One of the books was the 'Kentucky Preceptor,' from which Mrs.
Crawford insists that he 'learned his school orations, speeches, and pieces to write.' She tells us also that 'Abe was a sensitive lad, never coming where he was not wanted'; that he always lifted his hat, and bowed, when he made his appearance; and that 'he was tender and kind,' like his sister, who was at the same time her maid-of-all-work.

His pay was twenty-five cents a day; 'and when he missed time, he would not charge for it.' This latter remark of Mrs.Crawford reveals the fact that her husband was in the habit of docking Abe on his miserable wages whenever he happened to lose a few minutes from steady work.

The time came, however, when Lincoln got his revenge for all this petty brutality.

Crawford was as ugly as he was surly.

His nose was a monstrosity--long and crooked, with a huge mis-shapen stub at the end, surmounted by a host of pimples, and the whole as blue as the usual state of Mr.Crawford's spirits.