Qass i^'T^ L- Book_ ;p^^' President Lincoln and his son Tliaddeiis. LINCOLN IN STORY The Life of the Martyr-President told in Authenticated Anecdotes EDITED BY SILAS GFPRATT ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK APPLETON AND COMPANY 1909 Copyright, 1901, By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. DEDICATED TO WILLIAM CHILDS, Jr., OF BASKING EIDGE, NEW JERSEY. INTEODUCTION When a boy, the writer listened to the sturdy eloquence of Lincoln. He was in the old " Wig- wam '' at Chicago when Lincoln was nominated for the presidency, and witnessed the frantic dem- onstration of enthusiasm when the rails he had split were produced in the convention. Later he saw Lincoln's face, in the silence and calmness of lasting repose, after the assassin had accomplished his death. These small personal associations have strengthened the writer's feeling that the greater the intimacy with Lincoln's life which one can gain, the stronger, better, and more humane one may become. The memories of such a pure, unselfish, and honest character will form a shield for the indi- vidual and a bulwark for a nation. Nearly every Life of the Martyr President, or Book of Recollections, so far published, has con- tained some anecdotes which have given us an occa- sional glimpse into the realms of his great soul — a rare gem, disclosing the prismatic colors of a cos- mic nature — but no volume has been devoted ex- clusively to narratives. yi LINCOLN IN STORY The great interest shown, especially by the younger generation, in the fugitive Lincoln stories which have appeared in various magazines and journals from time to time, no less than the wri- ter's personal enjoyment of those found scattered through the larger works, as well as the hope of in- spiring additional interest in the study of his more complete history, has been the incentive of this compilation. It is also a pleasure to record the statements of the artist B. F. Carpenter, who for six months lived at the White House with Lincoln; the Hon. Wil- liam H. Seward, his Secretary of State; and the Rev. Mr. Bristow, of Xew York, that they never heard the President tell any anecdote which could not have been repeated with propriety in the pres- ence of ladies, thus indicating that the habits ac- quired '^ on the circuit " in Illinois had been out- grown in the more serious and lofty ideals of the statesman. AVhile these stories do not offer a complete life history, they are presented in chronological order, as far as possible, and the salient points of Lincoln's life are briefly mentioned, thus forming a warp upon which the various anecdotes are woven. The book, therefore, offers a biography in story form which it is hoped will prove of interest to older as well as younger readers, and of value to private and public libraries as well as to school li- INTRODUCTION vii braries and reading circles, since I believe tliere has been no sncli consecutive presentation of Lin- coln's life through the medium of anecdotes. Many stories are quoted as told by individuals, and frequently, the forms of speech, quaint and full of " local color," are less elegant, perhaps, than true. It has seemed to the writer, in compiling these narratives, that a new estimate of Lincoln's char- acter was brought out; that the stature of good- ness was increased far beyond that of even our great men ; that the humanity, tenderness, love of mankind, willingness to help, and joy in making others happy, was indeed godlike; added to this, the spirit of toleration and forbearance exercised toward his enemies, and we realize the truthful- ness of John Hay's estimate in a letter to Mr. Ilerndon : '^ I consider Lincoln's republicanism incarnate, with all its faults and virtues. As, in spite of some rudeness, republicanism is the sole hope of a sick world, so Lincoln, with all his foibles, is the great- est character since Christ." The stories have been gleaned from various sources: notably from that excellent book Abra- ham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, by "William H. Herndon and Jesse AY. AVeik, and also Carpenter's Recollections, Chittenden's Recol- lections of Lincoln's xidministration, "Wallace's, yiii LINCOLN IN STORY Kice's, Arnold's, Lamon's, and Whitney's books, and a few signed articles in newspapers and jour- nals, such as the New York World and Home Jour- nal, but no anecdote is given which has not been carefully verified. If this little volume gives to the reader but a tithe of the pleasure it has brought the writer in his labor of compilation, and if it should awaken a new interest in the rugged life of the " greatest character since Christ," it will serve the purpose for which it w^as written. S. G. Peatt. CONTENTS FIRST PERIOD: CHILDHOOD CHAPTER I PAGES The earliest days 1-4 SECOND PERIOD : BOYHOOD CHAPTER n The boy at school — His mother's death — Kate Roby and the spelling class — Night studies by the log fire — Studying on a rail fence 5-10 THIRD PERIOD : YOUTH CHAPTER in Lincoln's stepsister meets with an accident — He insists upon her telling the truth — Lincoln is nearly killed at the mill by his horse — Captain Larkins's fast horse 11-15 CHAPTER IV Lincoln's great strength — How he earned his first dollar, as told by himself — He saves a man from freezing to death — Attacked by negroes on the Mississippi River 16-33 ix X LINCOLN IN STORY FOURTH PERIOD : MANHOOD CHAPTER V PAGES Lincoln rescues the pet dog— Begins work for himself — Builds a log house and splits rails — Again goes to New Orleans — An exciting adventure — Lincoln helps to save the lives of three men 23-30 CHAPTER VI Lincoln and the " Clary's Grove boys " — His wrestling match with Jack Armstrong — Lincoln walks six miles to return six cents — He " chops up " a house for a barefooted man — Elected captain in the " Black Hawk " War — How he managed to get his company " endwise " — Lincoln saves the life of a defenseless Indian 31-39 CHAPTER VII Enters into politics and gets all but three votes in New Salem — Studies law barefooted on a wood-pile — Lin- coln cradles wheat to win votes — Story of Lincoln's betrothal to Anne Rutledge — Her sudden death nearly unseats Lincoln's reason — Elected to the Legislature — The lightning rod and Forquier's guilty con- science 40-49 FIFTH PERIOD : THE LEGISLATOR-THE LAWYER CHAPTER VIII Joshua Speed's story of Lincoln's first appearance as a lawyer in Springfield — Campaign expenses, seventy- five cents — Demands free speech for a friend — Wins a farmer's wife with stories, while his opponent milked her cow — Lends a poor acquaintance his horse CONTENTS xi PAGES to locate land — Rescues a pig — "An almighty small crop of fight " — The old blue sock and Government money — The wild boar story and the unjust judge — Lincoln's " Slow Horse " story — Lincoln marries — Partner of Logan — Of Herndon — Makes speeches for Clay — Elected to Congress— His eloquent a])peal saves two young men from committing a dishonest act . 50-G9 CHAPTER IX Lincoln carries a little girl's trunk to the station — His little boy runs naked from his bath — The widow's pension case — "Skin Wright and Close" — Lincoln studies poetry — He gives a mean lawyer some good advice— Gives his opponents their case — His defense of William Armstrong 70-82 SIXTH PERIOD : THE STATESMAN CHAPTER X Lincoln again enters politics — His anti-Nebraska speech — Chosen to answer Douglas — Assists in organizing the Republican party — An audience of two — Chal- lenges "the Little Giant" to debate — Speech on the Declaration of Independence — The question which defeated him for the Senate— The "bulwark of lib- erty " speech — Nominated and elected President — Prophetic soliloquy — He leaves Springfield — The plot to assassinate him at Baltimore .... 83-103 SEVENTH PERIOD : THE PRESIDENT CHAPTER XI Events leading up to the great civil war — Treason in the Cabinet of President Buchanan — Secession of the Southern States — Ex-Senator Dawes describes Lin- coln's arrival in Washington — Loyalty of General xii LINCOLN IN STORY PAGES Scott — Firing on Fort Sumter — Call for seventy-five thousand troops — Massachusetts regiment mobbed in Baltimore — Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachu- setts troops defend the C'apitol — The great uprising of the North — Douglas's loyalty — His famous speech — Lincoln opposes General Scott's plan of the battle of Bull Run— Defeat of the Union army . . 104-114 CHAPTER XII The sleeping sentinel and the President — Lincoln visits the condemned soldier and pardons him— The sen- tinel becomes a hero in battle, and dies a glorious death 115-128 CHAPTER XIII " A little more light and a little less noise " — Lincoln's " Cheese Box " — The President's experience as a boat- man on the Mississippi gives us the Monitor in oppo- sition to the entire naval board — Battle of the Moni- tor and Merrimac — Badly scared millionaires of New York rebuffed by the President — " The girl with a singing in her head " — A mysterious Englishman ad- vances five million dollars to the Government . 129-148 CHAPTER XIV Lincoln's "leg cases" — He dismisses a Union officer for treasonable language — The widow and her wounded son — How Lincoln " |)lowed around " the Governor— The presidential " chin-fly " story — Making a minister out of mud — Lincoln writes a pardon while in bed — The sick drummer boy — The poor woman and her two sons 149-166 CHAPTER XV "It was the baby did it" — The President ejects an inso- lent officer — A Union officer dismissed by Stanton for CONTENTS xiii PAGES speaking in favor of McClellan restored by Lincoln — At the battle of Fort Stevens Lincoln obeys a lieu- tenant — Sitting for his portrait — He repeats passages from Shakespeare — " Why should the spirit of mortal be proud 1 " — Lincoln's angry reply to Joseph Medill and his Chicago friends 167-181 CHAPTER XVI SHORT STORIES, IDEAS, AND QUOTATIONS Lincoln's own estimate of his mental powers — Sentence in Calhoun's speech — General Grant's peculiar whisky His reply to a titled applicant — Canvased hams — The jack-knife story — Brigadiers and horses — Size of Confederate army — " There's one of my children isn't dead yet " — The strict judge — " On the Lord's side " The henpecked husband — " How many legs will a sheep have f " — The three pigeons on a fence — " Not rebels, but Confederates " 181-190 CHAPTER XVII The complaining Governor and the squealing boy — " By Jingo ! Butler or no Butler, here goes " — Lincoln tells a story to General Grant — Gives freedom to many imprisoned for resisting the draft — The Gettysburg address 191-200 CHAPTER XVIII Lincoln's triumph Second inauguration — The President at Petersburg is mistaken for a rebel — The Confederate Government destroyed — Lincoln's entry into Richmond — General Pickett's wife and the President — His last official act was to save a life — His assassination — His Code of War adopted at the Peace Conference at The Hague 201-214 xlv LINCOLN IN STORY CHAPTER XIX AFTERWARD PAGES A personal experience at a little village in the heart of Switzerland 215-217 APPENDIX Battles and great events of the civil war, arranged in chronological order 218-224 LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTEATIOKS FACING PAGE President Lincoln and his son Tliaddeus . . Frontispiece House near Farmington, Illinois, in which Tliomas Lincoln died 38 Mr. Lincoln's Springfield law office in 1839 ... 62 The Lincoln residence, Springfield .... 74 Portrait of Lincoln, taken in 1860 .... 94 The Monitor attacking the Merrijnac . . . .138 Facsimile of draft of the Emancipation Proclama- tion 153 Statue in Lincoln Park, Chicaero 213 Acknowledgment is made to Jesse W. Weik, Esq., joint author with the late William H. Herndon of "Abraham Lincoln, the True Story of a Great Life," for the use of certain illustrations, XV LINCOLN IN STORY FIRST PERIOD: CHILDHOOD (1809-1816) CHAPTER I " God bless my mother ! All I am, or all I hope to be, I owe to her." — Lincoln. AbRxIham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky, in a little log house such as all the pioneers of the Western States built for themselves; with no flooring but the earth, no paper to cover the logs, and with but the most primitive furniture, such as they themselves could make, the place formed less a residence for comfort than a refuge against the storms of rain in summer and snow and frost in winter. They lived in the open air, in the forest or the field; the log house was simply a place to sleep in, secure from the attacks of wild animals or venomous reptiles. Here it was that Abraham Lincoln, who was soon nicknamed " Abe," passed the first seven years of his life. 1 1 2 LINCOLN IN STORY It was here that his mother, impressed with the great importance of an edncation for her boj, taught him to read and write, there being no school in that thinly settled region. She instilled into his budding mind that intense desire for knowledge and zeal for study which character- ized and influenced him throughout his entire life; and if the poverty which burdened them and the hardships they endured claim our sym- pathies, the outdoor life, the work in the field, or chopping wood, the hunting, fishing, planting, and harvesting, conduced to a strong and vigorous physical growth which was in some measure a compensation. It was this life, with its freedom and the continual and forced intimacy with a new and uncultivated country, as well as the struggle for existence, which made little '" Abe " such a perfect child of nature. It is well to remember that the devotion, affec- tionate and thoughtful spirit, that guarded the childhood days of little " Abe " lent a halo of glory to the humble home, and clothed the rude life with a charm which left an undying impres- sion upon the boy. It grew stronger as he reached manhood, and this mother-love, so full of " the milk of human kindness," blossomed out and found its full fruitage in the emancipation of a race and the glorification of a nation. AVlien '^ Abe " was seven years of age his FIRST PERIOD: CHILDHOOD 3 parents moved from Kentucky to Indiana in a " Hoosier " wagon drawn by two horses. There being no railroads in those days, the emigration to the Western States w^as accomplished chiefly in covered wagons which took on the name '' Hoo- sier '' for the reason that they originated in In- diana, the " Hoosier '' State. These vehicles were usually constructed from the long box farm-wagon used for carrying grain; along the sides of the wagon box long hoops were fastened and bent; over these, canvas or other cloth was spread and fastened tight at the sides, thus forming a sort of rounded-top tent. Into this kind of tented con- veyance the Lincoln family placed their effects, sleeping at night in the wagon and taking refuge in it from the heat of the sun or rain-storms. It was a common sight, even as late as 1860, to see on nearly every road leading westward, long lines of these tented " Hoosier " wagons moving over hill, through forest, fording streams, or threading across prairies following the " Star of Empire '' to the Mississippi River, and beyond to the Rocky Mountains and California. Little " Abe " no doubt enjoyed this moving life, and found delight in driving the horses and seeing the new country. During these first seven years the boy not only learned to work and was inured to hardships; he had also amusements of a rough but healthy sort. 4 LINCOLN IN STORY He played with a favorite liiinting dog, chased butterflies in summer, built little mud dams across the brooks, and sometimes accompanied his father on the hunt. The voices of nature were continually whisper- ing in his ears. The weird song of the forest, the trees swaying in the breeze or bending in the storm, the wild moaning of the cold winter wind, the silent fall of the snow for days, when they were shut in from the world, exercised an awe- inspiring influence on the mind of the wondering boy, and produced a feeling of reverence for the unseen hand which caused them. Little " Abe '' returned his mother's affection, was always willing to do any work required, and, responding to the magical influence of gentleness and love, learned thus early to do his duty cour- ageously and honestly, regardless of personal com- fort or pain. In spite of their great poverty and rude home, little " Abe '' flourished, grew strong and full of exuberant boyish spirit. His habit of going bare- footed a good portion of the year no doubt con- tributed something to his health, and thus we may think of his childhood as having been spent happily as well as usefully. SECOND PERIOD: BOYHOOD (1816-1819) CHAPTER II The boy at school — Kate Roby and the spelling class — Night studies by the log fire — Studying on a rail fence. The Lincoln family settled on Pigeon Creek, Indiana, in the spring of 1816, the father build- ing a log hut open on one side and without a floor. The nearest village where there was a post-office or store was Gentryville. Two years after they located there, a terrible disease, called the '^ milk- sick," caused the death of many people as well as cattle and calves. Abraham's mother died of that disease, as did also an uncle and aunt who lived near by (1818). About a year after his mother's death his father married again, and brought home a very kind-hearted and good woman who did all she could to make little " Abe's " life happy and useful. She soon became very fond of him, and, many years after, when he had become a famous man, she said '' he was the best and most obedient boy she ever knew." It was this good stepmother 6 LINCOLN IN STORY who influenced tlie father to let Abraham attend school, which he did for a few weeks during the winter of 1819. But he studied at home as well as at school, and soon became the best speller in the class. The next winter he also had a few weeks at school; but altogether he had in his whole life not more than four months at school. However, he was so eager to learn, and studied and read so industriously every minute he could find time, that he finally became one of the wisest and most renowned men of his age. During the short time he attended school a little incident occurred which showed Lincoln's kindly disposition to help others, even at the early age of ten. One day in the spelling class the teacher, a Mr. Crawford, gave out the word " defied.'' The first one spelled it d-e-f-y-e-d; the second also made a mistake, and then it came the turn of Kate Hoby, a little girl who was standing, op- posite to Lincoln, in the line on the other side of the schoolroom. She began cl-e-f-, and was just about to say ^^ y " when she glanced at Lincoln, who had been closely watching her. He had on a broad grin and pointed with one hand to his eye; the little girl quickly guessed his meaning and spelled it correctly with an ^' i." SECOND PERIOD: BOYHOOD Y It was wliilc going to this scliool that he composed many verses and rhymes. One of these rhymes was as follows : " Good boys who to their books apply Will all be great men by and by." Our beloved poet Longfellow must have thought of men like Lincoln when he wrote this veise. u l^[y^,^ Q^ great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time." His Night Studies by the Log Fire " Diligence is genius." — Bach. " Three fourths of genius is hard work." — Robert Collyek. AVhile living at Gentryville Abraham's father built another log house, enclosed on all sides, but they were so very poor they could not afford to have candles at night. However, they had a big- fireplace, which was built of bricks, at one end of the log house, and Abraham soon found a way to make a light by which he could read and study. He used to go out and get some logs of dry wood and ])ile them on the fire; then they would blaze up brightly and shed a strong light over the room. Abraham would then lie down flat on the floor, with his book in front of him. 8 LINCOLN IN STORY before the hearth, and thus resting on his stomach, his head npon his hand, he would read and study. In this way he read many times over the life of Washington, the Bible, ^sop's Fables, and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. It was before the log fire, night after night, that Lincoln in this manner studied his arith- metic, writing his sums with a piece of charcoal upon a large wooden shovel they happened to have in the house at the time. After covering it all over with examples, he would take his jack-knife or a plane and shave it off clean, ready for the next night's work. Paper at that time was very expensive, and a slate cost more than they could afford to pay, so Abraham used the wooden shovel for a slate, and for pencil (which they also could not buy), he used a piece of charcoal picked up from the fireplace. Thus, in spite of poverty, he succeeded in studying, and made rapid progress. Sometimes, when the shovel was not to be had, he wrote his figures on the logs along the sides of the house, on the door-posts, and any wood-work v/here his charcoal could be used. Thus his determination to learn and " be some- body" overcame the greatest difficulties — obstacles which few boys would have tried to overcome. This sublime will '' to do things," and help SECOND PERIOD: BOYHOOD 9 others, attracted the attention of the neighbors, and, despite his shabby clothes, he was greatly respected. John Hanks, who afterward worked wdth him in splitting rails, tells us something of the secret of Lincoln's education. He said: ^^ When Abe and I returned from work, he would get a piece of corn bread, take a book, and sit down to read even while eating; when he had a chance, in the field or at home, he would stop and read, always having some useful book with him.'' This was when Abraham was fourteen years of age. Liyicohi's Eagerness to Learn — Studying on a Rail Fence Captain John Lamar, who was a very small boy in one of the families where Lincoln was well known, frequently repeated the following anec- dote about little '^ Abe " during this period of his life: ^^ I was very fond of riding with my father to mill. One very hot day as we drove along the dusty road we saw a boy sitting on the top rail of an old-fashioned rail fence. When we came closer we saw that the boy was reading, and had not noticed our approach. '^ My father turned to me and said: ^ John, look at that boy yonder, and mark my words, he will make a smart man out of himself some day. 10 LINCOLN IN STORY I may not see it, but you'll see if my words dou't come true ! ' '' That boy was Abraliam Lincoln. This pic- ture of the little boy, sitting on the top of a rail fence, so busy with his reading that he did not even notice the farmer with his wagon and horses as they passed, shows that Lincoln had made the whole world his schoolroom, and there was no place that he did not find some chance to study and improve his mind. Lines written by Lincoln on the Leaf of his School-book IN HIS Fourteenth Year. Preserved by his Step-mother. Original in possession o/ J. W. Weik, THIRD PERIOD: YOUTH (1820-1827) CHAPTER III Lincoln's high sense of honor — He would not permit his sister to deceive her mother — Is nearly killed at the mill — Cap- tain Larkins's fast horse. AVhile still living near Gentryville, one morn- ing when Lincoln was going to work in the woods, with his ax over his shoulder, his stepsister, Matilda Johnson, who had been forbidden by her mother to follow him, slyly, and unknown to her mother, crept out of the house and ran after him. Lincoln was already quite a long distance from the house, among the trees, following a deer path, and whistling as he walked along. He, of course, did not know the girl was com- ing after him, and Matilda ran so softly that she made no noise to attract his attention. When she came close up behind him she made a quick