Lincoln was one of the attorneys in a case of considerable importance,
court being held in a very small and dilapidated schoolhouse out in the
country; Lincoln was compelled to stoop very much in order to enter
the door, and the seats were so low that he doubled up his legs like a
jackknife.
Lincoln was obliged to sit upon a school bench, and just in front of him
was another, making the distance between him and the seat in front of
him very narrow and uncomfortable.
His position was almost unbearable, and in order to carry out his
preference which he secured as often as possible, and that was “to sit
as near to the jury as convenient,” he took advantage of his discomfort
and finally said to the Judge on the “bench”:
“Your Honor, with your permission, I’ll sit up nearer to the gentlemen
of the jury, for it hurts my legs less to rub my calves against the
bench than it does to skin my shins.”