The late Judge Broadwell told me
that he had asked Mr. Ninian Edwards about it, and Mr. Edwards told
him that no such thing had ever taken place.
"All I can say is that I unhesitatingly do not believe such an event
ever occurred. I thought I had never heard of this till I saw it in
Herndon's book. I have since been told that Lamon mentions the same
thing. I read Lamon at the time he published, and felt very much
disgusted, but did not remember this particular assertion. The first
chapters of Lamon's book were purchased from Herndon; so Herndon is
responsible for the whole.
"Mrs. Lincoln told me herself all the circumstances of her engagement
to Mr. Lincoln, of his illness, and the breaking off of her
engagement, of the renewal, and her marriage. So I say I do not
believe one word of this dishonorable story about Mr. Lincoln."
[Illustration: LINCOLN'S MARRIAGE LICENSE AND MARRIAGE
CERTIFICATE.--NOW FIRST PUBLISHED.
Photographed for MCCLURE'S MAGAZINE from the original, now on file in
the county clerk's office, Springfield, Illinois. It has hitherto been
commonly supposed that the original marriage license issued to
Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd in 1842, with the officiating-minister's
certificate of marriage attached to it, was one of the interesting
documents in what was formerly the Keys Lincoln Memorial Collection.
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