The Savannah morning news., 1901-02-11
NEW STORIES OF LINCOLN.
THE PRESIDENTS CHANGED PLANS
FOR THE NIGHT HE WAS SHOT.

TELLS OF the preparation 1here 10
Receive Lincoln on the Evening of
the ASsassinatiOn-LincO Had Al
ready Made an Engagement to Go
to FOrd's-LincOIn'S Last Note Car
ried by Nor. Fraser-MahlOn Shna-
ber's story of Gathering of Six
Footers on Washington street,
of Whom He Was the TaIIest, and
Lincoln the Second.
Washington. Feb. SIT is a fact known
TO only few people that on the night
/ OF Linco.n's assassination in Ford's The
alter. Washington by John Wilkes Booth.
he had an ormal-engagement to attend
the National Theater and was expected
there up to within two hours of the per-
Torrance. Mr. Robert L. Fraser, prom
inent insurance man of Charleston, w.
Va. was then an Office boy at the Ma
tonal and carried the note of formal in
/ vitati to the White House, receiving in
| reply what was probably one of the last,
/ If not the very last. note ever written by
the martyred President He gives the
+ following account of the matter:
Susan and Kate Denim were then play
ing at the National in Aladdin" and
/ "The Seven Sisters" Which of the two
plays was on that night Mr.. Fraser
doesn't remember. c.. ID. Hess and Len
Grover were managing the theater and
the office force consisted of Maj. Burke,
now of the Wild West Show, orion II.
/ Hess, and young Fraser who was 10 years
old. office boy. 1t was understood by
! the management that the President was
to attend the evening performance of
April IA. 1865 In fact, Mr.. Lincoln had
informally spoken. of coming, so special
decorations of greens and flags were put
up. Late that afternoon, in order that
there might be no slip, c. ID. Hess sent
young Fraser with a formal invitation
and note of reminder to the President. The
| boy was glad of the chance to go to the
| White House, as he had struck up
| friendship with Tad Lincoln and hoped to
run across him there. Tad was not
around, however. so Fraser delivered his
note and waited for an answer, which
came back to him in a few minutes in
! Mr.. Lincolns own handwriting. II was
then nearly 6 o'clock.
Upon his return to the theater with the
note Frazer found Mr.. Hess superintend-
ing and taking part in the work of trim
ming the interior. He took the note,
went into his private office and in mo-
ment came out with an expression of dis
! appointment in his face
Boys" he said the President says he
already made an engagement for herself
and him to go to Fords, and he didn't
know anything about it until too late. He
says that he will come very soon and see
the show, though"
might as well quit this work, then"
said one of the other men.
mo" replied the manager. IT'S just
possible he might come in after the first
act tonight. Anyway, he'll be here with
in a night or two, for when Abe Lin
coin says thing he means it,"
With that he climbed up on a step lad
der and set to fixing a wreath around a
bust of the President, when John Wilkes
! Booth came in. Booth says Mr.. Frazer
looked as if he had been drinking and
seemed excited. He went up to the man
ager with whom he was on terms of quite
intimate friendship and said:
Hello, Hess
| Hello, John" replied the manager.
rs the President coming here to-
uight?' asked the actor, after looking
around at the work of decoration. He
spoke with evident excitement.
eve did expect him, but just had a
note from him saying that he had TO go
to Ford's instead" replied Hess.
ITO Ford's ehv' said Booth in calmer
tone. We'll, that's what | understood.
| They expect him there"
Yes; but he's agreed to come here
soon and maybe he'll split his evening
and come around later.
well, I'm going to leave the city pref
| ty soon' said Booth. Have a drink
| with me before l GO"
| As Hess was busy Booth sent the office
boy out for glasses of whisky and the
men drank. Both evaded auctions as
to where he was going when he left the
city, merely saying that he hadn't any
job there and he'd guessed he'd move on.
Mr.. Frasier tells the story of the events
| of the evening in that theater follows:
1--WE had good house. and the perform
ance went off as usual until the end of
the first act. Then we who We're behind
the scenes heard great shouting and tu-
multi outside in the street moment
later c. ID. Hess went out in front of the
curtain and announced that there had
been a serious hitch in the performance,
which made it impossible to go on with
the play and that the audience could get
it's money back at the box office. He
didn't want to tell the news for fear of a
panic in the theater from the rush to get
outside which he knew would follow. He
was very pale when he came back. He
said:
Don't let it out in front, but Booth
has killed the President"
by that time, however, we had heard
the news from the outside. Nearly all
the people were out of the house before
it was generally known. and there was
no disturbance. Boy as ] was. l was
startled aud saddeued by the news. Then
another thought shot into my mind. That
note ! had brought! l ran into the mana
gers office. which / was sure | would
find empty, and fairly dove into the scrap
basket. For two or three minutes
paved there like a dog digging out a
woodcock. First l found a bit OF envel-
ope. then n fragment of the note, and fin
ally ragged bit with Lincoin's signature
on it, The note had been torn up but
] was satisfied with what | had got and
heaped back the miscellaneous scraps into
the basket. | had hardly time 10 get
out when both the Hesses came in in a
hurry and searched the whO.e place for
the note. The idea had struck them too;
but little TOO late. During that evening,
/ suppose half the force of the place had
a try for that autograph.
Naturally l spent most of that night
in the streets watching the spectacle and
surging up and down with the crowds.
At one time l stopped under a street lamp
and pulled out my precious scrap of pa
per to look at it. Suddenly "a hand went
over it and a voice behind me said
Where did you get that. sonny?"
ITS mine, l cried. Let go!'
I'm not going TO steal It from you
said the man, but IN tell you what I'll
do: I'll give you $40 for it,"
THAT was so large a sum TO me that
1t gtuef f.r III.