It was about this time, too, that Lincoln’s fame as a story-teller
began to spread far and wide. His sayings and his jokes were repeated
throughout that section of the country, and he was famous as a
story-teller before anyone ever heard of him as a lawyer or a
politician.
It required no little moral courage to resist the temptation that beset
an idle young man on every hand at that time, for drinking and carousing
were of daily and nightly occurrence. Lincoln never drank intoxicating
liquors, nor did he at that time use tobacco, but in any sports that
called for skill or muscle he took a lively interest, even in horse
races and cock fights.