spring and jumped upon his shoulders, holding on with both hands and pressing her knees into his back, thus pulling him quickly down to the ground. In falling, the sharp ax which Lincoln was carrying 11 12 LINCOLN IN STORY fell also and cut lier ankle very badly; as the blood ran out the mischievous Matilda screamed with pain; Lincoln at once tore off some cloth to stop the blood from flowing and bound up the wound as well as he could. Then taking a long breath, he said: '^ 'Tilda, I am astonished! IIow could you disobey mother so? " 'Tilda only cried in reply, and Lincoln con- tinued: ^^ What are you going to tell mother about getting hurt?" '' Tell her I did it with the ax/' she sobbed. ''That will be the truth, won't it?" To which Lincoln replied manfully: ''Yes, that's the truth; but it's not all the truth. You tell the whole truth, 'Tilda, and trust your good mother for the rest." So 'Tilda went limping home and told her mother all the truth; and the good woman felt so sorry for her that she did not even scold her. Lincoln goes to Mill and is nearly killed by his Horse Mr. Herndon," in his life of Lincoln, gives the following account of an accident that came very * Abraham Lincoln : The True Story of a Great Life. By- William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik. New and revised edition, with an introduction by Horace White. In two vol- umes. Illustrated, 12mo. Cloth, $3. D. Appleton and Com- pany, publishers. THIRD PERIOD: YOUTH 13 near rendering this book an impossibility. He says: " In later years Mr. Lincoln related the fol- lowing reminiscence of his experience as a miller in Indiana: One day, taking a bag of corn, he mounted the old flea-bitten gray mare and rode leisurely to Gordon^s Mill. Arriving somewhat late, his turn did not come till almost sundown. In accordance with the prevailing custom he hitched the old mare to the arm, and mounting it, commenced whipping and urging the animal on to the work. Exclaiming, ' Get up, you old hussy! ' he applied the lash with each turn of the arm. The old horse, finally resenting his frequent goadings, suddenly interrupted him in the midst of his exclamation, just as he had cried out ' Get up, 3^ou ' with a w^ell-directed kick, Avhicli struck him on the forehead and instantly knocked him senseless. The miller rushed in, and picking up the unconscious and bleeding boy, whom he thought dead, sent for his father. Old Thomas Lincoln finally came and loaded the lifeless boy in a wagon and drove home. Abe lay unconscious all night, but at break of day his attendants noticed signs of returning life; the blood began to flow normally, his tongue struggled to loosen itself, his frame jerked for an instant, and he awoke, blurt- ing out the words ^ You old hussy! ' the latter half of the sentence interrupted by the mare's kick.'' 14 LINCOLN IN STORY Mr. Lincoln considered tliis one of the re- markable incidents of his life. In speaking of it (as he often did) years after- ward, he explained the incident thus: '' Just be- fore I struck the old mare, my will, through the mind, had set the muscles of my tongue to utter the expression, and when her heels came in con- tact with my head, the whole thing stopped half- cocked, as it were, and was only fired off when mental energy or force returned.'' Captain Larkins's Fast Horse and Lincoln's Humor In the town, not far from where Lincoln lived, was a short, fat man called Captain Larkins. He was very fond of boasting. If he bought a pair of boots, he would say, '' They're the finest pair of boots in the town "; if he got a new wagon, '^ It is the best wagon in the settlement " ; when he bought a new harness for his horse, '^ It is the strongest and best-made harness in the place." By his loud talk and proud manner he made many people think he was a great man. But Lincoln did not like his bragging ways at all. Once wdien there was a holiday, and many farmers were gath- ered at the store in the village, Captain Larkins began to boast about his horse, telling the crowd that he had " the best and fastest horse in the town." This he repeated several times, and step- ping up to Lincoln, shouted out in a loud voice THIRD PERIOD: YOUTH 15 so that all niiglit hear it, ^' I have the best horse in the country. I ran him three miles in nine minutes and he never fetched a long breath.'^ Lincoln, then a tall young man, six feet high, looked down at the fat little man, and said: " Well, Larkins, why don't you tell us how many short breaths he drew! " This raised a loud laugh, and Captain Larkins got angry and declared he'd fight '' Abe " if he wasn't so big. He jumped around and made such a fuss that finally Lincoln quietly said, '' Now, Larkins, if you don't keep still I'll throw you in that water." CHAPTEE IV Lincoln's great strength and how he earned his first dollar, as told by himself — He saves a man from freezing to death — Attacked by negroes on the Mississippi River. AYhen Lincoln was seventeen years of age he had ah-eady attained his full growth, and was very tall. He hired out to a Mr. Gentry to help him with a ferry across the Ohio River, receiving thirty-seven cents a day for his labor. While thus working he wrote an essay on the American Government which attracted much attention at that time, and an article on temperance which was published in an Ohio paper. " Abe " was a very strong boy. It is said he could carry six hundred pounds at a time, and on one occasion he walked away with a pair of logs which three robust men could not handle. '^ He could strike with a maul a heavier blow, could sink the ax deeper into the wood, than any man I ever saw," said a gentleman who knew him at that time. It was while employed at the ferry, or during the time when he worked there (1827), that the 16 THIRD PERIOD: YOUTH 17 following incident occurred, wliicli Mr. Lincoln thought enough of to relate to the members of his Cabinet many years afterward, w^hile he was the President of the United States.* They were in the President's room at the White House, and talking over old times, when Lincoln said: '' Seward, you never heard, did you, how I earned my first dollar?" '' No," said Mr. Seward. " I never heard any- thing about it." '^ Well," he said, " I was about eighteen years of age, and belonged, as you know, to what they call down South the ^ scrubs.' People who do not own slave or land are nobody there; but we had raised, chiefly by my own labor, enough prod- uce [corn, wheat, turnips, pumpkins, eggs, and chickens], as I thought, to pay taking it down the river to sell it. After much persuasion I got the consent of my mother to go, and had built a flat- boat large enough to take a few barrels of things we had gathered to New Orleans. A steamer was going down the river that morning. As we had no docks in those days along the river, passengers or freight for steamboats had to be taken out in little flatboats. '' That morning I went down to the river to * Selected from Carpenter's Recollections, published by per- mis^on of The Independent. 2 18 LINCOLN IN STORY look over inv new boat, and wondering wlietlier I conld make it stronger or better, when two men with trnnks came down to the shore in carriages, and looking at the different boats, picked out mine and aske.d, ' AVho owns this boat? ^ I an- swered modestly, ^ I do.' ' Will von,' said one of them, ' take ns and the trnnks ont to the steamer? ' " ^ Certainly,' said I. I was glad to have the chance of earning something, and thought each of them might give me a couple of ' bits ' [a '' bit " was twelve and a half cents]. The trnnks were pnt on my boat, the men seated themselves on them, and I scnlknl them ont to the steamer. '^ They got on board, and I lifted the trnnks and pnt them on deck. The steamer was about to put on steam again, when I called out, ^ You have forgotten to pay me.' Each, then, took from his pocket a silver half-dollar and threw it in the bottom of my boat. I could scarcely believe my eyes as I picked up the money. You may think it a very little thing in these days, and it seems to me now like a trifle, but it was an important incident in my life. I could hardly think that the poor boy had earned a dollar in less than a day — that by honest work I had earned a dollar. The world seemed wider and fairer before me. T was a hopeful boy from that time." THIRD PERIOD: YOUTH 19 A Poor Man saved froin Death In this same year (1827), one very eold night in the winter, Lincoln and a friend were going home from Gentryville, where they had been during the day, wdien they found an acquaint- ance lying on the ground. He appeared to be asleep; they could not awaken him, and he could not walk. He was as helpless as a babe, having been drinking so much that he was " dead drunk." Lincoln said to his companion, '' Let's carry him to Hank's cabin; he'll freeze to death if we leave him here." But his friend refused to help him, and so Lincoln alone finally lifted him to his shoulder and carried him a long distance, nearly a mile, to the first house on the road. Here he warmed him and brought him back to consciousness. The poor man often said, ^^ Abe Lincoln's strength and kindness saved my life." Li March, 1828, ^i\\ Gentry, who had em- ployed Lincoln at his ferry, fitted out a boat with grain and meat for New Orleans. His son Allen w^as in charge, and ^' Abe " w^as hired to go along as ^^ bow " hand, his wages being eight dollars per month. This was a great event in his life at that time. He had a chance to see something of the world. 20 LINCOLN IN STORY Attached by Negroes on the Mississippi On tlieir way to New Orleans in their raft, Lincoln and his companion floated down the Ohio River, entering the Mississippi at Cairo. They guided their little craft during the day, keeping clear of sand-banks or sunken trees whose stumps and roots sometimes stood up menacingly above the rushing waters. The days usually passed quietly, almost dreamily, as they glided swiftly down-stream, passing forests, villages, farmhouses, and '^ nod- ding sawyers," with now and then a steamer which would create little billows that rocked them gently up and down. At night they would tie up at some landing or convenient tree. It was so warm they could sleep without coverings. One exceedingly dark night, after they had passed Natchez, they tied up at an obscure land- ing-place, with no habitation in sight. It was just such a place as robbers might choose for way- laying their victims. The clearing was covered with a growth of very tall grass, with a thick forest a little dis- tance away, and any one approaching the bank was completely hidden from view until it was reached. Lincoln and his young friend were lying down, THIRD PERIOD: YOUTH 21 but were not yet asleep, when a stir in the grass at a little distance broke the silence of the night. '^Listen!" whispered Lincoln, leaning for- ward on his elbow, and at the same time reaching out for a big club near him. " Somebody's coming! " softly answered his companion, at the same time bending forward and peering into the darkness. There was but a mo- ment of suspense, when several negroes sprang upon the raft. ^' Strike, Allen! " cried Lincoln, as he jumped to his feet and knocked the first one senseless. Then blow after blow followed quickly, with yells of pain, as one after another of their assailants were hit. ^' It's life or death," shouted Lincoln to his companion. But Allen Gentry needed no urging; he had been fighting with all his might, despera- tion and fear lending unusual power to his arms. The negroes, evidently taken by surprise by the vigorous defense, and suffering from the punish- ment received, quickly ran off howling with pain. " They will be coming back soon with more of their fellows," said Lincoln. ^' Yes," answered Allen, ^^ and probably armed this time." '' We'd better get away quick, for they'll make mince-meat of us in revenge for the licking we gave them," said Lincoln. 22 LINCOLN IN STORY So saying, both sprang ashore and loosened the raft, pushing off into the stream and getting as far away from the bank as possible. They were apprehensive lest their would-be robbers, smarting from defeat, would collect more men and follow them down-stream. After a couple of hours, as they heard nothing of their assailants, they tied up again, but this time on the opposite bank. Meanwhile the boys talked over their en- counter, Allen Gentry asserting that Lincoln's tremendous strength and rapidly delivered blows had probably saved their lives. FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD (1830-1836) DEEDS OF STRENGTH, BRAVERY, AND KINDNESS CHAPTER Y Lincoln rescues the pet dog — Builds a log house — Splits rails — Again goes to New Orleans — Returns to New Salem — Clerk for Mr. Ofifut — Helps to save three men from drowning. In March, 1830, the family moved from In- diana to Illinois. Abraham was just past twenty- one years of age, and a great tall man. The jour- ney was long and tedious, heavy rain and swollen streams rendering their progress very slow. They had, in front of their covered wagon, a team of eight oxen which Abraham drove, and a pet dog went along, trotting under the wagon much of the time. One day the little fellow fell behind, and failed to catch up till after they had crossed quite a large stream. Then missing him, they looked back, and there, on the opposite bank, he stood, 23 24 LINCOLN IN STORY whining and jumping about in great distress. The water was quite high and running over broken edges of the ice, for it was yet early in the spring, and the dog was atraid to cross. It would not pay to turn back and ford the stream again, with all those oxen and the wagon, just to please the dog; and so anxiety to hurry along decided them to go on and leave the animal to his fate. But Lincoln could not endure the idea of leav- ing the little fellow behind. So he pulled off his boots and socks, rolled up his trousers, and waded across the river, the cold water making his feet and legs ache terribly. When he got across, the dog jumped up into his face, licking it all over. Lincoln took the little fellow up, put him under one arm, and carried him over the stream in triumph. The dog's frantic leaps of joy, and other signs of gratitude, well repaid his rescuer for the cold wetting and pain he had suffered; when they got across the stream Lincoln put on his socks and boots again, and the little dog ran along by his side, barking his thanks and leaping up now and then to lick his hand. Abraham builds a Log House— Begins u'ork for Himself Upon arriving in Illinois the family settled in Mason County, five miles northwest of the town FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 25 of Decatur, on a bluff overlooking the Sangamon Iliver. The first months were spent in building a log house, clearing a field, planting it, and split- ting rails to fence in the place. Almost all of this work was done by Abraham, his father doing very little. Being now of age, Abraham (who hereafter we shall speak of as Mr. Lincoln) sought work for himself. He split three thousand rails for one man alone, walking three miles every day to his work. In March of the next year, Lincoln, John Hanks, and John Johnson hired out to a Mr. Denton Offut to make a boat and take it down the river to 'New Orleans. Finishing the boat in four weeks, they loaded it with pork in barrels, corn, and hogs, and reached a point opposite New Salem, April 19th, where the boat struck on Kut- ledge's mill-dam. Here it hung helplessly a day and night, when finally Lincoln's ingenuity got it over successfully, and they floated down to the Illinois River, thence into the Mississippi, and so reached New Orleans. It was here that Lincoln for the second time wit- nessed the horrors of slavery, being present at an auction sale in which colored girls were sold like cattle. He was so disgusted and indignant with the spectacle that he then took a vow to work with all his might against it. He now returned to his father's new home in 26 LINCOLN IN STOEY Coles County, Illinois, and accepted a challenge from a famous wrestler, Daniel Xeedliam, going to Wabash Point, where the contest took place. Lincoln came off the victor, throwing his man twice, and thus proving his superiority as an athlete by exhibiting powers of strength and en- durance of which he was always proud. Returning to Kew Salem, he took any work which offered, became clerk of an election board, and made a great many friends by telling funny stories. Finally, Mr. Denton Oft'ut hired him to take charge of his store. It was during this time, in the spring of 1831, before starting for Xew Orleans with his boat, that Lincoln played a prominent part in an affair that came very near ending in the death of three men. A Mr. John Roll, who lived in New Salem at the time, witnessed the incident, and frequently related it afterward. Mr. John RolFs Narrative An exciting adventure — Ijincoln helps to save the lives of three men. ^' It was in the spring after the deep snow, Walter Carman, John Seamon, and myself had helped ' Abe ' in building the boat for Mr. Offut, and when he had finished, we went to work to make a ' dugout ' or canoe to be used as a small boat with the fiatboat. AVe found a good log quite a FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 27 ways up the river, and with our axes went to work under Lincoln's direction." The river was very high and running swiftly. After the '' dugout " was ready they took it to the edge of the water and made ready to push her off, when, as the boat struck the water, Carman and Seamon jumped into it, each in a spirit of fun, wanting to get the first ride. As they shot out from the shore they found they were unable to make headway against the strong current, and Lincoln shouted, " Head up the stream and work back to shore! " But against the strong current they could do nothing. At last they began to pull for the wreck of an old flatboat which had sunk in the river a long time before, leaving a pole sticking out of the water. Just as they reached it Seamon made a grab and caught hold of the pole; but the canoe turned over, throwing Carman into the water, leaving the other man hanging to the pole. Quicker than it takes to tell, the swift current carried Carman down-stream. Lincoln raised his voice above the roar of the water, and shouted: '' Swim for the elm-tree down there! You can catch it! Don't get excited! Catch hold of a branch! " The tree stood out in the stream, which by the flood had risen up to its branches, and Car- man, being a good swimmer, caught a branch and 28 LINCOLN IN STORY pulled himself up out of the water, which was very cold, and had almost chilled him to death. There he sat in the tree shivering and chattering like a monkey. Lincoln, seeing that Carman was safe for the present, now called out to Seanion: '' Let go the pole, and swim to the tree. You can't hang on there much longer, and if you do you'll be too Aveak to swim! " Seamon didn't like to get into the cold water, but he knew Lincoln was right, and so he let go and dropped into the river. Lincoln called out: '^ That's right! Keep your breath ! Don't worry; you'll get there all right! There now, look out! Catch the branch! " Just as he got to the tree he reached out for it, but missed. Lincoln, and several who had gathered on the bank, held their breath in horror, for the man went under the water and they thought he would drown. But he came up again and made one more desperate effort, which was successful, and he soon climbed up into the tree beside Carman. Things were getting exciting now, and nearly all the people in the village came running down to the place; the two men were in the tree, wet and freezing, surrounded by a raging stream, the boat lost. Lincoln called out, ^' Keep up your spirits, boys, and we'll save you." And again: '^ Try and FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 29 keep your legs and arms moving as much as you can! Rub yourselves so as not to get cold! " Lincoln now got a rope and tied it to a big log that lay near by. He called everybody to come and help roll it into the water, and after this was done, he, with the help of several others, towed it some distance up the stream. A daring young fellow by the name of '^ Jim " Dorrell then took his seat on the log, and it was pushed out into the river. Lincoln said: " N^ow, Jim, we'll let you float down to the tree, and then you are to hang on to the branches and let Carman and Seamon get on; tlien we'll draw you all ashore." Lincoln directed the log so that it came to the tree just as was intended; but '^ Jim," in his haste to help his friends, fell a victim to his own good-will. Making a frantic grab at a branch, he raised himself foolishly off the log, which was at once swept from under him by the swift cur- rent, and he was soon perching in the tree with the other two men. The excitement on shore rapidly increased; here were three men now to be saved instead of two. Lincoln then pulled the log back up-stream, and, getting another piece of rope, called out to the men in the tree: " Catch this if you can when I throw it to 80 LINCOLN IN STORY you, for I am coming myself this time." He then took his seat on the log and said: '^ l^ow push it off as far as you can, and let the rope be loose until I reach the tree; then don't pull on it tight, but be ready to do as I tell you." Lincoln soon reached the tree, and, keeping a cool head, he threw the rope over the end of a broken limb and caught the other end in his hands. Then he pulled the rope tight, and pretty soon had the log and himself up under the tree where the men were sitting. '^ Xow, carefully," said Lincoln, ^' one at a time. I'll hold the log steady, while you drop down on her." The men were so cold and benumbed already that they could hardly move, but they soon man- aged to get on the log with Lincoln. Then he called to those on shore: ^' Hold the rope tight now; we'll swing oif, and the current will bring us pretty close to the bank." They shouted ^^ All right! " and Lincoln let go the rope which was around the tree. It proved exactly as he had said ; the log, with all four men on it, floated over to the shore, and in a few minutes they were safe on land. The excited people, who had watched the brave act, now broke into loud cheers for '' Abe " Lincoln; and he at once became a hero along the Sangamon Eiver, where they never tired of telling the story. FRONTIER EPISODES CHAPTEK YI Lincoln and the "Clary's Grove boys" — lie walks six miles to return six cents — Chops up a house for a barefooted man — The Black Hawk War — Lincoln elected captain — He saves the life of a friendly Indian. After Lincohrs votiirn from Xow Orleans, and while lie was still a clerk for Mi\ Oifnt, an episode oecni'red which settled his standing- in the commnnity most effectnally. About five miles from Xew Salem was a little village called Clary's Grove. The young men in the place were known as the " Clary's Grove boys." They were a terror to the neighborhood, doing many reckless tricks '^ just for fnn/' but they were good-natnred and friendly, not mean- ing really to do any one an injury. They wanted everybody to know that the ^' Clary's Grove boys " were the smartest, the best runners, the best wrestlers, could jnmp higher, and throw farther than anybody else. ^Fr. Offut, Lincoln's employer, felt very proud of his clerk. 