrubs.' 
AYe  had  succeeded  in  raising,  chiefly  by  my  labor, 
sufficient  produce,  as  I  thought,  to  justify  me  in 
taking  it  down  the  river  to  sell. 

^'  After  much  persuasion,  I  got  the  consent  of 
mother  to  construct  a  little  flatboat,  large  enough 
to  take  a  barrel  or  two  of  things  that  we  had  gath- 
ered, with  myself  and  little  bundle,  down  to  the 
Southern  market.  A  steamer  was  coming  down 
the  river.  We  have,  you  know,  no  wharves  on  the 
Western  streams;  and  the  custom  was,  if  passen- 
gers were  at  any  of  the  landings,  for  them  to  go 
out  to  the  passing  steamer  in  a  boat. 

"I  was  contemplating  my  new  flatboat,  and 
wondering    whether   I   could  make   it  stronger,  or 


'  LINCOLN'S  BOYHOOD.  23 

improve  it  in  any  particular,  when  two  men  came 
down  to  the  shore  in  carriages  with  trunks,  and, 
looking  at  the  different  boats,  singled  out  mine. 
"  ^  Who  owns  this  V  one  asked  : 
"  I  answered,  somewhat  modestly,  ^  I  do.' 
" '  Will  you,'  said  one  of  them,  '  take  us  and  our 
trunks  out  to  the  steamer?'    . 

^^  *  Certainly,'  said  I.  I  was  very  glad  to  have 
the  chance  of  earning  something.  I  supposed  that 
each  of  them  would  give  me  two  or  three  bits.  The 
trunks  were  put  on  my  flatboat,  the  passengers 
seated  themselves  on  the  trunks,  and  I  sculled 
them  out  to  the  steamboat. 

^'  They  got  on  board,  and  I  lifted  up  their 
heavy  trunks,  and  put  them  on  deck.  The  steamer 
was  about  to  put  on  steam  again,  when  I  called  out 
that  they  had  forgotten  to  pay  me.  Each  of  them 
took  from  his  pocket  a  silver  half-dollar,  and  threw 
it  on  the  floor  of  my  boat.  I  could  scarcely  be- 
lieve my  eyes  as  I  picked  up  the  money.  Gentle- 
men, you  may  think  it  was  a  very  little  thing,  and 
in  these  days  it  seems  to  me  a  trifle ;  but  it  was  a 
most  important  incident  in  my  life.  I  could  scarcely 
credit  that  I,  a  poor  boy,  had  earned  a  dollar  in  less 
than  a  day — that  by  honest  work  I  had  earned  a 
dollar.  The  w^orld  seemed  wider  and  fairer  before 
me.  I  was  a  more  hopeful  and  confident  being 
from  that  time." 


A  STOREKEEPER  IN  ILLIlSrOIS. 

AFTER  a  few  years  Thomas  Lincoln  grew  tired 
of  Indiana,  and  Illinois  having  been  portrayed 
to  him  as  a  veritable  paradise,  he  pulled  up  stakes 
and  migrated  thither  in  February,  1830,  settling 
near  Decatur.  Young  Abraham  accompanied  his 
father.  On  the  way  they  crossed  a  shallow  stream 
that  was  covered  with  thin  ice.  After  the  family 
had  reached  the  shore,  Abraham  heard  the  cries 
of  their  little  dog,  which  was  standing  on  the  op- 
opposite  bank,  and  was  afraid  to  step  into  the  icy 
water.  ^' I  can  not  bear  to  see  even  a  puppy  in 
distress,^'  he  said,  so  he  rolled  up  his  trousers,  and 
barefoot  waded  the  stream,  took  the  dog  in  his 
arms,  and  carried  it  safely  across. 

Abraham  assisted  his  father  in  building  his  cabin, 
cleariug  ground,  and  planting  a  crop.  It  was  dur- 
ing this  time  that  Lincoln  and  John  Hanks  split 
the  rails  which  were  introduced  with  such  tremen- 
dous effect  at  the  Republican  State  Convention,  held 
in  Decatur,  111.,  in  1860,  which  nominated  delegates 
to  the  ensuing  National  Convention.     Lincoln  had 

scarcely  taken    his  seat   in   the  Convention,  when 
24 


A  STOREKEEPER  IN  ILLINOIS.  25 

General  Oglesby  announced  that  an  old  Democrat 
of  Macon  County  desired  to  make  a  contribution  to 
the  Convention.  At  once  several  farmers  entered 
the  hall  carrying  on  their  shoulders  two  old  fence- 
rails,  bearing  the  inscription  :  ^'  Abraham  Lincoln, 
the  rail  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  1860.  Two 
rails  from  a  lot  of  three  thousand,  made  in  1830  by 
Thomas  Hanks  and  Abe  Lincoln,  whose  father  was 
the  first  pioneer  of  Macon  County."  The  effect 
was  thrilling.  The  cheering  continued  for  fifteen 
minutes,  and  the  demonstration  showed  the  Con- 
vention and  the  country  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  the  only  choice  of  the  Republicans  of  Illinois 
for  the  Presidency. 

When  Lincoln  became  of  age,  he  thought  it 
time  to  do  something  for  himself.  Among  his  first 
contracts  was  one  to  split  rails  for  a  woman  who, 
in  payment,  was  to  furnish  cloth  and  make  him  a 
pair  of  trousers.  The  terms  w^ere  three  hundred 
rails  for  every  yard  of  cloth  used,  and  the  bargain 
was  faithfully  carried  out. 

Not  long  afterward  a  man  named  Offutt  engaged 
Lincoln  to  take  a  flatboat  loaded  with  country 
produce,  and  sell  it.  A  herd  of  pigs  constituted 
part  of  the  cargo,  and  as  they  refused  to  be  driven, 
Abraham  took  them,  one  by  one,  in  his  strong  arms, 
and  carried  them  aboard.  While  in  Xew  Orleans 
he,  for  the  first  time,  entered  a  slave-market,  where- 


26  ABRAHAM  LINCOLJ^. 

he  saw  men,  women,  and  children  sold  like  cattle. 
The  anguish  of  fathers  and  mothers  and  children,  as 
they  were  torn  from  each  other,  fired  him  with  in- 
dignation, and  he  said  to  one  of  his  companions : 
^'  If  I  ever  get  a  chance  to  hit  that  institution,  I 
will  hit  it  hard,  John/^ 

After  Lincoln^s  return  Mr.  Offutt  offered  him  a 
position  as  clerk  in  his  store  at  New  Salem,  Illinois. 
Mr.  Offutt  was  very  proud  of  his  clerk,  and  praised 
him  so  often  that  a  gang  of  young  roughs  in  the 
neighborhood,  known  as  the  "Clary  Grove  boys,'' 
determined  to  give  him  a  thrashing.  They  finally 
provoked  Lincoln  to  engage  in  a  wrestling  match 
with  their  leader.  Jack  Armstrong.  Armstrong 
was  as  strong  as  an  ox,  and  was  the  champion 
wrestler.  To  his  great  surprise  Lincoln,  seizing  him 
with  both  hands,  held  him  at  arms'  length,  and 
shook  him  like  a  child.  His  friends  rushed  to  his 
assistance,  but  Armstrong  shouted  to  them  to  stop, 
saying :  "  Boys,  Abe  Lincoln  is  the  best  man  that 
ever  broke  into  this  settlement.  He  shall  be 
one  of  us." 

One  of  Lincoln's  greatest  triumphs  at  the  bar  was 
in  defending  William  Armstrong,  the  son  of  this 
Jack  Armstrong.  Young  Armstrong  had  been  in- 
dicted, with  another  young  man  named  Norris,  for 
a  murder  committed  near  a  camp-meeting.  The 
crime   had  created  great   excitement  and  indigna- 


A  STOREKEEPER  IN  ILLINOIS.  27 

tion.  Norris  had  been  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
State-prison.  Young  Armstrong  had  few  friends, 
and  no  money  to  employ  attorneys.  His  mother 
had  often  befriended  Lincoln  in  his  younger  days, 
and  cheered  him  in  his  melancholy  moods.  She 
thought  he  might  now  befriend  her  boy  in  his  need. 
She  believed  that  he  could  save  Bill  from  disgrace 
and  death  if  any  one  could.  So  she  went  to  him 
and  told  him  the  story.  He  promised  to  do  what 
he  could.  At  the  trial  the  evidence  against  the  boy 
was  very  strong.  The  strongest  point  made  was  by 
a  witness  who  swore  that  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night 
he  saw  Armstrong  strike  the  murdered  man  on  the 
head.  He  declared  the  full  moon  was  shining 
brightly,  and  that  he  could  not  have  been  mistaken. 

Lincoln  quietly  picked  up  an  almanac,  and  ex- 
amining it  found  there  was  no  moon  at  all  on  that 
night.  This  was  Lincoln's  only  point  for  defense, 
but  upon  this  testimony  rested  the  strength  of  the 
case  against  his  client.  He  told  no  one  of  his  dis- 
covery; but  when  he  came  to  argue  the  case,  he 
gradually  prepared  the  minds  of  the  jury  for  the 
climax  of  his  speech,  Avhen  he  called  for  the  al- 
manac, and  showed  that  the  principal  witness  had 
testified  to  what  was  absolutely  false,  and  declared 
his  whole  story  a  fabrication.  What  followed  is 
thus  described  in  Barrett's  "  Life  of  Lincoln  :" 

"An  almost    instantaneous    change    seemed     to 


28  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

have  been  wroiiglit  in  the  minds  of  his  auditors, 
and  the  verdict  of  ^  not  guilty'  was  at  the  end  of 
every  tongue.  But  the  advocate  was  not  content 
with  this  intellectual  achievement.  .His  whole  be- 
ing had  for  months  been  bound  up  in  this  work  of 
gratitude  and  mercy,  and,  as  the  lava  of  the  over- 
charged crater  bursts  from  its  imprisonment,  so 
great  thoughts  and  burning  words  leaped  forth  from 
the  soul  of  the  eloquent  Lincoln.  He  drew  a  pic- 
ture of  the  perjurer  so  horrid  and  ghastly  that  the 
accuser  could  sit  under  it  no  longer,  but  reeled 
and  staggered  from  the  court-room,  while  the  au- 
dience fancied  they  could  see  the  brand  upon  his 
brow.  Then,  in  words  of  thrilling  pathos,  Lincoln 
appealed  to  the  jurors,  as  fathers  of  sons  who  might 
become  fatherless,  and  as  husbands  of  wives  who 
might  be  widowed,  to  yield  to  no  previous  impres- 
sions, no  ill-founded  prejudice,  but  to  do  bis  client 
justice;  and  as  he  alluded  to  the  debt  of  gratitude 
which  he  owed  the  boy's  sire,  tears  were  seen  to  fall 
from  many  eyes  unused  to  weej^.  It  was  near 
night  when  he  concluded  by  saying,  that  if  justice 
was  done — as  he  believed  it  would  be — before  the 
sun  should  set  it  would  shine  upon  his  client,  a 
free  man. 

"The  jury  retired,  and  the  court  adjourned  for 
the  day.  Half  an  hour  had  not  elapsed,  when,  as 
the  officers  of  the  court  and  the  volunteer  attorney 


A  STOREKEEPER  m  ILLINOIS.  29 

sat  at  the  tea-table  of  their  hotel,  a  messenger  an- 
nounced that  the  jury  had  returned  to  their  seats. 
All  rej3aired  immediately  to  the  court-house,  and 
while  the  prisoner  was  being  brought  from  the 
jail,  the  court-room  was  filled  to  overflowing  with 
citizens  of  the  town.  When  the  prisoner  and  his 
mother  entered,  silence  reigned  as  completely  as 
though  the  house  were  empty.  The  foreman  of  the 
jury,  in  answer  to  the  usual  inquiry  from  the  court, 
delivered  the  verdict  of  ^  Not  Guilty  !^ 

^'The  widow  dropped  into  the  arms  of  her  son, 
who  lifted  her  up,  and  told  her  to  look  upon  him  as 
before,  free  and  innocent.  Then,  w^ith  the  w^ords, 
*  AVhere  is  Mr.  Lincoln  V  he  rushed  across  the 
room  and  grasped  the  hand  of  his  deliverer,  while 
his  heart  was  too  full  for  utterance.  Lincoln 
turued  his  eyes  toward  the  west,  where  the  sun  still 
lingered  in  view,  and  then,  turning  to  the  youth, 
said  :  ^  It  is  not  yet  sundown,  anil  you  are  free.^  I 
confess  that  my  cheeks  were  not  wholly  unwet  by 
tears,  and  I  turned  from  the  affecting  scene.  As  I 
cast  a  glance  behind,  I  saw  Abraham  Lincoln  obey- 
ing the  divine  injunction  by  comforting  the  wid- 
owed and  the  fatherless.^^ 

It  was  while  employed  in  Offutt's  store,  in  New 
Salem,  111.,  that  Lincoln  began  to  be  called  '^Honest 
Abe."  He  was  judge,  arbitrator,  referee,  umpire, 
authority   in   all    disputes,  games,  and    matches  of 


30  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

man-flesli  and  horse-flesh ;  a  peacemaker  in  all  quar- 
rels ;  everybody's  friend;  the  best-natured,  the  most 
sensible,  the  best-informed,  the  most  modest  and  un- 
assuming, the  kindest,  gentlest,  roughest,  strongest, 
best  young  fellow  in  all  the  region  round  about. 

Lincoln  could  not  rest  for  an  instant  under  the 
consciousness  that  he  had,  even  unwittingly,  de- 
frauded anybody.  On  one  occasion  he  sold  a 
woman  a  little  bill  of  goods,  amounting  to  two  dol- 
lars six  and  a  quarter  cents.  He  received  the 
money,  and  the  woman  went  away.  On  adding  the 
items  of  the  bill  again,  to  make  himself  sure  of  cor- 
rectness, he  found  that  he  had  taken  six  and  a  quar- 
ter cents  too  much.  It  was  night,  but  he  closed 
and  locked  the  store,  and  started  on  foot  for  the 
house  of  his  defrauded  customer,  two  miles  away, 
and  delivered  to  her  the  sum  due  her.  Then  he 
returned  home  satisfied. 

In  1832,  Lincoln  and  a  man  named  Berry 
bought  a  store  in  New  Salem.  Berry  had  little 
means,  and  Lincoln  gave  his  personal  note  for  the 
amount  involved.  They  failed  in  a  short  time,  and 
Mr.  Lincoln  carried  the  burden  of  the  debt  for  six- 
teen years,  when  he  paid  the  last  cent  out  of  his  con- 
gressional salary.  He  referred  to  this  experience 
in  his  life  as  "  paying  the  national  debt." 


THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR. 

THE  Black  Hawk  War  broke  out  in  1832,  and 
Lincoln  enlisted  in  a  company  being  formed  in 
New  Salem.  He  was  elected  captain,  and  after  his 
elevation  to  the  Presidency  referred  to  this  action  of 
his  neighbors  and  friends  as  one  of  the  proudest 
moments  of  his  life.  He  was  mustered  into  service 
by  Lieutenant  Robert  Anderson,  afterward  com- 
mander of  Fort  Sumter  w^hen  it  fell. 

His  company  did  not  have  an  opportunity  to 
distinguish  itself,  but  the  experience  enabled  Mr. 
Lincoln  to  enliven  one  of  his  speeches  while  in 
Congress  by  the  following  allusion  to  it : 

"  By  the  way,  Mr.  Speaker,^'  said  Lincoln, 
"  do  you  know  I  am  a  military  hero  ?  Yes,  sir;  in 
the  days  of  the  Black  Hawk  ^Yar,  I  fought,  bled, 
and  came  away.  Speaking  of  General  Cass's  career 
reminds  me  of  my  own.  I  was  not  at  Stillman's 
defeat,  but  I  was  about  as  near  it  as  Cass  to  HulPs 
surrender  ;  and,  like  him,  I  saw  the  place  very  soon 
afterward.  It  is  quite  certain  I  did  not  break  my 
sword,  for  I  had  none  to  break  ;  but  I  bent  my 
musket  pretty  badly  on  one  occasion.     ...     If 

31 


32  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'. 

Geaeral  Cass  weDt  In  advaoce  of  Die  in  picking 
whortleberries,  I  guess  I  surpassed  bim  in  cbarges 
upon  tbe  wild  onions.  If  be  saw  any  live,  figbting 
Indians,  it  was  more  tban  I  did,  but  I  bad  a  good 
many  bloody  struggles  witb  tbe  mosquitoes;  and  al- 
tbougb  I  never  fainted  from  loss  of  blood,  I  can 
iruly  say  I  was  often  very  bungry.'^  Lincoln  con- 
cluded by  saying  tbat  if  be  ever  turned  Demo- 
crat, and  sbould  run  for  tbe  Presidency,  be  hoped 
they  would  not  make  fun  of  bim  by  attempting  to 
make  bim  a  military  hero  ! 

Tbe  war  did,  however,  give  an  opportunity  for 
Lincoln  to  exhibit  his  moral  courage.  One^  day 
there  came  into  the  camp  an  old  Indian.  He  was 
weary  and  hungry,  and  had  a  safe  conduct  from 
General  Cass,  but  the  men  were  so  incensed  against 
the  entire  race,  that  they  denounced  bim  as  a  spy. 
They  were  about  to  kill  bim,  when  Lincoln  stepped 
between  them  and  their  intended  victim.  He  was 
terribly  angry,  and  bis  manner  cowed  them.  After 
a  moment  one  shouted  : 

"  Lincoln,  this  is  cowardly  of  you.'* 
Looking  at  bim  with  contempt,  Lincoln  replied  : 
"  If  any  man  thinks  I  am  a  coward,  let  him  test 
me.*' 

"  You  are  bigger  and  braver  than  any  of  us." 
''  That  you  can  guard  against ;  choose  your  own 
weapons.*' 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE. 


SOON  after  his  return  from  tlie  Black  Hawk  War 
in  1832,  Lincoln  announced  himself  as  a  Whig 
candidate  for  the  Legislature  in  a  speech  delivered 
at  Pappsville,  Sangamon  County,  Illinois.  It  was 
his  maiden  effort,  and  was  as  follows : 

'^Gentlemen,  Fellow-citizexs, — I  presume 
you  all  know  who  I  am.  I  am  humble  Abraham 
Lincoln.  I  have  been  solicited  by  my  friends  to 
become  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature.  My  poli- 
tics are  short  and  sweet,  like  an  ^  old  woman's 
dance/  I  am  in  favor  of  a  national  bank.  I  am 
in  favor  of  the  international  improvement  system 
and  a  high  protective  tariff.  These  are  my  senti- 
ments and  political  principles.  If  elected,  I  will 
be  thankful.     If  defeated,  it  will  be  all  the  same." 

He  was  defeated,  but  not  dismayed.  He  studied 
what  he  should  do — thought  of  learning  the  black- 
smith's trade — but  the  opportunity  offering  to  buy 
the  store  with  Berry,  he  did  so.  After  his  failure, 
while  clerking  in  a  !Mr.  Ellis's  store,  he  bought 
an  old  volume  of  Blackstone  at  a  store  in  Spring- 
field, and  gave  himself  up  to  studying  law.     Other 

books  were  loaned  him  by  a  friend,  to  secure  which 

3  33 


34  ABBAHAM  LINCOLN: 

he  walked  to  Spriugfield,  fourteen  miles  distant. 
So  absorbed  would  he  become  in  reading  his  books 
on  the  way  home,  that  he  would  be  oblivious  of 
everything  around  him.  A  favorite  resort  for  study 
was  an  old  oak-tree,  around  which  he  moved  to 
keep  in  the  shade.  Often  he  would  be  found  lying 
flat  on  his  back  on  the  counter,  absorbed  in  his 
studies.  A  book  was  almost  always  his  inseparable 
companion.  One  day  a  friend  called  at  his  board- 
ing-house, and  found  him  stretched  at  full  length 
upon  the  bed,  poring  over  a  book,  and  rocking  the 
cradle  of  his  landlady's  baby  with  one  foot. 

In  1833  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  New 
Salem.  The  remuneration  was  not  large,  and  the 
office  was  discontinued  during  Lincoln's  term. 
Some  time  later,  and  after  Lincoln  had  begun 
the  practice  of  law,  an  agent  of  the  Post-office  De- 
partment entered  his  office,  and  inquired  if  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  in.  Lincoln  was  told  that  the  agent 
had  called  to  collect  a  balance  due  the  Department 
from  the  New  Salem  office.  A  shade  of  perplexity 
passed  over  Lincoln's  face,  which  did  not  escape 
the  notice  of  friends  who  were  present.  One  of 
them  said  at  once  :  "  Lincoln,  if  you  are  in  want  of 
money,  let  us  help  you."  He  made  no  reply,  but 
suddenly  rose,  and  pulled  out  from  a  pile  of  books 
a  little  old  trunk,  and,  returning  to  the  table, 
asked  the  agent  how  much  the  amount  of  his  debt 


IN  P  UBLIC  LIFE.  35 

was.  The  sum  was  named,  and  then  Lincoln  opened 
the  trunk,  pulled  out  a  little  package  of  coin 
wrapped  in  a  cotton  rag,  and  counted  out  the  exact 
sum,  amounting  to  something  more  than  seventeen 
dollars. 

After  the  agent  had  left  the  room,  Lincoln  re- 
marked quietly  that  he  never  used  any  man^s  money 
but  his  own.  Although  this  sum  had  been  in  his 
hands  for  several  years — during  which  he  was  in 
great  financial  straits — he  had  never  regarded  it 
as  available,  even  for  any  temporary  purpose  of 
his  own. 

After  retiring  from  the  post-office,  Lincoln  re- 
sumed rail-splitting  for  a  living.  He  was  thus 
working  for  a  man  named  Short,  when  a  neighbor 
came  along  and  told  him  he  had  been  appointed 
a  government  surveyor. 

In  1834,  Lincoln  was  again  a  candidate  for  the 
Legislature.  He  made  a  thorough  canvass,  delighted 
his  audiences  with  his  funny  stories,  and  was  tri- 
umphantly elected.  On  one  occasion,  while  speak- 
ing to  a  number  of  men  cradling  wheat  in  a  field, 
one  of  them  said  : 

''  I  won't  vote  for  any  man  we  can  cut  out  of  his 
swath.'* 

^*  Well,  boys,*'  replied  Lincoln,  "  I  guess  you 
will  all  vote  for  me  then  f  and  seizing  a  cradle,  he 
Jed  them  around  the  field. 


36  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Lincoln's  finances  were  low,  but  his  credit  was 
so  good  that  he  borrowed  two  hundred  dollars  with 
which  to  buy  clothes  and  pay  his  expenses  during 
the  session  of  the  Legislature.  To  save  the  ex- 
pense, he  walked  to  Vandalia,  the  capital,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  one  hundred  miles,  carrying  his 
clothes  in  a  pack  on  his  back.  One  of  the  first 
persons  he  met  at  Springfield,  though  not  as  a 
member  of  the  Legislature,  was  Stephen  A.  Doug- 
las, with  whose  name  his  own  was  afterward  to  be 
intimately  associated. 

In  a  speech  in  1856,  Mr.  Lincoln  made  the  follow- 
ing generous  allusion  to  Douglas.  He  said :  "  Twenty 
years  ago  Judge  Douglas  and  I  first  became  ac- 
quainted. AVe  were  both  young  then,  he  a  trifle 
younger  than  I.  Even  then  we  were  both  ambi- 
tious— I,  perhaps,  quite  as  much  as  he.  With  me 
the  race  of  ambition  has  been  a  failure.  With  him 
it  has  been  a  splendid  success.  His  name  fills  the 
nation,  and  it  is  not  unknown  in  foreign  lands.  I 
affect  no  contempt  for  the  high  eminence  he  has 
reached  ;  so  reached  that  the  oppressed  of  my  species 
miofht  have  shared  with  me  in  the  elevation,  I  would 
rather  stand  on  that  eminence  than  wear  the  richest 
crown  that  ever  pressed  a  monarch's  brow." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  candidate  for  re-election. 
There  was  considerable  interest,  and  the  voters  of 
Sangamon  County   called   upon   each   candidate  to 


JN  PUBLIC  LIFE,  37 

"show  his  hand."     In  response  Mr,  Lincoln  issued 
the  following  address : 

^'Fellow-citizens^ — The  candidates  are  called 
upon,  I  see,  to  show  their  hands.  Here  is  mine.  I 
go  for  all  sharing  the  privileges  of  government  who 
assist  in  bearing  its  burdens.  Consequently,  I  go 
for  admitting  all  the  whites  to  the  rights  of  suffrage 
who  pay  t'lxes  or  bear  arms,  by  no  means  excluding 
the  females. 

''  If  elected,  I  shall  consider  the  whole  people  of 
Sangamon  County  my  constituents,  as  well  those 
who  oppose  as  those  who  support  me.  While  act- 
ing as  their  representative,  I  shall  be  governed  by 
their  will  on  all  subjects  upon  Avhich  I  have  the 
means  of  knowing  what  their  will  is;  and  upon  all 
othe.rs,  I  shall  do  what  my  judgment  tells  me  will 
best  advance  their  interests. 

"  AVhether  elected  or  not,  I  go  for  distributing 
the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lauds  to  tlie 
several  States,  to  enable  our  State,  in  common  with 
others,  to  dig  canals  and  construct  railroads  without 
borrowing  money  and  paying  the  interest  on  it. 
If  alive  on  the  first  day  of  Xovember,  I  shall  vote 
for  Hugh  L.  White  for  President." 

His  opponent  was  George  Forquar,  of  Springfield, 
Illinois,  who  was  celebrated  for  having  "  changed  his 
coat"  politically,  and  as  having  introduced  the  first 
and  only  lightning-rod  in  Springfield  at  this  time. 


38  ABRAHA3I  LINCOLN, 

He  said  in  a  speech,  in  Lincoln's  presence:  "This 
young  man  [Lincoln"]  will  have  to  be  taken  down, 
and  I  am  sorry  the  task  devolves  upon  me ;"  and 
then  proceeded  to  "  take  him  down.'' 

Lincoln  replied,  and  in  closing  said:  "Fellow- 
citizens,  it  is  for  you,  not  for  me,  to  say  whether  1 
am  up  or  down.  The  gentleman  has  alluded  to  my 
being  a  young  man  ;  I  am  older  in  years  than  I  am 
in  the  tricks  and  trades  of  politicians.  I  desire  to 
live,  and  I  desire  place  and  distinction  as  a  poli- 
tician ;  but  I  would  rather  die  now  than,  like  the 
gentleman,  live  to  see  the  day  that  I  would  have  to 
erect  a  lightning-rod  to  protect  a  guilty  conscience 
from  an  offended  God." 

This  response  was  greeted  with  laughter  and 
cheers,  and,  lifting  him  upon  their  shoulders,  Lin- 
coln's friends  carried  him  from  the  court-house. 
Forquar  made  no  reply. 

In  this  Legislature,  Lincoln  took  a  somewhat 
active  part.  His  most  notable  action  was  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  following  protest,  dated  March  3, 
1837: 

"Resolutions  upon  the  subject  of  domestic  slav- 
ery having  passed  both  branches  of  the  General 
Assembly,  at  its  present  session,  the  undersigned 
hereby  protest  against  the  passage  of  the  same. 

"  They  believe  that  the  institution  of  slavery  is 
founded  on  both  injuslice  and  bad  policy;  but  that 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE.  39 

the  promulgation  of  Abolition  doctrines  tends  rather 
to  increase  than  abate  its  evils. 

"They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  has  no  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  in- 
terfere with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  differ- 
ent States. 

"  They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  has  the  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to 
abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia;  but 
that  the  power  ought  not  to  be  exercised,  unless  at 
the  request  of  the  people  of  said  District. 

"  The  difference  between  these  opinions  and  those 
contained  in  the  said  resolutions,  is  their  reason  for 
entering  this  protest. 

'^(Signed,)  Dan  Stone, 

"A.  Lincoln, 
"Representatives  from  the  County  of  Sangamon." 

A  good  illustration  of  the  execution  which  Lin- 
coln sometimes  effected  with  a  story  occurred  dur- 
ing his  career  in  the  Legislature.  There  was  a 
troublesome  member  from  Wabash  County,  who 
gloried  particularly  in  being  a  "  strict  construction- 
ist.^' He  found  something  "  unconstitutional  '^  in 
every  measure  that  was  brought  forward  for  discus- 
sion. He  was  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  Committee, 
and  was  very  apt,  after  giving  every  measure  a  heavy 
pounding,  to  advocate  its  reference  to  this  commit- 
tee.    No  amount  of  sober  argument  could  floor  him. 


40  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN. 

At  last  the  members  determined  to  silence  him,  and 
Lincoln  was  asked  to  undertake  the  task. 

A  measure  was  brought  forward  in  which  Lin- 
coln's constituents  Nvere  interested,  when  the  mem- 
ber from  Wabash  rose,  and  discharged  all  his  bat- 
teries upon  its  unconstitutional  points.  Lincoln 
then  took  the  floor,  and,  with  a  quizzical  expression 
of  features,  and  a  mirthful  twinkle  in  his  gray 
eyes,  said  : 

"Mr.  Speaker,  the  attack  of  the  member  from 
Wabash  on  the  constitutionality  of  this  measure 
reminds  me  of  an  old  friend  of  mine.  He  's  a  pe- 
culiar-looking old  fellow,  with  shaggy,  overhanging 
eyebrows,  and  a  pair  of  spectacles  under  them. 
[Everybody  turned  to  the  member  from  Wabash,  and 
recognized  a  personal  description.]  One  morning, 
just  after  the  old  man  got  up,  he  imagined,  on  look- 
ing out  of  his  door,  that  he  saw  rather  a  lively 
squirrel  on  a  tree  near  his  house.  So  he  took  down 
his  rifle,  and  fired  at  the  squirrel,  but  the  squirrel 
paid  no  attention  to  the  shot.  He  loaded  and  fired 
again  and  again,  until,  at  the  thirteenth  shot,  he 
set  down  his  gun  impatiently,  and  said  to  his  boy, 
who  was  looking  on : 

" '  Boy,  there 's  something  wrong  about  this 
rifle.' 

"^Rifle's  all  right;  I  know  'tis,'  responded  the 
boy  ;  ^  but  where 's  your  squirrel  ?' 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE.  41 

"'Don't  you  see  him,  humped  up  about  half- 
way up  the  tree  ?'  iuquired  the  old  man,  peering 
over  his  spectacles,  and  getting  mystified. 

"'No,  I  do  n't,^  responded  the  boy;  and  then 
turning  and  looking  into  his  father's  face,  he  ex- 
claimed :  '  I  see  your  squirrel !  You  've  been  firing 
at  a  louse  on  your  eyebrow  !'  " 

The  story  needed  neither  application  nor  expla- 
nation. The  house  was  in  convulsions  of' laughter. 
The  member  from  Wabash  was  very  careful  after- 
wards not  to  provoke  any  allusion  to  his  "  eye- 
brows." 

Lincoln  was  a  member  of  the  Legislatures  elected 
in  1838  and  1840.  He  had  become  the  recognized 
Whig  leader,  and  in  the  latter  Legislature  was  the 
candidate  of  his  party  for  speaker. 

During  the  campaign  of  1840,  Col.  Dick  Taylor, 
a  Democrat,  in  a  political  speech,  characterized  the 
Whigs  as  pretentious  "  lords  "  and  aristocrats.  Lin- 
coln, in  replying,  said :  "  I  was  a  poor  boy,  hired 
on  a  flatboat  at  eight  dollars  a  month,  and  had  only 
one  pair  of  breeches,  and  they  were  buckskin — and 
if  you  know  the  nature  of  buckskin  when  wet,  and 
dried  by  the  sun,  they  shrink — and  mine  kept 
shrinking  until  they  left  several  inches  of  my  legs 
bare  between  the  tops  of  my  socks  and  the  lower 
part  of  my  breeches;  and  whilst  T  was  growing 
taller,   they  were   becoming  shorter^  and   so   much 


42  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

tighter,  that  they  left  a  blue  streak  around  my  legs 
that  can  be  seen  to  this  day.  If  you  call  this  aris- 
tocracy, I  plead  guilty  to  the  charge.^' 

While  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  February 
22,  1842,  Lincoln  delivered  an  address  on  temper- 
ance before  the  Washingtonian  Temperance  Society 
of  Springfield,  111.,  in  which  he  said  :  '^  When  the 
victory  shall  be  complete,  when  there  shall  be 
neither  a  slave  nor  a  drunkard  on  the  earth,  how 
proud  the  title  of  that  land  which  may  claim  to  be 
the  birthplace  and  cradle  of  those  resolutions  that 
shall    have  ended  in  that  victory!'^ 

Lincoln  never  used  either  liquor  or  tobacco  in 
any  form.  He  is  said  to  have  often  preached  the 
following  "  sermon,^^  as  he  called  it,  to  his  boys : 

"Don't  drink,  don't  smoke,  don't  chew,  don't 
swear,  do  n't  gamble,  do  n't  lie,  do  n't  cheat.  Love 
vour  fellow-men  and  love  God.  Love  truth,  love 
virtue,  and  be  happy." 

In  1846,  Lincoln  became  the  candidate  for  Con- 
gress from  the  Sangamon  District.  This  included 
the  city  of  Springfield,  to  which  he  had  removed  in 
1837.  His  Democratic  opponent  was  Kev.  Peter 
Cartwright,  the  famous  Methodist  backwoods 
preacher.  The  campaign  was  exciting,  both  being 
popular  speakers.  Lincoln  was  elected  by  a  major- 
ity of  1,511  votes — the  largest  ever  received  in 
that  district. 


JZV  P  UBLIC  LIFE.  4  3 

The  slavery  question  was  uppermost  in  his 
thoughts  for  many  years,  and  he  realized  that  the 
struggle  between  slavery  and  abolition  was  to  be  to 
the  death.  Where  he  himself  stood,  even  before 
Douglas  startled  the  country  with  his  Kansas-Ke- 
braska  Bill,  or  the  AYhig  party  had  committed  sui- 
cide by  accepting  a  compromise  measure  as  a  final- 
ity, is  indicated  by  his  remark  to  his  law  partner, 
Mr.  Stuart,  in  1850:  ^^  The  time  will  come  when 
we  must  all  be  Democrats  or  Abolitionists.  When 
that  time  comes,  my  mind  is  made  up.  The  slavery 
question  can't  be  compromised.''  The  Whig  political 
leaders  thought  it  could  be,  and  drafted  the  '^  Com- 
promise Measures  of  1850."  These  prepared  the 
pro-slavery  leaders,  and  it  was  supposed  the  minds  of 
the  people  also,  for  Douglas's  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill; 
but  the  irruption  wdiich  followed  the  announcement 
of  the  latter  measure  indicated  that  the  politicians 
had  failed  to  read  the  public  mind  upon  a  moral 
question,  as  they  had  before  been  able  to  do  on 
purely  political  questions.  Surprised  at  the  effect 
of  his  bill.  Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas  started 
for  Springfield,  111.,  to  explain.  This  he  did  in 
October,  before  avast  number  of  people  during  the 
State  Fair,  delivering  one  of  the  greatest  speeches  of 
his  life.  There  was  but  one  man  who  was  able  to 
answer  him,  and  that  was  Lincoln.  He  that  day 
made   his    first    great   political    speech.      Stoddard 


44  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLK 

says  :  "  All  the  smothered  fire  of  his  brooding  days 
and  nights  and  years  burst  forth  in  a  power  and 
with  an  eloquence  which  even  those  who  knew  him 
best  had  not  so  much  as  hoped  for.  There  was  no 
report  made  of  that  speech.  Not  a  sentence  of  it 
had  been  reduced  to  writing  beforehand.  He  spoke 
all  that  was  in  his  heart  to  speak,  and  when  he  sat 
down  there  had  been  a  new  party  born  in  the  State 
of  Illinois,  and  he  was  its  father,  its  head,  its  un- 
questioned and  unquestionable  representative  and 
leader.  .  .  .  It  is  a  matter  of  historical  record 
that  the  existence  of  the  Republican  party,  unnamed 
but  living,  dates  from  the  first  collision  at  Spring- 
field of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  with  the  man  who,  for 
forty-seven  years  of  toilsome  development,  had  un- 
wittingly prepared  himself  for  that  hour,  and  for 
the  long  struggle  which  was  to  follow.^^ 

In  1855,  Lincoln  was  the  Eepublican  candidate 
for  United  States  senator  from  Illinois.  His  op- 
ponents were  James  Shields  and  Lyman  Trum- 
bull. No  candidate  had  a  majority  of  votes  in  the 
Legislature.  Lincoln,  who  had  the  largest  number, 
seeing  he  could  not  be  elected,  induced  his  sup- 
porters to  vote  for  Trumbull,  and   he  was  elected. 

At  the  Republican  National  Convention,  which 
met  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  19,  1856,  Lincoln 
received  110  votes  for  Vice-President,  which  di- 
rected the  attention  of  national  politicians  to  him. 


LINCOLN'S  ''KEYNOTE"  SPEECH. 

THE  Illiuo'S  -Republican  State  CoDventioii  met 
at  Springfield,  June  16,  1858.  The  delegates 
and  alternates  numbered  about  one  thousand.  Men 
were  present  from  every  Northern  State  and  from 
several  Southern  States.  The  eyes  of  the  Nation 
were  turned  in  the  direction  of  this  little  city. 

It  was  understood  by  all  that  Lincoln  would  be 
the  orator  of  the  occasion,  and  that  his  speech  before 
the  Convention  w^ould  be  a  great  political  event. 
He  realized  this  fact,  and  prepared  his  speech  so 
that  there  could  be  no  misunderstanding  of  his 
views  upon  the  great  issue  then  before  the  country — 
slavery. 

On  the  16th  of  June  the  Convention  unanimously 
adopted  the  following  resolution  : 

"That  Abraham  Lincoln  is  our  first  and  only 
choice  for  United  States  senator,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
about  to  be  created  by  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Doug- 
las's term  of  office. '^ 

While    Lincoln   had    taken    neither   advice   nor 

counsel  in  the  preparation  of  his  speech,  he  deemed 

it   wise   to  prepare  some  of  his   nearer   friends  for 

45 


46  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

what  it  was  to  be.  He  read  it  first  to  Mr.  Herndon, 
an  Abolitionist,  and  that  gentleman  said : 

^'  It  is  true ;  but  is  it  entirely  politic  to  speak  it 
cr  read  it  as  it  is  written  V^ 

The  question  referred  particularly  to  the  "key- 
note '^  of  the  speech,  which  was  as  follows : 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention, — If  we 
could  first  know  where  we  are  and  whither  we  are 
tending,  we  could  then  better  judge  what  to  do  and 
how  to  do  it.  We  are  now  far  on  into  the  fifth 
year  since  a  policy  was  initiated  with  the  avowed 
object  and  confident  promise  of  putting  an  end  to 
slavery  agitation.  Under  the  operation  of  that 
policy,  that  agitation  has  not  only  not  ceased,  but 
has  continually  augmented.  In  my  opinion  it  will 
not  cease  until  a  crisis  shall  have  been  reached  and 
passed.  ^A  house  divided  against  itself  can  not 
stand.'  I  believe  this  Government  can  not  endure, 
permanently,  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not 
expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved;  I  do  not  expect 
the  house  to  fall ;  but  I  do  expect  that  it  will  cease 
to  be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  al^ 
the  other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  ar- 
rest the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the 
public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  course 
of  ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advocates  will  push  it 
forward  till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all  the 
States,  old  as  well  as  new,  North  as  well  as  South.'' 


LINCOLN'S  *' KEYNOTE'''  SPEECH.  47 

To  Herndon's  objection  Lincoln  replied: 

"That  makes  no  difference.  That  expression  is 
a  truth  of  all  human  experience.  ^A  house  divided 
against  itself  can  not  stand/  and  ^  He  that  runs  may 
read.^  The  proposition  is  indisputably  true,  and 
has  been  true  for  more  than  six  thousand  years; 
and  I  will  deliver  it  as  it  is  written.  I  want  to 
use  some  universally  known  figure,  expressed  in 
simple  language  as  universally  known,  that  may 
strike  home  to  the  minds  of  men  in  order  to  rouse 
them  to  the  peril  of  the  times.  I  would  rather  be 
defeated  with  this  expression  in  the  speech,  and  it 
held  up  and  discussed  before  the  people,  than  to  be 
victorious  Avithout  it.^^ 

Lincoln  afterward  gathered  a  dozen  leading  men 
in  the  library-room  of  the  State-house,  not  to  ask 
their  guidance,  but  to  assure  them  of  his  purpose 
by  reading  his  speech  to  them.  They  listened,  and 
every  man  present  except  Mr.  Herudon,  who  had 
caught  Lincoln's  spirit,  condemned  the  bold  utter- 
ance, and  declared  that  its  delivery  would  sound  the 
death-knell  of  Lincoln  and  the  Republican  party. 

Lincoln  heard  them  all  respectfully,  and  then  said 
to  them : 

"  Friends,  I  have  thought  about  this  matter  a 
great  deal ;  have  surveyed  the  question  well  from  all 
corners,  and  am  thoroughly  convinced  the  time  has 
come  when  it  should  be  uttered ;  and  if  it  must  be 


48  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

that  I  go  down  because  of  this  speech,  then  let  me 
go  down  linked  to  truth — die  in  the  advocacy  of 
what  is  right  and  just.  This  Nation  can  not  live  on 
injustice.  'A  house  divided  against  itself  can  not 
stand/  I  say  again  and  again.^' 

The  speech  was  delivered  without  modification 
the  next  day,  June  17th,  and  it  startled  the  Nation, 
No  such  daring  words,  no  such  unequivocal  state- 
ment of  the  great  problem,  had  yet  been  uttered 
by  any  man  of  political  prominence  and  power. 

Mr.  Lamon  relates  that,  a  day  or  two  after  the 
delivery  of  the  speech,  a  Dr.  Long,  representing 
many  others,  came  into  Lincoln's  law  office  to  free 
his  miud.     He  said  : 

^'AYell,  Lincoln,  that  foolish  speech  of  yours  will 
kill  vou — will  defeat  you  in  this  contest,  and  prob- 
ably for  all  offices  for  all  time  to  come.  I  am  sorry, 
sorry,  very  sorry.  I  wish  it  was  wiped  out  of  ex- 
istence.    Don't  you  wish  it  now?" 

Lincoln  dropped  the  pen  he  had  been  writing 
with,  and  turned  his  sad,  earnest,  half-contemptuous 
smile  upon  the  mourner : 

"  Well,  Doctor,  if  I  had  to  draw  my  pen  across 
and  erase  my  whole  life  from  existence,  and  I  had 
one  poor  gift  or  choice  left  as  to  what  I  should  save 
from  the  wreck,  I  should  choose  that  speech,  and 
leave  it  to  the  world  unerased." 


THE  LINCOLN  AND  DOUGLAS  DEBATE. 

THE  discussions  between  Lincoln  and  Douglas 
in  1858  were  the  most  famous  political  joint 
debates  in  xA^merican  history.  These  men  were 
rival  candidates  for  the  position  of  United  States 
senator  from  Illinois.  They  represented  the  con- 
servative positions  on  the  slavery  question,  though 
at  the  time  each  was  thought  to  be  extremely  rad- 
ical— Lincoln  being  opposed  to  the  extension  of 
slavery  under  any  conditions,  and  Douglas  being 
in  favor  of  leaving  the  people  of  a  Territory  to  de- 
cide it  for  themselves.  The  immediate  issue  involved 
related  to  the  extension  of  slavery  into  Kansas. 

Douglas  was  the  champion  of  what  he  termed 
"squatter  sovereignty ;''  that  is,  that  the  settlers  of 
a  Territory  at  the  time  of  its  proposed  admission  to 
the  Union  of  States  should,  in  the  provisional  con- 
stitution, determine  whether  slav^ery  should  be  per- 
mitted in  the  new  State  or  not. 

The  position  of  Douglas  had  arrayed  against  him 
many  anti-slavery  Democrats  in  the  Xorth,  and 
pro-slavery  Democrats  in  the  South,  besides  Presi- 
dent Buchanan,  whom    Douglas    had    antagonized. 

4  49 


60  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

The  campaign  therefore,  for  these  reasons,  at» 
tracted  national  attention,  and  was  regarded,  so  far 
as  Douglas  was  concerned,  the  beginning  of  the 
Presidential  campaign  of  1860,  it  being  generally 
understood  that  he  hoped  and  expected  to  be  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 

Both  men  were  trained  speakers,  and  popular. 
Douglas's  friends  loved  to  call  him  "the  Little 
Giant,"  and  the  friends  of  Lincoln,  who  was  phys- 
ically and  intellectually  a  giant,  loved  to  call  him 
"  Honest  Old  Abe.''  Lincoln  believed  that  he  and 
his  cause  had  more  to  gain  than  lose  by  compari- 
son with  Douglas  before  the  people,  and  he  forced 
the  issue  by  proposing  the  joint  debate.  DougJas 
accepted,  and  seven  joint  debates  were  arranged. 

