Excerpt from The Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln, With Some Lessons From His Death: A Discourse Delivered in the M. E. Church at an Union Meeting of the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian Congregations of Panama April 30, 1865<br><br>Let us now turn for a few moments to survey the character of the late President. And we premise that we do not intend an ex haustive discussion. We shall simply glance at some of the chief and most prominent traits. And we will name that first which would doubtless be first in the mind and on the lips of every man whether friend or foe - his um'mpenchable honesty. Abraham Lin coln was an honest man. His course had been so marked by this before his presidency, that he was best known by the title, Hon es! Abe oft/w csl. And what was true of him in the humble spheres, as he advanced through them step by step, was still more. Conspicuously manifested in the fiery ordeal of four years' continu ance through which he has but just passed. Where this quality of character has been scamest, he has caused it to shine the brightest. It had come to be regarded as nearly if not quite impossible for a man to keep this jewel of the soul at the seat of our government, and especially when entrusted with the management ot'large public afl'airs. It had been so apt to dissolve in the furnace-heatsot' tempta tion, that most of those who had gone. There with the reputed possession of this treasure. On coming away were found quite insol vent, their treasure all dissipated and gone. President Lincoln has in this particular. Redeemed the presidrntial ofiicc and the honor of politioal lit'e generally. He has shown it. Possible. To min gle. With the seltisb. The ambitions, the tricky, and yet. To live above suspicion. He has shown it possible to acquire and to keep the character of an honest. Man. His enemies themselves being judges. Now we regard this as no unimportant acquisition to the moral wealth of our countrv. For now once. More we behold the highest (illicc under our gm'ernmcnt. Decked with tbat fragrant, imperisha blc laurcl-honcstv. Human nature and the American name have been at once honored in the view of all lands. And another shining example of this cardinal virtue has been added to that given by nlll' first president for the benefit of the youth of this and succeed inp; gent-rations.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.