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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/11174-0.txt b/11174-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cf4b797 --- /dev/null +++ b/11174-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5277 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11174 *** + +FOUR GREAT AMERICANS + + WASHINGTON + FRANKLIN + WEBSTER + LINCOLN + +A BOOK FOR YOUNG AMERICANS + +BY JAMES BALDWIN, PH.D. + + + + +CONTENTS + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + +CHAPTER + + I WHEN WASHINGTON WAS A BOY + II HIS HOMES + III HIS SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS + IV GOING TO SEA + V THE YOUNG SURVEYOR + VI THE OHIO COUNTRY + VII A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES + VIII A PERILOUS JOURNEY + IX HIS FIRST BATTLE + X THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR + XI THE MUTTERINGS OF THE STORM + XII THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR + XIII INDEPENDENCE + XIV THE FIRST PRESIDENT + XV "FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN" + +THE STORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN + +CHAPTER + + I THE WHISTLE + II SCHOOLDAYS + III THE BOYS AND THE WHARF + IV CHOOSING A TRADE + V HOW FRANKLIN EDUCATED HIMSELF + VI FAREWELL TO BOSTON + VII THE FIRST DAY IN PHILADELPHIA + VIII GOVERNOR WILLIAM KEITH + IX THE RETURN TO PHILADELPHIA + X THE FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND + XI A LEADING MAN IN PHILADELPHIA + XII FRANKLIN'S RULES OF LIFE + XIII FRANKLIN'S SERVICES TO THE COLONIES + XIV FRANKLIN'S WONDERFUL KITE + XV THE LAST YEARS + +THE STORY OF DANIEL WEBSTER + +CHAPTER + + I CAPTAIN WEBSTER + II THE YOUNGEST SON + III EZEKIEL AND DANIEL + IV PLANS FOR THE FUTURE + V AT EXETER ACADEMY + VI GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE + VII AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE + VIII HOW DANIEL TAUGHT SCHOOL + IX DANIEL GOES TO BOSTON + X LAWYER AND CONGRESSMAN + XI THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE + XII WEBSTER'S GREAT ORATIONS + XIII MR. WEBSTER IN THE SENATE + XIV MR. WEBSTER IN PRIVATE LIFE + XV THE LAST YEARS + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN + +CHAPTER + + I THE KENTUCKY HOME + II WORK AND SORROW + III THE NEW MOTHER + IV SCHOOL AND BOOKS + V LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS + VI THE BOATMAN + VII THE FIRST YEARS IN ILLINOIS + VIII THE BLACK HAWK WAR + IX IN THE LEGISLATURE + X POLITICS AND MARRIAGE + XI CONGRESSMAN AND LAWYER + XII THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY + XIII LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS + XIV PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES + XV THE END OF A GREAT LIFE + + + + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + +[Illustration of George Washington] + + + + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + + * * * * * + +I.--WHEN WASHINGTON WAS A BOY. + + +When George Washington was a boy there was no United States. The land +was here, just as it is now, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the +Pacific; but nearly all of it was wild and unknown. + +Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany Mountains there were +thirteen colonies, or great settlements. The most of the people who +lived in these colonies were English people, or the children of English +people; and so the King of England made their laws and appointed their +governors. + +The newest of the colonies was Georgia, which was settled the year after +George Washington was born. + +The oldest colony was Virginia, which had been settled one hundred and +twenty-five years. It was also the richest colony, and more people were +living in it than in any other. + +There were only two or three towns in Virginia at that time, and they +were quite small. + +Most of the people lived on farms or on big plantations, where they +raised whatever they needed to eat. They also raised tobacco, which they +sent to England to be sold. + +The farms, or plantations, were often far apart, with stretches of thick +woods between them. Nearly every one was close to a river, or some other +large body of water; for there are many rivers in Virginia. + +There were no roads, such as we have nowadays, but only paths through +the woods. When people wanted to travel from place to place, they had to +go on foot, or on horseback, or in small boats. + +A few of the rich men who lived on the big plantations had coaches; and +now and then they would drive out in grand style behind four or six +horses, with a fine array of servants and outriders following them. But +they could not drive far where there were no roads, and we can hardly +understand how they got any pleasure out of it. + +Nearly all the work on the plantations was done by slaves. Ships had +been bringing negroes from Africa for more than a hundred years, and now +nearly half the people in Virginia were blacks. + +Very often, also, poor white men from England were sold as slaves for a +few years in order to pay for their passage across the ocean. When their +freedom was given to them they continued to work at whatever they could +find to do; or they cleared small farms in the woods for themselves, or +went farther to the west and became woodsmen and hunters. + +There was but very little money in Virginia at that time, and, indeed, +there was not much use for it. For what could be done with money where +there were no shops worth speaking of, and no stores, and nothing to +buy? + +The common people raised flax and wool, and wove their own cloth; and +they made their own tools and furniture. The rich people did the same; +but for their better or finer goods they sent to England. + +For you must know that in all this country there were no great mills for +spinning and weaving as there are now; there were no factories of any +kind; there were no foundries where iron could be melted and shaped into +all kinds of useful and beautiful things. + +When George Washington was a boy the world was not much like it is now. + + * * * * * + +II.--HIS HOMES. + + +George Washington's father owned a large plantation on the western shore +of the Potomac River. George's great-grandfather, John Washington, had +settled upon it nearly eighty years before, and there the family had +dwelt ever since. + +This plantation was in Westmoreland county, not quite forty miles above +the place where the Potomac flows into Chesapeake Bay. By looking at +your map of Virginia, you will see that the river is very broad there. + +On one side of the plantation, and flowing through it, there was a +creek, called Bridge's Creek; and for this reason the place was known as +the Bridge's Creek Plantation. + +It was here, on the 22d of February, 1732, that George Washington was +born. + +Although his father was a rich man, the house in which he lived was +neither very large nor very fine--at least it would not be thought so +now. + +It was a square, wooden building, with four rooms on the ground floor +and an attic above. + +The eaves were low, and the roof was long and sloping. At each end of +the house there was a huge chimney; and inside were big fireplaces, one +for the kitchen and one for the "great room" where visitors were +received. + +But George did not live long in this house. When he was about three +years old his father removed to another plantation which he owned, near +Hunting Creek, several miles farther up the river. This new plantation +was at first known as the Washington Plantation, but it is now called +Mount Vernon. + +Four years after this the house of the Washingtons was burned down. But +Mr. Washington had still other lands on the Rappahannock River. He had +also an interest in some iron mines that were being opened there. And so +to this place the family was now taken. + +The house by the Rappahannock was very much like the one at Bridge's +Creek. It stood on high ground, overlooking the river and some low +meadows; and on the other side of the river was the village of +Fredericksburg, which at that time was a very small village, indeed. + +George was now about seven years old. + + * * * * * + +III.--HIS SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. + + +There were no good schools in Virginia at that time. In fact, the people +did not care much about learning. + +There were few educated men besides the parsons, and even some of the +parsons were very ignorant. + +It was the custom of some of the richest families to send their eldest +sons to England to the great schools there. But it is doubtful if these +young men learned much about books. + +They spent a winter or two in the gay society of London, and were taught +the manners of gentlemen--and that was about all. + +George Washington's father, when a young man, had spent some time at +Appleby School in England, and George's half-brothers, Lawrence and +Augustine, who were several years older than he, had been sent to the +same school. + +But book-learning was not thought to be of much use. To know how to +manage the business of a plantation, to be polite to one's equals, to be +a leader in the affairs of the colony--this was thought to be the best +education. + +And so, for most of the young men, it was enough if they could read and +write a little and keep a few simple accounts. As for the girls, the +parson might give them a few lessons now and then; and if they learned +good manners and could write letters to their friends, what more could +they need? + +George Washington's first teacher was a poor sexton, whose name was Mr. +Hobby. There is a story that he had been too poor to pay his passage +from England, and that he had, therefore, been sold to Mr. Washington as +a slave for a short time; but how true this is, I cannot say. + +From Mr. Hobby, George learned to spell easy words, and perhaps to write +a little; but, although he afterward became a very careful and good +penman, he was a poor speller as long as he lived. + +When George was about eleven years old his father died. We do not know +what his father's intentions had been regarding him. But possibly, if he +had lived, he would have given George the best education that his means +would afford. + +But now everything was changed. The plantation at Hunting Creek, and, +indeed, almost all the rest of Mr. Washington's great estate, became the +property of the eldest son, Lawrence. + +George was sent to Bridge's Creek to live for a while with his brother +Augustine, who now owned the old home plantation there. The mother and +the younger children remained on the Rappahannock farm. + +While at Bridge's Creek, George was sent to school to a Mr. Williams, +who had lately come from England. + +There are still to be seen some exercises which the lad wrote at that +time. There is also a little book, called _The Young Man's Companion_, +from which he copied, with great care, a set of rules for good behavior +and right living. + +Not many boys twelve years old would care for such a book nowadays. But +you must know that in those days there were no books for children, and, +indeed, very few for older people. + +The maxims and wise sayings which George copied were, no doubt, very +interesting to him--so interesting that many of them were never +forgotten. + +There are many other things also in this _Young Man's Companion_, and we +have reason to believe that George studied them all. + +There are short chapters on arithmetic and surveying, rules for the +measuring of land and lumber, and a set of forms for notes, deeds, and +other legal documents. A knowledge of these things was, doubtless, of +greater importance to him than the reading of many books would have +been. + +Just what else George may have studied in Mr. Williams's school I cannot +say. But all this time he was growing to be a stout, manly boy, tall and +strong, and well-behaved. And both his brothers and himself were +beginning to think of what he should do when he should become a man. + + * * * * * + +IV.--GOING TO SEA. + + +Once every summer a ship came up the river to the plantation, and was +moored near the shore. + +It had come across the sea from far-away England, and it brought many +things for those who were rich enough to pay for them. + +It brought bonnets and pretty dresses for George's mother and sisters; +it brought perhaps a hat and a tailor-made suit for himself; it brought +tools and furniture, and once a yellow coach that had been made in +London, for his brother. + +When all these things had been taken ashore, the ship would hoist her +sails and go on, farther up the river, to leave goods at other +plantations. + +In a few weeks it would come back and be moored again at the same place. + +Then there was a busy time on shore. The tobacco that had been raised +during the last year must be carried on shipboard to be taken to the +great tobacco markets in England. + +The slaves on the plantation were running back and forth, rolling +barrels and carrying bales of tobacco down to the landing. + +Letters were written to friends in England, and orders were made out for +the goods that were to be brought back next year. + +But in a day or two, all this stir was over. The sails were again +spread, and the ship glided away on its long voyage across the sea. + +George had seen this ship coming and going every year since he could +remember. He must have thought how pleasant it would be to sail away to +foreign lands and see the many wonderful things that are there. + +And then, like many another active boy, he began to grow tired of the +quiet life on the farm, and wish that he might be a sailor. + +He was now about fourteen years old. Since the death of his father, his +mother had found it hard work, with her five children, to manage her +farm on the Rappahannock and make everything come out even at the end of +each year. Was it not time that George should be earning something for +himself? But what should he do? + +He wanted to go to sea. His brother Lawrence, and even his mother, +thought that this might be the best thing. + +A bright boy like George would not long be a common sailor. He would +soon make his way to a high place in the king's navy. So, at least, his +friends believed. + +And so the matter was at last settled. A sea-captain who was known to +the family, agreed to take George with him. He was to sail in a short +time. + +The day came. His mother, his brothers, his sisters, were all there to +bid him good-bye. But in the meanwhile a letter had come to his mother, +from his uncle who lived in England. + +"If you care for the boy's future," said the letter, "do not let him go +to sea. Places in the king's navy are not easy to obtain. If he begins +as a sailor, he will never be aught else." + +The letter convinced George's mother--it half convinced his +brothers--that this going to sea would be a sad mistake. But George, +like other boys of his age, was headstrong. He would not listen to +reason. A sailor he would be. + +The ship was in the river waiting for him. A boat had come to the +landing to take him on board. + +The little chest which held his clothing had been carried down to the +bank. George was in high glee at the thought of going. + +"Good-bye, mother," he said. + +He stood on the doorstep and looked back into the house. He saw the kind +faces of those whom he loved. He began to feel very sad at the thought +of leaving them. + +"Good-bye, George!" + +He saw the tears welling up in his mother's eyes. He saw them rolling +down her cheeks. He knew now that she did not want him to go. He could +not bear to see her grief. + +"Mother, I have changed my mind," he said. "I will not be a sailor. I +will not leave you." + +Then he turned to the black boy who was waiting by the door, and said, +"Run down to the landing and tell them not to put the chest on board. +Tell them that I have thought differently of the matter and that I am +going to stay at home." + +If George had not changed his mind, but had really gone to sea, how very +different the history of this country would have been! + +He now went to his studies with a better will than before; and although +he read but few books he learned much that was useful to him in life. He +studied surveying with especial care, and made himself as thorough in +that branch of knowledge as it was possible to do with so few +advantages. + + * * * * * + +V.--THE YOUNG SURVEYOR. + + +Lawrence Washington was about fourteen years older than his brother +George. + +As I have already said, he had been to England and had spent sometime at +Appleby school. He had served in the king's army for a little while, and +had been with Admiral Vernon's squadron in the West Indies. + +He had formed so great a liking for the admiral that when he came home +he changed the name of his plantation at Hunting Creek, and called it +Mount Vernon--a name by which it is still known. + +Not far from Mount Vernon there was another fine plantation called +Belvoir, that was owned by William Fairfax, an English gentleman of much +wealth and influence. + +Now this Mr. Fairfax had a young daughter, as wise as she was beautiful; +and so, what should Lawrence Washington do but ask her to be his wife? +He built a large house at Mount Vernon with a great porch fronting on +the Potomac; and when Miss Fairfax became Mrs. Washington and went into +this home as its mistress, people said that there was not a handsomer or +happier young couple in all Virginia. + +After young George Washington had changed his mind about going to sea, +he went up to Mount Vernon to live with his elder brother. For Lawrence +had great love for the boy, and treated him as his father would have +done. + +At Mount Vernon George kept on with his studies in surveying. He had a +compass and surveyor's chain, and hardly a day passed that he was not +out on the plantation, running lines and measuring his brother's fields. + +Sometimes when he was busy at this kind of work, a tall, white-haired +gentleman would come over from Belvoir to see what he was doing and to +talk with him. This gentleman was Sir Thomas Fairfax, a cousin of the +owner of Belvoir. He was sixty years old, and had lately come from +England to look after his lands in Virginia; for he was the owner of +many thousands of acres among the mountains and in the wild woods. + +Sir Thomas was a courtly old gentleman, and he had seen much of the +world. He was a fine scholar; he had been a soldier, and then a man of +letters; and he belonged to a rich and noble family. + +It was not long until he and George were the best of friends. Often they +would spend the morning together, talking or surveying; and in the +afternoon they would ride out with servants and hounds, hunting foxes +and making fine sport of it among the woods and hills. + +And when Sir Thomas Fairfax saw how manly and brave his young friend +was, and how very exact and careful in all that he did, he said: "Here +is a boy who gives promise of great things. I can trust him." + +Before the winter was over he had made a bargain with George to survey +his lands that lay beyond the Blue Ridge mountains. + +I have already told you that at this time nearly all the country west of +the mountains was a wild and unknown region. In fact, all the western +part of Virginia was an unbroken wilderness, with only here and there a +hunter's camp or the solitary hut of some daring woodsman. + +But Sir Thomas hoped that by having the land surveyed, and some part of +it laid out into farms, people might be persuaded to go there and +settle. And who in all the colony could do this work better than his +young friend, George Washington? + +It was a bright day in March, 1748, when George started out on his first +trip across the mountains. His only company was a young son of William +Fairfax of Belvoir. + +The two friends were mounted on good horses; and both had guns, for +there was fine hunting in the woods. It was nearly a hundred miles to +the mountain-gap through which they passed into the country beyond. As +there were no roads, but only paths through the forest, they could not +travel very fast. + +After several days they reached the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah. +They now began their surveying. They went up the river for some +distance; then they crossed and went down on the other side. At last +they reached the Potomac River, near where Harper's Ferry now stands. + +At night they slept sometimes by a camp-fire in the woods, and sometimes +in the rude hut of a settler or a hunter. They were often wet and cold. +They cooked their meat by broiling it on sticks above the coals. They +ate without dishes, and drank water from the running streams. + +One day they met a party of Indians, the first red men they had seen. +There were thirty of them, with their bodies painted in true savage +style; for they were just going home from a war with some other tribe. + +The Indians were very friendly to the young surveyors. It was evening, +and they built a huge fire under the trees. Then they danced their +war-dance around it, and sang and yelled and made hideous sport until +far in the night. + +To George and his friend it was a strange sight; but they were brave +young men, and not likely to be afraid even though the danger had been +greater. + +They had many other adventures in the woods of which I cannot tell you +in this little book--shooting wild game, swimming rivers, climbing +mountains. But about the middle of April they returned in safety to +Mount Vernon. + +It would seem that the object of this first trip was to get a general +knowledge of the extent of Sir Thomas Fairfax's great woodland +estate--to learn where the richest bottom lands lay, and where were the +best hunting-grounds. + +The young men had not done much if any real surveying; they had been +exploring. + +George Washington had written an account of everything in a little +note-book which he carried with him. + +Sir Thomas was so highly pleased with the report which the young men +brought back that he made up his mind to move across the Blue Ridge and +spend the rest of his life on his own lands. + +And so, that very summer, he built in the midst of the great woods a +hunting lodge which he called Greenway Court. It was a large, square +house, with broad gables and a long roof sloping almost to the ground. + +When he moved into this lodge he expected soon to build a splendid +mansion and make a grand home there, like the homes he had known in +England. But time passed, and as the lodge was roomy and comfortable, he +still lived in it and put off beginning another house. + +Washington was now seventeen years old. Through the influence of Sir +Thomas Fairfax he was appointed public surveyor; and nothing would do +but that he must spend the most of his time at Greenway Court and keep +on with the work that he had begun. + +For the greater part of three years he worked in the woods and among the +mountains, surveying Sir Thomas's lands. And Sir Thomas paid him well--a +doubloon ($8.24) for each day, and more than that if the work was very +hard. + +But there were times when the young surveyor did not go out to work, but +stayed at Greenway Court with his good friend, Sir Thomas. The old +gentleman had something of a library, and on days when they could +neither work nor hunt, George spent the time in reading. He read the +_Spectator_ and a history of England, and possibly some other works. + +And so it came about that the three years which young Washington spent +in surveying were of much profit to him. + +The work in the open air gave him health and strength. He gained courage +and self-reliance. He became acquainted with the ways of the +backwoodsmen and of the savage Indians. And from Sir Thomas Fairfax he +learned a great deal about the history, the laws, and the military +affairs of old England. + +And in whatever he undertook to do or to learn, he was careful and +systematic and thorough. He did nothing by guess; he never left anything +half done. And therein, let me say to you, lie the secrets of success in +any calling. + + * * * * * + +VI.--THE OHIO COUNTRY. + + +You have already learned how the English people had control of all that +part of our country which borders upon the Atlantic Ocean. You have +learned, also, that they had made thirteen great settlements along the +coast, while all the vast region west of the mountains remained a wild +and unknown land. + +Now, because Englishmen had been the first white men to see the line of +shore that stretches from Maine to Georgia, they set up a claim to all +the land west of that line. + +They had no idea how far the land extended. They knew almost nothing +about its great rivers, its vasts forests, its lofty mountains, its rich +prairies. They cared nothing for the claims of the Indians whose homes +were there. + +"All the land from ocean to ocean," they said, "belongs to the King of +England." + +But there were other people who also had something to say about this +matter. + +The French had explored the Mississippi River. They had sailed on the +Great Lakes. Their hunters and trappers were roaming through the western +forests. They had made treaties with the Indians; and they had built +trading posts, here and there, along the watercourses. + +They said, "The English people may keep their strip of land between the +mountains and the sea. But these great river valleys and this country +around the Lakes are ours, because we have been the first to explore and +make use of them." + +Now, about the time that George Washington was thinking of becoming a +sailor, some of the rich planters in Virginia began to hear wonderful +stories about a fertile region west of the Alleghanies, watered by a +noble river, and rich in game and fur-bearing animals. + +This region was called the Ohio Country, from the name of the river; and +those who took pains to learn the most about it were satisfied that it +would, at some time, be of very great importance to the people who +should control it. + +And so these Virginian planters and certain Englishmen formed a company +called the Ohio Company, the object of which was to explore the country, +and make money by establishing trading posts and settlements there. And +of this company, Lawrence Washington was one of the chief managers. + +Lawrence Washington and his brother George had often talked about this +enterprise. + +"We shall have trouble with the French," said Lawrence. "They have +already sent men into the Ohio Country; and they are trying in every way +to prove that the land belongs to them." + +"It looks as if we should have to drive them out by force," said George. + +"Yes, and there will probably be some hard fighting," said Lawrence; +"and you, as a young man, must get yourself ready to have a hand in it." + +And Lawrence followed this up by persuading the governor of the colony +to appoint George as one of the adjutants-general of Virginia. + +George was only nineteen years old, but he was now Major Washington, and +one of the most promising soldiers in America. + + * * * * * + +VII.--A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. + + +Although George Washington spent so much of his time at Greenway Court, +he still called Mount Vernon his home. + +Going down home in the autumn, just before he was twenty years old, he +found matters in a sad state, and greatly changed. + +His brother Lawrence was very ill--indeed, he had been ill a long time. +He had tried a trip to England; he had spent a summer at the warm +springs; but all to no purpose. He was losing strength every day. + +The sick man dreaded the coming of cold weather. If he could only go to +the warm West Indies before winter set in, perhaps that would prolong +his life. Would George go with him? + +No loving brother could refuse a request like that. + +The captain of a ship in the West India trade agreed to take them; and +so, while it was still pleasant September, the two Washingtons embarked +for Barbadoes, which, then as now, belonged to the English. + +It was the first time that George had ever been outside of his native +land, and it proved to be also the last. He took careful notice of +everything that he saw; and, in the little note-book which he seems to +have always had with him, he wrote a brief account of the trip. + +He had not been three weeks at Barbadoes before he was taken down with +the smallpox; and for a month he was very sick. And so his winter in the +West Indies could not have been very pleasant. + +In February the two brothers returned home to Mount Vernon. Lawrence's +health had not been bettered by the journey. He was now very feeble; but +he lingered on until July, when he died. + +By his will Lawrence Washington left his fine estate of Mount Vernon, +and all the rest of his wealth, to his little daughter. But George was +to be the daughter's guardian; and in case of her death, all her vast +property was to be his own. + +And so, before he was quite twenty-one years old, George Washington was +settled at Mount Vernon as the manager of one of the richest estates in +Virginia. The death of his little niece not long afterward made him the +owner of this estate, and, of course, a very wealthy man. + +But within a brief time, events occurred which called him away from his +peaceful employments. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--A PERILOUS JOURNEY. + + +Early the very next year news was brought to Virginia that the French +were building forts along the Ohio, and making friends with the Indians +there. This of course meant that they intended to keep the English out +of that country. + +The governor of Virginia thought that the time had come to speak out +about this matter. He would send a messenger with a letter to these +Frenchmen, telling them that all the land belonged to the English, and +that no trespassing would be allowed. + +The first messenger that he sent became alarmed before he was within a +hundred miles of a Frenchman, and went back to say that everything was +as good as lost. + +It was very plain that a man with some courage must be chosen for such +an undertaking. + +"I will send Major George Washington," said the governor. "He is very +young, but he is the bravest man in the colony." + +Now, promptness was one of those traits of character which made George +Washington the great man which he afterward became. And so, on the very +day that he received his appointment he set out for the Ohio Country. + +He took with him three white hunters, two Indians, and a famous +woodsman, whose name was Christopher Gist. A small tent or two, and such +few things as they would need on the journey, were strapped on the backs +of horses. + +They pushed through the woods in a northwestwardly direction, and at +last reached a place called Venango, not very far from where Pittsburg +now stands. This was the first outpost of the French; and here +Washington met some of the French officers, and heard them talk about +what they proposed to do. + +Then, after a long ride to the north, they came to another fort. The +French commandant was here, and he welcomed Washington with a great show +of kindness. + +Washington gave him the letter which he had brought from the governor +of Virginia. + +The commandant read it, and two days afterward gave him an answer. + +He said that he would forward the letter to the French governor; but as +for the Ohio Country, he had been ordered to hold it, and he meant to do +so. + +Of course Washington could do nothing further. But it was plain to him +that the news ought to be carried back to Virginia without delay. + +It was now mid-winter. As no horse could travel through the trackless +woods at this time of year, he must make his way on foot. + +So, with only the woodsman, Gist, he shouldered his rifle and knapsack, +and bravely started home. + +It was a terrible journey. The ground was covered with snow; the rivers +were frozen; there was not even a path through the forest. If Gist had +not been so fine a woodsman they would hardly have seen Virginia again. + +Once an Indian shot at Washington from behind a tree. Once the brave +young man fell into a river, among floating ice, and would have been +drowned but for Gist. + +At last they reached the house of a trader on the Monongahela River. +There they were kindly welcomed, and urged to stay until the weather +should grow milder. + +But Washington would not delay. + +Sixteen days after that, he was back in Virginia, telling the governor +all about his adventures, and giving his opinion about the best way to +deal with the French. + + * * * * * + +IX.--HIS FIRST BATTLE. + + +It was now very plain that if the English were going to hold the Ohio +Country and the vast western region which they claimed as their own, +they must fight for it. + +The people of Virginia were not very anxious to go to war. But their +governor was not willing to be beaten by the French. + +He made George Washington a lieutenant-colonel of Virginia troops, and +set about raising an army to send into the Ohio Country. + +Early in the spring Colonel Washington, with a hundred and fifty men, +was marching across the country toward the head waters of the Ohio. It +was a small army to advance against the thousands of French and Indians +who now held that region. + +But other officers, with stronger forces, were expected to follow close +behind. + +Late in May the little army reached the valley of the Monongahela, and +began to build a fort at a place called Great Meadows. + +By this time the French and Indians were aroused, and hundreds of them +were hurrying forward to defend the Ohio Country from the English. One +of their scouting parties, coming up the river, was met by Washington +with forty men. + +The French were not expecting any foe at this place. There were but +thirty-two of them; and of these only one escaped. Ten were killed, and +the rest were taken prisoners. + +This was Washington's first battle, and he was more proud of it than +you might suppose. He sent his prisoners to Virginia, and was ready now, +with his handful of men, to meet all the French and Indians that might +come against him! + +And they did come, and in greater numbers than he had expected. He made +haste to finish, if possible, the fort that had been begun. + +But they were upon him before he was ready. They had four men to his +one. They surrounded the fort and shut his little Virginian army in. + +What could Colonel Washington do? His soldiers were already +half-starved. There was but little food in the fort, and no way to get +any more. + +The French leader asked if he did not think it would be a wise thing to +surrender. Washington hated the very thought of it; but nothing else +could be done. + +"If you will march your men straight home, and give me a pledge that +they and all Virginians will stay out of the Ohio Country for the next +twelve months, you may go," said the Frenchman. + +It was done. + +Washington, full of disappointment went back to Mount Vernon. But he +felt more like fighting than ever before. + +He was now twenty-two years old. + + * * * * * + +X.--THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. + + +In the meanwhile the king of England had heard how the French were +building forts along the Ohio and how they were sending their traders to +the Great Lakes and to the valley of the Mississippi. + +"If we allow them to go on in this way, they will soon take all that +vast western country away from us," he said. + +And so, the very next winter, he sent over an army under General Edward +Braddock to drive the French out of that part of America and at the same +time teach their Indian friends a lesson. + +It was in February, 1755, when General Braddock and his troops went +into camp at Alexandria in Virginia. As Alexandria was only a few miles +from Mount Vernon, Washington rode over to see the fine array and become +acquainted with the officers. + +When General Braddock heard that this was the young man who had ventured +so boldly into the Ohio Country, he offered him a place on his staff. +This was very pleasing to Washington, for there was nothing more +attractive to him than soldiering. + +It was several weeks before the army was ready to start: and then it +moved so slowly that it did not reach the Monongahela until July. + +The soldiers in their fine uniforms made a splendid appearance as they +marched in regular order across the country. + +Benjamin Franklin, one of the wisest men in America, had told General +Braddock that his greatest danger would be from unseen foes hidden among +the underbrush and trees. + +"They may be dangerous to your backwoodsmen," said Braddock; "but to +the trained soldiers of the king they can give no trouble at all." + +But scarcely had the army crossed the Monongahela when it was fired upon +by unseen enemies. The woods rang with the cries of savage men. + +The soldiers knew not how to return the fire. They were shot down in +their tracks like animals in a pen. + +"Let the men take to the shelter of the trees!" was Washington's advice. + +But Braddock would not listen to it. They must keep in order and fight +as they had been trained to fight. + +Washington rode hither and thither trying his best to save the day. Two +horses were shot under him; four bullets passed through his coat; and +still he was unhurt. The Indians thought that he bore a charmed life, +for none of them could hit him. + +It was a dreadful affair--more like a slaughter than a battle. Seven +hundred of Braddock's fine soldiers, and more than half of his officers, +were killed or wounded. And all this havoc was made by two hundred +Frenchmen and about six hundred Indians hidden among the trees. + +At last Braddock gave the order to retreat. It soon became a wild flight +rather than a retreat; and yet, had it not been for Washington, it would +have been much worse. + +The General himself had been fatally wounded. There was no one but +Washington who could restore courage to the frightened men, and lead +them safely from the place of defeat. + +Four days after the battle General Braddock died, and the remnant of the +army being now led by a Colonel Dunbar, hurried back to the eastern +settlements. + +Of all the men who took part in that unfortunate expedition against the +French, there was only one who gained any renown therefrom, and that one +was Colonel George Washington. + +He went back to Mount Vernon, wishing never to be sent to the Ohio +Country again. + +The people of Virginia were so fearful lest the French and Indians +should follow up their victory and attack the settlements, that they +quickly raised a regiment of a thousand men to defend their colony. And +so highly did they esteem Colonel Washington that they made him +commander of all the forces of the colony, to do with them as he might +deem best. + +The war with the French for the possession of the Ohio Country and the +valley of the Mississippi, had now fairly begun. It would be more than +seven years before it came to an end. + +But most of the fighting was done at the north--in New York and Canada; +and so Washington and his Virginian soldiers did not distinguish +themselves in any very great enterprise. + +It was for them to keep watch of the western frontier of the colony lest +the Indians should cross the mountains and attack the settlements. + +Once, near the middle of the war, Washington led a company into the very +country where he had once traveled on foot with Christopher Gist. + +The French had built a fort at the place where the Ohio River has its +beginning, and they had named it Fort Duquesne. When they heard that +Washington was coming they set fire to the fort and fled down the river +in boats. + +The English built a new fort at the same place, and called it Fort Pitt; +and there the city of Pittsburg has since grown up. + +And now Washington resigned his commission as commander of the little +Virginian army. Perhaps he was tired of the war. Perhaps his great +plantation of Mount Vernon needed his care. We cannot tell. + +But we know that, a few days later, he was married to Mrs. Martha +Custis, a handsome young widow who owned a fine estate not a great way +from Williamsburg, the capital of the colony. This was in January, 1759. + +At about the same time he was elected a member of the House of Burgesses +of Virginia; and three months later, he went down to Williamsburg to +have a hand in making some of the laws for the colony. + +He was now twenty-seven years old. Young as he was, he was one of the +richest men in the colony, and he was known throughout the country as +the bravest of American soldiers. + +The war was still going on at the north. To most of the Virginians it +seemed to be a thing far away. + +At last, in 1763, a treaty of peace was made. The French had been +beaten, and they were obliged to give up everything to the English. They +lost not only the Ohio Country and all the great West, but Canada also. + + * * * * * + +XI.--THE MUTTERINGS OF THE STORM. + + +And now for several years Washington lived the life of a country +gentleman. He had enough to do, taking care of his plantations, hunting +foxes with his sport-loving neighbors, and sitting for a part of each +year in the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg. + +He was a tall man--more than six feet in height. He had a commanding +presence and a noble air, which plainly said: "This is no common man." + +[Illustration: Mount Vernon.] + +[Illustration: Tomb at Mount Vernon.] + +He was shrewd in business. He was the best horseman and the best +walker in Virginia. And no man knew more about farming than he. + +And so the years passed pleasantly enough at Mount Vernon, and there +were few who dreamed of the great events and changes that were soon to +take place. + +King George the Third of England, who was the ruler of the thirteen +colonies, had done many unwise things. + +He had made laws forbidding the colonists from trading with other +countries than his own. + +He would not let them build factories to weave their wool and flax into +cloth. + +He wanted to force them to buy all their goods in England, and to send +their corn and tobacco and cotton there to pay for them. + +And now after the long war with France he wanted to make the colonists +pay heavy taxes in order to meet the expenses of that war. + +They must not drink a cup of tea without first paying tax on it; they +must not sign a deed or a note without first buying stamped paper on +which to write it. + +In every colony there was great excitement on account of the tea tax +and the stamp act, as it was called. + +In the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg, a young man, whose name was +Patrick Henry, made a famous speech in which he declared that the king +had no right to tax them without their consent. + +George Washington heard that speech, and gave it his approval. + +Not long afterward, news came that in Boston a ship-load of tea had been +thrown into the sea by the colonists. Rather than pay the tax upon it, +they would drink no tea. + +Then, a little later, still other news came. The king had closed the +port of Boston, and would not allow any ships to come in or go out. + +More than this, he had sent over a body of soldiers, and had quartered +them in Boston in order to keep the people in subjection. + +The whole country was aroused now. What did this mean? Did the king +intend to take away from the colonists all the liberties that are so +dear to men? + +The colonies must unite and agree upon doing something to protect +themselves and preserve their freedom. In order to do this each colony +was asked to send delegates to Philadelphia to talk over the matter and +see what would be the best thing to do. + +George Washington was one of the delegates from Virginia. + +Before starting he made a great speech in the House of Burgesses. "If +necessary, I will raise a thousand men," he said, "subsist them at my +own expense, and march them to the relief of Boston." + +But the time for marching to Boston had not quite come. + +The delegates from the different colonies met in Carpenter's Hall, in +Philadelphia, on the 5th of September, 1774. Their meeting has since +been known as the First Continental Congress of America. + +For fifty-one days those wise, thoughtful men discussed the great +question that had brought them together. What could the colonists do to +escape the oppressive laws that the King of England was trying to force +upon them? + +Many powerful speeches were made, but George Washington sat silent. He +was a doer rather than a talker. + +At last the Congress decided to send an address to the king to remind +him of the rights of the colonists, and humbly beg that he would not +enforce his unjust laws. + +And then, when all had been done that could be done, Washington went +back to his home at Mount Vernon, to his family and his friends, his big +plantations, his fox-hunting, and his pleasant life as a country +gentleman. + +But he knew as well as any man that more serious work was near at hand. + + * * * * * + +XII.--THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR. + + +All that winter the people of the colonies were anxious and fearful. +Would the king pay any heed to their petition? Or would he force them to +obey his unjust laws? + +Then, in the spring, news came from Boston that matters were growing +worse and worse. The soldiers who were quartered in that city were daily +becoming more insolent and overbearing. + +"These people ought to have their town knocked about their ears and +destroyed," said one of the king's officers. + +On the 19th of April a company of the king's soldiers started to +Concord, a few miles from Boston, to seize some powder which had been +stored there. Some of the colonists met them at Lexington, and there was +a battle. + +This was the first battle in that long war commonly called the +Revolution. + +Washington was now on his way to the North again. The Second Continental +Congress was to meet in Philadelphia in May, and he was again a delegate +from Virginia. + +In the first days of the Congress no man was busier than he. No man +seemed to understand the situation of things better than he. No man was +listened to with greater respect; and yet he said but little. + +Every day, he came into the hall wearing the blue and buff uniform +which belonged to him as a Virginia colonel. It was as much as to say: +"The time for fighting has come, and I am ready." + +The Congress thought it best to send another humble petition to the +king, asking him not to deprive the people of their just rights. + +In the meantime brave men were flocking towards Boston to help the +people defend themselves from the violence of the king's soldiers. The +war had begun, and no mistake. + +The men of Congress saw now the necessity of providing for this war. +They asked, "Who shall be the commander-in-chief of our colonial army?" + +It was hardly worth while to ask such a question; for there could be but +one answer. Who, but George Washington? + +No other person in America knew so much about war as he. No other person +was so well fitted to command. + +On the 15th of June, on motion of John Adams of Massachusetts, he was +appointed to that responsible place. On the next day he made a modest +but noble little speech before Congress. + +He told the members of that body that he would serve his country +willingly and as well as he could--but not for money. They might provide +for his necessary expenses, but he would never take any pay for his +services. + +And so, leaving all his own interests out of sight, he undertook at once +the great work that had been entrusted to him. He undertook it, not for +profit nor for honor, but because of a feeling of duty to his +fellow-men. For eight weary, years he forgot himself in the service of +his country. + +Two weeks after his appointment General Washington rode into Cambridge, +near Boston, and took formal command of his army. + +It was but a small force, poorly clothed, poorly armed; but every man +had the love of country in his heart. It was the first American army. + +But so well did Washington manage matters that soon his raw troops were +in good shape for service. And so hard did he press the king's soldiers +in Boston that, before another summer, they were glad to take ship and +sail away from the town which they had so long infested and annoyed. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--INDEPENDENCE. + + +On the fourth day of the following July there was a great stir in the +town of Philadelphia. Congress was sitting in the Hall of the State +House. The streets were full of people; everybody seemed anxious; +everybody was in suspense. + +Men were crowding around the State House and listening. + +"Who is speaking now?" asked one. + +"John Adams," was the answer. + +"And who is speaking now?" + +"Doctor Franklin." + +"Good! Let them follow his advice, for he knows what is best." + +Then there was a lull outside, for everybody wanted to hear what the +great Dr. Franklin had to say. + +After a while the same question was asked again: "Who is speaking now?" + +And the answer was: "Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. It was he and +Franklin who wrote it." + +"Wrote what?" + +"Why, the Declaration of Independence, of course." + +A little later some one said: "They will be ready to sign it soon." + +"But will they dare to sign it?" + +"Dare? They dare not do otherwise." + +Inside the hall grave men were discussing the acts of the King of +England. + +"He has cut off our trade with all parts of the world," said one. + +"He has forced us to pay taxes without our consent," said another. + +"He has sent his soldiers among us to burn our towns and kill our +people," said a third. + +"He has tried to make the Indians our enemies," said a fourth. + +"He is a tyrant and unfit to be the ruler of a free people," agreed they +all. + +And then everybody was silent while one read: "We, therefore, the +representatives of the United States of America, solemnly publish and +declare that the united colonies are, and of right ought to be, _free +and independent states_" + +Soon afterward the bell in the high tower above the hall began to ring. + +"It is done!" cried the people. "They have signed the Declaration of +Independence." + +"Yes, every colony has voted for it," said those nearest the door. "The +King of England shall no longer rule over us." + +And that was the way in which the United States came into being. The +thirteen colonies were now thirteen states. + +Up to this time Washington and his army had been fighting for the rights +of the people as colonists. They had been fighting in order to oblige +the king to do away with the unjust laws which he had made. But now they +were to fight for freedom and for the independence of the United States. + +By and by you will read in your histories how wisely and bravely +Washington conducted the war. You will learn how he held out against the +king's soldiers on Long Island and at White Plains; how he crossed the +Delaware amid floating ice and drove the English from Trenton; how he +wintered at Morristown; how he suffered at Valley Forge; how he fought +at Germantown and Monmouth and Yorktown. + +There were six years of fighting, of marching here and there, of +directing and planning, of struggling in the face of every +discouragement. + +Eight years passed, and then peace came, for independence had been won, +and this our country was made forever free. + +On the 2d of November, 1783, Washington bade farewell to his army. On +the 23d of December he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief. + +There were some who suggested that Washington should make himself king +of this country; and indeed this he might have done, so great was the +people's love and gratitude. + +But the great man spurned such suggestions. He said, "If you have any +regard for your country or respect for me, banish those thoughts and +never again speak of them." + + * * * * * + +XIV.--THE FIRST PRESIDENT. + + +Washington was now fifty-two years old. + +The country was still in an unsettled condition. True, it was free from +English control. But there was no strong government to hold the states +together. + +Each state was a little country of itself, making its own laws, and +having its own selfish aims without much regard for its sister states. +People did not think of the United States as one great undivided nation. + +And so matters were in bad enough shape, and they grew worse and worse +as the months went by. + +Wise men saw that unless something should be done to bring about a +closer union of the states, they would soon be in no better condition +than when ruled by the English king. + +And so a great convention was held in Philadelphia to determine what +could be done to save the country from ruin. George Washington was +chosen to preside over this convention; and no man's words had greater +weight than his. + +He said, "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can +repair. The event is in the hand of God." + +That convention did a great and wonderful work; for it framed the +Constitution by which our country has ever since been governed. + +And soon afterwards, in accordance with that Constitution, the people of +the country were called upon to elect a President. Who should it be? + +Who could it be but Washington? + +When the electoral votes were counted, every vote was for George +Washington of Virginia. + +And so, on the 16th of April, 1789, the great man again bade adieu to +Mount Vernon and to private life, and set out for New York. For the city +of Washington had not yet been built, and New York was the first capital +of our country. + +There were no railroads at that time, and so the journey was made in a +coach. All along the road the people gathered to see their +hero-president and show him their love. + +On the 30th of April he was inaugurated at the old Federal Hall in New +York. + +"Long live George Washington, President of the United States!" shouted +the people. Then the cannon roared, the bells rang, and the new +government of the United States--the government which we have +to-day--began its existence. + +Washington was fifty-seven years old at the time of his inauguration. + +Perhaps no man was ever called to the doing of more difficult things. +The entire government must be built up from the beginning, and all its +machinery put into order. + +But so well did he meet the expectations of the people, that when his +first term was near its close he was again elected President, receiving +every electoral vote. + +In your histories you will learn of the many difficult tasks which he +performed during those years of the nation's infancy. There were new +troubles with England, troubles with the Indians, jealousies and +disagreements among the lawmakers of the country. But amidst all these +trials Washington stood steadfast, wise, cool--conscious that he was +right, and strong enough to prevail. + +Before the end of his second term, people began to talk about electing +him for the third time. They could not think of any other man holding +the highest office in the country. They feared that no other man could +be safely entrusted with the great responsibilities which he had borne +so nobly. + +But Washington declared that he would not accept office again. The +government was now on a firm footing. There were others who could manage +its affairs wisely and well. + +And so, in September, 1796, he published his Farewell Address. It was +full of wise and wholesome advice. + +"Beware of attacks upon the Constitution. Beware of those who think more +of their party than of their country. Promote education. Observe +justice. Treat with good faith all nations. Adhere to the right. Be +united--be united. Love your country." These were some of the things +that he said. + +John Adams, who had been Vice-President eight years, was chosen to be +the new President, and Washington again retired to Mount Vernon. + + * * * * * + +XV.--"FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN." + + +In the enjoyment of his home life, Washington did not forget his +country. It would, indeed, have been hard for him not to keep informed +about public affairs; for men were all the time coming to him to ask for +help and advice regarding this measure or that. + +The greatest men of the nation felt that he must know what was wisest +and best for the country's welfare. + +Soon after his retirement an unexpected trouble arose. There was another +war between England and France. The French were very anxious that the +United States should join in the quarrel. + +When they could not bring this about by persuasion, they tried abuse. +They insulted the officers of our government; they threatened war. + +The whole country was aroused. Congress began to take steps for the +raising of an army and the building of a navy. But who should lead the +army? + +All eyes were again turned toward Washington. He had saved the country +once; he could save it again. The President asked him if he would again +be the commander-in-chief. + +He answered that he would do so, on condition that he might choose his +assistants. But unless the French should actually invade this country, +he must not be expected to go into the field. + +And so, at the last, General Washington is again the commander-in-chief +of the American army. But there is to be no fighting this time. The +French see that the people of the United States cannot be frightened; +they see that the government cannot be driven; they leave off their +abuse, and are ready to make friends. + +Washington's work is done now. On the 12th of December, 1799, he mounts +his horse and rides out over his farms. The weather is cold; the snow is +falling; but he stays out for two or three hours. + +The next morning he has a sore throat; he has taken cold. The snow is +still falling, but he will go out again. At night he is very hoarse; he +is advised to take medicine. + +"Oh, no," he answers, "you know I never take anything for a cold." + +But in the night he grows much worse; early the next morning the doctor +is brought. It is too late. He grows rapidly worse. He knows that the +end is near. + +"It is well," he says; and these are his last words. + +Washington died on the 14th of December, 1799. He had lived nearly +sixty-eight years. + +His sudden death was a shock to the entire country. Every one felt as +though he had lost a personal friend. The mourning for him was general +and sincere. + +In the Congress of the United States his funeral oration was pronounced +by his friend, Henry Lee, who said: + +"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his +countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of +private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, uniform, dignified, and +commanding, his example was edifying to all around him, as were the +effects of that example lasting. + +"Such was the man America has lost! Such was the man for whom our +country mourns!" + + + + +THE STORY OF + +BENJAMIN FRANKLIN + + + + +TO THE YOUNG READER + + * * * * * + +I am about to tell you the story of a very great and noble man. It is +the story of one whom all the world honors--of one whose name will +forever be remembered with admiration. Benjamin Franklin was not born to +greatness. He had none of the advantages which even the poorest boys may +now enjoy. But he achieved greatness by always making the best use of +such opportunities as came in his way. He was not afraid of work. He did +not give up to discouragements. He did not overestimate his own +abilities. He was earnest and faithful in little things; and that, after +all, is the surest way of attaining to great things. There is no man to +whom we Americans owe a greater debt of gratitude. Without his aid the +American colonies would hardly have won independence. It was said of him +that he knew how to subdue both thunder and tyranny; and a famous orator +who knew him well, described him as "the genius that gave freedom to +America and shed torrents of light upon Europe." But, at the close of a +very long life, the thing which gave him the greatest satisfaction was +the fact that he had made no man his enemy; there was no human being who +could justly say, "Ben Franklin has wronged me." + + + + +THE STORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. + + * * * * * + +I.--THE WHISTLE. + + +Nearly two hundred years ago, there lived in Boston a little boy whose +name was Benjamin Franklin. + +On the day that he was seven years old, his mother gave him a few +pennies. + +He looked at the bright, yellow pieces and said, "What shall I do with +these coppers, mother?" + +It was the first money that he had ever had. + +"You may buy something with them, if you would like," said his mother. + +"And will you give me more when they are gone?" he asked. + +His mother shook her head and said: "No, Benjamin. I cannot give you any +more. So you must be careful not to spend them foolishly." + +The little fellow ran out into the street. He heard the pennies jingle +in his pocket as he ran. He felt as though he was very rich. + +Boston was at that time only a small town, and there were not many +stores. As Benjamin ran down toward the busy part of the street, he +wondered what he should buy. + +Should he buy candy or toys? It had been a long time since he had tasted +candy. As for toys, he hardly knew what they were. + +If he had been the only child in the family, things might have been +different. But there were fourteen boys and girls older than he, and two +little sisters that were younger. + +It was as much as his father could do to earn food and clothing for so +many. There was no money to spend for toys. + +Before Benjamin had gone very far he met a boy blowing a whistle. + +"That is just the thing that I want," he said. Then he hurried on to the +store where all kinds of things were kept for sale. + +"Have you any good whistles?" he asked. + +He was out of breath from running, but he tried hard to speak like a +man. + +"Yes, plenty of them," said the man. + +"Well, I want one, and I'll give you all the money I have for it," said +the little fellow. He forgot to ask the price. + +"How much money have you?" asked the man. + +Benjamin took the coppers from his pocket. The man counted them and +said, "All right, my boy. It's a bargain." + +Then he put the pennies into his money drawer, and gave one of the +whistles to the boy. + +Benjamin Franklin was a proud and happy boy. He ran home as fast as he +could, blowing his whistle as he ran. + +His mother met him at the door and said, "Well, my child, what did you +do with your pennies?" + +"I bought a whistle!" he cried. "Just hear me blow it!" + +"How much did you pay for it?" + +"All the money I had." + +One of his brothers was standing by and asked to see the whistle. "Well, +well!" he said, "did you spend all of your money for this thing?" + +"Every penny," said Benjamin. + +"Did you ask the price?" + +"No. But I offered them to the man, and he said it was all right." + +His brother laughed and said, "You are a very foolish fellow. You paid +four times as much as it is worth." + +"Yes," said his mother, "I think it is rather a dear whistle. You had +enough money to buy a whistle and some candy, too." + +The little boy saw what a mistake he had made. The whistle did not +please him any more. He threw it upon the floor, and began to cry. But +his mother took him upon her lap and said: + +"Never mind, my child. We must all live and learn; and I think that my +little boy will be careful, after this, not to pay too dear for his +whistles." + + * * * * * + +II.--SCHOOLDAYS. + + +When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were no great public schools in +Boston as there are now. But he learned to read almost as soon as he +could talk, and he was always fond of books. + +His nine brothers were older than he, and every one had learned a trade. +They did not care so much for books. + +"Benjamin shall be the scholar of our family," said his mother. + +"Yes, we will educate him for a minister," said his father. For at that +time all the most learned men were ministers. + +And so, when he was eight years old, Benjamin Franklin was sent to a +grammar school, where boys were prepared for college. He was a very apt +scholar, and in a few months was promoted to a higher class. + +But the lad was not allowed to stay long in the grammar school. His +father was a poor man. It would cost a great deal of money to give +Benjamin a college education. The times were very hard. The idea of +educating the boy for the ministry had to be given up. + +In less than a year he was taken from the grammar school, and sent to +another school where arithmetic and writing were taught. + +He learned to write very well, indeed; but he did not care so much for +arithmetic, and so failed to do what was expected of him. + +When he was ten years old he had to leave school altogether. His father +needed his help; and though Benjamin was but a small boy, there were +many things that he could do. + +He never attended school again. But he kept on studying and reading; and +we shall find that he afterwards became the most learned man in America. + +Benjamin's father was a soap-boiler and candle-maker. And so when the +boy was taken from school, what kind of work do you think he had to do? + +He was kept busy cutting wicks for the candles, pouring the melted +tallow into the candle-moulds, and selling soap to his father's +customers. + +Do you suppose that he liked this business? + +He did not like it at all. And when he saw the ships sailing in and out +of Boston harbor, he longed to be a sailor and go to strange, far-away +lands, where candles and soap were unknown. + +But his father would not listen to any of his talk about going to sea. + + * * * * * + +III.--THE BOYS AND THE WHARF. + + +Busy as Benjamin was in his father's shop, he still had time to play a +good deal. + +He was liked by all the boys of the neighborhood, and they looked up to +him as their leader. In all their games he was their captain; and +nothing was undertaken without asking his advice. + +Not far from the home of the Franklins there was a millpond, where the +boys often went to swim. When the tide was high they liked to stand at a +certain spot on the shore of the pond and fish for minnows. + +But the ground was marshy and wet, and the boys' feet sank deep in the +mud. + +"Let us build a wharf along the water's edge," said Benjamin. "Then we +can stand and fish with some comfort." + +"Agreed!" said the boys. "But what is the wharf to be made of?" + +Benjamin pointed to a heap of stones that lay not far away. They had +been hauled there only a few days before, and were to be used in +building a new house near the millpond. + +The boys needed only a hint. Soon they were as busy as ants, dragging +the stones to the water's edge. + +Before it was fully dark that evening, they had built a nice stone wharf +on which they could stand and fish without danger of sinking in the mud. + +The next morning the workmen came to begin the building of the house. +They were surprised to find all the stones gone from the place where +they had been thrown. But the tracks of the boys in the mud told the +story. + +It was easy enough to find out who had done the mischief. + +When the boys' fathers were told of the trouble which they had caused, +you may imagine what they did. + +Young Benjamin Franklin tried hard to explain that a wharf on the edge +of the millpond was a public necessity. + +His father would not listen to him. He said, "My son, nothing can ever +be truly useful which is not at the same time truly honest." + +And Benjamin never forgot this lesson. + + * * * * * + +IV.--CHOOSING A TRADE. + + +As I have already said, young Benjamin did not like the work which he +had to do in his father's shop. + +His father was not very fond of the trade himself, and so he could not +blame the boy. One day he said: + +"Benjamin, since you have made up your mind not to be a candle-maker, +what trade do you think you would like to learn?" + +"You know I would like to be a sailor," said the boy. + +"But you shall not be a sailor," said his father. "I intend that you +shall learn some useful business, on land; and, of course, you will +succeed best in that kind of business which is most pleasant to you." + +The next day he took the boy to walk with him among the shops of Boston. +They saw all kinds of workmen busy at their various trades. + +Benjamin was delighted. Long afterwards, when he had become a very great +man, he said, "It has ever since been a pleasure to me to see good +workmen handle their tools." + +He gave up the thought of going to sea, and said that he would learn any +trade that his father would choose for him. + +His father thought that the cutler's trade was a good one. His cousin, +Samuel Franklin, had just set up a cutler's shop in Boston, and he +agreed to take Benjamin a few days on trial. + +Benjamin was pleased with the idea of learning how to make knives and +scissors and razors and all other kinds of cutting tools. But his cousin +wanted so much money for teaching him the trade that his father could +not afford it; and so the lad was taken back to the candle-maker's shop. + +Soon after this, Benjamin's brother, James Franklin, set up a printing +press in Boston. He intended to print and publish books and a newspaper. + +"Benjamin loves books," said his father. "He shall learn to be a +printer." + +And so, when he was twelve years old, he was bound to his brother to +learn the printer's trade. He was to stay with him until he was +twenty-one. He was to have his board and clothing and no other wages, +except during the last year. I suppose that during the last year he was +to be paid the same as any other workman. + + * * * * * + +V.--HOW FRANKLIN EDUCATED HIMSELF. + + +When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were no books for children. Yet +he spent most of his spare time in reading. + +His father's books were not easy to understand. People nowadays would +think them very dull and heavy. + +[Illustration: Birthplace of Franklin Boston U.S.] + +[Illustration: Press at which Franklin worked.] + +But before he was twelve years old, Benjamin had read the most of +them. He read everything that he could get. + +After he went to work for his brother he found it easier to obtain good +books. Often he would borrow a book in the evening, and then sit up +nearly all night reading it so as to return it in the morning. + +When the owners of books found that he always returned them soon and +clean, they were very willing to lend him whatever he wished. + +He was about fourteen years of age when he began to study how to write +clearly and correctly. He afterwards told how he did this. He said: + +"About this time I met with an odd volume of the _Spectator_. I had +never before seen any of them. + +"I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. + +"I thought the writing excellent, and wished if possible to imitate it. + +"With that view, I took some of the papers, and making short hints of +the sentiments in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, +without looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again, by +expressing each hinted sentiment at length and as fully as it had been +expressed before, in any suitable words that should occur to me. + +"Then I compared my _Spectator_ with the original, discovered some of my +faults and corrected them. + +"But I found that I wanted a stock of words, or a readiness in +recollecting and using them. + +"Therefore, I took some of the tales in the _Spectator_ and turned them +into verse; and, after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten the +prose, turned them back again." + +About this time his brother began to publish a newspaper. + +It was the fourth newspaper published in America, and was called the +_New England Courant_. + +People said that it was a foolish undertaking. They said that one +newspaper was enough for this country, and that there would be but +little demand for more. + +In those days editors did not dare to write freely about public +affairs. It was dangerous to criticise men who were in power. + +James Franklin published something in the _New England Courant_ about +the lawmakers of Massachusetts. It made the lawmakers very angry. They +caused James Franklin to be shut up in prison for a month, and they +ordered that he should no longer print the newspaper called the _New +England Courant_. + +But, in spite of this order, the newspaper was printed every week as +before. It was printed, however, in the name of Benjamin Franklin. For +several years it bore his name as editor and publisher. + + * * * * * + +VI.--FAREWELL TO BOSTON. + + +Benjamin Franklin did not have a very happy life with his brother James. + +His brother was a hard master, and was always finding fault with his +workmen. Sometimes he would beat young Benjamin and abuse him without +cause. + +When Benjamin was nearly seventeen years old he made up his mind that +he would not endure this treatment any longer. + +He told his brother that he would leave him and find work with some one +else. + +When his brother learned that he really meant to do this, he went round +to all the other printers in Boston and persuaded them not to give +Benjamin any work. + +The father took James's part, and scolded Benjamin for being so saucy +and so hard to please. But Benjamin would not go back to James's +printing house. + +He made up his mind that since he could not find work in Boston he would +run away from his home. He would go to New York and look for work there. + +He sold his books to raise a little money. Then, without saying good-bye +to his father or mother or any of his brothers or sisters, he went on +board a ship that was just ready to sail from the harbor. + +It is not likely that he was very happy while doing this. Long +afterwards he said: "I reckon this as one of the first _errata_ of my +life." + +What did he mean by _errata?_ + +_Errata_ are mistakes--mistakes that cannot easily be corrected. + +Three days after leaving Boston, young Franklin found himself in New +York. It was then October, in the year 1723. + +The lad had but very little money in his pocket. There was no one in New +York that he knew. He was three hundred miles from home and friends. + +As soon as he landed he went about the streets looking for work. + +New York was only a little town then, and there was not a newspaper in +it. There were but a few printing houses there, and these had not much +work to do. The boy from Boston called at every place, but he found that +nobody wanted to employ any more help. + +At one of the little printing houses Franklin was told that perhaps he +could find work in Philadelphia, which was at that time a much more +important place than New York. + +Philadelphia was one hundred miles farther from home. One hundred miles +was a long distance in those days. + +But Franklin made up his mind to go there without delay. It would be +easier to do this than to give up and try to return to Boston. + + * * * * * + +VII.--THE FIRST DAY IN PHILADELPHIA. + + +There are two ways of going from New York to Philadelphia. + +One way is by the sea. The other is by land, across the state of New +Jersey. + +As Franklin had but little money, he took the shorter route by land; but +he sent his little chest, containing his Sunday clothes, round by sea, +in a boat. + +He walked all the way from Perth Amboy, on the eastern shore of New +Jersey, to Burlington, on the Delaware river. + +Nowadays you may travel that distance in an hour, for it is only about +fifty miles. + +But there were no railroads at that time; and Franklin was nearly three +days trudging along lonely wagon-tracks, in the midst of a pouring rain. + +At Burlington he was lucky enough to be taken on board a small boat that +was going down the river. + +Burlington is only twenty miles above Philadelphia. But the boat moved +very slowly, and as there was no wind, the men took turns at rowing. + +Night came on, and they were afraid that they might pass by Philadelphia +in the darkness. So they landed, and camped on shore till morning. + +Early the next day they reached Philadelphia, and Benjamin Franklin +stepped on shore at the foot of Market street, where the Camden +ferry-boats now land. + +No one who saw him could have guessed that he would one day be the +greatest man in the city. + +He was a sorry-looking fellow. + +He was dressed in his working clothes, and was very dirty from being so +long on the road and in the little boat. + +His pockets were stuffed out with shirts and stockings, and all the +money that he had was not more than a dollar. + +He was hungry and tired. He had not a single friend. He did not know of +anyplace where he could look for lodging. + +It was Sunday morning. + +He went a little way up the street, and looked around him. + +A boy was coming down, carrying a basket of bread. + +"My young friend," said Franklin, "where did you get that bread?" + +"At the baker's," said the boy. + +"And where is the baker's?" + +The boy showed him the little baker shop just around the corner. + +Young Franklin was so hungry that he could hardly wait. He hurried into +the shop and asked for three-penny worth of bread. + +The baker gave him three great, puffy rolls. + +Franklin had not expected to get so much, but he took the rolls and +walked out. + +His pockets were already full, and so, while he ate one roll, he held +the others under his arms. + +As he went up Market street, eating his roll, a young girl stood in a +doorway laughing at him. He was, indeed, a very funny-looking fellow. + +The girl's name was Deborah Read. A few years after that, she became the +wife of Benjamin Franklin. + +Hungry as he was, Franklin found that he could eat but one of the rolls, +and so he gave the other two to a poor woman who had come down the river +in the same boat with him. + +As he was strolling along the street he came to a Quaker meeting-house. + +The door was open, and many people were sitting quietly inside. The +seats looked inviting, and so Franklin walked in and sat down. + +The day was warm; the people in the house were very still; Franklin was +tired. In a few minutes he was sound asleep. + +And so it was in a Quaker meeting-house that Benjamin Franklin found the +first shelter and rest in Philadelphia. + +Later in the day, as Franklin was strolling toward the river, he met a +young man whose honest face was very pleasing to him. + +"My friend," he said, "can you tell me of any house where they lodge +strangers?" + +"Yes," said the young man, "there is a house on this very street; but it +is not a place I can recommend. If thee will come with me I will show +thee a better one." + +Franklin walked with him to a house on Water street, and there he found +lodging for the night. + +And so ended his first day in Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--GOVERNOR WILLIAM KEITH. + + +Franklin soon obtained work in a printing house owned by a man named +Keimer. + +He found a boarding place in the house of Mr. Read, the father of the +girl who had laughed at him with his three rolls. + +He was only seventeen years old, and he soon became acquainted with +several young people in the town who loved books. + +In a little while he began to lay up money, and he tried to forget his +old home in Boston as much as he could. + +One day a letter came to Philadelphia for Benjamin Franklin. + +It was from Captain Robert Holmes, a brother-in-law of Franklin's. + +Captain Holmes was the master of a trading sloop that sailed between +Boston and Delaware Bay. While he was loading his vessel at Newcastle, +forty miles below Philadelphia, he had happened to hear about the young +man Franklin who had lately come from Boston. + +He sat down at once and wrote a letter to the young man. He told him how +his parents and friends were grieving for him in Boston. He begged him +to go back home, and said that everything would be made right if he +would do so. + +When Franklin read this letter he felt very sad to think of the pain and +distress which he had caused. + +But he did not want to return to Boston. He felt that he had been badly +treated by his brother, and, therefore, that he was not the only one to +be blamed. He believed that he could do much better in Philadelphia than +anywhere else. + +So he sat down and wrote an answer to Captain Holmes. He wrote it with +great care, and sent it off to Newcastle by the first boat that was +going that way. + +Now it so happened that Sir William Keith, the governor of the province, +was at Newcastle at that very time. He was with Captain Holmes when the +letter came to hand. + +When Captain Holmes had read the letter he was so pleased with it that +he showed it to the governor. + +Governor Keith read it and was surprised when he learned that its writer +was a lad only seventeen years old. + +"He is a young man of great promise," he said; "and he must be +encouraged. The printers in Philadelphia know nothing about their +business. If young Franklin will stay there and set up a press, I will +do a great deal for him." + +One day not long after that, when Franklin was at work in Keimer's +printing-office, the governor came to see him. Franklin was very much +surprised. + +The governor offered to set him up in a business of his own. He promised +that he should have all the public printing in the province. + +"But you will have to go to England to buy your types and whatever else +you may need." + +Franklin agreed to do this. But he must first return to Boston and get +his father's consent and assistance. + +The governor gave him a letter to carry to his father. In a few weeks he +was on his way home. + +You may believe that Benjamin's father and mother were glad to see him. +He had been gone seven months, and in all that time they had not heard a +word from him. + +His brothers and sisters were glad to see him, too--all but the printer, +James, who treated him very unkindly. + +His father read the governor's letter, and then shook his head. + +"What kind of a man is this Governor Keith?" he asked. "He must have +but little judgment to think of setting up a mere boy in business of +this kind." + +After that he wrote a letter of thanks to the governor. He said that he +was grateful for the kindness he had shown to his son, and for his offer +to help him. But he thought that Benjamin was still too young to be +trusted with so great a business, and therefore he would not consent to +his undertaking it. As for helping him, that he could not do; for he had +but little more money than was needed to carry on his own affairs. + + * * * * * + +IX.