The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-04-18
Letter from the Federal Capital.
WASHINGTON, April 10, 1855.
O'Clock and As minutes, A. N

5l9H j O'Clock and 40 minutes, a. IA. p
To the Editor. of the Press.
A thunderbolt has fallen upon u.s. The
President, God help us, has been assassinated!
A few minutes before eleven the terrible news
spread through the city like lightning. At
first every heart seemed paralyzed with hor-
ror. Rushing into the street we find groups
OF people gathered here and there, around
some one who knows or claims to know some
thing of the awful deed, and others Aurrying
to and fro 10 dismay. And now the horrible
story, confirmed anew at every step, that the
Secretary Of State and his SOL have shared
the fate Of the President, or have been
dreadfully mangled, meets US. 1t is some re-
lief to hear from all, as we proceed, that the
Secretary is not dead, and probably may sur
vive. But who can tell us about the Presi-
dent 2 Thank God, here is one that. tells us
that she yet lioes," but adds the terrible
words, there Is no hope.n Shocking threats
are uttered around us, but they come mostly
from men who have been lounging around
the drinking saloons. Most are too much
overwhelmed with sorrow to think of ven
geance. ". ii ma4sg68 81 ssaq id
And now we reach the square kept clear by
guard Qksoldiers, where the President lies.
A great crowd presses up to the lineAat each
end, quiet and awe-struck, waiting to hear
what all shudder to think of An officer
comes down from house just opposite Ford's
Theatre, where Mr.. Lincoln is lying. The
~ ca1 hat n
with difficulty. "Just alipe," 'just aliue
passes, almost in whisper, from mouth to
mouth. And now a surgeon comes down to
take his carriage waiting outside the line.
We follow closely. n@
) els he alive Pv q n0EE4
"Just living"
t"Is there any hope ?"
"No, not any"
: "Where was he hit ?" ems 80
De- sIn the back of the head" .a N
So the carriage drives away. Soon another
medical attendant approaches the crowd and
passes through. An eager rush is made for
the carriage. His word is the same-"just
dlioe and no hope" - sos
q And 30 the crowd returns to its place and
sadly waits, in grief too deep for outward
show. the final moment, the moment that is to
take from us a second Pdtre Patrie, while
the flag hung across the street sways mourn
fully in the light breeze, and the moon looks
down upon the scene as calmly as If the heart
of great nation was not being rung with an
guish. - s,5 Sssss-.ss sae ia 4sfg
Nay, nay. do not despair. Men die, but
Con LIVES. To that Life on which all others
depend, there comes no limit. "The L rd
reigns, let the earth rejoice" Our President
and our country are still in His Hand, nor
could they be In better keeping. as7aA
As we reach the Telegraph Office the falla-
cy of another dreadful rumor,-that General
Grant has been murdered on the New York
train-is ascertained. Thank God; yet even
at this we rejoice with trembling. r.
Another hour goes by, and the city is still
quiet. Patiently we win wait the morrow,
and trustipgly will we face that future which
God in his inscrutable providence seems open
ing before us. To Him we commit all. p
8 o'clock, a. M-The Presidhntis no more /;
or rather has.ceased to be mortal. At
o'clock % minutes, the great heart of Abra-
ham Lincoln ceased to beat. As / write, the
tolling of the bell sends Its mournful clang-
or over the city. Secretary Seward, his son
and attendants are all alive, but are all in a
critical condition. The worst that the provi-
dence of wise and good God could permit
has come. The leaden sky that lowers above
IS Is not so unlike the beautiful sunshine of
yesterday, as the grief and horror stricken
state of the Capital to its confident and buoy
ant hopes a few hours since. rs
What He, who brings good out OF evil, and
"maketh the wrath of man to, praise Him."
will educe from this awful calamity, 1t were
now vain to conjecture. Perhaps this accur,ed
butchery was needed to make us feel as we
ought the barbarism of slavery. That the
hand lust extended over the South in pardon
and protection, should have been stung by
the viper IL nurses and worships, may be
strange, but is certainly instructive. Let us,
while we accept the awful lesson, be otblind-
ly vindictive. He who whets the thirst for
blood beyond the stern demands of even and
exact justice, will, by goading the Sonth to
reckless and desperate resistance and SO fan
ming anew tthe expiring flames of civil war,
help forward one Of the designs of the
assassin. r. 8. p
B Gen, Fremont has purchased beautiful
countrv seat ON the Hudson a. T-~.<s.. ,e.s.-