Lincoln's yarns and stories : $b A complete collection of the funny and witty anecdotes that made Lincoln famous as America's greatest story tellerMcClure, Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly)
History
Lincoln's yarns and stories : $b A complete collection of the funny and witty anecdotes that made Lincoln famous as America's greatest story teller
McClure, Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly)
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Anecdotes
The President directed them copied, and ordered that they be sent that
night, with a flag of truce, into the enemy’s lines.
WALKED AS HE TALKED.
When Mr. Lincoln made his famous humorous speech in Congress ridiculing
General Cass, he began to speak from notes, but, as he warmed up,
he left his desk and his notes, to stride down the alley toward the
Speaker’s chair.
Occasionally, as he would complete a sentence amid shouts of laughter,
he would return up the alley to his desk, consult his notes, take a sip
of water and start off again.
Mr. Lincoln received many congratulations at the close, Democrats
joining the Whigs in their complimentary comments.
One Democrat, however (who had been nicknamed “Sausage” Sawyer), didn’t
enthuse at all.
“Sawyer,” asked an Eastern Representative, “how did you like the lanky
Illinoisan’s speech? Very able, wasn’t it?”
“Well,” replied Sawyer, “the speech was pretty good, but I hope he won’t
charge mileage on his travels while delivering it.”
THE SONG DID THE BUSINESS.
The Virginia (Ill.) Enquirer, of March 1, 1879, tells this story:
“John McNamer was buried last Sunday, near Petersburg, Menard county. A
long while ago he was Assessor and Treasurer of the County for several
successive terms. Mr. McNamer was an early settler in that section, and,
before the town of Petersburg was laid out, in business in Old Salem, a
village that existed many years ago two miles south of the present site
of Petersburg.
“‘Abe’ Lincoln was then postmaster of the place and sold whisky to its
inhabitants. There are old-timers yet living in Menard who bought many
a jug of corn-juice from ‘Old Abe’ when he lived at Salem. It was here
that Anne Rutledge dwelt, and in whose grave Lincoln wrote that his
heart was buried.
“As the story runs, the fair and gentle Anne was originally John
McNamer’s sweetheart, but ‘Abe’ took a ‘shine’ to the young lady,
and succeeded in heading off McNamer and won her affections. But Anne
Rutledge died, and Lincoln went to Springfield, where he some time
afterwards married.
“It is related that during the War a lady belonging to a prominent
Kentucky family visited Washington to beg for her son’s pardon, who
was then in prison under sentence of death for belonging to a band of
guerrillas who had committed many murders and outrages.
“With the mother was her daughter, a beautiful young lady, who was an
accomplished musician. Mr. Lincoln received the visitors in his
usual kind manner, and the mother made known the object of her visit,
accompanying her plea with tears and sobs and all the customary romantic
incidents.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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