Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

[Lewis Gannett]

(06-25-2014 10:40 AM)Gene C Wrote:  

(06-25-2014 09:41 AM)Lewis Gannett Wrote:  Gene C, about "heart of a thousand strings":

The source is a letter from Henry C. Whitney to Herndon dated June 23, 1887 (late in Hendon's investigation, which is interesting). You'll find it in Herndon's Informants, p. 617. About "context": I leave it up to you to establish your own sense of context. Go to HI, read Whitney's letter, form your own conclusions. Here's a partial quote. By the way, Whitney crossed it out, but it remained legible. What might that mean? Take a stab at figuring it out, Gene C!

"My opinion is (somewhat unlike yours) that Lincoln would have greatly enjoyed married life if he had go [sic] either Ann Rutledge or Miss Edwards. I think he would have been very fond of a wife had he had one to suit. But I also doubt if he would have been as great a man as he was. I have heard him say over & over again about sexual contact. 'It is the harp of a thousand strings.' Oliver Davis thought his mind run on sexual [matters] [unintelligible]."

thanks for the info...here is what Wikipedia (not my favoirite source) has to say about Henry Whitney http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clay_Whitney
(under "Works" ..."Whitney has been described as an 'unscrupulous reporter', willing to stretch the facts to make his point".)

Just my observation..."I've heard him say over & over agian....."
If Lincoln really did say it over & over again, it's a shame that no one else remembers or documented that Lincoln said this.

Gene, you're not suggesting that Henry Whitney had a gay agenda, are you? Just kidding! Hey, who knows what Whitney meant exactly, and to how many people he quoted Lincoln on sexual contact & the harp. I get the feeling that Whitney, with some reluctance, was trying to express to Herndon that Lincoln saw sexual experience as complex thing. Needless to say that interpretation could easily be wrong.