"ABE" LINCOLN'S ANECDOTES AND STORIES
"Abe" Lincoln's
Anecdotes and Stories
A COLLECTION OF THE BEST
STORIES TOLD BY LINCOLN
WHICH MADE HIM FAMOUS AS
AMERICA'S BEST STORY TELLER
Compiled by
R. D. WORDSWORTH
THE MUTUAL BOOK COMPANY
Publishers
BOSTON, MASS.
Compiled, 1908,
for
The Mutual Book Company
"ABE" LINCOLN'S
ANECDOTES AND STORIES
A FUN-LOVING AND HUMOR-LOVING MAN
It was once said of Shakespeare that the great mind that conceived thetragedies of "Hamlet," "Macbeth," etc., would have lost its reason ifit had not found vent in the sparkling humor of such comedies as "TheMerry Wives of Windsor" and "The Comedy of Errors."
The great strain on the mind of Abraham Lincoln produced by four yearsof civil war might likewise have overcome his reason had it not foundvent in the yarns and stories he constantly told. No more fun-lovingor humor-loving man than Abraham Lincoln ever lived. He enjoyed a jokeeven when it was on himself, and probably, while he got his greatestenjoyment from telling stories, he had a keen appreciation of the humorin those that were told him.
MATRIMONIAL ADVICE
For a while during the Civil War, General Fremont was without acommand. One day in discussing Fremont's case with George W. Julian,President Lincoln said he did not know where to place him, and thatit reminded him of the old man who advised his son to take a wife, towhich the young man responded: "All right; whose wife shall I take?"
A SLOW HORSE
On one occasion when Mr. Lincoln was going to attend a politicalconvention one of his rivals, a liveryman, provided him with a slowhorse, hoping that he would not reach his destination in time. Mr.Lincoln got there, however, and when he returned with the horse hesaid: "You keep this horse for funerals, don't you?" "Oh, no," repliedthe liveryman. "Well, I'm glad of that, for if you did you'd never geta corpse to the grave in time for the resurrection."
A VAIN GENERAL
In an interview between President Lincoln and Petroleum V. Nasby, thename came up of a recently deceased politician of Illinois whose meritwas blemished by great vanity. His funeral was very largely attended.
"If General —— had known how big a funeral he would have had," saidMr. Lincoln, "he would have died years ago."
HAD CONFIDENCE IN HIM—"BUT"—
"General Blank asks for more men," said Secretary of War Stanton to thePresident one day, showing the latter a telegram from the commandernamed, appealing for re-enforcements.
"I guess he's killed off enough men, hasn't he?" queried the President."I don't mean Confederates—our own men. What's the use in sendingvolunteers down to him if they're only used to fill graves?"<