"He had ridden into town," says Mr.Speed, "on a borrowed horse, with no earthly property save a pair of saddle-bags containing a few clothes.

I was a merchant at Springfield, and kept a large country store, embracing dry goods, groceries, hardware, books, medicines, bed-clothes, mattresses,--in fact, everything that country people needed.

Lincoln came into the store with his saddle-bags on his arm, and said he wanted to buy the fixings for a single bed.

The mattresses, blankets, sheets, coverlid, and pillow, according to the figures made by me, would cost seventeen dollars.

He said that was perhaps cheap enough, but small as the sum was he was unable to pay it.