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GUITEAU. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1882,  by 

Charles   Guifeau, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


I 


PAET  I. 


THE  TRUTH: 


A  Companion  to   the   Bible. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 

Preface 9 

Paul,  the  Apostle 11 

Christ's  Second  Coming,  at  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A. 

D.  70 25 

Christianity  Reviewed  since  A.  D.  70 45 

Hades  and  the  Final  Judgment 59 

A  Reply  to  Attacks  on  the  Bible 65 

Some  Reasons  why  Many  Persons  are  Going  down  to  Perdition.  73 

The  Two  Seeds 87 

The  Predicted  Fate  of  the  Earth 93 


PART   II. 

The  Removal — Synopsis  of  my  Trial  for  removing  James  A. 

Garfield,  with  Letters  of  Commendation  and  other  papers...     99 
Appendix ..; 201 


PREFACE. 


I  was  on  theology  two  or  three  years,  and  this  book  is 
the  result.  It  was  written  as  I  had  light  during  this 
period.  "  Christ's  Second  Coming,  A.  D.  70,"  was  written 
at  the  Public  Library  in  Chicago  in  December,  1876.  I 
worked  a  mouth  on  it.  ''  Paul  the  Apostle  "  and  "  Chris- 
tianity Reviewed  "  were  written  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin, 
in  August  and  September,  1878.  "  A  Reply  to  Attacks 
on  the  Bible"  and  "Hades  and  the  Final  Judgment" 
were  mostly  written  at  Bridgeport,  Ct.,  in  February, 
1878.  ''  Some  Reasons  Why  Many  People  are  Going 
Down  to  Perdition  "  was  written  at  the  Library  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  the  city  of  New 
York  in  September,  1879.  "  The  Two  Seeds  '  was  written 
at  "The  Arlington,"  in  Washington,  D,  C,  in  June, 
1881. 

"  The  Truth  "  is  my  contribution  to  the  civilization  of 
the  race,  and  I  ask  for  it  a  careful  attention,  to  the  end, 
that  many  souls  may  find  the  Saviour.  A  new  line  of 
thought  runs  through  it,  and  if  it  does  not  demonstrate 
the  existence  of  Heaven  and  Hell,  I  submit  their  exist- 
ence cannot  be  proved. 

CHARLES  GUITEAU. 

United  States  Jail, 
Washington,  D.  C,  March  6,  1882. 


PAUL  THE  APOSTLE. 


THE  life  of  a  great  man,  in  a  great  period  of  the 
world's  history,  is  a  subject  to  command  the  atten- 
tion of  every  thoughtful  mind.  Alexander,  on  his  East- 
ern expedition,  spreading  the  civilization  of  Greece  over 
the  Asiatic  and  African  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  ; 
Julius  Caesar,  contending  against  the  Gauls,  and  subduing 
the  barbarism  of  Western  Europe  to  the  order  and  dis- 
cipline of  Roman  government ;  Charlemagne,  compressing 
the  separating  atoms  of  the  feudal  world,  and  reviving  for 
a  time  the  image  of  imperial  unity  ;  Columbus,  sailing 
westward  over  the  Atlantic  to  discover  a  new  world  which 
might  receive  the  arts  and  religion  of  the  old  ;  Napoleon, 
on  his  rapid  campaigns,  shattering  the  ancient  systems  of 
European  States  and  leaving  a  chasm  between  our  pres- 
ent and  the  past — these  {says  an  historiaix)  are  the  colos- 
sal figures  of  history,  which  stamp  their  personal  great- 
ness on  the  centuries  in  which  they  lived. 

But  I  tell  you  of  a  greater  than  they.  I  tell  you  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  of  Paul  His  great  apostle.  Compared 
to  Christ  and  Paul,  the  greatest  men  of  the  world  sink 
into  insignificance.  They  lived  and  thrived  for  a  time 
in  power,  in  wealth,  in  luxury,  and  then  they  went  down. 

When  all  things  were  ripe,  Paul  came.  He  came  at 
the  confluence  of  three  national  civilizations — the  Roman, 
the  Greek,  and  the  Jewish.  The  Romans  represented 
temporal  power  and  pleasure.     The  Greeks  sought  wis- 


12 

dom ;  the  Jews  religion.  Aside  from  the  Jews,  the  whole 
world  was  given  to  idolatrj'.  For  two  thousand  years 
God  had  sent  upon  the  Jewish  nation  the  rain  and  sun- 
shine of  religious  discipline.  They  were  his  chosen 
people.  The  Old  Testament  is  the  record  of  God's  deal- 
ings with  the  Jews  during  these  two  thousand  years. 

When  the  time  came,  in  the  providence  of  God,  for 
the  long-promised  and  much-looked-for  Messiah  to  appear 
in  the  flesh,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  born  of  the  Virgin 
Mary.  In  time  this  God-man  grew  to  manhood.  Then 
came  John  the  Baptist,  preaching  in  the  wilderness  of 
Judea,  "Repent,  for  the  kindom  of  God  is  at  hand." 
Then  Christ  himself  began  to  preach,  "  Repent,  for  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand."  He  moved  up  and  down 
Judea,  "and  spake  as  one  having  authority."  Vast 
multitudes  followed  him.  He  cast  out  devils,  healed  the 
sick,  restored  the  blind  and  diseased,  told  the  multitude 
who  He  was,  and  what  He  came  for  ;  that  God,  the 
Father,  had  sent  him  to  point  the  race  the  way  to  eternal 
hfe. 

This  wonderful  being  had  nowhere  to  lay  His  head. 
He  had  no  money.  He  had  no  friends.  He  never  trav- 
elled. He  never  wrote  a  book.  He  was  hated,  despised, 
and  finally  crucified  as  a  vile  impostor.  Then,  back  He 
went  to  the  bosom  of  His  Father.  The  natural  eye  of 
man  has  never  seen  Him  since  (except  for  a  brief  time 
when  He  appeared  to  His  disciples  after  His  resurrection.) 
He  gathered  to  himself  a  few  despised  individuals  who 
believed  that  He  was  "God  manifested  in  the  flesh." 
They  were  as  poor  as  Himself.     They  had  no  money  and 


J 


13 

no  standing  in  society,  and  were  mostly  fishermen.  He 
told  them  that  after  He  was  gone,  something  (He  called 
it  the  Holy  Spirit)  would  come  upon  them  and  fill  them 
with  power.  By  it  they  could  cast  out  devils  and  do 
mightier  works  than  He  had  done. 

His  disciples  went  about  telling  that  the  Jews  had 
made  a  terrible  mistake  in  crucifying  this  wonderful 
being.  That  he  was  in  truth  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 
Many  believed  it,  and  trembled  with  great  fear  when 
they  realized  they  had  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory.  There 
was  some  doubt  about  His  resurrection.  He  said  He 
should  rise  again  "in  three  days."  Some  believed  it; 
some  did  not ;  and  there  were  great  disputings  about  it. 
Some  even  in  this  age  deny  His  resurrection.  But  most 
decent  people  believe  it.  "  If  Christ  be  not  risen,"  says 
Paul,  "  then  is  our  preaching  vain."  "  Ye  are  yet  in  your 
sins."  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  know  if  this 
wonderful  being  was  raised  from  the  dead,  as  He  said 
He  would  be  and  as  most  people  believe  He  was.  The 
salvation  or  damnation  of  individuals  rests  upon  their 
belief  of  this  point. 

This  wonderful  being  spake  as  man  never  spake  before 
(nor  since.)  His  ideas  appalled  his  hearers.  He  claimed 
greater  wisdom  than  Moses.  The  Jews  could  not  stand 
His  teachings.  They  never  had  heard  anything  like  it, 
and  it  made  them  mad.  "Art  thou  greater  than  owx 
Father  Abraham  ?"  "  What  makest  thou  thyself  ?"  "  Tell 
us,  'Who  art  thou?'" 

The  teachings  of  this  wonderful  being  were  taken  up 
by  one  Saul,  a  man  of  great  intellect  and  learning.     He 


14 

was  miraculously  converted  on  his  way  to  Damascus, 
whither  he  was  going,  "  breathing  out  threatenings  and 
slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord."  As  he 
journeyed  near  Damascus,  suddenly  there  shone  about 
him  a  light  from  heaven,  and  he  fell  to  the  earth,  as  in  a 
trance,  and  he  heard  a  voice  saying,  "  Saul,  Saul,  why 
persecutest  thou  me  ?"  And  he  said,  "  Who  art  thou, 
Lord  ?  And  the  Lord  said,  I  am  Jesus,  whom  thou  per- 
secutest. It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks." 
(Acts,  ix,  2-5.) 

"What  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do f  said  Paul.  The 
Lord  told  him  his  mission,  and  from  that  moment,  Saul 
(or  Paul  as  we  now  call  him)  was  this  wonderful  being's 
most  devoted  follower. 

For  thirty  years,  in  perils,  on  the  land  and  on  the  sea, 
in  daily  exposure  to  death,  Paul's  devotion  to  this  won- 
derful being  knew  neither  interruption  nor  decay.  For 
thirty  years,  in  prison  and  out  of  prison,  he  served  him 
with  amazing  effect.  At  all  times,  and  under  all  circum- 
stances he  was  true  to  his  Master.  His  devotion  carried 
him  upward  and  onward,  toward  an  "  eternal  weight  of 
glory." 

I  am  here  to  show  something  of  Paul's  life  and  princi- 
ples. 

When  God  wants  anything  done,  He  sends  a  man  to 
do  it.  He  called  Abraham  and  Moses,  and  all  the  leaders 
of  the  Old  Testament  dispensation.  When  the  time 
came  He  sent  His  Son,  "  Christ  Jesus,"  into  this  world 
of  sin  and  misery.  For  two  thousand  years  He  had  been 
preparing  the  world  for  His  coming.     For  generations 


I 


15 

the  Old  Testament  saints  bad  been  praying  and  watching 
for  the  Messiah.  At  last  He  came,  in  abject  poverty,  and 
"  His  own  received  Him  not."  They  entirely  mistook  the 
Messiah's  mission.  They  supposed  He  would  relieve 
them  from  the  Roman  yoke,  and  give  them  temporal 
power  and  pleasure.  But  Christ  came  in  poverty,  to  turn 
the  hearts  of  His  followers  from  earth  to  heaven. 

Paul  perceived  the  spiritual  nature  of  Christ's  mission, 
death,  and  resurrection  more  than  any  of  His  followers. 
He  was  learned  in  the  law.  His  intellect  was  keen  and 
his  spiritual  perception,  under  Divine  guidance,  most 
wonderful.  His  new  ideas  maddened  the  Jews.  They 
hated  to  have  their  theology  upset.  It  bore  the  conse- 
crated dust  of  twenty  centuries.  It  came  from  their 
fathers,  and  they  hated  to  have  it  set  aside.  Paul's  ideas 
cut  them  to  the  quick,  and  they  sought  his  life.  Relig- 
ious people  hate  innovatoi'S.  They  prefer  the  good  old 
ways  of  their  ancestors. 

In  the  book  of  Acts  we  have  vivid  accounts  of  the 
doings  of  Paul  and  the  apostles  while  they  were  trying  to 
introduce  Christianity.  The  Jews  fought  the  innovators 
at  every  step.  FrequentW  the  apostles  were  before  the 
ecclesiastical  and  civil  authorities.  Sometimes  they  were 
scourged,  sometimes  imprisoned  ;  but  out  of  it  all  "  the 
Lord  delivered  them."  They  kept  on  preaching.  They 
taught  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  the  Jews  had  wick- 
edly crucified,  was  the  true  Messiah.  Some  believed, 
and  some  did  not.  Often  a  division  arose  among  the 
Jews  as  to   the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the   apostles,  and 


16 

they  escaped  punishment  on  that  account.  Paul  was  a 
Roman  citizen,  and  this  fact  saved  him  many  scourgings. 

Paul  was  their  great  preacher.  He  travelled  "  from 
house  to  house,"  from  city  to  city,  from  province  to  prov- 
ince, warning  every  man,  day  and  night,  "  with  tears,"  to 
find  the  Saviour.  He  taught  publicly  and  privately.  He 
worked  at  his  trade  during  the  day  and  preached  the 
Gospel  Sundays  and  at  night.  He  was  "all  things  to  all 
men,"  working,  laboring  with  his  "  own  hands,"  that  he 
might  not  owe  any  one.  At  other  times  "  he  hungered 
and  thirsted,  and  was  naked,  and  had  no  certain  dwelling- 
place."  His  name  became  the  "  offscourings  "  of  the 
whole  world.  Whatever  his  outward  circumstances,  he 
stood  firm.  He  called  all  his  troubles  "light  afflictions." 
His  eye  was  on  the  "  eternal  weight  of  glory."  Under  his 
preaching  the  Gospel  took  root.  Believers  appeared  on 
all  sides.  Churches  were  founded  in  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages, and  Christianity  commenced  its  march  toward  the 
conquest  of  the  world. 

I  desire  to  put  myself  in  Paul's  place,  and  take  you 
with  me  through  his  varied  life  scenes.  Let  us  go  back 
eighteen  centuries.  Let  us  suppose  we  live  in  Judea. 
We  find  that  the  Roman  government  is  the  only  temporal 
power.  All  things  visible  are  under  its  control.  Its 
emperors  live  in  the  magnificent  city  of  Rome,  in  gor- 
geous palaces,  surrounded  by  retinues  of  officials,  who  are 
their  abject  slaves.  The  emperor  has  absolute  control 
over  the  life  and  property  of  his  subjects.  His  dominions 
cover  nearly  the  entire  earth.  His  subjects  are  Romans, 
Greeks,  and  Jews.    Outside  of  the  Jews,  the  entire  world 


17 

is  given  to  idolatry  and  sensuality.  Paul  was  Christ's 
apostle  to  the  "  Gentiles,"  i.  e.,  to  the  Romans  and 
Greeks.  Peter  and  the  other  apostles  looked  after  the 
Jews.  Paul's  special  work  was  with  the  Romans  and 
Greeks.  He  was  to  carry  the  message  of  eternal  life  to 
them.  The  Romans  sought  temporal  power  and  pleasure. 
The  Greeks  wisdom.  Paul,  as  the  preacher  of  Chris- 
tianity, had  to  meet  the  position  of  both. 

During  the  reign  of  Nero,  Paul  spent  two  years  a  pris- 
oner in  Rome,  and  of  this  experience  I  shall  speak  shortly. 
I  now  tell  how  he  came  to  go  to  Rome. 

In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  we  have  a  touching  account 
of  Paul's  charge  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  as  he  goes 
bound  in  the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the 
things  that  should  there  befall  him,  "  save  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  witnesseth,  that  in  every  city,  bonds  and  afflic- 
tions"  awaited  him.  But  none  of  these  things  moved 
him.  He  counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  him.  His  only 
anxiety  was  to  finish  his  Master's  work.  He  told  them 
they  should  "  see  his  face  no  more,"  and  that  he  had 
faithfully  declared  unto  them  "the  full  counsel  of  God." 
"And  they  all  wept  sore,  and  fell  on  Paul's  face,  and 
kissed  him,  sorrowing  most  of  all  that  they  should  see 
his  face  no  more."     (Acts,  xx,  38.) 

Although  repeatedly  warned  not  to  go  to  Jerusalem, 
Paul  went,  and,  while  preaching  in  the  temple,  he  was 
apprehended  and  came  very  near  being  mobbed  by  some 
Jews  from  Asia.  They  moved  "  all  Jerusalem  "  against 
him,  and  only  the  police  saved  him  from  death.  They 
bound  him  and  prepared  to  scourge  him,  but  desisted, 


18 

upon  finding  he  was  a  Roman  citizen.  He  was  brought 
before  Fehx  and  charged  with  being  '"a  pestilent  fellow, 
and  a  mover  of  sedition  among  all  the  Jews  throughout 
the  world,  and  a  ringleader  of  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes." 
(Acts,  xxiv,  5.)  He  denied  the  accusation,  but  admitted 
he  "worshipped  the  God  of  his  fathers"  in  a  way  the 
Jews  called  heresy.  Felix  remanded  him,  hoping  to  get 
money.  Finally,  he  appeai'ed  before  Festus,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Felix,  and  by  him  was  sent  to  King  Agrippa. 
Festus  sent  a  letter  to  the  king  to  the  efifect  that  Paul 
had  declared  that  "one  Jesus"  was  alive,  whereas  in  fact 
he  was  dead.  Then  the  king  wished  to  see  Paul  himself, 
and  he  was  brought  before  him.  Upon  a  hearing  Paul 
defended  himself,  and  the  king  was  disposed  to  let  him 
go,  but  Paul,  when  before  Festus,  had  appealed  to  the 
emperor  at  Rome,  and  to  him  he  was  sent. 

He  sailed  for  Rome  under  an  escort  of  soldiery,  was 
shipwrecked,  but  "  the  Lord  stood  by  him,"  and  all  on 
board  were  saved.  After  a  time  he  reached  Rome.  In 
Rome  he  was  guarded  by  a  soldier,  and  lived  "  two  years 
n  his  owa  hired  house,"  preaching  the  Gospel  with  "all 
confidence,  no  man  forbidding  him." 

Some  of  Paul's  best  epistles  were  written  while  a  pris- 
oner at  Rome.  Wherever  he  happened  to  be,  in  prison 
or  out  of  prison,  when  the  spirit  moved  him  he  sent  an 
epistle.  He  always  commenced  it  by  declaring  his  au- 
thority as  an  "  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  will  of 
God,  separated  unto  the  Gospel."  Sometimes  he  wrote 
it  with  his  "  own  hand."  Oftener  he  dictated  it,  and  sent 
it  by  some   "dearly  beloved"   worker   "in   the   Lord." 


19 

They  were  publicly  read  in  the  churches,  often  amid 
"many  tears."  They  were  addressed  to  believers 
"  throughout  all  ages,"  and  in  all  conditions  of  life.  His 
great  theme,  "  Christ  crucified — the  hope  of  glory.  Dead 
to  the  world,  alive  to  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  Paul 
preached  the  Gospel  "in  bonds,"  but  the  "Word  of 
God  "  was  not  bound.  It  penetrated  the  confines  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  "  Your  faith,"  he  says  to  the  Romans, 
"is  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  world."    (Rom.,  i,  18.) 

In  the  time  of  Nero — i.  6.,  when  Paul  was  a  prisoner 
in  Rome — the  Palatine  Hill  {sa^js  mi  historian)  had  be- 
come one  vast  congeries  of  imperial  piles  for  the  private 
residence  of  the  emperors  and  the  officials  of  the  court, 
and  for  public  purposes.  It  included  palaces,  temples, 
libraries,  baths,  and  fountains,  the  gardens  of  Adonis, 
and  an  area  for  athletic  games.  All  this  pile  of  palaces 
was  rich  beyond  all  modern  luxury,  in  marble,  and  gild- 
ing, and  frescoes,  and  bronzes,  and  mosaics,  and  statu- 
ary, and  paintings.  There,  the  luxury  of  life,  the  extrav- 
agance of  expenditure  in  furniture  and  feasts  and  wines ; 
the  employment  of  troops  of  players,  mimics,  musicians, 
athletes,  gladiators,  charioteers,  and  nameless  ministers 
of  nameless  vices,  were  such  as  Christian  civilization,  in 
its  most  splendid  and  vicious  periods,  has  never  known. 

Luxury,  lust,  and  murder  went  mad  in  the  house  of 
Csesar,  from  the  reign  of  Augustus  to  that  of  Vespasian — 
i.  e.,  during  the  very  period  that  Christ  and  His  apostles 
were  trying  to  establish  Christianity. 

These  emperors  were  monsters  of  iniquity.  They  com- 
mitted the  foulest  social  vices.     They  were  often  vin- 


20 

dictive  murderers,  killing  their  own  relations,  without 
mercy  or  cause.  Nearly  all  met  a  violent  death.  They 
were  too  wicked  to  die  like  decent  men. 

But  even  in  "Caesar's  household  "  {i.  e.,  among  his 
slaves,)  some  were  called  "  to  the  faith  of  Christ."  They 
loved  to  hear  Paul  tell  of  Jesus  and  the  resurrection. 
They  were  servants  and  slaves,  but  they  were  precious  to 
Paul.  He  knew  they  would  go  up  and  their  masters 
down.  "All  the  saints."  he  says  to  Philemon,  "salute 
you.     Chiefly  they  of  Caesar's  household." 

"  Not  many  mighty  men  "  were  called  in  Paul's  church. 
The  Gospel  was  for  the  poor  and  needy.  The  self- 
righteous  Pharisees  hated  it.  The  rich  and  noble  missed 
it,  and  so  it  has  been  in  all  ages.  "  I  came,"  says  the 
Master,  "  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repent- 
ance." 

Timothy,  Paul's  beloved  son  in  the  Gospel,  to  whom 
he  wrote  two  of  his  most  touching  and  important  epistles ; 
also  Luke,  the  writer  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and 
Mark,  the  Evangelist,  were  among  Paul's  constant  friends 
while  he  was  a  prisoner,  "  in  his  own  hired  house  "  in 
Rome.  These,  and  others  like  minded,  surrounded  and 
cheered  him  by  their  Christian  fellowship  and  affection. 
Great  indeed  must  have  been  the  strength  which  Paul 
derived  from  these  brethren.  Sympathy  is  sweet  in  pro- 
portion to  the  bitterness  of  trials ;  and  their  sympathy 
must  have  been  doubly  sweet  to  Paul,  bound  as  he  was 
"  in  chains,"  and  living  amid  a  most  "  awfully  polluted 
Paganism. "     He  speaks  of  them  as  "  beloved,"  as  "  dear," 


21 

as  "faithful,"  and  that  "long  after"  their  converts  in 
Christ. 

Behold  a  picture.  Look  at  Paul  and  the  saints  in 
Rome  worshipping  the  God  of  their  fathers,  and  the  new 
God,  Christ  Jesus,  just  revealed  to  them. 

Then  look  at  Nero  and  his  gorgeous  surroundings. 
Nero  represented  Paganism  in  its  "  utmost  power,  splen- 
dor, and  corruption."  Paul  represented  Christianity  in 
"  its  feebleness,  poverty,  and  purity."  Nero  and  Paul 
represent,  each  in  the  highest  degree,  what  the  world  and 
the  Gospel  can  do  for  man.  "The  one  tormented  by 
conscience  in  the  midst  of  boundless  luxury  and  power  ; 
the  other,  joyful  on  the  verge  of  martyrdom."  The  one 
possessing  all  temporal  good ;  the  other,  scarcely  nothing. 
The  one  rich  on  earth,  but  poor  in  heaven.  The  other 
poor  here,  but  rich,  for  ever  and  ever,  in  the  eternal 
world.  Think  of  the  infamy  on  Nero's  name  all  these 
ages,  and  then  think  of  the  power  of  Paul's  words  in  the 
Bible  all  these  centuries.  Consider,  that  they  have  been 
read  and  wept  over  by  millions  and  millions  of  the  best 
men  and  women  who  have  lived  "in  this  vale  of  tears." 
Had  you  rather  be  Paul  or  Nero  ? 

"  Wives  submit  yourselves  unto  your  husbands  as  unto 
the  Lord ;  husbands,  love  your  wives,  as  Christ  loved  the 
Church,"  Paul  wrote  while  a  Roman  prisoner,  surrounded 
by  a  horrible  debauchery  and  licentiousness. 

The  Romans  had  not  always  been  so  depraved  as  they 
were  during  the  time  of  Paul  and  Nero.  During  the 
republic,  and  even  in  the  age  of  Augustus,  the  utmost 
purity  prevailed  in  the  family  relations.     The  maidens 


22 

and  matrons  were  pure  and  modest.  Adultery  was  pun- 
ished by  death  or  exile.  Even  the  emperor's  own  kin 
were  not  exempt.  Unfortunately  this  law  did  not  apply 
to  the  Roman  father  or  youth.  It  was  only  the  sanctity 
of  the  maidens  and  matrons  that  was  so  sternly  guarded  ; 
and  this,  not  on  the  ground  of  morality,  but  that  the 
"  Roman  stock  might  be  preserved  unmixed  and  unweak- 
ened,"'  to  the  end,  that  the  "  state  might  always  have  fit 
citizens  to  uphold  and  extend  the  glory  of  all-conquering 
Rome."  Outside  of  Roman  families  great  license  pre- 
vailed. Philosophers  counted  licentiousness,  within  the 
limits  of  the  law,  to  be  unwise,  rather  than  wicked.  This 
was  Roman  civilization — a  civilization  which  entirely  ex- 
cluded all  Divine  guidance  in  the  affairs  of  men. 

Paul  taught  that  to  break  the  marriage  bond  was  the 
greatest  of  crimes.  It  was  to  violate  a  specific  law  of 
God.  It  was  to  fill  societ}'  with  pollution,  violence,  and 
manifold  evil.  If  his  views  prevailed,  it  would  close 
every  brothel  in  the  land. 

I  desire  to  speak  briefly  of  Pauls  second  imprisonment 
in  Rome,  and  his  martyi'dom. 

After  being  detained  two  years  in  Rome,  Paul  was  re- 
leased. It  is  supposed  he  was  found  "  not  guilty  "  of  the 
charges  preferred  against  him  by  the  Jews,  and  upon 
which  he  was  held.  He  preached  the  Gospel,  after  his 
release,  in  the  provinces  for  several  years,  but  was  finally 
apprehended  and  sent  to  Rome  the  second  time,  where 
he  was  executed  under  Nero. 

It  was  a  terrible  time  for  Paul  and  his  followers,  when 
Nero,  mad  with  debauchery   and  ci'uelty,  commenced  a 


23 

systematic  persecution  of  the  Christians.  Rome  had 
been  burned,  and  the  opinion  prevailed  that  it  had  been 
set  on  fire  by  Nero's  own  orders.  The  infamy  of  that 
horrible  transaction  still  adhered  to  him.  In  order,  if 
possible,  to  remove  this  imputation,  he  determined  to 
transfer  the  guilt  to  the  Christians.  They  were  con- 
demned without  sufficient  evidence,  and  put  to  death 
with  "  exquisite  cruelty,  and  to  their  sufferings  Nero  of- 
fered mockery  and  derision.  "  The  details  of  this  perse- 
cution are  too  horrible  for  recital,  and  I  pass  them  by. 

I  desire  to  call  attention  to  Paul's  spiritual  condition 
while  waiting  execution.  It  was  during  this  incarcera- 
tion that  he  wrote  his  second  epistle  to  Timothy,  which 
is  so  full  of  faith  and  apt  in  espressiou.  It  proves  the 
sublime  power  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  no  less  remarkable 
for  what  it  contains  than  for  what  it  omits.  He  tells 
Timothy,  and  the  faithful  "  in  Christ  Jesus, "  throughout 
all  time,  and  in  all  lands,  to  stand  steadfast  in  the  Gos- 
pel, and  to  meet  him  in  heaven.  "I  charge  thee,  there- 
fore, "  he  says  to  Timothy,  "  before  God,  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  dead  at  His 
appearing,  to  preach  the  word,  in  season  and  out  of  sea- 
son, reprove,  rebiake,  exhort,  with  long-sufifering  and 
doctrine  ;  for  the  time  will  come  when  they  will  not  en- 
dure sound  doctrine,  but  turn  unto  fables.  But  watch 
thou  in  all  things,  endure  afflictions,  do  the  work  of  an 
evangelist,  make  full  proof  of  thy  ministry. 

"  For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of 
my  departure  is  at  hand. 

"I  have  fought  a  good  fight. 


24 

"  I  have  finished  my  course. 

"  I  have  kept  the  faith. 

"  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  right- 
eousness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give 
me  at  that  day;  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them, 
also,  that  love  His  appearing."     (II  Tim.,  iv,  8.) 

Methinks  I  see  the  old  warrior  in  his  dungeon  in  Eome, 
waiting  and  watching  for  his  Master.  Look  at  him ! 
Bowed  with  age.  Chained  like  a  condemned  felon.  For- 
saken-by  "all  men."  Under  sentence  of  death,  and  yet 
he  faltered  not ;  for  he  knew  his  Master  would  shortly 
appear  and  take  him  to  glory.  For  thirty  years  he  had 
proved  himself  a  minister  of  God,  "in  much  patience, 
in  afflictions,  in  necessities,  in  distresses,  in  stripes,  in 
imprisonments,  in  tumults,  in  labors,  in  watchings,  in 
fastings ;  by  pureness,  by  knowledge,  by  long-suffering, 
by  kindness,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  love  unfeigned,  by 
the  word  of  truth,  by  the  power  of  God,  by  the  armor  of 
righteousness,  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left ;  by 
honor  and  dishonor ;  by  evil  report  and  good  report ;  as 
deceivers,  and  yet  true ;  as  unknown,  and  yet  well  known  ; 
as  dying,  and  behold,  we  live ;  as  chastened,  and  not 
killed;  as  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing;  as  poor,  yet 
making  many  rich ;  as  having  nothing,  yet  possessing  all 
things."     (II  Cor.,  vi,  4-10.) 

Yes,  yes ;  thou,  Paul,  waited  only  two  years  for  thy 
"crown."  Thou  wert  executed  A.  D.  68,  and  thy  Master 
came  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70,  and  gavest 
thee  thy  "  crown . " 


CHRIST'S  SECOND  COMING  AT  THE  DES- 
TRUCTION OF  JERUSALEM,  A.  D.  70.* 


*  This  was  written  in  December,  1876. 


I 


CHRIST'S  SECOND  COMING,  A.  D.  70. 


For  eighteen  centuries  Christendom  has  expected  the 
second  coming  of  Christ.  From  father  to  son,  from  gen- 
eration to  generation,  this  idea  has  come  down  from  the 
primitive  Church.  During  all  these  ages  Christ  has  not 
appeared  in  response  to  this  expectation,  and  we  propose 
to  show  that  the  reason  He  has  not  appeared  is  because 
He  came  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70,  "  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven,  with  power  and  great  glory,"  and 
judged  "  the  quick  and  dead,"  the  righteous  and  wicked 
of  the  entire  human  I'ace  (except  those  living  on  earth  at 
the  moment  he  appeared  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem.) 
(See  page  35.)  Those  then  living  and  not  taken,  (see  page 
48,  last  paragraph,)  and  all  who  have  lived  on  earth  since 
A.  D.  70,  will  be  judged  at  the  Final  Judgment  which 
will  take  place  at  the  end  of  the  world. 

This  is  the  idea  we  propose  to  establish  by  a  careful 
review  of  the  New  Testament,  and  of  Christianity  since 
A.  D.  70. 

We  present  the  idea  that  .Christ  came  in  judgment  at 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  as  a  discovery,  and  ask  for 
it  a  prayerful  reception.  No  one  can  understand  the 
Bible  without  this  view  of  the  Second  Coming,  and  herein 
is  the  great  value  of  the  discovery. 

In  examining  this  subject  we  wipe  away  the  tradition, 
and  mist,  and  unbelief  of  past  ages,  and  stand  on  the 
words  of  Jesus  Christ  concerning  His  own  coming,  and 

^  27 


28 

the  expectations  of  Paul,  and  the  primitive  Christians. 
We  imagine  ourselves  with  Christ  and  Paul  in  Judea. 
They  were  addressing  common  people,  and  we  take  them 
at  their  words.  We  believe  they  said  what  they  meant, 
and  meant  what  they  said. 

We  have  the  first  reference  to  Christ's  coming  in  Mat- 
thew, X,  23.  Therein  He  tells  His  disciples,  "  When  they 
persecute  you  in  this  city,  flee  ye  into  another,  for  verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  ye  shall  not  have  gone  over  the  cities  of 
Israel  till  the  Son  of  Man  come ;"  in  Matthew,  xvi,  28, 
"  There  be  some  standing  here  which  shall  not  taste  of 
death  till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  His  king- 
dom ;"  in  John,  xxi,  22,  "  If  I  will  that  he  "  (John)  "  tarry 
till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?"  which  is  a  clear  intima- 
tion that  John  should  live  till  Christ  came ;  i.  e.,  till  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70 ;  in  Luke,  x,  12, 
"  That  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  in  that  day,"  (meaning 
the  day  of  His  coming,  when  He  would  judge  them,) 
"than  for  that  city;"  in  verse  35,  "To  keep  their  lights 
burning  ;"  in  Luke,  xii,  36,  "  To  act  like  men  that  wait 
for  their  Lord  ;  that  when  He  cometh  and  knocketh,  they 
may  open  unto  Him  immediately ;"  in  verse  40,  "  Be  ye 
also  ready,  for  the  Son  of  man  cometh  at  an  hour  when 
ye  think  not ;"  in  verse  56,  addressing  the  people,  "  Ye 
hypocrites  !  ye  can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky  and  of  the 
earth,  but  how  is  it  that  ye  discern  not  this  time  ? " 
(thereby  meaning  the  time  of  their  judgment  at  His  com- 
ing, then  close  at  hand  ;)  in  Matthew,  xxvi,  29,  He  says 
He  shall  not  drink  again  of  the  "  fruit  of  the  vine  "  till  He 
drinks  it  with  His  disciples  in  His  Father's  kingdom ;  in 


29 

Matthew,  xxvi,  34,  "Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  this  genera- 
tion "  (by  the  words  "  this  generation  "  Christ  always 
means  His  contemporaries)  "  shall  not  pass  till  all  these 
things  "  (meaning  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  which 
occurred  A.  D.  70,  and  the  tribulation  preceding  it  and 
His  second  coming,)  "be  fulfilled."  "  Heaven  and  earth," 
Christ  adds  with  terrible  emphasis  (verse  35,)  "  shall  pass 
away,  but  my  words  shall  not  pass  away  ;"  and  therefore, 
we  conclude,  He  came  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
A.  D.  70,  "in  the  clouds  of  Heaven,  with  power  and 
great  glory ;"  i.  e.,  within  the  generation  of  his  contem- 
poraries. 

