Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-12


T| gave their all to country and
to death, the wife of its
President spent her time in rolling to and
fro between washington and New York, in
tent on extravagant purchases for herself and
the White House Mrs. Lincoln seemed to
have nothing to do but to shop and the
reports of her lavish bargains in the news
papers were vulgar and sensational in the
extreme The wives and daughters Of other
Presidents had managed TO dress as elegant
women without the process of so doing becom-
ing prominent or public But not new dress
or jewel was bought by Mrs. Lincoln that did
not find its way into the newspapers"
How unjust were these remarks made 81
years ago. and at time, too, when Mrs
Lincoln was mentally unable to reply had she
wished to have done so. Mans inhumanity
to mainland that also means, of course,
woman's inhumanity to womanl
It does seem that when a fellow is down
someone is always eager to push him just
little bit farther. Perhaps, if his heart is rent
with anguish, to open just little wider the
gaping wound of an already dying soul
How can we account for such words, and
spoken, too, of the wife of the greatest Amer
lean this country has had since the passing OF
George Washington. Even were it true-and
those who were personally acquainted with
the facts say it not-would 1t not have
been more charitable to have left them unsaid?
How much regard could the wielder of this
poison pen have had for even Mrs. Lincoln's
Christian name-one OF the most inspiring and
sacred in biblical history!
Mrs Lincoln had her enemies. Mrs. Lincoln
had her friends. But the former, for all the
mean and uncharitable things they cared to
say, unfortunately gained the larger amount
of publicity; just as the stripping of character
Is seized upon today by some publications
MO man ever went into the White House
under such trying and adverse conditions
as did Abraham intellectually stealing his
way into the Capital of the Nation for the
inaugural ceremonies No woman ever accom-
panied her husband into the highest office
within the gift Of the people and suffered more
in so doing than did Mrs Lincoln. If almost
continuous anguish from 1861 to 1865, result
ing in broken, bleeding heart for her loved
ones who died from disease and in battle
climaxed with the murder of her husband, can
be said to be some of the frivotieS and diver
sions she enjoyed during the Civil War, then
we will admit that her stay in the White House
was careless and free But with knowledge
of what Mrs. Lincoln endured during those
little four years. it is safe to say that there
is not today sane woman in the United States
who would change places with her even for
the honor of being the First Lady Of the Land
were such change at this time possible.
Mrs. Lincoln was a Southern woman, and,
like her great husband, was born in Kentucky.
She loved her Southland where there we're so
the Union and the cause for which her husband
stood. She was true, loyal, patriotic. She was
to Lincoln what Josephine was to Napoleon
his life his blood, his very being, but Lincoln
appreciated her worth more than the CorSican
did JoSephines. During the darkest days OF
the war, when to so many all seemed lost, she
did not leave her husband, as Maria Louisa
would have done, and go to her relations many
of whom were fighting on the other SIDE but
remained steadfaSt as the great French empress,
cared for her children and comforted and con-
soled the President as she had always done in
his adversities. And yet are told Mrs.
Lincoln had nothing else to do but shop and
roll to and fro between Washington and New
York. How easy it is for people sometimes to
Enisjudge the other fellows job.
MRS. Lincoln had not the confidence Of the
A'A North or the South. BY the former she
was looked upon as rebel and by the latter
as q Yankee. Many of the people of the Union
without justification, doubted her sincerity
while those Of the Confederate States treated
her with contempt, principally because she was
the wife of Lincoln. No woman in the White
House ever had a harder lot.
She was high-strung and sensitive, and, like
those so constituted took to heart all the Sights,
discourtesieS and insults heaped upon the Presi-
dent and herself while they occupied the Presi-
dents mansion. Her love for her family was
intense She almost idolized her husband and
her children.
At the breaking out of the war Robert Todd
the eldest of her sons, was young man nearly
Is years old The other children then with her
in Washington were William Wallace, born De-
cember II, 1850, and Thomas Cor Tad" as
he was affectionately called) born April 4,
1853. Edward Baker, the second child (born
March 10, 1S46) had died February 20, 1880
The LncolnS had not been in the White
House quite q year when their third son, VIII
liam Wallace, died on February 20, 1862. He
was bright and promising boy and of low
able disposition. OF him Nathaniel Parker