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ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Mr. LINCOLN is beaten. Though Presidential management and the treachery of pretended friends may prevent Mr. DOUGLAS’ return, Mr. LINCOLN cannot succeed. We know of no better time than the present to congratulate him on the memorable and brilliant canvass that he has made. He has fully vindicated the partialities of his friends, and has richly earned, though he has not achieved, success. He has created for himself a national reputation that is both envied and deserved; and though he should hereafter fill no official station, he has done in the cause of Truth and Justice what will always entitle him to the gratitude of his party and to the admiration of all who respect the high moral qualities and the keen, comprehensive and sound intellectual gifts that he has displayed. No man could have done more. His speeches will become landmarks in our political history; and we are sure that when the public mind is more fully aroused to the importance of the themes which he has so admirably discussed, the popular verdict will place him a long way in advance of the more fortunate champion by whom he has been overthrown. The Republicans owe him much for his truthfulness, his courage, his self-command, and his consistency; but the weight of their debt is chiefly in this: that, under no temptation, no apprehension of defeat, in compliance with no solicitation, has he let down our standard in the least. That God-given and glorious principle which is the head and front of Republicanism, “All men are created equal, and are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he has steadily upheld, defended, illustrated and applied in every speech which he has made. Men of his own faith may have differed with him when measures only were discussed; but the foundation of all – the principle which comprehends all – he has fought for with a zeal and courage that never flagged or quailed. In that was the pith and marrow of the contest. Mr. LINCOLN, at Springfield, at peace with himself because he has been true to his convictions, enjoying the confidence and unfeigned respect of his peers, is more to be envied than Mr. DOUGLAS in the Senate! Long live Honest Old Abe!
