report of Abe's achieveHe had come, therefore,

"best man" in Illinois, the ments filled him with envy. to challenge him-doing so in a very rough and peremptory manner; and the upshot was that, the two having met by appointment, Abraham threw him. twice with the utmost ease. Needham's pride was much more wounded than his body, and turning to his antagonist, he said, "Lincoln, you may have thrown me twice, but at any rate you can't whip me!" On which the other replied, " Needham, are you satisfied that I can throw you? If you are not, and must be convinced through a thrashing, I will do that also for your sake." The wrestler had not bargained for such a retort; he had imagined that Lincoln would at least have hesitated to fight him; but when he discovered that he was not only willing to do so, but to thrash him for his own good, he gave in, and the matter ended in his unconditional surrender.

On proceeding to New Salem soon afterwards, young Lincoln did not enter upon his new duties immediately, for the merchandise with which Mr. Offutt was to furnish the store had not arrived; and while waiting for this Abe accepted a temporary engagement during an election which was being held. A clerk was wanted at the polling-place, and it was rather difficult in such a region to find one, for only a few of the people in the settlement could read and write well; so Abraham was appealed to, and on being asked if he thought he could fill the post, he replied, "Yes,

I'll do the best I can ;" and it need not be said that he performed all that was required of him most satisfactorily.

In due course Mr. Offutt's goods, consisting of almost every commodity needed by the settlers of the neighbourhood, arrived; and forthwith Abraham was installed in the store now started, of which he became the manager or salesman. This was in August, 1831.

As we have already seen, he had always been a favourite. In his new occupation he made himself more liked than ever; and the consequence was that under his direction the store soon became, and continued for a time to be, a much-frequented resort of those living in and around New Salem.

People liked to come there to make purchases, and have a chat with such a pleasant, intelligent man as Abraham; they were fond of hearing him talk on the many subjects to which he had devoted his thoughts; and, above all, they admired the straightforwardness, the integrity, the truthfulness, and the sterling qualities which he displayed in his every action. Not a few incidents are related which prove how determined Abraham was that even in the smallest details his business should be conducted with strictest fairness and honesty.

On one occasion a woman entered the store to buy some goods, and the amount of her bill was two dollars and six cents. Later on in the day Abraham,

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in checking his accounts,. found that he had overcharged her six cents. So at night, after he had finished his duties in the store, he walked to the woman's house, a distance of between two and three miles, to put the matter right by returning to her the money she had overpaid.

At another time a woman came in just before he was closing the store for the day, and bought half a pound of tea. When he began business on the next morning he saw that by some means the weight on the scales was only a quarter of a pound; so that he had unwittingly cheated his customer of half her order. Thereupon he weighed out another quarter of a pound of tea, closed up the store again, and took it to her before beginning the day.

One morning a big, rough-looking man pushed his way in while Abraham was attending to some female customers, and began to use coarse language, and adopt a hectoring tone to those present. Abraham civilly requested him to behave properly, on which he replied that he was not afraid of any one, and that, further, he would thrash him if he said any more. Lincoln waited until his customers had gone; then, as the bully dared him to touch him, he jumped over the counter, turned him out of the shop, and at length made him beg for mercy. Whereupon, we are told, Abraham at once lifted him up, and, taking him into the store, washed his face and made him

comfortable. Ever afterwards the two remained the greatest friends.

This was not the only encounter which Lincoln had with men who, envious of his popularity and abilities, tried to annoy and injure him. When he arrived in New Salem, he found the place infested by a gang of ruffians, calling themselves the "Clary Grove Boys ;" and it was the custom of these cowards not merely to play rough, brutal jokes on any man new to the neighbourhood, but often, by insulting and cuffing him, to entice him to fight. Having done this, numbers of them would attack him, and thus he received a terrible beating at their hands.

For some reason-one being, probably, because a man of the height of six feet four inches might prove a tough match for them-the "Clary Grove Boys" had at first hesitated before they introduced themselves and their customs to Abraham. After a while, however, they seem to have considered that their own notoriety as bullies would suffer unless they challenged him; so they made up their minds to wait no longer, and forthwith commenced to provoke him according to their usual wont.

At first Abraham, conscious of his own strength, was very forbearing, and tried to parley with them, in the hope of settling affairs without using force. One of the leaders of the "Boys," however, insisted on putting the matter to the test; and the result was that Abraham-who astonished them by holding out

the blackguard by the throat at arm's length-convinced them that for once they had attempted too much. From that day forward the reign of terror which the "Clary Grove Boys" had established began to be on the wane. Assisted by others belonging to New Salem, Abraham forthwith took steps to put down the ruffians; and before long, much to the relief of the inhabitants, the gang was effectually broken up, many of its members even becoming friends of Abraham.

While at Mr. Offutt's store, Abraham still devoted all the hours he could spare after business was done to study; and it was during the time he was here that he thought himself very fortunate in learning one day that at a place seven or eight miles away there was an English grammar. Forthwith he walked off to the person who possessed the precious book, and, having borrowed it, before long thoroughly mastered it from beginning to end.

There is ample evidence that at this time Lincoln began to feel that he had before him a great future, and that it was necessary for him to fit himself for it in every way possible. Just as in years previously he had been in the habit of asking questions of his mother and others concerning any subject which he did not fully understand, so now he left no stone unturned to seek knowledge from whomsoever he could obtain it. A Mr. Green, a lawyer, relates, for instance, that when he visited New Salem, Lincoln