Unless, however, he believed in the case, he put such
suggestions to one side even at the time when the income was meagre and
when every dollar was of importance.
Lincoln's record at the Bar has been somewhat obscured by the value of
his public service, but as it comes to be studied, it is shown to have
been both distinctive and important. His law-books were, like those of
his original library, few, but whatever volumes he had of his own and
whatever he was able to place his hands upon from the shelves of his
friends, he mastered thoroughly. His work at the Bar gave evidence of
his exceptional powers of reasoning while it was itself also a large
influence in the development of such powers. The counsel who practised
with and against him, the judges before whom his arguments were
presented, and the members of the juries, the hard-headed working
citizens of the State, seem to have all been equally impressed with the
exceptional fairness with which the young lawyer presented not only his
own case but that of his opponent. He had great tact in holding his
friends, in convincing those who did not agree with him, and in winning
over opponents; but he gave no futile effort to tasks which his judgment
convinced him would prove impossible. He never, says Horace Porter,
citing Lincoln's words, "wasted any time in trying to massage the back
of a political porcupine.
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