[ii-13] Herndon, ii, 14.
[ii-14] Browne, 218-19. Lincoln’s expedient for preventing trivial
litigation was similar in its essence to that of the New York attorney
concerning whom Edwards, in his _Pleasantries about Courts and
Lawyers_, tells this anecdote:--
“In a certain part of our State, two Dutchmen, who built and used in
common, a small bridge over a little stream which ran through their
farms, had a dispute concerning certain repairs which it required.
One of them declined to bear any portion of the expense necessary to
the purchase of two or three planks. The aggrieved party went to a
neighboring attorney and placing ten dollars, in two notes of five
dollars each, in his hand, said--
“‘I’ll give you all dish monies if you’ll make Hans do justice mit de
pridge.’
“‘How much will it cost to repair this bridge?’ asked the attorney.
“‘Well, den, not more ash five tollars.’
“‘Very well,’ said the legal gentleman, pocketing one of the notes and
giving the Dutchman the other, ‘take this and go and get the bridge
repaired. It’s the best course you can take.’
“‘Yaas,’ responded the client slowly, ‘y-a-a-s, dat ish more better as
to quarrel mit Hans.’
“But as he went home, he shook his head frequently, as if unable,
after all, quite clearly to see how he had gained anything by going to
the lawyer.”
[ii-15] This narrative is based on two interviews, secured for the
author from Henry Rice, in the autumn of 1907 and in the spring of
1908, respectively. See, also, Markens, 24.
[ii-16] Lincoln’s refusal to take what he considered a bad case is
in harmony, as far as civil actions go, with the practice of every
high-minded lawyer. David Hoffman, of the Baltimore bar, drawing up,
early in the nineteenth century, a code of ethics for the guidance of
his students throughout their professional careers, prescribed as the
eleventh of fifty resolutions: “If, after duly examining a case, I
am persuaded that my client’s claim or defense (as the case may be)
cannot, or rather ought not to be sustained, I will promptly advise
him to abandon it. To press it further in such a case, with the hope
of gleaning some advantage by an extorted compromise, would be lending
myself to a dishonorable use of legal means in order to gain a portion
of that, the whole of which I have reason to believe would be denied
to him both by law and justice.”
[ii-17] Holland, 126; Browne, 162. But see Lamon, 317, for McHenry’s
account of a somewhat similar interview that had a different
termination.
[ii-18] “Never stir up litigation. A worse man can scarcely be found
than one who does this.” (Notes for Law Lecture, in _Works_, ii, 142.)
[ii-19] Tarbell, i, 248; McClure’s _Yarns_, 359-60.
[ii-20] Lamon, 325.
[ii-21] It should, perhaps, be noted that in refusing Matteson’s case
Lincoln turned his back on one of his own influential clients, whom
he had represented in the Supreme Court but a short time before this
happened. See the appeal of Constant vs. Matteson _et al._, argued
at the January term of 1859, in the Second Grand Division. (Illinois
Reports, xxii, 546-62.)
[ii-22] James Judson Lord to William H. Herndon, in Herndon, ii,
14-15, note; Letter of Mrs. Katherine Lord Driscoll to the author.
[ii-23] General John H. Littlefield, in _Success_, February, 1901, p.
600; _Lincolnics_, 31. An interview, somewhat like these two, culled
from the practice of the eminent Southern lawyer and statesman, Robert
Toombs, is thus related by his biographer: “On one occasion he said
to a client who had stated his case to him, ‘Yes, you can recover in
this suit, but you ought not to do so. This is a case in which law
and justice are on opposite sides.’ The client told him he would push
the case, anyhow. ‘Then,’ replied Mr. Toombs, ‘you must hire some
one else to assist you in your damned rascality.’” (Stovall, 18-19.)
Another distinguished Southerner, Alexander H. Stephens, held equally
conscientious opinions as to what constitutes a lawyer’s duty. These
views, based on a long and honorable career, occupy a notable place in
his _Recollections_. (See Stephens, 383-89.)
[ii-24] Rev. John Putnam Gulliver, in the New York _Independent_,
September 1, 1864. The article is reprinted in Carpenter, 309-17.
[ii-25] Atkinson, 28-29; Lamon, 40, note.
[ii-26] For details concerning these and other similar incidents the
reader is referred to: Curtis’s _Lincoln_, 77; Browne, 646-47; Brooks,
426; Carpenter, 78, 114-15; Hill, 131, 198; Tarbell, i, 254; Bateman,
30-32; Flower, 63; Emerson, 5-9; _Works_, ii, 70, 368; _ibid._, iii,
32; _ibid._, ix, 26, 84-85; _Debates_, 13, 26; _Scribner’s Magazine_,
February, 1878, p. 565. See, also, Speed, 18.
[ii-27] From the response by Justice David Davis, of the United States
Supreme Court, to resolutions presented upon the death of Lincoln, at
a session of the Federal Circuit Court held in Indianapolis, May 19,
1865.
[ii-28] Ex-Chief Justice Caton’s address to the Supreme Court of
Illinois, May 3, 1865, in Caton, 12; Illinois Reports, xxxvii, 13.
[ii-29] Barrett, 818; Browne, 235-36; Nicolay and Hay, i, 303-04.
[ii-30] Swett to Herndon, in Herndon, ii, 246-47.
[ii-31] Whitney, 261.
[ii-32] Lamon, 324.
[ii-33] This account of the incident is based chiefly on statements
made by District Attorney Ward Hill Lamon, himself (Lamon, 322), and
by Judge David Davis, who probably referred to the affair in a story
which he recalled, with unimportant variations, many years later, for
the entertainment of Ratcliffe Hicks, a contributor to the _Century
Magazine_ of February, 1894, p. 638. Henry C. Whitney, it should be
added, writing after Lamon but before Hicks, contradicted the former’s
narrative in almost every important particular. A careful reading,
however, of Whitney’s book (at pages 130-32 and 534), leads to the
conclusion that the error lies with him rather than with Lamon and
Davis; for he obviously confused the Patterson trial, in his memory,
with another Champaign County case.
[ii-34] Letter from Abraham Lincoln to H. Keeling, dated March 3,
1858, and quoted from manuscript in Herndon, i, 326.
[ii-35] Shaw’s letter of June 13, 1866, quoted from manuscript in
Herndon, i, 323.
[ii-36] Holland, 130; Stowe, 22.
[ii-37] Joseph Gillespie’s manuscript letter of October 8, 1886,
quoted in Herndon, ii, 13-14; Lamon, 321-22. Gillespie was, to a
precise degree, Lincoln’s contemporary at the bar. Their enrollment
dates from the same year--1837.
[ii-38] The same figure of speech was used, to describe a similar
attitude of mind, by that other eminent lawyer, Horace Binney, leader
for many years of the Philadelphia bar. In his private record, written
for the eyes of his children, we find: “I never prosecuted a cause
that I thought a dishonest one, and I have washed my hands of more
than one that I discovered to be such after I had undertaken it.”
(Binney, 443.)
[ii-39] For the details of this anecdote the author collated the
accounts in Browne, 228; Lamon, 324; and Stringer, i, 217. According
to the last-mentioned authority, however, Lincoln was found, not at
the tavern, but in the Postville Park, playing townball with the boys.
[ii-40] Whitney, 130-32, 262; see, also, 136. It was probably
concerning this incident that the same colleague wrote in another
work; “On one occasion, Swett and I sat on a bench in the extreme
rear of the court-room while Lincoln closed to the jury on our side,
and we were utterly astonished at the cruel mode in which he applied
the knife to all the finespun theories we had crammed the jury with.”
(Whitney’s _Life_, i, 175.)
[ii-41] The authenticity of this story has been questioned. It
certainly calls for confirmation, as the first case in which Lincoln
appeared before the State Supreme Court, according to the printed
records (Illinois Reports, iii, 456-57), was that of Scammon vs.
Cline. Here he was associated with another attorney, James L. Loop,
of Belvidere, and represented, not the appellant, but the defendant
in error. The discrepancies are striking rather than vital. From the
peculiar nature of that case Lincoln may well, at the time, have
made the brief oral statement attributed to him; and, as we know,
the decision which followed was, in fact, against his client. On the
other hand, perhaps the scene did not take place during the argument
on Scammon _vs._ Cline. If Judge Treat’s narrative is correct in every
particular, Lincoln must have made his first bow before the Supreme
Court sometime during the three and a half years of practice that
preceded this hearing. And he might have done so, too, without that
fact appearing in the records. For the reporter, finding the early
material incomplete, and seeking to limit the size of the published
volumes, did not include all the cases. It may be added that an
account of this incident has, in some form, been accepted by Herndon,
i, 322-23; Lamon, 321; Schurz, 16; Leland, 61; and Stoddard, 119. All
these men knew Lincoln--some of them throughout almost his entire
legal career. That they believed him capable of the course described
in the anecdote is, perhaps, as significant as the story itself.
An essay, giving the results of careful researches into the case of
Scammon _vs._ Cline, by Richard V. Carpenter, was printed in the
_Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society_ for October, 1911,
pp. 317-23.
[ii-42] “Judge Davis often delegated his judicial functions to others.
I have known of his getting Moon of Clinton to hold court for him
in Bloomington for whole days; Lincoln to hold an entire term, and
frequently to sit for short times; and I even knew of Colonel Bryant
of Indiana to hold court for him in Danville. All judgments rendered
by these lawyers were voidable. Time has probably now cured them. It
was a hazardous business for them and the sheriff and suitors in their
cases.” (Whitney’s _Life_, i, 192.)
One of these irregular judges, it may be said in passing, more than
returned the compliment, some years later, by elevating Davis to the
bench of the United States Supreme Court; and the legality of that
appointment has not been questioned.
CHAPTER III
[iii-1] It would not be correct, however, to say, as is sometimes
said, that Lincoln won every case which he should have won.
Contemporary lawyers testify to the contrary.
[iii-2] Herndon, ii, 3; Whitney, 251.
[iii-3] Hill, 225-26.
[iii-4] Whitney, 259; Whitney’s _Life_, i, 177.
[iii-5] Anthony Thornton, in the Chicago _Tribune_, February 12, 1900,
p. 14.
[iii-6] Illinois Reports, xxxvii, 15.
[iii-7] Whitney, 262-63; Whitney’s _Life_, i, 196.
These tributes to Lincoln’s honorable methods again recall the
principles that contributed not a little toward Horace Binney’s
preëminence. In the review of his career he wrote: “I at all times
disdained to practise any stratagem, trick or artifice for the purpose
of gaining an advantage over my adversary; and unless I thought him
unfair, I was generally willing that he should see all my cards while
I played them. I can truly say that I am not conscious of having
lost anything by this candor; but, on the contrary, have repeatedly
gained by it. If my client was at any time suspected, I had no reason
to think that I was, by either the Court or the bar; and how many
balancing cases, in the course of thirty-five years’ practice, this
sort of reputation assisted, I need not say.” (Binney, 443.)
