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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1907)
1 . lincol By Ward Hill Lamcn, Lincoln's Friend and Bodygctrd Ai'ter Miss Owens' return to New Salem, In the fall of 1S30. Mr. Lincoln Tins unremitting in bi3 attentions, and .. wherever she went he was at her side. She had many relatives in the neigh borhood the Bales, the Greenes, the Grahams and if she went to spend an afternoon or an evening with any of these Abe was very likely to be on hand to conduct her home. He asked her to marry him, but she prudently evaded a positive answer until she could make up her mind about ques tionable points of his character. She did not think him coarse or cruel, but she did think him thoughtless, care less, not altogether as polite as he might be in short, "deficient," as she expresses It, "in those little links which wake up the great chain of woman's happiness." His heart was good, his principles were high, his honor sensi tive, but still in the eyes of this refined young lady he did not seem to be quite the gentleman. "He was lacking In the smaller attentions." and. In fact, the whole affair is explained when she tells us that "his education was differ ent from" hers. Abe Was UngaHant One day Miss Oweus and Mrs. Bow lin Greene were making their way slowly and tediously up the hill to Abie's house, when they were joined by Lincoln. Mrs. Bowlin Greene was carrying "a great big fat child, heavy and crossly disposed." Although the woman bent pitiably under her burden, Lincoln offered her no assistance, but, dropping behind with Miss Owens, be guiled the way according to his wishes. When they reached the summit, "Miss Owens said to Lincoln laughingly, 'You would not make a good husband, Abe.' They sat on the fence, and one word brought on another till a split or breach ensued." Immediately after this misunder standing Lincoln went off toward Ha vana on a surveying expedition and was absent about three weeks. On the first day of his return one of Abie's boys was sent up "to town" for the mail. Lincoln saw him at the postof fice and "asked if Miss Owens was at Mr. Abie's." The boy said, "Yes." "Tell her," said Lincoln, "that I'll be down to see her in a few minutes." Now, Miss Oweus had determined to spend that evening at Minter Gra h a id's, and when the boy gave in the report "she thought a moment and said to herself 'If I can draw Lincoln up there to Graham's it will be all right.' " This scheme was to operate as a test of Abe's love, but it shared the fate of some of "the best laid schemes of mice and men" and went "all agley." Lincoln, according to promise, went down to Abie's and asked if Miss Ow ens was in. Mrs. Able replied that she had gone to Graham's, about one and a half miles from Abie's, due south west. Lincoln said, "Didn't she know I was coming?" Mrs. Able answered, "No," but one of the children said, "Yes, ma, she did, for I heard Sam tell her so." Lincoln sat awhile and then went about his business. "The fat was now in the fire. Lincoln thought, as he was extremely poor and Miss Owens very rich, it was a fling on him on that account. Abe was mistaken in his guesses, for wealth cut no figure in Miss Owens' eyes. Miss Owens re gretted her course. Abe would not bend, and Miss Owens wouldn't. She said if she had it to do over again she would play the cards differently. She had two sons In the southern ar- ' my. She said that if either of them had got into difficulties she would will ingly have gone to old Abe for relief." In Miss Owens' letter of July 22, 1SGC, it will be observed that she tacit ly admitted to Mr. Gaines Greene "the circumstances in connection with Mrs. Greene and child." Although she here denies the precise words alleged to have t been used by her In the little quarrel at the top of the hill, she does not deny the Impression his conduct left i upon her mind, but presents additional ' evidence of it by the relation of anoth er Incident of similar" character, from j which her Inferences were the same. Fortunately we are not compelled to rely upon tradition, however authentic. for the facts concerning this Interesting episode in Mr. Lincoln's life. Miss Owens was still alive to tell her own tale at the time this narrative was written, and we have besides his let ters to the lady herself. Mr. Lincoln wrote his account of It as early as 1S38. As In duty bound, we shall per mit the lady to speak first: Letters From Mary Owens. . May 1; 1886. Mr. W. H. Herndon: Dear Sir After quite a struggle with my feelings I have at last decided to send you the letters in my possession written by Mr. Lincoln, believing, as I do. that you are a gentleman of honor and will faithfully abide by all you have said. f My ' associations with your lamented friend1 were in Menard county whilst visit ing a sister, who then resided near Peters burg. I have learned that my maiden name is now in your possession, and you have ere