When Mr. Lincoln visited New York in 1860, he felt a great interest in
many of the institutions for reforming criminals and saving the young
from a life of crime. Among others, he visited, unattended, the Five
Points House of Industry, and the superintendent of the Sabbath school
there gave the following account of the event:
“One Sunday morning I saw a tall, remarkable-looking man enter the
room and take a seat among us. He listened with fixed attention to our
exercises, and his countenance expressed such genuine interest that I
approached him and suggested that he might be willing to say something
to the children. He accepted the invitation with evident pleasure, and
coming forward began a simple address, which at once fascinated every
little hearer and hushed the room into silence. His language was
strikingly beautiful, and his tones musical with intense feeling. The
little faces would droop into sad conviction when he uttered sentences
of warning, and would brighten into sunshine as he spoke cheerful words
of promise. Once or twice he attempted to close his remarks, but the
imperative shout of, ‘Go on! Oh, do go on!’ would compel him to resume.
“As I looked upon the gaunt and sinewy frame of the stranger, and marked
his powerful head and determined features, now touched into softness
by the impressions of the moment, I felt an irrepressible curiosity to
learn something more about him, and while he was quietly leaving the
room, I begged to know his name. He courteously replied: ‘It is Abraham
Lincoln, from Illinois.’”