of sorrow and amazement; and tears, of which none of us were ashamed, were freely shed. As the hours slowly passed, hope revived as to the President's life being spared; but at last, about 7.30 A.M., the tension broke and we knew for a certainty that he was dead. Then we looked out upon the light of day, which before we had not observed, or at least with consciousness; and the force of the blow seemed to be increased by recalling the previous day when we had last seen the President. We thought of his daily visits, and most of all, in the close presence of our great sorrow, did we think of his loving heart, and the many evidences he had given us of the entire absence from that heart of anger or resentment toward his country's enemies.

Let me close this cursory reference by a short quotation from a midnight speech made by Mr. Lincoln on the night of November 10th, 1864, as he was leaving the War Department after the welcome news of his re-election to the Presidency:

“So long as I have been here I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man's bosom. While I am deeply sensible of the high compliment of re-election, and duly grateful, as I trust to Almighty God, for having directed my countrymen to a right conclusion, as I think for their own good, it adds nothing to my satisfaction that any other man may be disappointed or pained by the result. May I ask those who have not differed from me to join with me in this same spirit toward those that have?"

LINCOLN'S FAREWELL TO SPRINGFIELD.

TRUST IN DIVINE GUIDANCE.

BY GEORGE W. F. BIRCH, D.D.

MR. LINCOLN was a member of the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, Ill. His pastors were Drs. John G. Bergen, James Smith and John H. Brown, all of whom are dead.

I went to Springfield a licentiate in February, 1861, and became the pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church of that city, remaining in charge until September, 1869. Several households of Mr. Lincoln's family connections were members of my congregation.

Of course I was in touch with many of Mr. Lincoln's intimate companions for eight years and more, and am quite familiar with his personal history; yet my peculiar interest in him arises from the fact that at a turningpoint of my life I met him at one of the turning-points of his grand career. The first three days of my ministry in Springfield were his last three days at his old home, so that I have but one personal reminiscence of Mr. Lincoln. It was an event of probably not more than fifteen or twenty minutes. There was but time for a handshake and to hear him say good by to his old friends and neighbors of Springfield. As I stretch my vision across the thirty-four years which have rolled away since

the rainy morning of February 11th, 1861, I count that brief experience one of the great privileges of my life. The lapse of time only deepens the impression of the long, gaunt form with its thoughtful face, as in the true simplicity of his real greatness Abraham Lincoln lingers on the rear platform of the car to take his last look at the old home and to say the last word to his townsmen. It was as if he would carry them away in his big heart when he said:

Here I Here my children I know not how

"My friends: No one not in my position can realize the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. have lived more than a quarter of a century. were born, and here one of them lies buried. soon I shall see you again. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine blessing which sustained him; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support. And I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain. Again, I bid you an affectionate farewell."

It seems to the writer that the man who could say such a "good by " could not do otherwise than write the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Oration. The Springfield Address is the declaration of the purpose of a conscientious statesman.

If my life has any inspirations my glimpse of Abraham Lincoln is one of them.

NEW YORK CITY.

A SIDE-LIGHT AND AN INCIDENT.

LINCOLN'S DESCRIPTION OF SHERIDAN.

BY CHARLES HAMLIN,

LATE ADJUTANT-GENERAL UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS.

No estimate of Abraham Lincoln as a leader and ruler would be complete that fails to notice and take into account his ready ability to dispatch with ease matters arising for daily decision during the Presidency. Many hours of every day were consumed in receiving and listening to callers, and it is to his lasting credit that he turned no one away unheard. Besides his industry and orderly method of transacting business, evident to all, he had a reserved power, inherent and inborn, of which he must have been conscious early in life. This reserved power, akin to repose in character, or, to use his own words, "the courage to follow to the end the right as God gave him to see the right," will serve to explain his mastership in great crises. The most original, self-possessed man of the time, he refused to abandon after that celebrated midnight conference with his friends and advisers, in the historical campaign of 1858, the great principle contained in his "house-divided-against-itself" speech. Other examples will occur to the reader-his determination to preserve the whole Union, and his patience in abiding the time when he could issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

In speaking of his easy dispatch of business, I recall an incident, of which I was a witness, illustrating Mr. Lincoln's thorough knowledge of legislative details and his power of gently refusing to grant requests when obliged to do so.

Major B. Weller Hoxsey, of the Excelsior Brigade, with whom I was well acquainted, and who had been brevetted for gallantry in action, found his commission expired and himself mustered out of the service one morning at the head of his regiment, in front of Petersburg, in the summer of 1864. Having become previously wounded, so that he could no longer march on foot with his regiment, he had acted as ordnance staff officer for Generals Berry, Carr, Humphreys and Prince, commanding the second division of the Third Army Corps the famous Joe Hooker division-from Fredericksburg to the Wilderness, after much hard fighting on the Peninsula, next under Pope, and at Gettysburg. Being thus incapacitated by reason of his wounds to accept a commission in the regular army, and desiring to remain in the service until the close of the War, he came from Virginia to Washington to obtain an appointment on the volunteer staff. He accordingly sought an interview with President Lincoln, who at once received him and heard his application and modest request to be returned to active duty as a staff officer. He presented testimonials of his high service tendered by many prominent officers, and I added my own evidence of his fine standing and ability. The President having invited us to sit, pulling up some chairs for the purpose, turned to a shelf near his right hand and took down a large volume of the Laws of Congress. He opened to the page and section of the Act; put his finger on the line, and read aloud the