ome friendly house. On
their arrival the word was sent around, "the candidates are here," and
the men of the neighborhood gathered to hear the discussion, which was
carried on in the most informal way, the candidates frequently sitting
tipped back against the side of the house, or perched on a rail,
whittling during the debates. Nor was all of this electioneering done by
argument. Many votes were still cast in Illinois out of personal liking,
and the wily candidate did his best to make himself agreeable,
particularly to the women of the household. The Hon. William L.D. Ewing,
a Democrat who travelled with Lincoln in one campaign, used to tell a
story of how he and Lincoln were eager to win the favor of one of their
hostesses, whose husband was an important man in his neighborhood.
Neither had made much progress until at milking-time Mr. Ewing started
after the woman of the house as she went to the yard, took her pail, and
insisted on milking the cow himself. He naturally felt that this was a
master stroke. But receiving no reply from the hostess, to whom he had
been talking loudly as he milked, he looked around, only to see her and
Lincoln leaning comfortably over the bars, engaged in an animated
discussion. By the time he had his self-imposed task done, Lincoln had
captivated the hostess, and all Mr. Ewing received for his pains was
hearty thanks for giving her a chance to have so pleasant a talk with
Mr. Lincoln.[5]

[Footnote 5: Interview with Judge William Ewing of Chicago.]

[Illustration: THE CARTER SCHOOLHOUSE PRECINCT, INDIANA, WHERE LINCOLN
RENEWED ACQUAINTANCE WITH OLD NEIGHBORS IN 1844.]

Lincoln's speeches at this time were not confined to his own State. He
made several in Indiana, being invited thither by prominent Whig
politicians who had heard him speak in Illinois. The first and most
important of his meetings in Indiana was at Bruceville. The Democrats,
learning of the proposed Whig gathering, arranged one, for the same
evening, with Lieutenant William W. Carr of Vincennes as speaker. As
might have been expected from the excited state of politics at the
moment, the proximity of the two mass-meetings aroused party loyalty to
a fighting pitch. "Each party was determined to break up the other's
speaking," writes Miss O'Flynn, in a description of the Bruceville
meeting prepared for this Magazine from interviews with those who took
part in it. "The night was made hideous with the rattle of tin pans and
b