With all his gentleness and his scrupulous regard for the rights of others, Lincoln was not one to submit to being bullied; while his physical courage had been proved in many a rough--and--tumble encounter, often against heavy odds, with the rude and boisterous spirits of his time.

These encounters were usually with nature's weapons; but in the Shields affair--duel, it was sometimes called--he showed that he would not shrink from the use of more deadly weapons if forced to do so.

In judging this phase of his character, account must be taken of his Kentucky birth and origin, and of the customs and standards of his time.

James Shields (afterwards a distinguished Union General and U.S.

Senator) was at this time (1842) living at Springfield, holding the office of State Auditor.