The times., 1898-12-18

smile was something most lovely. l have never
seen wonan's smile that approached it in its
engaging quality; nor Eaye l ever seen another
face which would light up as Mr. Lincoln's did
when something tcnched his heart CT amused him.
! have heard it said that he was unganly, that
ms step was awkward He never impressed me as
being awkward In the first place there was such
charm and beauty about his exp ession, silch
good humor and friendly spirit looking from his
eyes. that when yon were near him you never
thought whether he awkward or graceful;
you thought OF nothing except, what a kindly
character this hast Then. too. there was
snch shrewGness in his kindly features that one
did not care TO criticise him. His manner was
always disnified, and even If he had done an
awkward thing the dignity of his character and
manner would have made it seem graceful and be-
coming.
The great quality c. his appearance was benevo-
lence and benigniiy; the wish 10 do somebody
some good il he could; and yet there no
habby philanthropy about abraham Lincoln; lie
was all solid. hard keen intelligence combined
with goc dness. Indeed the expression of his face
and of his bearing which impressed one most, af-
ter his benevolenee and benignity was his intel
who through things. who understood,
and you respected him accordingly.
One of the stories which Mr.. Dana tells
in this book is about the trial of spy,
duly convicted and sentenced to DEATH
Gen. Augur came TO Dana one afternoon
and begged him to sign the warrant for
the mans execution while Mr.. Lincoln
TO have it done. Augur regarded it as es-
sential to the public safety that an ex-
ample should be made of this spy, and
Stanton had given Dana authority to sign
the warrant. II was signed. Bat the
President got home at 9 the next MORN
ing and stopped the whole proceeding.
That was Lincoln's only failing as gem
eral of armies, it would seem. Dana says
OF him in this capacity:
He developed into great military man; that
is TO say, of supreme military Judgment.
do net risk anything in saying that ii one Will
study the records of the war and study the
writings relating TO it. he will agree with me
that the greatest general had, greater than
Grant or Thomas, was Abraham Lincoln. 1t
was not at the beginning; but after three or
four years OF constant practice in the science and
art of war he arrived at this extraordinary knowl
edge of it, so that Won Motke not better
general, CT an abler planner or expounder OF
campaign. than was President Lincoln. To sum
| II up, he was A born leader OF men. He knew
! human nature; he knew what chord to strike,
! and was never afraid 10 strike it when he be-
| lieyed the time had arrived.
| MIR. Lincoln was not what is called an educated
man. In the college that he attended man gets
! up at daylight TO hoe corn, and sits up at night
! by the SIDE OF burning pine knot TO read the
| best book he can find What education he had
| he had picked up. He had read a great many
/ books, and all the books he had read he knew
| He had tenacious memory, just as he had the
| ability To sec the essential thing. He never took
an unir:rortant point and went off upon that; but
he always laid hold of the real question. and at
! tended to that. giving no more thought TO other
points than indispensably necessary.
| Thus, while We say that Mr.. Lincoln an un-
| educated man in the college sense, he had a
singularly perfect education in regard TO every
thing that concerns the practical affairs of life
His judgment excellent. and his information
| was always accurate. He knew what the thing
was He was a man OF genius and contrasted
with of education the man of genius will
always carry the day.
1t is doubtful If the character of Lin
coin has ever been better summed up
| than in these pages. There is clearness.
a forcefulness and an intuitive under
| standing in Danas view of him which Is
impressive, and the journalist and editor
had also the faculty of expressing his
| ideas in words as terse and vigorous as
those of Lincoln himself. Dana never let
| polished diction degenerate into verbos-
ity; he is not fulsome; he is not given II
circumlocution. n is fitting that such a
writer should give a character-sketch of
the statesman Of the Civil War and the
| author of the Gettysburg speech. Dana
| was himself an educated man. educate d
both by books and affairs; and he had
the keenness to perceive that it was not
lincoln's lack of education that made
| him great, nor did this lack interfere
! with his greatness. He points out thai
| Will faculty
for separating the essential from the
non-essential, went through life seizins
here a fact and there theory. and max
ing them all fit into his broad and COM
prehensive view of life. To such a mind
a college course could have been no bene-
fit, for in colleges much time is given ia
the non-essential. under the name OF
general culture. Lincoln's training mad
him pre-erninently fitted to deal with
men and things; and he got just so much
from books as would give him theory as
well as experience.
Dana had access to numerous docu-
ments and letters which ordinary histo-
rians have been obliged to do without
and his recoliections of the war have
their value on that account. But after
all, the main value of the book is that
it is the work of Dana; and this would
be so even were the events recorded less
familiar to the general public We have
here live, graphic, clearly presented ac-
count of part of that great conflict, and
character studies of the greatest men en-
gagged in it; and the latter are most yalri-
able and most interesting. Most medio-
ere writers can record facts; few can give
an accurate idea of the great men of any
period. even those men whom they have
| personally known.
The sole illustration in the work is a
very fine photogravure of the author,
which forms the frontispiece. 1t is very
nearly as good as an original photograph.
>(New York: d. Appleton & Co. s2.00.)
| The Story of New England.