this no doubt been informed that I am a native Kentuckian. As regards Miss Rutledge, I cannot tell you anything, she having died previous to my acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln, and I do not now recollect of ever hear ing him mention her name. Please re turn the letters at your earliest conven ience.. Very respectfully yours. MARY S. . . May 1SCG. n's Love Affairs And His Early Experiences as a. Lawmaker f Mr. AV fl. nernaon: My dear Sir Really you catechise me in true lawyer style, but I feel you win have tl:e goodness to excuse me if I decline answering all your questions in detail, being well assured that few women would have ceded as much as I have under, all the circumstances. You say you have heard why our ac- lualntance terminated as it did. ' I, too. aave heard the same bit of gossip, but I never used the remark whici Madam Ru mor says I did to Mr. Lincoln. I think I did on one occasion say to my sister, who was very anxious for us to be mar ried, that I thought Mr. Lincoln was de ficient in those little links which make up the chain of woman's happiness at least it was so in my case. pot that 1 believed it proceeded from a lack of good t ness of heart, but his training had been different from mine; hence there was not that congeniality which would otherwise . have existed. From his own showing, you perceive that his heart and hand were at my dis posal, and I suppose that my feelings j were not sufficiently enlisted to have the matter consummatea. jldoue me uegin , ning of the year 1SS8 I left Illinois, at ' which time our acquaintance and corre- spondence ceased without ever again be- ing renewed. My father, who resided in Green coun ty, Ky., was a gentleman of considerable means, and I am persuaded that few per sons placed a higher estimate on educa tion than he did. Respectfully yours, MARY S. . , July 22, 1806. Mr. W. H. Herndon: Dear Sir I do not think that you are ! pertinacious in asking the question rela ' tive to old Mrs. Bowlin Greene, because I wish to set you right on that question. Your information no doubt came through my cousin, Mr. Gaines Greene, who vis- ! Ited us last winter. Whilst here he was 1 laughing at me about Mr. Lincoln and, ; among other things, spoke about the cir cumstance in connection with Mrs. Greene : and child. My impression .is .now that .1 : tacitly admitted it, for it was a season of trouble with me, and I gave but little heed to the matter. We never had any j hard feelings toward each other that I I know of. On no occasion did I say to Mr. i Lincoln that 1 did not believe he would : make a kind husband because he did not i tender his services to Mrs. Greene in help ing of her carry her babe. As I said to you in a former letter, I thought him lacking in smaller attentions. One cir cumstance presents itself just now to my i mind's eye. There was a company of us going to Uncle Billy Greene's. Mr. Lln- : coin was riding with me, and we had a ; very bad branch to cross. The other gen tlemen were very officious in seeing that their partners got over safely. We were behind, he riding in, never looking back to see how I got along. When I rode up beside him I remarked: "You are a nice fellow! I suppose you did not care wheth er my neck was broken or not." He laughingly replied, I suppose by way of compliment, that he knew I was plenty smart to take care of myself. In many things he was sensitive almost to a fault. He told me of an incident that he was crossing a prairie one day and saw before him "a hog mired down," to use his own language. He was rather "fixed up," and he resolved that he would pass on without looking toward the shoat. After he had gone by, he said, the feeling was irresistible, and he had to look back, and the poor thing seemed to say wist fully, "There, now, my last hope is gone:" that he deliberately got down and relieved it from its difficulty. In many things we were congenial spir its. In politics we saw eye to eye, though since then we differed as widely as the south is from the north. But methinks 1 hear you say, "Save me from a political woman!" So say I. The last message I ever received from him was about a year after we parted in "THE POOR THINO SEEMED TO SAY WIST FULLY, 'MY LAST HOPE IS GONE. " Illinois. Mrs. Able visited Kentucky, and he said to her in Springfield, "Tell your sister that I think she was a great fool, because she did not stay here and marry me." Characteristic of the man. Respect fully yours, MARY S. . Lincoln to Mary Owens. Vandalia, Dec 13. 