[iii-8] Herndon, i, 326-28; _Atlantic Monthly_, April, 1867, p. 412.
Whatever the practice at the Springfield bar may have been, Lincoln’s
objection to the making of a fictitious plea was of course not
finical. No less an authority than Chief Justice Holt had said: “The
attorney, if he puts in a false plea to delay justice, breaks his
oath, and may be fined for putting a deceit on the Court.” (Pierce
_vs._ Blake, Salkeld’s Reports, ii, 515. See, also, Johnson _vs._
Alston, Campbell’s Reports, i, 176.)
[iii-9] Whitney, 263-64; Herndon, ii, 17-18. It should be noted that
April 24, 1856, fell on a Thursday, not a Saturday. Whether the 4 is
a misprint for 6, or whether this term of court extended to Saturday,
May 24, or whether the error lies elsewhere, cannot now be determined.
[iii-10] Browne’s _Lincoln and Men_, i, 360-62.
[iii-11] Lincoln to Trumbull, December 18, 1857, in the _Century
Magazine_, February, 1909, p. 620.
[iii-12] Justice David Davis from the bench of the Federal Circuit
Court, at Indianapolis, May 19, 1865.
[iii-13] Holland, 130; Lamon’s _Recollections_, 19-20; Stowe, 22;
Browne, 162.
[iii-14] Koerner, ii, 110.
[iii-15] Recollections of Colonel Richard J. Hinton, in the Chicago
_Times-Herald_, November 17, 1895.
[iii-16] Holland, 80. See, also, Nicolay and Hay, i, 307; Ward, 205,
270; Browne, 238.
[iii-17] Mrs. Norman B. Judd, in Oldroyd, 523; also, in Tarbell,
i, 277-78. A report of Lincoln’s argument, rather full, though far
from complete, has been reprinted from the Chicago _Daily Press_, in
_Works_, ii, 340-54, and Tarbell, ii, 324-30.
[iii-18] Admissions that seemed to be of a more damaging nature than
those which were made in this case have at times been known to assist,
rather than interfere with, the winning of a verdict. How far counsel
may go, along such lines, was illustrated in the practice of Daniel
Webster. A more brilliant, though less scrupulous, advocate than
Lincoln, he went the limit.
Once in Boston, defending a man who had been indicted for forgery, his
first act--at the very beginning of the trial, before a witness had
been called--was to arise and say: “May it please the Court, we admit
the forgery, so that evidence on this point will be unnecessary. We
deny that the note was uttered in this county.”
The astonishment of those present gave way to comprehension, when
it became evident that the prosecution could easily have made out
a case of forgery against the prisoner; but that it could not so
readily have proven, what was of equal importance, the issuing of the
forged instrument in Suffolk County. For want of sufficient proof,
on this very point, the defendant was acquitted. He might have fared
differently if both the questions of forgery and utterance had been
presented to the jury. It is not unlikely that had they listened to
evidence on the crime itself, those facts would have so overshadowed
other considerations in their minds as to bring about a conviction.
Webster’s avowal prevented this, and saved his unworthy client.
[iii-19] Herndon, ii, 3; Whitney, 251.
[iii-20] Lincoln to Linder, February 20, 1848, _Works_, ii, 3.
[iii-21] Herndon, ii, 7.
[iii-22] Arnold, 84. See, also, Whitney’s _Life_, i, 173; Oldroyd, 37;
Nicolay and Hay, i, 307.
[iii-23] Herndon, ii, 7.
[iii-24] Gibson W. Harris, quoted in Browne, 220.
[iii-25] Letter of Justice David J. Brewer to the author; and an
article by him in the _Atlantic Monthly_, November, 1906, p. 591.
[iii-26] Caton, 13; Illinois Reports, xxxvii, 13.
[iii-27] A statement made by Judge David Davis.
[iii-28] Hill, 211-12.
[iii-29] Letter of Hon. Shelby M. Cullom to the author; Bateman,
13-15. See, also, Hill, 236-37; and T. W. S. Kidd, the crier of the
court, in Tarbell, i, 273-75.
[iii-30] Judge Lawrence Weldon, quoted in Hill, 212-15.
[iii-31] A letter said to have been written by Lincoln to Mrs.
Armstrong, offering her his services, is published in Selby (254), and
Hobson (41-42); yet neither of these writers, responding to inquiries
by the author, has been able to throw any light on the question of its
authenticity. According to other biographers, a communication of such
a nature was received by Mrs. Armstrong, who stated, as they allege,
that it had been lost. On the other hand, “Duff” himself, in his
detailed narrative, makes no reference to a letter from Mr. Lincoln;
and John, his younger brother, in an equally full account of the
affair, taken down for the author by Thomas D. Masters of Springfield,
Illinois, expresses the opinion that no written message on the subject
was ever received. The Masters notes concerning this topic read:--
“Mr. Armstrong has no recollection of hearing of any letter being
written by Mr. Lincoln to his mother, at the time his brother got into
the trouble in question; and he requests me to say to you that he is
quite sure that had such a letter been written he would have known of
it. He points out to me that his mother was unable to read, and in
that early day, had she received a letter from a man such as Lincoln
then was,--a much-talked-about lawyer in Springfield,--that by reason
of the exigencies of the occasion, and the interest such a letter
would have excited in the household, he certainly would have known of
it. His recollection is that his mother, probably after the cause was
venued to Cass County, made a trip to Springfield, of course, knowing
Mr. Lincoln, and feeling friendly to him, and having confidence in
him, for the purpose of employing him to assist in the defense of her
son at Beardstown.”
[iii-32] A singular parallel presents itself in ancient Athenian
history, where Alcibiades and his friends were charged, as Plutarch
relates, with mutilating the images of Mercury, on a certain night.
When one of the informers was asked how he managed to recognize the
features of the accused in the darkness, he answered,--“I saw them
by the light of the moon,”--a palpable misstatement, as the affair
happened at the time of a new moon which gave practically no light.
This anecdote, however, could hardly have prompted Lincoln to consult
an almanac in the Armstrong case, because he had not read Plutarch’s
_Lives_ at the time of that trial, and only did so two years later.
[iii-33] Judge Abram Bergen, quoted by James L. King, in the _North
American Review_, February, 1898, pp. 193-94. Bergen’s testimony
should be supplemented by a statement which “Duff” Armstrong himself
made, in his respectable old age, to J. McCan Davis. It was published
in the New York _Sun_ of June 7, 1896. According to this report
Armstrong then declared: “The almanac used by Lincoln was one which my
cousin, Jake Jones, furnished him. On the morning of the trial I was
taken outside the court-room to talk to Lincoln. Jake Jones was with
us. Lincoln said he wanted an almanac for 1857. Jake went right off
and got one, and brought it to ‘Uncle Abe.’ It was an almanac for the
proper year, and there was no fraud about it.”
[iii-34] Ram, 269-70, note, 505. It is interesting to note that a
somewhat similar tale is frequently met with among the anecdotes
of the English bar. A barrister at the “Old Bailey,” according to
this version, secured the acquittal of a client charged with highway
robbery by introducing an almanac to prove that there was darkness
on a certain night, instead of the bright moonlight, in which the
prosecuting witness claimed to have distinguished the prisoner’s
features. The almanac, however, as afterwards transpired, had been
fraudulently so printed for that occasion.
[iii-35] Those who wish to collate what has been published about the
Armstrong affair may find these references of service: Gridley’s
_Defense_, 3-23; Hill, 229-34; Hobson, 40-50; Tarbell, i, 270-73;
Lamon, 327-31; Arnold, 87-89; Onstot, 98-100; Irelan, xvi, 142-44;
Oldroyd, 213-15; Herndon, ii, 26-28; Barrett, 63-66; Barrett (New),
i, 152-54; Holland, 128-29; Browne, 224-27; Brockett, 82-85; Selby,
94-97, 254; Phillips’s _Men Who Knew_, 62-63; Stoddard, 157-60;
Raymond, 29-31; Brooks, 127-29; French, 75-76; Whipple, 261-65;
Bartlett, 111-15; Curtis’s _Lincoln_, 75; Coffin, 162-63; Stowe,
23-25; Morgan, 102-03; Nicolay’s _Boy’s Life_, 94-97; Hanaford, 44-48;
Pratt, 78-82; Thayer, 285-93; McClure’s _Stories_, 97-99; Williams,
68-73; _Lincolnics_, 64-66; Jones, 15; Master, 20-22; New York _Sun_,
June 7, 1896; _North American Review_, February, 1898, pp. 191-95;
Kankakee (Ill.) _Republican_, February 12, 1909, Bloomington (Ill.)
_Pantagraph_, January 20, 1912; also Eggleston’s _The Graysons_, in
which the trial and the almanac incident are used by the novelist with
good effect.
[iii-36] Tarbell, i, 265; Emerson, 5.
[iii-37] From an unpublished manuscript entitled “Lincoln on the Stump
and at the Bar,” by Judge Scott, quoted in Tarbell, i, 253-54.
[iii-38] Judge William M. Dickson, in _Harper’s Magazine_, June, 1884,
p. 63; Barrett (New), i, 121-22. See, also, Alban J. Conant, in _Liber
Scriptorum_, 175-76, and in _McClure’s Magazine_, March, 1909, p. 516;
Chauncey M. Depew, in Rice, 432; Browne, 229-30; Curtis’s _Lincoln_,
85; McClure’s _Yarns_, 457; McClure’s _Stories_, 92; Pratt, 59-60.
[iii-39] Collated from accounts by George W. Minier, in Oldroyd,
187-89, and in Herndon, ii, 327-28; also: Arnold, 85-87; Brooks,
122-24; Coffin, 108; Pratt, 68-69.
[iii-40] Binney, 444.
[iii-41] Lincoln would doubtless have approved of David Hoffman’s rule
on this subject. It read: “I will never plead or otherwise avail of
the bar of infancy against an honest demand. If my client possesses
the ability to pay, and has no other legal or moral defense than that
it was contracted by him when under the age of twenty-one years, he
must seek for other counsel to sustain him in such a defense. And
although in this, as well as in that of limitation, the law has given
the defense, and contemplates in the one case to induce claimants to
a timely prosecution of their rights, and in the other designs to
protect a class of persons who by reason of tender age are peculiarly
liable to be imposed on, yet in both cases I shall claim to be the
sole judge (the pleas not being compulsory) of the occasions proper
for their use.”
[iii-42] Remarks of Justice David Davis in the Federal Circuit Court
at Indianapolis, May 19, 1865.
