Abraham Lincoln’s literary powers were a product of his life experiences and his innate abilities.  From a young age, his exposure to tragedy had been personal and continuous.  The death of his mother, the death of Ann Rutledge, and various other hardships had given him an acute sensitivity to the meaning of loss.  In the writing of letters of consolation, Lincoln was able to harness these sentiments and express them in ways that gave specific tragedies a timeless and almost cosmic significance.  We have already here discussed the famous Bixby Letter.  Two other letters of consolation from Lincoln’s hand, much less well-known, merit our attention as models of compassion and heartfelt sympathy.