el organization called "Wide Awakes," which
had its origin in Hartford, Conn. There were rail fence songs,
rail-splitting on wagons in processions, and the building of fences by
the torch-light marching clubs.

The triumphant election of Mr. Lincoln took place in November, 1860.
On the 11th of February, 1861, he bade farewell to his neighbors, and
as the train slowly left the depot his sad face was forever lost to
the friends who gathered that morning to bid him God speed. The people
along the route flocked at the stations to see him and hear his words.
At all points he was greeted as the President of the people, and such
he proved to be. Mr. Lincoln reached Washington on the morning of the
23rd of February, and on the 4th of March was inaugurated President.
Through four years of terrible war his guiding star was justice and
mercy. He was sometimes censured by officers of the army for granting
pardons to deserters and others, but he could not resist an appeal for
the life of a soldier. He was the friend of the soldiers, and felt and
acted toward them like a father. Even workingmen could write him
letters of encouragement and receive appreciative words in reply.

When the immortal Proclamation of Emancipation was issued, the whole
world applauded, and slavery received its deathblow. The terrible
strain of anxiety and responsibility borne by Mr. Lincoln during the
war had worn him away to a marked degree, but that God who was with
him throughout the struggle permitted him to live, and by his masterly
efforts and unceasing vigilance pilot the ship of state back into the
haven of peace.

On the 14th of April, 1865, after a day of unusual cheerfulness in
those troublous times, and seeking relaxation from his cares, the
President, accompanied by his wife and a few intimate friends, went to
Ford's Theater, on Tenth Street, N. W. There the foul assassin, J.
Wilkes Booth, awaited his coming and at twenty minutes past ten
o'clock, just as the third act of "Our American Cousin" was about to
commence, fired the shot that took the life of Abraham Lincoln. The
bleeding President was carried to a house across the street, No. 516,
where he died at twenty-two minutes past seven the next morning. The
body was taken to the White House and, after lying in state in the
East Room and at the Capitol, left Washington on the 21st of April,
stopping at various places en route, and finally arriving at
Springfield on the 3rd of May. On the foll