In March, 1867, Mrs. Lincoln wrote
to me from Chicago that, as her income
was insufficient to meet her
expenses, she would be obliged to
give up her house in the city, and return to
boarding. She said that she had struggled long
enough to keep up appearances, and that the
mask must be thrown aside. "I have not the
means," she wrote, " to meet the expenses of even
a first-class boarding-house, and must sell out and
secure cheap rooms at some place in the country.
It will not be startling news to you, my dear
Lizzie, to learn that I must sell a portion of my
wardrobe to add to my resources, so as to enable
me to live decently, for you remember what I
told you in Washington, as well as what you
understood before you left me here in Chicago.
I cannot live on $1,700 a year, and as I have
many costly things which I shall never wear,
I might as well turn them into money, and
thus add to my income, and make my circumstances
easier. It is humiliating to be placed in
such a position, but, as I am in the position, I
must extricate myself as best I can. Now, Lizzie,
I want to ask a favor of you. It is imperative
that I should do something for my relief, and
I want you to meet me in New York, between
the 30th of August and the 5th of September
next, to assist me in disposing of a portion of
my wardrobe."
I knew that Mrs. Lincoln's income was small,
and also knew that she had many valuable
dresses, which could be of no value to her,
packed away in boxes and trunks. I was confident
that she would never wear the dresses again,
and thought that, since her need was urgent, it
would be well enough to dispose of them quietly,
and believed that New York was the best place
to transact a delicate business of the kind. She
was the wife of Abraham Lincoln, the man who
had done so much for my race, and I could refuse
to do nothing for her, calculated to advance her
interests. I consented to render Mrs. Lincoln all
the assistance in my power, and many letters
passed between us in regard to the best way to
proceed. It was finally arranged that I should
meet her in New York about the middle of September.