pounds. Astride his horse, he looked still more diminutive. His mount
was a young horse which he had borrowed. He carried under his arm a
single book, also loaned, a copy of the criminal law.[43] His chief
asset was a large fund of Yankee shrewdness and good nature.

An amusing incident occurred in McLean County at the first court which
Douglas attended. There were many indictments to be drawn, and the new
prosecuting attorney, in his haste, misspelled the name of the
county--M Clean instead of M'Lean. His professional brethren were
greatly amused at this evidence of inexperience; and made merry over
the blunder. Finally, John T. Stuart, subsequently Douglas's political
rival, moved that all the indictments be quashed. Judge Logan asked
the discomfited youth what he had to say to support the indictments.
Smarting under the gibes of Stuart, Douglas replied obstinately that
he had nothing to say, as he supposed the Court would not quash the
indictments until the point had been proven. This answer aroused more
merriment; but the Judge decided that the Court could not rule upon
the matter, until the precise spelling in the statute creating the
county had been ascertained. No one doubted what the result would be;
but at least Douglas had the satisfaction of causing his critics some
annoyance and two days' delay, for the statutes had to be procured
from an adjoining county. To the astonishment of Court and Bar, and of
Douglas himself, it appeared that Douglas had spelled the name
correctly. To the indescribable chagrin of the learned Stuart, the
Court promptly sustained all the indictments. The young attorney was
in high feather; and he made the most of his triumph. The incident
taught him a useful lesson: henceforth he would admit nothing, and
require his opponents to prove everything that bore upon the case in
hand. Some time later, upon comparing the printed statute of the
county with the enrolled bill in the office of the Secretary of State,