The Assassination
of President Lincoln.
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N April 14 just thirty-three years box, quietly holding a pistol in one hand
¡vill have passed since President and a knife, or dirk, in the other. Maj.
Lincoln was shot' down in Ford’s Rathbone rose and asked this intruder
Theater,' Washington, by John Wilkes his business.
Booth rushed past the
Booth. The excitement all over the Unit Major without making a reply and, plac
ed States to-day,^ caused by the war scare, ing his pistol close to the President’ s
brings to mind the thrill of horror and head, actually in contact with it, fired,
excitement that passed over the country and instantly sprang upon the cushioned
thirty-three years ago, when, just as the baluster of the box, when he made a
minds of the people had become settled backward plunge with his knife, aimed
after four years of war, the country was at the face or breast of Mr. Lincoln.
startled by the announcement' of Lin Maj. Rathbone, springing forward to pro
tect the President, received the stab in
coln’s assassination.
Announcements had been made in his arm.
It was towards the latter part of the
Washington papers that President Lin
coln and Gen. Grant, accompanied by play. Perfect stillness reigned through
their wives, would visit Ford’s Theater out the house. The audience listened to
(now a pension office) on the evening of the dialogue between Florence Trenchard
and May Meredith, when the pistol shot
April 14.
Gen. Grant found it necessary to visit rang through the theater-^ M was w 41"
Burlington, N. J.. on that memorable
■ U
H
a
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14th of A p"), and he accordingly sent to
*-,v-r>nlont T/mColn a note of regret at nis
Inability to accompany him to the the
ater that evening, leaving Washington on
the 6 p. m. train.
To Schuyler Colfax, then Speaker of
the House, the President extended an in
vitation to attend the theater as late as
8:15 p. m., for it was not until then that
the President’ ^ party left the White
House. President Lincoln manifested a
curious reluctance to going, but stated
that the papers had advertised that him
self and Gen. Grant would both attend,
and, since Gen. Grant had left Washing
ton, he did not want to have the audience
disappointed, as the people would expect
to see at least one of them.
The theater was crowded. The box
reserved for the presidential party was
the double box forming the second tier on
the right-hand side of the stage. The
, front of the box was decorated with flags
and in the center, on the outside, hung
IN TE R IO R OF F
an engraving of Washington.
As the Grants had declined an invita
tion to attend, Mrs. Lincoln invited, in ently fired behind the scenes on the right
their stead, Miss Harris, daughter of Sen of the stage, and it was accepted by the
ator,. Ira Harris,' and Maj. Henry R. audience as an introduction' to some new
passage, several of which'had been in
Rathbone, the Senator’s stepson.
The play presented was the original terpolated in the early part of the play.
Booth had been noted as a leaper, hav
Version of Tom Taylor’s “ Our American
Cousin,” as it was always given before ing become habituated to sensational
the late E.> A. Sothern’s changes in it, leaps in his repertoire of characters. He
afterwards made to elaborate his still leaped nine feet down on the stage, but
remembered character of Lord Dun his spur caught in the flag decorating the
front o f the presidential box and as he
dreary.
The assassin, Booth, familiar with the reached the stage he fell, recovering him
self in a wonderful way, though his leg
was broken.
He bounded across the
stage, pushing past Miss Laura Keene,
who stood near the prompter’s desk,
striking her on the hand with his own,
still holding the dagger. As he crossed
the stage Booth cried out, dramatically,
“ Sic semper iyrannis!” and “ I have done
it!” Once through the side scenes Booth
quickly escaped by the rear door of the
theater, where a horse awaited him, its
bridle held by an employe of the theater
whom Booth rewarded- with a kick,; his
agony from his broken leg being intense.
Meanwhile the shrieks of Mrs. Lincoln
made clear to the audience the nature of
the horrible crime that had just' been per
petrated. Pandemonium reigned. Wom
en cried, men hollowed and children
screamed. Miss Laura Keene advanced
to the footlights and called out: “ For
God’s sake, have presence of mind! Keep
your places and all will be well!”
