solemn awe pronounce the name, and in its naked, deathless splendor
leave it shining on." This approaches very closely the beauty and
strength of the presidential period.

In 1844 Lincoln wrote several poems, which are not without merit. As a
boy he was famous among his companions for his skill in writing
humorous verses, but these later specimens of his muse are serious,
even melancholy in their tone.

We next come to the congressional period, from 1847 to 1849. The
best-known speech from this period, Lincoln's introduction to a
national public, is that of July 27, 1848, on General Taylor and the
veto, Taylor being then the Whig candidate for the presidency. This
speech, which was received with immense applause, owes its special
prominence to the fact that it is the only purely humorous speech by
Lincoln that has been preserved. The subject of the attack is General
Cass, Taylor's Democratic opponent, whom Lincoln treats in a manner
that somewhat suggests Douglas' later treatment of Lincoln on the
stump. Its peroration is of peculiar interest, since it consists of a
funny story.

To anyone familiar with Lincoln's habit of story-telling the
introduction of a story at the end of a speech may not seem strange.
But, as a matter of fact, this is the only case of the kind that has
been noted, and a careful reading of the speeches shows either that
they were not fully reported or that as a rule he confined his
story-telling to conversation. Even in the debates with Douglas, when
he was addressing Illinois crowds from the stump at a time when stories
were even more popular than they are now, Lincoln seldom used this
device to rouse interest or to strengthen his argument. A partial