Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1916-02-11

in Springfield. Her sister was the wife or Nlnlan
w. Edwards one of the most prominent men OF
Springfield. Miss Todd was bright witty, nlgnly
educated, ambitious, and at once became tue
belle of Springfield Few young women have nao
more great men suitors for their hand than nau
Miss Todd within one month of her arrival.
Among those who paid ardent attention 10 ner
were Stephen A. Douglas, James Shields VINO
later was senator from three states and VINO
made glorious record in three wars; Abraham
Lincoln, and dozen others.
The Edwards family protested against MISS
Todd's partiality for Lincoln. They thought his
family was plebeian: they thought, too, he was
too grave a man. But Miss Todd loved Lincoln
and they became engaged.
They were not altogether happy in their en-
gagement. Miss Todd was jealous and exacting.
She loved balls and parties frivoities of all sorts
that are so dear to women. Lincoln did not care
much for those things and was shockingly
thoughtless and inattentive for engaged man.
When there was some merrymaking If he d1dn
want to go, he didn't think she'd care. She, how
ever, thought it a slight. She complained that
he neglected her. Then, to make him feel bad
about it, she would go with Shields or with
Douglas. There were tears, reproaches, quar-
rels. They would make up and fall out again.
All this had a very bad effect upon Lincoln He
became extremely morbid. He began to search
his soul to answer the question as to whether or
not he would make the woman's life unhappy.
were
1912. Something happened and the wedding did
not take place There was story, which was
credited to w. H. Herndon, that Lincoln failed
to appear but this has been pronounced untrue
by those who ought to know. 1t is more likely
that one of their many quarrels led to the break
between them.
Some of Lincoln's letters written about this
time disclose his sufferings. In one of them he
says:
81 am now the most miserable man living. If
what feel were equally distributed to the whole
human family there would not be one cheerful
face on earth. Whether l shall ever be better
1 cannot tell / fear l shall not. To remain as
l am is impossible"
Reconciliation and Marriage.
One Of his friends in Kentucky invited him
there in the hope of cheering him up. He had a
hard time arousing Lincoln from his melancholia,
but he finally succeeded in manner he never
expected. The friend fell in love himself and
began to feel oualmish to whether he would
make his beloved happy. He became so miser-
able over his doubt in this regard that Lincoln
tried to cheer him up, and in trying to cheer his
friend, Lincoln cheered up himself
When Lincoln returned to Illinois he was
much better. He and Miss Todd met and there
was a reconciliation.
On November T. following, Lincoln and Mary
Todd were married. While the marriage cere-
mony being performed of the greatest
storms in the history of Springfield was raging.
did you ever write out story in your mind?"
Lincoln once asked friend II did when was
a young fellow. One day wagon with lady
and two girls and a man broke down near us, and
while they fixing up they cooked in our
kitchen. The woman had books and read us
stories, and they the first of the kind ever
had heard. | took great fancy to one of the
girls, and when they gone thought of her
a great deal, and day when I was sitting out
in the by the house l wrote out a story in
my mind.
81 thought / took my fathers horse and fol-
lowed the wagon, and finally / found 1t, and
they were surprised to see me- l talked with the
girl and persuaded her to elope with me; and
that night put her on the horse and we started
off across the prairie. After several hours we
came to camp, and when we rode up we found
it the ons we had left few hours before,
and we went in
"The next night we tried again, and the same
thing happened-the horse came back to the
same place; and then we concluded that we
ought not to elope. | stayed until l had per-
suaded her father to give her to me. always
meant to write that story out and publish it.
and / began once, but / concluded it was not
much of story. But think Tat was the be.
ginning OF love with me-"