31 32 LINCOLN IN STORY His strength, his cleverness in telling stories, and his superior knowledge Mr. Offiit often boasted of. He said he knew Lincoln could lift more, run faster, out-throw, and out-wrestle the '' Clary's Grove boys " or any one else in the county. The '' Clary's Grove boys " consequently felt it their duty to prove their superiority over Of- fut's clerk, and selected Jack Armstrong to '' throw Abe." Armstrong '' was as strong as an ox," and, they claimed, '' the best man that ever lived." Lincoln did not like to " tussle and scuffle," and '^ wooling and pulling " were also objection- able to him; but Mr. Offut had said so much that he felt in honor bound to accept the challenge. So one fine day a wrestling match was ar- ranged near Mr. Oifut's store, and all the people for miles around came to see the fun. Almost everybody Avas betting that Armstrong would beat " the long, thin fellow, Abe Lincoln " ; but as soon as they began to wrestle it was plain that, for once, the " Clary's Grove boy " had met his match. The two men wrestled long and hard, but both kept their feet. Neither could throw the other, and Armstrong, finally getting angry at Lincoln's endurance, tried a " foul." Lincoln at once saw his game, and quick as a flash, and furious with indignation, he caught him by the FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 33 throat, held him out at arm's length, and shook him as a dog might shake a rat. Armstrong's friends rushed forward to help him, although they knew he had done wrong, and for a niiimte it looked as though Lincoln Avould be overcome by force of numbers. But, facing the whole crowd, he backed toward the store and bravely defied them. His resolute and courageous manner, as well as his great strength, won their admiration at once; and what bid fair to end in a general fight, turned finally into a friendly hand-shaking all around, even Jack Armstrong declaring that '^ Lincoln w^as the best fellow that ever came to that town." Armstrong afterward proved him- self a true friend to Lincoln, welcoming him to his home and treating him with great hospitality and consideration. Lincoln's Honesty— He walks Six Miles to return Six Cents One night after closing the store, when Lin- coln was counting up the money he found he had six cents too much. After thinking it over a long time, he remembered how he had made the mistake in making change for a woman. who had bought a lot of things of him that day. As soon as he locked up the store he started out to find this woman, determined to return the money 3 34 LINCOLN IN STORY that nigiit before going to bed. She lived three miles in the conntry; but it was a nice clear night, the stars were shining brightly, and Lincoln walked out to the farmhouse, gave the Avoman the money, explained the mistake, and returned home happy to think he had done wliat was right, though he had gone on foot six miles to do it. At another time he weighed out a half pound of tea — at least he thought he did. It was at night, just before closing up the store, and the place was quite dark. The next morning, on en- tering tlie store, he found a four-ounce weight on the scales instead of the eight-ounce, which he thought he had used; so he knew he had given but half as much to his customer as he had taken pay for. lie at once weighed out four ounces more, closed up the store, and hurried off to de- liver the balance of the tea. Lincoln ''chops up^' a House and gwes Comfort to a Barefooted, Shivering Man Mr. Lamon, in his Life of Lincoln, tells a good story illustrating his disposition to relieve suf- fering : ^^ While living in ^ew Salem, one cold day in winter, Lincoln saw a poor fellow named Ab Trent hard at work ^ chopping up ' a house which !Mr. Hill had employed him to convert into fire- wood. FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 35 ^^ Ab was barefooted, and shivered pitifully while he worked. ^' Lincoln watched him a few minutes and said : '^ ' Ab, how much are you to get for this job? ' '' Ab answered, ' I am to have a dollar,' and, pointing to his naked feet, added, ' I am going to buy a pair of shoes! ' " ^ Let me have that ax,' said Lincoln. ' Now you go and get warm at the nearest fire, while I finish the job for you.' " So saying, Lincoln seized the ax and chopped up the house so fast that Mr. Hill and Ab were amazed when they saw it done. " Ab always remembered this act of kind- ness with the liveliest gratitude. " He afterward tried to vote for Lincoln, though he belonged to the opposite party, but his acquaintances got him drunk and then made him vote against him." Hoiv Lincoln was elected Captain — Hoiv he managed to get his Co^npany ''' Endicise'''' Mr. Offut's store was soon closed up, and again Lincoln was out of employment. About this time, when Lincoln was twenty-three years old, the Lidians, under " Black Hawk," came back into the State of Hlinois, and all the people living on farms and in small settlements fled in a panic to the forts and larger towns for protection. The 36 LINCOLN IN STORY Governor of the State called for volunteers, and Lincoln, with a number of young men from Xew Salem, enlisted to fight the Indians. There was a man in the company by the name of Kirkpatrick, who wanted to be captain. This man owed Lincoln two dollars for moving a lot of heavy logs, and when the election for captain oc- curred at Beardstown, 111., Lincoln said to a friend (a Mr. William Greene), '' Bill, I believe I can now pay Ivirkpa trick for that two dollars he owes me for moving those big logs. I'll run against him for captain." The vote was taken in a field, the men being commanded to gather around the one they wanted for their captain. AYhen the order was given, three fourths of the men gathered about Lincoln, to his own surprise, and he Avas thus elected captain. Years afterward, when he had become President, Lincoln said ^' he had never since then met with any success which gave him so much satisfaction." Lincoln knew nothing of military rules, and many years afterward he told many amusing stories of his experience as a soldier. One day he was drilling the men, and they were marching with twenty men fronting in line across a field, when he wished to pass through a gate into the next field. " I could not for the life of me," said Lincoln, " remember the proper word of command for get- FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 37 ting my company ^ endwise ' so that it could get through the gate; so, as we came near the gate, I shouted: ^^ ' This company is dismissed for two minutes, when it will fall in again on the other side of the gate!''' After he became President, Lincoln fre- quently enjoyed telling this story. Lincoln risks his Life to save a Defe^iseless hidian Lincoln's company had no chance to fight in the war, and did not take part in any battle; but while on the field, expecting to be ordered at any moment to march against the savages, Lincoln acted in a most heroic and honorable manner in saving the life of a good and friendly Indian. It came about in this way: '' One day there came into the camp a poor, old, hungry Indian, without any weapon on his person. He had with him a pass from the general in command, which proved that he was a good and friendly Indian; but this he forgot to show at first. '^ The soldiers, who had learned to hate all Indians, suspected him as a spy; and, angry be- cause the Indians had killed so many white people, they were about to kill him. ^^ When the old Indian saw their intention by their angry manner (for he could not understand 38 LINCOLN IN STORY their talk), lie remembered the pass for safe con- duct which he had with him, and brought it out and showed it to them. '^ But the men were blind with rage; they had come a good many miles to fight Indians, and this was the first one they had seen. They had made up their minds to kill Indians, and were not to be cheated out of their revenge by a little piece of paper signed by their commanding general. Besides, it might be a forgery, and not the real writing of the generaL So they said they did not believe it was a real true pass, and cried out: ^ Let us shoot him ! Let us shoot him ! ' ^' About a dozen soldiers grasped their guns, and cocking them, started to shoot him. They had already raised their w^eapons and were just about to fire, when Captain Lincoln, who had heard the noise, came upon them. He rushed forward, shouting out : ' Hold on ! hold on ! don't fire ! I command you to stop! ' And, springing in front of the men, he knocked up their guns with his arms and protected the Indian with his own body. " But the men were not inclined to obey, and Lincoln, now thoroughly aroused, wdth eyes full of defiance, shouted out: 'Are you soldiers! and would you murder a poor, defenseless old man? For shame! for shame! Such an act would dis- grace our State and country! ' FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 39 "Some sokliers shouted: 'He's a spy! He's a spy!' '' ' H he's a spy/ answered Lincohi, ' we will prove it, and he shall suffer death; but, until that is proven, any man who attempts to take his life will have to deal with me. Disband and go to your quarters; I will answer for his friendship myself.' The soldiers now lowered their guns, and went away, leaving Lincoln with the old man. '' The Indian then showed him his pass, which Lincoln saw at once was genuine, and so he told him to go and be free. The poor man could not speak his thanks, so he knelt down and kissed the feet of his liberator, and with many actions tried to show him his gratitude." ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS CHAPTEK VII Lincoln returns to New Salem — Candidate for the Legislature — Takes a store and studies law under difficulties — Fails in business — Is appointed surveyor — Postmaster — Bare- footed he studies on a wood-pile — Cradles wheat to win votes — Sad story of Anne Rutledge — Elected to the Legis- lature — Becomes a lawyer — The lightning-rod and For- quer's guilty conscience. At the close of the Black Hawk War, Lin- coln returned to New Salem, and in August an- nounced himself a candidate for the Legislature. Out of hvo hundred and eight votes in his town he received all hut three, but in the whole dis- trict his opponent received a majority. His defeat in no way discouraged him, for he had made a very respectable showing, and the almost unanimous vote of New Salem was very flattering. He now took a store with a partner, purchas- ing it on credit. All his spare time was spent in reading and studying law, for he had now made up his mind he would become a lawyer. 40 FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 41 In 1833 they sold the store out to another party. When he was in business, in between times, while waiting on his customers, Lincoln read and studied. Sometimes he would get only three or five minutes, and would turn aside from reciting his lessons to wait upon the people without ap- pearing in the least disturbed. Now, while out of business, he be- came, if possible, still more industri- ous, carrying his book with hi m wherever he went, reading and studying on the street, in the field, or in the forest splitting rails. One day, wdiile in the woods splitting rails, he received notice that he had been appointed a sur- veyor of lands. This was, indeed, good news to him, for it meant three dollars a day in wages — quite a large amount in those days. Lincoln knew little or nothing of surveying, but he borrowed books and the needed appliances from Mr. Calhoun, who had appointed him, and went to work studying hard, with the school teacher (Mr. Mentor Graham) to help him. Li .studying law on a log bench. 42 LINCOLN IN STORY a few weeks he reported for duty and made an honorable record as a surveyor. In 1833 he was appointed postmaster of New Salem. The letters were so few that he frequently carried all of them in his hat. Lincoln^ Barefooted^ studies Law on a Wood-pile — Elected to the Legislature — Becomes a Lawyer Before his appointment as postmaster, and while he was taking any work that offered, the following episode occurred, showing his deter- mination to become a lawyer in spite of his poverty. Mr. Herndon, Mr. Lincoln's law partner, re- lates the story as follows: ^' Russell Godby, an old man who was still alive in 1865, told me that he often hired Lincoln to do farm work for him. One day he was sur- prised to find him sitting barefooted on top of a wood-pile reading a book with so much interest that he did not notice him till he was close upon him. This being a very unusual thing for farm hands to do, he said : ' Lincoln, wdiat are you reading? ' ^^ ^ I'm not reading, I'm studying!' he an- swered. " ' Studying what? ' said Godby. " ^ Law, sir! ' w^as the quick and positive reply. ^^ It was too much for Mr. Godby, as he looked FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 43 at him sitting there, proud as a king, and he couldn't help exclaiming, ' Good gracious me! ' as he passed on." Lincoln cradles Wheat to irin Votes Mr. Row Herndon, formerly of New Salem, relates how Lincoln secured a number of votes for his candidacy to the Legislature (in 1834). He said: '' He [Lincoln] came to my house near Island Grove during the harvest; there were some thirty men in the field. He got his dinner and went into the field where the men were at work. I gave him an introduction, and the boys said they could not vote for a man unless he could make a hand [that is, take a scythe or cradle and mow]. " ' Well, boys,' said Lincoln, ' if that's all, I am sure of your votes ! ' " He then took the cradle and led the way all the round of the field with perfect ease. " The boys were satisfied, and I don't think he lost a vote in the entire crowd." An7ie Butledge, Lincoln's Betrothed — Her Death " The saddest chapter in Mr. Lincoln's life." Mr. Herndon, in his Life, relates of his per- sonal knowledge the sorrowful story of Lincoln and Anne Rutledge, which he terms " the saddest 44 LINCOLN IN STORY chapter in Mr. Lincoln's life," and we glean from it briefly tlie following facts: '* Anne Entledge was a beautiful girl, quick of apprehension, industrious, an excellent house- keeper, and by her modest, winning ways attached people to her so firmly that she soon became the most popular young lady in the village. A smart young business man by the name of McKeil, from New York State, who had a store and was pros- perous, fell in love with her, and they became engaged. When he had accumulated ten or twelve thousand dollars he determined to return to his native State to bring on his parents, brothers, and sisters to share his prosperity. " On the eve of his departure he confided to Anne that his real name was McNamar, and that he had changed it to McXeil for fear his fam- ily would follow him and prevent his success in business. They were engaged and he could keep nothing from her. As soon as he returned they would be married. On his way East Mc^N'amar was taken ill, and for a month was confined to his room. Upon finally reaching New York, after many delays, his father became very sick, and gradually faded out of life. At last he wrote to Anne; but meantime his long silence and the change of his name had aroused suspicion in the minds of her friends, and as each of his suc- ceeding: letters erew less ardent she began to lose FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 45 faith, and finally the correspondence ceased alto- gether. '' At this stage of the proceedings Lincoln be- gan his advances with sncli snccess that he was soon recognized as her approved suitor. His native modesty naturally impeded very rapid progress, but he escorted her to quilting par- ties, and at her house she would frequently sing for him, while her relations all showed that they favored Lincoln's suit. Thus eventually she was brought to reciprocate his passion, and, while consenting to marry him, she made it conditional that she should write Mc^amar and obtain his re- lease from her pledge. The slow-moving mails carried her letter to I^ew York, but no answer came back, and after many weeks she accepted Lincoln's proposal. Then Lincoln's poverty stood in the way; she must give him time to gather funds to live on until he could complete his law studies. To this she consented, and told her friends ' as soon as his studies are completed we are to be married.' Lincoln's great happiness, the joy of a devoted love, the comfort and sooth- ing influence of an affectionate caress, for which his soul hungered, were never to be realized. ^^ Li the late summer Anne Rutledge was taken sick with a burning fever, and soon all hope of her recovery was abandoned. Her brother related that she kept inquiring so continuously for Lin- 46 LINCOLN IN STORY coin, at times demanding to see him, that he was finally permitted to enter her room, where for an hour they were left alone. A few days afterward she died, and the effect on Lincoln is described by her brother as ' terrible/ He was plunged in de- spair, and wandered up and down the river and into the woods wofully and abstractedly, at times in the greatest distress. His friends feared he would lose his reason, and finally sent him to a kind friend, Bowlin Greene, who lived beyond the hills a mile south of the town. Here he soon re- covered his self-command, and in the years that followed he never ceased to be grateful for his friend's great kindness.'' Two years after the death of Miss Eutlcdge, Lincoln declared to a fellow-member of the Legis- lature that '^ although he seemed to others to en- joy life rapturously, yet wdien alone he was so overcome by mental depression he never dared to carry a pocket-knife." And seven years after that event, wdien called upon to speak at the grave of Bowlin Greene, he broke down completely, and was carried sobbing from the scene. That the death of his betrothed produced a deep wound and cast a shadow across the soul of Lincoln which never quite faded, can not be doubted. It was his first '^ grand passion," that lifted him up to the heavenly heights, from which FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 47 lie was plunged to the deepest deptlis of agony and despair; and thus the second great sorrow of his life became written upon his face, which sub- sequent events were to add to, until it became '' in repose the saddest face man ever saw." In 1834 he was elected to the Legislature, and had to borrow money to clothe himself respect- ably, so that he could attend the session. Again, in 1836, he was elected, and in 1837 he was licensed to practise law. John F. Stuart was his partner. Late in this year he delivered an essay before the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield, 111., on the Perpetuation of our Free Institu- tions, which, being published in the Sangamon Journal, created a reputation for him beyond the limits of that city. The Lighfning-Rocl and Forquers Guilty Conscience Joshua F. Speed relates that during the cam- paign for the Legislature of 1836 Lincoln made a telling speech a few days before election. '' The crowd was large, many friends and ad- mirers coming in from the country. The speech produced a profound impression; the crowd was with him. George Forquer, an old and respected citizen of ability, was present. Lie had been a Whig of prominence, but had recently joined the Democratic party, and almost simultaneously had 48 LINCOLN IN STORY been appointed register of the land office. Just at this time Mr. Forquer had completed a neat frame house — the best house in Springfield at the time — and over it erected a lightning-rod, the first Mr. Lincoln had ever seen. '^ At the conclusion of Lincoln's speech Mr. Forquer arose and asked to be heard. '^ He commenced thus: ^' ^ This young man will have to be taken down, and I am sorry the task devolves upon me.' '' He then proceeded to answer Lincoln's argu- ments in an able and fair, but patronizing man- ner. Lincoln stood a few steps away with arms folded, carefully watching the speaker, and taking in everything he said. '^ He was laboring under a good deal of sup- pressed excitement. Forquer's sting had aroused the lion within him. At length Forquer ended, and he mounted the stand to reply. ^^ His reply was characterized by great dignity and force, and I shall never forget the conclusion: '' ' Mr. Forquer commenced his speech by an- nouncing that the young man would have to be taken down. It is for you, fellow-citizens, not me, to say whether I am up or down. The gentleman has seen fit to allude to my being a young man, but he forgets that I am older in years than in the tricks and trades of politicians. ^^ ' I desire to live, and I desire place and dis- FOURTH PERIOD: MANHOOD 49 tinction, but I would rather die now than, like the gentleman, live to see the day that I would change my politics for an office worth three thousand dol- lars a year, and then feel compelled to erect a lightning-rod to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God.' " FIFTH PERIOD: THE LEGISLATOR —THE LAWYER (1837-1855) CHAPTER YIII Arriv^al in Springfield — Odd campaigning experiences — Help- ing a land hunter— "A small crop of fight"— The blue sock and Government money — The slow horse story — The marriage of Lincoln — His partnerships — Speeches for Clay — Elected to Congress — Saving two young men from dis- honesty. Mr. Joshua Speed, a very dear friend of Lin- coln's, relates in the following manner how at this time Lincoln made his first appearance as a lawyer in Springfield, with the intention of making it his permanent residence : '^ He had ridden into town on a borrowed horse, with no earthly property save a pair of sad- dle-hags containing a few clothes. I was then a merchant at Springfield, and kept a conntry store, selling pretty nearly everything that might he wanted in the country. " Lincoln came into the store with his saddle- 50 FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 51 bags under his arm. He said he wanted to buy the furniture for a single bed. The blankets, mat- tress, coverlids, sheets, and pillow, according to my prices, would cost seventeen dollars. '^ ' Perhaps that's cheap enough,' said Lincoln, ^ but, small as the price is, I am unable to pay it. But,' he added, ' if you will give me credit till Christmas-time, and my experiment as a lawyer succeeds, I will pay you then.' ^' ' Well,' I said, ^ suppose you don't succeed.' " In the saddest possible tone of voice he re- plied, ^ If I fail in this, I do not know that I can ever pay you.' " As I looked up at him, I thought then, and I think now, that I never saw a sadder face. " I said to him, ^ You seem to be so much pained at making so small a debt, I think I can suggest a plan by which you can avoid the debt, and at the same time attain your end.' '' ' Do you really think so ? ' said Lincoln, his face brightening somewhat. \ '^ ' Yes,' said I, ^ I have a large room with a double bed up-stairs which you are very welcome to share with me.' " ' Where is the room? ' said he. " ^ Up-stairs,' said I, pointing to a pair of winding stairs which led from the store to my room. He took his saddle-bags on his arm, went up-stairs, set them on the floor, and came down 52 LINCOLN IN STORY with the most changed expression on his face. Looking very happy, he exclaimed: '' ' Well, Speed, I'm moved! ' " Another friend took him to board without pay, and so, with the help of good, kind-hearted people, Lincoln began life as a lawyer in Spring- field. Story of Lincohi's Campaign Expenses, Seventy-five Cents In these days when honesty in political mat- ters is so rare, and w^hen each candidate spends so mnch of his own or other people's money to get elected to an office, it may be well to turn back the pages of history and read of the days when honesty as well as ability w^as rewarded in the field of politics. In 1838 there was a very exciting election in Illinois, and Lincoln for the second time was chosen for the Legislature by his party (the AVhigs). A number of his friends gathered to- gether and gave him two hundred dollars to pay his expenses. After the election w^as over and