Charleston harbor. They captured the fort the next day. President Lincoln immediately issued a proclamation calling for seventy-five thousand volunteers. He soon found himself very busy at Washington. He had to superintend the raising of troops and the collecting of money to support them. He had to provide weapons and ammunition and tents,-in fact, everything needed by soldiers. Knowing nothing of war himself, except in rough Indian fighting on the frontiers, the new President had to study the methods of war.

He showed a spirit of great justice and humanity, but he insisted upon having everything reported to him personally, keeping his watchful eye upon everything that was done by his generals, and removing from command those whom he found unfit. He went constantly to the hospitals, where he was very much loved by the soldiers, among whom he was commonly known as "Father Abraham." All this time he was longing to have the war brought to an end, and trying to follow all methods that would close it as soon as possible. During all these years of labor and anxiety, every one who went to see him found him always cheerful and good-natured, able to tell good stories, of which he had an unfailing store, and to crack jokes with all comers. He seemed to find in this merriment a relief from care and anxiety.

On January 1, 1863, the President issued a

proclamation which many people regarded as the most important event of the war. He made up his mind that the existence of slavery was the real cause of the war, and that there would be no real peace until slavery should be abolished. He therefore declared, as President of the United States and as Commander-in-chief of the army, the abolition of slavery on American territory. While there were people, even in the North, who opposed this proclamation bitterly, it was of course received with great enthusiasm by the slaves whom it set free, and by all their friends at the North.

In the autumn of that same year, President Lincoln gave an address on the battle-field at Gettysburg (Pennsylvania), which has ever since been regarded as one of the most eloquent ever made in America. The occasion of the address was the dedication of the national cemetery, and its conclusion was as follows: "We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Although not a soldier, the President had proved himself a very brave man. For instance, when the city of Richmond had surrendered to General Grant, the President was in the vicinity, and went at once to show himself in public in the city, as it had been the capital of the Confederate government. Com

monly in wars between nations, when the head of one nation after the war enters the capital of an other nation as a conqueror, he goes with great display, making the occasion as grand as possible.

In this case, however, President Lincoln entered the city as quietly as possible. He had been cautioned against doing it at all. When he decided to go, he telegraphed to the Secretary of War at Washington, "I am about to enter Richmond." The Secretary telegraphed back at once, "Do not imperil your life in that way." The next morning the President telegraphed again: "I received your despatch, yesterday. Went to Richmond and returned this morning." The fact was that he had gone in publicly, but without making a show of military triumph, and so carried his point without stirring up the people at Richmond to any rash act of violence.

On the 14th of April, 1865, came the anniversary of the surrender of Fort Sumter, just four years before, and arrangements had been made for hoisting the United States flag in its former place. There was to be a celebration at Ford's Theatre in Washington in the evening, and President Lincoln, General Grant, and others were present. When the President entered there was great enthusiasm, and then the performance of the evening went on. But after about an hour the crack of a pistol was heard, and a man leaped from the President's private box to the stage, shouting, "Sic semper tyrannis!" (So

a

may it ever be with tyrants!) Somebody called out the name of the man, John Wilkes Booth, but he had disappeared. Mr. Lincoln had been shot through the back of the head by the assassin, and died early the following morning, April 15, 1865.

The whole nation was filled with mourning. The body was borne in a funeral car from Washington to Indianapolis amid signs of grief everywhere. The people of the towns and villages along the way gathered at the railway stations with signs of mourning, and with tolling bells.

Many remembered that the President had said, while on his way to Washington, four years before, that the country must be saved on the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence, and he had added, "Now, my friends, can this country be saved on this basis? If it can, I shall consider myself one of the happiest men in the world if I can help to save it. . . . But if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on the spot." Though he was assassinated, his fervent wish was fulfilled.

in sti tu'tion, an established order, | el'o quent, expressing strong feeling method, or custom. in a powerful way.

Cat'e chism, a book of questions and

answers about religious subjects. en thu'si asm, strong feeling in be

half of some cause.

an ni ver'sa ry, a day celebrated every

year.

dedi ca'tion, the act of setting apart. for a sacred use.

am mu ni'tion, powder, shot, shells, as sas'si nate, to kill by surprise; to