man he became, and in giving him his remarkable mental and moral poise.

To fill acceptably the station of First Lady of the Land, Mrs. Lincoln encountered greater difficulties than had any who preceded her in that position. Being of southern blood, birth and education, and having several relatives in the Confederate Army, she encountered the spirit of intolerance which prevailed at Washington during the Rebellion. With many it seemed impossible to regard and treat with common justice those whom they suspected were less intense than themselves in loyalty to the Union cause. This led to serious misrepresentations, and even to the circulation of falsehoods respecting Mrs. Lincoln's attitude toward the war.

Owing to the dangers which constantly threatened the nation, and the measureless suffering and sorrow resulting from the war, there were few social functions held at the Executive Mansion during Mr. Lincoln's Presidency; therefore, Mrs. Lincoln was not afforded the opportunity to win for herself the social distinction which she was so admirably fitted to achieve and hold.

Had conditions been normal during the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln, his brilliant and accomplished wife would have won from all the admiration and praise which those who knew her intimately freely bestowed. However, the serious conditions caused by the war which closed to Mrs. Lincoln the door of social distinction, opened to her a door into the realm of loving ministration which she gladly entered, and in which, with generous heart and bountiful beneficence, she wrought for sick and wounded, in hospitals and in military camps.

The love which Mr. Lincoln cherished for his wife, and his appreciation of her high ambitions, and helpful ministrations, were indicated by the promptness with which, when informed by wire of his first nomination as a candidate for President, he turned from enthusiastic friends, and hastened to his Springfield home to be the first to inform her of the great honor which had been conferred upon him.

Of like significance was his wired request for her to witness with him the closing scenes of the Rebellion. And his beloved and devoted wife was the only one invited by the happy Chieftain to join him in a restful ride on the last day of his earthly life. With unspeakable delight at the prospect of early and abiding peace, on that glad day he disclosed to her, as he did to no one else, his fond hopes and purposes for the years that should follow the close of his Presidential term. And the tragedy which a few hours later snatched him from her side, failed to break the bond by which their souls were held in union. For with that love which only ardent natures know she kept her vigil close beside him, even when her heart was breaking with anguish, and her reason was almost dethroned. And when informed that he had gone, her intense nature found expression in her memorable words, "Taken from us at the time the country needs him more than ever before."

I have seen them side by side at public worship; I have seen them close together at the White House, and I always think of them as evermore inseparable in the felicity and fellowship of Heaven, as they were in their struggles and achievements here below.

The world will never know the full extent of its indebtedness to Mary Todd Lincoln for what Abraham Lincoln was, and for what he was permitted to accomplish. Neither without the other was, or ever could have been, complete. The work which he achieved was hers as well as his, since by their union that work was made possible. And hers should be the love and gratitude which the nation gladly gives to its most worthy benefactors.

Abraham Lincoln was favored in the

GOSPEL MINISTERS

who came into his life. There were many such, some of whom deserve special mention, for at most auspicious times,

and by wisely chosen methods they gave him welcome and helpful religious counsel and instruction.

A gospel minister suited to his needs came into his life at the time Edward, his second son, was called away by death. No ordinary preacher could have found admittance to the inner realm where this stricken father wept in great sorrow. It required a man of high intellectual endowment, thorough education and deep human sympathy, a man whose heart was tender and loving, successfully to minister to Mr. Lincoln in spiritual things and to bring consolation to his wounded heart at that time of sore bereavement. Such a man was Rev. James Smith, D.D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, one of the most esteemed, beloved and trusted of all the gospel ministers whom Mr. Lincoln knew.

There was a time in Mr. Lincoln's life when he sorely needed, though he was then unconscious of that need, a “son of thunder," to proclaim to him the gospel of salvation with tremendous eloquence and power, and to cause him to realize his need of spiritual regeneration. Such a Boanerages was Rev. James F. Jaquess, D.D., pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Springfield, with whom Mr. Lincoln came in contact in the prime of his growing manhood. Dr. Jaquess' great courage and manifest sincerity won Mr. Lincoln's high esteem, and by his burning eloquence the rising young attorney was deeply moved and edified.

Very helpful to Mr. Lincoln likewise was the influence of Rev. N. W. Miner, D.D., a Springfield Baptist minister, and for many years one of the intimate friends of the Lincoln family.

Brief, but of great influence for good, was the visit at the White House of Dr. Francis Vinton, rector of Christ Church in New York City. He was a man of extraordinary personality and one of the most popular preachers of the Church in which he had long served as a rector and in which he once declined a bishopric. Soon after the death of "Willie," Mr. Lincoln's third son, Dr. Vinton, by invitation, had an

interview with the disconsolate President and aided him to realize the continued life of those who pass before us to the better world. No spiritual adviser of the President ever heard from him such utterances of joy as did this sympathetic and heavenly-minded rector during this interview.

It was fortunate that President Lincoln secured a pew in the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church of which Rev. P. D. Gurley, D.D., was the pastor! Two great men met when the President and his pastor clasped hands in friendly greeting. A man of large proportions physically and otherwise was Dr. Gurley, and the President soon discovered that he had in him a counsellor adapted to his needs. Dr. Gurley's great strength in discourse, his faithful teaching of the simple gospel truths, his occasional excursions into the realm of metaphysics, and the prominence given in his preaching to the sovereignty of God enabled him to give just what Mr. Lincoln needed at the time. Probably no one Probably no one was more frequently called into counsel concerning great governmental issues and movements than was the President's beloved pastor Dr. Gurley; and he came to know the mind of Mr. Lincoln as few men did.

In his quest for infallible divine truth he was favored with

A PERIOD Of Doubt

Those who have claimed that Mr. Lincoln was an unbeliever have, by so doing, unwittingly helped to convince thoughtful and candid persons that his was an intelligent faith, firmer and securer after doubt and investigation than before. A man like Abraham Lincoln could scarcely be expected to come to an intelligent, satisfying religious faith without a period of doubt. By temperament he was a logician; he revelled in the higher mathematics and was at home in studies requiring a major and minor premise for a satisfactory conclusion.

Such men as he always pursue the path of honest inquiry