Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-11-08
POWER AS A Nntk.
Both Lincoln and Napoleon Had stroSE
 Literary Impulses.

FE&ft Ampaa@Es-
 Especial CorFrss suRdencc.l
 NEW YORK. Nov. G.-.IuStlcc Gray of the supreme court of the nit1d States, speaking with a company of distinguished men rcccntly of the many sided character of Abraham Lincoln, told one nncctlotc which illustrated very imprcssiycly Lin coins power as q writer. The justice said that a few weeks after Mir Lincoln's in- aguration an important cabinet meeting was held, which was, in fact, tho first ar which the members of Lincoln's official family showed that they had become thor oughly acquainted with their duties.
 Each of the cabinet officers spoke at length of tho policy which ought to bc carried out by his department, and last of all Mir. Seward submitted in writing n carefully prepared plan in respect to the diplomatic offices, the instructions to con suls and matters of like import. Mir. -.in- coin read 1t through very carCfally and pronounced the plan in its general scope entirely satisfactory, but he asked Mr. Seward to leave the paper with him, as he might like to make some suggestions as to details.
 A day or two later the president gave hack to his secretary of state this official document. simply saving that he had made n few verbal changes in IL. and when MT. Seward read 1t he found that in addition la some changes iI Ihc in- structions themselves in tn" iucumcnt, Mir. Lincoln had also changed the phrase ology-in other words, hc had edited communication from Nr. Scw..ryl in vcry much the same way that n scaoClteaChcr would revise n composition han6cd in by one of his scholars. This original draft, with Mir. LinrOln's interlincasiuns and correctiOns, was af.crwnrd photo graphed, ono or two copies being made which arc cstcemed very highly by the owners.
 It was not so amazing that the prcsid, ut should have thus corrcctCtl an of:Icial c0El- municatiun made by one of his cabinet officers. That was not only his privils sc, but his duty in case he felt that the or. ssi- nal draft did not fully meet his own views. The astonishing: thing. as it seemed to Justice Gray and to other Ii; 'r- ary men who have sccn this document. Is that tho cOrpeCtions of MT. Lincoln very greatly improved the literary form in which the document first appeared Bet ter English is usstl, tho sentences wcrc more skillfully arranged and tho idea mOp' clearly. trrscly and elegantly cx pressed
 seward was n college graduate, a man who had enjoyed the highest advantages. and ono who had IainCSl ruputc for the literary perfection of his political and other nddrsssCs. Lincoln had scarcely en- joycd any schooling and was as much as any man who ever held high cfliCr in this country self taught Yet he had 2 command of English and a capacity fur singularly lucid expression of thought in words which his distinguished secretary of state could not command even in the writing of n very important official dOcu ncnt. Mir. seward was generous man and was the first to acknowledge the i'm prov"mcnt which Mir l.incoln's pcn had brought to that document
 Later thcre was another example of Lin coln's power when at Gettysburg he spoke a few words which havr h-cnmc perhaps the finest of American pr~>c claS ,Is.S whcras Edward Everett. the most lnl- ishcd orator of his day. delivered an sr.. tion upon which hc had spent n.any months an tho same occasion and enc which has bsscn forgotten.
 Yet Mir. Lincoln. who ouCc >sNsrils ri- ously tO have contemplated a semi -litcE7ry carCCr. fail,sl in his fiIst attempts so dis mally that hr Was compelled la aban.lun his purpose. IL Was after hc had carr.cSi on the famous LCiEitc with stephan \ Douglas which gave him h,~ rational Ee- putc. He thought of prrpaEiue I lCctL-s', deCning IL possible that his rCputat' n might serve him that hr could Cs -sl mana audiCnCvs of considerable size. IL was the day when public lCcturinG Wa a ! profession and brought tO sshne of t.C most sucCts~ful uf thOSss who followed IL very handsome fSlCylul->- Mir Lincoln did | prcpaTc a irCtur and drlivvpL it two ar | thnsc times. but either bs'cAusc Es WIS not familiar with tnr >uhjCct ur elsa d. cause he had lscn lUng accustomed tU l sISaking wholly ulAun political "r L.--L questions h' failed |" command any in; r est, and after a few attempts thFCS She lccturs away
 In this day. when much ingercst has been lrvcluTsl in tho Carvsr uf NaPolC .Il. It is also r'Inarkahlc to nottcV tlsat Shis is | matched hy the caccT ts~Sipr tO giCan cNvsy | anCCdOtc. tC learn cvC-y Tsossilpls' thing at Mir, Lincoln Two of the magazines agS now running serials describing NapoIce ,rg E life. and one of them publishes anutSs. | papCr giving mn interesting anCcCiOts a: Lincoln and prupos,-s tu follow It up with other articles containing n"w anCcCiOsIl | and personal matter cls anCt here mud thCrc fr''m living witnc~~seS. frnru ald tss | terS and frUn traditions traCgyl to th-'ir | sourCes. that n view os Lincoln ns u | man rather than aS public man may .ss obtained, Lincoln. like Napoleon, in !sis early days had strong literary impuis--s. He was an eager nader. was the CStsi can tuy. uf everything that hc could |, and each of them chose tho hast that was available. Lincoln wrutc essays and a, least upnn one s.isiOn . pOCm
 Napoleon even after he becamc an off.vs'l | in the French army scrrnCd tO have q | strong bCnt to literature. He wrote one ur ! two rumanscs, and. like q Grcat Amcrscau financial Grnius, Jay Gould. prrparSd q | history of his native district He even ycntupSl into the drama. writing two Ol thrCc tragedies in which 1t is said tIscrs are to bc now discovcrsd not only ths promise of his military genius. but aIss that capacity for statcsmanship which ht revealed after hc had bccnmc first consul.
 E. I. Epw ARTS