To Forgive
part III
Dan, running away from home, meets President Abraham Lincoln, while sleeping
at the side of the road. Dan is unaware of the fact that the man, he is talking
to, is the President of the United States. Suddenly, the realization begins
to dawn on him.
“ Honestly, Dan. But sometimes they don’t like it when I do meddle.
There is a case now. Last night I pretty near had twenty four men shot.”
“Whew!”
“But I hadn’t quite decided, and that is the reason I came out
here to God’s own woods. And I am glad I came, for you helped me to
decide.”
“I have!” said Dan, astonished, “to shoot them?”
“No! Not to. You showed me the case in a new light. Here you are deserting
home, deserting your father, bringing sorrow to your mother, who have sorrowed
enough with Will in danger and all. You are punishing your father because
he did one deed which he couldn’t well have helped, as if he had been
a mean man all his life. And it is like that with the deserters. They have
served years, faithfully. Then can any one thing they do be so gross, so enormously
bad as to blot out all the rest, including probably a lifetime of decent living?
I think not.
Is a man to blame for having a pair of legs that play coward once? I’ll
make a bargain with you, Sonny. If you will go home and forgive your father,
I’ll go home and forgive my deserters.”
The shaken boy looked in the cavernous eyes of the tall man who had been speaking
and murmured, “It is hard to forgive.”
“Someday you will find it hard not to forgive,” said the great
man putting out his great palm for the boy to take it.
Something of last night’s horror when he could not say that prayer and
something of the melting gentleness of the new friend touched the boy.
He took Lincoln’s hand, saying, “All right that is a go.”
“Yes I suppose a go home,” said Lincoln. “I suppose I will
have to turn, now.”
“Where is your home?” asked the boy. Knowing the truth; yet wanting
to hear it from the mouth of this great man.