LINCOLN AS CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
Photograph by Hesler, Chicago, Illinois, 1860
Isaac Bassett Choate, born at South Otis Field, Maine, July 12, 1833. Bachelor of Arts, Bowdoin College, 1862. Author of Wild Birds and Flowers, 1895; Wells of English, 1892; Obeyed the Camel Driver, 1899; Apollo's Guest, 1907.
By special invitation from the faculty of the Alumni Association of said College he read the following poem at their annual banquet held on the centenary of Lincoln's birth, 1909:
[THE MATCHLESS LINCOLN]
| From out the ranks of common men he rose— Himself of common elements, yet fine— As in a wood of different species grows Above all other trees the lordly pine, Upon whose branches rest the winter snows, Upon whose head warm beams of summer shine; His was the heart to feel the people's woes And his the hand to hold the builder's line; Strong, patient, wise and great, Born ruler of the State. Among a mountain group one sovereign peak Will tower aloft unto commanding height As if more distant view abroad to seek— First one to hail, last one to speed the light; Those granite sides will snows of winter streak E'en in the summer with their purest white;— Silent, serene, that summit yet will speak Of loftiest grandeur to the enraptured sight; So Lincoln's greatness shone Supreme, unmatched, alone. |
