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Jlbrdham Lincoln 
 
 cThe Ideal Christian 
 
 E. F. RUDEEN 
 
 LOS JINQELES. CALIFORNIA 
 1921 
 

 
^ 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, the Ideal 
 Christian 
 
 To the teachings of Lincohi and his spirit 
 of true Christian worldism, we must cling 
 unswervingly if this government of ours is 
 to endure as the great democratic nation of 
 the earth. We are at the present time un- 
 dergoing a critical test and it is the duty of 
 all good citizenship to know Lincoln, to 
 understand him, and to keep alive the fer- 
 vent inspiration of justice and liberty he 
 gave to the world. 
 
 Volumes have been written and much said 
 about Lincoln the lawyer, Lincoln the citi- 
 zen, Lincoln the story-teller, Lincoln the 
 statesman, Lincoln the friend of man and 
 other phases of his remarkable character, 
 and while some attention has been given to 
 his religious side, it has been comparatively 
 meager, and has not received the promi- 
 nence it deserves, for he was '''Abraham 
 Lincoln the ideal Christian, and so he came 
 from prairie cabin to capitol. One fair ideal 
 led our chieftain on, forevermore he burned 
 to do his deed with the fine stroke and ges- 
 ture of a king. He built the rail pile as he 
 built the state, pouring his splendid strength 
 through every blow, the conscience of him: 
 testing every stroke to make his deed the 
 mea'sure of a man. So came the captain 
 with the mighty heart, and when the step 
 of earthquake shook the house, wresting 
 
 *For further information regarding Lin- 
 coln's religious faith, see Williarn J. John- 
 son's "Abraham Lincoln the Christian." 
 3 
 
the rafters from their ancient hold', he held 
 the ridgepole up and spiked again the raft- 
 ers of the home. He held his place; held 
 on through blame and faltered not at praise, 
 and when he fell in a whirlwind, he went 
 down as when a kingly cedar green with 
 boughs goes down with a great shout upon 
 the hills and leaves a lonesome place against 
 the sky. 
 
 Some years ago I happened to stroll into 
 a salvation Army store and discovered, 
 among a heap of old books that had been 
 sent in to be sold to the poor, a beautifully 
 bound volume entitled "The Story Life of 
 Lincoln." I asked them the price of the 
 book. They said Five cents. Of course I 
 bought it, and as I read this book I was 
 gripped with the thought of the strange 
 comparison in the lives of the Savior of the 
 world and the Savior of our country; so 
 with this thought in mind, with the help of 
 the Bible and this book, I prepared this 
 composition entitled Abraham Lincoln, the 
 Ideal Christian. 
 
 It is only natural for ambitious and wide 
 awake people to have certain ideals to look 
 up to and copy from, such as great states- 
 men, social and religious leaders. This is 
 called "Hero worship" and is good and 
 proper providing said ideals are Christ-like 
 in character, because in Him we have the 
 only absolutely perfect ideal; by the shed- 
 ding of whose blood we are redeemed, and, 
 in proportion as we measure up to His 
 standard, to that proportion can we say as 
 did St. Paul, "Be ye followers of me even 
 as I am a follower of Christ." 
 
 It has been said of Abraham Lincoln, the 
 humble backwoodsman who rose to be the 
 world's greatest governor and emancipator, 
 tliat he was the most perfect Christian ideal 
 outside of Bible characters. Too often our 
 4 
 
great leaders limit themselves to a certain 
 nation or race, but this cannot be said of 
 the two characters from whom we will try 
 and draw some delightful and interesting 
 comparisons. 
 
 Jesus was a Jew, but more than a Jew; 
 Lincoln was an American, but more than an 
 American. They were what the Bible calls 
 "true Israelites" and that includes all people 
 who worship Abraham's God, regardless of 
 nationality or color. 
 
 Lincoln resembled his Master not only in 
 Spirit and personality, but the events of 
 their lives were strikingly parallel. I say 
 Lincoln resembled his Master. I repeat this 
 because I do not want it thought that I am 
 trying to put him on a par with our Savior. 
 
 To start with; they were of very humble 
 birth. Jesus, as we all know, was born in 
 Bethlehem's stable; Lincoln was born in a 
 very humble log cabin. His cousin Dennis 
 Hanks tells of Nancy's baby boy in these 
 v/ords: 
 
 "Tom and Nancy lived on a farm about 
 two miles from us, where Abe was born. I 
 ricoUect Tom comin' over to our house one 
 cold mornin' in Feb'ruary and sayin' kind o' 
 slow, 'Nancy's got a boy baby.' 
 
 "Mother got flustered an' hurried up 'er 
 work to go over to look after the little fel- 
 ler, but I didn't have nothin' to wait fur, so 
 I cut an' run the hull two mile to see my 
 new cousin. 
 
 "You bet I was tickled to death. Babies 
 wasn't as common as blackberries in the 
 woods o' Kentucky. Mother come over and 
 washed him an' put a yaller flannel petticoat 
 on him, an' cooked some dried berries with 
 wild honey fur Nancy, an' slicked things up 
 an' went home. An' that's all the nuss'n 
 either of 'em got. ... 
 
 "I rolled up in a b'ar skin an' slep' by the 
 5 
 
fire-place that night, so's I could see the 
 little feller when he cried and Tom had to 
 get up an' tend him.. Nancy let me hold 
 him purty soon. Folks often ask me if Abe 
 was a good-looking baby. Well, now, he 
 looked just like any other baby, at fust — 
 like red cherry pulp squeezed dry. An' he 
 didn't improve none as he growed older. 
 Abe never was much fur looks. I ricoUect 
 how Tom joked about Abe's long legs when 
 he was toddlin' 'round the cabin. He 
 growed out o' his clothes fastern's Nancy 
 could make 'em." 
 
 y\ll that the Bible says concerning Jesus 
 between the age of twelve and thirty is that 
 he increased in stature and wisdom and in 
 the favor of God and man. This also applies 
 to Lincoln. He increased in stature. Be- 
 fore he was twenty years of age he had 
 reached his full height of six feet four inch- 
 es. He also increased in wisdom. Although 
 his schooling did not amount to as much as 
 one year all told, yet he read and mastered 
 all the books of value he could secure, using 
 the Bible as his chief text book, and of that 
 book he said, "Take all of the Bible upon 
 reason that you can, and the balance upon 
 faith, and you will live and die a better and 
 happier m.an." But much of his learning 
 was obtained in the University of Hard 
 Knocks. 
 
