Lincoln as a Lawyer--His Appearance in Court--Reminiscences of a
Law-Student in Lincoln's Office--An "Office Copy" of Byron--Novel
way of Keeping Partnership Accounts--Charges for Legal
Services--Trial of Bill Armstrong--Lincoln before a Jury--Kindness
toward Unfortunate Clients--Refusing to Defend Guilty
Men--Courtroom Anecdotes--Anecdotes of Lincoln at the Bar--Some
Striking Opinions of Lincoln as a Lawyer.
The ten years following the close of Lincoln's Congressional service, in
1849, were given to the uninterrupted practice of the law, to which he
devoted himself laboriously and successfully, though not with great
pecuniary gains. His legal fees were regarded by his brethren at the bar
as "ridiculously small." His practice had extended to the Supreme Court
of his State and to the United States District and Circuit Courts, and
he was occasionally retained for cases in other States. With greater
love of money and less sympathy for his fellows, he might have acquired
a fortune in his profession.
Lincoln never speculated. Apparently he had no great desire to acquire
wealth. He had many opportunities in the days of the State's early
growth to make good and safe investments, but he never took advantage of
them. Many of his fellow lawyers were becoming wealthy, but Lincoln
still rode the circuit wearing the familiar gray shawl about his
shoulders, carrying a carpet-bag filled with papers and a change of
underclothing, and a faded, green cotton umbrella with "A. Lincoln" in
large white muslin letters on the inside. The knob was gone from the
handle of the umbrella and a piece of twine kept it from falling open. A
young lawyer who saw him for the first time thus--one who grew to love
him and who afterwards gave his life for the Union--in relating the
circumstance a long time afterward, exclaimed: "He was the _ungodliest_
figure I ever saw."
An interesting and vivid description of Lincoln's personal appearance
and manner in the trial of a case is furnished by one who was a witness
of the scenes which he so admirably describes. The writer says: "While
living in Danville, Illinois, in 1854, I saw Abraham Lincoln for the
first time. The occasion of his visit was as prosecutor of a slander
suit brought by Dr. Fithian against a wealthy farmer whose wife died
under the doctor's hands. The defense was represented by Edward A.
Hannegan, of Indiana, ex-United States Senator and afterward Minister to
Berlin, an able and eloquent man; and O.B. Ficklin, who, after Douglas
and Lincoln, was considered the best lawyer in Illinois. Lincoln had all
he could do to maintain himself against his two formidable adversaries,
but he was equal to the occasion. The trial lasted three or four days,
the examination of witnesses consuming most of the time. In this part of
the work Lincoln displayed remarkable tact. He did not badger the
witnesses, or attempt to confuse them. His questions were plain and
practical, and elicited answers that had a direct bearing upon the case.
He did nothing for effect, and made no attempt to dazzle the jury or
captivate the audience. When he arose to speak he was confronted by an
audience that was too numerous for all to find seats in the court-room.
He was attired in a fine broadcloth suit, silk hat, and polished boots.
His neck was encircled by an old-fashioned silk choker. He perspired
freely, and used a red silk handkerchief to remove the perspiration. His
clothes fitted him, and he was as genteel-looking as any man in the
audience. The slouchy appearance which he is said to have presented on
other occasions was conspicuously absent here. As he stood before the
vast audience, towering above every person around him, he was the centre
of attraction. I can never forget how he looked, as he cast his eyes
over the crowd before beginning his argument. His face was long and
sallow; high cheek bones; large, deep-set eyes, of a grayish-brown
color, shaded by heavy eyebrows; high but not broad forehead; large,
well-formed head, covered with an abundance of coarse black hair, worn
rather long, through which he frequently passed his fingers; arms and
legs of unusual length; head inclined slightly forward, which made him
appear stoop-shouldered. His features betrayed neither excitement nor
anxiety. They were calm and fixed. In short, his appearance was that of
a man who felt the responsibility of his position and was determined to
acquit himself to the best of his ability. I do not remember the points
of his speech; but his manner was so peculiar, so different from that of
other orators whom I have heard, that I can never forget it. He spoke
for almost two hours, entirely without notes and with an eloquence that
I have never heard surpassed. He was all life, all motion; every muscle
and fibre of his body seemed brought into requisition. His voice was
clear, distinct, and well modulated. Every word was clean-cut and
exactly suited to its place. At times he would stoop over until his
hands almost swept the floor. Then he would straighten himself up, fold
his arms across his breast, and take a few steps forward or back. This
movement completed, he would fling his arms above his head, or thrust
them beneath his coat-tails, elevating or depressing his voice to suit
the attitude assumed and the sentiment expressed. Arms and legs were
continually in motion. It seemed impossible for him to stand still. In
the midst of the most impassioned or pathetic portions of his speech, he
would extend his long arms toward the judge or jury, and shake his bony
fingers with an effect that is indescribable. He held his audience to
the last; and when he sat down there was a murmur of applause which the
judge with difficulty prevented from swelling to a roar. The argument
must have been as able as the manner of the speaker was attractive, for
the verdict was in favor of his client.
