Give Divine support to the distinguished orator of the day. May he so speak as to impress the whole nation's mind. Prepare us to live as men in this age should, that we may be received into Thy Heavenly Kingdom, and to Thy name shall be the praise and the glory forevermore. Amen. Hon. LAFAYETTE S. FOSTER, President _pro tempore_ of the Senate, in introducing the orator of the day, said: No ordinary occasion could have convened this august assemblage. For four weary years, the storm of war, of civil war, raged fiercely over our country. The blood of the best and bravest of her sons was freely shed to preserve her name and place among the nations of the earth. In April last, the dark clouds which had so long hung heavily and gloomily over our heads, were all dispersed, and the light of peace, more welcome even than the vernal sunshine, gladdened the eyes and the hearts of our people. Shouts of joy and songs of triumph echoed through the land. The hearts of the devout poured themselves in orisons and thanksgivings to the God of battles and of nations that the most wicked and most formidable rebellion ever known in human history had been effectually crashed, and our country saved. In the midst of all this abounding joy, suddenly and swiftly as the lightning's flash came the fearful tidings that the Chief Magistrate of the Republic--our President--loved and honored as few men ever were--so honest, so faithful, so true to his duty and his country, had been foully murdered--had fallen by the bullet of an assassin. All hearts were stricken with horror. The transition from extreme joy to profound sorrow was never more sudden and universal. Had it been possible for a stranger, ignorant of the truth, to look over our land, he would have supposed that there had come upon us some visitation of the Almighty not less dreadful than that which once fell on ancient Egypt on that fearful night when there was not a house where there was not one dead. The nation wept for him. After being gazed upon by myriads of loving eyes, under the dome of this magnificent Capitol, the remains of our President were borne in solemn procession through our cities, towns, and villages, all draped in the habilaments of sorrow, the symbols and tokens of profound and heartfelt grief, to their final resting-place in the capital of his own State. There he sleeps, peacefully, embalmed in his country's tears. The Senate and House of Representatives of the United States have deemed it proper to commemorate this tragic event by appropriate services. This day, the birth-day of him whom we mourn, has properly been selected. An eminent citizen, distinguished by his labors and services in high and responsible public positions at home and abroad--whose pen has instructed the present age in the history of his country, and done much to transmit the fame and renown of that country to future ages--Hon. George Bancroft--will now deliver a discourse.