“No other public man has been subjected to such scrutiny from the time
he was born until the end of his tragic career as was Lincoln,” said Mr.
Griffiths in a lecture. “He obtained his early education from ‘Æsop’s
Fables,’ ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ the ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ and a copy of the
Indiana statutes. This was before some of our later legislatures had made
their records or his education might have been marred instead of made.
“When he was elected President,” Mr. Griffiths continued, “he was a
plodding country lawyer whose library consisted of twenty-two volumes.
Through his public addresses he blazed his way to the Presidency. He
believed the position of a stump speaker to be one of sacred trust. He
had none of the platform graces. His figure was ungainly; his voice was
rasping. He always made the most careful preparation and gave his best
thought to the smallest audiences. He had marvelous gift of expression
and he knew more about the Bible than Webster. He was not learned in the
law and he despised the legal routine. On a lawsuit he always dealt in
the unexpected, which greatly discomfited the opposing lawyer. He liked
stories, but he always told them to illustrate a point. He was a deeply
religious man.”