1838. Mary I have been sick ever since my arrival or I should have written sooner. It is but little difference, however, as I have very little even yet to write. And more, the longer I can avoid -the mortifi cation of looking in the postofflce for your letter and not finding It the better. You see. I am mad about that old letter yet. I don't like very well to risk you again. I'll try you once more anyhow. The new State House is not yet finished, and consequently the legislature is doing little or nothing. The governor delivered an inflammatory political message, and It is expected there will be some sparring between the parties about it as soon as the two bouses .get to business. Taylor dl.v-rrv up his .persons for tb n Cu"'. . me 7 -mcTrner3 mxs morn ing. I am told he despairs of its succese on account ot all the member from Mor gan county opposing It. There are names enough on the petition, I think, to Justify the members from our county In going tor it. but if the members from Morgan op pose it. which they say they win. the chance will be bad. Our chance to take the seat of govern ment to Springfield is better than I ex pected. An internal Improvement con vention was held here since we met. which recommended a loan of several million of dollars, on the faith of the state, to con struct railroads. Some of the legislature are for it and some against it. Which has the majority I cannot tell. There is great strife and struggling for the office of the United States senator here at this time. It is probable we shall ease their pains in a few days. The opposition men have no candidate of their own. and consequently they will smile as complacently at "the inry snarl of the contending Van Buren candidates and their respective friends "as the Christian does at Satan's rage. You recollect that I mentioned at the outset of this letter that I had been unwell. That is the fact, though I believe I am xbcat we!! now. Eut that, with other things I cannot account for. have con! 3pired and have gotten my sp!rits so low chat 1 feel that I 'would rather be any olaee -in the world than here. I really cannot endure the thought of staying her ten weeks. Write back as soon as you ?et this and. if possible, say something that will please me, for really I have not ben pleased since I left you. This letter !s so dry and stupid that I am ashamed .c send It. but with my present feelings I cannot do any better. Give my best respects to Mr. and Mrs. Able and family. Your friend, LINCOLN. Springfield. May 7. 1837. Miss Mary S. Owens: Friend Mary I have commenced two letters to send you before this, both of which displeased me before I got half done, and so I - tore them up. The flr3t I thought was not serious enough, and the second was on the other extreme. J hall send this, turn out as it may. . This thing of living in Springfield is rather a dull business after all at least It is so to me. I am quite as lonesome here as I ever was anywhere in my lifrr. I have been spoken to by but one woman 6ince I've been here and should not have been by her if she could, have avoided it. I've never been to church yet nor probor bly shall not be soon. 1 stay away be cause I am conscious I should not know how to behave myself. I am often thinking about what we said of your coming to live at Springfield. I am afraid you would not be satisfied. There is a great deal of flourishing about In carriages here, which it would be your doom to see without sharing it. You would have to be poor, -without the means of hiding your poverty. Do you believe you could bear that patiently? Whatever woman may cast her lot with mine, should any ever do so, it is my intention to do all in my power to make her happy and contented, and there is nothing I can imagine that would make me more un happy than to fail in the effort. I know I should be much happier with you than the way I am, provided I saw no signs of discontent in you. What" you have said to me may have been in the way of jest, or I may have misunderstood it. If so, then let it be forgotten: if otherwise, I much wish you would think seriously be fore you decide. For my part, I have al-r ready decided. What I have said I will most positively abide by, provided you wish It. My opinion is that you had bet ter not do it. You have not been accus tomed to hardship, and it may be more severe than you now imagine. I know you are capable of thinking correctly on any subject, and if you deliberate mature ly upon this before you decide, then I .am willing to abide your decision. You must write irie a good long letter after you get this. You have nothing else to do, and, though It might not seem in teresting to you after you have written it. it would be a good deal of company to me in this "busy wilderness." Tell your sis ter I don't want to hear any more about selling out and moving. That gives me the hypo whenever I think of it. Yours, etc., LINCOLN. Springfield, Aug. 16. 