f corn and eat it to satisfy his hunger, and many times has he
crawled under the barn or stable and secured eggs, which he would roast
in the fire and eat. That boy did not wear pantaloons, as you do, but
a tow-linen shirt. Schools were unknown to him, and he learned to
spell from an old Webster's spelling-book, and to read and write from
posters on cellar and barn doors, while boys and men would help him.
He would then preach and speak, and soon became well known. He became
presidential elector, United States marshal, United States recorder,
United States diplomat, and accumulated some wealth. He wore
broadcloth, and didn't have to divide crumbs with the dogs under the
table. That boy was Frederick Douglass. What was possible for me is
possible for you. Don't think because you are colored you can't
accomplish anything. Strive earnestly to add to your knowledge. So
long as you remain in ignorance, so long will you fail to command the
respect of your fellow-men."

Where shall we find an illustration more impressive than in Abraham
Lincoln, whose life, career, and death might be chanted by a Greek
chorus as at once the prelude and the epilogue of the most imperial
theme of modern times? Born as lowly as the Son of God, in a hovel; of
what real parentage we know not, reared in penury, squalor, with no
gleam of light, nor fair surrounding; a young manhood vexed by weird
dreams and visions; with scarcely a natural grace; singularly awkward,
ungainly even among the uncouth about him: it was reserved for this
remarkable character, late in life, to be snatched from obscurity,
raised to supreme command at a supreme moment, and intrusted with the
destiny of a nation. The great leaders of his party were made to stand
aside; the most experienced and accomplished men of the day, men like
Seward, and Chase, and Sumner, statesmen famous and trained, were sent
to the rear, while this strange figure was brought by unseen hands to
the front, and given the reins of power.

The story is told of a man in London deprived of both legs and arms,
who managed to write with his mouth and perform other things so
remarkable as to enable him to earn a fair living. He would lay
certain sheets of paper together, pinning them at the corner to make
them hold. Then he would take a pen and write some verses; after which
he would proceed to embellish the lines by many skillful flourishes.
Dropping the pen from his mouth, he would next take up