{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_60996/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_60996","id":"gutenberg_60996","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60996","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - American","Category: History - Religious","Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Religion","Presidents -- United States -- Biography"],"text":"THE SOUL OF\n             ABRAHAM LINCOLN\n\n                   BY\n\n            WILLIAM E. BARTON\n\n  AUTHOR OF \"A HERO IN HOMESPUN,\" \"THE\n     PRAIRIE SCHOONER,\" \"PINE KNOT,\"\n                  ETC.\n\n         NEW [Illustration] YORK\n         GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY\n\n\n\n\nCOPYRIGHT, 1920, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY\n\nPRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n\n\n  TO MY FOUR SONS\n  BRUCE, CHARLES, FREDERICK, ROBERT\n  AND MY SON-IN-LAW, CLYDE\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nTHE author is aware that he is dipping his net into a stream already\ndarkened by too much ink. The fact that there are so many books on the\nreligion of Abraham Lincoln is a chief reason why there should be one\nmore. Books on this subject are largely polemic works which followed\nthe publication of Holland's biography in 1865, and multiplied in the\ncontroversies growing out of that and the Lamon and Herndon biographies\nin 1872 and 1889 respectively. Within that period and until the death\nof Mr. Herndon in 1892 and the publication of his revised biography\nof Lincoln in 1893, there was little opportunity for a work on this\nsubject that was not distinctively controversial. The time has come for\na more dispassionate view. Of the large number of other books dealing\nwith this topic, nearly or quite all had their origin in patriotic or\nreligious addresses, which, meeting with favor when orally delivered,\nwere more or less superficially revised and printed, in most instances\nfor audiences not greatly larger than those that heard them spoken.\nMany of these are excellent little books, though making no pretense of\noriginal and thorough investigation.\n\nOf larger and more comprehensive works there are a few, but they do not\nattempt the difficult and necessary task of critical analysis.\n\nSo much has been said, and much of it with such intensity of feeling,\non the subject of Lincoln's religion, that a number of the more\nimportant biographies, including the great work of Nicolay and Hay, say\nas little on the subject as possible.\n\nThe author of this volume brings no sweeping criticism against those\nwho have preceded him in the same field. He has eagerly sought out the\nbooks and speeches of all such within his reach, and is indebted to\nmany of them for valuable suggestions. A Bibliography at the end of\nthis volume contains a list of those to whom the author knows himself\nto be chiefly indebted, but his obligation goes much farther than he\ncan hope to acknowledge in print. With all due regard for these earlier\nauthors, the present writer justifies himself in the publication of\nthis volume by the following considerations, which seems to him to\ndiffer in important respects from earlier works in the same field:\n\n(1) He has made an effort to provide an adequate historical background\nfor the study of the religious life of Abraham Lincoln in the\nsuccessive periods of his life; and without immediately going too\ndeeply into the material of the main subject, to relate the man to his\nenvironment. In this the author has been aided not only by books and\ninterviews with men who knew Lincoln, but by some years of personal\nexperience in communities where the social, educational, and religious\nconditions were in all essential respects similar to those in which Mr.\nLincoln lived during two important epochs of his career. The author was\nnot born in this environment, but he spent seven years of his youth\nand young manhood as a teacher and preacher in a region which give him\nsomewhat exceptional opportunities for a discriminating judgment.\n\n(2) The author has assembled what is, so far as he knows, all the\nessential evidence that has appeared in print concerning the religious\nlife and opinions of Mr. Lincoln, a larger body, as he believes, than\nany previous writer has compiled. He has added to this all evidence\navailable to him from written and personal testimony.\n\nHe has subjected this evidence to a critical analysis, in an effort to\ndetermine the degree of credibility with which its several portions may\nreasonably be received. The author is not unaware that this is the most\ndisputable, as it is the most difficult part of his task, and, as he\nbelieves, the most valuable part of it. Unless some such analysis is\nmade, the evidence resolves itself into chaos.\n\n(3) Several entirely new avenues of investigation have been opened and\nlines of evidence adduced which find no place in any previous book\non Mr. Lincoln's religious life, and very scant reference, and that\nwithout investigation, in one or two of the biographies.\n\n(4) The book also contains a constructive argument, setting forth the\nconviction to which the author has come with regard to the faith of\nAbraham Lincoln.\n\nIt is entirely possible that some readers will find themselves in\nessential agreement with the author in the earlier parts of the book,\nbut will dissent in whole or in part from his own inferences. Whether\nthe reader agrees or disagrees with the author in his conclusions, he\nwill find in this book some material not elsewhere available for the\nformation of an independent judgment. Nevertheless the author counts\nhimself justified not only in adducing the evidence but in stating\nfrankly the conclusion which to his mind this evidence supports.\n\nThis book treats of the religion of Abraham Lincoln; but it does not\nconsider his religion as wholly expressed in his theological opinions.\nImportant as it is that a man should think correctly on all subjects,\nand especially on a subject of such transcendent value, religion is\nmore than a matter of opinion. We cannot adequately consider religion\napart from life. Abraham Lincoln's life was an evolution, and so was\nhis religion. In a way which this volume will seek to set forth,\nLincoln was himself a believer in evolution, and his life and religion\nwere in accord with this process as he held it.\n\nThis book is, therefore, more than an essay on the religion of Lincoln,\nunless religion be understood as inclusive of all that is normal in\nlife. It deals, therefore, with the life, as well as with the opinions,\nof Lincoln; and it considers both life and opinion as in process of\ndevelopment in each of the successive stages of his career.\n\nIn this respect the present book may claim some distinctive place in\nthe literature of this subject. Other books have drawn sharp contrasts\nbetween the supposed religious opinions of Lincoln's youth and those\nwhich he is believed to have cherished later. This book undertakes what\nmay be termed a study of the evolution of the spiritual life of Abraham\nLincoln. The author is not aware that this has been done before in\nquite this way.\n\nThe author acknowledges his obligations to many friends for their\nassistance in the preparation of this volume. Mr. Jesse W. Weik, of\nGreencastle, Indiana, associate of Mr. Herndon in the preparation of\nhis Life of Lincoln, and owner of the Herndon manuscripts, has been\ngenerous to me. Mrs. Clark E. Carr, of Galesburg, Illinois, widow of\nmy honored friend, and the friend of Lincoln, Colonel Carr, author of\n\"Lincoln at Gettysburg,\" has placed at my disposal all her husband's\nbooks and papers. Mr. Judd Stewart, of New York City, owner of one of\nthe largest collections of Lincolniana, has assisted me. President John\nW. Cook of the Northern Illinois State Normal School has suggested\nimportant lines of research. Mr. John E. Burton, of Lake Geneva,\nWisconsin, whose collection of Lincoln books was once the largest in\nAmerica, has sold me some of his chief treasures, and imparted to me\nmuch of the fruit of his experience. Mr. O. H. Oldroyd, of Washington,\nowner of the famous Lincoln Collection, and custodian of the house\nwhere Lincoln died, has, on two visits, placed all that he has within\nmy reach. To these, and to a considerable number of men and women who\nknew Lincoln while he was yet living, and to many others whom I cannot\nname, my thanks are due.\n\nI regret that one great collection, consisting, however, more largely\nof relics than of manuscripts, is so largely packed away that it has\nnot been of much use to me. Mr. Charles F. Gunther of Chicago has,\nhowever, produced for me such Lincoln material as seemed to him to bear\nupon my quest, and I acknowledge his courtesy.\n\nMr. Oliver P. Barrett of Chicago has given me great joy in the\nexamination of his fine collection of Lincoln manuscripts.\n\nI have spent a few pleasant and profitable hours in the collection of\nHonorable Daniel Fish, the noted Lincoln bibliographer, of Minneapolis,\nand thank him for his friendly interest in this undertaking.\n\nAmong libraries, my largest debt is to those of the Chicago Historical\nSociety, the Illinois State Historical Society at Springfield, and the\nLibrary of Congress in Washington. In each of these I have had not only\nunrestricted access to the whole Lincoln material possessed by them,\nbut the most generous and courteous assistance. I have examined every\nrare Lincoln book, and many manuscripts, in these three collections. I\nhave had occasion also to use the Chicago Public Library, the Newberry\nLibrary, and the Library of the University of Chicago, as well as those\nof Chicago Theological Seminary and McCormick Theological Seminary. In\ncertain important local matters, I have been assisted by the libraries\nof Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, Illinois College, Jacksonville,\nIllinois, the Public Library of Peoria, Illinois, and the library of\nTransylvania University at Lexington, Kentucky. I also visited the\nPublic Library of Louisville, with its historical collections, but most\nthat I found there I had already consulted elsewhere. The New York\nPublic Library and the Library of Columbia University supplemented my\nresearch at a few important points. The Oak Park Public Library has\nbeen constantly at my service. The Library of Berea College, Kentucky,\nhas given me very valuable assistance in finding for me a large amount\nof periodical literature bearing on my study. The five great Boston\nlibraries would have yielded me much had I come to them earlier.\nWhile the book was undergoing revision, I visited the Athenaeum, the\nMassachusetts State, the Boston Public, the Massachusetts Historical,\nand the Harvard University libraries. It was gratifying to discover\nthat even in the last named of these, enriched as it is with the\ncollections of Charles Sumner, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and the\nLincoln collection of my friend Alonzo Rothschild, author of \"Lincoln,\nMaster of Men,\" there was practically nothing relating to this subject\nwhich I had not already seen and examined. In the Massachusetts\nHistorical Library, however, I discovered some manuscripts, and that\nquite unexpectedly, which afford me much aid in a collateral study.\n\nIn addition to the foregoing, I have my own Lincoln library, which,\nwhile a working collection rather than one of incunabula, and modest in\nsize as compared with some that I have used, is still not small. The\nBibliography at the end of the volume is virtually a catalogue of my\nown Lincoln books.\n\nClaims of completeness are dangerous, and I make none. But I have\nbeen diligent in pursuit of all probable sources of knowledge of this\nsubject, and I do not now know where to look for any other book of\nmanuscript that would greatly alter or add to the material which this\nbook contains. I am glad, therefore, at this stage, to share the fruits\nof my investigations with the reader.\n\n  W. E. B.\n\n THE FIRST CHURCH STUDY OAK PARK, ILLINOIS\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nPART I: A STUDY OF RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENTS\n\n  CHAPTER                                                PAGE\n\n  I THE CONFLICT OF TESTIMONY                              19\n\n  II WHY THE BIOGRAPHIES DIFFER                            24\n\n  III THE ENVIRONMENT OF LINCOLN'S BOYHOOD                 29\n\n  IV THE ENVIRONMENTS OF LINCOLN'S YOUNG MANHOOD           51\n\n  V THE ENVIRONMENT OF LINCOLN'S LIFE IN SPRINGFIELD       71\n\n  VI THE ENVIRONMENT OF LINCOLN'S LIFE IN WASHINGTON       86\n\n\nPART II: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVIDENCE\n\n  VII THE RULES OF EVIDENCE                               101\n\n  VIII THE BATEMAN INCIDENT                               114\n\n  IX THE LAMON BIOGRAPHY                                  128\n\n  X THE REED LECTURE                                      135\n\n  XI THE HERNDON LECTURES, LETTERS, AND BIOGRAPHY         140\n\n  XII LINCOLN'S BURNT BOOK                                146\n\n  XIII \"THE CHRISTIAN'S DEFENCE\"                          156\n\n  XIV \"VESTIGES OF CREATION\"                              166\n\n  XV OTHER FORMATIVE BOOKS                                172\n\n  XVI CHITTENDEN AND CHINIQUY                             188\n\n  XVII THE BEECHER AND SICKLES INCIDENTS                  198\n\n  XVIII \"BEHIND THE SCENES\"                               203\n\n  XIX FROM THE HOUSETOPS AND IN THE CLOSET                210\n\n\nPART III: THE RELIGION OF LINCOLN\n\n  XX WHAT LINCOLN WAS NOT                                 225\n\n  XXI WHY DID LINCOLN NEVER JOIN A CHURCH?                244\n\n  XXII THE CONSTRUCTIVE ARGUMENT                          260\n\n  XXIII THE CREED OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN                      291\n\n\nAPPENDICES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n  I EXTRACT FROM NEWTON BATEMAN'S LECTURE ON\n  LINCOLN WITH VARIANTS OF THE SPRINGFIELD\n  FAREWELL ADDRESS                                        303\n\n  II \"HIGH-HANDED OUTRAGE AT UTICA\"                       307\n  By Artemus Ward\n\n  III \"THE CONVERSION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN\"                 309\n  By the Rev. Edward L. Watson\n\n  IV THE REED LECTURE                                     314\n\n  V TWO HERNDON LETTERS CONCERNING LINCOLN'S\n  RELIGION                                                336\n\n  VI THE IRWIN ARTICLE, WITH LETTERS                      341\n\n  VII \"THE CHRISTIAN'S DEFENCE\"                           358\n  With full chapter analysis\n\n  VIII LINCOLN AND THE CHURCHES                           377\n  By Nicolay and Hay\n\n  IX \"BOUND TOGETHER IN CHRISTIANITY AND PATRIOTISM\"      385\n  Hitherto unpublished address of Lincoln\n\n  BIBLIOGRAPHY                                            387\n\n  INDEX                                                   401\n\n\n\n\nPART I: A STUDY OF RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENTS\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTHE CONFLICT OF TESTIMONY\n\n\nOF no other American have so many biographies been written as of\nAbraham Lincoln. No other question concerning his life has evoked more\ninterest than that of his religious faith and experience. What Abraham\nLincoln believed has been told by many who knew him and whose varied\nrelations to him during his lifetime rendered it not unreasonable to\nsuppose that they could give some assured answer to the question of his\nbelief. The answers are not only varied, but hopelessly contradictory.\nIt is stated on apparently good authority that in his young manhood he\nread Volney's _Ruins_ and Paine's _Age of Reason_, and it is affirmed\nthat he accepted their conclusions, and himself wrote what might\nhave been a book or pamphlet denying the essential doctrines of the\nChristian faith as he understood them. Friends of his who knew him\nwell enough to forbid the throwing of their testimony out of court\nhave affirmed that he continued to hold these convictions; and that,\nwhile he became more cautious in the matter of their expression, he\ncarried them through life and that they never underwent any radical\nchange. On the other hand, there are declarations, made by those who\nalso knew Lincoln well, that these views became modified essentially,\nand that Lincoln accepted practically the whole content of orthodox\nChristian theology as it was then understood; that he observed daily\nfamily worship in his home; that he carried a Bible habitually upon\nhis person; and that he was in short in every essential a professed\nChristian, though never a member of a Christian church.\n\nThere is more than a conflict of testimony; there is positive chaos.\nEvery recent biographer has felt the inherent difficulties involved in\nit. One or two of them have passed it over with practically no mention;\nothers have become fierce partisans of the one extreme or the other.\n\nBesides the formal biographies, a literature of this special topic has\ngrown up. Entire books and many pamphlets and magazine articles have\nbeen written on this one question. The Chicago Historical Society and\nthe Chicago Public Library have each devoted a principal division in\nthe Lincoln material to the literature relating to his religion. It has\nbeen the writer's privilege to examine in both these libraries and in\nseveral others the whole known body of literature of the subject.\n\nIn this investigation the writer came face to face with utterly\ncontradictory testimony from men who had known Abraham Lincoln\nintimately.\n\nOf him Mr. Herndon, for twenty years his law partner, said:\n\n \"As to Mr. Lincoln's religious views, he was, in short, an infidel....\n Mr. Lincoln told me a thousand times that he did not believe the Bible\n was the revelation of God as the Christian world contends.\"--LAMON:\n _Life of Lincoln_, p. 489.\n\nThe direct antithesis of this statement is found in a narrative of Hon.\nNewton Bateman, who knew Mr. Lincoln from 1842 until Mr. Lincoln's\ndeath, and whose office was in the State House at Springfield next-door\nto that which, for a period of eight months from the time of his\nnomination till his departure for his inauguration, was occupied by Mr.\nLincoln. He affirmed (or at least was so quoted by Holland) that Mr.\nLincoln said to him:\n\n \"I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice and slavery. I\n see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a\n place and work for me--and I think He has--I believe I am ready. I am\n nothing, but truth is everything. I know I am right because I know\n that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God.\"--J.\n G. HOLLAND: _Life of Lincoln_, p. 237.\n\nPopular oratory has carried even farther these two extremes of\nirreconcilable contradiction. On the one hand are to be found\nscurrilous publications, shockingly offensive against all good taste,\ndeclaring Lincoln to have been an atheist, a mocker, a hypocrite, a man\nof unclean mind, and a violator in his speech of all canons of decency.\nWe will not quote from any of these at present; but of the length to\nwhich the other extreme can go, has gone, and continues to go, let the\nfollowing incident, gleaned from a recent English book, serve as an\nillustration:\n\n \"In the year 1861 the Southern States of America were filled with\n slaves and slaveholders. It was proposed to make Abraham Lincoln\n president. But he had resolved that if he came to that position of\n power he would do all he could to wipe away the awful scourge from\n the page of his nation's history. A rebellion soon became imminent,\n and it was expected that in his inaugural address much would be said\n respecting it. The time came. The Senate House was packed with people;\n before him was gathered the business skill and the intellectual power\n of the States. With one son lying dead in the White House, whom he\n loved with a fond father's affection; another little boy on the\n borders of eternity; with his nation's eternal disgrace or everlasting\n honor resting upon his speech, he speaks distinctly, forcefully, and\n without fear. Friend and foe marvel at his collected movements. They\n know of the momentous issues which hang on his address. They know the\n domestic trials that oppress his heart. But they do not know that,\n before leaving home that morning, the President had taken down the\n family Bible and conducted their home worship as usual, and then\n had asked to be left alone. The family withdrawing, they heard his\n tremulous voice raised in pleadings with God, that He whose shoulder\n sustains the government of worlds would guide him and overrule\n his speech for His own glory. Here was the power of this man's\n strength.\"--G. H. MORGAN: _Modern Knights-Errant_, p. 104; quoted in\n Hastings' _Great Texts of the Bible_, volume on \"Isaiah,\" pp. 237-38.\n\nThis incident is now an integral part of the best and most recent\nhomiletic work in the English language, and will be used in thousands\nof sermons and addresses. It is a story that carries its own refutation\nin almost every line. Mr. Lincoln had no son either sick or dead and\nlying in the White House or anywhere else at the time of his first\ninaugural, nor had he as yet entered the White House; and the hours of\nthat day are fairly well accounted for; but this and similar incidents\nillustrate the length to which the oratorical imagination may carry\na speaker either in the pulpit or on the platform, and not only be\npreserved in books but pass the supposedly critical eye of a careful\ncompiler of material for sermons and lectures.\n\nIf another book is justified, it should be one that does more than\ncompile that part of the evidence which appears to support a particular\ntheory. The compilation should be as nearly complete as is humanely\npossible. But it must do more than plunge the reader into this swamp of\nconflicting testimony. It must somehow seek to evaluate the evidence\nand present a reasonable conclusion.\n\nMoreover, in the judgment of the present writer, religion is more\nthan opinion, and cannot be considered as a detachable entity.\nLincoln's religion was more than his belief, his conjecture, his\nlogical conclusion concerning particular doctrines. It can only be\nproperly appraised in connection with his life. While, therefore, the\nwriter does not now undertake a complete biography of Lincoln, though\ncherishing some hope that he may eventually write a book of that\ncharacter, this present work endeavors to study the religion of Lincoln\nnot in detachment, but as part and parcel of his life.\n\nA word may be said concerning the author's point of view and the\nexperience which lies behind it. In his early manhood he had an\nexperience of several years which he considers of value as affording a\nbackground for the interpretation of the Lincoln material. For several\nyears the author taught school and afterward preached in the mountain\nregion of Kentucky and Tennessee amid social conditions essentially\nparallel to those in which Mr. Lincoln was born and amid which he\nspent his manhood up to the time of his going to Washington. The\nsame kind of preaching that Lincoln heard, not only in Kentucky but\nin the backwoods of Indiana and the pioneer villages of central and\nsouthern Illinois, the present author heard in his own young manhood\nas a teacher in district schools far back beyond the sound of the\nlocomotive's whistle or the inroads of modern civilization. How that\nkind of preaching affected the inquiring mind of the young Lincoln,\nthe author is sure he knows better than most of Lincoln's biographers\nhave known. The fierce theological controversies that waged between\nthe old-time Baptists and the itinerant Methodists, together with the\nemphatic dogmatism of the Southern type of Presbyterianism as it was\nheld and preached in the Kentucky mountains forty years ago and in\nsouthern Illinois and Indiana eighty years ago are part of the vivid\nmemory of the present writer. A young man who refused to accept this\nkind of teaching might be charged with being an infidel, and might\neasily suppose himself to be one; but whether that would be a just\nor fair classification depends upon conditions which some of the\ncontroversialists appear not to have known or to have been capable of\nappreciating through lack of experience of their own.\n\nThis book attempts, therefore, to be a digest of all the available\nevidence concerning the religious faith of Abraham Lincoln. It\nundertakes also to weigh that evidence and to pass judgment, the\nauthor's own judgment, concerning it. If the reader's judgment agrees\nwith the author's, the author will be glad; but if not at least the\nfacts are here set forth in their full essential content.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nWHY THE BIOGRAPHIES DIFFER\n\n\nTHE many biographies of Abraham Lincoln differ widely in their estimate\nof his religious opinions and life, partly because the biographers\napproach the subject from widely differing angles, and some of them\nare seeking in advance the establishment of particular conclusions.\nBut apart from that personal bias, from which no author can claim to\nbe wholly free, the biographical study of Abraham Lincoln was itself\nan evolution whose main outlines and processes it will be profitable\nbriefly to consider.\n\nThe first printed biographies of Mr. Lincoln appeared in 1860. They\nwere the familiar campaign biography, such as is issued for every\ncandidate for the Presidency. The first man who approached Mr. Lincoln\nwith a proposal to write his Life was J. L. Scripps of the Chicago\n_Tribune_. Mr. Lincoln deprecated the idea of writing any biography.\n\n \"Why, Scripps, [said he] it is a great piece of folly to attempt to\n make anything out of me or my early life. It can all be condensed into\n a single sentence, and that sentence you will find in Grey's 'Elegy':\n\n  '_The short and simple annals of the poor._'\n\n That's my life, and that's all you or anyone else can make out of\n it.\"--HERNDON, I, 2.\n\nLincoln felt the meagerness of his biographical material, but the\nbiographers succeeded in making books about him, Scripps wrote his\nbooklet, and it appeared in thirty-two closely printed double-column\npages, and sold at twenty-five cents. It is now excessively rare.\nLincoln read the proof and approved it. The \"Wigwam\" Life of Lincoln\nappeared simultaneously with the Scripps booklet, and it is not quite\ncertain which of the two emerged first from the press. It contained\n117 pages, of which the last seven were devoted to Hannibal Hamlin,\nRepublican candidate for Vice-President. This also had a wide sale, and\nis now very rare. That Lincoln did not read the proofs of this book is\nevidenced by the name \"Abram\" instead of \"Abraham\" on its title page\nand throughout the book. It relates that \"when he was six years old,\nhis father died, leaving a widow and several children, poor and almost\nfriendless\"; and in other respects shows that Lincoln did not furnish\nthe data of it, and also indicates how meager was the biographical\nmaterial at hand outside the little sketch which Lincoln prepared for\nScripps.\n\nAnother pamphlet, containing 216 pages, was \"The Authentic Edition\" by\nJ. H. Barrett, and still another, the \"Authorized\" edition by D. W.\nBartlett, which extended to 354 pages and was bound in cloth. Perhaps\nthe best of these campaign biographies of 1860 was that written by\nWilliam Dean Howells, then a young man and unknown to fame. Apparently\nLincoln furnished to each of these writers--except the Wigwam\nedition--essentially the same material which he had given to Scripps,\nor else they borrowed from Scripps, with permission, and to this extent\nthey were \"authorized\" or \"authentic.\" But there is no indication that\nLincoln read any of them except that of Scripps. Even this must have\nsurprised him when he beheld how his little sketch could be spread out\nover as many as thirty-two pages.\n\nThe campaign of 1864 brought out a new crop of campaign biographies,\nand these used essentially the same material up to 1860, and found\ntheir new matter in the history of the Civil War up to the date of\ntheir publication.\n\nThis campaign material still stood in type or stereotyped pages when\nLincoln was killed, and was hastily used again. The author, who\nowns all the books cited above, has also others which came from the\npress in May or June of 1865, whose main part was taken over bodily\nfrom the campaign biographies of 1864 and speaks of Lincoln as still\nliving, while the back part is made up of material concerning the\nassassination, the funeral, and the trial of the conspirators. These\ncalled themselves \"Complete\" biographies, but they were merely revamped\ncampaign booklets of 1864 with appended matter and virtually no\nrevision.\n\nThese works represent the first stage of the attempt to make books\nout of the life of Abraham Lincoln. The outline of the life itself is\nmeager in all of them, and they are well padded with campaign speeches;\nand the last of them, with full and interesting details of the funeral\nservices of Lincoln, the death of Booth, and other matter lifted from\nthe newspapers of the period.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe second epoch began with the publication of the Life of Abraham\nLincoln by John G. Holland in 1865. It was by all odds the best of\nthe books that undertook within a few years after his death to tell\nthe story of the life of Lincoln, with some estimate of his place in\nhistory. It is also the book which began the controversy concerning\nLincoln's religion.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe third period was introduced by the biography of Abraham Lincoln\nby Ward Hill Lamon, which was issued in 1872. It was based upon\nmanuscripts that had been collected by William H. Herndon, who\nwas supposed to have had a considerable share in the work of its\npreparation. Herndon emphatically denied writing any part of it, and\nsaid in a letter to Mr. Horace White that it was written for Lamon\nby Chauncey F. Black, son of J. S. Black, a member of Buchanan's\ncabinet and a political enemy of Lincoln (Newton: _Lincoln and\nHerndon_, p. 307). This valuable but unwisely written book, containing\nmany things offensive to good taste, occasioned much controversy\nfor its stark realism and what seemed to many of Lincoln's friends\nmisrepresentations. Some of the intimate friends of Lincoln are alleged\nto have bought a considerable part of the edition and destroyed the\nbooks, but copies are in the principal libraries and in the best\nprivate collections.\n\nUnterrified by the reception which had been accorded Lamon's work,\nWilliam H. Herndon, for twenty years Lincoln's law partner, assisted\nby Jesse W. Weik, published in 1889 a Life of Lincoln, in three\nvolumes.[1] The storm of denunciation that beat upon Herndon's head was\nfierce and long. The greater part of the edition disappeared. Libraries\nthat contain it keep it under lock and key, and the prices bid for it\nat occasional book auctions contrast strikingly with those for which\nit went begging immediately after it was issued. Four years later,\nassisted by Mr. Horace White, Mr. Herndon reissued the book in two\nvolumes, with those passages elided which had given greatest offense.\n\nThese two biographies mark the rise and high-water mark of the demand\nfor \"the real Lincoln\"; and nobody can deny that they were quite\nsufficiently realistic.\n\nThe next stage in the Lincoln biography was the ten-volume Life of\nLincoln by his former secretaries, John G. Nicolay and John Hay. It was\nissued in 1890, and called itself \"a history.\" It is a history rather\nthan a biography; the biographical material in it was condensed into a\nsingle volume by Mr. Nicolay in 1904. This work is monumental, and may\nbe said to attempt the giving of materials for the complete Lincoln\nrather than to be in itself an effort within the proper limits of\nbiography.\n\nThe two-volume biography by John T. Morse, Jr., issued in 1893, was the\nfirst constructive piece of work in this field after the Nicolay and\nHay material had become available; and it remains in some respects the\nbest short Life of Abraham Lincoln; though the author's New England\nviewpoint militates against his correct appraisal of many features of\nthe life of Lincoln.\n\nThe next period may be said to be the period of the magazine Lincoln,\nand to be represented at its best by the work of Ida M. Tarbell, which\nfirst appeared in _McClure's Magazine_, beginning in 1895, and was\nsubsequently issued in book form in several editions beginning in\n1900. This was a pictorial biography, with much new illustrative and\ndocumentary material, and is of permanent value.\n\nSince 1900 the biographies that have been issued have largely been\ndevoted to specialized studies, as of Lincoln as a lawyer, Lincoln\nas a political leader, Lincoln as a statesman; and there have been\ninnumerable books and articles made up of reminiscences of the men who\nknew Lincoln more or less intimately.\n\nNone of the biographies before Holland attempted anything that could be\ncalled a critical analysis of Lincoln's character. There is virtually\nnothing in the earliest Lives of Lincoln concerning his religion or any\nother important aspect of his private and personal life. In the nature\nof the case those books were superficial.\n\nFurthermore, some of the more important biographies of more recent\nyears have made no attempt at systematic character study. While there\nis something about Lincoln's religion in almost every one of them, that\ntopic has been quite incidental and subordinate to the main purpose of\nmost of the larger books. The authors have been content to take for the\nmost part the ready-formed judgment of those whose views most nearly\naccorded with their own.\n\nThe field of inquiry concerning Lincoln's religion is both more\nnarrow and broader than it would at first appear. Many even of the\nmore important biographical works about Lincoln yield nothing of\nany real value, so far as this topic is concerned. On the other\nhand, the subject has been exploited in magazine articles, newspaper\ncontributions, lectures and addresses almost innumerable and by no mean\nconsistent.\n\nThe task, then, is more and other than that of making a scrapbook of\nwhat different authorities have said about Abraham Lincoln's religion.\nA vast amount has been said by people who had no personal knowledge of\nthe subject they were discussing and no adequate power of historical\nanalysis. The volume of really first-hand evidence is not so vast as\nat first it appears; and while it cannot all be reconciled nor its\ndirect contradictions eliminated, it is not hopelessly beyond the\nlimits of constructive probability. It is possible to determine some\nfacts about the religion of Abraham Lincoln with reasonable certainty\nand to interpret others in the light of their probable bearing upon the\nsubject as a whole.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nTHE ENVIRONMENT OF LINCOLN'S BOYHOOD\n\n\nWE have read Buckle's _History of Civilization_ to little effect if we\nhave not learned that the development of an individual or a nation is\nprofoundly influenced by environment. The biographers of Lincoln would\nappear to have kept this fact carefully in mind, for they have been at\ngreat pains to give to us detailed descriptions of the houses in which\nLincoln lived and the neighborhoods where from time to time he resided.\nAlthough the camera and the descriptive power of the biographers have\ndone much for us, they leave something to be desired in the way of\nsketching a background from which the Abraham Lincoln of the successive\nperiods emerged into conditions of life and thought that were more\nor less religious. For the purpose of this present study the life of\nLincoln divides itself into four parts.\n\nThe first is the period of his boyhood, from his birth in Kentucky\nuntil his coming of age and the removal of his family from Indiana into\nIllinois.\n\nThe second is the period of his early manhood, from the time he left\nhis father's home until he took up his residence in Springfield.\n\nThe third is the period of his life in Springfield, from his first\narrival on April 15, 1837, until his final departure on February 11,\n1861, for his inauguration as President.\n\nThe fourth is the period covered by his presidency, from his\ninauguration, March 4, 1861, until his death, April 15, 1865.\n\nBefore considering at length the testimony of the people who knew him,\nexcept as that testimony relates to these particular epochs, we will\nconsider the life of Lincoln as it was related to the conditions in\nwhich he lived in these successive periods.\n\nThe first period in the life of Abraham Lincoln includes the\ntwenty-one years from his birth to his majority, and is divided\ninto two parts,--the first seven and one-half years of his life in\nthe backwoods of Kentucky, and the following thirteen years in the\nwilderness of southern Indiana.\n\nAbraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States, was born\nnear Hodgenville, Kentucky, on Sunday, February 12, 1809. He was the\nsecond child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, who were married near\nBeechland, Washington County, Kentucky, on June 12, 1806, when Thomas\nwas twenty-eight and Nancy twenty-three. Nine days before the birth\nof Abraham Lincoln the territory of Illinois was organized by Act of\nCongress; the boy and the future State were twin-born. For four years\nthe family lived on the Rock Spring farm, three miles from Hodgenville,\nin Hardin, now Larue County, Kentucky. When he was four years old his\nparents moved to a better farm on Knob Creek. Here he spent nearly four\nyears more, and he and his sister, Sarah, began going to school. His\nfirst teacher was Zachariah Riney; his second, Caleb Hazel.\n\nIn the autumn of 1816, Thomas Lincoln loaded his household goods upon\na small flatboat of his own construction and floated down Knob Creek,\nSalt River, and the Ohio, and landed on the northern bank of the Ohio\nRiver. He thence returned and brought his family, who traveled on\nhorseback. The distance to where the goods had been left was only about\nfifty miles in a straight line from the old home in Kentucky, but was\nprobably a hundred miles by the roads on which they traveled. Thomas\ndoubtless rode one horse with a child behind him, and Nancy rode the\nother, also carrying a child behind her saddle.\n\nWhen the family arrived at the point where the goods had been left, a\nwagon was hired, and Thomas Lincoln, with his wife, his two children,\nand all his worldly possessions, moved sixteen miles into the\nwilderness to a place which he had already selected, and there made his\nhome. That winter and the greater part of the following year were spent\nin a \"half-faced camp\" from which the family moved in the following\nautumn to a log cabin, erected by Thomas Lincoln. For more than a year\nhe was a squatter on this farm, but subsequently entered it and secured\ntitle from the government. Here Nancy Hanks Lincoln died, October 5,\n1818, when Abraham was less than ten years old. A year later Thomas\nLincoln returned to Kentucky and married Sally Bush Johnson, a widow,\nwith three children. She brought with her better furniture than the\ncabin afforded, and also brought a higher type of culture than Thomas\nLincoln had known. She taught her husband so that he was able with some\ndifficulty to read the Bible and to sign his own name. On this farm\nin the backwoods in the Pigeon Creek settlement, with eight or ten\nfamilies as neighbors, and with the primitive village of Gentryville a\nmile and a half distant, Abraham Lincoln grew to manhood. Excepting for\na brief experience as a ferryman on the Ohio River and a trip to New\nOrleans which he made upon a flatboat, his horizon was bounded by this\nenvironment from the time he was eight until he was twenty-one.\n\nThe cabin in which the Lincoln family lived was a fairly comfortable\nhouse. It was eighteen feet square and the logs were hewn. It was high\nenough to admit a loft, where Abe slept, ascending to it by wooden\npins driven into the logs. The furniture, excepting that brought by\nSally Bush, was very primitive and made by Thomas Lincoln. Three-legged\nstools answered for chairs, and the bedsteads had only one leg each,\nthe walls supporting the other three corners.\n\nOf the educational advantages, Mr. Lincoln wrote in 1860:\n\n \"It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still\n in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools so-called,\n but no qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond readin',\n writin', and cipherin' to the Rule of Three. If a straggler supposed\n to understand Latin happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was\n looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite\n ambition for education.\"--NICOLAY, p. 10.\n\nHere he attended school for three brief periods. The first school was\ntaught by Azel W. Dorsey, when Abraham was ten years old; the next by\nAndrew Crawford, when he was fourteen; and the third by a teacher\nnamed Swaney, whose first name Mr. Lincoln was unable to recall in\nlater life. His schooling was under five different teachers, two in\nKentucky and three in Indiana. It was scattered over nine years and\nembraced altogether less than twelve months of aggregate attendance.\n\nIn Kentucky it is probable that his only textbook was Webster's\nElementary Speller. It was popularly known as the \"Old Blueback.\"\n\nWebster's Speller is a good speller and more. Each section of words\nto be spelled is followed by short sentences containing those words,\nand at the end of the book are three illustrated lessons in Natural\nHistory--one on The Mastiff, another on The Stag, and the third on The\nSquirrel. Besides these are seven fables, each with its illustration\nand its moral lesson. I used this book in teaching school in the\nbackwoods of Kentucky, and still have the teacher's copy which I thus\nemployed.\n\nThe two Kentucky schools which Lincoln attended were undoubtedly \"blab\"\nschools. The children were required to study aloud. Their audible\nrepetition of their lessons was the teacher's only assurance that they\nwere studying;[2] and even while he was hearing a class recite he would\nspend a portion of his time moving about the room with hickory switch\nin hand, administering frequent rebuke to those pupils who did not\nstudy loud enough to afford proof of their industry.\n\nIn Indiana, Lincoln came under the influence of men who could cipher\nas far as the Rule of Three. He also learned to use Lindley Murray's\nEnglish Reader, which he always believed, and with much reason, to be\nthe most useful textbook ever put into the hands of an American youth\n(Herndon, I, 37). He also studied Pike's Arithmetic. Grammar he did not\nstudy in school, but later learned it under Mentor Graham in Illinois.\n\nThe first of these schools was only about a mile and a half distant\nfrom his home; the last was four miles, and his attendance was\nirregular.\n\nIn the second school, taught by Andrew Crawford, he learned whatever he\nknew of the usages of polite society; for Crawford gave his pupils a\nkind of drill in social usages (Herndon, I, 37).\n\nIn Swaney's school he probably learned that the earth was round. A\nclassmate, Katy Roby, afterward Mrs. Allen Gentry, between whom and\nAbraham a boy-and-girl attachment appears to have existed, and who at\nthe time was fifteen and Abe seventeen, is authority for the statement\nthat as they were sitting together on the bank of the Ohio River near\nGentry's landing, wetting their bare feet in the flowing water and\nwatching the sun go down, he told her that it was the revolution of the\nearth which made the moon and sun appear to rise and set. He exhibited\nwhat to her appeared a profound knowledge of astronomy (Herndon, I, 39;\nLamon's _Life_, p. 70).\n\nIt is not necessary for us to assume that Abraham knew very much more\nabout astronomy than the little which he told to Katy Roby; but it is\nworth while to note in passing that when Abraham Lincoln learned that\nthe earth was round, he probably learned something which his father did\nnot know and which would have been admitted by no minister whom Abraham\nhad heard preach up to this time.\n\nWe are ready now to consider the character of the preaching which\nAbraham Lincoln heard in his boyhood. Direct testimony is fragmentary\nof necessity; but it is of such character that we are able without\ndifficulty to make a consistent mental picture of the kind of religious\nservice with which he was familiar.\n\nA recent author has said that Lincoln never lived in a community having\na church building until he went to the legislature in Vandalia in 1834\n(Johnson, _Lincoln the Christian_, p. 31). This is probably true if\nwe insist upon its meaning a house of worship owned exclusively by\none denomination, but the same author reminds us that there was a log\nmeeting-house[3] within three miles of Lincoln's childhood home in\nKentucky (p. 22).\n\nDr. Peters says:\n\n \"The prayers that Parson Elkin said above the mound of Nancy\n Hanks were the first public prayers to which Abraham ever\n listened\"--_Abraham Lincoln's Religion_, p. 24.\n\nThis is absurdly incorrect. Abraham Lincoln almost certainly heard\npublic prayers at intervals, probably from the time he was three months\nold.\n\nAbraham Lincoln was born in February, or his mother probably would have\ntaken him to church earlier; but by May or June, when there was monthly\npreaching at the log meeting-house three miles away, she mounted a\nhorse and Thomas Lincoln another, he with Sarah sitting before him\nat the saddlebow and she with Abraham in her arms, and they rode to\nmeeting. If they had had but one horse instead of two they would have\ngone just the same. She would have sat behind Thomas with Abraham in\nher arms and Thomas would have had Sarah on the horse before him.\nThomas Lincoln was too shiftless to have a horse-block, but Nancy could\nmount her horse from any one of the numerous stumps in the vicinity of\nthe home. She and every other young mother in the neighborhood knew how\nto ride and carry a baby, and having once learned the art, the young\nmother was not permitted to forget it for several years.\n\nArrived at the log meeting-house, they hitched their horses to\nswinging limbs, where the animals could fight flies without breaking\nthe bridle-reins. Nancy went inside immediately and took her seat on\nthe left side of the room; Thomas remained outside gossiping with his\nneighbors concerning \"craps\" and politics, and maybe swapping a horse\nbefore the service had gotten fairly under way. After a while he heard\nthe preacher in stentorian tones lining and singing the opening hymn,\nthe thin, high voices of the women joining him feebly at first but\ngrowing a little more confident as the hymn proceeded. Then Thomas and\nhis neighbors straggled in and sat on the right side of the house.\nThe floor was puncheon and so were the seats; they were rudely split\nslabs, roughly hewn, and the second sitting from either end had an\nadded element of discomfort in the projection of the two legs that had\nbeen driven in from the under side and were not sawed off flush with\nthe surface of the slab. There were no glass windows. On either side of\nthe house one section of a log may have been sawed out about four feet\nfrom the floor; but most of the light of the interior came in through\nthe open door in mild weather, or was afforded by the fireplace in cold\nweather.\n\nOn the rude pulpit lay the preacher's Bible and hymn book, if he had\na hymn book--no one else had one; and beside these were a bucket of\nwater and a gourd. There was no time in the service when Thomas Lincoln\ndid not feel free to walk up to the pulpit and drink a gourd of water,\nand the same was true of every other member of the congregation, the\npreacher included. As for Nancy, she spread her riding-skirt on the\nseat under her and when her baby grew hungry she nursed him just as the\nother women nursed their babies.\n\nTo such congregations the author of this present book preached hundreds\nof times in the woods of Kentucky; and there is no essential feature of\nthe church services which he does not know.\n\nIn the autumn, just before fodder-pulling time, there was an\noccasional camp-meeting or big revival, followed by a baptizing, which\nbrought multitudes of people from long distances. They brought their\nprovisions, or they stayed with friends, one cabin proving elastic\nenough to accommodate two or three households. Under these conditions\nthe author of this book has slept many nights in houses of one room,\nwith as many beds as the room could well contain, inhabited not only by\nthe family but by visitors of both sexes; and in all that experience he\nis unable to recall any incident that was immodest.\n\nWhen the converts of the camp-meeting or revival were baptized, they\nwere led into the water with due solemnity; but as each one came to the\nsurface he or she was likely to break forth into shouting, a proceeding\nwhich, as the author can testify, was sometimes embarrassing, if not\nindeed perilous,[4] to the officiating clergyman.\n\nHerndon tells us of the fondness of the Hanks girls for camp-meeting\nand describes one in which Nancy appears to have participated a little\ntime before her marriage (I, 14). We have no reason to believe that\nthat was her last camp-meeting.\n\nThomas Lincoln is alleged by Herndon to have been a Free-will Baptist\nin Kentucky, a Presbyterian in the latter part of his life in Indiana,\nand finally a Disciple (I, 11). He does not state where he obtained\nhis information, but it is almost certain that he got it from Sally\nBush Lincoln on the occasion of his visit to her in 1865; as she is the\naccredited source of most of the information of this character.\n\nI am more than tempted to believe that either she or Herndon was\nincorrect in speaking of Thomas Lincoln's earliest affiliation as a\nFree-will Baptist. There were more kinds of Baptists in heaven and on\nearth than were understood in her philosophy; and I question whether\nthe Free-will Baptists, who originated in New England, had by this\ntime penetrated to so remote a section of Kentucky. What she probably\ntold Herndon was that he was not of the most reactionary kind--the\nso-called \"Hardshell\" or anti-missionary Baptists. Of them we shall\nhave something to say later. The Scripps biography, read and approved\nby Lincoln, said simply that his parents were consistent members of\nthe Baptist Church. Nicolay and Hay do not record the membership of\nThomas Lincoln in the Presbyterian Church, and one is more than tempted\nto question the accuracy of Herndon at this point. Presbyterianism\nhad at that date very little part in the shaping of the life of the\nbackwoods of Illinois and Indiana, as we shall see when we come to\nthe life of Lincoln in Illinois. Nicolay and Hay tell us that \"Thomas\nLincoln joined the Baptist church at Little Pigeon in 1823. His oldest\nchild, Sarah, followed his example three years later. They were known\nas consistent and active members of that communion\" (Nicolay and\nHay, I, 32-33). If Sarah joined the Baptist church in 1826, and the\nfamily was remembered as active in that church, the relation of Thomas\nLincoln with the Presbyterians in Indiana must have been brief, for\nhe left that State in 1830. We are assured that he observed religious\ncustoms in his home and asked a blessing at the table; for one day,\nwhen the meal consisted only of potatoes, Abraham said to his father,\nthat he regarded those as \"mighty poor blessings\" (Herndon, I, 24).\nWhile Thomas Lincoln was not an energetic man, there is no reason\nto doubt the consistency of his religion, in which he was certainly\naided by Sally Bush Lincoln. That he died in the fellowship either\nof the Disciples or of the New Lights is probably correct; but the\nPresbyterian membership in Indiana, while not impossible, appears more\nlikely to have been a mistake in Herndon's interpretation of Mrs.\nLincoln's narrative.\n\nHerndon's statement concerning Thomas Lincoln's religion is as follows:\n\n \"In his religious belief he first affiliated with the Free-will\n Baptists. After his removal to Indiana he changed his adherence to the\n Presbyterians--or Predestinarians, as they were then called--and later\n united with the Christian--vulgarly called Campbellite--Church, in\n which latter faith he is supposed to have died\" (I, 11-12).\n\nI am satisfied that Herndon is mistaken in two if not in all three of\nthese assertions. I am confident that Predestinarian was not a popular\nor commonly understood name for Presbyterians, but it was a name for\none type of Baptists. Mrs. Lincoln probably told Herndon that her\nhusband joined in Indiana, not the hardshell, or most reactionary kind\nof Baptists, but the Predestinarians. Knowing that predestination\nwas a doctrine of Presbyterianism, Mr. Herndon assumed that that was\nwhat the name implied. It implied nothing of the sort. Thomas Lincoln\nprobably belonged to the old Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian\nBaptists, not quite as hard in their shell as the Hardshells, but very\ndifferent from the Free-will Baptists or the Presbyterians, the kind\nwhose preachers were accustomed to shout--\"I'd rather have a hard shell\nthan no shell at all!\"\n\nDennis Hanks[5] was far from being impeccable authority on matters\nwhere his imagination permitted him to enlarge, but he seldom forgot\nanything, and still less frequently made it smaller than it really was.\nIf Thomas Lincoln had ever sustained any relation to the Presbyterian\nChurch, he would surely have told it, or some member of his family,\njealous as those members were for the reputation of \"Grandfather\nLincoln,\" would not have failed to report it. In his interview with\nMrs. Eleanor Atkinson, in which his family participated, Dennis evinced\na definite attempt to set forth Thomas Lincoln in as favorable a light\nas possible, and there was a high and deserved tribute to his \"Aunt\nSairy,\" Thomas Lincoln's second wife.\n\n \"Aunt Sairy sartainly did have faculty. I reckon we was all purty\n ragged and dirty when she got there. The fust thing she did was to\n tell me to tote one of Tom's carpenter benches to a place outside\n the door, near the hoss trough. Then she had me an' Abe an' John\n Johnson, her boy, fill the trough with spring water. She put out a\n gourd full of soft soap, and another one to dip water with, an' told\n us boys to wash up fur dinner. You just naturally had to be somebody\n when Aunt Sairy was around. She had Tom build her a loom, an' when\n she heerd o' some lime burners bein' round Gentryville, Tom had to\n mosey over an' git some lime an' whitewash the cabin. An' he made her\n an ash hopper fur lye, an' a chicken-house nothin' could git into.\n Then--te-he-he-he!--she set some kind of a dead-fall trap fur him, an'\n got Tom to jine the Baptist Church. Cracky, but Aunt Sally was some\n punkins!\"--_American Magazine_, February, 1908, p. 364.\n\nI am of opinion that what Mrs. Sarah Bush Lincoln told Herndon was\nthat her husband sometimes attended the Presbyterian service, and that\nthe church he joined was the Baptist, but not the Hardshell Baptist.\nBut evidence is wholly lacking that he had any connection with the\nPresbyterian Church, or with the Free-will Baptists, of which latter\nsect he probably never heard.\n\nThe church at Farmington of which Thomas Lincoln became a member is\nnot now in existence. I have endeavored through investigation in\nFarmington, and by correspondence with Mr. Robert T. Lincoln, to\nascertain its denomination. It called itself \"Christian,\" and Herndon\ndid not doubt that that name indicated that it was a church of the\ndenomination sometimes called \"Campbellite.\" But that is not certain.\nOther denominations claim that as their distinctive name, and one of\nthem was at that time active in that part of Illinois. My inquiries\nhave brought me no certain knowledge on this point; but Mr. Jesse W.\nWeik is of opinion that the denomination was that known as \"New Light.\"\nIt is possible that Herndon was in error in every one of his three\naffirmations concerning the religion of Thomas Lincoln, and that the\nPresident's father was never a Free-will Baptist, never a Presbyterian,\nand never a Disciple or Campbellite. I have endeavored to learn whether\nhis change from the Baptist to the \"Christian\" church was a matter of\nconviction or convenience, but on this I have found nothing except a\nstatement from the minister who buried him, in which it would appear\nthat his change of polity was a matter of conviction. This minister\nspoke very highly of Thomas Lincoln, whom he had known well in the\nlatter years of his life.\n\nThere has been undue attempt to credit the pious boy Abraham with the\nreligious service conducted over the grave of his mother by Rev. David\nElkin[6] some months after her demise. There is no good authority for\nthis legend. Herndon probably tells the truth about it:\n\n \"Within a few months, and before the close of the winter, David\n Elkin, an itinerant preacher whom Mrs. Lincoln had known in Kentucky,\n happened into the settlement, and in response to the invitation from\n the family and friends, delivered a funeral sermon over her grave. No\n one is able now to remember the language of Parson Elkin's discourse,\n but it is recalled that he commemorated the virtues and good phases of\n character, and passed in silence the few shortcomings and frailties of\n the poor woman sleeping under the winter's snow.\"--HERNDON, I, 28.\n\nThis does not compel us to believe that there had been no preacher in\nthe Pigeon Creek settlement since the death of Nancy Hanks.[7] It was\ncustomary among these Kentucky-bred people to hold the funeral service\nsome weeks or months after the burial. The author of this volume has\nattended many such services.\n\nThe reasons require some explanation. The dead were commonly buried\non the day following death. There were, of course, no facilities for\nembalming or preserving the corpse for any great length of time.\nPreachers were nearly all farmers; and the particular minister\nwith whose church the family was affiliated might be living at a\nconsiderable distance and be at that time at some distant place upon\nhis wide circuit. No minister expected to preach every Sunday in any\none place. A monthly appointment was the maximum attempted; and the\nmore remote settlements were not reached statedly by any one preacher\noftener than once in three months. There were occasional services,\nhowever, by other ministers riding through the country and preaching\nwherever they stayed overnight. It was the author's custom when coming\nunexpectedly into a valley to spread word up and down the creek that\nthere would be preaching that night in the schoolhouse or in the home\nwhere he was entertained. The impromptu announcement never failed to\nbring a congregation.\n\nWhat took David Elkin into Indiana we do not know. He may have been\nlooking for a better farm than he had in Kentucky, where he could dig\nout a living between his preaching appointments. He may have been\nburdened for the souls of certain families formerly under his care\nand now gone out like the Lincolns into a howling wilderness. The\nlate summer and early autumn between the end of corn-plowing and the\nbeginning of fodder-pulling afforded such a minister opportunity to\nthrow his saddlebags over his horse and start on a longer circuit than\nusual; and the winter gave him still another opportunity for long\nabsence. He took no money and he collected none, or next to none, but\nhe had free welcome everywhere with pork and corn pone for supper and\nfried chicken for breakfast. Many a time the author of this volume has\nridden up to a house just before suppertime, has partaken with the\nfamily of its customary cornbread and bacon or ham, and after preaching\nand a good night's rest has been wakened in the morning before the\nrising of the sun by a muffled squawk and flutter as one or more\nchickens were pulled down out of the trees. After this fashion did the\npeople of the backwoods welcome the messengers of the Lord.\n\nNot necessarily on his next appearance in a settlement is the preacher\nrequested to conduct the funeral service of persons deceased since his\nlast visit. The matter is arranged with more of deliberation. A date\nis set some time ahead and word is sent to distant friends.[8] After\na time of general sickness such as had visited Pigeon Creek in the\nepidemic of the \"milk sick,\" Parson Elkin may have had several funerals\nto preach in the same cemetery or at the schoolhouse nearest at hand. I\nhave known a half-dozen funerals to be included in one sermon with full\nbiographical particulars of each decedent and detailed descriptions\nof all the deathbed scenes, together with rapturous forecasts of the\nfuture bliss of the good people who were dead and abundant warnings of\nthe flaming hell that awaited their impenitent neighbors. Even those\npeople who had not been noted for their piety during life were almost\ninvariably slipped into heaven through a deathbed repentance or by\ngrace of the uncovenanted mercies of God. It is the business of all\npreachers to be very stern with the living and very charitable toward\nthe dead.[9]\n\nI must add a further word about the custom of deferred funerals.\nAlthough the burial was conducted without religious service, it was not\npermitted to be celebrated in neglect. The news that a man was dying\nwould bring the sympathetic neighbors from miles around, and horses\nwould be tied up the creek and down while people waited in friendly\nsorrow and conversed in hushed voices in the presence of the solemn\ndignity of death. That night a group of neighbors would \"sit up\" with\nthe dead, and keep the family awake with frequent and lugubrious song.\n\nNext day the grave must be dug; and that required a considerable part\nof the male population of the settlement. If only two or three men\ncame in the morning they would sit and wait for others and go home for\nthe dinner and come back. It thus has happened more than once in my\nexperience that we have brought the body to the burial and have had to\nwait an hour or more in sun or wind for the finishing of the digging of\nthe grave.\n\nI remember well an instance in which death occurred in the family of\none of the county officials. His wife died suddenly, and under sad\nconditions. I mounted my horse and rode four or five miles to his\nhome. I hitched my horse to the low-swinging limb of a beech tree and\nthreaded my way among other horses into the yard, which was filled with\nmen, and up to the porch, which was crowded with women. Passing inside,\nI spoke my word of sympathy to the grief-stricken husband and his\nchildren. Then I passed out into the yard and moved from group to group\namong the men. Presently a neighbor of the sorrowing husband approached\nme and asked me to step aside with him for private converse. This was\nstrictly in accordance with the custom of the country, and I walked\nwith him behind the corn-crib. He said to me: \"Mr. McCune\"--naming\nthe bereaved husband--\"wants to know whether you have come here as a\npreacher or as a neighbor?\" I answered, \"Tell him that I have come as a\nneighbor.\" With this word he returned to the house. Up on the hillside\nI could see the leisurely movements of the grave-diggers. From the shed\nbehind the house came the rhythmic tap of the hammer driving in the\ntacks that fastened the white glazed muslin lining of the home-made\ncoffin. We had some little time still to wait before either the grave\nor the coffin would be finished. Presently the neighbor returned to\nwhere I waited behind the corn-crib and brought with him Mr. McCune.\nThe latter shook my hand warmly and said, in substance: \"I appreciate\nyour coming and the respect which you thus show for me and for my dead\nwife. I was glad to see you come when you entered the house, but was\na little embarrassed because I knew it to be your custom to preach\nthe funeral sermon at the time of the burial. I have no objection to\nthat custom; and while we are Baptists [he pronounced it Babtist, and\nso I have no doubt did Thomas Lincoln], there is no man whom I would\nrather have preach my wife's sermon than you. We shall undoubtedly\nhave a Baptist preacher when the time for the funeral comes, but I\nhope you also will be present and participate in the service. But it\nis not our custom to hold the service at the time of the burial, and\nwe have distant friends who should be notified. Moreover, there is\nanother consideration. I have been twice married, and I never yet have\ngot round to it to have my first wife's funeral preached. It seems to\nme that it would be a discourtesy to my first wife's memory to have my\nsecond wife's sermon preached before the first. What I now plan to do\nis to have the two funerals at once, and I hope you will be present and\nparticipate.\"\n\nI need only add that before I departed from that region he was\ncomfortably married to his third wife, not having gotten round to it to\nhave the funeral sermon of either of his first two wives. I am unable\nto say whether when he finally got round to it there was any increase\nin the number. It never was my fortune to conduct the joint funeral of\ntwo wives of the same man at the same time; but I have more than once\nbeen present where a second wife was prominent among the mourners; and\nI sometimes believed her to be sincerely sorry that the first wife was\ndead.\n\nIt is not easy for people who have not lived amid these conditions and\nat the same time to have known other conditions to estimate aright\nthe religious life of a backwoods community. Morse, whose biography\nof Lincoln is to be rated high, is completely unable to view this\nsituation from other than his New England standpoint. He says:\n\n \"The family was imbued with a peculiar, intense, but unenlightened\n form of Christianity, mingled with curious superstition, prevalent in\n the backwoods, and begotten by the influence of the vast wilderness\n upon illiterate men of a rude native force. It interests scholars to\n trace the evolution of religious faiths, but it might not be less\n suggestive to study the retrogression of religion into superstition.\n Thomas Lincoln was as restless in matters of creed as of residence,\n and made various changes in both during his life. These were, however,\n changes without improvement, and, so far as he was concerned, his son\n Abraham might have grown up to be what he himself was contented to\n remain\" (I, 10).\n\nThis criticism is partly just, but not wholly so. There was\nsuperstition enough in the backwoods religion, and Abraham Lincoln\nnever wholly divested himself of it; but it was not all superstition.\nThere was a very real religion on Pigeon Creek.\n\nIn like manner, also, it is difficult for Lincoln's biographers to\nstrike an even balance between adoring idealization of log-cabin life\nand horrified exaggeration of its squalor. Here again Morse is a\nclassic example of the attempt to be so honest about Lincoln's poverty\nas to miss some part of the truth about it.\n\nThe Lincoln family was poor, even as poverty was estimated in the\nbackwoods. Lincoln himself was painfully impressed with the memory of\nit, and Herndon and Lamon, who understood it better than most of his\nbiographers, felt both for themselves and for Lincoln the pathos of his\ndescent from \"the poor whites\"; but there is no evidence that Lincoln\nfelt this seriously at the time. His melancholy came later, and was\nnot the direct heritage of his childhood poverty. Life had its joys\nfor families such as his. Poverty was accepted as in some sort the\ncommon lot, and also as a temporary condition out of which everybody\nexpected sometime to emerge. Meantime the boy Abraham Lincoln had not\nonly the joy of going to mill and to meeting, but also the privilege\nof an occasional frolic. We know of one or two boisterous weddings\nwhere he behaved himself none too well. Besides these there were other\nunrecorded social events on Pigeon Creek where the platter rolled\nmerrily and he had to untangle his long legs from under the bench and\nmove quickly when his number was called or pay a forfeit and redeem\nit. He played \"Skip-to-My-Lou\" and \"Old Bald Eagle, Sail Around,\" and\n\"Thus the Farmer Sows His Seed,\" and he moved around the room singing\nabout the millwheel and had to grab quickly when partners were changed\nor stand in the middle and be ground between the millstones. As large a\nproportion of people's known wants were satisfied on Pigeon Creek as on\nsome fashionable boulevards. We need not seek to hide his poverty nor\nidealize it unduly; neither is it necessary to waste overmuch of pity\nupon people who did not find their own condition pitiable.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhat kind of man had been produced in this environment and as the\nresult of the conditions of his heredity and of his inherent qualities?\nWhat do we know about the Abraham Lincoln who in 1830 took simultaneous\nleave of Indiana and his boyhood, and entered at once upon his manhood\nand the new State, that, twin-born with him, was waiting his arrival?\n\nHe was a tall, awkward, uncouth backwoodsman, strong of muscle,\ntemperate and morally clean. He had physical strength and was not a\nbully; was fond of a fight but fought fairly and as a rule on the side\nof weakness and of right. He was free from bad habits of all kinds, was\ngenerous, sympathetic, and kind of heart. He was as yet uninfluenced\nby any women except his own dead mother and his stepmother. He was\nsocially shy, and had not profited greatly by the meager lessons in\nsocial usage which had been taught in Andrew Crawford's school. He was\nfond of cock-fighting and of boisterous sports, and had a sufficient\nleadership to proclaim himself \"the big buck of the lick\" and to have\nthat declaration pass unchallenged.\n\nHe could read, write, and cipher, and was eager for learning. He was\nambitious, but his ambitions had no known focus. He was only moderately\nindustrious, but could work hard when he had to do so. He had some\nambition to write and to speak in public, but as yet he had little\nidea what he was to write or speak about. He was a great, hulking\nbackwoodsman, with vague and haunting aspirations after something\nbetter and larger than he had known or seemed likely to achieve.\n\nWhat do we know about the spiritual development of the young Boanerges\nwho grew almost overnight in his eleventh year into a six-footer and\nwas so wearied by the effort that he was slow of body and mind and was\nthought by some to be lazy ever afterward?\n\nWe know the books he read--the Bible, _Pilgrim's Progress_, _\u00c6sop's\nFables_, _Robinson Crusoe_, and Weems' _Life of Washington_. It was a\ngood collection, and he made the most of it. Sarah Bush Lincoln noted\nthat while he did not like to work he liked to read, and she said, \"I\ninduced my husband to permit Abe to study\" (Herndon, I, 36).\n\nJohn Hanks said of him, \"He kept the Bible and _\u00c6sop's Fables_ always\nwithin reach, and read them over and over again.\"\n\nSarah Bush did not claim that he showed any marked preference for the\nBible. Lamon quotes her as saying, \"He seemed to have a preference for\nthe other books\" (_Life_, pp. 34, 486). But he certainly read the Bible\nwith diligence, as his whole literary style shows. Indeed, if we had\nonly his coarse \"First Chronicles of Reuben,\" which we could heartily\nwish he had never written, and whose publication in Herndon's first\nedition was one of the chief reasons for an expurgated edition,[10] we\nshould know that even then Abe Lincoln, rough, uncouth and vulgar as he\nwas, was modeling his style upon the Bible.\n\nWe are told that when he went to church he noted the oddities of the\npreachers and afterward mimicked them (Lamon: _Life_, pp. 55, 486).\nThis might have been expected, for two reasons. First, he had a love of\nfun and of very boisterous fun at that; secondly, he had a fondness for\noratory, and this was the only kind of oratory he knew anything about.\n\nIt is a remarkable fact that the Lincoln family appears never at\nany time in its history to have been strongly under the influence\nof Methodism.[11] This is not because they did not know of it; no\npioneer could hide so deep in the wilderness as to be long hidden from\nthe Methodist circuit riders. But the prevailing and almost the sole\ntype of religion in that part of Indiana during Lincoln's boyhood\nwas Baptist, and in spite of all that Mrs. Lincoln believed about\nthe freedom of it, it was a very unprogressive type of preaching.\nThe preachers bellowed and spat and whined, and cultivated an\nartificial \"holy tone\" and denounced the Methodists and blasphemed the\nPresbyterians and painted a hell whose horror even in the backwoods was\nan atrocity. Against it the boy Abe Lincoln rebelled. Many another boy\nwith an active mind has been driven by the same type of preaching into\ninfidelity.\n\nDr. Johnson quotes as indicative of the religious mind of the young\nLincoln the four lines[12] which in his fourteenth year he wrote on\nthe flyleaf of his schoolbook, and the two lines which he wrote in the\ncopybook of a schoolmate:\n\n  \"_Abraham Lincoln\n  his hand and pen--\n  he will be good but\n  God knows When_\";\n\nand\n\n  \"_Good boys who to their books apply\n  Will all be great men by and by._\"\n\nCommenting on these Dr. Johnson says: \"These show two things: First,\nthat the youthful boy had faith in his mother's God; and, second, that\nhe believed his mother's teachings.\"[13]\n\nIn like manner Dr. Johnson takes the four hymns which Dennis Hanks\nremembered to have been sung by himself and Abe and says:\n\n \"A soul that can appreciate these hymns must recognize, first, that\n without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin; second,\n that Jesus Christ died upon the Cross for the salvation of the world;\n third, that life without the Saviour is an empty bubble, and, fourth,\n that loyal devotion to the Christ and his cause is man's highest\n calling, and the test of true character.\"--_Lincoln the Christian_,\n pp. 28-29.\n\nThis is very far-fetched. It shows only that Abe sang such songs, good,\nbad, and indifferent, as were current in his day, and without any very\nfine discrimination either in songs sacred or secular. If one were to\nmake a creed out of any of his poetry in this period, it were better to\nfind it in his jingle, about the Kickapoo Indian, Johnny Kongapod.[14]\nHe was supposed to have composed an epitaph for himself that ran on\nthis wise:\n\n  \"_Here lies poor Johnny Kongapod;\n  Have mercy on him, gracious God,\n  As he would do if he was God\n  And you were Johnny Kongapod._\"\n\nIt matters not for our purpose that these lines were not strictly\noriginal with Johnny Kongapod. We meet them in George Macdonald's story\n\"David Elginbrod,\" and they have been used doubtless in rural England\nfor generations. But they involve a certain rude and noble faith that\nthe Judge of all the earth will do right and that divine justice and\nhuman justice have a common measure. Lincoln never forgot that, and he\nlearned it on Pigeon Creek.\n\nHerndon is our authority, if we needed any, that the Baptist preaching\nof Lincoln's boyhood made him a lifelong fatalist.[15] He emerged into\nmanhood with the conviction that \"whatever is to be will be,\" and Mrs.\nLincoln declared that this was his answer to threats concerning his\nassassination; that it had been his lifelong creed and continued still\nto be the ruling dogma of his life.\n\nIt would have gladdened the heart of Sarah Bush if her stepson, whom\nshe loved with a tenderness almost surpassing that which she bestowed\nupon her own flesh and blood, had manifested in his youth some signs\nof that irresistible grace which was supposed to carry the assurance\nof conversion as an act not of man but of the Holy Spirit. He did not\nmanifest that grace in the form in which she desired. She could not\nconsistently blame him very much, for, according to her own creed and\nthat of Thomas Lincoln, nothing that he could have done of his own\nvolition would have mattered very much.\n\nHorace Bushnell's _Christian Nurture_ had not yet been written; and if\nit had there was not a preacher among the Baptists in southern Indiana\nwho would not have denounced it as a creation of the devil. There were\nno Sunday schools in those churches, and when they began to appear they\nwere vigorously opposed. There was no Christian nurture for the boy Abe\nLincoln save the sincere but lethargic religion of his father and the\nmotherly ministrations of his stepmother.\n\nBut \"Abe was a good boy.\" With tears in her eyes Sarah Bush could\nremember that he never gave her a cross word. He was unregenerate, but\nnot unlovable; and he had more faith than perhaps he realized.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nTHE ENVIRONMENTS OF LINCOLN'S YOUNG MANHOOD\n\n\nTHE second period of Lincoln's religious life extends from his removal\ninto Illinois in March of 1830 until the establishment of his residence\nin Springfield, April 15, 1837.\n\nThomas Lincoln was a thriftless farmer who blamed external conditions\nfor his misfortunes. Following a second appearance of the \"milk sick,\"\nwhich came to southern Indiana in the winter of 1829, he and his family\nremoved in March of 1830 to Illinois. Abraham was twenty-one years of\nage. He assisted his father to get established in the new home, to\nwhich a wearying journey of fourteen days had brought the household,\nand then set out in life for himself. For several months he worked\nnear home, but in the spring of 1831 he made his second flatboat trip\nto New Orleans. The boat stuck on a dam at Rutledge's mill at New\nSalem, and his ingenuity in getting it over the dam won him local fame\nand had something to do with his subsequent establishment of a home\nthere. The flatboat stuck on April 19, 1831. In June he returned to\nNew Salem and entered into business with Denton Offutt in a small and\nnon-remunerative general store. While waiting for the opening of this\nstore he became acquainted with Mentor Graham, a school teacher of\nlocal celebrity, whom Lincoln assisted as clerk of a local election,\nand through him learned the contents of Kirkham's Grammar, and also\nacquired the essential elements of surveying. New Salem was a sporadic\ntown which had no good reason to exist. It was established in 1829 and\nlasted barely seven years. It was located on the Sangamon River, some\nfifteen miles from Springfield.\n\nIn February, 1832, this flatboat hand, then working as clerk, began\nhis canvass for the Legislature, his formal announcement of candidacy\nappearing March 9. He was defeated, but received an encouraging local\nvote. In 1832 he had a brief experience as a soldier, serving in the\nBlack Hawk War, starting in pursuit of the Indians on April 27 and\nreturning in July. Excepting for his absences at the Black Hawk War\nand in attendance upon the meetings of the Legislature in Vandalia,\nhe was in New Salem practically during the whole of the history of\nthat little town. He established a partnership in the firm of Lincoln\n& Berry, keepers of a general store, a business for which he had no\nqualification, and he accumulated debts, which he was unable to pay in\nfull until after his first term in Congress seventeen years later. On\nMay 7, 1833, he became postmaster of the microscopic village of New\nSalem, and held that position until May 30, 1836, about which date the\ntown disappeared. In August, 1834, he was elected to the Legislature,\nthen sitting at Vandalia, and had an important share in the removal of\nthe state capital from there to Springfield.\n\nIn New Salem occurred two of Lincoln's three recorded love affairs.[16]\nIn 1834 he fell in love with Ann Rutledge, to whom he became engaged,\nand who died, August 25, 1835. In the autumn of 1836 he made love to\nMiss Mary Owens, who refused him. These two love affairs are related\nin detail by Lamon and by Herndon; the second of them gave rise to\nLincoln's letter to Mrs. Browning, one of the least creditable things\nthat ever came from his pen (Herndon, I, 192).\n\nHeart-broken over the death of Ann Rutledge and ashamed of himself for\nhis lack of gallantry in his love affair with Miss Owens, he saw New\nSalem doomed in all its hopes of being a city.\n\nWhile sitting about the store waiting for business which did not come,\nhe read law after a desultory fashion, becoming what he called not\ninappropriately \"a mast-fed lawyer.\" For the benefit of any reader\nto whom this term conveys no meaning, it may be stated that \"mast\"\nconsists of acorns, nuts, and other edible commodities, which hogs\nrunning at large in the wilderness are able to feed upon. Between a\nhog corn-fed in a stye and a backwoods mast-fed razor-back, there\nis a marked difference, and Lincoln's phrase was a very apt one. In\nthe autumn of 1836 he obtained a law license. On March, 1837, he was\nadmitted to the bar. On April 15, 1837, he moved to Springfield.\n\nWith his Springfield experience we shall deal later; that is an epoch\nby itself. We now consider the conditions of life in New Salem and\ntheir influence in shaking the religious character of Abraham Lincoln.\nNew Salem, while an insignificant hamlet, was located on the Sangamon\nRiver and received its share of the travel to and from Springfield.\nIts central institutions were its tavern, where Lincoln boarded, and\nthe store, where he read grammar and law, discussed politics, and\noccasionally sold goods.\n\nThe influence of life in New Salem upon the mind of Abraham Lincoln was\nvery marked. We must not make the mistake of considering it solely in\nthe character of a poor little frontier town destined to short life and\nin its day of no consequence to the world. To Lincoln it was a city,\nand it had its own ambitions to become a greater city. Although it had\nscarcely twenty houses, not one of them costing much over a hundred\ndollars, and not more than a hundred inhabitants, it was to him no mean\ncity. Here Lincoln developed rapidly. He read, discussed, thought,\nwrote, and spoke on a wide variety of subjects. His style was that of\nflorid declamation, a stump oratory with some affectation of erudition.\nHe made the most of his few books, and every one of them left its deep\nimpression upon him. He continued to read the Bible, and grew somewhat\nfamiliar with Shakespeare, Burns, and even Byron. While there was no\nchurch building in New Salem, and church services were irregular, such\nservices as were held were generally in the tavern where he boarded, a\ntavern kept at first by James Rutledge and afterward by Henry Onstott.\nIt is interesting to cull out of T. G. Onstott's reminiscences a number\nthat are based on his own recollections, supplemented perhaps by\ntraditions received from his father:\n\n \"After James Rutledge moved out of the log tavern, my father, Henry\n Onstott, moved in and occupied it from 1833 till 1835, and still had\n for a boarder Abraham Lincoln. It was at this time that my early\n impressions of him were formed. We did not know at that time that\n we were entertaining an angel unawares. My first knowledge of him\n was as a great marble player. He kept us small boys running in all\n directions gathering up the marbles he would scatter. During this\n time he followed surveying, having learned in six weeks from books\n furnished him by John Calhoun, of Springfield. About this time he\n commenced to read some law-books which he borrowed of Bowling Green,\n who lived one-half mile north of Salem. I think my father and Esquire\n Green did more than any other two men in determining Lincoln's future\n destiny.\"--T. G. ONSTOTT: _Lincoln and Salem--Pioneers of Menard and\n Mason Counties_, p. 25.\n\nOf Lincoln's habits he says:\n\n \"Lincoln never drank liquor of any kind and never chewed or smoked.\n We never heard him swear, though Judge Weldon said at the Salem\n Chautauqua that once in his life when he was excited he said, 'By\n Jing!'\"--ONSTOTT: _Lincoln and Salem_, p. 73.\n\nOf Peter Cartwright, Onstott says:\n\n \"He was a great man for camp-meetings and prayer meetings. He was\n converted at a camp-meeting, and in his early ministry lived in\n a tented grove from two to three months in a year. He said: 'May\n the day be eternally distant when camp-meetings, class meetings,\n prayer meetings, and love feasts shall be laid aside in Methodist\n churches.'...\n\n \"There was sound preaching in those days. The preachers preached hell\n and damnation more than they do now. They could hold a sinner over\n the pit of fire and brimstone till he could see himself hanging by a\n slender thread, and he would surrender and accept the gospel that was\n offered to him.\"--ONSTOTT: _Lincoln and Salem_, pp. 120, 127.\n\nOf one of these preachers, Abraham Bale, Onstott says:\n\n \"He had a habit when preaching of grasping his left ear with his hand,\n then leaning over as far as he could and lowering his voice. He would\n commence to straighten up and his voice would rise to a high key. He\n would pound the Bible with his fist and stamp the floor, and carry\n everything before him. He created excitement in the first years of\n his ministry in Salem. He was a Baptist, though not of the hardshell\n persuasion.\"--ONSTOTT: _Lincoln and Salem_, p. 149.\n\nThis was the general and accepted habit of Baptist preachers in that\nmovement, and the author has heard scores of sermons delivered in this\nfashion.\n\nOf the religious life of early Illinois and of frontier communities in\ngeneral, Professor Pease says:\n\n \"Religion came to be the most universally persuasive intellectual\n force of the frontier. As might be expected, on the frontier the first\n tendency was toward a disregard of religious observances. The emigrant\n from the older settled regions left behind him the machinery and the\n establishment of sectarian religion. Until that machinery could be set\n up again on the frontier he lived without formal worship and often for\n the time at least the sense of the need of it passed out of his life.\n In cases where observance had been due to social convention, there was\n no doubt a welcome feeling of freedom and unrestraint.\n\n \"Normally the frontiersman was unreligious. Birkbeck noted with relish\n the absence of ceremony at baptism or funeral and the tolerance\n of all backwoods preachers alike, whether they raved or reasoned.\n Sunday was a day for riot and disorder. Other observers looked with\n horror on such a state of things, did their best to set up at least\n stated regular worship, and noted an improvement in morals as a\n result.\"--PEASE: _Centennial History of Illinois_, II, 23.\n\nThere were, however, some compensations. Fordham wrote:\n\n \"This is not the land of hypocrisy. It would not here have its reward.\n Religion is not the road to wordly respectability, nor a possession of\n it the cloak of immorality.\"--_Personal Narrative_, p. 128.\n\nOf the sporadic nature of much of the religious effort on the frontier,\nProfessor Buck says:\n\n \"In spite of the tremendous exertions of the pioneer preachers,\n many of the remote settlements must have been practically devoid of\n religious observances, and even in the older settlements the influence\n of occasional visitations, however inspiring they might be, was often\n lacking in permanence.\"--_Illinois in 1818_, p. 179.\n\nOf the lack of permanence there may be some room for a difference of\njudgment; there certainly was lack of continuity. As in Kentucky and\nsouthern Indiana, and for a time in southern Illinois, there was no\nexpectation of a regular weekly religious service conducted by any one\nminister, but preachers moved in extended circuits and no considerable\nsettlement was long without occasional religious service.\n\nThere was much godlessness in many of the early settlements. John\nMessenger wrote in 1815: \"The American inhabitants in the villages\nappear to have very little reverence for Christianity or serious things\nin any point of view.\"\n\nWhile there was some attempt at Sabbath observance, Reynolds says:\n\n \"In early times in many settlements of Illinois, Sunday was observed\n by the Americans only as a day of rest from work. They generally were\n employed in hunting, fishing, getting up their stock, hunting bees,\n breaking young horses, shooting at marks, horse and foot racing, and\n the like. When the Americans were to make an important journey they\n generally started on Sunday and never on Friday; they often said; 'the\n better the day the better the deed,'\"--REYNOLDS: _My Own Times_, p. 80.\n\nOne must not infer from the irregularity of religious services that the\npeople in these new regions were wholly without religion. Professor\nBuck says:\n\n \"The spiritual welfare of the Illinois pioneers was not neglected.\n The religious observances, with the exception of those of the French\n Catholics, were of the familiar type. The principal Protestant\n denominations at the close of the territorial period were the\n Methodists and the Baptists, the latter classified as 'regular,'\n or 'hardshell,' and separating. Presbyterianism was just beginning\n to get a foothold. The ministers were of two types--the circuit\n rider, who covered wide stretches of country and devoted all his\n time to religious work, and the occasional preacher who supplemented\n his meager income from the church by farming or some other\n occupation.\"--BUCK: _Illinois in 1818_, p. 173.\n\nGovernor Ford has left an account of the unlearned but zealous frontier\npreachers, of their sermons, and of the results of their work, which\ncannot easily be improved upon:\n\n \"Preachers of the gospel frequently sprang up from the body of the\n people at home, without previous training, except in religious\n exercises and in the study of the Holy Scriptures. In those primitive\n times it was not thought to be necessary that a teacher of religion\n should be a scholar. It was thought to be his business to preach from\n a knowledge of the Scriptures alone, to make appeals warm from the\n heart, to paint heaven and hell to the imagination of the sinner, to\n terrify him with the one, and to promise the other as a reward for\n a life of righteousness. However ignorant these first preachers may\n have been, they could be at no loss to find congregations still more\n ignorant, so that they were still capable of instructing someone. Many\n of them added to their knowledge of the Bible, a diligent perusal of\n Young's _Night Thoughts_, Watts' hymns, Milton's _Paradise Lost_, and\n Hervey's _Meditations_, a knowledge of which gave more compass to\n their thoughts, to be expressed in a profuse, flowery language, and\n raised their feelings to the utmost height of poetical enthusiasm.\n\n \"Sometimes their sermons turned upon matters of controversy; unlearned\n arguments on the subject of free grace, baptism, free-will, election,\n faith, good works, justification, sanctification, and the final\n perseverance of the saints. But that in which they excelled, was\n the earnestness of their words and manner, leaving no doubt of the\n strongest conviction in their own minds, and in the vividness of the\n pictures which they drew of the ineffable blessedness of heaven, and\n the awful torments of the wicked in the fire and brimstone appointed\n for eternal punishment. These, with the love of God to sinful man,\n the sufferings of the Saviour, the dangerous apathy of sinners, and\n exhortations to repentance, furnished themes for the most vehement and\n passionate declamations. But above all, they continually inculcated\n the great principles of justice and sound morality.\n\n \"As many of these preachers were nearly destitute of learning and\n knowledge, they made up in loud hallooing and violent action what they\n lacked in information. And it was a matter of astonishment to what\n length they could spin out a sermon embracing only a few ideas. The\n merit of a sermon was measured somewhat by the length of it, by the\n flowery language of the speaker, and by his vociferation and violent\n gestures. Nevertheless, these first preachers were of incalculable\n benefit to the country. They inculcated justice and morality, and\n to the sanction of the highest human motives to regard them, added\n those which arise from a belief of the greatest conceivable amount of\n future rewards and punishments. They were truly patriotic also; for\n at a time when the country was so poor that no other kind of ministry\n could have been maintained in it, they preached without charge to\n the people, working week days to aid the scanty charities of their\n flocks, in furnishing themselves with a scantier living. They believed\n with a positive certainty that they saw the souls of men rushing to\n perdition; and they stepped forward to warn and to save, with all\n the enthusiasm and self-devotion of a generous man who risks his own\n life to save his neighbor from drowning. And to them are we indebted\n for the first Christian character of the Protestant portion of this\n people.\"--THOMAS FORD: _History of Illinois_, pp. 38-40.\n\n \"Of the hostility of certain of the early Baptists to enlightenment,\n there is abundant evidence in their own fierce opposition to their\n ablest minister, John Mason Peck. He was born in 1789 in the\n Congregational atmosphere of Connecticut, but, becoming a Baptist\n by conviction, became a missionary to the West in 1817. His foes\n were they of his own household. They fiercely fought against Bible\n societies, Sunday schools, and missionary societies. In 1828, when\n Peter Cartwright and James Lemen endeavored to secure the passage of a\n bill for the prevention of vice and immorality, there was an attempt\n to amend it in the interests of certain of the Hardshell Baptists\n by adding to the section against the disturbance of public worship\n a clause to fine in any sum not less than five dollars or more than\n fifteen any person who on Sunday would sell any pamphlet or book or\n take up an offering 'for the support of missionary societies, Bible\n societies, or Sunday school.' There were not less than twelve members\n of the House of Representatives who voted for this bill.\"--PEASE:\n _Centennial History of Illinois_, II, 28, 29.\n\nOne evidence of the hostility of many of the early inhabitants and\nespecially of some who were active in politics toward organized\nreligion, as well as the tendency of ministers of that period to\nparticipate in politics, is found in the fact that Illinois narrowly\nescaped having in her Constitution a provision disqualifying all\nministers to hold office in the State. When the Constitutional\nConvention assembled at Kaskaskia this question was earnestly\ndiscussed, and the controversy was waged also in the columns of the\n_Western Intelligencer_, which was published in Kaskaskia from 1806\nto 1814. A writer who signed himself \"A Foe to Religious Tyranny\"\nroundly denounced the political sermons of certain of the ministers,\nand charged that they intended to disqualify any citizens for office\nexcepting \"professors of religion.\"\n\nWhen the first draft of the Constitution was submitted in August, 1818,\nArticle II, Section 26, read: \"Whereas the ministers of the gospel are\nby their profession dedicated to God and the care of souls, and ought\nnot to be diverted from the great duties of their function: Therefore,\nno minister of the gospel or priest of any denomination whatever, shall\nbe eligible to a seat in either house of the Legislature.\"\n\nThis article was warmly commended by a writer in the _Intelligencer_\nunder date of August 12, 1818, who commended the framers of the\nConstitution for their provision \"to exempt ministers of the gospel\nfrom the servile and arduous drudgery of legislation, and of\nelectioneering to procure themselves seats in the Legislature,\" but\nurged the convention to extend the provision so as to disqualify\nministers from holding any office whatever. A number of members of\nthe Constitutional Convention favored this drastic proscription. On\nthe first reading the proposed article was approved; but it was later\nreconsidered and voted down.\n\nMinisters thus were left on a plane with other citizens as regarded\nthe holding of public office; and their candidacy for the Legislature\nespecially was not infrequent; indeed, one of the writers who engaged\nin this controversy considered the appalling possibility that the\nConstitutional Convention might have been composed entirely of\nministers, and that some future session of the Legislature might find\nthem in complete control. There never was any danger that ministers\nwould make up a controlling faction in the Illinois Legislature; but\nthey were not a negligible element in the early political life of the\nState.\n\nLincoln soon came into the political atmosphere which was thus affected\nby religious controversy, and it had an influence upon him. His most\nformidable and persistent opponent, until he met Douglas, was a\nMethodist preacher, the redoubtable Peter Cartwright who defeated him\nin a contest for the Legislature and whom he defeated in a race for\nCongress. Lincoln was quite familiar with religion in its relation to\npolitics in early Illinois.\n\nOf Lincoln's theological opinions, especially those which he cherished\nwhile at New Salem, and which Herndon believed he did not materially\nchange, Herndon says:\n\n \"Inasmuch as he was often a candidate for public office Mr. Lincoln\n said as little as possible about his religious opinions, especially\n if he failed to coincide with the orthodox world. In illustration of\n his religious code, I once heard him say that it was like that of an\n old man named Glenn, in Indiana, whom he heard speak at a religious\n meeting, and who said, 'When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad,\n I feel bad; and that's my religion.' In 1834, while still living in\n New Salem, and before he became a lawyer, he was surrounded by a\n class of people exceedingly liberal in matters of religion. Volney's\n _Ruins_ and Paine's _Age of Reason_ passed from hand to hand, and\n furnished food for the evening's discussion in the tavern and village\n store. Lincoln read both these books, and assimilated them into his\n own being. He prepared an extended essay--called by many, a book--in\n which he made an argument against Christianity, striving to prove that\n the Bible was not inspired, and therefore not God's revelation, and\n that Jesus Christ was not the Son of God. The manuscript containing\n these audacious and comprehensive propositions he intended to have\n published or given a wide circulation in some other way. He carried\n it to the store, where it was read and freely discussed. His friend\n and employer, Samuel Hill, was among the listeners, and seriously\n questioning the propriety of a promising young man like Lincoln\n fathering such unpopular notions, he snatched the manuscript from his\n hands, and thrust it into the stove. The book went up in flames, and\n Mr. Lincoln's political future was secure. But his infidelity and his\n skeptical views were not diminished.\"--HERNDON, III, 439-440.\n\nWe shall have occasion in a subsequent chapter to recur to this\nso-called book which Lincoln is alleged to have written while in New\nSalem. It is sufficient at this time to remember, and the fact must\nnot be overlooked, that our knowledge of this book depends solely upon\nthe testimony of Herndon. Herndon never saw the book, and so far as\nis known he never talked with anyone who had seen it. He affirms that\nLincoln never denied having written a book on the subject of religion,\nbut he nowhere claims that Lincoln told him in detail concerning its\ncontents. Herndon's principal visit, and perhaps the only one which\nhe made to New Salem in quest of literary material, was in October in\n1866. He had attended the Circuit Court of Menard County on Saturday,\nOctober 13, and on Sunday morning at 11:20 A.M., as he tells us with\npainstaking and lawyer-like particularity, he visited the site of New\nSalem. That afternoon and a part of the next morning, which he says\nwas misty, cloudy, foggy, and cold, he made inquiry of the oldest\ninhabitant of that part of the country and wrote out the substance of\nhis lecture on Ann Rutledge. This was a whole generation after Lincoln\nhad removed from the now depopulated New Salem, and there were very\nfew people in the neighborhood who remembered him through any personal\nassociation. The town had completely disappeared, but Herndon found\nthe site of the houses that once had stood there, and also found and\nidentified the grave of Ann Rutledge. To that visit we are indebted\nfor a good deal of our knowledge of the background of Lincoln's life\nduring this formative epoch. But we are not bound to accept all of Mr.\nHerndon's inferences regarding it.\n\nIt must be remembered that Herndon's lecture did not pass unchallenged.\nSo small was the audience when he delivered it and so uniformally\nunfavorable were the press comments that he never repeated this\nlecture, and some of its statements are open to question. It is not in\nthis lecture that we learn of the essay which Lincoln is alleged to\nhave written in criticism of the Bible, but that was the visit on which\nHerndon appears to have gathered his information concerning Lincoln's\nmore intimate relations with New Salem.\n\nThere is no good reason to doubt that Lincoln during this period read\nVolney and Paine, and that having read them he rushed rather quickly to\npaper and set down his immature thoughts in argumentative fashion. It\nwould divert us from our present purpose of portraying the environment\nif we were to consider in detail at this point the story of Lincoln's\nburnt book. The reader will do well to remember, however, that Herndon,\nthough truthful, was not infallible nor on this point free from bias;\nthat neither Herndon nor anyone else then living was known to have\nseen, much less to have read, the book alleged to have been burned\nthirty-two years before; and that there was abundant opportunity\nnot only for exaggeration but even for a complete misunderstanding\nconcerning the actual content of this book.\n\nIndeed, this incident has been allowed to pass with too little\ncriticism or challenge. Those who did not believe Lincoln to have been\na man of faith were glad to accept the story; those who believed that\nhe later was a man of faith were not wholly unwilling to believe that\nhe had once been an infidel and later had undergone a marked change\nof opinion. There seemed no good reason to dispute Herndon, and no\none else was supposed to know more about the subject than he. But we\nshall discover that Herndon may not have learned the whole truth. There\nis more than a possibility that the manuscript that was burned was a\ndocument of quite another sort.\n\nIf Lincoln was regarded as an infidel, and if he ever was tempted\nto think himself one, we should not be justified in accepting that\njudgment as final until we knew and considered what was required in\nthat time and place to constitute a man an infidel.\n\nIn the mind of most if not all of the Baptist preachers whom Lincoln\nheard while he was at New Salem, a belief that the earth was round was\nsufficient to brand a man as an infidel. The Methodists, as a rule,\nwould have admitted that the earth was round, but Peter Cartwright\nwould probably have considered a man an infidel who believed that the\nearth was not created in seven literal days. At Vandalia, Lincoln heard\nsome ministers of wider vision, such as Edward Beecher and Julian M.\nSturtevant, who were occasionally there, and John Mason Peck; but these\nexperiences were rare. His association with Methodists was largely in\nthe political arena, where he crossed swords three times with Peter\nCartwright. That doughty hero of the Cross was born in Virginia on\nSeptember 1, 1786, and exerted a mighty influence for good in early\nIllinois. With a nominal salary of $80 a year, and an actual salary\nof $30 or $40, he rode thousands of miles through deep mud, baptized\n8,000 children and 4,000 adults, conducted camp-meetings and political\ncampaigns, and sang and shouted and in his own language whipped the\ndevil round the stump and hit him a crack at every jump until his death\nat Pleasant Plains, Illinois, September 25, 1872. He defeated Lincoln\nfor the Legislature, and was defeated by him for Congress in 1846. So\nfar as we know, Lincoln left no record of his feeling toward Cartwright\nand the Methodists. He could not have failed to respect such men, but\nit is not altogether certain that he was tempted to love them.