513

402. Abner Y. Ellis to William H. Herndon.

Moro, Ill 11th Decr 1866

Yours o[f ] Yestarday is recvd an[d] Conten[ts] Noticed

It is allmost [**/***] remember the [**/***] Lincoln — Bu[?] they [were?] Plays Mostly

Viz
Lady of Lyons by Bullyer
Mob Caps by Mrs C. L. Henty
Vilage Stranger a Play
Illustrious Stranger also a play
The Wept of the Wish Ton Wish
Not Know Whether he read them Though I Think he May has done

as to his own Books [I never?] Knew of his having any Excep [*?] Law Books

And as to What he [*?] read I Cant say for Certin [*?] I think He Said he had r[ead] George Balcom (a Novel) I [*/**] and He & I was Taking about s[ome] passages in it.

And I am almost ce[rtin] He read Tom Pains. Common Sen[se] and Volneys Ruins

I Never Knew of h[is] Borrowing any Books & I do not th[ink] He Card Much for those he had of Mine. He Had also read Some Poetry [per]haps conciderable of Burns Poem[s] [I]s their Such a Book as Gilblass, I think he Used to quote Some from it I Never Saw it

514

I think he onc quoted Something like This in one of his Speaches H[e] Said Some Man remind[ed] him [of ] it

He The Man [***/****]

That Made [***/****]

Could Not tell [*/**][wheth]er he was going out or Com[ing] Back

after he had quoted it he Said Gilblass giving him the Credit as I thought

I am of the opinion that He used to take a Literary Paper Published in Philadelphia Called the Saturday Courer & He read Mrs Caroline Lee Hentz [s]torys this I am Not certn [tho]ugh I think He took 2 years [w]hile I was PM. You yourself May remember whethr he did [o]r Not

I Must close as I have answrd all you asked for but if any thing More you have only to Command Me

You Frend
A. Y. Ellis

Library of Congress: Herndon-Weik Collection. Manuscript Division. Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. 2888

nts

Notes.

1. This letter is badly mutilated, though a preponderance of the text survives. Wherever possible, the editors have inserted words and parts of words that would appear to have been present originally and have indicated the likely number of words that cannot be confidently interpolated.

2. See §127, note 10 (Mob Cap); §131, note 5 (Lady of Lyon, Illustrious Stranger and Wept of Wish Ton Wish).

3. See §127, note 6.

4. See §127, notes 7 — 8.

5. Alain René Le Sage, The History and Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, first published in English in 1716.

6. Possibly the Saturday Chronicle and Mirror of the Times, published in Philadelphia between 1836 and 1842.

7. See §127.

8. Ellis was postmaster of Springfield during the Whig administrations of Taylor and Fillmore (1849 — 53).