ago children had few privileges. We had no amusements, no parties, nor books with charming little stories to stimulate us to acts of courtesy and kindness. Our standard library was the Bible and the Shorter Catechism, which we always carried to Sunday-school. On one occasion Mary was with some young friends on a visit at Walnut Hills, near Lexington, Kentucky. They were startled by the report that Indians were approaching the house, and attempted to hide, each according to her impulse, under beds, in closets, anywhere, and Mary sought a refuge behind an old-fashioned screen that stood before an open fire-place. But feeling no safety there, she looked for a place of greater security, and not finding any to suit her, she stood in the center of the room and cried in a frantic tone: "Hide me, oh my Saviour, hide." It turned out that the Indians were only a friendly party and that there was no danger whatever. Mrs. Norris writes further: Mary and I each had a white dress, but Mary was not satisfied-they were too long and narrow. She liked pretty things, and wanted to be in the fashion. Hoops were worn at this time by women: not the steel ones-they came in later; but home-made affairs with small reeds, basted on the inside of the skirt, such as milliners used in drawn-silk bonnets. Properly worn, the effect of them was quite pretty. Mary admired them above all things, and was frantic for one; but it would have been an unheard of request to ask for it. After much worry and thought, she at last said, "Lizzie, I am going over to Mrs. Hostetter's and ask her for some of her weeping willows. We can make hoopskirts and wear them to Sunday-school to-morrow." I agreed to it, and she put on her sunbonnet, and with a basket started on her errand. It was a long time before she returned, but she was abundantly supplied with the material, and deposited her basket with its precious burden in a closet in our room. After tea we began our preparations. We seated ourselves upon the floor, and lost no time, but worked diligently. We were startled to find how late it was when my aunt (Mrs. Todd), on her way to her room, tapped on the door, telling us it was time to be in our beds. We did put out the light, and waited until we thought everybody was asleep; then we relighted our candle and worked until late in the night, when we hung up the finished garments with a thrill of delight. Our sleep was too short to be satisfactory, but we managed to get to breakfast in time. As soon as it was over, we rushed to our room. Mary was always quick in her movements, but now she made uncommon haste, and was dressed and out upon the street as I are! Take those things off, and then go to Sundayschool." We went to our room chagrined and angry. Mary burst into tears, and gave the first exhibition of temper I had ever known her to make. She thought we were badly treated. I was angry, but did not express myself quite so freely. It is well our display was confined to our own premises. If we had gone to the McCord would have been convulsed with laughter and aunt too Church, as we were so anxious to do, the congregation much mortified to lift up her head. From Mr. Ward's school Mary went to a select French school kept by Mrs. Montell. Here she remained for four years, going to the school each Monday morning and not returning to her father's house until Friday in this school, and Mary acquired a thorough evening. Nothing but French was spoken knowledge of the language. She never gave it up, and always read the best French authors in the original. It was here also that she learned to dance. In While in Lexington as a young lady, Mary Todd never seemed interested in or manifested any desire for attention, although she mingled freely with the best society. Her special friends were Miss Margaret Wickliffe, afterwards Mrs. General William Preston, and Miss Bodley, afterwards Mrs. E. B. Owsley of Louisville, Kentucky. a home pervaded by every refinement, her life flowed on quietly, free from sorrow or bereavement. She had a plump, round figure, and was rather short in stature. Her features were not regularly beautiful, but she was certainly very pretty, with her lovely complexion, soft brown hair, and clear blue eyes, and intelligent bright face that, having once seen, you would not easily forget. She was singularly sensitive. She was also impulsive, and made no attempt to conceal her feelings; indeed it would have been an impossibility had she desired to do so, for her face was an index to every passing emotion. Without desiring to wound, she occasionally indulged in sarcastic, witty remarks, that cut like a damascus blade; but there was no malice behind them. She was full of humor, but never unrefined. Perfectly frank and extremely spirited, her candor of speech and independence of thought often gave offense where