\n\nBy the time Lincoln was seventeen, and possibly earlier, he believed\nthe earth to be round. I shall not succeed in making the reader\nunderstand the possible effect of this discovery upon him and certain\nof his associates without relating an experience of my own.\n\nIn the summer of 1881, being then a college student on vacation, I\ntaught school in the mountains of Kentucky far beyond the end of\nthe railroad. The school was a large and prosperous one and brought\nmany students from other districts who paid a trifling tuition and\nwere preparing to teach. The curriculum included everything from the\nalphabet to a simplified normal course. A majority of my pupils had but\none textbook, Webster's Blueback Speller. I endeavored to make up for\nthe lack of textbooks by lessons in the Natural Sciences and in such\nother branches of study as seemed adapted to the requirements of my\npupils. After a few weeks one of my pupils, son of a Baptist minister,\nwas taken out of school. His father being interviewed stated that he\nwas sorry to have the boy lose his education, but could not afford to\npermit him to be converted to infidelity. What the boy had learned\nwhich disturbed his father was that the earth was round.\n\nThe subject provoked widespread discussion, and finally resulted in a\njoint debate between two school teachers and two Baptist preachers on\nthe question:\n\n\"_Resolved_, That the earth is flat and stationary, and that the sun\nmoves around it once in twenty-four hours.\"\n\nAt early candle-lighting on two successive Friday evenings this\nquestion was debated. On each night the procedure was the same. Each\nof the speakers spoke forty-five minutes, and each of the leaders\nspent a half-hour in rebuttal, a total of four hours each evening of\nsolid oratory. I should like to relate, but it would unduly extend\nthis narrative, the learned arguments of the two college students who\nstood for the rotundity of the earth, and how those arguments were\nmet. I well remember the closing argument of my chief opponent, not\nthe local preacher but an abler man whom he brought in, the cousin of\na Confederate General of the same name (though himself a stanch Union\nman) who stood beside and above me with long descending gestures that\nthreatened to crush my skull as he shouted:\n\n\"He's a college student-ah! And he's come out here to larn us and\ninstruct us about the shape of the yarth-ah! And he knows more'n\nJoshua-ah! And he'd take Joshua into this here school and tell him he\ndidn't know what he'd ort to pray for-ah! He'd tell Joshua that he\nhadn't orter said, 'Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon-ah, and thou moon\nin the valley of Ajalon-ah!' He'd tell Joshua that he'd ort to have\nprayed, 'Yarth, stand thou still upon thine axle-tree-ah!' But I reckon\nGod knowed what Joshua had ort to have prayed for, for it is written\nin the Word of God that the sun stood still-ah! I tell ye, brethering,\nhit's the doctrine of infidelity-ah! And any man that teaches it ort to\nbe drove out of the country-ah!\"\n\nThere is much more of the story, but this must suffice to illustrate\nan important point. Until he went to live in Springfield, Abraham\nLincoln probably never had heard a Baptist preacher, unless it was John\nMason Peck on some errand to Vandalia, who did not believe the earth\nflat, and who would not have classified Abraham Lincoln as an infidel\nfor denying the declaration.\n\nNow, I knew that I was not an infidel, even though I parted company\nwith my friends in the Baptist ministry in my belief that the earth\nwas round, and even though I had a similar debate with a well-informed\nMethodist preacher on the length of time that was required to make the\nearth. But Abraham Lincoln did not know. Thomas Paine and the preachers\nwere agreed in their misinformation.\n\nI count it a privilege to have lived with earnest and intelligent\npeople who believed the earth flat, and to whom that belief was an\nimportant article of Christian faith. But I saw intelligent young men\nwho had come to another opinion concerning some of these matters who\naccepted without protest the names that overzealous mountain preachers\napplied to them, and who, believing themselves to be infidels, in time\nbecame so.\n\nNot many of Lincoln's biographers, if indeed any of them, have shared\nthese advantages which for several profitable years I had in the\nmountains of Kentucky and Tennessee; and I am less ready than some of\neven the most orthodox of them have been to accept the declaration that\nwhen Lincoln left New Salem he was an infidel. Even if I knew that\nhe thought himself to be such, I should like before forming my final\nconclusion to know just what he thought constituted an infidel. I do\nnot think that at this period of his history Abraham Lincoln possessed\nan adequate knowledge of the subject to have been altogether competent\nto classify himself.\n\nA few things we know about him. He had established a reputation for\ncourage, for kindness, and for honesty. \"Honest Abe\" was his sobriquet,\nand he deserved it. Whatever his opinions, he held them honestly; and\nneither on earth nor in heaven can any man be rightfully condemned for\nthe holding of an honest opinion.\n\nWe shall have occasion later to refer to Mentor Graham, and to quote\nhim. He came into Lincoln's life at this time, and taught him Kirkham's\nGrammar, and the study of surveying, and assisted him with his literary\ncomposition. He knew more of the mind of Abraham Lincoln during this\nperiod than any other man, and we shall hear from him in due time.\n\nNew Salem \"winked out,\" as Lincoln was accustomed to say. It\ndisappeared from the map. The post-office was discontinued. There was\nnothing to hold Lincoln there. But the great city of Springfield,\nwith its one thousand inhabitants and its majestic pride in its new\nState Capitol, which Lincoln had done much to remove thither from\nVandalia, beckoned to this ambitious young lawyer and politician, and\non March 15, 1837, he borrowed a horse, rode to Springfield with all\nhis worldly goods in his saddlebags, and the saddlebags none too full,\nand thereafter became a resident of the capital city of Illinois, and a\npermanent factor in its legal and political life.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nLincoln arrived in New Salem on April 19, 1831, a tall, lank flatboat\nhand, with his trousers rolled up \"about five feet,\" and he left it\non a borrowed horse with all his belongings in a pair of saddlebags,\nMarch 15, 1837. So far as worldly wealth was concerned, he was richer\nwhen he arrived at the age of twenty-two than when he left at the\nage of twenty-eight, for he was heavily in debt. It had fared better\nwith him financially had he spent those six years in Illinois College\nat Jacksonville. He might have entered Springfield at the same time\nwith a college diploma and a smaller debt. A college education was\nnot impossible for him, and he might have had it had he cared for it\nas much as did the Green brothers or the brother of Ann Rutledge, or,\namong his later associates, Shelby M. Collum or Newton Bateman. It is\na fair question whether an education under such good and great men\nas Julian M. Sturtevant and Edward Beecher would have been more or\nless valuable than what he actually got; in any event, it was not an\nimpossibility if he had cared as much for it as did some other boys as\npoor as he.\n\nBut New Salem was his _alma mater_, as Mrs. Atkinson has aptly termed\nit, and there he got what had to stand as the equivalent of his\nacademic course.\n\nTo have seen him entering New Salem on a flatboat and leaving it on\na borrowed horse, one might easily have arrived at very erroneous\nconclusions as to what the six years had done for him. But the years\nwere not lost.\n\nHe came to New Salem a strong pioneer, proud of his great height,\nand he always remained almost childishly proud of it, and ready to\nchallenge any other tall man to back up to him and discover which was\nthe taller. He was capable of hard work, and disinclined to perform it.\nThomas Lincoln had taught him to work, but not to love work; and his\nemployers declared that he loved labor far less than his meals and pay.\nIf he must work, he preferred almost any kind of work rather than that\nof the farm, and he had welcomed the brief experiences of the river and\nhad serious thoughts of being a blacksmith. He had prized his great\nstrength less for the labor he might perform than for the supremacy\nwhich it gave him in physical contests; and it had made him the admired\nleader of the local wrestlers and the idol of the Clary Grove gang.\n\nHe had come to New Salem able to read, and to make what he called\n\"rabbit tracks\" as clerk on election day, assisting Mentor Graham,\nwho rewarded him many fold in what he later taught to the young\ngiant. He left New Salem a competent surveyor, a member of the bar, a\nrepresentative in the Legislature, and, he might have called himself\nCaptain, if he had chosen to do so, or even taken advantage of the\nfrontier's ready system of post-bellum promotions and acquired higher\nrank as an officer who had seen actual military service. He had the\ngood sense not to do this, and about the only commendable thing in\nhis one important speech in Congress in later years was his mirthful\ndescription of his own military performance.\n\nHe had learned to think, to compose reasonably good English, to stand\non his feet and debate. He had learned to measure his intellectual\nstrength against that of other men, and to come out ahead at least part\nof the time. He was possessed of almost inordinate ambition, and had\nno false notion that in his case the office was to seek the man;[17] he\nwas more than ready for any office that would support him, enable him\nto reduce his \"national debt,\" and advance him toward something higher.\nHe was entering the profession of the law, but law was to him as yet a\nmeans to an end, and that end was office. Politics was the vocation and\nlaw the avocation in a large percentage of the law offices in Illinois\nand other new States; and Lincoln was a politician long before he was a\nlawyer.\n\nHis residence in New Salem had tested his moral character and confirmed\nhis personal habits. He did not drink nor swear nor use tobacco.\n\nIn a state of society such as then existed, there was almost nothing\nwhich such a young man might not have aspired to, and Lincoln had high\nself-esteem and large aspiration. From this distance we see him leaving\nNew Salem to \"wink out\" while he rode his borrowed steed far beyond\nSpringfield, to tether him at last where Thomas Jefferson is alleged to\nhave hitched his horse, to the palings of the White House.\n\nBut it was no exultant mood which possessed the soul of Lincoln as he\nturned his back upon his _alma mater_ and went forth to conquer the\nworld. He was a briefless lawyer, and bedless as well as briefless. He\nhad met and mastered men, but had become painfully aware of his own\npoverty, his lack of education, his utter ignorance of the usages of\neven such polite society as had been in New Salem, to say nothing of\nthat in Springfield.\n\nHe was unsettled in love and unsettled in religion, though he had been\non speaking terms with both. He had loved and lost Ann Rutledge, and\nhe did not love Mary Owens and could not lose her. He was about to\nbegin one of the loneliest periods of his very lonely life. For a year\nonly one woman in Springfield spoke to him, and she would rather not\nhave done so. He did not go to church nor mingle in society, but faced\nthe hard and bitter problems that confronted him in earning a living,\nmaking some small payments on his debt, settling his relations with\nMary Owens, and possibly giving some thought to his soul. But this was\nnot a time of one of his spiritual high water-marks.\n\nIf we had seen Abraham Lincoln as he entered New Salem and again\nsix years later as he left it, we should have found small reason to\nanticipate very much of what afterward occurred. But looking back upon\nhim in the light of what occurred afterward, we discern the \"promise\nand potency\" of the great man he afterward became in the sad young man\nwho already had become a leader of men, and had earned the right to be\ncalled \"Honest Abe.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nTHE ENVIRONMENT OF LINCOLN'S LIFE IN SPRINGFIELD\n\n\nABRAHAM LINCOLN became a resident of Springfield on Wednesday, March\n15, 1837, and continued to live there until his removal, Saturday,\nFebruary 11, 1860, to assume his duties as President of the United\nStates. He was accepted as partner by his friend and former commander,\nMajor John T. Stuart, and shared an office in which politics was the\nmajor interest and law was incidentally practiced. His partnership\nwith Stuart continued for four years, from April 27, 1837, until April\n14, 1841. His next partnership was with Judge Stephen T. Logan, and\nextended from April 14, 1841, to September 20, 1843.\n\nHe then formed a partnership with William H. Herndon which began on\nthe day of the dissolution of the partnership with Judge Logan and was\nnever formally dissolved. Lincoln had a working alliance with some\nlawyer in almost every county seat which he habitually visited, whereby\nthe local lawyer secured the cases and worked them up, and Lincoln took\nthem in charge as senior counsel when they came to trial.[18] These\nwere not formal partnerships, though they were often so spoken of. This\nmethod gave him a large practice, and brought him into contact and\ncollision with the ablest lawyers in central and southern Illinois.\n\nIn 1838 and again in 1840 he was re-elected to the Legislature, and\nshowed little of the ability which he later manifested, but was a\nfaithful member, and he flung himself with ardor into the noisy\ncampaign of 1840.\n\nIn 1842 he had his \"duel\" with James T. Shields, and later had the good\nsense to be ashamed of it.\n\nIn 1846 he ran for Congress, and at this third attempt was elected,\ntaking his seat December 6, 1847, and continuing for two years.\n\nThe slavery issue was becoming dominant. Lincoln was not at the outset\nan abolitionist, and was unwilling to be placed in a position where\nhe would be compelled to imperil his political chances by taking too\ndefinite a stand on this divisive measure; but on March 3, 1837,\nhe introduced into the Legislature a vigorous protest against the\naggressions of the pro-slavery party, a protest which probably failed\nto affect his political future because it contained only one signature\nbeside his own. Only a few months later occurred the martyrdom of Owen\nLovejoy at Alton, and the slavery issue was no longer one to be kept\nin the background. It is good to be able to remember that Lincoln's\nfirst protest against it was recorded before it had become so burning\nan issue. He himself dated his hostility to slavery to what he saw of a\nslave market in New Orleans when he visited that city as a boat hand.\nBut he was unable to remember a time when he had not believed that\nslavery was wrong.\n\nOn other moral questions he now began to speak. He delivered an\naddress on Temperance on Washington's Birthday in 1842. His first\nnotable oratorical flight outside the spheres of politics and law was\ndelivered before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield on January 27,\n1837, and was on \"The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions.\"\nIt took him longer to say it than it did at Gettysburg, and it was\nnot so well said, but the rather florid lecture was intended to mean\nessentially the same thing which he later expressed much more simply\nand effectively.\n\nHis most important case that had a bearing on the slavery issue was\nthat of Bailey _vs._ Cromwell, when he was thirty-two years of age. In\npreparing to argue before the Supreme Court of Illinois in favor of the\nfreedom of a slave girl, he learned the legal aspects of the question\nwhich later he was to decide on its military and ethical character.\n\nIn 1858 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate\nagainst Stephen A. Douglas, and conducted that series of debates which\nmade him known throughout the nation as the champion of freedom in the\nterritories, and of the faith that the nation could not forever endure\nhalf slave and half free. In the autumn of 1859 he visited Kansas, and\nwas hailed as the friend of freedom.\n\nOn Tuesday evening, February 27, 1860, he delivered an address in\nCooper Union in New York City, an address which greatly extended his\nfame. On the preceding Sunday he attended Plymouth Church and heard and\nmet Henry Ward Beecher.\n\nOn May 16, 1860, he was nominated for the Presidency of the United\nStates by a great convention meeting in a temporary structure known as\n\"the Wigwam\" standing on Lake and Market Streets near the junction of\nthe two branches of Chicago River. On November 7, 1860, he was elected\nPresident.\n\nOn Friday, November 4, 1842, he was married to Miss Mary Todd. She\nwas born in Lexington, Kentucky, December 13, 1818, and had come to\nSpringfield to be with her sister, Mrs. Ninian W. Edwards, in whose\nhome the marriage occurred. Concerning this marriage and the events\nwhich went before and after, much has been written and nothing need\nhere be repeated.\n\nWhen Lincoln arrived in Springfield, he found himself for the first\ntime in his life living in a town with churches that held service every\nSunday, and each church under the care of its own minister. Springfield\nhad several churches, and he did not at first attend any of them.\nThis does not seem to have been on account of any hostility which he\nentertained toward them, but his first months in Springfield were\nmonths of great loneliness and depression. He was keenly conscious of\nhis poverty and of his social disqualifications. He was still tortured\nby his unhappy love affair with Mary Owens. More than a year after his\narrival in Springfield he wrote to her that he had not yet attended\nchurch and giving as the reason that he would not know how to behave\nhimself:\n\n \"This thing of living in Springfield is rather a dull business, after\n all; at least, it is so to me. I am quite as lonesome here as I ever\n was anywhere in my life. I have been spoken to by but one woman since\n I have been here, and should not have been by her if she could have\n avoided it. I have never been to church yet, nor probably shall not\n be soon. I stay away because I am conscious I should not know how to\n behave myself. I am often thinking about what we said of your coming\n to live at Springfield. I am afraid you would not be satisfied. There\n is a great deal of flourishing about in carriages here, which it would\n be your doom to see without sharing it. You would have to be poor,\n without the means of hiding your poverty.\"\n\nLincoln's habit with respect to churchgoing underwent no very marked\nimprovement after his marriage until the year 1850. He came, however,\nto know a number of ministers[19] and to sustain somewhat pleasant\nrelations with some of them.\n\nMary Todd had been reared a Presbyterian. For a time after her\nmarriage she attended and was a member of the Episcopal Church. On\nFebruary 1, 1850,[20] their second son, Edward Baker Lincoln, died.\nThe little boy was between three and four years old. The rector of the\nEpiscopal Church was absent from the city and the funeral service was\nconducted by Rev. James Smith, D.D., of the First Presbyterian Church.\nA friendship was established between them, and Mr. Lincoln took a pew\nin Dr. Smith's church and he and Mrs. Lincoln attended there regularly.\n\nIn a later chapter we shall have occasion to consider more directly and\nat length the influence of Dr. Smith upon Mr. Lincoln. We now confine\nourselves to the fact that Lincoln now became a church attendant under\nthe ministry of a preacher quite different from any he had previously\nknown.\n\nJames Smith was a large and stalwart Scotchman. He is described as\nWebsterian in appearance and in the strength of logical argument. Lamon\nspeaks of him in contemptuous phrase which reflects little credit upon\nLamon, describing him as a man of slender ability. Whatever Dr. Smith\nwas, he was not a man of meager intellectual power. He had a massive\nmind and one well trained. He had a voice of great carrying power and\nwas accustomed to speaking to large congregations both indoors and out.\nHe was a wide reader and a skilled controversialist. In his own young\nmanhood he had been a deist, and when he was converted he entered with\ngreat ardor into various discussions with men who opposed the Christian\nfaith. One such discussion he had engaged in with a widely known\ninfidel author. The debate had continued evening after evening in a\nSouthern city for nearly three weeks and Dr. Smith had emerged from it\ntriumphant.\n\nDr. Smith was just the kind of man to win the admiration of Lincoln\nat that time. There is some reason to believe that Dr. Smith's three\nweeks' debate with C. G. Olmsted at Columbus, Mississippi, suggested to\nLincoln the idea of his debate with Stephen A. Douglas.\n\nThat Lincoln's views underwent some change at this time there is the\nbest reason to believe. Lincoln himself declared to his brother-in-law,\nNinian W. Edwards, that his views had been modified.\n\nLamon and Herndon both seek to represent Dr. Smith as an officious,\nself-advertising meddler, who sought to win renown for himself by\nproclaiming Mr. Lincoln's conversion through his personal influence.\nThe claims and conduct of Dr. Smith do not seem to merit any such\nrebuke. Whatever Dr. Smith claimed, Mr. Lincoln knew about it and\nwas not offended by it. Subsequently he appointed Dr. Smith's son\nUnited States Consul to Dundee, Scotland, and on the son's return to\nthe United States Mr. Lincoln appointed his father, who by that time\nhad retired from the ministry, to succeed him in that position. Even\nLamon is compelled to admit that Dr. Smith's claims were made with Mr.\nLincoln's knowledge, and says:\n\n \"Mr. Lincoln permitted himself to be misunderstood and misrepresented\n by some enthusiastic ministers and exhorters with whom he came in\n contact. Among these was the Rev. Mr. Smith, then pastor of the First\n Presbyterian Church of Springfield, and afterward consul at Dundee, in\n Scotland, under Mr. Lincoln's appointment.\"--LAMON, _Life of Lincoln_,\n p. 498.\n\nThis statement is thoroughly discreditable, and that which follows\nin Lamon's account of Mr. Lincoln's relations with Dr. Smith is a\nthorough misrepresentation, as we shall later discover. Lamon was not a\ndeliberate liar; neither was he in this matter free from prejudice; and\nhe wrote with reckless disregard of some facts which he did not know\nbut ought to have known, and which the reader of this book shall know.\n\nAbout this time Mr. Lincoln received word that his own father was\ndying, and was prevented from making him a personal visit, which,\napparently, he was not wholly sorry for. On January 12, 1851, he wrote\nto his stepbrother, John D. Johnson:\n\n \"I sincerely hope father may recover his health, but, tell him to\n remember to call upon and confide in our great and good and merciful\n Maker, who will not turn away from him in any extremity. He notes the\n fall of a sparrow, and numbers the hairs of our head, and He will not\n forget the dying man who puts his trust in Him. Say to him that if we\n could meet now it is doubtful whether it would not be more painful\n than pleasant, but that if it be his lot to go now, he will soon have\n a joyous meeting with many loved ones gone before, and where the rest\n of us, through the help of God, hope ere long to join them.\"\n\nEven Herndon grew indignant when anyone attempted to explain away that\nletter, or to make it seem anything less than it purported to be. He\nsaid in his letter to Mr. Abbott, under date of February 18, 1870:\n\n \"It has been said to me that Mr. Lincoln wrote the above letter to\n an old man simply to cheer him up in his last moments, and that\n the writer did not believe what he said. The question is, Was Mr.\n Lincoln an honest and truthful man? If he was, he wrote that letter\n honestly, believing it. It has to me the sound, the ring, of an honest\n utterance. I admit that Mr. Lincoln, in his moments of melancholy\n and terrible gloom, was living on the border land between theism and\n atheism, sometimes quite wholly dwelling in atheism. In his happier\n moments he would swing back to theism, and dwell lovingly there....\n So it seems to me that Mr. Lincoln believed in God and immortality as\n well as heaven--a place.\"--LAMON, p. 495.\n\nAnother incident comes to us from this period and is related by Captain\nGilbert J. Greene. He was a young printer living in Springfield, and at\nthe time of this incident was eighteen years of age. Whether the story\nwas in any way exaggerated we may not certainly know, but it is here\ngiven as he himself furnished it for publication and is now printed\nwith one or two other Lincoln stories in a small volume in limited\nedition:\n\n \"'Greene,' said Lincoln to him one day on the streets of Springfield,\n 'I've got to ride out into the country tomorrow to draw a will for\n a woman who is believed to be on her deathbed. I may want you for a\n witness. If you haven't anything else to do I'd like to have you go\n along.'\n\n \"The invitation was promptly accepted.\n\n \"On the way to the farmhouse the lawyer and the printer chatted\n delightfully, cementing a friendship that was fast ripening into real\n affection. Arriving at the house, the woman was found to be near her\n end.\n\n \"With great gentleness Lincoln drew up the document disposing of the\n property as the woman desired. Neighbors and relatives were present,\n making it unnecessary to call on Greene to witness the instrument.\n After the signing and witnessing of the will the woman turned to\n Lincoln and said, with a smile:\n\n \"'Now I have my affairs for this world arranged satisfactorily. I am\n thankful to say that long before this I have made preparation for the\n other life I am so soon to enter. Many years ago I sought and found\n Christ as my Saviour. He has been my stay and comfort through the\n years, and is now near to carry me over the river of death. I do not\n fear death, Mr. Lincoln. I am really glad that my time has come, for\n loved ones have gone before me and I rejoice in the hope of meeting\n them so soon.'\n\n \"Instinctively the friends drew nearer the bedside. As the dying woman\n had addressed her words more directly to Lincoln than to the others,\n Lincoln, evincing sympathy in every look and gesture, bent toward her\n and said:\n\n \"'Your faith in Christ is wise and strong; your hope of a future life\n is blessed. You are to be congratulated in passing through life so\n usefully, and into the life beyond so hopefully.'\n\n \"'Mr. Lincoln,' said she, 'won't you read a few verses out of the\n Bible for me?'\n\n \"A member of the family offered him the family Bible. Instead of\n taking it, he began reciting from memory the twenty-third Psalm,\n laying emphasis upon 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow\n of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy\n staff they comfort me.' Still without referring to the Bible, Lincoln\n began with the first part of the fourteenth chapter of John:\n\n \"'Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in\n me.\n\n \"'In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would\n have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.\n\n \"'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and\n receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.'\n\n \"After he had given these and other quotations from the Scriptures, he\n recited various familiar comforting hymns, closing with 'Rock of Ages,\n cleft for me.' Then, with a tenderness and pathos that enthralled\n everyone in the room, he spoke the last stanza--\n\n  \"'_While I draw this fleeting breath,\n  When mine eyes shall close in death,\n  When I rise to worlds unknown,\n  See Thee on Thy judgment throne,\n  Rock of Ages, cleft for me,\n  Let me hide myself in Thee._'\n\n \"While Lincoln was reciting this stanza a look of peace and\n resignation lit up the countenance of the dying woman. In a few\n minutes more, while the lawyer and the printer were there, she passed\n away.\n\n \"The journey back to Springfield was begun in silence. It was the\n younger man who finally said:\n\n \"'Mr. Lincoln, ever since what has just happened back there in the\n farmhouse, I have been thinking that it is very extraordinary that you\n should so perfectly have acted as pastor as well as attorney.'\n\n \"When the answer to this suggestion finally was given--and it was not\n given at once--Lincoln said:\n\n \"'God, and Eternity, and Heaven were very near to me today.'\"--CHARLES\n T. WHITE, _Lincoln the Comforter_, pp. 11-16.\n\nReference should be made in our review of this period to Lincoln's\nstories as exhibiting an important phase of his character.\n\nIt is not easy to decide what stories actually were Lincoln's. Very\nfew of them are to be found in their original setting, for he did not\ncommonly tell stories when he made speeches. They were told in personal\ninterviews, in hours of recreation, and especially in taverns and other\nloafing places. The period of their greatest vogue was that in which\nLincoln traveled the circuit. Most of the successful lawyers of that\nday were story-tellers; and in the evenings of court-week they swapped\nyarns with local wits. Lincoln was the most famous of a considerable\ngroup of noted Illinois story-tellers.\n\nDuring his lifetime he was asked about how many of the stories\nattributed to him were his own, and he said he thought about half.\nA much larger discount would need to be made now. Many such stories\nLincoln probably never heard.\n\nThe stories which lawyers told to each other and to groups of men were\nnot all of them overnice; and Lincoln's stories were like the rest. He\ndid not always confine himself to strictly proper stories. But in those\nthat are authentic and not quite proper, it is to be observed that the\ncoarseness was incidental to the real point of the story. I have not\nheard any story, authenticated as Lincoln's, which is actually obscene.\n\nIt has been my privilege to examine a considerable quantity of\nunpublished writing of Lincoln's, including some manuscripts that\nhave been withheld for the reason that they were not quite proper.\nOf these I can say that they are few in number, and that the element\nof vulgarity is very small. Excepting only the \"First Chronicles of\nReuben,\" which was a rude backwoods joke, written in his boyhood, and\nin full accord with the standards of humor current in the time and\ngeneral environment, there is not very much that one could wish had\nbeen destroyed.\n\nThe frankest piece of questionable literature from Lincoln's pen in\nmature years, so far as I am aware, is in a private collection, and its\nowner does not permit it to be copied. Not many people are permitted\nto see it. It is probably the least attractive scrap of Lincoln's\nwriting extant that dates from his mature years. It is undated, but\nbelongs to the period of his life on the circuit. It is a piece of\nextravagant nonsense, written in about twenty lines on a quarter sheet\nof legal cap, and is probably the effort to recall and record something\nthat he had heard and which amused him. Its whole point is in the\ntransposition of the initial letters of compound words, or words in\njuxtaposition in a sentence, such as a speaker sometimes makes in a\nmoment of mental confusion. Thus a cotton-patch is a \"potten-catch\" and\na fence-corner is a \"cence-forner.\" Every clause contains one or more\nof these absurdities, until a sense of boisterous mirth is awakened at\nthe possibility that there should be so many of them. Most of them are\nharmless as the two above quoted, but there are two or three that are\nnot in good taste. They are not vile nor obscene, but not very pretty.\nLincoln wasted ten minutes of spare time in writing out this rather\ningenious bit of nonsense, and it is not worth more than that length of\ndiscussion. It is probably the worst bit of extant writing of Lincoln's\nmature years, written in the period of his circuit-riding, and it has\nlittle to commend it and not a great deal to condemn.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nLincoln's religious life in Springfield has been and is the subject of\nviolent controversy. Much that has been written on both sides bears\nthe marks of prejudice and exhibits internal evidence of having been\nconsciously or unconsciously distorted. In a later chapter it will come\nbefore us for review and analysis. Of it we may now remind ourselves\nthat in this period covering nearly a quarter of a century Lincoln\nwas developing in many ways. He emerged from grinding poverty into a\ncondition in which he owned a home and had a modest sum of money in the\nbank. From an ill-trained fledgling lawyer, compelled by his poverty\nto share a bed in a friend's room above the store, he had come to be a\nleader at the Illinois bar. From an obscure figure in State politics\nhe had come to be the recognized leader of a political party that was\ndestined to achieve national success and to determine the policies of\nthe nation with little interruption for more than half a century. Out\nof a condition of great mental uncertainty in all matters relating to\ndomestic relations he had come into a settled condition as the husband\nof a brilliant and ambitious woman and the father of a family of sons\nto whom he was devotedly attached. For the first time in his life he\nlived in a community where there were buildings wholly dedicated to\nthe purposes of public worship; and after a considerable period of\nnon-church attendance, and perhaps another of infrequent or irregular\nattendance, he had become a regular attendant and supporter of a church\nwhose minister was his personal friend and whom he greatly admired.\n\nDuring his years in Springfield, Mr. Lincoln's political ideals had\nundergone marked change. His experience in the Illinois Legislature is\nnot discreditable; neither does it manifest any notably high ideals.\nNor was he brilliantly successful in his one term in Congress. Lincoln\nwas an honest politician, in the sense that he kept his promises and\nstood by his announced convictions. But it is impossible to read into\nhis legislative history any such lofty purpose as later possessed him.\nHe and the other members of the \"Long Nine\" log-rolled in orthodox\npolitical fashion, and won from Governor Ford the title \"spared\nmonuments of popular wrath.\"[21]\n\nAs a jury lawyer, also, his arts were those of the successful trial\nlawyer of the period. So far as the author has been able to find,\nthere was no unworthy chapter in all this long history. The story,\nfor instance, that in the trial of Armstrong Lincoln used an almanac\nof another year and won his case by fraud, has, as the author is\nconvinced, no foundation whatever in fact. On the contrary, Lincoln was\nat a serious disadvantage in any case in whose justice he did not fully\nbelieve.\n\nBut there came a time when Lincoln was more than a shrewd and\nhonest politician; more than a successful jury lawyer. In the brief\nautobiographical sketch which he prepared for Mr. Fell, he speaks of\nhis work at the end of his term in Congress, and says:\n\n \"In 1846 I was once elected to the lower House of Congress. Was not\n a candidate for re-election. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive,\n practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in\n politics, and generally on the Whig electoral tickets, making active\n canvasses, I was losing interest in politics when the repeal of the\n Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since is pretty\n well known.\"\n\nHe expanded this brief statement somewhat in the sketch which he\nfurnished a little later to Scripps as a basis of his campaign\nbiography:\n\n \"Upon his return from Congress, he went to the practice of the law\n with greater earnestness than ever before.... In 1854 his profession\n had almost superseded the thought of politics in his mind, when the\n repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused him as he had never been\n before.\"\n\nThe full effect of this unprecedented arousing was manifest\nin his speech at Springfield on June 16, 1858, the\n\"House-Divided-Against-Itself\" speech.\n\nLincoln himself is our authority for the statement that the moral\naspects of the slavery issue called him back into politics and roused\nhim as he never before had been aroused. Politically, at least, Abraham\nLincoln had been born again. Nor had it been a period of spiritual\ninaction or retrogression, as we have seen and shall see yet further.\n\nIn addition to all this he had known the discipline of sorrow, and had\nhad occasion to test religion on the practical side of its availability\nfor comfort in time of bereavement. He had now been chosen to a\nposition of responsibility such as no man in all the history of his\nnation had ever been called upon to occupy.\n\nOn the day before he was fifty-two years old he stood upon the platform\nof a railroad train ready to leave Springfield for the last time.\nHe did not know that it was the last time, but he had a haunting\npresentiment that it might be so. With tears filling his eyes and in\na voice choked with emotion he spoke his last words to his neighbors\nand friends. Just what he said we shall never know. A shorthand\nreporter endeavored to write it down, but with indifferent success.\nHon. Newton Bateman, State Superintendent of Schools, of whom we shall\nhear later, hurried to his office after the train pulled out and wrote\ndown what, judged by any reasonable test, must be considered a very\nsatisfactory report of it. Lincoln sat down in the train after it had\nleft Springfield and endeavored to recall the exact language which\nhe had used, and in this was assisted by his private secretary, John\nHay. Of these three, and a considerable number of other versions, the\nIllinois Historical Society has chosen the third as the authentic\nversion. It represents what Lincoln wished to be remembered as having\nsaid, and very nearly what he actually did say. This version of his\nfarewell address, representing the deep feeling of his heart at\nthe hour of parting, and recorded on the same day as embodying his\ndeliberate revision of the extempore utterance, is taken from Nicolay\nand Hay's edition of his Life and of his Works. It is that which was\ncast in bronze and placed in the year of his Centennial, in front of\nthe State House at Springfield. If one would measure the growth of\nAbraham Lincoln intellectually and spiritually he might ask, What kind\nof an address in comparison with this Lincoln might have delivered on\nhis departure from Kentucky in 1816, from Indiana in 1830, or from New\nSalem in 1837? The answer is so emphatic as almost to make the question\nabsurd; but it is worth while to ask the question before we read again\nthe familiar words of his farewell address. No one reading these few\nsentences can question the sincerity of Lincoln's utterance or the\ndepth of his religious feeling:\n\n \"My friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling\n of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these\n people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century,\n and have passed from a youth to an old man. Here my children have been\n born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether\n ever I may return, with the task before me greater than that which\n rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being\n who ever attended him I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot\n fail. Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and\n be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be\n well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will\n commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.\"--NICOLAY AND HAY,\n III, 291.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nTHE ENVIRONMENT OF LINCOLN'S LIFE IN WASHINGTON\n\n\nABRAHAM LINCOLN was inaugurated sixteenth president of the United\nStates, on Monday, March 4, 1861. His journey to Washington had served\nto impress him even more deeply than before with a sense of the\nsolemnity of his task. He still was earnestly hoping, and if we may\njudge from his speeches along the route, even expecting, that war would\nbe averted;[22] but the possibility of war was always apparent and its\nprobability was growing daily more certain.\n\nSeveral incidents are related tending to show the solemnity of\nLincoln's feeling at this time. Some of them are plainly apocryphal,\nbut others are deeply significant. The following was related by Rev.\nDr. Miner, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springfield, who\nwas intimately acquainted with the Lincoln family and who visited\nthem in the White House. This story he declared was related to him by\nMrs. Lincoln on the occasion of his visit to the White House and was\npublished while Mrs. Lincoln was still living. It appears to rest upon\na sound basis of fact:\n\n \"Here I relate an incident which occurred on the 4th of March, 1861,\n as told me by Mrs. Lincoln. Said she:\n\n \"'Mr. Lincoln wrote the conclusion of his inaugural address the\n morning it was delivered. The family being present, he read it to\n them. He then said he wished to be left alone for a short time. The\n family retired to an adjoining room, but not so far distant but that\n the voice of prayer could be distinctly heard. There, closeted with\n God alone, surrounded by the enemies who were ready to take his\n life, he commended his country's cause and all dear to him to God's\n providential care, and with a mind calmed by communion with his Father\n in heaven, and courage equal to the danger, he came forth from that\n retirement ready for duty.'\"--_Scribner's Monthly_, 1873, p. 343.\n\nFort Sumter fell April 13, and on the 15th Lincoln issued his call for\nvolunteers, and called Congress in extraordinary session for July 4. On\nJuly 21 occurred the battle of Bull Run, and the war settled down to\nits weary and varying fortunes. On September 22, 1862, he issued the\nEmancipation Proclamation to take effect January 1, 1863. The battle\nof Gettysburg occurred July 1-4, 1863, and destroyed the hope of the\nSouthern Army of a successful invasion of the North. Simultaneously\nwith Lee's defeat at Gettysburg, General Grant captured Vicksburg,\nopening the Mississippi to the Union gunboats. On November 19, 1863,\nLincoln delivered his Gettysburg address. On March 4, 1865, he was\ninaugurated President a second time. On Sunday, April 9, 1865, General\nLee surrendered his army at Appomattox. On Friday night, April 14, at\n10:20 P.M., Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theater and died on\nSaturday morning, April 15, at 7:22. On Thursday, May 4, his body was\ninterred at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.\n\nDuring his residence in Washington, Mr. Lincoln habitually attended\nthe New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He was a warm personal friend\nof the pastor, Rev. Phineas D. Gurley, D.D., whose grandson, Captain\nGurley of the War Department, relates that Lincoln sat with Dr. Gurley\non the rear porch of the White House during the second battle of\nBull Run, and when the strain had become almost unbearable he knelt\nin prayer and Mr. Lincoln knelt beside him and joined reverently in\nthe petition. Dr. Gurley's testimonies to the religious development\nof Lincoln's life were conservative, and bear upon their face marks\nof trustworthiness. There are no extravagant claims; no florid and\ndeclamatory theological affirmations,[23] but such as this which Dr.\nGurley remembers to have heard Lincoln say to a company of clergymen\ncalling upon him in one of the darkest times in the Civil War:\n\n \"My hope of success in this struggle rests on that immutable\n foundation, the justness and the goodness of God; and when events\n are very threatening I still hope that in some way all will be\n well in the end, because our cause is just and God will be on our\n side.\"--_Scribner's Magazine_, 1873, p. 339.\n\nLincoln sometimes varied this form of expression and said that he was\nless anxious to proclaim that God was on his side than he was to be\nsure that he was on God's side.\n\nDuring this period Lincoln had frequent occasion to meet delegations\nfrom religious bodies and to reply to their addresses. We shall have\noccasion later to consider some of his words to these different\nreligious bodies. He also issued a number of proclamations, calling\nfor days of fasting and prayer and days of thanksgiving, in which\nhe expressed not only the formal sentiment which he might assume\nrepresented the mind of the people, but also to a considerable extent\nwhat must have been his own religious conviction.\n\nAn unbiased reading of these proclamations and addresses compels the\nreader to recognize in them, not merely the formal courtesy of an\nofficial to the representatives of large and influential bodies, but\nthe sincere expression of his own faith. An illustration may be found\nin his attitude toward the Quakers. No religious body suffered more\nduring the Civil War, and with no religious fellowship did Mr. Lincoln\nfeel a more instinctive sympathy, though he was compelled by the logic\nof events to pursue courses of action in contravention of their desires\nand at times of their convictions.\n\nIn September, 1862, he received a delegation of Friends, and listened\nto an address on their behalf by Mrs. Eliza P. Gurney, wife of Joseph\nJohn Gurney, a wealthy banker, entreating him on behalf of their\npeace-loving organization to bring the war to a speedy end. He could\nnot do what they wished, and moreover, he believed that it was not\nthe will of God that the war should end till it had wrought out the\npurposes of the Divine will. He said:\n\n \"I am glad of this interview, and glad to know that I have your\n sympathy and prayers. We are indeed going through a great trial--a\n fiery trial. In the very responsible position in which I happen to\n be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly\n Father, as I am, and as we all are, to work out His great purposes,\n I have desired that all my works and acts may be according to His\n will, and that it might be so, I have sought His aid; but if, after\n endeavoring to do my best in the light which He affords me, I find my\n efforts fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to me, He\n wills it otherwise. If I had had my way, this war would never have\n been commenced. If I had been allowed my way, this war would have been\n ended before this; but we find it still continues, and we must believe\n that He permits it for some wise purpose of His own, mysterious and\n unknown to us; and though with our limited understandings we may not\n be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe that He who made\n the world still governs it.\"\n\nWe are not permitted to believe that on this and similar occasions Mr.\nLincoln met the situation with words of pious evasion, or that what\nhe said was simply what he thought he might be expected to say. Some\nmonths after this interview Mrs. Gurney, being then in London, wrote\nto Mr. Lincoln. He could easily have acknowledged the letter without\ncommitting himself to any religious expression. For several months he\nkept the letter, and then, on September 4, 1864, he wrote to her as\nfollows:\n\n \"My esteemed Friend: I have not forgotten--probably never shall\n forget--the very impressive occasion when yourself and friends visited\n me on a Sabbath forenoon two years ago. Nor has your kind letter,\n written nearly a year later, ever been forgotten. In all it has been\n your purpose to strengthen my reliance on God. I am much indebted to\n the good Christian people of the country for their constant prayers\n and consolations; and to no one of them more than to yourself. The\n purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we\n erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in advance. We\n hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before this;\n but God knows best and ruled otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His\n wisdom, and our own error therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in\n the best light He gives us, trusting that so working still conduces\n to the great ends He ordains. Surely He intends some great good to\n follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make, and no\n mortal could stay. Your people, the Friends, have had, and are having,\n a very great trial. On principle and faith opposed to both war and\n oppression, they can only practically oppose oppression by war. In\n this hard dilemma some have chosen one horn, and some the other. For\n those appealing to me on conscientious grounds, I have done, and shall\n do, the best I could and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to\n the law. That you believe this, I doubt not, and believing it, I shall\n receive for my country and myself your earnest prayers to our Father\n in Heaven.\"\n\nOf Lincoln's habit of public worship during his Presidency, Rev.\nWilliam Henry Roberts, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian General\nAssembly, writes in a foreword to Dr. Johnson's book:\n\n \"It was my privilege as a young man to have known Abraham Lincoln.\n Entering the service of the United States government in the fall\n of 1863, the first Sabbath of my sojourn in Washington City I went\n to the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. When the time for the\n long prayer came, according to immemorial usage in many Presbyterian\n congregations, a number of the men stood up for prayer, and among\n those upright figures I noticed in particular that of the President\n of the United States. As a member of the New York Avenue Church I was\n seated not far from Mr. Lincoln at Sunday services for a year and\n a half, and his attitude was always that of an earnest and devout\n worshiper. He was also an attendant at the weekly meeting, though\n for a considerable period taking part in the services privately. It\n having become known that he was an attendant at the prayer meeting,\n many persons would gather in or near the church at the close of the\n service in order to have access to him for various purposes. Desiring\n to put an end to these unwelcome interruptions, the Rev. Dr. Phineas\n D. Gurley, the pastor of Mr. Lincoln, arranged to have the President\n sit in the pastor's room, the door of which opened upon the lecture\n room, and there Mr. Lincoln would take a silent part in the service.\n He informed his pastor on several occasions that he had received great\n comfort from the meetings, and for the reason that they had been\n characterized more by prayer than by the making of addresses.\n\n \"Dr. Gurley bore repeated testimony to myself and to other members of\n the church of the deeply religious character of Mr. Lincoln, and it is\n with pleasure that I add this brief testimony from my own experience\n and observation.\n\n \"It will be fifty years next fall since I came into direct touch with\n the man, who in the providence of God was the liberator of a race, and\n I shall always hold in sweet and blessed memory my first sight of him,\n as a devout worshiper standing for prayer in the sanctuary of the Most\n High.\"--_Abraham Lincoln the Christian_, pp. 13-15.\n\nI have copied direct from the original letter, in possession of Mr.\nJesse W. Weik, Nicolay's letter to Herndon affirming that, to the best\nof his knowledge, Lincoln's belief did not change during his years in\nthe White House. It was addressed to Herndon, and it reads:\n\n  \"Executive Mansion,\n  \"Washington, May 27, 1865.\n\n  \"FRIEND HERNDON:--\n\n \"I have this morning received your note of the 23rd inst. and reply at\n once.\n\n \"Mr. Lincoln did not, to my knowledge, change in any way his religious\n views, beliefs, or opinions from the time he left Springfield to the\n day of his death. I do not know just what they were, never having\n heard him explain them in detail; but I am very sure he gave no\n outward indication of his mind having undergone any change in that\n regard while here.\n\n  \"Very truly,\n  \"JNO. G. NICOLAY.\n\n  \"HON. WILLIAM H. HERNDON.\"\n\nWhile Nicolay's declaration that Lincoln gave no outward indication\nthat his views had undergone any change during his residence in the\nWhite House is entitled to great weight, it is not wholly conclusive.\nIt is quite possible that Mr. Lincoln changed more than those who\nwere closest to him every day realized, more, indeed, than he himself\nrealized. Some men who had known him in earlier years and who met him\nfrom time to time while he was in the White House observed a change\ntoo subtle to be fully realized by those who saw him daily. Joshua Fry\nSpeed knew Lincoln from the day Lincoln arrived in Springfield until\nhis death. Indeed, he had known Lincoln earlier; but their intimate\nacquaintance began on the day when Lincoln received his law license\nand moved to Springfield, where he shared Speed's bed. Speed told of\nthat incident frequently, how Lincoln came into his store, greatly\ndepressed, asking to be permitted to purchase a single bed which he\nwas not certain he could ever pay for; but Speed invited Lincoln\nto sleep with him in the room above the store. Lincoln carried his\nsaddlebags upstairs and set them down, and came down the stairs with\nhis countenance beaming, as he said, \"Well, Speed, I've moved!\" Lamon\ndeclares that Speed was \"The most intimate friend Mr. Lincoln ever had\nat this or any other time\" (_Life of Lincoln_, p. 231). Says Lamon:\n\"He made to Speed the most confidential communications he ever made\nto mortal man. If he had on earth 'a bosom crony,' it was Speed, and\nthat deep and abiding attachment subsisted unimpaired to the day of\nLincoln's death.\" To Speed alone Lincoln gave his full confidence in\nthe matter of his love affairs, and they talked together as men seldom\ntalk to each other. Speaking out of a most intimate knowledge, Speed\nwrote in his lecture on Lincoln:\n\n \"I have often been asked what were Mr. Lincoln's religious opinions.\n When I knew him in early life, he was a skeptic. He had tried hard\n to be a believer, but his reason could not grasp and solve the great\n problem of redemption as taught. He was very cautious never to give\n expression to any thought or sentiment that would grate harshly upon a\n Christian ear. For a sincere Christian he had great respect. He often\n said that the most ambitious man might live to see every hope fail;\n but no Christian could live and see his hope fail, because fulfillment\n could only come when life ended. But this was a subject we never\n discussed. The only evidence I have of any change, was in the summer\n before he was killed. I was invited out to the Soldiers' Home to spend\n the night. As I entered the room, near night, he was sitting near a\n window intently reading his Bible. Approaching him I said, 'I am glad\n to see you so profitably engaged.' 'Yes,' said he, 'I am profitably\n engaged.' 'Well,' said I, 'if you have recovered from your skepticism,\n I am sorry to say that I have not.' Looking me earnestly in the face,\n and placing his hand on my shoulder, he said, 'You are wrong, Speed;\n take all of this Book upon reason that you can, and the balance on\n faith, and you will live and die a happier man.'\"--SPEED: _Lecture on\n Abraham Lincoln_, pp. 32, 33.\n\nThe Bible which the colored people presented to Lincoln was kept and\nprized by him. Hon. H. C. Deming, in his address before the Legislature\nof Connecticut, just after Lincoln's death, referred to it:\n\n \"The interview which I am recalling was last summer [1864] just after\n General Fremont had declined to run against him for the Presidency.\n The magnificent Bible, which the negroes of Washington[24] had just\n presented to him lay upon the table, and while we were both examining\n it, I recited the somewhat remarkable passage from the Chronicles,\n 'Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a\n day, and toward Assuppim two and two. At Parbar westward, four at\n the causeway, and two at Parbar.'[25] He immediately challenged me\n to find any such passage as that in _his_ Bible. After I had pointed\n it out to him, and he was satisfied of its genuineness, he asked me\n if I remembered the text which his friends had applied to Fremont,\n and instantly turned to a verse in the first of Samuel, put on his\n spectacles, and read in his slow, peculiar, and waggish tone,--'And\n everyone that was in distress and everyone that was in debt, and\n everyone that was discontented gathered themselves unto him; and he\n became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred\n men.'\"[26]\n\nThere are two interesting facts about this incident related by\nRepresentative Deming. One is that Lincoln knew his Bible well enough\nto challenge an unfamiliar passage and require that it be shown to him\nbefore believing that the Bible contained it. Only a man who had read\nhis Bible much would have been so confident. The other is that this\nstory recalled to Mr. Deming that very important declaration of Lincoln\nwhich is attested by a number of other credible witnesses in substance,\nbut which Deming first gave to the world in his notable address:\n\n \"I am here reminded of an impressive remark which he made to me\n upon another occasion, and which I shall never forget. He said, he\n had never united himself to any church, because he found difficulty\n in giving his assent, without mental reservations, to the long\n complicated statements of Christian doctrine which characterize their\n Articles of Belief and Confessions of Faith. 'When any church,' he\n continued, 'will inscribe over its altar as its sole qualification\n for membership the Saviour's condensed statement of the substance\n of both the law and Gospel, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with\n all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy\n neighbor as thyself,--that church will I join with all my heart and\n soul.'\"--_Eulogy upon Abraham Lincoln, before the General Assembly of\n Connecticut, 1865_, p. 42.\n\nHenry C. Whitney knew Lincoln well, from the days of their circuit\nriding in Illinois till Lincoln's death. His testimony is valuable:\n\n \"Mr. Lincoln was a fatalist: he believed, and often said, that\n\n  '_There's a divinity that shapes our ends,\n  Rough-hew them how we will,_'\n\n and as a corollary from this belief, that the Almighty controlled the\n affairs of men and made the wrath of men to praise Him. In all stages\n of his administration and before, commencing with his first public\n utterance after his election, he declared that with God's help he\n should succeed, and without it he would fail. Likewise, before he was\n run for the Presidency, he made frequent references to God in the same\n spirit of devoutness and trust; and, therefore, he was honest; honest\n with his Father on his dying bed, honest in what he feared was (and\n which proved to be) his last affectionate farewell to his neighbors,\n honest to the many eminent bands of clergymen and Christian people\n who visited him, and honest with his Cabinet in the most important\n consultation it ever held; then Lincoln, whether as man or as\n President, believed in God as the Ruler of the Universe, in a blessed\n hereafter, and in the efficacy of prayer. . . . Mr. Lincoln believed\n himself to be an instrument of God; and that, as God willed, so would\n the contest be. He also believed in prayer and its efficacy, and that\n God willed the destruction of slavery through his instrumentality, and\n he believed in the Church of God as an important auxiliary.\"--_Life on\n the Circuit with Lincoln_, pp. 267-68.\n\nAmong the men in Washington who best knew the mind of Abraham Lincoln\nwas Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and\nafterward Vice-President under General Grant. In his memorial address\ndelivered just after the assassination, he paid a high tribute to the\ndeep religious spirit of Lincoln as he knew it, and said:\n\n \"Nor should I forget to mention that the last Act of Congress signed\n by him was one requiring that the motto, in which he sincerely\n believed, 'In God we trust' should hereafter be inscribed upon all\n our national coins.\"--HON. SCHUYLER COLFAX, in _Memorial Address in\n Chicago, April 30, 1865_.\n\nDuring his residence in the White House Mr. Lincoln again met the\ndiscipline of personal bereavement. His son Willie died. There is\nconflict of testimony as to Mr. Lincoln's love for his wife, though\nthe present writer believes that he truly loved her, but no one who\nknew him ever doubted his devotion to his children. The death of this\nlittle boy, William Wallace, who was born in Springfield, December 21,\n1850, and died in the White House, February 20, 1862, seemed, according\nto the testimony of Mrs. Lincoln, to turn his thoughts more to\nreligion. It must have recalled to him all that had occurred when his\nother boy died in Springfield, and it brought new and solemn thoughts\nand possibly convictions.\n\nMoreover, he was now father to the boys of a nation. They were marching\nat his order, singing,\n\n  \"_We are coming, Father Abraham,\n  Six hundred thousand more._\"\n\nThey were laying down their young lives for a cause that he told\nthem was holy. How he felt for the fathers and mothers of the land,\nhis letter to Mrs. Bixby and his countless deeds of mercy testify.\nAgain and again, as Ingersoll well said, he abused his great power\non the side of mercy and never otherwise. The deepening sense of\nresponsibility, as he affirmed, again and again drove him to his knees\n(Noah Brooks in _Harper's Monthly_ for July, 1885). Did he consciously\nchange his theology? Very likely not; but he certainly became a more\nand more deeply religious man under the discipline of these experiences.\n\nPerhaps more than all else, the moral aspects of the slavery question\nthrust themselves into a foremost place in his religious thinking. We\nneed not trouble ourselves overmuch about the accuracy of John Hanks's\nstory that when Lincoln saw slaves sold in the market in New Orleans he\nvowed to \"hit that institution and hit it hard\"; part of that story may\nhave originated in John's fertile imagination. But the story is not an\nunworthy one, and we know from Lincoln's own declaration that on that\nvery occasion he was smitten with a sense of the iniquity of slavery,\nand that on its moral rather than its political side. That he freed\nthe slaves as a war measure, and that he must thus justify the action\nas an extra-constitutional prerogative, need not lessen in our mind\nthe moral aspects of the decision. The evidence is incontestable, and\nwe shall quote it later, that to him it was a solemn obligation, the\nfulfillment of a vow which he had made to God.\n\nWe are presently to go into a detailed examination of the available\nevidence concerning Lincoln's religious life. We are here considering\nhis environment in the successive stages of his career, and his visible\nreaction to it. But even if we were to go no further, we should find\nourselves compelled to believe in the reality of Lincoln's religion.\nWe might not be able accurately to define it, and we may not be able\nto do so to our complete satisfaction after we have finished; we might\neven question, and we may still question, whether he himself ever fully\ndefined it. But we are assured that his religion was real and genuine,\nand that it grew more vital as he faced more completely the moral and\nspiritual aspects of the work to which, as he honestly believed, he was\ndivinely called.\n\nWhen General Lee surrendered his armies on April 9, 1865, Mr. Stanton,\nSecretary of War, though not a very religious man in his profession,\nfelt with the whole nation the Providence of God in the result. He\nsurrounded the dome of the Capitol with a transparency, reading, \"This\nis the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.\"\n\nHe believed it; the nation believed it; Abraham Lincoln believed it.\nThat conviction that the hand of God had been in it all had but lately\nbeen expressed in his Second Inaugural. That faith was warm in his\nheart, and its expression fresh upon his lips, when on April 14, 1865,\nhe was shot and killed.\n\nSo ended the earthly life of Abraham Lincoln; and with that end came\nthe beginning of the discussion of his religion. To the history of that\ndiscussion, and the critical consideration of the evidence which it\nadduced, we are now to address ourselves.\n\n\n\n\nPART II: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVIDENCE\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nTHE RULES OF EVIDENCE\n\n\nTHUS far we have dealt primarily with the environments of Lincoln's\nreligious life. We have not been able to escape the conviction\nthat Lincoln's religious life was an evolution, influenced by his\nenvironment and experience. We have considered in these successive\nchapters some matters in detail which seemed to belong particularly to\nthe respective periods of which those chapters have treated; but we\nhave reserved, in general, the evidence that bears upon his religion as\na whole for more critical examination. Particularly have we reserved\nthose portions of the evidence which, first published after his death,\nbelong to no one epoch of his life and have become the occasion of\ncontroversy. What kind of man he was religiously in 1865 we shall hope\nto know better; indeed, it is not unreasonable to hope that examination\nmay show in part the processes by which his religion found its final\nform and expression.\n\nWe know already that there had been a development. We know that the\nAbraham Lincoln who in 1834 delivered his political opinions in\nlabored and florid style and with the logic current in stump oratory\nhad undergone mental development and had emerged into the Lincoln who\ndelivered his thoughts in translucent Anglo-Saxon at Gettysburg and the\nSecond Inaugural. That there had been a moral and spiritual development\nalso we have already been assured. Perhaps it was greater than he\nhimself consciously understood. We shall now endeavor to ascertain what\nit had come to be.\n\nIn this inquiry we have no easy task. The mass of evidence is great,\nand the contradictions are many. There were contradictions in the\npersonality of the man himself, and many contradictions in the views\nwhich men, even honest and unprejudiced men, had of him; and not all\nthe testimony is unprejudiced.\n\nLincoln was a man of many moods. He reacted differently to different\nstimuli, and to the same stimulus at different times. His feelings ran\nthe gamut from abysmal dejection to rollicking gaiety: and he never\nrevealed his whole nature to any one man, nor showed the whole of his\nnature at any one time. He cannot be judged by the mechanical tests of\na rigid consistency: for he was not that kind of man.\n\nWhen Dr. J. G. Holland went to Springfield immediately after the death\nof Lincoln to gather material for his biography he was surprised beyond\nmeasure to find how conflicting were the local judgments of Lincoln's\ncharacter. Concerning this he wrote:\n\n \"Such a nature and character seem full of contradictions; and a man\n who is subject to such transitions will always be a mystery to those\n who do not know him wholly. Thus no two men among his intimate friends\n will agree concerning him.\n\n \"The writer has conversed with multitudes of men who claimed to know\n Mr. Lincoln intimately; yet there are not two of the whole number who\n agree in their estimate of him. The fact was that he rarely showed\n more than one aspect of himself to one man. He opened himself to\n men in different directions. It was rare that he exhibited what was\n religious in him; and he never did this at all, except when he found\n just the nature and character that were sympathetic with that aspect\n and element of his character. A great deal of his best, deepest,\n largest life he kept almost constantly from view, because he would not\n expose it to the eyes and apprehension of the careless multitude.\n\n \"To illustrate the effect of the peculiarity of Mr. Lincoln's\n intercourse with men, it may be said that men who knew him through\n all his professional and political life have offered opinions as\n diametrically opposite as these, viz.: that he was a very ambitious\n man, and that he was without a particle of ambition; that he was\n one of the saddest men that ever lived, and that he was one of the\n jolliest men that ever lived; that he was very religious, but that\n he was not a Christian; that he was a Christian, but did not know it;\n that he was so far from being a religious man or a Christian that 'the\n less said upon the subject the better'; that he was the most cunning\n man in America, and that he had not a particle of cunning in him; that\n he had the strongest personal attachments, and that he had no personal\n attachments at all--only a general good feeling toward everybody; that\n he was a man of indomitable will, and that he was a man almost without\n a will; that he was a tyrant, and that he was the softest-hearted,\n most brotherly man that ever lived; that he was remarkable for his\n pure-mindedness, and that he was the foulest in his jests and stories\n of any man in the country; that he was a witty man, and that he was\n only a retailer of the wit of others; that his apparent candor and\n fairness were only apparent, and that they were as real as his head\n and his hands; that he was a boor, and that he was in all essential\n respects a gentleman; that he was a leader of the people, and that he\n was always led by the people; that he was cool and impassive, and that\n he was susceptible of the strongest passions. It is only by tracing\n these separate streams of impression back to their fountain that we\n are able to arrive at anything like a competent comprehension of the\n man, or to learn why he came to be held in such various estimation.\n Men caught only separate aspects of his character--only the fragments\n that were called into exhibition by their own qualities.\"--HOLLAND:\n _Life of Lincoln_, pp. 241-42.\n\nSome writers, and more orators, have professed to see in the character\nof Lincoln a perfect balancing of all desirable qualities. Bishop\nFowler, in what was perhaps the most widely popular of all popular\norations on Lincoln, attributed his own inability to analyze the\ncharacter of Lincoln to its perfect sphericity, a consistency such that\nany attempt to consider any quality by itself met the counterbalancing\nconsideration of all the other qualities. But the antitheses in\nLincoln's character were not those of a perfect consistency.[27] They\nwere of a sort which puzzled those who knew him best, and were most\neasily explained by those who gave least study to the man himself and\nmost to their own theories of what a man like Mr. Lincoln must have\nbeen.\n\nOf these sharp antitheses in Lincoln's character, Col. Clark E. Carr,\nwho knew him well, said in an address which I heard:\n\n \"Abraham Lincoln was the drollest man I ever saw.\n\n \"He could make a cat laugh. Never was another man so vivacious; never\n have I seen another who provoked so much mirth, and who entered into\n rollicking fun with such glee. He was the most comical and jocose of\n human beings, laughing with the same zest at his own jokes as at those\n of others. I did not wonder that, while actively engaged in party\n politics, his opponents who had seen him in these moods called Abraham\n Lincoln a clown and an ape.\n\n \"Abraham Lincoln was the most serious man I ever saw.\n\n \"When I heard him protest against blighting our new territories with\n the curse of human slavery, in his debates with Senator Douglas,\n no man could have been more in earnest, none more serious. In his\n analysis of legal problems, whether in the practice of his profession\n or in the consideration of State papers, he became wholly absorbed\n in his subject. Sometimes he lapsed into reverie and communed with\n his own thoughts, noting nothing that was going on about him until\n aroused, when perhaps he would enter into a discussion of the subject\n that had occupied his mind, or perhaps break out into laughter and\n tell a joke or story that set the table in a roar.\n\n \"When I saw him at Gettysburg as he exclaimed, 'That we here highly\n resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation\n shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom, and that the government\n of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish\n from the earth!'--when I heard him declare in his second inaugural\n address, 'Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty\n scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it\n continue until all the wealth piled up by the bondman's two hundred\n and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop\n of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the\n sword, as was said three thousand years, so still it must be said,\n \"the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.\"... With\n malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right\n as God gives us to see the right,'--as I looked upon him and heard him\n utter these sentiments, upon these occasions, Abraham Lincoln was the\n most solemn, the most dignified, the most majestic, and at the same\n time the most benignant human being I ever saw.\n\n \"Rochefoucauld says that 'Gravity is a mystery of the body invented to\n conceal defects of the mind.' Lord Shaftesbury says that 'Gravity is\n the very essence of imposture.' Abraham Lincoln had none of this.\n\n \"Man is the most serious of animals. Man is the most frivolous of\n animals. It is said that man is the only animal that can both laugh\n and cry. Abraham Lincoln gave full vent to his emotions. He went\n through life with no restraints nor manacles upon his human nature.\n He was honest in the expression of his feelings, whether serious or\n otherwise, honest in their manifestation, honest with himself.\n\n \"It was because Abraham Lincoln was the most human of human\n beings that he is loved as has never been any other man that ever\n lived.\"--CLARK E. CARR: _My Day and Generation_, pp. 107-9.\n\nThere was much reason for this wide disparity of opinion in the\nvarying moods of Lincoln himself, and the contrary aspects of his\npersonality. But this was not the sole reason. Springfield itself was\ngreatly divided concerning Mr. Lincoln. There were lawyers who had been\non opposing sides of cases against him and had sometimes won them.\nThere were all the petty animosities which grow up in a small city.\nFurthermore, Springfield was moderately full of disappointed people\nwho had expected that their friendship for Lincoln would have procured\nfor them some political appointment. Any political aspirant living\nin Maine or Missouri who had a fourth cousin living in Springfield\nand possessed of a speaking acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln, felt that\nhe and his kinsfolk suffered an unmerited discourtesy if Mr. Lincoln\nthrough such influence did not produce on application a commission as\nMajor-General or an appointment as Ambassador to some foreign court.\n\nWe have a yet further difficulty to face in the conflict of testimony\nof habitually truthful people. If it were becoming in the author of\na book such as this to pass any general criticism upon those authors\nwho have preceded him in the same field, it might, perhaps, be counted\nnot invidious to say that for the most part writers on the religion of\nLincoln have been content to adduce the testimony of a limited number\nof apparently truthful witnesses in support of their theory, but have\nnot given the evidence very much examination beyond the general fact\nthat the witnesses were habitually truthful people. We shall not arrive\nat the truth in this fashion.\n\nWe may borrow an illustration from a field which lies just outside the\nscope of our present inquiry. Even to this day it is possible to start\na warm discussion almost anywhere in Springfield over the question of\nLincoln's domestic affairs. It is possible to prove on the testimony\nof unimpeached witnesses that Lincoln loved his wife passionately, and\nthat he did not love her at all; that he married Mary Todd because he\nloved her and had already answered in his own heart all his previous\nquestions and misgivings, and that he married her because she and her\nrelatives practically compelled him to do so, and that he went to the\nmarriage altar muttering that he was going to hell; that Mary Todd\nnot only admired Abraham Lincoln, but loved him with a beautiful and\nwifely devotion, and that she hated him and never ceased to wreak\nrevenge upon him for having once deserted her upon the eve of their\nannounced marriage; that Mary Todd wore a white silk dress on the night\nof her wedding, and that she never owned a white silk dress until she\nhad become a resident of the White House; that the wedding was a gay\naffair, with a great dinner, and was followed by a reception for which\nseveral hundred printed invitations were issued, and that the wedding\nwas hastily performed on a Sunday evening, Mr. Dresser, the minister,\ncutting short his evening service and dropping in on the way home\nto solemnize a quickly extemporized marriage contract. It would seem\nfairly easy to discover from a calendar of the year 1842 at least\nwhat day in the week was chosen for the wedding, but few if any of\nthe disputants, or even of the biographers, appear to have taken this\npains. If the present writer should ever have occasion to write about\nAbraham Lincoln's married life, he would not proceed very far without\nconsulting a calendar for that year; and he would hope to settle at\nleast one point in the controversy by telling the world that in 1842\nthe fourth day of November did not occur on Sunday or Tuesday, but on\nFriday;[28] Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln both being tinged with superstition,\nhe might raise the question whether the celebration of the wedding upon\nthat date probably was or was not long premeditated. But the present\nbook does not concern itself with these questions, and the matter is\nhere introduced merely to illustrate that no point in controversy in a\nmatter of this character can be definitely settled by the unsupported\ntestimony of a single honest witness relying upon his memory after the\nlapse of many years.\n\nEvidence such as we are to consider is of two kinds, known in logic\nas _a priori_ and _a posteriori_. The first kind is evidence from\nantecedent probability; the second is evidence relating to matter after\nthe fact. An illustration will serve:\n\nA man is found dead, with a wound in his forehead, and there are no\nwitnesses who can be produced in court who saw the man die. The wound\nappears to have been produced by a bullet, and, as no weapon is found\nbeside the body, there is a presumption that the man has been murdered.\nA neighbor is accused of having committed the deed. The _a priori_\nevidence is adduced in testimony that the defendant and the deceased\nhad long been on bad terms with each other on account of a line fence\nbetween their adjacent properties; that the defendant had threatened\nto kill the deceased and had recently bought a revolver. The evidence\n_a posteriori_ is found in the fact that the defendant's revolver on\nexamination shows one empty chamber and that the ball in the deceased\nman's brain is of the caliber suited to his weapon and of the same\nmanufacture as the unused cartridges in the weapon. To this may be\nadded other incriminating facts, as of measured footprints near the\nscene of murder which correspond to the size of the defendant's boots,\nand of possible blood stains upon his clothing.\n\nA very large volume of _a priori_ evidence is sometimes set aside\nby a single _a posteriori_ fact; for instance, in the foregoing\nsupposititious case it may be entirely possible to prove that the\nmurder was committed by a tramp, and that the defendant was ten miles\naway at the time the deed was done.\n\nOn the other hand, a large volume of _a posteriori_ evidence sometimes\ndisappears in the face of a single _a priori_ consideration. A man is\naccused of having stolen a sheep. It is shown in evidence that on the\nevening when the sheep was stolen he walked through his neighbor's\npasture and was seen to approach the sheep; that he sold mutton on the\nday after the loss of the sheep, and that a fresh sheepskin was found\nnailed to his barn door. All this _a posteriori_ evidence and much more\nmay be completely set aside in the minds of the jury by the single fact\nthat the man accused has lived for forty years in the community and has\nborne a reputation incompatible with the crime of sheep-stealing.\n\nIn the examination of testimony concerning alleged utterances of\nAbraham Lincoln in matters of religious belief, we must ask such\nquestions as these:\n\nIs the witness credible? Had he opportunity to know what he professes\nto relate? Were other witnesses present, and if so, do they agree in\ntheir recollection of the words spoken? Was the interview published at\na time when it could have been denied by those who had knowledge of\nthe incident? Had the witness time to enlarge the incident by frequent\ntelling and by such exaggeration and enlargement of detail as is likely\nto occur with the lapse of years? Had the witness a probable motive\nfor exaggeration; does he appear to tell what he would presumably have\nliked Mr. Lincoln to say, and does it sound more like the narrator's\nown style than it does like Mr. Lincoln? Do the language and the\nsentiments expressed accord with the published addresses, letters, and\nauthentic documents of Abraham Lincoln, and are the views expressed\nin accord with the views which he is known to have held? On the other\nhand, is it possible that in the freedom of personal conversation Mr.\nLincoln may have said some things which he would not have been likely\nto say in formal discourse or to write in official documents?\n\nIt is not necessary that we formally ask these and only these\nquestions; but these are the kinds of sieve through which oral\ntestimony must be passed if we are to learn the truth.\n\nParticular care needs to be exercised in the application of these\ntests, and especially in the employment of all _a priori_ methods. The\nauthor of this volume is a Christian minister, and would be heartily\nglad to find in Mr. Lincoln's authentic utterances indubitable evidence\nthat Mr. Lincoln was essentially a Christian; there is need that he\ntake especial care not to apply these discriminating tests in such\nfashion as to sustain his own prejudices. Nor must he magnify his\ncaution until it becomes an inverted prejudice.\n\nOn the other hand, the _a priori_ method must on no account be ruled\nout. Mr. Lincoln left a great quantity of authentic material. His\nspeeches, letters, and state papers fill twelve volumes, and even\nthese do not contain all of his signed material. We are compelled to\njudge alleged utterances of his somewhat in the light of our certain\nknowledge of what he wrote and said. Let us illustrate the application\nof this principle:\n\nIf an aged man living in central Illinois were now to arise\nand say: \"I knew Abraham Lincoln, and he said to me one day in\nprivate conversation, 'There is no God,'\" we should be justified\nin discrediting that man's testimony, even though he bore a good\nreputation for veracity. The antecedent improbability of such a\ndeclaration on the part of Mr. Lincoln is too great for us to accept it\non the basis of one man's recollection of a private and unwitnessed\nconversation fifty years after Mr. Lincoln's death.\n\nWe should be equally justified in rejecting the testimony at this late\ndate of one of Mr. Lincoln's old-time neighbors who would say that Mr.\nLincoln told him that he believed the whole of the Athanasian Creed.\n\nEspecial care is necessary in dealing with the alleged utterances of\ndeceased persons in matters of religion. The author of this book has\nconducted a thousand funerals, and has been told every conceivable kind\nof story concerning some of the persons deceased. To the credit of our\nfrail humanity be it recorded that nine-tenths of this testimony was\nfavorable. There are few finer traits in human nature than those which\nprompt us to speak only good of the dead. The eagerness of those who\nhave known not only the virtues but the faults of living men to pass\nlightly over the faults and emphasize the virtues of these same men\nwhen they are dead is not only a manifestation of the finest sort of\nlove of fair play in refusing to accuse those who cannot make answer,\nbut is also an exhibition of one of the noblest impulses of the human\nspirit.\n\nEven the tendency of ministers to lie like gentlemen on funeral\noccasions is not to be too unsparingly condemned. It springs from a\nbelief that the better part of a man's life is the truer part of him,\nand that a man has a right to be judged by the best that is in him not\nonly of achievement but even of defeated aspiration.\n\nWilliam Allen White is fond of relating a story concerning a funeral in\nKansas. The minister was in the midst of his eulogy when a man who had\ncome in late and had not heard the beginning of the discourse tiptoed\ndown the aisle, took a long look into the coffin, and returned to his\nseat. The minister, somewhat disconcerted by this proceeding, addressed\nhim, saying, \"The opportunity to view the remains will be given later.\"\n\"I know that,\" replied the man, \"but I had begun to suspect that I had\ngotten into the wrong funeral.\"\n\nOne who has had much experience with funerals and with attempts to\nmake dead men appear better than the same men living actually were or\nappeared to be, knows that these efforts are not usually the result of\ndeliberate falsehood. They grow out of generous impulses and an easy\ntendency to exaggeration. But some people do actually lie, and this\nfact also is not wholly to be forgotten.\n\nWith these reminders of human frailty and human generosity and of the\nuncertainty of all things human, we proceed to examine in some detail\nthe vast and contradictory mass of evidence which after the death of\nAbraham Lincoln was published concerning his faith or the lack of it.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhat is in some respects the foremost example of platform and pulpit\noratory concerning Lincoln is the oration of Bishop Charles Henry\nFowler, deceased, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It illustrates at\nonce the excellency and the defects of works of this character. The\noration had its beginning in a eulogy delivered in Chicago on May 4,\n1865, the day of Lincoln's burial at Springfield. From time to time as\nyears went by, Bishop Fowler had occasion to deliver other addresses on\nLincoln, which, in 1904, he reshaped into something like the final form\nof the oration. First delivered in Minneapolis, it was repeated in many\ncities and before great audiences. It became the Bishop's best known\nand most popular address. It is the first and easily the greatest of\nthe five that make up the volume of his Patriotic Orations, the others\nbeing on Grant, McKinley, Washington, and The Great Deeds of Great\nMen. Of that large book it fills more than a hundred pages. It was too\nlong ever to be delivered at one time, but it was completely written,\nand fully committed to memory, so that he chose at each delivery what\nportions he would utter and what he would omit. Even with the omissions\nhe rarely spoke less than two and one-half hours, and sometimes\noccupied three hours, his audiences hearing with sustained interest to\nthe close. Of it his son says, that \"through its delivery in various\nparts of the country, and by the natural process of accretion and\nattraction, new facts were added and others verified, until in 1906 it\nwas put in this final form.\"\n\nHere is an address whose composition occupied a strong and able man\nfor thirty-one years. It thrills with admiration for its subject. It\nis alive with patriotism and religion. It deserved, in many respects,\nthe attention which it received. Men have been known to say that having\nheard this address they would never spoil the impression by listening\nto any other address on Lincoln.\n\nAnd yet it would not be safe to quote this lecture in any of its\nsubstantial parts without further investigation of the authority\non which Bishop Fowler relied. He was a truthful man, and a man of\nability, and if he had been asked what means he took to verify his\nstatements, he would probably have said that he admitted no statement\nto his lecture which he did not find attested by some competent and\ntruthful witness. Doubtless so, and most of the lecture is true, and\nthe impression which it makes as a whole is substantially true, but\nthat is not enough. Doubtless Bishop Fowler read in some book or\nmagazine article by a truthful writer that on the day Lincoln submitted\nthe Emancipation proclamation to his Cabinet, he first read in the\npresence of the Cabinet a chapter in the Bible. It would not have\nrequired very much of investigation to have convinced Bishop Fowler\nthat what Lincoln really read was not the Bible, but Artemus Ward. He\ndid not intend to lie about it. He picked up the account from some\nother speaker who had heard or read that Lincoln read a chapter from\nsome book, and thought that the Bible was the proper book to read on\nan occasion of that character. Neither the speaker nor Bishop Fowler\nintended to be untruthful, but neither of them had any training in or\ninclination toward historical investigation. It would be easy to guess\nthat a thousand Methodist preachers and some others have retold the\nstory on the authority of Bishop Fowler. And that is far from being the\nonly inaccuracy in the lecture. Indeed, it shows throughout how much\nit grew \"by the natural process of accretion and attraction\" and how\nlittle by the verification of the facts.\n\nThis lecture is cited because it is in many respects the very best\nof its type, as it is probably also the most noted, and one that was\ndelivered to more people than any other on Abraham Lincoln.\n\nIt does not suffice to rely upon any second authorities in\ninvestigations of this character, nor to accept the statements of even\ntruthful witnesses without some sifting of the evidence.\n\nWith this in mind, we come to what is the most crucial and difficult of\nall the incidents bearing upon our inquiry--the incident reported to\nDr. Holland by President Bateman.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nTHE BATEMAN INCIDENT\n\n\nHON. NEWTON BATEMAN was for many years Superintendent of Public\nInstruction for the State of Illinois, being chosen to that position\nin 1858 and holding the place with one brief intermission for fourteen\nyears. He was then elected President of Knox College and served with\ndistinction in that capacity for seventeen years. He knew Lincoln well.\nHe was small in stature, and Lincoln was very tall. Lincoln used to\nintroduce Bateman to friends, saying, \"This is my little friend, the\nbig schoolmaster of Illinois.\" He was, perhaps, the last man to shake\nhands with Abraham Lincoln as Lincoln was leaving Springfield, and\nhe was one of the pallbearers at Lincoln's funeral. The version of\nLincoln's Farewell Address which was published in the _Illinois State\nJournal_ was printed on the day following Lincoln's departure and was\nreproduced from Dr. Bateman's memory of it. Although it varies from the\nofficial report it appears to have been a very nearly accurate report\nof what Lincoln actually said as judged by Lincoln's own reproduction\nof the address.\n\nReference has already been made to the difficulties which Dr. J. G.\nHolland met in Springfield when he journeyed thither in quest of\nmaterial on the _Life of Lincoln_. To his great satisfaction he was\nable to obtain from Mr. Bateman an incident which has become the\ncorner-stone of a thousand Lincoln eulogies. It is here reproduced\nentire:\n\n \"Mr. Newton Bateman,[29] Superintendent of Public Instruction for the\n State of Illinois, occupied a room adjoining and opening into the\n Executive Chamber. Frequently this door was open during Mr. Lincoln's\n receptions; and throughout the seven months or more of his occupation\n Mr. Bateman saw him nearly every day. Often when Mr. Lincoln was tired\n he closed his door against all intrusion, and called Mr. Bateman into\n his room for a quiet talk. On one of these occasions Mr. Lincoln took\n up a book containing a careful canvass of the city of Springfield\n in which he lived, showing the candidate for whom each citizen had\n declared it his intention to vote in the approaching election. Mr.\n Lincoln's friends had, doubtless at his own request, placed the result\n of the canvass in his hands. This was toward the close of October, and\n only a few days before the election. Calling Mr. Bateman to a seat\n at his side, having previously locked all doors, he said: 'Let us\n look over this book. I wish particularly to see how the ministers of\n Springfield are going to vote.' The leaves were turned, one by one,\n and as the names were examined Mr. Lincoln frequently asked if this\n one and that were not a minister, or an elder, or a member of such\n or such a church, and sadly expressed his surprise on receiving an\n affirmative answer. In that manner they went through the book, and\n then he closed it and sat silently and for some minutes regarding\n a memorandum in pencil which lay before him. At length he turned\n to Mr. Bateman with a face full of sadness, and said: 'Here are\n twenty-three, ministers, of different denominations, and all of them\n are against me but three; and here are a great many prominent members\n of the churches, a very large majority of whom are against me. Mr.\n Bateman, I am not a Christian--God knows I would be one--but I have\n carefully read the Bible, and I do not so understand this book'; and\n he drew from his bosom a pocket New Testament. 'These men well know,'\n he continued, 'that I am for freedom in the territories, freedom\n everywhere as far as the Constitution and laws will permit, and that\n my opponents are for slavery. They know this, and yet, with this book\n in their hands, in the light of which human bondage cannot live a\n moment, they are going to vote against me. I do not understand it at\n all.'\n\n \"Here Mr. Lincoln paused--paused for long minutes, his features\n surcharged with emotion. Then he rose and walked up and down the room\n in the effort to retain or regain his self-possession. Stopping at\n last, he said, with a trembling voice and his cheeks wet with tears:\n 'I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice and slavery. I\n see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a\n place and work for me--and I think He has--I believe I am ready. I am\n nothing, but truth is everything. I know I am right because I know\n that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God. I\n have told them that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and\n Christ and reason say the same; and they will find it so. Douglas\n don't care whether slavery is voted up or voted down, but God cares,\n and humanity cares, and I care; and with God's help I shall not fail.\n I may not see the end; but it will come, and I shall be vindicated;\n and these men will find that they have not read their Bibles aright.'\n\n \"Much of this was uttered as if he were speaking to himself, and with\n a sad and earnest solemnity of manner impossible to be described.\n After a pause, he resumed: 'Doesn't it appear strange that men can\n ignore the moral aspects of this contest? A revelation could not make\n it plainer to me that slavery or the government must be destroyed.\n The future would be something awful, as I look at it, but for this\n rock on which I stand [alluding to the Testament which he still held\n in his hand] especially with the knowledge of how these ministers are\n going to vote. It seems as if God had borne with this thing [slavery]\n until the very teachers of religion have come to defend it from the\n Bible, and to claim for it a divine character and sanction; and now\n the cup of iniquity is full, and the vials of wrath will be poured\n out.'\"--HOLLAND: _Life of Lincoln_, pp. 236-38.\n\nDr. J. G. Holland was an author of ability and character. His _Life\nof Lincoln_ was up to the time of its publication far and away the\nbest that had appeared. Even Herndon and Lamon are compelled to\nspeak of it with respect. Lamon says: \"Out of the mass of work which\nappeared, of one only--Dr. Holland's--is it possible to speak with\nany degree of respect.\" That this also represented substantially the\nopinion of Herndon is clearly in evidence. With two such names as\nNewton Bateman and J. G. Holland supporting it, an incident of this\ncharacter was certain to carry great weight. It can be found more or\nless abridged and in some cases garbled and enlarged in any one of a\nhundred books and of a thousand or probably ten thousand Lincoln's\nDay addresses. This report was the direct occasion for the assembling\nof a considerable mass of opposing evidence which we shall find in\nsucceeding chapters. It was attacked publicly and directly by Ward Hill\nLamon in his _Life of Lincoln_ in 1872. The following is Mr. Lamon's\nreply:\n\n \"Mr. Newton Bateman is reported to have said that a few days before\n the Presidential election in 1860, Mr. Lincoln came into his office,\n closed the door against intrusion, and proposed to examine a book\n which had been furnished him, at his own request, 'Containing a\n careful canvass of the city of Springfield, showing the candidate\n for whom each citizen had declared his intention to vote at the\n approaching election. He ascertained that only three ministers of the\n gospel, out of twenty-three, would vote for him, and that, of the\n prominent church-members, a very large majority were against him.'\n Mr. Bateman does not say so directly, but the inference is plain\n that Mr. Lincoln had not previously known what were the sentiments\n of the Christian people who lived with him in Springfield: he had\n never before taken the trouble to inquire whether they were for him\n or against him. At all events, when he made the discovery out of\n the book, he wept, and declared that he 'did not understand it at\n all.' He drew from his bosom a pocket New Testament, and, 'with a\n trembling voice and his cheeks wet with tears,' quoted it against his\n political opponents generally, and especially against Douglas. He\n professed to believe that the opinions adopted by him and his party\n were derived from the teachings of Christ; averred that Christ was\n God; and, speaking of the Testament which he carried in his bosom,\n called it 'this rock, on which I stand.' When Mr. Bateman expressed\n surprise, and told him that his friends generally were ignorant that\n he entertained such sentiments, he gave this answer quickly: 'I know\n they are: I am obliged to appear different to them.' Mr. Bateman is a\n respectable citizen, whose general reputation for truth and veracity\n is not to be impeached; but his story, as reported in Holland's Life,\n is so inconsistent with Mr. Lincoln's whole character, that it must\n be rejected as altogether incredible. From the time of the Democratic\n split in the Baltimore Convention, Mr. Lincoln, as well as every other\n politician of the smallest sagacity, knew that his success was as\n certain as any future could be. At the end of October, most of the\n States had clearly voted in a way which left no lingering doubts of\n the final result in November. If there ever was a time in his life\n when ambition charmed his whole heart,--if it could ever be said of\n him that 'hope elevated and joy brightened his crest,' it was on the\n eve of that election which he saw was to lift him at last to the\n high place for which he had sighed and struggled so long. It was not\n then that he would mourn and weep because he was in danger of not\n getting the votes of the ministers and members of the churches he\n had known during many years for his steadfast opponents: he did not\n need them, and had not expected them. Those who understood him best\n are very sure that he never, under any circumstances, could have\n fallen into such weakness--not even when his fortunes were at the\n lowest point of depression--as to play the part of a hypocrite for\n their support. Neither is it possible that he was at any loss about\n the reasons which religious men had for refusing him their support;\n and, if he had said that he could not understand it at all, he must\n have spoken falsely. But the worst part of the tale is Mr. Lincoln's\n acknowledgment that his 'friends generally were deceived concerning\n his religious sentiments, and that he was obliged to appear different\n to them.'\n\n \"According to this version, which has had considerable currency,\n he carried a New Testament in his bosom, carefully hidden from\n his intimate associates: he believed that Christ was God; yet his\n friends understood him to deny the verity of the gospel: he based his\n political doctrines on the teachings of the Bible; yet before all men,\n except Mr. Bateman, he habitually acted the part of an unbeliever and\n reprobate, because he was 'obliged to appear different to them.' How\n obliged? What compulsion required him to deny that Christ was God\n if he really believed Him to be divine? Or did he put his political\n necessities above the obligations of truth, and oppose Christianity\n against his convictions, that he might win the favor of its enemies?\n It may be that his mere silence was sometimes misunderstood; but he\n never made an express avowal of any religious opinion which he did\n not entertain. He did not 'appear different' at one time from what he\n was at another, and certainly he never put on infidelity as a mere\n mask to conceal his Christian character from the world. There is no\n dealing with Mr. Bateman, except by a flat contradiction. Perhaps\n his memory was treacherous, or his imagination led him astray, or,\n peradventure, he thought a fraud no harm if it gratified the strong\n desire of the public for proofs of Mr. Lincoln's orthodoxy. It is\n nothing to the purpose that Mr. Lincoln said once or twice that he\n thought this or that portion of the Scripture was the product of\n divine inspiration; for he was one of the class who hold that all\n truth is inspired, and that every human being with a mind and a\n conscience is a prophet. He would have agreed much more readily with\n one who taught that Newton's discoveries, or Bacon's philosophy, or\n one of his own speeches, were the works of men divinely inspired above\n their fellows. But he never told anyone that he accepted Jesus Christ,\n or performed a single one of the acts which necessarily follow upon\n such a conviction. At Springfield and at Washington he was beset on\n the one hand by political priests, and on the other by honest and\n prayerful Christians. He despised the former, respected the latter,\n and had use for both. He said with characteristic irreverence, that he\n would not undertake 'to run the churches by military authority'; but\n he was, nevertheless, alive to the importance of letting the churches\n 'run themselves in the interest of his party.' Indefinite expressions\n about 'Divine Providence,' the 'justice of God,' 'the favor of the\n Most High,' were easy, and not inconsistent with his religious notion.\n In this, accordingly, he indulged freely; but never in all that time\n did he let fall from his lips or his pen an expression which remotely\n implied the slightest faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the Saviour\n of men.\"--LAMON: _Life of Lincoln_, pp. 499-502.