News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-01-30
THE STORY RETOLD.
Account of the Assassination of Lincoln as
Told in the Century"


Told in the Century"
Graphic Description of the Scene in Ford s
Theatre at the Awful Moment-The Leap
of the Assassin, His Flight and the Pur-
suit
No one not even the commedian on
the stage, could ever remember the
last words of the piece that were
uttered that night-the last Abraham
Lincoln heard upon earth. The whole
performance remains in the memory
OF those who heard it a vague phan-
tasmagoria, the actors the thinnest of
specters. The awful tragedy il the
box makes everything else seem pale
and unreal. Here were five human
beings in Il narrow space-the greatest
man of his time, in the glory of the
| most stupeudous success in our history,
the idolized chief of a nation already
mighty, with illimitable vistas of
grandeur to come; his beloved wife,
proud and happy; a pair of betrothed
lovers, with all the promise of felicity
that youth, social position, and wealth
could give them; and this young actor,
handsome as Endymion upon Latmos,
the pet of his little world. The glitter
of fame, happiness, and ease was upon
the entire group, but in an instant
everything was to be changed with
| the binding swiftness of enchantment.
Quick death was to come on the CEN
trail figure of that company-the CEN
trail figure, we believe, of the great
| and good men of the century.
| Over all the rest the blacklist
fates lowered ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS from
which mother might pray that kindly
death would save her children in their
infancy. One was to wander with the
stain of murder on his soul, with the
curse of the world upon his name, with
price set upon his head, in frightful
| physical pain, till he died dogs death
in burning barn. the stricken wife
S to pass the rest of her days in
melancholy and madness; of those two
young lovers, one was to Stay the other
and then end his life raving man
| lac.
The murderer seemed to himself to
be taking part in a play. The fumes
OF brandy and of partisan late had for
weeks kept his brain in amorbid state.
lie felt as if he were playing Brutus off
the boards; he posed, expecting ap-
plause. Holding pistol in one hand
and knife in the other, he opened
the box door, put the pistol to the
Presidents head and fired; dropping
the weapon, he took the knife in his
right hand. and when Major Rathbone
sprang to sieze him he struck savagly
at him. Major Rathbone re ceived the
blow on his left arm, suffering wide
and deep wound. Booth, rushing for
ward, then vaulted lightly over to the
stage. 1t was a high leap, but nothing
to such trained athlete. He was in
the habit of introducing what actors
call sensational leaps in his plays. In
Macbeth where he met the weird
sisters, he leaped from rock twelve
feet high. He would have got safely
away but for his spur catching in the
folds of the Union fl Ig with which the
front of the box was draped. He fell
on the stage, the torn flag trailing on
his spur, but instantly rose as if he had
received no hurt, though in fact the
fall had broken his leg, turned to the
audience, brandiShing his dripping
knife and shouting the State motto of
Virginia, Sic Semper Tyrannis,' and |
fed rapidly across the stage and out of |
sight. NJ jor Rathbone had shouted,
stop him!' The cry went out, he has
shot the President From the audi |
ence, at first stupid with surprise and !
afterwards wild with excitement and
horror, two or three men jumped upon i
the stage in pursuit of the flying as
sassin; but he ran through the fam liar |
L.. .,l-
was in waiting in the alley behind |
rewarded with kick and a curse the
l-boy who had held him, and rode
rapidly away in the light of the just |
risen moon.
The president scarcely moved |
his head dropped forward slightly, |
his eyes closed. Colonel Rathbone, |
at first not regarding his own grevious
hurt, rushed to the door of the box to
summon aid. He found it barred and
on the outside some one was beating
and clamoring for entrance. He open
ed the door; a young officer named
Crawford entered one or two army
surgeons soon followed who hastily
examined the wound. 1t was at once
seen TO be mortal. 1t was afterwards
ascertained that large derripger
bullet had entered the back of the
head on the left side, and, passing
through the brain, hid lodged just
behind the left eye. BY direction of
Rathbone and Crawford. the President
was carried to house across the
street and laid upon bed in small
room at the rear OF the hall, on the
ground floor. Mrs. Lincoln followed,
half distracted, tenderly cared for by
| Miss Harris. Rathbone, exhausted
| L.. l.. 6 f.i
ried home. Messengers were sent for
the members of The Cabinet for the
! SUPERINTENDENT. for Dr. Stone, the
Presidents family physician a crowd
| of people rushed instinctively to the
White House and. bursting through the
| doors, shouted the dreadful news to
| Robert Lincoln and Major Hay, who
sat gossiping in an upper room. They
ran down st hrs. Finding carriage
at the door, they entered it to go to
Tenth street. As they were driving
away, a friend came up and told them
that Mr.. Sewart and most of the Cabi-
net had been murdered. The news
was all so improbable that they could
not help hoping it was all untrue. But
when they got to Tenth street and
| found every thoroughfare blocked by
| the swiftly gathering thousands, agi-
tated by tumultuous excitement. they
were prepared for the worst In few
minutes all who had been sent for, and
many others, were gathered in the
! little chamber where the Chief of the
State lay in agony. His son was met
at the door by DIR. Stone, who with
grave tenderness informed him that
| there was no hope. After a natural
outburst OF grief young Lincoln de-
| voted himself the rest Of the night to
soothing and comforting his mother.
The President hid been shot few
minutes past ten. The wound would
! have brought instant death to most
men, but his vital tenacity was extra
! ordinary He was, of course, uncon-
! scious from the first moment; but he
1 breathed with slow and regular respi-
ration throughout the night. As the
dawn me, and the lamplight grew
pale In the fresher beams, his pulse
| began to fail; but his face even then
was scarcely more haggard than those
of the sorrowing group OF statesmen
and generals around him. His auto
| matte mo ming, which had continued
through the night, ceased; look OF
unspeakable peace came upon his
| worn features. At twenty-tw two minutes
after seven he died. Stanton broke
the silence by saying, now he belongs
to the ages DR.. Gurley kneeled by
the bedside and prayed fervently. The
! widow came in from the adio,ninp