 He was a favorite among his fellow-men 
 on account of the feats of 'his superior phy- 
 sical strength and good humor, and his lofty 
 character and childlike faith merited the 
 favor of God. Now as regards to their per- 
 sonal appearance. There is no authentic 
 likeness of Jesus on record. The pictures 
 that we see of Him are only the result of 
 some painter's imagination, who often rep- 
 resent Him as a very handsome and effimi- 
 nate person. But according to the Bible He 
 6 
 
resembled Lincoln in personal appearance; 
 for Isaiah says, He hath no form nor come- 
 liness, and when we shall see Him there is 
 no beauty that we should desire Him. But 
 there were times when their charming per- 
 sonalities transfigured them into real beau- 
 ty. We read of Jesus taking His disciples 
 up into a mountain to pray, and as he 
 prayed, the fashion of His countenance was 
 altered and His garments become white and 
 glistening. We have the testimony of a 
 man who was present at the Cooper Insti- 
 tute, New York City., when Lincohi deliv- 
 ered that great speech against slavery, and 
 he tells of his transfiguration. 
 
 "When Lincoln rose to speak" he says, "I 
 was greatly disappointed. He was tall, tall 
 — oh, how tall! — and so angular and awk- 
 ward that I 'had, for an instant, a feeling of 
 pity for so ungainly a man. His clothes 
 were black an dill-fitting, badly wrinkled — 
 as if they had been jammed carelessly into 
 a small trunk. His bushy head, with stiff 
 black hair thrown back, was balanced on a 
 long and lean headstalk, and when he raised 
 his hands in an opening gesture, I noticed 
 that they were very large. He began in a 
 low tone of voice — as if he were used to 
 speaking outdoors, and was afraid of speak- 
 ing too loudly. He said, 'Mr. Cheerman' 
 instead of 'Mr. Chairman' and employed 
 many other words with an old-fashioned 
 pronunciation. I said to myself: 
 
 "'Old fellow, you won't do; it's all very 
 well for the wild west, but this will never 
 go down in New York.' 
 
 "But pretty soon he began to get into his 
 subject; he straightened up, made regular 
 and grcaeful gestures; his face lighted as 
 with an inward fire; the whole man was 
 transfigured. I forgot his clothes, his per- 
 sonal appearance, his individual peculiari- 
 7 
 
ties. Presently forgetting myself, I was on 
 my feet with the rest, yelling like a wild 
 Indian, cheering this wonderful man. In 
 the closing parts of his arumgent, you 
 could hear the gentle sizzling of the gas 
 burners. When he reached a climax the 
 thunders of applause were terrific. It was 
 a great speech. 
 
 "When I came out of the hall, my face 
 glowing with excitement and my frame all 
 aquiver, a friend with his eyes aglow asked 
 me what I thought of Abe Lincoln, the rail- 
 splitter. I said: 
 
 "He's* the greatest man since St. Paul. 
 And I think so yet." 
 
 Their occupation before entering public 
 life was the same. Jesus was a carpenter; 
 Lincoln was sometimes called a carpenter 
 on account of building f^at boats, but the 
 title of rail-splitter is associated with his 
 name even to this day. Their method of 
 teaching was the same, as they could reveal 
 great truths by the telling of simple stories. 
 The Bible says that Jesus taught chiefly by 
 parables (or stories) ; Lincoln was called 
 "the champion story teller of the Capital." 
 They encouraged the art of debate by mak- 
 ing it clean that a person who believes in 
 the theory he teaches is anxious to defend 
 the same by debate. As the Bible says, "Be 
 ready to give to every man who asketh you 
 a reason of the hope that is in you. Only 
 those who advocate a false theory refuse to 
 discuss the same for fear their falsehood be 
 brought to light, as the pro-slavery people 
 of Lincoln's time who taught that slavery 
 was of divine origin. This was taught in 
 most of the churches of the South, also 
 many in the North. But Lincoln said that 
 slavery was hellish and challenged to debate 
 the subject with his opponents. The chal- 
 lenge was reluctantlv accepted which result- 
 ' 8 
 
ed in the celebrated Douglas and Lincoln 
 debates. These debates had their good ef- 
 fect as they gave the people an opportunity 
 to hear both sides of the question and de- 
 cide for themselves. 
 
 These tw^o Godly men did not belong to 
 any earthly religious organization, because 
 of the many man-made forms that the mem- 
 bers were required* to comply with, but they 
 did belong to the heavenly church whose 
 qualifications for membership Jesus said 
 was to love God supremely and your neigh- 
 bor as yourself. 
 
 Jesus often taught in the Jewish syna- 
 gogues, and some of his best friends were of 
 the Pharisees, but the majority of them 
 hated him. 
 
 Lincoln believed in Church organization 
 and even while president of a war-torn 
 country when its people demanded every 
 minute of his time, he found time to be a 
 regular attendant of the New York Avenue 
 Presbyterian Church, not only the two serv- 
 ices on Sunday, but also the Wednesday 
 night prayer meeting. "Blessed be God who 
 in this great trial giveth us the Churches." 
 This very expressive utterance, made in re- 
 sponse to a greeting of a company of min- 
 isters, indicates Mr. Lincoln's ardent affec- 
 tion for the Christian Church in all its 
 branches, and his high appreciation of its 
 influence for good. There are many simi- 
 lar declarations by Mr. Lincoln of the same 
 import and equally clear and emphatic. And 
 yet ardent as was 'his attachment to the 
 Church, unequivocal as was his belief in its 
 divine origin, faithful as was his attendance 
 upon its services, liberal as were his contri- 
 butions to its work, and steadfast as was 
 his purpose to live in accordance with its 
 requirements and teachings, Mr. Lincoln 
 never became a Church member. There 
 9 
 
were two things either one of which was in 
 itself sufficient to prevent him from uniting 
 with the Church. The first was: 
 
 Lengthy and objectionable creeds. Re- 
 specting this Hon. H. C. Deming says: "I 
 am here reminded of an impressive remark 
 which he made to me and which I shall 
 never forget. He said he had never united 
 himself with any church* because he found 
 difficulty in giving his assent without men- 
 tal reservation to the long, complicated 
 statement of Christian doctrine which 
 characterize their articles of belief and con- 
 fessions of faith. 'Whenever any church,' 
 he said, 'will enscribe over its altar as its 
 sole qualification for membership the Sa- 
 vior's condensed statement of the substance 
 of both law and gospel. Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy 
 soul and with all thy mind, and thy neigh- 
 bor as thyself,' that church will I join with 
 all my heart and all my soul." 
 
 While some church members would glad- 
 ly have accepted him on the strength of this 
 statement, the majority would have rejected 
 him. 
 
 The following shows how the churches 
 of Springfield, Hlinois, his home town, op- 
 posed him: 
 
 Mr. Newton Bateman, Superintendent of 
 Public Instruction for the State of Illinois, 
 occupied a room (in the State Capitol) ad- 
 joining and opening into the Executive 
 Chamber (which had been placed at Mr. 
 Lincoln's disposal). Frequently this door 
 was open during Mr. Lincoln's receptions; 
 and throughout the seven months or more 
 of his occupation, Mr. Bateman saw him 
 nearly every day. Often when Mr. Lincoln 
 was tired he closed his door against all in- 
 trusion, and called Mr. Bateman in his room 
 for a quiet talk. 
 
