These words of Lincoln in his farewell speech requesting the prayers of his friends, though used merely in a conventional way, have been cited by Holland, Arnold, and others, to prove that he believed in the efficacy of prayer. That no such import was attached to them at the time is admitted by Holland himself. He says: "This parting address was telegraphed to every part of the country, and was strangely misinterpreted. So little was the man's character understood that his simple and earnest request that his neighbors should pray for him was received by many as an evidence both of his weakness and his hypocrisy. No President had ever before asked the people, in a public address, to pray for him. It sounded like the cant of the conventicle to ears unaccustomed to the language of piety from the lips of politicians. The request was tossed about as a joke--'old Abe's last'" (Holland's Life of Lincoln, p. 254). HON. J. K. VANDEMARK. J. K. Vandemark, who formerly resided near Springfield, Ill., and who was well acquainted with Lincoln, on the 13th of October, 1887, at Valparaiso, Neb., testified as follows: "I met Lincoln often--had many conversations with him in his office. To assert that he was a believer in Christianity is absurd. He had no faith in the dogmas of the church." Mr. Vandemark at the time his testimony was given was a member of the State Senate of Nebraska. A. JEFFREY. Mr. Jeffrey, who has resided near Waynesville, Ill., for a period of fifty years, and who was in the habit of attending court with Lincoln, year after year, in an interview on the 1st of March, 1887, made the following statement: "Lincoln was decidedly Liberal. He admitted that he wrote a book against Christianity. In later years he seldom talked on this subject, but he did not change his belief. A thrust at the doctrine of endless punishment always pleased him. This doctrine he abhorred." DR. ARCH E. McNEALL Dr. McNeall, an old physician of Bowen, Ill., who was a delegate to the Decatur Convention which brought Lincoln forward as a candidate for the Presidency, says: "I met Lincoln often during our political campaigns, and was quite well acquainted with him. I know that he was a Liberal thinker." CHARLES McGREW. Dr. McGrew is a resident of Coles County, Ill.--the county in which nearly all of Lincoln's relatives have resided for sixty years. He is a cousin of Hon. Allen G. Thurman, and is a man of sterling character. He was for a time related to Lincoln, in a business way, and met him frequently. I met Dr. McGrew in 1888, and when I propounded the question, "Was Lincoln a Christian?" he replied: "Lincoln was not a Christian. He was cautious and reserved and seldom said anything about religion except when he was alone with a few companions whose opinions were similar to his. On such occasions he did not hesitate to express his unbelief." EDWARD BUTLER.