The law office of Stuart and Lincoln was in the second story above the court-room, in Hoffman{88}’s Row. It was small and poorly furnished. Lincoln slept in the office, and boarded with Hon. William Butler, who appears to have been a politician and wire-puller.
At last, then, after a youth of penury3, a long hand-to-hand struggle with privations in half a dozen different kinds of business, we find our hero embarked4 in the profession which, for the remainder of his life, he owned as mistress. He is twenty-eight years of age, with some legislative5 experience, but a mere6 novice7 in law. But he was ambitious, and in spite of his scanty8 equipment as regards book-knowledge, he made up his mind to succeed, and he did succeed.
Though I am thereby9 anticipating matters, I propose to relate an incident of his law practice which I find quoted in “Raymond’s History” of Lincoln’s Administrations, from the Cleveland Leader. It illustrates10 not merely Mr. Lincoln’s methods and shrewdness as a lawyer, but also his fidelity11 to friends.
This is the story:
“Some four years since, the eldest12 son of Mr. Lincoln’s old friend, the chief supporter of his widowed mother—the good old man having some{89} time previously13 passed from earth—was arrested on a charge of murder. A young man had been killed during a riotous14 mélée in the night time at a camp-meeting, and one of his associates stated that the death-wound was inflicted15 by young Armstrong. A preliminary examination was gone into, at which the accuser testified so positively17, that there seemed no doubt of the guilt18 of the prisoner, and therefore he was held for trial.
“As is too often the case, the bloody19 act caused an undue20 degree of excitement in the public mind. Every improper21 incident in the life of the prisoner—each act which bore the least semblance22 of rowdyism—each school-boy quarrel—was suddenly remembered and magnified, until they pictured him as a fiend of the most horrible hue23. As these rumors24 spread abroad they were received as gospel truth, and a feverish25 desire for vengeance26 seized upon the infatuated populace, whilst only prison bars prevented a horrible death at the hands of the populace. The events were heralded27 in the county papers, painted in the highest colors, accompanied by rejoicing over the certainty punishment being meted28 out to the guilty party. The prisoner, overwhelmed by the circumstances{90} in which he found himself placed, fell into a melancholy29 condition bordering on despair, and the widowed mother, looking through her tears, saw no cause for hope from earthly aid.
“At this juncture30 the widow received a letter from Mr. Lincoln, volunteering his services in an effort to save the youth from the impending31 stroke. Gladly was his aid accepted, although it seemed impossible for even his sagacity to prevail in such a desperate case; but the heart of the attorney was in his work, and he set about it with a will which knew no such word as fail. Feeling that the poisoned condition of the public mind was such as to preclude32 the possibility of impanelling an impartial33 jury in the court having jurisdiction34, he procured35 a change of venue36 and a postponement37 of the trial. He then went studiously to work, unravelling38 the history of the case, and satisfied himself that his client was the victim of malice39, and that the statements of the accuser were a tissue of falsehoods.
“When the trial was called on, the prisoner, pale and emaciated40, with hopelessness written on every feature, and accompanied by his half-hoping, half-despairing mother—whose only hope was in{91} a mother’s belief of her son’s innocence41, in the justice of the God she worshipped, and in the noble counsel, who, without hope of fee or reward upon earth, had undertaken the cause—took his seat in the prisoners’ box, and, with a ‘stony firmness,’ listened to the reading of the indictment42.
“Lincoln sat quietly by, whilst the large body of auditors43 looked on him as though wondering what he could say in defence of one whose guilt they looked upon as certain. The examination of the witnesses for the State was begun, and a well-arranged mass of evidence, circumstantial and positive, was introduced, which seemed to impale44 the prisoner beyond the possibility of extrication45.