In  the  14th,  15th,  16th,  and  17th  chapters  of  John  (he 
alone  records  it,)  Christ  discourses  tenderly  to  His  disci- 
ples (not  to  the  world,)  as  He  is  about  to  leave  them  and 
return  to  the  bosom  of  the  Father.  Among  other  cheer- 
ing things  He  tells  them,  "In  my  Father's  house  are 
many  mansions.  If  it  toe7'e  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you. 
I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you ;  and  if  I  go  and  prepare 
a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto 
myself,  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also."  (John, 
xiv,  2,  3.)  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless ;  I  will 
come  to  you.  Yet  a  little  while  and  the  world  seeth  me 
no  more  ;  but  ye  see  me ;  because  I  live  ye  shall  live  also. 
At  that  day  "  (meaning  the  day  of  his  coming),  ' '  ye  shall 
know  that  I  am  in  my  Father,  and  ye  in  me,  and  I  in 
you."  (John,  xiv,  18-20.)  "Ye  have  heard  how  I  said 
unto  you,  I  go  away  and  come  again  unto  you."  (John, 
xiv,  28.) 

The  above  words  of  Christ  are  the  foundation  for  the 


30 

hope  which  has  existed  in  the  Christan  Church,  since  His 
ascension,  tliat  some  time  He  would  ''come  again"  to 
earth.  And  we  are  here  to  show  that  He  did  come  at  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70.  He  came  exactly  as 
He  said  He  would,  and  as  the  primitive  Christians  ex- 
pected, and  yet,  for  eighteen  centuries,  Christendom  has 
known  it  not.  Further  on  we  shall  show  why  they  have 
not  known  it. 

The  locality  of  Christ's  coming  was  "  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  "  directly  over  Jerusalem  ;  i.  e.,  at  the  place  of 
His  greatest  earthly  agony.  At  His  first  coming  He  was 
crucified  at  Jerusalem  amid  the  scoffs  of  the  world.  At 
His  second  coming  He  stood  over  Jerusalem,  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory,  "  judging  the 
quick  and  dead. 

We  ascertain  the  time,  of  Christ's  coming  thus :  "  Im- 
mediately after  the  tribulation  of  those  days" — ^.  e., 
immediately  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
tribulation  preceding  it,  says  Christ  (Matt.,  xxiv,  29-31,) 
"shall  the  sun  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give 
her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the 
powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken  ;  and  the^i  shall 
appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  in  heaven,  and  then 
shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn,  and  they  " — i.  e., 
the  tribes  (see  Rev.,  i,  7,) — "  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great 
glory.  And  He  shall  send  His  angels  with  a  great  sound 
of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together  His  elect 
from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end  of  the  heaven  to  the 
other.  "     Again   he   says  (Matt.,   xxiv,   33,)    "  When    ye 


31 

shall  see  all  these  things,  "  meaning  the  desolation  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  tribulation  preceding  it,  "know  that 
it  "  i.  e.,  My  coming  "  is  near,  even  at  the  door."  Again, 
He  says  (Luke,  xxi,  20,)  "When  ye  shall  see  Jerusalem 
compassed  with  armies,  then  know  that  the  desolation 
thereof  is  nigh,  "  i.  e.,  that  Jerusalem  is  about  to  be 
destroyed,  and  my  words  concerning  it  fulfilled,  "  and 
when  these  things  (He  continues  in  verse  28,)  begin  to 
come  to  pass,  then,  look  up  and  lift  up  your  heads,  for 
your  redemption  draweth  nigh,  "  ^.  e.,  that  I  am  about  to 
come  and  take  you  with  me  to  glory.  And,  therefore, 
we  conclude:  (1,)  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem; 
(2,)  the  coming  of  Christ ;  and  (3,)  as  the  consequence  of 
His  coming,  the  "  redemption  "  of  His  disciples,  to  whom 
He  was  speaking,  were  simultaneous  events. 

In  the  24th  of  Matthew,  Christ  predicts  the  occurrence 
of  certain  events  before  His  coming,  which  we  now  ex- 
amine, and  thereby  show  that  every  prediction  He  made 
relating  to  His  coming  was  fulfilled  prior  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  ;  ^.  e.,  prior  to  His  coming. 

In  Matthew,  xxiv,  2,  Christ  says,  "  See  ye  not  all  these 
things?  Verily,  I  say  unto  you  there  shall  not  be  left 
standing  here  "  (meaning  the  temple)  "  one  stone  upon 
another  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down." 

History  records  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
temple  thus :  "  In  A.  D.  66 "  (American  Encyclopaedia, 
vol.  10,  page  2)  "  the  Jews,  goaded  to  despair  by  the 
tyranny  of  the  Romans,  revolted,  took  possession  of  the 
city,  and  a  Roman  army,  commanded  by  Certius  Gallus, 
governor  of  Syria,  was  routed  in  battle  before  its  walls." 


32 

Titus,  son  of  the  emperor,  Vespasian,  regained  it  in  A.  D. 
70,  after  one  of  the  most  terrible  battles  on  record.  His 
troops,  maddened  by  the  resistance  of  the  defenders, 
spared  neither  age  nor  sex.  Thousands  of  Jews,  seeing 
all  hope  lost,  threw  themselves  headlong  from  the  towers, 
and  a  horrible  scene  of  carnage  ensued.  According  to 
Josephus,  over  eleven  hundred  thousand  Jews  perished 
in  the  siege,  and  ninety-seven  thousand  were  carried  into 
captivity.  Titus  himself  was  unable  to  control  the  rage 
of  his  troops,  and  with  regret  saw  the  temple  (which  he 
had  intended  to  preserve  as  a  memorial  of  his  own  vic- 
tory) burned  and  the  entire  city  razed  to  the  ground ; 
and  thus  Christ's  prediction,  made  A.  D.  33,  or  shortly 
before  His  crucifixion,  was  literally  fulfilled.  Everything 
he  foretold  concerning  the  temple,  city,  and  people  of 
the  Jews  was  fulfilled  in  the  most  astonishing  manner.  It 
was  witnessed  by  Josephus,  a  Jewish  contemporary  of 
Christ,  and  who  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  historian  of  in- 
disputable veracity  on  all  those  transactions  concerning 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The  wars  and  rumors  of 
war,  the  Antichrists,  the  famines,  the  pestilences,  the 
earthquakes,  the  "great  tribulation,"  etc.,  spoken  of  by 
the  evangelists  as  events  preceding  Christ's  coming,  all 
came  to  pass  prior  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Jo- 
sephus records  the  occurrence  of  these  great  events  as  a 
matter  of  history  of  which  he  was  an  eye-witness ;  but  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  scripture  containing  Christ's  proph- 
ecy. He  speaks  contemptuously  of  Christ,  as  "one  Jesus, 
a  country  fellow,  who  went  about  crying  with  a  loud 
voice,  'Woe,  woe,  to  the  city,  to  the  people,  and  to  the 


33 

temple.'  "  The  whole  land  of  Judea  is  represented  at  that 
time  "  as  a  woman  in  grievous  travail."  Christ  himself 
said  upon  that  generation  (meaning  his  contemporaries) 
should  "come  all  the  righteous  blood  shed  upon  earth." 
"Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  all  these  things  shall  come 
upon  this  generation."  (Matt.,  xxiii,  35,  36.)  And  it  did 
come.  Christ's  contemporaries  crucified  God's  only  Son, 
and,  therefore,  the  Almighty  cursed  them  by  sending 
upon  them  "  such  tribulation  as  was  not  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be."  (Matt., 
xxiv,  21.)  All  this  would  immediately  precede  Christ's 
coming,  and  therefore  we  conclude  He  came  immediately 
after  these  events — i.  e.,  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
A.  D.  70. 

In  Matthew,  xxiv,  14,  Christ  says,  "  The  gospel  must 
be  preached  to  all  the  world,"  (meaning  as  it  existed  in 
his  day,)  "for  a  witness  unto  all  nations,  and  then  shall 
the  end  come."  (Not  the  end  of  the  world,  but  of  the 
Primitive  Church  and  Jewish  nation.  They  were  judged, 
both  quick  and  dead,  at  Christ's  coming.) 

Paul  records  the  universal  publication  of  the  gosjDel 
thus:  Rom.,  i,  8,  "Your  faith  is  spoken  of  throughout 
the  whole  world,"  (meaning  the  world  as  it  existed  in  his 
day.)  Rom.,  x,  18,  Your  faith  is  spoken  of  "  unto  the 
ends  of  the  world."  Rom.,  xvi,  26,  "That  he  had  made 
known  the  Gospel  to  all  nations."  Col.,  i,  23,  That  the 
Gospel  was  "preached  to  every  creature  under  heaven," 
whereof  he  was  a  minister.  I  Thess.,  i,  8,  "Your  faith  is 
spoken  of  in  every  place."  II  Thess.,  i,  3,  "Your  faith 
groweth  exceedingly."      II  Tim.,  iv,  17,    That  he  had 


34 

preached  the  Gospel  unto  "  all  the  Gentiles."  And  there- 
fore, on  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ  that  the  end  should 
come  immediately  after  the  universal  publication  of  the 
Gospel,  we  conclude  the  end  did  come — i.  e.,  the  end  of 
the  primitive  Church  and  Jewish  nation,  which  He  judged 
at  His  second  coming. 

The  coming  of  Antichrist  is  predicted  before  Christ's 
coming,  in  Matt.,  xxiv,  5,  11,  24;  in  II  Thess.,  ii,  3;  in 
n  Tim.,  iii,  1-9.  13 ;  in  II  Pet.,  ii,  1,  2  ;  in  II  Pet.,  ii.  3, 
4;  in  I  John,  iv,  1,  and  Jude,  18,  19.  In  I  John,  ii,  18, 
19,  22,  and  I  John,  iv,  3,  we  are  told  that  Antichrist  has 
come,  whereby  "  we  know  it  is  the  last  time,"  thereby 
meaning  that  John  and  his  contemporaries  knew  they 
were  on  the  verge  of  Christ's  coming,  because  the  appear- 
ance of  Antichrist  was  the  sure  sign  that  Christ  would 
speedily  appear.  John  wrote  about  A.  D.  69,  or  a  year 
before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

"Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds,"  (Rev.,  i,  7,)  "and 
every  eye  shall  see  Him,  and  they  also  which  pierced 
Him,  and  all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of 
Him."  Christ,  at  His  first  coming,  was  crucified  at  Jeru- 
salem amid  the  scoffs  of  the  world.  At  His  second  com- 
ing He  stood  over  Jerusalem  "in  the  clouds  of  heaven," 
judging  "  the  quick  and  dead,"  (see  II  Tim  ,  iv,  1-3,)  and 
they,  i.  e.,  "the  quick  and  dead,"  did  see  His  coming 
"  with  power  and  great  glory."  "  For  as  the  lightning 
cometh  out  of  the  east,"  says  Christ  (Matt.,  xxiv,  27,) 
"and  shineth  even  unto  the  west,"  so  shall  the  coming  of 
the  Son  of  Man  be,  i.  e.,  it  was  an  instantaneous  event 
"in  the  clouds  of  heaven."     He  came  "with  His  mighty 


35 

angels,"  (see  II  Thes.,  i,  7-10,)  like  a  thief  at  night, 
snatched  the  righteous  part  of  the  primitive  Church,  and 
the  righteous  dead  of  past  ages,  and  hurried  with  them 
into  glory.  Perhaps  the  memory  of  His  sufferings  here 
below  haunted  Him,  and  He  tarried  not !  He  came  like 
a  mighty  rushing  wind,  judged  the  wicked,  took  His  own, 
and  back  He  went  to  the  bosom  of  the  Father. 

This  was  the  first  resurrection  and  first  judgment,  cor- 
responding to  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  dispensations. 
The  Jews,  as  a  nation,  had  their  judgment  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  and  the  Gentiles  will  have  theirs  at 
the  end  of  the  world. 

Peter's  idea  (11  Pet.,  iii,  10-12,)  that  Christ's  coming 
and  the  "  burning  up  "  of  this  physical  universe  are  simul- 
taneous events,  (and  that  is  the  popular  idea  about  Christ's 
coming,)  we  are  obliged  to  reject,  in  view  of  his  record, 
as  uninspired.  He  alone  had  that  idea.  Christ  and  Paul 
and  John  taught  it  not.  And  yet,  even  Peter  expected 
the  coming  of  Christ  within  the  lifetime  of  his  contempo- 
raries. In  I  Pet.,  iv,  7,  he  says,  "The  end  of  all  things 
is  at  hand,"  i.  e  ,1  expect  the  speedy  coming  of  Christ ; 
in  II  Pet.,  i,  16,  he  speaks  of  the  "coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ;"  in  11  Pet.,  iii,  10,  "  the  day  of  the  Lord 
will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night ;"  in  II  Pet.,  iii,  12, 
"  looking  for  and  hastening  unto  the  coming  of  the  day 
of  God." 

We  live  eighteen  hundred  years  after  Peter,  and  this 
globe  has  not  burned  yet.  And  therefore  we  conclude  his 
idea  that  Christ's  coming,  and  the  burning  up  of  this 
earth  are  simultaneous  events,  savors  of  the  things  of 


36 

man,  and  not  of  God.  Peter  was  a  bold,  impulsive,  un- 
learned man.  In  many  things  "he  was  to  be  blamed." 
Paul  "  withstood  him  to  the  face  "  Peter  "  rebuked  "  the 
Master.  No  other  disciple  had  the  impudence  to  do  that. 
He  thrice  solemnly  denied  the  son  of  Man  in  the  dark- 
est hour  of  his  life  on  earth  !  In  Luke,  xxii,  31,  32, 
Christ  says  to  Peter,  "Behold,  Satan  hath  desired  to  have 
you,  but  I  have  prayed  for  thee  that  thy  faith  fail  not. 
When  thou  art  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren."  In 
Eph.,  ii,  7,  Paul  says,  "That  in  the  ages  to  come  He 
(i.  e.,  God)  might  show  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace 
in  His  kindness  toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus,"  which 
opposes  Peter's  idea  that  the  "burning  up  of  the  earth," 
and  Christ's  coming  (which  he  himself  believed  was  at 
hand  when  on  earth)  are  simultaneous  events.  We  be- 
lieve Peter's  idea — that  Christ's  coming  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  physical  universe  are  simultaneous  events — 
has  darkened  the  mind  of  Christendom  these  eighteen 
centuries,  touching  His  coming,  more  than  anything  in 
the  Bible.  If  Christ  and  Paul  had  had  such  an  idea, 
they  would  have  stated  it.  For  eighteen  centuries  Chris- 
tendom has  argued  thus  :  "In  II  Pet.,  iii,  10-12,  it  is 
said  Christ's  coming  and  the  'burning  up'  of  the  earth 
are  simultaneous  events.  The  earth  has  not  burned  yet; 
therefore,  Christ  has  not  yet  come.  Therefore,  we  ex- 
pect Him,  and  Christendom  for  eighteen  centuries  has 
expected  Him  " — in  vain.  He  never  has  come  (save  as 
herein  stated),  and  never  will. 

God  wanted  to  curse  the  Antichrist  part  of  the  primi- 
tive Church  on  account  of  their  unbelief   concerning  the 


37 

coming  of  Christ  then  at  hand,  and  therefore  allowed 
Peter's  idea  to  go  into  the  Bible.  See  II  Thess.,  ii,  11, 
and  second  paragraph  on  page  49. 

Paul's  expectations  concerning  Christ's  coming  we 
gather  thus :  Rom.,  xiii,  11,  "It  is  high  time  to  awake 
out  of  sleep  ;  for  now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than  when 
we  believed  ;"  Rom.,  xiii,  12,  "The  night  is  far  spent,  the 
day  is  at  hand  ;"  I  Cor.,  i,  7,  "Waiting  for  the  coming  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;"  I  Cor.,  i,  8,  "That  ye  may  be 
blameless  in  the  day  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;"  I  Cor., 
iv,  5,  "Judge  nothing,  before  the  time,  until  the  Lord 
come  ;"  I  Cor.,  vii.  29,  "The  time  is  short,"  {i.  e.,  I  expect 
the  speedy  coming  of  Christ;)  I  Cor.,  xiii,  12,  "Now  we 
see  through  a  glass,  darkly ;  but  then"  (referring  to 
Christ's  coming,)  "face  to  face  ;"  I  Cor.,  xv,  51,  "We  shall 
not  all  sleep,"  (meaning  thereby  that  some  of  Paul's 
contemporaries  would  live  till  Christ  came,  i.  e.,  until  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70;)  II  Cor.,  i,  14,  bespeaks 
of  their  rejoicing  in  "the  day  of  our  Lord  Jesus;"  Phil.,  i,  6, 
"He  which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you  will  perform  it 
until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ ;"  Phil.,  i,  10,  "  they  are  to 
be  without  offence  till  the  day  of  Christ;"  Phil.,  ii,  16, 
"That  I  may  rejoice  in  the  day  of  Christ;"  Phil.,  iii,  20, 
"  For  our  conversation  is  in  heaven,  from  whence  also  we 
look  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  "  Phil.,  iv,  5, 
"The  Lord  is  at  hand;"  Col.,  iii,  4,  "  When  Christ,  who  is 
life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  him  in 
glory;"  I  Thess.,  i,  10,  he  exhorts  them  to  "wait  for 
God's  Son  from  heaven;"  I  Thess.,  ii,  19,  "Are  not  even 
ye  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  His  com- 


38 

ing?"  I  Thess.,  iii,  13,  he  speaks  of  their  hearts  being 
establislied  "in  holiness  before  God,  even  our  Father,  at 
the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesns  Christ  with  all  His  saints;" 
I  Thess.,  iv,  15-17,  he  says,  "We  which  are  alive  and 
remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord  shall  be  caught  iip 
together  with  them  (meaning  the  'dead  in  Christ ">  in  the 
clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air ;  and  so  shall  we  ever 
be  with  the  Lord;"  I  Thess.,  v.  2,  "The  day  of  the  Lord 
so  Cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night;"  I  Thess.,  v,  4,  "But  ye 
brethren  are  not  in  darkness,  that  that  day  should  over- 
take you  as  a  thief;"  I  Thess.,  v,  6,  "Therefore,  let  us 
watch  and  be  sober;"  I  Thess.,  v,  23,  "I  pray  God  your 
whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body  be  preserved  blameless 
unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;"  II  Thess.,  i, 
7-9,  he  says  that  the  "Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from 
heaven  with  His  mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire,  taking 
vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God  and  obey  not  the 
Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  punish  them 
with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
and  from  the  glory  of  His  power;"  II  Thess.,  i,  10,  he 
speaks  of  Christ's  coming  to  be  glorified  in  "His  saints, 
and  to  be  admired  in  all  them  that  believe  in  that  day;" 
thereby  meaning  the  day  of  Christ's  coming,  which 
occurred  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70,  when 
He  judged  the  primitive  Church  and  Jewish  nation.  In 
n  Thess.,  ii,  1-3,  he  exhorts  them  "  not  to  be  soon  shaken 
in  mind"  on  account  of  the  speedy  coming  "of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  and  says,  "  that  that  day  "  (meaning  the  day 
of  His  coming)  shall  not  come  until  the  "man  of  sin  be 
revealed."     In  verse  7  we  are   told  that  the  mystery  of 


89 

iniquity  (^.  ^.,  "the  man  of  sin")  doth  already  work.  In 
II  John,  ii,  18,  and  iv,  3,  we  again  have  the  fulfilment  of 
Paul's  prediction  concerning  the  appearance  of  Antichrist 
before  Christ's  coming.  II  Thess.,  iii,  5,  "  The  Lord  direct 
your  hearts  into  the  love  of  God,  and  into  the  patient 
waiting  for  Christ."  I  Tim.,  vi,  14,  "That  thou  keep  this 
commandment  without  spot,  unrebukable,  until  the  ap- 
pearing of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;"  II  Tim.,  i,  10,  he 
speaks  of  the  "appearing  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ :" 
II  Tim.,  i,  18,  "The  Lord  grant  unto  him  (Onesiphorus) 
that  he  may  find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day"  (mean- 
ing the  day  of  Christ's  coming)  "for  he  oft  refreshed  me, 
and  was  not  ashamed  of  my  chains."  In  II  Tim.,  iv,  1- 
3,  Paul  says,  "That  Jesus  Christ  shall  judge  the  quick 
and  the  dead  at  His  appearing,"  and  exhorts  Timothy  "to 
preach  the  word  in  season  and  out  of  season,"  for  the 
"time  would  come  when  they  would  not  eudure  sound 
doctrine,  but  after  their  own  lasts  follow  deceitful  teach- 
ers having  itching  ears  ;"  that  they  should  turn  away 
their  ears  from  the  truth,  and  "be  turned  unto  fables" 
(thereby  meaning  that  Antichrist  was  abroad,  which  was 
a  sure  sign  that  Christ  would  speedily  appear.)  II  Tim., 
iv.  8,  he  speaks  of  a  "crown  of  righteousness"  which 
Christ  would  give  Him  at  His  coming,  and  to  them  also 
"who  love  His  appearing."  Titus,  ii,  13,  "Looking  for 
that  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious  appearing  of  the 
great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  Heb.,  s,  37. 
"For  yet  a  little  while,  and  He  that  shall  come,  toill 
come,  and  will  not  tarry." 

James's  expectations  we  gather  thus  :  James,  v,  7,  "Be 


40 

patient,  therefore,  brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the 
Lord."  James,  v,  8,  "Be  ye  also  patient ;  estabhsh  your 
hearts;  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh."  James, 
V,  9,  "Behold,  the  Judge  standeth  before  the  door." 

John  wrote  in  the  very  last  days  of  the  primitive 
Chux'ch,  and  we  gather  his  expectations  thus :  I  John,  ii, 
18,  "Little  children  (how  tenderly  he  speaks,)  it  is  the 
last  time  (as  Christ  is  about  to  appear  and  take  us  with 
Him  to  glory,)  and  as  ye  have  heard  that  Antichrist  shall 
come,  even  now  are  there  many  Antichrists,  whereby  we 
know  it  is  the  last  time."  I  John,  ii,  28,  "And  now,  little 
children,  abide  in  Him,  that  when  He  shall  appear  we 
may  have  confidence,  and  not  be  ashamed  before  Him  at 
His  coming."  I  John,  iii,  2,  "Beloved,  now  are  we  the 
sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall 
be ;  but  we  know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
hke  Him."  I  John,  iii,  19,  "We  are  of  the  truth,  and 
shall  assure  our  hearts  before  Him." 

Jude's  expectations  we  gather  thus  :  Verses  14  and  15, 
"Behold,  the  Lord  cometh  with  ten  thousand  of  His  saints 
to  execute  judgment  upon  all."  Verse  21,  "Keep  your- 
selves in  the  love  of  God,  looking  for  the  mercy  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal  life." 

We  now  examine  the  book  of  Revelation  concerning 
Christ's  second  coming.  In  Rev.,  i,  1,  we  are  told  the 
things  therein  mentioned  "must  shortly  come  to  pass;" 
in  verse  2,  "  The  time  is  at  hand  ;"  in  verse  7,  "  Behold, 
He  Cometh  with  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see  Him,  and 
they  also  which  pierced  Him,  and  all  kindred  of  the  earth 
shall  wail  because  of  Him."     (See  page  34.)     In  verse  11 


41 

Jesus  Christ  says,  "  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first  and 
the  last ;"  in  verse  18,  "  I  am  He  that  liveth  and  was 
dead  ;  and  behold,  I  am  alive  forevermore,  and  have  the 
keys  of  hell  and  of  death  ;"  in  Rev.,  ii,  5,  "  Repent,  or  I 
will  come  unto  thee  quickly;"  in  verse  16,  "  Repent,  or  I 
will  come  unto  thee  quickly ;"  in  verse  25,  "  That  which 
ye  have  already,  hold  fast  till  I  come ;"  in  Rev.,  iii,  3, 
"  Hold  fast  and  repent,"  "  If  thou  shall  not  watch,  I  will 
come  on  thee  as  a  thief ;"  in  verse  11,  "  Behold,  I  come 
quickly ;  hold  fast  what  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy 
crown;"  in  verse  20,  "Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock;"  in  Rev.,  xiii,  14,  "The  second  woe  is  past,  and 
behold,  the  third  one  cometh  quickly  ;"  in  Rev.,  xiv,  7, 
"  Fear  God  and  give  glory  to  Him,  for  the  hour  of  judg- 
ment is  come ;"  "  and  worship  Him  that  made  heaven 
and  earth,  aud  the  sea  and  the  fountains  of  waters ;"  in 
verse  15,  "  Thrust  in  thy  sickle  and  reap,  for  the  time  is 
come  for  thee  to  reap  ;"  in  Rev.,  xvi,  15,  "  Behold  I  come 
as  a  thief;"  in  Rev.,  xix,  7,  "  The  marriage  of  the  Lamb 
is  come ;"  in  Rev.,  xxii,  6,  He  speaks  of  things  which 
"  must  shortly  be  done ;"  in  verse  7,  "  Behold,  I  come 
quickly;"  in  verse  10,  "The  time  is  at  hand;"  in  verse 
12,  "  Behold,  I  come  quickly  to  reward  every  man  accord- 
ing as  his  work  shall  be ;"  in  verse  13,  "  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  first  and  the  last." 
The  very  last  words  Jesus  Christ  says  in  the  Bible  are, 
(Rev.,  xxii,  20,)  "Surely  I  come  quickly.  Even  so." 
Says  John,  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus." 

We  have  now  examined  every  verse  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment touching  Christ's  second  coming.     Can  any  rational 


42 

mind  doubt  but  Jesus  Christ  saif?  He  would  "come  again  " 
within  the  lifetime  of  his  contemporaries;  that  Paul  and 
the  leaders  of  the  Primitive  Church  expected  Him,  and 
that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  He  did  come  at  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70,  "  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with 
power  and  great  glory,"  and  judge  the  entire  race,  except 
those  then  living  on  earth  ;  (and  even  soon  some  of  these 
were  taken.     See  page  48,  first  paragraph  ;  also  page  27.) 

In  the  interest  of  a  sound  theology  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  know  the  truth  about  Christ's  second 
coming.  It  is  useless  for  Christendom  to  hope  and  pray 
for  His  coming,  because  it  is  a  fact  already  accomplished. 
They  may  as  well  look  it  square  in  the  face  and  adapt 
their  faith  and  conduct  to  the  fact.  It  is  believed  these 
views  are  destined  to  revolutionize  the  theology  of  eigh- 
teen centuries.  Christendom  must  have  a  7)eii'  theology — 
a  theology  to  fit  the  fact  that  Christ  came  A.  D.  70. 

The  great  practical  effect  of  this  doctrine  will  be  to 
establish  the  faith  of  Christendom  in  the  Bible  This 
doctrine  throws  a  calcium  light  upon  the  New  Testament. 
It  illuminates  its  otherwise  mysterious  words,  verses,  and 
chapters.  No  one  can  understand  the  Bible  without 
this  view  of  the  second  coming.  It  is  a  living  stream  of 
water  running  through  the  New  Testament.  This  doc- 
trine is  the  missing  link,  uniting  Primitive  Christianity 
with  modern  Christianity,  and,  it  is  believed,  Holy  Ghost 
power  will  come  to  the  church  by  a  belief  in  this  doctrine. 
Thousands  have  rejected  the  Bible,  to  their  eternal  death, 
on  account  of  its  apparent  inconsistency,  not  knowing  the 
truth  concerning  Christ's  second  coming. 


43 

This  doctrine  e7ids  the  communion  :  "  Do  this,"  says 
Christ,  "in  remembi'ance  of  me,  till  I  come."  If  we 
behold  His  coming  eighteen  centuries  in  the  past,  an  ordi- 
nance commemorating  Him  as  a  conquering  hero  would 
be  appropriate. 

A  correct  knowledge  of  Christ  s  second  coming  is  almost 
as  important  as  a  knowledge  of  His  first  coming.  At  His 
first  coming  He  was  crucified  at  Jerusalem  amid  the  scoffs 
of  the  world.  At  His  second  coming  He  was  a  conquer- 
ing hero.  He  then  stood  over  Jerusalem  "in  the  clouds 
of  heaven,"  judging  the  "  quick  and  dead." 

Judgment,  says  Paul,  comes  first  to  the  Jews ;  then  to 
the  Gentiles.  At  Christ's  second  coming  God  not  only 
judged  the  entire  human  race,  except  those  then  on  earth, 
but  He  especially  judged  the  Jewish  nation,  destroying  its 
nationality.  For  two  thousand  years,  i.  e.,  since  God's 
covenant  with  Abraham,  He  had  sent  upon  the  Jewish 
nation  the  rain  and  sunshine  of  religious  discipline, 
and  the  harvest  was  reaped  at  Christ's  second  coming. 
For  nearly  two  thousand  years,  i.  e.,  since  Christ  came, 
A.  D.  70,  the  Gentiles  have  been  under  God's  care,  and 
the  Gentile  harvest  must  now  be  near  at  hand.  We 
believe  we  are  living  in  "  the  dispensation  of  the  fullness 
of  times  "  (Eph.,  i,  10  ;  Eom.,  xi,  25 ;)  that  the  second 
resurrection  and  final  judgment  are  in  the  near  future, 
which  will  end  the  Gentile  harvest. 

At  the  final  judgment  Christ  will  judge  the  world  from 
His  throne  in  heaven,  and  He  has  no  need  to  return  to 
earth  for  any  purpose.  It  is  not  necessary,  or  even 
desirable,  that    Christ    should   return   to   earth    again. 


44 

When  He  was  here  He  was  badly  treated.  Heaven  is  a 
thousand  times  better  than  this  sin-cursed  earth.  We 
submit,  that  our  friends  of  the  Prophetic  Conference  are 
in  the  dark,  and  we  offer  them  this  book,  as  the  only 
rational  solution  of  this  matter. 

We  epitomize  the  history  of  the  race  thus:  Adam, 
Noah,  Abraham,  Christ's  birth,  Christ's  death  and  resur- 
rection, Christ's  second  coming,  A.  D.  70.  Christ's  sec- 
ond coming  is  the  pivotal  fact  of  history.  Standing  on  it 
we  gaze  up  and  down  the  ages.  We  look  back  to  Adam, 
and  forward  to  the  present.  Hereafter  we  shall  review 
history,  standing  on  Christ's  coming  A.  D.  70,  as  the 
greatest  fact  of  history. 

In  conclusion,  men  like  John  the  Baptist,  Paul  the 
Apostle,  Luther,  Calvin,  Knox,  Wesley,  have  been  the 
world's  reformers.  Every  one  of  them  was  a  reformer, 
because  he  was  a  theologian  who  believed,  and  preached, 
and  fought  for  the  pure  doctrines  of  the  Word  of  God. 


CHRISTIANITY  REVIEWED  SINCE  A.  D.  TO. 


This  was  written  in  August  and  September,  1878. 


I 


CHRISTIANITY  REVIEWED  SINCE 
A.  D.  70. 


IN  the  last  section  we  showed  that  Christ  came  for  the 
second  time  at  the  destnictiou  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70; 
that  he  then  judged  the  entire  race,  except  those  on 
earth  at  the  moment  of  His  appearing  at  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem ;  and  that  the  preaching  of  Paul  and  the  other 
apostles  was  a  preparation  for  their  judgment  at  that  sec- 
ond coming.  We  also  showed  that  Jerusalem  was  de- 
stroyed A.  D.  70,  bj'  Titus,  a  Roman  general,  and  that 
the  "wars  and  rumors  of  wars,"  the  Antichrists,  the  fam- 
ines, the  pestilences,  the  earthquakes,  the  great  tribula- 
tions, the  universal  publication  of  the  Gospel,  etc.,  spoken 
of  by  the  Evangelists  as  events  preceding  Christ's  com- 
ing, all  came  to  pass  prior  to  His  coming,  i.  e.,  prior  to 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

We  now  propose  to  review  Christianity  on  the  basis  of 
Christ's  second  coming,  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
A.  D   70. 

Josephus,  and  other  historians,  make  no  mention  of 
Christ's  appearing  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  be- 
cause it  was  an  event  "in  the  clouds  of  heaven  "  directly 
over  Jerusalem. 

At  the  time  Jerusalem  was  destroyed  most  of  Christ's 
followers  had  gone  within  the  vail.  Over  eleven  hundred 
thousand  Jews  perished  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  the 
abduction  of  a  few  despised  individuals  at  such  a  time  of 


48 

carnage  would  attract  no  attention.  Josephus  and  the 
historians  were  too  busy  recording  what  happened  on 
earth  to  record  what  happened  "in  the  clouds  of  heaven." 
Besides,  how  could  Josephus  see  what  was  going  on  "in 
the  clouds  ?"  "  The  world  seeth  me  no  more,"  said  Christ, 
with  special  reference  to  His  second  coming.  His  coming 
in  judgment  was  an  event  in  the  spiritual,  and  not  in  the 
natural  world.  His  appearing  "in  the  clouds  of  heaven," 
at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  slaughter  of 
eleven  hundred  thousand  Jews,  was  the  outward  sign  of 
that  spiritual  judgment,  in  which  the  Almighty  judged 
the  entire  race,  excej)t  those  living  on  earth  at  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  All  who  had  lived  on  the 
earth,  and  died,  were  judged  at  Christ's  second  coming, 
at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70. 

There  were  two  classes  *  in  the  Primitive  Church — those 
that  expected  Christ's  coming  and  those  that  did  not.  An 
individual's  belief  or  disbelief  in  His  coming  decided  His 
final  destiny.  He  appeared  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem 
"with  His  mighty  angels,"  to  those  who  were  looking  for 
Him,  and  took  them  to  glory.  To  those  who  looked  not 
for  Him  He  came  not.  They  were  left  on  earth,  and 
their  seed  has  represented  Christianity  all  these  ages. 
They  were  the  unfaithful  servants  of  whom  Christ  so 
often  spake. 

