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East. Lincoln entered into the contest with great ardor, and stumped" the state for his party, and in many parts of it he and Douglas held joint political discussions. In this way they traveled the large circuit of Judge Treat, speaking together at every county seat in the circuit.

A great whig meeting was held at the capital in June, to which the people came in throngs from every part of Illinois. Chicago sent a large delegation, which brought as a representative of the commercial capital, a full rigged ship on wheels. The delegation were supplied with tents and provisions, and plenty of cider, and at night, camped out like an army on the prairies. Their camp-fires illuminated the groves, and their campaign songs echoed and resounded all the way from Lake Michigan to the Illinois and the SangaAt this great meeting, all the leading whig orators spoke. Among them were Lincoln, Baker, and Logan, of Springfield; Harden, of Morgan; Browning, of Quincy, and Butterfield and Lisle Smith, of Chicago. For argument and apt illustration, the palm was generally given to Lincoln, but he himself said that no one could be compared to a young lawyer from Chicago, whose name was Lisle Smith.'

mon.

It was during the canvass of 1840 that Lincoln protected Baker from a mob which threatened to drag him off the stand. Baker was speaking in a large room, rented and used for the court sessions, and Lincoln's office was in an apartment over the court room, and communicating with it by a trap-door. Lincoln was in his office, listening to Baker through the open trap-door, when Baker, becoming excited, abused the democrats, many of whom were present. A cry was raised, "Pull him off the stand!" The instant Lincoln heard the cry, knowing a general fight was imminent, his athletic form was seen descending from above through the

1. This young man died in early life. I have heard the silver-tongued Baker, the vehement, passionate, and tempestuous Lovejoy, the great actor Clay, the majestic Webster, but within a certain narrow range, I never heard the equal of Smith. At a public dinner speech, a commemorative oration, or an eulogy, he was unequaled. For a union of music and poetry, beauty of language, and felicity of illustration, I have never heard his equal. He was an early friend, and that must be my excuse for this digression.-Author.

opening of the trap-door, and springing to the side of Baker, and waving his hand for silence, he said with dignity: "Gentlemen, let us not disgrace the age and country in which we live. This is a land where freedom of speech is guaranteed. Baker has a right to speak, and a right to be permitted to do so. I am here to protect him, and no man shall take him from this stand if I can prevent it." Quiet was restored, and Baker finished his speech without further interruption.

In 1839, Miss Mary Todd came from Lexington, Kentucky, to Springfield, on a visit to her sister, Mrs. Ninian W. Edwards, who was the daughter of the Hon. Robert S. Todd, of Kentucky. In 1778, John Todd, the great-uncle of Mary Todd, accompanied General George Rogers Clark to Illinois, and was present at the capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes.1 On the 12th of December, 1778, he was appointed by the Governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry, County Lieutenant, or commandant of the county of Illinois, in the state of Virginia. In 1779, John Todd arrived at Kaskaskia and organized civil government under the authority of Virginia. It is a curious and interesting fact that the great-uncle of Mary Todd, afterwards wife of President Lincoln, should, in 1779, have been acting Governor of Illinois. He may be justly regarded as the founder of the state, a pioneer of progress, education, and liberty. He was killed at the battle of Blue Licks, on the 18th of August, 1782. His two brothers, Levi and Robert, settled in Lexington, Kentucky. Levi was the grandfather of Mary Todd, afterwards Mrs. Lincoln, and he was the only field officer at the battle of Blue Licks who was not killed.' Such was the family

1. Manuscript Letter of Ninian W. Edwards, also "Illinois in the Eighteenth Century." by Edward G. Mason—a paper read before the Chicago Historical Society. 2. See the manuscript "Records of the County of Illinois," with Todd's appointment, in the Chicago Historical Society.

3. The original records of his administration, in manuscript, were presented to the Chicago Historical Society by Edward G. Mason.