"When he had retired to his hotel after the trial, and while conversing
with a number of gentlemen who had called to pay their respects to him,
Lincoln was informed that an old colored woman, who had known him years
before in Kentucky, wished to see him. She was too feeble to come to
him, and desired him to go to her. Ascertaining where she lived, Lincoln
started at once, accompanied by a boy who acted as pilot. He found the
woman in a wretched hovel in the outskirts of the town, sick and
destitute. He remembered her very well, as she had belonged to the owner
of the farm upon which Lincoln was born. He gave her money to supply her
immediate wants, promised her that he would see she did not suffer for
the necessaries of life, and when he returned to town hunted up a
physician and engaged him to give the old woman all the medical
attention that her case demanded."
Mr. G.W. Harris, whose first meeting with Lincoln in a log school-house
has been previously described in these pages, subsequently became a
clerk in Lincoln's law-office at Springfield, and furnishes some
excellent reminiscences of that interesting period. "A crack-brained
attorney who lived in Springfield, supported mainly by the other lawyers
of the place, became indebted, in the sum of two dollars and fifty
cents, to a wealthy citizen of the county, a recent comer. The creditor,
failing after repeated efforts to collect the amount due him, came to
Mr. Lincoln and asked him to bring suit. Lincoln explained the man's
condition and circumstances, and advised his client to let the matter
rest; but the creditor's temper was up, and he insisted on having suit
brought. Again Lincoln urged him to let the matter drop, adding, 'You
can make nothing out of him, and it will cost you a good deal more than
the debt to bring suit.' The creditor was still determined to have his
way, and threatened to seek some other attorney who would be more
willing to take charge of the matter than Lincoln appeared to be.
Lincoln then said, 'Well, if you are determined that suit shall be
brought, I will bring it; but my charge will be ten dollars.' The money
was paid him, and peremptory orders were given that the suit be brought
that day. After the client's departure, Lincoln went out of the office,
returning in about an hour with an amused look on his face. I asked what
pleased him, and he replied, 'I brought suit against ----, and then
hunted him up, told him what I had done, handed him half of the ten
dollars, and we went over to the squire's office. He confessed judgment
and paid the bill.' Lincoln added that he didn't see any other way to
make things satisfactory for his client as well as the rest of the
parties.
"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. He was ever thoughtful of
others' comforts, even to the forgetting of himself. In those early days
his face wore a sad look when at rest--a look that made you feel that
you would like to take from him a part of his burden. One who knew him
then and had known his career since would be inclined to think that he
already felt premonitions of the heavy burdens that his broad shoulders
were to bear, and the sorrows that his kind heart would have to endure.
"Mr. Lincoln was fond of playing chess and checkers, and usually acted
cautiously upon the defensive until the game had reached a stage where
aggressive movements were clearly justified. He was also somewhat fond
of ten-pins, and occasionally indulged in a game. Whatever may have been
his tastes in his younger days, at this period of his life he took no
interest in fishing-rod or gun. He was indifferent to dress, careless
almost to a fault of his personal appearance. The same indifference
extended to money. So long as his wants were supplied--and they were few
and simple--he seemed to have no further use for money, except in the
giving or the lending of it, with no expectation or desire for its
return, to those whom he thought needed it more than he. Debt he
abhorred, and under no circumstances would he incur it. He was
abstemious in every respect. I have heard him say that he did not know
the taste of liquor. At the table he preferred plain food, and a very
little satisfied him.
"Under no circumstances would he, as an attorney, take a case he knew to
be wrong. Every possible means was used to get at the truth before he
would undertake a case. More cases, by his advice, were settled without
trial than he carried into the courts; and that, too, without charge.
