His  farewell  to  his  friends  at  Springfield  as  he
left  to  go  to  Washington  shows  as  does  nothing
else  the  new  spirit  of  his  life.  As  with  the
friends  of  the  Apostle  Paul  at  Miletus,  many
of  them  "wept  sore,  . .  .  sorrowing  most  of  all
for  the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should
see  his  face  no  more."   To  them  he  said :

My  Friends:  No  one  not  in  my  situation  can  appre-
ciate my  feeling  of  sadness  at  this  parting.  To  this
place,  and  the  kindness  of  these  people,  I  owe  every-
thing. Here  I  have  lived  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and
have  passed  from  a  young  to  an  old  man.  Here  my
children  have  been  born,  and  one  is  buried.  I  now
leave,  not  knowing  when  or  whether  I  may  ever  return,
with  a  task  before  me  greater  than  that  which  rested
upon  Washington.  Without  the  assistance  of  that
Divine  Being  who  ever  attended  him  I  cannot  succeed.
With  that  assistemce  I  caimot  fail.  Trusting  in  him,
who  can  go  with  me  and  remain  with  you,  and  be  every-
where for  good,  let  us  confidently  hope  that  all  will  yet
be  well.  To  his  care  commending  you,  as  I  hope  in
your  prayers  you  will  conmaend  me,  I  bid  you  an  afi'ec-
tionate  farewell.
68        ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  HIS  STORY

From  that  day  a  new  life  begins  for  him —
the  life  of  a  devoted  Christian.  "I  have  been
driven  many  times  to  my  knees,"  he  later
wrote,  "because  I  had  nowhere  else  to  go."

Again  he  declared:

I  would  be  the  veriest  blockhead  if  I  thought  I  could
get  through  with  a  single  day's  business  without  relying
upon  Him  who  doeth  all  things  well.
