Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln and Religion: Baptist; Excerpts From Newspapers and Other Sources

Early in the campaign, a largely attended rally was held in Greenville, Bond County, when the chief Speakers were Sena tor Lyman Trumbull and the older Richard Yates, candidate for governor. Senator Trumbull was a logical speaker, and had the ability to put everything in clear understandable language. Richard Yates was eloquent and had the general reputation of being the possessor of a silver tongue. Judge Joseph Gillespie of Edwardsville, a sturdy character and life-long friend of Lin coln's, was chairman and introduced the speakers. When Trum bull and Yates had spoken there was an earnest call for Gillespie.

Gillespie, Gillespie was repeated a number of times, and in response Judge Gillespie arose and began by saying, Ladies and Gentlemen: You have had your peaches and cream, and have been feasted on pound cake, and now all I will have to offer you is an oldtime dish of hog's jowl and greens. Having said this, by way of introduction, he proceeded to make a brief talk that was to the point and full of good sense.

There were the usual number of delegations, brass bands, and a great hay-rack with thirty-three gayly dressed young ladies, each of whom represented a state. But a new feature was the wide-awakes, a goodly number of young men marching two and two, carrying wooden spears with tips painted to look like metal. At night the tips were replaced by lighted coal-oil lamps, while the bearer's shoulders were duly protected with oil cloth to prevent soiling of coat. At this meeting, the enthusiasm was almost unbounded. Pocahontas, Bond County, the place of my nativity, is ten miles west of Greenville. Ten miles west of Pocahontas is the Swiss town of Highland, and some weeks sub sequent to the Greenville rally, one was held at Highland, where at one end of a large building speeches were made in English, and at the other end speeches were made in German, or was it Swiss, for I have since learned that Highland was originally set tled by that people. I attended this meeting, and heard Senator Trumbull repeat almost word for word his Greenville speech and he was followed by Richard Yates, with the identical eloquent address I had heard at the Greenville rally. Finally, Judge Gilles pie who presided, was called upon for a speech and in response he again referred to the pound cake and peaches and cream, with which the audience had been regaled and to the hog's jowl and greens which he was about to set before his hearers. But not withstanding this repetition, I was an interested listener to it all.

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