[iii-43] It may be of interest to note that these same revolutionary
properties, and the same stage-setting of frozen ground flecked with
the blood of patriots’ unshod feet, had served Patrick Henry, many
years before, in the defense of John Venable, Commissary of the
Continental Army, sued by John Hook, a Tory, for the value of some
steers seized to feed the hungry troops. But Henry’s eloquence had
not prevailed as fully as Lincoln’s did; for the jury found a verdict,
though in a nominal sum, against the great Virginian’s client.
[iii-44] Herndon, ii, 9-11; see, also, Holland, 127. For brief
accounts and comments based on Herndon’s and on Holland’s narratives
the reader is referred to: Hapgood, 108; Browne, 162-63; Hill, 215-16;
Coffin, 104-05; Tarbell, i, 250; Pratt, 74-76; Selby, 97-98; McClure’s
_Stories_, 101.
[iii-45] Herndon, i, 328-30.
A brief and less picturesque account of the incident was furnished to
the author, about half a century after the event, by the Honorable
Shelby M. Cullom, one of the counsel for the defense. He wrote:
“During the trial, a question was raised as to the admissibility of
certain testimony, which was very important to the defense. The Judge
took an hour to come to a conclusion as to what he ought to do; and
when he began to decide the question, he seemed to be leaning against
the admissibility of the testimony. Lincoln saw that he was inclined
that way, and sprang upon his feet, and manifested such intense
earnestness that it appeared to change the Judge’s disposition, and he
decided in favor of the admissibility of the testimony.”
Still, Herndon probably did not overstate the case. For the official
crier, Captain Thomas W. S. Kidd, referring to that same episode,
said: “Mr. Lincoln made a display of anger, the like of which I never
saw exhibited by him before or after. He roared in the excess of his
denunciation of the action of the Court.” (Rochester _Herald_, January
17, 1904. See Kidd, also, in Tarbell, i, 251-52.)
CHAPTER IV
[iv-1] Though under very different circumstances, Lincoln’s elation
seems not unlike that of another famous man whose later life touched
his at several points. The first dollar earned by Frederick Douglass,
on free soil, in New Bedford, was paid to him, as he tells us, for
stowing away a pile of coal for Mrs. Ephraim Peabody, the wife of
a Unitarian minister. “I was not long in accomplishing the job,”
runs his story, “when the dear lady put into my hand two silver
half-dollars. To understand the emotion which swelled my heart as I
clasped this money, realizing that I had no master who could take it
from me,--that it was mine,--that my hands were my own, and could earn
more of the precious coin,--one must have been in some sense himself a
slave.” (Douglass, 210.)
[iv-2] Lamon, pointing out some inconsistencies in the details of
this anecdote as it is generally quoted, expresses doubts concerning
its authenticity. He evidently did not know how often Lincoln had
told the story to different persons. Their versions, as might be
expected, vary somewhat, but they agree in the essential facts. See:
Carpenter, 96-98; William D. Kelley, in Rice, 279-80; Leonard Swett,
in Rice, 457-58; Holland, 33-34; Brooks, 38; Pratt, 16-18; Morgan,
27-28; Lamon, 72; McClure’s _Stories_, 17-18; Hanaford, 156-58;
Boyden, 83-84; Irelan, xvi, 62-64; Tarbell, i, 38-39; Browne, 72-73;
Banks, 14-16; Ward, 277-78; Thayer, 169-71; Ludlow, 66-68; Curtis’s
_Lincoln_, 24-25; Whipple, 62-63; Selby, 52-53; Raymond, 754; Onstot,
51-52; Egbert L. Viele, in _Scribner’s Magazine_, October, 1878, p.
817; Alban J. Conant, in _McClure’s Magazine_, March, 1909, p. 514;
interview with Governor Frank Fuller, in the New York _Times_, October
1, 1911, p. 10.
[iv-3] Browne’s _Lincoln and Men_, i, 259-61, 356; ii, 90-91.
[iv-4] Holland, 93.
[iv-5] See Lincoln to Speed, June 19, 1841, in _Works_, i, 168-75,
and in Lamon, 318-19; also, Gibson W. Harris, in Columbia (Ky.)
_Spectator_, January 27, 1905.
[iv-6] Oldroyd, 394-95.
[iv-7] Onstot, 41-44.
[iv-8] Lincoln to Whitney, December 18, 1857, in _Works_, xi, 103.
[iv-9] Brockett, 702-03; McClure’s _Yarns_, 341-42; Barrett (New),
i, 154-55; interview with Mrs. Rose Linder Wilkinson, in Chicago
_Times-Herald_, September 11, 1895.
[iv-10] The nature of these kindnesses may be inferred from the
following despatch:--
EXECUTIVE MANSION, December 26, 1863.
HON. U. F. LINDER,
Chicago, Ill.:
Your son Dan has just left me, with my order to the Secretary of
War, to administer to him the oath of allegiance, discharge him,
and send him to you.
A. LINCOLN.
(_Works_, ix, 275; see, also, _ibid._, 272.)
[iv-11] Boston _Advertiser_, February 12, 1909, p. 7.
[iv-12] Stowe, 21; Carpenter, 245; Browne, 229; French, 80; McClure’s
_Stories_, 89-91; Thayer, 284-85; Gallaher, 39-40.
[iv-13] Gibson W. Harris, in Browne, 220.
[iv-14] Koerner, ii, 112.
[iv-15] Caroline H. Dall, in _Atlantic Monthly_, April, 1867, p. 413.
[iv-16] Tarbell, i, 267-68; Curtis’s _Lincoln_, 74-75; Thomas Lewis,
in _Leslie’s Weekly_, February 16, 1899.
[iv-17] Browne, 224.
[iv-18] G. W. Nance, in Oldroyd, 557.
[iv-19] Charles W. Moores, in _American Law Review_, January-February,
1911, p. 92.
[iv-20] Henry Rickel, in Cedar Rapids _Gazette_, February 6, 1909, p.
1.
[iv-21] Ward, 242-46; Jennings, 93-98.
[iv-22] Father Chiniquy reproduces in his book an engraved facsimile
of the due-bill, dated May 23, 1856. It is undeniably in Lincoln’s
handwriting, but no explanation has been offered to reconcile the date
with the priest’s statement that the paper was written in October, at
the time of the second trial. The author based his narrative of this
affair upon Chiniquy, 566, 620-67; Whitney, 53-55, 136-37; and a brief
of the Circuit Court records at Urbana, Illinois, made for the writer
by Judge Joseph O. Cunningham.
[iv-23] George P. Floyd, in _McClure’s Magazine_, January, 1908, p.
303.
[iv-24] Lamon’s _Recollections_, 17-19; see, also, Browne’s _Lincoln
and Men_, i, 348-51. There are a few other examples, in legal history,
of high-minded lawyers rejecting what they regarded as excessive
fees. One notable English instance is thus related by Lord Brougham
concerning Topping:--
“A general retainer of a thousand guineas was brought to him to cover
the Baltic cases then in progress. His answer was, that this indicated
either a doubt of his doing his duty on the ordinary terms known
in the profession (one guinea particular, and five guineas general
retainer)--or an expectation that he should, on being thus retained,
do something beyond the line of his duty; and therefore he must
decline it. His clerk then accepted of the usual sum of five guineas,
and he led on those important cases, for the defendants.”
So also Charles O’Conor, leader for many years of the New York bar,
subordinated money-making to a sense of professional propriety. His
friend, William H. Winters, Librarian of the Law Institute, relates
that a client once urged the famous pleader, with some insistence, to
accept a very much larger fee than the lawyer had charged. O’Conor,
becoming indignant, manifested in his own forcible way how this
annoyed him. He denied the right of any one to dictate what his pay
for legal services should be, and dismissed the presumptuous client
without ceremony.
[iv-25] There is a companion tale current among English lawyers
concerning another member of the bar, at an earlier period, who was
accused by his fellow barristers of having degraded their order
by accepting payment for services in copper. Upon being arraigned
for this offense at their Common Hall he defended himself,--so the
tradition runs,--with the following plea in confession and avoidance:
“I fully admit that I took a fee from him in copper, and not one but
several, and not only fees in copper but fees in silver. But I pledge
my honor, as a Sergeant, that I never took a single fee from him in
silver until I had got all his gold, and that I never took a fee from
him in copper until I had got all his silver,--and you don’t call that
a degradation of our order.”
[iv-26] Whitney, 81.
[iv-27] Works, xi, 98-99.
[iv-28] E. S. Nadal, in _Scribner’s Magazine_, March, 1906, p. 368.
[iv-29] Herndon, i, 324-25.
[iv-30] That baffling question as to how the value of a lawyer’s
services should be arrived at was thus stated in Lincoln’s trial
brief: “Are or not the _amount_ of _labor_, the _doubtfulness_
and _difficulty_ of the _question_, the _degree_ of _success_ in
the _result_, and the _amount_ of pecuniary interest _involved_,
not merely in the particular case, but covered by the principle
decided, and thereby _secured_ to the client, all proper elements,
by the custom of the profession to consider in determining what is a
reasonable fee in a given case?”
For an answer that may serve, in part, at least, the reader is
referred to an opinion, which had been delivered some years previously
by Chief Justice John B. Gibson, of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Discussing the fees earned by an attorney in important litigation, he
said: “It is not to be doubted that responsibility, in a confidential
employment, is a legitimate subject of compensation, and in proportion
to the magnitude of the interests committed to the agents.... A lawyer
charged with particular preparations for a lawsuit, is not to be made
responsible, or paid, as a porter or a shoemaker.” (Pennsylvania
Reports, vii, 545-46.)
[iv-31] Lincoln’s attitude in this particular affords another striking
contrast to that of David Hoffman, who lays down the rule: “I will
charge for my services what my judgment and conscience inform me is my
due, and nothing more. If that be withheld, it will be no fit matter
for arbitration; for no one but myself can adequately judge of such
services, and after they are successfully rendered they are apt to be
ungratefully forgotten. I will then receive what the client offers, or
the laws of the country may award, but in either case he must never
hope to be again my client.”
[iv-32] The most fruitful references on this topic are: Herndon,
ii, 21-22; Whitney’s _Life_, i, 184-85; Hill, 250-54, 261, 316-19;
Tarbell, i, 258-60; _Works_, ii, 288-89; _Lincoln as Attorney_,
_passim_; Curtis’s _Lincoln_, 72; Illinois Reports, xvii, 291-99;
Koerner, ii, 111-12.
[iv-33] Jesse W. Weik, in _Century Magazine_, June, 1904, pp. 282,
286; Herndon, i, 251.
[iv-34] Lincoln to Speed, July 4, 1842, in Lamon, 251; _Works_, i, 219.
