1. The following outline sets forth the major

topics of the speech. Find the paragraphs each includes. What did Henry say on each point?

I. Introduction 1. The speaker is willing to face facts II. Body 1. The past acts of the British ministry are not favorable to present hope 2. The present assembly of British armies and navies means subjugation for the colonists 3. The colonists cannot meet this force with petitions, for a. Petitions have been tried and are useless 4. The colonists can meet the British only with force of arms, for a. It is the only means left, and b. The colonists have the strength to fight III. Conclusion 1. Therefore, let us make ready for battle.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN TO MRS. BIXBY

Executive Mansion, Washington. November 21, 1864.

Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Massachusetts.

Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts 5 that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the 10 consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a 15 sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully, Abraham Lincoln.

1. Undoubtedly the most difficult kind of letter to write is the letter of sympathy, expressing sorrow for loss by death. Why? Lincoln's little letter to Mrs. Bixby has long been considered a classic of its kind. It is sincere, sympathetic, and helpful. What makes it so?