After a painting by Eastman Johnson
A taste for reading
He copies down what pleases him
When Abe got a taste for reading it was hard to satisfy it. He read the Bible, Æsop's Fables, Robinson Crusoe, Pilgrim's Progress, a history of the United States, and Weem's Life of Washington. He borrowed the Revised Statutes of Indiana. These were all solid books, good for a young boy to read. When a sentence pleased him, he read and reread it. If he did not own the book, he took many notes, filling his copy book with choice sentences.
Lincoln reads while he eats
John Hanks, a boy brought up with Lincoln, says: "When Abe and I returned to the house from work, he would go to the cupboard, snatch a piece of corn bread, sit down, take a book, cock his legs up as high as his head, and read." He read, wrote, and ciphered incessantly.
FASHIONS IN THE DAYS OF LINCOLN'S BOYHOOD
A great story-teller when a boy