The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-02-12
ABRAnAM LINcoLN,s prlrn.


To-day Is the anniversary Of President
Lincons birth II he had lived till now he
would have been sixty--ix years old rhe fol-
lowing vivid description " the scenes Mt Ford's
Theatre at the time " his ASSASSINATION. from
forthcoming book by Walt Whitman, has never
before been published:
Tho dIv, April II. 1885. seems to have ,een
pleasant one throughout the whole land-the
moral atmOs phcre plea ant. tuO-thc long storm,
SO dark. SD fairfield l. fun Of blood and doubt
aud gloom, over aud ended AZ ! st bv the sunr ga
II such an absolute natl nal victory ana ut
breaking down Of secessioni m We almost
doubted our own scustsl Ice had pitulnted
beneath tue apple trcg " AppomaitoE. The
other armies, the nangts Of the revolt, swiftly
followed.
And could II really I've. then? out Of all the
affairs Of this world ~ woe md passion. OF fall-
ure aud disorder and dismay, was there re Nv
come the confirmed, unerring sign pi pan: lke
shaft of pure light-of rigutful rule of God
But must not dwell on accessories. Inc
deed hastrns. The popular afternoon parcr the
little Eucniag StdF, had spattered all over its
third page, divided among the Advertisements
In a sensational manner IN hundred different
places: 1.-THE President and hts lady Will be at
the theatre this eve uinR." (LiDcOln was FOND
OF the theatre. | have myself seen him there
several times. remember thinking how funny
IL was that he In some respects, the leading
actor In the greatest and stormiest drama
known to real histOrys stage, through centu-
ries, should sit there and be so completely in
terested and Absorb ed IN those human jack
straws, moving about with their silly little Res
lures. foreign spirit and tlatulent text)
SO tue day, as i say. was propitiou,. Early
where was stopping at the time, the Sc son
teing advanced, there were many lilacs IN full
bloom. by one Of those prices that enter and
give tinee to events without being at all part
OF them, find myself ALWAYS reminded OF the
great tragedy of that day by the sight and odor
of these blossoms. Il never iailsg
On this occasion the theatre was crowded,
many ladies IN rich and CAV costumes. officers
In their uniforms. many wcll-knOwn citizens,
young folks. the usual clusters Of Raslghts. the
usual magnetism of 80 many people, cheerful,
with perfumes music Of yolins and nutes-taud
nVtr "a iii. III.
wond, T, victory the Nations Victory, the tri-
umph of the Union, hilihg the air, the Thought,
the sense, with eKhil. ration more than all per
fumes.D
The President came betimes and. with his
wife, with ssed the play, from the large stage
boxes Of the second tier two thrown into one,
and prOfusely urdped with the national nag.
I no acts and scenes OF the piece-one OF those
slugularly witless compositions which have al
least the merit Of giving entire relief to ~ audi
ence engaged IN mental action or business ex-
elements and cares during the day, hs IT makes
not the slightest call on either the moral, emo
tiOnal, esthetic. or spiritual nature-a piece
G. our American Cousin > IN which. among
other characters, so called. Yankee. certainly
such one as was never seen. or the least IKE II
ever seen IN North America, Is introduced In
ia gland, with IA varied fO-de-rOl Of talk, plot,
sgenety, and suCn phantasmagoria NJ goes to
make up a modern popular drama-had pro-
gressed through perhaps a couple OF its acts,
when In the midst Of this comedy, or tragedy,
or nOn-such, or whatever 1t Is to be called, and TO
offset 1t or finish IL out as II In natures and tho
great muses. mOckery OF these poor mines,
comes interpolated that scene. not really or *
hundreds who were there II seems to this hour
to have left little but a passing Jlur, IRE am,
blotch)-and yet partially to be described "a
now proceed to give It.
There Is a scene in the play representing
modern parlor IN which two unprecedented
English ladies arc Informed by the unprecedcnt-
ed aud impossible Yankee that he is not man
Of fortune. and therefore undesirable for mar
rage catching purposes; after which, toe com
ments being finished, the dramatic trio make
exit. leaving the stage clear for moment.
I here was pause a hush as II were. At this
period came the murder Of Abraham Lincoln.
Great as that WAS, with all lie manifold train
circing re..nd II. and stretching into the future
for many a century, in the politics, history. art,
&C. OF the New World, In point of I, ct the
main thing, the actual murder, tr inspired with
currence-tne bursting Of a bud or pod In the
IT with OF vegetation, for Instance.
