Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1870-12-29

Nothing has been written with more
truth, feeling and eloquence OF Abraham
Lincoln than the following, which is
extracted from a delightful book just
published, entitled '.Aspendaie," 10y
| Harriet W. Preston. 1t occurs in con-
versation about DR.. Holmes writings:
| One Bod sore. l named just now
| the name Of Abraham Lincoln. Were
! you u sfs that the "AdtOctat" prophe-
sied OF hiiA? lie did. 1t was gwen
| This social seer, in one of his Inspired
moments, To say something like the lol-
| lowing: ut mas happened hitherto, go
far as my limited knowledge goes, that
tie resident of the Uniteu states has
always been what might be called. III
general terms, gentleman. But what
if al some future Time The choice OF The
people snonId fall on one on whom this
,itIe could not by any stretch of charity
Ue conferred? This may happen; how
soon the future only knows. Think OF
Ine miserable man of coming political
possibilities, the unpresentaUle boor,
sucked into office by All eddy in public
sentiment. Think of him and the con-
centrated gaze cf good society fixed
upon the wretcbed OBJECT etc. Now
Tie e:isis here 30 psthellcally described
was, as YOU know, close at hand when
these words were written. The hour
and the man were almost here. James
i5uciixuan, who, according to all the
Autocrats rulss, was a gentleman, went
ont. and Abraham Lincoln, who could
not have stood one of his tests, came In.
He came Immediately from two story
house. originally from a log nut. he
was unpresentable. He was boor. He
sat with his leg. crossed. His hands
did not take kindly 10 French Gloves
All good society could do at his advent
was to turn its eyes away from the
spectacle and sigh for the days of the
.:old public functionary" But tue new
President happened to have his head
and hands full of eminently serious
matters, and never heard that he was
made as "wretched" 10y the sentence OF
this august tribunal as our author hah
anticipated. He was not u gentleman;
he was only the tTusat patriot and tn
whitast soul the world has seen for cen
turtles. He was not gentleman; hut
nigh and low, rich and poor, ran clam
uring to him in the hour OF mortal dan
ger; and ne led his nation; not haughtI-
ly, rs the old-time leaders did. but hum
DIV, as IuG iSoNCio hINHb,
through the valley Of the shadow of
death. He.Sss not a gentleman. He
never had the training of the schools;
out he spoke those words at Gettysburg,
which one of the severest literary crit
lcs of the day pronounces the finest that
ever fell from human lips, .and he pen
ned that last inaugural, which the world
read in solemn silence, as if with pre-
sentiment that it was his dying prayer.
Those sentences were shaped on no
academic model. Their inspiration was
caught by intercourse with circle OF
spirits more select than academiclans,
and they have t ken their. place among
the few utterances which will live while
The world lives, wheI her there be con-
scious effort to preserve them or not, and
stir and strengthen the divinity in man
till the race is no more. Not gentle
man, but a martyr; one ofthose of whom
ihe world and the glory Of it are not
thought worthy. and se seek his proto-
tvpe N vain among the kings OF men,
becauss-because-w where do we seek
il ?u