Among his various adventures at this period was the practice of law. The young Ewings, his brothers-in-law, were establishing themselves as lawyers at Leavenworth, Kansas, and Sherman, after living for some time on a farm of 160 acres which he owned, near Topeka, joined their law firm. For two years he strove to be a lawyer, but with indifferent success. While the Ewings rose rapidly among the foremost leaders in the law and the politics of the State, their eccentric office partner gained but little influence and no prominence; the citizens knew little of him. "It happened one day," says an old copy of _The Leavenworth Conservative_, "that Sherman was compelled to appear before the Probate Judge, Gardner, we believe. The other partners were busy; and so Sherman, with his authorities and his case all mapped out, proceeded to court. He returned in a rage two hours after. Something had gone wrong. He had been pettifogged out of the case by a sharp petty attorney opposed to him in a way which was disgusting to his intellect and his convictions. His _amour propre_ was hurt, and he declared that he would have nothing to do with the law in Kansas. That afternoon the business was closed, partnership dissolved, and in a very short time Sherman was on his way to a more congenial clime and occupation. CHAPTER V. THE CRISIS OF A CAREER. SHERMAN IN THE PRIME OR MANHOOD--GREAT EVENTS APPROACHING--HOW HE CAME TO BE A SCHOOLMASTER--ORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY-- POLITICAL TALK--HIS VIEW ON SLAVERY--THE CAMPAIGN OF 1860 AND ELECTION OF LINCOLN--SECESSION--SHERMAN'S PROMPT DECISION TO STAND BY THE UNION--RESIGNATION OF HIS PRINCIPALSHIP--DEPARTURE FOR THE NORTH--FATE OF THE SEMINARY. Sherman's real history begins with 1859. Up to that time, as we have seen, his life was one of preparation, checkered, adventurous, often picturesque, always earnest. Yet it comprised no word or act of vital import or permanent value to the world. Whether hunting in Florida, or mingling in gay society at Charleston, or watching the rush for gold and the rise of a new State in California, or banking in New York, or practicing law in Kansas, he did nothing that unfolded his own character to the fullest extent, or seriously impressed the history of the nation. The most interesting personal feature of those years was his long courtship and happy marriage; the incident of most public value, undreamed of at the time, was his horseback journeys through Northern Georgia. Neither of these, however, had his career been ended at that time, would have secured him more than a local and a transient fame. The work of his life yet lay before him.