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in both places — in the one case to his country, as to his client in the other.
But all duties were alike to him. All called equally upon him for the best service of his mind and heart, and all were alike performed with a conscientious, single-hearted devotion that knew no distinction, but was absolute and perfect in every case.”
Xxxii.
In the
Executive Chamber one evening, there were present a number of gentlemen, among them
Mr. Seward.
A point in the conversation suggesting the thought, the
President said: “
Seward, you never heard, did you, how I earned my first dollar?”
“No,” rejoined
Mr. Seward. “Well,” continued
Mr. Lincoln,
I was about eighteen years of age. I belonged, you know, to what they call down South, the “scrubs;” people who do not own slaves are nobody there.
But we had succeeded in raising, chiefly by my labor, sufficient produce, as I thought, to justify me in taking it down the river to sell.
After much persuasion, I got the consent of mother to go, and constructed a little flatboat, large enough to take a barrel or two of things that we had gathered, with myself and little bundle, down to New Orleans.
A steamer was coming down the river.
We have, you know, no wharves on
