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 Before the Society of the Loyal Legion, at Cincinnati, 
 May 4, 1887, IN Response to the Toast, 
 
 "^'^^HAIVI LINCO^'"' 
 
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ADDRESS 
 
 Hon. * James * Sfeed 
 
 Society of riiij; Loyal 
 ^\.m 1, 1887, i/ 
 
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 LOUISVILLE: 
 
 JOHN V. MOKTON AND COMPANY. 
 
 1888 
 
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 The following address was delivered by ]\Ir. James Speed at the 
 annual meeting of the Ohio Commandery of the Society of the Loyal 
 Legion in Cincinnati, May 4, 1887. The address was in response to the 
 toast, " Abraham Lincoln : Nurtured by his country, living for his 
 country, faithful to his country." 
 
 Mr. Speed was in feeble health at the time, and accepted the invitation 
 to make this response with misgivings as to his physical ability even to be 
 present at the meeting. But it seems he felt that the end of his life was 
 near at hand, and he rallied all his strength to speak a loving word in 
 memory of Mr. Lincoln. Knowing that he could not trust himself to 
 speak extemporaneously on account of his physical weakness, he dictated 
 his address beforehajid and read it from the manuscript. It was none the 
 less effective, however, on this account. It was apparent to all that while 
 the bodily strength of the venerable speaker was well-nigh gone, his 
 intellect was clear and unimpaired, and his heart was susceptible to the 
 most tender emotions. The address was received by the Society with the 
 most intense interest. More than three hundred members were present. 
 Perfect stillness prevailed, except the instantaneous applause which fol- 
 lowed many of the expressions, the applause however as instantly ceasing 
 in order that every word might be caught. At the conclusion the feelings 
 of the audience found vent in long-continued applause, and ]Mr. Speed 
 was at once surrounded by those who could reach him and overwhelmed 
 by their kindly attentions, thanks, and congratulations. 
 
 Following the address the memorial of the Society in memory of Mr. 
 Speed is given. 
 

 CQi^. Speed's ^Iddi^ess. 
 
 lioss than two years after the death of Mr. Lincoln, I gave 
 a brief expression of my appreciation of his character. Then 
 it was too soon for a general reception of his great and good 
 qualities. 
 
 I then said: " When passion shall have subsided, and calm- 
 ness and quiet come — a period he was only permitted to see 
 from Pisgah's height — the large measure of his wisdom will be 
 acknowledged i)y all men." 
 
 Since that time twenty years have passed ; passion has gone, 
 quiet has come, and all men now speak his ])raise. 
 
 I believe that in all the annals of our race, Abraham Lin- 
 coln is the finest example of an unknown man rising from ob- 
 scurity and ascending to the loftiest heights of human grandeur. 
 The conspicuous causes which produced this grand result were 
 inborn strength, integrity of character, patriotic devotion, and 
 the nurturing iuHuences of a free country. At an early age he 
 began to show the superior endowments which made him a 
 leader of men. In the rough scenes of backwoods life his 
 companions made him umpire in their sports and called him 
 "Honest Abe." At the age of twenty-three his comrades in 
 the Black Hawk war made him captain. One of these com- 
 rades now lives in Louisville — the venerable lawyer, Isaac R. 
 Greene. He loves to tell how Captain Lincoln was a leader 
 among the soldiers in that campaign, and attracted all by his 
 good sense, wit, and anecdote. 
 
 (3) 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: AN ADDRESS. 
 
 I kuew Mr, Lincoln when he visited Kentucky, twenty years 
 before he came to the Presidency. He then showed he was no 
 ordinary man. I saw him daily ; he sat in my office, read my 
 books, and talked with me about his life, his reading, his 
 studies, his aspirations. He made a decided impression upon all. 
 He had an intelligent, vigorous, mind, strong in grasp, and 
 original. He was earnest, frank, manly, and sincere in every 
 thought and expression. The artificial was all wanting. He 
 had natural force and natural refinement. His after-life was a 
 continuous development of his youthful promise. 
 
 When he came to the Presidency he was in the full comple- 
 tion of manhood, nurtured in the school of nature and our 
 broad, free country. He was a grand structure, designed, 
 fashioned, and furnished for a grand purpose. Thenceforth he 
 was to live solely for his country. 
 
 The question of the ages had come to the test. Can a nation 
 endure dedicated to the proposition that all men are free and 
 equal? We now look back and see how much depended upon 
 the character of the Chief Magistrate in that crucial hour. 
 Generals might fail, but the President can not fail. He was to 
 command through a four years battle. He was to be master 
 through a four years tempest. At every point, at every moment, 
 he must prove his full sufficiency. He must be wise, resolute, 
 courageous, firm, patient, loyal, and true. He must impress all 
 others that he comes up to the standard of this great measure. 
 
