Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-02-13

and her firm conviction that his con-
duct of the war was Gods method OF
Wiping out the curse of slavery"
His first and second inaugural, his
Cooper Union speech, his Gettysburg
address, will live if all other words he
ever uttered be forgotten. In these nc
thought or trace of humor can be
found. but instead a simplicity, direct
ness, and dignity comparable to the
solemn grandeur of psalm. Indeed
it is more than probable that Lincoln's
style was drawn from his constant
reading and re-reading of the Bible
I When he had little or nothing else tC
read he studied the English Bible
Later, when great libraries were with
in easy reach, he still devoted unnum-
bered hours to thoughtful search of the
Scriptures. He read until the grandest
passages became a part of himself He
saw the problems of life with such
words as these ever ringing in his
ears: THE Heavens declare the glory
of God, and the armament sheWeth his
handiwork;" or, Lord, Thou hast been
our dwelling place in all generations
Before the mountains were brought
forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the
earth and the world, even from ever
lasting to everlasting, Thou art God,
Is there not much of the same
grandeur and universal feeling in the
closing sentences of the Gettysburg
address, when he says;
THAT we here highly resolve that
these dead shall not have died in vain.
That this Nation, under God, shall
have a new birth of Freedom, and that
government of the people, by the
people, and for the people, shall not
perish from the earth"
Brief as was his dedicatory address
(26S words in ally, it is considered a
masterpiece of English prose. Oxford
University, creator of England's ideals
for thousand years, has it cast in
bronze and placed where it may serve
as model for England's future
statesmen and scholars.
Edward Everett, whose polished
oratory had been the pride Of the ma
ton for three decades, gave the
principal address at Gettysburg. His
eloquence swayed the multitudes. At
the close of the exercises Mr.. Lincoln
warmly congratulated Mr.. Everett for
the mastery address. Everett replied,
"Mr. President. gladly would I e:1-
change my entire hundred pages to
have been the author of Our twenty
lines"
A few years ago, just after a visit to
the Lincoln Tomb at Springfield, / was
expressing to a friend my regret that
there would be no direct descendants
by the name of Lincoln. / called at
tention to the fact that Mr.. Lincoln's
only living son had lost his only son.
MY friend replied that perhaps it were
better so, for no descendants could
have added luster to the name, and
many might have dimmed it. Thus,
instead of a few scattered individuals
his name, the reunited
States are all his heirs, and they, with
their constantly increasing millions.
will forever give thanks that they have
inherited the blessings resulting from
the life and work Of Lincoln.
To summarize: Nations live in his
tory through the greatness of some
individual representative. The one
who most completely represents the
very essence of the American Republic
is Abraham Lincoln. He staAds first
1Or the perpetulty VI Inc oiioN. I1e
also stands for all the world as the
ideal of Democracy and Universal
Brotherhood. His enemies unite with
his friends in recognizing his great
ness He emerged from obscurity. and
will be represented by no descendants.
So there he stands, alone, appearing
for brief time to perform the great
task which came to him. then taken
away, leaving his work and personality
as a legacy to the ages.