\n\nConfronted by an irreconcilable contradiction like this, the easiest\nway is to cut the knot, and this may be done by any one of several\nmethods. We may say that, while Lamon and Herndon were truthful men,\ntheir reputation for veracity, good as it was, is less than that of\nBateman and Holland, and we prefer to believe the latter pair. Or, we\nmay say that, while Bateman knew Lincoln well, both Herndon and Lamon\nknew him much better, and were better able to judge what Lincoln would\nhave said. Or, we may say that Bateman was present when Lincoln spoke,\nand Holland was present when Bateman related the interview, and neither\nHerndon nor Lamon was present on either occasion, and we will believe\nthe one credible witness who was actually there, and whose positive\ntestimony outweighs any possible volume of negative testimony on the\npart of men who were not present, and who only imagine what Mr. Lincoln\nwould probably have said. Or, we may say that in the light of the\ninherent improbability of such an utterance on the part of Mr. Lincoln,\nas determined by a comparison of this alleged utterance with his\nauthentic statements, we cannot accept it, even though the two men who\nvouch, the one for its utterance and the other for its transmission,\nare men of exceptional veracity. Or, we may say that in such a\nconflict of direct evidence and inherent improbability, and the mutual\nopposition of honest men who were in a position to know something\nabout the religious views of Mr. Lincoln, it is impossible for us to\ndecide.\n\nWe will not seek by any of these convenient methods to cut the knot,\nbut endeavor to untie it. We are fortunate in having some collateral\nevidence after the fact.\n\nHerndon had awaited the publication of Holland's book with great\neagerness, and he was pleased with it as a whole. But the Bateman\nincident roused his wrath. To him it made Lincoln a hypocrite,\ndissembling a Christian faith, which he had no good reason to conceal,\nbeneath a pretense of infidelity, which was not, as Herndon believed, a\nprofession that would have helped him.\n\nHerndon promptly walked over to the State House and interviewed Mr.\nBateman. \"I instantly sought Mr. Bateman,\" he said, \"and found him in\nhis office. I spoke to him politely and kindly, and he spoke to me in\nthe same manner. I said substantially to him that Mr. Holland, in order\nto make Mr. Lincoln a technical Christian, had made him a hypocrite.\"\n\nWhat Bateman said to Herndon he was forbidden to publish, but the\ninference is ineluctable that he repudiated, in part, the interview\nwith Holland, but did it on condition that Herndon should not publish\nthe statement in a way that would raise the issue of veracity between\nhimself and Holland.\n\nThis was in the autumn of 1865. In the spring of 1866, Herndon again\ncalled upon Bateman, but got no farther.\n\nAs the controversy waxed furious, Herndon made further and insistent\nefforts to obtain from Bateman a statement which could be made to the\npublic. Herndon preserved notes of the interviews, which he dated,\nDecember 3, 12, and 28, 1866. Bateman still refused to emerge from his\nsilence. One can imagine Herndon in his yellow trousers twice rolled\nup at the bottom, hitching his chair a little closer to the little\nsuperintendent, and with long, skinny forefinger outstretched, probing\nwith insistent cross-examination into the innermost recesses of the\n_ipsissima versa_ of the interview with Lincoln and the subsequent one\nwith Holland. Whether he and Mr. Bateman continued to address each\nother politely is not known, but Herndon endeavored first to persuade\nand afterward to force, Bateman to do one of three things,--to avow\nover his own signature the story as Holland told it; to repudiate the\ninterview and throw the responsibility upon Holland; or to permit\nHerndon to publish what Bateman had told to him. Bateman would do\nnone of these three things. If he did the first, Herndon would accuse\nhim of falsehood; if he did the second, Holland would accuse him of\nfalsehood; and if he did the third, he would become the central figure\nin a controversy that already had become more than red-hot. He refused\nto say anything, and announced to all comers that the publicity was\n\"extremely distasteful\" to him.\n\nHerndon went as far as he could toward making public what Bateman told\nto him. He published the following statement, designed to throw the\ngreater part of the blame upon Holland, but to force Bateman to relate\nto the public what Bateman had said to him, and what he had written\ndown and held ready to produce:\n\n \"I cannot now detail what Mr. Bateman said, as it was a private\n conversation, and I am forbidden to make use of it in public. If some\n good gentleman can only get the seal of secrecy removed, I can show\n what was said and done. On my word, the world may take it for granted\n that Holland is wrong; that he does not state Mr. Lincoln's views\n correctly. Mr. Bateman, if correctly represented in Holland's _Life of\n Lincoln_, is the only man, the sole and only man, who dare say that\n Mr. Lincoln believed in Jesus as the Christ of God, as the Christian\n world represents. This is not a pleasant situation for Mr. Bateman. I\n have notes and dates of our conversation; and the world will sometime\n know who is truthful, and who is otherwise. I doubt whether Bateman is\n correctly represented by Holland.\"--LAMON: _Life of Lincoln_, p. 496.\n\nMr. Bateman was, indeed, in an uncomfortable position and any one\nof the three ways out of it seemed likely to make it still more\nuncomfortable. He continued to maintain a profound silence. Years\nafterward when Arnold was preparing his _Life of Lincoln_ for the press\nand Arnold asked him concerning the truth of the incident as recorded\nby Holland, he replied with extreme brevity that it was \"substantially\ncorrect.\" (Arnold: Life of Lincoln, p. 179).\n\nThe only portion of Bateman's admission to Herndon which Bateman\nfinally, and with great reluctance, consented to have published, was\none which covered the alleged utterance \"Christ is God.\" It was a\nletter written in 1867, and marked \"Confidential.\" In this letter\nBateman said:\n\n \"He [Lincoln] was applying the principles of moral and religious truth\n to the duties of the hour, the condition of the country, and the\n conduct of public men--ministers of the gospel. I had no thought of\n orthodoxy or heterodoxy, Unitarianism, Trinitarianism, or any other\n ism, during the whole conversation, and I don't suppose or believe he\n had.\"\n\nThis is a guarded letter, but it is sufficiently specific for our\npurposes. If the conversation between Bateman and Lincoln was of this\ncharacter, with nothing to distinguish the view of Lincoln as Unitarian\nor Trinitarian, Lincoln certainly did not say:\n\n \"I know I am right because I know that liberty is right, for Christ\n teaches it, and Christ is God.\"\n\nIt is evident that Bateman, crowded by Herndon in repeated\ncross-examination, came as near to repudiating those parts of the\ninterview to which Herndon objected as he could do without raising\npublicly the issue of veracity between himself and Holland. The\nattitude of Dr. Bateman in this matter forbids us to believe that the\nstory as it stands in Holland's book can be true.\n\nBateman is not mentioned in the index of Nicolay and Hay's _Life of\nLincoln_, and it is practically certain that they did not credit the\nincident.\n\nWhat, under these circumstances, shall be our judgment concerning this\nmost hotly contested of all incidents concerning the religious life of\nAbraham Lincoln?\n\nThe incident had a basis of fact. Neither Bateman nor Holland would\nhave created such a story out of whole cloth. But Bateman was under\nvery strong temptation to enlarge upon the incident, and had had\nfive years in which to magnify it in his own mind. The then recent\ndeath of Mr. Lincoln and the strong desire of Christian people for a\nclear statement of his faith, made it easy to color the recollection\nand sketch in details, which did not seem to be important departures\nfrom the truth when related in verbal conversation, but which had a\ndifferent look when they appeared in cold type. Holland, who was a\nwriter of fiction as well as history, did not fail to embellish the\nstory as Bateman told it to him. He probably did not write it down\nat the time, but recalled it afterward from memory, and in his final\nreport it underwent additional coloring and the sketching in of detail.\n\nNeither of these two men intentionally falsified, but between the two\nthe story was materially enlarged, and there was an undistributed\nmargin of error between the original event as it occurred in 1860 and\nthe very pretty story which Holland printed in 1865. Neither Holland\nnor Bateman cared, probably, to face too searching an inquiry as to how\nthat enlargement had come.\n\nDr. Bateman was a man of probity and upright character. He never\nwillfully misrepresented. But he had a rhetorical mind; not only his\nstyle, but his mind, was rhetorical. He embellished his narratives\nbecause it was in him to do so. The two reports which he made of\nLincoln's farewell address in Springfield[30] showed, both of them,\nsuch embellishments,[31] and he was as unconscious that he in later\nyears enlarged upon his own first report as he was that his first\nreport enlarged upon the address itself. These enlargements were\nslight, and did not destroy nor greatly alter the sense; but his\nchanges never tended to simplicity. He was a master of good English\nstyle, but it was a grander, more rhetorical style than that of\nLincoln. Lincoln, after receiving his special notice of nomination,\nsubmitted his letter of acceptance to Bateman, and at Bateman's\nsuggestion changed a split infinitive. Lincoln knew that Bateman was\nan authority on good English, and respected his opinion and valued\nhis friendship. Whatever enlargements Bateman's memory made upon\nhis interview with Lincoln were made without intent to deceive; and\nwhatever Holland added was added without intent to deceive. But the\ninterview of 1860 and the story about it in Holland's book five years\nlater have between them a discrepancy which must be distributed in a\nratio which we are not able positively to determine between two good\nand truthful men, each of whom enlarged a little upon the material that\nwas given to him.\n\nA final evidence that Bateman saw no way to remedy the situation by\ntelling the public exactly what occurred in his interview with Lincoln\nin 1860, is found in the fact that while he was President of Knox\nCollege he had occasion to prepare and deliver there and elsewhere a\ncarefully written lecture on \"Abraham Lincoln.\" Every generation of\nKnox College students heard, at least once, that famous oration. That\nlecture contains little else than Bateman's own personal reminiscences,\nand is an interesting and valuable document. For our present purpose it\nis chiefly valuable in this, that it contains not one word about the\ninterview which had forever associated the name of Newton Bateman with\nthat of Abraham Lincoln. The fact that Bateman felt compelled to omit\nit altogether from that oft-repeated lecture on Lincoln is a sufficient\nreason why no one else should ever use it.\n\nPrecisely what did Bateman tell Herndon that he had told to Holland,\nwhich led Herndon to tell the public that Holland misrepresented\nBateman? We do not know precisely. What became of Herndon's carefully\ncherished notes of his five interviews with Bateman is not known,[32]\nbut we are not left wholly to conjecture. Though Herndon was forbidden\nto tell what Bateman told to him, he came as near to it as he could do\nwithout open violation of his pledge of secrecy. In his own _Life of\nLincoln_, published in 1889, he inserted a footnote in which he said:\n\n \"One of what Lincoln regarded as the remarkable features of his\n canvass for President was the attitude of some of his neighbors in\n Springfield. A poll of the voters had been made in a little book and\n given to him. On running over the names he found that the greater part\n of the clergy of the city--in fact all but three--were against him.\n This depressed him somewhat, and he called in Dr. Newton Bateman, who\n as Superintendent of Public Instruction occupied the room adjoining\n his own in the State House, and whom he habitually addressed as 'Mr.\n Schoolmaster.' He commented bitterly on the attitude of the preachers\n and many of their followers, who, pretending to be believers in the\n Bible and God-fearing Christians, yet by their votes demonstrated\n that they cared not whether slavery was voted up or down. 'God cares\n and humanity cares,' he reflected, 'and if they do not they surely\n have not read their Bible aright.'\"--HERNDON: _Life of Lincoln_, III,\n 466-67.\n\nTo accept this as containing the essential part of the interview\nbetween Lincoln and Bateman does not involve our preferring the\nstatement of Herndon to that of Bateman, for we have no definite\nstatement of Bateman. Bateman, under close examination, told Herndon\nwhat he remembered that Lincoln told him, and Herndon promised not to\ntell it without Bateman's permission. Herndon did tell, however, that\nit was very different from Holland's story, and he published this in\nLamon's book in 1872 and Bateman did not deny it. He published the\nabove quoted and additional note in his own book in 1889, while Bateman\nwas living, and Bateman did not protest. We cannot, therefore, be far\nfrom the truth if we accept the above and stop there.\n\nUnless the notes of Herndon's five interviews with Bateman shall be\nfound and published, this is probably the nearest we shall ever come\nto knowing what Bateman told Herndon that Lincoln had said to him.\nIf those notes shall be found, they may amplify the conversation but\ncannot be expected materially to modify it. This is all that it is safe\nto assume of Lincoln's confession of faith to Bateman. Whoever adds to\nit the glosses of the Holland biography does it at his own risk.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nTHE LAMON BIOGRAPHY\n\n\nWARD HILL LAMON was for many years a close friend of Lincoln.[33]\nTheir relations began in 1847 when Lamon settled at Danville and\ncontinued until Lincoln's death. Both there and at Bloomington, Lamon\nwas Lincoln's local associate and so-called partner. When Lincoln\nvoted at the Presidential election of 1860, the men who accompanied\nhim to the polls were William H. Herndon, Ward Hill Lamon, and Col.\nElmer Ellsworth. When Lincoln was elected and his political friends\nhad slated Lamon for a foreign mission, Lincoln appointed him Marshal\nof the District of Columbia that he might have him close at hand. He\nwas a member of the party which accompanied Lincoln to Washington, and\nwhen through apparent danger of assassination the route was changed and\nLincoln slipped into Washington with a single companion, it was Lamon\nwhom he chose to accompany him. Lamon had charge of the arrangements of\nLincoln's trip to Gettysburg, and accompanied Lincoln and was in charge\nwhen he visited the battlefield of Antietam. His book of personal\n\"Recollections,\" edited by his daughter and published in 1895, is full\nof interest and contains much of permanent value. His _Life of Abraham\nLincoln_, published in 1872, is the most bitterly denounced of all the\nbiographies of Lincoln. It involved its author and publisher in heavy\nfinancial loss, and the unsold portion of the edition is alleged to\nhave been bought up by friends of Lincoln and quietly destroyed. Lamon\nintended to have followed this volume, whose subject-matter ended with\nLincoln's arrival in Washington in 1861, with a second volume covering\nLincoln's life as President, but neither a second volume nor a second\nedition of the first was ever issued.\n\nHow Lamon, being a friend of Lincoln, could ever have written such a\nbook has been the subject of much conjecture. Herndon believed that\nduring the latter part of his life in Washington Lamon had become\nembittered against Lincoln. Lamon's daughter in a magazine article on\nthe subject professed her father's abiding friendship for Lincoln,\nbut maintained that he was endeavoring to tell the true story of a\ngreat life and to recover the real Lincoln from the realm of myth\n(Dorothy Lamon Teillard: \"Lincoln in Myth and in Fact,\" _World's Work_,\nFebruary, 1911, pp. 14040-44).\n\nThe basis of Lamon's book is the Herndon manuscripts, copies of which\nHerndon sold to Lamon for $2,000 in 1870. That Herndon bitterly\nregretted the necessity of this sale, there is clear evidence; but\nhe had come to a condition of great poverty; and there were other\nreasons why it seemed unlikely that he himself would ever write a Life\nof Lincoln. That Lamon himself wrote the book without assistance was\ndisputed from the beginning, and Herndon was accused of being its real\nauthor. In letters to Horace White in 1890, Herndon told the truth, as\nis now believed, concerning the authorship.\n\n \"You regret, as well as myself, that I sold my MSS. to Lamon. The\n reason why I did so was that I was then, in 1870-72, a poor devil\n and had to sell to live. From 1853 to 1865 I spent all my time and\n money for the 'nigger,' or rather for Liberty and the Union--lost my\n practice, went to farming, and went under in the crash of 1871-73,\n and that, too, from no speculations, vices, etc. Today I have to work\n for tomorrow's bread, and yet I am a happy and contented man. I own a\n little farm of sixty-five acres and raise fruits for a living. Now you\n have the reasons for my acts.\n\n \"In reference to Lamon's book, I can truthfully say that Chauncey F.\n Black,[34] son of J. S. Black, wrote quite every word of it.... I\n have for years been written to by various persons to know why Lamon\n was so much prejudiced against Lincoln. The bitterness, if any, was\n not in Lamon so much as in Black, though I am convinced that Lamon\n was no solid, firm friend of Lincoln, especially during Lincoln's\n administration, or the latter part of it.\"--NEWTON: _Lincoln and\n Herndon_, pp. 307-8.\n\nHerndon stoutly denied having written a single line of Lamon's book,\nbut he furnished the greater part of the material in the form of\ndocuments, and gave further aid by letters and suggestions. Thirteen\nyears after it was published he wrote to Lamon, who was still hoping to\nissue a new biography which would include the volume already issued and\na second volume, and said:\n\n \"I desire to see your new Life win. Your first Life is nearly\n suppressed--is suppressed or will be by rings--bears, and like.\n Lamon's first Life of Lincoln is the truest Life that was ever written\n of a man, as I think. I do not agree to all it says, and yet it is\n the most truthful Life of Lincoln written, or to be written probably,\n except your second Life. . . . Why, Lamon, if you and I had not told\n the exact truth about Lincoln, he would have been a myth in a hundred\n years after 1865. We knew him--loved him--had ideas and had the\n courage of our convictions. We told the world what Lincoln was and\n were terribly abused for it.\"--(_World's Work_, February, 1911, p.\n 14044).\n\nOne of the chief things which Lamon set out to do was to refute\nHolland's estimate of Lincoln's faith, particularly as it appeared in\nHolland's account of the Bateman story. Lamon held that any impression\nwhich people got that Lincoln possessed substantial Christian faith,\nwas due to the fact that Lincoln was a wily politician, who saw the\npower and appreciated the prejudices of the churches and was determined\nnot to suffer from their hostility. He not only grew more cautious as\nhe grew older, but actually dissembled. His religious references were\nmade as vague and general as possible, and he permitted himself to be\nmisunderstood and misrepresented by ministers and others because of\n\"his morbid ambition, coupled with a mortal fear that his popularity\nwould suffer by an open avowal of his deistic convictions\" (Lamon,\n_Life of Lincoln_, p. 498).\n\nHis estimate of Lincoln is that \"On the whole, he was an honest,\nalthough a shrewd, and by no means unselfish politician.\" He attributes\nLincoln's melancholy definitely to his utter lack of faith.\n\n \"It is very probable that much of Mr. Lincoln's unhappiness, the\n melancholy that 'dripped from him as he walked,' was due to his want\n of religious faith. When the black fit was on him, he suffered as much\n mental misery as Bunyan or Cowper in the deepest anguish of their\n conflicts with the Evil One. But the unfortunate conviction fastened\n upon him by his early associations, that there was no truth in the\n Bible, made all consolation impossible, and penitence useless. To a\n man of his temperament, predisposed as it was to depression of spirit,\n there could be no chance of happiness if doomed to live without hope\n and without God in the world. He might force himself to be merry\n with his chosen comrades; he might 'banish sadness' in mirthful\n conversation, or find relief in a jest; gratified ambition might\n elevate his feelings, and give him ease for a time: but solid comfort\n and permanent peace could come to him only 'through a correspondence\n fixed with heaven.' The fatal misfortune of his life, looking at it\n only as it affected him in this world, was the influence at New Salem\n and at Springfield which enlisted him on the side of unbelief. He paid\n the bitter penalty in a life of misery.\"--LAMON, _Life of Lincoln_, p.\n 504.\n\nIn support of this thesis, Lamon, aided and abetted by Herndon, sought\nfor testimonials from those who had known Lincoln, endeavoring to\nprove that he had no religious faith. Herndon himself wrote a letter\nwhich we shall quote later because of its bearing upon a particular\npoint which we have yet to discuss, and gave the names of Judge Logan,\nJohn T. Stuart, Joshua F. Speed, and James H. Matheny as those who\nwould confirm his declaration that Lincoln was an infidel. Herndon's\nown definition of the term infidel is susceptible of such varying\ndefinitions in his different letters and published articles that it\nis not always easy to tell just what he meant by it, but in some of\nthese he was specific and told, from his own alleged knowledge or his\nmemory of the testimony of others, what Lincoln believed and denied.\nJudge Logan appears not to have contributed to the discussion, but\nfrom several of the others and from some other men whose letters\nHerndon already had, Lamon made up a considerable volume of testimony\nconcerning the unbelief of Lincoln. Some of these we quote, reserving\nothers for later consideration.\n\nHon. John T. Stuart was alleged to have said:\n\n \"I knew Mr. Lincoln when he first came here, and for years afterwards.\n He was an avowed and open infidel, sometimes bordered on atheism. I\n have often and often heard Lincoln and one W. D. Herndon, who was a\n free-thinker, talk over this subject. Lincoln went further against\n Christian beliefs and doctrines and principles than any man I ever\n heard: he shocked me. I don't remember the exact line of his argument:\n suppose it was against the inherent defects, so called, of the Bible,\n and on grounds of reason. Lincoln always denied that Jesus was the\n Christ of God,--denied that Jesus was the Son of God, as understood\n and maintained by the Christian Church. The Rev. Dr. Smith, who wrote\n a letter, tried to convert Lincoln from infidelity so late as 1858,\n and couldn't do it.\"--LAMON, _Life of Lincoln_, p. 488.\n\nIt later developed that these quotations which appeared in Lamon's\nbook in the form of letters to Herndon were in some instances, if not\nin all, Herndon's own reports of conversations with these friends of\nLincoln, and not, in any case, signed letters. Several of the putative\nauthors repudiated the statements attributed to them.\n\nDr. C. H. Ray was quoted as saying:\n\n \"I do not know how I can aid you. You [Herndon] knew Mr. Lincoln far\n better than I did, though I knew him well; and you have served up\n his leading characteristics in a way that I should despair of doing,\n if I should try. I have only one thing to ask: that you do not give\n Calvinistic theology a chance to claim him as one of its saints and\n martyrs. He went to the Old-School Church; but, in spite of that\n outward assent to the horrible dogmas of the sect, I have reason from\n himself to know that his 'vital purity,' if that means belief in the\n impossible, was of a negative sort.\"--LAMON, _Life of Lincoln_, pp.\n 489-90.\n\nHon. David Davis was quoted as saying:\n\n \"I do not know anything about Lincoln's religion, and do not think\n anybody knew. The idea that Lincoln talked to a stranger about his\n religion or religious views, or made such speeches, remarks, etc.,\n about it as are published, is to me absurd. I knew the man so well:\n he was the most reticent, secretive man I ever saw, or expect to see.\n He had no faith, in the Christian sense of the term,--had faith in\n laws, principles, causes, and effects--philosophically: you [Herndon]\n know more about his religion than any man. You ought to know it, of\n course.\"--LAMON, _Life of Lincoln_, p. 489.\n\nLamon also printed a letter from James H. Matheny, who had been\nLincoln's \"best man\" at his wedding, and a long-time and intimate\nfriend. It would be included in this chapter, as it is to be referred\nto in the next, but it is reserved for a more important use in the\nchapter on \"Lincoln's Burnt Book.\"\n\nLamon's _Life of Lincoln_ lashed into greater fury the tempest that\nalready raged concerning Lincoln's religious faith. Nor was this the\nonly criticism upon it. It was the first of the Lives of Lincoln to\nwhich the later term of \"muckraking\" might have been applied, and its\nspirit of hostility is best accounted for by the fact that its real\nauthor was not Lamon but Black, who not only entertained all the local\nprejudice which one element in Springfield had against Lincoln, but\nrepresented also a bitter political hostility, Black's father having\nbeen a member of Buchanan's Cabinet. Indeed there is alleged to have\nbeen a three-cornered and acrimonious dispute among the publishers,\nLamon, and Black concerning an omitted chapter on Buchanan's\nadministration which had something to do with one aspect of the book's\nfinancial failure. Black and Lamon and the publishers all lost money\nand the book was a financial disaster.\n\nNotwithstanding its tone of astonishing bitterness against Lincoln, its\nshocking bad taste and its perverted viewpoint, Lamon's biography is a\nvaluable source of information. Concerning it John Hay wrote to Lamon,\n\"Nothing heretofore printed can compare with it in interest, and from\nthe nature of the case all subsequent writers will have to come to you\nfor a large class of facts.\"\n\nIn 1895 Lamon's daughter Dorothy, subsequently Mrs. Teillard,\npublished a book of \"Recollections\" of Lincoln by her father, with\nno objectionable matter, and with a considerable number of valuable\nincidents. But this later book, while avoiding the occasions of\ncriticism which the first book evoked, added little to the character\nstudy which the first volume, with all its manifold defects, had\ncontained.\n\nLamon was a very different man from Lincoln--so different that men who\nknew them both wondered at Lincoln's fondness for him. And he knew\nLincoln intimately. But he was not capable of interpreting the best\nthat was in Lincoln.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nTHE REED LECTURE\n\n\nONE of the first results of the Lamon biography was a lecture prepared\nby Rev. James A. Reed, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of\nSpringfield. This lecture[35] was delivered several times, and in 1873\nwas published in _Scribner's Magazine_, which at that time was edited\nby J. G. Holland. Holland had been horrified by the Lamon biography,\nand had reviewed it with such disfavor that Herndon attributes\nthe failure of the book in no small part to Holland's pronounced\nopposition. This lecture, published in so widely read a magazine,\nproduced a profound impression. A doubt which Lamon had raised and\nwhich Herndon later had the bad taste to emphasize concerning Lincoln's\npaternity turned to good advantage; and Reed produced from several of\nthe men whom Lamon had quoted, counter-statements declaring that they\nhad been misquoted. Of these was James H. Matheny, whose statement to\nHerndon we are to consider in connection with the story of Lincoln's\nburnt book and who wrote to Dr. Reed:\n\n \"The language attributed to me in Lamon's book is not from my pen.\n I did not write it, and it does not express my sentiment of Mr.\n Lincoln's entire life and character. It is a mere collection of\n sayings gathered from private conversations that were only true of Mr.\n Lincoln's earlier life. I would not have allowed such an article to\n be printed over my signature as covering my opinion of Mr. Lincoln's\n life and religious sentiments. While I do believe Mr. Lincoln to have\n been an infidel in his former life, when his mind was as yet unformed,\n and his associations principally with rough and skeptical men, yet I\n believe he was a very different man in later life; and that after\n associating with a different class of men, and investigating the\n subject, he was a firm believer in the Christian religion.\"\n\nMajor John T. Stuart also repudiated the statement attributed to\nhim, and not only so but gave detailed and positive statements which\ndirectly contradicted the more important part of what Lamon had\nattributed to him.\n\nDr. Reed went further and set forth with a considerable degree of\nprecision the grounds for the statement that Lincoln's views had\nundergone marked change during his life in Springfield, particularly\nunder the influence of Dr. Reed's predecessor, the Rev. James Smith.\n\nDr. Reed's lecture became the subject of acrimonious attack. His\narticle was flouted, belittled, and railed at. But its essential\naffirmations have not been disproved. We shall devote a chapter to a\nconsideration of the relations of Dr. Smith to Mr. Lincoln and shall\nfind that Dr. Reed's claims were not extravagant.\n\nOther controversialists took up the pen about this time in confutation\nof Lamon. One of the most interesting and valuable of the contributions\nwhich then appeared was an article by B. F. Irwin, of Pleasant Plains,\nIllinois, published in the _Illinois State Journal_, for May 16,\n1874.[36] He produced a considerable number of letters from men who\nhad known Mr. Lincoln prior to his residence in Springfield and whose\nknowledge of his religious beliefs at that time was intimate and\naccurate. Of these by far the most important was from Lincoln's old\nteacher, Mentor Graham, which we shall quote at length in the chapter\non Lincoln's \"Burnt Book.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAmong these were letters from men who professed to have heard Lincoln\ncharged with infidelity and had heard him deny it. The most important\nof these letters, however, aside from that of Mentor Graham, have value\nfor us in the light they shed upon what really constituted Lincoln's\nalleged infidelity at this early period. That he had doubts and\nmisgivings upon various subjects was not denied, but his hostility to\nthe orthodox belief expressed itself chiefly in a vigorous denial of\nthe endlessness of future punishment. This dogma Lincoln denied upon\ntwo grounds, as these letters affirm. First, the justice and mercy of\nGod; and secondly, the fact that according to the Biblical scheme of\nredemption, whatever right the human race had possessed to immortality\nand lost through sin, had been restored in Christ. Lincoln was,\naccording to the testimony of a number of these men who had known him,\nnot an infidel, nor even a deist, but essentially a Universalist.\n\nIrwin had interviewed Colonel James H. Matheny and quoted Matheny as\ndenying that he had ever heard Lincoln admit that he was an infidel and\ndid not himself believe it. Irwin himself had known Lincoln personally\nfor many years and had known large numbers of men who were intimately\nacquainted with him and he said:\n\n \"I have never yet heard one single man express the belief that Lincoln\n was an infidel. Mr. Herndon, it is true, did have opportunities over\n others in knowing Mr. Lincoln's religious opinions, but other men\n had some opportunities, as well as Mr. Herndon, and to them I shall\n have to appeal, for I do not claim to personally know anything about\n Mr. Lincoln's religious faith. Though personally acquainted with Mr.\n Lincoln for twenty-eight years and often in his office, I never heard\n him say a word on the subject of his religious belief.\"\n\nIt will be noted that while the statements concerning Mr. Lincoln's\nalleged infidelity have been published over the name of Lamon, Herndon\nwas held responsible for them in these controversies. The impetuous\nHerndon possessed none of the reticence of Bateman; and while denying\nthat he wrote Lamon's book, rushed in as Lamon's champion and covered\nhimself with wounds if not with glory.\n\nIrwin's article proceeds to quote these old neighbors and friends of\nLincoln, whose testimony, added to those adduced by Dr. Reed, was\nof very great weight. I have copied these[37] from the files of\nthe _Illinois State Journal_ in the Library of the Illinois State\nHistorical Society in Springfield and here produce three of them,\nreserving others for later comment.\n\nOne of the letters quoted in full by Irwin was from Thomas Mostiller,\nof Pleasant Plains, Menard County, Illinois. He professed to have heard\nLincoln when he was a candidate for Congress in 1847 or 1848, when he\nwas charged with being an infidel and explicitly denied it. Said he:\n\n \"I was present and heard Josiah Grady ask Lincoln a question or two\n regarding a charge made against Lincoln of being an infidel, and\n Lincoln unqualifiedly denied the charge of infidelity, and said, in\n addition, his parents were Baptists, and brought him up in the belief\n of the Christian religion; and he believed it as much as anyone, but\n was sorry to say he had or made no pretensions to religion himself.\n I can't give his exact words, but would make oath anywhere that he\n positively denied the charge made against him of infidelity. That was\n the first time I ever heard the charge of infidelity against Lincoln.\n Grady did not say that he would not vote for Lincoln if he was an\n infidel, but my understanding from Grady was that he would not vote\n for Lincoln if he was an infidel; and Grady did, as I suppose, vote\n for him. I understood him that he should.\"\n\nAnother statement was by Jonathan Harnett. It was not made in a letter,\nlike the others, but was verbally stated to Mr. Irwin, who wrote it\nfrom Harnett's dictation, and was then read to him and endorsed by\nhim. Mr. Harnett related an incident which he declared himself to have\nwitnessed in Lincoln's office in 1858, when an argument was held on\nthe truth of the Christian religion, a number of men participating. He\naffirmed that Mr. Lincoln ended the discussion by a cogent argument\nbased on the restitution of all things in Christ, and the ultimate\nsalvation of all men.\n\nThis line of argument, attested by a number who heard Mr. Lincoln\nin these discussions, will be readily understood by those who have\nheard, as he had heard from his infancy, the typical argument of the\nbackwoods Baptist preacher, and who appreciates Mr. Lincoln's theory\nof the irrevocability of the Divine will, and the relation of the\natonement to the restitution of all things. The essential difference\nbetween Lincoln's point of view and that of these preachers was\nthat the preachers saw in the work of Christ the basis of personal\nforgiveness of sin; and Lincoln saw in it rather a manifestation of the\nirrevocable law of God for the ultimate salvation of the race.\n\nAnother of the letters included in the Irwin article was one from Isaac\nCogdal, who related a conversation in Lincoln's office in Herndon's\npresence, in which Lincoln expressed himself somewhat as follows:\n\n \"He did not nor could not believe in the endless punishment of any\n one of the human race. He understood punishment for sin to be a\n Bible doctrine; that punishment was parental in its object, aim and\n design, and intended for the good of the offender; hence it must\n cease when justice was satisfied. He added that all that was lost by\n the transgression of Adam was made good by the atonement; all that\n was lost by the fall was made good by the sacrifice; and he added\n this remark, that punishment being a 'provision of the gospel system,\n he was not sure but the world would be better off if a little more\n punishment was preached by our ministers, and not so much of pardon of\n sin.'\"\n\nI need only add, that to me these letters carry the conviction of\nreality. Lincoln had been rooted and grounded in the kind of dogma that\nbegan with Adam and related to his fall in vital sort the atonement of\nChrist. That Lincoln had some doubts concerning the person of Christ\nis not in point. He believed in God, and he knew the fact of sin, and\nhe was dyed in the wool in arguments concerning the fall of the race\nin Adam and its redemption in Christ. But he did not dwell as did the\npreachers on individual forgiveness, which he sometimes doubted, but\nsought to evolve a legal and moral scheme with a final restoration. I\nregard these testimonies as essentially true.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nTHE HERNDON LECTURES, LETTERS, AND BIOGRAPHY\n\n\nTHE name of William H. Herndon finds frequent mention in these pages,\nas it must in any study of Abraham Lincoln. With all his faults as\na biographer, his astigmatism, his anti-religious prejudice, his\nintolerance, his bad taste, he is an invaluable source of information\nconcerning his partner and friend, Abraham Lincoln.\n\nThe publication of the Lamon biography and the Reed lecture brought him\ninto a conflict from which no power on earth could probably have kept\nhim out, and in it he did and said many things which for his own sake\nand Lincoln's he might better not have said.\n\nBut Herndon was no liar. Biased as he was, and himself a free-thinker\nor perhaps worse, he told the truth in such fashion as to throw it out\nof perspective, and sometimes told what he believed to be the truth in\na passion which compels us to discount some of his testimony. But he\ndid not lie nor intentionally misrepresent.\n\nFor twenty years Lincoln and Herndon were law partners, and their\npartnership was never formally dissolved. Lincoln liked Herndon, but\nthere was no loss of love between Herndon and Mrs. Lincoln. She, if\ntradition about Springfield is to be believed, disliked him personally\nfor his habits, and possibly also for his politics, for he was an\nAbolitionist before Lincoln, and a very ardent one at that. Had she\nknown what Herndon was to say about her in later years she might have\nbeen more gracious to her husband's junior partner, who had learned\nsome habits at the bar of his father's tavern which he might better not\nhave learned.\n\nHerndon in his later life looked not a little like Lincoln, and\nshowed no disposition by any change of beard or other device to lessen\nthe resemblance; but in other particulars the two men were most\nunlike. Herndon was five feet nine, Lincoln more than six feet three.\nHerndon was impetuous, Lincoln extremely deliberate and cautious to\na fault. Herndon was a good judge of human nature and excelled in\ncross-examination, while he failed in the careful preparation of his\ncases; Lincoln was a very poor judge of human nature, but reduced his\ncases to simple principles, and carefully worked up his evidence with\ndeliberate care. Herndon was a great reader; Lincoln seldom read a book\nthrough. Herndon spent his money for books and had a valuable library;\nLincoln seldom wasted a dollar on a book. Herndon was outspoken;\nLincoln was secretive. Herndon wanted all the world to know what he\nthought about everything; Lincoln kept his ear to the ground and chose\nhis own time for the utterance of his convictions.\n\nWe shall never have another as good description of Abraham Lincoln's\nappearance and manner as that which comes from the pen of Herndon, nor\nshall we ever obtain better pen pictures of many of the incidents in\nhis career. But Herndon was too good a witness to be a good judge, and\nhe lived too near the stump to behold the tree.\n\nHerndon had already attempted to catechize Dr. Smith,[38] Mr. Lincoln's\npastor, concerning his relations with Lincoln, and Smith had replied\nthat he was willing to tell what he knew about Lincoln's faith, but\ndid not choose to make Mr. Herndon his vehicle of communication to the\npublic. This did not tend to increase Herndon's love for the clergy:\nand when Dr. Holland printed Dr. Reed's lecture, with its letters in\nwhich several of the men whom Lamon, on Herndon's authority, had quoted\nin support of Lamon's declaration, Herndon quickly replied and Holland\nrefused to print his article.\n\nHerndon spilled much ink through a New York newspaper whose editor\nlater was sent to prison for the circulation of obscene literature,\nand wrote a number of letters, in each of which he tended to become a\nlittle more pronounced.\n\nHe scorned the idea that Lincoln had taken strangers into his\nconfidence concerning his faith. He said in a letter to J. E. Remsburg,\nunder date of September 10, 1887, \"He was the most secretive, reticent,\nshut-mouthed man that ever existed.\"\n\nThe Reed lecture infuriated him. He denounced Dr. Reed publicly as a\nliar, and said many things which a more prudent man would not have\nsaid. On November 9, 1882, he issued a broadside, entitled \"A Card and\na Correction,\" beginning:\n\n\"I wish to say a few short words to the public and private ear. About\nthe year 1870 I wrote a letter to Mr. F. E. Abbott, then of Ohio,\ntouching Mr. Lincoln's religion.[39] In that letter I stated that Mr.\nLincoln was an infidel, sometimes bordering on atheism, and I now\nrepeat the same. In the year 1873, the Right Rev. James A. Reed, pastor\nand liar of this city, gave a lecture on Mr. Lincoln's religion, in\nwhich he tried to answer me,--\" and more to the same purport.\n\nWhile Herndon and Lamon were men of quite different, mind and ability,\nthe two men used essentially the same body of material for the making\nof their books about Lincoln, Herndon having sold copies of all his\nLincoln manuscripts to Lamon.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nHerndon delivered at least three lectures on Lincoln. The first, and\nmost popular and valuable, was on the \"Life and Character of Lincoln.\"\nIt was first delivered to a Springfield audience in 1866, was repeated\nmany times, and it forms the substance of the twentieth chapter of his\nbook, as it appeared in the first edition, and the eleventh chapter\nin the second. It contains the incomparable description of Lincoln's\npersonal appearance which must stand to all time as the best and final\npen-picture of the man.\n\nThe second was entitled \"Abraham Lincoln; Miss Ann Rutledge; New Salem;\nthe Poem.\" It was delivered in the old Sangamon County court house in\nSpringfield in November, 1866, and was based on notes which Herndon\nhad recently made on a visit to New Salem, Sunday and Monday, October\n14-15, 1866. It contains the material out of which all subsequent\nromantic works about Lincoln and Ann Rutledge have been woven. It was\nheard by a small audience, greeted with manifest disapproval, and came\nnear to being hopelessly lost; but is preserved in a limited edition\npublished by H. E. Barker, Springfield. This edition is quoted in part\nin the foregoing pages, with special reference to Herndon's personal\ntouch with New Salem.\n\nThe third was on \"The Religion of Abraham Lincoln,\" and was called out\nby the Holland biography and the Bateman interview. Of this and the\nfirst, Mr. Barker says in his preface to the Ann Rutledge lecture, that\nthey \"were allowed to perish for lack of permanence in printed form.\nTheir subject-matter, however, was embodied in the extended Life of\nLincoln published in 1872 by Ward H. Lamon, and in the still later Life\nof Lincoln written and published by Mr. Herndon in 1889.\"\n\nThis material is quoted practically _in extenso_ in the pages of this\nvolume, no important statement having been omitted.\n\nHerndon's regret increased that he had sold to Lamon the copies of his\npapers. He was in a position where he was getting most of the blame\nfor what Lamon had written, and he was not wholly in sympathy with\nLamon's and especially with Black's point of view. Lamon's proposed\nnew edition, with the new volume that was to have covered the years\nof Lincoln's Presidency, did not materialize. There was probably no\npublisher who dared undertake it. At length Herndon got to work on\nhis own biography of Lincoln, and was fortunate in associating with\nhimself Mr. Jesse W. Weik, who helped him to complete it. The work was\npublished in 1889 by Belford, Clarke, & Company, of Chicago, and made\nits appearance in three volumes. Soon after its publication the firm\nfailed. The books were hawked about for a song, the greater part of\nthe edition was unsold, and the balance of the edition is alleged to\nhave been bought up by Lincoln's friends and destroyed. The author of\nthis book paid $35.00 for his set, and could sell it at a profit.\n\nIt is a great pity that Herndon had not learned his lesson from the\nfate of Lamon's book. If he had omitted some of the objectionable\nmatter, he would have made for himself a great name. Even as it was, he\ndid a great piece of work: but he gained neither money nor commendation.\n\nIn 1892, Appletons brought out a new edition in two volumes, with some\nmatter omitted, and some new matter by Horace White, and that edition\nmet with favor. But Herndon did not live to see it. He died, poor and\nbattle-scarred, denounced as the maligner of the man he loved.\n\nIn his younger days, Herndon drank, and it is alleged that in his\nlater life he used morphine. It is said that he wanted an appointment\nto a Government Land Office, but that Lincoln, knowing his weakness,\ndid not appoint him, and that this had some share in his feeling,\nwhich he still thought to be one of reverence for Lincoln, but which\nwas unconsciously tinged with resentment. To this it is answered that\nLincoln did offer Herndon an appointment which Herndon declined: but\nit was not a very attractive appointment, and there is good reason\nto believe that Herndon was disappointed, and that he knew Lincoln's\nreason.\n\nThe name which Herndon applied to Lincoln he accepted for himself,\nthat of infidel. Yet it is fair to ask whether this was a just term\nas applied to Herndon himself. In his lecture on Ann Rutledge, he had\noccasion to defend himself in advance for views which he knew would be\nheard with suspicion, and which, indeed, like almost everything he said\nand did, had the unfortunate quality of increasing his unpopularity, he\nsaid:\n\n \"You know my Religion, my Philosophy: That the highest thought and\n acts of the human soul and its religious sphere are to think, love,\n obey, and worship God, by thinking freely, by loving, teaching, doing\n good to, and elevating mankind. My first duty is to God, then to\n mankind, and then to the individual man or woman.\"--_Lecture on Ann\n Rutledge_, pp. 9-10.\n\nOne cannot help regretting that the man who had thus defined his own\nreligion should ever have been led to think himself or any other man\nwhom he supposed to be like-minded an infidel.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nLINCOLN'S BURNT BOOK\n\n\nIN the chapter on the \"Conditions of Lincoln's Young Manhood at New\nSalem\" mention was made of the \"book\" which Lincoln is said to have\nwritten, opposed to the Christian religion, a book which his employer,\nSamuel Hill, is said to have snatched from his hand and thrown into the\nfire lest Lincoln's infidelity should ruin his political career. To\nhave treated this subject at length would have thrown that chapter out\nof focus, and it is time that we should learn the truth about it.\n\nColonel Lamon tells us about this book thus:\n\n \"He had made himself thoroughly familiar with the writings of Paine\n and Volney,--the _Ruins_ by one and the _Age of Reason_ by the other.\n His mind was full of the subject, and he felt an itching to write. He\n did write, and the result was a 'little book.' It was probably merely\n an extended essay,[40] but it was ambitiously spoken of as a 'book' by\n himself and by the persons who were made acquainted with its contents.\n In this book he intended to demonstrate,--\n\n  \"First, that the Bible was not God's revelation; and\n  \"Secondly, that Jesus was not the Son of God.\"\n               --LAMON, _Life of Lincoln_, pp. 157-58.\n\nLamon wrote this in 1872 of a book supposed to have been written by\nLincoln and burned by Hill in 1834.\n\nWe have already quoted from Herndon's account, but it is brief and for\nconvenience will bear reading here in full:\n\n \"In 1834, while still living in New Salem and before he became a\n lawyer, he was surrounded by a class of people exceedingly liberal in\n matters of religion. Volney's _Ruins_ and Paine's _Age of Reason_\n passed from hand to hand, and furnished food for the evening's\n discussion in the tavern and village store. Lincoln read both these\n books and thus assimilated them into his own being. He prepared an\n extended essay--called by many a book--in which he made an argument\n against Christianity, striving to prove that the Bible was not\n inspired, and therefore not God's revelation, and that Jesus Christ\n was not the Son of God. The manuscript containing these audacious and\n comprehensive propositions he intended to have published or given a\n wide circulation in some other way. He carried it to the store, where\n it was read and freely discussed. His friend and employer, Samuel\n Hill, was among the listeners, and seriously questioning the propriety\n of a promising young man like Lincoln fathering such unpopular\n notions, he snatched the manuscript from his hands and thrust it into\n the stove. The book went up in flames, and Lincoln's political future\n was secure.\"--HERNDON, III, 439, 440.\n\nMr. Herndon had already given this information to Lamon in another\nform, and Lamon used it in his list of certificates from Lincoln's old\nfriends that Lincoln was an infidel.\n\nAs printed in Lamon's book, Herndon's account of the burnt manuscript\nwas communicated in the following letter:\n\n \"As to Mr. Lincoln's religious views, he was, in short, an infidel,\n ... a theist. He did not believe that Jesus was God, nor the Son of\n God,--was a fatalist, denied the freedom of the will. Mr. Lincoln\n told me a thousand times, that he did not believe the Bible was the\n revelation of God, as the Christian world contends. The points that\n Mr. Lincoln tried to demonstrate [in his book] were: First, That the\n Bible was not God's revelation; and, Second, That Jesus was not the\n Son of God. I assert this on my own knowledge, and on my veracity.\n Judge Logan, John T. Stuart, James H. Matheny, and others, will\n tell you the truth. I say they will confirm what I say, with this\n exception,--they will make it blacker than I remember it. Joshua F.\n Speed of Louisville, I think, will tell you the same thing.\"--LAMON,\n _Life of Lincoln_, p. 489.\n\nIt is important to notice that we do not have two witnesses concerning\nthis book, but only one. Lamon gives no evidence of having possessed\nany independent knowledge of the book. His information was derived\nfrom Herndon. In the chapter on \"Lincoln's Young Manhood\" we considered\nhow slight was Herndon's personal connection with New Salem. The town\nhad vanished long before he ever visited the spot, and apparently the\nonly time he ever spent there for the purpose of study was a Sunday\nafternoon and Monday morning, October 14 and 15, 1866. On the occasion\nof that visit he gathered the material for his lecture on Ann Rutledge.\nSo far as we have evidence, he learned nothing at this time about\nLincoln's burnt book. In his letter, written to be included in Lamon's\nbiography, in which reference to this book is made, he says: \"I assert\nthis on my own knowledge and on my own veracity.\" That sentence appears\nat first reading to refer to Herndon's personal knowledge of the book,\nbut a second reading with the context shows that Herndon does not mean\nto claim that he had personal knowledge of the book, but personal\nknowledge of Lincoln's belief or the lack of it.\n\nWhere did Herndon learn about this book?\n\nHe learned it from James H. Matheny, who had never seen the \"book\" but\nhad received the information in confidence from Lincoln. It will be\nremembered that Matheny repudiated the supposed letter to Herndon which\nLamon printed as from him and said that he never wrote it, but that\nHerndon compiled it from scraps of several conversations, and that it\ndid not represent Matheny's opinion of Lincoln's ultimate religion. It\nis not necessary to suppose that either Herndon or Lamon intended to\nmisrepresent Matheny. Lamon had no original documents to work from and\nthe copy which he received of Herndon's notes of Matheny's conversation\nhe took to be the copy of a letter from Matheny and printed it as such.\nIt appears to be quite clear that this was the only source of Herndon's\nknowledge of Lincoln's burnt book. The following is the report of these\nscraps of conversation with Matheny as Herndon wrote them down and as\nLamon printed them:\n\n \"I knew Mr. Lincoln as early as 1834-5; know he was an infidel. He\n and W. D. Herndon used to talk infidelity in the clerk's office\n in this city, about the years 1837-40. Lincoln attacked the Bible\n and the New Testament on two grounds: first, from the inherent or\n apparent contradictions under its lids; second, from the grounds of\n reason. Sometimes he ridiculed the Bible and New Testament, sometimes\n seemed to scoff it, though I shall not use that word in its full and\n literal sense. I never heard that Lincoln changed his views, though\n his personal and political friend from 1834 to 1860. Sometimes Lincoln\n bordered on atheism. He went far that way, and often shocked me. I\n was then a young man and believed what my good mother told me. Stuart\n & Lincoln's office was in what was called Hoffman's Row, on North\n Fifth Street, near the public square. It was in the same building\n as the clerk's office, and on the same floor. Lincoln would come\n into the clerk's office, where I and some young men--Evan Butler,\n Newton Francis, and others--were writing or staying, and would bring\n the Bible with him; would read a chapter; argue against it. Lincoln\n then had a smattering of geology, if I recollect it. Lincoln often,\n if not wholly, was an atheist; at least, bordered on it. Lincoln\n was enthusiastic in his infidelity. As he grew older, he grew more\n discreet, didn't talk much before strangers about his religion; but to\n friends, close and bosom ones, he was always open and avowed, fair and\n honest; but to strangers, he held them off from policy. Lincoln used\n to quote Burns. Burns helped Lincoln to be an infidel, as I think; at\n least, he found in Burns a like thinker and feeler. Lincoln quoted\n 'Tam o' Shanter.' 'What! send one to heaven, and ten to hell!' etc.\n\n \"From what I know of Mr. Lincoln and his views of Christianity, and\n from what I know as honest and well-founded rumor; from what I have\n heard his best friends say and regret for years; from what he never\n denied when accused, and from what Lincoln hinted and intimated, to\n say no more--he did write a little book on infidelity at or near New\n Salem, in Menard County, about the year 1834 or 1835. I have stated\n these things to you often. Judge Logan, John T. Stuart, yourself, know\n what I know, and some of you more.\n\n \"Mr. Herndon, you insist on knowing something which you know I\n possess, and got as a secret, and that is, about Lincoln's little book\n on infidelity. Mr. Lincoln did tell me that he did write a little\n book on infidelity. This statement I have avoided heretofore; but,\n as you strongly insist upon it,--probably to defend yourself against\n charges of misrepresentation,--I give it to you as I got it from\n Lincoln's mouth.\"--LAMON, _Life of Lincoln_, pp. 487-88.\n\nWe have here our one witness that Mr. Lincoln while at New Salem,[41]\nfreshly risen from the reading of Volney and Paine, and having what\nLamon called the \"itch for writing\" wrote some kind of essay adverse to\nthe doctrines of Christianity as Lincoln then understood them. Matheny\nnever saw the book and never talked with anyone so far as we know who\nhad seen it, excepting Lincoln himself, who told him in confidence that\nhe had written such an essay. The fact that Matheny says that he \"got\nit as a secret\" would seem to indicate that Lincoln had no pride in it,\nand his reference to Herndon's insistence indicates that Herndon had no\nother source of information.\n\nLincoln did, then, write something of this character and it may\nhave been burned; though it is extremely doubtful whether it met so\nspectacular a fate or was anything like so formidable a document as\ntradition has represented it.\n\nIt will be noted that Colonel Matheny says nothing about the burning of\nthe book. Herndon got that item from some other source, and apparently\nmisunderstood it. This information, apparently, Herndon picked up\non the occasion of his visit to New Salem. Samuel Hill may, indeed,\nhave reminded Lincoln that if he intended to run for the Legislature\nagainst Peter Cartwright, it would be better for him not to be known\nas an infidel; and indeed if Lincoln was known as an infidel, Peter\nCartwright was not the man to have failed to remind him of it. But at\nthe time when Samuel Hill snatched something out of Lincoln's hand and\nthrew it into the fire he was not concerned so much about Lincoln's\npolitical future as he was about something else. The document which\nSamuel Hill burned contained very little about theology.\n\nWhen on an evening in November, 1866, Mr. Herndon, but lately returned\nfrom his visit to the site of New Salem, delivered in the old court\nhouse in Springfield before a small and critical audience his lecture\non Ann Rutledge, he informed his hearers that in 1834 that sweet young\ngirl of nineteen was simultaneously loved by three men, one of whom\nwas Abraham Lincoln. He omitted the names of the other two, and filled\nin their place in the manuscript with blanks. The world has long since\nlearned the other two names, of John McNamur and Samuel Hill. Herndon's\nreason for concealing them at the time was probably the fact that their\ndescendants were living near, but those descendants are well aware of\nit now, and have been for years.\n\nHill and McNamur were partners, and Ann loved McNamur and rejected\nHill. McNamur went East, and was gone so long that it was believed he\nwas either dead or had proved untrue, and Hill's hope lit up again only\nto meet a second disappointment. Ann Rutledge still loved McNamur, but,\nbelieving him forever lost to her, she had made her second choice, and\nthat choice was not Hill. Hill awoke to the sad discovery that having\nonce been refused for his partner's sake he was refused again for the\nsake of his clerk. This shy, gawky, lank, and ill-mannered young fellow\nwho was selling goods in Hill's store and studying law and cherishing\nall manner of ambitions had aspired to the hand of Ann Rutledge and had\nbeen accepted.\n\nThe truth about it came out in the discovery of a letter which Hill had\nwritten to McNamur. Hill was making one last effort to learn whether\nMcNamur was living or dead, and if living whether he still loved Ann;\nand was reproaching him for his delay and neglect. This letter did\nnot find its way to the post office; in some way it was lost and was\npicked up by the children who brought it to Lincoln. This was the\ndocument which Lincoln held in his hand when he and Hill came to their\nfinal reckoning concerning the heart of Ann Rutledge; and the argument\nbetween them, while friendly, developed some heat, and that was what\nHill snatched from Lincoln's hand and threw into the fire.\n\nAs for the book or essay or whatever it may have been in which Lincoln\npassed on his undigested reading of Volney and Paine, we do not know\nwhat became of that, nor need we greatly care. It went the way of a\ngood deal of literature which Lincoln was producing at this time,\nprobably with no dream that any of it would ever see a printing-press.\nIt is hardly credible that Lincoln, who never printed a book even in\nhis maturer years, should have had serious purpose of printing this\nparticular bit of half-fledged philosophy.\n\nBut we have knowledge, and very direct knowledge, of something else\nwhich Lincoln wrote at this time. We learn of it not by any such\ncircuitous route of hearsay evidence as accompanies the story of the\nso-called book on infidelity. We learn of it from a man who received\nit at Lincoln's hands and who read it and remembered its contents and\nwas a competent witness not only as to the production of the book, but\nalso as to its argument. This is none other than Mentor Graham, the\nschoolmaster of New Salem, who introduced Lincoln to Kirkham's Grammar,\nwho taught Lincoln surveying, who had Lincoln in his home as a lodger,\nand who knew more about Lincoln's religious views during his years at\nNew Salem than any other man who lived to tell the world about it after\nLincoln's death. In Irwin's article, which we have already quoted, is\nfound this letter from Mentor Graham.\n\nMentor Graham is a much better witness than either Mr. Herndon or\nColonel Matheny,--better because equally honest, and a man of less\nviolent prejudices and of more sober habits, and especially because he\nhad direct personal knowledge of the facts. In his letter to Mr. Irwin,\nunder date of March 17, 1874, Mentor Graham relates that when Lincoln\nwas living in Graham's house in New Salem in 1833, studying English\ngrammar and surveying under this good schoolmaster, Lincoln one morning\nsaid to him:\n\n\"Graham, what do you think of the anger of the Lord?\"\n\nGraham replied, \"I believe the Lord never was angry or mad, and never\nwill be; that His loving kindness endureth forever, and that He never\nchanges.\"\n\nLincoln said, \"I have a little manuscript written which I will show\nyou.\"\n\nThe manuscript was written on foolscap paper, about a half-quire in\nsize, and was written in a plain hand. Mentor read it.\n\n\"It was a defense of universal salvation. The commencement of it was\nsomething about the God of the universe never being excited, mad, or\nangry. I had the manuscript in my possession some week or ten days.\nI have read many books on the subject, and I don't think in point of\nperspicacity and plainness of reasoning I ever read one to surpass it.\nI remember well his argument. He took the passage, 'As in Adam all\ndie, even so in Christ shall all be made alive,' and followed with the\nproposition that whatever the breach or injury of Adam's transgression\nto the human race was, which no doubt was very great, was made right by\nthe atonement of Christ.\"\n\nOn this point, then, we have abundant witness. Lincoln argued from the\nfall of man to the redemptive work of Christ as the Baptist preachers\nwere in the habit of doing, but instead of finding there the basis\nof an argument for individual election and particular salvation or\ndamnation, found in it the basis of faith in universal salvation.\n\nHow Lincoln can have reconciled this kind of reasoning with his\nreadings from Thomas Paine can be understood by those who have read\nPaine--which most men who discuss him have not--and who know the form\nof argument of the backwoods preachers which Lincoln had known all his\nlife and little else in the way of reasoned discourse in spiritual\nthings. His line of argument was a not unnatural resultant of the\nforces at work in his mind.\n\nBut what about the book which Hill burned?\n\nHere again we have the personal knowledge of Mentor Graham. He was\nnot, indeed, actually present when the manuscript was burned. No one,\nprobably, was present, except Hill and Lincoln. But Graham was very\nmuch nearer to the event in point both of time and distance than either\nHerndon or Matheny, from whom Herndon learned about it, and learned\nincorrectly.\n\nWhat Hill snatched from Lincoln's hand and burned was a letter which\nHill had written to McNamur about Ann Rutledge. The letter was lost\nand picked up by the school children, who brought it to Lincoln, the\npostmaster. Lincoln, knowing Hill's handwriting, and guessing the\nnature of the letter, kept it to discuss with Hill alone; and they did\ndiscuss it together. Hill was demanding of McNamur that he either come\nback to New Salem, or release Ann Rutledge from her engagement; and\nwhat he learned was, that his successful rival was not now McNamur, but\nLincoln. Here is what Graham says about it:\n\n\"Some of the school children had picked up the letter and handed it to\nLincoln. Hill and Lincoln were talking about it, when Hill snatched the\nletter from Lincoln and put it into the fire. The letter was respecting\na young lady, Miss Ann Rutledge, for whom all three of these gentlemen\nseemed to have respect.\"\n\nGraham lived in New Salem at the time that this incident occurred.\nNeither Herndon nor Matheny lived there. Graham left New Salem when\nit ceased to be a town, and spent the remainder of his life among the\npeople who had been his neighbors in New Salem and who became residents\nwith him in the near-by town of Petersburg. Graham had direct access to\nthe facts.\n\nThe reason why it was not much talked about is evident enough. Hill,\nMcNamur, and Lincoln all married, and their wives and children were\nliving not far from where these events occurred. The triangular\nmisunderstanding of three young men about a young woman who had died\nmany years before was a matter for quiet gossip on the part of the\nolder inhabitants, but it did not come to the general knowledge of the\npublic until Herndon delivered his unwelcome lecture on Ann Rutledge.\nIn some things he learned and told the truth. But his material had been\ntoo hastily gathered, and was too quickly rushed into a lecture to be\nreliable in all respects, and it requires about four titles to cover\nits diversified and unstratified subject-matter.\n\nOur knowledge of the burnt book is, therefore, a matter in which we\ncome finally to the remote recollection of James Matheny on the one\nhand, who never saw the book, and who manifestly misunderstood some\nparts of the story, and the close and intimate knowledge of Mentor\nGraham on the other. Lincoln apparently told Matheny in confidence that\nhe while he was living in Salem wrote an essay against the Christian\nreligion, and Matheny regarded it as a secret but told it to Herndon.\nHerndon heard some gossip about a manuscript which Hill burned,\nand thought it to have been the same. Mentor Graham had reliable\ninformation as to what it was that Hill burned, and moreover knew\nfrom his own personal knowledge that Lincoln wrote a very different\nmanuscript than the one of which he told Matheny, for he himself had\nread it, and remembered its general nature.\n\nWhy Lincoln wrote on both sides of the same subject we do not know and\nit is not necessary to ask. He may have been practicing his skill in\ndebating; he may have held one view at one time and another at another;\nhe may have been uncertain what view he really held and have been\nseeking to formulate his opinions. It would not be fair to judge his\nmature opinion by our scant knowledge of what was contained in either\nof these two manuscripts. But the thing which should be remembered is\nthat we know more about the book in favor of Christianity than we know\nof the book against it. Mentor Graham was a truthful and a competent\nwitness and he had both seen and read the book, which is not true of\nanyone through whom we have knowledge of the other essay.\n\nWe are not at liberty to draw the sharp distinction which sometimes has\nbeen drawn against the rampant infidelity of Lincoln's earlier years\nand the supposed orthodoxy of his mature life. Neither of these may\nhave been as hard and fast as have sometimes been assumed. It is quite\npossible that Abraham Lincoln never became a Christian of the type who\ncould have expressed his faith in the terms of the Bateman interview;\nit is equally possible that even in those callow years when he was\nreading Tom Paine and Volney and writing sub-sophomoric effusions on\nthings he knew little about, the germ of religious faith was actually\npresent even in his doubt.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\n\"THE CHRISTIAN'S DEFENCE\"\n\n\nIN the spring of the year 1850, after the death of their little son\nEddie, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln visited Mrs. Lincoln's relatives in\nKentucky. While they were on this visit, Mr. Lincoln picked up a\nbook entitled _The Christian's Defence_, by Rev. James Smith. He was\ninterested, for Dr. Smith was a townsman of his, and in the absence of\nMrs. Lincoln's rector Dr. Smith had conducted the little boy's funeral\nservice in the Lincoln home. Lincoln read a part but not the whole\nof the book while on this visit. Dr. Smith, as the book showed, had\nhimself been a doubter, but had become convinced of the truth of the\nChristian religion, and had become a valiant defender of the faith, and\nan eager debater with skeptics. Out of a three weeks' discussion with\none of these this book had grown.\n\nOn his return to Springfield Mr. Lincoln took occasion to secure the\nbook, and to cultivate a closer acquaintance with its author.\n\nLincoln found him well worth knowing; and the reader of this book\ndeserves an introduction to him and his work.\n\nI have obtained from Miss Jeanette E. Smith, of Springfield,\ngranddaughter of Rev. James Smith, a considerable body of manuscript\nand other material relating to her grandfather.\n\nJames Smith was born in Glasgow, Scotland, May 11, 1801, and died in\nScotland July 3, 1871. He was the son of Peter and Margaret Smith. In\nyouth he was wild, and in his opinions was a deist; but when converted\nhe became a fearless defender of the faith. He was a big, brainy\nman, with a great voice and with positive convictions. He was called\nfrom Shelbyville, Kentucky, to the First Church of Springfield, his\npastorate beginning March 14, 1849, and closing December 17, 1856.\n\nHe was a strong temperance man. His sermon on \"The Bottle, Its Evils\nand Its Remedy,\" from Habakkuk 2:15, was preached on January 23,\n1853, and printed at the request of thirty-nine men who heard it,\nAbraham Lincoln being one of those who signed the request. \"Friends of\nTemperance\" they called themselves. I have a copy of this remarkable\nsermon. In one part it essayed a vindication of the distiller and\nliquor-seller, affirming that a community that licensed them had no\nright to abuse them for doing what they had paid for the privilege of\ndoing; and that the State with money in its pocket received as a share\nin the product of drunkenness had no right to condemn the saloonkeeper\nfor his share in the partnership. He called on the Legislature then in\nsession to pass a prohibitory law, forbidding all sale of intoxicating\nliquor except for medical, mechanical, and sacramental purposes.\n\nSuch sermons became abundant forty years afterward, but they were\nnot abundant in 1853. Dr. Smith was one of the men who held these\nconvictions, and Abraham Lincoln was one of the men who wanted to see\nthem printed and circulated.\n\nIt is remarkable that all knowledge of the massive book which Dr.\nSmith wrote and published should have perished from Springfield.\nLamon manifestly knew nothing of it as a book, but thought of it as\na manuscript tract, prepared especially for the ambitious business\nof converting Mr. Lincoln. His sarcastic description implies this,\nand Herndon, who may have known better at the time, had apparently\nforgotten. Both men were disqualified for the discussion of it by their\nignorance of it, as well as the violence of their prejudice.\n\nOn February 12, 1909, a service was held in the old First Presbyterian\nChurch in Springfield, then occupied by the Lutherans, the\nPresbyterians having erected a larger building. The address was given\nby Rev. Thomas D. Logan, Dr. Smith's successor, whose pastorate had\nbegun in 1888. In all the more than twenty years of his ministry in\nSpringfield, he had never seen this book. He had never known of it as\na book at the time he wrote the first draft of this centenary address.\nThe substance of the address he sent in advance as an article for\nthe Lincoln Number of _The Continent_ in February, 1909; but in the\nrevision of the proof he inserted a footnote saying that Dr. Smith's\ngranddaughter, Miss Jeanette E. Smith, had come into possession of a\ncopy of her grandfather's book, which he had just seen.\n\nThe prime reason for this complete ignorance of the book, even in the\nchurch which Lincoln attended, is that it was published six years\nbefore Dr. Smith came to Springfield, in a limited edition, and\ncompletely sold out before it came from the press; so that it never\ncame into general circulation in Springfield.\n\nMiss Smith has placed at my disposal her own copy of this book,\nwhich was her grandfather's, and I have been able to locate about a\nhalf-dozen copies in various public libraries, and by rare good fortune\nto buy one for myself.\n\nDr. Smith's statement was made in a letter from Cainno, Scotland, dated\nJanuary 24, 1867:\n\n \"It was my honor to place before Mr. Lincoln arguments designed\n to prove the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures,\n accompanied by the arguments of infidel objectors in their own\n language. To the arguments on both sides Mr. Lincoln gave a most\n patient, impartial, and searching investigation. To use his own\n language, he examined the arguments as a lawyer who is anxious\n to investigate truth investigates testimony. The result was the\n announcement made by himself that the argument in favor of the divine\n authority and inspiration of the Scriptures was unanswerable.\"--REV.\n JAMES A. REED: \"The Later Life and Religious Sentiments of Abraham\n Lincoln,\" _Scribner's Magazine_, July, 1873, p. 333.\n\nMr. Thomas Lewis, a lawyer whose office adjoined that of Mr. Lincoln in\nSpringfield, and who for a time was in the same office, was an elder in\nthe church which Lincoln attended. In 1898 he wrote his recollections\nof Dr. Smith's book and its influence upon Mr. Lincoln:\n\n \"I was an elder, trustee, treasurer, collector, superintendent of\n the Sunday school, and pew-renter. The following Tuesday, after the\n second Sunday, Mr. Lincoln called on me and inquired if there were\n any pews to rent in the church. I replied, 'Yes, and a very desirable\n one, vacated by Governor Madison, who has just left the city.' 'What\n is the rent?' said he. 'Fifty dollars, payable quarterly.' He handed\n me $12.50. Said he, 'Put it down to me.' From that date he paid each\n three months on said pew until he left for Washington; and from the\n first Sunday he was there I have not known of his not occupying that\n pew every Sunday he was in the city until he left. The seat was\n immediately in front of mine. The third Sunday his children came in\n the Sunday school.\n\n \"Shortly thereafter there was a revival in the church, and Mr. and\n Mrs. Lincoln, when he was in the city, attended meeting. In his\n absence she was there. They attended not only the regular meetings,\n but the inquiry meetings also, and it was the belief that both would\n unite with the church. When the candidates were examined Mr. Lincoln\n was in Detroit, prosecuting a patent right case, a branch of the\n profession in which he had acquired an enviable reputation. Mrs.\n Lincoln stated that she was confirmed in the Episcopal Church when\n twelve years of age, but did not wish to join the church by letter,\n but upon profession of faith, as she was never converted until Dr.\n Smith's preaching. She was admitted [1852]. Mr. Lincoln never applied.\n Some months later the session of the church invited Mr. Lincoln to\n deliver a lecture on the Bible. When it became known that Mr. Lincoln\n was to lecture in the Presbyterian church it assured a full house. It\n was said by divines and others to be the ablest defense of the Bible\n ever uttered in that pulpit.\n\n \"From the introduction of Mr. Lincoln to Dr. Smith their intimacy was\n of a most cordial character. At their last meeting previous to Mr.\n Lincoln's leaving for Washington, as they parted, Mr. Lincoln said,\n 'Doctor, I wish to be remembered in the prayers of yourself and our\n church members.'\"--_Illinois State Register_, December 10, 1898.\n\nA very interesting bit of testimony to the relations of Mr. Lincoln\nand his pastor, Dr. Smith, was given by Rev. William Bishop, D.D., in\nan address at Salina, Kansas, on February 12, 1897, and published in\nthe local papers at the time. Dr. Bishop was graduated from Illinois\nCollege in 1850, and for a time was a member of the faculty there. In\nthe summer after his graduation, he supplied Dr. Smith's pulpit during\nhis vacation:\n\n \"I first met Dr. Smith in the summer of 1850 in Jacksonville, at\n the commencement exercises of Illinois College, from which I had\n graduated and had just been appointed a member of the faculty of\n instruction. The acquaintance then formed ripened into mutual and\n congenial friendship. And during the two years of my connection with\n the college I was frequently a visitor and guest at his house in\n Springfield, and when, by reason of removal to another institution\n in another State, the visits were fewer and farther between, 'a free\n epistolary correspondence' continued to strengthen and brighten the\n links of fellowship. With his other accomplishments, Dr. Smith was\n an interesting and instructive conversationalist--in fact, quite a\n raconteur, somewhat like his friend Lincoln, always ready with a\n story to illustrate his opinions, and which gave piquancy to his\n conversation. Whenever he had occasion to speak of Lincoln he always\n evinced the strongest attachment and the warmest friendship for him,\n which was known to be fully reciprocated. Democrat as he was, and\n tinged with Southern hues--though never a secessionist--there seemed\n to be a mystic cord uniting the minister and the lawyer. This was\n subsequently beautifully shown on the part of Mr. Lincoln, who never\n forgot to do a generous thing. When he was elected President Dr. Smith\n and wife were getting old, their children all married and gone, except\n their youngest[42] son, a young man of twenty-three or four years of\n age. One of Lincoln's first official acts, after his inauguration,\n was the appointment of this young man to the consulate at Dundee,\n Scotland. The doctor, with his wife and son, returned to the land of\n his birth. The son soon returned to America, and Dr. Smith himself\n was appointed consul, which position he retained until his death in\n 1871.\n\n \"In the spring of 1857 Dr. Smith, anticipating a necessary absence\n from his church of two or three months during the summer, invited me\n to supply his pulpit until his return. Being young and inexperienced\n in the ministry, with considerable hesitation I accepted his urgent\n invitation. So I spent my college vacation performing as best I could\n this service. Mr. Lincoln was a regular attendant at church and\n evidently an attentive hearer and devout worshiper.\n\n \"As a college student I had seen and heard him and looked up to him\n as a being towering above common men; and, I confess, I was not a\n little intimidated by his presence as he sat at the end of a seat\n well forward toward the pulpit, with his deep eyes fixed upon me, and\n his long legs stretched out in the middle aisle to keep them from\n [using one of his own colloquialisms] being scrouged in the narrow\n space between the pews. My 'stage fright,' however, was soon very much\n relieved by his kindliness and words of encouragement.\n\n \"On a certain Sunday, the third, as I recollect it, in my term of\n service, I delivered a discourse on the text, 'Without God in the\n World.' The straight translation from the Greek is, 'Atheists in the\n World.' In discussing atheism, theoretical and practical, I endeavored\n to elucidate and enforce the fallacy of the one and the wickedness\n of the other. At the close of the service Mr. Lincoln came up and,\n putting his right hand in mine and his left on my shoulder, with other\n impressive remarks, said, 'I can say \"Amen\" to all that you have said\n this morning.' From that time on my interest in him grew apace.\n\n \"He was then known extensively all over the West as a great and good\n man, and only a year afterward he bounded into national fame by his\n victory in the great debate with Douglas, who, up to that time, was\n regarded as a debater invincible.\n\n \"During my brief sojourn in Springfield I had many opportunities of\n meeting Lincoln, hearing him, and talking with him at home, in church,\n in society, and in the courts of justice.\n\n \"Dr. Smith returned in due time to resume his pastoral functions.\n In reporting to him, in general, my labors in the church as his\n substitute during his absence, and in particular my conceptions of\n Lincoln's religious character, he intimated that he knew something\n of Lincoln's private personal religious experiences, feelings, and\n beliefs which resulted in his conversion to the Christian faith. After\n some urging to be more explicit, he made the following statement,\n which is herewith submitted, couched substantially in his own\n language. The doctor said:\n\n \"'I came to Springfield to take the pastoral charge of this church\n [First Presbyterian] about eight years ago [1849]. During the first\n of these years, I might say, I had only a speaking or general\n acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln [then forty years old]. Two or three\n years previous to my coming here Mrs. Lincoln, who had been a member\n of our church, for some reason changed her church relations and was\n a regular attendant at the services of the Episcopal Church. Mr.\n Lincoln, at that time, having no denominational preferences, went with\n her. And so the family continued to frequent the sanctuary for a year\n or more after I began my ministry here. The occasion which opened up\n the way to my intimate relations to Mr. Lincoln was this, viz.: In\n the latter part of 1849 death came into his family. His second son\n died at about three or four years of age. The rector, an excellent\n clergyman, being temporarily absent, could not be present to conduct\n the burial service, and I was called to officiate at the funeral. This\n led me to an intimate acquaintance with the family, and grew into an\n enduring and confidential friendship between Mr. Lincoln and myself.\n One result was that the wife and mother returned to her ancestral\n church, and the husband and father very willingly came with her, and\n ever since has been a constant attendant upon my ministry. I found him\n very much depressed and downcast at the death of his son, and without\n the consolation of the gospel. Up to this time I had heard but little\n concerning his religious views, and that was to the effect that he\n was a deist and inclined to skepticism as to the divine origin of\n the Scriptures, though, unlike most skeptics, he had evidently been\n a constant reader of the Bible. I found him an honest and anxious\n inquirer. He gradually revealed the state of his mind and heart, and\n at last unbosomed his doubts and struggles and unrest of soul. In\n frequent conversations I found that he was perplexed and unsettled on\n the fundamentals of religion, by speculative difficulties, connected\n with Providence and revelation, which lie beyond and above the\n legitimate province of religion. With some suggestions bearing on\n the right attitude required for impartial investigation, I placed\n in his hands my book (_The Christian's Defence_) on the evidence of\n Christianity, which gives the arguments for and against the divine\n authority and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. Mr. Lincoln took the\n book, and for a number of weeks, as a lawyer, examined and weighed the\n evidence, pro and con, and judged of the credibility of the contents\n of revelation. And while he was investigating I was praying that the\n Spirit of Truth might lead him into the kingdom of truth. And such\n was the result, for at the conclusion of his examination he came\n forth his doubts scattered to the winds and his reason convinced by\n the arguments in support of the inspired and infallible authority of\n the Old and New Testaments--a believer in God, in His providential\n government, in His Son, the way, the truth, and the life, and from\n that time [nearly seven years] to this day his life has proved the\n genuineness of his conversion to the Christian faith. For this I\n humbly ascribe to our heavenly Father the honor and the glory.'\"\n\nIn an earlier statement than that previously quoted, Mr. Thomas Lewis,\nunder date of January 6, 1873, said:\n\n \"Not long after Dr. Smith came to Springfield, and I think very near\n the time of his son's death, Mr. Lincoln said to me that when on a\n visit somewhere he had seen and partially read a work of Dr. Smith on\n the evidences of Christianity, which had led him to change his view\n of the Christian religion, and he would like to get that work and\n finish the reading of it, and also to make the acquaintance of Dr.\n Smith. I was an elder in Dr. Smith's church, and took Dr. Smith to Mr.\n Lincoln's office, and Dr. Smith gave Mr. Lincoln a copy of his book,\n as I know, at his own request.\"\n\nThis is a very different story from that which Lamon tells, of a\nself-advertising preacher, ostentatiously preparing a tract to convert\nMr. Lincoln, and thrusting it upon him uninvited and thereafter to be\nneglected.\n\nThat Mr. Lincoln was impressed by the book is as certain as human\ntestimony can make it. He told Dr. Smith that he regarded its argument\nas \"unanswerable,\" and Lamon's slighting remark will not stand against\nso emphatic a word.\n\nMoreover, Hon. John T. Stuart, whom Lamon had quoted as saying, \"The\nRev. Dr. Smith, who wrote a letter, tried to convert Lincoln as late as\n1858, and couldn't do it,\" repudiated that statement, declared he never\nhad said it; and on the contrary affirmed that he understood from those\nwho had reason to know that Dr. Smith's book had produced a change in\nthe mind of Mr. Lincoln.\n\nNinian W. Edwards, Mr. Lincoln's brother-in-law, on December 24, 1872,\nentered the discussion with this emphatic statement:\n\n \"A short time after the Rev. Dr. Smith became pastor of the First\n Presbyterian Church in this city, Mr. Lincoln said to me, 'I have been\n reading a work of Dr. Smith on the evidences of Christianity, and have\n heard him preach and converse on the subject, and am now convinced of\n the truth of the Christian religion.'\"\n\nJust what doctrines he was convinced were true, we may not know. But\nwe do know that he requested the book and declared it unanswerable,\nthat he and his wife changed their church affiliation and he became a\nregular attendant, that Dr. Smith became his friend and was honored and\nrecognized by him as long as Lincoln lived, and that those who knew\nLincoln best were told by him that some change had come in his own\nbelief.\n\nUnder these conditions, the word and work of Rev. James Smith are not\nto be thrown unceremoniously out of court. They have standing in any\nfair consideration of the question of Lincoln's religious faith.\n\nI have looked through many Lives of Lincoln to discover whether any\nbiographer of Lincoln had ever looked up this book, and thus far have\nnot discovered any. I have inquired for the book at the Chicago\nHistorical Library and the Illinois Historical Library, and neither of\nthose libraries contains it, nor had it been thought of in connection\nwith Lincoln. Mr. Oldroyd does not have it in his matchless collection,\nwhere I hoped I might find the veritable copy that Lincoln read, and\nhe had never heard of it; nor does the matron of the Lincoln Home at\nSpringfield know anything about it.[43]\n\nI shall give in the Appendix of this book an outline of the contents of\nDr. Smith's solid work, that the reader may judge for himself whether\nsuch a book, placed in the hands of Mr. Lincoln at such a time, may not\nhave had upon his mind all the influence that Dr. Smith ever claimed\nfor it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\n\"VESTIGES OF CREATION\"\n\n\nLINCOLN was a man of few books. Much has been made of the fact that\nwhen a lad he eagerly read every book within reach; but he did not\ncontinue that habit in his mature years. Something happened to the\nlad in adolescence that changed him mentally as well as physically.\nHis sudden upshoot in stature permanently tired him; he became\ndisinclined to activity. His movements were much slower, and his\nhabits of thought more sluggish. Arnold attempts to make a list of his\n\"favorite books,\" but does not make much progress (_Life of Lincoln_,\npp. 443, 444). About all there is to be said is that he read the\nBible both as a boy and man, and came to have an appreciation and\nlove of Shakspeare, particularly _Hamlet_ and _Macbeth_, but he never\nread Shakspeare through. He was fond of some of the poems of Burns,\nthe rollicking humor of \"Tam o' Shanter,\" the withering scorn--an\nelement which had a considerable place in Lincoln's nature--of \"Holy\nWillie's Prayer,\" the manly democracy of \"A Man's a Man for a' That\";\nbut he never quoted Burns. He had little appreciation of music, but\nliked negro melodies--not the genuine ones, but the minstrel-show\nsort--camp-meeting ballads, Scotch songs, and mournful narrative\ncompositions, of which the woods were moderately full in his boyhood,\nand which he continued to enjoy. Broadly humorous songs moved him to\nmirth, but he cared more for those that were sad. Everyone knows his\nlove for the mediocre but melodious poem, \"O Why Should the Spirit\nof Mortal be Proud,\" which like the religious song he loved, \"How\ntedious and tasteless the hours,\" moved mournfully in triple time,\nflaunting cr\u00eape in the face of the spirit of the waltz. About the only\ncontemporary poem which he is known to have cared much for was Holmes'\n\"Last Leaf,\" in which he was particularly moved by the lines,--\n\n  \"_The mossy marbles rest\n  On the lips that he has prest,\n        In their bloom,\n  And the names he loved to hear\n  Have been carved for many a year\n        On the tomb._\"\n\nHerndon is correct in saying that Lincoln read less and thought more\nthan any man prominent in public life in his generation.\n\nBut the few books that Lincoln read in his mature years affected him\ngreatly; and when we know of his reading a book because he cared for\nit, we may well endeavor to discover that book and inquire whether it\nbe not possible to trace its influence in the development, slow but\nsure, of the mental and spiritual processes of Abraham Lincoln.\n\nA highly important statement concerning the philosophical and religious\nviews of Lincoln is found in Herndon's _Life of Lincoln_, and it is\nremarkable that neither Herndon nor any of the hundreds of writers\nwho have gleaned, as all must glean, from his pages, appears to have\nfollowed further the most important of its suggestions:\n\n \"For many years I subscribed for and kept on our office table the\n _Westminster_ and _Edinburgh Review_ and a number of other English\n periodicals. Besides them, I purchased the works of Spencer, Darwin,\n and the utterances of other English scientists, all of which I\n devoured with great relish. I endeavored, but with little success,\n in inducing Lincoln to read them. Occasionally he would snatch one\n up and peruse it for a little while, but he soon threw it down with\n the suggestion that it was entirely too heavy for an ordinary mind to\n digest. A gentleman in Springfield gave him a book called, I believe,\n _Vestiges of Creation_, which interested him so much that he read\n it through. The volume was published in Edinburgh, and undertook to\n demonstrate the doctrine of development, or evolution. The treatise\n interested him greatly, and he was deeply impressed with the notion\n of the so-called 'universal law' evolution; he did not extend greatly\n his researches, but by continual thinking in a single channel seemed\n to grow into a warm advocate of the new doctrine. Beyond what I have\n stated he made no further advances into the realm of philosophy.\n 'There are no accidents,' he said one day, 'in my philosophy. Every\n effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present,\n and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are\n links in the endless chain stretching from the Infinite to the\n finite.'\"--HERNDON, III, 438.\n\nI count it remarkable that neither Herndon nor any other of Lincoln's\nbiographers appears to have made further inquiry about this book,\nwhich is not mentioned in Herndon's index, and which I have not found\nreferred to elsewhere in connection with Lincoln. The book is not in\nany of the great Lincoln collections which I have visited, nor has any\nLincoln student to whom I have mentioned it had it in mind, or failed\nto be impressed with the value of it when we have discussed the matter.\n\nThe book itself is not in the Lincoln Home at Springfield, nor is it\nin the Oldroyd Collection at Washington, in one of which places I\nhoped that it might be found. Neither the librarian of the Illinois\nHistorical Society in Springfield, nor Mr. Barker, the painstaking and\ndiscriminating collector and vendor of Lincoln books in Springfield,\nhad ever noticed the title in Herndon's book, though both were at once\nimpressed with its significance when I called it to their attention.\n\nThe material in Herndon's lectures on Lincoln is pretty well absorbed\nin his book, and quoted in this volume; but there are some interesting\nadditional details in Herndon's letters. In these, answering specific\nquestions or replying to definite statements, he now and then added\na statement which was not later included in his book, but which has\npresent interest and in some cases value.\n\nThe following is an excerpt from a letter of Herndon to John E.\nRemsburg, and bears in an important way on Lincoln's use of _Vestiges\nof Creation_:\n\n \"I had an excellent private library, probably the best in the city\n for admired books. To this library Mr. Lincoln had, as a matter of\n course, full and free access at all times. I purchased such books\n as Locke, Kant, Fichte, Lewes; Sir William Hamilton's _Discussions\n of Philosophy_; Spencer's _First Principles_, _Social Studies_,\n etc.; Buckle's _History of Civilization_, and Lecky's _History of\n Rationalism_. I also possessed the works of Parker, Paine, Emerson and\n Strauss; Gregg's _Creed of Christendom_, McNaught on _Inspiration_,\n Volney's _Ruins_, Feuerbach's _Essence of Christianity_, and other\n works on Infidelity. Mr. Lincoln read some of these works. About the\n year 1843[44] he borrowed the _Vestiges of Creation_ of Mr. James\n W. Keys, of this city, and read it carefully. He subsequently read\n the sixth edition of this work, which I loaned him. He adopted the\n progressive and development theory as taught more or less directly in\n that work. He despised speculation, especially in the metaphysical\n world. He was purely a practical man.\"--REMSBURG: _Six Historic\n Americans_, pp. 114-15.\n\nAs already stated Dr. Smith's book _The Christian's Defence_ is\nexcessively rare. The edition was small; the argument which it\ncontained was modified with the progress of discovery; there was little\nto keep in circulation the few copies of the book that survived. They\nhave nearly all disappeared. I have searched the second-hand shops\nof the principal cities and the dusty duplicates of libraries with\nrepeated disappointment. For this reason, I have carried a complete\nanalysis of the book into the Appendix of this volume; for few who read\nthe present volume will be able to see the book itself.\n\nIt is quite otherwise with _Vestiges of the Natural History of\nCreation_. It was widely circulated, and copies of even the older\neditions are not impossible to obtain. It can be purchased, new, at\nvery small cost.[45] But most of the editions that the reader will be\nlikely to find, if he seeks for them, are later than the one which\ninfluenced Lincoln, and contain more or less of supplementary matter.\n\nBefore passing to another subject, it will be well to say a further\nword about this book, for a fuller discussion of which one may go to\nAndrew D. White's _Conflict of Science with Theology_ and other learned\nworks.\n\nThe author of this book was Robert Chambers,[46] one of the famous firm\nof publishers, and himself an author of note. He was born in Peebles,\nScotland, July 10, 1802, and died at St. Andrews, March 17, 1871. He\nwas an author as well as publisher of books. He published this book\nanonymously, and its authorship was not known for forty years. In 1884,\nthirteen years after his death, his name appeared for the first time\nupon the title page of a new edition.\n\nIt was, in the author's own phrase, \"the first attempt to connect the\nnatural sciences with the history of creation.\"\n\nFrom it Lincoln learned geology and comparative biology. In it he\nfound not only studies of the rocks, but also of the prenatal life of\nman, as related in its successive stages to corresponding types in the\ngeological world. It was, in a word, an introduction to Darwin, which\nappeared many years later.\n\nThat many ministers denounced it as contradictory to the Bible we\nknow, and the author anticipated this, nor is this a matter which gives\nus present concern. Some ministers believed it, and others, still\nunconvinced, read it with an open mind and waited for more light.\n\nThe important thing for us to know and clearly recognize is that in\nthis book Abraham Lincoln not only learned what Herndon considers, and\nwe are justified in considering, the essential theory of evolution, but\nhe learned that such a view of creation is consistent with faith in God\nand the Bible.\n\nWe shall not find it possible to overestimate the importance of this\ndiscovery. Abraham Lincoln wrought out his philosophy of creation,\nhis scheme of cause and effect, his theory of the processes of nature\nand life, under influences not atheistic nor hostile to religion, but\ndistinctly favorable to it. He learned of evolution, and was convinced\nof its truth, from a book whose spirit and purpose was to present the\nview in harmony with the Christian faith.\n\nThe second, and subsequent editions, of _Vestiges_ were \"Greatly\nAmended by the Author,\" as the title page gave notice, and the changes\nwere partly to incorporate new scientific data, but more to make clear\nthe fact that the author's theory did not remove God from his universe,\nas some critics had asserted, but like Butler's _Analogy_ had shown\nthat God is in His world, working through the processes of nature.\nIn 1846 appeared _Explanations: A Sequel to Vestiges of the Natural\nHistory of Creation_, a thin volume added to carry still further this\ndouble purpose, and doing it with marked success. The sixth edition\ncombined the two in one volume.\n\nIt is interesting to learn that Lincoln, having read the first edition,\nlater procured and read the sixth, in which the religious spirit of the\nauthor was made still more apparent.\n\nThis was the book which gave to Lincoln his theory of creation, of\n\"miracles under law,\" and with one divine mind and purpose working\nthrough it all. Lincoln read little of natural science and cared\npractically nothing for philosophy, but he found in this book what he\nneeded of both; and he found them in a system whose soul and center was\nthe will of a righteous God.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nOTHER FORMATIVE BOOKS\n\n\nWE do not know of any other books which deserve to be classed with the\ntwo we have been considering in their relation to the formation of\nMr. Lincoln's religious ideas; but our inquiry is at a point where it\nwill be instructive to learn of any collateral influence which at this\nperiod, the period of the 50's, after the death of Eddie, and before\nhis election as President, helped to give shape to his convictions.\n\nMr. Lincoln did not unite with Dr. Smith's church. It is difficult\nto think that it would have been possible for him to have done so.\nOld-school Calvinism had its permanent influence upon him through his\nBaptist antecedents, but while that of Dr. Smith came to him most\nopportunely, it did not wholly meet his spiritual requirements.\n\nFor many years Herndon was in regular correspondence with Theodore\nParker. They agreed in their view of the slavery question, and had much\nin common in their religion. Herndon had Parker's theological books,\nand Lincoln read them, not very thoroughly, perhaps, but with interest.\n\nAbout the same time, Mr. Jesse W. Fell, for whom he wrote the first\nsketch of his life, presented him with the works of William E. Channing.\n\nWhen Herndon was gathering material to confute Dr. Reed, he assembled\nvery nearly everything that seemed to prove that Lincoln was not\northodox, however far short it fell of proving him an infidel. Among\nthe rest he interviewed Fell, and from his statements made up this\nreport, which appeared in Lamon's book, and subsequently in Herndon's:\n\n \"Mr. Jesse W. Fell of Illinois, who had the best opportunities of\n knowing Mr. Lincoln intimately, makes the following statement of his\n religious opinions, derived from repeated conversations with him on\n the subject:\n\n \"'Though everything relating to the character and history of this\n extraordinary personage is of interest, and should be fairly stated to\n the world, I enter upon the performance of this duty--for so I regard\n it--with some reluctance, arising from the fact, that, in stating\n my convictions on the subject, I must necessarily place myself in\n opposition to quite a number who have written on this topic before\n me, and whose views largely preoccupy the public mind. This latter\n fact, whilst contributing to my embarrassment on this subject, is,\n perhaps, the strongest reason, however, why the truth in this matter\n should be fully disclosed; and I therefore yield to your request. If\n there were any traits of character that stood out in bold relief in\n the person of Mr. Lincoln, they were those of truth and candor. He\n was utterly incapable of insincerity, or professing views on this or\n any other subject he did not entertain. Knowing such to be his true\n character, that insincerity, much more duplicity, were traits wholly\n foreign to his nature, many of his old friends were not a little\n surprised at finding, in some of the biographies of this great man,\n statements concerning his religious opinions so utterly at variance\n with his known sentiments. True, he may have changed or modified\n those sentiments after his removal from among us, though this is\n hardly reconcilable with the history of the man, and his entire\n devotion to public matters during his four years' residence at the\n national capital. It is possible, however, that this may be the proper\n solution of this conflict of opinions; or, it may be, that, with no\n intention on the part of anyone to mislead the public mind, those who\n have represented him as believing in the popular theological views\n of the times may have misapprehended him, as experience shows to be\n quite common where no special effort has been made to attain critical\n accuracy on a subject of this nature. This is the more probable\n from the well-known fact, that Mr. Lincoln seldom communicated to\n anyone his views on this subject. But, be this as it may, I have no\n hesitation whatever in saying, that, whilst he held many opinions\n in common with the great mass of Christian believers, he did not\n believe in what are regarded as the orthodox or evangelical views of\n Christianity.\n\n \"'On the innate depravity of man, the character and office of the\n great Head of the Church, the atonement, the infallibility of the\n written revelation, the performance of miracles, the nature and design\n of present and future rewards and punishments (as they are probably\n called), and many other subjects, he held opinions utterly at variance\n with what are usually taught in the church. I should say that his\n expressed views on these and kindred topics were such as, in the\n estimation of most believers, would place him entirely outside the\n Christian pale. Yet, to my mind, such was not the true position, since\n his principles and practices and the spirit of his whole life were of\n the very kind we universally agree to call Christian; and I think this\n conclusion is in no wise affected by the circumstance that he never\n attached himself to any religious society whatever.\n\n \"'His religious views were eminently practical, and are summed up,\n as I think, in these two propositions: \"the Fatherhood of God, and\n the brotherhood of man.