February 1928
T h e ,
K i n g ' s ,, B u s i n e s s
78,
Some Notes on Abraham Lincoln
think in grass plots and polo grounds. Lincoln unlocked doors of prisons and broke the fetters that bound a million souls; they know nought of lifting burdens or softening care, but they think only of having a good time among the devotees
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A t P rayer E, rMURDOCK ‘says : “ I was once spending three weeks at the White House as the guest o f President Lincoln. One night, past midnight, I heard low tones
of fashion and the thoughtless worshipers of gilt and gold ; Lin coln thought in terms o f the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden; they think in terms of the idle rich ; and their deepest thought is, what cup of pleasure to drink from next. Lincoln, a poor boy reared in penury and nursed in want, learned to think in higher altitudes, and his words when he became a man burned with fire, roared like thunder, flashed like lightning, and a nation hearkened and all mankind felt the thrill, and a new page in history wás written which said that never again would the Amer-
proceeding from the room near where the President slept. The door was, partly open. I saw the President kneeling be side an open Bible, and heard him cry out, ‘O Thou God who heard Solomon in the night that he prayed for wisdom^ hear me! I cannot lead this people without Thy help. O God, hear me and save the nation!’ ” H is M other - When the mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, was dying, she said to her boy, Abraham: “ Be an honest and a faithful b o y ; be
a good, tender man, look after your sister.” The boy’s father built a coffin and dug a grave in the clearing near the h o u s e , and here at Hodgenville, Kentucky, , on the edge of the forest, where the wild things lived, the tired mother’s body was put to rest. There was no preacher there to" say a last w ord ; there was no music but the singing and the- sighing o f the trees. There was no one to cover the rude coffin with earth but the fa ther. There were no mourners but the two children, holding hands . beside the grave and calling to their mother to come back. His T h in k in g Rev. George W . Rid- out makes the following comment:
ican flag float over' an American slave! Per haps the keynote of his wonderful life is sound ed in those clear, clarion words of his: “ I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. . I am not bound to suc ceed, but I am bound to live up to what I have. I must stand with any body that stands right.” G lad to L earn of C hrist Dr. J. Wilbur Chap man tells o f an incident in the life of President Lincoln that suggests a weakness in many a life and an efficient strength in the life o f the few. He says Mrs. Pomeroy was counted a member of President Lincoln’s household. O n e d a y
Pure was thy life; its bloody close Hath placed thee with the sons o f light, Among the noble host o f those Who perished in the cause o f Right. That shook with horror at thy fall. Thy task is done; the bonds are fr e e ; W e bear thee to an honored grave, Whose proudest monument shall be The broken fetters o f the slave. (Eh? Intilj o f iCtttniltt B y W illiam C ullen B yrant Oh, slow to smite and swift to spare, , Gentle and merciful and just f ; Who in the fear o f God didst bear The sword o f power, a nation’s trust! In sorrow by thy bier we stand, 'Amid the awe that hushes all, And speak the anguish o f a land
when he had grown weary with the affairs of state, he asked her to accompany him to the theater and occupy the president’s box at the Ford Theater that night. Mrs. Pomeroy, cour teously declined.; He gave her a subsequent invitation, and it was not accepted. Finally, with some degree of irritation, he said, “ Mrs. Pomeroy, it is counted an honor to sit in the President’s box. I should like to ask you why you have refused.” Hesitat-
“ We have thought what a contrast between young Lincoln, reared in God’s out-of-doors, with nature as his schoolmaster and conscience Jijs talisman, and some scions of the rich o f our day who aspire to places o f honor and rulei Ab raham Lincoln made his mark on human history by great thoughts uttered and great things done; these young sons make theirs on the dance floor. Lincoln thought .in terms of continents; they
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