After settling in Springfield, Mr. Lincoln formed a law partnership with
Mr. John T. Stewart, who was known as one of the leading lawyers in
Springfield. They were quite successful. At that time it was customary
for the lawyers to go around with the judge from one county-seat to
another where court was held in the district. Judge David Davis was
Circuit Judge at this time, and there were a number of men in the group
that went around Central Illinois together, who afterward became famous
men. Mr. Lincoln was one of the most popular in the crowd, for he was a
splendid story-teller, and would keep the crowd amused for hours with
funny stories after court was over for the day. One time the son of Jack
Armstrong, whom Abraham had thrown in the wrestling match at New Salem,
was accused of committing a murder. His mother was poor and Jack
Armstrong was dead. She came to Mr. Lincoln and told him she had no
money, but wished very much he could help her and defend her son. He did
so. A man at the trial swore he saw by the moonlight this young
Armstrong strike the man who was killed. Mr. Lincoln got the almanac and
proved by it that there was no moon shining at that time. Then when he
told the jury with tears in his eyes how the poor old mother was down in
the pasture waiting with a sad heart for the verdict and that he
believed the young man was innocent, they all believed him, for they
knew him as "Honest Abe Lincoln," so they cleared young Armstrong and
sent him to support his poor old mother. Mr. Lincoln used to win very
many cases, for the juries all believed him. You remember he was so
honest in the little New Salem store that he got the name of "Honest Abe
Lincoln." Thus it was proved in his case very clearly that "honesty is
the best policy." He never made much money, although he was so
successful, because he was low in his charges and he was never a rich
man. He tried many cases for poor people without charging them anything.
One day as the lawyers were riding their horses along the road, some one
said: "Where is Abe?" and another lawyer spoke up and said: "I left him
back there hunting the nest for some birds that had lost it." You see by
this how kind-hearted he was even towards birds and animals.
They used to have debating societies in Springfield and Abraham was fond
of taking part. The practice he got in this way helped make him a fine
speaker. The Washingtonian society was a strong temperance organization
at that time. At one of its meetings, February 22, 1842, Mr. Lincoln
spoke and said what has often been quoted since: "When the victory shall
be complete, when there shall be neither a slave nor a drunkard on the
earth, how proud the title of that land which may claim to be the
birth-place and cradle of those resolutions that shall have ended in
victory."
You see by this, that as far back as 1842 Mr. Lincoln was a strong
temperance man as well as opposer of slavery. When the committee came to
notify him of his nomination for president, instead of treating them to
wine, as was the custom, Mr. Lincoln gave them water and remarked that
he would continue his habit of using and giving his guests "Adam's Ale,"
or pure water. Mr. Lincoln ran for congress against the famous Illinois
pioneer preacher, Peter Cartwright. Mr. Cartwright was a very noted and
popular man and it is therefore all the more to the credit of Mr.
Lincoln that he was elected. He was only two years in congress and was
not able in that length of time to make much of a record, as new men do
not get heard very easily.
A beautiful young lady, Miss Mary Todd, came from Kentucky to live with
her sister, Mrs. Edwards, in Springfield. The Edwards family was very
prominent for the father had been governor of Illinois. Miss Todd was
one of the popular belles in Springfield and was courted by many of the
leading young men. Mr. Lincoln was the successful suitor, however, and
they were married November 4, 1842. They had three boys. Only one of
them is living now; the Honorable Robert Lincoln, a lawyer in Chicago
and former American minister to Great Britain. The other boys died while
little fellows.
Two young men who became very famous in the history of our country
really started their careers at Springfield, Illinois. One was Stephen
A. Douglas and the other Abraham Lincoln. It would be hard to say which
of these young men was the smarter; they were both brilliant and hard
workers. That is, they studied hard and that made them successful.
Although they were both great men, they were not much alike in
appearance or in disposition or in the quality of their minds.
Mr. Lincoln came from the South where they liked slavery and Mr. Douglas
from Vermont where they hated slavery. They both came to Illinois at
about the age of twenty-one, when they became citizens according to the
law.
At this time Illinois was a sort of debating battle-ground. Emigrants
came to it from the north and east, who were opposed to slavery; others
came from the south, who were in favor of slavery, and these two
classes, in the absence of slavery and on rather mutual ground, debated
the rights and wrongs of slavery with constant and energetic debate.
The Democratic party at this time was mostly in the South and the Whig
party mostly in the North. Slavery was in the South, but not in the
North. Naturally, therefore, the Democratic party favored slavery, and
the Whig party, while it did not oppose slavery, yet did not favor it.
You would think, under the circumstances, that Mr. Lincoln coming from
the South, would have been a Democrat, and Mr. Douglas coming from the
North would have been a Whig. But they each did the opposite. The
Democratic party was in the majority in Illinois at this time and I
presume Mr. Douglas, coming to the state, ambitious to succeed, thought
he could best succeed if he went in with the popular party, for it had
control of the offices and could give him a place and then advance him
higher and higher as he proved his worth. After events proved that he
was thus advanced and to very great honors.
When Mr. Lincoln was making a speech at Charleston, Illinois, one time,
a man in the audience tried to ridicule him, and shouted out: "Say,
Lincoln, when you came to Illinois, didn't you come barefoot and driving
a yoke of oxen?"
Showing how coming poor from a slave state, he was helped to be what he
was, by the free state of Illinois. Mr. Lincoln wound up the reply with
these magnificent words:
"Yes, and we will speak for freedom and against slavery as long as the
constitution of our country guarantees free speech, until everywhere on
this wide land, the sun shall shine and the rain fall and the wind blow
upon no man who goes forth to unrequited toil."
Thus you see Mr. Lincoln was opposed to slavery, and though he was as
ambitious as Mr. Douglas and would have been glad to be on the
successful and winning side so he could be advanced, he was nevertheless
so strictly honest that he would not join the popular party because it
endorsed slavery, and he was so determined to be strictly honest in his
politics as well as everything else that he was willing to apparently
throw away his chances of success and join the unpopular party because
it did not endorse slavery, which he thought a wicked institution.
So these two young men started out. One went into the popular and
successful party and succeeded with it. The other went into the
unpopular and unsuccessful party and failed with it, yet did not fail,
because he kept his principles. Mr. Douglas went on higher and higher in
honors and fame and was United States senator a number of years. In the
senate he ranked as one of the greatest statesmen of the day.