4. Manuscript Letter of Ninian W. Edwards. Col. John Todd pre-empted a large tract of land in and near the present city of Lexington. While encamped on its site he heard of the battle of Lexington, in the far East," and named his infant settlement in its honor."

came to visit her

and lineage of Mary Todd. When she sister she was twenty-one years of age. Her mother died when she was a child, and she had been educated and well taught at a boarding school for young ladies at Lexington. She was intelligent and bright, full of life and animation, with ready wit, and quick at repartee and satire. Her eyes were a grayish blue, her hair abundant, and dark brown in color. She was a brunette, with a rosy tinge in her cheeks, of medium height, and form rather full and round.

The Edwards and the Stuarts were among the leading families in social life at the capital. Ninian W. Edwards was a lawyer of distinction. His father had been Chief Justice of Kentucky, and was the first Governor of the Territory of Illinois, holding the position from 1809 to 1818. He was the first senator from Illinois after its admission into the Union, and afterwards Governor of the State.

When Miss Todd came to Springfield, nearly all ambitious young men sought distinction at the bar and in public life. Young ladies sympathized with this ambition to an extent scarcely appreciated at the present day. This young Lexington belle was very ambitious, and is said to have declared on leaving Kentucky that she meant to marry some one who would be President. On her arrival at Springfield she met in Lincoln a man of bright political prospects, already popular, and the leader of his party; one who was regarded by her relations and connections as an intellectual prodigy.' Lincoln, who had had his fancies, and his romantic passion. for Anne Rutledge, now became the suitor of Miss Todd. His courtship was distinguished with the somewhat novel incident of a challenge to fight a duel.

At this time there was living at Springfield, James Shields, a gallant hot-headed bachelor, from Tyrone County, Ireland.

1. It is noteworthy that those who heard Lincoln talk, even at that early day, were impressed with his ability. I have heard old settlers in Springfield say, "every lady wanted to get near Lincoln to hear him talk" An old gentleman told me that when dining one day at the same table with Miss Todd and Lincoln, he said to her after dinner, half in jest and half in earnest: "Mary, I have heard that you have said you want to marry a man who will be President. If so, Abe Lincoln is your man."Author.

Like most of his countrymen, he was an ardent democrat, and he was also a great beau in society. He had been so fortunate as to be elected Auditor of the State. Miss Todd, full of spirit, very gay, and a little wild and mischievous, published in the "Sangamon Journal," under the name of "Aunt Rebecca, or the Lost Townships," some amusing satirical papers, ridiculing the susceptible and sensitive Irishman. Indeed Shields was so sensitive he could not bear ridicule, and would much rather die than be laughed at. On seeing the papers, he went at once to Francis, the editor, and furiously demanded the name of the author, declaring that unless the name of the writer was given he would hold the editor personally responsible. Francis was a large broad man, and Shields was very thin, and slim, and the editor realized that with his great bulk it would be very unsafe for him to stand in front of Shields' pistol. He had plenty of stomach, but none for such a fight. He was a warm personal and political friend of Lincoln, aud 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 on 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 of this, Dr. Merryman, and Lincoln's oid 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 es

timation of himself and of his friends, but if a fight were the only alternative of such degradation he would fight.

In the meanwhile, 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 somewhat like a shillala, may not be objectionable to him." This spirited and indiscreet young Kentucky girl, brought up where duelling was very common and popular, would undoubtedly have had the courage herself to meet the Irishman, with the usual weapon, the pistol, and, if public opinion had sanctioned it, would have enjoyed the excitement of the meeting.

While this badinage was going on, Shields had challenged Lincoln, and the challenge had been accepted. The weapons were to have been cavalry broad swords of the largest size, and the place of meeting was to have been 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 Harden 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. It is quite clear that no tragedy was intended by Lincoln. With very heavy broad swords, 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 romance of fighting for the lady to whom he was making love, probably deepened Lincoln's devotion, and the