He was widely sought as a speaker in both of Mr.Lincoln's contests for the Presidency, 1860 and 1864.

In the latter year he was especially forcible, attractive, and effective.
Subsequently he fell off, apparently in strength, certainly in popularity.

As a lecturer he lost his hold upon the lyceum, and as a political orator he began to repeat himself, not merely in sense but in phrase.

As a senator he did not meet the expectation of his friends.
His failure was in large part due to the fact that he has not the power of speaking _extempore_.

He requires careful and studious preparation, and has never attained the art of off-hand parliamentary discussion, which Colonel Benton likened to "shooting on the wing." So deficient is Mr.Schurz in this talent, that he has been known to use a manuscript in an after-dinner response, a style of speech whose chief merit consists in its spontaneity, with apt reference to incidents which could not possibly be foreseen.
The loss of Mr.Schurz's popularity--a popularity that was very marked in the earlier period of his career--is due in part to certain unsteady and erratic tendencies, some of which are in strong contrast with characteristics that are recognized as belonging in an especial degree to his race.