Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1892-02-25
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Col. Robert G. Ingersoll's Eloquent
Tribute to the Great
President
AN IMMENSE PERSONALITY.

G. Insersoll IN Chicago on the anni-
versary of Lincoln's birthday. The
address as whole is regarded as one
OF the best efforts OF this great orator:
A great actor can be known only
when he has assumed the principal
character in a great drama. Possibly
the greatest actors have never ap-
peared, and it may be the greatest
soldiers have lived the lives OF perfect
peace. Lincoln assumed the leading
part in the greatest drama ever acted
upon the stage OF a continent.
His criticisms of military move
merits, hIs correspondence with his
genei ais and Others on the conduct OF
the war, show that he was at all
times master ef the situation-that
he was n natural strateeist, that he
appreciated the difficulties and ad
vitntaees OF every kind, and that i'll
''the still and mental" field of war he
stood the peer OF any man beneath
the flag. Had Mcclellan followed his
advice he would have taken Rich
mond. Had Hooker acted in accord
ance with his suggestions Chancellors-
VILE would have been victory for us.
Lncoln's political prophesles were
/ dlNAAS llllllllNtl. w g hlloN llON IllsAI
ne not only stood at the top. but
that he occuple the center. from the
| first TO the last, and that he did this
| by reason OF his intelligence, his
humor, his philosophy, his courage,
and his patriotism
He lived To hear the shout of vic
tory. He lived until the Confederacy
lied until Lee had surrendered, until
Davis had He'd, until the doors OF
! Libby prison We're opened, until the
republic was free.
lie lived until Lincoln and liberty
were united forever. He lived until
there remained nothing for him to do
AS great as lie had done.
What he did was worth living for,
worth dying for.
He lived until he stood in the midst
of universal joy, beneath the out
stretched wings OF peace-the foremost
man in all the world.
And then the horror came. Night
fell on noon. The savior OF the repub
lie, the breaker ol chains, the liberatof
| OF millions, he who had assured free
dom to the free was dead.
Upon his brow Fame had placed the
! immortal wreath.
For the first time in the history oi
the world a nation bowed and wept
The memory OF Lincoln Is the
strongest, tenderest tie that binds all
hearts together now, and holds all
states beneath nations flag.
Strange mingIing OF mirth and tears,
OF the tragic and grotesque, OF cap
and gown, of Socrates and DemocrI-
! tus. OF F,sop and Marcus Aurelius, Of
! all .l,at - gentle and just, humorous
and honest, merciful, wise, laughable.
/ loVable and divine, and all consecrat-
| ed to the use of man: while through
all. and over all, was an overwhelm
! ing sense of obligation, of chivalric
| loyalty to truth. and upon all the
shadow of the tragic end.
Nearly all the great historic charac-
tiers are impossible monsters, dlspro-
portioncd by ilattery, or 10y calumny
defornled. We know nothing OF their
peculiarities, or nothing but their pc
cullaIities. About the roots OF these
oaks there clings none oil the earth ot
humanity.
Washington is now only steel en-
craving. About the real man who
lived and loved, and hated and
schemed, we know but little. The
glass through which we look at him is
OF such high magnifying power that
the features are exceedingly indistinct.
Hundreds OF people are now en-
gagged in smoothing out the lines ol
Lincoln's face-forciug all features to
the common mould-so that he may
be known, not as he really was, but,
according to their poor standard, as
he should have been.
Lincoln was not a type. He stands
alone-no ancestors, no fellows, and
no successors.
lie had the advantage OF living in q
new country, OF social equality, o
personal freedom, OF seeing IN the hor
iZon OF his future the perpetual Stal
OF hope He preserved his indlvIdu
ality and his self-respect. He knew
and mingled with men OF every kind
and, after all, men are the best books
lie became acquainted with the am
bitions and hopes OF the heart. tine
means used to accomplish ends, tn,
springs of action and the seeds o
thought. He was familiar with ma
ture, with actual things, with common
facts. He loved and appreciated th'
/ poem Of the year, the drama OF tn,
seasons.
In a new country man must pos
sess AT least three honesty
courage and generosity. In cultlvatec
society cultivation is often more i'm
portant than soil. A wel-executeC
T. counterfeit passes more readily thai
= n blurred genuine. IL Is necesSar!
, only to observe the unwrItten laws o
. society-to he honest enough to keel
out OF prison and generous enough II
- subscribe i'll publiC-where the sub
scription can ue defended as an in
: vestment.
: In a new country character is essen
e tial; in the old reputation issuflicient
: In the new they find what mai
/ really is; in the old he generally passe
= for what he resembles. People onl,
e separated by distance are mucI
: nearer toget her than those divided b,
I the walls OF caste.
: 1t is no advantage to live in a grea
i city, where poverty degrades and TAI
j. ure brings despair. The fields ar
= lovelier than paved streets, and grea
II forests than walls OF brick. Oaks an
u elms are more poetic than steeple
s and chimneys.
In the country is the idea OF home
There you see the rising and settin
sun; you become acquainted with tn
stars and clouds. The const tellation
are your friends You hear the raj
N on the roof, and listen to the rhyti
mic signing OF the winds. You al
= thrilled by the resurrection calle
'r soring, touched and saddenen by al
n tumn-the grace and poetry OF deatl
as Every field is a picture; every lan'
scape a poem; every flower tend,
!. thought, and every forest fairy lan'
!. In the country you preserve you
! identity-your personality. The
a. YOU are an aggregation of atoms; bI
% ID the city you are only an atom
- an aggregation.
70 Lincoln never finished his educ
~ ton. To the night OF his death
y was a pupil, a learner, an inquirer,