“Streak of Lavender”

In a 1926 book called Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years, author Carl Sandburg described Lincoln and Speed’s relationship as having “a streak of lavender”:

“Joshua Speed was a deep-chested man of large sockets, with broad measurement between the ears. A streak of lavender ran through him. He had spots soft as May violets. Lincoln too had a streak of Lavender , and spots soft as May violets.”

This passage was removed from later editions of the book. But this passage, from a letter Lincoln wrote to Speed, remained:

“I do not feel my own sorrow more keenly than I do yours… you know my desire to befriend you is everlasting.”