Evening star., 1939-02-05
By JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.
The part which one of Lincoln's
characteristic old stove pipe hats
had in delaying his reply to the
inquiries of his Springfield neigh
Dor and friend. Richard Symmes
Thomas, is graphically told by Mr.
Lincoln himself in one of his hith-
erto unpublished letters.
This letter is today in the pos
session of young Richard Symmes
Thomas Marsh. son of Mr. and
Mrs. Harold NJ Marsh of 3515
Lowell street NV, student of
Exter and great grandson of Mr..
Thomas to whom Mr. Lincoln
wrote it in Springfield, ILL.,, in 1850,
when he was rising young lawyer.
The Lincoln letter, his proudest
possession is written on faded,
smooth, blue bond paper, and origi-
nally was so folded that its outer
side with its surviving bit of seal
ing wax affixed to it, constituted
its envelope After a custom of
that time there is no stamp affixed,
only the postmark, "Springfield,
June %. ILL.,, in the usual circle.
Below the postmark is the name
and address of "R. S. Thomas. esq
inscribed in Mr.. Lincoln's familiar
penmanship.
Confesses Forgetfulness.
As an example of the absent
mindedness which Mrs. Lincoln
was never quite able to condone in
thethe genius that was her hus-
bands, this letter wherein he uses
two p's in apologies" instead of
the traditional one, begins:
Dear Thomas,
Il am ashamed of not sooner
answering your letter herewith re-
turned; and my only apologies are,
first that I have been very busy in
the U. S. Court, and second, that
when I received this letter I put
it in my old hat. and buying
new one the next day, the old one
was set aside, and so. the letter
lost sight of for time"
Having disposed of his sins of
omission and commission in the
use of his old hat as depositary
for his correspondence, Mr.. Lin
coin in the ensuing paragraphs pro-
ceeds to give the opinion requested
by Mr.. Thomas on the legal issues
which were involved Logically,
clearly and after a great deal of
reflection as he himself states,
Lincoln covers each point in due
relation to the other. Punctuation,
wherever and whenever used,
plainly clarifies the meaning. There
is also the frequent use of a dash
at the end of a sentence rather
than of period, as if the lawyer
who was to be the Great Emanci-
pator were striving for a more
distinct separation of thought than
could be attained by the more con-
ventional medium. Underscored
words, too. emphasize important
phases Of Mr.. Lincolns opinion of
the controversy involved as we'll as
set them out in sharp relief from
the remainder of the text, so that
he who reads 1t nearly 80 years
afterward is not at loss to under
stand the train of thought.
Text Of Letter.
The letter continues as follows:
Either of the forms you give (the
latter preferable) would, so, think,
If 1t were proper to frame a suit on
the bond, in which securities as we'll
as principal are to be held, on the
9th Section. But, after a great deal
of reflection, I think suits under
the 9th Section are to be brought
only against the offender himself for
penalties incurred. and not against
him-and his sureties as his bond. If
you are on the bond, you can go for
nothing, but what is covered by the
condition Of the bond; and what is
covered, that the applicant will keep
an orderly house, and that he will
not permit any unlawful gaming or
riotous conduct in his house Now
look quite through the chapter and
find what penalty is given for dis
orderly house. unlawful gaming
or "riotous conduct or for all three
together. The first eight sections
say nothing about grocery keepers;
the ninth provides for granting the
license and taking the bond-the
10th, 18th, 18th. 18th, 14th give no
penalty or penalties, the 18th cannot
apply to the case, because it relates
to selling without license-the 18th