Show t A Man for the Ages A Story o of f the Builders of Democracy i By IRVING BACHELLER I I H ch ll r SM CHAPTER X XI XI Continued I 12 12 One of ot that summer Abe Ab came ame out to the with a letter letter let let- ter in his hat for tor Sarah Hows business 1 Samson asked Going to peter out I reckon Abe answered a sorrowful look Jook It will wW tear leav In debt I wanted wanted wanted want want- ed son Om A would give pe me a chance lo and I got cot It By jint jing I It loOk loo o 1 vp If tt I was as going to have years of ot study tr trying to get over oer k ft Have you got an any work to give he heme me You know I can split rails about as fast as the next man man and Ill I'll take tale my pay in wheat or corn You may rive give me all the time you youcan tin can spend outside the store said Samson That evening they had a talk about I I th the whisky business and Its relation to tb the character of Eliphalet Biggs and to sundry Infractions of ot law and order In their community Samson had declared declared de de- elart d that It was wrong to sell liquor All that kind of ot thing can be safely safety safe safe- ly ty left to the common sense of ot our people said sold Abe The remedy Is education p not revolution Slowly the people will have to set down all the Items Kerns in the ledger of ot common sense that passes from sire to son By and andy andt t y some generation will strike a bal- bal ince nce That may not come in a hun hun- years ears Soon or lat late the majority major major- ity t of ot the people will reach rench a reckoning reckon reckon- In ing with John Barleycorn If It theres there's too much a against him they will act You feu might as well try to stop a glacier gIn gla cl cier r by building a dam In front of It They have Op opened ll an account with ery too B By and by they'll deide decide decide de de- cide ide its fate tate Such was his faith in the common folk of or America whose way ay of ot learnIng learnIng learn- learn Ing and whose love lo of ot the right he lie knew as no man has bas known It ItIn In this conne connection the New ew Englander Eng- Eng lander wrote In his diary lIe He has spent his boyhood In to the South Couth and his young loung manhood in the theU U UHe He has studied the East and U edvin the West He Is the people people- I sometimes think and think and about as slow t to make up his mind As Isaiah sa says s 's He fie does not judge after the sight of his Pits eyes ejes neither reprove e after the hearIng hearing hear hear- ing lag of his ears Abe has bas to think about it In April Abe Ahe wrote another address to the voters announcing that he was again a candidate for a seat sent in the legislature Late that month Harry walked with Ith him to where a crowd had assembled to att attend nd a n public sale At one place there were men In the crowd who knew Harry's Harrys I record in hi the war They called on I him for a sp speech ech He lIe spoke on the need of the means of ot transportation in tin Sangamon county with such fuch insight and dignity and convincing candor that both Abe and the audience hailed him as os a coming man Abe and he heere were ere often oCten seen together those days In New cw Salem they were called the disappointed lovers hovers It was known there that Abe was very fond of Ann Ann- Rutledge although he had not as yet et openly confessed to any not anyone one one not not cento even en evento evento to Ann there Ann there being no show of ot hope for him Ann was deeply in love with John McNeil the McNeil-the the genial handsome I and successful young Irishman The affair had reached the stage of ot frankI frank- frank I I l 0 I 1 I I IJ J I J I 1 The Girl Wept as a. If It Her Heart Would Break ness of ot an open discussion slon of ot plans of ot fond affection expressing Itself In ridicule caresses quite In Indifferent to For Ann AnD It had been like warm sunlight sunlight sun sun- light on the growing ro rose rope c. c She wn was wn neater In dress lovelier In form torm ant and color more graceful In movement and voiced than er e she had beep been It I Is the old way that Nature hag has of ot preparing the young oung to come out upon the of or r real ll life and to act net In Its Us moving scenes Abe Abc manfully gave gate t tieu liU hl hi rest best r soli wit Pies and when h he If f Ann i It It was Uil e very ery tc tea tea- derly deny The look Jook of sadness which nil all had noted in his moments of abstraction abstraction tion lon deepened and often covered cred his face tace with Its veil ell That Is another way that Nature has of preparing the young For these the roses have fallen and only the thorns remain They are arc not lured they seem to be driven to o their tasks but for tor all aU soon or orate late ate her method changes On a beautiful morning of ot June Junt 1834 1534 John McNeil left lett the village mage Abe Lincoln and lIar Harry and Samson and Sarah Surah and and Jack Kelso and his wife stood with the In the thedoor door dooryard ard of ot the tavern when he rode away He was going back to his home in the East Enst to return in the autumn autumn au au- and make male Ann his bride The girl wept as If It her heart would break when he turned far down the road and waved his hand to her Oh my pretty lass Do you yon not hear the birds singing In the meadows