White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1860-08-23

Ills manners winning to q marked de
gree. After you have been five minute
in his company you cease to think he i
either homely or awkward. You recog
nize in him a high toned, unassuming
chivalrous- minded gentleman, fully pos
ted in all the essential amenities of socia
life, and sustained by the infallible mon
itor Of common sense.
He approached, extended his hand, anl
gave mine grasp such as only a warm.
hearted man knows how to give. He sat
down beside me on the sofa, and com
menced talking about political affairs in
my own State with knowledge of de
tails which surprised me. / found thai
he was more conversant with some of oul
party performances in Oneida County
than could have desired, and made some
pointed allusion to the great Congression'
al struggle which resulted in the election
of MIR. Conkling in 1858. l asked him
if he was not very much bored with call.
and correspondence. lie replied that hi
liked to see his friends, and as to the let.
tiers, he took good care not to answer
them. He referred playfully to the va
rious "attempts upon his life," and thu
poor success that attended some of them
His greatest grievance were the artists
he tried in vain to recognize himself il
some Abraham Lincolns' of the picto
rails.
asked him if he continued his pro
fessional business since his nomination.
He said he had attempted it, but pitiet
clients. He had been arguing a case the
day before, but said the demands of hi!
position made him an Indifferent lawyer
He spoke with great freedom of corrup.
ton in high places. lie regarded it as
tie bane of American politics and said
he could not respect, either as a man Oh
politician, one who bribed or was bribed
He said he was glad to know the people
of Illinois had not yet learned the art Of
being venal. The whole expense of his
campaign with Douglas did not exceed q
few hundred dollars. wish the thou
sands of people in my own State who
loathe corrupt practices could have heard
and seen Mr.. Lincoln's indignant denuu'
citation of veuality in high places. / car
now understand how the epithet of "HOn'
est Abraham Lincoln" has come to be SC
universally applied to him by the Great
West.
He related many pleasant incidents con
nected with his contest with Douglas
lie told me that he spoke, in ell sixty
four times, nine or ten times face to face
with his antagonist. His estimate of the
Little Giant" is generous. He comedies
to him great hardihood, pertinacity and
magnetic power. OF all men he has ev-
er seen, says Mr.. L., he has the most au,
dacity in maintaining an untenable posi-
ton. Thus, in endeavoring to reconcile
Popular Sovereignty AMI the bred Scott
decision, his argument, stripped of sOph-
istry is /: cit is legal to expel Slavery
from Territory where it legally existsP
And yet he has bsmboozled thousands in
to believing him.
l asked Mr.. Lincoln if he saw much o.
the Democratic papers. lie said some
of his friends were kind enough to lei
him see the most abusive Of them. liz
should judge the line of tactic switch they
intended to pursue, was that OF personal
ridicule. The Chicago Times tried thai
in '5S, and helped him amazingly. Id
was inclined to believe that the present
effort of his eHimies would be attended
with like happy results.
Twas fortunate in finding Mr.. Lincoln
alone and disengaged. My visit. which
1 intended should be ten minutes, wa
nearly two hours long. More than once
rose to leave, but he was kind enough
to assure me that he did not regard my
call as a bore. l found him to be one o.
the most compsionable men l have ever
met. Frank, hearty, and unassumlng
one feels irresistibly drawn toward him
In his conversation and bearing he reflects
the gentleman. Hardly n trace OF th'
rough schooling of his earlier days re-
mains. You may be pressed by bis an
gularity of character, but 1t never occur
| to YOU that he lacks culture. 1t his man
ner is at times somewhat unusual, 1t new
or strikes you in the least degree uncouth
In the essentials of good breeding, Mr
L. is infinitely superior to the generality
of Americans. l find him far more re
fined, far more subdued in manner, exhlb
iting far more the effects of social attritior
than l had expected.
Twas greatly impressed with the prac
teal character Of his mind. No man iiv
ing has less of the visionary. He is evI
IDENTIFY "good hater" of clOud-caPpe'
theories, The grasp Of his mind is stroni
and tenacious. He has all the marks o
a mind that scans closely, canvasses thor
oughly, concludes deliberately, and hold
to such conclusions unAinchingly. ID
seems to me to be really gifted with tn
faculty of remaining faithful to his con
victions of right in the face of difficultle
and discouragements. l shall not be mi:
taken if he does not prove as firm as ne
acknowledged to be honest. Anothe
characteristic that impresses me is III