Evening Star Newspaper, December 7, 1881, Page 6

BOOTH’S BULLET. Chapters from the Unpublished History of Lincoln's Murder. & VISIT TO THE GRAVE OF JOHN WILKES BOOTH— JOUN T. FORD'S STORY OF THE CRIME—BOOTH'S DEMEANOR ON THE DAY OF THE DEED—AN AC- ToR's STORY—HOW THE PRESIDENT WAS TO BE ARED FOR IF CAPTURED—THE LETTER OF JUS- TIFICATION ENTRUSTED TO HIS FRIEND JOHN MATTHEWS BY THE ASSASSIN A FEW HOURS BE- FORE THE TRAGEDY--HOW IT WAS DESTROYED. From the Philadelphia Press. Chance found m@in Baltimore a few days ago. Thad just taken a quiet breakfast and walked out upon the street, when { came upon two gen- tlemen standing by the monument on Calvert street, near the public buildings. One of them was an ex-confederate general of distinction whom I knew. The other was a stranger whom he was evidently showing the interesting points in and about the Monumental City. I joined the couple just as the soldier was explaining to his friend that the monument commemorated the battle of North Point, fought during the war of 181: rou have been in Washington,” said the ex- confederate soldierto me. ““Did you attend the Guiteaa trial ? This reference to the absorbing topic of the day naturally turned the conversation upon it. The question of the assassin’s sanity was dis- cussed and some points of the crime. when the eneral remarked: “Jobn Wilkes Booth was bern not far from | id his body was buried in this city.” reenmount Cemetery, out on the York whieh is calied Greenmount avenue until | tery is passed.” An hour jater found me at the gate of Green- mount, so named for the very natural Teason | that it is literally a green mount, or rather | mound. The growth of improvements is fast | eneroaching upon it, and in a short time it will be well within the closely built limits of the city, and surrounded by new dwellings, and pos- sibly noisy factories, instead of the open fields and woeded spots which furnish the quiet seclu- sion one always associates with a home of the dead. Greenmount was once an ideal locality for a cemetery, and it is still beautiful. Rising in the center of what was not many years azo a lovely vale is the great mound which overlooks the whole city. Upon all its slopes the rich white marble shafts gleam among the trees, and upon its apex a pinnacled chapel of carved brown stone is the crowning monument. A man | was engaged, as I passed in, in cleaning the graves of the dead and the paths for the hving of the leaves which fell as fast as removed. here is the Booth Monuinent?” “Booth, actor?” and he pointed to that side of the slope which faces the busy city. Here, mid- way on the incline and in company with a num- ber of polished shafts, urn and figure crowned, & white marble monument in obelisk form, could be seen, upon the front of which in bold relief is eut the word: THE BOOTH MONUMENT. « Three rough faced and massive blocks of granite sustain the shaft, around the base of which, afmost hiding the stone foundation, a mass of creeping ivy springs up from a mound at the foot of the monument. A single rose- bush grows before this grave which marks the Festing-place of thé elder Booth. It had been nipped by the frost, and a solitary flower drooped as if just ready to fall from its stem. Upon the face of the marble, in base relief, is the medal- lion head of him to whose memory this stone Below is the inscription: Behold the spot where gentus lies. O, drop a tear when talent dies! : Of Tragedy the mighty chief, q Thy Power to please surpassed belief; Hic jacet, matchless Booth. Upon the face of the shaft, to the left are the ‘Words: i Jusies Bretes Boorn, : Born May Ist, 1796. It took further search to find the grave of this gifted man’s son, who inherited much of his | father’s genius. At the back of the lot, on the fourth side of the marble obelisk bearing the poe inseriptions, is this simple announce- ment : To Tue Memory or the children of Junius Bratus and Mary Ann Booih, John Wilkes, Frederick, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Henry Byron. At the foot of this side of the monument isa Second ivy-covered mound. Upon it grows a Tose-bush bearing a single lower—acounterpart of the grave aiready described. How singular that the graves of both father and son are so strikingly simi! Nature seems to have con- spired with loving hands to show respect alike to the people's favorite actor and his assassin gon. The single line fa the list of children is the only record telling that the man who aimed the fatal shot at Abra— ham Lincoin is buried here. There are no other Words, not even the date of birth or death, There is no more recognition of him than of the other children whose names are cut upon the monument and who died in childhood. The lot containing these graves is framed by a low stone coping with granite posts in each of the four corners. Close to each post grows a | beautiful pine tree, nicely shaped and trimmed, | showing evidence of careful attention. To the Tight of the monument, and within this same enclosure, are an old marble headstone and foot- stone showing the ravages of time. They mark the grave of the father of Junius Brutus Booth, The headstone bears the inscription SackED To THE MEMORY OF Richard Booth, who died SSSINATION. A visit to this spot which contains the earth remains of the departed members of this fortu- mate and yet unfortunate family, naturally gives Tise to along train of thought, and the mind | goes back sixteen years and more and rests | upon the thrilling events which then startled the world. and with which the name of John Wilkes Booth isinseparably welded. From here the city of Baltimore stretches out to the waters of the river which joins the great Chesapeake Bay in carrying the commerce of a busy port out to the sea. Itmakes a broad panorama of busy life, and it was in the midst of this that John Wilkes Booth was born,about forty-two yearsago. A