What did Mr. Lincoln enjoy doing?

[LincolnMan]

Meade was ticked off at Doubleday for some reason and after Gettysburg had Abner resassigned to somewhere in upstate NY
Lincoln got wind of this, and put Doubleday back in the main ranks, regardless of Meade's orders.
Meade was also not an easy person to get along with

Doubleday was a Republican and Lincoln supporter. I wonder where Meade leaned politically? I think it significant that Doubleday from present for Lincoln's Gettysburg dedication.

[GARY POPOLO]

Do my wife and I get any credit for staying at the doubleday B & B in Gettysburg this past July? I believe I listened to a ball game on the radio? No T.V. at the Doubleday. Enjoy

[LincolnMan]

Gary: is that B&B named for him?

[LincolnMan]

We know that Lincoln spent a lot of time on horseback (riding the circuit, etc.)-but I don't think I've ever read he was an equine enthusiast-like Grant, for instance.

[Donna McCreary]

We know that Lincoln spent a lot of time on horseback (riding the circuit, etc.)-but I don't think I've ever read he was an equine enthusiast-like Grant, for instance.

Mary was an equine enthusiast. One of my favorite stories about her involves her riding. I have often wondered if the two of them rode horses together for fun - or with the children. Wouldn't that have made a wonderful tale!

[Eva Elisabeth]

Donna,
seeing the later pitures of Mary it's not so easy to imagine her dashing side saddle in gallopp....Did she go fast on horseback or just at walking pace?

Bill,
I can't find the source right now, but I read several times that Lincoln enjoyed horseriding. During his presidency, he went to the Soldiers' Home on horseback while the others went by carriage, and, whenever possible, he took a ride in the afternoon for recreation, often toghether with Orville Browning. Also he alledgedly loved horses (animals in general), especially his "Old Tom".

[Laurie Verge]

Born and raised in Kentucky, I would imagine that Mary Todd was quite a horsewoman in her early years. Since she wasn't raised on a plantation or farm, perhaps she didn't have the wide-open spaces in which to gallop pell-mell, but I bet she was good with horses. Given her strong personality, I also bet the horse knew who was in control.

[Donna McCreary]

I am going to start a new thread in the "Mary and Boys" category to continue this topic.

[brtmchl]

He enjoyed Shakespeare, poetry, and story telling.

Was it true that his favorite was Julius Caeser? I thought I heard that recently.

[Gene C]

Was it true that his favorite was Julius Caeser? I thought I heard that recently.

I think it would be "The Taming of the Shrew"

[brtmchl]

Not only that, but I am the one realy responsable for tracking down Booth to Garrett's barn....(that's how I got the diary and Davies original statement).....Fido
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[quote='brtmchl' pid='20143' dateline='1371147830']
Was it true that his favorite was Julius Caeser? I thought I heard that recently.

I think it would be "The Taming of the Shrew"

Nice...... But I think that one belongs on the Mary's Reputation thread.

[Liz Rosenthal]

I believe that Lincoln's favorite Shakespeare play was MacBeth.

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I don't think Lincoln was an equine enthusiast. He certainly relied on horseback riding to get where he needed to go, although so did everyone else, unless they were able to buy a carriage.

His recreational activities as an older man included handball, "town ball" (precursor to baseball), and a variety of fun games of the time (can't remember what they were called, although one involved pitching pebbles while walking forward).

As a young man he really enjoyed competitive sports - wrestling, weightlifting (i.e., lifting large, heavy objects; I assume barbells were not common on the frontier), running, jumping, etc. As we've observed before, he was a gifted athlete.

Lincoln did love and care about animals, as Eva said, but he seemed to have a special affinity for cats.

In general, he had his favorite Shakespeare plays, poetry and humorous writings and enjoyed either reciting excerpts from them from memory or reading them to friends and colleagues.

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And let's not forget how much he loved to tell stories!

[brtmchl]

I believe that Lincoln's favorite Shakespeare play was MacBeth.

---

I don't think Lincoln was an equine enthusiast. He certainly relied on horseback riding to get where he needed to go, although so did everyone else, unless they were able to buy a carriage.

His recreational activities as an older man included handball, "town ball" (precursor to baseball), and a variety of fun games of the time (can't remember what they were called, although one involved pitching pebbles while walking forward).

As a young man he really enjoyed competitive sports - wrestling, weightlifting (i.e., lifting large, heavy objects; I assume barbells were not common on the frontier), running, jumping, etc. As we've observed before, he was a gifted athlete.

Lincoln did love and care about animals, as Eva said, but he seemed to have a special affinity for cats.

In general, he had his favorite Shakespeare plays, poetry and humorous writings and enjoyed either reciting excerpts from them from memory or reading them to friends and colleagues.

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And let's not forget how much he loved to tell stories!

Thanks Liz. I can see his attraction to Macbeth.

[RJNorton]

Lincoln wrote the following letter to actor James Hackett. I think Hackett made the letter public and newspapers "jumped" on it.

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To James H. Hackett

Executive Mansion, Washington, August 17, 1863.

My dear Sir:

Months ago I should have acknowledged the receipt of your book, and accompanying kind note; and I now have to beg your pardon for not having done so.

For one of my age, I have seen very little of the drama. The first presentation of Falstaff I ever saw was yours here, last winter or spring. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay is to say, as I truly can, I am very anxious to see it again. Some of Shakspeare's plays I have never read; while others I have gone over perhaps as frequently as any unprofessional reader. Among the latter are Lear, Richard Third, Henry Eighth, Hamlet, and especially Macbeth. I think nothing equals Macbeth. It is wonderful. Unlike you gentlemen of the profession, I think the soliloquy in Hamlet commencing ``O, my offence is rank'' surpasses that commencing ``To be, or not to be.'' But pardon this small attempt at criticism. I should like to hear you pronounce the opening speech of Richard the Third. Will you not soon visit Washington again? If you do, please call and let me make your personal acquaintance.

Yours truly
A. LINCOLN.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Another aftermath of the letter, according to Hay, was the following:
Hackett visited the White House on Dec 13. Lincoln critizised him for reading one of Falstaff's passages "Mainly TRUST at me" and told him he should have said "Mainly trust at ME" instead.