On  nearly  every  page  of  the  New  Testament,  we  find 
the  speedy  coming  of  Christ  "  in  the  clouds  of  heaven 
with  power  and  great  glory,"  held  up  by  the  Evangelists, 

*  "There  shall  two  be  in  the  field;  the  one  shall  be  taken  and 
the  other  left."     (See  Matthew,  xxiv,  40  to  45.) 


49 

and  especially  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  as  an  event  which 
would  give  to  the  "  saints  "  of  the  Primitive  Church,  and 
the  righteous  dead  of  past  ages,  a  secure  and  glorious 
redemption.  It  was  the  consummation  of  their  effort,  the 
reward  of  their  faith  and  devotion  to  the  Master ;  and 
yet,  for  eighteen  centuries,  Christendom  has  known  it 
not. 

The  very  curse  Paul  says  (II  Thess.,  ii.,  11)  should  come 
upon  the  church,  has  been  upon  it  since  Christ  came,  A. 
D.  70.  "  And  for  this  cause,"  says  Paul  (thereby  mean- 
ing the  unbelief  of  the  Antichrist  part  of  the  Primitive 
Church,  concerning  Christ's  coming,  then  close  at  hand,) 
"  God  shall  send  them,"  (meaning  the  Antichrist  part  of 
the  Primitive  Church,  and  which  Christianity  since  has 
represented,)  "  strong  delusion,"  that  they  should  "  be- 
lieve a  lie  ;"  and  Christendom,  for  eighteen  centuries, 
has  not  known  the  truth  touching  Christ's  second  coming. 
The  reason  they  have  not  known  it,  is  because  it  was  the 
Antichrist  part  of  the  Primitive  Church  which  Christ  left 
on  earth  when  He  judged  the  race  at  the  siege  of  Jerusa- 
lem. It  is  this  apostate  Christianity  that  has  assumed  to 
represent  Christ  all  these  ages.  As  they  forsook  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  so  has  the  church,  commonly  called 
Christian,  done  in  all  ages.  The  Christianity  of  Paul's 
church  was  wonderfully  different  in  spirituality  and  Holy 
Ghost  power  from  any  church  since  his  time. 

As  we  read  the  history  of  this  apostate  Christianity, 
we  are  appalled  at  the  record.  And  herein  we  find  an 
unanswerable  confirmation  of  our  doctrine  of  Christ's 
second  coming.     Our  doctrine  shows  that  Christ's  second 


50 

coming  occurred  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70 ;  that 
he  then  took  the  ''  saints  "  of  the  Primitive  Church,  and 
the  righteous  dead  of  past  ages  to  glory,  a7id  left  the 
unrighteous  2yart  of  said  cfuirch  ;  and  that  this  fact  ac- 
counts for  the  terrible  record  of  Christianity  during  the 
"  dark  ages."  At  that  time,  Christ  transferred -ff/s  interest 
in  the  church  which  He  founded,  from  earth  to  heaven, 
and  He  is  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  doiugs  of  the 
apostate  part  of  that  church  since.  It  is  a  terrible  libel 
on  Christ  to  make  Him  in  oxlj  way  responsible  for  the 
iniquity  of  that  apostate  Church  during  the  ^  dark 
ages.  "  It  was  this  Apostate  Church  that  Martin  Luther 
and  his  associates  sought  to  reform. 

We  now  propose  to  glance  briefly  through  the  record 
of  this  Apostate  Church,  to  the  end,  that  we  may  show 
the  wickedness  of  its  pretensions. 

From  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  to  Martin  Luther,  covers 
a  period  of  fifteen  long  and  weary  centuries.  During 
these  "  dark  ages "  the  Almighty  seems  to  have  with- 
drawn all  interest  in  human  affiiirs.  Nothing  can  equal 
the  ignorance,  superstition  and  licentiousness  of  that 
time.  In  the  so-called  Christian  Church,  and  out  of  it, 
iniquity  was  rampant.  Many  volumes  have  been  written 
portraying  the  horrors  of  this  dark  period  of  the  world's 
history ;  but  it  is  not  our  purpose  now  to  enter  into  the 
details  of  that  polluted  period.  We  desire  only  to  pre- 
sent a  general  view  of  the  world  during  the  fifteen  cen- 
turies preceding  the  coming  of  Martin  Luther,  to  the 
end,  we  may  appreciate  the  work  he  and  his  associates 


51 

acccomplished  during  the  reformation  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

After  a  time  the  apostates  whom  Christ  left  on  earth 
grew  mighty,  and  assumed  by  His  authority  full  power 
over  the  body,  soul,  and  estate  of  their  deluded  victims. 
They  propagated  this  fanaticism  with  so  much  success  that 
vast  multitudes  adhered  to  them,  and  they  were  known 
as  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  ringleader  of  this  delusion 
was  called  a  Ponti£f.  In  time,  he  and  his  cardinals, 
bishops,  and  underlings,  grew  rich  and  all-powerful. 
They  claimed  to  be  the  visible  representatives  of  the 
"  dear  Lord  "  on  earth,  and  to  have  the  keys  of  heaven 
and  hell,  and  to  do  all  things  by  His  authority.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  centuries,  these  apostates  grew  immensely 
rich  and  correspondingly  sensual  and  corrupt.  The 
worst  thing  about  it  was,  that  they  should  carry  on  their 
iniquity  in  the  name  of  "  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus,  "  who 
had  not  where  to  "  lay  His  head  "  while  He  tarried  here 
below. 

About  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century 
these  lordly  Pontiffs  became  so  corrupt  and  oppressive 
that  the  people  demanded  a  reform,  and  Mr.  Martin 
Luther,  a  poor  and  obscure  monk,  offered  his  service. 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  us  of  the  nineteenth  century 
to  realize  the  horrible  superstition,  fanaticism,  and  licen- 
tiousness which  oppressed  the  people  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  sixteenth  century.  When  the  time  came,  in 
the  Providence  of  God,  for  Luther  to  strike  these  corrupt 
Pontiffs,  he  struck  them  with  tremendous  power.  He 
even   startled   himself,  but  he  dare  not  draw  back.     He 


52 

stuck  close  to  God,  the  Father,  and  He  helped  him 
through. 

The  powers  and  emoluments  of  the  Pontiff  at  this  time 
were  almost  incredible.  He  had  his  emissaries  all  over 
his  dominions,  gathering  "  lucre  "  into  his  treasury,  that 
he  and  his  co-scoundrels  might  live  in  gorgeous  palaces, 
surrounded  by  luxury  and  lust.  He  claimed,  and  the 
people  believed,  he  had  Divine  authority  to  grant  indul- 
gence to  commit  the  most  horrible  crimes,  and  to  gratify 
the  most  lustful  propensities.  He  sent  one  Tetzel  into 
Saxony,  the  home  of  Luther,  to  sell  these  indulgences, 
and  this  brazen  fellow  aroused  Luther's  indignation,  and 
set  him  to  thinking.  This  thinking  was  the  beginning  of 
a  reformation  which  set  all  Germany  in  motion,  and 
proved  of  incalculable  value  to  the  race. 

It  was  a  bold  thing  for  Martin  Luther  to  strike  the 
Roman  Pontiff.  In  doing  it  he  pierced  the  tradition  and 
wisdom  of  fifteen  centuries.  During  all  this  time  the 
Pontiffs  had  been  growing  rich  and  mighty,  and  it  seemed 
like  madness  for  a  poor  and  obscure  monk  to  oppose 
them.  For  three  years  Luther  stood  alone.  "  Not  a 
soul,  "  he  says,  "  for  three  years  extended  the  hand  of 
fellowship."  After  that  his  views  began  to  prevail,  and 
then,  "  every  one,"  he  says,  "  wanted  to  share  in  the  tri- 
umph." Little  by  little,  the  best  minds  of  Germany  sur- 
rounded Luther,  and  thereafter  success  was  established. 
Germany  had  long  groaned  under  the  spiritual  despo- 
tism of  the  Eoman  Pontiff,  and  it  was  ripe  for  a  reforma- 
tion. 

Luther  was  God's  man  for  this  reformation.    His  genius 


53 

was  truly  great ;  his  memory  vast  and  tenacious  ;  his  pa- 
tience incredible  ;  his  magnanimity  invincible  and  un- 
shaken by  the  vicissitudes  of  human  affairs ;  and  his 
learning  most  extensive  for  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 

From  this  reformation  came  the  Evangelical  or  Luth 
eran  Church,  so  named  in  honor  of  its  founder,  Martin 
Luther,  who  sought  to  restore  to  its  native  lustre  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ,  which  had  been  for  ages  covered  with  the 
darkness  of  superstition.  His  followers  were  moved  to  call 
the  new  church  lAitheran^  in  response  to  a  natural  senti- 
ment of  gratitude  to  him  by  whose  ministry  the  clouds  of 
superstition  had  been  chiefly  dispelled,  and  who  had 
pointed  out  to  them  the  "  Son  of  God  as  the  only  proper 
object  of  trust  to  miserable  mortals." 

The  rise  of  the  Lutheran  Church  dates  from  that  re- 
markable period  when  Pope  Leo  X  drove  Luther  and  his 
friends  from  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  hierarchy,  by  a 
solemn  and  violent  sentence  of  excommunication.  From 
that  time  it  has  gradually  assumed  the  dignity  of  a  law- 
ful and  complete  church,  totally  independent  of  the  laws 
and  jurisdiction  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs 

The  leading  doctrine  of  the  Lutheran  Church  was  that 
the  Scriptures  are  the  "  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice." 

It  was  the  work  of  Luther  and  his  associates  to  rescue 
the  Bible  from  the  Roman  Pontiffs.  The  Bible  was  ex- 
ceedingly scarce  at  that  time,  and  the  few  copies  extant 
were  kept  under  lock  and  key  by  the  Pontiffs.  Luther 
translated  the  Bible  into  German.  He  also  inundated 
Germany  with  pamphlets  on  Biblical  subjects.     His  great 


54 

doctrine  was  ^^  fTusti/icatwn  hy  faith  in  Christ^  He  set 
the  people  to  studying  the  Word  of  God.  The  more 
they  examined  it,  the  less  power  the  Pontiffs  had  over 
them.  Little  by  little  their  power  was  gone  ;  not  only  in 
Germany,  but  in  England,  Ireland,  Spain,  Italy,  and 
France — in  fact,  wherever  their  spiritual  dominions 
extended. 

Next  to  Luther,  as  a  reformer,  stood  Philip  Melaucthon. 

After  Luther's  death,  which  happened  in  1546,  at  the 
age  of  63,  Melancthon  became  head  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  He  was  a  man  of  different  stamp  from  Luther. 
Not  so  vehement,  but  more  learned.  His  genius  and 
culture  were  extraordinary.  He  differed  with  Luther  on 
some  important  points,  but  otherwise  they  were  in  full 
sympathy.  He  was  of  the  opinion  that  many  things  in 
the  Roman  Church  might  be  tolerated,  which  Luther  con- 
sidered as  absolutely  insupportable.  This  diversity  of 
views,  after  Luther's  death,  created  internal  dissensions 
in  the  church,  and  caused  much  trouble. 

If  our  doctrine,  to  wit,  that  Christ's  second  coming 
occurred  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70,  had  been 
known  to  Luther  and  his  associates,  it  would  have  saved 
them  a  vast  deal  of  trouble,  and  many  long  and  wearisome 
and  useless  controversies.  So  with  all  the  great  church- 
men of  the  past.  They  all  missed  the  truth  which  it  has 
pleased  God,  the  Father,  to  reveal  through  us.  The 
church  records  are  full  of  controversies  touching  the 
Lord's  Supper,  the  communion,  etc.,  all  subjects  relating 
to  Christ's  second  coming. 

Christ   said,    "  Do  this,"   to  wit,  the    Lord's    Supper, 


55 

"  TILL  I  COME,  in  remembrance  of  me."  This  holds  good 
only  till  He  comes.  The  church  all  these  ages  has  not 
known  of  His  coming  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D. 
70,  and  consequently  has  been  taught  to  expect  Him,  and 
to  commemorate  His  coming  by  the  sacrament  of  the 
"Lord's  Supper."  Whereas,  in  fact  and  in  truth,  He 
came  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  A.  D.  70,  and 
therefore,  the  exhortation  to  "  do  this  "  (to  wit,  the  Lord's 
Supper,)  "  till  I  come,"  is  wholly  irrelevant. 

Christ,  at  His  first  coming,  was  crucified  at  Jerusalem 
amid  the  scofifs  of  the  world.  At  His  second  coming  He 
was  a  conquering  hero.  He  then  stood  over  Jerusalem, 
in  the  "clouds  of  heaven"  judging  "  the  quick  and  dead;" 
and  therefore,  an  ordinance  commemorating  Him  as  a 
CONQUERING  liero,  is  only  appropriate. 

Since  the  Reformation  Christianity  has  been  divided  and 
subdivided  and  redivided,into  the  thousand  and  one  isms 
that  curse  it  to-day.  Notwithstanding  this,  Christianity 
has  done  great  good,  and  we  are  profoundly  thankful  for 
what  it  has  accomplished.  Its  ascent  out  of  the  pollution 
and  superstition  of  the  "  dark  ages  "  has  been  accom- 
plished little  by  little,  and  by  painful  effort.  The  Chris- 
tianity of  to-day  represents  the  faith  and  tears  and  con- 
flicts of  the  Fathers.  From  time  to  time  they  have 
appeared  with  new  light,  pi'opelling  it  onward  and  up- 
ward. 

We  now  propose  to  interview  some  of  these  Fathers. 
And  first  comes  John  Calvin.  He  had  some  new  ideas. 
From  him  came  Presbyterian  ism. 

As  we  glance  through  the  records  of  church  history 


56 

since  the  Reformation,  we  are  astonished  at  the  trouble 
and  dissensions  the  Fathers  have  had  from  not  knowing 
the  truth  about  Christ's  second  coming.  It  has  caused 
them  more  trouble  than  anything  else.  The  greatest  and 
wisest  men  in  the  church  for  eighteen  centuries  have  not 
understood  Christ's  saying:  "If  I  will  that  he  (John) 
tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?"  This  refers  to 
Christ's  coming  within  the  lifetime  of  his  contemporaries, 
to  wit,  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70.  The 
church  Fathers  have  given  it  all  sorts  of  interpretations 
except  the  true  one.  Not  even  our  keen  friend,  Mr. 
Calvin,  saw  it. 

The  Presbyterians  of  this  age  are  so  eminently  respect- 
able that  we  shall  trespass  upon  our  time  somewhat  to 
give  a  condensed  view  of  the  great  work  of  their  founder, 
John  Calvin.  Calvin  was  born  in  1509,  and  was  bred  to 
the  law.  As  a  student  his  success  was  "  most  rapid  and 
amazing."  He  acquired  the  knowledge  of  religion  by  a 
diligent  perusal  of  the  Scriptures,  and  early  saw  the  neces- 
sity of  "  reforming  the  established  system  of  doctrine  and 
worship."  His  zeal  exposed  to  him  various  perils,  and 
his  connection  with  the  friends  of  the  Reformation,  who 
were  frequently  committed  to  the  flames,  placed  him  more 
than  once  in  imminent  danger ;  but  out  of  it  all  he  was 
delivered. 

Calvin  had  some  new  ideas  concerning  the  decrees  of 
God,  respecting  the  eternal  condition  of  men,  and  they 
stirred  the  people  immensely.  He  maintained  that  the 
everlasting  condition  of  mankind  in  the  future  world  was 
determined  from  all  eternity  by  the  unchangeable  order 


57 

of  the  Deity,  and  that  this  absolute  determination  of  His 
will  and  good  pleasure  was  tbe  only  source  of  happiness 
or  misery  to  every  individual.  He  propagated  his  opinion 
by  his  writings,  and  by  public  discussions,  and  by  the 
"ministry  of  his  disciples."  In  time  it  was  inserted  in 
the  national  creeds,  and  "  thus  made  a  public  article  of 
faith." 

Although  in  sympathy  with  Luther  and  the  work  of 
reformation,  Calvin  had  some  ideas  of  his  own,  and  he 
pushed  out  for  himself.  He  now  had  a  large  following, 
and  they  were  known  as  the  Reformed  Church.  He  set- 
tled at  Geneva,  in  Switzerland,  where  he  acquired  the 
greatest  reputation  and  authority.  He  surpassed  all  the 
divines  of  his  age  in  laborious  application,  force  of  elo- 
quence, and  extent  of  genius.  He  was  the  head  of  the 
Reformed  Church  in  Geneva,  and  also  acquired  great  in- 
fluence in  the  political  administration  of  that  republic.  His 
views  and  projects  were  grand  and  extensive.  He  not 
only  undertook  to  give  strength  and  vigor  to  the  rising 
church,  by  strict  discipline,  but  proposed  to  render  Geneva 
the  mother  of  all  Reformed  Churches,  as  Wittenberg  was 
of  all  Lutheran  Churches.  He  proposed  to  establish  a 
theological  seminary  for  the  instruction  of  ministers,  who 
were  to  propagate  the  Protestant  cause  through  the  most 
distant  nations.  He  proposed  to  render  the  government, 
discipline,  and  doctrine  of  Geneva  the  model  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  all  the  Reformed  Churches  in  the  world ;  and  he 
in  great  part  succeeded  in  the  execution  of  this  grand 
scheme.  His  fame  and  learning  induced  many  persons 
of  rank  and  fortune  to  settle  at  Geneva.     Many  others 


58 

came  out  of  curiosity  to  hear  the  discourses  which  he 
dehvered  in  public.  Studious  youths  came  from  all  |[3arts 
to  the  Geneva  University,  and  its  fame  extended  every- 
where. By  this  means  Calvin  propagated  his  doctrine  all 
through  Europe.  In  the  midst  of  this  activity  he  died 
in  the  year  1564. 

In  August,  1878,  there  met  in  this  very  city  of  Geneva, 
in  a  hall  dedicated  to  Calvin,  the  International  Conven- 
tion of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations.  They  came 
from  the  Protestant  churches  of  all  lands  to  confer  as  to 
the  best  methods  of  pushing  the  Master's  work.  I  won- 
der what  Calvin  would  have  said  if  he  could  have  spoken 
to  them,  assembled,  as  they  were,  in  his  old  home  at 
Geneva.  Methinks  he  would  have  seen  the  travail  of  his 
soul  and  wept  for  joy. 

In  these  latter  days  these  Christian  Associations  have 
done  a  vast  work  in  rescuing  souls  from  perdition.  About 
forty  years  ago  the  first  one  was  established  in  London, 
England,  by  Mr.  George  Williams,  a  retired  merchant. 
(He  was  present  and  took  am  active  part  at  the  Geneva 
Conference.)  Since  then  they  have  multiplied  in  all 
directions.  At  this  moment  there  are  two  thousand  of 
these  associations  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  May 
God  bless  them  and  their  workers. 


HADES  AND  THE  FINAL  JUDGMENT.* 


This  was  written  in  January,  1878. 


HADES  AND  THE  FINAL  JUDGMENT. 


WHEN  Christ  appeared  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, A.  D.  70,  the  entire  human  race  (save  those 
then  living  on  earth)  were  judged ;  i.  e.,  the  "  sheep  " 
were  separated  from  the  "goats;"  ^.  e.,  the  righteous 
went  to  heaven  and  the  wicked  to  eternal  punishment. 
Prior  to  this  resurrection  and  judgment,  the  entire  human 
race  (^.  e.,  the  dead  part  of  it)  were  in  Hades,  awaiting 
their  resurrection  and  judgment,  which  took  place  when 
Christ  appeared  at  the  des-truction  of  Jerusalem. 

What  kind  of  a  place  is  Hades  ?  We  answer,  Hades 
is  the  resting-place  of  the  dead.  It  is  the  place  where 
the  dead  (both  righteous  and  wicked)  await  their  final 
disposition,  the  righteous  being  detained  for  heaven,  and 
the  wicked  for  eternal  punishment. 

The  Bible  characterizes  the  inhabitants  of  Hades  as  in 
a  state  of  sleep  (Dan.,  xii,  2  ;  I  Cor.,  xv,  51,)  but  they  are 
not  in  a  state  of  absolute  unconsciousness.  They  are 
simply  withdrawn  from  the  world  of  sense,  like  a  person 
in  ordinary  slumber.  They  are  in  the  soul  of  the  uni- 
verse instead  of  the  body.  Their  operation  on  the  sur- 
face ceases  at  death.  Their  sleep  is  opposed  to  the  visi- 
ble activity  of  this  world,  and  also  to  the  perfect  activity 
of  the  resurrection  world.  After  Christ's  crucifixion  He  re- 
mained in  Hades  three  days,  and  then  He  ascended  to  the 
Father.  Before  He  ascended  He  appeared  to  His  disci- 
ples and  said,  "  All  power  is  given  to  me,  in  heaven  and 

61 


62 

on  earth,"  i.  e.,  He  entered  upon  a  career  of  activity  in 
both  worlds.  The  saints  in  Hades  sleep  until  their  resur- 
rection, when  they,  too,  will  be  active  in  both  worlds. 
The  "  saints  "  are  said  to  "  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth," 
because  their  abode  is  not  in  heaven,  but  in  Hades  ;  i.  e., 
until  their  resurrection. 

Hades  and  mortality  {L  e.,  this  world)  may  be  com- 
pared to  two  apartments  on  the  same  floor  of  a  house. 
Heaven,  or  God's  home,  is  the  floor  above.  The  resur- 
rection is  a  transit  to  God's  home.  It  is  not  a  transit  from 
one  apartment  to  another.  Enoch  and  Elijah  passed  into 
Hades  by  translation.  And  Lazarus  returned  from  Hades 
at  the  call  of  Christ.  Christ  ascended  out  of  Hades  at  the 
call  of  God.  This  same  mighty  power  will  at  last  draw 
"all  men  to  Christ,"  (John,  xii,  32,)  the  righteous  as  well 
as  the  wicked.  The  dead,  small  and  great,  must  stand 
before  God.  The  Paradise  of  Hades  is  not  the  final 
abode  of  the  righteous.  They  are  to  be  brought  up  for 
judgment  and  then  pass  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Father. 
Hades  is  not  the  final  abode  of  the  wicked.  They,  too, 
must  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  and  then 
pass  into  the  lake  of  fire  which  burns  for  ever  and  ever. 
(Rev.,  XX,  10-15  ;  and  xxi,  8.) 

As  the  entire  human  race  {i.  e.,  the  dead  part  of  it) 
prior  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70,  were 
detained  in  Hades,  awaiting  their  resurrection  and  judg- 
ment, so  the  inhabitants  of  this  earth,  since  A.  D.  70, 
have  been  detained  in  Hades  awaiting  their  resurrection 
and  judgment,  which  will  take  place  at  the  end  of  the 
world. 


63 

Paul  (he  was  executed  A  D.  68)  only  waited  two  years 
in  the  Paradise  of  Hades  after  his  death  for  his  '•  crown," 
i.  e.,  till  Christ  came,  A.  D.  70.  Abraham,*  however,  was 
compelled  to  wait  two  thousand  years. 

THE   FINAL    JUDGMENT. 

Judgment,  says  Paul,  comes  first  to  the  Jews,  then  to 
the  Gentiles.  For  nearly  two  thousand  years — i.  e  ,  since 
Christ  judged  the  Jews  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
— the  Gentiles  have  been  under  God's  care,  and  the  Gen- 
tile judgment  must  be  near  at  hand. 

The  judgment  of  the  Gentiles  and  the  destruction  of 
this  physical  universe  will  be  simultaneous  events. 

Once  God  said,  "Let  the  earth  be  created,"  and  it  was 
created.  Some  day,  in  His  own  good  time.  He  will  say, 
"Let  the  earth  be  destroyed,"  and  it  will  be  destroyed. 

[For  the  predicted  fate  of  the  earth,  see  page  96.] 

When  icill  this  earth  end  ? 

*  lu  Luke,  xvi,  19-31,  we  are  told  that  a  rich  man  interviewed 
Abraham,  and  thereby  learn  that  Hades  i.s  composed  of  two  wards 
— the  one  for  the  righteous ;  the  other  for  the  wicked.  Abraham 
was  in  the  righteous  ward,  i.  e.,  in  the  Paradise  of  Hades;  and  the 
rich  man  in  the  wicked  ward,  i.  e.,  in  Hell.  "And  the  rich  man 
lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torment,  and  saw  Father  Abraham  afar 
off,"  and  told  him  that  he  had  "  brethren,"  and  he  wished  to  warn 
them  to  keep  out  of  this  place  of  torment.  He  was  told  that  when 
he  was  on  earth  he  had  the  good  things  of  life,  and  Lazarus  the 
evil  things,  and  that  his  "brethern"  would  not  believe  in  Moses 
and  the  Prophets,  and  thereby  escape  ^is  fate,  "though  one  rose 
from  the  dead." 


64 

We  answer,  when  the  Gospel  has  been  preached  to  all 
men. 

The  exploits  of  Livingston  and  Stanley  show  that  the 
light  of  this  century  is  beginning  to  shine  even  in  be- 
nighted Africa,  and  the  time  must  be  near,  with  the  elec- 
tric flash  encircling  the  globe,  when  it  can  be  said  that 
the  Gospel  has  been  preached  to  all  men.  Then,  accord- 
ing to  Christ,  the  end  will  come.  This  earth  had  a 
beginning,  and  it  will  have  an  ending.  To  individuals 
it  ends  at  death.  To  you  and  to  me,  my  friends,  it 
matters  little  when  it  ends  if  we  have  Christ ;  without 
Him  we  must  perish. 


A  REPLY  TO  ATTACKS  ON  THE  BIBLE-* 


This  was  written  in  January,  1878. 


A  KEPLY  TO  ATTACKS  ON  THE  BIBLE. 


THE  Bible  is  the  record  of  God's  dealings  with  man 
By  it  He  spoke  to  the  Jewish  nation.  By  it  Christ 
and  the  apostles  thunder  their  proclamations  across  the 
ages  since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  on  it  we 
base  our  hope  of  eternal  life. 

In  our  defence  of  the  Bible  we  shall  review  parts  of  it 
and  attempt  to  show  what  it  teaches. 

"In  the  beginning,"  we  read,  "God  created  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  and  all  things  that  dwell  therein,  and  pro- 
nounced it  very  good;"  that  He  made  man  "in  His  own 
image,"  and  gave  him  "a  wife;"  that  he  put  the  man  and 
the  woman  into  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  gave  the  man 
full  dominion  over  all  created  things.  And  God  com- 
manded the  man,  saying,  "  Of  every  tree  of  the  garden 
thou  mayest  freely  eat ;  but  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil  thou  shalt  not  eat,  for  in  the  day  thou 
eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."  We  also  read  that 
Satan,  in  the  form  of  a  serpent,  said  unto  the  woman, 
"Ye  can  eat,  and  ye  shall  not  die;"  that  thereupon  the 
woman  ate  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  then  induced  the  man 
to  eat.  That,  soon  thereafter,  the  "  Lord  God  called  unto 
Adam,  and  said.  Where  art  thou  ?  Hast  thou  eaten  of 
the  tree  whereof  I  commanded  thee,  saying,  thou  shalt 
not  eat?"  The  man  said,  "I  did  eat,"  and  blamed  it  on 
the  woman,  and  the  woman  blamed  it  on  the  serpent. 

Now  what  happened  ? 


68 

And  the  Almighty  was  angry  ;  He  cursed  the  man,  the 
woman,  and  the  serpent ;  He  pronounced  a  special  curse 
upon  each. 

When  Adam  sinned,  he  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of 
the  devil.  His  posterity,  in  consequeuce  of  his  surrender, 
came  into  being  under  a  law  of  gravitation  towards  sin 
and  death.  We  hold  that  a  part  of  mankind  are  not  only 
born  under  the  power  of  "  the  wicked  one,"  but  are  of  his 
seed,  and  that  their  destination  is  perdition.  We  also 
hold  that  another  part  of  mankind  are  of  Christ's  seed, 
and  that  their  destination  is  heaven.  "  My  sheep,"  says 
Christ,  "hear  mj  voice."  The  reason  some  people  must 
be  damned  is  because  they  have  no  ear  to  hear  the  Gospel 
of  God's  reconciliation  with  man,  through  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  By  the  death  and  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  God  became  reconciled  to  human  nature, 
and  what  the  race  lost  by  Adam's  fall  they  gained  by  the 
ascension  of  Christ.  Jesus  Christ,  by  His  death  and  resur- 
rection, overcame  the  devil.  He  released  man  from  his 
grasp,  and  thereby  destroyed  the  cause  of  all  sin,  and 
thereby  reconciled  human  nature  to  God.  The  effect  of 
this  action  on  them  that  believe  is  to  release  them  from 
the  power  of  sin  ;  on  them  that  believe  not,  to  consign 
them  with  the  devil  to  eternal  damnation.  No  one  will 
be  damned  without  a  chance  to  believe  on  Christ.  If  they 
reject  Christ  they  must  be  damned.  It  is  their  fault ;  not 
God's. 

"  But,"  says  a  noted  infidel  (and  this  is  his  great  point,) 
"  hell  being  such  a  terrible,  awful  place,  and  God  being  so 
very  good,  He  won't  send  any  one'  there."     We  answer, 


69 

God  must  sustain  His  government.  Heaven  is  for  the 
righteous.  Hell  for  the  wicked,  Heaven  would  be  a  hell, 
if  the  wicked  could  get  into  it.  Hell  is  for  the  devil's 
seed  ;  heaven  for  Christ's  seed. 

This  infidel  denies  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

"  I  am  willing  to  give  up  heaven,"  he  says,  "  to  get  rid 
of  hell." 

We  prove  the  immortality  of  the  soul  thus:  We  read 
"that  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground, 
and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man 
became  a  living  soul."  (Gen.,  ii,  7.)  Man,  therefore, 
was  composed  of  two  substances,  the  dust  of  the  ground 
and  the  breath  of  life,  ^.  e.,  matter  and  spirit. 

We  hold  that  "  a  spirit  is  a  fluid.  That  it  has  many  of 
the  properties  of  caloric,  electricit}',  galvanism,  and  mag- 
netism. That  it  has  also  the  power  of  assimilation, 
growth,  and  self-originating  motion.  That  it  has  person- 
ality, feeling,  intelligence,  and  will."  When  Adam  was 
created,  the  Almighty  breathed  this  vital  fluid  into  Adam's 
body,  and  he  then  became  a  living  soul.  As  soon  as  this 
vital  fluid  (or  the  Almighty's  breath)  entered  into  Adam's 
dust-formed  body,  it  partook  of  the  shape  of  that  body ; 
i,  e.,  it  became  congealed,  and  ever  afterwards  retained 
the  form  and  shape  of  that  body. 

The  prime  element  of  the  soul  is  this,  vital  fluid  which 
emanated  from  the  Almighty,  and  it  is  this  eternal  spirit 
which  makes  the  soul  indestructible.  "  He  that  believeth 
on  me,"  says  Christ,  "shall  never  die."  Why?  Because 
the  life  of  the  soul  and  body  are  one.  The  soul  lives  after 
it  has  left  the  body.     Evei'y  human  being  is  destined  for 


70 

heaven  or  perdition  ;  because  they  have  a  soul,  and  that 
is  immortal. 

About  a  thousand  years  after  Adam,  we  read  that  God 
saw  that  "  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great,"  and  He  re- 
pented "  that  He  had  made  man,"  and  said,  "  I  will  destroy 
man  whom  I  have  created  from  the  face  of  the  earth." 
There  was  only  one  righteous  man  in  all  the  world.  His 
name  was  Noah.  "And  God  said  unto  Noah,  the  end  of 
all  flesh  is  come  ;  "  make  thee  an  ark,  for  I  am  going  "  to 
destroy  all  flesh."  And  Noah  did  as  the  Lord  commanded. 
Now  what  ?  After  Noah  and  his  family  and  his  property 
were  safely  in  the  ark,  "  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep 
were  broken  up,  and  the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened," 
and  the  rain  descended  in  torrents  for  forty  days  and 
forty  nights,  and  every  living  thing  on  earth  was  de- 
stroyed— save  Noah  and  his  ark. 

The  point  of  this  story  is  that  God  kept  His  word,  and 
He  always  keeps  His  word. 

What  next?  A  thousand  years  after  Noah  came  Abra- 
ham. "And  God  said  to  Abraham,  get  thee  out  of  thy 
country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  fathers 
house,  unto  a  land  that  I  shall  show  thee ;  and  I  will 
make  of  thee  a  great  nation  ;  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and 
make  thy  name  great ;  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing  ;  and 
I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curs- 
eth  thee  ;  and  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed."  (Gen.,  xii,  1-3.)  Now  what?  "And  Abraham 
did  as  the  Lord  had  spoken."  Abraham's  obedience  was 
the  foundation  of  God's  favor.     The  Old  Testament  is 


71 

the  record  of  God's  dealings  with  Abraham  and  his  seed 
for  two  thousand  years,  i.  e.,  till  the  birth  of  Christ. 

The  New  Testament,  which  is  a  record  of  Christ's  life 
and  principles,  is  simply  a  continuation  of  God's  dealings 
with  mankind.  Christ  endorsed  the  Old  Testament  in 
every  possible  way.  He  always  spoke  of  it  with  the  ut- 
most respect,  and  said  He  came  not  to  destroy  "  the  lawj 
but  to  fulfil  it." 

