973.7L63 
 B2K12^ 
 EAST CAGE 
 
 Kaine, Johr Lang don 
 Lincoln as a boy loiew him
 
 LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 MEMORIAL 
 
 the Class of 1901 
 
 founded by 
 
 HARLAN HOYT HORNER 
 
 and 
 
 HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER
 
 . > i - . > 
 
 •Jn 
 
 cmcocn m n bov nnem Rrm, 
 
 BY JOHN LANGDON KAINE.
 
 -m 
 
 ■mm 
 
 %
 
 cineocn Ji$ Ji bov nnem mm. 
 
 BY JOHN LANGDON KAINE.
 
 Printed by a lover of Cincoln in an edition of 
 25 numbered copies of wbicb tl)i$ is no. 
 
 ^^
 
 ^wc c^j^ nncocn m j\ bov Rnem Bim, 
 
 By John Langdon Kainb. 
 
 "And did you ouce see Shelley plain, 
 And did he stop and speak to you, 
 
 And did you speak to him again? 
 How strange it seems, and new!" 
 
 Browning's "Memorabilia." 
 
 It is more than half a century since I knew Abraham Lin- 
 coln - knew him as well, perhaps, as could any small boy not 
 a member of his household ; yet his homely features are as dis- 
 tinct in my memory as though only a year had passed . I 
 thought he was the tallest man in all Springfield; also that 
 he was old, though really he was in his prime. This impres- 
 sion of age I can trace to the many fine lines which marked 
 his pleasant face, but which do not appear in his portraits. 
 Apart from his remarkable height, his seeming age, and his 
 local importance, my chief idea about Mr. Lincoln was that 
 he was good. I readily accepted my father's assurance that Mr. 
 Lincoln was the greatest man within the range of my limited 
 knowledge. 
 
 Near the office of the ''Journal", between Mr. Carmody's 
 liquor store and a clothing hou^e, there was a large vacant lot, 
 > shut off from the view of the street by a tight board fence. 
 V. The high, windowless brick walls were smooth enough to 
 J serve admirably for hand-ball. I do not know whether Mr. Lin- 
 ^•' coin went there often for exercise. I saw him at play several 
 times, and one afternoon is memorable because he called to me 
 by name, to take his coat. His agility was surprising in view 
 -. of his usual deliberate, almost indolent manner ; and his long 
 "^ legs and long arms gave him a remarkable range of play. He 
 was entirely democratic here, taking the inevitable chaffing 
 of the Irish players and spectators amiably, and sometimes re- 
 turning it. There is an apocryphal story that he was at this 
 hand-ball court when he received the news of his nomination 
 for President. 
 
 When and how I came to be known to the lawyer, I do 
 not recollect. As far back as I can remember, he spoke to me 
 familiarly in the street, and when I called at his office on an 
 affair of tremendous importance, he greeted me as an old 
 friend . 
 
 Springfield had a volunteer fire department, with en- 
 gines worked by hand. There was a juvenile company, of 
 course, but to run with a clothes-line attached to mere air, or 
 at best, to a pumpless sulky, borrowed from unguarded prem- 
 ises, was not satisfying. It was a momentous discovery that at 
 Withey's carriage "repository" there was a force-pump on 
 four wheels for garden service. It had only an ordinary pump- 
 handle. For a certain considerable sum, Mr. Withey would 
 substitute for this handle two brakes long enough for the 
 hands of a dozen boys. He allowed us to test its pumping 
 qualities, and it was agreed that it should be named "The 
 Deluge." Clearly this was a matter of public concern. There 
 was obvious reason why citizens with inflammable property 
 should contribute to the purchase of the machine.
 
 It was decided to collect a quarter each from such house- 
 holders as should prove approachable. On the whole, a fair 
 number realized the importance of the business; so it was 
 with some confidence that I attacked the law office of Linc- 
 oln and Herndon. Fortunately, Mr. Lincoln was alone and so 
 far from busy that he was only reading- a book. 
 
