ad a great respect
for Peter Cartwright and his preaching, the people did not believe all
that he said against Lincoln, and they elected him. Shortly after this
he wrote again to Speed:

"You, no doubt, assign the suspension of our
correspondence to the true philosophic cause;
though it must be confessed by both of us that
this is a rather cold reason for allowing such
a friendship as ours to die out by degrees.

"Being elected to Congress, though I am very
grateful to our friends for having done it, has
not pleased me as much as I expected."

In the same letter he imparted to his friend some information which
seems to have been much more interesting to him than being elected to
Congress:

"We have another boy, born the 10th of March
(1846). He is very much such a child as Bob was
at his age, rather of a longer order. Bob is
'short and low,' and I expect always will be.
He talks very plainly, almost as plainly as
anybody. He is quite smart enough. I sometimes
fear he is one of the little rare-ripe sort
that are smarter at five than ever after.

"Since I began this letter, a messenger came to
tell me Bob was lost; but by the time I reached
the house his mother had found him and had him
whipped, and by now very likely he has run away
again!

"As ever yours,
"A. LINCOLN."

The new baby mentioned in this letter was Edward, who died in 1850,
before his fourth birthday. "Bob," or Robert, the eldest of the
Lincoln's four children, was born in 1843. William, born in 1850, died
in the White House. The youngest was born in 1853, after the death of
Thomas Lincoln, so he was named for his grandfather, but he was known
only by his nickname, "Tad." "Little Tad" was his father's constant
companion during the terrible years of the Civil War, especially after
Willie's death, in 1862. "Tad" became "the child of the nation." He died
in Chicago, July 10, 1871, at the age of eighteen, after returning from
Europe with his widowed mother and his brother Robert. Robert has served
his country as Secretary of War and Ambassador to the English court, and
is recognized as a leader in national affairs.

When Lincoln was sent to the national House of Representatives, Douglas
was elected to t