Miss Harris called to Miss Keene to
bring some water, which the actress did,
and afterwards accompanied Mrs. Lin
coln to the house opposite, to which the
unconscious President was at once re
JOH N W IL K E S BOOTH .
moved. It was found that he had been
,‘heater, visited the box about 9 p. m., shot through the head, above the back of
¡poking in for a last survey of the various the temporal bone, and that some of the
positions of its occupants. It was sup brain was ooziig out and that' death was
posed, at the time, that it was due to a inevitable.
mistake or the exercise of an imperti
Within a comparatively short time the
nent curiosity. Unknown to the presi- terrible news had spread all over Wash
iential party, Booth had, during the day, ington, and by midnight every member
bored a hole through the door of the box of the cabinet, except Seward, whose own
lor observation or perhaps to fire through. life was attempted, had gathered at the
At "tp p. m. Booth again entered the bedside of their dying chief. Mrs. Lin-
@S:
coin was present, frustrated with grief
and other members of the family, Sena
tor Sumner, Speaker Colfax, military of
ficials of the War Department, severa
generals and physicians, the latter in
eluding Surgeon General Barnes, wh<
had from the first assisted Dr. Stone
the President’s family physician.
President Lincoln never recovered con
sciousness.
As day dawned his pulsi
faileiFand a look of perfect peace over
spread his features. At 7:22 a. m. hi
ceased to breathe. Rev. Dr. Gurley knel
down and prayed and Secretary Stantoi
broke the silence which followed with thi
remark: “ Now he belongs to the ages.”
The South lost, in Lincoln, one wh<
would have proved to be its best friend
as is, perhaps, now realized. In a letter
written to Gen. Van Alen on the last da:
of his life, Lincoln wrote words tha-
strike the" keynote of his character, Ii
it he said:
“ I thank you for the assurance you giv<
me that I shall be supported by conserva
tive men like yourself in the efforts i
may make to restore the Union so as t<
make it, to use your language, a unioi
of hearts and hands as well as of States.’
Over all the members of that presi
dential theater party a black and awfu
fate hung menacingly.
Many have not followed the end of oth
ers indirectly associated with the tragedy
The stricken widow of the martyrec
President passed the balance of her day:
in melancholia and madness.
Of th<
guests who were with her in the box thal
night, one slew the other and ended hii
own life a maa^o.
and anything that would
BEVELING OF GLASS. I watch
it. The child took to the great,
amuse
strong
man and was always quiet when he
held it.
P R O C E S S L IT T L E U N D E R S T O O D
“ W hy do you, my lord,” asked one ol
BY LA Y M E N .
the relieved passengers, surprised te
see the governor general o f India play
H ow th e E d g e o f G la s s I s Cut A w a y ing nurse to a crying baby, “ why de
and R efin ished—A V e r y S im p le P r o you take such notice o f that child?”
“ Because to tell the truth,”
an
cess, b u t One R e q u ir in g S k ill in I t s
swered Lord Lawrence, “ that child ii
E x ec u tio n .
the only being in the ship who I car
feel quite sure does not want to gei
Beveled glass in not new, but it is anything out o f me.” —Pastimes.
now far more extensively used tnan
formerly. Twenty years ago beveled
Fatal Consequences.
mirrors were comparatively rare, now
“ Be careful how you invoke a force
they are common, and are seen in many that may destroy you,” says a writer;
shapes and sizes. Beveled plates, la^ge “ whether it be the force of electricity:
and small, and both straight and bent, the force of habit or of appetite.” F op
are used for various otner purposes. ward tells of two chickens who invoked
The process o f glass beveling is very a power unconsciously.
simple, but the work calls for skill on
The other night, nearly all the electric
the part o f the operators.
lights in a certain city suddenly wenil
The plate to be beveled goes first to out, and after a minute came on again
the roughing mill, which is a solid,
Pretty soon an odor like that of aj
heavy steel wheel about two feet and a overcooked dinner filled the powei
half feet in d.ameter, set horizontally, house, and on examination it was found
and turning at a high rate of speed. The that a couple of chickens had stolen ii
upper face, or top o f this wheel, is and gone to roost on the main wires.
All went well with them until Chan
slightly roughened. Suspended over
the wheel is a big hopper containing tlcleer, who was perched on one wire
sand, which is fed dowfi through a l-eached across to give a good-night kiss
spout in such quantity as may be requir to his dear Biddy, on the other. The
ed upon the top o f the rough-faced moment their bills touched, the current
steel wheel. The grinder holds the o f thousands of volts was short-cir
plate to be ground in his hands, with cuited through their bodies, and the
v a len t C es o u t of d a te .
the edge to be ground off upon the face kiss ended in a lightning-flash and
O r ig in a l V e rse , F lo w e rs o r C andy A r t o f the roughing mill; he shifts the plate burnt feathers.