\" He fully believed in a superintending and\n overruling Providence, that guides and controls the operations of\n the world, but maintained that law and order, and not the violation\n or suspension, are the appointed means by which this providence is\n expressed.\n\n \"'I will not attempt any specification of either his belief or\n disbelief on various religious topics, as derived from conversations\n with him at different times during a considerable period; but, as\n conveying a general view of his religious or theological opinions,\n will state the following facts. Some eight or ten years prior to\n his death, in conversing with him upon this subject, the writer\n took occasion to refer, in terms of approbation, to the sermons\n and writings generally of Dr. W. E. Channing; and, finding he was\n considerably interested in the statement I made of the opinions\n held by that author, I proposed to present him [Lincoln] a copy of\n Channing's entire works, which I soon after did. Subsequently, the\n contents of these volumes, together with the writings of Theodore\n Parker, furnished him, as he informed me, by his friend and law\n partner, Mr. Herndon, became naturally the topics of conversation with\n us; and though far from believing there was an entire harmony of views\n on his part with either of those authors, yet they were generally much\n admired and approved by him.\n\n \"'No religious views with him seemed to find any favor, except of\n the practical and rationalistic order; and if, from my recollections\n on this subject, I was called upon to designate an author whose views\n most nearly represented Mr. Lincoln's on this subject, I would say\n that author was Theodore Parker.\n\n \"'As you have asked from me a candid statement of my recollections on\n this topic, I have thus briefly given them, with the hope that they\n may be of some service in rightly settling a question about which--as\n I have good reason to believe--the public mind has been greatly misled.\n\n \"'Not doubting that they will accord, substantially, with your own\n recollections, and that of his other intimate and confidential\n friends, and with the popular verdict after this matter shall have\n been properly canvassed, I submit them.'\"--LAMON: _Life of Lincoln_,\n pp. 490, 491, 492.\n\nHerndon was attempting to collect evidence that Lincoln was an infidel,\nand what he obtained, and what essentially he was called to certify\nand did certify in effect, was that Lincoln's views were in essential\naccord with those of Theodore Parker and William Ellery Channing.\nTheodore Parker was not an orthodox Christian according to the\nstandards of Dr. Smith's church, or of the church of which the present\nwriter is pastor, but he was a Christian, and a very brave and noble\nChristian. William Ellery Channing's views were not in full accord with\nthe orthodoxy of his day, but he was a noble friend of God and man, and\na true Christian.\n\nI have already referred to the very loose and inexact way in which\nHerndon and others use the term \"infidel\" as applied to Lincoln. Such\ninexactness is subversive of all clear thinking.\n\nWe are told, for instance, that he was an infidel, his views being\nessentially those of Theodore Parker and William Ellery Channing. I\ndoubt if he ever read very deeply in the writings of these men; but\nthat he read portions of them and approved of some of their noblest and\nmost characteristic utterances, is certain. What were the discourses\nof these two men which he must almost certainly have read if he read\nanything of theirs? He would almost certainly have read Parker's\ndiscourse on \"The Transient and Permanent in Christianity,\" and that\non \"Immortal Life,\" and Channing's Baltimore address and his discourse\non the Church. And these are just the sort of utterances which he\nwould have read with approval as he found them in these discourses of\nTheodore Parker:\n\n \"Compare the simpleness of Christianity, as Christ sets it forth on\n the Mount, with what is sometimes taught and accepted in that honored\n name, and what a difference! One is of God, one is of man. There is\n something in Christianity which sects have not reached,--something\n that will not be won, we fear, by theological battles, or the quarrels\n of pious men; still we may rejoice that Christ is preached in any way.\n The Christianity of sects, of the pulpit, of society, is ephemeral,--a\n transitory fly. It will pass off and be forgot. Some new form will\n take its place, suited to the aspect of the changing times. Each\n will represent something of truth, but no one the whole. It seems\n the whole race of man is needed to do justice to the whole of truth,\n as 'the whole church to preach the whole gospel.' Truth is intrusted\n for the time to a perishable ark of human contrivance. Though often\n shipwrecked, she always comes safe to land, and is not changed by her\n mishap. That pure ideal religion which Jesus saw on the mount of his\n vision, and lived out in the lowly life of a Galilean peasant; which\n transforms his cross into an emblem of all that is holiest on earth;\n which makes sacred the ground he trod, and is dearest to the best of\n men, most true to what is truest in them,--cannot pass away. Let men\n improve never so far in civilization, or soar never so high on the\n wings of religion and love, they can never outgo the flight of truth\n and Christianity. It will always be above them. It is as if we were to\n fly towards a star, which becomes larger and more bright the nearer\n we approach, till we enter and are absorbed in its glory.\"--THEODORE\n PARKER: _The Transient and Permanent in Christianity_, p. 31.\n\n \"I would not slight this wondrous world. I love its day and night:\n its flowers and its fruits are dear to me. I would not willfully lose\n sight of a departing cloud. Every year opens new beauty in a star,\n or in a purple gentian fringed with loveliness. The laws, too, of\n matter seem more wonderful, the more I study them, in the whirling\n eddies of the dust, in the curious shells of former life buried by\n thousands in a grain of chalk, or in the shining diagrams of light\n above my head. Even the ugly becomes beautiful when truly seen. I\n see the jewel in the bunchy toad. The more I live, the more I love\n this lovely world,--feel more its Author in each little thing, in all\n that is great. But yet I feel my immortality the more. In childhood\n the consciousness of immortal life buds forth feeble, though full of\n promise. In the man it unfolds its fragrant petals, his most celestial\n flower, to mature its seed throughout eternity. The prospect of that\n everlasting life, the perfect justice yet to come, the infinite\n progress before us, cheer and comfort the heart. Sad and disappointed,\n full of self-reproach, we shall not be so forever. The light of heaven\n breaks upon the night of trial, sorrow, sin: the somber clouds which\n overhung the east, grown purple now, tell us the dawn of heaven is\n coming in. Our faces, gleamed on by that, smile in the new-born glow.\n We are beguiled of our sadness before we are aware. The certainty\n of this provokes us to patience, it forbids us to be slothfully\n sorrowful. It calls us to be up and doing. The thought that all will\n at last be right with the slave, the poor, the weak, and the wicked,\n inspires us with zeal to work for them here, and make it all right for\n them even now.\"--THEODORE PARKER: _Immortality_, pp. 23-24.\n\nIt is affirmed that Lincoln was an infidel, believing essentially the\nsame as Theodore Parker: and he himself expressed such admiration\nfor and accord with the utterances of Parker which he knew that the\nstatement is partly true. These two quotations, from two of the most\neasily accessible of Parker's discourses, represent the kind of\nteaching which Lincoln assimilated from Theodore Parker and show us\nwhat kind of infidelity Lincoln learned from him.\n\nWhen Lincoln turned to the most widely circulated of Channing's\ndiscourses, he read such utterances as these:\n\n \"We regard the Scriptures as the records of God's successive\n revelations to mankind, and particularly of the last and most perfect\n revelation of His will by Jesus Christ. Whatever doctrines seem to us\n to be clearly taught in the Scriptures, we receive without reserve or\n exception. We do not, however, attach equal importance to all the\n books in this collection.\n\n \"Our leading principle in interpreting Scripture is this, that the\n Bible is a book written for men, in the language of men, and that its\n meaning is to be sought in the same manner as that of other books. We\n believe that God, when He speaks to the human race, conforms, if we\n may so say, to the established rules of speaking and writing. How else\n would the Scriptures avail us more than if communicated in an unknown\n tongue?\n\n \"If God be infinitely wise, He cannot sport with the understandings of\n His creatures. A wise teacher discovers his wisdom in adapting himself\n to the capacities of his pupils, not in perplexing them with what is\n unintelligible, not in distressing them with apparent contradictions,\n not in filling them with a skeptical distrust of their own powers. An\n infinitely wise teacher, who knows the precise extent of our minds,\n and the best method of enlightening them, will surpass all other\n instructors in bringing down truth to our apprehension, and in showing\n its loveliness and harmony. We ought, indeed, to expect occasional\n obscurity in such a book as the Bible, which was written for past and\n future ages, as well as for the present. But God's wisdom is a pledge,\n that whatever is necessary for _us_, and necessary for salvation,\n is revealed too plainly to be mistaken, and too consistently to be\n questioned, by a sound and upright mind. It is not the mark of wisdom\n to use an unintelligible phraseology, to communicate what is above\n our capacities, to confuse and unsettle the intellect by appearances\n of contradiction. We honor our heavenly teacher too much to ascribe\n to Him such a revelation. A revelation is a gift of light. It cannot\n thicken our darkness, and multiply our perplexities.\n\n \"We believe, too, that God is just; but we never forget that His\n justice is the justice of a good being, dwelling in the same mind,\n and acting in harmony with perfect benevolence. By this attribute, we\n understand God's infinite regard to virtue or moral worth, expressed\n in a moral government; that is, in giving excellent and equitable\n laws, and in conferring such rewards and inflicting such punishments,\n as are best fitted to secure their observance. God's justice has for\n its end the highest virtue of the creation, and it punishes for this\n end alone, and thus it coincides with benevolence; for virtue and\n happiness, though not the same, are inseparably conjoined.\n\n \"God's justice, thus viewed, appears to us to be in perfect harmony\n with His mercy. According to the prevalent systems of theology, these\n attributes are so discordant and jarring, that to reconcile them is\n the hardest task, and the most wonderful achievement, of infinite\n wisdom. To us they seem to be intimate friends, always at peace,\n breathing the same spirit, and seeking the same end. By God's mercy,\n we understand not a blind, instinctive compassion, which forgives\n without reflection, and without regard to the interests of virtue.\n This, we acknowledge, would be incompatible with justice, and also\n with enlightened benevolence. God's mercy, as we understand it,\n desires strongly the happiness of the guilty, but only through their\n penitence.\"--W. E. CHANNING: Baltimore Discourse of 1819, _Passim_.\n\n \"Inward sanctity, pure love, disinterested attachment to God and man,\n obedience of heart and life, sincere excellence of character, this\n is the one thing needful, this the essential thing in religion; and\n all things else, ministers, churches, ordinances, places of worship,\n all are but means, helps, secondary influences, and utterly worthless\n when separated from this. To imagine that God regards any thing but\n this, that He looks at any thing but the heart, is to dishonor Him,\n to express a mournful insensibility to His pure character. Goodness,\n purity, virtue, this is the only distinction in God's sight. This is\n intrinsically, essentially, everlastingly, and by its own nature,\n lovely, beautiful, glorious, divine. It owes nothing to time, to\n circumstance to outward connections. It shines by its own light. It is\n the sun of the spiritual universe. It is God himself dwelling in the\n human soul. Can any man think lightly of it, because it has not grown\n up in a certain church, or exalt any church above it? My friends,\n one of the grandest truths of religion is the supreme importance of\n character, of virtue, of that divine spirit which shone out in Christ.\n The grand heresy is, to substitute any thing for this, whether creed,\n or form, or church.\"--W. E. CHANNING: _Discourse on the Church_, pp.\n 23-24.\n\nIf Lincoln was made an infidel or confirmed in his infidelity by his\nreading of William Ellery Channing, the foregoing is a reasonable\nsample of the quality of his infidelity: for these are not only\ncharacteristic utterances of Channing: they are among the utterances\nwhich Lincoln was most certain to have had thrust into his hand, and\nmost likely to have read and to have approved.\n\nThe author of this work is not a Unitarian, and he is ready, on any\nproper occasion, to define to anyone who has a right to know, his own\nopinions in contradistinction from those of the Unitarian churches. But\nhis loyalty to his own convictions lays upon him no obligation to be\nunfair to men who hold opinions other than his own. It is to be noted\nthat it is Mr. Herndon, and not some bigoted exponent of orthodoxy,\nwho calls Theodore Parker an infidel. The present writer holds no\nsuch opinion of Parker, nor yet of Channing. On the contrary, he is\nof opinion that their writings were beneficial to Abraham Lincoln,\nas helping him to define some of his own views constructively and\nreverently. While Beecher or Bushnell might have done it as well or\nbetter, it was not their books which Jesse Fell gave to Lincoln; and\nLincoln used what he had. To say that Lincoln's views were like those\nof Parker or Channing is to affirm that Lincoln was not an infidel, but\na Christian.\n\nWas Lincoln, then, a Unitarian?\n\nNo. Of Unitarianism he knew nothing, so far as we are informed. He knew\nthe views of certain Unitarians, and these assisted him at important\npoints in defining certain aspects of his faith.\n\nThere have been rumors that Mr. Lincoln did come into actual contact\nwith organized Unitarianism. I have been interested in inquiring\nwhether this was true. During the Billy Sunday meetings in Paterson,\nNew Jersey, in 1916, the Unitarians opened a booth there for the\ndistribution of their literature, and there were certain communications\nin the local press resulting from the counter-irritation of those\nmeetings. Among these was one in the Paterson _Guardian_, signed\n\"Once-in-Awhile.\" It said:\n\n \"The following is, in part, a sketch of my own youthful experience,\n together with a statement of facts that relate to others who long\n since have passed on.\n\n \"In 1851-52 the Chicago & Alton Railroad was being built, and I was\n employed on a section of the work at that time. Our section extended\n from Springfield, Illinois, to a little town called Chatham, situated\n near the Sangamon River, a distance of about ten miles south from\n Springfield. The majority of the people who had located in that part\n of the country at that time were from the central part of New York\n State, and among them was Elder Shipman, a Unitarian. He was a very\n able preacher and 'made good' with all who knew him in the Sangamon\n country. It was not long before he received a call to preach in\n Springfield. The little Unitarian church there was located just around\n the corner from Capitol Square. When Elder Shipman was permanently\n located there, Abraham Lincoln became a regular and seemingly much\n interested attendant. Nearly all of the boys in our 'gang' had known\n Elder Shipman way back in New York State, and, there being no ball\n games or other amusements save an occasional horse race, almost every\n Sunday all hands would saddle horses and gallop to Springfield to\n attend the services conducted there by our old-time pastor. At the\n close of the regular service Mr. Lincoln was often called upon for a\n few remarks, and many of his sayings are still fresh in my mind today,\n although that was sixty-three years ago. Since then, in the quiet\n hours that have passed, I often find myself looking back through the\n mist of vanished years and fancy I feel the grip of his great, bony\n hand in mine, or rather mine in his, and hear his kindly voice saying,\n 'Boys, good-by, come again. Come often!'\n\n \"I am not saying that Mr. Lincoln subscribed to the Unitarian articles\n of faith, but I have good and sufficient reason to believe that he\n did, and, if I am not mistaken, the proof is wanting that he ever\n subscribed to faith in articles of any other religious denomination.\"\n\nI challenged the veracity of this letter, reprinting it in _The\nAdvance_, of which I was editor, and asking these questions:\n\n 1. Who is Mr. Once-in-Awhile, and why does he not sign his real name?\n\n 2. How does it happen that no one else of those who attended the\n alleged Unitarian church in Springfield in the days when Lincoln is\n supposed to have been there has risen up to tell this story some time\n during the last half century; and why does it come to us from Paterson\n and not from Springfield?\n\n 3. Who is this Elder Shipman concerning whom this letter tells us? We\n are informed that the Unitarian Year Book shows no such man.\n\n 4. Where was this Unitarian church \"just around the corner from\n Capitol Square\"? Around which corner, and what became of it?\n\n We are informed that there was no Unitarian church in Springfield\n sixty-three years ago. We were not there and do not know: but if one\n was there, where was it? When was it organized? Who were its ministers?\n\n 5. With so popular a preacher as Mr. Shipman appears to have been, is\n it altogether likely that he would have made the habit of calling upon\n a layman who attended his church to speak at the close of the service?\n\n 6. If Mr. Lincoln was in the habit of attending this Unitarian church,\n how did the Presbyterian church of Springfield get the impression that\n Mr. Lincoln attended there with his wife, and why did he continue to\n attend the Presbyterian church after he went to Washington?\n\n 7. Lincoln is known to have said that if he knew any church whose\n only creed was the command of Jesus to love God with all one's\n heart and his neighbor as himself, he would join that church, and\n Unitarians have frequently declared that if Mr. Lincoln had ever come\n into contact with the Unitarian Church he must on the basis of that\n declaration have united with it. We are not clear if their inference\n is correct, but we are clear that there has been a very general\n impression among Unitarians that he was not familiar with that church\n and creed.\n\n We do not call in question the veracity of Mr. Once-in-Awhile, whoever\n he may be. We merely do what we have done before, we ask for one or\n two facts. If anybody knows that Abraham Lincoln habitually attended a\n Unitarian church and frequently participated in its public service by\n speaking at the close of the sermon, let him now speak or else forever\n hold his peace.\n\nEverybody held his peace, including Mr. Once-in-Awhile!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSuch stories are rarely made out of whole cloth. I therefore inquired\nof the _Christian Register_ (Unitarian) and the _Christian Leader_\n(Universalist) to learn if they knew any basis of truth in the above\nstatement, and they did not know and were not able to learn anything\naccurate about it. However, there came to me in the course of the\ninquiry, which was of necessity not very thorough for lack of anything\ndefinite to begin with, an impression, based on information too vague\nto be cited, that there was a Mr. Shipman, a Universalist rather than\na Unitarian, whose occasional services in Springfield Mr. Lincoln\nattended once or more and enjoyed. But this came to me very vaguely,\nand may be far from the truth.\n\nWhether there be a ten per cent. modicum of fact at the root of the\nabove letter I will not attempt to guess, for my own information is too\nmeager. The picture, as a whole, of Mr. Lincoln preaching Unitarianism\nfrom a Unitarian pulpit, and at the close assuming charge of the\nservice of farewell and exhorting the railroad hands to come again is\ntoo far from the possible truth to require very close analysis.\n\nThe Unitarian books which Mr. Lincoln read cursorily, the books by\nParker and Channing, must have assisted him in this, that they gave\nassurance that there were forward-looking men who believed in God and\nin human freedom as he did, and who were quite as far from holding the\nteaching which he had been taught to call orthodox as he was, yet who\nwere not infidels, but counted themselves friends of God and disciples\nof Jesus Christ.\n\nHerndon asserts that Lincoln habitually spoke in his presence in terms\nof denial of the supernatural birth of Jesus. On this point I have seen\nbut one bit of documentary evidence, and that of unique interest, in\ntwo words written in a book that once belonged to Lincoln. The book\nis entitled _Exercises in the Syntax of the Greek Language_, by Rev.\nWilliam Nielson, D.D., and contains two appendixes by Prof. Charles\nAnthon, noted as a Greek scholar and the author of a Greek Grammar and\nother textbooks. It was published by T. & J. Swords in New York, in\n1825. At the bottom of page 34 is a sentence, shortened and modified\nfrom John 16:27, and printed in parallel Greek and English,--\n\n  \"Ye have loved me, and\n  have believed that I came forth\n  from God.\"\n\nThe words \"from God\" are erased with pen, and the words, \"from nature\"\nsubstituted, apparently in the handwriting of Mr. Lincoln. This, if its\ngenuineness be established, would appear to be conclusive that at the\ntime Lincoln owned this book he denied the supernatural birth of Jesus.\n\nThe book was formerly a part of the noted collection of Mr. John E.\nBurton, procured by him from the collection of Dr. J. B. English, and\nwas retained by Mr. Burton with other unique items when his large\ncollection was broken up some years ago. I was privileged to examine\nthe book by A. C. McClurg & Co., in April, 1919; the book being then\nand possibly still owned by them.\n\nThat the book was once owned by Lincoln would appear certain. His\nsignature on the flyleaf is in his firm, mature hand, written as he was\naccustomed to write it until some time after he became President, \"A.\nLincoln.\" The ownership would appear to be still further attested by an\ninscription on the inside of the front cover, \"Compliments to Master\nAbe Lincoln, and good success, truly yours, Charles Anthon, Columbia\nCollege.\" But this inscription raises more questions than it answers.\nI am not familiar with the handwriting of Professor Anthon, but I am\ndisposed to question the genuineness of this inscription. That it has\nbeen received as genuine by previous owners of the book is attested\nby the fact that another hand has written before \"Columbia College\"\nthe words \"A Prof.\" evidently that Professor Anthon might be properly\nintroduced to persons who did not know him. Professor Anthon was a\nnoted classical scholar, but I cannot help wondering at what period of\nhis career he could have come into personal touch with Abraham Lincoln.\nNot, certainly, in 1825, when the book was published, and when Lincoln\nwas sixteen years old. And at what later period would Professor Anthon\nhave addressed him as \"Master Abe Lincoln\"?\n\nIf Anthon came to know Lincoln personally so as to care to present him\nwith one of his books, it would seem as if he would have given him a\nbook of which he was the sole or chief author, and not one in which his\npart was confined to the appendix. Anthon's interest in the Greek was\nprimarily classical, and that of the author of this work was primarily\nBiblical. If Anthon came to know Lincoln it would probably have been\nafter Lincoln had become a national figure, say in 1848 or some later\nyear, by which time a book issued in 1825 would have become an old\nstory to an author engaged in publishing new books.\n\nLet me, then, in the absence of direct evidence, venture the hypothesis\nthat the book was really owned by Lincoln; that it came into his\npossession not earlier than the time when, having mastered Kirkham's\nGrammar, he welcomed the ownership of a book which suggested the\npossible knowledge of a classical tongue. That he bought the book\nis hardly probable; that it was the gift of Professor Anthon is\nimprobable, because there would appear to have been no contact between\nthe two at a period when such a gift would have been appropriate: let\nus assume, then, that someone else gave him the book, and that the\nattribution to Professor Anthon is the conjectural record of a later\nowner.[47]\n\nThe book might conceivably have come into Lincoln's possession through\nthe Green boys, or the brother of Ann Rutledge, returning from Illinois\nCollege to New Salem; for it was a book which might easily have been\nfloating around Jacksonville, and picked up by a student there, and\nlater discarded because he had no special interest in the Greek of the\nNew Testament. Lincoln would have been more likely to feel a passing\ninterest in it then than at any other period of his career, for he was\nwidening his educational horizon, and had not as yet set any limits\nto his learning in one or another direction. He might have picked it\nup, or it might have been handed him by some minister, during his\nearly years in Springfield; but by that time Lincoln must have given\nup any passing notion that he might ever learn Greek. He could hardly\nhave procured it and would not have cared for it before he lived in\nNew Salem: he must have ceased to think of the possibility of learning\nGreek before he had lived long in Springfield.\n\nI assume, also, that the erasure of the words \"from God\" and the\nsubstitution of the words \"from nature\" is in Lincoln's hand; though\nthe two words are written at the very bottom of the page, with no\nsupport for the hand, and are not as well written as the signature, and\ntheir authenticity might be questioned. I am disposed to think that\nhe wrote it, and this, evidently, was the opinion of Mr. Burton, as\nindicated by a note in the book in his handwriting.\n\nIt might be mentioned in passing that the word \"God\" is not in this\nverse in the New Testament, either Greek or English. It reads, \"Ye have\nloved me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father.\" Perhaps\nif Dr. Nielson had followed the text literally, Lincoln would not have\ntroubled to amend it.\n\nI accept it as a genuine document, and one of real interest; but the\nlack of a date makes it almost valueless as proof of Lincoln's settled\nbelief. I place it, conjecturally, in the New Salem period of his life,\nthough it may date from the beginning of his life in Springfield.\n\nI have not read the entire book, nor compared the Greek throughout\nwith the English, but I note that in this passage the English is not\ntranslated from the Greek, but the Greek is translated backward from\nthe English, and that inexactly. I judge this to be not the effect of\nbad scholarship but the result of a desire to convey a lesson. For\ninstance, the Greek of this passage is made into a personal confession\nby the change of person in the first part of the verse, without\ncorresponding change in the second part, leaving the first verb without\na direct object, so that a literal translation reads,--\n\n  \"I love and believe that I came forth from God.\"\n\nDr. Nielson probably knew why he did it so, but Professor Anthon would\nhave been likely to say that that was not very good Greek syntax. It\nserved its purpose, however, as showing, what this section was intended\nto show, the various uses of the Greek conjunctions.\n\nLincoln, it may be presumed, got little if anything out of the Greek.\nI find no mark of his except on this and the facing page. There he\nfound two admonitions which he boxed in, and made a note of them on the\nfalse-title:\n\n  4. Deliberate slowly, but execute\n  promptly, the things which\n  have appeared unto thee proper\n  to be done.\n\n  5. Love, not the immoderate\n  acquisition, but the moderate enjoyment,\n  of present good.\n\nIn the front of the book he wrote a reference to this, and added,\n\n  Deliberate slowly but\n    execute promptly.\n  Think well and do your duty.\n\nThese precepts seemed to impress him; and they were certainly\ncharacteristic of him. But we can draw no very wide deduction from his\nuse of the Greek or the substitution of the word in the translation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nCHITTENDEN AND CHINIQUY\n\n\nTWO notable interviews touching the religious opinions of Mr. Lincoln\ndeserve record here. One is by Rev. Charles Chiniquy, some time priest\nin the Roman Catholic Church, and afterward a strong Protestant. He had\nbeen a client of Mr. Lincoln's in Illinois, and Mr. Lincoln trusted and\nbelieved in him. He visited Mr. Lincoln in the White House, and there,\nas before Mr. Lincoln's departure for Springfield, he warned him that\nthere were plots against the life of the President.\n\nThe other is by Hon. L. E. Chittenden, who was chosen by Mr. Lincoln as\nRegister of the Treasury, and who was an honest and incorruptible man.\n\nFather Chiniquy visited Mr. Lincoln in the White House in August, 1861,\nJune, 1862, and June, 1864, for the purpose of warning Mr. Lincoln\nof plots, which Father Chiniquy believed to be inspired by Jesuits,\nagainst the life of Mr. Lincoln. On the last of these occasions, June\n9, 1864, in the course of an extended interview, he reported Mr.\nLincoln as saying:\n\n \"'You are not the first to warn me against the dangers of\n assassination. My ambassadors in Italy, France, and England, as well\n as Professor Morse, have, many times, warned me against the plots of\n murderers whom they have detected in those different countries. But I\n see no other safeguard against these murderers, but to be always ready\n to die, as Christ advises it. As we must all die sooner or later, it\n makes very little difference to me whether I die from a dagger plunged\n through the heart or from an inflammation of the lungs. Let me tell\n you that I have, lately, read a message in the Old Testament which has\n made a profound, and, I hope, a salutary impression on me. Here is\n that passage.'\n\n \"The President took his Bible, opened it at the third chapter of\n Deuteronomy, and read from the 22d to the 27th verse:\n\n \"'\"22. Ye shall not fear them: for the Lord your God he shall fight\n for you.\n\n \"'\"23. And I besought the Lord at that time, saying,\n\n \"'\"24. O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness,\n and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that\n can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?\n\n \"'\"25. I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is\n beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.\n\n \"'\"26. But the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not\n hear me: and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more\n unto me of this matter.\n\n \"'\"27. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes\n westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it\n with thine eyes; for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.\"'\n\n \"After the President had read these words with great solemnity, he\n added:\n\n \"'My dear Father Chiniquy, let me tell you that I have read these\n strange and beautiful words several times, these last five or six\n weeks. The more I read them, the more it seems to me that God has\n written them for me as well as for Moses.\n\n \"'Has He not taken me from my poor log cabin, by the hand, as He did\n Moses, in the reeds of the Nile, to put me at the head of the greatest\n and most blessed of modern nations just as He put that prophet at\n the head of the most blessed nation of ancient times? Has not God\n granted me a privilege, which was not granted to any living man, when\n I broke the fetters of 4,000,000 of men, and made them free? Has not\n our God given me the most glorious victories over my enemies? Are\n not the armies of the Confederacy so reduced to a handful of men,\n when compared to what they were two years ago, that the day is fast\n approaching when they will have to surrender?\n\n \"'Now, I see the end of this terrible conflict, with the same joy of\n Moses, when at the end of his trying forty years in the wilderness;\n and I pray my God to grant me to see the days of peace and untold\n prosperity, which will follow this cruel war, as Moses asked God to\n see the other side of Jordan, and enter the Promised Land. But, do\n you know, that I hear in my soul, as the voice of God, giving me the\n rebuke which was given to Moses?\n\n \"'Yes! every time that my soul goes to God to ask the favor of seeing\n the other side of Jordan, and eating the fruits of that peace, after\n which I am longing with such an unspeakable desire, do you know that\n there is a still but solemn voice which tells me that I will see those\n things only from a long distance, and that I will be among the dead\n when the nation, which God granted me to lead through those awful\n trials, will cross the Jordan, and dwell in that Land of Promise,\n where peace, industry, happiness, and liberty will make everyone\n happy; and why so? Because He has already given me favors which He\n never gave, I dare say, to any man in these latter days.\n\n \"'Why did God Almighty refuse to Moses the favor of crossing the\n Jordan, and entering the Promised Land? It was on account of the\n nation's sins! That law of divine retribution and justice, by which\n one must suffer for another, is surely a terrible mystery. But it is\n a fact which no man who has any intelligence and knowledge can deny.\n Moses, who knew that law, though he probably did not understand it\n better than we do, calmly says to his people: \"God was wroth with me\n for your sakes.\"\n\n \"'But, though we do not understand that mysterious and terrible law,\n we find it written in letters of tears and blood wherever we go. We do\n not read a single page of history without finding undeniable traces of\n its existence.\n\n \"'Where is the mother who has not shed real tears and suffered real\n tortures, for her children's sake?\n\n \"'Who is the good king, the worthy emperor, the gifted chieftain, who\n has not suffered unspeakable mental agonies, or even death, for his\n people's sake?\n\n \"'Is not our Christian religion the highest expression of the wisdom,\n mercy, and love of God! But what is Christianity if not the very\n incarnation of that eternal law of Divine justice in our humanity?\n\n \"'When I look on Moses, alone, silently dying on the Mount Pisgah, I\n see that law, in one of its most sublime human manifestations, and I\n am filled with admiration and awe.\n\n \"'But when I consider that law of justice, and expiation in the death\n of the Just, the divine Son of Mary, on the Mount of Calvary, I remain\n mute in my adoration. The spectacle of the Crucified One which is\n before my eyes is more than sublime, it is divine! Moses died for his\n People's sake, but Christ died for the whole world's sake! Both died\n to fulfill the same eternal law of the Divine justice, though in a\n different measure.\n\n \"'Now, would it not be the greatest of honors and privileges bestowed\n upon me, if God in His infinite love, mercy, and wisdom would put me\n between His faithful servant, Moses, and His eternal Son, Jesus, that\n I might die as they did, for my nation's sake!\n\n \"'My God alone knows what I have already suffered for my dear\n country's sake. But my fear is that the justice of God is not yet\n paid. When I look upon the rivers of tears and blood drawn by the\n lashes of the merciless masters from the veins of the very heart of\n those millions of defenseless slaves, these two hundred years; when\n I remember the agonies, the cries, the unspeakable tortures of those\n unfortunate people to which I have, to some extent, connived with so\n many others a part of my life, I fear that we are still far from the\n complete expiation. For the judgments of God are true and righteous.\n\n \"'It seems to me that the Lord wants today, as He wanted in the days\n of Moses, another victim--a victim which He has himself chosen,\n anointed and prepared for the sacrifice, by raising it above the rest\n of His people. I cannot conceal from you that my impression is that I\n am the victim. So many plots have already been made against my life,\n that it is a real miracle that they have all failed. But can we expect\n that God will make a perpetual miracle to save my life? I believe not.\n\n \"'But just as the Lord heard no murmur from the lips of Moses, when He\n told him that he had to die before crossing the Jordan, for the sins\n of his people, so I hope and pray that He will hear no murmur from me\n when I fall for my nation's sake.\n\n \"'The only two favors I ask of the Lord are, first, that I may die for\n the sacred cause in which I am engaged, and when I am the standard\n bearer of the rights and privileges of my country.\n\n \"'The second favor I ask from God is that my dear son, Robert, when I\n am gone, will be one of those who lift up that flag of Liberty which\n will cover my tomb, and carry it with honor and fidelity to the end\n of his life, as his father did, surrounded by the millions who will\n be called with him to fight and die for the defense and honor of our\n country.'\n\n \"'Never had I heard such sublime words,' says Father Chiniquy. 'Never\n had I seen a human face so solemn and so prophet-like as the face of\n the President when uttering these things. Every sentence had come to\n me as a hymn from heaven, reverberated by the echoes of the mountains\n of Pisgah and Calvary. I was beside myself. Bathed in tears, I tried\n to say something, but I could not utter a word. I knew the hour to\n leave had come. I asked from the President permission to fall on\n my knees and pray with him that his life might be spared; and he\n knelt with me. But I prayed more with my tears and sobs than with my\n words. Then I pressed his hand on my lips and bathed it with tears,\n and with a heart filled with an unspeakable desolation, I bade him\n adieu.'\"--_Fifty Years in the Church of Rome_, pp. 706-10.\n\nHon. L. E. Chittenden, Register of the Treasury under Lincoln, gives\nthis testimony to Lincoln's religious character:\n\n \"In the Presidential campaign of 1864 there were sullen whisperings\n that Mr. Lincoln had no religious opinions nor any interest in\n churches or Christian institutions. They faded away with other libels,\n never to be renewed until after his death. One of his biographers,\n who calls himself the 'friend and partner for twenty years' of the\n deceased President, has since published what he calls a history of his\n life, in which he revives the worst of these rumors, with additions\n which, if true, would destroy much of the world's respect for Mr.\n Lincoln. He asserts that his 'friend and partner' was 'an infidel\n verging towards atheism.' Others have disseminated these charges\n in lectures and fugitive sketches so industriously that they have\n produced upon strangers some impression of their truth. The excuse\n alleged is, their desire to present Mr. Lincoln to the world 'just as\n he was.' Their real purpose is to present him just as they would have\n him to be, as much as possible like themselves.\n\n \"It is a trait of the infidel to parade his unbelief before the\n public, and he thinks something gained to himself when he can show\n that others are equally deficient in moral qualities. But these\n writers have attempted too much. Their principal charge of infidelity,\n tinged with atheism, is so completely at variance with all our\n knowledge of his opinions that its origin must be attributed to malice\n or to a defective mental constitution.\n\n \"His sincerity and candor were conspicuous qualities of Mr. Lincoln's\n mind. Deception was a vice in which he had neither experience nor\n skill. All who were admitted to his intimacy will agree that he was\n incapable of professing opinions which he did not entertain. When we\n find him at the moment of leaving his home for Washington, surrounded\n by his neighbors of a quarter of a century, taking Washington for\n his exemplar, whose success he ascribed 'to the aid of that Divine\n Providence upon which he at all times relied,' and publicly declaring\n that he, himself, 'placed his whole trust in the same Almighty Being,\n and the prayers of Christian men and women'; when, not once or twice,\n but on all proper, and more than a score of subsequent occasions, he\n avowed his faith in an Omnipotent Ruler, who will judge the world in\n righteousness--in the Bible as the inspired record of His history and\n His law; when with equal constancy he thanked Almighty God for, and\n declared his interest in, Christian institutions and influences as the\n appointed means for his effective service, we may assert that we know\n that he was neither an atheist nor an infidel, but, on the contrary, a\n sincere believer in the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith.\n In fact, he believed so confidently that the Almighty was making use\n of the war, of himself, and other instrumentalities in working out\n some great design for the benefit of humanity, and his belief that he\n himself was directed by the same Omniscient Power was expressed with\n such frankness and frequency, that it attracted attention, and was\n criticized by some as verging towards superstition. His public life\n was a continuous service of God and his fellow-man, controlled and\n guided by the golden rule, in which there was no hiatus of unbelief or\n incredulity.\n\n \"Here I might well stop, and submit that these charges do not deserve\n any further consideration. But I know how false they are, and I may\n be excused if I record one of my sources of knowledge.\n\n \"The emphatic statement made by the President to Mr. Fessenden,\n that he was called to the Presidency by a Power higher than human\n authority, I have already mentioned. His calm serenity at times\n when others were so anxious, his confidence that his own judgment\n was directed by the Almighty, so impressed me that, when I next had\n the opportunity, at some risk of giving offense, I ventured to ask\n him directly how far he believed the Almighty actually directed our\n national affairs. There was a considerable pause before he spoke, and\n when he did speak, what he said was more in the nature of a monologue\n than an answer to my inquiry:\n\n \"'That the Almighty does make use of human agencies, and directly\n intervenes in human affairs, is,' he said, 'one of the plainest\n evidences of His direction, so many instances when I have been\n controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannot doubt\n that this power comes from above. I frequently see my way clear to\n a decision when I am conscious that I have no sufficient facts upon\n which to found it. But I cannot recall one instance in which I have\n followed my own judgment, founded upon such a decision, where the\n results were unsatisfactory; whereas, in almost every instance where I\n have yielded to the views of others, I have had occasion to regret it.\n I am satisfied that when the Almighty wants me to do or not to do a\n particular thing, He finds a way of letting me know it. I am confident\n that it is His design to restore the Union. He will do it in His own\n good time. We should obey and not oppose His will.'\n\n \"'You speak with such confidence,' I said, 'that I would like to know\n how your knowledge that God acts directly upon human affairs compares\n in certainty with your knowledge of a fact apparent to the senses--for\n example, the fact that we are at this moment here in this room.'\n\n \"'One is as certain as the other,' he answered, 'although the\n conclusions are reached by different processes. I know by my senses\n that the movements of the world are those of an infinitely powerful\n machine, which runs for ages without a variation. A man who can put\n two ideas together knows that such a machine requires an infinitely\n powerful maker and governor: man's nature is such that he cannot take\n in the machine and keep out the maker. This maker is God--infinite\n in wisdom as well as in power. Would we be any more certain if we saw\n Him?'\n\n \"'I am not controverting your position,' I said. 'Your confidence\n interests me beyond expression. I wish I knew how to acquire it. Even\n now, must it not all depend on our faith in the Bible?'\n\n \"'No. There is the element of personal experience,' he said. 'If\n it did, the character of the Bible is easily established, at least\n to my satisfaction. We have to believe many things which we do not\n comprehend. The Bible is the only one that claims to be God's Book--to\n comprise His law--His history. It contains an immense amount of\n evidence of its own authenticity. It describes a governor omnipotent\n enough to operate this great machine, and declares that He made it.\n It states other facts which we do not fully comprehend, but which we\n cannot account for. What shall we do with them?\n\n \"'Now let us treat the Bible fairly. If we had a witness on the stand\n whose general story we knew was true, we would believe him when he\n asserted facts of which we had no other evidence. We ought to treat\n the Bible with equal fairness. I decided a long time ago that it was\n less difficult to believe that the Bible was what it claimed to be\n than to disbelieve it. It is a good book for us to obey--it contains\n the ten commandments, the golden rule, and many other rules which\n ought to be followed. No man was ever the worse for living according\n to the directions of the Bible.'\n\n \"'If your views are correct, the Almighty is on our side, and we ought\n to win without so many losses----'\n\n \"He promptly interrupted me and said, 'We have no right to criticize\n or complain. He is on our side, and so is the Bible, and so are\n churches and Christian societies and organizations--all of them, so\n far as I know, almost without an exception. It makes me strong and\n more confident to know that all the Christians in the loyal States are\n praying for our success, that all their influences are working to the\n same end. Thousands of them are fighting for us, and no one will say\n that an officer or a private is less brave because he is a praying\n soldier. At first, when we had such long spells of bad luck, I used to\n lose heart sometimes. Now I seem to know that Providence has protected\n and will protect us against any fatal defeat. All we have to do is to\n trust the Almighty and keep right on obeying His orders and executing\n His will.'\n\n \"I could not press inquiry further. I knew that Mr. Lincoln was\n no hypocrite. There was an air of such sincerity in his manner of\n speaking, and especially in his references to the Almighty, that no\n one could have doubted his faith unless the doubter believed him\n dishonest. It scarcely needed his repeated statements that 'whatever\n shall appear to be God's will, that will I do,' his special gratitude\n to God for victories, or his numerous expressions of his firm faith\n that God willed our final triumph, to convince the American people\n that he was not and could not be an atheist or an infidel.\n\n \"He has written of the Bible, that 'this great Book of God is the best\n gift which God has ever given to man,' and that 'all things desirable\n for man to know are contained in it.' His singular familiarity with\n its contents is even stronger evidence of the high place it held in\n his judgment. His second inaugural address shows how sensibly he\n appreciated the force and beauty of its passages, and constitutes an\n admirable application of its truths, only possible as the result of\n familiar use and thorough study.\n\n \"Further comment cannot be necessary. Abraham Lincoln accepted\n the Bible as the inspired word of God--he believed and faithfully\n endeavored to live according to the fundamental principles and\n doctrines of the Christian faith. To doubt either proposition is to\n be untrue to his memory, a disloyalty of which no American should be\n guilty.\"--CHITTENDEN: _Recollections of President Lincoln and His\n Administration_, pp. 446-51.\n\nThese two incidents call for no extended comment. That in each of\nthem the literary style is more like that of the narrator than it is\nlike the style of Mr. Lincoln is evident, and there is other apparent\nevidence that the incidents were colored by the imagination of the two\nmen who related them. But neither of them was a lie. And, when we make\ndue deductions, each contains a basis of fact in accord with what we\nmight have expected Lincoln to say.\n\nFor instance, the assurance which he expressed to Chittenden that God\nhad called him to his work as President, and that he was fulfilling\ndivine destiny, is fully in accord with the strong conviction of\npredestination which he had received in his youth, and which was so\nmarked that his partners took it as a mark of selfish superiority. He\ndid feel, and felt so strongly that he sometimes seemed to be oblivious\nto other and correlative truths, that God had called him to a great\ntask, and that he would live till it was accomplished, plots or no\nplots. But he had a gloomy foreboding that he would not live much\nlonger. His conviction of predestination had in it a compelling sense\nof destiny and almost of doom, a conviction of Divinity shaping his\nends, even though he rough-hewed them.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\nTHE BEECHER AND SICKLES INCIDENTS\n\n\nAMONG the many stories of President Lincoln's religious life, one of\nthe most impressive concerns an alleged visit of the President to the\nhome of Henry Ward Beecher and the spending of a night in prayer by\nthese two men. The story is as follows:\n\n \"Following the disaster of Bull Run, when the strength and resources\n of the nation seemed to have been wasted, the hopes of the North were\n at their lowest ebb, and Mr. Lincoln was well-nigh overwhelmed with\n the awful responsibility of guiding the nation in its life struggle.\n Henry Ward Beecher, of Brooklyn, was, perhaps, more prominently\n associated with the cause of the North at that time than any other\n minister of the gospel. He had preached and lectured and fought its\n battles in pulpit and press all over the country, had ransomed slaves\n from his pulpit, and his convictions and feelings were everywhere\n known.\n\n \"Late one evening a stranger called at his home and asked to see\n him. Mr. Beecher was working alone in his study, as was his custom,\n and this stranger refused to send up his name, and came muffled\n in a military cloak which completely hid his face. Mrs. Beecher's\n suspicions were aroused, and she was very unwilling that he should\n have the interview which he requested, especially as Mr. Beecher's\n life had been frequently threatened by sympathizers with the\n South. The latter, however, insisted that his visitor be shown up.\n Accordingly, the stranger entered, the doors were shut, and for hours\n the wife below could hear their voices and their footsteps as they\n paced back and forth. Finally, toward midnight, the mysterious visitor\n went out, still muffled in his cloak, so that it was impossible to\n gain any idea of his features.\n\n \"The years went by, the war was finished, the President had suffered\n martyrdom at his post, and it was not until shortly before Mr.\n Beecher's death, over twenty years later, that he made known that the\n mysterious stranger who had called on that stormy night was Abraham\n Lincoln. The stress and strain of those days and nights of struggle,\n with all the responsibilities and sorrows of a nation fighting for\n its life resting upon him, had broken his strength, and for a time\n undermined his courage. He had traveled alone in disguise and at night\n from Washington to Brooklyn, to gain the sympathy and help of one whom\n he knew as a man of God, engaged in the same great battle in which he\n was the leader. Alone for hours that night, like Jacob of old, the\n two had wrestled together in prayer with the God of battles and the\n Watcher over the right until they had received the help which He had\n promised to those that seek His aid.\"\n\nDr. Johnson endeavored to investigate this story for his book, _Lincoln\nthe Christian_.[48] The evidence seemed to him sufficient to justify\nhim in including it in his volume. It rests on the explicit statement\nof Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher and was communicated to the public through\nsome of her grandchildren. This, surely, is evidence that cannot be\nwholly disregarded. Mr. Samuel Scoville, Jr., a lawyer in Philadelphia,\na grandson of Henry Ward Beecher, confirmed the accuracy of the story\nas here given, saying that this was the form in which his grandmother\nhad related the story to her grandchildren.\n\nAnother grandson, Rev. David G. Downey, D.D., Book Editor of the\nMethodist Book Concern of New York said:\n\n \"It has always seemed to me to be a perfectly possible situation. It\n has never, however, been corroborated by any of the members of the\n family. It rests entirely upon the statement of Mrs. Beecher in her\n old age.\"--_Lincoln the Christian_, p. 201.\n\nMrs. Henry Ward Beecher was a truthful woman. She did not manufacture\nan incident of this character, but the incident is highly improbable.\nIt would be ungracious to point out in detail the elements of weakness\nin the story.\n\nLet one consideration alone be stated. The publishers of the _North\nAmerican Review_ gathered from the leading men of America a series of\nchapters in which each man related his own personal reminiscences of\nAbraham Lincoln. That volume is still easily obtained and is a valuable\nmine of information. Among the other men who contributed to it was\nHenry Ward Beecher. He wrote a chapter in which he told in detail of\nhis personal association with Mr. Lincoln. This incident finds no\nmention there nor anything remotely resembling it.\n\nIf Mr. Lincoln had felt disposed to visit Mr. Beecher for a purpose of\nthis character, he knew very well that the easier and safer and far\nless embarrassing way was to invite Mr. Beecher to the White House\nto see him. Beecher was no stranger in Washington at this time and\nLincoln had the telegraph wires under his control and did not hesitate\nto use them when there was need. Beecher made at least one journey to\nWashington to confer with Lincoln on a matter of editorial policy. His\nwell-known sympathy with the President was such that no explanation\nneed have been made of his taking a train from New York on any day\nand spending an evening in Washington. A message in the morning would\nhave brought Beecher there by night and no one either in Washington\nor New York would have thought of it as strange. On the other hand,\nthe absence of the President from Washington at a time as critical as\nthat immediately following the Battle of Bull Run and with no one able\nto account for his absence from the Capitol or with any knowledge of\nthe errand that had taken him away is well-nigh preposterous. Such an\nabsence might have given rise to the wildest rumors of the President's\nabduction or murder. Lincoln was too prudent a man, too shrewd and\ncautious a man, too deeply concerned for the possible effect of so\nrash and needless a journey; too deeply chagrined over the criticisms\nof his alleged entering into Washington in disguise at the time of his\ninauguration, to have done the thing which Mrs. Beecher, when a very\nold woman, imagined him to have done.\n\nMr. Beecher was editor of _The Christian Union_ and had occasion to\nwrite about Abraham Lincoln, and he wrote nothing of this kind. In\nhis sermons and in his lectures he had frequent occasion to mention\nLincoln, and no story of this sort is related as having come from him.\nMr. Beecher knew too well the homiletic and editorial value of such an\nincident not to have related it if it had occurred.\n\nSomeone came to see him one stormy night and the two lingered long\ntogether in prayer. For some doubtless good reason Mr. Beecher did\nnot tell his family the name of the man with whom he had spent those\nearnest hours. Many years afterward, Lincoln and Beecher both being\ndead, Mrs. Beecher recalled the event and satisfied herself that it was\nMr. Lincoln who had come from Washington to see her husband and spend\nsome hours in prayer with him.\n\nThis is the reasonable explanation, as it seems to me, of an incident\nwhich has had rather wide currency but which we are not justified in\naccepting on the unsupported testimony of even so good a woman as Mrs.\nBeecher in her old age.\n\nAn incident of remarkable interest, attested as authentic by two\ngenerals of the Civil War, is related by General James F. Rusling, in\nhis _Men and Things in Civil War Days_:\n\n General D. E. Sickles was wounded at Gettysburg, and brought to\n Washington, where a leg was amputated. President Lincoln called upon\n him, and in reply to a question from General Sickles whether or not\n the President was anxious about the battle at Gettysburg, Lincoln\n gravely said, 'No, I was not; some of my Cabinet and many others in\n Washington were, but I had no fears.' General Sickles inquired how\n this was, and seemed curious about it. Mr. Lincoln hesitated, but\n finally replied: 'Well, I will tell you how it was. In the pinch of\n your campaign up there, when everybody seemed panic-stricken, and\n nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the gravity\n of our affairs, I went to my room one day, and I locked the door, and\n got down on my knees before Almighty God, and prayed to Him mightily\n for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this was His war, and our\n cause His cause, but we couldn't stand another Fredericksburg or\n Chancellorsville. And I then and there made a solemn vow to Almighty\n God, that if He would stand by our boys at Gettysburg, I would stand\n by Him. And He _did_ stand by you boys, and I _will_ stand by Him.\n And after that (I don't know how it was, and I can't explain it),\n soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that God Almighty had taken\n the whole business into his own hands and that things would go all\n right at Gettysburg. And that is why I had no fears about you.' Asked\n concerning Vicksburg, the news of which victory had not yet reached\n him, he said, 'I have been praying for Vicksburg also, and believe\n our Heavenly Father is going to give us victory there, too.' General\n Rusling says that Mr. Lincoln spoke 'solemnly and pathetically, as\n if from the depth of his heart,' and that his manner was deeply\n touching.\"[49]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\n\"BEHIND THE SCENES\"\n\n\nTHE family of the President of the United States ought to be permitted\na reasonable degree of privacy, but this has never yet been accorded\nthem. In the case of the family of President Lincoln the rudeness of\nthe public was shameful. It is not our present purpose to intrude into\nthe domestic life of Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln, and if we shall ever do so\nhereafter it will be, let us hope, with more of consideration than some\ncritics have shown.\n\nAfter the death of Mr. Lincoln, a number of books and articles appeared\nwhich gave close and intimate glimpses of the life of President and\nMrs. Lincoln during the four years which they spent in the White House.\nWe shall examine two or three of these only in so far as they relate to\nMr. Lincoln's religious life.\n\nFor four years Mrs. Lincoln had with her in the White House as\ndressmaker and attendant Mrs. Elizabeth Keckley, an intelligent colored\nwoman. In 1868 Mrs. Keckley published a book entitled _Behind the\nScenes_.[50] It related many intimate details of life in the Lincoln\nhousehold, with much about Mrs. Lincoln's extravagances of expenditure\nand infirmities of temper, and some things about Mr. Lincoln. It is a\nmost informing book, though one containing many details which had been\nas well unprinted. Its general truthfulness is attested by its internal\nevidence. Of Lincoln's anxiety when battles were in progress, and of\nthe relief which he sought in agonized prayer, she tells, and with\napparent truthfulness. Of one battle she relates:\n\n \"One day he came into the room where I was fitting a dress for Mrs.\n Lincoln. His step was slow and heavy, and his face sad. Like a tired\n child he threw himself upon the sofa, and shaded his eyes with his\n hands. He was a complete picture of dejection. Mrs. Lincoln, observing\n his troubled look, asked:\n\n \"'Where have you been?'\n\n \"'To the War Department,' was the brief, almost sullen answer.\n\n \"'Any news?'\n\n \"'Yes, plenty of news, but no good news. It is dark, dark everywhere.'\n\n \"He reached forth one of his long arms and took a small Bible from a\n stand near the head of the sofa, opened the pages of the Holy Book,\n and soon was absorbed in reading them. A quarter of an hour passed,\n and on glancing at the sofa the face of the President seemed more\n cheerful. The dejected look was gone, and the countenance was lighted\n up with new resolution and hope. The change was so marked that I could\n not but wonder at it, and wonder led to the desire to know what book\n of the Bible afforded so much comfort to the reader. Making the search\n for a missing article an excuse, I walked gently around the sofa, and,\n looking into the open book, I discovered that Mr. Lincoln was reading\n that divine comforter, Job. He read with Christian eagerness, and the\n courage and the hope that he derived from the inspired pages made him\n a new man.\"--_Behind the Scenes_, p. 118.\n\nMrs. Keckley helped prepare the body of Willie for burial. She relates:\n\n \"When Willie died, as he lay on the bed, Mr. Lincoln came to the bed,\n lifted the cover from the face of his child, gazed at it long and\n earnestly, murmuring: 'My poor boy, he was too good for this earth.\n God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven,\n but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!'\"--_Behind\n the Scenes_, p. 103.\n\n \"Mrs. Rebecca R. Pomeroy, a Christian woman from Chelsea,\n Massachusetts, who had come to nurse the Lincoln children in their\n sickness, speaks of Lincoln's great affliction and sadness. On the\n morning of the funeral she assured him that many Christians were\n praying for him. With eyes suffused with tears, he replied: 'I am\n glad to hear that. I want them to pray for me. I need their prayers.'\n Mrs. Pomeroy expressed her sympathy with him as they were going out\n to the burial. Thanking her gently, he said, 'I will try to go to\n God with my sorrows.' She asked him a few days after if he could not\n trust God. With deep religious feeling, he replied: 'I think I can,\n and I will try. I wish I had that childlike faith you speak of, and\n I trust He will give it to me.' Then the memory of his mother filled\n his mind with tenderest recollections, and he said: 'I had a good\n Christian mother, and her prayers have followed me thus far through\n life.'\"--_Lincoln Scrapbook_, Library of Congress, p. 54.\n\nMrs. Pomeroy was a Baptist, and had recently buried her husband. She\nvolunteered for service as a nurse in the soldiers' hospitals in\nWashington, and in the serious illness of Mr. Lincoln's two sons she\nwas installed as nurse in the White House and remained these several\nmonths.\n\nShe relates that she frequently saw him reading his mother's Bible, and\nthat he found especial comfort in the Psalms.\n\nMrs. Pomeroy relates:\n\n \"On July 9, 1863, while sitting at the dinner table he could not eat,\n for he seemed so full of trouble as he said, 'The battle of Port\n Hudson is now going on, and many lives will be sacrificed on both\n sides, but I have done the best I could, trusting in God, for if they\n gain this important point, we are lost; and, on the other hand, if we\n could only gain it we shall have gained much; and I think we shall,\n for we have a great deal to thank God for, for we have Vicksburg and\n Gettysburg already.' Mrs. Pomeroy said, 'Mr. Lincoln, prayer will do\n what nothing else will; can you not pray?' 'Yes, I will,' he replied,\n and while the tears were dropping from his face he said, 'Pray for\n me,' and picked up a Bible and went to his room. 'Could all the people\n of the nation have overheard the earnest petition that went up from\n that inner chamber as it reached the ears of the nurse, they would\n have fallen upon their knees with tearful and reverential sympathy.'\n That night he received a dispatch announcing a Union victory. He went\n directly to Mrs. Pomeroy's room, his face beaming with joy, saying:\n 'Good news! Good news! Port Hudson is ours! The victory is ours, and\n God is good.' When the lady replied, 'Nothing like prayer in times of\n trouble,' Mr. Lincoln said, 'Yes, O yes--praise--prayer and praise go\n together.' Mrs. Pomeroy in relating this incident, said, 'I do believe\n he was a true Christian, though he had very little confidence in\n himself.'\"\n\nMost valuable, and also most familiar, of these intimate glimpses into\nthe life of Mr. Lincoln during his years in the White House is the\nbook of Frank B. Carpenter called, _Six Months in the White House: The\nInner Life of Abraham Lincoln_. The book was the work of the artist\nwho painted the large picture of the Signing of the Emancipation\nProclamation. For six months in 1864 he lived in the White House where\na room was fitted up for his use, and Mr. Lincoln and all the members\nof the Cabinet sat to him repeatedly. It is hardly necessary to quote\nthis book, which is widely scattered, and everywhere available. It is\nenough to remind ourselves that the picture it gives us of Mr. Lincoln\nin those solemn days after the war had settled down to a clear issue of\nslavery or freedom, and had become in the mind of the nation and the\nworld not a political but a moral issue, is one of dignity and heroism\nand of definite Christian character.\n\nAn incident following the death of Willie has been related on the\nalleged authority of Rev. Francis Vinton, rector of Trinity Church, New\nYork, who was an acquaintance of Mrs. Lincoln and visited Washington\nand called at the White House soon after that sad event. As reported,\nhe said to Mr. Lincoln:\n\n \"'Your son is alive.'\n\n \"'Alive!' exclaimed Mr. Lincoln. 'Surely you mock me.'\n\n \"'No, sir; believe me,' replied Dr. Vinton; 'it is a most comforting\n doctrine of the Church, founded upon the words of Christ Himself.'\n\n \"Mr. Lincoln threw his arm around Dr. Vinton's neck, laid his head\n upon his breast, and sobbed aloud, '_Alive? Alive?_'\n\n \"Dr. Vinton, greatly moved, said: 'My dear sir, believe this, for it\n is God's most precious truth. Seek not your son among the dead; he is\n not there; he lives today in paradise! Think of the full import of the\n words I have quoted. The Sadducees, when they questioned Jesus, had\n no other conception than that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were dead and\n buried. Mark the reply: \"Now that the dead _are_ raised, even Moses\n showed at the bush when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God\n of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For He is not the God of the dead, but\n of the living, _for all live unto Him_!\" Did not the great patriarch\n mourn his sons as dead? \"Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye\n will take Benjamin, also!\" But Joseph and Simeon were both living,\n though he believed it not. Indeed, Joseph being taken from him was the\n eventual means of the preservation of the whole family. And so God has\n called your son into His upper kingdom--a kingdom and an existence as\n real, more real, than your own. It may be that he too, like Joseph,\n has gone, in God's good providence, to be the salvation of _his_\n father's household. It is a part of the Lord's plan for the ultimate\n happiness of you and yours. Doubt it not.'\n\n \"Dr. Vinton [so the narrative proceeds] told Lincoln that he had a\n sermon upon the subject. Mr. Lincoln asked him to send it to him as\n early as possible, and thanked him repeatedly for his cheering and\n hopeful words. When Lincoln received the sermon he read it over and\n over, and had a copy made for his own private use. A member of the\n family said that Mr. Lincoln's views in relation to spiritual things\n seemed changed from that hour.\"--CARPENTER, pp. 117-19.\n\nSuch an incident cannot be wholly false; nor is it quite conceivable\nthat it is wholly true. That Lincoln talked with Dr. Vinton concerning\nhis recent sorrow, and was comforted by his assurance of immortality\nis not improbable, nor that he accepted Dr. Vinton's sermon and had it\ncopied; but the scene as finally described for the public has every\nappearance of being much colored.\n\nIn 1883 Captain Oldroyd published a collection of Lincoln anecdotes\nwhich had long been making, most of them good and many of them\nexcellent, but some of them resting on very dubitable authority. Among\nthose of this class was one that has been widely quoted, perhaps most\nwidely of any in his book:[51]\n\n \"Shortly before his death an Illinois clergyman asked Lincoln, 'Do you\n love Jesus?' Mr. Lincoln solemnly replied: 'When I left Springfield I\n asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried\n my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when\n I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers,\n I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I _do_ love Jesus.'\n\n \"Reticent as he was, and shy of discoursing much of his own mental\n exercises, these few utterances now have a value with those who knew\n him which his dying words scarcely have possessed.\"--_Lincoln Memorial\n Album_, p. 105.\n\nWhere Captain Oldroyd obtained this incident is now not known; probably\nit came to him as a newspaper clipping. It bears no marks that commend\nit to our confidence. We are not informed who this Illinois clergyman\nwas; there may not have been any such clergyman. If there was,--\n\n  \"_E'en ministers they hae been kenned\n      In holy rapture,\n  A rousing whid at times to vend,\n      And nail 't wi' Scripture._\"\n\nMr. Lincoln made many references to God, but very few to Jesus, and\nthen not by name, but by some title, as \"the Saviour of the World.\"\nThe word \"love\" was one which he almost never used. That he should\nhave said to a man unnamed \"I do love Jesus\" is highly improbable; and\nthe account of his conversation as given here is not probable. We gain\nnothing by reliance on such unsupported allegations.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\nFROM THE HOUSETOPS AND IN THE CLOSET\n\n\nTHIS part of our inquiry draws near its close. We have reserved for\nthis chapter a selection from those religious expressions of Abraham\nLincoln which belong to his mature years, and which are indisputably\nhis. They are largely in addresses, proclamations, and official\ndocuments. In them religion is, as a rule, an incidental subject. But\nit finds frequent expression.\n\nHere no literary criticism is necessary, for there is no question\nabout the accuracy of the report. We shall quote nothing that is\nnot contained in an accredited compilation of Lincoln's papers or\naddresses, omitting all that is disputable or open to the suspicion of\nglossation or coloring or exaggeration.\n\nThere is only one question, Was Abraham Lincoln sincere in these\nutterances? Did he speak them as his own profound convictions, or\nbecause he was expected to say something of this sort, and took refuge\nin pious commonplaces? Both statements have been made concerning these\nand like utterances. Let us read them with an open mind and discover\nwhat evidence they bear of their own sincerity.\n\nThese are not reports of private conversations, or utterances addressed\nto small groups. These are the words which Lincoln uttered in the ears\nof all men; and they afford some evidence of the faith that was in him.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn Lincoln's first annual Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, dated October\n3, 1863, after reciting the blessings of God to the nation in the\nharvest and in the success of our arms, he said:\n\n \"No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out\n these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God,\n who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless\n remembered mercy.\n\n \"It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly,\n reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one\n voice by the American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow\n citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at\n sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and\n observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving\n and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And\n I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly\n due Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also,\n with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience,\n commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans,\n mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are\n unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the\n Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it,\n as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full\n enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.\"\n\nIn the summer of 1864, a resolution was adopted concurrently by the\nSenate and House of Representatives, requesting the President to\nappoint a day of prayer, Mr. Lincoln issued the following proclamation,\nJuly 7, 1864, in which, after quoting the words of the resolution, he\ncontinued:\n\n \"Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,\n cordially concurring with the Congress of the United States in\n the penitential and pious sentiments expressed in the aforesaid\n resolutions, and heartily approving of the devotional design and\n purpose thereof, do hereby appoint the first Thursday of August next\n to be observed by the people of the United States as a day of national\n humiliation and prayer.\n\n \"I do hereby further invite and request the heads of the executive\n departments of this government, together with all legislators, all\n judges and magistrates, and all other persons exercising authority\n in the land, whether civil, military, or naval, and all soldiers,\n seamen, and marines in the national service and all the other loyal\n and law-abiding people of the United States, to assemble in their\n preferred places of public worship on that day, and there and then to\n render to the Almighty and merciful Ruler of the Universe such homages\n and such confessions, and to offer to Him such supplications, as the\n Congress of the United States have, in their aforesaid resolution, so\n solemnly, so earnestly, and so reverently recommended.\"\n\nMr. Lincoln issued another special thanksgiving proclamation on May 9,\n1864, saying:\n\n \"Enough is known of army operations within the last five days to\n claim an especial gratitude to God, while what remains undone demands\n our most sincere prayers to, and reliance upon, Him without whom all\n human effort is vain. I recommend that all patriots, at their homes,\n in their places of public worship, and wherever they may be, unite in\n common thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God.\"\n\nIn a response to a serenade at the White House, on May 9, 1864,\nfollowing the Battle of the Wilderness, Mr. Lincoln said:\n\n \"While we are grateful to all the brave men and officers for the\n events of the past few days, we should, above all, be very grateful to\n Almighty God, who gives us victory.\"\n\nMay 18, 1864, in a letter of reply to a deputation of ministers\nwho presented to him resolutions adopted by the Methodist General\nConference, he said, \"God bless the Methodist Church--bless all the\nchurches--and blessed be God, who, in this our great trial giveth us\nthe churches.\"\n\nIn a letter to a committee consisting of the Rev. Dr. Ide, Honorable J.\nR. Doolittle, and Honorable A. Hubbell, May 30, 1864, Mr. Lincoln says:\n\n \"In response to the preamble and resolutions of the American Baptist\n Home Mission Society, which you did me the honor to present, I can\n only thank you for thus adding to the effective and almost unanimous\n support which the Christian communities are so zealously giving to the\n country, and to liberty. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive how it\n could be otherwise with anyone professing Christianity, or even having\n ordinary perceptions of right and wrong. To read the Bible, as the\n word of God Himself, that 'In the sweat of _thy_ face shalt thou eat\n bread,' and to preach therefrom that, 'In the sweat of _other men's_\n faces shalt thou eat bread,' to my mind can scarcely be reconciled\n with honest sincerity. When brought to my final reckoning may I have\n to answer for robbing no man of his goods; yet more tolerable even\n this, than for robbing one of himself and all that was his. When, a\n year or two ago, those professedly holy men of the South met in the\n semblance of prayer and devotion, and, in the name of Him who said,\n 'As ye would all men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them,'\n appealed to the Christian world to aid them in doing to a whole race\n of men as they would have no man do unto themselves, to my thinking\n they contemned and insulted God and His church far more than did\n Satan when he tempted the Saviour with the kingdoms of earth. The\n devil's attempt was no more false, and far less hypocritical. But let\n me forbear, remembering it is also written, 'Judge not, lest ye be\n judged.'\"\n\nOn December 7, 1863, in making announcement of Union success in East\nTennessee, he closed as follows: \"I recommend that all loyal people do,\non receipt of this information, assemble at their places of worship\nand render special homage and gratitude to Almighty God for His great\nadvancement of the national cause.\"\n\nHis Third Annual Message to Congress, December 8, 1863, began: \"Another\nyear of health, and of sufficiently abundant harvests, has passed.\nFor these, and especially for the improved condition of our national\naffairs, our renewed and profoundest gratitude to God is due.\"\n\nAfter the capture of Mobile and Atlanta, on September 3, 1864, Mr.\nLincoln issued his fourth special thanksgiving proclamation, calling on\nall people to offer thanksgiving to God \"for His mercy in preserving\nour national existence\"; and also \"that prayer be made for divine\nprotection to our soldiers and their leaders in the field, who have so\noften and so gallantly periled their lives in battling with the enemy;\nand for blessings and comforts from the Father of Mercies to the sick,\nwounded, and prisoners, and to the orphans and widows of those who have\nfallen in the service of their country, and that He will continue to\nuphold the Government of the United States against all the effects of\npublic enemies and secret foes.\"\n\nHe issued a proclamation calling for thanksgiving for victories, July\n15, 1863:\n\n \"It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplication and\n prayers of an afflicted people, and to vouchsafe to the army and navy\n of the United States victories on land and on sea so signal and so\n effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confidence\n that the union of these States will be maintained, their Constitution\n preserved, and their peace and prosperity permanently restored. But\n these victories have been accorded not without sacrifice of life,\n limb, health, and liberty, incurred by brave, loyal, and patriotic\n citizens. Domestic affliction in every part of the country follows\n in the train of these fearful bereavements. It is meet and right to\n recognize and confess the presence of the Almighty Father and the\n power of His hand equally in these triumphs and in these sorrows.\n\n \"Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the 6th\n day of August next, to be observed as a day of national thanksgiving,\n praise, and prayer, and I invite the people of the United States to\n assemble on that occasion in their customary places of worship, and,\n in the forms approved by their own consciences, render the homage\n due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful things He has done in\n the nation's behalf, and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit to\n subdue the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless\n and cruel rebellion, to change the hearts of the insurgents, to guide\n the counsels of the government with wisdom adequate to so great a\n national emergency, and to visit with tender care and consolation\n throughout the length and breadth of our land all those who, through\n the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles, and sieges, have been\n brought to suffer in mind, body, or estate, and finally to lead the\n whole nation through the paths of repentance and submission to the\n Divine Will back to the perfect enjoyment of union and fraternal\n peace.\"\n\nOn March 30, 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation appointing\nanother national fast-day. It reads as follows:\n\n \"Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the\n supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the\n affairs of men and of nations has by a resolution requested the\n President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and\n humiliation:\n\n \"And whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their\n dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and\n transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine\n repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime\n truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history,\n that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord:\n\n \"And insomuch as we know that by His divine law nations, like\n individuals, are subject to punishments and chastisements in this\n world, and may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil\n war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted\n upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national\n reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the\n choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many\n years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth,\n and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten\n God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in\n peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have\n vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these\n blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.\n Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient\n to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to\n pray to the God who made us:\n\n \"It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended\n Power, and confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and\n forgiveness:\n\n \"Now, therefore, in compliance with the request and fully concurring\n in the views of the Senate, I do by this my proclamation designate and\n set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national\n humiliation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the\n people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits,\n and to unite at their several places of public worship and their\n respective homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to\n the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn\n occasion. All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest\n humbly in the hope authorized by divine teachings, that the united\n cry of the nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings\n no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of\n our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of\n unity and peace.\"\n\nIn 1863 Washington's Birthday occurred on Sunday, and Rev. Alexander\nReed, superintendent of the United States Christian Commission, invited\nMr. Lincoln to preside at a meeting in the House of Representatives on\nthat day. In reply Mr. Lincoln said: \"Whatever shall be sincerely, and\nin God's name, devised for the good of the soldier and seaman in their\nhard spheres of duty, can scarcely fail to be blest.... The birthday\nof Washington and the Christian Sabbath coinciding this year, and\nsuggesting together the highest interests of this life and of that to\ncome, is most propitious for the meeting proposed.\"\n\nJanuary 5, 1863, in reply to a letter, Mr. Lincoln wrote the following:\n\n \"It is most cheering and encouraging for me that in the efforts which\n I have made and am making for the restoration of a righteous peace\n for our country, I am upheld and sustained by the good wishes and\n prayers of God's people. No one is more deeply than myself aware that\n without His favor our highest wisdom is but as foolishness and that\n our most strenuous efforts would avail nothing in the shadow of His\n displeasure.\"\n\n \"I am conscious of no desire for my country's welfare that is not\n in consonance with His will, and no plan upon which we may not ask\n His blessing. It seems to me that if there be one subject upon which\n all good men may unitedly agree, it is imploring the gracious favor\n of the God of Nations upon the struggles our people are making for\n the preservation of their precious birthright of civil and religious\n liberty.\"\n\nSecond Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862:\n\n \"While it has not pleased the Almighty to bless us with a return of\n peace, we can but press on, guided by the best light He gives us,\n trusting that in His own good time and wise way all will be well.\"\n\nReply to a committee of colored people who presented him with a Bible,\nSeptember 4, 1864:\n\n \"This occasion would seem fitting for a lengthy response to the\n address which you have just made. I would make one if prepared; but\n I am not. I would promise to respond in writing had not experience\n taught me that business will not allow me to do so. I can only say\n now, as I have often before said, it has always been a sentiment with\n me that all mankind should be free. So far as able, within my sphere,\n I have always acted as I believe to be right and just; and I have\n done all I could for the good of mankind generally. In letters and\n documents sent from this office, I have expressed myself better than I\n now can.\n\n \"In regard to this great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift\n God has given to man. All the good Saviour gave to the world was\n communicated through this Book. But for it we could not know right\n from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and\n hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it. To you I return my most\n sincere thanks for this very elegant copy of the great Book of God\n which you present.\"--Complete Works of Lincoln by John G. Nicolay and\n John Hay. New and Enlarged Edition, Twelve Volumes. New York: Francis\n D. Tandy Company, 1905, X, 217-18.\n\nCompiling these and kindred passages from his authentic works, his\ntwo secretaries, Nicolay and Hay, were impressed anew with the\nmanifest sincerity and deep religious conviction which they expressed.\nCommenting upon these as a whole, and having particularly in mind\ncertain stories which given to the public could not, from their date\nand nature, have been mere conventional expressions, and others so\nmanifestly personal that no consideration of the public opinion could\nhave had any weight with him, they said:\n\n \"He was a man of profound and intense religious feeling. We have\n no purpose of attempting to formulate his creed: we question if he\n himself ever did so. There have been swift witnesses who, judging\n from expressions uttered in his callow youth, have called him an\n atheist; and others who, with the most laudable intentions, have\n remembered improbable conversations which they bring forward to\n prove at once his orthodoxy and their own intimacy with him. But\n leaving aside these apocryphal endeavors, we have only to look at his\n authentic public and private utterances to see how deep and strong\n in all the latter part of his life was the current of his religious\n thought and emotion. He continually invited and appreciated, at\n their highest value, the prayers of good people. The pressure of\n the tremendous problems by which he was surrounded; the awful moral\n significance of the conflict in which he was the chief combatant; the\n overwhelming sense of personal responsibility which never left him\n for an hour--all contributed to produce, in a temperament naturally\n serious and predisposed to a spiritual view of life and conduct, a\n sense of reverent acceptance of the guidance of a superior Power.\n From the morning when, standing amid the falling snowflakes in the\n railway car at Springfield, he asked the prayers of his neighbors in\n those touching phrases whose echo rose that night in invocations from\n thousands of family altars, to that memorable hour when on the steps\n of the Capitol he humbled himself before his Creator in the sublime\n words of the Second Inaugural, there is not an expression known\n to have come from his lips or pen but proves that he held himself\n answerable in every act of his career to a more august tribunal\n than any on earth. The fact that he was not a communicant of any\n church, and that he was singularly reserved in regard to his personal\n religious life, gives only the greater force to these striking proofs\n of his profound reverence and faith.\n\n \"In final substantiation of this assertion, we subjoin two papers\n from the hand of the President, one official and the other private,\n which bear within themselves the imprint of a sincere devotion and\n a steadfast reliance upon the power and benignity of an overruling\n Providence. The first is an order which he issued on the 16th of\n November, 1864, in the observance of Sunday.\n\nLincoln's Sunday Rest Order, November 15, 1862:\n\n \"The President, Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy, desires and\n enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and\n men in the military and naval service. The importance for man and\n beast of the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian\n soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference to the best sentiments of\n a Christian people, and a due regard for the Divine Will, demand that\n Sunday labor in the army and navy be reduced to the measure of strict\n necessity.\n\n \"The discipline and character of the national forces should not\n suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperiled by the profanation\n of the day or name of the Most High. 'At this time of public\n distress'--adopting the words of Washington in 1776--'men may\n find enough to do in the service of God and their Country without\n abandoning themselves to vice and immorality.' The first general\n order issued by the Father of his Country, after the Declaration of\n Independence, indicates the spirit in which our institutions were\n founded and should ever be defended. 'The General hopes and trusts\n that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a\n Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his\n country.'\n\n \"The date of this remarkable order leaves no possibility for the\n insinuation that it sprang from any political purposes or intention.\n Mr. Lincoln had just been re-elected by an overwhelming majority; his\n own personal popularity was unbounded; there was no temptation for\n hypocrisy or deceit. There is no explanation of the order except that\n it was the offspring of sincere convictions.\n\n \"But if it may be said that this was, after all, an exoteric utterance\n springing from those relations of religion and good government which\n the wisest rulers have always recognized in their intercourse with\n the people, we will give another document of which nothing of the\n sort can be said. It is a paper which Mr. Lincoln wrote in September,\n 1862, while his mind was burdened with the weightiest question of his\n life,--the weightiest with which this country has had to grapple.\n Wearied with all the considerations of law and of expediency with\n which he had been struggling for two years, he retired within himself\n and tried to bring some order into his thoughts by rising above the\n wrangling of men and parties, and pondering the relations of human\n government to the Divine. In this frame of mind, absolutely detached\n from any earthly considerations, he wrote this meditation. It has\n never been published. It was not written to be seen of men. It was\n penned in the awful sincerity of a perfectly honest soul trying to\n bring himself into closer communion with its Maker.\n\nMeditation on the Divine will, September [30], 1862:\n\n \"The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act\n in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be,\n wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time.\n In the present Civil War it is quite possible that God's purpose is\n something different from the purpose of either party; and yet the best\n instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation\n to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is probably\n true: that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end\n yet. By His mere great power on the minds of the now contestants He\n could have saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet\n the contest began. And, having begun, He could give the final victory\n to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.\"--NICOLAY AND HAY,\n Life of Lincoln, _Century_, August, 1889. Vol. 35, pp. 567-68.\n\n\n\n\nPART III: THE RELIGION OF LINCOLN\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\nWHAT LINCOLN WAS NOT\n\n\nIt is amazing to discover how many forms of faith and non-faith have\nclaimed Abraham Lincoln.\n\n  \"_Seven cities strove for Homer, dead,\n  Through which the living Homer begged his bread._\"\n\nMore than seven churches have striven for the dead Abraham Lincoln,\nsome of whom would not even now admit to their membership a living man\nwho professed his sentiments.\n\nBefore we undertake the difficult task of assessing the real faith of\nAbraham Lincoln, let us dispose of a few of the claims that have been\nmade on his behalf, or the charges that have been made against him, and\nwhich clearly have no sufficient weight of evidence. Let us ask first,\n\n\n_Was Abraham Lincoln an atheist?_\n\nHerndon declared that Lincoln was an infidel, \"sometimes bordering on\natheism.\" This last phrase has been overstrained. What Herndon appears\nto have meant was that in some of Lincoln's blackest hours of gloom his\nmind hung over that utter void; and he more than hints that in such\nhours Lincoln's mind was scarcely sound. Herndon was far from believing\nor meaning to charge that atheism was Lincoln's real view of God and\nthe world. The contrary is shown in a score of places in Herndon's\nworks and letters.\n\nSome years ago the _Open Court_ of Chicago contained an article by\nTheodore Stanton, quoted from the _Westminster Review_. It said:\n\n \"That Lincoln was an orthodox Christian nobody pretends to assert. But\n his friends and biographers differ as to how much of a Christian he\n was. If Lincoln had lived and died an obscure Springfield lawyer and\n politician, he would unquestionably have been classed by his neighbors\n among freethinkers. But as is customary with the Church, whether Roman\n Catholic or Protestant, when Lincoln became one of the great of the\n world, an attempt was made to claim him.... The shrewd politician who\n has not an elastic conscience--and that was Lincoln's case--simply\n keeps mum on religious subjects, or, when he must touch on the\n subject, deals only in platitudes, and this is just what Lincoln\n did. Lincoln thought little on religious subjects, and read less.\n That, when left to himself, he was quite indifferent to religion, is\n frequently evident in the acts of his life.\"--_Open Court_, September\n 24, 1891, pp. 2962-63, quoting _Westminster Review_ of September, 1890.\n\nThis statement was not sufficiently radical for one reader of the _Open\nCourt_, who thought that Mr. Stanton had made Lincoln out to have been\nvirtually an agnostic, and who wished to prove him an atheist. He wrote\nan article in which he said:\n\n \"Free-thinker means anything or nothing.... Plain words are the best.\n That Lincoln was _A-theos_ connotes a definite attitude toward the\n great religious chimera, and really defines Mr. Lincoln's position\n more closely than any of Mr. Stanton's epithets [as, e.g., Agnostic].\n It is positive, not negative, indicates what the man professedly was\n rather than what he was not or what he oppugned. We are in position to\n define his life-creed with all due measure of exactness.\"--\"What Was\n Abraham Lincoln's Creed?\" by George M. McCrie, _Open Court_, November\n 26, 1891.\n\nThis writer then proceeded to define Mr. Lincoln's creed in terms\nof atheism. But his argument was based on a subjective scheme of\nphilosophy, a kind of Hylo-Idealism derived from Hegel more than from\nLincoln, and one which it is safe to affirm Lincoln would neither have\nadmitted nor even understood.\n\nSome time after, the same journal had a third and very different\narticle, which said:\n\n \"Lincoln was an extremely religious man, though not a technical\n Christian. He thought deeply, and his opinions were positive. His\n seriousness was a characteristic trait, showing itself even in his\n genuine good humor. His very jokes were a part of his seriousness....\n Lincoln was an extremely practical man. He believed not for belief's\n sake, but for his own sake. He made a practice of religion; he used\n it. His religion was his life, and his life was his religious service.\n It was his own public profession. Religion was a fact to him. He\n believed in prayer, because he found use for it: and when the fate of\n the Union seemed to waver, when doubt and despair hovered over the\n land and the future was uncertain, Lincoln often shut himself within\n his room and offered up his prayer to God. 'So, many times,' he said,\n 'I was forced to my knees, not knowing where else to go.'\n\n \"While there is considerable in his writings to indicate a strong\n faith in God and prayer, there is little to indicate his beliefs\n regarding Christ, the Bible, etc. But the very absence of anything on\n those points is good evidence that he did not hold the views that have\n been attributed to him....\n\n \"He was a firm believer in the 'great and good and merciful God,' but\n not in a revengeful or cruel God who could consign them to an eternal\n hell when nothing good to those who suffered could possibly come from\n such punishment. He believed in and used prayer as a means to bring\n himself in closer relations with right in everything.... He believed\n in 'universal inspiration and miracles under law,' and that all\n things, both matter and mind, are governed by law. He believed that\n all creation is an evolution under law, not a special creation of the\n Supreme Being. He hoped for a joyous meeting in the world to come with\n many loved ones gone before. He believed that Christianity consists in\n being, not believing; in loving 'the Lord thy God with all thy heart\n and thy neighbor as thyself.' He believed that the Bible is a book\n to be understood and appreciated as any other book, not merely to be\n accepted as a divine creation of infallibility. He believed in the man\n Christ, not in the God Christ.... He was once an admirer of Volney,\n Paine, and Voltaire; later of Theodore Parker, Emerson, and Channing.\n He was once a scoffer of religion; later a supporter.\"--R. C. ROPER,\n Religious Beliefs of Abraham Lincoln, _Open Court_, 1903, pp. 76-85.\n\nWhatever Abraham Lincoln was, he was not an atheist. If any other\nconvenient term were to be applied to him, it would be necessary that\nthe term itself should be defined. Thus, Lyman Abbott has spoken of\nLincoln as an agnostic, meaning that Lincoln did not find himself\nin position to affirm dogmatically on certain of the articles of\nfaith. This article by Dr. Abbott was particularly illuminating as\ndiscriminating between the measure of uncertainty which a man may feel\nin the matter of positive declaration of his views, while cherishing\nin his heart and manifesting in his life the essentials of a Christian\nfaith. It was published as an editorial in reply to a letter of\ninquiry, and both are worth reprinting entire:\n\n \"'My dear Dr. Abbott: You are quoted in the New York _Press_ of\n October 15 as having referred in your Yale sermon to Abraham Lincoln\n in the following terms: \"Agnostic though he was.\" Are you correct\n in the implication? If so, I should greatly like to know, as it is\n a subject in which I am much interested. J. G. Holland says, in his\n _Life of Lincoln_, page 61 ff., \"He believed in God, and in His\n personal supervision of the affairs of men.... This unwavering faith\n in a divine Providence began at his mother's knee, and ran like a\n thread of gold through all the inner experiences of his life\"; and\n much more to the same purpose. You are doubtless familiar with his\n words on leaving Springfield for Washington: \"He [Washington] would\n never have succeeded except for the aid of divine Providence upon\n which he at all times relied. On that same Almighty Being I place\n my reliance. Pray that I may receive that divine assistance without\n which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain.\" The\n first inaugural would seem to indicate a most pronounced Christian\n sentiment. Not to consume too much of your time, I might refer further\n to Nicolay and Hay's _Life_, the following passages: Vol. VI, p. 539,\n which contains a statement of Lincoln's religious principles; also,\n same volume, pp. 323, 324, 327, 328, 341, 342.\n\n  R. A. A.'\"\n\n\nTo this letter Dr. Abbott replied:\n\n \"The life of Abraham Lincoln appears to me to furnish a very striking\n illustration both of the difference between theology and religion and\n of the way in which religious experience is often developed in the\n life of a true man, and is accompanied by a real though generally\n quite unconscious change in theological opinion. Mr. Herndon, in\n his _Life of Lincoln_, portrays the earlier religious faith of Mr.\n Lincoln, Nicolay and Hay his later religious faith: neither biographer\n is able to find that he ever formulated his own creed, neither is able\n to formulate one for him. Yet between the religious convictions of the\n period when he wrote an essay against Christianity, which, fortunately\n for his reputation, a wise friend threw into the fire, and the period\n when he wrote his second inaugural address, there is a difference\n which cannot be measured by the mere lapse of years.\n\n \"Agnostic? What is an agnostic? Huxley invented the phrase to define\n his own position in contrast with that of his friends whom he called\n gnostics because they had each a theory of the universe and he had\n none. He more specifically defines the basis of his no-theory of the\n universe in a pathetic letter to Charles Kingsley (_Life and Letters_,\n Vol. II, pp. 233-239): 'It is no use to talk to me of analogies and\n probabilities. I know what I mean when I say I believe in the law\n of the inverse squares, and I will not rest my lifelong hopes upon\n weaker convictions. I dare not, if I would.' Compare with this Mr.\n Herndon's measure of Mr. Lincoln's earlier habit of thought: 'As\n already expressed, Mr. Lincoln had no faith. In order to believe, he\n must see and feel, and thrust his hand into the place. He must taste,\n smell, or handle before he had faith or even belief.' Or compare Mrs.