look over the scene naturally recalls many of the striking points of his early life, and evens — toward the water of the basin wherein ships lie revives the story of the crime for whieh he died. upon one of the wharves Jobn H. Surratt, who Joined Booth in his des- Perate scheme to ki . the war Edward Booth and his mother, who living, bought this lot and removed and the monument to this spot. mains of Boot! VISITORS TO BOOTH’S GRAVE. “Did his friends ever view his body after death?” “Oh, yes, and quite a number of people have locks of his hair cut from the head after the body was brought to Baltimore. * There was a great fuss made about the burial of the body here at the time it was brought over, but as this cemetery is free to any one who may pur- | chase a lot here except colored people, his burial could not be prevented. The remains of Rich- ard Booth, whose grave you see to the right. were also brought from Baltimore Cemetery. The elder Booth, that is Junius Brutus, moved into Harford county, a short distance below Baltimore, in the early part of the present cen- tury. and nearly all of the family were born there. The whole of them have had aqueer and eventful history. The elder Booth, when at home, was in almost constant trouble with his neighbors. He was a most vindictive opponent of slavery, and was often accused of assisting runaway siaves and with advising the negroes to seek their freedom. He named the son who killed Lincoln, and who, by the way, was the only member ‘of the family who sympathized with the southern cause, after John Wilkes, the great English agitator. Indeed the whole family. from Richard down, might be called man-worshippers. The tragic characters of Shakespeare were their idols. Their study, their habits of thought. and their ambitions sprung from dead heroes, and it is not at all surprising, considering the passions engendered by the war, that this young mantook upon him- self to enact the character of Brutas, whom he had been taught to revere.” The superintendent of the cemetery, Rev. Mr. Heffner, coming up at this moment, I in- quired: Do many people visit Booth's grave?” “Not many. Now and then some actors or theatrical people come.” . Do many ask for the grave of John Wilkes oth?” “Now and then people ask to see it out of mere curiosity. Edwin Booth comes some- times—whenever he plays in this city I suppose. He was here with his wife once, as nicea little | lady as you would want to see. ' I see she died recently. I like Mr. Booth very much, and do you know that if you did not know he was an actor you would take him to be a clergyman. He was here with his mother when they first bought the lot, and it was the first time I had ever seen him. I have known a good many ac- tors. but oid as I am I have never yet witnessed atheatrical performance. I am quite well ac- quainted with John E. Owens, who lives just out the road here.” I plied the old clerzyman-superintendent with questions about Booth, but he had exhausted his information in the few lines given. I then turned from the grave and soon left Green- mount behind, and was again in the heart of the busy city. The visit to Booth’s grave excited in me a great and renewed interest in the history of the great crime which fell like a pall uponthe People of the north as they were preparing to celebrate in joyous festivities the coming of | peace, and determined me to go over the old ground and rewrite the story. I have done so, = in @ plain way now tell what I saw and Tl. Jehn T. Ford’s Recolicctions. Not far from the graveyard where the Booth family are buried, lives John T. Ford, the vet- eran theatrical manager, who for many years had close relations with all the Booths who were actors. Under his management Junius Brutus, Edwin and John Wilkes Booth played some of their most successful engagements. It was Mr. Ford who attended to the removal of the remains of John Wilkes from Washington to where they now lie, notwithstanding that the crime he committed in Mr. Ford’s theater caused that gentleman great trouble and a vast amount of money. I met him the other day at his opera house in Baltimore and the assassina- tion of Mr. Lincoln became the subject of con- Yersation as in contrast with the assassination of Gen. Garfield, and the difference in the character of the men who committed these two great crimes. 4 “I was not in Washington when Mr. Lincoln was killed,” said Mr. Ford. “I had lived in Richmond some years before the war, and had friends and relatives there. Fearing’ that they mizht be suffering for the necessities of life, immediately after the surrender I started for that city. Col. Forney also went down at the same time. Iarrived the morning of the day the President was killed, and on the next morn- ing started home. When on the way I first learned of the crime. When I reached home I — arrested and kept in prison for thirty-nine jays.” hen do you think Booth first conceived the idea of killing the President ?” “It is morally certain that he never had such athoucht until late in the day upon which he committed the assault. The facts inthe case are that he never knew the President was to attend the theater until nearly noon of that day. He was always a late riser. He came down to breakfast about ten o'clock on that morning, and his fiancee, who also boarded at the National Hotel with her parents, met him. They had a short conversation, and after breakfast he walked up to the Surratt mansion, on H street, as is supposed from the direction in which he was first seen coming by the attaches of the theater that morning. He was walking down 10th street from toward H. He was fauitlessl dressed ina full suit of dark clothes and tail sik hat. He wore a pair of kid gloves of a sub- dued cvlor, had a light overcoat slung over his arm, and carried a cane. My brother Harry, who was standing in front of the theater with some other gentlemen, first saw him, and turn- ing to his companions said : + THE ADONIS OF THE STAGE. “‘Here comes the handsomest man inthe United States.’ “He came directly to the theater, went to the box office, got his mail, went out and sat down upon the front steps of the theater to read it. One of his tetters was a very long one, so lengthy as to attract my brother's attention. When he had finished reading it he arose and ap- proaching Harry, said: “What's on to-night?” “Our American Cousin, and we are going to have a big night,’ replied Harry. ‘The Presi- dent and Gen. Grant are going to occupy the President's box and Gen. Lee is going to have Ioan adjgining one,’ said he, by way of chaffing oth. “““thope they are not going to do like the Romans—parade their nrisoner_before the gue to humiliate him? bitterly responded jooth. “Harry replied that he was jesting about Lee. but that Mr. Lincoin and General Grant would certainly attend the evening performance; that a note had been sent from the White House en- gaging the box. As Harry said this Booth was thoughtful a- moment, and then turned and walked down the street toward Pennsylvania avenue. Just as he reached the Avenue he met Mr. John F. Coyle, then one of the editors of the National Intelligencer, and Booth's very warm friend. He shook hands with him and said: “John, what would be the result if some one eco put Lincoln and the Cabinet out of the way?” : “Coyle laughed and said: “We don't have ay Brateses in these days." “Booth turned and walked down the street, and after that time, which certainly must have been nearly noon, the arrangements for the as- lon were hurriedly made. I do not be- Neve that any reasoning man longer doubts that there was no thought of killing Mr. Lincoln until the day upon which the crime was com- mitted. Until Booth came to the theater that morning he had no knowledge that the Presi- dent intended visiting the theater in the even- i That he wrote the letter justi- ‘ing man for his years, He has not a par- looks like a stirriny: ae nen He Seon oe and firm expres- untenance, with strongly marked fea- tures. gp hone is rather thin, and his restless and he wears a mustache gives him something of a look. He is spoken of as a quiet man her shuns bee Troe never alludes to with his mame and that of is so closely connected. His sister girl who ibly ile she was yet young. also She is the wile of Professor end goatee. which chemist. the thoughts which a visit the grave of Booth would putarall invite, a evidently tamiliar with ng. afternoon ging the assassination. This letter he (a to ohn Matthews, who now is New York. He was then playing at my . The letter was Intended to be in the Na- ional Intelligencer, and it was well on toward night when he gave it to Matthews. He was riding down Pennsylvania avenue toward the National Hotel when he met Matthews and handed him the letter. Matthews destroyed the paper immediately after the shooting, and No one éver saw it but he. BOOTH 8 AN ACTOR. Was Booth a great actor?” “Yea, sir. Doubtless he would have made Peete he each) orb rig eer & glimpse of him as he left theater.” “Was he acting at all the winter he was in Washington?” “No, sir; not all. He had given out that he had made a great deal of money in oll specula- a pamnpliet aore of prospectas f oll prop- a pamp! a of of oil proj erty for sale—in which it was mentioned that the land adjoined the ve successful property of J. Wilkes Booth. He told my brother,Harry, that he was only going to act twice that win- ter—once in a performance for John McCul- lough’s benefit, who had not then become famous as an actor, and once for Harry’s benefit. McCullough and Booth were great friends, and Booth bad played the Apostate, I think, for Mr. McCullough’s benefit. when he told Harry he would play for his. I believe he was going to repeat the same play for my brother's benefit. Booth came to Washington evidently bent upon the single errand of capturing the President.” “Finding that all his plans for the abduction had failed. and the end of the war was growing nearer and nearer. he, at the very last moment, determined to take the desperate chance of as- sasination. Booth was a very gifted young man, and was a great favorite in society in Washington. He was engaged, it was said, to a young lady of high position and character. I understood that she wrote to Edwin Booth after the assassination telling him that she was his brother’s betrothed, and would marry him, even at the foot of the scaffold.” I |, for he showed me iT. ‘Z Recital. ‘My God! My God! I have no longer a country! This is the end of constitutional lib- erty in America.” These were the words spoken with startling emphasis on the evening of the 14th of April, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth. He was passing down Pennsylvania avenue, in Washington, and near the corner of 13th street had met John Matthews, a fellow actor and a boyhood friend, 4 whom he thus addressed. “He was pale as a ghost when he uttered those words,” said Mr. Matthews to me a day or two since, while relating the occurrence. “There were quite a number of confederate prisoners passing along the avenue as he spoke, ; and when he said, ‘This isan end to constitu- tional liberty in America,’ he pointed feelingly toward them. - He looked at them a moment, after they had passed, and was thoughtful. He then turned to me quickly and said: “<T want you to do mea favor.’ “anything in my power, John,’ I replied. He thrust his hand into his pocket and drawing out a letter, said: ‘Deliver this to Mr. Coyle, of the National Intelligencer, to-night by eleven o'clock unless I see you before that. If I do [ can attend to it myself.’ “I took the letter, saw that it was sealed, put it into my pocket and walked on.. Booth, who was cn horseback, rode rapidly down the street, and I never saw him again until he jumped from the box in Ford’s Theater to the stage after shooting the President. I was then playing at Ford's, the piece being ‘Our Amer- \ican Cousin.’ Laura Keene was the star. | Booth almost ran against me as he leaped across the stage on his way to the door. There was, of course, a great commotion, and I at once went to my dressing-room and picked up my wardrobe, passed under the , out through the orchestra and the auditorium and into the street with the audience. My room was directly opposite, at Mr. Peterson’s, the house in which Mr. Lincoln died. I walked quickly across, locked the door of my room, and began at once to change my clothes. In picking up my coat the letter Booth had given me upon the street that evening before the theater opened dropped out of my pocket upon the floor. Thad almost forgotten it in my ex- citement. I quickly picked it up, tore it open, and read it very carefully. ‘My God,’ thought I, ‘this self-condemnation of my friend shall not be found in my possession,’ and I threw it into the fire, watched it till it burned to cinders, and then mixed the atoms with the coal ashes, In the excitement and horror which followed the shooting the Archangel could never have ex- plained the possession of that letter. I did not then realize, however, by what a slender thread my litehung. My impulse when I burned the letter was that the evidence to condemn my friend should not remain with me.” “Who else saw that letter besides yourself?” “No other living man after it came into my Possession. It was sealed and directed to Mr. | John F. Coyle, one of the editors of the Na- tional Intelligencer.” “Dg you recali its contents?” ‘Almost as vividly as though I had just com- mitted it to memory. It began: BOOTH’S LAST LETTER. Wasuincron, D. C., April 14, 1865. “'To My Countrymen: “* ‘For years I have devoted my time, my ener- gies and every dollar I possessed in the world to the furtherance of an object. Ihave been bafiled and disappointed. The hour has come when I must change my plan. Many, I know, —the vulgar herd—will blame me for what f am about to do, but posterity I am sure will Justify me. Right or wrong, God judge me, not man. Be my motive good or bad, of one thing Iam sure—the lasting condemnation of the North. I love peace more than life. Have loved the Union beyond expression. For four years have I waited, hoped and prayed for the dark clouds to break and fora restoration of our former sunshine. To wait longer would be acrime. My prayers have proved as idle as my hope. God’s will be done. Igo to see and share the bitterend. This war is ut war with the Constitution and the reserved rights of the states. It is a war upon southern rights and in- stitutions. The nomination of .Abraham Lin- coln four years ago bespoke war. His election forced It. I have everheld the south were ight. Ina foreign warI too could say ‘coun- try, right or wrong.’ But ina struggle such as ours (where the brother tries to pierce the brother's heart) for God's sake choose the right. When a country like this spurns justice from her side she forfeits the allegiance of every honest freeman, and should leave him untram- meled by any fealty soever to act as his con- science may approve. “People of the north, to hate tyranny, to love liberty and justice, to strike at wrong and op- pression was the teaching of our fathers. The study of our early history will not let me forget it, and may it never! “I do not want to forget the heroic patriot- ism of our fathers who rebelled against the Op- pression of the mother country. “This country was formed for the white, not the black man. And looking upon African slavery from the same standpoint held by the noble framers of our constitution, I, for one, have ever considered it one of the greatest bless- ings, both for themselves and us, that God ever bestowed upon a favored nation. Witness here- tofore our wealth and power; witness their ele- yation and enlightenment above their race else- where. Ihave lived among it most of my life and have seen less harsh treatment from master to man than I have beheld in the north from father to son. Yet, Heaven knows no one would be willing to do more for the negro race than 5, could I but see a way to still better their condi: tion. *But Lincoin’s policy is only preparing the ion. e south are A Thrill way for their total annihilati not, nor have they been, fighting for the con- The firet battle of Ball Run idea. Their causes since for war have been as noble and greater far than those that urged our fathers on. Even should we allow they were wrong at the beginning of this contest, cruelty and Injustice have made the wrong become the right, and they how before the wonder and admiration of the ere — a pat act of patriotic heroes. lereafter, readin; their Th will be forgotten Sots Temene Brown (who was a murderer on our jeter bound, a who was fairly tried = icted before an im; judge and jury trearon, and who, by the way, hes. mince been proud of my little share in for I deemed it my duty, and try to ime draw from. I know my choice and hasten tc T have studied hard to discover upon what grounds the right of a state to secede har when our very name, United Declaration of Ii = But ere 1 know I be deemed for un- a eg de this, where, on the one iy friends and everything to , Where my profession alone has as of more than = fs and where my great personal ambition in bes puch @ great field for labor. the south have never be- stowed upon me one kind word; a place now where [ have no —— except beneath the 80d; a place where I must either become a pri- vate soldier or a , To give up all. of the former for the latter, besides my mother and sister whom I love go dearly, (although they so widely differ from me in opinion), seems insane: but God is my judge. I love justice more than I do a country that disowns it; more than fame and wealth; more (Heaven pardon me if wrong) more ,than a