_April_ 24.--Fannie Gaylord and Kate Lapham have returned from their
eastern trip and told us of attending the President's funeral in Albany,
and I had a letter from Bessie Seymour, who is in New York, saying that
she walked in the procession until half past two in the morning, in
order to see his face. They say that they never saw him in life, but in
death he looked just as all the pictures represent him. We all wear
Lincoln badges now, with pin attached. They are pictures of Lincoln upon
a tiny flag, bordered with crape. Susie Daggett has just made herself a
flag, six feet by four. It was a lot of work. Mrs. Noah T. Clarke gave
one to her husband upon his birthday, April 8. I think everybody ought
to own a flag.

_April_ 26.--Now we have the news that J. Wilkes Booth, who shot the
President and who has been concealing himself in Virginia, has been
caught, and refusing to surrender was shot dead. It has taken just
twelve days to bring him to retribution. I am glad that he is dead if he
could not be taken alive, but it seems as though shooting was too good
for him. However, we may as well take this as really God's way, as the
death of the President, for if he had been taken alive, the country
would have been so furious to get at him and tear him to pieces the
turmoil would have been great and desperate. It may be the best way to
dispose of him. Of course, it is best, or it would not be so. Mr. Morse
called this evening and he thinks Booth was shot by a lot of cowards.
The flags have been flying all day, since the news came, but all,
excepting Albert Granger, seem sorry that he was not disabled instead of
being shot dead. Albert seems able to look into the "beyond" and also to
locate departed spirits. His "latest" is that he is so glad that Booth
got to h--l before Abraham Lincoln got to Springfield.

Mr. Fred Thompson went down to New York last Saturday and while stopping
a few minutes at St. Johnsville, he heard a man crowing over the death
of the President. Mr. Thompson marched up to him, collared him and
landed him nicely in the gutter. The bystanders were delighted and
carried the champion to a platform and called for a speech, which was
given. Quite a little episode. Every one who hears the story, says:
"Three cheers for F. F. Thompson."

The other afternoon at our society Kate Lapham wanted to divert our
minds from gossip I think, and so started a discussion upon the
respective characters of Washington and Napo