When on one occasion I suggested that he ought to make a charge in such
cases, he laughingly answered, 'They wouldn't want to pay me; they don't
think I have earned a fee unless I take the case into court and make a
speech or two.' When trivial cases were brought to him, such as would
most probably be carried no farther than a magistrate's office, and he
could not induce a settlement without trial, he would generally refer
them to some young attorney, for whom he would speak a good word at the
same time. He was ever kind and courteous to these young beginners when
he was the opposing counsel. He had a happy knack of setting them at
their ease and encouraging them. In consequence he was the favorite of
all who came in contact with him. When his heart was in a case he was a
powerful advocate. I have heard more than one attorney say that it was
little use to expect a favorable verdict in any case where Lincoln was
opposing counsel, as his simple statements of the facts had more weight
with the jury than those of the witnesses.
"As a student (if such a term could be applied to Mr. Lincoln) one who
did not know him might have called him indolent. He would pick up a book
and run rapidly over the pages, pausing here and there. At the end of an
hour--never, as I remember, more than two or three hours--he would close
the book, stretch himself out on the office lounge, and with hands under
his head and eyes shut he would digest the mental food he had just
taken.
"In the spring of 1846, war between the United States and Mexico broke
out. Mr. Lincoln was opposed to the war. He looked upon it as
unnecessary and unjust. Volunteers were called for. John J. Hardin, who
lost his life in that war, and Edward D. Baker, who was killed at Ball's
Bluff during our Civil War--both Whigs--were engaged in raising
regiments. Meetings were held and speeches made. At one of them, after
Baker and others had spoken, Lincoln, who was in the audience, was
called for, and the call was repeated until at last he ascended the
platform. He thanked the audience for the compliment paid him in the
wish they had expressed to hear him talk, and said he would gladly make
them a speech if he had anything to say. But he was not going into the
war; and as he was not going himself, he did not feel like telling
others to go. He would simply leave it to each individual to do as he
thought his duty called for. After a few more remarks, and a story 'with
a nib to it,' he bowed himself off the platform.
"About a year after this, Mr. Lincoln was seeking to be nominated as a
candidate for Congress. Finding the writing of letters (at his
dictation) to influential men in the different counties and even
precincts of the district somewhat burdensome, I suggested printing
circulars. He objected, on the ground that a printed letter would not
have the same effect that a written one would; the latter had the
appearance of personality, it was more flattering to the receiver, and
would more certainly gain his assistance, or at least his good-will. In
discussing the probabilities of his nomination, I remarked that there
was so much unfairness, if not downright trickery, used that it appeared
to me almost useless to seek a nomination without resort to similar
means. His reply was: 'I want to be nominated; I would like to go to
Congress; but if I cannot do so by fair means, I prefer to stay at
home.' He was nominated, and in the following fall was elected by a
majority over three times as large as the district had ever before
given.
"Mr. Lincoln, like many others in their callow days, scribbled verses;
and so far as I was capable of judging, their quality was above the
average. It was accidentally that I learned this. In arranging the books
and papers in the office, I found two or three quires of letter-paper
stitched together in book form, nearly filled with poetical effusions in
Mr. Lincoln's handwriting, and evidently original. I looked through them
somewhat hurriedly, and when Lincoln came in I showed him the
manuscript, asking him if it was his. His response was, 'Where did you
find it?' and rolling it up, he put it in his coat-tail pocket; and I
saw it no more. Afterwards, in speaking of the matter to Mr. Lincoln's
partner, he said, 'I believe he has at times scribbled some verses; but
he is, I think, somewhat unwilling to have it known.'"
Lincoln's love of poetry is further shown by the following incident,
related by a gentleman who visited the old law-office of Lincoln &
Herndon, at Springfield. He says: "I took up carelessly, as I stood
thinking, a handsome octavo volume lying on the office table. It opened
so persistently at one place, as I handled it, that I looked to see what
it was, and found that somebody had thoroughly thumbed the pages of 'Don
Juan.' I knew Mr. Herndon was not a man to dwell on it, and it darted
through my mind that perhaps it had been a favorite with Lincoln. 'Did
Mr. Lincoln ever read this book?' I said, hurriedly. 'That book!' said
Herndon, looking up from his writing and taking it out of my hand. 'Oh,
yes; he read it often. It is the office copy.'" Lincoln was so fond of
the book that he kept it ready to his hand.
