The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1895-08-30
SKETCHES OF LINCOLN.
Incidents Of His Home and Office
Life.
RIPPLEs ON THE DOMESTIC SEA

AaAA LILO YIN Idh DUMESTlU SEA.
Sunday In the Once With tho Boys-The
servant Question-syn- .'athy For Mrs.
Lincoin-A Badly Matched PHir-Mary
Owens Opinion.
From THE Life OF Lincoln" by William Fl.
herndon and Jesse ". Wek. Copyright, 1873,
by Jesse W. weik. Copyright, 1892 by d. APP
pleton & Col
A knowledge of Lincoln's personal
views and actions, glimpse through
the doorway Of his home and more
thorough acquaintance with his marked
and strong points as they developed
will aid us greatly in forming our gen.
eral estimate of the man. When Mr..
Lincoln entered the domain of investi-
CATION, he was severe and persistent
thinker and had wonderful endurance;
hence he was distracted and for that
reason at times was somewhat unsocial,
reticent and uncompunicative. After
his marriage it cannot be said that he
liked the society of ladies-in fact, 1t
was just what he did not like, though
one Of his biographers says otherwise.
Lincoln had none of the tender ways
that please a woman, and he could not,
it seemed, by any positive act OF his
own, make her happy. If his wife was
happy she was naturally happy or made
herself so i'll spite of countless draw
backs. He was. however. a good hus-
band in his own peculiar way, and in
his own way only.
ConJugal Infeiicity.
If exhausted from severe and long con-
tinued thought, he had to touch the
earth again to renew his strength. When
this WEAKNESS set in, he would stop
thought and get down and play with a
little dog or kitten to recover, and when
the recovery came be would push it aside
to play with its own tail. He treated
men and women in much the same way.
For fashionable society he had marked
dislike, although he appreciated its
value in promoting the welfare Of a
man ambitious to succeed in politics
If he was invited out to dine or to
mingle in some social gathering and
came in contact with the ladies, he
treated them with becoming politeness,
but the consciousness of his shortcomings
as society man rendered him unusual
ly diffident, and at the very first oppor-
tunity he would have the men separated
from their ladies and crowded close
around him in one corner Of the parlor,
listening to one Of his characteristic
stories. That lady as proud and as am
bilious to exercise the rights Of suprem-
acy in society as Mary Todd should
repent of her marriage to the man |
have just described surely need occasion
no surprise in the mind of any one.
Both she and the man whose hand she
accepted acted along the lines of human
conduct, and both reaped the bitter har-
vest of conjugal infelicity. In dealing
with Mr.. Lincoln's home life perhaps |
am revealing an element of his charac-
ter that has heretofore been kept from
the world, but in doing so feel sure
am treading on no person s toes, for all
the actors in this domestic drama are
dead, and the world seems ready TO hear
the facts AS his married life, in the
opinion of all his friends, exerted pecul-
lar influence over Mr.. Lincoln's polit-
ical career, there can be no improperly,
/ apprehend, in throwing the light on
il now. However cold and distracted
her husband may have appeared TO 9TH
ers, however impressive, when aroused,
may have seemed his indignation in
public, he never gave vent TO his feel
ings at home. He always meekly &C
cepted as final the authority Of his wife
in all matters of domestic concern. This
may explain somewhat the statement Of
Judge Davis that, las general rule,
when all the lawyers of Saturday even
ing would go home and see their fami-
lies and friends, Lincoln would find
some excuse and refuse TO go. We said
nothing, but it seemed to Us all he was
not domestically happy" He exercised
no government of any kind over his
household His children did much as
they pleased. Many of their antics he
approved, and he restrained them in
nothing. He never reproved them or
gave them fatherly frown. He was the
most indulgent parent | have ever
known.
Sunday at the once.
He was in the habit, when at home
on Sunday, of bringing his two boys,
Willie and Thomas-or ''Tad"-down
to the office while his wife attended
church. He seldom accompanied her
there. The boys were absolutely unre-
strained in their amusement. II they
pulled down all the books from the
shelves, bent the points of all the pens.
overturned inkstands, scattered law pa
pers over the floor or threw the pencils
into the spittoon. it never disturbed the
serenity of their fathers good nature
Frequently absorbed in thought, he
never observed their miscellaneous but de-
structive pranks-as his unfortunate
partner did, who thought much, but
said nothing-and even il brought to
his attention he virtually encouraged
their repetition by declining to show
any substantial evidence Of parental dis
approval After church was over the
bows and their father climbing down