New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-09-29
LINCOLN AS A. LAWYER.
Her, disappointed in Poli ties. He Retu,sedaa
His.RrO4ession.

+ Mr. Jesse W. WEEK writes as fellows,
h IN, the Cincinnati CommeIcial Gazette:
T After his only term in Congress epe-
'pined, in $780,. Lincoln returned to,
his home in serlrse6eld q thoroughly
disappointed man. He was not re-
Nominated for. Congress, but nevertfle.-
less went into the Presidential cam.
pnlgn with all hB energy and zeal. He,
aspDused tbs, cause Of Taylarr as
against Glass;, and after the election
lOmed in glcr;fying over the fcnmer,s:
triumph. He sought al appoint-.
ment as Commissioner of the Land
Office, but this was denied hira,. and
gwen to Justice Butterfeld, an able
lawyer of Chicago. The President,
however, offered to appoint him, Gov
ernOr and afterwards Secretar Eyofss the.
Territory of Oregon, but to She sur
prise of rs, friends he declineai both.
/ He was disappointed and sore.z
by the Administration he reti2edirom
public View He turned his attention
to the practice OF law, and fsam, this
time on. although the Wing party was.
in power; Lincoln was as deada MARI,
politically speaking, as there thenwas
in the whole State OF Illinois. These
few years he remained obsecM-
ed from public notice, however,
, were the making of the. maan.
AS Congressman he had; to- deal
with the yexations ofpartypatronag
in his district, thereby creating cOndi-
tions that brought about his own
downfall. But now this was. all over,
and he was again in the shades OF pri-
J waite life. He attended no ward meet
| ings, no gatherings that pertained to
local interests. He did not care who
among his friends got this Office or
that, who was to be mayor or street
commissioner. He could see no prin-
ciple OF right Or truth IT. any of these
things.
The tall, bony, abstrscted man who
strobe over the plank sidewalks OF
| Springfield was undergoing complete
transformation-the. great crucible in
which his virtues and; courage were to
be tested was now being made Mr..
Herndon, his partnor, says Lincoln
i felt he was dead politically, and so he
went most heartily TO the law again.
He took Euclid around with him on
the circuit, and Of nights and at odd
times he would Learn Euclid's prob
lens. "Lincoln and | slept together"
remarks Herndon, Sin the same bed
as we followed the court around on
the circuit. He would read by the
light OF a tallow candle while lying in
bed. The bed-steads in all cases were
just right for nae, but in some cases
they were too short for him, and so
his feet would hang over the footboard.
Lying thus, with avollfme in his hand,
he would read till after midnight." Con-
trary to the general belief those best
acquainted with Mr.. Lincoln insist
that he was what the legal fraternity
would call a case lawyer, but a perfect
one at that. He did not learn the
law altogether from what ne read in
the elementary books, but he studied
special cases thoroughly, and became
q good lawyer through that means.
BY virtue OF his good memory he APP
piled his special reading to other eases
and SO continued till he became one
OF the best Supreme Court lawyers in
Illinois. He was not good nisi prius
lawyer. He hated forms, paid but lit
tie attention to the rules OF pleading
or practice, and always insisted that
he ''only went in for substance"
AS to habits in the office he was
careless. He would pick up book or
newspaper, spread himself on the sofa
and chairs, and read aloud. This
annoyed his partner good deal, and
he frequently would quit the office
because of this reading aloud. Hern-
don once asked him why he did so,
and his reply was: "1catch the mean
ing by two senses: for when l read
aloud l hear what is read, and also
see it, and hence two senses get it, and
I remember it better if I do not
understand it BETTER" At his home
he had much the same habits, ex-
cept when restrained by his wife.
He would turn a chair upside
down, using the inclined back for a
head rest, and lie on the floor, always
reading aloud. He was in no sense a
general reader, but read for special
object, and then applied it. He loved
the practical, and regarded things USE
less unless they were practical Hence
he hated study, except for the practi-
Cal, " W dppile!l flgnC away, as IL
were. II he read till he became tired
then he must tell story or crack
joke, to relieve the following deep
study. Although intellectually strong
and long headed, he was reflective
rather than spontaneous.
1t was about this time that he ex-
hibited at times so much sadness and
gloom as to induce the belief among
his friends that he was still grieving
over his political death. He gradual
ly grew unsocial and distracted. The
latter condition was brought about
by deep thought more than any thing
else, and it is not strange, therefore,
that he should pass his intimate
friends on the street without seeming
to notice or to know them. Some.
times this abstractedness would be
the result of intense gloom or OF deep
thought on some important law or 9TH
er question. Lincoln was not only
thoughtful but persistent, fearless,
tireless in thinking. When he got after