Lincoln's Care In The Use Of Words

In the opiniou oí the judges and praotitioners with whoiu Lincoln was associated cinring bis quarter of a cenfcury at the bar his most prominent characteristic was his rare faculty for detecting and disclosing the controlling point in a legal battle. But not less thau this was his clear, inll, orderly and accurate statement of a casa, always so fair and ' logical that it was often said that after Lincolu had sunnned up the iinporta:it facts iu a controversy there was but lit! tle occasiou for argument on either side. He habitually employed at the bar the same care and skill in the uso of words and tbe expression of ideas whicü he so often afterward exhibited when called to a higher fleld of labor, instances of which are seen in all his state papers and iu the changes for the better which he ïmide in the writingsof hisscholarly secretary of state, particularly in the correspondence relative to the Trent affair, which probably avoided a war with England. A fine example of tha graudeur of his diction is to be fonnd in his Gettysburg address, which has a permanent placo iu the literature of the world. He tbought vigorously and thoronghly, but did not speak quickly. Iu reality his hesitation was only the result of his great care ahvays to know his ground. His ba bit was before speaking or acting to dcliberately look through, arouud and beyoud every fact, statement or pro posilion iuvolved and subject it to bis wondeiir.l pc.wers of per-, oeption and analysis. This required lime, tut it made him suocessful iu every important uudercakiug. While he thought mucb, he could not trutbfully be called a great reader. He kuew thorongbly the works of Coke, Blackstone, Stephen, Chitty, átarkey and later Greenleaf's "Evidence" and Story's "Equity. " He gave but little time to searching for precedents or studying