William H. Herndon 
Herndon’s Lincoln [PDF ebook] 
The True Story of a Great Life; The History and Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Some persons will doubtless object to the narra tion of certain facts which appear here for the first time, and which they contend should have been consigned to the tomb. Their pretense is that no good can come from such ghastly exposures. To such over-sensitive souls, if any such exist, my answer is that these facts are indispensable to a full knowledge of Mr. Lincoln in all the walks of life. In order properly to comprehend him and the stir ring, bloody times in which he lived, and in which he played such an important part, we must have all the facts – we must be prepared to take him as he was.