Dear Sir: July 26, 1851
I received yours of the 22nd. yesterday. I went to the Telegraph office & found the despach as you say, of Jany. 25th. It is in pencil; and the operator says he does not know whose handwriting it is; but that he does know it is not the writing of the operator who was here at that date. I took Mr. James L. Lamb to see it, who at first said it was not McCormack's nor his own writing; but that he thought he knew who wrote it, and would enquire. Just now he has told me that the man he thought had written it, denies doing so, and that he, Lamb, now has no idea who did write it. He says it is a much better hand than McCormack himself can write. I do not see any clew to the handwriting. Can you not set it up in pleading so as to be relieved from proving it's execution unless McCormack denies it under oath? Yours as ever A. LINCOLN