 And so it was; he was equal to the task; he so impressed 
 all those who saw him rightly and truly. Those near him felt 
 continually the mastery of his wisdom, and there were times 
 when his influence was inspiration to all. I saw him in moments 
 when his courage rose to the majesty of grandest heroism, and 
 sent its strength leaping through the veins of his countrymen, 
 
 (4) 
 
ABB A HAM LINCOLN: AN ADDRESS. 
 
 nerving them to sustain to the utmost limit the living ramparts 
 of the nation facing the doubtful battle-field. His serene confi- 
 dence restored the lapsing faith of men. His never- relaxing 
 hope cheered them on to victory. Experience in hardships had 
 given him a brave and hopeful disposition. Experience in jn-o- 
 fessional life had disciplined and steadied his mind. Atten- 
 tive reading and observation had taught him much. His 
 learning was sufficient to balance his perfect practicality. It 
 was that sufficiency of learning which comes inevitably in this 
 land of ours, bountiful in all things, to such a man as Lincoln 
 was, in the course of twenty-five years' diligent professional life 
 and close attention to public affairs. It was sufficient to enable 
 him to see things in their relations, and to act with intelligent 
 discrimination ; sufficient to give liberal views, dissipate narrow- 
 ness and broaden judgment. He had learned the theory, the 
 objects, the duties, the powers of this great Government. He 
 had learned to know men. His own marvelously balanced 
 humanity weighed men with unerring precision. He knew the 
 real from the feigned. Truth felt assurance in his presence, and 
 falsehood quailed. He had learned how to overcome difficulties, 
 how to maintain composure in peril, how to be firm in doing 
 and not doing, how to move neither too fast nor too slow. He 
 had learned to think wisely. He said : " We must see things as 
 they are ; to-day is not yesterday, to-morrow will not be to-day. 
 That which is right must be done." He had learned to express 
 his thoughts in language of unsurpassed energy, aptitude, and 
 beauty. His utterances in moments of intensest interest thrilled 
 all hearts at the time, and will live coeval with the English 
 tongue. 
 
 For four years he bore the burden of the nation racked in 
 the convulsions of civil war. In that four years the events of 
 
 1* (5) 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: AN ADDRESS. 
 
 an age were crowded ; passion raged ; excitement rose without 
 an ebb; the earth shook with the tramp of armies; tiie skies 
 were lurid with the flames of battle. It was a period of sub- 
 version and revolution. Each day witnessed a new scene in 
 the great drama; each hour brought a new responsibility. Who 
 can estimate the value of Abraham Lincoln's service to this 
 country in that tremendous struggle? He was strong when 
 weakness would have been a calamity ; wise and j)rudent when 
 rashness would have been ruin; faithful when to swerve would 
 have been destruction. 
 
 With all his lofty qualities the gentleness of his nature never 
 abated. His simplicity, sincerity, and integrity remained in all 
 the purity of youth when he was known as " Honest Abe." He 
 had that charity for all men he pleaded for others to show. 
 Quick to see imperfection, he was never exacting. He was 
 patient to try and ready to excuse ; his forbearing spirit dealt 
 with men, rejoicing in the good, with no harshness to the erring. 
 He had no censure for the general wdio failed, but the comfort 
 that came when the real commanders appeared, those only can 
 tell who saw his relieved soul speaking in his countenance. 
 
 Nor did anv feeling of hatred toward those in op})osing arms 
 enter his soul. Although his own election was made the occa- 
 sion of the great revolt ; although he was misrepresented, de- 
 rided, and insulted; although the duty was cast upon him of 
 sending forth the power of the country to the bloody battle-field ; 
 although ui)on him were concentrated cursings and bitterness, 
 he felt no anger, he uttered no revengeful word. In his patience 
 and forgiveness he seemed to rise above the level of humanity. 
 
 The Jiation imbibed his magnanimity. The spectacle of so 
 vast a collision, with none brought to punishment, stands alone 
 in history. Only that group of fiends who stilled the pulsations 
 (6) 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: AN ADDRESS. 
 
 of Lincoln's great heart paid the penalty of crime. A mandlin 
 sentiment has sought to cast blame on the officials who dealt out 
 justice to these. One in particular is my distinguished friend^ 
 the then Judge-Advocate General of the army. Judge Holt 
 performed his duty kindly and considerately. In every partic- 
 ular he was just and fair. This I know. But Judge Holt needs 
 no vindication from me or any one else. I only speak because 
 I know reflections have been made, and because my position 
 enabled me to know the facts, and because I know the perfect 
 purity and uprightness of his conduct. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln always trusted that truth and right would pre- 
 vail. He never knew the feeling of exemption from anxiety. 
 He was a stranger to rest and repose. His form bent under the 
 weight of his great charge. Care furrowed his countenance. 
 But he had confidence in the ultimate triumph of the right. 
 That confidence lighted his pathway from his youth ; it in- 
 spired him when the passions of his countrymen were aflame to 
 predict that the mystic chords of memory would swell the 
 chorus of the Union when touched by the better angels of our 
 nature. 
 
 AVe wish he could have lived to see the fulfillment of this 
 prophetic vision. But the curtain which veiled the new and 
 glorious era of the nation was just liftiiig when his eyes forever 
 closed. Great as our country then was, we now contrast it wdth 
 the present. The fiery tempest of war did not overthrow the 
 giant plant of the American Republic. It burnt the poison 
 from its sap, expanded its beneficence, and sent its roots deeper 
 in eternal foundations. 
 
