,,abraham ,,lincoln4 ,a ,,memorial ,,discourse1 ,by ,rev4 ,t4 ,m4 ,eddy1 ,d4 ,d41 ,delivered at a ,union ,meeting1 held in the ,presbyterian ,church1 ,waukegan ,illinois1 ,wednesday1 ,april #ai1 #ahfe1 ,the day upon which the funeral services of the president were conducted in ,washington1 and observed throughout the loyal states as one of mourning4 ,published by request4 ,chicago3 ,printed at the ,methodist ,book ,depository4 ,charles ,philbrick1 ,printer4 #ahfe4 ,,correspondence4 ,waukegan1 ,april #ai1 #ahfe4 ,rev4 ,t4 ,m4 ,eddy1 ,d4 ,d43 ,the undersigned having listened with much interest and profit to your eloquent eulogy this day spoken before the citizens of this town1 upon the ,life and ,death of ,president ,lincoln1 unite in requesting a copy for publication4 ,we feel that much good would come to the community from a calm perusal of the thoughts so fitly uttered on the occasion4 ,h4 ,w4 ,blodgett1 ,d4 ,brewster1 ,c4 ,w4 ,upton1 ,w4 ,h4 ,p4 ,wright1 ,w4 ,j4 ,lucas1 ,c4 ,l4 ,wright1 ,c4 ,g4 ,buell1 ,m4 ,m4 ,biddlecew1 ,p4 ,w4 ,edwards1 ,a4 ,p4 ,yard1 ,b4 ,s4 ,kennicott1 ,wm4 ,c4 ,tiffany1 ,s4 ,s4 ,greenleaf1 ,r4 ,douglas1 ,joseph ,mallon1 ,james ,y4 ,cory4 ,editorial ,rooms1 ,northwestern ,christian ,advocate1 #ff ,washington ,street1 ,chicago1 ,april #bd1 #ahfe4 ,messrs4 ,blodgett1 ,upton and ,others3 ,gentlemen--,your note is before me4 ,you know the time for the preparation of that discourse was very brief4 ,you are also aware1 doubtless1 that though spoken from copious notes1 much of it was extemporized1 and that ,i cannot reproduce those passages4 ,but such as it is1 ,i place it in your hands1 as my humble tribute to the name and the virtues of our murdered ,president4 ,with much respect1 gentlemen1 ,yours truly1 ,t4 ,m4 ,eddy4 ,,memorial ,,discourse4 ,in the day of adversity consider4 ,it is the day of adversity4 ,a great grief throws its shadow over heart and hearth and home4 ,there is such a sorrow as this land never knew before2 agony such as never until now wrung the heart of the nation4 ,in mansion and cottage1 alike1 do the people bow themselves4 ,we have been through the ,red ,sea of war1 and across the weary1 desert marches of griefs and bereavements1 but heretofore we have felt that our leader was with us1 and believed that surely as ,moses was led by the pillar of cloud and of fire1 so did ,god lead him4 ,but now that leader is not4 ,slain1 slain by the hand of the assassin1 murdered beside his wife6 ,the costliest blood has been shed1 the clearest eye is closed1 the strongest arm is nerveless--the ,chief ,magistrate is no more4 ,the mighty man cries bitterly2 the day is a day of wrath1 a day of trouble and distress1 a day of wasteness and desolation1 a day of darkness and gloominess1 a day of clouds and thick darkness4 ,it is no mere official mourning which hangs its sad drapery everywhere4 ,it is not alone that a ,president of the ,republic is1 for the first time1 assassinated4 ,no2 there is a tender grief that characterizes the bereavement of a loved friend1 which shows there was something in this man which grappled him to men's hearts as with hooks of steel4 ,but mourning the death of the ,chief ,magistrate1 it becomes us to review the elements of his career as a ruler1 which have so endeared him to loyal hearts4 ,if ,i were to sketch the model statesman1 ,i would say he must have mental breadth and clearness1 incorruptible integrity1 strength of will1 tireless patience1 humanity1 preserved from demoralizing weakness by conscientious reverence for law1 ardent love of country1 and1 regulating all1 a commanding sense of responsibility to ,god1 the ,judge of all4 ,these1 though wrapped in seeming rustic garb1 were found in ,abraham ,lincoln4 ,he had mental breadth and clearness4 ,in spite of a defective early education1 he became a self-taught thinker1 and later in life he read widely and meditated profoundly1 until he acquired a thorough mental discipline4 ,he possessed the power to comprehend a subject at once in the aggregate and in its details4 ,his eye swept a wide horizon and descried clearly all within its circumference4 ,he was a keen logician1 whose apt manner of putting things made him more than a match for practiced diplomatists and wily marplots4 ,these were men of might about his council-board1 scholars and statesmen1 but none arose to his altitude1 much less was either his master4 ,that very facetiousness sometimes critcised1 kept him from becoming morbid1 and gave healthfulness to his opinions1 free alike from