very unsafe for him to stand in front of Shields' pistol. He was a warm, personal and political friend of Lincoln, and, knowing the relations between him and Miss Todd, in this dilemma he disclosed the facts to Lincoln, and asked his advice and counsel. He was not willing to expose the lady's name, and yet was extremely reluctant himself to meet the fiery Irishman in the field. Lincoln at once told Francis to tell Shields to regard him as the author.

The Tazewell Circuit Court, at which he had several cases of importance to try, being in session, Lincoln departed for Tremont, the county-seat. As soon as Francis had notified Shields that Lincoln was the author of the papers, he and his second, General Whitesides, started in hot pursuit of Lincoln. Hearing this, Dr. Merryman and Lincoln's old friend, Butler, started also for Tremont, "to prevent," as Merryman said, "any advantage being taken of Lincoln, either as to his honor or his life." They passed the belligerent Shields and Whitesides in the night, and arrived at Tremont in advance. They told Lincoln what was coming, and he replied, that he was altogether opposed to duelling, and would do anything to avoid it that would not degrade him in the estimation of himself and of his friends, but if a fight were the only alternative of such degradation, he would fight.

In the mean while, the young lady having heard of the demand that Shields had made, wrote another letter in which she said:

"I hear the way of these fire-eaters is to give the challenged party the choice of weapons, which, being the case, I'll tell you in confidence that I never fight

with anything but broomsticks, or hot water, or a shovelful of coals, the former of which, being something like a shillalah, may not be objectionable to him."

While this badinage was going on, Shields had challenged Lincoln, and the challenge had been accepted. The weapons decided on were cavalry broadswords of the largest size, and a place of meeting was selected on the west bank of the Mississippi, within three miles of Alton. The principals, and their seconds and surgeons, started for the place of meeting. As they approached the river, they were joined by Colonel Harding and others, who sought to bring about a reconciliation. Hostilities were suspended. Shields was induced to withdraw the challenge and satisfactory explanations were made. Lincoln declared that the obnoxious articles were written solely for political effect, and with no intention of injuring the personal or private character of Shields, and so the parties returned reconciled. With very heavy broadswords under the conditions of this meeting, Shields, who was a comparatively weak man, could not have injured Lincoln, and Lincoln would not have injured Shields. If the meeting had taken place, however, nothing but a tragedy could have prevented its being a farce."

The date of the wedding was set, and the invited guests were present. The bride had arrayed herself in her bridal robes, but Lincoln failed to appear. The bride and the marriage-feast-but no bridegroom. After waiting some hours, the guests slowly took their departure, the bridal-robes were laid aside, and the brilliantly lighted house was soon in dark

ness. As the time for the wedding had approached, Lincoln had been attacked with doubts as to his love for Miss Todd, and began to fear that he would com mit a great wrong if he married her, until he lapsed. into one of his old fits of melancholy, which so closely resembled insanity. For weeks the burden of his misery seemed greater than he could bear, and his friends, fearing that he might be tempted to take his own life, stayed faithfully with him until his bosomfriend, Joshua F. Speed, invited him to spend a few months with him in his old home in Kentucky. Thither he went and spent some months of restful quiet. Speed's home was on a great estate a few miles from Louisville, and not far from Lincoln's earliest home. The peaceful surroundings and restful comforts were just what the overwrought young lawyer needed to restore his mental equilibrium.

In a few months he returned to Springfield, and took up his work again. For some time he held no communication with Miss Todd, who, after she had recovered somewhat from the mortification resulting from his desertion, had broken the engagement.

He felt great solicitude for her, and deplored deeply the injury he had done her. In some way, through the contrivance of a mutual friend, they were brought together again, the old relations were resumed, and the past was forgotten, at least forgiven.

November 4, 1842, they were married in the presence of a large concourse of friends, and with the impressive ceremonies of the Episcopal Church, a form that had never been used in Springfield before, and which attracted much attention.

Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln went to live at a hotel, where

they remained for three or four years, paying four dollars a week for their accommodations. Mr. Lin

coln then bought a small, but cheery and comfortable house of the Rev. Nathaniel Dresser, where they lived until they removed to Washington to occupy the White House.

After the campaign of 1840, Mr. Lincoln had returned to his law practice, but the charm of politics had begun to exert its sway over him, and he became more and more desirous of political preferment. In 1842 he planned to secure the nomination for Congress from the Springfield district, but was compelled to withdraw in favor of his friend, Edward D. Baker, who secured the support of the delegates from Sangamon County of whom Lincoln, contrary to his wish, was one. He remarked that his case was much like the young man who had a successful rival for the affections of a young lady in whom he was interested, and was afterwards invited to act as groomsman at the wedding.

At the convention, however, Mr. Baker lost the nomination, which was given to. John J. Hardin, a strong and talented man, who represented the district honorably for the next two years. In 1844 came the Presidential canvass, in which Henry Clay, the idol of the Whig party, was defeated, and James K. Polk was elected, almost as much to the surprise of the Democrats, as to the Whigs.

Lincoln, being considered the Whig leader in Illinois, was placed at the head of the electoral ticket, and again made an active canvass of Illinois and a part of Indiana. During the canvass he made a speech in Gentryville, which was near his former home.

While in the midst of his speech, an old friend, Nate Grigsby, entered the room. Lincoln recognized him on the instant, and, stopping short in his speech, cried out, "There's Nate." Without the slightest regard for the propriety of the occasion, he suspended his address totally, and, striding from the platform, began scrambling through the audience, and over the benches towards the modest Nate, who stood near the door. When he reached him, Lincoln shook his hand cordially, and, after felicitating himself sufficiently upon the happy meeting, he returned to the platform and finished his speech.

There was scarcely a character in American history for whom Lincoln entertained a more enthusiastic veneration, than for Henry Clay. This, no doubt, was due in part to the biography which he had so eagerly read in his childhood, since which time he had been a constant worshiper at the altar of the Southern sage. Hence he entered into the campaign with unusual vigor and enthusiasm, and his disappointment at the result was deep and bitter. Indeed, the defeat totally demoralized the Whig party for a time, and it hardly seemed probable that it would ever recover from the shock sufficiently to enter into the next campaign. But the events of Polk's administration unexpectedly brought about a Democratic defeat, and General Taylor, the Whig candidate, was elected in 1848, more as a result of Democratic demoralization than of Whig strength.

Lincoln and his partner, Judge Logan, were both. of them prominent Whigs, and to a considerable extent rivals for political preferment. Hence their relations to each other became somewhat strained.