Public interest and curiosity were aroused. Who was this distinguished citizen?
The Governor paused a moment, and then uttered the name of Abraham Lincoln.
Instantly there was a roar of applause, there was a rush to where the astonished Lincoln sat, he was seized, and the crowd being too dense to press through, he was literally passed over the heads and shoulders of the great throng until breathless he found himself on the platform. Willing or unwilling he was literally for the time being “in the hands of his friends.”
Later on Gov. Oglesby rose once more and said: “There is an old Democrat outside who has something which he wishes to present to the Convention.”
“What is it?” “What is it?” “Receive it!” shouts the crowd.
The door of the wigwam opens, and an old man, bluff and hearty, comes forward, bearing on his shoulder two small rails, surmounted by a banner, with this inscription:—
TWO RAILS
From a lot made by Abraham Lincoln and John Hanks, in the Sangamon Bottom, in the year 1830.
This old man was John Hanks himself! His entrance was greeted with tumultuous applause.
“Lincoln! Lincoln! A speech!” shouts the crowd.