Here's a warm, atmospheric, listener‑pulling intro for your reading of Ruth McEnery Stuart Andrews's "The Perfect Tribute," crafted in your signature 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales style. It highlights the story's remarkable early popularity and gives clean, engaging background on Andrews herself.

🎙️ INTRO FOR R.M.S. ANDREWS'S "THE PERFECT TRIBUTE" at 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales  for America 250

Tonight's story is one that captured the American imagination almost instantly when it first appeared — a quiet, deeply human tale built around one of the most revered moments in our nation's history. "The Perfect Tribute," by R.M.S. Andrews, became an overnight sensation when it was published in 1906. Readers were moved by its simple dignity, its emotional restraint, and its portrayal of Abraham Lincoln not as a monument, but as a man — humble, uncertain, and capable of touching lives in ways he never fully realized.

The story spread quickly through newspapers, magazines, and schoolrooms. Teachers read it aloud, ministers quoted it in sermons, and families passed it from hand to hand. For many Americans, it became the defining fictional account of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address — a tribute not only to the speech, but to the spirit behind it.

Its author, Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, was a writer with a gift for moral clarity and emotional resonance. Born in 1860, she wrote stories that blended patriotism, sentiment, and a deep respect for character. Andrews had a particular interest in moments where ordinary people reveal extraordinary grace, and she returned often to themes of honor, sacrifice, and the quiet heroism found in everyday lives. "The Perfect Tribute" remains her most famous work, cherished for more than a century for the way it brings Lincoln down from the pedestal and places him gently, respectfully, back among the people he served.

Settle in now as we revisit this beloved American classic — a story that has touched generations with its warmth, humility, and enduring reverence for one of our nation's greatest leaders.

Here is "The Perfect Tribute," by R.M.S. Andrews.