--THE RETURN TO PHILADELPHIA. + + +Benjamin Franklin felt much disappointed when his father refused to help +send him to England. But he was not discouraged. + +In a few weeks he was ready to return to Philadelphia. This time he did +not have to run away from home. + +His father blessed him, and his mother gave him many small gifts as +tokens of her love. + +"Be diligent," said his father, "attend well to your business, and save +your money carefully, and, perhaps, by the time you are twenty-one years +old, you will be able to set up for yourself without the governor's +help." + +All the family, except James the printer, bade him a kind good-bye, as +he went on board the little ship that was to take him as far as New +York. + +There was another surprise for him when he reached New York. + +The governor of New York had heard that there was a young man from +Boston on board the ship, and that he had a great many books. + +There were no large libraries in New York at that time. There were no +bookstores, and but few people who cared for books. + +So the governor sent for Franklin to come and see him. He showed him his +own library, and they had a long talk about books and authors. + +This was the second governor that had taken notice of Benjamin. For a +poor boy, like him, it was a great honor, and very pleasing. + +When he arrived in Philadelphia he gave to Governor Keith the letter +which his father had written. + +The governor was not very well pleased. He said: + +"Your father is too careful. There is a great difference in persons. +Young men can sometimes be trusted with great undertakings as well as if +they were older." + +He then said that he would set Franklin up in business without his +father's help. + +"Give me a list of everything needed in a first-class printing-office. I +will see that you are properly fitted out." + +Franklin was delighted. He thought that Governor Keith was one of the +best men in the world. + +In a few days he laid before the governor a list of the things needed in +a little printing-office. + +The cost of the outfit would be about five hundred dollars. + +The governor was pleased with the list. There were no type-foundries in +America at that time. There was no place where printing-presses were +made. Everything had to be bought in England. + +The governor said, "Don't you think it would be better if you could go +to England and choose the types for yourself, and see that everything is +just as you would like to have it?" + +"Yes, sir," said Franklin, "I think that would be a great advantage." + +"Well, then," said the governor, "get yourself ready to go on the next +regular ship to London. It shall be at my expense." + +At that time there was only one ship that made regular trips from +Philadelphia to England, and it sailed but once each year. + +The name of this ship was the _Annis_. It would not be ready to sail +again for several months. + +And so young Franklin, while he was getting ready for the voyage, kept +on working in Mr. Keimer's little printing-office. + +He laid up money enough to pay for his passage. He did not want to be +dependent upon Governor Keith for everything; and it was well that he +did not. + + * * * * * + +X.--THE FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. + + +At last the _Annis_ was ready to sail. + +Governor Keith had promised to give to young Franklin letters of +introduction to some of his friends in England. + +He had also promised to give him money to buy his presses and type. + +But when Franklin called at the governor's house to bid him good-bye, +and to get the letters, the governor was too busy to see him. He said +that he would send the letters and the money to him on shipboard. + +The ship sailed. + +But no letters, nor any word from Governor Keith, had been sent to +Franklin. + +When he at last arrived in London he found himself without money and +without friends. + +Governor Keith had given him nothing but promises. He would never give +him anything more. He was a man whose word was not to be depended upon. + +Franklin was then just eighteen years old. He must now depend wholly +upon himself. He must make his own way in the world, without aid from +anyone. + +He went out at once to look for work. He found employment in a +printing-office, and there he stayed for nearly a year. + +Franklin made many acquaintances with literary people while he was in +London. + +He proved himself to be a young man of talent and ingenuity. He was +never idle. + +His companions in the printing-office were beer-drinkers and sots. He +often told them how foolish they were to spend their money and ruin +themselves for drink. + +He drank nothing but water. He was strong and active. He could carry +more, and do more work, than any of them. + +He persuaded many of them to leave off drinking, and to lead better +lives. + +Franklin was also a fine swimmer. There was no one in London who could +swim as well. He wrote two essays on swimming, and made some plans for +opening a swimming school. + +When he had been in London about a year, he met a Mr. Denham, a merchant +of Philadelphia, and a strong friendship sprang up between them. + +Mr. Denham at last persuaded Franklin to return to Philadelphia, and be +a clerk in his dry-goods store. + +And so, on the 23rd of the next July, he set sail for home. The ship was +nearly three months in making the voyage, and it was not until October +that he again set foot in Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +XI.--A LEADING MAN IN PHILADELPHIA. + + +When Franklin was twenty-four years old he was married to Miss Deborah +Read, the young lady who had laughed at him when he was walking the +street with his three rolls. + +They lived together very happily for a great many years. + +Some time before this marriage, Franklin's friend and employer, Mr. +Denham, had died. + +The dry-goods store, of which he was the owner, had been sold, and +Franklin's occupation as a salesman, or clerk, was gone. But the young +man had shown himself to be a person of great industry and ability. He +had the confidence of everybody that knew him. + +A friend of his, who had money, offered to take him as a partner in the +newspaper business. And so he again became a printer, and the editor of +a paper called the _Pennsylvania Gazette_. + +It was not long until Franklin was recognized as one of the leading men +in Philadelphia. His name was known, not only in Pennsylvania, but in +all the colonies. + +He was all the time thinking of plans for making the people about him +wiser and better and happier. + +He established a subscription and circulating library, the first in +America. This library was the beginning of the present Philadelphia +Public Library. + +He wrote papers on education. He founded the University of +Pennsylvania. He organized the American Philosophical Society. + +He established the first fire company in Philadelphia, which was also +the first in America. + +He invented a copper-plate press, and printed the first paper money of +New Jersey. + +He also invented the iron fireplace, which is called the Franklin stove, +and is still used where wood is plentiful and cheap. + +After an absence of ten years, he paid a visit to his old home in +Boston. Everybody was glad to see him now,--even his brother James, the +printer. + +When he returned to Philadelphia, he was elected clerk of the colonial +assembly. + +Not long after that, he was chosen to be postmaster of the city. But his +duties in this capacity did not require very much labor in those times. + +He did not handle as much mail in a whole year as passes now through the +Philadelphia post-office in a single hour. + +[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.] + + * * * * * + +XII.--FRANKLIN'S RULES OF LIFE. + + +Here are some of the rules of life which Franklin made for himself when +he was a very young man: + +1. To live very frugally till he had paid all that he owed. + +2. To speak the truth at all times; to be sincere in word and action. + +3. To apply himself earnestly to whatever business he took in hand; and +to shun all foolish projects for becoming suddenly rich. "For industry +and patience," he said, "are the surest means of plenty." + +4. To speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a matter of truth; but +to speak all the good he knew of everybody. + +When he was twenty-six years old, he published the first number of an +almanac called _Poor Richard's Almanac_. + +This almanac was full of wise and witty sayings, and everybody soon +began to talk about it. + +Every year, for twenty-five years, a new number of _Poor Richard's +Almanac_ was printed. It was sold in all parts of the country. People +who had no other books would buy and read _Poor Richard's Almanac_. The +library of many a farmer consisted of only the family Bible with one or +more numbers of this famous almanac. Here are a few of Poor Richard's +sayings: + + "A word to the wise is enough." + "God helps them that help themselves." + "Early to bed and early to rise, + Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." + "There are no gains without pains." + "Plow deep while sluggards sleep, + And you shall have corn to sell and to keep." + "One to-day is worth two to-morrows." + "Little strokes fell great oaks." + "Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee." + "The sleeping fox catches no poultry." + "Diligence is the mother of good luck." + "Constant dropping wears away stones." + "A small leak will sink a great ship." + "Who dainties love shall beggars prove." + "Creditors have better memories than debtors." + "Many a little makes a mickle." + "Fools make feasts and wise men eat them." + "Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths." + "Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt." + "For age and want save while you may; + No morning sun lasts the whole day." + +It is pleasant to know that Franklin observed the rules of life which he +made. And his wife, Deborah, was as busy and as frugal as himself. + +They kept no idle servants. Their furniture was of the cheapest sort. +Their food was plain and simple. + +Franklin's breakfast, for many years, was only bread and milk; and he +ate it out of a twopenny earthen bowl with a pewter spoon. + +But at last, when he was called one morning to breakfast, he found his +milk in a china bowl; and by the side of the bowl there was a silver +spoon. + +His wife had bought them for him as a surprise. She said that she +thought her husband deserved a silver spoon and china bowl as well as +any of his neighbors. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--FRANKLIN'S SERVICES TO THE COLONIES. + + +And so, as you have seen, Benjamin Franklin became in time one of the +foremost men in our country. + +In 1753, when he was forty-five years old, he was made deputy +postmaster-general for America. + +He was to have a salary of about $3,000 a year, and was to pay his own +assistants. + +People were astonished when he proposed to have the mail carried +regularly once every week between New York and Boston. + +Letters starting from Philadelphia on Monday morning would reach Boston +the next Saturday night. This was thought to be a wonderful and almost +impossible feat. But nowadays, letters leaving Philadelphia at midnight +are read at the breakfast table in Boston the next morning. + +At that time there were not seventy post-offices in the whole country. +There are now more than seventy thousand. + +Benjamin Franklin held the office of deputy postmaster-general for the +American colonies for twenty-one years. + +In 1754 there was a meeting of the leading men of all the colonies at +Albany. There were fears of a war with the French and Indians of Canada, +and the colonies had sent these men to plan some means of defence. + +Benjamin Franklin was one of the men from Pennsylvania at this meeting. + +He presented a plan for the union of the colonies, and it was adopted. +But our English rulers said it was too democratic, and refused to let it +go into operation. + +This scheme of Franklin's set the people of the colonies to thinking. +Why should the colonies not unite? Why should they not help one another, +and thus form one great country? + +And so, we may truthfully say that it was Benjamin Franklin who first +put into men's minds the idea of the great Union which we now call the +United States of America. + +The people of the colonies were not happy under the rule of the +English. One by one, laws were made which they looked upon as oppressive +and burdensome. These laws were not intended to benefit the American +people, but were designed to enrich the merchants and politicians of +England. + +In 1757 the people of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, and +Georgia, decided to send some one to England to petition against these +oppressions. + +In all the colonies there was no man better fitted for this business +than Benjamin Franklin. And so he was the man sent. + +The fame of the great American had gone before him. Everybody seemed +anxious to do him honor. + +He met many of the leading men of the day, and he at last succeeded in +gaining the object of his mission. + +But such business moved slowly in those times. Five years passed before +he was ready to return to America. + +He reached Philadelphia in November, 1762, and the colonial assembly of +Pennsylvania thanked him publicly for his great services. + +But new troubles soon came up between the colonies and the government in +England. Other laws were passed, more oppressive than before. + +It was proposed to tax the colonies, and to force the colonists to buy +stamped paper. This last act was called the Stamp Tax, and the American +people opposed it with all their might. + +Scarcely had Franklin been at home two years when he was again sent to +England to plead the cause of his countrymen. + +This time he remained abroad for more than ten years; but he was not so +successful as before. + +In 1774 he appeared before the King's council to present a petition from +the people of Massachusetts. + +He was now a venerable man nearly seventy years of age. He was the most +famous man of America. + +His petition was rejected. He himself was shamefully insulted and abused +by one of the members of the council. The next day he was dismissed +from the office of deputy postmaster-general of America. + +In May, 1775, he was again at home in Philadelphia. + +Two weeks before his arrival the battle of Lexington had been fought, +and the war of the Revolution had been begun. + +Franklin had done all that he could to persuade the English king to deal +justly with the American colonies. But the king and his counsellors had +refused to listen to him. + +During his ten years abroad he had not stayed all the time in England. +He had traveled in many countries of Europe, and had visited Paris +several times. + +Many changes had taken place while he was absent. + +His wife, Mrs. Deborah Franklin, had died. His parents and fifteen of +his brothers and sisters had also been laid in the grave. + +The rest of his days were to be spent in the service of his country, to +which he had already given nearly twenty years of his life. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--FRANKLIN'S WONDERFUL KITE. + + +Benjamin Franklin was not only a printer, politician, and statesman, he +was the first scientist of America. In the midst of perplexing cares it +was his delight to study the laws of nature and try to understand some +of the mysteries of creation. + +In his time no very great discoveries had yet been made. The steam +engine was unknown. The telegraph had not so much as been dreamed about. +Thousands of comforts which we now enjoy through the discoveries of +science were then unthought of; or if thought of, they were deemed to be +impossible. + +Franklin began to make experiments in electricity when he was about +forty years old. + +He was the first person to discover that lightning is caused by +electricity. He had long thought that this was true, but he had no means +of proving it. + +He thought that if he could stand on some high tower during a +thunder-storm, he might be able to draw some of the electricity from the +clouds through a pointed iron rod. But there was no high tower in +Philadelphia. There was not even a tall church spire. + +At last he thought of making a kite and sending it up to the clouds. A +paper kite, however, would be ruined by the rain and would not fly to +any great height. + +So instead of paper he used a light silk handkerchief which he fastened +to two slender but strong cross pieces. At the top of the kite he placed +a pointed iron rod. The string was of hemp, except a short piece at the +lower end, which was of silk. At the end of the hemp string an iron key +was tied. + +"I think that is a queer kind of kite," said Franklin's little boy. +"What are you going to do with it?" + +"Wait until the next thunder-storm, and you will see," said Franklin. +"You may go with me and we will send it up to the clouds." + +He told no one else about it, for if the experiment should fail, he did +not care to have everybody laugh at him. + +At last, one day, a thunder-storm came up, and Franklin, with his son, +went out into a field to fly his kite. There was a steady breeze, and it +was easy to send the kite far up towards the clouds. + +Then, holding the silken end of the string, Franklin stood under a +little shed in the field, and watched to see what would happen. + +The lightnings flashed, the thunder rolled, but there was no sign of +electricity in the kite. At last, when he was about to give up the +experiment, Franklin saw the loose fibres of his hempen string begin to +move. + +He put his knuckles close to the key, and sparks of fire came flying to +his hand. He was wild with delight. The sparks of fire were electricity; +he had drawn them from the clouds. + +That experiment, if Franklin had only known it, was a very dangerous +one. It was fortunate for him, and for the world, that he suffered no +harm. More than one person who has since tried to draw electricity from +the clouds has been killed by the lightning that has flashed down the +hempen kite string. + +When Franklin's discovery was made known it caused great excitement +among the learned men of Europe. They could not believe it was true +until some of them had proved it by similar experiments. + +They could hardly believe that a man in the far-away city of +Philadelphia could make a discovery which they had never thought of as +possible. Indeed, how could an American do anything that was worth +doing? + +Franklin soon became famous in foreign countries as a philosopher and +man of science. The universities of Oxford and Edinburgh honored him by +conferring upon him their highest degrees. He was now _Doctor_ Benjamin +Franklin. But in America people still thought of him only as a man of +affairs, as a great printer, and as the editor of _Poor Richard's +Almanac_. + +All this happened before the beginning of his career as ambassador from +the colonies to the king and government of England. + +I cannot tell you of all of his discoveries in science. He invented the +lightning-rod, and, by trying many experiments, he learned more about +electricity than the world had ever known before. + +He made many curious experiments to discover the laws of heat, light, +and sound. By laying strips of colored cloth on snow, he learned which +colors are the best conductors of heat. + +He invented the harmonica, an ingenious musical instrument, in which the +sounds were produced by musical glasses. + +During his long stay abroad he did not neglect his scientific studies. +He visited many of the greatest scholars of the time, and was everywhere +received with much honor. + +The great scientific societies of Europe, the Royal Academies in Paris +and in Madrid, had already elected him as one of their members. The King +of France wrote him a letter, thanking him for his useful discoveries in +electricity, and for his invention of the lightning-rod. + +All this would have made some men very proud. But it was not so with Dr. +Franklin. In a letter which he wrote to a friend at the time when these +honors were beginning to be showered upon him, he said: + +"The pride of man is very differently gratified; and had his Majesty +sent me a marshal's staff I think I should scarce have been so proud of +it as I am of your esteem." + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE LAST YEARS. + + +In 1776 delegates from all the colonies met in Philadelphia. They formed +what is called the second Continental Congress of America. + +It was now more than a year since the war had begun, and the colonists +had made up their minds not to submit to the king of England and his +council. + +Many of them were strongly in favor of setting up a new government of +their own. + +A committee was appointed to draft a declaration of independence, and +Benjamin Franklin was one of that committee. + +On the 4th of July, Congress declared the colonies to be free and +independent states. Among the signers of the Declaration of Independence +was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. + +Soon after this Dr. Franklin was sent to Paris as minister from the +United States. Early in the following year, 1777, he induced the king of +France to acknowledge the independence of this country. + +He thus secured aid for the Americans at a time when they were in the +greatest need of it. Had it not been for his services at this time, the +war of the Revolution might have ended very differently, indeed. + +It was not until 1785 that he was again able to return to his home. + +He was then nearly eighty years old. + +He had served his country faithfully for fifty-three years. He would +have been glad if he might retire to private life. + +When he reached Philadelphia he was received with joy by thousands of +his countrymen. General Washington was among the first to welcome him, +and to thank him for his great services. + +That same year the grateful people of his state elected him President +of Pennsylvania. + +Two years afterwards, he wrote: + +"I am here in my _niche_ in my own house, in the bosom of my family, my +daughter and grandchildren all about me, among my old friends, or the +sons of my friends, who equally respect me. + +"In short, I enjoy here every opportunity of doing good, and everything +else I could wish for, except repose; and that I may soon expect, either +by the cessation of my office, which cannot last more than three years, +or by ceasing to live." + +The next year he was a delegate to the convention which formed the +present Constitution of the United States. + +In a letter written to his friend Washington not long afterwards, he +said: "For my personal ease I should have died two years ago; but though +those years have been spent in pain, I am glad to have lived them, since +I can look upon our present situation." + +In April, 1790, he died, and was buried by the side of his wife, +Deborah, in Arch street graveyard in Philadelphia. His age was +eighty-four years and three months. + +Many years before his death he had written the following epitaph for +himself: + + "The Body + of + Benjamin Franklin, Printer, + (Like the cover of an old book, + Its contents torn out, + And stripped of its lettering and gilding,) + Lies here food for worms. + Yet the work itself shall not be lost, + For it will (as he believed) appear once more + In a new + And more beautiful Edition, + Corrected and Amended + By + The Author." + + + + +THE STORY OF + +DANIEL WEBSTER + +[Illustration: _DANIEL WEBSTER_.] + + + + +THE STORY OF DANIEL WEBSTER. + + * * * * * + +I.--CAPTAIN WEBSTER. + + +Many years ago there lived in New Hampshire a poor farmer, whose name +was Ebenezer Webster. + +His little farm was among the hills, not far from the Merrimac River. It +was a beautiful place to live in; but the ground was poor, and there +were so many rocks that you would wonder how anything could grow among +them. + +Ebenezer Webster was known far and wide as a brave, wise man. When any +of his neighbors were in trouble or in doubt about anything, they always +said, "We will ask Captain Webster about it." + +They called him Captain because he had fought the French and Indians and +had been a brave soldier in the Revolutionary War. Indeed, he was one +of the first men in New Hampshire to take up arms for his country. + +When he heard that the British were sending soldiers to America to force +the people to obey the unjust laws of the king of England, he said, "We +must never submit to this." + +So he went among his neighbors and persuaded them to sign a pledge to do +all that they could to defend the country against the British. Then he +raised a company of two hundred men and led them to Boston to join the +American army. + +The Revolutionary War lasted several years; and during all that time, +Captain Webster was known as one of the bravest of the American +patriots. + +One day, at West Point, he met General Washington. The patriots were in +great trouble at that time, for one of their leaders had turned traitor +and had gone to help the British. The officers and soldiers were much +distressed, for they did not know who might be the next to desert them. + +As I have said, Captain Webster met General Washington. The general +took the captain's hand, and said: "I believe that I can trust you, +Captain Webster." + +You may believe that this made Captain Webster feel very happy. When he +went back to his humble home among the New Hampshire hills, he was never +so proud as when telling his neighbors about this meeting with General +Washington. + +If you could have seen Captain Ebenezer Webster in those days, you would +have looked at him more than once. He was a remarkable man. He was very +tall and straight, with dark, glowing eyes, and hair as black as night. +His face was kind, but it showed much firmness and decision. + +He had never attended school; but he had tried, as well as he could, to +educate himself. It was on account of his honesty and good judgment that +he was looked up to as the leading man in the neighborhood. + +In some way, I do not know how, he had gotten a little knowledge of the +law. And at last, because of this as well as because of his sound +common sense, he was appointed judge of the court in his county. + +This was several years after the war was over. He was now no longer +called Captain Webster, but Judge Webster. + +It had been very hard for him to make a living for his large family on +the stony farm among the hills. But now his office as judge would bring +him three hundred or four hundred dollars a year. He had never had so +much money in his life. + +"Judge Webster," said one of his neighbors, "what are you going to do +with the money that you get from your office? Going to build a new +house?" + +"Well, no," said the judge. "The old house is small, but we have lived +in it a long time, and it still does very well." + +"Then I suppose you are planning to buy more land?" said the neighbor. + +"No, indeed, I have as much land now as I can cultivate. But I will tell +you what I am going to do with my money. I am going to try to educate +my boys. I would rather do this than have lands and houses." + + * * * * * + +II.--THE YOUNGEST SON. + + +Ebenezer Webster had several sons. But at the time that he was appointed +judge there were only two at home. The older ones were grown up and were +doing for themselves. + +It was of the two at home that he was thinking when he said, "I am going +to try to educate my boys." + +Of the ten children in the family, the favorite was a black-haired, +dark-skinned little fellow called Daniel. He was the youngest of all the +boys; but there was one girl who was younger than he. + +Daniel Webster was born on the 18th of January, 1782. + +He was a puny child, very slender and weak; and the neighbors were fond +of telling his mother that he could not live long. Perhaps this was one +of the things that caused him to be favored and petted by his parents. + +But there were other reasons why every one was attracted by him. There +were other reasons why his brothers and sisters were always ready to do +him a service. + +He was an affectionate, loving child; and he was wonderfully bright and +quick. + +He was not strong enough to work on the farm like other boys. He spent +much of his time playing in the woods or roaming among the hills. + +And when he was not at play he was quite sure to be found in some quiet +corner with a book in his hand. He afterwards said of himself: "In those +boyish days there were two things that I dearly loved--reading and +playing." + +He could never tell how or when he had learned to read. Perhaps his +mother had taught him when he was but a mere babe. + +He was very young when he was first sent to school. The school-house was +two or three miles away, but he did not mind the long walk through the +woods and over the hills. + +It was not a great while until he had learned all that his teacher was +able to teach him; for he had a quick understanding, and he remembered +everything that he read. + +The people of the neighborhood never tired of talking about "Webster's +boy," as they called him. All agreed that he was a wonderful child. + +Some said that so wonderful a child was sure to die young. Others said +that if he lived he would certainly become a very great man. + +When the farmers, on their way to market, drove past Judge Webster's +house, they were always glad if they could see the delicate boy, with +his great dark eyes. + +If it was near the hour of noon, they would stop their teams under the +shady elms and ask him to come out and read to them. Then, while their +horses rested and ate, they would sit round the boy and listen to his +wonderful tones as he read page after page from the Bible. + +There were no children's books in those times. Indeed, there were very +few books to be had of any kind. But young Daniel Webster found nothing +too hard to read. + +"I read what I could get to read," he afterwards said; "I went to +school when I could, and when not at school, was a farmer's youngest +boy, not good for much for want of health and strength, but expected to +do something." + +One day the man who kept the little store in the village, showed him +something that made his heart leap. + +It was a cotton handkerchief with the Constitution of the United States +printed on one side of it. + +In those days people were talking a great deal about the Constitution, +for it had just then come into force. + +Daniel had never read it. When he saw the handkerchief he could not rest +till he had made it his own. + +He counted all his pennies, he borrowed a few from his brother Ezekiel. +Then he hurried back to the store and bought the wished-for treasure. + +In a short time he knew everything in the Constitution, and could repeat +whole sections of it from memory. We shall learn that, when he +afterwards became one of the great men of this nation, he proved to be +the Constitution's wisest friend and ablest defender. + + * * * * * + +III.--EZEKIEL AND DANIEL. + + +Ezekiel Webster was two years older than his brother Daniel. He was a +strong, manly fellow, and was ready at all times to do a kindness to the +lad who had not been gifted with so much health and strength. + +But he had not Daniel's quickness of mind, and he always looked to his +younger brother for advice and instruction. + +And so there was much love between the two brothers, each helping the +other according to his talents and his ability. + +One day they went together to the county fair. Each had a few cents in +his pocket for spending-money, and both expected to have a fine time. + +When they came home in the evening Daniel seemed very happy, but Ezekiel +was silent. + +"Well, Daniel," said their mother, "what did you do with your money?" + +"I spent it at the fair," said Daniel. + +"And what did you do with yours, Ezekiel?" + +"I lent it to Daniel," was the answer. + +It was this way at all times, and with everybody. Not only Ezekiel, but +others were ever ready to give up their own means of enjoyment if only +it would make Daniel happy. + +At another time the brothers were standing together by their father, who +had just come home after several days' absence. + +"Ezekiel," said Mr. Webster, "what have you been doing since I went +away?" + +"Nothing, sir," said Ezekiel. + +"You are very frank," said the judge. Then turning to Daniel, he said: + +"What have you been doing, Dan?" + +"Helping Zeke," said Daniel. + +When Judge Webster said to his neighbor, "I am going to try to educate +my boys," he had no thought of ever being able to send both of them to +college. + +Ezekiel, he said to himself, was strong and hearty. He could make his +own way in the world without having a finished education. + +But Daniel had little strength of body, although he was gifted with +great mental powers. It was he that must be the scholar of the family. + +The judge argued with himself that since he would be able to educate +only one of the boys, he must educate that one who gave the greatest +promise of success. And yet, had it not been for his poverty, he would +gladly have given the same opportunities to both. + + * * * * * + +IV.--PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. + + +One hot day in summer the judge and his youngest son were at work +together in the hayfield. + +"Daniel," said the judge, "I am thinking that this kind of work is +hardly the right thing for you. You must prepare yourself for greater +things than pitching hay." + +"What do you mean, father?" asked Daniel. + +"I mean that you must have that which I have always felt the need of. +You must have a good education; for without an education a man is always +at a disadvantage. If I had been able to go to school when I was a boy, +I might have done more for my country than I have. But as it is, I can +do nothing but struggle here for the means of living." + +"Zeke and I will help you, father," said Daniel; "and now that you are +growing old, you need not work so hard." + +"I am not complaining about the work," said the judge. "I live only for +my children. When your older brothers were growing up I was too poor to +give them an education; but I am able now to do something for you, and I +mean to send you to a good school." + +"Oh, father, how kind you are!" cried Daniel. + +"If you will study hard," said his father--"if you will do your best, +and learn all that you can; you will not have to endure such hardships +as I have endured. And then you will be able to do so much more good in +the world." + +The boy's heart was touched by the manner in which his father spoke +these words. He dropped his rake; he threw his arms around his father's +neck, and cried for thankfulness and joy. + +It was not until the next spring that Judge Webster felt himself able to +carry out his plans to send Daniel to school. + +One evening he said, "Daniel, you must be up early in the morning, I am +going with you to Exeter." + +"To Exeter?" said the boy. + +"Yes, to Exeter. I am going to put you in the academy there." + +The academy at Exeter was then, as it still is, a famous place for +preparing boys for college. But Daniel's father did not say anything +about making him ready for college. The judge knew that the expenses +would be heavy, and he was not sure that he would ever be able to give +him a finished education. + +It was nearly fifty miles to Exeter, and Daniel and his father were to +ride there on horseback. That was almost the only way of traveling in +those days. + +The next morning two horses were brought to the door. One was Judge +Webster's horse, the other was a gentle nag, with a lady's side-saddle +on his back. + +"Who is going to ride on that nag?" asked Daniel. + +"Young Dan Webster," answered the judge. + +"But I don't want a side-saddle. I am not a lady." + +"Neighbor Johnson is sending the nag to Exeter for the use of a lady who +is to ride back with me. I accommodate him by taking charge of the +animal, and he accommodates me by allowing you to ride on it." + +"But won't it look rather funny for me to ride to Exeter on a lady's +saddle?" + +"If a lady can ride on it, perhaps Dan Webster can do as much." + +And so they set out on their journey to Exeter. The judge rode in +advance, and Daniel, sitting astride of the lady's saddle, followed +behind. + +It was, no doubt, a funny sight to see them riding thus along the muddy +roads. None of the country people who stopped to gaze at them could have +guessed that the dark-faced lad who rode so awkwardly would some day +become one of the greatest men of the age. + +It was thus that Daniel Webster made his first appearance among +strangers. + + * * * * * + +V.--AT EXETER ACADEMY. + + +It was the first time that Daniel Webster had been so far from home. He +was bashful and awkward. His clothes were of home-made stuff, and they +were cut in the quaint style of the back-country districts. + +He must have been a funny-looking fellow. No wonder that the boys +laughed when they saw him going up to the principal to be examined for +admission. + +The principal of the academy at that time was Dr. Benjamin Abbott. He +was a great scholar and a very dignified gentleman. + +He looked down at the slender, black-eyed boy and asked: + +"What is your age, sir?" + +"Fourteen years," said Daniel. + +"I will examine you first in reading. Take this Bible, and let me hear +you read some of these verses." + +He pointed to the twenty-second chapter of Saint Luke's Gospel. + +The boy took the book and began to read. He had read this chapter a +hundred times before. Indeed, there was no part of the Bible that was +not familiar to him. + +He read with a clearness and fervor which few men could equal. + +The dignified principal was astonished. He stood as though spell-bound, +listening to the rich, mellow tones of the bashful lad from among the +hills. + +In the case of most boys it was enough if he heard them read a verse or +two. But he allowed Daniel Webster to read on until he had finished the +chapter. Then he said: + +"There is no need to examine you further. You are fully qualified to +enter this academy." + +Most of the boys at Exeter were gentlemen's sons. They dressed well, +they had been taught fine manners, they had the speech of cultivated +people. + +They laughed at the awkward, new boy. They made fun of his homespun +coat; they twitted him on account of his poverty; they annoyed him in a +hundred ways. + +Daniel felt hurt by this cruel treatment. He grieved bitterly over it in +secret, but he did not resent it. + +He studied hard and read much. He was soon at the head of all his +classes. His schoolmates ceased laughing at him; for they saw that, with +all his uncouth ways, he had more ability than any of them. + +He had, as I have said, a wonderful memory. He had also a quick insight +and sound judgment. + +But he had had so little experience with the world, that he was not sure +of his own powers. He knew that he was awkward; and this made him timid +and bashful. + +When it came his turn to declaim before the school, he had not the +courage to do it. Long afterwards, when he had become the greatest +orator of modern times, he told how hard this thing had been for him at +Exeter: + +"Many a piece did I commit to memory, and rehearse in my room over and +over again. But when the day came, when the school collected, when my +name was called and I saw all eyes turned upon my seat, I could not +raise myself from it. + +"Sometimes the masters frowned, sometimes they smiled. My tutor always +pressed and entreated with the most winning kindness that I would +venture only _once_; but I could not command sufficient resolution, and +when the occasion was over I went home and wept tears of bitter +mortification." + +Daniel stayed nine months at Exeter. In those nine months he did as much +as the other boys of his age could do in two years. + +He mastered arithmetic, geography, grammar, and rhetoric. He also began +the study of Latin. Besides this, he was a great reader of all kinds of +books, and he added something every day to his general stock of +knowledge. + +His teachers did not oblige him to follow a graded course of study. They +did not hold him back with the duller pupils of his class. They did not +oblige him to wait until the end of the year before he could be promoted +or could begin the study of a new subject. + +But they encouraged him to do his best. As soon as he had finished one +subject, he advanced to a more difficult one. + +More than fifty years afterwards, Dr. Abbott declared that in all his +long experience he had never known any one whose power of gaining +knowledge was at all equal to that of the bashful country lad from the +New Hampshire hills. + +Judge Webster would have been glad to let Daniel stay at Exeter until he +had finished the studies required at the academy. But he could not +afford the expense. + +If he should spend all his money to keep the boy at the academy, how +could he afterwards find the means to send him to college where the +expenses would be much greater? + +So he thought it best to find a private teacher for the boy. This would +be cheaper. + + * * * * * + +VI.--GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE. + + +One day in the early winter, Judge Webster asked Daniel to ride with him +to Boscawen. Boscawen was a little town, six miles away, where they +sometimes went for business or for pleasure. + +Snow was on the ground. Father and son rode together in a little, +old-fashioned sleigh; and as they rode, they talked about many things. +Just as they were going up the last hill, Judge Webster said: + +"Daniel, do you know the Rev. Samuel Wood, here in Boscawen?" + +"I have heard of him," said Daniel. "He takes boys into his family, and +gets them ready for college." + +"Yes, and he does it cheap, too," said his father. "He charges only a +dollar a week for board and tuition, fuel and lights and everything." + +"But they say he is a fine teacher," said Daniel. "His boys never fail +in the college examinations." + +"That is what I have heard, too," answered his father. "And now, Dannie, +I may as well tell you a secret. For the last six years I have been +planning to have you take a course in Dartmouth College. I want you to +stay with Dr. Wood this winter, and he will get you ready to enter. We +might as well go and see him now." + +This was the first time that Daniel had ever heard his father speak of +sending him to college. His heart was so full that he could not say a +word. But the tears came in his eyes as he looked up into the judge's +stern, kind face. + +He knew that if his father carried out this plan, it would cost a great +deal of money; and if this money should be spent for him, then the rest +of the family would have to deny themselves of many comforts which they +might otherwise have. + +"Oh, never mind that, Dan," said his brother Ezekiel. "We are never so +happy as when we are doing something for you. And we know that you will +do something for us, some time." + +And so the boy spent the winter in Boscawen with Dr. Wood. He learned +everything very easily, but he was not as close a student as he had been +at Exeter. + +He was very fond of sport. He liked to go fishing. And sometimes, when +the weather was fine, his studies were sadly neglected. + +There was a circulating library in Boscawen, and Daniel read every book +that was in it. Sometimes he slighted his Latin for the sake of giving +more time to such reading. + +One of the books in the library was _Don Quixote_. Daniel thought it the +most wonderful story in existence. He afterwards said: + +"I began to read it, and it is literally true that I never closed my +eyes until I had finished it, so great was the power of this +extraordinary book on my imagination." + +But it was so easy for the boy to learn, that he made very rapid +progress in all his studies. In less than a year, Dr. Wood declared that +he was ready for college. + +He was then fifteen years old. He had a pretty thorough knowledge of +arithmetic; but he had never studied algebra or geometry. In Latin he +had read four of Cicero's orations, and six books of Virgil's _Aeneid._ +He knew something of the elements of Greek grammar, and had read a +portion of the Greek Testament. + +Nowadays, a young man could hardly enter even a third-rate college +without a better preparation than that. But colleges are much more +thorough than they were a hundred years ago. + + * * * * * + +VII.--AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. + + +Dartmouth College is at Hanover, New Hampshire. It is one of the oldest +colleges in America and among its students have been many of the +foremost men of New England. + +It was in the fall of 1797, that Daniel Webster entered this college. + +He was then a tall, slender youth, with high cheek bones and a swarthy +skin. + +The professors soon saw that he was no common lad. They said to one +another, "This young Webster will one day be a greater man than any of +us." + +And young Webster was well-behaved and studious at college. He was as +fond of sport as any of the students, but he never gave himself up to +boyish pranks. + +He was punctual and regular in all his classes. He was as great a reader +as ever. + +He could learn anything that he tried. No other young man had a broader +knowledge of things than he. + +And yet he did not make his mark as a student in the prescribed branches +of study. He could not confine himself to the narrow routine of the +college course. + +He did not, as at Exeter, push his way quickly to the head of his class. +He won no prizes. + +"But he minded his own business," said one of the professors. "As steady +as the sun, he pursued, with intense application, the great object for +which he came to college." + +Soon everybody began to appreciate his scholarship. Everybody admired +him for his manliness and good common sense. + +"He was looked upon as being so far in advance of any one else, that no +other student of his class was ever spoken of as second to him." + +He very soon lost that bashfulness which had troubled him so much at +Exeter. It was no task now for him to stand up and declaim before the +professors and students. + +In a short time he became known as the best writer and speaker in the +college. Indeed, he loved to speak; and the other students were always +pleased to listen to him. + +One of his classmates tells us how he prepared his speeches. He says: +"It was Webster's custom to arrange his thoughts in his mind while he +was in his room, or while he was walking alone. Then he would put them +upon paper just before the exercise was to be called for. + +"If he was to speak at two o'clock, he would often begin to write after +dinner; and when the bell rang he would fold his paper, put it in his +pocket, go in, and speak with great ease. + +"In his movements he was slow and deliberate, except when his feelings +were aroused. Then his whole soul would kindle into a flame." + +In the year 1800, he was chosen to deliver the Fourth of July address to +the students of the college and the citizens of the town. He was then +eighteen years old. + +The speech was a long one. It was full of the love of country. Its tone +throughout was earnest and thoughtful. + +But in its style it was overdone; it was full of pretentious +expressions; it lacked the simplicity and good common sense that should +mark all public addresses. + +And yet, as the speech of so young a man, it was a very able effort. +People said that it was the promise of much greater things. And they +were right. + +In the summer of 1801, Daniel graduated. But he took no honors. He was +not even present at the Commencement. + +His friends were grieved that he had not been chosen to deliver the +valedictory address. Perhaps he also was disappointed. But the +professors had thought best to give that honor to another student. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--HOW DANIEL TAUGHT SCHOOL. + + +While Daniel Webster was taking his course in college, there was one +thing that troubled him very much. It was the thought of his brother +Ezekiel toiling at home on the farm. + +He knew that Ezekiel had great abilities. He knew that he was not fond +of the farm, but that he was anxious to become a lawyer. + +This brother had given up all his dearest plans in order that Daniel +might be favored; and Daniel knew that this was so. + +Once, when Daniel was at home on a vacation, he said, "Zeke, this thing +is all wrong. Father has mortgaged the farm for money to pay my expenses +at school, and you are making a slave of yourself to pay off the +mortgage. It isn't right for me to let you do this." + +Ezekiel said, "Daniel, I am stronger than you are, and if one of us has +to stay on the farm, of course I am the one." + +"But I want you to go to college," said Daniel. "An education will do +you as much good as me." + +"I doubt it," said Ezekiel; "and yet, if father was only able to send us +both. I think that we might pay him back some time." + +"I will see father about it this very day," said Daniel. + +He did see him. + +"I told my father," said Daniel, afterwards, "that I was unhappy at my +brother's prospects. For myself, I saw my way to knowledge, +respectability, and self-protection. But as to Ezekiel, all looked the +other way. I said that I would keep school, and get along as well as I +could, be more than four years in getting through college, if necessary, +provided he also could be sent to study." + +The matter was referred to Daniel's mother, and she and his father +talked it over together. They knew that it would take all the property +they had to educate both the boys. They knew that they would have to do +without many comforts, and that they would have a hard struggle to make +a living while the boys were studying. + +But the mother said, "I will trust the boys." And it was settled that +Ezekiel, too, should have a chance to make his mark in the world. + +He was now a grown-up man. He was tall and strong and ambitious. He +entered college the very year that Daniel graduated. + +As for Daniel, he was now ready to choose a profession. What should it +be? + +His father wanted him to become a lawyer. And so, to please his parents, +he went home and began to read law in the office of a Mr. Thompson, in +the little village of Salisbury, which adjoined his father's farm. + +The summer passed by. It was very pleasant to have nothing to do but to +read. And when the young man grew tired of reading, he could go out +fishing, or could spend a day in hunting among the New Hampshire hills. + +It is safe to say that he did not learn very much law during that +summer. + +But there was not a day that he did not think about his brother. Ezekiel +had done much to help him through college, and now ought he not to help +Ezekiel? + +But what could he do? + +He had a good education, and his first thought was that he might teach +school, and thus earn a little money for Ezekiel. + +The people of Fryeburg, in Maine, wanted him to take charge of the +academy in their little town. And so, early in the fall, he decided to +take up with their offer. + +He was to have three hundred and fifty dollars for the year's work, and +that would help Ezekiel a great deal. + +He bade good-bye to Mr. Thompson and his little law office, and made +ready to go to his new field of labor. There were no railroads at that +time, and a journey of even a few miles was a great undertaking. + +Daniel had bought a horse for twenty-four dollars. In one end of an +old-fashioned pair of saddle-bags he put his Sunday clothes, and in the +other he packed his books. + +He laid the saddle-bags upon the horse, then he mounted and rode off +over the hills toward Fryeburg, sixty miles away. + +He was not yet quite twenty years old. He was very slender, and nearly +six feet in height. His face was thin and dark. His eyes were black and +bright and penetrating--no person who once saw them could ever forget +them. + +Young as he was, he was very successful as a teacher during that year +which he spent at Fryeburg. The trustees of the academy were so highly +pleased that they wanted him to stay a second year. They promised to +raise his salary to five or six hundred dollars, and to give him a house +and a piece of land. + +He was greatly tempted to give up all further thoughts of becoming a +lawyer. + +"What shall I do?" he said to himself. "Shall I say, 'Yes, gentlemen,' +and sit down here to spend my days in a kind of comfortable privacy?" + +But his father was anxious that he should return to the study of the +law. And so he was not long in making up his mind. + +In a letter to one of his friends he said: "I shall make one more trial +of the law in the ensuing autumn. + +"If I prosecute the profession, I pray God to fortify me against its +temptations. To be honest, to be capable, to be faithful to my client +and my conscience." + +Early the next September, he was again in Mr. Thompson's little law +office. All the money that he had saved, while at Fryeburg, was spent to +help Ezekiel through college. + + * * * * * + +IX.--DANIEL GOES TO BOSTON. + + +For a year and a half, young Daniel Webster stayed in the office of Mr. +Thompson. He had now fully made up his mind as to what profession he +would follow; and so he was a much better student than he had been +before. + +He read many law books with care. He read _Hume's History of England_, +and spent a good deal of time with the Latin classics. + +"At this period of my life," he afterwards said, "I passed a great deal +of time alone. + +"My amusements were fishing and shooting and riding, and all these were +without a companion. I loved this solitude then, and have loved it ever +since, and love it still." + +The Webster family were still very poor. Judge Webster was now too old +to do much work of any kind. The farm had been mortgaged for all that it +was worth. It was hard to find money enough to keep Daniel at his law +studies and Ezekiel in college. + +At last it became necessary for one of the young men to do something +that would help matters along. Ezekiel decided that he would leave +college for a time and try to earn enough money to meet the present +needs of the family. Through some of his friends he obtained a small +private school in Boston. + +There were very few pupils in Ezekiel Webster's school. But there were +so many branches to be taught that he could not find time to hear all +the recitations. So, at last, he sent word to Daniel to come down and +help him. If Daniel would teach an hour and a half each day, he should +have enough money to pay his board. + +Daniel was pleased with the offer. He had long wanted to study law in +Boston, and here was his opportunity. And so, early in March, 1804, he +joined his brother in that city, and was soon doing what he could to +help him in his little school. + +There was in Boston, at that time, a famous lawyer whose name was +Christopher Gore. While Daniel Webster was wondering how he could best +carry on his studies in the city, he heard that Mr. Gore had no clerk in +his office. + +"How I should like to read law with Mr. Gore!" he said to Ezekiel. + +"Yes," said Ezekiel. "You could not want a better tutor." + +"I mean to see him to-day and apply for a place in his office," said +Daniel. + +It was with many misgivings that the young man went into the presence of +the great lawyer. We will let him tell the story in his own words: + +"I was from the country, I said;--had studied law for two years; had +come to Boston to study a year more; had heard that he had no clerk; +thought it possible he would receive one. + +"I told him that I came to Boston to work, not to play; was most +desirous, on all accounts, to be his pupil; and all I ventured to ask at +present was, that he would keep a place for me in his office, till I +could write to New Hampshire for proper letters showing me worthy of +it." + +Mr. Gore listened to this speech very kindly, and then bade Daniel be +seated while he should have a short talk with him. + +When at last the young man rose to go, Mr. Gore said: "My young friend, +you look as if you might be trusted. You say you came to study and not +to waste time. I will take you at your word. You may as well hang up +your hat at once." + +And this was the beginning of Daniel Webster's career in Boston. + +He must have done well in Mr. Gore's office; for, in a few months, he +was admitted to the practice of law in the Court of Common Pleas in +Boston. + +It was at some time during this same winter that Daniel was offered the +position of clerk in the County Court at home. His father, as you will +remember, was one of the judges in this court, and he was very much +delighted at the thought that his son would be with him. + +The salary would be about fifteen hundred dollars a year--and that was a +great sum to Daniel as well as to his father. The mortgage on the farm +could be paid off; Ezekiel could finish his course in college; and life +would be made easier for them all. + +At first Daniel was as highly pleased as his father. But after he had +talked with Mr. Gore, he decided not to accept the offered position. + +"Your prospects as a lawyer," said Mr. Gore, "are good enough to +encourage you to go on. Go on, and finish your studies. You are poor +enough, but there are greater evils than poverty. Live on no man's +favor. Pursue your profession; make yourself useful to your friends and +a little formidable to your enemies, and you have nothing to fear." + +A few days after that, Daniel paid a visit to his father. The judge +received him very kindly, but he was greatly disappointed when the young +man told him that he had made up his mind not to take the place. + +With his deep-set, flashing eyes, he looked at his son for a moment as +though in anger. Then he said, very slowly: + +"Well, my son, your mother has always said that you would come to +something or nothing--she was not sure which. I think you are now about +settling that doubt for her." + +A few weeks after this, Daniel, as I have already told you, was admitted +to the bar in Boston. But he did not think it best to begin his practice +there. + +He knew how anxious his father was that he should be near him. He +wanted to do all that he could to cheer and comfort the declining years +of the noble man who had sacrificed everything for him. And so, in the +spring of 1805, he settled in the town of Boscawen, six miles from home, +and put up at his office door this sign: + +D. WEBSTER, ATTORNEY. + + * * * * * + +X.--LAWYER AND CONGRESSMAN. + + +When Daniel Webster had been in Boscawen nearly two years, his father +died. It was then decided that Ezekiel should come and take charge of +the home farm, and care for their mother. + +Ezekiel had not yet graduated from college, but he had read law and was +hoping to be admitted to the bar. He was a man of much natural ability, +and many people believed that he would some day become a very famous +lawyer. + +And so, in the autumn of 1807, Daniel gave up to his brother the law +business which he had in Boscawen, and removed to the city of +Portsmouth. + +He was now twenty-five years old. In Portsmouth he would find plenty of +work to do; it would be the very kind of work that he liked. He was now +well started on the road towards greatness. + +The very next year, he was married to Miss Grace Fletcher, the daughter +of a minister in Hopkinton. The happy couple began housekeeping in a +small, modest, wooden house, in Portsmouth; and there they lived, very +plainly and without pretension, for several years. + +Mr. Webster's office was "a common, ordinary-looking room, with less +furniture and more books than common. He had a small inner room, opening +from the larger, rather an unusual thing." + +It was not long until the name of Daniel Webster was known all over New +Hampshire. Those who were acquainted with him said that he was the +smartest young lawyer in Portsmouth. They said that if he kept on in +the way that he had started, there were great things in store for him. + +The country people told wonderful stories about him. They said that he +was as black as a coal--but of course they had never seen him. They +believed that he could gain any case in court that he chose to +manage--and in this they were about right. + +There was another great lawyer in Portsmouth. His name was Jeremiah +Mason, and he was much older than Mr. Webster. Indeed, he was already a +famous man when Daniel first began the practice of law. + +The young lawyer and the older one soon became warm friends; and yet +they were often opposed to each other in the courts. Daniel was always +obliged to do his best when Mr. Mason was against him. This caused him +to be very careful. It no doubt made him become a better lawyer than he +otherwise would have been. + +While Webster was thus quietly practicing law in New Hampshire, trouble +was brewing between the United States and England. The English were +doing much to hinder American merchants from trading with foreign +countries. + +They claimed the right to search American vessels for seamen who had +deserted from the British service. And it is said that American sailors +were often dragged from their own vessels and forced to serve on board +the English ships. + +Matters kept getting worse and worse for several years. At last, in +June, 1812, the United States declared war against England. + +Daniel Webster was opposed to this war, and he made several speeches +against it. He said that, although we had doubtless suffered many +wrongs, there was more cause for war with France than with England. And +then, the United States had no navy, and hence was not ready to go to +war with any nation. + +Webster's influence in New Hampshire was so great that he persuaded many +of the people of that state to think just as he thought on this subject. +They nominated him as their representative in Congress; and when the +time came, they elected him. + +It was on the 24th of May, 1813, that he first took his seat in +Congress. He was then thirty-one years old. + +In that same Congress there were two other young men who afterwards made +their names famous in the history of their country. One was Henry Clay, +of Kentucky. The other was John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina. Both were +a little older than Webster; both had already made some mark in public +life; and both were in favor of the war. + +During his first year in Congress, Mr. Webster made some stirring +speeches in support of his own opinions. In this way, as well by his +skill in debate, he made himself known as a young man of more than +common ability and promise. + +Chief Justice Marshall, who was then at the head of the Supreme Court of +the United States, said of him: "I have never seen a man of whose +intellect I had a higher opinion." + +In 1814, the war that had been going on so long came to an end. But now +there were other subjects which claimed Mr. Webster's attention in +Congress. + +Then, as now, there were important questions regarding the money of the +nation; and upon these questions there was great difference of opinion. +Daniel Webster's speeches, in favor of a sound currency, did much to +maintain the national credit and to save the country from bankruptcy. + +The people of New Hampshire were so well pleased with the record which +he made in Congress that, when his first term expired, they re-elected +him for a second. + + * * * * * + +XI.--THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE. + + +In 1816, before his second term in Congress had expired, Daniel Webster +removed with his family to Boston. He had lived in Portsmouth nine +years, and he now felt that he needed a wider field for the exercise of +his talents. + +He was now no longer the slender, delicate person that he had been in +his boyhood and youth. He was a man of noble mien--a sturdy, dignified +personage, who bore the marks of greatness upon him. + +People said, "When Daniel Webster walked the streets of Boston, he made +the buildings look small." + +As soon as his term in Congress had expired, he began the practice of +law in Boston. + +For nearly seven years he devoted himself strictly to his profession. Of +course, he at once took his place as the leading lawyer of New England. +Indeed, he soon became known as the ablest counsellor and advocate in +America. + +The best business of the country now came to him. His income was very +large, amounting to more than $20,000 a year. + +And during this time there was no harder worker than he. In fact, his +natural genius could have done but little for him, had it not been for +his untiring industry. + +One of his first great victories in law was that which is known as the +Dartmouth College case. The lawmakers of New Hampshire had attempted to +pass a law to alter the charter of the college. By doing this they +would endanger the usefulness and prosperity of that great school, in +order to favor the selfish projects of its enemies. + +Daniel Webster undertook to defend the college. The speech which he made +before the Supreme Court of the United States was a masterly effort. + +"Sir," he said, "you may destroy this little institution--it is weak, it +is in your hands. I know it is one of the lesser lights in the literary +horizon of our country. You may put it out. + +"But if you do so, you must carry through your work! You must +extinguish, one after another, all those greater lights of science +which, for more than a century, have thrown their light over our land!" + +He won the case; and this, more than anything else, helped to gain for +him the reputation of being the ablest lawyer in the United States. + + * * * * * + +XII.--WEBSTER'S GREAT ORATIONS. + + +In 1820, when he was thirty-eight years old, Daniel Webster was chosen +to deliver an oration at a great meeting of New Englanders at Plymouth, +Massachusetts. + +Plymouth is the place where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. Just two +hundred years had passed since that time, and this meeting was to +celebrate the memory of the brave men and women who had risked so much +to found new homes in what was then a bleak wilderness. + +The speech which Mr. Webster delivered was one of the greatest ever +heard in America. It placed him at once at the head of American orators. + +John Adams, the second president of the United States, was then living, +a very old man. He said, "This oration will be read five hundred years +hence with as much rapture as it was heard. It ought to be read at the +end of every century, and, indeed, at the end of every year, forever and +ever." + +But this was only the first of many great addresses by Mr. Webster. In +1825, he delivered an oration at the laying of the cornerstone of the +Bunker Hill monument. Eighteen years later, when that monument was +finished, he delivered another. Many of Mr. Webster's admirers think +that these two orations are his masterpieces. + +On July 4th, 1826, the United States had been independent just fifty +years. On that day there passed away two of the greatest men of the +country--John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. + +Both were ex-presidents, and both had been leaders in the councils of +the nation. It was in memory of these two patriots that Daniel Webster +was called to deliver an oration in Faneuil Hall, Boston. + +No other funeral oration has ever been delivered in any age or country +that was equal to this in eloquence. Like all his other discourses, it +was full of patriotic feeling. + +"This lovely land," he said, "this glorious liberty, these benign +institutions, the dear purchase of our fathers, are ours; ours to enjoy, +ours to preserve, ours to transmit. Generations past and generations to +come hold us responsible for this sacred trust. + +"Our fathers, from behind, admonish us with their anxious, paternal +voices; posterity calls out to us from the bosom of the future; the +world turns hither its solicitous eyes; all, all conjure us to act +wisely and faithfully in the relation which we sustain." + +Most of his other great speeches were delivered in Congress, and are, +therefore, political in tone and subject. + +Great as Daniel Webster was in politics and in law, it is as an orator +and patriot that his name will be longest remembered. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--MR. WEBSTER IN THE SENATE. + + +When Daniel Webster was forty years old, the people of Boston elected +him to represent them in Congress. They were so well pleased with all +that he did while there, that they re-elected him twice. + +In June, 1827, the legislature of Massachusetts chose him to be United +States senator for a term of six years. He was at that time the most +famous man in Massachusetts, and his name was known and honored in +every state of the Union. + +After that he was re-elected to the same place again and again; and for +more than twenty years he continued to be the distinguished senator from +Massachusetts. + +I cannot now tell you of all his public services during the long period +that he sat in Congress. Indeed, there are some things that you would +find hard to understand until you have learned more about the history of +our country. But you will by-and-by read of them in the larger books +which you will study at school; and, no doubt, you will also read some +of his great addresses and orations. + +It was in 1830 that he delivered the most famous of all his speeches in +the senate chamber of the United States. This speech is commonly called, +"The Reply to Hayne." + +I shall not here try to explain the purport of Mr. Hayne's speeches--for +there were two of them. I shall not try to describe the circumstances +which led Mr. Webster to make his famous reply to them. + +But I will quote Mr. Webster's closing sentences. Forty years ago the +school-boys all over the country were accustomed to memorize and declaim +these patriotic utterances. + +"When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in +heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments +of a once glorious Union; on states dissevered, discordant, belligerent, +on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal +blood! + +"Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous +ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, +still high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original +lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, not a single star obscured, +bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory, 'What is all this +worth?' nor those other words of delusion and folly, 'Liberty first and +Union afterwards;' but everywhere, spread all over in characters of +living light, blazing on all its folds, as they float over the land, and +in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to +every American heart--Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and +inseparable!" + +In 1841, Daniel Webster resigned his seat in the senate. He did this in +order to become secretary of state in the cabinet of the newly elected +president, William Henry Harrison. + +But President Harrison died on the 5th of April, after having held his +office just one month; and his place was taken by the vice-president, +John Tyler. Mr. Webster now felt that his position in the cabinet would +not be a pleasant one; but he continued to hold it for nearly two years. + +His most important act as secretary of state was to conclude a treaty +with England which fixed the northeastern boundary of the United States. +This treaty is known in history as the Ashburton Treaty. + +In 1843, Mr. Webster resigned his place in President Tyler's cabinet. +But he was not allowed to remain long in private life. Two years later +he was again elected to the United States senate. + +About this time, Texas was annexed to the United States. But Mr. Webster +did not favor this, for he believed that such an act was contrary to the +Constitution of our country. + +He did all that he could to keep our government from making war upon +Mexico. But after this war had been begun, he was a firm friend of the +soldiers who took part in it, and he did much to provide for their +safety and comfort. + +Among these soldiers was Edward, the second son of Daniel Webster. He +became a major in the main division of the army, and died in the City of +Mexico. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--MR. WEBSTER IN PRIVATE LIFE. + + +Let us now go back a little way in our story, and learn something about +Mr. Webster's home and private life. + +[Illustration: The Mansion Marshfield] + +[Illustration: The Library] + +[Illustration: The Tomb] + +In 1831, Mr. Webster bought a large farm at Marshfield, in the +southeastern part of Massachusetts, not far from the sea. + +He spent a great deal of money in improving this farm; and in the end it +was as fine a country seat as one might see anywhere in New England. + +When he became tired with the many cares of his busy life, Mr. Webster +could always find rest and quiet days at Marshfield. He liked to dress +himself as a farmer, and stroll about the fields looking at the cattle +and at the growing crops. + +"I had rather be here than in the senate," he would say. + +But his life was clouded with many sorrows. Long before going to +Marshfield, his two eldest children were laid in the grave. Their mother +followed them just one year before Mr. Webster's first entry into the +United States senate. + +In 1829, his brother Ezekiel died suddenly while speaking in court at +Concord. Ezekiel had never cared much for politics, but as a lawyer in +his native state, he had won many honors. His death came as a great +shock to everybody that knew him. To his brother it brought +overwhelming sorrow. + +When Daniel Webster was nearly forty-eight years old, he married a +second wife. She was the daughter of a New York merchant, and her name +was Caroline Bayard Le Roy. She did much to lighten the disappointments +of his later life, and they lived together happily for more than twenty +years. + +In 1839, Mr. and Mrs. Webster made a short visit to England. The fame of +the great orator had gone before him, and he was everywhere received +with honor. The greatest men of the time were proud to meet him. + +Henry Hallam, the historian, wrote of him: "Mr. Webster approaches as +nearly to the _beau ideal_ of a republican senator as any man that I +have ever seen in the course of my life." + +Even the Queen invited him to dine with her; and she was much pleased +with his dignified ways and noble bearing. + +And, indeed, his appearance was such as to win the respect of all who +saw him. When he walked the streets of London, people would stop and +wonder who the noble stranger was; and workingmen whispered to one +another: "There goes a king!" + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE LAST YEARS. + + +Many people believed that Daniel Webster would finally be elected +president of the United States. And, indeed, there was no man in all +this country who was better fitted for that high position than he. + +But it so happened that inferior men, who were willing to stoop to the +tricks of politics, always stepped in before him. + +In the meanwhile the question of slavery was becoming, every day, more +and more important. It was the one subject which claimed everybody's +attention. + +Should slavery be allowed in the territories? + +There was great excitement all over the country. There were many hot +debates in Congress. It seemed as though the Union would be destroyed. + +At last, the wiser and cooler-headed leaders in Congress said, "Let +each side give up a little to the other. Let us have a compromise." + +On the 7th of March, 1850, Mr. Webster delivered a speech before the +senate. It was a speech in favor of compromise, in favor of +conciliation. + +He thought that this was the only way to preserve the Union. And he was +willing to sacrifice everything for the Constitution and the Union. + +He declared that all the ends he aimed at were for his country's good. + +"I speak to-day for the preservation of the Union," he said. "Hear me +for my cause! I speak to-day out of a solicitous and anxious heart, for +the restoration to the country of that quiet and harmony, which make the +blessings of this Union so rich and so dear to us all." + +He then went on to defend the law known as the Fugitive Slave Law. He +declared that this law was in accordance with the Constitution, and +hence it should be enforced according to its true meaning. + +The speech was a great disappointment to his friends. They said that he +had deserted them; that he had gone over to their enemies; that he was +no longer a champion of freedom, but of slavery. + +Those who had been his warmest supporters, now turned against him. + +A few months after this, President Taylor died. The vice-president, +Millard Fillmore, then became president. Mr. Fillmore was in sympathy +with Daniel Webster, and soon gave him a seat in his cabinet as +secretary of state. + +This was the second time that Mr. Webster had been called to fill this +high and honorable position. But, under President Fillmore, he did no +very great or important thing. + +He was still the leading man in the Whig party; and he hoped, in 1852, +to be nominated for the presidency. But in this he was again +disappointed. + +He was now an old man. He had had great successes in life; but he felt +that he had failed at the end of the race. His health was giving way. +He went home to Marshfield for the quiet and rest which he so much +needed. + +In May, that same year, he was thrown from his carriage and severely +hurt. From this hurt he never recovered. He offered to resign his seat +in the cabinet, but Mr. Fillmore would not listen to this. + +In September he became very feeble, and his friends knew that the end +was near. On the 24th of October, 1852, he died. He was nearly +seventy-one years old. + +In every part of the land his death was sincerely mourned. Both friends +and enemies felt that a great man had fallen. They felt that this +country had lost its leading statesman, its noblest patriot, its +worthiest citizen. + +Rufus Choate, who had succeeded him as the foremost lawyer in New +England, delivered a great oration upon his life and character. He said: + +"Look in how manly a sort, in how high a moral tone, Mr. Webster +uniformly dealt with the mind of his country. + +"Where do you find him flattering his countrymen, indirectly or +directly, for a vote? On what did he ever place himself but good +counsels and useful service? + +"Who ever heard that voice cheering the people on to rapacity, to +injustice, to a vain and guilty glory? + +"How anxiously, rather, did he prefer to teach, that by all possible +acquired sobriety of mind, by asking reverently of the past, by +obedience to the law, by habits of patient labor, by the cultivation of +the mind, by the fear and worship of God, we educate ourselves for the +future that is revealing." + + + + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN + +[Illustration: _ABRAHAM LINCOLN_.] + + + + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + * * * * * + +I.