When Lincoln Died
When Lincoln died a universal grief
Went round the earth. Men loved him in that hour.
The North her leader lost, the South her friend;
The nation lost its savior, and the slave
Lost his deliverer, the most of all.
Oh, there was sorrow mid the humble poor
When Lincoln died!
When Lincoln died a great soul passed from earth,
A great white soul, as tender as a child
And yet as iron willed as Hercules.
In him were strength and gentleness so mixed
That each upheld the other. He possessed
The patient firmness of a loving heart.
In power he out-kinged emperors, and yet
His mercy was as boundless as his power.
And he was jovial, laughter loving; still
His heart was ever torn with suffering.
There was divine compassion in the man,
A godlike love and pity for his race.
The world saw the full measure of that love
When Lincoln died.
When Lincoln died a type was lost to men.
The earth has had her conquerors and kings
And many of the common great. Through all
She only had one Lincoln. There is none
Like him in all the annals of the past.
He was a growth of our new soil, a child
Of our new time, a symbol of the race
That freedom breeds; was of the lowest rank,
And yet he scaled the highest height.
Mankind one of its few immortals lost
When Lincoln died.
When Lincoln died it seemed a providence,
For he appeared as one sent for a work
Whom, when that work was done, God summoned home.
He led a splendid fight for liberty,
And when the shackles fell the land was saved;
He laid his armor by and sought his rest.
A glory sent from heaven covered him
When Lincoln died.
A STUDY OF LINCOLN
From painting by Blendon Campbell
Amos Russell Wells was born at Glens Falls, New York, December 23, 1862. His mother removed to Yellow Springs, Ohio, when he was four years old, and he received his education at the public school there, afterward studying at Antioch College of that town, a college made illustrious by its first President, Horace Mann, who died there. Graduated in 1883, all by himself, later receiving as Master of Arts, also LL.D. He taught for a year in a country district school, then entered the faculty of his Alma Mater, where he was a tutor for nine years. Was professor of Greek, Geology and Astronomy. He joined the Christian Endeavor Society in 1888, and by it was led to become a member of the Presbyterian Church at Yellow Springs. When but a boy he began to write, and edited numerous journals. Later edited an amateur paper, also a town paper. His first paid contribution was a poem accepted in 1881 by The Christian Union, now The Outlook. Wrote articles often for The Golden Rule, now The Christian Endeavor World, and for the Sunday School Times.
In December, 1891, he went to Boston and became managing editor of The Golden Rule, a position which he still holds. Since then the paper has changed its name and three other papers added—The Junior Christian Endeavor World, Junior Work and Union Work, all edited by Mr. Wells. He is also Editorial Secretary of the United Society of Christian Endeavor and in editorial charge of all its publications.
Mr. Wells' first book, then entitled Golden Rule Meditations, but now The Upward Look, was published in 1893. Since then every year has seen from one to ten additions to his list of productions until they now number fifty-eight volumes in all. He is a director of the Union Rescue Mission and of the Chinese Mission of Boston. Is a member of the American Sunday-School Lesson Committee, an important part of his work being his association with Dr. F. N. Peloubet in writing the well-known Select Notes on the International Sunday-School Lessons.