United States, proclaimed the fact at Toronto, Canada, where he lived and died (February, 1902) a revered minister of the gospel.

"Settle It!"

Squire Masters, of Petersburg, Ill., was once threatened with a lawsuit. He went to Springfield, where Lincoln was located (1837, etc.), and had a talk with him about the case. Lincoln told him, as an old friend, that if he could not settle the case he would undertake the defense, but he urged his friend to make an amicable adjustment.

"What'll you charge, Abe, to go into court for me?" said Mr. Masters.

"Well," was Lincoln's reply, "it will cost you ten dollars; but I won't charge you anything if you can settle it between yourselves."

The other party heard of the squire's visit to Lincoln, and agreed to settle.

"A Lawyer with a Conscience"

A lawyer who studied in Mr. Lincoln's office tells a story illustrative of his love for justice. After listening one day for some time to a client's statement of his case, Lincoln, who had been staring at the ceiling, suddenly swung around in his chair, and said:

"Well, you have a pretty good case in technical law, but a pretty bad one in equity and justice. You'll have to get some other fellow to win this case for you. I couldn't do it. All the time, while talking to that jury, I'd be thinking: 'Lincoln, you're a liar,' and I believe I should forget myself and say it out loud."

"To Rise, Improve Yourself"

"The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him."

"Stand with the Right!"

"Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong."

"Right Makes Might"

"Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."

"Owners of Our Country"

"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it."

"How Long a Man's Legs Should Be"

The shortest President was William H. Harrison, and the tallest was Abraham Lincoln. It was not the former, however, who put the question of how long a man's legs should be, but some impertinent jack-a-dandy at a levee. The reply he received was as follows:

"A man's legs should be long enough to reach from his body to the ground."

"Trust the Poor"

"No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who toil up from poverty; none less inclined to take or touch aught which they have not honestly earned."

"Take One from Three and None Remain"

In April, 1861, the patriot statesmen of the North were in a state of anxiety, as the least precipitate act might cause the wavering border States, such as Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri, to throw in their fortunes with the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Nevertheless, a deputation, boiling over with impatience arising from patriotic wrath, urged the President to do something at once.

He replied with apparent irrelevance: "If you kill one, how many will be left?"

There was no delay in the answer: "Two!"

"Oh, no," corrected he; "there would be none left; for the other two, frightened by the shot, would have flown away."

"Nobility Not a Bar in Our Army”

A foreign officer who tendered his services to the country, and was promised a commission, thought it a clincher to announce that he had other than military claims to the favor, and mentioned his letter of nobility. "Oh, never mind," said the President, "you will find that no obstacle to your advancement."

"Set Your Feet Right, and Then Stand Firm!"

One day when Lincoln was escorting two ladies to the Soldiers' Home they were all compelled to leave the carriage, owing to the bad condition of the road due to excessive rain. Mr. Lincoln placed three stones for stepping-stones from the curb to the vehicle. While assisting the ladies to firm land, he remarked:

"All through life, be sure you put your feet in the right place, and then stand firm!"

"Pluck a Thistle and Plant a Flower"

In the spring of 1865 a number of men who had resisted the draft in western Pennsylvania were pardoned in a batch by the President. His friend Mr. J. H. Speed, who had heard the touching pleas of two women petitioners in the case, observed that he wondered why the President stood the anguish of such pleadings when he was, at heart, so sensitive.

"I have, in that order," said Lincoln, "made people happy and alleviated the distress of many a poor soul whom I never expect to see. Speed, die when I may, I want it said of me by those who know me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower, when I thought a flower would grow."

CHAPTER VIII

THEME TOPICS FOR THE INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED

GRADES

INTERMEDIATE GRADE

Mailing a letter.

Marketing.

A shopping expedition.

The library.

Sending a telegram.

Ordering a meal at a restaurant.

Fire prevention.

Weather observations.

Hygiene and sanitation.
Housecleaning.

Applying for a position.
The visiting nurse.

United States money.
The trades and occupations.

The doctor.

The United States flag.

The city officials.

The postman.

The seasons.

The milk supply.

A trip to the theatre.

A visit to a friend just arrived from Europe.

Buying furniture.

Looking for work.

Visiting the Art Museum.