as near to absolute perfection of drill as was possible; and then,
having tested them in as many competitive contests as were within
reach, he challenged the militia companies of the United States, and
set forth in the summer of 1860 on a tour of the country which was one
unbroken succession of triumphs. He defeated the crack companies in
all the principal Eastern cities, and went back to Chicago one of
the most talked-of men in the country. Hundreds of Zouave companies
started up in his wake, and a very considerable awakening of interest
in military matters was the substantial result of his journey.

[Illustration: THE DEATH OF COLONEL ELLSWORTH.]

On his return to Illinois he made the acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln,
and gained at once his friendship and esteem. He entered his office
in Springfield ostensibly as a law student; but Mr. Lincoln was then a
candidate for the Presidency, and Ellsworth read very little law that
autumn. He made some Republican speeches in the country towns about
Springfield, bright, witty, and good-natured. But his mind was full of
a project which he hoped to accomplish by the aid of Mr. Lincoln--no
less than the establishment in the War Department of a bureau of
militia, by which the entire militia system of the United States
should be concentrated, systematized, and made efficient: an enormous
undertaking for a boy of twenty-three; but his plans were clear,
definite, and comprehensive.

[Illustration: THE MARSHALL HOUSE, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, IN WHICH
COLONEL ELLSWORTH WAS KILLED.

From a photograph owned by Bryan, Taylor & Co., publishers, New York,
and reproduced here by their permission.]