Infidels  say  the  Old  Testament  is  a  horrible  book,  be- 
cause it  tells  of  the  wickedness  of  the  Jews;  that  it 
records  murders,  wars,  rapine,  and  evils  of  all  kinds. 
We  answer,  the  Jewish  nation  contained  bad  people  as 
well  as  good.  "■  There  were  vessels  of  honor  and  dis- 
honor" in  that  great  nation.  God's  writers  in  the  sacred 
volume  put  the  bad  in  as  a  warning  and  reproof  to  the 
race. 

But  the  New  Testament  concerns  us  more  than  the  Old. 

We  analyze  the  New  Testament  thus: 

In  order  to  the  full  exhibition  of  Christianity  it  was 
necessary  there  should  be:  1.  A  history  of  the  life  of 
Christ.  This  we  have  in  the  four  gospels.  2.  A  sketch 
of  what  followed  His  resurrection.  This  we  have  in  the 
Book  of  Acts.  3.  A  systematic  exposition  of  the  theory 
of  redemption  founded  on  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Christ.  This  we  have  in  the  epistles  of  Paul.  4.  A  code 
of  morality  with  injunctions  and  warnings  against  error. 
This  we  have  in  the  whole  New  Testament.  5.  An  exhi- 
bition of  the  mature  results  of  Christian  faith.  This  we 
have  in  the  first  epistle  of  John.     6.  A  sketch   of  the 


72 

futurity  of  Christ's  kingdom.     This  we  have  in  the  book 
of  Revelation. 

The  New  Testament  is  just  what  we  might  suppose  it 
would  be,  on  the  assumption  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was 
what  He  pretended  to  be,  viz.,  "God  manifested  in  the 
flesh."  The  Bible,  and  especially  the  New  Testament,  is 
the  visible  link  connecting  God  with  man — this  world 
with  eternity. 


SOME  REASONS  WHY  MANY  PERSONS  ARE 
GOING  DOWN  TO  PERDITION.* 


*  This  was  written  in  September,  1879.  Perdition  is  the  final 
abode  of  the  lost,  as  Heaven  is  the  final  abode  of  the  redeemed. 
The  intermediate  state  is  Hades.  Hades  is  composed  of  two  wards — 
one  (for  the  righteous)  called  "Paradise,"  the  other,  "  Hell."  If 
one  reaches  Hell  he  is  sure  to  reach  Perdition.  If  one  reaches 
Paradise  he  is  sure  to  reach  Heaven.  Hades  was  emptied  when 
Christ  appeared,  A.  D.  70,  and  will  be  again  at  the  final  resurrec- 
tion and  judgment  at  the  end  of  the  world. 


SOME  REASONS  WHY  MANY  PERSONS 
ARE  GOING  DOWN  TO  PERDITION. 


THE  possibilities  of  human  existence  are  appalling. 
Millions  and  millions  of  individuals  have  come  and 
are  coming  into  this  world  without  any  agency  of  their 
own.  If  most  persons  could  have  their  choice  I  imagine 
they  would  keep  out  of  it.  And  yet  this  is  a  magnificent 
world.  It  is  full  of  beauty  and  blessings.  On  all  sides 
happiness  awaits  us.  God  is  wonderfully  good.  But 
man,  in  his  fallen  state,  has  brought  vast  evils  upon  the 
race,  and  we  propose  to  show  why  many  persons  are 
going  down  to  perdition.  The  possibility  of  such  a  con- 
dition is  terrible;  but  I  believe  it  is  true,  and  I  shall 
attempt  to  show  that  it  is  true. 

Many  persons  are  going  down  to  perdition  because 
they  do  not  realize  that  there  is  such  a  place.  We  are 
told  by  a  distinguished  gentleman  (he  from  Illinois)  that 
there  is  no  perdition.  And  we  are  told  it  with  the  sneer 
and  power  of  a  sharp-tongued  orator ;  and  many  persons 
are  in  doubt  whether  there  really  is  such  a  place.  To  the 
sneers  of  infidels,  Christians  appeal  to  the  Bible.  If  the 
Bible  is  a  lie,  as  some  say,  the  Almighty  is  back  of  it,  as 
they  will  find  to  their  eternal  sorrow  some  time. 

Many  men  are  going  down  to  perdition  because  all  men 
by  nature  are  rebels  against  God.  The  whole  world  lieth 
in  the  Wicked  One.  Only  those  are  saved  who  find  the 
Saviour.     The  rest  are  doomed  to  perdition.     If  the  Bible 


76 

is  a  lie,  the  Almighty  is  back  of  it.  If  Christ  is  an  im- 
poster,  as  some  say,  His  awful  power  at  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  must  satisfj^  the  most  skeptical  that  the 
Almighty  is  back  of  Him.  For  eighteen  centuries  Chris- 
tendom has  not  known  of  Christ's  appearing  in  judgment 
at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  but  now  that  it  has  been 
revealed,  it  gives  awful  prestige  to  Christ's  words.  Every 
prediction  He  made  concerning  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  awful  overthrow  of  the  Jews  was  literally 
fulfilled.  This  fact  gives  an  awful  prestige  to  Christ's 
words;  and  it  behooves  skeptics  to  look  before  they  re- 
sist the  Almighty's  only  Son.  The  Jews  resisted  Him 
and  their  city  was  razed  to  the  ground,  and  their  national 
existence  destroyed. 

From  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  to  Martin  Luther, 
covering  a  period  of  fifteen  long  and  weary  centuries,  the 
Almighty  seems  to  have  withdrawn  all  interest  in  human 
affairs.  With  Luther  came  light.  With  Calvin  came 
light.  With  Wesley  came  light ;  and  the  race  is  getting 
light  rapidly  in  this  nineteenth  century.  We  live  in  a 
fast  age  ;  in  an  age  of  steam,  electricity,  and  printing. 
The  scientific  discoveries  of  this  age  are  appalling.  Edi- 
son and  his  co-workers  descend  upon  us  like  a  tornado. 

Look  at  Grant.  Twenty  years  ago  he  starved  in  Ga- 
lena. The  war  came  and  he  came.  To-day,  September, 
1879,  he  strides  like  a  young  god  over  the  earth.  Who 
shall  gainsay  this  little  man  of  destiny  ?  The  extraordi- 
nary attention  paid  him  wonderfully  indicates  the  pre- 
vailing unification  of  the  race  in  these  latter  days. 

God  is  wonderfully  gracious.     The  good  and  bad  alike 


77 

share  in  His  bounty.  At  all  times  the  race  is  under  His 
protecting  care.  Nothing  is  too  small  for  His  notice.  He 
careth  for  the  just  and  the  unjust ;  but  some  time  there 
will  be  a  reckoning.  The  small  and  great,  the  dead  and 
living,  must  stand  before  the  Judge  of  all,  and  be  sen- 
tenced to  eternal  life  or  eternal  death.  This  thought  is 
overpowering.  The  cares  of  this  world,  the  lusts  of  the 
flesh,  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  and  the  pride  of  life, 
paralyze  the  mind,*  and  we  can  hardly  realize  this  stu- 
pendous fact.  Is  the  soul  immortal  1  Is  there  a  heaven  ? 
Is  there  a  hell  ?  The  Bible  says  the  soul  is  immortal. 
The  Bible  says  there  is  a  heaven.  The  Bible  says  there 
is  a  hell ;  and  that  is  all  we  know  about  it. 

As  we  said  at  first,  the  possibilities  of  human  existence 
are  appalling.  The  fact  of  an  eternal  existence  in  happi 
ness  or  misery  is  appalling.  And  we  exclaim,  why  is  it 
thus ;  and  find  no  answer  save  in  the  Bible,  and  in  the 
history  of  the  race.  If  perdition  is  certain,  heaven  is  also 
certain  ;  and  we  can  reach  it  by  finding  the  Saviour. 

If  God  is  omnipotent  why  does  He  not  save  all  men  ? 
We  answer,  because  they  are  not  savable.  Some  men 
belong  to  the  devil's  seed.  There  are  two  classes  born 
into  this  world :  Christ's  seed  and  the  devil's  seed, 
Christ's  seed  go  to  heaven,  and  the  devil's  seed  to  perdi- 
tion. They  could  not  co-exist.  Heaven  would  be  perdi- 
tion if  the  wicked  could  get  into  it. 

"We  have  some  new  ideas  on  the  origin  of  evil.  We 
hold  that  God  is  not  responsible,  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed, for  the  evil  existing  in  this  world,  but  that  the 
devil,  His  great  pei'sonal  antagonist,  is  responsible.     We 


78 

hold  that  all  good  comes  from  God,  and  all  evil  from  the 
devil,  and  that  these  two  great  personal  powers  have 
been  fighting  for  supremacy  since  the  creation  of  the 
world.  In  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  God  and  the  devil 
fought  it  out,  and  God  partly  overcame  the  devil  in  that 
fight.  Christ  says,  '"  whosoever  believeth  on  Him  that 
sent  me  hath  everlasting  life."  The  devil  and  his  seed 
have  no  disposition  to  believe,  and,  therefore,  must  be 
damned.  Man  is  a  free  agent.  He  can  go  to  the  right 
or  to  the  left.  He  can  choose  good  or  evil.  He  can  go 
to  church  or  to  a  saloon,  and  end  in  heaven  or  perdition. 

Such  a  ma»i  as  Ingersoll  says  he  can't  believe  in  Christ; 
that  he  "  can't  see  it,"  which  is  conclusive  evidence  that 
he  belongs  to  the  devil's  seed,  and  must  go  down  to 
eternal  perdition.  But  it  is  not  God's  fault.  Not  even 
God  can  save  the  devil's  seed.  (See  "  The  Two  Seeds," 
page  87.) 

Many  people,  at  first,  hear  the  Gospel  with  gladness, 
but  are  swept  by  the  currents  of  infidelity,  worldlines 
and  sensuality  into  perdition. 

The  Gospel  takes  deep  root  in  the  hearts  of  some  peo- 
ple, and  they  become  the  true  followers  of  the  Saviour. 
They  are  the  salt  of  the  earth.  They  build  churches, 
send  missionaries  to  foreign  countries,  run  Christian  and 
benevolent  associations,  and  make  this  world  a  decent 
place  to  live  in.  Destroy  the  influence  of  this  class  and 
it  would  be  worse  than  Sodom. 

German  Rationalism,  Unitarianism,  Universalism,  and 
all  isms  that  bewitch  one  from  the  simplicity  of  the 
Gospel,  as  taught  by  Christ  and  Paul,  are  taking  men 


79 

down  to  perdition.  In  Luke,  xvi,  19-31,  we  have  an 
account  of  a  man  who  got  into  hell.  It  is  terrible  read- 
ing, and  it  reads  thus : 

"  There  was  a  certain  rich  man,  which  was  clothed  in 
purple  and  fiue  linen  and  fared  sumptuously  every  day. 
And  there  was  a  certain  beggar  named  Lazarus,  which  was 
laid  at  his  gate,  full  of  sores,  and  desiring  to  be  fed  with 
the  crumbs  which  fell  from  the  rich  man's  table ;  more- 
over, the  dogs  came  and  licked  his  sores.  And  it  came  to 
pass  that  the  beggar  died,  and  was  carried  by  the  augels 
ipto  Abraham's  bosom.  The  rich  man  died  also,  and  was 
buried.  And  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  tor- 
ments, and  seeth  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his 
bosom.  And  he  cried,  and  said,  Father  Abraham,  have 
mercy  on  me,  and  send  Lazarus,  that  he  may  dip  the  tip 
of  his  finger  in  water  and  cool  my  tongue,  for  I  am  tor- 
mented in  this  flame.  But  Abraham  said.  Son,  remember 
that  thoia  in  thy  lifetime  receivedest  thy  good  things,  and 
likewise  Lazarus  evil  things ;  but  now  he  is  comforted, 
and  thou  art  tormented.  And  besides  all  this,  between 
us  and  you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed,  so  that  they  which 
would  pass  from  hence  to  you  cannot ;  neither  can  they 
pass  to  us  that  would  come  from  thence.  Then  he  said, 
I  pray  thee,  therefore,  father,  that  thou  wouldest  send 
him  to  my  father's  house,  for  I  have  five  brethren,  that  he 
may  testify  unto  them,  lest  they  also  come  into  this  place 
of  torment.  Abraham  saith  unto  him,  They  have  Moses 
and  the  prophets ;  let  them  hear  them.  And  he  said. 
Nay,  Father  Abraham ;  but  if  one  went  unto  them  from 
the  dead  they  will  repent.     And  he  said  unto  him,  If 


80 

they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they 
be  persuaded,  though  one  rose  from  the  dead." 

Had  this  man  believed  in  "  Moses  and  the  prophets  " 
he  might  have  escaped  his  horrible  fate.  To-day  men  are 
going  down  to  perdition  because  they  have  no  saving 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Nothing  short  of  personal  union 
with  Christ  will  save  a  man  from  the  hell  recorded  in 
Luke,  xvi,  19-31.  We  believe,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that 
many  persons  who  expect  to  go  up  will  go  down.  Com- 
pare the  life  and  principles  of  the  Saviour  with  the  life 
and  doings  of  many  professed  Christians,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  ungodly,  and  see  how  they  fall  short  of  Christian 
character. 

Some  persons  who  are  going  down  to  perdition: 
Whiskey-men,  saloon-keepers,  whoremongers,  prostitutes, 
seducers  of  innocent  virtue,  wilful  liars,  theatre-goers, 
horse-racers,  (and  their  kind,)  tricksters  in  politics  and 
business,  and  bad  people  of  all  grades  are  on  the  road  to 
perdition. 

This  class  are  going  down  to  an  eternity  of  misery. 
This  is  a  terrible,  awful  fact ;  and  we  would  fain  save  all 
we  can.     All  we  can  do  is  to  point  them  to  the  Saviour. 

How  do  you  know  they  are  going  down  to  hell  ?  "  By 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  "Whatsoever  a  man 
soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap."  They  are  sowing  to  the 
wind  and  they  will  reap  a  whirlwind.  This  class  belong 
to  the  devil's  seed,  and  perdition  is  their  destination. 

Writers  and  publishers  of  light  literature  are  sending 
many  to  perdition.  I  imagine  publishers  do  not  realize 
their  responsibility  in  sending  out  a  book.     No  one  can 


81 

tell  the  effect  of  a  book.  It  may  save  or  damn  a  soul. 
Think  of  such  a  book  as  Paine's  "Age  of  Reason,"  and 
all  that  class  of  books.  Then  think  how  immoral  publi- 
cations are  flooding  the  land.  The  details  of  crime,  as 
reported  in  most  of  the  daily  papers,  are  not  fit  for  decent 
people  to  read ;  but  thousands  read  them  to  their  sorrow 
and  ruin.  There  ought  to  be  a  law  prohibiting  such 
publications.     They  only  debauch  the  public  mind. 

Our  daily  papers  are  greatly  responsible  for  the  in- 
terest many  take  in  horse-races,  foot-races,  and  other 
demoralizing  shows.  They  might  exert  a  strong  influ- 
ence against  it  if  they  were  so  inclined. 

Extravagance  is  sending  many  to  perdition.  "The 
love  of  money,"  says  Paul,  "is  the  root  of  all  evil;"  and 
he  is  right.  Most  persons  are  on  the  grab  for  money. 
Day  and  night  they  think  of  money,  money,  money. 
They  need  money  to  keep  up  style,  and  they  get  it ;  but 
at  a  fearful  risk.  Some  men  would  sell  their  soul  for  a 
ten-dollar  bill.  Think  of  the  Saviour — the  greatest  and 
purest  being  who  ever  lived  on  this  globe.  He  was  so 
poor  He  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head.  If  people 
thought  less  of  style  and  more  of  their  eternal  destiny 
they  would  have  a  chance  of  reaching  heaven.  But 
money  is  all  some  people  can  see. 

The  theatres  are  sending  many  to  perdition.  "  Do  you 
think  it  harmful  to  go  to  the  theatre  ?"  Yes,  decidedly. 
What  would  you  think  of  the  Saviour's  elbowing  His  way 
into  a  theatre  to  see  a  half -nude  performance?  The 
drama  tends   down,  not  up.     Many  a    man   has  been 


82 

< 

mined  by  frequenting  theatres.  If  I  had  my  way  I 
would  close  every  theatre  in  the  land. 

Weak  men  in  the  pulpit  are  sending  some  down. 

I  do  not  like  to  say  anything  against  the  pulpit,  as  it 
represents  many  pious  and  able  men ;  but  I  must  tell 
the  truth  without  fear  or  favor. 

HOW    MODEEX    MINISTERS    ARE    MADE. 

A  pious  parent,  intending  his  boy  for  the  ministry, 
sends  him  to  college,  and  then  to  a  theological  seminary. 
If  able,  a  few  years'  foreign  study  and  travel  are  added. 
Then  he  is  "called,"  i.  e.,  he  is  put  over  a  high-toned 
church  on  a  large  salary.  He  is  expected  to  deliver  two 
sermons  a  week  and  attend  prayers.  If  a  Presbyterian, 
he  must  preach  Presbyterianism ;  if  a  Methodist,  Meth- 
odism. "Whatever  the  ism  of  his  chui'ch  he  must  preach 
it  or  '"'step  down  and  out."  Harassed  and  harnessed  by 
the  tenets  of  his  church,  no  wonder  that  his  sermons  are 
stale.  He  whines  through  his  discourse,  says  the  prayer, 
and  the  people  go  home.  Under  this  kind  of  preaching 
the  churches  often  become  cold  and  heartless. 

Many  people  go  to  church  because  it  is  the  proper 
thing  to  do.  The  ladies  go  to  see  each  others'  fine  clothes, 
and  the  gentlemen  to  see  the  ladies.  Holy  Ghost  preach- 
ing is  unknown  to  many  modern  preachers.  Many  of 
them  are  after  a  large  salary,  with  little  work,  and  a  gor- 
geous church  equipage.  No  wonder  there  is  no  power  in 
the  church,  and  that  many  persons  are  going  down  to 
perdition. 

We  attended  the  preaching  of  an  alleged  divine  in  Bos- 


83 

ton  about  two  years  ago.  Music  Hall  was  packed,  and 
the  alleged  preacher  whined  through  a  discourse  about 
"Jesus."  We  were  struck  by  his  personal  appearance. 
A  massive  gold  chain  conspicuously  encircled  his  breast, 
and  he  seemed  more  interested  in  fast  horses  and  "  buck- 
boards"  than  in  saving  souls.  We  were  not  surprised  to 
hear  of  his  downfall. 

Another  distinguished  divine,  of  thirty  years*  standing, 
recently  shook  two  hemispheres  by  his  alleged  amorous 
exploits.  Guilty  or  not  guilty,  he  certainly  was  exceed- 
ingly indiscreet,  and  brought  vast  scandal  upon  the 
church.  Onr  sensational  friend  Talmage  recently  made 
a  brothel  reputation  which  took  him  successfully  through 
Europe.  When  alleged  men  of  God  like  these  scandalize 
religion,  who  can  wonder  that  many  immortal  souls  are 
going  down  to  perdition  ? 

Let  our  modern  preachers  look  at  Paul,  the  ablest  and 
most  successful  preacher  the  world  ever  produced.  He 
did  not  settle  down  on  a  high-toned  church,  and  whine 
through  a  discourse  twice  a  week,  for  a  large  salary.  No, 
not  he.     He  was  after  souls. 

The  people  are  ready  to  sustain  a  live  preacher,  and,  if 
our  pulpit  friends  would  preach  the  Gospel,  pure  and 
simple,  as  Paul  did,  they  would  be  sustained.  They 
need  not  fear  the  Assembly  or  the  Conference.  See  how 
Moody  has  shaken  things  up.  No  minister  of  modem 
times  has  been  so  well  sustained,  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic,  as  Moody. 

We  knew  Moody  twelve  years  ago,  when  he  was  the 
laughing-stock  of  Chicago.     His  zeal  was  so  great  for  the 


84 

Master,  that  he  used  to  go  up  to  strangers,  and  say,  "  Do 
you  love  the  Lord  ?  "  "Are  you  for  Jesus  ?  "  Most  people 
do  not  like  to  have  their  personality  intruded  upon  in  this 
way,  and  "Brother  Moody"  was  considered  by  many 
people  a  nuisance.  But  these  weaknesses  are  forgotten 
now.  We  see  the  work  he  has  done,  and  thank  God  for 
Moody.  Mr.  Moody's  knowledge  of  the  Bible  is  won- 
derful; his  delivery  sparkling;  his  capacity  to  tell  a 
touching  story  immense ;  and  herein  we  see  the  outward 
cause  of  his  success  as  an  evangelist.  But  the  real  cause 
is  that  the  Lord  seems  to  have  a  work  for  him  to  do. 
"  Every  man  to  his  work  "  is  the  law  in  Christ's  kingdom, 
and  Mr.  Moody  is  doing  his  work  in  preparing  the  world 
for  their  judgment,  which  we  believe  is  not  far  distant. 
If  the  Bible  is  true,  our  belief  that  we  are  rapidly  ap- 
proaching the  Final  Judgment  is  true. 

As  the  Jews  could  not  escape  the  "wrath  of  God," 
neither  can  the  Gentiles.  "  We  must  all  appear  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  and  be  rewarded  according 
to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body."  The  reward  of  those 
who  patiently  continue  in  well-doing,  "and  seek  for 
glory,  and  honor,  and  immortality,"  will  be  eternal  life — 
an  eternity  of  bliss.  But  to  those  who  obey  not  the 
truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness,  indignation  and  wrath. 
"Tribulation  and  anguish,"  says  Paul,  "cometh  upon 
every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil."  But  "glory,  honor, 
and  peace  to  every  soul  that  worketh  good."  To  the 
Jew  first  and  also  to  the  Gentile.  The  Jews,  as  a  nation, 
had  their  judgment  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and 
the  Gentiles  will  have  theirs  at  the  end  of  the  world. 


85 

Now  that  God  is  drawing  near  to  earth  we  need  the 
faith  and  simplicity  and  Holy  Ghost  power  of  Apostolic 
times. 

These  views  ought  to  unite  all  who  really  love  the 
Saviour  in  Tabernacle  form  of  worship,  doing  away  with 
gorgeous  and  half-paid-for  churches,  to  the  end  that  the 
glory  of  God  in  these  latter  days  may  cover  the  earth  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea.  Let  us  labor  and  pray  for  this 
grand  consummation. 


THE  TWO  SEEDS. 


I 


*  This  was  written  in  June,  1881, 


THE  TWO  SEEDS. 


C HEIST'S  parable  of  the  sower,  as  recorded  in  Matthew, 
xiii,  37,  38,  39,  shows  that  there  are  two  classes  of 
humanity  born  into  this  world,  Christ's  seed  and  the 
devil's  seed ;  that  one  class  are  predestined  for  heaven,  and 
the  other  for  perdition ;  that  the  final  destination  of  any 
individual  depends  on  the  source  from  whence  he  or  she 
originated.  If  they  came  from  Christ's  seed,  their  desti- 
nation is  heaven.  If  from  the  devil's  seed,  their  destina- 
tion is  perdition. 

From  this  two-fold  nature  of  mankind  came  John  Cal- 
vin's idea  of  predestination.  He  got  this  idea,  first,  from 
Christ,  and  then  from  Paul ;  but  he  restated  it  with 
marked  force,  and  it  stirred  the  people  of  his  day  im- 
mensely.    (See  page  56.) 

It  is  not  for  us  to  judge  whether  an  individual  belongs 
to  Christ's  seed  or  the  devil's  seed.  That  will  be  revealed 
at  the  final  judgment.  But  "by  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them."  If  we  see  a  person  striving  for  honor,  and 
glory,  and  immortality  by  patient  continuation  in  well 
doing,  we  may  rightfully  judge  that  that  soul  loves  the 
Saviour,  and  is  destined  for  heaven.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  we  see  a  soul  carnally  minded,  and  wholly  given  to 
worldliness  and  sensuality,  we  may  rightfully  judge  that 
such  an  one  belongs  to  the  devil's  seed,  and  is  predes- 
tined for  perdition.  An  individual  may,  apparently,  be- 
long to  Christ's  seed,  and  yet,  in  time  of  temptation,  fall 


90 

away.  His  falling  is  evidence  he  did  not  belong  to 
Christ's  seed.  On  the  other  hand,  an  individual  may, 
apparently,  belong  to  the  devil's  seed  until  he  hears  the 
Gospel ;  then,  he  becomes  "  converted,"  and  commences 
a  Christian  life. 

It  may  be  very  hard  that  some  individuals  should  be 
predestined  for  perdition;  but  it  is  not  God's  fault. 
This  condition  of  a  part  of  mankind  arises  from  the  fact 
of  the  existence  of  the  devil  We  hold  that  the  devil  is 
an  active  personal  being,  almost  co-equal  with  the  Deity, 
and  that  he,  like  the  Deity,  existed  from  all  eternity,  and 
will  continue  to  exist  for  all  eternity.  We  hold  that  on 
no  other  ground  is  it  possible  to  relieve  the  Deity  from 
the  responsibility  of  the  stupendous  evil  existing  in  this 
world.  We  hold  that  God  is  not  responsible  for  the  evil 
existing  in  this  world  ;  and  that  He  cannot  prevent  it.  If 
He  could  prevent  it,  and  did  not.  He  would  be  unworthy 
of  a  God.  He  had  the  power  to  create  this  universe,  but 
He  has  not  the  power  to  extinguish  His  uncreated 
personal  antagonist,  the  Devil,  who,  Christ  says,  "was  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning,"  meaning  thereby  from 
the  beginning  of  his  uncreated  existence.  We  entirely 
repudiate  the  idea  that  the  Deity  created  the  devil.  God 
and  the  devil  are  both  uncreated.  They  never  had  a 
beginning  and  they  never  will  have  an  ending.  This 
world  was  manifestly  created  as  a  battle-ground  for  God 
and  the  devil  to  test  their  respective  power.  In  the 
person  of  Jesus  Christ  God  and  the  devil  tested  their 
strength ;  and  God  so  far  overcame  the  devil  in  that 
death  struggle  as  to  give  humanity  eternal  life,  provided 


91 

humanity  would  reach  for  it  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 
By  this  act  of  faith  God  and  humanity  unite  in  over- 
coming the  devil.  God  holds  out  His  hand,  but  hu- 
manity must  seize  it  or  continue  in  the  grasp  of  the 
devil.     (See  page  68.) 

We  hold  that  the  Deity  is  infinitely  pure,  and  wise, 
and  good,  and  that  He  is  almost  omnipotent,  but  not 
quite ;  that  He  would  be  entirely  omnipotent  were  it  not 
for  the  almost  equal  cunning  and  power  of  His  great  un- 
created antagonist,  the  devil,  or  the  "Evil  One,"  as  the 
Kevised  New  Testament  has  it. 


THE  PREDICTED  FATE  OF  THE  EARTH.* 


*  Sunday  Magazine. 


THE   PKEDICTED   FATE   OF  THE 
EARTH. 


THE  Apostle  Peter,  in  his  second  epistle,  announced 
the  approach  of  a  time  when  ''the  heavens  shall  pass 
away  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with 
fervent  heat ;  the  earth  also,  and  the  works  that  are 
therein,  shall  be  burnt  up."  What  has  modern  science 
to  say  to  the  possibility  of  a  catastrophe  such  as  that 
shadowed  forth  in  a  comparatively  unscientific  age,  eigh- 
teen centuries  ago  ?  Mr.  R.  A.  Proctor,  writing  in  his 
latest  volume,  "The  Flowers  of  the  Sky,"  remarks:  "It 
is  no  longer  a  mere  fancy  that  each  star  is  a  sun  ;  science 
has  made  this  an  assured  fact,  which  no  astronomer 
thinks  of  doubting.  We  know  that  in  certain  general  re- 
spects each  star  resembles  our  sun.  Each  is  glowing 
like  our  sun  with  an  intense  heat.  We  know  that  in  each 
star,  processes  resembling  in  violence  those  taking  place 
in  our  own  sun,  must  be  continually  in  progress,  and 
that  such  processes  must  be  accompanied  by  a  noise  and 
tumult,  compared  with  which  all  the  forms  of  uproar 
known  upon  our  earth  are  as  absolute  silence.  The  crash 
of  the  thunderbolt,  the  bellowing  of  the  volcano,  the 
awful  groaning  of  the  earthquake,  the  roar  of  the  hurri- 
cane, the  reverberating  peals  of  loudest  thunder,  any  of 
these,  or  all  combined,  are  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
tumult  raging  over  every  square  mile,  every  square  yard 
of  the  surface  of  each  one  among  the  stars." 


96 

He  proceeds  to  describe,  with  considerable  circumstan- 
tiality, two  appearances  witnessed  in  the  heavens  within 
the  last  few  years  :  In  1866,  when  a  tenth-magnitude  star, 
(that  is,  four  magnitudes  below  the  lowest  limit  of  the 
naked-eye  vision,)  in  the  constellation  of  the  Northern 
Crown,  suddenly  shone  as  a  second-magnitude  star,  after- 
wards rapidly  diminishing  in  lustre  ;  and  in  1876,  when  a 
new  star  became  visible  in  the  constellation  Cygnus,  sub- 
sequently fading  again  so  as  to  be  only  perceptible  by 
means  of  a  telescope.  After  noting  the  conclusions 
deduced  from  the  application  of  the  most  improved  in- 
struments to  these  observations,  Mr.  Proctor,  whose 
authority  is  second  to  none  among  astronomers,  re- 
marks :  "A  change  in  our  own  sun,  such  as  affected  the 
star  in  Cygnus,  or  that  other  star  in  the  Northern  Crown, 
would  unquestionably  destroy  every  living  creature  on  the 
face  of  this  earth  ;  nor  could  any  even  escape  which  may 
exist  on  the  other  planets  of  the  solar  system.  The  star 
in  the  Northern  Crown  shone  out  with  more  than  eight 
hundred  times  its  former  lustre  ;  the  star  in  Cygnus  with 
from  five  hundred  to  many  thousand  times  its  former 
lustre,  according  as  we  take  the  highest  possible  estimate 
of  its  brightness  before  the  catastrophe,  or  consider  that 
it  may  have  been  very  much  brighter.  Now,  if  our  sun 
were  to  increase  tenfold  in  brightness,  all  the  higher 
forms  of  animal  life,  and  nearly  all  vegetable  life,  would 
inevitably  be  destroyed  on  this  earth.  A  few  stubborn 
animalcules  might  survive,  and  possibly  a  few  of  the  low- 
est forms  of  vegetation,  but  nought  else.  If  the  sun  in- 
creased a  hundredfold  in  lustre,  his  heat  would  doubtless 


97 

sterilize  the  whole  earth.  The  same  would  happen  in 
other  planets.  Certain  it  is  that  if  our  sun  ever  under- 
goes the  baptism  of  fire  which  has  affected  some  few 
among  his  brother  suns,  one  or  other  of  these  processes 
(if  creation  can  be  called  a  process)  must  come  into  ope- 
ration, or  else  our  earth  and  her  companion  worlds  would 
forever  after  remain  devoid  of  life." 


PART  II 


THE  REMOVAL 


SYNOPSIS 


TRIAL  FOR  llEMOYING  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD 


Lelters  of  Conomendalion  and  Other  Papers. 


PREFACE 


On  February  4  I  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  eTune  30, 
1882,  for  removing  James  A.  Garfield,  and  I  herewith 
publish  a  synopsis  of  my  trial.  Scoville's  fool  theory 
and  Spitzka's  moral  monstrosity  lie,  with  the  mean, 
diabolical  spirit  of  the  prosecution,  convicted  me.  The 
only  issue  to  be  tried  was:  "Who  fired  that  shot?"  I, 
personally,  or  I,  as  the  agent  of  the  Deity.  I  say  the 
Deity  inspired  the  act  and  forced  me  to  do  it,  and  that 
He  will  take  care  of  it.  I  say  Garfield  deserved  to  be 
shot.  I  say  any  President  that  will  go  back  on  the  men 
who  made  him,  and  wreck  the  organization  that  elected 
him,  and  imperil  the  Republic,  as  Garfield  did,  deserves 
to  be  shot,  and  I  was  God's  man  to  do  it ;  Garfield 
gushers  to  the  contrary.  Posterity  will  say  so,  too,  what- 
ever this  generation  may  say  about  it.  I  frequently  get 
letters  from  school  children ;  and  they,  show  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  necessity  for  Garfield's  removal  than  some 
old  heads.  The  Lord  takes  no  fancy  stock  in  Garfield  or 
any  other  man.  I  judge  the  world  is  divided  into  three 
classes  on  this  Guiteau-Garfield  business — fools,  devils, 
and  rational  people.  The  fools  and  devils  seem  to  pre- 
dominate. Posterity  will  represent  the  rational  people. 
There  has  been  a  deal  of  lying  in  this  case.  The  latest 
is  that  if  I  am  hung  I  want  a  crowd  to  see  it.  The 
fact  is  I  want  no  one  present  save  the  officials,  and  they 

101 


102 

had  better  resign  than  kill  God's  man.  I  tremble  for 
them  and  for  this  nation  if  a  hair  of  my  head  is  harmed. 

Some  people  think  hanging  a  horrible  death.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  an  easy  death.  I  had  rather  be 
hanged  than  killed  on  a  railroad,  or  go  by  fire  or  flood, 
or  a  painful  illness.  Mere  physical  death  is  nothing.  If 
the  Lord  wants  me  to  go  to  glory  that  way  I  am  willing; 
but  I  am  bound  to  make  the  best  fight  I  can  to  vindicate 
my  inspiration,  and  to  that  end  I  shall  press  my  appeal 
to  the  court  in  banc  by  securing  the  best  lawyers  I  can 
to  represent  me  in  banc.  If  all  other  remedies  fail,  I 
shall  boldly  appeal  to  the  President  for  relief  under  my 
own  hand. 

