country, and to his immediate constituents, without fear or favor.

In the Whig National Convention of 1848, to which Mr. Lincoln was a delegate, he earnestly advocated the nomination of General Zachary Taylor as the nominee for the Presidency, and during the ensuing canvass, he "stumped" the States of Indiana and Illinois, for his favorite candidate. In the latter State, the Democracy, under the leadership of Douglas, made a desperate and successful fight to save their nominee, General Cass. In his speech before the House, July 27, 1848, after alluding to the objections made against General Taylor as a mere military hero, he retorted with effect, by citing the attempt to make out a military record for General Cass; and referring, in a bantering way, to his own services in the Black Hawk war, as already quoted.

He then "walked into" General Cass, in a mingled strain of argument, and good-natured sarcasm, which was exceedingly effective, as will be easily compre hended from the following brief extracts:

AN OBEDIENT DEMOCRAT.

"These extracts show that, in 1846, General Cass was for the Proviso at once; that in March, 1847, he was still for it, but not just then; and that in December, 1847, he was against it altogether. This is a true index to the whole man. When the question was raised in 1846, he was in a blustering hurry to take ground for it. He sought to be in advance, and to avoid the uninteresting position of a mere follower; but soon he began to see glimpses of the great Democratic ox-gad waving in his face, and to hear indistinctly, a voice saying, 'back,' 'back, sir," 'back a little.' He shakes his head and bats his eyes, and blunders back to his position of March, 1847;

but still the gad waves, and the voice grows more distinct, and sharper still-back, sir!' 'back, I say!' 'further back!' and back he goes to the position of December, 1847; at which the gad is still, and the voice soothingly says-'So!' 'Stand still at that.'

"Have no fears, gentlemen, of your candidate; he exactly suits you, and we congratulate you upon it. However much you may be distressed about our candidate, you have all cause to be contented and happy with your own. If elected, he may not maintain all, or even any of his positions previously taken; but he will be sure to do whatever the party exigency, for the time being, may require; and that is precisely what you want. He and Van Buren are the same manner of men;' and like Van Buren, he will never desert you till you first desert him."

After referring at some length to "extra charges" of General Cass upon the Treasury, Mr. Lincoln continued:

WONDERFUL PHYSICAL CAPACITIES.

"But I have introduced General Cass's accounts here, chiefly to show the wonderful physical capacities of the man. They show that he not only did the labor of several men at the same time, but that he often did it at several places, many hundred miles apart, at the same time. And at eating, too, his capacities are shown to be quite as wonderful. From October, 1821, to May, 1822, he ate ten rations a day in Michigan, ten rations a day here, in Washington, and nearly five dollars' worth a day besides, partly on the road between the two places. And then there is an important discovery in his example-the art of being paid for what one eats, instead of having to pay for it. Hereafter, if any nice young man shall owe a bill which he cannot pay in any other way, he can just board it out. Speaker, we have all heard of the animal standing in doubt

Mr.

between two stacks of hay, and starving to death; the like of that would never happen to General Cass. Place the stacks a thousand miles apart, he would stand stock-still, midway between them, and eat them both at once; and the green grass along the line would be apt to suffer some too, at the same time. By all means, make him President, gentlemen. He will feed you bounteously-if-if there is any left after he shall have helped himself."

After the session closed, Mr. Lincoln made a visit to New England, where he delivered some effective campaign speeches, which were enthusiastically received by large audiences, and will be remembered by thousands. His time, however, was chiefly given, during the Congressional recess, to the canvass in the west, where, through the personal strength of Mr. Cass as a northwestern man, the contest was more severe and exciting than in any other part of the country. The final triumph of General Taylor, over all the odds against him, did much to counterbalance, in Mr. Lincoln's mind, the disheartening defeat of four years previous. As before stated, he had declined to be a candidate for re-election to Congress, yet he had the satisfaction of aiding to secure, in his own district, a majority of fifteen hundred for the Whig Presidential candidate.

Mr. Lincoln again took his seat in the House in December, on the reassembling of the thirtieth Congress for its second session. Coming between the Presidential election, which had effected a political revolution, and the inauguration of the new government, this session was a quiet one, passing away without any very important measures of general legislation being acted upon. A calm had followed the recent storms. There were,

indeed, certain movements in regard to slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia, which produced some temporary excitement, but resulted in no serious commotion.

With the termination of the thirtieth Congress, by constitutional limitation, on the fourth of March, 1849, Mr. Lincoln's career as a Congressman came to a close, and he retired once more to private life, renewing the professional practice which had been temporarily interrupted by his public employment. He had the satisfaction of knowing that the duties of his responsible position had been discharged with assiduity and fearless adherence to his convictions of right, under whatever circumstances. Scarcely a list of Yeas and Nays can be found, for either session, which does not contain his name; nor was he ever conveniently absent on any critical vote. He never shrank from any responsibility which his sense of justice impelled him to take. And though one of the youngest and most inexperienced members of an uncommonly able and brilliant Congress, he would long have been remembered, even without the more recent events which have naturally followed upon his previous career, as standing among the first in rank among the distinguished statesmen of the thirtieth Congress.

For the five years succeeding the canvass of 1848, Mr. Lincoln took no prominent part in politics, but remained at home in the diligent and successful practice of his profession. We may be sure, however, that he watched closely the course of public events. He had fought slavery often enough to know what it was, and what the animus of its supporters was; nor is it likely

that he was taken very much by surprise when the Nebraska bill was introduced, and the proposition was made by Stephen A. Douglas to repeal that very Missouri Compromise which he had declared to be "a sacred thing, which no ruthless hand would ever be reckless enough to disturb."

The passage of the Nebraska bill, May 22d, 1854, gave new and increased force to the popular feeling in favor of freedom which the proposition to repeal the Missouri Compromise had already excited, and promptly the friends of freedom rallied round her banner, to meet the conflict which was now closely impending, forced upon the people by the grasping ambition of the slaveholders. The political campaign of that year in Illinois was one of the severest ever known, and was intensified by the fact that a United States Senator was to be chosen by the Legislature then to be elected, to fill the place of Shields, who had voted with Douglas in favor of the Nebraska bill.

Mr. Lincoln took a prominent part in this campaign; and the crowning victory which gave Illinois her first Republican Legislature, and made Lyman Trumbull her United States Senator, was conceded to have been mainly due to his extraordinary efforts. He met Judge Douglas before the people on two occasions, the only ones when the Judge would consent to such a meeting. The first and greatest debate came off at Springfield, during the progress of the State Fair in October.

The State Fair had been in progress two days, and the capital was full of all manner of men. Hundreds of politicians had met at Springfield, expecting a tournament of an unusual character. Several speeches were