es chosen was Peter Cartwright, the
backwoods preacher.

Lincoln afterward mentioned that this was the only time he was ever
defeated by a direct vote of the people.

CHAPTER XII

BUYING AND KEEPING A STORE

After making what he considered a bad beginning politically, young
Lincoln was on the lookout for a "business chance." One came to him in a
peculiar way. A man named Radford had opened a store in New Salem.
Possessing neither the strength nor the sagacity and tact of Abe
Lincoln, he was driven out of business by the Clary's Grove Boys, who
broke his store fixtures and drank his liquors. In his fright Radford
was willing to sell out at almost any price and take most of his pay in
promissory notes. He was quickly accommodated. Through William G. Greene
a transfer was made at once from Reuben Radford to William Berry and
Abraham Lincoln. Berry had $250 in cash and made the first payment. In a
few hours after a violent visit from those ruffians from Clary's Grove
Berry and Lincoln had formed a partnership and were the nominal owners
of a country store.

The new firm soon absorbed the stock and business of another firm, James
and Rowan Herndon, who had previously acquired the stock and debts of
the predecessors in their business, and all these obligations were
passed on with the goods of both the Radford and Herndon stores to
"Honest Abe."

The senior partner of the firm of Berry & Lincoln was devoted to the
whisky which was found in the inventory of the Radford stock, and the
junior partner was given over to the study of a set of "Blackstone's
Commentaries," text-books which all lawyers have to study, that came
into his possession in a peculiar way, as Candidate Lincoln told an
artist who was painting his portrait in 1860:

"One day a man who was migrating to the West drove up in front of my
store with a wagon which contained his family and household plunder. He
asked me if I would buy an old barrel for which he had no room in his
wagon, and which contained nothing of special value. I did not want it,
but to oblige him I bought it, and paid him, I think, half a dollar for
it. Without further examination I put it away in the store and forgot
all about it.

"Some time after, in overhauling things, I came upon the barrel, and
emptying it on the floor to see what it contained, I found at the bottom
of the rubbish a complete set of 'Blackstone's Commentaries.' I began to
read those famous works. I had plen