The evening times., 1895-12-11

This scene in the tragedy was followed
by other horrors that the spectA tors found
| too awful ever to put into words. The long
| tongues of flame swept against the panic
stricken crowd, igniting their clothing wher-
ever ii touched. Many succumbed a once:
the rest made wild rush for the wiado vs.
Men. women and children threw themselves
bodily to the ground below. their garments
in flames even after they had fallen upon
the heap of humanity beneath. The final
scene followed quickly. for in ten minutes
after the discovery OF the fire the theater
was a mass of flames. Those outside the
walls sa W one momnet the windows framing
the figures OF men and women against the
background OF flame, ilea nd the shrieks and
groans above the cracking of the fire. The
next saw a screen of fire whiring through
the openings and burst out into the night,
and .'all was silence"
Seventy-two people perisIed in the flames.
the governor OF Virginia and many others
prominent in official and social life being
among them. The fire was regarded as
national disaster. Congress passed resolu-
tions of sorrow and coincidence. memorial
services were held in churches throughout
the land, the opponents OF the theater
broke forth with a series of denunciations
of pla yhouses with the disaster as a text.
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in pamphlets and widely read. The citi-
zens of Richmond went into mourning for
a month and suspended business for n time.
and the local authorities forbade any public
entertainment within the city for four
months, under a heavy penalty.
1t was then decided to erect great me-
mortal to the victims. The movement was
headed by Chief Justice Marshall of the
United States Supreme Court and all the
friends and relatives of the unfortunates
combined to makeup building fund.
The remains OF the victims were placed
together in a vault beneath the center of
the ruins, and around this tomb Monu-
mental Church was built as mausoleum.
From a romantic point of view the most
interesting object of all about the old church
Is the photograph OF Wilkes Booths double.
1t hangs In q dark corner of the old IA sh-
ioned vestry- room, and represents a man in
the prime of life. standing beside a table, his
long clerical garments giving him increased
height and dignity. The long straight hair
is brushed straight back from the high,
broad forehead. and the face-in its every
lineanent-is said to be the image Of Wilkes
Booth as he would have appeared at that
time. The resemblance is certainly most re-
markable-the deep bla ok e yes, the shape of
chin. mouth, cheeks, forehead e yebrows and
nose-and moreover there is q subtle simi-
larity Of expression to members of the
Booth family that defies description.
Thismau was the Rev. John G. Armstrong,
pastor of the church from 81 tn sS4. But
even to this day strange rumors of the final
end of Wilkes Booth are to be heard in
places where his friends and intimates lived
and talked long after the ASA ssination OF
President Lincoln had passed into history.
There are tales of a mysterious grave, OF
body that tailed in some of its marks with
those OF Wilkes Booth, and differed materi-
ally mothers, and an intangible fabric Of
supposition built about a series of gossiped
incidents. However yalueless these may be
historically, they show an uDdercurrent
that found a n eutbrea in the romance of Mr..
Armstrong, of NJ onumentalC Church.
The likeness of Mr.. Armstrong to Wilkes
Booth was SO startling that some people
who had seen both men found it hard to
believe that they were not the same. The
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