effect of such row romanticd and politicized work a has been to crypt what -- to create what joran lawrence simon called the, quote -- john lawrence simon called the -- [inaudible] aptly deemed apologists for mary lincoln. some of her defenders go so far as to justify the physical abuse that she administered to her husband. for example, commenting on her reputation for having a quick temper and sharp tongue concluded, quote -- [inaudible] threw coffee at lincoln and drove him out of the house with a broom and probably he deserved it. in fact, lincoln's marriage was, as his law partner william herndon observed, quote, a domestic hell on earth, a burning, scorching hell as gloomy as the grave. after practicing law with lincoln for well over a decade in a two-man firm, herndon explained -- most desolate man, has been for years to my own knowledge because of his marriage the a very curious, eccentric, wicked woman. herndon had ample reason to call mary todd lincoln a she wolf, a tigris and are a female -- [inaudible] mrs. lincoln criticized herndon and his informants, that is the many, many people th