orts; he danced with the
maidens; and he did not forget to cultivate the good graces of their
elders. Mothers liked his animation and ready gallantry; fathers found
him equally responsive on more serious matters of conversation.
Altogether, he was a very general favorite in a not too fastidious
society.[36]

Nor was the circle of the young attorney's acquaintances limited to
Jacksonville. As the county seat and most important town in Morgan
County, Jacksonville was a sort of rural emporium. Thither came
farmers from the country round about, to market their produce and to
purchase their supplies. The town had an unwontedly busy aspect on
Saturdays. This was the day which drew women to town. While they did
their shopping, the men loitered on street corners, or around the
Court House, to greet old acquaintances. Douglass was sure to be found
among them, joining in that most subtle of all social processes, the
forming of public opinion. Moving about from group to group, with his
pockets stuffed with newspapers, he became a familiar figure.[37]
Plain farmers, in clothes soiled with the rich loam of the prairies,
enjoyed hearing the young fellow express so pointedly their own
nascent convictions.

This forum was an excellent school for the future politician. The dust
might accumulate upon his law books: he was learning unwritten law in
the hearts of these countrymen. And yet, even at this time, he
exhibited a certain maturity. There seems never to have been a time
when the arts of the politician were not instinctive in him. He had no
boyish illusions to outlive regarding the nature and conditions of
public life. His perfect self-possession attested this mental
maturity.

One of the first friendships which the young lawyer formed in his new
home was with S.S. Brooks, Esq., editor of the Jacksonville _News_.
While Douglass was still in Winchester, the first issue of this sheet
had appeared; and he had written a complimentary letter to Brooks,
congratulating him on his enterprise. The grateful editor never forgot
this kindly word of encouragement.[38] The intimacy which followed
was of great value to the younger man, who needed just the advertising
which the editor was in a position to give. The bond between them was
their devotion to the fortunes of Andrew Jackson. Together they
labored to consolidate the Democratic forces of the county, with
results which must have surprised even the sanguine young lawyer.

The political