Boys' and Girls' Biography of Abraham Lincoln Part 3

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 pa.s.sage 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 d.a.m.nation 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 cl.u.s.ter 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-a.s.sorted. 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. n.o.body 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 a.s.sa.s.sinated 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 ent.i.tled 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.