Mr. Lincoln was only a well-to-do lawyer, unknown out of Central
Illinois. Twenty years after their start he thus wrote of it:
"Twenty years ago Douglas and I first became acquainted. We were both
young then. Even then we were both ambitious. I, perhaps quite as much
as he. With me the race of ambition has been a failure--a flat failure.
With him it has been one of splendid success. His name fills the nation
and is not unknown even in foreign lands. I affect no contempt for the
high eminence he has reached. So reached, that the oppressed of my
species might have shared with me in the elevation, I would rather stand
on that eminence than wear the richest crown that ever pressed a
monarch's brow."
By this you see he appreciated Mr. Douglas' honors, but would not accept
them himself if to do so, he had to endorse slavery.
In 1858 Mr. Douglas was generally recognized as the ablest man in the
Democratic party, and it was thought that two years later, he would be
the Democratic nominee for president, and as the Democrats were in the
majority he would certainly be the next president of the United States.
Mr. Lincoln was not known much outside of Central Illinois, where he
practiced law.
One of the political doctrines of Mr. Douglas was called "Squatter
Sovereignty." It meant that in the new territories and states being
added to the Union, that if they wanted slavery there, the people could
vote to have it or they could vote not to have it. Mr. Lincoln was
opposed to this, and wanted no more slave states added to the Union. He
challenged Mr. Douglas, as the representative of Illinois in the United
States senate to a joint debate. Mr. Douglas finally agreed, and they
held seven wonderful debates in different parts of the state. Great
crowds came from far and near to hear them. They were drawn by the fame
of Mr. Douglas, who rode on special trains and had bands of music, and
cannons fired off when he entered the town. Mr. Lincoln often rode in
the caboose of a freight train or was hauled over-land in the wagon of
some farmer friend. The people, when they had heard these debates, went
home and talked them over, and it was seen that two wonderful men had
met in the political battlefield. Mr. Douglas seemed just as able as Mr.
Lincoln, and they said so; but they saw Mr. Lincoln was right, and
standing by a principle, while Douglas was wrong, and compromising with
a principle. Mr. Douglas did receive the Democratic nomination for
president although his party split.
These debates and Mr. Lincoln's right stand made him suddenly famous.
His fame spread rapidly over the whole country east and west. He was
asked to go and speak in New York city in Cooper Institute, and
delivered a wonderful address there and at other places in the East. He
came to Bloomington, Illinois and delivered a speech in which he said:
"As long as Almighty God reigns and the school children read, this foul,
black lie of African slavery shall not continue; it shall not remain
half slave and half free." Mr. Seward, of New York, a great statesman,
who was the author of the famous "irrepressible conflict" expression was
thought to be the man who would be nominated for president by the
Republican party which had taken the place of the Whig party and was
standing stronger against slavery. There were several others, like Mr.
Chase, of Ohio, and Mr. Stanton, who it was thought might also receive
the nomination. Some were advocating Mr. Lincoln for vice president; but
he said he would not have that. The Illinois state convention met at
Decatur, and in the midst of it, some men came in carrying a banner
supported by two fence rails on which was this: "Abraham Lincoln, the
rail candidate for president in 1860. Two rails from a lot of three
thousand made in 1830 by Thomas Hanks and Abraham Lincoln, whose father
was the first pioneer of Macon county." This created a wonderful
excitement, and the vote of Illinois became in favor of Lincoln as the
nominee for president.
A large, rough building was erected in Chicago, called the Wigwam, in
which the Republican convention was held. Large delegations with bands
of music came on special trains from all over the country. The
excitement was great. Illinois sent thousands to shout for Mr. Lincoln.
The hotels were packed with noisy people. Banners and mottes in
profusion floated from the business houses and public buildings. But a
small part of the crowd could get into the Wigwam, although it held
several thousand. Mr. Seward, of New York, the author of "the
irrepressible conflict" was the most popular and most noted of the
candidates and it was thought he would receive the nomination. The
Illinois men and Mr. Lincoln's friends started to work for Mr. Lincoln's
nomination. They worked day and night, scarcely eating or sleeping. The
first ballot showed Mr. Seward to be considerably ahead but not enough
to win. Then breaking began on the following ballots from the smaller
candidates to Mr. Lincoln, and he received a majority of the votes and
was nominated as the Republican candidate for president May 16, 1860. A
man was on top of the Wigwam; as soon as the result of the last ballot
was announced he shouted to a man on the edge of the building, "Fire the
salute, Lincoln is nominated." He passed it on to others. Soon the bells
began to ring, cannon were fired and the people on the streets were wild
with enthusiasm.
Mr. Douglas received the Democratic nomination, but that party split and
Mr. Breckenridge was nominated by a few. There was now the direct
conflict between the extension and non-extension of slavery. Mr. Lincoln
became very much worked up on the slavery question, and talking to Dr.
Bateman, whose room, as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, was
next his in the capital at Springfield, he said:
"I know there is a God, and he hates injustice and slavery. I see the
storm coming. I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place for me
and work for me and I think He has--I believe I am ready. I am nothing,
but truth is everything. I know I am right because I know that liberty
is right, for Christ teaches it and Christ is God. I have told them that
a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Christ and reason say
the same and they will find it so. Douglas don't care whether slavery is
voted up or down, but God cares and humanity cares and I care; and with
God's help I shall not fail. I may not see the end, but it will come and
I shall be vindicated and these men will find that they have not read
their Bible right."
The election came off in November, and Mr. Lincoln found the people had
read their Bibles' right on slavery and elected him by a tremendous
majority.
March 4, 1861, Mr. Lincoln stood at the Capitol building to deliver his
inaugural address as president of the United States. He did not see a
place to put his hat and Mr. Douglas reached forward, took it and held
it while Mr. Lincoln spoke.
Now you see the outcome of these two men. One compromised with this
great principle, and, after thus holding the hat of his successful
rival, who would not compromise with the principle, went out and died a
few months afterward with a broken heart for his lost ambition. Before
he died, however, Mr. Douglas became an outspoken defender of the Union
and opposed to the war of the rebellion. On the other hand, Mr. Lincoln,
true to this principle suffered defeat for many years, but in the end
won the greatest honor and became the greatest president of our nation.