 10 
 
"On one of these occasions Mr. Lincoln 
 took up a book containing a careful canvass 
 of the city of Springfield in which he lived, 
 showing the candidate for whom each citi- 
 zen had declared it his intention to vote in 
 the approaching election. Mr. Lincoln's 
 friend had, doubtless at his own request, 
 placed the result of this canvass in his 
 hands. It was toward the close of October, 
 and only a few days before the election. 
 Calling Air. Bateman to a seat at his side, 
 having previously locked all the doors, he 
 said: 
 
 "Let us look over this book. I wish par- 
 ticularly to see how the ministers of Spring- 
 field are going to vote." 
 
 The leaves were turned, one by one, and 
 as the names were examined, Mr. Lincoln 
 frequently asked if this one and that were 
 not a minister, or an elder, or the member 
 of such or such a church, and sadly ex- 
 pressed his surprise on receiving an affirma- 
 tive answer. In that manner they went 
 through the book, and then he closed it and 
 sat silently for some minutes regarding a 
 m.emorandum in pencil which lay before 
 him. At length he turned to Mr. Bateman 
 with a face full of sadness and said: 
 
 " 'Here are twenty-three ministers of dif- 
 ferent denominations and all of them are 
 against me but three; and here are a great 
 many prominent members of the churches, 
 a very large majority of .whom are against 
 me. Mr. Bateman, I am not a Christian 
 (meaning church member). God knows I 
 would be one — but I have carefully read the 
 Bible, and I do not so understand this 
 book;' and he drew forth from his bosom a 
 pocket New Testament. 
 
 " 'These, men well know,' he continued, 
 'that I am for freedom in the Territories, 
 freedom everywhere as far as the Constitu- 
 II 
 
tion and laws will permit, and that my oppo- 
 nents are for slavery. They know this, and 
 yet, with this book in their hands, in the 
 light of which human bondage cannot live a 
 moment, they are going to vote against me. 
 I do not understand it at all.' 
 
 "Here Mr. Lincoln paused — paused for 
 long minutes — his features surcharged with 
 emotion. Then he rose and walked up and 
 down the room in the efifort to retain or re- 
 gain his self-possession. Stopping at last, 
 he said, with a trembling voice and his 
 cheeks wet with tears: 
 
 " T know -there is a God, and that He 
 hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm 
 coming, and I know that His hand is in it. 
 If he has a place and work for me — and I 
 think He has — I believe I am ready. I am 
 nothing, but truth is everything. I know I 
 am right because I know that liberty is 
 right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is 
 God. I have told them that 'a house divided 
 against itself cannot stand,' and Christ and 
 reason say the same; and they will find it 
 so. Douglas don't care whether slavery is 
 voted up or voted down, but God cares, and 
 humanity cares, and I care; and with God's 
 help I shall not fail. I may not see the end. 
 but it will come, and I shall be vindicated; 
 and these men will find that they have not 
 read their. Bibles aright." 
 
 Great credit is due those three ministers 
 out of the twenty-three who stood true to 
 principal. Jesus and Lincoln were great 
 champions for the wronged and oppressed. 
 The Publicans of Jesus' time were not nec- 
 essarily ungodly men. They were hated by 
 the Jews chiefly because they collected the 
 tax from the Jews for the Roman govern- 
 ment under whose rule they were. Jesus 
 defends the publicans with this story 
 12 
 
"Two men went up into the temple to 
 pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a 
 Publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed 
 thus with liimself: 'God, I thank Thee that 
 I am not as other men are, extortioners, un- 
 just, adulterers, or even as this Publican. 1 
 fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all I 
 possess.' And the Publican standing afar 
 oft", would not lift up so much as his eyes 
 unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, say- 
 ing: 'God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I 
 tell you, this man went down to his house 
 justitied rather than the other; for 'every 
 one that exalteth himself shall be abased; 
 and he that humbleth himself shall be ex- 
 alted.' " 
 
 This publican was a godly man, and his 
 humble prayer of "God be merciful to me a 
 sinner" is the heart cry of every earnest 
 Christian when he realizes how far short he 
 comes to attaining Christian perfection, and 
 whose only hope is the cleansing blood of 
 Jesus. 
 
 A great majority of the church members 
 of Lincoln's time held that public entertain- 
 ment could not be consistent with a godly 
 life and so denounced that profession. We_ 
 read of how Lincoln appeared in behalf of 
 Jefferson the actor. 
 
 Where he saw injustice he was quick to 
 offer his services to the wronged party. A 
 pleasant example of this is related by Jos- 
 eph Jefferson in his "Autobiography." In 
 1839 Jefferson, then a lad of ten years, trav- 
 eled through Illinois with his father's theat- 
 rical company. After playing at Chicago, 
 Quincy, Peoria and Pekin, the company 
 went in the Fall to Springfield, where the 
 sight of the Legislature tempted the elder 
 Jefferson and his partner to remain through- 
 13 
 
out the season. But there was no theatre. 
 Not to be daunted they built one. But 
 hardly had they completed it before a reli- 
 gious revival broke out in the town, and the 
 church people turned all their influence 
 against the theatre. So effectually did they 
 work that a law was passed by the munici- 
 pality imposing a license which was practic- 
 ally prohibitory. 
 
 "In the midst of our trouble," says Jef- 
 ferson, "a young lawyer called on the man- 
 agers. He had heard of the injustice, and 
 offered, if they would place the matter in 
 his hands, to have the license taken off, de- 
 clarnig that he only desired to see fair play, 
 and he would accept no fee whether he 
 failed or succeeded. The young lawyer be- 
 gan his harangue. He handled the subject 
 with tact, skill' and humor, tracing the his- 
 tory of the drama from the time when Thes- 
 pis acted in a cart, to the stage of today. 
 He illustrated his speech with a number of 
 anecdotes, and kept the council in a roar of 
 laughter. His good- humor prevailed, and 
 the exorbitant tax was taken off. 
 "The young lawyer was Lincoln." 
 Some public entertainers, as well as some 
 preachers, use their talents to glorify God, 
 but those who use them otherwise will suf- 
 fer the torments of Hell. There is a hell 
 more deadly than fire and brimstone, and 
 deeper than the bowels of the earth. That 
 place is in the soul of sinful people. What 
 is so low and degrading as sin? The Bible 
 calls it a bottomless pit. There is also a 
 heaven more beautiful than jasper walls and 
 streets of gold and higher than to the most 
 distant star. That place, Jesus said, is in 
 the soul of loving people. What is so high 
 and uplifting as love? That these two men 
 were very humble is shown by their love 
 and regard for little children. When moth- 
 14 
 
ers brought their children to Jesus to be 
 blessed of Him, His stern disciples drove 
 them away, thinkin.<T their time was too val- 
 uable to be taken up with such petty cases, 
 but when Jesus saw it He strongly rebuked 
 the disciples and said: "Let the little chil- 
 dren come unto mxe,*and forbid them not. 
 for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
 When in New York Lincoln visited one of 
 the charitable institutions of the city, 
 know as the "Five Points Home of Indus- 
 tr}^" and the Superintendent of the Sabbath 
 School there wrote this account of the 
 event: 
 
