Late in the historic session of that spring, wherein the Whigs adopted the convention system of nominations and many plans were made for the expenditure of visionary millions, young Mr. Lincoln received a letter from his friend, Mrs. Bennet Able of New Salem, which conveyed a shock to his nerves. Before, he had gone to the session, Mrs. Able had said to him lightly:
"Abe, I'll ask my sister Mary to come up here for a visit if you'll agree to marry her."
"All right," the young man had answered playfully. He remembered Mary. When he had left Kentucky, years before, Mary--a slender, sweet-faced girl--had been one of those who bade him good-by.
The letter had said among other things: "Mary has come, and now we expect you to keep your word."
No knight of old had a keener sense of chivalry than the young statesman of Salem Hill. It was almost as Quixotic as the excesses at which Cervantes aimed his ridicule. An appalling fear took possession of him--a fear that Mrs. Able and the girl had taken him seriously. It worried him.
About this time Harry Needles arrived in Vandalia. The Legislature had adjourned for a week-end. It was a warm, bright Saturday, early in March. The two friends went out for a stroll in the woods.
"Have you seen Mrs. Able's sister, Mary Owens?" Abe Lincoln asked.
"Massive and most of her front teeth gone." Lincoln looked thoughtful.
"You look as if she had stepped on your foot," Harry remarked.
"The fact is I'm engaged to her in a kind of a way."
"You're right; it's a joke, but I'm afraid she and her sister have taken it seriously. A man must be careful of the heart of a young woman. After all, it isn't a thing to play with. As usual, when I try to talk with women, I make a fool of myself."
"It would be easier to make a whistle out of a pig's tail than a fool out of you," said Harry. "I have joked like that with Annabel and other girls, but they knew that it was only fun."
"As firm as a nail driven in oak," said Harry. "I seem to be built that way. I shall never care much for any other girl."
"Once in a while I get a long, playful letter from her, full of things that only Bim could write."
"Stuart says she can get a divorce. We know the facts pretty well. If you say so, we'll prepare the papers and you can take them up to Chicago and get them signed and attested. Stuart tells me that we can serve them by advertising."