Andrew  Johnson  pardoned  Jefferson  Davis.  Davis 
sought  to  destroy  this  Nation.  I  sought  to  save  it. 
Horace  Greeley  and  Commodore  Vanderbilt  and  other 
liberal  and  far-seeing  men  signed  Davis'  bail  bond,  and 
thereby  brought  upon  themselves  the  wrath  of  certain 
disreputable  newspapers  and  crank  politicians.  The 
Union  League  Club  of  New  York  assumed  to  criticise 
Mr.  Greeley  for  signing  Davis'  bail  bond,  and  thereupon 
Horace  opened  on  the  "  blockheads  "  of  said  club  in  his 
usual  vigorous  style,  which  was  somewhat  like  my  own. 

Should  it  become  necessary  for  President  Arthur  to 
pardon  me  I  presume  he  will  follow  his  own  wishes 
without  reference  to  "  blockheads,"  newspaper  devils,  or 
cranks,  of  high  or  low  degree. 

If  the  politicians  and  newspapers  who  were  cursing 
Garfield  last  spring  had  any  honor  they  would  stand  by 
me,  especially  the  men  who  hold  fat  offices,  which   they 


103 

obtained  from  my  inspiration.  Editors,  not  newspaper 
devils,  may  review  this  book.  Newspaper  devils  are  pro- 
hibited from  reading  it,  as  they  are  supposed  to  have  no 
brains  or  disposition  to  appreciate  it.  I  sell  this  book 
for  two  dollars,  bound  in  paper.  Purchasers  can  bind 
it  to  suit  themselves.  To  the  trade,  eighteen  dollars  per 
dozen.  Sold  only  by  rAe.  Mailed  to  any  address  on  re- 
ceipt of  price.  Photographs  with  autographs  $9  per 
dozen  or  $1  each.  (Send  money  by  registered  letter 
only.) 

I  spit  on  adverse  opinion  on  this  subject.  I  say  I  am 
right.  Garfield  ought  to  have  been  removed,  and  I  was 
God's  man  to  do  it.  If  I  am  murdered  on  the  gallows 
this  nation  and  the  officials  that  do  it  will  pay  well  for  it. 
It  will  be  a  long  time  before  the  Almighty  lets  up  on 
them.  I  had  rather  go  to  glory  in  June  than  to  Auburn 
Prison  for  life  as  some  people  suggest.  I  want  an  un- 
conditional pardon  or  nothing.  I  am  a  patriot,  not  a 
criminal,  and  that  will  be  my  character  in  history.  This 
is  the  only  view  I  press  on  President  Arthur  for  a  par- 
don, should  it  become  necessary.     In  law  this  is  insanity. 

CHARLES  GUITEAU. 

United  States  Jail, 
Washington,  D.  C,  JIarrA  U,  1882. 


President  Garfield  was  shot  July  2,  1881. 

He  died  September  19,  1881 . 

I  was  indicted  October  8,  1881.  Trial  began  Novem- 
ber 14,  1881.  Verdict,  Guilty,  January  25,  1882.  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1882,  I  was  sentenced  to  be  banged  June  30, 
1882. 

This  case  was  fully  reported  in  all  the  leading  news- 
papers, and  it  is  unnecessary  to  reproduce  it  here,  ex- 
cept as  it  appears  in  the  attached  documents.  I  ap- 
peared as  my  own  counsel  in  part,  and  on  Monday,  Jan- 
uary 16,  1882,  the  following  speech  was  published  in  the 
leading  newspapers,  and  on  the  following  Saturday  I  de- 
livered it  to  the  jury.     I  spoke  two  hours  .to  a  minute. 

This  is  the  newspaper  report  of  it : 

The  demand  for  admission  to  the  court-room  was  un- 
precedented in  the  long  history  of  the  trial.  As  early  as 
8  o'clock  the  crowd  commenced  to  assemble  in  front  of 
the  court-house,  and  when  the  doors  were  opened,  at 
9.30  o'clock,  there  was  a  desperate  struggle  for  prece- 
dence. Inside  of  fifteen  minutes  the  court-room  was 
filled  to  overflowing,  and  Marshal  Henry  cried  out : 
"  Don't  allow  any  person  to  enter  the  room."  The  crowd 
on  the  outside  continued  to  swell  in  volume  and  soon  de- 
generated into  an  angry  mob.  Deputy  marshals,  court 
bailiffs  and  policemen  vainly  endeavored  to  quiet  their 
mutterings,  and  it  was  not  until  near  11  o'clock  that  the 
excited  mob  dispersed,  fully  satisfied  that  the  coveted  ad- 
mission was  among  the  impossibles.  The  audience  as  to 
the  sexes  was  about  evenly  divided ;  of  the  females  in  at- 
tendance fully  two-thirds  were  of  the  strong-minded 
order.     Quite  a  number  of  the  women  in   attendance  at 

105 


106 

the  female  suffrage  convention  occupied  conspicuous 
seats.  The  District  bar  and  the  pulpit  of  Washington 
were  largely  represented.  Congress  was  present  in  the 
persons  of  Kepresentatives  Harris,  of  Virginia ;  Van 
Voorhis,  of  New  York ;  Herbert,  of  Alabama ;  Washburn, 
of  Minnesota,  and  Klotz  and  Beltzhoover,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

The  prisoners  counsel  and  his  brother  and  sister  were 
early  arrivals.  District  Attorney  Corkhill  and  Mr.  Dav- 
idge  were  the  Government's  representatives.  At  10.10 
Judge  Cox  took  his  seat  on  the  bench  and  the  court  was 
formally  opened.  The  prisoner  was  at  once  brought  in 
and  escorted  to  the  witness  box.  He  was  cleanly  shaved 
and  dressed  for  the  occasion  with  especial  nicety. 

The  Court.  (To  the  Prisoner.)  You  may  proceed  now. 

If  the  court  please,  gentlemen  of  the  jury :  The  prose- 
cution pretend  I  am  a  wicked  man.  Mr.  Scoville  and 
Mr.  Reed  say  I  am  a  lunatic.  I  certainly  was  a  lunatic 
on  July  2  when  I  fired  on  the  President,  and  the  Ameri- 
can people  generally  thiuk  I  was,  and  I  presume  you 
think  I  was.  Can  you  imagine  anything  #more  insane 
than  my  going  to  that  depot  nnd  shooting  the  President 
of  the  United  States  ?  You  are  here  to  say  whether  I 
was  sane  or  insane  at  the  moment  I  fired  that  shot.  You 
have  nothing  to  do  with  my  condition  before  or  since 
that  shot  was  fired.  You  must  say  by  your  verdict  sane 
or  insane  at  the  moment  I  fired  that  shot.  If  you  have 
any  doubt  of  my  sanity  at  that  moment  you  must  give 
me  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  and  acquit,  i.  e.,  if  you  have 
any  doubt  whether  I  fired  that  shot  on  my  own  account, 
or  as  the  agent  of  the  Deity.     If  I  fired  it  on  ray  own 


107 

account  I  was  sane.  If  I  fired  it  supposing  myself  the 
agent  of  the  Deity  I  was  Insane,  and  you  must  acquit. 
This  is  the  law  as  given  in  the  recent  decision  of  the  New 
York  court  of  appeals.  It  revolutionizes  the  old  rule, 
and  is  a  grand  step  forward  in  the  law  of  insanity.  It 
is  worthy  of  this  age  of  railroads,  electricity,  and  tele- 
phones, and  it  well  comes  from  the  progressive  State  of 
New  York.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  is  a  spe- 
cial Providence  in  my  favor,  and  I  ask  this  court  and 
jury  to  so  consider  it.  Some  of  the  best  people  of 
America  think  me  the  greatest  man  of  this  age,  and  this 
feeling  is  growing.  They  believe  in  my  inspiration,  and 
that  Providence  and  I  have  really  saved  the  nation  an- 
other war. 

My  speech,  setting  forth  in  detail  my  defence,  was  tel- 
egraphed Sunday  to  all  the  leading  papers  in  America, 
and  published  Monday  morning.  And  now  I  am  per- 
mitted, by  his  honor,  to  deliver  it  to  you.  Only  one 
mistake  occurred  in  it,  and  that  was  my  fault.  I  sent 
out  a  Christmas  greeting,  and  the  first  paragraph  of  my 
speech  was  taken  from  a  printed  slip,  and  I  omitted  to 
erase  the  words,  "Christmas,  1881,"  which  appear  a  few 
lines  from  the  top  of  the  speech.  The  sentence  improp- 
erly reads:  "To-day.  Christmas,  1881.  I  sufier  in  bonds 
as  a  pati'iot."  The  words  "Christmas,  1881,"  should 
have  been  erased. 

And  here  I  desire  to  express  my  indebtedness  to  the 
American  press  for  the  able  and  careful  way  they  have 
reported  this  case.  The  American  press  is  a  vast  engine. 
They  generally  bring  their  man  down  when  they  open  on 


108 

him.  They  opened  on  me  with  all  their  batteries  last 
July,  because  they  did  not  know  my  motive  and  inspira- 
tion when  I  shot  the  President.  Now,  that  this  trial 
has  developed  my  motive  and  inspiration,  their  bitter- 
ness is  gone.  Some  editors  are  double-headed.  They 
curse  you  to  day  and  bless  you  to-morrow,  as  they  imag- 
ine public  opinion  is  for  or  against  you,  which  shows  a 
very  low  grade  of  character.  I  desire  to  thank  my  sis- 
ter, brother,  and  counsel,  for  their  services  on  this  trial. 
I  return  thanks  to  the  marshal  and  his  aids,  to  the 
superintendent  of  police  and  his  force,  to  the  warden  of 
the  jail  and  his  keepers,  and  to  General  Ayres  and  his 
troops  for  services  rendered  me  during  this  trial.  I  re- 
turn thanks  to  this  honorable  court,  and  to  this  jury,  for 
their  long  and  patient  attention  to  this  case. 

I  am  not  here  as  a  wicked  man,  or  as  a  lunatic.  I  am 
here  as  a  patriot,  and  my  speech  is  as  follows.  I  read 
from  the  New  York  Herald.  It  covers  over  a  page.  It 
was  sent  by  telegraph  Sunday,  and  published  in  all  the 
leading  papers  in  America  Monday : 

GuiTEAu's  Speech. 

Production  on  lohich  he  relies  for  acquittal — Claim  of 
i7ispiration  for  the  good  of  the  party — Enrolling  him- 
self as  a  patriot — Press  criticism  and  expert  testimony. 

If  the  court  please,  gentlemen  of  the  jury :  I  am  a  pa- 
triot. To-day  I  suffer  in  bonds  as  a  patriot.  Washing- 
ton was  a  patriot.  Grant  was  a  patriot.  Washington 
led  the  armies  of  the  Revolution  through  eight  years  of 
bloody  war  to  victory  and  glory.     Grant  led  the  armies 


109 

of  the  Union  to  victory  and  glory,  and  to-day,  the  nation 
is  happy  and  prosperous.  They  raised  the  old  war-cry, 
"  Rally  round  the  flag,  boys,"  and  thousands  of  the  choic- 
est sons  of  the  Republic  went  forth  to  battle,  to  victory 
or  death.  Washington  and  Grant,  by  their  valor  and 
success  in  war,  won  the  admiration  of  mankind.  To-day, 
I  suffer  in  bonds  as  a  patriot,  because  I  had  the  inspira- 
tion and  nerve  to  unite  a  great  political  party,  to  the  end 
that  the  nation,  might  be  saved  another  desolating  war. 
I  do  not  pretend  war  was  immediate,  but  I  do  say  em- 
phatically that  the  bitterness  in  the  Republican  party 
last  spring  was  deepening  and  deepening  hour  by  hour, 
and  that  within  two  or  three  years  or  less  the  nation 
would  have  been  in  a  flame  of  civil  war.  In  the  presence 
of  death  all  hearts  were  hushed,  contention  ceased.  For 
weeks  and  weeks  the  heart  and  brain  of  the  nation  cen- 
tered on  the  sick  man  in  the  White  House.  At  last  he 
went  the  way  of  all  flesh,  anti  the  nation  was  in  mourning. 

To-day,  I  am  in  the  presence  of  this  able  and  careful 
jurist  and  this  jury,  charged  with  wickedly  and  mali- 
ciously murdering  the  late  President,  and  to-day,  1  suffer 
in  bonds  as  a  patriot. 

There  is  not  the  first  element  of  murder  in  this  case. 
To  constitute  the  crime  of  murder  two  elements  must 
co-exist.  First,  an  actual  homicide ;  second,  malice  in 
law  or  malice  in  fact.  The  law  presumes  malice  from 
the  fact  of  the  homicide.  There  is  no  homicide  in  this 
case,  and  therefoi'e  no  malice  in  law.  Malice  in  fact  de- 
pends on  the  circumstances  attending  the  homicide. 
Admitting  that  the  late  President  died  from  the  shot, 


110 

which  I  deny  as  a  matter  of  fact,  still  the  circumstances 
attending  the  shooting  liquidate  the  presumption  of 
malice  either  in  law  or  in  fact.  Had  he  been  properly 
treated  he  probably  would  have  been  alive  to-day,  what- 
ever my  inspiration  or  intention.  The  Deity  allowed  the 
doctors  to  finish  my  work  gradually,  because  He  wanted 
to  prepare  the  people  for  the  change  and  also  confirm 
my  original  inspiration.  I  am  well  satisfied  with  the 
Deity's  conduct  of  the  case  thus  far,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
that  He  will  continue  to  father  it  to  the  end,  and  that 
the  public  will  sooner  or  later  see  the  special  providence 
in  the  late  President's  removal.  Nothing  but  the  politi- 
cal situation  last  spring  justified  his  removal.  The  break 
in  the  Republican  party  then  was  widening  week  by  week, 
and  I  foresaw  a  civil  war.  My  inspiration  was  to  remove 
the  late  President  at  once,  and  thereby  close  the  breach 
before  it  got  so  wide  that  nothing  but  a  civil  war  could 
close  it.  The  last  war  cost  the  nation  a  million  of  men 
and  a  billion  of  money.  The  Lord  wanted  to  prevent  a 
repetition  of  this  desolation,  and  inspired  me  to  execute 
His  will. 

Why  did  He  inspire  me  in  preference  to  some  one 
else  ?  Because  I  had  the  brains  and  nerve,  probably,  to 
do  the  work.  The  Lord  does  not  employ  incompetent 
persons  to  serve  Him.  He  uses  the  best  material  He 
can  find.  No  doubt  there  were  thousands  of  Republicans 
who  felt  as  I  did  about  the  late  President  wrecking  the 
Republican  party,  and  had  they  the  conception,  the 
nerve,  the  brains,  and  the  opportunity  and  special  au- 
thority from  the  Deity,  they  would   have  removed  him. 


Ill 

I,  of  all  the  world,  was  the  only  man  who  had  authority 
from  the  Deity  to  do  it.  Without  the  Deity's  pressure  I 
never  should  have  sought  to  remove  the  President.  This 
pressure  destroyed  my  free  agency.  The  Deity  com- 
pelled me  to  do  the  act,  just  as  a  highwayman  compels  a 
man  to  give  him  money,  after  placing  a  pistol  at  his  vic- 
tim's head.  The  victim  may  know  it  is  absolutely  wrong 
for  him  to  give  money  that  his  wife  and  child  need,  but 
how  can  he  keep  it  with  a  pistol  at  his  head  ?  His  free 
agency  is  destroyed  and  he  gives  his  money  to  save  his 
life.  This  irresistible  pressure  to  remove  the  President 
was  on  me  for  thirty  days,  and  it  never  left  me  when 
awake.  It  haunted  me  day  and  night.  At  last  an  op- 
portunity came,  and  I  shot  him  in  the  Baltimore  and 
Potomac  depot.  As  soon  as  I  fired  the  shot  the  inspira- 
tion was  worked  off  and  I  felt  immensely  relieved.  I 
would  not  do  it  again  for  a  million  of  dollars.  Only  a 
miracle  saved  me  from  being  shot  or  hang  then,  and 
there.  It  was  the  most  insane,  foolhardy  act  possible, 
and  no  one  but  a  madman  could  have  done  it.  But  the 
pressure  on  me  was  so  enormous  that  I  would  have  done 
it  if  I  had  died  the  next  moment.  The  Deity  put  it  on 
to  me,  and  I  had  to  do  it  regardless  of  consequences  to 
myself.  In  shooting  the  President  I  deny  that  I  vio- 
lated any  law,  human  or  divine.  Nothing  that  the  Deity 
directs  a  man  to  do  can  violate  any  law.  I  stand  here 
as  the  agent  of  the  Deity,  and  I  shall  call  special  atten- 
tion to  the  specific  acts  of  the  Deity  since  July  2,  wherein 
He  has  confirmed  my  original  inspiration,  to   the  end, 


112 

that  all  intelligent  people  may  see  and  believe  that  I  sim- 
ply acted  as  His  agent. 

Had  I  shot  the  President  on  my  own  personal  account 
no  punishment  would  be  too  severe  or  too  quick  for  me ; 
but,  acting  as  the  agent  of  the  Deity,  I  had  no  choice  save 
to  execute  His  will.  There  are  more  than  thirty-eight 
cases  in  the  Bible  Avhere  the  Deity  has  directed  to  kill 
for  the  good  of  the  people,  i.  e.,  to  save  them  from  some 
far  greater  trouble. 

Heretofore  political  grievances  have  been  adjusted  by 
war  or  the  ballot.  Had  Jefferson  Davis  and  a  dozen  or 
two  of  his  co-traitors  been  shot  dead  in  January,  1861, 
no  doubt  our  late  I'ebellion  never  would  have  been,  and 
this  would  have  saved  the  nation  a  vast  deal  of  trouble 
and  expense,  and  nearly  a  million  of  lives.  General 
Grant,  after  four  years  of  bloody  strife,  suppressed  one 
war,  and  Providence  and  I  saved  the  nation  one.  As 
time  advances  the  public  will  appreciate  this  fact  more 
and  more. 

General  Arthur,  as  President,  is  doing  splendidly. 
No  man  can  do  better.  I  am  especially  pleased  with  his 
conciliatory  spirit  and  wisdom  toward  the  opposition.  It 
is  exactly  what  I  wished  him  to  do,  viz.,  unite  the  fac- 
tions of  the  Republican  party,  to  the  end,  that  the  nation 
may  be  happy  and  prosperous. 

The  New  York  Herald  of  a  recent  date  says : 

If  one  compares  the  first  two  months  of  Garfield's 
Administration,  under  the  bad  inspiration  of  Mr.  Blaine, 
with  the  first  two  months  of  Mr.  Arthur,  he  must  say  the 
comparison  works  entirely  in   Mr.  Arthur's   favor.     The 


113 

Garfield-Blaine  policy  was  openly  and  distinctly  proscrip- 
tive.  It  did  not  pretend  otherwise.  It  violated  un- 
blusbingly  every  canon  of  civil  service  reform  and  every 
pretence  of  sound  administration ;  it  flung  the  j)arty  into 
a  furious  turmoil,  and,  leaving  aside  entirely  the  remark- 
able and  scandalous  foreign  policy  which  it  made  haste 
to  set  on  foot,  it  used  the  public  offices  without  the  least 
regard  to  fitness  or  propriety  to  reward  personal  ad- 
herents of  Mr.  Blaine,  and  to  punish  Republicans  against 
whom  there  was  no  charge  of  failure  to  perform  their 
duties  to  the  public. 

"  The  country,"  says  the  Herald^  "  will  give  General 
Arthur  the  heartiest  support  while  it  sees  him  reverse 
the  policy  of  his  predecessor  in  many  particulars,  for 
both  in  home  and  in  foreign  affairs  that  policy,  inspired 
by  the  demagogue  whom  poor  Garfield  in  an  evil  moment 
made  his  Secretary  of  State,  was  evil  and  disgraceful,  and 
only  that." 

In  short,  everybody  politically  is  happy,  save  a  few 
cranks,  and  they  will  probably  be  happy  soon.  Happi- 
ness is  catching.  The  political  situation  to-day  is  just 
what  I  knew  it  would  be  last  June  if  Mr.  Garfield  was 
removed.  Everything  on  this  case  so  far  has  gone  about 
as  I  anticipated  last  June,  which  is  an  evidence  of  the 
Deity's  confirmation  of  xxx^  act. 

I  have  been  in  jail  since  July  2,  and  have  borne  my 
confinement  patiently  and  quietly,  knowing  that  my  vin- 
dication would  come.  Thrice  I  have  been  shot  at  and 
came  near  being  shot  dead,  but  the  Lord  kept  me  harm- 
less. Like  the  Hebrew  children  in  the  fiery  furnace,  not 
a  hair  on  my  head  has  been  singed,  because  the  Lord, 


114 

whom  I  served  when  I  sought  to  remove  the  Pi'esideut, 
has  taken  care  of  me. 

My  life  has  beeu  rather  a  sad  one.  My  mother  died 
when  I  was  seven.  My  father  was  a  good  man  and  an  able 
one,  but  a  fanatic  on  religion.  Under  his  influence  I  got 
into  the  Oneida  Communit}^  at  nineteen,  and  remained 
six  years.  Three  years  after  this,  I  was  unfortunately 
married,  and  so  continued  four  years.  My  life  in  the 
Oneida  Communit}^  was  one  of  constant  suffering;  my 
married  life,  the  same ;  my  theological  life,  one  of  anxiety, 
but  I  was  happier  at  that  than  anything  else,  because  I 
was  serving  the  Lord.  My  life  has  beeu  isolated.  Dur- 
ing my  six  years  in  the  Oneida  Community  I  got  estranged 
from  my  relatives.  I  might  as  well  have  been  in  a  State 
prison  or  a  lunatic  asylum.  I  never  was  able  to  forgive 
my  father  for  running  me  into  that  community.  If  it 
had  not  been  for  this  I  should  have  had  a  far  haj^pier 
life.  Forgetting  the  things  behind  I  press  forward.  I 
have  no  doubt  as  to  my  spiritual  destin3^  I  have  alwaj'S 
been  a  lover  of  the  Lord,  and  whether  I  live  one  year  or 
thirty  I  am  His.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  presume  I  shall 
live  to  be  President.  I  have  had  this  idea  for  twenty  years, 
and  it  has  never  left  me. 

General  Arthur  is  a  good  man  every  way.  I  hap- 
pen to  know  him  well.  I  was  with  him  constantly 
in  New  York  during  the  canvass.  So  with  General 
Grant,  Conkling,  and  the  rest  of  those  men.  They 
have  not  taken  an  active  part  in  my  defence  because 
it  would  not  be  proper.  But  I  know  how  they  feel  on 
this  case.     Thev  elected  Garfield,  and  they  know  that 


115 

under  Blaine's  influence  he  proved  a  traitor  to  them,  and 
imperiled  the  Republic.  Had  Garfield  shown  the  spirit 
and  wisdom  of  Arthur  he  probably  would  have  been  alive 
to-day.  But  he  sold  himself  body  and  soul  to  Blaine  ; 
and  Blaine,  is  morally  responsible  for  his  death.  Mr. 
Blaine  is  a  good  fellow  personally,  but  he  is  a  vindictive 
politician,  and  he  wanted  to  get  even  with  Grant  and 
Conkling  and  Arthur  for  defeating  him  at  the  Chicago 
Convention,  and  Garfield  weakly  yielded  himself  to 
Blaine's  influence,  and  it  finally  resulted  in  his  death. 

The  prosecution  have  introduced  certain  witness  who 
are  guilty  of  rank  perjury,  and  it  has  excited  my  wrath, 
and  I  have  denounced  them  in  plain  language.  I  hate 
the  mean,  deceptive  way  of  the  prosecution.  My  opin- 
ion of  the  District  attorney  is  well  known.  The  defence 
has  been  unfortunate  in  having  insufficient  counsel,  but 
notwithstanding  this  I  expect  justice  will  be  done  me, 
and  my  motive  and  inspiration  vindicated. 

People  are  saying,  "Well,  if  the  Lord  did  it,  let  it  go." 

The  mob  crucified  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  and  Paul, 
His  great  apostle,  went  to  an  ignominious  death.  This 
happened  many  centuries  ago.  For  eighteen  centuries 
no  men  have  exerted  such  a  tremendous  influence  on  the 
civilization  of  the  race  as  the  despised  Galilean  and  His 
great  apostle.  They  did  their  work  and  left  the  result 
with  the  Almighty  Father.  And  so  must  all  inspired  men 
do  their  work  regardless  of  consequences,  and  leave  the 
result  to  the  Almighty. 

The  worst  that  men  can  do  is  to  kill  you,  but  they  can- 
not prevent  your  name  and  work  from  thundering  down 


116 

the  ages.  God  always  avenges  those  who  mjureHis  men. 
Christ's  contemporaries  crucified  the  Almighty's  only 
Son,  but  He  got  even  with  the  Jewish  race  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70,  when  Titus,  a  Koman  gen- 
eral, razed  the  city  to  the  ground  and  slaughtered  over 
eleven  hundred  thousand  Jews,  and  from  that  day  to  this 
the  Jews  have  been  a  despised  and  down-trodden  race. 
The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slow,  but  grind  sure.  Woe 
unto  any  man  or  men  that  persecutes  God's  man  !  The 
Almighty  will  follow  them  in  this  world  and  in  the  next. 
Take  my  own  case.  When  the  pressure  to  remove  the 
President  came  on  me,  I  spent  two  weeks  in  prayer  to 
make  sure  of  the  Deity's  will.  At  the  end  of  two  weeks 
my  mind  was  fixed  as  to  the  political  necessity  of  his  re- 
moval, and  I  never  have  had  the  slightest  doubt  since  about 
the  divinity  of  the  act  or  the  necessity  for  it.  Thus  far 
the  Deity  has  fathered  the  act  to  my  entire  satisfaction. 
He  knows  I  simply  executed  His  will  and  I  know  it,  and 
a  great  many  people  are  beginning  to  see  it,  and  they  will 
see  it  more  and  more  as  time  advances.  I  put  my  life  on 
the  Deity's  inspiration,  and  I  have  not  come  to  grief  yet, 
and  I  have  no  idea  I  shall ;  because,  I  do  not  think  I  am 
destined  to  be  shot  or  hung.  But  that  is  a  matter  for  the 
Deity  to  pass  on,  and  not  me.  Whatever  the  mode  of 
my  exit  fi-om  this  world,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that 
my  name  and  work  will  roll  thundering  down  the  ages  ; 
but  woe  unto  the  men  that  kill  me  privately  or  judicially! 
The  Deity  and  one  man  are  always  a  majorit}',  and  will 
prevail  against  all  the  men  ever  born.     Abraham  and  the 


117 

Deity  were  a  majority.  Noah  and  the  Deity  were  a  ma- 
jority.    Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  the  Deity  were  a  majority. 

Over  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  the  Saviour  of  man- 
kind was  born  in  poverty  and  obscurity.  He  moved  up  and 
down  Judea  and  spoke  as  one  having  authority.  Vast 
multitudes  followed  him  He  cast  out  devils,  healed 
the  sick,  restored  the  blind  and  diseased,  told  the  multi- 
tude who  He  was  and  what  He  came  for — that  God,  the 
Father,  had  sent  Him  to  point  to  the  race  the  way  to 
eternal  life.  This  wonderful  being  had  nowhere  to  lay 
His  head.  He  had  no  money.  He  had  no  friends.  He 
never  travelled.  He  never  wrote  a  book.  He  was  hated, 
despised,  and  finally  crucified  as  a  vile  impostor.  Then, 
back  He  went  to  the  bosom  of  the  Father.  Dur- 
ing His  ministry  He  drew  around  Himself  a  few  despised 
individuals  who  were  as  poor  as  Himself.  They  had  no 
money  and  no  standing  in  society,  and  were  mostly  fish- 
ermen. Outwardly,  like  most  other  great  events  in  human 
history,  Christianity  at  first  was  an  absolute  failure.  It 
was  like  a  seed  planted  and  it  had  to  grow  little  by  little. 
Time  has  developed  it  into  a  gigantic  tree,  covering 
nearly  the  habitable  globe. 

God's  men  are  generally  poor.  Martin  Luther,  the 
great  reformer  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  a  pauper  all 
his  life,  but  he  served  God  with  amazing  effect,  and  his 
name  went  into  the  history  of  his  time  as  the  foremost 
religious  man  of  his  age.  Luther  revolutionized  the  re- 
ligious thought  of  fifteen  centuries,  and  to-day  his  name 
is  revered    by  Protestant  churches.     But  Luther  had  a 


118 

hard  time  getting  in  his  work.     He  was  persecuted  and 
imprisoned,  bnt  out  of  it  all  the  Lord  delivered  him. 

To  day  I  am  a  poor  man,  because  I  left  a  good  law 
business  in  Chicago  in  1877  to  try  and  do  my  duty  in 
enlightening  mankind  on  theology.  I  went  into  theology 
to  serve  the  Lord  and  preach  the  gospel.  I  had  as  much 
trouble  to  get  in  my  work  on  theology  as  Paul  did.  He 
hungei-ed  and  thirsted  and  was  naked  and  had  no  cer- 
tain dwelling-place,  and  preached  the  gospel  as  he  un- 
derstood it.  Since  he  left  this  world  his  work  and 
name  have  come  down  the  ages.  Christ  and  Paul  did 
their  work  and  left  the  result  with  the  Almight}^  Father, 
and  I  do  the  same.  Christmas,  1878,  I  was  in  Saint 
Louis.  I  was  in  very  reduced  circumstances.  I  had 
been  on  theology  a  year.  I  had  spent  the  year  travelling, 
mostly  in  the  East,  trying  to  preach  the  gospel  by  lec- 
turing and  selling  my  lectures  in  Washington,  New  York, 
Boston,  Chicago,  and  other  cities.  I  felt  the  Lord  put 
this  work  on  me,  and  I  did  the  best  I  could.  I 
had  no  friends  and  little  money.  Christmas,  1877,  I 
spent  in  Philadelphia.  I  was  well  fed  and  clothed,  and 
was  trying  to  lecture.  Christmas,  1876, 1  was  in  Chicago 
and  was  working  with  Mi*.  Moody  and  writing  my 
lecture  on  Christ's  second  coming,  A.  D.  70,  wherein 
I  show  that  His  second  coming  occurred  at  that 
time  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  that  Christendom  for 
eighteen  centuries  has  lost  its  reckoning  concerning  this 
great  event !  My  mission  was  to  enlighten  mankind  in 
reference  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ — a  subject 
that  has  caused  the  wisest  theologians   in   the  Chi'istian 


119 

Church  for  eighteen  centuries  a  vast  deal  of  thought  and 
has  probably  ruined  thousands  of  immortal  souls.  I 
spent  three  years  in  this  business  and  received  noth- 
ing but  poverty  and  contempt  for  my  services  and  trouble. 
But  I  expect  the  Deity  will  take  care  of  me  hereafter 
on  that.  This  is  the  reason  I  am  to-day  a  poor  man.  Had 
I  stuck  to  my  law  business  either  in  New  York  or  Chi- 
cago, I  should  have  been  a  rich  man  to  da}^  but  I  had 
other  work  to  do.  My  book,  The  Truth,  contains  my 
theology.  It  cost  me  trouble  enough,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  but  it  is  official.  During  the  three  years  I  was  on 
theology  I  incurred  some  small  debts  which  I  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  pay.  A  thousand  dollars  would  pay 
every  dollar  I  owe.  Some  men  owe  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars  and  are  considered  high-toned.  The  prosecution 
have  made  a  great  noise  about  my  owing  some  board 
bills,  but  that  has  no  bearing  on  this  issue  whatever  ; 
whether  I  owe  five  cents  or  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  owe  about  a  thousand  dollars. 
But  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  case  in  any  manner, 
shape,  or  form.  I  understand  Mr.  Corkhill,  who  has 
taken  it  upon  himself  to  dig  up  mj  circumstances,  owes 
a  hundred  times  more  than  I  do.  I  always  pay 
when  I  have  the  money,  but  there  was  no  money  in 
theology,  and  I  knew  it  when  I  went  into  it.  I  did 
the  best  I  could  considering  my  circumstances,  and 
that  was  all  the  Lord  wanted  of  me.  As  Paul  says,  "  I 
fought  a  good  fight.  I  finished  my  course,  I  kept  the 
faith,"  and  I  am  sure  of  my  reward 

In  August,   1879,  I  left    Chicago   and    spent    several 


120 

months  in  Boston,  trying  to  push  the  sale  of  my  book, 
but  it  was  new  and  few  persons  appreciated  it-  I  left 
Boston  in  June,  1880,  and  went  to  New  York  to  take  an 
active  part  in  politics.  I  was  a  "  Grant  man,"  but  I  was 
pleased  with  Garfield's  nomination.  I  wrote  a  speech  en- 
titled "Garfield  against  Hancock,"  wherein  I  sought  to 
show  that  the  Repiablic  would  be  imperiled  by  Hancock's 
election.  I  gave  tbis  speech  to  the  leading  Stalwarts  and 
they  were  pleased  with  it.  It  had  a  certain  ring  and  they 
noticed  it.  I  made  their  personal  acquaintance  at  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Hotel  and  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Republican 
National  Committee,  and  was  always  well  received  by 
them.  I  judge  they  thought  me  a  bright  man  and  a  good 
fellow.  I  was  in  New  York  from  June,  1880,  to  March, 
1881,  when  I  came  to  Washington.  T  was  an  applicant 
for  the  Paris  consulship,  and  pressed  my  application  in 
March  and  April  Owing  to  General  Garfield's  unwise 
use  of  patronage  he  began  soon  after  his  inauguration  to 
wreck  the  Republican  party,  and  continued  so  to  do  till 
the  day  he  was  shot. 