happy home. I have never been upon a itle-field, but oh! my _ count en, could you all but see the reality or effects of this horrid war, as I have seen them, in every state save Vir- ginia, I know you would think like me, and pray the Almighty to create in the northern mind a sense of right and justice (even should it possess no seasonjng of mercy) and He would ay up the sea of blood between us which is daily growing wider. Alas! I have no longer a g* a2 i 8. comer She is fast approaching her threat- ened doom. Four years ago I would have given @ thousand lives to, see her remain (as I had always known her) powerful and unbroken, and now I would hold my life as naught. to see her what she was. Oh! my friends, if the fearful Scenes of the past four years had never been enacted, or if what has been had been a fright- ful dream, from which we could now awake, with what overflowing hearts could we bless our God and pray for His continued favor. “How I have loved the old flag can never now be known. A few years since and the entire world could boast of none so pure and spotless. But Ihave of late been seeing and hearing of the bloody deeds of which she had been made the emblem, and shudder to think how changed shehas grown. Oh! how I haye longed to see her break from the mist of blood and death so circled, around her folds, spoiling her beaty, and tarnishing her honor. But no;day by day has she been dragged deeper and deeper into cruelty and oppression, till now (in my eyes) her once bright red stripes look like bloody gashes on the face ofheayen. I looknow upon my early admiration of her glories as a dream. My love is now for the south alone, and to her side Igo penniless. Her success has been near my heart, and I have labored faithfully to further an object which would have more than proved my unselfish devotion. Heart sick and disappointed I turn from the path which I had been following into a bolder and more perilous one. Without malice I make the change. I | have nothing in my heart except a sense of duty tomy choice. Ifthe south is to be aided it must bedone quickly. It may already be too late. When Cesar had conquered the enemies | of Rome and the power that was his menaced | the liberties of the people, Brutus arose and slew him. The stroke of his dagger was guided by his love for Rome. It was the spirit andam- bition of Cesar that Brutus struck at. “O then that we could come by Ceesar’s spirit, And not dismember Czesar! But alas! Cesar must bleed for it!” I answer with Brutus. He who loves his country better than gold or life, Joux W. Bootu. STORY OF JOHN MATTHEWS, THE ACTOR. “Following Mr. Booth’s signature,” Mr. Matthews continued, “which was evidently written in great haste, were thenames of Payne, Harold and Atzerodt, all in Booth’s own hand- writing, givenas the men who would stand by him in executing his changed plans. Booth wrote John 8. Clarke, the actor, his brother-in- law, in the November preceding the assassina- tion a letter identical in many respects with the one he left with me as a justication for his act. The arguments were all the same, the changes in the letter I destroyed being those which would naturally follow the change of plan from kidnapping to assassination. The material alterations are in the first part of the letter, where he indicates the change in his purpose. The most striking difference between the letter he gave to me, and the one he wrote to Mr. Clarke is his reference to Brutus and the quota- tion from ‘Julius Cesar.’ The body of the let- ters were identical. Of course there may be some immaterial omissions, but you may imag- ine how such a letter, carefully read under the circumstances which surrounded me when I perused it. would impress itself upon one’s mind. My profession has, of course, trained my memory to retaina great deal of matter without much study, so that I feel justified in saying that the letter I have given you is prac- tically ‘a correct copy of the one poor John handed to me in the streets of Washington upon that fearful night. I am glad to say that it is positive evidence that the murder of the Presi- dent was neither born of malice or even con- templated until within a very few hours of the time the fatat shot was fired.” “How did the fact that Booth left such a letter become known?” “When John was killed a dairy was taken from his person containing the entry that he had left a letter to the National Intelligens About the time of the impeachment of Pre: son the other Washington papers made an as: upon the National Intelligencer, calling it the organ of John Wilkes Booth, and rather insinu- ated that President Johnson was in some cognizant of the letter, if not of the killing before it occurred. I felt compelled then to speak out and announce that it was I who received the letter from Booth and destroyed it. Thad at the time of its destruction, as a Cath- olic, told the Reverend Father Boyle, of Wash- ington, all about the letter and the circum- stances under which I received it.” “Were Booth and you often together during the winter preceding the murder ?” “A great deal. He and I were boys together, you know, having both been born and raised in Baltimore. Often during the winter he had talked to me of the feasibility of kidnapping the President, but never confided to me any of his plans. He often seemed tome to be brood- ing over the war. and seemed to have his heart set upon the relief and exchange of the con- federate prisoners. He once told me_that if he could capture the President, carry him within the confederacy and hold him as a ransom, it would compel the exchange of prisoners, man for man. By that he meant white man for white man, not recognizing the negroes as sol- diers. That was his plan and aim until within a very few hours of the time he fired the fatal shot.” ‘Do you know when his pias for the ab- duction of the President were formed?” | A REMARKABLE STORY. “Yea, sir, very well. The elder Wallack, the late E. L. Davenport and I, walked into my room one day, and found Booth lying upon my bed studying the part of Mare Antony in ‘Julius Casar.’ By-the-by it was in the same room and on the same bed upon which Mr. Lin- coln died. Mr. Davenport and Mr. Waliack be- gan talking of the war. They had been to visit some of the hospitals about Washington, and both of them seemed very much affected by the scenes they had witnessed, Booth joined them in the talk about the conflict, and all of them expressed more or less feeling against the war. It was a feeling not of bitterness but of sor- row, shat brothers should be engaged in killing each other. The pathos and power with which both Davenport and Wallack expressed their desire for peace is beyond description. It made a great impression upon my mind as I know it did upon Booth’s. It had been ar- ranged that Mr. Wallack, Mr. Davenport, my- selfand some others were to out to the Soldiers’ Home to play for the benefit of the soldiers, and this subject was |. Booth made his ments to go with us, and said he would be one of'the audience. He knew Mr. Lincoln intended to be present, and at once set to work arranging his plans for to capture him after the ‘was over. We played ‘aters Run ’- At the last moment Mr. Lincoln was detained by'a pressure of business and did not attend formance. Booth was J afterwards learned. h Het Oiestey of Mr. confe the care and atten- tion which to bestow upon him after his canbe read from a transaction which unwittingly I “eorieay ney Afew days before we pin at the Sol Home I was going over’ imore, Booth asked me to carry a trunk which h ‘would have at the depot and deliver it to a gentleman. in Baltimore I knew. I took the with me to and delivered it to the named by Booth. I did’not see bim in person and left the following note: {deep thought and then quickly turning to we, | whom he intended to make his wife. toilet articles necessary for a gentleman's use This trunk was to be shipped to lower Mary- iand, where Booth went when he attempted ic escape. It was intended for the comfort of President Lincoln on his journey to the con- federate lines. It was Booth’s intention t: show acates pees Sgr mg rege hie capture, for he Fespect for him, not whithstanding he abhorred the manner in which: he was forced to use his power. He never ha: him necesssry for the he had nearer his heart than any thing else in life—the release of the confederat: prisoners.” “When did Booth form his determination to kill the President?” “Not until late in the day on which the deed was committed. He hadspent the whole win- ter in Washington in the endeavor to kidnap him, and the failure of his every effort, fol- lowed by the surrender of Lee. decided him ai the last moment to resort to extreme measur to accomplish his object. The very argume: he uses in that letter about the killing of Cass by Brutus shows the state of his mind and th exalted method of reasoning which brought him to commit the act.” BOOTH'’S SWEETHEART. “Was Booth acting any that winter?” ‘ was devoting himseif entirely to his sch the release of the confederate prisone boarded at the National hotel and by the best society in Washington, ai le in the country. After his failure to capture Mr. Lincoln at the Soldiers’ Home, he seeme very much depressed. He had had some at the National hotel upon the subject « exchange of prisoners with a Unit States the Senator, and coming up tomy room he spoke | 8 Finally he | of the subject with great feelin: threw himseif upon my bed and good deal distressed. "He lay for a med to moment said: ‘ohn, were you ever in loye?? vo, I never could afford it,’ I replied. ““T wish I could say as much. | am a captive. You cannot understand how I feel. What a those lines in Romeo and Juliet describing lov I have played them a hundred times but th have flown from me.” ‘“Will_ you stand a bottle if I'l give them to yon?’ Lasked, “I will—two of them,’ replied Booth. “Here are the lines,’ I answered: ! anything, of nothing first create! DL heavy lightness! Serious vanity! Shapen chaos of well-seeming fort «That's it,’ replied Booth. ‘If it were not for this girl I could feel easy. Think of it, John. that at my time of life—just starting, as it were -—I should be in love!’” “Did he mention the lady’s name ?” “Oh, yes; but that shall be sacred with me. She is married now, and it would serve no good purpose either to his memory or to the truth of history to revive It. He loved her as few men love. He had agreat mind and a generous heart, and both were centered upon oe girl, fey pice ture was taken from his person after he was killed.” “Were you upon the witness stand in the trial of the conspirators?” “No, sir; I was simply held for a tiie, as were all the other actors and persons connected with the theater. Poor John T. Ford was kept in prison more than a month when there was not the faintest suspicion of his complicity, but St. Michael himself could net have escaped arrest in those days.” Mr. Matthews is now an actor in the Union Square Theater in New York, where I met him and listened to the story above retold. His re- collection of Booth is naturally very vivid. He has retained as relica, the wardrobe he wore on the night of the assassination, as also some trinkets which were the property of Booth. “Do Justice to poor John,” said he, speaking of his friend. “He thought he was doing right, and brooded so much over the terrors of war that he had reached a point where he looked upon his act as patriotic. He was a braye man. There was something exalted in his courage. Think of his begging for simply the chance to fight for his life when the soldiers had sur- rounded him in the barn. I do not believe that | the cranky soldier who is credited with killing Booth ever shot him. That he shot at him there isno doubt, but my