none was meant, for a more affectionate heart never beat. reached the front hall door. One moment and we would have been safe. But as fate would have it, Aunt caught a glimpse of me. One glance was enough to show her what we had been striving for. She reached the door in a second, and called Mary back. There we stood, a burlesque on vanity, as grotesque figures as eye need ever fall upon in hoops that bulged in front and at the back, while they fell in at the sides, and with our narrow white dresses stretched willows in just as they came off the tree, one end being ington. She was then just nineteen years over them to their utmost extent. We had basted the very large and the other very small. Aunt looked us over from head to foot, and said, "What frights you In 1837 Mary paid a visit to her sister Mrs. Ninian W. Edwards at Springfield, Illinois. She remained there three months before returning to her father's home at Lex of age. field. In 1839 she again visited SpringHer wit and affability, not less than her varied accomplishments, impressed both old and young. In 1842 she was married to Abraham Lincoln. There has been so much written and printed upon the subject of Mrs. Lincoln's marriage, that I will only say that Mrs. Lincoln's family had no knowledge of any want of faith or honor on Mr. Lincoln's part. Mrs. Dr. Wallace, Mrs. Lincoln's sister, who is still living in Springfield, positively asserts that there was never but one wedding arranged between Mary Todd and Mr. Lincoln, and that was the one that occurred. Mr. Herndon says that it was a large wedding, and that Mrs. Lincoln was married in a white silk dress. This is an error, and he must have confused Mrs. Lincoln's wedding with that of her sister, Mrs. Wallace, who was married a little before. Mrs. Lincoln, by preference, had a quiet marriage. Mrs. Wallace says that on a Sunday morning Mr. Lincoln and Mary Todd called Mrs. Edwards to where they were sitting, and told her they had decided to be married that evening. Mrs. Wallace was sent for, and she says that she never worked harder in her life than on that day. Only a few people were present -Mr. Dresser, the minister, held a short service in his church, and afterward went up to Mr. Edwards's house, where the marriage took place. There were present Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Edwards, Major and Mrs. John Todd Stuart, Dr. John Todd and family, Dr. and Mrs. Wallace, and Mr. and Mrs. Ninian W. Edwards. And the bride was clad in a simple white muslin dress. As to the love affairs that Mr. Lincoln may have had or the offers he made of himself to others, Mrs. Wallace says that she does not know in regard to them. He may have had a misunderstanding with Mary Todd, but as the latter went to Springfield in 1839 and was married in 1842, there certainly could not have been so many love affairs as Mr. Lincoln's biographers enjoy giving him. Abraham Lincoln was a visitor at the house of Mr. Edwards before Mary Todd arrived at Springfield, and his well-known intimacy with her cousin, the accomplished John Todd Stuart, and Mr. Joshua Speed at that time, speaks volumes in his favor as a promising man. Unless Mary Todd and Mr. Lincoln *John Todd Stuart, one of the leading lawyers of Illinois, was a native of Kentucky. He graduated at Center College, Danville, studied law, and in 1828 located at Springfield. He was afterward a law partner of Abraham Lincoln and was major of a battalion in the Black Hawk War, where Abraham * Lincoln commanded a company in the same battalion. He served in the Illinois legislature from 1832 to 1838, when he Congress two terms, and then declined a reelection; but he was reclected in 1862 and served one term. He died November defeated Stephen A. Douglas for Congress. He served in 30, 1885, aged 78 years. mutually desired it, there would have been no reason for the marriage. It has also been said that Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were not happy. Mrs. Wallace denies this emphatically, and the present writer's knowledge bears out Mrs. Wallace's assertion. They understood each other thoroughly, and Mr. Lincoln looked beyond the impulsive words and manner, and knew that his wife was devoted to him and to his interests. They lived in a quiet, unostentatious manner. She was very fond of reading, and interested herself greatly in her husband's political views and aspirations. She was fond of home, and made nearly all her own and her children's clothes. She was a cheerful woman, a delightful conversationalist, and well-informed on all the subjects of the day. The present writer saw Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln together some part of every day for six months at one time, but saw nothing of the unhappiness which is so often referred to. Many of Mr. Lincoln's. ways, such as going to answer his own doorbell, annoyed her, and upon one occasion a member of her family said, "Mary, if I had a husband with a mind such as yours has, I wouldn't care what he did." This pleased her very much, and she replied, "It is very foolish-it is a small thing to complain of." Here are extracts from some letters written by Mrs. Lincoln to the writer of the present sketch: PASSAGES FROM LETTERS OF MRS. LINCOLN. Springfield, February 3, 1856.