The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-02-08
LINCOLN NOT AN INFIDEL,

This is no less a skepJical than a
utilitarian age. Nobody is so good or
pure as 10 be above adverse and unjust
criticism, no memory or record so
sacred as 10 escape defamation. While
IL cannot be denied that Abraham az
one time il his life sold whisky for a
livelihood, the effort now being made,
in certain quarters. TO have him a dis
believer in an ali wise God. maker and
ruler OF the universe, will fail and fall
for want Of fact. Lincoln not only be-
lieved in an overriding Providence, but
in the Christ Of the Christian. No one
who has viewed his character in its
true light. or ever carefully studied the
story of the martyred presidents life
can arrive at any other conclusion He
was the very human embodiment of
the reverential WorShipper Of the Di-
vine. His lifelong observance of
Christian teachings, the piety which
found expression in his public papers,
his constant reliance on the more than
human" during all the vicissitudes of
war, to say nothing of the expression
made by him in the hours of personal
bereavement, leaves him standing a
true Christian, or a hypOcrite. while
not a single utterance or act of his en-
tire life, otherwise, was anything but
deep earnestness. His famed jokes
were but pithy parallels pointing a
moral or emphasizing a fact. In his
parting address TO his Springfield
neighbors, when leaving for Washing
ton, he said:
Washington would never have sue
ceeded except for the aid of Divine
Providence, upon which he a all times
relied. l feel that l cannot succeed
without the same Divine blessing
which sustained him; and on the same
Almighty Being l place my reliance
for support. And / hope you, my
friends, will all pray that 1 may re-
ceive that Divine assistance, without
which l cannot succeed, but with
which success IS certain.
General Daniel E. Sickles and Gen
eral James f. Rushing tell in almost
the same words of an interview they
held with President Lincoln on the first
Sunday after Gettysburg. Sickles had
asked the president whether he had not
felt anxiety during the Gettysburg
campaign. Mr. Lincoln gravely re
piled, no, he had not; that some of his
cabinet had, but he himself had no
fears. General Sickles seemed curious
about the matter, and inquired why it
was he felt no anxiety in so grave a
crisis. The president with some hest
tatiOn, finally replied:
Well, Will tell you how it was in
the pinch OF your campaign out there,
when everybody seemed panic stricken,
oppressed by the gravity of our affairs,
l went into my room one day and lock-
ed the door and got down on my knees
before Almighty God and prayed to
Him nightly for success at GettyS-
burg. / told Him this was HIS war
and our cause His cause, but that We
couldn't stand another Fredericksburg
or Chancellorsviile. And / then and
there made a solemn VOW 10 God that
II He would stand by our boys at
Gettysburg 1 would stand by Him.
And He did. and 1 will. And after
that-I don't know how Il was and 1
can't explain tt-but soon a sweet com
fort crept into my soul that things
would go all right at Gettysburg, and
that is why L had no fears about you.
The president asked both generals
not to repeat the conversation. lest
people might laugh, you know" and it
was only after long years, when Mr..
Lincoln was charged, as he occasion
ally is even yet, with infidelity, IL not
with atheism, that they told that re-
markable story of Lincoln's abiding
faith in prayer and trust in God.
Only a year before his assassination,
Lincoln wrote, in letter to his life
long friend, Joshua Speed: Il am
engaged reading the Bible.
Take all of this book upon reason that
you can, and the balance on faith, and
you will live and die better man."
Either Abraham Lincoln was a con-
summate hypocrite or u devout Chris
tan man. We doubt IL the man has
yet been born who has ventured to &C
cuse him Of hypocrisy.