These  debates  were  held  in  the  open  air.  The 
crowds  attending  them  were  so  great  that  no  hall 
in  the  State  of  Illinois  could  have  accommodated 
them.  Farmers  with  their  sons  rode  twenty,  thirty, 
forty,  and  even  fifty  miles,  carrying  provisions  with 
them,  and  camping  out  in  their  wagons  on  the  way. 

Isaac  N.  Arnold  in  his  "  Life  of  Lincoln,'^  says : 

"  The  friends  of  Douglas  who  managed  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  campaign,  did  it  welh  A  special 
train  of  cars,  a  band  of  music,  a  cannon  to  thunder 
forth  his  approach,  and  a  party  of  ardent  and  en- 
thusiastic friends  accompanied  him  to  cheer  and 
encourage;  so  that  his  passage  from  place  to  place 


THE  LlXCOiy  AXD  DOUGLAS  DEBATE.  51 

was  like  that  of  a  conquering  hero.  The  Demo- 
cratic party,  so  long  dominant  in  Illinois,  were 
now,  from  Douglas  down,  confident,  and  his  par- 
tisans full  of  bluster  and  brag.  They  everywhere 
boasted,  and  were  ready  to  bet,  that  their  ^  Little 
Giant'  would  ^  use  up  and  utterly  demolish'  'Old 
Abe/ 

"They  were  so  noisy  and  demonstrative;  they 
seemed  so  absolutely  sure  of  success,  that  many  of 
the  Republicans,  unconscious  of  the  latent  power 
of  Lincoln,  became  alarmed.  Douglas  had  so  uni- 
formly triumphed,  and  his  power  over  the  people 
was  so  great,  that  many  were  disheartened,  and 
feared  the  ordeal  of  a  joint  discussion,  which  would 
certainly  expose  the  weaker  man.  This  feeling 
was  apparent  in  the  editorials  of  some  of  the  lead- 
ing Republican  newspapers. 

^'  Just  before  the  joint  discussion,  which  was  to 
take  place  at  Ottawa,  there  was  a  large  gathering 
at  the  Chenery  House,  then  the  leading  hotel  at 
Springfield.  The  house  was  filled  with  politicians, 
and  so  great  was  the  crowd  that  large  numbers  were 
out  of  doors,  in  the  street  and  on  the  sidewalk. 
Lincoln  was  there,  surrounded  by  his  friends;  but 
it  is  said  that  he  looked  careworn  and  weary. 

''He  had  become  conscious  that  some  of  his  party 
friends  distrusted  his  ability  to  meet  successfully  a 
man  who,  as  the  Democrats  declared  and  believed, 


52  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN. 

had  never  had  his  equal  on  the  stump.  Seeing  an 
old  friend  from  Vermilion  County,  Lincoln  came 
up,  and,  shaking  hands,  inquired  the  news.  His 
friend  replied :  ^All  looks  well;  our  friends  are  w'ide 
awake;  but,'  he  continued,  Hhey  are  looking  forward 
with  some  anxiety  to  these  approaching  joint  dis- 
cussions with  Douglas.'  A  shade  passed  over  Lin- 
coln's face,  a  sad  expression  came  and  instantly 
passed,  and  then  a  blaze  of  light  flashed  from  his 
eyes,  and  his  lips  quivered.  ^  I  saw,'  said  his  friend, 
'that  he  had  penetrated  my  feelings  and  fears,  and 
that  he  knew  of  the  apprehensions  of  his  friends. 
-AVith  his  lips  compressed,  and  with  a  manner  pecul- 
iar to  him,  half  jocular,  he  said  :  "  My  friend,  sit 
down  a  minute,  and  I  will  tell  you  a  story."  We 
sat  down  on  the  doorstep  leading  into  the  hotel, 
and  he  then  continued  :  ''  You  and  I,  as  we  traveled 
the  circuit  together  attending  court,  have  often  seen 
two  men  about  to  fight.  One  of  them,  the  big  or 
the  little  giant,  as  the  case  may  be,  is  noisy  and 
boastful;  he  jumps  high  in  the  air,  strikes  his  feet 
together,  smites  his  fists,  brags  about  what  he  is 
going  to  do,  and  tries  hard  to  sheer  the  other  ma.n. 
The  other  says  not  a  word."  Lincoln's  manner  be- 
came earnest,  and  his  look  firm  and  resolute.  ''The 
other  man  says  not  a  word,  his  arms  are  at  his  side, 
his  fists  are  clenched,  his  teeth  set,  his  head  settled 
firmly   on   his  shoulders,  he   saves   his   breath  and 


THE  LINCOLN  AND  DOUGLAS  DEBATE.  53 

strength  for  the  struggle.  This  man  will  whip,  just 
as  sure  as  the  fight  comes  oiF.  Good-bye/'  said  he, 
'^  and  remember  \vhat  I  say/'  From  that  moment  J 
felt  as  certain  of  Lincoln's  triumph  as  after  it  was 
won.'  " 

Both  speakers  knew  how  to  interest  a  crowd, 
and  Lincoln  was  famous  for  his  stories.  But  it 
came  to  be  noticed  that  as  the  debates  continued, 
Lincoln's  stories  diminished  in  number,  while  his 
earnestness  in  presenting  the  great  moral  issue  of 
the  campaign  and  his  appeals  for  justice  increased. 
It  was  observed,  too,  that  while  the  people  laughed 
at  Douglas's  stories,  they  went  away  after  Lincoln's 
speech  with  thoughtful  faces,  and  talked  seriously 
among  themselves  of  the  points  made  by  him. 

The  more  important  of  the  debates  related  to  a 
series  of  questions  presented  by  each  speaker  to  the 
other.  Those  asked  by  Douglas  are  not  of  special 
interest  in  this  connection,  but  the  entire  debate 
should  be  read  by  every  young  American.  The 
q^uestions  asked  by  Mr.  Lincoln  are  of  impor- 
tance because  Douglas's  answ^ers  to  these  questions, 
DO  doubt,  led  to  the  division  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  1860,  his  defeat  for  the  Presidency,  and  the 
election  of  Lincoln. 

These  questions  were  : 

'^1.  If  the  people  of  Kansas  shall,  by  means  en- 
tirely unobjectionable  in  all  other  respects,  adopt  a 


64  ABE  AHA  M  LINCOLN. 

State  Constitution,  and  ask  admission  into  the  Union 
under  it,  before  they  have  the  requisite  number  of 
inhabitants  according  to  the  English  Bill — some 
ninety-three  thousand — will  you  vote  to  admit  them  ? 

"2.  Can  the  people  of  a  United  States  Territory, 
in  any  lawful  way,  against  the  wish  of  any  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  exclude  slavery  from  its  limits 
prior  to  the  formation  of  a  State  Constitution  ? 

'^3.  If  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
shall  decide  that  States  can  not  exclude  slavery  from 
their  limits,  are  you  in  favor  of  acquiescing  in  adopt- 
ing and  following  such  decision  as  a  rule  of  political 
action  ? 

*^4.  Are  you  in  favor  of  acquiring  additional 
territory,  in  disregard  of  how  such  acquisition  may 
affect  the  Nation  on  the  slavery  question  V^ 

A  friend  to  w^hom  Lincoln  submitted  these  ques- 
tions, told  him  that  Douglas  would  see  that  an  an- 
swer, giving  practical  force  and  effect  to  the  Dred 
Scott  decision  in  the  Territories,  would  inevitably 
lose  him  the  battle,  and  that  he  would  therefore 
reply  by  offering  the  decision  as  an  abstract  princi- 
ple, but  denying  its  practical  application. 

"If  he  does  that,'^  said  Lincoln,  "he  can  never 
be  President/' 

"  But,''  said  the  friend,  "  that  is  not  your  look- 
out ;  you  are  after  the  senatorship." 

"No,    sir/'    he   replied,   "  I    am    killing    larger 


THE  llXCOZy  AND  DO  UGLAS  DEB  A  TB.  55 

game.     The  battle  of  1860  is  worth  a  hundred  of 
this." 

Lincola  received  the  larger  popular  vote,  but 
Douglas  carried  the  Legislature,  and  was  elected 
United  States  senator.  Two  years  later  Lincoln's 
prediction  was  fulfilled.  Douglas's  answer  to  Lin- 
coln's questions  did  not  satisfy  the  slaveholders 
of  the  South.  They  refused  to  support  him,  se- 
ceded from  the  Democratic  National  Convention, 
and  nominated  a  candidate  of  their  own. 

Lincoln's  speeches  attracted  the  attention  of  Re- 
publicans throughout  the  country  to  him  as  an 
available  man  for  the  Presidential  nomination. 


LINCOLN'S  COOPER  INSTITUTE  SPEECH. 

MR.  LINCOLN'S  debate  with  Douglas  had  at- 
tracted natioual  attention.  People  in  the 
East  had  heard  of  him  as  a  AVestern  politician 
famous  for  his  jokes.  But  a  man  who  could  van- 
quish Stephen  A.  Douglas,  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  polished  speakers  in  the  land,  must,  they 
thought,  be  something  more  than  ^^a  teller  of  jokes.'' 
There  was  great  curiosity  to  hear  him,  and  he  was 
invited  to  lecture  in  Plymouth  Church.  He  con- 
sented to  do  so,  on  condition  that  he  might  speak  on 
a  political  subject. 

Before  Lincoln  arrived  in  New  York,  those  in 
charge  of  the  lecture  decided  that  it  should  be  de- 
livered in  Cooper  Institute,  the  largest  hall  in  the 
city.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  surprised,  and  expressed  the 
fear  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  meet  the  expecta- 
tions which  the  change  of  place  indicated. 

There  was  a  vast  audience,  including  many  of 
the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  time.  Perhaps 
hundreds  were  drawn  simply  by  curiosity  to  see  the 
man  they  had  read  so  much  about.  That  he  was 
a  scholar  or  a  statesman  they  did  not  suppose. 
William  CuUen  Bryant,  the  poet,  presided. 
56 


IINCOLN'S  COOPER  INSTITUTE  SPEECH.  57 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  carefully  prepared  his  speech. 
Its  object  was  to  show  that  the  fathers  of  the  Repub- 
lic knew  as  much  about  the  slavery  question  as  did 
the  people  of  1860,  and  that  they  desired  to  prevent 
its  extension.  It  contained  incidents,  but  they  were 
designed  to  clinch  his  argument,  not  to  amuse  his 
hearers.  The  audience  was  charmed  with  his  elo- 
quence, and  impressed  with  his  ability  and  states- 
manship. His  closing  sentence  was  a  bugle-blast; 
^^  Let  us  have  faith  that  right  is  might,  and 
let  us  ix  that  faith,  to  the  end,  dare  to  do 
our  duty  as  we  understand  it.^^ 

This  lecture  directed  the  attention  of  the  people 
of  the  East  to  Lincoln  as  an  available  candidate 
for  President,  and  contributed  very  much  to  his 
nomination  at  Chicago  a  few  months  later. 


SECRET  OF  LINCOLN'S  POWER  AS  A 
SPEAKER. 

ON  the  moruing  following  Lincoln's  great  speech 
in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  Rev.  J.  P.  Gulliver 
met  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the  cars,  and  entered  into 
conversation  with  him,  which  he  afterward  related 
in  the  Independent.  In  speaking  of  his  speech, 
Mr.  Gulliver  remarked  to  Mr.  Lincoln  that  he 
thought  it  the  most  remarkable  one  he  ever  heard. 

"Are  you  sincere  in  what  you  say  V^  inquired 
Mr.  Lincoln. 

'^  I  mean  every  word  of  it,''  replied  the  minister. 
"Indeed,  sir,"  he  continued,  "  I  learned  more  of  the 
art  of  public  speaking  last  evening  than  I  could 
from  a  whole  course  of  lectures  on  rhetoric." 

Then  Mr.  Lincoln  informed  him  of  "a  most  ex- 
traordinary circumstance"  that  occurred  at  New 
Haven  a  few  days  previously.  A  professor  of  rhet- 
oric in  Yale  College,  he  had  been  told,  came  to  hear 
him,  took  notes  of  his  speech,  and  gave  a  lecture 
on  it  to  his  class  the  following  day;  and,  not  sat- 
isfied with  that,  followed  him  to  Meriden  the  next 
evening,  and  heard  him  again  for  the  same  purpose. 
58 


LIXCOLX'S  PO  WER  AS  A  SPEAKER.  59 

All  this  seemed  to  Mr.  Lincoln  to  be  "  very  ex- 
traordinary/' He  had  been  sufficiently  astonished 
by  his  success  in  the  West;  but  he  had  no  expecta- 
tion of  any  marked  success  in  the  Easty  particu- 
larly among  literary  and  learned  men. 

"  Now/'  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I  should  very  much 
like  to  know  what  it  was  in  my  speech  which  you 
thought  so  j-emarkable,  and  which  interested  my 
friend  the  professor  so  much?" 

Mr.  Gulliver's  answer  was : 

"The  clearness  of  your  statements,  the  unan- 
swerable style  of  your  reasoning,  and,  especially, 
your  illustrations,  which  were  romance  and  pathos, 
and  fun  and  logic,  all  welded  together." 

After  Mr.  Gulliver  had  fully  satisfied  his  curi- 
osity by  a  further  exposition  of  the  politician's 
peculiar  power,  Mr.  Lincoln  said: 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  this.  I  have 
been  wishing  for  a  long  time  to  find  some  one  who 
would  make  this  analysis  for  me.  It  throws  light 
on  a  subject  which  has  been  dark  to  me.  I  can  un- 
derstand very  readily  how  such  a  power  as  you  have 
ascribed  to  me  will  account  for  the  effect  which 
seems  to  be  produced  by  my  speeches.  I  hope  you 
have  not  been  too  flattering  in  your  estimate.  Cer- 
tainly, I  have  had  a  most  wonderful  success  for  a 
man  of  my  limited  education." 

*'  That  suggests,  Mr.  Lincoln,  an  inquiry  which 


60  ABE  AHA  M  LIXCOLK 

has  several  time  been  upon  my  lips  during  this 
conversation,"  said  Mr.  Gulliver.  ^'  I  want  very 
much  to  know  how  you  got  this  unusual  power  of 
putting  things.  It  must  have  been  a  matter  of  ed- 
ucation. No  man  has  it  by  nature  alone.  What 
lias  your  education  been  ?'^ 

^'  Well,  as  to  education,  the  newspapers  are  cor- 
rect,'' replied  Lincoln ;  ^^  I  never  went  to  school 
more  than  six  months  in  my  life.  But,  as  you  say, 
this  must  be  a  product  of  culture  in  some  form.  I 
have  been  putting  the  question  you  ask  me  to  my- 
self, while  you  have  been  talking.  I  can  say  this, 
that  among  my  earliest  recollections  I  remember 
how,  when  a  mere  child,  I  used  to  get  irritated 
when  anybody  talked  to  me  in  a  way  I  could  not 
understand.  I  do  n't  think  I  ever  got  angry  at 
anything  else  in  my  life.  But  that  always  disturbed 
my  temper,  and  has  ever  since.  I  can  remember 
going  to  my  little  bedroom,  after  hearing  the 
neighbors  talk  of  an  evening  with  my  father,  and 
spending  no  small  part  of  the  night  walking  up 
and  down,  and  trying  to  make  out  what  was  the 
exact  meaning  of  some  of  their,  to  me,  dark  say- 
ings. I  could  not  sleep,  though  I  often  tried  to, 
when  I  got  on  such  a  hunt  after  an  idea,  until  I 
had  caught  it ;  and  when  I  thought  I  had  got  it,  I 
was  not  satisfied  until  I  had  repeated  it  over  and 
over,  until  I  had  put  it  in  language  plain  enough,  as 


LINCOLN'S  POWER  AS  A  SPEAKER.  61 

I  thought,  for  any  boy  I  knew  to  comprehend. 
This  was  a  kind  of  passion'  with  me,  and  it  has 
stuck  by  me ;  for  I  am  never  easy  now,  when  I 
am  handling  a  thought,  till  I  have  bounded  it 
north,  and  bounded  it  south,  and  bounded  it  east, 
and  bounded  it  west.  Perhaps  that  accounts  for 
the  characteristic  you  observe  in  my  speeches, 
though  I  never  put  the  two  things  together  before." 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,"  said  Mr.  Gulliver,  "  I  thank  you 
for  this.  It  is  the  most  splendid  educational  fact  I 
ever  happened  upon.  This  is  genius^  with  all  its 
impulsive,  inspiring,  dominating  power  over  the 
mind  of  its  possessor,  developed  by  education  into 
talent,  with  its  uniformity,  its  permanence,  and  its 
disciplined  strength — always  ready,  always  availa- 
ble, never  capricious — the  highest  possession  of  the 
human  intellect.  But,  let  me  ask,  did  you  prepare 
for  your  profession  ?" 

"  O  yes  !  I  read  law,  as  the  phrase  is ;  that  is, 
I  became  a  lawyer's  clerk  in  Springfield,  and  copied 
tedious  documents,  and  picked  up  what  I  could  of 
law  in  the  intervals  of  other  work.  But  your 
question  reminds  me  of  a  bit  of  education  I  had, 
which  I  am  bound  in  honesty  to  mention.  In  the 
course  of  my  law-reading,  I  constantly  came  upon 
the  word  demonstrate.  I  thought  at  first  that  I  un- 
derstood its  meaning,  but  soon  became  satisfied  that 
I  did  not.     I  said    to  myself,    '  What    do  I    mean 


62  ABRAHAM  LINCOLir. 

when  I  demonstrate  more  than  when  I  reason  or 
prove  f  How  does  demonstration  differ  from  any- 
other  proof?'  I  consulted  Webster's  Dictionary. 
That  tokl  of  certain  proof,  proof  beyond  the  possi- 
bility of  doubt ;  but  I  could  form  no  idea  what 
sort  of  proof  that  was.  I  thought  a  great  many- 
things  were  proved  beyond  a  possibility  of  doubt, 
without  recourse  to  any  such  extraordinary  process 
of  reasoning  as  I  understood  demonstration  to  be. 
I  consulted  all  the  dictionaries  and  books  of  ref- 
erence I  could  find,  but  witli  no  better  results.  You 
might  as  well  have  defined  blue  to  a  blind  man.  At 
last  I  said:  ^Lincoln,  you  can  never  make  a  law- 
yer if  you  do  not  understand  what  demonstrate 
means;'  and  I  left  my  situation  in  Springfield,  went 
home  to  my  father's  house,  and  staid  there  till  1 
could  give  any  proposition  in  the  six  books  of 
Euclid  at  sight.  I  then  found  out  what  demon- 
strate means,  and  went  back  to  my  law-studies." 


LINCOLN'S   NOMINATION    FOR   THE 
PRESIDENCY. 

TSAAC  N.  ARNOLD,  in  his  ^^Life  of  LiDcoln/' 
J-   thus  describes  the  nomination  of  Lincoln  : 

"The  leading  candidates  for  the  Presidency  were 
William  H.  Seward,  of  Xew  York ;  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, of  Illinois;  Salmon  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio;  Simon 
Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  Edward  Bates,  of 
Missouri;  but  it  early  became  apparent  that  the 
contest  was  between  Seward  and  Lincoln. 

"  On  the  first  day  of  the  Convention  the  friends 
of  Lincoln  discovered  that  there  was  an  organized 
body  of  New  Yorkers  and  others  in  the  ^  AYigwara' 
who  cheered  vociferously  whenever  Seward's  name 
was  mentioned,  or  any  allusion  was  made  to  him. 
The  New  Yorkers  did  the  shouting,  Lincoln's 
friends  were  modest  and  quiet. 

"At  the  meeting  of  the   Illinois  delegation  at 

the   Tremont,  on   the   evening   of  the   first  day,  at 

which  Judd,  Davis,  Cook,  and  others  were  present, 

it  was  decided  that  on  the  second  day  Illinois  and 

the  West  should  be  heard.     There  was  then  living 

in   Chicago  a  man  whose    voice  could  drown   the 

63 


6  4  ABBA  HA  3/  X  TXCOLK 

roar  of  Lake  Michigan  in  its  wildest  fury  ;  nay,  it 
was  said  tliat  liis  shout  could  be  heard,  on  a  calm 
day,  across  that  lake.  Cook,  of  Ottawa,  knew  an- 
other man,  living  on  the  Illinois  River,  a  Dr. 
Ames,  who  had  never  found  his  equal  in  his  ability 
to  shout  and  huzzah.  He  was,  however,  a  Demo- 
crat. 

"  Cook  telegraphed  for  him  to  come  to  Chicago 
by  the  first  train.  These  two  men  with  stento- 
rian voices  met  some  of  the  Illinois  delegation  at 
the  Tremont  House,  and  were  instructed  to  organize 
each  a  body  of  men  to  cheer  and  shout,  which  they 
speedily  did  out  of  the  crowds  which  were  in  at- 
tendance from  the  Northwest.  They  were  placed 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  '  ^Yigwam,^  and  instructed 
that  when  Cook  took  out  his  white  handkerchief 
they  were  to  cheer,  and  not  to  cease  until  he  re- 
turned it  to  his  pocket.  Cook  was  conspicuous  on 
the  platform,  and,  at  the  first  utterance  of  the  name 
of  Lincoln,  simultaneously  with  the  wave  of  Cook's 
handkerchief,  there  went  up  such  a  cheer,  such  a 
shout  as  never  before  had  been  heard,  and  which 
startled  the  friends  of  Seward  as  the  cry  of  '  Mar- 
mion,'  on  Flodden  Field,  '  startled  the  Scottish  foe.' 
The  New  Yorkers  tried  to  follow  when  the  name 
of  Seward  was  spoken,  but,  beaten  at  their  own 
game,  their  voices  were  instantly  and  absolutely 
drowned    by  cheers    for    Lincoln.     This    was   kept 


NOMINATIOJ^  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY.  65 

up  until  Lincoln  was  nominated,  amid  a  storm  of 
applause  never  before  equaled. 

''Ames  was  so  carried  away  with  his  enthusiasm 
for  Lincoln  that  he  joined  the  Republican  party, 
and  continued  to  shout  for  Lincoln  during  the 
w^hole  campaign  ;  he  was  afterward  rewarded  with 
a  country  post-office. 

'^  AYhile  the  Convention  was  in  session  Lincoln 
was  at  his  home  in  Springfield.  The  proceedings 
and  the  result  of  each  ballot  were  immediately 
communicated  to  him  by  a  telegraph  wire  extend- 
ing from  the  '  ^Yigwam.^  At  the  time  of  the  second 
ballot  Lincoln  was  with  some  friends  in  the  office 
of  the  Sangamon  Journal,  Soon  a  gentleman  hast- 
ily entered  from  the  telegraph  office,  bearing  a  slip 
of  paper  on  which  his  nomination — the  result  of  the 
third  ballot — was  written.  He  read  the  paper  to 
himself,  and  then  aloud,  and  then,  without  stopping 
to  receive  congratulations  of  his  friends,  he  said  : 
'  There  is  a  little  woman  down  at  our  house  who 
would  like  to  hear  this.  I  ^11  go  down  and  tell  her/ 
The  incident  speaks  relatively  of  the  affectionate 
relations  between  him  and  his  wife.  She  was  far 
more  anxious  that  he  should  be  President  than  he 
himself  was,  and  her  early  dream  was  now  to  be 
realized. 

"  No  words  can  adequately  describe   the   enthu-, 

siasm  with  which  this    nomination  was  received  in 

6 


6 6  ABRAHAM  LINCOL  N, 

Chicago,  in  Illinois,  and  throughout  the  Northwest. 
A  man  who  had  been  placed  on  top  of  the  Wigwam 
to  announce  to  the  thousands  outside  the  progress 
of  the  balloting,  as  soon  as  the  secretary  read  the 
result  of  the  third  ballot,  shouted  to  those  below  : 
^  Fire  the  salute — Lincoln  is  nominated,^ 
The  cannon  was  fired,  and  before  its  reverberations 
died  away  a  hundred  thousand  voters  of  Illinois 
and  the  neighboring  States  ^vere  shouting,  scream- 
ing, and  rejoicing  at  the  result." 

Immediately  after  the  Convention  adjourned,  a 
committee  visited  Mr.  Lincoln  in  Springfield,  111.,  to 
inform  him  officially  of  his  nomination.  After  this 
ceremony  had  passed,  Mr.  Lincoln  remarked  that, 
as  an  appropriate  conclusion  to  an  interview  so  im- 
portant and  interesting,  he  supposed  good  manners 
would  require  that  he  should  furnish  the  committee 
something  to  drink  ;  and  opening  a  door,  he  called 
out,  '^  Mary  !  Mary  !''  A  girl  responded  to  the 
call,  to  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  a  few  words  in  an 
undertone.  In  a  few  minutes  the  maiden  entered, 
bearing  a  large  waiter,  containing  several  glass 
tumblers  and  a  large  pitcher,  and  placed  it  upon 
the  center-table. 

Mr.  Lincoln  arose,  and  gravely  addressing  the 
company,  said  :  "  Gentlemen,  we  must  pledge  our 
mutual  healths  in  the  most  healthy  beverage  which 
God  has  given  to  man.  It  is  the  only  beverage  I  have 


NOMINATION' FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY.  67 

ever  used  or  allowed  in  my  family,  and  I  can  not 
conscientiously  depart  from  it  on  the  present  oc- 
casion ;  it  is  pure  Adam's  ale  from  the  spring  /' 
and,  taking  a  tumbler,  he  touched  it  to  his  lips,  and 
pledged  them  his  highest  respects  in  a  cup  of  cold 
water. 


THE   MORAL  ASPECT   OF  THE  CAM- 
PAIGN OF  1860. 

"  pvURING  the  campaign  of  1860/'  says  J.  G. 
jJ  Holland,  in  his  ^^  Life  of  Lincoln/'  "Mr. 
Xewton  Bateman,  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction for  the  State  of  Illinois,  occupied  a  room 
adjoining  and  opening  into  the  executive  chamber 
at  S[)ringfield,  and  he  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  nearly  every 
day.  Often  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  tired,  he  closed 
the  door  against  all  intruders,  and  called  Mr.  Bate- 
man  into  his  room  for  a  quiet  talk.  On  one  ot 
these  occasions,  Mr.  Lincoln  took  up  a  book  con- 
taining a  careful  canvass  of  the  city  of  Springfield, 
in  which  he  lived,  showing  the  candidate  for  whom 
each  citizen  had  declared  it  his  intention  to  vote  in 
the  approaching  election.  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends 
had,  doubtless  at  his  own  request,  placed  the  result 
of  the  canvass  in  his  hands.  This  was  only  a  few 
days  before  election.  Calling  Mr.  Bateman  to  a 
seat  by  his  side,  having  previously  locked  all  the 
doors,  he  said :  ^  Let  us  look  over  this  book  ;  I 
wish  particularly  to  see  how  the  ministers  of  Spring- 
field are  going  to  vote.'  The  leaves  were  turned, 
68 


CA3IPAIGN  OF  18G0.  69 

one  by  one,  and  as  the  names  were  examined,  Mr. 
Lincoln  frequently  asked  if  this  one  and  that  were 
not  a  minister  or  an  elder,  or  a  member  of  such  or 
such  Church,  and  sadly  expressed  his  surprise  on 
receiving  an  affirmative  answer.  In  that  manner 
they  went  through  the  book,  and  then  he  closed  it, 
and  sat  silently  for  some  minutes  regarding  a  mem- 
orandum in  pencil  which  lay  before  him.  At 
length,  he  turned  to  Mr.  Bateman,  with  a  face  full 
of  sadness,  and  said  : 

*'^Here  are  twenty-three  ministers,  of  different 
denominations,  and  all  of  them  are  against  me  but 
three ;  and  here  are  a  great  many  prominent  mem- 
bers of  the  Churches,  a  very  large  majority  are 
against  me.  Mr.  Bateman,  I  am  not  a  Christian — 
God  knows  I  would  be  one — but  I  have  carefully 
read  the  Bible,  and  I  do  not  so  understand  this 
book/  and  he  drew  forth  a  pocket  New  Testament. 
'  These  men  well  know,^  he  continued,  ^  that  I  am 
for  freedom  in  the  Territories,  freedom  everywhere 
as  free  as  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  will  permit, 
and  that  my  opponents  are  for  slavery.  They  hnoio 
this,  and  yet,  with  this  book  in  their  hands,  in  the 
light  of  which  human  bondage  can  not  live  a  mo- 
ment, they  are  going  to  vote  against  me.  I  do  not 
understand  it  at  all.^ 

^^Here  Mr.  Lincoln  paused — paused  for  long 
minutes — his    features     surcharged    with    emotion. 


70  ABRAHA3I  LINCOLN. 

Then  he  rose  and  ^yalked  up  and  down  the  recep- 
tion-room in  the  eifort  to  retain  or  regain  his  self- 
possession.  Stopping  at  last,  he  said,  with  a  trem- 
bling voice  and  cheeks  wet  with  tears:  ^I  know 
there  is  a  God,  and  that  he  hates  injustice  and 
slavery.  I  see  the  storm  coming,  and  I  know  that 
his  hand  is  in  it.  If  he  has  a  place  and  work  for 
me — and  I  think  he  has — I  believe  I  am  ready.  I 
am  nothing,  but  truth  is  everything.  I  know  I  am 
right,  because  I  know  that  liberty  is  right;  for  Christ 
teaches  it,  and  Christ  is  God.  I  have  told  them 
that  a  house  divided  against  itself  can  not  stand ; 
and  Christ  and  reason  say  the  same ;  and  they  will 
find  it  so.  Douglas  don't  ca^e  whether  slavery  is 
voted  up  or  down  ;  but  God  cares,  and  humanity 
cares,  and  I  care,  and,  with  God's  help,  I  shall  not 
fail.  I  may  not  see  the  end,  but  it  will  come,  and 
I  shall  be  vindicated  ;  and  these  men  will  find  that 
they  have  not  read  their  Bible  right.' 

^^  Much  of  this  was  uttered  as  if  he  was  speaking 
to  himself,  and  with  a  sad,  earnest  solemnity  of 
manner  impossible  to  be  described.  After  a  pause, 
he  resumed:  ^Doesn't  it  appear  strange  that  men 
can  ignore  the  moral  aspect  of  this  contest?  A  rev- 
elation could  not  make  it  plainer  to  me  that  slavery 
or  the  Government  must  be  destroyed.  The  future 
would  be  something  awful,  as  I  look  at  it,  but  for 
this  rock  on  which  I  stand' — alluding  to  the  Testa- 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1860.  71 

ment  which  he  still  held  in  his  hand — 'especially 
with  the  knowledge  of  how  these  ministers  are  going 
to  vote.  It  seems  as  if  God  had  borne  with  this 
thing  [slavery]  until  the  very  teachers  of  religion 
had  come  to  defend  it  from  the  Bible,  and  to  claim 
for  it.  a  divine  character  and  sanction  ;  and  now  the 
cup  of  iniquity  is  full,  and  the  vials  of  wrath  will  be 
poured  out'  After  this  the  conversation  was  con- 
tinued for  a  long  time.  Everything  he  said  was  of  a 
peculiarly  deep,  tender,  and  religious  tone,  and  all 
was  tinged  with  a  touching  melancholy.  He  re- 
peatedly referred  to  his  conviction  that  the  day  of 
wrath  was  at  hand,  and  that  he  was  to  be  an  actor 
in  the  terrible  struggle  which  would  issue  in  the 
overthrow  of  slavery,  though  he  might  not  live  to 
see  the  end. 

"  After  further  reference  to  a  belief  in  Divine 
providence  and  the  fact  of  God  in  history,  the 
conversation  turned  upon  prayer.  He  freely  stated 
his  belief  in  the  duty,  privilege,  and  efficacy  of 
prayer,  and  intimated,  in  no  mistakable  terms,  that 
he  had  sought  in  that  way  the  Divine  guidance  and 
favor.  The  effect  of  this  conversation  upon  the 
mind  of  ^Ir.  Bateman,  a  Christian  gentleman  whom 
Mr.  Lincoln  profoundly  respected,  was  to  convince 
him  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had,  in  his  quiet  way,  found 
a  path  to  the  Christian  standpoint — that  he  had 
found  God,  and  rested  on  the  eternal  truth  of  God. 


72  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

As  the  two  men  were  about  to  separate,  Mr.  Bate- 
man  remarked  :  ^  I  have  not  supposed  that  you 
were  accustomed  to  think  so  much  upon  this  class 
of  subjects.  Certainly  your  friends  generally  are 
ignorant  of  the  sentiments  you  have  expressed  to 
me/  He  replied  quickly :  ^  I  know  they  are,  but 
I  think  more  on  these  subjects  than  upon  all  others, 
and  I  have  done  so  for  years;  and  I  am  willing  you 
should  know  it/  '^ 

Mr.  Lincoln,  however,  did  receive  the  general 
support  of  the  religious  people  of  the  North.  Not 
only  did  they  vote  for  him,  but  upon  his  inaugura- 
tion as  President,  prayers  were  offered  in  thousands 
of  churches  and  at  many  family  altars  that  he  might 
be  divinely  guided. 


''  ONE  WAR  AT  A  TIME." 

NEXT  to  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  the 
most  important  act  of  Mr.  Lincoln^s  Adminis- 
tration was  that  in  regard  to  England's  demand  for 
the  release  of  Mason  and  Slidell. 

These  gentlemen  were  the  accredited  envoys  of 
the  Confederacy  to  England  and  France.  They 
ran  the  blockade  at  Charleston,  and  reached  Havana. 
There  they  took  passage  on  the  British  Royal  Mail 
steamship  Trentj  November  7,  1861.  Captain 
Wilkes,  of  the  United  States  steam  sloop-of-war  San 
Jacinto,  who  knew  of  their  movements,  lay  in  wait 
for  the  Trent,  and  the  next  day,  in  the  Bahama 
Channel,  fired  a  shot  across  her  bows  and  brought 
her  to.  He  then  boarded  the  vessel,  and,  against 
the  angry  protests  of  the  English  captain,  took  off 
Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell,  who  were  soon  after- 
ward confined  in  Fort  Warren,  Boston  Harbor. 

Captain  Wilkes's  action  was  received  with  enthu- 
siasm throughout  the  North,  and  he  was  congratu- 
lated by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  praised  by 
Secretary   Stanton.       Congress    passed    a    vote    of 

thanks  for  his  ^*  brave,  adroit,  and  patriotic  conduct.'' 

73 


74  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

President  Lincolu  did  not  join  in  the  congratu- 
lations. ^Ir.  John  T.  Morse,  Jr.,  in  his  "  Life  of 
Lincoln/'  says  : 

*'  He  was  scarcely  even  non-committal.  On  the 
contrary,  he  is  said  at  once  to  have  remarked  that  it 
did  not  look  right  to  stop  the  vessel  of  a  friendly 
po^yer  on  the  high  seas  and  take  passengers  out  of 
her;  that  he  did  not  understand  whence  Captain 
AVilkes  derived  authority  to  turn  his  quarter-deck 
into  a  court  of  admiralty ;  that  he  was  afraid  the  cap- 
tives might  prove  to  be  white  elephants  on  our  hands ; 
that  we  had  fought  Great  Britain  on  the  ground  of 
like  doings  upon  her  part,  and  that  now  we  must 
stick  to  American  principles  ;  that  if  England  in- 
sisted upon  our  surrendering  the  prisoners,  we  must 
do  so,  and  must  apologize,  and  bind  her  over  to 
keep  the  peace  in  relation  to  neutrals,  and  to  admit 
that  she  had  been  wrong  for  sixty  years." 

AVhat  pleased  the  Americans  angered  the  Britons. 
Orders  were  at  once  issued  to  the  English  navy- 
yards  to  make  immediate  preparations  for  war,  and 
the  English  newspapers  were  filled  with  abuse  of 
and  threats  against  the  United  States.  Lord  Pal- 
merston,  in  the  heat  of  passion,  hastily  wrote  a  dis- 
patch to  Lord  Lyons,  directing  him  to  demand  im- 
mediate reparation.  The  missive  was  couched  in 
such  threatening  and  insolent  language,  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  must  have   refused  to  comply  with  its  de- 


ONE  WAR  AT  A  TIME.  75 

mand,  and  war  would  probably  have  been  the  re- 
sult. Fortunately,  Lord  Palmerston,  before  send- 
ing the  dispatch  to  Lord  Lyons,  submitted  it  to  the 
Queen,  who  secured  the  elimination  of  the  offensive 
language,  though  the  tone  remained  peremptory. 

Lord  Lyons  received  the  dispatch  December 
19th.  Before  delivering  it  officially  he  talked  over 
its  contents  with  Secretary  of  State  Seward,  inform- 
ally. Mr.  Lincoln  suggested  arbitration,  which  was 
refused,  Lord  Lyons  having  no  authority  for  such 
action. 

Having  admitted  that  England  was  right,  Mr. 
Lincoln  felt  that  no  other  course  could  be  pursued 
than  to  surrender  the  envoys.  To  those  who  pro- 
tested and  did  not  view  the  legal  aspects  of  the 
case  as  himself,  he  said  :  ^^  One  war  at  a  time.'^  It 
would  have  been  more  agreeable  to  him  to  have 
protracted  the  diplomatic  settlement;  but  this,  un- 
der the  circumstances,  was  not  possible. 

In  his  official  reply.  Secretary  of  State  Seward 
reminded  the  English  Government  that  the  United 
States,  in  1812,  had  fought  against  England  for  ex- 
ercising the  right  she  claimed  to  stop  their  vessels 
on  the  high  seas  and  search  them  for  British  sul- 
jects.  He  was  glad  to  find  her  renouncing  this  old- 
time  error.  Captain  Wilkes  had  acted  without  in- 
structions, and  had  made  a  mistake. 

'*  No  one,"  says  Arnold^  ^^  can  calculate  the  re- 


76  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

suits  which  would  have  followed  upon  a  refusal  to 
surrender  these  men.''  Morse  expresses  the  opin- 
ion that  "  an  almost  certain  result  would  have  been 
a  war  with  England ;  and  a  highly  probable  result 
would  have  been  that  erelong  France  also  would 
find  pretext  for  hostilities,  since  she  was  committed 
to  friendship  with  England  in  this  matter,  and, 
moreover,  the  emperor  seemed  to  have  a  restless 
desire  to  interfere  against  the  North." 


CONSIDERING  THE  EMANCIPATION 
PROCLAMATION. 


"  TT  was  the  purpose  of  the  President"  wrote  Ex- 
-^  Secretary  Usher  in  the  New  York  Trihuney 
"to  issue  a  proclamation  looking  to  the  emancipa- 
tion of  slaves  during  the  summer  of  1862,  but 
in  consequence  of  the  unexpected  misadventure  of 
General  McClellan  in  the  Peninsula  before  Rich- 
mond, it  was  considered  prudent  to  delay  the  proc- 
lamation until  some  decisive  advantage  should  be 
gained  by  the  armies  in  the  field.  Accordingly, 
soon  after  the  Battle  of  Antietam,  the  first  Procla- 
mation of  Emancipation  was  made.  By  that,  one 
hundred  days  w^ere  given  the  States  in  rebellion  to 
resume  their  normal  condition  in  the  Government. 
"  In  the  preparation  of  the  final  Proclamation  of 
Emancipation,  of  January  1,  1863,  Mr.  Lincoln 
manifested  great  solicitude.  He  had  his  original 
draft  printed,  and  furnished  each  member  of  his 
Cabinet  with  a  copy,  with  the  request  that  each 
should  examine,  criticise,  and  suggest  any  amend- 
ments that  occurred  to  them. 

"At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Cabinet,  Mr.  Chase 

77 


78  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

said :  '  This  paper  is  of  the  utmost  importance, 
greater  than  any  State  paper  ever  made  by  this 
Government.  A  paper  of  so  much  importance,  and 
involving  the  liberties  of  so  many  people,  ought,  I 
think,  to  make  some  reference  to  Deity.  I  do  not 
observe  anything  of  the  kind  in  it.^ 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  said :  ^  No,  I  overlooked  it.  Some 
reference  to  Deity  must  be  inserted.  Mr.  Chase, 
won't  you  make  a  draft  of  what  you  think  ought 
to  be  inserted?' 

"Mr.  Chase  promised  to  do  so,  and  at  the  next 
meeting  presented  the  following :  ^And  upon  this 
Act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice,  war- 
ranted by  the  Constitution,  upon  military  necessity, 
I  invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind,  and 
the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God/ 

^^  When  Mr.  Lincoln  read  the  paragraph,  Mr. 
Chase  said :  ^  You  may  not  approve  it,  but  I  thought 
this,  or  something  like  it,  would  be  appropriate.' 

"Lincoln  replied:  ^I  do  approve  it;  it  can  not 
be  bettered,  and  I  will  adopt  it  in  the  very  words 
you  have  written.' 

"When  the  parts  of  the  Proclamation  contain- 
ing the  exception  from  its  operation  of  States  and 
parts  of  States  were  considered,  Mr.  Montgomery 
Blair  spoke  of  the  importance  of  the  Proclamation 
as  a  state  paper,  and  said  that  persons  in  after  times 
in  seeking  correct  information  of  the  occurrences  of 


THE  EMAXCIPA  TION  PROCLA  MA  TION:  7 9 

those  times,  would  read  and  wonder  why  the  thir- 
teen parishes  and  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  in 
Louisiana,  and  the  counties  in  Virginia  about  Nor- 
folk, were  excepted  from  the  Proclamation,  that  they 
were  in  the  ^  very  heart  and  back  of  slavery,'  and 
unless  there  was  some  good  reason  which  was  then 
unknown  tc  him,  he  hoped  they  would  not  be  ex- 
cepted. Mr.  Seward  said:  ^I  think  so  too;  I  think 
they  should  not  be  excepted.' 

^^Mr.  Lincoln  replied:  ^  Well,  upon  first  view, 
your  objections  are  clearly  good;  but  after  I  issued 
the  Proclamation  of  September  22d,  Mr.  Bouligny, 
of  Louisiana,  then  here,  came  to  see  me.  He  was 
a  great  invalid  and  had  scarcely  the  strength  to 
walk  up-stairs.  He  wanted  to  know  of  me,  if  these 
parishes  in  Louisiana  and  New  Orleans  should  hold 
an  election,  and  elect  members  of  Congress,  whether 
I  would  not  except  them  from  this  Proclamation. 
I  told  him  I  would.'  Continuing  he  said:  ^No,  I 
did  not  do  that  in  so  many  words ;  if  he  was  here  now 
he  could  not  repeat  any  words  I  said  which  would 
amount  to  an  absolute  promise.  But  I  know  he 
understood  me  that  way,  and  that  is  just  the  same 
to  me.  They  have  elected  members  and  they  are 
here  now — Union  men,  ready  to  take  their  seats — 
and  they  have  elected  a  Union  man  from  the  Nor- 
folk District.' 

"  Mr.  Blair  said :  ^  If  you  have  a  promise  out,  I 


80  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

will  not  ask  you  to  break  it/  Seward  said  :  '  No, 
no ;  we  would  not  have  you  do  that/  Mr.  Chase 
then  said :  *  Very  true,  they  have  elected  Hahu  and 
Flanders,  but  they  have  not  yet  got  their  seats,  and 
it  is  not  certain  that  they  will/ 

"Mr.  Liucoln  arose  from  his  seat,  apparently 
irritated,  and  walked  rapidly  back  and  forth  across 
the  room.  Looking  over  his  shoulder  at  Mr.  Chase, 
he  said :  '  There  it  is,  sir.  I  am  to  be  bullied  by 
Congress,  am  I?     If  I  do,  1^11  be  durned.' 

"Nothing  more  was  said.  A  month  or  more 
thereafter,  Hahn  and  Flanders  were  admitted  to  their 
seats." 


THE  GETTYSBURG  SPEECH. 


ME.  LINCOLN'S  most  famous  speech  was  the 
short  one  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Soldiers'  Cemetery  on  the  battle-field  at  Gettys- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  November  19,  1863. 

The  oration  of  the  occasion  was  delivered  by  the 
distinguished  scholar,  Edward  Everett.  His  speech 
lasted  two  hours,  Mr.  Lincoln's  less  than  five  min- 
utes. The  latter  had  been  thought  out,  but  was 
changed  slightly  during  its  delivery.  As  revised 
afterward  by  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the  Baltimore  Fair, 
it  is  as  follows : 

"  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers 
brought  forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  con- 
ceived in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition 
that  all  men  are  created  equal. 

"Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  test- 
ing whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived 
and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  AVe  are  met  on 
a  great  battle-field  of  that  war.  AVe  have  come  to 
dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting- 
place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that 
nation    might   live.     It   is    altogether    fitting    and 

proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

6  81 


82  ABBAHAJI  LINCOLN. 

"  But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  can  not  dedicate — we 
can  not  consecrate — we  can  not  hallow — this  ground. 
The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here 
have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  poor  power  to 
add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note  nor  Ions: 
remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget 
what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us  the  living,  rather, 
to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work  which 
they  \\'ho  fought  here  have  thus  far  so  nobly  ad- 
vanced. It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to 
the  great  task  remaining  before  us — that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that 
cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of 
devotion — that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these 
dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain — that  this  Nation, 
under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom — 
and  that  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth.'' 