It pays to be true to principle, no matter how unpopular it may be and
though seeming defeat of our ambitions stare us in the face. "This above
all things, to thine own self be true," was the wise advice of Polonius
to his son in Shakespeare's play of Hamlet.
The preceding president had been favorable to the South and slavery and
many of their men were in command of the military posts and other
important parts. The navy was scattered to distant ports and large
quantities of arms and ammunition were stored in the Southern forts. The
election of Mr. Lincoln seemed to anger the Southern men beyond
endurance and there were loud threats of secession. When he delivered
his inaugural address he saw many scowling, angry faces in front of him.
In great kindness he appealed to them and his last thought was very
beautiful when he said:
"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, are
the momentous issues of civil war.
"You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government. While
I have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.
"We are not enemies, but friends. Though passion may have strained, it
must not break our bonds of affection.
"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and
patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad
land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as
surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
It was all in vain and South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana and Texas in turn led off in secession. They met at
Montgomery, Alabama and formed the "Confederate States of America," with
Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi as president and Alexander H. Stephens
of Georgia as vice-president. Arsenals, custom-houses, forts and ships
of the United States were seized. Fort Sumter was fired upon by Gen.
Beauregard April 14, 1861, and the great Civil war, the greatest in
history, began.
This was the hardest place a president of the United States was ever in.
There was but a small army, and as I said the navy was scattered.
President Lincoln at once called for volunteer troops. The attack on
Fort Sumter so aroused the North that men rapidly left their families
and homes, that which one most loves, and rushed to enlist as volunteer
soldiers. They had a song in which were these words:
"We are coming Father Abraham, Three hundred thousand strong."
Thus they called the great president "Father Abraham" and showed how
much they loved him.
Gen. George B. McClellan was put in command of the army. The first
battle of any note was that of Bull Run, near Washington. In this the
Northern soldiers were driven back and beaten. It seemed very
discouraging then for the cause of the Union.
More soldiers enlisted and the army was trained and drilled until Mr.
Lincoln thought they ought to attack Gen. Lee, who commanded the
Confederate army. He felt sure as they had more men they could defeat
him and capture Richmond, which was now the capital of the Confederate
States. General McClellan seemed to be afraid to move forward and wanted
more time to drill the men he had and make other preparations and also
wanted more men. In the meantime, of course Gen. Lee was making stronger
his army and preparing more defences around Richmond so that it was
harder to defeat him.
The army in the West was not doing very well either. But at last
Illinois furnished another son in the person of General Grant, who won
great and decisive victories. Vicksburg, which was the great stronghold
of the Southern army in the West surrendered to him July 4, 1863.
President Lincoln had been trying in every way to get General McClellan
to move on the enemy but could not, and at last the general was moved
from command. General Meade had command of the Eastern army which fought
the battle of Gettysburg and won that great victory on the same Fourth
of July that General Grant captured Vicksburg.
The battle of Gettysburg is said to have been about the greatest in
history; 23,000 soldiers were killed. Now there was great rejoicing in
the North. In these early years of the war, President Lincoln was placed
in a very hard position. The abolitionists abused him because he did not
issue the emancipation proclamation, freeing the slaves; the Middle
states, that had not seceded, threatened to do so if he did. Some of his
own Cabinet were not true to him. The people cried out because General
McClellan would not move forward, and Mr. Lincoln tried in vain to get
him to do so. Therefore these great victories of Vicksburg and
Gettysburg came to him as a wonderful blessing and relief from the awful
strain he had been enduring. General Grant had won some other grand
victories preceding the capture of Vicksburg, and the Union, as the old
ship of state, seemed to be sailing into more peaceful waters.
"Sail on, O ship of state,
Sail on, O Union, strong and great;
Humanity with all its fears,
With all its hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate.
In spite of rock and tempest roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore;
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers are all with thee."
General Grant was given command of the Eastern army, and pushing the
enemy hard, victory after victory came to the North. Gen. Sherman
marched his army right through the middle of the enemy, dividing it into
two parts. He captured Atlanta and then went on to the sea. The song,
"Marching through Georgia," was written over this wonderful march. There
were more victories in the South and West. General Grant was made
commander-in-chief of the armies, and it soon became clear that the
cause of secession was lost.
Mr. Lincoln had written an emancipation proclamation and was working it
over, thinking and consulting about it. He did not know just when was
the best time to issue so momentous a document, that would set free four
million of colored men in the degradation and bondage of human slavery.
Mr. Seward was Secretary of State and a very wise man; he gave him some
good advice about it. Mr. Carpenter quotes Mr. Lincoln's words as
follows:
"I put the draft of the proclamation aside, waiting for a victory. Well,
the next news we had was of Pope's disaster at Bull Run. Things looked
darker than ever. Finally came the week of the battle of Antietam. I
determined to wait no longer. The news came, I think on Wednesday, that
the advantage was on our side. I was then staying at the Soldiers' Home.
Here I finished writing the second draft of the proclamation; came up on
Saturday; called the Cabinet together to hear it, and it was published
the following Monday. I made a solemn vow before God, that if General
Lee was driven back from Maryland I would crown the result by the
declaration of freedom to the slaves."
The Emancipation Proclamation is certainly the greatest thing in the
nineteenth century.
The Confederate army continued to grow weaker. They were short of food
and rest. General Grant's army gave them no rest but pushed after them
day and night. They made one more gallant and brave attack on the Union
forces, but in vain, and April 9, 1865, Gen. Lee surrendered
unconditionally to Gen. Grant at Appomatox Court House, Va. At the
instance of President Lincoln, Gen. Lee's soldiers were allowed to ride
home their horses, and, no longer rebel soldiers, but American citizens,
begin to plow the ground with their horses, to till the soil and make a
living for themselves and families. To-day there are none that rejoice
more than the men of the South that African slavery is forever
abolished.
In 1864 Mr. Lincoln was again elected president by a very large majority
over Gen. McClellan, the Democratic nominee. At his second inaugural he
uttered some very fine things. Some of them are as follows:
"Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration it has
already obtained. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and
each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men
should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from
the sweat of other men's faces. But let us judge not that we be not
judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. * * * The Almighty
had his own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses, for it
must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the
offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of
these offenses, which in the providence of God must needs come * * * and
he gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to
those by whom the offense came, shall we discern there any departure
from those divine attributes, which the believers in a living God always
ascribe to him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this
mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it
continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and
fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of
blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn by the sword, as
was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said that 'the
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'"
Saturday, April 8, 1865, was a glad day throughout the North. Men met
each other early on that day and shook hands with smiling faces. Many
shouted and threw their hats in the air. Great bonfires were kindled and
bands came out and played happy airs. Flags floated everywhere. That
morning word came on the telegraph wires that Richmond had been
captured. Lee had surrendered and the war was over.
