“I have a little favor to ask of you today.”
At American Memory you can read a letter written 150 years ago yesterday to President Lincoln. I can’t make out all the words, but it seems that in a celebratory meeting in Cincinnati, John Wilkes, the writer of the letter, applauded so hard at a speaker’s praise for Mr. Lincoln that he “ran a large hole through” his hat (or umbrella?). He requested that the President send him a few dollars to buy a replacement because he couldn’t afford one. He was a hard-working man who voted twice for Mr. Lincoln and would even vote for him a third time.
a fortunate few (1782)
