A lady relative, who lived for two years with the Lincolns, said that
Mr. Lincoln was in the habit of lying on the floor with the back of a
chair for a pillow when he read.
One evening, when in this position in the hall, a knock was heard at the
front door, and, although in his shirtsleeves, he answered the call. Two
ladies were at the door, whom he invited into the parlor, notifying them
in his open, familiar way, that he would “trot the women folks out.”
Mrs. Lincoln, from an adjoining room, witnessed the ladies’ entrance,
and, overhearing her husband’s jocose expression, her indignation was
so instantaneous she made the situation exceedingly interesting for him,
and he was glad to retreat from the house. He did not return till very
late at night, and then slipped quietly in at a rear door.