the skies were brightened, and universal peace was accepted by the nation as the reward of the terrible struggle in which we had been engaged. The opening of the The opening of the Mississippi; the brilliant victories of the Army of the Cumberland in 1863; the fall of the rebel cities upon the Atlantic coast before the triumphant march of Sherman; the surrender of Lee to Grant; and the occupation of Mobile by the gallant chieftain who is here in our presence to-day, not waiting for the intelligence that the last army of the rebellion had surrendered to the glorious Sherman, all justified the assumption that God had given this nation permanent, lasting, honorable, and glorious peace! But while we were preparing for the announcement by the officers of the Government, — always behind, in instincts and purposes of power, the people of the government, unexpectedly, in the twinkling of an eye, as if with the suddenness, strength, and power of God, — all of us lay low in sorrow, mourning and despair. I believe that never before in human history were a people so horrified as by the announcement of the death of the President, and the fall of his great assistant in council and action, the Secretary of State. We know not why it is, but we have the great consolation to say that we believe it is for good to our nation. Ay, for good to the man that has fallen as our representative. He had committed

no crimes. There is not a man on the continent or globe that will or can say that Abraham Lincoln was his enemy, or that he deserved punishment or death for his individual acts. No, Mr. President, it was because he represented us that he died; and it is for our good, and the glory of our nation, that God, in his inscrutable providence, has been pleased to do this, while, for the late President, it is the great crowning act and security of his career. To die is "to go home," - to go to our Father, and be relieved from sorrow, care, suffering, labor, and from danger; but to live,―ay, sir, to live is the great punishment inflicted upon

man. All that we can ask is to go when all things are ready, when duty is discharged, strength exhausted, and the triumph effected, - then it is our joy to go home to "Our Father." As has been beautifully said, sir,

"When faith is strong, and conscience clear,

And words of peace the spirit cheer,

And visioned glories then appear,

'Tis joy 'tis triumph, then, to die!"

God has given our great leader the privilege to go, under circumstances like this. He had lived his time, fought his fight, and, God be thanked! had kept the faith. Let me say it reverently, that for Abraham Lincoln to live was for Abraham Lincoln to fall! He had ascended to the highest point, the highest culmination of human destiny; to be better and greater and purer, he must leave us, and go to the bosom of God. He is enjoying the highest culmination of glory that God has given, in his wise and mysterious dispensation for the human family.

Sir, I had seen him but little, but that which I had seen, stamped upon my heart the indelible feeling that he was a rare man,—not a great or a successful man: many of both kinds have I seen; but he was a rare man, who believed in the power of ideas, and knew that human agencies were unable to control or direct them. In the dispensation of what men call "power," I have seen Mr. Lincoln give it to the right and left as if of no consequence at all; and, when reproached for so doing, I have heard him say, "What harm did this generous confidence in men do me?" I have seen, amidst the hours of trial, his manifestations of patience and confidence, more almost than human; until I had come to believe that that which is designed to be done would be accomplished, if not by human power, at least by the concurrent action and support and will of God.

Though taken from us, his influence is still here; and there is

not a man in this assembly to-day, who is not more impressed with his spirit and purpose than he would be if Abraham Lincoln were living at this hour; nor is there a man here to-day, who is not a disciple of him, and the agent of his works for evermore. We may, indeed, be assured that his great purpose- the Union, first of all-will be carried out. We might as well expect the Mississippi to turn back at its mouth, and seek again the mountain rivulets and springs, as to believe that human power is to sunder the States of the Union. Abraham Lincoln's wisdom and patriotism has led us as far as human effort can bring us; and now his blood cements for ever the holy Union of the States.

You know, fellow-citizens, how deeply he was interested in the destinies of Louisiana. No friend in your midst ever thought so much about or wished so much for your good as the late President of the United States; and it was among the first wishes of his heart, that the prosperity of its people, the liberty of all its races, and their elevation, should be perfected during his administration: or, as he said in one of his letters to me, "My word is out for these things, and I don't intend to turn back from it.” It is not for me to act or speak in the spirit of prophecy, but I can say to you, that I believe his wish will be consummated by the return of Louisiana to the Union, by the honor, freedom, and elevation of all classes of its people.

To the colored people of this assembly and State, as well as the Union, I can say, that the work in which he was engaged will go on, and that the day is not far distant when they will enjoy the freedom that God and the people have given them, and also be advanced to all the privileges that, under the Constitution of our country, or that of any other, God has deigned to bestow upon any class of people. But they must remember, that they have a work to do, and that while God is just to all his people, he requires that they shall be just to him. You shall be free, and invested with

all the privileges of which men are capable of wise and proper exercise, for Abraham Lincoln's word is out.

It is not my right to suggest a word of counsel or advice for the future; but I have the right to say, that there is one man who seeks your prayers and desires your counsel. It is he who has been recently inaugurated—unexpectedly and distrustfully, as we are told - President of these United States. Though a President has gone, we must sustain the President that remains. I look upon the State of Tennessee, from which he comes, as being the centre of the great arch of the Union: midway between the South and North, with the climate of the one and the other, its soil susceptible of producing the products of both sections, it calls for all the consideration that either section of the country can demand for its people. Its political character and structure have the same variety and connection with the destinies of our country, and for thirty years have been more closely contested in political struggles than any other State of the Union. Its vote has decided many issues, and great men have represented its interests and destinies; and it has given us two Presidents, whose administrations have been identified closely, not only with the existence, but with the extension and interest, of our country. Jackson, with his mailed arm, struck disunion down at its first appearance, and adapted the policy of the country to its need. Polk confirmed. the policy of Jackson, and extended the boundaries of our happy land until it reached from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. Among the great men of place, we have had Benton, Houston, Bell, Foster, and hundreds of others whose names are known, and who have been and are connected indissolubly with the happiness and liberty of our people. From amid these men, the new President has been called. Among them he has grown, and from their teachings has he been instructed. His life has been one of activity, energy, and integrity. Character is not made in

a day; it will never be forfeited in an hour. Our lamented President, if he could advise us, would counsel us to sustain the Government, and those left to take his place; and we are assured that the two great officers then at the head of the nation — a few days before the departure of the first and greatest- upon full consultation, found that they had perfectly concurrent views, and separated with the confidence that each wished the prosperity and success of the other. Let us then accept this day, its grief, and the lesson which it imparts, and be more than ever determined, in the presence of God, with the ability and power he has given us, to do our duty to our country, by maintaining its institutions and perpetuating its principles and liberties.