[iv-35] Browne, 180-82; Coffin, 123; Gallaher, 31; Hapgood, 85; Jesse
W. Weik, in _Century Magazine_, June, 1904, p. 280.
[iv-36] Four children, in all, were born to Abraham and Mary Todd
Lincoln. They were: Robert Todd, August 1, 1843; Edward Baker, March
10, 1846; William Wallace, December 21, 1850; and Thomas, April 4,
1853.
[iv-37] Some years after the purchase of this cottage, its modest
dimensions were enlarged by the addition of another story to meet the
requirements of an increased family.
[iv-38] Leonard W. Volk, quoted in the _Outlook_, February 13, 1909,
p. 348.
[iv-39] Lincoln’s straightway habit of waiting on himself had striking
illustration while he was in Congress. Calling for some law books at
the library of the Supreme Court, as the librarian relates, he tied
them in a huge bandana handkerchief which he took from his pocket,
passed a stick, brought for the purpose, through the knotted ends,
slung the bundle across his shoulder and carried it thus to his
lodgings, whence the volumes were returned later in the same primitive
fashion. When a still greater public honor than that of Congressman
came to him, one of his neighbors in Springfield exclaimed: “What!
Abe Lincoln nominated for President of the United States! Can it be
possible? A man that buys a ten-cent beefsteak for his breakfast, and
carries it home himself.”
[iv-40] Herndon, ii, 16.
[iv-41] Joseph Gillespie, in Oldroyd, 462. Still another one of the
famous cavalcade, Leonard Swett, said: “Beds were always too short,
coffee in the morning burned or otherwise bad, food often indifferent,
roads simply trails, streams without bridges and often swollen, and
had to be swum, sloughs often muddy and almost impassable, and we had
to help the horses, when the wagon mired down, with fence-rails for
pries, and yet I never heard Lincoln complain of anything.”
In the same vein, Henry C. Whitney wrote: “At the table, he ate what
came first, without discrimination or choice. Whatever room at the
hotel came handy, or whatever bed he came to first, he took without
criticism or inspection.”
[iv-42] Quoted from manuscript of Ninian W. Edwards by Herndon, i,
186; also: Lamon, 190; French, 60; Coffin, 99; Browne, 138-39; Master,
55-56.
[iv-43] Whitney, 32; see, also, Herndon, ii, 15-16.
[iv-44] Schurz, ii, 90-91.
[iv-45] Chief Justice John Marshall, whom Lincoln resembled in not
a few particulars, is said to have made a similarly unfavorable
impression upon a prospective client, during his younger days at
the Richmond bar. But in the Virginian’s case, the critical suitor
discovered, even before the trial began, that a poorly dressed lawyer
is not necessarily a poor advocate. So Marshall was retained, at the
eleventh hour, to assist an immaculately attired colleague, whose
ability was found to fall far short of the promise held forth by
broadcloth and powdered wig.
[iv-46] Master, 224-25, 469.
[iv-47] _Works_, iv, 199.
[iv-48] Jayne, 11; and Dr. William Jayne to the author, October 2,
1912.
[iv-49] Gibson W. Harris, quoted in Columbia (Ky.) _Spectator_,
January 27, 1905. The same witness, writing elsewhere (Browne, 219)
on the same theme, says: “Mr. Lincoln had a heart that was more a
woman’s than a man’s,--filled to overflowing with sympathy for those
in trouble, and ever ready to relieve them by any means in his power.”
[iv-50] Mrs. Lincoln to Mrs. Keckley, November 15, 1867, in Keckley,
352.
[iv-51] John F. Mendonsa to the author, August 31, 1912.
[iv-52] Haynie, 7-8.
[iv-53] Fellowship, 1908, pp. 12-13; see, also, _Works_, ii, 313-14.
[iv-54] Lincoln to Johnston, January 12, 1851, _Works_, ii, 148.
[iv-55] _Works_, ii, 96.
[iv-56] This deed may be found in Coles County Deed Records, G, p. 5.
Of the same date, October 25, 1841, entered in Mortgage Record, i, p.
43, is an instrument whereby Abraham Lincoln binds himself and his
heirs to convey the property to John D. Johnston or his heirs, after
the death of the parents, upon repayment of the two hundred dollars,
without interest and without regard to any increase in the value of
the tract.
[iv-57] For further light on these matters the reader is referred to
the letters from Lincoln to Johnston in _Works_, ii, 135, 144-46,
147-53; and to the deed published in Gridley, 145-46.
[iv-58] Lincoln’s ownership of this land, in the town named for him,
is further evidence of his ready amiability toward friends, where
monetary matters were concerned. The lot, situated on the south side
of the court-house square, had belonged to James Primm, a well-known
court official and public man of Logan County. Finding himself in
financial difficulties, he had borrowed four hundred dollars on his
promise to pay, which Lincoln obligingly endorsed. But when the time
for payment arrived, the maker of the note was unable to meet it, so
the endorser had found himself obliged to pay. Lincoln did so, and
some time later Primm, by way of reimbursement, had given him a deed
of the lot. (See Stringer, i, 221-22.)
[iv-59] E. J. Edwards, in New York _Times_, January 24, 1909. For
other accounts see: Raymond, 100; Browne, 314-15; Curtis’s _Lincoln_,
45; Ward, 281; Thayer, 313-14; _Lincolnics_, 93-94. As having a
further bearing on the question of Lincoln’s estate in 1860, these
references may be serviceable: _Works_, vi, 31; Arnold, 83, 154-55;
Whitney, 26; Herndon, i, 91-92; Oldroyd, 32; Lamon, 472; Lamon’s
_Recollections_, 20; Holland, 127; Hobson, 100-04; Browne, 200-01;
Rice, 587; Curtis’s _Lincoln_, 74; _McClure’s Magazine_, March, 1909,
pp. 514-15; New York _Times_, October 1, 1911, p. 10.
CHAPTER V
[v-1] Lamon, 126; _Works_, xi, 97; see, also, the Autobiography, in
_Works_, vi, 31.
[v-2] _Works_, vi, 31.
[v-3] Address to the People of Sangamon County, March 9, 1832, in
_Works_, i, 8.
[v-4] These scenes, until then happily without parallel in American
history, recall the political slaughter with which Charles James Fox
had seventy years before signalized a crushing victory in the British
House of Commons. To quote his biographer: “The fight was over, and
the butchery began. Every one who belonged to the beaten party was
sacrificed without mercy, with all his kindred and dependents; and
those public officers who were unlucky enough to have no political
connections fared as ill as the civil population of a district which
is the seat of war between two contending armies. Clerks, messengers,
excisemen, coast-guardsmen, and pensioners were ruined by shoals
because they had no vote for a member of Parliament, or because they
had supported a member who had opposed the peace.” (Trevelyan’s _Fox_,
28.)
[v-5] Greeley, 20.
[v-6] During Lincoln’s first year in the Illinois Legislature he voted
steadily with the minority against the adoption of resolutions which
the Democratic majority had introduced to uphold President Jackson
in his memorable struggle against the United States Bank. But when
it came to voting on one resolution which condemned the National
Senate for discourteous treatment of the old hero, and on another
which commended the Illinois delegation in Congress for supporting the
Administration, Lincoln turned away from his political associates, and
had himself recorded, both times, in Jackson’s favor. (See Illinois
House Journal, 1835, pp. 213-17, 258-63.)
[v-7] _Works_, vi, 31-32.
[v-8] The whole number of citizens who voted at New Salem, on August
6, 1832, amounted to 300; but as 10 of these refrained from expressing
their preferences for Representatives, only 13 actually appear on the
records as voting against Lincoln. No election-tickets or ballot-boxes
were used in Illinois at this time. The _viva-voce_ method was
employed; and as each voter stated his choice, he saw it recorded
opposite his name in the poll-book.
[v-9] It is interesting to add that in this election of 1832, the
country at large gave Jackson 219 electoral votes, and Clay 49.
[v-10] Letter from Judge Stephen T. Logan, quoted in Nicolay and Hay,
i, 102-03, note; and Master, 47.
[v-11] The practice of carrying documents in his hat became a habit
with Lincoln. While at the bar in Springfield, long after the
postmastership had become a memory, he explained his failure to answer
a communication promptly, by writing: “When I received your letter I
put it in my old hat, and buying a new one the next day, the old one
was set aside, and so the letter was lost sight of for a time.” (See
Tarbell, i, 98; and Tarbell’s _Early Life_, 179.)
[v-12] Lincoln was appointed Postmaster at New Salem on May 7,
1833. He served until May 30, 1836, by which time the population
of the place had fallen off to such an extent that the office was
discontinued, and its business transferred to Petersburg.
[v-13] Herndon, i, 111. See, also: Onstot, 249; Tarbell’s _Early
Life_, 181; Tarbell, i, 99; Coffin, 81. Some currency having been
given to an exaggerated and obviously erroneous report of the
incident, Mr. Carpenter (110-12) repeated that version one day in the
White House to Mr. Lincoln. The President thought they had “stretched
the facts somewhat”; but his denial, such as it was, leaves the
original story told by Simmons to Herndon, practically unimpeached.
[v-14] For a comprehensive note in which the local election returns of
1834 are collated, the reader is referred to Master, § 22, pp. 445-46.
[v-15] In a referendum of the question submitted to the people at
the election of 1834, 7514 voters expressed a preference for Alton,
7148 for Vandalia, 7044 for Springfield, 744 for Illiopolis the
geographical center, 486 for Peoria, and 272 for Jacksonville. When
the final balloting took place in the General Assembly, twenty-nine
places were voted upon. (See Parrish’s _Illinois_, 313.)
[v-16] Whitney, i, 139; Nicolay and Hay, i, 139.
[v-17] Details of these encounters are related in Master, 60-62.
[v-18] Lamon, 195; Herndon, i, 166.
[v-19] General T. H. Henderson, in Tarbell, i, 139.
[v-20] Whitney’s _Life_, i, 146.
[v-21] Statement of Coleman Smoot, in Lamon, 157. As Lincoln was thus
supplied with sufficient means to defray his traveling expenses, the
oft-repeated story, which depicts him as trudging, pack on back, over
the road to Vandalia, may perhaps, with propriety, be assigned to a
place among those pleasing traditions of history that are found, upon
close scrutiny, to be more picturesque than plausible.
[v-22] Nicolay and Hay, i, 158; Pratt, 52-53; Coffin, 125-27;
Nicolay’s _Boy’s Life_, 59. Lincoln’s experience, it should be noted,
in canvassing his district with a nominal outlay of money, was not
uncommon. Gustav Koerner, running for the Illinois Legislature on
the Democratic ticket, a few years later, did so under similar
circumstances. “There were hardly,” he tells us, “any election
expenses. We always stayed with friends when traveling through the
county. We had our horses anyway. My entire electioneering expenses
amounted to four dollars, and that for the printing of tickets. One
Democratic Frenchman from the Bottom afterwards sent me a bill of
$6.65 for which he said he had gratuitously treated for me. As he was
a good fellow, I paid him, although I had not given him the slightest
authority to do so.” (Koerner, i, 468-69.)
