torted version of the incident mentioned will be found in an examination of any almanac for the year 1857. "The Old Farmer's Almanac" for that year, which has been examined by the writer, and a copy of which is before him while writing these lines, gives the phases of the moon for the period in question. From this it appears that the moon completed its first quarter on August 27, 1857, and that on the evening of August 29 of that year, the moon set at twenty-one minutes before twelve o'clock, or at eleven o'clock and thirty-nine minutes.

The time of the rising and the setting of the sun and moon is the same in the same latitude everywhere if measured by the time of the day or night in any particular locality. To illustrate: if the moon rises at seven o'clock in New York, measured by New York time, it will rise on the same evening in Chicago at seven o'clock measured by Chicago time, but at eight o'clock measured by New York time; for although the time of its rising in Chicago is actually one hour later than in New York, there being one hour's difference in the time as measured by the clock, the hour of its rising is identical. That this is true is shown by the "Chicago Daily News Almanac" for 1914, by which it appears that on August 29, 1914, the moon set in New York and throughout northern Illinois at eleven o'clock and forty-three minutes.

From this it will be seen that Mr. Lincoln was correct in his argument that because the moon had set before midnight on the evening of August 29, 1857, it was so near the western horizon at eleven o'clock on that evening, that it could not have furnished sufficient light to have enabled the witness, Allen, to see the striking of a blow by Armstrong at the distance at which he claimed to have seen it struck.

Some doubt has been expressed as to whether an almanac was in fact introduced in evidence during the trial. There is abundant evidence, however, that Mr. Lincoln did introduce the almanac.

The indictment in the case was returned to the October term, 1857, of the Circuit Court of Mason County and is still on file in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cass County. This indictment charges that Norris struck "with a certain piece of wood about three feet long James Preston Metzker on the back of the head," and that "William Armstrong, with a certain hard metallic substance called a slung-shot," struck Metzker "in and upon the right eye." On file in Cass County there are also the written instructions given on behalf of Norris at his trial in Mason County, which refer to the time of night and the distance of the witness Allen from Metzker when the blow was struck by Norris;

but neither the time nor the distance is stated in the instructions. This indicates that there was evidence introduced on both these questions at the trial of Norris, and as Walker and Lacey of Havana were attorneys for Norris and as Mr. Walker was associated with Lincoln in the defense of Armstrong, there is no doubt that these same questions arose in the defense of the latter.

An account of this famous trial, written by the late J. M. Gridley of Virginia, Illinois, and published by the Illinois State Historical Society in 1910, contains an extract from a letter received by Mr. Gridley from John T. Brady, who served on the jury in the trial of Armstrong. In this letter Mr.Brady said:

The almanac that was introduced was examined closely by the court and the attorneys for the state, and the almanac showed that the moon at that time was going out of sight; was setting; and the almanac was allowed to be used as evidence by Judge Herriott.

It will be noted that this statement by Mr. Brady is in harmony with the account given by Mr. King in the North American Review before mentioned.

That Mr. Lincoln did not rely wholly upon his ability to discredit Allen by the introduction of the almanac and thereby acquit his client is evident from an examination of two instructions which were given on behalf of Armstrong, both of which, now