The son of Lincoln’s old friend and former employer, who had loaned him
books, was charged with a murder committed in a riot at a camp-meeting.
Lincoln volunteered for the defense.
A witness swore that he saw the prisoner strike the fatal blow. It was
night, but he swore that the full moon was shining clear, and he saw
everything distinctly. The case seemed hopeless, but Lincoln produced
an almanac, and showed that at that hour there was no moon. “Then he
depicted the crime of perjury with such eloquence that the false witness
fled the court house.”
One who heard the trial says: “It was near night when Lincoln concluded,
saying, ‘If justice was done, before the sun set it would shine upon his
client a free man.’”
The court charged the jury; they returned and brought in a verdict of
“not guilty.” The prisoner fell into his weeping mother’s arms, says the
writer, and then turned to thank Lincoln. The latter, looking out at the
sun, said: “It is not yet sundown, and you are free.”--From Lincoln’s
Stories, by J. B. McClure.