At the age of twenty, Lincoln was studying law in off hours, and
used to walk over to Boonville, ten or twelve miles, the county court
center, to watch how law proceedings were conducted. He was interested
in one murder case, ably defended by John Breckenridge; in fact,
Lincoln hanging around the court-room doors to see the lawyers come
out, was impelled by his ingenuous admiration to hail him, and say:

"That was the best speech I ever heard." The advocate was naturally
surprised at this frank outburst of the simple country lad. Years
afterward, Breckenridge, [Footnote: Not the ex-vice-president and
Confederate Cabinet officer of that name.] belonging to Texas, and
having been an active Confederate, was in the position to implore the
executive's clemency. It was granted him, while the donor reminded him
of the far-off incident--which he still insisted included "the best
speech I ever heard!" The beneficiary might have retorted that the
plea for his own pardon was, in his mind, more effective in sparing
a life.


* * * * *


A CAPTAIN CHALLENGED BY HIS MEN.

At the outset of the Black Hawk War, an outbreak of Indians in
Illinois, the popularity of Abraham Lincoln induced the young men
of the Sangamon Valley, in forming a company of mounted riflemen,
to vote him as their captain. The forces were very irregular
_irregulars_, did no fighting as a body, and were insubordinate
to the last. Once it was in an ironically amusing manner. The