THE SOUL OF ANN RUTLEDGE ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S ROMANCE SECOND IMPRESSION [Illustration: "ABRAHAM, THIS PLACE SEEMS HOLY AND YOU ARE ITS PROPHET" _Page 276_] THE SOUL OF ANN RUTLEDGE ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S ROMANCE BY BERNIE BABCOCK _WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR BY GAYLE HOSKINS_ [Illustration] PHILADELPHIA & LONDON J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 1919 COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PRINTED BY J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A. To J AUTHOR'S NOTE In the tremendous output of Lincolniana that has been given to literature, it seems strange that no adequate story has been given of one of the greatest loves in history. Many writers have referred to it and to its moulding power on the lover's after life. Some have thrown sidelights on the character of the woman. Some have mentioned her rare gift of song and her unusual endowment of mind, and one writer has given a careful description of her personal appearance. But so far as careful and exhaustive research shows, all this matter has never been woven into one story. It is also strange that there has been so much controversy regarding the religious views of Abraham Lincoln, and by those whose faith is based on the evidence required by the Great Teacher When He said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Nor should it ever have been taken as an evidence of lack of faith because he did not accept the creedal beliefs of his day, for had not the Christ Himself strenuously denied much that was insisted on in His day, Christianity could never have been possible. In this story both the love and the faith of one of earth's noblest souls is simply and intimately told. In an age when the cynical opinion is too often heard, that between men and women there can be no different or more lasting love than the mating instinct of animals, and at a time when the death of millions of the world's best men has brought into fresh insistence the age-long question, "If a man die shall he live again?" a fresh and different setting forth of Abraham Lincoln's master passion for a woman, and his calm and unshakable faith in immortality, may be of more than usual interest and value. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. One April Day 11 II. In Clary's Grove 23 III. The Railsplitter 33 IV. The Pilgrim 40 V. Swapping Hosses 50 VI. "Fixin' fer the Angels" 60 VII. "Sic 'em, Kitty" 66 VIII. The Test 73 IX. "Thou Shalt not Covet" 83 X. The Mysterious Pig 92 XI. Peter Cartwright Arrives 101 XII. The Righteous Shout 113 XIII. A Busy Sinner 124 XIV. The Spelling Match 134