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true to the old flag, and if, when you come to die, and I were there, you could look me in the eye and say, "Mr. Lincoln, I have kept my promise, and been the best soldier to the old flag that I possibly could be," then you will pay my bill.' Mr. Lincoln left, and afterwards there was never such a soldier as Private Scott. He asked that he might do the hardest kind of duty in the hospital, so that he might teach himself how to keep awake nights. There was never a man whose uniform was more clean than his. And when the battle struck there never was a braver man. It was at the awful battles of the Wilderness, and he had accomplished prodigies of valor, and had carried back officer after officer from the bloody field; where at last he fell, shattered all to pieces. At last the battle was done. They bore him back, and his comrades gathered around him. He looked at them with a sweet smile, and said: 'Boys, I have fought my last battle, and I think I tried to do my duty. I guess you can tell my mother that; and then, boys'— and he breathed heavily-if you should ever any of you see Mr. Lincoln, I wish you would tell him that I—tried to keep--my promise—and be true to the old flag-good-bye, boys,' and he died."

"A few days before the assassination," wrote a correspondent of the Independent, "when the President was on his return from Richmond, he stopped

at City Point. Calling upon the head surgeon at that place, Mr. Lincoln told him that he wished to visit all the hospitals under his charge, and shake hands with every soldier. The surgeon asked if he knew what he was undertaking, there being five or six thousand soldiers at that place, and it would be quite a tax upon his strength to visit all the wards and shake hands with every soldier. Mr. Lincoln answered, with a smile, he 'guessed he was equal to the task; at any rate he would try, and go as far as he could; he should never, probably, see the boys again, and he wanted them to know that he appreciated what they had done for their country.'

"Finding it useless to try to dissuade him, the surgeon began his rounds with the President, who walked from bed to bed, extending his hand to all, saying a few words of sympathy to some, making kind inquiries of others, and welcomed by all with the heartiest cordiality.

"As they passed along, they came to a ward in which lay a rebel who had been wounded and was a prisoner. As the tall figure of the kindly visitor appeared in sight, he was recognized by the rebei soldier, who, raising himself on his elbow in bed, watched Mr. Lincoln as he approached, and extending his hand exclaimed, while tears ran down his cheeks:

"Mr. Lincoln, I have long wanted to see you,

to ask your forgiveness for ever raising my hand against the old flag.'

"Mr. Lincoln was moved to tears. He heartily shook the hand of the repentant rebel, and assured him of his good-will, and with a few words of kind advice passed on. After some hours the tour of the various hospitals was made, and Mr. Lincoln returned with the surgeon to his office. They had scarcely entered, however, when a messenger came saying that one ward had been omitted, and 'the boys' wanted to see the President. The surgeon, who was thoroughly tired, and knew Mr. Lincoln must be, tried to dissuade him from going; but the President said he must go back. He would not knowingly omit one; 'the boys' would be so disappointed. So he went with the messenger, accompanied by the surgeon, and shook hands with the gratified soldiers, and then returned to the office.

"The surgeon expressed the fear that the President's arm would be lamed with so much handshaking, saying that it certainly must ache. Mr. Lincoln smiled, and saying something about his 'strong muscles,' stepped out at the open door, took up a very large, heavy ax which lay there by a log of wood, and chopped vigorously for a few moments, sending the chips flying in all directions; and then, pausing, he extended his right arm to its full length, holding the ax out horizontally, without quivering."

MR. LINCOLN'S RELIGIOUS BELIEF.

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BRAHAM LINCOLN had the good fortune to

be trained by a godly mother and stepmother. The two books which made the most impression upon his character were the Bible and Weems's "Life of Washington." The former he read with such diligence that he knew it almost by heart, and the words of Scripture became so much a part of his nature that he rarely made a speech or wrote a paper of any length without quoting its language or teaching.

Mr. Arnold, in his "Life of Lincoln," says: "It is very strange that any reader of Lincoln's speeches and writings should have the hardihood to charge him with a want of religious feeling." In his opinion "no more reverent Christian than he ever sat in the Executive chair, not excepting WashingFrom the time he left Springfield to his death he not only himself continually prayed for Divine assistance, but constantly asked the prayers of his friends for himself and his country. Doubtless, like many others, he passed through periods of doubt and perplexity; but his faith in a

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Divine providence began at his mother's knee, and ran through all the changes of his life.

When the unbeliever shall convince the people that this man, whose life was straightforward, clear, and honest, was a sham and a hypocrite, then, but not before, may he make the world doubt his Christianity."

That Mr. Arnold's description of Mr. Lincoln's religious character is correct is evidenced by quotations found in various books on Lincoln.

In a letter written January 12, 1851, when his father was dangerously ill, Mr. Lincoln says: "I sincerely hope father may yet recover his health; but, at all events, tell him to remember and call upon and confide in our great and good and merciful Maker, who will not turn away from him in any extremity. He will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in him. Say to him, if it be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous meeting with loved ones gone before, and where the rest of us, through the help of God, hope erelong to join him."

Mr. Lincoln one day said to a lady in whose piety he had great confidence: "Mrs., I have formed a high opinion of your Christian character, and now, as we are alone, I have a mind to ask you to give me, in brief, your idea of what constitutes a true religious experience." The lady replied at

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