-" Mr. Lincoln has just entered and announced that a Speaker has at last been elected at Washington; that Mr. Banks is the happy man. They have had great trouble in their political world." Springfield, November 23, 1856.-" Your husband, like some of the rest of ours, has a great taste for politics and has taken much interest in the late contest, which has resulted very much as I expected, not hoped. Although Mr. Lincoln is, or was, a Frémont man, you must not include him with so many of those who belong to that party, an aboli tionist. In principle he is far from it. All he desires is that slavery shall not be extended, let it remain where it is. My weak woman's heart was too Southern in feeling to sympathize with any but Fillmore. I have always been a great admirer of his he made so good a President, and is so good a man, and feels the necessity of keeping foreigners within bounds. If some of you Kentuckians had to deal with the Wild Irish as we housekeepers are sometimes called upon to do, the South would certainly elect Fillmore next time. The Democrats have been defeated in our State in their governor; so there is a crumb of comfort for each and all. What day is so dark that there is no ray of sunshine to penetrate the gloom? . . . Now sit down, and write one of your agreeable missives, and do not wait for a return of each from a staid matron, and, moreover, the mother of three noisy boys." Springfield, September 20, 1857.-"The summer has strangely and rapidly passed away. Some portion of it was spent most pleasantly in traveling East. We visited Niagara, Canada, New York, and other points of interest. When I saw the large steamers at the New York landing, ready for their European voyage, I felt in my heart inclined to sigh that poverty was my portion. I often laugh and tell Mr. Lincoln that I am determined my next husband shall be rich." Springfield, February 16, 1857.-"Within the last three weeks there has been a party almost every night, and some two or three grand fêtes are coming off this week. I may surprise you when I mention that I am recovering from the slight fatigue of a very large and, I really believe, a very handsome and agreeable entertainment, at least our friends flatter us by saying so. About 500 were invited; yet owing to an unlucky rain, three hundred only favored us by their presence. And the same evening, in Jacksonville, Colonel Warren gave a bridal party to his son, which occasion robbed us of some of our friends. You will think we have enlarged our borders since you were here." lowed by great nervous prostration! Mrs. Lincoln went abroad to divert her mind. Mr. Paul Shipman, of Edgewater Park, New Jersey, who saw much of her during her sojourn in London and on the Continent, says: "Her residence was in sight of Bedford Square, and her life subservient to the welfare of Tad (her son), who was pursuing his studies under a tutor. She shunned, rather than courted attention, and desired peace and retirement above all things. I found her sympathetic, cordial, sensible, with that bonhomie so fascinating, with no trace of eccentricity in conduct or manner. She was simply a bright, wholesome, attractive woman, and I could not for the life of me recognize the Mrs. Lincoln of the newspapers in the Mrs. Lincoln I saw." A letter written by Mrs. Lincoln to Mrs. Shipman says: "I hope we will meet whilst we are abroad-you with your life so filled with love and happiness, whilst I, alas, am a weary exile. Without my beloved husband's presence the world is filled with gloom and dreariness for me." In 1871 Mrs. Lincoln's son Tad died in Chicago, at the age of eighteen. "Ah, my dear friend," she said to one who knew her well, “you will rejoice when you know that I have gone to my husband and children." She was done with life. After years of failing health, in quiet seclusion from the world, shrinking from any publicity, and sensitive to every misrepresentation, sustaining the dignity of widowhood by perfectly appropriate behavior, she awaited the release from her sufferings. She died at the home of her sister, Mrs. Ninian W. Edwards, July 16, 1882. Three days later she was laid to rest by the side of her illustrious husband. The Rev. John A. Reid of Springfield expressed the feeling of many when he said, "The taller and the stronger one died, and the weaker is now dead. Growing and struggling together, one could