a I B R.A RY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLI NOIS from Carl Sandburg's Library 973- 7U3 Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. University of Illinois Library L161 H41 Anecdotal Lincoln SPEECHES, STORIES AND YARNS OF THE "IMMORTAL ABE" INCLUDING STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE, STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER, PRESIDENTIAL INCIDENTS, STORIES OF THE WAR, LINCOLN'S LETTERS, AND GREAT SPEECHES CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BY PAUL SELBY Associate Editor of the Encyclopedia of IHinoii FULLY ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO THOMPSON & THOMAS 267 Wabaati Avenue 1900 COPYRIGHT, IQOO, BY THOMPSON AND THOMAS. < 1 f 73.7^3 PREFACE. In presenting this volume to the public the aim of its publishers has been to give the reader in a limited space the most interesting, entertaining, and concise work ever published on Lincoln. The biography contained in this work was written by the Hon. Paul Selby, a personal friend of Lincoln, and for many years Editor of the State Journal at Springfield, 111., Lincoln's home. The Stories, Anecdotes, and Yarns of Lincoln have been compiled from the most reliable sources, and are herein presented in an attractive form. The Great Speeches of Lincoln, which cannot fail to arouse the patriotism of the reader, are arranged in chronological order. CONTENTS. FAOB LIFE OF LINCOLN 13-44 CHAPTER I. His Birth and Ancestry His Autobiography 13-18 CHAPTER II. Life in Kentucky and Indiana 18-21 CHAPTER III. Removal to Illinois A second Flat-boat Voyage to New Orleans 21-24 CHAPTER IV. Enters Politics Begins the Study of Law 24-29 CHAPTER V. As a Lawyer and Political Leader 29-31 CHAPTER VI. Organization of the Republican Party 31-34 CHAPTER VII. House Divided against Itself Speech The Lincoln-Douglas Debate of 1858 34-38 CHAPTER VIII. Election to the Presidency Administration Death 38-44 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE 45-83 Abe's Rebuke 46 A Flat-boat Incident Illustrating Lincoln's Ready Ingenuity 63 An Incident from Lincoln's Experience on a Mississippi Flat-boat 59 An Unsuccessful Venture as a Merchant in New Salem 71 A Wrestling Match ' 64 Books Read by Lincoln in His Early Life 45 ft 6 CONTENTS. Cool Under Difficulties 79 "Honest Abe" as Village Postmaster 61 How Lincoln Became a Captain in the Black Hawk War 72 How Lincoln Earned His First Dollar 52 How Lincoln Obtained the Name of "Honest Abe" 50 How Lincoln Thrashed a Bully and Made a Life-long Friend 58 Incident in the Black Hawk War 79 Lincoln Applies for a Patent 74 Lincoln Carries a Drunkard Eighty Rods on His Back 51 Lincoln's Entrance into Public Life 75 Lincoln's Name Good for a Bed 68 Lincoln's Lizard Story 47 Lincoln's Prophecy 57 Lincoln the Tallest of the Long Nine 74 No Vices Few Virtues 57 "Thank you, I Never Drink" 80 The First Meeting of a Future President and Governor 67 The Lincoln-Shields Duel 80 Young Lincoln Narrowly Escapes Death 54 Young Lincoln Pulls Fodder Two Days for Damaged Books.. 53 STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER 83-135 "Adam's Ale," Lincoln's Only Beverage 125 A Distinction with a Difference 88 Advice to a Young Lawyer 90 A Noted Horse Trade in which Lincoln Confessed that He Got the Worst of It 99 A Pathetic Story of Lincoln's Disappointment in Failing to Secure the Support of the Springfield Ministry 100 A Visit to the Five Points of Industry in New York 129 Colonel Baker Defended by Lincoln no Considerations Shown to Relatives 99 Crocodile and Negro 115 Defeated by a Still-Hunt ' 107 First Echoes from Chiacgo Convention 123 "Hold On, Breeze" no "Honest Old Abe" 133 How Lincoln Invested His First Five Hundred Dollars for the Benefit of His Step-Mother 87 CONTENTS. 7 How Lincoln Won the Nomination for Congress 107 How Mrs. Lincoln Surprised Her Husband 98 "I Am Not Fit for the Presidency" 128 Incidents of Lincoln's Home Life 104 Lincoln and Finance 93 Lincoln as a Lawyer..... 91 Lincoln Defends a Widowed Pensioner with Success 97 Lincoln Defends the Son of an Old Friend Indicted for Murder 94 Lincoln's Knowledge of Human Nature 93 Lincoln's Last Interview with Douglas 116 Lincoln Rescues a Pig from a Bad Predicament 84 Lincoln, the Student 83 Mr. Lincoln's Vision 123 "Nothing to Wear" 104 Pen Picture of Lincoln, and His Speech in New York City... 116 Remarks Uttered by Lincoln, 1858 119 Six-Foot-Three Committee Man 128 Slavery 120 Stanton's First Impression of Lincoln 126 That Stage-coach Ride 89 The House Divided Against Itself 120 The Old Sign, "Lincoln and Herndon" 133 The Ugliest Man 130 Trent Affair 119 "Trusted Till Britchen Broke" 115 Two Entertaining Anecdotes Illustrating Lincoln's Good Nature 126 "Well, Speed, I'm Moved" 83 "Whole Hog Jackson Man" 113 INCIDENTS FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL CAREER OF LINCOLN ! 135-167 An Incident in Lincoln's Second Inauguration 165 A Petitioner's Sudden Change of Mind 151 Cabinet Reconstruction 162 Death of Lincoln's Favorite Son 159 General Fiske's Story of the "Swearing Driver" 142 Hearty Welcome of Dennis Hanks at the White House 147 "He's All Right, but a Chronic Squealer" 163 8 CONTENTS. How Young Daniel Webster Escapes a Flogging, as Related by Lincoln 160 Kindness of Heart 166 Lincoln's Hair 153 Lincoln's Modesty 165 Lincoln's Unconventionality in Receiving Old Friends at the White House 140 "Mother, He's Just the Same Old Abe" 161 Lincoln's Great Love for Little Tad 155 Mr. Lincoln's Tact 152 "Oh, Pa, He Isn't Ugly" 153 Remarkable Memory of Lincoln 141 Secretary Stanton's Uncomplimentary Opinion 164 Simplicity 154 The Hardest Trial of Lincoln's Life 156 The Inauguration, March 4, 1861 135 The Interviews 148 The Presidency Not a Bed of Roses 149 The President's Mind Wandered 144 The President Wields an Ax at the Washington Navy Yard.. 150 The Old Lady and the Pair of Stockings 150 Thorough 152 "Time Lost Don't Count" 162 Unhealthy Group of Office Seekers 150 STORIES OF THE WAR 168-218 A Case Where Lincoln Thought Shooting Would Do No Good 176 Advises an Angry Officer 191 Among the Wounded 175 A Story Illustrating Lincoln's Impatience at McClellan's Slow Movements 190 A Touching Song Influences Lincoln to Pardon a Rebel Prisoner 169 Bailing Out the Potomac River 182 Brigadier Generals More Plentiful than Horses 202 Burnside Safe 199 Dangers of Assassination 217 Fright a Cure for Boils 202 "Grant's Whisky" the Right Kind 199 CONTENTS. 9 Hardtack Wanted, not Generals 168 "Help Me Let This Hog Go" 196 How Lincoln Pacified Disappointed Office Seekers 207 Incident in Lincoln's Last Speech 218 "Let Jeff Escape, I Don't Want Him" 213 "Let the Elephant Escape" 201 Lincoln and Little Tad 200 Lincoln and Tad 185 Lincoln Fulfills His Vow 212 Lincoln Defends His Use of the Word "Sugar-coated" in a Public Document 181 Lincoln's Glimpse of War 210 Lincoln's High Compliment to the Women of America 172 Lincoln's Influence with the Administration 179 Lincoln's Last Afternoon 218 Lincoln's Love of Soldier Humor 191 Lincoln's Plan of War 172 Lincoln Refuses Pardon to a Slave Stealer 178 Lincoln's Summing Up of McClellan 190 Lincoln's Tenderness 206 4 'Making a Fizzle, Anyhow" 189 "Massa Linkun" Worshiped by the Negroes 203 Mr. Lincoln as Historian 186 Mr. Lincoln's Military Talent 188 New Instructions to Generals 177 Righteous Indignation 171 Tad, the Commissioned Officer 186 That Savage Dog 195 The Biter Bit 205 The Colored People's New Year's Reception 214 The Colored People of Richmond Honor Lincoln 204 The Hon. Frederick Douglass Tells of an Interview with Lincoln 183 The Little Drummer Boy 176 The Millionaires Who Wanted a Gun-boat 173 The President and Fighting Joe 187 The President and the Monitor 192 The President Making Generals 168 The President Obeying Orders 173 io CONTENTS. The President Refuses to Sign Twenty-four Death Warrants 174 The Son of Lincoln Displays a Rebel Flag 211 Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Passes to Richmond 211 Whipped and Then Ran 169 Why Mr. Lincoln Hesitated before Signing the Emancipa- tion Proclamation 188 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES AND INCIDENTS 219-253 Autobiography of Lincoln in a Single Paragraph 220 Concerning Mr. Lincoln's Religious Views 222 Death of Lincoln's Mother 221 Henry J. Raymond's Reminiscences of Lincoln 228 Important Letter from J. Wilkes Booth 232 Indictment of the Conspirators Charges and Specifications.. 245 Lincoln's Definition of Biography 224 Lincoln's Favorite Poem 225 Lincoln's Religion 224 Lincoln's Religious Belief 221 Reward Offered by Secretary Stanton 244 Song Composed by Abraham Lincoln 219 Walt Whitman's Vivid Description of Lincoln's Assassination 238 LINCOLN'S LETTERS 254-272 Affectionate Son 254 Instructions to Major Robert Anderson 262 Letter to August Belmont 264 Letter to Colfax 261 Letter to Gen. Duff Green 259 Letter to Maj.-Gen. Hooker 267 Letter to Mrs. Armstrong 254 Letter to Mrs. Gurney, Wife of Eminent English Preacher, of the Society of Friends 271 Letter to Seward 262 Lincoln's First Letter of Acceptance 258 Lincoln's Idea of the Slavery Conflict, in 1855 255 Lincoln Writes to His Step-Mother 255 Mr. Lincoln's First Public Letter after His Election 260 Mr. Lincoln's Reply to the Poet Bryant 259 Partial Reply to Censure on the Arrest of Vallandigham, June, 1863 267 CONTENTS. ii Presentation of a Gold Medal to Lieut. -Gen. Grant by Presi- dent Lincoln 271 The President's Letter to Hon. Jas. C. Conklin, August 16, 1863 268 The President on the Negro Question 265 LINCOLN'S GREAT SPEECHES 273-469 A Great Congressional Speech 281 A Humorous Speech Lincoln in the Black Hawk War 332 A Proclamation 446 A Proclamation 448 A Proclamation 449 Douglas's Seven Questions Lincoln's Position Defined on the Questions of the Day 327 Emancipation Proclamation 450 Extracts Upon which Seward Based His "Irrepressible Con- flict Platform" 447 First Speech after His Nomination 415 First Talk after His Nomination 422 Joint Debate Between Mr. Douglas and Mr. Lincoln 333 Lincoln's First Political Speech 273 Lincoln's First Inaugural Address 425 Lincoln's First Speech in the Senatorial Campaign The House Divided Against Itself Speech 315 Lincoln's Speech at Columbus, Ohio, Feb. i3th, 1861 520 Lincoln's Speech at Indianapolis, Feb. i2th, 1861 417 Lincoln's Speech at Washington, Feb. 27th, 1861 421 Lincoln's Temperance Speech 298 Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech 458 Mr. Douglas's Reply 374 Mr. Lincoln's Reply 350 National Bank vs. Sub. Treasury 277 President Lincoln's Adieu to Springfield 416 President Lincoln's Last Speech 462 Proclamation by the President 420 Reply to the Committee from the Virginia Convention, April 20, 1861 438 Response to Serenade from Marylanders, Washington, Nov., 1864 458 12 ILLUSTRATIONS. Second Nomination 457 Speech Delivered at Cincinnati, Feb. i2th, 1861 417 The Ballot vs. the Bullet 312 The Emancipation Question in Missouri 445 The Perpetuity of Our Free Institutions 273 The President to Lieutenant-General Grant 456 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE "And Couldn't Ye Put a Little Brandy In All Unbeknown to Myself?. 313 Chicago Wigwam Where the Convention of 1860 Was Held .. 137 Campaign Badge 131 Campaign Badges 121 Colored People's Reception, New Year's, 1865 215 Dinner Given to the President-elect at Harrisburg, Feb. 22, 1860 . 441 House in which Lincoln Died, Washington, D. C , 239 Lincoln and Son Tad 157 Lincoln as a Rail Splitter 55 Lincoln Getting the Worst of a Horse Trade 105 Lincoln's Early Home, Elizabethtown, Ky 65 Lincoln's First Home in Illinois 77 Lincoln's Home in Springfield 77 Lincoln Defending Armstrong 95 Lincoln's Death 242 Lincoln Reading by a Pine Knot 47 Lincoln Rescues a Pig 85 Lincoln Receiving Dennis Hanks 145 Listening, but Not Convinced 383 Parlor in Lincoln's Home, Springfield, 111 in Reception Given by Lincoln 423 Second Inaugural Address of President Lincoln 459 State House in Springfield, 111. Now Courthouse 117 The Fretting Questions of Even a Great War Seemed to Perish Until "Tad" Had Completed His Romp 197 Abraham Lincoln. A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. I. HIS BIRTH AND ANCESTRY. A perennial charm attaches to the name and memory of Abraham Lincoln. Among those who knew him personally in the intimacy of private life, his simplicity and geniality of character, his intense humanity, and an absolute confidence in his personal integrity won him friends; with the nation including many who had been his bitterest political foes his exalted patriotism and the part which he played in the preser- vation of his country and the emancipation of a race commanded respect and admiration ; with the world at large, all these characteristics, and the place which he filled with such unswerving uprightness, ability, and success, during one of the most perilous and dramatic crises in all history, made him the most important and conspicuously historic figure of his time. While the lineage of such a man may be a matter of comparative indifference, in the light of what he accomplished for id i 4 LIFE OF LINCOLN. his country and mankind, his life-history becomes of the most absorbing interest not only to his own countrymen, but in all lands where the virtues of per- sonal integrity, unselfish patriotism and far-reaching political sagacity are appreciated and held in proper esteem a fact attested by the avidity with which each new volume dealing with his public or private career, and every incident, event, or anecdote connected with his life, is caught up and absorbed by those of whom he was accustomed to speak as "the plain common people. " There could be no more appropriate place than this to introduce what Mr. Lincoln himself had to say of his own and his family history, in a letter to his friend, the Hon. Jesse W. Fell, of Bloomington, 111., under date of December 20, 1859 the year preceding his election to the Presidency, and about the time his friends were beginning to think seriously of his nomi- nation for that office. He then said: HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. "I was born, February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams and others in Macon County, Illinois. My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County, Virginia, to Ken- tucky, about 1781 or 1782, where, a year or two later, he was killed by Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, he, was ^boring to open a farm, in the. forest, LIFE OF LINCOLN. 15 His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania. An effort to identify them with the New England family of the same name ended in nothing more than a simi- larity of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like. "My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age, and he grew up literally without educa- tion. He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County, Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home about the time the State came into the Union (1816). It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so-called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond 'readin', writin', and cipherin' ' to the Rule of Three. If a straggler, supposed to understand Latin, happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age, I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three, but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little advance I now have upon this store of education I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity. "I was raised to farm-work, which I continued until I was twenty- two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois and passed the first year in Macon County, Then I got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now in - County, where I remained a year as a sort of a; store, Then came the. Black Hawk Wai-, 16 LIFE OF LINCOLN. and I was elected a captain of volunteers a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went through the campaign, was elated, ran for the Legislature in the same year (1832), and was beaten the only time I have ever been beaten by the people. The next, and three succeeding biennial elec- tions, I was elected to the Legislature. I was not a candidate afterwards. During this legislative period, I had studied law and removed to Springfield to prac- tice it. In 1846 I was once elected to the lower House of Congress, but was not a candidate for re-election. