The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln: A Narrative And Descriptive Biography With Pen-Pictures And Personal; Recollections By Those Who Knew HimBrowne, Francis F. (Francis Fisher)
History
The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln: A Narrative And Descriptive Biography With Pen-Pictures And Personal; Recollections By Those Who Knew Him
Browne, Francis F. (Francis Fisher)
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865; Presidents -- United States -- Biography
A gentleman who knew Lincoln intimately in Springfield, in his maturity,
has given the following capital description of him. "He stands six feet
four inches high in his stockings. His frame is not muscular, but gaunt
and wiry; his arms are long, but not disproportionately so for a person
of his height; his lower limbs are not disproportioned to his body. In
walking, his gait, though firm, is never brisk. He steps slowly and
deliberately, almost always with his head inclined forward and his hands
clasped behind his back. In matters of dress he is by no means precise.
Always clean, he is never fashionable; he is careless, but not slovenly.
In manner he is remarkably cordial and at the same time simple. His
politeness is always sincere but never elaborate and oppressive. A warm
shake of the hand and a warmer smile of recognition are his methods of
greeting his friends. At rest, his features, though those of a man of
mark, are not such as belong to a handsome man; but when his fine dark
gray eyes are lighted up by any emotion, and his features begin their
play, he would be chosen from among a crowd as one who had in him not
only the kindly sentiments which women love but the heavier metal of
which full-grown men and Presidents are made. His hair is black, and,
though thin, is wiry. His head sits well on his shoulders, but beyond
that it defies description. It nearer resembles that of Clay than that
of Webster; but it is unlike either. It is very large, and
phrenologically well proportioned, betokening power in all its
developments. A slightly Roman nose, a wide-cut mouth, and a dark
complexion, with the appearance of having been weather-beaten, complete
the description."
Of Lincoln's life at this period, another writer says: "He lived simply,
comfortably, and respectably, with neither expensive tastes nor habits.
His wants were few and simple. He occupied a small unostentatious house
in Springfield, and was in the habit of entertaining, in a very simple
way, his friends and his brethren of the bar during the terms of the
court and the sessions of the Legislature. Mrs. Lincoln often
entertained small numbers of friends at dinner and somewhat larger
numbers at evening parties. In his modest and simple home everything was
orderly and refined, and there was always, on the part of both Mr. and
Mrs. Lincoln, a cordial and hearty Western welcome which put every guest
at ease. Yet it was the wit and humor, anecdote, and unrivalled
conversation of the host which formed the chief attraction and made a
dinner at Lincoln's cottage an event to be remembered. Lincoln's income
from his profession was now from $2,000 to $3,000 per annum. His
property consisted of his house and lot in Springfield, a lot in the
town of Lincoln which had been given to him, and 160 acres of wild land
in Iowa which he had received for his services in the Black Hawk War. He
owned a few law and miscellaneous books. All his property may have been
of the value of $10,000 or $12,000."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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