by its impressiveness away from all thought of jars and turmoil of earth.  In that mild, pleasant voice, attuned to harmony with his surroundings, as was his wont when his soul was stirred by aught that was lovely or beautiful, Mr. Lincoln began to speak of the mystery which for ages enshrouded and shut out those distant worlds above us from our own; of the poetry and beauty which was seen and felt by seers of old when they contemplated Orion and Arcturus as they wheeled, seemingly around the earth, in their nightly course; of the discoveries since the invention of the telescope, which had thrown a flood of light and knowledge on what before was incomprehensible and mysterious; of the wonderful computations of scientists who had measured the miles of seemingly endless space which separated the planets in our solar system from our central sun, and our sun from other suns.  He speculated on the possibilities of knowledge which an increased power of the lens would give in the years to come.  When the night air became too chilling to remain longer on the piazza we went into the parlor.  Seated on the sofa, his long limbs stretching across the carpet and his arms folded behind him, Mr. Lincoln went on to speak of other discoveries, of the inventions which had been made during the long cycles of time lying between the present and those early days when the sons of Adam began to make use of material things about them and invent instruments of various kinds in brass and gold and silver.  He gave us a short but succinct account of all the inventions referred to in the Old Testament, from the time when Adam walked in the garden of Eden until the Bible record ended, 600 B.C.  I said, ’Mr. Lincoln, I did not know you were such a Bible student.’  He replied:  ’I must be honest, Mrs. Judd, and tell you just how I come to know so much about these early inventions.’  He then went on to say that in discussing with some friend the relative age of the discovery and use of the precious metals he went to the Bible to satisfy himself and became so interested in his researches that he made memoranda of the different discoveries and inventions.  Soon after, he was invited to lecture before some literary society, I think in Bloomington.  The interest he had felt in the study convinced him that the subject would interest others, and he therefore prepared and delivered his lecture on The Age of Different Inventions.  ‘Of course,’ he added, ’I could not after that forget the order or time of such discoveries and inventions.’”

In all the years that had passed since Lincoln left his father’s humble house, he had preserved an affectionate interest in the welfare of its various members.  He paid them visits whenever he could find opportunity, and never failed to extend his aid and sympathy whenever needed.  He had risen to success in his profession, was widely known throughout his section, and though still a poor man he had good prospects and considerable influence.  Yet he