 We wish Mr. Lincoln could have seen the North and South 
 come together in a loving embrace to bury every hostile thought, 
 and '' kiss again with tears." We wish he could have seen the 
 
 (7) 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: AN ADDRESS. 
 
 East and West bound together with iron bands, and the growth 
 from thirty to sixty millions. We wish he were living to-day 
 in the midst of his peaceful and happy countrymen. We wish 
 we could now see him reposing in the comfortable retirement of 
 his home, beholding, at a venerable age, the present splendors 
 of our glorious Union. For the Union he felt the most intense 
 love, and for those who went to the battle in her cause his ten- 
 der solicitude was like that of the fond ones waiting and praying 
 at home. These are his words near the end of the contlict : 
 
 " Let us finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's 
 wounds, to care foi* him who shall have borne the battle, and for 
 his widow and orphans ; to do all which may achieve and 
 cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all 
 nations." 
 
 We wish he could have seen the consummation of all his 
 patriotic hopes, as it is our privilege to see it this day. Were 
 it possible for him to be here now in this great assembly of gal- 
 lant soldiers, whose heroism sustained and preserved the Union, 
 he would take you each one aifectionately by the hand, and from 
 the depths of his grateful soul say, God bless you ! 
 
 (8) 
 
©Iambs Speed, 
 
 Boiin in leffeiison bounty, Kentuchy, PKaijch JJ, 3832, Bied neaii 
 Louisville, Uentucby, Inm 25, 3887. 
 
 To THE Commander and Companions of the Ohio Commandery of the 
 Loyal Legion: 
 
 The members of the committee appointed to prepare a 
 memorial of our deceased companion, James Speed, knew him 
 personally for many years. They would gladly dwell at greater 
 length than is here permissible upon the amiable and sterling 
 qualities that gained for him the esteem and confidence of all 
 who knew him. The virtues of his private life were conspic- 
 uous and attractive, his sympathies were warm and lively, his 
 sense of justice and devotion to the right unfaltering. 
 
 Mr. Speed was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, near 
 the city of Louisville, in 1812. His people were identified 
 with Kentucky from early pioneer days, and were active par- 
 ticipants in the best political life of the infant State. He in- 
 herited a repugnance to all oppression, an aversion to slavery, 
 and a love for intellectual as well as physical freedom. Through- 
 out a long life his judgments were toleraut yet firm. He never 
 sought station, nor did he ev'er decline a public or a private 
 duty. 
 
 After graduating at St. Joseph's College, he entered the pro- 
 fession of the law, which he pursued with diligence and large 
 
 (9) 
 
MEMORIAL. 
 
 success. His well-known anti-slavery opinions precluded a 
 political career, and he made no appearance in active public life 
 until the breaking out of the civil war. 
 
 He had then almost reached his fiftieth year, had established 
 his reputation as a jurist, and was cordially recognized, even by 
 those totally opposed to hira upon the irritating issues of the 
 time, as thoroughly upright, consistent, and able. 
 
 A powerful element strove to commit Kentucky to the cause 
 of the rebellion. Against this attempt Mr. Speed enlisted all 
 his abilities and influence. He was active in the work of coun- 
 sel and preparation. The labors of him and others of like sen- 
 timents saved Kentucky to the Union cause and enabled hefe 
 loyal majority to organize and control. 
 
 Mr. Speed had been from his early manhood a personal 
 friend of Abraham Lincoln; their association had been inti- 
 mate, and each knew and appreciated the qualities of the other. 
 When war came, Mr. Speed unhesitatingly answered the Presi- 
 dent's request that he should take part in organizing the Union 
 troops in Kentucky. At a later day Mr. Lincoln called him 
 into his cabinet as Attorney-General. His upright administra- 
 tion of that high office in perilous times and amid scenes of 
 excitement and violence is matter of history. 
 
 The associations of responsible political life confirmed be- 
 tween Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Speed the mutual confidence that 
 had commenced in their youth. The President found that time 
 had but made more firm the ancient integrity of his friend and 
 developed the justness and kindliness of his nature. 
 
 Experience had added wisdom to his other good gifts ; the 
 relations of the two were those of attached personal friends. 
 
 At the last annual reunion of this Commandery, on the 4th 
 of May, 1887, Mr. Speed yielded to the general desire that he 
 (10) 
 
MEMOBIAL. 
 
 should respond to a sentiment honoring the memory of Abra- 
 ham Lincoln. It was his last appearance in public. His feeble 
 frame and tremulous voice showed but too clearly that his days 
 were numbered, but they added an emphasis and a pathos to the 
 eulogy that will not be forgotten by those who were there. 
 
 A little more than a month after he passed away peacefully 
 and tranquilly at his home near Louisville, leaving behind him 
 an unstained name, an honorable record of duties done and 
 trusts performed, and a lesson of patriotism and loyalty. 
 
 JOHN MASON BROWN, 1 
 ANDREW COWAN, 1- Committee. 
 
 WM. H. MUNDY. j 
 
 (11) 
 

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