ABRAHAM LINCOLN -- CHAPTER 4

DRUDGERY FOR A SPOILED BOOK      one evening, after working hard all day, Abraham called on Mr. Josiah Crawford. His purpose was to borrow from him Weems's Life of Washington. Mr. Crawford gladly lent him the book. Every evening, after the day's hard work, he read the book with deep interest.      one night, when he went to bed, he happened to put the book under a crack between the log. During the night a storm came, and the book get wet through. He took the soiled     book to Mr. Crawford with a heavy heart. Mr.Crawford exclaimed: " How careless! You have made a pretty mess of the borrowed book!"      "I will do anything to pay for it," Abraham said. "Have you got any work for me to do?" Mr. Crawford looked at him silently    for a while and then said: "I must have the top of my corn cut     off for winter fodder. If you help me in this job, I'll give you this book for your labor."      "How much of it shall I cut?""All of it," Mr. Crawford answered. Abraham work hard for three days and earned the book. He did not hesitate to go all over the country- side to borrow books. The Bible was probably the only book his family owned. His frequent quotations from the Bible in his later speeches and writings show how earnestly he must have studied it.