Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

[Eva Elisabeth]

And how on earth did you read about "heart of a thousand strings"? Henry Whitney quoted Lincoln saying that about "sexual contact." A striking thing to say for all kinds of reasons. Actually, it's quite an important quote. Where did you see it?

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I am unfamiliar with that quote. Can someone post it (in it's context) along with the circumstances it was said - if known, and keeping in mind we want to keep this discussion suitable for young students.

Since Lincoln might have been familiar with that hymn, that would be quite a shift from it's original use.

M. Burlingame writes:
"Lincoln said repeatedly 'about sexual contact, ‘It is the harp of a thousand strings.'’”
No further context as for this, just that the next sentence goes on within the same topic:
"A colleague at the bar, Oliver L. Davis, thought that Lincoln’s 'mind run on sexual [matters?].'” (This has a source, Herndon, of course. Wouldn't be surprised if he was the source for the "thousand strings", too.)