Chapter I: Foreword

No great man has ever been spoken of with such tender expressions of high regard as has been Abraham Lincoln. Especially is this true of the tributes of esteem made by the poets to his memory. It is therefore desirable that these should be preserved for future generations, and at this time, the fiftieth anniversary of his untimely death, it is peculiarly proper that they should be presented to the public.

Although they are chiefly the productions of American authors, quite a number are from the pens of appreciative citizens of other countries. From the thousand of meritorious poems which have been written about Lincoln, the compiler, after serious consideration, has selected those within as appearing to be gems; although there were others which he would have been glad to include if space permitted.

The poems and illustrations are arranged largely in the chronological order of their application to the events in the life of Lincoln. The intense sympathy and warm appreciation portrayed therein for our Martyred President, as well as their artistic merit assure the poems a sacred place in the heart of every patriotic American.

The large number of selected portraits and illustrations of events connected with his life, service, death and burial, with brief sketches of authors of the following poems, also forms a compilation of rich material for all readers of Lincoln literature.

The object in publishing this compilation is to assist in preserving the collection of memorials now contained in the house in which Lincoln died, 516 Tenth Street, Washington, D. C.

The volume will be sent postpaid by the Editor at the above address, upon receipt of its price, $1.00.

OSBORN H. OLDROYD.

Washington, D. C., September twelve,
Nineteen hundred and fifteen.

