The lake traffic had increased
enormously. The Illinois and Michigan canal was soon to be opened.
Mother Clayton had saved for me the copies of Niles' _Register_ and had
marked passages in Douglas' speeches in Congress, particularly his
effective retorts to the aged J. Q. Adams, who pursued Douglas with
inveterate hostility. It was all about the slavery question.
I looked Douglas up as soon as possible. We invited him and his young
wife to dinner. Surely he had found a charming and interesting mate. We
now had so much of life in common and of mutual memory to draw upon. He
was eager to hear of the war, the battles I had been in. He was very
proud of me and happy beyond measure that I had come out of the war
without a scar.
How strange about Colonel Hardin! "An able man, that," said Douglas,
"but I don't believe he ever forgave me for taking the state's
attorneyship from him."
Abigail and Aldington were also at our dinner. Mrs. Douglas found
herself quite at home with Mother Clayton and Dorothy. I could see,
however, that she did not like Abigail.
After that Douglas and I had many meetings. He was full of ideas and
absorbed in various activities. He was pugnacious and energetic. But
what friends he made! He passed in and out of my view frequently, now
that we lived in the same city.
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