A  few  hours  after  the  delivery  of  these  few 
words  Mr.  Everett  said :  "  I  would  rather  be  the 
author  of  those  twenty  lines  than  to  have  all  the 
fame  my  oration  of  to-day  will  give  me.''  He 
spoke  truly.  Everett's  oration  is  almost  forgotten, 
while  Lincoln's  is  read  wherever  the  English  lan- 
guage is  spoken. 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  TENDERNESS. 

SCHUYLER  COLFAX,  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States^  wrote  in  ^^  Rice's  Reminiscences 
of  Lincoln  :'^ 

"No  man  clothed  with  such  vast  power  ever 
wielded  it  more  tenderly  and  more  forbearingly. 
No  man  holding  in  his  hands  the  key  of  life  and 
death  ever  pardoned  so  many  offenders,  and  so 
easily.  Judge  Bates,  of  Missouri,  his  Attorney- 
General,  insisted  that  lack  of  sternness  was  a 
marked  defect  in  Lincoln's  character.  He  told  Mr. 
Lincoln  once  in  my  presence  that  this  defect  made 
him  unfit  to  be  trusted  with  the  pardoning  power. 
Any  touching  story,  especially  one  told  by  a 
woman,  was  certain  to  warp,  if  not  to  control,  his 
decision. 

"  One  winter  night,  while  Congress  was  in  ses- 
sion, I  left  all  other  business  and  asked  him  to 
pardon  the  son  of  a  former  constituent  sentenced 
to  be  shot  at  Davenport  Barracks,  Iowa,  for  deser- 
tion. He  heard  the  story  with  his  usual  patience, 
although  worried  out  with  incessant  calls  and  cares, 
then  replied: 

"'Some  of  my  generals  complain  that  I  impair 

83 


84  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

discipline  by  my  frequent  pardons  and  reprieves ; 
but  it  rests  me,  after  a  day's  bard  work,  tbat  I 
can  find  some  excuse  for  saving  some  poor  fellow  s 
life;  and  I  sball  go  to  bed  happy  to-night  as  I 
think  how  joyous  the  signing  of  this  name  will 
make  himself,  his  family,  and  friends/  And  with 
a  smile  beaming  on  his  care-furrowed  face,  he  signed 
that  name  and  saved  that  life." 

A  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln  says :  "  I 
called  on  him  one  day  in  the  early  part  of  the 
war.  He  had  just  written  a  pardon  for  a  young 
man  who  had  been  sentenced  to  be  shot  for  sleep- 
ing at  his  post  as  a  sentinel.  He  remarked  as  he 
read  it  to  me : 

^^^I  could  not  think  of  going  into  eternity  with 
the  blood  of  the  poor  young  man  on  my  skirts.' 
Then  he  added :  ^  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
a  boy,  raised  on  a  farm,  probably  in  the  habit  of 
going  to  bed  at  dark,  should,  when  required  to 
watch,  fall  asleep;  and  I  can  not  consent  to  shoot 
him  for  such  an  act.' " 

Rev.  Newman  Hall,  in  a  sermon  upon  Mr. 
Lincoln's  death,  said  that  the  dead  body  of  this 
boy  was  found  among  the  slain  on  the  field  of 
Fredericksburg,  wearing  next  to  his  heart  a  photo- 
graph of  his  preserver,  beneath  which  he  had  writ- 
ten, "  God  bless  President  Lincoln  !" 

Mr.    Hall     in    the    same    sermon    stated    that 


3IR.  LINCOLN'S  TENDERNESS.  85 

an  officer  of  the  army,  in  conversation  with  the 
preacher,  said : 

*^The  first  week  of  my  command,  there  were 
twenty-four  deserters  sentenced  by  court-martial 
to  be  shot,  and  the  warrants  for  their  execution 
were  sent  to  the  President  to  be  signed.  He  re- 
fused. I  went  to  Washington  and  had  an  inter- 
view.    I  said : 

" '  Mr.  President,  unless  these  men  are  made  an 
example  of,  the  army  itself  is  in  danger.  Mercy 
to  the  few  is  cruelty  to  the  many.' 

^^He  replied:  ^General,  there  are  already  too 
many  weeping  widows  in  the  United  States.  For 
God's  sake,  don't  ask  me  to  add  to  the  number, 
for  I  won't  do  it.' " 

One  day,  Mr.  Alley,  a  member  of  Congress,  who 
called  at  the  White  House  on  business,  saw  in  the 
crowd  an  old  man  crying  as  if  his  heart  would 
break.  Such  a  sight  was  so  common  that  the  con- 
gressman paid  no  attention  to  it.  The  next  day  he 
again  called  at  the  White  House,  and  found  the  old 
man  still  there,  crying.  His  heart  was  touched, 
and  he  asked  him  :  "  What  is  the  matter,  old 
man?" 

The  old  man  told  him  the  story  of  his  boy,  a 
soldier  in  General  Butler's  Army  of  the  James, 
who  had  been  convicted  of  some  crime,  and  sen- 
tenced to  be  shot  the  next  week.     His  congress- 


86  ABB  AHA  31  LINCOLN. 

man  was  convinced  of  the  boy's  guilt,  and  would 
not  interfers. 

"  Well/'  said  Mr.  Alley,  ''  I  will  take  you  into 
the  Executive  chamber  aft-er  I  have  finished  my 
business,  and  you  can  tell  Mr.  Lincoln  all  about  it.'' 

On  being  introduced  into  Mr.  Lincoln's  pres- 
ence, he  was  asked  :  "  Well,  my  old  friend,  what  can 
I  do  for  you  to-day  ?" 

The  old  man  then  repeated  to  Mr.  Lincoln  what 
he  had  already  told  the  congressman  in  the  ante- 
room. A  cloud  of  sorrow  came  over  the  President's 
face,  as  he  replied  : 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  can  do  nothing  for  you. 
Listen  to  this  telegram  received  from  General  But- 
ler yesterday  :  '  President  Lincoln,  I  pray  you  not 
to  interfere  with  the  courts-martial  of  the  army. 
You  will  destroy  all  discipline  among  our  soldiers. — 
B.  F.  Butler.'  " 

Every  word  of  this  dispatch  seemed  like  a  death- 
knell  to  the  old  man.  Mr.  Lincoln  watched  his 
grief  for  a  minute,  and  then  exclaimed  : 

^' By  jingo,  Butler  or  no  Butler,  here  goes!" — 
writing  a  few  words  and  handing  them  to  the  old 
man. 

The  confidence  created  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  words 
broke  down  when  he  read  :  ''  Job  Smith  is  not  to 
be  shot  until  further  orders  from  me. — Abraham 

LiNX'OLN." 


3IR.  LINCOLN'S  TENDERNESS.  87 

"  AYhy/^  said  the  old  man,  "  I  thought  it  was  to 
be  a  pardon ;  but  you  say,  ^  not  to  be  shot  until 
further  orders/  and  you  may  order  him  to  be  shot 
next  week." 

Mr.  Lincoln  smiled,  and  replied  :  ^^  Well,  my  old 
friend,  I  see  you  are  not  very  \yell  acquainted  with 
me.  If  your  son  never  looks  on  death  till  further 
orders  come  from  me  to  shoot  him,  he  will  live  to 
be  a  great  deal  older  than  Methuselah." 

General  McClellan  sent  for  the  President  in  a 
critical  hour,  and  he  responded  by  starting  at  once, 
accompanied  by  Stanton.  They  had  no  sooner 
alighted  from  the  car  on  reaching  army  headquar- 
ters, than  Stanton  approached  General  McClellan, 
and  brusquely  addressed  him  by  saying :  "  AYhy 
are  you  delaying  an  advance  ?  What  keeps  you 
from  hurling  this  army  on  to  the  foe  ?" 

^'  I  have  asked  the  President  and  you  to  come 
personally,"  said  the  general,  ^'  that  you  might  see 
for  yourself  the  necessity  for  re-enforcements,  the 
depleted  ranks  of  our  army,  the  broken  condition 
to  which  the  last  engagement  has  reduced  us." 
Meanwhile  the  dead  and  wounded  were  being  car- 
ried from  the  battle-field.  The  lanterns  of  the  men 
who  moved  among  the  slain  shone  out  like  fireflies 
as  they  progressed. 

As  one  stretcher  was  passing  Mr.  Lincoln,  he 
heard  the  voice  of  a   lad  calling  to  his  mother  in 


88  ABRAHAM  LINCOLI^, 

agonizing  tones.  His  great  heart  filled.  He  for- 
got the  crisis  of  the  hour.  His  very  being  concen- 
trated itself  in  the  cries  of  the  dying  boy.  Stop- 
ping the  carriers,  he  knelt,  and  bending  over  him, 
asked  : 

"  What  can  I  do  for  you,  my  poor  child  V^ 

"  O,  you  will  do  nothing  for  me,'^  he  replied. 
^'  You  are  a  Yankee.  I  can  not  hope  that  my  mes- 
sages to  my  mother  will  ever  reach  her.'' 

^'  Mr.  Lincoln's  tears,  his  voice  full  of  the  ten- 
derest  love,  convinced  the  boy  of  his  sincerity,  and 
he  gave  his  good-bye  words  without  reserve.  The 
President  directed  them  copied,  and  ordered  that 
they  be  sent  that  night,  with  a  flag  of  truce,  into 
the  enemy's  lines.  He  only  told  the  soldier  who 
he  was  to  convince  him  that  his  word  would  be 
obeyed,  and  when  told  that  time  was  precious,  as 
the  distant  outposts  must  yet  be  visited,  he  arose 
reluctantly  and  entered  the  ambulance.  With  sobs 
and  tears  he  turned  to  Mark  Lemon,  his  friend,  and 
said  : 

^^  Mark,  my  heart  is  breaking.  Sing  me  some- 
thing ;  sing  the  old  song  I  love,  '  Oft  in  the  stilly 
night.' " 

^*  I  was  waiting  my  turn  to  speak  to  the  Presi- 
dent one  day,  some  three  or  four  weeks  since,"  said 
Mr.  M ,  ''  when  ray  attention  was  attracted  by 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  TENDERNESS.  89 

the  sad,  patient  face  of  a  woman  advanced  in  life, 
who,  in  a  faded  hood  and  shawl,  was  among  the  ap- 
plicants for  an  interview. 

"  Presently  Mr.  Lincoln  turned  to  her,  saying, 
in  his  accustomed  manner,  ^  Well,  my  good  woman, 
what  can  I  do  for  you  this  morning  V  ^  Mr.  Pres- 
ident,' said  she,  ^  my  husband  and  three  sons  all 
went   into  the   army.     My  husband    was  killed   in 

the  fight   at  .     I   get   along  very   badly  since 

then,  living  all  alone,  and  I  thought  I  would  come 
and  ask  you  to  release  to  me  my  oldest  son.'  Mr. 
Lincoln  looked  into  her  face  a  moment,  and  in  his 
kindest  accents  responded  :  ^  Certainly  !  certainly  ! 
If  you  have  given  us  ally  and  your  prop  has  been 
taken  away,  you  are  justly  entitled  to  one  of  your 
boys  !'  He  immediately  made  out  an  order  dis- 
charging the  young  man,  which  the  woman  took, 
and  thanking  him  gratefully,  went  away. 

^'  I  had   forgotten-  the  circumstance,'^  continued 

M ,  ''  till  last  w^eek,  W'hen  happening  to  be  here 

again,  who  should  come  in  but  the  same  woman. 
It  appeared  that  she  had  gone  herself  to  the  front, 
with  the  President's  order,  and  found  the  son  she 
was  in  search  of  had  been  mortally  wounded  in  a 
recent  engagement,  and  taken  to  a  hospital.  She 
found  the  hospital,  but  the  boy  was  dead,  or  died 
while  she  was  there.     The  surgeon  in  charge  made 


90  ABRAHA3I  LINCOLN, 

a  memorandum  of  the  facts  upon  the  back  of  the 
President's  order,  and,  almost  broken-hearted,  the 
poor  woman  had  found  her  way  again  into  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's presence.  He  was  much  affected  by  her  appear- 
ance and  story,  and  said  :  '  I  know  what  you  wish 
me  to  do  now,  and  I  shall  do  it  without  your  ask- 
ing ;  I  shall  release  to  you  your  second  son.'  Upon 
this,  he  took  up  his  pen  and  commenced  writing 
the  order.  While  he  was  writing,  the  poor  woman 
stood  by  his  side,  the  tears  running  down  her  face, 
and  passed  her  hand  softly  over  his  head,  stroking 
his  rough  hair,  as  I  have  seen  a  fond  mother  caress 
a  son.  By  the  time  he  had  finished  writing,  his 
own  heart  and  eyes  were  full.  He  handed  her  the 
paper  :  ^  Now,'  said  he,  '  you  have  one  and  /  one  of 
the  other  two  left ;  that  is  no  more  than  right.' 
She  took  the  paper,  and  reverently  placing  her  hand 
again  upon  his  head,  the  tears  still  upon  her  cheeks, 
said :  ^  The  Lord  bless  you,  Mr.  Lincoln.  May 
you  live  a  thousand  years,  and  may  you  always  be 
the  head  of  this  great  Nation!'" 

Thaddeus  Stevens,  '^  the  Great  Commoner,"  often 
criticised  Mr.  Lincoln  very  severely  for  not  being 
aggressive  and  destructive  enough.  One  day  Mr. 
Stevens  went  with  an  old  lady  from  Lancaster 
County,  Pa.  (his  district),  to  the  White  House,  to 
ask  the  pardon  of  her  son,  condemned  to  die  for 
sleeping  on  his  post. 


3I[L  LINCOLN'S  TENDERXESS,  91 

Mr.  Lincoln  suddenly  turned  upon  his  Pennsyl- 
vania critic,  and  said  : 

*^Now,  Thad,  what  would  you  do  in  this  case, 
if  you  happened  to  be  President  V^ 

Mr.  Stevens  knew  that  many  hundreds  of  his 
constituents  were  waiting  anxiously  to  hear  the  re- 
sult of  that  old  woman's  visit  to  AYashington.  He 
did  not  relish  the  President's  appeal,  but  replied 
that,  as  he  knew  of  the  extenuating  circumstances, 
in  this  particular  case  he  would  certainly  pardon  him. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  after  a  mo- 
ment's writing  in  silence,  '^  here,  madam,  is  your 
son's  pardon." 

The  old  lady's  gratitude  filled  her  heart  to  over- 
flowing. It  seemed  to  her  as  though  her  son  had 
been  snatched  from  the  gateway  of  the  grave.  She 
could  only  thank  the  President  with  her  tears  as 
she  passed  out ;  but  when  she  and  Mr.  Stevens  had 
reached  the  outer  door  of  the  AVhite  House  she 
burst  out  excitedly : 

"  I  knew  it  was  a  lie  !     I  knew  it  was  a  lie !" 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Mr.  Stevens,  in 
astonishment. 

"Why,  when  I  left  my  country  home  in  old 
Lancaster  yesterday,  the  neighbors  told  me  that  I 
would  find  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  ugly  man, 
when  he  is  really  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw 
in  my  life." 


92  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.    • 

Rev.  Way  land  Hoyt,  D.  D.,  in  the  Standard,  re- 
lates the  following,  which  he  says  is  the  tenderest 
story  he  ever  heard  about  Mr.  Lincoln : 

"  Private  William  Scott  had  had  a  long  day^s 
march,  and  had  been  a  sentry  all  the  night  before, 
but  when  the  night  came  again,  and  a  sick  friend  of 
his  was  chosen  sentry,  he  volunteered  to  take  his 
friend's  place.  But  Private  Scott  was  a  farmer's 
boy,  and  he  had  not  been  used  to  being  awake 
nights,  and  he  was  found  asleep  at  his  post.  The 
army  was  in  a  dangerous  neighborhood  at  Chain 
Bridge,  and  discipline  must  be  preserved.  He 
was  sentenced  to  be  shot.  They  sent  to  Mr.  Lin- 
coln to  see  if  he  could  do  anything,  if  he  could 
pardon  him.  At  first  he  said  he  could  not;  then 
he  told  them  that  he  would  go  down  to  Chain 
Bridge  to  see  the  boy. 

^^  Private  Scott  was  in  his  tent  waiting  to  bv. 
shot,  when  the  flap  was  raised,  and  there  stood 
Mr.  Lincoln.  Scott  said  he  knew  him  to  be  Mr. 
Lincoln  by  a  medal  he  wore  of  him.  He  said 
he  was  very  much  frightened  to  be  in  the  pres- 
ence of  so  great  a  man.  Mr.  Lincoln  began  to 
talk  to  him,  and  asked  where  he  was  from.  He 
told  him  from  Vermont.  Mr.  Lincoln  asked  him 
about  the  farm,  and  he  asked  him  about  his 
mother.  Private  Scott  told  him  he  was  very  glad 
he  had   the  picture  of  his  mother  in   his  blouse, 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  TENDERNESS.  93 

and  he  took  it  out  and  showed  it  to  Mr.  Lincoln. 
He  looked  at  it,  and  said :  '  My  boy,  you  ought 
to  be  very  proud  and  glad  that  your  mother  is  liv- 
ing; you  never  ought  to  act  so  as  to  make  her 
cheeks  blush/ 

"As  he  went  on  talking,  Private  Scott  said  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  that  he  was  going  to  die,  and 
he  was  just  about  to  ask  Mr.  Lincoln  if  he  would 
not  see  to  it  that  none  of  the  boys  of  his  regiment 
shot  him,  because  he  said,  'I  thought  I  could  not 
stand  that.  But,^  he  says,  '  Mr.  Lincoln  told  me  to 
stand  up,  and  I  stood  up  ;  and  he  put  his  hands  on 
my  shoulders,  and  said:  "Private  Scott,  look  me 
in  the  eye.^'  Then  he  said/^  Private  Scott,  I  do  n't 
believe  you  are  a  coward,  but  you  are  a  good  sol- 
dier; I  am  not  going  to  have  you  shot;  I  am  going 
to  send  you  back  to  your  regiment.  How  will  you 
pay  my  bill  V^  ^  And  Private  Scott  said  :  ^  I  am  very 
much  obliged  to  you.  I  had  made  up  my  mind  I 
must  die ;  but  I  guess  we  can  pay  your  bill.  I  can 
put  a  mortgage  on  the  farm,  and  when  pay-day 
comes  around  some  of  the  boys  will  help,  and  I 
will  give  you  all  of  my  pay,  and  it  may  be  $500  or 
$600,  and  I  guess  we  can  pay  your  bill.' 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  said :  ^  Private  Scott,  there  is  only 
one  man  who  can  pay  my  bill,  and  that  is  William 
Scott.  If  from  this  moment  you  promise  to  be  the 
best  soldier   that   you  possibly  can   be;  if  you  are 


94  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

true  to  the  old  flag,  and  if,  when  you  come  to  die, 
aad  I  were  there,  you  could  look  nie  in  the  eye 
and  say,  "  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  have  kept  my  promise, 
and  been  the  best  soldier  to  the  old  flag  that  I  pos- 
sibly could  be,'^  then  you  will  pay  my  bill.'  Mr. 
Lincoln  left,  and  afterwards  there  was  never  such  a 
soldier  as  Private  Scott.  He  asked  that  he  might 
do  the  hardest  kind  of  duty  in  the  hospital,  so  that 
he  might  teach  himself  how  to  keep  awake  nights. 
There  Avas  never  a  man  whose  uniform  was  more 
clean  tlian  his.  And  when  the  battle  struck  there 
never  was  a  braver  man.  It  was  at  the  awful 
battles  of  the  Wilderness,  and  he  had  accomplished 
prodigies  of  valor,  and  had  carried  back  officer  after 
officer  from  the  bloody  field;  where  at  last  he  fell, 
shattered  all  to  pieces.  At  last  the  battle  was 
done.  They  bore  him  back,  and  his  comrades 
gathered  around  him.  He  looked  at  them  with  a 
sweet  smile,  and  said  :  '  Boys,  I  have  fought  my 
last  battle,  and  I  think  I  tried  to  do  my  duty.  I 
guess  you  can  tell  my  mother  that ;  and  then,  boys ' — 
and  he  breathed  heavily — ^if  you  should  ever  any 
of  you  see  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  wish  you  would  tell  him 
that  I — tried  to  keep — my  promise — and  be  true  to 
the  old  flag — good-bye,  boys,'  and  he  died.'' 

"A  few  days  before  the  assassination,"  wrote  a 
correspondent  of  the  Independent^  '^  when  the  Presi- 
dent was  on  his  return  from  Richmond,  he  stopped 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  TENDERNESS.  95 

at  City  Point.  Calling  upon  the  head  surgeon  at 
that  place,  Mr.  Lincoln  told  him  that  he  wished  to 
visit  all  the  hospitals  under  his  charge,  and  shake 
hands  with  every  soldier.  The  surgeon  asked  if  he 
knew  Avhat  he  was  undertaking,  there  being  five  or 
six  thousand  soldiers  at  that  place,  and  it  would  be 
quite  a  tax  upon  his  strength  to  visit  all  the  wards 
and  shake  hands  with  every  soldier.  Mr.  Lincoln 
answered,  with  a  smile,  he  'guessed  he  was  equal  to 
the  task ;  at  any  rate  he  would  try,  and  go  as  far 
as  he  could ;  he  should  never,  probably,  see  the  boys 
again,  and  he  wanted  them  to  know  that  he  appre- 
ciated what  they  had  done  for  their  country.' 

^*  Finding  it  useless  to  try  to  dissuade  him,  the 
surgeon  began  his  rounds  with  the  President,  who 
walked  from  bed  to  bed,  extending  his  hand  to  all, 
saying  a  few  words  of  sympathy  to  some,  making 
kind  inquiries  of  others,  and  welcomed  by  all  with 
the  heartiest  cordiality. 

'^As  they  passed  along,  they  came  to  a  ward  in 
which  lay  a  rebel  who  had  been  wounded  and  was 
a  prisoner.  As  the  tall  figure  of  the  kindly  visitor 
appeared  in  sight,  he  was  recognized  by  the  rebel 
soldier,  who,  raising  himself  on  his  elbow  in  bed, 
watched  Mr.  Lincoln  as  he  approached,  and  extend- 
ing his  hand  exclaimed,  while  tears  ran  down  his 
cheeks ; 

"  *  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  have  long  wanted  to  see  you^ 


96  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLK 

to  ask  your  forgiveness  for  ever  raising  my  hand 
against  the  old  flag/ 

^' Mr.  Lincoln  was  moved  to  tears.  He  heartily 
shook  the  hand  of  the  repentant  rebel,  and  assured 
him  of  his  good-will,  and  with  a  few  words  of  kind 
advice  passed  on.  After  some  hours  the  tour  of  the 
various  hospitals  was  made,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  re- 
turned with  the  surgeon  to  his  office.  They  had 
scarcely  entered,  however,  when  a  messenger  came 
saying  that  one  ward  had  been  omitted,  and  ^the 
boys'  wanted  to  see  the  President.  The  surgeon, 
who  was  thoroughly  tired,  and  knew  Mr.  Lincoln 
must  be,  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  going ;  but  the 
President  said  he  must  go  back.  He  would  not 
knowingly  omit  one  ;  ^  the  boys '  would  be  so  disap- 
pointed. So  he  went  with  the  messenger,  accom- 
panied by  the  surgeon,  and  shook  hands  with  the 
gratified  soldiers,  and  then  returned  to  the  office. 

"The  surgeon  expressed  the  fear  that  the  Presi- 
dent's arm  would  be  lamed  with  so  much  handshak- 
ing, saying  that  it  certainly  must  ache.  Mr.  Lincoln 
smiled,  and  saying  something  about  his  ^strong 
muscles,'  stepped  out  at  the  open  door,  took  up  a 
very  large,  heavy  ax  which  lay  there  by  a  log  of  wood, 
and  chopped  vigorously  for  a  few  moments,  sending 
the  chips  flying  in  all  directions;  and  then,  pausing, 
he  extended  his  right  arm  to  its  full  length,  hold- 
ing the  ax  out  horizontally,  without  quivering.' 


yy 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  RELIGIOUS  BELIEF. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  had  the  good  fortune  to 
be  trained  by  a  godly  mother  and  stepmother. 
The  two  books  which  made  the  most  impression 
upon  his  character  were  the  Bible  and  Weems's 
"Life  of  Washington/^  The  former  he  read  with 
such  diligence  that  he  knew  it  almost  by  heart,  and 
the  words  of  Scripture  became  so  much  a  part  of 
his  nature  that  he  rarely  made  a  speech  or  wrote  a 
paper  of  any  length  without  quoting  its  language 
or  teaching. 

Mr.  Arnold,  in  his  "Life  of  Lincoln/^  says :  "  It 
is  very  strange  that  any  reader  of  Lincoln^s  speeches 
and  writings  should  have  the  hardihood  to  charge 
him  with  a  want  of  religious  feeling.'^  In  his  opin- 
ion "  no  more  reverent  Christian  than  he  ever  sat 
in  the  Executive  chair,  not  excepting  Washing- 
ton. .  .  .  From  the  time  he  left  Springfield  to 
his  death  he  not  only  himself  continually  prayed  for 
Divine  assistance,  but  constantly  asked  the  prayers 
of  his  friends  for  himself  and  his  country.  .  . 
Doubtless,  like  many  others,  he  passed  through 
periods  of  doubt  and  perplexity;  but  his  faith  in  a 


98  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Divine  providence  began  at  his  mother^s  knee,  and 
ran  through  all  the  changes  of  his  life.  .  .  . 
When  the  unbeliever  shall  convince  the  people  that 
this  man,  whose  life  was  straightforward,  clear,  and 
honest,  was  a  sham  and  a  hypocrite,  then,  but  not 
before,  may  he  make  the  world  doubt  his  Chris- 
tianity/^ 

That  Mr.  Arnold's  description  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
religious  character  is  correct  is  evidenced  by  quota- 
tions found  in  various  books  on  Lincoln. 

In  a  letter  written  January  12,  1851,  when  his 
father  was  dangerously  ill,  Mr.  Lincoln  says :  ^^  I 
sincerely  hope  father  may  yet  recover  his  health ; 
but,  at  all  events,  tell  him  to  remember  and  call 
upon  and  confide  in  our  great  and  good  and  merci- 
ful Maker,  who  will  not  turn  away  from  him  in  any 
extremity.  He  will  not  forget  the  dying  man  who 
puts  his  trust  in  him.  .  .  .  Say  to  him,  if  it  be 
his  lot  to  go  now,  he  will  soon  have  a  joyous  meet- 
ing with  loved  ones  gone  before,  and  where  the  rest 
of  us,  through  the  help  of  God,  hope  erelong  to 
join  him.'' 

Mr.  Lincoln   one   day   said   to  a  lady  in  whose 

piety  he  had  great  confidence  :  "  Mrs. ,  I  have 

formed  a  high  opinion  of  your  Christian  character, 
and  now,  as  we  are  alone,  I  have  a  mind  to  ask  you 
to  give  me,  in  brief,  your  idea  of  what  constitutes 
a  true  religious  experience."     The   lady  replied  at 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  BELIGIOUS  BELIEF.  99 

some  length,  stating  in  snbstance  that,  in  her  judg- 
ment, it  consisted  of  a  conviction  of  one's  own  sin- 
fulness and  weakness  and  jDersonal  need  of  the 
Savior  for  strength  and  support ;  that  views  of  mere 
doctrine  might  and  w^ould  differ,  but  when  one  was 
really  brought  to  feel  his  need  of  Divine  help,  and 
to  seek  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  strength  and 
guidance,  it  was  satisfactory  evidence  of  his  having 
been  born  again.  When  she  had  concluded,  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  very  thoughtful  for  a  few  moments, 
and  then  said  very  earnestly :  "  If  what  you  have 
told  me  is  really  a  correct  view  of  this  great  sub- 
ject, I  think  I  can  say  with  sincerity  that  I  hope  I 
am  a  Christian.  I  had  lived  until  my  boy  AVillie 
died  without  fully  realizing  these  things.  That  blow 
overwhelmed  me.  It  showed  me  my  weakness  as 
I  had  never  felt  it  before ;  and  if  I  can  take  what 
you  have  stated  as  a  test,  I  think  I  can  safely  say 
that  I  know  something  of  that  change  of  which  you 
speak  ;  and  I  will  further  add  that  it  has  been  my 
intention  for  some  time,  at  a  suitable  opportunity, 
to  make  a  public  religious  profession. '^  Why  he 
never  did  so  is  explained  by  Mr.  Arnold,  who 
quotes  Mr.  Deming,  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Connecticut,  as  saying  that,  when  asked  why,  with 
his  marked  religious  character,  he  did  not  unite 
with  some  Church,  Lincoln  said :  "  I  have  never 
united    myself  with  any   Church   because    I    found 


100  ABRAHA M  LINCOLN. 

difficulty  in  giving  my  assent,  witbout  mental  res- 
ervation, to  the  long  and  complicated  statements  of 
Christian  doctrine  which  characterize  their  articles 
of  belief  and  confessions  of  faith.  When  any 
Church  will  inscribe  over  its  altars,  as  its  sole  qual- 
ification for  membership,  tbe  Savior's  condensed 
statement  of  the  substance  of  both  law  and  gospel, 
^  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself,'  that  Church  shall  I  join 
with  all  my  heart  and  soul.'' 

James  F.  Rusling  relates  in  the  New  York  Tribune 
the  following  impressive  utterance,  which  was  made 
in  his  hearing  during  Mr.  Lincoln's  visit  to  General 
Sickles,  who  had  been  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  a  day  or  two  before.  It  was  Sunday 
morning,  July  5,  1863.  Mr.  Lincoln  greeted  Sickles 
right  cordially  and  tenderly,  though  cheerfully,  and 
it  was  easy  to  see  that  they  held  each  other  in  high 
esteem.  Greetings  over,  Mr.  Lincoln  dropped  into 
a  chair,  and,  crossing  his  prodigious  legs,  soon  fell  to 
questioning  Sickles  as  to  all  the  phases  of  the  com- 
bat at  Gettysburg.  When  Mr.  Lincoln's  inquiries 
seemed  ended,  General  Sickles  resumed  the  conver- 
sation substantially  as  follows: 

"Well,  Mr.  President,  I  beg  pardon,  but  what 
do  you  think  about  Gettysburg?  What  was  your 
opinion  of  things  while  we  were  campaigning  and 


J/i?.  LINCOLN'S  RELIGIOUS  BELIEF.  101 

fightiDg  up  there  in  Pennsylvania  V^  ^^  O/'  replied 
Mr.  Lincoln,  "I  didn't  think  much  about  it.  1 
was  not  much  concerned  about  you  V  "  You  were 
not?''  rejoined  Mr.  Sickles,  as  amazed,  ^^^yhy,  wo 
heard  that  you  Washington  folks  were  a  good  deal 
excited,  and  you  certainly  had  good  cause  to  be,  for 
it  was  ^  nip  and  tuck '  with  us  up  there  a  good  deal 
of  the  time!"  "Yes,  I  know  that,  and  I  suppose 
some  of  us  were  a  little  ^  rattled.'  Indeed,  some  of 
the  Cabinet  talked  of  AYashington's  being  captured, 
and  ordered  a  gunboat  or  two  here,  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  send  some  Government  archives  aboard, 
and  wanted  me  to  go  too,  but  I  refused.  Stanton 
and  Welles,  I  believe,  were  both  ^  stampeded '  some- 
w^hat,  and  Seward,  I  reckon,  too.  But  I  said,  ^  Xo, 
gentlemen,  we  are  all  right,  and  are  going  to  win  at 
Gettysburg ;'  and  we  did,  right  handsomely.  Xo, 
General  Sickles,  I  had  no  fears  of  Gettysburg." 
"  Why  not,  Mr.  President  ?  How  was  that  ?  Pretty 
mucli  everybody  down  here,  we  heard,  w^as  more  or 
less  panicky."  "  Yes,  I  expect,  and  a  good  many 
more  than  will  own  up  now.  But  actually.  General 
Sickles,  I  had  no  fears  of  Gettysburg,  and  if  you 
really  want  to  know  I  will  tell  you  why.  Of  course, 
I  do  n't  want  you  and  Colonel  Rusling  to  say  any- 
thing about  this — at  least,  not  now.  People  might 
laugh  if  it  got  out,  you  know.  But  the  fact  is, 
in   the  stress  and  pinch  of  the  campaign  there,  I 


102  ABRAHAM  LINCOLX. 

-went  to  my  room,  and  got  down  on  my  knees  and 
prayed  Almighty  God  for  victory  at  Gettysburg. 
I  told  bim  that  tbis  was  bis  country,  and  the  war 
was  bis  war,  but  that  we  really  could  n't  stand 
anotber  Fredericksburg  or  Cbancellorsville.  And 
tben  and  tbere  I  made  a  solemn  vow  witb  my  Maker 
that  if  be  would  stand  by  you  boys  at  Gettysburg, 
I  would  stand  by  bim  for  the  rest  of  my  life.  And 
be  did,  and  I  will !  And  after  tbis,  I  do  nH  know 
bow  it  was,  and  it  is  not  for  me  to  explain,  but 
somebow  or  otber  a  sweet  comfort  crept  into  my 
soul  tbat  God  Almigbty  bad  taken  tbe  wbole  tbing 
into  bis  own  hands,  and  we  were  bound  to  win  at 
Gettysburg!  No,  General  Sickles,  I  bad  no  fears 
of  Gettysburg;  and  tbat  is  the  reason  why  V^ 

Mr.  Lincoln  said  all  this  with  great  solemnity 
and  impressiveness,  almost  as  Moses  might  have 
spoken  when  first  down  from  Sinai ;  and  when  he 
had  concluded,  there  was  a  pause  in  tbe  talk  that 
nobody  seemed  disposed  to  break.  All  were  busy 
with  their  thoughts,  and  the  President  especially 
appeared  to  be  communing  with  the  Infinite  One 
again.  The  first  to  speak  Avas  General  Sickles, 
who  presently  resumed  as  follows :  *'  Well,  Mr. 
President,  what  are  you  thinking  about  Vicksburg, 
nowadays  ?''  '^  O,''  answered  Mr.  Lincoln,  very 
gravely.  "I  don't  quite  know.  Grant  is  still 
pegging  away  down  there,  and  making  some  head- 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  RELIGIOUS  BELIEF.  103 

way,  I  believe.  As  we  used  to  say  out  in  Illinois, 
I  think  ^  he  will  make  a  spoon  or  spoil  a  horn'  be- 
fore he  gets  through/'  ^^  So,  then,  you  have  no 
fears  about  Vicksburg,  either  Mr.  President?'' 
added  General  Sickles.  "  Well,  no  ;  I  can  't  say  that 
I  have,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln  very  soberly.  **  The 
fact  is— but  don't  say  anything  about  this  either 
just  now — I  have  been  praying  to  Almighty  God 
for  Vicksburg  also."  Of  course  Mr.  Lincoln  did 
not  then  know  that  Vicksburg  had  already  fallen 
on  July  4th. 

Soon  after  his  second  election  to  the  Presidency 
it  was  remarked  by  one  with  whom  he  was  convers- 
ing that  in  all  his  cares  he  was  daily  remembered 
by  those  who  prayed  not  be  heard  of  men,  as  no 
man  had  ever  before  been  remembered.  He  caught 
at  that  homely  phrase,  and  said :  "  Yes,  I  like  that 
phrase,  'not  to  be  heard  of  men,'  and  guess  it  is 
generally  true,  as  you  say.  At  least  I  have  been 
told  so,  and  I  have  been  a  good  deal  helped  by 
just  that  thought."  Then  he  solemnly  and  slowly 
added  :  "  I  should  be  the  most  presumptuous  block- 
head upon  this  footstool  if  I,  for  one  day,  thought 
that  I  could  discharge  the  duties  which  have  come 
upon  me  since  I  came  into  this  place  without  the 
aid  and  enlightenment  of  One  who  is  stronger  and 
wiser  than  all  others." 

One  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  notable  religious  utterances 


104  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

was  his  reply  to  a  deputation  of  colored  people  at 
Baltimore  who  presented  him  a  Bible.  He  said : 
^'  In  regard  to  the  Great  Book  I  have  only  to  say  it 
is  the  best  gift  which  God  has  ever  given  man.  All 
the  good  from  the  Savior  of  the  world  is  communi- 
cated to  us  through  this  Book.  But  for  this  Book 
we  could  not  know  right  from  wrong.  All  those 
things  desirable  to  man  are  contained  in  it.'^  Other 
expressions  could  be  given  to  show  the  deep  religious 
character  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  We  refer  to  only  three. 
One  was  the  noble  reply  to  the  remark  of  a  clergy- 
man that  he  hoped  "  the  Lord  was  on  our  side.^' 
^^  I  am  not  concerned  about  that/'  replied  Lincoln, 
'^for  I  know  that  the  Lord  is  always  on  the  side  of 
the  right.  But  it  is  my  constant  anxiety  and  prayer 
that  I  and  this  Nation  should  be  on  the  Lord's 
side.''  The  second  was  the  sentence  in  his  reply  to 
the  deputation  from  the  Methodist  General  Confer- 
ence of  1864:  "God  bless  the  Methodist  Church- 
bless  all  the  Churches — and  blessed  be  God  who, 
in  this  our  great  trial,  giveth  us  the  Churches." 
The  last  was  his  second  inaugural,  than  which  a 
more  sublime  speech,  or  one  containing  more  of  the 
spirit  of  Christ  and  his  gospel,  was  never  uttered 
by  emperor,  king,  or  ruler,  if  indeed  there  be  any 
which  can  compare  with  it.  No  unbeliever  could 
have  written  it. 


LINCOLN  AND  HIS  FAMILY. 

MR.  LINCOLN,"  says  Noah  Brooks,  oDe  of 
his  secretaries,  in  his  ^'  Life  of  Lincoln,'^ 
"cared  little  for  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  and 
seldom  partook  of  any  but  the  plainest  and  sim- 
plest food,  even  when  a  more  elaborate  repast  than 
usual  was  spread  upon  the  board.  Wine  was  set 
on  the  table  when  those  who  used  it  were  guests ; 
but  Lincoln  only  maintained  the  form  of  touching 
it.  When  engrossed  with  the  cares  of  his  office, 
which  was  almost  habitually,  he  ate  irregularly,  and 
the  family  were  accustomed  to  see  him  come  to  the 
table  or  stay  away  as  it  suited  his  convenience. 
Even  when  his  anxious  wife  had  sent  to  his  Cabinet, 
where  he  was  engaged,  a  tray  of  food,  he  was  often 
too  busy  or  too  abstracted  to  touch  it.  And  when 
Mrs.  Lincoln  was  away  from  home,  as  sometimes 
happened,  he  neglected  his  meals  altogether,  or,  as 
he  expressed  it,  ^browsed  around,^  eating  when 
his  hunger  moved,  when  and  how  he  could  most 
conveniently.  His  youngest  son — ^  Tad,'  as  he 
was  called — could  bring  him  out  of  his  working  or 

meditative    moods    more    readily    than    any    other 

105 


106  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

member  of  the  family.  When  the  Lincolns  en- 
tered the  White  House  in  1861,  there  were  three 
sons  and  no  other  children.  The  eldest  was  Robert, 
eighteen  years  old ;  Willie,  a  little  more  than  ten  ; 
and  Thomas,  or  ^  Tad,'  then  nearly  eight  years 
old.  This  little  fellow  celebrated  his  eighth  birth- 
day in  the  White  House,  April  4,  1863.  Robert 
was  a  student  in  Phillips  Academy,  Exeter,  N.  H., 
■when  his  father  became  President,  and  he  entered 
Harvard  University  soon  after  that  time.  He  was 
graduated  subsequently,  studied  law,  and  was  ap- 
pointed Secretary  of  War  several  years  after  his 
father's  death,  serving  under  President  Garfield  and 
President  Arthur. 

"Willie,  the  second  son,  died  in  February,  1862^ 
during  the  darkest  and  most  gloomy  time  of  the 
long  and  oppressive  era  of  the  war.  Possibly  this 
calamity  made  Lincoln  less  strict  with  his  youngest 
boy  than  he  should  have  been.  He  found  it  well- 
nigh  impossible  to  deny  Tad  anything.  But  the 
little  fellow,  always  a  hearty,  happy,  and  lovable 
boy,  did  not  abuse  his  privileges.  He  roamed  the 
White  House  at  will,  a  tricksy  and  restless  spirit, 
as  well  known  to  habitual  visitors  as  the  President 
himself.  Innumerable  stories  might  be  told  of  the 
child's  native  wit,  his  courage,  his  adventurousness, 
and  his  passionate  devodon  to  his  father.  He  in- 
vaded Cabinet  councils  with  his  boyish  grief  or  tales 


LINCOLN  AND  HI^  FAMILY.  107 

of  adventure,  climbed  on  his  father^s  lap  when  the 
President  was  engaged  with  affairs  of  state,  and 
doubtless  diverted  and  soothed  the  troubled  mind 
of  the  President,  who  loved  bis  boy  with  a  certain 
tenderness  that  was  inexpressible.  It  was  Tad,  the 
mercurial  and  irrepressible  boy  of  the  White  House, 
on  friendly  terms  with  the  great  and  the  lowly,  who 
gave  to  the  Executive  mansion  almost  the  only  joy- 
ous note  that  echoed  through  its  corridors  and 
stately  drawing-rooms  in  those  troublous  times. 
The  boy  survived  his  father,  dying  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years,  after  the  family  had  left  Wash- 
ington. 

"  The  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  tisually  ad- 
dressed each  other  in  the  old-fashioned  manner  as 
^  Father '  and  '  Mother,'  and  it  was  very  seldom 
that  Mrs.  Lincoln  spoke  of  her  husband  as  Uhe 
President.'  And  Lincoln,  on  his  part,  never,  if  he 
could  avoid  it,  spoke  of  himself  as  President.  If 
he  had  occasion  to  refer  to  his  high  office  he  spoke 
of  it  as  ^  this  place.'  When  the  occasion  required, 
however,  his  native  dignity  asserted  itself,  and  a 
certain  simple  and  yet  influential  grandeur  was 
manifested  in  his  deportment  and  demeanor.  One 
soon  forgot  in  his  immediate  presence  the  native 
ungainliness  of  his  figure,  and  felt  that  he  was  in 
the  personal  atmosphere  of  one  of  the  world's  great 
men.     Although  Lincoln  was  genial  and  free  in  his 


108  ABRAHAM  LINCOLIT, 

manner,  even  with  strangers,  there  was  something 
in  his  bearing  that  forbade  familiarity.  Much  has 
been  said  about  his  disregard  for  dress  and  per- 
sonal appearance,  but  much  of  this  is  erroneous. 
He  was  neat  in  his  person,  scrupulously  so,  and  his 
garb  was  that  of  a  gentleman  always.  If,  in  the 
seclusion  of  his  home,  he  was  called  out  late  at 
night  to  hear  an  important  message,  or  decide  in- 
stantly an  affair  of  great  moment,  he  did  not  wait 
to  array  himself;  something  was  excused  to  his  pre- 
occupation and  anxiety/' 


DEATH  OF  LINCOLN. 

FRIDAY,  April  14,  1865,  was  the  most  exciting 
day  to  the  people  of  the  North  since  the  day, 
April  12,  1861,  just  four  years  before,  when  the  first 
shot  of  the  war  had  been  fired  at  Fort  Sumter,  iii 
Charleston  harbor.  Lee  had  surrendered  to  Grant 
five  days  before,  and  the  people  were  celebrating 
the  end  of  the  war.  Everybody  was  happy,  and 
when  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  wnfe  took  a  carriage- 
ride  in  the  afternoon,  they  were  greeted  everywhere 
with  demonstrations  of  patriotic  aifection. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  happy,  too,  and  to  his  wife  he 
said :  ^^  Mary,  God  has  been  very  good  to  us. 
When  these  four  years  are  over,  we  will  go  back  to 
Illinois,  and  I  will  be  a  country  lawyer.^' 

In  the  evening,  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  his  wife,  at- 
tended Ford^s  Theater  to  witness  Miss  Laura 
Keenc's  play  of  "  Our  American  Cousin.'^  As  the 
curtain  rose  for  the  second  scene  of  the  last  act,  a 
pistol-shot  was  heard.    Immediately  following,  a  man 

was  seen  to  leap  from  the  President's  box,  and  fall 

109 


110  ABRAHA  M  LINCOLN'. 

upon    the    stage.      Rising,   he    flourished   a    knife 
which  he  had  drawn,  and  shouted  : 

"  Sic  semper  tyrannis  !     The  South  is  avenged!'' 

It  was  John  Wilkes  Booth.  He  had  shot  the 
President.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  carried,  unconscious, 
to  a  small  house  across  ,the  street,  where  he  died 
the  next  morning.  As  his  spirit  took  its  flight, 
Secretary  Stanton,  standing  by  the  bedside,  said  : 
"  Now  he  belongs  to  the  ages.'' 

Saturday,  April  15th,  was  one  of  the  most  dread- 
ful days  in  American  history.  Many  men,  who  the 
day  before  w^ere  like  children  in  their  joy,  appeared 
to  have  been  turned  into  fiends. 

