Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-01-28
Abraham Lincoln, the Lawyer, as Pastor

Abraham Lincoln, The Lawyer, as Pastor.
On q certain occasion, when visit
ling Capt. Gilbert j. Greene, a life
long friend of Lincoln (writes DIR.
Ferdinand @. Iglehart, in his new
book, The Speaking Oak) / said :
"Captain, what do you think of
Lincoln's religion? There is evil
dence which satisfies me that he was
a thoroughly religious man, and a
Christian" He answered: aYou
are correct in your opinion. AT one
time in his life he was an unbeliever,
and through life he held some relig-
ious views peculiar to himself, but in
the cardinal doctrines of Christianity
he was sound. One night he said to
me, then boy about nineteen, call
ing me by my first name, colbert,
you have TO stand at your printers
case all day and l have to sit all day,
let us take a walk As we walked
on the country road out of Spring
field, he turned his eyes to the
heavens full of stars, and told me
their names and their distance from
us and the swiftness of their motion.
He said the ancients used to arrange
them so as to make monsters, SER
pents, animals of one kind or another
out of them, but said he, Il never
behold them that / do not feel that
am looking in the face of God. i
can see how it might be possible for
man to look down upon the earth
and be an atheist, but cannot con-
ceive how he could look up into the
heavens and say there is no God.'
The information and inspiration re-
ceived that night during the walk I
shall never forget.
"To my certain knowledge Lincoln
was a faithful student of the Bi .e.
There was copy of the New Testa-
ment with flexible cover which laid
on his table. I often took it in my
hands and examined it. 1t was
worn almost through with the rail
splitter's fingers. He once recited
to me Christ's Sermon on the Mount
without making mistake. He said
to me more than once that he con-
sidered Paul's sermon on Mars Hill
the ablest and most eloquent literary
production ever spoken by mortal
lip, or recorded by human pen.
zone day he said to me, Gilbert,
there is woman dangerously sick
living fifteen miles out in the coun-
try, who has sent for me to come
and write her will I should like to
have you go along with me; would
enjoy your company, and the trip
would be little recreation for YOU
cheerfully accepted the invitation.
We found the woman worse than
we expected. She had only a few
hours to live. When Lincoln had
written the will and it had been
signed and witnessed, the woman
said to him: Now l have my affairs
for this world arranged satisfactorily.
am thankful to say, that long be-
fore this I have made preparation for
the other life l am so soon to enter.
l sought and found Christ as my
Saviour, VINO has been my stay and
comfort through the years and is
now near to me to carry me over
the river of death. / do not fear
DEATH Lincoln said to her,
your faith in Christ is wise and
strong, your hope of future life is
blessed. You are to be congratu-
lated on passing through this life so
usefully and into the future so hap
ply She asked him if he would
not read a few verses out of the
Bible to her. They offered him the
Book; he did not take it, but began
reciting from memory the Twenty
third Psalm. Then, without the
Book, he 'took up the first part of
the 18th of John. After he had
given these and other quotations
from the Scriptures he recited seve-
raj hymns, closing with 'Rock of
Ages, Cleft for Me- thought at the
time l had never heard any elocu-
zionist speak with such ease or power
as he did. Isam an old man now.