Lincoln had been successful, he handed back to his friend, Mr. Speed, the sum of one hundred and ninety-nine dollars and twenty-five cents, with the request that he give it back to those who had given it to him. He said: ^' I did not need the money; I made the canvass on my own horse; FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 53 my entertainment [board] being at the home of friends, cost nothing; and my only outlay was sev- enty-five cents for a barrel of cider which some farm laborers insisted I should treat them to! '' What a contrast this story of simplicity and honesty furnishes to the extravagance and dishon- esty that prevails in politics to-day ! Can we won- der that Lincoln was loved and admired by all who knew him, and that they got in the habit of calling him '' Honest Old Abe/' by which name he became generally known, and was afterward elected President of the United States? Lincoln demands Free Speech for a Friend who ivas about to be Mobbed It was during the preceding canvass that Mr. Lincoln interfered and protected his friend E. D. Baker from the fury of his opponents. This gen- tleman was speaking to a crowd in the court-room, which was immediately under Lincoln and Stu- art's law office. Just over the platform on which the speaker stood was a trap-door in the floor. Lincoln at the time, as was often his habit, was lying on the floor, looking down through this hole at the speaker. Baker, getting warmed up, made a sweeping charge against his opponent, which an- gered many in the crowd, and the cry of " Pull him down! Pull him down! " was followed by a forward movement of the men. Baker, his face 54 LINCOLN IN STORY pale with excitement, squared himself to meet the on-rushing and maddened men with a stout resist- ance, when, in the midst of the noise and confu- sion, a pair of long legs, with big feet, were seen dangling from the ceiling (where the trap-door w^as) over the platform, and in a moment the fig- ure of Lincoln dropped upon the floor. Picking up a Avater-pitcher in an attitude of defense, he shouted, '' Hold on, gentlemen ! This is a land of free speech. Mr. Baker has a right to be heard. I am here to protect him, and no man shall take him from this stand if I can prevent it." Imme- diately quiet was restored, and Baker was allowed to resume his speech. How Lincoln won the Fanner s Wife w'hile his Opponent milked the Cow In those days when men wanted to get an office, both the Republican and Democratic can- didates traveled together around the country from town to town, stopping at farmhouses in between and talking to the people, trying to make friends and get them to vote for them. A good story is told that shows Lincoln's clev- erness, and how, at this time, during one of his electioneering tourKS, he won the favor of a farm- er's wife, whose husband was a very important man in that county. One afternoon Lincoln and his opponent rode FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 55 up to this farmer's house on horses, which they put out in the barn themselves, the husband being away in a distant field at work. The good farm- er's wife invited them to take supper and stay overnight, as was customary. Now, each man wanted to win the good-will of the lady, because she, of course, had a strong influence over her hus- band; but for quite a wdiile neither seemed to suc- ceed very well. Finally it came time to milk the cows, and the woman, taking her pail, started for the barn-yard. Mr. Ewing (Lincoln's companion and opponent) now saw his chance, and, following quickly, he took the pail from her hand and insisted upon milking the cow himself. He thought by thus helping the woman to do her w^ork he would surely win her good-will; and so he sat down and commenced milking, chuckling to himself how he had got the better of '' Abe Lincoln." Once in a Avhile he would speak to the lady, wdio stood by the fence looking on; but after a time, receiving- no reply from her, he looked around only to see the woman and Lincoln leaning comfortably on the fence, and talking in a most friendly manner. Mr. Ewing now was naturally disgusted with him- self, for there he had to sit and finish his task, while Lincoln was having a good time chatting with the lady, and captivating her with his amus- ing stories. 56 LINCOLN IN STORY When Mr. Ewiiig finished, the farmer's wife ^' added insult to injury " by thanking him most heartily, not only for milking the cow, but also for '^ giving her a chance to have such a pleiisant talk with Mr. Lincoln! " Lincoln lends a Poor Acquaiiitance his Horse to take up some Land Lincoln always sympathized with the ^' under dog in the fight," and was never so happy as when he could help some one else to what he believed they deserved. AVhile he was postmaster at New Salem (carrying the letters around in his hat) he was overtaken one day, when about fourteen miles from Springfield, by a Mr. C^handler, wdiom he knew slightly. This man had already ridden twenty miles, and was hastening to reach the land office before a certain other man who had gone by a different road. Chandler explained to Lincoln that he was poor and wanted to enter a small tract of land which adjoined his; that another man of considerable wealth had also determined to have it, and had mounted his horse and started for Springfield. " Meanwhile, my neighbors," con- tinued Chandler, " collected and advanced me the necessary one hundred dollars, and now, if I can reach the land office first, I can secure the land." Lincoln, seeing that his horse w^as jaded and FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 57 in no condition to make the additional fourteen miles, at once dismounted from his own and turned him over to Chandler, saying: '^Here's my horse; he is fresh and full of grit; there's no time to be lost; mount him and put him through. When you reach Springfield put him up at Hern- don's tavern, and I'll call and get him." Chandler at once changed horses and hurried on, leaving Lincoln to follow on his jaded animal. He ar- rived in Springfield an hour in advance of his rival, and secured the coveted land. By nightfall Lincoln rode leisurely into town and was met by the jubilant Chandler, and between the two there sprang up a friendship which all the political dis- cords of twenty-five years could not disturb. A Pig, stuck in the Mud, is rescued by Lincoln While Lincoln was practising law he used to go from one town to another to try cases before different courts. There were no railroads in those days, and traveling " on the circuit " (going around from court to court) was done mostly on horseback. One day, when several lawyers besides Mr. Lincoln were traveling in this way, they came to a very muddy place in the road, and at one side, near the rail fence, was a poor pig stuck fast, and squealing as loud as possible. The men thought this very funny, and 58 LINCOLN IN STORY laughed at tlie unfortunate pig; but Lincoln said, '' Let us stop and help the poor thing out." ^^ Oh, Abe/' said one, ^' you must be crazy! Your clothes would look pretty after you had lifted that dirty pig up, wouldn't they? " The others all poked fun at Lincoln, and so they rode on until they were out of sight and hearing of the suffering beast. Lincoln rode on with them also, but little by little he went slower. He was thinking about the pig, and the farmer who owned him. He thought: ^' What a pity for him to lose that pig; he can't afford it! It means shoes for his little children to wear next winter." And then the memory of that pitiful squeal kept ringing in his ears. So, after going quite a long distance with the other gentle- men, Lincoln turned his horse and rode back all alone, to see if he could get the pig out. He found the poor thing still deeper than before in the mud and mire. So he took some rails from off the fence, and putting them down by the squealing animal, made a safe footing to stand on. Then he took two other rails, and, putting them imder the pig, pried him up out of the mud until he could reach him with his hands. Then he took hold of him, and, pulling him out, placed him on the dry land. As the pig ran grunting off toward his home, Lincoln looked at his soiled clothes with a satisfied FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR A'^D LAWYER 59 smile, as much as to say, ^' Well, a little water and brushing will soon make the clothes look clean again, and I don't care if the other fellows do laugh at me; the pig's out of his misery, and Farmer Jones's children won't have to go bare- footed next w^inter." "Ari Ahnighty Small Crop of Fight''' Lincoln wins a case by a humorous question. In Rice's Recollections of Lincoln, the Hon. Chauncey M. Depew relates the following story, which aptly illustrates the humorous as well as the shrewd side of Lincoln's character: '^ Lincoln was trying a case in Illinois where he appeared in defense of a prisoner charged with ag- gravated assault and battery. The complainant had told a horrible story of the attack, wdiich his appearance fully justified, wdien the district attor- ney, who was prosecuting the case for him, handed him over to Mr. Lincoln for cross-examination. Mr. Lincoln said he had no testimony, and unless he could in some way break down or discredit the complainant's story, he saw no way of winning the case. "' He had come to the conclusion that the wit- ness was a bumptious fellow, wdio rather prided liimself on his smartness in repartee. And so, after looking at him some time, he said: QQ LINCOLN IN STORY ^' ^ Well, my friend, liow inucli ground did you and my cdient here fight over?' " Tlie man quickly answered, ' About six acres.' " ' Well/ said Lincoln, with a twinkle in his eyes and a smile playing about his mouth, ^ don't you think that this is an almighty small crop of fight to gather from such a big piece of ground ? ' " This produced a laugh, which w^as finally joined in by the entire court, and the affair was ' laughed out of court.' " The Old Blue Sock and Government Money held in Trust One of the incidents which contributed to Lin- coln's fame for integrity, and won for him the sobriquet of '' Llonest Abe," occurred in connec- tion with the closing up of his affairs as postmaster at ^ew Salem. On May 7, 1833, he w^as appointed postmaster, and kept the place until it was discontinued. The balance of money in his hands which belonged to the Government was between sixteen and eighteen dollars. This small amount was overlooked by the post-office department and not called for until several years after Lincoln had removed to Springfield. During these years he had been very poor — • so poor, indeed, that he had been compelled FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 61 to borrow money of friends for the necessities of life. One day an agent of the post-office called at Mr. Henry's, with whom Lincoln at that time kept his office. '' Knowing Lincoln's poverty," Mr. Henry afterward related, " and how often he had been obliged to borrow money, I did not believe he had the funds on hand to meet the draft, and was about to call him aside and loan it to him, when he asked the agent to be seated a moment. He then went over to his boarding-house and re- turned with an old blue sock with a quantity of silver and copper coin tied up in it. ^' Untying the sock, he poured out the contents on the table and proceeded to count it, and the exact sum (and the identical coin) was found which years before he had received for postage-stamps from his friends in Salem. ^' All the intervening years the money had been placed aside in an old trunk, and, no matter how much he needed money, he never thought of using that which he held in trust for the Government. He never used trust fimds.^^ Two Little Birds retur^ied to their Nest Lincoln's great kindness of heart and his ex- treme sensitiveness to the pain and suifering of others, even of animals, or any living thing, are 62 LINCOLN IN STORY well known. AYe are indebted to his old Spring- field friend, Mr. Speed, for the following incident, illustrating this trait of his character which so en- deared him to his friends: He, with several members of the bar from Springfield, had been attending court at Chris- tiansburg, and Mr. Speed was riding with them toward the Capitol. There Avas quite a party of lawyers riding two by two along a country lane, and Lincoln and Hardin brought up the rear of the cavalcade. Mr. Speed relates: '^ We had passed through a thicket of wild plum and crab-trees and stopped to water our horses, when Hardin came up alone. " ^ Where is Lincoln ? ' we all inquired. ^' ^ Oh,' replied he, '■ when I saw him last he had caught two young birds which the wdnd had blown out of their nest, and he was hunting for the nest to put them back.' " In a short time Lincoln came up, having found the nest and placed the young birds in it. The party laughed at him, but he said: " ^ I could not have slept if I had not restored those little birds to their mother.' " The Wild-Boar Story and the Unjust Judge Lincoln's peculiar power as an attorney-at-law is well illustrated by an episode related by Mr. Herndon in his Life of Lincoln, wherein his feel- Il « bL ^ FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 63 ings of indignation were thoroughly aroused, and expressed in a spirited, at times eloquent, as well as humorous manner. He says: '' I remember a murder case in which we ap- peared for the defense, and during the trial of which the judge — a man of ability far inferior to Lincoln's — kept ruling against us. ^' Finally, a very material question — in fact, one around which the entire case seemed to re- volve — came up, and again the court ruled ad- versely. " The prosecution was jubilant, and Lincoln, seeing defeat certain unless he recovered his ground, grew very despondent. ^' The notion crept into his head that the court's rulings, which were absurd and almost spiteful, were aimed at him, and this angered him beyond reason. He told of his feelings at dinner, and said: " ' I have determined to crowd the court to the wall and regain my position before night.' " From that time forward it was interesting to watch him. " At the reassembling of court he arose to read a few authorities in support of his position, keeping within the bounds of propriety just far enough to avoid a reprimand of the court. He characterized the continuous rulings against him as not only unjust but foolish, and, figuratively 64 LINCOLN IN STORY speaking, lie peeled the court from head to foot. '' Lmcoln had the crowd, a portion of the bar, and the jury with him, and this nerved him to a feeling of desperation. He was, in fact, ' mad all over.' " He had studied up the points involved, but, knowing full well the caliber of the judge, Lincoln relied mostly on the moral effect of his personal bearing and influence. '' He was alternately furious and eloquent, and after pursuing the court wath broad facts and pointed inquiries in rapid succession, he made use of this homely incident to clinch his argument. He said: " ^ In early days, a party of men w^ent out hunting for a wild boar. But the game came upon them unawares, and, scampering away, they all climbed trees save one, who, seizing the animal by the ears, undertook to hold him. '^ ' After holding on for some time and feeling his strength giving way, he cried out to his com- panions in the trees: '' ' '^ For God's sake, boys, come down and help me let go ! " ' " The prosecution tried in vain to break him down, and the judge, badgered effectually by Lin- coln's masterly arraignment of law and fact, pre- tended to see the error of his former position, and FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LA\7YER 05 finally reversed his decision in his tormentor's fa- vor. Lincoln saw his triumph, and surveyed a situation of which he was master. '' His client was acquitted, and he had swept the field." Lincoln's " Sloic-Horse Story " Shortly before the election an artist, Mr. Alban J. Conant, of E^ew York, went to Spring- field to paint the '^ rail-splitter's " portrait. The painter found him in a large room of the State- house surrounded by clerks and messengers, with piles of letters and telegrams before him ; but, al- though he was extremely busy, he granted the artist a sitting of one hour each day. Mr. Conant de- scribes his face when " at rest as invariably sad and abstracted, but when pleased and interested this changed to one of animation and forcefulness." To gain his attention and keep his expression the painter told him stories, at one of which he laughed so heartily as to be heard throughout the entire building. Lincoln did not forget that story, and told it man}^ times after he became President, never failing to credit it to Alban J. Conant the painter. Lincoln called it the " slow-horse story. '^ It ran in this way: A lawyer in a Western town de- sired the nomination for county judge, and, on the morning preceding the evening on which the QQ LINCOLN IN STORY count}^ convention was to meet, applied to tlie livery-stable keeper in his village for a horse and bugoy in which to drive to the county town, six- teen miles distant, where the convention was to be held. " Give me the best and fastest horse you have, Sam," said he, '' so that I will have time to go around and see the boys before the convention comes in." The liveryman, however, was sup- porting a rival candidate, and gave our hero a horse that outwardly appeared perfect, but which broke down entirely before half of the journey was performed, so that, when the candidate ar- rived, the convention had adjourned and his rival had been nominated. On his return to the stable late the following afternoon, knowing that it was useless to resent the trick played upon him, he said to the owner: " Look here. Smith, you must be training this horse for the N'ew York market. Expect to sell him to an undertaker for a hearse horse, don't you, and at a good round price?" Mr. Smith protested that the beast was one of his best horses. "Oh, don't deny it!" said the candidate. " I know by his gait you have spent days train- ing him to pull a hearse; but it's all time wasted. He will prove a dead failure. lie's altogether too slow. He couldn't get a corpse to the ceme- terv in time for the resurrection." FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 67 Liiicohi marries — Partner of Logan; of Herndon — Makes Speeches for Clay— Elected to Congress On ^N'ovember 4, 1842, Mr. Lincoln married Miss Mary Todd at Springfield. This same year he enlisted in the temperance movement. The year before (1841) Lin- coln had retired from the partnership with Stuart, who had been elected to Congress, and associated himself w^ith S. T. Logan. In 1843 he severed this connection because Mr. Logan as well as himself aspired to be sent to Con- gress. He then took Mr. Herndon as partner, but did not succeed in getting the nomination to Con- gress. In 1844 he was a presidential elector, and made campaign speeches throughout Illinois for Clay and Polk; was nominated for Congress May 1, 1846, and elected. He opposed the Mexican War, considering it a war of conquest, unjust and unnecessary. On July 10, 1848, he wrote his partner a letter, in which the following wise sentence occurs: " The way for a young man to rise is to im- prove himself every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.'' He made aft^^/L^/Ce^ (T^O^c ? 68 LINCOLN IN STORY speeches for Taylor in XeAv England, also in Illi- nois, and after Taylor's election he introduced a bill in Congress looking to the emancipation of the slaves in the District of Columbia. It received no consideration. He was offered the position of Gov- ernor of the Territory of Oregon by President Taylor, but declined, and returned to his home in Springfield to practise law. Lincoln's Eloquent Appeal compels Tivo Young Men to 2jay for a Team of Oxen, though the Laiv rendered them, as Minors, not Liable for the Bill Mr. Ilerndon, Lincoln's partner, relates that in the spring of 1847 Lincoln, then a Congress- man, was employed by an old man by the name of Case to collect a note of two hundred dollars signed by Snow brothers, who, pleading the minor act, refused to pay it. The brothers did not deny the note, but, through their lawyer, pleaded that they were minors, and that old Mr. Case knew that fact when they gave him the note. Lincoln admitted all this, saying, " Yes, gentlemen, I reckon that's so.'' The minor act was read to the jury, and every one thought that Lincoln had given his case away, and would submit to the injustice to his client in silence, because the law plainly stated that minors could not be held liable for debt. Lincoln, however, arose, and in a quiet tone said: FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 60 ^' Gentlemen of the jury, are you willing to allow these boys to begin life with this shame and disgrace attached to their characters? If you are, I am not. The best judge of human nature that ever wrote has left these immortal words for all of us to ponder: " ' Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls : Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.' " Then, rising to his full height, and looking down upon the young men with the compassion of a brother, his long right arm pointing to the op- posing lawyers, he continued: " Gentlemen of the jury, these poor innocent boys would never have attempted this low villainy had it not been for the advice of these men." He then showed how the noble science of law might be prostituted, and with a scathing rebuke to those who thus belittled their profession, he concluded: " And now, gentlemen, you have it in your power to set these boys right before the world." Thus, pleading for the boys and their good name, he left the case to the jury, which with- out leaving their seats decided that the boys must pay the debt; and the latter, after listening to Mr. Lincoln, were willing and glad to do it. CHAPTEK IX Lincoln, the little girl and her trunk— His little son Willie runs naked from his bath— The widow's pension case— " Skin Wright and close "—He gives a mean lawyer some good advice — Gives his opponent's their case because it was just— His defense of William Armstrong. One morning, some time after Lincoln had re- turned to Springfield to practise as a lawyer, while he was walking down-town to his office, he noticed a little girl standing at the gate in front of her house crying as though her heart would break. He stopped and asked, ^^ What's the mat- ter, my little girl \ " ^' Oh, Mr. Lincoln ! " she exclaimed between her sobs, " I shall miss the train, because the ex- pressman has not come to take my trunk as he promised." And she burst out crying again. " That's too bad, that is too bad," said Lin- coln, patting her on the head. ^^ Where were you going?" he added. She answered, ^' I was going to visit my aunt with a little friend, and it's to be my first trip on the cars; and, oh, I have planned about 70 FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOK AND LAWYER 71 it and even dreaiiicd about it for weeks! And now it's most train time; my little friend will be waiting at the station, and auntie too; and " Here her sobs broke into her story, and her little body shook with the effort of crying so hard. Lincoln was touched. ^' How big is the trunk? There's still time, I guess, if it's not too big." Saying this, he pushed by the gate and up to the door. The little girl's mother showed him to the room, where there was a little old-fashioned trav- eling trunk, locked and tied. ^' Oh, ho ! " cried Lincoln. '' Wipe your eyes, and come quick. AVe'll catch the train yet, I guess." He picked up the trunk, threw it on his shoulder, and strode out through the yard into the street, the