fever and paralysis4 ,that his was incorruptible integrity1 no man dare question4 ,he was not merely above reproach1 but eminently above suspicion4 ,purity is receptive4 ,blessed are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god1 is as profound in philosophy as comprehensive in theology4 ,purity in the realm of moral decision and motive1 is a skylight to the soul1 through which truth comes direct4 ,abraham ,lincoln was so pure in motive and purpose1 looked so intensely after the right that he might pursue it1 that he saw clearly where many walked in mist4 ,without developing the characteristics of the ideal statesman analytically1 let us see how they were manifest in his administration4 ,it began amid the rockings of rebellion4 ,a servile predecessor1 deplorably weak1 if not criminal1 had permitted treason to be freely mouthed in the national capitol1 treasonable action to be taken by ,state authorities1 and armed treason to resist and defy federal authority1 and environ with bristling works the forts and flag of the ,union4 ,at such a juncture1 ,mr4 ,lincoln1 then barely escaping assassination1 was inaugurated4 ,as was right1 he made all proper efforts for conciliation1 tendered the olive-branch1 proposed such changes as existing laws1 and even of the ,constitution1 as should secure ,southern rights from the adverse legislation of a sectional majority4 ,all was refused1 and traitors said1 ,we will not live with you4 ,though you sign a blank sheet and leave us to fill it with our own conditions1 we will not abide with you4 ,refusing peace1 war was commenced1 not by the ,president1 but by secessionists4 ,war has been waged on a scale of astounding vastness for four years1 and ,mr4 ,lincoln falls as the day of victory dawns4 ,his claim to the character of a great statesman is to be estimated in view of the fiery ordeal which tried him1 and not by the gauge of peaceful days4 ,in addition to the most powerful armed rebellion ever organized1 he was confronted by a skillful1 able1 persistent1 well compacted partisan opposition4 ,he was to harmonize sectional feelings as antagonistic as ,massachusetts and ,kentucky1 and to rally to one flag generals as widely apart in sentiment and policy as ,phelps and ,fitz ,john ,porter4 ,that under such difficulties he sometimes erred in judgment and occasionally failed in execution1 is not strange1 for he was a man1 but that he erred so seldom1 and that he so admirably retrieved his mistakes1 shows that he was more by far than an ordinary man2 more by far than an average statesman4 ,standing where we do today1 we feel that he was divinely appointed for the crisis2 that he was chosen to be the ,moses of our pilgrimage1 albeit1 he was to die at ,pisgah and be buried against ,beth-,peor1 while a ,joshua should be commissioned to lead us into the land of promise4 ,in studying the administration of these four eventful years1 it seems to me there were four grand landmarks of principle governing him1 ever visible to the eye of the ,president1 by which he steadily made his way4 ,i4 ,,the ,,union ,,is ,,incapable ,,of ,,division4 ,in his first ,inaugural1 he said3 ,i hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the ,constitution1 the ,union of these ,states is perpetual4 ,in his reply to ,fernando ,wood1 then ,mayor of ,new ,york1 he said1 ,there is nothing that could ever bring me willingly to consent to the destruction of the ,union4 ,by this rule he walked4 ,the ,union was one for all time1 and there was no authority for its division lodged anywhere4 ,he would use no force1 would exercise no authority not needed for this purpose4 ,but what force was needed1 whether moral or physical1 should be employed4 ,hence the call for troops4 ,hence the marching armies of the ,republic1 and the thunder of cannon at the gates of ,vicksburg1 ,charleston and ,richmond4 ,hence the suspension of the habeas corpus1 the seizure and occasional imprisonment of treason-shriekers and sympathizers1 for which he has been denounced as a tyrant by journals1 which1 slandering him while living1 have the effrontery to put on the semblance of grief and throw lying emblems of mourning to the wind6 ,for the exercise of that authority1 he went for trial to the ,american people1 and they triumphantly sustained him4 ,,ii4 ,the second grand regulating idea of his administration may be best stated in his own words3 ,,government ,,of ,,the ,,people ,,by ,,the ,,people1 ,,for ,,the ,,people4 ,he conceded the people to be the ,government4 ,their