h darkest of time;
A merciful being, whose kindness all shared
Shown mercy to others. Why was he not spared?

The lover of Justice, the friend of the slave,
He struck at oppression and made it a grave;
He spoke for our bond-men, and chains from them fell,
By making them soldiers they served our land well.

Because he had spoken from sea unto sea
Glad tidings go heavenward, our country is free,
And angels I'm thinking looked down from above,
With sweet smiles approving his great works of love.

His name with the honor forever will live,
And time to his laurels new lustre will give;
He lived so unselfish, so loyal and true,
That his deeds will shine brighter at every view.

Then honor and cherish the name of the brave,
The champion of freedom, the friend to the slave,
The far-sighted statesman who saw a fair end,
When north land and south land one flag shall defend.

Rest, rest, fallen chieftain, thy labors are o'er,
For thee mourns a nation as never before;
Farewell honored chieftain whom millions adore,
Farewell gentle spirit, whom heaven has won.

SISTER LOST--MOTHER'S ESCAPE

In two or three weeks after the body of the President was carried
through, my sister made her escape, but by some means we entirely
lost trace of her. We heard she was in a free State. In three months
my mother also escaped. She rose quite early in the morning, took my
little brother, and arrived at my place of service in the afternoon. I
was much surprised, and asked my mother how she came there. She could
scarcely tell me for weeping, but I soon found out the mystery. After
so many long years and so many attempts, for this was her seventh, she
at last succeeded, and we were now all free. My mother had been a
slave for more than forty-three years, and liberty was very sweet to
her. The sound of freedom was music in our ears; the air was pure and
fragrant; the genial rays of the glorious sun burst forth with a new
lustre upon us, and all creation resounded in responses of praise to
the author and creator of him who proclaimed life and freedom to the
slave. I was overjoyed with my personal freedom, but the joy at my
mother's escape was greater than anything I had ever known. It was a
joy that reaches beyond the tide and anchors in the harbor of eternal
rest. While in oppression, this eternal life-preserver had continually
wafted her toward t