Project Gutenberg's Lincoln's Yarns and Stories, by Alexander K. McClure

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Title: Lincoln's Yarns and Stories

Author: Alexander K. McClure

Release Date: February, 2001
Posting Date: December 23, 2008 [EBook #2517]
[This file last updated on July 21, 2010]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LINCOLN'S YARNS AND STORIES ***

Produced by Dianne Bean

LINCOLN'S YARNS AND STORIES

A Complete Collection of the Funny and Witty Anecdotes that made Abraham
Lincoln Famous as America's Greatest Story Teller

With Introduction and Anecdotes

By Alexander K. McClure

Profusely Illustrated

THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY

CHICAGO & PHILADELPHIA

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the Great Story Telling President, whose Emancipation
Proclamation freed more than four million slaves, was a keen politician,
profound statesman, shrewd diplomatist, a thorough judge of men and
possessed of an intuitive knowledge of affairs. He was the first Chief
Executive to die at the hands of an assassin. Without school education
he rose to power by sheer merit and will-power. Born in a Kentucky
log cabin in 1809, his surroundings being squalid, his chances for
advancement were apparently hopeless. President Lincoln died April 15th,
1865, having been shot by J. Wilkes Booth the night before.

PREFACE.

Dean Swift said that the man who makes two blades of grass grow where
one grew before serves well of his kind. Considering how much grass
there is in the world and comparatively how little fun, we think that a
still more deserving person is the man who makes many laughs grow where
none grew before.

Sometimes it happens that the biggest crop of laugh is produced by a man
who ranks among the greatest and wisest. Such a man was Abraham Lincoln
whose wholesome fun mixed with true philosophy made thousands laugh and
think at the same time. He was a firm believer in the saying, "Laugh and
the world laughs with you."

Whenever Abraham Lincoln wanted to make a strong point he usually began
by saying, "Now, that reminds me of a story." And when he had told a
story every one saw the point and was put into a good humor.

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