N o w th? P r o p e r Gifts,
along as the glass is ground away. The
Valentines are out of date. That i: expert grinder, holding a sheet o f glass
the edict of society. When the 14th ol
February comes around now the propel against the roughing wheel in this man
caper is to wrife'to your lad^ fair a fev ner, will grind a true bevel, with a per
choice stanzas of valentine verse, or, it fectly straight line along its inner edge,
case of your inability to construct propel and he brings the side bevels together
rhyme, send around a few bunches of vio with a. perfectly true angle at the cor
lets or sweet roses or a nice box of candj ners.
—a heart shaped box preferred, of course
In the roughing mill the bevel is
—all tied up with pretty silk ribbons. Th<
Sycose, having a sweetening power
flowers and the .(¡andy may not last as wrought to shape, but its face is rough 550 times greater than that o f sugar,
looking
and
feeling.
In
fact,
like
what
long as the poetry, but the flowers wjl
be prettier, the candy will taste better anc it is, ground glass. The plate goes then is the newest substitute offered in dia
both will be more appreciated.
to the enemy wheel, also o f steel and betic conditions.
When it is said that valentines are otil set horizontally. Suspended over this
Stain o f banana juice is almost indeli
of date the stat&fnent has to be made, ol wheel is a little hopper filled with ble. It does not proceed from the stalk
course, with some reservation. They art emery, the emery feeding down upon or plant, but exists in the green fruit
out of date as gifts between fashionablt
as well, from which, when cut or
adults, but among children they are popu the wheel. Upon this wheel the rough bruised, It exudes in the shape o f viscid
lar still.
Every little lad and lassie face o f the bevel as it comes from the
watches for the postman on the morning roughing mill is again ground, the plate or. cream-like drops.
Monsieur Salome, a French artist,
of St. Valentine’s day, o f course, and is being held in the same manner by a
disappointed if the mail brings no lovt grinder, and the surface is brought mixes his colors with petroleum in
message, no little embossed and painted nearer to smoothness.
stead o f turpentine and drying oil, and
Cupid. What is meant by the statement
he thinks he has made an improve
From
the
emery
wheel
the
plate
goes
that valentines are out of date is that thi
ment. The colors are first ground in
to
the
smoothing
stone,
which
is
also
day of the three-story, fussed and fuzzy,
oil, and then rendered with petroleum.
hand-painted, lint and nonsense creation, set to turn horizontal y. The smooth
The reason kettles sing is a very sim
over which young ladies used to go intc ing stone, which is o f an extremely
ecstasies of delight and young men used fine sandstone, is made with its upper ple one. As the water gets hot, little
to go into bankruptcy, has long been pass surface, that against which the glass is bubbles o f steam are formed at the
ed. The custom of sending that sort oi brought, very slightly convex. This bottom o f the kettle. These in their
remembrance is as dead as the custom oi stone is finished perfectly smooth and rush upwards strike the sides o f the
New Year’s calling. It was never a sen
kettle, and set the metal it is made o f
sible custom anyway.,' for no young man it is so fine grained that to the touch it in v ib ra tion , th u s ca u sin g the hum
seems
almost
to
be
polished.
A
tiny
felt really repaid in putting a- week’s sal
ary iirtc, a grift.-I q a
la&y ^nen,, be- strea m of.^ v a ter, enough to keep the ming sound we call singing. You will
■¡..^
ZE au gr
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face o f the' stone wet, is made to notice that a large copper kettle, the
trickle down upon it and the glass is sides o f which are thin, will emit a
held to this wheel just as it was to the much louder and more musical note
others, and here the beveled edge is than a common iron kettle.
brought down to a smooth surface, but
A new dredge for use on the Volga
not polished. The plate goes then to a river, in Russia, has just been built and
polishing wheel made o f wood and set is constructed in two parts so as to
to turn vertically; the bevel edge o f the pass through the canal system leading
glass is held against the edge or face o f from the Baltic. Each half is 216 feet
this wooden wheel as it rapidly re long, 3 Ys feet wide and 9 feet deep, and
volves. The face o f the wheel is kept wet each half can be operated separately,
and constantly supplied with pulveriz making a bottom cut 62 feet wide. The
ed stone. Upon this wheel the beveled dredge has steel hulls and is propelled
edge gets it first polish. The glass and controlled by electrical machinery
then takes the final step in the beveling o f American manufacture. Steam is
process. It. goes to another wheel, also generated by American boilers fired
o f wood, and also turning vertically, with naphtha.
