The Tupelo journal., 1909-02-19

can learn much of value from the very
attacks which following that course
brought upon his head, attacks alike by
the extremists of revolution and by the
extremists of reaction. He never way
cred in devotion to his principles, in his
love for the union, and in his bhor-
renee of slavery. Timid and lukewarm
people were always denouncing him be-
cause he was extreme; but as a matter
of fact he never went to extremes, he
worked step by step; and because of this
the extremists hated and denounced him
with a fervor which now seems to us fam
tastic in its dedication of the unreal and
the impossible. AT the very time when
one side was holding hin up as the
apostle of social revolution because he
was against slavery, the leading. abo-
litionist denounced him as the slave
hound of Illinois," When he was the Sec
ond time candidate for president, the ma
jority Of his opponents attacked him be-
cause of what they termed his extreme
radicalism. while a minority threatened
to bolt his nomination because he was not
radical enough. He had continually to
check those who wished to go forward
too fast, at the very time that he over
rode the opposition of those who wished
not to go forward at all. The goal was
never dim before his vision: but he picked
his way cautiously, without either halt or
hurry, DIS lie SlTOue. tOWdTu II, tllTOuSl
such a morass of difficulty that no man
of less courage would have attempted it.
while it would surely have overwhelmed
any man of judgment less serene.
Man of Great liberation.
yet, perhaps the most wonderful thing
Of all, and, from the standpoint of the
American of to-day and of the future,
the most vitally important, was the
extraordinary way in which Lincoln
could fight valiantly against what he
deemed wrong. and yet preserve undi-
minished his love and respect for the
brother from whom he differed.
Strong Sense of Justice.
HE lived in days that were great and
terrible, when brother fought against
brother for what each sincerely deemed
to be the right. In a contest so grim
the strong men who alone can carry it
through are rarely able to do justice
to the deep convictions of those with
whom they grapple in mortal strife. At
such times men see through a glass dark
ly; to only the rarest and Hottest spirits
is vouchsafed that clear vision which
gradually comes to all, even to the lesser,
as the struggle fades into distance, and
wounds are forgotten, and peace creeps
back to the hearts that were hurt. But
Lincoln was given this supreme vision.
He did not hate the man from whom he
differed. Weakness was as foreign as
wicked to his strong, gentle nature; but
his courage. was of a quality so high
that 1t needed no bolstering of dark pas
sion. He saw clearly that the same
high qualities. the same courage, and
willingness for self-sacrifice, and devo-
ton to the right as it was given them to
see the right, belonged both to the men
of the north and to the men of the south.
AS the years roll by, and as all of us,
wherever we dwell. grow to feel an
equal pride in the valor and self-devo-
ton, alike Of the men who wore the blue
and the men who wore the gray, so this
whole nation will grow to feel a peculiar
sense of pride in the mightiest of the
mighty men who mastered the mighty
days; the lover of his country and of all
mankind; the man who's blood was shed
for the union of his people, and for the
freedom of a race, Abraham Lincoln"