Just one week later men met each other on the street with tears in their
eyes; signs of mourning were seen everywhere, and the bands played sad
tunes. Word came on the telegraph wire that morning that the beloved
president was dead; killed by an assassin's bullet.
Mr. Lincoln and his wife were out riding around Washington, and he said,
"Mary, we have had a stormy life in Washington, and after this term of
office is over, we will go back to Springfield and live a quiet life."
But God had willed otherwise. That evening while he was resting from his
hard labors and duties as president by attending Ford's theater, John
Wilkes Booth, a wild fanatic, who had been a southern rebel, stole upon
him from the rear and shot him in the back of the head, then jumped to
the stage, and shouted, "Sic semper tyrannis." Booth then leaped out of
the window. Although his leg had been broken by the first jump, he got
on a horse and rode day and night until he got into Virginia, and there
hid in a barn. When they tried to capture him, he would not come out of
the barn, so they set the barn on fire, and when he came out they shot
him. Several others who were in this plot were hung. They carried
President Lincoln to the house across the street, where, as the dawn of
day came, his soul departed to its everlasting rest in Heaven.
There probably has never been a death more sudden and unexpected and
terrible in the history of the nations. Not only in this country did men
everywhere cease their work as people do when a relative dies; but even
in the countries of Europe they did so. All organizations passed
resolutions of sympathy and the governments universally expressed
theirs. It was a world-wide calamity.
He had gone through the four years of a terrible civil war unharmed, and
now, when he had saved his country, conquered the enemy, and made him a
friend again, and beautiful peace had come everywhere, to think his life
should be taken by a cruel murderer, seemed more than men could bear.
Every family mourned as though one of its own number had died suddenly.
The Washington funeral took place at the White House, Wednesday, April
19. The body was then taken to the rotunda of the capitol and covered
with flowers. It lay in state until Friday, April 21. Thousands of
people came to look at the calm, sad face that so many had looked at for
hope through the long years of the awful war. It was now cold in death,
but had a peaceful, natural look.
A great funeral train was formed that moved slowly across the country,
going back along the route he came as the new president in 1861. It was
over a week on the journey, as at many of the cities and towns it had to
be stopped, so memorial exercises might be held and the people get a
chance to see for the last time, the face of the martyr president. More
than a million people, no doubt, thus looked on the dead face of
President Lincoln.
They reached Springfield May 3 and there the greatest funeral ceremony
took place and he was buried in Oakwood cemetery. Bishop Simpson
preached the funeral sermon. In the beautiful tomb and under the
magnificent monument since erected, Abraham Lincoln, his wife and two
sons now sleep, awaiting the great resurrection day.
The nations of the world passed so many tributes in his honor that they
were bound into a book of nearly a thousand pages.
As Mr. Lincoln was returning from Richmond on the steamer, the last
Sunday of his life, he read aloud to some friends this seeming tribute
for himself, from Shakespeare:
"Duncan is in his grave;
After life's fitful fever he sleeps well;
Treason has done his worst; nor steel nor poison,
Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing
Can touch him further."
The other passage might have been well added:
"This Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking off."
May we be able to imitate the virtues of Abraham Lincoln.
"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime
And departing leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time."
Little Stories of Lincoln.
There always cluster around a great man like Mr. Lincoln, many
interesting incidents and stories. They are not always entirely true,
and it is not always possible to prove or disprove them. Nevertheless,
they often show true traits of the character, and as side lights help us
form the proper estimate. I have therefore added some of these incidents
and stories.
HOW HE LOOKED.
Mr. Lincoln was tall and rugged. His face had even more strength than
his person. He had very simple manners and as natural as though among
neighbors. He wrote a plain hand. He was very kind-hearted and inclined
to pardon those who did wrong, particularly those who from fatigue fell
asleep when on guard. He was kind to the poor and thoughtful of their
needs. He was an example of that saying--"There is nothing so kingly as
kindness." He was a very modest man and without pretense or jealousy. He
often appointed to places of honor, those who had been his rivals and
even those who had said ugly things about him.
FREEDOM IN THE CABINET.
Secretary Usher relates some interesting facts.
"I was in the Cabinet somewhat more than two years. It was very
ill-assorted. There was hardly ever such a thing as a regular cabinet
meeting in the sense of form. Under Johnson and Grant the chairs were
placed in regular order around the table. Nothing of the kind ever
occurred in Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet. Seward would come in and lie down on
a settee. Stanton hardly ever stayed more than five or ten minutes.
Sometimes Seward would tell the president the outline of some paper he
was writing on a State matter. Lincoln generally stood up and walked
about. In fact every member of the Cabinet ran his own department in his
own way. I don't suppose that such a historic period was ever so simply
operated. Lincoln trusted all his subordinates and they worked out their
own performances."
A GREAT MAN.
He was one of the greatest men who ever lived. It has now been many
years since I was in his Cabinet and some of the things which happened
there have been forgotten, and the whole of it is rather dreamy. But
Lincoln's extraordinary personality is still one of the most distinct
things in my memory. He was as wise as a serpent. He had the skill of
the greatest statesman in the world. Everything he handled came to
success. Nobody took up his work and brought it to the same perfection.
A FORGIVING MAN.
That Mr. Lincoln was not only kind-hearted, but forgiving, is shown by
his treatment of the secession leaders. He never spoke unkindly of them,
including even Jefferson Davis, who caused so much of the trouble. Some
at the close of the war said: "Do not let Davis escape. He must be
hanged." To which Mr. Lincoln replied: "Judge not, that ye be not
judged." When he was assassinated he was planning pardon and kind
treatment for those who were defeated in the rebellion.
KIND OF LAWYER.
Fairness was the predominating quality of Mr. Lincoln as a trial lawyer.
He did not claim his side was all right and the other side all wrong.
Sometimes he would say: "I do not think my client is entitled to the
whole of what he claims. In this or that point he may be in error." He
was not abusive, as so many lawyers are, of the opposing side, but if he
said a stern thing under necessity he would qualify it by saying he was
sorry to have to make a severe statement.