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in pol- itics, and generally on the Whig electoral ticket mak- ing active canvasses. I was losing interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known. "If any personal description of me is thought desir- able, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet four inches, nearly ; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray eyes. No other marks or brands recollected. 4 * Yours truly, "A. LINCOLN." Soon after his nomination for the Presidency in 1860, Mr. Lincoln wrote out a somewhat more elaborate sketch of his life for the use of his friends in preparing a campaign biography for the canvass of that year, but it contained little or nothing in reference to his early LIFE OF LINCOLN. 17 life in addition to what is supplied, with such char- acteristic modesty and frankness, mingled with quaint humor in its closing paragraph, in the sketch just quoted. It would be difficult to comprise within smaller space what was then known of his genealogy and early life. As he himself said, "My early life is characterized in a single line of Gray's Elegy: 'The short and simple annals of the poor.' " Yet subse- quent research seems to have settled the fact beyond a doubt, that Abraham Lincoln belonged to a historic family of which Samuel Lincoln, who came from Eng- land about 1637, settling first at Salem and afterwards at Hingham, Mass., was the American progenitor. To the same source has been traced the ancestry of Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, of Revolutionary fame, who received the sword of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781; two early Governors of Massachusetts (both named Levi Lincoln) ; Gov. Enoch Lincoln of Maine, besides others of national reputation. Mordecai Lin- coln, the son of Samuel, lived and died in Scituate, near Hingham, Mass.; Mordecai II., his son, emi- grated first to New Jersey and then to what after- wards became Berks County, Pennsylvania, as early as 1720 to 1725. John, his son, removed to Rockingham County, Virginia, in 1758; his son Abraham, the father of Thomas (who was the father of the subject of this sketch), settled in Kentucky about 1781 or 1782, where he was killed by Indians in 1784, leaving Thomas, the father of the future President, a child of the age of six years. This will account for the hard- ships which the family of Thomas Lincoln endured in that frontier region, in the latter part of the last and the beginning of the present century, and the modesty i8 LIFE OF LINCOLN. of the surroundings amid which Abraham Lincoln was born. II. LIFE IN KENTUCKY AND INDIANA. Miss Tarbell, in her "Early Life of Abraham Lin- coln, ' ' has presented conclusive documentary proofs of the marriage of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks in Washington County, Kentucky, June 12, 1806. Born the second child of this marriage ( a younger brother died in infancy), his early life was, undoubtedly, sim- ilar to that of other children of that region and period. There is reason to believe that there has been a dispo- sition on the part of two classes of writers to exag- gerate the picture of the squalor and wretchedness about the early Lincoln home on the one hand, by those who had an object in seeking to magnify the popular impression regarding the meanness of his origin; on the other hand, by those who sought to elevate him in public estimation by contrasting the modesty of his early beginnings with the exalted posi- tion to which he finally attained. While the former is unjust to his memory, the latter is unnecessary to a true estimate of his character. As a rule, the pioneers of Kentucky, as in other portions of the West, at that time, and even at a later date, usually lived in a log- cabin of one room but scantily furnished. Those who had two or more rooms were considered fortunate, if not absolutely wealthy. At that time Abraham's father lived in what is now La Rue (then a part of LIFE OF LINCOLN. 19 Hardin) County. Here Abraham spent his childhood until he had passed his seventh year. He went to school a little, but the total could not have been over a few months. Few stories are told of his life in Ken- tucky, because, by the time he had achieved a national reputation, there were few associates of his early childhood to tell them. When Abraham was in his eighth year (1816), his father removed with his family to what is now Spencer County, Indiana. Here there is reason to believe their mode of life was ruder even than it was in Kentucky, as the country was newer and they settled in an unbroken forest. Mr. Lincoln himself says, in the paper already referred to as having been prepared as the basis for a campaign biography in 1860, that "this removal was partly on account of slavery, but chiefly on account of the difficulty in land-titles in Kentucky." For a time, the family are said to have lived in a sort of camp or cabin built of logs on three sides and open at one end, which served as both door and windows. A story told by Lincoln himself about his life here gives his first, if not his only, experience as a hunter. "A few days before the completion of his eighth year, in the absence of his father, a flock of wild turkeys approached the new log-cabin, and Abraham, with a rifle gun, standing inside, shot through a crack and killed one of them. He has never since pulled a trigger on any larger game. ' ' Another story connected with his life in Indiana is that told by Austin Gollaher, a school- and play-mate of Abraham's though somewhat older who claims to have rescued the future President from drowning in consequence of his falling into a stream which they 20 LIFE OF LINCOLN. were crossing on a log, while hunting partridges near Gollaher's home. The same claim of having saved Lincoln's life has been set up by Dennis Hanks, both presumably referring to the same event. In his own sketches, Mr. Lincoln makes no reference to this inci- dent, though there is believed to have been some basis of truth in the story, as told so graphically and circum- stantially by Gollaher. Here Abraham again went to school for a short time, but, according to his own statement, "the aggregate of all his schooling did not amount to one year. ' ' Accord- ing to the statement of his friend Gollaher, he "was an unusually bright boy at school, and made splendid progress in his studies. Indeed, he learned faster than any one of his schoolmates. Though so young, he studied very hard. He would get spice-wood brushes, hack them up on a log, and burn them two or three together, for the purpose of giving light by which he might pursue his studies." An ax was early put into his hands, and he soon became an important factor in clearing away the forest about the Lincoln home. Two years after the arrival in Indiana, Abra- ham's mother died, and a little over a year later his father married Mrs. Sarah Johnston, whom he had known in Kentucky. Her advent brought many improvements into the Lincoln home, as she possessed some property and was a woman of strong character. Between her and her step-son sprang up a warm friendship which lasted through life. His devotion to her illustrated one of the strong points in Mr. Lin- coln's character. . In 1826, at the age of seventeen years, Mr. Lincoln spent several months as a ferryman at the mouth of LIFE OP LINCOLN. 21 Anderson Creek, where it enters the Ohio. According to a story told by him to Mr. Seward in Washington, after he became President, it was here he earned his first dollar by taking two travelers, with their bag- gage, to a passing steamer in the Ohio. It was here, too, probably, that he acquired that taste for river life which led, at the age of nineteen, to his taking his first trip to New Orleans as a hired hand on board a flat- boat loaded with produce, belonging to a Mr. Gentry, a business man of Gentryville, Ind., for which he received eight dollars per month and his passage home again. An almost tragic incident connected with this trip, told by Mr. Lincoln himself, was an attack made upon the boat and its crew by seven negroes for the purpose of robbery, and possibly murder, one night while the boat was tied to the shore along "the coast" on the lower Mississippi. The intended robbers were beaten off, but not until some of the crew had been wounded in the assault. III. REMOVAL TO ILLINOIS A SECOND FLATBOAT VOYAGE TO NEW ORLEANS. In March, 1830, Abraham Lincoln having just reached his majority removed with his father's family to Illinois, thus becoming identified with the State to which his name has given such luster. This removal was brought about largely through the influence of John Hanks, who had married one of Abraham's step- sisters, and had preceded the family to Illinois by two years. The first location was made on the banks of 22 LIFE OF LINCOLN. the Sangamon River, near the present village of Harristown, in the western part of Macon County. Here he set to work assisting his father to build their first home in Illinois and open a farm, splitting some of the rails which aroused so much enthusiasm when exhibited in the State Convention at Decatur, which preceded his nomination for the Presidency in 1860. A year later we find him engaging himself, in con- junction with John Hanks and one or two others, to build a flatboat, on the Sangamon River near Spring- field, for Daniel Offutt, which he accompanied to New Orleans with a load of produce. During a stay of one month in the "Crescent City," he had his first oppor- tunity of seeing the horrible side of the institution of slavery, and there is reason to believe that he then became imbued with those sentiments which bore such vast results for the country and a race a generation later. According to the testimony of his friend Hern- don, "he saw 'negroes in chains whipped and scourged. ' Against this inhumanity his sense of right and justice rebelled, and his mind and conscience were awakened to a realization of what he had often heard and read. No doubt, as one of his companions has said, * Slavery ran the iron into him then and there. ' One morning, in their rambles over the city, they passed a slave auction. A vigorous and comely mulatto girl was being sold. She underwent a thorough examination at the hands of the bidders; they pinched her flesh and made her trot up and down the room like a horse to show how she moved, as the auctioneer said, that 'bidders might satisfy themselves* whether the article they were offering to buy was sound or not. The whole thing was so revolting that LIFE OF LINCOLN. 23 Lincoln moved away from the scene with a deep feel- ing of 'unconquerable hate.' Bidding his companions follow him, he said: * Boys, let's get away from this. If ever I get a chance to hit that thing' (mean- ing slavery), Til hit it hard.'' Mr. Herndon says this incident was not only furnished to him by John Hanks, but that he heard Mr. Lincoln refer to it him- self. After his return from New Orleans, he entered the service of Offutt as clerk in a store at New Salem, then in Sangamon County, but now in the county of Menard, a few miles from Petersburg. While thus employed, he began in earnest the work of trying to educate himself, using a borrowed "Kirkham's Gram- mar" and other books, under the guidance of Mentor Graham, the village school-teacher. Later, with Graham's assistance, he studied surveying in order to fit himself for the position of a deputy to the County Surveyor. How well he applied himself to the study of the English language is evidenced by the clearness and accuracy with which he was accustomed to express himself, in after years, on great national and inter- national questions as he had no opportunity of study in the schools after coming to Illinois. The year after locating at New Salem came the Black Hawk War, when he enlisted and was elected captain of his company a result of which, previous to his election to the Presidency, he said, he had not since had any success in life which gave him so much satisfaction. His company having been disbanded, he again enlisted as a private under Captain Elijah lies. He remained in the service three months, but participated in no battle. 24 LIFE OP LINCOLN. The early part of this year was made memorable in the history of Central Illinois by the arrival of the steamer "Talisman" from Cincinnati, in the Sangamon River, which it ascended to the vicinity of Springfield. The event produced the wildest enthusiasm through that region, as it was the first steamer to attempt the ascent of that stream, and was regarded as demonstrat- ing its navigability. Mr. Lincoln and Rowan Herndon piloted the vessel out of the river, and it never attempted a second trip, nor has any other tried the experiment. After returning from the Black Hawk War, Mr. Lin- coln made his first entry into business for himself as the partner of one Berry in the purchase of a stock of goods, to which they added two others by buying out local dealers on credit. To this, for a time, he added the office of Postmaster. In less than a year, they sold out their store on credit to other parties, who failed and absconded, leaving a burden of debt on Lincoln's shoulders which lasted until his retirement from Congress in 1849. It was during his stay at New Salem that occurred the romance connecting the names of Lincoln and the amiable but short-lived Anne Rutledge, destined to end in her early death, which has furnished so touch- ing a theme for his biographers. IV. ENTERS POLITICS BEGINS THE STUDY OF LAW. The year of the Black Hawk War (1832) saw Lin- coln's entrance into politics as a candidate for Repre- LIFE OF LINCOLN. 