The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-03-21

!. upon Lincoln's attributes BY the world that h
8 was great and strong enough to rise, under th
most adverse circumstances. by his own excl
lions and Unborn talents, Lincoln IS perhap
whu has risen from the soil.
But TO follow Herndon's version To It's nat
! ural conclusion: In this home he dwolt. ate
and slept, in n hitor-mlss sort OF fashion. o.
; livions OF. Ito ordinary rules governing nil well
npnniIin" TO- is weli.bred mistress. Her re-
monstrances. II sho made any. foil upon dea
ears. or wero more prot ably misunderstool
and mt best nnly caused blank surprise. for III
movements and manners naturally proceeded
from the p-ecepts of his early life In a squat
In his morbid. distracted state. nxeily in
tent upon his own ambition. which was allah
iation" he was causing. until the exasperatet
wite's small stock Of patience was completely
e t1olInsIs au ssd II 'n nes SToS" fP ae p ,@tS AN Sns SRc1a
her in kind; In sheer panied antonishment he
simply withdrew to the Office and. as Herndou
AIS. lived on crackers and chetGe until the
domestic skies cleared nrain. On this as.
sumcl state OF affairs IIerndon bases his gucas
TINT this was mn unhappy marriage. n marriage
OF revenge. a marriage of convenience. a sci.
fish marriage. can draw no such conclusion
on this point. Her very ebuilitions OF tenn.
per prove To mo that she, bore tho str1Lgest af-
lection for her "ungainly husband
From his bringing III or rather no bringing
np o tall. Lincoln, Of course, failed, to observe
the true cause Of these unexplained lnpses OF
temper. which have so much discrodited the
wife with these two bioaraphers. He probably
mover bothered himself to Inquire. 1t was
! ilblullN lllibbbl'lC vi Nic man w pDECtlNo
the effect of his personal nepleot.hi u ter heed
lessness of home, uIon n well.bred woman like
cities. That his queer. log-caoip manners and
social solecisms could pain or In. the smallest
SS enstoni huI Ys : at t nnr WI tbs peg musi h has co UMPIRE
this proad woman's very soul,
In short to sum IN. IT, was his peculiar tenn
peramcnt early training and associations. the
nature OF his employmen.s.n not lack of affection
for his wife. that. made Lincoln prefer to his
home. as is alleged. the roaring companionship
OF the boys or broodinR solitude. and had
Mrs, Lincoln been an angel in disguise. he would
ferred tho court house. the caucus room, even
the tavern. TO his own house. III sweot-trm-
Ltncoln's wife II would not have been differ
ent: Likely, there would have been no up
bratdings: his thoughtlcss naglects would have
been silently borne: but ju IT the same he would
have ridden the circuit. and upon occasion re-
tice OF his intentions or Whereabouts. aud con-
tinued to perform these and other eccentric
tiles of.tho man and his kind and environment
without u thought TINT they caused anxiety
and pain TO his domestic partner. or were wor-
thy ,Cf special observation on the part Of his
Until Miss Tarbell entered the field. about all
the record, we hau of the Lincolns' married life
at Springfield was derived from the pages of
Herndon. It. Is meaEre enough. He is par
ocular to recount that they were neither social
nor very hospitable: no parties were ever given
at their house: Lincoln almost never invited
a friend to dine or visit him; The pair. he
their home. Mrs. Lincoln attended church
regularly: he seldom or never accompanied her.
Now. 1t Is clear that u this Hsrndon version
public knowledge of the everyday life. tho
mutual relations. OF these people. or Liucoln's
actual feelings toward his wife. II this couple
so carefully isolated themselves from the ken
Of their neiGhhors. how could all the things re-
and Lamon relate ever. IL true. have been
kno %n? In fact. Herndon's account bears In
at or at best based upon isoiated manifesto-
lions. He makes no mention OF having been
a al%s shsr "a y !. s%Ids a, the ,hs hone mS . Of his partner sI,osI
Its do1rs. This omission makes IL extremely
doubtful IL he had any intimate acquaintance
onstration OF her alleged fiery temper. Nor
does he quote Lincoln as having ever converscd
Lincoln never told him. nor even limited. that
he had made a mistake in MARRYING Miss Todd.
en mat as ne i, w st f %nIl1 iS t ,ss S Ssst al BAD be ea5.
ion's d'lin"ation Of Lin ,oln's character makes
It Altogether Improbable that he would take
delicate, a personal natter,
Herndon. as is quite evident from his own
$ atus in Springfield. He took no interest in
social gatherings. He saw only the reamy
This may account for his slight knowledge Of
The Goings and conings OF the Lincoln house
his palpable mlsinteI probation OF the few
things, that did come under his personal oh.
servat'2n. IL is thus easy TO see how, after
forming his conclusions ). for It has been set
tied by later and moro intelligent investiRa-
tion that the Lincolns did take an interest in
social affairs and moved IN the best circles OF
the town. which. It. must ee remembered. was
the, capital. of the State. Their intercourse
with the families OF their good neighbors
was constant and cordial. 1t is shown that
Lincoln Was q regular attendant and extreme
~ popular at receptions in Washington during
his single Congressional term. which In
those days were more IN iimRtely social than
the coldly formal ones OF the Washington OF
to-day. We find Lincoln's name appearing in
the list Of committees on a printed Invitation
10 n cotilon party at Springfield. and tho fol-
lowing copT of an original note from Mrs.
Lincoln to one of the most prominent ladies
Of Springfield. a dozen years before he became
President. proves that they were not only So
and hospita1le. but makes IL entirely
that many people OF the best quality
visited their nome:
s,znn,x
SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
MY DEAR MRS. BEArhAS; II your health will admit
of venturlng out such damp weather. we would BIO
much pleased TO have Won. Mr. n and m. rorno
,o,.. m rorn, ,,,. :. -, $50
'e' e'"e ounu 'n' " "oout e !" pass q So
,iai evening; also any friend you may have with
You. Yours truly. MARY LiScoLg.
Tho "yo, j., n, c,nrs. ,,c,,1os A. 1i,..,.
rbta it'll. no,o ,t i,aafs nar ~; ,,nuoin.
II Herndon,s stmrf aHont LincoIr:s sonts, " .tSn
n Ia evIJent Inn he % nnt ,vhn,i, 80. ~.
he ..bovs:' thai no,wiihstapdiIny ali NJ. eor