will was above the opinion of secretaries and generals4 ,he recognized their right to dictate the policy of the administration4 ,their majesty was ever before him as an actual presence4 ,on the #aath of ,february1 #ahfa1 he said1 in ,indianapolis1 ,of the people when they rise in mass in behalf of the ,union and the liberties of their country1 it may be said1 ',the gates of hell shall not prevail against them1' and again1 ,i appeal to you to constantly bear in mind that with you1 and not with politicians1 not with the ,president1 not with office-seekers1 but with you rests the question1 ,shall the ,union and shall the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generation8 ,again1 on that memorable journey to ,washington1 he said1 ,it is with you1 the people1 to advance the great cause of the ,union and the ,constitution4 ,i am sure ,i bring a true heart to the work4 ,for the ability to perform it1 ,i must trust in that ,supreme ,being who has never foresaken this favored land1 through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people4 ,in his first ,inaugural he said3 ,this country1 with its institutions1 belongs to the people who inhabit it4 ,the ,chief ,magistrate derives all his authority from the people4 ,why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people8 ,is there any better or any equal hope in the world8 ,these sentences were utterances of a faith within him4 ,in the people he had faith4 ,he saw them only lower than the ,king of kings1 and they were to be trusted and obeyed4 ,yet this man who thus trusted and honored the people1 who so reverenced their authority1 and bowed before their majesty1 has been called tyrant1 usurper1 by men who now would make the world forget their infamy by putting on badges of woe1 and who seek to wash out the record of their slander by such tears as crocodiles shed6 ,out upon the miserable dissemblers6 ,when the people had spoken1 he bowed to their mandate4 ,when it became necessary to anticipate their decision1 he did so1 calmly trusting their integrity and intelligence4 ,he considered their wishes in the constitution of his cabinet1 in the choice of military commanders1 in the appointment of ,chief ,justice of the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states1 and in the measures he recommended to ,congress4 ,the people proved worthy of the trust4 ,they promptly took every loan asked for the relief of the treasury and sustained the national credit4 ,they answered all his calls for men4 ,they sprang into the ranks1 shouting ,we are coming1 ,father ,abraham4 ,they cheerfully laid down life at his word4 ,so far from this conflict proving a republic unfit to make war1 or that for its prosecution there must be intensely centralized authority1 it has demonstrated that a democracy trusted1 is mightier than a dictatorship4 ,,iii4 ,his third towering landmark was ,,the ,,right ,,of ,,all ,,men ,,to ,,freedom4 ,and here with his practical sense and acute vision he rose to a higher1 and ,i think a healthier1 elevation than that of many heroic antislavery leaders4 ,they were anti-slavery4 ,their lives were spent in attack4 ,they sought to destroy a system2 they told its wrongs and categoried its iniquities4 ,he knew that light1 let in1 will cast out darkness1 and that kindled warmth will drive out cold4 ,he knew that freedom was better than slavery1 and that when men see that it is so1 they will decree freedom instead of slavery4 ,he therefore entered the lists ,,for ,,freedom4 ,he spoke of its inestimable blessings1 and then unrolling the immortal ,declaration of ,independence claimed that1 with all its dignity and all its endowments1 liberty is the birthright of ,,all ,,men4 ,he taught the ,american people that the inalienable right of all men to liberty was the first utterance of the young ,republic1 and that her voice must be stifled so long as slavery lives4 ,in his ,ottawa speech he said3 ,henry ,clay--my beau-ideal of a statesman--the man for whom ,i fought all my humble life1 once said of a class of men who would repress all tendencies to liberty and ultimate emancipation1 that they must1 if they would do this1 go back to the era of our independence and muzzle the cannon which thunders its annual joyous return2 they must blow out the moral lights around us1 they must penetrate the human soul and eradicate there the love of liberty1 and then1 and not till then1 could they perpetuate slavery in this country4 ,he laid his spear in rest and went forth with armor on1 the champion