' to the teacher, and a smile such
as I have never seen on any other man's face and a look that took in all
of us lads and lassies, the stranger passed out of the room. This was
during a Presidential canvass. Isaac Walker, candidate for Democratic
Elector, and Abraham Lincoln, candidate for Whig Elector, were by
appointment to discuss political matters in the afternoon of that day. I
asked for and got a half-holiday. I had given no thought to the matter
until the appearance of Lincoln (for he it was) in the school-room. But,
something in the man had aroused, not only in me but in others of the
scholars, a strong desire to see him again and to hear him speak. Isaac
Walker in his younger days had been a resident of the village. Lincoln
was aware of this, and shrewdly suspected that Walker in his remarks
would allude to the circumstance; so, having the opening speech, he
determined to 'take the wind out of his sails.' He did so--how
effectually, it is hardly necessary for me to say. He had borrowed
Byron's works to read the opening lines of 'Lara':

"He, their unhoped, but unforgotten lord,
The long self-exiled chieftain, is restored.
There be bright faces in the busy hall,
Bowls on the board, and banners on the wall;

* * * * *

"He comes at last in sudden loneliness,
And whence they know not, why they need not guess;
They more might marvel, when the greeting's o'er,
Not that he came, but came not long before."

During this period Lincoln continued to enjoy the hospitality of Mr.
Speed at Springfield. "After he made his home with me," says Mr. Speed,
"on every winter's night at my store, by a big wood fire, no matter how
inclement the weather, eight or ten choice spirits assembled, without
distinction of party. It was a sort of social club without organization.
They came there because they were sure to find Lincoln. His habit was to
engage in conversation upon any and all subjects except politics. But
one evening a political argument sprang up between Lincoln and Douglas,
which for a time ran high. Douglas sprang to his feet and said:
'Gentlemen, this is no place to talk politics; we will discuss the
questions publicly with you.'" A few days later the Whigs held a meeting
and challenged the Democrats to a joint debate. The challenge was
accepted. Douglas, Lamborn, Calhoun, and Jesse Thomas were deputed by
the Democrats to meet Logan, Baker, Browning,