Lincoln Story Book, The

<h3>"FLY AWAY, JACK!"</h3> <p>At the end of 1860, South Carolina took the lead in seceding, and in the opening of the next year six other Southern States allied themselves with her. The timid feared hasty acting would precipitate the marshaling of the waverers under the same flag. To a committee urging a pause to see "how the cats would jump," the President observed:</p> <p>"If there be three pigeons on the fence, and you fire and kill one, how many will there be left?"</p> <p>The voices said: "Two."</p> <p>"Oh, no," he corrected; "there would be none left; for the other two, frightened by the shot, would have flown away."</p> <p>As a truth, the firing on Fort Sumter welded the seceders into their Union; at the same time as it likewise fused the Northerners into consistency.</p> <p>The President said to General Viele: "We want to keep all that we have of the Border States--those that have not seceded and the portions we have occupied." <br/> <br/> <br/></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />