Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1882-08-05
;,;is ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
.,,,rsrING "REMINISCENCES OF HER AND
'Ni'' HER HUSBANDS LIFE.

name was Mary louu, vac "
acton. KY, in 1921. Coming Oh sood
I'D Kentuekian family. her early years
ERE passed in comparative luxury. On
,ho i'm of November, 1872, she married
t.brabam Lincoln, who was then proml-
namt LAWYER of Springfield, Ill. Amoi-
,;ons in the highest degree, when young
VII she was frequently heard TO declare
mot she was destined to be the wiie Oh
p DE- of the United States, though
hen she espoused Mr.. Lincoln, there
did not seem much hkellhooo VI hel "ep'-
ration being fulnlled. .o.,,.
The Young couple lived very quletly
for some time, and four years later MI;
lincoln was elected 10 Congress, ana loon
his seat December 6, 1917. Mrs: Lincoln
did not 90 to Washington with her nus
hand. but lead quiet life Will ner cEiiu.
rem at Springfield. Nothing OF monlens
occurred TO interrupt the tran?uiI''y VI
her existence until the RepuOaainc'h IN
vertion az Chicago i'll June, looo. AiIef
an exciting battle between tne TWO cauui-
dates Governor Seward ana Mr.. Lincoln.
Mrs. Lincoln had the profound gratihCa-
tion Of seeing her prophecy OF oeihg the
wife of a President on tar way 10 Veri,
fcation. The nomination OF her husoal'u
was declared unanimous, and the evening
of the day was indeed an eventtul one IN
Springfield. Crowds of excited people
tbronged to Mr.. I.incoln's house and
warmly congratulated his wife.
Inst after the election Il singular cir
orn,stance occurred, which once more
brouCht out the gift of prophecy which
MIS- lincoln possessed. Mr.. Lincoln de-
srrjbed it in the following language: sit
was after my election, when the news
bad been coming in thick and fast all day.
and there had been great 'hurrah boys!
60 that | was well tired out, and went
home TO rest, throwing myself upon a
lounge in my chamber. Opposite 10 where
lay was bureau with swinging glass,
and looking in that glass saw myself re-
lected at full length, but my face, L no.
ticed. had two separate and distinct I'M
aces. the tip of the nose of one being a.
b0ut three inches from the tip of the 9TH
or. was little bothered, perhaps
startled. | got up and looked in the
GLASS. but the illusion vanished. On ~
Inc down again l saw it second time
plainer, if possible, than before anu then
noticed that one of the faces was paler
than the other. | got up, and the thlnS
melted away, and l went of, and in the
excitement of the hour forgot all about 1t,
nearly, but not quite, for the thing would
once i'm a while come up and give me 4
little paug, as though something uncom-
Portable had happened. When L came
home told my wife about it, and few
DAYS after tried the experiment again,
md sure enough, the thing came back
apain but never succeeded in bringing
the ghost back sgain after that, though L
once tried very industri0uSly to show I,
10 NV wife, who was worried ABOUT 1t
somewhat. She thought it was a sign
that | was to be elected TO second term
of office, and that the paleness of one OF
The faces was an omen that L should not
see life through the second term Mr..
lincoln regarded the vision as an optical
Jelusio caused by nervousness. His
wife's prophetic Interpretation OF the CIR
cumstance, viewed in the light OF SUISSE
ouent events, seems certainly most extra
ordinary. MI,
ON the afternoon of the 18th of March,
1861. Mrs. Lincoln formally took posses
sion of the White House, and her puollc
life commenced. She was then described
AS "a pleasant-loOking, eieSant-apprarllS
lady. of perhaps forty, somewhat inclined
TO StoutneSS, but fine-loOAinS and sell
nossessed." Though fond of society and
brilliant company, her reign ut the " hlte
House was not socially successful. Inc
tirst two wears of her husbands admins
tration were peculiarly trying ana ardu-
ous. The death of her son Will occurred
at this time, and covered the family with
gloom. Mrs. Lincoln never atterward en-
tered the room where he died, nor the
chamber in which his body lay before It's
burial. ,oo.
After Mr.. Lincoln'S reelection in 1861,
the prospect appeared fairer. The war
was nearly over, and it wat thought that
I.incoln's second term would be most
propitious. When peace was declared IN
1865. rejoicing and festiyity prevailed III
the White House. The nth of April was
the fourth anniversary of the fall of Sum-
fer. On that evening President Lincoln
was assassinated. His heart-broken wife
never recovered from the shock. She was
Frustrated by severe illness, and for five
weeks her life was " ell nigh despaired of.
During that time she remained IN the
White House, until her son Robert re-
turned 10 remove her to her Western
home. ,
Unable to live quietly anywhere, so DIS
tracted was she by the mislortuneS she
had undergone, she travelled from place
to place, in q vain and frultless selrch lor
rest and health. In 1865 she visited Ger
many, and from that country she asked
Congress for pension, which was theh
refused, but afterwards granted. She re-
sided in France for some time, ana her
mental condition excited much anxiety.
The fearful trial of her life had complete
" unhinged her, and she could not recoV-
er from the catastrophe which over
whelmeh her. Ever since the death OF
her husband she has simply been Il phys
zeal and mental wreck, praying Ill her
calmer moments for death, which had
more charms for her than the misery OF
existence.
Her vagaries were of such nature,
that her friends i'll 1875 were compelled
to confine her TO a lunatic asylum. 1t was
Il private institution, and she met with
kindness. After several months
treatment she was pronounced by jury
sufficiently sane to manage her own al
fairs, and she was accordingly released.
She had long suffered from an affection Oh
the ewes, and it was feared that she would
become totally blind. Mrs. Lincoln was
sui Gquently, from time to time, suoJect
TO strange hallucination. When she re-
turned from Europe she shut herself UP
in her room, mourning the extravaganza
of the times, and Gliding those about her
who displayed gifts Of jewely and the
like. Size spent her time in oyerhauling
her many trunks, complaining that she
was very sick, and ate full meals oil SUD-
stantial food three times day. She rec
onciled ill-health and hearty eating by
to the few friends whom she adj
mitted that her malady was very pecu-
liar one, compelling her to consume large
quantities. She would rise from repast
Of roast beef, coffee, etc, and very defect
sdly inform her attendant or visitor that
In all probability she should not see the
light of another day; and often in literal
verifi cation of her prophecy, she would
close the window-shutters, increase the
opaqueness of the curtains by pinning up
,,1 irbt ,Alain fallnN