--THE KENTUCKY HOME. + + +Not far from Hodgensville, in Kentucky, there once lived a man whose +name was Thomas Lincoln. This man had built for himself a little log +cabin by the side of a brook, where there was an ever-flowing spring of +water. + +There was but one room in this cabin. On the side next to the brook +there was a low doorway; and at one end there was a large fireplace, +built of rough stones and clay. + +The chimney was very broad at the bottom and narrow at the top. It was +made of clay, with flat stones and slender sticks laid around the +outside to keep it from falling apart. + +In the wall, on one side of the fireplace, there was a square hole for a +window. But there was no glass in this window. In the summer it was +left open all the time. In cold weather a deerskin, or a piece of +coarse cloth, was hung over it to keep out the wind and the snow. + +At night, or on stormy days, the skin of a bear was hung across the +doorway; for there was no door on hinges to be opened and shut. + +There was no ceiling to the room. But the inmates of the cabin, by +looking up, could see the bare rafters and the rough roof-boards, which +Mr. Lincoln himself had split and hewn. + +There was no floor, but only the bare ground that had been smoothed and +beaten until it was as level and hard as pavement. + +For chairs there were only blocks of wood and a rude bench on one side +of the fireplace. The bed was a little platform of poles, on which were +spread the furry skins of wild animals, and a patchwork quilt of +homespun goods. + +In this poor cabin, on the 12th of February, 1809, a baby boy was born. +There was already one child in the family--a girl, two years old, whose +name was Sarah. + +The little boy grew and became strong like other babies, and his +parents named him Abraham, after his grandfather, who had been killed by +the Indians many years before. + +When he was old enough to run about, he liked to play under the trees by +the cabin door. Sometimes he would go with his little sister into the +woods and watch the birds and the squirrels. + +He had no playmates. He did not know the meaning of toys or playthings. +But he was a happy child and had many pleasant ways. + +Thomas Lincoln, the father, was a kind-hearted man, very strong and +brave. Sometimes he would take the child on his knee and tell him +strange, true stories of the great forest, and of the Indians and the +fierce beasts that roamed among the woods and hills. + +For Thomas Lincoln had always lived on the wild frontier; and he would +rather hunt deer and other game in the forest than do anything else. +Perhaps this is why he was so poor. Perhaps this is why he was content +to live in the little log cabin with so few of the comforts of life. + +But Nancy Lincoln, the young mother, did not complain. She, too, had +grown up among the rude scenes of the backwoods. She had never known +better things. + +And yet she was by nature refined and gentle; and people who knew her +said that she was very handsome. She was a model housekeeper, too; and +her poor log cabin was the neatest and best-kept house in all that +neighborhood. + +No woman could be busier than she. She knew how to spin and weave, and +she made all the clothing for her family. + +She knew how to wield the ax and the hoe; and she could work on the farm +or in the garden when her help was needed. + +She had also learned how to shoot with a rifle; and she could bring down +a deer or other wild game with as much ease as could her husband. And +when the game was brought home, she could dress it, she could cook the +flesh for food, and of the skins she could make clothing for her husband +and children. + +There was still another thing that she could do--she could read; and she +read all the books that she could get hold of. She taught her husband +the letters of the alphabet; and she showed him how to write his name. +For Thomas Lincoln had never gone to school, and he had never learned +how to read. + +As soon as little Abraham Lincoln was old enough to understand, his +mother read stories to him from the Bible. Then, while he was still very +young, she taught him to read the stories for himself. + +The neighbors thought it a wonderful thing that so small a boy could +read. There were very few of them who could do as much. Few of them +thought it of any great use to learn how to read. + +There were no school-houses in that part of Kentucky in those days, and +of course there were no public schools. + +One winter a traveling schoolmaster came that way. He got leave to use a +cabin not far from Mr. Lincoln's, and gave notice that he would teach +school for two or three weeks. The people were too poor to pay him for +teaching longer. + +The name of this schoolmaster was Zachariah Riney. + +The young people for miles around flocked to the school. Most of them +were big boys and girls, and a few were grown up young men. The only +little child was Abraham Lincoln, and he was not yet five years old. + +There was only one book studied at that school, and it was a +spelling-book. It had some easy reading lessons at the end, but these +were not to be read until after every word in the book had been spelled. + +You can imagine how the big boys and girls felt when Abraham Lincoln +proved that he could spell and read better than any of them. + + * * * * * + +II.--WORK AND SORROW. + + +In the autumn, just after Abraham Lincoln was eight years old, his +parents left their Kentucky home and moved to Spencer county, in +Indiana. + +It was not yet a year since Indiana had become a state. Land could be +bought very cheap, and Mr. Lincoln thought that he could make a good +living there for his family. He had heard also that game was plentiful +in the Indiana woods. + +It was not more than seventy or eighty miles from the old home to the +new. But it seemed very far, indeed, and it was a good many days before +the travelers reached their journey's end. Over a part of the way there +was no road, and the movers had to cut a path for themselves through the +thick woods. + +The boy, Abraham, was tall and very strong for his age. He already knew +how to handle an ax, and few men could shoot with a rifle better than +he. He was his father's helper in all kinds of work. + +It was in November when the family came to the place which was to be +their future home. Winter was near at hand. There was no house, nor +shelter of any kind. What would become of the patient, tired mother, and +the gentle little sister, who had borne themselves so bravely during the +long, hard journey? + +No sooner had the horses been loosed from the wagon than Abraham and +his father were at work with their axes. In a short time they had built +what they called a "camp." + +This camp was but a rude shed, made of poles and thatched with leaves +and branches. It was enclosed on three sides, so that the chill winds or +the driving rains from the north and west could not enter. The fourth +side was left open, and in front of it a fire was built. + +This fire was kept burning all the time. It warmed the interior of the +camp. A big iron kettle was hung over it by means of a chain and pole, +and in this kettle the fat bacon, the venison, the beans, and the corn +were boiled for the family's dinner and supper. In the hot ashes the +good mother baked luscious "corn dodgers," and sometimes, perhaps, a few +potatoes. + +In one end of the camp were the few cooking utensils and little articles +of furniture which even the poorest house cannot do without. The rest of +the space was the family sitting-room and bed-room. The floor was +covered with leaves, and on these were spread the furry skins of deer +and bears, and other animals. + +It was in this camp that the family spent their first winter in Indiana. +How very cold and dreary that winter must have been! Think of the stormy +nights, of the shrieking wind, of the snow and the sleet and the bitter +frost! It is not much wonder if, before the spring months came, the +mother's strength began to fail. + +But it was a busy winter for Thomas Lincoln. Every day his ax was heard +in the woods. He was clearing the ground, so that in the spring it might +be planted with corn and vegetables. + +He was hewing logs for his new house; for he had made up his mind, now, +to have something better than a cabin. + +The woods were full of wild animals. It was easy for Abraham and his +father to kill plenty of game, and thus keep the family supplied with +fresh meat. + +And Abraham, with chopping and hewing and hunting and trapping, was very +busy for a little boy. He had but little time to play; and, since he +had no playmates, we cannot know whether he even wanted to play. + +With his mother, he read over and over the Bible stories which both of +them loved so well. And, during the cold, stormy days, when he could not +leave the camp, his mother taught him how to write. + +In the spring the new house was raised. It was only a hewed log house, +with one room below and a loft above. But it was so much better than the +old cabin in Kentucky that it seemed like a palace. + +The family had become so tired of living in the "camp," that they moved +into the new house before the floor was laid, or any door hung at the +doorway. + +Then came the plowing and the planting and the hoeing. Everybody was +busy from daylight to dark. There were so many trees and stumps that +there was but little room for the corn to grow. + +The summer passed, and autumn came. Then the poor mother's strength gave +out. She could no longer go about her household duties. She had to +depend more and more upon the help that her children could give her. + +At length she became too feeble to leave her bed. She called her boy to +her side. She put her arms about him and said: "Abraham, I am going away +from you, and you will never see me again. I know that you will always +be good and kind to your sister and father. Try to live as I have taught +you, and to love your heavenly Father." + +On the 5th of October she fell asleep, never to wake again. + +Under a big sycamore tree, half a mile from the house, the neighbors dug +the grave for the mother of Abraham Lincoln. And there they buried her +in silence and great sorrow. + +There was no minister there to conduct religious services. In all that +new country there was no church; and no holy man could be found to speak +words of comfort and hope to the grieving ones around the grave. + +But the boy, Abraham, remembered a traveling preacher, whom they had +known in Kentucky. The name of this preacher was David Elkin. If he +would only come! + +And so, after all was over, the lad sat down and wrote a letter to David +Elkin. He was only a child nine years old, but he believed that the good +man would remember his poor mother, and come. + +It was no easy task to write a letter. Paper and ink were not things of +common use, as they are with us. A pen had to be made from the quill of +a goose. + +But at last the letter was finished and sent away. How it was carried I +do not know; for the mails were few and far between in those days, and +postage was very high. It is more than likely that some friend, who was +going into Kentucky, undertook to have it finally handed to the good +preacher. + +Months passed. The leaves were again on the trees. The wild flowers were +blossoming in the woods. At last the preacher came. + +He had ridden a hundred miles on horseback; he had forded rivers, and +traveled through pathless woods; he had dared the dangers of the wild +forest: all in answer to the lad's beseeching letter. + +He had no hope of reward, save that which is given to every man who does +his duty. He did not know that there would come a time when the greatest +preachers in the world would envy him his sad task. + +And now the friends and neighbors gathered again under the great +sycamore tree. The funeral sermon was preached. Hymns were sung. A +prayer was offered. Words of comfort and sympathy were spoken. + +From that time forward the mind of Abraham Lincoln was filled with a +high and noble purpose. In his earliest childhood his mother had taught +him to love truth and justice, to be honest and upright among men, and +to reverence God. These lessons he never forgot. + +Long afterward, when the world had come to know him as a very great man, +he said: "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." + + * * * * * + +III.--THE NEW MOTHER. + + +The log house, which Abraham Lincoln called his home, was now more +lonely and cheerless than before. The sunlight of his mother's presence +had gone out of it forever. + +His sister Sarah, twelve years old, was the housekeeper and cook. His +father had not yet found time to lay a floor in the house, or to hang a +door. There were great crevices between the logs, through which the wind +and the rain drifted on every stormy day. There was not much comfort in +such a house. + +But the lad was never idle. In the long winter days, when there was no +work to be done, he spent the time in reading or in trying to improve +his writing. + +There were very few books in the cabins of that backwoods settlement. +But if Abraham Lincoln heard of one, he could not rest till he had +borrowed it and read it. + +Another summer passed, and then another winter. Then, one day, Mr. +Lincoln went on a visit to Kentucky, leaving his two children and their +cousin, Dennis Hanks, at home to care for the house and the farm. + +I do not know how long he stayed away, but it could not have been many +weeks. One evening, the children were surprised to see a four-horse +wagon draw up before the door. + +Their father was in the wagon; and by his side was a kind-faced woman; +and, sitting on the straw at the bottom of the wagon-bed, there were +three well-dressed children--two girls and a boy. + +And there were some grand things in the wagon, too. There were six +split-bottomed chairs, a bureau with drawers, a wooden chest, and a +feather bed. All these things were very wonderful to the lad and lassie +who had never known the use of such luxuries. + +"Abraham and Sarah," said Mr. Lincoln, as he leaped from the wagon, "I +have brought you a new mother and a new brother and two new sisters." + +The new mother greeted them very kindly, and, no doubt, looked with +gentle pity upon them. They were barefooted; their scant clothing was +little more than rags and tatters; they did not look much like her own +happy children, whom she had cared for so well. + +And now it was not long until a great change was made in the Lincoln +home. A floor was laid, a door was hung, a window was made, the crevices +between the logs were daubed with clay. + +The house was furnished in fine style, with the chairs and the bureau +and the feather bed. The kind, new mother brought sunshine and hope into +the place that had once been so cheerless. + +With the young lad, Dennis Hanks, there were now six children in the +family. But all were treated with the same kindness; all had the same +motherly care. And so, in the midst of much hard work, there were many +pleasant days for them all. + + * * * * * + +IV.--SCHOOL AND BOOKS. + + +Not very long after this, the people of the neighborhood made up their +minds that they must have a school-house. And so, one day after +harvest, the men met together and chopped down trees, and built a little +low-roofed log cabin to serve for that purpose. + +If you could see that cabin you would think it a queer kind of +school-house. There was no floor. There was only one window, and in it +were strips of greased paper pasted across, instead of glass. There were +no desks, but only rough benches made of logs split in halves. In one +end of the room was a huge fireplace; at the other end was the low +doorway. + +The first teacher was a man whose name was Azel Dorsey. The term of +school was very short; for the settlers could not afford to pay him +much. It was in mid-winter, for then there was no work for the big boys +to do at home. + +And the big boys, as well as the girls and the smaller boys, for miles +around, came in to learn what they could from Azel Dorsey. The most of +the children studied only spelling; but some of the larger ones learned +reading and writing and arithmetic. + +There were not very many scholars, for the houses in that new +settlement were few and far apart. School began at an early hour in the +morning, and did not close until the sun was down. + +Just how Abraham Lincoln stood in his classes I do not know; but I must +believe that he studied hard and did everything as well as he could. In +the arithmetic which he used, he wrote these lines: + + "Abraham Lincoln, + His hand and pen, + He will be good, + But God knows when." + +In a few weeks, Azel Dorsey's school came to a close; and Abraham +Lincoln was again as busy as ever about his father's farm. After that he +attended school only two or three short terms. If all his school-days +were put together they would not make a twelve-month. + +But he kept on reading and studying at home. His step-mother said of +him: "He read everything he could lay his hands on. When he came across +a passage that struck him, he would write it down on boards, if he had +no paper, and keep it until he had got paper. Then he would copy it, +look at it, commit it to memory, and repeat it." + +Among the books that he read were the Bible, the _Pilgrims Progress_, +and the poems of Robert Burns. One day he walked a long distance to +borrow a book of a farmer. This book was Weems's _Life of Washington_. +He read as much as he could while walking home. + +By that time it was dark, and so he sat down by the chimney and read by +firelight until bedtime. Then he took the book to bed with him in the +loft, and read by the light of a tallow candle. + +In an hour the candle burned out. He laid the book in a crevice between +two of the logs of the cabin, so that he might begin reading again as +soon as it was daylight. + +But in the night a storm came up. The rain was blown in, and the book +was wet through and through. + +In the morning, when Abraham awoke, he saw what had happened. He dried +the leaves as well as he could, and then finished reading the book. + +As soon as he had eaten his breakfast, he hurried to carry the book to +its owner. He explained how the accident had happened. + +"Mr. Crawford," he said, "I am willing to pay you for the book. I have +no money; but, if you will let me, I will work for you until I have made +its price." + +Mr. Crawford thought that the book was worth seventy-five cents, and +that Abraham's work would be worth about twenty-five cents a day. And so +the lad helped the farmer gather corn for three days, and thus became +the owner of the delightful book. + +He read the story of Washington many times over. He carried the book +with him to the field, and read it while he was following the plow. + +From that time, Washington was the one great hero whom he admired. Why +could not he model his own life after that of Washington? Why could not +he also be a doer of great things for his country? + + * * * * * + +V.--LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS. + + +Abraham Lincoln now set to work with a will to educate himself. His +father thought that he did not need to learn anything more. He did not +see that there was any good in book-learning. If a man could read and +write and cipher, what more was needed? + +But the good step-mother thought differently; and when another short +term of school began in the little log school-house, all six of the +children from the Lincoln cabin were among the scholars. + +In a few weeks, however, the school had closed; and the three boys were +again hard at work, chopping and grubbing in Mr. Lincoln's clearings. +They were good-natured, jolly young fellows, and they lightened their +labor with many a joke and playful prank. + +Many were the droll stories with which Abraham amused his two +companions. Many were the puzzling questions that he asked. Sometimes in +the evening, with the other five children around him, he would declaim +some piece that he had learned; or he would deliver a speech of his own +on some subject of common interest. + +If you could see him as he then appeared, you would hardly think that +such a boy would ever become one of the most famous men of history. On +his head he wore a cap made from the skin of a squirrel or a raccoon. +Instead of trousers of cloth, he wore buckskin breeches, the legs of +which were many inches too short. His shirt was of deerskin in the +winter, and of homespun tow in the summer. Stockings he had none. His +shoes were of heavy cowhide, and were worn only on Sundays or in very +cold weather. + +The family lived in such a way as to need very little money. Their bread +was made of corn meal. Their meat was chiefly the flesh of wild game +found in the forest. + +Pewter plates and wooden trenchers were used on the table. The tea and +coffee cups were of painted tin. There was no stove, and all the cooking +was done on the hearth of the big fireplace. + +But poverty was no hindrance to Abraham Lincoln. He kept on with his +reading and his studies as best he could. Sometimes he would go to the +little village of Gentryville, near by, to spend an evening. He would +tell so many jokes and so many funny stories, that all the people would +gather round him to listen. + +When he was sixteen years old he went one day to Booneville, fifteen +miles away, to attend a trial in court. He had never been in court +before. He listened with great attention to all that was said. When the +lawyer for the defense made his speech, the youth was so full of delight +that he could not contain himself. + +He arose from his seat, walked across the courtroom, and shook hands +with the lawyer. "That was the best speech I ever heard," he said. + +He was tall and very slim; he was dressed in a jeans coat and buckskin +trousers; his feet were bare. It must have been a strange sight to see +him thus complimenting an old and practiced lawyer. + +From that time, one ambition seemed to fill his mind. He wanted to be a +lawyer and make great speeches in court. He walked twelve miles +barefooted, to borrow a copy of the laws of Indiana. Day and night he +read and studied. + +"Some day I shall be President of the United States," he said to some of +his young friends. And this he said not as a joke, but in the firm +belief that it would prove to be true. + + * * * * * + +VI.--THE BOATMAN. + + +One of Thomas Lincoln's friends owned a ferry-boat on the Ohio River. It +was nothing but a small rowboat, and would carry only three or four +people at a time. This man wanted to employ some one to take care of his +boat and to ferry people across the river. + +Thomas Lincoln was in need of money; and so he arranged with his friend +for Abraham to do this work. The wages of the young man were to be $2.50 +a week. But all the money was to be his father's. + +One day two strangers came to the landing. They wanted to take passage +on a steamboat that was coming down the river. The ferry-boy signalled +to the steamboat and it stopped in midstream. Then the boy rowed out +with the two passengers, and they were taken on board. + +Just as he was turning towards the shore again, each of the strangers +tossed a half-dollar into his boat. He picked the silver up and looked +at it. Ah, how rich he felt! He had never had so much money at one time. +And he had gotten all for a few minutes' labor! + +When winter came on, there were fewer people who wanted to cross the +river. So, at last, the ferry-boat was tied up, and Abraham Lincoln went +back to his father's home. + +He was now nineteen years old. He was very tall--nearly six feet four +inches in height. He was as strong as a young giant. He could jump +higher and farther, and he could run faster, than any of his fellows; +and there was no one, far or near, who could lay him on his back. + +Although he had always lived in a community of rude, rough people, he +had no bad habits. He used no tobacco; he did not drink strong liquor; +no profane word ever passed his lips. + +He was good-natured at all times, and kind to every one. + +During that winter, Mr. Gentry, the storekeeper in the village, had +bought a good deal of corn and pork. He intended, in the spring, to load +this on a flatboat and send it down the river to New Orleans. + +In looking about for a captain to take charge of the boat, he happened +to think of Abraham Lincoln. He knew that he could trust the young man. +And so a bargain was soon made. Abraham agreed to pilot the boat to New +Orleans and to market the produce there; and Mr. Gentry was to pay his +father eight dollars and a half a month for his services. + +As soon as the ice had well melted from the river, the voyage was begun. +Besides Captain Lincoln there was only one man in the crew, and that was +a son of Mr. Gentry's. + +The voyage was a long and weary one, but at last the two boatmen reached +the great southern city. Here they saw many strange things of which they +had never heard before. But they soon sold their cargo and boat, and +then returned home on a steamboat. + +To Abraham Lincoln the world was now very different from what it had +seemed before. He longed to be away from the narrow life in the woods of +Spencer county. He longed to be doing something for himself--to be +making for himself a fortune and a name. + +But then he remembered his mother's teachings when he sat on her knee in +the old Kentucky home, "Always do right." He remembered her last words, +"I know you will be kind to your father." + +And so he resolved to stay with his father, to work for him, and to give +him all his earnings until he was twenty-one years old. + + * * * * * + +VII.--THE FIRST YEARS IN ILLINOIS. + + +Early in the spring of 1830, Thomas Lincoln sold his farm in Indiana, +and the whole family moved to Illinois. The household goods were put in +a wagon drawn by four yoke of oxen. The kind step-mother and her +daughters rode also in the wagon. + +Abraham Lincoln, with a long whip in his hand, trudged through the mud +by the side of the road and guided the oxen. Who that saw him thus going +into Illinois would have dreamed that he would in time become that +state's greatest citizen? + +The journey was a long and hard one; but in two weeks they reached +Decatur, where they had decided to make their new home. + +Abraham Lincoln was now over twenty-one years old. He was his own man. +But he stayed with his father that spring. He helped him fence his land; +he helped him plant his corn. + +But his father had no money to give him. The young man's clothing was +all worn out, and he had nothing with which to buy any more. What should +he do? + +Three miles from his father's cabin there lived a thrifty woman, whose +name was Nancy Miller. Mrs. Miller owned a flock of sheep, and in her +house there were a spinning-wheel and a loom that were always busy. And +so you must know that she wove a great deal of jeans and home-made +cloth. + +Abraham Lincoln bargained with this woman to make him a pair of +trousers. He agreed that for each yard of cloth required, he would split +for her four hundred rails. + +He had to split fourteen hundred rails in all; but he worked so fast +that he had finished them before the trousers were ready. + +The next April saw young Lincoln piloting another flatboat down the +Mississippi to New Orleans. His companion this time was his mother's +relative, John Hanks. This time he stayed longer in New Orleans, and he +saw some things which he had barely noticed on his first trip. + +He saw gangs of slaves being driven through the streets. He visited the +slave-market, and saw women and girls sold to the highest bidder like so +many cattle. + +The young man, who would not be unkind to any living being, was shocked +by these sights. "His heart bled; he was mad, thoughtful, sad, and +depressed." + +He said to John Hanks, "If I ever get a chance to hit that institution, +I'll hit it hard, John." + +He came back from New Orleans in July. Mr. Offut, the owner of the +flatboat which he had taken down, then employed him to act as clerk in a +country store which he had at New Salem. + +New Salem was a little town not far from Springfield. + +Young Lincoln was a good salesman, and all the customers liked him. Mr. +Offut declared that the young man knew more than anyone else in the +United States, and that he could outrun and outwrestle any man in the +county. + +But in the spring of the next year Mr. Offut failed. The store was +closed, and Abraham Lincoln was out of employment again. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--THE BLACK HAWK WAR. + + +There were still a good many Indians in the West. The Sac Indians had +lately sold their lands in northern Illinois to the United States. They +had then moved across the Mississippi river, to other lands that had +been set apart for them. + +But they did not like their new home. At last they made up their minds +to go back to their former hunting-grounds. They were led by a chief +whose name was Black Hawk; and they began by killing the white settlers +and burning their houses and crops. + +This was in the spring of 1832. + +The whole state of Illinois was in alarm. The governor called for +volunteers to help the United States soldiers drive the Indians back. + +Abraham Lincoln enlisted. His company elected him captain. + +He did not know anything about military tactics. He did not know how to +give orders to his men. But he did the best that he could, and learned a +great deal by experience. + +His company marched northward and westward until they came to the +Mississippi river. But they did not meet any Indians, and so there was +no fighting. + +The young men under Captain Lincoln were rude fellows from the prairies +and backwoods. They were rough in their manners, and hard to control. +But they had very high respect for their captain. + +Perhaps this was because of his great strength, and his skill in +wrestling; for he could put the roughest and strongest of them on their +backs. Perhaps it was because he was good-natured and kind, and, at the +same time, very firm and decisive. + +In a few weeks the time for which the company had enlisted came to an +end. The young men were tired of being soldiers; and so all, except +Captain Lincoln and one man, were glad to hurry home. + +But Captain Lincoln never gave up anything half done. He enlisted again. +This time he was a private in a company of mounted rangers. + +The main camp of the volunteers and soldiers was on the banks of the +Rock river, in northern Illinois. + +Here, one day, Abraham Lincoln saw a young lieutenant of the United +States army, whose name was Jefferson Davis. It is not likely that the +fine young officer noticed the rough-clad ranger; but they were to know +more of each other at a future time. + +Three weeks after that the war was at an end. The Indians had been +beaten in a battle, and Black Hawk had been taken prisoner. + +But Abraham Lincoln had not been in any fight. He had not seen any +Indians, except peaceable ones. + +In June his company was mustered out, and he returned home to New Salem. + +He was then twenty-three years old. + + * * * * * + +IX.--IN THE LEGISLATURE. + + +When Abraham Lincoln came back to New Salem it was nearly time for the +state election. The people of the town and neighborhood wanted to send +him to the legislature, and he agreed to be a candidate. + +It was at Pappsville, twelve miles from Springfield, that he made his +first campaign speech. + +He said: "Gentlemen and fellow-citizens-- + +"I presume you all know who I am. + +"I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by my friends to +become a candidate for the legislature. + +"My politics are short and sweet. + +"I am in favor of a national bank; am in favor of the internal +improvement system, and a high protective tariff. + +"These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I shall +be thankful; if not, it will be all the same." + +He was a tall, gawky, rough-looking fellow. He was dressed in a coarse +suit of homespun, much the worse for wear. + +A few days after that, he made a longer and better speech at +Springfield. + +But he was not elected. + +About this time a worthless fellow, whose name was Berry, persuaded Mr. +Lincoln to help him buy a store in New Salem. Mr. Lincoln had no money, +but he gave his notes for the value of half the goods. + +The venture was not a profitable one. In a few months the store was +sold; but Abraham did not receive a dollar for it. It was six years +before he was able to pay off the notes which he had given. + +During all this time Mr. Lincoln did not give up the idea of being a +lawyer. He bought a second-hand copy of _Blackstone's Commentaries_ at +auction. He studied it so diligently that in a few weeks he had mastered +the whole of it. + +He bought an old form-book, and began to draw up contracts, deeds, and +all kinds of legal papers. + +He would often walk to Springfield, fourteen miles away, to borrow a +book; and he would master thirty or forty pages of it while returning +home. + +Soon he began to practice in a small way before justices of the peace +and country juries. He was appointed postmaster at New Salem, but so +little mail came to the place that the office was soon discontinued. + +He was nearly twenty-five years old. But, with all his industry, he +could hardly earn money enough to pay for his board and clothing. + +He had learned a little about surveying while living in Indiana. He now +took up the study again, and was soon appointed deputy surveyor of +Sangamon county. + +He was very skilful as a surveyor. Although his chain was only a +grape-vine, he was very accurate and never made mistakes. + +The next year he was again a candidate for the legislature. This time +the people were ready to vote for him, and he was elected. It was no +small thing for so young a man to be chosen to help make the laws of his +state. + +No man ever had fewer advantages than Abraham Lincoln. As a boy, he was +the poorest of the poor. No rich friend held out a helping hand. But see +what he had already accomplished by pluck, perseverance, and honesty! + +He had not had access to many books, but he knew books better than most +men of his age. He knew the Bible by heart; he was familiar with +Shakespeare; he could repeat nearly all the poems of Burns; he knew +much about physics and mechanics; he had mastered the elements of law. + +He was very awkward and far from handsome, but he was so modest, so +unselfish and kind, that every one who knew him liked him. He was a true +gentleman--a gentleman at heart, if not in outside polish. + +And so, as I have already said, Abraham Lincoln, at the age of +twenty-five, was elected to the state legislature. He served the people +so well that when his term closed, two years later, they sent him back +for another term. + +The capital of Illinois had, up to this time, been at Vandalia. Mr. +Lincoln and his friends now succeeded in having a law passed to remove +it to Springfield. Springfield was nearer to the centre of the state; it +was more convenient to everybody, and had other advantages which +Vandalia did not have. + +The people of Springfield were so delighted that they urged Mr. Lincoln +to come there and practice law. An older lawyer, whose name was John T. +Stuart, and who had a good practice, offered to take him in partnership +with him. + +And so, in 1837, Abraham Lincoln left New Salem and removed to +Springfield. He did not have much to move. All the goods that he had in +the world were a few clothes, which he carried in a pair of saddle-bags, +and two or three law books. He had no money, and he rode into +Springfield on a borrowed horse. + +He was then twenty-eight years old. + +From that time on, Springfield was his home. + + * * * * * + +X.--POLITICS AND MARRIAGE. + + +The next year after his removal to Springfield, Mr. Lincoln was elected +to the legislature for the third time. + +There were then, in this country, two great political parties, the +Democrats and the Whigs. Mr. Lincoln was a Whig, and he soon became the +leader of his party in the state. But the Whigs were not so strong as +the Democrats. + +The legislature was in session only a few weeks each year; and so Mr. +Lincoln could devote all the rest of the time to the practice of law. +There were many able lawyers in Illinois; but Abe Lincoln of Springfield +soon made himself known among the best of them. + +In 1840, he was again elected to the legislature. This was the year in +which General William H. Harrison was elected president of the United +States. General Harrison was a Whig; and Mr. Lincoln's name was on the +Whig ticket as a candidate for presidential elector in his state. + +The presidential campaign was one of the most exciting that had ever +been known. It was called the "log cabin" campaign, because General +Harrison had lived in a log cabin, and his opponents had sneered at his +poverty. + +In the East as well as in the West, the excitement was very great. In +every city and town and village, wherever there was a political meeting, +a log cabin was seen. On one side of the low door hung a long-handled +gourd; on the other side, a coon-skin was nailed to the logs, the blue +smoke curled up from the top of the stick-and-clay chimney. + +You may believe that Abraham Lincoln went into this campaign with all +his heart. He traveled over a part of the state, making stump-speeches +for his party. + +One of his ablest opponents was a young lawyer, not quite his own age, +whose name was Stephen A. Douglas. In many places, during this campaign, +Lincoln and Douglas met in public debate upon the questions of the day. +And both of them were so shrewd, so well informed, and so eloquent, that +those who heard them were unable to decide which was the greater of the +two. + +General Harrison was elected, but not through the help of Mr. Lincoln; +for the vote of Illinois that year was for the Democratic candidate. + +In 1842, when he was thirty-three years old, Mr. Lincoln was married to +Miss Mary Todd, a young lady from Kentucky, who had lately come to +Springfield on a visit. + +[Illustration: Log cabin (No caption)] + +[Illustration: Monument at Springfield.] + +[Illustration: Residence at Springfield.] + +For some time after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln lived in a +hotel called the "Globe Tavern," paying four dollars a week for rooms +and board. But, in 1844, Mr. Lincoln bought a small, but comfortable +frame house, and in this they lived until they went to the White House, +seventeen years later. + +Although he had been successful as a young lawyer, Mr. Lincoln was still +a poor man. But Mrs. Lincoln said: "I would rather have a good man, a +man of mind, with bright prospects for success and power and fame, than +marry one with all the horses and houses and gold in the world." + + * * * * * + +XI.--CONGRESSMAN AND LAWYER. + + +In 1846, Mr. Lincoln was again elected to the legislature. + +In the following year the people of his district chose him to be their +representative in Congress. He took his seat in December. He was then +thirty-nine years old. He was the only Whig from Illinois. + +There were many famous men in Congress at that time. Mr. Lincoln's +life-long rival, Stephen A. Douglas, was one of the senators from +Illinois. He had already served a term or two in the House of +Representatives. + +Daniel Webster was also in the Senate; and so was John C. Calhoun; and +so was Jefferson Davis. + +Mr. Lincoln took an active interest in all the subjects that came before +Congress. He made many speeches. But, perhaps, the most important thing +that he did at this time was to propose a bill for the abolition of the +slave-trade in the city of Washington. + +He believed that slavery was unjust to the slave and harmful to the +nation. He wanted to do what he could to keep it from becoming a still +greater evil. But the bill was opposed so strongly that it was not even +voted upon. + +After the close of Mr. Lincoln's term in Congress, he hoped that +President Taylor, who was a Whig, might appoint him to a good office. +But in this he was disappointed. + +And so, in 1849, he returned to his home in Springfield, and again +settled down to the practice of law. + +He was then forty years old. Considering the poverty of his youth, he +had done great things for himself. But he had not done much for his +country. Outside of his own state his name was still unknown. + +His life for the next few years was like that of any other successful +lawyer in the newly-settled West. He had a large practice, but his fees +were very small. His income from his profession was seldom more than +$2,000 a year. + +His habits were very simple. He lived comfortably and respectably. In +his modest little home there was an air of order and refinement, but no +show of luxury. + +No matter where he might go, Mr. Lincoln would have been known as a +Western man. He was six feet four inches in height. His face was very +homely, but very kind. + +He was cordial and friendly in his manners. There was something about +him which made everybody feel that he was a sincere, truthful, upright +man. He was known among his neighbors as "Honest Abe Lincoln." + + * * * * * + +XII.--THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY. + + +The great subject before the country at this time was skivery. It had +been the cause of trouble for many years. + +In the early settlement of the American colonies, slavery had been +introduced through the influence of the English government. The first +slaves had been brought to Virginia nearly 240 years before the time of +which I am telling you. + +Many people saw from the beginning that it was an evil which would at +some distant day bring disaster upon the country. In 1772, the people of +Virginia petitioned the king of England to put a stop to the bringing of +slaves from Africa into that colony. But the petition was rejected; and +the king forbade them to speak of the matter any more. + +Washington, Jefferson, and other founders of our nation looked upon +slavery as an evil. They hoped that the time might come when it would +be done away with; for they knew that the country would prosper better +without it. + +At the time of the Revolution, slavery was permitted in all the states. +But it was gradually abolished, first in Pennsylvania and then in the +New England states, and afterwards in New York. + +In 1787, a law was passed by Congress declaring that there should be no +slavery in the territory northwest of the river Ohio. This was the +territory from which the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, +and Wisconsin were formed; and so, of course, these states were free +states from the beginning. + +The great industry of the South was cotton-raising. The people of the +Southern states claimed that slavery was necessary, because only negro +slaves could do the work required on the big cotton plantations. +Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were admitted, +one by one, into the Union; and all were slave states. + +In 1821, Missouri applied for admission into the Union. The South +wanted slavery in this state also, but the North objected. There were +many hot debate's in Congress over this question. At last, through the +influence of Henry Clay, the dispute was settled by what has since been +known as the Missouri Compromise. + +The Missouri Compromise provided that Missouri should be a slave state; +this was to satisfy the South. On the other hand, it declared that all +the western territory north of the line which formed the southern +boundary of Missouri, should forever be free; this was to appease the +North. + +But the cotton planters of the South grew more wealthy by the labor of +their slaves. More territory was needed for the extension of slavery. +Texas joined the United States and became a slave state. + +Then followed a war with Mexico; and California, New Mexico and Utah +were taken from that country. Should slavery be allowed in these new +territories also? + +At this time a new political party was formed. It was called the "Free +Soil Party," and the principle for which it contended was this: "_No +more slave states and no slave territory_." + +This party was not very strong at first, but soon large numbers of Whigs +and many northern Democrats, who did not believe in the extension of +slavery, began to join it. + +Although the Whig party refused to take any position against the +extension of slavery, there were many anti-slavery Whigs who still +remained with it and voted the Whig ticket--and one of these men was +Abraham Lincoln. + +The contest between freedom and slavery became more fierce every day. At +last another compromise was proposed by Henry Clay. + +This compromise provided that California should be admitted as a free +state; that slavery should not be prohibited in New Mexico and Utah; +that there should be no more markets for slaves in the District of +Columbia; and that a new and very strict fugitive-slave law should be +passed. + +This compromise is called the "Compromise of 1850." It was in support +of these measures that Daniel Webster made his last great speech. + +It was hoped by Webster and Clay that the Compromise of 1850 would put +an end to the agitation about slavery. "Now we shall have peace," they +said. But the agitation became stronger and stronger, and peace seemed +farther away than ever before. + +In 1854, a bill was passed by Congress to organize the territories of +Kansas and Nebraska. This bill provided that the Missouri Compromise +should be repealed, and that the question of slavery in these +territories should be decided by the people living in them. + +The bill was passed through the influence of Stephen A. Douglas of +Illinois. There was now no bar to the extension of slavery into any of +the territories save that of public opinion. + +The excitement all over the North was very great. In Kansas there was +actual war between those who favored slavery and those who opposed it. +Thinking men in all parts of the country saw that a great crisis was at +hand. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS. + + +It was then that Abraham Lincoln came forward as the champion of +freedom. + +Stephen A. Douglas was a candidate for reelection to the Senate, and he +found it necessary to defend himself before the people of his state for +the part he had taken in repealing the Missouri Compromise. He went from +one city to another, making speeches; and at each place Abraham Lincoln +met him in joint debate. + +"I do not care whether slavery is voted into or out of the territories," +said Mr. Douglas. "The question of slavery is one of climate. Wherever +it is to the interest of the inhabitants of a territory to have slave +property, there a slave law will be enacted." + +But Mr. Lincoln replied, "The men who signed the Declaration of +Independence said that all men are created equal, and are endowed by +their Creator with certain inalienable rights--life, liberty, and the +pursuit of happiness.... I beseech you, do not destroy that immortal +emblem of humanity, the Declaration of Independence." + +At last, Mr. Douglas felt that he was beaten. He proposed that both +should go home, and that there should be no more joint discussions. Mr. +Lincoln agreed to this; but the words which he had spoken sank deep into +the hearts of those who heard them. + +The speeches of Lincoln and Douglas were printed in a book. People in +all parts of the country read them. They had heard much about Stephen A. +Douglas. He was called "The Little Giant." He had long been famous among +the politicians of the country. It was believed that he would be the +next President of the United States. + +But who was this man Lincoln, who had so bravely vanquished the Little +Giant? He was called "Honest Abe." There were few people outside of his +state who had ever heard of him before. + +Mr. Douglas returned to his seat in the United States Senate. Mr. +Lincoln became the acknowledged edged leader of the forces opposed to +the extension of slavery. + +In May, 1856, a convention of the people of Illinois was held in +Bloomington, Illinois. It met for the purpose of forming a new political +party, the chief object and aim of which should be to oppose the +extension of slavery into the territories. + +Mr. Lincoln made a speech to the members of this convention. It was one +of the greatest speeches ever heard in this country. "Again and again, +during the delivery, the audience sprang to their feet, and, by +long-continued cheers, expressed how deeply the speaker had roused +them." + +And so the new party was organized. It was composed of the men who had +formed the old Free Soil Party, together with such Whigs and Democrats +as were opposed to the further growth of the slave power. But the +greater number of its members were Whigs. This new party was called The +Republican Party. + +In June, the Republican Party held a national convention at +Philadelphia, and nominated John C. Frémont for President. But the party +was not strong enough to carry the election that year. + +In that same month the Democrats held a convention at Cincinnati. Every +effort was made to nominate Stephen A. Douglas for President. But he was +beaten in his own party, on account of the action which he had taken in +the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. + +James Buchanan was nominated in his stead, and, in November, was +elected. + +And so the conflict went on. + +In the year 1858 there was another series of joint debates between +Lincoln and Douglas. Both were candidates for the United States Senate. +Their speeches were among the most remarkable ever delivered in any +country. + +Lincoln spoke for liberty and justice. Douglas's speeches were full of +fire and patriotism. He hoped to be elected President in 1860. In the +end, it was generally acknowledged that Lincoln had made the best +arguments. But Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + + +In 1860 there were four candidates for the presidency. + +The great Democratic Party was divided into two branches. One branch +nominated Stephen A. Douglas. The other branch, which included the +larger number of the slave-owners of the South, nominated John C. +Breckinridge, of Kentucky. + +The remnant of the old Whig Party, now called the "Union Party," +nominated John Bell, of Tennessee. + +The Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln. + +In November came the election, and a majority of all the electors chosen +were for Lincoln. + +The people of the cotton-growing states believed that, by this election, +the Northern people intended to deprive them of their rights. They +believed that the anti-slavery people intended to do much more than +prevent the extension of slavery. They believed that the abolitionists +were bent upon passing laws to deprive them of their slaves. + +Wild rumors were circulated concerning the designs which the "Black +Republicans," as they were called, had formed for their coercion and +oppression. They declared that they would never submit. + +And so, in December, the people of South Carolina met in convention, and +declared that that state had seceded from the Union--that they would no +longer be citizens of the United States. One by one, six other states +followed; and they united to form a new government, called the +Confederate States of America. + +It had long been held by the men of the South that a state had the right +to withdraw from the Union at any time. This was called the doctrine of +States' Rights. + +The Confederate States at once chose Jefferson Davis for their +President, and declared themselves free and independent. + +In February, Mr. Lincoln went to Washington to be inaugurated. His +enemies openly boasted that he should never reach that city alive; and +a plot was formed to kill him on his passage through Baltimore. But he +took an earlier train than the one appointed, and arrived at the capital +in safety. + +On the 4th of March he was inaugurated. In his address at that time he +said: "In your hands, my dissatisfied countrymen, and not in mine, is +the momentous issue of civil war. Your government will not assail you. +You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You +have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government; while I +shall have the most solemn one to protect and defend it." + +The Confederate States demanded that the government should give up all +the forts, arsenals, and public property within their limits. This, +President Lincoln refused to do. He said that he could not admit that +these states had withdrawn from the Union, or that they could withdraw +without the consent of the people of the United States, given in a +national convention. + +And so, in April, the Confederate guns were turned upon Fort Sumter in +Charleston harbor, and the war was begun. President Lincoln issued a +call for 75,000 men to serve in the army for three months; and both +parties prepared for the great contest. + +It is not my purpose to give a history of that terrible war of four +years. The question of slavery was now a secondary one. The men of one +party were determined, at whatever hazard, to preserve the Union. The +men of the other party fought to defend their doctrine of States' +Rights, and to set up an independent government of their own. + +President Lincoln was urged to use his power and declare all the slaves +free. He answered: + +"My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or +destroy slavery. + +"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. If +I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it. If I could +save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that." + +At last, however, when he saw that the success of the Union arms +depended upon his freeing the slaves, he decided to do so. On the 1st +of January, 1863, he issued a proclamation declaring that the slaves, in +all the states or parts of states then in rebellion, should be free. + +By this proclamation, more than three millions of colored people were +given their freedom. + +But the war still went on. It reached a turning point, however, at the +battle of Gettysburg, in July, that same year. From that time the cause +of the Confederate States was on the wane. Little by little the +patriots, who were struggling for the preservation of the Union, +prevailed. + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE END OF A GREAT LIFE. + + +At the close of Mr. Lincoln's first term, he was again elected President +of the United States. The war was still going on, but the Union arms +were now everywhere victorious. + +His second inaugural address was very short. He did not boast of any of +his achievements; he did not rejoice over the defeat of his enemies. But +he said: + +"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the +right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the +work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who +shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan--to do all +which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves +and with all nations." + +Five weeks after that, on the 9th of April, 1865, the Confederate army +surrendered, and the war was at an end. + +Abraham Lincoln's work was done. + +The 14th of April was Good Friday. On the evening of that day, Mr. +Lincoln, with Mrs. Lincoln and two or three friends, visited Ford's +Theatre in Washington. + +At a few minutes past 10 o'clock, an actor whose name was John Wilkes +Booth, came into the box where Mr. Lincoln sat. No one saw him enter. He +pointed a pistol at the President's head, and fired. He leaped down upon +the stage, shouting "_Sic semper tyrannis_! The South is avenged!" Then +he ran behind the scenes and out by the stage door. + +The President fell forward. His eyes closed. He neither saw, nor heard, +nor felt anything that was taking place. Kind arms carried him to a +private house not far away. + +At twenty minutes past seven o'clock the next morning, those who watched +beside him gave out the mournful news that Abraham Lincoln was dead. + +He was fifty-six years old. + +The whole nation wept for him. In the South as well as in the North, the +people bowed themselves in grief. Heartfelt tributes of sorrow came from +other lands in all parts of the world. Never, before nor since, has +there been such universal mourning. + +Such is the story of Abraham Lincoln. In the history of the world, there +is no story more full of lessons of perseverance, of patience, of honor, +of true nobility of purpose. Among the great men of all time, there has +been no one more truly great than he. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Four Great Americans: Washington, +Franklin, Webster, Lincoln, by James Baldwin + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11174 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..af172db --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #11174 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11174) diff --git a/old/11174-8.txt b/old/11174-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d7755c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11174-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5697 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Four Great Americans: Washington, Franklin, +Webster, Lincoln, by James Baldwin + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Four Great Americans: Washington, Franklin, Webster, Lincoln + A Book for Young Americans + +Author: James Baldwin + +Release Date: February 20, 2004 [EBook #11174] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOUR GREAT AMERICANS *** + + + + +Produced by Rosanna Yuen and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +FOUR GREAT AMERICANS + + WASHINGTON + FRANKLIN + WEBSTER + LINCOLN + +A BOOK FOR YOUNG AMERICANS + +BY JAMES BALDWIN, PH.D. + + + + +CONTENTS + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + +CHAPTER + + I WHEN WASHINGTON WAS A BOY + II HIS HOMES + III HIS SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS + IV GOING TO SEA + V THE YOUNG SURVEYOR + VI THE OHIO COUNTRY + VII A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES + VIII A PERILOUS JOURNEY + IX HIS FIRST BATTLE + X THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR + XI THE MUTTERINGS OF THE STORM + XII THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR + XIII INDEPENDENCE + XIV THE FIRST PRESIDENT + XV "FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN" + +THE STORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN + +CHAPTER + + I THE WHISTLE + II SCHOOLDAYS + III THE BOYS AND THE WHARF + IV CHOOSING A TRADE + V HOW FRANKLIN EDUCATED HIMSELF + VI FAREWELL TO BOSTON + VII THE FIRST DAY IN PHILADELPHIA + VIII GOVERNOR WILLIAM KEITH + IX THE RETURN TO PHILADELPHIA + X THE FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND + XI A LEADING MAN IN PHILADELPHIA + XII FRANKLIN'S RULES OF LIFE + XIII FRANKLIN'S SERVICES TO THE COLONIES + XIV FRANKLIN'S WONDERFUL KITE + XV THE LAST YEARS + +THE STORY OF DANIEL WEBSTER + +CHAPTER + + I CAPTAIN WEBSTER + II THE YOUNGEST SON + III EZEKIEL AND DANIEL + IV PLANS FOR THE FUTURE + V AT EXETER ACADEMY + VI GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE + VII AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE + VIII HOW DANIEL TAUGHT SCHOOL + IX DANIEL GOES TO BOSTON + X LAWYER AND CONGRESSMAN + XI THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE + XII WEBSTER'S GREAT ORATIONS + XIII MR. WEBSTER IN THE SENATE + XIV MR. WEBSTER IN PRIVATE LIFE + XV THE LAST YEARS + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN + +CHAPTER + + I THE KENTUCKY HOME + II WORK AND SORROW + III THE NEW MOTHER + IV SCHOOL AND BOOKS + V LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS + VI THE BOATMAN + VII THE FIRST YEARS IN ILLINOIS + VIII THE BLACK HAWK WAR + IX IN THE LEGISLATURE + X POLITICS AND MARRIAGE + XI CONGRESSMAN AND LAWYER + XII THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY + XIII LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS + XIV PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES + XV THE END OF A GREAT LIFE + + + + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + +[Illustration of George Washington] + + + + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + + * * * * * + +I.--WHEN WASHINGTON WAS A BOY. + + +When George Washington was a boy there was no United States. The land +was here, just as it is now, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the +Pacific; but nearly all of it was wild and unknown. + +Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany Mountains there were +thirteen colonies, or great settlements. The most of the people who +lived in these colonies were English people, or the children of English +people; and so the King of England made their laws and appointed their +governors. + +The newest of the colonies was Georgia, which was settled the year after +George Washington was born. + +The oldest colony was Virginia, which had been settled one hundred and +twenty-five years. It was also the richest colony, and more people were +living in it than in any other. + +There were only two or three towns in Virginia at that time, and they +were quite small. + +Most of the people lived on farms or on big plantations, where they +raised whatever they needed to eat. They also raised tobacco, which they +sent to England to be sold. + +The farms, or plantations, were often far apart, with stretches of thick +woods between them. Nearly every one was close to a river, or some other +large body of water; for there are many rivers in Virginia. + +There were no roads, such as we have nowadays, but only paths through +the woods. When people wanted to travel from place to place, they had to +go on foot, or on horseback, or in small boats. + +A few of the rich men who lived on the big plantations had coaches; and +now and then they would drive out in grand style behind four or six +horses, with a fine array of servants and outriders following them. But +they could not drive far where there were no roads, and we can hardly +understand how they got any pleasure out of it. + +Nearly all the work on the plantations was done by slaves. Ships had +been bringing negroes from Africa for more than a hundred years, and now +nearly half the people in Virginia were blacks. + +Very often, also, poor white men from England were sold as slaves for a +few years in order to pay for their passage across the ocean. When their +freedom was given to them they continued to work at whatever they could +find to do; or they cleared small farms in the woods for themselves, or +went farther to the west and became woodsmen and hunters. + +There was but very little money in Virginia at that time, and, indeed, +there was not much use for it. For what could be done with money where +there were no shops worth speaking of, and no stores, and nothing to +buy? + +The common people raised flax and wool, and wove their own cloth; and +they made their own tools and furniture. The rich people did the same; +but for their better or finer goods they sent to England. + +For you must know that in all this country there were no great mills for +spinning and weaving as there are now; there were no factories of any +kind; there were no foundries where iron could be melted and shaped into +all kinds of useful and beautiful things. + +When George Washington was a boy the world was not much like it is now. + + * * * * * + +II.--HIS HOMES. + + +George Washington's father owned a large plantation on the western shore +of the Potomac River. George's great-grandfather, John Washington, had +settled upon it nearly eighty years before, and there the family had +dwelt ever since. + +This plantation was in Westmoreland county, not quite forty miles above +the place where the Potomac flows into Chesapeake Bay. By looking at +your map of Virginia, you will see that the river is very broad there. + +On one side of the plantation, and flowing through it, there was a +creek, called Bridge's Creek; and for this reason the place was known as +the Bridge's Creek Plantation. + +It was here, on the 22d of February, 1732, that George Washington was +born. + +Although his father was a rich man, the house in which he lived was +neither very large nor very fine--at least it would not be thought so +now. + +It was a square, wooden building, with four rooms on the ground floor +and an attic above. + +The eaves were low, and the roof was long and sloping. At each end of +the house there was a huge chimney; and inside were big fireplaces, one +for the kitchen and one for the "great room" where visitors were +received. + +But George did not live long in this house. When he was about three +years old his father removed to another plantation which he owned, near +Hunting Creek, several miles farther up the river. This new plantation +was at first known as the Washington Plantation, but it is now called +Mount Vernon. + +Four years after this the house of the Washingtons was burned down. But +Mr. Washington had still other lands on the Rappahannock River. He had +also an interest in some iron mines that were being opened there. And so +to this place the family was now taken. + +The house by the Rappahannock was very much like the one at Bridge's +Creek. It stood on high ground, overlooking the river and some low +meadows; and on the other side of the river was the village of +Fredericksburg, which at that time was a very small village, indeed. + +George was now about seven years old. + + * * * * * + +III.--HIS SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. + + +There were no good schools in Virginia at that time. In fact, the people +did not care much about learning. + +There were few educated men besides the parsons, and even some of the +parsons were very ignorant. + +It was the custom of some of the richest families to send their eldest +sons to England to the great schools there. But it is doubtful if these +young men learned much about books. + +They spent a winter or two in the gay society of London, and were taught +the manners of gentlemen--and that was about all. + +George Washington's father, when a young man, had spent some time at +Appleby School in England, and George's half-brothers, Lawrence and +Augustine, who were several years older than he, had been sent to the +same school. + +But book-learning was not thought to be of much use. To know how to +manage the business of a plantation, to be polite to one's equals, to be +a leader in the affairs of the colony--this was thought to be the best +education. + +And so, for most of the young men, it was enough if they could read and +write a little and keep a few simple accounts. As for the girls, the +parson might give them a few lessons now and then; and if they learned +good manners and could write letters to their friends, what more could +they need? + +George Washington's first teacher was a poor sexton, whose name was Mr. +Hobby. There is a story that he had been too poor to pay his passage +from England, and that he had, therefore, been sold to Mr. Washington as +a slave for a short time; but how true this is, I cannot say. + +From Mr. Hobby, George learned to spell easy words, and perhaps to write +a little; but, although he afterward became a very careful and good +penman, he was a poor speller as long as he lived. + +When George was about eleven years old his father died. We do not know +what his father's intentions had been regarding him. But possibly, if he +had lived, he would have given George the best education that his means +would afford. + +But now everything was changed. The plantation at Hunting Creek, and, +indeed, almost all the rest of Mr. Washington's great estate, became the +property of the eldest son, Lawrence. + +George was sent to Bridge's Creek to live for a while with his brother +Augustine, who now owned the old home plantation there. The mother and +the younger children remained on the Rappahannock farm. + +While at Bridge's Creek, George was sent to school to a Mr. Williams, +who had lately come from England. + +There are still to be seen some exercises which the lad wrote at that +time. There is also a little book, called _The Young Man's Companion_, +from which he copied, with great care, a set of rules for good behavior +and right living. + +Not many boys twelve years old would care for such a book nowadays. But +you must know that in those days there were no books for children, and, +indeed, very few for older people. + +The maxims and wise sayings which George copied were, no doubt, very +interesting to him--so interesting that many of them were never +forgotten. + +There are many other things also in this _Young Man's Companion_, and we +have reason to believe that George studied them all. + +There are short chapters on arithmetic and surveying, rules for the +measuring of land and lumber, and a set of forms for notes, deeds, and +other legal documents. A knowledge of these things was, doubtless, of +greater importance to him than the reading of many books would have +been. + +Just what else George may have studied in Mr. Williams's school I cannot +say. But all this time he was growing to be a stout, manly boy, tall and +strong, and well-behaved. And both his brothers and himself were +beginning to think of what he should do when he should become a man. + + * * * * * + +IV.--GOING TO SEA. + + +Once every summer a ship came up the river to the plantation, and was +moored near the shore. + +It had come across the sea from far-away England, and it brought many +things for those who were rich enough to pay for them. + +It brought bonnets and pretty dresses for George's mother and sisters; +it brought perhaps a hat and a tailor-made suit for himself; it brought +tools and furniture, and once a yellow coach that had been made in +London, for his brother. + +When all these things had been taken ashore, the ship would hoist her +sails and go on, farther up the river, to leave goods at other +plantations. + +In a few weeks it would come back and be moored again at the same place. + +Then there was a busy time on shore. The tobacco that had been raised +during the last year must be carried on shipboard to be taken to the +great tobacco markets in England. + +The slaves on the plantation were running back and forth, rolling +barrels and carrying bales of tobacco down to the landing. + +Letters were written to friends in England, and orders were made out for +the goods that were to be brought back next year. + +But in a day or two, all this stir was over. The sails were again +spread, and the ship glided away on its long voyage across the sea. + +George had seen this ship coming and going every year since he could +remember. He must have thought how pleasant it would be to sail away to +foreign lands and see the many wonderful things that are there. + +And then, like many another active boy, he began to grow tired of the +quiet life on the farm, and wish that he might be a sailor. + +He was now about fourteen years old. Since the death of his father, his +mother had found it hard work, with her five children, to manage her +farm on the Rappahannock and make everything come out even at the end of +each year. Was it not time that George should be earning something for +himself? But what should he do? + +He wanted to go to sea. His brother Lawrence, and even his mother, +thought that this might be the best thing. + +A bright boy like George would not long be a common sailor. He would +soon make his way to a high place in the king's navy. So, at least, his +friends believed. + +And so the matter was at last settled. A sea-captain who was known to +the family, agreed to take George with him. He was to sail in a short +time. + +The day came. His mother, his brothers, his sisters, were all there to +bid him good-bye. But in the meanwhile a letter had come to his mother, +from his uncle who lived in England. + +"If you care for the boy's future," said the letter, "do not let him go +to sea. Places in the king's navy are not easy to obtain. If he begins +as a sailor, he will never be aught else." + +The letter convinced George's mother--it half convinced his +brothers--that this going to sea would be a sad mistake. But George, +like other boys of his age, was headstrong. He would not listen to +reason. A sailor he would be. + +The ship was in the river waiting for him. A boat had come to the +landing to take him on board. + +The little chest which held his clothing had been carried down to the +bank. George was in high glee at the thought of going. + +"Good-bye, mother," he said. + +He stood on the doorstep and looked back into the house. He saw the kind +faces of those whom he loved. He began to feel very sad at the thought +of leaving them. + +"Good-bye, George!" + +He saw the tears welling up in his mother's eyes. He saw them rolling +down her cheeks. He knew now that she did not want him to go. He could +not bear to see her grief. + +"Mother, I have changed my mind," he said. "I will not be a sailor. I +will not leave you." + +Then he turned to the black boy who was waiting by the door, and said, +"Run down to the landing and tell them not to put the chest on board. +Tell them that I have thought differently of the matter and that I am +going to stay at home." + +If George had not changed his mind, but had really gone to sea, how very +different the history of this country would have been! + +He now went to his studies with a better will than before; and although +he read but few books he learned much that was useful to him in life. He +studied surveying with especial care, and made himself as thorough in +that branch of knowledge as it was possible to do with so few +advantages. + + * * * * * + +V.--THE YOUNG SURVEYOR. + + +Lawrence Washington was about fourteen years older than his brother +George. + +As I have already said, he had been to England and had spent sometime at +Appleby school. He had served in the king's army for a little while, and +had been with Admiral Vernon's squadron in the West Indies. + +He had formed so great a liking for the admiral that when he came home +he changed the name of his plantation at Hunting Creek, and called it +Mount Vernon--a name by which it is still known. + +Not far from Mount Vernon there was another fine plantation called +Belvoir, that was owned by William Fairfax, an English gentleman of much +wealth and influence. + +Now this Mr. Fairfax had a young daughter, as wise as she was beautiful; +and so, what should Lawrence Washington do but ask her to be his wife? +He built a large house at Mount Vernon with a great porch fronting on +the Potomac; and when Miss Fairfax became Mrs. Washington and went into +this home as its mistress, people said that there was not a handsomer or +happier young couple in all Virginia. + +After young George Washington had changed his mind about going to sea, +he went up to Mount Vernon to live with his elder brother. For Lawrence +had great love for the boy, and treated him as his father would have +done. + +At Mount Vernon George kept on with his studies in surveying. He had a +compass and surveyor's chain, and hardly a day passed that he was not +out on the plantation, running lines and measuring his brother's fields. + +Sometimes when he was busy at this kind of work, a tall, white-haired +gentleman would come over from Belvoir to see what he was doing and to +talk with him. This gentleman was Sir Thomas Fairfax, a cousin of the +owner of Belvoir. He was sixty years old, and had lately come from +England to look after his lands in Virginia; for he was the owner of +many thousands of acres among the mountains and in the wild woods. + +Sir Thomas was a courtly old gentleman, and he had seen much of the +world. He was a fine scholar; he had been a soldier, and then a man of +letters; and he belonged to a rich and noble family. + +It was not long until he and George were the best of friends. Often they +would spend the morning together, talking or surveying; and in the +afternoon they would ride out with servants and hounds, hunting foxes +and making fine sport of it among the woods and hills. + +And when Sir Thomas Fairfax saw how manly and brave his young friend +was, and how very exact and careful in all that he did, he said: "Here +is a boy who gives promise of great things. I can trust him." + +Before the winter was over he had made a bargain with George to survey +his lands that lay beyond the Blue Ridge mountains. + +I have already told you that at this time nearly all the country west of +the mountains was a wild and unknown region. In fact, all the western +part of Virginia was an unbroken wilderness, with only here and there a +hunter's camp or the solitary hut of some daring woodsman. + +But Sir Thomas hoped that by having the land surveyed, and some part of +it laid out into farms, people might be persuaded to go there and +settle. And who in all the colony could do this work better than his +young friend, George Washington? + +It was a bright day in March, 1748, when George started out on his first +trip across the mountains. His only company was a young son of William +Fairfax of Belvoir. + +The two friends were mounted on good horses; and both had guns, for +there was fine hunting in the woods. It was nearly a hundred miles to +the mountain-gap through which they passed into the country beyond. As +there were no roads, but only paths through the forest, they could not +travel very fast. + +After several days they reached the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah. +They now began their surveying. They went up the river for some +distance; then they crossed and went down on the other side. At last +they reached the Potomac River, near where Harper's Ferry now stands. + +At night they slept sometimes by a camp-fire in the woods, and sometimes +in the rude hut of a settler or a hunter. They were often wet and cold. +They cooked their meat by broiling it on sticks above the coals. They +ate without dishes, and drank water from the running streams. + +One day they met a party of Indians, the first red men they had seen. +There were thirty of them, with their bodies painted in true savage +style; for they were just going home from a war with some other tribe. + +The Indians were very friendly to the young surveyors. It was evening, +and they built a huge fire under the trees. Then they danced their +war-dance around it, and sang and yelled and made hideous sport until +far in the night. + +To George and his friend it was a strange sight; but they were brave +young men, and not likely to be afraid even though the danger had been +greater. + +They had many other adventures in the woods of which I cannot tell you +in this little book--shooting wild game, swimming rivers, climbing +mountains. But about the middle of April they returned in safety to +Mount Vernon. + +It would seem that the object of this first trip was to get a general +knowledge of the extent of Sir Thomas Fairfax's great woodland +estate--to learn where the richest bottom lands lay, and where were the +best hunting-grounds. + +The young men had not done much if any real surveying; they had been +exploring. + +George Washington had written an account of everything in a little +note-book which he carried with him. + +Sir Thomas was so highly pleased with the report which the young men +brought back that he made up his mind to move across the Blue Ridge and +spend the rest of his life on his own lands. + +And so, that very summer, he built in the midst of the great woods a +hunting lodge which he called Greenway Court. It was a large, square +house, with broad gables and a long roof sloping almost to the ground. + +When he moved into this lodge he expected soon to build a splendid +mansion and make a grand home there, like the homes he had known in +England. But time passed, and as the lodge was roomy and comfortable, he +still lived in it and put off beginning another house. + +Washington was now seventeen years old. Through the influence of Sir +Thomas Fairfax he was appointed public surveyor; and nothing would do +but that he must spend the most of his time at Greenway Court and keep +on with the work that he had begun. + +For the greater part of three years he worked in the woods and among the +mountains, surveying Sir Thomas's lands. And Sir Thomas paid him well--a +doubloon ($8.24) for each day, and more than that if the work was very +hard. + +But there were times when the young surveyor did not go out to work, but +stayed at Greenway Court with his good friend, Sir Thomas. The old +gentleman had something of a library, and on days when they could +neither work nor hunt, George spent the time in reading. He read the +_Spectator_ and a history of England, and possibly some other works. + +And so it came about that the three years which young Washington spent +in surveying were of much profit to him. + +The work in the open air gave him health and strength. He gained courage +and self-reliance. He became acquainted with the ways of the +backwoodsmen and of the savage Indians. And from Sir Thomas Fairfax he +learned a great deal about the history, the laws, and the military +affairs of old England. + +And in whatever he undertook to do or to learn, he was careful and +systematic and thorough. He did nothing by guess; he never left anything +half done. And therein, let me say to you, lie the secrets of success in +any calling. + + * * * * * + +VI.--THE OHIO COUNTRY. + + +You have already learned how the English people had control of all that +part of our country which borders upon the Atlantic Ocean. You have +learned, also, that they had made thirteen great settlements along the +coast, while all the vast region west of the mountains remained a wild +and unknown land. + +Now, because Englishmen had been the first white men to see the line of +shore that stretches from Maine to Georgia, they set up a claim to all +the land west of that line. + +They had no idea how far the land extended. They knew almost nothing +about its great rivers, its vasts forests, its lofty mountains, its rich +prairies. They cared nothing for the claims of the Indians whose homes +were there. + +"All the land from ocean to ocean," they said, "belongs to the King of +England." + +But there were other people who also had something to say about this +matter. + +The French had explored the Mississippi River. They had sailed on the +Great Lakes. Their hunters and trappers were roaming through the western +forests. They had made treaties with the Indians; and they had built +trading posts, here and there, along the watercourses. + +They said, "The English people may keep their strip of land between the +mountains and the sea. But these great river valleys and this country +around the Lakes are ours, because we have been the first to explore and +make use of them." + +Now, about the time that George Washington was thinking of becoming a +sailor, some of the rich planters in Virginia began to hear wonderful +stories about a fertile region west of the Alleghanies, watered by a +noble river, and rich in game and fur-bearing animals. + +This region was called the Ohio Country, from the name of the river; and +those who took pains to learn the most about it were satisfied that it +would, at some time, be of very great importance to the people who +should control it. + +And so these Virginian planters and certain Englishmen formed a company +called the Ohio Company, the object of which was to explore the country, +and make money by establishing trading posts and settlements there. And +of this company, Lawrence Washington was one of the chief managers. + +Lawrence Washington and his brother George had often talked about this +enterprise. + +"We shall have trouble with the French," said Lawrence. "They have +already sent men into the Ohio Country; and they are trying in every way +to prove that the land belongs to them." + +"It looks as if we should have to drive them out by force," said George. + +"Yes, and there will probably be some hard fighting," said Lawrence; +"and you, as a young man, must get yourself ready to have a hand in it." + +And Lawrence followed this up by persuading the governor of the colony +to appoint George as one of the adjutants-general of Virginia. + +George was only nineteen years old, but he was now Major Washington, and +one of the most promising soldiers in America. + + * * * * * + +VII.