clothed
with all the power belonging to his great office. No one had a
more sincere admiration of Mr. Seward's large qualities than the
President; no one more thoroughly appreciated his matchless powers.
But Mr. Lincoln had not only full trust in his own capacity, but
a deep sense of his own responsibility--a responsibility which
could not be transferred and for which he felt answerable to his
conscience and to God.

CHARACTER OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.

There has been discussion as to Mr. Lincoln's religious belief.
He was silent as to his own preference among creeds. Prejudice
against any particular denomination he did not entertain. Allied
all his life with Protestant Christianity, he thankfully availed
himself of the services of an eminent Catholic prelate--Archbishop
Hughes of New York--in a personal mission to England, of great
importance, at a crisis when the relations between the two countries
were disturbed and threatening. Throughout the whole period of
the war he constantly directed the attention of the nation to
dependence on God. It may indeed be doubted whether he omitted
this in a single state paper. In every message to Congress, in
eery proclamation to the people, he made it prominent. In July,
1863, after the battle of Gettysburg he called upon the people to
give thanks because "it had pleased Almighty God to hearken to the
supplications and prayers of an afflicted people and to vouchsafe
signal and effective victories to the Army and Navy of the United
States," and he asked the people "to render homage to the Divine
Majesty and to invoke the influence of his Holy Spirit to subdue
the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless and
cruel rebellion." On another occasion, recounting the blessings
which had come to the Union, he said, "No human counsel hath devised,
nor hath any mortal hand worked out, these great things. They are
the gracious gifts of the Most High God who, while dealing with us
in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy."
Throughout his entire official career,--attended at all times with
exacting duty and painful responsibility,--he never forgot his own
dependence, or the dependence of the people, upon a Higher Power.
In his last public address, delivered to an immense crowd assembled
at the White House on the 11th of April, to congratulate him on
the victories of the Union, the President, standing as he unco