 "One Sunday morning I saw a tall re- 
 markable-looking man enter the room and 
 take a seat among us. He listened with 
 fixed attention to our exercises, and his 
 countenance expressed such genuine interest 
 that I approached him and suggested that 
 he might be willing to say something to the 
 children. He accepted the invitation with 
 evident pleasure, and coming forward began 
 a simple address which at once fascinated 
 every little hearer, and hushed the room 
 into silence. His language was strikingly 
 beautiful and his tones musical with intense 
 feeling. The little faces would droop into 
 sad conviction as he uttered sentences of 
 warning, and would brighten into sunshine 
 as he spoke cheerful words of promise. 
 Once or twice he attempted to close his re- 
 marks, when the imperative shouts of "Go 
 on! Oh do go on!" would compel him to 
 resume. 
 
 As I look upon the gaunt and sinewy 
 frame of the stranger and marked his pow- 
 erful head and determined features now 
 touched into softness by the impression of 
 the moment, I felt an irrepressible curiosity 
 to learn something more about li?m, and 
 while he was quietly leaving the room I 
 15 
 
begged to know his name. He courteously 
 replied: 
 
 " 'I'm Abraham Lincoln from Illinois.' " 
 
 We are too apt to think that these two 
 men were more able than we to accomplish 
 great things, because they did not have to 
 contend with a dual, nature, but not so. 
 Whereas Lincoln and the rest of us inherit 
 the sins of our foreparents, say to the third 
 and fourth generation; Jesus bore the sins 
 of the whole world in his own body; was 
 tempted in all points the same as we, and 
 never did a person have to struggle so hard 
 to overcome the powers of evil; but his 
 perfect trust in God made him complete 
 victor over them all, and won for himself 
 the distinction as the only begotten Son of 
 God. "Of his death Lincoln said, "All that 
 was lost by the fall of Adam was made good 
 by the 'Atonement,' all that was lost by 
 the fall was made good by the sacrifice." 
 
 Lincoln was a man of sorrows and ac- 
 quainted with grief, but he was also noted 
 for his broad smile and hearty laugh, but 
 his Savior exceeded in these extremes, we 
 are too prone to dwell on his sorrows and 
 forget that it was He that said, "Rejoice 
 and be exceedingly glad." 
 
 It is true that they loved the whole hu- 
 man race; but did they have a sweetheart? 
 Wliy should it be thought strange that this 
 young Gallilean, possessing ambitions and 
 passions of a normal man, should not crave 
 the love and special companionship of the 
 young woman who showed Him more love 
 and kindness than any other person? Mary 
 called Magdalene was with Jesus at the be- 
 ginning of his ministry in Galilee, accom- 
 panied him on His journeys, and came with 
 Him to Jerusalem, where she lived with her 
 brother and sister in Bethany, a small vil- 
 lage within two miles of Jerusalem. Jesus 
 16 
 
was a frequent and welcome guest at this 
 home, and during these visits Mary would 
 devote her time to her friend, leaving the 
 household duties to her sister at which 
 Martha complained and said: "Master 
 doest thou not care that my sister hath left 
 me to serve alone? bid her therefor that she 
 help me." Jesus said: "Martha, Martha, 
 thou are careful and troubled about many 
 things, but one thing is needful and Mary 
 hath chosen that good part, which shall not 
 be taken away from her." Sometime after 
 the death and resurrection of her brother 
 Lazarus, it seems that Mary was put to a 
 severe test, she and the disciples, no doubt, 
 had held fond hopes that their Master was 
 soon to take his place as king of the Jews, 
 and that they would share with him the tem- 
 poral blessings, but now their hopes were 
 all shattered. He was rejected of his own 
 people, branded by the Chief Priests as a 
 common criminal worthy of death. This 
 sentiment grew so strong in Jerusalem that 
 Jesus and His disciples had to leave that 
 part of the country. 
 
 God tells us in His word, that we should 
 not marvel if we see the ministers of Satan 
 transforming themselves into angels of 
 righteousness. So it is quite probable that 
 the crafty priests with their saintly look 
 and beautiful words counseled Mary to give 
 up the imposter who had deceived her, and 
 she heeded, and, like Peter and Judas, turn- 
 ed traitor to her Lord. 
 
 . There is no reason to think that her sin 
 was of an immoral character. "Possessed 
 of seven devils" was a term applied to those 
 who turned away from God. 
 
 When Mary realized the mistake she had 
 made, she, like Peter, repented of her back- 
 sliding and as Jesus (only a few days before 
 his death) was feasting in Bethany at a 
 17 
 
Pharisee's house, she brought a very pre- 
 cious box of ointment, and, not satisfied to 
 annoint the head of Jesus, also anointed his 
 feet, and with tears of repentance and loye 
 washed His feet, wiping them with the hair 
 of her head, and kissed his feet. Jesus free- 
 ly forgave all and in referring to her form- 
 er devotion said, "She loved much," and 
 then said, "Verily I say unto you, where- 
 soever this gospel shall be preached 
 throughout the whole world, this also that 
 she hath done shall be told for a memorial 
 of her." 
 
 Mary was near Jesus during His crucifix- 
 ion and death, followed His dead body to 
 the grave and returned early on that first 
 Easter morning with spices, to again anoint 
 His body, and stood without the grave 
 weeping, and as she weeped, she stooped 
 down and looked into the grave and saw 
 two angels in white sitting, the one at the 
 head and the other at the feet of where the 
 body of Jesus had lain, and they said unto 
 her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" She 
 said unto them: "Because they have taken 
 away my Lord, and I know not where they 
 have lain him," and when she had thus said, 
 she turned herself back and saw Jesus 
 standing, but knew not that it was Jesus. 
 Jesus said unto her: "Woman why weepest 
 thou?" She, supposing Him to be the gar- 
 dener said unto Him: "Sir, if thou hast 
 borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast 
 laid Hmi and I will take Him away." Jesus 
 said unto her: "Mary!" She turned herself 
 and said unto Him: "Rabboni!" which is 
 to say "Master." 
 
 Mary was honored by God to be the first 
 to see and speak to Jesus after his resurrec- 
 tion and the first to tell to the world the 
 glad story of their risen Lord. 
 
