Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-12-02

u est and the SaddeSC man o.
their acquaintance. His humol
was the life Of the taverns where he
sojourned while on the circuit, ana
sometimes seriously impaired the dig
nifty of the courtroom. And his melan-
choly. as we are reliably informed
dropped from him as he walked. These
two characteristics were the positive
and the negative poles Of the same
mental trait. AS nearly as can learn,
Lincoln's mirth and melancholy came
and went internationally, and as a rule
there was little, II anything, to tndi-
cate the occasion for the transition; or,
If there was a visible cause, 1t was COM
monplace. He might be in deep gloom
in the midst Of cabinet meeting, and
then rouse suddenly when he was told
that Elijah Kellogg Of Illinois was at
the door, and bring Elijah Kellogg In,
mand that he tell the story OF the slut
tering Justice, and from that time till
the close of the meeting appear In
rather high spirits. He might tell sto-
ries that set the tavern in q roar, and
walk out into the night gloomy and
The Lincolns were that way. None
of them went to the insane asylum.
but they had what they and Abraham
Lincoln called ''hypo." The Lincoln
hypo," as the family knew 1t, or the
Lincoln horrors" as Ben Mudd, who
was Lincoln on his mothers side ana
married a Lincoln, called 1t, was wen
known among the relatives and their
connections.
Abraham Lincoln in his maturity was
a hunnorist rather than q man OF wit.
yet here is the striking fact, his kindly
hunor was the sublimation OF very
keen and not very gentle wit.
An example of this characteristic In
Lincolns early professional life Is the
incident known as "the skinnlng OF
Thomas" In 1910, Jesse B. Thomas,
a prominent Democratic politician, In
a speech in the Presbyterian Cnurcn
In Springfield. took occasion to crltl-
CHE sharply 1.-The Long Nine" and was
especially severe against Lincoln. MI:
Lincoln was not present, but some OF
his friends slipped out and INFORMED
him what Thomas was saying. Lincoln
went to the church, arriving In time
to hear the closing sentences OF
Thomas speech. He assembled the plat
form and made reply. He did not stop
with argument, but used the keenest
sarcasm. the most bitter ridicule. His
partner, william H. Herndon, says: :.
"He initiated Thomas In gesture and
voice. at times caricaturing his walk
and the very motion Of his BODY.
Thomas, like every one else. had some
peculiarities of expression and gesture,
and these Lincoln succeeded In renoer-
| ing more prominent than ever. Inc
crowd yelled and cheered as ne con-
| tinued. Encouraged by these demon
STATIONS, the ludicrous features of the
speakers performance gave way to in
tense and scathing ridicule. Thomas,
who was obliged to sit by and endure
the pain of this unique ordeal, was Or
dinarily sensitive; but the exhibition
| goaded him to desperation. He was
| so wrought up with suppressed emotion
that he actually gave way to tears"
T NCoLN went away triumphant. and
sat down in deep regret. Herndon
saws: st heard him afterward say that
! the recollection of his conduct that
! evening filled him with the deepest
| chagrin. He felt he had gone too Tar"
| It does us good to know that Lin
coin hunted up Thomas and apollo
gized for that speech.
| Lincoln was capable Of terrible phil
| ippic. His notes for cases in which he
was attorney for the prosecution, Skin
4 DEFENDANT, reIer 10 an dTL Oh WHICH uc
was past master and practice that
brought him immediate success In jury
trials and on the stump and often sub
sequeht regret.
Instances may be found In which
Lincoln employed this dangerous gift
even during the later years Of his life.
In moments of evaporation he could
be cruelty satirical. But these in
stances grew infrequent. Lincoln took
thought and added cubit to his stat
ure. He sublimated his biting wit
into a genial and kindly humor.
In youth Lincoln obtained a copy OF
"Quinn's Jests," an old English book
of jokes. These jests he read to his
companions half by stealth. They
were frank old jokes, some Of them
fairly good, none of them very bad
and most of them dull. He read Joe
NIiller's Joke Book, and it supplied him
with some of his material. Not very
much was available to him In the way
Of humorous books; he read what he
could obtain.
Negro Ministries furnished Lincoln
a part of his humor. He greatly en-
joyed the burnt cork Jokes. And they
were enjoyable. The oN-time minstrel