Xo  one  knew  what  the  asasssination  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  attack  on  the  Secretary  of  State  might 
portend.  Some  feared  that  England  would  take 
advantage  of  it,  and  revive  the  war  by  recognizing 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  A  spirit  of  riot  was  in 
the  air.  An  impromptu  indignation  meeting  was 
held  in  AVall  Street,  New  York,  and  an  excited 
mob  had  started  toward  the  office  of  the  Daily 
Worldj  bent  on  its  destruction,  when  its  attention 
was  arrested  by  a  young  man  standing  on  the  bal- 
cony of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  waving  a  small 
flag.  He  held  in  the  other  hand  a  telegram.  Be- 
fore reading  it,  however,  he  lifted  his  right  arm 
and  in  a  loud  and  clear  voice,  said  : 

"  Fellow-citizens !       Clouds    and    darkness    are 


DEA  Til  OF  LINCOLN,  1 1 1 

round  about  liim !  His  pavilion  is  dark  waters 
and  thick  clouds  of  the  skies  !  Justice  and  judg- 
ment are  the  establishment  of  his  throne  !  Mercy 
and  truth  shall  go  before  his  face  !  Fellow-citi- 
zens !  God  reigns,  and  the  Government  at  Wash- 
ington still  lives  V^ 

The  passions  of  the  mob  were  instantly  stilled. 
Then  came  the  question  :  "  ^Yho  is  he  ?''  and  the 
answer  :  "  General  Garfield,  of  Ohio/^ 

The  funeral  services  were  held  in  the  East  Room 
of  the  White  House.  The  Scriptures  were  read  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Hale,  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
opening  prayer  was  offered  by  Bishop  Simpson,  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  funeral  ad- 
dress was  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley,  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  which  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his 
family  had  attended.  The  closing  prayer  was  offered 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Gray,  of  the  Baptist  Church,  chaplain 
of  the  Senate.  At  the  close,  a  regiment  of  colored 
soldiers  escorted  the  body  to  the  Capitol,  where  the 
exercises  were  completed,  and  the  remains  lay  in 
state  until  the  next  day.  Memorial  services  were 
held  throughout  the  country,  in  many  cities  a 
funeral  procession  being  a  feature. 

April  25th  the  funeral  train  left  Washington  for 
the  President's  Western  home,  which  was  to  be  his 
final  resting-place.  Everywhere  it  was  received 
with  demonstrations  of  grief  and  love. 


112  ABRAHAM  LTNCOLN, 

The  remains  reached  Springfield,  111.,  May  3d. 
As  the  coffin  ^N'as  borne  to  the  hearse,  a  choir  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  voices  sang  the  familiar  hymn, 

•*  Children  of  the  Heavenly  King." 

The  religious  exercises  at  the  cemetery  were  pro- 
foundly impressive.  Bishop  Simpson,  one  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  most  intimate  personal  friends,  delivered 
an  eloquent  address,  after  which  was  read  the  de- 
parted President's  second  Inaugural  Address,  which 
the  London  Spectator  declared  to  be  "the  noblest 
political  document  known  to  history/' 


LINCOLN'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.* 

I^yAS  born  February  12, 1809,  in  Hardin  County, 
Kentucky.  My  parents  were  both  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, of  undistinguished  families — second  families, 
perhaps  I  should  say.  My  mother,  who  died  in  my 
tenth  year,  was  of  a  family  of  the  name  of  Hanks, 
some  of  whom  now  reside  in  Adams,  and  others  in 
Macon  Counties,  Illinois.  My  paternal  grandfatlier, 
Abraham    Lincoln,    emigrated    from    Rockingham 

*  Concerning  INIr.  Lincoln's  autobiography,  we  have  the 
following  interesting  particulars  from  a  statement  made  by  ^Ir. 
Jesse  W.  Fell,  of  Normal,  111.,  in  1872 :  "  In  the  autumn  of 
1858,  during  the  celebrated  discussion  between  Senator 
Douglas  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  had  occasion  to  travel  in  the 
Middle  and  Eastern  States,  and  finding  there  a  laudable  curi- 
osity to  learn  something  more  of  the  latter  than  was  then 
generally  known,  and  looking,  too,  to  the  possibilities  of  his 
becoming  an  available  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  1860, 
I  applied  to  him  for  a  brief  history  of  his  early  life.  After 
repeated  efforts  on  my  part,  in  December,  1859,  he  placed  in 
my  hands  a  manuscript,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  in 
facsimile,  written  with  that  freedom  and  unreserve  which  one 
friend  would  exercise  in  talking  to  another,  and  in  which  his 
peculiar  conversational  style  is  so  happily  set  forth.  I  need 
scarcely  add  that  this  simple,  unadorned  statement  of  his 
was  not  intended  for  publication,  but  merely  to  give  a  few 
facts  relating  to  his  early  history." 
113 


fK/u   l\.»^\^«y^  f/i/-e*</  /Ci^^  Afiry^  *-^  t/^tv^,,<»»-.cX/  <»*''< >.w^< "«■??>>'- 

'  ^<ufcr^  ^7^=^-^. /«jj<-/^  'f^^^P^TT^      '    ' 

^-»^    j/X^a-C^w    C5^T»-'»-^[cc,     cM^^^'^ur^ -^       ''^    A^m-i*.  n  t.>  ^t>./t..M/3 

/to/Uf      f^'U.<JU-yZ^       A/^     A^Afc^-J    ^^*,.-flxA*v,^      /'^'"C-w^ryC?' ^C^JlA^^Xw** 

it/*  -O-^^-^-v^^Je^'''*'  ./Vv^<s-'i~»j^     ^-"^    jLrr'd^   ■J]'^  '»~.-<.  A'«,      ^^■■.«i.<L<»«»» 
'Cfi'^C^ ^CL»^K/     tet.^..f      oTf^  ^^"S^/      ^i-w-*t^  ''^  p^-n_j^   *'>/^/ 

^'«'~*^-»       ^s-      t>Ay^LtAJ  /lA^x^vj     <~<'i>-C-^      />>-^'-p      .-^<C_a-i^      ^»  »'V  ^'■d.:^^ 

a/**      ^i\j./^  /.v/^-l^  ^J^-(f^^-v  ^^^c--^^rzr<^  ^^2:<j    C/a-^^Lo*/.   'i^^^o~A^ 


AUTOBioar.APnY.  115 

County,  Virginia,  to  Kentucky,  about  1781  or  '82, 
where,  a  year  or  two  later,  he  was  killed  by  In- 
dians, not  in  battle,  but  by  stealth,  when  he  was 
laboring  to  open  a  farm  in  the  forest.  His  ances- 
tors, who  were  Quakers,  went  to  Virginia  from 
Berks  County,  Pennsylvania.  An  effort  to  identify 
them  with  the  New  England  family  of  the  same 
name,  ended  in  nothing  more  definite  than  a  simi- 
larity of  Christian  names  in  both  families,  such  as 
Enoch,  Levi,  Mordecai,  Solomon,  Abraham,  and 
the  like. 

My  father,  at  the  death  of  his  father,  was  but 
six  years  of  age ;  and  he  grew  up  literally  without 
education.  He  removed  from  Kentucky  to  what 
is  now  Spencer  County,  Indiana,  in  my  eighth  year. 
AYe  reached  our  new  home  about  the  time  the  State 
came  into  the  Union.  It  was  a  wild  region,  with 
many  bears  and  other  wild  animals  still  in  the 
woods.  There  I  grew  up.  There  were  some  schools, 
so-called,  but  no  qualification  was  ever  required  of 
a  teacher  beyond  "  reading  W7ntin\  and  cipherin^  '^ 
to  the  Rule  of  Three.  If  a  straggler,  supposed  to 
understand  Latin,  happened  to  sojourn  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, he  was  looked  upon  as  a  wizard.  There 
was  absolutely  nothing  to  excite  ambition  for  educa- 
tion. Of  course,  when  I  came  of  age,  I  did  not 
know  much.     Still,  somehow,  I  could  read,  write, 


/>-txyy«,^^i»<^-.      Qr^lt^sA/    av'**      c-fn^^r^-^X:^    /X-^rCi^^  ^^/-^o^*-^ 

ijt.^L^   f^'*^,     /Uw-^  Cyw^  ;^  /i=^    (:^S-4-  y'  <3H^-^^.  /Ar- 

^/W    -iAtfK-<J^i.w.<rw     (K^rW        ^^w     //>vji^u„«,,^    <S?'>*'»>^  A/'Ajt^s/    O^yVA^,. 

fi^i-s^       (^^a.^r^/  / it  i  Hj  J       ^2-i%.«c     fr/T^     .-CU-t^^f^Z^  ^.^    C^7^    ^-t^j  C^^^-^ 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  117 

and  cipher  to  the  Rule  of  Three,  but  that  was  all. 
I  have  not  been  to  school  since.  The  little  advance 
I  now  have  upon  this  store  of  education,  I  have 
picked  up,  from  time  to  time,  under  the  pressure  of 
necessity. 

I  was  raised  to  farm-work,  which  I  continued 
till  I  was  twenty-two.  At  twenty-one  I  came  to 
Illinois,  and  passed  the  first  year  in  Macon  County. 
Then  I  got  to  New  Salem,  at  that  time  in  Sanga- 
mon, now  in  Menard  County,  where  I  remained  a 
year  as  a  sort  of  clerk  in  a  store.  Then  came  the 
Black  Hawk  War,  and  I  was  elected  a  captain  of 
volunteers — a  success  which  gave  me  more  pleasure 
than  any  I  have  had  since.  I  went  into  the 
campaign,  was  elected ;  ran  for  the  Legislature  the 
same  year  (1832),  and  was  beaten — the  only  time  I 
ever  have  been  beaten  by  the  people.  The  next,  and 
three  succeeding  biennial  elections,  I  was  elected  to 
the  Legislature.  I  was  not  a  candidate  afterwards. 
During  this  legislative  period  I  had  studied  law,  and 
removed  to  Springfield  to  practice  it.  In  1841 1  was 
once  elected  to  the  Lower  House  of  Congress — was 
not  a  candidate  for  re-election.  From  1849  to  1854, 
both  inclusive,  practiced  law  more  assiduously  than 
ever  before.  Always  a  Whig  in  politics,  and  gen- 
erally on  the  Whig  electoral  tickets,  making  active 
canvasses.     I  was  losing  interest  in  politics  when 


>->^o   ^a^^^^k-w-^     '  YVk^^  *^  ^♦C'v-i'^-o     /^^tTv^^    f(u^Q^   ^-1^^  *o" 

^^^-^   .^^  A^^^^,    f'^^^"^/    /^^(t^    f—    y^-v-^    ^'^"t^^f-' 


A  UTOBIOGBAPRY.  119 

the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  aroused  me 
again.  What  I  have  done  since  then  is  pretty  well 
known. 

If  any  personal  description  of  me  is  thought  de- 
sirable, it  may  be  said,  I  am,  in  height,  six  feet  four 
inches,  nearly  ;  lean  in  flesh,  weighing,  on  an  aver- 
age, one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds;  dark-com- 
plexion, with  coarse  black  hair  and  gray  eyes;  no 
other  marks  or  brands  recollected. 

Yours  very  truly,  A.  Lincoln. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Fell, 


LINCOLNIANA. 


LINCOLNIANA. 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  CONSIDERATION  FOR  HIS  POOR  RELATIVES. 

**One  of  the  most  beautiful  traits  of  Mr.  Lincoln," 
says  Mr.  J.  B.  McClure,  '*was  his  considerate  regard  for 
the  poor  and  obscure  relatives  he  had  left,  plodding  along 
in  their  humble  ways  of  hfe.  Wherever  upon  his  circuit 
he  found  them,  he  always  went  to  their  dwellings,  ate 
with  them,  and,  when  convenient,  made  their  houses  his 
home.  He  never  assumed  in  their  presence  the  slight- 
est superiority  to  them  in  the  facts  and  conditions  of 
his  life.  He  gave  them  money  when  they  needed  and 
he  possessed  it.  Countless  times  he  was  known  to  leave 
his  companions  at  the  village  hotel,  after  a  hard  day's 
work  in  the  court-room,  and  spend  the  evening  with 
these  old  friends  and  companions  of  his  humbler  days. 
On  one  occasion,  when  urged  not  to  go,  he  replied  : 
*  Why,  aunt's  heart  would  be  broken  if  I  should  leave 
town  without  calling  upon  her;'  yet  he  was  obliged  to 
walk  several  miles  to  make  the  call." 


SALLIE  WARD'S  PRACTICAL  PHILOSOPHY. 
When  the  telegram  from  Cumberland  Gap  reached 
Mr.  Lincoln  "that  firing  was  heard  in  the  direction  of 
Knoxville,"  he  remarked  that  he  "  was  glad  of  it." 
Some  person  present,  who  had  the  perils  of  Burnside's 
position  uppermost  in  his  mind,  could  not  see  why  Mr. 
Lincoln  should  be  glad  of  it,  and  so  expressed  himself. 

123 


124  ABRA HA M  LINCOLN. 

**  Why,  you  see,"  responded  the  President,  "it  re- 
minds me  of  Mrs.  Sallie  Ward,  a  neighbor  of  mine, 
who  had  a  very  large  family.  Occasionally  one  of  her 
numerous  progeny  would  be  heard  crying  in  some  out- 
of-the-way  place,  upon  which  Mrs.  Ward  would  exclaim  : 
*  There  's  one  of  my  children  that  isn*t  dead  yet.'" 


PILOTING  A  FLAT-BOAT  OVER  A  MILL-DAM. 
W.  T.  Greene  states  that  the  first  time  he  ever  saw 
Mr.  Lincoln  he  was  in  the  Sangamon  River  with  his 
trousers  rolled  up  five  feet,  more  or  less,  trying  to  pilot 
a  flat-boat  over  a  mill-dam.  The  boat  was  so  full  of 
water  that  it  was  hard  to  manage.  Lincoln  got  the 
prow  over,  and  then,  instead  of  waiting  to  bail  the 
water  out,  bored  a  hole  through  the  projecting  part  and 
let  it  run  out.  This  was  a  forcible  illustration  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  fertility  of  resources  for  times  of  need. 


LINCOLN'S  WEDDING-SUIT. 
One  of  the  greatest  trials  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  patience 
occurred  in  connection  with  his  wedding.  When  he  gave 
his  order  for  his  wedding  suit,  his  tailor,  Mr.  A.  S. 
Thompson,  regarded  it  as  a  joke,  and  paid  no  attention 
to  the  matter.  On  the  morning  of  the  wedding-day 
Mr.  Lincoln  sent  for  his  suit,  and  was  surprised  to  learn 
that  work  upon  it  had  not  begun.  Mr.  Thompson  at 
once  put  all  the  force  possible  upon  it,  and  when  in  the 
evening  a  messenger  came  for  the  suit,  it  was  still  un- 
finished. Mr.  Lincoln  was  obliged  to  wait,  with  his 
characteristic  patience,  partially  robed,  for  an  hour,  when 
the  boy  arrived  with  the  important  package. 


LINCOLN  IAN  A,  125 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  "  FRIEND  MARY." 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  per- 
sonal letters  is  one  addressed  to  Miss  Mary  S.  Owens,  to 
whom  he  seems  at  one  time  to  have  proposed  marriage. 
It  is  dated  Springfield,  May  7,  1839,  and  is  addressed 
**  Friend  Mary."     In  it  he  says: 

*'  This  thing  of  living  in  Springfield  is  rather  a  dull 
business  after  all.  At  least  it  is  so  to  me.  I  am  quite 
as  lonesome  here  as  I  ever  was  anywhere  in  my  life.  I 
have  been  spoken  to  by  but  one  woman  since  I  have 
been  here,  and  should  not  have  been  by  her  if  she 
could  have  avoided  it.  I  have  never  been  to  church 
yet,  and  probably  shall  not  be  soon.  I  stay  away  be- 
cause I  am  conscious  I  should  not  know  how  to  behave 
myself.  I  have  been  thinking  of  what  we  said  about 
your  coming  to  live  at  Springfield.  I  am  afraid  you 
would  not  be  satisfied.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  flour- 
ishing about  in  carriages  here,  which  it  would  be  your 
doom  to  see  without  sharing  it.  You  would  have  to  be 
poor  without  the  means  of  hiding  your  poverty.  Do 
you  believe  you  could  bear  that  patiently?  Whatever 
woman  may  cast  her  lot  with  mine,  should  any  ever  do 
so,  it  is  my  intention  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  make  her 
happy  and  contented ;  and  there  is  nothing  I  could 
imagine  that  would  make  me  more  unhappy  than  to 
fail  in  the  effort.  I  know  I  should  be  much  happier 
with  you  than  the  way  I  am,  provided  I  saw  no  signs  of 
discontent  in  you.  ^yhat  you  have  said  to  me  may  have 
been  in  the  way  of  jest,  or  I  may  have  misunderstood 
it.  If  so,  then,  let  it  be  forgotten;  if  otherwise,  I  much 
wish    you    would    think    seriously    before    you   decide. 


126  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

T\'^hat  I  have  said  I  will  most  positively  abide  by,  pro- 
vided you  wish  it.  My  opinion  is  that  you  had  better 
not  do  it.  You  have  not  been  accustomed  to  hardship, 
and  it  may  be  more  severe  than  you  now  imagine.  I 
know  you  are  capable  of  thinking  correctly  on  any  sub- 
ject, and  if  you  deliberate  maturely  upon  this  before 
you  decide,  then  I  am  willing  to  abide  your  decision." 

Mr.  Lincoln,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Mrs.  O.  H. 
Browning,  dated  Springfield,  April  1,  1838,  appears, 
without  naming  the  lady,  to  explain  how  he  came  to 
propose  marriage  to  Miss  Owens,  and  says:  "It  was, 
then,  in  the  autumn  of  1836  that  a  married  lady  of  my 
acquaintance,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  mine,  being 
about  to  pay  a  visit  to  her  father  and  other  relatives  re- 
siding in  Kentucky,  proposed  to  me  that  on  her  return 
she  would  bring  a  sister  of  hers  with  her,  on  condition 
that  I  would  engage  to  become  her  brother-in-law  with 
all  convenient  dispatch.  I,  of  course,  accepted  the  pro- 
posal, for  you  know  I  could  not  have  done  otherwise 
had  I  really  been  averse  to  it."  After  he  met  the  lady 
he  seems  not  to  have  been  well  pleased,  and  would 
gladly  have  withdrawn  his  promise,  but  felt  in  duty 
bound  to  adhere  to  it.  It  seems  to  have  given  him 
great  distress  for  a  while,  but  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
to  marry  the  lady,  and  be  a  devoted  husband.  In  this 
closing  letter  he  says  : 

"After  all  my  suflTerings  upon  this  deeply  interesting 
subject,  here  I  am,  wholly,  unexpectedly,  completely 
out  of  the  '  scrape,'  and  I  now  want  to  know  if  you  can 
guess  how  I  got  out  of  it — out,  clear  in  every  sense  of 
the  term — no  violation  of  word,  honor,  or  conscience. 
I  don't  believe  you  can  guess,  and  so  I   might  as  well 


LINCOLKIANA.  127 

tell  you  at  once.  As  the  lawyer  says,  it  was  done  in 
the  manner  following,  to  wit :  After  I  had  delayed  the 
matter  as  long  as  I  thought  I  could  in  honor  do  (which, 
by  the  way,  had  brought  me  round  into  the  last  fall),  I 
concluded  I  migrht  as  well  brinor  it  to  a  consummation 
without  further  delay,  and  so  I  mustered  my  resolution 
and  made  the  proposal  to  her  direct ;  but,  shocking  to 
relate,  she  answered  no.  At  first  I  supposed  she  did  it 
throuo^h  an  affectation  of  modesty,  which  I  thouorht  ill 
became  her  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  her 
case,  but  on  my  renewal  of  the  charge  I  found  she  re- 
pelled it  with  greater  firmness  than  before.  I  tried  it 
again  and  again,  but  with  the  same  success,  or  rather 
the  same  want  of  success.  I  finally  was  forced  to  giye 
it  up,  at  which  I  yery  unexpectedly  found  myself  morti- 
fied almost  beyond  endurance.  .  .  .  And,  to  cap 
the  whole,  I  then,  for  the  first  time,  began  to  suspect 
that  I  was  really  a  little  in  loye  with  her.  But  let  it  all 
go  !  I  '11  try  and  outliye  it.  Others  haye  been  made 
fools  of  by  the  girls,  but  this  can  never  with  truth  be 
said  of  me.  I  most  emphatically  in  this  instance  made 
a  fool  of  myself" 

^ 

LINCOLN'S  TRIBUTE  TO  THE  BIBLE. 

To  Joshua  Speed,  his  intimate  personal  friend,  Mr. 
Lincoln  said  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  near  Washington, 
about  a  year  before  his  death  : 

"  I  am  profitably  engaged  reading  the  Bible.  Take 
all  of  this  book  upon  reason  that  you  can,  and  the 
balance  on  faith,  and  you  will  live  and  die  a  better 
man." 


128  ABRAHAM  LINCOLK 

MR.  LINCOLN'S  TALL  HAT. 

One  of  the  noteworthy  characteristics  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  his  tall  hat.  After  his  election,  as  if  not  content 
with  his  six  feet  four  or  five  inches  of  gaunt  stature,  he 
had  his  historic  hat  made  fully  a  foot  high,  with  a  brim 
almost  as  big  as  a  southern  sombrero.  It  was  a  com- 
bination of  all  styles  then  in  existence,  and  in  this  re- 
spect it  reflected  his  own  early  experience  in  having 
been  a  store  keeper,  soldier,  surveyor,  and  finally  a 
solicitor.  It  was  a  veritable  "joint  of  stovepipe,"  and 
its  remarkable  and  romantic  brim  made  it  alike  service- 
able in  rain  or  shine.  Representative  Springer,  who 
hails  from  Lincoln's  old  home,  in  speaking  of  the  hat, 
said :  *'  Mr.  Lincoln's  high  hat  was  the  most  indispen- 
sable thing  of  his  whole  outfit.  In  it  he  carried  all  his 
valuable  papers.  In  fact,  it  was  a  sort  of  file-rack. 
Here  were  all  the  briefs  of  his  various  law  cases.  Cu- 
riously enough,  he  carried  the  accounts  in  his  head,  and 
that  is  why  he  lost  so  much  money.  Had  he  reversed 
the  process,  and  kept  his  accounts  in  his  hat  and  the 
cases  in  his  head,  he  would  have  been  better  ofiT.  His 
hat  served  for  his  satchel  on  a  journey,  and  all  that  was 
needed  besides  this  were  his  saddle-bags  and  his  horse. 
It  was  large  and  capacious,  and  a  great  many  documents 
and  data  could  be  crowded  into  it  without  seriously  dis- 
commoding the  wearer," 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  was  postmaster  at  New  Salem, 
his  hat  was  a  most  important  part  of  his  office  equip" 
ment.  As  soon  as  the  mail  was  received  each  day,  the 
young  postmaster  would  put  the  letters  in  his  hat  and 
take  a  stroll  through  the  village.     The  villagers  knew 


LINCOLN  I  A  NA,  129 

that  he  was  a  peripatetic  post-office,  and,  of  course, 
everybody  was  anxious  to  know  the  contents  of  the  liat, 
which  seemed  to  promise  as  much  to  them  as  a  hat  in 
the  hands  of  a  sleight-of-hand  performer. 


LINCOLN'S  STORY  OF  A  NEW  SALEM  GIRL 

Among  the  numerous  delegations  which  visited  the 
President  was  one  from  New  York,  which  urged  very 
strenuously  the  sending  of  a  fleet  to  the  Southern  coast 
cities  with  the  object  of  drawing  the  rebel  army  from 
Washington. 

Mr.  Lincoln  said  the  object  reminded  him  of  the  case 
of  a  girl  in  New  Salem,  who  was  greatly  troubled  with 
a  "singing"  in  her  head.  Various  remedies  were  sug- 
gested by  the  neighbors,  but  nothing  tried  afforded  any 
relief.  At  last  a  man  came  along — "  a  common-sense 
sort  of  man,"  said  Lincoln,  inclining  his  head  toward 
the  gentleman  complimentarily — who  w^as  asked  to  pre- 
scribe for  the  difficulty.  After  due  inquiry  and  exam- 
ination, he  said  the  cure  was  very  simple. 

"What  is  it?"  was  the  question. 

**  Make  a  plaster  of  psalm-tunes,  and  apply  to  her 
feet,  and  draw  the  'singing'  down"  was  the  reply. 


CARING   FOR  A  DRUNKARD. 

An  exhibition  of  Lincoln's  practical  humanity  oc- 
curred while  a  boy.  One  evening,  while  returning  from 
a  "  raising"  with  a  number  of  companions,  he  discovered 
a  straying  horse,  with  saddle  and  bridle  upon  him.  The 
horse   was   recognized    as    belonging    to    a    well-known 

9 


130  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

druukard,  and  it  was  suspected  that  the  owner  was  not 
far  off.  The  fellow  was  found  in  a  perfectly  helpless 
condition,  upon  the  cold  ground.  Lincoln's  companions 
inteuded  to  leave  him  to  his  fate,  but  young  Lincoln 
would  not  hear  to  it.  At  his  demand,  the  miserable 
man  was  lifted  to  his  shoulders,  and  he  actually  carried 
him  eighty  rods  to  the  nearest  house.  He  then  sent 
word  to  his  father  that  he  would  not  be  back  that  night. 
He  nursed  the  man  until  the  morning,  and  believed  that 
he  had  saved  his  life. 


LINCOLN'S  FIRST  APPEARANCE  IN  THE  SUPREME  COURT. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  conduct  in  the  presentation  of  his 
first  case  before  the  Supreme  Court  illustrates  his  high 
sense  of  justice  and  duty.  He  addressed  the  court  as 
follows : 

"Your  Honor, — This  is  the  first  case  I  have  ever 
had  in  this  court,  and  I  have  examined  it  with  great 
care.  As  the  court  will  perceive  by  looking  at  the  ab- 
stract of  the  record,  the  only  question  in  the  case  is  oue 
of  authority.  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  author- 
ity sustaining  my  side  of  the  case,  but  I  have  found  sev- 
eral cases  directly  in  point  on  the  other  side.  I  will  now 
give  the  citations,  and  then  submit  the  case." 


"THE  AGE  IS  NOT  DEAD." 

One  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  most  interesting  speeches  was 
delivered  in  the  court-house  at  Springfield,  111.,  in  1855, 
to  an  audience  of  three  persons.  Mr.  Herndon  had 
endeavored  to  secure  a  large  audience  by  the  use  of 
huge  posters,  and  tlie  parade  of  a  brass  band,  and  tlie 


LINCOLN  I  A  NA.  131 

ringing  of  bells.  The  address,  as  announced,  was  to  be 
on  the  subject  of  slavery.  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  as 
follows: 

"  Gentlemen, — This  meeting  is  larger  than  I  knew 
it  would  be,  as  I  knew  Herndon  [Lincoln's  partner]  and 
myself  would  come,  but  I  did  not  know  that  anyone  else 
^vould  be  here;  and  yet  another  has  come — you,  John 
Paine  [the  janitor]. 

''These  are  bad  times,  and  seem  out  of  joint.  All 
seems  dead,  dead,  dead;  but  the  age  is  not  yet  dead  ; 
it  liveth  as  sure  as  our  Maker  liveth.  Under  all  this 
seeming  want  of  life  and  motion,  the  world  does  move 
nevertheless.  Be  hopeful.  And  now  let  us  adjourn  and 
appeal  to  the  people." 


THREATENS  AGITATION    IN   ILLINOIS. 

One  afternoon  an  old  negro  woman  came  into  the 
office  of  Lincoln  &  Herndon,  in  Springfield,  and  told 
the  story  of  her  trouble,  to  which  both  lawyers  listened. 
It  appeared  that  she  and  her  offspring  w^ere  born  slaves 
in  Kentucky,  and  that  her  owner,  one  Hinkle,  had 
brought  the  whole  family  into  Illinois  and  given  them 
their  freedom.  Her  son  had  gone  down  the  Mississippi 
as  a  waiter  or  deck-hand  on  a  steamboat.  Arriving  at 
Xew  Orleans,  he  had  imprudently  gone  ashore,  and  had 
been  snatched  up  by  the  j^olice,  in  accordance  with  the 
law  then  in  force  concerning  free  negroes  from  other 
States,  and  thrown  into  confinement.  Subsequently  he 
was  brought  out  and  tried.  Of  course  he  was  fined, 
and,  the  boat  having  left,  he  was  sold,  or  was  in  imme- 
diate danger  of  being  sold,  to  pay  his  fine  and  the 
expenses. 


132  ABRAHA  If  LIJVCOLN'. 

IMr.  Lincoln  was  very  mucli  moved,  and  requested 
]\Ir.  Ilerndon  to  go  over  to  the  State-house,  and  inquire 
of  Governor  Bissell  if  there  was  not  something  he  could 
do  to  obtain  possession  of  the  negro.  Mr.  Herndon 
made  the  inquiry,  and  returned  with  the  report  that  the 
governor  regretted  to  say  that  he  had  no  legal  or  con- 
stitutional right  to  do  anything  in  the  premises.  Mr. 
Lincoln  rose  to  his  feet  in  great  excitement,  and  ex- 
claimed :  "  By  the  Almighty,  I'll  have  that  negro  back 
soon,  or  I'll  have  a  twenty-years'  agitation  in  Illinois, 
until  the  governor  does  have  a  legal  and  constitutional 
right  to  do  something  in  the  premises." 

He  was  saved  from  the  latter  alternative — at  least, 
in  the  direct  form  which  he  proposed.  The  lawyers 
sent  money  to  a  New  Orleans  correspondent — money  of 
their  own — who  procured  the  negro,  and  returned  him 
to  his  mother. 


LINCOLN'S   LETTER  TO   HIS  STEPBROTHER. 

Springfield,  January  12,  1851. 
Dear  Brother, — On  the  day  before  yesterday,  I 
received  a  letter  from  Harriet,  written  at  Greenup. 
She  says  she  has  just  returned  from  your  house,  and 
that  father  is  very  low,  and  will  hardly  recover.  She 
also  says  that  you  have  written  me  two  letters,  and  that, 
although  you  do  not  expect  me  to  come  now,  you  won- 
der that  I  do  not  write.  I  received  both  your  letters, 
and,  although  I  have  not  answered  them,  it  is  not  be- 
cause I  have  forgotten  them,  or  been  uninterested  about 
them,  but  because  it  appeared  to  me  I  could  write 
nothing  which  could  do  any  good.  You  already  know 
I  desire  that  neither  father  nor  mother  shall  be  in  want 


LINCOLNIANA.  1 3  3 

of  any  comfort,  either  in  health  or  sickness,  while  they 
live;  and  I  feel  sure  you  have  not  failed  to  use  my 
name,  if  necessary,  to  procure  a  doctor,  or  anything  else 
for  father  in  his  present  sickness.  My  business  is  such 
that  I  could  hardly  leave  home  now,  if  it  was  not  as  it 
is,  that  my  own  wife  is  sick  abed.  I  sincerely  hope 
father  may  yet  recover  his  health;  but,  at  all  events, 
tell  him  to  remember  to  call  upon  and  confide  in  our 
great  and  good  and  merciful  Maker,  who  will  not  turn 
away  from  him  in  any  extremity.  He  notes  the  fall  of 
a  sparrow,  and  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads,  and  he 
will  not  forget  the  dying  man  who  puts  his  trust  in  him. 
Say  to  him  that  if  we  could  meet  now  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  would  not  be  more  painful  than  pleasant;  but 
that,  if  it  be  his  lot  to  go  now,  he  will  soon  have  a  joy- 
ous meeting  with  many  loved  ones  gone  before,  and 
where  the  rest  of  us,  through  the  help  of  God,  hope 
erelong  to  join  them. 

Write  to  me  again  when  you  receive  this. 

Affectionately,         A.  Lincoln. 


BEATEN   IN   A  HORSE-TRADE. 

At  one  time  Lincoln  and  a  judge  v.ere  bantering 
one  another  about  trading  horses,  and  it  was  agreed  that 
the  next  morning  at  nine  o'clock  they  should  make  a 
trade,  and  there  was  to  be  no  backing  out,  under  pen- 
alty of  twenty-five  dollars. 

At  the  hour  appointed  the  judge  came  up,  leading 
the  sorriest  looking  specimen  of  a  horse  ever  seen  in 
those  parts.  In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Lincoln  was  seen 
approaching,  with  a  wooden  saw-horse  upon  his  shoul- 
ders.    Great  were   the   shouts  and   the  laughter  of  the 


134  ABE  AHA  M  LINCOLN. 

crowd,  and  both  were  greatly  increased  when  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, on  surveying  the  judge's  animal,  set  down  his  saw- 
horse,  and  exclaimed : 

"  Well,  Judge,  this  is  the  first  time  I  ever  got  the 
worst  of  it  in  a  horse-trade." 


TRiBUTE  TO   LINCOLN'S  HOMELINESS. 

It  is  said  that  Lincoln  was  always  ready  to  join  in  a 
laugh  at  his  own  expense.  He  used  to  tell  the  follow- 
ing story  with  great  glee : 

"In  the  days  when  I  used  to  be  on  the  circuit,"  said 
he,  **I  was  accosted  on  the  cars  by  a  stranger  who  said: 

"  'Excuse  me,  sir,  but  I  have  an  article  in  my  pos- 
session which  belongs  to  you.' 

*'  *  How  is  that?'  I  asked,  considerably  astonished. 

"  The  stranger  took  a  jack-knife  from  his  pocket. 
'  This  knife,'  said  he,  '  was  placed  in  my  hands  some 
years  ago,  with  the  injunction  that  I  was  to  keep  it  until 
I  found  a  man  uglier  than  myself.  I  have  carried  it 
from  that  time  to  this.  Allow  me  to  say,  sir,  that  I 
think  you  are  fairly  entitled  to  the  property.'" 


ACCOUNTS  WITH   PARTNERS. 

Lincoln  always  had  a  partner  in  his  professional 
life,  and  when  he  went  out  upon  the  circuit,  the  partner 
usually  remained  at  home.  While  out,  says  Mr.  J.  B. 
^IcClure,  he  frequently  took  up  and  disposed  of  cases 
that  were  never  entered  at  the  office.  In  these  cases, 
after  receiving  his  fees,  he  divided  the  money  in  his 
p(jcket-book,  labeling  each  sum  (wrapped  in  a  piece  of 
paper),  that  belonged   to  his  partner,  stating  his  name 


LINCOLNIANA.  135 

and  the  case  on  which  it  was  received.  He  could  not 
l3e  content  to  keep  an  account.  He  divided  the  money, 
so  that  if  he,  by  any  accident,  should  fail  to  pay  it  over, 
there  could  be  no  dispute  as  to  the  exact  amount  that 
was  his  partner's  due. 


FAIR  DEALING  WITH   CLIENTS. 

Lincoln  did  not  make  his  profession  lucrative  to 
himself.  To  a  poor  client  he  was  quite  as  apt  to  give 
money  as  to  take  it  from  him.  He  never  encouraged 
the  spirit  of  litigation.  One  of  his  clients  says  that  he 
went  to  Lincoln  with  a  case  to  prosecute,  and  that 
Lincoln  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it  because 
he  was  not  strictly  in  the  right.  "You  can  give  the 
other  party  a  great  deal  of  trouble,"  he  said,  **  and  per- 
haps beat  him ;   but  you  had  better  let  the  suit  alone." 

About  the  time  Lincoln  came  to  be  known  as  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer,  he  was  w^aited  upon  by  a  lady  who  held 
a  real  estate  claim  which  she  wished  him  to  prosecute, 
putting  into  his  hands,  with  the  papers,  a  check  for 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  as  a  retaining  fee.  Lin- 
coln promised  to  look  the  case  over,  and  asked  her  to 
call  again  next  day.  When  presenting  herself,  Lincoln 
told  her  that  he  had  gone  through  the  papers  very 
carefully,  and  he  must  tell  her  frankly  that  there  was 
not  a  "peg"  to  hang  her  claim  upon,  and  he  could  not 
conscientiously  advise  her  to  bring  the  action.  The  lady 
was  satisfied,  and,  thanking  him,  rose  to  go. 

"Wait,"  said  Lincoln,  fumbling  in  his  vest  pocket, 
"  here  is  the  check  you  left  with  me." 

"But,  Mr.  Lincoln,"  returned  the  lady,"  I  think  yoii 
have  earned  that." 


136  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'. 

"No,  no,"  he  responded,  handing  it  back  to  her; 
**  that  would  not  be  right.  I  can't  take  pay  for  doing 
my  duty." 

=^0 

A  SMALL  CROP. 

Senator  McDonald  states  that  he  saw  a  jury  trial 
in  Illinois,  at  which  Lincoln  defended  an  old  man 
charged  with  assault  and  battery.  No  blood  had  been 
spilled,  but  there  was  malice  in  the  prosecution,  and  the 
chief  witness  was  eager  to  make  the  most  of  it.  On 
cross-examination,  Lincoln  asked  him  how  long  the  fight 
lasted  and  how  much  ground  it  covered.  The  witness 
thought  the  fight  must  have  lasted  half  an  hour,  and 
covered  an  acre  of  ground.  Lincoln  called  his  attention 
to  the  fact  that  nobody  was  hurt,  and  then,  with  an  in- 
imitable air,  asked  him  if  he  didn't  think  it  was  "a 
mighty  small  crop  for  an  acre  of  ground."  The  jury  re- 
jected the  case  with  contempt,  as  beneath  the  dignity  of 
a  court. 


MR.   LOGAN'S  "BOSOM  SHIRT." 

Two  FARMERS,  who  had  a  misunderstanding  about 
a  horse-trade,  went  to  law,  employing  Lincoln  and  his 
partner  on  the  opposite  sides.  On  the  day  of  the  trial, 
Logan,  having  bought  a  new  shirt,  opeu  in  the  back, 
with  a  huge  standing  collar,  dressed  himself  in  extreme 
haste,  and  put  on  the  shirt  with  the  bosom  at  the  back, 
a  linen  coat  concealing  the  blunder.  He  dazed  the  jury 
with  his  knowledge  of  ''horse  points,"  and,  as  the  day 
was  sultry,  took  off  his  coat  and  concluded  his  speech  in 
his  shirt-sleeves. 

Lincoln,  sitting  behind   him,  took  in  the  situation, 


LINCOLNIANA.  137 

and,  when  his  turn  to  speak  came,  remarked  to  the 
jury: 

"Gentlemen,  Mr.  Logan  has  been  trying,  for  more 
than  an  hour,  to  make  you  believe  he  knows  more  about 
a  horse  than  these  honest  farmers  who  are  witnesses. 
He  has  quoted  largely  from  his  '  horse-doctor.'  And 
now,  gentlemen,  I  submit  to  you  [here  he  lifted  Logan 
out  of  the  chair,  and  turned  him  with  his  back  to  the 
jury  and  the  crowd,  at  the  same  time  turning  up  the 
enormous  standing  collar,]  what  dependence  can  you 
place  in  his  horse  knowledge,  when  he  does  n't  know 
enough  to  put  on  his  shirt?" 

The  roars  of  laughter  that  greeted  his  exhibition, 
and  the  verdict  that  Lincoln  got  soon  after,  gave  Logan 
a  permanent  prejudice  against  "bosom  shirts." 


DEFENDING   COLONEL  BAKER. 

On  one  occasion,  when  Colonel  Baker  was  speaking 
in  a  court-house  which  had  been  a  storehouse,  and,  on 
making  some  remarks  that  were  offensive  to  certain  po- 
litical rowdies  in  the  crowd,  they  cried:  "Take  him  ofi 
the  stand."  Confusion  ensued,  and  an  attempt  was 
made  to  carry  the  demand  into  execution.  Directly 
over  the  speaker's  head  was  an  old  scuttle,  at  which 
Lincoln  had  been  listening  to  the  speech.  In  an  instant 
Lincoln's  feet  came  through  the  scuttle,  and  he  was  soon 
standing  by  Colonel  Baker's  side.  He  raised  his  hand; 
the  assembly  subsided  immediately  into  silence. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  let  us  not  disgrace 
the  age  and  country  in  which  we  live.  This  is  a  land 
where  freedom  of  speech  is  guaranteed.     Mr.  Baker  has 


138  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

a  right  to  speak,  and  ought  to  be  permitted  to  do  so. 
I  am  here  to  protect  him,  and  no  man  shall  take  him 
from  this  stand  if  I  can  prevent  it." 

His  perfect  calmness  and  fairness,  and  the  knowledge 
that  he  would  do  what  he  had  promised  to  do,  quieted 
all  disturbance,  and  the  speaker  went  on  with  his  re- 
marks. 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  POEM. 

The  following  poem  was  written  by  Mr.  Lincoln 
when  he  was  about  thirty-five  years  old.  The  occasion 
was  a  visit  to  the  neighborhood  of  his  old  Indiana  home 
to  make  a  political  speech  in  behalf  of  Henry  Clay : 

"  My  childhood's  borne  I  see  again, 
And  sadden  with  the  view ; 
And  stiil,  as  memory  crowds  my  brain, 
There  's  pleasure  in  it,  too. 

0  memory  !  thou  midway  world 

'Twixt  earth  and  paradise. 
Where  things  decayed,  and  loved  ones  lost, 

In  dreamy  shadows  rise  ; 

And,  freed  from  all  that 's  earthly  vile, 

Seem  hallowed,  pure,  and  bright. 
Like  scenes  in  some  enchanted  isle. 

All  bathed  in  liquid  light. 

As  dusky  mountains  please  the  eye, 

"When  twilight  chases  day ; 
As  bugle  notes  that,  passing  by, 

In  distance  die  away; 

As  leaving  some  grand  waterfall, 

We,  lingering,  list  its  roar; 
So  memory  will  hallow  all 

We  've  known,  but  know  no  more. 


LINCOLNIANA. 

Near  twenty  years  have  passed  away, 

Since  here  I  bid  farewell 
To  woods  and  fields,  and  scenes  of  play, 

And  playmates  loved  so  well ; 

Where  many  were,  but  few  remain. 

Of  old  familiar  things ; 
But  seeing  them  to  mind  again 

The  lost  and  absent  brings. 

The  friends  I  left  that  parting  day, 

Hovv  changed!  as  time  has  sped; 
Young  childhood  grown,  strong  manhood  gray, 

And  half  of  all  are  dead. 

I  hear  the  loud  survivors  tell 

How  naught  from  death  could  save. 

Till  every  sound  appears  a  knell,  . 
And  every  spot  a  grave. 

I  range  the  fields  with  pensive  tread, 

And  pace  the  hollow  rooms, 
And  feel  (companion  of  the  dead), 

I'm  living  in  the  tombs." 


139 


LINCOLN  AND  THE  PIG. 
An  amusing  incident  occurred  while  Lincoln  was 
riding  the  circuit.  As  he  was  passing  a  deep  slough,  to 
his  exceeding  distress  he  saw  a  pig  struggling  in  vain  to 
extricate  himself  from  the  mud.  Lincoln  looked  at  the 
pig  and  the  mud  which  enveloped  him,  and  then  at  his 
own  new  clothes,  which  he  had  purchased  but  a  short 
time  before.  Deciding  against  the  claims  of  the  pig,  he 
rode  on ;  but  he  could  not  get  rid  of  the  vision  of  the 
poor  brute.  At  last,  after  riding  several  miles,  he  turned 
back,  determined  to  release  the  animal,  even  at  the  ex- 
pense  of  his  new  suit.     Arriving  at   the  spot,  he  tied 


140  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

his  horse,  and,  with  considerable  difficulty,  succeeded 
in  rescuing  the  pig  from  its  predicament.  Then  he 
washed  his  hands  in  the  nearest  brook,  remounted  his 
horse,  and  rode  on.  He  then  began  to  inquire  as  to 
the  motive  that  sent  him  back  to  release  the  pig.  He 
at  first  thought  it  pure  benevolence,  but  finally  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  selfishness,  for  he  said  to  him- 
self that  he  went  to  the  pig's  relief  in  order  to  "  take 
a  pain  out  of  his  own  mind." 


BLAINE'S  PREDICTION. 

In  the  famous  Douglas-Lincoln  campaign,  in  1858, 
Mr.  Blaine  reported  the  speeches  and  the  incidents  of 
the  canvass  for  a  Philadelphia  newspaper.  In  his  last 
letter  before  the  election  he  wrote:  "The  State  will  go 
for  Douglas.  He  will  be  elected  senator ;  but  Lincoln 
will  be  the  next  President."  The  prediction  was  ridi- 
culed. Two  years  later  he  was  present  when  the  com- 
mittee informed  Mr.  Lincoln  of  his  nomination,  and  was 
gratified  to  hear  the  future  War  President  say,  as  he  took 
out  a  printed  slip  containing  the  prophecy:  "Young 
man,  you  see  that  I  have  kept  your  prediction." 


GENEROSITY  TO  A  CLIENT. 

