The Evening critic., 1881-09-20

theatres by newsbOy5 rushing here ant
there with extra editions of the newspapers
Not until the edition of THE CRITr
appcarcd, however was the official an,
correct statement of the death given. How
quickly the dark streets filled up will
people! Men, women and children appcarc,
upon the thoroughhrcs, though it wa.
some time before the public was willing t.
accept the sad truth
Draping the city In Weeds of Woe.
There was no stronger corroboration o
the news needed than the sudden appear
hnce of men with ladders, the sharp, stead,
strokes of hammers and the almost stimuli
taneous lighting up of stores as the duty o
draping the city in mourning began. Th
t. work kept up the remainder of the day ant
Is still in progress. Public and privat,
buildings, stores and places of business gen
orally, churches and places of amusement
all alike wear the sombrc drapcry, indi
|cativc Of the nations grief. Dry goods
stores were thrown open Immediately after
the sad news was received, and tens oil
thousands Of yards of mourning goods wer,
disposed of. Several of the larger dry goods
stores, anticipating the worst, had extra
supplies of black goods in stock, having
purchased it conditionally, and great dca
of which they had sold conditionally, also
to be delivered In consequence, very
shortly after the news arrived, these stores
were in state of connection. Clerks
porters and others were busy, and wagons
loaded with black Grape and cambria were
Very soon ON the way delivering orders.
The News Carried to the White House.
The reception of the news at the White
House was under peculiar circumstances.
When the telegraph boy with the sad mes
sage from Private Secretary Brown arrived
there he found only two persons about the
place. One was n policeman, the other a
messenger. Both were asleep. The house
was dark and rs silent rs the grave. None
ofthe clerks or other employees were around.
Shaking the policeman, who sat in the door
nodding, the telegraph boy announced his
presence. "What have you thcro?" asked
the officer. "A death message" the boy
answered. and then, 4
Bursting Into Tears. Added,
Ht ItSiutut III uH lilStdnt
the officer and his companion spmng to their
feet, and the messenger was dispatched for
MISUNDERSTANDING Pruden. In few
minutes quite crowd gathered on the
portico, expecting that some details of the
death would be received, but none came.
The house remained dark and silent. No
lights shone to indicate what great sorrow
had fallen upon the place. 1t
was expected that Mr.. Pruden would
repair at once to the mansion,
but he did not 60 there. He received the
sad news at his residence, and sent word to
the White House that he did not think it
necessary for him to go there until this
morning.
Assistant Secretary of State Hit,
who had just returned to the city,was called
upon at o'clock this morning and asked
what steps would be taken to-day with ref
crcnce to the great calamity. He declined
to speak on the subject. Col. Corbin was
seen next. He could say nothing officially.
At the Jail.
As stated in the extra edition of THE
CRITIC last night, the Jail was strongly
guarded. The reserve force of police was
held in readiness to proceed to the
jail at moments notice, and the
These precautions were taken in
the event Of any attempt to get at Guiteau,
the assassin, to lynch him. 1t was reported
that some such attempt would be made, but
there was no demonstration up to late
hour. A quiet. curious crowd surrounded
tie Jail, however. About 3 o'clock this
morning party of about thirty roughs ar
rived here from Baltimore. A telegram
from that city announced that their mis-
sion was
To Lynch Guiteau.
When they arrived here, however, they
found none to cooperate with them, and
they proceeded to the Baltimore & Potomac
depot, where they fingered until morning.
About 2:30 o'clock this morning hack
containing eight men drove up to the Jail.
They stated that they had medicine for theI
prisoners They were driven off promptly
This Morning.
The morning broke over the quiet
afflicted city and found the evidences of
grief distributed everywhere throughout
its length and breadth, and expressed in the
various ways by festoons and columns of
Grape, flags at half-mast, closed business
houses, and the anxious, revcrcnt, quiet
conversation to be overheard on every
hand
The display Of mourning has scarcely
been equaled here, and the taste and skill
with which 1t was arranged was exceptions
billy effective. Seventh street led in the
taste and quantity of its decorations the
large stores being drapcd with the greatest
care and beauty. Market Space was the
next in elaborate festooning, but every
street in the entire city showed great deal
of black cloth, and from hundreds of house
tops the flag at half-mast could be seen.
An Incendiary wretch.
The only demonstration OF ain lnccn.l
diary character was presented about q
O'Clock this morning, by a drunken street,
|peddler and sword swallowcr, who delivered
b vigorous appeal to a large audience to fol-
low him to the Jail and lynch the assassin
The man proposed to arm any number of
lmen who would accompany him, and hinted|
Idarkly at the weak and vulnerable points
Iof the jail He was arrested and locked up.
An unlucky individual narrowly escaped
the fury of the crowd ut about l o'clock