The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-01-26
Remarkable Letter EInancipatOr
Wrote To Be Sold.
WOOING THRUST UPON HIM
Placed In an Embarrassing Position as
Result of a Rash Agreement, He
Later Penned Grotesque Account of
the Lady and Unexpected Outcome of
the Strange Romance.

Major William H. Lambert civil war
veteran, who died in Philadelphia June
l. 1912, owned the finest Abraham Lin
coin and William NJ. Thackeray collec-
tons in existence. Owing to his death
they have come into the public market
and will be sold at auction.
Perhaps the item of greatest general
interest in part one is the five page
quartO letter written by Lincoln to
Mrs. Orville III. Browning. telling how
he made love to Mary s. Owens, after
ward Mary S. Vineyard. asked her to
marry him and was rejected. The let
ter, which is worn at the folds. is
dated Springfield. April /, 1888 Lin
coin first met Miss Owens in 1888 at
tse house of Mrs. Bennett Able. her sis
ter. The letter reads in part:
1T was then, in the autumn of 1886.
that married lady of my acquain-
lance (Afrs. Able and who was great
friend of mine being about TO pay a
visit to her father and other relatives
residing in Kentucky proposed to me
that on her return she would bring n
sister of hers with her on condition
that l would engage to become her
brother-in-law with all convenient dis
patch | had seen the said sister some
three years before, thought her inteli-
gent and agreeable and saw no good
objection to plodding through life hand
in hand with her
"A TrifIe Too willing"
Thine passed on. The lady took her
journey and in due time returned. sis
ter in company. sure enough. This
stomached me a little. for il appeared
To me that her coming 50 readily show
al that she was n tritie too willing. but
on reflection it occurred 10 me that She
might have been prevailed on hy her
married sister to come without any
thing concerning me having been men
toned to her.
'ln few days we lad IN Interview.
and, although | had not seen her be
fore. she did not look as my i!nagina-
ton had pictured her. | knew she was
diversified. but now she appeared Il fair
match for FalStaff. | knew she was
called an old maid and | felt no
doubt OF the truth OF ut least half of
the appeliatiOn. 4 kind OF notion ran
/ III my head that nothing could have
/ commenced at the size of infancy and
/ reached her present bulk in less than
thirtyfv or forty years. and in short
! | was not at all pleased with her.
But what could do? | had told
/ her sister that | would take her f0l
better or for worse, and | made Il
point OF honor and conscience in al
things to stick to my word.
AT once | determined to consider
her my wife. and. this done all my
/ powers of discovery We're put TO worl
in search of PROJECTIONS in her which
might be fairly set off against her lie
fects. | tried 10 imagine her hand
some. which. but for her unfortunate
/ corpulency. was actually true
Unexpected Developments.
After all my sutferings upon thi,
deeply interesting subject. here am
wholly. unexpectedly. completely on
of the 'scrape: and | now want K
know if you can guess how | goi on
of it-out clear in every sense of tn,
term-no violation Of word. honor o
conscience. | don't believe you cal
guess, and so | may as we'll tell 20,
at once. AS the lawyer says. it wa
done in the manner following, To wit
After ! had delayed the matter n
long as | thought could in honor d,
| concluded | might as we'll bring i
to contamination without further de
lay. and so | mustered my resolution
and made the proposal 10 her direct
but. shocking to relate, she answer
ed No.
AT first | supposed she did
> through IN affectation of modesty
| which thought but III became he
under the peculiar circumstances o
her case. but on my renewal of tn
charge | fonnd she repealed it wit
greater firnness than before. trie
it again with the same success, ol
r rather with the same want Of success
t l finally was forced 10 give ii up. a
e which | very Unexpectedly found my
self mortified almost beyond endul
! ance.
And TO cap the whole | then for tn
first time began TO suspect that | wa
: really little in love with her Blu
! let itgo. III try and outlive 1T. Ott
!, ers have been made fools of by th
girls. but this can never with truth b
: said of me. | most emphatically /
this instance made 4 fool OF myself
s / have now come TO the conclusio
! never again TO think of marrying. an
Il for this reason !. can never be Statistic
d with any one who would be blockhea
n enough TO have me-"
A. Lincoln was twenty seven years oil
y when his marriage proposal TO Mis-
e Owens was rejected
I'll