[v-23] See letter of Lincoln to Stuart, February 14, 1839, in _Works_,
xi, 98.
[v-24] _Works_, i, 6-7.
[v-25] This is exclusive of what was appropriated for the Illinois
and Michigan Canal, then already in process of construction. That
enterprise, the other improvement projects, and a few smaller
public outlays carried the State debt, by the close of 1842, above
$15,000,000.
[v-26] _Works_, i, 146.
[v-27] An Act to establish and maintain a General System of Internal
Improvements. Approved February 27, 1837. Section 22, Illinois Session
Laws, 1836-37.
[v-28] _Works_, i, 154-55; Lamon, 213-15.
[v-29] Gillespie, 24-25; Lamon, 216-17; Nicolay and Hay, i, 161-62;
Davidson, 422-27; Herndon, i, 217; Morse, i, 60; Hapgood, 72-73.
It may be of interest to note that Lincoln and his two colleagues
were not the only acrobatic legislators revealed by our early local
histories. General Lew Wallace, in his _Autobiography_ (i, 251),
tells, with contrition, how he bolted from the Indiana Senate
to prevent an election of United States Senator; and Thaddeus
Stevens, during his turbulent days in the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives, jumped from a window after a scene of violence, in
which, by a singular coincidence, he too had acted as the Whig leader.
[v-30] Lamon, 324; Browne, 237.
[v-31] _Works_, i, 27.
[v-32] _Works_, i, 135-37.
[v-33] Joshua F. Speed in Herndon, i, 161-63; Speed, 17-18; Speed, in
Oldroyd, 143-45; Master, 50-52, 446.
[v-34] Holland, 97-98.
[v-35] Eulogy on Henry Clay, in _Works_, ii, 165.
[v-36] In the ballot for Speaker of the Illinois House of
Representatives on December 3, 1838, William Lee D. Ewing received 43
votes, and Abraham Lincoln 38 votes. In a similar contest on November
24, 1840, Ewing received 46 votes, and Lincoln 36 votes.
[v-37] Browne’s _Lincoln and Men_, 185.
[v-38] White, 19-20.
[v-39] Joseph D. Roper, in Springfield (Ill.) _Journal_, January 30,
1909.
[v-40] Gibson W. Harris, in _Woman’s Home Companion_, December, 1903,
p. 15.
[v-41] Herndon, ii, 45.
[v-42] _Works_, i, 142-45.
[v-43] During Lincoln’s last term in the Illinois House of
Representatives he offered the following resolution:--
“RESOLVED, that so much of the Governor’s message as relates to
fraudulent voting, and other fraudulent practices at elections, be
referred to the Committee on Elections, with instructions to said
committee to prepare and report to the House a bill for such an act as
may, in their judgment, afford the greatest possible protection of the
elective franchise against all frauds of all sorts whatsoever.”
This failed of adoption, and in its stead was passed a substitute
offered by John A. McClernand, one of the Democratic leaders. (See
Illinois House Journals, 1840-41, p. 34; and _Works_, i, 152-53.)
[v-44] Horace White, in Herndon, i, xxii.
[v-45] Lincoln to Herndon, June 22, 1848, _Works_, ii, 50. See, also:
Herndon, i, 270-72; Lamon, 295.
[v-46] Phillips’s _Men Who Knew_, 160-62.
[v-47] Whitney, 117.
[v-48] Schurz, ii, 91.
[v-49] The sequel to this little adventure, as Mr. Nelson tells it,
should not be omitted. “I had many opportunities after the stage
ride,” he relates, “to cultivate Mr. Lincoln’s acquaintance, and was
a zealous advocate of his nomination and election to the Presidency.
Before leaving his home for Washington, Mr. Lincoln caused John P.
Usher and myself to be invited to accompany him. We agreed to join
him in Indianapolis. On reaching that city the Presidential party
had already arrived, and upon inquiry we were informed that the
President-elect was in the dining-room of the hotel, at supper.
Passing through, we saw that every seat at the numerous tables was
occupied, but failed to find Mr. Lincoln. As we were nearing the door
to the office of the hotel, a long arm reached to my shoulder and a
shrill voice exclaimed, ‘Hello, Nelson! Do you think, after all, the
world is going to follow the darned thing off?’ It was Mr. Lincoln.”
(Herndon, i, 303-06. See, also: Coffin, 132; Selby, 89-90; Williams,
136-37; McClure’s _Yarns_, 410.)
[v-50] Herndon, i, 253.
[v-51] The affair with James Shields. See Master, 65-77.
[v-52] Lincoln to Martin M. Morris, March 26, 1843, _Works_, i, 262.
[v-53] A. Y. Ellis, in Lamon, 143; and in Herndon, i, 255.
[v-54] For an amusing account of how Lincoln exposed one of these
demagogues to public ridicule, on the stump, see Master, 54-56.
[v-55] _Works_, v, 238-39.
[v-56] “He took his friend James Matheney out into the woods with
him one day and, calling up the bitter features of the canvass,
protested ‘vehemently and with great emphasis’ that he was anything
but aristocratic and proud. ‘Why, Jim,’ he said, ‘I am now and always
shall be the same Abe Lincoln I was when you first saw me.’” (Herndon,
i, 256; Lamon, 273.)
[v-57] Lincoln’s second son, born a few years later, on March 10,
1846, was named for Baker.
[v-58] Lincoln to Speed, March 24, 1843, _Works_, i, 261.
[v-59] Lincoln to Morris, March 26, 1843, _Works_, i, 262-65. See,
also, the letter to Morris of April 14, 1843, _Works_, i, 265-66.
[v-60] General J. M. Ruggles, quoted in Tarbell, i, 195-96; Curtis’s
_Lincoln_, 138.
[v-61] Lincoln to Speed, May 18, 1843, _Works_, i, 268. This letter
was written after the convention. To accord with that fact, the
obvious printer’s error in punctuation has been corrected.
[v-62] Lincoln to Hardin, May 11, 1843, _Works_, i, 266-67.
[v-63] Lincoln’s Autobiography, in _Works_, vi, 36-37; Scripps, 18,
the authorized campaign biography of which Lincoln critically read
the advance sheets. See, also: Nicolay, 73-74, 90; Newton, 19; Dr.
Robert Boal, in Peoria (Ill.) _Herald_, February 14, 1899; Gibson W.
Harris, in _Woman’s Home Companion_, December, 1903, p. 15. But to
the contrary see: Lamon, 275-77; Herndon, i, 257; Nicolay and Hay, i,
242-43; Morse, i, 72.
[v-64] Baker resigned from Congress to engage in the Mexican War, a
few months before the end of his term. The short period that remained
was of no interest to the leading Whigs, so a local politician named
John Henry secured the office for the unexpired time.
[v-65] Lincoln to Hardin, January 19, 1845, _Works_, i, 271-74. This
letter is also printed in the Lapsley Edition of the _Works_, ii, 5-8,
as of 1845. But the date evidently should be 1846. See also Lincoln to
B. F. James, January 16, 1846, _Works_, i, 285-86.
[v-66] _Woman’s Home Companion_, December, 1903, p. 15; Browne, 222.
[v-67] Lamon, 277-78; Nicolay and Hay, i, 248-49.
[v-68] Browne’s _Lincoln and Men_, i, 300.
[v-69] Lincoln to Speed, October 22, 1846, in _Works_, i, 298.
INDEX
=Alcibiades=, concerned in incident parallel to Armstrong case, 344.
=Armstrong, Hannah=, befriended Lincoln in his childhood, 109;
her alleged letter from Lincoln, 344.
=Armstrong, Jack=, one of “Clary’s Grove boys,” 109.
=Armstrong, William= (“=Duff=”), his murder case, 108; 344.
=Atlantic Railroad Co.=, represented by Lincoln in suit, 144-145.
=Baddeley, John W.=, refuses to retain Lincoln, 181.
=Baker, Edward D.=, associated with Lincoln in Trailor case, 137;
Lincoln’s opponent for congressional nomination, 267;
resigns from congress, 359;
Lincoln’s son named for, 359.
=Balch, George B.=, describes Thomas Lincoln, 2, 323.
=Beale, Edward F.=, acquires large tracts of land, 330.
=Beardstown, Ill.=, 109.
=Beasley, J. D.=, 90.
=Bergen, Judge Abram=, on the Armstrong case, 112-114;
on authenticity of almanac, 345.
=Berry, Rev. John M.=, father of William F. Berry, 23.
=Berry, William F.=, buys share in Herndon store, 21;
partner of Lincoln, 22;
idleness, intemperance, and death of, 23.
=Binney, Horace=, attitude toward Statute of Limitations, 123;
attitude when suspects client’s guilt during trial, 340;
compared to Lincoln, 342.
=Black Hawk War=, Lincoln in, 21;
Lincoln’s wrestling match in, 29-31.
=Blackstone’s Commentaries=, read by Lincoln, 37.
=Blackwell, Henry B.=, anecdote about Lincoln, 143-144.
=Blackwell, Robert S.=, endorses Lincoln’s charge against Illinois Central R.R., 168.
=Bloomington, Ill.=, 82.
=Booker, William F.=, on character of Mordecai and Josiah Lincoln, 323.
=Boyle, Benjamin=, shot by Gen. Linder’s son, 141.
=Breese, Judge Sidney=, on Lincoln’s honesty, 86.
=Brewer, Justice David J.=, anecdote on Lincoln and law, 103; 343.
=Brockman, James M.=, receives letter from Lincoln on how to study law, 333.
=Brokaw, Abraham=, anecdote of Lincoln and money, 148.
=Brougham, Henry Peter, Baron=, on legal fees, 349.
=Browning, Orville H.=, endorses Lincoln’s charge against Illinois Central R.R., 168.
=Bunn, John W.=, anecdote on Lincoln’s moderate charges, 150;
on Lincoln and politics, 258.
=Bush, Sally=, see =Mrs. Johnston.=
=Butler, William=, tenders Lincoln hospitality, 42.
=Calhoun, John=, surveyor of Sangamon County, appoints Lincoln Deputy Surveyor, 25, 28, 204.
=Carter, Robert Nicholas=, turns over practice to Patrick Henry, 71.
=Cartwright, Dr. Peter=, Methodist circuit-rider, 105;
Lincoln’s opponent for Congress, 278, 279.
=Caton, Judge John D.=, on Lincoln’s honesty, 64;
on Lincoln and law, 103-104.