of freedom4 ,he claimed she should walk the world everywhere1 untrammeled and free to bless the lowest as well as the highest4 ,it was not right and never could be made right1 to forbid working lawfully that all men might be free4 ,slavery debased--freedom lifted up4 ,slavery corrupted1 freedom purified4 ,freedom might be abused1 but slavery was itself a colossal abuse4 ,he was no dreaming visionary1 but stated with commanding clearness the doctrine of equality before the law1 or political equality1 distinguishing it from social equality4 ,in old ,independence ,hall1 in #ahfa1 he said of the ,colonies3 ,i have often enquired of myself what great principle or idea it was that kept this confederacy so long together4 ,it was not the mere matter of the separation of the ,colonies from the mother land1 but the sentiment in the ,declaration of ,independence which gave liberty1 not alone to the people of this country1 but ,i hope to the world for all future time4 ,it was that which gave promise that in due time the weight should be lifted from the shoulders of all men4 ,he held that instrument to teach that nothing stamped with the ,divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on1 degraded and imbruted by its fellows4 ,we search vainly for a clearer and terser statement of the true theory of equality than he gave last autumn in an address to a ,western regiment4 ,we have1 as all will agree1 a free government1 where every man has a right to be equal with every other man4 ,has a right to be6 ,take the fetters from his limbs1 take the load of disability from his shoulders1 give him room in the arena1 and then if he cannot succeed with others1 the failure is his4 ,but he has the right ,,to ,,try4 ,you have no right to forbid the trial4 ,if he will try for wealth1 fame1 political position1 he has the right4 ,let him exercise it and enjoy what he lawfully wins4 ,with such views he came to the presidency4 ,here he was an executive officer1 bound by the ,constitution1 and charged with its maintenance and defense4 ,he was to take the nation as the people placed it in his hands1 rule it under the ,constitution and surrender it unbroken to his successor4 ,accordingly he made to the ,southern ,states all conceivable propositions for peace4 ,slavery should be left without federal interference4 ,they madly rejected all4 ,war came4 ,he saw at the outset that slavery was our bane4 ,it confronted each regiment1 perplexed each commander4 ,it was the ,southern commisariat1 dug ,southern trenches and piled ,southern breastworks4 ,but certain ,border ,states maintained a quasi loyalty and clung to slavery4 ,they were in sympathy with rebellion1 but wore the semblance of allegiance and with consequential airs assumed to dictate the policy of the ,president4 ,he was greatly embarrassed4 ,he made them every kind and conciliatory offer1 but all was refused4 ,slavery on the gulf and on the border1 in ,charleston and in ,louisville1 was the same intolerant1 incurable enemy of the ,union4 ,he struck it at last4 ,the ,proclamation of ,emancipation came1 followed in due time by the recommendation that the ,constitution be so amended as forever to render slavery impossible in ,state or ,territory4 ,for these acts1 he was arraigned before the ,american people on the #hth of last ,november1 and received their emphatic approval4 ,in a letter written to a citizen of ,kentucky1 the ,president gave an exposition of his policy so transparent1 that ,i reproduce it in this place4 ,it is his sufficient explanation and vindication4 ,executive ,mansion1 ,washington1 ,april #d1 #ahfd4 ,a4 ,g4 ,hodges1 ,esq41 ,frankfort1 ,ky4 ,my ,dear ,sir3--,you ask me to put in writing the substance of what ,i verbally stated the other day1 in your presence1 to ,governor ,bramlette and ,senator ,dixon4 ,it was about as follows3 ,i am naturally anti-slavery4 ,if slavery is not wrong nothing is wrong4 ,i cannot remember when ,i did not so think and feel2 and yet ,i have never understood that the ,presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right to act officially in this judgment and feeling4 ,it was in the oath ,i took that ,i would to the best of my ability preserve1 protect and defend the ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 ,i could not take the office without taking the oath4 ,nor was it in my view that ,i might take the oath to get power1 and break the oath in using the power4 ,i understood1 too1 that in ordinary civil administration this oath even forbade me to