 His "Well, Johnny, what can the law do for you?" was 
 distinctly eucourag-iug, and I rapidly explained our scheme. 
 He was instantly and deeply interested. He probed me with 
 questions; and he said he was pleased with the name " De- 
 luge", declaring- it was better than ''Gusher" or "Spouter" 
 or any of several others, the absurdity of which did not strike 
 me at the time . Still, I was half aware that the lawyer was 
 having some private fun with me. Though I may have thought 
 it too frivolous for the occasion, I was willing, if only he 
 would contribute his quarter. This he did with great solem- 
 nity and deliberation . 
 
 Moreover, when Mr. Herndon came in, evidently not in 
 good humor, Mr. Lincoln explained my mission and urged his 
 partner to subscribe, reminding him that even his hen-house 
 was inflammable. Mr. Herndon was impatient with the fool- 
 ing, and tried to shut it off by speaking of mere law business. 
 With his native kindness, Mr. Lincoln eased my departure, 
 exacting a promise that I would keep him informed as to the 
 progress of the work on the machine. 
 
 Although I took Mr. I/incoln's apparent interest as real, 
 I did not call at his office again for some time. The Withey 
 establishment did not realize the importance of haste, not 
 knowing the transient nature of boys enthusiasms. Day after 
 day delegations called at the shops, only to find no change in 
 the condition of the force-pump; and too, they had not even 
 the satisfaction of repeating the test. One day Colonel Ells- 
 worth's Chicago Zouaves came to town, as the beginning of 
 such a triumphal tour of the country as no other military com- 
 pany had ever made. Instantly, of course, the fickle lads were 
 all for the soldier life; drums and wooden guns took the place 
 of red shirts and fire-fighting-. 
 
 My father's early idea of Mr. Lincoln's greatness had 
 been confirmed in my small mind long before, by the immense 
 crowd which had streamed to a field near my home, where 
 usually the circus tents were spread, to hear him speak. Prob- 
 ably it was one of the series of meetings in the Lincoln-Doug- 
 las debates, which first made Mr. Lincoln known beyond the 
 boundaries of the State. The cheers of the people were more 
 frequent and louder than the roars evoked by the circus clown. 
 To me there could be no more severe test of greatness. 
 
 I became the drummer in a military band, and it happened 
 that this threw me more than ever in Mr. Lincoln's way. Col- 
 onel Ellsworth, after a hard fight against poverty in Chicago 
 came to the State capital to read law in Mr. Lincoln' s office. 
 At once he was engaged to train a crack military company in 
 the spectacular Zouave manual and tactics. As I was called on 
 to drum for the Zouaves, and was the only boy at hand, it was 
 only natural that Colonel Ellsworth should employ me for little 
 services, and this took me often to Mr. Lincoln's office. 
 
 Lie-.--
 
 One afternoon, having to meet the colonel there, I found 
 Mr. Lincoln alone. He stood gazing out of a window, his 
 hands behind his back, and looking taller than his inches be- 
 cause of the long-skirted black cloth coat then in fashion. 
 This was about his only concession to style, save an occasion- 
 al new silk hat. As his feet were most often on a table when 
 I was with him, I could see that his big, long-legged boots 
 were made for comfort, and were therefore almost formless. 
 He was not over-fastidious as to their polish. His shirt-collar 
 which was not removable, was also designed for comfort in 
 its looseness. He did not wear the old stock, which many prim 
 lawyers still retained, but a loosely tied black band . 
 