 Whom could be called Jesus' dearest 
 18 
 
earthly friend other than *Mary, called 
 Magdalene f* 
 
 We read of Lincoln's love affair- 
 
 "It is not known precisely when Ann 
 Rutledge told her suitor that her heart w^as 
 his, but early in 1835 — Lincoln was then 24 
 years of age — it was publicly known that 
 they w^ere solemnly betrothed. Even then 
 the scrupulous maiden waited for the return 
 of the absent AlcXamar, that she might be 
 formerly released from the obligation to 
 him which he had recklessly forfeited. Her 
 friends argued with her that she was carry- 
 ing her scruples too far, and at last, as 
 neither man nor letter came, she permitted 
 it to be understood that she would marry 
 Abraham Lincoln as soon as his legal stud- 
 ies should be completed. 
 
 "That w^as a glorious summer for him; 
 the brightest, sweetest, hopefullest he yet 
 had known. It was also the fairest time he 
 was ever to see; for even now, as the golden 
 days came and went, they brought an in- 
 creasing shadow on their wings. It was a 
 shadow that was not to pass away. Little 
 by little came indications that the health of 
 Ann Rutledge had suffered under the pro- 
 longed strain to which she has been sub- 
 jected. Her sensitive nature had been 
 strung to too high a tension and the cords 
 of her life were beginning to give way. 
 
 "Tihere were those of her friends who said 
 that she died of a broken heart, but the doc- 
 tors called it "brain fever." 
 
 "On the 25th of August, 1835, just before 
 the summer died, she passed away from 
 earth. But she never faded from the heart 
 
 _ *For further evidence as regards the iden- 
 tity of Martha and Mary called Magdalene, 
 send 15c in stamps to E. Rudeen, Y, M. C. 
 A., Los Angeles, Calif. 
 19 
 
of Abraham Lincoln. . . . .In her early 
 grave was buried the best 'hope he ever 
 knew, and the shadow of the great darkness 
 was never lifted entirely from him . 
 
 A few days before Ann's death a message 
 from her brought her betrothed to her bed- 
 side, and they were left alone. No one ever 
 knew what passed between them in the end- 
 less moments of that last sad farewell; but 
 Lincoln left the house with inexpressible 
 agony written upon his face. He had been 
 to that moment a man of marvelous poise 
 and self-control, but the pain he now strug- 
 gled with grew deeper and more deep, until, 
 when they came and told him she was dead, 
 his heart and will, and even =his brain itself, 
 gave way. He was utterly without help or 
 the hope of possible help in this world or 
 beyond it. He was frantic for a time, seem- 
 ing even to lose the sense of his own iden- 
 tity, and all New Salem said that he was 
 insane. He piteously moaned and raved: 
 
 " 'I never can be reconciled to have the 
 snow, rain and storms beat upon her 
 grave.' " 
 
 "His best friends seemed to have lost 
 their influence over him, all but one; for 
 Bowling Green . . . managed to entice 
 the poor fellow to his own home a short dis- 
 tance from the village, there to keep watch 
 and ward over him until the fury of 'his sor- 
 row should wear away. There were well 
 grounded fears lest he might do himself 
 some injury, and the watch was vigilantly 
 kept. 
 
 "In a few weeks reason again obtained 
 the mastery, and it was safe to let him re- 
 turn to his studies and his work. He could 
 indeed work again, and he could once more 
 study law, for there was a kind of relief in 
 steady occupation and absorbing toil, but he 
 was not, could not ever be, the same man. 
 20 
 
"Lincoln had been fond of poetry from 
 boyhood, and had gradually made himself 
 familiar with large parts of Shakespeare's 
 plays and the works of other great writers. 
 He now discovered in a strange collection 
 of verses, the one poem which seemed best 
 to express the morbid, troubled, sore condi- 
 tion of his mind, . . . the lines by Wil- 
 liam Knox, beginning: 
 
 'Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be 
 proud?' 
 
 "With all his love of fun and frolic, with 
 all his wit and humor, with all his laughter 
 and anecdotes, Lincoln, from his youth, was 
 a person of deep feeling, and there was al- 
 ways mingled with his mirth, sadness and 
 melancholy. He always associated with the 
 memory of Ann Rutledge the plaintive poem 
 which in his hours of melancholy he so of- 
 ten repeated, and whose familiar first stan- 
 zas are as follows: 
 
 'Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be 
 
 proud? 
 Like a swift fleeting meteor, a fast flying 
 cloud, 
 A flash of the lightning, a break of the 
 wave, 
 He passeth from life to his rest in the 
 grave. 
 
 The leaves of the oak and the willow shall 
 
 fade, 
 Be scattered around, and together be laid. 
 And the young and the old, and the low and 
 
 high 
 Shall moulder to dust and together shall 
 
 lie.' 
 
 "Lincoln loved at twilight, or when m 
 the country, or in solitude, or when with 
 some confidential friend, to repeat this 
 21 
 
poem. I think he exaggerated its merits, 
 and I attribute his great love of the poem to 
 its association with Ann Rutledge. Several 
 years passed after the sad death of Ann 
 Rutledge before he married. It is not im- 
 possbile that 'his devotion to her memory 
 may have been, in part, the cause of so long 
 a delay." 
 
 In his thirty-fourth year he married Miss 
 Mary Todd, a very beautiful, refined and 
 highly cultured young lady, a former sweet- 
 heart of Judge Stephen A. Douglas, the 
 champion of the pro-slavery cause, an oppo- 
 nent to Lincoln in the celebrated joint de- 
 bates who also ran against him for the 
 Presidency of the United States, but who 
 later became one of Lincoln's staunchest 
 friends. Lincoln greatly admired this 
 young lady who was determined to become 
 his wife, but as he compared his humble life 
 with that of hers of culture and her love for 
 pomp and show, he tried to have her under- 
 stand that he would not be able to make her 
 happy, which for a time proved to be true. 
 During their early married life they lived at 
 a boarding house paying the modest sum of 
 four dollars per week for the two. Because 
 he could not provide the luxuries her heart 
 so long and craved for she would often 
 say that she had married beneath her. They 
 say that the lesson that the Bible so clearly 
 teaches that a wife should be in subjection 
 to her husband, was as hard for her at first 
 to learn as it is for some husbands to learn 
 what the Bible teaches that the husband 
 shall love his wife even as Christ loved the 
 Church. 
 