Mr. John T. Stuart, Lincoln's first law-partner, says of him that his
accounts were correctly kept, but in a manner peculiar to himself. Soon
after their law-partnership was formed, Mr. Stuart was elected to
Congress, thereafter spending much of his time in Washington. Lincoln
conducted the business of the firm in his absence. When Mr. Stuart
reached home, at the close of the first session of Congress, Lincoln
proceeded to give him an account of the earnings of the office during
his absence. The charges for fees and entry of receipts of money were
not in an account book, but stowed away in a drawer in Lincoln's desk,
among the papers in each case. He proceeded to lay the papers before Mr.
Stuart, taking up each case by itself. The account would run in this
way:
Fees charged in this case................$
Amount collected.........................$
Stuart's half............................$
The half that belonged to Mr. Stuart would invariably accompany the
papers in the case. Lincoln had the reputation of being very moderate in
his charges. He was never grasping, and seemed incapable of believing
that his services could be worth much to anyone.
One of the most famous cases in which Lincoln engaged was that of
William D. Armstrong, son of Jack and Hannah Armstrong of New Salem, the
child whom Lincoln had rocked in the cradle while Mrs. Armstrong
attended to other household duties. Jack Armstrong, it will be
remembered, was an early friend of Lincoln's, whom he had beaten in a
wrestling-match on his first arrival in New Salem. He and his wife had
from that time treated the youth with the utmost kindness, giving him a
home when he was out of work, and showing him every kindness it was in
their power to offer. Lincoln never forgot his debt of gratitude to
them; and when Hannah, now a widow, wrote to him of the peril her boy
was in, and besought him to help them in their extremity, he replied
promptly that he would do what he could. The circumstances were these:
"In the summer of 1857, at a camp-meeting in Mason County, one Metzgar
was most brutally murdered. The affray took place about half a mile from
the place of worship, near some wagons loaded with liquor and
provisions. Two men, James H. Norris and William D. Armstrong, were
indicted for the crime. Norris was tried in Mason County, convicted of
manslaughter, and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of eight
years. The popular feeling being very high against Armstrong in Mason
County, he took a change of venue to Cass County, and was there tried
(at Beardstown) in the spring of 1858. Hitherto Armstrong had had the
services of two able counsellors; but now their efforts were
supplemented by those of a most determined and zealous volunteer. The
case was so clear against the accused that defense seemed almost
useless. The strongest evidence was that of a man who swore that at
eleven o'clock at night he saw Armstrong strike the deceased on the
head; that the moon was shining brightly, and was nearly full; and that
its position in the sky was just about that of the sun at ten o'clock in
the morning, and by it he saw Armstrong give the mortal blow." This was
fatal, unless the effect could be broken by contradiction or
impeachment. Lincoln quietly looked up an almanac, and found that at the
time this witness declared the moon to have been shining with full light
there was no moon at all. Lincoln made the closing argument. "At first,"
says Mr. Walker, one of the counsel associated with him, "he spoke very
slowly and carefully, reviewing the testimony and pointing out its
contradictions, discrepancies and impossibilities. When he had thus
prepared the way, he called for an almanac, and showed that at the hour
at which the principal witness swore he had seen, by the light of the
full moon, the mortal blow given, _there was no moon_. The last fifteen
minutes of his speech were as eloquent as I ever heard; and such were
the power and earnestness with which he spoke to that jury, that all sat
as if entranced, and, when he was through, found relief in a gush of
tears." Said one of the prosecutors: "He took the jury by storm. There
were tears in Mr. Lincoln's eyes while he spoke, but they were genuine.
His sympathies were fully enlisted in favor of the young man, and his
terrible sincerity could not help but arouse the same passion in the
jury. I have said a hundred times that it was Lincoln's speech that
saved that man from the gallows." "Armstrong was not cleared by any want
of testimony against him, but by the irresistible appeal of Mr. Lincoln
in his favor," says Mr. Shaw, one of the associates in the prosecution.
His mother, who sat near during Lincoln's appeal, says: "He told the
stories about our first acquaintance, and what I did for him and how I
did it. Lincoln said to me, 'Hannah, your son will be cleared before
sundown.' He and the other lawyers addressed the jury, and closed the
case. I went down to Thompson's pasture. Stator came to me and told me
that my son was cleared and a free man. I went up to the court-house;
the jury shook hands with me, so did the court, so did Lincoln. We were
all affected, and tears were in Lincoln's eyes. He then remarked to me,
'Hannah, what did I tell you? I pray to God that William may be a good
boy hereafter; that this lesson may prove in the end a good lesson to
him and to all.' After the trial was over, Lincoln came down to where I
was in Beardstown. I asked him what he charged me; told him I was poor.
