pious lady, who served in the capacity of a hospital nurse at Washington, and who sometimes visited the White House, testifies to Lincoln's belief in the efficacy of prayer. The incident narrated occurred while a battle was in progress. The report says:
"The possibility of defeat depressed him greatly; but the lady told him he must trust, and that he could at least pray. 'Yes,' said he, and taking up a Bible, he started for his room. Could all the people of the nation have overheard the earnest petition that went up from that inner chamber as it reached the ears of the nurse, they would have fallen upon their knees with tearful and reverential sympathy" (Anecdotes of Lincoln, p. 120).
WESTERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE.
Soon after the close of the war, the Western Chris-tian Advocate, the leading Christian journal of the West, published the following:
"On the day of the receipt of the capitulation of Lee, as we learn from a friend intimate with the late President Lincoln, the cabinet meeting was held an hour earlier than usual. Neither the President nor any member was able, for a time, to give utterance to his feelings. At the suggestion of Mr. Lincoln all dropped on their knees, and offered in silence and in tears their humble and heartfelt acknowledgment to the Almighty for the triumph he had granted to the national cause."
The above is quoted by Raymond and other biographers of Lincoln.
AN ILLINOIS CLERGYMAN.
In the "Lincoln Memorial Album" appears what is reported to be Lincoln's "Reply to an Illinois Clergyman:"
"When I left Springfield I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg, and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love Jesus" (L. M. A., p. 366).
REV. JOHN N. BARROWS.
In the "Lincoln Memorial Album," Dr. J. H. Barrows contributes an article on "The Religious Aspects of Abraham Lincoln's Career," from which I quote as follows:
"In the anxious uncertainties of the great war, he gradually rose to the hights where Jehovah became to him the sublimest of realities, the ruler of nations. When he wrote his immortal Proclamation, he invoked upon it not only 'the considerate judgment of mankind,' but 'the gracious favor of Almighty God.' When darkness gathered over the brave armies fighting for the nation's life, this strong man in the early morning knelt and wrestled in prayer with him who holds in his hand the fate of empires. When the clouds lifted above the carnage of Gettysburg, he gave his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. When he pronounced his matchless oration on the chief battlefield of the war, he gave expression to the resolve that 'this nation, under God, should have a new birth of freedom.' And when he wrote his last Inaugural Address, he gave to it the lofty religious tone of an old Hebrew psalm" (L. M. A., p. 508).
REV. FRANCIS VINTON, D.D.
This clergyman, a resident of New York, and a stranger to Lincoln, visited the White House in 1862, it is claimed, and indulged in an argument and exhortation, the effect of which was to convert the President to a belief in the Christian doctrine of the resurrection and the immortality of the soul. During the interview, Lincoln, it is reported, fell upon the neck of his clerical visitor and wept like a child.
Before retiring, Dr. Vinton said: "I have a sermon upon this subject which I think might interest you." "Mr. Lincoln," the report continues, "begged him to send it at an early day, thanking him repeatedly for his cheering and hopeful words. The sermon was sent, and read over and over by the President, who caused a copy to be made for his own private use before it was returned" (Anecdotes of Lincoln, pp. 107, 108).
BISHOP SIMPSON.
The most eminent Methodist divine of that period was Bishop Simpson. During the war his commanding influence and rare eloquence did much to secure for the Union cause the united support of Northern Methodists. Lincoln appreciated the services of the distinguished divine, and they became warm friends. When the remains of the President were conveyed to their final resting-place at Springfield, Bishop Simpson was selected to deliver the funeral oration. Alluding to the religious phase of Lincoln's character, he spoke as follows:
"As a ruler, I doubt if any President has ever shown such trust in God, or in public documents so frequently referred to divine aid. Often did he remark to friends and to delegations that his hope for our success rested in his conviction that God would bless our efforts because we were trying to do right" (Lincoln and Slavery, p. 673).
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY—HOLLAND AND BATEMAN.
Character of Holland's "Life of Lincoln"—The Bateman
Interview—Inconsistency and untruthfulness of its
statements—Holland's Subsequent Modification and Final
Abandonment of his original Claims.
In the preceding chapter has been presented the Christian side of this question. It has been presented fully and fairly. Even the Christian claimant must admit that it is the longest and most complete array of testimony that has yet been published in support of his claim. This evidence is explicit and apparently conclusive. To attempt its refutation may seem presumptuous. And yet, in the face of all this evidence, the writer does not hesitate to declare that Abraham Lincoln was not a Christian, and pledge himself to refute the statements of these witnesses by a volume of testimony that is irresistible and overwhelming.
Before introducing this testimony the evidence already adduced will be reviewed. This evidence may properly be grouped into three divisions: 1. The testimony of Holland and Bateman; 2. The testimony of Reed and his witnesses; 3. The testimony of Arnold and the miscellaneous evidence remaining.
Holland's "Life of Lincoln," from a literary point of view, is a work of more than ordinary merit. It possesses a beauty of diction and an intellectual vigor seldom surpassed; but as an authority it is unreliable. Like Weems's "Life of Washington," it is simply a biographical romance founded upon fact, but paying little regard to facts in presenting the details. Following the natural bent of Christian biographers, Holland parades the subject of his work as a model of Christian piety. He knew that this was false; for, while he was unacquainted with Lincoln, he had been apprised of his unbelief—had been repeatedly told of it before he wrote his biography. But this did not deter him from asserting the contrary. He knew that if he stated the facts the clergy would condemn his book. They needed the influence of Lincoln's great name to support their crumbling creed, and would have it at any sacrifice, particularly when its possession required no greater sacrifice than truth. Holland was equal to the emergency. When one of Lincoln's friends in Springfield suggested that the less said about his religious views the better, he promptly replied: "Oh, never mind; I'll fix that." And he did. With dramatic embellishments, he presented to the delight of the orthodox world the now famous, or rather infamous, Bateman interview.
The publication of this story produced a profound sensation among the personal friends of the dead President. It revealed to them the unpleasant fact, assuming Holland's account to be correct, either that Newton Bateman, who had hitherto borne the reputation of being a man of veracity, was an unscrupulous liar, or that Abraham Lincoln, whose reputation for honesty and candor, long anterior to 1860, had become proverbial, was a consummate hypocrite; and loath as they were to believe the former, they rejected with disdain the latter.
Referring to this story, Lamon, in his "Life of Lincoln," says:
"There is no dealing with Mr. Bateman except by a flat contradiction. Perhaps his memory was treacherous or his imagination led him astray, or, peradventure, he thought a fraud no harm if it gratified the strong desire of the public for proofs of Mr. Lincoln's orthodoxy" (Life of Lincoln, p. 501).
While Bateman undoubtedly misrepresented Lincoln in his account of their conversation—for it is not denied that he had