The times., 1899-12-31


prehend the man as he was. not as his enc
mics said, or his friends declared, that he
was-nOt altogether a saint, but never a
small, mean. or Lnsincere character. a
verse found in one of Lincoln's books. and
written in his crudest and most caIlow
DAYS. indicates What the tall lank. un-
Eainly Illinois youth was then:
Abraham Lincoln.
his hand and pen.
he VIII be good. but
god Euows when.
This doEcerel was an early glimmer OF
faculty, which always remained uudevel-
oped for putting things in metrical form
Lincoln vas 10 no way finer in culture or
less superstitiOus in feeling at that time
than the average prairie boy. The differ
ence between him and his companions was
81 the crude force OF character and intense
bTOoding self-Consciousness which made
him always a man apart. growing more
and more lonely in his greatness, 10 the
end Of his DAYS. This inner self is por-
fraved rs well as the rugged and some
times Undignifed outer phases, in Mr.. Hap
goods book, and il is this which saves il
from being what some books Of its kind
are. merely an expose OF things which one
would rather not know about great man
AL the grotesCue incidents OF LinCOln's
earlier career, as here recoUuted and eX-
plaiued, throw light on the unique charac-
ter Of American history; and in this way
they are most valuable.
The chapter entitled Lincoln as q Law
yer" is one OF the most interesting In the
book. a part OF it is as follows:
An easy eartlozsness rei-ued in the office. On
one large envelope Lincoln lad wril ten. "When
you can'r md lt anywhere else look into this
AuoiltT receptacle was sti5. more devoted 60 gem
orsl uiiiitr. His big six plug bat which he used
nov for laU IS be- formerly hau ior naii he
once afselHe .zel ta lawyer i6r DOB having ans
weTtd letter, ol the ground tha- he had PUT IL
iu his old Ist and bought uCw Cue- Tic pa
per and cthe- mstel4i iu the efree vcTe streNn
anywhere and ~ student who eEaeaToFcd 90
clean uu the place found thar some seeds brought
back by Lincoln from Washington had sproutcd
IN tie accumulated Cirt- IT. this easy atmosphere
the head Cl The firm divided lls time between
discussing. telling stories, often repeating q new
several tlmCs ta newcomers iU as many hours
with The same zest. and spells % hard WORK
One observer SAYS As for Lincoln Ae had three
different mcads. 3 Ila2 50 ezprezs myself; frst-
3 business mood, when be gave strict and rluse
attrutIou 10 blslllss. AND Egulsilc1 all idea Of
lliarlrI--iaal is in c1uus5lillg or tr1iuz cases
there was trace oi -he i1ker- second, his mel
aHeil-y uaaas. gl-el DIS whole nature was inl-
TlersCd ~ Limnrflsl darkness third. his dom
CarF-Vlle-la caall-Eeep,-or-I slo9l VIXEN no
lu'espc-z--l.e small boy could ae 80 apparently
careies7. oT reckless ~ Consequence
A. bone Dr. lulGlEtIt parent. seeming
y uuV5 5-llg - crcss .-s children in anything
taxing 1Iks with the children, working aE8It
The house. 81 lyiIg On the floor reading buJ
e4rlng Hotl1lg llf food or drink or for some
aspects at Hltural beauty. such 1s flowers and
trees. He w0gid often slip away hy himaeli %
theatre ~ concert. especially il tts entertain
men ras light and DE enjoyed particularly nlIn-
Etrels aue q llt-le magic lantern SHOW intended
iar children lie NQ1-d sap in lhe street 70 au-
slyze ans machine lie saw from 40 omnibus 10
clock turning 10 mechanical and intellectual
problems with tie same spirit Of analytic inter
q ##Hrrr rH Hrr Hsr rHH L
days says Henry G. Whitney, -'ou thr circuit,
and would stop Al q farmhouse far dinner. Linz
coin would improve The leisure IN hunting up
some farming implement, machine, or tool, and
be would carciallg examine d. al over. first gem
orally ana then critically be would sight IL
20 determine ID il was straight or warped; IL he
could make practical test ~ 81. be would do
thai, Ae would tuu il over o. around. and Sr0op
down ~ De auul d necessary. d look under H. be
would cEsuiUe it closely. then stand of ard eX-
anime y 4t lttle distance; be would shake IT,
lift IL, T1li it about. up-und IL. Cvcrsct it. and
thus ascertain every quality ard utility (which iu-
herec ln T. e far as acute and patient inyestiga-
tiou could a. i. lie was equally inquisidvc in
reEara q mai les EslcI ob-TEdsd lu bis attention
30 the neral world. BE- would bore 10 thc ceu-
Sc ~ amy moral proposition. and carefully an
algze and Cisser- ever layer and every atom %
which lt was eIlpo7ed- nor would le give over
the Eesrcl uutl completely z-tisIed that there
was nothing more ~ know, Cg be learned about
The book is largely made up of reml-
nlBceuces like this. arranged iu such q way
&C 10 show their significance as Indications
OF character. We are further informed
that it Was Lincoln's habit while living Sc
Springfield 20 lie On the floor in his shirt
sleeves and study or read. his favorite
place fer this diversion being the hall. He
had no library, and did not feel al home
in the parlor with its haircioth furniture
and marble table stTewn with gift books.
The consequence OF this behavior on his
his wife, were domestic lectures. but a.
usual il such cases, they did very litu.
good.
An interesting chapter especially I,
Washington people. is that in which Lin
coins dealings with oficescekers are dc
scribed He showed the shrewdness Of z
practical politician in these encounters. and
this side o. his character has not been fully
brought out BY most Of his blographers H
did IOt enjoy lodging these obtruEive gen
Try, but De Pad 10 DO 81, and those who saw
him adni, that be did it well An incident
Of this period OF his life IS as follows:
lincoln was once asked hov IT was that on,
caller who weut o. him Boo rage came zwsr
sIl.inE The President told about Tie isctae
who hsa been troubled by O big log In tu
IEicc-e g Us teld- bur announced one day ria
De had got rid of b. How did vou do itg
negbbor asEed. 'It uas too big h. haul TO.
suoIg 60 sT-it, too wet and soggy 10 burn" Th
aa
.ne secret be would diyulgc g. n ul5He.
around ~ =. ooHf.uac8 Lincoln s'nl1ue,
trouna tcfoinqr ----- but ir took He three NOR
81 b0us o. ds g. sud Eas afraid every miuut
Dr. Wouid wh1- I WAS AL"
The bubblirg, spontaneous humor 0
Lincoln Sc thoroughly brought out in thes
pages Il Is one of his best-known traits
and one would suppose that all the Lin
coin stories must have been told Ion
Ego, but there are some new ones Ia Ml
EapgOods work.
Altogether. this book IS a notable coz
tribuu0n 10 American biographical litera
ture and would be a valuable addition L
almost any library, private or public Tn
numerous portraits OF Lincoln scattcre
through the book add much 10 its interes'
lNeW York. TIE Macmillan Company s..
The Greed Of the Future.
Life Beyond Death" by Rev. Minot
EaTsee viii be interesting 70 anyone VII
sfse rsnraE1 Ffar