Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1885-03-02
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LINCOLN ON LIQUOR.

LINCOLN ON LIQUOR.
Luke c. Grimes, formerly city IL
brarian and an active politician, has
for thirty years taken deep inter-
est, at intervals, in temperance move
ments. He is at present member
of Perry Lodge, order of Good Tenn
plars. and great commander of the
Knights of the Cross in the state Of
New York. During the Washington
temperance excitement about 1853 or
1854 he was present at meeting
where the late President Lincoln
made speech, and the story Of the
interesting event, as told by him, is
as follows: Zone Sunday afternoon
in 1853 OF 1854, | am not certain of
the year," began Mr.. Grimes, II at
tended meeting in a large hall on
the top floor of the building on the
southeast corner of Bronze street and
the Bowery, given under the auspices
of Neptune division, Washington
Sons of Temperance. The same
apartment is used to-day for the
meeting of Franklin Lodge of Good
Templars. The meeting on the oc-
casion of which | speak was presided
over by Daniel Woolford, who is still
alive and engaged in the good work,
being a member of Hope Lodge Of
Good Templars. After an opening
address by the presiding officer, the
audience was called upon for five
minute speeches. Many were made,
but the material giving signs of be-
ing exhausted, Mr.. Woolford resort
eel to direct personal appeal, and adj
dressing a person who was modestly
seated in a remote corner of the
room, said: perhaps our friend in
the corner of the room will
make a few remarks. The audience
instinctively, of course, gazed in the
direction indicated by the speaker,
and saw the quaint, uncouth form of
very tall man slowly arise from a
seat. A half-suppressed litter ran
through the assemblage at the APP
pearance of the individual. He was
clad in homespun garments of gray
ish color, which added to the quaint
ness of his aspect. SO leisurely did
he rise from his chair that it seemed
as though he must be seven feet high.
His complexion was sallow, his
cheeks sunken and his hair and beard
were black-the latter slightly griz-
z!ed. But the most remarkable feat
ure was his eyes, they were deep
sunken in the sockets, jet black, and
they glowed like Goals of fire, and
impressed me with the fact that their
possessor was no ordinary man.
Well, at last he had risen to his
full height and was seen to be of
much more than ordinary stature, but
slightly stopped. After a deliberate
survey of the audience for minute
or two, he began to speak, and | tell
You it was not long before the litter
I spoke of gave place to murmurs OF
applause and admiration, and he wasn't
restricted to the five-minute rule eli.
Their. | can only give mere outline
Of the address. He dwelt, of course
upon the evil effects of liquor drink
: ing, and illustrated his speech will
amusing anecdotes, but one feat
ure l recall very distinctly, and tha
was tribute he paid to his mother
in which he said that whatever sue
cess he had attained, and whatever
force he had brought to bear to re
, sist temptation, he felt was due t.
the principle of self reliance inculca
/ ted by the mother; that she always
taught him that he was responsible
for his acts, and could do either RICH
or wrong, as he should choose. I'll,
said furthermore In the far west
from whence | come. rum ha.
not yet made the ravages tina
mark its dread path in the crowd
3 ed cities of the east, and
trust there shall never be found want
} ing earnest men to warn the pionee
+ that his labor will be useless unless
! he excludes from his presence th
; dread destroyer. rum These wer
/ the words of the speaker, as near a
D | recollect, but | recall distinctly th
= concluding sentence of the speech
e which was as follows L am iron
: the far west on my way to Washing
9 ton, and my name is Abraham Lin
0 coin = None of his hearers had eve
heard that name before, but all real
lied that the owner was an able man
/ When the meeting broke up Mr.. Lin
coin DasSed ont with the crowd and
never saw him again until I was il
troduced to him at the Aston hous
in 1861, when as he said prophetica
ly, that he was on his way to Wasl
,e ington to the presidency and to HI