Garfield  was  a  good  man,  but  a  weak  politician.  His 
nomination  was  an  accident.  His  election  was  tbe  result 
of  the  greatest  activity  on  the  part  of  the  Stalwarts,  and 
his  removal  a  special  providence.  As  soon  as  he  was  in- 
augurated he  foolishly  made  Mr.  Blaine — the  worst 
enemy  that  Grant  and  Conkling  had — his  Secretary  of 
State  and  bosom  friend.  Blaine  used  Garfield  to  crush 
Grant  and  Conkling  and  Arthur — the  very  men  that  made 
Garfield  President.  Without  the  extraordinary  efi:'orts  of 
Grant,   Conkling,   and  Arthur  and  the  rest  of  the  Stal- 


121 

warts,  Garfield  never  would  have  been  elected.  Every 
man  of  sense  will  admit  this,  whatever  his  politics.  Soon 
after  Robertson's  appointment  the  Republican  party  be- 
gan to  heat  up.  This  was  about  the  middle  of  May.  By 
the  1st  of  June  it  was  red  hot.  By  the  1st  of  July  it 
was  white  hot.  If  this  spirit  had  not  been  killed  by  the 
President's  removal,  the  nation  would  soon  have  been  in 
a  flame  of  civil  war.  Our  late  rebelHon  cost  the  nation 
nearly  a  million  of  men  and  a  l)illiou  of  money,  and  it 
desolated  tlie  hearth-stones  of  the  Republic.  To  prevent 
a  repetition  of  this  desolation  the  removal  of  the  late 
President  was  necessary.  By  his  removal  the  Republican 
party  was  cemented  and  the  nation  to-day  is  happy  and 
pi'osperous.  And  to-day,  I  suffer  in  bonds,  because,  I 
had  the  inspiration  and  nerve  to  remove  the  President 
that  the  nation  might  live  ! 

I  now  review  the  case  since  July  2,  and  call  special  at- 
tention to  acts  of  the  Deity  wherein  He  has  taken  special 
pains  to  protect  me  and  confirm  my  inspiration,  to  the 
end,  that  all  men  may  see,  and  seeing,  may  believe  in  my  in- 
spiration. 

The  political  situation  attracted  my  attention  about 
the  20th  of  May — i.  e.,  at  the  time  Messrs.  Conk- 
ling  and  Piatt,  the  then  Senators  from  New  York,  re- 
signed. The  public  mind  was  greatly  excited  over  their 
resignation,  and  it  greatly  perplexed  me,  and  I  grieved 
over  it,  because  I  was  at  the  National  Republican  head- 
quarters in  New  York  during  the  canvass,  and  I  knew 
that  Gi'ant  and  Conkling  and  Arthur  had  elected  Garfield. 

When  I   saw  that  Garfield,  under  Blaine's  vindictive 


122 

spirit,  was  proving  a  traitor  to  the  men  that  made  bim 
it  grieved  me  to  the  heart,  and  I  prayed  over  it.  "  If 
Garfield  was  out  of  the  way,"  thought  I  one  night  in  my 
bed,  "everything  would  go  well."  Things  seemed  to  be 
going  from  bad  to  worse  under  his  leadership,  and  I  fore- 
saw another  desolating  war  as  the  result  of  it.  For  two 
weeks  I  prayed  over  the  possibility  of  the  President's  re- 
moval. The  more  I  prayed  about  it  and  the  more  I 
looked  at  the  political  situation  the  more  I  saw  the  ne- 
cessity for  his  removal.  Finally,  after  two  weeks  of 
earnest  prayer,  I  decided  that  the  Deity  had  called  me 
to  do  it,  and  I  commenced  preparation  for  it.  This  was 
about  the  1st  of  June.  From  that  day  to  this,  I  never 
have  had  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  divinity  of  the  act 
or  the  necessity  for  it.  An  opportunity  came,  and  I 
shot  him  on  July  2.  Not  being  a  marksman  he  lingered 
till  September  19,  when  he  passed  quietly  and  gently 
away,  the  Lord  thereby  confirming  my  inspiration. 

There  was  a  special  providence  in  his  dying  in  New 
Jersey.  I  undertake  to  say  the  Deity  allowed  him  to 
die  there  to  protect  me  from  the  possibility  of  legal  lia- 
bility for  simply  executing  His  will.  Should  this  jury 
condemn  me  to  be  hung,  the  Deity  has  probably  fixed 
the  law  so  that  their  verdict  cannot  be  legally  enfoi'ced. 
It  is  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  ablest  members  of  this 
bar  that  this  court  has  no  jurisdiction   to  try  this  case. 

I  now  call  attention  to  other  acts  of  the  Deity  con- 
firming my  inspirations. 

I  went  to  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  depot  on  the  2d 
of  July,  and   shot  the  President   twice.     Only  one   ball 


I 


123 

took  effect.  I  would  not  do  it  again  for  $1,000,000.  It 
was  the  most  insane,  foolhardy  act  possible.  No  one  but 
a  madman  could  have  done  it.  But  I  would  have  done 
it  any  time  after  June  1  if  I  had  known  I  was  to  be  shot 
dead  the  nest  moment.  I  had  no  power  to  prevent  it. 
My  free  agency  was  entirely  destroyed.  I  was  under 
duress.  In  law,  any  one  under  duress  is  not  responsible 
for  his  act.  How  do  we  know  you  were  under  duress  ? 
My  word  for  it.  No  one  else  can  know  this  fact  but 
the  Deity  and  I.  I  know  it  and  the  Deity  knows  it, 
and  He  has  taken  special  pains  thus  far  to  protect 
me.  I  might  have  been  shot  dead  at  the  depot,  and 
probably  would  have  been  had  not  the  Deity  protected 
me.  I  had  to  do  my  duty  to  the  Deity  and  to  the  Amer- 
ican people,  regardless  ,of  consequences  to  myself.  Do 
the  act  and  let  the  Deity  take  care  of  it  is  what  I  did  do, 
and  He  has  taken  care  of  it  thus  far  to  my  entire  satis- 
faction. 

I  would  have  been  hung  or  shot  a  hundred  times  last 
summer  if  I  had  not  been  in  jail — one  of  the  finest  in 
America — and  protected  by  the  national  troops.  The 
Lord  uses  men  to  serve  Him  and  protect  me.  The  bitter- 
ness against  me  was  caused  by  the  public  not  knowing 
me  or  my  motive.  My  trial  has  informed  them,  and  to- 
day, I  can  walk  all  over  Washington  or  New  York  safely. 
No  one  wants  to  shoot  or  hang  me  now,  save  a  few 
cranks,  who  are  so  ignorant  they  can  hardly  read  or 
write.  High  toned  people  are  saying,  "  Well,  if  the  Lord 
did  it^  let  it  go." 

The  President  did   not  die  before   his  time.     If  the 


124 

Lord  bad  not  wanted  him  be  would  not  bave  departed. 
Pbysical  deatb  is  notbing-.  All  men  bave  died ;  all  men 
will  die.  Tbe  President  migbt  bave  been  taken  o£f  by  a 
railroad  accident,  or  slipped  on  an  orange  peel  and  broken 
bis  neck.  During  tbe  war  tbousands  of  brave  boys  on 
botb  sides  went  down  witbout  a  tear.  Tbeir  mangled 
remains  lie  buried  in  many  a  grave.  Tbey  left  tbeir 
bomes  and  loved  ones  and  suffered  as  I  do  to-day  for 
tbeir  country. 

Just  tbink  of  it  !  If  it  be  true  absolutely  tbat 
Providence  and  I  saved  tbe  nation,  wby  sbould  I  not 
be  a  bero,  and  tbe  equal  of  Wasbington  and  Lincoln 
and  Grant?  Many  people  are  beginning  to  see  tbat  I 
bave  saved  tbe  nation.  Listen  to  tbis  from  a  Pbiladelpbia 
gentleman.  I  judge  bim  to  be  a  bigb-toned  lawyer  from 
bis  style  and  penmansbip.     I  witbbold  bis  name  : 

Philadelphia,  January  \st,  1882. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  wisb  you  a  very  bappy  New  Year.  You 
bave  cemented  tbe  Republican  party  and  saved  tbe  na- 
tion. Your  name  will  live  in  bistory  and  go  down  tbrougb 
tbe  ages  linked  witb  tbe  patriot  Brutus.  Tbe  results 
tbat  bave  followed  your  act  are  tbe  best  evidences  of 
your  inspiration. 

Julius  Cffisai*,  tbe  greatest  Roman  of  bis  age,  was  as- 
sassinated by  Brutus  in  tbe  Roman  forum,  wberein  con- 
gregated tbe  w^ealfcb,  tbe  wit,  and  tbe  beauty  of  tbe  Roman 
empire.  An  elocutionist  bas  sent  me  a  new  version  of 
Sbakespeare's  "Brutus  on  tbe  deatb  of  Caesar,""  wbicb  I 
bere  give  in  part.     Tbis  is  tbe  new  version  of  it : 


125 

Friends,  conntrymeu,  and  lovers  ! 

Hear  me  for  my  cause,  and  be  silent  that  you  may 
hear. 

Believe  me  for  mine  hDnoi',  and  have  respect  to  mine 
honor  that  you  may  beheve.  Censure  me  in  your  wis- 
dom, and  awake  your  senses  that  you  may  the  better 
judge. 

If  there  be  in  this  assembly  any  dear  friend  of  Garfield, 
to  him  1  say  Guiteau's  love  to  Garfield  was  not  less  than 
his.  If,  then,  that  friend  demand  why  Guiteau  removed 
Garfield,  this  is  Guiteau's  answer :  Not  that  Guiteau 
loved  Garfield  less,  but  he  loved  his  country  more.  Had 
you  rather  that  Garfield  were  living  and  die  in  war  than 
that  Garfiekl  were  dead  to  Hve  in  peace  ?  As  Garfield 
loved  Guiteau,  Guiteau  weeps  for  him ;  as  he  was  fortu- 
nate, Guiteau  rejoices  at  it ;  as  he  was  a  good  man, 
Guiteau  honors  him ;  but  by  the  Deity's  inspiration 
Guiteau  removed  Garfield  for  the  good  of  his  country. 

The  prosecution  have  introduced  certain  disreputable 
witnesses — to  wit,  one  Reynolds;  to  wit,  one  Shaw;  to 
wit,  one  English,  and  others  like  them.  These  witnesses 
are  hardly  worth  my  notice.  Reynolds,  a  sneaking  Gov- 
ernment detective,  came  to  my  cell  about  July  20  and 
appeared  exceedingly  cordial  and  pretended  to  be  my 
personal  friend.  I  had  not  sj^oken  to  him  for  years,  al- 
though I  read  law  in  his  office  in  1868.  His  testimony 
in  general  was  correct ;  but  I  hate  the  mean,  deceptive 
way  he  and  Corkhill  got  it.  Shaw,  I  officed  with  in  New 
York  in  1872  and  1873,  and  have  known  nothing  about 
him  since.  He  pretends  I  told  him  I  was  going  to  emu- 
late the  example  of  Booth  and  kill  some  great  man. 
This  is  absurd  on  its   face.     Is  is  likely  I  would  wait 


12<) 

ten  years  to  remove  General  Garfield  when  Grant  and 
Conkling  and  scores  of  far  more  prominent  men  than 
Garfield,  were  living  during  the  ten  years  since  Shaw  pre- 
tends I  told  him  I  would  emulate  the  example  of  Booth  ? 
The  fact  is  I  never  mentioned  Booth's  name  to  Shaw 
in  any  possible  way.  Shaw's  pretence  is  a  wicked  and  mali- 
cious falsehood,  without  the  slightest  foundation  in  fact. 
This  man  Shaw  was  indicted  for  pei'jury  in  New  Jersey 
and  came  near  being  convicted.  The  court  told  him 
from  the  bench,  so  I  am  informed,  that  he  ought  to  be  in 
State  prison  for  perjury.  At  all  events,  he  told  a  wilful 
lie  about  me.  English  was  in  jail  under  $40,000  bail  for 
libelling  Mr.  Winston,  of  the  New  York  Mutual  Life  In- 
surance Company,  and  I  got  him  out  after  several  weeks 
of  strenuous  effort,  for  which  he  paid  me  my  fee  and  sub- 
sequently sued  for  the  money.  It  was  a  gross  piece  of 
impertinence  on  his  part,  and  his  attorney  subsequently 
told  me  he  commenced  the  suit  under  a  misapprehension. 

I  now  review  briefly  some  of  the  evidence  to  show  that 
I  tell  the  truth  when  I  say  that  the  Deit}-  inspired  me  to 
remove  the  President ;  that  He  forced  me  to  do  it,  and 
that  He  has  taken  care  of  it. 

The  President  was  shot  on  July  2,  and  I  went  imme- 
diately to  police  headquarters  and  remained  fifteen  min- 
utes, and  then  to  the  jail.  I  was  taken  to  the  jail  in  a 
carriage  by  Detective  McElfresh  and  Lieutenant  Austin 
and  two  officers.  We  drove  rapidly  so  as  to  avoid  the 
mob.  As  soon  as  we  were  under  way  McElfresh  said, 
"  We  were  not  any  too  soon.  They  were  organizing," 
meaning,  that  if  I  had  remained  at  police  headquarters  I 


127 

would  have  beeu  hung  or  shot  immediately.  McElfresh 
said,  "  Why  did  yoia  shoot  Garfield  f  I  said,  "  Because 
he  was  wrecking  the  Republican  part}',  and  that  there 
would  have  been  another  war  in  this  country  soon."  He 
said,  "  There  are  a  great  many  people  of  your  way  of 
thinking."     "Of  course  there  are,"  said  I. 

This  shows  why  I  shot  the  Pi'esident,  and  kills  the 
Paris  consulship  idea.  I  would  not  have  taken  any  office 
from  the  President  after  June  1,  under  any  circumstan- 
ces ;  not  even  a  Cabinet  appointment. 

Mr.  Brooks,  Chief  of  the  Secret  Service  interviewed 
me  in  my  cell  July  2  about  12  o'clock — that  is  to  say, 
the  first  night  I  was  in  jail.  This  interview  is  thus  re- 
ported in  his  testimony : 

James  G.  Brooks.  Chief  of  the  Secret  Service  Division 
of  the  Treasury  Department,  was  then  called  to  the  stand 
by  Mr.  Scoville,  and  in  reply  to  questions  made  the  fol- 
lowing statement: 

I  had  an  interview  with  the  prisoner  at  midnight  on 
the  2d  of  July.  When  I  entered  the  cell  I  announced 
my  name  and  position.  Mr.  Guiteau  was  in  bed.  He 
rose  up  and  exhibited  great  auger  and  excitement,  and 
wanted  to  know  why  I  came  at  that  time  of  night  and 
disturbed  his  rest  and  quiet,  and  he  told  me  to  go 
away.  I  retorted  pretty  hotly  that  it  ill-became  a  mur- 
derer to  complain  about  his  rest  and  quiet  when  he  had 
disturbed  the  rest  and  quiet  of  the  nation,  and  plunged 
it  into  grief.  He  came  at  me  and  said  he  was  no  mur- 
derer. He  was  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman.  I  said  that 
I,  too.  professed  to  be  a  Christian,  and  thought  that  if  he 
had  ever  taken  God  into  his  counsel  in  this  matter  he 
would  not  have  done  so  wicked  a  thine". 


128 

He  said  that  be  bad  taken  God  in  account ;  that  he  bad 
thought  over  it,  and  prayed  over  it  for  six  weeks,  and  the 
more  he  thought  and  prayed  the  more  satisfied  be  was 
that  he  bad  to  do  this  thing.  I  endeavered  to  argue 
with  him,  but  he  would  have  no  argument.  He  bad 
made  up  his  mind  that  be  had  done  it  as  a  matter  of 
duty,  and  could  not  listen  to  any  argument  about  it. 
His  mind  was  made  up,  and  he  did  not  want  to  be  dis- 
turbed. He  spoke,  also,  of  his  being  a  Stalwart,  and 
asked  me  whether  I  was  a  Democrat.  I  said  no ;  I 
was  a  Republican.  "And  a  Stalwart?"  "Yes;  and  a 
Stalwart." 

" Then,"  said  be,  "you  can  appreciate  ray  motives  in 
doing  this  thing.  You  can  see  it  is  a  political  necessity. 
What  I  did  I  did  from  patriotic  motives  to  unify  the 
party."  We  talked  probably  half  an  hour.  I  kept  crowd- 
ing him,  and  be  talked  eloquently.  I  told  him  I  came  to 
learn  who  his  accomplices  were.  He  said  he  had  no 
accomplices ;  no  soul  on  earth  knew  of  what  he  was  going 
to  do  but  himself.  I  intimated  that  we  were  about  to 
make  two  or  three  arrests.  He  said,  "Don't  do  it. 
If  you  do,  you  will  arrest  innocent  men.  There 
was  no  man  connected  with  me  in  this  thing." 
I  questioned  him  about  the  purchase  of  the  pistol. 
He  told  me  where  be  purchased  it.  The  next  day  I 
visited  him.  He  was  calm  then,  and  quite  glad  to 
see  me.  He  gave  me  the  details  of  bis  work — how  he 
commenced ;  how  he  watched  the  President ;  how  be  was 
going  to  shoot  him  two  weeks  before  when  he  was 
deterred  by  seeing  the  poor,  sick  wife  on  the  arm  of  her 
husband.  He  told  me,  also,  that  he  was  lying  in  wait 
for  him  one  night  near  the  White  House  when  the  Presi- 
dent came  out,  and  bis  first  impulse  was  to  remove  him 
then.  Somehow  be  was  restrained  from  doing  so.  He 
followed  the  President  to  Mr.  Blaine's  bouse,  and  waited 


129 

for  them  to  come  out.  He  could  see  Mr.  Blaine  argu- 
ing, and  striking  his  hands,  and  talking  very  earnestly. 
The  President,  in  his  turn,  would  be  striking  his  hands 
and  talking,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  that  they  were 
conspiring  against  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  that 
the  President  must  die. 

I  suggested  to  him  then:  "If  your  hand  was  stayed 
when  you  saw  the  wife  of  the  President  on  his  arm  ;  if 
your  hand  was  stayed  when  the  President  was  alone, 
going  to  Mr.  Blaine's  house,  how  came  it  that  you  did 
not  recognize  that  as  an  intimation  from  God  that  He 
did  not  want  you  to  destroy  this  man  ?" 

I  forgot  his  reply,  but  it  was  an  evasive  one. 

The  Prisoner.  It  was  that  I  only  had  authority  to  re- 
move the  President,  not  Mrs.  Garfield. 

The  Prisoner.  It  is  proper  to  say  that  Mr.  Brooks  has 
stated  the  conversations  which  occurred,  between  us  very 
correctly  indeed.  He  said  that  everybody  was  against 
me.  I  said  I  don't  care  if  God  Almighty  is  for  me.  I 
will  take  my  chance,  and  after  a  while  the  people  will  be 
with  me,  and  to-day  they  are  with  me. 

Mr.  ScoviLLE.  Did  you  report  your  interviews  to  any 
one  ? 

The  Witness,  To  Mr.  Corkhill  and  Attorney-General 
MacVeagh. 

The  Prisoner.  Mr.  MacVeagh  is  a  Christian  man,  and 
that  is  the  reason  he  did  not  want  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  this  case.  That  is  the  reason  the  New  Jersey  au- 
thorities did  not  want  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it. 
They  didn't  want  to  get  the  Lord  down  on  them.  That 
is  the  place  to  try  this  case.     You  cannot  try  it  here. 

Mr.  ScoviLLE.  Did  he  say  anything  in  regard  to  that 
being  the  first  rest  he  had  had  for  six  weeks  ? 

The  Witness.  He  did.     He  said  that  he  had  an  excel- 


130 

lent  night's  sleep — the  first  good  night's  sleep  he  had  in 
six  weeks. 

The  Prisoner.  I  felt  light-hearted  and  merry  as  soon 
as  I  got  into  the  cell.  I  felt  happy  because  I  had  been 
true  to  God  and  the  American  people,  and  everything 
from  that  day  to  this  has  gone  about  as  I  expected. 
Everybody  is  happy  except  a  few  cranks,  and  I  don't  care 
about  them.  Mr.  Garfield  did  not  die  before  the  Lord 
wanted  him.  If  the  Lord  had  not  wanted  him  he  would 
not  have  gone.  He  let  him  go  to  Elberon  to  remove  him 
gently  and  gracefully. 

This  interview  with  Mr.  Brooks  I  consider  a  special 
Providence  in  my  favor.  I  talked  with  him  freelj'  about 
the  Deity,  my  inspiration,  and  the  political  situation, 
which  showed  the  condition  of  my  mind  on  July  2,  when 
I  was  precipitated  on  to  the  President.  By  no  other  man 
could  I  have  proved  the  condition  of  my  mind  at  the 
time  I  fired  on  the  President.  His  testimony,  I  have  no 
doubt,  settled  this  case  in  my  favor  in  the  minds  of 
many  people.  Mr.  Corkhill  and  his  stenographer,  whom 
I  took  for  a  Herald  reporter,  interviewed  me  on  July  3, 
and  I  told  them,  in  a  two-hour's  talk,  all  about  the  Deity, 
my  inspiration,  and  the  political  situation,  for  which  the 
President  was  responsible.  I  also  repeated  this  talk  on 
July  4  in  the  presence  of  Corkhill,  Bailey,  the  stenog- 
rapher, and  Mr.  Scoville.  T  also  told  them  emphatically 
I  did  not  think  the  President  would  recover,  because  I 
did  not  think  the  Deity  wanted  him  to  recover,  which 
proved  to  be  correct,  as  he  died  on  September  19.  Mr, 
Corkhill  wickedly  and  maliciously  had  Bailey's  note-book 


J 


131 

destroyed  so  I  could  not  prove  by  it  what  I  said  on 
July  3d  and  .4tb  on  my  inspiration. 

Mr.  Brooks  interviewed  me,  expecting  to  discover  a 
conspiracy.  I  told  him  that  my  inspiration  alone  did  it 
and  that  no  one  was  associated  with  me.  He  listened 
carefully  to  my  story,  and  be  believed  it,  and  dropped  his 
conspiracy  idea. 

A  vast  deal  of  rubbish  has  got  into  this  case  on 
both  sides.  The  issue  here  is,  who  fired  that  shot,  the 
Deity  or  me  ?  Had  I  fired  it  on  my  own  personal  account 
no  punishment  would  have  been  too  quick  or  too  severe 
for  me,  and  this  is  why  I  protected  myself  by  going  to 
jail  and  having  the  national  troops  ordered  out.  I 
knew  T  would  be  shot  or  hung  at  once  if  I  was  not 
protected  by  the  jail  and  the  troops.  I  knew  the  Presi- 
dent's removal  would  cause  the  greatest  excitement,  and 
my  only  safety  was  to  get  beyond  the  reach  of  the  mob 
until  the  populace  knew  my  motive  and  my  inspiration. 
I  am  greatly  indebted  to  General  Sherman,  General 
Ayres,  and  General  Crocker,  the  warden  of  the  jail,  for 
protection.  Had  it  not  been  for  then-  vigilance,  especially 
General  Crocker's,  I  should  not  be  here.  General  Crocker 
has  been  a  solid  friend  to  nie  from  the  start.  The 
President's  lingering  illness  and  the  suppression  of 
all  my  papers,  wherein  I  talked  of  the  Deity's  precipitating 
me  on  to  the  President,  made  a  bitter  feeling  against  me. 
This  trial  has  developed  my  motive  and  my  inspiration,  and 
to-day  the  people  consider  me  a  patriot  and  a  great  man. 

The  prosecution  have  made  a  great  flourish  with  their  in- 
sane experts.     The  only  insanity  in  this  case  is  what  these 


132 

experts  call  transitory  mania — I.  e.,  the  Abraham  style  of 
insanity.  There  are  thirty-eight  cases  of  Abrahamic  in- 
sanity in  the  Bible — L  e.,  of  illegal  killing,  resulting  from 
the  possession  of  transitory  mania  by  divine  authority. 
It  was  on  this  ground — to  wit,  transitory  mania,  that 
Sickles,  McFarland,  Cole,  Hiscock.  and  other  supposed 
criminals  were  acquitted.  In  the  case  of  Cole  the  jury 
found  him  sane  immediately  before  and  after  the  firing, 
but  they  were  uncertain  as  to  his  mental  condition  at  the 
moment  of  firing,  and  they  asked  the  court  what  their 
verdict  should  be.  The  court  said  they  must  give  the 
defendant  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  and  they  did  so,  and 
he  was  acquitted. 

If  a  single  man  on  this  jury  has  the  slightest  doubt  as 
to  whether  I  fired  that  shot  on  my  personal  account,  or 
as  the  agent  of  the  Deity,  he  is  bound  under  the  law  to 
give  me  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  and  acquit  me.  The 
prosecution  have  attempted  to  show  by  their  paid  experts 
that  I  was  not  suffering  from  transitory  mania  at  the 
time  I  fired  on  the  President.  But  what  do  they  know 
about  it  ?  Absolutely  nothing.  Had  I  plenty  of  money 
I  could  get  fifty  reputable  experts  to  swear  I  was  insane, 
absolutely,  at  that  time.  I  take  no  stock  in  the  shape  of 
the  head  or  the  hang  of  the  tongue,  or  in  the  opinion  of 
experts  on  either  side  of  this  issue. 

I  read  the  following  fi'om  an  able  newspaper  article, 
entitled  "  The  Guiteau  Experts."  It  is  pointed  and  well 
written,  and  I  give  it  entire.  It  comes  from  the  Athens 
of  America,  Boston: 


133 

"  The  Guiteau  Experts. — The  Government  experts  in 
Guiteau's  ease  seem  to  be  having  things  very  much  their 
own  way,  and  will  probably  succeed  in  getting  him 
hanged,  provided  they  succeed  in  getting  the  jury  to 
accept  their  opinions  as  to  his  sanity  or  insanity.  But 
will  they  do  this  ?  Are  we  to  hang  a  man  simply  because 
a  (certain  number  of  superintendents  of  lunatic  asylums 
believe  him  sane  ?  Are  we  to  hang  a  man  on  mere 
opinion,  the  truth  or  reason  of  which  cannot  be  judged 
of  by  common  men  ?  Do  the  lives  of  men  in  this  country 
legally  depend  on  the  mere  judgments  of  any  twenty, 
fifty,  or  one  hundred  men  who  claim  to  know  more  than 
other  men  as  to  what  diseases,  delusions,  or  impulses 
that  strange  thing,  the  human  mind  is  liable  to,  but  who 
cannot  so  communicate  the  grounds  of  their  opinions  as 
to  enable  other  men  to  judge  of  their  truth  or  error? 
These  men  never  saw,  handled,  or  examined  a  human 
mind.  They  can  only  observe  its  manifestations  through 
the  body,  and  can  only  guess,  like  other  people,  at  the 
causes  of  its  mysterious  and  erratic  operations.  Are 
men  to  be  hanged  on  the  strength  of  their  guesses? 
There  are,  we  suppose,  in  this  country  three,  or  perhaps 
five  hundred  men — physicians,  so  called — who  make  a 
specialty  of  treating  diseases  of  the  human  body  where 
there  is  but  one  who  makes  a  specialty  of  treating 
diseases  of  the  human  mind.  But  though  diseases  of  the 
human  body  are  so  much  more  extensively  studied  and 
treated,  and  so  much  easier  to  be  ascertained  and  judged 
of  than  are  diseases  of  the  mind,  we  have  very  little  con- 
fidence of  the  knowledge  of  those  many  physicians  as  to 
the  nature  or  causes  of  our  bodily  diseases.  But  even 
this  is  not  all.  These  experts  not  only  give  their 
opinions  that  Guiteau  is  sane  now,  but  also  that  he 
was  sane  on  the  2d  of  July,  five  or  six  months  ago.  Even 
if  he  is  sane  now,  what  do  they  know  or  what  are  their 


134 

opinions  worth  as  to  whether  he  was,  or  was  not,  sane  six 
months  ago  ?  They  apparently  have  no  reason  for 
thinking  that  he  was  sane  in  July,  except  that  they 
think  he  is  sane  in  January.  Would  it  not  be  just  as 
sensible  for  them  to  say  that,  because  he  has  no  fever 
or  delirium  tremeiJS  on  him  to-day,  therefore  he  could 
have  had  none  on  him  six  months  ago  ?  This  kind 
of  reasoning  implies  that  they  hold  that  if  a  man  was 
insane  in  July  he  would  undoubtedly  have  continued 
to  be  insane  until  January ;  or,  what  is  substantially 
the  same  thing,  that  if  a  man  is  once  insane  he 
will  always  remain  so.  Now,  this,  we  think,  is  very 
likely  to  be  the  rule  in  the  asylums  under  their  own  con- 
trol ;  that  they  seldom  or  never  cure  anybody  that  comes 
under  their  care,  and  we  ought  to  be  thankful  for  this  in- 
formation, for  it  enables  us  to  know  where  not  to  send 
our  insane  friends  if  we  wish  to  have  them  cured.  In 
this  theory  of  theirs,  that  once  insane  always  insane,  the 
cases  in  which  they  report  the  patient  as  'discharged 
cured '  must  be  presumed  to  be  cases  in  which  the  vic- 
tims never  were  insane,  but  were  simply  sent  to  them  on 
'the  certificate  of  two  physicians,'  who  knew  just  as 
much  about  insanity  as  it  was  necessary  for  them  to 
know,  or  as  they  cared  to  know,  in  order  to  earn  two  or 
three  dollars  for  certifying  their  opinions. 

"If  these  experts  have  really  any  reliable  knowledge 
beyond  that  of  other  men  as  to  the  operations  of  minds 
diseased  or  not  diseased,  why  do  they  not  give  us  some 
reasonable  explanation  of  the  conduct  of  Guiteau  in  kill- 
ing a  man  in  open  day  and  before  a  multitude  of  people, 
and  making  no  attempt  to  escape,  and  all  this  when  he 
had  no  personal  malice  toward  his  victim,  and  no  rational 
prospect  of  gaining  anything  by  his  death?  Are  such 
acts  as  this  common  to  human  experience — so  common 
as  to  imply  disorder  in  the  mind  of  the  actor  ?     Do  all 


135 

the  experieuces  of  all  the  bedlams  on  earth  explain  such 
a  phenomena  as  this  consistently  with  the  sanity  of  the 
agent  ? 

"  When  these  experts  are  confronted  with  this  question 
they  are  confounded.  Instead  of  telling  us  how  a  sane 
man  could  do  such  an  act  they  stammer  out  '  wickedness,' 
'depravity,'  'evil  passions.'  But  what  'evil  passion?' 
Was  it  the  evil  passion  of  avarice  or  jealousy  or  revenge, 
or  any  other  particular  '  evil  passion '  that  is  known  to 
induce  men  to  commit  murder?  No;  it  was  evidently 
none  of  these.  But  it  was  (as  these  experts  woiild  have 
us  believe)  simple  'wickedness,'  'depravity,'  'evil  pas- 
sions.' They  can  give  no  answer  more  definite  than  that. 
Such  answers  as  these  might  perhaps  pass  in  some 
schools  of  theology  which  hold  that  a  virus*  of  simple 
'wickedness,'  'depravity,'  or  'evil  passions'  was  in- 
corporated into  the  very  nature  of  our  first  parents  and 
by  them  transmitted  to  all  their  postei'ity.  But  when 
they  are  offered  in  a  court  of  justice,  where  a  man's  life 
is  at  stake,  they  are  not  merely  shameful,  they  are  in- 
famous. Men  are  not  to  be  hanged  in  this  country  upon 
any  theory  that  theologians  or  others  may  hold  as  to  an 
ancient  transaction  between  Adam,  Eve,  and  the  devil. 

"  Those  experts  have  had  thousands  of  insane  persons 
under  their  care.  Many  of  these  persons  have  committed 
homicides  or  other  violent  assaults.  All  of  them,  or 
nearly  all  of  them,  were  supposed  to  be  liable  to  commit 
acts  dangerous  to  themselves  or  others.  The  insanity  of 
no  two  of  them  showed  itself  in  the  same  way.  But  they 
were  all  saying  and  doing  things  daily  that  were  just  as 
absurd  and  irrational  as  was  the  act  of  Guiteau.  And 
becaiise  their  acts,  whether  violent  or  not,  were  so  absurd 
and  irrational,  these  experts  have  no  doubt  that  the  actors 
were  insane.  But  when  Guiteau  does  an  absurd  and 
irrational  act  they  hold  that  he  is  not  insane,  but  simply 


136 

'wicked,'  'depraved,'  uuder  tlie  control  of  his  'evil 
passions.'  And  yet  they  can  give  no  reasons — that  are 
capable  of  being  comprehended  and  judged  of  by  com- 
mon minds — why  Guiteau's  absurd  and  irrational  act  is 
not  as  good  proof  of  his  insanity  as  the  absurd  and  irra- 
tional acts  of  others  are  of  theirs. 

"  Even  the  witches  were  not  hanged  on  such  absurd 
testimony  as  this." 

Spiritology  and  not  craniology  is  the  science  that  will 
sooner  or  later  solve  all  questions  of  insanity.  The  pos- 
session of  a  spirit  compelling  one  to  do  or  not  to  do  is 
the  only  way  to  solve  the  question  of  insanity.  Let 
these  paid  experts  study  spiritology  as  taught  by  the 
Saviour,  and  they  will  get  more  truth  than  they  can  out 
of  craniology. 

I  am  in  receipt  of  a  large  mail,  representing  the  pro- 
gressive thought  of  the  nation,  which  I  now  call  attention 
to,  as  it  shows  the  public  feeling  towai'd  me.  I  withhold 
the  names.  I  have  probably  a  thousand  letters  awaiting 
my  inspection  in  my  office  in  the  jail,  which  I  shall  exam- 
ine as  soon  as  possible. 

I  give  a  few,  showing  the  tone  of  the  American  people. 
I  annex  letters  from  the  East  and  the  West  and  the 
North  and  the  South  and  taking  in  all  classes  of  society. 

