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.

A

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

ton.

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

some length, stating in substance that, in her judgment, it consisted of a conviction of one's own sinfulness and weakness and personal need of the Savior for strength and support; that views of mere doctrine might and would differ, but when one was really brought to feel his need of Divine help, and to seek the aid of the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance, it was satisfactory evidence of his having been born again. When she had concluded, Mr. Lincoln was very thoughtful for a few moments, and then said very earnestly: "If what you have told me is really a correct view of this great subject, I think I can say with sincerity that I hope I am a Christian. I had lived until my boy Willie died without fully realizing these things. That blow overwhelmed me. It showed me my weakness as I had never felt it before; and if I can take what you have stated as a test, I think I can safely say that I know something of that change of which you speak; and I will further add that it has been my intention for some time, at a suitable opportunity, to make a public religious profession." Why he never did so is explained by Mr. Arnold, who quotes Mr. Deming, a member of Congress from Connecticut, as saying that, when asked why, with his marked religious character, he did not unite with some Church, Lincoln said: "I have never united myself with any Church because I found

difficulty in giving my assent, without mental reservation, to the long and complicated statements of Christian doctrine which characterize their articles of belief and confessions of faith. When any Church will inscribe over its altars, as its sole qualification for membership, the Savior's condensed statement of the substance of both law and gospel, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself,' that Church shall I join with all my heart and soul."

James F. Rusling relates in the New York Tribune the following impressive utterance, which was made in his hearing during Mr. Lincoln's visit to General Sickles, who had been wounded at the battle of Gettysburg a day or two before. It was Sunday morning, July 5, 1863. Mr. Lincoln greeted Sickles right cordially and tenderly, though cheerfully, and it was easy to see that they held each other in high esteem. Greetings over, Mr. Lincoln dropped into a chair, and, crossing his prodigious legs, soon fell to questioning Sickles as to all the phases of the combat at Gettysburg. When Mr. Lincoln's inquiries seemed ended, General Sickles resumed the conversation substantially as follows:

"Well, Mr. President, I beg pardon, but what do you think about Gettysburg? What was your opinion of things while we were campaigning and