on-bed, there were
three well-dressed children--two girls and a boy.

And there were some grand things in the wagon, too. There were six
split-bottomed chairs, a bureau with drawers, a wooden chest, and a
feather bed. All these things were very wonderful to the lad and lassie
who had never known the use of such luxuries.

"Abraham and Sarah," said Mr. Lincoln, as he leaped from the wagon, "I
have brought you a new mother and a new brother and two new sisters."

The new mother greeted them very kindly, and, no doubt, looked with
gentle pity upon them. They were barefooted; their scant clothing was
little more than rags and tatters; they did not look much like her own
happy children, whom she had cared for so well.

And now it was not long until a great change was made in the Lincoln
home. A floor was laid, a door was hung, a window was made, the crevices
between the logs were daubed with clay.

The house was furnished in fine style, with the chairs and the bureau
and the feather bed. The kind, new mother brought sunshine and hope into
the place that had once been so cheerless.

With the young lad, Dennis Hanks, there were now six children in the
family. But all were treated with the same kindness; all had the same
motherly care. And so, in the midst of much hard work, there were many
pleasant days for them all.

* * * * *

IV.--SCHOOL AND BOOKS.

Not very long after this, the people of the neighborhood made up their
minds that they must have a school-house. And so, one day after
harvest, the men met together and chopped down trees, and built a little
low-roofed log cabin to serve for that purpose.

If you could see that cabin you would think it a queer kind of
school-house. There was no floor. There was only one window, and in it
were strips of greased paper pasted across, instead of glass. There were
no desks, but only rough benches made of logs split in halves. In one
end of the room was a huge fireplace; at the other end was the low
doorway.

The first teacher was a man whose name was Azel Dorsey. The term of
school was very short; for the settlers could not afford to pay him
much. It was in mid-winter, for then there was no work for the big boys
to do at home.

And the big boys, as well as the girls and the smaller boys, for miles
around, came in to learn what they could from Azel Dorsey. The most of
the children studied only spelling; but some of the larger ones learne