Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1876-09-21
ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
A Letter to Young Lady Written by
Mr.. Lincoln Thirty-flye Years Ago.

Mr.. j. Gillespie, of Edwardsvilles
ILL.,, sends the following letter, writ
ten by Mr.. Lincoln :, 1S41, to the St.
Louis Globe Democrat.
BLOOMINGTON, I'll, Sept 81, 1S41.
Mss Mary Speed, Louisville. KY:
My FRIEND: = Having resolved to
write to some of your moGher's fami-
~, and not having the express per-
mission OF any one Of them to do so,
I have had some little difficulty in de-
termining on which to inflict the task
Of reading what L now feel must be
most dull and silly letter: but when
I remembered that you and 1 were
something of cronies while was at
Pennington, and that, while there, /
once was under the necessity Of shut
ting you up in a room to prevent
your committing an assault and bat
terry upon me, / instantly decided
that you should be the devoted one.
assume that you have not heard
from Joshua and myself since we left,
because I think it doubtful whether
he has written.
You remember there was some I'M
easiness about Joshua's health when
he left. That little indisposition OF
his turned out to be nothing serious;
and it was pretty nearly forgotten
when we reached Springfield. We
got on board the steamboat Lebanon,
in the locks of the canal, about ~
o'clock m. of the day we left, and
reached st. Louis the next Monday
at 8 p. m Nothing of interest hap
pened during the passage, except the
vexatious delays occasioRed by the
sandbars, he thought interesting. By
the way, a fine example was present.
ed on board the boat for contemplat-
ing the effect of condition upon hu-
man happiness. A gentleman had
purchased twelve negroes in different
parts OF Kentucky, and was taking
them to a farm in the South They
were chained six and six together.
A small iron cleyis Was around the
left wrist OF each, and this fastened
to the main chain by a shorter one at
a convenient distance from the 9TH
ers, so that the negroes were strung
together precisely like so many fish
upon a trout-line. In this condition
they were being separated forever
from the scenes of their childhood,
their friends, their fathers and moth
ers, their brothers and sisters, and
many OF them from their wives and
children, and going into perpetual
slavery, where the lash of the master
is proverbially NOR, ruthless and un-
relenting than any other where; and
yet, amid all these distressing circum-
stances, as we would think them,they
were the most cheerful and apparent
ly happy creatures on board. One,
whose offense for which he had been
sold was an over-fondness for his
wife, played the fiddle almost contin-
ually, and the others danced, sung,
cracked jokes, and played various
games with cards from day to day.
How true it is that God tempers the
wind to the shorn lamb" or, in other
words, that He renders the worst Of
human conditions tolerable, while He
permits the best to be nothing better
than tolerable.
To return to the narrative. When
we reached Springfield. I stayed but
one day, when / started on this tedi-
Gus circuit, where / now am.
Do you remember my going to the
city, while / was in Kentucky, TO
have tooth extracted, and making a
failure of it? Well, that same old
tooth got to paining me so much, that
about a week since / had il torn out,
bringing with it bit OF the jaw bone !;
the consequence Of which is, that my
mouth is now so sore that can
neither talk nor eat. 1 am literally
"subsisting on savory remembrances'
that is, being unable to eat, am
living upon the remembrance OF the
delicious dishes OF peaches and cream
we used to have at your house.
When we left, Miss Fanny Henning
was owing you visit, as L under.
stood Has she paid it yet? III she
has, are you not convinced that she
is one OF the sweetest girls in the
world? There is but one thing about
her, so far as L could perceive. that |
would have otherwise than it is; that
is something OF tendency to melan-
tuOil. lulS, icI IL NC ODoOi 'ONf 40 :"
misfortune, not a fault GIVE her an
assurance of my highest regard when
you see her. d eh"s
Is little Siss Eliza Davis at your
house yet? III she is, kiss her "o'er
and DER again" for me. Tell your
mother that 1 have not got her "pres-
ent" with me, but thatlI intend to
read it regularly when 1 return home.
L doubt not that it is really, as she
says, the best cure for the s. blues"
could one but take IL according to
the truth. Give my respects TO all
your sisters Qncluding Aunt Emma')
and brothers. Tell Mrs. Peay, OF
whose happy face shall long retain
a pleasant Remembrance, that i have
been. trying to think Of a name for
her homestead, but as yet can not
satisfy myself with one. 1 shall be
very happy to receive a line from
you, soon after you receive this; and,
in case you choose to favor me with
one, address it to Charleston, Coles
county, ILL.,, and L shall be there about
the time to receive it. 81"
Your sincere friend,
io A. LINCOLN.