The sun., 1872-07-26
rhE SrRAsds sroRY ORA sysxsoE
BOOH.
who Wrote Lannon'S Life Of LiucoluS-And
who Muttisted It before Publications.

| Abraham Lincoln from Hts Btrth 10 Hts In
| d,t0urdtton az President, by WARD III. LAaor
Tho truthfuness Of the main narrative and the
genuinoness Of the data on which II In found
ed will probably never be questioned. 1t Is
k<conoclastic, and many images which have been
held In reverental awe during at least one
decade are ruthlessly broken byit. Such book
cannot but elicit denunciation. II makes mis-
takes In stating certain political events; and
In one chapter we have detected gross mac
curacies; but tho curious and surprising fact is
that there have been both mutilations and in-l
tcrpolations In the original text. and that thesh
erroneous statements are perhaps not atributa-
bic to the real author.
Who really wrote this verv remarLablc
book we do not attempt to state; but II will
oevery dlmcult to convince those who know Mr..
Lamon that IL was he, the avorments of,
the preface and the title page to tho contrary
Notwithstanding, We waivo seemingly
strong Argument against Mr. lam on 8 pretended
authorship-the purity and elegance Of the
English Ia which It is written; for either Mr..
Lamop or his Publishers could for very mod
eratt compensation obtain the services Of a
mere writer who would clotho his ideas in ele-
CANT language. But n greater and rarer talent
mas been employed In the production OF this
book. To select judiciously from "three onor-
nous volumes OF original manuscript and mass
OF unarranged letters and papers" the neces-
sary MATERIAL and weave 1t into the story In the
mastery manner in which II is done, required
high order OF literary ability. In addition to
this, there Is judicial impartiality pervading
the entire book which It would be preposterous
to claim for an intimate friend and lifelong
associate Of Mr.. Lincoln.
No man without steadincss OF character
n al
whose distinguishing characteristic Ia its
severe impartlality. Neither Mr.. Lamon,
the pretended author, nor MIR. Hern-
don, the undoubted collector Of the
materials, possesses single one Of the
qualifications which wo have mentioned
We have no occasion to offer argument In
support of this assertion so far rs Mr.. Hern-
don is concerned; for we have ample evidence
In the volume before us lie was an enthusiast
In everything he undertook. A stronQ-wIlled
man, fast friend, and a good hater, Mr..
Herndon felt that his mission was to bring the
rest OF mankind to see as he saw ana think as
he thought concerning his friend Mr. Lincoln.
Before the National Republican Convention
met in Chicago in 1850, he made n tour OF the
Middle and Eastern States, advocating the
claims OF Lincoln zealously and enthusiastic
eally. IL was altogether a labor Of love. The
ambition Of his life was gratiled when he
saw his beau ideal OF a man and statesman
the standard bearer OF the Republican party
The disinterestednoss OF his motives was proved
by his conduct after the election OF Mr. Lin
coin. He expected no compensation for the
service he had rendered his country, and
while nearly all OF Mr.. Lncolns old friends
were eagerly expecting their rewards, he was
content TO fall heir to the practice Of the law
hrm OF Lincoln & Herndon. There ia no EVIL
dence that ho ever asked n substantial favor
OF Mr.. Lincoln after he was elected President.
Herndon undertook the task of collecting the
material for truo life OF his departed friend in
the same spirit In which he labored to advance
his claims while living. He wanted the world to
know Lincoln just as he knew him, and as he
really was rough, unpolished stone, with a
Few flaws, but nevertheless rare and valuable.
lifelong association with Lincoln had given
him pretty accurate knowedg OF his early
life, and lie knew how to set about collecting
the evidence To verify what he knew. An en-
thuslast by nature, this soon became a mission,
and lac prosecuted the good work with the zeal
of fanatic and the patience Of an ANTIQUARIAN
lie became fascinated with the task and for
years neglected everything else. He could talk
on no other subject, and every dollar OF ready
money at his command was used In this al
most insane hunt after facts connected with
mortslize in his forthcoming book. Every sec
tion Of the country In which Lincoln or any OF
his ancestors had lived was secured and every
man and woman who was supposed to know
anything which had the remotest bearing on
the subject Of this inquiry was sought out.
lie made an exhaustive search Of records Of
Rockingham county Virginia OF Hardin, Mer-
Ger, and La Rue counties, Kentucky; OF Perry
ana spencer counties, Indiana. The scattered
sons OF Gcntryylle and New Salem were
visited in distant portions a. the country,
and their recollections OF Lincoln, his say
ings and doings, well a. those Of all his asso-
ciates, were carefully collected and recorded To
the stepmother Of the President Herndon made |
frequent pilgrlmages. and piled her with ques- |
tlons on every Imaginable topic which would |
be calculated to drsw out long-forgotten cpl |
sode in the llfe-of her beloved foster-child. |
Denis Hunks, the foeuacIous and self-impor- |
tant, ~1s- ~catechsed again and again orally |
and then urged to write out all he remem-
bered of the early life OF himself and Llu-
coin. Denis did this at great length, and judg-
Ing from the extracts given, IL must have been a |
unique piece ofliterary work. These pilgrimages
were made again and again, and after Herndon's
collections had been duly recorded he under
took 10 supplement them by entering into an
extensive correspondence. As Denis Hanks
-ather Indignantly remarks, THE cross-ques-
ioning was unneces 'arily searching" This
correspondence was kept up for years, aud
he combined result OF all these extraor-
linary efforts is, as we are told in the preface,
three enormous volumes OF original manu-
cripts aud mass OF unarransed letters and
1apers"
Having thus run down and examined every
body who knew anything Of his hero's early
ifc, his early and mature mauhood Mr. |