Wilson, Douglas L., ed.; Davis, Rodney O., ed.; Speed, Joshua F. 'Joshua F. Speed to William H. Herndon' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln' . Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998. [format: book], [genre: letter]. Permission: University of Illinois Press
Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=herndon498.html

394. Joshua F. Speed to William H. Herndon ^[1].

Louisville 6 Decr 1866

Dear Sir

Yours of the 29 Nov. asking my recollections of Mr Lincolns habits — his reading Conversation thought &c &c is at hand —

The field is a wide one, embracing much more than I could find time to write & many things so trivial that they would not be worth recording — As my mind runs back to my long & intimate acquaintance with that great & good man — I endeavour to forget that which is not worth remembering and to treasure only that which is of value —

Mr Lincoln was so unlike all the men — had ever known before or seen or known since that there is no one to whom I can Compare him —

In all his habits of eating, sleeping — reading Conversation & study — he was If I may so express it regularly irregular —

That is he had no stated time for eating, no fixed time for going to bed or getting up —

No course of reading ever was chalked out — He read law History, Browns

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