saves his breath and strength for the struggle.
_This man will whip,_ as sure as the fight comes off. Good-bye, and
remember what I say."

The spirit and purpose with which Lincoln went into the contest are
shown also in the following words: "I shall not ask any favors at all.
Judge Douglas asks me if I wish to push this matter to the point of
personal difficulty. I tell him, _No!_ He did not make a mistake, in one
of his early speeches, when he called me an 'amiable' man, though
perhaps he did when he called me an 'intelligent' man. I again tell him,
_No!_ I very much prefer, when this canvass shall be over, however it
may result, that we at least part without any bitter recollections of
personal difficulties."

The speeches in these joint discussions were entirely extemporaneous in
form, yet they were reported and printed in all the prominent papers in
the West, and found eager readers throughout the country. The voice and
manner, which add so much to the effect of a speaker, could not be
reproduced on the printed page; nor could full justice be done, in a
hasty transcript, to the force and fitness of the language employed.
Still, the impressions of those who heard them at the time, as well as
later and cooler analyses of them, have agreed in pronouncing these
debates among the most able and interesting on record. The scenes
connected with the different meetings were intensely exciting. Vast
throngs were invariably in attendance, while a whole nation was watching
the result. "At Freeport," says an observer, "Mr. Douglas appeared in an
elegant barouche drawn by four white horses, and was received with great
applause. But when Mr. Lincoln came up, in a 'prairie schooner,'--an
old-fashioned canvas-covered pioneer wagon,--the enthusiasm of the vast
throng was unbounded."

At Charleston Lincoln opened and closed the day's debate. It was the
fourth discussion, and there was no more doubt of his ability to sustain
the conflict. According to Mr. Arnold, "Douglas's reply to Lincoln was
mainly a defense. Lincoln's close was intensely interesting and
dramatic. His logic and arguments were crushing, and Douglas's evasions
were exposed with a power and clearness that left him utterly
discomfited. Republicans saw it. Democrats realized it, and a sort of
panic seized them, and ran through the crowd of upturned faces. Douglas
realized his defeat, and, as Lincoln's blows fell fast and heavy, he
lost his temper. He could not keep hi