of the true philosophy of
life, so suggestive of the rich promises of the hereafter, that I do not
think of the great president. He first found it in the columns of a
newspaper, cut it out, carried it in his pocket, and treasured it in his
memory for many years without knowing who was its author.

It would be pleasant to trace the years spent by Mr. Lincoln in the
State Legislature, and to revert to some of the speeches and occasional
addresses belonging to those years, which, in the light of his
subsequent history, are strangely significant. In the early period of
his legislative career he became acquainted with Stephen A. Douglas,
while the latter was a school-teacher at Winchester. Douglas was a man
of extraordinary powers, and one of the readiest of the American
debaters of his time. As the years went on he became actively interested
in politics, and at length assumed the leadership of the Democrats in
Illinois, while Lincoln became the standard-bearer of the Whigs. When
party platforms were promulgated, upon the eve of important contests,
these two statesmen, by the unanimous consent of their supporters, were
selected to debate the merits of their respective political creeds
before the people. A series of joint discussions was arranged to take
place in the various important towns of the State. The assemblages were
large, and were composed of men of all parties. The discussion opened
with a speech of an hour, from one of the debaters; the other replied in
an address of an hour and a half; a rejoinder of half an hour brought
the discussion to a close. At the next meeting the order of speaking was
reversed, and by this arrangement the "last word" was indulged in
alternately by each debater.

During the various joint discussions held between the eloquent political
orators who were chosen to represent the Anti-Slavery and Democratic
parties, it may fairly be asserted that Lincoln opposed, while Douglas
defended, directly or indirectly, the slave interests of the country.
The former always felt that slavery was wrong, and in seeking a remedy
for the existing evil he followed in the footprints of Henry Clay. He
advocated gradual emancipation, with the consent of the people of the
slave States, and at the expense of the General Government. In his great
speech against the Kansas and Nebraska bill, he said, "Much as I hate
slavery, I would consent to its extension rather than see the Union
dissolved, just as I would consen