Nebraska advertiser., 1882-03-02

the following letter 20 Mrs Garfield
CHICAGO, February u.
Mrs. Lucretia Garfield, Cleveland, o.:
DEAR MADAM: Humbly address you, trust.
ing you will not turn deaf ear even upon
dcspised Guiteau's sister.
All these weary months | have patiently
waited until the time should come for me 20
speak: when, after the verdict. which be-
lieved would be Not guilty, by reason Of in
sanity" could say without shamcfacedness:
MY heart blccds for you and the sainted
dead"
My poor brother was not his own master
when he fired that shot. Forgive him; look
with compassion upon him and me.
have counted the hours for the time when
i could boldly say to you, ~ have said from
the moment when tie terrible news was
brought me on that dark day in July: " He was
brain-sick, deluded, crazy; forgive him, even
Christ shall forgive us all"
Both our martyred President and his family,
having shown such an example of Christian
fortitude and trust in the Most High M the
world may well revere, led me to hope that tho
sense of wrong suffered would. when the truth
was shown, be tempered with that mericiful
forgiveness which Is indeed Christi Ike.
All these dreadful weeks Of the Presidents
suffering prayed that the Father above US all
seeching cry went up: "GOd save the Presi-
dent" thought he could not die.
When the people OF The whole whole world called
I said: "surely He will show forth His
glory" But, alasl the ndcrest care of wife,
family and fir ends, the prayers of the people,
could not move the Ruler OF the Universe fo
cOuniermand the DEGREES Of His all-wise and
mysterious Providence :lcould not keep in his
poor. despoied body his grandly beautiful
Despite the vigiIs, the tears and the prayers
of his family; of the Nation, of the world, the
midnight bells were tolled, the midnight cry
was heard: "The President Is dead
In July, when It was reported that the suffer
I
letter to you stating the facts in my brothers
life and every theory of this case thinking that
both yourself and the President would be glad
to know that poor crazy man had done the
deed, instead Of the hardened wretch he was
painted At the time IL was reported the Presi-
dent was Interested In anything regarding the
terrible AFFAIR that he even said one day: II
wonder what that poor fellow would think If
he knew that had forgiven hmT oh! that
might know from his own wife IL that were
true. My heart, be still!
In Heaven we know, as we are known the
sainted Garfield knows now that he had to do
say: "Forgive that deluded man, even us
forgive him: safely keep him from doing any
more harm, but forgive"
never sent the letter. The report came al
most Immediately that the President
worse, and knew you would not wish To be
troubled with anything from Guiteau's sister.
had hoped by waiting to come before you
with u better showng-pitidicdted so far as in.
sanity is an excuse for crime, but my heart
burns within me, and Notwithstanding that
speak. My poor brother shut away from the
world for months in Il tomb-like cell; not u ray
of sunshine, not blade of grass, not II flower,
not a bird, not Il friend To speak Kind word:
who Is there to speak in his behalf, If not his
heart-broken sister, Did not speak, the very
stones would cry out!
His santed mother, the purcst and nOblest
of women, that mother who gave her life for
his, who suffered torture for seven long years
because of his birth, until death made her
free that father, tender and kind, but mis-
taken in his direction of the boy, would, If pos
sible, make their voices heard from beyond
the grave. Even, as | verify believe, would
the glorious Garfield cry out in horror ut that
verdict. What of that verdict? Was 1t
cording to truth. justice and mercy? Verify,
no.
had hoped to be able to cast myself at the
feet of Judge Cox; TO Dc able, so long as had
breath, TO look up to him as the grand, the no.
bic, the just Judge, who could stand as firm as
the everlasting rocks for the weak and de-
fcnseless against the whole world But, alas,
my idol
And that juryl God only knows how had
trusted in their honesty and steadfastness. L
| had watched their faces day by day, had seen
| their eager, absorbed. solemn interest when
my brother was reading his last address, When
| he came to the recitation of those few lines of
| the story; John Browns body lies a molder-
| ing In the grave, but his soul goes marching
along" commencing In a low, sad melody OF
| the song, breaking up and ending in the weird,
| hysterical laugh, the awful laugh, of the in
sane, one could feel the silence i thought,
surely IL Is enough; no power on earth can
| prevail upon those men to say that poor luna
| tic, without revenge, without motive except
| to obey what he deemed the will of God, COM
mtted willful murder.
but they did. They must have reasoned, as
some do, that 1t Is good thing to hang II crazy
man, as an example TO other crazy men.
Knowing him, understanding HIM. as claim,
better than any one else, assert and can prove
that my brother has always intended to do right
and live honestly. His shortcomings have been
those Of an unbalanced, distracted brain, rhth-
| or than bad heart. His heart has ever been
| a
| has been most unfortunate; he was neither
bon right, reared right nor married right
| Even with his defective organization, had he
instead of being forced into the Oneida Com
munity been allowed to obtain good educa-
ton, entered upon some practical business,
| 80 that his mind would not DRIFT into vaga-
ries; and most important of all, had he, when
married. found in his wife helpful hon
est woman, he might have gone through
to its close. as old his father. But,
alasl his mother died; father married
"a woman who dsliked his children, and
| Charles, the only one needing home with
them, was almost turn away from his faith
er's house; tender in years, weak I'm body aud
mind, no one t. guide him, no one to care for
| him (but mys IL, did what could, ii was but
littlel the boy difted out into tn cruel world.
Byerything went wrong with him, and now,
wreck of what might have been.
Shall the true story of Charles Guiteau's life
| ever be told, the world will see that he has
| been more sipned against than SHINING. lie
has never smoked or drank, or gambed, or
lied, or been profane or been In any way
vicious. Detectives securing the country for
months have found whatI That he did not al
ways pay his board, that he borrowed 800
from minister which he never returned, that
! he pawned u watch for $25, that he sinned
| against himself, and only himself II give an
unworthy woman legal divorce. Little did
! think the time would ever come when she, the
woman who could not say he had ever
wrJnged her, would travel across the conti-
nent TO swear his life away. When he dis
missed the woman he had once loved, with his
blessing, was moved 10 tears. If ever my
poor broth r. proved that the blood of IA gem
tleman flows in his veins he proved It then.
Wreck though he is, was proud of him.
cannot close this letter without one word OF