122 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



of one hue the world over, no matter what the colour of 

 the oppressed had any one failed to see what the real 

 essence of the contest was the efforts of the advocates of 

 slavery among ourselves to throw discredit upon the funda 

 mental axioms of the Declaration of Independence and the 

 radical doctrines of Christianity, could not fail to sharpen 

 his eyes. 



While every day was bringing the people nearer to the 

 conclusion which all thinking men saw to be inevitable 

 from the beginning, it was wise in Mr. Lincoln to leave the 

 shaping of his policy to events. In this country, where the 

 rough and ready understanding of the people is sure at last 

 to be the controlling power, a profound common-sense is the 

 best genius for statesmanship. Hitherto the wisdom of the 

 President s measures has been justified by the fact that they 

 have always resulted in more firmly uniting public opinion. 

 One of the things particularly admirable in the public utter 

 ances of President Lincoln is a certain tone of familiar 

 dignity, which, while it is perhaps the most difficult attain 

 ment of mere style, is also no doubtful indication of personal 

 character. There must be something essentially noble in an 

 elective ruler who can descend to the level of confidential 

 ease without losing respect, something very manly in one 

 who can break through the etiquette of his conventional 

 rank and trust himself to the reason and intelligence of 

 those who have elected him. No higher compliment was 

 ever paid to a nation than the simple confidence, the fire 

 side plainness, with which Mr. Lincoln always addresses 

 himself to the reason of the American people. This was, 

 indeed, a true democrat, who grounded himself on the 

 assumption that a democracy can think. u Come, let us 

 reason together about this matter,&quot; has been the tone of all 

 his addresses to the people ; and accordingly we have never 

 had a chief magistrate who so won to himself the love and 

 at the same time the judgment of his countrymen. To us, 

 that simple confidence of his in the right-mindedness of his 

 fellow-men is very touching, and its success is as strong an 

 argument as we have ever seen in favour of the theory that 



