Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-12-22

his mother when they first bought the lot and
it was the first time I had ever seen him. l
have known good many actors, but old as
I am have never yet witnessed theatrical
performance am quite we'll acquainted
with John E. Owens, who lives just out the
road here"
I piled the old clergyman-superintendent
with questions about Booth, but he had ex-
hausted his information in the few lines given.
I then turned from the grave and soon left
Greenmount behind, and was again in the
heart of the busy city. The visit to Booths
grave excited in me great and renewed In
terest in the history of the great crime which
fell like pail upon the people of the North
as they were preparing to celebrate in joyous
festivities the coming of peace, and deter
mined me to 20 over the old ground and re-.
write the story. I have done so, and in a
plain way now tell what saw and heard.
JOHN T. FoRDs RECoLLEcTIoNs.
Not far from the graveyard where the
Booth family are buried, lives John I. Ford,
the veteran theatrical manager who for many
years had close relations with all the Booths
who were actors. Under his management
Junius Brutus, Edwin and John Wilkes
Booth played some of their most successful
engagements. 1t was Ford that attended to
the removal of the remains of John Wilkes
from Washington to where they now lie, not
withstanding that the crime be committed in
Mr.. Ford's theatre caused that gentleman
great trouble and vast amount OF money.
l met him the other day at his opera house
in Baltimore and the assassination of Mr..
Lincoln became the subject of conversation
as in contrast with the assassination of Cen
eral Garfield, and the difference in the char
acter of the two men who committed these
two gerat crimes.
II was not in Washington when Mr. Lin.
coin was killed." said Mr.. Ford. II had
lived in Richmond some years before the
war, and had friends and relatives there.
Fearing that they might be suffering for the
necessities Of life Immediately after the sur
render 1 started for that city. Colonel For.
ney also went down at the same time. l
arrived the morning of the day the President
was killed, and on the next morning started
home When on the way, first learned of
the crime. When reached home | was ar.
rested and kept in prison for thirty.nine days."
"When do you think Booth first conceived
the idea of killing the President ?"
st is morally certain that he never had
such thought until late in the day upon
which he committed the assault. The facts in
the case are that he never knew the President
was to atterd the theatre until nearly noon
of that day. He was always late riser.
He came down to breakfast about ten o'clock
on that morning and his 6ancee, who also
boarded at the National Hotel with her pa.
rents, met him. They had short conver-
sation, and after breakfast he walked up to
the Surratt mansion, on Sixth street, it is sup
posed, from the direction in which he was first
seen coming by the attaches of the theatre
that morning. He was walking down Tenth
street from toward H. He was faultlessly
dressed in full suit Of dark clothes, and a
tall silk hat He wore pair of kid gloves
of a subdued color, and light overcoat
sIung over his arm and carried cane. My
brother Harry who was standing in front of
the theatre with some other gentlemen first
saw him, and turning to his companions said:
THE ADoNIs OF THE STAGE.
"'Here comes the handsomest man in the
United States
"He came directly to the theatre, went to
the box office, got his mail, went out and sat
down on the front steps of the theatre to read
it. One of his letters was very long one,
so lengthy as to attract my brothers atten-
tion. When he had finished reading it he
arose, and approaching Harry, said:
"'What's ON to night?
"'Our American Cousin, and we are going
to have big night replied Harry. The
President and General Grant are going to oc-
cupy the Presidents box and General Lee is
going to have the adjoining oue,' said he, by
way of cha6ng Booth.
"I hope they are not going to do like the
Romans-parade their prisoner before the
public to humiliate him ? bitterly responded
Booth.
"Harry replied that he was jesting about
Lee, but that Mr.. Lincoln and General Grant
would certainly attend the evening perfor-
nance; that note had been sent from the
White House engaging the box. AS Harry
said this Booth was thoughtful moment,
and then turned and walked down the street
toward Pennsylvania avenue. He met Mr..
John F. Coyle, then one of the editors of the
National latelHgencer and Booths very warm
friend. He shook hands with him and said :
"John what would be the resultifsome one
would put Lincoln and the Cabinet out of
.he way?'
"Coyle laughed and said
"'We don't have any Brutuses in these
days
Booth turned and walked down the street,
and after that time, which certainly must have
been nearly noon, the arrangements for the
assassination were hurriedly made. | do not
believe that any reasoning man longer doubts
that there was no thought of killing Mr.
Lincoln until the day upon which the crime
was committed Until Booth came to the
theatre that morning he had no knowledge
that the President intended visiting the thea
tre in the evening. That afternoon he wrote
a letter justifying the assassination. This
letter he gave to John Matthews, who now is
engaged in New York. He was then play
ing at my theatre The letter was intended
to be published in the National lntelligencer,
and it was we'll on toward night when he
gave it to Matthew'S He was riding down
Pennsylvania avenue toward the National
Hotel when he met Matthews and handed
him the letter. Matthews destroyed the
paper Immediately after the shooting, and no
one ever saw it but he."
BOOTH AS AN ACTOR.
"Was Booth great actor ?"
"Yes, sir. Doubtless he would have made
the greatest actor of his time bad he lived.
Besides being the handsomest man [ ever saw,
he was an athlete. He put into all his imper'
sona tinns the vitality of nerfect manhood