The National tribune., 1900-03-01
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE: WAsHNGToy

reached New York learned for the first
that the place was changed TO Cooper
Institute. ! made the speech. and left for
New England. where have a son at school,
neither asking for pay nor having any
offered me. Three days after check
for 5000 was sent 10 me at \. H.. and took
il. and did not know il was wrong My
understanding now is-though | knew
nothing of it at the time-that they did
charge for admittancc at the Cooper In
stitutc, and that they took i'll more than
twice 5000. have made this explanation
TO YOU rs a friend but | wish no expla-
nation made TO our enemies. What they
want is a squabbe and n fuss, and that
they can have if we explain, and they
can not have ii if We don't. When return
ed through New York from New England
| was told by the gentleman who sent me
the check that drunken vagabond in the
club, having learned something about the
$500. made the exhibition out of which the
Herald manufactured the article quoted
by the Press of your town. My Judgment
Is. and therefore my request is, that you
give no denial and no explanations.
Thanking you for your kind interest
in the matter, remain
Yours truly, A. LINCOLN"
LINCoLN'S ACCOUNT OF HIS VISIT TO a
FIVE POINTS SUNDAY SCHOOL.
1t appears that on the Sunday which
Mr.. Lincoln spent in New York City he
visited a Sunday school in the notorious
region called Five Points. and there made a
short address to the scholars After his
return to Springfield one of his ncighbors
hearing of this. thought it would be good
subject for hantcring Mr.. Lincoln about,
and accordingly visited him for that pur-
pose. This neighbor was generally known
as Jim" just as Lincoln was called ABE"
The following account oil JimS visit,
furnished by Mr.. Edward Egglcston, shows
h,, Il Il,
"bantering" as he had expected: He started
| for old Abc's' office. but bursting open
| the door impulsively, found a stranger
| i'll conversation with Mr.. Lincoln. He
turned 10 retrace his steps, when Lincoln
called out, Jim. What do you want?
Nothing. Yes, You do; come back.
After some entreaty Jim approached Mr..
| Lincoln, and remarked, with a twinkle
in his eye: We'll, Abe, see you have been
making n speech 20 Sunday-school chill
drcn. What's the matter? Sit down,
Jim, and I'll tell you all about it And
with that Lincoln put his feet on the stove,
and began: When Sunday morning came
| didn't know exactly what to do. Wash
burne asked me where was going? | told
him had nowhere TO go, and he proposed
| to take me down to the Five Points Sunday
school to show me something worth seeing.
| was very much interested by what saw.
Presently MIR. Pease came up and spoke to
Pease wanted us TO speak. Washburne
spoke, and then | was urged to speak.
told them did not know anything about
talking 10 Sunday-schoolS, but Mr.. PeaSe
said many of the children were friendless
and homeless, and that a few words would
do them good. Washburnc said | must
talk. And so rose to speak; but, tell YOU
Jim, ! didn't know what to say. | re-
membered that Mr.. Pcasc said that they
were homeless and friendless, and thought
of the time when had been pinchcd by terri
bic poverty. And so told them that had
been poor; that | remembered when my
toes stuck out through my broken shoes in
Winter; when my arms were out at the ell
bows; when shivered with the cold. And
| told them there was only one rule. That
was always do the very best YOU can. /
told them that had always lred to do the
very best | could, and that if they would
follow that rule, they would get along
somehow. That was about what | said.
And when got through Mr.. Pease said it
was just the Thing they needed. And
when the school was dismissed all the
teachers came up and shook hands with
me, and thanked me for it, although did
not know that ] was saying anything of
any account But the next morning
saw my remarks noticed in the papers.
Just here MIR. Lincoln put his hand in his
pocket, and remarked that he had never
heard anything that touched him
as had the songs winch those children
sang. With that he drew forth little
book, remarking that they had given him
one of the books from which they sang.
He began to read piece with all the earn
estneSs of his great. earnest soul. In the
middle of the second verse his friend Jim
felt choking in his throat and tickling
in his nose. At the beginning of the
third verse he saw that the stranger was
weeping, and his own tears fell fast. Turn
ing toward Lincoln, who was reading
straight on, he saw the great binding tears
in his eyes. so that he could not possibly
see the pages. He was repeating that little
song from memory. How often he had
read it. or how long its sweet and simple
accents continued to reverberate through
his soul, no one can know.
(To be continued)