The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1909-01-19
A POEM BY LINCOLN
ONE OF PRICELESS RELICS IN ].
p. MoRGAN's LIBRARY.
New York llioraire Also
Owns the Original Manuscript
of Millions Paradise
Lost.

manuscript poem written by Abraham
Lincoln in his early days 1t Is owned
by j. Pierpont Morgan aud forms one
of the collection of manuscript treas,
ures from his library which have been
loaned at the request of the Columbia
university trustees for three weeks
public exhibition.
The poem has never been published.
Its title is The Bear Hunt" and the
first two stanzas are:
\ wild bear chase didst ever see?
Then hast thou lived in vain
! Thy richest bump of glorious glee
Lies desert in thy brain
when first thy father settled here,
Twas then the frontier line;
The pantAer's scream filed night with
fear
And bears proved on the swine,
The poem is written in the large
bold, clear hand so characteristic OF
Lincoln. but perhaps most readers
will agree with the sentiment eX
pressed by Prof Simkhovitch, who is
in charge of the philosophical de
partment OF the university:
K Il have always had a great ad
mration for Abraham Lincoln and the
broad wisdom of his public utter
ances' he said, but ! must confess
that he hardly comes up to my est
mate OF a poets standard
wye have about 1870 volumes Of
I manuscripts here and after | made my
selections from Mr. Morgans library
yen woald hardly have noticed that
anything had been removed. 1t is a.
most remarkable object lesson Of the
vastross of Mr.. Morgan's literary ma
/ ter1al
\ small case at the entrance con
tains foug OF he finest things in the
/ Miltou's original manuscript OF
/ The first book of Paradise Lost some
/ poems and letters OF Tasso in a bold
/ sharp hand the original warrant nm
der which john Bunyan was arrested
which resulted in his incarceration tol
several months In which time he
wrote Pilgrim Progress and Rob
ert Southey.s manuscript copy Of his
Life of Bunyan.'
Another choice bit is a splendid let
ter Of Oliver Cromwell to his Wife
written in September 1850. and it is
much easier to read than the hand
writing OF many modern notablos.
Thackeray is represented with his
/ complete manuscript of vanity Fair
/ but perhaps the most interesting re
hinder of the popular novelist is his
little diary of his American visit in
1852,
John Keats manuscript of his long
poem. "Endymion,' and The ode to
Psyche" will not attract the sympa
! thetic interest that will be given to a
! little three-lined note written in a
scrawling hand, the last pathetic mes
/ sage to Fanny Brawne. with whom be
was in love and, says an explanatory
note. the premouition that he Would
not be long i'll was too true. as he died
few months later at Rome
Lord Byron's long manuscript OF
Don Juan" is full Of interest There
, are many erasures. and it contains 2
/ number Of stauzas that were neyc1
/ printed.
Some ~ the other choice things IN
/ clude Charles Dickens manuscripts
! the Christmas Carol Sketches OF
/ Young Gentleman and Holiday 10
| nance" WilKie Collins Woman b.
| White and The MOons.one,' Bulwe
/ Lyttuu's Last Days of Pompeii
/ Charlotte Hroute's The Professor.
/ Thomas Mgorc's "Lalla Rookh, Dry
, dcns manuscript Of "Eleonuia' and
/ then volumes of Sir Walter SCOTS
writings including "Ivanhoe." Waiver
/ IT," odd Mortality" THE Monastery
and Tales Of My Landlord"
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