25 sentative in the General Assembly from Sangamon County, in opposition to Col. E. D. Taylor, who after- wards became Receiver of Public Moneys at Chicago by appointment of President Jackson, and died there in 1891, at the age of nearly ninety years. Taylor was elected, Lincoln then sustaining the only defeat of his life as a candidate for office directly at the hands of the people. He took a just and natural pride in the fact that, although he was an avowed supporter of Henry Clay, and General Jackson, a few months later, carried the New Salem precinct by a majority of 115 votes, he received 277 out of the 284 votes cast at his home precinct at the earlier election. Lincoln was then in his twenty-fourth year, uncouth in dress and unpolished in manners, but with a basis of sound sense and sterling honesty which commanded the respect and confidence of all who knew him. He also had a fund of humor and drollery, which, in spite of a melancholy temperament, found expression in sallies of wit and the relation of amusing stories, and led him to enter with spirit into any sort of amusement or practical jokes so customary at that time ; yet those who knew him best say that he "never drank intoxi- cating liquors," nor "even, in those days, did he smoke or chew tobacco." After his disastrous experience as a merchant at New Salem, and a period of service as Deputy County Sur- veyor, in 1834 he again became a candidate for the Legislature and was elected. During the succeeding session at Vandalia, he was thrown much into the company of his colleague, Maj. John T. Stuart, whose acquaintance he had made during the Black Hawk War, and through whose advice, and the offer of 26 LIFE OF LINCOLN. books, he was induced to enter upon the study of law. Again, in 1836, he was re-elected to the Legislature. His growing popularity was indicated by the fact that, at this election, he received the highest vote cast for any candidate on the legislative ticket from Sangamon County. In the Legislature chosen at this time, Sangamon County was represented by the famous "Long Nine" two being members of the Senate and Seven of the House of whom Lincoln was the tallest. This Legislature was made memorable in State history by the fact that it was the one which passed the act removing the State capital from Vandalia to Spring- field, and set on foot the ill-fated "internal improve- ment scheme," in both of which Lincoln bore a prominent part, but the last of which he lived to regret on account of the burdensome debt which it imposed upon the State without beneficial results. It was also conspicuous for the large number of its members who afterwards became distinguished in state or national history. Among them we find such names as Edward D. Baker, afterwards Congressman from the Spring- field and Galena districts, United States Senator from Oregon, and killed at Ball's Bluff during the Civil War; Orville H. Browning, who became United States Senator and Attorney-General of the United States; four others Stephen A. Douglas, James Semple, James Shields, and William A. Richardson became United States Senators; four John J. Hardin, John A. McClernand, William A. Richardson, and Robert Smith occupied seats in the lower House of Congress ; three became Attorney-Generals; four, State Treas- urers; three, Lieutenant-Governors, and one (Augus- tus C. French), Governor. Re-elected to the House in LIFE OF LINCOLN. 27 1838, and again in 1840, we find him the associate of such men as Dr. John Logan, the father of Gen. John A. Logan; William H. Bissell, afterwards Congress- man and Governor; Lyman Trumbull, afterwards a Justice of the Supreme Court and United States Sen- ator; Thomas Drummond, who became Judge of the United States District Court; Joseph Gillespie, Ebenezer Peck, and many more who became his life- long friends. His prominence at this time is shown by the fact that, at both of these sessions 1838 and 1840 he was the choice of his party (the Whig) for Speaker of the House, but defeated by the candidate of the Democracy, who were in the majority. On his return from the Legislature of 1836-37, he entered upon the practice of law, for which he had been preparing, as the necessity of making a livelihood would permit, for the past two years, entering into partnership with his preceptor and legislative col- league, Hon. John T. Stuart. The story of his removal, as told by his friend, Joshua F. Speed, then a merchant of Springfield, whose invitation to share his room Lincoln finally accepted, is so graphic, and, withal, tinged with such a mixture of frankness, humor, and pathos, as to be worthy of reproduction here. Mr. Speed says: "He had ridden into town on a borrowed horse, and engaged from the only cabinet-maker in the village a single bedstead. He came into my store, set his sad- dle-bags on the counter, and inquired what the furni- ture for a single bedstead would cost. I took slate and pencil, made a calculation, and found the sum for furniture, complete, would amount to seventeen dollars in all. Said he: 'It is probably cheap enough; but I 28 LIFE OP LINCOLN. want to say that, cheap as it is, I have not the money to pay. But if you will credit me until Christmas, and my experiment as a lawyer here is a success, I will pay you then. If I fail in that, I will probably never pay you at all. ' The tone of his voice was so melancholy that I felt for him. I looked at him, and I thought then, as I think now, that I never saw so gloomy and melancholy a face in my life. I said to him, 'So small a debt seems to affect you so deeply, I think I can sug- gest a plan by which you will be able to attain your end without any debt. I have a very large room, and a very large double-bed in it, which you are perfectly welcome to share with me if you choose.' 'Where is your room?' he asked. 'Upstairs,' said I, pointing to the stairs leading from the store to my room. With- out saying a word, he took his saddle-bags on his arm, went upstairs, set them down on the floor, came down again, and, with a face beaming with pleasure and smiles, exclaimed, 'Well, Speed, I'm moved.' ' The friendship between Lincoln and Speed, which began in, and was cemented by, this generous act of the latter, was of the most devoted character, and, although Mr. Speed returned to his native State of Kentucky a few years later, it was continued through life. During the Civil War, he was intrusted by Mr. Lincoln with many delicate and important duties in the interest of the Government. His brother, James Speed, was appointed by Mr. Lincoln Attorney-Gen- eral in 1864, but resigned after the accession of Presi- dent Johnson. LIFE OF LINCOLN. 29 V. AS LAWYER AND POLITICAL LEADER. After 1840 Mr. Lincoln declined a re-election to the Legislature. His prominence as a political leader was indicated by the appearance of his name on the Whig- electoral ticket of that year, as it did again in 1844 and in 1852, and on the Republican ticket for the State-at- Large in 1856. Except while in the Legislature, from 1837 he gave his attention to the practice of his profession, first as the partner of Maj. John T. Stuart, then of Judge Stephen T. Logan, and finally of Wil- liam H. Herndon, the latter partnership continuing, at least nominally, until his death. His life as a lawyer upon "the circuit" was much to his liking, as it brought him in contact with many congenial minds. Friendships were formed during this period which lasted through life. Next to those among the lawyers about his home at Springfield the Edwardses, Judge Logan, John T. Stuart, J. C. Conkling, and others of an earlier and later period probably none was stronger than that entertained for David Davis, of Blooming- ton, who was one of the most earnest supporters of his nomination for the Presidency in 1860, and afterwards received at his hands an appointment on the Supreme Bench of the United States. In an address before the Young Men's Lyceum at Springfield, in January, 1837, on ''The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions, ' ' Mr. Lincoln gave out what may be construed as one of his earliest public utter- ances on the subject of slavery. His theme was sug- gested by numerous lynchings and mob outrages which had been taking place in a number of the Southern 30 LIFE OF LINCOLN. States especially in Mississippi and by the recent burning of a negro in St. Louis charged with the com- mission of a murder. The argument, as a whole, was a warning against the danger of mob law to the prin- ciples of civil liberty enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, and a cautious plea for the right of free speech. In it he said : "There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law. In any case that may arise, as, for instance, the promulgation of abolitionism, one of two positions is necessarily true that the thing is right within itself, and therefore deserves protection of all law and all good citizens; or it is wrong, and, therefore, proper to be prohibited by legal enactments; and in neither case is the interposition of mob law either necessary, justifiable, or excus- able." While there are some crudities in this early effort, and an absence of that logical clearness, directness, and force which distinguished Mr. Lincoln's later pro- ductions, it indicates the bent of his mind at that time on this subject. This was shown, possibly, with still greater emphasis and distinctness during the session of the Legislature in March of the same year, when, in conjunction with one other member his colleague, Dan Stone he entered upon the House Journal his protest against a series of pro-slavery resolutions which had been adopted by that body. In that document the protestants expressed their belief "that the institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy, ' ' and that, while Congress had "no power under the Constitution to interfere with the institution of slavery in the different States," it had the power to abolish LIFE OF LINCOLN. 31 it in the District of Columbia, but ought not to exercise it except at the request of the people of the District." On November 4, 1842, Mr. Lincoln was married to Miss Mary Todd, but held no office until his election in 1846 as Representative in Congress for the Springfield District. He made several speeches during his term, the most noteworthy being one in which, in his char- acteristic style, he took ground in opposition to the position of the administration in reference to the Mex- ican War on that subject agreeing with the famous Tom Corwin. His attitude on the slavery question is indicated by his statement that, while in Congress, he voted in favor of the Wilmot Proviso forty-two times, and supported a bill for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, with the consent of the voters of the District and with compensation to the owners. This was his uniform position with reference to slavery up to the time when the slave-holders forfeited their right to be protected by engaging in rebellion, and when its abolition became a "war measure." VI. ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. Impelled by the necessity of providing for his family, during the five years following his retirement from Congress in 1849, Mr. Lincoln gave his time to the practice of his profession more industriously than ever before. The passage, in May, 1854, of the so-called 32 LIFE OF LINCOLN. Kansas-Nebraska bill, repealing the Missouri Compro- mise and opening the way for the admission of slavery into territory which had been "dedicated to freedom," again called him into the political arena, and marked a new era in his career. Although neither holding an office nor a candidate for one, he almost immediately became one of the leaders of the opposition to that measure. During the early days of October, 1854, the State Fair being in progress, Senator Douglas came to Springfield to enter upon a defense of his action. In Mr. Lincoln and Lyman Trumbull he found his' chief and ablest critics and antagonists. Two weeks later, Mr. Lincoln delivered, at Peoria, probably the most exhaustive argument that had, so far, been delivered on this question. At this time, Mr. Lincoln had strong hopes that the Whig party would align itself in opposi- tion to the Nebraska bill, and refused to identify him- self with any scheme for the organization of a new party. At the November election, he and Judge Stephen T. Logan confessedly the two ablest men of the party in Sangamon County were taken up and elected to the Legislature. Lincoln, recognizing that his name was to come before the Legislature at the coming session, as a candidate for the United States Senate, as a successor to General Shields, declined to accept his certificate of election, thereby leaving a vacancy to be filled by a special election. By the device popularly known as a "still hunt," a Democrat was chosen to fill the vacancy. When the Legislature met on January i, 1855, the Anti-Nebraska Whigs and Anti-Nebraska Democrats still had a small majority. The Senatorial election came on February 8. Lincoln became the caucus nominee of the Whigs, Shields of LIFE OF LINCOLN. 33 the straight-out Democrats, while Lyman Trumbull received the support of the An ti- Nebraska Democrats. On the first ballot Lincoln received his full vote of forty-five members, while Trumbull received five, which, combined with the Lincoln vote, would have been sufficient to elect all other candidates receiving forty-nine votes. Trumbull's supporters stood by him, while a portion of Lincoln's fell off. Before reaching the tenth ballot it was evident that a combi- nation would have to be effected in order to prevent the election of a Democrat. By Lincoln's advice, his friends went to Trumbull, and he was elected. While Lincoln frankly acknowledged his disappointment at the result, he never displayed his characteristic magnanimity and unselfishness, for the good of the cause which he represented and the welfare of the country, more conspicuously than he did in this in- stance. A year later, realizing the utter hopelessness of the attempt to inspire the Whig party with new life, he entered with zeal into the work of organizing a new party. He attended the conference of a dozen Anti- Nebraska editors held at Decatur on the 226. of Feb- ruary, 1856, for the purpose of agreeing on a line of policy to be pursued in opposition to the effort to carry slavery into the new Territories under the Kansas- Nebraska Act. He consulted with the Committee on Resolutions, with the result that a platform was adopted clearly embodying the principles finally enunciated by the Republican party. A resolution was also adopted appointing a State Convention to be held at Bloomington on May 29, following, with a State Central Committee to carry this program into effect. 34 LIFE OF LINCOLN. At a banquet given in the evening to the members of the conference at the St. Nicholas Hotel, by the citizens of Decatur, while discountenancing the use of his own name as a candidate for Governor, he favored the nomination of Col. William H. Bissell, as that of an Anti-Nebraska Democrat who would unite all the ele- ments opposed to the Nebraska bill in his support. The convention was held at the time and place named ; Mr. Lincoln made before it one of the ablest and most inspiring speeches of his life ; the Republican party, so far as Illinois was concerned, was brought into exist- ence; the program proposed by him at Decatur, for the nomination of Bissell for Governor, was carried into effect by acclamation, and its wisdom demon- strated by the election of the entire State ticket in November following. In the first National Conven- tion of the Republican party, held at Philadelphia on June 17, he was a leading candidate for the nomination for the Vice- Presidency on the Fremont ticket, receiv- ing no votes, and coming next to William L. Dayton, who was nominated. In the canvass of that year, he made over fifty speeches in different parts of the State, though not a candidate for any office except as the head of the electoral ticket. VII. HOUSE-DIVIDED-AGAINST-ITSELF SPEECH THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE OF 1858. With the exception of a speech before his neighbors at Springfield, in reply to one by Judge Douglas, in LIFE OF LINCOLN. 