“The counsel for the defense46 propounded47 but few questions, and those of a character which excited no uneasiness on the part of the prosecutor—merely, in most cases, requiring the main witnesses to be definite as to time and place. When the evidence of the prosecution48 was ended, Lincoln introduced a few witnesses, to remove some erroneous impressions in regard to the previous character of his client, who, though somewhat rowdyish, had never been known to commit a{92} vicious act; and to show that a greater degree of ill-feeling existed between the accuser and the accused than between the accused and the deceased.
“The prosecutor felt that the case was a clear one, and his opening speech was brief and formal. Lincoln arose, while a deathly silence pervaded49 the vast audience, and, in a clear and moderate tone, began his argument. Slowly and carefully he reviewed the testimony50, pointing out the hitherto unobserved discrepancies51 in the statements of the principal witness. That which had seemed plain and plausible52 he made to appear crooked53 as a serpent’s path. The witness had stated that the affair took place at a certain hour in the evening, and that, by the brightly shining moon, he saw the prisoner inflict16 the death-blow with a slung-shot. Mr. Lincoln showed that at the hour referred to, the moon had not yet appeared above the horizon, and, consequently, the whole tale was a fabrication.
“An almost instantaneous change seemed to have been wrought54 in the minds of his auditors, and the verdict of ‘not guilty’ was at the end of every tongue. But the advocate was not content with this intellectual achievement. His whole{93} being had for months been bound up in this work of gratitude55 and mercy, and as the lava56 of the overcharged crater57 bursts from its imprisonment58, so great thoughts and burning words leaped forth59 from the soul of the eloquent60 Lincoln. He drew a picture of the perjurer61 so horrid62 and ghastly, that the accuser could sit under it no longer, but reeled and staggered from the court-room, whilst the audience fancied they could see the brand upon his brow. Then in words of thrilling pathos63, Lincoln appealed to the jurors as fathers of some who might become fatherless, and as husbands of wives who might be widowed, to yield to no previous impressions, no ill-founded prejudice, but to do his client justice; and as he alluded64 to the debt of gratitude which he owed the boy’s sire, tears were seen to fall from many eyes unused to weeping.
“It was near night when he concluded by saying that if justice were done, as he believed it would be,—before the sun should set,—it would shine upon his client a free man.
“The jury retired65, and the court adjourned66 for the day. Half an hour had not elapsed, when, as the officers of the court and the volunteer attorney{94} sat at the tea-table of their hotel, a messenger announced that the jury had returned to their seats. All repaired immediately to the court-house, and whilst the prisoner was being brought from the jail, the court-room was filled to overflowing67 with citizens from the town.
“When the prisoner and his mother entered, silence reigned68 as completely as though the house were empty. The foreman of the jury, in answer to the usual inquiry69 from the court, delivered the verdict of ‘Not Guilty!’ The widow dropped into the arms of her son, who lifted her up, and told her to look upon him as before, free and innocent. Then with the words, ‘Where is Mr. Lincoln?’ he rushed across the room, and grasped the hand of his deliverer, whilst his heart was too full for utterance70. Lincoln turned his eyes toward the west, where the sun still lingered in view, and then, turning to the youth, said: ‘It is not yet sundown, and you are free.’ I confess that my cheeks were not wholly unwet by tears, and I turned from the affecting scene. As I cast a glance behind, I saw Abraham Lincoln obeying the Divine injunction by comforting the widowed and fatherless.”{95}
When a lawyer can so bravely and affectionately rescue the innocent from the machinations of the wicked, we feel that he is indeed the exponent71 and representative of a noble profession. It is unfortunate that lawyers so often lend themselves to help iniquity72, and oppress the weak. Mr. Lincoln always did his best when he felt that Right and Justice were on his side. When he had any doubts on this point, he lost all his enthusiasm and his courage, and labored73 mechanically. He believed in justice, and would not willingly act on the wrong side. On one occasion he discovered that he had been deceived by his client, and informed his associate lawyer that he (Lincoln) would not make the plea. His associate, therefore, did so, and to Lincoln’s surprise gained a verdict. Convinced, nevertheless, that his client was wrong, he would not accept any part of the handsome fee of nine hundred dollars, which he paid. Only an honest and high-minded lawyer would have acted thus.{96}
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1 license | |
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许 | |
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2 prosecutor | |
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人 | |
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3 penury | |
n.贫穷,拮据 | |
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4 embarked | |
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事 | |
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5 legislative | |
n.立法机构,立法权;adj.立法的,有立法权的 | |
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6 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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7 novice | |
adj.新手的,生手的 | |
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8 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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9 thereby | |
adv.因此,从而 | |
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10 illustrates | |
给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 ); 说明; 表明; (用示例、图画等)说明 | |
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11 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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12 eldest | |