little girl trotting by his side, and dry- ing her eyes as she went. Pretty soon they heard the rumbling of the train approaching in the dis- tance, and the toot of the whistle. " Take my hand, little one," said Lincoln, '^ and we'll get there." So, hastening his steps, carrying the trunk on his shoulder and holding the little girl's hand, they hurried on and reached the station just as the train rolled in. Lincoln put tlie child on the train, kissed her good-by, and cried out, ^^ Xow, have a real good time! " ^<2, LINCOLN IN STORy How Little Willie Lincoln rmi mvay from his Bath Tub Lincoln was very fond of liis little boys, and enjoyed their pranks, often laughing at their childish ways. One morning during this period of his life in Springfield, when his son Willie was about three or four years old, his mother was giving him a bath in a big tub; the little fellow, screaming with fun, suddenly jumped away from her and scampered out of doors. His father was sitting on the front porch read- ing the papers, and hearing the noise, looked up, bursting into a hearty laugh at the comical sight. The little fellow, meanwhile, ran out into the street, and crawled under the fence into the field of young corn that was growing near the house. Lincoln sprang up from his seat, watching the boy's small pink and white legs twinkle along the sidewalk, and shaking with laughter. But his en- joyment of the fun was cut short by the mother's appearing on the scene, exclaiming: ^^ Run and catch him, dear, and don't stand there all day laughing yourself to death. There he goes now in the corn-field," she added; '^ run quick!" Sure enough, Willie was now running as fast as his little legs would carry him in between the rows of corn. Lincoln then started after him, and the little FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER Y3 felloWj screaming with delight, ran faster than ever. Meanwhile the neighbors had been at- tracted by the noise, and some were looking out of the windows and doors of the nearest houses, while some stopped on the sidewalk, all laughing at the chase of the little naked boy by his great, tall father, who was now quite a celebrated man. It took the father but a few minutes w^ith his long strides to catch the runaway, who, wdien he reached him, was laughing in roguish glee. Lin- coln picked him up, and covering his rosy little body wdth many kisses, tossed him on to his shoul- ders, put his legs about his neck, and so carried him in triumph back to his mother and the tub, to the gTcat amusement of the neighbors. Lincoln studies Shakespeare and Poetry During the six years following his retirement from Congress, Lincoln studied a great deal, de- voting much time to poetry and geometry. Shake- speare especially attracted him, and when travel- ing on the circuit, Lincoln was always the first to be up in the morning, many times his room-mates and fellow-travelers awakening to find him repeat- ing over or committing to memory some verses of poetry. Tell me, Ye Winged Winds, by Mackey; Im- mortality; and later, Why Should the Spirit of Mortals be Proud, were his favorite poems. Dur- 74 LINCOLN IN STORY iiig this period Elmer E. Ellsworth, of Zouave fame, was for a short time in Lincoln's office as a student of law. The Widoivs Pension Case — ^' Shin Wright and Close " At this time, while Lincoln was thus making a great name as a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, an old woman, crippled and bent with age, came hobbling into the office one day and told the story of her suffering and injustice. She related how one-half of her pension of four hundred dollars, all she had in the world to depend upon, had been kept by the pension agent (a Mr. Wright), who refused to give her the balance. Mr. Lincoln was so stirred up by the recital that he at once ])ut on his hat, and, walking over to the agent's office, made a demand for a re- turn of the money at once. This being refused, the suit was immediately brought before the court. A few days before the trial Lincoln refreshed his memory of the Revolutionary War by reading some parts of the history over again. He said to his partner, Mr. Herndon, before the trial: '^ You'd better stay until after my ad- dress to the jury, for I'm going to skin Wright and get that money back for the widow." After the poor old woman had, through her The Lincoln residence, Springfield . FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 75 tears, told her story to the jury, Lincoln arose and began his address by recounting the causes lead- ing to the outbreak of the Revolutionary struggle. He then drew a vivid picture of the hardships at Valley Forge, describing with minuteness the men, barefooted and with bleeding feet, creeping over the snow and ice. As he told of the cruel treat- ment of the old lady by the pension agent his eyes flashed with indignation, an eye-witness stating that '^ he never saw Lincoln so wrought up." Before he closed his speech he drew an ideal picture of the woman's husband, the dead soldier, parting with his wife at the threshold of their home, and kissing their little babe in the cradle as he started for the war. " Time rolls by," he said in conclusion ; " the heroes of '76 have passed away and are encamped on the other shore. The soldier has gone to rest, and now, crippled, blinded, and broken, the widow comes to you and to me, gentlemen of the jury, to right her wrongs. She was not always thus : she was once a beautiful young woman. Her step was elastic, her face was fair, and her voice as sweet as any that rang in the mountains of old Virginia. But now she is poor and defenseless ; ont here on the prairies of Iliinois, hundreds of miles away from the scenes of her childhood, she appeals to us, who enjoy the privileges achieved for us by the patriots of the Revolution, for our Y6 LINCOLN IN STORY sympathetic aid and manly protection. All I ask is, Shall we befriend her? '' At the conclusion half the jurymen were in tears, while the pension agent sat, ashamed, drawn up, and writhing under Mr. Lincoln's fierce invective. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the widow, who could not find words to express her gratitude to Mr. Lincoln. Lin- coln was so much interested in the woman that he became security for her costs, paid her way home, as w^ell as her hotel bill while attending the suit. He also sent her the money and would not take a penny for his services. Lincoln's notes for the case were as follows: " Xo contract. — ^ot professional services. — Unreasonable charge. — Money retained by the agent not given by the w^idow. — Kevolutionary War. — Describe Yalley Forge privations. — Ice. — Soldiers' bleeding feet. — The woman's husband. — Skin WrighL— Close:' Lincoln gives a Mean Man some Good Advice One of Lincoln's chief traits of character was his love of truth and justice. As a lawyer he would never take a case to defend a guilty man; but many times he would give his services for nothing in defending an innocent person. Mr. Herndon, his partner, tells of a case where a mean man came to see Lincoln about suing a FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 77 l^oor widow witli six children, and after hearing him state his case Lincohi said to him: "Yes, there is no reasonable doubt but that I can gain your case for you. I can set a whole township at loggerheads; I can distress a poor widow and her six fatherless children, and thereby get for you six hundred dollars which rightfully belongs, it ap- pears to me, as much to them as to you. I shall not take your case, but I will give you a little ad- vice for nothing. You seem an active, energetic man. / would advise you to try your hand at mahing six hundred dollars in some other way^ Lincoln's Candor — He glides his Opponents their Case because his Clients ivere in the Wrong A lawyer in Beardstown, Illinois, said, speak- ing of Lincoln : " He came into my office one day with the remark, ^ I see you've been suing one of my clients, and I've come down to see about it.' He spoke about a suit I had brought to enforce the fulfillment of a contract. I explained the case to him, and showed my proofs. He seemed sur- prised that I should deal so frankly with him, and said he would be equally frank with me. " He said my client was justly entitled to the decree of the court, and he would so state it at the trial ; and that it was against his principles to con- test a clear matter of right. So my client got a deed for a farm which, had another less honest 78 LINCOLN IN STORY lawyer been in Lincoln's place, avouIJ have been eaten np by the costs of the snit, and the final resnlt wonld have been the same.'' Lincoln's Defense of William Armstrong By this time Lincoln & Ilerndon had become one of the best-known and most reliable law firms in the State of Illinois. Their services were in great demand, not only because of the well-known shrewdness of Mr. Lin- coln, but also because of his honesty, his truthful- ness, and absolute reliabilitv. Before enterino; on the next period, which will be devoted to the poli- tician and statesman, it may be as well to relate here the story of Lincoln's defense of William Armstrong, although it occurred in 1858, after he had practically given up law practise for two years, and while he was engaged in the great cam- paign which resulted, two j^ears later, in his elec- tion as President of the United States. William Armstrong, the son of I_.incoln's old- time friend, Jack Armstrong (one of the " Clary's Grove boys," with whom he had wrestled at !Rew Salem), had been arrested for a murder in May, 1858, at Beardstown, Illinois. It appeared that Armstrong and a companion, after getting quite drunk, had quarreled with a man named Metzger, and that blows had passed between them. The day following the quarrel Metzger died, and two FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 79 serious wounds upon his head indicated that he had been struck by some weapon in the hands of another man. The evidence all tended to prove Armstrong guilty, though he stoutly affirmed his innocence, and stated that he had only struck him with his fist, and not very hard either. It was also shown that the man Metzger, on his way home with his yoke of oxen, had been hit on the head by the end of the yoke and knocked down. Still, one man swore that he saw Armstrong strike him with a sling-shot. Lincoln, responding to Armstrong's mother's appeal, left his campaign speeches and went down to see wdiat he could do to help the poor boy out of his difficulty, and if possible save him from the gallows. After he had talked with Armstrong, he was convinced of his innocence. When the trial came on, however, the testi- mony of one man was so positive that he had seen the blow struck, that Lincoln's case seemed hopeless. But Lincoln said, '^ How could you have seen him strike the fatal blow when, accord- ing to all the evidence, the quarrel occurred be- tween eleven and twelve o'clock at night, where there was no light of any kind near? " The man quickly replied, ^^ I saw it by the light of the moon." This seemed decisive, and Lincoln appeared 80 LINCOLN IN STORY for the moment to be discouraged. There was so much at stake, however — not only young Armstrong's life, but his widowed mother's happi- ness also — that Lincoln, after the court adjourned for the day, kept thinking and worrying over it. All at once he thought, ^' Suppose I can prove that the moon was not shining that night, and that therefore this man's evidence is false ! " So he hunted up the almanac, and before he went to bed that night he felt sure he would succeed in freeing his old friend's unfortunate boy. ^ext day when he opened his address for the defense he laid especial stress upon the testimony of this one man, and pointed out that his was the only direct evidence against the prisoner. After making it plain to the jury that with- out this man's moonlight story there was noth- ing upon which to convict his client, he said: ^' N^ow, gentlemen of the jury, I propose to prove to you that this evidence is absolutely false. I hold in my hand the proof that upon the night of the supposed murder there was no moon in the sky, but that it had set several hours before the time the fight occurred." He then handed the almanac, which he had brought with him, to the jury, and the sensation created by Lincoln's discovery was plainly shown in the faces of the men. The advantage he had thus gained he followed FIFTH PERIOD: LEGISLATOR AND LAWYER 81 up with an eloquent appeal in favor of Armstrong. He reminded them that old Hannah Armstrong, the friend of his youth, had begged him to de- fend her boy; that he had no other interest in the trial than securing justice for the prisoner. He was not working for a fee, but for the cause of right. He told the jury of his once being a poor, friendless boy himself; that Armstrong's parents took him to their house, fed, and clothed him, and gave him a home. As he went on with his per- sonal narrative his eyes filled with tears, his voice choked, and his tall form quivered with the pow- erful emotions that sw^ept over him as he thought of his own early struggles in life. The story, so pathetically told, moved the jury to tears also, and they forgot the supposed guilt of the prisoner in their admiration and sympathy for his advocate. On the morning of the trial, Lincoln had told the mother, '' Your son will be free before sun- down," which proved true, for the jury brought in a verdict of " E^ot guilty." The defendant's mother, Hannah Armstrong, speaking of it afterward, said: ''Lincoln had said to me, ' Hannah, your son will be cleared before sundown.' I left the court-room, and they came and told me that my son was cleared and a free man. I went up to the court-house. The jury 6 82 LINCOLN IN STORY shook hands with me; so did the judge and Lin- coln. Tears streamed down Lincohi's cheeks. I asked him after the trial Avliat his fee would he. ' ^yhJy Hannah,' he said, ' I sha'n't charoe you a cent, and anything else I can do for you I will (h:> it willingly without charge.' " SIXTH PEKIOD: THE STATESMAN (1855-1860) CHAPTER X Lincoln again enters the field of politics — Chosen to answer Douglas — Assists in organizing the Republican party — An audience of two — Challenges " the Little Giant " — The great speech on the Declaration of Independence — The question which defeated him for the Senate — " The bul- wark of liberty" speech — Nominated and elected Presi- dent — Prophetic soliloquy — He leaves Springfield — The plot to assassinate him at Baltimore. The outrages in the States of Kansas and Missouri in 1855, following tlie passage of the Kansas and Xebraska bill, which originated with Stephen A. Douglas and admitted slavery into those States, aroused Lincoln from his long silence; and when Douglas returned to Illinois as the lion of the day, and opened the campaign in Springfield with a speech in defense of his bill, which had been passed by Congress, Lincoln was chosen by his party to answer him. This he did with such great success that the Springfield Journal said : 83 84 LINCOLN IN STORY '^ The anti-Xebraska speech of Mr. Lmcohi was the profoundest, in our opinion, that he has made in his whole hfe. He felt upon his soul the truths burn which he uttered, and all present felt that he was true to his own soul. His feelings once or twice swelled w^ithin, and came near sti- fling utterance. He quivered with emotion. The whole house was still as death. He was most successful, and the house approved the glori- ous triumj^h of truth bj loud and continued huzzas." At the instigation of his friends, he followed Senator Douglas and made speeches either imme- diately after him in the same town, or by arrange- ment with him upon the same platform. Douglas, however, soon tired of his agreement, and begged Lincoln's consent to give up the mutual de- bates. Lincoln was elected to the Legislature during this campaign, but resigned, intending to run for the United States Senate. This he did, but was defeated by Lyman Trumbull. AVhile Lincoln was always against slavery, he did not sanction the methods of the abolitionists. He declared, " Let there be peace. Revolutionize ill rough the hallot-hox, and restore the Government once more to the affections and hearts of men hy making it express, as it tvas intended to do, the highest spirit of justice and liberty. ^^ SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 85 Lincoln assists in organizing the Republican Party in the State of Illinois Lincoln assisted in the organization and foun- dation of the Kepublican party in Illinois at a con- vention held in Blooniington, in May, 1856, mak- ing there an inspired speech and taking a bold stand against slavery. Upon his return to Spring- field a public meeting was advertised to ratify the work of the convention ; but so unpopular were his views at that time that only one person came, aside from Mr. Lincoln's own partner. A Republican governor was elected, however, and Lincoln re- turned at the end of the campaign as the acknowl- edged leader of the party in the State — the only man who had been able to cope successfully with ^^ the Little Giant ^^"^ as Douglas was called. Lincoln, nominated for the United States Senate, challenges Douglas to Public Debate In 1858 the Democratic party nominated Douglas again for the United States Senate, and the Republican party in its convention resolved ^' That Hon. Abraham Lincoln is our first and only choice for LTnited States Senator.'' In his opening speech at Springfield, June 17, 1858, he spoke as follows: " A house divided against itself can not stand. / heUeve this Government can not endure perjiia- nently half free and half slave. 1 do not expect 86 LINCOLN IN STORY the Union to be dissolved, I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all the one thing or the other/' Lincoln challenged Douglas to a joint debate, and seven meetings were arranged. These at- tracted the attention of the entire country, and gave Lincoln a national reputation. In the last joint discussion with Douglas, Lin- coln said : " Slavery is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eter- nal struggle between these two principles — right and wrong — throughout the world. ^' The one is the com- mon right of humanity, and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same spirit that says ^You work and toil and earn bread, and I eat it.' Xo matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king, who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 87 enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle." Lincoln's Great Speech on the Declaration of Independence One of the greatest speeches Lincoln made during this remarkable campaign was at Beards- town, Illinois, on August 12th, the subject chosen being the Declaration of Independence. After alluding to the suppression of the slave- trade by the fathers of the Republic, he said : '' These by their representatives in Old Inde- pendence Hall said to the whole race of men: ^ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created free and equal; that they are en- dowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' " This was their majestic interpretation of the economy of the universe. This was their lofty and wise and noble understanding of the justice of the Creator to his creatures, to the whole great family of man. In their enlightened belief, noth- ing stamped with the divine image and likeness was sent into this world to be trodden on and de- graded and imbruted by his fellows. '^ Wise statesmen as they were, they knew the tendency of prosperity to beget tyrants, and so they established these great self-evident truths, 88 LINCOLN IN STORY that when, in the distant future, some man, some faction, some interest, should set up the doctrine that none but rich men, none but white men, or none but Anglo-Saxon white men, were entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, their posterity might look up again to the Declaration of Independence and take courage to renew the battle their forefathers began, so that truth and justice and mercy, and all humane Christian vir- tues, might not be extinguished from the land. So that no man would dare to limit and circum- scribe the great principles on which the temple of liberty was being built. '' Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines conflicting with the great land- marks of the Declaration of Independence; if you have listened to suggestions which would take away from its grandeur and mutilate the fair sym- metry of its proportions; if you have been in- clined to believe that all men are not created equal in those inalienable rights enumerated in our chart of liberty, let me entreat you to come hack. Beturn to the foinitain whose ivaters spring close hy the hloocl of the Revolution. Think nothing of me; take no thought for the political fate of any man whomsoever, but come back to the truths that are in the Declaration of Independence. You may do anything with me you choose, if you will but heed these sacred principles. You may not only defeat SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 89 me for the Senate^ hut you may take me and 'put 7ne to death. ^' I charge you to drop every paltry and insig- nificant thought for any man's success. It is noth- ing; I am nothing; Judge Douglas is nothing. But do not destroy that immortal emblem of hu- manity — the Declaration of Independence." ^ The Question that defeated Lincoln for the United States Senate Against the unanimous disapproval of all his friends, Lincoln, at the Freeport discussion, asked Douglas the following question : '^ Can the people of a United States Territory in a lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the United States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the foundation of a State Constitution? " His friends said: ^'Douglas will answer it in the affirmative and will thus defeat you for the Senate." Regarding this Lincoln said to one of his intimate friends (evidently looking to the future presidency): '^ I am after larger game; the battle * Mr. Horace White, who reported this and other speeches of Lincoln for the Chicago Tribune, said of the above address : " It was his greatest inspiration. He was tremendous in the directness of his utterances. He rose to impassioned eloquence, unsurpassed by Patrick Henry. INIirabeau, or Vergniaud, as his soul was inspired by the thought of human right and divine justice." 