The Life of Abraham Lincoln

hen he was President a man called on him for a certain favor, and, when asked to state his case, made a great mess of it, for he had not sufficiently prepared himself. Then the Pr

vised a young law student: "Work, work, work is t

The following is quoted from the Rev. J. P. Gulliver, then pastor of the Congregational church in Norwich, Conn. It was a part of a co

d copied tedious documents, and picked up what I could of law in the intervals of other work. B

f beyond the possibility of doubt'; but I could form no idea of what sort of proof that was. I thought a great many things were proved beyond the possibility of doubt, without recourse to any such extraordinary process of reasoning as I understood demonstration to be. I consulted all the dictionaries and books of reference I could find, but with no better results. You might

r a more thor

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le, Aesop's Fables and Pilgrim's Progress, Burns, and Shakespeare. These were his mental food. They entered into the very substance of his thought and imagination. "Fear the man of one book." Lincoln had five books, and so thoroughly were they his that

n to express his thoughts with such power was a mystery to this reader. The editor's mastery of language aroused in Lincoln a burning desire to obtain command of the English tongue. He applied for counsel to a friend, a schoolmaster by the name of Mentor Graham. Graham

d living in that state, and he read the book, not for any special desire to know th

e gained possession of, and read, this book is of sufficient interest to nar

aid him, I think, half a dollar for it. Without further examination I put it away in the store and forgot all about it. Some time after, in overhauling things, I came upon the barrel, and emptying it upon the floor to see what it contained, I found at the bottom of the rubbish a complete edition of Blackstone's "Commentaries.

re in that hamlet of fifteen log cabins, but it led to something

of Major John T. Stuart, whom he had met in the Black Hawk war. Stuart advised him to enter definitely on the study

tance of twenty miles, to get the books and return them. During this tramp he was able to read forty pages of the volume. Thus he read, and we may venture to s

of some tree, with his feet resting part way up the tree, then follow the shadow around from west to east, grinding around with the progress of the sun. When in the house his attitude was to cock his feet high in a chair, thus "sitting on his shoulder blades," to use a common expression. When in his office he would throw

. Thus he took long walks, talking to himself incessantl

tly he had a little amateur practise from his neighbors. He was sometimes appealed to for the purpose of drawing up agreements and other papers. He had n

y partner. So the firm of Stuart and Lincoln was established in 1837 and lived for four years. In 1841 he entered into partnership with Logan, and this also

cted the law more or less. But late in 1848, or early in 1849, he returned to the law with renewed vigor and zeal, giving it his undivided att

ch a pathetic picture of his poverty, and his cheerful endurance, that it is well worth narrating. It is preserved b

ln said he wanted to buy the furniture for a single bed. The mattress, blankets, sheets, coverlet, and pillow, according to the figures made by me, would cost seventeen dollars. He said that perhaps was cheap enough; but small as the price was, he was unable to pay it. [Note that at this time he was carrying the debts of

n suggest a plan by which you can avoid the debt, and at the same time attain your end. I

your room?

o a pair of winding-stairs, whi

em on the floor, and came down with the most changed expr

eed, I am

and was the capital of the state. Lincoln was there favorably known, because he had been chiefly instrumental in getting the capital moved to that place fro