What did Mr. Lincoln enjoy doing?

[Eva Elisabeth]

(10-21-2013 09:34 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Are the kittens W. Seward gave to the Lincolns' children mentioned in any other contemporary account but in Fanny Seward's diary?

I've always wondered what happened to the kittens Seward gave to Lincoln and his sons. According to this site (sources???), Tabby was one of them, and the other was named "Dixie":
http://presidentialpetmuseum.com/pets/ab...coln-cats/

"Lincoln...was given an unexpected gift of two kittens from Secretary of State William Seward. The president doted on the cats, which he named Tabby and Dixie...Lincoln’s friend Caleb Carman recalled how the president would pick up one of the cats and 'talk to it for half an hour at a time.' The cats apparently won the president over with their quiet adoration. At one point during his first term, Lincoln observed in frustration, 'Dixie is smarter than my whole cabinet! And furthermore she doesn’t talk back!'”

Never heard of "Dixie" and his smartness - does anyone know of a source??? Or what exactly Fanny Seward wrote in her diary on the kittens?