logical power
came into remarkably effective play. Step by step he led his hearers
onward, till at last he placed them on the summit whence they could see
all the landscape of his subject in harmonious and connected order. Of
these two contrasted pictures of Lincoln, it is only the last which
shows him as he was in his real and essential greatness. And not this
fully; for it was in his character that he was greatest. He was not
merely a thinker, but a thinker for man, directing his thought to the
ends of justice, freedom, and humanity. If he desired and sought high
position, it was only that he might thus better serve the cause of
freedom to which he was devoted. From the time when he withdrew, in a
spirit of magnanimity that was never appreciated, in favor of a rival
candidate for the United States Senate, it was evident that the _cause_
was more to him than any personal advantage or advancement."

Another graphic description of Lincoln's appearance and manner on the
stump is given by Mr. Jeriah Bonham, whose account of the famous
"house-divided-against-itself" speech has already found a place in this
narrative. "When Mr. Lincoln took the stand," says Mr. Bonham, "he did
not, on rising, show his full height, but stood in a stooping posture,
his long-tailed coat hanging loosely around his body, and descending
over an ill-fitting pair of pantaloons that covered his not very
symmetrical legs. He began his speech in a rather diffident manner,
seeming for awhile at a loss for words; his voice was irregular, even a
little tremulous, as he began his argument. As he proceeded he seemed to
gain more confidence, his form straightened up, his face brightened, his
language became free and animated. Soon he had drawn the attention of
the crowd by two or three well-told stories that illustrated his
argument; and then he became eloquent, carrying his audience at will, as
tumultuous applause greeted every telling point he made."

Mrs. John A. Logan, in her "Recollections of a Soldier's Wife," says: "I
always like to think of Mr. Lincoln as he was when I saw him with the
eyes of an opponent. His awkwardness has not been exaggerated, but it
gave no effect of self-consciousness. There was something about his
ungainliness and his homely face which would have made anyone who simply
passed him in the street remember him. His very awkwardness was an asset
in public life, in that it attracted attention to him. Douglas, on the
other hand, won