1837. Friend Mary You will no doubt think It rather strange that I should write you a letter on the same day on which we parted, and I can only account for it by supposing that seeing you lately make's me think of you more than usual, while at our late meeting we had but few ex pressions of thoughts. You must know that I cannot see you or think of you with-j entire indifference, and yet it may be that you are mistaken in regard to what my real feelings toward you are. ' If I knew you were not; I should not trouble you with this letter. Perhaps any other man would know enough without further information, but I consider' it my pe culiar right to plead ignorance and you bounden duty to allow the plea. I want in all cases to-do right, and most -particularly so in all cases with women. I want at this particular time more than anything- else to do right with you, and if I knew it would be doing right, as I rather suspect It would, to let you alone I would do it. And, for the purpose of making the matter as plain as possible, I now say that you can now drop the sub ject, dismiss your thoughts (if you ever had any) from me forever and leave this letter unanswered, without calling forth one accusing murmur from me. And I will even go further and say that, if it will add anything to your comfort or peace of mind to do so, it is my sincere wish that you should. Do not understand by this that I wish to cut your acquaint ance. I mean no such thing. What I do wish is that our further acquaintance shall depend upon yourself. If such fur ther acquaintance would constitute noth ing to your happiness, I am sure it would not to mine. If you feel yourself in any degree bound to me. I am now willing to release you, provided you wish It, while. on the other hand, I am willing and even anxious to bind you faster if I can be convinced that it will in any considerable degree add to your happiness. This, in deed, is the whole question with me. Nothing would make me more miserable than to believe you miserable, nothing more happy than to know you were so. In what I have now said I think I can not be misunderstood, and to make my self understood is the only object of this letter. If it suits you best to not answer this. farewell. A long life and a merry one at tend you. But if you conclude to write back, speak as plainly as I do. There can be neither harm nor danger in saying to me anything you think, just in the man ner you think it. My respects to your sister. Your rriend. LINCOLN. CHAPTER V. Curious Confession From Lincoln on Mary Owens Affair. FTER his second meeting with Mary Mr. Lincoln had little time to prosecute his addresses In person, for early In Decem ber he was called away to his seat in the legislature; but, if his tongue was silent in the cause, his pen was busy. . Pu.in!v Vl? session of the legislature r-iCST sir. umcom c;ae tne ac quaintance of Mrs. O. II. Browning, whose husband was also a member. The acquaintance ripened Into friend ship, and that winter and the next Mr. Lincoln spent a great deal of time in social intercourse with the Brownings. Mrs. Browning knew nothing as yet of the affair with Miss Owens, but a3 the -latter progressed and Lincolu beearje more and more involved she noticed the ebb of his spi ts and often rallie 1 him as the victim of some secret but consuming passion. With thi3 for his excuse. Lincoln wrote her after the adjournment of the legislature a full .and connected account of the manner In which he had latterly bean making "a fool of" himself. For many reasous the publication of this letter Is an ex 'tremely painful duty. If it could be withheld and the act decently recon ciled to the conscience of a biographer professing to be honest and candid it should ' never see the light In these pages. Its grotesque humor. it3 coarse exaggerations in describing the person of a lady whom the writer was willing to marry, its Imputation of toothless and weather beaten old age to a wo man really young and handsome, its utter lack of that delicacy of tone and sentiment which one naturally expects a gentleman to adopt when he thinks proper to discuss the merits of his lat mistress all these and Its defective orthography it would certainly be more agreeable to suppress than to publish. But If we bngin by omitting or muti lating a document which sheds so broad a light upon one part of bis life and one phase of his character why may we not do the like as fast and as often as the temptations arise? And where shall the process cease? A bi ography worth writing at all Is worth writing fully and honestly, and the writer who suppresses or mangles the truth Is no better than he who bears false witness In any other capacity. ' In April, 1S3S, Miss Owens finally departed from Illinois, and in that same month Mr. Lincoln wrote Mrs. Browning: Springfield, April 1, 1S38. Dear Madam Without apologizing for being egotistical, I shall make the history of so much of my life as has elapsed since I saw you the subject of this letter. And. by the way. I now discover that, in order to give a full and intelligible ac count of the things I have done and suf fered since I saw you, I shall necessarily have to relate some that happened before. It was, then, in the autumn of 1S3S that a married lady of my acquaintance and who was a great friend of mine, being about to pay a visit to her father & other relatives residing in