New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-02-03

that IfncOln's were better and more
to the point. He might have been q
little taller and more homely than
most, but IL so what of it? There was
nothing about all these circumstances
to diferentiate him from his kind or
to explain him. They were the shell
of the oyster. but gave no Indications
of the pearl inside.
Yet there are beautiful things and
such as can be spoken of with all pro.
priety and respect in the love affairs
and the home life Of Abraham Lin
coin. His despair at the death Of Ann
Rutledge, his agony over the t'snows
beating on her grave" the fears Of his
friends for his sanity, which went to
the length of their taking precautions
against his possible suicide all this
presents touching and pathetic pic.
ture
AS for the affair with Mary Owens
there is nothing in it worthy a pass
ing notice except that it showed fine
sense Of honor on the part of Lincoln
and an unselfish thoughtfulness for
the happiness of his future wife.
About the courtship with the woman
he finally married and about his home
life with her there has been more or
less dispute. Herndon's exploded sto.
ry that Lincoln ran away on his mar.
riage night has already been men.
toned. With quite as much particu-
larity Lamon states that at this time
Mr. Lincoln was really in love with a
Miss Edwards, who lived in the same
house with his fancee, and that this
fact accounts for his detection, which
was then more pronounced than usual
and also for the long delay in his mar
riage to Miss Todd. So far as the
writer is aware no other biographer
mentions the alleged infatuation for
Miss Edwards
That Mr.. Lincoln was to some extent
unhappy in his married life is fact
| disputed by none. The degree of this
| unhappiness has probably been exag.
gerated. Moreover, there have been SO
many sighting references to Mrs. Lin
coin that I feel like taking up the
| cudgels in her behalf That she had a
temper is probably true. A temper is
not necessarily bad thing. Mr.. Lin
coin himself had prodigious temper
| when it was aroused. So had Wash
ington. So has every man or woman
| that amounts to anything.
But there is this much to be said for
| the wife of Abraham Lincoln. She
| loved him. as was shown by the fact
| that she married him despite his long
delay. While Herndon's story about
the marriage night dereliction is prob
ably untrue, there was some kindred
happening at about that time. An
other thing that can be said in Mrs.
Lincoln's behalf is that she showed
| enough discrimination to prefer Abra-
ham Lincoln to Stephen A. Douglas.
Under the circumstances this required
true insight into character. Douglas
when he paid court to her was already
great man, which was not so ap-
parent in Lincoln's case. Douglas was
brilliant, polished and had a most
winning manner, while Lincoln was
more or less uncouth and shy in fem
mime society Miss Todd was the
daughter of leading man of Kentuc
ky, and thus Douglas belonged to her
own social class in those outward
things which make up class distinc-
tons, while Lincoln did not Never
theless she chose Lincoln. She is en-
titled to honor for both her vision and
her heart
Miss Todd always said that she
would marry a president of the United
States. No ordinary woman would
have had the courage to say that in
the face of the ridicule it would occa.
sion, and no one but very extraor-
binary woman would have had the
ability to pick the winner.
Is it not just possible that some of
Lincoln's biographers have overdrawn
his unhappiness at home just as they
have unduly emphasized his poverty
and have done positive injustice to his
father? Is it not possible that there
was some resentment due to the fact
that Miss Todd belonged to an aristo-
cratic family and did not share her
husbands views on slavery? And is
1t not more than possible that there
has been an undue prying into the
private affairs Of both Mr.. Lincoln and
his wife?
Lincoln's great love for his children,
which caused him to err, if at all, on
the side of too great indulgence, would
not indicate wholly unhappy home
life. The fact that Mrs. Lincoln was
loyal to her husband and his ambition,
that she shared his great life, that she
bore double sorrows in the death OF
her sons and his own assassination
and that she endured so much abuse
from biographers without murmur en-.
title her to our charity and respect.
She was a woman, wife and mother.
She is dead. Common chivalry and
common humanity would at least die
tate that nothing should be said of
, her now except in loving tenderness;
if not that, silence.
| For one am tired of much of the