Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-02-08
fHF ASSASSINATION 0F w A
A Graphic and Vivid Account of the
Attack on SewArd-A Sick Mans
Fantasy-Impressi0ns and ReeOIIec.
tiOns of the Secretary.


Fantasy-Impressiens and ReeOIIec-
lions of the Secretary.
The Cincinnati Gasetts's Washington
correspondent furnishes it with the follow
very interesting letter:
There has been a disposition throughout
The country to give special Importance to
The late excursion of the Secretary of
State, but whatever view may be taken of
this, tits certain that considerations regard
the health of Mr.. Seward had great
in deciding him to make the
Under the family Affections which had
upon him, under the weight which
that infamous attempt al assassination had
laid upon his weakened frame and mind,
he was rapidly sinking. and it became
necessary to absent himself entirely from
his labors. He has returned greatly
strengthened by the journey.
THE ASSASSINATION AND ITS VISIONS.
Dreams, waking visions and delirium,
are strange manifestations Of the work.
ings of mind They seem to mark the
boundary of a world from which mortal
ity shrinks with dread. Not only do
those visions which make the flesh creep
create alarm, but superstition has attached
dreadful interpretations TO the happy
dreams which Oome Of peaceful slumber.
But whether pleasant, or horrible, or sim
ply fantastic, they never lose their inter-
est, and anything of the kind come Ct
ed with those attempts at assassination,
which caused the national heart to stand
still, and sent d shudder through the
world, cannot be embarrassing now.
In conversation a few evenings since
the Secretary gave a more complete &C
count of his sensations beforethe attempts
to take his life, and those more intimately
connected with that attempt.
The feeble condition of Mr.. Seward
previous to the attack upon him is well
known. There is a very singular feature
connected with it, which in its results has
had q most important bearing-no less
important than the saving of his life.
He had been haunted for days previous
with what he terms ga sick mans fanta-
syn He had conceived thestrange whim
that if by any i'll luck he should fall
asleep, even for an instant, that his in
iured Jaw would fall down and invert
itself under his face. 1t was his constant
fear that this would inadvertently occur,
and he was continually thinking of some
means to counterfeit the desire to sleep.
So deeply was this fantasy impressed upon
him, that no arguments of his physician
or his friends could dissipate 1t. At last
he adopted this plan. He habitually lay
upon the very edge Of the bed, stretching
himself so as to be as nearly balanced as
possible along the rail. In this position
the least doslng would rou him, and
the constant sense of the danger which
would attend a fall kept him wakeful.
Waking suddenly from n Of these
dozes, when very weak, and only half
conscious, his eye fell upon his daughters
face, and the impression which passed
through his mind was that she was star
ing like a maniac, with q most horrible
expression of terror upon her face. Next
he saw what he thought the vision Of a
| hand stretched toward him fromth other
| side Of the bed, and then an arm seemed
to grow out from 1t, and while looking
listlessly, he was saying to himself,
What an elegant overooat that arm has
on ?" Then he saw the figure of a man,
as if coming out of the air where the arm
was, first the bust appearing, then the
lower part Of the face, and then the whole
figure leaning over him.
He has no Impression of seeing a knife,
and yet his reflections at that moment
would indicate that the purpose of the
shadow flor he deemed 1t to be such had
been conveyed to his mind. These were
as follows: ave are engaged in agigantic
ra.o1Hk10p 7 haua onaanta6 II Thn7p
who are attempting to overthrow the Gov
eminent will shrink at nothing. Assas-
sination has always attended revolution"
From this his mind turned to a contem-
plation Of the face leaning over him, and
he said to himself: "That Is a handsome
face. How clean it is shaven! 1t is a
very pleasant and attractive face" Those
who know Mr.. Stewards habits, will at
once perceive how natural 1t was that such
thoughts should come into his mind. In
regard to keeping himself shaven he is
very particular, never allowing any sign
of q beard to appear.
Suddenly he lost sight of the figure, and
his mind became occupied with a strange
pressure upon his face and neck. 1t seems
as if something with a blunt edge like a
ruler was being pressed down hard and
slowly drawn along the side of his face,
over his chin, and down toward his ear.
Except that the pressure troubled him a
little as it traversed his face, there was no
sensation of p6in. Here he lest all con
sciousness, then he imagined himself ex-
posed to a warm and pleasant shower
causing delightful emotions, and strangely
enough this appeared to originate in him
self, and he said aft this be so, then it is
blood" The faint consciousness of a
struggle going on among his attendants
came to him, and then he lost all idea of
what was transporting until he felt the
pressure upon his body, under his arms, as
he was lifted up into bed. The fall, how
ever, had no impression upon him. He
heard the low tones Of those speaking,
and reoolleots the remark: "He is not
dead" and one which he made in response,
to the effect that he was yet alive. At
this point he tainted, and remembers moth
ing until the sensation that something was
going down his throat, and that it was tea.
As this feeling became more distinct he
made an effort to open his eyes, which he
succeeded in doing, when he saw his wife
at his Side feeding him with tea.
Such are the impressions fixed upon the
mind of Mr.. Seward concerning that part
of the widespread conspiracy which was
enacted in the chamber where he lay sick,
and almost unconscious. His daughters
stare-the vision of a hand growing into
an arm, and thence expanding into a bust
and clean shaved face-the hard pressure
upon his face as the knife went around it,
and the shower Of blood, are all clear in
his recollection. Such a connected state
ment is certainly very interesting, even
though produced at the risk of repetition
of what the public have already heard.
The whole subject may soon assume a
new Importance, and every circumstance
connected with it be brought to the atten-
ton Of the nation again. And not only
this, 1t may occupy the thoughts of the
world as it did a year ago. Il. V. N. B.
Hudson Bay TerritOry-Canada's
Inevitable Destiny Acknowledged
=