 The religion of Christ has done more for 
 women than anything else in granting to 
 them equal rights with men as regards to 
 life, liberty and the pursuits of happiness. 
 These are the privileges Lincoln referred to 
 22 
 
when he said, "I go for all sharing the privi- 
 leges of government, who assist in bearing 
 its burdens, by no means excluding women.'* 
 Jesus and Lincoln taught both by word and 
 deed, what the true relationship between 
 master and servant should be. Jesus said, 
 "Whosoever among you will be chieft, shal] 
 be servant of all." This he demonstrated 
 when He, as IMaster, washed His disciples 
 feet. Lincoln at the age of twenty-three 
 was a candidate for the Illinois State Legis- 
 lature. At that time he published a circular 
 which concluded as follows: "Every man 
 is said to have his peculiar ambition. Wheth- 
 er that is true or not, I can say for one, that 
 I have no other so great as that of being 
 truly esteemed of my fellow-men by ren- 
 dering myself worthy of their esteem. How 
 far I shall succeed in this is yet to be devel- 
 oped. I am young and unknown to many 
 of you; I was born and have remained in 
 the most humble walks of life. I have no 
 wealthy relations or friends to recommend 
 me; my case is thrown exclusively upon the 
 iridependent voters of the country, and, if 
 elected, they will have conferred a favor 
 upon me for the which I shall be unremit- 
 ting in my labors to compensate. But, if 
 the good people in their wisdom see fit to 
 keep me in the background, I have been too 
 familiar with disappointment to be very 
 nuich chagrined." This same spirit re- 
 mained wnth him throughout life . Even 
 when he became the chief executive of the 
 nation he proved himself a servant of the peo- 
 ple. The saying that is so common among" 
 dishonest people, "A man cannot be honest 
 and succeed in business" was proven false 
 by the life of Lincoln. He chose for his 
 business in life the practice of law, which 
 offers the greatest opportunity for dishonest 
 gain. Although for years his struggle with 
 23 
 
poverty was painful, indeed, and he could 
 have, by sacr.fic :ng principle enjoyed the 
 luxuries of life, he was always 'honest and 
 reached the highest position and honor. Al- 
 though his weekly salary was only $961.60, 
 yet his home was the most coveted mansion 
 on earth. He also proved that a man does 
 not have to indulge in vice in order to hold 
 the esteem of his fellow-men. The follow- 
 ing reveals his temperate life: 
 
 "Lincoln set out for Washington from 
 Ramsdell's Tavern in Springfield early in 
 the morning. The only other passenger in the 
 stage for a good portion of the distance was 
 a Kentuckian, on his way home from Mis- 
 souri. Painfully impressed, no doubt, with 
 Lincoln's gravity and melancholy, he under- 
 took to relieve the general monotony of the 
 ride by offering him a chew of tobacco. 
 With a plain, 
 
 "No, sir, thank you; I never chew," Lin- 
 coln declined, and a long period of silence 
 followed. 
 
 "Later in the day the stranger, pulling 
 from his pocket a leather-covered case, of- 
 fered Lincoln a cigar, which he also politely 
 declined on the ground that he never 
 smoked. 
 
 "Finally, as they neared the station where 
 the horses were to be changed, the Kentuck- 
 ian, pouring out a cup of brandy from a 
 flask v/hich had lain concealed in his satchel, 
 offered it to Lincoln with the remark, 
 
 " 'Well, stranger, seeing you don't smoke 
 or chew, perhaps you'll take a little of this 
 French brandy. It's a fine article and a 
 good appetizer besides.' " 
 
 "His tall and uncommunicative companion 
 declined this last and best evidence of Ken- 
 tucky hospitality on the same ground as the 
 tobacco. When they separated that after- 
 noon, the Kentuckian, transferring to an- 
 24 
 
other stage, bound for Louisville, shook 
 Lincoln warmly by the hand. 'See here, 
 stranger,' he said, good-naturedly, 'you're a 
 clever, but strange companion. 1 may never 
 see you again, and I don't want to offend 
 you, but I want to say this: My experience 
 has taught me that a man who has no vices 
 has blamed few virtues. Good-day.' 
 
 "Lincoln enjoyed this reminiscence of the 
 journey, and took great pleasure in relat- 
 ing it." 
 
 Jesus and Lincoln were great conquerors, 
 using for their chief weapon the sword of 
 the spirit which is love and mercy, and only 
 used the metal sword as the last resort in 
 defense of the principles of truth. They 
 loved peace and hated war more than any 
 one else. Yet Lincoln was chief dictator in 
 one of the most cruel wars the world has 
 ever seen. But it did not begin until the 
 enemy had first struck with the sword. 
 Then Lincoln only obeyed the command of 
 his Master, where He says: "All they that 
 take the sword shall perish with the sword." 
 Jesus said in reference to wrong doers, 
 "Think not that I am come to send peace 
 on earth; I am come not to send peace but 
 a sword." The Bible says that Jesus at 
 times looked on wrong doers in anger and 
 said hard and cutting words to them, and 
 used violent means to drive them- from the 
 temple. We read of Lincoln driving wrong 
 doers from the voting place. 
 
 "The exciting canvass of 1840 had come 
 to a final issue at the polls. On the line of 
 railway then in construction near by, there 
 was a large gang of laborers, mostly of the 
 'alien' class, whose right to vote had been 
 denied, but sustained by the new Supreme 
 Court organized under the 'Douglas bill. 
 The contractor who employed them was an 
 ardent Democrat, and on election day it 
 25 
 
came to the ears of Lincoln that he had 
 marched up his battalion of voters and 
 taken possession of one of the polling 
 places. It was not a question now of 
 whether these men should be allowed to 
 vote; but that they should refuse honest 
 voters access to the ballot-box was not to 
 be borne with resignation. With true Ber- 
 serker rage he hurried to the scene, faced 
 the offenders, and without need of blows — 
 drove back the riotous crowd. From the 
 statements of Mr. Speed, who gave the sub- 
 stance of this account from his own knowl- 
 edge, it appears that Lincoln started, cudgel 
 in hand, under an impulse to clear the way 
 to the polls by force." 
 
 They were great forgivers. Jesus chose 
 for his chief apostle St. Paul, who had been 
 the greatest persecutor of the Christian 
 faith. Lincoln said, "A man has no time to 
 spend in quarrels. If any man ceases to at- 
 tack me, I never rem-ember the past against 
 him." When he became President and was 
 to choose men to fill the most important of- 
 fices of the nation, he chose some of the 
 men who had opposed liim the most. 
 
 Lincoln had an experience similar to that 
 of Jesus while in the garden of Gethsemane. 
 We read in the Bible, that on the night of 
 His betrayal, Jesus and His disciples went to 
 the garden of Gethsemane and He said unto 
 them, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful even 
 unto death," and he withdrew himself from 
 His disciples a short distance, and fell on 
 His face and prayed saying, "Father, if 
 Thou be willing, remove this cup from me, 
 nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be 
 done." He was not trying to shirk the 
 cross, but He prayed that His awful load 
 of sorrow might be lightened, and God in 
 His mercy heard His prayer and sent an 
 angel to strengthen Him. Lincoln had his 
 26 
 
Gethsemane the night after the battle of 
 Chancellorsville. 'We read, 
 
 "bid he ever at an}^ time reel or stagger 
 under his burden? Oh, yes, once. He 
 could feel a hit or a stab at any time; but 
 the things which hurt him, that made him 
 suffer, that were slowly killing him, as he 
 himself declared, did not interfere with the 
 perpetual efficiency of his work. If there 
 were hours when despondency came and 
 when he doubted the result, ... he did 
 not tell anybody; but there was one night 
 when his wrestle with despair was long and 
 terrible. 
 
