The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-07-03

and urged him to leave Washington, 60 TO
the country (she owned a farm near the city,
and by all means to shun the men in whose
company she had seen him. The scoun-
drel Weichmann, a boarder in her house,
was one of these. but owing to his sancti-
mOnious hypocrisy she excepted him from
the others. This infamous creature was
privy to all the plans which the abduction
plotters had Matched to carry the president
to Richmond. Mrs Surratt had treated the
migrate more as a son than as stranger. He
knew of her perfectlnnocence, of her violent
opposition to John Surratt's associations, of
her anxiety for him to leave Washington, of
her upright, holy life and stern religious
discipline. Yet when Secretary Stanton sent
for him after the assassination. and with
butcherous instinct threatened him with
punishment if he failed 10 connect Mrs Sur
raft with the conspiracy, the pusillanimous
villain turned states evidence and perjured
his black soul by swearing away the life of
an innocent woman who had ever shown
him mothers love. Writers of all parties
have agreed in execrating this perjured wit
ness. He will go through life with the
brand of Cain on his brow.
The revelation lately made IN the Balti-
more Gazette by Mr.. John T. Ford tells the
sad story in plain and simple, truthful
words. 1t proclaims the innocence of Mrs.
Surratt and forecasts the verdict of posterlty.
1t gives notice to the bloody-handed actors
in the martyrdom of the arsenal who still
survive that at length the American people,
ever fair and just when they see and know
the truth, have become aware that a poor
defenseless woman, loved of her neighbors
for her virtues, of edifyIng character to all
who knew her, innocent as an angel in
heaven of the blood of the other martyr,
Abraham Lincoln, was nevertheless put to
death by mo lstrous perversion of law aud
civilization, of religion and humanity. Their
bloody instructions have truly returned to
plague the inventors.
LINCOLN SEES HIS DANGER.
In the case of Mr.. Lincoln the present.
ment amounted to superstitlous conviction
that he must soon die. at was just after
my election in 1860" said Mr. Lincoln to
his secretary, John Hay. when the news
had been coming in thick and fast all day,
and there bad been great 'hurrah, boys,
/ so that was well tired out and went home
to rest, throwing myself on lounge in my
chamber. Opposite to where l lay was a
bureau with swinging glass upon 1T, and in
looking in that glass | saw myself reflected
nearly at full length; but my face, | no
ticed, had two separate and distinct images,
the tip of the nose of one being about three
inches from the tip of the other. was a
| little bothered, perhaps startled, and got up
! and looked in the glass; but the vision van
Ished On lying down again saw it a sec
ond time-plainer, if possible, than before;
and then / noticed that one of the faces
was little paler-say five shades-than the
other got up and the thing melted away;
and l went off, and In the excitement of the
hour forgot all about it-nearly, but not
quite for the thing would once in a while
come up and give me little pang, as though
! something uncomfortable had happened.
When | went home l told my wife about il;
and few days after tried the experiment
again, when, sure enough, the thing came
back again; but / never succeeded in bring
ing the ghost back after that, though | once
tried very industriously TO show it to my
wife who was worried about it somewhat
She thought it was "a sign that was to be
elected to a second term of Office, and thai
the paleness of one of the faces was an omen
that / should not see life through the last
term" (Pp. 476-477, Lannon's Life of Lin
coin W
Nor was this the only period when Pres
dent Lincoln seemed to be confronted by hi:
Damon. In the second volume, page 80, o.
his civil War in America" the historian
DIR. Draper, says: las is not unfrequentlN
observed of western men, there were mystic
rious traits of superstitution 10 his (Lin
coln's) character. A friend once inquired
the cause of deep depression under which
he seemed to be suffering: Il have seen thi
evening again. he replied, what once saw
before on the evening OF my nomination q
Chicago. AS | stood before a mirror ther'
were two images of myself-s bright one il
front and one that was very pallid standing
behind. 1t completely unnerved me. The
bright one l know is my past; the pale ont
my coming life. And feeling that there i
no armor against destiny, he added Il d.
rot think shall live to see the end of m!
term. | try to shake off the vision, but j
still keeps haunting me-
All these presentiments of both martyr
may have proceeded from nervous excite
ment or other natural causes. But il is
fact that both Mr.. Lincoln aud Mrs Surrat
were oppressed by forebodiDgs of a gloom.
fate impending over them. Nations lik
men, must take comfort from sorrow.
makes holy cause; it sanctifies indi
vidual. A favorite American writer says
Crowns of roses fade-crowns of thorns en-
dure. Calvaries and cruci6xes take deepes
hold of humanity"