Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 2 (of 2)Herndon, William Henry
History
Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 2 (of 2)
Herndon, William Henry
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Cordially' shaking the hand of
his hostess he said: 'You have made my stay here most agreeable, and I
am a thousand times obliged to you; but in reply to your request for
me to come again, I must say to you I never expect to be in Cincinnati
again. I have nothing against the city, but things have so happened
here as to make it undesirable for me ever to return.' Lincoln felt that
Stanton had not only been very discourteous to him, but had purposely
ignored him in the case, and that he had received rather rude, if not
unkind, treatment from all hands. Stanton, in his brusque and abrupt
way, it is said, described him as a 'long, lank creature from Illinois,
wearing a dirty linen duster for a coat, on the back of which the
perspiration had splotched wide stains that resembled a map of the
continent. Mr. Lincoln," adds Mr. Dickson, "remained in Cincinnati about
a week, moving freely around, yet not twenty men knew him personally or
knew he was here; not a hundred would have known who he was had his
name been given to them. He came with the fond hope of making fame in a
forensic contest with Reverdy Johnson. He was pushed aside, humiliated
and mortified. He attached to the innocent city the displeasure that
filled his bosom, and shook its dust from his feet." On his return to
Springfield he was somewhat reticent regarding the trial, and, contrary
to his custom, communicated to his associates at the bar but few of its
incidents. He told me that he had been "roughly handled by that man
Stanton"; that he overheard the latter from an adjoining room, while the
door was slightly ajar, referring to Lincoln, inquire of another, "Where
did that long-armed creature come from, and what can he expect to do in
this case?" During the trial Lincoln formed a poor opinion of Judge
McLean. He characterized him as an "old granny," with considerable vigor
of mind, but no perception at all. "If you were to point your finger at
him," he put it, "and a darning needle at the same time he never would
know which was the sharpest."
As Lincoln grew into public favor and achieved such marked success in
the profession, half the bar of Springfield began to be envious of his
growing popularity. I believe there is less jealousy and bitter feeling
among lawyers than professional men of any other class; but it should
be borne in mind that in that early day a portion of the bar in
every county seat, if not a majority of the lawyers everywhere, were
politicians. Stuart frequently differed from Lincoln on political
questions, and was full of envy. Likewise those who coincided with
Lincoln in his political views were disturbed in the same way. Even
Logan was not wholly free from the degrading passion. But in this
respect Lincoln suffered no more than other great characters who
preceded him in the world's history.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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