The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-04
ing the absorbing thoughtfulness Of the

people.
The plainness of the man was his
chief characteristic; his patriotism, I'M
alleged sincerity and honesty were his
most conspicuous virtues. He seemed
to have made his passage through the
atmosphere of this earth as a divine
spirit, enveloped in human form. His
advent. the surroundings of his youth
and early manhood, all of which tend
ed to educate him for his future re-
sponsibilities and great work; the de-
scent upon him, in the period of his
ripeSt maturity of the mantle Of duty,
and his martyrdom, all combined to
erect his character upon a higher ped
estal than has been occupied by any
one In human form since the footprints
We're made in the dust in the ascent
Of Calvary by the Son Of Man.
Mr.. Lincoln was slow in making him.
self understood by his fellow citizens.
He led them, and they came slowly
up to his exalted standard He was
peculiar man, and unlike many of his
contemporaries. Much has been written
concerning him which would better
have been unWritten; and conspicuous
among such effusions was the life his
tory prepared by his former law part
ner, Mr.. Hernden, of Springfield, III.
Mr.. Hernden knew, or thought he knew
Abraham Lincoln better than any other
man living. He conceived 1t to be a sort
Of duty to the spirit Of history to I'M
fold his knowledge with a view of IL
Illuminating every characteristic of his
tllustrious subject. But in doing this he
went too far in that, in order to dem
onstrate certain qualities Of the mar
tyr president, he said much that ought
not to have been said concerning his
private life, and especially his domes-
tic life, in dealing with which his criti-
cisms of Mrs. Lincoln We're intolerable,
viewed from the standpoint of goOu
taste and ordinary decency.
Mrs. Lincoln's sister, Mrs. Helm, in
the article referred to, distinctly de-
niles that there were ever two marriage
ceremonies arranged, and that Mr.. Lin
coin shrank from participating in the
first. She also speaks pleasingly of
the disposition Of her sister, and denies
the existence Of that inharmony to
which so many illusions have been
made. The affection of Mrs. Lincoln
for her great husband, and her thor
ough appreciation Of his noble quail
ties, are clearly set forth. 1t would be
better for the world to accept these
statements, bury rank gossip in the
dark pit in which it belongs, and hence
forth regard Mrs. Lincoln only as the
honorable and honored helpmeet Of
the greatest American Of the century.
One little item appears in this plainly
clothed story which hitherto has failed
to find its place in history Mr. Lin
coin was murdered in a theater, and
the play was a comedy entitled "Oua
American Cousin" the play which, aft
erWards transformed in one Of It's char
acters, enabled Mr.. e. A. Sothern to
become famous as Lord Dundreary.
Mrs. Helm writes that, while sitting
in the box Of Ford's theater looking at
this comedy, and at the very moment
when the assassin was stealing through
the door and UP behind the president,
the latter remarked to Mrs. Lincoln.
There is no city I desire so much to
see as jerusalem" and as the last word
fell from his lips the shot was fired that
sent him into eternity. And these were
the last words OF the great liberator.
A gentleman who frequently saw Mr..
Lincoln in the ffties, when he used to
visit Bloomington, ILL.,, while riding
the circuit" and heard him tell many
of his interesting stories, said, upon
| one occasion: "Of course, 1 could not
| at that time foresee the glorious -areer
Of Mr.. Lincoln: b. never looked at
| him ven in those days, but what l
turned away with feeling that, some
how or other, he was a. very strange
man. There was something in the ex-
preston of his eyes which did not ap-
pear to belong to this world"
| There were many others who knew
Mr.. Lincoln in the days of his great
| trial in the nations cause who shared
! somewhat in this belief AS one turns
back to that scene Of tragedy in the
| Washington theater in 1865 and fanc!es
this great man sitting in "the gilded
! saloon" and thinking, while looking at
a comedy, Of the delights of Jerusalem,
| the strangeness Of his character can be
| realized more completely. It was the
| infidel, Robert G. Ingersoll, who char
acterized Mr.. Lincoln as "a divine
man" and as years go by and we con-
template his coming, his work and his
| departure, it is not difficult to accept
| Col. IngersolPs Characterization or that
Of the citizen at Bloomington. He was,
| indeed, "a strange man."