Show As a c Boy Lincoln Showed a an Interest in Everything and and Always Wanted t to Kno Know Meaning of Tin Things I I By IDA TARBELL I Greatest Living Authority on Lincoln and Author of The Tle Life of Lin Lit coin coln A man man Who ho leads a people safely saleh through a period heriod o of war and and danger always runs runs runs' the risk of ot becoming blurred by tion H Hr His pr proportions por- por i. i i tons become those of or the the- deml demigod demigod- od- od huge hus-e dim and un un- certain certain It I is 1 never man to man with wih a hero He He- le Hela is la not a aman aman man man he is a n myth l Ever since Abraham Abraham Abra Abra- 4 ham L Lincoln's I n c 0 1 n s death there r has been a tendency tendency tend tend- I ency to make a 1 4 hero llero and and a a myth of him Now without deIDA deIDA doIDA de- de IDA TARBELL nying the value to toI toa a It people of ot a gallery gallery gal gal- lery of demigods I contend that Abraham Abraham Abra Abra- Abraham I ham Lincoln is eminently more valuable valuable ble understood and studied as a a man manlike manlike like the zest rest of ot the country's men Lincoln's endowment was a typically American endowment good endowment good sense shrewdness ss directness a love of fair fairplay fairplay fall play kindliness and a touch of clam cism It I is not necessary to go far ta afield afeld to search for the clue of ot Abraham Abraha Lincoln's Lin Lin- coln's cohns life hiie It I stares stes us in the face in every human document from his boyhood boyhood boyhood boy boy- hood up up-an up an enormous interest In everything everything- which came within his range men facts ideas coupled with witha wih a passion to understand In the humble huble community in which Lincoln was born his was the questioning question question- queston- queston ing lag serious prying unresisting mind A more unpromising field for a mind to bite would be hard had to conceive He did all 31 this by grasping grasping- everything everything every every- thing thIns about him turning it over pullIng pulling pull pun ing it to pieces putting it together ether making it It his in its facts it its is spirit its Is tendencies His early schoolmates who have left lef their impressions of him in invariably invariably in- in variably speak of his persistency in getting to the bottom of problems his energy in committing to memory the contents of ot the b books which came his w way and anti his zeal in hunting books borrowing and reading them One One of ot his t fathers father's complaints was as the boys boy's habit of ot dropping lila his his work to talk talk with wih a a. chance traveler his in insistence insistence In- In In taking part pat in the he neighborhood neighborhood neigh neigh- discussions and his remorseless remorseless remorseless remorse remorse- less pinning down of ot everybody to explain explain ex- ex plain what they meant ment That was wa what he was always and eternally after what what things meant what people meant One invaluable result to Lincoln of ot othis his continued effort to understand and to tout put ut his convictions into plain language lan Ian gUage guage was vias the courage and confidence it gave him to attack atack any new subject which he needed to know When he first decided to enter public life he lie was n-as only 23 years old A A. A friend to whom he confided his ambition amion told him that his English was too poor poor that he did not understand grammar But I can learn Lincoln said One has only to study his Ills letters leters and speeches to realize how thoroughly the work was done Outside of an occasional occasional occa ocea- blunder with wih shall and will wi there i is but one error in construction to which Lincoln was addicted throughout his life life life-he lie was given to splitting his infinitives infinitives and and and i in Sven this he lie has had much good company Backing Backing- up arguments with quotations quotations quota quota- tons has come to be a part of the equipment of oC every agitator and re re- re former e 1 The prohibitionists the women women wom worn en suffragist the he labor leaders leders preachers rs teachers everybody who ha haa has hasa a cause tries to strengthen it through I Lincoln It I is a tribute to to the faith that the people have haye In him But many mat of ot those who quote hini q fail fan to get from him all aU the tle help he lie has to give ghe It is not his lila particular opinion not his hs wit and wisdom not his wonderful wonderful wonderful won won- and moving let letters rs and speeches which are his contributions Thin The temper temper tem tern per with which he he approached his problems the methods by which h handled them there lies les tho deep an real lesson Abraham Lincoln has for tor every man or woman who would fit ft herself for service serice |