The occasion of his visit was as prosecutor of a slander suit brought by Dr.Fithian against a wealthy farmer whose wife died under the doctor's hands.

The defense was represented by Edward A.
Hannegan, of Indiana, ex-United States Senator and afterward Minister to Berlin, an able and eloquent man; and O.B.Ficklin, who, after Douglas and Lincoln, was considered the best lawyer in Illinois.

Lincoln had all he could do to maintain himself against his two formidable adversaries, but he was equal to the occasion.

The trial lasted three or four days, the examination of witnesses consuming most of the time.

In this part of the work Lincoln displayed remarkable tact.