adj.最年长的,最年老的 | |
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13 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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14 riotous | |
adj.骚乱的;狂欢的 | |
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15 inflicted | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16 inflict | |
vt.(on)把…强加给,使遭受,使承担 | |
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17 positively | |
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实 | |
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18 guilt | |
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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19 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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20 undue | |
adj.过分的;不适当的;未到期的 | |
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21 improper | |
adj.不适当的,不合适的,不正确的,不合礼仪的 | |
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22 semblance | |
n.外貌,外表 | |
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23 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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24 rumors | |
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷 | |
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25 feverish | |
adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的 | |
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26 vengeance | |
n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
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27 heralded | |
v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 );宣布(好或重要) | |
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28 meted | |
v.(对某人)施以,给予(处罚等)( mete的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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30 juncture | |
n.时刻,关键时刻,紧要关头 | |
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31 impending | |
a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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32 preclude | |
vt.阻止,排除,防止;妨碍 | |
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33 impartial | |
adj.(in,to)公正的,无偏见的 | |
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34 jurisdiction | |
n.司法权,审判权,管辖权,控制权 | |
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35 procured | |
v.(努力)取得, (设法)获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 );拉皮条 | |
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36 venue | |
n.犯罪地点,审判地,管辖地,发生地点,集合地点 | |
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37 postponement | |
n.推迟 | |
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38 unravelling | |
解开,拆散,散开( unravel的现在分词 ); 阐明; 澄清; 弄清楚 | |
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39 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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40 emaciated | |
adj.衰弱的,消瘦的 | |
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41 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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42 indictment | |
n.起诉;诉状 | |
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43 auditors | |
n.审计员,稽核员( auditor的名词复数 );(大学课程的)旁听生 | |
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44 impale | |
v.用尖物刺某人、某物 | |
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45 extrication | |
n.解脱;救出,解脱 | |
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46 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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47 propounded | |
v.提出(问题、计划等)供考虑[讨论],提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48 prosecution | |
n.起诉,告发,检举,执行,经营 | |
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49 pervaded | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50 testimony | |
n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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51 discrepancies | |
n.差异,不符合(之处),不一致(之处)( discrepancy的名词复数 ) | |
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52 plausible | |
adj.似真实的,似乎有理的,似乎可信的 | |
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53 crooked | |
adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的 | |
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54 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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55 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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56 lava | |
n.熔岩,火山岩 | |
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57 crater | |
n.火山口,弹坑 | |
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58 imprisonment | |
n.关押,监禁,坐牢 | |
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59 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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60 eloquent | |
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的 | |
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61 perjurer | |
n.伪誓者,伪证者 | |
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62 horrid | |
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的 | |
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63 pathos | |
n.哀婉,悲怆 | |
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64 alluded | |
提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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66 adjourned | |
(使)休会, (使)休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67 overflowing | |
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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68 reigned | |
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
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69 inquiry | |
n.打听,询问,调查,查问 | |
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70 utterance | |
n.用言语表达,话语,言语 | |
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71 exponent | |
n.倡导者,拥护者;代表人物;指数,幂 | |
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72 iniquity | |
n.邪恶;不公正 | |
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73 labored | |
adj.吃力的,谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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