Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PART III LINCOLN MAKES A MEMORANDUM (November 23rd, 1864.) "The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present Civil War it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party; and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adoption to effect his purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is probably true; that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his Mere great power on the minds of the now contestants he could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun he could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds." WINTER GARDEN THEATRE (New York, November 23rd, 1864.) John Wilkes Booth is speaking behind the scenes to his brother.) If you—if you had told me this before, If I had known of it—if I had known, I had not played to-night, no, by the gods, I had not played Marc Antony, nor heard You speak the words of Brutus. You—my brother, You nursed in liberty—you nourished upon Great thoughts and dreams, have soiled me, soiled the Of Booth, our father's name. Yes, you have soiled All spirits free, all lofty souls, the soul Of Brutus and of Shakespeare. Why, till now Conceal from me your vote for Lincoln—why ? Why? In your heart of hearts you are ashamed, And loose the secret now for penitence! For you have helped the hand that wrecks and slays Who will be king and on these ruined States Erect a throne. He who commenced this war, And broke the law to do it. He who struck The liberty of speech and of th...