The Poets' Lincoln Part 9

[Ill.u.s.tration: LINCOLN AS CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT

Photograph, Springfield, Ill., 1860]

Charlotte Becker was born and has always lived in Buffalo, New York.

She was educated in private schools and in Europe, and has written poems for _Harper's Magazine_, _The Metropolitan_, _The American_, _Life_, etc., besides a number of songs which have been set to music by Amy Woodfords-Finden, C. B. Hawley, Whitney Coombs and others.

LINCOLN

Gaunt, rough-hewn face, that bore the furrowed signs Of days of conflict, nights of agony, And still could soften to the gentler lines Of one whose tenderness and truth went free Beyond the pale of any small confines To understand and help humanity.

Wise, steadfast mind, that grasped a people's need, Counting nor pain nor sacrifice too great To keep the n.o.ble purpose of his creed Strong against all buffeting of Fate, Though no least solace sprang of work or deed For him, since triumph came at last--too late.

Brave, weary heart, that beat uncomforted Beneath its heavy load of grief and care; That tears of blood for every battle shed, Yet called on mirth to help his comrades bear The waiting hours of anguish, and that sped With loyal haste each breath of balm to share.

Only his people's griefs were his; no part Had he within their joy; nor his the toll To know the love that made rebellion start, Spurred hosts unnumbered to a higher goal; That his great soul should cleanse a nation's heart, His martyred heart awake a nation's soul.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CABIN OF LINCOLN'S PARENTS

on Goose-Nest Prairie, Illinois]

The last home of the parents of Lincoln. Built by his father, Thomas, in 1831, near Farmington, Coles Co., Ill. The father died here in 1851 and the step-mother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, in 1869. After Lincoln was elected President in 1860, and before leaving for Was.h.i.+ngton to be inaugurated, he visited his mother in this cabin for the last time. As he was leaving her, she made a prediction of his tragic death. With arms about his neck, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she declared it was the last time she would ever see him alive, and it proved to be so.

Lincoln once said, "I was told that I never would make a lawyer if I did not understand what 'demonstrate' means. I left my situation in Springfield, went to my father's house, and stayed there till I could give any proposition in the six books of Euclid at sight. I there found out what demonstrate means."

[Ill.u.s.tration: LINCOLN HOMESTEAD, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS]

On Monday, February 11, 1861, Mr. Lincoln and family in company with a party left Springfield, Illinois, for Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C. A light rain mixed with snow was falling at the time which made the occasion a somewhat gloomy one. Mr. Lincoln appeared on the rear platform of the car where he bade farewell to his neighbors in the following address:

"My friends, no one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century. Here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried.

"I know not how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves upon me which is greater, perhaps, than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Was.h.i.+ngton. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied.

"I feel that I cannot succeed without the same divine aid which sustained him; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support, and I hope you, my friends, will pray that I may receive the divine a.s.sistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain. Again, I bid you an affectionate farewell."

Mr. Lincoln thought that there is a time to joke and pray; and if, as his detractors affirm, he joked all the way to Was.h.i.+ngton, if he did not pray also (as we believe he did, and fervently, too) he at least desired the prayers of others, as the circ.u.mstances recorded in the following poem will show. It is from the pen of a lady of Philadelphia, Mrs. Anna Bache.

LINCOLN AT SPRINGFIELD, 1861

"My friends,--elected by your choice, From the long-cherished home I go, Endeared by Heaven-permitted joys, Sacred by Heaven-permitted woe, I go, to take the helm of State, While loud the waves of faction roar, And by His aid, supremely great, Upon whose will all tempests wait, I hope to steer the bark to sh.o.r.e.

Not since the days when Was.h.i.+ngton To battle led our patriots on, Have clouds so dark above us met, Have dangers dire so close beset.

And _he_ had never saved the land By deeds in human wisdom planned, But that with Christian faith he sought Guidance and blessing, where he ought.

Like him, I seek for aid divine, His faith, his hope, his trust, are mine.

