Hoyt—Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln . T30Y 
ventured to tap gently on the frame, word came out at once, 
“Come in !” Brut, on passing ’round, I found him not only 
half dressed, but shaving himself, and so encumbered that, 
instead of moving his chair for a greeting of his visitor, having, 
recognized my voice, he turned his head squarely back and saw 
me, with his lathered face inverted and considerably broadened 
by a smile. Of course I was quick to retire and wait. 
The breakfast disposed of, we were soon on our way to the' 
Bair grounds, for Mr. Lincoln said he wanted to see what sort 
of farmers, gardeners, and mechanics the Badgers made. 
The address was to be at 1^1' :00, and meanwhile we made our¬ 
selves very busy, going the rounds of all the departments. It 
soon became apparent that, notwithstanding his modest dis¬ 
claimer of knowing much of practical affairs besides wood¬ 
chopping and rail-splitting, he did know much of many things 
in country life; that he was in fact capable of critical judg¬ 
ment of horses, cattle, sheep, and other domestic animals, as 
well as of most products of the soil. 
The address was listened to by many thousands, some say 
thirty thousand, not a few of whom had made special efforts 
and sacrifices that they might see and hear the man who, from 
the depths of poverty and laborious service in wood and field, 
had risen to a foremost place in the legal profession and in 
statesmanship. Perhaps no address more practical, useful, and 
entertaining was ever delivered on any such occasion. It dealt 
with the necessary relation between education and labor, as 
well as with the economy of thorough work in farming especi¬ 
ally, and was so enlivened by humorous hits that it was at once 
highly entertaining and of enduring value. It was in fact so 
admirable, and so deepened my conviction of his eminent fit¬ 
ness for leadership, that then and there I began to speak of 
him as the man for next President of the United States—fit 
for a superior service in statesmanship at any time, but pre¬ 
eminently fit for such a crisis as then seemed surely very near— 
in due time I went to Chicago, to help nominate him, and 
thereafter gave myself to platform service in many of the 
Northern states, and to the end of the campaign. 
