Lincoln's legislative career at Vandalia extended from 1834 to 1837. It was about the beginning of this period that he wrote his book against Christianity. He was thoroughly informed and enthusiastic in his Infidel views, and it is not to be wondered at that on theological questions, he was able to vanquish in debate even so eminent a theologian as Peter Cartwright. Ten years later, Lincoln was the Whig, and Cartwright the Democratic candidate for Congress. In this campaign a determined effort was made by the church to defeat Lincoln on account of his Infidelity. But his popularity, his reputation for honesty, his recognized ability, and his transcendent powers on the stump, carried him successfully through, and he was triumphantly elected. HON. D. W. WILDER. One of the most gifted and honorable of Western journalists is D. W. Wilder, of Kansas. He was Surveyor General of Kansas before it was admitted into the Union, and after it became a state, he held the office of State Auditor. Many years ago Gen. Wilder wrote and published an editorial on Lincoln's religious views in which he affirmed that Lincoln was a disbeliever in Christianity. The article excited the wrath of the clergy, among them the Rev. D. P. Mitchell, the leading Methodist divine of Kansas, who replied with much warmth, but without refuting the statements of Gen. Wilder. Some of my Western readers will recall the article and the controversy it provoked. I have been unable to procure a copy of it, but in its place I present the following extract from a letter received from Gen. Wilder, dated St. Joseph, Mo., Dec. 29, 1881: "Lincoln believed in God, but not in the divinity of Christ. At first, like Franklin, he was probably an Atheist. Although a 'forgiving' man himself, he did not believe that any amount of 'penitence' could affect the logical effects of violated law. He has a remarkable passage on that theme." Concerning Lincoln's partner, Mr. Herndon, with whom he was acquainted, Gen. Wilder says: "Write to Wm. H. Herndon, a noble man, Springfield, Ill. Send him your book ['Life of Paine']. He will reply. The stories told about him are lies." B. F. GARDNER, M.D. Dr. Gardner, an old and respected resident of Atlanta, Ill., in March, 1887, made the following statement in regard to Lincoln's views: "I knew Lincoln from 1854 up to the time he left Springfield. He was an Infidel. He did not change his belief. Herndon told the truth in his lecture. Lincoln did not believe that prayer moved God. When he requested the prayers of his neighbors on leaving Springfield for Washington, he saw that & storm was coming and that he must have the support of the church."