Mr. Lincoln enjoyed a joke at his own expense. Said he: “In the days
when I used to be in the circuit, I was accosted in the cars by a
stranger, who said, ‘Excuse me, sir, but I have an article in my
possession which belongs to you.’ ‘How is that?’ I asked, considerably
astonished.
“The stranger took a jackknife from his pocket. ‘This knife,’ said he,
‘was placed in my hands some years ago, with the injunction that I was
to keep it until I had found a man uglier than myself. I have carried
it from that time to this. Allow me to say, sir, that I think you are
fairly entitled to the property.’”