AN UGLY MAN.
Mr. Lincoln was not vain of his personal appearance. Indeed if you look
at his picture in the front of this book you will see he was a homely
man. He only wore a beard while president. Previous to that time he
shaved all his beard. He would laugh at a joke on himself as heartily as
anyone else. He used to tell and laugh over the following:
"When I was traveling the circuit in Illinois, practicing law, I was
accosted one day on the cars by a stranger who said:
"'Excuse me, sir, but I have an article which belongs to you.'
"'How is that?' I asked, astonished.
"The stranger took a pocket knife out and said: 'This knife was put in
my hands some time ago with the instruction that I was to keep it until
I found an uglier man than myself. I have carried it ever since. Allow
me to say I think it now rightly belongs to you, sir, and I respectfully
hand you your property.'"
THE BULL STORY.
One day when he was crossing a field a fierce bull saw him and made a
charge. Mr. Lincoln ran for the fence but even his long legs could not
go fast enough to reach it before the bull would catch him, so he ran to
a hay-stack and began running around it. The bull could not make the
sharp curves around the hay-stack as well as Mr. Lincoln, so he began to
gain on the bull, until instead of the bull overtaking him, he began to
overtake the bull and at last catching up, he seized the tail of the
bull with a tight grip. Then as often as he could, he began to kick the
bull until he bellowed in pain and dashed across the field with Mr.
Lincoln still hanging to his tail, kicking him whenever he could and
shouting "Who began this fight, anyhow?"
THE LITTLE WOMAN.
Mr. Lincoln was seated in the Journal office at Springfield with some
friends, when a telegraph boy came running across the street from the
telegraph office, waving a telegram, and shouting, "Mr. Lincoln, you are
nominated." His friends gathered around to shake his hand in
congratulation as he stood reading the momentous little yellow sheet. In
a sort of absent-minded way he shook hands with them and then said:
"Gentlemen, excuse me, there is a little woman down the street that is
more interested in this than I am, and I will take it to her." He then
started down the street with long strides toward his home. This nicely
shows how thoughtful he was of his wife and how much he loved her. She
was the first to him in his hour of great success and honor.
NOT AFRAID.
In the time of the Civil war there was a danger that Mr. Lincoln might
be killed because he was president and conducting the war. It was
thought that some traitor might watch until he got a good chance, when
the president was unprotected, and then shoot him. Mr. Lincoln never
seemed to fear this, however. He would walk over from the White House to
the War department at night and alone. It would be midnight and two
o'clock in the morning sometimes. At the War department Secretary
Stanton would receive dispatches from the officers in the army on the
situation at the front and Mr. Lincoln, after the day's work desired to
get the latest word from the battles. When he was cautioned about danger
he said: "If anyone desires to kill me, I do not suppose any amount of
care could prevent it." How sadly true this was even when the war was
over.
KIND OF RELIGION.
A while before his assassination, two Tennessee ladies called on the
president, asking for the release of their husbands, who were prisoners
of war at Johnson's Island. One of the ladies urged upon the president
as a cause for her husband's release, that he was a religious man. He
finally released them, but said:
"You say your husband is a religious man: tell him when you meet him
that I say I am not much of a judge of religion, but that in my opinion,
the religion that sets men to rebel and fight against their government,
because, as they think, that government does not sufficiently help some
men to eat their bread by the sweat of other men's faces, is not the
sort of religion upon which people can get to Heaven."
MR. LINCOLN'S FIRST DOLLAR.
In the president's chamber some men were conversing one evening, and the
conversation running on that line Mr. Lincoln said: "Seward, you never
heard, did you, how I earned my first dollar? I was about eighteen years
old and we were quite poor. We had raised some produce and I got
mother's consent to take it down the river on a flat boat and sell it.
There were then no wharves on the river. I was down at the bank looking
over my flat boat to see that it was all right before I started out. Two
men came along and wanted to get out to a steamer in the river and asked
me if I would take them and their trunks out. I said, 'Certainly.' So
they got on the flat boat and I pulled them out to the steamer and they
got aboard and I lifted on the trunks. The steamer was about to go and
the men had forgotten to pay me, so I shouted to them and each of them
threw a silver half dollar on the floor of my boat. I could scarcely
believe my eyes when I saw the amount of the money. It may seem a small
sum to you gentlemen, but it seemed an immense sum to me. To think that
I, a poor boy, had earned a dollar in less than a day and by honest
work, was almost too good to be true. But there it was and the world did
not not seem such an awful big and terrible place after all, and I
thought perhaps I could do great things yet, even if I was such a poor
and helpless chap."
MR. LINCOLN AT SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Five Points in New York for many years was considered about the most
wicked place in the city. They started missions there and made it
better. One Sunday morning when Sunday School commenced, a tall, strange
looking man entered and sat down. He listened with close attention to
the exercises and when the lesson was over, the superintendent asked him
if he would say something to the children. He said he would gladly; and
going forward he talked in a plain, simple, earnest way and fascinated
the children so that they all became very quiet and listened to all he
had to say very eagerly. The faces of the children would brighten as he
told some beautiful lesson or break into laughter as he quaintly told a
humorous incident and then they would look serious as he warned them of
sin and wrong and what would follow. Once or twice he tried to stop, but
the little folks shouted, "Go on, Oh, do go on!" The superintendent
wondered who this unusually interesting man was and when he was leaving,
asked his name. The reply was, "I am Abraham Lincoln."
TRIBUTE TO THE WOMEN.
During the war many fairs were held to raise money to send extra food,
clothing and medicine to the soldiers in the fields and hospitals. The
ladies generally managed these fairs in the different towns. They asked
Mr. Lincoln to speak at one of them and he gladly consented. He said:
"This extraordinary war in which we are engaged falls heavily on all
classes of people, but the most heavily on the soldier. For it has been
said, 'All that a man hath will he give for his life.' And while all
contribute of their substance, the soldier puts his life at stake and
often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then, is
due the soldier. In this war extraordinary developments have manifested
themselves, such as have not been seen in former wars, and among these
manifestations, nothing has been more remarkable than these fairs for
the relief of suffering soldiers and their families. The chief agents of
these fairs are the women of America. I am not accustomed to the
language of eulogy; I have never studied the art of paying compliments
to women; but I must say that, if all that has been said by orators and
poets were applied to the women of America, it would not do them justice
for their conduct during this war. I will close by saying, God bless the
women of America."
