Lincoln, the unknown

174 • LINCOLN THE UNKNOWNboard, and made a mess. It wouldn't "scour." That was theterm people used. Throughout his life, when Lincoln wanted toindicate that a thing had failed, he frequently resorted to thephraseology of the corn-field. Turning now to Ward Lamon,Lincoln said:"That speech is a flat failure, Lamon. It won't scour. Thepeople are disappointed."He was right. Every one was disappointed, including EdwardEverett and Secretary Seward, who were sitting on the platformwith the President. They both believed he had failed woefully;and both felt sorry for him.Lincoln was so distressed that he worried himself into asevere headache; and on the way back to Washington, he hadto lie down in the drawing-room of the train and have his headbathed with cold water.Lincoln went to his grave believing that he had failed utterlyat Gettysburg. And he had, as far as the immediate effect of hisspeech was concerned.With characteristic modesty, he sincerely felt that the worldwould "little note nor long remember" what he said there, butthat it would never forget what the brave men who died haddone there. How surprised he would be if he should come backto life now and realize that the speech of his that most peopleremember is the one that didn't "scour" at Gettysburg! Howamazed he would be to discover that the ten immortal sentenceshe spoke there will probably be cherished as one of the literaryglories and treasures of earth centuries hence, long after theCivil War is all but forgotten.Lincoln's Gettysburg address is more than a speech. It isthe divine expression of a rare soul exalted and made greatby suffering. It is an unconscious prose poem, and has all themajestic beauty and profound roll of epic lines:Four score and seven years agoOur fathers brought forth upon this continent,A new nation, conceived in Liberty,And dedicated to the propositionThat all men are created equal.Now we are engaged in a great civil war,Testing whether that nation, or any nationSo conceived and so dedicated,Can long endure. We are met