Kentucky, pro posed to me that on her return she would bring a sister of hers with her on condi tion tiiat I would engage to become her brother-in-law with all convenient dis patch. I, of course, accepted the pro posal, for you know I could not have done otherwise had I really been averse to it. but privately, between you and me. I was most confoundedly well pleased with the project. I had seen the said sister some three years before, thought her intelli gent and agreeable and saw no good ob jection to plodding life through hand in hand with her. Time passed on, the lady took her journey and in due time re turned, sister in company, sure enough. This astonished me a little, for it ap peared to me that her coming so readily showed that she was a trifle too willing; but on reflection it occurred to me that she might have been prevailed on by her married sister to come without anything concerning me ever having been mention ed to her, and so I concluded that, if no other objection presented itelf, I would consent to wave this. All this occurred to me on hearing of her arrival in the neighborhood, for, be it remembered, 1 had not yet seen her except about three years previous, as above mentioned. In a few days we had an interview, and, al though I bad seen her before, she did not look as my imagination had pictured her. I knew she was oversize, but she now appeared a fair match for Falstaff. I knew she was called an "old maid," and I felt no doubt of the truth of at least half of the appelation, but now, when I .beheld her, I could not. for my life avoid thinkmg of my mother, and this not from withered features, for her skin was too full of fat to permit of its contracting Into wrinkles, but from her want of teeth. Weather beaten appearance in general and from a kind of notion that ran in my bead that nothing could have commenced at the size of infancy and reached her present bulk in less than thirty-five or forty years, and, in short, I was not at all pleased with her. But what could I do? I had told her sister that I would take her for better or for worse, and I made a point of honor and conscience in all things to stick to my word, especially if others had been induced to act on it. which In this case I had no doubt they had, for I was now fairly convinced that no other man on earth would have her, and hence the conclusion that they were bent on holding me to my bargain. "Well." thought I, "I have said it, and, be the consequences what they may, it shall not be my fault if I fail to do it." At once I determined to consider her my wife, and, this done, all my powers of discovery were put to work in search of perfections in her which might be fairly sett off against her defects. I tried to im agine her handsome, which but for her unfortunate corpulency was actually true. Exclusive of this no woman that I have ever seen has a finer face. I also tried to convince myself that the mind was much more te be valued than the person, and In this she was not inferior, as 1 could discover, to any with whom I had been acquainted. Shortly after this, without attempting to come to any positive understanding with her, I sat out for Vandalia, when and where you first saw me. During my stay there I had letters from her which did not change my opinion of either her intelect or intention, but, on the contrary, confirmed it in both. All this while, although I was fixed, firm as the surge repelling rock," in my resolution, I found I was continually re penting the rashness which had led me to make it. Through life I have been in no bondage, either real or imaginary, from the thraldom of which I so much desired to be free. After my return home I saw nothing to change my opinions of her in any particular. She was the same, and so. was I. I now spent my time in plan ing how I "might get along through life after my contemplated change of circum stances should have taken place and how I might procrastinate the evil day for a time, which I really dreaded as much, perhaps more, than an Irishman does the halter. After all my suffering upon this deeply Interesting subject here I am, wholly, un expectedly, completely out of the "scrape," and I now want to know if you can guesn how I got out of it out clear in every sense of the term, no violation of word, honor or conscience. I don't believe you can guess, and so I might as well tail you at once. As the lawyer says, it was done In the manner following to wit: Ater I bdiaythe. matter as. Ions a 1 -xnougtrt-x cotna -in nonor oo cwnreo. by the way, had brought me round Into the last fall) I concluded I might as well bring u to a consumation without fur ther delay, and so I mustered my resolu tion and made the proposal to her direct. But. shocking to relate, she answered. "No." At first I supposed she did it through an affectation of modesty, which I thought but ill became her under the peculiar circumstances of her case, but cn my renewal of the charge I found ehe re- , poled it with greater firmness than be fore. I tried it again and again, but with the same success, or. rather, with the same want of success. 