New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-07-07

method of securing domestic felicity, but it seems
that in all family affairs he submitted implicitly
TO his wife, and when storms occurred his only
resource to leave the house Mr.. Herndon
says: That lady as proud and as ambitious
TO exercise the rights of supremacy as Mary Todd
should repent Of her marriage to the man have
just described surely need occasion surprise
in the mind Of any Both she and the man
whose hand she accepted acted along the lines Of
l human conduct, and both reaped the bitter har-
vest of conjugal infelicty" That is decidedly OBJ
scure, it being difficult to perceive how Lincoln
and his wife could by any possibility have acted
otherwise than along the lines Of human con-
duct but Mr.. Herndon's meaning is shown by
what he says elsewhere.
Mrs. Lincoln, he ntimates had temper which
made living with her very difficult. Her husband
kept away from her as much as he could. Thus
Judge Davis said that when circuit, as q gen.
eral rule, when all the lawyers of Saturday
evening would 60 home and see their families and
friends, Lincoln would find some excuse and re-
fuse to go. We said nothing but it seemed to
us all that he was not domestically happy
| Once, says Mr. Herndon, "a man whose niece had
been summarily discharged by Mrs Lincoln went
| to the house to inquire into the matter, and was
met with so violent an outbreak that he started
to find Lincoln, determined to exact from him
proper satisfaction for his wife's action Lincoln
was entertaining crowd in store at the time
The man, still laboring under some agitation,
| called him to the door and made the demand
Lincoln listened for a moment to his story. My
friend, he interrupted, regret to hear this, but
let me ask you in al candor can't you endure
for few moments what have had as my daily
portion for the last fifteen years% These words
were spoken mournfully and with such look
1 Il; hat f1a lS-
armed. 1t was that appealed to his feel
| ings. Grasping the unfortunate mans hands, he
expressed in no uncertain terms his sympathy, and
even apologized for having approached him"
Lincoln, says the bographer. never had
confdant, and therefore never unbosomed him
self to others. He never spoke of his trials to
me, or, far as 1 know, to any of his friends
| 1t was q great burden to carry, but he bore 1t
| sadly enough and without murmur' Mr.
| Uerndon could always tell when something was
wrong by his partners early appearance at the
office At such times he would sit silent and
gloomy and, by preference, locked in a room
alone for hours, and often all day and late into
the night when he would steal home and slip
quietly in at a back door. AS an offset to this
gloomy picture, Mr.. Herndon gives the ingenious
theory of an unnamed friend of Lincoln 10 the
effect that Lincoln really owed his eninence to
| MARY IOuu Ddo tcupcI SiH't, ii"A nv A''N-'NN
a congenial wife, he would probably have become
domestic and stayed at home at night, whereas,
instead of spending his evenings at home, read
ing the papers and warming his toes at his own
freside he was constantly out with the common
| people, was mingling with the politicians, dis
cussing public questions with the farmers who
thronged the offices in the courthouse and state
| house, and exchanging views with tine loungers
who surrounded the stove OF winter evenings IN
| the village store. The result of this continuous
contact with the world was that ne was more
| thoroughly known than any other man IN his
community His wife, therefore, was one OF the
| unintenL.onal means of his promotion. There
NAV be some truth in this reasoning, but we think
Mr.. Herndon does not put enough emphasis upon
Idncolns obvious bent toward the life he led
He shows that the man was not domestic, that
he did not like the society of women, that he was
very ambitious, and that he did like to fore
| gather with men. These fscts seem to explain
his habits completely without requiring the intro
| duction of other influences.
It is due 10 the memory of Mrs. Lincoln 10
quote the opinion of DR.. Dresser who attended
her during her last illness, and who wrote to Mr.
Herndon saying, while the whole world was
finding fault with her temper and disposition,
it was clear to me that the trouble was really
cerebral disease Whether this was a final de-
|
need not be considered here. Mr.. Herndon holds
that this domestic unhappiness affected Lincoln
greatly and there is reason to doubt the state
ment But his own evidence certainly goes far
TO prove that Lincon's temperament was mainly
responsible for the depression from which he
suffered. His early life moreover, was passed un-
der hygienic conditions which may easily have
sown the seeds of malaria in his system and in
tensifed the atrabious tendency which was nor
mally so strong in him.
These volumes deal more with Lincoln's at
tributes and characteristics than with his career.
As is stated in the preface thread of the MARIA
tive of Lincoln's life runs through the work, but
an especial feature is an analysis of the man."
And again: The object of this work Is to deal
with Mr. Lincoln Individually and domestically ;
as lawyer, as citizen, statesman" Naturally
Mr.. Herndon dwells long upon his personal ex-
periences with his famous partner, and an excel
lent description he gives of this period in Lin
coins life. AS lawyer, Lincoln had many de-
fects He was entirely unmethodical, seldom
took the trouble t. read up for a case trusted to
the chapter Of accidents and his own fertility of
resource before the jury He was IL 1t may be
said without offence TO the bar, too honest to be
a good lawyer He could not argue effectively
when he did not believe in the justice of his cause
Usually he refused to take case the equity OF
| which he could not make out TO his own satislac-
ton. The following story gives good idea OF
his ways of practising law. II is told by one
who happened to be in Lincoln's office and heard
what passed He says, writing to Mr.. Herndon
Zone morning, not long before Lncolns nomina-
| tion was in your Office and heard the follow
ing: Mr. Lincoln, seated at the baize-covered Ia
BILE in the centre Of the Office listened attentively
TO a man who talked earnestly and in low
tone After being thus engaged for some time,
Lincoln at length broke in, and shall never for
get his reply. Yes, he said, we can doubtless
gain your case for you we can set whole neigh
borhood at loggerheads; we distress a wild