A  Mr.  Cogdal  met  with  a  financial  wreck  in  1843. 
He  employed  Lincoln  as  his  lawyer,  and,  at  the  close  of 
the  business,  gave  him  a  note  to  cover  the  regular  law- 
yer's fees.  He  soon  afterwards  lost  his  hand  by  an  acci- 
dental discharge  of  powder.  Meeting  Lincoln  after  the 
accident,  the  lawyer  asked  how  he  was  getting  along. 


LINCOLNIANA.  141 

'' Badly  enough,"  replied  Mr.  Cogdal,  *' I  am  both 
broken  up  in  business  and  crippled."  Then  he  added: 
"  I  have  been  thinking  about  that  note  of  yours." 

Lincoln  took  out  his  pocket-book,  and  saying,  with 
a  laugh,  "  Well,  you  need  n't  think  any  more  about  it," 
handed  him  the  note. 

Mr.  Cogdal  protested;  but  Lincoln  said,  ''If  you 
had  the  money,  I  would  not  take  it,"  and  hurried  away. 


A  SURPRISED   ENGLISHMAN. 

As  IS  usually  the  case,  some  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  neigh- 
bors did  not  look  upon  him  as  a  great  man.  One  of 
them,  an  Englishman,  upon  hearing  of  his  nomination 
by  the  Chicago  Convention,  exclaimed: 

"What!  Abe  Lincoln  nominated  for  President  of 
the  United  States  I  Can  it  be  possible?  A  man  that 
buys  a  ten-cent  beefsteak  for  breakfast,  and  carries  it 
home  himself!" 


LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS  TO  BIRDS. 

The  following  incident  is  related  by  one  who  knew 
Lincoln,  and  who,  at  the  time  of  the  incident,  was  his 
fellow-traveler : 

"We  passed  through  a  thicket  of  wild-plum  and 
crab-apple  trees,  and  stopped  to  water  our  horses.  One 
of  the  party  came  up  alone,  and  we  inquired :  '  Where 
is  Lincoln?' 

"'0,'  he  replied,  'when  I  saw  him  last  he  had 
caught  two  young  birds  which  the  wind  had  blown  out 
of  their  nest,  and  he  was  hunting  for  the  nest,  that  he 
might  put  them  back  in  it.' 


1-42  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

*'Iii  a  short  time  Lincoln  came  up,  having  found  the 
nest  and  restored  the  birds.  The  party  laughed  at  his 
care  of  the  young  birds;  but  Lincoln  said:  'I  could 
not  have  slept  to-night  if  I  had  not  restored  those  little 
birds  to  their  mother.'" 


LINCOLN'S  NEW  HAT. 

Mr.  G.  B.  Lincoln  tells  of  an  amusing  circum- 
stance which  took  place  at  Springfield,  soon  after  Mr. 
Lincoln's  nomination  in  1860.  A  hatter  in  Brooklyn 
secretly  obtained  the  size  of  the  future  President's  head, 
and  made  for  him  a  very  elegant  hat,  which  he  sent  by 
his  townsman,  G.  B.  Lincoln,  to  Springfield.  About 
the  time  it  was  presented,  various  other  testimonials  of 
a  similar  character  had  come  in  from  different  sections. 
Mr.  Lincoln  took  the  hat,  and,  after  admiring  its  texture 
and  workmanship,  put  it  on  his  head  and  walked  up  to 
a  looking-glass.  Glancing  from  the  reflection  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  he  said,  with  his  peculiar  twinkle  of  the  eye: 

"  Well,  wife,  there  is  one  thing  likely  to  come  out  of 

this  scrape,  anyhow.     We  are  going  to   have  some  new 

clothes  r* 

.4,, 

LINCOLN'S  LOVE  FOR  CHILDREN. 

Soon  after  his  election  as  President,  and  while  vis- 
iting Chicago,  one  evening  at  a  social  gathering  Mr. 
Lincoln  saw  a  little  girl  timidly  approaching  him.  He 
at  once  called  her  to  him,  and  asked  what  she  wished. 

She  replied  that  she  w^anted  his  name. 

Mr.  Lincoln  looked  back  into  the  room  and  said; 
"But  here  are  other  little  girls;  they  would  feel  badly 
if  I  should  give  my  name  only  to  you." 


LINCOLNIANA.  1 4  o 

The  little  girl  replied  that  there  were  eight  of  them 
in  all. 

"  Then,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  ''get  me  eight  sheets  of 
paper,  and  a  pen  and  ink,  and  I  will  see  what  I  can  do 
for  you," 

The  paper  was  brought,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  sat  down 
in  the  crowded  drawing-room,  and  wrote  a  sentence 
upon  each  sheet,  appending  his  name;  and  thus  every 
little  girl  carried  off  her  souvenir. 

During  the  same  visit,  and  while  giving  a  reception 
at  one  of  the  hotels,  a  fond  father  took  in  a  little  boy 
by  the  hand,  who  was  anxious  to  see  the  new  President. 
The  moment  the  child  entered  the  parlor  door  he,  of 
his  own  accord,  and  quite  to  the  surprise  of  his  father, 
took  oflT  his  hat,  and,  giving  it  a  swing,  cried : 

"Hurrah  for  Lincoln!" 

There  was  a  crowd ;  but,  as  soon  as  Mr.  Lincoln 
could  get  hold  of  the  little  fellow,  he  lifted  him  in  his 
hands,  and,  tossing  him  toward  the  ceiling,  laughingly 
shouted : 

''Hurrah  for  you!" 


ADVICE  TO  A  YOUNG   MAN. 

After  Mr.  Lincoln's  speech  at  Leavenworth,  Kan- 
sas, in  the  winter  of  1859,  Mr.  Lincoln  and  friends, 
among  whom  was  Captain  J.  R.  Fitch,  of  Evanston, 
111.,  then  a  young  man,  were  invited  to  the  home  of 
Judge  Delahay,  where  Mr.  Lincoln  was  entertained. 
The  refreshments  included  wine,  of  which  almost  every 
one  except  Mr.  Lincoln  partook. 

"The  next  day,"  says  Captain    Fitch,  in  the  NorUi- 


14-4  ABE  A  HA  3f  LINCOLN. 

western  Clirktian  Advocate,  ''  we  escorted  him  back  to  the 
train ;  and,  to  my  dying  day,  I  shall  never  forget  our 
parting.  I  was  only  twenty -two  years  old.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln bade  each  one  good-bye,  and  gave  each  a  hearty 
grasp  of  the  hand.  He  bade  me  good-bye  last,  and,  as 
he  took  my  hand  in  both  of  his,  and  stood  there  tower- 
ing above  me,  he  looked  down  into  my  eyes  with  that 
sad,  kindly  look  of  his,  and  said : 

"'My  young  friend,  do  not  put  an  enemy  in  your 
mouth  to  steal  away  your  brains.' " 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  MODESTY. 

In  a  letter  to  T.  J.  Pickett,  dated  April  16,  1859, 
Mr.  Lincoln  wrote:  *'As  to  the  other  matter  which 
you  kindly  mention,  I  must,  in  candor,  say  I  do  not 
think  myself  fit  for  the  Presidency.  I  certainly  am 
flattered  and  gratified  that  some  partial  friends  think  of 
me  in  that  connection ;  but  I  really  think  it  best  for 
our  cause  that  no  concerted  eflfort,  such  as  you  suggest, 
should  be  made.     Let  this  be  considered  confidential." 


LINCOLN   AT  A   FIVE   POINTS  MISSION. 

While  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  New  York,  in  1860,  he 
visited,  unattended,  the  Five  Points  House  of  Industry. 
Tlie  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school  there  gave 
the  following  account  of  the  event: 

"  One  Sunday  morning  I  saw  a  tall,  remarkable- 
looking  man  enter  the  room,  and  take  a  seat  among  us. 
He  listened  with  fixed  attention  to  our  exercises,  and  his 
countenance  expressed  such  genuine  interest  that  I  ap- 
proached him,  and  suggested  that  he  might  be  willing 


LINCOLNIAXA  145 

to  say  something  to  the  children.  He  accepted  the  in- 
vitation with  evident  pleasure;  and,  coming  forward, 
began  a  simple  address,  which  at  once  fascinated  every 
little  hearer,  and  hushed  the  room  into  silence.  His 
language  was  strikingly  beautiful,  and  his  tones  musical 
with  intense  feeling.  The  little  faces  would  droop  into 
sad  conviction  as  he  uttered  sentences  of  warning,  and 
would  brighten  into  sunshine  as  he  spoke  cheerful  words 
of  promise.  Once  or  twice  he  attempted  to  close  his 
remarks,  but  the  imperative  shout  of  '  Go  on !  0,  do  go 
on!'  would  compel  him  to  resume. 

"As  I  looked  upon  the  gaunt  and  sinewy  frame  of 
the  stranger,  and  marked  his  powerful  head  and  deter- 
mined features,  now  touched  into  softness  by  the  im- 
pressions of  the  moment,  I  felt  an  irrepressible  curiosity 
to  learn  something  more  about  him,  and,  while  he  was 
quietly  leaving  the  room,  I  begged  to  know  his  name. 
He  courteously  replied  :  '  It  is  Abraham  Lincoln,  from 
Illinois.'" 

'4»— 

A  MINISTERIAL  CHARGE. 

Early  in  the  war  it  became  Rev.  Dr.  Arthur  Edwards's 
duty,  for  a  brief  period,  to  carry  certain  reports  to  the 
War  Department,  in  Washington,  at  about  nine  in  the 
morning.  Being  late  one  morning,  he  was  in  a  desperate 
hurry  to  deliver  the  papers,  in  order  to  be  able  to  catch 
the  train  returning  to  camp.  On  the  winding,  dark 
staircase  of  the  old  War  Department  it  was  his  misfor- 
tune, while  taking  about  three  stairs  at  a  time,  to  run 
his  head  like  a  catapult  into  the  body  of  the  President, 
striking  him  in  the  region  of  the  right  lower  vest  pocket. 
The  usual  surprised  and  relaxed  human  grunt  of  a  man 

10 


146  ABIIAHA3I  LINCOLN. 

thus  assailed  came  promptly.  Mr.  Edwards  quickly 
sent  au  apology  in  the  direction  of  the  dimly  seen  form, 
feeling  that  the  ungracious  shock  was  expensive,  even  to 
the  humblest  clerk  in  the  department.  A  second  glance 
i-evealed  to  him  the  President  as  the  victim  of  the  col- 
lision. Then  followed  a  special  tender  of  ''  ten  thousand 
pardons,"  and  the  President's  reply ; 

**  One 's  enough  ;  I  wish  the  whole  army  would  charge 

like  that." 

■ =«" 

A  MAST-FED   LAWYER. 

Once,  -when  an  eminent  lawyer  was  presented  to 
him,  Mr.  Lincoln  courteously  said  he  was  familiar  with 
the  judge's  professional  reputation.  The  Judge  re- 
sponded : 

"And  we  do  not  forget  that  you,  too,  Mr.  President, 
are  a  distinguished  member  of  the  bar." 

*' 0,"   said    Mr.    Lincoln,    modestly,    '*I'm   only  a 

mast-fed  lawyer." 

. .^ 

NOT  SICK  ENOUGH  FOR  THE  POSITION. 

A  DELEGATION  onc  day  called  on  Mr.  Lincoln  to  ask 
the  appointment  of  a  gentleman  as  Commissioner  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  They  presented  their  case  as  ear- 
nestly as  possible,  and,  besides  his  fitness  for  the  place, 
they  urged  that  he  was  in  bad  health,  and  a  residence  in 
that  balmy  climate  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  him. 
The  President  closed  the  interview  with  the  discourag- 
ing remark:  "Gentlemen,  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  there 
are  eight  other  applicants  for  that  place,  and  they  are 
all  sicker  than  your  man." 


LINGOLNIANA. 


147 


MR.   LINCOLN'S  WHISKERS. 

Charles  Carleton  Coffin^  relates  the  following 

interestiDg  story : 

"If  we  had  been  in  the  village  of  Westfield,  on  the 
shore  of  Lake  Erie,  Chautauqua  County,  N.  Y.,  on  an 
October  evening,  we  might  have  seen  little  Grace  Be- 
dell looking  at  a 
portrait  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  a  pic- 
ture of  the  log- 
cabin  which  he 
helped  build  for 
his  father  in  1830. 
"  'Mother,' said 
Grace,  '  I  think 
that  Mr.  Lincoln 
would  look  better 
if  he  wore  whis- 
kers, and  I  mean 
to  write  and  tell 
him  so.' 

"'Well,  you  may  if  you  want  to,'  the  mother  an- 
swered. 

"  Grace's  father  wa«  a  Republican,  and  was  going  to 
vote  for  Mr.  Lincoln.  Two  older  brothers  were  Demo- 
crats, but  she  was  a  Republican. 

"Among  the  letters  going  West  the  next  day  was  one 
with  this  superscription,  'Hon.  Abraham  Lincoln,  Esq., 
Springfield,  Illinois.'     It  was  Grace's  letter,  telling  him 


*Life    of    Lincoln.      Copyright,    1892,    by    Harper    & 
Brothers. 


148  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN-, 

how  old  she  was,  where  she  lived,  that  she  was  a  Re- 
publicau,  that  she  thought  he  would  make  a  good  Pres- 
ident, but  would  look  better  if  he  would  let  his  whiskers 
grow.  If  he  would,  she  would  try  to  coax  her  brothers 
to  vote  for  him.  She  thought  the  rail  fence  around  the 
cabin  very  pretty.  '  If  you  have  not  time  to  answer 
my  letter,  will  you  allow  your  little  girl  to  reply  for 
you  V  wrote  Grace,  at  the  end. 

"A  day  or  two  later  Grace  Bedell  comes  out  of  the 
Westfield  post-office  with  a  letter  in  her  hand,  postmarked 
Springfield,  111.  Her  pulse  beat  as  never  before.  It  is 
a  cold  morning,  the  wind  blowing  bleak  and  chill  across 
the  tossing:  waves  of  the  lake.  Suowflakes  are  falling. 
She  can  not  ^vait  till  she  reaches  home,  but  tears  open 
the  letter.  The  melting  flakes  blur  the  writing ;  but  this 
is  what  she  reads : 

"  *  Springfield,  III.,  October  19,  1860. 
"  '  Miss  Grace  Bedell  : 

"  ^My  Dear  Little  Miss, — Your  very  agreeable  letter 
of  the  15th  is  received.  I  regret  the  necessity  of  saying 
I  have  no  daughter.  I  have  three  sons — one  seventeen, 
one  nine,  and  one  seven  years  of  age.  They,  with  their 
mother,  constitute  my  whole  family.  As  to  the  whis- 
kers, having  never  worn  any,  do  you  not  think  people 
would  call  it  a  piece  of  silly  affection  [affectation]  if  I 
should  begin  it  now? 

"  '  Your  very  sincere  well-wisher, 

"  'A.  Lincoln.' 

"When  the  train  on  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  going 
to  Washington,  to  become  President  of  the  United  States, 
left  Cleveland,  Mr.  Patterson,  of  Westfield,  was  invited 
into  Mr.  Lincoln's  car. 


LINCOLNIANA.  149 

**  'Did  I  understand  that  your  home  is  in  Westfield? 
Mr.  Lincoln  asked. 

** '  Yes,  sir,  that  is  my  home.' 

"  '  O,  by  the  way,  do  you  know  of  any  one  living 
there  by  the  name  of  Bedell  ?' 

"  '  Yes,  sir,  I  know  the  family  very  well.' 

"  *I  have  a  correspondent  in  that  family.  Mr.  Be- 
dell's little  girl,  Grace,  wrote  me  a  very  interesting  let- 
ter, advising  me  to  wear  whiskers,  as  she  thought  it 
would  improve  my  looks.  You  see  that  I  have  followed 
her  suggestion.  Her  letter  was  so  unlike  many  that  I 
received — some  that  threatened  assassination  in  case  I 
was  elected — that  it  was  really  a  relief  to  receive  it  and 
a  pleasure  to  answer  it.' 

"The  train  reached  Westfield,  and  Mr.  Lincoln 
stood  upon  the  platform  of  the  car  to  say  a  few  words  to 
the  people. 

"  *  I  have  a  little  correspondent  here,  Grace  Bedell, 
and  if  the  little  miss  is  present  I  would  like  to  see  her.' 

"Grace  was  far  down  the  platform,  aud  the  crowd 
prevented  her  seeing  or  hearing  him. 

"  '  Grace,  Grace,  the  President  is  calling  for  you  !' 
they  shouted. 

"A  friend  made  his  way  with  her  through  the  crowd. 

"  *  Here  she  is.' 

"Mr.  Lincoln  stepped  down  from  the  car,  took  her 
by  the  hand,  and  gave  her  a  kiss.  '  You  see,  Grace,  I 
have  let  my  whiskers  grow  for  you.' 

"The  kindly  smile  was  upon  his  face.  The  train 
whirled  on.  His  heart  was  lighter.  For  one  brief  mo- 
ment he  had  forgotten  the  burdens  that  were  pressing 
him  with  their  weight." 


150  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN-. 


"TAD"  GUARDING  THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

In  the  summer  the  Lincoln  family  lived  in  a  stone 
cottage  on  the  reservation  belonging  to  the  Government, 
in  the  suburbs  of  Washington,  known  as  the  Soldiers' 
Home. 

The  drives  to  and  from  the  Soldiers'  Home  and  the 
AYhite  House  were  often  undertaken  in  the  darkness  of 
late  hours,  and  friends  of  the  President,  alarmed  by  ru- 
mors of  attempted  attacks  upon  the  person  of  the  chief, 
insisted  that  he  should  have  a  small  body-guard  of  cav- 
alry to  accompany  him  to  and  fro.  The  proposition  was 
most  unpalatable  to  Lincoln,  and  he  resisted  it  as  long 
as  he  could.  When  he  finally  consented,  the  little  show 
of  the  cavalry  escort  was  most  distressful  to  him,  and 
he  repeatedly  expressed  his  disgust  at  the  "jingling  and 
jangling"  of  the  troop.  A  guard  was  also  mounted  at 
the  main  entrance  of  the  White  House ;  and  this,  too, 
annoyed  him  not  a  little,  especially  as  it  was  needful,  in 
the  observance  of  military  discipline,  that  they  should 
salute  him  when  he  passed  in  and  out. 

"On  one  occasion,"  says  Noah  Brooks,  "Tad,  hav- 
ing been  sportively  commissioned  a  .  lieutenant  in  the 
United  States  Army  by  Secretary  Stanton,  procured 
several  muskets,  and  drilled  the  men-servants  of  the 
house  in  the  manual  of  arms,  without  attracting  the  at- 
tention of  his  father.  And  one  night,  to  their  conster- 
nation, he  put  them  all  on  duty,  and  relieved  the  regu- 
lar sentries,  who,  seeing  the  lad  in  full  uniform,  or  per- 
haps appreciating  the  joke,  gladly  went  to  their  quarters. 
Robert  Lincoln,  hearing  of  this  extraordinary  perform- 
ance, indignantly   went    to    his   father    to    remonstrate 


LINCOLN  I  A  NA .  151 

against  the  servants  being  compelled  to  do  special  duty 
when  their  day's  work  was  done.  Tad  insisted  on  his 
rights  as  an  officer.  The  President  laughed,  and  de- 
clined to  interfere.  But  when  the  lad  had  lost  his  little 
authority  in  his  boyish  sleep,  the  Commander-in-chief 
of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States  went  down 
and  personally  discharged  the  sentries  his  son  had  put 
on  post.     For  one  night,  at  least,  the  White  House  was 

left  unguarded." 

'<?' 

A  HIT  AT  McCLELLAN. 

W^HEX  Grant  first  called  on  the  President,  in  Wash- 
ington, one  of  the  first  things  that  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to 
him,  was : 

"Grant,  have  you  ever  read  the  book  by  Orpheus  C. 
Kerr?" 

"Well,  no;  I  never  did,"  replied  the  general. 

Mr.  Lincoln  said : 

"  You  ought  to  read  it ;  it  is  a  very  interesting  book. 
I  have  had  a  good  deal  of  satisfaction  reading  that  book. 
There  is  one  poem  there  that  describes  the  meeting  of 
the  animals,  the  substance  of  it  being  that  the  animals 
were  holding  a  convention,  and  a  dragon,  or  some 
dreadful  thing,  was  near  by  and  had  to  be  conquered, 
and  it  was  a  question  as  to  who  should  undertake  the 
job.  By  and  by  a  monkey  stepped  forward  and  pro- 
posed to  do  the  work  up.  The  monkey  said  he  thought 
he  could  do  it  if  he  could  get  an  inch  or  two  more  put 
on  his  tail.  The  assemblage  voted  him  a  few  inches 
more  to  his  tail,  and  he  went  out  and  tried  his  hand. 
He  was  unsuccessful,  and  returned,  stating  that  he 
wanted  a  few  more  inches  put  on  his  tail.     The  request 


152  ABBAHA^r  LINCOLN. 

was  granted,  and  he  went  again.  His  second  effort  was 
a  failure.  He  asked  that  more  inches  be  put  on  his 
tail,  and  he  would  try  a  third  time." 

"At  last,"  said  General  Grant,  in  repeating  the  story, 
"  it  got  through  ray  head  ^vhat  Lincoln  was  aiming  at, 
u:<  applying  to  ray  wanting  more  raen,  and  finally  I  said : 
•  ^Ir.  Lincoln,  I  don't  want  any  more  inches  put  on  my 
tail.'" 

The  story,  however,  was  a  hit  at  McClellan. 


A  CHARACTERISTIC  LETTER. 

The  following  letter  is  to  be  found  in  a  private  col- 
lection in  Chicago : 

"Executive  Mansion,  October  17,  1861. 
"  Major  Ramsey  : 

"  My  Dear  Sir, — The  lady — bearer  of  this — says  she 
has  two  sons  who  want  to  work.  Set  them  at  it,  if  pos- 
sible. Wanting  to  work  is  so  rare  a  merit  that  it  should 
be  encouraged.  A.  Lincoln." 

00=^ 

LINCOLN'S  SUNDAY-REST  ORDER. 

"  Executive  Mansion,       \ 
"  Washington,  Nov.  15,  1862.  / 

"The  President,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Array 
and  Navy,  desires  and  enjoins  the  orderly  observance  of 
the  Sabbath  by  the  officers  and  men  in  the  military  and 
naval  service.  Tiie  importance  for  man  and  beast  of 
the  prescribed  weekly  rest,  the  sacred  rights  of  Christian 
soldiers  and  sailors,  a  becoming  deference  to  the  best 
sentiment  of  a  Christian  people,  and  a  due  regard  for 
the  Divine  Will,  demand  that  Sunday  labor  in  the  army 


LINCOLNIANA.  153 

and  navy  be  reduced  to  the  measure  of  strict  necessity. 
The  discipline  and  character  of  the  national  forces  should 
not  suffer,  nor  the  cause  they  defend  be  imperiled,  by 
the  profanation  of  the  day  or  name  of  the  Most  High. 
*At  this  time  of  public  distress,'  adopting  the  words  of 
Washington  in  177G,  '  men  may  find  enough  to  do  in 
the  service  of  God  and  their  country,  without  abandon- 
ing themselves  to  vice  and  immorality.'  The  first  gen- 
eral order  insued  by  the  Father  of  his  Country,  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  indicates  the  spirit  in 
which  our  institutions  were  founded,  and  should  ever  be 
defended.  '  The  general  hopes  and  trusts  that  every 
officer  and  man  will  endeavor  to  live  and  act  as  becomes 
a  Christian  soldier  defending  the  dearest  rights  and 
liberties  of  his  country.'  A.  Lincoln." 


LINCOLN  AT  THE  WASHINGTON  NAVY-YARD. 

One  afternoon  in  the  summer  of  1862,  the  President 
accompanied  several  gentlemen  to  the  Washington  Navy- 
yard,  to  witness  some  experiment:  with  a  newly-invented 
gun.  Subsequently  the  party  went  aboard  one  of  the 
steamers  lying  at  the  wharf.  A  discussion  was  going  on 
as  to  the  merits  of  the  invention,  in  the  midst  of  which 
Mr.  Lincoln  caught  sight  of  some  axes  hanging  up  out- 
side of  the  cabin.  Leaving  the  group,  he  quietly  went 
forward,  and  taking  one  down,  returned  with  it,  and 
said  : 

"  Gentlemen,  you  may  talk  about  your  '  Raphael  re- 
peaters '  and  '  eleven-inch  Dahlgreus  ;'  but  here  is  an  in- 
stitution which  I  guess  I  understand  better  than  either  of 
you."     With  that   he  held   the  axe  out  at  arm's  length 


154  A  BR  ARAM  LINCOLN. 

by  the  end  of  the  handle,  or  ''helve,"  as  the  wood-cut- 
ters call  it — a  feat  not  another  person  of  the  party  could 
perform,  though  all  made  the  attempt. 


REVISING   HIS  CABINET. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Cabinet  was  chosen  chiefly  from  his 
rivals  for  the  Presidential  nomination  and  from  con- 
siderations largely  political.  The  exigencies  of  the  war 
demanded,  in  the  opinion  of  many  Republicans,  includ- 
ing some  leading  United  States  senators,  a  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  Cabinet.  After  the  retirement  of  General 
Cameron,  the  senators  held  a  caucus  and  appointed  a 
committee  to  wait  on  the  President. 

The  committee  represented  that  inasmuch  as  the 
Cabinet  had  not  been  chosen  with  re  Terence  to  the  war, 
and  had  more  or  less  lost  the  confidence  of  the  country, 
and  since  the  President  had  decided  to  select  a  new  War 
Minister,  they  thought  the  occasion  was  opportune  to 
change  the  whole  seven  Cabinet  ministers, 

Mr.  Lincoln  listened  with  patient  courtesy,  and  when 
the  senators  had  concluded,  he  said  : 

"  Gentlemen,  your  request  for  a  change  of  the  whole 
Cabinet,  because  I  have  made  one  change,  reminds  me 
of  a  etory  I  once  heard  in  Illinois,  of  a  farmer  who  was 
much  troubled  by  skunks.  They  annoyed  his  household 
at  night,  and  his  wife  insisted  that  he  should  take  meas- 
ures to  get  rid  of  them.  One  moonlight  night  he  loaded 
bis  old  shotgun  and  stationed  himself  in  the  yard  to 
watch  for  intruders,  his  wife  remaining  in  the  house 
anxiously  awaiting  the  result.  After  some  time  she 
heard   the  shotgun  go  off,  and   in  a  few  moments  the 


LINCOLNIANA.  155 

farmer  entered  the  bouse.  '  What  luck  had  you  ?'  said 
she.  *  I  hid  myself  behiud  the  wood-pile,'  said  the  old 
man,  *  with  the  shotgun  pointed  toward  the  hen-roost, 
and  before  long  there  appeared,  not  one  shunk,  but 
seven.  I  took  aim,  blazed  away,  killed  one,  and  he 
raised  such  a  fearful  smell  that  I  concluded  it  was  best 
to  let  the  other  six  go.' " 

With  a  hearty  laugh  the  senators  retired,  and  noth- 
ing more  was  heard  of  Cabinet  reconstruction. 


NO  MERCY  FOR  MAN-STEALERS. 

Hon.  John  B.  Alley,  of  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  was 
made  the  bearer  to  the  President  of  a  petition  for  par- 
don, by  a  person  confined  in  the  Newburyport  jail  for 
being  engaged  in  the  slave-trade.  He  had  been  sen- 
tenced to  five  years'  imprisonment,  and  the  payment  of 
a  fine  of  one  thousand  dollars.  The  petition  was  accom- 
panied by  a  letter  to  Mr.  Alley,  in  which  the  prisoner 
acknowledged  his  guilt  and  the  justice  of  his  sentence. 
He  was  very  penitent — at  least,  on  paper — and  had  re- 
ceived the  full  measure  of  his  punishment,  so  far  as  it 
related  to  the  term  of  his  imprisonment ;  but  he  was 
still  held  because  he  could  not  pay  his  fine.  Mr.  Alley 
read  the  letter  to  the  President,  who  w^as  much  moved 
by  its  pathetic  appeals  ;  and  when  he  had  himself  read 
the  petition,  he  looked  up,  and  said  : 

"  My  friend,  that  is  a  very  touching  appeal  to  our 
feelings.  You  know  my  weakness  is  to  be,  if  possible, 
too  easily  moved  by  appeals  for  mercy,  and,  if  this  man 
were  guilty  of  the  foulest  murder  that  the  arm  of  man 
could  perpetrate,  I  might  forgive   him  on   such  an  ap- 


156  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

peal ;  but  the  man  who  could  go  to  Africa,  and  rob  her 
of  her  children,  and  sell  them  into  interminable  bond- 
age, with  no  other  motive  than  that  which  is  furnished 
by  dollars  and  cents,  is  so  much  worse  than  the  most  de- 
praved murderer,  that  he  can  never  receive  pardon  at 
my  hands.  No  !  He  may  rot  m  jail  before  he  shall 
have  liberty  by  any  act  of  mine." 


SIGNING  A  PARDON   IN  BED. 

Mr.  Kellogg,  representative  from  Essex  County, 
New  York,  received  a  dispatch  one  evening  stating  that 
a  young  townsman,  w^ho  had  been  induced  to  enlist 
through  his  instrumentality,  had,  for  a  serious  misde- 
meanor, been  convicted  by  a  court-martial,  and  was  to 
be  shot  the  next  day.  Greatly  agitated,  Mr.  Kellogg 
went  to  Secretary  Stanton,  and  urged,  in  the  strongest 
manner,  a  reprieve.     The  Secretary  was  inexorable. 

Too  many  cases  of  the  kind  had  been  let  off,  he  said, 
and  it  was  time  an  example  was  made. 

Leaving  the  War  Department,  Mr.  Kellogg  went 
directly  to  the  White  House.  The  sentinel  on  duty 
told  him  that  special  orders  had  been  issued  to  admit  no 
one  whatever  that  night.  After  a  long  parley,  by 
pledging  himself  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  the  act, 
the  congressman  passed  in.  The  President  had  retired ; 
but,  indifferent  to  etiquette  or  ceremony,  Judge  Kellogg 
pressed  his  way  to  his  bedroom.  In  an  excited  man- 
ner, he  stated  that  the  dispatch  announcing  the  hour  of 
execution  had  but  just  reached  him. 

•'This  man  must  not  be  shot,  Mr.  President,"  said 
he.     "I  can't  help  what  he  may  have  done.     Why,  he 


LINCOLNIANA.  157 

is  an  old  neighbor  of  mine;  I  can't  allow  him  to  be 
shot!" 

Lincoln  sat  up  in  bed,  quietly  listening  to  the  vehe- 
ment protestations  of  his  old  friend  (they  were  in  Con- 
gress together),  and  at  length  said:  ''Well,  I  don't 
believe  shooting  him  will  do  him  any  good.  Give  me 
that  pen." 

.<!>. 

A  CHURCH  WANTED  FOR  WOUNDED  SOLDIERS. 

At  the  White  House,  one  day,  a  well-dressed  lady 
came  forward,  without  apparent  embarrassment  in  her 
air  or  manner,  and  addressed  the  President.  Giving 
her  a  very  close  and  scrutinizing  look,  he  said : 

"  Well,  madam,  what  can  I  do  for  you?" 

She  proceeded  to  tell  him  that  she  lived  in  Alex- 
andria, and  that  the  church  where  she  worshiped  had 
been  taken  for  a  hospital. 

"What  church,  madam?"  Mr.  Lincoln  asked,  in  a 
quick,  nervous  manner. 

"The  '^  Church,"  she  replied;    "and  as  there  are 

only  two  or  three  wounded  soldiers  in  it,  I  came  to  see 
if  you  would  not  let  us  have  it,  as  we  want  it  very  much 
to  worship  God  in." 

"Madam,  have  you  been  to  see  the  post-surgeon  at 
Alexandria  about  this  matter?" 

"Yes,  sir;   but  we  could  do  nothing  with  him." 

"Well,  we  put  him  there  to  attend  to  just  such 
business,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  kncnvs 
better  what  should  be  done,  under  the  circumstances, 
than  I  do.  See  here:  You  say  you  live  in  Alexandria; 
probably  you  own  property  there.  How  much  will  you 
give  to  assist  in  building  a  hospital?" 


158  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  You  kuow,  Mr.  Lincoln,  our  property  is  very  much 
embarrassed  by  the  war ;  so,  really,  I  could  hardly  af- 
ford to  give  much  for  such  a  purpose." 

"  Well,  madam,  I  expect  we  shall  have  another  fight 
soon ;  and  my  candid  opinion  is,  God  wants  that  church 
for  poor,  wounded  Union  soldiers,  as  much  as  he  does  for 
secesh  people  to  worship  in."  Turning  to  his  table,  he 
said,  quite  abruptly:  "  You  will  excuse  me;  I  can  do 
nothing  for  you.     Good-day,  madam." 


LINCOLN'S  AND  BATES'S  PRISONERS. 

Attorney-General  Bates,  who  was  a  Virginian 
by  birth,  and  had  many  relatives  in  that  State,  one  day 
lieard  that  a  young  Virginian,  the  son  of  one  of  his  old 
friends,  had  been  captured  across  the  Potomac,  was  a 
prisoner  of  war,  and  was  not  in  good  health.  Knowing 
the  boy's  father  to  be  in  his  heart  a  Union  man,  Mr. 
Bates  conceived  the  idea  of  having  the  son  paroled  and 
sent  home,  of  course  under  promise  not  tQ  return  to  the 
army.  He  went  to  see  the  President,  and  said:  "I 
have  a  personal  favor  to  ask.  1  w^ant  you  to  give  me  a 
prisoner."     And  he  told  him  of  the  case. 

The  President  said:  *' Bates,  I  have  an  almost  par- 
allel case.  The  son  of  an  old  friend  of  mine  in  Illi- 
nois ran  off  and  entered  the  rebel  army.  The  young 
fool  has  been  captured,  is  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  his  old, 
broken-hearted  father  has  asked  me  to  send  him  home, 
promising,  of  course,  to  keep  him  there.  I  have  not 
seen  my  way  clear  to  do  it;  but,  if  you  and  I  unite 
our  influence  with  this  Administration,  I  believe  we  can 
manage  it  together,  and  make  two  loyal  fathers  happy. 
Let  us  make  them  our  prisoners."     And  he  did  so. 


LIXCOLXIA  XA.  1 59 

LINCOLN'S  REMARKABLE  LETTER  TO  GENERAL  HOOKER. 

The  followiug  remarkable  letter  to  General  Hooker 
was  written  after  the  latter  had  taken  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  January,  1863.  Before  the 
President  sent  it,  an  intimate  friend  chanced  to  be  in 
his  cabinet  one  night,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  read  it  to  him, 
remarking:  "  I  shall  not  read  this  to  anybody  else; 
but  I  want  to  know  how  it  strikes  you."  During  the 
following  April  or  May,  while  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac lay  opposite  Fredericksburg,  this  friend  accom- 
panied the  President  to  General  Hooker's  headquarters 
on  a  visit.  One  night  General  Hooker,  alone  with  this 
gentleman,  said : 

"  The  President  says  that  he  showed  you  this  letter;" 
and  he  then  took  out  the  document.  The  tears  stood  in 
Hooker's  eyes  as  he  added:  "It  is  such  a  letter  as  a 
father  might  have  written  to  his  son ;  and  yet  it  hurt 
me."  Then  he  said:  "When  I  have  been  to  Rich- 
mond, I  shall  have  this  letter  published." 

Sixteen  years  later,  the  letter  was  published.  It 
reads  as  follows :  ... 

"  Executive  Mansion,  "Washington,  D.  C,  ] 

January  26,  1863.      J 
"Major-General  Hooker: 

"  General, — I  have  placed  you  at  the  head  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  Of  course,  I  have  done  this  upon  what  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  sufficient  reasons ;  and  yet  I  think  it  best 
for  you  to  know  that  there  are  some  things  in  regard  to 
which  I  am  not  quite  satisfied  with  you.  I  believe  you  to  be 
a  brave  and  skillful  soldier — \vhich,  of  course,  I  like.  I  also 
Toelieve  you  do  not  mix  politics  with  your  profession — in 
which  you  are  right.  You  have  confidence  in  yourself — 
which  is  a  valuable,  if  not  an  indispensable,  quality.    You 


160  ABRAHA  -If  L 1XC0LN. 

are  ambitious — which,  within  reasonable  bounds,  does  good 
rather  than  harm;  but  I  think  that,  during  General  Burn- 
side's  command  of  the  army,  you  have  taken  counsel  of  your 
ambition,  and  thwarted  him  as  much  as  you  could,  in  which 
you  did  a  great  wrong  to  the  country,  and  to  a  most  merito- 
rious and  honorable  brother-officer.  I  have  heard,  in  such  a 
way  as  to  believe  it,  of  your  recently  saying  that  both  the 
army  and  th'^  Government  needed  a  dictator.  Of  course,  it 
was  not  for  this,  but  in  spite  of  it,  that  I  have  given  you  the 
command.  Only  those  generals  who  gain  successes  can  set 
up  dictators.  What  I  now  ask  of  you  is  military  success,  and 
I  will  risk  the  dictatorship.  The  Government  will  support 
you  to  the  utmost  of  its  ability — which  is  neither  more  nor 
less  than  it  has  done,  and  will  do,  for  all  commanders.  I 
much  fear  ihat  the  spirit  which  you  have  aided  to  infuse 
into  the  army,  of  criticising  their  commander  and  withhold- 
ing confidence  from  him,  will  now  turn  upon  you.  I  shall 
assist  you,  as  far  as  I  can,  to  put  it  down.  Neither  you  nor 
Napoleon,  if  he  were  alive  again,  could  get  any  good  out  of 
an  army  while  such  a  spirit  prevails  in  it.  And  now, beware 
of  rashness.  Beware  of  rashness ;  but,  with  energy  and 
sleepless  vigilance,  go  forward  and  give  us  victories. 

"Yours,  very  truly,        A.  Lincoln." 


THREE   "BORES." 

One  day  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  alone  and  busily- 
engaged  he  was  disturbed  by  the  intrusion  of  three  nien 
who,  witliout  apology,  proceeded  to  lay  their  claim  before 
him.  The  spokesman  of  the  three  reminded  the  Presi- 
dent that  they  were  the  owners  of  some  torpedo  or  other 
warlike  invention  which,  if  the  Government  would  only 
adopt  it,  would  soon  crush  the  rebellion. 

"Now,"  said  the  spokesman,  "we  have  been  here  to 
see  you  time  and  again ;    you  have  referred  us  to  the 


LINCOLNIANA.  161 

Secretary  of  War,  to  the  chief  of  ordinance,  and  thn 
general  of  the  army,  and  they  will  give  us  no  satisfir- 
tion.  We  have  been  kept  here  waiting,  till  money  and 
patience  are  exhausted,  and  we  now  come  to  demand  of 
you  a  final  reply  to  our  application." 

Mr.  Lincoln  listened  quietly  for  a  while,  and  then 
replied : 

*' You  three  gentlemen  remind  me  of  a  story  I  once 
heard  of  a  poor  little  boy  out  West  who  had  lost  his 
mother.  His  father  wanted  to  give  him  a  religious  edu- 
cation, and  so  placed  him  in  the  family  of  a  clergyman 
whom  he  directed  to  instruct  the  little  fellow  carefully 
in  the  Scriptures.  Every  day  the  boy  was  required  to 
commit  to  memory  and  recite  one  chapter  of  the  Bible. 
Things  proceeded  smoothly  until  they  reached  that 
chapter  which  details  the  story  of  the  trials  of  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abednego  in  the  fiery  furnace.  The  boy 
got  on  well  until  he  was  asked  to  repeat  these  three  names, 
but  he  had  forgotten  them.  His  teacher  told  him  he 
must  learn  them,  and  gave  him  another  day  to  do  so. 
Next  day  the  boy  again  forgot  them.  '  Now,'  said  the 
teacher,  '  you  have  again  failed  to  remember  those  names, 
and  you  can  go  no  further  till  you  have  learned  them. 
I  will  give  you  another  day  on  this  lesson,  and  if  you 
do  n't  repeat  the  names  I  will  punish  you.'  A  third 
time  the  boy  came  to  recite  and  got  down  to  the  stum- 
bling block,  when  the  clergyman  said  :  *  Now  tell  me  the 
names  of  the  men  in  the  fiery  furnace.'  *  O,'  said  the 
boy,  '  here  come  those  three  infernal  bores !  I  wish  the 
devil  had  them  !'  " 

Having  received  their  ''final  answer"  the  three 
patriots  retired. 

11 


162  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'. 


LIFTING  A  BURDEN  FROM  A  FATHER'S  HEART. 

General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  attending  a  reception 
at  the  White  House,  saw,  waiting  in  the  anteroom,  a 
poor  old  man  from  Tennessee.  Sitting  down  beside  him, 
he  learned  that  he  had  been  waiting  three  or  four  days 
to  get  an  audience,  and  that  on  his  seeing  Mr.  Lincoln 
probably  depended  the  life  of  his  son,  who  was  under 
sentence  of  death  for  some  military  offense. 

General  Fisk  Avrote  his  case  in  outline  on  a  card, 
and  sent  it  in,  with  a  special  request  that  the  President 
would  see  the  man.  In  a  moment  the  order  came.  The 
old  man  showed  Mr.  Lincoln  his  papers,  and  he,  on 
taking  them,  said  he  would  look  into  the  case  and  give 
him  the  result  on  the  following  day. 

The  old  man,  in  an  agony  of  fear,  looked  up  into  the 
President's  sympathetic  face,  and  cried  out : 

"To-morrow  may  be  too  late!  My  son  is  under 
sentence  of  death !  The  decision  ought  to  be  made 
now !"  and  the  tears  came  into  his  eyes. 

"  Come,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  w^ait  a  bit,  and  I'll  tell 
you  a  story,"  and  then  he  told  the  old  man  General 
Fisk's  story  about  the  swearing  driver,  as  follows : 

The  general  had  begun  his  military  life  as  a  colonel, 
and,  when  he  raised  his  regiment  in  Missouri,  he  pro- 
posed to  his  men  that  he  should  do  all  the  swearing  of 
the  regiment.  They  assented;  and  for  months  no  in- 
stance was  known  of  the  violation  of  the  promise.  The 
colonel  had  a  teamster  named  John  Todd,  who,  as  roads 
were  not  always  the  best,  had  some  difficulty  in  com- 
manding his  temper  and  his  tongue.  John  happened  to 
be  driving  a  mule  team  through  a  series  of  mud-holes 


LINCOLNIANA.  163 

a  little  worse  than  usual,  when,  unable  to  restrain  him- 
self any  longer,  he  burst  forth  into  a  volley  of  energetic 
oaths.  The  colonel  took  notice  of  the  offense,  and 
brought  John  to  an  account. 

"John,"  said  he,  "didn't  you  promise  to  let  me  do 
all  the  swearing  of  the  regiment?" 

"Yes,  I  did,  colonel,"  he  replied,  "  but  the  fact  was, 
the  swearing  had  to  be  done  then  or  not  at  all,  and  you 
"weren't  there  to  do  it." 

As  Mr.  Lincoln  told  the  story,  the  old  man  forgot 
his  boy,  and  both  the  President  and  his  listener  had  a 
hearty  laugh  together  at  its  conclusion.  Then  he  wrote 
a  few  words  which  the  old  man  read,  and  tears  of  joy 
began  to  flow  from  his  eyes,  for  the  words  saved  the  life 
of  his  son. 


LINCOLN  "TAKING  UP  A  COLLECTION." 

"While  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  near  Fal- 
mouth, on  the  river  opposite  Fredericksburg,  Virginia, 
early  in  the  war,"  says  Dr.  Arthur  Edwards,  in  the 
Northwester )i  Christian  Advocate,  "Mr.  Lincoln  reviewed 
and  inspected  that  splendid  body  of  troops,  one  hundred 
thousand  strong.  Those  who  were  present  remember 
the  quiet  Dobbin  ridden  by  the  President.  The  steed 
proceeded  soberly,  as  if  he  had  been  put  upon  his  equine 
honor  to  be  kind  to  his  illustrious  rider. 

"During  a  part  of  the  formality,  when  the  reviewing 
officer  or  personage  is  specially  the  center  of  all  eyes, 
Mr.  Lincoln  carried  his  tall  'plug  hat'  in  his  hand,  and, 
as  he  bumped  up  and  down  in  his  saddle,  not  danger- 
ously but  considerably,  he  bowed  right  and  left  to  the 
magnificent  military  lines.     The  right  arm  was  extended 


164  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

almost   horizontally,   and   tlie    hand   grasped   the  hat's 
ample  brim. 

"The  whole  aspect  of  the  now  historic  man  abun- 
dantly justified  the  suggestion  of  a  certain  Methodist 
.who  was  present,  to  the  effect  that  '  the  dear  old  gentle- 
man looks  as  if  he  were  about  to  take  up  a  collection.' 
The  joker  was  discounted  on  the  ground  that  he  was  in- 
dulging his  Methodist  traditions  as  far  as  the  collection 
was  concerned,  but  a  second  look  at  the  horse  and  his 
rider  aided  many  a  kindly  smile." 


LITTLE  INFLUENCE  WITH  THE  ADMINISTRATION. 

