V. FUNERAL SERVICES IN OTHER CITIES. THE FAST DAY. On the death of the President, and in the condition to which the Secretary of State was reduced, Mr. Hunter, the Acting Secretary, issued the following official document. To the People of the United States: DEPARTMENT OF STATE, The undersigned is directed to announce that the funeral ceremonies of the lamented Chief Magistrate will take place at the Executive Mansion in this city at twelve o'clock, noon, on Wednesday, the 19th instant. The various religious denominations throughout the country are invited to meet in their respective places of worship at that hour for the purpose of solemnizing the occasion with appropriate ceremonies. W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State. The invitation which it contained was cordially responded to; as the following, from those denominations whose organizations made the pastoral direction of a Bishop necessary, testify. To the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of New York: DEAR BRETHREN-The authorities at Washington have announced that the funeral solemnities of the late President of the United States will take place in that city at twelve o'clock on Wednesday of this week; and they have expressed the hope that each Christian congregation in the country will assemble at that hour in its place of worship and unite in services of an appropriate character. In this suggestion I most heartily concur, as I am sure you will. I do therefore most affectionately recommend to the clergy and congregations of this diocese to appear before God in their holy places, on Wednesday, the 19th, at noon, and while the last offices are being per formed over the mortal remains of their late venetrated Chief Magistrate, to bow down in humble recognition of the Almighty hand, to adore His Majesty, to revere His justice, to magnify His mercies, to implore Him to sanctify to us His dealings, with us as a people, and at the same time to testify respect for the memory of the wise, upright, and benignant ruler who has been so mysteriously removed from this mortal scene. The following order of services is hereby appointed for the occasion: 1. The Lesser Litany-"O Christ, hear us," &c., and including the Prayer"We humbly beseech thee," &c. 2. The Anthem, in the Burial Office-" Lord, let me know my end," &c. 3. The Lesson-1st Corinthians, xv. 20. 4. A Hymn. 5. The Prayer for the Nation in Affliction, as recently set forth. 6. The prayer, " In time of war and tumult." 7. The two prayers at the end of the burial service. 8. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," &c. Again commending you, very dear brethren, to the divine protection and blessing, I remain, most affectionately, your brother in Christ, HORATIO POTTER, Bishop of New York. New York, Easter Monday, April 17, 1865. To the Reverend Clergy of the Diocese of Western New York: REVEREND BRETHREN-The death of the President of the United States, by the hand of an assassin, is a calamity which it needs no words to impress on the heart of the nation. The crime is not regicide, but it is parricide. That such an unnatural sin should have been committed against the Divine Majesty and against the ruler of a free people, is cause for profound humiliation not less than unfeigned sorrow. In obedience to the new order of his Excellency the Governor, the service for the 20th instant is changed as follows: Instead of the Venite, shall be used (Psalm 51st), the Miserere. The first lesson, followed by the Benedicite, shall be Deuteronomy xxxii., to verse 42; and the second lesson, St. Matthew xi., from verse 15th. The Litany shall be said entire. Other appropriate devotions from the prayer-book may be used at the discretion of the minister, and also those for the nation and rulers, as set forth by my Reverend predecessor. On Wednesday, the day of the President's funeral, the burial service may be said at twelve o'clock, omitting the committal. The Lord be with you, and with all our afflicted countrymen. Your affectionate Bishop, Easter Monday, New York, April 17, 1865. A. CLEVELAND COXE. FELLOW-CITIZENS-A deed of blood has been perpetrated which has caused every heart to shudder, and which calls for the execration of every citizen. On Good Friday, the hallowed anniversary of our blessed Lord's crucifixion, when all Christendom was bowed down in penitence and sorrow at His tomb, the President of these United States was foully assassinated, and a wicked attempt was made on the life of the Secretary of State ! Words fail us in expressing detestation for a deed so atrocious-hitherto, happily, unparalleled in our history. Silence is, perhaps, the best and most appropriate expression for a sorrow too great for utterance. We are quite sure that we need not remind our Catholic brethren in the Archdiocese of the duty-which we are confident they will willingly perform-of uniting with their fellow-citizens in whatever may be deemed most suitable for indicating their horror of the crime, and their feeling of sympathy for the bereaved. We also invite them to join together in humble and earnest supplication to God for our beloved but afflicted country; and we enjoin that the bells of all our churches be solemnly tolled on the occasion of the President's funeral. Given from our residence in Baltimore on Holy Saturday, the 15th day of April, 1865. MARTIN JOHN SPALDING, REV. DEAR SIR-We hereby request that to-morrow you will announce to your people in words expressive of your common sorrow the melancholy tidings which have come so suddenly amid the first rejoicings of the Easter festival to shock the heart of the nation, and plunge it into deepest distress and mourning. A life most precious to all, the life of the honored President of these United States, has been brought to a sad and startling close by the violent hand of an assassin; the life of the Secretary of State and that of his son have been assailed by a similar act of wickedness, and both are now lying in a critical condition. While bowing down in humble fear and in tearful submission to this inscrutable dispensation of Divine Providence, let us all unite in pouring forth our prayers and supplications with renewed earnestness for our beloved country in this mournful and perilous crisis. Given at New York, this 15th day of April, 1865. REVEREND AND DEAR SIR-AS the funeral obsequies of the late lamented President of the United States will take place in Washing ton City on Wednesday next, the 19th inst., the Most Reverend Archbishop directs that, in sympathy with the national sorrow, the various churches of the city and Diocese be open on that day for public service at 10 o'clock, A. M., and that at the several Masses the collect, "Pro quacumque tribulatione," be recited in addition to the usual collects of the day. It is likewise recommended that at the end of Mass the psalm Miserere should be read or chanted, supplicating God's mercy for ourselves and all the people. By order of the Most Reverend Archbishop. FRS. MCNEIRNY, Secretary. To the Reverend Clergy and Faithful of the Diocese of Philadelphia: REVEREND BRETHREN AND BELOVED CHILDREN-It is not necessary for us to announce to you the sad calamity which has befallen the nation. It is already known in every city, village, and hamlet of our widely extended country. Everywhere it has sent a thrill of horror through the hearts of all true and law-abiding citizens. We desire thus publicly to declare both for ourselves and you our utter abhorrence and execration of the atrocious deed, and at the same time, our sympathy and condolence with all our fellow-citizens, and especially with those most nearly interested in this sad and afflicting bereavement. We desire to enter fully and cordially into the universal expression of the national grief and into the public demonstrations by which it is appropriately manifested. In times of peril and danger, it is the duty of all to recur by most earnest prayer to the Divine Disposer of all events, and with due resignation to our existing afflictions and calamities, to pour forth our supplications to God that we may be saved from future and impending evils. We prescribe to the clergy the recitation, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, of the prayer "Pro quacumque tribulatione," for the space of one month, and enjoin on the faithful the sacred duty of im |