"'I hid myself behind the wood-pile,' said the old man, 'with the shotgun pointed towards the hen roost, and before long there appeared not one skunk, but seven. I took aim, blazed away, killed one, and he raised such a fearful smell that I concluded it was best to let the other six go.'"
The Senators laughed and retired.
ONE THING "ABE" DIDN'T LOVE
Lincoln admitted that he was not particularly energetic when it came to real hard work.
"My father," said he one day, "taught me how to work, but not to love it. I never did like to work, and I don't deny it. I'd rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, laugh—anything but work."
THE MAN HE WAS LOOKING FOR
Judge Kelly, of Pennsylvania, who was one of the committee to advise Lincoln of his nomination, and who was himself a great many feet high, had been eyeing Lincoln's lofty form with a mixture of admiration and possibly jealousy.
This had not escaped Lincoln, and as he shook hands with the judge he inquired, "What is your height?"
"Six feet three. What is yours, Mr. Lincoln?"