Henry Mahan Beardsley

“ Davis’ argument.
Mr. Lincoln never cared to accumulate wealth. His charges were always reasonable. There was once in our midst, a worthy carpenter by the name of Campbell, who had taken a horse in part pay for some work he had done. The horse proved to be unsound; and Campbell sued the man from whom he had obtained it. Lincoln took the case for him, and worked hard all of one day trying it. “I was standing by,” says one, “when Mr. Campbell asked what the fee was. ‘Five dollars will do, I guess,’ said Lincoln.” ”

“ His humor oft times served him in a trial. I find in the “Urbana Union” for March, 4, 1858, a story of his own, to the point. A crowd of men were in an office discussing the fight in Congress upon the “Lecompton Constitution”, when Lincoln entered and was asked his opinion on the matter. Having seated himself in a chair, and having thrown one leg over the other in his usual way, he said he could best illustrate his opinion by means of a story. There were two men, he said, in a neighboring county, who had often met at “logger-heads”. ”

“ As honest in this work as in every thing else, he had prepared a little card with a hole through the centre, just wide enough and long enough to allow one line to be seen at a time. He would lay the card upon his book so that he could see the German sentence; then after puzzling over it, until he thought he had mastered it, he would slip down the card, and if his translation had been correct, would slap himself upon the knee, evidently well pleased with his work. Under such difficulties as these, the great man drilled his mind. ”

“ In the Fall of ’58, two men, in a grocery store at Sadorus, engaged in a discussion upon politics, became angry, and one, snatching from the counter by his side, a four pound weight, threw at the other and killed him. Ward H. Lamon was at the time Prosecuting Attorney. The widow of the murdered man engaged O. B. Ficklin to aid in the prosecution. Messrs. Lincoln and Swett were the lawyers for the defense. When the time came for the presentation of the argument, Mr. Lincoln, in his turn made his speech. ”

“ Abraham Lincoln. Few men can make an hour pass away more agreeably. We do not pretend to know, whether Mr. Lincoln will ever condescend to occupy the White House or not: but if he should, it is a comfort to know that he has established for himself a character and reputation of sufficient strength and purity to withstand the disreputable influences of even that locality.”
Speaking of Lincoln’s honesty, the same editor relates an anecdote. It was in Springfield, during the session of a Douglas-Democratic convention. Any man used to wire pulling would have been [Pg 19] on hand with his schemes. ”

“ From Lincoln’s first appearance here until 1859, there appear upon the court records the names of but few lawyers now practicing in our midst. There were others, like Mr. Lincoln, who travelled around the circuit. Prominent among these were Mr Swett, now of Chicago. Mr. Lamon, David Davis, afterwards judge of the circuit, and O. B. Ficklin, member of Congress from the district south of us. These were a jovial set of men, who knew well how to appreciate Lincoln’s stories. The old hotel in Urbana, stood across the street from where the St. ”