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On another page were found, in his own hand, a few lines which it is also said he composed.
Nothing indicates that they were borrowed, and I have always, therefore, believed that they were original with him. Although a little irregular in metre, the sentiment would, I think, do credit to an older head.
Time, what an empty vapor 'tis,
And days how swift they are:
Swift as an Indian arrow--
Fly on like a shooting star.
The present moment just is here,
Then slides away in haste,
That we can never say they're ours,
But only say they're past.
His penmanship, after some practice, became so regular in form that it excited the admiration of other and younger boys.
One of the latter
Joseph C. Richardson, said that “
Abe Lincoln was the best penman in the neighborhood.”
At
Richardson's request he made some copies for practice.
During my visit to
Indiana I met
Richardson, who showed these two lines, which Abe had prepared for him:
Good boys who to their books apply will all be great men by and by.
To comprehend
Mr. Lincoln fully we must know in substance not only the facts of his origin, but also the manner of his development.
It will always be a matter of wonder to the
American people, I have no doubt — as it has been to methat from such restricted and unpromising
