rather by way of illustration of
something that had happened or been said. There seemed to be no end to
his fund of stories." Mr. Lamon states: "Lincoln frequently said that he
lived by his humor and would have died without it. His manner of telling
a story was irresistibly comical, the fun of it dancing in his eyes and
playing over every feature. His face changed in an instant; the hard
lines faded out of it, and the mirth seemed to diffuse itself all over
him like a spontaneous tickle. You could see it coming long before he
opened his mouth, and he began to enjoy the 'point' before his eager
auditors could catch the faintest glimpse of it. Telling and hearing
ridiculous stories was one of his ruling passions." A good illustration
of this fondness for story-telling is given by Judge Sibley, of Quincy,
Illinois, who knew Lincoln when practicing law at Springfield. One day a
party of lawyers were sitting in the law library of the court-house at
Springfield, awaiting the opening of court, and telling stories to fill
the time. Judge Breese of the Supreme bench--one of the most
distinguished of American jurists, and a man of great personal
dignity--passed through the room where the lawyers were sitting, on his
way to open court. Lincoln, seeing him, called out in his hearty way,
"Hold on, Breese! Don't open court yet! Here's Bob Blackwell just going
to tell a new story!" The judge passed on without replying, evidently
regarding it as beneath the dignity of the Supreme Court to delay
proceedings for the sake of a story.

CHAPTER V

Lincoln in the Legislature--Eight Consecutive Years of Service--His
Influence in the House--Leader of the Whig Party in Illinois--Takes
a Hand in National Politics--Presidential Election in 1840--A "Log
Cabin" Reminiscence--Some Memorable Political Encounters--A Tilt
with Douglas--Lincoln Facing a Mob--His Physical Courage--Lincoln
as a Duellist--The Affair with General Shields--An Eye-Witness'
Account of the Duel--Courtship and Marriage.

In 1838 Lincoln was for a third time a candidate for the State
Legislature. Mr. Wilson, one of his colleagues from Sangamon County,
states that a question of the division of the county was one of the
local issues. "Mr. Lincoln and myself," says Mr. Wilson, "among others
residing in the portion of the county which sought to be organized into
a new county, opposed the division; and it became necessary that I
should mak