 "In the opinion of Edwin M. Stanton, 
 Secretary of the Army, concurred in by 
 other good judges, the darkest hour of the 
 Civil War came in the first week of May, 
 1863. The Army of the Potomac, under 
 General Hooker, had fought the bloody bat- 
 tle of Chancellorsville. The record of their 
 dead and wounded told how bravely they 
 had fought, but they were defeated, losing 
 the field of battle, and seventeen thousand 
 men. 
 
 "The country was weary of the long War, 
 with its draining taxes of gold and blood. 
 Discontent was everywhere raising its head, 
 and the opponents of the Lincoln Adminis- 
 tration were savage in their denunciations. 
 Many of his severest critics were men of 
 unquestioned patriotism. The mail desk in 
 the Secretary's office at the White House 
 was heaped with letters, as if the President 
 could read them. He knew their purport 
 well enough without reading. He knew of 
 the forever vacant places in the hundred 
 thousand households before Chancellors- 
 ville. If more than a third of each day's 
 mail already consisted of measureless de- 
 nunciation; if another large part was made 
 up of piteous pleas for peace, for a termina- 
 27 
 
tion of the long murder of the Civil War, 
 what would it be when tjdings of this last 
 slaughter should go out and send back ech- 
 oes from the heart-stricken multitude? Had 
 not enough been endured, and was there not 
 imminent peril, that the country would re- 
 fuse to endure any more? This question 
 was, perhaps, the darkest element in the 
 problem presented to Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 "There were callers at the White House 
 on the day on which the news of the defeat 
 was brought; but they were not the cus- 
 tomary throng. Members of the Senate and 
 House came, with gloomy faces; the mem- 
 bers of the Cabinet came to consult or to 
 condole with the President. 
 
 "There were Army and Navy officers, but 
 only such as were sent for. The house was 
 as if a funeral were going forward, and 
 those who entered or felt it trod softly, as 
 people always do around a cofifin, for fear 
 they may wake the dead. 
 
 "That night, the last visitors in Lincoln's 
 room were Stanton and Halleck. They went 
 aw^ay together in silence, at somewhere near 
 nine o'clock, and the President was left 
 alone. Not another soul was on that floor 
 except the one secretary, who was busy 
 with the mail in his room across the hall 
 from the President's; and the doors of both 
 rooms were ajar, for the night was warm. 
 The silence was so deep that the ticking of 
 a clock would have been noticeable; but an- 
 other sound came and that was almost as 
 regular and ceaseless. 
 
 "It was the tread of the President's feet 
 as he strode slowly back and forth across 
 the chamber in which so many Presidents 
 of the United States had done their work. 
 Was he to be the last of the line? The last 
 President of the entire United States? At 
 that hour that verv question had been asked 
 28 
 
of him by the battle of Chancellorsville. If 
 he had wavered, if he had failed in faith or 
 courage or prompt decision, then the nation 
 and not the Army of the Potomac would 
 have lost its great battle. 
 
 "Ten o'clock came, w^ithout a break in 
 the steady march. Eleven o'clock came and 
 then another hour of that ceaseless march 
 so accustomed the ear to it that when, a 
 little after twelve, there was a break of sev- 
 eral minutes, the suden silence made one 
 put down his letters and listen. 
 
 "The President may have been at his table 
 writing, or he may — no one knows or can 
 guess; but at the end of the minutes, long 
 or short, the tramp began again. Two 
 o'clock, and he was walking yet, and when a 
 little after three, the secretary's task was 
 done and he slipped noiselessly out, he 
 turned at the head of the stairs for a mo- 
 ment. It was so — the last sound he heard 
 as he went down was the footfall in Lin- 
 coln's room. 
 
 "The young man had to return early, and 
 he was there again before eight o'clock. The 
 President's room door was open and he 
 went in. There sat Mr. Lincoln eating 
 breakfast alone. He had not been out of 
 his room; but there was a kind of cheery, 
 hopeful, morning light on his face instead 
 the funeral battle-cloud of Chancellorsville. 
 He had watched all night, but a dawn had 
 come, for beside his cup of coffee lay the 
 w^ritten draft of his instructions to General 
 Hooker to push forward, to fight again. 
 There was a decisive battle won that night 
 in that long vigil with disaster and despair. 
 Only a few weeks later the Army of the 
 Potomac fought it over again as desper- 
 ately — and they won it — at Gettysburg." 
 
 The following reveals the secret oi his. 
 great power: An officer of the Civil War 
 29 
 
bags to give a significant conversation of 
 Lincoln's in his presence in July, 1863, in 
 Washington, D. C, on the Sunday after the 
 Battle of Gettysburg. General Sickles of 
 New York had lost a leg on the second day 
 at Gettysburg, while in command of the 
 Third Corps, and arrived in Washington on 
 the Sunday following (July 5th). As a 
 member of his staff I called to see him, and 
 while there Mr. Lincoln also called, with his 
 son, Tad, and remained an hour or more. 
 He greeted Sickles very heartily and kindlv, 
 of course, and complimented him on his 
 stout fight at Gettysburg, and then, after 
 inquiring about our killed and wounded gen- 
 erally, passed on to the question as to what 
 Meade was going to do with his victory. 
 They discussed this pro and con at some 
 length, Lincoln hoping for great results if 
 Meade only pressed Lee actively, but Sickles 
 was dubious and diplomatic, as became so 
 astute a man. And then, presently. General 
 Sickles turned to him, and asked what he 
 thought during the Gettysburg campaign, 
 and whether he was not anxious about it? 
 
 "Mr. Lincoln gravely replied, no, he was 
 not; that some of his Cabinet and many oth- 
 ers in Washington were, but that he himself 
 had had no fears. General Sickles inquired 
 how this was, and seemed curious about it. 
 Mr. Lincoln hesitated, but finally replied: 
 
 " 'Well, I will tell you how it was. In the 
 pinch of your campaign .up there, when 
 everybody seemed panic-stricken, and no- 
 body could tell what was going to happen, 
 oppressed by the gravity of our affairs, I 
 went to my room one day and locked the 
 door, and got down on my knees before 
 Almighty God, and prayed to Him mightily 
 for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him this 
 was His war, and our cause His cause, but 
 that we couldn't stand another Fredericks- 
 30 
 
burg or Chancellorsville. And I then and 
 there made a solemn vow to Almighty God 
 that if He would stand by our boys at Get- 
 tysburg I would stand by Him. And He 
 did and I will. And after that — I don't know 
 how it was and I can't explain it — but soon 
 a sweet comfort swept into my soul that 
 things w^ould go all right at Gettysburg, and 
 that is why I had no fears about you.' " 
 
 "He said this solemnh^ and pathetically, 
 as if from the very depths of his heart, and 
 both Sickles and I were deeply touched by 
 his manner. 
 