\n Lincoln's expression concerning her husband's religious opinions, as\n quoted by Mr. Herndon: 'Mr. Lincoln had no faith and no hope, in the\n usual acceptance of those words. He never joined a church; but still,\n as I believe, he was a religious man by nature. He first seemed to\n think about the subject when our Willie died, and then more than ever\n about the time he went to Gettysburg; but it was a kind of poetry in\n his nature; and he was never a technical Christian.'\n\n \"Religion is always a kind of poetry. Faith is kin to imagination;\n both faith and imagination look upon the unseen and refuse to base\n life merely upon the senses or upon mathematical formularies like the\n law of the inverse squares. This poetry is often quite dissociated\n from philosophy, or is even inconsistent with the philosophy which the\n individual entertains. But Mr. Lincoln's early philosophy prepared for\n his later religious experience. Mr. Herndon reports him as saying:\n 'There are no accidents in my philosophy. The past is the cause of\n the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All\n these are links in the endless chain stretching from the Infinite to\n the finite.' With this philosophy of fatalism was a profound faith in\n justice, a profound reverence for it, and an uncompromising obedience\n to it. At first he did not put this philosophy and this faith\n together. He who does put them together, that is, he who infuses this\n philosophy in an overruling cause with this faith, which is a 'kind\n of poetry,' in the supremacy of righteousness, comes to a faith in a\n righteous God, who deserves our reverence, not because he is great,\n but because he is good.\n\n \"When Abraham Lincoln began to feel the burden of the nation resting\n upon him, and felt it too great a burden for him to carry unaided,\n he wanted the sympathy of all men and women in the country who with\n him believed in a Power directing the course of human history greater\n than the actors in it, and who also believed in eternal justice; and\n he asked their prayers. As the conflict went on and the burden grew\n heavier and heavier, his faith in righteousness more and more infused\n his belief in a superhuman power and transformed it into a belief in a\n righteous God; but it was, till the last, a belief in a God of justice\n rather than a Christ of pity, even as it phrased itself in that most\n religious utterance of his life, his second inaugural: 'Fondly do\n we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may\n speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it continue until all the\n wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred years of unrequited toil\n shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall\n be paid with another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand\n years ago, so still it must be said, \"The judgments of the Lord are\n true and righteous altogether.\"'\n\n \"There is no evidence that Mr. Lincoln had become a gnostic, or that\n he had a comprehensive scheme of the universe, or that he had either\n wrought out a system of theology for himself or accepted any that had\n been wrought out by others; but there is abundant evidence that he had\n learned in the four years of tragedy a lesson of dependence and trust,\n that he had insensibly put together his belief in a supreme Power\n and his faith in righteousness, and that thus there had been born in\n him faith in a supreme righteous Power, whose will we may help to\n carry out, and on whose wisdom and strength we may rely in achieving\n it. It is thus that the life of Abraham Lincoln illustrates both\n how a reverent agnostic may be deeply religious and how the life of\n service and self-sacrifice leads through doubt to faith.--L. A.\"--_The\n Outlook_, November 17, 1906.\n\n\n_Was Abraham Lincoln a Roman Catholic?_\n\nThe question is absurd, and worth asking only that it may receive a\nsimple negative answer. Yet, singularly, a report was current and\nsomewhat widely believed in 1860 that Abraham Lincoln had been baptized\nas a Roman Catholic and was himself a renegade from that faith. The\nrumor appears to have had two roots. First was the fact that much\nmissionary work was done in early Illinois by Jesuit priests; and it\nwas assumed, not only contrary to every fact but to every element of\nprobability, that Abraham Lincoln had been baptized by one of them. The\nother was the fact that he acted as attorney for Rev. Charles Chiniquy,\nwho after fifty years in the Church of Rome came out from that\ncommunion and became a notable antagonist of the church in which he had\nbeen reared. His unsparing criticisms led to various attacks upon him\nthrough the courts and otherwise. When Lincoln was elected President\nmuch was made of the fact that Lincoln had been Father Chiniquy's\nattorney, and the rumor that he also was a renegade Catholic gained\nwide currency.\n\nChiniquy professed to see in these rumors a peril to the life of Mr.\nLincoln, and both then and at intervals during his administration\nwarned the President that his life was in danger. The scarcely\nconcealed favor of the Vatican toward the cause of the South did not\ntend to allay this anxiety. The fact that among those concerned in the\nplot which finally ended in the assassination of the President were\nseveral Roman Catholics, revived these reports immediately after his\ndeath, and they are occasionally recalled even now.\n\nSo far as our present inquiry is concerned, we have only to ask and\nanswer the question. Mr. Lincoln was not in any period of his life\naffiliated in any way with the Roman Catholic Church.\n\n\n_Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist?_\n\nDuring Mr. Lincoln's occupancy of the White House, there were several\nrumors to the effect that President and Mrs. Lincoln were both\nSpiritualists. A definite claim that Mr. Lincoln fully believed in\nSpiritualism was set forth in 1891 by a medium named Mrs. Nettie\nColburn Maynard. She wrote a book relating in detail almost innumerable\nsittings which she alleged were attended by Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln.\nAccording to her story her mediumship began in her childhood in 1845.\nAt the outbreak of the war she was lecturing and giving public s\u00e9ances\nand went to Washington to gain a furlough for her brother. She learned\nof Mr. Lincoln's interest in Spiritualism, and of the visits to the\nWhite House of two mediums, Charles Colchester and Charles Foster.\nShe was invited to the White House, where, if we are to credit her\nstory, she imparted to Mr. Lincoln very nearly all the wisdom which he\npossessed during the period of the Civil War.\n\nWe learn from other sources that Lincoln permitted two or three mediums\nto come to the White House and to tell him what the spirits said he\nought to know; but Lincoln said of them that the advice of the spirits,\nas thus received, was as contradictory as the voices of his own\nCabinet, of whose meetings the s\u00e9ances reminded him.\n\nThe last attempt to make Mr. Lincoln out a Spiritualist is by Mrs.\nGrace Garrett Durand, in a privately printed book issued since Sir\nOliver Lodge's _Raymond_. She claims to have talked with Raymond,\nwith William T. Stead, and other people, as well as with Mrs. Eddy,\nfrom whom she expects to receive additional material supplementary to\nher _Science and Health, and Key to the Scriptures_. She is, however,\naccording to her own account, especially intimate with Mr. Lincoln. She\nsays:\n\n \"President Lincoln has himself told me in many conversations I have\n had with him from the spirit world that he was directed in his great\n work during the Civil War by his mother and others in the spirit\n world. Mr. Lincoln, or 'Uncle Abe,' as he has lovingly asked me to\n call him, said that had he respected his mother's advice the day of\n his assassination he would not have gone to the theater the fateful\n night, as his mother had that day warned him not to go.\"\n\nIf Mr. Lincoln's spirit has indeed requested this lady to call him\n\"Uncle Abe\" he has accorded her a liberty which was infrequent during\nhis lifetime. Near neighbors of Mr. Lincoln during his years in\nSpringfield inform me that no one called him \"Abe\" to his face, and\nthat very few even of his political opponents thus spoke of him. He\nhabitually addressed his partner as \"Billy,\" but Mr. Herndon uniformly\ncalled him \"Mr. Lincoln.\" One could wish that Abraham Lincoln in heaven\nmight be at least as dignified as Abraham Lincoln was on earth.[52]\n\n\n_Was Abraham Lincoln superstitious?_\n\nBoth President and Mrs. Lincoln were superstitious. They believed in\ndreams and signs, he more in dreams and she more in signs. When Mrs.\nLincoln was away from him for a little time, visiting in Philadelphia\nin 1863, and Tad with her, Lincoln thought it sufficiently important to\ntelegraph, lest the mail should be too slow, and sent her this message:\n\n  \"Executive Mansion,\n  \"Washington, June 9, 1863.\n\n  \"MRS. LINCOLN,\n  \"Philadelphia, Pa.\n\n\"Think you better put Tad's pistol away. I had an ugly dream about him.\n\n  \"A. Lincoln.\"\n\n--Quoted in facsimile in _Harper's Magazine_ for February, 1897;\n_Lincoln's Home Life in the White House_, by Leslie J. Perry.\n\nIn Lamon's book of _Recollections_, published in 1895, a very different\nbook from his Life of Lincoln, he devotes an entire chapter to\nLincoln's dreams and presentiments. He relates the story of the dream\nwhich Lincoln had not long before his assassination wherein he saw the\nEast Room of the White House containing a catafalque with the body of\nan assassinated man lying upon it. Lincoln tried to remove himself from\nthe shadow of this dream by recalling a story of life in Indiana, but\ncould not shake off the gloom of it. Lamon says:\n\n \"He was no dabbler in divination, astrology, horoscopy, prophecy,\n ghostly lore, or witcheries of any sort.... The moving power of\n dreams and visions of an extraordinary character he ascribed,\n as did the Patriarchs of old, to the Almighty Intelligence that\n governs the universe, their processes conforming strictly to natural\n laws.\"--_Recollections_, p. 120.\n\nIn his Life of Lincoln, Lamon tells the story of the dream which\nLincoln had late in the year 1860, when resting upon a lounge in his\nchamber he saw his figure reflected in a mirror opposite with two\nimages, one of them a little paler than the other. It worried Lincoln,\nand he told his wife about it. She thought it was \"a sign that Lincoln\nwas to be elected for a second term and that the paleness of one of\nthe faces indicated that he would not see life through the last term\"\n(p. 477).\n\nAs this optical illusion has been so often printed, and has seemed so\nweirdly prophetic of the event which followed, it may be well to quote\nan explanation of the incident from an address by Dr. Erastus Eugene\nHolt, of Portland, Maine:\n\n \"As he lay there upon the couch, every muscle became relaxed as\n never before.... In this relaxed condition, in a pensive mood and\n in an effort to recuperate the energies of a wearied mind, his eyes\n fell upon the mirror in which he could see himself at full length,\n reclining upon the couch. All the muscles that direct, control, and\n keep the two eyes together were relaxed; the eyes were allowed to\n separate, and each eye saw a separate and distinct image by itself.\n The relaxation was so complete, for the time being, that the two eyes\n were not brought together, as is usual by the action of converging\n muscles, hence the counterfeit presentiment of himself. He would have\n seen two images of anything else had he looked for them, but he was\n so startled by the ghostly appearance that he felt 'a little pang as\n though something uncomfortable had happened,' and obtained but little\n rest. What a solace to his wearied mind it would have been if someone\n could have explained this illusion upon rational grounds!\"--Address\n at Portland, Maine, February 12, 1901, reprinted by William Abbatt,\n Tarrytown, N. Y., 1916.\n\nOther incidents which relate to Mr. Lincoln's faith in dreams,\nincluding one that is said to have occurred on the night preceding his\nassassination, are well known, and need not be repeated here in detail.\n\nIt is not worth while to seek to evade or minimize the element of\nsuperstition in Lincoln's life, nor to ask to explain away any part\nof it. Dr. Johnson admits it in general terms, but makes little of\nconcrete instances:\n\n \"The claim that there was more or less of superstition in his nature,\n and that he was greatly affected by his dreams, is not to be disputed.\n Many devout Christians today are equally superstitious, and, also,\n are greatly affected by their dreams. Lincoln grew in an atmosphere\n saturated with all kinds of superstitious beliefs. It is not strange\n that some of it should cling to him all his life, just as it was with\n Garfield, Blaine, and others.\n\n \"In 1831, then a young man of twenty-two, Lincoln made his second trip\n to New Orleans. It was then that he visited a Voodoo fortune teller,\n that is so important in the eyes of certain people. This, doubtless,\n was out of mere curiosity, for it was his second visit to a city. This\n no more indicates a belief in 'spiritualism' than does the fact that\n a few days before he started on this trip he attended an exhibition\n given by a traveling juggler, and allowed the magician to cook eggs in\n his low-crowned, broad-rimmed hat.\"--_Lincoln the Christian_, p. 29.\n\nI do not agree with this. Superstition was inherent in the life of the\nbackwoods, and Lincoln had his full share of it. Superstition is very\ntenacious, and people who think that they have outgrown it nearly all\npossess it. \"I was always superstitious,\" wrote Lincoln to Joshua F.\nSpeed on July 4, 1842. He never ceased to be superstitious.\n\nWhile superstition had its part in the life and thought of Lincoln, it\nwas not the most outstanding fact in his thinking or his character. For\nthe most part his thinking was rational and well ordered, but it had in\nit many elements and some strange survivals--strange until we recognize\nthe many moods of the man and the various conditions of his life and\nthought in which from time to time he lived.\n\n\n_Was Lincoln a Quaker?_\n\nIn his autobiographical sketch written for Jesse W. Fell, Mr. Lincoln\nstated that his paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from\nRockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky about 1781 or 1782; \"his\nancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County,\nPennsylvania.\" This reference to a remote Quaker ancestry has suggested\nto some writers the possibility that Mr. Lincoln himself may have been,\nin conviction, a Quaker.\n\nThis suggestion is utilized to its full value and beyond by Henry Bryan\nBinns, the first English biographer of Lincoln, whose book appeared in\n1907, and others have followed his intimations. He says:\n\n \"In some brief autobiographical notes, Lincoln remarks that his\n ancestors, when they left Berks County, Pennsylvania, were Quakers.\n The allusion has significance, not merely because it is the only\n reference to any religious body in these notes, but because it\n suggests an interesting spiritual affiliation to which we shall refer\n again later.\"\n\nHe fulfills this promise, and refers to it repeatedly. The Quaker\nancestry finds reinforcement in his assurance that the Shipley strain\nin Nancy Hanks was \"probably\" Quaker. These references occur a number\nof times in the early part of his book, and recur in the concluding\nchapter with more than a suggestion that Mr. Lincoln continued to bear\nsome of the inherited spiritual qualities of the Quaker.\n\nThese suggestions lack evidential value. Lincoln's grandfather's\nancestors were believed by him to have been Quakers in Pennsylvania,\nand their ancestors are believed to have been Puritans in\nMassachusetts. But the New Englanders no more surely dropped their\nMassachusetts Puritanism in Pennsylvania than the Pennsylvania\nQuakers dropped their Quakerism in Virginia and Kentucky. The Quaker\nancestry was not forgotten nor was it a thing to be ashamed of,\nbut the distinctive tenets of the Friends had no large part in the\nworking creed of Abraham Lincoln. He respected the Quakers, and on\nmore than one occasion showed his interest in them; but there is no\nreason to believe that he shared either their theology or their theory\nof non-resistance. He was compelled to approve some severe measures\nagainst American citizens who refused to fight, and a number of Quakers\nsuffered in consequence. Lincoln saw no way to prevent these sufferings\naltogether, though he did his best to mitigate them, and he always\nrespected the principles of those who held in sincerity the Quaker\nfaith which he did not share.\n\n\n_Was Lincoln a Unitarian or a Universalist?_\n\nIt is my opinion that Lincoln did not believe in endless punishment,\nand also that he did not accept the supernatural birth of Christ. The\nevidence on which these opinions rest has already been indicated. But\nI do not regard him as a Universalist or a Unitarian. The basis of\nhis religious belief was Calvinism of the most rigid sort. It could\naccept some incidental features of other systems, but at heart it was\nCalvinistic.\n\nI have talked with Rev. Jasper Douthit, of Shelbyville, concerning\nUnitarianism in central Illinois. He quotes Jenkin Lloyd Jones as\nsaying of his Shelbyville church, that \"Unitarianism attempted to\nlocate in the Capitol City of Illinois, but struck the dome of the\nState House, glanced off, and stuck in the mud at Shelbyville.\" In\nsome sense the movement of Mr. Douthit is the present survival of\nthe attempt before the Civil War to domesticate Unitarianism in\nSpringfield and vicinity. I have clipped from the _Christian Register_\na communication which, without pretending to technical knowledge of the\norganific principle of the several sects, goes near to the heart of\nthis question:\n\n  \"To the editor of the Christian Register:--\n\n \"_Apropos_ of 'Lincoln Day,' may I ask for _definite information_ as\n to Mr. Lincoln's religious belief? The author of that little pamphlet,\n 'What do Unitarians Believe?' implies that he is to be numbered among\n Unitarians, and quotes from the author of _Six Months at the White\n House_ to prove his assertion. Now I don't know _who_ the _author_\n of _Six Months at the White House is_, and care less. His testimony\n is 'second hand' viewed in any light you please. He may have been a\n Unitarian himself, though I hardly think he would have used the word\n 'Saviour,' in speaking of Mr. Lincoln's words, unless Lincoln himself\n had used it. At any rate, the only _direct_ testimony bearing on Mr.\n Lincoln's religious views is found in _his own writings_, and I want\n to quote from his Fast Day proclamation of March 30, 1863, as throwing\n some light on the subject.\n\n \"He says: 'Whereas, it is the duty of nations, as well as of men,\n to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess\n their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured\n hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to\n recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures, and\n proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God\n is the Lord.\n\n \"'And, insomuch as we know that by His Divine laws, nations, like\n individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this\n world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of Civil War,\n which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon\n us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national\n reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the\n choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years\n in peace and prosperity.\n\n \"'We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has\n ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious\n hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and\n strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of\n our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior\n wisdom and virtue of our own.'\n\n \"If this isn't _Calvinism_ pure and simple, then I don't know what\n Calvinism is.\n\n \"Now, Mr. Editor, if you can show me any reference in _Mr. Lincoln's\n own words_ that point as strongly toward 'Unitarianism' and those\n truths which _it_ claims as peculiarly its own, I shall be glad to see\n it.\n\n  \"CHARLES B. TOLEMAN.\"\n\nA number of Lincoln's old neighbors, contributing to the Irwin article\nin denial of the alleged infidelity of Lincoln, affirm that he was a\nUniversalist. In their denial of his infidelity they were correct;\nand also in their detection of the fallacy of Herndon in which he\ncounted every opinion to be infidel that did not conform to the severe\northodoxy with which he was familiar. As between Herndon and these\nwriters, they were correct. Lincoln's \"infidelity\" consisted in good\npart of his denial of eternal punishment. But that did not make him\nan infidel; neither did it constitute him technically a Universalist.\nThe substratum of his belief was the old-time predestinarianism which\nhe heard in his youth and never outgrew. How he could make this blend\nwith his wide departures from conventional orthodoxy in other points,\nthose can best understand who have heard the kind of preaching on which\nLincoln grew up. Its effect is not easily obliterated.\n\n\n_Was Abraham Lincoln a Methodist?_\n\nThis question would seem to require no answer, yet it is one that\nshould receive an answer, for claims have been made, and are still\ncurrent, which imply that Lincoln was actually converted in the\nMethodist Church, whose doctrine he accepted because Calvinism\nwas repugnant to him; and that while he continued to attend the\nPresbyterian Church, he was essentially a Methodist.\n\nLincoln had a very high regard for the Methodist Church. It was rent\nasunder during the Civil War, and the Northern branch of the church\nwhich had long been vigorously anti-slavery was warmly loyal. On May\n18, 1864, in a letter of reply to a deputation of ministers from\nthat body, he said, \"God bless the Methodist Church--bless all the\nchurches, and blessed be God who, in this our great trial, giveth us\nthe churches.\"\n\nReference has been made to the fact that Methodism did not at any time\nappear greatly to influence the Lincoln family in matters of theology,\nand that the early environment of the family from the birth of Lincoln\nwas Baptist. I am inclined to think that the Hanks family had Methodist\nantecedents. Thomas and Nancy Lincoln were married by a Methodist\npreacher, Rev. Jesse Head. He is known to have been a foe of slavery,\nand there is some reason to think that the Lincoln family derived some\npart of its love of freedom from him.\n\nFrom time to time Lincoln met Methodist preachers who deeply impressed\nhim. One of these was Rev. Peter Akers, whom he heard in 1837, when\nLincoln was twenty-eight years of age.\n\n \"He and a group of associates went out to hear him at a camp-meeting\n six miles west of Springfield, at the 'Salem Church.' The Rev. Peter\n Akers was a vigorous and fearless man. He spoke of certain prophecies,\n and predicted 'the downfall of castes, the end of tyrannies, and\n the crushing out of slavery.' On the way home they were earnestly\n discussing the sermon. Lincoln is alleged to have said: 'It was the\n most instructive sermon, and he is the most impressive preacher, I\n have ever heard. It is wonderful that God has given such power to\n men. I firmly believe his interpretation of prophecy, so far as I\n understand it, and especially about the breaking down of civil and\n religious tyrannies; and, odd as it may seem, I was deeply impressed\n that I should be somehow strangely mixed up with them.\"--TARBELL,\n _Life of Lincoln_, I, 237.\n\nIn the lecture on Abraham Lincoln by Bishop Fowler, as finally prepared\nfor the press, is an incident which apparently was not in its earlier\neditions. At a reunion of the Seventy-third Illinois Volunteers, held\nin Springfield on September 28, 29, 1897, the colonel of that regiment,\nRev. James F. Jacquess, D.D., related an incident in which he stated\nthat while he was serving a Methodist Church in Springfield in 1839,\nMr. Lincoln attended a series of revival services held in that church,\nand was converted. The story was heard with great interest by the old\nsoldiers of that regiment, many of whose officers had been Methodist\npreachers, and it was printed in the Minutes of the Proceedings of the\nEleventh Annual Reunion of Survivors of the Seventy-third Illinois\nInfantry.\n\nTwelve years later, in 1909, in connection with the Centenary\nCelebration of the birth of Lincoln, the story was reprinted, with\ncertain added details obtained from the brother of Colonel Jacquess.\nAs thus wrought into literary form, it was printed in the New York\n_Christian Advocate_ in an article entitled \"The Conversion of\nLincoln,\" by Rev. Edward L. Watson, of Baltimore.\n\nAlready Bishop Fowler, to whom Colonel Jacquess alluded in his address\nat Springfield as having no adequate account of Lincoln's conversion,\nhad accepted the story and incorporated it into the final version of\nhis famous lecture (_Patriotic Orations_, p. 102). The death of Colonel\nJacquess and the additions made by his brother give this incident its\npermanent form in the _Christian Advocate_ article of November 11, 1909.\n\nI am glad to have been able to obtain from the _Christian Advocate_\ntheir last copy of that issue, outside their office file, and it\nappears in full in the Appendix to this volume. It may be accepted as\nthe authoritative form of this story.\n\nThat the story as told by Colonel Jacquess must have had some element\nof truth I think beyond question; that it occurred exactly as he\nrelated it, I greatly doubt. The years between 1839 and 1897 numbered\nfifty-eight, and that is more than ample time for a man's memory to\nmagnify and color incidents almost beyond recognition.\n\nThe story as it is thus told lacks confirmatory evidence.[53] If\nLincoln was converted in a Methodist Church in 1839 and remained\nconverted, a considerable number of events which occurred in subsequent\nyears might reasonably have been expected to have been otherwise than\nthey really were. Each reader must judge for himself in the light of\nall that we know of Abraham Lincoln how much or how little of this\nstory is to be accepted as literal fact. The present writer cannot say\nthat he is convinced by the story.\n\n\n_Was Abraham Lincoln a Freemason?_\n\nIn an address delivered before Harmony Lodge, in Washington, D. C.,\non January 28, 1914, Dr. L. D. Carman delivered an address, which has\nsince been printed, entitled \"Abraham Lincoln, Freemason.\" In this\naddress it was set forth that \"It was not an unusual practice in the\nearly days of Masonry in this country in sparsely settled localities,\nremote from an active lodge, for several members of the fraternity to\nget together, form an emergent or occasional lodge, and make Masons.\"\nAbraham Lincoln was presumed to have been made such a Mason because of\nutterances of his, quoted at length, which appeared to show familiarity\nwith Masonic usage.[54]\n\nThose utterances, when examined, carry no such presumption, nor was\nthere any occasion for such an emergent lodge. A lodge existed at\nPetersburg, near New Salem, and a number of Lincoln's friends belonged\nto it; their names are on record. The records of the Springfield Lodge,\nalso, are preserved, and bear no mention of his name; nor is there any\nevidence so far as the present author knows that on any occasion he\nwas ever in a Masonic Lodge. Orators may use the symbolic language of\narchitecture without knowledge of speculative Masonry, and Lincoln used\nit so.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nWHY DID LINCOLN NEVER JOIN THE CHURCH?\n\n\nMR. THOMAS LEWIS, attorney in Springfield with an office on the same\nfloor and an elder in the First Presbyterian Church, informs us that\nthere was some real expectation that Lincoln would have united with\nthat church in Springfield after his views had been modified through\nthe influence of Dr. Smith. He says that Lincoln attended with\nconsiderable regularity a series of revival meetings in progress in\nthe church, but was out of town when application was made for church\nmembership and the officers of the church were disappointed that he did\nnot then unite.\n\nRev. Dr. Phineas D. Gurley, of Washington, tells of conversations with\nLincoln concerning religion and of some expressed desires on the part\nof Lincoln for church fellowship. His feeling of support in prayer was\nmanifest in his coming to the mid-week prayer service, where, however,\nas Dr. Gurley affirms, he commonly sat in the pastor's room with an\nopen door, hearing the prayers that were offered but preferring not to\nattract attention by his visible presence.\n\nThe best statement, and one that has been accepted as truly\nrepresentative of Lincoln's feeling with regard to church membership,\nis one that comes to us on thoroughly good authority and from the\nperiod immediately following Lincoln's death.\n\nHon. Henry C. Deming, member of Congress from Connecticut, in a\nmemorial address given before the Legislature of Connecticut, June 8,\n1865, related that he had asked Mr. Lincoln why he never united with a\nchurch, and Mr. Lincoln answered:\n\n\"I have never united myself to any church, because I have found\ndifficulty in giving my assent, without mental reservation, to the\nlong, complicated statements of Christian doctrine which characterize\ntheir articles of belief and confessions of faith. When any church will\ninscribe over its altars, as its sole qualification for membership, the\nSaviour's condensed statement of the substance of both law and gospel,\n'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy\nsoul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself,' that church\nwill I join with all my heart and all my soul\" (p. 42).\n\nTo his Washington pastor, Rev. Phineas D. Gurley, he said that he could\nnot accept, perhaps, all the doctrines of his Confession of Faith,\n\"but,\" said he, \"if all that I am asked to respond to is what our Lord\nsaid were the two great commandments, to love the Lord thy God with all\nthy heart and mind and soul and strength, and my neighbor as myself,\nwhy, I aim to do that.\"\n\nMr. Henry B. Rankin, who wrote his _Reminiscences_ in 1916, states\nthat he was a boy in Lincoln's office and his parents knew Lincoln\nintimately during his years of struggle in New Salem. Mr. Rankin's\nrecollection of a conversation which Lincoln had with Mr. Rankin's\nmother indicates that Lincoln had some such feeling as far back as\nhis New Salem days. The Rankin family were warm friends of Peter\nCartwright, whom they called Uncle Peter, and also of Mr. Lincoln.\nMrs. Rankin asked him concerning the rumor that he was an infidel, and\nLincoln denied it; but being pressed to explain why he did not then\nconfess his Christian faith, he gave to her much the answer which in\nlater years he gave to Mr. Deming and to Dr. Gurley (_Reminiscences of\nLincoln_, pp. 324-26).\n\nI think, then, we are compelled to accept this threefold testimony\nas establishing beyond any reasonable doubt the answer that Lincoln\nhimself gave to the question, why he did not unite with the Church. It\nis a great pity that he was not brought into contact with some form\nof organized Christianity, orthodox and constructive in its essential\nteachings, but with conditions of church membership as broad as those\nof entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Churches have learned a little\nbetter than they understood in 1846 that a church creed should be\na testimony and not a test; that it is entirely consistent with the\norganization and ideal of a thoroughly orthodox church to receive into\nits membership any and every person who loves God and his fellow-man\neven though he doubts thirty-eight of the thirty-nine articles of the\ncreed and is more or less uncertain about the other one.\n\nBut we cannot consider the question of Lincoln's possible church\nmembership and his failure to acquire it without asking whether the\nfault was wholly that of the churches. Other men beside Abraham Lincoln\nwere more liberal than the churches, including old Mentor Graham, but\nwere able to find a home there; though Graham was ultimately turned\nout of the so-called \"hardshell\" church for his warm advocacy of the\nprinciples of temperance. Some share of the responsibility for his\nfailure to unite with the Church must belong to Lincoln himself.\n\nIt is a hazardous thing to suggest any element short of perfection in\nthe life or thought of any popular hero. Nevertheless let us remind\nourselves that Lincoln had the defects of his qualities.\n\nLincoln lacked some of the finer feelings. He combined a deep personal\nsympathy for anything which he could visualize with a rather strange\nmental obtuseness toward things remote or abstract. Darwin, who was\nborn in the same year, had an early love of poetry and music. How\nthese tastes became atrophied in his concentration of thought upon\nmatters relating to the natural sciences was confessed and mourned by\nhim, and has often been commented upon by others. The time came to him\nwhen music and poetry gave him physical nausea. Lincoln never had an\nappreciation or love of anything very fine either in poetry or music.\nAt a time when he was being considered for President he could sit in a\nstage coach playing \"Yankee Doodle\" on the mouth-organ[55] and playing\nit badly, but he had no fine musical or poetic taste.\n\nNot long before his assassination his sister-in-law, Mrs. Edwards,\nvisited at the White House, and he accompanied her one evening to the\nconservatory. She greatly admired the rare exotics which she there\nbeheld for the first time, and Lincoln vainly strove to share her\nenthusiasm but confessed to her that something had been left out of his\nnature. Such things seemed to make no appeal to him.\n\nOf Lincoln's lack in matters involving the finer feelings we have\nabundant testimony not only in the pages of Lamon and Herndon, but in\nother intimate sketches of his life in Illinois, as, for example, in\nWhitney's _With Lincoln on the Circuit_,[56] and especially in his\narticle in the _Arena_ in April, 1898. There were aspects of religion\nwhich did not make as strong an appeal to Abraham Lincoln as they would\nhave made but for this blind spot in his nature.\n\nIt is not the purpose of this book to go in any detail into Mr.\nLincoln's love affairs; but if any further illustration were desired of\nthis point of which we are speaking, it could be found very painfully\nin his relations with Miss Owens, and his letter to Mrs. Browning.\n\nReference has been made to a certain lack of good taste which Lincoln\nsometimes manifested, and of which the reminiscences of Lamon, Herndon,\nWhitney, and others of his associates have given us sufficient\nexample. But it was not always so with Lincoln. There was in him an\ninnate courtesy, an intuitive sympathy, an ability to adapt himself\nto another's point of view, which gave him the essential quality of\na gentleman. Fred Douglass said of him that Mr. Lincoln was the only\nwhite man with whom he ever talked for an hour who did not in some way\nremind him that he was a negro. That same fine feeling showed itself in\nmany ways.\n\nIt should be remembered, too, when his uncouthness of apparel is\nrecalled, that while he was always a careless man in his dress, the\nperiod in which he lived was one in which people of the regions where\nhe formed his lifelong habits were not given to fastidious dress. He\ndressed much as other men dressed. The shawl which he wore was such\na shawl as the author's father wore; such as many men wore. It was a\nmark of good breeding rather than the reverse, and some men wore the\nshawl very effectively for purposes of display. The author himself has\noften carried with him in long rides in the southern mountains what was\ncalled a \"saddle-shawl\" not unlike that of Lincoln; and he now owns\nsuch a shawl, bequeathed to him by one of Lincoln's contemporaries, and\nof the same color and approximately the same size that Lincoln used.\n\nMrs. Jane Martin Johns of Decatur, died recently at the age of\nninety-two. Her mind was clear and her memory precise. She has left\nthis, among other memories of Lincoln, as a reminder that he was a\ngentleman, and that at times he showed the finest discrimination and\ngood taste:\n\n \"When I first knew Mr. Lincoln, he was forty years old; had been a\n member of the state legislature and of congress; had traveled the\n circuit with men of culture and refinement; had met great statesmen\n and elegant gentlemen; and the ungainliness of the pioneer, if he ever\n had it, had worn off and his manner was that of a gentleman of the\n old school, unaffected, unostentatious, who arose at once when a lady\n entered the room, and whose courtly manners would put to shame the\n easy-going indifference to etiquette which marks the twentieth century\n gentleman.\n\n \"His dress, like his manner, was suited to the occasion, but was\n evidently a subject to which he gave little thought. It was certainly\n unmarked by any notable peculiarity. It was the fashion of the day for\n men to wear large shawls and Mr. Lincoln's shawl, very large, very\n soft, and very fine, is the only article of his dress that has left\n the faintest impression on my memory. He wore it folded lengthwise\n (three and one-half yards long) in scarf fashion over his shoulders,\n caught together under the chin with an immense safety-pin. One end of\n the shawl was thrown across his breast and over the shoulder, as he\n walked up the steps of the Macon House one day in December, 1849.\n\n \"Court was in session in Decatur, Judge David Davis presiding. The\n hotel, where I was living temporarily, was kept by David Krone and\n his good lady, whose popularity extended over the fourteen counties of\n the Eighth Judicial District.\n\n \"Court week was always anticipated with great interest by the people\n of the county seat. It was customary for the entire bar of the\n district to follow the court from county to county, every man either\n seeking new business, or as counsel in cases already on the docket.\n The date of their arrival at any particular county seat could not be\n definitely fixed, as the judge held court at his pleasure, usually\n trying to finish all the business ahead before he migrated to the next\n station.\n\n \"He was followed by a curious crowd. Lawyers, clients, witnesses,\n itinerant peddlers, showmen, and gamblers filled the towns to\n overflowing. It was no unusual thing for men who had no business in\n the court, to follow from town to town merely seeking entertainment.\n Social events of any moment were wont to be arranged for court week,\n as the harvest time when strangers could be taken in. Taverns were\n crowded and the hospitality of the people was taxed to the utmost\n limit.\n\n \"To the men of the town, who always crowded the court house, the\n examination of witnesses and the speeches of the lawyers furnished\n an intellectual treat, for there were giants at that bar. There was\n David Davis, the companionable judge, who knew the law and who loved\n a laugh. And there were Stephen Logan the scholarly, and Stuart the\n shrewd and kindly, Swett the clever, and Browning the handsome, and\n Lamon the amusing, and Weldon and Gridley and Parks and Harmon and\n Ficklin and Linder and Whitney and Oliver L. Davis, and the best\n beloved Abraham Lincoln. Some of them traveled to only two or three\n counties, but Judge Davis, Mr. Lincoln and Leonard Swett went the\n whole circuit; Davis because he had to, Lincoln because he loved it,\n and Swett because he loved their company.\n\n \"The Macon House was an oasis in the wilderness of miserable inns at\n which they were usually compelled to 'put in.' In Decatur they found\n clean beds, good bread and an abundance of the good things of the\n season, administered by a genial landlady who greeted them all as\n friends.\n\n \"It was in court week that my piano, after a long journey by steamer\n down the Ohio and up the Wabash to Crawfordsville, Ind., and thence\n by wagon, arrived in Decatur. The wagon was backed up to the steps at\n the front door of the Macon House and the question of how to unload\n it and get it into the house was a puzzling one. Not a man except the\n landlord was to be found, but he soon solved the problem. \"Court will\n soon adjourn and there will be plenty of men,\" and almost as he spoke\n the crowd began to appear. They gathered curiously around the wagon\n that blocked the entrance. Landlord Krone explained:\n\n \"'There is a piano in that box that this woman here wants someone to\n help unload. Who will lend a hand?'\n\n \"A tall gentleman stepped forward and, throwing off a big gray Scotch\n shawl, exclaimed, 'Come on, Swett, you are the next biggest man.'\n\n \"That was my first meeting with Abraham Lincoln.\n\n \"After a few moments' consultation with the driver of the wagon, Mr.\n Lincoln went into the basement where Mr. Krone had a carpenter shop,\n and returned with two heavy timbers across his shoulders. With them\n he established communication between the wagon and the front door\n steps. The piano was unloaded with the assistance of Mr. Linder and\n Mr. Swett, amid jokes and jeers galore, most of the jeers coming from\n little Judge Logan.\n\n \"Before the legs had been screwed into place, dinner was announced,\n and the men hurried to the back porch where two tin wash basins, a\n long roller towel and a coarse comb, fastened to the wall by a long\n string, afforded toilet accommodations for all guests. When dinner\n was served, 'Mother Krone' placed a roast of beef in front of Dr.\n Trowbridge to be carved and exclaimed, 'Men, if you can't get your\n teeth through this beef you will have to fall back on the sausage. I\n agreed to try roasting it without parboiling it, and I am afraid it\n will be tougher than it was yesterday, and that was bad enough.'\n\n \"The beef, however, proved to be tender and juicy and was highly\n praised by the guests. I recall this incident because Mr. Lincoln once\n reminded me of it, saying that 'that was the time he learned that\n roast beef ought not to be boiled.'\n\n \"After dinner, Mr. Lincoln superintended the setting up of the piano,\n even to seeing that it stood squarely in the center of the wall space\n allotted it, and then received my thanks with a polite bow and asked:\n 'Are you expecting to follow the court and give concerts?' The immense\n relief expressed on his countenance, when he was assured that he\n would not be called upon to repeat the performance was very laughable.\n\n \"'Then may we have one tune before we go?' he asked, and I played\n 'Rosin the Bow,' with variations.\n\n \"Someone shouted, 'Come on, boys, the judge will be waiting,' and\n after I had assured them that if they desired it, I would give my\n 'first and only concert on this circuit' when they returned to the\n hotel in the evening, the crowd dispersed.\n\n \"Here I wish to note that in the crowd that had assembled to watch the\n unloading of the piano, the members of the bar, Mr. Lincoln's friends\n and equals, always addressed him as 'Mr. Lincoln,' while to the rabble\n and hangers-on he was often 'Abe.'\n\n \"The piano was a 'Gilbert,' made in Boston, and its fame extended far\n and wide. It was visited by people from all over the state, stage\n coach passengers frequently 'holding the stage' while they went down\n to the other tavern (the Harrell House was the stage office) to see\n and hear the novel instrument.\n\n \"That evening a notable crowd assembled in the parlor of the Macon\n House. Judge Davis, who did not put up with Landlord Krone but was\n the guest of Mrs. A. A. Powers, came in after supper; and practically\n all of the bar of the Eighth Judicial District was present at what I\n suppose we would now call a recital. I found that Mr. Charles Brown, a\n wealthy landowner and stock dealer of McLean County, not only sang but\n played a little and I called on him for assistance.\n\n \"The program, as I remember it, will illustrate the style of music in\n vogue at that period.\n\n \"For show pieces, I played the 'Battle of Prague' and the 'Carnival of\n Venice,' then followed with 'Washington's March,' 'Come Haste to the\n Wedding,' and 'Woodup Quick Step' to convince the audience that I did\n know a tune or two. For tragedy, I sang Henry Russel's 'Maniac' and\n 'The Ship on Fire,' and then made their blood run cold with the wild\n wail of the 'Irish Mother's Lament.' For comic, we sang 'The Widdy\n McGee' and 'I Won't Be a Nun,' topping off with 'Old Dan Tucker,'\n 'Lucy Long,' and 'Jim Crow,' the crowd joining in the chorus. These\n were followed by more serious music. Mr. Brown and Mr. Swett joined\n me in the duet 'Moonlight, Music, Love, and Flowers,' 'Rocked in the\n Cradle of the Deep,' 'Pilgrim Fathers,' 'Bonaparte's Grave,' and\n 'Kathleen Mavourneen.' Each and all met with applause.\n\n \"As a finale, I sang 'He Doeth All Things Well,' after which Mr.\n Lincoln, in a very grave manner, thanked me for the evening's\n entertainment, and said: 'Don't let us spoil that song by any other\n music tonight.' Many times afterwards I sang that song for Mr. Lincoln\n and for Governor Oglesby, with whom it was also a favorite.\"\n\nAnother limitation must be found in Lincoln's morbid cautiousness.\nHerndon tells us that his very walk gave the impression of craftiness;\nthat it was not the product of deceit, but only of a caution so\nexcessive that it became something more than second nature. He was\nsecretive to a marked degree. When he seemed to be confidential it\nwas in minor matters, or matters on which he had already made up his\nmind and intended soon to make a public statement. Whatever may be\nthe true story of his engagement to Mary Todd and of those stormy and\nobscure months between \"that fatal first of January, 1840,\" and the\ndate of their wedding, November 4, 1842, Lincoln's letters to Speed\nshow an excess of caution that was positively abnormal. That it was\na mark of insanity has been vigorously denied and with much apparent\nreason; but if it was not the mark of acute mental aberration, it was\nthe manifestation of a permanent mental trait. Such a nature, which\ndebated like Hamlet the question of suicide and actually printed a\nbrief article which was later cut from the files of the Springfield\npaper--probably by Lincoln himself--which lingered shivering on the\nbrink of matrimony like the \"timorous mortal\" of whom Lincoln was\ntaught to sing, must have hesitated long before coming to such a\nconfident poise between alternating faith and doubt as that he could\nhave stood before the altar of a Presbyterian church in Springfield or\nin Washington and taken upon him the vows of church membership.\n\nDifferent writers have attempted to account for Lincoln's failure to\naffiliate with the church wholly on the basis of his being greater than\nthe churches. I quote from one of these characteristic addresses, and\none that is in many respects excellent:\n\n \"Perhaps his religious nature was so broad that it could not be\n compassed within the limits of any particular creed or system of\n doctrines. Perhaps he saw the soul of truth so clearly that he could\n not accept any one of them as a complete and final revelation of\n truth. Perhaps he so clearly realized that all religious creeds and\n systems have their roots in human nature that he could look upon\n the Christian system as the only deposit of truth committed to the\n children of men. Perhaps his conception of Deity was so vast that\n he could not see all the Divine attributes manifest in the historic\n Christ. Perhaps he felt that some of the doctrines of Christianity,\n as they were formulated and preached in his day, would be a hindrance\n rather than a help to his religious faith, so clear was his vision of\n the things which are unseen and eternal, and so close was his relation\n to the Author of his being. Perhaps he felt no need of a daysman or\n mediator, because he himself knew the Lord face to face.\"--MILTON R.\n SCOTT: _Lincoln, Was He an Inspired Prophet?_, pp. 55-57.\n\nThere is a measure of truth in this presentation of one side of the\ncase, but it is not the whole truth. Lincoln did not possess this\nsupposed clarity of vision of all spiritual truth. Some things he\nsaw clearly, but his faith and vision had each of them marked and\nundeniable limitations.\n\nIn his widely popular and in many respects excellent oration on\nLincoln, Bishop Fowler said:\n\n \"Let us analyze Mr. Lincoln if we are able. This task is difficult\n on account of his symmetry. He was so much like a sphere that he\n projected farthest in every direction. His comprehension is to us\n impossible on account of his immensity, for a man can be comprehended\n only by his peers\" (p. 28).\n\nHe found the same difficulty in estimating Grant. \"It is difficult\nto analyze General Grant, because he is so simple and complete. Like\nLincoln, he is like a sphere; approached from any side he seems to\nproject farthest toward you. Try to divide, and each section is like\nall the rest. Cut him through, and he is all the way through alike\" (p.\n127).\n\nI do not think that this is correct concerning Grant, and it certainly\nis not true concerning Lincoln. He was not a sphere; he was angular or\nhe was nothing.[57] In endeavoring to assess his religious convictions,\nwe are liable to encounter contradictions. But there is a certain\ninconsistent consistency in those contradictions. There are certain\nkinds of contradictions which we do not encounter, and certain which,\nencountering, may be interpreted in the light of certain underlying\nagreements.\n\nFor instance, the Calvinism which he inherited and heard through\nhis childhood and which he accepted in a kind of semi-fatalistic\nphilosophy might seem the reverse of scientific. But the natural\nscience which Lincoln learned from _Vestiges of Creation_, while it\nwould have been repudiated by every Baptist preacher whom Lincoln ever\nheard in his youth, was capable of being grafted upon that very root.\n\nI suggest one more limitation in the character of Abraham Lincoln,\nwhich had its possible relation to his hypothetical church membership.\nHe was possessed in marked degree of the obstinacy of irresolution.\nThat genial good-nature of his had behind it stubbornness, irony, and a\nsullen but mighty temper which rarely broke the bounds of self-control,\nbut sometimes manifested itself on very slight provocation. Just when\nmen thought they had discovered in Abraham Lincoln a nose of wax which\nthey could shape to their own liking, they encountered in him a wholly\nunexpected element of passive inertia and of active obstinacy. When he\ndid not know what to do, he would not do anything. It was this quality\nin him which enabled him to rule a rampant Cabinet and which justified\nthe qualities set forth in such books as Major Putnam's _Abraham\nLincoln the Leader_, Richard Watson Gilder's _Lincoln the Leader_, and\nAlonzo Rothschild's _Lincoln, Master of Men_. It was this which enabled\nHerndon to write of him: \"I know Abraham Lincoln better than he knows\nhimself.... You and I must keep the people right; God will keep Lincoln\nright.\"\n\nThose do greatly err who see in Lincoln only genial good humor and\nteachableness; there was a point at which his good humor became\nwithering scorn or towering passion and his gentle and tractable\ndisposition became adamantine inertia. His successor, Andrew Johnson,\nquoted as characterizing himself the lines from Sir Walter Scott:\n\n  \"_Come one, come all; this rock shall fly\n  From its firm base as soon as I._\"\n\nLincoln might with much more appropriateness have quoted it of himself.\n\nMary Todd Lincoln united with the First Presbyterian Church of\nSpringfield on April 13, 1852, upon profession of her faith. The\nchurch records contain no record of her dismissal, but only the word\n\"Deceased\" without a date. She remained a member until her death,\nthough, after her return to Springfield in an unhappy state of mind,\nshe was not a very active one. The only other Lincoln record on the\nbooks of this church is the baptism of Thomas Lincoln--\"Tad,\" \"son\nof Abraham and Mary\"--on April 4, 1855. The records of the financial\nsecretary, not very complete, show Abraham Lincoln to have been a\npew-holder from 1852 to 1861, and he departed for Washington with his\npew rent paid to the date of his departure. This is all that is to be\nlearned from the church records in Springfield.\n\nMary Todd Lincoln was a member in good and regular standing of the\nEpiscopal Church when she united with the Presbyterian, but she united\non profession of her faith. She affirmed that she did not believe\nthat she had ever previously been converted. This statement is one of\nseveral indications that she, and with her her husband, came into a\nnew religious experience after the death of Willie in Washington, as\nearlier he had been profoundly impressed after the death of Eddie in\nSpringfield.\n\nWe learn through sources outside the records, but wholly credible\nsources, that her uniting with the Presbyterian Church was preceded by\na revival in the church, and she and her husband attended the revival\nmeetings regularly. Not only so, but many of Lincoln's associates,\nincluding Major Stuart and other influential men of Springfield, were\npresent almost every night and were deeply interested. The letter of\nThomas Lewis, already cited, refers to the general expectation that\nLincoln would have united with the church with his wife. A similar and\nwholly independent report comes to us[58] from Lincoln's associates\noutside the church. They, also, expected him to go in with his wife.\nBut Lincoln was not fully persuaded. The logic of Dr. Smith demolished\nall the arguments of the infidels and did it over again:\n\n  \"_And thrice he vanquished all his foes,\n  And thrice he slew the slain._\"\n\nBut doubts, though logically answered, still rose in Lincoln's mind. On\nthe other hand, and more important, Lincoln did not find himself able\nto accept the rigid Calvinism of the Presbyterian Church of that day.\nThe evangelist made strong appeals, and Lincoln was not unmoved. But he\nsaid to his friends that \"he couldn't quite see it.\"\n\nLincoln was a man of mighty courage when his convictions were assured.\nBut he was also a man of more than normal caution. He could meet an\nissue which he was fully convinced was right with all needful heroism.\nBut he was capable of evading an issue about which he was uncertain.\n\nWe know what Lincoln did just after his State Fair speech in\nSpringfield on October 3, 1854. He was roused \"as never before,\" to\nquote his own words, by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and\nhe came out in a four hours' speech following Douglas, and committed\nhimself unqualifiedly to the anti-Nebraska program. The Abolitionists\nwere overjoyed, and Lovejoy wanted him to address that body that very\nnight. Lincoln was in a quandary. To offend the Abolitionists meant\npolitical death, for they were now strong and growing stronger; but, on\nthe other hand, to become an Abolitionist meant political death also at\nthat stage of the fight. Herndon, who was himself an Abolitionist, and\nnot much given to compromise, fully realized that Lincoln was in grave\npolitical danger.[59] With Herndon's approval, Lincoln took Bob in his\nbuggy and drove off out into the country till the crisis was over.[60]\n\nWe know something also, though probably not the whole truth, about\nLincoln's wavering indecision with respect to his marriage to Mary\nTodd. Whether he ran away from his own wedding, as he ran away from the\noffer of the leadership of the Abolition movement, and if so, whether\nhe was sane or insane at the time, are questions which I prefer not, at\nthis time, to undertake to answer. But that incident may be cited as\nanother reminder that Lincoln had times of great mental uncertainty,\nand that at such times he sometimes did unexpected things.\n\nIt is my firm conviction that, after the death of Eddie, Lincoln was\nprofoundly stirred in his own spiritual life; that the arguments of Dr.\nSmith went far toward answering the arguments of Paine, Volney, and his\nfreethinking friends; that bereavement and spiritual comfort had done\ntheir work of grace; that the desire for a home more truly united in\nits religious relations and spiritual sympathies made a strong appeal\nto him; and that the atmosphere of the revival seemed to make it easy\nand natural for him to enter the church with Mrs. Lincoln. But, though\na Calvinist in his early training, he was not ready to accept Calvinism\nas a complete and articulated system as presented in the Westminster\nConfession and in the preaching of Dr. Smith.\n\nHe wavered. Whether he left town to avoid pressure to attend the\nmeeting of the Session at which his wife made her application for\nchurch membership, we do not know. It is not improbable. Certainly\nif his absence had been unavoidable he could have joined at the next\nopportunity. I think that he did not join because he was still in\nsome measure of intellectual uncertainty with reference to doctrinal\nmatters. I am only sorry that someone did not tell him that these were\nno sufficient reasons for his declining to unite with the church.\n\nIt would be possible to carry this study further, but it is not\nnecessary. An explanation of Lincoln's failure to unite with a\nChristian church in that time of bitter sectarianism when to have\njoined one church would have made him a target for criticism from\nothers and when his mind was intent rather upon the application of his\nChristian principles than the proclamation of his religious opinions,\nis partly to be attributed to the faults of the churches; but a portion\nof the explanation is to be found also in qualities inherent in the\nlife of Abraham Lincoln.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nTHE CONSTRUCTIVE ARGUMENT\n\n\nWE are ready now to undertake the difficult task of determining with\nsome approach to certainty the essential content and character of\nAbraham Lincoln's religious belief.\n\nWe must not be surprised if we find ourselves unable to construct a\nperfectly symmetrical and consistent confession of faith. The material\nis much more abundant and explicit and much better attested in some\ndepartments than in others. Not only so, but we must never forget the\nmighty elements of contradiction in Lincoln's personality.\n\nMediocre men have this in their favor, that it is relatively easy to\nclassify them. Not only may they be readily assigned to their several\noccupations, and conveniently pigeon-holed as butchers, bakers, and\ncandlestick makers, but it is a comparatively simple task to group\nthem under single adjectives, as good and bad, black and white, tall\nand short, fat and lean, old and young, intelligent and stupid.\nThe process is less easy with really great men. There is always an\nadmirable element of human inconsistency in men of large mold which\nwould be intolerable in lesser personalities. It has been truly said\nthat no man becomes really great and influential who is not a good\nsubject for caricature. The sublime is own sister to the ridiculous.\nGenius is next akin to insanity. The men who do really great things\nare a perpetual puzzle to those who possess only commonplace standards\nof classification. A commonplace villain is a villain, first, last,\nand all the time; but a villain like Milton's Satan, Napoleon, or the\nlate German Kaiser is so great a villain as to be half a hero. The two\nhundred seventy-six dripping men who struggled through the surf at\nMalta one stormy morning rather more than eighteen hundred years ago\nand gathered shivering round the fire, were quickly classified, for\nthe most part, into four convenient companies, of sailors, soldiers,\npassengers, and prisoners; but when one of them shook off a viper into\nthe fire and showed no sign of hurt, it was quite certain that he was\neither a murderer or a god. Opinions might differ and did differ as to\nwhich of the two extremes might properly be claimed for him, but no one\nproposed to find a place for him in middle ground.\n\nThe strength of great men lies in their possession and their\ncounterpoise of opposing qualities. Over against the monotonous\nuniformity, the stupid consistency, of those common people whom Lincoln\nsaid God must love because He made so many of them, this quality\ndisplays itself as a peculiar possession of genius. Now and then it is\ngiven to a great man sufficiently so to subordinate the inconsistencies\nwithout which real greatness could not exist as to incarnate some\noutstanding principle of which he becomes the exponent. Abraham\nLincoln did this; and the world, or that small part of the world which\ncan lay claim to any considerable measure of moral discernment, has\nredefined its conception of certain high qualities, its measure of the\nmoral significance of certain notable achievements, in terms of his\npersonality. This process is highly desirable as well as inevitable;\nbut the elements of inconsistency are not thereby removed from the\ncharacter itself. Of him we might say:\n\n  \"_His life was gentle, and the elements\n  So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up,\n  And say to all the world: This was a man!_\"\n                      --_Julius Caesar, V, 5._\n\nIt has often been affirmed that \"'Lincoln knew his Bible better than\nany minister,\" and large claims have been made concerning his use of it\nin public addresses. Mr. Lincoln did know and use the Bible, and his\nstyle is saturated with it; but it would be easy to exaggerate both his\nknowledge and use of it.\n\nProf. Daniel Kilham Dodge of the University of Illinois examined\ntwenty-five of Lincoln's extended and carefully prepared addresses with\nthis result:[61]\n\nIn five speeches from 1839 to 1852 he found six Biblical quotations, of\nwhich four were in his temperance address.\n\nIn his reply to Douglas in 1852 there were two Biblical quotations,\nboth from the Old Testament.\n\nIn 1856 he found one, and that most notable of all--the \"house divided\nagainst itself.\"\n\nIn his \"lost speech\" at Bloomington, as recorded by Whitney, there were\nsix Biblical quotations, four from the Old Testament and two from the\nNew--the largest number in any single speech.\n\nIn his ten speeches in the Lincoln and Douglas debates there were\ntwo Biblical references, besides a number of allusions to the \"house\ndivided against itself.\"\n\nThere were no Biblical quotations in the Cooper Union address or in the\nFirst Inaugural or in the Gettysburg address; none in the two messages\nto Congress in 1861.\n\nHis Second Inaugural was itself a kind of leaf out of the books of the\nprophets.\n\nIn the whole of the twenty-five speeches, there were found twenty-two\nBiblical references, eight in the Old Testament and fourteen in the\nNew. This notwithstanding the impression of many who knew him that\nLincoln preferred the Old Testament to the New, as recorded by Noah\nBrooks.\n\nBut this rather meager use of direct quotations and allusions need not\ndisappoint us. Nor does it militate against the essentially Biblical\nsubstratum of his style. When we come to the study of Lincoln's\nliterary and oratorical method, we find more striking contradictions\nand evolutions than we have here. Lincoln's oratory was not of the same\nstyle at all periods of his career, nor were his methods uniform at any\none period.\n\nHe was a ready stump-speaker, yet he became so cautious while in the\nWhite House that he was timid about responding even to a serenade\nwithout having first written out his address, and on occasion could\nappear rude in declining to utter even a simple word of greeting and\nappreciation, as on the night before his address in Gettysburg, when he\nwas very abrupt to the company that serenaded him.\n\nHe had been accustomed to large use of gesture, swinging his great\narms, and sometimes, even in the Douglas debates, bending his knees\ntill they almost touched the platform, and then rising suddenly almost\nwith a whoop, but he became very quiet and self-restrained in his\noratory.\n\nHe is alleged to have loved Burns more than any other poet, yet his\nspeeches have been searched in vain for a single quotation from Burns.\nIt is said that next to Burns he loved Byron, and he is not known\never to have quoted Byron in any speech or paper. It is said that\nhis favorite Shakspeare play was _Richard III._, but his Shakspeare\nquotations are from _Hamlet_, _Lear_, _Macbeth_, the _Merchant of\nVenice_; and there is one allusion to Falstaff.\n\nBesides Shakspeare, whom he quoted next to the Bible, his literary\nallusions are to T. H. Bayley, Dickens, Robert Herrick, Pope and Scott,\nand they are not numerous. The total number of his quotations, as\nlisted by Professor Dodge, including Shakspeare, but not including the\nBible, is thirty.\n\nWhat is more surprising, Lincoln was known as a great story teller. But\nhis addresses contain hardly a single anecdote. He told stories in jury\ntrials and to illustrate points in conversation, but he rarely told\nthem in his addresses.[62]\n\nNo man who knew Lincoln intimately studied him so long, so\nindustriously, or, in spite of many limitations, so appreciatively,\nas William H. Herndon. He was a profound believer in the mental and\nspiritual evolution of Lincoln.\n\nIn 1887, while Herndon, after many years of interruption, began\nagain the preparation of his _Life of Lincoln_, he had an extended\ncorrespondence, partly from Springfield, and partly from Greencastle,\nIndiana, where Mr. Jesse W. Weik was at work with him on his book, and\nwith a Boston sculptor, Mr. Truman H. Bartlett, who was planning a\nstatue of Lincoln. Herndon's letters went more and more into detail as\nthe correspondence proceeded, and he gave in some respects the very\nbest affirmation of the development of Lincoln on the higher side of\nhis nature that Herndon wrote at any time.\n\nHerndon seemed to have some apprehension that a study of photographs\nand life-masks and other evidences of the physical appearance of\nLincoln would not reveal the man himself. He said that a person\nstudying his physical nature would say \"that his physical nature was\nlow, coarse, and not high and fine.\" Before he sent this letter he\nre-read it, and inserted the word \"comparatively\" before \"low.\" Mr.\nBartlett asked him further about this, and Herndon went into detail\nas to Lincoln's body. \"His blood ran slowly. He was of a low or slow\nmechanical power, within him. I did not intend to say that Lincoln's\norganization was a low, animal organization. What I meant to say was\nthat it was a slow-working machine. Lincoln's flesh was coarse, pimply,\ndry, hard, harsh; color of his flesh saffron brown; no blood seemingly\nin it; flesh wrinkled.\"\n\nMr. Bartlett apparently inquired whether the abnormal qualities of\nfrontier life produced these effects, and whether Herndon had known\nother men of the Lincoln type. Apparently he alluded to the presence of\nmalaria and the large use of pork in frontier diet.\n\nHerndon did not accept the pork and malaria theories. He said that all\nsuch theories must give way to facts, and he dealt with facts. The men\nof the frontier had the best meat in the world, \"venison, bear, turkey,\nand of course some hog.\"\n\n \"You ask me if I ever saw in this great wild west many men of\n Lincoln's type, and to which I answer, Yes. The first settlers of\n central and southern Illinois were men of that type. They came from\n the limestone regions of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and were\n men of giant strength, physical force, and by nature mentally strong.\n They were original, were individualists. The strong alone from 1818 to\n 1830 could get here, and the strong alone could survive here.... No\n one was like Lincoln, and yet many were of his type.... He was, as\n you say, 'a man of extraordinary contrasts.' You would not look for a\n well-rounded man in such a description.\"\n\nLincoln was, then, as Herndon saw him, and as the world must see him,\na legitimate product of his environment. Herndon had read Buckle and\nSpencer and Darwin, and was a thoroughgoing believer in evolution, as\nwas Lincoln, from a far narrower reading, but a very thoughtful study\nof _Vestiges of Creation_.\n\nPhysically, Lincoln was akin to the strong pioneers of early Illinois,\nand it was not difficult to find each several trait of Lincoln\nreduplicated in many of them. But Lincoln himself was never duplicated.\nHe was a product of his environment, but he was also an evolution which\nin terms of an individual personality went beyond environment, and was\nstill going forward when death came to him.\n\nThis evolution of Lincoln, the spiritual Lincoln, as portrayed in these\nletters to a sculptor, who must not be permitted to forget, if he was\nin danger of forgetting, that the real man Lincoln had in him more than\nhis bodily measurements could portray, is one of the most suggestive\nstudies disclosed by Herndon, and it is sound, both as approached from\nthe standpoint of science, and as considered in the personal study of\nLincoln in his growth from year to year.\n\nLike St. Paul, Lincoln had a warfare in his members. He was an\nembodiment of forces mutually antagonistic. He would not have been\nthe man he was had either of them been lacking, and the growth of\neither at the total expense of the other would have given us a man\nabnormal, which Mr. Lincoln came perilously near to being. But his real\ndevelopment was mental and spiritual.\n\nIn another place St. Paul says that \"The first man is of the earth,\nearthy, and the second man is from heaven.\" It has been assumed without\ndue warrant that what he had in mind was a contrast between Adam and\nChrist, and this view is strengthened by the intrusion of the words\n\"the Lord\" in the authorized English text. But it is quite possible\nthat St. Paul, even if Adam and Christ were a part of his contrast,\nhad really in mind the evolution of any man's life; he being himself\nin his bodily nature the first man and in the birth and growth of his\nhigher nature the second and contrasting man. \"First is that which is\nnatural, and after, that which is spiritual.\"\n\nThis was Herndon's thought of Lincoln, as disclosed in these\nletters,[63] and it is true of Lincoln. Lincoln was more than an\nembodiment of contrasts; the solar system is that, and it is more. In\nthe solar system the opposing forces do not neutralize each other, but\ntogether hold the earth and planets in their orbits. So it was with\nLincoln. But with him the higher and nobler forces became increasingly\ndominant.\n\nHerndon resented it when anyone said that Lincoln had died at the right\ntime. He believed that, great as Lincoln was, his nobler qualities had\nnot yet come to their full maturity, and that a longer-lived Lincoln\nwould have been an even nobler Lincoln. Here are some of the things he\nsays of him in these letters:\n\n \"I said to you once that Mr. Lincoln had not arrived at maturity\n in 1865, and I say so now. His blood ran slowly--had low or slow\n circulation and consequently a slow build-up. As he had a slow\n build-up, so he had a slow development; he grew up like the forest\n oak, tough, solid, knotty, gnarled, standing out with power against\n the storm, and almost defying the lightning. Hence I conclude that\n he had not arrived at his highest development in 1865.... The\n convolutions of his brain were long; they did not snap off quickly\n like a short, thick man's brain.... The enduring power of Mr.\n Lincoln's thought and brain was wonderful. He could sit and think\n without food or rest longer than any man I ever saw.\"\n\nHe goes into detail concerning Mr. Lincoln's bodily lethargy and its\neffect on body and mind, the sluggishness of all his functions, and\naffirms that this must be taken into account in any right estimate of\nthe man; but that steadily, and the more surely because slowly, his\nmind and soul developed and became more and more dominant.\n\n \"His flesh looked dry and leathery, tough and everlasting; his eyes\n were small and gray; head small and forehead receding; but when this\n great man was moved by some great and good feeling, by some idea of\n Liberty, or Justice, or Right, then he seemed an inspired man. It\n was just then that Lincoln's nature was beautiful, and in complete\n harmony with the laws of the Great Eternal. I have seen him in this\n inspired condition, and thought he was molded in the Spirit's best\n mold. Lincoln was a great man, a good man, and a pure man; and beneath\n his rough bodily exterior, Nature wove her fine network of nerve....\n Lincoln was a gloomy man at one moment and a joyous man the next; he\n was conscious that a terrible fate awaited him. He said to me, 'I\n cannot help but believe that I shall meet with some terrible end.'\n This idea seized him and made him gloomy. At times his better nature\n would get the mastery of him, and he would be happy till the shadow of\n his fate flitted before him. In philosophy Lincoln was a fatalist....\n In my poor opinion, Lincoln had not arrived, when he was assassinated,\n at the meridian of his intellectual power.... Were you to read his\n early speeches thoroughly you would see his then coarse nature. He\n gradually rose up, more spiritualistic. This is one of the reasons why\n I say that Lincoln was not fully developed in mind at the last. When\n a great Boston man said, 'Lincoln died at the right time,' he did not\n know what he was talking about.\"\n\nIn these and like paragraphs Herndon testified to the mental and\nspiritual evolution of Lincoln; and he was probably correct when he\nopined that that evolution was still in process, and that Lincoln was,\nup to the very hour of his death, a growing man in all that meant most\nto America and the world.\n\nThe religion of Abraham Lincoln was part and parcel of his life; and\nhis life was an evolution whose successive stages can be measured with\nreasonable certainty. Not only did his religious convictions develop\nand broaden under the stimuli of Lincoln's constantly broadening\nintellectual and spiritual environment, but they broadened in the\ngrowth of his own personality.\n\nThere was an evolution in his apprehension of the ethical implications\nof public office. The Lincoln who re-entered politics after the\nrepeal of the Missouri Compromise was a changed man from the Lincoln\nwho, with the other members of the \"Long Nine,\" earned by political\nlog-rolling the severe but not wholly unmerited name applied to them\nby one of Illinois' best governors, \"spared monuments of popular\nwrath.\" That Lincoln did not in this earlier period commit any\npersonally dishonorable act is not an argument against the theory\nhere advocated. He had, in his later political career, a far higher\nideal of political honor, a greatly nobler conception of the dignity\nof public office--which he always sought--as a field of popular\nservice. His political career was an evolution, and it developed nobler\ncharacteristics than that which characterized his earlier political\nlife.\n\nLincoln's emancipation policy was an evolution. The successive stages\nof that policy were worthily set forth by Paul Selby in an address\nbefore the Historical Society of Chicago.[64] There never was a time\nwhen Abraham Lincoln did not believe slavery to be wrong, but there was\na time when he was not an Abolitionist. The moral aspect of the slavery\nquestion grew in his mind and conscience till he promised his God to\nfree the slaves.\n\nOn Sunday evening, September 7, 1862, a public meeting was held in\nBryan Hall, Chicago, to urge upon the President the desire of Christian\npeople that he should free the slaves. A petition was circulated, and\nwas signed by all the Congregational and nearly all the Methodist and\nBaptist ministers of that city, courteously requesting the President\nto give the matter his earnest attention. The petition was sent\nto Washington by the hand of Rev. William W. Patton and Rev. John\nDempster, who met the President by appointment on Saturday afternoon,\nSeptember 13, the interview being arranged by Hon. Gideon Welles.\n\nThe story of that meeting has often been told in part, with undue\nemphasis upon Mr. Lincoln's statement then made that if God had a\nmessage for him on this subject He would be more likely to communicate\nit directly to Mr. Lincoln than to others for him. The latest book to\nmisuse this incident is one just from the press in Great Britain, the\n_Short Life of Lincoln_, by Hon. Ralph Shirley, who says:\n\n \"Some of the ministers in this deputation even went so far as to\n assure him that they had authority in God's name to command him to\n emancipate the slaves.\"\n\nInasmuch as there were but two of the ministers, and neither of them\nassumed any such authority to speak the mind of God, such statements\nought to cease, especially as the true story, from which all these\naccounts are garbled, is available for inspection in the files of the\nMaryland Historical Society.\n\nMr. Lincoln did say to them that he hoped it would not appear\nirreverent in him to say that if God were to reveal this duty of his\nto others, it was probable that He would reveal it also directly to\nMr. Lincoln. At the beginning of the interview he was guarded; but as\nhe found common ground with his visitors, he threw first one leg and\nthen the other over the arm of his chair, and talked to them with the\nutmost freedom, and asked them concerning the opinion of ministers and\nchurches, and assured them that he desired to know the will of God, and\nwhatever seemed to him to be God's will he would do.\n\nThe next week occurred the battle of Antietam, and on Saturday,\nSeptember 20, exactly a week after his interview with the Chicago\nministers, Mr. Lincoln called the Cabinet together and read to them\nthe Emancipation Proclamation, which was signed and published on the\nfollowing Monday. We know now that Lincoln had promised God that if\nthat battle resulted in the success of the Union cause he would issue\nthe proclamation. We also know that the meeting with the Chicago\nministers was very timely, and gave him an added assurance of moral\nsupport from the churches, if not added confidence in the help of God.\n\nSome time after, Joseph Medill, editor of the Chicago _Tribune_,\nreturning from Washington, said, \"Secretary Stanton told me to say\nto those Chicago clergymen who waited on the President about the\nProclamation of Emancipation, that their interview finished the\nbusiness. After that there was no manifestation of doubt or talk of\ndelay. Mr. Lincoln's mind was fully made up.\"--_Proceedings of the\nMaryland Historical Society, Baltimore_, 1888.\n\nLincoln's literary style was an evolution.[65] His spread-eagle\nstump-speeches, with their florid rhetoric and grandiloquent figures\nof speech evolved into the calm, dignified, and forceful English of\nhis maturer years.[66] An able monograph in which this evolution is\ntraced is cited elsewhere in this volume.[67] That change of style was\nthe outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual as well as\nintellectual grace.\n\nIn like manner Lincoln's religion was an evolution, both in its\nintellectual and its spiritual qualities. Up to the time of his\nresidence in New Salem he had heard only the dogmatic sectarianism of\nunlettered preachers, proclaiming a creed which furnished him certain\nlifelong tenets but which as a whole he could not accept. At New Salem\nhe read the negative arguments which confuted the dogmas he had heard,\nand perhaps unwittingly made room for a more intelligent faith.\n\nHe was deeply impressed by the argument of Dr. Smith in his _The\nChristian's Defence_. It was the first time he had heard the Christian\napologetic rationally presented, and it made a lasting impression upon\nhim without, however, fully satisfying him. He was, however, a much\nmore religious man when he left Springfield than he was when he came\nto it, whether he knew it or not.\n\nThe solemn responsibilities of his office, the daily contemplation of\ndeath as it menaced him and came into the homes of the people of his\ncountry, the profound conviction that God was working His infinite\npurpose through the war, and through the human agency of Lincoln\nhimself, took hold of the deepest impulses of his nature, and became\nthe controlling forces of his policy.\n\nLincoln was no theologian, but I do not find any authority for the\nstatement of Mr. Binns that Lincoln said, \"the more a man knew of\ntheology, the farther he got away from the Spirit of Christ.\" It is\npossible, of course, for a man to learn theology as an intellectual\nsystem and to have little religion as a spiritual experience, and to\nlose that little in the process of his logical subtleties: but Lincoln\nwas too just a man to make so sweeping and unjust an affirmation of\nsomething of which he would certainly have admitted he knew very little.\n\nThe rock-bottom foundation of Abraham Lincoln's religious faith was\nthe ultra-Calvinism of his boyhood. He was reared a Predestinarian\nBaptist; and while he never became a Baptist he never ceased to be\na Predestinarian. To this he added a strong rationalistic tendency,\ninherent in his nature, and strengthened by his study of Paine and\nVolney. This also he never wholly outgrew. As a lawyer who was not\nwell read, pleading before juries that cared little for the letter of\nthe law, he was accustomed to reduce his cases to simple principles of\nelementary justice, and to rest all upon these principles. This habit\nof thought and practice he applied also to his theology. His early\nrecollection of the epitaph of Johnny Kongapod was nothing less than\nthe application of the Golden Rule to theology--the assurance of an\neternal justice throned in heaven and intelligible on earth.\n\nThus, when he argued in favor of universal salvation he did it upon the\nbasis of the old Calvinistic theology with which he had been familiar\nall his life. If God was, indeed, absolute sovereign, and as good as\nHe was great, and willed not that any should perish, then no one could\nfinally perish. Universal salvation became logically and ethically\ncompulsory. The Christ who tasted death for every man, did so as the\nnecessary means to the efficiency of a plan of salvation whereby the\ncurse of the fall was fully offset by the sacrifice of Christ, at the\ninstance of the sovereign will of God. As in Adam all died, even so in\nChrist were all made alive. His theory of universal salvation was the\nlogical expression of his determinism, influenced by his rationalism\nand confirmed by his appeal to a justice that would not accept a fall\nmore universal than the atonement of Christ. This was not because\nLincoln approached the theme from the direction of the grace of Christ,\nbut of the irresistibility of a divine decree. He profoundly believed\nhimself an instrument of the divine will, believing that will to be\nright, and creation's final law.\n\nIf it were asked, where in such a system as his he found a place\nfor the forgiveness of sins, the answer would be first that he had\nno system, and secondly that he found no place for the doctrine;\nbut it would then be necessary to add that he found the doctrine,\nnevertheless. He had no system. He thought without logical method. But\nhis thinking was in right lines. He followed simple paths, \"blazed\"\nthrough technicalities and in quite thorough disregard of them. As\nhis office desk was in confusion, and he kept a package marked,\n\"When you don't find it anywhere else, look here,\" so he had in his\nthinking a parcel of unassorted first principles to which he recurred\nwhen he needed them. Forgiveness and law were to him two unreconciled\npostulates; but law he had to assume, even though he denied\nforgiveness. But if he did not admit belief in forgiveness, he did\nbelieve in mercy, for he himself was merciful, and he believed that he\nwould be merciful to God if he were God and God were man. Stanton could\nargue him down as to the necessity for shooting a soldier who slept on\nduty, but Lincoln injected an intuitive, and from Stanton's point of\nview, an unreasonable and a certainly unarticulated, element of mercy\nthat forbade the killing of this particular boy.\n\nHis theory of governmental forgiveness was as irreconcilable with his\ntheory of military discipline as his theory of divine mercy was with\nhis system of inexorable law. He did not harmonize the contradictions:\nhe was merciful, and let his system take the consequences, and he\nbelieved in a divine mercy while holding a theory with which the\nexercise of mercy was irreconcilable.\n\nTo such a mind as that of Abraham Lincoln, it was not necessary to\nprove the fact of immortality. If God possessed immortality and\nintended it for man, then God would make His decree effective in man.\nAdam's fall could not hopelessly lose to man what God designed; and,\nwhether he accepted for himself or not the theory of the fall and of\nredemption, he accepted both in meeting an argument which by reason of\nthe fall could have deprived man of his birthright of immortality. He\nbelieved in the immortality of the soul.\n\nDid he harmonize that doctrine with the rest of his creed? Probably\nnot. He was no theologian, in the strict and formal sense, no logician.\nHe reasoned on the basis of very simple and elementary principles,\nwhose lines of direction were determined by the early Calvinistic\npreaching to which he listened, the rationalistic method which he\nlearned from Paine, and his simple sense of justice and right.\n\nHis was not wholly an optimistic faith. He knew that man was sinful\nand sad and that \"the spirit of mortal\" had little occasion for pride;\nbut he believed in an eternal justice and an unconquerable goodness,\nregnant above the perplexities and contradictions of this life, and\ntriumphant in the life everlasting.\n\nAbraham Lincoln believed in God. Save in his moments of deepest gloom\nwhen everything turned black, he appears never seriously to have\nquestioned this fundamental article of belief. It is not easy to see\nhow he could have done so. His idea of causation forbade it, and, what\nwas more, his profound supernaturalism affirmed it as incontrovertible.\nThis element of supernaturalism went the full length of orthodox\npreaching, as Lincoln heard it and accepted it. It was in accord with\nthe teachings both of the Baptists, whom he heard in Indiana and rural\nIllinois, and the Presbyterians, to whom he listened in Springfield and\nin Washington. In a great God, a mighty Creator, a Sovereign Ruler, he\nwas taught to believe by all the forms of Calvinism to which throughout\nhis life he listened, and it was in full essential accord with his\nown native tendency. His supernaturalism was not only ultra-orthodox;\nit went the full length of current superstition. The frontiersman of\nthat day had superstition wrought into him by the vastness of the\nwilderness, the solemnity of the immeasurable forest and plain, and the\ninsignificance of man; the haunting tales of savagery and witchcraft;\nthe presence in every frontier community of some person supposed to\nbe possessed of second sight or other supernatural qualities. The\nrationalism of his mature years modified but did not in any degree\neradicate his supernaturalism.\n\nIt must be remembered that Paine and Volney, whose works he read, were\nfar from being atheists. Thomas Paine, whatever he denied, believed as\nstrongly as Peter Cartwright or James Smith in a personal God. So far\nas we know, Lincoln was never under any strong influence that might\nhave made him an atheist, his doubts and questionings were all within\nthe sphere of an expressed or implicit theism.\n\nThe names by which Lincoln referred to God are many and suggestive. The\nfollowing is a partial list:[68]\n\nAlmighty, Almighty Architect, Almighty Arm, Almighty Father, Almighty\nGod, Almighty Hand, Almighty Power, Almighty Ruler of Nations,\nCreator, Disposer, Divine Author, Divine Being, Divine Majesty, Divine\nProvidence, Divine Will, Eternal God, Father, Father in Heaven, Father\nof Mercies, God, God Almighty, God of Battles, God of Hosts, God\nof Nations, Governor, Heavenly Father, Higher Being, Higher Power,\nHoly Spirit, Judge, Lord, Maker, Maker of the Universe, Master, Most\nHigh, Most High God, Omniscient Mind, Power, Providence, Ruler of the\nUniverse, Supreme Being.\n\nLincoln believed in the Bible. I am not sure that he accepted the\nwhole content of the positive arguments set forth so cogently by his\npastor, Dr. Smith. When he called this argument \"unanswerable,\" it\nneed not imply that his every doubt was satisfied, his every misgiving\nreassured. It is entirely possible that there lingered in his mind\nsome vestiges of what he had read in writers opposed to the doctrine\nof the inspiration of the Scriptures as it was then taught; indeed,\nthat doctrine in the form in which it was currently stated was not\none by which a modern man's orthodoxy ought to be tested. But he read\nthe Bible, honored it, quoted it freely, and it became so much a\npart of him as visibly and permanently to give shape to his literary\nstyle and to his habits of thought. When Mrs. Speed presented him an\nOxford Bible in 1841, he declared his intention to read it regularly,\nbelieving it to be \"the best cure for the blues\"; and he kept and loved\nand constantly used his mother's Bible. How he would have defined his\ntheory of its transmission and of the relation of its divine and human\nelements we do not know, and we need not be too curious to inquire.\nIt is more than possible that Mr. Lincoln never made this definition\nin his own mind. His attitude toward the Bible was a thoroughly\npractical one. We do not know that he ever heard Coleridge's pragmatic\naffirmation, but we have every reason to believe that he would have\naccepted it, namely, that he valued the Bible because \"it finds me as\nno other book.\"\n\nConcerning his opinion of Jesus Christ our material for constructive\nhypothesis is exceedingly scanty.[69] Herndon says he does not believe\nthe name of Jesus can be found in any of Lincoln's authentic writings.\nI have found it in his writings but I must confess that I have not\nfound it frequently in any which I count to be certainly genuine.[70]\nThere are, however, a number of references to Jesus Christ in his\nwritings and published addresses, and they are both positive and\nreverent.\n\nOn July 4, 1864, the colored people of Baltimore presented him a\nbeautiful copy of the Bible of the usual pulpit size, bound in\nviolet-colored velvet. The corners were bands of solid gold and there\nwas a thick plate of gold upon the cover, bearing this inscription:\n\n \"To Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, the friend of\n universal freedom. From the loyal colored people of Baltimore, as a\n token of respect and gratitude. Baltimore, July 4, 1864.\"\n\nIn accepting this gift, which was presented in person by a committee of\nfive, the President said:\n\n \"In regard to this great book, I have only to say it is the best\n gift which God has ever given man. All the good from the Saviour of\n the world is communicated to us through this book.\"--CARPENTER: _Six\n Months in the White House_, p. 199; also NICOLAY and HAY: _Works of\n Lincoln_, twelve volume edition, X, 217-18.\n\nSuch references as this show to us the instinctive place which he\naccorded Jesus Christ in his own unpremeditated thinking. This was the\nbest thing he had to say about the Bible, that through it alone we have\nknowledge of the Saviour of the world.\n\nHerndon tells us that Lincoln ridiculed the doctrine of the virgin\nbirth of Jesus. If this is true, I am very sorry. But Abraham Lincoln's\nfaith in Christ did not depend wholly or even primarily upon his\ninterpretation of the mystery of our Lord's birth. I approach a\ndiscussion of this question with some hesitation, for it is one which,\nas related to Lincoln we do not know very much about, but it is a\nsubject which we are not free to pass over in silence.\n\nIt is a sad fact that the argument for the divinity of our Lord Jesus\nChrist should ever have been based on the mystery of his birth. Not\nthus does the New Testament establish the doctrine of his divinity.\nThe wonderful story of the birth of Jesus is told in two places\nonly,--in the introduction to the two Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and\nthese are the very two that contain genealogies tracing his descent\nthrough Joseph. The theory that one of these gives the family tree of\nMary is unsupported by any evidence. So far as we know, Jesus never\nreferred to the mystery of his birth, or attached any importance to\nit. His two brothers, James and Jude, each wrote a book which we have\nin the New Testament, and there is no reference in either of them to\nthis doctrine. Peter preached his mighty sermons at Pentecost and\nafterwards, proclaiming the faith on which the Church was established,\nand he grounded his argument for the divinity of Jesus not upon his\nbirth, but upon his resurrection from the dead. Paul preached the\ngospel of Christ throughout the Roman world, and neither in any\nrecorded sermon nor in any letter did he make any reference to that\ndogma. Mark, earliest of the gospels, and for we know not how long a\nperiod the only one, is silent as to the birth of Jesus; and John,\nthe most definitely spiritual of them all, begins and concludes his\nprofound philosophy of the person of Christ without a word concerning\nthe manner of his birth.\n\nIt is, therefore, a wholly unwarranted dogmatism which grounds the\ndivinity of Jesus in a question of the domestic relations of Joseph and\nMary. Jesus Christ is to be accepted for what He was and is, not for\nsome opinion as to how He became what He was.\n\nWe do not know whether Abraham Lincoln ever considered the question of\nthe birth of Christ in any personal thought he may have had concerning\nhis own birth. We may not forget, however, that if Herndon is right,\nLincoln lived and died without knowing all the facts about his own\nmother which later research has made certain. The marriage certificate\nof his parents was recorded in another county than that in which he\nsupposed it would have been recorded, and he appears never to have been\ncertain that he himself was begotten in lawful wedlock. We know that\nNancy Hanks and Thomas Lincoln were married a year before the birth of\ntheir eldest daughter, who was older than Abraham Lincoln, but he is\nbelieved not to have known that.\n\nWhat then? Should a man in 1860 or 1864 refuse to vote for Abraham\nLincoln because he did not feel certain when or whether his parents\nwere married?\n\nThe man who said, \"I believe in Abraham Lincoln,\" did not commonly have\nin mind any question of his parentage, but believed in his integrity,\nhis patriotism, his moral leadership. Even so the man who believes in\nJesus Christ may believe in Him without ever asking, much less ever\nanswering, any dubitable question in metaphysics.\n\nScant as are the references to Jesus in the authentic utterances of\nAbraham Lincoln, they do not seem to me unimportant. They testify to a\nfaith that was valid as far as it went. They manifest a spirit which is\nfundamentally Christian.\n\nUnable to define his own views in terms that would have been acceptable\nto those who believed themselves the rightful guardians of orthodoxy\nin his day, it is not surprising that Lincoln was guarded in his\nreferences to a dogma which might have involved him in greater\ndifficulties than he was prepared to meet. It was true in that day\nunhappily as it was in the days of Paul, \"Some indeed preach Christ\neven of envy and strife; and some also of good-will.\" It is occasion\nfor profound sorrow that Christ has been so preached as that men have\nsometimes found it difficult to confess their faith in Him without\nprovoking strife and envy.\n\nThat Lincoln was unwilling to make his doubt the occasion of dogmatic\nnegation is evident from one or more of the acquaintances of Lincoln,\nwhom Herndon interviewed in an effort to adduce testimony against his\nfaith, and whom Lamon quoted in that part of his book in which he made\nhis attack upon the religion of Lincoln. The following from I. W.\nKeys, the man who loaned to him _Vestiges of Creation_, is interesting\nin itself and especially interesting in its relation to the group of\ntestimonies which these two men assembled:\n\n \"In my intercourse with Mr. Lincoln, I learned that he believed in\n a Creator of all things, who had neither beginning nor end, and,\n possessing all power and wisdom, established a principle, in obedience\n to which worlds move, and are upheld, and animal and vegetable life\n come into existence. A reason he gave for his belief was that, in\n view of the order and harmony of all nature which we behold, it would\n have been created and arranged by some great thinking power. As to\n the Christian theory, that Christ is God, or equal to the Creator,\n he said that it had better be taken for granted; for, by the test of\n reason, we might become infidels on that subject, for evidence of\n Christ's divinity came to us in a somewhat doubtful shape; but that\n the system of Christianity was an ingenious one at least, and perhaps\n was calculated to do good.\"--LAMON: _Life of Lincoln_, p. 490.\n\nEmphatic proof of Mr. Lincoln's faith is to be found in the positive\ndeclaration of the two men who have done most to destroy the world's\nconfidence in it, Lamon and Herndon. In Lamon's later book of\n_Reminiscences_, he did much to counteract the harsh and to my mind\nincorrect impression given in his earlier book. But even in that book\nhe affirmed that while Lincoln rejected the New Testament as a book of\ndivine authority, he accepted its precepts as binding upon him and was\na believer in the supernatural even to credulity (p. 503, 504).\n\nIn that same work Herndon set forth that Lincoln was a firm believer in\nGod and attempted, as he said, \"to put at rest forever the charge that\nMr. Lincoln was an atheist.\" He declared, however, that Lincoln did not\nbelieve in a special creation, but in an \"evolution under law\"; not in\nspecial revelation, \"but in miracles under law\"; and that \"all things\nboth matter and mind were governed by laws universal, absolute, and\neternal\" (p. 494).\n\nTo this Herndon gives even more emphatic testimony in his own book.\nIt must then be remembered that while in the loose nomenclature of\nthese authors Mr. Lincoln was an \"infidel\" it is these same authors\nthat assure us, as Lamon does, that \"his theological opinions were\nsubstantially those expounded by Theodore Parker.\"--LAMON: _Life of\nLincoln_, p. 486.\n\nThe question whether Lincoln's views underwent any substantial change\nafter leaving Springfield, has been answered in the negative by John G.\nNicolay, his private secretary at the White House; who affirmed that\n\"Mr. Lincoln did not, to my knowledge, in any way change his religious\nviews, opinions, or beliefs, from the time he left Springfield to the\nday of his death.\"\n\nThis probably is correct. Mr. Lincoln was not conscious of any radical\nchange; but Mrs. Lincoln noticed a change in him after Willie's death,\nwhich grew more pronounced after his visit to Gettysburg, and his own\nfaith, while undergoing no sudden and radical transformation, manifests\na consistent evolution.\n\nBut we are not sure how much Mr. Nicolay believed Lincoln's views to\nhave been in need of change. He said in another place:\n\n \"Benevolence and forgiveness were the very basis of his character. His\n nature was deeply religious, but he belonged to no denomination; he\n had faith in the eternal justice and boundless mercy of Providence,\n and made the Golden Rule of Christ his practical creed.\"--JOHN G.\n NICOLAY, in article \"Abraham Lincoln\" in _Encyclopedia Britannica_,\n ninth edition, XIV, 662.\n\nLincoln believed in divine destiny. He could hardly have believed\notherwise. The preaching to which he listened was such as to make it\nall but impossible for him to hold any other views. He believed so\nstrongly that his own life was under divine guidance that Lamon and\nHerndon speak of it in a thinly veiled scorn as though it were in\nLincoln's mind a mark of conscious superiority. Whether it was such\na mark or not does not now concern us. Lincoln believed in divine\nguidance. He had faith in prayer and his practice of prayer is attested\nby many and credible witnesses. A man of his temperament and training\nand sense of responsibility could not well have been kept from praying.\nPrayer was a necessary part of his life.\n\nLincoln not only had faith in prayer considered as a means of obtaining\nresults from God; he believed in it as establishing a relation with\nGod, a covenant relation, such as Abraham of old established. If such a\nfaith seems inconsistent with any other elements in the faith or doubt\nof Abraham Lincoln, then the inconsistency must stand, for he did not\nhold his views in entire consistency. In no respect does this faith in\nthe covenant relation emerge more strongly than in connection with the\nissue of the Emancipation Proclamation. Fortunately, the evidence here\nis incontestable. The Proclamation immediately became historic. Lincoln\nhad to autograph many copies to be sold at sanitary fairs--copies which\nnow sell at one thousand dollars each. Every incident relating to the\nevent became of immediate interest; and members of the Cabinet had to\ngroup themselves for Carpenter's historic painting, of which he has\nleft so valuable a literary monument in his _Six Months in the White\nHouse_. The members of the Cabinet had no time to invent or imagine\na set of incidents mythical in character, for each of them had to\ndescribe many times, and immediately, the circumstances which attended\nthe reading of the Proclamation to the Cabinet on Monday, September 22,\n1862.\n\nThis is the important and incontestable fact, that Lincoln did not\nbring the Proclamation to the Cabinet for discussion, except as to\nminor details. He had already determined to issue it. He had promised\nGod that he would do so.\n\nThis was the statement which profoundly impressed the members of the\nCabinet,--the President told them that he had already promised God that\nhe would free the slaves.\n\nThe Diary of Gideon Welles was first published in full in the _Atlantic\nMonthly_ in 1909, portions of it having earlier appeared in the\nCentury; but it was written day by day as the events occurred. His\nrecord for Monday, September 22, 1862, begins thus:\n\n \"We have a special Cabinet meeting. The subject was the Proclamation\n concerning emancipating slaves after a certain date in States that\n should then be in rebellion. For several weeks the subject has been\n suspended, but, the President says, never lost sight of. When the\n subject was submitted in August, and indeed in taking it up, the\n President stated that the matter was finally decided, but that he\n felt it to be due to us to make us acquainted with the fact and\n invite criticism of the Proclamation. There were some differences in\n the Cabinet, but he had formed his own conclusions, and made his\n own decisions. He had, he said, made a vow, a covenant, that if God\n gave us the victory in the approaching battle (which had just been\n fought) he would consider it his duty to move forward in the cause of\n emancipation. We might think it strange, he said, but there were times\n when he felt uncertain how to act; that he had in this way submitted\n the disposal of matters when the way was not clear to his mind what he\n should do. God had decided this question in favor of the slave. He was\n satisfied it was right--was confirmed and strengthened in his action\n by the vow and its results; his mind was fixed, his decision made; but\n he wished his paper announcing his course to be as correct in terms as\n it could be made without any attempt to change his determination. For\n that was fixed.\"--\"The Diary of Gideon Welles,\" _Atlantic Monthly_,\n 1909, p. 369.\n\nWe have no present concern with the question whether Lincoln's method\nof determining the divine will was a reasonable method, or wholly\nconsistent with some of his own questions and doubts; what concerns\nus is that the President invited no discussion of the Proclamation in\nits essential elements; any disposition which any of the members of\nthe Cabinet might have felt to discuss the instrument itself or seek\nto dissuade the President from issuing it was stopped by his quiet and\nemphatic declaration that he had made a covenant with God, and must\nkeep his vow; and that he was strengthened in his own conviction that\nthe Proclamation was in accord with the will of God.