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
Lincoln himself was constructed on an entirely different foundation. His
base was plain common sense, direct statement, and the inflexibility of
logic. In physical make-up he was cold--at least not magnetic--and
made no effort to dazzle people by his bearing. He cared nothing for
a following, and though he had often before struggled for a political
prize, yet in his efforts he never had strained his well-known spirit of
fairness or open love of the truth. He analyzed everything, laid every
statement bare, and by dint of his broad reasoning powers and
manliness of admission inspired his hearers with deep conviction of his
earnestness and honesty. Douglas may have electrified the crowds with
his eloquence or charmed them with his majestic bearing and dexterity in
debate, but as each man, after the meetings were over and the applause
had died away, went to his home, his head rang with Lincoln's logic and
appeal to manhood.
A brief description of Mr. Lincoln's appearance on the stump and of his
manner when speaking may not be without interest. When standing erect
he was six feet four inches high. He was lean in flesh and ungainly in
figure. Aside from the sad, pained look due to habitual melancholy, his
face had no characteristic or fixed expression. He was thin through the
chest, and hence slightly stoop-shouldered. When he arose to address
courts, juries, or crowds of people, his body inclined forward to a
slight degree. At first he was very awkward, and it seemed a real labor
to adjust himself to his surroundings. He struggled for a time under a
feeling of apparent diffidence and sensitiveness, and these only added
to his awkwardness. I have often seen and sympathized with Mr. Lincoln
during these moments. When he began speaking, his voice was shrill,
piping, and unpleasant. His manner, his attitude, his dark, yellow
face, wrinkled and dry, his oddity of pose, his diffident
movements--everything seemed to be against him, but only for a short
time. After having arisen, he generally placed his hands behind him, the
back of his left hand in the palm of his right, the thumb and fingers
of his right hand clasped around the left arm at the wrist. For a few
moments he played the combination of awkwardness, sensitiveness, and
diffidence. As he proceeded he became somewhat animated, and to keep in
harmony with his growing warmth his hands relaxed their grasp and fell
to his side. Presently he clasped them in front of him, interlocking his
fingers, one thumb meanwhile chasing another. His speech now requiring
more emphatic utterance, his fingers unlocked and his hands fell apart.
His left arm was thrown behind, the back of his hand resting against
his body, his right hand seeking his side. By this time he had gained
sufficient composure, and his real speech began. He did not gesticulate
as much with his hands as with his head. He used the latter frequently,
throwing it with vim this way and that. This movement was a significant
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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