that is closely connected with his lifelong fondness for funny stories.
His favorite humorous writer during the presidential period was
Petroleum V. Nasby (David P. Locke), from whose letters he frequently
read to more or less sympathetic listeners. It was eminently
characteristic of Lincoln that the presentation to the Cabinet of the
Emancipation Proclamation was prefaced by the reading of the latest
Nasby letter.

Lincoln's statement in the Autobiography that he had picked up the
little advance he had made upon his early education, or rather lack of
education, is altogether too modest. It is known that after his term
in Congress he studied and mastered geometry; and, like Washington, he
early became a successful surveyor. His study of the law, too, was
characteristically thorough, and his skill in debate, in which he had
no superior, was the result of careful preparation. During the
presidential period Lincoln gave evidence of critical ability that is
little short of marvellous in a man whose schooling amounted to less
than a year. In a letter to the actor Hackett and in several
conversations he analyzed passages from "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and other
plays with an insight and sympathy that have rarely been surpassed even
by eminent literary critics.

At an early age Lincoln's interest was aroused in public speaking and
he soon began to exercise himself in this direction and to attend
meetings addressed by those skilled in the art of oratory. Many
stories are told of his local reputation as a speaker and story-teller
even before he moved to Illinois, much of his success then as in later
life being due to the singular charm of his personality. Lincoln never
overcame a certain awkwardness, almost uncouthness of appearance, and
he never acquired the finer arts of oratory for which his rival Douglas