--A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. + + +Although George Washington spent so much of his time at Greenway Court, +he still called Mount Vernon his home. + +Going down home in the autumn, just before he was twenty years old, he +found matters in a sad state, and greatly changed. + +His brother Lawrence was very ill--indeed, he had been ill a long time. +He had tried a trip to England; he had spent a summer at the warm +springs; but all to no purpose. He was losing strength every day. + +The sick man dreaded the coming of cold weather. If he could only go to +the warm West Indies before winter set in, perhaps that would prolong +his life. Would George go with him? + +No loving brother could refuse a request like that. + +The captain of a ship in the West India trade agreed to take them; and +so, while it was still pleasant September, the two Washingtons embarked +for Barbadoes, which, then as now, belonged to the English. + +It was the first time that George had ever been outside of his native +land, and it proved to be also the last. He took careful notice of +everything that he saw; and, in the little note-book which he seems to +have always had with him, he wrote a brief account of the trip. + +He had not been three weeks at Barbadoes before he was taken down with +the smallpox; and for a month he was very sick. And so his winter in the +West Indies could not have been very pleasant. + +In February the two brothers returned home to Mount Vernon. Lawrence's +health had not been bettered by the journey. He was now very feeble; but +he lingered on until July, when he died. + +By his will Lawrence Washington left his fine estate of Mount Vernon, +and all the rest of his wealth, to his little daughter. But George was +to be the daughter's guardian; and in case of her death, all her vast +property was to be his own. + +And so, before he was quite twenty-one years old, George Washington was +settled at Mount Vernon as the manager of one of the richest estates in +Virginia. The death of his little niece not long afterward made him the +owner of this estate, and, of course, a very wealthy man. + +But within a brief time, events occurred which called him away from his +peaceful employments. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--A PERILOUS JOURNEY. + + +Early the very next year news was brought to Virginia that the French +were building forts along the Ohio, and making friends with the Indians +there. This of course meant that they intended to keep the English out +of that country. + +The governor of Virginia thought that the time had come to speak out +about this matter. He would send a messenger with a letter to these +Frenchmen, telling them that all the land belonged to the English, and +that no trespassing would be allowed. + +The first messenger that he sent became alarmed before he was within a +hundred miles of a Frenchman, and went back to say that everything was +as good as lost. + +It was very plain that a man with some courage must be chosen for such +an undertaking. + +"I will send Major George Washington," said the governor. "He is very +young, but he is the bravest man in the colony." + +Now, promptness was one of those traits of character which made George +Washington the great man which he afterward became. And so, on the very +day that he received his appointment he set out for the Ohio Country. + +He took with him three white hunters, two Indians, and a famous +woodsman, whose name was Christopher Gist. A small tent or two, and such +few things as they would need on the journey, were strapped on the backs +of horses. + +They pushed through the woods in a northwestwardly direction, and at +last reached a place called Venango, not very far from where Pittsburg +now stands. This was the first outpost of the French; and here +Washington met some of the French officers, and heard them talk about +what they proposed to do. + +Then, after a long ride to the north, they came to another fort. The +French commandant was here, and he welcomed Washington with a great show +of kindness. + +Washington gave him the letter which he had brought from the governor +of Virginia. + +The commandant read it, and two days afterward gave him an answer. + +He said that he would forward the letter to the French governor; but as +for the Ohio Country, he had been ordered to hold it, and he meant to do +so. + +Of course Washington could do nothing further. But it was plain to him +that the news ought to be carried back to Virginia without delay. + +It was now mid-winter. As no horse could travel through the trackless +woods at this time of year, he must make his way on foot. + +So, with only the woodsman, Gist, he shouldered his rifle and knapsack, +and bravely started home. + +It was a terrible journey. The ground was covered with snow; the rivers +were frozen; there was not even a path through the forest. If Gist had +not been so fine a woodsman they would hardly have seen Virginia again. + +Once an Indian shot at Washington from behind a tree. Once the brave +young man fell into a river, among floating ice, and would have been +drowned but for Gist. + +At last they reached the house of a trader on the Monongahela River. +There they were kindly welcomed, and urged to stay until the weather +should grow milder. + +But Washington would not delay. + +Sixteen days after that, he was back in Virginia, telling the governor +all about his adventures, and giving his opinion about the best way to +deal with the French. + + * * * * * + +IX.--HIS FIRST BATTLE. + + +It was now very plain that if the English were going to hold the Ohio +Country and the vast western region which they claimed as their own, +they must fight for it. + +The people of Virginia were not very anxious to go to war. But their +governor was not willing to be beaten by the French. + +He made George Washington a lieutenant-colonel of Virginia troops, and +set about raising an army to send into the Ohio Country. + +Early in the spring Colonel Washington, with a hundred and fifty men, +was marching across the country toward the head waters of the Ohio. It +was a small army to advance against the thousands of French and Indians +who now held that region. + +But other officers, with stronger forces, were expected to follow close +behind. + +Late in May the little army reached the valley of the Monongahela, and +began to build a fort at a place called Great Meadows. + +By this time the French and Indians were aroused, and hundreds of them +were hurrying forward to defend the Ohio Country from the English. One +of their scouting parties, coming up the river, was met by Washington +with forty men. + +The French were not expecting any foe at this place. There were but +thirty-two of them; and of these only one escaped. Ten were killed, and +the rest were taken prisoners. + +This was Washington's first battle, and he was more proud of it than +you might suppose. He sent his prisoners to Virginia, and was ready now, +with his handful of men, to meet all the French and Indians that might +come against him! + +And they did come, and in greater numbers than he had expected. He made +haste to finish, if possible, the fort that had been begun. + +But they were upon him before he was ready. They had four men to his +one. They surrounded the fort and shut his little Virginian army in. + +What could Colonel Washington do? His soldiers were already +half-starved. There was but little food in the fort, and no way to get +any more. + +The French leader asked if he did not think it would be a wise thing to +surrender. Washington hated the very thought of it; but nothing else +could be done. + +"If you will march your men straight home, and give me a pledge that +they and all Virginians will stay out of the Ohio Country for the next +twelve months, you may go," said the Frenchman. + +It was done. + +Washington, full of disappointment went back to Mount Vernon. But he +felt more like fighting than ever before. + +He was now twenty-two years old. + + * * * * * + +X.--THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. + + +In the meanwhile the king of England had heard how the French were +building forts along the Ohio and how they were sending their traders to +the Great Lakes and to the valley of the Mississippi. + +"If we allow them to go on in this way, they will soon take all that +vast western country away from us," he said. + +And so, the very next winter, he sent over an army under General Edward +Braddock to drive the French out of that part of America and at the same +time teach their Indian friends a lesson. + +It was in February, 1755, when General Braddock and his troops went +into camp at Alexandria in Virginia. As Alexandria was only a few miles +from Mount Vernon, Washington rode over to see the fine array and become +acquainted with the officers. + +When General Braddock heard that this was the young man who had ventured +so boldly into the Ohio Country, he offered him a place on his staff. +This was very pleasing to Washington, for there was nothing more +attractive to him than soldiering. + +It was several weeks before the army was ready to start: and then it +moved so slowly that it did not reach the Monongahela until July. + +The soldiers in their fine uniforms made a splendid appearance as they +marched in regular order across the country. + +Benjamin Franklin, one of the wisest men in America, had told General +Braddock that his greatest danger would be from unseen foes hidden among +the underbrush and trees. + +"They may be dangerous to your backwoodsmen," said Braddock; "but to +the trained soldiers of the king they can give no trouble at all." + +But scarcely had the army crossed the Monongahela when it was fired upon +by unseen enemies. The woods rang with the cries of savage men. + +The soldiers knew not how to return the fire. They were shot down in +their tracks like animals in a pen. + +"Let the men take to the shelter of the trees!" was Washington's advice. + +But Braddock would not listen to it. They must keep in order and fight +as they had been trained to fight. + +Washington rode hither and thither trying his best to save the day. Two +horses were shot under him; four bullets passed through his coat; and +still he was unhurt. The Indians thought that he bore a charmed life, +for none of them could hit him. + +It was a dreadful affair--more like a slaughter than a battle. Seven +hundred of Braddock's fine soldiers, and more than half of his officers, +were killed or wounded. And all this havoc was made by two hundred +Frenchmen and about six hundred Indians hidden among the trees. + +At last Braddock gave the order to retreat. It soon became a wild flight +rather than a retreat; and yet, had it not been for Washington, it would +have been much worse. + +The General himself had been fatally wounded. There was no one but +Washington who could restore courage to the frightened men, and lead +them safely from the place of defeat. + +Four days after the battle General Braddock died, and the remnant of the +army being now led by a Colonel Dunbar, hurried back to the eastern +settlements. + +Of all the men who took part in that unfortunate expedition against the +French, there was only one who gained any renown therefrom, and that one +was Colonel George Washington. + +He went back to Mount Vernon, wishing never to be sent to the Ohio +Country again. + +The people of Virginia were so fearful lest the French and Indians +should follow up their victory and attack the settlements, that they +quickly raised a regiment of a thousand men to defend their colony. And +so highly did they esteem Colonel Washington that they made him +commander of all the forces of the colony, to do with them as he might +deem best. + +The war with the French for the possession of the Ohio Country and the +valley of the Mississippi, had now fairly begun. It would be more than +seven years before it came to an end. + +But most of the fighting was done at the north--in New York and Canada; +and so Washington and his Virginian soldiers did not distinguish +themselves in any very great enterprise. + +It was for them to keep watch of the western frontier of the colony lest +the Indians should cross the mountains and attack the settlements. + +Once, near the middle of the war, Washington led a company into the very +country where he had once traveled on foot with Christopher Gist. + +The French had built a fort at the place where the Ohio River has its +beginning, and they had named it Fort Duquesne. When they heard that +Washington was coming they set fire to the fort and fled down the river +in boats. + +The English built a new fort at the same place, and called it Fort Pitt; +and there the city of Pittsburg has since grown up. + +And now Washington resigned his commission as commander of the little +Virginian army. Perhaps he was tired of the war. Perhaps his great +plantation of Mount Vernon needed his care. We cannot tell. + +But we know that, a few days later, he was married to Mrs. Martha +Custis, a handsome young widow who owned a fine estate not a great way +from Williamsburg, the capital of the colony. This was in January, 1759. + +At about the same time he was elected a member of the House of Burgesses +of Virginia; and three months later, he went down to Williamsburg to +have a hand in making some of the laws for the colony. + +He was now twenty-seven years old. Young as he was, he was one of the +richest men in the colony, and he was known throughout the country as +the bravest of American soldiers. + +The war was still going on at the north. To most of the Virginians it +seemed to be a thing far away. + +At last, in 1763, a treaty of peace was made. The French had been +beaten, and they were obliged to give up everything to the English. They +lost not only the Ohio Country and all the great West, but Canada also. + + * * * * * + +XI.--THE MUTTERINGS OF THE STORM. + + +And now for several years Washington lived the life of a country +gentleman. He had enough to do, taking care of his plantations, hunting +foxes with his sport-loving neighbors, and sitting for a part of each +year in the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg. + +He was a tall man--more than six feet in height. He had a commanding +presence and a noble air, which plainly said: "This is no common man." + +[Illustration: Mount Vernon.] + +[Illustration: Tomb at Mount Vernon.] + +He was shrewd in business. He was the best horseman and the best +walker in Virginia. And no man knew more about farming than he. + +And so the years passed pleasantly enough at Mount Vernon, and there +were few who dreamed of the great events and changes that were soon to +take place. + +King George the Third of England, who was the ruler of the thirteen +colonies, had done many unwise things. + +He had made laws forbidding the colonists from trading with other +countries than his own. + +He would not let them build factories to weave their wool and flax into +cloth. + +He wanted to force them to buy all their goods in England, and to send +their corn and tobacco and cotton there to pay for them. + +And now after the long war with France he wanted to make the colonists +pay heavy taxes in order to meet the expenses of that war. + +They must not drink a cup of tea without first paying tax on it; they +must not sign a deed or a note without first buying stamped paper on +which to write it. + +In every colony there was great excitement on account of the tea tax +and the stamp act, as it was called. + +In the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg, a young man, whose name was +Patrick Henry, made a famous speech in which he declared that the king +had no right to tax them without their consent. + +George Washington heard that speech, and gave it his approval. + +Not long afterward, news came that in Boston a ship-load of tea had been +thrown into the sea by the colonists. Rather than pay the tax upon it, +they would drink no tea. + +Then, a little later, still other news came. The king had closed the +port of Boston, and would not allow any ships to come in or go out. + +More than this, he had sent over a body of soldiers, and had quartered +them in Boston in order to keep the people in subjection. + +The whole country was aroused now. What did this mean? Did the king +intend to take away from the colonists all the liberties that are so +dear to men? + +The colonies must unite and agree upon doing something to protect +themselves and preserve their freedom. In order to do this each colony +was asked to send delegates to Philadelphia to talk over the matter and +see what would be the best thing to do. + +George Washington was one of the delegates from Virginia. + +Before starting he made a great speech in the House of Burgesses. "If +necessary, I will raise a thousand men," he said, "subsist them at my +own expense, and march them to the relief of Boston." + +But the time for marching to Boston had not quite come. + +The delegates from the different colonies met in Carpenter's Hall, in +Philadelphia, on the 5th of September, 1774. Their meeting has since +been known as the First Continental Congress of America. + +For fifty-one days those wise, thoughtful men discussed the great +question that had brought them together. What could the colonists do to +escape the oppressive laws that the King of England was trying to force +upon them? + +Many powerful speeches were made, but George Washington sat silent. He +was a doer rather than a talker. + +At last the Congress decided to send an address to the king to remind +him of the rights of the colonists, and humbly beg that he would not +enforce his unjust laws. + +And then, when all had been done that could be done, Washington went +back to his home at Mount Vernon, to his family and his friends, his big +plantations, his fox-hunting, and his pleasant life as a country +gentleman. + +But he knew as well as any man that more serious work was near at hand. + + * * * * * + +XII.--THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR. + + +All that winter the people of the colonies were anxious and fearful. +Would the king pay any heed to their petition? Or would he force them to +obey his unjust laws? + +Then, in the spring, news came from Boston that matters were growing +worse and worse. The soldiers who were quartered in that city were daily +becoming more insolent and overbearing. + +"These people ought to have their town knocked about their ears and +destroyed," said one of the king's officers. + +On the 19th of April a company of the king's soldiers started to +Concord, a few miles from Boston, to seize some powder which had been +stored there. Some of the colonists met them at Lexington, and there was +a battle. + +This was the first battle in that long war commonly called the +Revolution. + +Washington was now on his way to the North again. The Second Continental +Congress was to meet in Philadelphia in May, and he was again a delegate +from Virginia. + +In the first days of the Congress no man was busier than he. No man +seemed to understand the situation of things better than he. No man was +listened to with greater respect; and yet he said but little. + +Every day, he came into the hall wearing the blue and buff uniform +which belonged to him as a Virginia colonel. It was as much as to say: +"The time for fighting has come, and I am ready." + +The Congress thought it best to send another humble petition to the +king, asking him not to deprive the people of their just rights. + +In the meantime brave men were flocking towards Boston to help the +people defend themselves from the violence of the king's soldiers. The +war had begun, and no mistake. + +The men of Congress saw now the necessity of providing for this war. +They asked, "Who shall be the commander-in-chief of our colonial army?" + +It was hardly worth while to ask such a question; for there could be but +one answer. Who, but George Washington? + +No other person in America knew so much about war as he. No other person +was so well fitted to command. + +On the 15th of June, on motion of John Adams of Massachusetts, he was +appointed to that responsible place. On the next day he made a modest +but noble little speech before Congress. + +He told the members of that body that he would serve his country +willingly and as well as he could--but not for money. They might provide +for his necessary expenses, but he would never take any pay for his +services. + +And so, leaving all his own interests out of sight, he undertook at once +the great work that had been entrusted to him. He undertook it, not for +profit nor for honor, but because of a feeling of duty to his +fellow-men. For eight weary, years he forgot himself in the service of +his country. + +Two weeks after his appointment General Washington rode into Cambridge, +near Boston, and took formal command of his army. + +It was but a small force, poorly clothed, poorly armed; but every man +had the love of country in his heart. It was the first American army. + +But so well did Washington manage matters that soon his raw troops were +in good shape for service. And so hard did he press the king's soldiers +in Boston that, before another summer, they were glad to take ship and +sail away from the town which they had so long infested and annoyed. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--INDEPENDENCE. + + +On the fourth day of the following July there was a great stir in the +town of Philadelphia. Congress was sitting in the Hall of the State +House. The streets were full of people; everybody seemed anxious; +everybody was in suspense. + +Men were crowding around the State House and listening. + +"Who is speaking now?" asked one. + +"John Adams," was the answer. + +"And who is speaking now?" + +"Doctor Franklin." + +"Good! Let them follow his advice, for he knows what is best." + +Then there was a lull outside, for everybody wanted to hear what the +great Dr. Franklin had to say. + +After a while the same question was asked again: "Who is speaking now?" + +And the answer was: "Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. It was he and +Franklin who wrote it." + +"Wrote what?" + +"Why, the Declaration of Independence, of course." + +A little later some one said: "They will be ready to sign it soon." + +"But will they dare to sign it?" + +"Dare? They dare not do otherwise." + +Inside the hall grave men were discussing the acts of the King of +England. + +"He has cut off our trade with all parts of the world," said one. + +"He has forced us to pay taxes without our consent," said another. + +"He has sent his soldiers among us to burn our towns and kill our +people," said a third. + +"He has tried to make the Indians our enemies," said a fourth. + +"He is a tyrant and unfit to be the ruler of a free people," agreed they +all. + +And then everybody was silent while one read: "We, therefore, the +representatives of the United States of America, solemnly publish and +declare that the united colonies are, and of right ought to be, _free +and independent states_" + +Soon afterward the bell in the high tower above the hall began to ring. + +"It is done!" cried the people. "They have signed the Declaration of +Independence." + +"Yes, every colony has voted for it," said those nearest the door. "The +King of England shall no longer rule over us." + +And that was the way in which the United States came into being. The +thirteen colonies were now thirteen states. + +Up to this time Washington and his army had been fighting for the rights +of the people as colonists. They had been fighting in order to oblige +the king to do away with the unjust laws which he had made. But now they +were to fight for freedom and for the independence of the United States. + +By and by you will read in your histories how wisely and bravely +Washington conducted the war. You will learn how he held out against the +king's soldiers on Long Island and at White Plains; how he crossed the +Delaware amid floating ice and drove the English from Trenton; how he +wintered at Morristown; how he suffered at Valley Forge; how he fought +at Germantown and Monmouth and Yorktown. + +There were six years of fighting, of marching here and there, of +directing and planning, of struggling in the face of every +discouragement. + +Eight years passed, and then peace came, for independence had been won, +and this our country was made forever free. + +On the 2d of November, 1783, Washington bade farewell to his army. On +the 23d of December he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief. + +There were some who suggested that Washington should make himself king +of this country; and indeed this he might have done, so great was the +people's love and gratitude. + +But the great man spurned such suggestions. He said, "If you have any +regard for your country or respect for me, banish those thoughts and +never again speak of them." + + * * * * * + +XIV.--THE FIRST PRESIDENT. + + +Washington was now fifty-two years old. + +The country was still in an unsettled condition. True, it was free from +English control. But there was no strong government to hold the states +together. + +Each state was a little country of itself, making its own laws, and +having its own selfish aims without much regard for its sister states. +People did not think of the United States as one great undivided nation. + +And so matters were in bad enough shape, and they grew worse and worse +as the months went by. + +Wise men saw that unless something should be done to bring about a +closer union of the states, they would soon be in no better condition +than when ruled by the English king. + +And so a great convention was held in Philadelphia to determine what +could be done to save the country from ruin. George Washington was +chosen to preside over this convention; and no man's words had greater +weight than his. + +He said, "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can +repair. The event is in the hand of God." + +That convention did a great and wonderful work; for it framed the +Constitution by which our country has ever since been governed. + +And soon afterwards, in accordance with that Constitution, the people of +the country were called upon to elect a President. Who should it be? + +Who could it be but Washington? + +When the electoral votes were counted, every vote was for George +Washington of Virginia. + +And so, on the 16th of April, 1789, the great man again bade adieu to +Mount Vernon and to private life, and set out for New York. For the city +of Washington had not yet been built, and New York was the first capital +of our country. + +There were no railroads at that time, and so the journey was made in a +coach. All along the road the people gathered to see their +hero-president and show him their love. + +On the 30th of April he was inaugurated at the old Federal Hall in New +York. + +"Long live George Washington, President of the United States!" shouted +the people. Then the cannon roared, the bells rang, and the new +government of the United States--the government which we have +to-day--began its existence. + +Washington was fifty-seven years old at the time of his inauguration. + +Perhaps no man was ever called to the doing of more difficult things. +The entire government must be built up from the beginning, and all its +machinery put into order. + +But so well did he meet the expectations of the people, that when his +first term was near its close he was again elected President, receiving +every electoral vote. + +In your histories you will learn of the many difficult tasks which he +performed during those years of the nation's infancy. There were new +troubles with England, troubles with the Indians, jealousies and +disagreements among the lawmakers of the country. But amidst all these +trials Washington stood steadfast, wise, cool--conscious that he was +right, and strong enough to prevail. + +Before the end of his second term, people began to talk about electing +him for the third time. They could not think of any other man holding +the highest office in the country. They feared that no other man could +be safely entrusted with the great responsibilities which he had borne +so nobly. + +But Washington declared that he would not accept office again. The +government was now on a firm footing. There were others who could manage +its affairs wisely and well. + +And so, in September, 1796, he published his Farewell Address. It was +full of wise and wholesome advice. + +"Beware of attacks upon the Constitution. Beware of those who think more +of their party than of their country. Promote education. Observe +justice. Treat with good faith all nations. Adhere to the right. Be +united--be united. Love your country." These were some of the things +that he said. + +John Adams, who had been Vice-President eight years, was chosen to be +the new President, and Washington again retired to Mount Vernon. + + * * * * * + +XV.--"FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN." + + +In the enjoyment of his home life, Washington did not forget his +country. It would, indeed, have been hard for him not to keep informed +about public affairs; for men were all the time coming to him to ask for +help and advice regarding this measure or that. + +The greatest men of the nation felt that he must know what was wisest +and best for the country's welfare. + +Soon after his retirement an unexpected trouble arose. There was another +war between England and France. The French were very anxious that the +United States should join in the quarrel. + +When they could not bring this about by persuasion, they tried abuse. +They insulted the officers of our government; they threatened war. + +The whole country was aroused. Congress began to take steps for the +raising of an army and the building of a navy. But who should lead the +army? + +All eyes were again turned toward Washington. He had saved the country +once; he could save it again. The President asked him if he would again +be the commander-in-chief. + +He answered that he would do so, on condition that he might choose his +assistants. But unless the French should actually invade this country, +he must not be expected to go into the field. + +And so, at the last, General Washington is again the commander-in-chief +of the American army. But there is to be no fighting this time. The +French see that the people of the United States cannot be frightened; +they see that the government cannot be driven; they leave off their +abuse, and are ready to make friends. + +Washington's work is done now. On the 12th of December, 1799, he mounts +his horse and rides out over his farms. The weather is cold; the snow is +falling; but he stays out for two or three hours. + +The next morning he has a sore throat; he has taken cold. The snow is +still falling, but he will go out again. At night he is very hoarse; he +is advised to take medicine. + +"Oh, no," he answers, "you know I never take anything for a cold." + +But in the night he grows much worse; early the next morning the doctor +is brought. It is too late. He grows rapidly worse. He knows that the +end is near. + +"It is well," he says; and these are his last words. + +Washington died on the 14th of December, 1799. He had lived nearly +sixty-eight years. + +His sudden death was a shock to the entire country. Every one felt as +though he had lost a personal friend. The mourning for him was general +and sincere. + +In the Congress of the United States his funeral oration was pronounced +by his friend, Henry Lee, who said: + +"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his +countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of +private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, uniform, dignified, and +commanding, his example was edifying to all around him, as were the +effects of that example lasting. + +"Such was the man America has lost! Such was the man for whom our +country mourns!" + + + + +THE STORY OF + +BENJAMIN FRANKLIN + + + + +TO THE YOUNG READER + + * * * * * + +I am about to tell you the story of a very great and noble man. It is +the story of one whom all the world honors--of one whose name will +forever be remembered with admiration. Benjamin Franklin was not born to +greatness. He had none of the advantages which even the poorest boys may +now enjoy. But he achieved greatness by always making the best use of +such opportunities as came in his way. He was not afraid of work. He did +not give up to discouragements. He did not overestimate his own +abilities. He was earnest and faithful in little things; and that, after +all, is the surest way of attaining to great things. There is no man to +whom we Americans owe a greater debt of gratitude. Without his aid the +American colonies would hardly have won independence. It was said of him +that he knew how to subdue both thunder and tyranny; and a famous orator +who knew him well, described him as "the genius that gave freedom to +America and shed torrents of light upon Europe." But, at the close of a +very long life, the thing which gave him the greatest satisfaction was +the fact that he had made no man his enemy; there was no human being who +could justly say, "Ben Franklin has wronged me." + + + + +THE STORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. + + * * * * * + +I.--THE WHISTLE. + + +Nearly two hundred years ago, there lived in Boston a little boy whose +name was Benjamin Franklin. + +On the day that he was seven years old, his mother gave him a few +pennies. + +He looked at the bright, yellow pieces and said, "What shall I do with +these coppers, mother?" + +It was the first money that he had ever had. + +"You may buy something with them, if you would like," said his mother. + +"And will you give me more when they are gone?" he asked. + +His mother shook her head and said: "No, Benjamin. I cannot give you any +more. So you must be careful not to spend them foolishly." + +The little fellow ran out into the street. He heard the pennies jingle +in his pocket as he ran. He felt as though he was very rich. + +Boston was at that time only a small town, and there were not many +stores. As Benjamin ran down toward the busy part of the street, he +wondered what he should buy. + +Should he buy candy or toys? It had been a long time since he had tasted +candy. As for toys, he hardly knew what they were. + +If he had been the only child in the family, things might have been +different. But there were fourteen boys and girls older than he, and two +little sisters that were younger. + +It was as much as his father could do to earn food and clothing for so +many. There was no money to spend for toys. + +Before Benjamin had gone very far he met a boy blowing a whistle. + +"That is just the thing that I want," he said. Then he hurried on to the +store where all kinds of things were kept for sale. + +"Have you any good whistles?" he asked. + +He was out of breath from running, but he tried hard to speak like a +man. + +"Yes, plenty of them," said the man. + +"Well, I want one, and I'll give you all the money I have for it," said +the little fellow. He forgot to ask the price. + +"How much money have you?" asked the man. + +Benjamin took the coppers from his pocket. The man counted them and +said, "All right, my boy. It's a bargain." + +Then he put the pennies into his money drawer, and gave one of the +whistles to the boy. + +Benjamin Franklin was a proud and happy boy. He ran home as fast as he +could, blowing his whistle as he ran. + +His mother met him at the door and said, "Well, my child, what did you +do with your pennies?" + +"I bought a whistle!" he cried. "Just hear me blow it!" + +"How much did you pay for it?" + +"All the money I had." + +One of his brothers was standing by and asked to see the whistle. "Well, +well!" he said, "did you spend all of your money for this thing?" + +"Every penny," said Benjamin. + +"Did you ask the price?" + +"No. But I offered them to the man, and he said it was all right." + +His brother laughed and said, "You are a very foolish fellow. You paid +four times as much as it is worth." + +"Yes," said his mother, "I think it is rather a dear whistle. You had +enough money to buy a whistle and some candy, too." + +The little boy saw what a mistake he had made. The whistle did not +please him any more. He threw it upon the floor, and began to cry. But +his mother took him upon her lap and said: + +"Never mind, my child. We must all live and learn; and I think that my +little boy will be careful, after this, not to pay too dear for his +whistles." + + * * * * * + +II.--SCHOOLDAYS. + + +When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were no great public schools in +Boston as there are now. But he learned to read almost as soon as he +could talk, and he was always fond of books. + +His nine brothers were older than he, and every one had learned a trade. +They did not care so much for books. + +"Benjamin shall be the scholar of our family," said his mother. + +"Yes, we will educate him for a minister," said his father. For at that +time all the most learned men were ministers. + +And so, when he was eight years old, Benjamin Franklin was sent to a +grammar school, where boys were prepared for college. He was a very apt +scholar, and in a few months was promoted to a higher class. + +But the lad was not allowed to stay long in the grammar school. His +father was a poor man. It would cost a great deal of money to give +Benjamin a college education. The times were very hard. The idea of +educating the boy for the ministry had to be given up. + +In less than a year he was taken from the grammar school, and sent to +another school where arithmetic and writing were taught. + +He learned to write very well, indeed; but he did not care so much for +arithmetic, and so failed to do what was expected of him. + +When he was ten years old he had to leave school altogether. His father +needed his help; and though Benjamin was but a small boy, there were +many things that he could do. + +He never attended school again. But he kept on studying and reading; and +we shall find that he afterwards became the most learned man in America. + +Benjamin's father was a soap-boiler and candle-maker. And so when the +boy was taken from school, what kind of work do you think he had to do? + +He was kept busy cutting wicks for the candles, pouring the melted +tallow into the candle-moulds, and selling soap to his father's +customers. + +Do you suppose that he liked this business? + +He did not like it at all. And when he saw the ships sailing in and out +of Boston harbor, he longed to be a sailor and go to strange, far-away +lands, where candles and soap were unknown. + +But his father would not listen to any of his talk about going to sea. + + * * * * * + +III.--THE BOYS AND THE WHARF. + + +Busy as Benjamin was in his father's shop, he still had time to play a +good deal. + +He was liked by all the boys of the neighborhood, and they looked up to +him as their leader. In all their games he was their captain; and +nothing was undertaken without asking his advice. + +Not far from the home of the Franklins there was a millpond, where the +boys often went to swim. When the tide was high they liked to stand at a +certain spot on the shore of the pond and fish for minnows. + +But the ground was marshy and wet, and the boys' feet sank deep in the +mud. + +"Let us build a wharf along the water's edge," said Benjamin. "Then we +can stand and fish with some comfort." + +"Agreed!" said the boys. "But what is the wharf to be made of?" + +Benjamin pointed to a heap of stones that lay not far away. They had +been hauled there only a few days before, and were to be used in +building a new house near the millpond. + +The boys needed only a hint. Soon they were as busy as ants, dragging +the stones to the water's edge. + +Before it was fully dark that evening, they had built a nice stone wharf +on which they could stand and fish without danger of sinking in the mud. + +The next morning the workmen came to begin the building of the house. +They were surprised to find all the stones gone from the place where +they had been thrown. But the tracks of the boys in the mud told the +story. + +It was easy enough to find out who had done the mischief. + +When the boys' fathers were told of the trouble which they had caused, +you may imagine what they did. + +Young Benjamin Franklin tried hard to explain that a wharf on the edge +of the millpond was a public necessity. + +His father would not listen to him. He said, "My son, nothing can ever +be truly useful which is not at the same time truly honest." + +And Benjamin never forgot this lesson. + + * * * * * + +IV.--CHOOSING A TRADE. + + +As I have already said, young Benjamin did not like the work which he +had to do in his father's shop. + +His father was not very fond of the trade himself, and so he could not +blame the boy. One day he said: + +"Benjamin, since you have made up your mind not to be a candle-maker, +what trade do you think you would like to learn?" + +"You know I would like to be a sailor," said the boy. + +"But you shall not be a sailor," said his father. "I intend that you +shall learn some useful business, on land; and, of course, you will +succeed best in that kind of business which is most pleasant to you." + +The next day he took the boy to walk with him among the shops of Boston. +They saw all kinds of workmen busy at their various trades. + +Benjamin was delighted. Long afterwards, when he had become a very great +man, he said, "It has ever since been a pleasure to me to see good +workmen handle their tools." + +He gave up the thought of going to sea, and said that he would learn any +trade that his father would choose for him. + +His father thought that the cutler's trade was a good one. His cousin, +Samuel Franklin, had just set up a cutler's shop in Boston, and he +agreed to take Benjamin a few days on trial. + +Benjamin was pleased with the idea of learning how to make knives and +scissors and razors and all other kinds of cutting tools. But his cousin +wanted so much money for teaching him the trade that his father could +not afford it; and so the lad was taken back to the candle-maker's shop. + +Soon after this, Benjamin's brother, James Franklin, set up a printing +press in Boston. He intended to print and publish books and a newspaper. + +"Benjamin loves books," said his father. "He shall learn to be a +printer." + +And so, when he was twelve years old, he was bound to his brother to +learn the printer's trade. He was to stay with him until he was +twenty-one. He was to have his board and clothing and no other wages, +except during the last year. I suppose that during the last year he was +to be paid the same as any other workman. + + * * * * * + +V.--HOW FRANKLIN EDUCATED HIMSELF. + + +When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were no books for children. Yet +he spent most of his spare time in reading. + +His father's books were not easy to understand. People nowadays would +think them very dull and heavy. + +[Illustration: Birthplace of Franklin Boston U.S.] + +[Illustration: Press at which Franklin worked.] + +But before he was twelve years old, Benjamin had read the most of +them. He read everything that he could get. + +After he went to work for his brother he found it easier to obtain good +books. Often he would borrow a book in the evening, and then sit up +nearly all night reading it so as to return it in the morning. + +When the owners of books found that he always returned them soon and +clean, they were very willing to lend him whatever he wished. + +He was about fourteen years of age when he began to study how to write +clearly and correctly. He afterwards told how he did this. He said: + +"About this time I met with an odd volume of the _Spectator_. I had +never before seen any of them. + +"I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. + +"I thought the writing excellent, and wished if possible to imitate it. + +"With that view, I took some of the papers, and making short hints of +the sentiments in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, +without looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again, by +expressing each hinted sentiment at length and as fully as it had been +expressed before, in any suitable words that should occur to me. + +"Then I compared my _Spectator_ with the original, discovered some of my +faults and corrected them. + +"But I found that I wanted a stock of words, or a readiness in +recollecting and using them. + +"Therefore, I took some of the tales in the _Spectator_ and turned them +into verse; and, after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten the +prose, turned them back again." + +About this time his brother began to publish a newspaper. + +It was the fourth newspaper published in America, and was called the +_New England Courant_. + +People said that it was a foolish undertaking. They said that one +newspaper was enough for this country, and that there would be but +little demand for more. + +In those days editors did not dare to write freely about public +affairs. It was dangerous to criticise men who were in power. + +James Franklin published something in the _New England Courant_ about +the lawmakers of Massachusetts. It made the lawmakers very angry. They +caused James Franklin to be shut up in prison for a month, and they +ordered that he should no longer print the newspaper called the _New +England Courant_. + +But, in spite of this order, the newspaper was printed every week as +before. It was printed, however, in the name of Benjamin Franklin. For +several years it bore his name as editor and publisher. + + * * * * * + +VI.--FAREWELL TO BOSTON. + + +Benjamin Franklin did not have a very happy life with his brother James. + +His brother was a hard master, and was always finding fault with his +workmen. Sometimes he would beat young Benjamin and abuse him without +cause. + +When Benjamin was nearly seventeen years old he made up his mind that +he would not endure this treatment any longer. + +He told his brother that he would leave him and find work with some one +else. + +When his brother learned that he really meant to do this, he went round +to all the other printers in Boston and persuaded them not to give +Benjamin any work. + +The father took James's part, and scolded Benjamin for being so saucy +and so hard to please. But Benjamin would not go back to James's +printing house. + +He made up his mind that since he could not find work in Boston he would +run away from his home. He would go to New York and look for work there. + +He sold his books to raise a little money. Then, without saying good-bye +to his father or mother or any of his brothers or sisters, he went on +board a ship that was just ready to sail from the harbor. + +It is not likely that he was very happy while doing this. Long +afterwards he said: "I reckon this as one of the first _errata_ of my +life." + +What did he mean by _errata?_ + +_Errata_ are mistakes--mistakes that cannot easily be corrected. + +Three days after leaving Boston, young Franklin found himself in New +York. It was then October, in the year 1723. + +The lad had but very little money in his pocket. There was no one in New +York that he knew. He was three hundred miles from home and friends. + +As soon as he landed he went about the streets looking for work. + +New York was only a little town then, and there was not a newspaper in +it. There were but a few printing houses there, and these had not much +work to do. The boy from Boston called at every place, but he found that +nobody wanted to employ any more help. + +At one of the little printing houses Franklin was told that perhaps he +could find work in Philadelphia, which was at that time a much more +important place than New York. + +Philadelphia was one hundred miles farther from home. One hundred miles +was a long distance in those days. + +But Franklin made up his mind to go there without delay. It would be +easier to do this than to give up and try to return to Boston. + + * * * * * + +VII.--THE FIRST DAY IN PHILADELPHIA. + + +There are two ways of going from New York to Philadelphia. + +One way is by the sea. The other is by land, across the state of New +Jersey. + +As Franklin had but little money, he took the shorter route by land; but +he sent his little chest, containing his Sunday clothes, round by sea, +in a boat. + +He walked all the way from Perth Amboy, on the eastern shore of New +Jersey, to Burlington, on the Delaware river. + +Nowadays you may travel that distance in an hour, for it is only about +fifty miles. + +But there were no railroads at that time; and Franklin was nearly three +days trudging along lonely wagon-tracks, in the midst of a pouring rain. + +At Burlington he was lucky enough to be taken on board a small boat that +was going down the river. + +Burlington is only twenty miles above Philadelphia. But the boat moved +very slowly, and as there was no wind, the men took turns at rowing. + +Night came on, and they were afraid that they might pass by Philadelphia +in the darkness. So they landed, and camped on shore till morning. + +Early the next day they reached Philadelphia, and Benjamin Franklin +stepped on shore at the foot of Market street, where the Camden +ferry-boats now land. + +No one who saw him could have guessed that he would one day be the +greatest man in the city. + +He was a sorry-looking fellow. + +He was dressed in his working clothes, and was very dirty from being so +long on the road and in the little boat. + +His pockets were stuffed out with shirts and stockings, and all the +money that he had was not more than a dollar. + +He was hungry and tired. He had not a single friend. He did not know of +anyplace where he could look for lodging. + +It was Sunday morning. + +He went a little way up the street, and looked around him. + +A boy was coming down, carrying a basket of bread. + +"My young friend," said Franklin, "where did you get that bread?" + +"At the baker's," said the boy. + +"And where is the baker's?" + +The boy showed him the little baker shop just around the corner. + +Young Franklin was so hungry that he could hardly wait. He hurried into +the shop and asked for three-penny worth of bread. + +The baker gave him three great, puffy rolls. + +Franklin had not expected to get so much, but he took the rolls and +walked out. + +His pockets were already full, and so, while he ate one roll, he held +the others under his arms. + +As he went up Market street, eating his roll, a young girl stood in a +doorway laughing at him. He was, indeed, a very funny-looking fellow. + +The girl's name was Deborah Read. A few years after that, she became the +wife of Benjamin Franklin. + +Hungry as he was, Franklin found that he could eat but one of the rolls, +and so he gave the other two to a poor woman who had come down the river +in the same boat with him. + +As he was strolling along the street he came to a Quaker meeting-house. + +The door was open, and many people were sitting quietly inside. The +seats looked inviting, and so Franklin walked in and sat down. + +The day was warm; the people in the house were very still; Franklin was +tired. In a few minutes he was sound asleep. + +And so it was in a Quaker meeting-house that Benjamin Franklin found the +first shelter and rest in Philadelphia. + +Later in the day, as Franklin was strolling toward the river, he met a +young man whose honest face was very pleasing to him. + +"My friend," he said, "can you tell me of any house where they lodge +strangers?" + +"Yes," said the young man, "there is a house on this very street; but it +is not a place I can recommend. If thee will come with me I will show +thee a better one." + +Franklin walked with him to a house on Water street, and there he found +lodging for the night. + +And so ended his first day in Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--GOVERNOR WILLIAM KEITH. + + +Franklin soon obtained work in a printing house owned by a man named +Keimer. + +He found a boarding place in the house of Mr. Read, the father of the +girl who had laughed at him with his three rolls. + +He was only seventeen years old, and he soon became acquainted with +several young people in the town who loved books. + +In a little while he began to lay up money, and he tried to forget his +old home in Boston as much as he could. + +One day a letter came to Philadelphia for Benjamin Franklin. + +It was from Captain Robert Holmes, a brother-in-law of Franklin's. + +Captain Holmes was the master of a trading sloop that sailed between +Boston and Delaware Bay. While he was loading his vessel at Newcastle, +forty miles below Philadelphia, he had happened to hear about the young +man Franklin who had lately come from Boston. + +He sat down at once and wrote a letter to the young man. He told him how +his parents and friends were grieving for him in Boston. He begged him +to go back home, and said that everything would be made right if he +would do so. + +When Franklin read this letter he felt very sad to think of the pain and +distress which he had caused. + +But he did not want to return to Boston. He felt that he had been badly +treated by his brother, and, therefore, that he was not the only one to +be blamed. He believed that he could do much better in Philadelphia than +anywhere else. + +So he sat down and wrote an answer to Captain Holmes. He wrote it with +great care, and sent it off to Newcastle by the first boat that was +going that way. + +Now it so happened that Sir William Keith, the governor of the province, +was at Newcastle at that very time. He was with Captain Holmes when the +letter came to hand. + +When Captain Holmes had read the letter he was so pleased with it that +he showed it to the governor. + +Governor Keith read it and was surprised when he learned that its writer +was a lad only seventeen years old. + +"He is a young man of great promise," he said; "and he must be +encouraged. The printers in Philadelphia know nothing about their +business. If young Franklin will stay there and set up a press, I will +do a great deal for him." + +One day not long after that, when Franklin was at work in Keimer's +printing-office, the governor came to see him. Franklin was very much +surprised. + +The governor offered to set him up in a business of his own. He promised +that he should have all the public printing in the province. + +"But you will have to go to England to buy your types and whatever else +you may need." + +Franklin agreed to do this. But he must first return to Boston and get +his father's consent and assistance. + +The governor gave him a letter to carry to his father. In a few weeks he +was on his way home. + +You may believe that Benjamin's father and mother were glad to see him. +He had been gone seven months, and in all that time they had not heard a +word from him. + +His brothers and sisters were glad to see him, too--all but the printer, +James, who treated him very unkindly. + +His father read the governor's letter, and then shook his head. + +"What kind of a man is this Governor Keith?" he asked. "He must have +but little judgment to think of setting up a mere boy in business of +this kind." + +After that he wrote a letter of thanks to the governor. He said that he +was grateful for the kindness he had shown to his son, and for his offer +to help him. But he thought that Benjamin was still too young to be +trusted with so great a business, and therefore he would not consent to +his undertaking it. As for helping him, that he could not do; for he had +but little more money than was needed to carry on his own affairs. + + * * * * * + +IX.--THE RETURN TO PHILADELPHIA. + + +Benjamin Franklin felt much disappointed when his father refused to help +send him to England. But he was not discouraged. + +In a few weeks he was ready to return to Philadelphia. This time he did +not have to run away from home. + +His father blessed him, and his mother gave him many small gifts as +tokens of her love. + +"Be diligent," said his father, "attend well to your business, and save +your money carefully, and, perhaps, by the time you are twenty-one years +old, you will be able to set up for yourself without the governor's +help." + +All the family, except James the printer, bade him a kind good-bye, as +he went on board the little ship that was to take him as far as New +York. + +There was another surprise for him when he reached New York. + +The governor of New York had heard that there was a young man from +Boston on board the ship, and that he had a great many books. + +There were no large libraries in New York at that time. There were no +bookstores, and but few people who cared for books. + +So the governor sent for Franklin to come and see him. He showed him his +own library, and they had a long talk about books and authors. + +This was the second governor that had taken notice of Benjamin. For a +poor boy, like him, it was a great honor, and very pleasing. + +When he arrived in Philadelphia he gave to Governor Keith the letter +which his father had written. + +The governor was not very well pleased. He said: + +"Your father is too careful. There is a great difference in persons. +Young men can sometimes be trusted with great undertakings as well as if +they were older." + +He then said that he would set Franklin up in business without his +father's help. + +"Give me a list of everything needed in a first-class printing-office. I +will see that you are properly fitted out." + +Franklin was delighted. He thought that Governor Keith was one of the +best men in the world. + +In a few days he laid before the governor a list of the things needed in +a little printing-office. + +The cost of the outfit would be about five hundred dollars. + +The governor was pleased with the list. There were no type-foundries in +America at that time. There was no place where printing-presses were +made. Everything had to be bought in England. + +The governor said, "Don't you think it would be better if you could go +to England and choose the types for yourself, and see that everything is +just as you would like to have it?" + +"Yes, sir," said Franklin, "I think that would be a great advantage." + +"Well, then," said the governor, "get yourself ready to go on the next +regular ship to London. It shall be at my expense." + +At that time there was only one ship that made regular trips from +Philadelphia to England, and it sailed but once each year. + +The name of this ship was the _Annis_. It would not be ready to sail +again for several months. + +And so young Franklin, while he was getting ready for the voyage, kept +on working in Mr. Keimer's little printing-office. + +He laid up money enough to pay for his passage. He did not want to be +dependent upon Governor Keith for everything; and it was well that he +did not. + + * * * * * + +X.--THE FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. + + +At last the _Annis_ was ready to sail. + +Governor Keith had promised to give to young Franklin letters of +introduction to some of his friends in England. + +He had also promised to give him money to buy his presses and type. + +But when Franklin called at the governor's house to bid him good-bye, +and to get the letters, the governor was too busy to see him. He said +that he would send the letters and the money to him on shipboard. + +The ship sailed. + +But no letters, nor any word from Governor Keith, had been sent to +Franklin. + +When he at last arrived in London he found himself without money and +without friends. + +Governor Keith had given him nothing but promises. He would never give +him anything more. He was a man whose word was not to be depended upon. + +Franklin was then just eighteen years old. He must now depend wholly +upon himself. He must make his own way in the world, without aid from +anyone. + +He went out at once to look for work. He found employment in a +printing-office, and there he stayed for nearly a year. + +Franklin made many acquaintances with literary people while he was in +London. + +He proved himself to be a young man of talent and ingenuity. He was +never idle. + +His companions in the printing-office were beer-drinkers and sots. He +often told them how foolish they were to spend their money and ruin +themselves for drink. + +He drank nothing but water. He was strong and active. He could carry +more, and do more work, than any of them. + +He persuaded many of them to leave off drinking, and to lead better +lives. + +Franklin was also a fine swimmer. There was no one in London who could +swim as well. He wrote two essays on swimming, and made some plans for +opening a swimming school. + +When he had been in London about a year, he met a Mr. Denham, a merchant +of Philadelphia, and a strong friendship sprang up between them. + +Mr. Denham at last persuaded Franklin to return to Philadelphia, and be +a clerk in his dry-goods store. + +And so, on the 23rd of the next July, he set sail for home. The ship was +nearly three months in making the voyage, and it was not until October +that he again set foot in Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +XI.--A LEADING MAN IN PHILADELPHIA. + + +When Franklin was twenty-four years old he was married to Miss Deborah +Read, the young lady who had laughed at him when he was walking the +street with his three rolls. + +They lived together very happily for a great many years. + +Some time before this marriage, Franklin's friend and employer, Mr. +Denham, had died. + +The dry-goods store, of which he was the owner, had been sold, and +Franklin's occupation as a salesman, or clerk, was gone. But the young +man had shown himself to be a person of great industry and ability. He +had the confidence of everybody that knew him. + +A friend of his, who had money, offered to take him as a partner in the +newspaper business. And so he again became a printer, and the editor of +a paper called the _Pennsylvania Gazette_. + +It was not long until Franklin was recognized as one of the leading men +in Philadelphia. His name was known, not only in Pennsylvania, but in +all the colonies. + +He was all the time thinking of plans for making the people about him +wiser and better and happier. + +He established a subscription and circulating library, the first in +America. This library was the beginning of the present Philadelphia +Public Library. + +He wrote papers on education. He founded the University of +Pennsylvania. He organized the American Philosophical Society. + +He established the first fire company in Philadelphia, which was also +the first in America. + +He invented a copper-plate press, and printed the first paper money of +New Jersey. + +He also invented the iron fireplace, which is called the Franklin stove, +and is still used where wood is plentiful and cheap. + +After an absence of ten years, he paid a visit to his old home in +Boston. Everybody was glad to see him now,--even his brother James, the +printer. + +When he returned to Philadelphia, he was elected clerk of the colonial +assembly. + +Not long after that, he was chosen to be postmaster of the city. But his +duties in this capacity did not require very much labor in those times. + +He did not handle as much mail in a whole year as passes now through the +Philadelphia post-office in a single hour. + +[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.] + + * * * * * + +XII.--FRANKLIN'S RULES OF LIFE. + + +Here are some of the rules of life which Franklin made for himself when +he was a very young man: + +1. To live very frugally till he had paid all that he owed. + +2. To speak the truth at all times; to be sincere in word and action. + +3. To apply himself earnestly to whatever business he took in hand; and +to shun all foolish projects for becoming suddenly rich. "For industry +and patience," he said, "are the surest means of plenty." + +4. To speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a matter of truth; but +to speak all the good he knew of everybody. + +When he was twenty-six years old, he published the first number of an +almanac called _Poor Richard's Almanac_. + +This almanac was full of wise and witty sayings, and everybody soon +began to talk about it. + +Every year, for twenty-five years, a new number of _Poor Richard's +Almanac_ was printed. It was sold in all parts of the country. People +who had no other books would buy and read _Poor Richard's Almanac_. The +library of many a farmer consisted of only the family Bible with one or +more numbers of this famous almanac. Here are a few of Poor Richard's +sayings: + + "A word to the wise is enough." + "God helps them that help themselves." + "Early to bed and early to rise, + Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." + "There are no gains without pains." + "Plow deep while sluggards sleep, + And you shall have corn to sell and to keep." + "One to-day is worth two to-morrows." + "Little strokes fell great oaks." + "Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee." + "The sleeping fox catches no poultry." + "Diligence is the mother of good luck." + "Constant dropping wears away stones." + "A small leak will sink a great ship." + "Who dainties love shall beggars prove." + "Creditors have better memories than debtors." + "Many a little makes a mickle." + "Fools make feasts and wise men eat them." + "Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths." + "Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt." + "For age and want save while you may; + No morning sun lasts the whole day." + +It is pleasant to know that Franklin observed the rules of life which he +made. And his wife, Deborah, was as busy and as frugal as himself. + +They kept no idle servants. Their furniture was of the cheapest sort. +Their food was plain and simple. + +Franklin's breakfast, for many years, was only bread and milk; and he +ate it out of a twopenny earthen bowl with a pewter spoon. + +But at last, when he was called one morning to breakfast, he found his +milk in a china bowl; and by the side of the bowl there was a silver +spoon. + +His wife had bought them for him as a surprise. She said that she +thought her husband deserved a silver spoon and china bowl as well as +any of his neighbors. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--FRANKLIN'S SERVICES TO THE COLONIES. + + +And so, as you have seen, Benjamin Franklin became in time one of the +foremost men in our country. + +In 1753, when he was forty-five years old, he was made deputy +postmaster-general for America. + +He was to have a salary of about $3,000 a year, and was to pay his own +assistants. + +People were astonished when he proposed to have the mail carried +regularly once every week between New York and Boston. + +Letters starting from Philadelphia on Monday morning would reach Boston +the next Saturday night. This was thought to be a wonderful and almost +impossible feat. But nowadays, letters leaving Philadelphia at midnight +are read at the breakfast table in Boston the next morning. + +At that time there were not seventy post-offices in the whole country. +There are now more than seventy thousand. + +Benjamin Franklin held the office of deputy postmaster-general for the +American colonies for twenty-one years. + +In 1754 there was a meeting of the leading men of all the colonies at +Albany. There were fears of a war with the French and Indians of Canada, +and the colonies had sent these men to plan some means of defence. + +Benjamin Franklin was one of the men from Pennsylvania at this meeting. + +He presented a plan for the union of the colonies, and it was adopted. +But our English rulers said it was too democratic, and refused to let it +go into operation. + +This scheme of Franklin's set the people of the colonies to thinking. +Why should the colonies not unite? Why should they not help one another, +and thus form one great country? + +And so, we may truthfully say that it was Benjamin Franklin who first +put into men's minds the idea of the great Union which we now call the +United States of America. + +The people of the colonies were not happy under the rule of the +English. One by one, laws were made which they looked upon as oppressive +and burdensome. These laws were not intended to benefit the American +people, but were designed to enrich the merchants and politicians of +England. + +In 1757 the people of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, and +Georgia, decided to send some one to England to petition against these +oppressions. + +In all the colonies there was no man better fitted for this business +than Benjamin Franklin. And so he was the man sent. + +The fame of the great American had gone before him. Everybody seemed +anxious to do him honor. + +He met many of the leading men of the day, and he at last succeeded in +gaining the object of his mission. + +But such business moved slowly in those times. Five years passed before +he was ready to return to America. + +He reached Philadelphia in November, 1762, and the colonial assembly of +Pennsylvania thanked him publicly for his great services. + +But new troubles soon came up between the colonies and the government in +England. Other laws were passed, more oppressive than before. + +It was proposed to tax the colonies, and to force the colonists to buy +stamped paper. This last act was called the Stamp Tax, and the American +people opposed it with all their might. + +Scarcely had Franklin been at home two years when he was again sent to +England to plead the cause of his countrymen. + +This time he remained abroad for more than ten years; but he was not so +successful as before. + +In 1774 he appeared before the King's council to present a petition from +the people of Massachusetts. + +He was now a venerable man nearly seventy years of age. He was the most +famous man of America. + +His petition was rejected. He himself was shamefully insulted and abused +by one of the members of the council. The next day he was dismissed +from the office of deputy postmaster-general of America. + +In May, 1775, he was again at home in Philadelphia. + +Two weeks before his arrival the battle of Lexington had been fought, +and the war of the Revolution had been begun. + +Franklin had done all that he could to persuade the English king to deal +justly with the American colonies. But the king and his counsellors had +refused to listen to him. + +During his ten years abroad he had not stayed all the time in England. +He had traveled in many countries of Europe, and had visited Paris +several times. + +Many changes had taken place while he was absent. + +His wife, Mrs. Deborah Franklin, had died. His parents and fifteen of +his brothers and sisters had also been laid in the grave. + +The rest of his days were to be spent in the service of his country, to +which he had already given nearly twenty years of his life. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--FRANKLIN'S WONDERFUL KITE. + + +Benjamin Franklin was not only a printer, politician, and statesman, he +was the first scientist of America. In the midst of perplexing cares it +was his delight to study the laws of nature and try to understand some +of the mysteries of creation. + +In his time no very great discoveries had yet been made. The steam +engine was unknown. The telegraph had not so much as been dreamed about. +Thousands of comforts which we now enjoy through the discoveries of +science were then unthought of; or if thought of, they were deemed to be +impossible. + +Franklin began to make experiments in electricity when he was about +forty years old. + +He was the first person to discover that lightning is caused by +electricity. He had long thought that this was true, but he had no means +of proving it. + +He thought that if he could stand on some high tower during a +thunder-storm, he might be able to draw some of the electricity from the +clouds through a pointed iron rod. But there was no high tower in +Philadelphia. There was not even a tall church spire. + +At last he thought of making a kite and sending it up to the clouds. A +paper kite, however, would be ruined by the rain and would not fly to +any great height. + +So instead of paper he used a light silk handkerchief which he fastened +to two slender but strong cross pieces. At the top of the kite he placed +a pointed iron rod. The string was of hemp, except a short piece at the +lower end, which was of silk. At the end of the hemp string an iron key +was tied. + +"I think that is a queer kind of kite," said Franklin's little boy. +"What are you going to do with it?" + +"Wait until the next thunder-storm, and you will see," said Franklin. +"You may go with me and we will send it up to the clouds." + +He told no one else about it, for if the experiment should fail, he did +not care to have everybody laugh at him. + +At last, one day, a thunder-storm came up, and Franklin, with his son, +went out into a field to fly his kite. There was a steady breeze, and it +was easy to send the kite far up towards the clouds. + +Then, holding the silken end of the string, Franklin stood under a +little shed in the field, and watched to see what would happen. + +The lightnings flashed, the thunder rolled, but there was no sign of +electricity in the kite. At last, when he was about to give up the +experiment, Franklin saw the loose fibres of his hempen string begin to +move. + +He put his knuckles close to the key, and sparks of fire came flying to +his hand. He was wild with delight. The sparks of fire were electricity; +he had drawn them from the clouds. + +That experiment, if Franklin had only known it, was a very dangerous +one. It was fortunate for him, and for the world, that he suffered no +harm. More than one person who has since tried to draw electricity from +the clouds has been killed by the lightning that has flashed down the +hempen kite string. + +When Franklin's discovery was made known it caused great excitement +among the learned men of Europe. They could not believe it was true +until some of them had proved it by similar experiments. + +They could hardly believe that a man in the far-away city of +Philadelphia could make a discovery which they had never thought of as +possible. Indeed, how could an American do anything that was worth +doing? + +Franklin soon became famous in foreign countries as a philosopher and +man of science. The universities of Oxford and Edinburgh honored him by +conferring upon him their highest degrees. He was now _Doctor_ Benjamin +Franklin. But in America people still thought of him only as a man of +affairs, as a great printer, and as the editor of _Poor Richard's +Almanac_. + +All this happened before the beginning of his career as ambassador from +the colonies to the king and government of England. + +I cannot tell you of all of his discoveries in science. He invented the +lightning-rod, and, by trying many experiments, he learned more about +electricity than the world had ever known before. + +He made many curious experiments to discover the laws of heat, light, +and sound. By laying strips of colored cloth on snow, he learned which +colors are the best conductors of heat. + +He invented the harmonica, an ingenious musical instrument, in which the +sounds were produced by musical glasses. + +During his long stay abroad he did not neglect his scientific studies. +He visited many of the greatest scholars of the time, and was everywhere +received with much honor. + +The great scientific societies of Europe, the Royal Academies in Paris +and in Madrid, had already elected him as one of their members. The King +of France wrote him a letter, thanking him for his useful discoveries in +electricity, and for his invention of the lightning-rod. + +All this would have made some men very proud. But it was not so with Dr. +Franklin. In a letter which he wrote to a friend at the time when these +honors were beginning to be showered upon him, he said: + +"The pride of man is very differently gratified; and had his Majesty +sent me a marshal's staff I think I should scarce have been so proud of +it as I am of your esteem." + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE LAST YEARS. + + +In 1776 delegates from all the colonies met in Philadelphia. They formed +what is called the second Continental Congress of America. + +It was now more than a year since the war had begun, and the colonists +had made up their minds not to submit to the king of England and his +council. + +Many of them were strongly in favor of setting up a new government of +their own. + +A committee was appointed to draft a declaration of independence, and +Benjamin Franklin was one of that committee. + +On the 4th of July, Congress declared the colonies to be free and +independent states. Among the signers of the Declaration of Independence +was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. + +Soon after this Dr. Franklin was sent to Paris as minister from the +United States. Early in the following year, 1777, he induced the king of +France to acknowledge the independence of this country. + +He thus secured aid for the Americans at a time when they were in the +greatest need of it. Had it not been for his services at this time, the +war of the Revolution might have ended very differently, indeed. + +It was not until 1785 that he was again able to return to his home. + +He was then nearly eighty years old. + +He had served his country faithfully for fifty-three years. He would +have been glad if he might retire to private life. + +When he reached Philadelphia he was received with joy by thousands of +his countrymen. General Washington was among the first to welcome him, +and to thank him for his great services. + +That same year the grateful people of his state elected him President +of Pennsylvania. + +Two years afterwards, he wrote: + +"I am here in my _niche_ in my own house, in the bosom of my family, my +daughter and grandchildren all about me, among my old friends, or the +sons of my friends, who equally respect me. + +"In short, I enjoy here every opportunity of doing good, and everything +else I could wish for, except repose; and that I may soon expect, either +by the cessation of my office, which cannot last more than three years, +or by ceasing to live." + +The next year he was a delegate to the convention which formed the +present Constitution of the United States. + +In a letter written to his friend Washington not long afterwards, he +said: "For my personal ease I should have died two years ago; but though +those years have been spent in pain, I am glad to have lived them, since +I can look upon our present situation." + +In April, 1790, he died, and was buried by the side of his wife, +Deborah, in Arch street graveyard in Philadelphia. His age was +eighty-four years and three months. + +Many years before his death he had written the following epitaph for +himself: + + "The Body + of + Benjamin Franklin, Printer, + (Like the cover of an old book, + Its contents torn out, + And stripped of its lettering and gilding,) + Lies here food for worms. + Yet the work itself shall not be lost, + For it will (as he believed) appear once more + In a new + And more beautiful Edition, + Corrected and Amended + By + The Author." + + + + +THE STORY OF + +DANIEL WEBSTER + +[Illustration: _DANIEL WEBSTER_.] + + + + +THE STORY OF DANIEL WEBSTER. + + * * * * * + +I.--CAPTAIN WEBSTER. + + +Many years ago there lived in New Hampshire a poor farmer, whose name +was Ebenezer Webster. + +His little farm was among the hills, not far from the Merrimac River. It +was a beautiful place to live in; but the ground was poor, and there +were so many rocks that you would wonder how anything could grow among +them. + +Ebenezer Webster was known far and wide as a brave, wise man. When any +of his neighbors were in trouble or in doubt about anything, they always +said, "We will ask Captain Webster about it." + +They called him Captain because he had fought the French and Indians and +had been a brave soldier in the Revolutionary War. Indeed, he was one +of the first men in New Hampshire to take up arms for his country. + +When he heard that the British were sending soldiers to America to force +the people to obey the unjust laws of the king of England, he said, "We +must never submit to this." + +So he went among his neighbors and persuaded them to sign a pledge to do +all that they could to defend the country against the British. Then he +raised a company of two hundred men and led them to Boston to join the +American army. + +The Revolutionary War lasted several years; and during all that time, +Captain Webster was known as one of the bravest of the American +patriots. + +One day, at West Point, he met General Washington. The patriots were in +great trouble at that time, for one of their leaders had turned traitor +and had gone to help the British. The officers and soldiers were much +distressed, for they did not know who might be the next to desert them. + +As I have said, Captain Webster met General Washington. The general +took the captain's hand, and said: "I believe that I can trust you, +Captain Webster." + +You may believe that this made Captain Webster feel very happy. When he +went back to his humble home among the New Hampshire hills, he was never +so proud as when telling his neighbors about this meeting with General +Washington. + +If you could have seen Captain Ebenezer Webster in those days, you would +have looked at him more than once. He was a remarkable man. He was very +tall and straight, with dark, glowing eyes, and hair as black as night. +His face was kind, but it showed much firmness and decision. + +He had never attended school; but he had tried, as well as he could, to +educate himself. It was on account of his honesty and good judgment that +he was looked up to as the leading man in the neighborhood. + +In some way, I do not know how, he had gotten a little knowledge of the +law. And at last, because of this as well as because of his sound +common sense, he was appointed judge of the court in his county. + +This was several years after the war was over. He was now no longer +called Captain Webster, but Judge Webster. + +It had been very hard for him to make a living for his large family on +the stony farm among the hills. But now his office as judge would bring +him three hundred or four hundred dollars a year. He had never had so +much money in his life. + +"Judge Webster," said one of his neighbors, "what are you going to do +with the money that you get from your office? Going to build a new +house?" + +"Well, no," said the judge. "The old house is small, but we have lived +in it a long time, and it still does very well." + +"Then I suppose you are planning to buy more land?" said the neighbor. + +"No, indeed, I have as much land now as I can cultivate. But I will tell +you what I am going to do with my money. I am going to try to educate +my boys. I would rather do this than have lands and houses." + + * * * * * + +II.