n & Herndon was formed, and it continued to the time of
Lincoln's death.

When Lincoln began to practice law, it was the custom in Illinois to
"ride the circuit," a proceeding of which the older communities of the
East know nothing. The State of Illinois, for instance, is divided into
a number of districts, each composed of a number of counties, of which a
single judge, appointed or elected as the case may be, for that purpose,
makes the circuit, holding courts at each county seat. Railroads being
scarce, the earlier circuit judges made their trips from county to
county on horseback or in a gig; and the prominent lawyers living within
the limits of the circuit made the tour of the circuit with the judge.
It is said that when Lincoln first began to "ride the circuit" he was
too poor to own a horse or vehicle, and was compelled to borrow from his
friends. But in due time he became the proprietor of a horse, which he
fed and groomed himself, and to which he was very much attached. On this
animal he would set out from home, to be gone for weeks together, with
no baggage but a pair of saddle-bags containing a change of linen, and
an old cotton umbrella to shelter him from sun or rain. When he got a
little more of this world's goods he set up a one-horse buggy, a very
sorry and shabby-looking affair which he generally used when the weather
promised to be bad. The other lawyers were always glad to see him, and
landlords hailed his coming with pleasure; but he was one of those
gentle, uncomplaining men whom they would put off with indifferent
accommodations. It was a significant remark of a lawyer who was
thoroughly acquainted with his habits and disposition that "Lincoln was
never seated next the landlord at a crowded table, and never got a
chicken-liver or the best cut from the roast." Lincoln once remarked to
Mr. Gillespie that he never felt his own unworthiness so much as when in
the presence of a hotel clerk or waiter. If rooms were scarce, and one,
two, three, or four gentlemen were required to lodge together in order
to accommodate some surly man who "stood upon his rights," Lincoln was
sure to be one of the unfortunates. Yet he loved the life of the
circuit, and never went home without reluctance.

In describing the many experiences of the lawyers who travelled the
circuits at this period, Mr. Arnold says: "The State was settled with a
hardy, fearless, honest, but very litigious population. The court-house
was sometime