ch Lincoln was nominated]

The Republicans of Chicago had erected a huge temporary building for
the use of the Convention. The "Wigwam," as it was called, covered a
space of 600 feet by 180, and the height was between 50 and 60 feet.
The building would hold about 10,000 persons, and was divided into
platform, ground-floor and gallery. The stage upon which the delegates
and members of the press were seated, held about 1,800 persons; the
ground-floor and galleries, about 8,000. A large gallery was reserved
for ladies, which was filled every day to overflowing. The Convention
met on June 16, 1860.

Edmund Clarence Stedman is the author of this poem, and it was
published in the _Press and Tribune_ of Chicago, and in _Weekly
Illinois State Journal_, June 13, 1860. It was sung to the air of the
"Star Spangled Banner" throughout the campaign.

HONEST ABE OF THE WEST

O Hark! from the pine-crested hills of old Maine,
Where the splendor first falls from the wings of the
morning,
And away in the West, over river and plain,
Rings out the grand anthem of Liberty's warning!
From green-rolling prairie it swells to the sea,
For the people have risen, victorious and free,
They have chosen their leaders, and bravest and best
Of them all is Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!

The spirit that fought for the patriots of old
Has swept through the land and aroused us forever;
In the pure air of heaven a standard unfold
Fit to marshal us on to the sacred endeavor!
Proudly the banner of freemen we bear;
Noble the hopes that encircle it there!
And where battle is thickest we follow the crest
Of gallant Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!

There's a triumph in urging a glorious cause,
Though the hosts of the foe for a while may be stronger,
Pushing on for just rules and holier laws,
Till their lessening columns oppose us no longer.
But ours the loud paean of men who have passed
Through the struggles of years, and are victors at last;
So forward the flag! Leave to Heaven the rest,
And trust in Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!

[Illustration: LINCOLN AS CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT

From an Ambrotype taken at Springfield, Illinois, A