a piece of
foolery. I feel it is so even on your own account, and particularly on
mother's account.

"Now do not misunderstand this letter. I do not write it in any
unkindness. I write it in order, if possible, to get you to face the
truth, which truth is, you are destitute because you have idled away
your time. Your thousand pretenses deceive nobody but yourself. Go to
work is the only cure for your case."

CHAPTER XVII

WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND HIS STEPBROTHER

These letters show the wide difference between the real lives of two
boys brought up in the same surroundings, and under similar conditions.
The advantages were in John Johnston's favor. He and Dennis Hanks never
rose above the lower level of poverty and ignorance. John was looked
down upon by the poor illiterates around him as a lazy, good-for-nothing
fellow, and Dennis Hanks was known to be careless about telling the
truth.

In speaking of the early life of Abe's father and mother, Dennis threw
in the remark that "the Hankses was some smarter than the Lincolns." It
was not "smartness" that made Abe Lincoln grow to be a greater man than
Dennis Hanks. There are men in Springfield to-day who say, "There were a
dozen smarter men in this town than Mr. Lincoln when he happened to be
nominated, and peculiar conditions prevailing at that time brought about
his election to the presidency!"

True greatness is made of goodness rather than smartness. Abraham
Lincoln was honest with himself while a boy and a man, and it was
"Honest Abe" who became President of the United States. The people loved
him for his big heart--because he loved them more than he loved himself
and they knew it. In his second inaugural address as President he used
this expression: "With malice toward none, with charity for all." This
was not a new thought, but it was full of meaning to the country because
little Abe Lincoln had _lived_ that idea all his life, with his own
family, his friends, acquaintances, and employers. He became the most
beloved man in the world, in his own or any other time, because he
himself loved everybody.

Mrs. Crawford, the wife of "Old Blue Nose," used to laugh at the very
idea of Abe Lincoln ever becoming President. Lincoln often said to her:
"I'll get ready and the time will come." He got ready in his father's
log hut and when the door of opportunity opened he walked right into the
White House. He "made himself at home" there,