CONTENTS

PAGE
INTRODUCTION--The Poetic Spirit of Lincoln, by Marion Mills
Miller .................................................... v
MY CHILDHOOD'S HOME I SEE AGAIN, by Abraham Lincoln .......... vi
BUT HERE'S AN OBJECT MORE OF DREAD, by Abraham Lincoln ..... viii
OH, WHY SHOULD THE SPIRIT OF MORTAL BE PROUD? By William
Knox ..................................................... ix
SPEECH AT GETTYSBURG (in verse form), by Abraham Lincoln ... xiii
SOLILOQUY OF KING CLAUDIUS, by William Shakespeare ......... xvii
LINCOLN, by Julia Ward Howe .................................... 14
THE GREAT OAK, by Bennett Chapple .............................. 15
LINCOLN, by Noah Davis ......................................... 17
THE BIRTH OF LINCOLN, by George W. Crofts ...................... 19
MENDELSSOHN, DARWIN, LINCOLN, by Clarence E. Carr .............. 20
THE NATAL DAY OF LINCOLN, by James Phinney Baxter .............. 22
NANCY HANKS, by Harriet Monroe ................................. 25
LINCOLN THE LABORER, by Richard Henry Stoddard ................. 29
A PEACEFUL LIFE, by James Whitcomb Riley ....................... 31
LEADER OF HIS PEOPLE, by William Wilberforce Newton ............ 32
LINCOLN, by Wilbur Hazelton Smith .............................. 35
LINCOLN IN HIS OFFICE CHAIR, by James Riley .................... 37
THE VOICE OF LINCOLN, by Elizabeth Porter Gould ................ 41
THE THOUGHTS OF LINCOLN, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps ............ 43
ON THE LIFE-MASK OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Richard Watson
Gilder ................................................... 45
THE HAND OF LINCOLN, by Edmund Clarence Stedman ................ 47
HONEST ABE OF THE WEST, by Edmund Clarence Stedman ............. 51
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 1860, by William Henry Burleigh ......... 53
LINCOLN, 1809--FEBRUARY 12, 1909, by Madison Cawein ............ 56
THE MATCHLESS LINCOLN, by Isaac Bassett Choate ................. 59
LINCOLN, by Charlotte Becker ................................... 61
LINCOLN AT SPRINGFIELD, 1861, by Anna Bache .................... 65
LINCOLN CALLED TO THE PRESIDENCY, by Henry Wilson
Clendenin ................................................ 70
LINCOLN THE MAN OF THE PEOPLE, by Edwin Markham ................ 74
LINCOLN, by John Vance Cheney .................................. 76
LINCOLN'S CHURCH IN WASHINGTON, by Lyman Whitney Allen ......... 80
SONNET IN 1862, by John James Piatt ............................ 83
LINCOLN, SOLDIER OF CHRIST, in Macmillan's Magazine ............ 85
A CHARACTERIZATION OF LINCOLN, by Hamilton Schuyler ............ 87
THE EMANCIPATION GROUP, by John Greenleaf Whittier ............. 91
THE LIBERATOR, by Theron Brown ................................. 94
TO PRESIDENT LINCOLN, by Edmund Ollier ......................... 96
ON FREEDOM'S SUMMIT, by Charles G. Foltz ....................... 98
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CEMETERY AT
GETTYSBURG, by Abraham Lincoln .......................... 100
GETTYSBURG ODE, by Bayard Taylor .............................. 102
LINCOLN'S SECOND INAUGURAL, by Benjamin Franklin Taylor ....... 104
OH, PATIENT EYES! by Herman Hagedorn .......................... 107
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Margaret Elizabeth Sangster ............... 109
THE MAN LINCOLN, by Wilbur Dick Nesbit ........................ 113
THE MASTER, by Edwin Arlington Robinson ....................... 116
LINCOLN, by Harriet Monroe .................................... 119
THE EYES OF LINCOLN, by Walt Mason ............................ 121
HE LEADS US STILL, by Arthur Guiterman ........................ 123
LINCOLN, by S. Weir Mitchell .................................. 125
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by George Alfred Townsend .................... 126
