The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1909-02-12
CENTENARY OBSERVED
Large Crowd Attended Service at the
Congregational Church Last
Sunday

last Sunday morning.
The Meeker Brothers Quartet rem
dered some appropriate music, opening
with the national anthem and closing
with "Tenting on the Old Camp
Ground"
Professor Emmett spoke of the child
hood Of Lincoln, relating numerous
instances in the life of the martyred
president.
L. J. Nelson spoke of the official
life Of Lincoln, referring to the stirring
times of the war of the rebellion.
The editor OF The Echo spoke Of
Lincoln as he would be known by his
torians OF the future, rather the historical
side of the war president.
Rev. Mr.. Davis followed with a
reference to the great tragedy in the
following:
Often a PERSONS own experiences
upon a certain occasion, told simply
and directly gives US closer and more
accurate picture Of it than all the still
ted formal accounts, which are often
somewhat vague. General Hamlin,
oldest son of the late Hannibal Hamlin
was present at the famous Ford's The
ater on the occasion of the shooting of
President Lincoln, and related what he
saw of the mournful affair in the fol-
lowing vivid manner:
The night that Mr.. Lincoln was
murdered, l observed that The Ameri
can Cousin was to be played, and I
took my sister and an other lady to the
theater. We had seats far down to the
front, only few steps from the stage.
Mr.. Lincoln came in and proceeded to
his box, which was the upper one on
the light, but he was not visible to the
audiance where he sat, having place
back in the box from which he could
better see the stage. Indeed, from
where sat below, could see no per
son in the boxes.
Not long before Mr.. Lincoln was
shot, there was change of scene dur
ing an act, and it seemed to me it was
the longest time required to change
scenes that I had ever observed in
theater. 1t was so noticably long that
I afterwards wondered in connection
with the murder if there might not
have been some iuesolution or per-
plexity on the stage.
Not long after, there was sound
somewhat like the clapping 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.
THE next thing I saw was Booth
getting out of Mr.. Lincoln's box. l
had seen him play on two occasions,
and knew his face perfectly well.
There never was a more deliberate
thing than his stepping out on the sill
Of the box and leaping from it. He
made as pretty jump as ever saw.
If he had practised that lead, it could
hardly have been more elegant. He
lighted in a position, like one who had
brought his body down to break the
shock of the fall.
While it was a good jump in height
it was not a dangerous one at all, per-
haps from where he leaped to the stage,
from nine to twelve feet. His spur
tore a flag, and that seemed to bring
him around somehow SO that he lighted
with his face turned more to the
audience than would have been the
case had he merely hoped directly
downward.
He was marble pale. In his right
hand he held knife, and in theatrical
way he stretched it upward and dis
tinctly said the words, Sic sempel
tyrannis' (meaning down with the
traitors) Then in very stacy stride,
still pale, serious and intense, he went
right across the stage and then out.
Many people at this stood up, and
near me was a naval officer whose
name I still remember, who hearing
some one exclaim The president has
been shotl' lifted himself up, sailor
fashion, by means Of the woodwork anc
decorations of the private box under
the presidents and climbed into the
box above. He came down the same
way into the audience.
'Of course the audience was dis
missed, and as I was going up tht
street a few minutes afterward l met ;
friend in the service who said to me
This is terrible news, Mr.. Stanton anC
Mr.. Seward, we fear, have been mort