Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-12-12
GREAT MEN Ar PLAY.
Abraham Lincoln Took Great Delight
In Studying a Dictionary.

| "i0n n"'o ooeh very nealtny boys, VINO
loved boyish sports and wholesome ex-
eroise, and yet by no means were their
ideas of pleasure bounded by q days
fishing, game of football or holidays;
as, for example, Abraham Lincoln,
who bears as great a reputation for
physical strength as tall, broad shoul.
dered George Washington.
Lincoln, when boy, cordially hated
the farm work, and yet faithfully ac-
complished his share of it, looking for.
ward every day to twilight hour with
his books. When the last of the rough,
tiresome chores were done, tall Abra-
ham would drag his chair into the
dooryard, and, tipping it back by prop
ping his feet against the side of the
house, forget his labor in reading the
dictionary. His only other books were
the Bible, "Aesop's Fables, +" robin.
son Crusoe," "Pilgrim' Progress, a
life OF Washington and a history of
the United States. When these lost
interest he would walk to the nearest
town, and on precious bits of paper
copy down such extracts as he could
from ponderous law books in the con-
stables office, IN order to have fresh
reading material. Even his dictionary
studies had to be given up in winter,
when there was no twilight and no
candles; so on the back of the wooden
fire shovel, with piece of charcoal,
he would amuse himself by working
out mathematical problems and writ.
ing essays, that could be shaved off,
leaving him a fresh surface. Another
OF his favorite amusements was making
speeches to men working in his fathers
fields.
Sir Rowland Hill, perhaps most
American boys and girls do not know,
was the man who, in the early part of
Queen Victoria's reign, reorganized the
postal service of Great Britain, from
which ours is adopted, and made it pos
sible to send letter for q few cents to
any part Of the country. He was the
son of school teacher, but 80 delicate
he was not permitted to study with his
brothers. He suffered from loneliness
a great deal, yet found perfect content
ment in lying fiat on his stomach on
the hearth rug adding up tremendous
Fcolums of figures. Later in life he
was celebrated for his knowledge of
mathematics, and held important posts
under the governms snt, for which he
was knighted.
MIR. Gladstone, when he went to Eton,
was considered the prettiest little boy
in the school, but he was not very
popular, as he cared very little for out
door games. His companions rarely
ever saw him run, and q boat he had
for sculling on the river he invariably
locked up and rarely loaned it to other
boys when he was not using it. What
he dearly loved, however, was to make
long addresses on most serious sub
jects in the school club of which he
was member. Then for amusement
he helped to edit an Eton magazine,
for which he wrote great number of.
poems, editorials, translations and es-
says.
Thomas Jefferson as a boy rode we'll
and played the violin, but he most sin.
cerely loved to study. When very
yonng he went to college and gave ff-
teen hours day to his books, and for
exercise at twilight would run for
mile out Of the college grounds and
back again.
Culver, the great naturalist, used to
make for his schoolfellows the tiniest
but most perfect maps of bits of col.
ored cloth or paper pasted on q sheet
and then drawn over with dots and
lines to represent mountains, rivers,
towns, etc.
A water clock and a sun dial, this
last marked out on the side of his land
lady's house when he went to boarding
school, were made by Sir Isaac New
ton, who, as little boy, was forever
inventing something. He contrived a
curious little mill, the arms of which
were made to move by a pair of mice
imprisoned in the mills tower. Tho'
for time at school he was rather q
lazy boy, when, later, he went to live
on his mothers farm, he shirked his
daily duties often, to stop and build
wonderful little waterwheels by the
brooks side, or lie under shady hedge
and study out long m athematical prob
lens.
Louis Agassiz was so expert fisher
man when little boy he could catch
them in his hand, fascinating them
first by strange metions'of his fingers.
He kept number of pet fish in stone
basin behind his fathers house, and
was clever at tanning field mice and all
sorts of little animals and insects. He
was an expert little cobbler and
cooper, could make water tight barrels
as well as a man, and manufactured
pretty shoes for his sister dolls.
Perhaps of all things Daniel Webster
when boy loved best was to read
aloud. he never remembered when he
first began to read, but as very tiny
boy he read the newspaper regularly
to an old British soldier, who used to
carry him about on his shoulder. One
day his schoolmaster offered a prize of
n san 70 - kk< L.