 Evidently Mr. Lincoln was in a talkative mood, for in the 
 absence of an older person, he seemed pleased to see me, He 
 put me through a course of questions , probably to get at the 
 thoughts and interests of the boy of the day. One discovery 
 was that the thing in which I was most interested at school 
 — probably because I had a knack of doing it fairly well for a 
 boy — was declamation. Nothing would do but 1 must repeat 
 an oration. To this day I wonder at and admire the tact with 
 which he overcame my great embarrassment. The place and 
 and conditions were such as to make a boy resolve to perish 
 before raising his voice in a school declamatory exercise . Yet 
 before I quite knew it, or knew how he did it, he had me 
 standing at the table and shouting a tribute to Washington. 
 He was really interested, for he went oyer the piece himself, 
 to give his notion of the emphasis and inflection; and he un- 
 dertook to make me explain why "he needs no marble monu- 
 ment, no consecrated pile." To illustrate some point, he re- 
 called one of the many speeches he said he had " learned by 
 heart" when he began the study of law, hesitating now and 
 then, but always getting the word at last. He mentioned many 
 famous addresses, all of which he knew at one time, when he 
 was forming what he called "an unnatural style of speech" 
 for professional use. 
 
 "Try to think they're your own words, and talk them as 
 you would talk them to me," was his advice after I had ranted 
 in school-boy manner. He insisted, too, on the importance of 
 learning, in early life, sentiments expressed in verse. In effect 
 he said that as a man grows older, lines which he learned be- 
 cause of their pleasant sound, come to have a meaning; just 
 as old saws show their truth in later life; "It is a pleasure," 
 he said, "to be able to quote lines to fit any occasion," and 
 he noted that the Bible is the richest source of pertinent quo- 
 tations. I think Mr. Lincoln had much to do with creating 
 whatever ambition I had for the reading of history, on which 
 he placed great stress. 
 
 The arrival of Colonel Ellsworth did not at once put an 
 end to the entertainment, for he, too, was concerned. As a law 
 student, he was then making a study of forensic expression. 
 The interest, however, was shifted from oratory by Mr. Line- 
 coin, who asked the colonel to hear a dramatic poem. I think 
 he went into another room for it, but, anyhow, he brought out 
 several sheets of paper on which the matter was written.
 
 Evidently it was not yet widely published, and I have 
 never been able to identify the poem. I am positive, though, 
 that it was not what is alleged to have been his favorite, 
 ' ' Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud?" However much 
 he may have been attached to that, he did not mention it. 
 
 As Mr. Lincoln recited in full, rolling sentences, he held 
 up a finger and carried it back and forth to mark the sweep 
 of the lines. He showed a great power of dramatic expression 
 and the rise and fall of his voice was musical. The sentiment 
 was lost on me, to whom the words were all Greek, but un- 
 doubtedly I enjoyed the swing of thing. 
 
 It was plain that Mr. Lincoln and the little colonel were 
 most friendly. Often I had seen Mr. Lincoln place his hand on 
 Colonel Ellsworth's shoulder, or take hold of bis arm in a way 
 to show not merely liking, but sincere affection, and this the 
 latter was one to inspire. 
 
 When I drummed at the head of the delegation which 
 came from the Chicago Convention to notify Mr. Lincoln of 
 his nomination, marching with a great crowd to the Lincoln 
 home, I felt much pride and a personal interest in the event. 
 My great man had become the nation's great man. All through 
 that furious campaign, I drummed far and near, for the band 
 was famous in central Illinois. Everywhere there were com- 
 panies of Republican " Wide Awakes," and in no later nation- 
 al campaign has there been the same mania for nightly meet- 
 ings and street deraonstralions. The patience of the people 
 under the steady flow of oratory was equal to the endurance 
 of the endless succession of speakers. The "Wide Awakes" 
 were armed with torches which left a long trail of kerosene 
 odor on the nignt air, and they wore red military caps and 
 blue capes of shiny leather. Their appearance on parade was 
 as brilliant as that of any military body with more costly un- 
 iform. There was a keen rivalry in drill, with prizes for the 
 most expert, and this led to evolutions which aroused much 
 enthusiasm. The changing positions of the torches as the 
 long procession evolved complicated figures far down the 
 street, was a stirring* spectacle which all the world crowded 
 to witness. To this day the pentrating odor of a smoky lamp 
 calls up visions of the night parades of 1860. Everywhere 
 wigwams were erected, — circular buildings of unplaned boards 
 — where the spouting went on perpetually, and where many 
 a politician who later won national fame got his start. The 
 beat of the drum and the tramp of feet seemed never silent 
 until the drummers, still leading the "Wide Awakes," 
 marched off to the war in 1861 . 
 
