Show 0 all it if there is any truth at all to the new book on lincoln which I 1 am reading I 1 have decided that th that at venerable gentleman must have been a hard man to live with familiar old stories ot of 1 mary todd lincoln picture her as an ambitious social climber who wielded a whip liand hand over lincoln so the todd side ot of the todd rutledge factions ot of springfield must be more than pleased with irving irvcng stones latest book love Is internal En for in that book mary todd lincoln is given much credit for the ultimate success her husband achieved and I 1 can believe it tor for only a woman ot of courage could have survived I 1 onely lonely weeks and months when lincoln was away riding circuit court or campaigning tor for some political office and the defeats her husband experienced one after another only a woman of supreme courage could have lived with a man whose moods ranged from deep depression to sagacious humor the transition from the depths ot of depression to the pinnacle ot of humor must have been to mary like being dashed from rora cold water into hot the books title by the way romea from the inscription on the ring abraham lincoln presented to mary alary on their wedding day love Is eternal the book also tells ot of parental anxiety experienced by those these two people for their first son robert was tormented by his friends because ol of his bis crossed eyes and little tad was born with a cleft palate another story that I 1 had never heard before was of the time lincoln ran for office against a methodist minister the ministers oratory vaci vacillated from politics to religion and it was hard bard to tell whether he waa preaching or campaigning lincoln think much of the ministers methods and it Is here that lincoln Is supposed to have said that religion and politics should not be mixed apparently Lincol ns eloquence and high ideals were no match tor for the ministers hell tire fire cind and brimstone for I 1 am sure it lincoln had been elected that particular time lime the book boo k would have made mention of it tor for at that time Lincol ns successes were few and tar far between it was interesting to learn how mary alary todd lincoln took advantage ot of her husbands absence to remodel their three room house into the two story structure from which the Lin coins moved into the white house and which Is a shrine to his memory today lincoln was always anxious to avoid anything that could be construed as being luxurious and he was perfectly satisfied to live in their humble dwelling no amount of urging from mary would make him change his mind so mary did what women today sometimes have to do did it behind his back after the he first moments moment of consternation wore oft off lincoln was just as proud of his new home as it he had thought ot of it himself im glad this book has been written fact or fiction it gives one a new understanding ot of this great man and his wife whose influence played no small part in his career I 1 |