The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-02-15

| pr6pOSter0us-naQ IL not Oil D0en re-
hearsed, in blank, by Booth, beforehand?)
A momentary hush, incredulous-a
scream-the cry of murder-Mrs. Lin
coin leaning out of the box, with ashy
cheeks and lips, with an involuntary cry,
pointing to the retrea.ing figure, "He
has killed the President" And still
moments strange, incredulous suspense
and then the deluge, then that mixture
Of horror, noises, uncertainty-(the sound,
somewhere back, of a horses hoofs, clat-
tering with speed)-the people burst
through chairs and ratings, and break
them up-that noise adds to the queer
ness of the scene-there is inextricable
confusion and terror-women faint
quite feeble persons fall and are
trampled on-many cries of agony are
heard-the broad stage suddenly fills to
sufocatlon with dense and motley
crowd, like some horrible carnival-the
audience rush generally upon tat least
the strong men do-the actors and ae-
tresses are all there in their play cos
tumes-and pointed faces wit b 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 Presidents
box-others try to Chamber up-&c,
&c, &C.,
In the midst of all this the soldiers of
the Presidents Guard, with others sud-
denly drawn to the scene, burst in
some 200 altogether-they storm the
house, through all the tiers, especially
the upper ones, inflsmed with fury, lit
orally charging the audience with fixed
bayonets, muskets and pistols, shouting,
"Clear outl clear out!-you sons of b-P
Such the wild scene, or the suggestion
of it 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 1t,
came near committing murder several
.naes cH-innocent individuals. One such
case was especially exciting. The infur-
lated crowd, through some chance, got
started against one man, either for words
he uttered, or perhaps without any cause
at all, and were proceeding at once to ac-
tually hrng him on a noighboring lamp
post, when he was rescued by few heroic
policemen, who placed him in their midst
and fought their way slowly and amid
great peril toward the station house.
1t was a fitting episode of the
whole affair. The crowd rushing
and eddying to and fro - the
mighty the yells, the pale faces, many
frightened people trying in vain to ex
trlcate themselyes-the attacked man.
not yet freed from the jaws of death,
looking like corpse-the silent, resolute
half dozen policemen, with no weapons
but their clubs, yet stern and steady
through all those eddying swarms male
indeed fitting side scene to the grand
tragedy of the murder. They gained the
station house with the protected man,
whom they placed IN security for the
night, and discharged him in the morn
ing.
And in the midst of that night pande-
monium of .senseless hate, infuriated SOL
diers, the audience, and the crowd-the
stage, and all its actors and actresses, its
paint pots, spangles, and gas lights-the
life blood from those veins, the best and
sweetest OF the land, drips slowly down.
and deaths ooze already begins its little
bubbles on the lips.
Such, hurriedly sketched, were the ac-
compartments eff the death of President
Lincoln. So suddenly, and in murder
and horror unsurpassed, he was taken
from us. But his death was painless.