35 June, 1857, Mr. Lincoln gave little time to politics between 1856 and 1858, devoting his attention chiefly to his profession. As the date of the State Conven- tions of the latter year approached, the political ele- ments began to seethe and bubble. That of the Republicans met June 16, continuing its session two days. On the lyth a resolution was unanimously adopted declaring Abraham Lincoln its "first and only choice for United States Senator, to fill the vacancy about to be created by the expiration of Mr. Douglas' term of office." In the evening, Mr. Lincoln delivered an address in response to this reso- lution. This meeting was held in the Hall of Repre- sentatives in the old State capitol. His speech was, in large part, a reiteration of the sentiments expressed at the Bloomington Convention of two years before, carried out to their logical conclusions. As it was written out, there is no doubt of the accuracy of the report given to the public. This has been universally recognized as one of the most important utterances of his life, scarcely second in importance to his two inaugural addresses. Its most striking passage is comprised in the following paragraph : "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this Government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved I do not expect the house to fall but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in 36 LIFE OF LINCOLN. all the States old as well as new, North as well as South." While he recognized that there was a "tendency to the latter condition, " in the removal of the last obstacle to the introduction of slavery in the new Territories by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, he evi- dently hoped for a different result, as shown by the encouraging words with which he closed this historical address : "The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate or mistakes delay it, but sooner or later the victory is sure to come. ' ' The effect of this speech was startling. While it provoked the bitter criticism of his opponents who, without justification, denounced it as a plea for dis- union it was regarded by many of his friends as ill- advised. Yet its far-reaching sagacity and foresight, which now seem to have been prompted by a species of inspired prophecy, were demonstrated by the events of less than five years later, in which he was a prin- cipal factor. The Springfield speech was followed, a few months later, by the series of joint debates with Senator Douglas, in which Lincoln was the challenging party, Douglas naming the conditions. Seven meetings were held, as follows : Ottawa, August 2 1 ; Freeport, Au- gust 27; Jonesboro, September 15; Charleston, Sep- tember 18; Galesburg, October 7; Quincy, October 13; Alton, October 15 Douglas opening and closing at four and Lincoln at three. They not only aroused the interest of both parties throughout the State, but attracted the attention of the whole country. A fea- LIFE OP LINCOLN. 37 ture of this debate was the seven questions submitted to Doug-las by Lincoln, four of which were propounded at Freeport and the other three at subsequent dates. These were a sort of offset to an equal number of questions propounded to Lincoln by Douglas at their first debate at Ottawa. The answers made by Douglas involved him in inconsistencies and apparent contra- dictions, which weakened him in the South and con- tributed to his defeat as a candidate for the Presidency in 1860. At the election in November, 1858 although the Republicans elected their State ticket by nearly 4,000 plurality the friends of Judge Douglas secured a majority in the Legislature, thus a second time defeat- ing Mr. Lincoln's aspirations to the United States Senate. This debate served as a sort of school for Mr. Lin- coln, in which he studied, with the deepest intensity, those questions affecting human rights and the per- manent welfare of the nation ; and, while proving the capacity which he ever manifested to rise to every demand of the occasion, qualified him for the problems which he was called to face a few years later. The national reputation thus won for him was still further enhanced by his speeches in Ohio in September, 1859, still later in Kansas, and early in 1860 in the East that delivered at Cooper Institute, New York, on Feb- ruary 27, 1860, being the most memorable. The latter, by their sound sentiment, convincing logic, and lofty patriotism, evoked the admiration of Eastern Republicans and prepared the way for what was to come at Chicago in May following. 38 LIFE OF LINCOLN. VIII. ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY ADMINISTRA- TION DEATH. The National Republican Convention met at Chi- cago, May 1 6, 1860. The Republicans of Illinois had already been stirred to enthusiasm by the scenes wit- nessed in the State Convention at Decatur, a week earlier, and this was sustained in the National Conven- tion by the presence of such men, on the floor or in the audience, as David Davis, Norman B. Judd, Bur- ton C. Cook, Stephen T. Logan, O. H. Browning, Leonard Swett, R. J. Oglesby, Joseph Gillespie, and large delegations of Mr. Lincoln's personal friends from all parts of Illinois, to say nothing of those from other States. The work of nominating a candidate for President was taken up on the third day May 18. On the first ballot, William H. Seward led Lincoln by 53^ votes, on the second by only 3^ ; on the third, Lincoln received 231^ votes to 180 for Seward all others receiving 53^ votes. Before the result was announced, Lincoln's vote liad increased to 354, and he was finally nominated unanimously amid the wildest enthusiasm. Lincoln received the announcement of his nomination in the editorial room' of "The State Journal" at Springfield, and, after receiving the congratulations of his friends, withdrew to inform his wife of the result. The succeeding campaign was one of great earnest- ness and enthusiasm on the part of his political friends in all the Northern States, and one of intense bitter- ness on the part of his enemies, especially in the LIFE OF LINCOLN. 39 South. He was described in the partisan press as rude, ignorant, and uncultivated to the last degree, and pictured as a "baboon," and even painted as a sot and drunkard after his election, in spite of his abstemi- ous habits. The election in November gave him a plurality of the popular vote and 180 electoral votes out of 303, although not a single vote was returned for him from ten Southern States. From this point the history of his life is the history of his country. On the morning of February u, 1861, he left his home at Springfield to assume the duties of his office at Washington. Standing on the rear plat- form of the train at the depot of the Great Western (now the Wabash) Railroad, he addressed his friends and neighbors, who had assembled to witness his departure : "My Friends: No one not in my position can realize the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century. Here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see you again. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same divine blessing which sus- tained him ; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support. And I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which suc- cess is certain. Again, I bid you an affectionate fare- well." 40 LIFE OP LINCOLN. No man ever spoke with profounder earnestness, or from a conscience stirred to deeper feeling by the bur- den of responsibility which had been placed upon his shoulders by the choice of the people. His route on the way to the National Capital lay through the States of Indiana, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsyl- vania, and, at nearly every important station, immense throngs were gathered to greet him and bid him God- speed in the cause he had undertaken. The discovery of a plot to assassinate him in Baltimore led to a change of the program of his journey at Harrisburg, and he passed through Baltimore at night in company with Ward H. Lamon and Allan Pinkerton, the detective, arriving at Washington in safety on the morning of February 23. At that time the National Capital was full of leaders of secession, and unrest and mutual suspicion pre- vailed everywhere. Already seven States had adopted ordinances of secession, and four more soon followed their example. Mr. Lincoln's inaugural address was a touching appeal to stand by the Union, but, so far as the great bulk of the Southern people were concerned, it fell upon deaf ears. Then came four years of civil war with all its horrors. These were years of the deepest gloom and anxiety for Mr. Lincoln, but he never swerved from the duty he had assumed on the day of his inauguration, to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Union. The fall of Fort Sumter, the disaster at Bull Run, the reverses at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and the long wait of McClellan at Manassas and in the Valley of the James though counterbalanced by the LIFE OF LINCOLN. 41 Union victories in the West, especially at Fort Donel- son and Vicksburg, and the check to rebel invasion at Antietam and Gettysburg tried the patience and faith of the President greatly, but he never lost confidence in the ultimate success of the Union cause. Then, too, he was the subject of bitter criticism on the part of political enemies, as well as a class of political friends by the former, because he consented to the appeal to arms at all in defense of the Union; by the latter, because the war was not pushed with sufficient energy, and especially on his tardiness in striking at the insti- tution of slavery, which was regarded as the cause of the war. And yet, as to the latter, it is the universal judgment of impartial historians of that period, that he chose the right juncture for the issue of the Emancipa- tion Proclamation of January i, 1863. That document now universally regarded, next to the preservation of the Union itself, as the crowning feature of his administration preceded by the prelim- inary proclamation of September 22, 1862, was issued as a "war measure" after months of anxious delibera- tion. It is well known that Mr. Lincoln, 'while determined to resist the further extension of slavery into free territory, and desirous of its "ultimate extinc- tion," still believed that the supremacy of the laws and the Constitution should be respected, on this question as well as all others. For this reason, he urged upon the few loyal members who still remained in Congress from the Southern States the acceptance of emancipa- tion with compensation which, if accepted by the South as a solution of the controversy between the two sections, would have resulted in immense saving of life and treasure. But this was not to be, and the 42 LIFE OF LINCOLN. blow came, forced as a "war measure," immediately upon the heels of the victory at Antietam. If it had come earlier, there is reason to believe that it would have cost the Union some of its ablest but more con- servative supporters. Mr. Lincoln never evinced his remarkable political sagacity more strikingly than in the time and manner of its issue, and it was accepted by the people and the army, as a rule, without protest often with enthusiastic approval as time proved its wisdom. And thus was verified the prophecy which he had made in his "house-divided-against-itself" speech less than five years before and he had been the chief instrument in its accomplishment. The re-election of Mr. Lincoln in 1864, followed by the triumph of Thomas and Sherman in the West, and of Grant before Richmond, determined the fate of the Union. On April 3, 1865, the Union forces entered the city of Richmond, and, the day following, Presi- dent Lincoln visited the Rebel capital, receiving an enthusiastic welcome, the most unique feature of which was the thanks of the members of the race whom he had emancipated. On the nth two days after the surrender of Lee to Grant he arrived in Washington. Three days later (April 14), the fourth anniversary of the fall of Fort Sumter, the people in the principal cities of the country celebrated the fall of Richmond, the surrender of Lee, and the end of the rebellion. On the evening of that day, Mr. Lincoln, accom- panied by his wife, attended Ford's Theatre in Wash- ington, and, about half past nine, was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a fanatical champion of secession. His death occurred at 7:22 o'clock the next morning. The nation, which had been rejoicing the day before LIFE OP LINCOLN. 43 over a restored Union, was cast beneath a pall of the deepest gloom. His public funeral occurred on the i9th, after which his remains lay in state in the rotunda of the National Capitol. On the 2ist, the funeral cortege started on its sorrowful journey to Springfield, stopping at the principal cities en route, and arriving at its destination on the morning of May 3d. No such evidence of national sorrow has been witnessed in this country or elsewhere. His remains lay in state in the Hall of Representatives the theater of some of his most brilliant oratorical triumphs until the 4th, when the final obsequies took place in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Bishop Simpson, of the Methodist Church, delivering the funeral address. Here a stately monument, including a statue of the martyred Presi- dent, has been erected to his memory, which was dedi- cated, October 15, 1874, the late Governor Oglesby delivering the principal address. Among other distin- guished men present, and who delivered addresses, were Gen. U. S. Grant (then President), Vice-President Henry Wilson, Gen. William T. Sherman, Hon. Wil- liam E. Forster, M.P., of England, and Hon. Schuyler Colfax. Nothing could more strikingly illustrate Mr. Lin- coln's high ideal and firmness for the right, his intense humanity, his deep sympathy and his broad charity for all friends and foes alike than the closing paragraph of his last inaugural address his last important public utterance : 44 With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall 44 LIFE OF LINCOLN. have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. ' ' Stories of Lincoln's Early Life. BOOKS READ BY LINCOLN IN HIS EARLY LIFE. The books which Abraham had the early privilege of reading were the Bible, much of which he could repeat, ^Esop's Fables, all of which he could repeat, Pilgrim's Progress, Weem's Life of Washington, and a Life of Henry Clay, which his mother had managed to purchase for him. Subsequently he read the Life of Franklin and Ramsey's Life of Washington. In these books, read and re-read, he found meat for his hungry mind. The Holy Bible, ^Esop and John Bunyan could three better books have been chosen for him from the richest library? For those who have witnessed the dissipating effects of many books upon the minds of modern children, it is not hard to believe that Abraham's poverty of books was the wealth of his life. These three books did much to perfect that which his mother's teaching had begun, and to form a character which, for quaint sim- plicity, earnestness, truthfulness and purity, has never 46 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. been surpassed among the historic personages of the world. The Life of Washington, while it gave him a lofty example of patriotism, incidentally conveyed to his mind a general knowledge of American history; and the Life of Henry Clay spoke to him of a living man who had risen to political and professional eminence from circumstances almost as humble as his own. The latter book undoubtedly did much to excite his taste for politics, to kindle his ambition, and to make him a warm admirer and partisan of Henry Clay. Abraham must have been very young when he read Weem's Life of Washington, and we catch a glimpse of his precocity in the thoughts which it excited, as revealed by himself in the speech made to the New Jersey Senate, while on his way to Washing- ton to assume the duties of the Presidency. Alluding to his early reading of this book, he says: "I remember all the accounts there given of the battle- fields and straggles for the liberty of the country, and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. I recollect thinking then, a boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that those men struggled for." Even at this age, he was not only an interested reader of the story, but a student of motives. ABE'S REBUKE. "The first time I ever remember seeing Abe Lin- coln," is the testimony of one of his neighbors, "was when I was a small boy and had gone with my father to attend some kind of an election. One of the neigh- STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE 49 bors, James Larkins, was there. Larkins was a great hand to brag on anything he owned. This time it was his horse. He stepped up before Abe, who was in a crowd, and commenced talking to him, boasting all the while of his animal. " 'I have got the best horse in the country,' he shouted to his young listener. 