not live without the other. Years ago Abraham Lincoln placed upon the finger of Mary Todd a ring bearing the inscription Love is eternal.' Side by side they walked until the demon of tragedy separated them. When the nation was shocked at the sad and dire event, how much more must she have been shocked who had years before become a part of his life. It cannot be any disrespect to her memory to say, that the bullet that sped its way and What wonder that such a shock was fol- took her husband from earth took her too." Mrs. Lincoln was devoted to her children, and their loss was a distracting grief to her. Willie's death at Washington was a sorrow too deep for the President or Mrs. Lincoln to refer to. Mrs. Lincoln regularly attended the Presbyterian Church, and it was her request to be buried from the church where she had professed her faith. Her weddingring had engraved within it, "Love is eternal." The last words President Lincoln ever said to his wife were, "There is no city I desire so much to see as Jerusalem." With these words half-spoken, the fatal bullet entered his brain and struck him down by her side. THE COMMERCIAL PROMISE OF CUBA, PORTO RICO, AND THE PHILIPPINES. BY GEORGE B. WALDRON. HE two Connecticut brothers who swapped possessions with each other until both became rich, are fairly entitled to stand for Yankee thrift and shrewdness. These qualities in a century have enabled the United States to grow in wealth four times as rapidly as in population; so that today this nation of 75,000,000 people possesses $90,000,000,000 of wealth. Yet so intent have Americans been on conquering the problems at home, that they have hardly turned their attention to the world fields. Now, however, a new era has dawned, and the United States are to take their place among the first nations of the world, not alone in bigness and in wealth, but in the competitive sale of the products of their hands and brains. Whatever else this war with Spain may do for us, it is bound to open new avenues of trade in her colonies of the East and West Indies. The islands of Cuba and Porto Rico on our eastern coast, and the Philippines, with the Carolines, the Ladrones, and other Spanish islands, on the west, together with our newly acquired Hawaiian possessions, furnish fields of unique trade opportunities. All these islands lie in the tropics, whither heretofore not an acre of our country has extended. The natural avenues of trade are not with the sun, along parallels of longitude, but north and south, between zones of differing climate. Hence these island groups are most favorably located. They can send us the fruits of the tropics which our temperate climate produces too sparingly or not at all, and receive in return our grain and manufactures -an exchange mutually desirable and useful. Given these sources of trade, and there is scarcely a product in the world that could not be raised within our enlarged borders. coast lies Cuba. Nearly 800 miles long and from thirty to 125 miles wide, the island has an area of 42,000 square miles, or about that of the State of Ohio. Easily reached from the great harbors of the Atlantic is Porto Rico, equal to Long Island in length, but twice as broad. In the Pacific, in line with our rapidly expanding trade with Japan, China, and Australia, are the Philippines and other Spanish islands. Extending over a sea area of some 1,200 miles north and south, and double the distance along the equator, these islands number about 2,000. are too barren and insignificant, perhaps, ever to be of practical value. But the Philippine group itself is peculiarly fertile and surprisingly extensive. Luzon alone, upon which stands the city of Manila, has 47,000 square miles-equal in size to the State of New York. With Mindanao, scarcely inferior in size, the other islands would equal the six New Enlgand States, and bring the total up to 114,000 square miles. Many Here, then, are Cuba and Porto Rico in the Atlantic, and the Hawaiian and Philippine groups in the Pacific, whose destiny has become intertwined with our own. Their combined area is 168,000 square miles, equaling New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Their population is about 10,000,000, or perhaps one-half that of these nine home States. The Philippines, with three-quarters of the entire population, and Porto Rico, with 800,000 people, alone approach our own Eastern States in density. Cuba, prior to the war, was about as well populated as Virginia, and the Hawaiian group is as well peopled as Kansas. What, then, can these islands do for us? SUGAR AND COFFEE FOR NEARLY ALL THE WORLD. Americans use more sugar in proportion to population than any other nation of the world. The total consumption last year was A NEW TERRITORY EQUAL TO NINE GOOD not less than 2,500,000 tons. This is enough STATES. These