The historic times. [volume] (Lawrence, Kansas) 1891-1891, 1891-07-25
GREELEY ON LINCOLN.

est, patriotic man, g1ILed with eminent
common sense, which IL its wide range,
gave hand to shrewdness on the one
hand, humor on the other, and which al.
lied him intimately, warmly with the
masses OF mankind. doubt whether any
women or child, white or black, bond or
free, virtuous or viscious, accosted or
reached forth hand to Abraham Lincoln,
and detected in his countenance or man.
ner any repugnance or shrinking from
the protfed contact, any assumption of
superiority or betrayal Of disdain. No
one was ever more stepped In the spirit of
that glorious lyric Of the inspired Scotch
plOWman-
A mans a man for a. that.
and no one was ever acquainted and on
farms OF friendly intimacy with
greater number OF human beings of all
ranks and conditions than was he whom
the bullet of Wilkes Booth claimed for
it's victim.
Never before did one go constantly and
SO visibly grow under the discipline Of in
cessant cares. anxieties and trials. The
Lincoln OF 1862 was plainly a larger,
broader better man than he had been in
1861, while 1863 and 1864 worked his
continued and undated grOth in mental
and moral statue. Few have been more
receptive, more sympathetic and within
reasonable limits, more plastic than he.
Had he lived twenty years longer, be.
lieve he would have steadily increased in
ability counsel his countrymen and in the
estimation of the wise and good.
But he could in no case have lived long.
Perfect through suffering" is the divine
law, and the tention of mind and body
through his past four years OF event full
rule had told powerfully upon his physi.
cal frame. When last saw him, some
five or six weeks before his death, his face
was haggard with care, and scanned with
thought and trouble. 1t looked care plow
ed, tempesttOssed and weather-beaten, as
If he was some tough old mariner who
had for years been beating up against
wind and tide, unable to make his port or
find safe anchorage. Judging from that
scathed, rugged countenance, do not be-
lieve he could have lived cut his second
term had no feIoh hand been lifted against
his priceless life.
The chief moral deduce from his
eventful career asserts
The might thas slumbers in a peasants arml
the majestic heritage, the measureless OPP
portunity Of the humblest American
youth. Here was an heir OF poverty and
insignificance, obscure, untaught, buried
throughout his childhood In the prima.
tive forests, with no trancedent, dazzling
abilities, such as make their way in any
country, under any institution, but empha.
tically In intellect, as in station. one of
the millions OF strivers for rude liveli-
hood, who though attaching himself stub
oornly to the less popular party, and es.
pecially 90 In the state which he had
chosen as his home, did neverless become
central figure of the Western hemis.
phere, and as an object of honor, love and
reverence throughout the civilized world.
Lad ne been a genius, an intellectual
prodigy, like Shakespeare, or Mirabeau,
or Webster, we might say: 'SI'his lesson
il not for US with such faculties anyone
could achieve and succeed" but he was
not born king Of men, ruling by the re
sistless might Of his natura emperiority,
but child Of the people who made him
self a great persuader, therefore leader,
by dint Of firm resolve and patient effort
and logged perseverance, He slowly won
his way to eminence and renown by ever
doing the work that lay next to him-do.
Ing It with all his growing might-doing
It as well as he could. and learning by
his failure, when failure was encountered
how to do it better.-Century.
PERSONAL AND IMPERSONAL.
According to the researches of q
German Statistlclan, the number of
dancing women to one man is: In Vi
emma, .; in Bavaria Z; Italy, Is; Wur-
temburg, 20; England, %; Prussia, IS;
Holland, 20; Saxony, SIS; Spain, so;
Switzerland. lOT; Portugal. 10; Dem
mark. $50; Russia, $50; Norway and
Sweden, al: Turkey. 1000.
Mr.. Maxim, inventor of the famous
gun bearing his name, is now interest
ed in aerial navigation, and recently
went to the Smithsonian institution to
see Prof Langley. Mr. Maxim's ex-
periments, conducted at his place in
England. as he described them TO per
sons who conversed with him. have
been exceedingly practical in character.
The king Of Dahomey IS the proud
possessor of brass helmet with a
flowing green plume which he considers
Of more consequence to his dignity
than troops Of guards or park of ar
tillery. When he mounts ID on his mas
sive brow and dOns his court uniform
q paper collar aud pair of braces-his
subjects look admiringly at him through
smoked glasses