New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-04-23

which il brings, W" have the great Satisfaction
Of eliminating much of the disaerceaDleness al
tcndant upon his youthful days Even the com,
monness and painful coarseness OF his iooilsh
written expressions become actually an exponent
of his chief and GROWING quality. his receptive
ness and his expression of hhInanlty-tha, - I.
say Of Ill the humanity lie then knew ~ li'
lac expressed what he could discern with the
limited, inexperienced vision of the ignorant son
of wrctched v3sran' pioneer; Later nr eao1
in purpose physically and morally aS vast ana
as grand as any enterprise the world has ever
seen.
We have made room for the authors cNposl-
ton of this idea that Lincons day and genera
ton found expression through him. because there
Is no better example in these volumes Of the
higher philosophy Of biography. which is then
finest Characteristic Another excellent ilustra-
ton of the same method il the treatment of Lin
coins deem mciancholy which tool; ovcrmaStcrnr
possession of him after his first unfortunate love
affair. and which throughout his life hung like
= dark fog bank, always dull and Threatening, on
che verge of his horizon, sometimes IoiIh2
heavily down upon him, sometimes drawing OH
into a more or less remote distance. but never
wholly disappearing" The author suggests
various solutions Of the mystery. 1t may nave
been that the coarse and rough side OF life among
the pioneers had its reaction in reserved d'"
nj times moroSe habit n" rly AKIN 10 sauh'SS'
the expression Of the influence OF the vast uso-
latc and lonely nature. amid which they passed
their lives Then. again. hardship and daily dis
comfort in all the ARRANGEMENTS OF III" co"h'c'
for something, and especially so the nad iooa'
greasy, unwholcsomc. horribly cooked, enough 10
affect an ostrich with the blue devils OF avs
pepsia Or again, his gloom may b" attributed
TO the mysticism of great destiny, as though inc
awful weight Of hs immense task was making
nnfii
vcais before any human prospect could have Fore
cast any part Of that which was to conn" III"
shuddciing awe and terrible sens" of fate winch
tlc grandeur of the Greek tragedies powerfully
expresses come to us when we contemplate 'hiS
strange cloud which never left Lincoln III any
wear after his earliest youth although som" TRAITS
in his character seemed often inc0mprchenslDE
10 violate it, and like rcbcious spirits. to 10
outrage t. il, WHILE in fact they only maze IL inc
more striking, picturesque and mysterious.
While the author does not adopt tins cNplaha-
ton. he finds subtle charm in the unicaSon ana
mysticism Of the idea that the life which ihhcoh
had to live in the future wrought in some mex
picable way upon the life which he was living
in the present.
Iincoln's career at thu bar receives scant treat
ncnt in these volumes. and we are inclined 10
believe that the estimate OF his ABILITY as
LAWYER i, TOO low: and while chapter Is dcFotcd
10 the great debate with Douglas. there Is III
adequate appreciation of his tremendous pOWHr IL
a political stumper. That was an art III WHICH,
hy the common consent OF all experts WHO cN''
listened 70 him. he eXccle1 pre-cmincntly. His
election TO the PRESIDENCY is correctly d'scfioc''
net a. the cause. but as the sisnal for the Clv.
War: but there are many controversial matters
in relation to the conduct of the Ahol'ioniNi
leaders and their criticism of Lincoln which the
outhor fails TO discuss tcmperatcly and lnpar-
TALLY Ills str.tlrcs upon Horace Greeley are UNI
necessarily harsh and acrid. The author has
learned many of the lessons Of Lincoln : uns'in>
life but has neglected to find Inspiration III that
wise tolerance of hos,i" opinions ant ma man
unity of Judgment which w"r" pfc-cmlh'ht III
his dealings with leaders OF his party
The military chapters are exceedingly wei
done. presenting luminous reviews oi all ''c
campaicl.s East and West without confusing IN"
readers mind with details OF BATHS AMI manocl-
vrcs The Mcclellan controversy is tary stated
without trace of partisan bias. Ire relations o'
emancipation to the Border state policy arr AT
mirably discussed in two chapters OF the s'c'h'
volume Lincoln's conservatism ana p"Ilu'a III
stinct are emphasized through til, work, and
especially in the chapter on Reconstrnc'ioh' Inns
il a lust estimate of the magnanmi;y OF the
for reunited country:
The reaction involved in passing from q STATE
of hostilitics to state of peace, inc d'cp eial'
Gcation of seeing so mortal a struggle determine
in favor of the National life, may have CARED
him somewhat beyond the limitations set ~ the
hard facts of the case. and by the human natrf;
alike of the excited conqucroIs and ne imphi-
tent conquered. On the other hand, however, q"
is dangerous to say that Mr.. Lincoln madc ms
take in reading the popular feeling or IN defer
mining broad policy If he ana. ne ana 81 iGi
nostcritv is FREQ indulge II Il poSs!blr - fancy
that if he whom all now admit to nave been inc
best friend Of the South living III April, SOD, NAG
continued TO live longer, ne might nave alevla,cl
if he could not altogether have prevented, The
writing of some very painful chapters III the
history Of the United States
While there is much that is admirable in Mr.
Morse's philosophical method ana while the liter
ary form of his work is without bcmish, we can
10, rank this biography with his earlier volumes
which were Of superior excellence His Lincoln.
as a whole. is below the high level Of his John
Quincy Adams. By temperament and intellectual
quality he is out Of sympathy with so radical
tyne of Western character as Lincoln. ii" had
moro congcnial employment in writing the life OF
q scholar in politics. like the second Adams, or i'll
dealing with Jefferson, the Virginan 9cntlen an.
His biography will be useful addition TO the
Lincoln literature, because in many respects it
serves as u rough compendium to it, bnt it lacks
the vitality sympathetic tone and comprehensive
scope of the Joint work by Nicoay and Hay, who
wcrc close to Lnc0ns heart and knew him face
TO face.
A RHYMERS PROSE.