Abraham Lincoln: A Biography

3. Frontier Legislator

CHAPTER III .e_ Frontier Legislator: His Love Affairs ABO UTa mile from Vandalia the lumbering stage coach ~ picked up speed as the driver cracked his whip and urged the horses forward to make his customary spectacular entrance into town. Thundering down the main street, he let out a blast on his horn, swung sharply round a corner, and hauled back hard on the reins to pull up in front of the post office. Stuart, Dawson, Carpenter, and Lincoln swung stiffly to the ground, picked up their bags, and made their way through the inquisitive crowd to seek lodgings at one of Vandalia's several taverns. Looking about, Lincoln saw an overgrown prairie village of eight or nine hundred inhabitants built around a spacious public square, its wide streets, now rutted and muddy from autumn rains, dotted with frame houses and log cabins. Across the street from the square, the two-story brick State Capitol and another brick building used for state offices rose above the business buildings . The unfinished Cumberland Road, coming from Terre Haute, far to the east, passed through the town, dipped down some sixty feet to cross the Kaskaskia River on a new bridge, and stretched westward toward St. Louis. Intersecting it near the center of the town, another highway came from Tennessee and Kentucky and traversed the state from north to south. The whole place looked ramshackle and slattern. Frontier Legislator: His Love Affairs 4-5 The size and aspect of the seat of government did not impress young Lincoln; Springfield was larger and more imposing. But he thrilled to the excitement, for, with the Legislature and the State Supreme Court in session, Vandalia pulsated with restless energy. Arriving on horseback and by stage and carriage, legislators , jurists, and lobbyists taxed the taverns and boardinghouses to the bursting-point. Crowds milled along the sidewalks. The hum of conversation in the taprooms was punctuated with the clink of glasses, the sharp pop of unloosed corks, backslaps, loud laughs, and hearty greetings. Strong drink and picturesque language gave place to courtly graciousness when ladies alighted daintily from the stage or, after sorting their finery in their hotel rooms, tripped lightly downstairs to join the men; for many visitors brought their wives and daughters to enjoy the social season at the capital. By reason of Stuart's standing in his party, the room that he and Lincoln shared at once became a sort of Whig headquarters . As lawyers, legislators, and favor-seekers came in, Stuart introduced his protege, the towering young giant with the deep-lined face thrusting out his huge, gnarled, work-worn hand in steady grip, appraising these new acquaintances as they in their turn measured him. At this session of the Legislature Lincoln became acquainted with a young Democrat four years his junior, Stephen Arnold Douglas from Morgan County. Only slightly more than five feet tall, he was sturdily built, and his massive shoulders, deep chest, and bulging neck, together with his hard-clamped jaws and heavy brows projecting over piercing eyes, gave him a stern, almost belligerent appearance. His dark-brown hair grew thick. His voice had depth and resonance; his manner was quick and alert. Like Lincoln, he had a faculty for making friends. Born in Vermont, he had moved to Morgan County to teach school and practice law, and had come to the state capital to promote his candidacy for state's attorney of the first judicial district. * 46 ABRAHAM LINCOLN WIT H THE opening of the legislative session, Stuart and Lincoln entered the State Capitol, only ten years old, but already in such disrepair that flights of frontier eloquence were sometimes interrupted by the crash of falling plaster. The hall of the House of Representatives occupied most of the first floor; upstairs were the Senate chamber and rooms for offices. Members sat in movable chairs at long tables, each accommodating three men. The Speaker, on a small platform, also sat behind a table. On each table stood a cork inkstand. Sandboxes, distributed about the room, not only furnished sand for blotting but also served as cuspidors. A fireplace and a stove provided warmth. Over the water pail hung three tin dippers. Candles in tall holders shed dim light on evening sessions. Notwithstanding this unpretentious background, the scene became impressive when members congregated in the chamber, dressed in long coats with wide lapels, with tight trousers overhanging their boots and wide...