The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-16

[ mOned MS family around him. de took
leave of each member of it separately and
then spoke for nearly half an hour with
/ great earnestness on the subject of religion,
/ closing with these words: "My dear chill
dren and friends and servants, l hope and
trust TO meet you all in heaven, both white
and black"
MORALS, IF NOT PIoUs.
As TO President Martin Van Buren's re-
ligious status his biograpbers are singularly
silent. They all say OF him, however, that
he was man OF irreproachable morality.
| President William Henry Harrison was of
| the old aristocratic stock of Virginia and an
| EplscOpalian. On sundry occasions he
placed himself upon record as man of
strong Christian conviction. He declined
to fight duel because, as he said, "a sense
Of higher obligations than human laws or
human opinions can impose" had deter
mined him never to do so.
President John Tyler was another of the
old Virginia school Of statesmen. and he,
! too, was an Episcopalian. Then came
President James K. Polk. He made no pro
| fessIon Of faith until he was stricken with
death On his way to his home in Nash
vile, Tenn, he was seized with the cholera
and rapidly sank. Before the end came he
received the rite of baptism at the hands
or Methodist clergyman. OF his
successor, President Zachary Taylor, moth
ing definite is said by his biographers, and
1t seems tolerably certain that he was not q
regular communicate of any church. His
wife was a devout Episcopalian, aud it
seems that be gave a general assent and
support to the same faith. He was, as is
well known, a thoroughly illiterRte man.
aud 1t was not likely that be ever troubled
his mind to inquire into the difference be-
tween the cTeeds Of the various religious
scots. Gen. Scott says Of him that "he had
a contempt for learning of every kind )" but
nevertheless had the true basis of a great
ri Tar tod
bined with indomitable courage"
w hen be came TO die, after brief sick
ness of only five days, he had no mlsgiviug,
but calmly said: ~ am not afraid to die
| am ready. l have endeavored to do my
duty" What more than this can any Chris
tiaa say9
President Willard Fillmore, who followed
him, was man OF unostentatious piety
de always showed great reverence for the
Bible. and by utilization, If not by actual
membership, was "a Baptist. His wife was
the daughter of a Baptist clergyman. Presi-
dent Franklin Pierce, who followed Fill
more, was communicate OF the Episcopal
church, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his
biography of him, says that he had "a wife
embracing sympathy for all forms of
Christian worship and reverence for indi-
vldual belief as a matter between the deity
and mans soul with which no other hos a
right TO Interfere
man Of reverent aud pure character. but
1t was not until after he had retired from
the presidency that he made formal pro-
fession of faith and became member of
the Presbyterian church.
LINCOLN's FAITH.
Now we come to President Lincoln, whom
Col. Ingersoll says held religious views akin
to those Of Voltaire. 1t is no doubt true
that he never at any time in his life was a
member of a church in good and regular
standing. Yet from his earliest youth and
all through his great career he is on record
as holding and expressing convictions which
are essentially Christian, tinged, perhaps,
with "a shade of spiritualism. Writing
about his fathers death, he affirmed his be-
lief that the broken family circle would be
reunited beyond the grave. he spoke often
and most reverently OF his CANCEL mother
Both his parents. by the way, were mem
bers of the Baptist church.
He never would touch Intoxicating liquor
and never was heard to use profane word
He believed in dreams and omens aud
thought his wife had the gift of prophecy
One dream that he had shortly after his
first nomination was interpreted by Mrs
Lincoln to mean thai he would be twice
elected but would not live through his sec
ond ternl-R prophecy that was sadly full
filled. Time and again he declared his be-
lief in che teachings Of the Bible and IN the
intervention of the Almighty in the affairs
Of nations as well as of individuals He
held that slavery was wrong, because Christ
and the New Testament taught liberty.
When he was leaving Springfield in
March. 1861 to take his seat as President,
he spoke TO his neighhors and said: "A
duty devolves upon me which i8 perhaps
greater than that which has devolVed upon
any other man since the days Of Washing
ton. He never would have succeeded ex-
| cept for the aid Of divine providence. upon
| ysyhT be Of oil I
cannot succeed without the same divine cid
| which sustained him. In the same Almighty
| Being place my reliance for support; and
l hope my friends Will all pray that | may
receive that divine assistance. without
which cannot succeed, but with which sue
cess is certain"
While one Of the great battles of the war
was in progress he retired to his room with
his Bible and was overheard PRAYING with
| As much earnestness and faith as the most
devoIt church member could show Yet
| on one occasion he is reported as saying
positively he was not a Christian, though
be wished be could be. To lady CON
nected with the Christian commission he
| frankly said, at a later day, that he hoped
he was Christian and that it was his In
tention at a suitable opportunity to make
public religious profession. He died, how
ever. without making it; but cIergymen of
nearly every denomination stood around
|
| which showed that they were certainly far
from classifying him with the great French
skeptic Voltaire.
| A BELIEVER, BUT PRoFANE.
| President Andrew johnson was at times
| fervidly pious. aud many of his speeches on
| occasions of great public excitement were
! freely embellished with references to the
deity and quotations from scripture. but If
| he ever was a member of any particular
denomination OF Christians his biographers
! do not say so. He seems to have had Meth
| odist earnings. On one occasion, while he
was governor of Tennessee he is reported
to have asked Col Moody, a Methodist
clergyman serving with the union army In
! that state, to pray with him. The chaplain
! prayed and Mr.. johnson said to him: II
don't want you to think that l have be-
! come a religious man because l ask you to
| pray. am sorry Co say it, but | am not
aud never pretended to be religious. But
! Moody, there is one thing ABOUT it. l do
believe in Almighty God and believe also
| in the Bible, aud say ID me if Nash
| vile shall be surrenderedn
This auecdote doubtless affords a fair in
| dex of President Johnsons religious char
! acter. He believed in God aud in prayer.
but made no formal declaration of his
| faith.
President Grant as is we'll known, was
! affiliated with the Methodist church He