90 LINCOLN IN STOEY of 1860 [the presidency] is worth a hundred of this." Lincohi argued with his friends that if Douglas should answer the question in the negative it would defeat him (Douglas) for the Senate; and if he answered it affirmatively it would prevent his election to the presidency in IS GO, to which both were then aspiring. Lincoln's judgment proved correct, for Douglas answered the '' Freeport question '' affirmatively, and was elected to the United States Senate by a vote of fifty-four to forty-six for Lincoln. But immediately Douglas's speech became known in the Southern slave States the entire press denounced his '^ Freeport heresy " in severe language, and it was this revolt of the Southern States that rendered Douglas's election to tlie presidency two years later impossible. The BulivarJc of Liberty Speech One of the most powerful and, in places, elo- quent addresses delivered by Mr. Lincoln during that great contest betAvcen the '^ Little Giant " and the " Rail-splitter," was delivered at Ed- wardsville, September 13th. Among other things he said: " What constitutes the bulwark of our liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battle- ments, our bristling seacoasts, our army and our navy. These are not our reliance against tyranny. SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 91 Our reliance is the love of liberty wliicli God has planted in iis. Our defense is in the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of hondage and you prepare your own limhs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you hare lost the genius of your oivn inde- pendence, and become fit subjects of the first cun- ning tyrant who rises among you.'' Lincoln's Prophetic Soliloquy " I know there is a God " — " I may not see the end, but it will come, and I shall be vindicated." The days preceding the election were days of intense anxiety to Lincoln. As the campaign went on, the opposition assailed him from every pos- sible standpoint. His enemies, unable to attack his integrity, scoffed at his humble birth, and called him an atheist, asserting that he was not a church-member and did not believe in a God. At this time, Mr. l^ewton Bateman, superin- tendent of public instruction in Illinois, states that Lincoln called him into his room, which was then in the State-house near his ow^n office, and, after locking the door, he said : " Let us look over this book. I wish particularly to see how the ministers of Springfield are going to vote." 92 LINCOLN IN STORY He thereupon produced a book containing a careful canvass of the voters of Springfield in which each stated his intention. The leaves were turned over one by one, and then he sat silently for some minutes regarding a memorandum in pencil before him. At length he turned to Mr. Bateman w^ith a face full of sad- ness, 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 members of the churches, a large ma- jority of whom 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 from his breast-pocket a !N'ew Testa- ment. ^' These men all know," he continued, " that I am for freedom in the Territories, free- dom everywhere as far as the Constitution and laws permit, and that my opponents are for slav- ery. They know this, and yet, with this book in their hands, in the light of which human bondage can not live a moment, they are going to vote against me. " I do not understand it all." Here Lincoln paused for several minutes, his features surcharged with emotion. Then he walked up and down the room in an effort to re- tain or regain his self-possession. Stopping at last SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 93 and speaking as tliongli to himself, his voice still trembling with the deep emotion which possessed him while his cheeks were wet with tears, he said: '' I know^ there is a God and that he hates in- justice and slavery. I see the storm coming and I know 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. 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 wall find it so. " Douglas ' don't care wdiether slavery is voted up or dowm,' but God cares, and humanity cares, and I care, and with God's help I shall not fail. / may not see the end, hut it will come, and I shall he vindicated, and these men will find they did not read their Bibles right." This was spoken as though to himself with a sad earnestness of manner impossible to describe. After a pause he resumed, addressing Mr. Bate- man : " Doesn't it appear strange that men can ignore the moral aspects of this contest? A reve- lation could not make it plainer to me that slavery or this Government must be destroyed. The 94 LINCOLN IN STORY future would be something awful as I look at it but for this rock on which I stand. " It seems as if God had borne with this thing [slavery] until the very teachers of religion have come to defend it from the Bible, and to claim for it Divine character and sanction, and noiv the cup of iniquity is full and the vials of wrath will he poured out.'''' Nominated and Elected President In the presidential campaign of '60, which resulted in Lincoln's election, Lincoln was in- vited to speak in New York and other Eastern cities. His speech in Cooper Union, New York, wdiich had been prepared w^ith much care and labor, pleased his partisan friends, and made a favorable impression on the general public, though the oppo- sition ridiculed him, the New York Herald being especially severe. Upon returning to his home in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln heard himself frequently men- tioned as a candidate for the presidency. To one friend he w^ote, '' I do not think I am fit to be President." But his friends in Illinois and the West would have it otherwise, and at the conven- tion held in Chicago, on the third ballot, Lincoln was nominated, and on November 6, 1860, he was elected President of the United States, by a vote of Photographed in 1860. SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 95 1,857,610, Douglas receiving but 1,291,571, Breck- inridge, 850,022, and Bell 616,121. Preparing to leave Sprutyfield—A Visit to his Aged Stepmother After the election, Lincoln remained quietly in Springfield at his modest home. Before leaving for Washington, to assume the duties of the Presi- dent, he paid a visit to his aged stepmother in Farmington, Coles County, and also to the grave of his father, leaving orders to have a suitable tombstone provided for it. His affectionate part- ing with the good old woman who had loved him so much in his boyhood days, and for whom he had always maintained a real filial devotion, was very affecting. With tears streaming down her wrinkled face, she gave him a mother's benedic- tion, expressing the fear that his life might be taken by his enemies. The scene was most im- pressive and left a deep feeling of sorrow on the soul of Lincoln as he returned to Springfield to make ready for his departure to Washington. He sold his household goods and rented his house. Lie said to his law partner, Mr. Herndon, as he was leaving the office for the last time, speaking of the sign-board which swung on the rusty hinges at the foot of tlio stairway: "Let it hang there undisturbed. Give our clients to understand that the election of a President makes no chaiit''e in 96 LINCOLN IN STORY the firm of Lincoln & Ilerndon. If I live I'm coming back some time, and then we'll go right on practising law as if nothing had happened." He also said to his partner, who w^alked with him to his home, that " the sorrow of parting from his old associations was deeper than most persons w^onld imagine, but it was more especially marked because of the feeling which had fixed itself in his mind that he would never return alive." Departure from Springfield and Fareivell to his Friends On the morning of February 11, 1861, the President and his party took the train for Wash- ington, the intention being to stop over at Spring- field, Ohio, Pittsburg, Buffalo, Albany, ^ew York, and Philadelphia. At all of these places he made short patriotic speeches which made an excellent impression throughout the country. At the railway station, before the train started, a large crowd of friends collected, though it was a stormy morning. Eesponding to their calls, Lin- coln stepped out upon the rear platform of the last car, and, pausing for a moment to suppress the evidences of his emotion, he made the following brief address: "Friends: ISTo one who has never been placed in a like position can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 97 2:)arting. For more than a quarter of a century I have lived among you, and during all that time I have received nothing but kindness at your hands. ^^ Here I have lived from my youth until now I am an old man. Here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed. Here all my children were born. To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. All the strange checkered past seems to crowd now upon my mind. So I leave you. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him shall be with and aid me, I must fail; but if the same omniscient mind and Almighty arm that directed and pro- tected him shall guide and support me, I shall not fail — I shall succeed. Let us pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now. To him I commend you all. Permit me to ask that with equal sincerity and faith you will invoke his wis- dom and guidance for me." The Plot to Assassinate Lincoln Immediately after the election of Lincoln, threats were frequently made by the people of the Southern States that he should not be permitted to take his office. These soon changed to the declaration that he should not live to be inaugu- rated. But the people of the North who had 7 98 LINCOLN IN STORY frequently been disappointed in the defeat of their own candidates for the presidency, and had always submitted to the law, supposed that these threats were the result of the great disappointment and chagrin of those office-seekers who thought Lin- coln, as the President, meant their own political ruin; and who, in the bitterness of their defeat, gave vent to their feelings in a thoughtless and hot-tempered manner. As the time for Lincoln's departure for Wash- ington approached, these threats had assumed a more definite form; and the press announced that there was a rumor in Washington that a plot was on foot to kill him before he should reach the Mr. Norman B. Judd and some other per- sonal friends of Lincoln in Chicago, as a result of these reports, engaged Allan G. Pinkerton, the detective, to ferret out the truth of the rumors; and men had already been sent to various places, nota- bly Washington and Baltimore, to discover the plot, and, if possible, prevent its consummation. On February 20th, while Mr. Lincoln and his party were in I^ew York city passing on their way to Washington, a female detective, acting under Pinkerton's orders, called on Mr. Judd at the Astor House, and presented him with such an array of evidence that he became convinced of the seriousness of the scheme. SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 99 The next day, after they had arrived in Phila- delphia, and at Mr. Jndd's suggestion, Mr. Pinker- ton himself met Lincoln and explained to him the situation. But the President could not believe it possible that his life was really in danger, and, in spite of Mr. Pinkerton's warning, did not then alter his intention to pass through Baltimore at the time already announced. Meanwhile the friends in Washington had not been idle, and, entirely independent of, and un- known to Pinkerton, had discovered the following plot in detail: A number of Baltimore ^' toughs '' and gam- blers, who sympathized with the secessionists, had secretly formed a conspiracy to kill Mr. Lincoln. They had already hired and partially paid some Italian murderers to stab him to death at Balti- more, either in the car in which he should be, or in the carriage in which he might be riding from one station to the other; this plan was practicable for the reason that the passenger cars could be freely approached from both sides as they re- mained standing on the tracks, and it was calcu- lated that an immense crowd w^ould be present surrounding the train. In this throng the hired assassins were to mingle, and with a number of ac- complices were to enter the car and stab the Presi- dent one after the other as quickly as possible. They planned to escape into the throng, and, 100 LINCOLN IN STORY ill the confusion, their numerous accomplices Avere to assist them. A huge ocean sailing-vessel lay in waiting at a convenient point near by, on which they were to get away from the country. In case the President should ride across the city, his carriage was to be surrounded by a crowd of his enemies, the horses stopped, and the horrible crime committed there. The son of William H. Seward (afterward Secretary of State under Lincoln) brought the above details of the plot to Philadelphia and re- lated his story to Mr. Lincoln and his friends on the evening of the same day (February 21st) that Mr. Pinkerton had shown him the evidence he had, with his male and female detectives, collected. After Lincoln had listened to Mr. Seward's story, he asked if he had had any relation to or correspondence with Mr. Pinkerton. Being assured to the contrary, he became convinced of the conspiracy, and finally decided to place him- self in the hands of his friends and comply with any arrangements they might make which would not interfere with his public engagements to speak at Lidependence Hall the next morning (AYash- ington's Birthday), and at Harrisburg in the after- noon."^ * In his speech in Independence Hall the following passage has a peculiar significance : SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN IQl Arrangements were accordingly at once made to foil the conspirators, absolute secrecy being essential, as the city government of Baltimore was in the hands of Lincoln's enemies; and while not openly daring to take part in such a horrible crime, the police would probably secretly aid in its accomplishment. It was therefore publicly announced that Mr. Lincoln's route to AVashington would bring him to Baltimore in the forenoon of February 23d, after the speech at Harrisburg, while it was secretly arranged that he should leave the latter place early in the evening, passing through Balti- more after midnight and arriving at the Capital early on the morning of the 23d. To carry out this plan the cooperation of the president of the railway company was enlisted. That gentleman ordered a special car with an engine to be in waiting at Harrisburg at 6 p. m. for Lincoln's use. He also held the regular 11 p. M. train at Philadelphia for Washington, order- " It was not the mere matter of separation of the colonies from the mother land, but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world for all future time. It was tliat which gave promise that in due time the weights would be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. . . . But if this country can not be saved without giving up that principle, I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it." 102 LINCOLN IN STORY ing tlie conductor to wait for an ^' important pacJcage.^^ After his speech before the Legislature at Har- risburg and while Mr. Lincoln was yet at dinner at the hotel, a carriage was driven up to a side entrance. Mr. Judd called him from the table, and Mr. Lincoln, changing his clothes, put on a Scotch cap, and, with a shawl upon his arm, quietly and without informing the other members of his party, entered the waiting vehicle with Colonel Lamon, of Springfield, 111., as his only com- panion. The ^' special " train (unlighted, except the en- gine headlight) was found waiting a little distance from the station, and they succeeded in entering it without attracting attention. They arrived at Philadelphia without incident a little after eleven o'clock, where they found the train for Washing- ton waiting. As soon as Lincoln and his friend boarded the train, where a section in a sleeping car was ready for them, the " important package " for Washing- ton was handed to the conductor, and the train started on its journey, the conductor himself being unaware of the fact that he was conveying the ^^ man of destiny " to the Capital. Lnmediately retiring to his berth, Lincoln was enjoying a good night's rest and passing through the enemy's coun- SIXTH PERIOD: THE STATESMAN 103 try at tlie very hour the assassins in Baltimore were completing the details for his murder. Lincoln and his companion arrived safely, and without disturbance, in Washington at six o'clock in the morning, where Mr. Seward and Elihu Washburne met them at the station with feel- ings of relief and gratitude, and conducted them at once to Willard's Hotel, where Mr. Lincoln was to remain until his inauguration. His arrival at the Capital surprised and dis- comfited the conspirators, but pleased and grati- fied the people of the North, who did not, until years after, realize the imminent danger to the life of their chosen President. Colonel Lamon, who accompanied Lincoln and was most urgent in his secretly passing through Baltimore, afterward discredited the entire story, and, in his work, states that Lincoln always deeply regretted yielding to his overzealous friends. He ridicules the idea and blames himself for the part he took in the '^ President's flight." SEVENTH PERIOD : THE PRESIDENT (1861-1865) CHAPTER XI Events leading up to the great civil war — Treason in the Cabinet of President Buchanan — The Southern Confed- eracy formed — War begun. In order that we may understand tlie great and difficult task which Lincoln had before him, it is necessary to briefly state the facts which led up to the great rebellion. After Lincoln's election in November, many of the Southern people concluded they would not be ruled by a '^ black abolitionist," as they called him. In December the State of South Carolina withdrew from the LTnion (seceded). In February, 1861, six seceding Southern States held a convention at Montgomery, Ala., forty-two persons only being present. These adopted a constitution, and elected Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens president and vice- president, thus setting up a government in op- position to the United States, especially for the purpose of protecting slavery. 104 SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 105 Meantime the President in office, Mr. Bu- chanan, was surrounded by traitors, who, while taking pay for serving and defending the Union, were using their power and positions to destroy it. Thus the Secretary of AYar, Mr. Floyd, sent to the States in rebellion all the guns and am- munition from the E'orthern States wdiich could be transported. The United States Treasury of ^ew Orleans was taken possession of by the State of Louisiana, and ^ye hundred thou- sand dollars robbed from tlie Government; Major Anderson, commanding a small body of United States troops at Charles- ton, S. C, was shut up in Fort Sumter, and a vessel sent secretly by the Gov- ernment of President Bu- chanan to carry them pro- visions, etc., was fired on ( fC^TuL~^C/Cu by the rebels, shot in sev- eral places, and, being unarmed, was compelled to return to New York. Traitors were everywdiere, and open threats were made against the life of Lincoln — that he should be killed, and never be allowed to be- come President of the United States. Thus actual iu-. Facsimile of draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 153 enlisted in the Confederate Army, and lias been severely wounded and taken prisoner by tlie Union forces. I have been searching for him ever since, following him to Louisville, Wheeling, "W. Ya., and thence to Fort Henry. Here I learn that he is in the hospital." The mother was anxious to see her boy, but only a short time before, orders had come from the \\'ar Department prohibiting any visitors to prisoners of war. The surgeon was sent for, and assured the faithful mother that her son would recover, and finally, to relieve her anxiety, the surgeon said: '^ Let me show you, madam, one or two of our prisoners' wards, so you may see for yourself how well our Government takes care of the sick and wounded enemies who are captured." The widow gladly accepted the invitation; but they had hardly entered the room when the anx- ious w^oman discovered her boy through the half- opened door of an adjoining room. Rushing forward, she exclaimed, '^ Oh, my blessed boy, I must see you if I die for it! " and quickly reached the cot where her' son was lying. The astonished surgeon followed, only to see her on her knees holding her boy's head on her bosom. The kind-hearted surgeon then turned away and left them together undisturbed. The lady soon returned to the office and said: 154 LINCOLN IN STORY ^' Oh, sir, my boy is sorry he joined the army, and wishes to give his parole never to enter the Con- federate service again. AVill the authorities permit this? May I go again to headquarters? '' ^' Certainly/' said the surgeon, and soon after she had a letter from the commandant to the Secretary of War. In two days she returned from Washington and told her story : " I took your note to General Hoffman, who went with me to Secretary Stanton's office. As we entered, the Secretary was writing at his desk. General Hoffman said : ' Mr. Secretary, this is the lady I spoke to you about. She wishes to consult with joii about releasing her son, a prisoner of war, wounded, in the hospital at Yovt Henry.' *' The general then left me alone. After a minute the Secretary turned in his chair and abruptly said, in a severe tone: ' So you are the woman who has a son, a prisoner of war, at Fort Henry?' " ^ I am so unfortunate,' I said. Then the Secretary shouted in a loud voice: ^I have noth- ing to say to you, and no time to waste over you. H you have raised up sons to rebel against the best government under the sun, you and they must take the consequences.' ^^ I attempted to tell him my story, but he SEVENTH PEEIOD: THE PRESIDENT 155 would not listen, and fairly jelled at me in an insane rage — '' ' I don't want to hear a word from you. I have no time to waste, and w^ant you to go at once.' '' I left," she said, '^ and am thankful I escaped alive. Oh! why are such men entrusted with au- thority?" and she sobbed as if her heart would break. After a moment of silence the commandant of Fort Henry asked if she could go again to Wash- ington? She answered, ^' Yes, but not to see that man." The next day he drew up a statement of the case, addressed to the President, askin^^ a parole for the boy, which the surgeon signed, as did also the lady. After an absence of three days she returned, with joy in her face and with tears glistening in her eyes. Handing the officer the paper with the order freeing her son written in pencil upon it, slie exclaimed with deep emotion: ''My boy is free! Thank God for such a President! He is the soul of goodness and honor." She then gave the commandant the order, which read as follows: " General: You will deliver to the bearer, Mrs. Winston, her son, now a prisoner of war at 156 LlNCOLx\ IN STORY Fort Henry, and permit lier to take liim where she will, upon his taking the proper parole never to take up arms against the United States. '' [Signed.] Abraham Lincoln." The lady then said : " The President treated me with the kindness of a brother. AVhen I was shown into his presence he was alone; he immedi- ately arose and, pointing to a chair by his side, said: ^ Take this seat, madam, and tell me what I can do for you.' I took the envelope and asked if he would read the enclosures. ' Certainly,' he replied, and proceeded to read the documents very carefully. When he had finished, he turned to me, and with emotion said : ^ Are you, madam, the unhappy mother of this wounded and im- prisoned boy? ' '' ' I am,' I said. " ^ And do you believe he will honor his parole if I permit him to take it and go with you?' he continued. " ' I am ready, Mr. President, to risk my per- sonal liberty upon it,' I replied. " ' You shall have your boy, my dear madam,' he said. ' To take him from the ranks of rebellion and give him to a loyal mother is a better invest- ment for this Government than to give him up to its deadly enemies.' ^' Then, taking the envelope, he wrote with his SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 157 own pencil the order wliicli you see upon it. As he handed it to me he said : ' There ! Give that to the commandant at the fort. You will be per- mitted to take your boy with you where you will, and God grant he may prove a great blessing to you and an honor to his country.' " The boy was soon removed from the fort, and, under the tender nursing of his mother, was able, in a few months, to resume his studies in a Northern college. How Lincoln '' Ploived Around^^ the Goveryior General James B. Fry related that upon one occasion the Governor of a State came to him full of coiuplaints against the President about the number of troops required from his State, and the method of drafting them. " I finally took him to the Secretary of War," said the general, " where, after a stormy and fruit- less interview with Stanton, he went alone to see the President. " After waiting some hours, anxiously expect- ing important orders from the President, or at least a summons to the White House to explain matters, the Governor returned, and said, with a pleasant smile, ^ I am going home by the next train, and merely dropped in on the way to say "Good-by!''' " He did not speak of his business interview 158 LINCOLN IN STORY with Lincoln, and as soon as I could see the Presi- dent I said: ^ Mr. President, I am anxious to learn how YOU disposed of Governor . lie went to your office from the AVar Department in a towering rage. I suppose you found it necessary to make large concessions to him, as he returned from you entirely satisfied.' " ' Oh, no/ replied the President. ' I did not concede anything. You know how^ that Illinois farmer managed the hig log that laj' in the middle of his field?' '^ ' To the inquiries of his neighbors one Sun- day, he announced that he had gotten rid of the big log.' '' ' " Got rid of it! " said thej^ " How did you do it? It w^as too big to haul away, too knotty to split, too wet and soggy to burn; what did you do?" ^' ' '^ Well, now, boys," replied the farmer, " if you won't tell the secret, I'll tell you how. I just plowed around it." " ^ Now,' said Lincoln, ' don't tell anybody, but that's the way I got rid of the Governor. I just plowed around Mm: but it took me three mor- tal hours to do it, and I was afraid every minute he'd see what I was at.' " Thus the great President had settled a difficult matter by simply entertaining the Governor with his wit and humour for three hours. SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 159 The Presidential Chin- fly Story* One day before Lincoln's renomination for the presidency, a friend spoke to liiiii of a certain niend)er of his Cabinet who was also a candidate in opposition to him. Mr. Lincoln said: '^ I don't concern myself abont that. It is important to the conntry that the department over which my rival presides should be administered with vigor and energy, and wdiatever will stimulate the Secretary of that department to such action will do good. '' My friend," the president continued, '' you were brought up on a farm, were you not^ Then you know what a rliin-fJjj is, '^ My brother and I," he went on, " were once plow^ing on a Kentucky farm. I was driv- ing and he held the plow^ The horse w^as lazy, but on one occasion he rushed across the field so fast that I, w^ith my long legs, could scarcely keep pace with him. On reaching the end of the furrow I found an enormous chin-fly fastened on him, and knocked him off. '^ My brother asked: ' Why did you do that? ' I told liim I did not want the horse bitten in that w^ay. ^ Why,^ said he, ^ that's all that made him go.' * Selected from Carpenter's Recollections, and published by permission of Tlie Independent. leo LINCOLN IN STORY ^' Xow," said Lincoln, ^' if Secretary has a presidential chin-fly on him, I'm not going to knock it ofl^, if it will only make his depart- ment go.'