of enormous physical size, and his voice was like a fog horn. The
author writes this from vivid remembrance. Once in early youth he
quaked in his shoes at the blast of that voice. The conclusion of the
incident is given in the words of Lamon: "The judge never could
whisper, but in this case he probably did his best. At all events, in
attempting to whisper to Mr. Lincoln he trumpeted his rebuke in about
these words, and in rasping tones that could be heard all over the
court room: 'Lincoln, I have been watching you and Lamon. You are
impoverishing this bar by your picayune charges of fees, and the
lawyers have reason to complain of you. You are now almost as poor as
Lazarus, and if you don't make people pay you more for your services,
you will die as poor as Job's turkey."

The event justified the Judge's remarks. It was not unusual for
Lincoln's name, as attorney, to be found on one side or the other of
every case on the docket. In other words, his practise was as large as
that of any lawyer on the circuit, and he had his full proportion of
important cases. But he never accumulated a large sum of money.
Probably no other successful lawyer in that region had a smaller
income. This is a convincing commentary on his charges.

The largest fee he ever received was from the Illinois Central
Railroad. The case was tried at Bloomington before the supreme court
and was won for the road. Lincoln went to Chicago and presented a bill
for $2,000 at the offices of the company. "Why," said the official, in
real or feigned astonishment, "this is as much as a first-class lawyer
would have charged."

Lincoln was greatly depressed by this rebuff, and would have let the
matter drop then and there had not his neighbors heard of it. They