Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-03-08

him. He listened with close atten-
ton and fearful interest. At the close
of the meeting, he said to me with
tears: This has been a good mce.ing.
am grateful for the prayers that have
been offered and | sincerely hope they
may be answered
On Feb IL, 81 Mr.. Lincoln left his
home in Springfield. Just before the
cars started, he uncovered his head
and made that short speech which
thrilled the hearts ofthe nation. Stand
ing by his side, | heard him ask for
the prayers of the people.
| saw him again in April, '62, in the
White House. Willie Lincoln, his
son, fine lad, had just died. At that
time, l learned more about bis spiritual
experience than ever before. He asked
me to 60 to ride with him on Thursday
afternoon. We talked about the bat
tie of Shiloh which had just taken
place. His wife said that on Sunday
night, when the issue was uncertain,
he walked his room all night, unable
to sleep. / said to him: Mr.. Lin
coin, the Christian people of the land
are praying for you, as they never
prayed for any one before He said /:
That is an encouraging thought; if L
were not sustained by the prayers of
the people, l could not endure the pres
sure that is upon me- | said: DO
you think we shall succeed p He said:
II believe our cause is lust; / believe
that we shall conquer in the end. l
should be very glad to take my neck
out of the yoke, and go back to my
old home and my old life at Springfield.
But it has pleased Almighty God to
place me in this position; and looking
up to him for support Imust discharge
my destiny as best l cam
L was confident that, even if he were
not a Christian, he was acting like one,
was doing his duty, looking up to
God for help, reading his Bible, believ-
ing in prayer, and praying.
Mrs. Lincoln said that he finishe d
his inaugural address on the day of
the Inauguration, and read it to- his
family. Then he wished to be left
alone. She took the children, and
went to an adjoining room and there,
like Daniel, surrounded by enemies,
he committed his family, his country,
and himself, to the protecting care of
God and he came out from that retire
ment ready for his duty.
A word as to his going to the thea
ter on the fatal night. 1t has been
said that Mrs. Lincoln urged him to go.
This is not true. She urged him not
to 60. But he said that he must have
rest He did not pay attention to the
play. He was weary and he was
overjoyed that the war was over, and
that the people would stop killing each
other. He said to Mrs. Lincoln: If |
live through this term of office, we will
take journey. We will 60 to the
Holy Land l want to find some place
where Jesus walked ; and | will walk
in the same pathway; there is no city
that | do want to see so much as Jeru-
salem At this point. the bullet of the
assassin entered his brain.
A word as to Mrs. Lincoln. She
was DEVOTED wife, a loving mother,
sincere friend. After the death of her
little boy, she found her only consola-
tion in visiting the Union Hospital
and carving flowers to the wounded
soldiers, from the conservatory.
At the close of the address, of
which the above is but fragment, and
which was heard with deep and tender
interest,
Bro. J. o. Critchlow said that at the
time of Mr.. Lincoln's going to Rich
mond, after the capture, was in one
of the hospitals before Richmond.
Mr.. Lincoln came to the front of the
hospital, were we were standing. He
said: Boys, / want to shake hands
with you There was one man who
had lost his right arm. Mr.. Lincoln
said to him in a tone that none but a
good man could use: May God bless
you There was a colored man, who
doubted whether he ought to shake
hands with the President of the Uni
ted States so he stood little back.
Mr.. Lincoln saw him and said i want
to shake hands with you, too, and he
took him also by the hand.
On Motion of Bro. r. M. Luther,
seconded by William Cathcart, D. D. it
was unanimously
Resolved, That we have heard, with pro-
found interest, the lecture of our esteemed
brother n. w. Miner, d. D. entitled Personal
"reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln The lee
t1ra haS hpiohtpued tna eSti mate (which was al
ready exalted) of the character of the great
American Statesman and patriot, who was, we
believe, raised up by God for great crisis, and
who met the crisis with unsurpassed wisdom
and selfforgetful patriotism. Especially have
we been gratifed with the view DR.. Miner, as
the result of prolonged personal acquaintance,
is able to give of the moral and religious char
acter of the martyred President. We hearth
ly commend the Lecture to our brethren every
where.
PATS PLEDGE.-Gough tells this
story about an Irishman to whom a
physician said
Tim, this won't do you must take
warning from the fate of your friend,
O'Shaughnessy. Only three nights
ago he came home much soberer than
you are, but in attempting to blow out
the candle his breath took fire and he
blew up-so his friends in
three days have not been able to scrape
enough of him together to hold wake
over
And do you mean to tell me that he
bust up said Tim.
Indeed, l do, upon my honor
Tim said no wou1d take the nj ndpp