--THE YOUNGEST SON. + + +Ebenezer Webster had several sons. But at the time that he was appointed +judge there were only two at home. The older ones were grown up and were +doing for themselves. + +It was of the two at home that he was thinking when he said, "I am going +to try to educate my boys." + +Of the ten children in the family, the favorite was a black-haired, +dark-skinned little fellow called Daniel. He was the youngest of all the +boys; but there was one girl who was younger than he. + +Daniel Webster was born on the 18th of January, 1782. + +He was a puny child, very slender and weak; and the neighbors were fond +of telling his mother that he could not live long. Perhaps this was one +of the things that caused him to be favored and petted by his parents. + +But there were other reasons why every one was attracted by him. There +were other reasons why his brothers and sisters were always ready to do +him a service. + +He was an affectionate, loving child; and he was wonderfully bright and +quick. + +He was not strong enough to work on the farm like other boys. He spent +much of his time playing in the woods or roaming among the hills. + +And when he was not at play he was quite sure to be found in some quiet +corner with a book in his hand. He afterwards said of himself: "In those +boyish days there were two things that I dearly loved--reading and +playing." + +He could never tell how or when he had learned to read. Perhaps his +mother had taught him when he was but a mere babe. + +He was very young when he was first sent to school. The school-house was +two or three miles away, but he did not mind the long walk through the +woods and over the hills. + +It was not a great while until he had learned all that his teacher was +able to teach him; for he had a quick understanding, and he remembered +everything that he read. + +The people of the neighborhood never tired of talking about "Webster's +boy," as they called him. All agreed that he was a wonderful child. + +Some said that so wonderful a child was sure to die young. Others said +that if he lived he would certainly become a very great man. + +When the farmers, on their way to market, drove past Judge Webster's +house, they were always glad if they could see the delicate boy, with +his great dark eyes. + +If it was near the hour of noon, they would stop their teams under the +shady elms and ask him to come out and read to them. Then, while their +horses rested and ate, they would sit round the boy and listen to his +wonderful tones as he read page after page from the Bible. + +There were no children's books in those times. Indeed, there were very +few books to be had of any kind. But young Daniel Webster found nothing +too hard to read. + +"I read what I could get to read," he afterwards said; "I went to +school when I could, and when not at school, was a farmer's youngest +boy, not good for much for want of health and strength, but expected to +do something." + +One day the man who kept the little store in the village, showed him +something that made his heart leap. + +It was a cotton handkerchief with the Constitution of the United States +printed on one side of it. + +In those days people were talking a great deal about the Constitution, +for it had just then come into force. + +Daniel had never read it. When he saw the handkerchief he could not rest +till he had made it his own. + +He counted all his pennies, he borrowed a few from his brother Ezekiel. +Then he hurried back to the store and bought the wished-for treasure. + +In a short time he knew everything in the Constitution, and could repeat +whole sections of it from memory. We shall learn that, when he +afterwards became one of the great men of this nation, he proved to be +the Constitution's wisest friend and ablest defender. + + * * * * * + +III.--EZEKIEL AND DANIEL. + + +Ezekiel Webster was two years older than his brother Daniel. He was a +strong, manly fellow, and was ready at all times to do a kindness to the +lad who had not been gifted with so much health and strength. + +But he had not Daniel's quickness of mind, and he always looked to his +younger brother for advice and instruction. + +And so there was much love between the two brothers, each helping the +other according to his talents and his ability. + +One day they went together to the county fair. Each had a few cents in +his pocket for spending-money, and both expected to have a fine time. + +When they came home in the evening Daniel seemed very happy, but Ezekiel +was silent. + +"Well, Daniel," said their mother, "what did you do with your money?" + +"I spent it at the fair," said Daniel. + +"And what did you do with yours, Ezekiel?" + +"I lent it to Daniel," was the answer. + +It was this way at all times, and with everybody. Not only Ezekiel, but +others were ever ready to give up their own means of enjoyment if only +it would make Daniel happy. + +At another time the brothers were standing together by their father, who +had just come home after several days' absence. + +"Ezekiel," said Mr. Webster, "what have you been doing since I went +away?" + +"Nothing, sir," said Ezekiel. + +"You are very frank," said the judge. Then turning to Daniel, he said: + +"What have you been doing, Dan?" + +"Helping Zeke," said Daniel. + +When Judge Webster said to his neighbor, "I am going to try to educate +my boys," he had no thought of ever being able to send both of them to +college. + +Ezekiel, he said to himself, was strong and hearty. He could make his +own way in the world without having a finished education. + +But Daniel had little strength of body, although he was gifted with +great mental powers. It was he that must be the scholar of the family. + +The judge argued with himself that since he would be able to educate +only one of the boys, he must educate that one who gave the greatest +promise of success. And yet, had it not been for his poverty, he would +gladly have given the same opportunities to both. + + * * * * * + +IV.--PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. + + +One hot day in summer the judge and his youngest son were at work +together in the hayfield. + +"Daniel," said the judge, "I am thinking that this kind of work is +hardly the right thing for you. You must prepare yourself for greater +things than pitching hay." + +"What do you mean, father?" asked Daniel. + +"I mean that you must have that which I have always felt the need of. +You must have a good education; for without an education a man is always +at a disadvantage. If I had been able to go to school when I was a boy, +I might have done more for my country than I have. But as it is, I can +do nothing but struggle here for the means of living." + +"Zeke and I will help you, father," said Daniel; "and now that you are +growing old, you need not work so hard." + +"I am not complaining about the work," said the judge. "I live only for +my children. When your older brothers were growing up I was too poor to +give them an education; but I am able now to do something for you, and I +mean to send you to a good school." + +"Oh, father, how kind you are!" cried Daniel. + +"If you will study hard," said his father--"if you will do your best, +and learn all that you can; you will not have to endure such hardships +as I have endured. And then you will be able to do so much more good in +the world." + +The boy's heart was touched by the manner in which his father spoke +these words. He dropped his rake; he threw his arms around his father's +neck, and cried for thankfulness and joy. + +It was not until the next spring that Judge Webster felt himself able to +carry out his plans to send Daniel to school. + +One evening he said, "Daniel, you must be up early in the morning, I am +going with you to Exeter." + +"To Exeter?" said the boy. + +"Yes, to Exeter. I am going to put you in the academy there." + +The academy at Exeter was then, as it still is, a famous place for +preparing boys for college. But Daniel's father did not say anything +about making him ready for college. The judge knew that the expenses +would be heavy, and he was not sure that he would ever be able to give +him a finished education. + +It was nearly fifty miles to Exeter, and Daniel and his father were to +ride there on horseback. That was almost the only way of traveling in +those days. + +The next morning two horses were brought to the door. One was Judge +Webster's horse, the other was a gentle nag, with a lady's side-saddle +on his back. + +"Who is going to ride on that nag?" asked Daniel. + +"Young Dan Webster," answered the judge. + +"But I don't want a side-saddle. I am not a lady." + +"Neighbor Johnson is sending the nag to Exeter for the use of a lady who +is to ride back with me. I accommodate him by taking charge of the +animal, and he accommodates me by allowing you to ride on it." + +"But won't it look rather funny for me to ride to Exeter on a lady's +saddle?" + +"If a lady can ride on it, perhaps Dan Webster can do as much." + +And so they set out on their journey to Exeter. The judge rode in +advance, and Daniel, sitting astride of the lady's saddle, followed +behind. + +It was, no doubt, a funny sight to see them riding thus along the muddy +roads. None of the country people who stopped to gaze at them could have +guessed that the dark-faced lad who rode so awkwardly would some day +become one of the greatest men of the age. + +It was thus that Daniel Webster made his first appearance among +strangers. + + * * * * * + +V.--AT EXETER ACADEMY. + + +It was the first time that Daniel Webster had been so far from home. He +was bashful and awkward. His clothes were of home-made stuff, and they +were cut in the quaint style of the back-country districts. + +He must have been a funny-looking fellow. No wonder that the boys +laughed when they saw him going up to the principal to be examined for +admission. + +The principal of the academy at that time was Dr. Benjamin Abbott. He +was a great scholar and a very dignified gentleman. + +He looked down at the slender, black-eyed boy and asked: + +"What is your age, sir?" + +"Fourteen years," said Daniel. + +"I will examine you first in reading. Take this Bible, and let me hear +you read some of these verses." + +He pointed to the twenty-second chapter of Saint Luke's Gospel. + +The boy took the book and began to read. He had read this chapter a +hundred times before. Indeed, there was no part of the Bible that was +not familiar to him. + +He read with a clearness and fervor which few men could equal. + +The dignified principal was astonished. He stood as though spell-bound, +listening to the rich, mellow tones of the bashful lad from among the +hills. + +In the case of most boys it was enough if he heard them read a verse or +two. But he allowed Daniel Webster to read on until he had finished the +chapter. Then he said: + +"There is no need to examine you further. You are fully qualified to +enter this academy." + +Most of the boys at Exeter were gentlemen's sons. They dressed well, +they had been taught fine manners, they had the speech of cultivated +people. + +They laughed at the awkward, new boy. They made fun of his homespun +coat; they twitted him on account of his poverty; they annoyed him in a +hundred ways. + +Daniel felt hurt by this cruel treatment. He grieved bitterly over it in +secret, but he did not resent it. + +He studied hard and read much. He was soon at the head of all his +classes. His schoolmates ceased laughing at him; for they saw that, with +all his uncouth ways, he had more ability than any of them. + +He had, as I have said, a wonderful memory. He had also a quick insight +and sound judgment. + +But he had had so little experience with the world, that he was not sure +of his own powers. He knew that he was awkward; and this made him timid +and bashful. + +When it came his turn to declaim before the school, he had not the +courage to do it. Long afterwards, when he had become the greatest +orator of modern times, he told how hard this thing had been for him at +Exeter: + +"Many a piece did I commit to memory, and rehearse in my room over and +over again. But when the day came, when the school collected, when my +name was called and I saw all eyes turned upon my seat, I could not +raise myself from it. + +"Sometimes the masters frowned, sometimes they smiled. My tutor always +pressed and entreated with the most winning kindness that I would +venture only _once_; but I could not command sufficient resolution, and +when the occasion was over I went home and wept tears of bitter +mortification." + +Daniel stayed nine months at Exeter. In those nine months he did as much +as the other boys of his age could do in two years. + +He mastered arithmetic, geography, grammar, and rhetoric. He also began +the study of Latin. Besides this, he was a great reader of all kinds of +books, and he added something every day to his general stock of +knowledge. + +His teachers did not oblige him to follow a graded course of study. They +did not hold him back with the duller pupils of his class. They did not +oblige him to wait until the end of the year before he could be promoted +or could begin the study of a new subject. + +But they encouraged him to do his best. As soon as he had finished one +subject, he advanced to a more difficult one. + +More than fifty years afterwards, Dr. Abbott declared that in all his +long experience he had never known any one whose power of gaining +knowledge was at all equal to that of the bashful country lad from the +New Hampshire hills. + +Judge Webster would have been glad to let Daniel stay at Exeter until he +had finished the studies required at the academy. But he could not +afford the expense. + +If he should spend all his money to keep the boy at the academy, how +could he afterwards find the means to send him to college where the +expenses would be much greater? + +So he thought it best to find a private teacher for the boy. This would +be cheaper. + + * * * * * + +VI.--GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE. + + +One day in the early winter, Judge Webster asked Daniel to ride with him +to Boscawen. Boscawen was a little town, six miles away, where they +sometimes went for business or for pleasure. + +Snow was on the ground. Father and son rode together in a little, +old-fashioned sleigh; and as they rode, they talked about many things. +Just as they were going up the last hill, Judge Webster said: + +"Daniel, do you know the Rev. Samuel Wood, here in Boscawen?" + +"I have heard of him," said Daniel. "He takes boys into his family, and +gets them ready for college." + +"Yes, and he does it cheap, too," said his father. "He charges only a +dollar a week for board and tuition, fuel and lights and everything." + +"But they say he is a fine teacher," said Daniel. "His boys never fail +in the college examinations." + +"That is what I have heard, too," answered his father. "And now, Dannie, +I may as well tell you a secret. For the last six years I have been +planning to have you take a course in Dartmouth College. I want you to +stay with Dr. Wood this winter, and he will get you ready to enter. We +might as well go and see him now." + +This was the first time that Daniel had ever heard his father speak of +sending him to college. His heart was so full that he could not say a +word. But the tears came in his eyes as he looked up into the judge's +stern, kind face. + +He knew that if his father carried out this plan, it would cost a great +deal of money; and if this money should be spent for him, then the rest +of the family would have to deny themselves of many comforts which they +might otherwise have. + +"Oh, never mind that, Dan," said his brother Ezekiel. "We are never so +happy as when we are doing something for you. And we know that you will +do something for us, some time." + +And so the boy spent the winter in Boscawen with Dr. Wood. He learned +everything very easily, but he was not as close a student as he had been +at Exeter. + +He was very fond of sport. He liked to go fishing. And sometimes, when +the weather was fine, his studies were sadly neglected. + +There was a circulating library in Boscawen, and Daniel read every book +that was in it. Sometimes he slighted his Latin for the sake of giving +more time to such reading. + +One of the books in the library was _Don Quixote_. Daniel thought it the +most wonderful story in existence. He afterwards said: + +"I began to read it, and it is literally true that I never closed my +eyes until I had finished it, so great was the power of this +extraordinary book on my imagination." + +But it was so easy for the boy to learn, that he made very rapid +progress in all his studies. In less than a year, Dr. Wood declared that +he was ready for college. + +He was then fifteen years old. He had a pretty thorough knowledge of +arithmetic; but he had never studied algebra or geometry. In Latin he +had read four of Cicero's orations, and six books of Virgil's _Aeneid._ +He knew something of the elements of Greek grammar, and had read a +portion of the Greek Testament. + +Nowadays, a young man could hardly enter even a third-rate college +without a better preparation than that. But colleges are much more +thorough than they were a hundred years ago. + + * * * * * + +VII.--AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. + + +Dartmouth College is at Hanover, New Hampshire. It is one of the oldest +colleges in America and among its students have been many of the +foremost men of New England. + +It was in the fall of 1797, that Daniel Webster entered this college. + +He was then a tall, slender youth, with high cheek bones and a swarthy +skin. + +The professors soon saw that he was no common lad. They said to one +another, "This young Webster will one day be a greater man than any of +us." + +And young Webster was well-behaved and studious at college. He was as +fond of sport as any of the students, but he never gave himself up to +boyish pranks. + +He was punctual and regular in all his classes. He was as great a reader +as ever. + +He could learn anything that he tried. No other young man had a broader +knowledge of things than he. + +And yet he did not make his mark as a student in the prescribed branches +of study. He could not confine himself to the narrow routine of the +college course. + +He did not, as at Exeter, push his way quickly to the head of his class. +He won no prizes. + +"But he minded his own business," said one of the professors. "As steady +as the sun, he pursued, with intense application, the great object for +which he came to college." + +Soon everybody began to appreciate his scholarship. Everybody admired +him for his manliness and good common sense. + +"He was looked upon as being so far in advance of any one else, that no +other student of his class was ever spoken of as second to him." + +He very soon lost that bashfulness which had troubled him so much at +Exeter. It was no task now for him to stand up and declaim before the +professors and students. + +In a short time he became known as the best writer and speaker in the +college. Indeed, he loved to speak; and the other students were always +pleased to listen to him. + +One of his classmates tells us how he prepared his speeches. He says: +"It was Webster's custom to arrange his thoughts in his mind while he +was in his room, or while he was walking alone. Then he would put them +upon paper just before the exercise was to be called for. + +"If he was to speak at two o'clock, he would often begin to write after +dinner; and when the bell rang he would fold his paper, put it in his +pocket, go in, and speak with great ease. + +"In his movements he was slow and deliberate, except when his feelings +were aroused. Then his whole soul would kindle into a flame." + +In the year 1800, he was chosen to deliver the Fourth of July address to +the students of the college and the citizens of the town. He was then +eighteen years old. + +The speech was a long one. It was full of the love of country. Its tone +throughout was earnest and thoughtful. + +But in its style it was overdone; it was full of pretentious +expressions; it lacked the simplicity and good common sense that should +mark all public addresses. + +And yet, as the speech of so young a man, it was a very able effort. +People said that it was the promise of much greater things. And they +were right. + +In the summer of 1801, Daniel graduated. But he took no honors. He was +not even present at the Commencement. + +His friends were grieved that he had not been chosen to deliver the +valedictory address. Perhaps he also was disappointed. But the +professors had thought best to give that honor to another student. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--HOW DANIEL TAUGHT SCHOOL. + + +While Daniel Webster was taking his course in college, there was one +thing that troubled him very much. It was the thought of his brother +Ezekiel toiling at home on the farm. + +He knew that Ezekiel had great abilities. He knew that he was not fond +of the farm, but that he was anxious to become a lawyer. + +This brother had given up all his dearest plans in order that Daniel +might be favored; and Daniel knew that this was so. + +Once, when Daniel was at home on a vacation, he said, "Zeke, this thing +is all wrong. Father has mortgaged the farm for money to pay my expenses +at school, and you are making a slave of yourself to pay off the +mortgage. It isn't right for me to let you do this." + +Ezekiel said, "Daniel, I am stronger than you are, and if one of us has +to stay on the farm, of course I am the one." + +"But I want you to go to college," said Daniel. "An education will do +you as much good as me." + +"I doubt it," said Ezekiel; "and yet, if father was only able to send us +both. I think that we might pay him back some time." + +"I will see father about it this very day," said Daniel. + +He did see him. + +"I told my father," said Daniel, afterwards, "that I was unhappy at my +brother's prospects. For myself, I saw my way to knowledge, +respectability, and self-protection. But as to Ezekiel, all looked the +other way. I said that I would keep school, and get along as well as I +could, be more than four years in getting through college, if necessary, +provided he also could be sent to study." + +The matter was referred to Daniel's mother, and she and his father +talked it over together. They knew that it would take all the property +they had to educate both the boys. They knew that they would have to do +without many comforts, and that they would have a hard struggle to make +a living while the boys were studying. + +But the mother said, "I will trust the boys." And it was settled that +Ezekiel, too, should have a chance to make his mark in the world. + +He was now a grown-up man. He was tall and strong and ambitious. He +entered college the very year that Daniel graduated. + +As for Daniel, he was now ready to choose a profession. What should it +be? + +His father wanted him to become a lawyer. And so, to please his parents, +he went home and began to read law in the office of a Mr. Thompson, in +the little village of Salisbury, which adjoined his father's farm. + +The summer passed by. It was very pleasant to have nothing to do but to +read. And when the young man grew tired of reading, he could go out +fishing, or could spend a day in hunting among the New Hampshire hills. + +It is safe to say that he did not learn very much law during that +summer. + +But there was not a day that he did not think about his brother. Ezekiel +had done much to help him through college, and now ought he not to help +Ezekiel? + +But what could he do? + +He had a good education, and his first thought was that he might teach +school, and thus earn a little money for Ezekiel. + +The people of Fryeburg, in Maine, wanted him to take charge of the +academy in their little town. And so, early in the fall, he decided to +take up with their offer. + +He was to have three hundred and fifty dollars for the year's work, and +that would help Ezekiel a great deal. + +He bade good-bye to Mr. Thompson and his little law office, and made +ready to go to his new field of labor. There were no railroads at that +time, and a journey of even a few miles was a great undertaking. + +Daniel had bought a horse for twenty-four dollars. In one end of an +old-fashioned pair of saddle-bags he put his Sunday clothes, and in the +other he packed his books. + +He laid the saddle-bags upon the horse, then he mounted and rode off +over the hills toward Fryeburg, sixty miles away. + +He was not yet quite twenty years old. He was very slender, and nearly +six feet in height. His face was thin and dark. His eyes were black and +bright and penetrating--no person who once saw them could ever forget +them. + +Young as he was, he was very successful as a teacher during that year +which he spent at Fryeburg. The trustees of the academy were so highly +pleased that they wanted him to stay a second year. They promised to +raise his salary to five or six hundred dollars, and to give him a house +and a piece of land. + +He was greatly tempted to give up all further thoughts of becoming a +lawyer. + +"What shall I do?" he said to himself. "Shall I say, 'Yes, gentlemen,' +and sit down here to spend my days in a kind of comfortable privacy?" + +But his father was anxious that he should return to the study of the +law. And so he was not long in making up his mind. + +In a letter to one of his friends he said: "I shall make one more trial +of the law in the ensuing autumn. + +"If I prosecute the profession, I pray God to fortify me against its +temptations. To be honest, to be capable, to be faithful to my client +and my conscience." + +Early the next September, he was again in Mr. Thompson's little law +office. All the money that he had saved, while at Fryeburg, was spent to +help Ezekiel through college. + + * * * * * + +IX.--DANIEL GOES TO BOSTON. + + +For a year and a half, young Daniel Webster stayed in the office of Mr. +Thompson. He had now fully made up his mind as to what profession he +would follow; and so he was a much better student than he had been +before. + +He read many law books with care. He read _Hume's History of England_, +and spent a good deal of time with the Latin classics. + +"At this period of my life," he afterwards said, "I passed a great deal +of time alone. + +"My amusements were fishing and shooting and riding, and all these were +without a companion. I loved this solitude then, and have loved it ever +since, and love it still." + +The Webster family were still very poor. Judge Webster was now too old +to do much work of any kind. The farm had been mortgaged for all that it +was worth. It was hard to find money enough to keep Daniel at his law +studies and Ezekiel in college. + +At last it became necessary for one of the young men to do something +that would help matters along. Ezekiel decided that he would leave +college for a time and try to earn enough money to meet the present +needs of the family. Through some of his friends he obtained a small +private school in Boston. + +There were very few pupils in Ezekiel Webster's school. But there were +so many branches to be taught that he could not find time to hear all +the recitations. So, at last, he sent word to Daniel to come down and +help him. If Daniel would teach an hour and a half each day, he should +have enough money to pay his board. + +Daniel was pleased with the offer. He had long wanted to study law in +Boston, and here was his opportunity. And so, early in March, 1804, he +joined his brother in that city, and was soon doing what he could to +help him in his little school. + +There was in Boston, at that time, a famous lawyer whose name was +Christopher Gore. While Daniel Webster was wondering how he could best +carry on his studies in the city, he heard that Mr. Gore had no clerk in +his office. + +"How I should like to read law with Mr. Gore!" he said to Ezekiel. + +"Yes," said Ezekiel. "You could not want a better tutor." + +"I mean to see him to-day and apply for a place in his office," said +Daniel. + +It was with many misgivings that the young man went into the presence of +the great lawyer. We will let him tell the story in his own words: + +"I was from the country, I said;--had studied law for two years; had +come to Boston to study a year more; had heard that he had no clerk; +thought it possible he would receive one. + +"I told him that I came to Boston to work, not to play; was most +desirous, on all accounts, to be his pupil; and all I ventured to ask at +present was, that he would keep a place for me in his office, till I +could write to New Hampshire for proper letters showing me worthy of +it." + +Mr. Gore listened to this speech very kindly, and then bade Daniel be +seated while he should have a short talk with him. + +When at last the young man rose to go, Mr. Gore said: "My young friend, +you look as if you might be trusted. You say you came to study and not +to waste time. I will take you at your word. You may as well hang up +your hat at once." + +And this was the beginning of Daniel Webster's career in Boston. + +He must have done well in Mr. Gore's office; for, in a few months, he +was admitted to the practice of law in the Court of Common Pleas in +Boston. + +It was at some time during this same winter that Daniel was offered the +position of clerk in the County Court at home. His father, as you will +remember, was one of the judges in this court, and he was very much +delighted at the thought that his son would be with him. + +The salary would be about fifteen hundred dollars a year--and that was a +great sum to Daniel as well as to his father. The mortgage on the farm +could be paid off; Ezekiel could finish his course in college; and life +would be made easier for them all. + +At first Daniel was as highly pleased as his father. But after he had +talked with Mr. Gore, he decided not to accept the offered position. + +"Your prospects as a lawyer," said Mr. Gore, "are good enough to +encourage you to go on. Go on, and finish your studies. You are poor +enough, but there are greater evils than poverty. Live on no man's +favor. Pursue your profession; make yourself useful to your friends and +a little formidable to your enemies, and you have nothing to fear." + +A few days after that, Daniel paid a visit to his father. The judge +received him very kindly, but he was greatly disappointed when the young +man told him that he had made up his mind not to take the place. + +With his deep-set, flashing eyes, he looked at his son for a moment as +though in anger. Then he said, very slowly: + +"Well, my son, your mother has always said that you would come to +something or nothing--she was not sure which. I think you are now about +settling that doubt for her." + +A few weeks after this, Daniel, as I have already told you, was admitted +to the bar in Boston. But he did not think it best to begin his practice +there. + +He knew how anxious his father was that he should be near him. He +wanted to do all that he could to cheer and comfort the declining years +of the noble man who had sacrificed everything for him. And so, in the +spring of 1805, he settled in the town of Boscawen, six miles from home, +and put up at his office door this sign: + +D. WEBSTER, ATTORNEY. + + * * * * * + +X.--LAWYER AND CONGRESSMAN. + + +When Daniel Webster had been in Boscawen nearly two years, his father +died. It was then decided that Ezekiel should come and take charge of +the home farm, and care for their mother. + +Ezekiel had not yet graduated from college, but he had read law and was +hoping to be admitted to the bar. He was a man of much natural ability, +and many people believed that he would some day become a very famous +lawyer. + +And so, in the autumn of 1807, Daniel gave up to his brother the law +business which he had in Boscawen, and removed to the city of +Portsmouth. + +He was now twenty-five years old. In Portsmouth he would find plenty of +work to do; it would be the very kind of work that he liked. He was now +well started on the road towards greatness. + +The very next year, he was married to Miss Grace Fletcher, the daughter +of a minister in Hopkinton. The happy couple began housekeeping in a +small, modest, wooden house, in Portsmouth; and there they lived, very +plainly and without pretension, for several years. + +Mr. Webster's office was "a common, ordinary-looking room, with less +furniture and more books than common. He had a small inner room, opening +from the larger, rather an unusual thing." + +It was not long until the name of Daniel Webster was known all over New +Hampshire. Those who were acquainted with him said that he was the +smartest young lawyer in Portsmouth. They said that if he kept on in +the way that he had started, there were great things in store for him. + +The country people told wonderful stories about him. They said that he +was as black as a coal--but of course they had never seen him. They +believed that he could gain any case in court that he chose to +manage--and in this they were about right. + +There was another great lawyer in Portsmouth. His name was Jeremiah +Mason, and he was much older than Mr. Webster. Indeed, he was already a +famous man when Daniel first began the practice of law. + +The young lawyer and the older one soon became warm friends; and yet +they were often opposed to each other in the courts. Daniel was always +obliged to do his best when Mr. Mason was against him. This caused him +to be very careful. It no doubt made him become a better lawyer than he +otherwise would have been. + +While Webster was thus quietly practicing law in New Hampshire, trouble +was brewing between the United States and England. The English were +doing much to hinder American merchants from trading with foreign +countries. + +They claimed the right to search American vessels for seamen who had +deserted from the British service. And it is said that American sailors +were often dragged from their own vessels and forced to serve on board +the English ships. + +Matters kept getting worse and worse for several years. At last, in +June, 1812, the United States declared war against England. + +Daniel Webster was opposed to this war, and he made several speeches +against it. He said that, although we had doubtless suffered many +wrongs, there was more cause for war with France than with England. And +then, the United States had no navy, and hence was not ready to go to +war with any nation. + +Webster's influence in New Hampshire was so great that he persuaded many +of the people of that state to think just as he thought on this subject. +They nominated him as their representative in Congress; and when the +time came, they elected him. + +It was on the 24th of May, 1813, that he first took his seat in +Congress. He was then thirty-one years old. + +In that same Congress there were two other young men who afterwards made +their names famous in the history of their country. One was Henry Clay, +of Kentucky. The other was John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina. Both were +a little older than Webster; both had already made some mark in public +life; and both were in favor of the war. + +During his first year in Congress, Mr. Webster made some stirring +speeches in support of his own opinions. In this way, as well by his +skill in debate, he made himself known as a young man of more than +common ability and promise. + +Chief Justice Marshall, who was then at the head of the Supreme Court of +the United States, said of him: "I have never seen a man of whose +intellect I had a higher opinion." + +In 1814, the war that had been going on so long came to an end. But now +there were other subjects which claimed Mr. Webster's attention in +Congress. + +Then, as now, there were important questions regarding the money of the +nation; and upon these questions there was great difference of opinion. +Daniel Webster's speeches, in favor of a sound currency, did much to +maintain the national credit and to save the country from bankruptcy. + +The people of New Hampshire were so well pleased with the record which +he made in Congress that, when his first term expired, they re-elected +him for a second. + + * * * * * + +XI.--THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE. + + +In 1816, before his second term in Congress had expired, Daniel Webster +removed with his family to Boston. He had lived in Portsmouth nine +years, and he now felt that he needed a wider field for the exercise of +his talents. + +He was now no longer the slender, delicate person that he had been in +his boyhood and youth. He was a man of noble mien--a sturdy, dignified +personage, who bore the marks of greatness upon him. + +People said, "When Daniel Webster walked the streets of Boston, he made +the buildings look small." + +As soon as his term in Congress had expired, he began the practice of +law in Boston. + +For nearly seven years he devoted himself strictly to his profession. Of +course, he at once took his place as the leading lawyer of New England. +Indeed, he soon became known as the ablest counsellor and advocate in +America. + +The best business of the country now came to him. His income was very +large, amounting to more than $20,000 a year. + +And during this time there was no harder worker than he. In fact, his +natural genius could have done but little for him, had it not been for +his untiring industry. + +One of his first great victories in law was that which is known as the +Dartmouth College case. The lawmakers of New Hampshire had attempted to +pass a law to alter the charter of the college. By doing this they +would endanger the usefulness and prosperity of that great school, in +order to favor the selfish projects of its enemies. + +Daniel Webster undertook to defend the college. The speech which he made +before the Supreme Court of the United States was a masterly effort. + +"Sir," he said, "you may destroy this little institution--it is weak, it +is in your hands. I know it is one of the lesser lights in the literary +horizon of our country. You may put it out. + +"But if you do so, you must carry through your work! You must +extinguish, one after another, all those greater lights of science +which, for more than a century, have thrown their light over our land!" + +He won the case; and this, more than anything else, helped to gain for +him the reputation of being the ablest lawyer in the United States. + + * * * * * + +XII.--WEBSTER'S GREAT ORATIONS. + + +In 1820, when he was thirty-eight years old, Daniel Webster was chosen +to deliver an oration at a great meeting of New Englanders at Plymouth, +Massachusetts. + +Plymouth is the place where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. Just two +hundred years had passed since that time, and this meeting was to +celebrate the memory of the brave men and women who had risked so much +to found new homes in what was then a bleak wilderness. + +The speech which Mr. Webster delivered was one of the greatest ever +heard in America. It placed him at once at the head of American orators. + +John Adams, the second president of the United States, was then living, +a very old man. He said, "This oration will be read five hundred years +hence with as much rapture as it was heard. It ought to be read at the +end of every century, and, indeed, at the end of every year, forever and +ever." + +But this was only the first of many great addresses by Mr. Webster. In +1825, he delivered an oration at the laying of the cornerstone of the +Bunker Hill monument. Eighteen years later, when that monument was +finished, he delivered another. Many of Mr. Webster's admirers think +that these two orations are his masterpieces. + +On July 4th, 1826, the United States had been independent just fifty +years. On that day there passed away two of the greatest men of the +country--John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. + +Both were ex-presidents, and both had been leaders in the councils of +the nation. It was in memory of these two patriots that Daniel Webster +was called to deliver an oration in Faneuil Hall, Boston. + +No other funeral oration has ever been delivered in any age or country +that was equal to this in eloquence. Like all his other discourses, it +was full of patriotic feeling. + +"This lovely land," he said, "this glorious liberty, these benign +institutions, the dear purchase of our fathers, are ours; ours to enjoy, +ours to preserve, ours to transmit. Generations past and generations to +come hold us responsible for this sacred trust. + +"Our fathers, from behind, admonish us with their anxious, paternal +voices; posterity calls out to us from the bosom of the future; the +world turns hither its solicitous eyes; all, all conjure us to act +wisely and faithfully in the relation which we sustain." + +Most of his other great speeches were delivered in Congress, and are, +therefore, political in tone and subject. + +Great as Daniel Webster was in politics and in law, it is as an orator +and patriot that his name will be longest remembered. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--MR. WEBSTER IN THE SENATE. + + +When Daniel Webster was forty years old, the people of Boston elected +him to represent them in Congress. They were so well pleased with all +that he did while there, that they re-elected him twice. + +In June, 1827, the legislature of Massachusetts chose him to be United +States senator for a term of six years. He was at that time the most +famous man in Massachusetts, and his name was known and honored in +every state of the Union. + +After that he was re-elected to the same place again and again; and for +more than twenty years he continued to be the distinguished senator from +Massachusetts. + +I cannot now tell you of all his public services during the long period +that he sat in Congress. Indeed, there are some things that you would +find hard to understand until you have learned more about the history of +our country. But you will by-and-by read of them in the larger books +which you will study at school; and, no doubt, you will also read some +of his great addresses and orations. + +It was in 1830 that he delivered the most famous of all his speeches in +the senate chamber of the United States. This speech is commonly called, +"The Reply to Hayne." + +I shall not here try to explain the purport of Mr. Hayne's speeches--for +there were two of them. I shall not try to describe the circumstances +which led Mr. Webster to make his famous reply to them. + +But I will quote Mr. Webster's closing sentences. Forty years ago the +school-boys all over the country were accustomed to memorize and declaim +these patriotic utterances. + +"When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in +heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments +of a once glorious Union; on states dissevered, discordant, belligerent, +on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal +blood! + +"Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous +ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, +still high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original +lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, not a single star obscured, +bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory, 'What is all this +worth?' nor those other words of delusion and folly, 'Liberty first and +Union afterwards;' but everywhere, spread all over in characters of +living light, blazing on all its folds, as they float over the land, and +in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to +every American heart--Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and +inseparable!" + +In 1841, Daniel Webster resigned his seat in the senate. He did this in +order to become secretary of state in the cabinet of the newly elected +president, William Henry Harrison. + +But President Harrison died on the 5th of April, after having held his +office just one month; and his place was taken by the vice-president, +John Tyler. Mr. Webster now felt that his position in the cabinet would +not be a pleasant one; but he continued to hold it for nearly two years. + +His most important act as secretary of state was to conclude a treaty +with England which fixed the northeastern boundary of the United States. +This treaty is known in history as the Ashburton Treaty. + +In 1843, Mr. Webster resigned his place in President Tyler's cabinet. +But he was not allowed to remain long in private life. Two years later +he was again elected to the United States senate. + +About this time, Texas was annexed to the United States. But Mr. Webster +did not favor this, for he believed that such an act was contrary to the +Constitution of our country. + +He did all that he could to keep our government from making war upon +Mexico. But after this war had been begun, he was a firm friend of the +soldiers who took part in it, and he did much to provide for their +safety and comfort. + +Among these soldiers was Edward, the second son of Daniel Webster. He +became a major in the main division of the army, and died in the City of +Mexico. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--MR. WEBSTER IN PRIVATE LIFE. + + +Let us now go back a little way in our story, and learn something about +Mr. Webster's home and private life. + +[Illustration: The Mansion Marshfield] + +[Illustration: The Library] + +[Illustration: The Tomb] + +In 1831, Mr. Webster bought a large farm at Marshfield, in the +southeastern part of Massachusetts, not far from the sea. + +He spent a great deal of money in improving this farm; and in the end it +was as fine a country seat as one might see anywhere in New England. + +When he became tired with the many cares of his busy life, Mr. Webster +could always find rest and quiet days at Marshfield. He liked to dress +himself as a farmer, and stroll about the fields looking at the cattle +and at the growing crops. + +"I had rather be here than in the senate," he would say. + +But his life was clouded with many sorrows. Long before going to +Marshfield, his two eldest children were laid in the grave. Their mother +followed them just one year before Mr. Webster's first entry into the +United States senate. + +In 1829, his brother Ezekiel died suddenly while speaking in court at +Concord. Ezekiel had never cared much for politics, but as a lawyer in +his native state, he had won many honors. His death came as a great +shock to everybody that knew him. To his brother it brought +overwhelming sorrow. + +When Daniel Webster was nearly forty-eight years old, he married a +second wife. She was the daughter of a New York merchant, and her name +was Caroline Bayard Le Roy. She did much to lighten the disappointments +of his later life, and they lived together happily for more than twenty +years. + +In 1839, Mr. and Mrs. Webster made a short visit to England. The fame of +the great orator had gone before him, and he was everywhere received +with honor. The greatest men of the time were proud to meet him. + +Henry Hallam, the historian, wrote of him: "Mr. Webster approaches as +nearly to the _beau ideal_ of a republican senator as any man that I +have ever seen in the course of my life." + +Even the Queen invited him to dine with her; and she was much pleased +with his dignified ways and noble bearing. + +And, indeed, his appearance was such as to win the respect of all who +saw him. When he walked the streets of London, people would stop and +wonder who the noble stranger was; and workingmen whispered to one +another: "There goes a king!" + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE LAST YEARS. + + +Many people believed that Daniel Webster would finally be elected +president of the United States. And, indeed, there was no man in all +this country who was better fitted for that high position than he. + +But it so happened that inferior men, who were willing to stoop to the +tricks of politics, always stepped in before him. + +In the meanwhile the question of slavery was becoming, every day, more +and more important. It was the one subject which claimed everybody's +attention. + +Should slavery be allowed in the territories? + +There was great excitement all over the country. There were many hot +debates in Congress. It seemed as though the Union would be destroyed. + +At last, the wiser and cooler-headed leaders in Congress said, "Let +each side give up a little to the other. Let us have a compromise." + +On the 7th of March, 1850, Mr. Webster delivered a speech before the +senate. It was a speech in favor of compromise, in favor of +conciliation. + +He thought that this was the only way to preserve the Union. And he was +willing to sacrifice everything for the Constitution and the Union. + +He declared that all the ends he aimed at were for his country's good. + +"I speak to-day for the preservation of the Union," he said. "Hear me +for my cause! I speak to-day out of a solicitous and anxious heart, for +the restoration to the country of that quiet and harmony, which make the +blessings of this Union so rich and so dear to us all." + +He then went on to defend the law known as the Fugitive Slave Law. He +declared that this law was in accordance with the Constitution, and +hence it should be enforced according to its true meaning. + +The speech was a great disappointment to his friends. They said that he +had deserted them; that he had gone over to their enemies; that he was +no longer a champion of freedom, but of slavery. + +Those who had been his warmest supporters, now turned against him. + +A few months after this, President Taylor died. The vice-president, +Millard Fillmore, then became president. Mr. Fillmore was in sympathy +with Daniel Webster, and soon gave him a seat in his cabinet as +secretary of state. + +This was the second time that Mr. Webster had been called to fill this +high and honorable position. But, under President Fillmore, he did no +very great or important thing. + +He was still the leading man in the Whig party; and he hoped, in 1852, +to be nominated for the presidency. But in this he was again +disappointed. + +He was now an old man. He had had great successes in life; but he felt +that he had failed at the end of the race. His health was giving way. +He went home to Marshfield for the quiet and rest which he so much +needed. + +In May, that same year, he was thrown from his carriage and severely +hurt. From this hurt he never recovered. He offered to resign his seat +in the cabinet, but Mr. Fillmore would not listen to this. + +In September he became very feeble, and his friends knew that the end +was near. On the 24th of October, 1852, he died. He was nearly +seventy-one years old. + +In every part of the land his death was sincerely mourned. Both friends +and enemies felt that a great man had fallen. They felt that this +country had lost its leading statesman, its noblest patriot, its +worthiest citizen. + +Rufus Choate, who had succeeded him as the foremost lawyer in New +England, delivered a great oration upon his life and character. He said: + +"Look in how manly a sort, in how high a moral tone, Mr. Webster +uniformly dealt with the mind of his country. + +"Where do you find him flattering his countrymen, indirectly or +directly, for a vote? On what did he ever place himself but good +counsels and useful service? + +"Who ever heard that voice cheering the people on to rapacity, to +injustice, to a vain and guilty glory? + +"How anxiously, rather, did he prefer to teach, that by all possible +acquired sobriety of mind, by asking reverently of the past, by +obedience to the law, by habits of patient labor, by the cultivation of +the mind, by the fear and worship of God, we educate ourselves for the +future that is revealing." + + + + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN + +[Illustration: _ABRAHAM LINCOLN_.] + + + + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + * * * * * + +I.--THE KENTUCKY HOME. + + +Not far from Hodgensville, in Kentucky, there once lived a man whose +name was Thomas Lincoln. This man had built for himself a little log +cabin by the side of a brook, where there was an ever-flowing spring of +water. + +There was but one room in this cabin. On the side next to the brook +there was a low doorway; and at one end there was a large fireplace, +built of rough stones and clay. + +The chimney was very broad at the bottom and narrow at the top. It was +made of clay, with flat stones and slender sticks laid around the +outside to keep it from falling apart. + +In the wall, on one side of the fireplace, there was a square hole for a +window. But there was no glass in this window. In the summer it was +left open all the time. In cold weather a deerskin, or a piece of +coarse cloth, was hung over it to keep out the wind and the snow. + +At night, or on stormy days, the skin of a bear was hung across the +doorway; for there was no door on hinges to be opened and shut. + +There was no ceiling to the room. But the inmates of the cabin, by +looking up, could see the bare rafters and the rough roof-boards, which +Mr. Lincoln himself had split and hewn. + +There was no floor, but only the bare ground that had been smoothed and +beaten until it was as level and hard as pavement. + +For chairs there were only blocks of wood and a rude bench on one side +of the fireplace. The bed was a little platform of poles, on which were +spread the furry skins of wild animals, and a patchwork quilt of +homespun goods. + +In this poor cabin, on the 12th of February, 1809, a baby boy was born. +There was already one child in the family--a girl, two years old, whose +name was Sarah. + +The little boy grew and became strong like other babies, and his +parents named him Abraham, after his grandfather, who had been killed by +the Indians many years before. + +When he was old enough to run about, he liked to play under the trees by +the cabin door. Sometimes he would go with his little sister into the +woods and watch the birds and the squirrels. + +He had no playmates. He did not know the meaning of toys or playthings. +But he was a happy child and had many pleasant ways. + +Thomas Lincoln, the father, was a kind-hearted man, very strong and +brave. Sometimes he would take the child on his knee and tell him +strange, true stories of the great forest, and of the Indians and the +fierce beasts that roamed among the woods and hills. + +For Thomas Lincoln had always lived on the wild frontier; and he would +rather hunt deer and other game in the forest than do anything else. +Perhaps this is why he was so poor. Perhaps this is why he was content +to live in the little log cabin with so few of the comforts of life. + +But Nancy Lincoln, the young mother, did not complain. She, too, had +grown up among the rude scenes of the backwoods. She had never known +better things. + +And yet she was by nature refined and gentle; and people who knew her +said that she was very handsome. She was a model housekeeper, too; and +her poor log cabin was the neatest and best-kept house in all that +neighborhood. + +No woman could be busier than she. She knew how to spin and weave, and +she made all the clothing for her family. + +She knew how to wield the ax and the hoe; and she could work on the farm +or in the garden when her help was needed. + +She had also learned how to shoot with a rifle; and she could bring down +a deer or other wild game with as much ease as could her husband. And +when the game was brought home, she could dress it, she could cook the +flesh for food, and of the skins she could make clothing for her husband +and children. + +There was still another thing that she could do--she could read; and she +read all the books that she could get hold of. She taught her husband +the letters of the alphabet; and she showed him how to write his name. +For Thomas Lincoln had never gone to school, and he had never learned +how to read. + +As soon as little Abraham Lincoln was old enough to understand, his +mother read stories to him from the Bible. Then, while he was still very +young, she taught him to read the stories for himself. + +The neighbors thought it a wonderful thing that so small a boy could +read. There were very few of them who could do as much. Few of them +thought it of any great use to learn how to read. + +There were no school-houses in that part of Kentucky in those days, and +of course there were no public schools. + +One winter a traveling schoolmaster came that way. He got leave to use a +cabin not far from Mr. Lincoln's, and gave notice that he would teach +school for two or three weeks. The people were too poor to pay him for +teaching longer. + +The name of this schoolmaster was Zachariah Riney. + +The young people for miles around flocked to the school. Most of them +were big boys and girls, and a few were grown up young men. The only +little child was Abraham Lincoln, and he was not yet five years old. + +There was only one book studied at that school, and it was a +spelling-book. It had some easy reading lessons at the end, but these +were not to be read until after every word in the book had been spelled. + +You can imagine how the big boys and girls felt when Abraham Lincoln +proved that he could spell and read better than any of them. + + * * * * * + +II.--WORK AND SORROW. + + +In the autumn, just after Abraham Lincoln was eight years old, his +parents left their Kentucky home and moved to Spencer county, in +Indiana. + +It was not yet a year since Indiana had become a state. Land could be +bought very cheap, and Mr. Lincoln thought that he could make a good +living there for his family. He had heard also that game was plentiful +in the Indiana woods. + +It was not more than seventy or eighty miles from the old home to the +new. But it seemed very far, indeed, and it was a good many days before +the travelers reached their journey's end. Over a part of the way there +was no road, and the movers had to cut a path for themselves through the +thick woods. + +The boy, Abraham, was tall and very strong for his age. He already knew +how to handle an ax, and few men could shoot with a rifle better than +he. He was his father's helper in all kinds of work. + +It was in November when the family came to the place which was to be +their future home. Winter was near at hand. There was no house, nor +shelter of any kind. What would become of the patient, tired mother, and +the gentle little sister, who had borne themselves so bravely during the +long, hard journey? + +No sooner had the horses been loosed from the wagon than Abraham and +his father were at work with their axes. In a short time they had built +what they called a "camp." + +This camp was but a rude shed, made of poles and thatched with leaves +and branches. It was enclosed on three sides, so that the chill winds or +the driving rains from the north and west could not enter. The fourth +side was left open, and in front of it a fire was built. + +This fire was kept burning all the time. It warmed the interior of the +camp. A big iron kettle was hung over it by means of a chain and pole, +and in this kettle the fat bacon, the venison, the beans, and the corn +were boiled for the family's dinner and supper. In the hot ashes the +good mother baked luscious "corn dodgers," and sometimes, perhaps, a few +potatoes. + +In one end of the camp were the few cooking utensils and little articles +of furniture which even the poorest house cannot do without. The rest of +the space was the family sitting-room and bed-room. The floor was +covered with leaves, and on these were spread the furry skins of deer +and bears, and other animals. + +It was in this camp that the family spent their first winter in Indiana. +How very cold and dreary that winter must have been! Think of the stormy +nights, of the shrieking wind, of the snow and the sleet and the bitter +frost! It is not much wonder if, before the spring months came, the +mother's strength began to fail. + +But it was a busy winter for Thomas Lincoln. Every day his ax was heard +in the woods. He was clearing the ground, so that in the spring it might +be planted with corn and vegetables. + +He was hewing logs for his new house; for he had made up his mind, now, +to have something better than a cabin. + +The woods were full of wild animals. It was easy for Abraham and his +father to kill plenty of game, and thus keep the family supplied with +fresh meat. + +And Abraham, with chopping and hewing and hunting and trapping, was very +busy for a little boy. He had but little time to play; and, since he +had no playmates, we cannot know whether he even wanted to play. + +With his mother, he read over and over the Bible stories which both of +them loved so well. And, during the cold, stormy days, when he could not +leave the camp, his mother taught him how to write. + +In the spring the new house was raised. It was only a hewed log house, +with one room below and a loft above. But it was so much better than the +old cabin in Kentucky that it seemed like a palace. + +The family had become so tired of living in the "camp," that they moved +into the new house before the floor was laid, or any door hung at the +doorway. + +Then came the plowing and the planting and the hoeing. Everybody was +busy from daylight to dark. There were so many trees and stumps that +there was but little room for the corn to grow. + +The summer passed, and autumn came. Then the poor mother's strength gave +out. She could no longer go about her household duties. She had to +depend more and more upon the help that her children could give her. + +At length she became too feeble to leave her bed. She called her boy to +her side. She put her arms about him and said: "Abraham, I am going away +from you, and you will never see me again. I know that you will always +be good and kind to your sister and father. Try to live as I have taught +you, and to love your heavenly Father." + +On the 5th of October she fell asleep, never to wake again. + +Under a big sycamore tree, half a mile from the house, the neighbors dug +the grave for the mother of Abraham Lincoln. And there they buried her +in silence and great sorrow. + +There was no minister there to conduct religious services. In all that +new country there was no church; and no holy man could be found to speak +words of comfort and hope to the grieving ones around the grave. + +But the boy, Abraham, remembered a traveling preacher, whom they had +known in Kentucky. The name of this preacher was David Elkin. If he +would only come! + +And so, after all was over, the lad sat down and wrote a letter to David +Elkin. He was only a child nine years old, but he believed that the good +man would remember his poor mother, and come. + +It was no easy task to write a letter. Paper and ink were not things of +common use, as they are with us. A pen had to be made from the quill of +a goose. + +But at last the letter was finished and sent away. How it was carried I +do not know; for the mails were few and far between in those days, and +postage was very high. It is more than likely that some friend, who was +going into Kentucky, undertook to have it finally handed to the good +preacher. + +Months passed. The leaves were again on the trees. The wild flowers were +blossoming in the woods. At last the preacher came. + +He had ridden a hundred miles on horseback; he had forded rivers, and +traveled through pathless woods; he had dared the dangers of the wild +forest: all in answer to the lad's beseeching letter. + +He had no hope of reward, save that which is given to every man who does +his duty. He did not know that there would come a time when the greatest +preachers in the world would envy him his sad task. + +And now the friends and neighbors gathered again under the great +sycamore tree. The funeral sermon was preached. Hymns were sung. A +prayer was offered. Words of comfort and sympathy were spoken. + +From that time forward the mind of Abraham Lincoln was filled with a +high and noble purpose. In his earliest childhood his mother had taught +him to love truth and justice, to be honest and upright among men, and +to reverence God. These lessons he never forgot. + +Long afterward, when the world had come to know him as a very great man, +he said: "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." + + * * * * * + +III.--THE NEW MOTHER. + + +The log house, which Abraham Lincoln called his home, was now more +lonely and cheerless than before. The sunlight of his mother's presence +had gone out of it forever. + +His sister Sarah, twelve years old, was the housekeeper and cook. His +father had not yet found time to lay a floor in the house, or to hang a +door. There were great crevices between the logs, through which the wind +and the rain drifted on every stormy day. There was not much comfort in +such a house. + +But the lad was never idle. In the long winter days, when there was no +work to be done, he spent the time in reading or in trying to improve +his writing. + +There were very few books in the cabins of that backwoods settlement. +But if Abraham Lincoln heard of one, he could not rest till he had +borrowed it and read it. + +Another summer passed, and then another winter. Then, one day, Mr. +Lincoln went on a visit to Kentucky, leaving his two children and their +cousin, Dennis Hanks, at home to care for the house and the farm. + +I do not know how long he stayed away, but it could not have been many +weeks. One evening, the children were surprised to see a four-horse +wagon draw up before the door. + +Their father was in the wagon; and by his side was a kind-faced woman; +and, sitting on the straw at the bottom of the wagon-bed, there were +three well-dressed children--two girls and a boy. + +And there were some grand things in the wagon, too. There were six +split-bottomed chairs, a bureau with drawers, a wooden chest, and a +feather bed. All these things were very wonderful to the lad and lassie +who had never known the use of such luxuries. + +"Abraham and Sarah," said Mr. Lincoln, as he leaped from the wagon, "I +have brought you a new mother and a new brother and two new sisters." + +The new mother greeted them very kindly, and, no doubt, looked with +gentle pity upon them. They were barefooted; their scant clothing was +little more than rags and tatters; they did not look much like her own +happy children, whom she had cared for so well. + +And now it was not long until a great change was made in the Lincoln +home. A floor was laid, a door was hung, a window was made, the crevices +between the logs were daubed with clay. + +The house was furnished in fine style, with the chairs and the bureau +and the feather bed. The kind, new mother brought sunshine and hope into +the place that had once been so cheerless. + +With the young lad, Dennis Hanks, there were now six children in the +family. But all were treated with the same kindness; all had the same +motherly care. And so, in the midst of much hard work, there were many +pleasant days for them all. + + * * * * * + +IV.--SCHOOL AND BOOKS. + + +Not very long after this, the people of the neighborhood made up their +minds that they must have a school-house. And so, one day after +harvest, the men met together and chopped down trees, and built a little +low-roofed log cabin to serve for that purpose. + +If you could see that cabin you would think it a queer kind of +school-house. There was no floor. There was only one window, and in it +were strips of greased paper pasted across, instead of glass. There were +no desks, but only rough benches made of logs split in halves. In one +end of the room was a huge fireplace; at the other end was the low +doorway. + +The first teacher was a man whose name was Azel Dorsey. The term of +school was very short; for the settlers could not afford to pay him +much. It was in mid-winter, for then there was no work for the big boys +to do at home. + +And the big boys, as well as the girls and the smaller boys, for miles +around, came in to learn what they could from Azel Dorsey. The most of +the children studied only spelling; but some of the larger ones learned +reading and writing and arithmetic. + +There were not very many scholars, for the houses in that new +settlement were few and far apart. School began at an early hour in the +morning, and did not close until the sun was down. + +Just how Abraham Lincoln stood in his classes I do not know; but I must +believe that he studied hard and did everything as well as he could. In +the arithmetic which he used, he wrote these lines: + + "Abraham Lincoln, + His hand and pen, + He will be good, + But God knows when." + +In a few weeks, Azel Dorsey's school came to a close; and Abraham +Lincoln was again as busy as ever about his father's farm. After that he +attended school only two or three short terms. If all his school-days +were put together they would not make a twelve-month. + +But he kept on reading and studying at home. His step-mother said of +him: "He read everything he could lay his hands on. When he came across +a passage that struck him, he would write it down on boards, if he had +no paper, and keep it until he had got paper. Then he would copy it, +look at it, commit it to memory, and repeat it." + +Among the books that he read were the Bible, the _Pilgrims Progress_, +and the poems of Robert Burns. One day he walked a long distance to +borrow a book of a farmer. This book was Weems's _Life of Washington_. +He read as much as he could while walking home. + +By that time it was dark, and so he sat down by the chimney and read by +firelight until bedtime. Then he took the book to bed with him in the +loft, and read by the light of a tallow candle. + +In an hour the candle burned out. He laid the book in a crevice between +two of the logs of the cabin, so that he might begin reading again as +soon as it was daylight. + +But in the night a storm came up. The rain was blown in, and the book +was wet through and through. + +In the morning, when Abraham awoke, he saw what had happened. He dried +the leaves as well as he could, and then finished reading the book. + +As soon as he had eaten his breakfast, he hurried to carry the book to +its owner. He explained how the accident had happened. + +"Mr. Crawford," he said, "I am willing to pay you for the book. I have +no money; but, if you will let me, I will work for you until I have made +its price." + +Mr. Crawford thought that the book was worth seventy-five cents, and +that Abraham's work would be worth about twenty-five cents a day. And so +the lad helped the farmer gather corn for three days, and thus became +the owner of the delightful book. + +He read the story of Washington many times over. He carried the book +with him to the field, and read it while he was following the plow. + +From that time, Washington was the one great hero whom he admired. Why +could not he model his own life after that of Washington? Why could not +he also be a doer of great things for his country? + + * * * * * + +V.--LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS. + + +Abraham Lincoln now set to work with a will to educate himself. His +father thought that he did not need to learn anything more. He did not +see that there was any good in book-learning. If a man could read and +write and cipher, what more was needed? + +But the good step-mother thought differently; and when another short +term of school began in the little log school-house, all six of the +children from the Lincoln cabin were among the scholars. + +In a few weeks, however, the school had closed; and the three boys were +again hard at work, chopping and grubbing in Mr. Lincoln's clearings. +They were good-natured, jolly young fellows, and they lightened their +labor with many a joke and playful prank. + +Many were the droll stories with which Abraham amused his two +companions. Many were the puzzling questions that he asked. Sometimes in +the evening, with the other five children around him, he would declaim +some piece that he had learned; or he would deliver a speech of his own +on some subject of common interest. + +If you could see him as he then appeared, you would hardly think that +such a boy would ever become one of the most famous men of history. On +his head he wore a cap made from the skin of a squirrel or a raccoon. +Instead of trousers of cloth, he wore buckskin breeches, the legs of +which were many inches too short. His shirt was of deerskin in the +winter, and of homespun tow in the summer. Stockings he had none. His +shoes were of heavy cowhide, and were worn only on Sundays or in very +cold weather. + +The family lived in such a way as to need very little money. Their bread +was made of corn meal. Their meat was chiefly the flesh of wild game +found in the forest. + +Pewter plates and wooden trenchers were used on the table. The tea and +coffee cups were of painted tin. There was no stove, and all the cooking +was done on the hearth of the big fireplace. + +But poverty was no hindrance to Abraham Lincoln. He kept on with his +reading and his studies as best he could. Sometimes he would go to the +little village of Gentryville, near by, to spend an evening. He would +tell so many jokes and so many funny stories, that all the people would +gather round him to listen. + +When he was sixteen years old he went one day to Booneville, fifteen +miles away, to attend a trial in court. He had never been in court +before. He listened with great attention to all that was said. When the +lawyer for the defense made his speech, the youth was so full of delight +that he could not contain himself. + +He arose from his seat, walked across the courtroom, and shook hands +with the lawyer. "That was the best speech I ever heard," he said. + +He was tall and very slim; he was dressed in a jeans coat and buckskin +trousers; his feet were bare. It must have been a strange sight to see +him thus complimenting an old and practiced lawyer. + +From that time, one ambition seemed to fill his mind. He wanted to be a +lawyer and make great speeches in court. He walked twelve miles +barefooted, to borrow a copy of the laws of Indiana. Day and night he +read and studied. + +"Some day I shall be President of the United States," he said to some of +his young friends. And this he said not as a joke, but in the firm +belief that it would prove to be true. + + * * * * * + +VI.--THE BOATMAN. + + +One of Thomas Lincoln's friends owned a ferry-boat on the Ohio River. It +was nothing but a small rowboat, and would carry only three or four +people at a time. This man wanted to employ some one to take care of his +boat and to ferry people across the river. + +Thomas Lincoln was in need of money; and so he arranged with his friend +for Abraham to do this work. The wages of the young man were to be $2.50 +a week. But all the money was to be his father's. + +One day two strangers came to the landing. They wanted to take passage +on a steamboat that was coming down the river. The ferry-boy signalled +to the steamboat and it stopped in midstream. Then the boy rowed out +with the two passengers, and they were taken on board. + +Just as he was turning towards the shore again, each of the strangers +tossed a half-dollar into his boat. He picked the silver up and looked +at it. Ah, how rich he felt! He had never had so much money at one time. +And he had gotten all for a few minutes' labor! + +When winter came on, there were fewer people who wanted to cross the +river. So, at last, the ferry-boat was tied up, and Abraham Lincoln went +back to his father's home. + +He was now nineteen years old. He was very tall--nearly six feet four +inches in height. He was as strong as a young giant. He could jump +higher and farther, and he could run faster, than any of his fellows; +and there was no one, far or near, who could lay him on his back. + +Although he had always lived in a community of rude, rough people, he +had no bad habits. He used no tobacco; he did not drink strong liquor; +no profane word ever passed his lips. + +He was good-natured at all times, and kind to every one. + +During that winter, Mr. Gentry, the storekeeper in the village, had +bought a good deal of corn and pork. He intended, in the spring, to load +this on a flatboat and send it down the river to New Orleans. + +In looking about for a captain to take charge of the boat, he happened +to think of Abraham Lincoln. He knew that he could trust the young man. +And so a bargain was soon made. Abraham agreed to pilot the boat to New +Orleans and to market the produce there; and Mr. Gentry was to pay his +father eight dollars and a half a month for his services. + +As soon as the ice had well melted from the river, the voyage was begun. +Besides Captain Lincoln there was only one man in the crew, and that was +a son of Mr. Gentry's. + +The voyage was a long and weary one, but at last the two boatmen reached +the great southern city. Here they saw many strange things of which they +had never heard before. But they soon sold their cargo and boat, and +then returned home on a steamboat. + +To Abraham Lincoln the world was now very different from what it had +seemed before. He longed to be away from the narrow life in the woods of +Spencer county. He longed to be doing something for himself--to be +making for himself a fortune and a name. + +But then he remembered his mother's teachings when he sat on her knee in +the old Kentucky home, "Always do right." He remembered her last words, +"I know you will be kind to your father." + +And so he resolved to stay with his father, to work for him, and to give +him all his earnings until he was twenty-one years old. + + * * * * * + +VII.--THE FIRST YEARS IN ILLINOIS. + + +Early in the spring of 1830, Thomas Lincoln sold his farm in Indiana, +and the whole family moved to Illinois. The household goods were put in +a wagon drawn by four yoke of oxen. The kind step-mother and her +daughters rode also in the wagon. + +Abraham Lincoln, with a long whip in his hand, trudged through the mud +by the side of the road and guided the oxen. Who that saw him thus going +into Illinois would have dreamed that he would in time become that +state's greatest citizen? + +The journey was a long and hard one; but in two weeks they reached +Decatur, where they had decided to make their new home. + +Abraham Lincoln was now over twenty-one years old. He was his own man. +But he stayed with his father that spring. He helped him fence his land; +he helped him plant his corn. + +But his father had no money to give him. The young man's clothing was +all worn out, and he had nothing with which to buy any more. What should +he do? + +Three miles from his father's cabin there lived a thrifty woman, whose +name was Nancy Miller. Mrs. Miller owned a flock of sheep, and in her +house there were a spinning-wheel and a loom that were always busy. And +so you must know that she wove a great deal of jeans and home-made +cloth. + +Abraham Lincoln bargained with this woman to make him a pair of +trousers. He agreed that for each yard of cloth required, he would split +for her four hundred rails. + +He had to split fourteen hundred rails in all; but he worked so fast +that he had finished them before the trousers were ready. + +The next April saw young Lincoln piloting another flatboat down the +Mississippi to New Orleans. His companion this time was his mother's +relative, John Hanks. This time he stayed longer in New Orleans, and he +saw some things which he had barely noticed on his first trip. + +He saw gangs of slaves being driven through the streets. He visited the +slave-market, and saw women and girls sold to the highest bidder like so +many cattle. + +The young man, who would not be unkind to any living being, was shocked +by these sights. "His heart bled; he was mad, thoughtful, sad, and +depressed." + +He said to John Hanks, "If I ever get a chance to hit that institution, +I'll hit it hard, John." + +He came back from New Orleans in July. Mr. Offut, the owner of the +flatboat which he had taken down, then employed him to act as clerk in a +country store which he had at New Salem. + +New Salem was a little town not far from Springfield. + +Young Lincoln was a good salesman, and all the customers liked him. Mr. +Offut declared that the young man knew more than anyone else in the +United States, and that he could outrun and outwrestle any man in the +county. + +But in the spring of the next year Mr. Offut failed. The store was +closed, and Abraham Lincoln was out of employment again. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--THE BLACK HAWK WAR. + + +There were still a good many Indians in the West. The Sac Indians had +lately sold their lands in northern Illinois to the United States. They +had then moved across the Mississippi river, to other lands that had +been set apart for them. + +But they did not like their new home. At last they made up their minds +to go back to their former hunting-grounds. They were led by a chief +whose name was Black Hawk; and they began by killing the white settlers +and burning their houses and crops. + +This was in the spring of 1832. + +The whole state of Illinois was in alarm. The governor called for +volunteers to help the United States soldiers drive the Indians back. + +Abraham Lincoln enlisted. His company elected him captain. + +He did not know anything about military tactics. He did not know how to +give orders to his men. But he did the best that he could, and learned a +great deal by experience. + +His company marched northward and westward until they came to the +Mississippi river. But they did not meet any Indians, and so there was +no fighting. + +The young men under Captain Lincoln were rude fellows from the prairies +and backwoods. They were rough in their manners, and hard to control. +But they had very high respect for their captain. + +Perhaps this was because of his great strength, and his skill in +wrestling; for he could put the roughest and strongest of them on their +backs. Perhaps it was because he was good-natured and kind, and, at the +same time, very firm and decisive. + +In a few weeks the time for which the company had enlisted came to an +end. The young men were tired of being soldiers; and so all, except +Captain Lincoln and one man, were glad to hurry home. + +But Captain Lincoln never gave up anything half done. He enlisted again. +This time he was a private in a company of mounted rangers. + +The main camp of the volunteers and soldiers was on the banks of the +Rock river, in northern Illinois. + +Here, one day, Abraham Lincoln saw a young lieutenant of the United +States army, whose name was Jefferson Davis. It is not likely that the +fine young officer noticed the rough-clad ranger; but they were to know +more of each other at a future time. + +Three weeks after that the war was at an end. The Indians had been +beaten in a battle, and Black Hawk had been taken prisoner. + +But Abraham Lincoln had not been in any fight. He had not seen any +Indians, except peaceable ones. + +In June his company was mustered out, and he returned home to New Salem. + +He was then twenty-three years old. + + * * * * * + +IX.--IN THE LEGISLATURE. + + +When Abraham Lincoln came back to New Salem it was nearly time for the +state election. The people of the town and neighborhood wanted to send +him to the legislature, and he agreed to be a candidate. + +It was at Pappsville, twelve miles from Springfield, that he made his +first campaign speech. + +He said: "Gentlemen and fellow-citizens-- + +"I presume you all know who I am. + +"I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by my friends to +become a candidate for the legislature. + +"My politics are short and sweet. + +"I am in favor of a national bank; am in favor of the internal +improvement system, and a high protective tariff. + +"These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I shall +be thankful; if not, it will be all the same." + +He was a tall, gawky, rough-looking fellow. He was dressed in a coarse +suit of homespun, much the worse for wear. + +A few days after that, he made a longer and better speech at +Springfield. + +But he was not elected. + +About this time a worthless fellow, whose name was Berry, persuaded Mr. +Lincoln to help him buy a store in New Salem. Mr. Lincoln had no money, +but he gave his notes for the value of half the goods. + +The venture was not a profitable one. In a few months the store was +sold; but Abraham did not receive a dollar for it. It was six years +before he was able to pay off the notes which he had given. + +During all this time Mr. Lincoln did not give up the idea of being a +lawyer. He bought a second-hand copy of _Blackstone's Commentaries_ at +auction. He studied it so diligently that in a few weeks he had mastered +the whole of it. + +He bought an old form-book, and began to draw up contracts, deeds, and +all kinds of legal papers. + +He would often walk to Springfield, fourteen miles away, to borrow a +book; and he would master thirty or forty pages of it while returning +home. + +Soon he began to practice in a small way before justices of the peace +and country juries. He was appointed postmaster at New Salem, but so +little mail came to the place that the office was soon discontinued. + +He was nearly twenty-five years old. But, with all his industry, he +could hardly earn money enough to pay for his board and clothing. + +He had learned a little about surveying while living in Indiana. He now +took up the study again, and was soon appointed deputy surveyor of +Sangamon county. + +He was very skilful as a surveyor. Although his chain was only a +grape-vine, he was very accurate and never made mistakes. + +The next year he was again a candidate for the legislature. This time +the people were ready to vote for him, and he was elected. It was no +small thing for so young a man to be chosen to help make the laws of his +state. + +No man ever had fewer advantages than Abraham Lincoln. As a boy, he was +the poorest of the poor. No rich friend held out a helping hand. But see +what he had already accomplished by pluck, perseverance, and honesty! + +He had not had access to many books, but he knew books better than most +men of his age. He knew the Bible by heart; he was familiar with +Shakespeare; he could repeat nearly all the poems of Burns; he knew +much about physics and mechanics; he had mastered the elements of law. + +He was very awkward and far from handsome, but he was so modest, so +unselfish and kind, that every one who knew him liked him. He was a true +gentleman--a gentleman at heart, if not in outside polish. + +And so, as I have already said, Abraham Lincoln, at the age of +twenty-five, was elected to the state legislature. He served the people +so well that when his term closed, two years later, they sent him back +for another term. + +The capital of Illinois had, up to this time, been at Vandalia. Mr. +Lincoln and his friends now succeeded in having a law passed to remove +it to Springfield. Springfield was nearer to the centre of the state; it +was more convenient to everybody, and had other advantages which +Vandalia did not have. + +The people of Springfield were so delighted that they urged Mr. Lincoln +to come there and practice law. An older lawyer, whose name was John T. +Stuart, and who had a good practice, offered to take him in partnership +with him. + +And so, in 1837, Abraham Lincoln left New Salem and removed to +Springfield. He did not have much to move. All the goods that he had in +the world were a few clothes, which he carried in a pair of saddle-bags, +and two or three law books. He had no money, and he rode into +Springfield on a borrowed horse. + +He was then twenty-eight years old. + +From that time on, Springfield was his home. + + * * * * * + +X.--POLITICS AND MARRIAGE. + + +The next year after his removal to Springfield, Mr. Lincoln was elected +to the legislature for the third time. + +There were then, in this country, two great political parties, the +Democrats and the Whigs. Mr. Lincoln was a Whig, and he soon became the +leader of his party in the state. But the Whigs were not so strong as +the Democrats. + +The legislature was in session only a few weeks each year; and so Mr. +Lincoln could devote all the rest of the time to the practice of law. +There were many able lawyers in Illinois; but Abe Lincoln of Springfield +soon made himself known among the best of them. + +In 1840, he was again elected to the legislature. This was the year in +which General William H. Harrison was elected president of the United +States. General Harrison was a Whig; and Mr. Lincoln's name was on the +Whig ticket as a candidate for presidential elector in his state. + +The presidential campaign was one of the most exciting that had ever +been known. It was called the "log cabin" campaign, because General +Harrison had lived in a log cabin, and his opponents had sneered at his +poverty. + +In the East as well as in the West, the excitement was very great. In +every city and town and village, wherever there was a political meeting, +a log cabin was seen. On one side of the low door hung a long-handled +gourd; on the other side, a coon-skin was nailed to the logs, the blue +smoke curled up from the top of the stick-and-clay chimney. + +You may believe that Abraham Lincoln went into this campaign with all +his heart. He traveled over a part of the state, making stump-speeches +for his party. + +One of his ablest opponents was a young lawyer, not quite his own age, +whose name was Stephen A. Douglas. In many places, during this campaign, +Lincoln and Douglas met in public debate upon the questions of the day. +And both of them were so shrewd, so well informed, and so eloquent, that +those who heard them were unable to decide which was the greater of the +two. + +General Harrison was elected, but not through the help of Mr. Lincoln; +for the vote of Illinois that year was for the Democratic candidate. + +In 1842, when he was thirty-three years old, Mr. Lincoln was married to +Miss Mary Todd, a young lady from Kentucky, who had lately come to +Springfield on a visit. + +[Illustration: Log cabin (No caption)] + +[Illustration: Monument at Springfield.] + +[Illustration: Residence at Springfield.] + +For some time after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln lived in a +hotel called the "Globe Tavern," paying four dollars a week for rooms +and board. But, in 1844, Mr. Lincoln bought a small, but comfortable +frame house, and in this they lived until they went to the White House, +seventeen years later. + +Although he had been successful as a young lawyer, Mr. Lincoln was still +a poor man. But Mrs. Lincoln said: "I would rather have a good man, a +man of mind, with bright prospects for success and power and fame, than +marry one with all the horses and houses and gold in the world." + + * * * * * + +XI.--CONGRESSMAN AND LAWYER. + + +In 1846, Mr. Lincoln was again elected to the legislature. + +In the following year the people of his district chose him to be their +representative in Congress. He took his seat in December. He was then +thirty-nine years old. He was the only Whig from Illinois. + +There were many famous men in Congress at that time. Mr. Lincoln's +life-long rival, Stephen A. Douglas, was one of the senators from +Illinois. He had already served a term or two in the House of +Representatives. + +Daniel Webster was also in the Senate; and so was John C. Calhoun; and +so was Jefferson Davis. + +Mr. Lincoln took an active interest in all the subjects that came before +Congress. He made many speeches. But, perhaps, the most important thing +that he did at this time was to propose a bill for the abolition of the +slave-trade in the city of Washington. + +He believed that slavery was unjust to the slave and harmful to the +nation. He wanted to do what he could to keep it from becoming a still +greater evil. But the bill was opposed so strongly that it was not even +voted upon. + +After the close of Mr. Lincoln's term in Congress, he hoped that +President Taylor, who was a Whig, might appoint him to a good office. +But in this he was disappointed. + +And so, in 1849, he returned to his home in Springfield, and again +settled down to the practice of law. + +He was then forty years old. Considering the poverty of his youth, he +had done great things for himself. But he had not done much for his +country. Outside of his own state his name was still unknown. + +His life for the next few years was like that of any other successful +lawyer in the newly-settled West. He had a large practice, but his fees +were very small. His income from his profession was seldom more than +$2,000 a year. + +His habits were very simple. He lived comfortably and respectably. In +his modest little home there was an air of order and refinement, but no +show of luxury. + +No matter where he might go, Mr. Lincoln would have been known as a +Western man. He was six feet four inches in height. His face was very +homely, but very kind. + +He was cordial and friendly in his manners. There was something about +him which made everybody feel that he was a sincere, truthful, upright +man. He was known among his neighbors as "Honest Abe Lincoln." + + * * * * * + +XII.--THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY. + + +The great subject before the country at this time was skivery. It had +been the cause of trouble for many years. + +In the early settlement of the American colonies, slavery had been +introduced through the influence of the English government. The first +slaves had been brought to Virginia nearly 240 years before the time of +which I am telling you. + +Many people saw from the beginning that it was an evil which would at +some distant day bring disaster upon the country. In 1772, the people of +Virginia petitioned the king of England to put a stop to the bringing of +slaves from Africa into that colony. But the petition was rejected; and +the king forbade them to speak of the matter any more. + +Washington, Jefferson, and other founders of our nation looked upon +slavery as an evil. They hoped that the time might come when it would +be done away with; for they knew that the country would prosper better +without it. + +At the time of the Revolution, slavery was permitted in all the states. +But it was gradually abolished, first in Pennsylvania and then in the +New England states, and afterwards in New York. + +In 1787, a law was passed by Congress declaring that there should be no +slavery in the territory northwest of the river Ohio. This was the +territory from which the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, +and Wisconsin were formed; and so, of course, these states were free +states from the beginning. + +The great industry of the South was cotton-raising. The people of the +Southern states claimed that slavery was necessary, because only negro +slaves could do the work required on the big cotton plantations. +Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were admitted, +one by one, into the Union; and all were slave states. + +In 1821, Missouri applied for admission into the Union. The South +wanted slavery in this state also, but the North objected. There were +many hot debate's in Congress over this question. At last, through the +influence of Henry Clay, the dispute was settled by what has since been +known as the Missouri Compromise. + +The Missouri Compromise provided that Missouri should be a slave state; +this was to satisfy the South. On the other hand, it declared that all +the western territory north of the line which formed the southern +boundary of Missouri, should forever be free; this was to appease the +North. + +But the cotton planters of the South grew more wealthy by the labor of +their slaves. More territory was needed for the extension of slavery. +Texas joined the United States and became a slave state. + +Then followed a war with Mexico; and California, New Mexico and Utah +were taken from that country. Should slavery be allowed in these new +territories also? + +At this time a new political party was formed. It was called the "Free +Soil Party," and the principle for which it contended was this: "_No +more slave states and no slave territory_." + +This party was not very strong at first, but soon large numbers of Whigs +and many northern Democrats, who did not believe in the extension of +slavery, began to join it. + +Although the Whig party refused to take any position against the +extension of slavery, there were many anti-slavery Whigs who still +remained with it and voted the Whig ticket--and one of these men was +Abraham Lincoln. + +The contest between freedom and slavery became more fierce every day. At +last another compromise was proposed by Henry Clay. + +This compromise provided that California should be admitted as a free +state; that slavery should not be prohibited in New Mexico and Utah; +that there should be no more markets for slaves in the District of +Columbia; and that a new and very strict fugitive-slave law should be +passed. + +This compromise is called the "Compromise of 1850." It was in support +of these measures that Daniel Webster made his last great speech. + +It was hoped by Webster and Clay that the Compromise of 1850 would put +an end to the agitation about slavery. "Now we shall have peace," they +said. But the agitation became stronger and stronger, and peace seemed +farther away than ever before. + +In 1854, a bill was passed by Congress to organize the territories of +Kansas and Nebraska. This bill provided that the Missouri Compromise +should be repealed, and that the question of slavery in these +territories should be decided by the people living in them. + +The bill was passed through the influence of Stephen A. Douglas of +Illinois. There was now no bar to the extension of slavery into any of +the territories save that of public opinion. + +The excitement all over the North was very great. In Kansas there was +actual war between those who favored slavery and those who opposed it. +Thinking men in all parts of the country saw that a great crisis was at +hand. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS. + + +It was then that Abraham Lincoln came forward as the champion of +freedom. + +Stephen A. Douglas was a candidate for reelection to the Senate, and he +found it necessary to defend himself before the people of his state for +the part he had taken in repealing the Missouri Compromise. He went from +one city to another, making speeches; and at each place Abraham Lincoln +met him in joint debate. + +"I do not care whether slavery is voted into or out of the territories," +said Mr. Douglas. "The question of slavery is one of climate. Wherever +it is to the interest of the inhabitants of a territory to have slave +property, there a slave law will be enacted." + +But Mr. Lincoln replied, "The men who signed the Declaration of +Independence said that all men are created equal, and are endowed by +their Creator with certain inalienable rights--life, liberty, and the +pursuit of happiness.... I beseech you, do not destroy that immortal +emblem of humanity, the Declaration of Independence." + +At last, Mr. Douglas felt that he was beaten. He proposed that both +should go home, and that there should be no more joint discussions. Mr. +Lincoln agreed to this; but the words which he had spoken sank deep into +the hearts of those who heard them. + +The speeches of Lincoln and Douglas were printed in a book. People in +all parts of the country read them. They had heard much about Stephen A. +Douglas. He was called "The Little Giant." He had long been famous among +the politicians of the country. It was believed that he would be the +next President of the United States. + +But who was this man Lincoln, who had so bravely vanquished the Little +Giant? He was called "Honest Abe." There were few people outside of his +state who had ever heard of him before. + +Mr. Douglas returned to his seat in the United States Senate. Mr. +Lincoln became the acknowledged edged leader of the forces opposed to +the extension of slavery. + +In May, 1856, a convention of the people of Illinois was held in +Bloomington, Illinois. It met for the purpose of forming a new political +party, the chief object and aim of which should be to oppose the +extension of slavery into the territories. + +Mr. Lincoln made a speech to the members of this convention. It was one +of the greatest speeches ever heard in this country. "Again and again, +during the delivery, the audience sprang to their feet, and, by +long-continued cheers, expressed how deeply the speaker had roused +them." + +And so the new party was organized. It was composed of the men who had +formed the old Free Soil Party, together with such Whigs and Democrats +as were opposed to the further growth of the slave power. But the +greater number of its members were Whigs. This new party was called The +Republican Party. + +In June, the Republican Party held a national convention at +Philadelphia, and nominated John C. Frémont for President. But the party +was not strong enough to carry the election that year. + +In that same month the Democrats held a convention at Cincinnati. Every +effort was made to nominate Stephen A. Douglas for President. But he was +beaten in his own party, on account of the action which he had taken in +the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. + +James Buchanan was nominated in his stead, and, in November, was +elected. + +And so the conflict went on. + +In the year 1858 there was another series of joint debates between +Lincoln and Douglas. Both were candidates for the United States Senate. +Their speeches were among the most remarkable ever delivered in any +country. + +Lincoln spoke for liberty and justice. Douglas's speeches were full of +fire and patriotism. He hoped to be elected President in 1860. In the +end, it was generally acknowledged that Lincoln had made the best +arguments. But Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + + +In 1860 there were four candidates for the presidency. + +The great Democratic Party was divided into two branches. One branch +nominated Stephen A. Douglas. The other branch, which included the +larger number of the slave-owners of the South, nominated John C. +Breckinridge, of Kentucky. + +The remnant of the old Whig Party, now called the "Union Party," +nominated John Bell, of Tennessee. + +The Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln. + +In November came the election, and a majority of all the electors chosen +were for Lincoln. + +The people of the cotton-growing states believed that, by this election, +the Northern people intended to deprive them of their rights. They +believed that the anti-slavery people intended to do much more than +prevent the extension of slavery. They believed that the abolitionists +were bent upon passing laws to deprive them of their slaves. + +Wild rumors were circulated concerning the designs which the "Black +Republicans," as they were called, had formed for their coercion and +oppression. They declared that they would never submit. + +And so, in December, the people of South Carolina met in convention, and +declared that that state had seceded from the Union--that they would no +longer be citizens of the United States. One by one, six other states +followed; and they united to form a new government, called the +Confederate States of America. + +It had long been held by the men of the South that a state had the right +to withdraw from the Union at any time. This was called the doctrine of +States' Rights. + +The Confederate States at once chose Jefferson Davis for their +President, and declared themselves free and independent. + +In February, Mr. Lincoln went to Washington to be inaugurated. His +enemies openly boasted that he should never reach that city alive; and +a plot was formed to kill him on his passage through Baltimore. But he +took an earlier train than the one appointed, and arrived at the capital +in safety. + +On the 4th of March he was inaugurated. In his address at that time he +said: "In your hands, my dissatisfied countrymen, and not in mine, is +the momentous issue of civil war. Your government will not assail you. +You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You +have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government; while I +shall have the most solemn one to protect and defend it." + +The Confederate States demanded that the government should give up all +the forts, arsenals, and public property within their limits. This, +President Lincoln refused to do. He said that he could not admit that +these states had withdrawn from the Union, or that they could withdraw +without the consent of the people of the United States, given in a +national convention. + +And so, in April, the Confederate guns were turned upon Fort Sumter in +Charleston harbor, and the war was begun. President Lincoln issued a +call for 75,000 men to serve in the army for three months; and both +parties prepared for the great contest. + +It is not my purpose to give a history of that terrible war of four +years. The question of slavery was now a secondary one. The men of one +party were determined, at whatever hazard, to preserve the Union. The +men of the other party fought to defend their doctrine of States' +Rights, and to set up an independent government of their own. + +President Lincoln was urged to use his power and declare all the slaves +free. He answered: + +"My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or +destroy slavery. + +"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. If +I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it. If I could +save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that." + +At last, however, when he saw that the success of the Union arms +depended upon his freeing the slaves, he decided to do so. On the 1st +of January, 1863, he issued a proclamation declaring that the slaves, in +all the states or parts of states then in rebellion, should be free. + +By this proclamation, more than three millions of colored people were +given their freedom. + +But the war still went on. It reached a turning point, however, at the +battle of Gettysburg, in July, that same year. From that time the cause +of the Confederate States was on the wane. Little by little the +patriots, who were struggling for the preservation of the Union, +prevailed. + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE END OF A GREAT LIFE. + + +At the close of Mr. Lincoln's first term, he was again elected President +of the United States. The war was still going on, but the Union arms +were now everywhere victorious. + +His second inaugural address was very short. He did not boast of any of +his achievements; he did not rejoice over the defeat of his enemies. But +he said: + +"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the +right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the +work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who +shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan--to do all +which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves +and with all nations." + +Five weeks after that, on the 9th of April, 1865, the Confederate army +surrendered, and the war was at an end. + +Abraham Lincoln's work was done. + +The 14th of April was Good Friday. On the evening of that day, Mr. +Lincoln, with Mrs. Lincoln and two or three friends, visited Ford's +Theatre in Washington. + +At a few minutes past 10 o'clock, an actor whose name was John Wilkes +Booth, came into the box where Mr. Lincoln sat. No one saw him enter. He +pointed a pistol at the President's head, and fired. He leaped down upon +the stage, shouting "_Sic semper tyrannis_! The South is avenged!" Then +he ran behind the scenes and out by the stage door. + +The President fell forward. His eyes closed. He neither saw, nor heard, +nor felt anything that was taking place. Kind arms carried him to a +private house not far away. + +At twenty minutes past seven o'clock the next morning, those who watched +beside him gave out the mournful news that Abraham Lincoln was dead. + +He was fifty-six years old. + +The whole nation wept for him. In the South as well as in the North, the +people bowed themselves in grief. Heartfelt tributes of sorrow came from +other lands in all parts of the world. Never, before nor since, has +there been such universal mourning. + +Such is the story of Abraham Lincoln. In the history of the world, there +is no story more full of lessons of perseverance, of patience, of honor, +of true nobility of purpose. Among the great men of all time, there has +been no one more truly great than he. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Four Great Americans: Washington, +Franklin, Webster, Lincoln, by James Baldwin + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOUR GREAT AMERICANS *** + +***** This file should be named 11174-8.txt or 11174-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/1/7/11174/ + +Produced by Rosanna Yuen and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Four Great Americans: Washington, Franklin, Webster, Lincoln + A Book for Young Americans + +Author: James Baldwin + +Release Date: February 20, 2004 [EBook #11174] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOUR GREAT AMERICANS *** + + + + +Produced by Rosanna Yuen and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +FOUR GREAT AMERICANS + + WASHINGTON + FRANKLIN + WEBSTER + LINCOLN + +A BOOK FOR YOUNG AMERICANS + +BY JAMES BALDWIN, PH.D. + + + + +CONTENTS + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + +CHAPTER + + I WHEN WASHINGTON WAS A BOY + II HIS HOMES + III HIS SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS + IV GOING TO SEA + V THE YOUNG SURVEYOR + VI THE OHIO COUNTRY + VII A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES + VIII A PERILOUS JOURNEY + IX HIS FIRST BATTLE + X THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR + XI THE MUTTERINGS OF THE STORM + XII THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR + XIII INDEPENDENCE + XIV THE FIRST PRESIDENT + XV "FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN" + +THE STORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN + +CHAPTER + + I THE WHISTLE + II SCHOOLDAYS + III THE BOYS AND THE WHARF + IV CHOOSING A TRADE + V HOW FRANKLIN EDUCATED HIMSELF + VI FAREWELL TO BOSTON + VII THE FIRST DAY IN PHILADELPHIA + VIII GOVERNOR WILLIAM KEITH + IX THE RETURN TO PHILADELPHIA + X THE FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND + XI A LEADING MAN IN PHILADELPHIA + XII FRANKLIN'S RULES OF LIFE + XIII FRANKLIN'S SERVICES TO THE COLONIES + XIV FRANKLIN'S WONDERFUL KITE + XV THE LAST YEARS + +THE STORY OF DANIEL WEBSTER + +CHAPTER + + I CAPTAIN WEBSTER + II THE YOUNGEST SON + III EZEKIEL AND DANIEL + IV PLANS FOR THE FUTURE + V AT EXETER ACADEMY + VI GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE + VII AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE + VIII HOW DANIEL TAUGHT SCHOOL + IX DANIEL GOES TO BOSTON + X LAWYER AND CONGRESSMAN + XI THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE + XII WEBSTER'S GREAT ORATIONS + XIII MR. WEBSTER IN THE SENATE + XIV MR. WEBSTER IN PRIVATE LIFE + XV THE LAST YEARS + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN + +CHAPTER + + I THE KENTUCKY HOME + II WORK AND SORROW + III THE NEW MOTHER + IV SCHOOL AND BOOKS + V LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS + VI THE BOATMAN + VII THE FIRST YEARS IN ILLINOIS + VIII THE BLACK HAWK WAR + IX IN THE LEGISLATURE + X POLITICS AND MARRIAGE + XI CONGRESSMAN AND LAWYER + XII THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY + XIII LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS + XIV PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES + XV THE END OF A GREAT LIFE + + + + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + +[Illustration of George Washington] + + + + +THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + + * * * * * + +I.--WHEN WASHINGTON WAS A BOY. + + +When George Washington was a boy there was no United States. The land +was here, just as it is now, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the +Pacific; but nearly all of it was wild and unknown. + +Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany Mountains there were +thirteen colonies, or great settlements. The most of the people who +lived in these colonies were English people, or the children of English +people; and so the King of England made their laws and appointed their +governors. + +The newest of the colonies was Georgia, which was settled the year after +George Washington was born. + +The oldest colony was Virginia, which had been settled one hundred and +twenty-five years. It was also the richest colony, and more people were +living in it than in any other. + +There were only two or three towns in Virginia at that time, and they +were quite small. + +Most of the people lived on farms or on big plantations, where they +raised whatever they needed to eat. They also raised tobacco, which they +sent to England to be sold. + +The farms, or plantations, were often far apart, with stretches of thick +woods between them. Nearly every one was close to a river, or some other +large body of water; for there are many rivers in Virginia. + +There were no roads, such as we have nowadays, but only paths through +the woods. When people wanted to travel from place to place, they had to +go on foot, or on horseback, or in small boats. + +A few of the rich men who lived on the big plantations had coaches; and +now and then they would drive out in grand style behind four or six +horses, with a fine array of servants and outriders following them. But +they could not drive far where there were no roads, and we can hardly +understand how they got any pleasure out of it. + +Nearly all the work on the plantations was done by slaves. Ships had +been bringing negroes from Africa for more than a hundred years, and now +nearly half the people in Virginia were blacks. + +Very often, also, poor white men from England were sold as slaves for a +few years in order to pay for their passage across the ocean. When their +freedom was given to them they continued to work at whatever they could +find to do; or they cleared small farms in the woods for themselves, or +went farther to the west and became woodsmen and hunters. + +There was but very little money in Virginia at that time, and, indeed, +there was not much use for it. For what could be done with money where +there were no shops worth speaking of, and no stores, and nothing to +buy? + +The common people raised flax and wool, and wove their own cloth; and +they made their own tools and furniture. The rich people did the same; +but for their better or finer goods they sent to England. + +For you must know that in all this country there were no great mills for +spinning and weaving as there are now; there were no factories of any +kind; there were no foundries where iron could be melted and shaped into +all kinds of useful and beautiful things. + +When George Washington was a boy the world was not much like it is now. + + * * * * * + +II.--HIS HOMES. + + +George Washington's father owned a large plantation on the western shore +of the Potomac River. George's great-grandfather, John Washington, had +settled upon it nearly eighty years before, and there the family had +dwelt ever since. + +This plantation was in Westmoreland county, not quite forty miles above +the place where the Potomac flows into Chesapeake Bay. By looking at +your map of Virginia, you will see that the river is very broad there. + +On one side of the plantation, and flowing through it, there was a +creek, called Bridge's Creek; and for this reason the place was known as +the Bridge's Creek Plantation. + +It was here, on the 22d of February, 1732, that George Washington was +born. + +Although his father was a rich man, the house in which he lived was +neither very large nor very fine--at least it would not be thought so +now. + +It was a square, wooden building, with four rooms on the ground floor +and an attic above. + +The eaves were low, and the roof was long and sloping. At each end of +the house there was a huge chimney; and inside were big fireplaces, one +for the kitchen and one for the "great room" where visitors were +received. + +But George did not live long in this house. When he was about three +years old his father removed to another plantation which he owned, near +Hunting Creek, several miles farther up the river. This new plantation +was at first known as the Washington Plantation, but it is now called +Mount Vernon. + +Four years after this the house of the Washingtons was burned down. But +Mr. Washington had still other lands on the Rappahannock River. He had +also an interest in some iron mines that were being opened there. And so +to this place the family was now taken. + +The house by the Rappahannock was very much like the one at Bridge's +Creek. It stood on high ground, overlooking the river and some low +meadows; and on the other side of the river was the village of +Fredericksburg, which at that time was a very small village, indeed. + +George was now about seven years old. + + * * * * * + +III.--HIS SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. + + +There were no good schools in Virginia at that time. In fact, the people +did not care much about learning. + +There were few educated men besides the parsons, and even some of the +parsons were very ignorant. + +It was the custom of some of the richest families to send their eldest +sons to England to the great schools there. But it is doubtful if these +young men learned much about books. + +They spent a winter or two in the gay society of London, and were taught +the manners of gentlemen--and that was about all. + +George Washington's father, when a young man, had spent some time at +Appleby School in England, and George's half-brothers, Lawrence and +Augustine, who were several years older than he, had been sent to the +same school. + +But book-learning was not thought to be of much use. To know how to +manage the business of a plantation, to be polite to one's equals, to be +a leader in the affairs of the colony--this was thought to be the best +education. + +And so, for most of the young men, it was enough if they could read and +write a little and keep a few simple accounts. As for the girls, the +parson might give them a few lessons now and then; and if they learned +good manners and could write letters to their friends, what more could +they need? + +George Washington's first teacher was a poor sexton, whose name was Mr. +Hobby. There is a story that he had been too poor to pay his passage +from England, and that he had, therefore, been sold to Mr. Washington as +a slave for a short time; but how true this is, I cannot say. + +From Mr. Hobby, George learned to spell easy words, and perhaps to write +a little; but, although he afterward became a very careful and good +penman, he was a poor speller as long as he lived. + +When George was about eleven years old his father died. We do not know +what his father's intentions had been regarding him. But possibly, if he +had lived, he would have given George the best education that his means +would afford. + +But now everything was changed. The plantation at Hunting Creek, and, +indeed, almost all the rest of Mr. Washington's great estate, became the +property of the eldest son, Lawrence. + +George was sent to Bridge's Creek to live for a while with his brother +Augustine, who now owned the old home plantation there. The mother and +the younger children remained on the Rappahannock farm. + +While at Bridge's Creek, George was sent to school to a Mr. Williams, +who had lately come from England. + +There are still to be seen some exercises which the lad wrote at that +time. There is also a little book, called _The Young Man's Companion_, +from which he copied, with great care, a set of rules for good behavior +and right living. + +Not many boys twelve years old would care for such a book nowadays. But +you must know that in those days there were no books for children, and, +indeed, very few for older people. + +The maxims and wise sayings which George copied were, no doubt, very +interesting to him--so interesting that many of them were never +forgotten. + +There are many other things also in this _Young Man's Companion_, and we +have reason to believe that George studied them all. + +There are short chapters on arithmetic and surveying, rules for the +measuring of land and lumber, and a set of forms for notes, deeds, and +other legal documents. A knowledge of these things was, doubtless, of +greater importance to him than the reading of many books would have +been. + +Just what else George may have studied in Mr. Williams's school I cannot +say. But all this time he was growing to be a stout, manly boy, tall and +strong, and well-behaved. And both his brothers and himself were +beginning to think of what he should do when he should become a man. + + * * * * * + +IV.--GOING TO SEA. + + +Once every summer a ship came up the river to the plantation, and was +moored near the shore. + +It had come across the sea from far-away England, and it brought many +things for those who were rich enough to pay for them. + +It brought bonnets and pretty dresses for George's mother and sisters; +it brought perhaps a hat and a tailor-made suit for himself; it brought +tools and furniture, and once a yellow coach that had been made in +London, for his brother. + +When all these things had been taken ashore, the ship would hoist her +sails and go on, farther up the river, to leave goods at other +plantations. + +In a few weeks it would come back and be moored again at the same place. + +Then there was a busy time on shore. The tobacco that had been raised +during the last year must be carried on shipboard to be taken to the +great tobacco markets in England. + +The slaves on the plantation were running back and forth, rolling +barrels and carrying bales of tobacco down to the landing. + +Letters were written to friends in England, and orders were made out for +the goods that were to be brought back next year. + +But in a day or two, all this stir was over. The sails were again +spread, and the ship glided away on its long voyage across the sea. + +George had seen this ship coming and going every year since he could +remember. He must have thought how pleasant it would be to sail away to +foreign lands and see the many wonderful things that are there. + +And then, like many another active boy, he began to grow tired of the +quiet life on the farm, and wish that he might be a sailor. + +He was now about fourteen years old. Since the death of his father, his +mother had found it hard work, with her five children, to manage her +farm on the Rappahannock and make everything come out even at the end of +each year. Was it not time that George should be earning something for +himself? But what should he do? + +He wanted to go to sea. His brother Lawrence, and even his mother, +thought that this might be the best thing. + +A bright boy like George would not long be a common sailor. He would +soon make his way to a high place in the king's navy. So, at least, his +friends believed. + +And so the matter was at last settled. A sea-captain who was known to +the family, agreed to take George with him. He was to sail in a short +time. + +The day came. His mother, his brothers, his sisters, were all there to +bid him good-bye. But in the meanwhile a letter had come to his mother, +from his uncle who lived in England. + +"If you care for the boy's future," said the letter, "do not let him go +to sea. Places in the king's navy are not easy to obtain. If he begins +as a sailor, he will never be aught else." + +The letter convinced George's mother--it half convinced his +brothers--that this going to sea would be a sad mistake. But George, +like other boys of his age, was headstrong. He would not listen to +reason. A sailor he would be. + +The ship was in the river waiting for him. A boat had come to the +landing to take him on board. + +The little chest which held his clothing had been carried down to the +bank. George was in high glee at the thought of going. + +"Good-bye, mother," he said. + +He stood on the doorstep and looked back into the house. He saw the kind +faces of those whom he loved. He began to feel very sad at the thought +of leaving them. + +"Good-bye, George!" + +He saw the tears welling up in his mother's eyes. He saw them rolling +down her cheeks. He knew now that she did not want him to go. He could +not bear to see her grief. + +"Mother, I have changed my mind," he said. "I will not be a sailor. I +will not leave you." + +Then he turned to the black boy who was waiting by the door, and said, +"Run down to the landing and tell them not to put the chest on board. +Tell them that I have thought differently of the matter and that I am +going to stay at home." + +If George had not changed his mind, but had really gone to sea, how very +different the history of this country would have been! + +He now went to his studies with a better will than before; and although +he read but few books he learned much that was useful to him in life. He +studied surveying with especial care, and made himself as thorough in +that branch of knowledge as it was possible to do with so few +advantages. + + * * * * * + +V.--THE YOUNG SURVEYOR. + + +Lawrence Washington was about fourteen years older than his brother +George. + +As I have already said, he had been to England and had spent sometime at +Appleby school. He had served in the king's army for a little while, and +had been with Admiral Vernon's squadron in the West Indies. + +He had formed so great a liking for the admiral that when he came home +he changed the name of his plantation at Hunting Creek, and called it +Mount Vernon--a name by which it is still known. + +Not far from Mount Vernon there was another fine plantation called +Belvoir, that was owned by William Fairfax, an English gentleman of much +wealth and influence. + +Now this Mr. Fairfax had a young daughter, as wise as she was beautiful; +and so, what should Lawrence Washington do but ask her to be his wife? +He built a large house at Mount Vernon with a great porch fronting on +the Potomac; and when Miss Fairfax became Mrs. Washington and went into +this home as its mistress, people said that there was not a handsomer or +happier young couple in all Virginia. + +After young George Washington had changed his mind about going to sea, +he went up to Mount Vernon to live with his elder brother. For Lawrence +had great love for the boy, and treated him as his father would have +done. + +At Mount Vernon George kept on with his studies in surveying. He had a +compass and surveyor's chain, and hardly a day passed that he was not +out on the plantation, running lines and measuring his brother's fields. + +Sometimes when he was busy at this kind of work, a tall, white-haired +gentleman would come over from Belvoir to see what he was doing and to +talk with him. This gentleman was Sir Thomas Fairfax, a cousin of the +owner of Belvoir. He was sixty years old, and had lately come from +England to look after his lands in Virginia; for he was the owner of +many thousands of acres among the mountains and in the wild woods. + +Sir Thomas was a courtly old gentleman, and he had seen much of the +world. He was a fine scholar; he had been a soldier, and then a man of +letters; and he belonged to a rich and noble family. + +It was not long until he and George were the best of friends. Often they +would spend the morning together, talking or surveying; and in the +afternoon they would ride out with servants and hounds, hunting foxes +and making fine sport of it among the woods and hills. + +And when Sir Thomas Fairfax saw how manly and brave his young friend +was, and how very exact and careful in all that he did, he said: "Here +is a boy who gives promise of great things. I can trust him." + +Before the winter was over he had made a bargain with George to survey +his lands that lay beyond the Blue Ridge mountains. + +I have already told you that at this time nearly all the country west of +the mountains was a wild and unknown region. In fact, all the western +part of Virginia was an unbroken wilderness, with only here and there a +hunter's camp or the solitary hut of some daring woodsman. + +But Sir Thomas hoped that by having the land surveyed, and some part of +it laid out into farms, people might be persuaded to go there and +settle. And who in all the colony could do this work better than his +young friend, George Washington? + +It was a bright day in March, 1748, when George started out on his first +trip across the mountains. His only company was a young son of William +Fairfax of Belvoir. + +The two friends were mounted on good horses; and both had guns, for +there was fine hunting in the woods. It was nearly a hundred miles to +the mountain-gap through which they passed into the country beyond. As +there were no roads, but only paths through the forest, they could not +travel very fast. + +After several days they reached the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah. +They now began their surveying. They went up the river for some +distance; then they crossed and went down on the other side. At last +they reached the Potomac River, near where Harper's Ferry now stands. + +At night they slept sometimes by a camp-fire in the woods, and sometimes +in the rude hut of a settler or a hunter. They were often wet and cold. +They cooked their meat by broiling it on sticks above the coals. They +ate without dishes, and drank water from the running streams. + +One day they met a party of Indians, the first red men they had seen. +There were thirty of them, with their bodies painted in true savage +style; for they were just going home from a war with some other tribe. + +The Indians were very friendly to the young surveyors. It was evening, +and they built a huge fire under the trees. Then they danced their +war-dance around it, and sang and yelled and made hideous sport until +far in the night. + +To George and his friend it was a strange sight; but they were brave +young men, and not likely to be afraid even though the danger had been +greater. + +They had many other adventures in the woods of which I cannot tell you +in this little book--shooting wild game, swimming rivers, climbing +mountains. But about the middle of April they returned in safety to +Mount Vernon. + +It would seem that the object of this first trip was to get a general +knowledge of the extent of Sir Thomas Fairfax's great woodland +estate--to learn where the richest bottom lands lay, and where were the +best hunting-grounds. + +The young men had not done much if any real surveying; they had been +exploring. + +George Washington had written an account of everything in a little +note-book which he carried with him. + +Sir Thomas was so highly pleased with the report which the young men +brought back that he made up his mind to move across the Blue Ridge and +spend the rest of his life on his own lands. + +And so, that very summer, he built in the midst of the great woods a +hunting lodge which he called Greenway Court. It was a large, square +house, with broad gables and a long roof sloping almost to the ground. + +When he moved into this lodge he expected soon to build a splendid +mansion and make a grand home there, like the homes he had known in +England. But time passed, and as the lodge was roomy and comfortable, he +still lived in it and put off beginning another house. + +Washington was now seventeen years old. Through the influence of Sir +Thomas Fairfax he was appointed public surveyor; and nothing would do +but that he must spend the most of his time at Greenway Court and keep +on with the work that he had begun. + +For the greater part of three years he worked in the woods and among the +mountains, surveying Sir Thomas's lands. And Sir Thomas paid him well--a +doubloon ($8.24) for each day, and more than that if the work was very +hard. + +But there were times when the young surveyor did not go out to work, but +stayed at Greenway Court with his good friend, Sir Thomas. The old +gentleman had something of a library, and on days when they could +neither work nor hunt, George spent the time in reading. He read the +_Spectator_ and a history of England, and possibly some other works. + +And so it came about that the three years which young Washington spent +in surveying were of much profit to him. + +The work in the open air gave him health and strength. He gained courage +and self-reliance. He became acquainted with the ways of the +backwoodsmen and of the savage Indians. And from Sir Thomas Fairfax he +learned a great deal about the history, the laws, and the military +affairs of old England. + +And in whatever he undertook to do or to learn, he was careful and +systematic and thorough. He did nothing by guess; he never left anything +half done. And therein, let me say to you, lie the secrets of success in +any calling. + + * * * * * + +VI.--THE OHIO COUNTRY. + + +You have already learned how the English people had control of all that +part of our country which borders upon the Atlantic Ocean. You have +learned, also, that they had made thirteen great settlements along the +coast, while all the vast region west of the mountains remained a wild +and unknown land. + +Now, because Englishmen had been the first white men to see the line of +shore that stretches from Maine to Georgia, they set up a claim to all +the land west of that line. + +They had no idea how far the land extended. They knew almost nothing +about its great rivers, its vasts forests, its lofty mountains, its rich +prairies. They cared nothing for the claims of the Indians whose homes +were there. + +"All the land from ocean to ocean," they said, "belongs to the King of +England." + +But there were other people who also had something to say about this +matter. + +The French had explored the Mississippi River. They had sailed on the +Great Lakes. Their hunters and trappers were roaming through the western +forests. They had made treaties with the Indians; and they had built +trading posts, here and there, along the watercourses. + +They said, "The English people may keep their strip of land between the +mountains and the sea. But these great river valleys and this country +around the Lakes are ours, because we have been the first to explore and +make use of them." + +Now, about the time that George Washington was thinking of becoming a +sailor, some of the rich planters in Virginia began to hear wonderful +stories about a fertile region west of the Alleghanies, watered by a +noble river, and rich in game and fur-bearing animals. + +This region was called the Ohio Country, from the name of the river; and +those who took pains to learn the most about it were satisfied that it +would, at some time, be of very great importance to the people who +should control it. + +And so these Virginian planters and certain Englishmen formed a company +called the Ohio Company, the object of which was to explore the country, +and make money by establishing trading posts and settlements there. And +of this company, Lawrence Washington was one of the chief managers. + +Lawrence Washington and his brother George had often talked about this +enterprise. + +"We shall have trouble with the French," said Lawrence. "They have +already sent men into the Ohio Country; and they are trying in every way +to prove that the land belongs to them." + +"It looks as if we should have to drive them out by force," said George. + +"Yes, and there will probably be some hard fighting," said Lawrence; +"and you, as a young man, must get yourself ready to have a hand in it." + +And Lawrence followed this up by persuading the governor of the colony +to appoint George as one of the adjutants-general of Virginia. + +George was only nineteen years old, but he was now Major Washington, and +one of the most promising soldiers in America. + + * * * * * + +VII.--A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. + + +Although George Washington spent so much of his time at Greenway Court, +he still called Mount Vernon his home. + +Going down home in the autumn, just before he was twenty years old, he +found matters in a sad state, and greatly changed. + +His brother Lawrence was very ill--indeed, he had been ill a long time. +He had tried a trip to England; he had spent a summer at the warm +springs; but all to no purpose. He was losing strength every day. + +The sick man dreaded the coming of cold weather. If he could only go to +the warm West Indies before winter set in, perhaps that would prolong +his life. Would George go with him? + +No loving brother could refuse a request like that. + +The captain of a ship in the West India trade agreed to take them; and +so, while it was still pleasant September, the two Washingtons embarked +for Barbadoes, which, then as now, belonged to the English. + +It was the first time that George had ever been outside of his native +land, and it proved to be also the last. He took careful notice of +everything that he saw; and, in the little note-book which he seems to +have always had with him, he wrote a brief account of the trip. + +He had not been three weeks at Barbadoes before he was taken down with +the smallpox; and for a month he was very sick. And so his winter in the +West Indies could not have been very pleasant. + +In February the two brothers returned home to Mount Vernon. Lawrence's +health had not been bettered by the journey. He was now very feeble; but +he lingered on until July, when he died. + +By his will Lawrence Washington left his fine estate of Mount Vernon, +and all the rest of his wealth, to his little daughter. But George was +to be the daughter's guardian; and in case of her death, all her vast +property was to be his own. + +And so, before he was quite twenty-one years old, George Washington was +settled at Mount Vernon as the manager of one of the richest estates in +Virginia. The death of his little niece not long afterward made him the +owner of this estate, and, of course, a very wealthy man. + +But within a brief time, events occurred which called him away from his +peaceful employments. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--A PERILOUS JOURNEY. + + +Early the very next year news was brought to Virginia that the French +were building forts along the Ohio, and making friends with the Indians +there. This of course meant that they intended to keep the English out +of that country. + +The governor of Virginia thought that the time had come to speak out +about this matter. He would send a messenger with a letter to these +Frenchmen, telling them that all the land belonged to the English, and +that no trespassing would be allowed. + +The first messenger that he sent became alarmed before he was within a +hundred miles of a Frenchman, and went back to say that everything was +as good as lost. + +It was very plain that a man with some courage must be chosen for such +an undertaking. + +"I will send Major George Washington," said the governor. "He is very +young, but he is the bravest man in the colony." + +Now, promptness was one of those traits of character which made George +Washington the great man which he afterward became. And so, on the very +day that he received his appointment he set out for the Ohio Country. + +He took with him three white hunters, two Indians, and a famous +woodsman, whose name was Christopher Gist. A small tent or two, and such +few things as they would need on the journey, were strapped on the backs +of horses. + +They pushed through the woods in a northwestwardly direction, and at +last reached a place called Venango, not very far from where Pittsburg +now stands. This was the first outpost of the French; and here +Washington met some of the French officers, and heard them talk about +what they proposed to do. + +Then, after a long ride to the north, they came to another fort. The +French commandant was here, and he welcomed Washington with a great show +of kindness. + +Washington gave him the letter which he had brought from the governor +of Virginia. + +The commandant read it, and two days afterward gave him an answer. + +He said that he would forward the letter to the French governor; but as +for the Ohio Country, he had been ordered to hold it, and he meant to do +so. + +Of course Washington could do nothing further. But it was plain to him +that the news ought to be carried back to Virginia without delay. + +It was now mid-winter. As no horse could travel through the trackless +woods at this time of year, he must make his way on foot. + +So, with only the woodsman, Gist, he shouldered his rifle and knapsack, +and bravely started home. + +It was a terrible journey. The ground was covered with snow; the rivers +were frozen; there was not even a path through the forest. If Gist had +not been so fine a woodsman they would hardly have seen Virginia again. + +Once an Indian shot at Washington from behind a tree. Once the brave +young man fell into a river, among floating ice, and would have been +drowned but for Gist. + +At last they reached the house of a trader on the Monongahela River. +There they were kindly welcomed, and urged to stay until the weather +should grow milder. + +But Washington would not delay. + +Sixteen days after that, he was back in Virginia, telling the governor +all about his adventures, and giving his opinion about the best way to +deal with the French. + + * * * * * + +IX.--HIS FIRST BATTLE. + + +It was now very plain that if the English were going to hold the Ohio +Country and the vast western region which they claimed as their own, +they must fight for it. + +The people of Virginia were not very anxious to go to war. But their +governor was not willing to be beaten by the French. + +He made George Washington a lieutenant-colonel of Virginia troops, and +set about raising an army to send into the Ohio Country. + +Early in the spring Colonel Washington, with a hundred and fifty men, +was marching across the country toward the head waters of the Ohio. It +was a small army to advance against the thousands of French and Indians +who now held that region. + +But other officers, with stronger forces, were expected to follow close +behind. + +Late in May the little army reached the valley of the Monongahela, and +began to build a fort at a place called Great Meadows. + +By this time the French and Indians were aroused, and hundreds of them +were hurrying forward to defend the Ohio Country from the English. One +of their scouting parties, coming up the river, was met by Washington +with forty men. + +The French were not expecting any foe at this place. There were but +thirty-two of them; and of these only one escaped. Ten were killed, and +the rest were taken prisoners. + +This was Washington's first battle, and he was more proud of it than +you might suppose. He sent his prisoners to Virginia, and was ready now, +with his handful of men, to meet all the French and Indians that might +come against him! + +And they did come, and in greater numbers than he had expected. He made +haste to finish, if possible, the fort that had been begun. + +But they were upon him before he was ready. They had four men to his +one. They surrounded the fort and shut his little Virginian army in. + +What could Colonel Washington do? His soldiers were already +half-starved. There was but little food in the fort, and no way to get +any more. + +The French leader asked if he did not think it would be a wise thing to +surrender. Washington hated the very thought of it; but nothing else +could be done. + +"If you will march your men straight home, and give me a pledge that +they and all Virginians will stay out of the Ohio Country for the next +twelve months, you may go," said the Frenchman. + +It was done. + +Washington, full of disappointment went back to Mount Vernon. But he +felt more like fighting than ever before. + +He was now twenty-two years old. + + * * * * * + +X.--THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. + + +In the meanwhile the king of England had heard how the French were +building forts along the Ohio and how they were sending their traders to +the Great Lakes and to the valley of the Mississippi. + +"If we allow them to go on in this way, they will soon take all that +vast western country away from us," he said. + +And so, the very next winter, he sent over an army under General Edward +Braddock to drive the French out of that part of America and at the same +time teach their Indian friends a lesson. + +It was in February, 1755, when General Braddock and his troops went +into camp at Alexandria in Virginia. As Alexandria was only a few miles +from Mount Vernon, Washington rode over to see the fine array and become +acquainted with the officers. + +When General Braddock heard that this was the young man who had ventured +so boldly into the Ohio Country, he offered him a place on his staff. +This was very pleasing to Washington, for there was nothing more +attractive to him than soldiering. + +It was several weeks before the army was ready to start: and then it +moved so slowly that it did not reach the Monongahela until July. + +The soldiers in their fine uniforms made a splendid appearance as they +marched in regular order across the country. + +Benjamin Franklin, one of the wisest men in America, had told General +Braddock that his greatest danger would be from unseen foes hidden among +the underbrush and trees. + +"They may be dangerous to your backwoodsmen," said Braddock; "but to +the trained soldiers of the king they can give no trouble at all." + +But scarcely had the army crossed the Monongahela when it was fired upon +by unseen enemies. The woods rang with the cries of savage men. + +The soldiers knew not how to return the fire. They were shot down in +their tracks like animals in a pen. + +"Let the men take to the shelter of the trees!" was Washington's advice. + +But Braddock would not listen to it. They must keep in order and fight +as they had been trained to fight. + +Washington rode hither and thither trying his best to save the day. Two +horses were shot under him; four bullets passed through his coat; and +still he was unhurt. The Indians thought that he bore a charmed life, +for none of them could hit him. + +It was a dreadful affair--more like a slaughter than a battle. Seven +hundred of Braddock's fine soldiers, and more than half of his officers, +were killed or wounded. And all this havoc was made by two hundred +Frenchmen and about six hundred Indians hidden among the trees. + +At last Braddock gave the order to retreat. It soon became a wild flight +rather than a retreat; and yet, had it not been for Washington, it would +have been much worse. + +The General himself had been fatally wounded. There was no one but +Washington who could restore courage to the frightened men, and lead +them safely from the place of defeat. + +Four days after the battle General Braddock died, and the remnant of the +army being now led by a Colonel Dunbar, hurried back to the eastern +settlements. + +Of all the men who took part in that unfortunate expedition against the +French, there was only one who gained any renown therefrom, and that one +was Colonel George Washington. + +He went back to Mount Vernon, wishing never to be sent to the Ohio +Country again. + +The people of Virginia were so fearful lest the French and Indians +should follow up their victory and attack the settlements, that they +quickly raised a regiment of a thousand men to defend their colony. And +so highly did they esteem Colonel Washington that they made him +commander of all the forces of the colony, to do with them as he might +deem best. + +The war with the French for the possession of the Ohio Country and the +valley of the Mississippi, had now fairly begun. It would be more than +seven years before it came to an end. + +But most of the fighting was done at the north--in New York and Canada; +and so Washington and his Virginian soldiers did not distinguish +themselves in any very great enterprise. + +It was for them to keep watch of the western frontier of the colony lest +the Indians should cross the mountains and attack the settlements. + +Once, near the middle of the war, Washington led a company into the very +country where he had once traveled on foot with Christopher Gist. + +The French had built a fort at the place where the Ohio River has its +beginning, and they had named it Fort Duquesne. When they heard that +Washington was coming they set fire to the fort and fled down the river +in boats. + +The English built a new fort at the same place, and called it Fort Pitt; +and there the city of Pittsburg has since grown up. + +And now Washington resigned his commission as commander of the little +Virginian army. Perhaps he was tired of the war. Perhaps his great +plantation of Mount Vernon needed his care. We cannot tell. + +But we know that, a few days later, he was married to Mrs. Martha +Custis, a handsome young widow who owned a fine estate not a great way +from Williamsburg, the capital of the colony. This was in January, 1759. + +At about the same time he was elected a member of the House of Burgesses +of Virginia; and three months later, he went down to Williamsburg to +have a hand in making some of the laws for the colony. + +He was now twenty-seven years old. Young as he was, he was one of the +richest men in the colony, and he was known throughout the country as +the bravest of American soldiers. + +The war was still going on at the north. To most of the Virginians it +seemed to be a thing far away. + +At last, in 1763, a treaty of peace was made. The French had been +beaten, and they were obliged to give up everything to the English. They +lost not only the Ohio Country and all the great West, but Canada also. + + * * * * * + +XI.--THE MUTTERINGS OF THE STORM. + + +And now for several years Washington lived the life of a country +gentleman. He had enough to do, taking care of his plantations, hunting +foxes with his sport-loving neighbors, and sitting for a part of each +year in the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg. + +He was a tall man--more than six feet in height. He had a commanding +presence and a noble air, which plainly said: "This is no common man." + +[Illustration: Mount Vernon.] + +[Illustration: Tomb at Mount Vernon.] + +He was shrewd in business. He was the best horseman and the best +walker in Virginia. And no man knew more about farming than he. + +And so the years passed pleasantly enough at Mount Vernon, and there +were few who dreamed of the great events and changes that were soon to +take place. + +King George the Third of England, who was the ruler of the thirteen +colonies, had done many unwise things. + +He had made laws forbidding the colonists from trading with other +countries than his own. + +He would not let them build factories to weave their wool and flax into +cloth. + +He wanted to force them to buy all their goods in England, and to send +their corn and tobacco and cotton there to pay for them. + +And now after the long war with France he wanted to make the colonists +pay heavy taxes in order to meet the expenses of that war. + +They must not drink a cup of tea without first paying tax on it; they +must not sign a deed or a note without first buying stamped paper on +which to write it. + +In every colony there was great excitement on account of the tea tax +and the stamp act, as it was called. + +In the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg, a young man, whose name was +Patrick Henry, made a famous speech in which he declared that the king +had no right to tax them without their consent. + +George Washington heard that speech, and gave it his approval. + +Not long afterward, news came that in Boston a ship-load of tea had been +thrown into the sea by the colonists. Rather than pay the tax upon it, +they would drink no tea. + +Then, a little later, still other news came. The king had closed the +port of Boston, and would not allow any ships to come in or go out. + +More than this, he had sent over a body of soldiers, and had quartered +them in Boston in order to keep the people in subjection. + +The whole country was aroused now. What did this mean? Did the king +intend to take away from the colonists all the liberties that are so +dear to men? + +The colonies must unite and agree upon doing something to protect +themselves and preserve their freedom. In order to do this each colony +was asked to send delegates to Philadelphia to talk over the matter and +see what would be the best thing to do. + +George Washington was one of the delegates from Virginia. + +Before starting he made a great speech in the House of Burgesses. "If +necessary, I will raise a thousand men," he said, "subsist them at my +own expense, and march them to the relief of Boston." + +But the time for marching to Boston had not quite come. + +The delegates from the different colonies met in Carpenter's Hall, in +Philadelphia, on the 5th of September, 1774. Their meeting has since +been known as the First Continental Congress of America. + +For fifty-one days those wise, thoughtful men discussed the great +question that had brought them together. What could the colonists do to +escape the oppressive laws that the King of England was trying to force +upon them? + +Many powerful speeches were made, but George Washington sat silent. He +was a doer rather than a talker. + +At last the Congress decided to send an address to the king to remind +him of the rights of the colonists, and humbly beg that he would not +enforce his unjust laws. + +And then, when all had been done that could be done, Washington went +back to his home at Mount Vernon, to his family and his friends, his big +plantations, his fox-hunting, and his pleasant life as a country +gentleman. + +But he knew as well as any man that more serious work was near at hand. + + * * * * * + +XII.--THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR. + + +All that winter the people of the colonies were anxious and fearful. +Would the king pay any heed to their petition? Or would he force them to +obey his unjust laws? + +Then, in the spring, news came from Boston that matters were growing +worse and worse. The soldiers who were quartered in that city were daily +becoming more insolent and overbearing. + +"These people ought to have their town knocked about their ears and +destroyed," said one of the king's officers. + +On the 19th of April a company of the king's soldiers started to +Concord, a few miles from Boston, to seize some powder which had been +stored there. Some of the colonists met them at Lexington, and there was +a battle. + +This was the first battle in that long war commonly called the +Revolution. + +Washington was now on his way to the North again. The Second Continental +Congress was to meet in Philadelphia in May, and he was again a delegate +from Virginia. + +In the first days of the Congress no man was busier than he. No man +seemed to understand the situation of things better than he. No man was +listened to with greater respect; and yet he said but little. + +Every day, he came into the hall wearing the blue and buff uniform +which belonged to him as a Virginia colonel. It was as much as to say: +"The time for fighting has come, and I am ready." + +The Congress thought it best to send another humble petition to the +king, asking him not to deprive the people of their just rights. + +In the meantime brave men were flocking towards Boston to help the +people defend themselves from the violence of the king's soldiers. The +war had begun, and no mistake. + +The men of Congress saw now the necessity of providing for this war. +They asked, "Who shall be the commander-in-chief of our colonial army?" + +It was hardly worth while to ask such a question; for there could be but +one answer. Who, but George Washington? + +No other person in America knew so much about war as he. No other person +was so well fitted to command. + +On the 15th of June, on motion of John Adams of Massachusetts, he was +appointed to that responsible place. On the next day he made a modest +but noble little speech before Congress. + +He told the members of that body that he would serve his country +willingly and as well as he could--but not for money. They might provide +for his necessary expenses, but he would never take any pay for his +services. + +And so, leaving all his own interests out of sight, he undertook at once +the great work that had been entrusted to him. He undertook it, not for +profit nor for honor, but because of a feeling of duty to his +fellow-men. For eight weary, years he forgot himself in the service of +his country. + +Two weeks after his appointment General Washington rode into Cambridge, +near Boston, and took formal command of his army. + +It was but a small force, poorly clothed, poorly armed; but every man +had the love of country in his heart. It was the first American army. + +But so well did Washington manage matters that soon his raw troops were +in good shape for service. And so hard did he press the king's soldiers +in Boston that, before another summer, they were glad to take ship and +sail away from the town which they had so long infested and annoyed. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--INDEPENDENCE. + + +On the fourth day of the following July there was a great stir in the +town of Philadelphia. Congress was sitting in the Hall of the State +House. The streets were full of people; everybody seemed anxious; +everybody was in suspense. + +Men were crowding around the State House and listening. + +"Who is speaking now?" asked one. + +"John Adams," was the answer. + +"And who is speaking now?" + +"Doctor Franklin." + +"Good! Let them follow his advice, for he knows what is best." + +Then there was a lull outside, for everybody wanted to hear what the +great Dr. Franklin had to say. + +After a while the same question was asked again: "Who is speaking now?" + +And the answer was: "Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. It was he and +Franklin who wrote it." + +"Wrote what?" + +"Why, the Declaration of Independence, of course." + +A little later some one said: "They will be ready to sign it soon." + +"But will they dare to sign it?" + +"Dare? They dare not do otherwise." + +Inside the hall grave men were discussing the acts of the King of +England. + +"He has cut off our trade with all parts of the world," said one. + +"He has forced us to pay taxes without our consent," said another. + +"He has sent his soldiers among us to burn our towns and kill our +people," said a third. + +"He has tried to make the Indians our enemies," said a fourth. + +"He is a tyrant and unfit to be the ruler of a free people," agreed they +all. + +And then everybody was silent while one read: "We, therefore, the +representatives of the United States of America, solemnly publish and +declare that the united colonies are, and of right ought to be, _free +and independent states_" + +Soon afterward the bell in the high tower above the hall began to ring. + +"It is done!" cried the people. "They have signed the Declaration of +Independence." + +"Yes, every colony has voted for it," said those nearest the door. "The +King of England shall no longer rule over us." + +And that was the way in which the United States came into being. The +thirteen colonies were now thirteen states. + +Up to this time Washington and his army had been fighting for the rights +of the people as colonists. They had been fighting in order to oblige +the king to do away with the unjust laws which he had made. But now they +were to fight for freedom and for the independence of the United States. + +By and by you will read in your histories how wisely and bravely +Washington conducted the war. You will learn how he held out against the +king's soldiers on Long Island and at White Plains; how he crossed the +Delaware amid floating ice and drove the English from Trenton; how he +wintered at Morristown; how he suffered at Valley Forge; how he fought +at Germantown and Monmouth and Yorktown. + +There were six years of fighting, of marching here and there, of +directing and planning, of struggling in the face of every +discouragement. + +Eight years passed, and then peace came, for independence had been won, +and this our country was made forever free. + +On the 2d of November, 1783, Washington bade farewell to his army. On +the 23d of December he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief. + +There were some who suggested that Washington should make himself king +of this country; and indeed this he might have done, so great was the +people's love and gratitude. + +But the great man spurned such suggestions. He said, "If you have any +regard for your country or respect for me, banish those thoughts and +never again speak of them." + + * * * * * + +XIV.--THE FIRST PRESIDENT. + + +Washington was now fifty-two years old. + +The country was still in an unsettled condition. True, it was free from +English control. But there was no strong government to hold the states +together. + +Each state was a little country of itself, making its own laws, and +having its own selfish aims without much regard for its sister states. +People did not think of the United States as one great undivided nation. + +And so matters were in bad enough shape, and they grew worse and worse +as the months went by. + +Wise men saw that unless something should be done to bring about a +closer union of the states, they would soon be in no better condition +than when ruled by the English king. + +And so a great convention was held in Philadelphia to determine what +could be done to save the country from ruin. George Washington was +chosen to preside over this convention; and no man's words had greater +weight than his. + +He said, "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can +repair. The event is in the hand of God." + +That convention did a great and wonderful work; for it framed the +Constitution by which our country has ever since been governed. + +And soon afterwards, in accordance with that Constitution, the people of +the country were called upon to elect a President. Who should it be? + +Who could it be but Washington? + +When the electoral votes were counted, every vote was for George +Washington of Virginia. + +And so, on the 16th of April, 1789, the great man again bade adieu to +Mount Vernon and to private life, and set out for New York. For the city +of Washington had not yet been built, and New York was the first capital +of our country. + +There were no railroads at that time, and so the journey was made in a +coach. All along the road the people gathered to see their +hero-president and show him their love. + +On the 30th of April he was inaugurated at the old Federal Hall in New +York. + +"Long live George Washington, President of the United States!" shouted +the people. Then the cannon roared, the bells rang, and the new +government of the United States--the government which we have +to-day--began its existence. + +Washington was fifty-seven years old at the time of his inauguration. + +Perhaps no man was ever called to the doing of more difficult things. +The entire government must be built up from the beginning, and all its +machinery put into order. + +But so well did he meet the expectations of the people, that when his +first term was near its close he was again elected President, receiving +every electoral vote. + +In your histories you will learn of the many difficult tasks which he +performed during those years of the nation's infancy. There were new +troubles with England, troubles with the Indians, jealousies and +disagreements among the lawmakers of the country. But amidst all these +trials Washington stood steadfast, wise, cool--conscious that he was +right, and strong enough to prevail. + +Before the end of his second term, people began to talk about electing +him for the third time. They could not think of any other man holding +the highest office in the country. They feared that no other man could +be safely entrusted with the great responsibilities which he had borne +so nobly. + +But Washington declared that he would not accept office again. The +government was now on a firm footing. There were others who could manage +its affairs wisely and well. + +And so, in September, 1796, he published his Farewell Address. It was +full of wise and wholesome advice. + +"Beware of attacks upon the Constitution. Beware of those who think more +of their party than of their country. Promote education. Observe +justice. Treat with good faith all nations. Adhere to the right. Be +united--be united. Love your country." These were some of the things +that he said. + +John Adams, who had been Vice-President eight years, was chosen to be +the new President, and Washington again retired to Mount Vernon. + + * * * * * + +XV.