I  recently  received  a  telegram  from  Boston,  as  fol- 
lows : 

All  Boston  sympathizes  with  you.     You  ought  to   be 

President. 

A  HOST  OF  ADMIRERS. 


137 

A  Chicago  lawyer  sends  this  : 

Chicago,  Dec.  30,  1881. 
Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  :  I  have  watched  your  trial  from 
the  beginning  with  great  interest,  and  am  fimly  convinced 
of  the  truth  and  justice  of  your  defence.  Be  of  good 
cheer.  Tour  acquittal  is  assured,  and  you  will  come 
forth  from  this  trial  honored  and  respected.  The  Ameri- 
can people  delight  in  so  striking  an  evidence  of  pluck 
and  sagacity,  and  will  surely  sustain  you. 

Memphis,  Tenn. 
Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  : 

Very  Dear  Sir  :  Allow  a  fellow  attorney  to  wish  you  a 
happy  New  Year,  and  pray  that  your  trial  may  soon  come 
to  an  end,  and  that  you  may  be  honorably  acquitted,  as 
you  deserve  a  better  home  than  the  one  provided  by  the 
authorities  at  Washington.  We  think  you  are  justified 
in  that  you  were  inspired  to  do  the  deed  for  which  you 
ai*e  being  tried. 

South  Pueblo,  Col.,  Jan.  1,  1882. 
Ten  thousand  citizens  of  the  Centennial  State  hail  you 
as  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  human  freedom. 

This  is  from  Wisconsin  : 

What  a  pity  that  a  Republican  form  of  government  al- 
lows you  to  suffer  for  an  act  you  surely  intended  for  its 
benefit.  May  God  bless  you  and  hasten  the  time  when 
you  will  be  set  free.  Tour  name  is  sung  all  over  the 
land  as  a  national  hero. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  December  31,  1881. 
Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir  :  Please  allow  a  high-toned  American  citizen 
to  thank  you  for  demonstrating  to  fifty  millions  of  peo- 


138 

pie  in  the  glorious  United  States,  and  all  Europe,  Asia, 
and  Africa,  with  the  islands  of  the  sea  added,  that  you 
believe  in  liberty  of  conscience,  freedom  of  thought,  and 
are  not  afraid  to  express  it.  Sir,  your  example  in  the 
past  few  weeks  will  go  thundering  down  the  ages,  and 
do  more  to  extinguish  gag-law  than  was  ever  done  before. 

Maintain  your  high-toned  dignity  and  you  are  O.  K. 

This  is  but  a  feeble  expression  of  a  large  majority  of 
the  educated  and  cultured  people  of  the  United  States. 

Yours  in  the  cause  of  free  speech  and  liberty. 

My  little  speeches  have  done  more  to  break  this  prose- 
cution than  half  a  dozen  of  the  best  lawyers  in  America 
could  do.  I  have  always  spoken  for  right,  for  justice,  for 
vindication.  I  have  had  no  intention  to  make  this  trial 
a  farce.  The  prosecution  have  villified  me  outrageously. 
I  had  to  defend  myself  or  be  crushed  like  a  craven. 

Concordia,  Kan.,  January  1,  1882. 
Hon.  Chaeles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  been  a  close  observer  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  your  trial  from  the  newspaper  reports,  and 
will  assure  you  that  your  defence  is  daily  gaining  public 
favor  in  Kansas,  and  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  best 
men  of  the  country  here  that  your  inspiration  saved  the 
Republican  party,  and  the  time  is  not  distant  when  you 
will  be  soundly  acquitted  and  your  fame  flash  across  the 
country,  and  your  inspiration  will  enlighten  both  the 
eastern  and  western  hemisphere,  and  you  may  be  assured 
of  the  heartfelt  sympathy  of  every  genuine  Republican  in 
Kansas,  in  this,  your  hour  of  affliction,  who  will  ever  at- 
tribute to  you  the  honor  and  credit  of  saving,  by  your 
inspiration,  our  grand  old  Republican  party. 


139 

Philadelphia,  New  Year's  Day,  1882. 
We  wish  to  your  honor  a  happy  new  year, 
We  hope  that  the  hour  of  your  freedom  is  near, 
For  your  stainless  acquittal  we'U  heartily  pray, 
As  we  read  your  career  in  the  court-house  each  day. 
All  Philadelphia  speaks  in  your  praise, 
To  be  chief  of  our  nation  your  honor  they'd  raise. 
That  they  wiU  not  see  you  by  Corkhill  to  fall 
Is  the  earnest  resolve  of  our  citizens  all. 
Davidge  and  Porter  shall  uot  get  their  way. 
These  bloodthirsty  scoundrels  have  too  much  to  say — 
But  they  cannot  be  blamed,  for  their  wages  are  high, 
And  we  all  know  what  evidence  dollars  can  buy — 
But  little  care  you  for  themselves  or  their  jaw, 
For  you  greatly  outshine  them  in  smartness  and  law. 
Tour  conduct  this  month  back  we  all  have  admired, 
And  we  feel  fully  certain  you  had  been  inspired 
To  make  that  removal  by  one  daring  deed, 
For  which  we  shall  never  allow  you  to  bleed. 
Protestant,  Catholic,  Quaker,  and  Jew, 
We  send  our  best  wishes  to  Charles  Guiteau. 
We  bid  you  be  firm,  determined,  and  brave. 
And  from  Corkhill's  vile  meshes  our  hero  we'll  save. 

New  Toek,  January^  1882. 
Hon.  C.  Guiteau  :  You  do  not  place  J.  K.  Porter's  pay 
high  enough.  He  gets  $25,000  instead  of  $5,000,  and 
those  experts,  (doctors,)  get  from  $1,000  to  $3,000  in- 
stead of  $5,000.  They  are  wasting  money  that  does  not 
belong  to  them.  Their  testimony  amounts  to  nothing. 
Keep  things  hot  for  them. 

This  man  says  Mr.  Porter  is  a  high-toned  lawyer. 
Porter  may  lose  some  of  his  tone  on  this  case.  Mr. 
Porter  was  employed  by  General  Arthur  last  October, 
before  he  knew  the  facts  of  this  case. 

Attorney-General  MacVeagh  examined  my  papers  and 
sent  Mr.  Brooks  to  interview  me,  supposing  there  was  a 


140 

conspiracy,  on  July  2  and  3.  I  satisfied  Mr.  Brooks 
there  was  no  conspiracy,  and  that  the  Deity  had  inspired 
me  to  remove  the  President,  and  he  so  reported  to  the 
Attorney-General,  who  then  decided  •  to  have  nothiug 
whatever  to  do  with  this  case. 

Had  President  Arthur  been  as  well  advised  as  to  the 
facts  in  October  as  he  is  to-day  Mr.  Porter  would  not  be 
in  this  case.  So  with  Davidge.  Corkhill  is  booked  for 
removal,  and  has  been  since  General  Arthur  became 
President. 

This  man  thinks  I  am  better  than  Jeff.  Davis  : 

Washington,  Jan.  3,  1882. 
In  your  speech  to  the  court  you  may  well  argue  that  if 
the  leaders  of  the  late  rebellion,  and  especially  Jeff.  Davis, 
who  is  responsible  for  thousands  of  noble  lives  and  mill- 
ions of  treasure  sunk  in  war — Jeff.  Davis,  the  arch  crimi- 
nal of  the  country — is  allowed  to  go  without  punish- 
ment, you,  who  have  but  removed  one  man,  and  a  poli- 
tician at  that,  should  certainly  be  treated  with  indulgence 
and  clemency. 

That  is  good  logic. 

It  has  been  said  that  when  the  Deity  and  I  removed 
the  President  a  blow  was  struck  at  Republicanism. 
But  I  say  the  Republic  was  endangered  by  the  Presi- 
dent, and  hence  the  necessity  for  his  removal.  I  say 
that  I  saved  the  nation  and  the  Deity  confirmed  the  act, 
and  the  American  people  are  satisfied  with  it.  The 
American  people  are  the  most  magnanimous  people  on 
the  globe.     All  they  want  is  to  understand  a  matter  and 


141 

then  they  can  give  a  righteous  judgment.     They  admire 
brains  and  phick,  and  go  for  it  every  time. 

On  June  16,  two  weeks  before  the  President  was  shot, 
I  used  these  words  in  an  address  to  the  American  people. 

"Ingratitude  is  the  basest  of  crimes.  That  the  Presi- 
dent, under  the  manipulation  of  his  Secretary  of  State, 
has  been  guilty  of  the  basest  ingratitude  toward  the 
Stalwarts,  admits  of  no  denial.  The  expressed  purpose 
of  the  President  has  been  to  crush  General  Grant  and 
Senator  Conkling,  and  thereby  prepare  the  way  for  his 
renomination  in  1881.  In  the  President's  madness  he 
has  wrecked  the  once  grand  old  Republican  party,  and 
for  this  he  dies." 

When  I  wrote  these  words  I  had  been  in  a  mania  for 
thirty  days  ;  I  had  groaned  under  the  political  situation. 
I  was  in  a  reverie  or  trance.  In  the  same  address  I  used 
these  words  (I  cannot  render  my  feelings  as  Booth  or 
Jefferson  could,  but  I  will  do  it  in  my  humble  way.  I 
am  supposed,  for  the  moment,  to  recover  from  the  mania. 
I  think  what  the  public  will  say  when  they  find  the  Presi- 
dent is  shot,  and  I  reel  and  stagger  under  the  thought,  I 
am  about  to  remove  the  President.  But  God's  will,  and 
not  mine,  be  done  :) — 

"  I  had  no  ill-will  toward  the  President.  This  is  not 
murder.  It  is  a  political  necessity.  It  will  make  my 
friend  Arthur  President,  and  save  the  Republic. 

(A  feeling  of  the  war  comes  over  me.) 

"  Grant,  during  the  war,  sacrificed  thousands  of  lives  to 
save  the  Republic.     I  have  sacrificed  only  one." 

"I  shot  the  President  as  I  would  a  rebel  if  I  saw  him 


142 

pulling  down  the  American  flag."  [And  here  is  the  in- 
spiration on  the  16th  of  June.]  "  I  leave  my  justification 
to  God  and  the  American  people  ;  and  to-day,  six  months 
after  the  shot  was  fired,  the  Deity  has  repeatedly  con- 
firmed the  act,  as  indicated  by  my  experience  as  set  forth 
in  this  speech,  and  the  American  people  are  satisfied  to 
'et  this  prosecution  go  by  default." 

On  June  20,  in  the  same  address,  T  used  these  wox'ds, 
"  The  President's  nomination  was  an  act  of  God.  The 
President's  election  was  an  act  of  God.  The  President's 
removal  is  an  act  of  God." 

I  now  call  attention  to  a  remarkable  letter,  entitled  "  A 
Genuine  Christian  on  the  Guiteau  case."  It  is  a  public 
letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Scoville,  and  came  to  me  provi- 
dentially : 

"  Why  torture  your  head  about  witnesses  *?  Rivet  your 
trust  in  Jehovah.  Has  He  not  already  twice  snatched  your 
client,  Guiteau,  from  the  jaws  of  death  ?  Be  assured 
then,  He  will  not  desert  you  or  him.  I  am  told,  sir,  you 
are  a  '  Christian  ' — Guiteau  we  know  is.  Then  throw  to 
the  winds  insanity  as  a  defence.  Go  boldly  to  trial  de- 
manding the  recognition  of  God's  supremacy.  That  it 
was  His  will  Garfield  should  die  is  already  proven.  Had 
the  bullet  missed  would  it  not  have  been  providential  ? 
As  it  hit,  was  it  not  equally  providential  ?  Who  but  an 
infidel  would  say  God  had  not  the  power  to  stop  the 
leaden  messenger  ?  All  Christians  agree  if  God  willed  it 
otherwise  it  would  have  been  otherwise.  Could  He  not 
have  palsied  Guiteau's  arm  had  He  wished?  When 
Guiteau  raised  his  weapon  in  His  name  would  He  not 
have  stopped  him,  as  He  did  Abraham  of  old,  had  it  been 


148 

His  will  ?  Isaac  was  rescued  by  God.  Garfield  was  killed 
by  God.  Fifty  millions  of  people  went  down  upon  their 
knees  imploring  his  life.  God  answered  them  with 
death.  Tbeir  prayer  was,  '  Oh  spare  our  President,  if 
it  be  Thy  will.'" 

Rev.  Mr.  Morgan  (in  Church  of  Heavenly  Rest) — 
"  God  had  refused  to  prolong  the  life  of  our  beloved  Pres- 
ident. He  had  refused  it  deliberately,  and  because  it  was 
best  to  refuse  it." 

Let  Christians  be  sure  of  that.  Let  them  know  that 
God  is  always  right.  Let  them  kneel  before  the  body  of 
the  dead  President  and  say:  "  Our  Father  which  art  in 
Heaven,  the  blow  is  heavy.  Thy  providence  is  dark,  but 
Thou  knowest  best — we  can  trust  Thee  when  we  cannot 
understand  Thee." 

Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  (in  prayer) — "Thou  Lord, 
hast  laid  Tby  hand  heavily  upon  this  nation.  Thy  servant 
Thou  has  taken  to  Thyself  in  a  way  that  fills  us  with 
shame  and  horror.  We  believe  that  Thou  art  anointing 
this  great  people  and  by  this  great  sorrow  raising  us  to 
a  higher  plane." 

Rev.  Mr.  Crawford  (Forty-second  Street  Methodist 
Epispocal  Church) — "  Garfield's  loss  was  a  great  one  to 
the  nation,  but  the  wisdom  of  God  could  not  be  ques- 
tioned, as  He  did  all  things  for  the  best." 

Rev.  Dr.  Morgan  Dix  (Trinity) — "God  made  the  world  ; 
He  governs  it.  His  never-failing  providence  ordered  all 
things  in  heaven  and  earth.  Whatever  cometh  hath  a 
meaning.  The  events  of  the  hour  and  the  day  are  not 
the  result  of  chance.  God  it  is  who  orders  or  permits 
whatever  occurs  on  earth,  in  heaven,  in  hell,  above,  be- 
low, around  us.  It  may  be  there  are  those  who  do  not 
feel  in  all  this  (the  assassination)  that  God  is  chastening, 
afflicting,  punishing,  visiting." 

Dr.   Talmage — "  Garfield's  death   accomplished   more 


144 

than  his  life  in  setting  forth  the  truth  that  when  our  time 
comes  to  go  the  most  energetic  and  skillful  opposition 
cannot  hinder  the  event." 

The  Doctor  (in  prayer) — "  God  bless  this  dispensation 
(the  shooting  of  Garfield)  to  the  nation,  and  may  the 
people  yet  shout,  '  Hallelujah,  the  Lord  God  Omnipo- 
tent reigns!'" 

Rev.  Di'.  Storrs  (Brooklyn) — "  To  day  I  ask  you  to  hear 
the  voice  of  God  in  the  lessons  which  He  brings  to  us 
through  this  sad  and  strange  and  unexpected  dispensa- 
tion of  His  providence.  Men  sometimes  say  the  cause 
of  providence  is  not  in  it  at  all ;  it  was  mei'e  human  mor- 
tals ;  it  was  the  insanity  of  the  mind  disordered.  But 
God's  providence  controls  the  wills  of  men." 

Rev.  Dr.  Bellows — "Already  blessings  manifold  had  fol- 
lowed the  shooting  of  the  President,  and  the  effect  of 
that  good  influence  was  seen  throughout  the  whole  na- 
tion. Sublime  confidence  in  God  was  reached  when  we 
could  say  from  the  heart,  '  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I 
trust  in  Him.'  God  did  not  permit  His  ways  to  be  placed 
under  our  microscopic  inspection." 

Clearly,  Guiteau,  was  inspired  from  on  high.  Let  this 
nation  dare  harm  a  hair  of  his  head  and  it  may  go  out  in 
blood.  God  issued  this  order  once,  (and  He  may  a  sec- 
ond time :)  "  Put  every  man  his  sword  by  his  side,  and 
go  in  and  out  from  gate  to  gate,  throughout  the  camp, 
and  slay  every  man  his  brother,  and  every  man  his  com- 
panion, and  every  man  his  neighbor.  There  fell  of  the 
people  that  day  about  three  thousand  men." 

If  God's  wrath  is  again  stirred  He  may  slay,  not  three 
thousand,  but  fifty  millions — i.  e.,  the  entire  American 
people." 

This  is  a  strong  statement,  but  it  is  not  too  strong. 


U5 

Beware,  ye  nations  of  the  earth,  who  incur  the  wrath  of 
the  Almighty ! 

The  French  nation  incurred  the  wrath  of  the  Deity  and 
it  came  to  grief.  The  bloody  French  revolution  devas- 
tated that  nation  like  a  tornado  of  fire  and  blood.  The 
old  Roman  Empire,  the  greatest  government  on  earth 
for  centuries,  incurred  the  wrath  of  the  Deity,  and  it  too 
was  swept  out  of  existence.  The  Jewish  nation,  God's 
favored  nation  for  two  thousand  years,  incurred  the  wrath 
of  the  Deity  when  they  crucified  the  despised  Galilean, 
and  it  too  went  down  in  war  and  desolation. 

Beware,  ye  Americans,  that  you  do  not  incur  the  wrath 
of  the  Deity  by  dealing  unwisely  by  me,  for  I  tell  you  the 
truth  and  lie  not,  when  I  say  I  am  here  as  God's  man. 
He  inspired  the  President's  removal  and  has  taken  care 
of  it,  and  I  expect  He  will  vindicate  me,  even  if  this  na- 
tion rolls  in  blood  !  Put  my  body  in  the  ground  if  you 
will ;  that  is  all  you  can  do.  But  thereafter  comes  a  day  of 
reckoning.  The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slow,  but  they 
grind  sure,  and  they  will  gi'ind  to  atoms  every  man  that 
injures  me. 

Beware,  ye  Americans !     Beware  ! 

American  slaveholders  put  John  Brown's  body  in  the 
ground,  but  they  paid  for  it  during  the  war  in  blood  and 
desolation. 

John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  ground, 
But  his  soul  went  marching  on. 

Glory  hallelujah  !     Glory  hallelujah  ! 
John  Brown's  soul  went  marching  on. 

Glory  hallelujah  !     Glory  hallelujah  ! 


146 

"Vengeance  is  mine,"  saitb  the  Lord;  "I  will  repay." 
The  Almighty  always  indicates  His  man.  Beware,  ye 
Americans,  how  you  treat  me,  lest  His  wrath  be  kindled 
and  you  go  down  in  blood  and  desolation. 

Life  is  an  enigma.  This  in  a  strange  world.  Often 
men  are  governed  by  passion  and  not  by  reason.  The 
mob  crucified  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  and  Paul,  his 
great  Apostle,  went  to  an  ignominious  death.  This  hap- 
pened many  centuries  ago.  For  eighteen  centuries  no 
men  have  exerted  such  a  tremendous  influence  on  the 
civilization  of  the  race  as  the  despised  Galilean  and  His 
great  apostle.  They  did  well  their  work  and  left  the  re- 
sult with  the  Almighty  Father,  and  so  must  all  inspired 
men. 

I  count  myself  fortunate,  indeed,  that  my  case  has  been 
tried  before  so  able  and  careful  a  jurist.  I  am  glad  your 
honor  is  a  gentlemen  of  broad  views.  Christian  sen- 
timent, and  clear  head.  I  appear  before  your  honor 
in  a  dual  capacity  :  First,  as  a  prisoner  indicted  for 
"murder;"  secondly,  as  my  own  counsel  in  part,  as 
I  have  a  right  to  do  under  the  law  of  every  State 
in  the  Union.  Certain  witnesses  have  excited  my  wrath 
by  their  perjury,  and  I  have  denounced  them  in  plain 
language.  For  this  I  have  the  example  of  the  meek  and 
lowly  Jesus.     How  does  this  sound ! 

"Ye  generation  of  vipers!"  "Ye  scribes,  Pharisees, 
hypocrites,  how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell  ?  " 
Christ  denounced  iniquity  in  plain  language  and  so  do  I. 

In  general,  I  am  satisfied  with  your  honor's  proposed 
instructions,  but  I  would  humbly  suggest  that  the  jury 


147 

be  charged  as  follows  :  That  if  they  believe  that  I  believed 
it  was  right  for  me  to  remove  the  President,  because  I, 
had  special  divine  authority  for  so  doing,  they  will  acquit, 
on  the  ground,  that  I  was  overpowered  by  the  Deity,  i.  e., 
that  I  was  suffering  from  transitory  mania.  Sickles,  Mc- 
Farland,  and  Hiscock  were  acquitted  on  the  ground  of 
transitory  mania. 

Your  honor's  instructions  cover  this  ground  in  part, 
but  not  quite  so  strong  as  I  here  state  it,  and  I  now  ask 
your  honor  to  charge  as  suggested. 

I  ask  it  in  the  name  of  the  American  judiciary,  of  which 
your  honor  is  so  distiuguished  a  member.  I  ask  it  in  the 
name  of  the  American  people,  whose  representative  in 
this  case  your  honor  is.  I  ask  it  in  the  name  of  the 
Deity,  whose  servant  I  was  when  I  shot  the  President. 
I  ask  it  for  the  sake  of  your  honor's  judicial  reputation 
and  for  the  sake  of  the  Deity's  inspiration  and  my  vindi- 
cation. Your  honor  has  suggested  that  the  law  of  juris- 
diction in  this  case  may  be  different  from  what  some  of 
the  leading  Washington  lawyers  say  it  is.  Should  it  be 
necessary  to  have  your  honor  pass  finally  on  this  issue,  I 
expect  we  shall  find  plenty  of  authority  to  show  that  your 
honor  has  no  jurisdiction.  I  am  also  of  the  opinion  that 
the  court  in  banc  will  so  decide  if  necessary.  The  judi- 
ciary of  this  District  is  not  surpassed  by  that  of  the  ablest 
judiciary  in  this  Union.  Chief-Justice  Cartter  is  the 
peer  of  any  justice  on  the  American  bench  and  so  are  his 
associates. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  I  must  close. 

Two  months  ago  you  left  your  homes  and  loved  ones 


148 

to  listen  to  this  case.  I  have  no  tlonbt  but  you  have 
given  it  your  most  solemn  and  prayerful  attention,  and 
that  your  verdict  will  be  "not  guilty."  as  charged  in  the 
indictment. 

To  hang  a  man  in  my  mental  condition  on  July  2.  when 
Ifii'edon  the  President,  would  be  a  lasting:  disOTace  to  the 
American  people,  and  I  am  sure  you  so  understand  it. 
The  American  people  do  not  want  me  hung.  They  are 
saying.  "Well,  if  the  Peity  did  it,  let  it  go."  The 
mothers  and  daughters  of  the  Eepublic  are  praying  that 
you  will  vindicate  my  inspiration,  and  their  prayers  I  ex- 
pect will  prevail.  A  woman's  instinct  is  keener  than 
man's,  and  I  pray  you  listen  to  the  prayers  of  these 
ladies.  How  would  your  mother  and  wife  and  daughter 
vote  on  this  case  ?  Have  you  any  doubt  but  they  would 
vote  for  an  acquittal  ?  And  why  should  you  not  do  like- 
wise ?  There  is  not  the  first  element  of  murder  in  this 
case.  You  might  as  well  hang  a  man  for  murder  during 
the  war  as  to  hang  me.  Under  the  law.  as  given  by  his 
honor,  you  can  acquit  me  with  entire  credit  to  your- 
selves. 

Physical  death  has  no  ten'ors  for  me.  Suppose  it 
possible  that  I  should  be  sentenced  to  be  hanged  in 
thirty  days.  I  may  die  in  twenty-four  hours.  I  shall  not 
go  until  my  time.  I  have  al\says  been  a  praying  man, 
and  I  think  I  stand  well  with  the  Deity.  I  am  sure  I  do 
in  this  case,  for  I  certainly  never  should  have  sought  to 
remove  the  President  had  the  Deity  not  pressed  me 
into  it. 

It  is  said  that  if  I  know  the  "  difference  between  right 


149 

and  wrong"  in  removing  the  President,  I  violated  hu- 
man law,  and  ought  to  be  hanged.  But  this  is  not  the 
law,  and,  I  say,  the  President's  removal  was  right,  because 
I  had  divine  authority  to  do  it.  Admitting  for  the  mo- 
ment that  I  did  violate  the  law  of  this  District  against 
murder,  I  reply,  what  of  it  ?  Thousands  of  persons  have 
violated  the  letter  of  the  law  with  impunity.  If  I  violated 
the  law,  I  did  it  under  divine  pressure,  for  the  good  of 
the  American  people,  and  they  are  willing  to  let  this  case 
go  by  default.  In  our  Western  domain  thousands  of 
Mormons  are  daily  and  nightly  violating  the  law,  but  the 
United  States  Government  do  nothing  to  vindicate  the 
dignity  of  the  law.  During  the  last  decade  Mormonism 
has  spread  with  fi'ightful  rapidity,  and  to-day  nothing 
but  another  war  can  suppress  it. 

The  Federal  Government  is  responsible  for  Mormonism. 
Let  the  President  and  Congress  suppress  this  gigantic, 
spiritual,  and  social  despotism.  If  I  were  President  I 
would  clean  out  these  detestable  Mormons  in  some  way, 
and  that  right  speedily. 

And  now.  gentlemen,  I  leave  this  case  with  you. 

At  the  last  great  day  you  and  all  men  will  stand  in  the 
presence  of  the  Deity  crying  for  mercy  and  justice.  As 
you  act  here  so  will  be  your  final  abode  in  the  great  here- 
after. I  beg  you  do  not  get  the  Deity  down  on  you  by 
meddling  with  this  case.  I  beg.  for  your  own  sakes  and 
for  the  sake  of  the  American  people,  and  for  the  sake 
of  generations  yet  unborn,  that  you  let  this  case  alone. 
You  cannot  afford  to  touch  it.  Let  your  verdict  be  that 
it  was  the  Deity's  act,  not  mine.     When  the  President 


150 

was  shot  his  Cabinet  telegraphed  to  foreign  nations 
that  it  was  the  act  of  a  "  madman,"  and  it  will  be  far 
better  every  way  that  it  be  officially  decided  that  it  was 
the  act  of  a  "madman.'' 

The  newspaper  report  of  my  delivery  continues  as  fol- 
lows : 

Guiteau  then  proceeded  to  read  from  a  newspaper  his 
extended  "address  to  the  jury,"  given  to  the  press  on 
Sunday  last.  His  manner  to  the  casual  observer  seemed 
as  completely  self-possessed  as  usual,  but,  behind  the 
outward  appearance  of  composure,  there  was  an  intensity 
of  feeling  which  was  only  held  in  control  through  the 
undoubted  strength  of  will  and  nerve  which  the  prisoner 
has  shown  all  the  way  through.  His  excitement  was  be- 
trayed by  a  slight  hectic  spot  upon  each  cheek  of  his  usu- 
ally colorless  face,  and  by  the  unusual  deliberation  with 
which  he  began  and  for  some  time  continued  to  speak. 
Whether  this  excitement  was  from  the  merely  superficial 
e£fect  upon  his  emotions,  naturally  incident  to  the  occa- 
sion, or  whether  it  proceeded  from  a  deeper  and  more 
overpowering  influence,  it  were  difficult  to  divine.  What- 
ever the  origin  or  character  of  the  feeling,  it  finally  gained 
the  ascendency  over  his  powers  of  control,  and,  as  he 
reached  that  point  in  his  speech,  '•  I  have  always  served 
the  Lord,  and  whether  I  live  or  die" — he  broke  down 
completely,  stopped,  tried  to  choke  down  the  rising  lump 
in  his  throat,  but  found  it  impossible  to  keep  back  a 
genuine  sob.  Taking  out  his  handkerchief  he  buried  his 
face  in  it  for  a  few  seconds,  wiped  his  eyes,  and  with  a 
determined  effort  started  on  again.  After  this  incident 
the  prisoner  continued  to  read  his  address,  occasionally 
adding  brief  comments  upon  the  text.  All  appearance 
of  nervousness  gradually  wore  off,  and  with  the  utmost 
composure  the  prisoner  read  on  with  an  attempt  at  every 


151 

conceivable  form  of  oratorical,  rhetorical,  and  dramatic 
effect.  His  description  of  the  taking  off  of  the  Px'esident 
was  given  with  striking  effect.  At  times  he  closed  his 
ej'es  or  turned  them  heavenward,  waving  his  body  back 
and  forth,  sinking  his  voice  to  a  whisper  or  raising  it  to 
a  high  treble.  At  times  the  intensity  of  his  utterances 
seemed  to  react  upon  him,  but  the  effect  was  only  transi- 
tory, and  with  the  exception  of  one  instance  noted  there 
was  no  other  indication  of  his  breaking  down.  At  fre- 
quent intervals  he  paused  to  emphasize  some  sentence  or 
sentiment  by  repeating  it  or  commenting  upon  it.  At 
one  time,  pausing,  he  leaned  toward  the  jury,  and  em- 
phasizing with  his  head  and  hands,  said  with  great  so- 
lemnity of  utterance  :  "  I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  just  as  sure 
as  there  is  a  God  in  heaven,  if  a  hair  of  ray  head  is 
harmed,  this  nation  will  go  down  in  blood.  You  can  put 
my  body  in  the  grave,  but  there  will  be  a  day  of  reck- 
oning." 

On  January  26,  the  day  after  the  verdict,  I  wrote  and 
published  this  address : 

To  the  American  People: 

Twelve  men  say  I  wickedly  murdered  James  A.  Gar- 
field. They  did  it  on  the  false  notion  that  I  am  a  disap- 
pointed office-seekei'.  My  speech  they  say  made  no  im- 
pression on  them.  I  am  not  surprised  at  their  verdict, 
considering  their  class.  They  do  not  pretend  to  be 
Christian  men,  and  therefore  did  not  appreciate  the  idea 
of  inspiration  They  are  men  of  the  world  and  of 
moderate  intelligence,  and  therefore  are  not  capable  of 
appreciating  the  character  of  my  defence.  According  to 
one  of  them,  "  We  all  had  a  grog  at  each  meal  and  a 
cigar  afterwards,"  which  shows  their  style  and  habits. 
Meu  of  this  kind  cannot  represent  the  great  Christian 
nation  of  America.     Had  they  been  high-toned  Christian 


152 

gentlemen  their  verdict  would  have  been  "  Not  guilty, 
because  of  insanity."  The  mere  outward  act  of  shooting 
would  have  been  the  same,  whatever  the  motive.  If  I 
had  been  a  disappointed  office-seeker,  which  is  absolutely 
false  (as  I  prove  by  my  papers  and  by  Mr.  Bi'ooks'  testi- 
mony on  July  2  and  3)  the  outward  act  of  shooting  would 
have  been  the  same,  as  if  I  had  been  directed  by  the  Deity 
to  do  it,  or  believed  myself  so  directed  to  do  it,  (which  is 
the  literal  truth,)  as  I  prove  by  all  my  papers  and  talk  on 
the  subject.  This  jury  had  not  sufficient  intelligence  to 
see  that  point,  and  entirely  ignored  the  political  and 
patriotic  necessity  for  the  act,  which  all  Christian  and 
intelligent  people  see.  For  this  reason  I  am  entitled  to 
a  new  trial  if  for  no  other,  and  we  have  a  prodigious 
amount  of  exceptions.  I  want  to  employ  two  or  three 
first-class  lawyers  to  take  charge  of  my  case.  The  prin- 
cipal point  will  be  to  show  the  non-jurisdiction  of  this 
court  to  try  this  indictment,  because  the  President  died 
in  New  Jersey.  The  authorities  on  this  point  are  con- 
flicting, but  some  of  the  best  lawyers  in  America  say,  that 
the  predominance  of  authorities  are  against  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  this  court.  I  desire  the  court  in  banc  to  pass 
upon  this  question,  and  have  no  doubt  but  the  high- 
toned.  Christian  gentlemen  representing  the  Washington 
court  in  banc,  will  give  it  their  most  careful  attention,  to 
the  end,  that  if  the  Deity  intended  to  protect  me  from 
legal  liability  herein,  by  allowing  the  President  to  depart 
gracefully  and  peacefully  in  New  Jersey,  that  I  have  the 
benefit  of  the  Deity's  intention.  I  consider  it  a  special 
providence  in  my  favor,  and  I  ask  the  court  in  banc  so  to 
consider  it.  I  have  received  some  checks,  but  many  of 
them  have  proved  worthless,  which  shows  the  low  char- 
acter of  the  men  that  send  them.  I  need  money  to 
employ  counsel.  There  are  many  people  in  America 
that    believe    in    God  and   in  my  inspiration,  and    that 


153 

I  am  a  patriot.  To  you,  men  and  women  of 
America,  I  appeal.  I  ask  you  in  the  name  of  justice 
to  come  speedily  to  my  relief.  Come  in  person  or 
by  letter.  If  you  send  money,  send  a  postal  order. 
With  competent  legal  help  I  can  get  out  of  this,  with 
the  Lord's  help,  and  I  am  sure  of  that.  But  good  law- 
yers do  not  work  for  nothing.  I  want  to  employ  two  or 
three  first-class  lawyers  to  represent  me  in  banc.  If  I 
had  had  competent  counsel  I  should  not  have  talked  so 
much  in  court,  but  I  disagree  with  the  theory  of  Mr.  Sco- 
ville,  and  it  has  made  it  unpleasant  for  both  parties  and 
has  been  a  great  damage  to  my  defence.  Judge  Porter  says 
I  am  right;  and  I  agree  witli  him,  although  I  know  he 
has  abused  and  vilified  me  outrageously,  when  I  had  no 
alternative  save  to  answer  back,  which  I  did  in  my  usual 
plain  way.  I  have  been  convicted,  but  the  verdict  cannot 
be  enforced  until  June  in  any  event,  and  probably  not 
until  September.  I  give  myself  no  anxiety  on  account  of 
the  verdict.  I  hardly  expected  an  acquittal ;  tbe  most  I 
expected  was  a  disagreement,  and  then  I  proposed  to 
test  the  question  of  jurisdiction  in  the  court  in  banc.  It 
is  purely  a  legal  question,  and  if  the  opinion  of  some  of 
the  best  lawyers  at  the  American  bar  is  sustained  by  the 
banc,  it  will  end  this  case.  I  can  get  a  hearing  on  this  in 
April.  I  make  a  special  appeal  to  the  ladies  of  America 
to  come  to  ray  rescue.  Some  of  them  have  written  me 
delightful  letters,  and  I  ask  each  and  every  one  of  them 
to  respond  to  the  extent  of  their  means,  and  to  see  me  in 
person  if  possible.  I  return  my  sincere  thanks  for  their 
letters  and  sympathy.  You  ladies  believe  in  God  and  in 
my  inspiration,  and  that  I  have  really  saved  the  nation  a 
great  trouble  and  a  great  expense,  to  wit ;  another  war. 
Last  spring  General  Garfield  had  the  Republican  party 
in  a  frightful  condition,  and  it  was  getting  worse  every 
hour.     To-day,  everybody  of  sense  is  satisfied  with  Gen- 


154 

eral  Arthur's  administration,  and  the  country  is  bappy 
and  prosperous.  Only  good  bas  come  from  General  Gar- 
field's removal,  wbicb  is  condusive  evidence  tbat  tbe  in- 
spiration came  from  tbe  Deity.  He  bas  repeatedly  con- 
firmed my  acts  since  July  2.  Therefore,  let  all  persons 
quietly  acquiesce  in  tbe  expressed  will  of  tbe  Deity.  I 
am  God's  man  in  this  matter,  just  as  truly  as  tbe  "  de- 
spised Galilean  "  was  God's  man.  They  said  He  was  a 
blasphemer  and  a  glutton,  &c.,  &c.,  and  it  seemed  a  small 
thing  for  His  acquaintances  to  kill  Him ;  but  His  death 
stirred  tbe  wrath  of  the  Almighty,  and  He  got  even  with 
them  forty  years  later,  at  tbe  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
A.  D.  70,  and  He  will  get  even  with  the  American  people 
if  a  hair  of  my  head  is  harmed.  God  will  vindicate  me 
even  if  this  nation  rolls  in  blood !  Mere  physical  death  is 
nothing  to  me.  Under  the  law  I  cannot  be  executed  in 
any  event  until  June.  I  may  die  a  dozen  times  before 
then,  so  I  have  no  trouble  about  tbat.  I  shall  not  go 
before  my  time.  I  bad  rather  be  hung,  so  far  as  physi- 
cal death  is  concerned,  than  die  from  a  painful  illness  or 
meet  with  a  railroad  or  steamboat  accident.  I  hardly 
think  I  am  destined  to  be  bung,  and  therefore  give  my- 
self no  thought  on  that ;  but  I  am  anxious  to  have  my 
character  and  inspiration  vindicated.  To  that  end  I  need 
help,  as  herein  mentioned.  My  friends  need  not  be 
ashamed  of  me.  Some  people  think  I  am  the  greatest 
man  of  this  age,  and  that  my  name  will  go  into  history 
as  a  patriot  by  tbe  side  of  Washington  and  Grant. 