=Chaddon, L. D.=, 90.
=Chew, Henry=, recipient of generosity from Lincoln, 184;
fails to pay bill guaranteed by Lincoln, 185.
=Chiniquy, Father Charles=, sued for slander, 155;
retains Lincoln, 156;
overwhelmed by Lincoln’s generosity, 158.
=Chiniquy Slander Case=, 155-158.
“=Clary’s Grove Boys=,” wreck Radford’s store, 22.
=Cicero, Marcus Tullius=, eulogy of Servius Sulpicius, 336.
=Clay, Henry=, Lincoln’s admiration for, 200;
political programme, 201.
=Clinton, De Witt=, Lincoln’s emulation of, 218.
=Cogdal, Isaac=, generously treated by Lincoln, 137.
=Conant, Alban J.=, on Lincoln’s study of Blackstone’s Commentaries, 331.
=Constable, Charles H.=, disloyalty to his party, 244-245.
=Counterfeit money=, in common circulation, 15;
Lincoln’s experience with, 15-16;
Lincoln secures acquittal of man charged with passing it, 16.
=Crafton, Greek=, killed by Quinn Harrison, 105.
=Crawford, Josiah=, makes Lincoln work for damaged book, 11;
lampooned by Lincoln, 12.
=Cullom, Shelby M.=, associated with Lincoln in Harrison case, 106;
on Lincoln’s methods of meeting personal attacks, 344;
on Lincoln as an advocate, 337.
=Davis, David=, on Lincoln’s honesty, 63-64;
appoints Lincoln to sit as judge for him, 89, 90;
on Lincoln and the law, 123-124;
rebukes Lincoln for undercharging, 161;
presides at mock-trial, 162;
his “Midas touch,” 172;
delegates his judicial functions to others, 341.
=Davis, J. McCan=, on authenticity of almanac in Armstrong case, 345.
=Dawson, John=, one of the “Long Nine,” 211.
=Democratic Party=, under Andrew Jackson, 198;
in power when Lincoln enters politics, 199;
lashed by Lincoln, 241-242.
=Deskins, Dr. John=, sheriff sent in pursuit of Lincoln, 70.
=Dick, James A.=, sheriff in “Duff” Armstrong case, 110.
=Dickson, Judge William M.=, describes Lincoln’s humor as advocate, 346.
=Disraeli, Benjamin=, his similarities to Lincoln, 240.
=Douglas, Stephen A.=, dunned by Lincoln, 148-149;
elected Register of Land Office, 223.
=Douglass, Frederick=, tells of first money he earned, 347.
=Dowling, Mrs. John=, daughter of Dennis Hanks, praises Thomas Lincoln, 2, 3.
=Dresser, Rev. Charles=, officiates at Lincoln’s wedding, 174.
=Driscoll, Mrs. Katherine Lord=, anecdote on Lincoln’s refusal of bad cases, 338.
=Drummond, Judge Thomas=, on Lincoln’s honesty, 64.
=Duncan, Gov. Joseph=, calls special session of assembly, 231.
=Dungee, Jack=, sues Spencer for slander, 152-155.
=Dungee Slander Suit=, Lincoln’s fee, 154.
=Duperron, Cardinal=, and Henry III, 59.
=Edwards, Benjamin S.=, retained by Gov. Matteson, 55.
=Edwards, Ninian W.=, opposing advocate to Lincoln, 159;
one of the “Long Nine,” 211;
on Lincoln’s appearance, 179, 352.
=Elizabethtown, Ky.=, home of Thomas Lincoln, 4;
home of Mrs. Johnston, 7.
=Ellis, James=, befriended by Lincoln, 24.
=Emerson, Ralph=, on Lincoln and the law, 116.
=Ewing, William Lee D.=, Lincoln’s opponent for speaker of Illinois House, 357.
=Ferguson, Benjamin=, eulogized by Lincoln, 331.
=Fisher, Archibald=, wrongly reported murdered, 138.
=Fletcher, Job, Sr.=, one of the “Long Nine,” 211.
=Floyd, George P.=, part of fee returned to him by Lincoln, 159-160, 349.
=Forquer, George=, publicly reproached by Lincoln, 242-244.
=Fox, Charles James=, his “political slaughter” of opponents, 354.
=Franklin, Benjamin=, trials with his partner, 328.
=Gentry, Allen=, makes trading voyage with Lincoln, 14.
=Gentry, James=, sends Lincoln on trading voyage to New Orleans, 14;
commends Lincoln, 15.
=Gentryville=, home of Lincolns, 18.
=Gibson, Justice John B.=, dictum on legal fees, 356.
=Gillespie, Judge Joseph=, anecdote on Lincoln, 69;
on Lincoln’s simplicity, 177-178, 352;
colleague of Lincoln in the House, 236-237;
letter to Herndon, 340.
=Globe Tavern=, first home of Lincoln and his wife, 175.
=Goodrich, Grant=, endorses Lincoln’s charge against the Illinois Central R.R., 168;
offers Lincoln partnership, 192.
=Goodwin, Thomas=, describes Thomas Lincoln, 323.
=Graham, Mentor=, helps Lincoln study surveying, 26.
=Green, Squire Bowling=, complains of Lincoln’s interference as peacemaker, 34.
=Green, J. Parker=, bantered by Lincoln in cross-examination, 16.
=Greene, William G.=, buys Radford’s store, 22;
sells store to Lincoln and Berry, 22, 327;
Lincoln’s debt to, 24;
on Lincoln’s sportsmanlike conduct, 31, 330.
=Gridley, Asahel=, opposing counsel in Hoblit _vs._ Farmer, 70-71;
exit through church window with Lincoln, 237.
=Gulliver, Rev. John P.=, on Lincoln’s search for facts, 339.
=Hale, Sir Matthew=, dictum on receiving fees, 144.
=Hamlin, Hannibal=, his struggle with debt similar to Lincoln’s, 328;
attitude to fees similar to Lincoln’s, 335.
=Hammond, Judge Abram=, hoodwinked by Lincoln, 263-265.
=Hanks, Dennis=, father of Mrs. Dowling, 3;
on Thomas Lincoln’s frequent removals, 4;
on Lincoln’s habit of asking questions, 60;
on Thomas Lincoln’s “way with women,” 325;
on Lincoln’s business ability, 328.
=Hanks Family=, considered “smart,” 3.
=Hanks, John=, Lincoln’s cousin, accompanies him on trading voyage, 17.
=Hanks, Nancy=, mother of Abraham Lincoln, sweetness and firmness of character, 3;
Abraham’s earliest recollections of, 6, 7;
hardships and death, 7, 324;
influence on Abraham’s character, 7.
=Hardin, Gen. John J.=, Lincoln’s opponent for congressional nomination, 267, 273;
“making a slate,” 274;
turns against Lincoln, 276;
fails to catch Lincoln in his trap, 360.
=Harding, Jacob=, refuses Lincoln space in his editorial columns, 254.
=Harriott, James=, presiding justice in Armstrong case, 109.
=Harris, Gibson W.=, clerk in Lincoln’s office, on Lincoln’s attitude toward clients, 50;
on Lincoln as a politician, 252, 277, 278, 357;
on Lincoln as a lawyer, 343;
on Lincoln’s attitude toward fees, 349;
on Lincoln’s generosity, 185, 353.
=Harrison, Quinn=, “Peachy,” murder case of, 105-106.
=Hawley, Isaac=, astonished by small fee Lincoln asks, 149.
=Henry III=, and Cardinal Duperron, 59.
=Henry, Dr. A. G.=, on Lincoln’s treatment of Post Office funds, 45-46.
=Henry, John=, secures Baker’s office, 359.
=Henry, Patrick=, compared to Lincoln, 71;
evidence that he kept accounts, 335;
uses Valley Forge hardships as appeal for sympathy, 346.
=Herndon, Archer G.=, one of the “Long Nine,” 211.
=Herndon, James=, sells interest in general store to Berry, 21.
=Herndon, Rowan=, sells interest in general store to Lincoln, 21;
believes Lincoln honest, 21, 327;
Lincoln’s debt to, 24.
=Herndon, William H.=, Lincoln’s partner, 335;
anecdotes on Lincoln and law, 87-88, 124-126;
associate counsel with Lincoln, 105;
anecdote on Lincoln and money, 145, 166;
expostulates with Lincoln on under-charges, 162;
on Lincoln’s indebtedness, 329.
=Hicks, Ratcliffe=, on Lincoln and the Patterson case, 339.
=Hill, Samuel=, befriended by Lincoln, 24.
=Hinton, Col. Richard J.=, on Lincoln as lawyer, 95-96, 342.
=Hoblit, Hon. James T.=, on Lincoln and the law, 82-83.
=Hoblit _vs._ Farmer=, Lincoln’s handling of case, 70.
=Hoffman, David=, dictum on statute of limitations and infancy, 346;
attitude toward fees, 351;
refuses to take bad cases, 337.
=Holt, Chief Justice William Henry=, on fictitious pleas, 342.
=Illinois Central Railroad=, retains Lincoln, 166;
disallows his claim for fees, 167;
sued by Lincoln, 169;
its recent statement of case, 170-171.
=Indiana Statutes=, read by Lincoln, 35, 331.
=Irwin, James S.=, receives letter from Lincoln regarding fees, 165.
=Jackson, Andrew=, his radical democratic doctrines, 198.
=Jacksonism=, its decline in popularity, 208.
=Jacksonville, Ill.=, 52.
=James, Benjamin F.=, 360.
=Jayne, Dr. William=, on Lincoln’s generosity, 184, 353.
=Johnson, Matilda=, wife of Dennis Hanks, 3.
=Johnston, Daniel=, first husband of Sally Bush, 7.
=Johnston, John D.=, Lincoln’s stepbrother, accompanies him on trading voyage, 17.
=Johnston, Mrs. Sarah Bush=, marries Thomas Lincoln, 7;
character and influence on Abraham, 8-9.
=Jones, William=, his grocery store at New Salem, 18.
=Joy, James F.=, retains Lincoln for Illinois Central R.R., 166;
disallows Lincoln’s claim, 167;
asks Lincoln to act as arbitrator, 331.
=Judd, Norman B.=, attorney for Chicago and Rock Island R.R. Co., retains Lincoln, 97-98;
endorses Lincoln’s charge against the Illinois Central R.R., 168.
=Judd, Mrs. Norman B.=, on Lincoln as a lawyer, 343.
=Kentucky=, 3.
=Kidd, Captain Thomas W. S.=, describes Lincoln’s anger in court, 347.
=Kingsbury, Enoch=, his case refused by Lincoln, 54-55.
=Knob-Creek, Ky.=, early home of Lincoln, 4.
