Lincoln Day Entertainments - Various

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No battles was he in,

       And when I ask him, "Why?", he laughs

       And "guesses" he "was tin."

       I've tried to understand their talk,

       And b'lieve I have it right:

       My grandpa licked so many, there

       Were none for pa to fight.

      —Youth's Companion.

      WAS LINCOLN KING?

      Ella M. Bangs

      WE TALKED of kings, little Ned and I,

       As we sat in the firelight's glow;

       Of Alfred the Great, in days gone by,

       And his kingdom of long ago.

       Of Norman William, who, brave and stern,

       His armies to victory led.

       Then, after a pause, "At school we learn

       Of another great man," said Ned.

       "And this one was good to the oppressed,

       He was gentle and brave, and so

       Wasn't he greater than all the rest?

       'Twas Abraham Lincoln, you know."

       "Was Lincoln a king?" I asked him then,

       And in waiting for his reply

       A long procession of noble men

       Seemed to pass in the firelight by.

       When "No" came slowly from little Ned,

       And thoughtfully; then, with a start,

       "He wasn't a king—outside," he said, "But I think he was in his heart."

      Lydia Avery Coonley

      WHEN we think of Abraham Lincoln

       Then the angel voices call,

       Saying: Try to be just like him!

       Be as noble, one and all.

       Be as truthful, as unselfish;

       Be as pure, as good, as kind;

       Be as honest; never flatter;

       Give to God your heart and mind.

       Seek not praise, but do your duty,

       Love the right and work for it;

       Then the world will be the better

       Because you have lived in it.

      LINCOLN AND THE NESTLINGS

      Clara J. Denton

      I'VE heard the beautiful stories

       Of Lincoln so great and so good.

       He helped all people in trouble,

       And their grief so well understood;

       To many sad tales he listened,

       Of heart-broken mothers and wives;

       And pausing 'mid all his worries,

       Once more he brought hope to their lives.

       Dearer than all other stories,

       Is this little one of the day

       When he, with his friends, was riding

       On horseback along the roadway;

       There, in the dust, by a tree, he found

       One little bird, then another,

       From their nest the wind had blown them,

       And he was hunting for their mother.

       When at last he found the nest, and

       In it the birdies laid,

       'Mid the party's merry laughter

       His heart was glad, his manner grave:

       "Seems to me," he said, "I couldn't

       Tonight in bed with ease have slept

       Had I left those creatures suffer

       And not restored them to their nest."

       Wonderful heart; ever tender—

       Tender, yet just, with the rest. I think among all the stories, This shows his true nature the best.

      THE BEST TRIBUTE

      Sidney Dayre

      MY GRANDPA was a soldier. They tell about the day

       He said his very last good-by and bravely marched away,

       With flying flags and bayonets all gleaming in the sun.

       They never saw him march back when all the war was done.

       They brought him here and laid him where I can always bring

       The very brightest flowers that blossom in the spring;

       But sweeter far than flowers, as every one can tell,

       Is the memory of the soldiers who loved their country well.

       I wish I could be like him—to try with all my might

       And do my loyal service for honor and for right

       And victory and glory! But children now, you know,

       Have never any chance at all to war against a foe.

       And as I think upon it, the best that we can do

       To show our love and honor for a hero brave and true,

       Is to resolve together always to be brave,

       To live our very noblest in the land he died to save.

      ABRAHAM LINCOLN

      Susie M. Best

      'MID the names that fate has written

       On the deathless scroll of fame,

       We behold the name of Lincoln,

       Shining like a living flame.

       'Mid the deeds the world remembers,

       (Deeds by dauntless heroes done),

       We behold the deeds of Lincoln,

       Blazing like a brilliant sun.

       'Mid the lives whose light illumines

       History's dark and dreadful page,

       We behold the life of Lincoln,

       Lighting up an awful age.

       When the storm of peril threatened

       His loved land to overwhelm,

       Safe the ship of state he guided,

       With his hand upon the helm.

       Statesman, ruler, hero, martyr—

       Fitting names for him, I say,

       Wherefore, let us all as brothers,

       Love his memory today.

      'TIS splendid to live so grandly

       That, long after you are gone,

       The things you did are remembered,

       And recounted under the sun;

       To live so bravely and purely

      

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