Making gold in a gold rush

    ‘You are the cynic, Abraham,’ says one. ‘What will the Tennessee wiseacres say of the New Eldorado?’
    When the laughter died down, Lincoln shook his head. ‘If they are real Tennessee wiseacres, Senator, they won’t “say nuthin’”. But what they’ll do – if they’re real wiseacres – is buy themselves up every nail, every barrel-stave, every axe-handle, and every shovel they can lay hold on, put ‘em all in a cart with as many barrels of molasses as may be convenient, haul ‘em all up to Independence of the Kanzas, and sell them to the fortunate migrants at ten times their value. That’s how to make gold out of a gold strike.’

Flash For Freedom!, p.130, Pan edition, 8th printing, 1980.

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Flashman, Flashman quotes,Abraham Lincoln, gold rush.