in and out from eight o’clock in the morning till four o’clock in the afternoon.  His body remained until twelve o’clock in the evening, many distinguished persons visiting it, when amid the booming of cannon, it moved on its way to Springfield, its final resting-place.  The death of the President was like an electric shock to my soul.  I could not feel convinced of his death until I gazed upon his remains, and heard the last roll of the muffled drum and the farewell boom of the cannon.  I was then convinced that though we were left to the tender mercies of God, we were without a leader.

    Gone, gone is our chieftain,
    The tried and the true;
    The grief of our nation the world never knew. 
    We mourn as a nation has never yet mourned;
    The foe to our freedom more deeply has scorned.

    In the height of his glory in manhood’s full prime,
    Our country’s preserver through 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