He said, 'Why, Hannah, I shan't charge you a cent--never. Anything I can
do for you I will do willingly and without charges.' He wrote to me
about some land which some men were trying to get from me, and said,
'Hannah, they can't get your land. Let them try it in the Circuit Court,
and then you appeal it. Bring it to the Supreme Court, and Herndon and I
will attend to it for nothing.'"
Lincoln regarded himself not only as the legal adviser of unfortunate
people, but as their friend and protector; and he would never press them
for pay for his services. A client named Cogdal was unfortunate in
business, and gave Lincoln a note in payment of legal fees. Soon
afterwards he met with an accident by which he lost a hand. Meeting
Lincoln some time after, on the steps of the State House, the kind
lawyer asked him how he was getting along. "Badly enough," replied Mr.
Cogdal. "I am both broken up in business and crippled." Then he added,
"I have been thinking about that note of yours." Lincoln, who had
probably known all about Mr. Cogdal's troubles, and had prepared himself
for the meeting, took out his pocket-book, and saying, with a laugh,
"Well you needn't think any more about it," handed him the note. Mr.
Cogdal protesting, Lincoln said, "Even if you had the money, I would not
take it," and hurried away.
Mr. G.L. Austin thus describes an incident of Lincoln's career at the
bar: "Mr. Lincoln was once associated with Mr. Leonard Swett in
defending a man accused of murder. He listened to the testimony which
witness after witness gave against his client, until his honest heart
could stand it no longer; then, turning to his associate, he said:
'Swett, the man is guilty; you defend him; I can't.' Swett did defend
him, and the man was acquitted. When proffered his share of the large
fee, Lincoln most emphatically declined it, on the ground that 'all of
it belonged to Mr. Swett, whose ardor and eloquence saved a guilty man
from justice.'"
At a term of court in Logan County, a man named Hoblit had brought suit
against a man named Farmer. The suit had been appealed from a justice of
the peace, and Lincoln knew nothing of it until he was retained by
Hoblit to try the case in the Circuit Court. G.A. Gridley, then of
Bloomington, appeared for the defendant. Judge Treat, afterwards on the
United States bench, was the presiding judge at the trial. Lincoln's
client went upon the witness stand and testified to the account he had
against the defendant, gave the amount due after allowing all credits
and set-offs, and swore positively that it had not been paid. The
attorney for the defendant simply produced a receipt in full, signed by
Hoblit prior to the beginning of the case. Hoblit had to admit the
signing of the receipt, but told Lincoln he "supposed the cuss had lost
it." Lincoln at once arose and left the court-room. The Judge told the
parties to proceed with the case; and Lincoln not appearing, Judge Treat
directed a bailiff to go to the hotel and call him. The bailiff ran
across the street to the hotel, and found Lincoln sitting in the office
with his feet on the stove, apparently in a deep study, when he
interrupted him with: "Mr. Lincoln, the Judge wants you." "Oh, does he?"
replied Lincoln. "Well, you go back and tell the Judge I cannot come.
Tell him I have to _wash my hands_." The bailiff returned with the
message, and Lincoln's client suffered a non-suit. It was Lincoln's way
of saying he wanted nothing more to do with such a case.
Lincoln would never advise clients into unwise or unjust lawsuits. He
would always sacrifice his own interests, and refuse a retainer, rather
than be a party to a case which did not command the approval of his
sense of justice. He was once waited upon by a lady who held a
real-estate claim which she desired to have him prosecute, putting into
his hands, with the necessary papers, a check for two hundred and fifty
dollars as a retaining fee. Lincoln said he would look the case over,
and asked her to call again the next day. Upon presenting herself, he
told her that he had gone through the papers very carefully, and was
obliged to tell her frankly that there was "not a peg" to hang her claim
upon, and he could not conscientiously advise her to bring an action.
