The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1865-05-18

his enemy the treachery of his physician,
who offered to poison him; 1T is cas-
| ier to turn the sun from its course than
Fabricius from his honesty" Men of all
parties will remember, when the ex
citing contest Of last fall ended in his
| triumphant re election, his first word
thereafter, from the porticO of the White
| House, was that he could not and would
not exult over his countrymen who had
differed with his policy.
4 And thus he ruled, and thus he lived,
and thus he died. The wretch who
stood behind him and sent his bullet
! crushing thro that brain, which had been
! devising plans of reconciliation with the
country's deadly foes, as he leaped up
| on the stage and exalted over the death
| Of him whom he denounced as tyrant,
uttered as foul falsehood as the lying
witnesses who caused the conviction and
crucifixtion Of the Son of Man, on the
same Good Friday, nearly two thousand
I years ago. l would not compare the hui
man with the Divine, except in that i'm
| measurable contrast of the finite with
the infinite. But his whole life proves
to me that if he could have had a single
moment Of consciousness and speech,
his great heart would have prompted
for his blood, .sFather forgive them, for
they know not what they do"
He bore the nations perils and trials
and sorrows ever on his mind You
know him, in large degree, by the IL
Illustrative stories, Of which his memory
and his tongue were SO prolific, using
them to point moral or to soften discon-
tent Mt his decisions; but this was the
mere badinage which relieved him for
the moment from the heavy weight Of
public duties and responsibilities under
which he often wearied Those whom
h0 admitted tc his confidence, and with
whom he conversed of his feelings. knew
that his inner life was checkered with the
deepest anxiety and most discomforting
solicitude. Elated by victories for the
cause which was ever in his mind, re
verses to our arms cast pail OF de-
preston over him One morning, over
two years ago, calling upon him on bu-
siness, / found him looking more than
usually pale and careworn and inquired
the cause He replied, with the bad
news he had received at n late hour the
previous night, which had not yet been
communicated to the press, adding that
he had not closed his eyes or breakfast
ed and with an expression | shall never
forget, he exclaimed, 'How willingly
would I exchange places to day with the
soldier who sleeps on the ground in the
Army Of the Potomac"
No man, in our era, clothed with such
vast power, has ever used it so merciful-
ly. No ruler, holding the keys of life
and death, ever pardoned so many and
so easily. When friends said to him
they wished he had more Of Jackson's
he would say, 81 am just as
God made me, and cannot change"
1t may not be generally known that his
door keepers had standing orders from
him that no matter how great might be
the throng, if other Senators and Repre-
sentatives had to wait, or to be turned
away without an audience, he must see
before the day closed every messenger
who came to him with a petition for the
saving of life One night in February l
left all other business to ask him to res
pite the son of a constituent who was
sentenced to be shot, at Davenport, for
desertion. He heard the story with his
usual patience, though he was wearied
out with incessant calls, and anxious for
rest, and then replied:
"Some of our Generals complain that
impair discipline and subordination in
the army, by my pardons and respites,
but it makes me rested, after a hard days
work, if can find some good excuse for
saving a mans life, and go to bed hap
py as think how joyous the signing of
my name will make him and his family
and his friends"
And with a happy smile beaming over
that care furrowed face, he signed the
name that saved that life.
But Abraham Lincoln was not only n
good and a just and humane man. l
could not be just to that well ll-rounded
character of his without adding that he
was praying man. He has often said
that his reliance was on his God, TO
whom he appealed in prayer. although
he had never become professor of re-
ligion. To clergyman who asked him
if he loved his Savior, he replied, and he
was too truthful for US to doubt the
declaration,
s.When was first inaugurated did
not love Him; when God took my son
was greatly impressed, but still did not
love him but when l stood on the
battle field of Gettysburg 1 gave my
heart to Christ, and l can now say do
love the Savior"
The Bible was always in his reception
room l have doubted the report that
he read an hour in it every day, for he
often came direct from his bed to his re-
ception room, so auNiuos was he to ac-
commodate members who had important
business, and it would sometimes be two
or three hours before he would playfully
say to some friend whose turn had come,
sWon't you stay here till l get some
breakfast ~ But he must have read
the Bible considerably, for he often
quoted it. One day that happened 70
come in he said, ..Mr--has just
been here attacking one Of my Cabinet,
but stopped him with this text" and
he read from the Proverbs a text l had
never heard quoted before, as follows
Accuse not servant to his master"
kH The jews of this country have
III. ~