Life of Abraham Lincoln | Page 7

weaken the
administration in a time of stress, but with Lincoln it was a matter of conscience and he
met it fairly without evasion or any sort of coloring. And later when Douglas accused him
of being unpatriotic he replied that he had not chosen to skulk, that he had voted for what
he thought was the truth, and also reminded his hearers that he had always voted with the
rest of the Whigs for the necessary supplies to carry on the war after it had been

commenced. He would have liked renomination, but Judge Logan was nominated and
was not elected.
He was on the electoral ticket and stumped New England and Illinois for Taylor, as soon
as Congress adjourned. The New England speeches were full of moral earnestness. In
Boston he heard Governor Seward speak and said: "I reckon you are right. We have got
to deal with this slavery question and give more time to it hereafter than we have been
giving." In December he went back to Washington for the second session and worked
consistently for the Wilmot Proviso, designed to exclude slavery from territory acquired
from Mexico. At this second session he voted against a bill to exclude slavery from the
District of Columbia, because he did not like the form of the bill and then introduced a
measure himself designed to serve the same purpose.
When his term as Congressman expired he sought but failed to obtain the position of
Commissioner of the General Land Office. He was offered the position of Governor of
the newly organized territory of Oregon, but this, due somewhat to the sensible advice of
his wife, he declined. Then he went back to Springfield to practice law again, and to
travel the muddy roads of the old Eighth Circuit, a somewhat disappointed and
disillusioned man; but as ever the same sincere, kindly brother to all his fellow men.
During the years from 1850 to 1860 the tall figure of Lincoln, garbed in black, continued
to be familiar to the people of Springfield, as he strode along the street between his dingy
law office on the square and his home on Eighth Street. He was clean in person and in
dress, and diligent in his law practice, but he was not good at collecting what was coming
to him; badly as he needed money in those days. He had finally paid off his debts, but the
death of his father had left his devoted step-mother needing some help; and his shiftless
stepbrother to be expostulated with in letters full of very kindly interest and wholesome
advice.
He worked hard and was rapidly becoming known as an excellent lawyer. He made
friends of the best men in the state, and they referred to him affectionately as "Honest
Abe" or "Old Abe," but they always addressed him respectfully as "Mr. Lincoln." His
humor, never peccant, was related to his brooding melancholy, and was designed to
smooth out the little rough places in life, which he so well understood, with all its
tragedies and tears. Men loved him, not alone for his stories, but for his simplicity of life,
his genuine kindness, his utter lack of selfishness. There was a fascination about his
personality. He seemed somehow mysterious and at the same time simple. In fact he was
always trying to make ideas seem simple and clear, and told stories to accomplish that
purpose. He tried to make the case clear to the jury, and the issues clear to his hearers. In
all his life which had ever its heavy sorrows, these years were probably the brightest for
him. He enjoyed the confidence of his people and the devotion of his friends. His fellow
men of whatever degree in life, judge, lawyers, witnesses, jurors, litigants, all gathered
affectionately around him to hear him talk and to tell stories. But he was not a mere story
teller. His conversation was such as to draw men to him for its very worth. He was
fundamentally serious, dignified, and never given to uncouth familiarities.
Though so notably kind, so deeply sympathetic, and at times so given to humor, when he

was aroused he was terrible in his firmness, his resolution to win for the cause that was
right, his stern rebuke for injustice, his merciless excoriation of falsehood and his
relentless determination to see the truth prevail. False or careless witnesses dreaded his
cross-examinations, and his opponents dreaded his effectiveness in handling a case before
a jury.
Though he was called homely, there was a commanding dignity about his presence; his
appearance inspired confidence; and when in the heat and passion of forensic effort, his
features lighted up with a strange and compelling beauty and attractiveness. He was never
petty, never quibbled and never tried to gain an