Herndon on Lincoln: Letters

[Susan Higginbotham]

New Year's Day was also a big visiting day, where hostesses would open their houses and people would stop by and take refreshment. It seems an odd day on which for Mary to schedule her wedding, knowing that so many society people would be otherwise engaged.

It also strikes me as odd that none of the Springfield people who disliked Mary would remember the story of her having been stood up. Even if it didn't reflect well on Lincoln, there would still be a certain satisfaction in recounting Mary's humiliation if such an event had actually occurred.