New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-04
SUSPENSE IN THE CITY


ENCOURAGEMENT FROM tn DISPATCHES OF rur
MORNING AND AFrERNooN-AIARM AND sop
ho" CAUSED BY THE USFAvoRABLR NEWS In
rhh EVENING-TALKs WITH Mr.. TILDEN GEN.
ERAL HANCOCK AND OTHERS
Ihe favorable reports from Washington ves-
oerday morning much encouraged the neonIa
vi the city, who had been greatly depressed
an thu distressed by the alarming news Of
,a'ufoay' As the day advanced, the
.spa.ches become more and more reassuring !:
oo' .'ieie was still much of anxiety and appre-'
,e"s'oh here as the grave nature of the PresiJ
~ injuries was made known. The num-
oo' vi persons who went TO the beaches for the
Joy was hiuch smaller than usual. The desire
'o hear 10 the newspaper offices
ana other places where information uos
e0o'Teu from the White House, and
10 learn everything that could ha
learned about the condition of the
stricken President, was SO general and ;n,ense
that the great Mass of the citizens nre-
ierred to remain here. The less bonefuI
tone in the dispatches after g o,c,ock
In the evening saddened all who became ac-
qualnted with their contents. As the renorta
became still more unfavorable the grief and de-
preston OF the worst hours of Saturday were
renewed and intensified by the reaction from
.he bright hopes of yesterday morning. Tho
evening closed In gloom and apprehension Con-
'ersitions on the one subject which excludes
all others were had yesterday by TRIBUNE re-
porters with Mr.. Tilden, General Hancock Mr..
Dewcw, Mr.. Platt, Thurlow Weed and Others.
THE CITY'S ANXIETY FOR THE PRESIDENT.
HOW THE HOURS OF SUNDAY WERE PAssFp--rx.
PATIENCE FOR THE FRESHEST REPORTS FROM
iiE WHITE HoUsE-A SHADOW ON THE CON-
MUNITY.
Inc silence of great sorrow and a terrible an
plchehSloh lay upon the city yesterday morning
Men lad reluctantly sought their beds the night
lore after waiting for the last bulletin from Wash,
ington' and their sleep was broken by the anxiety
oi suspense and the weight of personal grief There
were thousands who before the sun had got far
above the horizon in order that the narrowing nm
certainty might be relieved bv fresh news of tbe
stricken President. Never were papers more eagerly
"'iooihcd 1iah those that came up town in the early
morning from Park-row and Printing Honsa
square Toilets and breakfasts were for the tina
forgotten in the haste to seize upon tho
damp sheets and learn more definitely whether
the Chief Magistrate would live or die The deem
feeling that stirred every household spread through
the streets and avenues of the city. Ont of doors
one could feel at once the electric thrill of excite
ment Some great catastrophe was in the air and
Its influence passed from man 10 man noiselessy vet
more effectively than 10y the medium of wor.is It
was not the ordinary Sunday quiet of Ncw-York
hut the hush of suspense and the silence of anxiety
Even one ignorant of the tragic event that
had darkcned the day could not bave
failed to note that the shadow of some great
puDhc calamity was upon the community Tho
hrst effects of the terrible blow had not yet passed
Men woke in the morning as from nightmare aad
| the rush of memory like the recollection of a
mdeous dream. Then all the faT-reaching conse-
quences of the fonl deed came TO mind and the i'm
Inn
ington was renewed. The morning adv vanced and tbe
suspense dcepened. Then the shouts of newsboys
broke the quiet. Through the still streets they RAM
coatess and often hatless, and the first words than
greeted the eagerly strained ears were President
Garfield improving" Thank God y was the M
sponsc that went mp from many a full heart as men
and women turned aside to hide their tears All
along the uptown streets the cries of the runners
bringing the latest tdDgs woke the sombre brown
stone fronts into life. Windows went up cur-
tains parted and hands nervonsly beckoned as anx-
lous faces looked out. Servants ran bareheaded
from area doorways. and, infected by the eagerncss
of their masters, hurriedly caught the news from
the papers they returned. The favorable reports
of the forenoon brought slight relief but ths
wearing strain of suspense still continued. The blow
had struck home TO every household and the restless
Impatlcncc shown for news of the President was A.
though father or brother lay there in the White
House at the point of death.
On the chief avenues one feeling was visible II,
every face. News-stands were besieccd from early
morning, and men and boys every grade of social
position showed an equal anxiety to obtain all
possible news. Men stood in the glare of the sun
regardless of its heat while they hastily scanned tho
columns telling the story of the dastardly crime
Even the boot-blacks forgot their usual Sunday
morning harvest and gathered in little knots whie
one of their number spelled out the news When
the bells rang announcing church, there was ono
thought in all minds which made the services of
the day seem secondary, aud churchgoers paused
at news-stands, and women well as men fingered
wherever there was an opportunity of procuring
later news. Soon after II o'clock the churches
poured out their congregations and the first thought
was What is the last report from Washington r,
Women joined the hrong before the telegraph Office
in Twenty-thrd-st., and seized the extras
that were hawked about the streets. Chill
dren looked on with half scared faces shar-
ing the excitement they hardly understood. Two
white-haircd women just from church paused before
the telegraph Office and as they read President
Garfield scondition is more favorable" both broke
into Sobs not of sorrow but of joy.
AT the various places of public resort where men
congregate 10 give and obtain news the
crowds animated BY one feeling
of indignation against the assassin, and q
stronger sentiment of sympathy with the stricken
President and his family and of at the blow
that had fallen upon the head of the Nation
Usually a Sunday morning finds the broad iobbles
of the Fifth Avenue. Windsor and Brunswick
Hotels comparatively deserted hall boys sit quietly
one side ami the marble floor echoes only tho
footsteps of few strangers. But yesterday morn
ing crowd collected at the en-
trance of the Fifth Avenue Hotel and the
lobby was filed with excited groups of men. It was