practically indulge my primary abstract judgment on the moral question of slavery4 ,i had publicly declared this many times and in many ways2 and ,i aver that1 to this day ,i have done no official act in mere deference to my abstract judgment and feeling on slavery4 ,i did understand1 however1 that my oath to preserve the ,constitution to the best of my ability imposed upon me the duty of preserving1 by every indispensable means1 that government1 that nation1 of which that ,constitution was the organic law4 ,was it possible to lose the nation1 and yet preserve the ,constitution8 ,by general law1 life and limb must be protected2 yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life1 but a life is never wisely given to save a limb4 ,i felt that measures1 otherwise unconstitutional1 might become lawful by becoming indispensable to the preservation of the ,constitution through the preservation of the nation4 ,right or wrong1 ,i assumed this ground1 and now avow it4 ,i could not feel that to the best of my ability ,i had even tried to preserve the ,constitution1 if1 to save slavery1 or any minor matter1 ,i should permit the wreck of government1 country1 and ,constitution altogether4 ,when1 early in the war1 ,general ,fremont attempted military emancipation1 ,i forbade it1 because ,i did not then think it an indispensable necessity4 ,when1 a little later1 ,general ,cameron1 then ,secretary of ,war1 suggested the arming of the blacks1 ,i objected1 because ,i did not yet think it an indispensable necessity4 ,when1 still later1 ,general ,hunter attempted military emancipation1 ,i forbade it1 because ,i did not yet think the indispensable necessity had come4 ,when1 in ,march and ,may and ,july1 #ahfb1 ,i made earnest and successive appeals to the ,border ,states to favor compensated emancipation1 ,i believed the indispensable necessity for military emancipation and arming the blacks would come1 unless averted by that measure4 ,they declined the proposition2 and ,i was1 in my best judgment1 driven to the alternative of either surrendering the ,union1 and with it the ,constitution1 or of laying strong hand upon the colored element4 ,i chose the latter4 ,in choosing it1 ,i hoped for greater gain than loss2 but of this ,i was not entirely confident4 ,more than a year of trial now shows no loss by it in our foreign relations1 none in our home popular sentiment1 none in our white military force--no loss by it anyhow or anywhere4 ,on the contrary1 it shows a gain of quite a hundred and thirty thousand soldiers1 seamen1 and laborers4 ,these are palpable facts1 about which1 as facts1 there can be no caviling4 ,we have the men2 and we could not have had them without the measure4 ,and now let any ,union man who complains of the measure test himself by writing down in one line that he is for subduing the rebellion by force of arms2 and in the next1 that he is for taking three one8 hundred and thirty thousand men from the ,union side1 and placing them where they would be but for the measure he condemns4 ,if he cannot face his case so stated1 it is only because he cannot face the truth4 ,i add a word which was not in the verbal conversation4 ,in telling this tale1 ,i attempt no compliment to my own sagacity4 ,i claim not to have controlled events1 but confess plainly that events have controlled me4 ,now1 at the end of three years' struggle1 the nation's condition is not what either party or any man desired or expected4 ,god alone can claim it4 ,whither it is tending seems plain4 ,if ,god now wills the removal of a great wrong1 and wills also that we of the ,north1 as well as you of the ,south1 shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong1 impartial history will find therein new causes to attest and revere the justice and goodness of ,god4 ,yours truly1 ,a4 ,lincoln4 ,he struck slavery because slavery had clutched the throat of the ,republic1 and one of the twain must die6 ,mr4 ,lincoln said1 ,,let ,,it ,,be ,,slavery6 ,christianity1 declaring the brotherhood of race1 redemption and retribution answered1 ,so be it6 ,the ,bible1 sealed by slave-codes to four millions for whom its truths were designed1 answered ,amen6 ,the gospel long fettered by the slave-master's will1 and instead of an evangel of freedom made to proclaim a message of bondage1 lifted up its voice in thanksgiving4 ,marriage1 long dishonored1 put on its robes of purity1 and its ring of perpetual covenant1 and answered ,amen1 and from above1 ,god's strong angels and six-winged cherubim1 bending