Report
after report came in from different parts of the country. He was
gaining. He was winning. After a while he knew--his friends knew--all
Springfield knew--that Abraham Lincoln was to be the next President of
the United States. Outside in the streets the crowds were celebrating.
They were singing, shouting, shooting off cannons. Abe told his friends
that he was "well-nigh upset with joy."
"I guess I'd better go home now," he added. "There is a little woman
there who would like to hear the news."
Mary was asleep when he entered their bedroom. Her husband touched her
on the shoulder. "Mary, Mary," he said with a low chuckle, "we are
elected."
By February the Lincolns were ready to move. Abe tied up the trunks and
addressed them to "A. Lincoln, The White House, Washington, D.C." Before
he left Illinois there was a visit he wanted to make to a log farmhouse
a hundred and twenty-five miles southeast of Springfield. His father had
been dead for ten years, but his stepmother was still living there.
[Illustration]
Travel was slow in those days, and he had to change trains several
times.
Pages:
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114