until the fury of his sorrow should wear away. There were
well-grounded fears lest he might do himself some injury, and the watch
was vigilantly kept.

"In a few weeks reason again obtained the mastery, and it was safe to
let him return to his studies and his work. He could indeed work again,
and he could once more study law, for there was a kind of relief in
steady occupation and absorbing toil, but he was not, could not ever be
the same man. . . .

"Lincoln had been fond of poetry from boyhood, and had gradually made
himself familiar with large parts of Shakespeare's plays and the works
of other great writers. He now discovered, in a strange collection of
verses, the one poem which seemed best to express the morbid, troubled,
sore condition of his mind, . . . the lines by William Knox, beginning:

"'Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
Like a swift fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud,
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,
He passeth from life to his rest in the grave:'"

"THE LONG NINE" AND THE REMOVAL TO SPRINGFIELD

Two years was the term for which Lincoln was elected to the Legislature.
The year following the death of Ann Rutledge he threw himself into a
vigorous campaign for re-election. He had found much to do at Vandalia.
The greatest thing was the proposed removal of the State capital to
Springfield. In this enterprise he had the co-operation of a group of
tall men, known as "the Long Nine," of whom he was the tallest and came
to be the leader.

Lincoln announced his second candidacy in this brief, informal letter in
the county paper:

"NEW SALEM, June 13, 1836.

"TO THE EDITOR OR THE JOURNAL:

"In your paper of last Saturday I see a
communication over the signature of 'Many
Voters' in which the candidates who are
announced in the _Journal_ are called upon to
'show their hands.'

"Agreed. Here's mine:

"I go in for all sharing the privileges of the
government who assist in bearing its burdens.
Consequently, I go for admitting all whites to
the right of suffrage who pay taxes or bear
arms (by no means excluding females).

"If elected, I shall consider the whole people
of Sangamon my constituents, as well those that
oppose as those that support me.

"While acting as their Representat