=Knox, Joseph=, associate of Lincoln in Rock Island Bridge case, 97.
=Koerner, Justice Gustav=, on Lincoln’s fairness, 95;
recommends Lincoln to Atlantic R.R. Co., 145.
=Lamon, Ward Hill=, forced by Lincoln to return fee, 159-160;
on Lincoln and the Patterson case, 339.
“=Land-sharks=,” Lincoln’s aversion to, 135.
=Law=, relation of lawyer to client, 58-60, 71-75;
sham pleas, 88, 342;
technicalities, 117-119;
statute of limitations, 122-123, 346;
legal fees, 136-138, 144, 166, 335, 349, 350.
=Lincoln, Abraham=, genealogy, 1;
born at Nolin Creek, Ky., 4;
early poverty, 4;
on his father’s lack of “money sense,” 5;
influenced by father’s honesty, 6;
earliest recollections of mother, 6, 7;
“my angel mother,” 7, 9;
influenced by stepmother, 9;
frontier life and hardships, 10;
lack of schooling, 10;
ambition for learning, 10;
borrows books, 11;
damages Crawford’s book, 10;
writes lampoons, 12;
emulates Weems’s Washington, 13, 326;
sent on trading voyage to New Orleans by Gentry, 14;
experience with counterfeit money, 15, 16, 327;
commended by Gentry, 15;
cross-examination of J. Parker Green, 16;
second trading voyage, 17;
admired by Denton Offutt, 17, 18;
hired as clerk by Offutt at New Salem, 18, 197;
lack of mercantile ability, 18, 23, 131, 133;
his honesty attracts attention, 20;
in Black Hawk War, 21;
fails for election to state legislature, 21, 202;
buys Rowan Herndon’s share of general store, 21;
stature, 21;
buys Radford’s store from Greene, 22;
buys business of Rutledge, 22;
sells out to the Trents, 22;
charitable to memory of Berry, 22;
burden of debts, 24, 225;
his debts compared to Hamlin’s, 328;
appointed local postmaster, 24, 204, 355;
meager living, 24;
sensitiveness to honor, 25;
deputy surveyor, 26, 133, 204, 206;
sued by Van Vergen and Watkins, 26;
“the national debt,” 27, 38, 42, 133, 223;
feats of strength, 29;
wrestling match, 29-31;
sportsmanlike conduct, 31;
borrows books from Justice Pitcher, 35;
attends sessions at Boonville, 35;
desire to study law, 35-36, 38;
reads Blackstone’s commentaries, 37;
elected to state legislature, 37;
poverty, 38;
uses Major Stuart’s library, 39;
enters law, 40;
journey to Springfield, 41-42;
accepts Speed’s hospitality, 43;
partner of Stuart, 44;
treatment of the money of others, 45-47;
attitude toward clients, 49-50, 66-70, 73-76;
the Matheney case, 50;
attitude toward fraudulent cases, 54-60;
partnership with Logan, 55;
refuses to take Matteson case, 56, 338;
“law honesty,” 56-57;
conscience in law, 56-59, 77-78;
habit of asking questions, 60, 61;
intellectual modesty, 61-63;
admiration for Stanton, 62;
logical reasoning powers, 63;
freedom from guile, 65;
attitude when suspects client’s guilt during trial, 66-70, 340;
Patterson murder trial, 67, 339;
Hoblit _vs._ Farmer, 70-71;
skill as an advocate, 79-80, 97-100, 341, 342;
his methods in court, 80-83, 101, 125;
treatment of witnesses, 84-86;
experience with sham pleas, 88;
sits for Judge Davis, 89, 90;
qualifications as judge, 92-93;
Rock Island Bridge case, 96-98;
his colleagues’ jealousy, 104;
the Quinn Harrison murder case, 105-107;
methods of meeting personal attacks, 107-108;
“Duff Armstrong case,” 108-111, 344, 355;
false reflections on his character, 108, 111-115, 215, 345;
the almanac episode, 110-111;
attitude toward slurs on his character, 114-115;
attitude toward technicalities in law, 117-118;
his wit, 119;
dishonest litigants, 120-122;
statute of limitations, 122-123, 346;
love of justice, 127;
attitude toward money, 130-135, 173;
earns his first money, 132, 347;
aversion to land-grabbers, 133-135;
fee in Armstrong case, 136;
the Trailor case, 137-138;
generosity to Trailor brothers, 139;
the “shirt sleeve court,” 140;
generosity to Linder, 141-142, 348;
represents Atlantic R.R. Co. in suit, 144-145;
proneness to underrate his services, 147, 148;
duns Douglas for money, 148, 149;
charges Daniel Webster absurdly small fee, 151;
Dungee slander suit, 152-155;
Chiniquy case, 155;
generosity to Chiniquy, 158;
returns part of fee to Floyd, 159-160;
forces Lamon to return part of fee, 160;
rebuked by Davis for undercharging, 161;
arraigned at mock trial, 162;
writes to Irwin about fees, 169;
does not speculate, 172;
marries Mary Todd, 173, 267;
at the Globe Tavern, 175;
his simplicity, 176, 183, 352;
makes unfavorable first impression, 178, 180, 182;
lack of taste in dress, 179;
his appearance, 180-182;
demands on him as married man, 183;
his generosity, 183-185, 353;
his wife’s trials, 185-188;
treatment of his father, 190-191, 353;
refuses partnership with Goodrich, 192;
indifference to wealth, 193;
first entrance into politics, 195, 199;
his ambition, 197, 260, 266;
admires Clay, 200;
analysis of results of his first campaign, 203, 355, 356;
political sincerity, 207, 233, 238, 354;
elected to state legislature, 208;
appointed to committee on accounts and expenditures, 209;
attracts notice as politician, 210;
reëlected, 210;
leader of the “Long Nine,” 211;
campaign to transfer capital from Vandalia to Springfield, 212-219;
“log-rolling,” 213-215, 216, 218, 239;
emulates De Witt Clinton, 218;
befriended by Wilson, 224;
borrows money from Smoot, 225;
takes up fight against usury, 227;
secures law limiting rates of interest, 230;
handling of financial troubles of state, 232-236;
his exit through church window, 237;
his part in debate on “Subtreasuries,” 240, 241;
experience with political graft, 242;
retort to Forquer, 242-243;
his treatment of office-seekers, 245-246;
elected Speaker of Illinois House, 247;
his personality, 247;
his qualities as a politician, 248-250, 252, 256, 258;
his methods of appeal to the people, 253, 254;
the Harrison campaign, 254;
his system of political organization, 255;
his aggressiveness, 257;
his modesty, 259, 261;
readiness to assist beginners, 262;
campaign for Congress, 267;
helps Schurz, 262;
his candor, 269;
member of delegation, 270;
letter to Morris, 271;
at the convention, 272;
“making a slate,” 274;
dissolution of partnership with Logan, 275;
turned against by Hardin, 276;
his candidacy for Congress, 277, 279;
charged with impiety, 279, 280;
elected to Congress, 281, 282;
arbitrator of disputes, 28, 32-35, 48-49, 52-53, 331;
his honesty, 1, 9, 18, 20, 28, 32, 45-46, 63-65, 85-86, 129, 245;
attitude toward legal fees, 136, 139, 141, 142, 147, 150, 152, 158-160, 163, 165, 166, 171, 349, 350, 351;
attitude toward fees similar to Hamlin’s, 335;
sells “dogskin” gloves to Ross, 328;
letter to Spears, 329;
on Surveyor-General Beale, 330;
on his prowess as wrestler, 330;
eulogizes Ferguson, 331;
date of his admission to bar, 333, 334;
evidence that he kept accounts, 335;
did not win every case he should have won, 341;
compared to Horace Binney, 342;
habit of waiting on himself, 351;
habit of carrying documents under his hat, 205, 355;
proposes resolution for bill against fraudulent voting, 358;
his proposed duel with Shields, 268, 359;
avoids traps set by Hardin, 360.
=anecdotes about Lincoln=, 13, 16, 19, 25, 30-31, 36, 42, 45, 47, 64, 65, 92-93, 178, 182, 261, 272, 357, 359.
=anecdotes about Lincoln and the law=, 49-51, 55, 57, 66-67, 68-69, 75-76, 77-78, 80-83, 89-91, 95, 98, 102, 103, 116, 118-119, 120-121, 124-126, 127-128, 338.
=anecdotes about Lincoln and money=, 131-132, 137-141, 143, 145-147, 148-151, 154, 158-160, 164, 166, 172, 187, 189, 225, 351.
=anecdotes about Lincoln and politics=, 206, 214, 219-221, 222-223, 226, 237, 242-244, 246, 254, 258, 269-270.
=anecdotes by Lincoln=, 5-6, 59-60, 131-132, 229.
=Lincoln, Edward Baker=, second son of Abraham Lincoln, 351;
named for Edward D. Baker, 359.
=Lincoln, Josiah=, uncle of Abraham, his probity, 2, 323.
=Lincoln, Matilda=, Abraham’s stepsister, axe anecdote, 13.
=Lincoln, Mordecai=, uncle of Abraham, his probity, 2, 323.
=Lincoln, Robert Todd=, oldest son of Abraham Lincoln, 351.
=Lincoln, Thomas=, father of Abraham, regarded as honest, 2, 6;
one source of Abraham’s honesty, 3;
frequent removal of residence, 4, 324;
lack of success, 4, 5;
hospitality, 5;
lack of “money sense,” 5;
influence on Abraham’s character, 6;
marries Mrs. Johnston, 7, 324.
=Lincoln, Thomas=, fourth son of Abraham Lincoln, 351.
=Lincoln, William Wallace=, third son of Abraham Lincoln, 351.
=Lincoln, Ill.=, 82.
=Linder, Gen. Usher F.=, experiences Lincoln’s generosity, 141-142;
on Lincoln’s family, 323;
letter from Lincoln, 348.
LITTLE, S., collects money on bill guaranteed by Lincoln, 184.
=Littlefield, Gen. John H.=, on Lincoln’s refusal to take bad cases, 57, 338.
=Little Pigeon Creek=, home of Lincolns, 7.
=Logan, Milton=, foreman of jury in Armstrong case, testifies to authenticity of almanac, 114.
=Logan, Judge Stephen T.=, Lincoln’s partner, 55, 105, 335;
in Trailor case, 137;
dissolution of partnership with Lincoln, 275;
on Lincoln’s popularity, 203, 355.
“=Log-rolling=,” Lincoln’s experience with, 213, 215-216, 218.
“=Long Nine, The=,” nickname of Sangamon representatives, 211;
campaign to transfer state capital to Springfield, 212-215;
“Log-Rolling,” 215, 216.
=Loop, James L.=, associated with Lincoln, 340.
