3pp., 8vo (216 x 146 mm), on Mary Lincoln's personal mourning stationery with thick black border and monogram, old folds with minor center split, adhesive residue.

In full: "Your kind note, accompanied by the sad and touching lines, were received by me on yesterday, allow me to express my thanks to you, for your remembrance. Such a mark of friendship will long be cherished, when in after years, we shall all have passed from the scene of action. Our heavy bereavement has caused this to be a very painful winter to me, yet situated as we are, being compelled to receive the world at large, I have endeavored to bear up, under our afflictions, as well as I can. With kind regards to Mrs. French, I remain very sincerely your friend."

In the first weeks of 1862, Willie and Tad Lincoln were suddenly stricken by what was called "bilious fever," or what is now commonly believed to have been typhoid caused by a contaminated water supply at the White House. While Tad recovered, his older brother's condition continued to deteriorate, the boy growing weaker and weaker until passing away on 20 February. His devastated parents retreated into themselves, with Abraham locking himself in a room after the funeral and Mary remaining in bed for three weeks afterward. The present letter is in response to a note of condolence sent by Lincoln's friend Benjamin Brown French to mark the one-year anniversary of Willie Lincoln's passing.

REFERENCES:
Not in Turner