know it."

"'Abe's' jes' like his father," the old ones would say.

"NO MOON AT ALL."

One of the most notable of Lincoln's law cases was that in which he
defended William D. Armstrong, charged with murder. The case was one
which was watched during its progress with intense interest, and it had
a most dramatic ending.

The defendant was the son of Jack and Hannah Armstrong. The father was
dead, but Hannah, who had been very motherly and helpful to Lincoln
during his life at New Salem, was still living, and asked Lincoln to
defend him. Young Armstrong had been a wild lad, and was often in bad
company.

The principal witness had sworn that he saw young Armstrong strike the
fatal blow, the moon being very bright at the time.

Lincoln brought forward the almanac, which showed that at the time
the murder was committed there was no moon at all. In his argument,
Lincoln's speech was so feelingly made that at its close all the men
in the jury-box were in tears. It was just half an hour when the jury
returned a verdict of acquittal.

Lincoln would accept no fee except the thanks of the anxious mother.

"ABE" A SUPERB MIMIC.

Lincoln's reading in his early days embraced a wide range. He was
particularly fond of all stories containing fun, wit and humor, and
every one of these he came across he learned by heart, thus adding to
his personal store.

He improved as a reciter and retailer of the stories he had read and
heard, and as the reciter of tales of his own invention, and he had
ready and eager auditors.

Judge Herndon, in his "Abraham Lincoln," relates that as a mimic Lincoln
was unequalled. An old neighbor said: "His laugh was striking. Such
awkward gestures belonged to no other man. They attracted universal
attention, from the old and sedate down to the schoolboy. Then, in a few
moments, he was as calm and thoughtful as a judge on the bench, and as
ready to give advice on the most important matters; fun and gravity grew
on him alike."

WHY HE WAS CALLED "HONEST ABE."

During the year Lincoln was in Denton Offutt's store at New Salem, that
gentleman, whose business was somewhat widely and unwisely spread about
the country, ceased to prosper in his finances and finally failed. The
store was shut up, the mill was closed, and Abraham Lincoln was out of
business.

The year had been one of great advance, in many respects. He had made
new and valuable acquaintances, read many books, mastered th