earthward1 shouted their response to the edict of the ,great ,emancipator6 ,,iv4 ,the next controlling idea was ,,profound ,,religious ,,dependence4 ,as a public man1 he set ,god before his eyes1 and did reverence to the ,most ,high4 ,it was deeply a touching scene as he stood upon the platform of the car which was to carry him from his ,springfield home1 and tearfully asked his neighbors and old friends that they should remember him in their prayers4 ,amid tears and sobs they answered ,we will pray for you4 ,again and again has he publicly invoked ,divine aid1 and asked to be remembered in the prayers of the people4 ,his second ,inaugural seems rather the tender pastoral of a white-haired bishop than a political manifesto4 ,what were his person relations to his ,god1 ,i know not4 ,we are not in all things able to judge him by our personal standard4 ,how much etiquette may be demanded1 how much may have been yielded to the tyranny of custom we cannot tell4 ,in public life he was spotless in integrity and dependent upon ,divine aid4 ,he had made no public consecration to ,god in church covenant1 but we may not enter the sanctuary of his inner life4 ,he constantly read the holy oracles1 and recognized their claim to be the inspired ,scriptures4 ,he felt that religious responsibility when he set forth the ,proclamation of ,emancipation closing with the sublime sentence3 ,and upon this act1 sincerely believed to be an act of justice1 warranted by the ,constitution1 on military necessity1 ,i invoke the considerable judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of ,almighty ,god4 ,in one of the gloomy hours of the struggle he said to a delegation of clergymen3 ,my hope of success in this great and terrible struggle rests on that immutable foundation1 the justice and goodness of ,god4 ,and when events are very threatening1 and prospects very dark1 ,i still hope1 in some way which men cannot see1 all will be well in the end1 because our cause is just and ,god is on our side4 ,if1 as the executive officer of the nation he erred1 it was in excessive tenderness in dealing with criminals4 ,unsuspecting and pure1 he could not credit unmixed guilt in others1 and with difficulty could he bring himself to suffer condign punishment to be inflicted4 ,there were times when he was inflexible4 ,in vain did wealth and position plead for ,gardner1 the slave-captain4 ,as vainly did they for ,beall and ,johnson4 ,if he was lenient it was the error of amiableness4 ,in reviewing the administration of ,abraham ,lincoln1 we see in him another of those ,providentially called and directed leaders who have been raised up in great crises4 ,his name stands on the roll with those of ,moses and ,joshua1 and ,william of ,orange1 and ,washington4 ,not only did ,providence raise him up1 but it divinely vindicated his dealings with slavery4 ,as emancipation was honored1 did the pillar of flame light our hosts on to victory6 ,in the dawning morn of peace and ,union has this leader been slain4 ,when the nation thought it most needed him1 has he been basely butchered6 ,as the ship which had been rocking in the waves and bowing before the storm was reaching the harbor1 a pirate1 who sailed with the passengers1 basely stole on deck and shot the pilot at the wheel6 ,the assassin has been held in abhorrence among all people and in all ages4 ,here was a foul plot to destroy at one swoop the ,president1 the officers eligible to the succession1 the ,cabinet1 the ,lieutenant- ,general1 and no doubt the loyal ,governors of the ,states4 ,that the scheme was successful only in part1 ,god be praised4 ,never has an assassination produced so terrible a shock4 ,for-- ,he had borne his faculties so meek1 had been ,so clear in his great office1 that his virtues ,do plead like angels1 trumpet-tongued1 against ,the deep damnation of his taking off4 ,he fell1 and the whole land mourns4 ,secession smote him in her impotent death-rage1 but the ,state lives on6 ,the reins which dropped from his nerveless hand another grasped1 and the nation lives4 ,no revolution comes4 ,no war of rival dynasties6 ,the constitutional successor is in the chief seat of power1 and how much secession has taken by this new crime remains to be seen4 ,fellow-citizens1 there are some duties which press upon us in this hour4 #a4 ,we must anew commit ourselves to the work of suppressing rebellion and re-enthroning the majesty of the ,union and ,constitution4 ,mr4 ,lincoln lived until the nation's flag had waved in triumph over