Yet he was only ``Old Abe'' to his neighbors.
When they had the second funeral, I was invited
among others, and went out to see that same
coffin put back in the tomb at Springfield. Around
the tomb stood Lincoln's old neighbors, to whom
he was just ``Old Abe.'' Of course that is all they
would say.
Did you ever see a man who struts around
altogether too large to notice an ordinary working
mechanic? Do you think he is great? He is
nothing but a puffed-up balloon, held down by
his big feet. There is no greatness there.
Who are the great men and women? My
attention was called the other day to the history
of a very little thing that made the fortune of a
very poor man. It was an awful thing, and yet
because of that experience he--not a great inventor
or genius--invented the pin that now is called
the safety-pin, and out of that safety-pin made
the fortune of one of the great aristocratic families
of this nation.
A poor man in Massachusetts who had worked
in the nail-works was injured at thirty-eight, and
he could earn but little money. He was employed
in the office to rub out the marks on the bills
made by pencil memorandums, and he used a
rubber until his hand grew tired.
Pages:
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77