'I ran him nine miles in exactly three minutes, and he never fetched a long breath. ' " *I presume,' said Abe, rather dryly, 'he fetched a good many short ones, though.' " LINCOLN'S LIZARD STORY. A country meeting-house, that was used once a month, was quite a distance from any other house. The preacher, an old-line Baptist, was dressed in coarse linen pantaloons, and shirt of the same material. The pants, manufactured after the old fashion, with baggy legs and a flap in the front, were made to attach to his frame without the aid of suspenders. A single button held his shirt in position, and that was at the collar. He rose up in the pulpit, and with a loud voice announced his text thus: "I am the Christ whom I shall represent to-day." About this time a little blue lizard ran up his roomy pantaloons. The old preacher, not wishing to inter- rupt the steady flow of his sermon, slapped away on his leg, expecting to arrest the intruder ; but his efforts were unavailing, and the little fellow kept on ascend- ing higher and higher. Continuing the sermon, the preacher loosened the central button which graced the 50 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. waistband of his pantaloons, and with a kick off came that easy fitting garment. But, meanwhile, Mr. Lizard had passed the equatorial line of the waistband, and was calmly exploring that part of the preacher's anatomy which lay underneath the back of his shirt. Things were now growing interesting, but the sermon was still grinding on. The next movement on the preacher's part was for the colkir button, and with one sweep of his arm off came the tow linen shirt. The congregation sat for an instant as if dazed; at length one old lady in the rear part of the room rose up, and glancing at the excited object in the pulpit, shouted at the top of her voice, "If you represent Christ, then I'm done with the Bible." HOW LINCOLN OBTAINED THE NAME OF "HONEST ABE." During the year that Lincoln was in Denton Offutt's store, that gentleman, whose business was somewhat widely and unwisely spread about the country, ceased to prosper in his finances, and finally failed. The store was shut up, the mill was closed, and Abraham Lincoln was out of business. The year had been one of great advance, in many respects. He had made new and valuable acquaintances, read many books, mastered the grammar of his own tongue, won multi- tudes of. friends, and became ready for a step still further in advance. Those who could appreciate brains respected him, and those whose ideas of a man related to his muscles were devoted to him. It was was performing the work of the store that h STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 51 acquired the sobriquet "Honest Abe" a characteriza- tion that he never dishonored, and an abbreviation that he never outgrew. He was judge, arbitrator, referee, umpire, authority, in all disputes, games and matches of man-flesh, horse-flesh, a pacificator in all quarrels ; everybody's friend; the best-natured, the most sen- sible, the best-informed, the most modest and unassum- ing, the kindest, gentlest, roughest, strongest, best fellow in all New Salem and the region round about. LINCOLN CARRIES A DRUNKARD EIGHTY RODS - ON HIS BACK. An instance of young Lincoln's practical humanity at an early period of his life is recorded as follows: One evening, while returning from a "raising" in his wide neighborhood, with a number of companions, he discovered a stray horse, with saddle and bridle upon him. The horse was recognized as belonging to a man who was accustomed to excess in drink, and it was sus- pected at once that the owner was not far off. A short search only was necessary to confirm the suspicion of the men. The poor drunkard was found in a perfectly helpless condition, upon the chilly ground. Abraham's com- panions urged the cowardly policy of leaving him to his fate, but young Lincoln would not hear to the proposition. At his request, the miserable sot was lifted on his shoulders, and he actually carried him eighty rods to the nearest house. Sending word to his father that he should not be back that night, with the reason for his ateenqe, fc attended and nursed the LIBRARY 52 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. man until the morning, and had the pleasure of believ- ing that he had saved his life. HOW LINCOLN EARNED HIS FIRST DOLLAR. The following interesting story was told by Mr. Lin- coln to Mr. Seward and a few friends one evening in the Executive Mansion at Washington. The Presi- dent said: "Seward, you never heard, did you, how I earned my first dollar?" "No," rejoined Mr. Seward. "Well," continued Mr. Lincoln, "I belonged, you know, to what they called down South the 'scrubs.' We had succeeded in raising, chiefly by my labor, sufficient produce, as I thought, to justify me in tak- ing it down the river to sell. "After much persuasion, I got the consent of mother to go, and constructed a little flatboat, large enough to take a barrel or two of things that we had gathered, with myself and little bundle, down to the Southern market. A steamer was coming down the river. We have, you know, no wharves on the Western streams ; and the custom was, if passengers were at any of the landings, for them to go out in a boat, the steamer stopping and taking them on board. "I was contemplating my new flatboat, and wonder- ing whether I could make it strong or improve it in any particular, when two men came down to the shore in carriages with trunks, and looking at the different boats singled out mine, and asked, 'Who owns this?' I answered, somewhat modestly, 'I do.' 'Will you,' saicl one of them, 'take us and our trunks out to the STORIES OP LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 53 steamer?' 'Certainly/ said I. I was very glad to have the chance of earning something. I supposed that each of them would give me one or two or three bits. The trunks were put on my flatboat, the passengers seated themselves on the trunks, and I sculled them out to the steamboat. "They got on board, and I lifted up their heavy trunks, and put them on deck. The steamer was about to put on steam again, when I called out that they had forgotten to pay me. Each of them took from his pocket a silver half-dollar, and threw it on the floor of my boat. I could scarcely believe my eyes when I picked up the money. Gentlemen, you may think it was a very little thing, and in these days it seems to me a trifle; but it was a most important incident in my life. I could scarcely credit, that I, a poor boy, had earned a dollar. The world seemed wider and fairer before me. I was a more hopeful and confident being from that time. ' ' YOUNG LINCOLN "PULLS^FODDER" TWO DAYS FOR A DAMAGED BOOK. The following incident, illustrating several traits already developed in the early boyhood of Lincoln, is vouched for by a citizen of Evansville, Ind., who knew him in the days referred to : In his eagerness to acquire knowledge, young Lin- coln had borrowed of Mr. Crawford, a neighboring farmer, a copy of Weem's Life of Washington the only one known to be in existence in that region of the country. Before he had finished reading the book, it 54 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. had been left, by a not unnatural oversight, in a win- dow. Meantime, a rain storm came on and the book was so thoroughly wet as to make it nearly worthless. This mishap caused him much pain ; but he went, in all honesty, to Mr. Crawford with the ruined book, explained the calamity that had happened through his neglect, and offered, not having sufficient money, to "work out" the value of the book. "Well, Abe," said Mr. Crawford, after due delibera- tion, "as it's you, I won't be hard on you. Just come over and pull fodder for me two days, and we will call our accounts even." The offer was readily accepted, and the engagement literally fulfilled. As a boy, no less than since, Abra- ham had an honorable conscientiousness, integrity, honesty, and an ardent love of knowledge. YOUNG LINCOLN NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH. A little incident occurred while young Lincoln lived in Indiana, which illustrates the early hardships and surroundings to which he was subjected. On one occa- sion he was obliged to take his grist upon the back of his father's horse, and go fifty miles to get it ground. The mill itself was very rude, and driven by horse- power, the customers were obliged to wait their "turn," without reference to their distance from home, and then used their own horse to propel the machinery. On this occasion, Abraham, having arrived at his turn, fastened his mare to the lever, and was following her closely upon her rounds, when, urging her with the switch, and "clucking" to her in the usual way, he LINCOLN AS A RAIL SPLITTER. STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 57 received a kick from her which prostrated him, and made him insensible. With the first instant of return- ing consciousness, he finished the cluck, which he had commenced when he received the kick (a fact for the psychologist), and with the next he probably thought about getting home, where he arrived at last, battered, but ready for further service. NO VICES FEW VIRTUES. Riding at one time in the stage, with an old Ken- tuckian who was returning from Missouri, Lincoln excited the old gentleman's surprise by refusing to accept either of tobacco or French brandy. When they separated that afternoon, the Kentuckian to take another stage bound for Louisville, he shook hands warmly with Lincoln, and said good-humoredly, "See here, stranger, you're a clever but strange com- panion. I may never see you again, and I don't want to offend you, but I want to say this: My experience has taught me that a man who has no vices has d d few virtues. Good-day. ' ' Lincoln enjoyed this reminiscence of his journey, and took great pleasure in relating it. LINCOLN'S PROPHECY. An old copy-book of Lincoln's has the following, written when he was fourteen years old : '* "Pis Abraham Lincoln holds the pen, He will be good, but God knows when!" 58 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. HOW LINCOLN THRASHED A BULLY AND MADE A LIFELONG FRIEND. While showing goods to two or three women in Offutt's store one day, a bully came in and began to talk in an offensive manner, using much profanity, and evidently wishing to provoke a quarrel. Lincoln leaned over the counter, and begged him, as ladies were present, not to indulge in such talk. The bully retorted that the opportunity had come for which he" had long sought, and he would like to see the man who could hinder him from saying anything he might choose to say. Lincoln, still cool, told him that if he would wait until the ladies had retired he would hear what he had to say, and give him any satisfaction he desired. As soon as the women were gone, the man became furious. Lincoln heard his boasts and abuse for a time, and, rinding he was not to be put off without a fight, said: "Well, if you must be whipped, I suppose I may as well whip you as any other man." This was just what the bully had been seeking, he said, so out of doors they went, and Lincoln made short work of him. He threw him upon the ground, held him there as if he had been a child, and gathering some "smart- weed" which grew upon the spot, rubbed it into his face and eyes, until the fellow bellowed with pain. Lincoln did all this without a particle of anger, and, when the job was finished, went immediately for water, washed his victim's face, and did everything he could to alleviate his distress. The upshot of the matter was that the man became his fast and lifelong friend, and was a better man from that day. It was STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 59 impossible then, and it always remained, for Lincoln to cherish resentment and revenge. AN INCIDENT FROM LINCOLN'S EXPERIENCE ON A MISSISSIPPI FLATBOAT. At the age of nineteen, Abraham made his second essay in navigation, and at this time caught something more than a glimpse of the great world in which he was destined to play so important a part. A trading neighbor applied to him to take charge of a flatboat and its cargo, and, in company with his own son, to take it to the sugar plantations near New Orleans. The entire business of the trip was placed in Abra- ham's hands. The fact tells its own story touching the young man's reputation for capacity and integrity. He had never made the trip, knew nothing of the journey, was unaccustomed to business transactions, had never been much upon the river; but his tact, ability and honesty were so trusted that the trader was willing to risk his cargo and his son in Lincoln's care. The incidents of a trip like this were not likely to be exciting, but there were many social chats with the settlers and hunters along the banks of the Ohio and the Mississippi, and there was much hailing of similar craft afloat. Arriving at a sugar plantation some- where between Natchez and New Orleans, the boat was pulled in, and tied to the shore for purposes of trade; and here an incident occurred which was sufficiently exciting, and one which, in the memory of recent events, reads somewhat strangely. Here seven negroes attempted the life of the future liberator of the race, and it is not improbable that some of them 60 STORIES OP LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. have lived to be emancipated by his proclamation. Night had fallen, and the two tired voyagers had lain down on their hard bed for sleep. Hearing a noise on shore, Abraham shouted: "Who's there?" The noise continuing and no one replying, he sprang to his feet and saw seven negroes, evidently bent on plunder. Abraham guessed the errand at once, and seizing a hand-spike, rushed towards them, and knocked one into the water the moment he touched the boat. The second, third, and fourth who leaped on board were served in the same rough way. Seeing that they were not likely to make headway in their thieving enter- prise, the remainder turned to flee. Abraham and his companion, growing excited and warm with their work, leaped on shore, and followed them. Both were too swift on foot for the negroes, and all of them received a severe pounding. They returned to their boat just as the others escaped from the water, but the latter fled into the darkness as fast as their legs could carry them. Abraham and his fellow in the fight were both injured, but not disabled. Not being armed, and unwilling to wait until the negroes had received reinforcements, they cut adrift, and floated down a mile or two, tied up to the bank again, and watched and waited for the morning. The trip was brought at length to a successful end. The cargo, "load," as they called it, was all disposed of for money, the boat itself sold for lumber, and the young men retraced the passage, partly, at least, on shore and on foot, occupying several weeks in the difficult and tedious journey. STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 61 "HONEST ABE" AS A COUNTRY STOREKEEPER. Lincoln could not rest for an instant tinder the con- sciousness that he had, even unwittingly, defrauded anybody. On one occasion, while clerking in Offutt's store, at New Salem, 111., he sold a woman a little bale of goods, amounting in value by the reckoning to two dollars and twenty cents. He received the money, and the woman went away. On adding the items of the bill again to make himself sure of correctness, he found that he had taken six and a quarter cents too much. It was night, and, closing and locking the store, he started out on foot, a distance of two or three miles, for the house of his defrauded customer, and, delivering over to her the sum whose possession