=Lord, James J.=, anecdote on Lincoln’s refusal of bad cases, 57, 338.
=Lord, John P.=, describes Jeremiah Mason, 336.
=McClernand, John A.=, recommended by Lincoln, 53;
in Harrison case, 105;
secures passage
of bill against fraudulent voting, 358.
=McCormick, Andrew=, one of the “Long Nine,” 211.
=McCormick Reaper Suit=, Stanton’s handling of the case, 62.
=McHenry, Henry=, experience with Lincoln as lawyer, 54;
on Lincoln as surveyor, 330;
on Lincoln’s close application, 332.
=McLean, John=, presiding judge in Rock Island Bridge case, 96.
=McNeely, William=, one of “Clary’s Grove boys,” 139;
on Lincoln’s attitude toward right and wrong, 327.
=McWilliams, Amzi=, prosecuting attorney in Harrison case, 105.
=Marshall, Chief Justice John=, resemblances to Lincoln, 352.
=Mason, Jeremiah=, tries to prevent litigation, 336.
=Matheney, Charles=, Lincoln and the Matheney case, 50.
=Matheney, James=, experiences Lincoln’s candor, 359.
=Matteson, Governor Joel A.=, Lincoln and Logan refuse to defend, 55-56, 338.
=Mendonsa, John F.=, anecdote about Lincoln and money, 185-187, 353.
=Minier, George W.=, describes Lincoln’s refusal to plead exemption on grounds of infancy, 346.
=Moore, Clifton H.=, opposing counsel to Lincoln in Dungee case, 153.
=Moore, Jonathan=, brother of Captain William Moore, 31.
=Moore, Risdon M.=, meets Lincoln, 330.
=Moore, William=, commander of company from St. Clair County in Black Hawk War, 30.
=Morris, Martin M.=, supporter of Lincoln in convention, 271, 273, 274.
=Nance, George W.=, on Lincoln’s charge for services, 150, 349.
“=National Debt=,” Lincoln’s burden of debt, 27, 38, 42, 133, 223.
=Neale, Thomas M.=, successor of John Calhoun, 28.
=Nelson, Thomas H.=, anecdote about Lincoln, 263;
hoodwinked by Lincoln, 264-265;
sequel to his adventure with Lincoln, 358.
=New Orleans, La.=, 5, 6;
trading voyage to, 14.
=New Salem=, 327, 332, 355;
Lincoln clerk in Offutt’s store at, 18.
=Nolin Creek, Ky.=, birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, 4.
=Norris, James A.=, convicted of manslaughter, 108.
=O’Conor, Charles=, subordinates money-making to professional propriety, 350.
=Offutt, Denton=, admiration for Lincoln, 17, 18;
sends Lincoln on trading voyage, 17;
hires Lincoln as clerk at New Salem, 18;
business fails to prosper, 20-21.
=Orr, Albert B.=, tells of Lincoln’s decision to enter law, 332.
=Osgood, Uri=, attorney for Chiniquy, 155.
=Paddock, John W.=, attorney for Chiniquy, 155.
=Palmer, John M.=, in Harrison case, 105.
=Parks, Judge Samuel C.=, on Lincoln’s attitude toward law, 55;
on Lincoln as a politician, 238.
=Patterson murder trial=, 67, 339.
=Pickering, Governor William=, on Lincoln’s mother and stepmother, 9.
=Pinkney, William=, conduct similar to Lincoln’s, 77-78.
=Pirtle, Henry=, on the character of Lincoln’s uncles, 323.
=Pitcher, Justice John=, lends Lincoln law books, 35;
admiration for Lincoln, 36.
=Primm, James=, experiences Lincoln’s generosity, 353.
=Prince, Ezra Morton=, on Lincoln as a lawyer, 104.
=Purple, Norman H.=, endorses Lincoln’s charge against Illinois Central R.R., 168.
=Radford, Reuben=, store wrecked by “Clary’s Grove boys,” 22;
sells store to Greene, 22;
Lincoln’s debt to, 24.
=Rankin, Henry B.=, describes route Lincoln took from Springfield to New Salem, 332.
=Republican Party=, Lincoln fails for election to state Legislature in, 21.
=Reynolds, Gov. John=, on Lincoln as a politician, 247.
=Rice, Judge E. J.=, prejudiced at Harrison trial, 127.
=Rice, Henry=, experience with Lincoln as a lawyer, 52;
on Lincoln’s handling of bankruptcy case, 337.
=Rickel, Henry=, on Lincoln and money, 151-152, 349.
=Rock Island Bridge Case=, Lincoln’s efforts in, 96-98.
=Rockport, Ind.=, home of Justice John Pitcher, 35.
=Roper, Joseph D.=, anecdote about Lincoln, 357.
=Rosette, John E.=, receives letter from Lincoln, 188.
=Ross, Harvey L.=, consults Lincoln in land case, 139;
buys “dogskin” gloves of Lincoln, 328.
=Ross, Ossian M.=, postmaster at Havana, Ill., 139.
=Ruggles, James M.=, anecdote about Lincoln, 272, 359.
=Rutledge, James=, sells business to Lincoln and Berry, 22;
Lincoln’s debt to, 24.
=Sadorus, Ill.=, 75.
=Schurz, Carl=, on Lincoln’s appearance, 180;
first interview with Lincoln, 262.
=Shaw, J. Henry=, anecdote on Lincoln and law, 68.
=Shields, James=, his proposed duel with Lincoln, 268, 359.
“=Shirt sleeve court=,” held by Judge Thomas, 140-141.
=Short, James=, takes place of Van Bergen as Lincoln’s creditor, 329.
=Simmons, Pollard=, tenders Lincoln appointment as deputy surveyor, 206-207.
=Smoot, Coleman=, lends Lincoln money, 225, 356.
=Somers, James W.=, on Lincoln’s appearance, 179.
=Spears, George=, reprimanded by Lincoln for demanding receipt, 329.
=Speed, Joshua F.=, shares his room with Lincoln, 43;
on Lincoln’s attitude toward his election to Congress, 360.
=Spencer, Joe=, sued by Dungee for slander, 152-155.
=Spink, Peter=, sues Father Chiniquy for slander, 155.
=Springfield, Ill.=, 37, 39, 41-42;
Lincoln’s home, 42;
made capital, 219;
Lincoln’s route from Springfield to New Salem, 332.
=Stanton, Edward M.=, Lincoln’s admiration for, 62;
his handling of the McCormick Reaper suit, 62.
=Starr, Norton, and McRoberts=, attorneys for Spink in Chiniquy case, 155.
=Stature=, Lincoln’s stalwartness, 21.
=Statute of Limitations=, Lincoln’s attitude toward, 122-123.
=Stephens, Alexander H.=, refuses to take bad cases, 338.
=Stevens, Frank E.=, investigates the “Black Hawk” wrestling match, 29, 330.
=Stone, Daniel=, one of the “Long Nine,” 211.
=Stuart, Maj. John T.=, attorney at Springfield, 37;
fellow-candidate of Lincoln, 37;
helps Lincoln study law, 39;
partner of Lincoln, 44, 181, 335.
=Sulpicius, Servius=, believes in tempering the severity of law, 336.
=Swett, Leonard=, on Lincoln as arbitrator, 49;
on Lincoln’s honesty, 64-65;
on Lincoln and the law, 80-81, 98;
on Lincoln’s simplicity, 352.
=Thomas, Judge Jesse B.=, holds “shirt sleeve court,” 140-141.
=Thompson, Lorenzo Dow=, beats Lincoln at wrestling, 30.
=Thornton, Anthony=, on Lincoln as an advocate, 341.
=Todd, Mary=, Lincoln’s wife, 174, 267;
her trials with money-matters, 185, 188.
=Toombs, Robert=, refuses to take bad cases, 338.
=Trailor brothers=, defended on murder charge by Lincoln, 138.
=Treat, Judge Samuel H.=, presides in Hoblit _vs._ Farmer case, 70; 121;
on Lincoln’s straightforwardness as an advocate, 340.
=Tremont, Ill.=, 120.
=Trent, Alexander and William=, buy out Lincoln and Berry on notes and abscond, 23.
=Turnham, David=, lends copy of Indiana Statutes to Lincoln, 331.
=Usury=, prevalence, 227;
Lincoln takes up fight against, 228;
law limiting rates of interest, 230.
=Van Bergen=, obtains judgment against Lincoln on note, 26.
=Van Cleave, James R. B.=, describes route Lincoln took from Springfield to New Salem, 332.
=Vandalia, Ill.=, 42;
state capital transferred to Springfield, 219.
=Volk, Leonard W.=, describes Lincoln’s habit of waiting on himself, 351.
=Warburton, George=, one of parties in horse-race, 32.
=Warden, Charles E.=, tells of Lincoln’s decision to enter law, 332.
=Washington, George=, punctilious honesty compared to Lincoln’s, 19;
Weems’s Life of, 12.
=Watkins, Thomas=, sues Lincoln for debt, 26.
=Webster, Daniel=, impressed with Lincoln’s moderation in fees, 150-151;
resemblances to Lincoln, 224;
attitude toward money, 225;
secures acquittal of forger by his admissions, 343.
=Weems, Mason L.=, author of “Life of Washington,” 326.
=Weems’s “Life of Washington,”= influence on Lincoln, 12, 326.
=Weik, Jesse W.=, on date of Lincoln’s admission to the bar, 333;
anecdote on Lincoln and money, 351.
=Weldon, Lawrence=, opposing counsel to Lincoln in Dungee case, 153;
on Lincoln’s moderate fees, 154-155;
on Lincoln’s methods of meeting personal attacks, 344.
=Whig Party=, Lincoln elected to State Legislature on, 37;
Henry Clay its hero, 201.
=White, Horace=, on Lincoln as a politician, 256;
on counterfeit money, 326.
=Whitney, Henry C.=, on Lincoln’s honesty, 65, 86, 87;
on Lincoln and the law, 75-76;
on Lincoln and money, 164;
contradicts Lamon on Patterson case, 339;
on Lincoln’s simplicity, 352.
=Williams, Archibald=, endorses Lincoln’s charge against the Illinois Central R.R., 168.
=Wilson, Robert L.=, one of the “Long Nine,” 211;
befriends Lincoln, 224.
=Winters, William H.=, on O’Conor’s professional propriety, 350.
=Wythe, George=, method of guarding against deception of clients, 65-66.
The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS
U . S . A
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
he has profaned a scared thing=> he has profaned a sacred thing {pg 280}
Commerical Advertiser=> Commercial Advertiser {pg 290}
=Clinton, deWitt=, Lincoln’s emulation of, 218.=> =Clinton, De Witt=,
Lincoln’s emulation of, 218. {pg 364}