The lady was satisfied, and, thanking him, rose to go. "Wait," said
Lincoln, fumbling in his vest pocket; "here is the check you left with
me." "But, Mr. Lincoln," returned the lady, "I think you have earned
that." "No, no," he responded, handing it back to her; "that would not
be right. I can't take pay for doing my duty." To a would-be client who
had carefully stated his case, to which Lincoln had listened with the
closest attention, he said: "Yes, there is no reasonable doubt that I
can gain your case for you. I can set a whole neighborhood at
loggerheads; I can distress a widowed mother and her six fatherless
children, and thereby get for you six hundred dollars, which rightfully
belongs, it appears to me, as much to the woman and her children as it
does to you. You must remember that some things that are _legally_ right
are not _morally_ right. I shall not take your case, but will give you a
little advice, for which I will charge you nothing. You seem to be a
sprightly, energetic man. I would advise you to try your hand at _making
six hundred dollars some other way_."
Senator McDonald states that he saw a jury trial in Illinois, at which
Lincoln defended an old man charged with assault and battery. No blood
had been spilled, but there was malice in the prosecution, and the chief
witness was eager to make the most of it. On cross-examination, Lincoln
"gave him rope" and drew him out; asked him how long the fight lasted
and how much ground it covered. The witness thought the fight must have
lasted half an hour and covered an acre of ground. Lincoln called his
attention to the fact that nobody was hurt, and then with an inimitable
air asked him if he didn't think it was "a mighty small crop for an acre
of ground." The jury rejected the prosecution's claim.
Many of the stories told of Lincoln at the bar are extremely
ridiculous, and represent him in anything but a dignified light. But
they are a part of the character of the man, and should be given
wherever there is reason to suppose they are genuine. Besides, they are
usually full of a humor that is irresistible. Such an incident is given
by the Hon. Lawrence Weldon, Lincoln's old friend and legal associate in
Illinois. "I can see him now," says Judge Weldon, "through the decaying
memories of thirty years, standing in the corner of the old court-room,
and as I approached him with a paper I did not understand, he said:
'Wait until I fix this plug for my _gallus_, and I will pitch into that
like a dog at a root.' While speaking, he was busily engaged in trying
to connect his suspender with his trousers by making a 'plug' perform
the function of a button. Lincoln liked old-fashioned words, and never
failed to use them if they could be sustained as proper. He was probably
accustomed to say 'gallows,' and he never adopted the modern word
'suspender.'"
On a certain occasion Lincoln appeared at the trial of a case in which
his friend Judge Logan was his opponent. It was a suit between two
farmers who had had a disagreement over a horse-trade. On the day of the
trial, Mr. Logan, having bought a new shirt, open in the back, with a
huge standing collar, dressed himself in extreme haste, and put on the
shirt with the _bosom at the back_, a linen coat concealing the blunder.
He dazed the jury with his knowledge of "horse points"; and as the day
was sultry, took off his coat and "summed" up in his shirt-sleeves.
Lincoln, sitting behind him, took in the situation, and when his turn
came he remarked to the jury: "Gentlemen, Mr. Logan has been trying for
over an hour to make you believe he knows more about a horse than these
honest old farmers who are witnesses. He has quoted largely from his
'horse doctor,' and now, gentlemen, I submit to you," (here he lifted
Logan out of his chair, and turned him with his back to the jury and
the crowd, at the same time flapping up the enormous standing collar)
"what dependence can you place in his horse knowledge, when he _has not
sense enough to put on his shirt_?" Roars of laughter greeted this
exposition, and the verdict was given to Lincoln.
The preceding incident leads to another, in which Lincoln himself
figures as a horse-trader. The scene is a very humorous one; and, as
usual in an encounter of wit, Lincoln came out ahead. He and a certain
Judge once got to bantering each other about trading horses; and it was
agreed that the next morning at nine o'clock they should make a trade,
the horses to be unseen up to that hour,--and no backing out, under a
forfeit of twenty-five dollars. At the hour appointed the Judge came up,
leading the sorriest looking specimen of a nag ever seen in those parts.
In a few minutes Lincoln was seen approaching with a _wooden saw-horse_
upon his shoulders. Great were the shouts and the laughter of the crowd;
and these increased, when Lincoln, surveying the Judge's animal, set
down his saw-horse, and exclaimed: "Well, Judge, this is the first time
I ever _got the worst of it_ in a horse-trade!"
There has been much discussion as to Lincoln's rank and ability as a
lawyer. Opinion among his contemporaries seems to have been somewhat
divided. Mr. Herndon felt warranted in saying that he was at the same
time a very great and a very insignificant lawyer. His mind was logical
and direct. Generalities and platitudes had no charm for him. He had the
ability to seize the strong points of a case and present them with
clearness and compactness. His power of comparison was great. He rarely
failed in a legal discussion to use this mode of reasoning. Yet he knew
practically nothing of the rules of evidence, of pleading, of practice,
as laid down in the text-books, and seemed to care little about them.
