The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1866-03-15
A Pen-PiCture Of Abraham
Lincoln.

A Pen-Picture Of Abraham
Lincoln.
The Hon. VII. Herndon, of fSpring-
field, Illinois, who was for twenty years
the law partner of Abraham Lincoln,
recently gave a lecture on the life and
character of his illustrious companion,
prefacing it with the following remark
able personal description
Abrrham Lincoln was about six feet
four inches high, and when he left the
city was fifty y-one years old, having good
health and no gray hairs, or but few in
his head. He was thin, wiry, sinewy,
rawboned, thin through the breast to
the back, and narrow across the shoul-
ders; standing, he leaned forward; was
what may be called stoopshouldered, In,
clining to the consumptive by build
His usual weight was about one hur.
dred and sixty pounds. His organiza-
tion rather his structure and function
worked slowly. His blood had to run
long distance from his heart to the
extremities of his frame, and his nerve
had to travel through dry ground long
distance before his muscles were ODE
dient to his will. His structure was
loose and leathery; his body was shrunk
and shriveled, having dark skin, dark
hair, looking woestruck. The whole
man, body and mind, worked slowly,
creakingly, as if it needed oiling..
Physically, he was very powerful man
lifting with ease from four to six hun
dred pounds.
His mind was like his body; it wor-
ked slowly but strongly. When he
walked he moved cautiously but firmly
his long arms, and hands on them like a
giants hands, swung down by his side.
He walked with even tread; the inner
sides of his feet were parallel. He put
the whole foot fat down on the ground
at once, not landing on the heel; he like
wise lifted his foot all at once, not rising
from the toes, and hence had no spring
to his walk. He had the economy Of
fall aud lift Of foot, though he had no
spring or apparent ease of motion in his
tread. He walked undulatory, up and
down, catching and pocketing tire, wear
mess and pain all up and down his per-
son, preventing them from locating.-
The first opinion of a stranger, or man
who did not observe closely, was that
his walk implied shrewdness, cunning,
a tricky man; but his walk was the walk
of caution and frmness. In sitting
down on common chair he was no tai
ler than ordinary men. His legs and
arms were abnormally, unnaturally long,
and in undue proportion to the balance
Of his body. 1t was only when he stood
up that he loomed adove other men.
Mr.. Linceln's head was long and tall
from the base of the brain and from the
eyebrows--the perceptive faculties.-
His head ran backward, his forehead
rising as it ran back at low angle, like
Clay's and unlike Webster's, almost
perpendicular The size of the hat,
measured on the hatter's block, was sew
en- and half, his head being from ear
to ear six and a half inches, and from
the front to the back of brain eight in
ches. Thus measured it was not below
the medium size. His forehead was
narrow but high, his hair was dark, al
most black, and lay floating where his
fingers or the wind left it, piled up at
random. His cheek bones were high,
sharp and prominent His eyebrows
heavy and jutting out his jaws were
long, upcurved and heavy; his nose was
large, long and blunt, having the tip
glowing in red, and a little away toward
the right eye; his chin was long, sharp,
and up-curved his eyebrows cropped out
like huge rock on the brow of a hill !;
his face was long, sallow, cadaverous
shrunk, shriyeled, wrinkled and dry,
having here and there hair on the
surface; his cheeks were leathery his
ears were large and ran out almost at
right angles from his head, caused by
heavy hats, and partly by nature; his
lower lip was thick, hanging and UNDER
curved, while his chin reached for the
lip up-curved his neck was neat and
trim, his head being well-balanced on
it, there was the love mole on the right
cheek and ADAM $ apple on the throat.
Thus stood, walked, acted, and looked
Abraham Lincoln. He was not pret-
ty man, by any means nor was he an
ugly one. He was homely man, care
less of his looks, plain looking and plain
acting. He had no pomp, display, or
dignity socalled. He appeared simple
in his carriage and bearing. He was a
sad looking man; his melancholy drip
ped from him as he walked. His appal
rent gloom impressed, his friends and
created sympathy for him, one meana
of his success He was gloomy. al
stacted, and joyous, rather humorous
by turns. do not think he knew what
real joy was for more than twenty-three
years. Mr.. Lincoln sometimes walked
our streets cheerily, good humoredly,
perhaps joyously, and then it was, on
meeting friend, he cried, aHow d'y,n
clasping one of his friends hands in
both of his, giving q good, hearty soul
welcome. Sometimes he might be seen
vending his way to his Office, to the
courtroom, or the railroad depot, with
his baggage, looking like rail in broad