More people have gazed on the face of the departed than ever looked
upon the face of any other departed man. More have looked upon
the procession for 1600 miles or more - by night and by day -
by sunlight, dawn, twilight and by torchlight than ever before
watched the progress of a procession.
We ask why this wonderful morning - this great procession?
The great cause of the mourning is to be found in the man himself.
Mr. Lincoln was no ordinary man ...
In his domestic life he was exceedingly kind and affectionate....During
his presidential term he lost his second son Willie. To an officer
of the army he said not long since: "Do you ever find yourself
talking to the dead?" and added "Since Willie's death,
I catch myself every day involuntarily talking with him as if
he were with me." On his widow, who is unable to be here,
I need only invoke the blessing of the Almighty God that she may
be comforted and sustained. For his son who witnessed the exercises
of this hour, all that I can desire is that the mantle of his
father may fall upon him.
He made all men feel a sense of himself - a recognition of
individuality - a self-relying power. They saw in him a man who
they believed would do what is right, regardless of all consequences.
It was this moral feeling that gave him the greatest hold on the
people, and made his utterances almost oracular.
Taken From the Book Twenty Days
Last Updated: 07/04/99
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