had so much troubled him, went home satisfied. On another occasion, just as he was closing the store for the night, a woman entered, and asked for a half pound of tea. The tea was weighed out and paid for, and the store was left for the night. The next morn- ing Lincoln entered to begin the duties of the day, when he discovered a four-ounce weight on the scales. He saw at once that he had made a mistake, and, shutting the store, he took a long walk before break- fast to deliver the remainder of the tea. These are very humble incidents, but they illustrate the man's perfect conscientiousness his sensitive honesty better, perhaps, than they would if they were of greater moment. "HONEST ABE" AS VILLAGE POSTMASTER. Mr. Lincoln was appointed postmaster by President Jackson. The office was too insignificant to be con- 62 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. sidered politically, and it was given to the young man because everybody liked him, and because he was the only man who was willing to take it who could make out the returns. He was exceedingly pleased with the appointment, because it gave him a chance to read every newspaper that was taken in the vicinity. He had never been able to get half the newspapers he wanted before, and the office gave him the prospect of a constant feast. Not wishing to be tied to the office, as it yielded him no revenue that would reward him for the confinement, he made a post-office of his hat. Whenever he went out the letters were placed in his hat. When an anxious looker for a letter found the postmaster, he had found his office; and the public officer, taking off his hat, looked over his mail wher- ever the public might find him. He kept the office until it was discontinued, or removed to Petersburg. One of the most beautiful exhibitions of Mr. Lin- coln's rigid honesty occurred in connection with the settlement of his accounts with the Post-office Depart- ment, several years afterward. It was after he had become a lawyer, and had been a legislator. He had passed through a period of great poverty, had acquired his education in the law in the midst of many perplexities, inconveniences, and hard- ships, and had met with temptations such as few men could resist, to make a temporary use of any money he might have in his hands. One day, seated in the law office of his partner, the agent of the Post-office Department entered, and inquired if Abraham Lincoln was within. Mr. Lincoln responded to his name, and was informed that the agent had called to collect the due the Department since the Discontinuance STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 63 of the New Salem office. A shade of perplexity passed over Mr. Lincoln's face, which did not escape the notice of friends present. One of them said at once : "Lincoln, if you are in want of money, let us help yon." He made no reply, but suddenly rose, and pulled out from a pile of books a little old trunk, and, returning to the table, asked the agent how much the amount of his debt was. The sum was named, and then Mr. Lincoln opened the trunk, pulled out a little package of coin wrapped in a cotton rag, and counted out the exact sum, amounting to something more than seven- teen dollars. After the agent had left the room, he remarked quietly that he had never used any man's money but his own. Although this sum had been in his hands during all these years, he had never regarded it as available, even for any temporary use of his own. A FLATBOAT INCIDENT ILLUSTRATING LINCOLN'S READY INGENUITY. Governor Yates, of Illinois, in a speech at Spring- field, quoted one of Mr. Lincoln's early friends W. T. Green as having said that the first time he ever saw Mr. Lincoln, he was in the Sangamon River with his trousers rolled up five feet, more or less, trying to pilot a flatboat over a mill-dam. The boat was so full of water that it was hard to manage. Lincoln got the prow over, and then, instead of waiting to bail the water out, bored a hole through the projecting part and let it run out; affording a forcible illustration of the ready ingenuity of the future President in the qujc.k invention of moral expedients, 64 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. A WRESTLING MATCH. There lived, at the time young Lincoln resided at New Salem, 111. , in and around the village, a band of rollicking fellows, or, more properly, roistering rowdies, known as the "Clary's Grove Boys." The special tie that united them was physical courage and prowess. These fellows, although they embraced in their number many men who have since become respectable and influential, were wild and rough beyond toleration in any community not made up like that which produced them. They pretended to be "regu- lators, ' ' and were the terror of all who did not acknowl- edge their rule ; and their mode of securing allegiance was by flogging every man who failed to acknowledge it. They took it upon themselves to try the mettle of every new-comer, and to learn the sort of stuff he was made of. Some of their number was appointed to fight, wrestle, or run a foot-race with each incoming stranger. Of course, Abraham Lincoln was obliged to pass the ordeal. Perceiving that he was a man who would not easily be floored, they selected their champion, Jack Arm- strong, and imposed upon him the task of laying Lin- coln upon his back. There is no evidence that Lincoln was an unwilling party to the sport, for it was what he had always been accustomed to. The bout was entered upon, but Armstrong soon discovered that he had met more than his match. The boys were looking on, and seeing that their champion was likely to get the worst of it, did after INCOLN'S EARLY HOME AT ELIZABETHTOWN, HARDIN co., KY. FROM A PHOTO- GRAPH TAKEN IN 1895. STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 67 the manner of such irresponsible bands. They gath- ered around Lincoln, struck and disabled him, and then Armstrong, by "legging" him, got him down. Most men would have been indignant, not to say furiously angry, under such foul treatment as this ; but if Lincoln was either, he did not show it. Getting up in perfect good humor, he fell to laughing over his dis- comfiture, and joking about it. They had all calcu- lated on making him angry, and they intended, with the amiable spirit which characterized the "Clary's Grove Boys, ' ' to give him a terrible drubbing. They were disappointed, and, in their admiration of him, immediately invited him to become one of the com- pany. THE FIRST MEETING OF A FUTURE PRESIDENT AND GOVERNOR. Lincoln was a marked and a peculiar young man. People talked about him. His studious habits, his greed for information, his thorough mastery of the difficulties of every new position in which he was placed, his intelligence touching all matters of public concern, his unwearying good-nature, his skill in tell- ing a story, his great athletic power, his quaint, odd ways, his uncouth appearance, all tended to bring him in sharp contrast with the dull mediocrity by which he was surrounded. Denton Offutt, his old employer in the store, said, after having had a conver- sation with Lincoln, that the young man "had talent enough in him to make a President. ' ' In every circle in which he found himself, whether refined or coarse, he was always the center of attraction. 68 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. William G. Greene says that when he (Greene) was a member of the Illinois College, he brought home with him, on a vacation, Richard Yates, afterwards Governor of the State, and some other boys, and, in order to entertain them, took them up to see Lincoln. He found him in his usual position and at his usual occupation. He was flat on his back, on a cellar door, reading a newspaper. This was the manner in which a President of the United States and a Governor of Illinois became acquainted with each other. Mr. Greene says that Lincoln then repeated the whole of Burns, and was a devoted student of Shakespeare. So the rough backwoodsman, self-educated, enter- tained the college boys, and was invited to dine with them on bread and milk. How he managed to upset his bowl of milk is not a matter of history, but the fact that he did so, as is the further fact that Greene's mother, who loved Lincoln, tried to smooth over the accident and to relieve the young man's embarrass- ment. LINCOLN'S NAME GOOD FOR A BED. In the year 1855 or 1856, George B. Lincoln, Esq., of Brooklyn, was traveling through the west in connec- tion with a large New York dry-goods establishment. He found himself one night in a town on the Illinois River, by the name of Naples. The only tavern of the place had evidently been constructed with reference to business on a small scale. Poor as the prospect seemed, Mr. Lincoln had no alternative but to put up at the place. STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 69 The supper-room was also used as a lodging-room. Mr. Lincoln told his host that he thought he would "go to bed." "Bed!" echoed the landlord. "There is no bed for you in this house unless you sleep with that man yon- der. He has the only one we have to spare. " "Well," returned Mr. Lincoln, "the gentleman has possession, and perhaps would not like a bed-fellow." Upon this a grizzly head appeared out of the pillows, and said: "What is your name?" ' * They call me Lincoln at home, ' ' was the reply. "Lincoln!" repeated the stranger; "any connection of our Illinois Abraham?" "No," replied Mr. Lincoln. "I fear not." "Well," said the old gentleman, "I will let any man by the name of 'Lincoln' sleep with me, just for the sake of the name. You have heard of Abe?" he inquired. "Oh, yes, very often," replied Mr. Lincoln. "No man could travel far in this State without hearing of him, and I would be very glad to claim connection if I could do so honestly. ' ' "Well," said the old gentleman, "my name is Sim- mons. 'Abe' and I used to live and work together when young men. Many a job of wood-cutting and rail-splitting have I done up with him. Abe Lincoln was the likeliest boy in God's world. He would work all day as hard as any of us and study by firelight in the log-house half the night; and in this way he made himself a thorough, practical surveyor. Once, during those days, I was in the upper part of the State, and I met General Ewing, whom President Jackson had sent 70 STORIES OP LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. to the Northwest to make surveys. I told him about Abe Lincoln, what a student he was, and that I wanted he should give me a job. He looked over his memo- randum, and, holding out a paper, said : ' 'There is County must be surveyed; if your friend can do the work properly, I shall be glad to have him undertake it the compensation will be six hun- dred dollars. ' "Pleased as I could be, I hastened to Abe, after I got home, with an account of what I had secured for him. He was sitting before the fire in the log-cabin when I told him; and what do you think was his answer? When I finished, he looked up very quietly, and said: " 'Mr. Simmons, I thank you very sincerely for your kindness, but I don't think I will undertake the job. ' " 'In the name of wonder/ said I, 'why? Six hun- dred does not grow upon every bush out here in Illinois.' " 'I know that,' said Abe, 'and I need the money bad enough, Simmons, as you know; but I have never been under obligation to a Democratic Administration, and I never intend to be so long as I can get my living another way. General Ewing must find another man to do his work.' " Mr. Carpenter related this story to the President one day, and asked him if it were true. "Pollard Simmons!" said Lincoln. "Well do I remember him. It is correct about our working together, but the old man must have stretched the facts somewhat about the survey of the County. I think I should have been very glad of the job at the time, no matter what Administration was in power." STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 71 Notwithstanding this, however, Mr. Carpenter was inclined to believe Mr. Simmons was not far out of the way, and thought this seemed very characteristic of what Abraham Lincoln may be supposed to have been at twenty-three or twenty-five years of age. AN UNSUCCESSFUL VENTURE AS A MERCHANT IN NEW SALEM. It is interesting to recall the fact that at one time Mr. Lincoln seriously took into consideration the project of learning the blacksmith's trade. He was without means, and felt the immediate necessity of undertaking some business that would give him bread. It was while he was entertaining this project that an event occurred which in his undetermined state of mind seemed to open a way to success in another quarter. A man named Reuben Radford, the keeper of a small store in the village of New Salem, had somehow incurred the displeasure of the Clary's Grove Boys, who had exercised their * 'regulating" derogatives by irregularly breaking his windows. William G. Greene, a friend of young Lincoln, riding by Radford' s store soon afterward, was hailed by him, and told that he intended to sell out. Mr. Greene went into the store, and offered him at random four hundred dollars for his stock. The offer was immediately accepted. Lincoln happening in the next day, and being familiar with the value of the goods, Mr. Greene pro- posed to him to take an inventory of the stock, and see what sort of a bargain he had made. This he did, and 72 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. it was found that the goods were worth six hundred dollars. Lincoln then made him an offer of a hundred and twenty-five dollars for his bargain, with the propo- sition that he and a man named Berry, as his partner, should take his (Greene's) place in the notes given to Radford. Mr. Greene agreed to the arrangement, but Radford declined it, except on condition that Greene would be their security, and this he at last assented to. Berry proved to be a dissipated, trifling man, and the business soon became a wreck. Mr. Greene was obliged to go in and help Mr. Lincoln close it up, and not only do this but pay Radford 's notes. All that young Lincoln won from the store was some very valu- able experience, and the burden of a debt to Greene which, in conversations with the latter, he always spoke of as the national debt. But this national debt, unlike the majority of those which bear the title, was paid to the utmost farthing in after years. Six years afterwards, Mr. Greene, who knew nothing of the law in such cases, and had not troubled himself to inquire about it, and who had in the meantime removed to Tennessee, received notice from Mr. Lin- coln that he was ready to pay him what he paid for Berry he (Lincoln) being legally bound to pay the liabilities of his partner. HOW LINCOLN BECAME A CAPTAIN IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR. In the threatening aspect of the Black Hawk War, Governor Reynolds issued a call for volunteers, and among the companies that immediately responded was STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 73 one from Menard County, Illinois. Many of the volunteers were from New Salem and Clary's Grove, and Lincoln, being out of business, was first to enlist. The company being full, they held a meeting at Rich- land for the election of officers. Lincoln had won many hearts, and they told him that he must be their captain. It was an office that he did not aspire to, and one for which he felt that he had no special fitness ; but he consented to be a candidate. There was but one other candidate for the office (a Mr. Kirkpatrick), and he was one of the most influential men of the County. Previously, Kirkpatrick had been an em- ployer of Lincoln, and was so overbearing in his treat- ment of the young man that the latter left him. The simple mode of their electing their captain, adopted