Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1866-02-22
VAR, Ra.erotrs Grafton.

the historian, II was altogether grand
affair. The audience was extremely
large, crowdlng the spacious Rrpresen-
tatives Hall, and containing President
Johnson, the Judges OF the Supreme
Court, the members of the Cabinet, the
the foreign diplomatic corps, etc. The
chief and most interesting feature was
the Grafton, mastery production, too
long for our columns, and yet Of too
much importance to be passed over
lightly. In addition to the notice we
have already given it, we propose TO
make liberal extracts from it, And
first -
MR.. LlNcOLN's EARLY LIFE.
The choice of America fell on man
born west of the Alleghanies in the
cabin of poor people in Hardin county,
Kentucky-AbTaham Lincoln. His moth
! er con!!a.. read, buS not write his father
could do neither; but his parents sent
him, with an old spelling booE! 10
school, and he learned in his chlluhoou
to do both. When eight years ola ne
floated dove the Ohio with ne .,.,ner on /
RAFT which bore the family and all |
the Possessions to the shore of lndi- |
= ANA; and, ch,ld as he was, he gave help |
= as they tolled though dense forests to
the interior OF spehS4r county. There
in the land Of free labor ne grew up in
a log. cabin, with the solemn solitude
1 for his teacher in his meditative hours.
OF Asiatic literature he knew only the
Bible, of Greek, Latin and medieval, No
. more than the translation of Esop's
Il Fables; of English, John Bunyuns
e Pilgrims Progress. The traditions Of
George Fox and William Penn passed to
+ him d mly along the lines Of two centu-
- ries through his ancestors, who were
Ii Ouakers, Otherwise his education was
/ altogether American. The Declaration
If OF Independence was his compendium
Re of political wisdom, the Life OF Wash
" ington his constant study, and some
- thing of Jefferson and Madison reached
him through Henry Clay, whom he hon
- ored from bOyhOOd. For the rest, from
day to day he lived the life of the Amer
- lean people; walked in Its light: rea-
I, sOncd with its reason; thought with its
ne mower of thought; felt with the beat
t. ings of its mighty heart; and so was IN
ar every way a child of nature-a child OF
, the West-a child Of America.
N HIS MATURBR LIFE.
~ At nineteen, feeling impulses of am
- bition to get on in the world he engaged
~ himself to go down the Mississippi IN q
D. fat boat, receiving ten dollars month
IL for his wages and afterwards he made
the trip once more. At twenty one he
he drove his fathers cattle as the family
,as migrated to Illinois, and split rails tC
fapra n tho homestead In the wild
~ At twenty-three he was captain of vol
ol unteers in the Black Hawk war. He
lp- kept shop; he learned something OF
an surveying; but of English literature ht
he added to Bunyun nothing but Shak
,uo speare's PLAYS. At twenty five he was
H elected to the Legislature Of Illinois
hu where he served eight years. At TWEEN
m ty.seven he was admitted to the bar
a In 1887 he chose his home at Springfield
I'D | the beautiful center of the richest lane
80 in the state. In 1877 he was member
-, ofthe national Congress, where he voted
nu about forty times in favor of the prinCi
AID Pile of the jefferson prOvsO. 1t 1854 hi
gave his influence to elect from Hi
nOis to the American Senate q demOCra
who would certainly do justice to Kan
OF Sas. In 1858, az the rival Of Douglas
at he went before the people OF the mighty
ler, prairie state, saying: This Union can
rod not permanently endure, half slave anC
1870 half free; the Union will not be dis
mo solved, hut the house will cease to b.
III divided" and now in 1861 with no ex
an, pereDCe Whatever as an executive Off
ex- Ger, while states were madiy flying from
ar their orbit, and wise men knew no
.n, whpre to find counsel, this dec ndant O
'p0 Qnakere, this pupil Of Bunyan, thi
res child of the great West was elected
ate president OF America. He measured th
rse d itficulty of the duty that devOl"ed up
gho on him. and was resolved to ful6ll it,
i'm. ON BEooHrNo PRESIDENT.
his AS on the 1lth Of February, 1861, h
yos left Springfield which for a quarter OF
49, century had been his happy home, Il
'"o the crowd OF mis- friends and neig hbOr
Ds- whom he was never more to meet, h
spoke solemn farewell: II know no
ars how soon al all see you again. dut
Vss has devolved upon me grpater than tina
ng, which has devolvpd upon any othe
40. man since Washington. He neve
nds would have succeeded except for tn
tn aid Of Divine Providence, upon whicl
irh hp at all times relied. On the same Al
life, ulghty Being place my reliance, Pa,
md that may receive that divine aSsistanc
II G without which | cannot succeed, bu
he with which success ia certain" To the
IN 4; men of Indiana he said : II am nut al
the accidental, temporary instrument 1t Il
tx. Your business To iiFe up AMI prpetrv
fer thr ORION and liberty" At TIT Capita
rpA 81 Ohio he said "WithGnt 8 name
ike without a reason why ] should have q
ND name, there has faiiFn upon me n task
lis EnCh rs old mon real even upon he fsthp
ire of his country" AT vaiiuus places il
hat New York, esp claliY at Albany before
The the Legislature, which teudpr him in,
The uuit,d huppors az the great. empire
Ely STATE, he said Whir hold myself th,
ri hnmblrst of all the individuals who
wa haze ever b,-sn elevated TO the lrpsiden
I'D cy, have more djfl Wit tax to per
bis form than any nI them.I bring a true hear