and realized one of the greatest and most needed triumphs of modern civilization. Especially must we use all means to raise up the class of freedmen to the dignity and responsibilities of their new position, as men and as citizens. The prejudice of color must yield to the claims of civilization, philanthropy and religion.

And in all our grief let us not forget the mighty work which God hath wrought upon and in us during these quick-passing and eventful years, in which Abraham Lincoln sat in the highest seat of the nation. So great a revolution was, perhaps, never accomplished in so short a time, still leaving the old foundation and structure of the state unharmed. Four millions of bondmen have

been virtually freed. Freedom has become the settled policy of the whole country. The unity of the republic has been ensured for a long generation. Our supremacy on this continent is no longer doubtful. No European power will here attempt any new projects of subjugation or colonization. No foreign nation will willingly molest us. Our resources are boundless; a new tide of emigration will soon set in; in all industrial pursuits we shall be independent of foreign aid. We have passed, amid these throes, from the careless and boastful youth to the more firm and thoughtful manhood of our career. We are

more truly a nation now than we have ever before been; we are independent of European thought and opinion; we are self-reliant. We have taken our place, in full panoply, in the very van of the world's progress, representing, as dare no other people, the rights of humanity and the worth of man. Our place in the general history of the world is assured, as is also the place of him who, at such a juncture, during just these years of travail and transition, was the lawful and the honored ruler of the republic. If Lincoln lived for fame, he surely has his reward;

as he did not live for fame, but for truth and justice, his reward shall be greater yet.

Let us, then, this day thank God that the republic still lives, stronger than ever before; its foes put under its feet; its revilers put to shame; yea, cemented still more strongly by the sacred blood which was shed in passion to destroy its life. The workman is gone; the work abides. A reckless assassin assailed the impersonated majesty of the state, and every drop of blood from those gaping wounds has made this imperial republic stronger yet; has made its pulse beat with a higher vitality-a life more full of blessings to those that love it-a life throbbing with intenser indignation against those who would assail its rights and undermine its power. The republic lives! Hardly was there a pause except of momentary awe, as it held its bated breath, incredulous of this awful crime, and then it moved right on again with conscious power; and its feet are more swift, and its eye is more keen, and its mailed hand is more stalwart than ever before against those who plot its downfall, defy its laws, and infringe its rightful honor. The republic lives! Ah! not in vain have been these cruel years of long suspense and awful strife,

"This purple testament of bloody war;"

these precious lives of our best and noblest sons slain in defence of its imperilled majesty; these costly sacrifices for the down-trodden; these awe-inspiring lessons of a God of justice. From this baptism of blood it shall emerge a regenerated nation, giving equal justice to all, a refuge as never before to the oppressed from every land. In an ampler freedom and a purified national life, the coming generation shall pluck the fair and ripe fruits growing from the soil so rudely and deeply turned by the plough-share, and yet ever so hallowed. Liberty shall reign through the land,

and then there will be true human brotherhood, and so a lasting peace. And the blessed Gospel, for which these convulsions and overturnings do but prepare the way, shall be preached unto all the people, and we will pray the Lord to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh; and so shall the land be quickened with a higher life and bound together as never before. And the Lord will make use of us to spread his name and his praise, not only over our continent, but to the isles of the sea and the ends of the earth. These earthly conflicts prepare the way for the coming of the Son of Man. And when he cometh there shall be no more war; for he is the Prince of Peace. And to him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

ORATION.

HON. GEORGE BANCROFT.

OUR grief and horror at the crime which has clothed the continent in mourning, find no adequate expression in words, and no relief in tears. The President of the United States of America has fallen by the hands of an assassin. Neither the office with which he was invested by the approved choice of a mighty people, nor the most simple-hearted kindliness of nature, could save him from the fiendish passions of relentless fanaticism. The wailings of the millions attend his remains as they are borne in solemn procession over our great rivers, along the seaside, beyond the mountains, across the prairie, to their resting place in the valley of the Mississippi. His funeral knell vibrates through the world, and the friends of freedom of every tongue and in every clime are his mourners.

Too few days have passed away since Abraham Lincoln stood in the flush of vigorous manhood, to permit any attempt at an analysis of his character or an exposition of his career. We find it hard to believe that his large eyes, which in their softness and beauty expressed nothing but benevolence and gentleness, are closed in death; we almost look for the pleasant smile that brought out more