Question

question 1 (1 point)
the following letter, authored by abraham lincoln, became very well known in 1998 after its use in the film saving private ryan.
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 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 consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. i pray that our heavenly father may
______ 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 sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
yours very sincerely and respectfully,
abraham lincoln.
word bank:
felicitous ephemeral embellish demure furtive assuage counterpart garish effrontery bestial allay

Explanation:

To solve this fill - in - the - blank problem, we analyze the context and the meaning of the words in the word bank:

Step 1: Analyze the context of the sentence

The sentence is "I pray that our Heavenly Father may ______ the anguish of your bereavement...". We need a verb that means to reduce or relieve the anguish (pain/grief) of bereavement.

Step 2: Analyze the words in the word bank

• "allay" means to diminish or put to rest (fears, doubts, pain, etc.). This fits the context of relieving the anguish of bereavement.
• "felicitous" means appropriate or well - chosen (usually for words, phrases, etc.), not suitable here.
• "ephemeral" means short - lived, which has nothing to do with relieving pain.
• "embellish" means to decorate or make more attractive, not relevant.
• "demur" means to object or hesitate, not related.
• "furtive" means secret or sneaky, not relevant.
• "coterie" is a group of people, a noun, not a verb for relieving pain.
• "counterpart" is a person or thing that corresponds to another, a noun, not suitable.
• "garish" means overly bright or showy, not relevant.
• "effrontery" means impertinence, a noun, not suitable.
• "bestial" means like a beast, savage, not relevant.

Answer:

allay