McClures Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 4, March, 1896 | Page 4

lightning-rod
for the first time on the day before."
[Illustration: LINCOLN IN 1860.--HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED.
From a carbon enlargement, made by Sherman and McHugh of New
York City, of an ambrotype owned by Mr. A. Montgomery of
Columbus, Ohio, to whose generosity we owe the right of reproduction.
This portrait of Lincoln was made in June, 1860, by Butler, a
Springfield (Illinois) photographer. On July 4th of that year, Mr.
Lincoln delivered an address at Atlanta, Illinois, where he was the guest
of Mr. Vester Strong. Before leaving town he handed Mr. Strong the
ambrotype which we copy here. Mr. Strong valued the picture highly,
but as he had no children to whom to leave it, and as he wished it to be
in the care of one who would appreciate its value, he gave it a few

years ago to Mr. Montgomery.]
This speech has never been forgotten in Springfield, and on my visits
there I have repeatedly had the site of the house on which this particular
lightning-rod was placed pointed out, and one or another of the many
versions which the story has been given, related to me.
It was the practice at that date in Illinois for two rival candidates to
travel over the district together. The custom led to much good-natured
raillery between them; and in such contests Lincoln was rarely, if ever,
worsted. He could even turn the generosity of his rival to account by
his whimsical treatment, as the following shows: He had driven out
from Springfield in company with a political opponent to engage in
joint debate. The carriage, it seems, belonged to his opponent. In
addressing the gathering of farmers that met them, Lincoln was lavish
in praise of the generosity of his friend. "I am too poor to own a
carriage," he said, "but my friend has generously invited me to ride
with him. I want you to vote for me if you will; but if not, then vote for
my opponent, for he is a fine man." His extravagant and persistent
praise of his opponent appealed to the sense of humor in his farmer
audience, to whom Lincoln's inability to own a carriage was by no
means a disqualification.[1]
The election came off in August, and resulted in the choice of a
delegation from Sangamon County famous in the annals of Illinois. The
nine successful candidates were Abraham Lincoln, John Dawson,
Daniel Stone, Ninian W. Edwards, William F. Elkins, R.L. Wilson,
Andrew McCormick, Job Fletcher, and Arthur Herndon. Each one of
these men was over six feet in height, their combined stature being, it is
said, fifty-five feet. The "Long Nine" was the name Sangamon County
gave them.
[Illustration: EBENEZER PECK.
Ebenezer Peck, who was chiefly instrumental in introducing the
convention system into Illinois politics, was born in Portland, Maine,
May 22, 1805. He lived for some time in Peacham, Vermont, where he
was educated. While yet a boy, removed with his parents to Canada. He

studied law at Montreal, and practised there; became King's Counsel
for Canada East, and was finally elected to the provincial parliament on
the Reform ticket. In the summer of 1835 he removed to Chicago, and
there, as a lawyer and a politician, he at once made his mark. He was a
delegate to the first Democratic State convention in Illinois, held at
Vandalia, December 7, 1835, and was the chief advocate of the general
adoption of the convention system--a system which was at first
opposed and ridiculed by the Whigs, but which very soon they were
forced to adopt. In 1837 Mr. Peck was made one of the Internal
Improvement Commissioners. In 1838 he was elected to the State
Senate, and in 1840 to the House. He was clerk of the Supreme Court
from 1841 to 1848, and reporter of that court from 1849 to 1863. His
anti-slavery sentiments led him to abandon the Democratic party in
1853, and in 1856 he helped establish the Republican party in the State.
He was again elected to the legislature in 1858. In 1863 President
Lincoln appointed him a judge of the Court of Claims, and he held this
position until 1875. He died May 25, 1881.--J. McCan Davis.]
LINCOLN IS ADMITTED TO THE BAR.
As soon as the election was over Lincoln occupied himself in settling
another matter, of much greater moment, in his own judgment. He went
to Springfield to seek admission to the bar. The "roll of attorneys and
counsellors at law," on file in the office of the clerk of the Supreme
Court at Springfield, Illinois, shows that his license was dated
September 9, 1836, and that the date of the enrollment of his name
upon the official list was March 1, 1837. The first case in which he was
concerned, as far as we