The Columbus journal., 1885-06-17
c AS A LAWYER.
Ia What His Peculiar strength at the Bal
Consisted.

In What His Peculiar Strength at the Bar
Consisted. :.
As lawyer. Mn Lincoln never at
tained the high rank and reputation Of
Evaris. Brady. Seward. Carpenter or
Webster. Ike never had their kind Of
practice. nor did he have fifty thousand
dollars as q retainer. or q great city
press to report his speeches to the
million. His largest fee was 5000 in
a railroad case.
Although notably successful. his Pc
culiar strength lay in his rea ;oning of
facts more than tae law he cited. Few
men evcr lived with 4 broader grasp of
human nature ani a clearer way OF ex-
planning tn mos. This came { him by
his genius and intuition. and that early
battle with pO:er.; OF resources to gain
wisdom that gave him . marvellous
mea,ory OF all hn learned.
A large. uncraceful frame. that to
Others would have been q hinirance,
was to him. in Illinois, an element Of
greatness. As a trial lawyer. his grasp
Of the merits All mastery of the right
theory to wa with made him a power
fui advocate before a jury. His mar
ner was 80 plain that it enforced atten-
ton; h eve were PIERCING, his look
SO earnest. his words so apt while
speaking. that " an adversary. be-
came convinced by his reasoning.
One who heard him in LeavenwOrth.
during the early Kansas troubles, said:
although his audience was largely of
enemies, fifteen minutes later thsy were
cheering him ke friends" He put q
clear rrasOa in all that he said. and
clincheI it by m incident that carried
conviction straight to t!e hearts of his
hearers. His keen. quaint. crisp stories
were only side-lights to bring out his
word painting in holder relief Like
the brilliant Carpenter, whose style was
somewhat similar, he held his audience
by a flower or q tear. as best suited his
purpose, even without seeming to be
eloquent.
His modest Office in Springfield vas
In the second story of Il plain rcd-brick
block, reached by narrow. dingy stairs;
large and poorly furnished. supplied
with numerous Odd-lOOking chairs and
tables and not very inviting in appear
ance. Such co%nvenienccs As. type
writers. f~ile-cases. letter-files and book
racks were then unknown in Spring
field. A few old briefs remained in his
plain hand writing. and very many law
books lined the walls, in cases, but
neither rich carpets O fine ceilings
adorned the firms Office. The win
dows were OF small glass and o At
tract;ve. The days Of COOL law Offices
had not arrived. and the solid COM
forts Of the Average C ty lawyer were all
unknown to Mr.. Lincoln. save As he
found them will: his favor;te counsel.
Leonard SWEET. in Chicago.
I'D, Born and reared in poverty. he in
herited by it ho-h 4 fund OF humOr and
Il vein OF sal e. that never left him.
In his struy lie with the world in youth.
and with war IA MANHOOD; called to
high state IS b-forc h. was fully known
to the people. Il is dop.sful il he ever
fully real " Ia, fam. h. hal won as
al advocate o. the Gr.i us he possess ii
as 4 man. Il" was born of his time. q
creature o; III" a,.r Of giants Il genius
fro IL ii:c PEG. H.. ii! the "rra:-r for hi:
Strug d.. 90 h' really dill E:Jrs than
aav mlI o h., ias To d..:Eur caste and
give courage t" the Iow!y. and therein
lie wrote the brightest pag-s Of human
progress.
With Lincoln promoted labor became
honorable. and men no longer denied
their humble beginning.
Lincoln. the lowly. the exalted. the
pure man in rude marble. the plain
cover to gentle nature. the giant
frame and noble intellect! The shaft
that marks his silent resting place. the
books he read. the Office he used. the
strong body that covered his warm
heart and wise purposes were only the
outer symbols to the higher gifts of his
Creator! All gifts and graces are never
found in one person. He is great if the
good predOminates. All are not born
equal. Gifts are diversified; but if ever
a man had the genius Of greatness it
was Lincoln. As all are eloquent in
that which they know, he was eloquent
in the affairs Of life. ". Donocan,
in Current.