Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 01.pdf/363

322 forcibly upon meeting Mr. Lincoln are his perfect frankness and sincerity; and the longer one is acquainted with him the more prominent these characteristics become. He inspires one immediately with perfect faith in his uprightness and honesty. The result of this is seen in the perfect confidence placed in him by his clients, and also in the great consideration and weight given to his statements by the courts. He is not only scrupulously accurate and just in all his doings and statements, but his whole moral sense is so keen that the slightest irregularity on the part of others meets with the severest condemnation. I remember on one occasion he had concluded a foreclosure suit, and the time for redemption had expired. It transpired that the mortgagor, when about to lose possession of his property, had leased portions of it to various tenants, and by liberal discounts had induced them to pay rent for several months in advance. The poor victims, when notified by the mortgagee that they should pay their rents to him, came with their stories, and by him were referred to Mr. Lincoln. As the third or fourth man came to make his complaint, Mr. Lincoln grew actually livid with rage, and stormed about the office as if he himself were the subject of the outrageous swindle.

These qualities win the respect of every one who knows Mr. Lincoln; and the cordial and gracious manner with which he meets all who have occasion to address him make him personally popular. Another quality which attaches people to him is his appreciation of all that is humorous. His fund of wit is almost as great as that attributed to President Lincoln by those who lived in the last generation, and his humor is characterized by the same peculiar quickness of thought which showed itself throughout Abraham Lincoln's conversation.

Not very long ago in trying a suit, Mr. Lincoln addressed the defendant, Mr. Windet,—a man who was hopelessly insolvent, but given to great schemes about which he did a great deal of talking. Mr. Lincoln pronounced the defendant's name with the accent on the first syllable. The gentleman corrected him, saying, "Mr. Windét, if you please sir, Mr. Windét," accenting the last syllable. Mr. Lincoln replied very quietly: "I beg your pardon, sir; but I think that I am to be excused for not knowing whether to associate more of wind or debt with you."

Of the intricate matters which Mr. Lincoln has conducted lately with a degree of success that has caused the admiration of the Chicago Bar, the settlement of the Newberry estate is perhaps of the greatest magnitude. This involved the distribution of about five million dollars among a very large number of heirs, reaching into the third generation, and was complicated by the fact that the wife of the testator had had a life estate in the property, during which the heirs had sold, assigned, and mortgaged their contingent interests in every conceivable method; and a further complication resulted from the fact that the assets were situated in different States, and consisted of all kinds of property. I heard it said, by one of the most prominent lawyers of Chicago, that Mr. Lincoln's scheme of distribution, which he prepared when closing the suit, was a "marvel of ingenuity."

One cannot know Mr. Lincoln, or even see him for a short time, without being impressed with his intense Americanism. He does not in any sense depreciate what is foreign, but he believes that Americans should be Americans, and that all representatives or officers of the Government should be Americans in heart and soul. This feeling was shown very emphatically shortly after his nomination for Minister to England, when he was beset on all sides by applicants for positions connected with the American legation. Some of the aspirants, in order to show that they were capable of filling the positions, mentioned in their applications offices which they had held under other Governments, which caused Mr. Lincoln to exclaim, "Just think of it!—a man who has held that position applying for a position as representative of the United States."