lincoln and mary todd met in springfield in 1839 and became engaged in 1840. in what historian allen guelzo calls "one of the murkiest episodes in lincoln's life", lincoln called off his engagement to mary todd. it was at the same time as the collapse of a legislative program he had supported for years, the permanent departure of his best friend joshua speed from springfield, and the proposal by john stuart, lincoln's law partner, to end their law practice. lincoln is believed to have suffered something approaching clinical depression. in "lincoln's preparation for greatness: the illinois legislative years," paul simon has a chapter covering the period, which lincoln later referred to as "the fatal first", or january 1, 1841. that was "the date on which lincoln asked to be released from his engagement to mary todd". simon explains that the various reasons the engagement was broken contradict one another. the incident was not fully documented, but lincoln did become unusually depressed, which showed in his appearance, and simon wrote that "it was traceable to mary todd". during this time, he avoided seeing mary, causing her to comment that he "deems me unworthy of notice".