--"FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN." + + +In the enjoyment of his home life, Washington did not forget his +country. It would, indeed, have been hard for him not to keep informed +about public affairs; for men were all the time coming to him to ask for +help and advice regarding this measure or that. + +The greatest men of the nation felt that he must know what was wisest +and best for the country's welfare. + +Soon after his retirement an unexpected trouble arose. There was another +war between England and France. The French were very anxious that the +United States should join in the quarrel. + +When they could not bring this about by persuasion, they tried abuse. +They insulted the officers of our government; they threatened war. + +The whole country was aroused. Congress began to take steps for the +raising of an army and the building of a navy. But who should lead the +army? + +All eyes were again turned toward Washington. He had saved the country +once; he could save it again. The President asked him if he would again +be the commander-in-chief. + +He answered that he would do so, on condition that he might choose his +assistants. But unless the French should actually invade this country, +he must not be expected to go into the field. + +And so, at the last, General Washington is again the commander-in-chief +of the American army. But there is to be no fighting this time. The +French see that the people of the United States cannot be frightened; +they see that the government cannot be driven; they leave off their +abuse, and are ready to make friends. + +Washington's work is done now. On the 12th of December, 1799, he mounts +his horse and rides out over his farms. The weather is cold; the snow is +falling; but he stays out for two or three hours. + +The next morning he has a sore throat; he has taken cold. The snow is +still falling, but he will go out again. At night he is very hoarse; he +is advised to take medicine. + +"Oh, no," he answers, "you know I never take anything for a cold." + +But in the night he grows much worse; early the next morning the doctor +is brought. It is too late. He grows rapidly worse. He knows that the +end is near. + +"It is well," he says; and these are his last words. + +Washington died on the 14th of December, 1799. He had lived nearly +sixty-eight years. + +His sudden death was a shock to the entire country. Every one felt as +though he had lost a personal friend. The mourning for him was general +and sincere. + +In the Congress of the United States his funeral oration was pronounced +by his friend, Henry Lee, who said: + +"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his +countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of +private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, uniform, dignified, and +commanding, his example was edifying to all around him, as were the +effects of that example lasting. + +"Such was the man America has lost! Such was the man for whom our +country mourns!" + + + + +THE STORY OF + +BENJAMIN FRANKLIN + + + + +TO THE YOUNG READER + + * * * * * + +I am about to tell you the story of a very great and noble man. It is +the story of one whom all the world honors--of one whose name will +forever be remembered with admiration. Benjamin Franklin was not born to +greatness. He had none of the advantages which even the poorest boys may +now enjoy. But he achieved greatness by always making the best use of +such opportunities as came in his way. He was not afraid of work. He did +not give up to discouragements. He did not overestimate his own +abilities. He was earnest and faithful in little things; and that, after +all, is the surest way of attaining to great things. There is no man to +whom we Americans owe a greater debt of gratitude. Without his aid the +American colonies would hardly have won independence. It was said of him +that he knew how to subdue both thunder and tyranny; and a famous orator +who knew him well, described him as "the genius that gave freedom to +America and shed torrents of light upon Europe." But, at the close of a +very long life, the thing which gave him the greatest satisfaction was +the fact that he had made no man his enemy; there was no human being who +could justly say, "Ben Franklin has wronged me." + + + + +THE STORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. + + * * * * * + +I.--THE WHISTLE. + + +Nearly two hundred years ago, there lived in Boston a little boy whose +name was Benjamin Franklin. + +On the day that he was seven years old, his mother gave him a few +pennies. + +He looked at the bright, yellow pieces and said, "What shall I do with +these coppers, mother?" + +It was the first money that he had ever had. + +"You may buy something with them, if you would like," said his mother. + +"And will you give me more when they are gone?" he asked. + +His mother shook her head and said: "No, Benjamin. I cannot give you any +more. So you must be careful not to spend them foolishly." + +The little fellow ran out into the street. He heard the pennies jingle +in his pocket as he ran. He felt as though he was very rich. + +Boston was at that time only a small town, and there were not many +stores. As Benjamin ran down toward the busy part of the street, he +wondered what he should buy. + +Should he buy candy or toys? It had been a long time since he had tasted +candy. As for toys, he hardly knew what they were. + +If he had been the only child in the family, things might have been +different. But there were fourteen boys and girls older than he, and two +little sisters that were younger. + +It was as much as his father could do to earn food and clothing for so +many. There was no money to spend for toys. + +Before Benjamin had gone very far he met a boy blowing a whistle. + +"That is just the thing that I want," he said. Then he hurried on to the +store where all kinds of things were kept for sale. + +"Have you any good whistles?" he asked. + +He was out of breath from running, but he tried hard to speak like a +man. + +"Yes, plenty of them," said the man. + +"Well, I want one, and I'll give you all the money I have for it," said +the little fellow. He forgot to ask the price. + +"How much money have you?" asked the man. + +Benjamin took the coppers from his pocket. The man counted them and +said, "All right, my boy. It's a bargain." + +Then he put the pennies into his money drawer, and gave one of the +whistles to the boy. + +Benjamin Franklin was a proud and happy boy. He ran home as fast as he +could, blowing his whistle as he ran. + +His mother met him at the door and said, "Well, my child, what did you +do with your pennies?" + +"I bought a whistle!" he cried. "Just hear me blow it!" + +"How much did you pay for it?" + +"All the money I had." + +One of his brothers was standing by and asked to see the whistle. "Well, +well!" he said, "did you spend all of your money for this thing?" + +"Every penny," said Benjamin. + +"Did you ask the price?" + +"No. But I offered them to the man, and he said it was all right." + +His brother laughed and said, "You are a very foolish fellow. You paid +four times as much as it is worth." + +"Yes," said his mother, "I think it is rather a dear whistle. You had +enough money to buy a whistle and some candy, too." + +The little boy saw what a mistake he had made. The whistle did not +please him any more. He threw it upon the floor, and began to cry. But +his mother took him upon her lap and said: + +"Never mind, my child. We must all live and learn; and I think that my +little boy will be careful, after this, not to pay too dear for his +whistles." + + * * * * * + +II.--SCHOOLDAYS. + + +When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were no great public schools in +Boston as there are now. But he learned to read almost as soon as he +could talk, and he was always fond of books. + +His nine brothers were older than he, and every one had learned a trade. +They did not care so much for books. + +"Benjamin shall be the scholar of our family," said his mother. + +"Yes, we will educate him for a minister," said his father. For at that +time all the most learned men were ministers. + +And so, when he was eight years old, Benjamin Franklin was sent to a +grammar school, where boys were prepared for college. He was a very apt +scholar, and in a few months was promoted to a higher class. + +But the lad was not allowed to stay long in the grammar school. His +father was a poor man. It would cost a great deal of money to give +Benjamin a college education. The times were very hard. The idea of +educating the boy for the ministry had to be given up. + +In less than a year he was taken from the grammar school, and sent to +another school where arithmetic and writing were taught. + +He learned to write very well, indeed; but he did not care so much for +arithmetic, and so failed to do what was expected of him. + +When he was ten years old he had to leave school altogether. His father +needed his help; and though Benjamin was but a small boy, there were +many things that he could do. + +He never attended school again. But he kept on studying and reading; and +we shall find that he afterwards became the most learned man in America. + +Benjamin's father was a soap-boiler and candle-maker. And so when the +boy was taken from school, what kind of work do you think he had to do? + +He was kept busy cutting wicks for the candles, pouring the melted +tallow into the candle-moulds, and selling soap to his father's +customers. + +Do you suppose that he liked this business? + +He did not like it at all. And when he saw the ships sailing in and out +of Boston harbor, he longed to be a sailor and go to strange, far-away +lands, where candles and soap were unknown. + +But his father would not listen to any of his talk about going to sea. + + * * * * * + +III.--THE BOYS AND THE WHARF. + + +Busy as Benjamin was in his father's shop, he still had time to play a +good deal. + +He was liked by all the boys of the neighborhood, and they looked up to +him as their leader. In all their games he was their captain; and +nothing was undertaken without asking his advice. + +Not far from the home of the Franklins there was a millpond, where the +boys often went to swim. When the tide was high they liked to stand at a +certain spot on the shore of the pond and fish for minnows. + +But the ground was marshy and wet, and the boys' feet sank deep in the +mud. + +"Let us build a wharf along the water's edge," said Benjamin. "Then we +can stand and fish with some comfort." + +"Agreed!" said the boys. "But what is the wharf to be made of?" + +Benjamin pointed to a heap of stones that lay not far away. They had +been hauled there only a few days before, and were to be used in +building a new house near the millpond. + +The boys needed only a hint. Soon they were as busy as ants, dragging +the stones to the water's edge. + +Before it was fully dark that evening, they had built a nice stone wharf +on which they could stand and fish without danger of sinking in the mud. + +The next morning the workmen came to begin the building of the house. +They were surprised to find all the stones gone from the place where +they had been thrown. But the tracks of the boys in the mud told the +story. + +It was easy enough to find out who had done the mischief. + +When the boys' fathers were told of the trouble which they had caused, +you may imagine what they did. + +Young Benjamin Franklin tried hard to explain that a wharf on the edge +of the millpond was a public necessity. + +His father would not listen to him. He said, "My son, nothing can ever +be truly useful which is not at the same time truly honest." + +And Benjamin never forgot this lesson. + + * * * * * + +IV.--CHOOSING A TRADE. + + +As I have already said, young Benjamin did not like the work which he +had to do in his father's shop. + +His father was not very fond of the trade himself, and so he could not +blame the boy. One day he said: + +"Benjamin, since you have made up your mind not to be a candle-maker, +what trade do you think you would like to learn?" + +"You know I would like to be a sailor," said the boy. + +"But you shall not be a sailor," said his father. "I intend that you +shall learn some useful business, on land; and, of course, you will +succeed best in that kind of business which is most pleasant to you." + +The next day he took the boy to walk with him among the shops of Boston. +They saw all kinds of workmen busy at their various trades. + +Benjamin was delighted. Long afterwards, when he had become a very great +man, he said, "It has ever since been a pleasure to me to see good +workmen handle their tools." + +He gave up the thought of going to sea, and said that he would learn any +trade that his father would choose for him. + +His father thought that the cutler's trade was a good one. His cousin, +Samuel Franklin, had just set up a cutler's shop in Boston, and he +agreed to take Benjamin a few days on trial. + +Benjamin was pleased with the idea of learning how to make knives and +scissors and razors and all other kinds of cutting tools. But his cousin +wanted so much money for teaching him the trade that his father could +not afford it; and so the lad was taken back to the candle-maker's shop. + +Soon after this, Benjamin's brother, James Franklin, set up a printing +press in Boston. He intended to print and publish books and a newspaper. + +"Benjamin loves books," said his father. "He shall learn to be a +printer." + +And so, when he was twelve years old, he was bound to his brother to +learn the printer's trade. He was to stay with him until he was +twenty-one. He was to have his board and clothing and no other wages, +except during the last year. I suppose that during the last year he was +to be paid the same as any other workman. + + * * * * * + +V.--HOW FRANKLIN EDUCATED HIMSELF. + + +When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were no books for children. Yet +he spent most of his spare time in reading. + +His father's books were not easy to understand. People nowadays would +think them very dull and heavy. + +[Illustration: Birthplace of Franklin Boston U.S.] + +[Illustration: Press at which Franklin worked.] + +But before he was twelve years old, Benjamin had read the most of +them. He read everything that he could get. + +After he went to work for his brother he found it easier to obtain good +books. Often he would borrow a book in the evening, and then sit up +nearly all night reading it so as to return it in the morning. + +When the owners of books found that he always returned them soon and +clean, they were very willing to lend him whatever he wished. + +He was about fourteen years of age when he began to study how to write +clearly and correctly. He afterwards told how he did this. He said: + +"About this time I met with an odd volume of the _Spectator_. I had +never before seen any of them. + +"I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. + +"I thought the writing excellent, and wished if possible to imitate it. + +"With that view, I took some of the papers, and making short hints of +the sentiments in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, +without looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again, by +expressing each hinted sentiment at length and as fully as it had been +expressed before, in any suitable words that should occur to me. + +"Then I compared my _Spectator_ with the original, discovered some of my +faults and corrected them. + +"But I found that I wanted a stock of words, or a readiness in +recollecting and using them. + +"Therefore, I took some of the tales in the _Spectator_ and turned them +into verse; and, after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten the +prose, turned them back again." + +About this time his brother began to publish a newspaper. + +It was the fourth newspaper published in America, and was called the +_New England Courant_. + +People said that it was a foolish undertaking. They said that one +newspaper was enough for this country, and that there would be but +little demand for more. + +In those days editors did not dare to write freely about public +affairs. It was dangerous to criticise men who were in power. + +James Franklin published something in the _New England Courant_ about +the lawmakers of Massachusetts. It made the lawmakers very angry. They +caused James Franklin to be shut up in prison for a month, and they +ordered that he should no longer print the newspaper called the _New +England Courant_. + +But, in spite of this order, the newspaper was printed every week as +before. It was printed, however, in the name of Benjamin Franklin. For +several years it bore his name as editor and publisher. + + * * * * * + +VI.--FAREWELL TO BOSTON. + + +Benjamin Franklin did not have a very happy life with his brother James. + +His brother was a hard master, and was always finding fault with his +workmen. Sometimes he would beat young Benjamin and abuse him without +cause. + +When Benjamin was nearly seventeen years old he made up his mind that +he would not endure this treatment any longer. + +He told his brother that he would leave him and find work with some one +else. + +When his brother learned that he really meant to do this, he went round +to all the other printers in Boston and persuaded them not to give +Benjamin any work. + +The father took James's part, and scolded Benjamin for being so saucy +and so hard to please. But Benjamin would not go back to James's +printing house. + +He made up his mind that since he could not find work in Boston he would +run away from his home. He would go to New York and look for work there. + +He sold his books to raise a little money. Then, without saying good-bye +to his father or mother or any of his brothers or sisters, he went on +board a ship that was just ready to sail from the harbor. + +It is not likely that he was very happy while doing this. Long +afterwards he said: "I reckon this as one of the first _errata_ of my +life." + +What did he mean by _errata?_ + +_Errata_ are mistakes--mistakes that cannot easily be corrected. + +Three days after leaving Boston, young Franklin found himself in New +York. It was then October, in the year 1723. + +The lad had but very little money in his pocket. There was no one in New +York that he knew. He was three hundred miles from home and friends. + +As soon as he landed he went about the streets looking for work. + +New York was only a little town then, and there was not a newspaper in +it. There were but a few printing houses there, and these had not much +work to do. The boy from Boston called at every place, but he found that +nobody wanted to employ any more help. + +At one of the little printing houses Franklin was told that perhaps he +could find work in Philadelphia, which was at that time a much more +important place than New York. + +Philadelphia was one hundred miles farther from home. One hundred miles +was a long distance in those days. + +But Franklin made up his mind to go there without delay. It would be +easier to do this than to give up and try to return to Boston. + + * * * * * + +VII.--THE FIRST DAY IN PHILADELPHIA. + + +There are two ways of going from New York to Philadelphia. + +One way is by the sea. The other is by land, across the state of New +Jersey. + +As Franklin had but little money, he took the shorter route by land; but +he sent his little chest, containing his Sunday clothes, round by sea, +in a boat. + +He walked all the way from Perth Amboy, on the eastern shore of New +Jersey, to Burlington, on the Delaware river. + +Nowadays you may travel that distance in an hour, for it is only about +fifty miles. + +But there were no railroads at that time; and Franklin was nearly three +days trudging along lonely wagon-tracks, in the midst of a pouring rain. + +At Burlington he was lucky enough to be taken on board a small boat that +was going down the river. + +Burlington is only twenty miles above Philadelphia. But the boat moved +very slowly, and as there was no wind, the men took turns at rowing. + +Night came on, and they were afraid that they might pass by Philadelphia +in the darkness. So they landed, and camped on shore till morning. + +Early the next day they reached Philadelphia, and Benjamin Franklin +stepped on shore at the foot of Market street, where the Camden +ferry-boats now land. + +No one who saw him could have guessed that he would one day be the +greatest man in the city. + +He was a sorry-looking fellow. + +He was dressed in his working clothes, and was very dirty from being so +long on the road and in the little boat. + +His pockets were stuffed out with shirts and stockings, and all the +money that he had was not more than a dollar. + +He was hungry and tired. He had not a single friend. He did not know of +anyplace where he could look for lodging. + +It was Sunday morning. + +He went a little way up the street, and looked around him. + +A boy was coming down, carrying a basket of bread. + +"My young friend," said Franklin, "where did you get that bread?" + +"At the baker's," said the boy. + +"And where is the baker's?" + +The boy showed him the little baker shop just around the corner. + +Young Franklin was so hungry that he could hardly wait. He hurried into +the shop and asked for three-penny worth of bread. + +The baker gave him three great, puffy rolls. + +Franklin had not expected to get so much, but he took the rolls and +walked out. + +His pockets were already full, and so, while he ate one roll, he held +the others under his arms. + +As he went up Market street, eating his roll, a young girl stood in a +doorway laughing at him. He was, indeed, a very funny-looking fellow. + +The girl's name was Deborah Read. A few years after that, she became the +wife of Benjamin Franklin. + +Hungry as he was, Franklin found that he could eat but one of the rolls, +and so he gave the other two to a poor woman who had come down the river +in the same boat with him. + +As he was strolling along the street he came to a Quaker meeting-house. + +The door was open, and many people were sitting quietly inside. The +seats looked inviting, and so Franklin walked in and sat down. + +The day was warm; the people in the house were very still; Franklin was +tired. In a few minutes he was sound asleep. + +And so it was in a Quaker meeting-house that Benjamin Franklin found the +first shelter and rest in Philadelphia. + +Later in the day, as Franklin was strolling toward the river, he met a +young man whose honest face was very pleasing to him. + +"My friend," he said, "can you tell me of any house where they lodge +strangers?" + +"Yes," said the young man, "there is a house on this very street; but it +is not a place I can recommend. If thee will come with me I will show +thee a better one." + +Franklin walked with him to a house on Water street, and there he found +lodging for the night. + +And so ended his first day in Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--GOVERNOR WILLIAM KEITH. + + +Franklin soon obtained work in a printing house owned by a man named +Keimer. + +He found a boarding place in the house of Mr. Read, the father of the +girl who had laughed at him with his three rolls. + +He was only seventeen years old, and he soon became acquainted with +several young people in the town who loved books. + +In a little while he began to lay up money, and he tried to forget his +old home in Boston as much as he could. + +One day a letter came to Philadelphia for Benjamin Franklin. + +It was from Captain Robert Holmes, a brother-in-law of Franklin's. + +Captain Holmes was the master of a trading sloop that sailed between +Boston and Delaware Bay. While he was loading his vessel at Newcastle, +forty miles below Philadelphia, he had happened to hear about the young +man Franklin who had lately come from Boston. + +He sat down at once and wrote a letter to the young man. He told him how +his parents and friends were grieving for him in Boston. He begged him +to go back home, and said that everything would be made right if he +would do so. + +When Franklin read this letter he felt very sad to think of the pain and +distress which he had caused. + +But he did not want to return to Boston. He felt that he had been badly +treated by his brother, and, therefore, that he was not the only one to +be blamed. He believed that he could do much better in Philadelphia than +anywhere else. + +So he sat down and wrote an answer to Captain Holmes. He wrote it with +great care, and sent it off to Newcastle by the first boat that was +going that way. + +Now it so happened that Sir William Keith, the governor of the province, +was at Newcastle at that very time. He was with Captain Holmes when the +letter came to hand. + +When Captain Holmes had read the letter he was so pleased with it that +he showed it to the governor. + +Governor Keith read it and was surprised when he learned that its writer +was a lad only seventeen years old. + +"He is a young man of great promise," he said; "and he must be +encouraged. The printers in Philadelphia know nothing about their +business. If young Franklin will stay there and set up a press, I will +do a great deal for him." + +One day not long after that, when Franklin was at work in Keimer's +printing-office, the governor came to see him. Franklin was very much +surprised. + +The governor offered to set him up in a business of his own. He promised +that he should have all the public printing in the province. + +"But you will have to go to England to buy your types and whatever else +you may need." + +Franklin agreed to do this. But he must first return to Boston and get +his father's consent and assistance. + +The governor gave him a letter to carry to his father. In a few weeks he +was on his way home. + +You may believe that Benjamin's father and mother were glad to see him. +He had been gone seven months, and in all that time they had not heard a +word from him. + +His brothers and sisters were glad to see him, too--all but the printer, +James, who treated him very unkindly. + +His father read the governor's letter, and then shook his head. + +"What kind of a man is this Governor Keith?" he asked. "He must have +but little judgment to think of setting up a mere boy in business of +this kind." + +After that he wrote a letter of thanks to the governor. He said that he +was grateful for the kindness he had shown to his son, and for his offer +to help him. But he thought that Benjamin was still too young to be +trusted with so great a business, and therefore he would not consent to +his undertaking it. As for helping him, that he could not do; for he had +but little more money than was needed to carry on his own affairs. + + * * * * * + +IX.--THE RETURN TO PHILADELPHIA. + + +Benjamin Franklin felt much disappointed when his father refused to help +send him to England. But he was not discouraged. + +In a few weeks he was ready to return to Philadelphia. This time he did +not have to run away from home. + +His father blessed him, and his mother gave him many small gifts as +tokens of her love. + +"Be diligent," said his father, "attend well to your business, and save +your money carefully, and, perhaps, by the time you are twenty-one years +old, you will be able to set up for yourself without the governor's +help." + +All the family, except James the printer, bade him a kind good-bye, as +he went on board the little ship that was to take him as far as New +York. + +There was another surprise for him when he reached New York. + +The governor of New York had heard that there was a young man from +Boston on board the ship, and that he had a great many books. + +There were no large libraries in New York at that time. There were no +bookstores, and but few people who cared for books. + +So the governor sent for Franklin to come and see him. He showed him his +own library, and they had a long talk about books and authors. + +This was the second governor that had taken notice of Benjamin. For a +poor boy, like him, it was a great honor, and very pleasing. + +When he arrived in Philadelphia he gave to Governor Keith the letter +which his father had written. + +The governor was not very well pleased. He said: + +"Your father is too careful. There is a great difference in persons. +Young men can sometimes be trusted with great undertakings as well as if +they were older." + +He then said that he would set Franklin up in business without his +father's help. + +"Give me a list of everything needed in a first-class printing-office. I +will see that you are properly fitted out." + +Franklin was delighted. He thought that Governor Keith was one of the +best men in the world. + +In a few days he laid before the governor a list of the things needed in +a little printing-office. + +The cost of the outfit would be about five hundred dollars. + +The governor was pleased with the list. There were no type-foundries in +America at that time. There was no place where printing-presses were +made. Everything had to be bought in England. + +The governor said, "Don't you think it would be better if you could go +to England and choose the types for yourself, and see that everything is +just as you would like to have it?" + +"Yes, sir," said Franklin, "I think that would be a great advantage." + +"Well, then," said the governor, "get yourself ready to go on the next +regular ship to London. It shall be at my expense." + +At that time there was only one ship that made regular trips from +Philadelphia to England, and it sailed but once each year. + +The name of this ship was the _Annis_. It would not be ready to sail +again for several months. + +And so young Franklin, while he was getting ready for the voyage, kept +on working in Mr. Keimer's little printing-office. + +He laid up money enough to pay for his passage. He did not want to be +dependent upon Governor Keith for everything; and it was well that he +did not. + + * * * * * + +X.--THE FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. + + +At last the _Annis_ was ready to sail. + +Governor Keith had promised to give to young Franklin letters of +introduction to some of his friends in England. + +He had also promised to give him money to buy his presses and type. + +But when Franklin called at the governor's house to bid him good-bye, +and to get the letters, the governor was too busy to see him. He said +that he would send the letters and the money to him on shipboard. + +The ship sailed. + +But no letters, nor any word from Governor Keith, had been sent to +Franklin. + +When he at last arrived in London he found himself without money and +without friends. + +Governor Keith had given him nothing but promises. He would never give +him anything more. He was a man whose word was not to be depended upon. + +Franklin was then just eighteen years old. He must now depend wholly +upon himself. He must make his own way in the world, without aid from +anyone. + +He went out at once to look for work. He found employment in a +printing-office, and there he stayed for nearly a year. + +Franklin made many acquaintances with literary people while he was in +London. + +He proved himself to be a young man of talent and ingenuity. He was +never idle. + +His companions in the printing-office were beer-drinkers and sots. He +often told them how foolish they were to spend their money and ruin +themselves for drink. + +He drank nothing but water. He was strong and active. He could carry +more, and do more work, than any of them. + +He persuaded many of them to leave off drinking, and to lead better +lives. + +Franklin was also a fine swimmer. There was no one in London who could +swim as well. He wrote two essays on swimming, and made some plans for +opening a swimming school. + +When he had been in London about a year, he met a Mr. Denham, a merchant +of Philadelphia, and a strong friendship sprang up between them. + +Mr. Denham at last persuaded Franklin to return to Philadelphia, and be +a clerk in his dry-goods store. + +And so, on the 23rd of the next July, he set sail for home. The ship was +nearly three months in making the voyage, and it was not until October +that he again set foot in Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +XI.--A LEADING MAN IN PHILADELPHIA. + + +When Franklin was twenty-four years old he was married to Miss Deborah +Read, the young lady who had laughed at him when he was walking the +street with his three rolls. + +They lived together very happily for a great many years. + +Some time before this marriage, Franklin's friend and employer, Mr. +Denham, had died. + +The dry-goods store, of which he was the owner, had been sold, and +Franklin's occupation as a salesman, or clerk, was gone. But the young +man had shown himself to be a person of great industry and ability. He +had the confidence of everybody that knew him. + +A friend of his, who had money, offered to take him as a partner in the +newspaper business. And so he again became a printer, and the editor of +a paper called the _Pennsylvania Gazette_. + +It was not long until Franklin was recognized as one of the leading men +in Philadelphia. His name was known, not only in Pennsylvania, but in +all the colonies. + +He was all the time thinking of plans for making the people about him +wiser and better and happier. + +He established a subscription and circulating library, the first in +America. This library was the beginning of the present Philadelphia +Public Library. + +He wrote papers on education. He founded the University of +Pennsylvania. He organized the American Philosophical Society. + +He established the first fire company in Philadelphia, which was also +the first in America. + +He invented a copper-plate press, and printed the first paper money of +New Jersey. + +He also invented the iron fireplace, which is called the Franklin stove, +and is still used where wood is plentiful and cheap. + +After an absence of ten years, he paid a visit to his old home in +Boston. Everybody was glad to see him now,--even his brother James, the +printer. + +When he returned to Philadelphia, he was elected clerk of the colonial +assembly. + +Not long after that, he was chosen to be postmaster of the city. But his +duties in this capacity did not require very much labor in those times. + +He did not handle as much mail in a whole year as passes now through the +Philadelphia post-office in a single hour. + +[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.] + + * * * * * + +XII.--FRANKLIN'S RULES OF LIFE. + + +Here are some of the rules of life which Franklin made for himself when +he was a very young man: + +1. To live very frugally till he had paid all that he owed. + +2. To speak the truth at all times; to be sincere in word and action. + +3. To apply himself earnestly to whatever business he took in hand; and +to shun all foolish projects for becoming suddenly rich. "For industry +and patience," he said, "are the surest means of plenty." + +4. To speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a matter of truth; but +to speak all the good he knew of everybody. + +When he was twenty-six years old, he published the first number of an +almanac called _Poor Richard's Almanac_. + +This almanac was full of wise and witty sayings, and everybody soon +began to talk about it. + +Every year, for twenty-five years, a new number of _Poor Richard's +Almanac_ was printed. It was sold in all parts of the country. People +who had no other books would buy and read _Poor Richard's Almanac_. The +library of many a farmer consisted of only the family Bible with one or +more numbers of this famous almanac. Here are a few of Poor Richard's +sayings: + + "A word to the wise is enough." + "God helps them that help themselves." + "Early to bed and early to rise, + Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." + "There are no gains without pains." + "Plow deep while sluggards sleep, + And you shall have corn to sell and to keep." + "One to-day is worth two to-morrows." + "Little strokes fell great oaks." + "Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee." + "The sleeping fox catches no poultry." + "Diligence is the mother of good luck." + "Constant dropping wears away stones." + "A small leak will sink a great ship." + "Who dainties love shall beggars prove." + "Creditors have better memories than debtors." + "Many a little makes a mickle." + "Fools make feasts and wise men eat them." + "Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths." + "Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt." + "For age and want save while you may; + No morning sun lasts the whole day." + +It is pleasant to know that Franklin observed the rules of life which he +made. And his wife, Deborah, was as busy and as frugal as himself. + +They kept no idle servants. Their furniture was of the cheapest sort. +Their food was plain and simple. + +Franklin's breakfast, for many years, was only bread and milk; and he +ate it out of a twopenny earthen bowl with a pewter spoon. + +But at last, when he was called one morning to breakfast, he found his +milk in a china bowl; and by the side of the bowl there was a silver +spoon. + +His wife had bought them for him as a surprise. She said that she +thought her husband deserved a silver spoon and china bowl as well as +any of his neighbors. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--FRANKLIN'S SERVICES TO THE COLONIES. + + +And so, as you have seen, Benjamin Franklin became in time one of the +foremost men in our country. + +In 1753, when he was forty-five years old, he was made deputy +postmaster-general for America. + +He was to have a salary of about $3,000 a year, and was to pay his own +assistants. + +People were astonished when he proposed to have the mail carried +regularly once every week between New York and Boston. + +Letters starting from Philadelphia on Monday morning would reach Boston +the next Saturday night. This was thought to be a wonderful and almost +impossible feat. But nowadays, letters leaving Philadelphia at midnight +are read at the breakfast table in Boston the next morning. + +At that time there were not seventy post-offices in the whole country. +There are now more than seventy thousand. + +Benjamin Franklin held the office of deputy postmaster-general for the +American colonies for twenty-one years. + +In 1754 there was a meeting of the leading men of all the colonies at +Albany. There were fears of a war with the French and Indians of Canada, +and the colonies had sent these men to plan some means of defence. + +Benjamin Franklin was one of the men from Pennsylvania at this meeting. + +He presented a plan for the union of the colonies, and it was adopted. +But our English rulers said it was too democratic, and refused to let it +go into operation. + +This scheme of Franklin's set the people of the colonies to thinking. +Why should the colonies not unite? Why should they not help one another, +and thus form one great country? + +And so, we may truthfully say that it was Benjamin Franklin who first +put into men's minds the idea of the great Union which we now call the +United States of America. + +The people of the colonies were not happy under the rule of the +English. One by one, laws were made which they looked upon as oppressive +and burdensome. These laws were not intended to benefit the American +people, but were designed to enrich the merchants and politicians of +England. + +In 1757 the people of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, and +Georgia, decided to send some one to England to petition against these +oppressions. + +In all the colonies there was no man better fitted for this business +than Benjamin Franklin. And so he was the man sent. + +The fame of the great American had gone before him. Everybody seemed +anxious to do him honor. + +He met many of the leading men of the day, and he at last succeeded in +gaining the object of his mission. + +But such business moved slowly in those times. Five years passed before +he was ready to return to America. + +He reached Philadelphia in November, 1762, and the colonial assembly of +Pennsylvania thanked him publicly for his great services. + +But new troubles soon came up between the colonies and the government in +England. Other laws were passed, more oppressive than before. + +It was proposed to tax the colonies, and to force the colonists to buy +stamped paper. This last act was called the Stamp Tax, and the American +people opposed it with all their might. + +Scarcely had Franklin been at home two years when he was again sent to +England to plead the cause of his countrymen. + +This time he remained abroad for more than ten years; but he was not so +successful as before. + +In 1774 he appeared before the King's council to present a petition from +the people of Massachusetts. + +He was now a venerable man nearly seventy years of age. He was the most +famous man of America. + +His petition was rejected. He himself was shamefully insulted and abused +by one of the members of the council. The next day he was dismissed +from the office of deputy postmaster-general of America. + +In May, 1775, he was again at home in Philadelphia. + +Two weeks before his arrival the battle of Lexington had been fought, +and the war of the Revolution had been begun. + +Franklin had done all that he could to persuade the English king to deal +justly with the American colonies. But the king and his counsellors had +refused to listen to him. + +During his ten years abroad he had not stayed all the time in England. +He had traveled in many countries of Europe, and had visited Paris +several times. + +Many changes had taken place while he was absent. + +His wife, Mrs. Deborah Franklin, had died. His parents and fifteen of +his brothers and sisters had also been laid in the grave. + +The rest of his days were to be spent in the service of his country, to +which he had already given nearly twenty years of his life. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--FRANKLIN'S WONDERFUL KITE. + + +Benjamin Franklin was not only a printer, politician, and statesman, he +was the first scientist of America. In the midst of perplexing cares it +was his delight to study the laws of nature and try to understand some +of the mysteries of creation. + +In his time no very great discoveries had yet been made. The steam +engine was unknown. The telegraph had not so much as been dreamed about. +Thousands of comforts which we now enjoy through the discoveries of +science were then unthought of; or if thought of, they were deemed to be +impossible. + +Franklin began to make experiments in electricity when he was about +forty years old. + +He was the first person to discover that lightning is caused by +electricity. He had long thought that this was true, but he had no means +of proving it. + +He thought that if he could stand on some high tower during a +thunder-storm, he might be able to draw some of the electricity from the +clouds through a pointed iron rod. But there was no high tower in +Philadelphia. There was not even a tall church spire. + +At last he thought of making a kite and sending it up to the clouds. A +paper kite, however, would be ruined by the rain and would not fly to +any great height. + +So instead of paper he used a light silk handkerchief which he fastened +to two slender but strong cross pieces. At the top of the kite he placed +a pointed iron rod. The string was of hemp, except a short piece at the +lower end, which was of silk. At the end of the hemp string an iron key +was tied. + +"I think that is a queer kind of kite," said Franklin's little boy. +"What are you going to do with it?" + +"Wait until the next thunder-storm, and you will see," said Franklin. +"You may go with me and we will send it up to the clouds." + +He told no one else about it, for if the experiment should fail, he did +not care to have everybody laugh at him. + +At last, one day, a thunder-storm came up, and Franklin, with his son, +went out into a field to fly his kite. There was a steady breeze, and it +was easy to send the kite far up towards the clouds. + +Then, holding the silken end of the string, Franklin stood under a +little shed in the field, and watched to see what would happen. + +The lightnings flashed, the thunder rolled, but there was no sign of +electricity in the kite. At last, when he was about to give up the +experiment, Franklin saw the loose fibres of his hempen string begin to +move. + +He put his knuckles close to the key, and sparks of fire came flying to +his hand. He was wild with delight. The sparks of fire were electricity; +he had drawn them from the clouds. + +That experiment, if Franklin had only known it, was a very dangerous +one. It was fortunate for him, and for the world, that he suffered no +harm. More than one person who has since tried to draw electricity from +the clouds has been killed by the lightning that has flashed down the +hempen kite string. + +When Franklin's discovery was made known it caused great excitement +among the learned men of Europe. They could not believe it was true +until some of them had proved it by similar experiments. + +They could hardly believe that a man in the far-away city of +Philadelphia could make a discovery which they had never thought of as +possible. Indeed, how could an American do anything that was worth +doing? + +Franklin soon became famous in foreign countries as a philosopher and +man of science. The universities of Oxford and Edinburgh honored him by +conferring upon him their highest degrees. He was now _Doctor_ Benjamin +Franklin. But in America people still thought of him only as a man of +affairs, as a great printer, and as the editor of _Poor Richard's +Almanac_. + +All this happened before the beginning of his career as ambassador from +the colonies to the king and government of England. + +I cannot tell you of all of his discoveries in science. He invented the +lightning-rod, and, by trying many experiments, he learned more about +electricity than the world had ever known before. + +He made many curious experiments to discover the laws of heat, light, +and sound. By laying strips of colored cloth on snow, he learned which +colors are the best conductors of heat. + +He invented the harmonica, an ingenious musical instrument, in which the +sounds were produced by musical glasses. + +During his long stay abroad he did not neglect his scientific studies. +He visited many of the greatest scholars of the time, and was everywhere +received with much honor. + +The great scientific societies of Europe, the Royal Academies in Paris +and in Madrid, had already elected him as one of their members. The King +of France wrote him a letter, thanking him for his useful discoveries in +electricity, and for his invention of the lightning-rod. + +All this would have made some men very proud. But it was not so with Dr. +Franklin. In a letter which he wrote to a friend at the time when these +honors were beginning to be showered upon him, he said: + +"The pride of man is very differently gratified; and had his Majesty +sent me a marshal's staff I think I should scarce have been so proud of +it as I am of your esteem." + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE LAST YEARS. + + +In 1776 delegates from all the colonies met in Philadelphia. They formed +what is called the second Continental Congress of America. + +It was now more than a year since the war had begun, and the colonists +had made up their minds not to submit to the king of England and his +council. + +Many of them were strongly in favor of setting up a new government of +their own. + +A committee was appointed to draft a declaration of independence, and +Benjamin Franklin was one of that committee. + +On the 4th of July, Congress declared the colonies to be free and +independent states. Among the signers of the Declaration of Independence +was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. + +Soon after this Dr. Franklin was sent to Paris as minister from the +United States. Early in the following year, 1777, he induced the king of +France to acknowledge the independence of this country. + +He thus secured aid for the Americans at a time when they were in the +greatest need of it. Had it not been for his services at this time, the +war of the Revolution might have ended very differently, indeed. + +It was not until 1785 that he was again able to return to his home. + +He was then nearly eighty years old. + +He had served his country faithfully for fifty-three years. He would +have been glad if he might retire to private life. + +When he reached Philadelphia he was received with joy by thousands of +his countrymen. General Washington was among the first to welcome him, +and to thank him for his great services. + +That same year the grateful people of his state elected him President +of Pennsylvania. + +Two years afterwards, he wrote: + +"I am here in my _niche_ in my own house, in the bosom of my family, my +daughter and grandchildren all about me, among my old friends, or the +sons of my friends, who equally respect me. + +"In short, I enjoy here every opportunity of doing good, and everything +else I could wish for, except repose; and that I may soon expect, either +by the cessation of my office, which cannot last more than three years, +or by ceasing to live." + +The next year he was a delegate to the convention which formed the +present Constitution of the United States. + +In a letter written to his friend Washington not long afterwards, he +said: "For my personal ease I should have died two years ago; but though +those years have been spent in pain, I am glad to have lived them, since +I can look upon our present situation." + +In April, 1790, he died, and was buried by the side of his wife, +Deborah, in Arch street graveyard in Philadelphia. His age was +eighty-four years and three months. + +Many years before his death he had written the following epitaph for +himself: + + "The Body + of + Benjamin Franklin, Printer, + (Like the cover of an old book, + Its contents torn out, + And stripped of its lettering and gilding,) + Lies here food for worms. + Yet the work itself shall not be lost, + For it will (as he believed) appear once more + In a new + And more beautiful Edition, + Corrected and Amended + By + The Author." + + + + +THE STORY OF + +DANIEL WEBSTER + +[Illustration: _DANIEL WEBSTER_.] + + + + +THE STORY OF DANIEL WEBSTER. + + * * * * * + +I.--CAPTAIN WEBSTER. + + +Many years ago there lived in New Hampshire a poor farmer, whose name +was Ebenezer Webster. + +His little farm was among the hills, not far from the Merrimac River. It +was a beautiful place to live in; but the ground was poor, and there +were so many rocks that you would wonder how anything could grow among +them. + +Ebenezer Webster was known far and wide as a brave, wise man. When any +of his neighbors were in trouble or in doubt about anything, they always +said, "We will ask Captain Webster about it." + +They called him Captain because he had fought the French and Indians and +had been a brave soldier in the Revolutionary War. Indeed, he was one +of the first men in New Hampshire to take up arms for his country. + +When he heard that the British were sending soldiers to America to force +the people to obey the unjust laws of the king of England, he said, "We +must never submit to this." + +So he went among his neighbors and persuaded them to sign a pledge to do +all that they could to defend the country against the British. Then he +raised a company of two hundred men and led them to Boston to join the +American army. + +The Revolutionary War lasted several years; and during all that time, +Captain Webster was known as one of the bravest of the American +patriots. + +One day, at West Point, he met General Washington. The patriots were in +great trouble at that time, for one of their leaders had turned traitor +and had gone to help the British. The officers and soldiers were much +distressed, for they did not know who might be the next to desert them. + +As I have said, Captain Webster met General Washington. The general +took the captain's hand, and said: "I believe that I can trust you, +Captain Webster." + +You may believe that this made Captain Webster feel very happy. When he +went back to his humble home among the New Hampshire hills, he was never +so proud as when telling his neighbors about this meeting with General +Washington. + +If you could have seen Captain Ebenezer Webster in those days, you would +have looked at him more than once. He was a remarkable man. He was very +tall and straight, with dark, glowing eyes, and hair as black as night. +His face was kind, but it showed much firmness and decision. + +He had never attended school; but he had tried, as well as he could, to +educate himself. It was on account of his honesty and good judgment that +he was looked up to as the leading man in the neighborhood. + +In some way, I do not know how, he had gotten a little knowledge of the +law. And at last, because of this as well as because of his sound +common sense, he was appointed judge of the court in his county. + +This was several years after the war was over. He was now no longer +called Captain Webster, but Judge Webster. + +It had been very hard for him to make a living for his large family on +the stony farm among the hills. But now his office as judge would bring +him three hundred or four hundred dollars a year. He had never had so +much money in his life. + +"Judge Webster," said one of his neighbors, "what are you going to do +with the money that you get from your office? Going to build a new +house?" + +"Well, no," said the judge. "The old house is small, but we have lived +in it a long time, and it still does very well." + +"Then I suppose you are planning to buy more land?" said the neighbor. + +"No, indeed, I have as much land now as I can cultivate. But I will tell +you what I am going to do with my money. I am going to try to educate +my boys. I would rather do this than have lands and houses." + + * * * * * + +II.--THE YOUNGEST SON. + + +Ebenezer Webster had several sons. But at the time that he was appointed +judge there were only two at home. The older ones were grown up and were +doing for themselves. + +It was of the two at home that he was thinking when he said, "I am going +to try to educate my boys." + +Of the ten children in the family, the favorite was a black-haired, +dark-skinned little fellow called Daniel. He was the youngest of all the +boys; but there was one girl who was younger than he. + +Daniel Webster was born on the 18th of January, 1782. + +He was a puny child, very slender and weak; and the neighbors were fond +of telling his mother that he could not live long. Perhaps this was one +of the things that caused him to be favored and petted by his parents. + +But there were other reasons why every one was attracted by him. There +were other reasons why his brothers and sisters were always ready to do +him a service. + +He was an affectionate, loving child; and he was wonderfully bright and +quick. + +He was not strong enough to work on the farm like other boys. He spent +much of his time playing in the woods or roaming among the hills. + +And when he was not at play he was quite sure to be found in some quiet +corner with a book in his hand. He afterwards said of himself: "In those +boyish days there were two things that I dearly loved--reading and +playing." + +He could never tell how or when he had learned to read. Perhaps his +mother had taught him when he was but a mere babe. + +He was very young when he was first sent to school. The school-house was +two or three miles away, but he did not mind the long walk through the +woods and over the hills. + +It was not a great while until he had learned all that his teacher was +able to teach him; for he had a quick understanding, and he remembered +everything that he read. + +The people of the neighborhood never tired of talking about "Webster's +boy," as they called him. All agreed that he was a wonderful child. + +Some said that so wonderful a child was sure to die young. Others said +that if he lived he would certainly become a very great man. + +When the farmers, on their way to market, drove past Judge Webster's +house, they were always glad if they could see the delicate boy, with +his great dark eyes. + +If it was near the hour of noon, they would stop their teams under the +shady elms and ask him to come out and read to them. Then, while their +horses rested and ate, they would sit round the boy and listen to his +wonderful tones as he read page after page from the Bible. + +There were no children's books in those times. Indeed, there were very +few books to be had of any kind. But young Daniel Webster found nothing +too hard to read. + +"I read what I could get to read," he afterwards said; "I went to +school when I could, and when not at school, was a farmer's youngest +boy, not good for much for want of health and strength, but expected to +do something." + +One day the man who kept the little store in the village, showed him +something that made his heart leap. + +It was a cotton handkerchief with the Constitution of the United States +printed on one side of it. + +In those days people were talking a great deal about the Constitution, +for it had just then come into force. + +Daniel had never read it. When he saw the handkerchief he could not rest +till he had made it his own. + +He counted all his pennies, he borrowed a few from his brother Ezekiel. +Then he hurried back to the store and bought the wished-for treasure. + +In a short time he knew everything in the Constitution, and could repeat +whole sections of it from memory. We shall learn that, when he +afterwards became one of the great men of this nation, he proved to be +the Constitution's wisest friend and ablest defender. + + * * * * * + +III.--EZEKIEL AND DANIEL. + + +Ezekiel Webster was two years older than his brother Daniel. He was a +strong, manly fellow, and was ready at all times to do a kindness to the +lad who had not been gifted with so much health and strength. + +But he had not Daniel's quickness of mind, and he always looked to his +younger brother for advice and instruction. + +And so there was much love between the two brothers, each helping the +other according to his talents and his ability. + +One day they went together to the county fair. Each had a few cents in +his pocket for spending-money, and both expected to have a fine time. + +When they came home in the evening Daniel seemed very happy, but Ezekiel +was silent. + +"Well, Daniel," said their mother, "what did you do with your money?" + +"I spent it at the fair," said Daniel. + +"And what did you do with yours, Ezekiel?" + +"I lent it to Daniel," was the answer. + +It was this way at all times, and with everybody. Not only Ezekiel, but +others were ever ready to give up their own means of enjoyment if only +it would make Daniel happy. + +At another time the brothers were standing together by their father, who +had just come home after several days' absence. + +"Ezekiel," said Mr. Webster, "what have you been doing since I went +away?" + +"Nothing, sir," said Ezekiel. + +"You are very frank," said the judge. Then turning to Daniel, he said: + +"What have you been doing, Dan?" + +"Helping Zeke," said Daniel. + +When Judge Webster said to his neighbor, "I am going to try to educate +my boys," he had no thought of ever being able to send both of them to +college. + +Ezekiel, he said to himself, was strong and hearty. He could make his +own way in the world without having a finished education. + +But Daniel had little strength of body, although he was gifted with +great mental powers. It was he that must be the scholar of the family. + +The judge argued with himself that since he would be able to educate +only one of the boys, he must educate that one who gave the greatest +promise of success. And yet, had it not been for his poverty, he would +gladly have given the same opportunities to both. + + * * * * * + +IV.--PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. + + +One hot day in summer the judge and his youngest son were at work +together in the hayfield. + +"Daniel," said the judge, "I am thinking that this kind of work is +hardly the right thing for you. You must prepare yourself for greater +things than pitching hay." + +"What do you mean, father?" asked Daniel. + +"I mean that you must have that which I have always felt the need of. +You must have a good education; for without an education a man is always +at a disadvantage. If I had been able to go to school when I was a boy, +I might have done more for my country than I have. But as it is, I can +do nothing but struggle here for the means of living." + +"Zeke and I will help you, father," said Daniel; "and now that you are +growing old, you need not work so hard." + +"I am not complaining about the work," said the judge. "I live only for +my children. When your older brothers were growing up I was too poor to +give them an education; but I am able now to do something for you, and I +mean to send you to a good school." + +"Oh, father, how kind you are!" cried Daniel. + +"If you will study hard," said his father--"if you will do your best, +and learn all that you can; you will not have to endure such hardships +as I have endured. And then you will be able to do so much more good in +the world." + +The boy's heart was touched by the manner in which his father spoke +these words. He dropped his rake; he threw his arms around his father's +neck, and cried for thankfulness and joy. + +It was not until the next spring that Judge Webster felt himself able to +carry out his plans to send Daniel to school. + +One evening he said, "Daniel, you must be up early in the morning, I am +going with you to Exeter." + +"To Exeter?" said the boy. + +"Yes, to Exeter. I am going to put you in the academy there." + +The academy at Exeter was then, as it still is, a famous place for +preparing boys for college. But Daniel's father did not say anything +about making him ready for college. The judge knew that the expenses +would be heavy, and he was not sure that he would ever be able to give +him a finished education. + +It was nearly fifty miles to Exeter, and Daniel and his father were to +ride there on horseback. That was almost the only way of traveling in +those days. + +The next morning two horses were brought to the door. One was Judge +Webster's horse, the other was a gentle nag, with a lady's side-saddle +on his back. + +"Who is going to ride on that nag?" asked Daniel. + +"Young Dan Webster," answered the judge. + +"But I don't want a side-saddle. I am not a lady." + +"Neighbor Johnson is sending the nag to Exeter for the use of a lady who +is to ride back with me. I accommodate him by taking charge of the +animal, and he accommodates me by allowing you to ride on it." + +"But won't it look rather funny for me to ride to Exeter on a lady's +saddle?" + +"If a lady can ride on it, perhaps Dan Webster can do as much." + +And so they set out on their journey to Exeter. The judge rode in +advance, and Daniel, sitting astride of the lady's saddle, followed +behind. + +It was, no doubt, a funny sight to see them riding thus along the muddy +roads. None of the country people who stopped to gaze at them could have +guessed that the dark-faced lad who rode so awkwardly would some day +become one of the greatest men of the age. + +It was thus that Daniel Webster made his first appearance among +strangers. + + * * * * * + +V.--AT EXETER ACADEMY. + + +It was the first time that Daniel Webster had been so far from home. He +was bashful and awkward. His clothes were of home-made stuff, and they +were cut in the quaint style of the back-country districts. + +He must have been a funny-looking fellow. No wonder that the boys +laughed when they saw him going up to the principal to be examined for +admission. + +The principal of the academy at that time was Dr. Benjamin Abbott. He +was a great scholar and a very dignified gentleman. + +He looked down at the slender, black-eyed boy and asked: + +"What is your age, sir?" + +"Fourteen years," said Daniel. + +"I will examine you first in reading. Take this Bible, and let me hear +you read some of these verses." + +He pointed to the twenty-second chapter of Saint Luke's Gospel. + +The boy took the book and began to read. He had read this chapter a +hundred times before. Indeed, there was no part of the Bible that was +not familiar to him. + +He read with a clearness and fervor which few men could equal. + +The dignified principal was astonished. He stood as though spell-bound, +listening to the rich, mellow tones of the bashful lad from among the +hills. + +In the case of most boys it was enough if he heard them read a verse or +two. But he allowed Daniel Webster to read on until he had finished the +chapter. Then he said: + +"There is no need to examine you further. You are fully qualified to +enter this academy." + +Most of the boys at Exeter were gentlemen's sons. They dressed well, +they had been taught fine manners, they had the speech of cultivated +people. + +They laughed at the awkward, new boy. They made fun of his homespun +coat; they twitted him on account of his poverty; they annoyed him in a +hundred ways. + +Daniel felt hurt by this cruel treatment. He grieved bitterly over it in +secret, but he did not resent it. + +He studied hard and read much. He was soon at the head of all his +classes. His schoolmates ceased laughing at him; for they saw that, with +all his uncouth ways, he had more ability than any of them. + +He had, as I have said, a wonderful memory. He had also a quick insight +and sound judgment. + +But he had had so little experience with the world, that he was not sure +of his own powers. He knew that he was awkward; and this made him timid +and bashful. + +When it came his turn to declaim before the school, he had not the +courage to do it. Long afterwards, when he had become the greatest +orator of modern times, he told how hard this thing had been for him at +Exeter: + +"Many a piece did I commit to memory, and rehearse in my room over and +over again. But when the day came, when the school collected, when my +name was called and I saw all eyes turned upon my seat, I could not +raise myself from it. + +"Sometimes the masters frowned, sometimes they smiled. My tutor always +pressed and entreated with the most winning kindness that I would +venture only _once_; but I could not command sufficient resolution, and +when the occasion was over I went home and wept tears of bitter +mortification." + +Daniel stayed nine months at Exeter. In those nine months he did as much +as the other boys of his age could do in two years. + +He mastered arithmetic, geography, grammar, and rhetoric. He also began +the study of Latin. Besides this, he was a great reader of all kinds of +books, and he added something every day to his general stock of +knowledge. + +His teachers did not oblige him to follow a graded course of study. They +did not hold him back with the duller pupils of his class. They did not +oblige him to wait until the end of the year before he could be promoted +or could begin the study of a new subject. + +But they encouraged him to do his best. As soon as he had finished one +subject, he advanced to a more difficult one. + +More than fifty years afterwards, Dr. Abbott declared that in all his +long experience he had never known any one whose power of gaining +knowledge was at all equal to that of the bashful country lad from the +New Hampshire hills. + +Judge Webster would have been glad to let Daniel stay at Exeter until he +had finished the studies required at the academy. But he could not +afford the expense. + +If he should spend all his money to keep the boy at the academy, how +could he afterwards find the means to send him to college where the +expenses would be much greater? + +So he thought it best to find a private teacher for the boy. This would +be cheaper. + + * * * * * + +VI.--GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE. + + +One day in the early winter, Judge Webster asked Daniel to ride with him +to Boscawen. Boscawen was a little town, six miles away, where they +sometimes went for business or for pleasure. + +Snow was on the ground. Father and son rode together in a little, +old-fashioned sleigh; and as they rode, they talked about many things. +Just as they were going up the last hill, Judge Webster said: + +"Daniel, do you know the Rev. Samuel Wood, here in Boscawen?" + +"I have heard of him," said Daniel. "He takes boys into his family, and +gets them ready for college." + +"Yes, and he does it cheap, too," said his father. "He charges only a +dollar a week for board and tuition, fuel and lights and everything." + +"But they say he is a fine teacher," said Daniel. "His boys never fail +in the college examinations." + +"That is what I have heard, too," answered his father. "And now, Dannie, +I may as well tell you a secret. For the last six years I have been +planning to have you take a course in Dartmouth College. I want you to +stay with Dr. Wood this winter, and he will get you ready to enter. We +might as well go and see him now." + +This was the first time that Daniel had ever heard his father speak of +sending him to college. His heart was so full that he could not say a +word. But the tears came in his eyes as he looked up into the judge's +stern, kind face. + +He knew that if his father carried out this plan, it would cost a great +deal of money; and if this money should be spent for him, then the rest +of the family would have to deny themselves of many comforts which they +might otherwise have. + +"Oh, never mind that, Dan," said his brother Ezekiel. "We are never so +happy as when we are doing something for you. And we know that you will +do something for us, some time." + +And so the boy spent the winter in Boscawen with Dr. Wood. He learned +everything very easily, but he was not as close a student as he had been +at Exeter. + +He was very fond of sport. He liked to go fishing. And sometimes, when +the weather was fine, his studies were sadly neglected. + +There was a circulating library in Boscawen, and Daniel read every book +that was in it. Sometimes he slighted his Latin for the sake of giving +more time to such reading. + +One of the books in the library was _Don Quixote_. Daniel thought it the +most wonderful story in existence. He afterwards said: + +"I began to read it, and it is literally true that I never closed my +eyes until I had finished it, so great was the power of this +extraordinary book on my imagination." + +But it was so easy for the boy to learn, that he made very rapid +progress in all his studies. In less than a year, Dr. Wood declared that +he was ready for college. + +He was then fifteen years old. He had a pretty thorough knowledge of +arithmetic; but he had never studied algebra or geometry. In Latin he +had read four of Cicero's orations, and six books of Virgil's _Aeneid._ +He knew something of the elements of Greek grammar, and had read a +portion of the Greek Testament. + +Nowadays, a young man could hardly enter even a third-rate college +without a better preparation than that. But colleges are much more +thorough than they were a hundred years ago. + + * * * * * + +VII.--AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. + + +Dartmouth College is at Hanover, New Hampshire. It is one of the oldest +colleges in America and among its students have been many of the +foremost men of New England. + +It was in the fall of 1797, that Daniel Webster entered this college. + +He was then a tall, slender youth, with high cheek bones and a swarthy +skin. + +The professors soon saw that he was no common lad. They said to one +another, "This young Webster will one day be a greater man than any of +us." + +And young Webster was well-behaved and studious at college. He was as +fond of sport as any of the students, but he never gave himself up to +boyish pranks. + +He was punctual and regular in all his classes. He was as great a reader +as ever. + +He could learn anything that he tried. No other young man had a broader +knowledge of things than he. + +And yet he did not make his mark as a student in the prescribed branches +of study. He could not confine himself to the narrow routine of the +college course. + +He did not, as at Exeter, push his way quickly to the head of his class. +He won no prizes. + +"But he minded his own business," said one of the professors. "As steady +as the sun, he pursued, with intense application, the great object for +which he came to college." + +Soon everybody began to appreciate his scholarship. Everybody admired +him for his manliness and good common sense. + +"He was looked upon as being so far in advance of any one else, that no +other student of his class was ever spoken of as second to him." + +He very soon lost that bashfulness which had troubled him so much at +Exeter. It was no task now for him to stand up and declaim before the +professors and students. + +In a short time he became known as the best writer and speaker in the +college. Indeed, he loved to speak; and the other students were always +pleased to listen to him. + +One of his classmates tells us how he prepared his speeches. He says: +"It was Webster's custom to arrange his thoughts in his mind while he +was in his room, or while he was walking alone. Then he would put them +upon paper just before the exercise was to be called for. + +"If he was to speak at two o'clock, he would often begin to write after +dinner; and when the bell rang he would fold his paper, put it in his +pocket, go in, and speak with great ease. + +"In his movements he was slow and deliberate, except when his feelings +were aroused. Then his whole soul would kindle into a flame." + +In the year 1800, he was chosen to deliver the Fourth of July address to +the students of the college and the citizens of the town. He was then +eighteen years old. + +The speech was a long one. It was full of the love of country. Its tone +throughout was earnest and thoughtful. + +But in its style it was overdone; it was full of pretentious +expressions; it lacked the simplicity and good common sense that should +mark all public addresses. + +And yet, as the speech of so young a man, it was a very able effort. +People said that it was the promise of much greater things. And they +were right. + +In the summer of 1801, Daniel graduated. But he took no honors. He was +not even present at the Commencement. + +His friends were grieved that he had not been chosen to deliver the +valedictory address. Perhaps he also was disappointed. But the +professors had thought best to give that honor to another student. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--HOW DANIEL TAUGHT SCHOOL. + + +While Daniel Webster was taking his course in college, there was one +thing that troubled him very much. It was the thought of his brother +Ezekiel toiling at home on the farm. + +He knew that Ezekiel had great abilities. He knew that he was not fond +of the farm, but that he was anxious to become a lawyer. + +This brother had given up all his dearest plans in order that Daniel +might be favored; and Daniel knew that this was so. + +Once, when Daniel was at home on a vacation, he said, "Zeke, this thing +is all wrong. Father has mortgaged the farm for money to pay my expenses +at school, and you are making a slave of yourself to pay off the +mortgage. It isn't right for me to let you do this." + +Ezekiel said, "Daniel, I am stronger than you are, and if one of us has +to stay on the farm, of course I am the one." + +"But I want you to go to college," said Daniel. "An education will do +you as much good as me." + +"I doubt it," said Ezekiel; "and yet, if father was only able to send us +both. I think that we might pay him back some time." + +"I will see father about it this very day," said Daniel. + +He did see him. + +"I told my father," said Daniel, afterwards, "that I was unhappy at my +brother's prospects. For myself, I saw my way to knowledge, +respectability, and self-protection. But as to Ezekiel, all looked the +other way. I said that I would keep school, and get along as well as I +could, be more than four years in getting through college, if necessary, +provided he also could be sent to study." + +The matter was referred to Daniel's mother, and she and his father +talked it over together. They knew that it would take all the property +they had to educate both the boys. They knew that they would have to do +without many comforts, and that they would have a hard struggle to make +a living while the boys were studying. + +But the mother said, "I will trust the boys." And it was settled that +Ezekiel, too, should have a chance to make his mark in the world. + +He was now a grown-up man. He was tall and strong and ambitious. He +entered college the very year that Daniel graduated. + +As for Daniel, he was now ready to choose a profession. What should it +be? + +His father wanted him to become a lawyer. And so, to please his parents, +he went home and began to read law in the office of a Mr. Thompson, in +the little village of Salisbury, which adjoined his father's farm. + +The summer passed by. It was very pleasant to have nothing to do but to +read. And when the young man grew tired of reading, he could go out +fishing, or could spend a day in hunting among the New Hampshire hills. + +It is safe to say that he did not learn very much law during that +summer. + +But there was not a day that he did not think about his brother. Ezekiel +had done much to help him through college, and now ought he not to help +Ezekiel? + +But what could he do? + +He had a good education, and his first thought was that he might teach +school, and thus earn a little money for Ezekiel. + +The people of Fryeburg, in Maine, wanted him to take charge of the +academy in their little town. And so, early in the fall, he decided to +take up with their offer. + +He was to have three hundred and fifty dollars for the year's work, and +that would help Ezekiel a great deal. + +He bade good-bye to Mr. Thompson and his little law office, and made +ready to go to his new field of labor. There were no railroads at that +time, and a journey of even a few miles was a great undertaking. + +Daniel had bought a horse for twenty-four dollars. In one end of an +old-fashioned pair of saddle-bags he put his Sunday clothes, and in the +other he packed his books. + +He laid the saddle-bags upon the horse, then he mounted and rode off +over the hills toward Fryeburg, sixty miles away. + +He was not yet quite twenty years old. He was very slender, and nearly +six feet in height. His face was thin and dark. His eyes were black and +bright and penetrating--no person who once saw them could ever forget +them. + +Young as he was, he was very successful as a teacher during that year +which he spent at Fryeburg. The trustees of the academy were so highly +pleased that they wanted him to stay a second year. They promised to +raise his salary to five or six hundred dollars, and to give him a house +and a piece of land. + +He was greatly tempted to give up all further thoughts of becoming a +lawyer. + +"What shall I do?" he said to himself. "Shall I say, 'Yes, gentlemen,' +and sit down here to spend my days in a kind of comfortable privacy?" + +But his father was anxious that he should return to the study of the +law. And so he was not long in making up his mind. + +In a letter to one of his friends he said: "I shall make one more trial +of the law in the ensuing autumn. + +"If I prosecute the profession, I pray God to fortify me against its +temptations. To be honest, to be capable, to be faithful to my client +and my conscience." + +Early the next September, he was again in Mr. Thompson's little law +office. All the money that he had saved, while at Fryeburg, was spent to +help Ezekiel through college. + + * * * * * + +IX.