Judge  Baldwin,  of  California,  being  in  Washing- 
ton, called  one  day  on  General  Halleck,  and,  presuming 
upon  a  familiar  acquaintance  in  California  a  few  years 
before,  solicited  a  pass  outside  of  the  lines  to  see  a 
brother  in  Virginia,  not  thinking  that  he  would  meet 
with  a  refusal,  as  both  his  brother  and  himself  were 
good  Union  men. 

"  We  have  been  deceived  too  often,"  said  General 
Halleck,  "  and  I  regret  I  can't  grant  it." 

Judffe  Baldwin  then  went  to  Stanton,  and  was  very 
briefly  disposed  of,  with  the  same  result.  Finally,  he 
obtained  an  interview  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  stated  his 
case. 

''Have  you  applied  to  General  Halleck?"  inquired 
the  President. 

"  Yes,  and  met  with  a  flat  refusal,"  said  Judge 
Baldwin. 

**  Then  you  must  see  Stanton,"  coutiuued  the  Presi- 
dent. 


LINCOLN  lA  NA,  165 

**  I  have,  and  with  the   same  result,"  was  the  reply. 

'*  Well,  then,"  said  Mr.  Liucohi,  with  a  smile,  '*  I 
can  do  nothing  ;  for  you  must  know  that  I  have  very 
little  influence  with  this  Administration." 


A  LITTLE  HERO. 

Hon.  W.  D.  Kell  suggested  to  the  President  one 
day  that  he  send  the  son  of  one  of  his  constituents  to 
the  naval  school  for  a  year.  The  boy  had  served  a  year 
on  board  the  gunboat  Ottawa,  and  had  been  in  two  im- 
portant engagements  ;  in  the  first  as  a  powder-monkey, 
when  he  had  conducted  himself  with  such  coolness  that 
he  had  been  chosen  as  captain's  messenger  in  the 
second. 

Mr.  Lincoln  at  once  wrote  on  the  back  of  a  letter 
from  the  commander  of  the  Ottawa,  which  Mr.  Kell  had 
handed  him,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  :  "If  the 
appointments  for  this  year  have  not  been  made,  let  this 
boy  be  appointed."  The  appointment  had  not  been 
made,  and  he  took  it  home  with  him.  It  directed  the 
lad  to  report  for  examination  at  the  school  in  July. 
Just  as  he  was  ready  to  start,  his  father,  looking  over 
the  law,  discovered  that  he  could  not  report  until  he  was 
fourteen  years  of  age,  which  he  would  not  be  until  Sep- 
tember following.  The  boy  sat  down  and  cried.  He 
feared  that  he  was  not  to  go  to  the  naval  school.  He 
was  consoled,  however,  by  being  told  that  "  the  Presi- 
dent could  make  it  right."  The  next  morning  Mr.  Kell 
met  him  at  the  door  of  the  Executive  Chamber  with  his 
father.  Taking  by  the  hand  the  little  fellow — short  for 
his  age,  dressed  in  the  sailor's  blue  pants  and  shirt — he 


166  ABHA HAM  LINCOLN. 

advanced  with  him  to  the  President,  who  sat  in  his 
usual  seat,  and  said  : 

'*  Mr.  Presideut,  my  young  friend,  Willie  Bladen, 
finds  a  difficulty  about  his  appointment.  You  have  di- 
rected him  to  appear  at  the  school  in  July  ;  but  he  is 
not  yet  fourteen  years  of  age."  But  before  he  got  half 
of  this  out,  Mr.  Lincoln,  laying  down  his  spectacles, 
rose  and  said  : 

*'  Bless  me  !  is  that  the  boy  who  did  so  gallantly  in 
those  two  great  battles  ?  Why,  I  feel  that  I  should  bow 
to  him,  and  not  he  to  me."  The  little  fellow  had  made 
his  graceful  bow. 

The  President  took  the  papers  at  once,  and  as  soon 
as  he  learned  that  a  postponement  until  September 
would  suffice,  made  the  order  that  the  lad  should  report 
in  that  mouth.  Then  putting  his  hand  on  Willie's  head, 
he  said  : 

**  Now,  my  boy,  go  home  and  have  good  fun  during 

the   two  months,  for   they  are  about   the  last   holidays 

you  will  get." 

.4., 

WORK  ENOUGH   FOR  TWENTY  PRESIDENTS. 

A  FARMER  from  one  of  the  border  counties  went  to 
tlie  President  on  a  certain  occasion  with  the  complaint 
that  the  Union  soldiers,  in  passing  his  farm,  had  helped 
themselves,  not  only  to  hay,  but  to  his  horse ;  and  he 
hoped  the  proper  officer  would  be  required  to  consider 
his  claim  immediately. 

"  Why,  my  good  sir,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  if  I 
.should  attempt  to  consider  every  such  individual  case,  I 
should  find  work  enough  for  twenty  Presidents!  In  my 
early  days,  I  knew  one  Jack  Cliase,  who  was  a  lumber- 


LINCOLNIANA.  167 

man  on  the  Illinois,  and,  when  steady  and  sober,  the 
best  raftsman  on  the  river.  It  was  quite  a  trick  twenty- 
five  years  ago  to  take  the  logs  over  the  rapids,  but  he 
was  skillful  with  a  raft,  and  always  kept  her  straight  in 
the  channel.  Finally  a  steamer  was  put  on,  and  Jack — 
he  's  dead  now,  poor  fellow ! — was  made  captain  of  her. 
He  always  used  to  take  the  wheel  going  through  the 
rapids.  One  day,  when  the  boat  was  plunging  and  wal- 
lowing along  the  boiling  current,  and  Jack's  utmost 
vigilance  was  being  exercised  to  keep  her  in  the  narrow 
channel,  a  boy  pulled  his  coat-tail,  and  hailed  him  with: 
*  Say,  Mister  Captain  !  I  wish  you  would  just  stop  your 
boat  a  minute — I  've  lost  my  apple  overboard  !'  " 


A  BRIDE'S  PLEDGE. 

In  the  spring  of  1863  a  very  handsome  and  attract- 
ive young  lady  from  Philadelphia  besought  the  Presi- 
dent to  restore  her  husband  to  his  position,  from  which 
he  had  been  removed  in  disgrace.  Sometime  before 
she  had  been  married  to  a  young  lieutenant  in  a  Penn- 
sylvania regiment.  He  had  been  compelled  to  leave 
her  the  day  after  the  wedding  to  rejoin  his  command  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  After  some  time  he  ob- 
tained leave  of  absence,  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and 
they  started  on  a  brief  honeymoon.  A  movement  of 
the  army  being  imminent,  the  War  Department  issued 
a  peremptory  order  requiring  all  absent  officers  to  re- 
join their  regiments  by  a  certain  day  on  penalty  of  dis- 
missal in  case  of  disobedience.  The  bride  and  groom, 
away  on  their  wedding  tour,  failed  to  see  the  order,  and 
on  their  return  he  was  met  by  a  notice  of  his  dismissal 


168  .1 BEAHA2I  LINCOLN. 

from  the  service.  The  young  fellow  was  completely 
prostrated  by  the  disgrace,  and  his  wifie  hurried  to 
Washington  to  get  him  restored.  She  told  her  story 
with  simple  and  pathetic  eloquence,  and  "wound  up  by 
saying  : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,  won't  you  help  us?  I  promise  you, 
if  you  will  restore  him,  he  will  be  fiiithful  to  his  duty." 

The  President  had  listened  with  evident  sympathy 
and  a  half-amused  smile  at  her  earnestness,  and  as  she 
closed  her  appeal,  he  said,  with  parental  kindness: 

"And  you  say,  my  child,  that  Fred  was  compelled 
to  leave  you  the  day  after  the  wedding  ?  Poor  fellow ! 
I  do  n't  wonder  at  his  anxiety  to  get  back ;  and  if  he 
staid  a  little  longer  than  he  ought  to  have  done,  we  '11 
have  to  overlook  his  fault  this  time.  Take  this  card 
to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  he  will  restore  your  hus- 
band." 

She  went  to  the  War  Department,  saw  the  Secre- 
retary,  who  rebuked  her  for  troubling  the  President, 
and  dismissed  her  somewhat  curtly.  On  her  way  down 
the  War  Department  stairs,  she  met  the  President  as- 
cending. He  recognized  her,  and,  with  a  pleasant  smile, 
said  : 

"  Well,  my  dear,  have  you  seen  the  Secretary?" 

"Yes,  Mr.  Lincoln,"  she  replied,  "and  he  seemed 
very  angry  with  me  for  going  to  you.  Won't  you 
speak  to  him  for  me  ?" 

"  Give  yourself  no  trouble,"  said  he.  "I  will  see 
that  the  order  is  issued."  And  in  a  few  days  her  hus- 
band was  remanded  to  his  regiment. 

"Not  long  after,"  says  Titian  J.  Coffey,  who  relates 
the  story  in  the  Cincinnati  Times-Star^  **  the  young  man 


LINCOLNIANA.  169 

was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  thus  sealing  with 
his  blood  his  wife's  pledge  that  he  should  be  faithful  to 

his  duty." 

,^. 

CONSIDERATION   FOR  A  COUNT. 

DuEiNG  the  war  an  Austrian  count  applied  to  Pres- 
ident Lincoln  for  a  position.  Being  introduced  by  the 
Austrian  Minister,  he  needed,  of  course,  no  further  rec- 
ommendation ;  but,  as  if  fearing  that  his  importance 
might  not  be  duly  appreciated,  he  proceeded  to  explain 
that  he  was  a  count — that  his  family  were  ancient  and 
highly  respectable. 

Lincoln,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  tapped  the  titled 
foreigner  on  the  shoulder,  in  a  fatherly  way,  as  if  the 
man  had  confessed  to  some  wrong,  and  in  a  soothing 
tone,  said  :  *'  Never  mind  ;  you  shall  be  treated  with  just 
as  much  consideration,  for  all  that." 


A  DESIRABLE  POSITION. 

A  GENTLEMAN  named  Farquhar,  of  York,  Pa.,  did 
not  enlist  because  he  was  a  Quaker.  In  the  course  of 
the  war,  General  Early  marched  before  York,  and  threat- 
ened to  burn  the  houses  of  its  peaceful  citizens  unless  a 
ransom  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  was  forthcoming. 
Mr.  Farquhar  was  foremost  in  arranging  matters,  and 
struck  a  bargain  with  the  Confederates  which,  while  they 
were  near,  seemed  very  clever  to  his  fellow-townsmen, 
but  when  they  marched  away  brought  forth  many  bitter 
complaints.  The  whole  matter  set  Mr.  Farquhar  think- 
ing. The  war  ought  to  be  ended.  So  he  set  out  for 
Washington,   to   offer  his   services   to   the  Government. 


170  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

He  called  on  Mr.  Lincoln,  told  him  how  he  felt,  and 
said  he  wished  to  help  his  country. 

'*  Well,'*  said  Lincoln,  ''come  with  me  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  and  I  ^Yill  give  you  a  position  which  I 
would  gladly  take  myself." 

They  were  soon  in  Mr.  Stanton's  office.  Lincoln 
made  a  sign  to  the  Secretary,  who  produced  a  Bible, 
and  proceeded  to  swear  Mr.  Farquhar  into  the  United 
States  service.  The  ceremony  had  not  gone  very  far, 
when  he  discovered  that  the  position  Mr.  Lincoln  cov- 
eted was  that  of  a  private  soldier.  Mr.  Farquhar 
showed  alarm,  and  the  President  laughingly  re- 
leased him. 


THE  LORD  AND  THE  PEOPLE  WITH   HIM. 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  a  friend  were  standing  upon  the 
threshold  of  the  door  under  the  portico  of  the  White 
House,  awaiting  the  coachman,  when  a  letter  was  put 
into  his  hand.  While  he  was  reading  this,  a  country- 
man, plainly  dressed,  with  his  wife  and  two  little  boys, 
who  had  evidently  been  straying  about,  looking  at  the 
places  of  public  interest  in  the  city,  approached.  As  they 
reached  the  portico,  the  father,  who  was  in  advance, 
caught  sight  of  the  tall  figure  of  ]\Ir.  Lincoln,  absorbed 
in  his  letter.  His  wife  and  the  little  boys  were  ascend- 
ing the  steps. 

The  man  stopped  suddenly,  put  out  his  hand  with  a 
*'hush"  to  his  family,  and,  after  a  moment's  gaze,  he 
bent  down  and  whispered  to  them  :  **  There  is  the  Presi- 
dent." Tlien,  leaving  them,  he  slowly  made  a  half-cir- 
cuit around  Mr.  Lincoln,  watching  him  intently  all  the 

Vvhilc, 


LINCOLNIANA.  Ill 

At  this  point,  having  finished  his  letter,  the  President 
turned,  and  said:  **  Well,  we  will  not  wait  any  longer 
for  the  carriage ;  it  won't  hurt  you  and  me  to  walk 
down." 

The  countryman  stepped  up  very  diffidently,  and 
asked  if  he  might  be  allowed  to  take  the  President  by 
the  hand,  after  which  he  asked  if  he  would  extend  tlie 
same  privilege  to  his  wife  and  little  boys. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  good-naturedly,  approached  the  latter, 
who  had  remained  where  they  were  stopped,  and,  reach- 
ing down,  said  a  kind  word  to  the  bashful  little  fellows, 
who  shrank  close  up  to  their  mother,  and  did  not  reply. 
This  simple  act  filled  the  father's  cup  full. 

"  The  Lord  is  with  you,  Mr.  President,"  he  said,  rev- 
erently ;  and  then,  hesitating  a  moment,  he  added,  with 
strong  emphasis,  ^^  and  the  people  too,  sir;  and  the  peo- 
ple tool" 

•«= 

THE  FIRST  COLORED  OFFICER. 

Rev.  H.  ]M.  Turner,  now  a  bishop  of  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  the  first  colored  man 
commissioned  an  officer  in  the  United  States  Army. 
He  thus  writes,  in  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate: 

"The  first  colored  regiment,  which  was  raised  and 
organized  under  the  direct  auspices  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment (I  do  not  refer  to  those  enlisted  by  General 
Butler  in  New  Orleans,  or  Governor  Andrew  in  Mas- 
sachusetts), was  raised  in  Washington,  D.  C. 

"The  first  two  companies  were  enlisted  in  the  base- 
ment of  Israel  Church ;  but  the  regiment  was  completed 
on  Mason's  Island,  just  across  the  Potomac  from  Wash- 
ington City.     All  the  commissioned  officers,  being  white. 


172  J  BR  AH  A  M  LINCOLN, 

were  appointed  from  the  colonel  down,  and  a  white 
chaplain  had  been  assigned  to  duty  to  the  same  regi- 
ment, temporarily,  by  the  colonel  in  command.  This 
writer,  however,  Avas  the  choice  of  the  colored  members 
of  the  regiment  for  the  position  of  chaplain,  and,  at 
their  solicitation,  I  applied  for  the  same. 

"Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War,  and 
Hon.  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and 
afterward  chief  justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  were  favorable;  but  the  other  Cabinet  officers 
were  either  unfavorable  or  in  doubt  as  to  the  advisabil- 
ity of  making  a  colored  man  a  commissioned  officer  in 
any  form — at  least,  I  was  so  informed  by  Secretary 
Chase. 

"When  the  question  came  up  in  the  Cabinet  for 
final  decision  before  Mr.  Lincoln,  Mr.  Stanton  and  Mr. 
Chase  held  that  the  colored  soldiers  should  have  their 
own  spiritual  director  and  guide,  and  that  my  labors  in 
the  organization  of  the  regiment  entitled  me  to  the  po- 
sition. Messrs.  Seward,  Blair,  Welles,  and  others  of 
the  Cabinet  thought  it  rather  too  early  to  risk  public 
sentiment  in  commissioning  a  colored  man  to  any  posi- 
tion whatever. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  sat  with  great  patience  and  heard  the 
discussion,  but  finally  put  a  quietus  to  the  question  at 
issue  by  saying,  '  Well,  we  have  far  graver  matters  for 
consideration  than  this;'  and,  turning  to  the  Secretary 
of  War,  simply  said : 

*'  'Stanton,  issue  his  commission  as  chaplain.  Now, 
gentlemen,  let  us  proceed  to  business.' 

"Mr.  Chase  sent  for  me  the  same  afternoon  to  come 
to    his    residence,   and,   after    congratulating    me   upon 


LINCOLNIANA,  173 

being  a  United  States  chaplain,  and  the  first  one  of  my 
race  to  receive  a  commissi(ju,  gave  a  detailed  narrative 
of  the  whole  transaction,  but  pledged  me  to  secrecy." 


LINCOLN'S  FAVORITE  POEM* 

O  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 
Like  a  swift-fleeting  meteor,  a  fast  flying  cloud, 
A  flash  of  the  lightning,  a  break  of  the  wave, 
He  passeth  f-om  life  to  his  rest  in  the  grave. 

The  leaves  of  the  oak  and  the  willow  shall  fade, 

Be  scattered  around,  and  together  be  laid  ; 

And  the  young  and  the  old,  and  the  low  and  the  high, 

Shall  molder  to  dust,  and  together  shall  lie. 

The  infant  a  mother  attended  and  loved  ; 
The  mother  that  infant's  afiection  w^ho  proved  ; 
The  husband  that  mother  and  infant  W'ho  blest — 
Each,  all,  are  away  to  their  dwellings  of  rest. 

[The  maid  on  whose  cheek,  on  whose  brow,  in  whose  eye, 
Shone  beauty  and  pleasure — her  triumphs  are  by ; 
And  the  memory  of  those  who  loved  her  and  praised, 
Are  alike  from  the  minds  of  the  living  erased.] 

The  hand  of  the  king  that  the  scepter  hath  borne ; 
The  brow  of  the  priest  that  the  miter  hath  worn ; 
The  eye  of  the  sage,  and  the  heart  of  the  brave, 
Are  hidden  and  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  grave. 

The  peasant,  whose  lot  was  to  sow  and  to  reap ; 
The  herdsman,  who  climbed  with  his  goats  up  the  steep  ; 
The  beggar,  who  wandered  in  search  of  his  bread, 
Have  faded  away,  like  the  grass  that  we  tread. 

'^'Tliis  poem  was  a  special  favorite  of  Mr.  Lincoln's,  and  was 
often  quoted  by  him.  It  was  written  by  Wi  liain  Knox,  a  young 
Scotcliman,  a  contemporary  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  He  died  in  Edin- 
burgh, in  1825,  at  tlie  age  of  thirty -six.  The  Two  verses  in  bracUets 
were  not  repeated  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  belong  to  the  original  poem. 


174  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[The  saint,  who  enjoyed  the  communion  of  heaven  ; 
The  sinner,  who  dared  to  remain  unforgiven ; 
The  wise  and  the  foolish,  the  guilty  and  just, 
Have  quietly  mingled  their  bones  in  the  dust.] 

So  the  multitude  goes — like  the  flower  of  the  weed, 
That  withers  away  to  let  others  succeed  ; 
So  the  multitude  comes — even  those  we  behold, 
To  repeat  every  tale  that  has  often  been  told. 

For  we  are  the  same  our  fathers  have  been  ; 
We  see  the  same  sights  our  fathers  have  seen  ; 
AVe  drink  the  same  stream,  we  view  the  same  sun, 
And  run  the  same  course  our  fathers  have  run. 

The  thoughts  we  are  thinking,  our  fathers  would  think ; 
From  the  death  we  are  shrinking  our  fathers  would  shrink 
To  the  life  we  are  clinging,  they  also  would  cling ; 
But  it  speeds  from  us  all  like  a  bird  on  the  wing. 

They  loved — but  the  story  we  can  not  unfold ; 
They  scorned — but  the  heart  of  the  haughty  is  cold ; 
They  grieved — but  no  wail  from  their  slumber  will  come ; 
They  joyed— but  the  tongue  of  their  gladness  is  dumb. 

They  died — ay,  they  died — we  things  that  are  now, 
That  walk  on  the  turf  that  lies  over  their  brow, 
And  make  in  their  dwellings  a  transient  abode. 
Meet  the  things  that  tliey  met  on  their  pilgrimage  road. 

Yea !  hope  and  despondency,  pleasure  and  pain, 
Are  mingled  together  in  sunshine  and  rain; 
And  the  smile  and  the  tear,  the  song  and  the  dirge, 
Still  follow  each  other,  like  surge  upon  surge. 

'T  is  the  wink  of  an  eye,  't  is  the  draught  of  a  breath, 
From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death, 
From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud — 
O  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud? 


LINCOLMAJSA.  175 

A  PRACTICAL  SERMON. 

On  a  certain  occasion,  two  ladies  from  Tennessee 
came  before  the  President,  asking  the  release  of  their 
husbands,  held  as  prisoners  of  war  at  Johnson's  Island. 
They  were  put  off  until  the  following  Friday,  when  they 
came  again,  and  were  again  put  off  until  Saturday.  At 
each  of  the  interviews,  one  of  the  ladies  urged  that  her 
husband  was  a  religious  man.  On  Saturday,  when  the 
President  ordered  the  release  of  the  prisoners,  he  said  to 
this  lady : 

"You  say  your  husband  is  a  religious  man.  Tell 
him,  when  you  meet  him,  that  I  say  I  am  not  much  of 
a  judge  of  religion;  but  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  re- 
ligion which  sets  men  to  rebel  and  fight  against  their 
Government,  because,  as  they  think,  that  Government 
does  not  sufficiently  help  some  men  to  eat  their  bread  in 
the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces,  is  not  the  sort  of  religion 
upon  which  people  can  get  to  heaven.'' 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  "LEG-CASES." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  unwillingness  to  allow  any  soldier  to 
be  shot  for  cowardice,  sleeping  at  his  post,  or  other  of- 
fenses which,  in  time  of  war,  are  construed  as  treason- 
able, but  in  which  the  treasonable  motive  is  lacking,  was 
a  source  of  great  annoyance  to  the  commanders;  but  it 
was  appreciated  by  every  soldier,  and  endeared  the 
President  the  more  to  them. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  the  war,  all  the  death-penal- 
ties of  courts-martial  had  to  be  sent  up  to  the  Presi- 
dent, as  commander-in-chief,  for  his  approval.  When 
Judge   Holt,  the  judge-advocate-general   of  the   army, 


176  ABRAHA M  L TXCOLX 

laid  the  first  case  before  tlie  President  and  explained  it, 
he  replied:  "Well,  I  will  keep  this  for  a  few  days, 
until  I  have  more  time  to  read  the  testimony."  That 
seemed  quite  reasonable. 

AVhen  the  judge  explained  the  next  case,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln said:  "I  must  put  this  by  until  I  can  settle  in 
my  mind  whether  this  soldier  can  better  serve  the  coun- 
try dead  than  living." 

To  the  third,  he  answered:  "The  general  com- 
manding the  brigade  is  to  be  here  in  a  few  days  to  con- 
sult with  Stanton  and  myself  about  military  matters ;  I 
will  wait  until  then,  and  talk  the  matter  over  with  him." 

Finally,  there  was  a  very  flagrant  case  of  a  soldier 
who  threw  down  his  gun  behind  a  friendly  stump.  His 
cowardice  demoralized  his  regiment.  When  tried  for 
his  cowardice,  there  was  no  defense.  The  court-martial, 
in  examining  his  antecedents,  found  that  he  had  neither 
father  nor  mother  living,  nor  wife,  nor  child;  that  he 
was  unfit  to  wear  the  loyal  uniform ;  and  that  he  was  a 
thief,  who  stole  continually  from  his  comrades. 

"  Here,"  said  Judge  Holt,  "  is  a  case  which  comes  ex- 
actly within  your  requirements.  He  does  not  deny  his 
guilt;  he  will  better  serve  the  country  dead  than  living, 
as  he  has  no  relation  to  mourn  for  him,  and  he  is  not 
fit  to  be  in  tlie  ranks  of  patriots,  at  any  rate." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  refuge  of  excuses  was  all  swept  away. 
Judge  Holt  expected,  of  course,  that  he  would  write 
"approved"  on  the  paper;  but  the  President,  running 
his  long  fingers  through  his  hair,  as  he  used  to  do  when 
in  anxious  thought,  replied  : 

"  Well,  after  all,  Judge,  I  think  I  must  put  this  with 
my  leg-cases." 


LINCOLNIANA.  177 

"Leg-cases!"  said  Judge  Holt,  with  a  frown  at  this 
supposed  levity  of  the  President  in  a  case  of  life  and 
death.     "What  do  you  mean  by  leg-cases,  sir?" 

"Why,  why,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  "do  you  see 
those  papers  crowded  into  those  pigeon-holes?  They  are 
the  cases  that  you  call  by  that  long  title — *  cowardice  in 
the  face  of  the  enemy;'  but  I  call  them,  for  short,  my 
'  leg-cases.'  But  I  put  it  to  you,  and  I  leave  it  for  you 
to  decide  for  yourself,  if  Almighty  God  gives  a  man  a 
cowardly  pair  of  legs,  how  can  he  help  their  running 
away  with  him  ?" 

0<fe= 

AN   INDIFFERENT  PRESIDENT. 

When  General  Phelps  took  possession  of  Ship  Isl- 
and, near  New  Orleans,  early  in  the  war,  it  will  be  re- 
membered that  he  issued  a  proclamation,  somewhat 
bombastic  in  tone,  freeing  the  slaves.  To  the  surprise 
of  many  people  on  both  sides,  the  President  took  no 
official  notice  of  this  movement.  Some  time  had  elapsed, 
when  one  day  a  friend  took  him  to  task  for  his  seeming 
indifference  on  so  important  a  matter. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I  feel  about  that  a  good 
deal  as  a  man  whom  I  will  call  '  Jones,'  whom  I  once 
knew,  did  about  his  wife.  He  was  one  of  your  meek 
men,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  badly  henpecked. 
At  last,  one  day,  his  wife  was  seen  switching  him  out  of 
the  house.  A  day  or  two  afterward,  a  friend  met  him 
in  the  street,  and  said:  'Jones,  I  have  always  stood  up 
for  you,  as  you  know;  but  I  am  not  going  to  do  it  any 
longer.  Any  man  who  will  stand  quietly  and  take  a 
switching  from  his  wife,  deserves  to  be  horsewhipped. 
Jones  looked  up  with  a  wink,  patting  his  friend  on  the 

12 


178  ABRAHA3I  LINCOLN. 

back.     'Now,  don't,'  said  he;   'why,  it  didn't  hurt  me 

any ;  and   you  've  no  idea  what  a  power  of  good  it  did 

Sarah  Ann !' " 

•+' 

LINCOLN  AND  THE  BABY. 

*'Old  Daniel,"  one  of  the  White  House  ushers, 
told  the  following  story : 

A  poor  woman  from  Philadelphia  had  been  waiting, 
with  a  baby  in  her  arms,  for  several  days  to  see  the 
President.  She  said  that  her  husband  had  furnished  a 
substitute  for  the  army,  but  some  time  afterward,  in  a 
state  of  intoxication,  he  was  induced  to  enlist.  Upon 
reaching  the  post  assigned  his  regiment,  he  deserted, 
thinking  the  Government  was  not  entitled  to  his  services. 
Returning  home,  he  was  arrested,  tried,  convicted,  and 
sentenced  to  be  shot.  The  sentence  was  to  be  ex- 
ecuted on  Saturday.  On  Monday  his  wife  left  her  home 
with  her  baby,  to  endeavor  to  see  the  President. 

Said  Daniel:  "She  had  been  waiting  three  days,  and 
there  was  no  chance  for  her  to  get  in.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  third  day,  the  President  was  going 
through  the  passage  to  his  private  room  to  get  a  cup  of 
tea.  On  the  way  he  heard  the  baby  cry.  He  instantly 
went  back  to  his  office  and  rang  the  bell. 

"Daniel,"  said  he,  "is  there  a  woman  with  a  baby 
in  the  anteroom?" 

Daniel  said  there  was,  and  it  ^vas  a  case  he  ought  to 
see ;  for  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death. 

"Send  her  to  me  at  once,"  said  the  President. 

She  went  in,  told  her  story,  and  the  President  par- 
doned her  husband. 

As  the  woman  came  out  from  his  presence,  her  eyes 


LINCOLNIANA,  179 

were    lifted  and   her  lips   moving   in  prayer,  the  tears 
streaming  down  her  cheeks. 

Daniel  went  up  to  her,  and,  pulling  her  shawl,  said : 

**  Madam,  it  was  the  hahy  that  did  it." 


PAYING  HIS  VOW. 

The  following  incident  is  related  by  Mr.  Carpenter, 
the  artist : 

"Mr.  Chase,"  says  Mr.  Carpenter,  **told  me  that  at 
the  Cabinet  meeting  immediately  after  the  battle  of  An- 
tietam,  and  just  prior  to  the  issue  of  the  September 
proclamation,  the  President  entered  upon  the  business 
before  them  by  saying  that  the  time  for  the  annuncia- 
tion of  the  emancipation  policy  could  be  no  longer  de- 
layed. Public  sentiment  would  sustain  it — many  of  his 
warmest  friends  and  supporters  demanded  it — and  he 
had  promised  his  God  he  would  do  it.  The  last  part  of 
this  was  uttered  in  a  low  tone,  and  appeared  to  be  heard 
by  no  one  but  Secretary  Chase,  who  was  sitting  near 
him.  He  asked  the  President  if  he  correctly  understood 
him.  Mr.  Lincoln  replied:  ^  I  made  a  solemn  vow  before 
God  that  if  General  Lee  was  driven  hack  from  Pennsyl- 
vanitty  I  ivoiild  crown  the  result  by  the  declaration  of  free- 
dom to  the  slaves.* 

"  In  February,  1865,  a  few  days  after  the  Constitu- 
tional Amendment,  I  went  to  Washington,  and  was  re- 
ceived by  Mr.  Lincoln  with  the  kindness  and  familiarity 
which  had  characterized  our  previous  intercourse.  I 
said  to  him  at  this  time  that  I  was  very  proud  to  have 
been  the  artist  to  have  first  conceived  the  design  of 
painting  a  picture  commemorative  of  the  Act  of  Eman- 


180  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN. 

cipation ;  that  subsequent  occurrences  had  only  con- 
firmed my  own  first  judgment  of  that  act  as  the  most 
sublime  moral  event  in  our  history.  'Yes,'  said  he — and 
never  d<>  I  remember  to  have  noticed  in  him  more  ear- 
nestness of  expression  or  manner — *  as  affairs  have  turned, 
it  OS  the  central  act  of  my  Administration,  and  the  great  event 
of  the  nineteenth  century.^" 


HOW  LINCOLN  RELIEVED  ROSECRANS. 

General  James  B.  Steedman,  familiarly  known 
as  "  Old  Chickaniauga,"  relates  that  some  weeks  after 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Chickamauga,  while  yet  Chat- 
tanooga w'as  in  a  state  of  siege,  General  Steedman  was 
surprised  one  day  to  receive  a  telegram  from  Abraham 
Lincoln  to  come  to  Washington.  Seeking  out  Thomas, 
he  laid  the  telegram  before  him,  and  was  instructed  to 
set  out  at  once.  Repairing  to  the  White  House,  he  was 
warmly  received  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  Mr.  Lincoln's  first 
question  was  abrupt  and  to  the  point : 

''General  Steedman,  w^hat  is  your  opinion  of  Gen- 
eral Rosecrans?" 

General  Steedman,  hesitating  a  moment,  said:  "Mr. 
President,  I  would  rather  not  express  my  opinion  of 
my  superior  officer." 

Mr.  Lincoln  said:  "It  is  the  man  who  does  not 
want  to  express  an  opinion  whose  opinion  I  want.  I 
am  besieged  on  all  sides  with  advice.  Every  day  I  get 
letters  from  army  officers  asking  me  to  allow  them  to 
come  to  Washington  to  impart  some  valuable  knowl- 
edge in  their  possession." 

"Well,    Mr.    President,"   said     General    Steedman, 


LINCOLNIA  NA.  181 

"you  are  the  Commaiider-io-Chief  of  the  Army,  and  if 
you  order  me  to  speak,  I  -will  do  so." 

Mr.  Lincoln  said:    "Then  I  will  order  an  opinion." 

General  Steedraan  then  answered  :  "Since  you  com- 
mand me,  Mr.  President,  I  will  say  General  Rosecrana 
is  a  splendid  man  to  command  a  victorious  army.'' 

"But  what  kind  of  a  man  is  he  to  command  a  de- 
feated army  ?"  said  Mr.  Lincoln. 

General  Steedman  in  reply  said,  cautiously:  "I 
think  there  are  two  or  three  men  in  that  army  who 
would  be  better." 

Then,  with  his  quaint  humor,  Mr.  Lincoln  pro- 
pounded this  question:  "Who,  besides  yourself,  Gen- 
eral Steedman,  is  there  in  that  army  who  would  make 
abetter  commander?" 

General  Steedman  said  promptly  :  "General  George 
H.  Thomas." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln  ; 
"  that  is  my  own  opinion  exactly.  But  Mr.  Stanton  is 
against  him,  and  it  was  only  yesterday  that  a  powerful 
New  York  delegation  was  here  to  protest  against  his  ap- 
pointment because  he  is  from  a  Rebel  State  and  can  not 
be  trusted." 

Said  General  Steedman  :  "A  man  who  will  leave 
his  own  State  [Thomas  was  a  Virginian],  his  friends, 
all  his  associations,  to  follow  the  flag  of  his  country, 
can  be  trusted  in  any  position  to  which  he  may  be 
called." 

That  night  the  order  went  forth  from  Washington 
relieving  General  Rosecrans  of  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  and  appointing  Thomas  in 
his  place. 


1 S2  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

SIGNING  THE  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION. 

The  roll  containing  the  Emancipation  Proclamation 
was  taken  to  ^Ir.  Lincoln  at  noon  on  the  first  day  of 
January,  1863,  by  Secretary  Seward  and  his  son  Fred- 
erick. As  it  lay  open  before  him,  Mr.  Lincoln  took 
a  pen,  dipped  it  in  ink,  moved  his  hand  to  the  place 
for  the  signature,  held  it  a  moment,  then  removed  his 
hand  and  dropped  the  pen.  After  a  little  hesitation  he 
again  took  up  the  pen,  and  went  through  the  same 
movement  as  before.  Mr.  Lincoln  then  turned  to  Mr. 
Seward,  and  said : 

"I  have  been  shaking  hands  since  nine  o*clock  this 
morning,  and  my  right  arm  is  almost  paralyzed.  If  my 
name  ever  goes  into  history  it  will  be  for  this  act,  and 
my  whole  soul  is  in  it.  If  my  hand  trembles  when  I 
sign  the  Proclamation,  all  who  examine  the  document 
hereafter  will  say,  'He  hesitated.'" 

He  then  turned  to  the  table,  took  up  the  pen  again, 
and  slowly,  firmly  wrote  * 'Abraham  Lincoln,"  with  which 
signature  the  whole  world  is  now  familiar.  He  then 
looked  up,  smiled,  and  said:   "  That  will  doj* 


LINCOLN  AND  STANTON. 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  Edwin  M.  Stanton  first  met  in 
the  summer  of  1857.  Mr.  Lincoln  represented  a  man 
named  Manny,  of  Chicago,  who  had  been  sued  by  Mr. 
McCormick,  the  inventor  of  the  reaping  machine,  for  in- 
fringement of  patent.  The  case  was  tried  before  Judge 
McLean  in  the  United  States  Court  at  Cincinnati. 
Without  Lincoln's  knowledge,  his  client  called  George 
Harding,    of   Philadelphia,    and    Edwin  M.  Stanton,  of 


LINCOLNIANA,  182 

the  Cincinnati  bar,  though  living  at  Pittsburg,  into  the 
case,  assigning  as  the  reason  that  the  connection  ot 
Reverdy  Johnson  with  the  other  side  required  men  of 
Harding's  and  Stanton's  knowledge  and  experience  to 
cope  with  him.  Stanton  treated  Lincoln  with  great 
rudeness.  Lincoln  overheard  him  ask,  "Where  did 
that  long-armed  creature  come  from,  and  what  can  he 
do  in  this  case?"  and  then  proceed  to  describe  him  as 
a  *'  h)ug,  lank  creature  from  Illinois,  wearing  a  dirty 
linen  duster  for  a  coat,  on  the  back  of  which  the  per- 
spiration had  splotched  wide  stains  that  resembled  a 
map  of  the  continent."  Before  the  final  argument  be- 
gan, one  of  the  counsel  moved  that  only  two  of  the 
counsel  speak,  which  Avas  decided  upon.  It  had  been 
settled  that  Harding  was  to  explain  the  mechanism  of 
the  machines.  The  motion  therefore  excluded  Lincoln 
or  Stanton.  The  custom  of  the  bar  would  have  de- 
cided the  matter  in  Lincoln's  favor  without  any  further 
action.  Stanton  suoj2:ested  to  Lincoln  that  he  make 
the  speech.  He  answered:  "No;  you  speak."  Stan- 
ton promptly  replied,  "  I  will,"  and  started  off  to  make 
preparation.  Lincoln  felt  deeply  humiliated  by  this 
slight,  but  it  did  not  prevent  his  calling  to  the  most 
important  position  in  his  cabinet  the  man  who  had  thus 
ignored  and  insulted  him. 

Both  men  came  to  think  more  highly  of  each  other 
in  after  years.  When,  a  few  days  before  the  Presi- 
dent's assassination,  Stanton  tendered  his  resignation  as 
Secretary  of  ^Yar,  Lincoln  tore  the  paper  in  pieces, 
threw  his  arms  around  the  Secretary,  and  said:  "Stan- 
ton, you  have  been  a  good  friend  and  faithful  public 
servant,  and  it  is  not  for  you  to  say  when  you  will  no 


184  ABRAEA  31 LINCOLX 

longer  be  needed  here."  Mr.  Carpenter  says  the  scene 
■was  so  affecting  that  it  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of 
those  who  chanced  to  witness  it. 

When  Lincoln  fell,  Stanton  was  almost  heart-broken, 
and,  as  he  knelt  by  his  side,  was  heard  to  say  to  himself: 
"Am  I  indeed  left  alone?  None  may  now  ever  know 
or  tell  what  we  have  suffered  together  in  the  Nation's 
darkest  hours."  When  the  surgeon-general  said  to  him 
that  there  was  no  hope,  he  could  not  believe  it,  and 
passionately  exclaimed:  "No,  no,  General,  no,  no!" 


ON  JEFFERSON  DAVIS'S  RECOMMENDATION. 

An  interestins:  ancedote  of  President  Lincoln  is  told 
by  Mr.  C.  Eaton  Creecy,  a  well-known  lawyer  of  Wash- 
ington City,  who  was  chief  of  the  appointment  divis- 
ion of  the  Treasury  Department  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  President  Johnson. 

Mr.  Creecy,  who  was  born  in  the  city  of  Vicks- 
burg,  Mississippi,  held  the  position  of  messenger  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  just  prior  to  the  close  of  the 
Buchanan  Administration.  Being  of  an  ambitious  turn 
of  mind,  he  made  application  to  President  Buchanan  to 
be  appointed  from  Mississippi  as  cadet-at-large  to  the 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point. 

His  mother,  who  was  an  energetic  little  Southern 
woman,  entered  heartily  into  her  son's  ambition,  and 
obtained  the  recommendation  of  the  Hon.  Otho  R. 
Singleton,  Hon.  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar,  and  other  friends  of  her 
deceased  husband,  in  favor  of  her  sons  appointment. 
These  papers  were  filed ;  but  one  very  strong  letter  from 
Senator    Jefferson   Davis  was   not,   because   it    was   re- 


LINCOLNIANA,  185 

ceived  just  prior  to  the  secession  of  Mississippi,  and  Mrs. 
Creecy  did  not  press  her  son's  application. 

In  the  fall  of  1861,  when  the  war  was  in  full  blast 
and  a  number  of  vacancies  existed  in  the  Military  iVcad- 
emy  from  the  State  of  Mississippi,  Mrs.  Creecy  de- 
termined to  introduce  herself  to  President  Lincoln  and 
ask  him  to  appoint  her  son.  She  was  received  very 
politely  by  the  President,  who  listened  kindly  and  at- 
tentively to  her.     AVhen  she  had  concluded,  he  said : 

"'  Madam,  you  have  the  appearance  and  bearing  of 
a  lady ;  but  what  evidence  have  I  that  you  are  not  an 
unpostor?  I  have  so  many  of  that  class  of  people  call- 
ing upon  me  every  day  that  I  am  compelled  to  be  very 
careful ;  and  while  I  do  not  wish  you  to  infer  that  I 
doubt  you,  yet  I  must  have  some  evidence  that  you  are 
from  Mississippi,  and  that  your  family  is  of  standing 
and  respectability,  before  I  can  consider  the  application 
you  have  made  for  your  son's  appointment." 

The  little  lady  was  wholly  disconcerted  by  this  un- 
expected turn  of  affairs.  She  little  dreamed  that  any 
one  would  question  her  truthfulness  or  her  respectability. 
So  she  left  the  Presidential  presence  very  much  dis- 
turbed, remarking  that  she  did  not  see  how  she  would 
be  able  to  go  to  Mississippi  through  the  army  lines  to 
get  the  evidence  that  Mr.  Lincoln  required. 

A  happy  thought  occurred  to  her  during  the  evening, 
and  she  resurrected  the  recommendation  of  United  States 
Senator  Jefferson  Davis,  and  triuriiphantly  carried  it  up 
to  President  Lincoln  next  day.  He  received  her  with 
a  smile,  and  said : 

'*I  know  by  your  countenance,  madam,  that  you 
have  brought  the  necessary  evidence." 


186  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLX. 

"Yes,  Mr.  President,"  she  said,  **I  have  brought 
you  a  letter  from  an  old  friend  of  ray  husband,  which 
I  think  will  satisfy  you,"  and  she  handed  him  Jefferson 
Davis's  letter. 

For  a  few  seconds  the  President  seemed  unable  to 
state  what  his  opinion  was  upon  the  recommendation, 
but  he  finally  said  to  her : 

''Madam,  the  evidence  that  you  have  submitted  to 
me  is  entirely  satisfactory,  and  I  will  appoint  your  son, 
but  on  one  condition,  however,  and  that  is  that  it  is  not 
to  be  known  to  any  one  but  you  and  me  that  I  did  so 
upon  the  recommendation  of  Jefferson  Davis." 

The  appointment  was  ordered,  but  circumstances  oc- 
curred soon  thereafter  which  prevented  Mr.  Creecyfrom 

accepting  it. 

.4.0 

MR.   LINCOLN  AND  THE   DRUMMER-BOY. 

Among  a  large  number  of  persons  waiting  in  the 
room  to  speak  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  on  a  certain  day  in 
November,  1864,  was  a  small,  pale,  delicate-looking  boy 
about  thirteen  years  old.  The  President  saw  him  stand- 
ins,  lookins:  feeble  aud  faint,  and  said:  *'Come  here, 
my  boy,  and  tell  me  what  you  want."  The  boy  ad- 
vanced, placed  his  hand  on  the  arm  of  the  President's 
chair,  and  with  bowed  head  and  timid  accents  said ; 

**  Mr.  President,  I  have  been  a  drummer  in  a  regi- 
ment for  two  years,  and  my  colonel  got  angry  with  me 
and  turned  me  off.  I  was  taken  sick,  and  have  been  a 
long  time  in  hospital.  Tliis  is  the  first  time  I  have  been 
eut,  and  I  came  to  see  if  you  could  not  do  something 
for  me." 

The  President  looked  at  him  kindly  and  tenderly, 


LIXCOLNIANA.  187 

and  asked  him  where  he  lived.  *'  I  have  no  home," 
answered  the  boy.  **  Where  is  your  father?"  "He 
died  in  the  army,"  was  the  reply.  **  Where  is  your 
mother?"  continued  the  President.  "My  mother  is 
dead,  too.  I  have  no  mother,  no  father,  no  brothers,  no 
sisters,  and,"  bursting  into  tears,  "no  friends — nobody 
cares  for  me." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  he  said  to 
him:  "Can't  you  sell  newspapers?"  "No,"  said  the 
boy,  "I  am  too  weak;  and  the  surgeon  of  the  hospital 
told  me  I  must  leave,  and  I  have  no  money,  and  no 
place  to  go  to." 

"The  scene,"  says  Rev.  Mr.  Henderson,  "was  won- 
derfully affecting."  The  President  drew  forth  a  card, 
and  addressing  on  it  certain  officials  to  whom  his  request 
was  law,  gave  special  directions  "to  care  for  this  poor 
boy."  The  wan  face  of  the  little  drummer  lit  up  with 
a  happy  smile  as  he  received  the  paper,  and  he  went 
away  convinced  that  he  had  one  good  and  true  friend, 
at  least,  in  the  person  of  the  President. 


THE  NUMBER  OF  REBELS. 

Mr.  Lincoln  sometimes  had  a  very  effective  way  of 
dealing  with  men  who  troubled  him  with  questions.  A 
visitor  once  asked  him  how  many  men  the  rebels  had  in 
the  field. 

The  President  replied,  very  seriously:  "Twelve 
hundred  thousand,  according  to  the  best  authority." 

