"In the days when I used to be 'on the circuit,'" said Lincoln, "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 jack-knife 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 found a man uglier than myself. I have carried
it from that time to this. Allow me now to say, sir, that I think you
are fairly entitled to the property.'"
"FOOLING" THE PEOPLE
Lincoln was a strong believer in the virtue of dealing honestly with
the people.
"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens," he said
to a caller at the White House, "you can never regain their respect
and esteem.
"It is true that you may fool all the people some of the time; you can
even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of
the people all the time."