every important ,southern city2 until the proud ,southern aristocracy had thrown itself at the feet of its slaves1 and with frantic outcries implored salvation at their hands2 had lived to walk through ,richmond1 and be hailed by its dusky freedmen as their deliverer2 had lived until he received the report of the surrender of ,lee's grand army1 and then he was slain4 ,we must complete the work4 ,onward1 until it be wrought4 ,we believe it will be soon1 but were it a hundred years it must be accomplished6 #b4 ,we must complete the destruction of slavery4 ,added to its long catalogue of crimes1 it has now slain the ,lord's ,anointed1 the man whom he made strong6 ,now as ,,the ,,eternal liveth1 it must die6 ,by the agonies it has caused1 by the uncoffined graves it has filled1 by the tears it has wrung from pure women and little children1 by our sons and brothers starved to death in its mined prisons1 by our beloved ,chief ,magistrate murdered1 by all these do we this day swear unto the ,,lord that slavery ,,shall ,,die and that he would save it shall politically die with it6 #c4 ,this day1 as funeral rites are being said1 and sobs are coming up from a smitten household and bereaved people1 before the ,lord do we solemnly demand that justice be done in the land upon evil-doers1 that blood-guiltiness may be taken away1 and that men shall not dare repeat such crimes4 ,when treason slew ,abraham ,lincoln1 it slew the pardoning power1 and by its own act placed authority in the hands of one of sterner mold and fiery soul--one deeply wronged by its atrocities4 ,now let it receive the reward of its own hands6 ,this is the demand of mercy as well as justice1 that after generations may see the expiation of treason is too costly for its commission4 ,mercy to the many demands the punishment of the guilty4 ,the assassin of the ,chief ,magistrate must be found4 ,though all seas must be crossed1 all mountains ascended1 all valleys traversed1 he must be found6 ,if he hide him under the mane of the ,british lion1 beneath the paw of the ,russian bear or among the lilies of ,france1 he must be found and plucked thence for punishment6 ,if there be no extradition treaty1 then the strong hands of our power must make one4 ,he was a tragedian4 ,had he never read-- ,if the assassination ,could trammel up the consequences and catch ,with this surcease1 success2 that but this blow ,might be the be-all and the end-all here1 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,we'd jump the life to come4 ,but in these cases ,we still have judgment here4 ,we but teach ,bloody inventions1 which1 being taught1 return ,to plague the inventors4 ,thus even-handed justice ,commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice ,to our own lips4 ,we are told that he excelled in the part of ,richard ,,iii4 ,did he not remember the tent scene-- ,my conscience hath a thousand several tongues1 ,and every tongue brings in a several tale1 ,and every tale condemns me for a villain-- ,perjury1 perjury1 in the highest degree1 ,murder1 stern murder1 in the darkest degree2 ,all several sins1 all used in each degree1 ,throng to the bar1 crying all--,guilty6 guilty6 ,i shall despair4 ,there is no creature loves me2 ,and1 if ,i die1 no soul will pity me4 ,he has murdered the ,lord's ,anointed1 and vengeance shall pursue him4 ,tell me not1 in deprecation of this sentiment ,vengeance is mine1 ,i will repay saith the ,lord4 ,human justice has its work and must follow the assassin1 if need be1 to the very gates of hell6 ,it is ,god's edict that he who causelessly takes any human life1 ,by men shall his blood be shed--how much more when it is such a life6 ,,fn#a ,,fn#a ,since the ,,ms4 of this discourse was given the printer1 the assassin has met his retribution4 ,hunted like a wild beast to his lair1 he was surrounded by his pursuers1 forsaken by his accomplice1 the barn to which he had fled fired1 then shot to death1 lingering several hours in intense suffering and his remains consigned to impenetrable obscurity4 ,retribution came to him before his victim was buried4 ,so be it ever6 ,his accomplices are known and must be punished4 ,a morning journal1 which has been somehow retained in the interest of wrong1 of home-traitors1 of misrule1 has already impliedly put in the plea of insanity for the assassin4 ,the same journal runs a parallel between him and ,john ,brown4 ,well1 ,virginia executed ,john ,brown--its own precedent is fatal to its own client6 ,let justice be done on the leaders of rebellion4 ,have done with the miserable cant of curing those perjured conspirators with kindness4 ,libby ,prison mined under ,federal captives1 the starved skeletons of our slowly murdered kinsmen1 the grave of ,lincoln1 and the gaping wounds of ,seward are your answer4 ,it must be taught men for all time that treason is1 in this life1 unpardonable6 ,it is all crimes in one4 ,in this case it is without the glitter of seeming chivalry for its relief4 ,it has had nothing knightly4 ,it has conspired to starve prisoners1 has plotted conflagrations which were to consume1 in one dread holocaust1 the venerable matron1 the gray-haired sire and the mother with her babe2 has resorted to poison1 the knife of the cut- throat and the pistol of the assassin4 ,no treason was ever so repulsively foul1 so reekingly corrupt4 ,for its great leaders1 the block and the halter2 for its chieftains1 military and civic1 of the second class1 perpetual banishment with confiscation of their goods1 for all who have volunteered to fight against the ,union perpetual disfranchisement--these are the demands of a long-suffering people4 ,the case of treason-sympathizers among us is one of grave moment4 ,it is hard to bear their sneers and patiently to listen to their covert treason4 ,it is a question whether the limit of toleration has not been passed4 ,the era of assassination has been commenced4 ,be sure that any man who will excuse an assassin1 will himself do foul murder when he can shoot from behind a hedge1 or strike a victim in the back4 ,it is matter of self-defence to cast such from our midst4 ,let us have no violence1 no lawlessness1 but such persons must be persuaded to depart from us4 ,they are gentlemen4 ,booth was courtly in speech and mien4 ,have they been ,state officers8 ,so was ,walsh1 whose house was a disunion arsenal4 ,the time has come when we cannot permit men in sympathy with armed rebellion1 which employs the assassin1 to dwell in our midst4 ,abraham ,lincoln is no more4 ,his work is done4 ,we may not comprehend the mystery which permitted his removal at such an hour1 in such a way4 ,god hideth himself wondrously1 and sometimes seems to stand afar from ,his truth and ,his cause when most needed4 ,our leader is gone4 ,his work is finished1 and it may be that his ,providential mission was fully accomplished4 ,his memory is imperishably fragrant4 ,,washington--,,lincoln6 ,who shall say which name shall shine brighter in the firmament of the historic future6 ,he is dead6 ,in the ,presidential ,mansion are being said words of solemn admonition and godly counsel4 ,in a few hours his remains will be on their way to sleep in their ,illinois grave6 ,dead6 ,how is the strong staff broken and the beautiful rod6 ,pray devoutly for the smitten widow and fatherless children of our ,chief ,magistrate4 ,they are sorely stricken and ,god alone can heal them4 ,to them it is not the loss of the ,chief ,magistrate that makes this hour so sad1 but that they have no more a husband or a father6 ,and now that there has been sorrow in all the land1 and the death- angel in all its homes1 from the humblest to the highest1 is not our expiation well-nigh wrought1 and will not our ,father have compassion upon us8 ,let us devoutly pray the ,king of nations to guide our nation through its remaining struggle6 ,it may be ,he means to show us that ,he alone is the ,savior6 ,let us implore ,divine guidance upon ,mr4 ,lincoln's successor1 ,andrew ,johnson1 ,president of the ,united ,states4 ,he was faithful amid the faithless4 ,he was true to the ,union when few in his section had for it aught but curses4 ,pray for him4 ,he comes to power at a critical time and needs wisdom from above4 ,confide in him4 ,he will surely rise above the one error which temporarily drew him down4 ,he is only hated by traitors1 and when they hate1 it is safe for loyal men to trust4 ,by and by we may understand all this4 ,now it passes comprehension1 but we have seen so many manifestations of ,god's supervising agency when we least looked for it1 that we may safely trust ,him4 ,he means to save us4 ,nay1 blessed be ,his name1 ,he has saved us6 ,his grand purposes will go forward4 ,the wrath of man shall praise ,him1 and the remainder of wrath will ,he restrain4 ,remember1 and take heart as you remember1 the ringing line of ,whittier4 ,god's errands never fail4 ,he who rides upon the whirlwind and directs the storm1 is neither dead nor sleeping1 and ,he is a ,god who never compromises with wrong1 and never abdicates ,his throne4