Lincoln is in Dixon, Illinois, where he speaks to Republicans attending a "Ratification meeting." A newspaper reports, "He is about six feet high, crooked-legged, stoop shouldered, spare built, and anything but handsome in the face. It is plain that nature took but little trouble in fashioning his outer man . . . As a close observer and cogent reasoner, he has few equals and perhaps no superior in the world. His language is pure and respectful, he attacks no man's character or motives, but fights with arguments. . . . He spoke full two hours and still the audience cried, 'go on.'" Amboy Times (IL), 24 July 1856, 2:1.