Statue of Abraham Lincoln by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1907 (A gift to the South Side of Chicago, to be erected by the Trustees of the Crerar Fund. Not yet unveiled. Reproduced by permission of the Trustees of the Crerar Fund) objection quickly came, "He will hardly expect that, and moreover, before such an august audience he will not be heard, and we want this to be the occasion of master-effort oratory." The people gathered. The great and eminent were present. Lincoln had finally been invited; but he was allowed to understand that the eminent, the distinguished and flowery Edward Everett, would be expected to consume such time as he desired. The far-famed orator from New England was introduced. He proceeded with all the knowledge of oratory to gather the auditory admiration; he was painting beautiful scenes; he was designing carefully studied equations of eloquence; he was delving into ancient history, bringing to the surface the beauties of the ruins of the old world, and seemed in a serene atmosphere of all that was rhetorical-learned, scholarly, and poetic. His discourse lasted one hour and a half, and the assemblage had truly heard a great man. Then the humble, the somewhat shunned President of the United States was introduced. He calmly, yet with a depth of sadness never equalled, came forward. His bowed head was weary of the strife; his eyes had wept bitter tears of sorrow; his noble soul had suffered untold agonies during the days that Gettysburg resounded with cannonading. He stood erect, and, in a majestic and almost divine attitude, began that grand summary of our history. His Address lasted just four minutes, during which time he pictured plainly the settlement period, then the Revolutionary epoch, then the Constitutional career of this great nation. He followed up with the struggle at Gettysburg; reassured the living and the martyred that the dead had not died in vain; climaxed the scene with renewed devotion to liberty, and proclaimed the everlasting reign of our freedom. The world little remembers what Everett said that day. His logic, his conclusions, and all the bright colors of that canvas have darkened and almost faded away; but the living shades from the eloquent lips of Lincoln-they livethey will continue to grow more clearly and take on their true harmonies as the days enter the portals of our eastern shores, the youth of the land eagerly drink in their meaning; and the best and most unselfish history of the United States can be seen in the words of the Gettysburg Address. This one Address stamps Lincoln as a master of our language-makes him a part of the literary galaxy of our land. His constant faith in books and his ever-willingness to make them his companions lends reason for my classing him as a literary product. He had no teachers and his greatness rested on his book foundations. He believed in books and loved them; he pronounced them his "unfailing and unfaltering friends." When all was dark and gloomy and even hope seemed madness; when senators could not be trusted; when representatives deceived him; when generals deserted the cause; when diplomats in the foreign lands traitorously lent the Confederacy aid; and when even his own Cabinet was disloyal to him personally-then he would steal into the library of the White House and bury himself in the depths of some favorite prose or poetry. His poetic nature naturally sought relief in quietude, and his choice lines from Knox were thoroughly expressive of his broad and democratic nature. The lines he most loved were: "The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade, Be scatter'd around and together be laid; And the young and the old and the low and the high, Then he would emerge from the book-world with new hopes, with new life, and with renewed fortitude, and assume his stern and oath-bound duty. Lincoln was the happy embodiment of the typically national American; he seemed to possess that peculiar requisite which the times demanded, and was well equipped and thoroughly prepared mentally and physically to endure those hardships, and triumph over almost unsurmountable obstacles. We all love Abraham Lincoln. His very name brings warmth to our hearts. His life was exemplary of loyalty and his name is inscribed high on the rolls of fame. While he was a farmer, he does not belong to them; though a lawyer, yet the attorneys can not claim him; though he fought with the North, yet he does not seem our own. He can not be claimed a full possession by even the entire Union. Lincoln has grown, and endeared himself, and now belongs to the entire liberty-loving world. and the best and most unselfish history of the United States can be seen in the words of the Gettysburg Address. This one Address stamps Lincoln as a master of our language-makes him a part of the literary galaxy of our land. His constant faith in books and his ever-willingness to make them his companions lends reason for my classing him as a literary product. He had no teachers and his greatness rested on his book foundations. He believed in books and loved them; he pronounced them his "unfailing and unfaltering friends." When all was dark and gloomy and even hope seemed madness; when senators could not be trusted; when representatives deceived him; when generals deserted the cause; when diplomats in the foreign lands traitorously lent the Confederacy aid; and when even his own Cabinet was disloyal to him personally-then he would steal into the library of the White House and bury himself in the depths of some favorite prose or poetry. His poetic nature naturally sought relief in quietude, and his choice lines from Knox were thoroughly expressive of his broad and democratic nature. The lines he most loved were: "The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade, Be scatter'd around and together be laid; And the young and the old and the low and the high, Then he would emerge from the book-world with new hopes, with new life, and with renewed fortitude, and assume his stern and oath-bound duty. Lincoln was the happy embodiment of the typically national American; he seemed to possess that peculiar requisite which the times demanded, and was well equipped and thoroughly prepared mentally and physically to endure those hardships, and triumph over almost unsurmountable obstacles. We all love Abraham Lincoln. His very name brings warmth to our hearts. His life was exemplary of loyalty and his name is inscribed high on the rolls of fame. While he was a farmer, he does not belong to them; though a lawyer, yet the attorneys can not claim him; though he fought with the North, yet he |