Through the general hum following the stage
pause, with the change Of positions Sc, came
the muflied sound OF pistol shot, which not
one hundIedth part OF the audience heard at
the time and yet moments hush-somehOw
surely vague, startled thrlll-and then, through
the orn mented, draperied, starred ana slriped
speedway Of the Presidents box, a sudden
figure. a man raises himself with hands aud
feet, stands moment on the railing, leaps be-
low to the stage "a distance Of perhaps fourteen
or fifteen feet, falls out OF position, catching
his boot-heel IN The cOpious drapery the Amer
lean flar), falls on one knee, quickly re-
pened (he really sprains his ankle, but un-
felt then),and SO the figure, Booth the
| bare headed, with u fun head Of glossy, raven
hair, and bis eyes, like some mad amin ais, flash
a
| strange calmness, holds aloft In one hand u
| large kDife-walks along not much back from
| the lootlights-turns fully toward the audience
bis face Of satuesque beauty, liz by those basil
lisk eyes, flashing with desperation, perhaps IN
SAINT, launehes out In arm and steady voice
the words, SIC seIRpcr tyrdnnts-and then walks
| with neither slow norvery rapid pace oiAgonaliy
across TO the back Of the stage, and disappears.
| had not all this terrible scene-maktng tho
mimic ones IreposterOus-had II not ali been
rehearsed, ia blank, by Booth, beforehand
a moments hush, incredulOue-a scream
Lincoln leaning of
the box, with ashy cheeks and hps, with In
voluntary cry, poiRting to the retreating nsure,
"He has Killed the President And still mo-
ments strange, incredulous suspense-t nd then
the deluge then that mixture OF horror noises,
| uucertainty-Uhe sound somewhere back, OF a
| horses hoOfs Gathering with speed)-the peo-
| pie burst through chairs and ratings, and break
them up-that noise adds t. the queerness OF
the scene-thers Is ineXtrcable confusion an
| teri ir-women faint-quite feeble persons fall.
and are trampled on many cries Of agony are
| heard the broad stage suddenly Oils to sufo-
| cation wth a dense and motley crowd, like some
| horrible carnival-tho audience rush generally
| upon it-at least the strong men do-the actors
| and actresses are all there in their play cos
| tunes and painted faces, with NOR al fright
| showing through the rouge, some trembling
| some IN tears-the reams and calls, confused
| talk-redouhled, trebled-twO OF three manage
| to pass up water from the stage to the Presi-
| dents box-others Try To clam Der up-&c. &c,
Sc.
In the midst Of ali this the soldiers Of the
President s Guard. with others. suddenly drawn
to the scene, burst in--some ~ altogether-they
| storm the house, through all the tiers. especially
literally
chArglng the audience with fixed bayonets, mt =
kets and pistols, shouting "Clcar cut clear
| outl-you sons OF b-l" such the Wild scene
or suggestion OF IL rather, inside the play house
| that night.
Outside, too, In the atmosphere Of shock and
craze crowds OF people. filled with frenzy. ready
| to seize any outlet for II, came near committing
murder several times on innocent individuals
| One such case was especially exciting. The In
| furtated crowd through some chance, got
| started against one man, either for words he
| uttered, or perhaps without any cause at all
| ana were proceeding at once TO actually hans
| him on a neighboring lamp post, when ne W n
| rescued by a few heroic policemen, who placed
| him in their midst and fought their way slowl,
| and amid great peril toward the station house
| II was lifting episode Of the whole affair. The
| crowd rushing and eddying 20 and fro-the
| night, the yells, the pale faces, many frightened
| people trying In vain TO eXtricate themselves
| the attacked man, not yet freed from the Jaws
| OF death. looking Ike a corpse-the silent, reso
| Lutte half dozen policemen, with no weapons bui
| their little clubs, yet stern and steady through
| all those eddying swarms-madc I'm iced a fttinl
| side scene to the grand tragedy oi the murd er
| They gained the station mouse with the pr
| tected man, whom they placed In security To-
| the night and discharged him In the morning
| And IN the midst of that night nandemoniun
| OF eenseless hate, infuriated soldiers, the auof
| ence, and the crowD-the stage, and all Its actor
| and actresses. its p int pots, spaneles, and ga
| lights-th0 lie blood from those veins, the hes
and sweetest Of the land, drirs slowly down. n,
deaths ooze already begins its little bubbles oi
| the lips.