killed Abraham Lincoln; it was the embodied spirit of treason and
slavery, inspired with fearful and despairing hate, that struck him down
in the moment of the nation's supremest joy.

Sir, there are times in the history of men and nations when they stand
so near the veil that separates mortals from immortals, time from
eternity, and men from God that they can almost hear the beatings and
pulsations of the heart of the Infinite. Through such a time has this
nation passed.

When two hundred and fifty thousand brave spirits passed from the field
of honor, through that thin veil, to the presence of God, and when at
last its parting folds admitted the martyr President to the company of
those dead heroes of the Republic, the nation stood so near the veil
that the whispers of God were heard by the children of men. Awe-stricken
by his voice, the American people knelt in tearful reverence and made a
solemn covenant with Him and with each other that this nation should be
saved from its enemies, that all its glories should be restored, and, on
the ruins of slavery and treason, the temples of freedom and justice
should be built, and should survive forever.

It remains for us, consecrated by that great event and under a covenant
with God, to keep that faith, to go forward in the great work until it
shall be completed. Following the lead of that great man, and obeying
the high behests of God, let us remember that:

"He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on."

LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION[44]

JOHN HAY

I thank you, Mr. Chairman; I thank you, gentlemen--all of you--for your
too generous and amiable welcome. I esteem it a great privilege to meet
so many representatives of an estate which, more than any other, at this
hour controls the world. It is my daily duty in Washington to confer
with the able and distinguished representatives of civilized sovereigns
and states. But we are all aware that the days of personal government
are gone forever; that behind us, and behind the rulers we represent,
there stands the vast, irresistible power of public opinion, which in
the last resort must decide all the questions we discuss, and whose
judgment is final. In your persons I greet the organs and exponents of
that tremendous powe