^ Making a Minister' out of Mud An incident illnstrating Lincoln's keen sense of the Indicrous, regardless of the character or position of persons or ideas caricatured, occurred during the last year of the war. About that time a delegation of clergymen waited on the Presi- dent in reference to the appointment of army chaplains. The delegation consisted of a Presby- terian, a Baptist, and an Episcopal clergyman. They said that the character of many of the chap- lains was notoriously bad, and they had come to urge upon the President the necessity of more dis- cretion in those appointments. " But, gentlemen," said the President, '' that is a matter with which the Government has nothing to do; the chaplains are elected by the members of the regiments." Xot satisfied with this, the clergymen pressed in turn a change in the system. Mr. Lincoln heard them through without a remark, and then said: '^ Without any disrespect, gentlemen, I will tell you a little story. ^^ Once in Springfield, 111., I was going off SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 161 on a short journev, and reached the depot a little ahead of time. Leaning against the fence out- side the station was a little darky boy, Avhom I knew, named Dick, busily digging with his toe in a mud-puddle. As I came up I said : ' Dick, what are you about ^ ' ^^ ^ Making a church,' said he. " ' A church? ' said I. ' What do you mean? ' ^^ ^ Why, yes,' said Dick, pointing with his toe. ^ Don't you see? There's the steps and there's the door, here's the pews where the folks sit, and there's the pulpit.' ^^ ^ Yes, I see,' said I, ^ but why don't you make a minister? ' '^ ' Laws,' answered Dick with a grin, ' 'cause I hain't got mud enough.' " Lincoln Writes a Pardon ichile in Bed Mr. Carpenter, in his interesting little book Six Months in the White House, relates the fol- low^ing: * ^' My friend Kellog, representative from Essex County, ^ew York, received a despatch one even- ing from the army to the effect that a young townsman whom he had induced to enlist had, for a serious misdemeanor, been convicted by a * Selected from Carpenter's Recollections, and published by permission of The Independent. 11 le^ LINCOLN IN STORY court-martial and was to be shot the next day. Greatly agitated, Mr. Xellog went to the Secre- tary of War and nrged in the strongest manner a reprieve. Stanton was inexorable. ' Too many cases of the kind had been let off/ he said, 'and it was time an example was made.' Exhausting his eloquence in vain, Mr. Kellog finally said : ^' ' Well, Mr. Secretary, the boy is not going to be shot; of that I give you fair warning.' '^ Leaving the AVar Department, he went di- rectly to the AVhite House, although the hour was late. The sentinel on duty told him he had special orders to admit no one whatsoever that night. "' After a long parley, by pledging himself to assume the responsibility of the act, the Congress- man passed in. The President had retired, but, indifferent to etiquette or ceremony. Judge Kellog pressed his way through all obstacles to his sleep- ing apartments. In an excited manner he stated that a despatch announcing the hour of the boy's execution had just reached him. '^ ' This man must not be shot, Mr. President,' said he. 'I can't help what he may have done! Why, he is an old neighbor of mine. I can't allow him to be killed.' " The President had remained in bed, quietly listening to the vehement protestations of his old friend (they had l)een in Congress togetlier). lie SEVENTH PERIOD at length said: ' Well, I don't believe feliooting will do him any good; give me that pen/ and so saying, he wrote out a reprieve which gave the young man another chance and a new lease of life." Thus it was that the kind-hearted Lincoln brushed official red tape aside and defied all prece- dent to save the lives of the soldiers. Lincoln and the Sick Drummer Boy Among a large number of persons waiting in the room to speak with the President on a certain day in November, 1864, was a small, pale, deli- cate-looking boy, apparently thirteen years old. Mr. Lincoln saw him standing, looking feeble and faint, and said: " Come here, my boy, and tell me what you w^ant.'' The boy advanced, 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 boy in a regiment for tw^o years, and my colonel got angry with me and turned me off. I was taken sick and have been in hospital for a long time. This is the first time I have been out, and I came to see if you could not do something for me." The President looked at him kindly^ and said: " Where do you live? " IQ4: LINCOLN IN STORY ^' I have no home/' replied the boy. "Where is jour father^" continued Lineohi. " He died in the army." " Where is your mother ? " " My mother is dead also. I have no home, no mother, no father, brother or sister, and '' — bursting into tears — " no friends; nobody cares for me." Mr. Lincoln's eyes filled with tears, and he said : "Can't you sell newspapers?" " 'No/^ replied the boy, " I am too weak; and the surgeon in the hospital said I must leave, and I have no home and no place to go." The President at once took out one of his own cards and wrote on it, " Take care of this poor bo}^," and addressed it to an official to whom his re- quest was law, saying, as he handed it to the boy, " There, my little man, you will find some one who will care for you." The wan face of the little drummer boy lighted up with a happy smile as he took the card and stammered his thanks, and he went away con- vinced that he had at last a true friend in the person of the President. The Poor Woman and her Tico Sons An instance showing the President's keen sense of justice occurred during the closing year of the SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 165 war, as related by a Mr. Murtagh, of the Wash- ington Republican. Said he: '' I was waiting my turn to speak to the Presi- dent when my attention was attracted by the sad, patient face of a woman advanced in life, who, in a faded shawl and hood, was among the appli- cants 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? ' ^' ^ Mr. President,' said she, ' my husband and three sons all went into the army; my husband was killed in the battle of . I get along very badly since then living all alone, and I thought I would come and ask you to release to me my eldest son.' '' Mr Lincoln looked in her face a moment, and in his kindest accents replied: ^' ' Certainly! certainly! If you have given us all and your prop has been taken away, you are justly entitled to one of your boys.' ^' He immediately made out the order dis- charging the young man, which the woman took, and thanking him gratefully, went away. " I had forgotten the circumstance," con- tinued Mr. Murtagh, '^ till last week, when hap- pening to be there again, who should come in but the same woman. It happened that she had gone herself to the front with the President's order, and 166 LINCOLN IN STORY ascertained that the son she was in search of had been mortally wounded in a recent battle and taken to the hospital. She found the hospital, but her boy was dead or died while she was there. The surgeon in charge made a memorandum of the facts on the back of the President's order, and, almost broken- hearted, the poor woman had found her way again into Mr. Lincoln's presence. He was much af- fected by her appearance and story, and said : '' ' I know what you wish me to do now, and I shall do it without your asking. I shall release to you your second son.' Upon this he took his pen and commenced Avriting the order. " While he was writing, the grief-stricken woman stood by his side, the tears streaming down her face, and passed her hand softly over his head, stroking his hair as I have seen a fond mother caress her son. ^^ By the time he had finished writing, his own heart and eyes were full. He handed her the paper, saying, most tenderly, and controlling his voice with difficulty: ^ Iv'ow you have one and I have one of the other two left; that is no more than right.' '^ She took the paper, and reverently placing her hand upon his head, said: ^^ ^ The Lord bless you, Mr. Lincoln! May you live a thousand years, and may you always be the head of this great nation.' " CHAPTER XV "It was the baby did it "—The President ejects an insolent officer— He reinstates a Union officer— A young officer compels Lincoln to obey orders— He repeats poetry for Mr. Carpenter— He replies angrily to Joseph Medill. The President was always very fond of little children. In Springfield he had one or two of his little boys with him nearly always. And when his favorite son Willie died, in February, 1862, the loss nearly drove Lincoln insane. He suffered so intensely and his grief w^as so great that his friends became anxious for his health. His love for little children, and kind consid- eration for the poor in distress, is well illustrated by the following anecdote, which was related by '' old Daniel/' the private servant of President Lincoln : A poor woman from Philadelphia had been waiting three days with a baby in her arms to see the President. It appeared from her story that her husband had sent a substitute to the army, but afterward, when intoxicated, was induced to 167 1G8 LINCOLN IN STORY enlist. U]3on reaching the post assigned to 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. Said Daniel, in relating it:"^ " She had been waiting three days and there wasn't a chance for her to get in. '^ Late in the afternoon of the third day the President was going through a passage to his jDri- vate room to get a cup of tea. On the way he heard a baby cry; he instantly went back to his office and rang the bell. " ' Daniel,' said he, ' is there a woman with a babe in the anteroom? ' ^' I said : ^ Yes, sir, and if you will allow me to say it, it is a case you ought to see, for it is a matter of life and death.' " Lincoln said: ' Send her to me at once.' ^' She went in, told her story, and the Presi- dent pardoned her husband. ^^ As the woman came out from his presence her eyes were lifted in prayer, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. I went up to her, and, pulling her shawl, said: ^ Madam, it was the baby that did it.' " * Selected from Carpenter's Recollections, and published by permission of The Independent. SEVENTH PERIOD: THE TRESIDENT 1G9 The President ejects an Insolent Officer That Mr. Lincoln could be firm in the cause of justice, as well as lenient in the cause of mercy, is shown by the following incident which occurred at the White House in 1864: Among the callers one day there appeared an officer who had been cashiered from the service. He had prepared an elaborate defense of him- self, and he consumed much time in reading it to the President. When he had finished, Mr. Lincoln replied that even upon his own statement of the case the facts did not warrant his (the President's) interfer- ence. Greatly disappointed and crestfallen, the ofiicer withdrew. A few days afterward he came again and went over practically the same ground without accomplishing his purpose. The third time he forced his way into Mr. Lincoln's presence, who, with great forbearance, again listened to the repetition of his arguments, but made no reply. The man evidently seeing in Mr. Lincoln's face no sympathy for him, turned abruptly and said: " Well, Mr. President, I see you are fully de- termined not to do me justice." This was too much even for Mr. Lincoln, who, without showing any feeling, quietly arose, and 170 LINCOLN IN STORY laying sunie papers upon the desk, suddenly seized the man by his coat-collar and marched him to the door, saying, as he ejected him into the hall, '' Sir, I give you fair warning never to show yourself in this room again. I can bear censure but not insult.'' In a whining tone the man begged for his papers which he had dropped. " Begone, sir," said the President. " Your papers wdll be sent to you. I never wish to see your face again." A Union Office?^ Reinstated hy the President The high sense of justice, as well as the political sagacity of Lincoln, is Avell illustrated by the following story told by Mr. E. AV. An- drews : '^ I was still on duty in the defenses of Balti- more when the presidential campaign of 1864 oc- curred. I had been a lifelong Democrat and I favored the election of McClellan, the candidate of my party. One evening in September, 1864, I was -invited by a few friends to go with them to a Democratic meeting. I agreed to go for a few minutes only. "' To my surprise and annoyance, I was called on by the audience for a speech. Being obliged to say something, I contented myself with a short expression of my regard for McClellan and stated SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 171 my intention to vote for him. I made no refer- ence to Mr. Lincoln and soon left the hall. ^' The next day an order came from Secretary Stanton, directing me to be mustered out of service. 1^0 reason was given, no opportunity for defense. '^ As I was and always had been a Union man, as I had a brother and three sons in the Union Army, and as I learned that my speech at the meeting, when reported to Stanton, had made him very angry and caused him to utter severe threats against me, I determined to go to Washington to find out the reason of his attempt to disgrace me. '' As no other pretext could be given for the Secretary's action, I resolved to appeal to the President. ^' I gave my statement of the facts to a mem- ber of Congress with the request that he would ask Mr. Lincoln whether the dismissal was by his order, knowledge, or consent. '^ He did so. The President immediately re- plied: 'I know nothing about it; of course Stan- ton does a thousand things in his official character which I can know nothing about, and which it is not necessary that I should know anything about.' ^^ Having heard the case, he added: ^' ^ AVell, that's no reason. Andrews has as good a right to hold on to his Democracy if he chooses, as Stanton has to throw his overboard. " ^ If I should muster out all my generals who 172 LINCOLN IN STORY avow themselves Democrats, there would be a sad thimiing out of the commissioned officers of the army. Xo ! ' he continued, ' when the military duties of a soldier are fully and faithfully per- formed, he can manage his politics his own way. We have no more to do with that than with his religion.' " ' Tell this officer he can return to his post, and if there is no other or better reason for his dismissal by Stanton, it shall do him no harm; the commission he holds will remain good as new. Supporting General McClellan is no violation of army regulations; and as a question of taste, choos- ing between him and me — well, I'm the longest, but McClellan is better-looking.' " Thus, Avith a jest, Lincoln disposed of a case which Stanton, in his ill-temper, would have made a great fuss about, and which would, without doubt, have caused Lincoln's own defeat at the election if he had supported him in it. By insisting that every soldier should be given perfect liberty to vote as he wished, the President made many friends and won the admira- tion even of his enemies. At the Battle of Fort Stevens President Lincoln Obeys the Orders of the Officer of the Day When the Confederate Army, under General Early, tried to capture the Capitol, July 11, 18 6-1, SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 173 the President and many of his Cabinet went out to witness the battle. Mr. Chittenden, the Registrar of the Treas- ury, relates the incident as follows: * " Leaving the ditch, my pass carried me to the fort, where, to my surprise, I found the Presi- dent, Secretary Stanton, and other civilians. " A young colonel of artillery, who was officer of the day [commander], was in great distress be- cause the President would expose himself, and gave no attention to his warnings. " The officer said the enemy had already recog- nized him, he knew, for they were concentrating ^1^_ r\^;<^o^X,rv. their fire on him, and a soldier standing near had just been shot through the thigh. " He asked my advice, for he said, ^ The Presi- dent is in great danger.' ^' ' What would you do with me under like cir- cumstances? ' I asked. * From Recollections of President Lincoln and his Admin- istration, by L. E. Chittenden. Copyright, 1891, by Harper & Bros. 174 LINCOLN IN STORY ^' " I would "civilly ask you to take a positiou where you Avere not exposed/ he answered. " ' And if I refused to obey you? ' I queried again. '^ ' I would send a sergeant and file of men, and make you obey/ he replied. " Then treat the President just as you would me or any civilian/ I said. " ' I dare not ; he is my superior officer. I have taken an oath to obey his orders/ the officer exclaimed. ^' ' He has given you no orders. Follow my ad- vice and you will not regret it/ I urged. '^ ^ I will/ he replied. ' I may as well die for one thing as another. If he were shot I should hold myself responsible.' He then turned to wdiere the President was looking over the parapet. ^' ' Mr. President/ he said, ' you are standing within range of five hundred rebel rifles. Please come down to a safer place. If you do not it will be my duty to call a file of men and make you.' ^^ ^ And you would do quite right, my boy,' said the President, coming down at once ; ^ you are in command of this fort, and I should be the last man to set an examj^le of disobedience.' " SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 175 Sitting for his Portrait— The President repeats Pas- sages from Shakespeare and other Poets — ''Why should the Spirit of Mortal he Proud f " That Lincoln was one of the best educated and most refined men who ever occupied the presi- dential office is proved beyond a doubt as we be- come better acquainted with his remarkable life. This is the more to be wondered at because he had practically no schooling, and never even saw the inside of a college until after he had become a distinguished lawyer. But he thirsted after knowledge. He never ceased to be a student; and even while President, with all the terrible burdens of war resting upon him, he was a frequent visitor to the Smith- sonian Institution, where llr. Joseph Henry, the superintendent, found him one of his most appre- ciative and interesting callers. Mr. B. F. Carpenter, the artist, who painted the great historic picture, Signing the Emanci- pation Proclamation, during the year 18G4, was, for six months, daily at the White House. Among the many interesting incidents which came under his observation nothing w\as more characteristic than the President's great fondness for poetry. At one sitting, Lincoln repeated from memory the king's soliloquy from Hamlet, conmiencing with the line, ^' Oh, my oifense is rank, it smells to heaven." 176 LINCOLN IN STORY lie then quoted from tlie play of Richard III the soliloquy and other lines, showing himself fa- miliar with tliese and other works of the " bard of Avon." At this sitting, at the request of Mr. Carpenter, he repeated one of his most favorite poems, which through Lincoln's fondness for it has become famous. It is given herewith for its lofty sentiment, its general tone of sadness, no less than the beauty of its thought; the simple directness of its expression illustrates in an ad- mirable manner the character of the great martyr President. OH! WHY SHOULD THE SPIRIT OF MORTAL BE PROUD f BY WILLIAM KNOX Oh ! 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 from 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 affection who proved ; The husband, that mother and infant who blest — Each, all, are away to their dwellings of rest. The hand of the king that the scepter hath borne, The brow of the priest that the miter has worn, The eye of the sage, and the heart of the brave. Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave. SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 177 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. So the multitude goes — like the flower or 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 ; We 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. 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. 