And in another letter, answering one from Herndon in which that young aspirant complains of having been neglected, he says: 

“The subject of that letter is exceedingly painful to me; and I cannot but think there is some mistake in your impression of the motives of the old men.  I suppose I am now one of the old men; and I declare, on my veracity, which I think is good with you, that nothing could afford me more satisfaction than to learn that you and others of my young friends at home are doing battle in the contest, and endearing themselves to the people, and taking a stand far above any I have been able to reach in their admiration.  I cannot conceive that other old men feel differently.  Of course I cannot demonstrate what I say; but I was young once, and I am sure I was never ungenerously thrust back.  I hardly know what to say.  The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.  Allow me to assure you that suspicion and jealousy never did help any man in any situation.  There may sometimes be ungenerous attempts to keep a young man down; and they will succeed, too, if he allows his mind to be diverted from its true channel to brood over the attempted injury.  Cast about, and see if this feeling has not injured every person you have ever known to fall into it.”

Mr. Lincoln’s interest in this presidential campaign did not expend itself merely in advice to others.  We have his own written record that he also took an active part for the election of General Taylor after his nomination, speaking a few times in Maryland near Washington, several times in Massachusetts, and canvassing quite fully his own district in Illinois.  Before the session of Congress ended he also delivered two speeches in the House—­one on the general subject of internal improvements, and the other the usual political campaign speech which members of Congress are in the habit of making to be printed for home circulation; made up mainly of humorous and satirical criticism, favoring the election of General Taylor, and opposing the election of General Cass, the Democratic candidate.  Even this production, however, is lighted up by a passage of impressive earnestness and eloquence, in which he explains and defends the attitude of the Whigs in denouncing the origin of the Mexican War: 

“If to say ’the war was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced by the President,’ be opposing the war, then the Whigs have very generally opposed it.  Whenever they have spoken at all they have said this; and they have said it on what has appeared good reason to them.  The marching an army into the midst of a peaceful Mexican settlement, frightening the inhabitants away, leaving their growing crops and other property to destruction, to you may appear a perfectly amiable, peaceful, unprovoking procedure; but it does not appear so to us.  So to call such an act, to us appears no other than a