The  interrogator  blanched  in  the  face  and  ejaculated : 
'*  Good  heavens!" 

"Yes,  sir,  twelve  hundred  thousand — no  doubt  of  it. 


188  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Yon  see,  all  of  our  generals,  when  they  get  whipped, 
say  the  enemy  outnumbers  them  from  three  or  five  to 
one,  and  I  must  believe  them.  We  have  four  hundred 
thousand  men  in  the  field,  and  three  times  four  make 
twelve.     Do  n't  you  see  it !" 

«*" 

MR.  LINCOLN'S  COLORED  TROOPS. 

Honorable  Frederick  Douglass  gives  in  the 
NoHhwestern  Christian  Advocate,  Chicago,  the  following 
account  of  an  interview  with  Mr.  Lincoln : 

"I  saw  and  conversed  with  this  great  man  for  the 
first  time  in  the  darkest  hours  of  the  military  situation 
when  the  armies  of  the  Rebellion  seemed  more  confident, 
defiant,  and  aggressive  than  ever.  I  had  never  before 
had  an  interview  with  a  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  though  I  felt  I  had  something  important  to  say, 
considering  his  exalted  position  and  my  lowly  origin  and 
the  people  whose  cause  I  came  to  plead,  I  approached 
him  with  much  trepidation  as  to  how  this  great  man 
miorht  receive  me ;  but  one  word  and  look  from  him 
banished  all  my  fears,  and  set  me  perfectly  at  ease.  I 
have  often  said  since  that  meeting  it  was  much  easier 
to  see  and  converse  with  a  great  man  than  a  small  man. 

"On  that  occasion  he  said: 

"  '  Douglass,  you  need  not  tell  me  who  you  are ;  Mr. 
Sewtird  has  told  me  all  about  you.' 

*'  I  then  saw  that  there  was  no  reason  to  tell  him  my 
personal  story,  however  interesting  it  might  be  to  myself 
or  others,  so  I  told  him  at  once  the  object  of  my  visit. 
It  was  to  get  some  expression  from  him  on  three  points: 
1.  Equal  pay  to  colored  soldiers.  2.  Their  promotion 
when  they  had  earned  it  on  the  battle-field.     3.  Should 


LIXCOLXIANA.  •  189 

they  be  taken  prisoners  and  enslaved  or  hanged,  as 
Jefferson  Davis  had  threatened,  an  eqnal  number  of 
Confederate  prisoners  should  be  executed  within  our 
lines.  A  dech\ration  to  this  effect  I  thought  would  pre- 
vent the  execution  of  the  rebel  threat. 

"To  all  but  the  last  President  Lincoln  assented. 
He  argued,  however,  that  neither  equal  pay  nor  promo- 
tions could  be  granted  at  once.  He  said  that  in  view 
of  existing  prejudices  it  was  a  great  step  forward  to 
employ  colored  troops  at  all ;  that  it  was  necessary  to 
avoid  everything  that  would  offend  this  prejudice  and 
increase  opposition  to  the  measure.  He  detailed  the 
steps  by  which  white  soldiers  were  reconciled  to  the  em- 
ployment of  colored  troops ;  how  these  were  first  em- 
ployed as  laborers ;  how  it  was  thought  they  should  not 
be  armed  or  uniformed  like  white  soldiers ;  how  they 
should  only  be  made  to  wear  a  peculiar  uniform  ;  how 
they  should  be  employed  to  hold  forts  and  arsenals 
in  sickly  locations,  and  not  enter  the  field  like  otlier 
soldiers.  With  all  these  restrictions  and  limitations  lie 
easily  made  me  see  that  much  would  be  gained  when 
the  colored  man  loomed  before  the  country  as  a  full- 
fledged  United  States  soldier  to  fight,  flourish,  or  fall  in 
defense  of  a  united  Republic.  The  great  soul  of  Lin- 
coln halted  only  when  he  came  to  the  point  of  retalia- 
tion. The  thought  of  hanging  men  in  cold  blood,  even 
though  the  rebels  should  murder  a  few  of  the  colored 
prisoners,  was  a  horror  from  which  he  shrank. 

''  'O,  Douglass!  I  can  not  do  that.  If  I  could  get 
hold  of  the  actual  murderers  of  colored  prisoners,  I 
would  retaliate ;  but  to  hang  those  who  had  no  hand  in 
such  murders,  I  can  not.' 


190  •  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

"The  contemplation  of  such  an  act  brought  to  his 
countenance  such  an  expression  of  sadness  and  pity  that 
made  it  hard  for  me  to  press  my  point,  though  I  told 
him  it  would  tend  to  save  rather  than  destroy  life.  He, 
however,  insisted  that  this  work  of  blood  once  begun 
would  be  hard  to  stop ;  that  such  violence  would  beget 
violence.  He  argued  more  like  a  disciple  of  Christ  than 
a  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of  a  war- 
like nation  already  involved  in  a  terrible  war." 

^. 


DID  NOT  "STRIKE  ILE." 

To  Bishop  Simpson,  after  a  lecture  on  "American 
Progress,"  in  which  he  did  not  speak  of  petroleum,  Mr. 
Lincoln  said,  as  he  came  out:  "Bishop,  you  did  not 
'  strike  ile.' " 


SEWARD  AND  CHASE. 

The  antagonism  between  the  conservatives,  repre- 
sented in  the  Cabinet  by  Seward,  and  the  radicals,  rep- 
resented by  Chase,  was  a  source  of  much  embarrassment 
to  Mr.  Lincoln.  Finally,  the  radicals  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  demand  the  disuiissal  of  Seward.  Before  the 
committee  arrived,  Mr.  Seward,  in  order  to  relieve  the 
President  of  embarrassment,  tendered  his  resignation. 
In  the  course  of  the  discussion  with  the  committee  Mr. 
Lincoln  so  managed  affairs  that  Mr.  Chase  found  his 
position  so  embarrassing  and  equivocal  that  he  thought 
it  wise  to  tender  his  resignation  the  next  day. 

Mr.  Lincoln  refused  to  accept  either,  stating  that 
"the  public  interest  does  not  admit  of  it." 

When  it  was  all  over  he  said :   "  Now  I  can  ride;  I 


LINCOLNIANA.  191 

have  got  a  pumpkin  in  each  end  of  my  bag."  Later  on 
he  said:  **I  do  not  see  how  it  could  have  been  done 
better.  I  am  sure  it  was  right.  If  I  had  yielded  to 
that  storm,  and  dismissed  Seward,  the  thing  would  have 
slumped  over  one  way,  and  we  should  have  been  left 
with  a  scanty  handful  of  supporters." 


OLD  FRIENDS  AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

It  was  during  the  dark  days  of  1868,  on  the  evening 
of  a  public  reception  given  at  the  White  House.  The 
foreign  legations  were  there,  gathered  about  the  Presi- 
dent. A  young  English  nobleman  was  just  being  pre- 
sented to  the  President.  Inside  the  door,  evidently 
overawed  by  the  splendid  assemblage,  was  an  honest- 
faced  old  farmer,  who  shrank  from  the  passing  crowd 
until  he  and  the  plain-faced  old  lady  clinging  to  his  arm 
were  pressed  back  to  the  wall. 

The  President,  tall,  and,  in  a  measure,  stately  in  his 
personal  presence,  looking  over  the  heads  of  the  as- 
sembly, said  to  the  English  nobleman  :  "  Excuse  me, 
my  lord,  there's  an  old  friend  of  mine."' 

Passing  backward  to  the  door,  Mr.  Lincoln  said,  as 
he  grasped  the  old  farmer's  hand:  "Why,  John,  I'm 
glad  to  see  you.     I  have  n't  seen   you  since  you   and  I 

made  rails  for  old  Mrs.  ,  in  Sangamon  County,  in 

1837.     How  are  you?" 

The  old  man  turned  to  his  wife  with  quivering  lip, 
and,  without  replying  to  the  President's  salutation,  said  : 
"  Mother,  he's  just  the  same  old  Abe." 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,"  he  said  finally,  "  you  know  we  had 
three   boys ;    they  all   enlisted   in   the  same  company ; 


192  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN', 

John  was  killed  in  the  *  Seven-days'  fight  ;*  Sam  was 
taken  prisoner  and  starved  to  death  ;  and  Henry  is  in 
the  hospital.  We  had  a  little  money,  an'  I  said : 
'  Mother,  we '11  2:0  to  Washiuo;tou  an'  see  him.'  An' 
while  we  were  here,  I  said,  we  '11  go  np  and  see  the 
President." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  eyes  grew  dim,  and  across  his  rugged, 
homely,  tender  face  swept  the  wave  of  sadness  his 
friends  had  learned  to  know,  and  he  said  :  "  John,  we 
all  hope  this  miserable  war  will  soon  be  over.  I  must 
see  all  these  folks  here  for  an  hour  or  so,  and  I  want  to 
talk  with  you." 

The  old  lady  and  her  husband  were  hustled  into  a 
private  room  in  spite  of  their  protests. 


THE  JUDGE'S  COACHMAN. 

Attorney-General  Bates  was  once  remonstrating 
with  the  President  against  the  appointment  to  a  judi- 
cial position  of  considerable  importance  of  a  Western 
man,  who,  though  on  the  ''  bench,"  was  of  indifferent 
reputation  as  a  lawyer. 

"  Well,   now,    Judge,"   returned    Mr.   Lincoln,    *'  I 

think  you  are  rather  too  hard  on  .     Besides  tliat, 

I  must  tell  you,  he  did  me  a  good  turn  long  ago.  When 
I  took  to  the  law,  I  was  walking  to  court  one  morning, 
with  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  bad  road  before  me, 
when  overtook  me  in  his  wagon. 

*'  *  Hello,  Lincoln  !'  said  he;  'going  to  the  court- 
house?    Come  in,  and  I  will  give  you  a  seat' 

"  Well,    I   got   in,   and  went  on   reading   his 

papers.     Presently  the   wagon   struck  a  stump   on   one 


LINCOLNIANA.  193 

side  of  the  road  ;  then  it  hopped  off  to  the  other.  I 
looked  out  and  saw  the  driver  was  jerking  from  side  to 
side  in  his  seat ;  so  said  I,  '  Judge,  I  think  your  coach- 
man has  been  taking  a  drop  too  much  this  morning,' 

**  *  Well,  I  declare,  Lincoln,'  said  he,  '  I  should  not 
much  wonder  if  you  are  right,  for  he  has  nearly  upset 
me  half  a  dozen  times  since  starting.'  So,  putting  his 
head  out  of  the  window,  he  shouted  :  '  Why,  you  in- 
fernal scoundrel,  you  are  drunk  !* 

''  Upon  which,  pulling  up  his  horses,  and  turning 
round  with  great  gravity,  the  coachman  said  :  '  Be  dad ! 
but  that's  the  first  rightful  decision  your  honor  has 
given  for  the  last  twelve  months  !' " 


■     BISHOP  SIMPSON  AND   LINCOLN. 

"  One  day,  in  the  darkest  time  of  the  war,"  said 
Bishop  Simpson  to  Chaplain  C.  C.  McCabe,  ''  I  called 
to  see  Mr.  Lincoln.  We  talked  long  and  earnestly 
about  the  situation.  When  I  rose  to  go,  Mr.  Lincoln 
steppad  to  the  door,  and  turned  the  key,  and  said : 
'  Bishop,  I  feel  the  need  of  prayer  as  never  before. 
Please  pray  for  me.'  And  so  we  knelt  down  in  that 
room  together,  and  all  through  the  prayer  the  President 
responded  most  fervently." 


CUTTING  RED  TAPE. 

**  Upon  entering  the  President's  office  one  after- 
noon," says  a  Washington  correspondent,  ''  I  found  Mr. 
Lincoln  busily  counting  greenbacks. 

''  '  This,  sir,'  said  he,  *  is  something  out  of  my  usual 

13 


194  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'. 

line  ;  but  a  President  of  the  United  States  has  a  multi- 
plicity of  duties  not  specified  in  the  Constitution  or  acts 
of  Congress.  This  is  one  of  them.  This  money  belongs 
to  a  poor  Negro  who  is  a  porter  in  the  Treasury  De- 
partment, at  present  very  bad  with  the  smallpox.  He 
is  now  in  hospital,  and  could  not  draw  his  pay  because 
he  could  not  sign  his  name.  I  have  been  at  considerable 
trouble  to  overcome  the  difficulty  and  get  it  for  him, 
and  have  at  length  succeeded  in  cutting  red  tape,  as  you 
newspaper  men  say.  I  am  now  dividing  the  money, 
and  putting  by  a  portion  labeled,  in  an  envelope,  with 
my  own  hands,  according  to  his  wish  ;'  and  he  pro- 
ceeded to  indorse  the  package  very  carefully." 


A  POINTED  ILLUSTRATION. 

At  the  White  House  one  day  some  gentlemen  were 
present  from  the  West,  excited  and  troubled  about  the 
commissions  or  omissions  of  the  Administration.  The 
President  heard  them  patiently,  and  then  replied : 
*'  Gentlemen,  suppose  all  the  property  you  were  worth 
was  in  gold,  and  you  had  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Blondin 
to  carry  across  the  Niagara  PIver  on  a  rope,  wt)uld  you 
shake  the  cable,  or  keep  shouting  out  to  him,  '  Blondin, 
Btand  up  a  little  straighter !— Blondin,  stoop  a  little  more! — 
go  a  little  faster! — lean  a  little  more  to  the  north ! — lean 
a  little  more  to  the  south  ?'  No !  you  would  hold  your 
breath  as  well  as  your  tongue,  and  keep  your  hands  off 
until  he  was  safe  over.  The  Government  is  carrying  an 
immense  weight.  Untold  treasures  are  in  their  hands. 
They  are  doing  the  very  best  they  can.  Do  n't  badger 
them.     Keep  silence,  and  we  '11  get  you  safe  across." 


LINCOLNIANA.  19^^ 


"TAD"  AND  HIS  FRIEND. 


Tad  Lincoln  won  the  good- will  of  everybody  by 
his  ready  sympathy  with  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
people.  He  once  noticed  a  wounded  soldier  hanging 
about  the  gates  of  the  Executive  mansion,  hoping  to  see 
the  President,  to  whom  access  was  denied,  it  having 
been  given  out  that  no  soldiers  were  to  be  discharged  on 
any  account.  This  veteran  believed  that  he  would  not 
recover,  and  was  anxious  to  see  his  family  before  he 
died.  Tad  saw  him,  and,  on  learning  what  was  the 
matter,  led  him  into  the  Executive  mansion.  They  were 
stopped  by  a  sentinel  at  the  door  of  the  President's 
office,  but  Tad  shouted  in  his  loudest  boyish  voice  : 
"  Father,  let  me  and  my  friend  in  !"  Mr.  Lincohi 
never  could  deny  Tad  anything,  even  when  he  was  most 
busy,  and  the  boy  entered  the  room  leading  the  crippled 
and  sick  soldier,  for  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  immediately 
wrote  out  an  honorable  discharge. 


rRYING  THE  GREENS. 

A  DEPUTATION  of  bankers  were  one  day  introduced 
to  the  President  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  One 
of  the  party,  Mr.  P ,  of  Chelsea,  Mass.,  took  occa- 
sion to  refer  to  the  severity  of  the  tax  laid  by  Congress 
upon  the  State  banks. 

''Now,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "that  reminds  me  of  a 
circumstance  that  took  place  in  a  neighborhood  where  I 
lived  when  I  was  a  boy.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  the 
farmers  were  very  fond  of  the  dish  which  they  called 
greens,  though  the  fashionable  name  for  it  nowadays  is 
spinach,  I  believe.     One  day  after  dinner  a  large  family 


196  ABHAffA  M IIXCOLK 

were  taken  very  ill.  The  doctor  was  called  in,  who  at- 
tributed it  to  the  greens,  of  which  all  had  freely  par- 
taken. Living  in  the  family  was  a  half-witted  boy 
named  Jake.  On  a  subsequent  occasion,  when  greens 
had  been  gathered  for  dinner,  the  head  of  the  house 
said:  'Now,  boys,  before  running  any  further  risk  in 
this  thing,  we  will  first  try  them  on  Jake.  If  he  stands 
it,  we  are  all  right.'  And  just  so,  I  suppose,"  said  Mr. 
Lincoln,  *'  Congress  thought  it  would  try  this  tax  on 
the  State  banks." 

=4,0 

MR.  LINCOLN  AND  THE  GOVERNMENT  PRINTER. 

Mr.  Defrees,  the  Government  printer,  states  that 
when  one  of  the  President's  Messages  was  being  printed, 
he  was  a  good  deal  disturbed  by  the  use  of  the  term 
"sugar-coated,"  and  went  to  Mr.  Lincoln  about  it.  He 
told  the  President  frankly  that  he  ought  to  remember 
that  a  message  to  Congress  was  a  different  affair  from 
a  speech  at  a  mass- meeting  in  Illinois ;  that  it  became  a 
part  of  history,  and  should  be  written  accordingly. 

"What  is  the  matter  now?"  inquired  the  President. 

"Why,"  said  Mr.  Defrees,  "you  have  used  an  un- 
dignified expression  in  the  message;"  and,  then,  reading 
the  paragraph  aloud,  he  added,  "  I  would  alter  the 
structure  of  that,  if  I  were  you." 

"Defrees,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  "that  word  ex- 
presses precisely  my  idea,  and  I  am  not  going  to  change 
it.  The  time  will  never  come  in  this  country  when  the 
people  won't  know  exactly  what  sugar-coated  means." 

On  another  occasion  Mr.  Defrees  called  the  Presi- 
dent's attention  to  an  awkward  sentence  in  the  proof- 
copy  of  a  message.     Lincoln  acknowledged  the  force  ot 


LIXCOLNIANA,  197 

the  objection,  and  said:  "  Go  home,  Defrees,  and  see  if 
you  can  better  it." 

The  next  day  Mr.  Defrees  took  to  him  his  amend- 
ment. Mr.  Lincoln  met  him  by  saying  :  "Seward  found 
the  same  fault  that  you  did,  and  he  has  been  rewriting 
the  paragraph,  also."  Then,  reading  Mr.  Defrees's  ver- 
sion, he  said:  '*I  believe  you  have  beaten  Seward;  but 
*by  jings,'  I  think  I  can  beat  you  both." 

Then,  ticking  up  his  j^en,  he  wrote  the  sentence  as  it 

■was  finally  printed. 

04,, 

LINCOLN'S  ADVICE  TO  LORD  LYONS. 

Upon  the  betrothal  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  the 
Princess  Alexandra,  Queen  Victoria  sent  a  letter  to 
President  Lincoln,  announcing  the  fact.  Lord  Lyons, 
her  ambassador  at  Washington,  who  was  a  bachelor,  re- 
quested an  audience  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  that  he  might  pre- 
sent this  important  document  in  person.  At  the  time 
appointed,  he  was  received  at  the  White  House,  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  Seward. 

"May  it  please  Your  Excellency,"  said  Lord  Lyons, 
"I  hold  in  my  hand  an  autograph  letter  from  my  royal 
mistress,  Queen  Victoria,  which  I  have  been  commanded 
to  present  to  Your  Excellency.  In  it  she  informs  Your 
Excellency  that  her  sou.  His  Royal  Highness,  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  is  about  to  contract  a  matrimonial  alliance 
with  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Alexandra,  of 
Denmark." 

After  continuing  in  this  strain  for  a  few  minutes, 
Lord  Lyons  tendered  the  letter  to  the  President,  and 
awaited  his  reply.     It  consisted  simply  of  the  words : 

"  Lord  Lyons,  go  thou  and  do  likewise" 


198  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

It  is  not  known  how  the  EngUsh  ambassador  suc- 
ceeded in  putting  the  reply  in  diplomatic  language 
when  he  reported  it  to  Her  Majesty.- 


WITHOUT  A  GREAT  POLICY. 

Senator  John  M.  Palmer,  of  Illinois,  relates  the 
following: 

"I  called  on  Mr.  Lincolu  at  nine  o'clock.  I  sat  in 
the  anteroom  a  long  time,  while  Buckingham,  of  Con- 
necticut, walked  in  and  out  of  Lincoln's  room  several 
times.  At  last  Buckingham  left,  aud  I  went  in.  I 
found  Lincoln  with  a  towel  around  his  neck,  getting 
ready  to  shave. 

"  '  Got  to  get  shaved  some  time,  Palmer,'  he  said. 
'  I  could  n't  shave  while  Buckingham  was  here ;  but  you 
are  home-folks,  and  it  does  n't  matter  with  home-lolks.' 

'*  We  chatted  till  the  barber  reached  his  mouth,  when 
he  could  n't  talk  without  running  the  risk  of  getting  cut. 
There  was  a  pause.  During  it  I  thought  of  the  great 
war  that  was  going  on,  and  of  the  man  near  me  con- 
ducting it. 

**  'Mr.  Lincoln,'  I  said,  'if  I  had  known  there  was 
going  to  be  so  great  a  rebellion,  I  should  never  have 
thought  of  going  to  a  one-horse  town  for  a  one-horse 
lawyer  for  President.' 

"Lincoln  stretched  forth  his  arms,  pushed  the  bar- 
ber aside,  and  abruptly  wheeled  around  to  me.  I 
thought  he  was  angry  because  of  what  I  had  said.  But 
he  replied  : 

*'  *  Nor  I  either.  Its  lucky  for  this  country  no  man 
was  chosen   who  had  a  great  policy,  and   would  have 


LINCOLNIANA.  199 

Stuck  to  it.  If  such  a  raau  had  been  chosen,  this  re- 
bellion would  never  have  reached  a  successful  conclu- 
sion. I  have  had  no  great  policy ;  but  I  have  tried  to 
do  my  duty  every  day,  hoping  that  the  morrow  would 
find  that  I  had  done  right.'" 


LINCOLN'S  SECOND  NOMINATION. 

The  dispatch  announcing  Lincoln's  renomination  for 
President  had  been  sent  to  his  office  from  the  War  De- 
partment while  he  was  at  lunch.  Afterward,  without 
going  back  to  the  official  chamber,  he  proceeded  to  the 
War  Department.  While  there,  the  telegram  came  in 
announcing  the  nomination  of  Johnson. 

"What!"  said  he  to  the  operator,  *'do  they  nomi- 
nate a  Vice-President  before  they  do  a  President?" 

"Why!"  rejoined  the  astonished  official,  "have  you 
not  heard  of  your  own  nomination?  It  was  sent  to  the 
White  House  two  hours  ago." 

"It  is  all  right,"  was  the  reply;  "I  shall  probably 

find  it  on  my  return." 

.4,, 

MR.   LINCOLN'S  REMEDY  FOR  BALDNESS. 

In  1864  Mr.  Lincoln  was  greatly  bothered  by  the 
well-meaut  but  ill-advised  efforts  of  certain  good  North- 
ern men  to  bring  about  a  termination  of  the  war.  An 
old  gentleman  from  Massachusetts,  very  bland  and  en- 
tirely bald,  was  especially  persistent  and  troublesome. 
Again  and  again  he  appeared  before  the  President,  and 
was  got  rid  of  by  one  and  another  ingenious  expedient. 
One  day,  when  this  angel  of  mercy  had  been  boring 
Mr.   Lincoln   for  half  an  hour,  to  the    interruption  of 


200  ABRARA3I LINCOLK 

importaut  business,  the  President  suddenly  arose,  went 
to  a  closet,  and  took  out  of  it  a  large  bottle.  *'  Did  you 
ever  try  this  remedy  for  baldness?"  he  asked,  holding 
up  the  bottle  before  his  astonished  visitor.  No ;  the 
man  was  obliged  to  confess  that  he  never  had  tried  it. 
Mr.  Lincoln  called  a  servant,  had  the  bottle  wrapped 
up,  and  handed  it  to  the  bald  philanthropist. 

"  There,"  said  he,  "  go  and  rub  some  of  that  on  your 
head.  Persevere.  They  say  it  will  make  your  hair 
grow.  Come  back  in  about  three  months  and  report." 
And  almost  before  he  knew  it  the  good  man  was  out- 
side of  the  door,  with  the  package  under  his  arm. 


WITHOUT  INFLUENCE. 

To  A  poor  woman  who  desired  his  signature  to  a 
paper,  Lincoln  said:  "My  name  will  do  you  no  more 
good  than  pigs'  tracks  in  the  mud." 


"TAD"  AND  HIS  FATHER. 

*'The  day  after  the  review  of  Burnside's  division, 
some  photographers,"  says  Mr.  Carpenter,  ''came  up  to 
the  White  House  to  make  some  stereoscopic  studies  for 
me  of  the  President's  office.  They  requested  a  dark 
closet  in  which  to  develop  the  pictures ;  and,  without  a 
thought  that  I  was  infringing  upon  anybody's  rights,  I 
took  them  to  an  unoccupied  room  of  which  little  Tad 
had  taken  possession  a  few  days  before,  and,  with  the 
aid  of  a  couple  of  the  servants,  had  fitted  up  as  a  min- 
iature theater,  with  stage,  curtains,  orchestra,  stalls,  par- 
quet, and    all.      Knowing  that  the  use   required  would 


LINCOLNIANA.  201 

interfere  with  none  of  his  arrangements,  I  lea  the  way 
to  this  apartment. 

"Everything  went  on  well,  and  one  or  two  pictures 
had  been  taken,  when  suddenly  there  was  an  uproar. 
The  operator,  came  back  to  the  office,  and  said  that 
Tad  had  taken  great  offense  at  the  occupation  of  his 
room  without  his  consent,  and  had  locked  the  door,  re- 
fusing all  admission.  The  chemicals  had  been  taken 
inside,  and  there  was  no  way  of  getting  at  them,  he 
having  carried  off  the  key.  In  the  midst  of  this  con- 
versation, Tad  burst  in,  in  a  fearful  passion.  He  laid 
all  the  blame  upon  me ;  said  that  I  had  no  right  to  use 
his  room,  and  the  men  should  not  go  in,  even  to  get 
their  things.  He  had  locked  the  door,  and  they  should 
not    go    there    again — 'they    had    no    business    in    his 


room 


"Mr.  Lincoln  was  sitting  for  a  photograph,  and  was 
still  in  the  chair.  He  said,  very  mildly:  '  Tad,  go  and 
unlock  the  door.'  Tad  went  off  muttering  into  his 
mother's  room,  refusing  to  obey.  I  followed  him  into 
the  passage;  but  no  coaxing  would  pacify  him.  Upon 
my  return  to  the  President,  I  found  him  still  sitting  pa- 
tiently in  the  chair,  from  which  he  had  not  risen.  He 
said:  'Has  not  the  boy  opened  the  door?'  I  replied 
that  we  could  do  nothing  with  him  ;  he  had  gone  off  in 
a  great  pet.  Mr.  Lincoln's  lips  came  together  firmly, 
and  then,  suddenly  rising,  he  strode  across  the  passage 
with  the  air  of  one  bent  on  punishment,  and  disappeared 
in  the  domestic  apartments.  Directly  he  returned  with 
the  key  to  the  theater,  which  he  unlocked  himself. 
*  There,' said  he,  '  go  ahead ;  it  is  all  right  now.'  He 
then  went  back  to  his  office,  followed    by   myself,  and 


202  J  BE  AHA  M  LINCOLN 

resumed  his  seat.  '  Tad,'  said  he,  half-apologeticallv, 
*  is  a  peculiar  child.  He  was  violently  excited  when  I 
went  to  him.  I  said:  "Tad,  do  you  know  you  are 
making  your  father  a  great  deal  of  trouble  ?"  He  burst 
into  tears,  instantly  giving  me  up  the  key."* 


LINCOLN'S  OPINION  OF  GRANT. 

In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  in  March,  1864,  Lincoln 
wrote:  "I  hardly  know  what  to  think  of  him  [Grant] 
altogether.  He  is  the  quietest  little  fellow  you  ever 
knew.  Why,  he  makes  the  least  fuss  of  any  man  you 
ever  knew.  I  believe  two  or  three  times  he  has  been 
in  this  room  a  minute  or  so  before  I  knew  he  was  here. 
It 's  about  so  all  around.  The  only  evidence  you  have 
that  he 's  in  auy  place  is  that  he  makes  things  git. 
Wherever  he  is,  things  move.  Grant  is  the  first  gen- 
eral I  've  had.  He  's  a  general.  I  '11  tell  you  what  I 
mean.  You  know  how  it 's  been  with  all  the  rest.  As 
soon  as  I  put  a  man  in  command  of  the  army,  he'd 
come  to  me  with  a  plan  of  campaign,  and  about  as  much 
as  say,  '  Now,  I  do  n't  believe  I  can  do  it ;  but,  if  you 
say  so,  I'll  try  it  on,'  and  so  put  the  responsibility  of 
success  or  failure  on  me.  They  all  wanted  me  to  be 
general.  Now,  it  isn't  so  with  Grant.  He  hasn't  told 
me  what  his  plans  are.  I  do  n't  know,  and  I  do  n't  want 
to  know.  I  am  glad  to  find  a  man  who  can  go  ahead 
without  me.  You  see,  when  any  of  the  rest  set  out  on 
a  campaign,  they  'd  look  over  matters,  and  pick  out 
some  one  thing  they  were  short  of,  and  they  knew  I 
could  n't  give  'em,  and  tell  me  they  could  n't  hope  to 
win  unless  they  had  it ;  and  it  was  most  generally  the 


LINCOLNIANA.  203 

cavalry.  Now,  when  Grant  took  hold,  I  was  waiting  to 
see  what  his  pet  impossibility  would  be ;  and  I  reckoned 
it  would  be  cavalry,  as  a  matter  of  course,  for  we  had  n't 
horses  enough  to  mount  what  men  we  had.  There  were 
fifteen  thousand  or  thereabouts  up  near  Harper's  Ferry, 
and  no  horses  to  put  them  on.  Well,  the  other  day, 
Grant  sends  to  me  about  those  very  men,  just  as  I  ex- 
pected ;  but  what  he  wanted  to  know  was  whether  he 
should  make  infantry  of  them,  or  discharge  them.  He 
does  n't  ask  impossibilities  of  me ;  and  he 's  the  first 
general  I  've  had  who  did  n't." 


THE  "PEACE  CONFERENCE." 

At  the  "Peace  Conference,"  held  on  the  steamer 
River  Queen,  in  Hampton  Roads,  February  3,  1865,  be- 
tween the  President  and  Mr.  Seward,  representing  the 
Government,  and  Messrs.  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  J.  A. 
Campbell,  and  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  representing  the  Con- 
federacy, Mr.  Hunter  stated  that  the  recognition  of  Jeff 
Davis's  power  was  the  first  and  indispensable  step  to 
peace  ;  and,  to  illustrate  his  point,  he  referred  to  the 
correspondence  between  King  Charles  the  First  and  his 
Parliament  as  a  reliable  precedent  of  a  constitutional 
ruler  treating  with  rebels. 

''Upon  questions  of  history,"  replied  Lincoln,  "I 
must  refer  you  to  Mr.  Seward,  for  he  is  posted  in  such 
things,  and  I  do  n't  profess  to  be ;  but  my  only  dis- 
tinct recollection  of  the  matter  is  that  Charles  lost  his 
head." 

Mr.  Hunter  declared,  on  the  same  occasion,  that  the 
slaves,  always  accustomed   to    work   upon   compulsion, 


204  ABRAEA3r  LINCOLN-. 

under  an  overseer,  would,  if  suddenly  freed,  precipitate 
not  only  themselves  but  tbe  society  of  the  South  into 
ruin.  No  work  would  be  done,  but  blacks  and  whites 
would  starve  together.  Mr.  Lincoln  waited  for  Mr. 
Seward  to  answer  the  argument ;  but  as  that  gentleman 
hesitated  he  said: 

*'Mr.  Hunter,  you  ought  to  know  a  great  deal 
better  about  this  matter  than  I,  for  you  have  always 
lived  under  the  slave  system.  I  can  only  say,  in  reply 
to  your  statement  of  the  case,  that  it  reminds  me  of  a 
man  out  in  Illinois,  by  the  name  of  Case,  who  under- 
took, a  few  years  ago,  to  raise  a  very  large  herd  of 
hogs.  It  was  a  great  trouble  to  feed  them  ;  and  how  to 
get  around  this  was  a  puzzle  to  him.  At  length  he  hit 
upon  the  plan  of  planting  an  immense  field  of  potatoes, 
and,  when  they  were  sufficiently  grown,  he  turned  the 
whole  herd  into  the  field,  and  let  them  have  full  swing, 
thus  saving  not  only  the  labor  of  feeding  the  hogs,  but 
that  also  of  digging  the  potatoes.  Charmed  with  his 
sagacity,  he  stood  one  day  leaning  against  the  fence, 
counting  his  hogs,  when  a  neighbor  came  along : 

'"Well,  well,'  said  he,  'Mr.  Case,  this  is  all  very 
fine.  Your  hogs  are  doing  very  well  just  now ;  but  you 
know  out  here  in  Illinois  the  frost  comes  early,  and  the 
ground  freezes  a  foot  deep.  Then  what  are  they  going 
to  do?' 

"  This  was  a  view  of  the  matter  which  Mr.  Case  had 
not  taken  into  account.  Butchering  time  for  hogs  was 
away  on  in  December  or  January.  He  scratched  his 
head,  and  at  length  stammered  : 

*'  'Well,  it  may  come  pretty  hard  on  their  snowis, 
but  I  do  n*t  see  but  it  will  be  root  hog  or  dief 


LINCOLNIANA,  205 

NOT  AFRAID  OF  BEING   HANGED. 

**  When  Mr.  Lincoln  returned  from  the  James,  where 
iie  met  Messrs.  Stephens,  Campbell,  and  Hunter,  he 
related  to  his  Cabinet  some  of  his  conversations  with 
them.  He  said,"  writes  Mr.  Usher,  ''that  at  the  con- 
clusion of  one  of  his  discourses,  detailing  what  he  con- 
sidered to  be  the  position  in  which  the  insurgents  were 
placed  by  the  law,  they  replied : 

" '  Well,  according  to  your  view  of  the  case,  we  are 
all  guilty  of  treason,  and  liable  to  be  hanged.' 

"  Lincoln  replied  :   *  Yes,  that  is  so. ' 

" They,  continuing,  said:  'Well,  we  suppose  that 
would  necessarily  be  your  view  of  our  case,  but  we 
never  had  much  fear  of  being  hanged  while  you  were 
President.* 

"From  his  manner  in  repeating  this  scene,"  says 
Mr.  Usher,  "he  seemed  to  appreciate  the  compliment 
highly.  There  is  no  evidence  in  his  record  that  he  ever 
contemplated  executing  any  of  the  insurgents  for  their 
treason.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he  desired  any  of 
them  to  leave  the  country,  with  the  exception  of  Mr. 
Davis.  His  great,  and  apparently  his  only  object,  was 
to  have  a  restored  Union." 


PROPOSED   PURCHASE  OF  SLAVES. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Lincoln's  return  from  his  conference 
^ath  Alexander  Stephens  and  others  in  regard  to  the 
ending  of  the  war,  the  Cabinet  was  convened,  and  he 
read  to  it,  for  approval,  a  message  which  he  had  pre- 
pared to  be  submitted  to  Congress,  in  which  he  recom- 
mended that  Congress  appropriate  $300,000,000,  to  be 


206  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLK 

apportioDed  among  the  several  slave  States,  in  proportion 
to  slave  population,  to  be  distributed  to  the  holders  of 
slaves  in  those  States,  upon  condition  that  they  would 
consent  to  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  disbanding  of 
the  insurgent  army,  and  would  acknowledge  and  submit 
to  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

The  members  of  the  Cabinet  were  all  opposed. 
He  seemed  somewhat  surprised  at  that,  and  asked : 
"  How  long  will  the  war  last?"  No  one  answered, 
but  he  soon  said  :  *'  A  hundred  days.  We  are  spending 
now  in  carrying  on  the  war  $3,000,000  a  day,  which 
will  amount  to  all  this  money,  besides  all  the  lives." 
With  a  deep  sigh,  he  added :  "  But  you  are  all  opposed 
to  me,  and  I  will  not  send  the  message." 


LINCOLN'S  ONE  WORD. 

''  Almost  with  tears  in  his  eyes,"  said  Judge  Samuel 
B.  Herit,  of  Suwanee,  Fla.,  ''Alexander  H.  Stephens 
once  told  me  of  the  inner  history  of  the  Hampton  Roads 
Conference. 

"'When  the  intimation  came  to  us,'  said  Mr. 
Stephens,  '  that  the  Federals  desired  a  conference,  it  was 
well  known  that  Jefferson  Davis  was  opposed  to  it. 
The  majority  of  the  Confederate  Senate  took  its  cue 
from  the  President,  and  therefore  the  subject  could  not 
be  directly  broached  then.  As  a  consequence,  we  were 
forced  to  strategy.  It  was  proposed  that  General  Lee 
should  appear  before  the  Senate  in  executive  session, 
and,  under  the  cloak  of  secrecy,  to  be  removed  only  for 
the  personal  information  of  the  President,  give  an  exact 
statement  of  the  real  position  of  the  two  armies. 


LINCOLNIANA.  207 

•"With  great  reluctance  General  Lee  consented  to 
answer  questions,  the  result  being  to  show  that  the  Con- 
federate army  had  been  reduced  to  a  mere  shell,  with 
neither  defenses,  refuge,  nor  supplies  to  fall  back  upon. 
AVith  this  plain  statement  the  Senate  consented  to  the 
appointment  of  Peace  Commissioners.  But  when  a 
resolution  was  offered  and  passed  that  these  Commission- 
ers should  act  under  instructions  given  by  Mr.  Davis, 
all  hope  in  my  heart  failed.  Ouly  the  conviction  that  I 
should  lose  no  chance  to  bring  about  peace,  induced  me 
to  withhold  my  resignation.' 

"After  describing  the  meeting  with  President  Lin- 
coln and  associates,"  continued  Judge  Herit,  "Mr. 
Stephens  went  on  to  say :  *  Finally,  all  preliminaries 
over,  President  Lincoln  said:  "So  anxious  am  I  for 
peace,  that  I  will  offer  terms  which  I  am  sure  will  sur- 
prise you.  On  this  sheet  of  paper  I  will  write  but  one 
word,  while  I  will  leave  to  your  own  judgment  every 
other  condition  and  requirement."  Writing,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln passed  the  sheet  over  to  me,  and  I  found  written 
upon  it  the  one  word  "Union."  "All  other  terms," 
concluded  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  may  be  of  your  own  dictation." 

'**My  heart  sank  within  me,*  said  Mr.  Stephens. 
*  Here,  on  simply  accepting  the  Union,  we  could  dictate 
our  own  terms  of  peace,  preserve  our  State  autonomies, 
maintain  our  fortunes,  gain  recompense  for  our  slave 
property,  and  all  the  consequences  following  defeat 
could  be  averted.  But  our  instructions  from  Mr.  Davis, 
the  corner-stone  of  which  was  the  recognition  of  the 
Confederate  States,  forbade  the  acceptance  of  this  most 
magnanimous  and  generous  offer.  When  I  so  informed 
Mr.  Lincoln,  he  sank   back  in  his  chair  with  a  look  of 


208  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

utter  disappoiutmeDt.  We  all  felt  the  gravity  of  the 
situation,  and  it  was  recognized  that  one  of  the  great 
mistakes  of  history  was  being  enacted.  With  an  array 
whose  defeat  was  already  acknowledged  by  General  Lee, 
President  Davis  insisted  upon  annihilation/ 

"  These  facts,"  continued  Judge  Herit,  "it  was  agreed 
should  be  kept  secret  until  the  death  of  the  principals." 


PERMITTING  JACOB  THOMPSON  TO  SLIP  THROUGH  MAINE. 

Upon  Mr.  Lincoln's  return  to  Washington,  after 
the  capture  of  Richmond,  a  member  of  the  Cabinet 
asked  him  if  it  would  be  proper  to  permit  Jacob 
Thompson,  one  of  the  Confederate  leaders,  to  slip 
through  Maine  in  disguise,  and  embark  from  Portland. 
The  President,  as  usual,  was  disposed  to  be  merciful, 
and  to  permit  the  arch-rebel  to  pass  unmolested,  but 
the  secretary  urged  that  he  should  be  arrested  as  a 
traitor.  "By  permitting  him  to  escape  the  penalties  of 
treason,"  persistently  remarked  the  secretary,  **you 
sanction  it." 

"Well,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  "let  me  tell  you  a 
story. 

"There  was  an  Irish  soldier  here  last  summer  who 
wanted  something  to  drink  stronger  than  water,  and 
stopped  at  a  drug-shop,  where  he  espied  a  soda-fountain. 

"'Mr.  Doctor,'  said  he,  'give  me,  plase,  a  glass 
of  soda-wather,  an'  if  yees  can  put  in  a  few  drops  of 
whisky  unbeknown  to  any  one,  I'll  be  obleeged.' 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "if  Jake  Thompson  is 
permitted  to  go  through  Maine  unbeknown  to  any  one, 
vv^hat's  the  harm?     So  don't  have  him  arrested." 


LINCOLNIANA .  209 

WHAT  TO  DO  WITH  JEFFERSON   DAVIS. 

One  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  stories  was  told  to  a  party  of 
gentlemen,  who,  as  the  war  was  closing,  anxiously 
asked:    "What  will  you  do  with  Jefferson  Davis?" 

"There  was  a  boy  in  Springfield,"  replied  Mr. 
Lincoln,  "  who  saved  up  his  money  and  bought  a  *  coon,* 
which,  after  the  novelty  wore  off,  became  a  great 
nuisance. 

"He  was  one  day  leading  him  through  the  streets, 
and  had  his  hands  full  to  keep  clear  of  the  little  vixen, 
who  had  torn  his  clothes  half  off  of  him.  At  length 
he  sat  down  on  the  curb-stone,  completely  fagged  out. 
A  man  passing  was  stopped  by  the  lad's  disconsolate  ap- 
pearance, and  asked  the  matter. 

"  '  O,'  was  the  only  reply,  *  this  coon  is  such  a  trouble 
to  me.' 

"'Why  don't  you  get  rid  of  him,  then?'  said  the 
gentleman. 

"  'Hush !'  said  the  boy;  *  don't  you  see  he  is  gnaw- 
ing his  rope  off?  I  am  going  to  let  him  do  it,  and  then 
I  will  go  home  and  tell  the  folks  that  he  got  away  from 
me !' " 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  BARGAIN  WITH  TAD. 

"Tad'*  accompanied  his  father  to  Fortress  Monroe, 
and  on  the  way  became  very  troublesome.  The  Presi- 
dent was  much  engaged  in  conversation  with  the  party 
who  accompanied  him,  aud  he  at  length  said  : 

"  Tad,  if  you  will  be  a  good  boy,  and  not  disturb 
me  any  more  till  we  get  to  Fortress  Monroe,  I  will  give 
you  a  dollar." 

The  hope  of  reward  was  effectual  for  a  while  in  se- 

14 


210  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN". 

curing  silence,  but  Tad  soon  forget  his  promise,  and  be- 
came as  noisy  as  ever.  Upon  reaching  their  destination, 
however,  he  said,  very  promptly :  * '  Father,  I  want  ray 
dollar." 

Mr.  Lincoln  turned  to  him  with  the  inquiry:  *'Tad, 
do  you  think  you  have  earned  it  ?" 

•'  Yes,"  was  the  reply. 

Mr.  Lincoln  looked  at  him  half-reproachfully  for  an 
instant,  and  then  taking  from  his  pocket-book  a  dollar 
note,  he  said:  "Well,  my  son,  at  any  rate,  I  will  keep 
my  part  of  the  bargain." 


RECEIVING  DISPATCHES  FROM  SHERMAN. 

On  New- Year's  day,  1865,  General  C.  H.  Howard 
left  Savannah,  Georgia,  with  important  dispatches  from 
General  Sherman  to  President  Lincoln. 

Sherman  had  sent  his  unique  telegram  to  the  Presi- 
dent on  Christmas  eve,  announcing  as  a  Christmas 
present  the  capture  of  Savannah.  Owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  railroads  had  been  destroyed,  this  dispatch  had 
been  sent  by  special  steamer  to  Fortress  Monroe  and 
thence  by  telegraph  to  Washington.  But  President 
Lincoln  had  not  yet  seen  any  person  who  had  marched 
through  Georgia  with  Sherman. 

"  It  was  early  in  the  day,"  writes  General  Howard  in 
the  NoHhwestern  Christian  Advocate,  "when  my  card  was 
given  to  the  messenger  in  the  anteroom  of  the  White 
House,  He  shook  his  head,  and  pointed  to  the  crowds 
in  waiting,  filling  the  anteroom  and  thronging  even  the 
lower  hall  and  the  stairway.  He  called  my  attention 
to  the  fact  that  there  were  Congressmen  of  the  number 


LINCOLN  I  A  NA.  211 

who  were  supposed  to  have  precedence  in  calling  upon 
the  President.  Nevertheless,  I  requested  him  to  give 
the  President  the  card  which  indicated  that  I  had  dis- 
patches from  Sherman's  array. 

