The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1895-10-04

HOUSE IN WASHINGTON WHERE LINCOLN DIED.
he concentration and great continuity OF
thought, but he had profound analytical
power His vision was clear, and he was
emphatically the master of statement. his
pursuit of the truth, as before mentioned,
was interchangeable. He reasoned from well
chosen principles with such clearness,
force and directness that the tallest intel
lects in the land bowed to him. He was
the strongest man 1 ever saw, looking at
him from the elevated standpoint of rea-
son and logic. He came down from that
height with irresistible and crashing force.
His Cooper institute and other printed
speeches will prove this, but his speeches
before the courts, especially the supreme
court of Illinois, If they had been pre-
served, would demonstrate 1T still more
plainly Here he demanded time to think
and prepare The office of reason is to de-
termine the truth. Truth is the power OF
reason. and Lincoln loved truth for its
own sake 1t was to him reasons food.
Ruled by Conscience.
Conscience, the second great quality OF
Mr.. Lincolns character, is that faculty
which induces in us love of the just. Its
real Office is justice; right and equity are
its correlatives. AS a court, it Is In SEES
sion continuously. 1t decides all acts at
all times. Mr. Lincoln had deep, broad,
living conscience His reason, however,
was the real Judge. 1t told him what was
true or false, and therefore good or bad,
right or wrong, just or unjust, and his
conscience echoed back the decision. His
conscience ruled his heart He was always
Just before he was generous Ii cannot be
said of any mortal that he was always alb
solutely Just. Neither was Lincoln always
lust, but his general life was. 1t follows
that if Mr.. Lincoln had great reason and
great conscience he must have been an
honest man, and SO he was. He was right
fully entitled to the appellation Honest
Abe" Honesty was his polar star.
AS illustrative of a combination in Mr..
Lincoln's organization it may be said
that his eloquence lay in the strength OF
his logical faculty, his supreme power OF
reasoning, his great understanding, and
his love of principles; in his clear and ac-
curate vision; in his cool and mastery
statement of principles around which the
issues gather, and in the statement OF
those issues and the grouping of the facts
that are to carry conviction to the minds
of men of every grade of intelligence He
was so clear that he could not be misun-
derstood or long misrepresented. He stood
square and bolt upright to his convic-
lions, and any one who listened to him
would be convinced that he formed his
thoughts and utterances by them. His
mind was not exactly a wide, broad, gen.
erali zing and comprehensive mind, nor
yet a versatile, quick and subtle one,
bounding here and there as emergencies
demanded, but it was Deep enduring,
strong, like majestic machine running in
deep iron grooves, with heavy flanges on
its wheels.
Mr.. Lincoln himself was very sensi-
tive man, and hence in dealing with
others he avoided wounding their hearts
or puncturing their sensibility. He was
unusually considerable of the feelings OF
other men, regardless of their rank, con
dition or station. At first sight he struck
one with his plainness, simplicity of man
ner. sincerity, candor and truthfulness
He had no double interests and no over
whelming dignity with which to chill
the air around his visitor. He was Away:
easy of approach and thoroughly demo
cratic. He seemed to throw a charm
around every man who ever met him. Tt
be in his presence was a pleasure, and NJ
man ever left his company with injured
feelings unless most richly deserved.
His Honesty.
The universal testimony, "He is an hon
est man," gave him a firm hold on thu
masses, and they trusted him with blinC
religious faith. His sad, melancholy fac
excited their sympathy, and when the darf
days came it was their heart strings thai
intwined and sustained him. Sympathy
we are told, is one of the strongest and
noblest incentives to human action. witt
the sympathy and love of the people tC
sustain him, Lincoln had unlimited power
over them. He threw an invisible anC
weightless harness over them and drove