-At Chicago-It reaches Springfield, Ill.—The final rites and sepulture-The Assassin and his end-The fate of the other con- REMINISCENCES AND ANECDOTES OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. Mr. Lincoln's Christian Experiences, and Christian Sentiments- His firmness-The Pardoning Power-Mr. Lincoln's love of Homer-His Memory-His aptness of Expression-The Eman- cipation Proclamation-His "Little Story," at the Peace Con- ference His Justification of the Amnesty Proclamation-He loses his temper for once-His relations with the People-His tenderness of heart-His faithful admonition-Mr. Lincoln "Pokes" on Kentucky neutrality-Reminiscences of President Lincoln by an old associate and friend-His simplicity and artlessnesss of character-His native dignity-His desire for knowledge-His modesty His personal fearlessness of danger-His kindness of heart-His honesty-Incidents of his visit to the Army of the Potomac-Absence of mind-He watches events-He remembers his friends-His little stories-His power of memory-His literary THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. THE prominent feature of ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S life is the fact, that, from first to last, he was a truly representative Man of the People. In whatever position of private life or of public trust he was placed, whether in the frontier cabin, the modest law office at Springfield, the Halls of Legislation, or the Presidential chair at Washington, he always maintained the same truthful and noble character, winning the confidence of the people, and eliciting from all who came in contact with him a degree of personal affection and enthusiasm which has been given to no other American statesman of our day, unless it be to Henry Clay, whom he so highly respected, and, in no slight degree, resembled. The world, indeed, has seen many men, who, by the grace of their manners, the force of their intellect, or the splendor of their achievements, have obtained a strong hold upon the popular heart; yet the homage universally accorded to them was the result rather of a certain fascination than of sincere affection. France had her NAPOLEON, who rose from the people, and adroitly used that fact to subserve his personal ambition; yet he was (21) not of them, although he enjoyed their idolatry. Their national pride was gratified by the dazzling success of one, who, soaring from their own level, had proven himself equal in abilities to the proudest monarchs, the ablest generals, and the most finished statesmen of his time. But the calmer judgment of history, sifting the real from the unreal, will record that the Emperor loved his people, if love it can be called, from motives of selfinterest. Even our own illustrious WASHINGTON, the very Polar Star of American patriotism, honored with an ever increasing fame throughout both continents, represented, in his day, the higher intellectual and social phase of American society, rather than those humbler circles of thought and action in which the masses move and have their being. The influence of gentle blood, the advantages of education, wealth and position, which moulded his earlier life, conspired to make him the representative of the aristocratic class. And though the purity of his personal and public life, his unswerving patriotism, and the power of his well-balanced intellect, gained for him the sincerest affection of his countrymen, that affection ever was, and ever will be, mingled with a species of awe, which seemed to set him apart from ordinary mortals. But LINCOLN, while living, and yet more truly since his death, holds a not inferior place in the hearts of his countrymen. It has been happily said of him, that "what Robert Burns has proverbially been to the people of his native land, and, to a certain extent, of all lands, as a bard, Abraham Lincoln seems to have become to us as a statesman and a patriot, by his intimate rela tions alike with the humbler and the higher walks of life." By the unstudied and truthful exercise of the native talents with which God endowed him, and under circumstances comparatively unfavorable, he was raised, apparently by the continued and universal suffrage of his fellow-citizens, from a place of humble obscurity to a position and a fame equalled only by that of Washington. And the secret of his success was simply this, that he never, for one moment in all his varied experiences, forgot that he was of the people; never, in a single instance, neglected their interests. The people, also, fully comprehended him. They remembered that his experiences, whether of gladness or of sorrow, had been the same as theirs; that the great principles of justice and humanity underlying their own happiness, rights and feelings, were deeply enshrined within his heart. They knew, too, that unstained by temptation and unswerved by success, he would always be, as he always had been, the champion and defender of their interests. His identity with the people was such, and such only, as common toils, experiences and emotions could have produced. And in that identity of interest, feeling and purpose, was his power-a power which, from the be ginning of his career to the latest hour of his life, was never weakened by the blasts of partisan detraction, or by any demerit of his own. In person, also, as in principle, he was a truly representative American. His gaunt and bony form, firmly knit by the labor of a frontier life, was, to the people, a constant reminder that his earlier years had been spent amid scenes and trials with which they were themselves familiar. His features were plain and homely, but they were illumined by thoughtful eyes, tenderly described by one who knew him well, as "the kindest eyes that were ever placed in mortal head;" and the habitual sadness of his countenance revealed the man of strong emotions, of earnest purpose, of infinite depth of feeling. His language was always simple, clear and unequivocal; his style of argument familiar, logical, and generally pointed with a quaint illustration, an apt story, or an easy play of humor. His manner was such as might have been expected of the man, cordial, off-hand, yet having an innate refinement which placed others at their ease, and so harmonized and softened his angularities, as to invest with a certain dignity the harsher outlines of his tall and ungainly figure. He had, also, a straightforward way of handling subjects the most complicated and the most important; not with a self-conceited flippancy, but with a sort of every-day-affair ease and simplicity of treatment which seemed suddenly to divest them of all extraneous matters, and to leave them so clearly defined in all their relations, as to excite our surprise and admiration. Indeed, the rare art of "putting things," was possessed by this honest man in an eminent degree. The numerous perplexing questions which were constantly being developed by the progress of the war, were treated by this Illinois lawyer with a freedom and fearlessness which could only have proceeded from a conviction that principles were always the same, whatever might be the magnitude of the case in question. In short, amid the herculean responsibilities of a four years' war, such, for extent and principles involved, as the world had never before seen; amid questions, civil, |