 "Presently General Sickles asked him 
 what news he had from Vicksburg. He an- 
 swered, he had none worth mentioning, but 
 that Grant was still "pegging away" down 
 there, and he thought a good deal of him as 
 a general and wasn't going to remove him, 
 though urged to do so. 
 
 "Besides,' he added, 'I have been praying 
 over Vicksburg also, and believe our Heav- 
 enly Father is going to give us victory there 
 too, because we need it, in order to bisect 
 the Confederacy and have the Mississippi 
 flow unvexed to the sea.' " 
 
 "Of course, he did not know that Vicks- 
 burg had already fallen, July 4th, and that a 
 gunboat was soon to arrive at Cairo with 
 the great news that was to make that 
 Fourth of July memorable in history for- 
 ever." 
 
 We also read of their triumphal entry. 
 Once when Jesus entered Jerusalem He was 
 received as a King, for a great multitude 
 spread their garments in the way. "Others 
 cut down branches from the trees and 
 strewed them in the way, and the multitude 
 that went before and that followed, cried, 
 saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 
 Blessed is He that cometh in the name of 
 the Lord. Hosanna in the highest." We 
 31 
 
read of Lincoln's strange triumphal entry 
 into Richmond, Virginia, the conquered cap- 
 ital of the Southern Confederacy: 
 
 "There was a small house on the landing, 
 and behind it were some twelve negroes dig- 
 ging with spades. _ Their leader was an old 
 man . . . He raised himself to an upright 
 position as we landed and put his hands up 
 to his eyes. Then de dropped his spade and 
 sprang forward. 
 
 "Bress de Lord," he said, "dere is de great 
 Messiah! I knowed him as soon as I seed 
 him. He's been in my heart fo' long yeahs, 
 an' he's come at las' to free his chillun from 
 deir bondage — Glory, Hallelujah!' And he 
 fell on his knees before the President and 
 kissed his feet. The others followed his ex- 
 ample, and in a minute Mr. Lincoln was 
 surrounded by these people, who had treas- 
 ured up the recollection of him caught from 
 a photograph, and had looked up to him for 
 four years as the one who was to lead them 
 out of captivity. 
 
 "Mr. Lincoln looked down at the poor 
 creatures at his feet; he was much embar- 
 rassed at his position. 
 
 "Don't kneel to me," he said, "That is not 
 right. You must kneel to God only, and 
 thank Him for the liberty you will hereafter 
 enjoy. 
 
 "His face was lit up with a divine look as 
 he said these words. In his enthusiasm he 
 seemed the personification of manly beauty, 
 and that sad face of his looked down in 
 kindness upon those ignorant blacks. He 
 really seemed of another world. 
 
 "It was a minute or two before I could 
 get the negroes to rise and leave the Presi- 
 dent." 
 
 " 'Yes, Massa,' said the old man . . . 
 "Scuseus, sir. We means no disrespec' to 
 Mass' Lincoln; we means all love and grati- 
 32 
 
tude.' And then joinino; hands together in a 
 ring, they sang a hymn, beginning, 'O, all 
 ye people, clap your hands!' 
 
 "The President and all of us listened re- 
 spectfully. Four minutes at most had passed 
 away since we first landed, when the streets 
 were entirely deserted. . . Now the streets 
 semed to be suddenly alive with the colored 
 race. They seemed to spring from the earth. 
 They came tumbling and shouting from over 
 the hill and from the water-side, where no 
 one was seen as we had passed. 
 
 "The crowd immediately became very op- 
 pressive. We needed the Marines to keep 
 them off. I ordered twelve of the boat's 
 crew to fix bayonets to their rifles and to 
 surround the President, all of which was 
 quickly done; but the crowd poured in so 
 fearfully that I thought we all stood a 
 chance of being crushed to death. 
 
 "I now realize the imprudence of landing 
 without a large body of Marines; and yet, 
 this seemed to me, after all, the fittest way 
 for Mr. Lincoln to come among the people 
 he had redeemed from bondage. 
 
 "What an ovation he had, to be sure! . . 
 They all had their souls in their eyes, and 
 I don't think I ever looked upon a scene 
 where there were so many passionately 
 happy faces. 
 
 "At length the President spoke. He could 
 not move for the mass of people — he had to 
 do something. 
 
 " 'Aly poor friends,' he said. "You are free 
 — free as air. You can cast off the name of 
 slave and trample upon it; it will come to 
 you no more. Liberty is your birthright. 
 God gave it to you as he gave it to others, 
 and it is a sin that you have been deprived 
 of it for so many years. But you must try 
 to deserve this priceless boon. Let the 
 world see that you merit it, and are able to 
 33 
 
maintain it by 3'our good works. Don't let 
 your joy carry you into excesses. Learn the 
 laws and obey them ; obey God's command- 
 ments and thank Him for giving you liberty, 
 for to Him you owe all things. There, now, 
 let me pass on. I have but little time to 
 spare. I want to see the Capitol, and must 
 return at once to Washington to secure you 
 that liberty which you seem to prize so 
 highly.' " 
 
 Strange as it may seem Lincoln entered 
 the Nation's Capital this time on Palm Sun- 
 day, and the next Friday he made the su- 
 preme sacrifice, but during these five days 
 he experienced the happiest moments of his 
 life. The burden of war had been lifted, 
 and with great hopes for the future he said: 
 "If God gives me four years more to rule 
 this country, I believe it will become what 
 it ought to be, what its Divine Author in- 
 tended it to be; no more a vast plantation 
 for breeding human beings for the purpose 
 of lust and bondage, but it will become a 
 new valley of Jehosaphat, where all nations 
 of the earth will assemble together under 
 one flag, worshipping a common God, and 
 thej^ will celebrate the resurrection of hu- 
 man freedom. 
 
 When they had finished their work on 
 earth, God called them to their glorious re- 
 ward. Hypocrites said of the death of 
 Jesus, "Cursed is everyone that dieth on a 
 cross." They also said of the death of Lin- 
 coln, "Cursed is everyone who dieth in a 
 theatre. Lincoln was murdered by blood- 
 thirsty men who said they were doing God's 
 will. The actual murderers were not the 
 men who nailed Jesus to the cross or fired 
 the fatal shot at Lincoln but the people who 
 instigated the crimes. Lincoln's murder 
 took place on Good Friday, 1865, the anni- 
 versary of the murder of Jesus his Savior. 
 34 
 
But these two martyrs live in the hearts of 
 the people more today than when they were 
 as men on earth. The time is coming, ac- 
 cording to the Bible, when people like Lin- 
 coln, tilled with the spirit of Christ, shall 
 govern this world, and it might be well said, 
 as of old, through Abraham (Lincoln) shall 
 all nations be blessed, and Jesus be crowned 
 King and Lord of Lords. 
 
 E. F. RUDEEN. 
 
 Copijriqht 
 
 1919 
 
 35 
 
54 » 
 
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