whose face Is o f felt. The face o f this
In the Bay o f Plenty, New Zealand,
wheel also is kept wet and it is suppli is one o f the most extraordinary isl
ed with a fine polishing meterial called ands in the world. It is called W hite
from its color, rouge. Here, as at the Island, and consists mainly o f sulphur
first polishing wheel, the g ’ass is held mixed with gypsum and a few other
ORD’ S TH E A TE R.
with the bevel against the edge, or face minerals. Over the island, which is
o f the wheel. On the rouge wheel the about three miles in circumference, and
cause of the mystery and secrecy that
have to be observed in sending valentines, bey el gets its final polish and finish'and which rises between 800 and 900 feet
he could not accompany it with his card. the surface o f the beveled edge, which above the sea, floats continually an
It was altogether too discouraging M after the first operation was rough like immense cloud* o f vapor attaining an
have his hated rival get the credit for ground glass', is now as smooth and as elevation o f 10,000 feet. In the center
sending a sentimental lot of poetry all polished as the flat surface o f the plate. is a boiling lake o f acid-charged water,
done up in fluffy expensiveness for which
Great plates that are too big to be covering fifty acres, and surrounded
he had cheerfully emptied his pockets and held by hand are locked into a frame with blow-holes from which steam and
“ gone broke.” Valentiiies of that sort that can be so moved as to bring the sulphurous fumes are emitted with
have had their day and belong now to the
edges to be beveled against wheels ad great force and noise. With care a
sweetly remembered past.
justed for the purpose.—New York Sun. boat can be navigated on the lake. The
P R A Y E R T O ST. V A L E N T IN E .
sulphur from White Island is very pure,
but little effort has yet been made to
Great Man’ s Tender Heart.
Lord Lawrence, viceroy o f India, was procure it systematically.
a blunt man o f action, impatient of - Young long-leaf pines, according to
contradiction, and thoroughly self-re Mr. Pinchot o f the Department o f Agri
liant. Yet, like many o f the truly culture, protect themselves against for
great, he had a heart as tender as a est fires in a most interesting and re
woman’s. The night on which he markable manner. For four or five
started from London to govern India he years the stems o f the infant trees at
gathered all his family in the drawing- tain a height o f only as many inches
room and made each child repeat a above the soil. During this time their
favorite hymn to him. His youngest bark is extraordinarily thick, and that
son, 10 years old, nestled in his father’s alone gives some protection. But in
arms. Suddenly the strong man burst addition, the long needles spring up
above the stem, and then bend over on
into tears.
“ I shall never,” he cried, “ see Bertie all sides “ in a green cascade which
falls to the ground in a circle about the
a child again!”
It was not o f the hardships before seedling.*' This green barrier can with
him, or o f his own death he thought, difficulty be made to burn, while the
but o f the fact that Bertie would not shade that it casts prevents inflamma
ble grass from growing near the pro
be a child to him on his return.
On board the steamer with the gov tected stem. Mr. Pinchot thinks that it
ernor general o f India was a lady with is owing to this peculiar system o f self
her infant child. She neglected the protection which the pine seedlings
baby, which revenged itself by crying have developed that the growth o f ever
day and night. The passengers com green oaks in Florida has been restrict
plained in language more forcible than ed in regions where fires have raged
while our pine forests have taken their
polite.
“ Steward, throw that baby over place.
Hearts or dollars? ahr'to which
board!” was petulantly shouted from
Should my maiden heart incline?
Pearl Fishers o f Ceylon.
sleepless berths.
To be loved or to be rich?
The pearl fishing season in Ceylon
A t last Lord Lawrence, seeing that
Tell me, good St. Valentine.
the child was left motherless by its only lasts twenty-two days, and during
Should I scorn the shining gold?
ow n mother, took it on his knee. For that period 11,000,000 oysters are
Is a heart a richer mine?
Here I’ m waiting to be told—
hours he would hold it, showing It his brought to the surface by fifty divers.
Tell me, good St. Valentin«.