William H. Grigsby to Lincoln & Herndon, 3 August 18581
Pekin, Ills. Aug 3rd/. 58Wm H. GrigsbyToLincoln & Herndon,Gentlemen:
I thank you for your pleasant words,— fully relying on your promise, should circumstances
favor my plea.
I hope what is best, will happen. You seem to take an interest in my welfare— verily ye shall not lose your reward if ye judge righteously, and act upon your judgment. If you can accommodate me to "a place",
please send the "glad tidings" at as early a date as you please, 'and the praise shall be thine.'3
If the Law is to be my staff through life, may I soon take the right end in both hands, and journey onward to lighten the wilderness of sin, with the lamp of Human
Rights.— a little spark might cause a great conflagration. Many lose their "fire"
in the fatal 'cups dregs, or smother it out with bacon and eggs!–4
Without application of power, there can be no result, while the consequences of misapplied power are worse than death.
I will not rest 'done up in a rag.'–5 Will you credit my presumption for further intruding on your time & patience?–
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That you may better understand my aspirations, hopes and circumstances, I will quote
from memory a few paragraphs written in a former letter, addressing myself to Mr.
Lincoln, I said in substance:.....'Knowing you do not like tangles and fine spun threads
of discourse, I will tell my story in as plain and simple terms as possible.’....'I
have considered the ways of life with fair attention, 'till I am persuaded to the
study of Law, I think I can climb, 'tis enough to say I will try if I can find a true
experienced guide, and I believe as I think, “thou art the man”?–6 ‘I want a fair start, and a sure reliance.’....'I must commence right if I would
end well, on the journey of life.'
‘Now is the time for me to commence some particular business– no man can know all
of every thing'
‘The study and practice of law is my choice', provided, I can avail myself of the
counsel of some good lawyer.
From high authority "Lincoln & Herndon in Springfield" are recommended preferable to others in the state.'....'There are too many men now
on a dead level —7 they have contaminated the very air with their intemperate breath, — I want to go
up and "see the world, and the glory thereof."
It is neither honorable or profitable to stay below in the Kitchen.
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I want to do something in this world worthy of my being and privilege– I want to
do the most good in the shortest time, but wanting and waiting, will never fill the
cupboard. There must be action steady, conscientious action.
Base actions beget a fame that ruins itself, but the good will survive the shock of
falling time, to live again.
'A short account of myself might not be irrelevant. I am nineteen years old— a native
missourian from the heart of the state, and not from among the bristles of the border, this may account for some of my political
sentiments—anti Borderation!......8'My parents were poor in purse but rich in soul, they early learned me certain good
principles which are stereotyped on the tablets of my hearts that the storms of time
can never erase.'
Peace to their ashes they are dead! 'I can boast of honesty and industry in full,
and perseverance in more than common share. I was raised on a farm and know how to work, and I am not ashamed of my knowledge, or hardly of my ignorance, for
I mean it not. My early education was extremely limited.– Most of my present simple
education, has come from Home culture.
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...'I have studied phrenology, physiology and Phonography, untill I am tolerably well versed in their principles, though not far in practice’.......'If
I can get a situation in your law office I think I can go up hill, very probably slow, but in the right direction!
I can get in Law offices here, enough, but I prefer to fill my cup at the fountain—
aim high at once.
'I would not alone have had the boldness to make this request to you, had I not been encouraged to do so by Hon. R. Yates, Jacksonville, Ills.’
You may think I am too impulsive, but one reason why I am thus forward, is, unless I expect, I cannot gain, and now is my proper time. Good works & Faith are the lever and fulcrum that moves mountains
the good old way.
I am at present in the employment of G. L. Thomas, Druggist, Bookseller & Stationer Pekin, Ills.[Illinois] I dont like the business. There is too great a proportion of exercise in fingering & tying up– In some degree, a man wraps up his ideas in brown paper. I prefer a range or
broader Principles, outside of the abundance of small particulars. Happiness consist
in the normal action of all our faculties & powers.
I claim "Life, Liberty & the pursuit of happiness"
I have the honor of being your humble Petitioner.<Page 5>
[Envelope]
PEKIN Ills.
