“If They Do Kill Me I Shall Never Die Again”
Before removing to the turmoil of Washington, Lincoln is drawn to the quiet places of his early youth. He rides about in that old country, meets the surviving members of the Hanks and Johnston families, orders the neglected grave of his father to be cared for.They laugh when they see him, recalling his funny stories; the graybeards remember the stalwart young fellow who drove oxen. Only his good stepmother is silent and at parting seems to have warned him of his enemies. Also old Hannah Armstrong. He reassured her with a jest, “Hannah, if they do kill me I shall never die again.”
Ludwig-244-06