1 finally was forced to give it up, nt which 1 very unexpectedly four.d mys?K mortified almost beyond endurance. I was mortified, it seemed to me. in a hundred different ways. My vanity was deeply wounded by the reflection that I had so long been too stupid to discover h?r in tentions and at the same time never doubting that I understood them perfect ly, and also that she. whonl I had tausol myself to believe nobody else would have, had actually rejected me with all lny fancied greatness. And. to cap the whole, t then for the first time began to suspect that I was really a little in love with her. But let ft all go. I'll try and outlive It. Others have been made fools of by the girls, but this can never with truth be said of me. I most emphatically in th:s instance made a fool of myself. I have now come to the conclusion never again to think of marrying, and for this reason: J can never be satisfied -with any one who would be blockhead enough to have me. When you receive this, write me a long yarn about something to amuse me. Give aiy respects to Mr. Browning. Your sin cere friend. A. LINCOLN. Mrs. O. H. Browning. CHAPTER VI. Lincoln Leaves Love Affairs For Legis lative Work. THH majority of Mr. Lincoln's bi ographers, and they are many and credulous, tell us that he walked from New Salem to Vandalia, a distance of 100 miles, to take his seat for tho first time in the legislature of the state. But that is an Innocent mistake, for he was resolved to appear with as much of the dignity of the senator as his circumstances would permit. For this very purpose he had borrowed 5200 from Coleman Smoot, and when the choice between riding and walking presented itself he sensibly enough got into the stage, with his new clothes on,- and rode to the scene of his labors. When he arrived there, he found a singular state of affairs. Duncan had been chosen governor at the recent .LINCOLN'S FIRST VIEW OP DOUGLAS, "THE LEAST MAN HE EVES SAW." August election by "the whole hog Jackson men," but he was absent In congress during the whole of the cam paign, and now that he came to the duties of his office it was discovered that he had been all the while an anti Jackson man and was quite willing to aid the Whig3 in furtherance of some of their worst schemes. These schemes were then just beginning to be hatched In great numbers, but in due time they were enacted into laws and prepared Illinois with the proper weights of pub lic debt and "rag" currency to sink her deeper than her neighbors into the miseries of financial ruin in 1837. The speculating fever was just reaching Illinois. - The land and town lot busi ness had barely taken shape at Chi cago, and state banks and multitudi nous internal improvements were yet to be invented. But this legislature was a very wise one In its own conceit and was not slow to launch out with the first of a series of magnificent ex periments. It contented itself, how ever, with "chartering a state bank, with a capital of $1,500,000; recharter ing, with a capital of $300,000, the Shawneetown bank, which had broken twelve years before, and providing for a loan of $500,000 on the credit of the state wherewith to make a beginning on the Illinois and Michigan canal. The bill for the latter project was drawn and Introduced by Senator James M. Strode, the gentleman who described with such moving eloquence the horrors of Stillman's defeat These measures Governor Ford considers "the beginning of all the bad legislation which followed in a few years and which, as is well known, resulted in general ruin." Mr. Lincoln favored them all and faithfully followed out the policy of which they were the in auguration at subsequent sessions of the same body. For the present, nev ertheless, he was a silent member, al though he was assigned a prominent place on the committee on public ac counts and expenditures. The bank charters were drawn by a Democrat who hdped to find his account in the issue. All the bills were passed by a legislature "nominally" Democratic, but the board of canal commissioners was composed exclusively of Whigs, and the Whig3 straightway assumed -o"-i i-f the l-"Vq. It was at a special session or tnis legislature that Lincoln first saw Ste phen A. Douglas and. viewing his ac tive little person with Immense amuse ment, pronounced him "the least man he ever saw." Douglas had come Into the state (from Vermont) only the pre vious year, but, having studied law fop several months, considered himself eminently qualified to be state's attor ney for the district in which he lived and was now come to Vandalia for that purpose. The place was already filled by a man of considerable distinc tion, but the incumbent, remaining at home, possibly in blissful ignorance of his neighbor's design. wa3 easily sup planted by the supple