theory is that when John found he could not get a chance for his life, and either had to die by fire or be killed by his ene- mies, he himself fired the shot which ended What had been so promising a life.” F. A. B. Seis He Forgave Them. “And do you discard me forever, Gertrude Gilhooley?” “I do,” was the answer in a low. sweet voice, while a pair of soft brown eyes suffused with tears looked tenderly up at stian MeCarthy. “You know that my heart is yours, and that I would gladly give thee my hand, but papa says nay, and when he twitters the procession is apt to move”—and, saying this, the girl buried her face in her hands and sobbed convulsively. “But think again, Gertrude,” said the young man in eager, anxious tones. “See if thy woman wit may not discoyer anght that will avail to make our future pathway brizht, I have loved you too long, too earnestly to resign the prize so eagerly sought without a strugzle.” “Let me,think,” said the Lady Gertrude, brushing back from her fair forehead the bang which so gracefully o’erhung its pearly surface, and placing caretully on the toe of a statue of Mercury, which stood in the conservatory. a generous hunk of chewing gum for which she had no immediate use, standing silently by a marble Psyche for a moment, she turned sud- denly to Sebastian. “You know the Mulcaheys ?” she said. “They whose moated castle frets the sky on Archer avenue ?” “Get thee thither with all speed. and when you have crossed the drawbridge and tethered your palfrey in the terraced court knock boldly on the front door, but relax not your vigilance, an’ you love me, for the Mulcaheys come of Norman blood and keep a dog. When the portal shall be opened and you are admitted to the presence of my aunt, the Lady Constance Mul- cahey, say to her that her favorite niece, Ger- trude, seeks her aid; that a cruel tather would wed her to one she loves not. Tell her that about four o'clock to-morrow afternoon when the sun is gilding the shot-tower a cas- socked Justice of the Peace will appear at Castle Mulcahey, and that I shall soon iollow with my bonny bridegroom. Do you understand?” “Tam on,” replied Sebastian, “and by my halidom the plan is a good one,” and kissing Gertrude trustfully under the left ear he went down the front steps and was svon lost to view. * © £ © © © «& “and 80 my pretty niece would fain marry you!” It was the Lady Constance Mulcahey who spoke these words, and the one to whom she addressed them was Sebastian McCarthy. “The plan is a good one,” she continued, tap- ping gently with a broom-handle the dainty foot that peeped from beneath her robe. “The Earl is working on the North Side this week, and I shall not hear the clank of his dinner pail until nearly seven p.m., so that all will be over ere he comes. You may tell Gert that I will be fixed for her.” < 2 ee eS A cold,clear afternoon in the festal Christmas- tide. Up Archer avenue came with merry tin-; fh of blooded steeds kle of beit and proud prancing drawing room horse car No. 176. In one corner of the vehicle eat Gertrude and Sebastian, nestled close to each other like little birds in the merry, agueish springtime. Presently the carstopped. Sebastian was on his feet at once, his face expressing plainly the indignation that sw ept over his soul. “{ prithee, do not leaye me,” said Ger- trade, grasping his with a convulsive clutch. “Fear not, sweetest. I dastard has dared to stop ty faithful steeds.” He soon came and saying, with a merry sigh, "it lea freight ra On the E crot clasy vest. ope By on anon, and soon the couple were safe in the Castle Mt * * * sp wacsaeie: beet Gertrude mony ste the Yes. Gunodey, Deke ot Gatway, FI e, father,” said abe Gere fe oetoareaencer his neck king wistfully into his eyes. d setting his ‘tinner pall nthe legen an o1 Duke of Gab said, in clear, JOuNsoN, 13 MARKET SPACE, 5300 Pairs BLANKETS, $2 to #8. pe ete a laa of RUBBER COATS, HATS and . A full stock FLANNELS and CANTONS. A tull oc j<xties’ and Misses CLOAKS, A fall stock PLUSHES. A full Stock, CASHMERPS, 87c. to $l. All Kinds of DAY GOpDs. AT THE LOWEST PRICES. GEO. J. JOHNSON, DRY Go a3 _ FINANCIAL. RAtitoap AND MINING STOCKS Bought, sold and carvied on moderate margin, Fractional orders exceuted satisfactorily. Information relating ta Stock Operations mailed ; py ; also references of Correspondents Matthews & Judd. Brokers, Pa.; R. BR. Sick & Co, Dhen eee nm a8 MINING RECORD, ¢: { Nae tid AND STOCK DEPART 9 NING STOCKS: cee ee OO ane ee econ te Mae ork apa S Advances made and dividends casted, —S aa | (BEAT BARGAINS IN DRY Goops. SELL FF ALL OF OUR FALL AND WINTER GOODS CHEAP. Double width, all woo!, Ladws’ Flannel Suiting, (all re) Finest quality, wide, double with, pure = Plaids, $1 Bleached Table’ = Breeade Sitkss call pure ai ite Blankets, $1.50. ros : i ere Serves, ul S.Ik and Wool Dress Goods, | je white Blankets, pure wool, Silks, 50c. | Lance size, dow | $5." Colored and Bisex CARTER’S, 225 ‘Al MARKET SPACF. J 0" LE TION | N TAB! ATTRACTIO: at G ‘IP, DAY & CO.‘S, 820, 822 anv 824 SEVENTH SrReeT Nonruwesr. We are agents for the sale of the celebrated NONPARIEL VELVETEEN, Silk finish, in Black and all colors. New Britain Knitting Co.'s 2-Thread, fall regular made MERINO UNDERWEAR, all sizes from 34 to 46, at $1.25; never sold before under $2. FOSTER PATENT REAL KID GLOVES, All colors, 5 hooks, at 99, OUR SILK STOCK Is simply beyond comparison in the city. We have just added several large invoices of the very latest novelties. GUINNIP, DAY & CO. nel, (CARPETS. Weare daily receiving our Fall and Winter assortment of all the mw designs in Carpets, comprising Koyal Sig Tapeety sod Toeaoe os Carpets, Huge and eels, Tapestry and myrne an Mala in great variety.” Ficor Druevetta’ all izes, Smyrna Carpets by yard, with borders to match. Linoleum in new designs. Cocoa Mats all sizes. Floor Linen all widths. Raw Silk aud Satin furniture