h has girdled the earth
in a second, it seemed that I stood before Reverdy and Sarah and their
children. I stood before them, but I could hear the bells of Rome; and I
saw Isabel as she handed the candle to me and walked from the room.

I supplemented what I had written to them of Dorothy's death; then I
told them brokenly of Rome. Where could I begin, what words could I
select to express briefly my experiences? But besides, Isabel was all my
thought, and of her I could not speak. Then we had the meal. The house,
the town, the surrounding country, began to assemble themselves together
familiarly. I was back. The old life was slipping on me as one removes
his best dress for the overalls of work. Pinturicchio! What light was
falling on those soft and tender cheeks in the Vatican? But where was
Douglas?

Douglas! Reverdy looked at me as if he had much to say. "He's
campaigning," said Reverdy; "already has made about a hundred speeches.
He has a fight on his hands. He has a tough rival to handle."

"Who is it?"

"Abraham Lincoln!"

"Who is Abraham Lincoln?"

I had never heard that name before; nor seen it in print. Reverdy went
on to tell me briefly that Lincoln had been in the legislature at the
same time that Douglas was in 1836; that he had been in Congress in
1847; that he was well known as a lawyer in Springfield; that for many
years he had done nothing but practice law, though more active in
politics since 1855 than before. That was some explanation of my
ignorance of the name.

I repeated it aloud: "Abraham Lincoln. That is a great name," I said to
Reverdy. "Well, he's an able lawyer, and he gives Douglas enough to do
in the debates they're having." "So they are debating, are they?" I
asked. "Yes," drawled Reverdy, "Lincoln was nominated for Senator by the
Republicans; Douglas of course is again the nominee of the Democrats.
Lincoln challenged Douglas to a debate; and they're at it hot and heavy.
We talk of nothing else. It's funny you didn't hear of it anywhere along
the way home. This part of the country is on fire, and they say the East
is waking up to what is going on here in Illinois. I've got the
newspapers here containing all the debates. You've got some good reading
ahead of you. To-morrow's the last debate over at Alton."

"We must go," I said quickly. "I wouldn't miss that for the world. We
must go." And I was thinking, what better way to forget Isabel? Reverdy
was really glad to hear this debate