Vermonter. It is the misfortune of legislatures in general, as it was in tliose days tho peculiar misfortune of the legislature of Illinois, to be beset by a multitude of gentlemen engaged in the exclusivo business of "log rolling." Chief among the , "rollers" were some of the most "distinguished" members, each assist ed by an Influential delegntion from the district, bank or "institution" to be benefited by the legislation proposed. An expert "log roller,' an especially wily and persuasive person who could depict the merits of his scheme with roseate but delusive eloquence, was said to carry "a gourd of possum fat," and the unhappy victim of his art was said to be "greased and swallowed. It is not to be supposed that anybody ever succeeded in anointing a single square inch of Mr. Lincoln's person with the "fat" that deluded, but his torians aver that "the Long Nine," of whom he was the longest and clever est, possessed "gourds" of extraordi nary dimensions and distributed "grease" of marvelous virtues. But of that at another place. In 1830 Mr. Lincoln was again a can didate for the legislature, his col leagues on the Whig ticket in Sanga mon being for representatives John Dawson, William F. Elkin, N. W. Ed wards, Andrew McCormick, Dan Stone and R. L. Wilson and for senators A. G. Herndon and Job Fletcher. They were all elected but one. and he was beaten by John Calhoun. Lincoln For Woman Suffrage. Mr. Lincoln opened the campaign by the following manifesto: New Salem. June 13, 1836. To the Editor of the Journal: In your paper of last Saturday I see a communication over the signature of "Many "Voters." in which the candidates who are announced in the Journal are called upon to "show their hands." Agreed. Here's mine. I go for all sharing the privileges of the government who assist in bearing its burdens. Consequently I go for admitting all whites to the right of suffrage who pay taxes or bear arms (by no means excluding females). If elected I shall consider the whole people of Sangamon my constituents, as well those that oppose as those that sup port me. While acting as their representative I shall be governed by their will on all subjects upon which I have the means of knowing what their will is, and upon all others I shall do what my own Judg ment teaches me will best advance their interests. Whether elected or not, I go for distributing the proceeds of the sales of the public lands to the several states to enable our state, in common with oth ers, to dig canals and construct railroads without borrowing money and paying tho interest on it. If alive on the first Monday in Novem ber I shall vote for Hugh L. White for president. Very respectfully, A. LINCOLN. The elections were held on the first Monday in August, and the campaign began about six weeks or two months before. Popular meetings were adver tised in the Sangamon Journal and the State Register, organs of the respective parties. Not infrequently the meet ings were joint composed of both par ties when, as Lincoln would say. the candidates "put in their best licks," while the audience "rose to the height of the great argument" with cheers, taunts, catcalls, fights and other exer cises appropriate to the free and un trammeled enjoyment of the freeman's boon. The candidates traveled from one grove to another on horseback, and when the "Long Nine" (all over six feet in height) took the road It must have been a goodly sight to see. "I heard Lincoln make a speech," says James Gourly, "in Mechanicsburg, Sangamon county, in 1836. John Neal had a fight at the time. The roughs got on him, and Lincoln jumped in and saw fair play. We stayed for dinner at Green's, close to Mechanicsburg; drank whisky sweetened with honey. There the questions discussed were in teij. Iipr.yemsa.ts, .Whig. jrini.ple.s. . . continued) rauiitfy tmorf Ctn. "Farmer" Vincent in Farm Journal (Philadelphia) wisely says: When the combs of the fowls begin to droop and look pale and limp, better sort them out and get bens with nice, bright combs. It is the singing hen that does a good day's work. Same way with men folks. The beef trust is leading us to trust more and more in hens. Change the diet of the hens often. None of us likes to live all the time on pudding and milk, good as they are. About the surest way to fail is to crowd too many, hens into one pen. It never paid. It never will. Kind of hard work to wash eggs, but they look so much better when you offer them for sale! Keep the doors closed at night This is the time of the year when enemies of the biddies prowl around. Use some animal food every day, but have it good. Have the feed boxes high enough from the floor so that you can sweep under thenv Sure to be a lot of litter there. Hens do not like to pick their shells out of a box half full of straw and cobs. Keep the shells clean by put ting the box up where the litter will not get into It. Expect to learn something about tho chickens every day. 1
