The Portland daily press., 1867-05-22

l.
nothing now that showed him to have any
depth OF character, nor pointed ever so re-
motely to this crime
REBEL SCHOOL IN MARYLAND.
w men the war broke out the whole school
was, with few exceptions, favorable TO the sue
cess of the rebellion The teachers seemed TO
have little enthusiasm for the hDerty OF opln-
ION, the secular education and the republican
civilization Of the North; ana most Vi the SUI
dents either came from slave states, or medi-
tated miDisterng in them. We We're kept ig-
norant of Union victories; the newspapers were
prohibited, and when emerged found my
self as uniformed as i'll had been in Jail Surratt
with the rest sang secession songs very fire.
uuently and he lett the school the same day
that L did, in July 1862. He had previously
satisfied himself that the priesthood was not
his vocation, and at leaving was much affect
ed that he wept. The President held his hands
over him and said, John, you have been a good
boy. Do not feel disappointed. You will al
ways be remembered here Indeed Surratt
belonged to students society, called the Soci-
ETY. OF Angels, very pious in its nature and
was altogether too wild to be admitted to it,
Surratt had often spoken to me of his home in
Maryland, and some months after l left the
school, he wrote me letter inviting mo to Wis
IL nm. Meantime l accepted tutorship al
Borromeo College, Marylan and after four
months, went to visit friend at Ellangowan.
famlllarly called Little Texas, q small limekiIn
town ON the Northern Central Railway and
mere helped him teach small Catholic school
Tor few weeks. In the meantime Surratt be-
tween whom and myself several letters had
passed, wrote to me to ask for teachers posi-
ton in the Borromeo College; his father had
died, and his family were involved. / failed to
get him an appointment; but when, soon after
ward, changed to teach in St Matthew'S Col
lege, Washington city, Surrat called upon me
and We personally renewed our acquaintance.
sURRATsvILLE.
1T was on Friday afternoon in March.
rainy and dreary, when at last went down to-
Surratsville with John He came for me in n
buggy, ana the road was SO rutty and miry
that we were four hours ON the Way On
commlng in sight of the house / was miser-
ably disappointed. The theme of SO much
panegyric was solitary frame tavern at a
cross-road few sheds and barns around il
ana hfcning stall, and a peach orchard
reaching behind The farm consisted of three
hundred acres and it was afterwards let with
the tavern, for six hundred dollars a year. A
small porch stood in the middle, on which
opened hall reaching quite through the
house At the foot of this hall, to the left was
the bar-room and postotflce, with door omen
ing upon one of the crossroads and to the
right were the paror and dinfng-room Alto
gether there were eight rooms comfortably fur
nlshed. Mrs. Surratt received me pleasantly
and we had good warm supper, after which
went awhile to the bar-room, where there
some of the rebel farmers of the neighhood
come to get their letters, to lounge and to
play cards. John kept the bar, and we had
game with two Jewish persons who had car
pet-bags with them. These carpet-bags Mrs
leftbetore daylight next morning and one M
them named Jacobs was arrested crossing the
Potomac with fifty thousand dollars upon
him.
MRS sURRATT.
Mrs. Surrat was proud, and counted her
beads great deal She was a convert and
not an original Catholic, and her husband was
Protestant until his death, which happened
of apoplexy in August, 1862. There were
three or four negroes about the place; it was a
dull, crossroads EXISTENCE but pleasant for
a day or two to stranger Next morning at
daylight we We're awakened by very beautiful
music. 1t was brass band come out from
the Washington Navy Yard to serenade the
democratic county officers just elected. Among
the hangers-on was a seedy, fTowsy, monkey
faced boy, whom Surratt introduced to me as
Mr.. Harold. He came i'll with the rest, took a
drink, and went further up the road with them
left the house on Monday pleased with my
visit, and we stopped at a drug store by the
navy yard, Surrat and L. to get cigar The
boy Harold was clerk there. Surrat told me
engineer had his foer on Haas se ri II
1861, at the news of Lincoln's Inauguration,
and gone to Texas, where he had been ever
since in the Confederate service
II got to consider Surratt an intimate friend |
after TINS visit, and he had good points of char
acter; but his Isolated life in the country kept
me from knowing more than the director con-
Germs OF our friendship; while meantime the |
war vent on more bitterly, and his home was
probably a convenient and constant resort of
IL
agreed to visit an old school friend at ELI
colts Mills, and thence took Surratt to Elan
gowan to see my friend the school teacher
Before we started priest asked me to deliver |
newspaper to Mr. st. Maurie, whom l found |
to be my friends assistant esld to whom in |
troduced John Surrat
ST. MAURIE.
