Best Lincoln stories, tersely toldGallaher, J. E. (James Ernst)
History
Best Lincoln stories, tersely told
Gallaher, J. E. (James Ernst)
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Anecdotes
Parson Dresser was attired in full canonical robes and recited the
service with much impressive solemnity. He handed Lincoln the ring, who,
placing it on the bride’s finger, repeated the church formula, “With this
ring I thee endow with all my goods and chattels, lands and tenements.”
Judge Brown, who had never before witnessed such a ceremony, and looked
upon it as utterly absurd, ejaculated, in a tone loud enough to be
heard by all, “God Almighty, Lincoln, the statute fixes all that!” This
unexpected interruption almost upset the old parson, who had a keen sense
of the ridiculous, but he quickly recovered his gravity and hastily
pronounced the couple man and wife.
LINCOLN’S PERSONAL APPEARANCE.
That Lincoln was a man of extraordinary personal appearance is well
known. He measured six feet four inches, and as most men are below
six feet it will be seen that he was considerably taller than the
average. He possessed great strength, both bodily and mental, and had a
superabundance of patience, which he displayed constantly, and treated
even those who differed with him with respect and kindness. One who had
sustained close relations with Lincoln and knew him intimately, the late
Charles A. Dana, in his Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln, published in
McClure’s Magazine, thus describes him:
“Mr. Lincoln’s face was thin, and his features were large. He had black
hair, heavy eyebrows, and a square and well developed forehead. His
complexion was dark and quite sallow. He had a smile that was most
lovely, surpassing even a woman’s smile in its engaging quality. When
pleased his face would light up very pleasantly. Some have said he was
awkward in his step. The word ‘awkward’ hardly fits, because there
was such a charm and beauty about his expression, such good humor and
friendly spirit looking from his eyes, that one looking at him never
thought whether he was awkward or graceful. His whole personality at
once caused you to think, ‘What a kindly character this man has!’ Always
dignified in manner, he was benevolent and benignant, always wishing
to do somebody some good if he could. He was all solid, hard, keen
intelligence combined with goodness.”
LINCOLNS’ MOTHER.
Not long before his tragic death, Mr. Lincoln said: “All that I am, and
all that I hope to be, I owe to my mother.” That mother died when little
Abe was nine years of age. But she had already woven the texture of
her deepest character into the habits and purposes of her boy. Her own
origin had been humble. But there were certain elements in her character
that prepared her for grand motherhood. When Nancy Hanks, at the age
of twenty-three, gave her heart and hand to Thomas Lincoln, she was a
young woman of large trustfulness, of loving, unselfish disposition, of
profound faith in Divine Providence, of unswerving Christian profession.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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