Mr. Lincoln Would Not Be Amused

[Rob Wick]

Roger,

I did a quick, cursory glance into Tarbell's papers and found nothing on Shields in terms of her own thoughts. The way she handled it in the biography was more a picture of how Lincoln was willing to do something so Mary wouldn't become involved in the controversy, so I think one could safely say that she didn't believe Lincoln exhibited malice so much as was willing to sacrifice himself (if the duel had been much more serious than it turned out). Add to that her description of how just about everyone in Springfield saw Shields as more of a comical character than a serious foe, and I think one could see that she believed it to be a harmless blip in an otherwise malice-free life.

Best
Rob

[Rob Wick]

For anyone interested, this is what a finished letter by Tarbell would have looked like. This is from the Massachusetts Historical Society and was part of the Atlantic Monthly/Wilma Minor collection. By the way, none of Tarbell's letters that are in the MHS collection can be found in her papers. Evidently, many of Tarbell's letters were destroyed after her death.



Best
Rob