The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1872-06-11

great power among them; Miss
Todd was Of aristocratic a.d dis
tinguished family, able to lead
through the awful portals of good So
ciety whomsoever they choose TO counte-
nance. 1t was thought that union be-
tween them could not fail Of numerous
benefits to both parties. Mr.. Edwards
thought so; Mrs. Edwards thought so,
and It was not long before Mary Todd her.
self thought 90. She was very ambitious,
and even before she left Kentucky an
nounced her belief that she was destined
to be the wife Of some future president"
For a little while she was courted by
Douglas us well as by Lincoln; but she IL
said to have refused the "Li,tle Giant" on
account of his bad morals. Being asked
which one Of them she intended TO have,
she answered, 1.-The one that has the best
chance of being President" She decided
in favor Of Lincoln, and, in the opinion Of
her husbands friends, aided to no small
extent in the fulfillment Of the prophecy
which the bes,ownl Of her hand implied.
They were speedily engaged, and their
marriage was only question of time. But
somehow the Lincoln love affairs seem
never to have been altogether satisfactory.
A MISS MATILDA EDWARDS
presently made her appearance. She was
the sister Of Mr.. Ninian Edwards, II fresh
young beauty, whom Lincoln saw, and
seeing, loved. The affair with Miss Todd,
according to Herndon, according to Lin.
coin himself, was ~ policy match" bu,
this love. Gentle ghost Of sweet Ann
Ru.hledge, did your spirit eyes grow
sad y Mr.. Edwards tried to marry his
sister to Speed, but she preferred Mr.
Schuyler Strong, and presently married
MIN. Lincoln had been restrained By a
sense of honor from declaring his passion
though any words Of bis would probably
have been uttered in vain. But now CON
science assaileJ him. He concluded, with
great agony Of mind, that he would be
doing Mary Todd grievous wrong were he
to marry her when his heart had thus
wandered from her. lie went to her ac
cordingly, and told her the whole story
She released him from his engagement
and then some parting endearments fol
lowed, and as the natural result of thos,
endearments,
A RECONCILIATIoN.
Moral When you wish to break of
your engagement with woman, never
kiss her good-bye.) Lincoln and Mary
| WeTe dghin cHSaScu cNcTytuiub wa
ready for the marriage, even the supper
Mr.. Lincoln failed to meet his engage
ment, the cause being insanity. His friend
Speed took him to Kentucky, and KEEP
him there until he recovered. Mr.. Hern
don believes that Lincoln's insanity grew
out Of most extraordinary complication
Of feelngs-aversion to the marriage pro
posed, a counter. attachment to Miss Ed.
wards, and new access Of unspeakabl,
tenderness for the memory of Ann Rut
ledge. Brit after his recovery and return
to Springfield it WAS not long before he
married Miss Todd. She told him tina,
though she had released him from the en-.
gagement her own feeling for him re.
manned unchanged. He went to sec hi,
friend J. II. Matheny, and said to him
"Jim, l shall have to marry that girl.
At another time Lincoln told him that he
was driven into the marriage-that il
was thing planned by the Edwards fam
| ily." However. through weakness, OIL
through tenderness, he seems to have sub.
mitted to his fate; and in 1912 Mary
Todd became Mrs. Lincoln.