Sometimes he lost cases of the plainest justice which the most
inexperienced lawyer could have won. He looked upon two things as
essential to his success in a case. One was time; he was slow in
reasoning and slow in speech. The other was confidence that the cause he
represented was just. "If either of these were lacking," said Mr.
Herndon, "Lincoln was the weakest man at the bar. When it fell to him to
address the jury he often relied absolutely on the inspiration of the
moment,--but he seldom failed to carry his point."
Among the great number of opinions of Lincoln's rank as a lawyer,
expressed by his professional brethren, a few may properly be given in
closing this chapter, which is devoted chiefly to Mr. Lincoln's
professional career. First we may quote the brief but emphatic words of
the distinguished jurist, Judge Sidney Breese, Chief Justice of
Illinois, who said: "For my single self, I have for a quarter of a
century regarded Mr. Lincoln as the finest lawyer I ever knew, and of a
professional bearing so high-toned and honorable, as justly, and without
derogating from the claims of others, entitling him to be presented to
the profession as a model well worthy of the closest imitation."
Another distinguished Chief Justice, Hon. John Dean Caton; says: "In
1840 or 1841, I met Mr. Lincoln, and was for the first time associated
with him in a professional way. We attended the Circuit Court at
Pontiac, Judge Treat presiding, where we were both engaged in the
defense of a man by the name of Lavinia. That was the first and only
time I was associated with him at the bar. He practiced in a circuit
that was beyond the one in which I practiced, and consequently we were
not brought together much in the practice of the law. He stood well at
the bar from the beginning. I was a younger man, but an older lawyer. He
was not admitted to the bar till after I was. I was not closely
connected with him. Indeed, I did not meet him often, professionally,
until I went on the bench in 1842; and he was then in full practice
before the Supreme Court, and continued to practice there regularly at
every term until he was elected President. Mr. Lincoln understood the
relations of things, and hence his deductions were rarely wrong from any
given state of facts. So he applied the principles of law to the
transactions of men with great clearness and precision. He was a close
reasoner. He reasoned by analogy, and enforced his views by apt
illustration. His mode of speaking was generally of a plain and
unimpassioned character, and yet he was the author of some of the most
beautiful and eloquent passages in our language, which, if collected,
would form a valuable contribution to American literature. The most
punctilious honor ever marked his professional and private life."
The Hon. Thomas Drummond, for many years Judge of the United States
District Court at Chicago, said: "It is not necessary to claim for Mr.
Lincoln attributes or qualities which he did not possess. He had enough
to entitle him to the love and respect and esteem of all who knew him.
He was not skilled in the learning of the schools, and his knowledge of
the law was acquired almost entirely by his own unaided study and by the
practice of his profession. Nature gave him great clearness and
acuteness of intellect and a vast fund of common-sense; and as a
consequence of these he had much sagacity in judging of the motives and
springs of human conduct. With a voice by no means pleasing, and,
indeed, when excited, in its shrill tones sometimes almost disagreeable;
without any of the personal graces of the orator; without much in the
outward man indicating superiority of intellect; without great quickness
of perception,--still, his mind was so vigorous, his comprehension so
exact and clear, and his judgments so sure, that he easily mastered the
intricacies of his profession, and became one of the ablest reasoners
and most impressive speakers at our bar. With a probity of character
known to all, with an intuitive insight into the human heart, with a
clearness of statement which was itself an argument, with an uncommon
power and facility of illustration, often, it is true, of a plain and
homely kind, and with that sincerity and earnestness of manner to carry
conviction, he was perhaps one of the most successful jury lawyers we
have ever had in the State. He always tried a case fairly and honestly.