\n\nWe must not pass lightly over the religious aspects of the Emancipation\nProclamation. Lincoln had submitted his first draft of the Proclamation\nto the Cabinet on Tuesday, July 22, 1862, and it met with strong\nopposition. Only two members of the Cabinet favored it; Seward and\nChase were strongly against it and the others thought it inopportune.\nWith the memory of this opposition, which in July had practically voted\nthe President down, Mr. Lincoln brought the matter again on September\n22, not for discussion, for as he said he knew the view already of\nevery member of the Cabinet, but he had promised God that he would\ndo this thing. That very night Secretary Chase wrote in his diary an\naccount of the meeting, which is condensed as follows:\n\n  \"_Monday, September 22, 1862._\n\n \"To Department about nine. State Department messenger came with\n notice to heads of Departments to meet at twelve. Received sundry\n callers. Went to White House. All the members of the Cabinet were in\n attendance. There was some general talk, and the President mentioned\n that Artemus Ward had sent him his book. Proposed to read a chapter\n which he thought very funny. Read it, and seemed to enjoy it very much.\n\n \"The President then took a graver tone, and said, 'Gentlemen: I have,\n as you are aware, thought a great deal about the relation of this\n war to slavery; and you all remember that, several weeks ago, I read\n to you an order I had prepared on this subject, which, on account of\n objections made by some of you, was not issued. Ever since then my\n mind has been much occupied with this subject, and I have thought, all\n along, that the time for acting on it might probably come. I think the\n time has come now. I wish it was a better time. I wish that we were in\n a better condition. The action of the army against the Rebels has not\n been quite what I should best like. But they have been driven out of\n Maryland, and Pennsylvania is no longer in danger of invasion. When\n the Rebel Army was at Frederick, I determined, as soon as it should be\n driven out of Maryland, to issue a Proclamation of Emancipation, such\n as I thought most likely to be useful. I said nothing to anyone, but I\n made the promise to myself, and [hesitating a little] to my Maker. The\n Rebel Army is now driven out, and I am going to fulfill that promise.\n I have got you together to hear what I have written down. I do not\n wish your advice about the main matter, for that I have determined for\n myself. This, I say, without intending anything but respect for any\n one of you. But I already know the views of each on this question.\n They have been heretofore expressed, and I have considered them as\n thoroughly and carefully as I can. What I have written is that which\n my reflections have determined me to say. If there is anything in the\n expressions I use, or in any minor matter, which any one of you thinks\n had best be changed I shall be glad to receive the suggestions. One\n other observation I will make. I know very well that many others\n might, in this matter as in others, do better than I can; and if I was\n satisfied that the public confidence was more fully possessed by any\n one of them than by me, and knew of any constitutional way in which he\n could be put in my place, he should have it. I would gladly yield it\n to him. But though I believe that I have not so much of the confidence\n of the people as I had some time since, I do not know that, all things\n considered, any other person has more; and however this may be, there\n is no way in which I can have any other man put where I am. I am here;\n I must do the best I can, and bear the responsibility of taking the\n course which I feel I ought to take.'\"--WARDEN: _Life of S. P. Chase_,\n pp. 481-82, quoted in Nicolay and Hay, VI, 159-60.\n\nIn the diaries of Secretaries Welles and Chase we have incontrovertible\ntestimony. The two records were made independently and on that\nvery night, and were not published for years afterward. There was\nno possible collusion or reshaping of the testimony in the light\nof subsequent events, no time for imagination to play any part in\nenlarging upon the incident. The President recognized that the time was\nnot wholly propitious, that a majority of the Cabinet probably would\nnot be disposed to adopt his Proclamation if put to vote, that the\npeople's support of the administration was wavering and unpredicable\nand none too certain to approve this measure. Under these conditions it\nis impossible to consider the Emancipation Proclamation solely from the\nstandpoint either of political expediency or of military necessity. The\nfact which silenced all opposition in the Cabinet was the President's\nsolemn statement that he had made a covenant with God, and that he must\nkeep it.\n\nThere is a sense in which the solemnity is heightened by the grotesque\nincident of the chapter from Artemus Ward read at the beginning. There\nis an aspect in which the sublimity of that Cabinet meeting's ending\nis heightened by the ridiculousness of its beginning. In any event,\nit shows that the mind of Abraham Lincoln that morning was in what\nfor him was a thoroughly healthy condition. However incongruous it\nmight have been for another man to begin so solemn a meeting with a\nchapter from Artemus Ward, it was a mark of sanity, of thorough normal\npsychology, when done by Abraham Lincoln. It showed that the moral\noverstrain was finding its relief from excessive tension in what for\nLincoln was an entirely normal way.\n\nAs before stated, these two contemporary accounts by Welles and Chase,\nthough made at the time, were not published until years afterward; but\nthere was another publication that was virtually contemporary. Frank\nB. Carpenter, the artist, began almost immediately his noted painting\nof the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, and in the course of\nhis six months in the White House had long and repeated interviews with\nall members of the Cabinet, and talked with them about every incident\nconnected with that event. He published his account in his book in\n1866, while all the members of the Cabinet were living, and, so far as\nknown, was never objected to or proposed to be modified by any member\nof the Cabinet. According to his statement, Lincoln told the Cabinet\nthat he had promised God that he would do this, uttering the last part\nof this sentence in a low voice. Secretary Chase, who was sitting near\nthe President, asked Mr. Lincoln if he had correctly understood him,\nand the President repeated what he had affirmed before, saying:\n\n\"I made a solemn vow before God, that if General Lee was driven back\nfrom Pennsylvania, I would crown the result by the declaration of\nfreedom for the slaves.\"--_Six Months in the White House_, pp. 89, 90.\n\nIn this threefold attestation we have irrefutable testimony that\nthe determining motive of President Lincoln in his issue of the\nEmancipation Proclamation was the keeping of his solemn covenant with\nGod.\n\nIt is all but impossible to exaggerate the significance of this\nincident. The essential fact is as fully proved as human testimony\ncan possibly prove a fact. When we remember the extreme reticence of\nAbraham Lincoln on all such matters, and the fact of which he must\nhave been painfully conscious that his Cabinet was not very favorably\ndisposed toward the thing that he proposed to do, his quiet, outspoken,\nand repeated declaration that he had promised this thing to God is\nsufficient in itself to settle forever the essentially religious\ncharacter of Abraham Lincoln. If we had no other word from his lips\ntouching on the subject of religion but this one, we should be assured\nof his unfaltering belief in God, in a profound sense of his own\npersonal responsibility to God, in prayer, and a personal relation with\nGod.\n\nThis was no platitude uttered to meet the expectation of the religious\npeople of the United States; it was no evasive generality intended to\nfit whatever religious desire might lie in the minds of those who heard\nhim. It was no play to the gallery; it was no masquerade; every motive\nof pretense or hypocrisy or duplicity was absent. It was the sincere\nexpression of the abiding faith of Abraham Lincoln in God, and prayer,\nand duty.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nLincoln was a believer in the immortality of the soul.[71] Herndon\naffirms this and declares that any attempt to deny it would imply\nthat Lincoln was a dishonest man. He believed in the preservation of\nidentity beyond the grave so that we shall be conscious of our own\nidentity and be able to recognize our loved ones.\n\nHe believed in future punishment, but not in endless punishment.\nPunishment seemed to him so inevitable a part of an inexorable divine\nlaw that he sometimes objected to the preaching of the doctrine of\nforgiveness as being subversive of the fact of law, which he held must\ncontinue its sway in this world and in every world; but in eternal\npunishment he did not believe. His old neighbors in New Salem, his\nfriends in Springfield, and those who knew him in Washington agree in\nthis. We have already quoted from the letter of Isaac Cogdal to Mr. B.\nF. Irwin, April 10, 1874, who tells of a conversation he had with Mr.\nLincoln in the latter's office in Springfield about 1859, concerning\nMr. Lincoln's religious faith. Mr. Herndon was present. He says:\n\n \"Mr. Lincoln expressed himself in about these words: He did not nor\n could not believe in the endless punishment of anyone of the human\n race. He understood punishment for sin to be a Bible doctrine;\n that the punishment was parental in its object, aim, and design,\n and intended for the good of the offender; hence it must cease\n when justice was satisfied. He added that all that was lost by the\n transgression of Adam was made good by the atonement; all that was\n lost by the fall was made good by the sacrifice. And he added this\n remark, that punishment being a provision of the gospel system, he was\n not sure but the world would be better if a little more punishment was\n preached by our ministers, and not so much pardon for sin.\"\n\nWilliam H. Hannah, in Lamon's group of citations, says:\n\n \"Since 1856 Mr. Lincoln told me that he was a kind of immortalist;\n that he never could bring himself to believe in eternal punishment;\n that man lived but a little while here; and that, if eternal\n punishment were man's doom, he should spend that little life in\n vigilant and ceaseless preparation by never-ending prayer.\"--LAMON:\n _Life of Lincoln_, p. 489.\n\nSome who have known of Lincoln's particular utterances on certain of\nthese points have been misled, as it appears to me, by the similarity\nof some of these points to doctrines held by particular religious\nsects and have sought to identify Lincoln more or less with those\ndenominations. The fact that he took portions of his positive thinking\nfrom Theodore Parker and William Ellery Channing, does not necessitate\nthat he was a Unitarian; nor does the fact that he did not believe\nin eternal punishment compel his classification with Universalists.\nTheodore Parker and William E. Channing chanced to be the authors\nwhose writings came into his possession at a time when they served\nto define particular aspects of his own faith. Horace Bushnell, or\nHenry Ward Beecher might have served him quite as well and possibly in\nsome respects better. For Lincoln's Calvinism was too deep-rooted to\nbe eradicated; and a positive faith, both liberal and constructive,\nthat could have been grafted on to that root might very possibly have\nserved him better than anything so radical as in its nature to deny any\nessential part of what he felt he must continue to believe. Parker and\nChanning served him as James Smith's _Christian's Defence_ and Robert\nChambers' _Vestiges of Creation_ served him in assuring him that a man\ncould hold the views he held and know more about them than he knew and\nstill be a reverent Christian. Such a Christian Abraham Lincoln appears\nto me to have been.\n\nI do not think that any claim which I am here making for the faith of\nAbraham Lincoln can be denied on the basis of any authentic utterance\nof his. If at any point he is known to have said or written anything\nwhich is apparently inconsistent with these affirmations, that\nutterance I think will be found somewhere in this volume and the reader\nwill have no difficulty in finding it and in giving it its proper\nweight. But I do not think the general position which this chapter sets\nforth can be seriously shaken. In the sense which this chapter has\nendeavored truthfully to set forth, Abraham Lincoln believed in God, in\nChrist, in the Bible, in prayer, in duty, and in immortality.\n\nReligion is one thing and theology is another. A love of flowers is one\nthing and a knowledge of botany is another. A man may love a flower\nand call it by the wrong name, or know no name for it. A man may have\nthe religion of Christ, and hold very wrong opinions or conjectures\nconcerning Christ. We are saved by faith, not by conjecture. No man\nis saved or lost because of the correctness of his opinions. Correct\nthinking is important; but it is not so important as a right attitude\ntoward spiritual realities and practical duties. Faith and opinion are\nnot unrelated, but neither are they identical.\n\nToo much of the effort to prove that Abraham Lincoln was a Christian\nhas begun and ended in the effort to show that on certain theological\ntopics he cherished correct opinions. That would not prove him to be\na Christian, nor would the lack of these certainly prove that he was\nnot a Christian. Religion is of the heart and life; theology is of the\nbrain and mind. Each is important, but theology is less important than\nreligion.\n\nAbraham Lincoln was not a theologian, and several of his theological\nopinions may have been incorrect; but there is good reason to believe\nthat he was a true Christian. The world has need of a few theologians,\nand of a great many Christians.\n\nIt was Mr. Lincoln's custom when he read a paragraph which deeply\ninterested him, to draw a pencil line around it in the book; and if it\nwas something which he wished to commit to memory and meditate upon, he\noften copied it upon a scrap of paper. I own a half page of notepaper\ncontaining in Lincoln's handwriting and with his signature, a paragraph\nfrom Baxter's \"Saint's Rest.\" The manuscript was owned by Hon. Winfield\nSmith, Lincoln's Attorney-General in 1864, and was among his private\npapers when he died. The paragraph reads:\n\n \"It is more pleasing to God to see his people study Him and His will\n directly, than to spend the first and chief of their effort about\n attaining comfort for themselves. We have faith given us, principally\n that we might believe and live by it in daily applications of Christ.\n You may believe immediately (by God's help) but getting assurance of\n it may be the work of a great part of your life.\"\n\nIt would be interesting to know just what was in Lincoln's mind when\nhe read this paragraph, and sat down with pen and ink to copy and\nmeditate upon it. The \"comfort\" which Baxter was referring to in\nthis passage was the comfort of assurance of salvation in Christ. It\nwas a theme on which Mr. Lincoln heard many sermons, first and last,\nby Predestinarian preachers, both Baptist and Presbyterian. If a\nman was among the elect, how could he be sure of it, and what means\ncould he take to make the assurance more certain? Baxter's answer was\nthat assurance in this matter is less important than to study and\nobey God's will; and that faith is given us as something in whose\nexercise we may live daily without greatly troubling ourselves about\nfathomless mysteries. It was good doctrine for a man who had been\nreared as Lincoln had been reared, and the remainder of the passage was\nespecially in line with his needs. He could believe immediately, even\nthough the assurance of faith was long delayed. That assurance might\nbe the work of a lifetime, but faith was something that might be lived\nupon now. The thought is akin to that in the fine lines of Lizzie York\nCase:\n\n    \"_There is no unbelief:\n  For thus by day and night unconsciously\n  The heart lives by the faith the lips deny,--\n    God knoweth why._\"\n\nA man can live by a faith of which he has not full assurance--so said\nthe sensible old Puritan, Richard Baxter--he can live on it though it\ntake him nearly all his life to gain assurance; and I am certain he\nwould have added, had he been asked, that if assurance never came, and\nour heart condemn us, \"God is greater than our heart.\"\n\nThe carefully written paragraph in Lincoln's hand appears to indicate\nthat the thought was one which deeply impressed Lincoln. Perhaps he\nfelt that his own faith was of that sort, a faith on which a man could\nlive, while going forward in the study and pursuit of the will of God,\nnot seeking one's own comfort or the joy of complete assurance, but\nfinding in the daily performance of duty the essential quality of true\nfaith.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\nTHE CREED OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN\n\n\nABRAHAM LINCOLN made no effort, so far as we know, to formulate a\ncreed. It would have been an exceedingly difficult thing for him to\nhave accomplished. His utterances on religious subjects were not made\nas dogmatic affirmations. He merely uttered as occasion seemed to him\nto demand such sentiments and principles as expressed those aspects of\ntruth which he felt and believed to need expression at those particular\ntimes. Nevertheless, these utterances together cover a somewhat wide\nrange; and while they were not intended to epitomize any system of\nChristian doctrine, they make a nearer approach to an epitome of this\ncharacter than on the whole might reasonably have been expected.\n\nIt will be interesting and profitable to close this study with a\nseries of short quotations from documents, letters, and addresses,\ncertified as authentic and touching directly upon points of Christian\ndoctrine. In most instances these have been quoted already, with their\ncontext, but they are here brought together in briefer form in order to\nfacilitate our inquiry whether they afford any material out of which\nmight be made some approach to a statement of Christian faith.\n\n\n_Materials for a Lincoln creed_:\n\n I sincerely hope father may recover his health, but, at all events,\n tell him to remember to call upon and confide in our great and good\n and merciful Maker, who will not turn away from him in any extremity.\n He notes the fall of a sparrow, and numbers the hairs of our heads,\n and He will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in Him.... If\n it be his lot to go now he will soon have a joyous meeting with many\n loved ones gone before, and where the rest of us with the help of God\n hope ere long to join them.--Letter to his dying father, January 12,\n 1851. _Complete Works_, I, 165.\n\n Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him\n [Washington] I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail.\n Trusting in His care who can go with me, and remain with you, and be\n everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be\n well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will\n commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.--Farewell Address,\n Springfield, February 11, 1861. _Complete Works_, I, 672.\n\n If the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with His eternal truth and justice,\n be on our side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth\n and that justice will surely prevail by the judgment of this great\n tribunal of the American people.... Intelligence, patriotism,\n Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken\n this favored land, are still competent to adjust in the best way all\n our present difficulty.... My dissatisfied fellow countrymen ... you\n have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, while I\n have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it.--First\n Inaugural, March 4, 1861. _Complete Works_, II, 7.\n\n May God give you that consolation which is beyond all earthly\n power.--Letter to parents of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, May 25, 1861.\n _Complete Works_, II, 52.\n\n And having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure\n purpose, let us renew our trust in God and go forward without fear and\n with manly hearts.--First Message to Congress, July 4, 1861. _Complete\n Works_, II, 66.\n\n Whereas it is fit and becoming in all people, at all times, to\n acknowledge and revere the supreme government of God; to bow in\n humble submission to His chastisements; to confess and deplore their\n sins and transgressions, in the full conviction that the fear of the\n Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and to pray with all fervency and\n contrition for the pardon of their past offenses, and for a blessing\n upon their present and prospective action:\n\n And whereas when our own beloved country, once, by the blessing of\n God, united, prosperous, and happy, is now afflicted with factions and\n civil war, it is particularly fit for us to recognize the hand of God\n in this terrible visitation, and in sorrowful remembrance of our own\n faults and crimes as a nation and as individuals, to humble ourselves\n before Him and to pray for His mercy.--National Fast Day Proclamation,\n August 12, 1861. _Complete Works_, II, 73.\n\n In the midst of unprecedented political troubles we have cause\n of great gratitude to God for unusual health and most abundant\n harvest.... The struggle of today is not altogether for today--it is\n for a vast future also. With a reliance on Providence all the more\n firm and earnest, let us proceed to the great task which events have\n devolved upon us.--Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861.\n _Complete Works_, II, 93 and 106.\n\n Whereas it has seemed to me probable that the unsuccessful application\n made for the commutation of his sentence may have prevented the said\n Nathaniel Gordon from making the necessary preparation for the awful\n change which awaits him: Now therefore be it known that I, Abraham\n Lincoln, President of the United States, have granted and do hereby\n grant unto him, the said Nathaniel Gordon, a respite of the above\n recited sentence, until Friday, the 21st of February, A.D. 1862....\n In granting this respite it becomes my painful duty to admonish the\n prisoner that, relinquishing all expectation of pardon by human\n authority, he refer himself alone to the mercy of the common God and\n Father of all men.--Proclamation of Respite for a Convicted Slave\n Trader, February 4, 1862. _Complete Works_, II, 121-22.\n\n Being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I\n am, and as we all are, to work out His great purposes, I have desired\n that all my works and acts may be according to His will; and that\n it might be so, I have sought His aid.--Reply to Mrs. Gurney and\n Deputation from Society of Friends, September [28?], 1862. _Complete\n Works_, II, 243.\n\n In full view of my great responsibility to my God and to my country,\n I earnestly beg the attention of Congress and the people to the\n subject.--Message to Congress recommending Emancipation with\n Compensation to Owners, March 6, 1862. _Complete Works_, II, 130.\n\n It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to the\n land and naval forces.... It is therefore recommended to the people\n of the United States that at their next weekly assemblages ... they\n especially acknowledge and render thanks to our Heavenly Father\n for these inestimable blessings; that they then and there implore\n spiritual consolation in behalf of all who have been brought into\n affliction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and civil war;\n and that they reverently invoke the Divine guidance to our national\n counsels, to the end that they may speedily result in restoration of\n peace, harmony, and unity.--Special Thanksgiving Proclamation, April\n 10, 1862. _Complete Works_, II, 143.\n\n The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act\n in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be,\n wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time.\n In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is\n something different from the purpose of either party; and yet the\n human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best\n adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that\n this is probably true; that God wills this contest, and wills that\n it shall not end yet. By His mere great power on the minds of the\n now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union\n without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And, having begun, He\n could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest\n proceeds.--A Meditation on the Divine Will in the handwriting of Mr.\n Lincoln, formulated about September 30, 1862, and not written for the\n eye of men but apparently in the effort to define the moral aspects\n of the subject and to clarify his own spiritual outlook.--_Complete\n Works_, II, 243-44.\n\n Whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their\n dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins\n and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that\n genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize\n the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proved by all\n history, that those nations only are blest whose God is the Lord; And\n inasmuch as we know that by His Divine law nations, like individuals,\n are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may\n we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now\n desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our\n presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as\n a whole people?--Fast Day Proclamation, March 30, 1863. _Complete\n Works_, II, 319.\n\n It is meet and right to recognize and confess the presence of the\n Almighty Father and the power of His hand equally in these triumphs\n and in these sorrows.... I invite the people of the United States\n ... to render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful\n things He has done in the nation's behalf, and invoke the influence\n of his Holy Spirit to subdue the anger which has produced and so long\n sustained a needless and cruel rebellion.--Thanksgiving Proclamation,\n July 15, 1863. _Complete Works_, II, 370.\n\n In regard to the Great Book, I have only to say, it is the best\n gift which God has ever given man. All the good from the Saviour\n of the world is communicated to us through this book.--Response to\n Presentation of Bible. _Complete Works_, Nicolay and Hay's new and\n enlarged edition, twelve volumes, N. Y., 1905, X, 217-18.\n\n Signal successes ... call for devout acknowledgment to the Supreme\n Being in whose hand are the destinies of nations.--Thanksgiving\n Proclamation, September 3, 1864. _Complete Works_, II, 571.\n\n God knows best ... surely He intends some great good to follow this\n mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make and no mortal can\n stave.... That you believe this I doubt not; and believing it, I shall\n still receive for our country and myself your earnest prayers to our\n Father in Heaven.--Letter to Mrs. Gurney, September 4, 1864. _Complete\n Works_, II, 573-74.\n\n I do further recommend to my fellow citizens aforesaid, that they do\n reverently humble themselves in the dust, and from thence offer up\n penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer\n of events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union,\n and harmony.--Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 20, 1864. _Complete\n Works_, II, 587.\n\n I am thankful to God for this approval of the people; ... I give\n thanks to the Almighty for this evidence of the people's resolution\n to stand by free government and the rights of humanity.--Response to\n Serenade following Re-election, November 9, 1864. _Complete Works_,\n II, 595.\n\n I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is\n wrong. I cannot remember when I did not so think and feel, and\n yet I have never understood that the Presidency conferred upon me\n an unrestricted right to act officially upon this judgment and\n feeling.... I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly\n that events have controlled me. Now at the end of three years'\n struggle, the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man,\n devised or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending\n seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills\n also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay\n fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find\n therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of\n God.--Letter to A. G. Hodges, April 4, 1864. _Complete Works_, II,\n 508-09.\n\n Enough is known of army operations within the last five days to claim\n an especial gratitude to God, while what remains undone demands our\n most sincere prayers to, and reliance upon, Him without whom all\n human effort is vain.--Recommendation of Thanksgiving, May 9, 1864.\n _Complete Works_, II, 519.\n\n I invite and request ... all loyal and law-abiding people ... to\n render to the Almighty and merciful Ruler of the universe homages and\n confessions.--Proclamation of Day of Prayer, July 7, 1864. _Complete\n Works_, II, 544.\n\n Again the blessings of health and abundant harvest claim our\n profoundest gratitude to Almighty God.--Annual Address to Congress,\n December 6, 1864. _Complete Works_, II, 604.\n\n You all may recollect that in taking up the sword thus forced into\n our hands, this government appealed to the prayers of the pious and\n good, and declared that it placed its whole dependence upon the favor\n of God. I now humbly and reverently, in your presence, reiterate the\n acknowledgment of that dependence, not doubting that, if it shall\n please the Divine Being who determines the destinies of nations, this\n shall remain a united people, and that they will, humbly seeking the\n Divine guidance, make their prolonged national existence a source of\n new benefits to themselves and their successors, and to all classes\n and conditions of mankind.--Address to Committee from Evangelical\n Lutheran General Synod, May 6, 1862. _Complete Works_, II, 148.\n\n Relying, as I do, upon Almighty Power, and encouraged, as I am, by\n the resolutions which you have just read, with the support which\n I receive from Christian men, I shall not hesitate to use all the\n means at my control to secure the termination of this rebellion,\n and will hope for success.--Address to Committee of Sixty-five from\n Presbyterian General Assembly, May 30, 1863. _Complete Works_, II, 342.\n\n I expect [my Second Inaugural] to wear as well as--perhaps better\n than--anything I have produced; but I believe it is not immediately\n popular. Men are not flattered by being shown that there has been\n a difference of purpose between the Almighty and them. To deny it,\n however, in this case, is to deny that there is a God governing the\n world. It is a truth which I thought needed to be told, and, as\n whatever of humiliation there is in it falls most directly on myself,\n I thought others might afford for me to tell it.--Letter to Thurlow\n Weed, March 15, 1865. _Complete Works_, II, 661.\n\n It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's\n assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's\n faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged.... The Almighty\n has His own purposes. \"Woe unto the world because of offenses! For\n it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the\n offense cometh.\" If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of\n those offenses which, in the Providence of God, must needs come, but\n which having continued through His appointed time, He now will remove\n and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war, as the\n woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein\n any departure from those Divine attributes which the believers in a\n living God always ascribe to Him. Fondly do we hope--perfectly do we\n pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if\n God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's\n two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and\n until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another\n drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still\n must it be said, \"The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous\n altogether.\"\n\n With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the\n right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the\n work we are in.--Second Inaugural, March 4, 1865. _Complete Works_,\n II, 657.\n\nNo one of the foregoing quotations is taken from a private\nconversation, nor copied from an unauthorized source. Some\nvery pleasing selections might have been made from reasonably\nwell-accredited sources, but all of the foregoing selections, without\nany exception, are taken from the authentic writings and addresses\nof Lincoln as compiled, edited, and authenticated by his private\nsecretaries, John G. Nicolay and John Hay.\n\nWe might go much farther and could find a considerable body of\nadditional material, but this is sufficient and more than sufficient\nfor our purpose. In these utterances may be found something of the\ndeterminism that was hammered into Lincoln by the early Baptist\npreachers and riveted by James Smith, along with some of the\nhumanitarianism of Parker and Channing, and much which lay unstratified\nin Lincoln's own mind but flowed spontaneously from his pen or dropped\nfrom his lips because it was native to his thinking and had come to be\na component part of his life. Anyone who cares to do so may piece these\nutterances together and test his success in making a creed out of them.\nThey lend themselves somewhat readily to such an arrangement.\n\nIn the following arrangement no liberties have been taken except to\nchange the past tense to the present, or the plural to the singular,\nand to add connectives, and preface the words \"I believe.\" Except for\nchanges such as these, which in no way modify the sense or natural\nforce of the utterances, the creed which follows is wholly in the words\nof Abraham Lincoln. A very little tampering with the text would have\nmade smoother reading, but this is not necessary. It has the simplicity\nand the rugged honesty of the man who said these words.\n\n\nTHE CREED OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN HIS OWN WORDS\n\nI believe in God, the Almighty Ruler of Nations, our great and good and\nmerciful Maker, our Father in Heaven, who notes the fall of a sparrow,\nand numbers the hairs of our heads.\n\nI believe in His eternal truth and justice.\n\nI recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and\nproven by all history that those nations only are blest whose God is\nthe Lord.\n\nI believe that it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own\ntheir dependence upon the overruling power of God, and to invoke the\ninfluence of His Holy Spirit; to confess their sins and transgressions\nin humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will\nlead to mercy and pardon.\n\nI believe that it is meet and right to recognize and confess the\npresence of the Almighty Father equally in our triumphs and in those\nsorrows which we may justly fear are a punishment inflicted upon us for\nour presumptuous sins to the needful end of our reformation.\n\nI believe that the Bible is the best gift which God has ever given to\nmen. All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us\nthrough this book.\n\nI believe the will of God prevails. Without Him all human reliance is\nvain. Without the assistance of that Divine Being, I cannot succeed.\nWith that assistance I cannot fail.\n\nBeing a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, I desire\nthat all my works and acts may be according to His will; and that it\nmay be so, I give thanks to the Almighty, and seek His aid.\n\nI have a solemn oath registered in heaven to finish the work I am in,\nin full view of my responsibility to my God, with malice toward none;\nwith charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives me to\nsee the right. Commending those who love me to His care, as I hope in\ntheir prayers they will commend me, I look through the help of God to a\njoyous meeting with many loved ones gone before.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDICES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX I\n\nEXTRACT FROM NEWTON BATEMAN'S LECTURE ON LINCOLN WITH VARIANTS OF THE\nFAREWELL ADDRESS, AT SPRINGFIELD, FEBRUARY 11, 1861.\n\n\nBOTH for its own value as an incident in the life of Mr. Lincoln\nand because it affords us opportunity of understanding the accuracy\nof Newton Bateman's verbal memory, the following is quoted from his\nlecture on Abraham Lincoln, a lecture delivered many times in the later\nyears of his life and printed by his family in 1899 after his death:\n\n \"On the eleventh of February, 1861, on the day preceding his\n fifty-second birthday, Mr. Lincoln set out for Washington. He had\n sent special invitations to a few of his old friends to accompany him\n as far as Indianapolis. That I was included in the number, I shall\n be pardoned for remembering with peculiar pleasure. That note of\n invitation is preserved among my most cherished memorabilia of Abraham\n Lincoln. I shall ever regret that imperative official duties would not\n allow me to join the party.\n\n \"But I accompanied him to the railroad station, and stood by his\n side on the platform of the car, when he delivered that memorable\n farewell to his friends and neighbors. Of those, an immense concourse\n had assembled to bid him good-by. The day was dark and chill, and a\n drizzling rain had set in. The signal bell had rung, and all was in\n readiness for the departure, when Mr. Lincoln appeared on the front\n platform of the special car--removed his hat, looked out for a moment\n upon the sea of silent, upturned faces, and heads bared in loving\n reverence and sympathy, regardless of the rain; and, in a voice broken\n and tremulous with emotion and a most unutterable sadness, yet slow\n and measured and distinct and with a certain prophetic far-off look\n which no one who saw can ever forget, began:\n\n \"'My friends, no one, not in my position can appreciate the sadness I\n feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have\n lived more than a quarter of a century. Here my children were born,\n and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see you\n again. A duty devolves upon me which is greater, perhaps, than that\n which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He\n never would have succeeded, except for the aid of Divine Providence,\n upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed\n without the same divine aid which sustained him; and upon the same\n Almighty Being I place my reliance and support. And I hope you, my\n friends, will pray that I may receive that divine assistance, without\n which I cannot succeed, and with which success is certain. Again, I\n bid you all an affectionate farewell.'\n\n \"His pale face was literally wet with tears as he re-entered the\n car, and the train rolled out of the city, which Abraham Lincoln\n was to enter no more--till, his great work finished he would come\n back from the war, a victor and a conqueror though with the seal of\n death upon his visage. Some politicians derided the solemn words of\n that farewell--but I knew they were the utterances of his inmost\n soul--never did speech of man move me as that did. Seeing every\n mournful tremor of those lips--noting every shadow that flitted\n over that face--catching every inflection of that voice--the words\n seemed to drop, every one, into my heart, and to be crystallized in\n my memory. I hurried back to my office, locked the door (for I felt\n that I must be alone), wrote out the address from memory and had it\n published in the city papers in advance of the reporters. And when\n the reports of the stenographers were published, they differed from\n mine in only two or three words, and as to even those, I have always\n believed that mine were right for the speech was engraved on my\n heart and my memory, and I had but to copy the engraving.\"--_Abraham\n Lincoln_, an address by Hon. Newton Bateman, LL.D., published by the\n Cadmus Club, 1899, Galesburg.\n\nMr. Lincoln's Farewell Address, as given by Mr. Bateman in the\nforegoing quotation, would appear to have undergone some revision by\nhim after its printing. He says that he furnished it to the press and\nthat it came out in advance of the version taken down by the reporter.\nOn this point his memory appears to be correct. The _Illinois State\nJournal_ of February 12, 1861, contains a report of Mr. Lincoln's\naddress, which is almost certainly that furnished by Mr. Bateman.\n\n\n_Lincoln's Farewell Address as Printed in the Illinois State Journal,\nFebruary 12, 1860, probably from the notes of Hon. Newton Bateman._\n\n \"Friends, no one who has never been placed in a like position, can\n understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I\n feel at this parting. For more than a quarter of a century I have\n lived among you, and during all that time I have received nothing but\n kindness at your hands. Here I have lived from my youth until now I am\n an old man. Here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed; here all\n of my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. To you,\n dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. All the strange,\n checkered past seems now to crowd upon my mind. Today I leave you:\n I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon\n General Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him shall be\n with me and aid me, I must fail. But if the same Omniscient Mind and\n the same Almighty Arm that directed and protected him shall guide and\n support me, I shall not fail; I shall succeed. Let us all pray that\n the God of our fathers may not forsake us now. To Him I commend you\n all; permit me to ask that with equal sincerity [the word is printed\n security but corrected with pen] and faith, you all will invoke His\n wisdom and guidance for me. With these few words I must leave you--for\n how long I know not. Friends, one and all, I must now bid you an\n affectionate farewell.\"\n\n\n_The So-called Shorthand Report_\n\nThe so-called shorthand report appears on close examination not to\nbe a shorthand report, but is that which appeared in the Chicago and\nother papers from the Hay and Lincoln revision, more or less garbled in\ntelegraphic transmission.\n\n\n_The Lincoln-Hay Version of the Farewell Address_\n\n \"This address was correctly printed for the first time in the Century\n Magazine for December, 1887, from the original manuscript, having\n been written down after the train started, partly by Mr. Lincoln's\n own hand and partly by that of his private secretary from his\n dictation.\"--NICOLAY AND HAY, _Life of Lincoln_, II, 291.\n\nIt is thus apparent that we do not have any verbatim report of the\nprecise words which Lincoln uttered; but the Illinois Historical\nSociety has accepted this as the accredited version. It is certainly\nthat which Lincoln wished to be remembered as having said; but it is\nquite possible that in one or two of the variant words Bateman may have\nrecalled it more accurately than Lincoln himself:\n\n \"My friends: No one not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling\n of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these\n people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century and\n have passed from a youth to an old man. Here my children have been\n born and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever\n I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested\n upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who\n ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot\n fail. Trusting in Him, who can go with me and remain with you and be\n everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be\n well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will\n commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.\"\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX II\n\n\"HIGH-HANDED OUTRAGE AT UTICA\"[72]\n\nBy ARTEMUS WARD\n\n\nBISHOP FOWLER and other lecturers and authors have drawn for us\nbeautiful pictures of Lincoln reading to his Cabinet a chapter in the\nBible before submitting his draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.\nThe true story of that incident is related in the foregoing pages. It\nmay be that some readers who are unfamiliar with the now little-read\nwritings of \"Artemus Ward\" will be glad to know precisely what it was\nthat the President read on that day; and as the chapter is very short,\nit will be given herewith.\n\nNo form of literature is more evanescent than humor. The fun-loving\npublic of one generation labors hard to discover the reasons why other\ngenerations laughed over the old-time jokes. But there are elements\nin Artemus Ward that still provoke a smile. The chapter which amused\nLincoln on that day related to the virtue of a community which would\nnot permit the exhibition of Artemus Ward's famous Wax Works because\nthe reproduction of the Last Supper contained the figure of Judas.\nSome reader may need to be told that there was no such show. The\nauthor of this and the other burlesques that bore the name of Artemus\nWard (Charles F. Browne), presented himself in these sketches as a\ngood-natured humbug, running a \"highly moral show\" with \"Wax-figgers\"\nand other attractions. He was never so delightful as when disclosing\nhis own shams, as when the mob pulled the hay out of the fat man.\n\nBrowne's book had a chapter in which he assisted Lincoln to form his\nCabinet. His first assistance was to turn out all the office-seekers\nby threatening to turn his \"Boy Constrictor\" in among them; and then\nadvised Mr. Lincoln to fill his Cabinet with Showmen, all of whom were\nhonest and had nary a politic; \"for particulars see small bills.\"\nThis and other chapters delighted Lincoln; but the one he read to his\nCabinet just before presenting the second draft of the Emancipation\nProclamation, was the following:\n\n_High-handed Outrage at Utica_\n\nIn the Faul of 1856, I showed my show in Utiky, a trooly grate sitty in\nthe State of New York.\n\nThe people gave me a cordyal recepshun. The press was loud in her\nprases.\n\n1 day as I was giving a description of my Beests and Snaiks in my usual\nflowry stile what was my skorn & disgust to see a big burly fellew\nwalk up to the cage containin my wax figgers of the Lord's Supper, and\ncease Judas Iscarrot by the feet and drag him onto the ground. He then\ncommenced fur to pound him as hard as he cood.\n\n\"What under the son are you abowt?\" cried I.\n\nSez he, \"What did you brung this pussylanermus cuss here fur?\" & he hit\nthe wax figger another tremjis blow on the hed.\n\nSez I, \"You egrejes ass, that air's a wax figger--a representashun of\nthe false 'Postle.\"\n\nSez he, \"That's all very well fur you to say but I tell you, old man,\nthat Judas Iscarrot can't show hisself in Utiky by a darn site!\" with\nwhuch observashun he caved in Judassis hed. The young man belonged to 1\nof the first famerlies in Utiky. I sood him, and the Joory brawt in a\nverdick of Arson in the 3rd degree.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX III\n\nTHE CONVERSION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN\n\nBy the REV. EDWARD L. WATSON\n\n\nTHE religion of Abraham Lincoln is so much in debate that I feel called\nupon to give the following narrative of an event of which little seems\nto be known--and which is of real importance in understanding the\nman. He has been called an infidel--an unbeliever of varying degrees\nof blatancy. That he was a Christian in the real sense of the term is\nplain from his life. That he was converted during a Methodist revival\nseems not to be a matter of common report. The personal element of this\nnarrative is necessary to unfold the story. In 1894 I was appointed\nto the pastorate of the Hennepin Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church,\nMinneapolis, Minn., by Bishop Cyrus D. Foss, being transferred from\nFrederick, Md., a charge in Baltimore Conference. It was in October\nthat we entered the parsonage, which was a double house, the other\nhalf being rented by the trustees. Shortly after our occupancy of the\nchurch house William B. Jacquess moved into the rented half of the\nproperty, and through this fact I became acquainted with Col. James F.\nJacquess, his brother. At this time Colonel Jacquess was an old man of\neighty years or more, of commanding presence and wearing a long beard\nwhich was as white as snow. His title grew out of the fact of his\nbeing the commanding officer of the Seventy-third Illinois Volunteer\nInfantry, known as the Preacher Regiment. Its name was given through\nthe publication in the Cincinnati _Commercial_ in September, 1862, of\nthe roster of its officers:\n\nColonel--Rev. James F. Jacquess, D.D., late president of Quincy College.\n\nLieutenant-Colonel--Rev. Benjamin F. Northcott.\n\nMajor--Rev. William A. Presson.\n\nCaptains--Company B, Rev. W. B. M. Colt; Company C, Rev. P. McNutt;\nCompany F, Rev. George W. Montgomery; Company H, Rev. James I.\nDavidson; Company I, Rev. Peter Wallace; Company K, Rev. R. H. Laughlin.\n\nSix or seven of the twenty lieutenants were also licensed Methodist\npreachers. Henry A. Castle, sergeant-major, was the author of the\narticle and a son-in-law, if I mistake not, of Colonel Jacquess.\n\nThe history of this regiment is in brief, as follows: It was organized\nat the instance of Governor Dick Yates, under Colonel Jacquess, in\nAugust, 1862, at Camp Butler, in Illinois, and became part of General\nBuell's army. It fought nobly at Perryville, and in every battle in\nwhich the Army of the Cumberland was engaged, from October, 1862,\nto the rout of Hood's army at Nashville. Its dead were found at\nMurfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, where Colonel Jacquess\nwon especial distinction, and in the succession of battles from\nChattanooga to the fall of Atlanta. It was frequently complimented by\nthe commanding generals and was unsurpassed in bravery and endurance.\nIt left the State one of the largest, and returned one of the smallest,\nhaving lost two-thirds of its men in its three years' service.\n\nColonel Jacquess was its only colonel and came home disabled by wounds\nreceived at Chickamauga, where two horses were shot under him. He\nrefused to the last (1897) to receive a pension, until in his extreme\nold age, at the urgent request of the Society of the Survivors of\nthe Seventy-third Illinois, he allowed it to be applied for. He\npathetically said: \"My grandfathers were Revolutionary soldiers and\nyou could get up a row if you mentioned pensions. My father and my\nuncles were in the War of 1812, and would take none. I had hoped not\nto receive one--but I am unable now to do anything, and it has been my\ndesire, and not the fault of the government, that I have never received\na pension.\" These words were spoken in 1897--and not long afterward\nColonel Jacquess went to his reward.\n\nToward the end of the war President Lincoln sent Colonel Jacquess as a\nsecret emissary to arrange for peace and the settlement of the slave\nquestion, so as to avert further shedding of blood. His adventures in\nthis role are of thrilling interest. The foregoing is told to show\nthe quality of the man whom it was my privilege to meet in 1896, when\nhe was in extreme old age. The honors conferred upon him by President\nLincoln and the confidence reposed in him grew out of events which\npreceded the war. This was no other than the conversion of Mr. Lincoln\nunder the ministry of the Rev. James F. Jacquess, at Springfield, Ill.,\nin the year 1839. The Rev. James F. Jacquess was stationed at this new\ntown--then of but a few thousand inhabitants--in 1839, when Lincoln\nmet him during a series of revival services conducted in the Methodist\nEpiscopal Church. Lincoln had but recently come to the town--having\nremoved from New Salem, which was in a decadent state. As a member\nof the Legislature, Lincoln had been a chief agent in establishing\nthe State capital at Springfield, and though in debt and exceedingly\npoor, he hoped to find friends and practice in the growing town. He\nwas then thirty years of age and had had few advantages of any sort.\nIt was on a certain night, when the pastor preached from the text, \"Ye\nmust be born again,\" that Lincoln was in attendance and was greatly\ninterested. After the service he came round to the little parsonage,\nand like another Nicodemus, asked, \"How can these things be?\" Mr.\nJacquess explained as best he could the mystery of the new birth and at\nLincoln's request, he and his wife kneeled and prayed with the future\nPresident. It was not long before Mr. Lincoln expressed his sense of\npardon and arose with peace in his heart.\n\nThe narrative, as told thus far, is as my memory recalled it. Since\nwriting it, the same as told by Colonel Jacquess has recently been\ndiscovered by me in Minutes of the Proceedings of the Eleventh\nAnnual Reunion Survivors Seventy-third Regiment, Illinois Infantry,\nVolunteers (page 30), a copy of which is before me. This meeting, the\nlast (probably), that Colonel Jacquess attended, was held Tuesday and\nWednesday, September 28, 29, 1897, in the Supreme Court room of the\nState Capitol Building, Springfield, Ill. To quote Colonel Jacquess:\n\"The mention of Mr. Lincoln's name recalls to my mind an occurrence\nthat perhaps I ought to mention. I notice that a number of lectures\nare being delivered recently on Abraham Lincoln. Bishop Fowler has\na most splendid lecture on Abraham Lincoln, but they all, when they\nreach one point run against a stone wall, and that is in reference\nto Mr. Lincoln's religious sentiments. I happen to know something on\nthat subject that very few persons know. My wife, who has been dead\nnearly two years, was the only witness of what I am going to state to\nyou as having occurred. Very soon after my second year's work as a\nminister in the Illinois Conference, I was sent to Springfield. There\nwere ministers in the Illinois Conference who had been laboring for\ntwenty-five years to get to Springfield, the capital of the State.\nWhen the legislature met there were a great many people here, and it\nwas thought to be a matter of great glory among the ministers to be\nsent to Springfield. But I was not pleased with my assignment. I felt\nmy inability to perform the work. I did not know what to do. I simply\ntalked to the Lord about it, however, and told Him that unless I had\nhelp I was going to run away. I heard a voice saying to me, 'Fear not,'\nand I understood it perfectly. Now I am coming to the point I want to\nmake to you. I was standing at the parsonage door one Sunday morning,\na beautiful morning in May, when a little boy came up to me and said:\n'Mr. Lincoln sent me around to see if you was going to preach today.'\nNow, I had met Mr. Lincoln, but I never thought any more of Abe Lincoln\nthan I did of any one else. I said to the boy: 'You go back and tell\nMr. Lincoln that if he will come to church he will see whether I am\ngoing to preach or not.' The little fellow stood working his fingers\nand finally said: 'Mr. Lincoln told me he would give me a quarter if I\nwould find out whether you are going to preach.' I did not want to rob\nthe little fellow of his income, so I told him to tell Mr. Lincoln that\nI was going to try to preach. I was always ready and willing to accept\nany assistance that came along, and whenever a preacher, or one who had\nany pretense in that direction, would come along I would thrust him\ninto my pulpit and make him preach, because I felt that anybody could\ndo better than I could.\n\n\"The church was filled that morning. It was a good-sized church, but\non that day all the seats were filled. I had chosen for my text the\nwords: 'Ye must be born again,' and during the course of my sermon I\nlaid particular stress on the word 'must.' Mr. Lincoln came into the\nchurch after the services had commenced, and there being no vacant\nseats, chairs were put in the altar in front of the pulpit, and Mr.\nLincoln and Governor French and wife sat in the altar during the\nentire services, Mr. Lincoln on my left and Governor French on my\nright, and I noticed that Mr. Lincoln appeared to be deeply interested\nin the sermon. A few days after that Sunday Mr. Lincoln called on me\nand informed me that he had been greatly impressed with my remarks on\nSunday and that he had come to talk with me further on the matter. I\ninvited him in, and my wife and I talked and prayed with him for hours.\nNow, I have seen many persons converted; I have seen hundreds brought\nto Christ, and if ever a person was converted, Abraham Lincoln was\nconverted that night in my house. His wife was a Presbyterian, but from\nremarks he made to me he could not accept Calvinism. He never joined my\nchurch, but I will always believe that since that night Abraham Lincoln\nlived and died a Christian gentleman.\"\n\nHere ends the narrative of Colonel Jacquess. Now compare that which\nmy memory preserved for the past thirteen years and the Colonel's own\nprinted account, and the discrepancies are small. It is with pleasure\nI am able to confirm my memory by the words of the original narrator.\nIt is with no small degree of pleasure that I am able to prove that\nMethodism had a hand in the making of the greatest American. Colonel\nJames F. Jacquess has gone to his reward, but it is his honor to have\nbeen used by his Master to help in the spiritualization of the great\nman who piloted our national destinies in a time of exceeding peril. It\nis an honor to him, and through him to the denomination of which he was\na distinguished member.\n\n  BALTIMORE, MD.\n\n  _Methodist Christian Advocate_\n\n  November 11, 1909.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX IV\n\nTHE REED LECTURE\n\nTHE LATER LIFE AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN[73]\n\n\nWHILE the fate and future of the Christian religion in nowise depends\nupon the sentiments of Abraham Lincoln, yet the life and character\nof this remarkable man belong to the public, to tell for evil or for\ngood on coming generations; and as the attempt has been made to impute\nto him the vilest sentiments, even to his dying day, it is fitting\nand just that the weakness and infidelity charged upon his later life\nshould not go down unchallenged to posterity. The latest biography of\nMr. Lincoln, published under the name of Col. W. H. Lamon, but with\nthe large co-operation of Mr. W. H. Herndon, concerns itself with the\nendeavor to establish certain allegations injurious to the good name of\nthe illustrious man, whose tragic and untimely death has consecrated\nhis memory in the hearts of a grateful nation. Two charges in this\nbiography are worthy of especial notice and disproof,--the charge\nthat he was born a bastard, and the charge that he died an infidel.\nMr. Lamon begins his pleasing task by raising dark and unfounded\ninsinuations as to the legitimacy of his hero, and then occupies from\ntwenty-five to thirty pages with evidence to prove that Mr. Lincoln was\na confirmed infidel, and died playing a \"sharp game on the Christian\ncommunity\"; that, in his \"morbid ambition for popularity,\" he would\nsay good Lord or good Devil, \"adjusting his religious sentiments to\nhis political interests.\" In meeting these insinuations and charges I\nshall necessarily have recourse to political documents and papers,\nbut it shall not be my aim to parade Mr. Lincoln's political opinions,\nfurther than to eliminate from his writings and speeches his religious\nsentiments.\n\nAs to the ungracious insinuation that Mr. Lincoln was not the child\nof lawful wedlock, I have only to say that it is an insinuation\nunsupported by a shadow of justifiable evidence. The only thing on\nwhich Mr. Lamon bases the insinuation is, that _he_ has been unable to\nfind any record of the marriage Mr. Lincoln's parents. Just as if it\nwould be any evidence against the fact of their marriage if no record\ncould be found. If every man in this country is to be considered as\nillegitimate who cannot produce his parents' certificate of marriage,\nor find a record of it in a family Bible anywhere, there will be\na good many very respectable people in the same category with Mr.\nLincoln. Such an insinuation might be raised with as much plausibility\nin the case of multitudes of the early settlers of the country. It\nis a questionable act of friendship thus to rake \"the short and\nsimple annals of the poor,\" and upon such slender evidence raise an\ninsinuation so unfounded. But I am prepared to show that if Mr. Lamon\nhas found no record of the marriage of Mr. Lincoln's parents, it is\nsimply because he has not extended his researches as faithfully in\nthis direction as he has in some others. It appears that there is a\nwell-authenticated record of the marriage of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy\nHanks, and, in the same connection, the birth of Abraham Lincoln and\nSarah Lincoln. Hearing that the Hon. J. C. Black, of Champaign, Ill.,\na warm personal friend of Mr. Lincoln, had in his possession several\npapers given to him soon after Mr. Lincoln's death by a member of the\nfamily, and among them a leaf from the family Bible containing the\nrecord of the marriage of Mr. Lincoln's parents, I at once telegraphed\nto him in relation to this record, and have in my possession the\nfollowing letter, which will explain itself:\n\n  CHAMPAIGN, ILL., Jan. 8th, 1873.\n\n  J. A. REED:\n\n DEAR SIR--Your telegram of the 7th reached me this A. M. In reply\n permit me to say that I was in possession of the leaf of which you\n speak, and which contained the record of the marriage of Thos. Lincoln\n and Nancy Hanks, the birth of Abraham Lincoln and Sarah Lincoln. The\n leaf is very old, and is the last page of the Apocrypha. It was given\n to me, with certificate of genuineness, by Dennis F. Hanks in 1866.\n I have sent both record and certificate to Wm. P. Black, attorney at\n law, 131 La Salle Street, Chicago, Ill., and duly by him delivered to\n the Illinois Historical Association. Hon. I. N. Arnold called on my\n brother and obtained the originals for use in a revised edition of his\n life of Lincoln, and I understand that since then they have passed\n into the hands of Robt. Lincoln, Esq., where they were when I last\n heard from them. Hoping that what I have written may be of some use, I\n remain\n\n  Very truly yours,\n  J. C. BLACK.\n\nPresuming that the first of Colonel Lamon's libels upon Mr. Lincoln's\nmemory is thus sufficiently disposed of, I proceed to consider the\ncharges against his religious life and character. The best refutation\nof these charges lies on the pages of the book in which they are\nadvanced. However skeptical Mr. Lincoln may have been in his earlier\nlife, Mr. Lamon persists in asserting and attempting to prove that he\ncontinued a confirmed skeptic to the last: that he was an unbeliever in\nthe truth of the Christian religion, and died an infidel; that, while\n\"he was by no means free from a kind of belief in the supernatural,\nhe rejected the great facts of Christianity as wanting the support\nof authentic evidence\"; that, \"during all the time of his residence\nat Springfield and in Washington, he never let fall from his lips an\nexpression which remotely implied the slightest faith in Jesus Christ,\nas the Son of God and the Saviour of men\"; that \"he was at all times an\ninfidel.\" From twenty-five to thirty pages of evidence is produced in\nproof of this allegation.\n\nBut all this positive statement as to Mr. Lincoln's persistent and\nfinal infidelity is contradicted by the admissions of the book itself.\nIt is admitted that there did come a time in Mr. Lincoln's life at\nSpringfield when he began to affiliate with Christian people, and to\ngive his personal presence and support to the Church. It is admitted\nthat he did so plausibly identify himself with the Christian community\nthat \"his New Salem associates and the aggressive deists with whom he\noriginally united at Springfield gradually dispersed and fell away from\nhis side.\" Here is the fact, openly and squarely stated by Mr. Lamon,\nthat Mr. Lincoln, even while at Springfield, did make such a change in\nhis sentiments and bearing toward the Christian community, that \"the\naggressive deists and infidels with whom he originally united gradually\ndispersed and fell away from his side.\" He no sooner turned away from\nthem in sentiment than they turned away from him in fact.\n\nBut how does the biographer attempt to explain this? How does he\naccount for this admitted and observable change in Mr. Lincoln's life,\nthat relieved him of the presence of so much aggressive deistical\ncompany? Why, by means of an explanation that kills the accusation\nitself--an explanation that fastens upon Mr. Lincoln the very charge\nof hypocrisy against which he professes to defend him. He accounts for\nthis admitted and observable change in the attitude of Mr. Lincoln\ntowards the Christian community, not by supposing that there was any\nsincerity about it, but by affirming that he was trying \"to play a\nsharp game on the Christians of Springfield!\" It was because \"he was\na wily politician, and did not disdain to regulate his religious\nmanifestations with reference to his political interests\"; and because,\n\"seeing the immense and augmenting power of the churches, he aspired\nto lead the religious community, foreseeing that in order to his\npolitical success he must not appear an enemy within their gates.\" And\nyet, if we are to believe Colonel Lamon, he was an enemy all the while\nat heart; and while attending church, and supporting the Gospel, and\nmaking Sabbath school speeches, and speeches before the Bible Society,\nhe was at heart a disbeliever of the truth and an antagonist of the\ncause which he professed to be supporting. In other words, he was all\nthese years playing the arrant hypocrite; deceiving the Christian\ncommunity and wheedling it for political purposes; playing the role\nof a gospel hearer in the sanctuary, and a hail fellow well met with\nprofane fellows of the baser sort in the private sanctum of infidelity\nor \"aggressive deism.\"\n\nStrangely enough, however, Colonel Lamon and his companion in\nauthorship not only praise Mr. Lincoln's greatness, but laud\nhis singular conscientiousness and integrity of motive almost\nto perfection. Says Mr. Herndon, \"He was justly entitled to the\nappellation, Honest Abe\"; \"honesty was his pole star; conscience, the\nfaculty that loves the just and the right, was the second great quality\nand _forte_ of Mr. Lincoln's character.\" \"He had a deep, broad, living\nconscience. His great reason told him what was true and good, right and\nwrong, just or unjust, and his conscience echoed back the decision,\nand it was from this point he spoke and wove his character and fame\namong us. His conscience ruled his heart.\" [See Herndon's letter in\nCarpenter's _Life of Lincoln_.]\n\nIn confirmation of this, Mr. Lamon goes on to show that Mr. Lincoln\nscorned everything like hypocrisy or deceit. In fact he makes his hero\nto be such a paragon of honesty and conscious integrity of motive\nthat he would not undertake to plead a bad cause before a jury if he\ncould possibly shift the responsibility over on to some other lawyer,\nwhose conscience was not quite so tender. He brings in the testimony\nof a most reputable lawyer of another place in confirmation of this,\nwho states: \"That for a man who was for a quarter of a century both a\nlawyer and a politician, Mr. Lincoln was the most honest man I ever\nknew. He was not only morally honest but intellectually so. He could\nnot reason falsely; if he attempted it he failed. In politics he never\nwould try to mislead. At the bar, when he thought he was wrong, he was\nthe weakest lawyer I ever saw.\" \"In a closely contested case where Mr.\nLincoln had proved an account for a client, who was, though he knew it\nnot, a very slippery fellow, the opposing attorney afterward proved a\nreceipt clearly covering the entire case. By the time he was through\nMr. Lincoln was missing. The court sent for him to the hotel. 'Tell the\njudge,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'that I can't come; my hands are dirty and I\ncame over to clean them.'\"\n\nPage after page is thus taken to show Mr. Lincoln's singular\nconscientiousness and honesty, his incapability of hypocrisy or deceit,\nas a lawyer, a politician and a gentleman. And yet these consistent\nbiographers go back on all this testimony of their own mouths when they\ncome to explain the admitted change in his life when he began to lean\ntoward the church, and the \"aggressive deists\" parted company with him.\nThen they find it convenient to call him a \"wily politician,\" who is\n\"playing a sharp game with the Christians\"; \"the cautious pretender\nwho does not disdain to regulate his religious manifestations with\nreference to his political interests.\" They saddle upon him the vilest\nhypocrisy and deceit, and make him \"act the liar's part,\" in order to\nsend him down to posterity an infidel. On one page they reason that Mr.\nLincoln could not have made any such admissions of his belief in the\nChristian religion as have been maintained, as such admissions would be\ncontrary to his well-known character; on the next page they affirm that\nMr. Lincoln could not act the hypocrite; and on a third they do not\nhesitate to attribute to him the very grossest duplicity, in their zeal\nto fasten on him the charge of permanent skepticism. They go back on\ntheir own logic, eat their own argument, and give the lie to the very\ncharge they are laboring with such considerable pains to establish.\n\nThe book, therefore, I repeat, bears on its own pages the best\nrefutation of the charge it makes against Mr. Lincoln. Surely, such\nserious inconsistency of statement, such illogical absurdity, even,\ncould hardly have escaped the notice of the biographers if some\npreconceived opinion had not prejudiced their minds and blinded their\neyes. The _animus_ of the book and the purpose for which it was written\nare only too apparent.\n\nPerhaps it might suffice to rest the refutation of this charge against\nMr. Lincoln's religious character on the internal evidence of Colonel\nLamon's volume with which I have thus far been occupied. But there is\nsomething to be said concerning the authenticity and accuracy of the\ntestimony by which the charge seems to be supported.\n\nI have been amazed to find that the principal persons whose testimony\nis given in this book to prove that their old friend lived and died\nan infidel, never wrote a word of it, and never gave it as their\nopinion or allowed it to be published as covering their estimate of\nMr. Lincoln's life and religious views. They were simply familiarly\ninterviewed, and their testimony misrepresented, abridged and distorted\nto suit the purpose of the interviewer, and the business he had on hand.\n\nThe two gentlemen whose names are most relied upon, and who stand first\non the list of witnesses to establish the charge these biographers\nhave made, are the Hon. John T. Stuart, and Col. Jas. H. Matheny, of\nSpringfield, old and intimate friends of Mr. Lincoln.\n\nHon. John T. Stuart is an ex-member of Congress, and was Mr. Lincoln's\nfirst law partner,--a gentleman of the highest standing and ability in\nhis profesion, and of unimpeachable integrity. Mr. Lamon has attributed\nto Mr. Stuart testimony the most disparaging and damaging to Mr.\nLincoln's character and opinions,--testimony which Mr. Stuart utterly\nrepudiates, both as to language and sentiment, as the following letter\nshows:--\n\n  SPRINGFIELD, Dec. 17th, 1872.\n\n  REV. J. A. REED:\n\n DEAR SIR--My attention has been called to a statement in relation to\n the religious opinions of Mr. Lincoln, purporting to have been made by\n me and published in Lamon's _Life of Lincoln_. The language of that\n statement is not mine; it was not written by me, and I did not see it\n until it was in print.\n\n I was once interviewed on the subject of Mr. Lincoln's religious\n opinions, and doubtless said that Mr. Lincoln was in the earlier part\n of his life an infidel. I could not have said that \"Dr. Smith tried\n to convert Lincoln from infidelity so late as 1858, and couldn't do\n it.\" In relation to that point, I stated, in the same conversation,\n some facts which are omitted in that statement, and which I will\n briefly repeat. That Eddie, a child of Mr. Lincoln, died in 1848 or\n 1849, and that he and his wife were in deep grief on that account.\n That Dr. Smith, then Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of\n Springfield, at the suggestion of a lady friend of theirs, called upon\n Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln, and that first visit resulted in great intimacy\n and friendship between them, lasting till the death of Mr. Lincoln,\n and continuing with Mrs. Lincoln till the death of Dr. Smith. I stated\n that I had heard, at the time, that Dr. Smith and Mr. Lincoln had much\n discussion in relation to the truth of the Christian religion, and\n that Dr. Smith had furnished Mr. Lincoln with books to read on that\n subject, and among others one which had been written by himself, some\n time previous, on infidelity; and that Dr. Smith claimed that after\n this investigation Mr. Lincoln had changed his opinion, and become\n a believer in the truth of the Christian religion: that Mr. Lincoln\n and myself never conversed upon that subject, and I had no personal\n knowledge as to his alleged change of opinion. I stated, however, that\n it was certainly true, that up to that time Mr. Lincoln had never\n regularly attended any place of religious worship, but that after that\n time he rented a pew in the First Presbyterian Church, and with his\n family constantly attended the worship in that church until he went to\n Washington as President. This much I said at the time, and can now add\n that the Hon. Ninian W. Edwards, the brother-in-law of Mr. Lincoln,\n has, within a few days, informed me that when Mr. Lincoln commenced\n attending the First Presbyterian Church he admitted to him that his\n views had undergone the change claimed by Dr. Smith.\n\n I would further say that Dr. Smith was a man of very great ability and\n on theological and metaphysical subjects had few superiors and not\n many equals.\n\n Truthfulness was a prominent trait in Mr. Lincoln's character, and it\n would be impossible for any intimate friend of his to believe that he\n ever aimed to deceive, either by his words or his conduct.\n\n  Yours truly,\n  JOHN T. STUART.\n\nSimilar testimony, to the extent of a page or more of finely printed\nmatter, Mr. Lamon attributes to Col. Jas. H. Matheny, of Springfield,\nIll., an old acquaintance of Mr. Lincoln, an able lawyer and of high\nstanding in the community. Mr. Matheny testifies that he never wrote a\nword of what is attributed to him; that it is not a fair representation\nof either his language or his opinions, and that he never would have\nallowed such an article to be published as covering his estimate of Mr.\nLincoln's life and character. Here is what this gentleman has to say,\ngiven over his own signature:--\n\n  SPRINGFIELD, Dec. 16th, 1872.\n\n  REV. J. A. REED:\n\n DEAR SIR--The language attributed to me in Lamon's book is not from\n my pen. I did not write it, and it does not express my sentiments of\n Mr. Lincoln's entire life and character. It is a mere collection of\n sayings gathered from private conversations that were only true of Mr.\n Lincoln's earlier life. I would not have allowed such an article to\n be printed over my signature as covering my opinion of Mr. Lincoln's\n life and religious sentiments. While I do believe Mr. Lincoln to have\n been an infidel in his former life, when his mind was as yet unformed,\n and his associations principally with rough and skeptical men, yet\n I believe he was a very different man in later life; and that after\n associating with a different class of men, and investigating the\n subject, he was a firm believer in the Christian religion.\n\n  Yours truly,\n  JAS. H. MATHENY.\n\nIt is unnecessary that I occupy more space with the rest of the\ntestimony, as there is none of it given over the signature of anybody,\nsave that which is given over the signature of W. H. Herndon. All aside\nfrom this bears evidence of having been manipulated to suit the purpose\nfor which it is wanted, and is either contradictory, or fails to cover\nthe whole of Mr. Lincoln's life. Judge Davis, for instance, is made to\nsay: \"I don't know anything about Lincoln's religion, nor do I think\nanybody else knows anything about it.\" Of what value can the testimony\nbe that is prefaced with such declarations of knowing nothing about the\nmatter?\n\nJohn G. Nicolay is made to testify, that \"to his knowledge Mr. Lincoln\ndid not change his views after he came to Washington\"; and yet he\nstates in immediate connection that \"he does not know what his views\nwere, never having heard him explain them.\"\n\nJesse W. Fell either testifies, or is made to testify, to Mr. Lincoln's\nskeptical notions. And yet Mr. Fell admits that it \"was eight or ten\nyears previous to his death\" that he believed him to be entertaining\nthe views of which he speaks, \"and that he _may have changed his\nsentiments_ after his removal from among us.\" All this would be strange\nkind of testimony on which to convict Mr. Lincoln of murder in the\npresence of a judge and jury. But with such evidence it is sought to\nconvict him of infidelity.\n\nWe are enabled to see, therefore, in the light of this revelation,\nof what \"trustworthy materials\" this book is composed; how much Mr.\nLamon's \"names and dates and authorities, by which he strengthens his\ntestimony,\" are to be depended upon; and what reason unsuspecting or\nsympathizing critics and journalists have for arriving at the sage\nconclusion that Mr. Lincoln \"was, in his habit of thought, heterodox\nin the extreme to the close of his life, and a very different man from\nwhat he was supposed to be.\" The evidence of this book, so far as the\nprominent witnesses are concerned, and so far as it relates to the\nlater years of Mr. Lincoln's life, is not only utterly untrustworthy,\nbut even an ingenious and romantic invention.\n\nHaving shown what claims Mr. Lamon's book has to being the \"only fair\nand reliable history\" of Mr. Lincoln's life and views, and of what\n\"trustworthy materials\" it is composed, I shall now give the testimony\nI have collected to establish what has ever been the public impression,\nthat Mr. Lincoln was in his later life, and at the time of his death, a\nfirm believer in the truth of the Christian religion. The infidelity of\nhis earlier life is not so much to be wondered at, when we consider the\npoverty of his early religious instruction and the peculiar influences\nby which he was surrounded. Gideon Welles, formerly Secretary of the\nNavy, in a recent article in the _Galaxy_, in accounting for the late\nand peculiar manifestation of faith which Mr. Lincoln exhibited, says:\n\"It was doubtless to be attributed in a great measure to the absence\nof early religious culture--a want of educational advantages in his\nyouthful frontier life.\" This, together with the fact that his youth\nand early manhood were spent chiefly among a rough, illiterate and\nskeptical class of people, is amply confirmed by Mr. Lamon's narrative.\n\nOn the same authority it appears that Mr. Lincoln had in his former\nlife read but few books, and that everything he had read, of an\nintellectual character, bearing on the truth of the Bible, was of an\ninfidel sort. It does not appear that he had ever seen, much less\nread, a work on the evidences of Christianity till his interview with\nRev. Dr. Smith in 1848. We hear of him as reading Paine, Voltaire and\nTheodore Parker, but nothing on the other side. The men by whom he\nwas surrounded in his earlier life, it seems, kept him well supplied\nwith their kind of literature. He was familiar with some of the master\nspirits of infidelity and theism, but had never grappled with the\nevidences of Christianity as presented by the great defenders of the\nChristian faith.\n\nBut then Mr. Lincoln's mind was of too much greatness and intellectual\ncandor to remain the victim of a false theory in the presence of\nclear and sufficient intellectual testimony. And he no sooner, in the\nprovidence of God, was placed in possession of the truth, and led to\ninvestigate for himself, than he stood firmly and avowedly on the side\nof the Christian religion.\n\nIn proof of this statement, I first of all produce the testimony of\nRev. Dr. Smith, Mr. Lincoln's pastor at Springfield. In relation to Mr.\nLincoln's opinion of Dr. Smith, it is only necessary for me to state\nthat he stood so high in his esteem, that he gave him the appointment\nof Consul to Glasgow. Dr. Smith was in Scotland at the time of Mr.\nLincoln's death, and soon after this sad event, Mr. Herndon conceived\nthe notion of collecting materials for his intended biography. He\naccordingly addressed a letter to Dr. Smith in Scotland, with the view\nof getting some information from so respectable a source to prove that\nMr. Lincoln had died an infidel. In this however he was mistaken, to\nhis evident chagrin and disappointment. I shall give some extracts from\nDr. Smith's printed letter, which is to be found in the Springfield\n_Journal_ of March, 1867, in which he gives his opinion of both Mr.\nHerndon and Mr. Lincoln.\n\n  EAST CAINNO, SCOTLAND, 24th Jan. 1867.\n\n  W. H. HERNDON, ESQ.:\n\n SIR--Your letter of the 20th Dec. was duly received. In it you ask me\n to answer several questions in relation to the illustrious President\n Abraham Lincoln. With regard to your second question, I beg leave to\n say it is a very easy matter to prove that while I was pastor of the\n First Presbyterian Church of v Springfield, Mr. Lincoln did avow his\n belief in the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures, and\n I hold that it is a matter of the last importance not only to the\n present, but all future generations of the Great Republic, and to all\n advocates of civil and religious liberty throughout the world, that\n this avowal on his part, and the circumstances attending it, together\n with very interesting incidents illustrative of the excellence of his\n character, in my possession, should be made known to the public. I\n am constrained, however, most respectfully to decline choosing you\n as the medium through which such a communication shall be made by\n me. [Omitting that portion of the letter which bears on Mr. Herndon,\n I give what is written in vindication of Mr. Lincoln.--J. A. R.] My\n intercourse with Abraham Lincoln convinced me that he was not only an\n honest man, but pre\u00ebminently an upright man--ever ready, so far as in\n his power, to render unto all their dues.\n\n It was my honor to place before Mr. Lincoln arguments designed\n to prove the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures,\n accompanied by the arguments of infidel objectors in their own\n language. To the arguments on both sides Mr. Lincoln gave a most\n patient, impartial, and searching investigation. To use his own\n language, he examined the arguments as a lawyer who is anxious\n to reach the truth investigates testimony. The result was the\n announcement by himself that the argument in favor of the divine\n authority and inspiration of the Scriptures was unanswerable. I could\n say much more on this subject, but as you are the person addressed,\n for the present I decline. The assassin Booth, by his diabolical\n act, unwittingly sent the illustrious martyr to glory, honor, and\n immortality; but his false friend has attempted to send him down\n to posterity with infamy branded on his forehead, as a man who,\n notwithstanding all he suffered for his country's good, was destitute\n of those feelings and affections without which there can be no real\n excellency of character. Sir, I am with due respect your obedient\n servant,\n\n  JAS. SMITH.\n\n N.B.--It will no doubt be gratifying to the friends of Christianity\n to learn that very shortly after Mr. Lincoln became a member of my\n congregation, at my request, in the presence of a large assembly at\n the annual meeting of the Bible Society of Springfield, he delivered\n an address the object of which was to inculcate the importance of\n having the Bible placed in possession of every family in the State. In\n the course of it he drew a striking contrast between the Decalogue and\n the moral codes of the most eminent lawgivers of antiquity, and closed\n (as near as I can recollect) in the following language: \"It seems to\n me that nothing short of infinite wisdom could by any possibility have\n devised and given to man this excellent and perfect moral code. It is\n suited to men in all conditions of life and includes all the duties\n they owe to their Creator, to themselves, and to their fellow-men.\"\n\n  J. S.\n\nMr. Lamon, aware of the importance of Dr. Smith's testimony, attempts\nto break the force of it by the _argumentum ad nauseam_. He alludes\nto Dr. Smith as a gentleman of \"slender abilities for the conversion\nof so distinguished a person, and as having in his zeal composed a\nheavy tract out of his own head to suit the particular case, and that\nhe afterwards _drew_ the acknowledgment from Mr. Lincoln that it was\nunanswerable,\" and that he himself is the only man that can testify\nof such an admission on the part of Mr. Lincoln. This is all the\ngratuitous assertion of a man who is driven to the wall for evidence\nto prove his point. Now John T. Stuart has already testified to Dr.\nSmith's abilities as a theologian and a metaphysician having few\nsuperiors. He testifies to the fact that Dr. Smith's work was not\nwritten to suit Mr. Lincoln's case. It was written previously, before\nDr. Smith ever saw Mr. Lincoln. Nor is it true that Dr. Smith is the\nonly one who can testify to an admission on the part of Mr. Lincoln of\na change of sentiments. There are many residents of Springfield, both\nladies and gentlemen, who can testify to this admission. I give one or\ntwo letters as a sample.\n\n  SPRINGFIELD, Dec. 24th, 1872.\n\n  REV. JAS. REED:\n\n DEAR SIR--A short time after the Rev. Dr. Smith became pastor of\n the First Presbyterian Church in this city, Mr. Lincoln said to\n me, \"I have been reading a work of Dr. Smith on the evidences of\n Christianity, and have heard him preach and converse on the subject,\n and I am now convinced of the truth of the Christian religion.\"\n\n  Yours truly,\n  N. W. EDWARDS.\n\n  SPRINGFIELD, Jan. 6th, 1873.\n\n  REV. J. A. REED:\n\n DEAR SIR--Not long after Dr. Smith came to Springfield, and I think\n very near the time of his son's death, Mr. Lincoln said to me, that\n when on a visit somewhere, he had seen and partially read a work of\n Dr. Smith on the evidences of Christianity which had led him to change\n his views about the Christian religion; that he would like to get that\n work to finish the reading of it, and also to make the acquaintance of\n Dr. Smith. I was an elder in Dr. Smith's church, and took Dr. Smith\n to Mr. Lincoln's office and introduced him, and Dr. Smith gave Mr.\n Lincoln a copy of his book, as I know, at his own request.\n\n  Yours, &c.,\n  THOS. LEWIS.\n\nThere are many others who can testify that Mr. Lincoln, both publicly\nand privately while at Springfield, made the admission of his belief\nin the truth of the Christian religion. He did it in most unequivocal\nlanguage, in addresses before the Bible Society and in Sabbath school.\n\nI next refer to the testimony of Rev. Dr. Gurley, Mr. Lincoln's pastor\nat Washington City. Even if, before his election to the Presidency,\nMr. Lincoln had entertained the sentiments attributed to him, after he\nhad reached the pinnacle of political elevation, there was certainly\nno necessity for him any longer to be \"playing a sharp game with the\nChristians,\" and destroying his peace of mind by wearing the mask\nof hypocrisy. He was surely free now to worship where he felt most\ncomfortable. But we no sooner find him in Washington than we find him\nsettling down under the ministry of Dr. Gurley, a sound and orthodox\nminister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Dr. Gurley was his intimate\nfriend, and spiritual counselor and adviser, during the most trying\nand difficult time of his life. He was with him not only in the hours\nof his personal family bereavement, but when his heart was heavy and\nperplexed with the welfare of his country. Having been associated\nwith Dr. Gurley in the charge of his pulpit for a time previous to\nhis death, and being intimately acquainted with him, I have had the\nopportunity of knowing what his views of Mr. Lincoln's sentiments were.\nIn the funeral oration which Dr. Gurley delivered in Washington, he\nsays:\n\n \"Probably since the days of Washington no man was ever so deeply and\n firmly embedded and enshrined in the hearts of the people as Abraham\n Lincoln. Nor was it a mistaken confidence and love. He deserved\n it--deserved it all. He merited it by his character, by his acts,\n and by the whole tone and tenor of his life.... His integrity was\n thorough, all-pervading, all-controlling and incorruptible. He saw his\n duty as the Chief Magistrate of a great and imperiled people, and he\n determined to do his duty, seeking the guidance, and leaning on the\n arm of Him of whom it is written: 'He giveth power to the faint, and\n to them that have no might He increaseth strength.'\n\n \"Never shall I forget the emphatic and deep emotion with which he said\n in this very room, to a company of clergymen who called to pay their\n respects to him in the darkest days of our civil conflict: 'Gentlemen,\n my hope of success in this struggle rests on that immutable\n foundation, the justness and the goodness of God; and when events are\n very threatening I shall hope that in some way all will be well in the\n end, because our cause is just and God will be on our side.'\"\n\nThis was uttered when Dr. Gurley was not aware, as I suppose, that Mr.\nLincoln had ever been charged with entertaining infidel sentiments.\nWhile sitting in the study one day with him, conversing on Mr.\nLincoln's character, I asked him about the rumor of his infidelity\nthen being circulated by Mr. Herndon. He said, \"I do not believe a\nword of it. It could not have been true of him while here, for I\nhave had frequent and intimate conversations with him on the subject\nof the Bible and the Christian religion, when he could have had no\nmotive to deceive me, and I considered him sound not only on the truth\nof the Christian religion but on all its fundamental doctrines and\nteaching. And more than that: in the latter days of his chastened\nand weary life, after the death of his son Willie, and his visit\nto the battlefield of Gettysburg, he said, with tears in his eyes,\nthat he had lost confidence in everything but God, and that he now\nbelieved his heart was changed, and that he loved the Saviour, and\nif he was not deceived in himself, it was his intention soon to make\na profession of religion.\" Language to this effect Mr. Lincoln, it\nappears, used in conversation with other persons, and I refer next\nto the corroborating testimony of Noah Brooks, Esq., now associated\nwith the New York _Tribune_. This gentleman has already published most\ninteresting testimony in relation to Mr. Lincoln's religious sentiments\nin _Harper's Monthly_ of July, 1865. In order that his testimony may\nbe fully appreciated, I will here state, on the authority of a mutual\nfriend, that \"Mr. Brooks is himself an earnest Christian man, and\nhad the appointment of private secretary to the President, to which\noffice he would have acceded had Mr. Lincoln lived. He was so intimate\nwith the President that he visited him socially at times when others\nwere refused admission, took tea with the family, spending evenings\nwith him, reading to him, and conversing with him freely on social and\nreligious topics, and in my opinion knows more of the secret inner life\nand religious views of Mr. Lincoln, at least during the term of his\npresidency, than any man living.\" The following is a letter which I\nhave received from Mr. Brooks in relation to his views of Mr. Lincoln's\nreligious sentiments:\n\n  NEW YORK, Dec. 31st, 1872.\n\n  REV. J. A. REED:\n\n MY DEAR SIR--In addition to what has appeared from my pen, I will\n state that I have had many conversations with Mr. Lincoln, which were\n more or less of a religious character, and while I never tried to\n draw anything like a statement of his views from him, yet he freely\n expressed himself to me as having \"a hope of blessed immortality\n through Jesus Christ.\" His views seemed to settle so naturally around\n that statement, that I considered no other necessary. His language\n seemed not that of an inquirer, but of one who had a prior settled\n belief in the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion. Once\n or twice, speaking to me of the change which had come upon him, he\n said, while he could not fix any definite time, yet it was after he\n came here, and I am very positive that in his own mind he identified\n it with about the time of Willie's death. He said, too, that after\n he went to the White House he kept up the habit of daily prayer.\n Sometimes he said it was only ten words, but those ten words he had.\n There is no possible reason to suppose that Mr. Lincoln would ever\n deceive me as to his religious sentiments. In many conversations with\n him, I absorbed the firm conviction that Mr. Lincoln was at heart a\n Christian man, believed in the Saviour, and was seriously considering\n the step which would formally connect him with the visible Church on\n earth. Certainly, any suggestion as to Mr. Lincoln's skepticism or\n infidelity, to me who knew him intimately from 1862 till the time of\n his death, is a monstrous fiction--a shocking perversion.\n\n  Yours truly,\n  NOAH BROOKS.\n\nThe following extract I add also from Mr. Brooks's article in _Harper's\nMonthly_ of July, 1865: \"There was something touching in his childlike\nand simple reliance on Divine aid, especially when in such extremities\nas he sometimes fell into; then, though prayer and reading the\nScriptures was his constant habit, he more earnestly than ever sought\nthat strength which is promised when mortal help faileth. He said\nonce, 'I have been many times driven to my knees by the overwhelming\nconviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of\nall about me, seemed insufficient for that day.' At another time he\nsaid,\n\n 'I am very sure that if I do not go away from here a wiser man, I\n shall go away a better man for having learned here what a very poor\n sort of a man I am.'\"\n\nMr. Carpenter, author of _Six Months in the White House_, whose\nintimacy with Mr. Lincoln gives importance to his testimony, says that\n\"he believed Mr. Lincoln to be a sincere Christian,\" and among other\nproofs of it gives another well-authenticated admission (made by Mr.\nLincoln to an estimable lady of Brooklyn, laboring in the Christian\nCommission) of a change of heart, and of his intention at some suitable\nopportunity to make a profession of religion.\n\nMr. Newton Bateman, Superintendent of Public Instruction in the\nState of Illinois, a gentleman of rare literary attainments, and of\nunquestionable veracity, has given very important testimony in relation\nto one particular point, more especially, Mr. Lincoln's belief in the\ndivinity of Jesus Christ. Both Mr. Herndon and Mr. Lamon persist in\nasserting that Mr. Lincoln never used the name of Jesus Christ except\nto deny His divinity, and that Mr. Bateman is \"the sole and only man\nwho dare say that Mr. Lincoln believed Jesus Christ to be the Son of\nGod.\"\n\nMr. Bateman testifies that in 1860, Mr. Lincoln in conversation with\nhim used the following language: \"I know that there is a God, and\nthat He hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I\nknow that His hand is in it. If He has a place and a work for me,\nand I think He has, I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but truth is\neverything. I know I am right, because I know that liberty is right,\nfor Christ teaches it and Christ is God. I have told them a house\ndivided against itself cannot stand; and Christ and reason say the\nsame, and they will find it so,\" &c. This testimony was originally\ngiven in Holland's _Life of Lincoln_. Mr. Herndon, at first unwilling\nto impeach Mr. Bateman's veracity, suggests a doubt \"whether he is\ncorrectly reported in Holland's history\"; presently, however, summoning\ncourage, he ventures the affirmation: \"On my word the world may take it\nfor granted that Holland is wrong; that he does not state Mr. Lincoln's\nviews correctly.\" He then goes on to say that \"between himself and\nDr. Holland, Mr. Bateman is not in a very pleasant situation.\" We\nhave seen, however, that Mr. Herndon's \"word,\" in a matter where\nhis prejudices are so violent and his convictions so obstinate, is\nhardly a sufficient denial with which to oppose the deliberate and\nunretracted statement of an intelligent and reputable witness. And Mr.\nBateman has no need to be disturbed, so long as the \"unpleasantness\"\nof his situation is occasioned by no more serious discomfort than\nMr. Herndon's unsupported contradiction. As the matter now stands,\nMr. Herndon offers a denial, based on general impressions as to Mr.\nLincoln's character, against the direct, specific, and detailed\ntestimony of a careful and competent man as to what he heard with his\nown ears. Mr. Herndon simply did not hear what Mr. Bateman did hear;\nand is in the position of that Irishman on trial for his life, who,\nwhen one witness swore directly that he saw the accused commit the\ncrime, proposed to put upon the stand a dozen witnesses who could swear\nthey did _not_ see him.\n\nMr. Lamon also states that Mr. Bateman is a respectable citizen, whose\ngeneral reputation for truth and veracity is not to be impeached,\nbut his story, as reported in Holland's _Life of Lincoln_, is so\ninconsistent with Mr. Lincoln's whole character that it must be\nrejected as altogether incredible. Unfortunately, however, for Mr.\nLamon, he has not so impressed us with the trustworthy nature of the\nmaterials of his own book, as that we can afford to distrust the\nhonesty and integrity of either Dr. Holland or Mr. Bateman for his\nsake. If anybody's story of Mr. Lincoln's life and sentiments is to be\n\"rejected as inconsistent and altogether incredible,\" the testimony\nthus far would seem to indicate that it is Mr. Lamon's story. At least\nthat is the \"unpleasant situation\" in which we shall leave the matter,\nso far as Mr. Bateman and Dr. Holland are concerned in it.\n\nBut Mr. Bateman is not the only one who can testify that Mr. Lincoln\ndid use the name of the Saviour, and believed him to be the Christ\nof God. I have given several instances already in which he used the\nname of Christ as his Saviour, and avowed that he loved Him. Moreover,\nhe could not have avowed his belief in the truth of the Christian\nreligion, as many witnesses testify, if he did not believe Jesus to be\nthe Christ of God.\n\nTo the various testimony which we have thus far cited it only remains\nfor me to add the testimony of his own lips. In his address to the\ncolored people of Baltimore, on the occasion of the presentation of a\ncopy of the Bible, Mr. Lincoln said: \"In regard to this great Book,\nI have only to say, it is the best gift which God has ever given to\nman. All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us\nthrough this Book.\"\n\nTo the Hon. H. C. Deming, of Connecticut, he said that the \"article of\nhis faith was contained in the Saviour's condensed statement of both\nlaw and gospel--'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,\nand with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy\nmind, and thy neighbor as thyself.'\"\n\nMr. Herndon affirms that Mr. Lincoln did not believe in the \"Christian\ndogma of the forgiveness of sin\": he believed that \"God would not\nand could not forgive sin. He did not believe in forgiveness through\nChrist, nor in fact in any doctrine of forgiveness. In reading Mr.\nLincoln's proclamations, however, we find that he does very distinctly\nrecognize the doctrine of the forgiveness of sin on the part of God,\nand very earnestly implores the people to seek the forgiveness of their\nsins. In his proclamation of a fast day, August, 1861, are these words:\n\n\"And, whereas, it is fit and becoming in all people, at all times, to\nacknowledge and revere the supreme government of God; to bow in humble\nsubmission to his chastisements; to confess and deplore their sins and\ntransgressions, in the full conviction that the fear of the Lord is\nthe beginning of wisdom, and to pray with all fervency and contrition\nfor the _pardon_ of their past offenses, and for a blessing on their\npresent and prospective action,\" etc.\n\nRead also his proclamation enforcing the observance of the Christian\nSabbath in the Army and Navy, and ask yourself, Could an infidel have\ndone this?\n\n The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, desires and\n enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and men\n in the military and naval service. The importance for man and beast of\n the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian soldiers\n and sailors, a becoming deference to the best sentiment of a Christian\n people, and a due regard for the Divine will, demand that Sunday labor\n in the Army and Navy be reduced to the measure of a strict necessity.\n The discipline and character of the National forces should not suffer,\n nor the cause they defend be imperiled, by the profanation of the\n day and the name of the Most High. At this time of public distress,\n adopting the words of Washington in 1776, \"Men may find enough to do\n in the service of God and their country without abandoning themselves\n to vice and immorality.\" The first general order issued by the Father\n of his Country, after the Declaration of Independence, indicates the\n spirit in which our institutions were founded and should ever be\n defended: \"The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man\n will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending\n the dearest rights and liberties of his country.\"\n\n  ABRAHAM LINCOLN.\n\nBesides all this, we find Mr. Lincoln often using the very language of\nthe Saviour, as not only expressing but giving the sanction of Divine\nauthority to his own views and opinions. What a remarkable instance of\nit in the solemn words that fell from his lips in his last inaugural,\nas he stood on the steps of the Capitol! Standing upon the verge of his\ngrave, as he was that day, and addressing his last official words to\nhis countrymen, his lips touched as with the finger of inspiration, he\nsaid:\n\n\"The Almighty has His own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of\noffenses, for it must needs be that offenses will come; but woe unto\nthe man by whom the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that American\nSlavery is one of these offenses which, in the providence of God, must\nneeds come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He\nnow wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this\nterrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall\nwe discern any departure therein from those Divine attributes which\nthe believers in a living God always ascribe to him? Fondly do we\nhope, fervently do we pray, that the mighty scourge of war may pass\naway. Yet if God will that it continue until all the wealth piled by\nthe bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall\nbe sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be\npaid with another drawn by the sword, as was said three thousand years\nago, so must it still be said, 'The judgments of the Lord are true and\nrighteous altogether.'\"\n\nThus it appears, that whether Mr. Lincoln was ever accustomed to\nblaspheme the name of Jesus Christ or not, or whether he was ever\naccustomed to deny His divinity or not, as his defamers allege, he\nis willing, in the last eventful days of his life, standing at the\nnation's Capitol, in the hearing of the swelling multitude that hangs\nupon his lips, to use the sanction of Divine authority to one of the\nmost remarkable sentences of his official address.