'Tis a wink of an eye — 'tis 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 — Oh ! why should the spirit of mortal be proud ? Upon another occasion an actor who, like many others, thought the President merely a vul- gar ignoramus, upon being introduced to Lincoln, was astonished at his great knowledge of Shake- 13 178 LINCOLN IN STORY speare's plavs, ar.d at liis readv and just criticism of Mr. Hackett, the Falstaff of his time^ of whom the President said: '' Ilackett's lack of informa- tion regarding Shakespeare's phivs cansed me to doubt that he had ever read the text." The actor found tlie President a l)etter Sliakespearean schoL^r tlian liimself, and afterward tlianked his friend foi' pei-mitting liim to know the President as a gentleman and a scholar. Lincohis Angry Reply to Joseph MediU and his Chicago Friends During the last years of the great war the tremendous strain and worry had commenced to undermine the health of the President. He passed many sleepless nights and suffered terribly, especially during the awful battles which caused so much loss of life and misery. He became at times almost ill-tempered, irritable we should say, because of the fearful mental strain and nervous exhaustion consequent upon his great respon- sibilities. To a lady whose son's life he had saved, and who in gratitude exclaimed, " May Heaven bring you reward and peace! " he said, with bowed head, as though his burden was too great to bear: "I shall never know^ peace again.'' Of this period of worry and weariness the fol- lowing anecdote, related by Miss Ida M. Tarbell, SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 179 in her most interesting articles in McCliire's Maga- zine, exhibits the Martyr President in a different but none the less human and interesting aspect.^ She writes: ''The late Joseph Medill, the editor of the Chicago Tribune, once told me how he and cer- tain leading citizens of Chicago went to Lincoln to ask that the quota of Cook County be reduced. '' ' In 1864, when the call for extra troops came, Chicago revolted,' said Mr. Medill. ' She had already sent twenty-two thousand men up to that time, and was drained. When the new call came, there were no young men to go — no aliens except what were bought. The citizens held a mass meeting, and appointed three persons, of whom I was one, to go to Washington and ask Stanton to give Cook County a new enrolment. I begged off; but the committee insisted, so I went. On reaching Washington, we went to Stan- ton wdtli our statement. He refused entirely to give us the desired aid. Then we went to Lin- coln. '^ I can not do it," he said, " but I will go with you to Stanton and hear the arguments of both sides." So we all went over to the War De- partment together. Stanton and General Fry were there, and they, of course, contended that * From Miss Tarbell's Life of Lincoln, by permission of McClure, Phillips & Co., publishers. 180 LINCOLN IN STORY the quota sliould not be changed. The argument went on for some time, and finally was referred to Lincoln, who had been sitting silently listen- ing. I shall never forget how he suddenly lifted his head and turned on us a ])lack and frowning face. '' ^ " Gentlemen/' he said, in a voice full of bit- terness, '' after Boston, Chicago has been the chief instrument in bringing this war on the country. The N^orthwest has opposed the South as New England has opposed the South. It was you who are largely responsible for making blood flow as it has. You called for war until we had it. You called for emancipation, and T have given it to you. Whatever you have asked you have had. Now you come here begging to be let off from the call for men which I have made to carry out the war you have demanded. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I have a right to expect better things of you. Go home and raise your six thousand extra men. And you, Medill, you are acting like a coward. You and your Tribune have had more influence than any paper in the Northwest in making this war. You can influ- ence great masses, and yet you cry to be spared at a moment when your cause is suffering. Go home and send us those men." ^' ^ I couldn't say anything. It was the first time I ever was whipped, and I didn't have an SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 181 answer. We all got up and went out, and wlien the door closed, one of my colleagues said: '' Well, gentlemen, the old man is right. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves. Let us never say anything about this, but go home and raise the men." And we did — six thousand men — making twenty-eight thousand in the war from a city of one hundred and fifty-six thousand. But there might have been crape on every door almost in Chicago, for every family had lost a son or a husband. I lost two brothers. It was hard for the mothers.' " CHAPTEK XVI SHORT STORIES, IDEAS, AND QUOTATIONS Lincoln's own estimate of his mental powers — Sentence of Cal- houn's speech — General Grant's whisky — His reply to a titled applicant — Canvased hams — The jack-knife story — Brigadiers and horses — Size of the Confederate Army— " There's one of my children isn't dead yet ! " — The strict judge — " On the Lord's side " — The henpecked husband — " How many legs will a sheep have ? " — The three pig- eons on a fence — " Not rebels, but Confederates." Mr. Speed, Lincoln's old Springfield friend, says: ^' He read law, liistory, pliilosopliy, and poetry — Burns, Byron, Milton, or Shakespeare — and the newspapers, retaining them all about as well as an ordinary man Avould any one of them who made any one of them a study. I once re- marked to him that his mind was a wonder to me; that impressions Avere easily made upon it and never effaced. '^ ' 'No/ said he, ' you are mistaken. I am sloAV to learn and slow to forget that which I have learned. My mind is like a piece of steel — very hard to scratch anything on it, and almost 183 SEVENTH PERIOD; THE PRESIDENT 1S3 impossible after you get it tliere to rub it out.' '^ a Mr. Speed added: "The Leauty of Ids char- acter was its entire simplicity. He had no affecta- tion in anything." Lincoln greatly admired a sentence from Cal- honn's speech replying to Mr. Clay, in the Sen- ate in which Mr. Clay had quoted precedent: Mr' Calhoun replied that "to legislate upon prece- dent is to make the error of yesterday the law of *""*^"'''' Geneml Grants Whisky Just after the battle of Pittshurg Landing a «elf-constituted committee of prohibitionists took it upon themselves to visit the President and urge the removal of Grant. The President, ^greatly surprised, inquired for what reason. Why, replied the spokesman, "he drinks too much whisky." . , " \h' " rejoined Lincoln, dropping his lower iaw; "bv the way, gentlemen, can any one of you telf.ue where General Grant procures his peculiar whisky, because if I can find out I will send every general in the field a barrel of it. Noble Titles no Obstacle to Advancement Lincoln's dry humor is very aptly illustrated by the following: During the latter part of the war a former lieutenant in a foreign army, whose 184 LINCOLN IN STORY debts had compelled him to leave his native land, was admitted to the President and offered his serv- ices in the Union Army. Lincoln accepted the offer and promised him a conunission. The yonng man was so elated at his success that he could not resist the desire to exploit his title of nobility, and said, in an appropriately modest and deprecating manner: '' Mr. President, in my own country my family is noble, and I bear a title of very ancient nobility. I " Mr. Lincoln here, wdth a twinkle in his eye, interrupted in a friendly and reassuring manner, saying : '^ Oh, never mind that; you will find tJiat to be no obstacle to your advancement." Canvased Hams Mr. Lincoln was always ready to laugh at the expense of his own person. One evening at the White House when dressed for a State dinner, conversing with some gentlemen, he held up his big, long hands, encased in white kid gloves, re- marking with a laugh: '^ One of my Illinois friends could never see my hands in this pre- dicament without being reminded of canvased hams! " The Jack-knife Story He used to tell the following story with great glee: SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 185 ^' In the days when I used to be on the cir- cuit, I was once accosted in the cars by a stranger, who said: ^' ^ Excuse me, sir, but 1 have an artick' which belongs to you.' "' ' How is that? ' I asked, considerably aston- ished. " The stranger took a jack-knife from his pocket. ^' ' This knife,' said he, ' was placed in my hands some years ago, and with the injunction that I was to keep it until I found a man uglier- looking than myself. I have carried it from that time to this; allow me now to say, sir, that I think you are fairly entitled to the property.' " Brigadiers and Horses Of a juvenile brigadier-general who, wdtli his horse, had been captured by the Confederates, Lin- coln said to a friend who brought him the new^s: " I am sorry to lose the horse." ^MYhat do you mean?" inquired his friend. " Why, I mean," replied Lincoln, '' that I can make a better brigadier-general any day; but those horses cost the Government one hundred and twenty-five dollars a head." The Size of the Confederate Army Toward the latter part of the war a gentleman asked the President how larc-e the Confederate 186 LINCOLN IN STORY Army was, and to his great astonishment he re- plied: ^' The Confederates have 1,200,000 men in the field." '^ Is it possible?" inquired the man. "And how did you find out? " ^' Why," said Lincoln, ^' every general in the Union Army whenever he gets licked says the rebels outnumbered him three or four to one; now we have at this time about 400,000 men, and three times that number would be 1,200,000, wouldn't it?" " There s One of my Children isn't Dead yet ! " During the darkest days of the war a telegram was received by Lincoln from Cumberland Gap, stating '' that firing was heard in the direction of Knoxville." ^' I'm glad of it! " exclaimed the President. Some one present, who had the perils of Burn- side's position uppermost in his mind, asked: ^^ Why are you glad of it, Mr. Presi- dent? " ^^ Why, you see," answered Lincoln, " it re- minds me of Mrs. Sallie Ward, a neighbor of mine, who had a large family; occasionally one of her numerous progeny would be heard crying in some out-of-the-way place, upon which Mrs. Ward Avould exclaim: ^ Thank the Lord, there's one of my children isn't dead yet! ' " SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 187 The Strict Judge In conversation with a member of his Cabinet, Lincoln said he knew a judge who once said he would hang a man for blowing his nose in the street, but that he would quash the indictment if it failed to specify which hand was used in the operation. " On the Lord's Side " A clergyman, at one of Lincoln's receptions, closed his remarks by saying he " hoped the Lord was on our side." ^' I am not at all concerned about that," re- plied Lincoln, ^' for I know the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anx- iety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side." The Heni^ecked Husband When General Phelps took possession of Ship Lsland, near ^ew Orleans, early in the war, he issued a proclamation, somewhat bombastic in tone, freeing the slaves. To the surprise of many persons the President took no official notice of it. Some time passed, when one day a friend took him to task for his apparent indifference to so im- portant a matter. ''Well," said Lincoln, ''I feel about that a good deal as a man who I will call Jones, whom I once knew, did about his wife, lie was one of 188 LINCOLN IN STORY those meek men, and had the reputation of being henpecked. At last one day his wife was seen switching him out of the house. A day or two afterward a friend met him on the street, and said : '^ ^ Jones, I've always stood up for 3'ou, as you know, but 1 am not going to do it any longer. Any man who will stand quietly and take a switch- ing from his wife deserves to be horsewhipped.' '^ Jones looked up with a w^ink, patting his friend on the back. '' ' Xow, 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!'" " How many Legs will a Sheep hai^e f " About the time the question of emancipation was being agitated, and previous to the time when the President considered it wise or practicable, a deputation one day w^aited upon him urging that he should issue a proclamation at once declaring freedom to all the slaves in the States then fighting against the Union. In reply, Mr. Lincoln said: ^^ If I issue a proclamation now, as you sug- gest, it will be as ineffectual as w^as the Pope's celebrated bull against the comet. It can not be enforced. ^^ JSTow^, by way of illustration," he added, SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 189 ^' how many legs will a sheep have if you call his tail a leg? " They answered '' Five." ^' You are mistaken/' replied Lincoln, " for calling a tail a leg does not make it so." With this simple illustration he showed them the fallacy of their position better than any learned syllogism w^ould have done. TJiree Pigeons on a Fence Upon another occasion, when Lincoln wished to impress upon a delegation the need of great pa- tience and care, lest by hasty action some of the border slave-States, like Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, might be influenced to join the seces- sion movement, he said: '' If there be three pigeons on a fence and you fire and kill one, how many wdll there be left?" They replied " Two." " Oh, no," said he, " there would be none left; for the other two, frightened by the shot, would have flown away." Not Rebels, but Confederates Dr. Jerome Walker, of Brooklyn, relates that just one week before the President's assassination he escorted him through the various hospitals in Washington. After visiting the wounded Union 190 LINCOLN IN STORY soldiers, they came to those wards where the sick and wounded Southern prisoners were, and he said: '^ Mr. President, you won't want to go in there; they are only rebels." Lincoln stopped, and, laying his hands upon Dr. Walker's shoulders, said: " You mean Confederates.'^'' He thereupon went through all the Confed- erate wards, paying as much attention and speak- ing as kindly to them as he had to the Federal soldiers. CHAPTEE XVII The President relieves the fears of the Secretary of War by an illustration—" By Jingo ! Butler or no Butler, here goes " —He tells General Grant some stories— Gives freedom to many imprisoned for resisting the draft^The Gettysburg address. The Complaining Governor and the Squealmg Boy One of the Northern governors wlio was a very earnest and able supporter of the Union canse, and who was untiring in raising troops and keeping np the war spirit, was fond of having his own way, and did not like to conform to the gen- eral military system which had become necessary to the army. On one occasion he complained more bitterly than usual, and in a long letter warned the au- thorities at Washington " that the execution of the Government military orders in his State would be beset with difficulties and dangers." The tone of the despatches gave rise to fear tliat the Governor miglit not fully cooperate in the important military movements tlien under way, and Stanton, the Secretary of AVar, being greatly troubled, laid them before the Presich^nt for ad- vice and instruction. 191 192 LINCOLN IN STORY Lincoln, when he read them, was not disturbed in the least. In fact they rather amused him. After having read all the papers, he said, in a cheerful tone: '^ ^ever mind, never mind; those despatclies don't mean anything. Just go right ahead.'' " The Governor is like a boy I saw once at a launching. When everything w^as ready, they picked out a small boy and sent him under the ship to knock away the trigger, and let her go. At the critical moment everything depended on the boy. He had to do the job well by a direct and vigorous blow, and then lie down flat and keep still, while the ship slid over him. " The boy did everything right, but yelled as if he was being murdered from the time he got under the keel until he got out. I thought the hide was all scraped off his back; but he wasn't hurt at all. '^ The master of the shipyard told me that this boy was always chosen for that job, that he did his w^ork w^ell, that he never had been hurt, but that he alivays squealed in that way. Now, that's the way w^ith Governor ; make up your mind that he is not hurt, and that he is doing the work all right, and pay no attention to his squealing. He only wants to make you understand how hard his task is, and that he is on hand performing it." The same Governor's loyalty and zeal in the SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 193 Union cause, as time went on, proved exactly as the President had predicted, and the Secretary's fears were thus proved to be unnecessary. " By Jingo ! Butler or no Butler^ here goes " One morning a Congressman went up to the White House on business, and saw in the ante- room an old man crouched all alone in a corner, crying as if his heart w^ould break. This was so common an occurrence that he paid no attention to it; but on going again the next day on business, he saw the same man crying, and stopped, saying to him, '^ What's the matter with you, my man? " The man, in answer, told him the story of his son who had been convicted by a court-martial in Butler's army and sentenced to be shot the next week. He said also: ^' Our Congressman is so con- vinced of his guilt that he wall not help or in- terfere." " Well," said Mr. A , '' I will take you into the President's office after I get through, and you can tell Mr. Lincoln all about it." When Mr. A entered and introduced this man, Mr. Lincoln said: ''Well, my old friend, what can I do for you? " The man then repeated the story he had told to Mr. A . 13 194 LINCOLN IN gTORY AVliile lie was speaking the President's face ])ecarae sad and serious as he rephed: '' I am sorry to say I can do nothing for you. Listen to this telegram received from General Butler yesterday.'' The President then read the following: ^' Mr. President: I pray you not to interfere with the court-martial of this army. You will destroy all discipline among the soldiers. " [Signed.] B. F. Butler.'^ As the President road these words, they seemed like a death-knell to the poor boy, and the old man's anguish and despair mastered him so completely that he burst into sobs which shook his whole body. His grief affected , Lincoln very deeply, and after a minute's struggle with him- self, he exclaimed: '^ By Jingo! Butler or no Butler, here goes." He took the pen, and writing a few words, handed them to the man. Mr. Lincoln's exclamation 1(m1 the applicant to think he had written an order for his son's release, so, when he read the President's order as follows: ^^ Job Smith is not to be shot until further orders from me. Abraham Lincoln." he said: ^' Why, Mr. President, I thought it was to be a pardon ; but you say, ' Not to be shot SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 195 till further orders/ and you may order him to be shot next week! " Lincoln smiled at the man's fears, and re- plied : " AYell, my old friend, I see you are not very well acquainted with me. If your son never looks on death till further orders from me to shoot him, he will live to be a great deal older than Methuselah." The man now understood the President's kindly intention to pardon his son, as soon as he could without offending the general, and went away happy and grateful. Lincoln tells General Grant a Funny Story A short time before the final surrender of the Confederates, General Grant told the President that the war must soon come to an end, and asked him whether he should try to capture Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President, or let him escape from the country. Lincoln said : " That reminds me of a story. " There was once an Irishman who had signed the Father Mathews temperance pledge. A few days after, he became terribly thirsty, and finally applied to a bartender in a saloon for a glass of lemonade, and while it was being mixed he leaned over and wdiispered to him, ^ And couldn't ye put a little brandy in it, all unbeknownst to meself ? ' " 196 LINCOLN IN STORY lie then said: ^' Let Davis escape all unbe- known to yourself if you e-an." Lincoln gives Freedom to the Men in Pennsylvania Imprisoned for resisting the Draft Mr. Joshua K. Speed, the tried and true friend of Mr. Lincoln, while residing in Springfield, 111., gives the following account of his last interview wdth the President, which occurred in Washington about ten days prior to his second inaugura- tion: ^' Congress was drawing to a close; the Presi- dent had to give much attention to bills he was about to sign. The great war was at its height; visitors from all parts of the country were com- ing and going to the President, Avitli their com- plaints and grievances, from morning until night, with almost as much regularity as the ebb and flow of the tide, and he was worn down in health and spirit. " On this day, when I entered the room, I noticed, sitting near the fireplace, dressed in hum- ble attire, two ladies modestly waiting their turn. One after another the visitors came and went, some satisfied, others displeased, at the result of their mission. The hour had arrived to close the door against all further callers. " No one was left in the room except the President, the tw^o ladies, and myself. With a SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 197 rather peevish and fretful air he turned to them and said: ' Well, ladies, what can I do for you? ' '' They both commenced speaking at once. '' From what they said, he soon learned that one was the wife and the other was the mother of men who had resisted the draft in western Pennsylvania. '' ' Stop,' said he, ' don't say any more. Give me your petition.' " The old lady responded: ' Mr. Lincoln, we've got no petition, we couldn't write one, and had no money to pay for writing it, and I thought best to come to see you.' '' ' Oh! ' said he, ' I understand your cases.' " He rang his bell and ordered one of the mes- sengers to tell General Dana to bring him the names of all the men in prison for resisting the draft in western Pennsylvania. " The general soon came with the list. " Lincoln then inquired if there was any differ- ence in the charges or degrees of guilt. ^' The general replied that he knew of none. " ' AYell, then,' said the President, ' these fel- lows have suffered long enough, and I have thought so for some time, and now that my mind is on the subject, I believe I will turn out the whole flock. So draw up the order, general, and I will sign it.' ^' It was done, and the general left the room. 198 LINCOLN IN STORY '' Turning to the women, Lincoln said : ^ Xow, ladies, you can go.' " The younger of the two ran forward and was in the act of kneeling in thankfulness. " ' Get up/ he said, ' don't kneel to me, but thank God and go.' ^' The old lady now came forward with tears in her eyes to express her gratitude. ' Good-by, Mr. Lincoln,' said she. ' I shall probably never see you again till we meet in heaven.' " These were her exact words. She had the President's hand in hers, and he was deeply moved. " He instantly took her right hand in both of his own, and, following her to the door, said: ' I am afraid, with all my troubles, I shall never get to the resting-place you speak of, but if I do, I am sure I shall find you. That you wish me to get there is, I believe, the best wish you could make for me. Good-by.' " We were now alone. I said to him: ^ Lin- coln, with my knowledge of your nervous sensi- bility, it is a wonder that such scenes as this don't kill you.' ^^ He thought for a moment, and then answered in a languid voice : ' Yes, you are to a certain degree right. I ought not to undergo what I so often do. I am very uuAvell now; my feet and hands of late seem to be always cold, and I ought, SEVENTH PERIOD: THE PRESIDENT 1