long and distressing illness. During her sickness he cared for her as tenderly as a girl, and often sat at her side and read the Bible to her for hours. The dying mother gave him much loving advice, which he stored up in his memory as a precious legacy, and over which he pondered deeply. Her loss must have been severely felt by the household in the long winter which followed. The burden of the household duties fell upon Sarah, who was hardly yet in her teens, but was developing into a quiet, useful woman.

There was no minister in the vicinity at the time of Mrs. Lincoln's death, and she was buried in the grove near the house without ceremonies, beyond one or two simple prayers from the neighbors. A few months afterwards an itinerant preacher, Elder Elkin, was invited by a letter composed and written with laborious care by young Lincoln, to come and perform the simple funeral services then in vogue.

It was a clear and beautiful day when the neighbors, to the number of about two hundred, gathered in the little grove to take part in the services. The minister, a plain and simple man, was much affected by the circumstances and surroundings, and spoke with a rude eloquence that moved every heart and made a deep impression, especially upon the two motherless children. He spoke tenderly of the patient Christian character of the deceased, and commemorated her many virtues with touching words, commending her example for the emulation of all.

Mrs. Lincoln's life had been a dull and hard one, a daily routine of care and trouble, yet she had made a deep impression upon the character of her son, and in after-life his mind often reverted to the lonely grave

by the Ohio, with love and reverence. Long afterwards, when the forest flowers had bloomed above her grave for two score years, he said to a friend, with tears in his eyes: "All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother-blessings on her memory."

In the autumn of the same year, Mr. Lincoln returned to his old home in Kentucky, and married a widow lady, who had been one of his youthful sweethearts. He represented himself to be a well-to-do farmer with considerable property, and the new Mrs. Lincoln was much disappointed at the state of affairs which she found at her journey's end. But like the true woman that she was, she determined to make the best of what she could not help. She brought with her a large load of furniture, which the children regarded with amazement for nothing so grand had ever been seen in the neighborhood before, and for the first time in his life Abe rejoiced in a warm comfortable bed. With Mrs. Lincoln came her own three children, but she showed no partiality to them, and the two motherless children soon learned to regard her with warm affection. In speaking of her stepson she once said: "Abe never gave me å cross word or look, and never refused, in fact or appearance, to do all I requested of him."

A new era was inaugurated in the cheerless cabin by her arrival. Floors were laid, a door was hung, windows were fitted into the open spaces in the walls, and a new spirit of order and progress pervaded the domestic economy. She not only strove to improve the material condition of the household, but also determined to give the children better opportunities to secure at least the rudiments of an education.

One of his early friends says that Abe was accustomed to come in from the field after his day's labor, go to the cupboard and snatch a piece of corn-bread and sit down, literally upon his shoulder-blades, with his feet upon the mantel. In this position he would remain, absorbed in his book, until it became too dark to see, when he would crouch down by the fire and take advantage of its unsteady light. Inasmuch as writing materials were so costly as to be beyond his reach, he was accustomed to write upon strips of pineboard with charred sticks, and when the board was full would shave it down until he had a clean surface again.

It was early his ambition to become a public speaker, and he not only practiced constantly on his friends whenever he could secure an audience, but he seized every opportunity to listen to speeches. In those days, the courts were literally circuit courts, the judge and lawyers riding on horseback from one county-seat to another, where they spent a number of days or weeks trying cases. There was a great deal of oratorical display on the part of the lawyers, who made use of much bombastic eloquence in the trial of the petty cases which came up before the Court.

Young Lincoln generally managed to attend court regularly, when it was in session, and was deeply interested in its proceedings. He would arise early in the morning," do the chores," and walk to Booneville, the county-seat, which was located seventeen miles away, returning in season to do up the evening's work. He once listened with eager interest to a speech made by John A. Breckenridge, and was so impressed with it that he ventured to congratulate

the lawyer at the close of the session. After he became President, he told Mr. Breckenridge that it was listening to his speech that first inspired him with the determination to become a lawyer.

When his parents were away to church Sundays he used to take the Bible and select a text, from which he would preach a sermon to his sister and other children who happened along. His sermons may have been somewhat faulty from a doctrinal point of view, but they were entertaining. He always felt a deep compassion for any person or animal in suffering, and was exceedingly bitter in his denunciation of cruelty to animals. "One day, a boy caught a land-terrapin, brought it to the place where Abe was preaching, threw it against the tree and crushed the shell. It quivered all over and seemed to be suffering much. Abe then made a really effective speech against cruelty to animals, contending that an ant's life was as sweet to it as ours to us."

This habit of speech-making soon developed into a great nuisance, for it distracted the attention of the men who were ready to stop work at any time to hear him speak. His speeches were simple and crude, but contained many sharp points, and were illustrated with numerous stories which kept his audience in roars of laughter. Oftentimes his father was compelled to interrupt the incipient orator by the use of force, and he was dragged from his rude rostrum and hustled off to work with no gentle hand. He was not discouraged by these setbacks and difficulties, but persisted in his practice until he became recognized as a promising orator.

He commenced early to write compositions, and

soon gained a considerable rural repute by having several articles published in the country newspapers. One of his earliest efforts was an essay upon "Cruelty to Animals," which was published and was considered a marvellous production by his friends. He generally wrote with a humorous vein, and frequently directed his jokes against the failings of his friends. He was specially inclined to rhythmical composition, and possessed a rude talent in stringing together pointed couplets. Upon the page of one of his copy-books, among numerous other poetical effusions, appears the suggestive couplet :

""Tis Abraham Lincoln holds the pen,

He will be good, but God knows when."

He wrote several long poetical productions of a satirical character, introducing broad jokes and "takeoffs" which would hardly grace a printed page. At one time there was a double wedding in the Gentry family, the leading family of the community. He was not invited, and felt the slight keenly. He was possessed of too combative a disposition to quietly put up with what he deemed to be an insult, and determined to avenge himself in poetic measures. He wrote a cutting satire, in which the members of the offending family figured as prominent characters. It was a bold, audacious thing, and created a great deal of excitement in the neighborhood, being highly applauded by his friends. The victims of the joke were highly incensed, and one of the younger members of the family challenged him to fight. He accepted the challenge, and the fight took place. Instead of fighting in person, however, he substituted his stepbrother in his place, who was badly whipped. Young