ANOTHER LINCOLN STORY

Some one once called on President Lincoln during the war to suggest some change of command for General B——, who did not seem to do well as a commander anywhere. “Well,” said Mr. Lincoln, “that’s so. General B—— doesn’t fit in well anywhere. He reminds me of an experience I once had with a piece of iron I found while at work in the woods. I thought it would make a good axe-head, and took it to a blacksmith. ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘it’ll make a good axe.’ So he put it into the fire, made it red-hot and pounded away on it on his anvil. After hammering it a good while, he stopped and said, ‘No, it won’t make an axe, but I tell you, it’ll make a mighty good clevis.’ So I told him to make a clevis out of it. Then he heated it again, and again pounded away at it a great while, and then stopped and looked at it and said, ‘No, it won’t make a clevis neither. But,’ said he, holding it red-hot in his pincers over his tub of water, ‘I’ll tell you what it will make. It will make a blame’ good fizzle.’ And here he dropped it into the tub—and it fizzled.”