ar him use such language? (Cries of "Yes.")
I am informed further, that somebody in his audience, rather more
excited and nervous than himself, took off his coat, and offered to
take the job off Judge Douglas's hands, and fight Lincoln himself. Did
anybody here witness that war-like proceeding? (Laughter and cries of
"Yes.") Well, I merely desire to say that I shall fight neither Judge
Douglas nor his second. I shall not do this for two reasons, which I
will now explain. In the first place, a fight would prove nothing
which is in issue in this contest. It might establish that Judge
Douglas is a more muscular man than myself, or it might demonstrate
that I am a more muscular man than Judge Douglas. But this question is
not referred to in the Cincinnati platform, nor in either of the
Springfield platforms. Neither result would prove him right nor me
wrong; and so of the gentleman who volunteered to do this fighting for
him. If my fighting Judge Douglas would not prove anything, it would
certainly prove nothing for me to fight his bottle-holder.

"My second reason for not having a personal encounter with the judge
is, that I don't believe he wants it himself. He and I are about the
best friends in the world, and when we get together he would no more
think of fighting me than of fighting his wife. Therefore, ladies and
gentlemen, when the judge talked about fighting, he was not giving
vent to any ill feeling of his own, but merely trying to excite--well,
enthusiasm against me on the part of his audience. And as I find he
was tolerably successful, we will call it quits."

More difficult for Lincoln to take good-naturedly than threats and
hard names was the irrelevant matters which Douglas dragged into the
debates to turn attention from the vital arguments. Thus Douglas
insisted repeatedly on taunting Lincoln because his zealous friends
had carried him off the platform at Ottawa. "Lincoln was so frightened
by the questions put to him," said Douglas, "that he could not walk."
He tried to arouse the prejudice of the audience by absurd charges of
abolitionism. Lincoln wanted to give negroes social equality; he
wanted a negro wife; he was willing to allow Fred Douglass to make
speeches for him. Again he took up a good deal of Lincoln's time by
forcing him to answer to a charge of refusing to vote supplies for the
soldiers in the Mexican War. Lincoln denied and explained, until at
last, at Charleston, he turned suddenly to Dougla