CHAPTER VII

Lincoln again in Springfield—­Back to the Circuit—­His Personal Manners and Appearance—­Glimpses of Home-Life—­His Family—­His Absent-Mindedness—­A Painful Subject—­Lincoln a Man of Sorrows—­Familiar Appearance on the Streets of Springfield—­Scenes in the Law-Office—­Forebodings of a “Great or Miserable End “—­An Evening with Lincoln in Chicago—­Lincoln’s Tenderness to His Relatives—­Death of His Father—­A Sensible Adviser—­Care of His Step-Mother—­Tribute from Her.

Retiring, somewhat reluctantly, from Washington life, which he seems to have liked very much, Lincoln returned to Springfield in 1849 and resumed the practice of the law.  He declined an advantageous offer of a law-partnership at Chicago, made him by Judge Goodrich, giving as a reason that if he went to Chicago he would have to sit down and study hard, and this would kill him; that he would rather go around the circuit in the country than to sit down and die in a big city.  So he settled down once more in the rather uneventful and fairly prosperous life of a country lawyer.

A gentleman who knew Lincoln intimately in Springfield, in his maturity, has given the following capital description of him.  “He stands six feet four inches high in his stockings.  His frame is not muscular, but gaunt and wiry; his arms are long, but not disproportionately so for a person of his height; his lower limbs are not disproportioned to his body.  In walking, his gait, though firm, is never brisk.  He steps slowly and deliberately, almost always with his head inclined forward and his hands clasped behind his back.  In matters of dress he is by no means precise.  Always clean, he is never fashionable; he is careless, but not slovenly.  In manner he is remarkably cordial and at the same time simple.  His politeness is always sincere but never elaborate and oppressive.  A warm shake of the hand and a warmer smile of recognition are his methods of greeting his friends.  At rest, his features, though those of a man of mark, are not such as belong to a handsome man; but when his fine dark gray eyes are lighted up by any emotion, and his features begin their play, he would be chosen from among a crowd as one who had in him not only the kindly sentiments which women love but the heavier metal of which full-grown men and Presidents are made.  His hair is black, and, though thin, is wiry.  His head sits well on his shoulders, but beyond that it defies description.  It nearer resembles that of Clay than that of Webster; but it is unlike either.  It is very large, and phrenologically well proportioned, betokening power in all its developments.  A slightly Roman nose, a wide-cut mouth, and a dark complexion, with the appearance of having been weather-beaten, complete the description.”