Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1867-04-08
ABRAHAM LINCOLN's DUEL
The Cause of the Quarrel and How
1t Terminated. --


Something more than a score of years
ago, Springfield, the capital of the
prairie State, was the home of maiden,
who was as bright as she was beautiful,
and as spirited and witty as she was
graceful and good. If 1 do not name
her, it is because in her place in my
heart she is too well hedged around by
love and reverence to be brought forth
and presented to the profane gaze of the
public. As the wife Of Senator, whom
all good men, and women, too, delight
to honor, her conserving and purifying
power has since been shown to the
world by the influence it has had in help
ing him keep his life pure and noble.
This maiden, whom | will call Anna,
because must call her something, was
the friend and confdant of Miss Todd,
the affianced of Mr.. Lincoln, who had,
not. so very many years before this, left
off splitting rails to try what skill he
might have in splitting hairs in law
yers office in Springfield Judge
Shields was likewise a dweller in the
town at this time, and frequenter
of the society in which the two bright,
particular stars" already mentioned,
shed their radiance But his moral
character was not altogether immaculate,
report said. For this, or some other
reason, Anna was not inclined to regard
him with favor. Once upon time,
however, circumstances compelled her
to accept his escort from an evening
party to her fathers house. Her spirit
was moved with indignation by trihing
incident which occurred ON the way, and
she determined upon securing revenge.
A day or two afterwards some verses
appeared in the literary luminary of the
place, tile name of which Father Time
has, or, at any rate, have, dropped
from the scene. The verses were ad-
dressed to Judge S. so obviously, that be
who ran could read, though his name did
not appear They were witty and sharp,
and, though everybody knew at once to
whom they referred, everybody did not
know who wrote them. Among the un-
fortunate ones to whom, in this case,
ignorance was not bliss, was the distin-
guished individual to whom they were
addressed, who might naturally be sup
posed to have a more than common in
terest in having ignorance supplanted by
knowledge, in converting the unknown
into the known. He set about the &C
complishment Of the desired end, but
soon found that the pursuit of knowledge
on that line was emphatically following
after it under difficulties. He went to
the editor, or printer, perhaps the quality
was comprised in one person, and, after
the manner of the old man in the spell
ling.book, first tried gentle measures,
which, not availing, in imitation of the
same illustrious example, he proceeded
to try what virtue there was in severe
ones, which soon brought the editor
down, and he confessed that the verses
we're handed to him in the handwriting
of Miss Todd He did not tell him, be-
cause he did not know, that she had only
copied them from the manuscript of her
friend Anna.
Judge s. ungalautly attacked the sup
posed writer in a rejoinder, which ap-
peared in the next issue of the same
paper. Springfield was not so large
then but that everybody knew his neigh
boris business as we'll as he did himself,
If not little better. The matter was
discussed at every freside, and came in
with the dessert, if not before, at every
dinner table.
II was well known that Miss Todd was
betrothed to Mr.. Lincoln, and every
principle of law and equity demanded
that he should be her defender against
all wrong and injustice. He would be
no loyal knight if he should suffer his
lady-loVe to be publicly attacked and he
not come to the rescue. He, therefore,
took up the cudgel in her behalf, and the
result was a challenge from Judge
Shields TO meet him in single combat and
undo the wrong that had been done, by
the pleasant operation of the one she'd
ding the Others blood Whatever may
have been Mr. Lincolns feelings about
dueling in the abstract, in this particu-
lar case there seemed TO be no choice !
left him but TO accept the challenge. |
Miss Todd was kentuckian. The |
friends with whom she lived we're Of the |
same ilk. Mr. Lincoln, himself, had |
been Graded under the same sky. The |
mere semblance Of pusilanimity was
something that must be putfar from him.
He accepted the challenge, and having |
the right Of choice in regard TO weapons,
selected broadswords.
But the laws Of Illinois are very strin-
gent in regard to dueling. That kind Of
sslve fer a mans wounded honor was
not among the prescriptions eontained /
in its code Years before this the Legis !
laiure had declared dusling capital or
tense. and one uufortunate violator Of the
statute had died at the hands Of the