hour could give birth to such
a purpose.

The fourteenth day of April was Friday,--Good Friday. Many religious
persons afterward ventured to say that if the President had not been at
the theatre upon that sacred day, the awful tragedy might never have
occurred at all. Others, however, not less religiously disposed, were
impressed by the coincidence that the fatal shot was fired upon that day
which the Christian world had agreed to adopt as the anniversary of the
crucifixion of the Saviour of mankind. General Grant and his wife were
in Washington on that day and the President invited them to go with him
to see the play at Ford's theatre in the evening, but personal
engagements called them northward. In the afternoon the President drove
out with his wife, and again the superstitious element comes in; for he
appeared in such good spirits, as he chatted cheerfully of the past and
the future, that she uneasily remarked to him: "I have seen you thus
only once before; it was just before our dear Willie died." Such a frame
of mind, however, under the circumstances at that time must be regarded
as entirely natural rather than as ominous.

About nine o'clock in the evening the President entered his box at the
theatre; with him were his wife, Major Rathbone, and a lady; the box
had been decorated with an American flag, of which the folds swept down
to the stage. Unfortunately it had also been tampered with, in
preparation for the plans of the conspirators. Between it and the
corridor was a small vestibule; and a stout stick of wood had been so
arranged that it could in an instant be made to fasten securely, on the
inside, the door which opened from the corridor into this vestibule.
Also in the door which led from the vestibule into the box itself a hole
had been cut, through which the situation of the different persons in
the box could be clearly seen. Soon after the party had entered, when
the cheering had subsided and the play was going forward, just after ten
o'clock, a man approached through the corridor, pushed his visiting card
into the hands of the attendant who sat there, hastily entered the
vestibule, and closed and fastened the door behind him. A moment later
the noise of a pistol shot astounded every one, and instantly a man was
seen at the front of the President's box; Major Rathbone sprang to
grapple with him, but was severely slashed in the arm and failed to
retard his progress; he vaulted over the rail to the stag