cover- ing. Swiss, Antique and Nottingham Lace Curtains in choice patterns. “Purchasers will tind it to their ad- Vantage to examine our Stock. HOOE, BRO. & CO., 1328 F STREET, NEAR EBBITT HOUSE. BOOTS AND SHOES. ol _n16-wks A. R. CHISOL® & 00. — ——— * OPERATIONS IN STOCK JOHN, A. DUDS Se stock Percent margin, and carry 7 i advise when and what to buy” also: S LOK PRIVILDGES at reasonable rater hi witch §a5 to $100 orn be invested. i = ? formation on application and Report pu ruscray Janl2-m, 6, Pprvate STOCK TELEGRAPH WIRES BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND NEW YORK. H. H. DODGE, Bonds, Stocks and Investment Securities Bough tin Sold on Compisaion, No. 539 Stu STREET, (CORCORAN BUILDING) Agency for Prince and Whitely, Stock Brokers, Broapwax. New Youx. Every class of Securities bought and sold on commis- sion in San Francisco, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New: York, Boston and Washington. Onders executed on the New York Stock Exchange at one-eighth of one per cent, commission, Private and direct telerraph wires to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, through which orders are executed on the Stock Exchanges in those cities and reported back promptly. Quotationa of Stocks aud Bonds and information regarding the Markets received through our wires INSTANTLY @i- rect from the New York Stock Exchange, al _LADIEs’ GOopDs. on Btocl x Fa ppeen and FANCY GOODS. D LADIES z pect Ay R OPENING, MRS. J. P. PALMER, IMPORTER OF FRENCH MILLINERY GOops, N lira AND larg, First Regular Winter Opening of FRENCH BONNETS AND ENGLISH HATS ‘Will take place THURSDAY NEXT, DECEMBER 8TH. —No Cards, Vrnuitya's LADIES’ BOOTS. BARGAINS !! stock of LADIES’ WINTER i y al n29-1m_ Opposite U. 8. Patent Oftioa, iE. VON BRANDES. 913 Pennsylvania ave... Formerly with Lont’& Ta & favtor, New York, and Wine Barr & Co. Evening Dremes: Bridal Trowssoas, a Rotice: perfect work, Soot, pardon LAs CLOAKS, DOLMANS, PALETOTS, JACKETS AND SUITS. CHILDREN’S AND MISSES CLOAKS. The lanrest and best assortment in the city. FUR TRIMMINGS in different Widths, M. WILLAAN, Paris. 029 907 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. ME. WASHI a TON, ING AND TRIMMING STORE, > Suite EESSYEVANIA AVE, OOM ita, Costumes, ‘Cloaks, &c., taade in supes Thor style at short notice. “Ladies have Dresses and bested, sud n perttct ff cosrannene” oe ___ BUILDERS’ SUPPLIES. _ fps GREAT CLOSING SALE STILL CONTINUES AT SINSHEIMER & BRO.'S, 808 SEVENTH STREET, BETWEEN H AND L. | ‘We will offer from Friday the following additional GREAT BARGAIN! Ladies’ Goat Button Shoes. Ladies’ Kid Button Shoes. Ladies’ Kid Button, work $1.45, worth $2.25 Ladies’ Pebble Button, worked holes, at $1.45, worth $2.00 An elegant line of Boys’ English Walking Bals., at the low price About 40 pairs Bo; which are cheap at $1.50. About 75 pairs Men's beautiful ‘Toilet Slippers, the choice. ‘Men's $2.69, and Cousin's French Kid at $3.75, in fact every- thing we have at ACTUAL COST, ss we clove business by January Ist next. If yon wish to save money call at once, as our stock is still complete. This is an opportunity seldom offered. Look for Name and Number. SINSHEIMER & BRO., 808 SEVENTH STREET, BETWEEN H AND I. n10 Beers SHOES FOR GENTLEMEN ARE THE FINEST MANUFACTURED. Burt's Hand Made, Cloth T< BUTTON is THE Burt's Hand. Lon CONGHESS GAITER IS VEL Burt's French Calf Hand-made B: Burt's Pertect Fi I I Children’s Shoes, good and cheap. 5p Heels at low gl The above: can only be had at GEO. MoCARTH om 605 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. PIANOS AND ORGANS. NWHE STIEFF AND THE KRANICH & BACH MBIANOS, .and ESLEY | ORGANS Lowest Prices G. L. WILD & BEO-S. New Piano and Organ Ware-rooms, 709 7th street northwest. BB M. KNABE & CO.'8 PIANOS.—CELE- brated Upright. fo trnley af REICHENBACH'S "Pines Wareroome, 433 11th st., a few doors above ‘vania avenue. SDNEY T. NIMMO'S of all glass windows. For aeacriptive price . Teele, Esti TISTS' SUPPLIES always on hand, m30 ap27 to ‘size and locati Fauna Vout provided for T DOORS GUARDED BY THE SARGENT “pen saad TIME-LOCK. En ae SPECIAL GU. BENJAMIN P. SNYDER, President. CHARLES C. GLOVER, of Riggs & Co., Vice President, Abeer Dothan EVANT, (Established 1800,) Dealers in BAR IRON, STEEL, TIN PLATE, ENGINEERS, MACHINISTS, COACH SUPPLIER, BUILDER'S HARDWARE. 606 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUR AND 607 B STREET. tore closed at 6 p.m. MITATION STAINED GLASS. ime and teomtits invention fills a real == = a F J. W. KENNEDY & ©0., . Postal. New Gesiens just PP nw. rections for ‘ine xiven to every customer. Agency, 929 1 etree Refer by permiesion te Church of the Lucarnation. * J. G. CULVERWELA.. Act. for D.C, = OILS, WINDOW AND PLATE GLASS, JOHNSTONE'S KALSOMINE and MASURY'S LIQUID PAIN imate (Send for cireulars,) ed to Builders. A full stock S, Peady for use. furutahe GEORGE RYNEAL, Jn., 418 Ton StReer Noxrnwesr, we FhectrhncnBennen a vers Where Black Jour ure Rex Beet in the world. Only biack that never fades, J. H. JOHNSON & ©O., AcEwts, 12th strect Wharf and 1202 F street northwest, ___ SAFE DEPOSIT ©O. = =] ECURITY FROM LOSS BY BURGLARY, ROBBERY, FIRE OR ACCIDENT. THE NATIONAL SAFE DEPOSIT COMPANY, jaahineton, In its own Building, Conner 157 Steeet anp New Yorn Avr. Perpetual Charter Act of Congreas January 224, 186T, ‘Capital. $200, 000. Proof Vaulbs ot prises serpiing feces $5 to8sb peer tions Boome and od Safe-Renters. Y, ABB NALUABLES of every dc BONDE and STOCKS, ERPS, & taken for BAFE~ on at the Lowest "E. Nyman, Asst. Seoy, wits HOTEL LOTTERY DEAWING lérm FEBRUARY, 1892, OR MONEY REFUNDED. Loumsviie, Kv., November 10, 1881, Resolved, parece mas Hpetweag | ‘bo same. Rost. Matzony, a | br oeenreaiate ie terete y aac scoulte’teriit then. 25 1 LETT SON STREET, o, HE HEKTOGRAPH. | THE ONLY PAD § Sroust "tod notice of suse wil Bosses Wine mone PR og irecn ‘efrest.