"Sir," said the President, "that plea of yours in Boonesville, Indiana, was one of the best that I ever heard."
"In Boonesville, Indiana?"
How like a dream to the haughty lawyer the recollection must have been! Such things as this hurt Lincoln to the quick. He was so low-spirited at times in his early manhood that he did not dare to carry with him a pocket-knife, lest he should be overcome in some dark and evil moment to end his own life. There were times when his tendencies were so alarming that he had to be watched by his friends. But these dark periods were followed by a great flow of spirits and the buoyancy of hope.
In the spring of 1830, Jasper and Waubeno came to Gentryville, and there met James Gentry, the leading man of the place.
"Are the Linkens still living in Spencer County?" he asked.
"Yes," said Mr. Gentry, "but it has been a hard winter here, and they are about to move. The milk sickness has been here again and has carried off the cattle, and the people have become discouraged, and look upon the place as unhealthy. I have bought Thomas Linken's property. The man was here this morning. You will find him getting ready to go away from Indiana for good and all."
"Where is he going?" asked Jasper.
"Off to Illinois."
"So I thought," said Jasper. "I must go to see him. How is that bright boy of his?"