islands have peculiar advantages of location for us. Just off our South Atlantic to make a pyramid that would overtop the tallest pyramid of Egyptian fame. Of this total, 2,200,000 tons came from foreign countries, the Spanish possessions and Hawaii ANY SMOKER. years earlier, when our imports were less by TOBACCO-HAVANAS CHEAP ENOUGH FOR half a million tons, these islands supplied double this quantity, or nearly two-thirds of the nation's entire sugar import. But that was before Cuba had been devastated by war and when she was exporting 1,100,000 tons of sugar to other countries. Restore Cuba to her former fertility, and the total sugar crop of these islands will reach 1,500,000 tons, or two-thirds our present foreign demand. But no one supposes that these islands have reached the limit of their production. Hawaii has doubled her sugar export within the past few years. Cuba, in the height of her former prosperity, had but a fraction of her sugar land under cultivation. Were all the land in use on that island that is suited to raising sugar, it is estimated that Cuba alone could supply the demand of the entire Western Hemisphere. Add to this the possibilities in the other islands, now only at the beginning of their development, and no American need fear a lack of material to supply his sweet tooth. With sugar, Americans rank their coffee. The annual consumption of this berry reaches 700,000,000 pounds. Yet, until Hawaii became ours, not a pound could be grown for commerce within our borders. Of the coffee imported, scarcely a half million pounds comes from these islands east and west. Still the coffee product of Porto Rico reaches 50,000,000 pounds a year. Once Cuba far outstripped her sister island in this crop, raising in a single year 90,000,000 pounds. But that was early in the century, before the island had been devastated by frequent wars. To-day almost her last coffee plantation is destroyed. But what Cuba has done she can do again, and in richer abundance, under the stimulus of American energy and skill. The Philippines produce a coffee not equal to the best Mocha to be sure, but with a flavor peculiarly its own, and so well appreciated by the Spaniards that most of the 600,000 pounds annually raised go to that country. The Hawaiian Islands are but at the beginning of their coffee raising. Within five years their exports have increased nearly forty fold. It may be many years before these island groups will be able to produce coffee enough for the entire nation, but in five years they will be sending us a quarter of our imports of this favorite berry, and in a decade that total can easily be doubled. An important product of these islands. which finds its way to the United States is tobacco. Our own tobacco crop averages 500,000,000 pounds, and of this, from 250,000,000 to 300,000,000 pounds goes to other countries. But the tobacco lover has a fondness for certain flavors that our own soil will not produce. The result is that no less than 25,000,000 pounds of leaf tobacco is imported, of which until recently Cuba supplied three-fourths. That island, in addition, sends out 200,000,000 cigars and 50,000,000 packages of cigarettes a year, of which forty per cent. enter the United States. The Philippines also come in for a large place in tobacco cultivation. About 250,000,000 pounds of leaf tobacco and 150,000,000 cigars are exported. Little of this is sent directly to the United States. The Spaniard, however, is credited with a shrewdness truly Yankee in quality, since much of the "pure Havana" is said to be supplied to the Cuban factories from these East Indian islands. Under the fostering care of American enterprise and capital, this industry should develop into many fold its present value, and the time easily come when the laboring man, as well as the millionaire, enjoys his after-dinner "Havana" or "Philippine." MANILA HEMP TROPICAL FRUITS. Famous the world over is the manila hemp of the Philippines. The United States import about 100,000,000 pounds a year, and of this, ninety per cent. comes directly from those islands. About twice this quantity is produced there, and hemp forms one of the chief sources of wealth to the islanders. With the demand for hemp ever increasing, and the opportunities for its culture meagerly used, there is no reason why this product may not be largely multiplied to the profit of all alike. With the cocoa tree, the banana, the pineapple, the mango, and other tropical fruits, the islands offer an appetizing variety. But. rich as are the present Philippines, the country is scarcely at the beginning of its possibilities. Only one acre in fifteen of the soil is cultivated, and that in the wasteful and slovenly way characteristic of the native and Spanish races. Under American skill and thrift the products may be easily multi |