his father-who, it must be said, had not paid much heed to the boy's attempt at self-education-his little son offered to write and ask the minister to come.

And it was in response to this, the first letter which Abraham had ever written, that before many weeks Mr. Elkins visited the cabin, and held a service over the grave of Mrs. Lincoln.

CHAPTER II.

ON LIFE'S THRESHOLD.

TIME now passed on, and in little more than twelve months, when Abraham was nearly eleven years of age, another important change took place in the Lincoln household. Abraham's father had determined to marry again; and journeying into Kentucky he there wedded a widow, Mrs. Johnston, with whom -together with her son and two daughters—he returned to the cabin in Indiana, where they all took up their abode.

Abraham's life, since Mrs. Lincoln died, had been very dreary-more dreary than we can picture; and it was a glad day for him when his father brought the new mother to him and his sister.

The second Mrs. Lincoln, we are told, was a most excellent woman; and, not only did she at once make herself beloved by Abraham, by reason of her

kindness and tenderness to him, but she was the possessor of such a stock of household furniture and of other articles sadly lacking in the cabin as made Abraham and his sister and Dennis Hanks open their eyes in wonderment when they saw them. For the first time some "real chairs" were seen in the Lincoln dwelling; for the first time the children had warm beds and clothing provided for them; for the first time, too, the log cabin possessed a floor (which Mrs. Lincoln had soon induced her husband to put down) and was made otherwise cosy and homelike, "In fact," said Dennis Hanks in later years, "in a few weeks all had changed; and where everything was wanting, now all was snug and comfortable. She was a woman of great energy, of remarkable good sense, very industrious and saving, and also very neat and tidy in her person and manners, and knew exactly how to manage children.

. . . She soon dressed Abe up in entire new clothes, and from that time on he appeared to lead a new life. . . . . The two sets of children got along finely together, as if they had been the children of the same parents."

The sunshine thus suddenly brought to little Abraham's life was by no means confined to the solid comforts which his new mother introduced to his home. In Mrs. Lincoln he found one who soon proved to be a loving friend and counsellor to him, and who took a real interest in all that concerned his

welfare; while he, on his part, was only too ready to return the affection she had for him-affection which never changed to the day of her death.

A shrewd, sensible woman, she was not long either in discovering that Abraham was no ordinary boy; and when she came, little by little, to learn from him of the uphill work he had had in his search after knowledge ever since he had been in Indiana; when he showed her the progress he had made in penmanship, and told of the means by which he had contrived to practise it; and when he, as was only natural, appealed to her to help him, he received the very encouragement he needed, and which had hitherto been denied to him. For though their love for Abraham and his sister was very great, yet it must be remembered that both Mr. Lincoln and his first wife were very poor and ignorant; and that, therefore, apart from their hard struggle for existence in the forest occupying nearly all their thoughts, neither of them was able to detect the signs which Abraham gave of his natural ability.

Abraham's library of three books had a little while before this received an addition in the form of copies of "The Pilgrim's Progress" and "Æsop's Fables," and his delight in possessing these can be imagined. But Mrs. Lincoln, who had received some education herself, now helped him in many ways, as well as answered some of the numberless questions he put to her; and the eager boy was indeed happy in

having one who so lovingly assisted him and sympathised with his aims. From her, too, he inherited the reverence for holy things, the simple faith and profound trust in Providence, as well as the amiability and gentleness for which in after life he became distinguished.

In a little while Mrs. Lincoln was able to help him in another way. Owing to other settlers having recently come within a few miles of the Lincoln cabin, a log hut had been erected at a short distance away, and was to be used as a school-house. To this she at once determined to send Abraham; and thither he went. An old, tattered arithmetic was bought by his father at a market some miles away; armed with this, Abraham attended the school; and, in a remarkably short time, he had made considerable progress in ciphering and spelling-especially in the latter.

But unfortunately this school was not kept up more than a few weeks; and so, once more, Abraham had to rely upon such help as his step-mother could give him, and upon his own exertions. Four years later he again attended school, and, curiously enough, though so long afterwards, in the same log hut as the one just mentioned. To this one, however, like the others, he went for only a little while; but his attendance at it is of interest for more than one reason.

First, it was here that the only real instruction of any consequence he ever had was received-for though three years later he went to yet another teacher he

learned nothing from him-and here, too, we find the master quick in recognising Abraham's abilities, and frequently speaking of him as being likely to rise in the world.

It was at this school that, we are told, Abraham, in addition to other lessons, was taught," manners and etiquette and deportment"-accomplishments of which probably the children of the pioneer settlers of those days stood much in need! Thus the various scholars -boys and girls attending together-would one by one be asked to go outside, and then to enter for the purpose of being properly introduced to the other children assembled in the "schoolroom," the latter being taught how to bow in response, and so on. A strange sight indeed it must have been to see these roughly clad and roughly reared children of the forest learning some of the habits and customs of civilised life!

In this school, too, Abraham seems to have distinguished himself by writing little essays on Kindness to Animals, a subject in which he was deeply interested; and it is noticeable that young Lincoln, when amusing himself with his school companions, never lost an opportunity of protesting against the cruelties to dumb creatures in which they too frequently indulged. One instance of torture on their part is recorded, and this was the placing of live coals on the backs of tortoises caught by the boys, in order to cause them to walk faster. And