mead mend said Jack Kelso Think of ot the he happiness all around you and of ot the he greater happiness that Is coming when he returns Shame on you ou Im afraid hell he'll never come back I Ann Amin sobbed Nonsense Dont Don't get a maggot In I your our brain and let ret the crows go walking walk walk- Ing ng over your face Come well we'll take a ride In the meadows and If It I dont don't bring you back laughing you ou may call I me no prophet So the event passed Harry traveled about with Abe a good deal that summer electioneer electioneerIng Ing ng as they called It from farm to farm Abe used to go into the fields with the men whose hose favor tavor he sought and bend his long back over a scythe or a cradle and race them playfully across the field of ot grain Iraln cutting a wider swath than any other and always nl al ways holding the lend lead Every man was vas out of ot breath at nt the end of ot his swath and needed a few minutes for recuperation That gave Abe a chance for his statement of at the county's needs and his plan of satisfying ing them diem lie had met and talked with a majority of the voters before the campaign ended in his election in August At odd times that summer he had been surveying sun sur eying a new road with Harry Harry Har liar ry 17 Needles 1 for his helper In September September Sep- Sep ember they resumed their work upon It t In the vicinity of New Salem and imd Abe began to carry the letters In his hat again Ever Every day dar Ann was was' hooking look look- lookIng Ing ng for him as he came by In lu the dim light ight of ot the early morning on his wa way to o work Anything for me she would ask No mall mail In since I 1 saw you ou Ann Am was the usual answer Often he would say Im afraid not but here you here you take tale these letter Jetters and look through em and make sure Ann would take them In her hands trembling with eagerness and run Indoors Indoors In In- doors to the candlelight and look them over Alwn Always s 's she le came back with the little bundle of oC letters very slowly as It If her disappointment were a n heavy burden Therell be one next mail If I have haw to write It myself Abe Abc said suld one morning in October as h he went on To Harry Nl Needles was with with him that morning he said I wonder wh why that fellow tellow dont don't write to Ann I couldn't believe e that he has been fooling tooting her but now I dont don't know what to think of him I Iwonder Iwonder wonder what has happened to the fellow Cello The mail mall stage was late that eve eve- ning As It hail had not come coine at t nine Mr nil Hill went home honie and left Abe Aile in the store to wait for his mall The stage arrived n a few minutes later Inter Abe Ahe examined examined ex ex- the little bundle hundle of oC letters and newspapers newspapers papers which the time driver er had hall left with him Then he took a pap paper r and sat down to read in the thc firelight While he was thus enga engaged the door opened softly and Ann e entered en en- The postmaster was not a ware aware of ot her presence until she touched his arm Please give gl me IDe a n letter she said Sit down Ann said he be heer very er gently gently gently gent gent- ly as he placed a chair in the fire fire- glow She took It It turning toward him with a look of ot fear and hope Then he added Im sorry but the truth Is it didn't come It Is terrible Ann that I have to help in this breaking of your our heart that is going on I seem to be the head hend of the hammer that hits hils you Oll so lO hard but the handle Is In other hands Honestly Ann I wish I could do the suffering for you you every every bit of ot it It and and give ghe your poor heart henrt a rest Hasn't he be written you ou this summer Not ot since Jul July tenth tenth she an an- Then she he he confided d to Abe that her lover loer told her before he went away that his name was not McNeil but Ic amar that he had changed his n name me to keep clear of his family until he lie had made a success that he had bad gone East to get his father and mother and bring them back with him lastly she came to the thing that worried her most the most the suspicion of her father and mother that John was not honest The They say that he probably bad hod bad bada a wife when he came here that here that that Is ta why he dont don't write to me mc Then after litter t little silence she plead plead- ed You dont don't think that do flu you jou ou Abe No 1 said the latter l giving g her herthe herthe the advantage of every doubt John did a foolish tiling but we must not condemn him without a kno knowledge of the facts The young often otten do foolish things and sickness would account for his silence You go horse hone and go 10 to sleep and stop worrying Ann You'll get that letter one of at these days A day or two later Abe and Harry went t to Springfield riel Their reason renson for forthe forthe forthe the trip lay In a n talk between the postmaster postmaster post post- master and Jack Jock Kelso the night before before be be- fore ore as the they sat b by the latter's fire lire side Ive e b been n living Hying where there was as asno no one ne to find fault w with h my parts of speech or with the parts of ot my legs were not decently covered said Abe The sock district of ot m my person has been without