Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-03-22

The Account Of the Tragic Event as Given
I'm Walt Whitman's New Book.

The Account Of the Tragic Event as Given
I'm Walt Whitman's New Book.
There is a scene in the play( "Our
American Cousin') representing a
modern parlor, in which two unprece-
denied English ladies are informed by
the unprecedented and impossible
Yankee that he is not man of fortune,
and, therefore undesirable for marriage
catching purposes; after which, the
mments being finished, the dramatic
trio make exit, leaving the stage clear
for moment. There was a pause, a
hush as it were. At this period came
the murder Of Abraham Lincoln.
Great as that was, with all it's manifold
train circling round it, and stretching
into the future for many a century, in
the politics, history, art, ETC., of the
New World, in point Of fact the main
thing, the actual murder, TRANSFERRED
with the quiet and simplicity of any
commonest Occurrence-the bursting
of a bud or pod in the growth Of vege-
tation, for instance.
Through the general hum following
the stage pause, with the change Of
positions, etc., came the muff1ed sound
of pistol shot, which not one hun
dredth part of the audience heard at
the time-and yet a moments hush
somehow, surely vague, startled
thrill-and then, through the ornament
ed, draperied, starred and striped space
way Of the Presidents box, a sudden
figure, man raises himself with
hands and feet, stands a moment on
the railing, leaps below to the stage, Ia
distance Of perhaps fourteen or fifteen
feet), falls out of position, catching his
heel in the copious drapery 1.-THE Amer
lean flag, falls on one knee, quickly
RECEIVERS himself, rises as if nothing had
happened Che really sprained his ankle,
but unfelt then and so the figure of
Booth, the murderer, dressed in plain,
black broadcloth, bareheaded, with a
full head of glossy, raven hair, and his
eyes, like some mad animals, flashing
with light and resolution, yet With a
certain strange calmness, holds aloft in
one hand a large knife-walks along
not much back from the footlights-
turns fully toward the audience, his
face of statuesque beauty, lit by those
basilisk eyes, flashing with desperation,
perhaps nsanity-launches out in a
firm and steady voice the words Sic
senoper tyro1anis!-and then walks with
neither slow nor very rapid pace dag
onally across to the back of the stage,
and disappears. Had not all this terri
BILE scene-making the mimic ones pre-
posterous- it not all been rehearsed
in blank, by Booth, beforehand?
A moments hush, incredulous-a
scramble cry Of murder-Mrs. Lin
coin leaning out of the box, with ashy
cheeks and lips, with involuntary cry,
pointing to the retreating figure: He
has killed the President. And still a
moments strange, incredulous sus-
pense-and then the deluge then
that mixture of horror, noises, uncer-
tainty-( the sound, somewhere back,
Of horses hoofs gathering with
speed the people burst through
chairs and ratings, and break them up
that noise adds to the queerness Of
the scene-there is inextricable confu-
sion and terror-Women faint-quite
feeble persons fall, and are trampled
the broad stage suddenly fills to suffo
CdUlOu WILL ~ uCIlSC dl1u 1IOClCy C1OWO,
like some horrible carnival-the audi
ence rush generally upon tat least
the strong men do-the actors and &C
tresses are still here in their play cos
TUNES and painted faces, with mortal
fright showing through the rouge, some
trembling-some in tears-the screams
and calls, confused talk-redoubled,
trebled-two or three manage to pass
up water from the stage to the Presi-
dents box-others try to Chamber up
etc., etc., etc.
In the midst of this the soldiers of
the Presidents guard, with others sud
denly drawn to the scene, burst in
some 200 together-they storm the
house through all the tiers, especially
the upper ones, infamed with fury,
literally charging the audience with
fixed bayonets, muskets and pistols,
shouting: "Clear out clear out !
you!" Such the wild scene, or a sug-
gestion of it, rather, inside the play
house that night.