Emphasis Preaching Journal

The more serious a person is about life, the greater the need for diversion. Abraham Lincoln loved humor and also the theater for diverting the depressing forces that weighed on him. So it was a special treat for him to see James Hackett play Shakespeare's Falstaff. Lincoln wrote a fan letter congratulating the veteran actor on his performance. Hackett was so flattered that he gave the letter to a newspaper, perhaps not aware of Lincoln's standing with the print media of the time. The newspaper was delighted to print a letter from the President, along with the usual vilifying editorial comments. Now Hackett was embarrassed and wrote a letter of apology to Lincoln. Lincoln replied with a letter of his own. "Give yourself no uneasiness on the subject. I certainly did not expect to see my note in print; yet I have not been much shocked by the comments upon it. They are a fair specimen of what has occurred to me through life. I have endured a great deal of ridicule, without much malice; and have received a great deal of kindness, not quite free from ridicule. I am used to it." Abuse from the media he shrugged off while remembering his delight in Hackett's performance. For his part, Hackett seems to have tried to milk the situation for a little more. He applied for a government job, which Lincoln could not grant. Hackett became a bitter Lincoln Detractor.
-- Mosley