MORE LIGHT WANTED.
Another of Mr. Lincoln's stories was this:
A traveler on the frontier lost his way one stormy night. It was a
terrible thunder storm. He floundered along until his horse played out.
He could see only when the flashes of lightning came. The peals of
thunder, however, were proportionately strong and frightening. One roar
and all around him seemed crashing; he fell on his knees. He was not
much given to praying so his prayer was short:
"O, Lord, if it's all the same to you, give us a little more light and a
little less noise."
THE SHOOTING STORY.
Mr. Lincoln used to tell the story of a shaggy old man, who was a great
hunter and lived in the edge of the timber. One morning he stood out in
front of his door firing away at a squirrel in a tree. He kept shooting,
but the squirrel did not come down. His son came up and asked what he
was firing at. The father said: "Don't you see that squirrel up there in
the tree?" The son looked and looked in every possible way but could see
no squirrel. Still the father kept firing away. At last the son looking
at him said: "Father I see what's the matter. There is an ant hanging on
the end of your eyebrow and you have been looking at it."
FIRST RIGHTFUL DECISION.
Attorney-General Bates objected to the appointment of a certain Judge to
a government position. Mr. Lincoln said: "He did me a favor once, let me
tell you about it."
"I was walking to court one morning with ten miles of bad road before
me. The Judge overtook me and said:
"'Hello, Lincoln, going to the court house? Get in and I will give you a
ride.'
"I got in and the Judge went on reading some court papers. Soon the
carriage struck a stump on one side of the road and then something else
on the other side. I looked out and saw the driver jerking from one side
to the other on his seat, so I said, 'Judge I think your driver has
taken a drop too much of liquor this morning.'
"'Well I declare Lincoln,' said he, 'I should not much wonder if you are
right, for he has nearly upset me half a dozen times since starting.'
Putting his head out of the window he shouted, 'You scoundrel, you are
drunk.'
"Upon which pulling up his horses and turning around with gravity, the
driver said, 'Golly, but that's the first rightful decision your honor
has given for the last twelve months.'"
GOD NEEDED CHURCH FOR SOLDIERS.
"Among the numerous applicants who visited the White House one day was a
well-dressed lady. She came forward without apparent embarassment in her
air or manner, and addressed the president. Giving her a very close and
scrutinizing look, he said:
"'Well, madam, what can I do for you?'
"She told him that she lived in Alexandria; that the church where she
worshiped had been taken for a hospital.
"'What church, madam?' Mr. Lincoln asked in a quick, nervous manner.
"'The ---- Church,' she replied; 'and as there are only two or three
wounded soldiers in it, I came to see if you would not let us have it,
as we want it very much to worship God in.'
"'Madam, have you been to see the Post Surgeon at Alexandria about this
matter?'
"'Yes sir; but we could do nothing with him.'
"'Well, we put him there to attend to just such business, and it is
reasonable to suppose that he knows better what should be done under the
circumstances than I do. See here; you say you live in Alexandria;
probably you own property there. How much will you give to assist in
building a hospital?"
"'You know, Mr. Lincoln, our property is very much embarassed by the
war;--so, really, I could hardly afford to give much for such a
purpose.'
"'Well, madam, I expect we shall have another fight soon; and my opinion
is, God wants that church for poor wounded Union soldiers as much as he
does for secesh people to worship in.' Turning to his table he said,
quite abruptly: 'You will excuse me; I can do nothing for you. Good day,
madam.'"
A DOUBTFUL ABUTMENT.
In Abbott's "History of the Civil War," the following story is told as
one of Lincoln's "hardest hits:"
"I once knew," said Lincoln, "a sound churchman by the name of Brown,
who was a member of a very sober and pious committee having in charge
the erection of a bridge over a dangerous and rapid river. Several
architects failed, and at last Brown said he had a friend named Jones,
who had built several bridges and undoubtedly could build that one. So
Mr. Jones was called in.
"'Can you build this bridge?' inquired the committee.
"'Yes,' replied Jones, 'or any other. I could build a bridge to the
infernal regions if necessary!'
"The committee was shocked, and Brown felt called upon to defend his
friend. 'I know Jones so well,' said he, 'and he is so honest a man and
so good an architect, that if he states soberly and positively that he
can build a bridge to--to--why, I believe it; but I feel bound to say
that I have my doubts about the abutment on the infernal side.'
"So," said Mr. Lincoln, "when politicians told me that the northern and
southern wings of the Democracy could be harmonized, why, I believed
them, of course; but I always had my doubts about the 'abutment' on the
other side."
SIGNING EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.
"The Emancipation Proclamation was taken to Mr. Lincoln at noon on the
first day of January, 1863, by Secretary Seward and Frederick, his son.
As it lay unrolled before him, Mr. Lincoln took a pen, dipped it in ink,
moved his hand to the place for the signature, held it for a moment, and
then removed his hand and dropped the pen. After a little hesitation he
again took up the pen and went through the same movement as before. Mr.
Lincoln then turned to Mr. Seward, and said:
"'I have been shaking hands since nine o'clock this morning, and my
right arm is almost paralyzed. If my name ever goes into history it will
be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. If my hand trembles when I
sign the Proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say,
'He hesitated.'
"He then turned to the table, took up the pen again, slowly and firmly
wrote 'Abraham Lincoln,' with which the whole world is now familiar. He
then looked up, smiled and said: 'That will do.'"
MR. LINCOLN'S ENDURANCE.
"On the Monday before the assassination, when the President was on his
return from Richmond, he stopped at City Point. Calling upon the head
surgeon at that place, Mr. Lincoln told him he wished to visit all the
hospitals under his charge, and shake hands with every soldier. The
surgeon asked him if he knew what he was undertaking, there being five
or six thousand soldiers at that place, and it would be quite a tax upon
his strength to visit all the wards and shake hands with every soldier.
Mr. Lincoln answered, with a smile, he 'guessed he was equal to the
task; at any rate he would try, and go as far as he could; he should
never, probably, see the boys again, and he wanted them to know that he
appreciated what they had done for their country.'
"Finding it useless to try to dissuade him, the surgeon began his rounds
with the President, who walked from bed to bed, extending his hand to
all, saying a few words of sympathy to some, making kind inquiries of
others, and welcomed by all with the heartiest cordiality.
