The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-02-18

-aFe coZs % co1-a-ora-a We
IVY APPRECIATE Tie relation OF abra-
Tan Lincoln bozh 70 or race snd 70
II EaoIe people Of The United STATES.
and yeE re belfeFe IN him as the fore
l1oss- American patriarch and states
nan and perhaps the greatest char
setsr and most maguanfmous urest.
dent Fho ever controlled the desunies
OF the American nation.
When the neEs *enr forth. ~Presi-
dent Lincoln Is assasstqased. q wild
tEenor Of strange emotion was felt
all over the land, II was 5 II the
Noon had all At once disappeared from
the sky. and the people stared into
the great void darkenett by the sud
+ den absence OF the familiar light.
! It vas e period o. dzrk gloom and
foreboding. when the fuue-al train.
bearing the corpse of the martyr
president, started from washington on
It's long tourney 10 Springfield. The
nation stood. with bowed head in
wondering suspense Along the route
OF cities. towns and hamlets. uncount-
ed thousands OF men. women and chill
dren assembled 10 see ii pass. The
funeral train with draped engine.
and coaches, and attendant escorts in
the habilaments Of deepest mourning
slowly wends It's way. Sorrow and
deep distress fl all hearts. for it
bears the body OF Abraham Lincoln,
and the hopes and safety OF the ma
ton are imperiled.
But there they stood. multitude
Unreasonable 10 the eye. rich and
poor. white and black, old and young.
in grave I'd mournful silence. to bid
2 last sad farewell to him who was
being borne 10 his fnal resting place.
And every breeze from every point OF
the compass came loaded with a sigh
OF sorrow. Indeed. there was not
city CT town IN this great republic
which would not have surrounded that
mourning train With the same spec
tacle Of profound sense OF great
bereavement.
Was II love: was It gratitude for the
services rendered 10 the people; was
II the baffled expectation Of create
service still 70 come: was it adulira-
rion OF his talents or his virtues that
inspired SO general an emotion OF sor-
row2 Who can tell?
He stood aloof from the multitude.
the friendship OF his heart had heen
given TO but few. and 10 the many he
appeared distant, cold and selt-sa--
isfed.
His public life had been full Of bit
ter conflicts. No man had aroused
against himself fercer animosities.
No statesmans motives, qualities of
heart and mind. wisdom and character
had been the subject Of more heated
controversy; and yet when death
snatched him from the nation friend
and foe bowed their heads alike.
Every patriotic citizen felt poorer
than before. Every true American
heart uembled with the apprehension
that the republic must now go down
TO dire defeat
Even from far distant lands. across
the ocean. voices came, mingling their
sympathetic grief with our OWL.
He is embalmed in song. recorded
in history eulogized in panegyric.
cast in bronze. sculptured in marble
painted on canvass. enshrined in the
hearts Of his countrymen. and lives in
the memories OF mankind
The American people take pride in
saving that almost all their great his
toric characters were self-made. who.
without the advantages OF wealth and
early opportunities. won their educa-
ton. raised themselves to usefulness
and distinction. and achieved their
greatness through rugged hand-to-
hand struggle with adverse fortune.
And it is natural that the American
people should be proud of such ca
reer, for it condenses in the compass
of single life the splendid story of