162 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



ever written ; namely, that, while Don Quixote was 

 incomparable in theoretic and ideal statesmanship, San- 

 cho, with his stock of proverbs, the ready money of 

 human experience, made the best possible practical 

 governor. Henry IV. was as full of wise saws and 

 modern instances as Mr. Lincoln, but beneath all this 

 was the thoughtful, practical, humane, and thoroughly 

 earnest man, around whom the fragments of France 

 were to gather themselves till she took her place again 

 as a planet of the first magnitude in the European sys- 

 tem. In one respect Mr. Lincoln was more fortunate 

 than Henry. However some may think him wanting in 

 zeal, the most fanatical can find no taint of apostasy 

 in any measure of his, nor can the most bitter charge 

 him with being influenced by motives of personal in- 

 terest. The leading distinction between the policies of 

 the two is one of circumstances. Henry went over to 

 the nation ; Mr. Lincoln has steadily drawn the nation 

 over to him. One left a united France ; the other, we 

 hope and believe, will leave a reunited America. We 

 leave our readers to trace the further points of difference 

 and resemblance for themselves, merely suggesting a 

 general similarity which has often occurred to us. One 

 only point of melancholy interest we will allow ourselves 

 to touch upon. That Mr. Lincoln is not handsome nor 

 elegant, we learn from certain English tourists who 

 would consider similar revelations in regard to Queen 

 Victoria as thoroughly American in their want of bien- 

 seance. It is no concern of ours, nor does it affect his fit- 

 ness for the high place he so worthily occupies ; but he 

 is certainly as fortunate as Henry in the matter of good 

 looks, if we may trust contemporary evidence. Mr. 

 Lincoln has also been reproached with Americanism by 

 some not unfriendly British critics ; but, with all defer- 

 ence, we cannot say that we like him any the worse for 



