Lincoln made his first appearance in society when he was first sent to
Springfield, Ill., as a member of the state legislature. It was not an
imposing figure which he cut in a ballroom, but still he was occasionally
to be found there. Miss Mary Todd, who afterward became his wife, was the
magnet which drew the tall, awkward young man from his den. One evening
Lincoln approached Miss Todd and said, in his peculiar idiom:
“Miss Todd, I should like to dance with you the worst way.”
The young woman accepted the inevitable and hobbled around the room
with him. When she returned to her seat, one of her companions asked
mischievously:
“Well, Mary, did he dance with you the worst way?”
“Yes,” she answered, “the very worst.”