urke and Webster, those masters of the eloquence of
statesmanship, as Burns was unlike Milton and Tennyson. Like Burns, he
held the key of the life of his people; and through him, as through
Burns, that life found a voice, vibrating, pathetic, and persuasive.

[3] _By permission of R. S. Peale and J. A. Hill Co._

LINCOLN'S PRESENCE OF BODY

From "Abe Lincoln's Yarns and Stories"

On one occasion, Colonel Baker was speaking in a court-house, which
had been a storehouse, and, on making some remarks that were offensive
to certain political rowdies in the crowd, they cried: "Take him off
the stand!" Immediate confusion followed, and there was an attempt to
carry the demand into execution. Directly over the speaker's head was
an old skylight, at which it appeared Mr. Lincoln had been listening
to the speech. In an instant, Mr. Lincoln's feet came through the
skylight, followed by his tall and sinewy frame, and he was standing
by Colonel Baker's side. He raised his hand, and the assembly subsided
into silence. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "let us not disgrace the
age and country in which we live. This is a land where freedom of
speech is guaranteed. Mr. Baker has a right to speak, and ought to be
permitted to do so. I am here to protect him, and no man shall take
him from this stand if I can prevent it."

The suddenness of his appearance, his perfect calmness and fairness,
and the knowledge that he would do what he had promised to do, quieted
all disturbance, and the speaker concluded his remarks without
difficulty.

HOW LINCOLN BECAME A NATIONAL FIGURE

BY IDA M. TARBELL

From "The Life of Abraham Lincoln."[4]

"The greatest speech ever made in Illinois, and it puts Lincoln on the
track for the Presidency," was the comment made by enthusiastic
Republicans on Lincoln's speech before the Bloomington Convention.
Conscious that it was he who had put the breath of life into their
organization, the party instinctively turned to him as its leader. The
effect of this local recognition was at once perceptible in the
national organization. Less than three weeks after the delivery of the
Bloomington speech, the national convention of the Republican party
met in Philadelphia, June 17, to nominate candidates for the
Presidency and Vice-presidency. Lincoln's name was the second proposed
for the latter office, and on the first ballot he received one hundred
and ten votes. The news reached him at Urbana, Ill., where he was