"As they passed along they came to a ward in which lay a rebel who had
been wounded and was then a prisoner. As the tall figure of the kindly
visitor appeared in sight, he was recognized by the rebel soldier who,
raising himself on his elbow in bed, watched Mr. Lincoln as he
approached and, extending his hand, exclaimed while tears ran down his
cheeks:
"'Mr. Lincoln, I have long wanted to see you, to ask your forgiveness
for ever raising my hand against the old flag.'
"Mr. Lincoln was moved to tears. He heartily shook the hand of the
repentant rebel, and assured him of his good-will, and with a few words
of kind advice passed on. After some hours the tour of the various
hospitals was made, and Mr. Lincoln returned with the surgeon to his
office. They had scarcely entered, however, when a messenger boy came,
saying that one ward had been omitted, and 'the boys' wanted to see the
President. The surgeon who was thoroughly tired and knew Mr. Lincoln
must be, tried to dissuade him from going; but the good man said he must
go back; he would not knowingly omit any one; 'the boys' would be so
disappointed. So he went with the messenger, accompanied by the surgeon,
and shook hands with the gratified soldiers, and then returned again to
his office.
"The surgeon expressed the fear that the President's arm would be lamed
with so much hand-shaking, saying that it certainly must ache. Mr.
Lincoln smiled, and saying something about his 'strong muscles,' stepped
out at the open door, took up a very large, heavy axe which lay there by
a log of wood, and chopped vigorously for a few moments, sending the
chips flying in all directions; and then pausing, he extended his right
arm to its full length, holding the axe out horizontally, without its
even quivering as he held it. Strong men who looked on--men accustomed
to manual labor--could not hold that same axe in that position for a
moment. Returning to the office, he took a glass of lemonade, for he
would take no stronger beverage; and while he was within, the chips he
had chopped were gathered up and safely cared for by the hospital
steward, because they were 'the chips that Abraham Lincoln chopped.'"
GENERAL FISK'S SWEARING STORY.
"General Fisk, attending the reception at the White House, on one
occasion saw, waiting in the ante-room, a poor old man from Tennessee.
Sitting down beside him, he inquired his errand, and learned that he had
been waiting three or four days to get an audience, he said that on
seeing Mr. Lincoln probably depended the life of his son, who was under
sentence of death for some military offense.
"General Fisk wrote his case in outline on a card, and sent it in, with
a special request that the President would see the man. In a moment the
order came; and past senators, governors and generals, waiting
impatiently, the old man went into the President's presence.
"He showed Mr. Lincoln his papers, and he, on taking them, said he would
look into the case and give him the result on the following day.
"'To-morrow may be too late! My son is under sentence of death! The
decision ought to be made now!' and the streaming tears told how much he
was moved.
"'Come,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'wait a bit, and I'll tell you a story;' and
then he told the old man General Fisk's story about the swearing driver,
as follows:
"'The General had begun his military life as a Colonel, and, as he was a
religious man, he proposed to his men that he should do all the swearing
of the regiment. They assented; and for months no instance was known of
the violation of this promise. The Colonel had a teamster named John
Todd, who, as roads were not always the best, had some difficulty in
commanding his temper and his tongue. John happened to be driving a
mule-team through a series of mud holes a little worse than usual, when,
unable to restrain himself any longer, he burst forth into a volley of
energetic oaths. The Colonel took notice of the offense, and brought
John to an account."
"'John,' said he, 'didn't you promise to let me do all the swearing of
the regiment?'
"'Yes I did, Colonel,' he replied, 'but the fact was the swearing had to
be done then or not at all, and you were not there to do it.'
"As he told the story, the old man forgot his boy, and both the
President and his listener had a hearty laugh together at its
conclusion. Then he wrote a few words which the old man read, and in
which he found new occasion for tears; but these tears were tears of
joy, for the words saved the life of his son."
GETTING RID OF A BORE.
President Lincoln was quite ill one winter at Washington, and was not
inclined to listen to all the bores who called at the White House. One
day just as one of these pests had seated himself for a long interview,
the President's physician happened to enter the room, and Mr. Lincoln
said, holding out his hands: "Doctor, what are those blotches?" "That's
variloid, or mild small-pox," said the doctor. "They're all over me. It
is contagious, I believe?" said Mr. Lincoln. "I just called to see how
you were," said the visitor. "Oh, don't be in a hurry sir," placidly
remarked the executive. "Thank you sir; I'll call again," replied the
visitor, making towards the door. "Do sir," said the President. "Some
people said they could not take very well to my proclamation, but now I
have something everybody can take." By this time the visitor was quite
out of sight.
LITTLE INFLUENCE WITH ADMINISTRATION.
"Judge Baldwin, of California, being in Washington, called one day on
General Halleck, and, presuming upon a familiar acquaintance in
California a few years before, solicited a pass outside of our lines to
see a brother in Virginia, not thinking that he would meet with a
refusal, as both his brother and himself were good Union men.
"'We have been deceived too often,' said General Halleck, 'and I regret
I can't grant it.'
"Judge Baldwin then went to Stanton, and was very briefly disposed of,
with the same result. Finally, he obtained an interview with Mr.
Lincoln, and stated his case.
"'Have you applied to General Halleck?' inquired the President.
"'Yes, and met with a flat refusal,' said Judge Baldwin.
"'Then you must see Stanton,' continued the President.
"'I have, and with the same result,' was the reply.
"'Well, then,' said Mr. Lincoln, with a smile, 'I can do nothing; for
you must know that I have very little influence with this
Administration."
MR. LINCOLN'S HORSE TRADE.
"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 9 o'clock they should make a trade, the
horse to be unseen up to that hour, and no backing out, under a
forfeiture of $25.00.
"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 shoulders.
Great were the shouts and the 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.'"
HIS FIRST SPEECH.
"The following first speech of Abraham Lincoln was delivered at
Poppsville, Ill., just after the close of a public sale, at which time
and in those early days speaking was in order. Mr. Lincoln was then but
twenty-three years of age, but being called for, mounted a stump and
gave a concise statement of his policy:
"'Gentlemen, fellow-citizens: I presume you know who I am. I am humble
Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become a
candidate for the legislature. My politics can be briefly stated. I am
in favor of the internal improvement system, and a high protective
tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I
shall be thankful. If not it will be all the same.'"
