Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1866-02-15
Ghuiee Mistellaay.
Abraham. LincoIn--SecOnd Lee
ture Or His Law Partner.

Hon. VIM. H. Herudon, of Springfield,
who was Mr.. Lincoln's law partner for twen-
ty years, recently delivered his second leo
ture on the life and character of our late
President We have already given some
extracts from his first leoture, and now make
the following selections from his second:
The first feature Of Mr.. Lincoln's oharac-
ter deliAeated was his ......
IMAaINATIoN. 81.
While he remarked that Mr.. Lincoln was
an original man, he would not be understood
as saying that he had any creative ability
which lifts man to nights of genius. He
was not aShakspeare or Newton, a Frank
lin or Fulton. aud yet he was original
Still, he lacked that capacity which creates,
that faculty in the mind which ransacks the
realms of nature and the human soul, and
from thence forms and creates ideas, which
in beauty and grandeur excel the originals;
he had none of that imagination which gives
form and shape to the conceptions of the
brain. He had no fancy 10 which to garb
and paint the creations of vision, and in all
his acts, lctters and speeches, this want is
distinctly perceptible. We live in the head
while we read them, and hence We are new
or reused to sublime emotion.
During visit to Niagara in the year 1858,
in company with the lecturer, in response
to some remarks of the latter in reference
to that amazing object and the emotions and
imaginations thoy inspired in him, Mr.. Lin.
coln replied, "The question that suggests
itself to me is, where does all this water
come from ?" His imagination ran back to
the first cause of beginning. He had no
creative or organizing ability, no faculty Of
original discovery, and little imagination.
SIMPLICITY of MIND.
A portion Of the world believed Mr. Lin
coln to be an exceedingly simple and open
minded man, but nevertheless he had his
policies and his ends in view, and he was
profoundly secretive, keeping his purposes
shut up in his own heart. He opened his
mind to no living man or woman, Totally or
partially He led mankind by profound
policy, by convincing men that they were
ruled by their own instincts and interests as
to his particular wishes, whereas, in truth
aad in fact, he ruled them, strongly and
we'll, through his sagacity. A simple mind.
ed map is he whose whole soul is easily read
and understood. This can hardly be said
of Mr.. Lincoln. He had an apparent sim
plicity of mind he undoubtedly had sim
plicity of appearance, manners and methods,
and what be said, SO far as he did say it,
was simple. He had no low cunning; he
passed no counterfeit acts upon the world
as true and genuine. He was strong, honest,
manly and noble; still he had his policy, his
secrets, and his silent methods. The world
must learn to distinguish simple appearance
from simplicity. Mr.. Lincoln had nor
suspecting mind, doubted no mans honesty,
was easily cheated and duped. He. was
truly cmocratic-easily approached, ten
der. readily affected by the distress of others,
and with bis defective intuitive judgement,
he was simple indeed; but is this an evi-
dence Of simplicity Of character? Lincoln
melted into tears by sharper, is sad, sad
sight, indeed He was totally destitute Of
those qualities of nature that spring from
conscious want Of noble strength. Yet Q
twenty five years acquaintance convinced
tho lecturer that he never knew the whole
of Mr.. Lincoln's mind. 9'.-.