The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-10-05
: Qar=;nIiy Bposh Posed in His Last

Tclgaly.
II have never been able TO see the
n'ay called The American Cousin,
sad General Hamiin, Though | had
several times made engagements to 30
AMI see it. and | have never yet seen it
fully performed, so that have a sort of
superstition about the piece. The night
that Mr.. Lincoln was murdered, | OBJ
served that The American Cousin was
to he played, and took my sister, who
is now deceased. and another lady TO
the theatre. We had seats far down to
the front. only II few seats from the
stage. Mr.. Lincoln came in and pro-
cceicd to his box, which was the upper
one on the right, but he was not visible
To the audience where he sat, having q
place back in the box, from which he
could the better see the stage. Indeed,
from where sat, could see no peO-
pie in the boxes. Not long before Mr..
Lincoln was shot there was u change of
scenes. during an act, and it seemed to
me that il was the longest time required
to change scenes that ] ever observed
in Il theatre. II was So no.iccably long
that | afterwards wondered in conncc-
WIN w I'LL tIt
not have been some irresolution or per-
plexity on that stag. Not long after
there was sound something like the
slapping of your hands together, sharp,
yet not very loud, but loud enough to
make me turn my head and wonder
what could have made it, and whether
it was a pistol, and / reflected that
had never heard of pistol being fired
during The American Cousin.
1.-The next thing saw was Booth get
ting ont of that box. had seen Booth
play on two occasions. and knew his
face perfectly well. There never was u
more deliberate thing than his stepping
ont on the sill of that box, and leaping
from it. He made rs pretty jump as
ever saw. If he had practiccd that
leap it could hardly have been more
elegant. He alighted in crouching po-
body down TO break the shock of the
fall. While it was u good jump in
Height, it was not a dangerous one st
all, perhaps from where he leaped to
the stage was nine or twelve feet. His
spur tore a flag. and that seemed to
bring him around somehow SO that he
alighted with his face turned more to
the audience than would have been the
case had he merely hoped directly
downward. His face was marble pale.
In his right hand he held knife, and
in a theatrical way he stretched it up
ward and distinctly said the words: Sic
semper tyrannis.' Then in very sta
gey stride. still pale, serious and intense
he went right across the stage and out
Many people at this stood up, and neal
me was n naval officer. whose name !
still remember, who. hearing someone
exclam, The president has been shot.
lifted himself up, sailor fashion. TO the
woodwork and decorations of the pri-
vate box below, and climbed into the
box above, and he came down the
same way in the audience, and he had
upon his hand Il little piece of the brain
| of Mr.. Lincoln, with blood attached,
which he said he was going to keep. "
''Of course the audience was dismissed
and rs | was going to the street few
minutes aficrward. | met friend in
the service who said to me: This is
terrible news. Mr.. Stanton and (hcre
] forgot the officer mentioned by Gen.
HamiltOn) Mr.. Seward. we fear, have
been mOrtally wounded. Al this
went Immediately to my Office, and took
the responsibility, rs chief of the staff
of the artillery, of ordering out the field
batteries we had in the forts around
Washington. feared the next thing
would be some kind of rebel rising in
Washington, and summoned the artil-
lery to come down ut once, and put
them in positions TO fire upon the town
and clear the main avenues if there Wa
to be any more violence. - George N,
fred IOWnsend