HOW HE DIVIDED MONEY.
"A little fact in Mr. Lincoln's work will illustrate his ever present
desire to deal honestly and justly with men. He had always a partner in
his professional life, and, when he went out upon the circuit, this
partner was usually at home. While out, he frequently took up and
disposed of cases that were never entered at the office. In these cases,
after receiving his fees, he divided the money in his pocket-book,
labeling each sum (wrapped in a piece of paper), that belonged to his
partner, stating his name, and the case on which it was received. He
could not be content to keep an account. He divided the money, so that
if he, by any casualty, should fail of an opportunity to pay it over,
there could be no dispute as to the exact amount that was his partner's
due. This may seem trivial, nay, boyish, but it was like Mr. Lincoln."
HELPED 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 success. 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 Lincoln; '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 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
indicated. 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 the 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 out his long-cherished purpose into execution.
A SMALL AUDIENCE.
Mr. Herndon got out a huge poster announcing a speech by Mr. Lincoln,
employed a band to drum up the crowd, and bells were rung, but only
three persons were present. Mr. Lincoln was to have spoken on the
slavery question.
GENTLEMEN: This meeting is larger than I knew it would be, as
I knew Herndon (Lincoln's partner) and myself would be here,
but I did not know any one else would be here: and yet another
has come--you John Pain, (the janitor.)
These are bad times, and seem out of joint. All seems dead,
dead, dead: but the age is not yet dead; it liveth as our Maker
liveth. Under all this seeming want of life and motion, the
world does move nevertheless.
Be hopeful. And now let us adjourn and appeal to the people.
NOISE DON'T HURT.
"When General Phelps took possession of Ship Island, near New Orleans,
early in the war it will be remembered that he issued a proclamation,
somewhat bombastic in tone, freeing the slaves. To the surprise of many
people, on both sides, the President took no official notice of this
movement. Some time had elapsed, when one day a friend took him to task
for his seeming indifference on so important a matter.
"'Well,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'I feel about that a good deal as a man whom
I will call 'Jones,' whom I once knew, did about his wife. He was one of
your meek men, and had the reputation of being badly henpecked. At last,
one day his wife was seen switching him out of the house. A day or two
afterward a friend met him on the street, and said: 'Jones, I have
always stood up for you, as you know; but I am not going to do it any
longer. Any man who will stand quietly and take a switching from his
wife, deserves to be horsewhipped.' Jones looked up with a wink, patting
his friend on the back. 'Now don't,' said he: 'why, it didn't hurt me
any, and you've no idea what a power of good it did Sarah Ann.'"
LINCOLN ON TEMPERANCE.
In response to an address from the Sons of Temperance in Washington, on
the 29th of September, 1863, Mr. Lincoln made the following remarks:
"As a matter of course, it will not be possible for me to make a
response co-extensive with the address which you have presented to me.
If I were better known than I am, you would not need to be told that, in
the advocacy of the cause of temperance, you have a friend and
sympathiser in me. When a young man--long ago--before the Sons of
Temperance, as an organization had an existence, I, in an humble way,
made temperance speeches, and I think I may say that to this day I have
never, by my example belied what I then said.
"I think the reasonable men of the world have long since agreed that
intemperance is one of the greatest, if not the very greatest of all
evils among mankind. That is not a matter of dispute, I believe. That
the disease exists, and that it is a very great one, is agreed upon by
all. The mode of cure is one about which there may be differences of
opinions. You have suggested that in an army--our army, drunkenness is a
great evil, and one which while it exists to a very great extent, we
cannot expect to overcome so entirely as to leave such success in our
arms as we might have without it. This, undoubtedly, is true, and while
it is, perhaps rather a bad source to derive comfort from, nevertheless,
in a hard struggle, I do not know but what it is some consolation to be
aware that there is some intemperance on the other side, too; and that
they have no right to beat us in physical combat on that ground."
MR. LINCOLN'S POEM.
Mr. Lincoln, in 1844 upon a visit to the old neighborhood in which he
was raised was moved to write the following little poem. It is the only
one he is known to have written.
"My childhood's home I see again,
And sadden with the view;
And still, as memory crowds my brain,
There's pleasure in it too.
"O Memory! thou midway world
'Twixt earth and paradise,
Where things decayed and loved ones lost
In dreamy shadows rise.
"And, freed from all that's earthly vile,
Seem hallowed, pure and bright,
Like scenes in some enchanted isle
All bathed in liquid light."
To Be Memorized.
Mr. Lincoln wrote many passages worthy of being committed to memory. His
phrase "Government of the people, for the people and by the people," is
more quoted than any other on the question of government. I add a few
that are well worthy of memorizing and remark, that every boy and girl
in America ought to be able to recite the Gettysburg speech.
* * * * *
"Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us to
the end dare to do our duty as we understand it."
* * * * *
"With malice toward none and charity to all, with firmness in the right
as God gives us to see the right, let us finish the work we are in."
* * * * *
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government
cannot permanently endure 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 the one thing or
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 the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates
will push it further until it becomes alike lawful in all the states,
old as well as new, North as well as South."
* * * * *
"We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion
may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic
chords of memory stretching from every battlefield and patriot's grave
to every loving heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will
swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will
be, by the better angels of our nature."
* * * * *
"We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth."
* * * * *
"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."
* * * * *
"'The Father of Waters' again goes unvexed to the sea."
* * * * *
"Among free men there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the
bullet."
* * * * *
"And then there will be some black men who can remember that with silent
tongue, and clinched teeth and steady eye and well-poised bayonet they
have helped mankind on to this great consummation; while I fear there
will be some white ones unable to forget that with malignant heart and
deceitful speech they strove to hinder it."
LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG SPEECH.
Four score and ten years ago our fathers brought forth upon this
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or
any nation so conceived or so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on
a great battlefield of that war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it
as the final resting place of those who here gave their lives that that
nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do
this. But, in a larger sense we cannot dedicate--we cannot
consecrate--we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and
dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add
or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say
here; but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the
living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work that they
have thus far so nobly carried on. It is for us to be here dedicated to
the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take
increased devotion, that we here highly resolve that the dead shall not
have died in vain; that the nation shall under God, have a new birth of
freedom; and that government of the people, by the people and for the
people shall not perish from the earth.