by the company, was by placing the candi- dates apart, and telling the men to go and stand with the one they preferred. Lincoln and his competitor took their positions, and then the word was given. At least three out of every four went to Lincoln at once. When it was seen by those who had arranged them- selves with the other candidate that Lincoln was the choice of the majority of the company, they left their places, one by one, and came over to the successful side, until Lincoln's opponent in the friendly strife was left standing almost alone. * ' I felt badly to see him cut so, ' ' says a witness of the scene. Here was an opportunity for revenge. The humble laborer was his employer's captain, but the oppor- tunity was never improved. Mr. Lincoln frequently confessed that no subsequent success of his life had given him half the satisfaction that this election did. 74 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. He had achieved public recognition; and to one so humbly bred, the distinction was inexpressibly delight- ful. LINCOLN APPLIES FOR A PATENT. That he had enough mechanical genius to make him a good mechanic there is no doubt. With such rude tools as were at his command he had made cabins and flatboats; and after his mind had become absorbed in public and professional affairs, he often recurred to his mechanical dreams for amusement. One of his dreams took form, and he endeavored to make a practical matter of it. He had had experience in the early navigation of the Western rivers. One of the most serious hindrances to this navigation was low water, and the lodgment of the various craft on the shifting shoals and bars with which these rivers abound. He undertook to contrive an apparatus which, folded to the hull of the boat like a bellows, might be inflated on occasions, and, by its levity, lifted over any obstruction upon which it might rest. On this contrivance, illustrated by a model whittled out by himself, and now preserved in the Patent Office in Washington, he secured letters patent; but it is cer- tain that the navigation of the Western rivers was not revolutionized by it. LINCOLN THE TALLEST OF THE "LONG NINE." The Sangamon County delegation to the Illinois Legislature, in 1834, of which Lincoln was a member, consisting of nine representatives, was so remarkable for the physical altitude of its members that they were STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 75 known as "The Long Nine." Not a member of the number was less than six feet high, and Lincoln was the tallest of the nine, as he was the leading man intellectually in and out the House. Among those who composed the House were Gen. John A. McClernand, afterward a member of Con- gress; Jesse K. DeBois, afterwards Auditor of the State ; James Semple, afterwards twice the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and subsequently United States Senator; Robert Smith, afterwards member of Congress ; John Hogan, afterwards a mem- ber of Congress from St. Louis ; Gen. James Shields, afterwards United States Senator (who died recently) ; John Dement, who has since been Treasurer of the State ; Stephen A. Douglas, whose subsequent career is familiar to all ; Newton Cloud, President of the Con- vention which framed the present State Constitution of Illinois; John J. Hardin, who fell at Buena Vista; John Moore, afterward Lieutenant- Governor of the State; William A. Richardson, subsequently United States Senator, and William McMurtry, who has since been Lieutenant-Governor of the State. This list does not embrace all who had then, or who have since been distinguished, but it is large enough to show that Lincoln was, during the term of this Legis- lature, thrown into association and often into antag- onism, with the brightest men of the new State. LINCOLN'S ENTRANCE INTO PUBLIC LIFE. In 1834, Lincoln was a candidate for the Legislature, and was elected by the highest vote cast for any candi- date. Major John T. Stuart, an officer in the Black 76 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. Hawk War, and whose acquaintance Lincoln made at Beardstown, was also elected. Major Stuart had already conceived the highest opinion of the young man, and seeing much of him during the canvass for the election, privately advised him to study law. Stuart was himself engaged in a large and lucrative practice at Springfield. Lincoln said he was poor that he had no money to buy books, or to live where books might be borrowed or used. Major Stuart offered to lend him all he needed, and he decided to take the kind lawyer's advice, and accept his offer. At the close of the can- vass which resulted in his election, he walked to Spring- field, borrowed "a load" of books of Stuart, and took them home with him to New Salem. Here he began the study of law in good earnest, though with no preceptor. He studied while he had bread, and then started out on a surveying tour to win the money that would buy more. One who remembers his habits during this period says that he went, day after day, for weeks, and sat under an oak tree near New Salem and read, moving around to keep in the shade as the sun moved. He was so much absorbed that some people thought and said he was crazy. Not unfrequently he met and passed his best friends without noticing them. The truth was that he had found the pursuit of his life, and had become very much in earnest. During Lincoln's campaign he possessed and rode a horse, to procure which he had quite likely sold his compass and chain, for, as soon as the canvass had closed, he sold the horse and bought these instruments, LINCOLN'S FIRST HOME IN ILLINOIS. LINCOLN'S HOME IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 79 indispensable to him in the only pursuit by which he could make his living. When the time for the assembly of the Legislature had arrived Lincoln dropped his law books, shouldered his pack, and, on foot, trudged to Vandalia, then the Capital of the State, about a hundred miles, to make his entrance into public life. INCIDENT IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR. An old Indian strayed, hungry and helpless, into the camp one day. The soldiers were conspiring to kill him as a spy. A letter from General Cass, recommending him, for his past kind and faithful service to the whites, the trembling old savage drew from beneath the folds of his blankets; but failed in any degree to appease the wrath of the men who confronted him. "Make an example of him," they exclaimed; "the letter is a forgery, and he is a spy." They might have put their threats into execution had not the tall form of their captain, his face swarthy with resolution and rage, interposed itself between them and their defenseless victim. Lincoln's determined look and demand that it must not be done were enough. They sullenly desisted, and the Indian, unmolested, continued on his way. COOL UNDER DIFFICULTIES. At one time Major Hill charged Lincoln with mak- ing defamatory remarks about his wife. 8o STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. Hill was insulting in his language to Lincoln, who never lost his temper. When he saw his chance to edge a word in, Lincoln denied emphatically using the language or anything like that attributed to him. He entertained, he insisted, a high regard for Mrs. Hill, and the only thing he knew to her discredit was the fact that she was Major Hill's wife. "THANK YOU, I NEVER DRINK." When Lincoln was in the Black Hawk War as cap- tain, the volunteer soldiers drank in with delight the jests and stories of the tall captain. ^Esop's Fables were given a new dress, and the tales of the wild adventures that he had brought from Kentucky and Indiana were many, but his inspiration was never stimulated by recourse to the whisky jug. When his grateful and delighted auditors pressed this on him he had one reply : ' * Thank you, I never drink it. ' ' THE LINCOLN-SHIELDS DUEL. The late General Shields was Auditor of the State of Illinois in 1839. While he occupied this important office he was involved in an "affair of honor" with a Springfield lawyer no less a personage than Abra- ham Lincoln. At this time, * 'James Shields, Auditor, ' ' was the pride of the young Democracy, and was con- sidered a dashing fellow by all, the ladies included. In the summer of 1842, the Springfield Journal con- tained some letters from the "Lost Township," by a STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. 81 contributor whose nom de plume was "Aunt Becca," which held up the gallant young Auditor as "a ball- room dandy, floatin' about on the earth without heft or substance, just like a lot of cat fur where cats had been fightin'." These letters caused intense excitement in the town. Nobody knew or guessed their authorship. Shields swore it would be coffee and pistols for two if he should find out who had been lampooning him so unmerci- fully. Thereupon "Aunt Becca" wrote another letter, which made the furnace of his wrath seven times hotter than before, in which she made a very humble apology, and offered to let him squeeze her hand for satisfaction, adding: "If this should not answer, there is one thing more I would rather do than get a lickin'. I have all along expected to die a widow ; but, as Mr. Shields is rather good-looking than otherwise, I must say I don't care if we compromise the matter by really, Mr. Printer, I can't help blushing but I must come out I but widowed modesty well, if I must, I must wouldn't he maybe sorter let the old grudge drap if I was to consent to be be his wife? I know he is a fightin' man, and would rather fight than eat; but isn't marryin' better than fightin', though it does sometimes run into it? And I don't think, upon the whole, I'd be sich a bad match neither; I'm not over sixty, and am just four feet three in my bare feet, and not much more around the girth; and for color, I wouldn't turn my back to nary a girl in the Lost Townships. But, after all, maybe I'm counting my chickens before they're hatched, and dreamin' of matrimonial bliss when the only alternative reserved for me may be a lickin'. Jeff 82 STORIES OF LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE. tells me the way these fire-eaters do is to give the challenged party the choice of weapons, which being the case, I tell you in confidence, I never fight with anything but broomsticks or hot water, or a shovelful of coals, or some such thing; the former of which, being somewhat like a shillelah, may not be so very objectionable to him. I will give him a choice, how- ever, in one thing, and that is whether, when we fight, I shall wear breeches or he petticoats, for I presume this change is sufficient to place us on an equality." Of course, some one had to shoulder the responsi- bility of these letters after such a shot. The real author was none other than Miss Mary Todd, after- ward the wife of Abraham Lincoln, to whom she was engaged, and who was in honor bound to assume, for belligerent purposes, the responsibility of her sharp pen-thrusts. Mr. Lincoln accepted the situation. Not long after, the two men, with their seconds, were on their way to the field of honor. But the affair was fixed up without any fighting, and thus ended in a fizzle the Lincoln- Shields duel of the Lost Township. Stories of Lincoln as a Lawyer. LINCOLN THE STUDENT. That Lincoln's attempt to make a lawyer of himself under the adverse and unpromising circumstances ex- cited comment is not to be wondered at. Russell Goodby, an old man who still survives, told the following: He had often employed Lincoln to do farm work for him, and was surprised to find him one day, sitting barefoot on the summit of a woodpile, and attentively reading a book. "This being an unusual thing for farm hands at that early date to do, I asked him," relates Goodby, "what he was reading. "He answered, 'I'm studying. * 'Studying what?' I inquired. ' 'Law, sir,' was the emphatic response. It was really too much for me, as I looked at him sitting there proud as Cicero. ' ' "WELL, SPEED, I'M MOVED." Speed, who was a prosperous young merchant, reports that Lincoln's personal effects consisted of a pair of saddle-bags, containing two or three lawbooks, 83 84 STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. and a few pieces of clothing. Riding on a borrowed horse, he thus made his appearance in Springfield. When he discovered that a single bedstead would cost seventeen dollars, he said, "It is probably cheap enough, but I have not money enough to pay for it." When Speed offered to trust him, he said: "If I fail here as a lawyer, I will probably never pay you at all. ' ' Then Speed offered to share a large double bed with him. "Where is your room?" Lincoln asked. "Upstairs," said Speed, pointing from the store lead- ing to his room. Without saying a word, he took his saddle-bags on his arm, went upstairs, set them down on the floor, came down again, and with a face beaming with pleas- ure and smiles, exclaimed: "Well, Speed, I'm moved. " LINCOLN RESCUES A PIG FROM A BAD PREDICAMENT. An amusing incident occurred in connection with "riding the circuit," which gives a pleasant glimpse into the good lawyer's heart. He was riding by a deep slough, in which, to his exceeding pain, he saw a pig struggling, and with such faint efforts that it was evi- dent that he could not extricate himself from the mud. Mr. Lincoln looked at the pig and the mud which enveloped him, and then looked at some new clothes with which he had but a short time before enveloped himself. Deciding against the claims of the pig, he rode on, but he could not get rid of the vision of the poor brute, and, at last, after riding two miles, he tu.rne.3 back, determined to rescue the animal at the LINCOLN RESCUES A PIG. STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. 87 expense of his new clothes. Arrived at the spot, he tied his horse, and coolly went to work to build of old rails a passage to the bottom of the hole. Descending on these rails, he seized the pig and dragged him out, but not without serious damage to the clothes he wore. Washing his hands in the nearest brook, and wiping them on the grass, he mounted his gig and rode along. He then fell to examining the motive that sent him back to the release of the pig. At the first thought it seemed to be pure benevolence, but, at length, he came to the conclusion that it was selfish- ness, for he certainly went to the pig's relief in order (as he said to the friend to whom he related the inci- dent), "to take a pain out of his own mind." This is certainly a new view of the nature of sympathy; and one which it will be well for the casuist to examine. HOW LINCOLN INVESTED HIS FIRST FIVE HUN- DRED DOLLARS FOR THE BENEFIT OF HIS STEP-MOTHER. Soon after Mr. Lincoln entered upon his profession at Springfield, he was engaged in a criminal case in which it was thought there was little chance of suc- cess. Throwing all his powers into it, he came off victorious, and promptly received for his services five hundred dollars. A legal friend calling upon him the next morning found him sitting before a table, upon which his money was spread out, counting it over and over. "Look here, Judge," said he. "See what a heap of money I've got from the case. Did you ever see anything like it? Why, I never had so much money in 88 STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. my life before, put it all together." Then, crossing his arms upon the table, his manner sobering down, he added: "I have got just five hundred dollars; if it were only seven hundred and fifty, I would go directly and purchase a quarter section of land, and settle it upon my old step-mother." His friend said that if the deficiency was all he needed, he would loan him the amount, taking his note, to which Mr. Lincoln instantly acceded. His friend then said : " Lincoln, I would not do just what you have indi- cated. Your step-mother is getting old, and will not probably live many years. I would settle the property upon her for her use during her lifetime, to revert to you upon her death. ' ' With much feeling, Mr. Lincoln replied : "I shall do no such thing. It is a poor return at best for all the good woman's devotion and fidelity to me, and there is not going to be any half-way business about it. ' ' And so saying, he gathered up his money and proceeded forthwith to carry his long-cherished purpose into execution. A DISTINCTION WITH A DIFFERENCE. Lincoln had assisted in the prosecution of a man who had appropriated some of his neighbor's hen roosts. Jogging home along the highway with the foreman of the jury, who had convicted the hen stealer, he was complimented by Lincoln on the zeal and ability of the prosecution, and remarked: "Why, when the country was young, and I was stronger than I am STORIES OP LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. 