After a little while, Lincoln rode up, and when his friends rallied him about his tender heart, he said:-- “I could not have slept, unless I had restored those little birds to their mother.” _Rescuing the Pig_ Another time, Lincoln was riding past a deep miry ditch, and saw a pig struggling in the mud. The animal could not get out, and was squealing with terror. Lincoln looked at the pig and the mud, and then at his clothes--clean ones, that he had just put on. Then he decided in favour of the clean clothes, and rode along. But he could not get rid of the thought of the poor animal struggling so pitifully in its terror. He had not gone far when he turned back. He reached the ditch, dismounted, and tied his horse. Then he collected some old wooden rails, and with them made a foot-bridge to the bottom of the ditch. He carefully walked down the bridge, and caught hold of the pig. He pulled it out, and setting it on the ground, let it run away. The screaming, struggling pig, had spattered Lincoln’s clean clothes with mud. His hands were covered with filth; so he went to the nearest brook, washed them, and wiped them on the grass. Later, when telling a friend about his adventure, Lincoln said that he had rescued the pig for purely selfish reasons, “to take a pain out of his own mind.” _Opening Their Eyes_ It was toward the close of the Civil War, the crisis had come, and the end of the long struggle was in sight. The Union troops were hemming in Richmond. President Lincoln went himself to City Point, and there he remained, anxiously waiting. In his tent lived a pet cat. It had a family of new-born kittens. Sometimes, the President relieved his mind by playing with them. Finally Richmond was taken, and Lincoln prepared to visit the city. Before he left his tent, he picked up one of the kittens, saying:-- “Little kitten, I must perform a last act of kindness for you before I go. I must open your eyes.” He passed his hand gently over its closed lids, until the eyes opened; then he set the kitten on the floor, and said:-- “Oh! that I could open the eyes of my blinded fellow-countrymen as easily as I have those of that little creature!” LINCOLN AND THE CHILDREN _Hurrah for Lincoln!_ Abraham Lincoln loved children, and even strange children were drawn to him, as though they had known him all their lives. Here are a few of the stories told about Lincoln and his child-friends. Soon after Lincoln was elected President, he went to Chicago, where he was welcomed with shouts and cheers. Later, as he sat in a room talking with friends, a little boy was led in. At the sight of the President-elect, he took off his hat and swung it, shouting:-- “Hurrah for Lincoln!” Lincoln rose, and catching the little fellow in his strong hands, tossed him to the ceiling, shouting:-- “Hurrah for _you_!” _Only Eight of Us, Sir!_