--DANIEL GOES TO BOSTON. + + +For a year and a half, young Daniel Webster stayed in the office of Mr. +Thompson. He had now fully made up his mind as to what profession he +would follow; and so he was a much better student than he had been +before. + +He read many law books with care. He read _Hume's History of England_, +and spent a good deal of time with the Latin classics. + +"At this period of my life," he afterwards said, "I passed a great deal +of time alone. + +"My amusements were fishing and shooting and riding, and all these were +without a companion. I loved this solitude then, and have loved it ever +since, and love it still." + +The Webster family were still very poor. Judge Webster was now too old +to do much work of any kind. The farm had been mortgaged for all that it +was worth. It was hard to find money enough to keep Daniel at his law +studies and Ezekiel in college. + +At last it became necessary for one of the young men to do something +that would help matters along. Ezekiel decided that he would leave +college for a time and try to earn enough money to meet the present +needs of the family. Through some of his friends he obtained a small +private school in Boston. + +There were very few pupils in Ezekiel Webster's school. But there were +so many branches to be taught that he could not find time to hear all +the recitations. So, at last, he sent word to Daniel to come down and +help him. If Daniel would teach an hour and a half each day, he should +have enough money to pay his board. + +Daniel was pleased with the offer. He had long wanted to study law in +Boston, and here was his opportunity. And so, early in March, 1804, he +joined his brother in that city, and was soon doing what he could to +help him in his little school. + +There was in Boston, at that time, a famous lawyer whose name was +Christopher Gore. While Daniel Webster was wondering how he could best +carry on his studies in the city, he heard that Mr. Gore had no clerk in +his office. + +"How I should like to read law with Mr. Gore!" he said to Ezekiel. + +"Yes," said Ezekiel. "You could not want a better tutor." + +"I mean to see him to-day and apply for a place in his office," said +Daniel. + +It was with many misgivings that the young man went into the presence of +the great lawyer. We will let him tell the story in his own words: + +"I was from the country, I said;--had studied law for two years; had +come to Boston to study a year more; had heard that he had no clerk; +thought it possible he would receive one. + +"I told him that I came to Boston to work, not to play; was most +desirous, on all accounts, to be his pupil; and all I ventured to ask at +present was, that he would keep a place for me in his office, till I +could write to New Hampshire for proper letters showing me worthy of +it." + +Mr. Gore listened to this speech very kindly, and then bade Daniel be +seated while he should have a short talk with him. + +When at last the young man rose to go, Mr. Gore said: "My young friend, +you look as if you might be trusted. You say you came to study and not +to waste time. I will take you at your word. You may as well hang up +your hat at once." + +And this was the beginning of Daniel Webster's career in Boston. + +He must have done well in Mr. Gore's office; for, in a few months, he +was admitted to the practice of law in the Court of Common Pleas in +Boston. + +It was at some time during this same winter that Daniel was offered the +position of clerk in the County Court at home. His father, as you will +remember, was one of the judges in this court, and he was very much +delighted at the thought that his son would be with him. + +The salary would be about fifteen hundred dollars a year--and that was a +great sum to Daniel as well as to his father. The mortgage on the farm +could be paid off; Ezekiel could finish his course in college; and life +would be made easier for them all. + +At first Daniel was as highly pleased as his father. But after he had +talked with Mr. Gore, he decided not to accept the offered position. + +"Your prospects as a lawyer," said Mr. Gore, "are good enough to +encourage you to go on. Go on, and finish your studies. You are poor +enough, but there are greater evils than poverty. Live on no man's +favor. Pursue your profession; make yourself useful to your friends and +a little formidable to your enemies, and you have nothing to fear." + +A few days after that, Daniel paid a visit to his father. The judge +received him very kindly, but he was greatly disappointed when the young +man told him that he had made up his mind not to take the place. + +With his deep-set, flashing eyes, he looked at his son for a moment as +though in anger. Then he said, very slowly: + +"Well, my son, your mother has always said that you would come to +something or nothing--she was not sure which. I think you are now about +settling that doubt for her." + +A few weeks after this, Daniel, as I have already told you, was admitted +to the bar in Boston. But he did not think it best to begin his practice +there. + +He knew how anxious his father was that he should be near him. He +wanted to do all that he could to cheer and comfort the declining years +of the noble man who had sacrificed everything for him. And so, in the +spring of 1805, he settled in the town of Boscawen, six miles from home, +and put up at his office door this sign: + +D. WEBSTER, ATTORNEY. + + * * * * * + +X.--LAWYER AND CONGRESSMAN. + + +When Daniel Webster had been in Boscawen nearly two years, his father +died. It was then decided that Ezekiel should come and take charge of +the home farm, and care for their mother. + +Ezekiel had not yet graduated from college, but he had read law and was +hoping to be admitted to the bar. He was a man of much natural ability, +and many people believed that he would some day become a very famous +lawyer. + +And so, in the autumn of 1807, Daniel gave up to his brother the law +business which he had in Boscawen, and removed to the city of +Portsmouth. + +He was now twenty-five years old. In Portsmouth he would find plenty of +work to do; it would be the very kind of work that he liked. He was now +well started on the road towards greatness. + +The very next year, he was married to Miss Grace Fletcher, the daughter +of a minister in Hopkinton. The happy couple began housekeeping in a +small, modest, wooden house, in Portsmouth; and there they lived, very +plainly and without pretension, for several years. + +Mr. Webster's office was "a common, ordinary-looking room, with less +furniture and more books than common. He had a small inner room, opening +from the larger, rather an unusual thing." + +It was not long until the name of Daniel Webster was known all over New +Hampshire. Those who were acquainted with him said that he was the +smartest young lawyer in Portsmouth. They said that if he kept on in +the way that he had started, there were great things in store for him. + +The country people told wonderful stories about him. They said that he +was as black as a coal--but of course they had never seen him. They +believed that he could gain any case in court that he chose to +manage--and in this they were about right. + +There was another great lawyer in Portsmouth. His name was Jeremiah +Mason, and he was much older than Mr. Webster. Indeed, he was already a +famous man when Daniel first began the practice of law. + +The young lawyer and the older one soon became warm friends; and yet +they were often opposed to each other in the courts. Daniel was always +obliged to do his best when Mr. Mason was against him. This caused him +to be very careful. It no doubt made him become a better lawyer than he +otherwise would have been. + +While Webster was thus quietly practicing law in New Hampshire, trouble +was brewing between the United States and England. The English were +doing much to hinder American merchants from trading with foreign +countries. + +They claimed the right to search American vessels for seamen who had +deserted from the British service. And it is said that American sailors +were often dragged from their own vessels and forced to serve on board +the English ships. + +Matters kept getting worse and worse for several years. At last, in +June, 1812, the United States declared war against England. + +Daniel Webster was opposed to this war, and he made several speeches +against it. He said that, although we had doubtless suffered many +wrongs, there was more cause for war with France than with England. And +then, the United States had no navy, and hence was not ready to go to +war with any nation. + +Webster's influence in New Hampshire was so great that he persuaded many +of the people of that state to think just as he thought on this subject. +They nominated him as their representative in Congress; and when the +time came, they elected him. + +It was on the 24th of May, 1813, that he first took his seat in +Congress. He was then thirty-one years old. + +In that same Congress there were two other young men who afterwards made +their names famous in the history of their country. One was Henry Clay, +of Kentucky. The other was John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina. Both were +a little older than Webster; both had already made some mark in public +life; and both were in favor of the war. + +During his first year in Congress, Mr. Webster made some stirring +speeches in support of his own opinions. In this way, as well by his +skill in debate, he made himself known as a young man of more than +common ability and promise. + +Chief Justice Marshall, who was then at the head of the Supreme Court of +the United States, said of him: "I have never seen a man of whose +intellect I had a higher opinion." + +In 1814, the war that had been going on so long came to an end. But now +there were other subjects which claimed Mr. Webster's attention in +Congress. + +Then, as now, there were important questions regarding the money of the +nation; and upon these questions there was great difference of opinion. +Daniel Webster's speeches, in favor of a sound currency, did much to +maintain the national credit and to save the country from bankruptcy. + +The people of New Hampshire were so well pleased with the record which +he made in Congress that, when his first term expired, they re-elected +him for a second. + + * * * * * + +XI.--THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE. + + +In 1816, before his second term in Congress had expired, Daniel Webster +removed with his family to Boston. He had lived in Portsmouth nine +years, and he now felt that he needed a wider field for the exercise of +his talents. + +He was now no longer the slender, delicate person that he had been in +his boyhood and youth. He was a man of noble mien--a sturdy, dignified +personage, who bore the marks of greatness upon him. + +People said, "When Daniel Webster walked the streets of Boston, he made +the buildings look small." + +As soon as his term in Congress had expired, he began the practice of +law in Boston. + +For nearly seven years he devoted himself strictly to his profession. Of +course, he at once took his place as the leading lawyer of New England. +Indeed, he soon became known as the ablest counsellor and advocate in +America. + +The best business of the country now came to him. His income was very +large, amounting to more than $20,000 a year. + +And during this time there was no harder worker than he. In fact, his +natural genius could have done but little for him, had it not been for +his untiring industry. + +One of his first great victories in law was that which is known as the +Dartmouth College case. The lawmakers of New Hampshire had attempted to +pass a law to alter the charter of the college. By doing this they +would endanger the usefulness and prosperity of that great school, in +order to favor the selfish projects of its enemies. + +Daniel Webster undertook to defend the college. The speech which he made +before the Supreme Court of the United States was a masterly effort. + +"Sir," he said, "you may destroy this little institution--it is weak, it +is in your hands. I know it is one of the lesser lights in the literary +horizon of our country. You may put it out. + +"But if you do so, you must carry through your work! You must +extinguish, one after another, all those greater lights of science +which, for more than a century, have thrown their light over our land!" + +He won the case; and this, more than anything else, helped to gain for +him the reputation of being the ablest lawyer in the United States. + + * * * * * + +XII.--WEBSTER'S GREAT ORATIONS. + + +In 1820, when he was thirty-eight years old, Daniel Webster was chosen +to deliver an oration at a great meeting of New Englanders at Plymouth, +Massachusetts. + +Plymouth is the place where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. Just two +hundred years had passed since that time, and this meeting was to +celebrate the memory of the brave men and women who had risked so much +to found new homes in what was then a bleak wilderness. + +The speech which Mr. Webster delivered was one of the greatest ever +heard in America. It placed him at once at the head of American orators. + +John Adams, the second president of the United States, was then living, +a very old man. He said, "This oration will be read five hundred years +hence with as much rapture as it was heard. It ought to be read at the +end of every century, and, indeed, at the end of every year, forever and +ever." + +But this was only the first of many great addresses by Mr. Webster. In +1825, he delivered an oration at the laying of the cornerstone of the +Bunker Hill monument. Eighteen years later, when that monument was +finished, he delivered another. Many of Mr. Webster's admirers think +that these two orations are his masterpieces. + +On July 4th, 1826, the United States had been independent just fifty +years. On that day there passed away two of the greatest men of the +country--John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. + +Both were ex-presidents, and both had been leaders in the councils of +the nation. It was in memory of these two patriots that Daniel Webster +was called to deliver an oration in Faneuil Hall, Boston. + +No other funeral oration has ever been delivered in any age or country +that was equal to this in eloquence. Like all his other discourses, it +was full of patriotic feeling. + +"This lovely land," he said, "this glorious liberty, these benign +institutions, the dear purchase of our fathers, are ours; ours to enjoy, +ours to preserve, ours to transmit. Generations past and generations to +come hold us responsible for this sacred trust. + +"Our fathers, from behind, admonish us with their anxious, paternal +voices; posterity calls out to us from the bosom of the future; the +world turns hither its solicitous eyes; all, all conjure us to act +wisely and faithfully in the relation which we sustain." + +Most of his other great speeches were delivered in Congress, and are, +therefore, political in tone and subject. + +Great as Daniel Webster was in politics and in law, it is as an orator +and patriot that his name will be longest remembered. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--MR. WEBSTER IN THE SENATE. + + +When Daniel Webster was forty years old, the people of Boston elected +him to represent them in Congress. They were so well pleased with all +that he did while there, that they re-elected him twice. + +In June, 1827, the legislature of Massachusetts chose him to be United +States senator for a term of six years. He was at that time the most +famous man in Massachusetts, and his name was known and honored in +every state of the Union. + +After that he was re-elected to the same place again and again; and for +more than twenty years he continued to be the distinguished senator from +Massachusetts. + +I cannot now tell you of all his public services during the long period +that he sat in Congress. Indeed, there are some things that you would +find hard to understand until you have learned more about the history of +our country. But you will by-and-by read of them in the larger books +which you will study at school; and, no doubt, you will also read some +of his great addresses and orations. + +It was in 1830 that he delivered the most famous of all his speeches in +the senate chamber of the United States. This speech is commonly called, +"The Reply to Hayne." + +I shall not here try to explain the purport of Mr. Hayne's speeches--for +there were two of them. I shall not try to describe the circumstances +which led Mr. Webster to make his famous reply to them. + +But I will quote Mr. Webster's closing sentences. Forty years ago the +school-boys all over the country were accustomed to memorize and declaim +these patriotic utterances. + +"When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in +heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments +of a once glorious Union; on states dissevered, discordant, belligerent, +on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal +blood! + +"Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous +ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, +still high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original +lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, not a single star obscured, +bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory, 'What is all this +worth?' nor those other words of delusion and folly, 'Liberty first and +Union afterwards;' but everywhere, spread all over in characters of +living light, blazing on all its folds, as they float over the land, and +in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to +every American heart--Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and +inseparable!" + +In 1841, Daniel Webster resigned his seat in the senate. He did this in +order to become secretary of state in the cabinet of the newly elected +president, William Henry Harrison. + +But President Harrison died on the 5th of April, after having held his +office just one month; and his place was taken by the vice-president, +John Tyler. Mr. Webster now felt that his position in the cabinet would +not be a pleasant one; but he continued to hold it for nearly two years. + +His most important act as secretary of state was to conclude a treaty +with England which fixed the northeastern boundary of the United States. +This treaty is known in history as the Ashburton Treaty. + +In 1843, Mr. Webster resigned his place in President Tyler's cabinet. +But he was not allowed to remain long in private life. Two years later +he was again elected to the United States senate. + +About this time, Texas was annexed to the United States. But Mr. Webster +did not favor this, for he believed that such an act was contrary to the +Constitution of our country. + +He did all that he could to keep our government from making war upon +Mexico. But after this war had been begun, he was a firm friend of the +soldiers who took part in it, and he did much to provide for their +safety and comfort. + +Among these soldiers was Edward, the second son of Daniel Webster. He +became a major in the main division of the army, and died in the City of +Mexico. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--MR. WEBSTER IN PRIVATE LIFE. + + +Let us now go back a little way in our story, and learn something about +Mr. Webster's home and private life. + +[Illustration: The Mansion Marshfield] + +[Illustration: The Library] + +[Illustration: The Tomb] + +In 1831, Mr. Webster bought a large farm at Marshfield, in the +southeastern part of Massachusetts, not far from the sea. + +He spent a great deal of money in improving this farm; and in the end it +was as fine a country seat as one might see anywhere in New England. + +When he became tired with the many cares of his busy life, Mr. Webster +could always find rest and quiet days at Marshfield. He liked to dress +himself as a farmer, and stroll about the fields looking at the cattle +and at the growing crops. + +"I had rather be here than in the senate," he would say. + +But his life was clouded with many sorrows. Long before going to +Marshfield, his two eldest children were laid in the grave. Their mother +followed them just one year before Mr. Webster's first entry into the +United States senate. + +In 1829, his brother Ezekiel died suddenly while speaking in court at +Concord. Ezekiel had never cared much for politics, but as a lawyer in +his native state, he had won many honors. His death came as a great +shock to everybody that knew him. To his brother it brought +overwhelming sorrow. + +When Daniel Webster was nearly forty-eight years old, he married a +second wife. She was the daughter of a New York merchant, and her name +was Caroline Bayard Le Roy. She did much to lighten the disappointments +of his later life, and they lived together happily for more than twenty +years. + +In 1839, Mr. and Mrs. Webster made a short visit to England. The fame of +the great orator had gone before him, and he was everywhere received +with honor. The greatest men of the time were proud to meet him. + +Henry Hallam, the historian, wrote of him: "Mr. Webster approaches as +nearly to the _beau ideal_ of a republican senator as any man that I +have ever seen in the course of my life." + +Even the Queen invited him to dine with her; and she was much pleased +with his dignified ways and noble bearing. + +And, indeed, his appearance was such as to win the respect of all who +saw him. When he walked the streets of London, people would stop and +wonder who the noble stranger was; and workingmen whispered to one +another: "There goes a king!" + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE LAST YEARS. + + +Many people believed that Daniel Webster would finally be elected +president of the United States. And, indeed, there was no man in all +this country who was better fitted for that high position than he. + +But it so happened that inferior men, who were willing to stoop to the +tricks of politics, always stepped in before him. + +In the meanwhile the question of slavery was becoming, every day, more +and more important. It was the one subject which claimed everybody's +attention. + +Should slavery be allowed in the territories? + +There was great excitement all over the country. There were many hot +debates in Congress. It seemed as though the Union would be destroyed. + +At last, the wiser and cooler-headed leaders in Congress said, "Let +each side give up a little to the other. Let us have a compromise." + +On the 7th of March, 1850, Mr. Webster delivered a speech before the +senate. It was a speech in favor of compromise, in favor of +conciliation. + +He thought that this was the only way to preserve the Union. And he was +willing to sacrifice everything for the Constitution and the Union. + +He declared that all the ends he aimed at were for his country's good. + +"I speak to-day for the preservation of the Union," he said. "Hear me +for my cause! I speak to-day out of a solicitous and anxious heart, for +the restoration to the country of that quiet and harmony, which make the +blessings of this Union so rich and so dear to us all." + +He then went on to defend the law known as the Fugitive Slave Law. He +declared that this law was in accordance with the Constitution, and +hence it should be enforced according to its true meaning. + +The speech was a great disappointment to his friends. They said that he +had deserted them; that he had gone over to their enemies; that he was +no longer a champion of freedom, but of slavery. + +Those who had been his warmest supporters, now turned against him. + +A few months after this, President Taylor died. The vice-president, +Millard Fillmore, then became president. Mr. Fillmore was in sympathy +with Daniel Webster, and soon gave him a seat in his cabinet as +secretary of state. + +This was the second time that Mr. Webster had been called to fill this +high and honorable position. But, under President Fillmore, he did no +very great or important thing. + +He was still the leading man in the Whig party; and he hoped, in 1852, +to be nominated for the presidency. But in this he was again +disappointed. + +He was now an old man. He had had great successes in life; but he felt +that he had failed at the end of the race. His health was giving way. +He went home to Marshfield for the quiet and rest which he so much +needed. + +In May, that same year, he was thrown from his carriage and severely +hurt. From this hurt he never recovered. He offered to resign his seat +in the cabinet, but Mr. Fillmore would not listen to this. + +In September he became very feeble, and his friends knew that the end +was near. On the 24th of October, 1852, he died. He was nearly +seventy-one years old. + +In every part of the land his death was sincerely mourned. Both friends +and enemies felt that a great man had fallen. They felt that this +country had lost its leading statesman, its noblest patriot, its +worthiest citizen. + +Rufus Choate, who had succeeded him as the foremost lawyer in New +England, delivered a great oration upon his life and character. He said: + +"Look in how manly a sort, in how high a moral tone, Mr. Webster +uniformly dealt with the mind of his country. + +"Where do you find him flattering his countrymen, indirectly or +directly, for a vote? On what did he ever place himself but good +counsels and useful service? + +"Who ever heard that voice cheering the people on to rapacity, to +injustice, to a vain and guilty glory? + +"How anxiously, rather, did he prefer to teach, that by all possible +acquired sobriety of mind, by asking reverently of the past, by +obedience to the law, by habits of patient labor, by the cultivation of +the mind, by the fear and worship of God, we educate ourselves for the +future that is revealing." + + + + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN + +[Illustration: _ABRAHAM LINCOLN_.] + + + + +THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + * * * * * + +I.--THE KENTUCKY HOME. + + +Not far from Hodgensville, in Kentucky, there once lived a man whose +name was Thomas Lincoln. This man had built for himself a little log +cabin by the side of a brook, where there was an ever-flowing spring of +water. + +There was but one room in this cabin. On the side next to the brook +there was a low doorway; and at one end there was a large fireplace, +built of rough stones and clay. + +The chimney was very broad at the bottom and narrow at the top. It was +made of clay, with flat stones and slender sticks laid around the +outside to keep it from falling apart. + +In the wall, on one side of the fireplace, there was a square hole for a +window. But there was no glass in this window. In the summer it was +left open all the time. In cold weather a deerskin, or a piece of +coarse cloth, was hung over it to keep out the wind and the snow. + +At night, or on stormy days, the skin of a bear was hung across the +doorway; for there was no door on hinges to be opened and shut. + +There was no ceiling to the room. But the inmates of the cabin, by +looking up, could see the bare rafters and the rough roof-boards, which +Mr. Lincoln himself had split and hewn. + +There was no floor, but only the bare ground that had been smoothed and +beaten until it was as level and hard as pavement. + +For chairs there were only blocks of wood and a rude bench on one side +of the fireplace. The bed was a little platform of poles, on which were +spread the furry skins of wild animals, and a patchwork quilt of +homespun goods. + +In this poor cabin, on the 12th of February, 1809, a baby boy was born. +There was already one child in the family--a girl, two years old, whose +name was Sarah. + +The little boy grew and became strong like other babies, and his +parents named him Abraham, after his grandfather, who had been killed by +the Indians many years before. + +When he was old enough to run about, he liked to play under the trees by +the cabin door. Sometimes he would go with his little sister into the +woods and watch the birds and the squirrels. + +He had no playmates. He did not know the meaning of toys or playthings. +But he was a happy child and had many pleasant ways. + +Thomas Lincoln, the father, was a kind-hearted man, very strong and +brave. Sometimes he would take the child on his knee and tell him +strange, true stories of the great forest, and of the Indians and the +fierce beasts that roamed among the woods and hills. + +For Thomas Lincoln had always lived on the wild frontier; and he would +rather hunt deer and other game in the forest than do anything else. +Perhaps this is why he was so poor. Perhaps this is why he was content +to live in the little log cabin with so few of the comforts of life. + +But Nancy Lincoln, the young mother, did not complain. She, too, had +grown up among the rude scenes of the backwoods. She had never known +better things. + +And yet she was by nature refined and gentle; and people who knew her +said that she was very handsome. She was a model housekeeper, too; and +her poor log cabin was the neatest and best-kept house in all that +neighborhood. + +No woman could be busier than she. She knew how to spin and weave, and +she made all the clothing for her family. + +She knew how to wield the ax and the hoe; and she could work on the farm +or in the garden when her help was needed. + +She had also learned how to shoot with a rifle; and she could bring down +a deer or other wild game with as much ease as could her husband. And +when the game was brought home, she could dress it, she could cook the +flesh for food, and of the skins she could make clothing for her husband +and children. + +There was still another thing that she could do--she could read; and she +read all the books that she could get hold of. She taught her husband +the letters of the alphabet; and she showed him how to write his name. +For Thomas Lincoln had never gone to school, and he had never learned +how to read. + +As soon as little Abraham Lincoln was old enough to understand, his +mother read stories to him from the Bible. Then, while he was still very +young, she taught him to read the stories for himself. + +The neighbors thought it a wonderful thing that so small a boy could +read. There were very few of them who could do as much. Few of them +thought it of any great use to learn how to read. + +There were no school-houses in that part of Kentucky in those days, and +of course there were no public schools. + +One winter a traveling schoolmaster came that way. He got leave to use a +cabin not far from Mr. Lincoln's, and gave notice that he would teach +school for two or three weeks. The people were too poor to pay him for +teaching longer. + +The name of this schoolmaster was Zachariah Riney. + +The young people for miles around flocked to the school. Most of them +were big boys and girls, and a few were grown up young men. The only +little child was Abraham Lincoln, and he was not yet five years old. + +There was only one book studied at that school, and it was a +spelling-book. It had some easy reading lessons at the end, but these +were not to be read until after every word in the book had been spelled. + +You can imagine how the big boys and girls felt when Abraham Lincoln +proved that he could spell and read better than any of them. + + * * * * * + +II.--WORK AND SORROW. + + +In the autumn, just after Abraham Lincoln was eight years old, his +parents left their Kentucky home and moved to Spencer county, in +Indiana. + +It was not yet a year since Indiana had become a state. Land could be +bought very cheap, and Mr. Lincoln thought that he could make a good +living there for his family. He had heard also that game was plentiful +in the Indiana woods. + +It was not more than seventy or eighty miles from the old home to the +new. But it seemed very far, indeed, and it was a good many days before +the travelers reached their journey's end. Over a part of the way there +was no road, and the movers had to cut a path for themselves through the +thick woods. + +The boy, Abraham, was tall and very strong for his age. He already knew +how to handle an ax, and few men could shoot with a rifle better than +he. He was his father's helper in all kinds of work. + +It was in November when the family came to the place which was to be +their future home. Winter was near at hand. There was no house, nor +shelter of any kind. What would become of the patient, tired mother, and +the gentle little sister, who had borne themselves so bravely during the +long, hard journey? + +No sooner had the horses been loosed from the wagon than Abraham and +his father were at work with their axes. In a short time they had built +what they called a "camp." + +This camp was but a rude shed, made of poles and thatched with leaves +and branches. It was enclosed on three sides, so that the chill winds or +the driving rains from the north and west could not enter. The fourth +side was left open, and in front of it a fire was built. + +This fire was kept burning all the time. It warmed the interior of the +camp. A big iron kettle was hung over it by means of a chain and pole, +and in this kettle the fat bacon, the venison, the beans, and the corn +were boiled for the family's dinner and supper. In the hot ashes the +good mother baked luscious "corn dodgers," and sometimes, perhaps, a few +potatoes. + +In one end of the camp were the few cooking utensils and little articles +of furniture which even the poorest house cannot do without. The rest of +the space was the family sitting-room and bed-room. The floor was +covered with leaves, and on these were spread the furry skins of deer +and bears, and other animals. + +It was in this camp that the family spent their first winter in Indiana. +How very cold and dreary that winter must have been! Think of the stormy +nights, of the shrieking wind, of the snow and the sleet and the bitter +frost! It is not much wonder if, before the spring months came, the +mother's strength began to fail. + +But it was a busy winter for Thomas Lincoln. Every day his ax was heard +in the woods. He was clearing the ground, so that in the spring it might +be planted with corn and vegetables. + +He was hewing logs for his new house; for he had made up his mind, now, +to have something better than a cabin. + +The woods were full of wild animals. It was easy for Abraham and his +father to kill plenty of game, and thus keep the family supplied with +fresh meat. + +And Abraham, with chopping and hewing and hunting and trapping, was very +busy for a little boy. He had but little time to play; and, since he +had no playmates, we cannot know whether he even wanted to play. + +With his mother, he read over and over the Bible stories which both of +them loved so well. And, during the cold, stormy days, when he could not +leave the camp, his mother taught him how to write. + +In the spring the new house was raised. It was only a hewed log house, +with one room below and a loft above. But it was so much better than the +old cabin in Kentucky that it seemed like a palace. + +The family had become so tired of living in the "camp," that they moved +into the new house before the floor was laid, or any door hung at the +doorway. + +Then came the plowing and the planting and the hoeing. Everybody was +busy from daylight to dark. There were so many trees and stumps that +there was but little room for the corn to grow. + +The summer passed, and autumn came. Then the poor mother's strength gave +out. She could no longer go about her household duties. She had to +depend more and more upon the help that her children could give her. + +At length she became too feeble to leave her bed. She called her boy to +her side. She put her arms about him and said: "Abraham, I am going away +from you, and you will never see me again. I know that you will always +be good and kind to your sister and father. Try to live as I have taught +you, and to love your heavenly Father." + +On the 5th of October she fell asleep, never to wake again. + +Under a big sycamore tree, half a mile from the house, the neighbors dug +the grave for the mother of Abraham Lincoln. And there they buried her +in silence and great sorrow. + +There was no minister there to conduct religious services. In all that +new country there was no church; and no holy man could be found to speak +words of comfort and hope to the grieving ones around the grave. + +But the boy, Abraham, remembered a traveling preacher, whom they had +known in Kentucky. The name of this preacher was David Elkin. If he +would only come! + +And so, after all was over, the lad sat down and wrote a letter to David +Elkin. He was only a child nine years old, but he believed that the good +man would remember his poor mother, and come. + +It was no easy task to write a letter. Paper and ink were not things of +common use, as they are with us. A pen had to be made from the quill of +a goose. + +But at last the letter was finished and sent away. How it was carried I +do not know; for the mails were few and far between in those days, and +postage was very high. It is more than likely that some friend, who was +going into Kentucky, undertook to have it finally handed to the good +preacher. + +Months passed. The leaves were again on the trees. The wild flowers were +blossoming in the woods. At last the preacher came. + +He had ridden a hundred miles on horseback; he had forded rivers, and +traveled through pathless woods; he had dared the dangers of the wild +forest: all in answer to the lad's beseeching letter. + +He had no hope of reward, save that which is given to every man who does +his duty. He did not know that there would come a time when the greatest +preachers in the world would envy him his sad task. + +And now the friends and neighbors gathered again under the great +sycamore tree. The funeral sermon was preached. Hymns were sung. A +prayer was offered. Words of comfort and sympathy were spoken. + +From that time forward the mind of Abraham Lincoln was filled with a +high and noble purpose. In his earliest childhood his mother had taught +him to love truth and justice, to be honest and upright among men, and +to reverence God. These lessons he never forgot. + +Long afterward, when the world had come to know him as a very great man, +he said: "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." + + * * * * * + +III.--THE NEW MOTHER. + + +The log house, which Abraham Lincoln called his home, was now more +lonely and cheerless than before. The sunlight of his mother's presence +had gone out of it forever. + +His sister Sarah, twelve years old, was the housekeeper and cook. His +father had not yet found time to lay a floor in the house, or to hang a +door. There were great crevices between the logs, through which the wind +and the rain drifted on every stormy day. There was not much comfort in +such a house. + +But the lad was never idle. In the long winter days, when there was no +work to be done, he spent the time in reading or in trying to improve +his writing. + +There were very few books in the cabins of that backwoods settlement. +But if Abraham Lincoln heard of one, he could not rest till he had +borrowed it and read it. + +Another summer passed, and then another winter. Then, one day, Mr. +Lincoln went on a visit to Kentucky, leaving his two children and their +cousin, Dennis Hanks, at home to care for the house and the farm. + +I do not know how long he stayed away, but it could not have been many +weeks. One evening, the children were surprised to see a four-horse +wagon draw up before the door. + +Their father was in the wagon; and by his side was a kind-faced woman; +and, sitting on the straw at the bottom of the wagon-bed, there were +three well-dressed children--two girls and a boy. + +And there were some grand things in the wagon, too. There were six +split-bottomed chairs, a bureau with drawers, a wooden chest, and a +feather bed. All these things were very wonderful to the lad and lassie +who had never known the use of such luxuries. + +"Abraham and Sarah," said Mr. Lincoln, as he leaped from the wagon, "I +have brought you a new mother and a new brother and two new sisters." + +The new mother greeted them very kindly, and, no doubt, looked with +gentle pity upon them. They were barefooted; their scant clothing was +little more than rags and tatters; they did not look much like her own +happy children, whom she had cared for so well. + +And now it was not long until a great change was made in the Lincoln +home. A floor was laid, a door was hung, a window was made, the crevices +between the logs were daubed with clay. + +The house was furnished in fine style, with the chairs and the bureau +and the feather bed. The kind, new mother brought sunshine and hope into +the place that had once been so cheerless. + +With the young lad, Dennis Hanks, there were now six children in the +family. But all were treated with the same kindness; all had the same +motherly care. And so, in the midst of much hard work, there were many +pleasant days for them all. + + * * * * * + +IV.--SCHOOL AND BOOKS. + + +Not very long after this, the people of the neighborhood made up their +minds that they must have a school-house. And so, one day after +harvest, the men met together and chopped down trees, and built a little +low-roofed log cabin to serve for that purpose. + +If you could see that cabin you would think it a queer kind of +school-house. There was no floor. There was only one window, and in it +were strips of greased paper pasted across, instead of glass. There were +no desks, but only rough benches made of logs split in halves. In one +end of the room was a huge fireplace; at the other end was the low +doorway. + +The first teacher was a man whose name was Azel Dorsey. The term of +school was very short; for the settlers could not afford to pay him +much. It was in mid-winter, for then there was no work for the big boys +to do at home. + +And the big boys, as well as the girls and the smaller boys, for miles +around, came in to learn what they could from Azel Dorsey. The most of +the children studied only spelling; but some of the larger ones learned +reading and writing and arithmetic. + +There were not very many scholars, for the houses in that new +settlement were few and far apart. School began at an early hour in the +morning, and did not close until the sun was down. + +Just how Abraham Lincoln stood in his classes I do not know; but I must +believe that he studied hard and did everything as well as he could. In +the arithmetic which he used, he wrote these lines: + + "Abraham Lincoln, + His hand and pen, + He will be good, + But God knows when." + +In a few weeks, Azel Dorsey's school came to a close; and Abraham +Lincoln was again as busy as ever about his father's farm. After that he +attended school only two or three short terms. If all his school-days +were put together they would not make a twelve-month. + +But he kept on reading and studying at home. His step-mother said of +him: "He read everything he could lay his hands on. When he came across +a passage that struck him, he would write it down on boards, if he had +no paper, and keep it until he had got paper. Then he would copy it, +look at it, commit it to memory, and repeat it." + +Among the books that he read were the Bible, the _Pilgrims Progress_, +and the poems of Robert Burns. One day he walked a long distance to +borrow a book of a farmer. This book was Weems's _Life of Washington_. +He read as much as he could while walking home. + +By that time it was dark, and so he sat down by the chimney and read by +firelight until bedtime. Then he took the book to bed with him in the +loft, and read by the light of a tallow candle. + +In an hour the candle burned out. He laid the book in a crevice between +two of the logs of the cabin, so that he might begin reading again as +soon as it was daylight. + +But in the night a storm came up. The rain was blown in, and the book +was wet through and through. + +In the morning, when Abraham awoke, he saw what had happened. He dried +the leaves as well as he could, and then finished reading the book. + +As soon as he had eaten his breakfast, he hurried to carry the book to +its owner. He explained how the accident had happened. + +"Mr. Crawford," he said, "I am willing to pay you for the book. I have +no money; but, if you will let me, I will work for you until I have made +its price." + +Mr. Crawford thought that the book was worth seventy-five cents, and +that Abraham's work would be worth about twenty-five cents a day. And so +the lad helped the farmer gather corn for three days, and thus became +the owner of the delightful book. + +He read the story of Washington many times over. He carried the book +with him to the field, and read it while he was following the plow. + +From that time, Washington was the one great hero whom he admired. Why +could not he model his own life after that of Washington? Why could not +he also be a doer of great things for his country? + + * * * * * + +V.--LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS. + + +Abraham Lincoln now set to work with a will to educate himself. His +father thought that he did not need to learn anything more. He did not +see that there was any good in book-learning. If a man could read and +write and cipher, what more was needed? + +But the good step-mother thought differently; and when another short +term of school began in the little log school-house, all six of the +children from the Lincoln cabin were among the scholars. + +In a few weeks, however, the school had closed; and the three boys were +again hard at work, chopping and grubbing in Mr. Lincoln's clearings. +They were good-natured, jolly young fellows, and they lightened their +labor with many a joke and playful prank. + +Many were the droll stories with which Abraham amused his two +companions. Many were the puzzling questions that he asked. Sometimes in +the evening, with the other five children around him, he would declaim +some piece that he had learned; or he would deliver a speech of his own +on some subject of common interest. + +If you could see him as he then appeared, you would hardly think that +such a boy would ever become one of the most famous men of history. On +his head he wore a cap made from the skin of a squirrel or a raccoon. +Instead of trousers of cloth, he wore buckskin breeches, the legs of +which were many inches too short. His shirt was of deerskin in the +winter, and of homespun tow in the summer. Stockings he had none. His +shoes were of heavy cowhide, and were worn only on Sundays or in very +cold weather. + +The family lived in such a way as to need very little money. Their bread +was made of corn meal. Their meat was chiefly the flesh of wild game +found in the forest. + +Pewter plates and wooden trenchers were used on the table. The tea and +coffee cups were of painted tin. There was no stove, and all the cooking +was done on the hearth of the big fireplace. + +But poverty was no hindrance to Abraham Lincoln. He kept on with his +reading and his studies as best he could. Sometimes he would go to the +little village of Gentryville, near by, to spend an evening. He would +tell so many jokes and so many funny stories, that all the people would +gather round him to listen. + +When he was sixteen years old he went one day to Booneville, fifteen +miles away, to attend a trial in court. He had never been in court +before. He listened with great attention to all that was said. When the +lawyer for the defense made his speech, the youth was so full of delight +that he could not contain himself. + +He arose from his seat, walked across the courtroom, and shook hands +with the lawyer. "That was the best speech I ever heard," he said. + +He was tall and very slim; he was dressed in a jeans coat and buckskin +trousers; his feet were bare. It must have been a strange sight to see +him thus complimenting an old and practiced lawyer. + +From that time, one ambition seemed to fill his mind. He wanted to be a +lawyer and make great speeches in court. He walked twelve miles +barefooted, to borrow a copy of the laws of Indiana. Day and night he +read and studied. + +"Some day I shall be President of the United States," he said to some of +his young friends. And this he said not as a joke, but in the firm +belief that it would prove to be true. + + * * * * * + +VI.--THE BOATMAN. + + +One of Thomas Lincoln's friends owned a ferry-boat on the Ohio River. It +was nothing but a small rowboat, and would carry only three or four +people at a time. This man wanted to employ some one to take care of his +boat and to ferry people across the river. + +Thomas Lincoln was in need of money; and so he arranged with his friend +for Abraham to do this work. The wages of the young man were to be $2.50 +a week. But all the money was to be his father's. + +One day two strangers came to the landing. They wanted to take passage +on a steamboat that was coming down the river. The ferry-boy signalled +to the steamboat and it stopped in midstream. Then the boy rowed out +with the two passengers, and they were taken on board. + +Just as he was turning towards the shore again, each of the strangers +tossed a half-dollar into his boat. He picked the silver up and looked +at it. Ah, how rich he felt! He had never had so much money at one time. +And he had gotten all for a few minutes' labor! + +When winter came on, there were fewer people who wanted to cross the +river. So, at last, the ferry-boat was tied up, and Abraham Lincoln went +back to his father's home. + +He was now nineteen years old. He was very tall--nearly six feet four +inches in height. He was as strong as a young giant. He could jump +higher and farther, and he could run faster, than any of his fellows; +and there was no one, far or near, who could lay him on his back. + +Although he had always lived in a community of rude, rough people, he +had no bad habits. He used no tobacco; he did not drink strong liquor; +no profane word ever passed his lips. + +He was good-natured at all times, and kind to every one. + +During that winter, Mr. Gentry, the storekeeper in the village, had +bought a good deal of corn and pork. He intended, in the spring, to load +this on a flatboat and send it down the river to New Orleans. + +In looking about for a captain to take charge of the boat, he happened +to think of Abraham Lincoln. He knew that he could trust the young man. +And so a bargain was soon made. Abraham agreed to pilot the boat to New +Orleans and to market the produce there; and Mr. Gentry was to pay his +father eight dollars and a half a month for his services. + +As soon as the ice had well melted from the river, the voyage was begun. +Besides Captain Lincoln there was only one man in the crew, and that was +a son of Mr. Gentry's. + +The voyage was a long and weary one, but at last the two boatmen reached +the great southern city. Here they saw many strange things of which they +had never heard before. But they soon sold their cargo and boat, and +then returned home on a steamboat. + +To Abraham Lincoln the world was now very different from what it had +seemed before. He longed to be away from the narrow life in the woods of +Spencer county. He longed to be doing something for himself--to be +making for himself a fortune and a name. + +But then he remembered his mother's teachings when he sat on her knee in +the old Kentucky home, "Always do right." He remembered her last words, +"I know you will be kind to your father." + +And so he resolved to stay with his father, to work for him, and to give +him all his earnings until he was twenty-one years old. + + * * * * * + +VII.--THE FIRST YEARS IN ILLINOIS. + + +Early in the spring of 1830, Thomas Lincoln sold his farm in Indiana, +and the whole family moved to Illinois. The household goods were put in +a wagon drawn by four yoke of oxen. The kind step-mother and her +daughters rode also in the wagon. + +Abraham Lincoln, with a long whip in his hand, trudged through the mud +by the side of the road and guided the oxen. Who that saw him thus going +into Illinois would have dreamed that he would in time become that +state's greatest citizen? + +The journey was a long and hard one; but in two weeks they reached +Decatur, where they had decided to make their new home. + +Abraham Lincoln was now over twenty-one years old. He was his own man. +But he stayed with his father that spring. He helped him fence his land; +he helped him plant his corn. + +But his father had no money to give him. The young man's clothing was +all worn out, and he had nothing with which to buy any more. What should +he do? + +Three miles from his father's cabin there lived a thrifty woman, whose +name was Nancy Miller. Mrs. Miller owned a flock of sheep, and in her +house there were a spinning-wheel and a loom that were always busy. And +so you must know that she wove a great deal of jeans and home-made +cloth. + +Abraham Lincoln bargained with this woman to make him a pair of +trousers. He agreed that for each yard of cloth required, he would split +for her four hundred rails. + +He had to split fourteen hundred rails in all; but he worked so fast +that he had finished them before the trousers were ready. + +The next April saw young Lincoln piloting another flatboat down the +Mississippi to New Orleans. His companion this time was his mother's +relative, John Hanks. This time he stayed longer in New Orleans, and he +saw some things which he had barely noticed on his first trip. + +He saw gangs of slaves being driven through the streets. He visited the +slave-market, and saw women and girls sold to the highest bidder like so +many cattle. + +The young man, who would not be unkind to any living being, was shocked +by these sights. "His heart bled; he was mad, thoughtful, sad, and +depressed." + +He said to John Hanks, "If I ever get a chance to hit that institution, +I'll hit it hard, John." + +He came back from New Orleans in July. Mr. Offut, the owner of the +flatboat which he had taken down, then employed him to act as clerk in a +country store which he had at New Salem. + +New Salem was a little town not far from Springfield. + +Young Lincoln was a good salesman, and all the customers liked him. Mr. +Offut declared that the young man knew more than anyone else in the +United States, and that he could outrun and outwrestle any man in the +county. + +But in the spring of the next year Mr. Offut failed. The store was +closed, and Abraham Lincoln was out of employment again. + + * * * * * + +VIII.--THE BLACK HAWK WAR. + + +There were still a good many Indians in the West. The Sac Indians had +lately sold their lands in northern Illinois to the United States. They +had then moved across the Mississippi river, to other lands that had +been set apart for them. + +But they did not like their new home. At last they made up their minds +to go back to their former hunting-grounds. They were led by a chief +whose name was Black Hawk; and they began by killing the white settlers +and burning their houses and crops. + +This was in the spring of 1832. + +The whole state of Illinois was in alarm. The governor called for +volunteers to help the United States soldiers drive the Indians back. + +Abraham Lincoln enlisted. His company elected him captain. + +He did not know anything about military tactics. He did not know how to +give orders to his men. But he did the best that he could, and learned a +great deal by experience. + +His company marched northward and westward until they came to the +Mississippi river. But they did not meet any Indians, and so there was +no fighting. + +The young men under Captain Lincoln were rude fellows from the prairies +and backwoods. They were rough in their manners, and hard to control. +But they had very high respect for their captain. + +Perhaps this was because of his great strength, and his skill in +wrestling; for he could put the roughest and strongest of them on their +backs. Perhaps it was because he was good-natured and kind, and, at the +same time, very firm and decisive. + +In a few weeks the time for which the company had enlisted came to an +end. The young men were tired of being soldiers; and so all, except +Captain Lincoln and one man, were glad to hurry home. + +But Captain Lincoln never gave up anything half done. He enlisted again. +This time he was a private in a company of mounted rangers. + +The main camp of the volunteers and soldiers was on the banks of the +Rock river, in northern Illinois. + +Here, one day, Abraham Lincoln saw a young lieutenant of the United +States army, whose name was Jefferson Davis. It is not likely that the +fine young officer noticed the rough-clad ranger; but they were to know +more of each other at a future time. + +Three weeks after that the war was at an end. The Indians had been +beaten in a battle, and Black Hawk had been taken prisoner. + +But Abraham Lincoln had not been in any fight. He had not seen any +Indians, except peaceable ones. + +In June his company was mustered out, and he returned home to New Salem. + +He was then twenty-three years old. + + * * * * * + +IX.--IN THE LEGISLATURE. + + +When Abraham Lincoln came back to New Salem it was nearly time for the +state election. The people of the town and neighborhood wanted to send +him to the legislature, and he agreed to be a candidate. + +It was at Pappsville, twelve miles from Springfield, that he made his +first campaign speech. + +He said: "Gentlemen and fellow-citizens-- + +"I presume you all know who I am. + +"I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by my friends to +become a candidate for the legislature. + +"My politics are short and sweet. + +"I am in favor of a national bank; am in favor of the internal +improvement system, and a high protective tariff. + +"These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I shall +be thankful; if not, it will be all the same." + +He was a tall, gawky, rough-looking fellow. He was dressed in a coarse +suit of homespun, much the worse for wear. + +A few days after that, he made a longer and better speech at +Springfield. + +But he was not elected. + +About this time a worthless fellow, whose name was Berry, persuaded Mr. +Lincoln to help him buy a store in New Salem. Mr. Lincoln had no money, +but he gave his notes for the value of half the goods. + +The venture was not a profitable one. In a few months the store was +sold; but Abraham did not receive a dollar for it. It was six years +before he was able to pay off the notes which he had given. + +During all this time Mr. Lincoln did not give up the idea of being a +lawyer. He bought a second-hand copy of _Blackstone's Commentaries_ at +auction. He studied it so diligently that in a few weeks he had mastered +the whole of it. + +He bought an old form-book, and began to draw up contracts, deeds, and +all kinds of legal papers. + +He would often walk to Springfield, fourteen miles away, to borrow a +book; and he would master thirty or forty pages of it while returning +home. + +Soon he began to practice in a small way before justices of the peace +and country juries. He was appointed postmaster at New Salem, but so +little mail came to the place that the office was soon discontinued. + +He was nearly twenty-five years old. But, with all his industry, he +could hardly earn money enough to pay for his board and clothing. + +He had learned a little about surveying while living in Indiana. He now +took up the study again, and was soon appointed deputy surveyor of +Sangamon county. + +He was very skilful as a surveyor. Although his chain was only a +grape-vine, he was very accurate and never made mistakes. + +The next year he was again a candidate for the legislature. This time +the people were ready to vote for him, and he was elected. It was no +small thing for so young a man to be chosen to help make the laws of his +state. + +No man ever had fewer advantages than Abraham Lincoln. As a boy, he was +the poorest of the poor. No rich friend held out a helping hand. But see +what he had already accomplished by pluck, perseverance, and honesty! + +He had not had access to many books, but he knew books better than most +men of his age. He knew the Bible by heart; he was familiar with +Shakespeare; he could repeat nearly all the poems of Burns; he knew +much about physics and mechanics; he had mastered the elements of law. + +He was very awkward and far from handsome, but he was so modest, so +unselfish and kind, that every one who knew him liked him. He was a true +gentleman--a gentleman at heart, if not in outside polish. + +And so, as I have already said, Abraham Lincoln, at the age of +twenty-five, was elected to the state legislature. He served the people +so well that when his term closed, two years later, they sent him back +for another term. + +The capital of Illinois had, up to this time, been at Vandalia. Mr. +Lincoln and his friends now succeeded in having a law passed to remove +it to Springfield. Springfield was nearer to the centre of the state; it +was more convenient to everybody, and had other advantages which +Vandalia did not have. + +The people of Springfield were so delighted that they urged Mr. Lincoln +to come there and practice law. An older lawyer, whose name was John T. +Stuart, and who had a good practice, offered to take him in partnership +with him. + +And so, in 1837, Abraham Lincoln left New Salem and removed to +Springfield. He did not have much to move. All the goods that he had in +the world were a few clothes, which he carried in a pair of saddle-bags, +and two or three law books. He had no money, and he rode into +Springfield on a borrowed horse. + +He was then twenty-eight years old. + +From that time on, Springfield was his home. + + * * * * * + +X.--POLITICS AND MARRIAGE. + + +The next year after his removal to Springfield, Mr. Lincoln was elected +to the legislature for the third time. + +There were then, in this country, two great political parties, the +Democrats and the Whigs. Mr. Lincoln was a Whig, and he soon became the +leader of his party in the state. But the Whigs were not so strong as +the Democrats. + +The legislature was in session only a few weeks each year; and so Mr. +Lincoln could devote all the rest of the time to the practice of law. +There were many able lawyers in Illinois; but Abe Lincoln of Springfield +soon made himself known among the best of them. + +In 1840, he was again elected to the legislature. This was the year in +which General William H. Harrison was elected president of the United +States. General Harrison was a Whig; and Mr. Lincoln's name was on the +Whig ticket as a candidate for presidential elector in his state. + +The presidential campaign was one of the most exciting that had ever +been known. It was called the "log cabin" campaign, because General +Harrison had lived in a log cabin, and his opponents had sneered at his +poverty. + +In the East as well as in the West, the excitement was very great. In +every city and town and village, wherever there was a political meeting, +a log cabin was seen. On one side of the low door hung a long-handled +gourd; on the other side, a coon-skin was nailed to the logs, the blue +smoke curled up from the top of the stick-and-clay chimney. + +You may believe that Abraham Lincoln went into this campaign with all +his heart. He traveled over a part of the state, making stump-speeches +for his party. + +One of his ablest opponents was a young lawyer, not quite his own age, +whose name was Stephen A. Douglas. In many places, during this campaign, +Lincoln and Douglas met in public debate upon the questions of the day. +And both of them were so shrewd, so well informed, and so eloquent, that +those who heard them were unable to decide which was the greater of the +two. + +General Harrison was elected, but not through the help of Mr. Lincoln; +for the vote of Illinois that year was for the Democratic candidate. + +In 1842, when he was thirty-three years old, Mr. Lincoln was married to +Miss Mary Todd, a young lady from Kentucky, who had lately come to +Springfield on a visit. + +[Illustration: Log cabin (No caption)] + +[Illustration: Monument at Springfield.] + +[Illustration: Residence at Springfield.] + +For some time after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln lived in a +hotel called the "Globe Tavern," paying four dollars a week for rooms +and board. But, in 1844, Mr. Lincoln bought a small, but comfortable +frame house, and in this they lived until they went to the White House, +seventeen years later. + +Although he had been successful as a young lawyer, Mr. Lincoln was still +a poor man. But Mrs. Lincoln said: "I would rather have a good man, a +man of mind, with bright prospects for success and power and fame, than +marry one with all the horses and houses and gold in the world." + + * * * * * + +XI.--CONGRESSMAN AND LAWYER. + + +In 1846, Mr. Lincoln was again elected to the legislature. + +In the following year the people of his district chose him to be their +representative in Congress. He took his seat in December. He was then +thirty-nine years old. He was the only Whig from Illinois. + +There were many famous men in Congress at that time. Mr. Lincoln's +life-long rival, Stephen A. Douglas, was one of the senators from +Illinois. He had already served a term or two in the House of +Representatives. + +Daniel Webster was also in the Senate; and so was John C. Calhoun; and +so was Jefferson Davis. + +Mr. Lincoln took an active interest in all the subjects that came before +Congress. He made many speeches. But, perhaps, the most important thing +that he did at this time was to propose a bill for the abolition of the +slave-trade in the city of Washington. + +He believed that slavery was unjust to the slave and harmful to the +nation. He wanted to do what he could to keep it from becoming a still +greater evil. But the bill was opposed so strongly that it was not even +voted upon. + +After the close of Mr. Lincoln's term in Congress, he hoped that +President Taylor, who was a Whig, might appoint him to a good office. +But in this he was disappointed. + +And so, in 1849, he returned to his home in Springfield, and again +settled down to the practice of law. + +He was then forty years old. Considering the poverty of his youth, he +had done great things for himself. But he had not done much for his +country. Outside of his own state his name was still unknown. + +His life for the next few years was like that of any other successful +lawyer in the newly-settled West. He had a large practice, but his fees +were very small. His income from his profession was seldom more than +$2,000 a year. + +His habits were very simple. He lived comfortably and respectably. In +his modest little home there was an air of order and refinement, but no +show of luxury. + +No matter where he might go, Mr. Lincoln would have been known as a +Western man. He was six feet four inches in height. His face was very +homely, but very kind. + +He was cordial and friendly in his manners. There was something about +him which made everybody feel that he was a sincere, truthful, upright +man. He was known among his neighbors as "Honest Abe Lincoln." + + * * * * * + +XII.--THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY. + + +The great subject before the country at this time was skivery. It had +been the cause of trouble for many years. + +In the early settlement of the American colonies, slavery had been +introduced through the influence of the English government. The first +slaves had been brought to Virginia nearly 240 years before the time of +which I am telling you. + +Many people saw from the beginning that it was an evil which would at +some distant day bring disaster upon the country. In 1772, the people of +Virginia petitioned the king of England to put a stop to the bringing of +slaves from Africa into that colony. But the petition was rejected; and +the king forbade them to speak of the matter any more. + +Washington, Jefferson, and other founders of our nation looked upon +slavery as an evil. They hoped that the time might come when it would +be done away with; for they knew that the country would prosper better +without it. + +At the time of the Revolution, slavery was permitted in all the states. +But it was gradually abolished, first in Pennsylvania and then in the +New England states, and afterwards in New York. + +In 1787, a law was passed by Congress declaring that there should be no +slavery in the territory northwest of the river Ohio. This was the +territory from which the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, +and Wisconsin were formed; and so, of course, these states were free +states from the beginning. + +The great industry of the South was cotton-raising. The people of the +Southern states claimed that slavery was necessary, because only negro +slaves could do the work required on the big cotton plantations. +Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were admitted, +one by one, into the Union; and all were slave states. + +In 1821, Missouri applied for admission into the Union. The South +wanted slavery in this state also, but the North objected. There were +many hot debate's in Congress over this question. At last, through the +influence of Henry Clay, the dispute was settled by what has since been +known as the Missouri Compromise. + +The Missouri Compromise provided that Missouri should be a slave state; +this was to satisfy the South. On the other hand, it declared that all +the western territory north of the line which formed the southern +boundary of Missouri, should forever be free; this was to appease the +North. + +But the cotton planters of the South grew more wealthy by the labor of +their slaves. More territory was needed for the extension of slavery. +Texas joined the United States and became a slave state. + +Then followed a war with Mexico; and California, New Mexico and Utah +were taken from that country. Should slavery be allowed in these new +territories also? + +At this time a new political party was formed. It was called the "Free +Soil Party," and the principle for which it contended was this: "_No +more slave states and no slave territory_." + +This party was not very strong at first, but soon large numbers of Whigs +and many northern Democrats, who did not believe in the extension of +slavery, began to join it. + +Although the Whig party refused to take any position against the +extension of slavery, there were many anti-slavery Whigs who still +remained with it and voted the Whig ticket--and one of these men was +Abraham Lincoln. + +The contest between freedom and slavery became more fierce every day. At +last another compromise was proposed by Henry Clay. + +This compromise provided that California should be admitted as a free +state; that slavery should not be prohibited in New Mexico and Utah; +that there should be no more markets for slaves in the District of +Columbia; and that a new and very strict fugitive-slave law should be +passed. + +This compromise is called the "Compromise of 1850." It was in support +of these measures that Daniel Webster made his last great speech. + +It was hoped by Webster and Clay that the Compromise of 1850 would put +an end to the agitation about slavery. "Now we shall have peace," they +said. But the agitation became stronger and stronger, and peace seemed +farther away than ever before. + +In 1854, a bill was passed by Congress to organize the territories of +Kansas and Nebraska. This bill provided that the Missouri Compromise +should be repealed, and that the question of slavery in these +territories should be decided by the people living in them. + +The bill was passed through the influence of Stephen A. Douglas of +Illinois. There was now no bar to the extension of slavery into any of +the territories save that of public opinion. + +The excitement all over the North was very great. In Kansas there was +actual war between those who favored slavery and those who opposed it. +Thinking men in all parts of the country saw that a great crisis was at +hand. + + * * * * * + +XIII.--LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS. + + +It was then that Abraham Lincoln came forward as the champion of +freedom. + +Stephen A. Douglas was a candidate for reelection to the Senate, and he +found it necessary to defend himself before the people of his state for +the part he had taken in repealing the Missouri Compromise. He went from +one city to another, making speeches; and at each place Abraham Lincoln +met him in joint debate. + +"I do not care whether slavery is voted into or out of the territories," +said Mr. Douglas. "The question of slavery is one of climate. Wherever +it is to the interest of the inhabitants of a territory to have slave +property, there a slave law will be enacted." + +But Mr. Lincoln replied, "The men who signed the Declaration of +Independence said that all men are created equal, and are endowed by +their Creator with certain inalienable rights--life, liberty, and the +pursuit of happiness.... I beseech you, do not destroy that immortal +emblem of humanity, the Declaration of Independence." + +At last, Mr. Douglas felt that he was beaten. He proposed that both +should go home, and that there should be no more joint discussions. Mr. +Lincoln agreed to this; but the words which he had spoken sank deep into +the hearts of those who heard them. + +The speeches of Lincoln and Douglas were printed in a book. People in +all parts of the country read them. They had heard much about Stephen A. +Douglas. He was called "The Little Giant." He had long been famous among +the politicians of the country. It was believed that he would be the +next President of the United States. + +But who was this man Lincoln, who had so bravely vanquished the Little +Giant? He was called "Honest Abe." There were few people outside of his +state who had ever heard of him before. + +Mr. Douglas returned to his seat in the United States Senate. Mr. +Lincoln became the acknowledged edged leader of the forces opposed to +the extension of slavery. + +In May, 1856, a convention of the people of Illinois was held in +Bloomington, Illinois. It met for the purpose of forming a new political +party, the chief object and aim of which should be to oppose the +extension of slavery into the territories. + +Mr. Lincoln made a speech to the members of this convention. It was one +of the greatest speeches ever heard in this country. "Again and again, +during the delivery, the audience sprang to their feet, and, by +long-continued cheers, expressed how deeply the speaker had roused +them." + +And so the new party was organized. It was composed of the men who had +formed the old Free Soil Party, together with such Whigs and Democrats +as were opposed to the further growth of the slave power. But the +greater number of its members were Whigs. This new party was called The +Republican Party. + +In June, the Republican Party held a national convention at +Philadelphia, and nominated John C. Fremont for President. But the party +was not strong enough to carry the election that year. + +In that same month the Democrats held a convention at Cincinnati. Every +effort was made to nominate Stephen A. Douglas for President. But he was +beaten in his own party, on account of the action which he had taken in +the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. + +James Buchanan was nominated in his stead, and, in November, was +elected. + +And so the conflict went on. + +In the year 1858 there was another series of joint debates between +Lincoln and Douglas. Both were candidates for the United States Senate. +Their speeches were among the most remarkable ever delivered in any +country. + +Lincoln spoke for liberty and justice. Douglas's speeches were full of +fire and patriotism. He hoped to be elected President in 1860. In the +end, it was generally acknowledged that Lincoln had made the best +arguments. But Douglas was re-elected to the Senate. + + * * * * * + +XIV.--PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + + +In 1860 there were four candidates for the presidency. + +The great Democratic Party was divided into two branches. One branch +nominated Stephen A. Douglas. The other branch, which included the +larger number of the slave-owners of the South, nominated John C. +Breckinridge, of Kentucky. + +The remnant of the old Whig Party, now called the "Union Party," +nominated John Bell, of Tennessee. + +The Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln. + +In November came the election, and a majority of all the electors chosen +were for Lincoln. + +The people of the cotton-growing states believed that, by this election, +the Northern people intended to deprive them of their rights. They +believed that the anti-slavery people intended to do much more than +prevent the extension of slavery. They believed that the abolitionists +were bent upon passing laws to deprive them of their slaves. + +Wild rumors were circulated concerning the designs which the "Black +Republicans," as they were called, had formed for their coercion and +oppression. They declared that they would never submit. + +And so, in December, the people of South Carolina met in convention, and +declared that that state had seceded from the Union--that they would no +longer be citizens of the United States. One by one, six other states +followed; and they united to form a new government, called the +Confederate States of America. + +It had long been held by the men of the South that a state had the right +to withdraw from the Union at any time. This was called the doctrine of +States' Rights. + +The Confederate States at once chose Jefferson Davis for their +President, and declared themselves free and independent. + +In February, Mr. Lincoln went to Washington to be inaugurated. His +enemies openly boasted that he should never reach that city alive; and +a plot was formed to kill him on his passage through Baltimore. But he +took an earlier train than the one appointed, and arrived at the capital +in safety. + +On the 4th of March he was inaugurated. In his address at that time he +said: "In your hands, my dissatisfied countrymen, and not in mine, is +the momentous issue of civil war. Your government will not assail you. +You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You +have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government; while I +shall have the most solemn one to protect and defend it." + +The Confederate States demanded that the government should give up all +the forts, arsenals, and public property within their limits. This, +President Lincoln refused to do. He said that he could not admit that +these states had withdrawn from the Union, or that they could withdraw +without the consent of the people of the United States, given in a +national convention. + +And so, in April, the Confederate guns were turned upon Fort Sumter in +Charleston harbor, and the war was begun. President Lincoln issued a +call for 75,000 men to serve in the army for three months; and both +parties prepared for the great contest. + +It is not my purpose to give a history of that terrible war of four +years. The question of slavery was now a secondary one. The men of one +party were determined, at whatever hazard, to preserve the Union. The +men of the other party fought to defend their doctrine of States' +Rights, and to set up an independent government of their own. + +President Lincoln was urged to use his power and declare all the slaves +free. He answered: + +"My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or +destroy slavery. + +"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. If +I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it. If I could +save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that." + +At last, however, when he saw that the success of the Union arms +depended upon his freeing the slaves, he decided to do so. On the 1st +of January, 1863, he issued a proclamation declaring that the slaves, in +all the states or parts of states then in rebellion, should be free. + +By this proclamation, more than three millions of colored people were +given their freedom. + +But the war still went on. It reached a turning point, however, at the +battle of Gettysburg, in July, that same year. From that time the cause +of the Confederate States was on the wane. Little by little the +patriots, who were struggling for the preservation of the Union, +prevailed. + + * * * * * + +XV.--THE END OF A GREAT LIFE. + + +At the close of Mr. Lincoln's first term, he was again elected President +of the United States. The war was still going on, but the Union arms +were now everywhere victorious. + +His second inaugural address was very short. He did not boast of any of +his achievements; he did not rejoice over the defeat of his enemies. But +he said: + +"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the +right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the +work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who +shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan--to do all +which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves +and with all nations." + +Five weeks after that, on the 9th of April, 1865, the Confederate army +surrendered, and the war was at an end. + +Abraham Lincoln's work was done. + +The 14th of April was Good Friday. On the evening of that day, Mr. +Lincoln, with Mrs. Lincoln and two or three friends, visited Ford's +Theatre in Washington. + +At a few minutes past 10 o'clock, an actor whose name was John Wilkes +Booth, came into the box where Mr. Lincoln sat. No one saw him enter. He +pointed a pistol at the President's head, and fired. He leaped down upon +the stage, shouting "_Sic semper tyrannis_! The South is avenged!" Then +he ran behind the scenes and out by the stage door. + +The President fell forward. His eyes closed. He neither saw, nor heard, +nor felt anything that was taking place. Kind arms carried him to a +private house not far away. + +At twenty minutes past seven o'clock the next morning, those who watched +beside him gave out the mournful news that Abraham Lincoln was dead. + +He was fifty-six years old. + +The whole nation wept for him. In the South as well as in the North, the +people bowed themselves in grief. Heartfelt tributes of sorrow came from +other lands in all parts of the world. Never, before nor since, has +there been such universal mourning. + +Such is the story of Abraham Lincoln. In the history of the world, there +is no story more full of lessons of perseverance, of patience, of honor, +of true nobility of purpose. Among the great men of all time, there has +been no one more truly great than he. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Four Great Americans: Washington, +Franklin, Webster, Lincoln, by James Baldwin + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOUR GREAT AMERICANS *** + +***** This file should be named 11174.txt or 11174.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/1/7/11174/ + +Produced by Rosanna Yuen and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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