He never intentionally misrepresented the testimony of a witness or the
arguments of an opponent. He met both squarely, and, if he could not
explain the one or answer the other, substantially admitted it. He never
misstated the law according to his own intelligent view of it. Such was
the transparent candor and integrity of his nature that he could not
well or strongly argue a side or a cause that he thought wrong. Of
course, he felt it his duty to say what could be said, and to leave the
decision to others; but there could be seen in such cases the inward
struggle in his own mind. In trying a cause he might occasionally dwell
too long or give too much importance to an inconsiderable point; but
this was the exception, and generally he went straight to the citadel of
a cause or a question, and struck home there, knowing if that were won
the outwork would necessarily fall. He could hardly be called very
learned in his profession, and yet he rarely tried a cause without fully
understanding the law applicable to it. I have no hesitation in saying
he was one of the ablest lawyers I have ever known. If he was forcible
before the jury he was equally so with the court. He detected with
unerring sagacity the marked points of his opponents' arguments, and
pressed his own views with overwhelming force. His efforts were quite
unequal, and it may have been that he would not on some occasions strike
one as at all remarkable; but let him be thoroughly aroused, let him
feel that he was right and that some great principle was involved in his
case, and he would come out with an earnestness of conviction, a power
of argument, and a wealth of illustration, that I have never seen
surpassed.... Simple in his habits, without pretensions of any kind, and
distrustful of himself, he was willing to yield precedence and place to
others, when he ought to have claimed them for himself. He rarely, if
ever, sought office except at the urgent solicitations of his friends.
In substantiation of this, I may be permitted to relate an incident
which now occurs to me. Prior to his nomination for the Presidency, and,
indeed, when his name was first mentioned in connection with that high
office, I broached the subject upon the occasion of meeting him here.
His response was, 'I hope they will select some abler man than myself.'"
Mr. C.S. Parks, a lawyer associated with Lincoln for some years,
furnishes the following testimony concerning his more prominent
qualities: "I have often said that for a man who was for a quarter of a
century both a lawyer and a politician he was the most _honest_ man I
ever knew. He was not only morally honest, but intellectually so. He
could not reason falsely; if he attempted it, he failed. In politics he
would never try to mislead. At the bar, when he thought he was wrong, he
was the weakest lawyer I ever saw."
Hon. David Davis, afterwards Associate Justice U.S. Supreme Court and
U.S. Senator, presided over the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Illinois
during the remaining years of Lincoln's practice at the bar. He was
united to Lincoln in close bonds of friendship, and year after year
travelled with him over the circuit, put up with him at the same hotels,
and often occupied the same room with him. "This simple life," says
Judge Davis, "Mr. Lincoln loved, preferring it to the practice of the
law in the city. In all the elements that constitute the great lawyer,
he had few equals. He seized the strong points of a cause, and presented
them with clearness and great compactness. He read law-books but
little, except when the cause in hand made it necessary; yet he was
unusually self-reliant, depending on his own resources, and rarely
consulting his brother lawyers either on the management of his case or
the legal questions involved. He was the fairest and most accommodating
of practitioners, granting all favors which he could do consistently
with his duty to his client, and rarely availing himself of an unwary
oversight of his adversary. He hated wrong and oppression everywhere,
and many a man, whose fraudulent conduct was undergoing review in a
court of justice, has withered under his terrific indignation and
rebuke."
Mr. Speed says: "As a lawyer, after his first year he was acknowledged
to be among the best in the State. His analytical powers were
marvellous. He always resolved every question into its primary elements,
and gave up every point on his own side that did not seem to be
invulnerable. One would think, to hear him present his case in the
court, he was giving his case away. He would concede point after point
to his adversary. But he always reserved a point upon which he claimed a
decision in his favor, and his concessions magnified the strength of his
claim. He rarely failed in gaining his cases in court."
The special characteristics of Lincoln's practice at the bar are thus
ably summed up: "He did not make a specialty of criminal cases, but was
engaged frequently in them. He could not be called a great lawyer,
measured by the extent of his acquirement of legal knowledge; he was not
an encyclopædia of cases; but in the clear perception of legal
principles, with natural capacity to apply them, he had great ability.
He was not a case lawyer, but a lawyer who dealt in the deep philosophy
of the law. He always knew the cases which might be quoted as absolute
authority, but beyond that he contented himself in the application and
discussion of general principles. In the trial of a case he moved
cautiously. He never examined or cross-examined a witness to the
detriment of his side. If the witness told the truth, he was safe from
his attacks; but woe betide the unlucky and dishonest individual who
suppressed the truth or colored it against Mr. Lincoln's side. His
speeches to the jury were very effective specimens of forensic oratory.
He talked the vocabulary of the people, and the jury understood every
point he made and every thought he uttered. I never saw him when I
thought he was trying to make an effort for the sake of mere display;
but his imagination was simple and pure in the richest gems of true
eloquence. He constructed short sentences of small words, and never
wearied the minds of the jury by mazes of elaboration."