89 now, I didn't mind packing off a sheep now and again, but stealing hens!" The good man's scorn could not find words to express his opinion of a man who would steal hens. THAT STAGE-COACH RIDE. Thomas H. Nelson, of Terre Haute, Ind. , who was appointed minister to Chili by Lincoln, when he was President, relates the following: Judge Abram Hammond, afterwards Governor of Indiana, and myself, arranged to go from Terre Haute to Indianapolis in the stage-coach. As we stepped in we discovered that the entire back seat was occupied by a long, lank individual, whose head seemed to protrude from one end of the coach and his feet from the other. He was the sole occu- pant, and was sleeping soundly. Hammond slapped him familiarly on the shoulder, and asked him if he had chartered the coach that day. "Certainly not," and he at once took the front seat, politely surrendering to us the place of honor and comfort. An odd-looking fellow he was, with a twenty-five cent hat, without vest or cravat. Regard- ing him as a good subject for merriment, we perpe- trated several jokes. He took them all with utmost innocence and good nature, and joined in the laugh, although at his own expense. We amazed him with words of length and thunder- ing sound. After an astounding display of wordy pyrotechnics, the dazed and bewildered stranger asked, "What will be the upshot of this comet business?" 90 STORIES OP LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. Late in the evening we reached Indianapolis, and hurried to Browning's hotel, losing sight of the stranger altogether. We retired to our room to brush our clothes. In a few minutes I descended to the portico, and there descried our long, gloomy fellow traveler in the cen- ter of an admiring group of lawyers, among whom were Judges McLean and Huntington, Albert S. White, and Richard W. Thompson, who seemed to be amused and interested in a story he was telling. I inquired of Browning, the landlord, who he was. "Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, a member of Con- gress," was his response. I was thunderstruck at the announcement. I has- tened upstairs and told Hammond the startling news, and together we emerged from the hotel by a back door, and went down an alley to another house, thus avoiding further contact with our distinguished fellow traveler. Years afterward, when the President-elect was on his way to Washington, I was in the same hotel looking over the distinguished party, when a long arm reached to my shoulder, and a shrill voice exclaimed, "Hello, Nelson! do you think, after all, the whole world is going to follow the darned thing off?" The words were my own in answer to his question in the stage- coach. The speaker was Abraham Lincoln. ADVICE TO A YOUNG LAWYER. 44 Billy, don't shoot too high aim lower, and the common people will understand you. STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. 91 "They are the ones you want to reach at least, they are the ones you ought to reach. "The educated and refined people will understand you, anyway. If you aim too high, your idea will go over the heads of the masses, and only hit those who need no hitting.'* LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. Two things were essential to his success in managing a case. One was time ; the other was a feeling of con- fidence in the justice of the cause he represented. He used to say: "If I can free this case from techni- calities and get it properly swung to the jury, I'll win it. ' ' When asked why he went so far back, on a cer- tain occasion, in legal history, when he should have presumed that the court knew enough history, he replied: "There's where you are mistaken. I dared not trust the case on the presumption that the court knew anything; in fact, I argued it on the presump- tion that the court did not know anything. ' ' A state- ment that may not be as extravagant as one would at first suppose. When told by a friend that he should speak with more vim, and arouse the jury, talk faster and keep them awake, he replied : * * Give me your little penknife with its short blade, and hand me that old jackknife, lying on the table." Opening the blade of the pen- knife he said: "You see this blade on the point travels rapidly, but only through a small portion of space till it stops, while the long blade of the jackknife moves no faster but through a much greater space than the small one. Just so with the long-labored movements 92 STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. of the mind. I cannot emit ideas as rapidly as others because I am compelled by nature to speak slowly, but when I do throw off a thought it comes with some effort, it has force to cut its own way and travels a greater distance. ' ' The above was said to his partner in their private office, and was not said boastingly. When Lincoln attacked meanness, fraud or vice, he was powerful, merciless in his castigation. The following are Lincoln's notes for the argument of a case where an attempt was being made to defraud a soldier's widow, with her little babe, of her pension: "No contract, Not professional services, Unreas- onable charge, Money retained by Def., not given by Pl'ff, Revolutionary War, Describe Valley Forge privations, Ice, Soldiers' Bleeding Feet, Pl'ff hus- band, Soldier leaving home for Army, Skin Deft, Close." Judgment was made in her behalf, and no charges made. The following reply was overheard in Lincoln's office, where he was in conversation with a man who appeared to have a case that Lincoln did not desire : "Yes," he said, "we can doubtless gain your case for you ; we can set a whole neighborhood at loggerheads ; we can distress a widowed mother and her six father- less children, and thereby get for you six hundred dol- lars to which you seem to have a legal claim, but which rightfully belongs, it appears to me, as much to the woman and children as it does to you. You must remember that some things legally right are not morally right. We shall not take your case, but will give you a little advice for which we will charge you nothing. You seem to be a sprightly, energetic man ; STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. 93 we would advise you to try your hand at making six hundred dollars in some other way. ' ' LINCOLN'S KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE. Once, pleading a cause, the opposing lawyer had all the advantage of the law in the case ; the weather was warm, and his opponent, as was admissible in frontier courts, pulled off his coat and vest as he grew warm in the argument. At that time, shirts with the buttons behind were unusual. Lincoln took in the situation at once. Know- ing the prejudices of the primitive people against pre- tension of all sorts, or any affectation of superior social rank, arising, he said: "Gentlemen of the jury, having justice on my side, I don't think you will be at all influenced by the gentleman's pretended knowledge of the law, when you see he does not even know which side of his shirt should be in front." There was a general laugh, and Lincoln's case was won. LINCOLN AND FINANCES. Lincoln paid but little attention to the fees and money matters of the firm he usually left all such matters to his partner. He never entered an item in the account book. If anybody paid money to him which belonged to the firm, on arriving at the office he divided it with his partner, and if he was not there, he would wrap up his share in a piece of paper and place it in his partner's drawer- marking it with a pencil. Case, of Roe vs. Doe Herndon/s half," 94 STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. LINCOLN DEFENDS THE SON OF AN OLD FRIEND, INDICTED FOR MURDER. Jack Armstrong, the leader of the "Clary Grove Boys, ' ' with whom Lincoln early in life had a scuffle which "Jack" agreed to call "a drawn battle," in con- sequence of his own foul play, afterward became a life- long, warm friend of Mr. Lincoln. Later in life the rising lawyer would stop at Jack's cabin home, and here Mrs. Armstrong, a most womanly person, learned to respect Mr. Lincoln. There was no service to which she did not make her guest abundantly welcome, and he never ceased to feel the tenderest gratitude for her kindness. At length her husband died, and she became depend- ent upon her sons. The oldest of these, while in attendance upon a camp meeting, found himself involved in a mele*e, which resulted in the death of a young man, and young Armstrong was charged by one of his associates with striking the fatal blow. He was examined, and imprisoned to await his trial. The public mind was in a blaze of excitement, and inter- ested parties fed the flame. Mr. Lincoln knew nothing of the merits of this case, that is certain. He only knew that his old friend, Mrs. Armstrong, was in sore trouble ; and he sat down at once, and volunteered by letter to defend her son. His first act was to secure the postponement, and a change of the place of trial. There was too much fever in the minds of the immediate public to permit of fair treatment. When the trial came on, the case looked very hopeless to all but Mr. Lincoln, who had assured himself that the young man was not guilty. The evidence on behalf of the State being all in, and STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. 97 looking like a solid and consistent mass of testimony against the prisoner, Mr. Lincoln undertook the task of analyzing it, and destroying it, which he did in a manner that surprised every one. The principal wit- ness testified that "by the aid of the brightly shining moon he saw the prisoner inflict the death blow with a slung shot." Mr. Lincoln proved by the almanac that there was no moon shining at that time. The mass of testimony against the prisoner melted away, until "not guilty" was the verdict of every man present in the crowded court-room. There is, of course, no record of the plea made on this occasion, but it is remembered as one in which Mr. Lincoln made an appeal to the sympathies of the jury, which quite surpassed his usual efforts of the kind, and melted all to tears. The jury were out but half an hour, when they returned with their verdict of "not guilty." The widow fainted in the arms of her son, who divided his attention between his services to her and his thanks to his deliverer. And thus the kind woman who cared for the poor young man, and showed herself a mother to him in his need, received the life of a son, saved from a cruel conspiracy, as her reward, from the hands of her grateful beneficiary. LINCOLN DEFENDS A WIDOWED PENSIONER WITH SUCCESS. An old woman of seventy years, the widow of a Revolutionary pensioner, came tottering into his law office, one day, and, taking a seat, told him that a certain pension agent had charged her the exorbitant 98 STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. fee of $200 for collecting her claim. Mr. Lincoln was satisfied by her representations that she had been swindled, and, finding that she was not a resident of the town, and that she was poor, gave her money, and set about the work of procuring restitution. He immediately entered suit against the agent to recover a portion of his ill-gotten money. The suit was entirely successful, and Mr. Lincoln's address to the jury, before which the case was tried, is remembered to have been peculiarly touching, by allusions to the poverty of the widow, and the patriotism of the husband she had sacrificed to secure the nation's independence. He had the gratification of paying back to her $100, and sent her home rejoicing, HOW MRS. LINCOLN SURPRISED HER HUSBAND. A funny story is told of how Mrs. Lincoln made a little surprise for her husband. In the early days it was customary for lawyers to go from one county to another on horseback, a journey which often required several weeks. On returning from one of these jaunts, late one night, Mr. Lincoln dismounted from his horse at the familiar corner and then turned to go into the house, but stopped ; a per- fectly unknown structure was before him. Surprised, and thinking there must be some mistake, he went across the way and knocked at a neighbor's door. The family had retired, and so called out : "Who's there?" 44 Abe Lincoln," was the reply. 44 I am looking for my house. I thought it was across the way, but when STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. 99 I went away a few weeks ago, there was only a one- story house there, and now there is two. I think I must be lost." The neighbors then explained that Mrs. Lincoln had added another story during his absence. And Mr. Lincoln laughed and went to his remodeled house. A NOTED HORSE TRADE IN WHICH LINCOLN CON- FESSED HE GOT THE WORST OF IT. When Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Illinois, he and a certain judge once got to bantering one another about trading horses ; and it was agreed that the next morning at nine o'clock they should make a trade, the horses to be unseen up to that hour, and no backing out, under a forfeiture of $25. At the hour appointed, the Judge came up, leading the sorriest-looking specimen of a horse ever seen in those parts. In a few minutes Mr. Lincoln was seen approaching with a wooden saw-horse upon his shoul- ders. Great were the shouts and laughter of the crowd, and both were greatly increased when Mr. Lincoln, on surveying the Judge's animal, set down his saw-horse, and exclaimed: "Well, Judge, this is the first time I ever got the worst of it in a horse trade." CONSIDERATIONS SHOWN TO RELATIVES. One of the most beautiful traits of Mr. Lincoln was his considerate regard for the poor and obscure rela- tives he had left, plodding along in their humble ways of life. Wherever upon his circuit he found them, he ioo STORIES OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. always went to their dwellings, ate with them, and, when convenient, made their houses his home. He never assumed in their presence the slightest superiority to them, in the facts and conditions of his life. He gave them money when they needed and he possessed it. Countless times he was known to leave his com- panions at the village hotel, after a hard day's work in the court-room, and spend the evening with these old friends and companions of his humbler days. On one occasion, when urged not to go, he replied, "Why, Aunt's heart would be broken if I should leave town without calling upon her" ; yet, he was obliged to walk several miles to make the call. A PATHETIC STORY OF LINCOLN'S DISAPPOINTMENT IN FAILING TO SECURE THE SUPPORT OF THE SPRINGFIELD MINISTERS. At the time of Lincoln's nomination, at Chicago, Mr. Newton Bateman, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Illinois, occupied a room adjoining and opening into the Executive Chamber at Springfield. Frequently this door was open during Mr. Linc