Lincoln saw that one of his friends was suffering more than he liked, and stepping into the crowd he shouldered them sternly away from his man until he met a fellow who refused to fall back.

Him he seized by the nape of the neck and the seat of his breeches, and tossed him 'ten or twelve feet easily.' After this episode--as characteristic of him as of the times--he mounted the platform and delivered with awkward modesty the following speech: 'Gentlemen and Fellow-Citizens, I presume you all know who I am.

I am humble Abraham Lincoln.

I have been solicited by my friends to become a candidate for the Legislature.

My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman's dance.