\n\nHon. Isaac N. Arnold, of Chicago, an intimate acquaintance of Mr.\nLincoln, and who is engaged in a review of his work on Mr. Lincoln's\nlife, writes me that \"from the time he left Springfield, with the\ntouching request for the prayers of his friends and neighbors, to the\nday of his death, his words were the words of a Christian, revering\nthe Bible, and obeying its precepts. A spirit of reverence and deep\nreligious feeling pervades nearly all the public utterances and state\npapers of his later life.\"\n\nThe following interesting testimony from Rev. Dr. Byron Sunderland, of\nthe First Presbyterian Church of Washington City, gives us a little\ninsight into the philosophy of Mr. Lincoln's mind and religious\nsentiments:\n\n  WASHINGTON CITY, Nov. 15th, 1872.\n\n  REV. JAS. A. REED:\n\n DEAR BRO.--It was in the last days of 1862, about the time Mr.\n Lincoln was seriously contemplating the issuing of the Emancipation\n Proclamation, that I, in company with some friends of the President,\n called upon him. After some conversation, in which he seemed disposed\n to have his joke and fun, he settled down to a serious consideration\n of the subject before his mind, and for one half-hour poured forth a\n volume of the deepest Christian philosophy I ever heard. He began by\n saying--\n\n \"The ways of God are mysterious and profound beyond all\n comprehension--'who by searching can find Him out?' Now, judging after\n the manner of men, taking counsel of our sympathies and feelings, if\n it had been left to us to determine it, we would have had no war.\n And going further back to the occasion of it, we would have had no\n slavery. And tracing it still further back, we would have had no evil.\n There is the mystery of the universe which no man can solve, and it\n is at that point that the human understanding utterly backs down. And\n then there is nothing left but for the heart of man to take up faith\n and believe and trust where it cannot reason. Now, I believe we are\n all agents and instruments of Divine providence. On both sides we are\n working out the will of God; yet how strange the spectacle! Here is\n one half the nation prostrated in prayer that God will help them to\n destroy the Union and build up a government upon the cornerstone of\n human bondage. And here is the other half equally earnest in their\n prayers and efforts to defeat a purpose which they regard as so\n repugnant to their ideas of human nature and the rights of society, as\n well as liberty and independence. They want slavery; we want freedom.\n They want a servile class; we want to make equality practical as far\n as possible. And they are Christians, and we are Christians. They\n and we are praying and fighting for results exactly the opposite.\n What must God think of such a posture of affairs? There is but one\n solution--self-deception. Somewhere there is a fearful heresy in our\n religion, and I cannot think it lies in the love of liberty and in the\n aspirations of the human soul.\n\n \"What I am to do in the present emergency time will determine. I hold\n myself in my present position and with the authority vested in me\n as an instrument of Providence. I have my own views and purposes, I\n have my convictions of duty, and my notions of what is right to be\n done. But I am conscious every moment that all I am and all I have is\n subject to the control of a Higher Power, and that Power can use me or\n not use me in any manner, and at any time, as in His wisdom and might\n may be pleasing to Him.\n\n \"Nevertheless, I am no fatalist. I believe in the supremacy of the\n human conscience, and that men are responsible beings; that God has a\n right to hold them, and will hold them, to a strict personal account\n for the deeds done in the body. But, sirs, I do not mean to give you a\n lecture upon the doctrines of the Christian religion. These are simply\n with me the convictions and realities of great and vital truths,\n the power and demonstration of which I see now in the light of this\n our national struggle as I have never seen before. God only knows\n the issue of this business. He has destroyed nations from the map of\n history for their sins. Nevertheless my hopes prevail generally above\n my fears for our own Republic. The times are dark, the spirits of ruin\n are abroad in all their power, and the mercy of God alone can save us.\"\n\n So did the President discourse until we felt we were imposing on his\n time, and rising we took our leave of him, confident that he would be\n true to those convictions of right and duty which were derived from so\n deep a Christian philosophy.\n\n  Yours truly,\n  BYRON SUNDERLAND.\n\nThe Rev. Dr. Miner, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springfield,\nwho was intimately acquainted with Mr. Lincoln, and visited him\nand his family in Washington previous to his death, has left most\ninteresting testimony in reference to Mr. Lincoln's religious\nsentiments, confirmatory of what has been given, and which is preserved\nin the archives of the University of Chicago. Dr. Miner sums up his\nimpressions of Mr. Lincoln as follows: \"All that was said during that\nmemorable afternoon I spent alone with that great and good man is\nengraven too deeply on my memory ever to be effaced. I felt certain\nof this fact, that if Mr. Lincoln was not really an experimental\nChristian, he was acting like one. He was doing his duty manfully,\nand looking to God for help in time of need; and, like the immortal\nWashington, he believed in the efficacy of prayer, and it was his\ncustom to read the Scriptures and pray himself.\" And here I would\nrelate an incident which occurred on the 4th of March, 1861, as told\nme by Mrs. Lincoln. Said she: \"Mr. Lincoln wrote the conclusion of\nhis inaugural address the morning it was delivered. The family being\npresent, he read it to them. He then said he wished to be left alone\nfor a short time. The family retired to an adjoining room, but not so\nfar distant but that the voice of prayer could be distinctly heard.\nThere, closeted with God alone, surrounded by the enemies who were\nready to take his life, he commended his country's cause and all\ndear to him to God's providential care, and with a mind calmed with\ncommunion with his Father in heaven, and courage equal to the danger,\nhe came forth from that retirement ready for duty.\"\n\nWith such testimony, gathered from gentlemen of the highest standing,\nand much more that I could add to confirm it, I leave the later life\nand religious sentiments of Abraham Lincoln to the dispassionate and\ncharitable judgment of a grateful people. While it is to be regretted\nthat Mr. Lincoln was not spared to indicate his religious sentiments by\na profession of his faith in accordance with the institutions of the\nChristian religion, yet it is very clear that he had this step in view,\nand was seriously contemplating it, as a sense of its fitness and an\napprehension of his duty grew upon him. He did not ignore a relation\nto the Christian church as an obsolete duty and an unimportant matter.\nHow often do we hear him thanking God for the churches! And he was fast\nbringing his life into conformity to the Christian standard. The coarse\nstory-telling of his early days was less indulged in in his later life.\nHon. Isaac N. Arnold, and Mr. Carpenter, as well as Mr. Lincoln's\nphysician at Washington, Dr. Stone, all testify that \"while his stories\nand anecdotes were racy, witty, and pointed beyond all comparison,\"\nyet they \"never heard one of a character needing palliation or\nexcuse.\" His physician, Dr. Stone, testifies that \"Mr. Lincoln was the\npurest-hearted man he ever came in contact with.\"\n\nHis disposition to attend the theater in later life (if to anyone it\nseems to need apology) was not so much a fondness for the playhouse\nas a relief from his mental anxiety, and an escape from the incessant\npressure of visitors at the White House. \"It is a well-known fact,\"\nsays Dr. Miner, \"that he would not have been at the theater on that\nfatal night, but to escape the multitude who were that evening pressing\ninto the White House to shake hands with him. It has been said that\nMrs. Lincoln urged her husband to go to the theater against his will.\nThis is not true. On the contrary, she tried to persuade him not to\ngo, but he insisted. He said, 'I must have a little rest. A large and\noverjoyed, excited people will visit me tonight. My arms are lame\nby shaking hands with the multitude, and the people will pull me to\npieces.' He went to the theater, not because he was interested in the\nplay, but because he was care-worn and needed quiet and repose. Mrs.\nLincoln informed me that he seemed to take no notice of what was going\non in the theater from the time he entered it till the discharge of\nthe fatal pistol. She said that the last day he lived was the happiest\nof his life. The very last moments of his conscious life were spent\nin conversation with her about his future plans, and what he wanted\nto do when his term of office expired. He said he wanted to visit\nthe Holy Land and see the places hallowed by the footprints of the\nSaviour. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as\n_Jerusalem_; and with that word half spoken on his tongue, the bullet\nof the assassin entered his brain, and the soul of the great and good\nPresident was carried by angels to the New Jerusalem above.\"\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX V\n\nTWO HERNDON LETTERS CONCERNING LINCOLN'S RELIGION\n\nBRIEF ANALYSIS OF LINCOLN'S CHARACTER\n\n\n  SPRINGFIELD, ILL., Sept. 10, 1887.\n\n  J. E. REMSBURG, Oak Mills, Kansas.\n\nFRIEND REMSBURG: Today I send you Speed's lecture on \"Lincoln,\" which\nyou can keep till I send for it--and this will probably be never.\nIt is a very poor lecture if the lecture contains his knowledge of\nLincoln, and, I guess it does. It shows no insight into Lincoln at all,\nthough it is well enough written. It is said that Speed had a world of\ninfluence over Lincoln. This may be so, and yet I never saw it. It is\nsaid by Nicolay and Hay that Lincoln poured out his soul to Speed. Bah!\nNonsense! Probably, except in his love scrapes, Lincoln never poured\nout his soul to any mortal creature at any time and on no subject. He\nwas the most secretive, reticent, shut-mouthed man that ever existed.\n\nYou had to _guess_ at the man after years of acquaintance and then you\nmust look long and keenly before you _guessed_, or you would make an\nass of yourself.\n\nYou had to take some leading--great leading and well-established--fact\nof Lincoln's nature and then follow it by accurate and close analysis\nwherever it went.\n\nThis process would lead you correctly if you knew human nature and\nits laws. Lincoln was a mystery to the world; he loved principle,\nbut moved ever just to suit his own ends; he was a trimmer among\nmen, though firm on laws and great principles; he did not care for\nmen; they were his tools and instruments; he was a cool man--an\nunsocial one--an abstracted one, having the very quintessence of the\nprofoundest policies. Lincoln's heart was tender, full of mercy, if\nin his presence some imaginative man presented the subject to him.\n\"Out of sight, out of mind\" may truthfully be said of Lincoln. If I am\ncorrect, what do you think of the stories afloat about what Lincoln\nsaid in relation to his religion, especially said to strangers? I\nsend you two \"Truth-Seekers\" which you will please read where I speak\nof Lincoln in three letters, pages marked at the top. You will learn\nsomething of Lincoln's nature in those three letters of mine--two of\nthem on Lincoln's religion, and one to a minister. Please read them.\nThere are some quotations in these letters which I have never had time\nto send you as I recollect it. They are good things--one on Laws of\nHuman Nature and one on the Pride-Haughtiness of Christians. Lincoln\ndelivered a lecture in which these quotations are to be found. I heard\nhim deliver it.\n\n  W. H. HERNDON.\n\nP. S.--Mr. Speed was my boss for three or four years and Lincoln,\nSpeed, Hurst, and I slept in the same room for a year or so. I was\nclerk for Speed. Speed could make Lincoln do much about simple\nmeasures, policies, not involving any principle. Beyond this power\nSpeed did not have much influence over Lincoln nor did anyone else.\n\nA CARD AND A CORRECTION\n\nI wish to say a few short words to the public and private ear. About\nthe year 1870 I wrote a letter to F. E. Abbott, then of Ohio, touching\nMr. Lincoln's religion. In that letter I stated that Mr. Lincoln was\nan infidel, sometimes bordering on atheism, and I now repeat the same.\nIn the year 1873 the Right Rev. James A. Reed, pastor and liar of this\ncity, gave a lecture on Mr. Lincoln's religion, in which he tried to\nanswer some things which I never asserted, except as to Mr. Lincoln's\ninfidelity, which I did assert and now and here affirm. Mr. Lincoln\nwas an infidel of the radical type; he never mentioned the name of\nJesus except to scorn and detest the idea of miraculous conception.\nThis lecture of the withered minister will be found in Holland's Review\n[_Scribner's Monthly_]. I answered this lecture in 1874, I think, in\nthis city to a large and intelligent audience--had it printed and sent\na copy to Holland, requesting, in polite language, that he insert it\nin his Review as an answer to the Reed lecture. The request was denied\nme, as a matter of course. He could help to libel a man with Christian\ncourage, and with Christian cowardice refuse to unlibel him.\n\nSoon thereafter, say from 1874 to 1882, I saw floating around in the\nnewspaper literature, such charges as \"Herndon is in a lunatic asylum,\nwell chained,\" \"Herndon is a pauper,\" \"Herndon is a drunkard,\" \"Herndon\nis a vile infidel and a knave, a liar and a drunkard,\" and the like.\nI have contradicted all these things under my own hand, often, except\nas to my so-called infidelity, liberalism, free religious opinions,\nor what-not. In the month of October, 1882, I saw in and clipped out\nof the Cherryvale _Globe-News_ of September, 1882, a paper published\nin the State of Kansas, the following rich and racy article; it is as\nfollows:\n\n  \"_Lincoln's Old Law Partner a Pauper_\n\n \"Bill Herndon is a pauper in Springfield, Ill. He was once worth\n considerable property. His mind was the most argumentative of any\n of the old lawyers in the State, and his memory was extraordinary.\n For several years before Lincoln was nominated for the Presidency,\n Herndon was in some respects the most active member of the firm,\n preparing the greatest number of cases for trial and making elaborate\n arguments in their behalf. It is said that he worked hard with Lincoln\n in preparing the memorable speeches by the man who afterward became\n President, during the debates between Lincoln and Douglas in 1858, and\n in constructing the Cooper Union address delivered by Lincoln a short\n time before the war. Herndon, with all his attainments, was a man who\n now and then went on a spree, and it was no uncommon thing for him\n to leave an important lawsuit and spend several days in drinking and\n carousing. This habit became worse after Lincoln's death, and like\n poor Dick Yates, Herndon went down step by step till his old friends\n and associates point to him as a common drunkard.\"\n\nThere are three distinct charges in the above article. First, that\nI am a pauper. Second, that I am a common drunkard, and third, that\nI was a traitor or false to my clients. Let me answer these charges\nin their order. First, I am not a pauper. Never have been and expect\nnever to be. I am working on my farm, making my own living with my own\nmuscle and brain, a place and a calling that even Christianity with its\npersecution and malignity can never reach me to do much harm. I had, it\nis true, once a considerable property, but lost much of it in the crash\nand consequent crisis of 1873, caused in part by the contraction of the\ncurrency, in part by the decline in the demand for the agricultural\nproducts which I raise for sale, in part by the inability by the people\nto buy, etc., etc., and for no other reasons.\n\nSecond, I never was a common drunkard, as I look at it, and am not\nnow. I am and have been for years an ardent and enthusiastic temperance\nman, though opposed to prohibition by law, by any force or other\nchoker. The time has not come for this. It is a fact that I once, years\nago, went on a spree; and this I now deeply regret. It however is in\nthe past, and let a good life in the future bury the past. I have not\nfallen, I have risen, and all good men and women will applaud the deed,\nalways excepting a small, little, bitter Christian like the Right Rev.\npastor and liar of this city, to whom I can trace some of the above\ncharges. In my case this minister was an eager, itching libeler, and\nwhat he said of me is false--nay, a willful lie.\n\nThird, I never was a traitor or untrue to my clients or their\ninterests. I never left them during the progress of a trial or at other\ntimes for the cause alleged, drunkenness. I may have crept--slid--out\nof a case during the trial because I had no faith in it, leaving Mr.\nLincoln, who had faith in it, to run it through. My want of faith in a\ncase would have been discovered by the jury and that discovery would\nhave damaged my client and to save my client I dodged. This is all\nthere is on it, and let men make the most of it.\n\nNow, let me ask a question. Why is all this libeling of me? I am a\nmere private citizen, hold no office, do not beg the people to give me\none often. My religious ideas, views, and philosophy are today, here,\nunpopular. But wait, I will not deny my ideas, views, or philosophy for\noffice or station or the applause of the unthinking multitude. I can,\nhowever, answer the above question. It, the libeling, is done because\nI did assert and affirm by oral language and by print that Mr. Lincoln\nwas an infidel, sometimes bordering on atheism, and yet he was among\nthe best, greatest, and noblest of mankind; he was a grand man. Why do\nnot the Christians prove that Mr. Lincoln was an evangelical Christian\nand thus prove me a liar? One of my friends, for whom I have great\nrespect, says, that \"Mr. Lincoln was a _rational_ Christian because he\nbelieved in morality.\" Why not say Lincoln was _rational_ Buddhist,\nas Buddhism teaches morality? Why not say Lincoln was _rational_\nMohammedan? By the way, let me say here, that I have a profound respect\nfor an earnest, manly, and sincere Christian or an Atheist, a profound\nrespect for an earnest, manly, and sincere Infidel or theist or any\nother religion, or the men who hold it, when that belief is woven into\na great manly character to beautify and greaten the world.\n\nThese charges, and I do not know how many more, nor of what kind, have\nbeen scattered broadcast all over the land, and have gone into every\nhouse, have been read at every fireside till the good people believe\nthem, believe that I am nearly as mean as a little Christian, and all\nbecause I told the truth and stand firm in my conviction. Respectfully,\n\n  W. H. HERNDON.\n  November 9, 1882.\n\n[Privately printed by H. E. Barker, Springfield, 1917, edition limited\nto 75 copies.]\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX VI\n\nTHE IRWIN ARTICLE WITH LETTERS CONCERNING LINCOLN'S RELIGIOUS BELIEF\n\n\nAnother Valuable Contribution to the History of the Martyr\nPresident.--Was Abraham Lincoln an Infidel?--A Painstaking\nExamination of the Case by An Old Acquaintance.--Important Testimony\nof Contemporaneous Witnesses.--History of the Famous Manuscript of\n1833.--Mentor Graham Says It Was a Defence of Christianity.--The Burned\nManuscript Quite a Different Affair.--The Charge of Infidelity in 1848,\nSaid to Have Been Disproved at the Time.--Letter of Hon. Wm. Reid, U.\nS. Consul at Dundee, Scotland.\n\n  By B. F. IRWIN\n\n  PLEASANT PLAINS, ILL., April 20, 1874.\n\nEDITOR STATE JOURNAL: For some time, I believe, in 1870 there has\nbeen a constant and continued effort upon the part of the Hon. W. H.\nHerndon, Springfield, Ill., to convince and prove to the world that\nAbraham Lincoln lived and died an infidel. He has succeded, as I\nsuppose, in proving that proposition to his own entire satisfaction and\nprobably to the satisfaction of some others. The last effort I have\nnoticed upon the subject was Herndon's reply to the Rev. J. A. Reed, in\na lecture delivered in the court house in Springfield, some months ago.\nA few days after that lecture was delivered, I was urgently requested\nby a prominent minister of the gospel and friend of Lincoln's (and also\na lady friend now residing in Kansas) to review that speech. I promised\neach of those persons I would do so at the proper time. That time has\nnow arrived, and I propose noticing a few points in the address of Mr.\nHerndon,\n\n\"THE RELIGION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN\"\n\nalso a point or two in his Abbott letter and I think I will be able to\nshow that Mr. Herndon, himself, never knew or understood really what\nthe faith of Lincoln was or what the\n\nRELIGIOUS BELIEF OF LINCOLN\n\nwas. I wish it now and here understood that Mr. Herndon's candor or\nveracity I do not call in question. Nor will I designedly say anything\nto offend him. He and I have been for twenty-five years good personal\nfriends, and I hope that friendship may continue. Mr. Herndon has a\nright to prove Mr. Lincoln an infidel if he can. I claim the same right\nto prove that\n\nLINCOLN WAS NOT AN INFIDEL\n\nif I can. If Mr. Lincoln was an infidel, as Herndon says, it is proper\nfor the world to know it. If he was not an infidel the charge is wrong\nand a slander, for infidelity in the nineteenth century is no honor to\nany man, dead or alive.\n\nMr. Herndon, in his speech, uses this language: \"One side of this\nquestion can be proved. It is admitted on all hands that Lincoln once\nwas an infidel; that he wrote a small book, or essay, or pamphlet\nagainst Christianity, and that he (Lincoln) continued an unbeliever\nuntil late in life.\" Herndon further says: \"It is a rule of law, as\nwell as a rule of common sense, that when a certain state or condition\nof affairs is once proved to exist, the presumption is, that it still\nexists until the contrary is proved.\" Now I stand by that proposition\nas a true one. Will Mr. Herndon do so? But\n\nHE IS WOEFULLY MISTAKEN\n\nin his statement that \"all admit that Lincoln was once an infidel.\" I\nhave never yet heard one single man express the belief that Lincoln was\nan infidel, either early or late in life, while I am confident I have\nheard one hundred different persons express astonishment at Mr. Herndon\nwriting and publishing Lincoln to the world an infidel. Mr. Herndon, it\nis true, did have opportunities and advantages over others in knowing\nMr. Lincoln's religious opinions. But other men had some opportunities\nas well as Mr. Herndon, and to them I shall have to appeal, for I do\nnot claim to personally know anything about Mr. Lincoln's religious\nfaith. Though personally acquainted with Lincoln for twenty-five years,\nand often in his office, I never heard him say a word on the subject\nof Christianity or religious belief. Hence, my opinion of Lincoln's\nfaith or belief is based on the testimony of those who do know, who had\nit\n\nFROM LINCOLN HIMSELF;\n\nand I believe them, for the weight of testimony is certainly against\nMr. Herndon. The Scriptures of Truth lay it down as a Divine rule, that\nthe evidence of two or three witnesses is better than one. Common law\nlays down the same rule, borrowed from Divine authority, and our courts\nare governed by it in their decisions.\n\nMr. Herndon, in his\n\nREPLY TO MR. REED,\n\nsays, \"He is talking to establish the truth of a controversy between\nthose who hold that Lincoln was a disbeliever, and those who hold that\nhe died a Christian (a believer in Christ)\" and then says: \"If I fail\nto establish my point it will be because of the manner and method of\npresenting the facts.\" I have read that lecture carefully over, and I\nfail to find any proof of Herndon's proposition that Lincoln ever was\nan infidel or an unbeliever. The nearest I see to it, is the\n\nSTATEMENT OF J. H. MATHENY\n\nHe uses this language, substantially: \"Mr. Lincoln's earlier life is\nhis whole life and history in Illinois up to the time he left for\nWashington City. He (Lincoln) was, as I understand it, a confirmed\ninfidel.\" Now, Matheny fails to tell us how he got that understanding.\nDid he get it from Lincoln? He don't say so, and the reason he don't\nsay so doubtless is, he got it from some other source--probably from\nHerndon. But clearly, to be of any weight as evidence, he must have\nthat understanding from Mr. Lincoln himself. Mr. Matheny may have some\ntime in life heard Lincoln use some of the\n\nARGUMENTS OF TOM PAINE,\n\nor advance infidel ideas, and still not be an infidel. I have heard an\nofficial member of the Methodist Church in this town advance as strong\ninfidel sentiments as Tom Paine ever did, and you would insult the\nman to say he was an infidel. So any Christian may use the language or\nadvance some of the sentiments of Tom Paine and be far from an infidel.\nLincoln may have done all that, and still not be an infidel. I do not\nbelieve Mr. Lincoln ever was an infidel, and I can truly state and\nsay just what Matheny said. I understood Lincoln was an infidel, but\nI never believed the statement true. Matheny understood it: in other\nwords, he had heard it but knew nothing about the facts in the case. I\nhave seen Mr. Matheny since, and he states that he\n\nNEVER HAD IT FROM LINCOLN\n\nthat he was an infidel, and he never believed it.\n\nIf Mr. Herndon is in possession of the evidence, in writing or\notherwise, to prove that Lincoln was an infidel, either earlier or\nlater in life, he ought to bring forward the proof to sustain his\nproposition: for he has long since learned that the statement alone\nfails to satisfy the public mind that Lincoln ever was an infidel. Mr.\nHerndon in his\n\nABBOTT LETTER\n\ntruly says the charge of infidelity was made against Mr. Lincoln when\nhe was a candidate for Congress in 1848; and then adds: \"Mr. Lincoln\ndid not deny the charge, because it was true.\" The charge of infidelity\nwas made against Lincoln at that time, and I suppose Lincoln made no\npublic denial of the charge, for the reason that the canvass was being\nmade on political grounds, and not religious faith or belief. This much\nwas said at the time, as I well remember to be the facts in the case.\n\nAbout the time of building the flatboat on the Sangamon River in 1830,\nwhen Lincoln was quite a young man, a\n\nRELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY\n\nwas the topic in which Lincoln took a part; and in the argument Lincoln\nused the language that, according to the history of the case, in the\nNew Testament, Christ was a bastard and his mother a base woman. This\nhe may have used at the time, as young men sometimes do use vain\nlanguage, and seventeen years afterward, when he was a candidate for\nCongress against\n\nPETER CARTWRIGHT\n\na Methodist preacher, that vain remark was remembered, and Tom Paine\nhaving used similar language, Lincoln was published in some of the\npapers as an infidel. The above was the explanation published at the\ntime, and the charge of infidelity did no harm. Had Lincoln been known\nas an infidel, or believed to be one at that time, I am certain he\nwould have been beaten badly by Cartwright in the canvass.\n\nAgain, Mr. Herndon, in his Abbott letter (I believe it is), says: \"It\nis not to be found in print that Lincoln ever used the word Christ.\" In\nfact, Herndon says, \"he never did use it, only to deny Christ as the\nson of God.\" Now that statement may be true, that he did not use the\nterm Christ: but if Mr. Herndon will examine the speeches of the public\nmen of this nation, I believe I am safe in saying that Mr. Lincoln used\nand\n\nQUOTED MORE SCRIPTURE\n\nthan any man in the nation; and that he quoted the parables and\nlanguage of Christ oftener than any public man living. Not only did\nLincoln quote Scripture, but he used it as being of Divine authority,\nand applicable to the affairs of earth. Mr. Herndon gives us to\nunderstand that Lincoln did not believe the New Testament Scriptures to\nbe any more inspired than Homer's songs, Milton's \"Paradise Lost,\" or\nShakspeare. If Herndon is correct, it seems strange Lincoln made no use\nof those books. On the 16th of January, 1858,[74] as a foundation for\nan argument, he used the language of Christ\n\n\"A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF CANNOT STAND,\"\n\nin reply to Douglas. In the same campaign he four times used the\nparables of Christ; in his second inaugural address--\"woe unto the\nworld because of its offenses\"--Christ's language, again.\n\nBut I need not multiply quotations. His speeches, proclamations, and\nmessages are so full of quotations of scripture, always the language\nof Christ himself, that if an angel of light should proclaim it\ntrumpet-tongued from the skies, that Lincoln was an unbeliever in\nChrist, I could not believe it. He could not have been an infidel\nwithout being a base hypocrite; and I don't believe a more honest man\nlived on earth.\n\nTHE EVIDENCE\n\nNow I will take up some evidence on the question being discussed. Mr.\nHerndon has said that, in Lincoln's early life, he wrote\n\nA PAMPHLET\n\nbook, or manuscript against Christianity. I propose to show that the\nmanuscript written by Lincoln was\n\nIN FAVOR OF CHRISTIANITY\n\nTo do so, I will offer the evidence of Mr. Graham, who knew Lincoln\nwhen he was a boy in Kentucky, with whom Lincoln boarded some two\nyears; and if any man on earth ought to know Lincoln's religious faith\nor belief, that man is Mentor Graham, who was intimate with Lincoln\nfrom the time he came to Illinois to the time he left for Washington\nCity. I will give the letter in full.\n\nSTATEMENT OF MR. GRAHAM\n\n  PETERSBURG, ILL., March 17, 1874.\n\n  B. F. IRWIN:\n\n SIR--In reply to your inquiries, Abraham Lincoln was living at my\n house in New Salem, going to school, studying English grammar and\n surveying, in the year 1833. One morning he said to me, \"Graham, what\n do you think about the anger of the Lord?\" I replied, \"I believe\n the Lord never was angry or mad and never would be; that His loving\n kindness endurest forever; that He never changes.\" Said Lincoln, \"I\n have a little manuscript written, which I will show you\"; and stated\n he thought of having it published. Offering it to me, he said he had\n never showed it to anyone, and still thought of having it published.\n The size of the manuscript was about one-half quire of foolscap,\n written in a very plain hand, on the subject of Christianity and a\n defense of universal salvation. The commencement of it was something\n respecting the God of the universe never being excited, mad, or\n angry. I had the manuscript in my possession some week or ten days. I\n have read many books on the subject of theology and I don't think in\n point of perspicuity and plainness of reasoning, I ever read one to\n surpass it. I remember well his argument. He took the passage, \"As in\n Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive,\" and followed\n up with the proposition that whatever the breach or injury of Adam's\n transgressions to the human race was, which no doubt was very great,\n was made just and right by the atonement of Christ.\n\n As to Major Hill burning the manuscript, I don't believe he did, nor\n do I think he would have done such a thing. About the burning of a\n paper by Hill, I have some recollection of his snatching a letter from\n Lincoln and putting it into the fire. It was a letter written by Hill\n to McNamur. His real name was McNeal. Some of the school children\n had picked up the letter and handed it to Lincoln. Hill and Lincoln\n were talking about it, when Hill snatched the letter from Lincoln and\n put it into the fire. The letter was respecting a young lady, Miss\n Ann Rutledge, for whom all three of these gentlemen seemed to have\n respect. Yours truly,\n\n  MENTOR GRAHAM.\n\nNow the next point I wish to notice is Mr. Herndon's statement, in\nhis Abbott letter, that Lincoln, in 1846, was charged with being an\ninfidel. Herndon says he [Lincoln] did not deny the charge, because it\nwas true. As I have before stated, I admit the charge was made, and I\nthink at the time there was no public denial by Lincoln, for the reason\nthat the canvass was made on political grounds, and not religious faith\nor belief. Nevertheless, the charge was denied, as the following letter\nwill show.\n\nSTATEMENT OF THOMAS MOSTILLER\n\n  PLEASANT PLAINS, ILL., April 28, 1874.\n\n  B. F. IRWIN:\n\n SIR--In regard to your inquiry, just received, of what I heard Lincoln\n say about a charge of infidelity made against him when a candidate\n for Congress in 1847, or '48, it was this. I was present and heard\n Josiah Grady ask Lincoln a question or two regarding a charge made\n against Lincoln of being an infidel, and Lincoln unqualifiedly denied\n the charge of infidelity, and said, in addition, his parents were\n Baptists, and brought him up in the belief of the Christian religion;\n and he believed in the Christian religion as much as anyone, but\n was sorry to say he had or made no pretensions to religion himself.\n I can't give his exact words, but would make oath anywhere that he\n positively denied the charge made against him of infidelity. That\n was the first time I ever heard of the charge of infidelity against\n Lincoln.\n\n Grady did not say that he would not vote for Lincoln if he was an\n infidel; but my understanding from Grady was, that he would not vote\n for Lincoln if he was an infidel, and Grady did, as I suppose, vote\n for him. I understood him that he should.\n\n  Respectfully,\n  THOMAS MOSTILLER.\n\n  MENARD COUNTY, ILL.\n\nThe next evidence I shall offer is that of Isaac Cogdal, an intimate\nfriend of Lincoln's from the time Lincoln came to Salem, Menard County,\nto the time he left for Washington City, and I will let Cogdal speak\nfor himself.\n\nSTATEMENT OF ISAAC COGDAL\n\n  April 10, 1874.\n\n B. F. IRWIN: Yours received making inquiries about what I heard\n Lincoln say about his religious belief, is this, as near as I can\n tell it and recollect. I think it was in 1859, I was in Lincoln's\n office in Springfield, and I had a curiosity to know his opinions or\n belief religiously; and I called on him for his faith in the presence\n of W. H. Herndon. At least Herndon was in the office at the time.\n Lincoln expressed himself in about these words: He did not nor could\n not believe in the endless punishment of any one of the human race.\n He understood punishment for sin to be a Bible doctrine; that the\n punishment was parental in its object, aim, and design, and intended\n for the good of the offender; hence it must cease when justice is\n satisfied. He added that all that was lost by the transgression of\n Adam was made good by the atonement: all that was lost by the fall was\n made good by the sacrifice, and he added this remark, that punishment\n being a \"provision of the gospel system, he was not sure but the world\n would be better off if a little more punishment was preached by our\n ministers, and not so much pardon of sin.\" I then, in reply, told\n Mr. Lincoln he was a sound Universalist, and would advise him to say\n but little about his belief, as it was an unpopular doctrine, though\n I fully agreed with him in sentiment. Lincoln replied that he never\n took any part in the argument or discussion of theological questions.\n Much more was said, but the above are the ideas as advanced by Lincoln\n there.\n\n  Respectfully yours,\n  ISAAC COGDAL.\n\nThe next witness I shall offer on the subject is Jonathan Harnett, of\nPleasant Plains. Mr. Harnett is here. I shall now furnish a statement\nover his signature, as he is present and dictates as I write.\n\nDICTATED STATEMENT OF JONATHAN HARNETT\n\nMr. Harnett says, that in 1858, a short time after he came to Illinois,\nhe had a curiosity to see Lincoln and went into his office. There were\nseveral others in that he did not know; that religious faith seemed\nto be the subject of conversation. After some time was spent in the\ncontroversy, it seemed to be Lincoln's time, and in a few words he\nheard Lincoln condense into a small space greater thoughts and larger\nideas, and sounder logic, than he ever heard brought into so small\nspace. Lincoln, he says, covered more ground in a few words than he\ncould in a week, and closed up with the restitution of all things to\nGod, as the doctrine taught in the scriptures, and if anyone was left\nin doubt in regard to his belief in the atonement of Christ and the\nfinal salvation of all men, he removed those doubts in a few questions\nhe answered and propounded to others. After expressing himself,\nsome one or two took exceptions to his position, and he asked a few\nquestions that cornered his interrogators and left no room to doubt\nor question his soundness on the atonement of Christ, and salvation\nfinally of all men. He did not pretend to know just when that event\nwould be consummated, but that it would be the ultimate result, that\nChrist must reign supreme, high over all, The Saviour of all; and the\nsupreme Ruler, he could not be with one out of the fold; all must come\nin, with his understanding of the doctrine taught in the scriptures.\n\n[The above statement since writing it has been read to Mr. Harnett and\nindorsed by him.]\n\nThe next evidence I shall offer is Erasmus Manford, of Chicago. About\n1850, he had a debate in Springfield, Ill., with Mr. Lewis. In his\nbook, \"Twenty-five Years in the West,\" page 219, he says: \"I remember\nwell seeing Mr. Lincoln then punctually every day and night. He often\nnodded his head to me when I made a strong point.\" Does that look as\nthough Lincoln was an infidel? Manford was discussing the proposition\nof the restitution of all things to God which is manifested in Christ\nJesus our Lord. Manford gives the quotation, chapter, and verse,\nand Lincoln nods assent to the position. That nodding assent to the\nrestitution agrees precisely with Mr. Harnett's statement of Lincoln's\nposition in his presence seven or eight years afterward. Everyone\nunderstands that nodding assent to the argument of a speaker is an\nindorsement of what is said, and about equivalent to speaking it\nyourself. Manford so understood it: so anyone would understand it.\n\nMy next and last witness is W. H. Herndon. In his Abbott lecture in\n1870, Herndon says that Lincoln's belief was, that\n\nALL WOULD BE SAVED,\n\nor none. That remark he frequently or often made; that agrees with\nHarnett's statement that he believed all would be saved. When a man\nbelieves all men will be saved, he can then be logical and say all will\nbe saved or none, and not otherwise. In the same letter, Mr. Herndon\nsays Mr. Lincoln held that God had a fixed punishment for sin and no\nmeans could bribe him to remit that punishment. That evidence agrees\nwith Cogdal's statement that sin was to be punished, but not endlessly.\nBoth Herndon and Cogdal agree in the statement that Lincoln believed\nthat if our ministers would preach punishment and not so much pardon\nthe world would be benefited by it.\n\nI am now through with the evidence I shall offer at this time, though I\ncould add the evidence of a dozen more to the same purport. I think I\nhave clearly proved that\n\nLINCOLN WAS A UNIVERSALIST\n\nin 1833; that he wrote a manuscript on that subject then; that in 1847\nhe\n\nDENIED THE CHARGE\n\nof infidelity; that in 1850-58-59 he was still a Universalist. If this\nbe true when was he an infidel? But to get a clear understanding of\nthe case, Universalism and infidelity are as far apart as the poles.\nUniversalism maintains that there is one God, whose nature is love\nrevealed in our Lord Jesus Christ. This Lincoln certainly believed,\ninfidelity denies it. Universalism maintains that Christ was the Son\nof God; infidelity denies it. Universalism maintains that the Old and\nNew Testament Scriptures contain a record of God's revelation to man;\ninfidelity denies it, and says the New Testament is no more inspired\nthan Homer's songs, Milton's \"Paradise Lost,\" or Shakspeare. My\nauthority for the infidel view is W. H. Herndon, in his letter.\n\nBefore closing, I wish it distinctly understood that if I could show\nthat\n\nLINCOLN WAS NOT AN INFIDEL\n\nwithout showing him a Universalist, I would do so; that I am not trying\nto bolster up Universalism on Lincoln's faith, as I do not claim to be\na Universalist myself.\n\nThere are many points in Mr. Herndon's lecture and letter that I might\nnotice, but as I am only trying to show that\n\nHERNDON IS WRONG\n\nin his understanding of Lincoln's religious belief, I shall not notice\nthem, as they do not concern me or the question in dispute.\n\nMr. Herndon, in his lecture and letter both, says Mr. Lincoln wrote a\nmanuscript against Christianity. Mr. Graham,\n\nLINCOLN'S TEACHER\n\nat the time, testifies that he had the manuscript in his possession\neight to ten days, read it two or three times carefully and it was\nin favor of Christianity and universal salvation. Mr. Mostiller says\nLincoln flatly denied infidelity in 1847, and he would swear to it. Mr.\nHarnett heard Lincoln on the atonement in 1858. Mr. Cogdal testifies\nto the same in 1859. The character of all these men for truth and\nveracity is as good as any man in Sangamon or Menard County. Harnett\nand Mostiller are both Methodists, differing politically. Graham and\nCogdal are both Universalists, and agree politically. Mr. Herndon in\nhis letter says the manuscript was burned by Sam Hill. Mr. Graham\nexplains it was a letter in regard to a lady,\n\nMISS ANN RUTLEDGE,\n\nthat Hill burned. It seems to me Mr. Herndon has got the manuscript\nand letter confounded, and shot off hand without taking aim at the\nright object. My friend Herndon, at the close of his lecture, derives\nconsolation from the fact that a true history can be written free from\nthe fear of fire and stake. Friend Herndon, if your life is certainly\nnot in danger some true spirit will\n\nDRAG THE TRUTH\n\nout to the light of day.\n\nBut hear the closing words of Herndon's lecture; \"Now let it be\nwritten in history and on Mr. Lincoln's tomb he died an unbeliever.\"\nMr. Herndon is in a hurry about it. Be patient, William; wait for the\nunfolding of events. The decree has long since gone out; those words\nwill never be inscribed on\n\nLINCOLN'S TOMB,\n\nnor written in history. When my friend, W. H. Herndon, dies, if he\nwishes a monument on a small scale placed over his grave with the\ninscription, \"Here lies W. H. Herndon, a man who in life held that the\nNew Testament Scriptures were no more inspired than Homer's songs,\nMilton's Paradise Lost, or Shakspeare,\" or if he desires it, add\n\"Munchausen's Travels,\" I will not, for one, object to the inscription.\nAs regards Mr. Herndon's own belief, he leaves no room for doubt.\n\n  B. F. IRWIN.\n\n  From the Illinois _State Journal_, Saturday Morning, May 15, 1874.\n\nMORE TESTIMONY\n\nLetter from the Hon. Wm. Reid, U. S. Consul at Dundee, Scotland.\n(Dundee, Scotland, Correspondence [March 4, 1874] Portland [Oregon]\n_Oregonian_).\n\nThe _Weekly Oregonian_ of January last arrived and I am grieved to\nsee in it opened afresh that controversy over Lincoln's religious\nviews. Being well conversant with the affairs of the Lincoln family,\nknowing Mrs. Lincoln personally, having been in correspondence with\nthat lady, and having also been of some assistance in a work entitled\n\"Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln,\" I may be permitted to speak with\nsome knowledge of the facts.\n\nLincoln, when 16 years of age,\n\nIN THE BACKWOODS OF WESTERN INDIANA\n\nheard a sermon by a traveling Presbyterian minister--the Rev. Dr.\nSmith--(afterwards of the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield,\nIllinois) then a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.\nThe subject was: \"Is there no Balm in Gilead? Is there no Physician\nthere?\" The sermon was delivered at the village of Rockfort, four\nmiles from the small farm of Thomas Lincoln, Abraham's father. There\nwas a great revival on that occasion. Always a deep thinker, even\nwhen a boy, Lincoln was seriously impressed. Adopting his own words,\nhe remembered the sermon for more than twenty years afterwards. Book\nafter book he then read on the authenticity of the Scriptures, and was\nsatisfied. Many years after delivering that sermon Dr. Smith removed to\nSpringfield, Illinois.\n\nThis same Dr. Smith, I spent two years with here at Dundee, and\nattended him to his death in 1871. He was the bosom friend of Lincoln,\nand the friend and dearly beloved pastor of the Lincoln family.\n\nSome years after Dr. Smith happened on a Sabbath day, in his church at\nSpringfield, to re-deliver his sermon (delivered, I think, eighteen\nyears previous). \"Is there no Balm in Gilead? Is there no Physician\nthere?\" Lincoln, always a regular attendant, was there and was much\nstartled. When the congregation had gone, he sought the preacher. \"Dr.\nSmith,\" said he, \"was it you who preached that sermon when I was a boy\nat Rockfort?\" \"Yes.\" \"Well,\" said Mr. Lincoln, \"I have never forgotten\nthat sermon, and never will.\" I need not narrate what then passed\nbetween them. Sometime after this a discussion arose in Springfield, as\nto the credibility of the Scripture. Knowing Lincoln's well-balanced\nmind, his studious and deep-thinking nature and downright honesty,\na gentleman, anxious to have his views, asked if he believed the\nScriptures were strictly true. Lincoln answered: \"I have investigated\nthat matter thoroughly, as a lawyer would do, examining testimony, and\nI hold that the arguments in favor of the credibility, inspiration, and\nDivine authority of the Scripture are unanswerable.\"\n\nAt an annual meeting of the Presbyterian Church of Springfield, or\nrather of the Bible Society of that church, Lincoln delivered a long\naddress on the same subject--the authenticity of the Scriptures. An\nable address it was. His arguments are too lengthy for me to narrate.\nFor seven years, down to the day of his departure for Washington to\n\nASSUME THE DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENCY,\n\nhe was a member of that congregation, and took part and aided in all\nbenevolent undertakings in connection with the church. Were I allowed\nto unfold to the public what is sacred, that which I know of Mr.\nLincoln's inner life during the four years he was President, his memory\nwould be revered by all Christians for his entire dependence during\nthat eventful period upon God's guidance, and not on himself. Truly no\nman thought less of himself and of his nothingness without God. This is\nexemplified in his public life. When assuming the Presidency, what did\nhe say? Speaking of the contrast of his time to Washington's:\n\n\"I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine Aid which\nsustained him [Washington], and on the same Almighty Being I place my\nreliance for support. And I hope that you, my friends, will all pray\nthat I may receive that Divine assistance, without which I cannot\nsucceed, but with which success is certain.\"\n\nIf an infidel, then is it possible that Abraham Lincoln could be an\nhonest man as the world knows he was--and make that assertion? Is it\nnecessary for me to say more? If so, let me remind you of his words\n\n(1) To that zealous\n\nLADY OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMISSION\n\nduring the war, in answer to her views of religion:\n\nIf what you have told me is really a correct view, I think I can say\nwith sincerity that I hope I am a Christian.\n\n(2) To the Philadelphia Church Conference in 1864: Allow me to attest,\nin response to your address, the accuracy of its historical statements;\nindorse the sentiments it expresses, and thank you in the Nation's name\nfor the sure promise it gives. God bless the Methodist Church, God\nbless all the churches, and blessed be God who giveth us, in this our\ngreat trial, churches!\n\n(3) To the Cabinet on the emancipation of the slaves:\n\n\"I made a solemn vow before God that if General Lee were driven from\nPennsylvania, I would crown the result by declaring freedom to the\nslaves.\"\n\n(4) On the same subject [slavery] remember he said: \"Whatever appears\nto be God's will, I will do.\"\n\nONE MORE FINAL PUBLIC ACT\n\nand I am done. At Baltimore he was presented by the negroes of that\ncity with a copy of the Scriptures. In reply, Lincoln said:\n\n\"In regard to the great Book, I have only to say, it is the best gift\nwhich God has given to man. All the good from the Saviour of the world\nis communicated to us through this Book. But for that Book we could not\nknow right from wrong. All those things desirable to man are contained\nin it.\"\n\nIt may appear unnecessary for me to repeat Lincoln's\n\nPUBLIC EXPRESSIONS OF RELIGION\n\nin conjunction with what I have issued to the world for the first time,\nas to his religious life in private before he was President, but as\nmy object is to connect his private and public religious expressions\ntogether, and bring them down from the time he was sixteen years old to\nhis death, and to show that he was, for these thirty years,\n\nUNIFORMLY A CHRISTIAN MAN,\n\nyou will pardon my repeating in part what the whole world already\nknows. Take Lincoln's expressions altogether as above quoted by me,\nand I submit you will find not only an absence of the slightest doubt\nof religion on his part, but an entire reliance on God alone for\nguiding himself and the events of the world. And yet that foolish\nman, Herndon, will say--and I am sorry to see a small portion of the\nAmerican press will repeat--that Abraham Lincoln was an Infidel.\nMarvelous! I am proud to think I have in my possession--as a reward for\na few insignificant services done by me on account of Mrs. Lincoln--the\ngreat and Martyred President's psalm book, which he used while at the\nWhite House, and I shall retain it as a proud memento for my family, of\n\"Lincoln the Good--the Saviour of his Country.\"\n\nA word before I close, as to Mrs. Lincoln. She is a lady of great\nmerit, and spite of Herndon's mad expression to the contrary, was\ndearly loved by the President, as his letters to her will show, and one\ndoes not wonder at it, as her love and regard for him to this day is\neven greater than tongue can tell. If the American people understood\nMrs. Lincoln as well as I do, they would respect her equally as they\ndid Lincoln.\n\n  Yours truly,\n  WILLIAM REED,\n\n  United States Consul, Dundee, Scotland.\n\n  From the Illinois _State Journal_, Saturday Morning, May 15, 1874.\n\nWHY LINCOLN APPOINTED HIM\n\nReading (Pa.) _News_\n\nThe Rev. James Shrigley who is well known here, was appointed by\nPresident Lincoln a hospital Chaplain during the war. Pending his\nconfirmation by the United States, a self-constituted committee of\nthe Young Men's Christian Association called on the President to\nprotest against the appointment. After Mr. Shrigley's name had been\nmentioned the President said: \"Oh, yes, I have sent it to the Senate.\nHis testimonials are highly satisfactory, and the appointment will, no\ndoubt, be confirmed at an early day.\"\n\nThe young men replied: \"But, sir, we have come not to ask the\nappointment, but to solicit you to withdraw the nomination, on the\nground that Mr. Shrigley is not evangelical in his sentiments.\" \"Ah!\"\nsaid the President, \"that alters the case. On what point of doctrine is\nthe gentleman unsound?\" \"He does not believe in endless punishment,\"\nwas the reply. \"Yes,\" added another of the committee, \"he believes that\neven the rebels themselves will finally be saved, and it will never do\nto have a man with such views a hospital Chaplain.\"\n\nThe President hesitated to reply for a moment, and then responded with\nan emphasis they will long remember: \"If that be so, gentlemen, and\nthere be any way under heaven whereby the rebels can be saved, then for\nGod's sake let the man be appointed!\"\n\nHe was appointed.\n\nFrom the _Daily Illinois State Register_, Friday, April 29, 1881.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX VII\n\n\"THE CHRISTIAN'S DEFENCE\"\n\n\nTHE debate out of which this volume grew was held at Columbus,\nMississippi, in the spring of 1841, between Rev. James Smith and Mr.\nC. G. Olmsted. Mr. Olmsted, the author of a work entitled, \"The Bible\nIts Own Refutation,\" was a resident of Columbus. Dr. Smith visited\nthis city during the winter of 1839-1840, and finding the young men\nof the place to be very largely under the influence of Mr. Olmsted,\nhe delivered a series of lectures, especially addressed to the young\nmen of the place, on \"The Natures and Tendencies of Infidelity,\" and\nanother upon, \"The Evidences of Christianity.\" While these lectures\nwere in progress, Dr. Smith was approached by a committee, who\nsympathized with Mr. Olmsted's views, and who, with the sanction of Mr.\nOlmsted, brought a written challenge to Dr. Smith to meet Mr. Olmsted\nin a public discussion of the whole ground at issue between them. Dr.\nSmith accepted on condition that he have time for adequate preparation.\nHe communicated with friends in Great Britain, who procured and sent\nto him the latest and best material bearing on the subject. His\nbook contains reproductions of the supposed Zodiac at Denderah, and\na colored reproduction from the monuments of Egypt of brickmakers,\nbelieved to be Israelites. The researches of Rawlinson were made\navailable to him, and a considerable body of additional literature.\n\nBecause Dr. Smith's book has been spoken of slightingly by men who\nnever saw it and who had the vaguest possible notion of its content,\nand because the book itself is so excessively rare that in the nature\nof the case few readers of this volume can have access to it, I have\ncopied the Title Page, a portion of the advertisement, and the whole of\nthe very full Table of Contents.\n\nWe need not concern ourselves with the question whether Dr. Smith's\nline of argument is that which probably would be found most cogent\nif a similar debate were to be held at the present day. Sources of\ninformation are now available, of which neither Dr. Smith nor his\nopponent could possibly have had any knowledge. But any reader of this\nchapter analysis will be compelled to testify that a book which covered\nthe ground of this outline and did it with logical acumen and force\nof reasoning, is not to be spoken of now in terms other than those of\nadmiration for the industry and earnestness of the author, and the\ncogency of the conclusions which he deduced from his premises. One is\nprepared to believe from the testimony included in a number of letters\nthat are reprinted in the advertisement and in the preface that these\nlectures produced a profound impression upon those who heard this\ndiscussion.\n\nThe more carefully these lectures are examined, the more probable does\nit appear that in form and method they would have been likely to make,\nwhat they appear to have made, a very strong impression upon Abraham\nLincoln. It must have been evident to him that Dr. Smith was familiar\nwith both sides of the question, and Lincoln can but have admired the\ncourage and ardor with which he went into a discussion so fully in\nkeeping with methods which Abraham Lincoln himself enjoyed and which\nlater he employed in his great debate with Douglas. We can well believe\nthat he spoke with the utmost sincerity when he told Dr. Smith that he\ncounted the argument unanswerable, and stated to his brother-in-law,\nHon. Ninian W. Edwards, and his associate at the bar, Mr. Thomas Lewis,\nthat these lectures had modified his own opinion.\n\n\nNOTICES OF THE DEBATE WHICH LED TO THE PUBLISHING OF THE CHRISTIAN'S\nDEFENCE\n\nFrom the _Southwestern Christian Advocate_, Columbus, Miss., 1841\n\nMR. EDITOR--I have thought that a concise account of this debate might\nnot be unacceptable to your readers. It is a mortifying fact, that\nthis city has become FAMOUS--or rather INFAMOUS for the prevalence of\ndeism and atheism among her citizens. This has been produced in a good\ndegree by the efforts of an old gentleman by the name Olmsted. Since\nhis residence here, which has been for about four years, he has been\nuntiring in his exertions to sow the seeds of moral death in this\ncommunity. He has organized his converts into a band, that operates\nsystematically. He has written a book, which is not exceeded by TOM\nPAINE'S _Age of Reason_, for scurrility and ridicule. The old gentleman\nis as artful as the old DESTROYER himself; by which means he has\nobtained an immense influence over the minds of the young men of this\nplace.\n\nThe circumstances which gave rise to the debate were as follows:\nThe Rev. James Smith, during a visit in this city, delivered a few\ndiscourses on the dangerous tendencies of infidelity, addressing\nhimself particularly to the youth. This induced a committee of infidel\ngentlemen to address a written challenge to Mr. S., to meet their\nchampion, Mr. O., in a public debate. Mr. S. by the advice of many\nintelligent friends of truth, accepted the challenge. The time arrived,\nand the discussion commenced. All was anxiety and interest. The house\nwas crowded, even the aisles and windows, with attentive hearers. They\narranged to speak alternately, one, two hours each night, and the other\na half hour; so the debate continued two hours and a half each night.\nFrom the representation of Mr. O's talents, learning, and preparation,\nwe were made to tremble for the results; but we were not a little\ndisappointed to find the old gentleman fall far below his fame....\n\nHe asserted that the Jews did not believe in a future state of\nexistence, until after the Babylonish captivity; that they borrowed\ntheir doctrines of the immortality of the soul from the nations among\nwhom they were dispersed--that the Jews believed in a plurality of\ngods--that St. Paul was the author of Christianity--that Christianity\nencourages polygamy. To prove this last position, he quoted Paul's\ndirections to Timothy: \"Let a bishop be the husband of one wife.\" And\nto crown the mass of absurdities, he endeavored to prove that the\nblessed Jesus was a base impostor.\n\nWe found Mr. Smith well prepared for the contest. He had his arguments\nsystematically arranged--had written them all, and read them well.\nHe proved to a demonstration, the GENUINENESS, AUTHENTICITY and\nINSPIRATION of the Old Testament Scriptures. His arguments were\ninteresting and convincing. His arguments on the New Testament were\nequally happy, and if possible, more convincing. The conclusion of\nevery inquirer after truth, must have been, that the champion of\ndeism was signally defeated, and his cause left bleeding on the field.\nI doubt not but the defeat would have been more complete, had Mr. S.\nomitted some of his personal allusions, and had he suppressed his\nnatural inclination to sarcasm. Indeed his blasts of sarcasm were truly\nWITHERING. His opponent, finding that he could not cope with him in\nthis respect, retreated, and took shelter under the sympathies of his\naudience.\n\n  Yours, &c.,\n  ONE OF THE HEARERS.\n\n\n                                  THE\n                          CHRISTIAN'S DEFENCE\n\n                              CONTAINING\n              A FAIR STATEMENT AND IMPARTIAL EXAMINATION\n                                OF THE\n                 LEADING OBJECTIONS URGED BY INFIDELS\n                              AGAINST THE\n                ANTIQUITY, GENUINENESS, CREDIBILITY AND\n                              INSPIRATION\n                                OF THE\n                           HOLY SCRIPTURES;\n                  ENRICHED WITH COPIOUS EXTRACTS FROM\n                           LEARNED AUTHORS.\n\n                            BY JAMES SMITH.\n\n                    \"The Christian Faith,\n  Unlike the tim'rous creeds of pagan priests,\n  Is frank, stands forth to view, inviting all\n  To prove, examine, search, investigate;\n  And gave herself a light to see her by.\"\n               --_Pollock's Course of Time_, B. iv.\n\n    \"If I have done well, and as is fitting the story, it is\n    that which I desired; but if slenderly and meanly, it\n    is that which I could attain unto.\"--2 _Maccabees_ xv, 38.\n\n                          TWO VOLUMES IN ONE\n\n                              CINCINNATI:\n               STEREOTYPED AND PUBLISHED BY J. A. JAMES\n                                 1843\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n   VOLUME I\n\n   ON THE CREDIBILITY, ANTIQUITY, AND GENUINENESS OF\n   THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES\n\n   CHAPTER I\n\n   The nations of the earth are indebted to the Jews for the\n   Bible.--Taylor's assertion, that no such nation as the Jewish\n   ever existed. Its confutation. The Jews and Christians\n   hold the Old Testament to be a revelation from God.\n   Infidels hold this to be untrue. How the question at issue\n   is to be settled. The frame of mind necessary to an impartial\n   examination of the subject.--Objections of the\n   Atheistical Infidel against the claims of the Bible as a\n   divine revelation. Mr. Olmsted's misrepresentation of the\n   position of the advocates of Revelation. The questions at\n   issue between the Christian and Atheist. That between\n   the Christian and the Deist                                         1\n\n   SECTION I.--Confutation of the theory of the materialist.\n   Confutations of the positions of the two classes of\n   Atheists                                                            6\n\n   SECTION II.--Hume's argument to prove that Polytheism\n   was the first religion of mankind. Its confutation                 23\n\n   SECTION III.--Of the style of the Old Testament Scriptures.\n   Example from Mr. Olmsted, showing the necessity\n   of understanding its nature. The Scriptures speak the language\n   of appearances, but strictly philosophical                         40\n\n   CHAPTER II\n\n   Mr. Olmsted's assertion concerning the requisitions of the advocate\n   of Revelation in examining the credibility of the\n   Mosaic writings. Its falsehood. His allegation that the\n   first sentence in the Bible contains a falsehood. The confutation\n   of his argument. His objection to the credibility\n   of the Mosaic narrative of the creation founded on the\n   statement that the world was made in six days. Vindication\n   of the Mosaic narrative.--Infidel objection to the\n   Mosaic narrative founded on the zodiacs in the temples of\n   Latapolis and Tantyra. Its fallacy.--Dr. Keith's proofs\n   of the truthfulness of the Mosaic narrative of the creation        48\n\n   SECTION I.--Mosaic account of the creation confirmed\n   by tradition. The Hindoo account; that of Ovid; the\n   Phenician; the Egyptian; that of Plato.--The heathen\n   tradition concerning the first man. Division of time into\n   weeks, a confirmation of the Mosaic narrative                      75\n\n   SECTION II.--Paine's and Olmsted's objection on account\n   of the narrative of the fall of man. Their confutation.\n   The Mosaic narrative of the fall of man confirmed\n   by heathen traditions; by the universality of serpent worship;\n   by the condition of mankind; by the opinions of the\n   heathen philosophers concerning the corruption of human\n   nature; by the belief of the Brahmins; by the opinions of\n   the classical mythologists, and by the universal practice of\n   animal sacrifice.--The account of the translation of Enoch\n   confirmed by the Grecian fables.--The longevity of the\n   antediluvian patriarchs confirmed by heathen traditions.--Mosaic\n   account of man of gigantic stature confirmed by\n   the Greek and Latin poets                                          85\n\n     CHAPTER III\n\n   Objection to the Mosaic narrative of the deluge, because contrary\n   to the philosophy of Nature. Its fallacy.--The truth\n   of the narrative confirmed by the fossil remains of animals.\n   --Objection founded on the size of the ark. Shown\n   to be fallacious.--Objection founded on certain marks of\n   antiquity said to exist in the lava of Mt. Etna. Mr.\n   Horne's confutation of the argument.--Objection on account\n   of the differences in color, existing among mankind.\n   Its fallacy. Dr. Good's argument, confirmatory of the\n   Mosaic narrative.--Objections founded upon the supposed\n   antiquity of the eastern nations. Confutation of the objection.\n   --Objections founded on the condition of America\n   when discovered by Columbus. Proofs that two distinct\n   races of men immigrated into America from Asia. The\n   present Indians, of the same race with the tribes of\n   northern Asia. The ancient Mexicans and Peruvians,\n   originally proceeded from the same stock with the nations\n   of southern Asia                                                  100\n\n   SECTION I.--Mosaic account of the deluge confirmed by\n   Pagan history. Its memory incorporated with almost every\n   part of the heathen mythology. Noah claimed by all the\n   heathen nations as their founder, and worshiped by them as\n   a god. Saturn, of the Greeks and Latins, Menu of the\n   Hindoos, and Noah identical. The Hindoo account of the\n   deluge. The Chinese and Grecian accounts. The ark mentioned\n   by heathen historians. Plutarch's notice of the dove\n   which was sent out of the ark. The heathens carried their\n   deities in an ark. Ancient medals commemorative of the\n   deluge. American traditions of that calamity. Summing\n   up of the argument                                                125\n\n   SECTION II.--Confirmation of the Mosaic representation\n   of the origin of families and nations. Testimony of\n   Sir W. Jones.--Confirmation of the Mosaic accounts of\n   the tower of Babel.--Of the destruction of Sodom and\n   Gomorrah. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, known to the ancient\n   heathens. Mr. Olmsted's attempt to invalidate the\n   Mosaic account of the condition of the Israelites in Egypt.\n   The confutation of his argument.--His argument to invalidate\n   the truth of the Mosaic narrative of the exode of\n   the Israelites from Egypt and the circumstances attending\n   it. Vindication of the Mosaic narrative.--Explanation of\n   the design of the miraculous interposition in behalf of the\n   Israelites. The fitness and tendency of each of the plagues\n   inflicted upon the Egyptians. Confutation of Mr. Olmsted's\n   allegation that Moses extorted permission for the\n   Israelites to leave Egypt, by false pretentions. Vindication\n   of the Mosaic account of the hardening of Pharaoh's\n   heart. Mr. Olmsted's supposition that the Israelites were\n   a horde of rude barbarians, in behalf of whom there was\n   no divine interposition. The fallacy and absurdity of his\n   supposition                                                       135\n\n   SECTION III.--Collateral testimony confirmative of the\n   Mosaic account of the exode of the Israelites from Egypt,\n   their sojourn in the wilderness, and settlement in Canaan.\n   Curious discovery confirmatory of the Mosaic narrative.\n   Trogus' account of the origin of the Jews. The account of\n   their origin by Apion, an Egyptian writer. Manetho's account\n   of the shepherds who retreated from Egypt to Judea.\n   Tacitus' account of the origin of the Jews. Artapanus'\n   relation concerning Moses. Janes and Jambres, the Egyptian\n   magicians, well known to heathen writers. Strabo's account\n   of Moses. The account of the Heliopolitans concerning the\n   passage of the Red Sea. A similar tradition by Diodorus.\n   The inhabitants of Corondel to this day preserve the remembrance\n   of the passing of the Red Sea by the Israelites.\n   The names of different places passed by the Israelites\n   during their sojourn in the wilderness confirm the Mosaic\n   narrative. The writer of the Orphic verses speaks of\n   Moses and the tables of the Laws. Didorus Siculus notices\n   Moses. Dionysius Longius makes honorable mention of\n   Moses. Accuracy of the Mosaic narrative of the sojourn\n   in the wilderness confirmed by Laborde. The tomb of\n   Aaron on Mount Hor, confirms the truth of the Mosaic\n   narrative. Summing up of the argument from collateral\n   testimony. A very conclusive evidence of the truth of the\n   Mosaic history quoted from Dr. Keith.--The history of the\n   Israelites subsequent to the settlement in Canaan corroborated\n   by profane writers. Curious discovery, illustrative\n   of the Scriptural account of the war carried on by\n   Pharaoh-Necho against the Jews and Babylonians.--Confutation\n   of the objection founded by Infidels upon the supposed\n   sterility of the soil of Palestine. Forcible testimony\n   to the credibility of the Old Testament Scriptures afforded\n   by the present condition of the Jews                              159\n\n   CHAPTER IV\n\n   Efforts of Infidels to show that the books of the Old Testament\n   are forgeries of comparative modern date. Their\n   objections considered. Curious discovery illustrative of the\n   antiquity and exactness of the Mosaic writings. The utter\n   impossibility of the books being forgeries proven.--Mr.\n   Olmsted's argument to prove that the book of the law was\n   forged by Ezra. Confutation of his argument. Proofs\n   that the law could not have been forged by Daniel nor by\n   any of the captives in Babylon; that it could not have been\n   forged by Isaiah. A forgery could not have been effected\n   after the revolt of the ten tribes. It could not have been\n   forged by David; nor by Saul: nor by any of the Judges\n   who preceded Samuel. The law existed in Joshua's time.\n   Joshua could not have forged the law. The impossibility\n   of practicing a fraud upon the Israelites during a sojourn\n   in the wilderness.--The books of the Pentateuch have internal\n   marks, which demonstrate that they were written\n   by Moses. The book of Genesis included by the Jews in\n   the book of the law. Evidences of its antiquity and genuineness.\n   --Profane testimony to the genuineness of the\n   Mosaic writings. Objection on the ground that although\n   Moses wrote a book called the book of the law, we have\n   no evidence that it was the book now current in his name.\n   The objection considered and answered                             193\n\n   SECTION I.--Objection of Infidels against the books of\n   Judges, Kings, and Chronicles, because they are anonymous.\n   The objection answered.--The objections against the genuineness\n   of the other books of the Old Testament. In effect\n   answered in the foregoing arguments.--Mr. Paine's argument\n   to prove that the Mosaic writings are spurious,\n   founded upon the style. Confutation of his argument. His\n   argument founded on the passage \"Now the man Moses\n   was very meek,\" etc. Its confutation.--His argument\n   founded on the statement that Abraham pursued the four\n   kings unto Dan. Its fallacy.--His argument founded on\n   what is said of the descendants of Esau. The argument\n   considered, confuted.--His argument founded on the passage\n   \"The children of Israel did eat manna until they came\n   to a land inhabited,\" etc. Its fallacy. His argument founded\n   on what is said concerning Og's bedstead. The argument\n   confuted.--The argument founded on the record of the\n   death of Moses being contained in the books attributed to\n   him. The argument confuted.--The evidence adduced\n   establishes the genuineness and credibility of the books.--Objection\n   that Moses must have borrowed the history of\n   the creation from the traditions which obtained in his time.\n   Reply to the objection.--The question, Whence did Moses\n   derive the materials of his history? Answered by Mr.\n   Horne.--Objections on the ground that no dependence is to\n   be placed in the present text of the Old Testament Scriptures.\n   Its fallacy                                                       227\n\n   CHAPTER V\n\n   A number of objections necessarily omitted, stated and answered.--Mr.\n   Olmsted's argument to prove that the author\n   of the book of Genesis was a polytheist. Its confutation.--His\n   argument to prove that the author of the book of\n   Genesis believed God to be a corporeal being. Its confutation.\n   Objections founded on the statements concerning\n   Cain. Their fallacy.--Cavil of Infidels at the curse pronounced\n   by Noah upon Canaan. Its unreasonableness.\n   Objections founded on the cause assigned for the diversity\n   of languages. Vindication of the Scriptural account.--Objection\n   founded on the conduct of Lot. Its fallacy.--Objection\n   founded on the misconduct of Abraham. Consideration\n   of the objection as applied not merely to Abraham,\n   but also to Jacob and David.--Objection on the ground that\n   God is represented as commanding Abraham to sacrifice\n   Isaac. Vindication of the Scriptural account of that affair.\n   --Objection, on the ground that circumcision was first\n   practiced by the Egyptians. Its fallacy.--Objection\n   founded on the representation given by Moses of the works\n   of the Egyptian magicians during the plagues in Egypt.\n   Mr. Farmer's satisfactory reply                                   250\n\n   SECTION I.--Infidels assert that the pillar of cloud and\n   fire is a fiction. The assertion considered and answered.--The\n   assertion that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea at\n   Suez. Vindication of the Scriptural account. Assertion\n   that the tremendous scene upon Sinai was a cheat. Its\n   fallacy. Olmsted's objection founded on the length of time\n   the Israelites were in the wilderness. Explanation of the\n   design of the dealings of Jehovah with the Israelites.\n   Vindication of the dresses, rites, and customs enjoyed by\n   the ceremonial law. Objection founded on the repeated\n   apostacies of the Israelites. The objection considered and\n   answered. The objection founded on the treatment of the\n   Moabites and the Midianites. Considered and answered.--Objection,\n   on the ground that the Israelites were commanded\n   to exterminate the Canaanites. Considered and\n   answered.--Assertion that the Old Testament Scriptures\n   sanction adultery and murder. Its falsehood.--Assertion\n   that Jehovah kept false prophets, and violated his promises.\n   Mr. Horne's answer.--Objection founded on the speaking\n   of Balaam's ass. Considered and answered. Mr. Paine's\n   objection on the ground that the sun is represented as\n   standing still upon Mt. Gibeon. Vindication of the Scriptural\n   account of that miraculous event. Dr. Clarke's very\n   satisfactory reply to the objection. Objection founded on\n   the passage, \"Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord, and\n   he brought the shadow ten degrees backward by which it\n   had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.\"--Objection founded\n   on what is said of the Witch of Endor. Considered and\n   answered                                                          275\n\n\n   VOLUME II\n\n   THE GENUINENESS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES\n\n   CHAPTER I\n\n   The books of the New Testament written by eight Jews.--Why\n   called New Testament? Infidels deny the genuineness\n   of the books.--Hold that the writers were impostors, and\n   the religion taught in them a fraud practiced upon mankind.\n   The difficulties attending the examination of the claims\n   of the New Testament to genuineness and credibility.--How\n   the subject should be approached.--The denial of the\n   genuineness of the books of modern dates. Toland charged\n   with having betrayed his suspicion that the writings were\n   forgeries. The suspicion of an anonymous Italian.--Its\n   absurdity.--Gibbon acknowledges the genuineness of the\n   writings.--Volney lays it down as a clear case, that no such\n   person as Jesus Christ ever existed. His theory adopted,\n   defended, and extensively circulated by Taylor. His positions\n   defined in his manifesto.--His unblushing falsehoods\n   promptly met and refuted by English Divines. Hitherto\n   unanswered in this country.--His first and second propositions\n   taken up.--How the authorship which has no name\n   prefixed to it is to be ascertained. The rule applied to the\n   New Testament                                                       3\n\n   SECTION I.--Marks given by Michaelis by which the\n   spuriousness of a book may be discovered.--How books\n   anciently found their way to the public. The congregations\n   before whom the original copies of the New Testament\n   were read, vouchers of their genuineness.--The ancient adversaries\n   of Christianity admitted the genuineness of the\n   writings. The testimony of Trypho, the Jew. The testimony\n   of Celsus. The writings of Celsus against Christianity\n   of great value in enabling the advocate of Revelation,\n   of the present day, to prove that Jesus Christ is the\n   son of God. The testimony of Porphyry. Testimony of\n   Hierocles, the philosopher.--Testimony of the emperor\n   Julian. Testimony of Taylor himself. The quotations\n   from the New Testament by the most virulent enemies of\n   Christianity of ancient times. Demonstrate the genuineness\n   of the writings.--The immediate disciples of the\n   apostles acknowledge the genuineness of the books. The\n   epistles of the Apostolic fathers. Their genuineness unquestionable.\n   These writings prove the genuineness of the\n   New Testament. The epistles of Barnabas written shortly\n   after the destruction of Jerusalem. Table illustrating that\n   the New Testament writings were extant when Barnabas\n   wrote, or, at least, that he was conversant with some of\n   the writers of the book. The epistle of Clement, when and\n   to whom written. Table exhibiting quotations from the\n   New Testament in the epistle of Clement. Writings of\n   Hermas; when written. Table exhibiting the quotations of\n   Hermas from the New Testament. Ignatius, when he\n   flourished. Table of his quotations from the New Testament.\n   Polycarp, the friend of the apostle John. Table of\n   his quotations from the New Testament. Summing up of\n   the testimony of the apostolic fathers.--Ignatius and Polycarp\n   seal their testimony with their blood.--Martyrdom of\n   Polycarp                                                           13\n\n   SECTION II.--Papias ascribes two gospels to Matthew\n   and Mark. Testimony of Justin, of Irenaenus, of Tertullian,\n   of Clemens Alexandrinus. Table of quotations by\n   these witnesses. Testimony of Origen: His quotations\n   from the New Testament. Testimony of Eusebius and\n   Jerome.--Number and antiquity of the manuscripts of the\n   New Testament. An argument for the genuineness of its\n   books. Curious discovery which confirms the genuineness\n   of the New Testament writings.--The council of Laodicea\n   did not design to settle the Canon                                 67\n\n   CHAPTER II\n\n   ON THE GENUINENESS OF THE BOOKS.--Mr. Taylor's arguments\n   to prove that the writings of the New Testament are spurious.\n   Exposure of his dishonesty in quoting from Dr.\n   Lardner. Mr. P. Smith's refutation of his allegation that\n   the Scriptures were altered by the Emperor Anastasius.\n   Exposure of his dishonesty in quoting from Beausobre.\n   Refutation of his allegation that the Scriptures were altered\n   by Lanfranc. Refutation of his argument drawn from the\n   various readings. The passage of the Unitarian New\n   Version cited by Mr. Taylor in support of his allegation.\n   Dr. Bentley on the various readings. Gaussen on the\n   various readings. Tables illustrative of the various readings.\n   Trouble of Bengel about the integrity of the original\n   text. The success of his labors in sacred criticism                84\n\n   SECTION I.--Taylor's dishonesty in referring to the\n   works of Herbert Marsh, in support of his allegation that\n   the manuscript from which the received text was taken was\n   stolen from the librarian. Explanation of the story of the\n   sale of the manuscript to a skyrocket maker. Taylor's falsehood\n   in his pretended reference to Bishop Marsh, in support\n   of his allegation that for the principal passage in the book of\n   Revelation there was no original Greek. Notice of Mr.\n   Taylor's charge that the tendency of the New Testament is\n   immoral and wicked. J. J. Rousseau's testimony to the\n   morality of the Gospel. Exposure of Mr. Taylor's dishonesty\n   in quoting from Mosheim in support of his allegation\n   that ecclesiastical historians admit their inability to show\n   when or by whom the New Testament Scriptures were\n   written. Refutation of his allegation. The Apocryphal\n   books collected and published by Jeremiah Jones. Refutation\n   of Mr. Taylor's assertion what he terms the true and\n   genuine gospel. Refutation of Mr. Taylor's objection on\n   the ground of modernisms contained in some passages of\n   the New Testament, and the ignorance of the four evangelists\n   of the geography and statistics of Judea. The\n   summing up of the argument on the genuineness of the\n   New Testament Scriptures                                          107\n\n   CHAPTER III\n\n   CREDIBILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES.--The number\n   of the witnesses who testify to the facts detailed in the\n   New Testament. How the credibility of a historical book\n   is to be ascertained. The rule as applied to Christian\n   writings. Their genuineness proves their credibility. The\n   writers of the New Testament could not have falsified the\n   facts relative to Jesus Christ. The objection on the ground\n   that the Jews rejected the claims of Jesus Christ. Its confutation.\n   The conduct of the Jewish nation in rejecting\n   Christ accounted for. The conversion of many of the\n   Gentiles proves the credibility of the book. The character,\n   circumstances, and conduct of the men who testify of\n   Jesus prove their credibility. Difficulty to be surmounted\n   by those who maintain that the apostles and evangelists\n   were impostors. Summing up of the argument on the\n   credibility of the witnesses                                      125\n\n   SECTION I.--Collateral testimony of the truthfulness of\n   the writers of the New Testament. Testimonies to the\n   truthfulness of St. Matthew's statement concerning Herod\n   and Archalaus. Testimony to the truthfulness of the statement\n   of Luke concerning Herod, Tetrarch of Galilee, and\n   his brother Phillip, Tetrarch of Itruria. Testimony to the\n   truthfulness of the evangelists relative to Herod marrying\n   Herodias. Josephus corroborates Luke's account of the\n   death of Herod Agrippa. Testimonies of the truthfulness\n   of the statements in the Acts concerning Felix. A number\n   of notices, by profane authors, of Pilate, confirmatory of\n   the truthfulness of the evangelists. Testimonies to the\n   truthfulness of the evangelists in their statements of the\n   treatment of Jesus Christ upon trial and when crucified.\n   Testimonies confirming statements of the evangelists concerning\n   the burial of Jesus Christ. Notice taken of John\n   the Baptist by Josephus. What he says concerning Jesus\n   Christ. Notices of Jesus Christ from the ancient Jewish\n   Talmudical writings. Testimony of the heathen adversary\n   to the leading facts detailed by the evangelists. Summing\n   up of the argument                                                140\n\n   SECTION II.--The same ground retraced, and the objections\n   of Mr. Taylor considered and answered. Representation\n   of Taylor's third and fourth propositions. The\n   falsehood of Mr. Taylor's assertion that no such person as\n   Jesus Christ ever existed, proven by the testimony of\n   Tacitus, of Suetonius, of Martial, of Pliny the Younger.\n   Mr. Taylor's assertion that some, many, or all, of the\n   events related of Jesus Christ by the evangelists had formerly\n   been related of the gods and goddesses of Greece\n   and Rome. Its confutation to be found in any of the\n   Pantheons or mythological dictionaries. Exposure of the\n   malignity and falsehood of Mr. Taylor exhibited in his\n   attempt to identify Jesus Christ with the heathen idol\n   Crishna. Citations from Sir W. Jones concerning Crishna.\n   The testimony of Sir W. Jones impartial. The unreasonableness\n   and absurdity of Mr. Taylor's conclusions                         164\n\n   SECTION III.--The last refuge of the infidel is to maintain\n   either that Jesus Christ was a mistaken enthusiast or\n   a wicked impostor. Mr. English's argument to prove that\n   Jesus was a mistaken enthusiast. Its confutation                  181\n\n   SECTION IV.--Argument by Mr. Olmsted to prove that\n   Jesus Christ was a wicked impostor. Its confutation               190\n\n   CHAPTER IV\n\n   OBJECTIONS STATED AND ANSWERED.--The objections urged by\n   infidels of such a nature that, though numerous, to answer\n   one or two of each class is to answer all. Quotation from\n   Gaussen, explanatory of the nature and causes of the supposed\n   contradictions in the writings of the evangelists. Examples\n   by Gaussen. Explanation of the seeming contradictions\n   between the genealogies of Matthew and Luke.\n   Answer to the objection, that certain names occur in Luke's\n   list of the apostles, which do not appear in that of Matthew.\n   Answer to the objection on account of the seeming contradiction\n   in the title which was written over Jesus Christ\n   when on the cross. Answer to the objection founded on\n   the seeming contradiction in the different accounts of the\n   hour when Jesus Christ was suspended on the cross. Answer\n   to the objection urged against St. Luke when he says,\n   \"It came to pass in those days, that there went out a\n   decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be\n   taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was\n   Governor of Syria.\" Answer to the objection founded upon\n   Jesus cursing the fig-tree. Answer to Taylor's assertion that\n   Romans 3:7 recommends telling lies for the glory of God.\n   His assertion that Jesus Christ was not crucified. Its confutation.\n   His assertion that \"Paul and Barnabas did not\n   preach the same story.\" Its falsehood demonstrated. His\n   assertion that some preached a Christ who was not crucified.\n   Its falsehood. His assertion that Paul called the other\n   apostles false apostles and dogs. Vindication of the apostles\n   from this calumny. His assertions that Paul curses the other\n   apostles and recommends that they should be privately\n   assassinated. The falsehood of these accusations. The last\n   refuge of Mr. Taylor in asserting that Christianity had its\n   origin among the Therapeutae. Other infidels pretend that\n   the Essenes were the originators of Christianity. Watson's\n   account of the Essenes and Therapeutae                            214\n\n   CHAPTER V\n\n   DIVINE AUTHORITY AND INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.--What\n   is to be understood by inspiration? None but an\n   atheist can deny its possibilities. The gift of inspiration\n   proved by the performance of supernatural works, and by\n   the foretelling of future events with preciseness. If these\n   signs accompanied the authors of the dispensations contained\n   in the Old and New Testaments, it must be admitted\n   that the Bible is a revelation from God. The performance\n   of miracles by the authors of these dispensations attests\n   their divine mission. A miracle defined. Mr. Hume's argument\n   against miracles. Lord Brougham's confutation of\n   the argument. Keith's demonstration of its fallacy. The\n   miracles of Moses, of Jesus Christ and his apostles accompanied\n   by evidences which cannot be brought to substantiate\n   any pretended fact whatever. Mr. Leslie's argument\n   in favor of this position. Mr. Olmsted's attempt to destroy\n   the force of Mr. Leslie's argument. Exposure of the\n   misrepresentations and falsehoods contained in Mr. Olmsted's\n   argument. Confutation of his argument                             232\n\n   SECTION I.--Mr. Leslie's criteria applied to the miracles\n   recorded in the Scriptures. Applied to those of Moses; they\n   all meet in his miracles. Applied to those of Jesus Christ\n   and his apostles. Their number, their variety, and the\n   public manner in which they were performed, attest their\n   veracity. Miracles of Christ contrasted with those of impostors.\n   The pretended miracles wrought by Vespasian.\n   The pretended miracles of the Roman Catholics. Many of\n   them have been proved to be impostors. The object of\n   the miracles of Jesus attests their veracity. The great\n   miracle which lies at the foundation of Christianity, the\n   resurrection of Jesus Christ. The miracle examined.\n   Testimony of the evangelists, that Jesus during his life predicted\n   his death and resurrection. The prediction well\n   known to the Jewish rulers. The rulers took every necessary\n   precaution to put his pretensions to the test. The\n   crucifixion and death of Christ well attested. Precautions\n   that the body should not be removed until life was extinct.\n   The precautions of the rulers to prevent the body being\n   stolen out of the sepulchre. The whole question at issue\n   between Jesus and the Jewish rulers, suspended on the naked\n   fact, whether He did or did not rise again on the third\n   day. The Jewish rulers make their preparation on the\n   Sabbath to produce the body on the third day. On the\n   third day the body is missing. Different ways of accounting\n   for the fact. The disciples alleged that Jesus had\n   risen from the dead. Their testimony examined. The\n   Jewish rulers asserted that the disciples stole the body.\n   The allegation examined. Its falsehood demonstrated.\n   Subsequent conduct of the Sanhedrin confirms the testimony\n   of the apostles and evangelists. The adoption of the Jewish\n   mode of accounting for the fact accompanied with many\n   difficulties. An acknowledgment of the resurrection of\n   Jesus involves an acknowledgment of His divine mission.\n   Mr. Olmsted's objection on the ground that Jesus did not\n   show Himself publicly and ascend to heaven in the presence\n   of the whole nation. Its fallacious nature. The testimony\n   we have of the resurrection of Jesus Christ much more\n   satisfactory and convincing than that required by Mr.\n   Olmsted. Insuperable difficulties attending the denial of\n   the resurrection of Jesus Christ                                  279\n\n   CHAPTER VI\n\n   Divine authority of the Scriptures proved from prophecy and\n   its fulfillment. A prophecy defined. Mr. Watson's argument\n   in support of the possibility of prophecy. Criteria by\n   which true may be distinguished from false prophecies.\n   The prophecies of heathen oracles examined. Proved to\n   have been impostures. Contrast between the pretended predictions\n   of the heathen oracles and the prophecies contained\n   in the Scriptures. Mr. Paine's remarks in relation to the\n   manner in which future events would be communicated by\n   a true prophet. Mr. Olmsted's requisition and pledge if it\n   be met to acknowledge the truth of prophecy. Mr. Olmsted\n   met upon his own ground. Prophecy relative to the destruction\n   of Tyre. Its fulfillment proved by the infidel\n   Volney, and other competent witnesses. Mr. Olmsted,\n   from his own showing, is bound to believe that Ezekiel\n   was a true prophet of God. Table of quotations from the\n   prophecies of the Old Testament, and from Volney's writings,\n   showing that in spite of himself this infidel proves the\n   truthfulness of the seers of Israel. Mr. Olmsted's assertion\n   that the history of Isaiah is made up of scraps, and destitute\n   of order and meaning. The truth of the assertion tested.\n   Prophecy of Isaiah concerning Edom. Volney's testimony\n   of its fulfillment. Testimony of Mr. Stevens. Prophecy\n   of Jeremiah concerning the capital of Edom. Burchkhardt's\n   testimony of its fulfillment. Testimony of Captains Irby\n   and Mangles. Testimony of Mr. Stevens. The infidel\n   having been met on his own ground, and the fulfillment of\n   many prophecies proved by competent witnesses, it follows\n   that the seers of Israel were the true prophets of God            302\n\n   SECTION I.--The great theme of the Old Testament\n   prophets was the coming of the Messiah. The Christian\n   maintains that these prophecies found an accomplishment in\n   Christ. This denied by the Jew and the infidel. Mr. English's\n   argument to show that Jesus was not the Messiah.\n   First, on account of His genealogy, and, second, because the\n   prophecies of the Old Testament found no accomplishment\n   in Him. Mr. English's argument refuted in all its particulars.\n   Jesus proved to be the true Messiah. The Messiahship\n   of Jesus Christ being proved, it proves that the\n   Bible is a revelation from God. Closing address                   324\n\n   APPENDIX\n\n   Starkie's confutation of Hume's argument on evidence              362\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX VIII\n\nLINCOLN AND THE CHURCHES\n\nBy JOHN G. NICOLAY AND JOHN HAY\n\n NOTE.--Some of the important material bearing upon Lincoln's religious\n convictions which was collected by Nicolay and Hay and published in\n the _Century Magazine_, has, through faulty indexing, been almost\n lost. The words \"churches\" and \"religion\" are not in the thick index\n in the tenth volume of their great work. Finding in the _Century\n Magazine_ for August, 1889, an important article on this subject, I\n searched in vain for any way of finding it in the book by means of the\n index, and two librarians, working in separate libraries, searched\n for it and reported to me that it was not in the book. I came to the\n conclusion that in the editing of the work for its publication in\n book form, the two former secretaries of the President had deemed\n some of this matter too personal for their title, \"Abraham Lincoln:\n a History.\" But I have discovered the missing passage in the sixth\n volume, pages 314-342. Its testimony is in full accord with that\n subsequently given by Mr. Hay in the address delivered by him from\n Mr. Lincoln's old pew, which is printed in the volume of John Hay's\n addresses. The article in the _Century_ is so important that the first\n and last portions of it will justify reprinting here. The omitted\n portions relate to the relations of Mr. Lincoln and of the Government\n to particular churches or denominations.\n\n  W. E. B.\n\n\nIN a conflict which was founded upon the quickened moral sense of\nthe people it was not strange that the Government received the most\nearnest support from the churches. From one end of the loyal States to\nthe other all the religious organizations, with few exceptions, moved\nby the double forces of patriotism and religion, ranged themselves\nupon the side of the Government against the rebellion. A large number\nof pulpits in the North had already taken their places as tribunes\nfor the defense of popular freedom, and it was from them that, at\nthe menace of war, the first cry of danger and of defiance rang out.\nThose ministers who had for years been denouncing the encroachments\nof slavery did not wait for any organized action on the part of their\ncolleagues, but proclaimed at once in a thousand varying tones that\npeace was \"a blessing worth fighting for.\" The more conservative\nchurches were but little in the rear of the more advanced. Those who\nhad counseled moderation and patience with the South on account of\nthe divided responsibility for slavery which rested on both halves of\nthe nation speedily felt the sense of release front the obligations\nof brotherhood when the South had repudiated and renounced them, and\nrallied to the support of the insulted flag with an earnestness not\nless ardent, and more steadily trustworthy, than that of the original\nantislavery clergy. As the war went on, and as every stage of it gave a\nclearer presage of the coming destruction of slavery, the deliverances\nof the churches became every day more and more decided in favor of\nthe national cause and the downfall of human bondage. To detail the\nthousand ways in which the churches testified their support of the\nnational cause, to give even an abstract of the countless expressions\nof loyalty which came from the different religious bodies of the\ncountry, would occupy many volumes; we can only refer briefly to a\nfew of the more important utterances of some of the great religious\nsocieties.\n\nIn all the church conventions which met after the President's\npreliminary proclamation of the 22d of September, 1862, that act of\nliberation was greeted with the heartiest expressions of approval and\nsupport.\n\nAs the national authority began to be re\u00ebstablished throughout the\nStates in rebellion, not the least embarrassing of the questions\nwhich generals in command were called upon to decide was that of the\ntreatment of churches whose pastors were openly or covertly disloyal\nto the Union. There was no general plan adopted by the Government for\nsuch cases; in fact, it was impossible to formulate a policy which\nshould meet so vast a variety of circumstances as presented themselves\nin the different regions of the South. The Board of Missions of the\nMethodist Church sent down some of their ablest ministers, with general\nauthority to take charge of abandoned churches, and to establish\nin them their interrupted worship. The mission boards of other\ndenominations took similar action, and the Secretary of War[75] gave\ngeneral orders to the officers commanding the different departments\nto permit ministers of the gospel bearing the commission of these\nmission boards to exercise the functions of their office and to give\nthem all the aid, countenance, and support which might be practicable.\nBut before and after these orders there was much clashing between\nthe military and the ecclesiastical authorities, which had its rise\ngenerally in the individual temperaments of the respective generals\nand priests. There was an instance in one place where a young officer\nrose in his pew and requested an Episcopal minister to read the prayer\nfor the President of the United States, which he had omitted. Upon\nthe minister's refusal the soldier advanced to the pulpit and led the\npreacher, loudly protesting, to the door, and then quietly returning\nto the altar himself read the prayer--not much, it is to be feared,\nto the edification of the congregation. General Butler arrested a\nclergyman in Norfolk, and placed him at hard labor on the public works\nfor disloyalty in belief and action; but the President reversed this\nsentence and changed it to one of exclusion from the Union lines.[76]\nThe Catholic Bishop of Natchez having refused to read the prescribed\nform of prayer for the President, and having protested in an able\nand temperate paper against the orders of the commanding general in\nthis regard, the latter ordered him to be expelled from the Union\nlines, although the order was almost immediately rescinded. General\nRosecrans issued an order[77] in Missouri requiring the members of\nreligious convocations to give satisfactory evidence of their loyalty\nto the Government of the United States as a condition precedent to\ntheir assemblage and protection. In answer to the protestations which\nnaturally resulted from this mandate he replied that it was given at\nthe request of many loyal church members, both lay and clerical; that\nif he should permit all bodies claiming to be religious to meet without\nquestion, a convocation of Price's army, under the garb of religion,\nmight assemble with impunity and plot treason. He claimed that there\nwas no hardship in compelling the members of such assemblages to\nestablish their loyalty by oath and certificate, and insisted that his\norder, while providing against public danger, really protected the\npurity and the freedom of religion.\n\nIn the course of these controversies between secessionist ministers\nand commanding generals an incident occurred which deserves a moment's\nnotice, as it led to a clear and vigorous statement from Mr. Lincoln\nof his attitude in regard to these matters. During the year 1862 a\nsomewhat bitter discussion arose between the Rev. Dr. McPheeters of\nthe Vine Street Church in St. Louis and some of his congregation in\nregard to his supposed sympathies with the rebellion. Looking back\nupon the controversy from this distance of time it seems that rather\nhard measure was dealt to the parson; for although, from all the\ncircumstances of the case, there appears little doubt that his feelings\nwere strongly enlisted in the cause of the rebellion, he behaved with\nso much discretion that the principal offenses charged against him by\nhis zealous parishioners were that he once baptized a small rebel by\nthe name of Sterling Price, and that he would not declare himself in\nfavor of the Union. The difference in his church grew continually more\nflagrant and was entertained by interminable letters and statements on\nboth sides, until at last the provost-marshal intervened, ordering the\narrest of Dr. McPheeters, excluding him from his pulpit, and taking the\ncontrol of his church out of the hands of its trustees. This action\ngave rise to extended comment, not only in Missouri, but throughout\nthe Union. The President, being informed of it, wrote[78] to General\nCurtis disapproving the act of the provost-marshal, saying, in a terse\nand vigorous phrase, which immediately obtained wide currency, \"The\nUnited States Government must not, as by this order, undertake to run\nthe churches. When an individual in a church, or out of it, becomes\ndangerous to the public interest he must be checked; but let the\nchurches, as such, take care of themselves.\" But even this peremptory\nand unmistakable command did not put an end to the discussion. Taking\nthe hands of the Government away from the preacher did not quench the\ndissensions in the church, nor restore the pastor to the position\nwhich he occupied before the war; and almost a year later some of the\nfriends of Dr. McPheeters considered it necessary and proper to ask the\nintervention of the President to restore to him all his ecclesiastical\nprivileges in addition to the civil rights which they admitted he\nalready enjoyed. This the President, in a letter[79] of equal clearness\nand vigor, refused to do. \"I have never interfered,\" he said, \"nor\nthought of interfering, as to who shall, or shall not, preach in any\nchurch; nor have I knowingly or believingly tolerated anyone else to\nso interfere by my authority\"; but he continues, \"If, after all, what\nis now sought is to have me put Dr. McPheeters back over the heads of\na majority of his own congregation, that too will be declined. I will\nnot have control of any church on any side.\" The case finally ended by\nthe exclusion of Dr. McPheeters from his pulpit by the order of the\npresbytery having ecclesiastical authority in the case.\n\nIn this wise and salutary abstention from any interference with the\nchurches, which was dictated by his own convictions as well as enjoined\nby the Constitution, the President did not always have the support\nof his subordinates. He had not only, as we have seen, to administer\noccasional rebukes to his over-zealous generals, but even in his own\nCabinet he was sometimes compelled to overrule a disposition to abuse\nof authority in things spiritual. Several weeks after he had so clearly\nexpressed himself in the McPheeters case, he found, to his amazement,\nthat the Secretary of War had been giving orders virtually placing the\narmy in certain places at the disposition of a Methodist bishop for the\nenforcement of his ecclesiastical decrees. He addressed to Mr. Stanton\na note of measured censure,[80] which was followed by an order from the\nWar Department explaining and modifying the more objectionable features\nof the former document. The Secretary explained that his action had\nno other intention than to furnish \"a means of rallying the Methodist\npeople in favor of the Union, in localities where the rebellion had\ndisorganized and scattered them.