LOVE 790 drawn towards her by some superior and unseen power." E cntuallv, however, they became engaged. This, however, Miss Todd did not regard as a reason strong enough to deter her from receiving attentions from other men, notable among whom was Stephen Douglas, the man who afterwards became one of the most jx)werful of Lincoln's poHtical rivals. O.-adually Abraham became jealous ; Douglas undoubtedly interested Mary greatly. He was a self-confident, masterful man, and in drawing-rooms, where Lincoln always was ill at ease, he was at home and happy. At length Lincoln could bear the strain no longer ; he went to Speed and asked him to deliver a letter which he had written to Maiy, telling her that he had come to the conclusion that his love for her was not strong enough to justify him in marrying. " I reminded him," records Speed, " that the moment he placed the letter in Miss Todd's hand she would have the advantage over him. " Words are forgotten," I said, " misunderstood, unnoticed in private con- ve sation, but once you put your words in writing, they stand a living and eternal monument against you. ... Go and see Mary yourself ; tell her, if you do not love her, the facts." Lincoln acted, therefore, on his friend's advice, and set out for Miss Todd's house immediately. Speed awaited his return. An hour passed, two hours, but still there was no sign of Abraham. Speed became anxious. At last, however, his friend returned. But he had not broken off the engagement. Moved by the girl's tears, he had repented of his decision. " To tell the truth. Speed," he said, " it was too much for me. . . . I caught her in my arms and kissed her." He saw now, however, that he could not reverse this decision. " It's done," he said, " and I shall abide by it." And abide by it he did until the wedding day dawned. Preparations for the ceremony were made on a very elaborate scale, but at last every- thing was ready, and on January ist, 1841, the bride, clad in her wedding garments, sat with the guests waiting for the bridegroom. But where was the groom ? An hour passed, and still he had not appeared. Messengers were sent throughout the town, but Lincoln could not be found. Indeed, he rcmamed hidden until the following morning, and then Speed found him, " hstless, gloomy' miserable, and desperate." Terrified lest his friend should commit suicide. Speed took him to his own mother's house. There— for Mrs. Speed was a cheer- ful woman— Lincoln soon was restored to health and a more peaceful frame of mind Then he returned to Springfield and, under the stress of his legal work, the memory of Mary Todd faded gradually from his mind. All might liavc been well, therefore, had not a well-intentioned woman conceived the fatal Idea of bringing them together again. The result was a renewal of the engagement, and Lincoln astonished all his friends one morning by announcing that he was going to marry Mary Todd that very day. Why did he marry her ? There can be but one answer ; he married her hoping that thereby he would retrieve his honour and his reputation. He married her, moreover, prepared for, if not conscious of, the likely consequence. But the depths of the tragedy, the bitterness of the life before him at thatt time, he could not have calculated fully. Why, however, did Mary marry Lincoln ? Again one can but conjecture. Perhaps she did it to avenge herself. This seems to be more than probable. Perhaps at one time she loved this strange, morose, gaunt politician, but he killed that love ; he made her look ridiculous in the eyes of the world. . Love will forgive most offences ; this one, however, it will never pardon. There is not space here to deal with Lin- coln's married life, nor, indeed, is it necessary to do so, for with his marriage ends the story of his romance. In his wedded life can be found neither love nor poetry. Hence- forth the man who ruled a nation, the man who feared no man, and guided his country through one of the most ghastly of the civil strifes that ever the historian has recorded, was at the mercy of his wife ; he was her slave ; she ruled him absolutely. He acquired fame and power ; he gave fame and power to her and position also, but himself he reaped only a harvest of bitterness. Never, however, has a man been more enduring ; he suffered in silence and with patience, but suffered always. Once, Mrs. Lincoln ordered a man to make some small alteration in her garden. Since, however, the work necessitated the cutting down of a tree, the man first consulted Mr. Lincoln. " What did Mrs. Lincoln say ? " inquired the latter. " She consented to have it taken away." " Then," exclaimed Mr. Lincoln, " cut it down to the roots ! " Such was his servitude, but it is not without its pathos. Not long before his death, his sister-in-law, Mrs. Edwards, while strolhng with him through the grounds of the White House, announced her intention of leaving Washington. With tears in his eyes, Lincoln implored her to stay longer. " You have such a strong control and such an influence over Mary," he said, " that when trouble comes you can console me. " The picture of the man's despair," declares Mrs. Edwards, " never faded from my vision . . . my heart ached because I was unable, in my feeble way, to Hghten his burden." This death alone could do. But that final scene at Ford's Theatre, when the Presi- dent fell, the victim of a foul assassination, IS too well known to need mention here. On April 14th, 1865, he died, leaving behind the burden of a nation's cares and the misery of a homeless home. He was a great man, a powerful ruler, an inspiring leader, but, in spite of all, his life was empty ; he was fame's most splendid failure.
