HIS LIFE AND WORK 



Covenanters, that once when a new minister 

 came to preach in the little kirk, and lined out 

 a Watts hymn instead of a psalm of David, 

 Patrick Hall picked up his hat and strode out, 

 followed by a goodly part of the congregation. 

 He at once built upon his own farm a new 

 church of limestone, in which no such levity 

 as hymn-singing was permitted. 



Cyrus McCormick's mother inherited her 

 father's strength of character, without his sever- 

 ity. She was a thorough Celt, impulsive, free- 

 spoken, and highly imaginative. Judging from 

 the stories about her that are remembered in 

 the neighborhood, it is evident that she was a 

 woman of exceptional quality of mind. She 

 was not as studious as her husband, but 

 quicker and more ambitious. As a girl, she 

 had been strikingly handsome, with a tall 

 and commanding figure. She was saving and 

 shrewd, with the Scotch-Irish passion for "get- 

 ting ahead." She allowed no idle moments in 

 the home. If the children were dressed before 

 breakfast was ready, out they went to cut wood 

 or weed the garden. She knew the profession 



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