representation tion In the legislature ure of m my Intellect up to its last session Then we got a abill abill abill bill through for local cm Improvements and the governor has approved the appropriation Suddenly we discovered discovered disco ered that there was no money In the treasury But Samson Traylor has offered to buy an nn issue of bonds of the amount of fifteen dollars Im glad to hear you ou declare In favor of external Improvements said sald Kelso Kelso- Weve Veve all been too much absorbed absorbed ab nb- ab- ab by internal Improvements Youre You're on the right trail Abe Youve You've Youver r 1 Arri V I o l I f 1 o. o The Jew Pointed to His been heen thinking of the public ear and too little of or the public e eye eye- e We must show some respect for both Sometimes I 1 think that comely dress ought to go with comely diction diction diction dic dic- tion said Abe Ahe But nut that's a n thing you cant can't learn In books hooks Theres There's no grammarian of If the language langua e of dress drs Then Im I'm so 10 hl big and n awkward It Ita Its It's a n rather rathor hopeless problem Youre In good com company pan Kelso assured him Nature guards her besmen bps bos men with some sort of singularity not attractive to others Often sh she makes them odious with conceit or deformity or dumbness or 01 garrulity Dante was such a poor talker that no one would ever er ask him to r rIf If It It hind had not be been n so I presume hl his s mu muse e would have been heen sadly s crippled cJ by hy Indigestion I If you ou had hind b bei been n a good dancer and ond a ladys lady's favorite fa I Iwonder wonder onder If you rou would have ha st studied d I Kirkham and Burns urns and Shakespeare and Blackstone and and nod th the science of surveying sur and been h.-en elected to the le legislature I r wonder if you ou could even have hove whipped Jack Armstron Arm Arm- stron strong Or have enjoyed ell the friendship of Bill Berry and acquired a national debt or have ha saved and m my imperiled country countr In the war with Black Hawk Abe Ahe laughed In the matter of If dress the postmaster ter tel had hind great confidence in the ta taste te and amI knowledge of his young oung friend Harry Needles who whose e neat neut appearance appearance appear appear- ance AlJ Abe regarded with serious ad nd So he asked Harry to go KO with him on his new mission and ond help to choose the goods and direct the tailoring for tor It seemed to him a highly high I ly important enterprise Our appropriation Is only fifteen dollars paid Bald Ale Aie as us they came In lu Insight sight of ot the bl big village on a warm bright day late In iii O October Of course I cant can't expect to make myself m look look- like the the President of the United States with such a sum but I want to look like e a respectable citizen of ot the United States If It that is po possible Ill I'll IllIe give I e the old Abe Ae and fifteen l en dollars to boot for Cor a new ne neone one and we well we'll see what comes of It Springfield hud been en rapidly chang cluing ing It was still small and crude but some of the best hest standards of civilization Ulza cI don tion had been set up UI In that community ity Families of wealth and culture in the East Eust had sent their sons and anci anda a share of ot their capital to this little metropolis of ot the land of vt plenty to go Into business Handsome mc well groomed I horses fc M mounted han drawing carriages that shone so ao o you 1 0 could see your face tace In them to quota from Abe again we wert on its streets The two New Salem men stopped and studied a big sign In la front of s large store on which this announcement announcement announcement announce announce- ment had been lettered Cloths velvet Tel yel- vet yet silks satins Marseilles waistcoat waistcoat- lug Ing fine calf boots seal and morocco pumps for gentlemen crepe Us e lace veils ells hu tine fine prunella shoes Reads like b a foreign language to tome tome tome me said Abe How lIow would you OU like Ute a n little Marseilles Suddenly a roan man touched his shoulder shoulder shoal shoal- der dor with a hearty Howdy llowd Abet Abe Abc It I Eli ll the was Wandering Jew as he had been wont to cn call him himself In the da days when he carried a pack on the road through Peter Petel Bluff lutt and ana Clarys Clary's Grove Giove and amI New Salem Salena to to Beardstown and ba back l Dig Is m my store said Ell Eli Your store 1 Abe exclaimed Ya ia 1 a look at de sign The Jew pointed to his sign board some fifty feet long under the cornice on which they read the legend Ell Eli Fredenberg's l Emporium Abe looked him U er from head U to foot Coot and exclaimed My l conscience You lo 10 lot as as' as asIt if It you had been fixed up to be 00 J sold Bold to tin We highest bidder The hairy dusty bow legged threadbare thread thread- bare baN peddler had been touched by hl some miraculous hand The rhe lavish hand jf U the tile West Nest had showered her favor on him him- Th They y resembled r In tit some degree the barbaric pearl and gold tit t the East He glowed with prosperity Diamonds an ruffled linen lin ha en and Scotch Il plaid Id and Ted led silk on oc his neck and a blue band bond on his tits batand hat bat and a smooth shorn face tace ad perfumery er ery were the glittering details that |