The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1865-05-24
The Plot TO Murder tho Heads
of Government.

purpuTts to be n correct statement:
Strange uttd anomalous as tho facts may
seem, John Wilkes booth wac The sole pro.
iector of the plot against tho President,
which eliminated in tho taking Of that
good mans life, lie had rollod under his
tongue tho sweet paragraphs of Shakespeare
| referring to Brutus, Ns had his father so
well, that the old man named orc son Iuhi.
us llrutus, and tho othor John Wilkes, after
the wild English ngita,or, until Il became
his ambition like the wicked Lorenzo lie
Medici, to stake his life upon one stroke
for fame, tho murder of q ruler obnoxious
TO the South.
When Booth cast around him for assist.
ancc, he naturally rejected men whom no
could control. The first that recommended
himaclG was one Harold, youth Of inane
aud plastic character, carried away hy the
example Of an actor and full of execralle
quotations, going to show that he was an
imitator of the master spirit both in text and
admiration. This Harold was gunner,
and, therefore, verscd in arms he had
| travcrscd tho whole lower portion of Ma
ryland, and was, therefore goographer rs
well as tool. Ills frcLds lived ut every
farmhouse between Washington and Leon
ardsvillc, and hO was respectfully enough
connected so as to make his association
creditable rs we'll as useful.
Harold, whose picture have seen, is q
ulliaced, shallow boy. smootll.haired and
| provincial; he had no money nor employ.
nont, except that he clerked for q druggist
awhile, until no knew Wilkes Booth, who
| looked at him only once. and bought his
soul for smile. llarrol was infatuated
hNf ,,lh IL
copied his gait aud tone, adopted his
opinions, and was unhappy out of his
society. Booth gave him money, mystic.
riously obtained, and together they mado
the acquaintance of young John Surrait, son
of the ccnspiratress.
BooTH's SCHEMES.
LIST. To kidnap the President and Cabi-
net, and run them South, or blow them up
I'd. kidnapping failing, to murder the
| President and the rest, and seek shelter in
the Confederate capital.
THE AssAssINs MARK TIME.
Suddenly there was murmur near the
| audience door, rs Of man speaking above
his bound. lie said:
mine o'clock and forty five minutes
These words were reiterated from mouth
to mouth until they passed the theater
door, and were heard upon the sidewalk.
Directly voice cried, in the same
sightly.rOiscd monotone.
"Nine o'clock and iifty-iive minutes !"
| This alJo passed from man to man, until
it touched the streets like a shuddder.
Mine o'clock and fifty-fvo minutes p"
said the same relentless voice, after the
next interval, each of which narrowed to
lesser span the Ii 10 of the good President.
| ~, hn. III .:.:..
echoes said in reverberation:
Ten o'clock ! +"
So, like creeping thing, from lip TO lip,
went
''ren o'clock and five minutcsr'
(An interval)
Ten clock and ten minutes!''
Atthis instant Wilkes Booth appeared at
the door of the theater, and men who had
repeated the time 80 faithfully and SO omin-
ously, scattered at his coming AZ at some
warning phantom.
All this is so dramatic that fear to ex.
citc laugh when Iwrite it. But it is true
aud do not say it but report it.
THE FLIGHT OF rAYSE.
Payne having, as ho thought, made nm
end of Mr.. Scward-whch would have
beon the case but for II ,binson the nurse
mounted his horse, and attempted to find
| Booth. But the town was in alarm, and he
| galloped at once for the open country, TAX
ing, as he imagined, tho proper road for
| the East Branch, lie rode at n killing
pace, aud when near Fort Lincoln, on the
Baltimore Pike, his horse threw him head
| lJng. AGo0t aud bcwildere1, he resolved
TO return TO The city, whose lights ho could
| plauly sec; but before doing no lie con-
cealed himself some time, and made somo
almost absurd efforts TO disgure hinsolf
Cutting Il cross section from the wooden I'M
dershirt which covered his muscular arm,
ho made a rude cap OF it, and threw away
his bloody coat. This has since been found
also on his bosom and 81 ,oves. He also
| spattercd himself plentfully with mud and
clay, and king an abandoned pick
from tho deserted intrcnchmcnts near
by, lac sirtick oul ut once for Washington.
| BY the Providence which alway' at
tends murder. he reached Mrs. Surratt's
door just as the officers of the Government
were arrestins her. They scz ID Payne at
once. who had an awkward lie to urge in
his defense--that he had CONS there to dig
u trench. That night he dug q trench deep
and broad enough for both to lie in forever
| They washed his hands, and found ten
soft and womanishi his pockets contained
lbOlH hllu Hhll DlNSuSb Il u ~ Ol6lltdlc IoCh-
ct knife. All tllis apparel consorted i'll
with his assumed character. lie is, with.
out doubt Mr.. Stewards attempted muir
derer.
A REMrNIsCsNcE OF MALLORY, DAVIS SEC
RhTARY OF THE NAvY.-The New York Her.
da relates tho following antccedcnts Of
this person.;
Fifteen or eighteen years ago Ills NAL
| lory was tho shipping news correspondent
! OF the HsidH at Key West. We paid him
we forget how nmch but il was more
than ho ever received from the Southern
| ionfcderacy, for his services IN the cabi Iet,
Tor we paid him in good golI and the
Conicderacy gave him worthless shinplas.
| lcrs,
Mallory left of writing rs letters for q
a while and then began again Shurtly az
ter the reopenng OF his correspondence he
discovered lhlt he hal been elected United
States Senator from Florida. This was
about 1891. Upon hearing this fact we
informed him that. in our opinion, his po
sition as Senator was incompatible with
nis position on the Herald as an intelligent
and independent correspondent ard that,
nnless he resigned his Senatorsiir, we
! shoull be obliged TO dismiss him and en-.
Iploy somebody else az Hey West The
| ruth is we have tried several Congress-
men aud Senator'S and find that they make
very poor journalists. they are never ca.
ralls enough or Independent enough for
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