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Page 3
On several occasions Friends in larger or smaller groups went to
Washington for times of prayer and spiritual communion with the great
President. These times were deeply appreciated by the heavily burdened
man. Tears ran down his cheeks, we are told, as he sat bowed in solemn
silence or knelt as some moved Friend prayed for him to Almighty God.
Writing of the visit of Isaac and Sarah Harvey of Clinton County, Ohio,
in the autumn of 1862, Lincoln tenderly said: "May the Lord comfort them
as they have sustained me." A letter written by the President in 1862 to
Eliza P. Gurney, one of a small group of Friends who visited him and
prayed with him in the autumn of that year, reveals forcibly how he
regarded these occasions:
"I am glad of this interview, and glad to know that I have your
sympathy and prayers. We are indeed going through a great trial--a
fiery trial. In the very responsible position in which I happen to
be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly
Father, as I am, and as we all are, to work out his great purposes,
I have desired that all my works and acts may be according to his
will, and that it might be so, I have sought his aid; but if, after
endeavouring to do my best in the light which he affords me, I find
my efforts fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to
me, his will is otherwise. If I had had my way, this war would
never have been commenced. If I had been allowed my way, this war
would have been ended before this; but we find it still continues,
and we must believe that he permits it for some wise purpose of
his own, mysterious and unknown to us; and though with our limited
understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot
but believe that he who made the world still governs it."
Somewhat later President Lincoln wrote again to Eliza P. Gurney
requesting her to exercise her freedom to write to him as he felt the
need of spiritual help and reinforcement. Her letter of reply so closely
touched him and spoke to his condition that he carried it about with him
and it was found in his coat pocket at the time of his death, twenty
months after it was written. In the autumn of 1864, President Lincoln,
still impressed by the message which he had received, wrote a memorable
letter to Eliza P. Gurney. It was as follows:
"I have not forgotten--probably never shall forget--the very
impressive occasion when yourself and friends visited me on a
Sabbath forenoon two years ago. Nor has your kind letter, written
nearly a year later, ever been forgotten. In all it has been your
purpose to strengthen my reliance on God. I am much indebted to the
good Christian people of the country for their constant prayers and
consolations; and to no one of them more than to yourself. The
purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we
erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in advance. We
hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before
this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall yet
acknowledge his wisdom, and our own error therein. Meanwhile we
must work earnestly in the best lights he gives us, trusting that
so working still conduces to the great ends he ordains. Surely he
intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, which no
mortal could make, and no mortal could stay. Your people, the
Friends, have had, and are having, a very great trial. On principle
and faith opposed to both war and oppression, they can only
practically oppose oppression by war. In this dilemma some have
chosen one horn and some the other. For those appealing to me on
conscientious grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could
and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to the law. That you
believe this I doubt not; and, believing it, I shall still receive
for our country and myself your earnest prayers to our Father in
heaven."
It is, then, not surprising that President Lincoln was "moved with
sympathy" when he heard the story of Pringle's suffering for conscience,
or that he quietly said to the Secretary of War, "It is my urgent wish
that this Friend be released."
RUFUS M. JONES.
Haverford, Pa.,
December, 1917.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Nicolay and Hay: "Abraham Lincoln," Vol. VI, p. 328.
[2] Secretary Stanton endeavoured to provide that this commutation money
should be made into a fund for the care of freedmen. This suggestion
was, however, not adopted by Congress.
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