The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-07-09
ATRUE GENTLEMAN.


Heroic and inspiring as was the achieve
ment OF the Puritans in throwing on the
tyranny of the Stuarts. and esta blishing
h its place, not license or anarchy, but
wise and liberal polity, the Yelling
hand of time diminishes for modern men
its distinctness and reality. With the
Science OF the Union It is different. We
Fan almost hear tie re-erberation Of the
cannon at Vicksburg, and our hand
may still clasp the hands Of those who
pverthresT embattled treason at Gettys-
burg and Chattanooga. The glory won
by the English race IS so near, that ID
still stirs the blood like q trumpet to
read of the patriotism Of the men who
fought at the call OF Lincoln. Nothing
Is more admirab BILE, as nothing Is more
dramatic in recorded history, than the
manner in which the North sprang TO
arms at the news that the Nations flag
tad been fred on at Fort Sunnpter. 1t
is all very well to hire soldiers at SO
much day and send them to the front
with salutes and rejoicingS, but the
action of the eastern and western states
meant a great deal more than this. Il
meant a voluntary sacrifice on the part
Of men who had nothing to gain and
everything to lose by throwing over a
life of ease or profit to shoulder a
musket or serve a gun 4 continent
was on fire.
It is one of the greatest Of LfDcoln's
claims TO admiration, that though ne
sympathized with the fervor and en-
thusiasm of his countrymen, he was not
carried away by it. He was one OF
those rare men who can at once be
Jealous and moderate, who are kindled
by great ideas and who yet retain com
plete control of the critical faculty.
And more than this, Lincoln was mSa
who could be reserved without the chill
of reserve. Again, he could make al
lowance for dement's in principle or
human instrument, without ever falling
into the purblindness of cynicism- He
often acted in his dealings with men
much as professed cynic might have
acted; but his conduct was due, not to
any disbelief in virtue, but to a wide
tolerance and clear knowledge Of hui
man nature. He saw things as a dis
iiusionized man sees them, and yet in
the bad sense he never suffered any dis
For suffusing and COM
bining his other qualities was serenity
of mind which affected the whole man.
He viewed the world too much as a
whole to be greatly troubled or per-
picked over its accidents. To this
serenity of mind was due an almost total
absence of Indignation in the ordinary
sense. Generals might half-rIin the
cause for the sake of some trumpery
quarrel, or in order to gain some petty
personal advantage; office-seekers might
tons fate:but none ofthe pettinesses,
the spites, or the follies could rouse
in Lincoln the impatience or the indigr
nation that would have been Weakened
in ordinary men. Pity, and nothiug
else. was the feeling such exhibitiont
occasioned him. Lincoln seems to have
felt the excuse that tempers the guilt
of every mortal transgression. His
largeness and tenderness of nature |
made him at heart a universal apologist |
He was of course too practical and too |
great q statesman to let this sensibility !
TO the excuses that can be made for /
human conduct induce him to allow /
misdeeds to 60 unpublished or incorrect
ed. He acted as firmly and as severely |
as if he had experienced the most burn
ing Indignation; but the moment we
come to Lincoln's real feelings we see
that he is never incen sed, and that, even
in its most legitimate form, the desire
for retribution is absent from his mind.
Tout comprende, c'est tout pardonHer,
was the secret of his attitude toward |
hum an affairs, That is not the highest
wisdom, but it errs on the right and also
On the rare side. So much for the intel
ectual side of LincOln's nature. Be
lind it was a personality of singular
charm. Tenderness and humor were
IS main characteristics. AS he rode
through a forest in spring-time, ha
would keep Oh dismounting TO put back
he young birds that had fallen from
heir nests. There was not a situation
n life which could not afford him the
subject for kindly smile. 1t needed 3
haracter so FIJI of gentleness and good
emper to sustain the intolerable weight
# responsibility which the war threw
lpon the shoulders of the President
lost men would have been crushed By
he burden. His serenity of temper
aved Lincoln. Except when the miseB,
BILE necessity of having to sign the
rider for a military execution took
way his sleep, he carried on his work
Without any visible sign of over-strain
Not the least of Lincoln's achieve
nents is to be found in the fact that
hough for four years he welded
'ower and personal authority greater
han that exercised by any monarch Cd
arth. he never gave satirists or carl
aturists the slightest real ground for
eclaring that his sudden rise TO world
tide fame had turaed the head of the
Under the circum-
tances, there would have been every |
xouse for Lincoln, had he assumed TO
is subordinates somewhat of the bear. 1
lg of the sutocrat he was II is sign
the absolute sincerity and good sense
the President that he was under no
ort Of temptation 70 do SO. Lincoln
as before all things gentleman, and &
le good taste inseparable from that
laracter made it impossible for him 20
g spoiled OF power and position. This
race and strength of character is never
etter shown than in the letters 20 mis-
enerals, victorious OF defeated When
ley were beaten, he was anxious 70
laFs the blamei when victorious he