Year: 1875

ton, who curtly declined TO move the
guard and the declination was coupled
with the assurance that the guard was
necessary to the Senator's personal safe
ty. A sharp note from Mr.. Sumner, to
the effect that he would be responsible
for his own person, only elected a sharp
er one from the War Secretary, to the
effect that the responsibility could not
be transferred from where it belonged,
coupled with an intimation that Mr..
Summers courage exceeded his discre-
ton.


This time of irritation seemed to make
even Mr.. Sumner irritable. He so fret
ted and chafed under the presence of the
guard that for time the relations be-
tween the Senator and the Secretary
seemed to be actually endangered. Hop
ing to arrange affairs | obtained permis-
sion to see Mr.. Sumner in relation to
the matter myself. As knew his hab-
its called at the war department be-
tween eleven and twelve o'clock at night,
and was allowed to see the Secretary.
He was annoyed at the Senator's persist
ency in desiring the removalo of theguard
On learning that the Senator did not
credit the statement that he was or had
been in danger, Mr.. Stanton went into
the matter at some length. ltappeared
that the secret agents employed by the
war department ascertained that the
original design of the conspirators had
been to capture and carry away alive,
| if possible, the President, the Secretary
of State, Secretary of War, and certain
other leading men, among whom was
Mr.. Sumner himself, and that it was
feared that the plot which had so chang
ed in a moment, that the Presidents life,
life, instead of his liberty, had been
taken, might change again to Mr.. Sum-
ner's injury in the absence of proper
precaution.


But the mostsingular part of the mat
ter, and the one which made care in the
Senator's case more than usually neces-
sary, was the evidence that an attempt
had been made to reach him on that
night of terror, which had been defeated
| by his absence from his house. Simulta-
neously with the murder of the Presi-
dent, two rough, stalwart men had gone
twice to Mr.. Summers rooms, and their
suspicious demeanor had so frightened
the women servants who saw them, that
no current story had been obtained from
them as to the appearance of the intrud-
ers. The servants had been carefully
examined, and their every word had
been Photographed; drawings of the
suspicious visitors had been made by
artists from the description shown tC
them, and altered again, until they could
no longer suggest any change in form OIL
feature. Photographs of these had been
placed in the hands of detectives, but
up to this time no tidings had been gain.
ed as to the persons sought. They might
have come up from hell, and then gone
back there, for all he could learn, the
Secretary said. But SO long as they
were undiscovered, or, at least, so long
as their identity was not known, Mr.
Stanton thought it absolutely necessary
that some care should be taken of Mr.
Sumner, SO VIGOROUSLY careless was he
of his own safety. On hearing these
details Mr.. Sumner ceased to demand
the removal of the guard, though he jo
cosely professed to be more afraid O.
them than of those they were to defend
him against. Perhaps he had reason
for the soldiers had refreshments eacl
night at his expense, and the kind o
refreshments was left to the selection O
the sergeant. But when the lady of thu
house permitted her cook to give the
soldiers coffee and sandwiches in the
kitchen at midnight instead of having
the refreshments served from the neigh
boring restaurant, the guards were les:
dangerous to their friends.


Who the two men were that so fright
ened the servants at Mr. Summers lodg
ings and by their singular actions gave
point to the suspicious of the Secretary
of War, was often the subject of con.
versation among the very few of the
Senator'S friends to whom the incident
was known. They naturally watched
the developments made during the trial
of the conspirators, but no conclusion
was reached. 1t remained as one of the
unravelled tangles of affairs until after
the Senator's death, when / accidentally
came upon the trail which led to the
discovery of the identity of the suspi
cious characters, and received from their
own lips, they having but little idea Of
the commotion their course had caused
an account of their visit to Mr.. Summers
rooms ON that eventful night. They
we're members Of the Massachusetts del.
egation to Congress,-one the late chair