The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-08-15

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his house gave ring. William Wells,
colored lad, who usually attended the
door, answered that ring. A man hold
ing little package in his hands pre-
sented himself, saying l must go up to
Mr.: Seward to deliver him the medicine
and message from DIR. Verdi.
The lad tells him he cannot go up,
but would deliver both medicine and
message himself.
No; the stranger cannot trust the
important message, he must go up HIM
self.
In vain the lad demonstrates. In his
testimony before the court he states /:
" told him he could not go up it was
against my orders. That ii he would
give me the medicine l would tell Mr.
Seward how to take it. That would not
do (; he started to go up. Finding that
he would go up, l stepped past him, and
went up the steps before him. Then,
thinking that such might be the orders
of DIR. Verdi, and that l was interfering,
L begged him to excuse me. L became
afraid he might tell Mr. Seward and the
All right. AS he stepped heavily, L
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disturb the Secretary"
In the adjacent room to Mr.. Stewards S,
Frederick is lying on the sofa, resting
He hears steps and voices ascending /;
he comes out on the landing and there
meets the stranger.
Frederick inquiries, "What do you
want p
81 want to see Mr.. Seward / have
medicine and a message to deliver from
DR.. Verdi"
My father is asleep give me the
medicine and the directions will take
them to him."
No, l must see him l must see
him, he repeats, in determined man
| ner.
8" You cannot see him F.; you cannot
see him. [ am the proprietor here |
am Mr.. Stewards son. If you cannot
leave them with me, you cannot leave
them at all.
The man still insists Frederick still
refuses. The determined tone of Fred
erick causes the man to hesitate; he
even turns to go down stairs, the lad
preceding him, telling him to walk
lightly. He descends four or five steps,
when suddenly he turns back and springs
upon Frederick, giving him blow
doubtless with the heavy pistol-on the
head that fells him to the ground. The
lad, seeing the brutal assault, runs
down, crying Murder murder I" He
flies to the coner-Gen. Augur's head
quarters He finds no guard.
In the meanwhile Robinson, the nurse
in attendance on Mr.. Seward, hearing
the unusual noise, opens the door and
sees the stranger, and Frederick thrown
on his hands and bleeding; before he
has time for thought, the assassin is on
him, striking him to the ground he
quickly rises, but before he can clinch
with him the assassin is on Mr. Seward,
who, having awakened, and compre-
hending the scene ut once, had risen in
his bed. The assassin plunges an inn
mense knife in Mr.. Stewards face he
attempts another stroke at his neck, but
Robinson is on him, and the knife is
partially arrested. He tries to olsen
gage himself from Robinson by striking
him with the knife over the shoulders.
The daughter, who, too, is watching
in the dimly lighted room, screams
Help p and 4" Murder !"
Augustus Seward, who is taking an
early sleep to be able to watch his father
late in the night, is awakened by the
heartrending screams of his sister. His
room is on the same floor; and I'M
dressed he runs to his fathers room.
His mind, hardly awakened, does not
take in the situation; he thinks his
father delirious he sees a man in the
middle of the room he thinks it is his
! father; he takes hold of him as he
grasps him he perceives, by his size and
strength, it cannot be his father; he
thinks it is the man servant drunk or
crazy he grapples with him to cast him
out he receives blows with some in
strument about the head and hands.
The man yells like tiger, CT am
mad l am mad ~ Augustus pushes
him out and follows him, locking the
door behind him to prevent his re-
turn.
Augustus quietly goes back to his
! fathers room, only to discover that
his father and brother have hardly es-
capped death from the hands of an as
sassin.
Mr. Hansell, messenger of the State
Department, was sleeping in a room
above Mr.. Stewards. He is there to
help if wanted. He hears the screams
of murder; not being much of hero,
he tries to make his way out of the
house; as he descends the assassin is be-
hind him, who, thinking that this man
is going down to give the alarm, springs
on him, plunges his knife in his back,
fells him. and passes by.
William, the colored boy, in the
meanwhile had run about crafty to get
assistance, and returns with three sol
diers just in him to see the assassin
mount his horse and ride off.
All this took less time to happen than
it takes to relate.
j. Wilkes Booth, the arch assassin,
educated to theatrical tableaux, must
play the Brutus he assassinates the
President before two thousand people,
leaps on the stage and exclaims, {" Sic
senlper tyranniS :" He hies but a
whole army is after him, and he is run
down like cowardly fox. But the assas-
sin of Mr.. Seward no one knows; there is
no clue to his identity. All the detectives