AUG[AUGUST] 4Messrs[Messieurs] Lincoln & Herndon,Springfield,Ills.
AUG[AUGUST] 4Messrs[Messieurs] Lincoln & Herndon,Springfield,Ills.
2William H. Herndon responded to Grigsby on behalf of Lincoln & Herndon on July 29,
1858, stating that the office was full, but that Grigsby would be welcome as a student
if a position opened. Abraham Lincoln also wrote Grigsby on August 3, when Grigsby simultaneously wrote this letter. Lincoln advised
Grigsby that he would become a lawyer more quickly by studying on his own. In an 1861
letter to Lincoln, Grigsby mentioned that he came to Springfield in the autumn of 1858 hoping
to speak with either Lincoln or Herndon, but that neither was in town. Herndon wrote
Grigsby a further letter on April 23, 1859, in response to another unlocated letter
from the hopeful student, in which he reiterated that the office was full and had
no room for an additional law student. The two letters to Grigsby in Herndon’s hand
on behalf of Lincoln & Herndon are docketed by Grigsby at head of text with notes
that appear to be addressed to Lincoln and which narrate the history of his correspondence
with the firm. This suggests that Grigsby may have at some time enclosed or intended
to enclose Herndon’s correspondence in a letter to Lincoln, but no such covering letter
has been identified.
Letter, Document ID: 124908; Letter, Document ID: 131067, Lincoln & Herndon declined Grigsby as legal apprentice, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), https://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=141408.
3Grigsby’s quoted phrases appear to be allusions to the Bible. For example, a version
of the phrase “verily ye shall not lose your reward” is found in Mark 9:41 as “For
truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong
to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” “Glad tidings” of salvation, redemption,
and great joy are found throughout the Bible, examples including Psalms XLV, Colossians
II, and John IV. The phrase “and the praise shall be thine” is seen in a reflection
on final line of John 7:1-27, “...we may all at last come, in the unity of the faith,
in the bond of love, to serve thee in thy kingdom of glory, and the praise shall be
thine forever, through Jesus Christ, our strength and our Redeemer.”
Family Worship. A Series of Prayers for Every Morning and Evening Throughout the Year (New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1856), 228, 287, 300, 585; Mark 9:41.
4Grigsby continues to allude to Bible verses. The wilderness of Sin references a location
between Elim and Sinai where the Israelites rested during their exodus. The "lamp
of Human Rights" may be based upon Proverbs, “The human spirit is the lamp of the
LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being.” Grigsby’s reference to the fatal cup’s
dregs may be his refusal to give up on his goal of studying law. The "fatal cups dregs" alludes to the cup of God's fury and judgment in Psalm 75 and Isaiah 51.
Similarly, Jesus references the cup of God's anger and wrath in his prayer in the
Garden of Gethsemane as recorded in three of the four Synoptic Gospels.
Exodus 16:1; Psalms 75:8; Proverbs 20:27; Isaiah 51:17, 22; Matthew 26:36-46; Mark
14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46 .
5Grigsby’s phrase “done up in a rag” is likely a play on words meaning to do nothing.
As a sermon in 1843 used it, “we might as well be dead and done up in rags, as to
stay here and dig in consolidated darkness,” using the phrase to mean the preparation
of a body after death.
The Cecil Whig (Elkton, MD), 4 March 1843, 1:5.
6The accusation “thou art the man” is made in the Bible by the prophet Nathan against
King David. At the command of God, Nathan told David a parable of a rich man who stole
his poorer neighbor’s sheep to serve to a guest. When David expressed outrage at the
actions of the rich man, Nathan used this phrase to point out that David had committed
a similar crime by killing Bathsheba’s husband so that he could marry her himself.
2 Samuel 12:1-10.
7By “dead level,” meaning lacking a rise or fall in any direction, Grigsby apparently
means stagnant, or lacking ambition.
James A. H. Murray, ed., A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1897), 3:58.
8Grigsby refers to the border between Missouri and Kansas Territory, which was the scene of violent conflict following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, as pro-slavery “Border Ruffians” from Missouri sought to ensure that Kansas
entered the Union as a slave state.
David M. Potter and Don E. Fehrenbacher, The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861 (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 199-224.
Handwritten Letter, 5 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).