The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1870-05-03

did not believe what De said Ia,
question s vas Nh Lucoln an honest
aud truthful man II be was. he wfat,
that leJigr hunesily believing b. 4
has 30 me the sound The ung ot on
bauest utlerauce ] admit thai Ar
L.ncola b his moments 81 melancholy
ana terribly gloon, was living on thl
border land ai Iht,sm end Atheism
sometimes quite wholly dwelling u
Atheism. In bis happy moments hC
would swing back to Ihcism, aud dwell
4 lovingly there il iisposslblo that Mr.
4 Lincoln Was not always responsible ior
what ho said or thought SO deep, 81
Intense, SO terrible, was bis melancholy
, I send you letter Of mine which wlll
hop you To see what moan. mann
tain that Nh. Lincoln was deeply re-
ligious mau At All times and places, in
spite Of bis transient doubts.
Soon after Mr. Lincoln was assassin
atod Mr. Holland came to my Office aud
made some inquiries about bin, stating
to me his purpose Of writing his life,
| freely told him what he asked, and
much more. He then asked me what
| thought about Mr. Lneolns religion,
meaning bis views Of Christianity. |
replied The less said the better. r.
Mr.. Holland has recorded my express
sion TO him see Hollands Life Of Linz
coin page 24l) cannot say what
Mr. Holland said to me- as that was
private II appears that he then went
and saw Mr.. Newton Batoman, Super
intendent Of Public Instruction in this
State 1t appears that Mr., Bateman
told Mr. Holland many things, If be is
correctly represented in Hollands Life
Of Lincoln, page 23G to 2Il, inclusive
| doubt whether Mr. Bateman said in
full what is recorded there. doubt q
great deal of it. i know the whole sto-
ry is untrue-untrue in substance--un-
true in fact and spirit As soon as the
Life of Lincoln" was out, on reading
that part here referred to, | instantly
sought Mr. Bateman, and found him
in his office. ! spoke to him politely
and kindly, and he spoke to me in the
same manner,
/ said to him substantially that Hol-
land in order to make Lincoln techni-
cal Christian, made him a hypocrite;-
and so his "Life Of Lincoln quite
plainly says. loved Lincoln, and was
mortified, if not angry, to see him made
a hypocrlte. / cannot now detail what
Bateman said, as it was a private CON
yersaton, and am forbidden TO make
use Of it in public II some good gem
tleman can only get the seal OF secresy
removed, can show what was said and
done. On my word the world may
take it for granted that Holland is
wrong-that he does not state Lincoln s
views correctly. Bateman, If correctly
represented in Hollands Life of Lin
coin, is the only man, the sole and on
ly man, who dare say that Lincoln be-
lieyed in Jesus rs the Christ Of God, as
the Christian world represents. This
is not u pleasant situation for Bateman,
| have notes and dates Of our conversa-
ton, and the world will sometime know
who Is truthful and who otherwise /
doubt whether Bateman is correctly
represented by Holland. My notes
bear date Dec. B. II and Is, 1866. -
Some of our conversations were IN the
spring of 1864 and the fall Of 1865.
l do not remember ever seeing the
words Jesus or Christ in print, as ut
tered by Mr.. Lincoln. II he has used
these words they can be found. He
used the word God but seldom. | new
en- heard him use the name OF Christ OF
Jesus but to confute the idea that He
was the Christ, the only and truly be-
gotten son of God, as the Christian
world understands it. The idea that
Mr.. Lincoln carried the New Testament
in his bosom or boots, to draw on his
opponent in debate, is ridiculous. II
Christianty cannot live without false
hood, the sooner it dies the better for
mankind Every great man that dies
--inhdel, pantblst theist, or atheist
is instantly dragged into the folds Of
the church, and transformed thro' false
hood into the great defender Of the
faith, unless his opinions are too well
known to allow it. Is Christianity il
dread or fear? What is the matter with
it? Is it sick, and does it dream Of its
doom? Would that il would shake it.
self free from It's follies, and still live
| till all mankind outgrow it j!
My dear sir, Inow have given you
my knowledge, speaking from my own
remembrance Of my own experience, oI
Mr. Lincoln 5 religious views. ! SPEAK
likewise from the evidences, carefully
gathered, Of his religious opinions,
likewise spoal from the ears and mouths
Of many in this city; and after all care
ful examination, ] declare TO your mum.
erous readers that sir. Lincoln is cor.
rectly represented here, so far as
know what truth is, and bow il should
be investigated.
w. III. HnNDoS