long-cherished purpose into execution.

DISCOURAGED LITIGATION.

Lincoln believed in preventing unnecessary litigation, and carried out
this in his practice. "Who was your guardian?" he asked a young man who
came to him to complain that a part of the property left him had been
withheld. "Enoch Kingsbury," replied the young man.

"I know Mr. Kingsbury," said Lincoln, "and he is not the man to have
cheated you out of a cent, and I can't take the case, and advise you to
drop the subject."

And it was dropped.

GOING HOME TO GET READY.

Edwin M. Stanton was one of the attorneys in the great "reaper patent"
case heard in Cincinnati in 1855, Lincoln also having been retained.
The latter was rather anxious to deliver the argument on the general
propositions of law applicable to the case, but it being decided to have
Mr. Stanton do this, the Westerner made no complaint.

Speaking of Stanton's argument and the view Lincoln took of it, Ralph
Emerson, a young lawyer who was present at the trial, said:

"The final summing up on our side was by Mr. Stanton, and though he took
but about three hours in its delivery, he had devoted as many, if not
more, weeks to its preparation. It was very able, and Mr. Lincoln was
throughout the whole of it a rapt listener. Mr. Stanton closed his
speech in a flight of impassioned eloquence.

"Then the court adjourned for the day, and Mr. Lincoln invited me to
take a long walk with him. For block after block he walked rapidly
forward, not saying a word, evidently deeply dejected.

"At last he turned suddenly to me, exclaiming, 'Emerson, I am going
home.' A pause. 'I am going home to study law.'

"'Why,' I exclaimed, 'Mr. Lincoln, you stand at the head of the bar in
Illinois now! What are you talking about?'

"'Ah, yes,' he said, 'I do occupy a good position there, and I think
that I can get along with the way things are done there now. But these
college-trained men, who have devoted their whole lives to study, are
coming West, don't you see? And they study their cases as we never do.
They have got as far as Cincinnati now. They will soon be in Illinois.'

"Another long pause; then stopping and turning toward me, his
countenance suddenly assuming that look of strong determination which
those who knew him best sometimes saw upon his face, he exclaimed, 'I am
going home to study law! I am as good as any, of them, and when they get
out to Illinois, I will be ready for them.'"