Lincoln apologizes to firm of New York lawyers for not having acknowledged receipt of bond they sent him in December. "When I received the bond, I was dabbling in politics; and, of course, neglecting business," he confesses. "Having since been beaten out, I have gone to work again." He suggests they ask H. E. Dummer of Beardstown to handle work. He then writes Dummer what he has done. Abraham Lincoln to James S. Sandford, Mortimer Porter, and Ambrose K. Striker, 10 March 1855, CW, 2:308; Abraham Lincoln to Henry E. Dummer, 10 March 1855, CW, 2:307-8.