HE was a French Canadian black -eyed and |
black haired, aged about thirty very iascinat-
ing in his manners and Accomplishments a
inguist and adventurer. He was teaching for
his board and spending money only, being en-
trely needy, and he amused himself by giving
concerts in the village, where he was in love
with vrtuous and beautiful young Iady.-.|
When l left Ellangowan st. Maurie asked me
to get him teachers place in Washington and
soon after he came to my foom there, saving
that he had left his place, disguised with its
bitterness, and was without meal, bed, or a
penny. l got him position in Gonzaga Col
lege, and when he came to see me once or twice
found MN SO unprlncipled that / wrote to
the lady he addressed at Ellangowan bidding
her beware He would tell me in breath that
he had fled from Canada to avoid the conse-
quences OF most heartless seduction, and at
the same time put his new sweetheart's bounuet
under his pillow. His stories of himself were
that he had been member of the Canadian
parliament, Federal prisoner OF state, SO,
put at any rate he decamped from the college
after month, leaving me to pay his board. and
enlisted for the bounty in q Delaware regi-
ment, deserted, fell into Castle Thunder as an
object of general suspicion, was released by
escaped by blockade runner to England re-
turned to Canada, and hearing of the twenty |
thousand dollars reward for Surratt. pursucd
bim to Rome, enlisted with him, and gave him
upJust 20 ia.e for the reward, which had been |
already withdrawn.
was now weary of teaching for insufficient
pay, and sought government clerkship, which |
obtained in the Office o. the Commissary of |
Prisoners in January, 1864 In September of |
the same year the Surratts moved to Wash |
ington to keep boarding house and get John |
something to do, and to hep them along i |
moved in almost Immediately. John was en-
gagged by the Adams Express COMPANY and
with the exception of the arrival of blockade
runner or two, little happened until within a
few days before Christmas of 1S6f-5 when by
another of those Providences or condolences
to which | have referred, / was walking in the |
street with Surratt when John Wilkes Booth
was introduced to him by their common friend, |
DR.. Mudd.
BOOTH AND sURRATT,
From this time the manner and nature of |
Surratt changed. He became grade by grade |
loitefer and spendthrift, subject at times to |
nus OF uespondeacy; and have no doubt that |
booCh was MS absolute master debauching |
hlih WIZ ms horses and loans of money, and
by his stronger worldliness and magnetism con- |
trolling hlm altogether. / used to wonder |
what affinity such unlike men could have: but |
bitter as the secessionists OF Washington were |
no idea of conspiracy, particularly against nor,
sonages so high, ever occurred to me- And II |
was only in the he'd of monomaniac actor
used to rehearse Brutus, that SO desperate a |
crime could have been conceived; his means
were Just considerable enough to purchase such
poor instruments as John Surratt; and his
own character was so impracticable that no.
body ever fathomed his plot. In Mrs. Surratts
house he was altogether the most talented Wis
itor The mistress of it called him her pet"
in his absence.
THE PLOT MATCHING.
During all these days the plot was ripen-
ing; dirty fellows like Atzerott, boys like Har-
old, aud searching mysterious persons
IKE fayne began TO visit the house. j felt
mat IN my friendship with John, never very
wen founded, was supplanted. John Surratt
began TO DC a bird of passage riding to and
from montreal to Richmond 1 was only nuz-
Zled by these things, but never alarmed and
SCI MN GOWN as mere 'sponger' or parasite |
upon booth who was never free with ma onJ |
on Whom looked as o man of accop,nlisb |
ments anu genius that liked the comnapv ar
his interiors. In all this there were inierl,5o 90
of drunkenness as when three or lour of ~
subsequent assassns burst into nv roo,n So
ing that they were ruined men and tbot al, NJ
lost. This was afterwards dem0nstrated -
Booths failure TO capture the President ~ ~ |
Soldiers Home. '' 'no
"And this brings me to the crisis of the. ,o
rative; the interest of the house was conc a.
peacefuness and charm. / was thinkin9 to nv
self on Good Friday, as | returned from NV of
flee to Mrs. Surratt's, released for 4 holiday on
account of my religious belief, that perhaps /
had better seek board elsewhere. AT that mo-
ment as if some Providence had satisfied nae
with these aimless comprehensive so long that
I'm might observe their completely and convict