Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1864-02-20
Tho Character Of President Lincoln.

The Rev. H. Fowler, Of Auburn, IN. w
in his Thanksgiving sermon, drew tho fol-
lowing picture Of the President, which will
be recognized as . striking portrait in many
particulars:
The progress Of the President illustrates
the progress Of the people. Arthur Stanley
speaks OF Samuel the prophet - mediator
between the old and the nsv Jewish history.
His -twesidsd sympathy enabled him to
unite the passing and the coming epoch.
Such an epoch Of perp!exity, transition and
change ia not often Witnessed. In every such
passage Of a nation there ought to be char
acter like that Of Samuel. Misunderstood
and misrepresented at the timc,-attacked
from both sides,-charged with not going far
enough and with going too far,-charged
with saying two much and two little.-he
slowly, conscientiously and honestly works
out the mighty problem. He was not a
founder of new state of things like Moses !;
he was not champion of the existing order of
things like Elijah. He stood between the
two,-between the living and the dead,-be-
tween the past and the prrsent,-between
for each which at such period is the best
hope for any permanent solution of the ques-
tions which torment it. His duty is care
fully to distinguish between that which is
temporal and that which is eternal. He has
but little praise from partisans; bit is the
careful healer, binding up the wounds of the
age in spite Of itself-the good surgeon,
knitting together the dislocated bones of dis.
jointed simes.
Such a man was Samuel among the Jews |;
such man was Athanasius among the early
Christians such man is Abraham Lincoln
in this day. The explanation for his every
act is this He executes the will of the peo-
pie. He represents controlling majority.
If he be slow it is because the people are
slow. If he has done foolish act, it was
the stupidity Of the people which imprlled it.
His wisdom consists in carrying out the
good sense of the nation. His growth in po-
litical knowledge, his steady movement to-
ward emancipation, arc but the growth and
movement of the national mind. Indeed, in
character and culture, he is fair represent
ative of the average American. His awk-
ward speech and yet more awkward silence,
his ,ncouth manners, his grammar self-taught
and partly forgotten, his style miscellaneous.
concrcted from the best authors like read
ing book and yet often-times of Saxon force
and classic purity-his humor an argument,
his logic joke, both unreasonable at times
and irresistible always questions an
swcrs, and his answers questions-his guess
cs propccies, and his falflments are ever
beyond his promises honest yet shrewd,
simple yet rcticcnt-hcavy and yet cnerget-
ic-ncvcr dcspairing and never sanguine-
care less in forms. conscientious in essentials
never sacrificing good servant once trust
cd, never deserting a good principle once
adoptcd-not afraid of new ideas, not despis-
ing old ones-improving opportunities to con-
f'ss mistakcs-ready to learn. getting at
facts, doing nothing when he knows not
what to do-hesitating at nothing when he
sees the right-lacking the recognized quail
fications Of party leader. and yet leading
his party as no other man demonstrating
his political enemies in Missouri 10 their de-
feat, sustaining his political friends in Mary
land to their victory-conservative in his
sympathi,s and radical in his acts-Socratic
in his style and Baconian in his method-his
religion consisting in truthfulness, temper
ancc, asking good people 10 pray for him,
and publicly acknowledging in events the
hand of God. hs stands before you as the
type Of Brother Jonathan" not per-
feet man and yet more precious than fine
gold.