Pray for me, friends, that G.o.d may make My judgment clear, my duty plain; For if the Lord no wards.h.i.+p take, The watchmen mount the towers in vain."

He ceased; and many a manly breast Panted with strong emotion's swell, And many a lip the sob suppressed, And tears from manly eyelids fell.

And hats came off, and heads were bowed, As Lincoln slowly moved away; And then, heart-spoken, from the crowd, In accents earnest, clear, and loud, Came one brief sentence, "We _will_ pray!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND HIS SECRETARIES, JOHN G. NICOLAY AND JOHN HAY

Photographed at Springfield, Illinois, in 1861]

On the 22nd of February, 1861, Was.h.i.+ngton's birthday, on his journey to Was.h.i.+ngton, to a.s.sume the Presidency, Mr. Lincoln raised a new flag over Independence Hall, then went inside and spoke as follows:--

"I am filled with deep emotion at finding myself standing in this place, where were collected together the wisdom, the patriotism, the devotion to principle from which sprang the inst.i.tutions under which we live. You have kindly suggested to me that in my hands is the task of restoring peace to our distracted country. I can say in return, sirs, that all the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn, so far as I have been able to draw them, from the sentiments which originated in and were given to the world from this hall. I have never had a feeling, politically, that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence. I have often pondered over the dangers which were incurred by the men who a.s.sembled here and framed and adopted that Declaration. I have pondered over the toils that were endured by the officers and soldiers of the army who achieved that independence. I have often inquired of myself what great principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy so long together.

It was not the mere matter of separation of the colonies from the motherland, but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but hope to all the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence.

"Now, my friends, can this country be saved on that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men in the world if I can help to save it. But if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I was about to say I would rather be a.s.sa.s.sinated on this spot than surrender it."

Four years and two months later, April 22, 1865, his body lay, a.s.sa.s.sinated, on the very spot where he had made the above remarks, then being taken to Springfield, Illinois, for burial.

[Ill.u.s.tration: INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA]

Henry Wilson Clendenin, born at Sch.e.l.lsburg, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1837; educated in private schools and by tutors. Married Mary E. Morey of Monmouth, Illinois, October 23, 1877; to them were born five children, four of whom survive: George M., manager _Illinois State Register_; Clarence R., Deputy Internal Revenue Collector, Springfield, Illinois; Harry F., proofreader, _Illinois State Register_, and Marie, a.s.sistant Instructor Physical Education, State Normal University, Normal, Illinois. He was a private of Company I, Twentieth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, in the Civil War. Began newspaper work on _Burlington_ (Iowa) _Hawkeye_. Afterwards telegraph editor _Peoria Transcript_, 1858; telegraph editor _Burlington Gazette_, 1863, and editor and proprietor, _Keokuk Daily Const.i.tution_, 1876-1881; since that year was editor and president of the _Illinois State Register_. Postmaster, Springfield 1886-90. Member Illinois State Historical Society, The Jefferson a.s.sociation, Grand Army of the Republic and Sons of the American Revolution. Director of Lincoln Library at Springfield, Illinois, for ten years. Member of the First Congregational Church of that city.

This sonnet was written by Mr. Clendenin, in Philadelphia, February 22, 1861, after witnessing Lincoln hoist the flag over Independence Hall.

LINCOLN CALLED TO THE PRESIDENCY

Hark to the sound that speedeth o'er the land!

Behold the sword in fratricidal hand!

'Tis duty calls thee, Lincoln, and thy trust Demands that all thy acts be wise and just.

No idle task to thee has been a.s.signed, But work that's worthy of a giant mind-- And on the issue hangs the nation's fame As a free people who deserve the name.

So, walk thou in the way the fathers trod; Be true to freedom, country, and to G.o.d; Then truth will triumph, treason be undone, And thou be hailed the second Was.h.i.+ngton.

The first, the Father of his country--thou, Its Saviour. Bind the laurel on thy brow.