 In this campaign Mr. Lincoln, to all appearances, made 
 no change in his way of living, save that he now wore his best 
 black suit on week-days (it was still the age of the Sunday 
 clothes) and had bought a new hat before it was due in the 
 natural course. Also, he deserted his law office. He was now 
 to be found in the larger rooms of the State Auditor, (JesiC 
 K. Dubois, father of the late Senator Dubois of Idaho), where 
 were displayed many curious presents, one of which had been 
 intended for Mr. Seward when he should be nominated, but 
 was now given to Mr. Lincoln with hearty good-will.
 
 Mr. Lincoln never seemed to be driven or anxious, but 
 was always the amiable, friendly self the town had known so 
 long-. On the day of the big- Democratic rally I was at the 
 office of Mr. Enoch Moore, at the State House, with other 
 youthful politicians. We were depressed. As the procession 
 drag-g-ed its awful leng-th along-, it looked as thoug-h the world 
 had become Democratic. Reluctantly we gave up hope of Mr. 
 Lincoln's election, and were much concerned for his feeling-s. 
 He had appeared to be so confident that defeat must be har- 
 rowing. Then Mr. Lincoln himself came in, smiling- and ap- 
 parently unaware of the impending disaster. With his custom- 
 ary kindness, he spoke to us and rallied us on our g-lumness. 
 When he learned the cause, he laug-hed heartily and with ab- 
 andon. Then he hastened to reassure us. "Wh}', this is noth- 
 ing"," he declared; ''Just wait till the eig-hth of August, and 
 we'll show this rag-tag and bobtail what a grand rally is." 
 
 The August meeting was, indeed, a tremendous affair. 
 Uniformed companies came from towns a hundred miles away, 
 and from the country came mounted men in gay attire and 
 looking in their tin head-gear like the crusading knights. 
 Although nothing was heard in that day of big campaign ex- 
 penditures, the cost must have been enormous. This was only 
 one of hundreds of great gatherings. The thousands of people 
 who filled a large grove, and ran over into the surrounding 
 fields, were all fed, and there was no mean variety on the 
 tables. I dare not estimate the number of beeves roasted whole 
 in barbecue style. Deep pits, looking like fresh-made graves, 
 were half filled with wood fires, and over each was suspended 
 the carcass of a beef which was kept turning slowly. There 
 seemed to be miles of tables, made of rough boards. The mere 
 cutting of the loaves of bread for the multitude was a prodi- 
 gious task for scores of men. At intervals about the grounds 
 were hogsheads of ice-water and wash-tubs of lemonade. At 
 greater intervals were speakers stands at which orators spouted 
 patriotism, with grateful interruptions from brass bands and 
 glee clubs. There were no street railways then, and most of 
 the vast crowd of heated and tired people, including faint wo- 
 men and fretful children, walked the long dusty road back to 
 town, with no apparent loss of enthusiasm. Far into the night 
 could be heard the mounted men singing the glee choruses and 
 shouting campaign cries, as college boys disturb the quiet 
 with their cries after a foot-ball game. 
 
 Again I drummed when Mr. Lincoln, leaving for the in- 
 auguration at Washington, bade farewell to his old friends, 
 and all party differences were forgotten in the parting. I did 
 not cease drumming until the curtain fell on the war tragedy 
 in the grand review of the returning volunteers in Washing- 
 ton, In this tragedy, Colonel Ellsworth was the war's first 
 conspicuous victim; Lincoln himself the last. 
 
 ««««««««««»«««««««««««««
 
 \f.
 
 +^^ 
 
 ^^i^
 
 
 ^ffM-k^ 

 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 973.7L63B2K12L C001 
 
 LINCOLN AS A BOY KNEW HIM. 
 
 01 
 
 031794651