The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-12-08
Curious Condolences in the Late .Presi.
gs dent Gartfk's Life.

iHo " aoHiuSboh correspondent OF
the Hartford Conn Times writes:
On the 26ths Of August, The day when
the late Presidents physicians first
gave him up as beyond recovery, Gen
eral K. ID. Mussey, a lawyerof this city,
being asked whether he expected the
President would recover, said he did
not, but thought he would. die on the
10Th of September, the anniversary oil
3 the first day of the battle OF Chicka.
5 manga. His prediction postponing
death for so long a time attracted con-
siderable attention and much more
comment since, it being verified. The
= Times correspondent called on Cen
eral5 Mussey here to-day and obtained
from him some particulars of the pre-
dietion. He said: "The President
never told me that he thought he would
die on the 18th, as has been printed in
some papers. Marshal Henry, a par
ticular friend of his, however, told me
that the President told him that he
: thought he would die on the 10th of
November of last year, his forty-ninth
birthday. General Garfield was never
! m any way what might be called super
sstitious, though he was great believer
IN dates. sequences and condolences.
The New England stock which peopled
the West are like him in that respect.
Garfield's mind was analytical, and he
gave such matters more attention than
most people do. / will give You an in
cidept Illustrating what / mean. On
the 18th of June of the present year
the Army of the Cumberland (of which
General Garfield was a distinguished
and ilonored and an humble member)
! had = grand reunion. Not one of the
4 party thought about the date until
laJudge Devens, of Massachusetts,, in re-
spending to the toast, The Ladies'"
accidentally referred to it, adding that
the selection of the date OF the dinner
was a happy one, in view of the fact
that it was the anniversary as far as
the date, but not the month, was con-
cerned. Of one of the largest battles of
the Army of the Cumberland.
"A few minutes afterward, in speak
ing to the President, L asked if he had
noticed the similarity of his nomination
with that of Lincoln. : He said he had.
And |, without thinking of it, said Prov
idence may have the same destiny for
yoa. He did not answer for awhile.
remaining silent and thoughtful. Then
he said: The first Western man elected
to the Presidency was Harrison, of In
diana. Lincoln was elected in 1860, and
l was. elected in $780, Thinking that
we had not noticed the jumps of twenty
years he said 40, 80 and 80, what does
that meanp Then again, said the Pres
ldent, look at the part Indiana has
played in 1t. Besides having the honor
itself in Harrison case it was Indiana
that turned the scales and made Lincoln
the Republican nominee and President
1t was Indiana by Ben. Harrison, a
grandson OF President Harrison, that
cast the vote of Indiana that made me
the nominee and President Then,
tapping his finger on the back OF his
hand, he repeated 1910. 1860, $780, y
" Did he continue the sequence?' 80,
yes. Said he. Harrison died while he |
was President and in the White House;
Lincoln was assassinated while he was
President; what will become of mep'
VI course, this put us all, or at least the
little group that sat around him, think
ing of condolences, and I asked the
Presidentif he had noticed a Shakes.
pearean quotation on Marcus Wards
business calendar of the date he was
nominated for President. He said he
had received at least fifty of them from
different persons, all of whom called his
attention to the popularity of the QUO
tation. 1t was from Julius Cesar: 90
that man might know the end of this
days business ere it comes In view of
al tne circumstances this was remark
able incident. and it had considerable
effect on the President. While he did
not believe in special acts of Providence,
ne liked to talk of such things and rea-
500 out conclusions. The incident fol-
lowing his nomination was in the same
Lne. \ published it during the cam
paign after securing the Presidents per-
mission, though I then stated it was
On information furnished by General
SWalm 1t was furnished by Swain
nrst and by the President afterward.
While on his way to the building in
which the Convention was held, man
handed him on the street u circular or
1odger OF some kind. He says he first
supposed it was q railroad advertise
nent. he was about throwing it awav
when be noticed that it had extracts
rom the Scriptures on it. Not having
anne TO read it then, he crushed it no
md put it into his pocket. On the close
4 that day he was nominated, and be-
ore he left the Convention he had re-
'eiyed hundreds Of kilograms extending
congratulations. Going to his room, he
implied his pockets on a table, telling s.
'waim to save those that should be +
nyed and destroy those that should be E
Destroyed. General Swain was doing
his when he saw the crumpled paper. F.
)pening it he read it, and was so struck s.
vlth thequotatitjns that he saved it un- r
y General Garfield returned, when he !!
cad il. Garfield told me it made the 4 !
ar Of his head almost stand on end. !
here were two quotations. The first !
RS this; The stone which the build =
e rajected, the same is become the !. !
cad Of the corner. The other was: =
Neither Is there salvation in any other: = =
or there is none other name under 3 ),
eaven, given among men, whereby we !,
INST be saved The connection Of the .
go quotations lay in the fact that Gar 8
el3 had never been spoken of as can 7
ldete before the Convention, and that /" =
was about the only man who could !,