LINCOLN, by Paul Lawrence Dunbar .............................. 128
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Alice Cary ................................ 130
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Rose Terry Cooke .......................... 132
LINCOLN, by Frederick Lucian Hosmer ........................... 134
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Charles Monroe Dickinson .................. 136
SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS! by Robert Leighton ....................... 139
ABRAHAM LINCOLN FOULLY ASSASSINATED, by Tom Taylor ............ 140
THE DEATHBED .................................................. 144
LINCOLN AND STANTON, by Marion Mills Miller ................... 146
THE HOUSE WHERE LINCOLN DIED, by Robert Mackay ................ 151
IN TOKEN OF RESPECT, Translation of Latin Verses .............. 152
ENGLAND'S SORROW, from _London Fun_ ........................... 153
THE FUNERAL HYMN OF LINCOLN, by Phineas Densmore Gurley ....... 155
REST, REST FOR HIM, by Harriet McEwen Kimball ................. 157
THE FUNERAL CAR OF LINCOLN, by Richard Henry Stoddard ......... 159
THE DEATH OF LINCOLN, by William Cullen Bryant ................ 161
ODE, by Henry T. Tuckerman .................................... 163
TOLLING, by Lucy Larcom ....................................... 164
REQUIEM OF LINCOLN, by Richard Storrs Willis .................. 167
REQUIEM, by James Nicoll Johnston ............................. 168
SERVICES IN MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Oliver Wendell
Holmes .................................................. 170
SPRINGFIELD'S WELCOME TO LINCOLN, by William Allen ............ 173
LINCOLN, by Lucy Hamilton Hooper .............................. 175
LET THE PRESIDENT SLEEP, by James M. Stewart .................. 179
THE CENOTAPH OF LINCOLN, by James Mackay ...................... 181
DEDICATION POEM, by James Judson Lord ......................... 183
THE GRAVE OF LINCOLN, by Edna Dean Proctor .................... 186
COMMEMORATION ODE, by James Russell Lowell .................... 189
AN HORATIAN ODE, by Richard Henry Stoddard .................... 193
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! by Walt Whitman ........................ 197
ON THE ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN, by Henry De Garrs ............ 200
POETICAL TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
by Emily J. Bugbee ...................................... 201
LINCOLN, 1865, by John Nichol ................................. 204
LINCOLN, by Christopher Pearse Cranch ......................... 206
LINCOLN, by George Henry Boker ................................ 208
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Phoebe Cary ............................... 210
LINCOLN, by Charles Graham Halpin ("Miles O'Reilly") .......... 215
THE MARTYR PRESIDENT .......................................... 219
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Eugene J. Hall ............................ 220
THE TOMB OF LINCOLN, by Samuel Francis Smith .................. 222
LINCOLN, by John Townsend Trowbridge .......................... 227
HOMAGE DUE TO LINCOLN, by Kinahan Cornwallis .................. 229
THE SCOTLAND STATUE, by David K. Watson ....................... 231
THE UNFINISHED WORK, by Joseph Fulford Folsom ................. 234
ONE OF OUR PRESIDENTS, by Wendell Philips Stafford ............ 236
ON A BRONZE MEDAL OF LINCOLN, by Frank Dempster Sherman ....... 239
THE GLORY THAT SLUMBERED IN THE GRANITE ROCK,
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox .................................. 241
THE LINCOLN BOULDER, by Louis Bradford Couch .................. 243
WHEN LINCOLN DIED, by James Arthur Edgerton ................... 247
HAD LINCOLN LIVED, by Amos Russell Wells ...................... 250
LET HIS MONUMENT RISE, by Samuel Green Wheeler Benjamin ....... 253