\"[81] This explanation was not entirely\nsatisfactory to the President, but he thought best to make no further\npublic reference to the matter. Scarcely was this affair disposed of\nwhen a complaint was received from Memphis of some interference by the\nmilitary with a church edifice there. Mr. Lincoln made upon the paper\nthis peremptory indorsement: \"If the military have military need of\nthe church building, let them keep it; otherwise, let them get out\nof it, and leave it and its owners alone, except for the causes that\njustify the arrest of anyone.\"[82] Two months later the President,\nhearing of further complications in the case, made still another\norder, which even at the risk of wearying the reader we will give,\nfrom his own manuscript, as illustrating not only his conscientious\ndesire that justice should be done, but also the exasperating obstacles\nhe was continually compelled to surmount, in those troubled times,\nto accomplish, with all the vast powers at his disposition, this\nreasonable desire.\n\n \"I am now told that the military were not in possession of the\n building; and yet that in pretended execution of the above they,\n the military, put one set of men out of and another set into the\n building. This, if true, is most extraordinary. I say again, if\n there be no military need for the building, leave it alone, neither\n putting anyone in or out of it, except on finding someone preaching or\n practicing treason, in which case lay hands upon him, just as if he\n were doing the same thing in any other building, or in the streets or\n highways.\"[83]\n\nHe at last made himself understood and his orders respected; yet\nso widespread was the tendency of generals to meddle with matters\nbeyond their jurisdiction, that it took three years of such vehement\ninjunctions as these to teach them to keep their hands away from the\nclergy and the churches.\n\nLincoln had a profound respect for every form of sincere religious\nbelief. He steadily refused to show favor to any particular\ndenomination of Christians; and when General Grant issued an unjust and\ninjurious order against the Jews, expelling them from his department,\nthe President ordered it to be revoked the moment it was brought to his\nnotice.[84]\n\nHe was a man of profound and intense religious feeling. We have no\npurpose of attempting to formulate his creed; we question if he\nhimself ever did so. There have been swift witnesses who, judging from\nexpressions uttered in his callow youth, have called him an atheist,\nand others who, with the most laudable intentions, have remembered\nimprobable conversations which they bring forward to prove at once his\northodoxy and their own intimacy with him. But leaving aside these\napocryphal evidences, we have only to look at his authentic public\nand private utterances to see how deep and strong in all the latter\npart of his life was the current of his religious thought and emotion.\nHe continually invited and appreciated, at their highest value, the\nprayers of good people. The pressure of the tremendous problems by\nwhich he was surrounded; the awful moral significance of the conflict\nin which he was the chief combatant; the overwhelming sense of personal\nresponsibility, which never left him for an hour--all contributed\nto produce, in a temperament naturally serious and predisposed to a\nspiritual view of life and conduct, a sense of reverent acceptance of\nthe guidance of a Superior Power. From that morning when, standing\namid the falling snowflakes on the railway car at Springfield, he asked\nthe prayers of his neighbors in those touching phrases whose echo rose\nthat night in invocations from thousands of family altars, to that\nmemorable hour when on the steps of the Capitol he humbled himself\nbefore his Creator in the sublime words of the second inaugural, there\nis not an expression known to have come from his lips or his pen but\nproves that he held himself answerable in every act of his career to\na more august tribunal than any on earth. The fact that he was not\na communicant of any church, and that he was singularly reserved in\nregard to his personal religious life, gives only the greater force to\nthese striking proofs of his profound reverence and faith.\n\nIn final substantiation of this assertion, we subjoin two papers\nfrom the hand of the President, one official and the other private,\nwhich bear within themselves the imprint of a sincere devotion and\na steadfast reliance upon the power and benignity of an overruling\nProvidence. The first is an order which he issued on the 16th of\nNovember, 1864, on the observance of Sunday:\n\n \"The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, desires and\n enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and\n men in the military and naval service. The importance for man and\n beast of the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian\n soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference to the best sentiment of\n Christian people, and a due regard for the Divine will, demand that\n Sunday labor in the Army and Navy be reduced to the measure of strict\n necessity. The discipline and character of the national forces should\n not suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperiled, by the profanation\n of the day or name of the Most High. 'At this time of public distress\n [adopting the words of Washington in 1776] men may find enough to\n do in the service of their God and their country without abandoning\n themselves to vice and immorality.' The first General Order issued\n by the Father of his Country after the Declaration of Independence\n indicated the spirit in which our institutions were founded and should\n ever be defended. 'The General hopes and trusts that every officer\n and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier,\n defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.'\"[85]\n\nThe date of this remarkable order leaves no possibility for the\ninsinuation that it sprung from any political purpose, or intention.\nMr. Lincoln had just been re-elected by an overwhelming majority;\nhis party was everywhere triumphant; his own personal popularity was\nunbounded; there was no temptation to hypocrisy or deceit. There\nis no explanation of the order except that it was the offspring of\nsincere conviction. But if it may be said that this was, after all,\nan exoteric utterance, springing from those relations of religion and\ngood government which the wisest rulers have always recognized in their\nintercourse with the people, we will give one other document, of which\nnothing of the sort can be said. It is a paper which Mr. Lincoln wrote\nin September, 1862, while his mind was burdened with the weightiest\nquestion of his life, the weightiest with which this century has had to\ngrapple. Wearied with all the considerations of law and of expediency\nwith which he had been struggling for two years, he retired within\nhimself and tried to bring some order into his thoughts by rising\nabove the wrangling of men and of parties, and pondering the relations\nof human government to the Divine. In this frame of mind, absolutely\ndetached from any earthly considerations, he wrote this meditation.\nIt has never been published. It was not written to be seen of men. It\nwas penned in the awful sincerity of a perfectly honest soul trying to\nbring itself into closer communion with its Maker.\n\n \"The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to\n act in accordance with the will of God. Both _may_ be and one _must_\n be wrong. God cannot be _for_ and _against_ the same thing at the\n same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's\n purpose is something different from the purpose of either party; and\n yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the\n best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that\n this is probably true; that God wills this contest, and wills that it\n shall not end yet. By His mere great power on the minds of the now\n contestants, He could have either _saved_ or _destroyed_ the Union\n without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun, he\n could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest\n proceeds.\"\n\nThe following brief address by Mr. Lincoln appears never to have been\npublished. It was discovered, just as this book was going to press, by\nMr. Jesse W. Weik, who hastened to send it to me. It is the shorthand\nreport of a brief address delivered by Mr. Lincoln at a railroad\njunction near La Fayette, Indiana, a few hours after he had left\nSpringfield on his way to Washington, Saturday, February 11, 1860.\n\n  W. H. B.\n\n When I first came to the west some forty-four or forty-five years ago,\n at sundown you had completed a journey of some thirty miles, which\n you had commenced at sunrise; and you thought you had done well. Now,\n only six hours have elapsed since I left my home in Illinois, where I\n was surrounded by a large concourse of my fellow citizens, most all of\n whom I could recognize; and I find myself far from home, surrounded\n by the thousands I now see before me, who are strangers to me. Still\n we are bound together, I trust, in Christianity, civilization and\n patriotism, and are attached to our country and our whole country.\n While some of us may differ in political opinions, still we are all\n united in one feeling for the Union.\n\n\n\n\nA CONDENSED BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\n(The bibliographical notes which the author made while this work was\nin preparation reached a total of several thousand. From these he at\nfirst selected about five hundred titles, being practically a catalogue\nof his own Lincoln library, a list of books about Lincoln which he\nconsidered worth buying. But this also appeared much longer than was\nneeded for the purposes of this book, and he has therefore prepared\nthis shorter list of books bearing more directly upon the subject\nmatter of this volume, and for the convenience of such readers as are\nunfamiliar with the literature of the subject he has added comments\nupon some of the books or articles.)\n\nI. LINCOLN'S OWN WRITINGS AND SPEECHES\n\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: Complete Works._ Edited by John G. Nicolay and John\nHay. In Two Volumes. New York: The Century Company, 1894.\n\nThere is a larger edition in twelve volumes, with some additions, and\nthere are two other notable collections, both of them good. No one\nof these, however, is entirely complete; and there are volumes such\nas \"The Uncollected Letters of Lincoln\" edited by Gilbert A. Tracy\n(Houghton Mifflin & Co., 1917) which supplement the \"complete\" works.\nVery nearly everything which the reader requires, however, is in the\nNicolay and Hay work.\n\n\nII. LIVES OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN\n\n_Autobiography._ Facsimile Reproduction of Autobiographical Sketch\nwritten by Abraham Lincoln for Jesse W. Fell in 1860. Published by his\ndaughters at Normal, Ill.\n\n_The Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln._ Sketch furnished by him in 1860\nto John Locke Scripps. New York: Francis D. Tandy Company, 1905.\n\nThis and the preceding item contain virtually all that Lincoln told the\npublic about himself.\n\n_Life of Abraham Lincoln._ By John Locke Scripps. 1860. Tribune Tract\nNo. 6. Prepared from information given by Mr. Lincoln and read and\napproved by him before publication.\n\n\"_The Wigwam Edition._\" The Life, Speeches and Public Services of\nAbraham Lincoln, Together with a Sketch of Hannibal Hamlin. New York:\nRudd and Carleton, 1860.\n\nIt disputes with Scripps the honor of being the first printed life of\nLincoln, and is of great interest as showing how little was known of\nLincoln in 1860 apart from the sketch which he had himself prepared.\n\n_Life of Abraham Lincoln._ By J. Q. Howard, Cincinnati: Anderson, Gates\nand Wright, 1860. With pictures of the Wigwam on the back and is as\nrare and desirable as the real \"Wigwam Edition.\"\n\n_Life of Abraham Lincoln_ (of Illinois). With a Condensed View of his\nMost Important Speeches; also a Sketch of the Life of Hannibal Hamlin\n(of Maine). Authentic edition. By J. H. Barrett. Cincinnati: Moore,\nWilstach, Keyes & Co., 1860.\n\n_Lives and Speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin._ Life of\nLincoln by W. D. Howells. Life of Hamlin by John L. Hays. Columbus,\nOhio: Follett, Foster and Company, 1860.\n\n_The Life and Public Services of Hon. Abraham Lincoln_: to which is\nadded a Biographical Sketch of Hon. Hannibal Hamlin by D. W. Bartlett.\nAuthorized edition. New York: Derby & Jackson, 1860.\n\n_Life and Public Services of Hon. Abraham Lincoln of Illinois and Hon.\nHannibal Hamlin of Maine._ Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860.\n\nThe above listed campaign biographies, all of them, except the Wigwam\nEdition, based directly or indirectly upon the information furnished\nfirst to Scripps, and then to other biographers, are all of remarkable\ninterest as showing what was then available to make a biography out\nof, and what various biographers, under stress of the campaign and the\nenterprise of publishers, were able to make out of it.\n\nA list might be added of the 1864 campaign biographies, but for the\npresent purpose they are unimportant, as also are the first that\nfollowed his death.\n\n_The Life of Abraham Lincoln._ By J. G. Holland. Springfield, Mass.,\npublished by Gurdon Bill, 1865. By far the best life of Lincoln\npublished in the first few years after his death, and noted as\ncontaining the Bateman interview, which gave rise to the controversy\nconcerning Lincoln's religion.\n\n_Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln, Together With State\nPapers._ By Henry J. Raymond. To which are added anecdotes and\nreminiscences of Frank B. Carpenter. New York: Derby & Miller, 1865.\nAt the time of publication this was the best life of Lincoln in its\nassembling of State Papers and important documents.\n\n_The Life of Abraham Lincoln from His Birth to His Inauguration As\nPresident._ By Ward H. Lamon. Boston: James R. Osgood & Company, 1872.\nFirst attempt to give to the world the story of the \"real\" Lincoln and\na conspicuous example of the fate a man may suffer at the hands of his\nfriends. Invaluable in its material, but with shocking bad taste; and\nsaid by Herndon to have been written by Chauncey F. Black.\n\nBrings the narrative down to the time of Lincoln's inauguration and was\nintended to have been followed by a second volume, but was received\nwith such disfavor that the concluding volume was never issued.\n\n_Recollections of Abraham Lincoln 1847-1865._ By Ward Hill Lamon.\nEdited by Dorothy Lamon. Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1895.\nSecond Edition of the Same, with Memoir of Ward Hill Lamon by his\ndaughter, Dorothy Lamon Teillard. Washington, D. C. Published by the\neditor, 1911.\n\n_Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life. Etiam in minimis\nmajor._ The History and Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln. By\nWilliam H. Herndon, for twenty years his friend and law partner; and\nJesse William Weik, A.M. Chicago, New York and San Francisco: Belford,\nClarke & Co., publishers. London: Henry J. Drane, Lovells Court,\nPaternoster Road. 3 volumes. 1889. Unexpurgated first edition.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life._ By William H.\nHerndon and Jesse W. Weik, with an introduction by Horace White. In two\nvolumes. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1892.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: A History._ By John G. Nicolay and John Hay. In ten\nvolumes. New York: The Century Co., 1890. First edition.\n\n_A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln._ Condensed from Nicolay and Hay's\n_Abraham Lincoln: A History_. By John G. Nicolay. New York: The Century\nCo., 1906.\n\n_Personal Traits of Abraham Lincoln._ By Helen Nicolay. New York: The\nCentury Company, 1912.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By John T. Morse, Jr. In two volumes. American\nStatesman Series. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin & Co., 1893. In\nmany respects the best short life of Lincoln.\n\n_The Early Life of Abraham Lincoln._ Containing many unpublished\ndocuments and unpublished reminiscences of Lincoln's early friends. By\nIda M. Tarbell, assisted by J. McCan Davis. New York: S. S. McClure\nCo., Limited, 1896.\n\n_The Life of Abraham Lincoln._ Drawn from original sources. By Ida M.\nTarbell. Two volumes. New York: The Doubleday & McClure Co., 1900.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ An Essay. By Carl Schurz. Boston and New York:\nHoughton Mifflin & Co., 1891.\n\n_Lincoln the Leader: and Genius for Expression._ By Richard Watson\nGilder. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin & Co., 1909.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: The People's Leader in the Struggle for National\nExistence._ By George Haven Putnam, Litt.D. New York and London: G. P.\nPutnam's Sons, 1909.\n\n_Lincoln, Master of Men: A Study in Character._ By Alonzo Rothchild.\nBoston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1906.\n\n_Honest Abe: A Study in Integrity._ By Alonzo Rothchild. Boston and New\nYork: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1917.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By Rose Strunsky. New York: Macmillan Company, 1914.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By Noah Brooks. Centennial Edition. G. P. Putnam's\nSons, New York, 1888.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By Henry Bryan Binns. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1907.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By Lord Charnworth (Godfrey Rathbone Benson). Henry\nHolt and Company, 1907.\n\n_Latest Light on Lincoln, and War Time Memories._ By Ervin Chapman,\nD.D., LL.D. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1917.\n\n_The Everyday Life of Abraham Lincoln._ By Frances Fisher Browne.\nChicago: Browne & Howell Co., 1913. New and thoroughly revised edition.\n\n_The True Abraham Lincoln._ By William Eleroy Curtis. Philadelphia and\nLondon: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1903.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: The Man of the People._ By Norman Hapgood. New York:\nThe Macmillan Co., 1899.\n\n_Sketch of the Life of Abraham Lincoln._ Compiled in most part from the\nHistory of Abraham Lincoln and the overthrow of slavery. By Isaac N.\nArnold. New York: John D. Bachelder, 1869.\n\n_The Life of Abraham Lincoln._ By Isaac N. Arnold. Chicago: A. C.\nMcClurg & Co., 1901. Twelfth edition, 1916.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life._ By William O.\nStoddard, one of President Lincoln's private secretaries during the War\nof the Rebellion. Revised edition. New York: Fords, Howard & Hulbert,\n1896.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By Charles Carleton Coffin. New York: Harper and\nBrothers, 1893.\n\n\nIII. EARLY ILLINOIS HISTORY\n\n_A. W. Snyder in Illinois 1817-1842._ Virginia, Illinois: E. Needham,\n1906.\n\n_Illinois in 1818._ By Solon Justus Buck. Illinois Centennial\nCommission, Springfield, 1917.\n\n_The Centennial History of Illinois._ Vol. II. _The Frontier State,\n1818-1848._ By Theodore Calvin Pease. Published by the Illinois\nCentennial Commission, 1918, Springfield, Illinois.\n\n_The Lincoln Illinois Country._ By Daniel Kilham Dodge. _The\nIndependent._\n\n_Pioneering: An Article on Lincoln and Herndon._ By C. H. Dall.\n_Atlantic Monthly_, April, 1867.\n\n_Lincoln and Salem: Pioneers of Mason and Menard Counties._ By T. G.\nOnstott. Published by the author, Forest City, Illinois, 1902.\n\n_Illinois._ An address delivered before the faculty and students of\nthe University of Illinois on Illinois Day, 1911, by Clark E. Carr.\nIllinois University Press, December 6, 1911.\n\n_The Illini: A Story of the Prairies._ By Clark E. Carr. Chicago: A. C.\nMcClurg & Co. Issued 1904; eighth edition, 1916.\n\n_My Day and Generation._ By Clark E. Carr. Chicago: A. C. McClurg &\nCo., 1908.\n\n_Illinois: Travel and Description, 1765-1865._ By Solon Justus Buck.\nSpringfield, Ill. Published by trustees Illinois State Historical\nLibrary, 1914.\n\n\nIV. LINCOLN'S YOUTH\n\n_Lincoln's Boyhood._ By Eleanor Atkinson. The Narrative of an Interview\nwith Dennis Hanks in 1889. _American Magazine_, February, 1908.\n\n_In the Boyhood of Lincoln._ By Hezekiah Butterworth. New York: D.\nAppleton & Co., 1892.\n\n_The Boy Lincoln._ By W. O. Stoddard. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1905.\n\n_The Pioneer Boy._ By William M. Thayer. Boston: Walker and Wise\nCompany, 1863.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln, the Boy and the Man._ By James Morgan. New York: The\nMacmillan Company, 1907.\n\n_The Education of Lincoln._ By Hamilton W. Mabie. _The Outlook_,\nFebruary 20, 1904.\n\n_Lincoln's Self-Education._ By Hamilton Wright Mabie. _The\nChautauquan_, April, 1900.\n\n_Lincoln's Alma Mater._ By Eleanor Atkinson. _Harper's_, May, 1913.\n\n\nV. LINCOLN'S LOVE AFFAIRS AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS\n\n_Abraham Lincoln; Miss Ann Rutledge; New Salem; Pioneering; The Poem._\nA lecture delivered in the old Sangamon court house, November, 1866,\nby William H. Herndon, Springfield, Ill. H. E. Barker, 1916. Edition\nlimited to 150 copies.\n\n_Lincoln's Love Story._ By Eleanor Atkinson. New York: Doubleday, Page\n& Co., 1909.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln in His Relations to Women._ By Julien Gordon. _The\nCosmopolitan_, December, 1894.\n\n_Lincoln's Marriage._ Newspaper interview with Mrs. Frances Wallace,\nSeptember 2, 1895. Privately printed by H. E. Barker, Springfield,\n1917. Edition limited to 75 copies. Denies that more than one date was\never set for the Lincoln wedding.\n\n_The Truth About Mrs. Lincoln._ By Howard Glyndon. _The Independent_,\nAugust 10, 1882.\n\n_Lincoln's Home Life in Washington._ By Leslie J. Perry. _Harper's_,\nFebruary, 1897.\n\n\nVI. EPOCHS AND ASPECTS OF THE LIFE OF LINCOLN\n\n_Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln._ By Henry B. Rankin. New\nYork: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1916.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By H. C. Whitney. _The Arena_, April, 1898. Contains\nsome valuable reminiscences not in his book.\n\n_Life on the Circuit with Lincoln._ By Major Henry C. Whitney. Boston:\nEstes and Lauriat, 1892.\n\n_Lincoln and Herndon._ By Joseph Fort Newton. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: The\nTorch Press, 1910.\n\n_Lincoln in Myth and in Fact._ By Dorothy Lamon Teillard. _World's\nWork_, February, 1911.\n\n_Six Months in the White House._ By Frank B. Carpenter. New York: Hurd\n& Houghton, 1866. First edition.\n\n_The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln: Six Months at the White House._ By\nFrank B. Carpenter. New York: Hurd & Houghton, 1867.\n\n_Lincoln and Seward._ By Gideon Welles. New York: Sheldon & Co., 1874.\n\n_Diary of Gideon Welles._ _Atlantic Monthly_, 1909.\n\n_Greeley on Lincoln and Mr. Greeley's Letters._ Edited by Joel Benton.\nNew York: The Baker & Taylor Co., 1893.\n\n_Lincoln at Gettysburg._ By Clark E. Carr. Chicago: A. C. McClurg &\nCo., 1906.\n\n_Gettysburg and Lincoln._ By Henry Sweetser Burrage. New York: G. P.\nPutnam's Sons, 1906.\n\n_Lincoln's Gettysburg Address._ By Orton H. Carmichael. New York: The\nAbingdon Press, 1917.\n\n_Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg._ Report of the\nCommission on the Gettysburg Reunion. Harrisburg, Pa., 1915.\n\n_Recollections of Lincoln._ By James Grant Wilson, with facsimiles of\nthe Gettysburg and Second Inaugural Addresses. _Putnam's Magazine_,\nFebruary, 1909.\n\n_The Gettysburg Address with Facsimile of the Manuscript._ By John G.\nNicolay. _Century Magazine_, 1894.\n\n_Lincoln's Gettysburg Address._ By Prof. Philip M. Bikle and Rev. H. C.\nHolloway. _Lutheran Church Work_, February 10, 1916.\n\n_Variations in the Reports of the Gettysburg Address._ By W. H.\nLambert, _The Century Magazine_, February, 1894.\n\n_Gettysburg._ By Elsie Singmaster. Boston: Houghton & Mifflin Co., 1913.\n\n_Lincoln at Gettysburg._ Address delivered before the Illinois State\nHistorical Society at Springfield, Ill., January 25, 1906. By Clark E.\nCarr.\n\n_Lincoln's Masterpiece._ By Isaac Markens. Published by the author, 274\nW. 140th Street, New York.\n\n_The Perfect Tribute._ By Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews. New York:\nCharles Scribner's Sons, 1907.\n\n_Revised Report of the Select Committee on the Soldiers' National\nCemetery._ Together with the Accompanying Documents as Reported to\nthe House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.\nHarrisburg: Hornsby, Singerly & Myers, State Printers, 1865.\n\n\nVII. THE DEATH OF LINCOLN\n\n_The Death of Lincoln._ By Clara E. Laughlin. New York: Doubleday, Page\n& Co., 1909.\n\n_The Assassination of Lincoln._ By David Miller Dewitt. New York: The\nCentury Co., 1909.\n\n_The Assassination of Lincoln: A History of the Great Conspiracy._ By\nT. M. Harris, a member of the commission that tried the conspirators.\nBoston: American Citizen Co., 1892.\n\n_Assassination of Lincoln._ By Osborn H. Oldroyd. Washington D. C.,\n1901.\n\n_Through Five Administrations._ By William H. Crook. Lincoln's\nBodyguard. New York: Harper & Brother, 1910.\n\n_Lincoln's Last Day._ By William H. Crook. _Harper's_, September, 1907.\n\n\nVIII. ANTHOLOGIES\n\n_The Lincoln Memorial: Album-Immortelles._ Collected and edited by\nOsborn H. Oldroyd. New York: G. W. Carleton & Co., 1882.\n\n_Poetical Tributes to the Memory of Abraham Lincoln._ Philadelphia: J.\nB. Lippincott & Co., 1865.\n\n_The Poets' Lincoln: Tributes in Verse to the Martyred President._\nSelected by Osborn H. Oldroyd. Washington, D. C.: Published by the\neditor at \"The House Where Lincoln Died,\" 1915.\n\n_The Praise of Lincoln: An Anthology._ Collected and arranged by A.\nDallas Williams. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1911.\n\n_The Book of Lincoln._ Compiled by Mary Wright Davis. New York: George\nH. Doran Company, 1919.\n\n\nIX. LINCOLN'S LITERARY STYLE\n\n_Abraham Lincoln As a Man of Letters._ By Luther Emerson Robinson, M.A.\nChicago: The Reilly & Britton Co., 1918.\n\n_Lincoln's Literary Experiments._ By John G. Nicolay. With a lecture\nand verses hitherto unpublished. _Century Magazine_, April, 1894.\n\n_The Evolution of Lincoln's Literary Style._ By Prof. Daniel Kilham\nDodge. Champaign and Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1900.\n\n\nX. THE RELIGION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN\n\n_Religious Views of Abraham Lincoln._ Compiled and published by Orrin\nHenry Pennell. The R. M. Scranton Co., Alliance, Ohio, 1899.\n\n_Brief Analysis of Lincoln's Character._ By W. H. Herndon. A letter to\nJ. E. Remsburg, September 10, 1887. Privately printed by H. E. Barker,\nSpringfield, Ill. Edition limited to 50 copies.\n\n_A Card and a Correction._ A Broadside on Lincoln's religion. By W. H.\nHerndon. Privately printed by H. E. Barker, Springfield, Ill. Edition\nlimited to 75 copies.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln the Christian._ By William J. Johnson. New York and\nCincinnati: The Abingdon Press, 1913.\n\n_The Later Life and Religious Sentiments of Abraham Lincoln._ By Rev.\nJames A. Reed. _Scribner's Monthly_, 1873, pp. 333-344.\n\n_Lincoln's Religious Belief._ By B. F. Irwin. Article in the Illinois\n_State Journal_ of May 16, 1874. Manuscript copy.\n\n_More Testimony._ Letter from Hon. William Reid, U. S. Consul at\nDundee, Scotland. Article in Portland _Oregonian_, March 4, 1874.\nCopied in Illinois _State Journal_. Manuscript copy.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln's Religion._ By Madison C. Peters. Boston: Richard G.\nBadger, The Gorham Press, 1909.\n\n_Lincoln and the Church._ Article by John G. Nicolay and John Hay in\n_Century_, August, 1889.\n\n_The Record of a Quaker Conscience._ By Cyrus Pringle. New York:\nMacmillan Company, 1918 (_Lincoln and the Quakers_).\n\n_The Conversion of Lincoln._ By Rev. Edward L. Watson, New York,\n_Christian Advocate_, November 11, 1909.\n\n_The Religious Beliefs of Abraham Lincoln._ By R. C. Roper. Article in\n_The Open Court_.\n\n_Lincoln's Religious Faith and Principles._ By Thomas D. Logan, D.D.\n_The Interior_, February 11, 1909.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ Address delivered in Springfield, February 12, 1909,\nand reported in, the Springfield _Evening Record_ of that date by Rev.\nThomas D. Logan, D.D.\n\n_Lincoln Defamers Refuted._ By Henry B. Rankin. Broadside issued for\nthe Lincoln Day celebration at Old Salem, February 12, 1919, with\nauthor's corrections and accompanying autograph letters.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln's Cardinal Traits: A Study in Ethics, with an Epilogue\nAddressed to Theologians._ By C. S. Beardslee. Boston: Richard G.\nBadger, The Gorham Press, 1914.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: His Religion._ By Robert N. Reeves. Chicago: N. D.\n\n_The Religion of Abraham Lincoln._ By George A. Thayer. Cincinnati:\n1909.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln the Preacher's Teacher._ By William J. Hutchins.\nLecture in volume on \"The Preacher's Ideals and Inspirations.\" New\nYork: Fleming H. Revell, 1917.\n\n_Essay on Lincoln: Was He An Inspired Prophet?_ By Milton R. Scott.\nPublished by the author, Newark, Ohio, 1906.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By Charles Henry Fowler, late bishop of the\nMethodist Episcopal Church. Leading oration in volume of \"Patriotic\nOrations.\" New York: Eaton & Mains, 1910.\n\n_Lincoln's Use of the Bible._ By S. Trevena Jackson. New York: The\nAbingdon Press, 1909.\n\n_The Agnosticism of Abraham Lincoln._ By Lyman Abbott. _The Outlook_,\nNovember 17, 1906.\n\n_Lincoln's Faith._ By John Hay. Address given from President Lincoln's\npew in the New York Avenue Church, November 16, 1902. In John Hay's\naddresses.\n\n_The Religious Opinions and Life of Abraham Lincoln._ By the Rev.\nWilliam H. Bates, D.D., Washington, D. C., 1914.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: A Lecture._ By Robert G. Ingersoll. New York: C. P.\nFarrell, 1895.\n\n_The Religion of Abraham Lincoln._ Correspondence between General\nCharles H. T. Collis and Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll. With Appendix,\ncontaining interesting anecdotes by Major-General Daniel E. Sickles and\nHon. Oliver S. Munsell. New York: G. H. Dillingham Company, 1890.\n\n_Fifty Years in the Church of Rome._ By Father Chiniquy. 42nd edition.\nChicago: The Craig Press, 1892. Contains interesting account of\nLincoln's service as Father Chiniquy's attorney and of interviews at\nthe White House.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: Was He a Christian?_ By James E. Remsburg. Extended\nchapter in \"Six Historical Americans.\" New York: The Truth Seeker Co.\nExtended argument to prove that Lincoln was and continued to be an\ninfidel.\n\n_Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist?_ By Mrs. Nettie Colburn Maynard.\nPhiladelphia: Rufus C. Hartranft, 1891. Contains extraordinary claims\nof revelations made to Lincoln while in the White House by a trance\nmedium.\n\n_Sir Oliver Lodge Is Right: Spirit Communication a Fact._ By Grace\nGarrett Durand. Privately printed, Lake Forest, Ill., 1917. Contains\nalleged revelations from Abraham Lincoln.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln a Practical Mystic._ By Frances Grierson. New York:\nThe John Lane Co., 1918.\n\n_The Abraham Lincoln Myth._ By Bocardo Bramantip (Oliver Prince Buel).\nNew York: The Mascot Publishing Co., 1894. A reprint from _The Catholic\nWorld_ of November and December, 1893, intended as a satire upon the\nHigher Criticism. Apparently suggested by the famous essay \"Historical\nDoubts Concerning the Existence of Napoleon Bonaparte.\"\n\n_The Mythifying Theory; or, Abraham Lincoln a Myth._ By D. B. Turney.\nMetropolis, Ill. B. O. Jones, Book and Job Printer, 1872. Photostat\nfrom copy in Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.\n\n\nXI. LINCOLN AND TEMPERANCE.\n\n_Lincoln's First Address Delivered in Springfield_, February 22, 1842.\nThe Union Signal.\n\n_A Discourse on the Bottle: Its Evils and Its Remedy._ By Rev. James\nSmith. Sermon delivered in the First Presbyterian Church, Springfield,\nJanuary 23, 1853. Reprinted 1892. A surprisingly straightforward plea\nfor legislative prohibition, printed at the request of a committee who\nheard it, among them being Abraham Lincoln.\n\n_Lincoln a Temperance Man._ By Howard H. Russell. _The Interior_,\nFebruary 11, 1909.\n\n_The Lincoln Legion._ By Howard H. Russell, Westerville, Ohio, 1913.\n\n_Lincoln and Temperance._ By Rev. Thomas D. Logan. _The Advance_,\nFebruary 11, 1909.\n\n\nXII. LINCOLN AND SLAVERY\n\n_History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America._ By Henry\nWilson, 3 vols. Third edition. Boston: James R. Osgood & Co., 1875.\n\n_Lincoln and Slavery._ By Albert E. Pillsbury. Boston and New York:\nHoughton Mifflin Co., 1913.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: The Evolution of His Emancipation Policy._ By Paul\nSelby. Chicago Historical Society, 1909.\n\n_Anti-Slavery History: State and Nation._ By Austin Willey. Portland,\nMaine: Hoyt, Fogg & Donham, 1886.\n\n_The Dred Scott Decision._ New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1857.\n\n_The Martyrdom of Elijah P. Lovejoy._ By H. Tanner. Chicago: Fergus\nPrinting Co., 1881.\n\n_Dedication of Lovejoy Monument, November 8, 1897._ Alton, Ill.:\nCharles Holden, 1897.\n\n_The Underground Railroad._ By William M. Cockrum. Oakland City, Ind.:\nJ. W. Cockrum Printing Co., 1915.\n\n_Lincoln, Grant, and the Freedmen._ By John Eaton. New York: Longmans,\nGreen & Co., 1907.\n\n_The Negro a Beast._ By Charles Carroll. American Book and Bible House,\nSt. Louis, 1900.\n\n_The Journal of Negro History._ Washington, D. C., 4 volumes to date.\n\n_The History of Abraham Lincoln and the Overthrow of Slavery._ By Isaac\nN. Arnold. Chicago: Clarke & Co., 1866.\n\n\nXIII. ATTACKS ON THE CHARACTER OF LINCOLN\n\n_The Real Lincoln._ From the testimony of his contemporaries. By\nCharles L. C. Minor, M.A., LL.D. Second edition, revised and enlarged.\nRichmond, Va.: Everett Waddey Co., 1904. A vicious assault on the\nintegrity of Lincoln.\n\n_Facts and Falsehoods Concerning the War on the South, 1861-1865._ By\nGeorge Edmonds [Mrs. Elizabeth (Avery) Merriwether]. Memphis, Tenn. For\nsale by A. R. Taylor & Co., 1904. Displays the most diligent effort in\nthe compilation of items derogatory to Lincoln and the North, but is\nmanifestly dependent upon second authorities and in some cases shows\nmarked ignorance of the original sources cited. Quotes freely from an\nimaginary edition of Herndon, alleged to have been published in 1866\nand suppressed.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: An Address Delivered Before R. E. Lee Camp, No. 1,\nConfederate Veterans at Richmond, Virginia, October 29, 1909._ By Hon.\nGeo. L. Christian. Second edition. Richmond: L. H. Jenkins, Publisher.\nBased upon the historical data in Minor's _Real Lincoln_ and Edmonds'\n_Facts and Falsehoods_.\n\n_Crimes of the Civil War and Curse of the Funding System._ By Henry\nClay Dean. Baltimore: J. Wesley Smith & Brother, 1869. Excessively\nscarce and most pronounced of its kind of literature. Denounces Lincoln\nas a tyrant, murderer, and inhuman monster and lauds the act of\nassassination by John Wilkes Booth.\n\n_Confederate Echoes._ By A. T. Goodloe. Publishing House M. E. Church,\nSouth, Nashville, Tenn., 1907.\n\n_Lincoln the Rebel Candidate._ Democratic Campaign Pamphlet of 1864.\nPhotostat from original in New York Public Library.\n\n\nXIV. LECTURES, ADDRESSES, AND REMINISCENCES\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ An address by Hon. Newton Bateman, LL.D. Galesburg,\nIll.: The Cadmus Club, 1909.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: An Oration._ Delivered on Washington's Birthday,\n1891, by William Goodell Frost. Oberlin News, 1891.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: An Oration._ By John E. Burton. Lake Geneva,\nWisconsin, 1903.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: An Address._ By Frederick A. Noble. Chicago, February\n12, 1901.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: An Essay._ By Joseph Fort Newton. The Torch Press,\nCedar Rapids, Iowa, 1910.\n\n_The Mystery of Lincoln._ By Robert E. Knowles. _The Independent._\n\n_The Making of Lincoln._ Editorial in _The Outlook_, February 13, 1909.\n\n_Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln._ By Distinguished Men of His Time.\nCollected and edited by Allen Thorndike Rice. New York: _The North\nAmerican Review_, 1888. Separate articles by thirty-three distinguished\ncontemporaries of Lincoln.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln: Tributes from His Associates._ Edited by William\nHayes Ward. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1895. Forty-five chapters\nby soldiers, statesmen, and citizens who had known Lincoln.\n\n_Sermons Preached in Boston on the Death of Abraham Lincoln, Together\nwith the Funeral Service in the East Room of the Executive Mansion in\nWashington._ Boston: J. E. Tilton & Co., 1865.\n\n_Our Martyred President: Lincoln Memorial Addresses._ The Abingdon\nPress, 1915. A reprint of the original edition containing sermons by\nNew York ministers, together with the orations of George Bancroft,\nBishop Simpson, and Richard S. Storrs.\n\n_Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln in\nthe House of Representatives, February 12, 1866._ By George Bancroft.\nWashington: Government Printing Office, 1866.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln, by Some Men Who Knew Him._ Edited by Isaac N.\nPhillips, Bloomington, Ill., Pantagraph Co., 1910.\n\n_Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln; and a Visit to California._ By\nJoshua Fry Speed, Louisville, 1884.\n\n_Eulogy of Abraham Lincoln._ By Henry Champion Deming. Before the\nGeneral Assembly of Connecticut, Hartford, June 8, 1865. Hartford: A.\nN. Clark & Co., State printers, 1865.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ An address before the Lincoln League Club of\nChicago, in the Auditorium, February 12, 1895. By Henry Watterson.\n\n_Lincoln._ By Isaac Newton Phillips. Reporter of Decisions of the\nSupreme Court of Illinois. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1910.\n\n_The Message of the President to Congress._ First message of Andrew\nJohnson following the assassination of Lincoln, Washington, 1865.\n\n_The Promises of the Declaration of Independence. Eulogy on Abraham\nLincoln._ By Charles Sumner. Boston: J. E. Farwell & Co., 1865.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By Joseph H. Choate. New York: T. Y. Crowell & Co.,\n1901.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln Today._ By William Charles Langdon, Edmund J. James,\nand Captain Fernand Baldensperger. University of Illinois Press, 1918.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln and Boston Corbett._ With personal recollections of\neach. _John Wilkes Booth and Jefferson Davis._ A true story of their\ncapture. By Berkeley Byron Johnson. Waltham, Mass.: Privately printed,\n1914.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By Phillips Brooks. A sermon preached in\nPhiladelphia, April 23, 1865.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln._ By S. Parkes Cadman. Address before the New York\nRepublican Club.\n\n_Some Impressions of Lincoln._ By E. S. Nadal. _Scribner's_, 1906.\n\n_Life and Principles of Abraham Lincoln._ By Hon. Schuyler Colfax.\nPhiladelphia, 1865.\n\n_The Voice of the Rod._ Funeral sermon by the Rev. P. D. Gurley, D.D.\nWashington, 1865.\n\n_Abraham Lincoln and the London Punch._ By William S. Walsh. New York:\nMoffat, Yard & Co., 1909.\n\n_Lincoln and Men of Wartime._ By A. K. McClure. Philadelphia: The Times\nPublishing Co., 1892.\n\n_Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration._ By L. E.\nChittenden. New York: Harper & Brother, 1891.\n\n_Personal Reminiscences Including Lincoln and Others._ By L. E.\nChittenden. New York: Richmond, Croscup & Co., 1893.\n\n_Personal Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln._ By Thomas Lowry. Privately\nprinted, Minneapolis, 1910.\n\n_The Footsteps of Lincoln._ By J. T. Hobson. Dayton, Ohio: The\nOtterbein Press, 1909.\n\n_The Master and His Servant._ A comparison of the incidents of\nLincoln's life with that of Jesus. By J. T. Hobson. United Brethren\nPublishing House, Dayton, Ohio, 1913.\n\n_The Picture and the Men._ Compiled by Fred B. Perkins. A. J. Johnson,\nNew York, 1867.\n\n_Inside the White House in War Times._ By William O. Stoddard. New\nYork: Charles L. Webster & Co., 1890.\n\n_Behind the Scenes._ By Elizabeth Keckley. New York: G. W. Carleton &\nCo., 1868.\n\n_Behind the Seams._ By a Nigger Woman Who Took in Work for Mrs. Lincoln\nand Mrs. Davis. New York: The National News Company, 1868. A satire on\nMrs. Keckley's _Behind the Scenes_. Photostat of copy in Library of\nCongress.\n\n\nXV. BOOKS WHICH INFLUENCED LINCOLN\n\n_The Holy Bible._\n\n_The Elementary Spelling Book._ By Noah Webster. New York: D. Appleton\n& Co.\n\n_The Life of George Washington with Curious Anecdotes._ By W. R. Weems.\nPhiladelphia: Joseph Allen, 1844.\n\n_Pilgrim's Progress._ By John Bunyan. London: Ward, Lock & Co. Reprint\nwith curious old cuts.\n\n_\u00c6sop's Fables._ Old edition with curious cuts. Title page missing.\n\n_The English Reader._ By Lindley Murray. New York: Collins & Co., 1832.\n\n_The Christian's Defence._ Containing a fair statement and impartial\nexamination of the leading objections, urged by infidels against the\nantiquity, genuineness, credibility, and inspiration of the Holy\nScriptures; enriched with copious extracts from learned authors. Two\nvolumes in one. Volume I, The Old Testament, pp. 312; Volume II, The\nNew Testament, pp. 364. Cincinnati: J. A. James, 1843.\n\n_Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation._ London: George Rutledge\n& Sons, 1890. American agents, E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. Reprint of\nthe first edition, issued in 1844.\n\nSecond American edition of the same, with an introduction by Rev.\nGeorge B. Cheever, D.D. New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1845.\n\nThird edition of the same, with an Appendix, containing an extended\nreview from the _North British Review_ of July, 1845. New York: Wiley &\nPutnam, 1845.\n\n_Explanations._ A sequel to _Vestiges of the Natural History of\nCreation_. By the author of that work. New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1846.\nFrom and after the sixth edition the explanations were added as a\nsupplement to regular editions of _Vestiges_. The author's name, Robert\nChambers, was not given in any edition of the _Vestiges_ until the\ntwelfth, which appeared after his death.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\n   Abbatt, William, 235.\n\n   Abbott, F. E., letter of Herndon to, 142, 337, 344.\n\n   Abbott, Lyman, on Lincoln's religion, 228-231.\n\n   Abolitionist, Lincoln not at beginning, 257;\n     how he became one, 268.\n\n   _Advance_, editorial in, 181.\n\n   Agnostic, Lincoln said to have been an, 226, 229.\n\n   Akers, Rev. Peter, anti-slavery preacher, 241.\n\n   Anthon, Prof. Charles, 184.\n\n   Antietam, Battle of, 269.\n\n   Arnold, Hon. I. N., 122, 315, 331, 334.\n\n   Astronomy, Lincoln's knowledge of, 33.\n\n   Atheist, Lincoln was not, 225.\n\n   Atkinson, Eleanor, interview with Dennis Hanks, 38.\n\n   _Atlantic Monthly_, 281-282.\n\n   Atonement as ground for universal salvation, 153.\n\n\n   Bale, Abraham, Baptist preacher, 55.\n\n   Baptists, in frontier communities, 34-45;\n     Lincoln family essentially Baptist, 50.\n\n   Barrett, J. H., author of _Life of Lincoln_, 25.\n\n   Bartlett, D. W., author of _Life of Lincoln_, 25.\n\n   Bartlett, Truman H., correspondence with Herndon, 264-267.\n\n   Bateman, Newton, superintendent of Public Instruction in Illinois;\n     his interview with Lincoln, 20;\n     outline of life and service, 114-115;\n     Holland's story of the interview, 114 _seq.;_\n     controversy with Herndon, 121 _seq._;\n     virtually repudiates Holland interview, 123;\n     corrects Lincoln's grammar, 124;\n     his lecture on Lincoln, 125;\n     what Lincoln probably said to him, 126;\n     extract from lecture on Lincoln, 303, 328-329.\n\n   Baxter, Richard, Lincoln's quotation, 289.\n\n   Bayley, T. H., 263.\n\n   Beecher, Edward, 67.\n\n   Beecher, Henry Ward, 198-201, 288.\n\n   Beecher, Mrs. Henry Ward, author of an honest but incredible story,\n                                                                  201.\n\n   Bible, Lincoln's use of, 93;\n     his lecture on, 159, 354;\n     gift of colored people, 217, 276;\n     knowledge of, 261-262.\n\n   Bibliography, 368-390.\n\n   Binns, Henry B., English biographer, 237.\n\n   Biology, Lincoln's knowledge of, 170.\n\n   Bishop, William, address on Lincoln, 160 _seq._\n\n   Black, Chauncey F., alleged author of Lamon's \"Life of Lincoln,\" 26,\n                                                                   129.\n\n   Black, J. C., 315.\n\n   Books, read by Lincoln in youth, 47;\n     read few in later years, 166.\n\n   Boyd, Lucinda, quoted, 39.\n\n   Brodie, Sir Benjamin, 170.\n\n   Brooks, Noah, 327.\n\n   Browning, O. H., 249.\n\n   Browning, Mrs. O. H., 53.\n\n   Bryan Hall meeting, 268.\n\n   Buck, Solon J., on early Illinois, 57.\n\n   Buckle, Henry T., author of \"History of Civilization,\" 29.\n\n   Burns, Robert, Lincoln's familiarity with, 150, 166, 263.\n\n   \"Burnt Book,\" Lincoln's, 146, 148, 152 _seq._, 320, 341, 346-347.\n\n   Burton, John E., 184, 208.\n\n   Bushnell, Horace, author of \"Christian Nurture,\" 50, 288.\n\n   Butterworth, Hezekiah, 49.\n\n   Byron, Lincoln's use of, 263.\n\n\n   Calhoun, John, loaned Lincoln books on surveying, 54.\n\n   Calvinism, a permanent influence in life of Lincoln, 171, 197, 271.\n\n   Carman, Dr. L. D., 242.\n\n   Carpenter, Frank B., painter of Emancipation picture, 206, 276, 281,\n                                                         285, 328, 334.\n\n   Carr, Clark E., on Lincoln, 104-105.\n\n   Cartwright, Peter, pioneer preacher, 55;\n     candidate against Lincoln, 61;\n     career, 63, 345.\n\n   Case, Lizzie York, \"There is no Unbelief,\" 290.\n\n   Catholic, Lincoln not a, 231.\n\n   Chambers, Robert, author of \"Vestiges of Creation,\" 166-171.\n\n   Channing, William E., Lincoln reads, 175-178, 288.\n\n   Chapman, Ervin, \"Latest Light on Lincoln,\" 48;\n     on the Beecher incident, 199, 275, 286.\n\n   Chase, Salmon P., account of Emancipation Proclamation, 283-284.\n\n   Chiniquy, Rev. Charles, 188-197.\n\n   Chittenden, L. E., 188-197.\n\n   \"Christian's Defence,\" _see_ Smith, James.\n\n   _Christian Advocate_, 241.\n\n   _Christian Leader_, 183.\n\n   _Christian Register_, 183.\n\n   Church, Lincoln's esteem for, 240;\n     why he did not join, 244 _seq._\n\n   Churches, Lincoln and the, 377.\n\n   Cogdal, Isaac, on Lincoln's religion, 139, 287, 348-349.\n\n   Colfax, Schuyler, 95.\n\n   Collum, Shelby M., 67.\n\n   Congregational ministers, petition and delegation to influence\n                               Emancipation Proclamation, 268-269.\n\n   Cooper Union Address, 73, 262.\n\n   Crawford, Andrew, teacher of Lincoln, 31, 33, 46.\n\n   Creed, Lincoln did not formulate, 291;\n     quotations used as basis of, 292-299;\n     compiled from his own utterances, 300.\n\n\n   Davis, David, on Lincoln's religion, 133, 248-249.\n\n   Deming, Henry C., address on Lincoln, 93-94, 244, 330.\n\n   Dempster, Rev. John, 268.\n\n   Dickens, Charles, Lincoln's use of, 263.\n\n   Disciples, so-called Campbellite church, 38.\n\n   Dodge, Daniel Kilham, 261-262, 270.\n\n   Dorsey, Abel W., teacher of Lincoln, 31.\n\n   Douglas, Fred, 247.\n\n   Douglas, Stephen A., 61, 73, 76, 104, 161, 263, 359.\n\n   Douthit, Rev. Jasper, 238.\n\n   Downey, David G., 199.\n\n   Dreams, Lincoln believed in, 233-236.\n\n   Dresser, Rev. Charles, 106.\n\n\n   _Edinburgh Review_, 167.\n\n   Edwards, Matilda, 52.\n\n   Edwards, Ninian W., 76;\n     testifies as to Lincoln's changed views, 164, 324, 359.\n\n   Elkin, David, preaches at Nancy Lincoln's funeral, 34, 39, 41.\n\n   Ellsworth, Col. Elmer, 128;\n     Lincoln's letter to his parents, 292.\n\n   Emancipation Proclamation, evolution of, 268-270, 281-286.\n\n   English, Dr. J. B., 184.\n\n\n   Farewell Address at Springfield, 84, 303-306.\n\n   Fell, Jesse W., Lincoln writes biographical sketch for, 236;\n     presents Lincoln books of Channing and Parker, 175, 321.\n\n   Ford, Governor Thomas, on frontier preachers, 58-59;\n     on \"Long Nine,\" 82.\n\n   Fowler, Bishop Charles H., 103; 111 _seq._, 242, 253.\n\n   Freemason, Lincoln not a, 242.\n\n   Free-will Baptist, Thomas Lincoln not a, 37-38.\n\n   Funerals, often deferred, 40-45.\n\n\n   Geology, Lincoln's knowledge of, 170.\n\n   Gesture, Lincoln's use of, 263.\n\n   Gordon, Nathaniel, 293.\n\n   Grady, Josiah, questions Lincoln's religion, 138.\n\n   Graham, Mentor, teacher of Lincoln, 32, 51, 67, 68, 136;\n     on Lincoln's \"Burnt Book,\" 152 _seq._, 346-347.\n\n   Grant, Ulysses S., 253-254.\n\n   Green, Bowling, 54, 185.\n\n   Greene, Gilbert J., 78-79.\n\n   Gurley, Rev. Phineas D., Lincoln's pastor in Washington, 87, 90, 244,\n                                                           245, 325-326.\n\n   Gurney, Eliza P., 88-90; 294.\n\n\n   Hanks, Dennis, on Lincoln's youth, 38, 49.\n\n   Hanks, John, on Lincoln's impression of slavery, 96.\n\n   Hannah, William H., on Lincoln's faith, 287.\n\n   Harnett, Jonathan, 138, 349.\n\n   \"Harp, French,\" 246.\n\n   Hay, John, author of \"Life of Lincoln,\" 27.\n\n   Hazel, Caleb, teacher of Lincoln, 30.\n\n   Head, Rev. Jesse, 240.\n\n   Herndon, W. D., discussed religion with Lincoln, 132, 148.\n\n   Herndon, William H., author of \"Life of Lincoln,\" 20, 24, 26, 27, 35;\n     says Lincoln was a fatalist, 50;\n     an infidel, 61-62;\n     his visit to site of New Salem, 62;\n     his lectures on Lincoln 62, 142-143;\n     his partnership with Lincoln, 71;\n     on Lincoln's letter to his father, 77;\n     letter from Nicolay, 91;\n     controversy with Bateman, 121 _seq._;\n     notes of his five interviews, 125;\n     writes a life of Lincoln, 140-145;\n     no friend of Mrs. Lincoln, 140;\n     the Abbott letter, 142;\n     his letter to Dr. Smith, 141;\n     reply to Reed lecture, 141;\n     regretted sale of papers to Lamon, 143;\n     revised edition of his work, 144;\n     personal habits and religion, 144-145;\n     never saw Lincoln's \"Burnt Book,\" 148;\n     correspondence with Bartlett, 264-267;\n     attempts \"to put at rest forever\" the charge that Lincoln was an\n                                                        atheist, 279;\n     affirms Lincoln's faith in immortality, 286;\n     reads reply to, 314 _seq._;\n     letters concerning Lincoln's religion, 336-340.\n\n   Herrick, Robert, 263.\n\n   Hill, Samuel, burns Lincoln manuscript, 146-155.\n\n   Hodgenville, Kentucky, a Baptist settlement, 34.\n\n   Hodges, A. G., Lincoln's letter to, 296.\n\n   Holland, Josiah G., author of \"Life of Lincoln,\" 26;\n     asymmetry of Lincoln's life, 102 _seq._;\n     story of the Bateman incident, 115-117;\n     prints the Reed lecture in _Scribner's_ magazine, 135, 328-329,\n                                                                337.\n\n   Holmes, O. W., 167.\n\n   Holt, Dr. E. E., on Lincoln's dream, 235.\n\n   Howells, William D., \"Life of Lincoln,\" 25.\n\n\n   Illinois College, 67.\n\n   Illinois, twin born with Lincoln, 30.\n\n   Insanity, Lincoln's approach to, 252.\n\n   Irwin, B. F., on Lincoln's religion, 136, 287, 341.\n\n\n   Jacquess, Col. James F., story of Lincoln's conversion, 241, 309\n                                                        _seq._\n\n   Jacquess, William B., 309.\n\n   Johnny Kongapod, 49, 271.\n\n   Johns, Mrs. Jane Martin, reminiscences of Lincoln, 248 _seq._\n\n   Johnson, John D., Lincoln's stepbrother, 77.\n\n   Johnson, William J., author of \"Lincoln the Christian,\" 48;\n     on the Beecher incident, 199, 235.\n\n\n   Kansas, Lincoln visits, 73.\n\n   Keckley, Elizabeth, 203-204.\n\n   Keys, I. W., loaned Lincoln \"Vestiges of Creation,\" 277.\n\n   Kirkham's Grammar, studied by Lincoln, 51, 67, 185.\n\n   Knox College, 125.\n\n   Krone, David, 249.\n\n\n   Lamon, Ward Hill, author of \"Life of Lincoln,\" 26, 47, 52;\n     affirms Lincoln permitted himself to be misrepresented, 76;\n     quotes Herndon on Lincoln's letter to his father, 78;\n     answer to Holland, 117-120;\n     his relations with Lincoln, 128;\n     his life of Lincoln an unfinished fragment, 128;\n     the controversy growing out of his book, 128-134;\n     Black, the author, 129;\n     his recollections, 134;\n     on Lincoln's \"Burnt Book,\" 146;\n     affirms Lincoln's faith essentially that of Parker, 279;\n     reads reply to, 314 _seq._\n\n   Lewis, Thomas, 158-163, 256, 325, 359.\n\n   Lincoln, Abraham, sixteenth president of the United States;\n     periods of his life, 29;\n     birth of, boyhood, 30 _seq._;\n     schools and teachers, 30-33;\n     early religious privileges, 33 _seq._;\n     early influence Baptist, 34 _seq._;\n     migration to Illinois, 51;\n     on flat-boat, 51;\n     at New Salem, 51 _seq._;\n     studies grammar, 51;\n     works on flat-boat, 51;\n     service in Blackhawk War, 52;\n     candidate for legislature, 52;\n     keeper of post office, 52;\n     love affairs, 52-53;\n     influenced by life in New Salem, 54;\n     did not drink or swear, 55;\n     Herndon's statement of his religion, 61;\n     known as \"Honest Abe,\" 70;\n     removal to Springfield, 71;\n     his partnerships, 71;\n     beginnings of his interest in slavery, 72;\n     early orations, 72;\n     important cases, 73;\n     marriage, 73;\n     election as president, 73;\n     his children, 75;\n     death of Eddie, 75;\n     letter to dying father, 77;\n     comforts a dying woman, 78;\n     his stories, 80;\n     religious life in Springfield, 81;\n     development of political ideals, 82;\n     in Armstrong trial, 83;\n     ethical aspects of the slavery issue, 83, 268;\n     farewell at Springfield, 84;\n     inauguration as President, 86;\n     outline of his administration, assassination, and death, 87;\n     death of Willie, 95;\n     why he freed the slaves, 96;\n     domestic affairs, 106;\n     read \"Artemus Ward,\" 111;\n     the charges in Lamon's biography, 130-134;\n     his \"Burnt Book,\" 146-155;\n     reads \"The Christian's Defence,\" 156 _seq._;\n       pronounces it unanswerable, 164;\n     reads \"Vestiges of Creation,\" 166-171;\n     reads Channing and Parker, 172 _seq._;\n     erased words in Greek exercise book, 183;\n     the Chittenden interview, 188 _seq._;\n     the Chiniquy interview, 188 _seq._;\n     alleged visit to Beecher, 198 _seq._;\n     the Sickles interview, 201 _seq._;\n     life in the White House, 203 _seq._;\n     sorrow at death of Willie, 204;\n     alleged statement, \"I do love Jesus,\" 208;\n     religious character of his proclamations, 210-221;\n     not an atheist, 225;\n     not a Roman Catholic, 231;\n     not a spiritualist, 232;\n     not addressed as \"Abe,\" 233;\n     believed in dreams and signs, 233;\n     not a Quaker, 236;\n     questioned supernatural birth of Jesus, but not a Unitarian, 238;\n     denied eternal punishment, but not a Universalist, 238;\n     not a Methodist, 240;\n     not a Freemason, 242;\n     attended a revival, 244;\n     why he did not join the church, 244 _seq._;\n     the creed he could have accepted, 245;\n     lacked some of the finer feelings, 246;\n     his dress, 247;\n     possessed an innate courtesy, 247-249;\n     helps move a piano, 250;\n     morbidly cautious, 252;\n     breadth of his religious nature, 253;\n     not symmetrical in his development, 254;\n     essentially Calvinistic, 254, 271;\n     his capacity for obstinacy, 255;\n     his ability to evade an issue, 257;\n     his periods of mental uncertainty, 258;\n     his literary style, 261;\n     use of quotations, 262;\n     seldom told stories in speeches, 263;\n     thought and moved slowly, 264;\n     his characteristic pioneer trails, 265;\n     an embodiment of contrasts, 266;\n     neutral and spiritual evolution, 267;\n     interview with Chicago ministers, 268-269;\n     his changed style of oratory, 270;\n     his religious development, 270-275;\n     his belief in universal salvation, 272;\n       in immorality, 273, 286;\n     his references to God, 273-274;\n     his belief in the Bible, 274-275;\n       in Jesus Christ, 275-277;\n     his question of the supernatural birth, 277-278;\n       in divine destiny and prayer, 280-281;\n     his promise to God, 281-286;\n     in future but not endless punishment, 287;\n     not a theologian, 289;\n     his quotation from Baxter, 289;\n     materials for his creed, 291-299;\n     his creed in his own words, 300.\n\n   Lincoln, Edward Baker, son of the\n   President, birth and death, 75, 258.\n\n   Lincoln, Mary Todd, wife of Abraham;\n     courtship and marriage, 52-53, 73, 103;\n     relates incident of morning of inaugural, 86;\n     unites with Presbyterian Church, 159, 255-256;\n     broken engagement and wedding, 252.\n\n   Lincoln, Nancy Hanks, mother of the President;\n     marriage, 30, 48, 315;\n     death of, 31, 40;\n     at public worship, 34;\n     funeral, 40 _seq._\n\n   Lincoln, Robert Todd, son of President, 39;\n     birth, 75.\n\n   Lincoln, Sally, or Sarah Bush, second wife of Thomas, 31;\n     her religion, 37, 47, 50;\n     supplied information to Herndon, 36;\n     her love for Abraham, 50.\n\n   Lincoln, Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Nancy\n     (sometimes incorrectly called Nancy), 34;\n     united with Pigeon Creek Church, 37.\n\n   Lincoln, Thomas, father of the President;\n     marriages, 30, 31, 315;\n     religion of, 34, 36-45;\n     a thriftless farmer, 51;\n     Abraham's letter to, 77.\n\n   Lincoln, Thomas, \"Tad,\" son of the President, birth and death, 75.\n\n   Lincoln, William Wallace, son of the President;\n     birth, 75;\n     death, 95.\n\n   Logan, Stephen T., Lincoln's partner, 71, 249.\n\n   Logan, Thomas D., address on Lincoln, 75;\n     learned of Dr. Smith's book in 1909, 157.\n\n   Lyon, Benjamin, early Baptist minister, 34.\n\n\n   Maryland Historical Society, 269.\n\n   Matheny, James H., on Lincoln's religion, 133-135, 137;\n     Herndon's authority for the story of Lincoln's \"Burnt Book,\" 148,\n                                                         320-321, 343.\n\n   Maynard, Nettie Colburn, 232.\n\n   McCrie, George M., 226.\n\n   McNamur, John, lover of Ann Rutledge, 151.\n\n   Medill, Joseph, 269.\n\n   Melancholy, Lincoln's habitual, 252.\n\n   Methodist Church, little influence in life of the Lincoln family, 48;\n     Lincoln's high regard for, 240.\n\n   Miner, Rev. Dr., 86, 333-334.\n\n   Ministers in early Illinois politics, 59-61.\n\n   \"Miracles under law,\" 171, 279.\n\n   Missouri Compromise, 268.\n\n   Morgan, G. H., quoted, 21.\n\n   Morse, John T., Jr., author of \"Life of Lincoln,\" 27.\n\n   Mostiller, Thomas, on Lincoln's religion, 138, 347-348.\n\n   Murray, Lindley, author of English Reader, 32.\n\n   Music, little appreciated by Lincoln, 246.\n\n\n   New England, Lincoln visits, 73.\n\n   New Light Church at Farmington, 38.\n\n   New Salem, Illinois, 51;\n     influence on Lincoln, 54;\n     Lincoln's Alma Mater, 67.\n\n   Newton, Joseph Fort, author of \"Lincoln and Herndon,\" 26, 129.\n\n   Nicolay, John G., author of \"Life of Lincoln,\" 27, 31;\n     letter concerning Lincoln's religion, 91, 279-280, 321.\n\n   Nielson, William, his book on Greek Syntax owned by Lincoln, 183.\n\n\n   Offutt, Denton, 51.\n\n   Oldroyd, Osborn H., 208.\n\n   Olmsted, Charles G., 76, 358 _seq._\n\n   Onstott, T. G., reminiscences of New Salem, 54 _seq._\n\n   _Open Court_, articles in, 225-227.\n\n   Owens, Mary, courted by Lincoln, 52, 69.\n\n\n   Paine, Thomas, author of \"Age of Reason,\" read by Lincoln, 19, 61,\n                                                   63, 146, 152, 343.\n\n   Parker, Theodore, Lincoln reads, 175-178, 288.\n\n   Patton, Rev. William W., 268.\n\n   Paul at Malta, 260.\n\n   Pease, Theodore C., on early Illinois, 56, 59.\n\n   Peck, John Mason, preacher in early Illinois, 59.\n\n   Peters, Madison, on Religion of Lincoln, 34.\n\n   Philosophy, unknown to Lincoln, 171.\n\n   Piano, Lincoln helps to move, 250.\n\n   Poems loved by Lincoln, 166.\n\n   Poetry, Lincoln's use of, 246, 263.\n\n   Poetry and religion, 230.\n\n   Pomeroy, Rebecca R., 205-206.\n\n   Pope, Alexander, 263.\n\n   Presbyterian, Thomas Lincoln was not, 37.\n\n\n   Quakers, Lincoln's attitude toward, 88, 236, 237.\n\n\n   Rankin, Henry B., 245.\n\n   Ray, Dr. C. H., on Lincoln's religion, 133.\n\n   Reed, Rev. James A., his lecture and the controversy which followed,\n                                                       135 _seq.;_ 158;\n     text of lecture, 314, 337.\n\n   Reid, William, letter on Lincoln's religion, 352-356.\n\n   Religion in Kentucky backwoods, 34.\n\n   Religion, more and other than theology, 22;\n     part and parcel of Lincoln's life, 267.\n\n   Remsburg, J. E., Herndon's letter to, 336.\n\n   Reynolds, Governor, on early Illinois, 57.\n\n   Rickard, Sarah, alleged to have been courted by Lincoln, 52.\n\n   Riney, Zachariah, teacher of Lincoln, 30.\n\n   Roberts, William Henry, 90.\n\n   Roby, Katy (Mrs. Allen Gentry), 33.\n\n   Roper, R. C., on Lincoln's religion, 227.\n\n   Rusling, General James F., on Sickles interview, 201-202.\n\n   Rutledge, Ann, courted by Lincoln, 52 _seq.;_ 62, 69, 143, 352.\n\n   Rutledge, James, father of Ann, 54.\n\n\n   Science, little known by Lincoln, 171.\n\n   Scott, Milton R., 253.\n\n   Scott, Walter, Lincoln's use of, 263.\n\n   Scoville, Samuel, 199.\n\n   Scripps, John Locke, \"Life of Lincoln,\" 24.\n\n   Shakspeare, Lincoln's use, 263.\n\n   Shields, James T., 72.\n\n   Shipman, Elder, alleged Unitarian minister, 181.\n\n   Shirley, Ralph, 268.\n\n   Shrigley, Rev. James, 356-357.\n\n   Sickles, General D. E., interview with Lincoln, 201-202.\n\n   Slavery, beginnings of Lincoln's interest in, 72;\n     growth of moral aspect, 83;\n     \"If not wrong, nothing is wrong,\" 296.\n\n   Smith, Jeannette E., 158.\n\n   Smith, Rev. James, Lincoln's pastor at Springfield, 75-76;\n     relations with Lincoln, 132, 136;\n     his life and ministry, 156;\n     his sermon on temperance, 157;\n     Lincoln becomes a member of his congregation, 159;\n     Lincoln reads \"The Christian's Defence,\" 162;\n     change in Lincoln's views, 164;\n     convinced Lincoln but did not wholly satisfy, 270, 323-324,\n                                                        353-354;\n     complete chapter analysis of the book, 358 _seq._\n\n   Smith, Winfield, 289.\n\n   Speed, Joshua Fry, 92-93, 236, 336-337.\n\n   Spiritualist, Lincoln not a, 232.\n\n   Stanton, Theodore, article by, 226.\n\n   State Fair Speech of Lincoln, 257.\n\n   Stories, Lincoln's, 80, 263.\n\n   Stuart, John T., Lincoln's partner, 71;\n     on Lincoln's religion, 132, 249, 256, 319-320.\n\n   Sunderland, Rev. Byron, 332-333.\n\n   Superstition, Lincoln believed in, 233, 236.\n\n   Swett, Leonard, 249.\n\n\n   Tarbell, Ida, M., author of \"Life of Lincoln,\" 27.\n\n   Teillard, Dorothy Lamon, 129-130, 134.\n\n   Thomas, Lewis, 244.\n\n   Toleman, letter of, 238.\n\n\n   Unitarian, Lincoln was not, 180, 238.\n\n   Universalist, Lincoln was not, 238.\n\n\n   Vandalia, state capital of Illinois, 52.\n\n   \"Vestiges of Creation,\" by Robert Chambers, 166-171, 255, 265.\n\n   Vinton, Rev. Francis, alleged interview with Lincoln, 206.\n\n   Volney, Constantin Fran\u00e7ois, author of \"Ruins,\" read by Lincoln, 19,\n                                                      61, 63, 146, 152.\n\n   Voodoo Fortune-teller, Lincoln visits, 236.\n\n\n   \"Ward, Artemus,\" read by Lincoln, 113, 307.\n\n   Watson, Rev. Edward L., story of Lincoln's conversion, 24, 309.\n\n   Weik, Jesse W., associate of Herndon in authorship of\n                                   \"Life of Lincoln,\" 26;\n     opinion of Thomas Lincoln's religion, 39;\n     searches for lost Herndon papers, 125.\n\n   Welles, Gideon, 268, 281.\n\n   _Westminster Review_, 167, 226.\n\n   Whitcomb, Rev. W. W., sermon on Lincoln, 208.\n\n   White, Charles T., 80.\n\n   White, Horace, 26, 27, 129.\n\n   White, William Allen, 110.\n\n   Whitney, Henry C., on Lincoln's religion, 94-95;\n     on Lincoln's lack of method, 103, 246, 247, 254, 263.\n\n   Wigwam edition of \"Life of Lincoln,\" 24.\n\n   Wilberforce, Bishop Samuel, 170.\n\n\n   Yates, Governor Richard, 310.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] All the quotations in this book from Herndon's _Lincoln_ are from\nthe first edition in three volumes.\n\n[2] The habit of studying aloud, learned in the \"blab-school,\" remained\nwith him. Lamon says he read aloud and \"couldn't read otherwise.\"\nWhitney tells of his writing a ruling one time when he was sitting\n(illegally) for Judge Davis, and he pronounced each word aloud as he\nwrote it. This was not his invariable custom, but it was a common one\nwith him.\n\n[3] Hodgenville was a Baptist settlement from its foundation. Robert\nHodgen, for whom the settlement was named, and John Larue, his\nbrother-in-law, for whom the county was named, were both Baptists, and\namong the first settlers was a Baptist minister, Rev. Benjamin Lyon.\n\n[4] Baptisms of this noisy character were familiar to Lincoln in his\nboyhood and certainly as late as the period of his residence in New\nSalem. Henry Onstott, at whose tavern Lincoln boarded, tells of such\nbaptisms performed by Rev. Abraham Bale, including one at which the\nhusband of the lady who was being baptized called out to the preacher\nto hold her, as he valued her more highly than the best cow and calf in\nthe county (_Lincoln and Salem_, p. 122).\n\n[5] While the statements of Dennis Hanks are often colored by his\nimagination, he is, after all, our best witness concerning Lincoln's\nboyhood.\n\n[6] Some writers have spoken of Mr. Elkin as a Methodist circuit rider.\nMrs. Lucinda Boyd, in a book which might better not have been published\nand which I will not name, but which is correct in some local matters,\nspeaks of Rev. Robert Elkin, the minister who preached the funeral\nsermon of Mrs. Lincoln, as belonging to the \"Traveling Baptist Church.\"\nShe says: \"His grave is in the open field, and soon the traces of it\nwill be lost.\" Apparently this grave was in Clark County, Kentucky.\nI think, however, that she is in error as to the name Robert. It was\nDavid.\n\n[7] The latest writer to lend to the incident of Nancy Lincoln's\nfuneral the aid of a vivid imagination and a versatile pen is Rose\nStrunsky. Discarding the theory that Abraham wrote his first letter to\ninvite a minister to come from Kentucky to preach his mother's funeral,\nshe sends him on foot to a nearer settlement:\n\n\"The boy Abraham had his standards of life. There were things of too\nmuch meaning to let pass without some gesture. And the unceremonious\nburial in the forest haunted him. When he heard that a wandering\npreacher had reached the neighborhood, he tramped many miles in the\nsnow to bring him to the spot where the dead body lay, so that a\nfuneral sermon might be delivered over the now white grave\" (_Abraham\nLincoln_, p. 6).\n\nThere was nothing unusual about the burial. Nor was there anything\nunusual about the deferred funeral. These writers simply do not know\nthe conditions of life in which the boy Lincoln lived.\n\n[8] While this manuscript was in process of writing, Professor Raymond,\nof Berea College, Kentucky, enumerating his summer engagements for the\nseason of 1919, informed me of a funeral he was engaged to preach in\nAugust of a boy who died ten years ago. The boy's companions have by\nthis time grown to manhood, but the service will be held: and before\nthis book is published doubtless will have been held according to\nimmemorial custom in that region. This is not because there has been\nno preacher in its vicinity within ten years; nor is there any reason\nto suppose that the delay in the case of Lincoln's mother was due to\nthe utter absence of ministers. They were not abundant, certainly; but\nthere is no reason whatever to suppose that in the interval between\nthe death and funeral of Nancy Hanks no preacher had been in the\nneighborhood of Pigeon Creek.\n\n[9] I have often been deeply impressed by the charity of primitive\npreachers for dead people, and their ingenuity in inventing possible\nopportunities for repentance where no outward sign was given or\napparently possible. There was something impressive in their manner of\ndoing it, as well as an exhibition of fine tenderness for the feelings\nof friends and of generosity toward the dead.\n\n  \"_Between the saddle and the ground,\n  He pardon sought and pardon found_\"\n\nis a very precious article of faith in the creed of men who have to\npreach a stern doctrine to the living, with warning of a hell that\nyawns for all impenitent sinners.\n\n[10] In my own judgment, it would have been better to have let the\nfirst edition stand. It ought not to have included these vulgarities;\nbut they are not so bad as the impression which is created by the\nknowledge that a new edition had to be made on their account. They are\ncoarse bits of rustic buffoonery.\n\n[11] I do not forget that Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks were married\nby Rev. Jesse Head, who was a Methodist preacher. But I do not find\nevidence that Mr. Head exerted any marked influence over them. Mr. Head\nwas not only a minister, but a justice of the peace, an anti-slavery\nman, and a person of strong and righteous character. I am not sure\nwhether the fact that he performed this marriage is not due in some\nmeasure to the fact that he was about the court house, and a convenient\nminister to find.\n\n[12] Dr. Chapman goes even beyond Johnson in his admiration of these\nyouthful lines. He says:\n\n\"It is profoundly significant that this child of destiny, at his life's\nearly morning, in clumsy but impressive verse thus reverently coupled\nhis name with that of his Creator.... I am not claiming for this\nfragment of a Lincoln manuscript any divine inspiration\" (_Latest Light\non Lincoln_, p. 315).\n\nBut he stops little short of that, and might about as well have\nclaimed it. The simple truth is that the lines have no significance\nwhatever. They were a current bit of schoolboy doggerel, not original\nwith Lincoln, and were scribbled by him as by other boys, with no real\npurpose beyond that of working his name into a jingle.\n\n[13] I have seen these and other examples of Lincoln's early penmanship\nin the library of Mr. Jesse W. Weik.\n\n[14] The story of Johnny Kongapod was one which Lincoln often related\nin after life. It is found in several collections of his stories, and\nwith some variation. The Indian himself has found a place in literature\nin \"In the Boyhood of Lincoln\" by my friend, now deceased, Hezekiah\nButterworth. The epitaph more nearly in its ancient English form is\nfound in \"David Elginbrod,\" by George Macdonald:\n\n  \"_Here lie I, Martin Elginbrod;\n  Hae mercy o' my soul, Lord God,\n  As I would hae if I were God,\n  And Thou wert Martin Elginbrod._\"\n\n[15] \"His early Baptist training made him a fatalist to the day of his\ndeath\" (Herndon, I, 34).\n\n[16] The story of Lincoln's love affairs lies mostly outside the\nfield of our present inquiry. He had at least one more of them than\nhis biographers have learned about. Those that are best known are the\nones with Ann Rutledge, Mary Owens, and Mary Todd. Lamon declares that\nLincoln loved Miss Matilda Edwards, sister of Ninian W. Edwards, whose\nwife was sister to Mary Todd. He gives this as the real reason for the\nestrangement of Lincoln and his fianc\u00e9e (Lamon's _Life of Lincoln_,\np. 259). This is vigorously denied by members of the Edwards family,\nand the opinions in Springfield are anything but unanimous. Herndon\ninforms us that in 1840, when Lincoln was thirty-one, and during\nthe period when he was attracted to Mary Todd, he proposed to Sarah\nRickard, a girl of sixteen. The present writer has no occasion to go\ninto the discussions attending these several affairs of the heart.\nLincoln's unsettled condition of mind on matrimonial and other matters\nis, however, an important element in any study of his religious life\nin this period. Herndon, between whom and Mrs. Lincoln little love was\nlost, was not unwilling to inform her and the world that Lincoln had\nloved one woman, at least, more than he ever loved her; and that he\nmarried her reluctantly. This was not pleasant information for a proud\nand erratic grief-stricken woman, and it is not certain that Herndon\nwas impartial authority or that he learned the whole truth. Lincoln\nwas not a lady's man, and Mary Owens was quite right in deeming him\n\"deficient in those little links that make up the chain of a woman's\nhappiness.\"\n\nStudents of the Lincoln material are informed by those who suppose\nthemselves to know, that beside the above-mentioned adventures, Lincoln\nhad at least one additional love affair, and one that was not to his\ncredit. They are told that the proof of this exists in an unpublished\nletter from the hand of Lincoln, a letter sacredly guarded and seldom\nshown by its owner. If this book had any reason to go at length into\nthe subject of Lincoln's love affairs, I should be glad to consider\nthat matter in detail; for the owner of that letter has permitted me to\nread and copy it, and I have the copy, which I intend to use in another\nvolume on Lincoln. I wish to say, however, that the letter, which is\na free, unguarded note to an intimate friend, does not sustain the\nimpression that Lincoln had any other love affair, or that any wrong\nact or motive lay behind his words. Lincoln was not a tactful man in\nhis relations with women; but he was a clean man.\n\n[17] \"Mr. Lincoln was never agitated by any passion more than by\nhis wonderful thirst for distinction. There is no instance where an\nimportant office was within his reach, and he did not try to get it\"\n(Lamon, _Life of Lincoln_, p. 237). This is a harsh and unfriendly way\nof stating it, but it is not wholly false.\n\n[18] Mr. John E. Burton has documentary evidence that Lincoln was\nassociated as so-called partner with seven law firms. Mr. Burton has\nowned the firm signatures in Lincoln's handwriting as follows:\n\n  Stuart and Lincoln 1838\n  Ficklin and Lincoln 1842\n  Logan and Lincoln 1845\n  Harlan and Lincoln 1845\n  Goodrich and Lincoln October 1855\n  Lincoln and Herndon 1852\n  Lincoln and Lamon\n\nBut these associates, except Stuart, Logan, and Herndon, were not\nstrictly partnerships. They were local associations with lawyers whose\npractice he shared.\n\n[19] Mr. Barker, the bookseller and publisher of Springfield, has or\nhad an interesting item in a volume which Mr. Lincoln presented to Rev.\nWilliam A. Chapin, a returned missionary, who lived with the family of\nhis relative, Albert Hale. Mr. Lincoln was on close terms with \"Father\nHale\" and a friend of Mr. Chapin. The book is one volume, the others\nbeing lost, of a set entitled \"_Horae Solitariae, or, Essays on Some\nRemarkable Names and Titles of the Holy Spirit._ First American from\nthe Second London Edition. Philadelphia: Cochran & McLoughlan, 1801.\"\nThe book bears no name of author. Upon the flyleaf is the autograph of\nMr. Chapin in these words, \"William A. Chapin, 1844. A present from\nAbr. Lincoln.\" How Lincoln obtained the book is not known; nor is it\none for which he would have been likely to care. But he cared enough\nfor the book or for the missionary or for both to present the one to\nthe other. His aversion to ministers, which Lamon portrays, may have\nhad some reason in certain cases; but it was not inclusive of all\nministers nor of ministers as a class.\n\n[20] I have been at much trouble to get the exact name and dates of\nthis little boy. He was called Eddie, and the name is sometimes given\nEdwin and sometimes Edward, and I did not find it easy to learn,\neven at the monument at Springfield, the exact date of his death. He\nwas named for his father's friend, and associate in the Legislature,\nEdward Baker. He was born March 10, 1846, and died February 1, 1850.\nLincoln's children were: Robert Todd, born August 1, 1843, still\nliving; Edward Baker, born March 10, 1846, died in Springfield February\n1, 1850; William Wallace, born December 21, 1850, died in the White\nHouse February 20, 1862; Thomas or \"Tad,\" born April 4, 1853; died\nin Chicago, July 15, 1871. Mary Todd Lincoln, their mother, was born\nin Lexington, Kentucky, December 13, 1818; married Abraham Lincoln,\nNovember 4, 1842, and died in Springfield July 16, 1882.\n\nThe date of the death of Eddie is important, because it gives us a\n_terminus a quem_ for Lincoln's acquaintance with Rev. James Smith.\nDr. Smith gives the date as \"in the latter part of 1849.\" I sought in\nvain not only in published Lives of Lincoln but in the material on\nfile with the State Historical Society for the precise date. What is\nmore surprising, Colonel Johnson, custodian of the Lincoln tomb, has\nmade diligent search for me and cannot find the date. In an article,\nprepared for the Lincoln Centenary in 1909, Rev. Thomas D. Logan,\nD.D., then pastor of the church in Springfield which Lincoln attended\nand successor of Dr. Smith, said it was \"about 1848 or 1849\"; but in\nworking over the material, as he manifestly did, after furnishing it to\n_The Interior_, in which it was printed, and delivering the substance\nof it as a centenary address, he gives the date as February 1, 1850.\nThis I judge to be correct, and it is upon his authority I have given\nthat date above. The other dates of the Lincoln family's relation to\nthis church support this statement.\n\n[21] Governor Ford uses this term as inclusive of the \"Long Nine\" and\ntheir associates who voted for the combination of evils which brought\nfinancial disaster to Illinois in that early day. Among them were\nStephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, John A. McClernand, and James\nShields--\"all of them spared monuments of popular wrath, evincing how\nsafe it is to be a politician, but how disastrous it may be to the\ncountry to keep along with the present fervor of the people.\" FORD:\n_History of Illinois_.\n\n[22] A careful reading of Mr. Lincoln's speeches while en route for\nWashington will reveal, I think, that Mr. Lincoln was confident there\nwould be no war. A much more solemn note was in his First Inaugural, a\nfew days later.\n\n[23] Even Herndon commends Dr. Gurley and Bishop Simpson for their very\nconservative claims concerning the religion of Lincoln.\n\n[24] Carpenter says that these were the negroes of Baltimore, and is\nprobably correct.\n\n[25] This curious passage, which is very nearly meaningless if read\napart from its context, has to do with the appointment of the priestly\nfamilies that furnished the porters, or guards, for the approaches to\nthe temple in Jerusalem. It is found in I Chronicles 26:17-18.\n\n[26] This well-known and picturesque passage describes the army of\nDavid when he was an outlaw and half a freebooter, fleeing from the\nfury of Saul and hiding in the cave of Adullam. I Samuel 22:2.\n\n[27] \"Mr. Lincoln had no method, system, or order in his exterior\naffairs; he had no library, no clerk, no stenographer; he had no\ncommon-place-book, no _index rerum_, no diary. Even when he was\nPresident and wanted to preserve a memorandum of anything, he noted it\ndown on a card and stuck it into a drawer or in his vest pocket. But in\nhis mental processes and operations, he had the most complete system\nand order. While outside of his mind all was anarchy and confusion,\ninside all was symmetry and method.\" WHITNEY: _Life on the Circuit with\nLincoln_, p. 110.\n\n[28] Mrs. Edwards, Mrs. Lincoln's sister, in a published interview\nwhich Barker of Springfield has reprinted in a limited edition, gives a\ncircumstantial account of the wedding, which, she affirms, occurred on\nSunday night. The calendar contradicts her. Nor would the court house\nhave been open for the issue of the license on Sunday; its date is the\ndate of the wedding. The license was procured, and the marriage was\nsolemnized, on Friday.\n\n[29] Newton Bateman was born at Fairfield, New York, July 27, 1822, and\nmigrated with his parents to Illinois in his boyhood. He was graduated\nfrom Illinois College, in Jacksonville, in 1843, and was honored as\none of the ablest men in the alumni of that institution. He first knew\nAbraham Lincoln in 1847, and knew him with increasing intimacy during\nthe years of 1859 and 1860 when Mr. Bateman was in Springfield. Mr.\nBateman served as Superintendent of Schools of the State of Illinois\ncontinuously from 1859 to 1875, except for the single term 1863-65.\nDuring his administration the school system of Illinois made notable\nprogress, and he is remembered as having done large things for the\neducational system of his State. He was the author of the plan for\nthe education of all the children of all the people of the State at\nthe expense of all the property of the State. He wrought his system\ninto the new constitution of Illinois, adopted in 1871, while he was\nat the zenith of his power. He was repeatedly re-elected, his defeat\nin 1862 being a defeat shared with the whole Republican ticket of the\nState in an off-year election when nearly the whole North, weary of the\nwar which had scarcely begun, defeated partly by hostility and partly\nby lethargy the party and the policies that had sent Lincoln to the\nWhite House; and Bateman was triumphantly re-elected when Lincoln was\nre-elected, and for many terms thereafter. He established the Normal\nSchool system of the State; and his work was monumental in the life of\nthe State University. Few men deserve so well to be remembered with\nhonor in Illinois.\n\nAt the close of his long term of service as Superintendent of Schools,\nhe became President of Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, from 1875\nto 1893. He was small in stature, and by his friends was familiarly\ncalled \"Little Newt,\" but was held in high regard as a man of honor\nand an educator of note. Besides his published reports and addresses,\nhe compiled a large encyclopedia of men of Illinois,--a kind of \"Who's\nWho\" of much value. His family at one time proposed to gather and issue\na memorial volume of his addresses, but the plan appears not to have\nbeen carried out. He died of angina pectoris at Galesburg, October 21,\n1897.\n\n[30] Bateman's version of the Farewell Address, as reported in the\n_State Journal_, was that accepted by Herndon, and, with its more\nprofound recognition of God's providential care, is given in Lamon's\n_Life of Lincoln_, p. 506. It is repeated in his _Recollections_, p. 31.\n\n[31] For these two reports and that of Lincoln and Hay, see the\nAppendix.\n\n[32] Mr. Jesse W. Weik, who was associated with Herndon in the\nauthorship of his _Life of Lincoln_, and who has Herndon's papers, has\nmade diligent search for me in the effort to locate the notes of these\ninterviews. Herndon certainly desired to preserve them, and desired\nthat they should be published. But thus far they have not been found,\nand presumably are not in existence.\n\n[33] Lamon was a Virginian by birth, and was, in many of his habits, a\nvery different man from Lincoln, but Lincoln liked and trusted him.\n\n[34] Black was Lamon's law partner in Washington after the war. The\nfirm of Black, Lamon, and Hovey did a large business in prosecuting\nclaims against the Government.\n\n[35] This lecture is now very rare, and the text is given in the\nAppendix to this volume.\n\n[36] This important communication containing signed letters from a\nnumber of Lincoln's friends is given in full in the Appendix.\n\n[37] Although a number of these letters are quoted in the text, the\narticle as a whole is so important that it is given in full in the\nAppendix.\n\n[38] Herndon's letter to Dr. Smith was impudent, demanding that\nhe answer as a man, if he could, and if not as a man, then as a\nChristian--a challenge which the old Scotchman answered in kind.\n\n[39] The Abbott letter is printed in Herndon's _Life of Lincoln_, pp.\n492-497: portions of it have been quoted in this book.\n\nThe Remsburg letter and the broadside above referred to are printed in\nfull in the Appendix to this book.\n\n[40] Statements of this nature show, what we know without them, that\nHerndon had never seen the \"book\" nor heard it described by anyone who\nactually saw it.\n\n[41] We may note in passing that it is not in \"Tam o' Shanter\" but in\n\"Holy Willie's Prayer\" that Burns uses the line quoted by Matheny.\n\n[42] I am informed that this is a slight error. Dr. Smith had another\nson, still younger.\n\n[43] There are three copies in Chicago, one in the library of the\nUniversity of Chicago, one in the library of McCormick Theological\nSeminary, and one in my own library. There are copies also in the\nlibraries of Union Theological Seminary, New York; Center College,\nDanville, Kentucky; the College of the Bible, Lexington, Kentucky; the\nLibrary of Congress, and Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati. These,\nand the one owned by Miss Smith, are the only copies of which I have\nlearned thus far; though doubtless there are others in dusty attics.\n\n[44] This date is wrong. The book was not published until 1844.\n\n[45] _Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation_, by Robert Chambers,\nis published still by E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, and sold at 75\ncents. This is an excellent reprint of the first Edinburgh edition,\nwhich Lincoln first read.\n\n[46] It is now known that it was through the influence of Robert\nChambers that T. H. Huxley was present and made his famous reply\nto Bishop Wilberforce at Oxford in 1860. Huxley was in Oxford, but\nintended to have left that morning because he believed that the\ndiscussion would take a theological, or other than a scientific turn,\nand would be unprofitable, but \"on the Friday afternoon he chanced\nto meet Robert Chambers, the reputed author of the _Vestiges of\nCreation_, who begged him not to desert them, accordingly he postponed\nhis departure\" (_Life and Letters of Thomas H. Huxley_, by his Son, I,\n193). In this discussion Bishop Wilberforce, in closing a half-hour's\nclever, but unfair speech, turned to Huxley and asked him whether\nit was on the side of Huxley's grandfather or grandmother that he\nclaimed his own descent from a monkey? Huxley endured the laughter\nand applause which followed this personal sally with something more\nthan good nature. He turned to Sir Benjamin Brodie, who sat beside\nhim, and slapping his knee, exclaimed: \"The Lord hath delivered him\ninto my hands!\" It was even so. Huxley rose to reply, and said that he\nwould not be ashamed of having a monkey as an ancestor, but he would\nbe ashamed of any relationship to a gifted man, who, not content with\nsuccess in his own sphere of activity, plunged into a discussion of\nmatters of which he had no real acquaintance \"only to obscure them by\nan aimless rhetoric, and distract the attention of his hearers from the\nreal point at issue by eloquent digressions, and skilled appeals to\nreligious prejudice.\"\n\nIn its way that speech established the popularity of Huxley as a\ndebator, and effectually punctured one argument then coming into use in\nthe discussion of evolution. It also was an incident never forgotten\nconcerning Bishop Wilberforce. Huxley afterward wrote, \"In justice to\nthe Bishop, I am bound to say he bore me no malice, but was always\ncourtesy itself when we met in after years.\" In the same letter Huxley\nsays, \"The odd part of the business is, that I should not have been\npresent except for Robert Chambers.\"\n\n[47] I have communicated with Mr. Burton and he agrees with me in the\nopinion that the inscription from Professor Anthon is not genuine.\nHe thinks it may have been added by Dr. English, not with intent to\ndeceive, but as giving his impression of the manner in which Lincoln\nacquired the book. Whoever wrote it I think was in error.\n\n[48] This book had been written and was in course of revision when I\nprocured Dr. Chapman's _Latest Light on Lincoln_. It is a book by one\nwho loved Lincoln sincerely, and can discover in him no lack of any\ndesirable quality; even physical beauty and grace of movement are here\nattributed to Lincoln, as well as the acceptance of all the fundamental\narticles of the creeds. He accepts the Beecher incident, declaring that\nDr. Johnson informed him that \"after thorough investigation he fully\nbelieved it to be truthful and authentic,\" and affirming that \"upon\nthe scene of this unique event there rests a halo of celestial beauty\ntoo sacred to be regarded with indifference or doubt.\" The halo may be\nthere, but is it true? Was there any period of twenty-four hours while\nLincoln was in the White House when this could have occurred, and the\nfact concealed from the public? It is altogether less improbable that\nMrs. Beecher in her extreme old age and failing mentality was mistaken\nabout the identity of one of Mr. Beecher's callers.\n\n[49] Dr. Johnson quotes this in his _Abraham Lincoln the Christian_,\nand with it gives a photo reproduction of this page of his manuscript,\nbearing in the margin the attestation of both Generals Sickles and\nRusling:\n\n\"I certify that this statement of a conversation between President\nLincoln and General Sickles, in my presence, at Washington, D. C., July\n5, 1863, relating to Gettysburg, is correct and true. JAMES F. RUSLING,\nTrenton, N. J., Feb. 17, 1910.\"\n\n\"I hereby certify that the foregoing statement by General Rusling is\ntrue in substance. I know from my intimate acquaintance with President\nLincoln that he was a religious man--God-fearing and God-loving ruler.\nD. E. SICKLES, Major General U. S. Army, Ret'd, New York, Feb. 11,\n1911.\"\n\n[50] The Library of Congress has a scurilous pamphlet entitled _Behind\nthe Seams; by a Nigger Woman, who took in work for Mrs. Lincoln and\nMrs. Davis, New York: The National News Company, 21 and 23 Ann Street,\n1868_. The preface is signed, \"Betsy X (her mark) Kickley, a Nigger.\"\nIt is a coarse parody on the above, but would appear sometimes to have\nbeen mistaken for the original work.\n\n[51] This incident must have appeared in print immediately after\nLincoln's death, for I find it quoted in memorial addresses of May,\n1865. Mr. Oldroyd has endeavored to learn for me in what paper he found\nit and on whose authority it rests, but without result. He does not\nremember where he found it. It is inherently improbable, and rests on\nno adequate testimony. It ought to be wholly disregarded. The earliest\nreference I have found to the story in which Lincoln is alleged to\nhave said to an unnamed Illinois minister \"I do love Jesus\" is in a\nsermon preached in the Baptist Church of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, April\n19, 1865, by Rev. W. W. Whitcomb, which was published in the Oshkosh\n_Northwestern_, April 21, 1865, and in 1907 issued in pamphlet form, by\nJohn E. Burton. The form of quotation is indefinite, but I judge that\nthe incident was current in the papers of that week, as it is quoted\nas something with which the congregation was assumed to be familiar. I\njudge, therefore, that this was a story that found currency immediately\nafter Lincoln's death, running the round of the newspapers with no\none's name attached.\n\n[52] Lincoln addressed most of his friends by their family name,\nseldom prefixing \"Mr.\" A few he called by their first name. Herndon he\ncalled \"Billy.\" Ward Hill Lamon he addressed as \"Hill.\" Some of his\nfriends called him \"Lincoln,\" but most of them, \"Mr. Lincoln.\" If any\nhabitually addressed him as \"Abe,\" the author has been unable to learn\nthe fact.\n\n\"Although I have heard of cheap fellows, professing that they were\nwont to address him as 'Abe,' I never knew any one who did it in his\npresence. Lincoln disdained ceremony, but he gave no license for being\ncalled 'Abe'.\" WHITNEY: _Life on the Circuit with Lincoln_, p. 53.\n\n[53] Dr. Chapman, who appears to have permitted no improbable story of\nLincoln's orthodoxy to escape him, records this incident with complete\nassurance of its correctness; but it is a story which it is impossible\nto fit into the life of Lincoln.\n\nIn _Latest Light on Lincoln_, p. 396, Chapman says, \"There is every\nreason for giving this remarkable story unquestioning credence.\" On\nthe contrary, there is every good reason for questioning it at every\nessential point, and the questions do not evoke satisfactory answers.\n\n[54] Whitney affirms that Lincoln was never a member of any secret\nsociety. If he had been, that society would certainly have produced a\nrecord of his membership.\n\n[55] Whitney tells us of this in his _With Lincoln on the Circuit_,\ndescribing the instrument as a \"French harp.\" This term has given rise\nto some ludicrous mistakes on the part of those who have quoted it In\nKentucky and in \"Egypt\" a French harp is a harmonica.\n\n[56]\n\n \"Of dress, food, and the ordinary comforts and luxuries of life,\n he was an incompetent judge. He could not discern between well and\n ill-cooked and served food. He did not know whether or not clothes\n fitted. He did not know whether music was artistic or in bad taste.\"\n WHITNEY: _Life on the Circuit with Lincoln_, p. 52.\n\n[57]\n\n \"I repeat that his was one of the most uneven, eccentric, and\n heterogeneous characters, probably, that ever played a part in the\n great drama of history; and it was for that reason that he was\n so greatly misjudged and misunderstood; that he was on the one\n hand described as a mere humorist--a sort of Artemus Ward or Mark\n Twain--that it was thought that by some irony of fate a low comedian\n had got into the Presidential chair by mistake and that the nation was\n being delivered over to conflagration, while this modern Nero fiddled\n upon its ruins; or that, on the other hand, he should have been thus\n sketched by as high authority as Ralph Waldo Emerson: 'He is the true\n history of the American people to his time. Step by step he walks\n beside them, quickening his march by theirs, the true representative\n of this continent, an entirely public man, Father of his Country, the\n pulse of twenty millions throbbing through his heart, the thought of\n their minds articulated by his tongue. His heart was as great as the\n world, but there was no room in it to hold the memory of a wrong.'\"\n WHITNEY: _Life on the Circuit with Lincoln_, p. 147.\n\n \"One of the most obvious of Mr. Lincoln's peculiarities was his\n dissimilitude of qualities, or inequality of conduct, his dignity\n of deportment and action, interspersed with freaks of frivolity and\n inanity; his high aspiration and achievement, and his descent into\n the most primitive vales of listlessness, and the most ridiculous\n buffoonery. He combined the consideration of the movement of armies or\n grave questions of international concern, with Nasby's feeble jokes or\n Dan Rice's clownish tricks. In the chief drawer of his cabinet table,\n all the current joke books of the time were in juxtaposition with\n official commissions lacking only his final signature, applications\n for pardons from death penalties, laws awaiting executive action,\n and orders, which, when issued, would control the fate of a million\n men and the destinies of unborn generations.... Hence it was that\n superficial persons, who expected great achievements to be set in\n a _mise en sc\u00e9ne_, and to be ushered in with a prologue, could not\n understand or appreciate that this wonderful man's administration\n was a succession of acts of grand and heroic statesmanship, or that\n he was a prodigy of intellect and moral force, and a genius in\n administration.\" WHITNEY: _Life on the Circuit with Lincoln_, pp.\n 147-48-49.\n\n[58] Mr. Jesse W. Weik investigated this report, and told me of it. It\ncomes not through Lewis or other members of the church, but through\nLincoln's associates outside the church, who seem to have expected him\nto unite.\n\n[59]\n\n \"He had not then announced himself for freedom, only discussed\n the inexpediency of repealing the Missouri Compromise line. The\n Abolitionists that day [the day of Lincoln's State Fair speech]\n determined to make Lincoln take a stand. I determined he should not\n at that time, because the time had not yet come when Lincoln should\n show his hand. When Lovejoy announced the abolition gathering in the\n evening, I rushed to Lincoln, and said: 'Lincoln, go home, take Bob\n and the buggy, and leave the country, go quickly, go right off, and\n never mind the order of your going.' Lincoln took the hint, got his\n horse and buggy, and did leave quickly, not noting the order of his\n going. He stayed away till all conventions and fairs were over.\"\n HERNDON, in LAMON, p. 354.\n\n[60] Lincoln's evasion of an issue which he did not wish to meet was\nput to a severe test in 1864, when the convention that renominated\nhim for the Presidency had to decide whether to renominate\nalso Vice-President Hamlin. Lincoln liked Hamlin; but, while a\nVice-President from Maine had strengthened the ticket in 1860, a war\nDemocrat from one of the border States could help it more in 1864.\nLincoln managed never to let it be known whether he favored Hamlin, who\ngreatly desired his support, or whether, as was probably the case, he\npreferred Johnson. He was skillful in evasion when he chose to be so.\n\n[61] _Abraham Lincoln; Evolution of His Literary Style._ By Daniel\nKilham Dodge. Press of the University of Illinois, 1900.\n\n[62] Few writers who knew Lincoln intimately have given us more\ndetailed accounts of Lincoln's career as a story teller than his friend\nand associate, Major Henry C. Whitney, who habitually shared his bed in\nthe rounds of the Eighth Judicial Circuit. In his chapter on \"Lincoln\nas a Merry Andrew,\" in which he tells the undignified length to which\nthese bouts of story telling were wont to go, he says: \"But it is a\nsingular fact that Lincoln very rarely told stories in his speeches.\nIn both his forensic and political speeches he got down to serious\nbusiness, and threw away the mask of Momus altogether. I never heard\nhim narrate but one story in a speech.\" _Life on the Circuit with\nLincoln_, p. 179.\n\n[63] These letters have lately been presented to the Massachusetts\nHistorical Society.\n\n[64] _Abraham Lincoln; The Evolution of His Emancipation Policy._ An\naddress delivered before the Chicago Historical Society, February 27,\n1906.\n\n[65] See _The Evolution of Lincoln's Literary Style_, by Prof. Daniel\nKilham Dodge. University of Illinois Press, 1900.\n\n[66]\n\n \"By reference to Mr. Lincoln's early political and literary\n performances it will appear that he was more than usually addicted to\n a florid style, and to greatly exaggerated figures of speech; that\n the plain, direct, homely, common-sense methods of his later and\n statesmanlike years were wholly wanting. Rhodomontade was as common\n in those youthful productions as plain assertion was in his mature\n life. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that, in the years of\n his adolescence, he is credited with very decided opinions, radical\n views, and florid expressions on the subject of religion; but he\n was forty-five years of age when I first knew him, and his views\n either underwent a change or else he had grown reticent on that great\n subject. Certain it is that I never heard Lincoln express himself on\n the subject of religion at all.\" WHITNEY: _Life on the Circuit with\n Lincoln_, p. 268.\n\n[67] _The Evolution of Lincoln's Literary Style_, by Prof. D. K. Dodge.\n\n[68] The foregoing list, together with a number which seem to me less\nreliably attested, I have taken from Johnson, _Abraham Lincoln, the\nChristian_, pp. 215-17.\n\n[69] Dr. Chapman, who is not content with anything less than a complete\northodox system of theology for Lincoln, says:\n\n\"In the forefront of Mr. Lincoln's religious thinking was his belief\nin the Saviour's Deity.\" His first, and in fact his only proof, is,\nof course, the Bateman interview. Beyond this he falls into such\ngeneralities as his oft repeated mention of Him as \"Our Lord,\" and\ndeclares that \"again and again does Mr. Lincoln thus speak of the\nSaviour\" (_Latest Light on Lincoln_, p. 319). If so, I have not found\nthese repeated references in his authentic speeches and papers.\n\n[70] A reference to Christ dying on the cross is in his lecture on\nNiagara Falls; and there are a few other references.\n\n[71] Dr. Chapman's _Latest Light on Lincoln_ has a few hitherto\nunprinted things, one of them being some notes by Rev. Dr. Gurley,\nthe beginnings of a contemplated book or pamphlet which he did not\ncomplete. The manuscript as produced by Dr. Chapman was furnished by\nDr. Gurley's daughter, Mrs. Emma K. Adams, of Washington. The only\nincident of any considerable value is that Mr. Lincoln one night\ninvited Dr. Gurley, who like himself was an early riser, to come to the\nWhite House next morning at seven o'clock for an hour's talk before\nbreakfast. They had the talk and the breakfast. As Dr. Gurley walked\naway, he was asked whether he and Mr. Lincoln had been talking about\nthe war, and he replied, \"Far from it. We have been talking about the\nstate of the soul after death. That is a subject of which Mr. Lincoln\nnever tires. This morning, however, I was a listener, as Mr. Lincoln\ndid all the talking\" (_Latest Light on Lincoln_, p. 500).\n\nThere can be, I think, no serious question of Mr. Lincoln's faith\nin immortality. It was much more easy for a man of his training and\ntemperament to hold that article of faith than some others which might\nseem to some other men more easily to be accepted.\n\n[72] The chapter, sometimes alleged to have been from the Bible,\nwhich Lincoln read to his cabinet before submitting the Emancipation\nProclamation.\n\n[73] The accompanying article was originally prepared by its author\n(the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, in Springfield, Ill.),\nas a lecture, and has been repeatedly given in that form to various\naudiences. At the request of the editor of _Scribner's Monthly_, to\nwhom it seemed that the testimony contained in the lecture was of\npermanent value, it is here presented with slight alterations, and with\nno departure from the rhetorical style which was determined by its\noriginal purpose.\n\n[74] This is an error doubtless made by Mr. Irwin in copying. It should\nbe June 16, 1858, instead of January. I have printed it as it stands,\nbut the date should be corrected.\n\n[75] March 10, 1864. McPherson, \"History of the Rebellion,\" p. 522.\n\n[76] Report of Judge-Advocate General, April 30, 1864.\n\n[77] March 7, 1864.\n\n[78] Jan. 2, 1863.\n\n[79] Dec. 22, 1863.\n\n[80] \"After having made these declarations in good faith and in\nwriting, you can conceive of my embarrassment at now having brought to\nme what purported to be a formal order of the War Department, bearing\ndate November 30, 1863, giving Bishop Ames control and possession of\nall the Methodist churches in certain Southern military departments\nwhose pastors have not been appointed by a loyal bishop or bishops,\nand ordering the military to aid him against any resistance which may\nbe made to his taking such possession and control. What is to be done\nabout it?\" [Lincoln to Stanton, MS., Feb. 11, 1864.]\n\n[81] Lincoln to Hogan, Feb. 13, 1864.\n\n[82] Lincoln MS., March 4, 1864.\n\n[83] Lincoln MS., May 13, 1864.\n\n[84] War Records, Vol. XVII, pp. 424, 530.\n\n[85] General McDowell used to tell a story which illustrates Mr.\nLincoln's Sabbatarian feeling. The President had ordered a movement\nwhich required dispatch, and in his anxiety rode to McDowell's\nheadquarters to inquire how soon he could start. \"On Monday morning,\"\nsaid McDowell; \"or, by pushing things, perhaps Sunday afternoon.\"\nLincoln, after a moment's thought, said, \"McDowell, get a good ready\nand start Monday.\" [Herman Haupt, MS. Memoirs.]\n\n\n\n\nTranscribers Notes:\n\n  Italics are shown thus: _sloping_.\n\n  Small capitals have been capitalised.\n\n  Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.\n\n  Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.\n\n  Obvious typos were silently corrected.","title":"The Soul of Abraham Lincoln","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":140391}