nent jaw, every wave of the hard gripping hand, produced an impression, and before he had spoken twenty minutes the conviction took possession of thousands that here was the prophetic man of the present and the political saviour of the future." Equally graphic, more scientific and faultlessly faithful to truth, is the following from Truman Bartlett, the famous American sculptor: When speaking "waves of righteous indignation came sweeping over him. His body was transformed and his face was lighted with a mysterious inner light. The dull, listless expression dropped like a mask. The melancholy shadow disappeared in a twinkling. The eyes began to sparkle, the mouth to smile, and the whole countenance was wreathed in animation. The hard lines faded out of his face and the emotion seemed to diffuse itself all over him. His sad face of a sudden became radiant; he seemed like one inspired. "The act of expressing a great sentiment or concluding a fine period, transformed Lincoln into beauty and nobility of bearing. He often quivered all over with emotion nearly stifling his utterance. "All agree in stating that he had wonderful vertical elasticity and could, while speaking, stretch up to an unwonted height, or appear to do so, which as artists know, is a quality seen only in people of the highest physical construction. These things suggest a splendidly sensitive, responsive and powerful system of nerves, a muscular organization of a rare and superior kind, an admirable body and a deep harmony between the outer and inner man. 998 The great debates with Douglas attracted to Illinois prominent political leaders and others who were just beginning careers of public service. Among the latter was Hon. James M. Ashley of Ohio, who, at that time, was conducting his first campaign for a seat in Congress. He was a strong, amThe Valley of Shadows, p. 198. The Portraits of Lincoln, pp. 15, 16, 18. bitious young man and an ardent supporter of Chase as a candidate for the Presidency. He had never seen Lincoln but immediately after the October election he hastened to Illinois just in time to hear the last of the memorable debates. I have today a vivid recollection of the irrepressible enthusiasm for Lincoln with which General Ashley returned to his Toledo home, and to the people who had just chosen him as their representative in Congress. He remained loyal to Chase, however, as the first choice of Ohio for the Presidential nomination two years later, but his high estimate of Lincoln's ability soon became known throughout the state and had much to do in producing the condition of public thought that caused the votes of four Ohio delegates in the Chicago convention to be changed from Chase to Lincoln, by which the latter on the third ballot was nominated for President. Although it was at the close of that long and taxing struggle, Lincoln's vitality and strength were sufficient to accomplish that result and to cause General Ashley at the close of his distinguished and useful life to say: "When I heard Mr. Lincoln proclaim at Alton 'that it was a question between right and wrong' his face glowed as if tinged with a halo, and to me he looked the prophet of hope and joy." The impressiveness and force of Mr. Lincoln's heroic stature was accentuated by the symmetry and grace of his physical construction. In size and form the members of his body were all in perfect proportion. Considered separately they seemed ponderous, but the size of each one was in faultless harmony with the heroic figure of which it formed a part. Some writers have unfortunately referred to "his long arms" and "his large hands and feet," forgetting as it seems that Mr. Lincoln was a very large man and would have been ill-formed if any of his members had been of less dimensions. Nicolay says: "The first impression will naturally be that a man with such long limbs and large and prominent features could not possibly be handsome; and this would be true of a |