LINDH
LTNTON
overwhelming evidence that he was never
more than a Theist. His life-long friend
and partner, Herndon, is emphatic in this
sense, and quotes the explicit confirmation
of Mrs. Lincoln and others (Abraham
Lincoln, 1892 edition, ii, 145-56). Colonel
Ward Hill Lamon, another intimate friend,
whose testimony was challenged by H. W.
Beecher, strongly repeated in the next
edition of his book : " He was not a
Christian " (Eecollections of Abraham
Lincoln, Appendix to 1911 edition, p. 335).
The supposed witnesses to the contrary
are neither so authoritative nor so clear.
General C. H. T. Collis, who tried to
defend Lincoln s orthodoxy against Inger-
soll, could only say that Lincoln in later
years attended a Presbyterian church in
Philadelphia and used Theistic language
(The Religion of A. Lincoln, 1900). He
could not meet Ingersoll s challenge to
prove that Lincoln believed in the divinity
of Christ or in revelation ; and no one has
ever claimed that Lincoln was baptized or
a regular member of any Church. H. B.
Eankin, another orthodox claimant, relies
mainly on his (Rankin s) mother s verbal
report of a conversation with Lincoln ; yet
even as it stands it is only an appreciation
of the ethical side of Christianity (Personal
Recollections of A. Lincoln). All the evi
dence is collected, and Lincoln s Ration
alism proved, in J. E. Remsburg s A. Lin
coln : Was He a Christian ? (1893) and
Six Historic Americans. The truth seems
to be well expressed in C. G. Leland s
A. Lincoln (1879), that "as he grew older
his intensely melancholy and emotional
temperament inclined him towards reliance
on an unseen Power and belief in a future
state " (p. 56), and that prudent regard for
his position induced him to use rather
exaggerated expressions of his Theism in
his speeches. He was shot by an assassin
and died on the following day, Apr. 15,
1865.
LINDH, Anders Theodor, Finnish poet. B. Jan. 13, 1833. Ed. Helsingfors University. He won attention by a volume
447
of admirable lyrics (Dikter) in 1862, and
two years later he opened a successful
dramatic career with Konung Birger och
hans broder. He lives in Sweden, and
writes in Swedish, into which he has
translated many German, Danish, English,
French, and Italian works. He is a
member of the Town Council of Borga,
and an outspoken Rationalist.
LINDKYIST, Alfred.
QVIST, A.
See LUND-
LINDNER, Ernst Otto Timotheus,
German writer. B. Nov. 28, 1820. Ed. Leipzig University. After graduating, he tried to secure an academic career, but " his open unbelief in religious matters caused so much annoyance in high quarters " (Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie) that he had to be content with private tutorship. He turned eventually to journalism, and became editor of the Vossische Zeitung. A man of wide accom plishments, both in art and philosophy, he wrote a number of works on music and on Schopenhauer, of whom he was a great friend. D. Aug. 7, 1867.
LINTON, Eliza Lynn, novelist. B. Feb. 10, 1822. In 1845 she left her home in Keswick for London, and opened a literary career. Her early historical novels were not very successful, and she acted as Paris correspondent of London newspapers (1851-54). In 1858 Miss Lynn married W. J. Linton, but their characters were so ill assorted that they soon separated, retaining a marked affection for each other throughout life. The differences are indi cated in her Autobiography of Christopher KirUand (1885). Mrs. Linton s high repu tation as a novelist began in 1872 with her True History of Joshua Davidson, a Ration alist novel ; as is also her Under Which Lord ? (1879). G. S. Layard, her bio grapher, amply tells of her Agnosticism (Mrs. Lynn Linton : Her Life, Letters, and Opinions, 1901, pp. 66, 155-56, etc.). He includes a statement by Mr. Benn, who 448
