Their first
interview dissipated some of the illusions in which each had indulged.
The three years elapsed since they first met had greatly changed her
personal appearance. She had become stout; her twenty-eight years (one
year more than his) had somewhat hardened the lines of her face. Both in
figure and feature she presented a disappointing contrast to the slim
and not yet totally forgotten Anne Rutledge.
On her part, it was more than likely that she did not find in him all
the attractions her sister had pictured. The speech and manners of the
Illinois frontier lacked much of the chivalric attentions and flattering
compliments to which the Kentucky beaux were addicted. He was yet a
diamond in the rough, and she would not immediately decide till she
could better understand his character and prospects, so no formal
engagement resulted.
In December, Lincoln went to his legislative duties at Vandalia, and in
the following April took up his permanent abode in Springfield. Such a
separation was not favorable to rapid courtship, yet they had occasional
interviews and exchanged occasional letters. None of hers to him have
been preserved, and only three of his to her. From these it appears that
they sometimes discussed their affair in a cold, hypothetical way, even
down to problems of housekeeping, in the light of mere worldly prudence,
much as if they were guardians arranging a _mariage de convenance_,
rather than impulsive and ardent lovers wandering in Arcady.
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