search of it. He brought the precious volume home in triumph, and
with Graham's occasional help found no difficulty in mastering
its contents. Indeed, it is very likely that he was astonished,
and even a bit disappointed, to find so little mystery in it. He
is reported to have said that if this was a "science," he thought
he would like to begin on another one. In the eyes of the
townspeople, however, it was no small achievement, and added
greatly to his reputation as a scholar. There is no record of any
other study commenced at this time, but it is certain that he
profited much by helpful talks with Mentor Graham, and that he
borrowed every book the schoolmaster's scanty library was able to
furnish.

Though outwardly uneventful, this period of his life was both
happy and profitable. He was busy at useful labor, was picking up
scraps of schooling, was making friends and learning to prize
them at their true worth; was, in short, developing rapidly from
a youth into a young man. Already he began to feel stirrings of
ambition which prompted him to look beyond his own daily needs
toward the larger interests of his county and his State. An
election for members of the Illinois legislature was to take
place in August, 1832. Sangamon County was entitled to four
representatives. Residents of the county over twenty-one years of
age were eligible to election, and audacious as it might appear,
Lincoln determined to be a candidate.

The people of New Salem, like those of all other Western towns,
took a keen interest in politics; "politics" meaning, in that
time and place, not only who was to be President or governor, but
concerning itself with questions which came much closer home to