ay, February 11, 1861, Mr. Lincoln and family in company with a
party left Springfield, Illinois, for Washington, D. C. A light rain
mixed with snow was falling at the time which made the occasion a
somewhat gloomy one. Mr. Lincoln appeared on the rear platform of the
car where he bade farewell to his neighbors in the following address:

"My friends, no one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I
feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have
lived more than a quarter of a century. Here my children were born,
and here one of them lies buried.

"I know not how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves upon me
which is greater, perhaps, than that which has devolved upon any other
man since the days of Washington. He never would have succeeded except
for the aid of divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied.

"I feel that I cannot succeed without the same divine aid which
sustained him; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for
support, and I hope you, my friends, will pray that I may receive the
divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which
success is certain. Again, I bid you an affectionate farewell."

Mr. Lincoln thought that there is a time to joke and pray; and if, as
his detractors affirm, he joked all the way to Washington, if he did
not pray also (as we believe he did, and fervently, too) he at least
desired the prayers of others, as the circumstances recorded in the
following poem will show. It is from the pen of a lady of
Philadelphia, Mrs. Anna Bache.

LINCOLN AT SPRINGFIELD, 1861

"My friends,--elected by your choice,
From the long-cherished home I go,
Endeared by Heaven-permitted joys,
Sacred by Heaven-permitted woe,
I go, to take the helm of State,
While loud the waves of faction roar,
And by His aid, supremely great,
Upon whose will all tempests wait,
I hope to steer the bark to shore.
Not since the days when Washington
To battle led our patriots on,
Have clouds so dark above us met,
Have dangers dire so close beset.
And _he_ had never saved the land
By deeds in human wisdom planned,
But that with Christian faith he sought
Guidance and blessing, whe