authenticity and divine inspiration of the Bible. During those years, probably in 1850, he was invited to deliver a lecture in the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, under the auspices of the Bible Society of that city. The purpose of this lecture was to aid in an effort which at that time was being put forth to place a copy of the Holy Scriptures in every family in the state. To assist in that movement Mr. Lincoln delivered a very able and forceful address, at the conclusion of which he said: "It seems to me that nothing short of infinite wisdom could by any possibility have devised and given to man this excellent and perfect moral code. It is suited to men in all conditions of life, and includes all the duties they owe to their Creator, to themselves, and to their fellowmen." 2

Robert Browne, M. D., who was for many years on terms of intimacy with Mr. Lincoln and shared a degree of his confidence which was given to few men, in his excellent life of Lincoln, has this to say:

In speaking of Paine's "Age of Reason," he laid it aside, saying: "I have looked through it, carelessly it is true; but there is nothing to such books. God rules this world, and out of seeming contradictions, that all these kind of reasoners seem unable to understand, He will develop and disclose His plans for men's welfare in His inscrutable way. Not all of Paine's nor all the French distempered stuff will make a man better, but worse. They might lay down tons and heaps of their heartless reasonings alongside a few of Christ's sayings and parables, to find that He had said more for the benefit of our race in one of them than there is in all they have written. They might read His Sermon on the Mount to learn that there is more of justice, righteousness, kindness and mercy in it than in the minds and books of all the ignorant doubters from the beginning of human knowledge.'

During his conference with Hon. L. E. Chittenden,

Scribner's Magazine, July, 1873, p. 338.

3 Abraham Lincoln and Men of his Time, Vol. II., p. 426.

Register of the Treasury, respecting the resignation of Secretary Salmon P. Chase, and the appointment of his successor, Mr. Lincoln said:

"The character of the Bible is easily established, at least to my satisfaction. We have to believe many things which we do not comprehend. The Bible is the only one that claims to be God's book-to comprise His law-His history. It contains an immense amount of evidence of its own authenticity. It describes a governor omnipotent enough to operate this great machine, and declares that He made it. It states other facts which we fully do not comprehend, but which we cannot account for. What shall we do with them?

"Now let us treat the Bible fairly. If we had a witness on the stand whose general story we knew was true, we would believe him when he asserted facts of which we had no other evidence. We ought to treat the Bible with equal fairness. I decided a long time ago that it was less difficult to believe that the Bible was what it claimed to be than to disbelieve it. It is a good Book for us to obey; it contains the ten commandments, the golden rule, and many other rules which ought to be followed. No man was ever the worse for living according to the directions of the Bible."

"I could not press inquiry further," says Mr. Chittenden. "I knew that Mr. Lincoln was no hypocrite. There was an air of such sincerity in his manner of speaking, and especially in his references to the Almighty, that no one could have doubted his faith unless the doubter believed him dishonest.

"Further comment cannot be necessary. Abraham Lincoln accepted the Bible as the inspired Word of God-he believed and faithfully endeavored to live according to the fundamental principles and doctrines of the Christian faith. To doubt either proposition is to be untrue to his memory, a disloyalty of which no American should be guilty."

And it was not a mutilated Bible in which Abraham Lincoln so confidently believed. It was the complete volume of • Recollections of President Lincoln, pp. 448-451.

DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS

Facsimile of first page of the lecture supposed to have been lost. From photographs of the original manuscript now owned by Hon. Henry C. Melvin, Justice of the Supreme Court of California.

The Bible makes no other alusion to clothing, be for the flood. Soon after the deluge Nork's

two pons what materal the

covered him with a

tina_ Gen. 9. 23.

garment, but of

garment was made is

not Buen=

Abraham mentions "thread" in such connection as to indicate that spinning and weaving.

day - Gen. 14. 23 — and poon after, referever to that "Liven breaches, are mentionen, Exou is frequently

"all the women hat were wri

ain open with their hands heart extined

(35.25)

"all the

heee them or in wisdom, spew goats hair (55-26)

The work.

o

the "weaver"

is mentiona_(35-35)

the book of Job,

known, the

weaver

The above mention of "thread" by Ahahan is the oldent recorder alusion to spinning and it was pair about two thousand years after the creation of man, and now, near four and years ago Profane author thick the art, onin Egypt;

in the Bible; for the alon Alvartun, mentioneer, was not made until after he han pogonmen in Eppfit_

discovery of the properties of iron, and the macking of irow tosh, must have been among the earliest of important discoveries and inventions_ He can scarcely conceive the possibility of making much of Indeed anything alow, without the use of iron tooli- Under an iron hammer must have been very much needed to make the first son hammer with. A stom probably seura "Now could the "gopher woon" for the lick, have been