The few uneventful years Lew Wal?
lace spent in Covington were distin?
guished by one Important event. It
was there that he saw Abraham Lin?
coln for the first time. Tlie Indiana
bar had even then some brilliant and
notable men among Its members, and
a case of extraordinary Interest had
called them together at the fall term
of the circuit court. In relating the cir?
cumstance General Wallace said: "Dur?
ing tbe session we were in the habit of
gathering at the old tavern In the even?
ing after adjournment. It was a bril?
liant company, whose talk was well
worth hearing. One evening there ap?
peared suddenly In our midst a tall, ,
ungainly mau, homely of visage and
rather shabbily dressed. Ile did not
Intrude himself, but sat on the out?
skirts of the company, neither proffer?
ing opinions nor tnklng sides lu the
controversies that occasionally became
pretty warm. No one seemed to know
anything about him, and when 1 asked
a friend who he was he replied care?
lessly, 'Oh, that ls some third rate law?
yer, a man named Lincoln from some?
where In Illinois.' One evening, how?
ever, after he had been there some
time," General Wallace continued,
"something moved him to speak, and
then he began to talk. We all sat spell
bound.
