44 . Ten Years of my Life. 



President Lincoln's features are well known. People said 

 that his face was ugly. He certainly had neither the figure nor 

 features of the Apollo of Belvedere ; but he never appeared 

 ugly to me, for his face, beaming with boundless kindness and 

 benevolence towards mankind, had the stamp of intellectual 

 beauty. I could not look into it without feeling kindly towards 

 him, and without tears starting to my eyes, for over the whole 

 face was spread a melancholy tinge, which some will have 

 noticed in many persons who are fated to die a violent death. 



A German author, I think it is L. Tieck, says somewhere 

 that one loves a person only the better on discovering in him 

 or her something funny or ridiculous, and this remark struck 

 me as very correct. We may worship or revere a perfect per- 

 son ; but real warm human aftection we feel towards such as 

 do not overawe us, but stand nearer to us by some imperfec- 

 tion or peculiar weakness provoking a smile. President Lin- 

 coln's appearance v/as peculiar. There was in his face, besides 

 kindness and melancholy, a sly humour flickering around the 

 corners of his big mouth and his rather small and somewhat 

 tired-looking eyes. 



He was tall and thin, with enormously long loose arms and 

 big hands, and long legs ending with feet such as I never saw 

 before ; one of his shoes might have served Commodore Nutt 

 as a boat. The manner in which he dressed made him appear 

 even taller and thinner than he was, for the clothes he wore 

 seemed to be transmitted to him by some still taller elder 

 brother. In summer, when he wore a suit made of some light 

 black stuff, he looked like a German village schoolmaster. He 

 had very large ears standing oft a little, and when he was in a 

 good humour I always expected him to flap with them like a 

 good-natured elephant. .' • 



Notwithstanding his peculiar figure, he did not appear ridi- 

 culous ; he had of the humourous just as much about him as 

 the people like to see in public characters they love. Lincoln 

 was beloved by the Americans more than any other man ; he 

 was the most popular President the United States ever had, 

 Washington and Jackson not excepted. 



I need not say that everything was done by the command- 

 ing-generals to entertain Mrs. Lincoln and the President, who 

 on reviewing the troops was everywhere received with heart- 

 felt cheers. 



