ABRAHAM LINCOLN This man whose homely face you look upon Richard Henry Stoddard. 1877. By special permission of Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons. that Man, that Power. THE EMANCIPATION GROUP (PARK SQUARE, BOSTON; DUPLICATE OF THE FREEDMEN'S MEMORIAL STATUE, LINCOLN SQUARE, WASHINGTON) Amidst thy sacred effigies Of old renown give place, Take the worn frame, that rested not The care-lined face, that none forgot, Let man be free! The mighty word The cloudy sign, the fiery guide, And Nature, through his voice, denied We rest in peace where these sad Saw peril, strife, and pain; His was the nation's sacrifice, eyes O symbol of God's will on earth Bear witness to the cost and worth Stand in thy place and testify That truth is stronger than a lie, And righteousness than wrong. John Greenleaf Whittier. 1879. By special permission of Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. THE HAND OF LINCOLN Look on this cast, and know the hand What Lincoln was, how large of mould The man who sped the woodman's team, And deepest sunk the ploughman's share, And pushed the laden raft astream, Of fate before him unaware. This was the hand that knew to swing The axe since thus would Freedom train Her son and made the forest ring, Firm hand, that loftier office took, A conscious leader's will obeyed, And, when men sought his word and look, With steadfast might the gathering swayed. No courtier's, toying with a sword, Nor minstrel's, laid across a lute; A chief's, uplifted to the Lord When all the kings of earth were mute! The hand of Anak, sinewed strong, The fingers that on greatness clutch; Yet lo! the marks their lines along Of one who strove and suffered much. For here in knotted cord and vein I trace the varying chart of years; Again I see the patient brow That palm erewhile was wont to press; And now 'tis furrowed deep, and now Made smooth with hope and tenderness. For something of a formless grace The love that cast an aureole Round one who, longer to endure, Called mirth to ease his ceaseless dole, Yet kept his nobler purpose sure. Lo, as I gaze, the statured man, Built up from yon large hand, appears : A type that Nature wills to plan But once in all a people's years. |