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady, 1864 ....... _Frontispiece_
LINCOLN, from a Bust by Johannes Gelert ........................ iv
THE LOG CABIN, Birthplace of Lincoln ........................... 13
LINCOLN BY THE CABIN FIRE ...................................... 16
MENDELSSOHN, DARWIN, LINCOLN ................................... 20
MONUMENT TO THE MOTHER OF LINCOLN .............................. 25
THE RAIL SPLITTER .............................................. 28
THE BOY LINCOLN, by Eastman Johnson ............................ 30
LINCOLN THE LAWYER, from an Ambrotype, 1856 .................... 34
LINCOLN'S OFFICE CHAIR ......................................... 36
LINCOLN AS A CANDIDATE FOR UNITED STATES SENATOR, from an
Ambrotype by Gilmer, 1858 ................................ 40
LINCOLN AT THE TIME OF DEBATE WITH DOUGLAS, from an Ambrotype,
1858 ..................................................... 42
THE LINCOLN LIFE-MASK, by Leonard W. Volk ...................... 44
THE HAND OF LINCOLN, a Cast by Leonard W. Volk ................. 46
HON. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY,
1860, painted by Hicks ................................... 49
THE "WIGWAM," Convention Hall in Chicago, 1860 ................. 50
LINCOLN AS CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT, from an Ambrotype, 1860 .... 52
"HONEST ABE," Campaign Cartoon of 1860 ......................... 55
LINCOLN AS CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT, Photograph by Hesler,
Chicago, 1860 ............................................ 58
LINCOLN AS CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT, Photograph at
Springfield, Ill., 1860 .................................. 60
CABIN OF LINCOLN'S PARENTS, on Goose-Nest Prairie, Ill. ........ 62
LINCOLN HOMESTEAD, Springfield, Ill., 1861 ..................... 64
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND HIS SECRETARIES, JOHN G. NICOLAY AND
JOHN HAY, Photograph at Springfield, Ill., 1861 .......... 67
INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA ................................ 69
LINCOLN IN 1858, Photograph by S. M. Fassett, Chicago .......... 71
THE CAPITOL, at Second Inauguration of Lincoln ................. 73
THE WHITE HOUSE ................................................ 76
WHERE LINCOLN WORSHIPPED, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church,
Washington, D. C. ........................................ 79
LINCOLN IN 1858, Photograph Owned by Stuart Brown,
Springfield, Ill. ........................................ 82
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph Autographed for Miss Speed ....... 84
LINCOLN IN FEBRUARY, 1860, Photograph by Brady ................. 86
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Gardner ....................... 88
EMANCIPATION GROUP, in Park Square, Boston ..................... 90
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady, 1863 ................... 93
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Gardner, 1863 ................. 95
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady ......................... 97
LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG ......................................... 100
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND HIS SON THOMAS ("TAD") .................. 103
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady ........................ 106
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady ........................ 108
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Gardner, 1864 ................ 112
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AT ANTIETAM ................................. 115
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Gardner, 1864 ................ 118
PRESIDENT-ELECT LINCOLN, Photograph at Springfield, Ill.,
1861 .................................................... 120
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady, 1862 .................. 122
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady, 1864 .................. 124
STATUE OF LINCOLN in Hodgenville, Ky.; Adolph A. Weinman,
sculptor ................................................ 126
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady, 1864 .................. 128
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Gardner, 1865 ................ 130
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Gardner, 1865 ................ 132
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady, 1865 .................. 134
FORD'S THEATRE, WASHINGTON, D. C. ............................. 138
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, FOULLY ASSASSINATED,
Cartoon in London _Punch_ ............................... 140
DEATHBED OF LINCOLN ........................................... 144
ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND EDWIN M. STANTON .......................... 146
DEATH OF LINCOLN .............................................. 149
HOUSE IN WHICH LINCOLN DIED ................................... 150
JOSEPHINE OLDROYD TIEFENTHALER ................................ 150
THE FUNERAL OF LINCOLN, in East Room of White House ........... 154
THE FUNERAL CAR ............................................... 158
CITY HALL, NEW YORK, N. Y. .................................... 162
ROTUNDA, CITY HALL ............................................ 166
ST. JAMES HALL, BUFFALO, N. Y. ................................ 168
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady, 1863 .................. 170
LINCOLN HOMESTEAD, May 4, 1865 ................................ 172
STATE CAPITOL, ILLINOIS, 1865 ................................. 175
PUBLIC VAULT, OAK RIDGE CEMETERY, SPRINGFIELD, ILL. ........... 178
FACADE OF PUBLIC VAULT ........................................ 180
LINCOLN MONUMENT, in Springfield, Ill., Larken G. Mead,
Architect ............................................... 182
STATUE OF LINCOLN, Lincoln Park, Washington, D. C.,
Thomas Ball, sculptor ................................... 188
STATUE OF LINCOLN, by Leonard W. Volk ......................... 192
"THE GOOD GRAY POET" (Walt Whitman) ........................... 196
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Washington, D. C.; Lott Flannery,
sculptor ................................................ 199
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Muskegon, Mich.; Charles Niehaus,
sculptor ................................................ 203
LINCOLN AND CABINET ("First Reading of Emancipation
Proclamation"), Painted by Frank B. Carpenter ........... 206
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Randolph
Rogers, sculptor ........................................ 208
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Photograph by Brady, 1864 .................. 210
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Lincoln Park, Chicago; Augustus Saint
Gaudens, sculptor ....................................... 214
TABLET AT PHILADELPHIA ........................................ 218
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Rotunda of Capitol; Vinnie Ream,
sculptor ................................................ 222
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Lincoln, Neb.; Daniel Chester French,
sculptor ................................................ 226
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Burlington, Wis.; George E. Ganiere,
sculptor ................................................ 228
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Edinburgh, Scotland; George E. Bissell,
sculptor ................................................ 231
STATUE OF LINCOLN, in Newark, N. J.; Gutzon Borglum,
sculptor ................................................ 234
CHILDREN ON THE BORGLUM STATUE ................................ 236
HEAD OF LINCOLN, Bronze Medallion in Commemoration of Lincoln
Centenary, Struck for the Grand Army of the Republic .... 238
MARBLE HEAD OF LINCOLN, in Statuary Hall, Capitol; Gutzon
Borglum, sculptor ....................................... 240
THE LINCOLN BOULDER, at Nyack, N. Y. .......................... 243
BAS-RELIEF HEAD OF LINCOLN, James W. Tuft, sculptor ........... 246
A STUDY OF LINCOLN, Painting by Blendon Campbell .............. 249
THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, at Washington, D. C., Henry Bacon,
architect ............................................... 252

From a bust by Johannes Gelert]