Page:Life and Works of Abraham Lincoln, v1.djvu/68

38 goodness, embracing the President-elect, had a presentiment that it was their last meeting—a premonition which was afterwards so completely fulfilled. She had dimly known by the loose talk in her little rustic neighborhood of the mighty issues involved in her loved stepson's election, and she already saw, in her prophetic vision, the collision of a mighty people, and in this mighty conflict she felt that the central and pivotal figure could not escape.

And Abraham Lincoln experienced the maternal solicitude, sympathy, and kindness of his second mother in all ways. This most excellent woman and model step-mother brought comfortable things and essential domestic reforms to pass, without any jar or apparent effort. First a "shutter" appeared in the opening for a door; next, a puncheon floor was laid, and, anon, a half-glazed sash admitted light. Clean beds, clean clothes, clean towels, clean tablecloths were all in place. The wash-day came regularly, good fare graced the table, order was enthroned. The family altar was inaugurated, and the family hearth assumed a sacredness begotten of prevalent good cheer, happiness, and the amenities which sweeten existence. The dooryard was cleaned of unsightly litter, a brood of fowls lent animation to the scene, and material comfort dissipated the soul's melancholy. If Nancy Hanks Lincoln were conscious of the rare fidelity with which Sarah Bush Lincoln executed the trust of maternal solicitude to her children, her perturbed spirit at last found rest.

New settlers flocked into the neighborhood; a store was instituted nearby; stated religious services followed; systematic social intercourse