Henry Ward Beecher -- admired by Abraham Lincoln

(During March 1860), Mr. Lincoln attended services at Beecher's church in New York City. Henry Ward Beecher had a "flaming, demonstrative nature," according biographer Paxton Hibben. Mr. Lincoln liked energetic preaching and had long admired Rev. Beecher. Mr. Lincoln's law partner, William H. Herndon, often gave him speeches by Beecher and other abolitionist preachers. "Mr. Beecher was one of the few preachers who was both most effective in the pulpit and, if possible, more eloquent upon the platform," recalled Republican politician Chauncey M. Depew. "When there was a moral issue involved, he would address political audiences. In one campaign, his speeches were more widely printed than those of any of the senators, members of the House, or governors who spoke. I remember one illustration about his dog, Noble, barking for hours at the hole from which a squirrel had departed, and was enjoying the music sitting calmly in the crotch of a tree. The illustration caught the fancy of the country and turned the laugh upon the opposition." Beecher himself caught the popular imagination. Biographer Howard wrote: "He wore his hair long, no beard was permitted to grow, and a wide Byron collar was turned over a black silk stock, and his clothes were of conventional cut. His hair was thick and heavy. His eyes were large and very blue. His nose was straight, full and prominent. His mouth formed a perfect bow, and when the well—developed lips pared they disclosed the regular, well—set teeth. There was nothing clerical in his face, figure, dress or bearing. He was more like a street evangel — a man talking to men and standing on a common level." http://www.mrlincolnandnewyork.org/inside.asp?ID=44&subjectID=3