**The  messenger  returned  wilhin  a  few  minutes  and 
invited  me  in.  First,  we  entered  a  room  occupied  by  the 
President's  secretaries,  and  there  I  saw  one  or  two 
senators  in  waiting,  and  passing  through  this  room  I 
was  ushered  into  a  smaller  room,  where  I  saw  President 
Lincoln  standing  at  a  glass  shaving  himself.  He  paused 
a  moment,  came  to  me  with  a  droll  look,  heightened  no 
doubt  by  the  half-lathered,  half-shaved  face,  gave  me 
his  hand,  and  asked  me  to  take  a  seat  on  the  sofa,  say- 
ing, as  he  returned  to  the  mirror : 

"  *I  could  not  even  wait  till  I  had  finished  shaving 
when  an  officer  from  Sherman's  army  has  come.' 

"  Of  course  the  youthful  staff-officer  was  somewhat 
abashed  in  coming  into  the  presence  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  bis  Commander-in-chief,  and  the  now 
world-renowned  Abraham  Lincoln.  But  the  President's 
frank  and  cordial  manner  when,  on  the  completion  of 
his  toilet,  he  came  and  took  the  right  hand  of  his  vis- 
itor between  both  of  his  large  hands  and  then  sat  down 
beside  him  on  the  sofa  immediately  put  him  at  his 
ease. 

''Naturally,  the  President  had  many  questions  to 
ask  concerning  the  '  March  to  the  Sea.'  It  was  appar- 
ent he  had  been  very  anxious,  as  no  doubt  had  the 
entire  North,  during  the  thirty  days  or  more  when  noth- 
ing was  heard  from  the  vanished  army.  He  was  inter- 
ested to  know  in  detail  of  the  daily  operations.  Ac- 
tually, the   first  word   indicating  the  approach    to    the 


212  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

coast  came  by  a  small  scouting  party  sent  down  the 
Ogeechee  River  by  Major-Geueral  Howard,  commanding 
Sherman's  rio-ht  wino;.  An  officer  and  two  scouts  had 
made  their  way  in  a  dug-out  down  the  river,  moving  by 
night  and  resting  by  day,  past  the  Rebel  pickets,  past 
Fort  McAlister — then  armed  with  heavy  guns,  and  fully 
manned — out  into  the  open  bay,  and  had  communicated 
with  the  naval  blockading  fleet,  and  the  admiral  had 
sent  General  Howard's  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  at  Washington.  This  news  was  not  only  the  first 
to  advise  President  Lincoln  of  the  safety  and  success  of 
Sherman's  army,  but  had  been  flashed  over  the  country, 
bringing  good  cheer  to  65,000  homes  which  had  rep- 
resentatives in  that  army." 


TAD'S  REBEL  FLAG. 

One  of  the  prettiest  incidents  in  the  closing  days  of 
the  Civil  \yar  occurred  when  the  troops,  "  marching 
home  again,"  passed,  in  grand  form,  if  with  well-worn 
uniforms  and  tattered  bunting,  before  the  White  House, 
in  Washington  City.  Naturally,  an  immense  crowd 
had  assembled  on  the  streets,  the  lawns,  porches, 
balconies,  and  windows,  even  those  of  the  Executive 
mansion  itself  being  crowded  to  excess.  A  central 
figure  was  that  of  the  President,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
who,  with  bared  head,  unfurled  and  waved  our  Nation's 
flag  in  the  midst  of  lusty  cheers. 

Suddenly  there  was  an  unexpected  sight.  A  small 
boy  leaned  forward,  and  sent  streaming  to  the  air  the 
banner  of  the  boys  in  gray.  It  was  an  old  flag  which 
had  been   captured  from  the  Confederates,  and  which 


LINCOLNIANA.  213 

the  urchin,  the  President's  second  son,  Tad,  had  obtained 
possession  of,  and  considered  an  additional  token  of 
triumph  to  unfurl  on  this  all-important  day.  Vainly 
did  the  servant  who  had  followed  him  to  the  window 
plead  with  him  to  desist.  No.  Master  Tad,  the  pet  of 
the  White  House,  was  not  to  be  prevented  from  adding 
to  the  loyal  demonstration  of  the  hour.  To  his  sur- 
prise, however,  the  crowd  viewed  it  differently. 

Had  it  f  oated  from  any  other  window  iu  the  capital 
that  day,  no  doubt  it  would  have  been  the  target  of 
contempt  and  abuse ;  but  when  the  President,  under- 
standing what  had  happened,  turned,  with  a  smile  on 
his  grand,  plain  face,  and  showed  his  approval  by  a  ges- 
ture and  expression,  cheer  after  cheer  rent  the  air.  It 
was,  surely  enough,  the  expression  of  peace  and  good- 
will which,  of  all  our  commanders,  none  was  better 
pleased  to  promote  than  the  Commander-in-chief. 


A  WOODCHOPPER'S  SON. 

"  Tad"  Lincoln  was  his  father's  idol  and  constant 
companion.  Scarcely  a  day  but  he  could  be  seen  trudg- 
ing along  the  country  roads  near  their  summer  home, 
or  in  the  city  itself,  his  small  figure  iu  comical  contrast 
to  the  President's  tall,  lank  form.  In  these  walks  they 
had  chats  which  were  to  the  boy  as  precious  memories. 

An  incident,  which  Tad  himself  related,  occurred 
a  day  or  two  after  his  entermg,  temporarily,  a  foreign 
school.  A  rather  snobbish  young  gentleman  of  rank, 
not  knowing  who  young  Lincoln  was,  inquired,  as  boys 
will  of  each  other,  who  his  father  was.  Tad,  with  the 
slow,  reflective  smile  which  was  his  sole  point  of  resem- 


214  A  BE  A  HAM  LINCOLN, 

blance  to  his  father,  answered:  **A  woodchopper.*' 
**  O,  indeed!"  was  the  rather  sneering  answer  And 
for  a  day  or  two  the  high-born  lad  turned  the  cold 
shoulder  to  the  "new  boy."  Very  soon  the  American 
lad's  prestige  became  known  to  all  the  school,  and  he 
found  that  he  had  made  himself  ridiculous. 


LAST  PUBLIC  UTTERANCE. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  last  public  utterance  was  addressed 
to  Schuyler  Colfax,  April  14,  1865:  "I  want  you  to 
take  a  message  from  me  to  the  miners  whom  you 
visit.  .  .  .  Tell  the  miners  for  me  that  I  shall  pro- 
mote their  interests  to  the  utmost  of  my. ability, because 
their  prosperity  is  the  prosperity  of  the  Nation ;  and 
we  shall  prove,  in  a  very  few  years,  that  we  are  indeed 
the  treasury  of  the  world." 


MY  CAPTAIN. 


O  CAPTAIN !  my  captain !  our  fearful  trip  is  done  ; 

Tne  ship  has  weathered  every  rock,  the  prize  we  sought  is 

won ; 
The  port  is  near,  the  bells  I  hear,  the  people  all  exulting, 
While  follow  eyes   the   steady  keel,  the   vessel   grim    and 
daring : 

But,  0  heart !  heart !  heart  I 

Leave  you  not  the  little  spot, 

"Where  on  the  deck  my  captain  lies, 

Fallen  cold  and  dead. 

O  captain  !  my  captaia  !  rise  up  and  hear  the  bells ; 

Rise  up — for  you  the  flag  is  flung— for  you  the  bugle  trills , 

For  you  bouquets  and  ribboned  wreaths — for  you  the  shores 

a-crowding ; 
For   you   they    call,   the   swaying   mass,    their   eager   faces 
turning : 

0  captain  !  dear  father ; 

This  arm  I  push  beneath  you ; 

It  is  some  dream  that  on  the  deck 

You  've  fallen  col(l  and  dead. 

My  captain  does  not  answer,  his  lips  are  pale  and  still ; 
My  father  does  not  feel  my  arm,  he  has  no  pulse  nor  will ; 
But  the  ship,  the  ship  is  anchored  safe,  its  voyage  closed 

and  done  ; 
From  fearful  trip,  the  victor  ship  comes  in  with  object  won. 

Exult,  0  shore,  and  ring,  0  bells  I 

But  I,  with  silent  tread. 

Walk  the  spot  my  captain  lies. 

Fallen  cold  and  dead. 
<j-  _  —Walt  Whitman,  on  the  Death  of  Lincoln. 


l^ORDS  OF  LmCOLN. 

**My  early  history  is  perfectly  characterized  by  a 
single  line  of  Gray's  Elegy: 

*  The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor,* " 
X       X 

"Men  are  not  flattered  by  being  shown  that  there 
has  been  a  diflerence  of  purpose  between  them  and  the 
Almighty." 

XX 

**  I  know  that  the  Lord  is  always  on  the  side  of  the 
right.  But  it  is  my  constant  anxiety  and  prayer  that  I 
and  this  Nation  should  be  on  the  Lord's  side." 

X       X 

**  I  have  been  driven  many  times  to  my  knees  by 
the  overwhelming  conviction  that  I  bad  nowhere  else  to 
go.  My  own  wisdom,  and  that  of  all  about  me,  seemed 
insufficient  for  that  day." 

X,      X 

"We  can  not  escape  history." 

X       X 

"  The  purposes  of  the  Almighty  are  perfect,  and  must 
prevail,  though  we  erring  mortals  may  fail  to  accurately 
perceive  them  in  advance." 

X       X 

"Come  what  will,  I  will  keep  my  faith  with  friena 
and  foe." 
216 


WOEDS  OF  LINCOLN:  217 

"I  do  not  impugn  the  motives  of  any  one  opposed 

to  me." 

X       X 

"It  is  no  pleasure  to  me  to  triumph  over  any  one." 

X       X 

"I  shall  do  my  utmost,  that  whoever  is  to  hold  the 
helm  for  the  next  voyage  shall  start  with  the  best  possi- 
ble chance  to  save  the  ship.'* 

X       X 

''I  have  not  willingly  planted  a  thorn  in  any  man's 

bosom," 

X       X 

"  God  must  like  common  people,  or  he  would  not 

have  made  so  many  of  them." 

X       X 

"Of  the  people,  when  they  rise  in  mass  in  behalf  of 

the  Union  and  the  liberties  of  their  country,  truly  may 

it  be  said :     '  The  gates  of  hell  can  not  prevail  agaiust 

them.'" 

X       X 

"Unless  the  great  God  .  .  .  shall  be  with  and 
aid  me,  I  must  fail;  but  if  the  same  Omniscient  Mind 
and  Almighty  Arm  .  .  .  shall  guide  and  support 
me,  I  shall  not  fail ;  I  shall  succeed." 

X       X 

"  I  authorize  no  bargains  [for  the  Presidency],  and 

will  be  bound  by  none." 

X      X 

"The  reasonable  man  has  long  since  agreed  that  in- 
temperance is  one  of  the  greatest,  if  not  the  greatest,  of 
all  evils  among  mankind." 


218  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"I  am  indeed  very  grateful  to  the  brave  men  who 
have  been  struggling  with  the  enemy  in  the  field.*' 

X      X 

*'For  thirty  years  I  have  been  a  temperance  man, 
and  I  am  too  old  to  change." 

X      X 
"That  we  here  highly  resolve  that     .     .     .     this 
Kation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom, 
and  that  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

X       X 

"I  appeal  to  you  again  to  constantly  bear  in  mind 
that  with  you  [the  people],  and  not  with  politicians, 
not  with  Presidents,  not  with  office-seekers,  but  with 
you,  is  the  question.  Shall  the  Union  and  shall  the  lib- 
erties of  the  country  be  preserved  to  the  latest  gen- 
eration ?" 

X      X 

"  If  all  that  has  been  said  by  orators  and  poets  since 
the  creation  of  the  world  in  praise  of  women  were  ap- 
plied to  the  women  of  America,  it  would  not  do  them 
full  justice  for  their  conduct  during  the  war.  .  .  . 
God  bless  the  women  of  America  I" 

X       X 

*'With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all, 
with  firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the 
right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in ;  to 
bind  up  the  Nation's  wounds;  to  care  for  him  who  shall 
have  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow  and  his  or- 
phan— to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just 
and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations.*' 


WORDS  OF  Lincoln;  219 

*'This  country,  with  its  institutions,  belongs  to  the 
people  who  inhabit  it." 

X      X 

"I  have  never  had  a  feeling  politically  that  did  not 
spring  from  the  sentiments  embodied  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence." 

X      X 

"  No  men  living  are  more  worthy  to  be  trusted  than 
those  who  toil  up  from  poverty — none  less  inclined  to 
take  or  touch  aught  which  they  have  not  honestly 
earned." 

X      X 

"  Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes  might ;  and, 
in  that  faith,  let  us  to  the  end  dare  to  do  our  duty  as 
we  understand  it." 

X       X 

"There  is  no  grievance  that  is  a  fit  object  of  redress 
by  mob  law." 

X      X 

**Many  great  and  good  men,  sufficiently  qualified  for 
any  task  they  may  undertake,  may  ever  be  found,  whose 
ambition  would  aspire  to  nothing  beyond  a  seat  in  Con- 
gress, a  gubernatorial,  or  a  Presidential  chair ;  but  such 
belong  not  to  the  family  of  the  lion  or  the  tribe  of  the 
eagle." 

X      X 

*'  Nowhere  in  the  world  is  presented  a  Government 
of  so  much  liberty  and  equality." 

X       X 

"Gold   IS  good  in  its  place;  but  living,  brave,  and 
patriotic  men  are  better  than  gold." 


220  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  Let  none  falter  who  thinks  he  is  right.** 

X       X 

''All  that  I  am,  all  that  I  hope  to  be,  I  owe  to  my 

ansrel  mother." 

X       X 

**The  way  for  a  young  man  to  rise  is  to  improve 
himself  every  way  he  can,  never  suspecting  that  any- 
body wishes  to  hinder  him." 

X       X 

"Suspicion  and  jealousy  never  did  help  any  man  in 

any  situation." 

X      X 

**  Every  man  is  said  to  have  his  peculiar  ambition. 

Whether   it   be   true  or  not,  I  can  say,  for  one,  that  I 

have  no  other  so  great  as  that  of  being  truly  esteemed 

of  my  fellow-men,  by  rendering  myself  worthy  of  their 

esteem." 

X      X 

"Slavery  is  founded  in  the  selfishness  of  man's  na- 
ture— opposition  to  it  in  his  love  of  justice." 

X       X 

"  Stand  with  anybody  that  stands  right.     Stand  with 

him  while  he  is  right,  and  part  with  him  when  he  goes 

wrong.*' 

X       X 

"Revolutionize  through  the  ballot-box." 

X      X 

"If  I  live,  this  accursed  system  of  robbery  and 
shame  in  our  treatment  of  the  Indians  shall  be  re- 
formed." 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN,  22 1 

"  This  Government  must  be  preserved  in  spite  of  the 
acts  of  any  man,  or  set  of  men." 

X       X 

**Many  free  countries  have  lost  their  liberty,  and 
ours  may  lose  hers;  but,  if  she  shall,  be  it  my  proudest 
plume,  not  that  I  was  the  last  to  desert,  but  that  I 
never  deserted  her." 

X      X 

"Any  people,  anywhere,  being  inclined  and  having 
the  power,  have  the  right  to  rise  up  and  shake  off  the 
existing  Government,  and  form  a  new  one  that  suits 
them  better.  This  is  a  most  valuable  and  sacred  right — 
a  right  which^  we  hope  and  believe,  is  to  liberate  the 
world." 

X      X 

"At  what  point  shall  we  expect  the  approach  of 
danger  ?  Shall  we  expect  some  transatlantic  military 
giant  to  step  the  ocean  and  crush  us  at  a  blow  ?  Never  ! 
All  the  armies  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  combined, 
with  all  the  treasures  of  the  earth  (our  own  excepted) 
in  their  military  chest,  with  a  Bonaparte  for  a  com- 
mander, could  not,  by  force,  take  a  drink  from  the 
Ohio,  or  make  a  track  on  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  a  trial  of 
a  thousand  years.  At  what  point,  then,  is  this  ap- 
proach of  dauger  to  be  expected .''  I  answer,  If  it  ever 
reach  us,  it  must  spring  up  amongst  us.  It  can  not 
come  from  abroad.  If  destruction  be  our  lot,  we  must 
ourselves  be  its  author  and  finisher.  As  a  nation  of 
freemen,  we  must  live  through  all  time  or  die  by 
suicide." 


222  ABEAHASr  LIXCOLM 

"Passion  has  helped  us  [to  preserve  our  free  insti- 
tutions], but  can  do  so  no  more.  It  will  in  future  be 
our  enemy.  Reason — cold,  calculating,  unimpassioned 
reason — must  furnish  all  the  materials  for  our  support 
and  defense.  Let  those  materials  be  molded  into  gen- 
eral intelligence,  sound  morality,  and,  in  particular,  a 
reverence  for  the  Constitution  and  the  laws;  and  then 
our  country  shall  continue  to  improve,  and  our  Nation, 
revering  his  name,  and  permitting  no  hostile  foot  to 
pass  or  desecrate  his  resting-place,  shall  be  that  to  hear 
the  last  trump  that  shall  awaken  our  Washington. 
Upon  these  let  the  proud  fabric  of  freedom  rest  as  the 
rock  of  its  basis,  and  as  truly  as  has  been  said  of  the 
only  greater  institution,  *The  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it.'" 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  TEMPERANCE 
ADDRESS.* 


Although  the  temperance  cause  has  been  in  pro- 
gress for  nearly  twenty  years,  it  is  apparent  to  all  that 
It  is  just  now  being  crowned  with  a  degree  of  success 
hitherto  unparalleled. 

The  list  of  its  friends  is  daily  swelled  by  the  addition 
of  fifties,  hundreds,  and  of  thousands.  The  cause  itself 
seems  suddenly  transformed  from  a  cold,  abstract  theory 
to  a  living,  breathing,  active,  and  powerful  chieftain, 
going  forth  "conquering  and  to  conquer."  The  citadel* 
of  his  great  adversary  are  daily  being  stormed  and  dis- 
mantled ;  his  temples  and  his  altars,  where  the  rites  of 
his  idolatrous  worship  have  long  been  performed,  and 
where  human  sacrifices  have  long  been  wont  to  be  made, 
are  daily  desecrated  and  deserted.  The  trump  of  the 
conqueror's  fame  is  sounding  from  hill  to  hill,  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  land  to  land,  and  calling  millions  to 
his  standard  at  a  blast. 

For  this  new  and  splendid  success  we  heartily  re- 
joice. That  that  success  is  so  much  greater  now  than 
heretofore,  is  doubtless  owing  to  rational  causes ;  and  if 
we  would  have  it  continue,  we  shall  do  well  to  inquire 
what  those  causes  are. 


*  Delivered  before  the  Springfield  Washingtonian  Tem- 
perance Society,  at  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Spring- 
field, 111.,  February  22,  1842. 

223 


224  ABRAHAM'  LiyCOLlT, 

The  warfare  heretofore  waged  agaiost  the  demon  in« 
temperance  has,  somehow  or  other,  been  erroneous. 
Either  the  champions  engaged  or  the  tactics  they 
adopted  have  not  been  the  most  proper.  These  cham- 
pions, for  the  most  part,  have  been  preachers,  lawyers, 
and  hired  agents.  Between  these  and  the  mass  of  man- 
kind there  is  a  want  of  approachability,  if  the  term  be 
admissible,  partial  at  least,  fatal  to  their  success.  They 
are  supposed  to  have  no  sympathy  of  feeling  or  interest 
with  those  very  persons  whom  it  is  their  object  to  con- 
vince and  persuade. 

And,  again,  it  is  so  easy  and  so  common  to  ascribe 
motives  to  men  of  these  classes  other  than  those  they 
profess  to  act  upon.  The  preacher,  it  is  said,  advocates 
;emperanoe  because  he  is  a  fanatic,  and  desires  a  union 
of  the  Church  and  State ;  the  lawyer  from  his  pride 
and  vanity  of  hearing  himself  speak;  and  the  hired 
agent  for  his  salary. 

But  when  one  who  has  long  been  known  as  a  victim 
of  intemperance  bursts  the  fetters  that  have  bound  him, 
and  appears  before  his  neighbors,  "clothed  and  in  his 
right  mind,"  a  redeemed  specimen  of  long-lost  humanity, 
and  stands  up,  with  tears  of  joy  trembling  in  his  eyes, 
to  tell  of  the  miseries  once  endured,  now  to  be  endured 
no  more  forever ;  of  his  once  naked  and  starving  chil- 
dren, now  clad  and  fed  comfortably ;  of  a  wife,  long 
weighed  down  with  woe,  weeping,  and  a  broken  heart, 
now  restored  to  health,  happiness,  and  a  renewed  affec- 
tion ;  and  how  easily  it  is  all  done,  once  it  is  resolved  to 
be  done.  How  simple  his  language!  There  is  a  logic 
and  an  eloquence  in  it  that  few  with  human  feelings 
can  resist.     They  can  not  say  that  he  desires  a  union 


LINCOLN'S  TEMPERANCE  ADDRESS.  225 

of  Church  and  State,  for  he  is  not  a  Church  member ; 
they  can  not  say  he  is  vain  of  hearing  himself  speak, 
for  his  whole  demeanor  shows  he  would  gladly  avoid 
speaking  at  all;  they  can  not  say  he  speaks  for  pay,  for 
he  receives  none  and  asks  for  none.  Nor  can  his  sin- 
cerity in  any  way  be  doubted,  or  his  sympathy  for  those 
he  would  persuade  to  imitate  his  example  be  denied. 

In  my  judgment,  it  is  to  the  battles  of  this  new 
class  of  champions  that  our  late  success  is  greatly,  per- 
haps chiefly,  owing.  But  had  the  old-school  champions 
themselves  been  of  the  most  wise  selecting  ?  Was  their 
system  of  tactics  the  most  judicious?  It  seems  to  me  it 
was  not.  Too  much  denunciation  against  dram-sellers 
and  dram-drinkers  was  indulged  in.  This,  I  think,  was 
both  impolitic  and  unjust.  It  v/as  impolitic,  because  it 
is  not  much  in  the  nature  of  man  to  be  driven  to 
anything,  still  less  to  be  driven  about  that  which  is  ex- 
clusively his  own  business,  and,  least  of  all,  where  such 
driving  is  to  be  submitted  to  at  the  expense  of  pecuni- 
ary interest  or  burning  appetite.  When  the  dram-seller 
and  drinker  were  incessantly  told,  not  in  the  accents  of 
entreaty  and  persuasion,  diffidently  addressed  by  erring 
man  to  an  erring  brother,  but  in  the  thundering  tones 
of  anathema  and  denunciation,  with  which  the  lordly 
judge  often  groups  together  all  the  crimes  of  the  felon's 
life,  and  thrusts  them  in  his  face  just  ere  he  passes  sen- 
tence of  death  upon  him,  that  they  were  the  authors  of 
all  the  vice  and  misery  and  crime  in  the  land ;  that  they 
were  the  manufacturers  and  material  of  all  the  thieves 
and  robbers  and  murderers  that  infest  the  earth  ;  that 
their  houses  were  the  workshops  of  the  devil,  and  that 
their  persons  should  be  shunned   by  all  the  good  and 

"l5 


226  ABRAHAM  LINCOLir, 

virtuous  as  moral  pestilences, — I  say,  when  they  were 
told  all  this,  and  in  this  way,  it  is  not  wonderful  that 
they  were  slow — very  slow — to  acknowledge  the  truth 
of  such  denunciations,  and  to  join  the  ranks  of  their 
denouncers  in  a  hue  and  cry  against  themselves. 

To  have  expected  them  to  do  otherwise  than  they 
did — to  have  expected  them  not  to  meet  denunciation 
with  denunciation,  crimination  with  crimination,  and 
anathema  with  anathema — was  to  expect  a  reversal  of 
human  nature,  which  is  God's  decree,  and  can  never  be 
reversed. 

When  the  conduct  of  men  is  designed  to  be  influ- 
enced, persuasion — kind,  unassuming  persuasion — should 
ever  be  adopted.  It  is  an  old  and  a  true  maxim  ''that 
a  drop  of  honey  catches  more  flies  than  a  gallon  of  gall." 
So  with  men.  If  you  would  win  a  man  to  your  cause, 
first  convince  him  that  you  are  his  sincere  friend. 
Therein  is  a  drop  of  honey  that  catches  his  heart,  which, 
say  what  he  will,  is  the  great  high-road  to  his  reason, 
and  which,  when  once  gained,  you  will  find  but  little 
trouble  in  convincing  his  judgment  of  the  justice  of  your 
cause,  if,  indeed,  that  cause  really  be  a  just  one.  On 
the  contrary,  assume  to  dictate  to  his  judgment,  or  to 
command  his  action,  or  to  mark  him  as  one  to  be  shunned 
and  despised,  and  he  will  retreat  within  himself  close  all 
the  avenues  to  his  head  and  his  heart,  and  though  your 
cause  be  naked  truth  itself,  transformed  to  the  heaviest 
lance,  harder  than  steel  and  sharper  than  steel  can  be 
made,  and  though  you  throw  it  with  more  than  Hercu- 
lean force  and  precision,  you  shall  be  no  more  able  tc 
pierce  him  than  t(3  penetrate  the  hard  shell  of  a  tortoise 
with  a  rye-straw.     Such  ia  man,  and  so  must  he  be  un- 


LINCOLN'S  TEMPERANCE  ADDRESS.  227 

derstood  by  those  who  would  lead  him,  even  to  his  own 
best  interests. 

On  this  point  the  Washingtonians  greatly  excel  the 
temperance  advocates  of  former  times.  Those  whom 
they  desire  to  convince  and  persuade  are  their  old  friends 
and  companions.  They  know  they  are  not  demons,  nor 
even  the  worst  of  men ;  they  know  that  generally  they 
are  kind,  generous,  and  charitable,  even  beyond  the  ex- 
ample of  their  more  staid  and  sober  neighbors.  They 
are  practical  philanthropists ;  and  they  glow  with  a  gen- 
erous and  brotherly  zeal  that  mere  theorizers  are  inca- 
pable of  feeling.  Benevolence  and  charity  possess  their 
hearts  entirely ;  and  out  of  the  abundance  of  their 
hearts  their  tongues  give  utterance.  "  Love  through  all 
their  actions  runs,  and  all  their  words  are  mild  ;"  in  this 
spirit  they  speak  and  act,  and  in  the  same  they  are 
heard  and  regarded.  And  when  such  is  the  temper  of 
the  advocate,  and  such  of  the  audience,  no  good  cause 
can  be  unsuccessful.  But  I  have  said  that  denun- 
ciations against  dram-sellers  and  dram-drinkers  are  un- 
just as  well  as  impolitic.     Let  us  see. 

I  have  not  inquired  at  what  period  of  time  the  use 
of  intoxicating  liquors  commenced  ;  nor  is  it  important 
to  know.  It  is  sufficient  that  to  all  of  us  who  now  in- 
habit the  world  the  practice  of  drinking  them  is  just  as 
old  as  the  world  itself — that  is,  we  have  seen  the  one 
just  as  long  as  we  have  seen  the  other.  When  all  such 
of  us  as  have  now  reached  the  years  of  maturity  first 
opened  our  eyes  upon  the  stage  of  existence,  we  found 
intoxicating  liquors  recognized  by  everybody,  used  by 
everybody,  repudiated  by  nobody.  It  commonly  en- 
tered into  the  first  draught  of  the   infant  and  the  last 


228  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

draught  of  the  dying  man.  From  the  sideboard  of  the 
parson  down  to  the  ragged  pocket  of  the  houseless  loafer 
rt  was  constantly  found.  Physicians  prescribed  it  in 
this,  that,  and  the  other  disease;  Government  provided 
it  for  soldiers  and  sailors ;  and  to  have  a  rolling  or  rais- 
ing, a  husking  or  *'  hoe-down  "  anywhere  about  without 
it,  was  positively  insufferable.  So,  too,  it  was  every- 
where a  respectable  article  of  manufacture  and  of  mer- 
chandise. The  making  of  it  was  regarded  as  an  honor- 
able livelihood,  and  he  who  could  make  most  was  the 
most  enterprising  and  respectable.  Large  and  small 
manufactories  of  it  were  everywhere  erected,  in  which 
all  the  earthly  goods  of  their  owners  were  invested. 
\yagons  drew  it  from  town  to  town,  boats  bore  it  from 
clime  to  clime,  and  the  winds  wafted  it  from  nation  to 
nation ;  and  merchants  bought  and  sold  it  by  Avholesale 
and  retail  with  precisely  the  same  feelings  on  the  part 
of  the  seller,  buyer,  and  bystander  as  are  felt  at  the  sell- 
ing and  buying  of  plows,  beef,  bacon,  or  any  other  of 
the  real  necessaries  of  life.  Universal  public  opinion 
not  only  tolerated  but  recognized  and  adopted  its  use. 

It  is  true  that  even  then  it  was  known  and  acknowl- 
edged that  many  were  greatly  injured  by  it;  but  none 
seemed  to  think  that  the  injury  arose  from  the  use  of  a 
bad  thing,  but  from  the  abuse  of  a  very  good  thing. 
The  victims  of  it  were  to  be  pitied  and  compassionated, 
just  as  are  the  heirs  of  consumption  and  other  hereditary 
diseases.  The  failing  was  treated  as  a  misfortune,  and 
not  as  a  crime,  or  even  as  a  disgrace. 

If,  then,  what  I  have  been  saying  is  true,  is  it  won- 
derful that  some  should  think  and  act  now  as  all  thought 
and  acted  twenty  years  ago  ;  and  is  it  just  to  assail,  con- 


LINCOLN'S  TEMPERANCE  ADDRESS,  229 

deinn,  or  despise  them  for  doing  so  ?  The  universal 
sense  of  mankind  on  any  subject  is  an  argument,  or 
at  least  an  influence,  not  easily  overcome.  The  success 
of  the  argument  in  favor  of  the  existence  of  an  over- 
ruling Providence  mainly  depends  upon  that  sense ;  and 
men  ought  not,  in  justice,  to  be  denounced  for  yielding 
to  it  in  any  case,  or  giving  it  up  slowly,  especially  '.vhen 
they  are  backed  by  interest,  fixed  habits,  or  burning 
appetites. 

Another  error,  as  it  seems  to  me,  into  whicli  the  old 
reformers  fell,  was  the  position  that  all  habitual  drunk- 
ards were  utterly  incorrigible,  aud  therefore  must  be 
turned  adrift,  and  damned  witliout  remedy,  in  order 
that  the  grace  of  temperance  might  abound,  to  the  tem- 
perate then,  and  to  all  mankind  some  hundreds  of  years 
thereafter.  There  is  in  this  something  so  repugnant  to 
humanity,  so  uncharitable,  so  cold-blooded  and  feeling- 
less,  that  it  never  did,  nor  ever  can,  enlist  the  enthu- 
siasm of  a  popular  cause.  We  could  not  love  the  man 
who  taught  it — we  could  not  hear  him  with  patience. 
The  heart  could  not  throw  open  its  portals  to  it ;  the 
generous  man  could  not  adopt  it ;  it  could  not  mix  with 
his  blood.  It  looked  so  fiendishly  selfish,  so  like  throw- 
ing fathers  and  brothers  overboard  to  lighten  the  boat 
for  our  security,  that  the  noble-minded  shrank  from  the 
manifest  meanness  of  the  thing.  And  besides  this,  the 
benefits  of  a  reformation  to  be  effected  by  such  a  system 
were  too  remote  in  point  of  time  warmly  to  engage 
many  in  its  behalf  Few  can  be  induced  to  labor  ex- 
clusively for  posterity,  and  none  will  do  it  enthusiastic- 
ally. Posterity  has  done  nothing  for  us ;  and  theorize 
on  it  as  we  may,  practically  we  shall  do  very  little  for 


230  ABRAHAM  LINCOLX. 

it  unless  we  are  made  to  think  we  are,  at  the  same  time, 
doing  something  for  ourselves. 

What  an  ignorance  of  human  nature  does  it  exhibit 
to  ask  or  expect  a  whole  community  to  rise  up  and  labor 
for  the  temporal  happiness  of  others,  after  themselves 
shall  be  consigned  to  the  dust,  a  majority  of  which  com- 
munity take  no  pains  whatever  to  secure  their  own  eter- 
nal welfare  at  no  greater  distant  day  !  Great  distance 
in  either  time  or  space  has  wonderful  power  to  lull  and 
render  quiescent  the  human  mind.  Pleasures  to  be  en- 
joyed, or  pains  to  be  endured,  after  we  shall  be  dead  and 
gone,  are  but  little  regarded,  even  in  our  own  cases, 
and  much  less  in  the  cases  of  others. 

Still,  in  addition  to  this,  there  is  something  so  ludi- 
crous in  promises  of  good  or  threats  of  evil  a  great  way 
off,  as  to  render  the  whole  subject  with  which  they  are 
connected  easily  turned  into  ridicule.  "Better  lay 
down  that  spade  you  're  stealing,  Paddy — if  you  do  n't, 
you'll  pay  for  it  at  the  day  of  judgment."  "Be  the 
powers,  if  ye '11  credit  me  so  long,  I'll  take  another 
fist." 

By  the  Washingtoniaus  this  system  of  consigning  the 
habitual  drunkard  to  hopeless  ruin  is  repudiated.  They 
adopt  a  more  enlarged  jjhilanthropy.  They  go  for 
present  as  well  as  future  good.  They  labor  for  all  now 
living,  as  well  as  hereafter  to  live.  They  teach  hope  to 
all — despair  to  none.  As  applying  to  their  cause,  they 
deny  the  doctrine  of  unpardonable  sin.  As  in  Chris- 
tianity it  is  taught,  so  in  this  they  teach: 

"  While  the  lamp  holds  out  to  burn, 
The  vilest  Binner  may  return." 


LIXCOLN'S  TEMPERANCE  ADDRESS.  231 

And,  what  is  a  matter  of  the  most  profound  cougratu- 
latiou,  they,  by  experiment  upon  experiment  and  ex- 
Ample  upon  example,  prove  the  maxim  to  be  no  less 
true  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other.  On  every  hand 
Ave  behold  those  who  but  yesterday  were  the  chief  of 
sinners,  now  the  chief  apostles  of  the  cause.  Drunken 
devils  are  cast  out  by  ones,  by  sevens,  by  legions,  and 
their  unfortunate  victims,  like  the  poor  possessed  who 
was  redeemed  from  his  long  and  lonely  wanderings  in 
the  tombs,  are  publishing  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  how 
great  things  have  been  done  for  them. 

To  these  new  champions  and  this  new  system  of 
tactics  our  late  success  is  mainly  owing,  and  to  them 
we  must  mainly  look  for  the  final  consummation.  The 
ball  is  now  rolling  gloriously  on,  and  none  are  so  able 
as  they  to  increase  its  speed  and  its  bulk,  to  add  to  its 
momeijtum  and  magnitude;  even  though  unlearned  in 
letters,  for  this  task  none  are  so  well  educated.  To  fit 
them  for  this  work  they  have  been  taught  in  the  true 
school.  They  have  been  in  that  gulf  from  which  they 
would  teach  others  the  means  of  escape.  They  have 
passed  that  prison  wall  which  others  have  long  declared 
impassable,  and  who  that  has  not  shall  dare  to  weigh 
opinions  with  them  as  to  the  mode  of  passing? 

But  if  it  be  true,  as  I  have  insisted,  that  those  who 
have  suffered  by  intemperance  personally  and  have  re- 
formed are  the  most  powerful  and  efiicient  instruments 
to  push  the  reformation  to  ultimate  success,  it  does  not 
follow  that  those  who  have  not  suffered  have  no  part 
left  them  to  perform.  Whether  or  not  the  world  would 
be  vastly  benefited  by  a  total  and  final  banishment  from 
it  of  all  intoxicating  drinks  seems   to  me  not  now  an 


232  ABRAHAM  LITTCOLir. 

open  question.  Three-fourths  of  mankind  confess  the 
affirmative  with  their  tongues,  and  I  believe  all  the  rest 
acknowledge  it  in  their  hearts. 

Ought  any,  then,  to  refuse  their  aid  in  doing  what 
the  good  of  the  whole  demands  ?  Shall  he  who  can 
not  do  much  be  for  that  reason  excused  if  he  do  noth- 
ing? "But,"  says  one,  *'what  good  can  I  do  by  sign- 
ing the  pledge?  I  never  drink,  even  without  signing." 
This  question  has  already  been  asked  and  answered  more 
than  a  million  of  times.  Let  it  be  answered  once  more. 
For  the  man,  suddenly  or  in  any  other  way,  to  break 
off  from  the  use  of  drams  who  has  indulged  in  them  for 
a  long  course  of  years,  aud  until  his  appetite  for  them 
has  grown  ten  or  a  hundred  fold  stronger  and  more  crav- 
ing than  any  natural  appetite  can  be,  requires  a  most 
powerful  moral  effort.  In  such  an  undertaking  he 
needs  every  moral  support  and  influence  that  can  possi- 
bly be  brought  to  his  aid  and  thrown  around  him.  And 
not  only  so,  but  every  moral  prop  should  be  taken  from 
whatever  argument  might  rise  in  his  mind  to  lure  him 
to  his  backsliding.  When  he  casts  his  eyes  around  him 
he  should  be  able  to  see  all  that  he  respects,  all  that  he 
admires,  all  that  he  loves,  kindly  and  anxiously  point- 
ing him  onward,  and  none  beckoning  him  back  to  his 
former  miserable  "wallowing  in  the  mire." 

But  it  is  said  by  some  that  men  will  think  and  act 
for  themselves;  that  none  will  disuse  spirits  or  anything 
else  because  his  neighbors  do;  and  that  moral  influence 
is  not  that  powerful  engine  contended  for.  Let  us  ex- 
amine this.  Let  me  ask  the  man  who  could  maintaiL 
this  position  most  stiffly  what  compensation  he  will  ac- 
cept to  go  to  Church  some  Sunday  and  sit  during  the 


LINCOLN"* S  TEMPERANCE  ADDRES,<f.  233 

sermon  with  his  wife's  bonnet  upon  his  head?  Not  a 
trifle,  I  '11  venture.  And  why  not  ?  There  would  be  noth- 
ing irreligious  in  it,  nothing  immoral,  nothing  uncom- 
fortable— then  why  not?  Is  it  not  because  there  would 
be  something  egregiously  unfashionable  in  it?  Then 
it  is  the  influence  of  fashion ;  and  what  is  the  influence 
of  fashion  but  the  influence  that  other  people's  actions 
have  on  our  own  actions — the  strong  inclination  each  of 
us  feels  to  do  as  we  see  all  our  neighbors  do  ?  Nor  is 
the  influence  of  fashion  confined  to  any  particular  thing 
or  class  of  things.  It  is  just  as  strong  on  one  subject  as 
another.  Let  us  make  it  as  unfashionable  to  withhold 
our  names  from  the  temperance  pledge  as  for  husbands 
to  wear  their  wives'  bonnets  to  Church,  and  instances 
will  be  just  as  rare  in  the  one  case  as  the  other. 

"But,"  say  some,  "we  are  no  drunkards,  and  we 
shall  not  acknowledge  ourselves  such  by  joining  a  re- 
formed drunkards'  society,  whatever  our  influence 
might  be."  Surely  no  Christian  will  adhere  to  this 
objection. 

If  they  believe  as  they  profess,  that  Omnipotence 
condescended  to  take  on  himself  the  form  of  sinful 
man,  and  as  such  to  die  an  ignominious  death  for  their 
sakes,  surely  they  will  not  refuse  submission  to  the 
infinitely  lesser  condescension  for  the  temporal  and  per- 
haps eternal  salvation  of  a  large,  erring,  and  unfortu- 
nate class  of  their  fellow-creatures.  Nor  is  the  conde- 
scension very  great.  In  my  judgment  such  of  us  as 
have  never  fallen  victims  have  been  spared  more  from 
the  absence  of  appetite  than  from  any  mental  or  moral 
superiority  over  those  who  have.  Indeed,  I  believe,  if 
we  take  habitual  drunkards  as  a  class,  their  heads  and 


234  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

their  hearts  will  bear  an  advantageous  comparison  with 
those  of  any  other  class. 

There  seems  ever  to  have  been  a  proneness  in  the 
brilliant  and  warm-blooded  to  fall  into  this  vice — the 
demon  of  intemperance  ever  seems  to  have  delighted  in 
sucking  the  blood  of  genius  and  generosity.  What  one 
of  us  but  can  call  to  mind  some  relative  more  promis- 
ing in  youth  than  all  his  fellows,  who  has  fallen  a  sacri- 
fice to  his  rapacity  ?  He  ever  seems  to  have  gone  forth 
like  the  Egyptian  angel  of  death,  commissioned  to  slay, 
if  not  the  first,  the  fairest  born  of  every  family.  Shall 
he  now  be  arrested  in  his  desolating  career?  In  that 
arrest  all  can  give  aid  that  will,  and  who  shall  be  ex- 
cused that  can  and  will  not  ?  Far  around  as  human 
breath  has  ever  blown,  he  keeps  our  fathers,  our  brothers, 
our  sons,  and  our  friends  prostrate  in  the  chains  of 
moral  death.  To  all  the  living  everywhere  we  cry : 
**  Come,  sound  the  moral  trump,  that  these  may  rise 
and  stand  up  an  exceeding  great  army."  "  Come  from 
the  four  winds,  O  breath  !  and  breathe  upon  these  slain, 
that  they  may  live."  If  the  relative  grandeur  of  revo- 
lutions shall  be  estimated  by  the  great  amount  of  hu- 
man misery  they  alleviate,  and  the  small  amount  they 
inflict,  then,  indeed,  will  this  be  the  grandest  the  world 
shall  ever  have  seen. 

Of  our  political  revolution  of  1776  we  are  all  justly 
proud.  It  has  given  us  a  degree  of  political  freedom 
far  exceeding  that  of  any  other  nations  of  the  earth. 
In  it  the  world  has  found  a  solution  of  the  long-mooted 
problem  as  to  the  capability  of  man  to  govern  himself. 
In  it   was   the  germ   which   has  vegetated,   and  still  i? 


LINCOLN'S  TEMPERANCE  ADDRESS.  235 

to  grow    and    expand    into    the    universal    liberty    of 
mankind. 

But  with  all  these  glorious  results,  past,  present, 
and  to  come,  it  had  its  evils  too.  It  breathed  forth 
famine,  swam  in  blood,  and  rode  in  fire  ;  and  long,  long 
after,  the  orphans'  cry  and  the  widows'  wail  continued 
to  break  the  sad  silence  that  ensued.  These  were  the 
price,  the  inevitable  price,  paid  for  the  blessings  it  bought. 

Turn  uovv  to  the  temperance  revolution.  In  it  we 
shall  find  a  stronger  bondage  broken,  a  viler  slavery 
manumitted,  a  greater  tyrant  deposed — in  it,  more  of 
want  supplied,  more  disease  healed,  more  sorrow  assuaged. 
By  it,  no  orphans  starving,  no  widows  weeping;  by  it, 
none  wounded  in  feeling,  none  injured  in  interest.  Even 
the  dram-maker  and  dram-seller  will  have  glided  into 
other  occupations  so  gradually  as  never  to  have  felt  the 
change,  and  will  stand  ready  to  join  all  others  in  the 
universal  song  of  gladness.  And  what  a  noble  ally  this 
to  the  cause  of  political  freedom!  AVith  such  an  aid,  its 
march  can  not  fail  to  be  on  and  on,  till  every  son  of 
earth  shall  drink  in  rich  fruition  the  sorrow-quenching 
draughts  of  perfect  liberty  !  Happy  day,  when,  all  ap- 
petites controlled,  all  passions  subdued,  all  matter  subju- 
gated, mind,  all-conquering  mind,  shall  live  and  move, 
the  monarch  of  the  world  !  Glorious  consummation  ! 
Hail,  fall  of  fury!     Reign  of  reason,  all  hail ! 

And  when  the  victory  shall  be  complete — when 
there  shall  be  neither  a  slave  nor  a  drunkard  on  the 
earth — how  proud  the  title  of  that  La?id  which  may 
truly  claim  to  be  the  birthplace  and  the  cradle  of  both 
those  revolutions  that  shall  have  ended  in  that  victory  I 


236  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

How  nobly  distinguished  tbat  people  who  shall  have 
planted  and  nurtured  to  maturity  both  the  political  and 
moral  freedom  of  their  species  ! 

This  is  the  one  hundred  and  tenth  anniversary  of 
the  birthday  of  Washington.  We  are  met  to  celebrate 
this  day.  Washington  is  the  mightiest  name  of  earth — 
long  since  mightiest  in  the  cause  of  civil  liberty,  still 
mightiest  in  moral  reformation.  On  that  name  a  eulogy 
is  expected.  It  can  not  be.  To  add  brightness  to  the 
sun  or  glory  to  the  name  of  Washington  is  alike  im- 
possible. Let-  none  attempt  it.  In  solemn  awe  pro- 
nounce the  name,  and  in  its  naked,  deathless  splendor 
leave  it  shining  on. 


C^B  (Evib, 


7/  3.00^.  05  V.  0^3  7C7