He lived in days that were great and terrible, when brother fought against brother for what each sincerely deemed to be the right. In a contest so grim the strong men who alone can carry it through are rarely able to do justice to the deep convictions of those with whom they grapple in mortal strife. At such times men see through a glass darkly; to only the rarest and loftiest spirits is vouchsafed that clear vision which gradually comes to all, even to the lesser, as the struggle fades into distance, and wounds are forgotten, and peace creeps back to the hearts that were hurt. But to Lincoln was given this supreme vision. He did not hate the man from whom he differed. Weakness was as foreign as wickedness to his strong, gentle nature; but his courage was of a quality so high that it needed no bolstering of dark passion. He saw clearly that the same high qualities, the same courage, and willingness for self-sacrifice, and devotion to the right as it was given them to see the right, belonged both to the men of the North and to the men of the South. As the years roll by, and as all of us, wherever we dwell, grow to feel an equal pride in the valor and self-devotion, alike of the men who wore the blue and the men who wore the gray, so this whole Nation will grow to feel a peculiar sense of pride in the mightiest of the mighty men who mastered the mighty days; the lover of his country and of all mankind; the man whose blood was shed for the union of his people and for the freedom of a race, Abraham Lincoln. =To the Teacher=: These silent reading lessons differ radically in three particulars from the lessons found in the usual school reader and hence should be used to supplement the regular reading lessons rather than to replace them: 1. It is the aim of the series to provide material which is not easily accessible to most elementary school children, and yet which is of prime importance in extending their literary, geographical and historical horizons. 2. This series provides for the maximum of self-activity on the part of the pupil with the minimum of effort on the part of the teacher. Indeed, these lessons will produce results in inverse proportion to the activity displayed by the teacher. Let the pupils have this booklet in their hands; read it; complete the required work outlined on the lessons, and conduct the class discussions with as little interference by the teacher as possible.