Request For A Railway Pass

To R. P. Morgan

Springfield, February 13, 1856

R. P. MORGAN, ESQ.:

Says Tom to John, "Here's your old rotten wheelbarrow. I've broke it usin' on it. I wish you would mend it, 'case I shall want to borrow it this arternoon." Acting on this as a precedent, I say, "Here's your old 'chalked hat,—I wish you would take it and send me a new one, 'case I shall want to use it the first of March."

Yours truly,
A. LINCOLN.
(A 'chalked hat' was the common term, at that time, for a railroad pass.)