degree that the reporters forgot to take notes and therefore failed to
furnish the text to their respective newspapers. In the course of time
it came to be known as the Lost Speech, and such, in the opinion of
many who were present on the occasion, it continued to be. Mr. W. C.
Whitney, a young lawyer from the neighboring town of Champaign, later
prepared a version based upon notes, from which some general idea of
the character of the speech can perhaps be gained.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates furnish perhaps the best example of this
class of public speaking that is available. Although they were
extempore, as far as the actual language is concerned, they have been
preserved in full. In spite of the informal style appropriate to the
"stump," these discussions of the Dred Scott decision, Popular
Sovereignty, and the other questions suggested by slavery are marked by
a closeness of reasoning and a readiness of retort that show the great
master in the difficult art of debate. These qualities are not
confined to the one speaker, for his opponent was no less adroit and
ready. We may well say in this connection, "there were giants in those
days."

Much of Lincoln's success in these historic debates was due to his
intense conviction of the righteousness of the cause for which he was
pleading. As lawyer and political speaker Lincoln always felt the
necessity of believing in his case. He frequently refused to appear in
suits because he could not put his heart into them, and he never
defended a policy from mere party loyalty. Much of Lincoln's success
as a speaker was due to the fact that his hearers felt that they could
trust him. This is simply a new application of the old principle that
the chief qualification for success in oratory is character. In
reading a man's books we may forget his character for the time, but in