t he intended to sell out.
Mr. Greene went into the store, and offered him at random $400 for his
stock, which offer was immediately accepted.

Lincoln "happened in" the next day, and being familiar with the value of
the goods, Mr. Greene proposed to him to take an inventory of the stock,
to see what sort of a bargain he had made. This he did, and it was found
that the goods were worth $600.

Lincoln then made an offer of $125 for his bargain, with the proposition
that he and a man named Berry, as his partner, take over Greene's notes
given to Radford. Mr. Greene agreed to the arrangement, but Radford
declined it, except on condition that Greene would be their security.
Greene at last assented.

Lincoln was not afraid of the "Clary Grove Boys"; on the contrary,
they had been his most ardent friends since the time he thrashed "Jack"
Armstrong, champion bully of "The Grove"--but their custom was not
heavy.

The business soon became a wreck; Greene had to not only assist in
closing it up, but pay Radford's notes as well. Lincoln afterwards spoke
of these notes, which he finally made good to Greene, as "the National
Debt."

LINCOLN DEFENDS FIFTEEN MRS. NATIONS.

When Lincoln's sympathies were enlisted in any cause, he worked like a
giant to win. At one time (about 1855) he was in attendance upon court
at the little town of Clinton, Ill., and one of the cases on the docket
was where fifteen women from a neighboring village were defendants, they
having been indicted for trespass. Their offense, as duly set forth in
the indictment, was that of swooping down upon one Tanner, the keeper
of a saloon in the village, and knocking in the heads of his barrels.
Lincoln was not employed in the case, but sat watching the trial as it
proceeded.

In defending the ladies, their attorney seemed to evince a little want
of tact, and this prompted one of the former to invite Mr. Lincoln to
add a few words to the jury, if he thought he could aid their cause. He
was too gallant to refuse, and their attorney having consented, he made
use of the following argument:

"In this case I would change the order of indictment and have it read
The State vs. Mr. Whiskey, instead of The State vs. The Ladies; and
touching these there are three laws: the law of self-protection; the law
of the land, or statute law; and the moral law, or law of God.

"First the law of self-protection is a law of necessity, as evinced by
our forefathers in casti