Lincoln, the unknown

11I n most respects, as has been said, Mrs. Lincoln was economical,and took pride in the fact. She purchased suppliescarefully and the table was set sparingly, very sparingly; therewere just barely enough scraps left to feed the cats. The Lincolnshad no dog.She bought bottle after bottle of perfume, broke the seals,sampled them, and returned them, contendii g that they wereinferior, that they had been misrepresented. She did this sooften that the local druggist refused to honor her orders formore. His account-book may still be seen in Springfield with thepenciled notations: "Perfume returned by Mrs. Lincoln."She frequently had trouble with the tradespeople. For example,she felt that Myers, the iceman, was cheating her withshort weights; so she turned on him and berated him in such ashrill, loud voice that neighbors half a block away ran to theirdoors to look and listen.This was the second time she had made this accusation, andhe swore that he would see her sizzling in hell before he wouldsell her another piece of ice.He meant it, and he stopped his deliveries. That was awkward.She had to have ice, and he was the only man in townwho supplied it; so, for once in her life, Mary Lincoln humbledherself. But she didn't do it personally: she paid a neighbora quarter to go downtown and salve over the wound andcoax Myers to resume his deliveries.81