Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 June 1875 — The Case of Mrs. Lincoln. [ARTICLE]

The Case of Mrs. Lincoln.

We refer to this case with no purpose of grieving the friends of the lady or of pandering to cariosity, bat simply to explain that in all the painful proceedings Mrs. Lincoln has been treated in the kindest and gentlest manner by her personal friends, and that from the beginning to the end she maintained her dignity and character as a lady. For several years after the assassination of her husband, Mrs. Lincoln was pursued by a mental picture of the dreadful scene. She o— id not shake it off. She courted

solitude, denied herself to all visitors and friends, and became the victim of hysteria, aooompanied by various apprehensions, of which destitution, poverty, and absolute want were the most violent A gentleman of this city, one of the warmest personal friends of her husband, succeeded in obtaining an interview, and then free access to her at all times. During a period of more than a year, during which he visited her mainly at her special request, she never failed to begin the interview with a minnte detail of the events of that fatal Friday on which her husband was murdered. This same story was repeated at every interview, and almost in the exact words each time. It had engrossed her mind to the exclusion of all other things past and present, except the gloomy apprehension that she was reduced to want. At last, he proposed that she leave the hotel, and buy a honse, furnish it, and receive friends, and have some cares to divert her mind. She at last consented, and he states that during the few months in which the house was purchased, and she was engaged in furnishing it, and thus had active employment, she was comparatively happy, and had shaken off the terror and wretchedness which had

previously afflicted her. But when the business was completed, when there was nothing more to be done, her home again became a sort of prison, and she relapsed into the old gloom, despondency, and terror. Acting under the3e combined influences, she did many things which were surprising, if not painful to her friends. She had an aversion for companionship and acquaintance; she closed all means of social approach; she lived within the seclusion of her rooms, suffering and enduring the ever present horror of the one terrible event. At times she would grow restless, and suddenly change her residence; but wherever she went the relief was temporary, the relapse inevitable. Under this intense strain, her mind gradually became unbalanced, and year after year she has required more and more the vigilant care of her friends.

Her condition, and what was to be done for her, have been long and carefully considered, and her mental weakness and eccentricities during the last few months became so alarming that some preventive action became necessary. She had among other things become possessed with the idea that Chicago was on tire, and 6he had withdrawn the bonds and other securities in which her funds were invested from the vaults of the Fidelity Deposit Company, and carried them on her person, feeling thus prepared for instant flight. There was reason to apprehend that in her restless, troubled state of mind she might receive personal injury, and at last, when longer delay would really be cruelty and neglect of duty, her son was compelled to the painful prooeeding which, uuder the laws of this State, must precede any detention or restraint for insanity. All the old personal friends of MrLincoln were consulted. The Hon. Isaao N. Arnold was appointed her counsel. The Hon. Leonard Swett assumed even the more delicate task of representing the sheriff and executing the process of the court. It is needless to say that the duty of arresting her, of conveying her to the court room, of communicating to her the character and necessity for the proceedings, and the proposed disposal of her person untler restraint, was performed in the most delicate manner, requiring, however, persistent firmness, great patience, and personal kindness. Her peculiar condition of mind was evidenced by many ingenius pretexts to postpone, delay, or evade action; but these being met with kindness and candor, she yielded to her friends, and submitted to the decree of the judicial inquiry.

’We i ©train from publishing tbs details of her arrest by Mr. SWett, and subsequent arrangement for her departure to the place of detention. It is sufficient to say that throughout the trying scenes she was keenly sensitive, was fully conscious of her position, and skillful in her means to',evade the execution of the judgment j but there was no

violence, no denunciation, no wproaches. Throughout the whole business she displayed the amiability of,a cultivated lady. We close this brief explanation of the causes leading to this proceeding, and of the circumstances attending it, by repeating that it had long been forseen by her intimates; that it was postponed as long as affectionate regard could do so with safety to herself, and that the result will satisfactorily explain to all many things in the past which were as painful and distressing to friends and the friends of her husband as they were surprising to those uninformed of the peculiar circumstances.— Chicago Tribune.

In the Oxford Tribune of last week we find the following concerning a former Rensselaer boy : A gentleman by the name of Bichard Williams, who for some time has been working on a farm near Fowler, met with quite a serious accident last week, by being kicked in the breast by a horse. The injured man was taken to Fowler immediately, where he was made as comfortable as circumstances would admit, but a medical examination disclosed the fact that he had received severe internal injuries, and, although there is some hope of his recovery, the hurt will probably prove fatal. The Fowler Herald has a more hopeful view, and says : Dick Williams was severely kicked by a horse, at Orne Templeton’s livery stable, on Monday last. He was walkiug behind the animal, when it struck him with one or both hind feet in the right side, knocking him down. He was carried into the office, where he rested a few minutes, when he was taken to Mr. Lewis’s. It is thought that he is not injured internally, and that he will soon be up and around. Dick takes the matter very coolly, and says he will soon be all right.