CHARLES  GUITEAU. 
United  States  Jail,  Washington,  D.  C. 

On  February  2,  I  wrote  and  published  this  address : 

A  tramp    says   I  stole  his  shirt.     All   statements  of 
this  kind  are  false.     I  never  had  anything  to  do  with 


155 

tramps  or  disreputable  characters.  I  am  high-toned  ;  too 
high-toned  for  newspaper  devils  to  notice,  and  I  want 
them  to  let  me  alone.  I  never  saw  such  a  diabolical 
spirit  as  some  newspapers  have  towards  me  ;  especially 
those  that  were  cursing  Garfield  last  sjDring.  Since  he 
was  shot  they  have  deified  him  and  cursed  me  for  doing 
the  very  thing  they  said  ought  to  be  done — viz., 
remove  him !  When  God  formed  a  man  that  had 
the  brains  and  nerve  to  do  it,  these  newspaper 
devils  deify  Garfield  and  curse  God's  man  !  But  the 
Deity  will  get  even  with  these  fellows.  If  I  were  dead 
these  devils  would  not  be  satisfied.  If  I  had  been  Pres- 
ident and  wrecked  the  Republican  party,  as  Garfield  did, 
I  say  I  ought  to  have  been  shot,  and  posterity  will  say 
so,  whatever  this  perverse  and  crooked  generation  may 
say.  "  Ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape  the 
damnation  of  hell  f  It  is  bard  to  tell  how  some  news- 
paper men  will  escape  that  place  if  they  continue  to  slan- 
der God's  man. 

My  mail  comes  to  the  jail  now.  Any  friends  wish- 
ing'to  see  me  in  person  or  write  to  me  can  do  so.  Any 
one  having  sent  me  an  important  letter  and  received  no 
answer  can  write  again,  and  I  will  see  that  it  is  an- 
swered.    No  notice  given  to  anouymons  or  crank  letters. 

Photograph  with  autograph,  81,  or  $9  per  dozen.  (Au- 
tographs 25  cents.)  This  photograph  is  a  great  improve- 
ment every  way  on  the  sitting  of  July  2  taken  by 
Bell.  My  hair  is  parted  and  my  beard  off,  and  I  look  ten 
yeai's  younger.  It  is  an  historical  picture,  and  any  one 
can  get  it  by  sending  me  the  price,  and  in  no  other  way. 

Under  no  circumstances  will  I  allow  my  relatives  or  any 
one  else  to  have  anything  to  do  with  my  body.  If  ne- 
cessary I  shall  will  it  to  some  large  cemetery.  I  shall 
probably  need  it    myself  for  some  time  yet.     Scoville's 


156 

proposition  is  simply  infamous  and  barbarous  and  not  to  be 
tolerated  for  a  moment. 

CHARLES  GUITEAU. 

United  States  Jail,  Washington,  D.  C. 

On  February  4  I  was  sentenced  to  be  banged  on  June 
30,  1882.  The  leading  papers  published  the  following 
report,  prepared  by  the  New  York  Associated  Press : 

Mr.  Scoville,  counsel  for  the  prisoner,  then  filed  a  mo- 
tion in  arrest  of  judgment,  which  was  overruled  by  the 
court,  and  exception  taken. 

The  Prisoner.  I  desire  to  ask,  your  honor,  in  my  own 
behalf,  if  there  is  anything  I  need  to  do  before  your 
honor  to  preserve  my  rights  in  banc.  I  expect  to  have 
two  or  three  of  the  best  lawyers  in  America,  but  I  want 
to  know  whether  I  must  make  any  motion  in  order  to 
preserve  the  record  for  them. 

The  Court.  Every  right  shall  be  preserved. 

The  Prisoner.  How  much  time  have  I  in  which  to  pre- 
sent my  exceptions  ? 

Mr.  Scoville  then  stated  that  he  understood  under  sec- 
tion 845  of  the  Revised  Statutes  that  he  had  until  the 
next  term  to  file  his  bill  of  exceptions. 

The  Court.  No,  not  exactly  that;  there  is  no  particu- 
lar time  fixed  for  preparing  the  exceptions.  The  term 
will  be  kept  open. 

Mr.  Scoville.  How  long  will  I  have  ? 

The  Court.  The  term  will  be  kept  open  as  long  as  you 
desire. 

The  Prisoner.  I  do  not  desire  any  advantage  shall  be 
taken  of  me.  I  expect  to  have  my  lawyers  procured 
shortly,  and  they  will  pull  me  through  the  court  in  banc. 

Mr.  Scoville.  I  have  till  the  1st  of  March  to  file  my 
bill  of  exceptions  ? 


157 

The  Court.  Yes. 

The  Prisoner.   That  is  understood. 

The  District  Attorney.  Let  it  be  understood,  then, 
that  the  bill  of  exceptions  shall  be  in  by  the  1st  of  March. 

Mr.  Sco\^LLE.   If  I  can  do  it  in  a  week  I  will. 

The  Prisoner.  I  am  here  and  I  do  not  propose  to 
leave  this  matter  to  you.  I  have  my  opinion  of  you  as  a 
lawyer.  You  convicted  me  with  your  jackass  theories 
and  consummate  nonsense. 

Mr.  ScoviLLE.  I  move  to  postpone  the  final  execution 
of  judgment  in  this  case  to  a  reasonable  time  beyond  the 
next  term  of  court,  not  exceeding  thirty  days  after  the 
end  of  said  term. 

The  Prisoner.  Do  I  understand  that  it  is  necessary  to 
pass  sentence  until  the  matter  is  passed  upon  by  the 
court  in  banc  ? 

The  Court.  Yes  ;  sentence  is  passed,  but  the  execution 
is  deferred. 

The  Prisoner.  Within  what  time  will  your  honor  pass 
sentence  ? 

Mr.  ScoviLLE.  Keep  quiet. 

The  Prisoner.  You  keep  your  mouth  still.  I  am 
doing  this  matter  myself.  You  convicted  me  by  your 
wild  theory  and  consummate  asinine  character  all  through. 
If  the  case  had  been  kept  entirely  away  from  you  I  would 
have  had  two  of  the  best  lawyers  in  America,  and  there 
Avould  have  been  no  conviction.  I  had  letters  from  them, 
and  could  have  had  them  last  October.  I  care  nothing 
about  your  intentions.  I  want  brains  and  experience. 
Let  me  alone  and  I  will  pull  out  of  this.  You  got  me 
into  this  trouble. 

The  District  Attorney.  The  duty  is  now  imposed 
upon  me  to  ask  the  court  to  pass  sentence  in  accordance 
with  the  verdict. 


158 

The  Prisoner.  I  ask  your  honor  to  defer  that  as  long 
as  you  can. 

The  Court,  (to  the  prisoner.)  Stand  up.  (The  pris- 
oner rose.)  Have  you  anything  to  say  why  sentence 
should  not  be  pronounced  ? 

In  a  quiet  voice  the  prisoner  began  his  speech,  but 
after  he  had  dehvered  himself  of  two  or  three  sentences 
his  manner  became  more  agitated.  When  he  came  to 
his  prediction  that  the  American  nation  would  roll  in 
blood  he  raised  his  voice  to  its  highest  pitch,  and  brought 
his  clenched  hand  down  with  nervous  force  to  emphasize 
his  declaration.  When  he  referred  to  the  death  of  Christ 
he  gave  his  voice  that  declamatory  roll  which  throughout 
the  trial  has  characterized  his  allusions  to  religious 
matters. 

His  response  to  Judge  Cox's  question  was  as  follows  : 

GuiTEAu's  Speech. 

T  am  not  guilty  of  the  charge  set  forth  in  the  indict- 
ment. It  was  God's  act,  not  mine,  and  God  will  take 
care  of  it.  He  will  take  care  of  it,  and  don't  let  the 
American  people  forget  it.  He  will  take  care  of  it  and 
every  officer  of  this  Government,  from  the  Executive 
down  to  that  marshal,  taking  in  every  man  on  the  jury, 
and  every  member  of  this  bench  will  pay  for  it,  and  the 
American  nation  will  roll  in  blood  if  my  body  goes  into 
the  ground  and  I  am  hung.  The  Jews  put  the  despised 
Galilean  into  the  grave.  For  a  time  they  triumphed, 
but  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  forty  years  after- 
ward, the  Almighty  got  even  with  them.  I  am  not  afraid 
of  death.  I  am  here  as  God's  man.  Kill  me  to-morrow 
if  you  want  to.  I  am  God's  man,  and  have  been  fi'om 
the  start. 


159 

Judge  Cox  then  proceeded  to  pass  sentence,  and  after 
some  preliminary  remarks  said  : 

You  will  have  due  opportunity  of  having  any  errors  I 
may  have  committed  during  the  course  of  the  trial  passed 
upon  by  the  court  in  banc,  but  njieauwhile  it  is  necessary 
for  me  to  pronounce  the  sentence  of  the  law — that  you 
be  taken  hence  to  the  common  jail  of  the  District,  from 
whence  you  came,  and  there  be  kept  in  confinement,  and 
on  Friday,  the  30th  day  of  June,  1882,  you  be  taken  to 
the  place  prepared  for  the  execution,  within  the  walls  of 
said  jail,  and  there,  between  the  hours  of  twelve  and  two 
P.  M.,  you  be  hanged  by  the  neck  until  you  are  dead,  and 
may  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  your  soul. 

During  the  reading  Guiteau  stood  apparently  unmoved, 

his  hand  resting  on  the  table  and  with  his  gaze  riveted 

,  upon  the  judge.     It  was  the  longest  time  he  had   stood 

up  in  court.     When  the  final   words    were    spoken   he 

struck  the  table  violently  and  shouted: 

And  may  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  your  soul.  I'd 
rather  stand  where  I  do  than  where  that  jurj'  does  and 
where  your  honor  does.  I'm  not  afraid  to  die.  I  stand 
here  as  God's  man,  and  God  Almighty  will  curse  every 
man  who  has  had  a  part  in  procuring  this  unrighteous 
verdict.  Nothing  bat  good  has  come  from  Garfield's  re- 
moval, and  that  will  be  the  verdict  of  posterity  on  my 
inspiration.  I  don't  care  a  snap  for  the  verdict  of  this 
corrupt  generation.  I  would  rather  a  thousand  times  be 
in  my  position  than  that  of  those  who  have  hounded  me 
to  death.  I  shall  have  a  glorious  flight  to  glory,  but  that 
miserable  scoundrel,  Corkhill,  will  have  a  permanent  job 
down  below,  where  the  devil  is  preparing  for  him. 

After   apparently   talking    himself   out   the    prisoner 


160 

turned  to  bis  brother,  and  without  the  shghtest  trace  of 
excitement  conversed  for  some  minutes  before  being 
taken  from  the  courtroom. 

These    letters  were   published  February  20   and   ad- 
dressed to  my  attorney,  Hon.  Charles  H.  Reed  : 

Mr.  Reed  :  I  will  give  you  and  Mr. and  Gen. 

my  note,  payable  one  year  hence,  for  $5,000  each 


if  you  will  get  me  out  of  here.     I  think  you  can  do  it  on 
the  ground  of  the  non-jurisdiction  of  the  couri     I  have 

just  written  to  my  brother  to  make  this  offer  to  Gen. • 

.  I  depend  on  him  to  secure  General and  I  de- 


pend  on  you  to   secure  Mr.  -.      Please  call  with 

Mr.  without   delay.     I   presume  I  could  make 

$50,000  next  winter  lecturing  if  I  get  out  of  this.  I 
have  an  offer  of  $500  per  night  for  six  nights  from  Bos- 
ton now. 

Yours  truly, 

CHARLES  GUITEAU. 

United  States  Jail, 

Washington,  D.  C,  Feb.  11,  1882. 

Mr.  Reed  :  I  consider  the  non-jurisdiction  of  the  court 
my  strong  point.  I  asked  Judge  Cox  before  I  was  sen- 
tenced if  I  ought  to  do  anything  or  make  any  motion  to 
preserve  my  rights  in  banc,  and  he  said   "no."     Now,  I 

wish  you  would  see  him  and  Mr.  immediately 

and  find  out  positively  if  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  make 
a  formal  motion  before  Judge  Cox  to  press  this  point  in 
banc.     If  so,  I  desire  it  made  at  once.     I  presume  Judge 
Cox  will  allow  it  on  the  ground  that  he  misled  me. 
Yours,  &c., 

CHARLES  GUITEAU. 

February  14,  1882. 


161 

A  Brooklyn  newspaper  recently  published  a  lengthy  in- 
terview with  my  brother,  John  W.  Guiteau.  of  Boston, 
and  I  extract  from  it.  The  interview  is  headed  "  Guiteau," 
and  is  about  me  : 

Has  he  much  hope  of  escape  from  the  sentence  of  the 
court  ? 

He  says  he  eats  well,  sleeps  well,  and  feels  well,  and  it  is 
of  no  consequence  to  him  what  becomes  of  his  body.  He 
says  they  may  bury  it,  but  they  can't  harm  him  ;  he  is  God's 
man.  And  he  always  says,  with  great  excitement  of 
manner,  pounding  the  table,  that  if  he  is  harmed  this 
nation  will  roll  in  blood ;  "  but,"  he  adds,  "as  a  matter  of 
fact,  I  expect  to  live  to  be  President ;  but  if  my  time 
has  come,  I  am  as  well  satisfied  to  be  hanged,  if  God  wills 
it,  as  to  die  any  other  way."  He  says  "  future  genera- 
tions will  yet  see,  and  the  American  people  will  yet  see, 
that  I  am  a  patriot  and  have  saved  the  nation  from  war 
under  the  inspiration  of  Deity."  He  seems  to  h^ve  great 
hopes  upon  the  motion  for  a  new  trial,  and  the  exceptions 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court,  and  believes  that  it  was 
a  special  providence,  in  order  to  save  his  life,  that  the 
President  was  permitted  to  be  removed  to  New  Jersey 
and  die  there.  He  also  thinks  that  public  sentiment 
among  the  best  people  is  rapidly  changing  in  his  favor  ; 
not  that  they  believe  in  his  insanity,  but  in  the  truth  of 
his  inspiration,  which  is  his  only  defence  for  the  act.  He 
said  to  me  :  "I  notice  that  you  keep  saying  in  the  papers 
that  I  am  insane  ;  that  always  makes  me  mad  ;  I  am  no 
more  insane  than  you  are,  and  never  have  been.  You 
and  Scoville  are  both  cranked  on  this  defence.  You  both 
need  some  of  my  brains."  He  says  he  had  transitory 
mania  on  the  2d  of  July  and  for  a  month  previous  ;  and 
that  is  his  true  and  only  legal  defence,  and  would  have 
been  successful,  as  in  the  case  of  Cole  and  Sickles,  if  the 


162 

case  had  been  handled  by  au  able  lawyer  like  General 
Butler.  No  one  not  familiar  with  the  traits  he  has 
inherited  from  his  family  can  appreciate  the  tenacity 
with  which  he  depends  upon  the  exact  truth  as  a  defence, 
and  it  was  because  he  considered  that  the  facts  were 
violated  by  the  witnesses  and  the  attorneys  on  both  sides 
that  he  became  so  denunciatory  in  court.  He  wanted 
the  recorei  right,  as  he  repeatedly  said  in  court,  and  has 
since  said  to  me,  in  order  that  future  generations  may 
be  enabled  to  judge  truthfully  of  his  character  and  act. 

Annie  J.  Dunmire. 

This  lady  has  taken  upon  herself  to  furnish  for  publi- 
cation "Guiteau's  Married  Life."  Her  narrative  is  in  the 
sensational  style,  and  no  doubt  she  was  well  paid  for  it. 

In  1869,  after  a  short  acquaintance  and  te/i-honr  no- 
tice, I  foolishly  married  this  woman  !  I  met  her  at  the 
Y.  M.  (|.  Association,  of  Chicago,  where  she  was  em- 
ployed as  librarian.  She  came  from  Philadelphia,  where 
she  had  b§en  seduced,  and  had  a  child  by  a  young-  blood 
— a  married  man.  I  had  no  business  and  no  money  at 
that  time.  I  was  not  m  any  way  prepared  to  take  care  of  a 
wife.  She  was  a  poor,  uneducated  girl  without  position  or 
friends,  and  about  the  last  person  for  me  to  have  married. 
She  was  very  thin  and  delicate  in  appearance  ;  stupid  and 
stubborn  in  disposition,  and  our  marriage  was  most  un- 
fortunate. As  soon  as  I  was  married  I  opened  a  law 
office  in  Chicago  and  made  about  two  thousand  dollars 
that  year.  We  always  lived  and  dressed  well ;  but  we 
never  lived  together  a  week  without  having  a  serious  quar- 
rel. After  four  years  of  this  experience  I  made  up  my  mind 


163 

I  would  sever  the  bond,  and  we  were  divorced,  much  to 
my  satisfaction,  in  1874.  Since  then  I  have  known  little 
about  her,  and  care  nothing,  save  to  wish  her  well.  Her 
narrative  contains  much  that  is  false,  but  it  is  not  worth 
my  notice  to  correct  it  in  detail.  We  were  divorced 
without  issue.  I  have  been  strictly  virtuous  for  six  or 
eight  years,  and  have  not  dissipated  in  any  way. 

A  New  York  daily  paper  talks  thus  about  a  war  pre- 
vented by  Garfield's  removal,  which  I  herewith  annex,  as 
showing  the  drift  of  public  sentiment : 

Brief  as  the  Garfield  administration  was,  every  week 
brings  to  light  some  new  scandal  which  had  its  origin  in 
the  busy,  scheming  brain  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  A 
few  days  ago  we  laughed  at  Guiteau's  pretence  that  his  bul- 
let had  saved  the  country  from  a  war,  and  yet  to-day,  we  have 
the  proofs  that  at  the  time  President  Garfield  died  a  war 
was  imminent.  It  was  not  the  kind  of  war  which  was  pre- 
dicted but  it  was  a  war  which  could  not  have  failed  to  be 
even  more  disastrous.  If  Mr.  Blaine  had  had  his  way,  in- 
stead of  the  profound  peace  which  we  now  enjoy,  the 
call  to  arms  would  be  heard,  and  our  shipyards  would  be 
busy  on  both  shores  of  the  continent  fitting  out  a  fleet 
to  carry  an  army  of  occupation  to  the  soil  of  a  sister  re- 
public.        *         *         * 

Never  before  in  the  history  of  the  Republic  was  there 
such  a  Qviixotic  politician  at  the  head  of  the  Government. 
His  schemes  were  reckless  and  daring,  while  his  policy 
was  guided  neither  by  common  sense  nor  common  hon- 
esty. No  sentiment,  either  of  humanity  or  of  duty,  could 
reach  him,  and  even  while  he  stood  by  the  bedside  of  his 
dying  chief,  he  was  plotting  to  embroil  his  country  in  a 
war,  whose  only  result  could  be  to  benefit  the  corrupt 
rings  of  which  he  is  the  chief. 


164 

Even  for  a  country  as  rich  and  as  strong  as  the  United 
States  a  war  with  CbiU  was  an  undertaking  of  no  small 
magnitude.  An  army  would  have  had  to  be  conveyed  a 
long  distance,  and  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  create 
both  an  army  and  a  navy.  Alone,  Chili  would  have  been 
more  of  a  match  for  us  than  the  thirteen  colonies  were 
for  Great  Britain  in  1776.  But  in  this  contest  Chili 
would  not  have  been  alone.  Both  England  and  France 
could  scarcely  have  refrained  from  taking  a  hand  in  the 
fight.  All  the  world,  except  Peru,  would  have  been 
against  us,  and  in  such  a  contest  Peru  vpould  have  been 
a  very  poor  second.  For  once  we  would  have  met  our 
match,  and  it  requires  no  great  foi'esight  to  perceive  that 
we  should  have  come  out  of  it  impoverished,  shattered, 
and  perhaps  dismembered. 

*  *  *  We  now  see  that  Guiteau's  bullet  saved  the 
country  from  a  very  grave  danger,  which  could  only  have 
ended  in  a  desolating  war.  The  President,  it  is  only  too 
plain,  was  putty  in  the  hands  of  his  scheming  Secretary. 
Blaine  was  bent  upon  a  scheme,  boldly  conceived  and 
craftily  planned,  out  of  which  the  roll  of  drums  and  the 
roar  of  cannon  and  the  clash  of  arms  would  have  been 
sure  to  come.  It  was  to  be  a  war  of  occupation  and  con- 
quest, and  it  was  at  variance  with  a  long-settled  policy 
of  the  Republic  and  our  notions  of  national  and  interna- 
tional polity. 

The  same  newspaper  in  a  later  editorial  talks  thus  : 

Shall  we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  seems  forced 
upon  us — that  Guiteau  was  really  inspired  ? 

When  he  felt  the  Divine  pressure  upon  him  which  com- 
pelled him  to  remove  President  Garfield  to  avert  a  bloody 
war,  he  could  not  have  seen,  except  through  the  eye  of 
inspired  vision,  that  a  war  was  really  imminent.  That 
he  was  mistaken  in  its  character  is  not  remarkable,  for  it 


165 

is  not  always  given,  even  to  prophets,  to  see  clearly  the 
fore-knowlege  of  the  Lord.  Be  all  this  as  it  may,  it  is 
now  certain  that  the  effect  of  his  act,  as  he  proclaimed  it 
in  court,  was  practically  to  avert  what  he  said  it  had 
averted.  *  *  *  *■  While  Giiiteau  was  on  trial 
we  saw  no  reason  why  a  God,  who  interests  Himself  in 
the  affairs  of  men,  should  wish  to  reverse  His  action  at 
Chicago  in  June  and  at  the  polls  in  November,  1880. 
We  are  now  compelled  to  admit  that  even  a  God  who  was 
willing  to  elect  Garfield  President  of  the  United  States 
could  not  foresee  the  wickedness  of  Blaine  as  Secretary 
of  State.  It  might  somehow  be  necessary  that  Guiteau 
should  wear  the  mantle  of  inspiration  in  order  to  under- 
mine the  designs  of  the  Mephistopheles  who  obtained 
power  in  consequence  of  a  well-intended  act  of  Provi- 
dence. 

A  calm  consideration  of  Blaine's  wickedness  in  his  pro- 
jected war  with  Chili  is  almost  impossible.  It  was  to 
have  been  undertaken  at  a  great  cost  of  blood  and  treas- 
ure, only  to  assure  possession  of  a  guano  heap  and  make 
a  private  speculation  profitable.  It  was  a  cunning  and 
crafty  scheme,  by  which  a  few  men  were  to  make  money 
by  the  sacrifice  of  many  lives.  Shudder  as  we  may  at 
Guiteau's  act,  it  was  his  inspiration  which  prevented  the 
success  of  the  crime  which  Blaine  contemplated  without 
any  pretence  of  inspiration. 

In  view  of  the  revelations  of  the  last  few  days,  who 
can  deny  that  it  was  the  sacrifice  of  one  life  which  saved 
the  lives  of  thousands  and  perhaps  the  safety  and  per- 
petuity of  the  Republic  itself  ? 

I  condense  the  following  from  the  New  York  Herald 
March  2,  1882 : 

Reasoning  Mania. — Guiteau's  case  Analyzed. 

A  full  attendance  of  the  Medico-Legal  Society  was  pres- 


166 

ent  at  the  monthly  meeting  last  evening  in  the  rooms  on 
Thirty-first  street.  Dr.  Charles  S.  Wood  presided,  and 
introduced  Dr.  Hammond,  who  read  a  paper  on  "Rea- 
soning Mania ;  its  Medical  and  Medico-Legal  Relations, 
with  Special  Reference  to  the  case  of  Charles  Guiteau." 
The  doctor  passed  around  among  the  members  a  plaster 
cast  of  the  head  of  Guiteau  taken  by  order  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  paper  read  by  the  doctor  produced  a  powerful  im- 
pression, and  was  listened  to  with  the  profoundest  inter- 
est, being  heartily  applauded  at  the  end.  The  doctor 
traced  the  first  scientific  attempts  to  treat  reasoning 
mania  by  Pliny  in  1801,  and  later  on  by  Esquirol  and  by 
the  younger  Pliny,  who  called  the  affection  "  Mania  of 
Character."  After  referring  to  the  symptons  of  the  vic- 
tims of  the  disease  as  given  by  these  distinguished  French 
writers,  who  were  the  first  to  differentiate  the  affection, 
the  existence  of  which  had  also  been  affirmed  by  the  best 
English  and  German  alienists,  such  as  Prichard,  Con- 
nolly, Bucknillard,  Mandsley  and  Hoffbauer,  Caspar, 
Griesinger,  Liman,  and  Kraft-Ebing.  Dr.  Hammond 
gave  his  own  view  of  its  characteristics. 

Among  other  things  Dr.  Hammond  said : 

As  to  derangement  of  the  intellect,  I  am  quite  sure 
that,  though  the  emotions  and  the  will  are  primarily  and 
chiefly  involved,  there  is  more  or  less  aberration  of  the 
purely  intellectual  faculties  in  every  case  of  reasoning 
mania.  Certainly  this  has  been  so  in  every  instance  that 
has  come  under  my  observation.  To  a  superficial  exam- 
ination the  intellect  may  appear  to  be  unaffected,  as  it 
very  generally  happens  that  there  is  an  absence  of  marked 
delusion.  But  a  ready  susceptibility  to  be  impressed  by 
slight  exciting  causes;  an  unquestioning  faith  in  their  own 
powers,  when  in  reality  these  are  far  below  the  average. 


167 

and  an  entire  disregard  of  their  duties  and  obligations 
and  of  the  ordinary  proprieties  of  life,  are  certainly  indi- 
cations of  intellectual  derangement. 

Applying  the  foregoing  to  Guiteau,  and  considering 
the  manner  in  which  he  conducted  himself  while  being 
tried  for  his  life,  his  abuse  of  his  friends  who  were  en- 
deavoring to  save  him,  his  pi'aise  of  judge  and  jury  and 
opposing  counsel  at  one  time,  aud  his  fierce  denunciation 
of  them  at  another,  his  speech  in  his  defence,  his  entire 
lack  of  appreciation  of  the  circumstances  surrounding 
him,  his  evident  misapprehension  of  the  feelings  of  the 
people  toward  him,  his  belief  in  the  intercession  of 
prominent  persons  in  his  behalf  and  of  his  eventual 
triumph,  and  the  many  other  indications  with  which  you 
are  all  familiar,  especially,  his  conductafter  sentence  was 
pronounced,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting  that  Gui- 
teau is  the  subject  of  reasoning  mania,  and  hence  a  lu- 
natic. There  is  not  an  asylum  under  the  charge  of  any 
one  of  the  medical  experts  for  the  prosecution  that  does 
not  contain  patients  less  insane  than  he.  The  emotional 
philosophers,  desiring  him  to  be  sane,  still  endeavor  to 
persuade  themselves  that  their  wishes  and  facts  are  the 
same  thing,  and,  to  the  disgrace  of  American  psychologi- 
cal medicine,'  they  are  sustained  by  certain  physicians 
who  appeared  as  witnesses  for  the  prosecution.  To  shut 
our  eyes  to  his  exact  condition  and  to  try  to  flatter  our- 
selves that  he  was  of  normally  constituted  mind  when  he 
shot  the  President,  is  not  only  cowardly  ;  but  it  is  impol- 
itic. The  conviction  and  execution  will  be  without  the 
force  of  an  example  upon  hundreds  of  others  of  unsound 
minds,  who  may  be  contemplating  the  commission  of 
crimes.  And  it  will  lead  to  the  erroneous  conclusion 
that  there  was  a  sane  man,  a  man  in  the  full  possession 
of  his  mental  faculties,  capable  of  killing  the  President  of 
the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  the  two 


168 

wings  of  the  Republican  party.  Was  there  ever  a  more 
insane  motive  than  this,  and  was  there  ever  a  man  whose 
whole  career,  from  childhood  to  the  present  day,  has  af- 
forded a  more  striking  example  of  that  form  of  mental 
derangement  called  reasoning  mania  ? 

When  the  doctor  concluded  the  chair  called  on  Dr. 
Ralph  L.  Parsons  to  open  the   discussion  on  the  paper  1 

just  read.  Dr.  Parsons%aid  he  was  long  of  the  opinion 
that  this  paper  was  entirely  correct.  "  The  characteriza- 
tion of  this  Guiteau  form  of  insanity,"  he  said,  "  places 
it  equally  strong  on  the  basis  of  any  other  kind  of  in- 
sanity." 

Dr.  Spitzka  said  that  there  was  a  prevailing  delusion 
that  an  expert  in  insanity  had  a  profound  knowledge  of 
pathology,  physiology,  metaphysics,  and  many  other 
things,  but  that  was  knocked  on  the  head  at  W^ashing- 
ton.  He  examined  Guiteau  before  he  testified,  and  he 
found  that  he  was  full  of  haHucinations.  He  wanted  the 
mission  to  Austria  and  couldn't  speak  a  word  of  German, 
and  the  mission  to  France,  when  he  could  not  speak 
French.  He  believed  he  was  doing  a  great  act  for  the 
benefit  of  the  American  people.  The  form  of  insanity 
from  which  he  is  suffering  is  a  German  one  and  is  equal 
to  original  insanit}'. 

Dr.  Barry  said  he  agreed  a  good  deal  with  the  last 
speaker  and  with  much  that  Dr.  Hammond  said.  He 
thought  it  was  impossible  to  have  any  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  the  moral  and  intellectual  faculties.  He 
made  some  amusing  allusions  to  the  Guiteau  trial,  and 
said  he  knew  some  of  the  inside  workings,  and  was  in  the 
caucus  of  the  prosecution.  Guiteau  was  put  through 
after  the  way  they  kill  hogs  in  Chicago  !  No  matter  how 
the  hog  went  in  at  one  end  of  a  cylinder,  he  came  out  at 
the  other  still  a  hog.     The  prosecution  was  determined 


169 

Gaiteau  should  come  out  the  way  they  wanted,  and  tbey 
succeeded. 

Dr.  Manu  said  he  was  surprised  at  the  position  the  ex- 
perts took  on  the  Guiteau  trial.  The  form  of  Guiteau's 
insanity  was  theomania,  and,  if  he  lived,  it  would  de- 
velop in  melancholic  mania  or  perhaps  suicide.  He  was 
clearly  insane,  as  Dr.  Hammond  says. 

Dr.  Gi-ay,  of  Brooklyn,  said  that  every  case  like 
Guiteau's,  of  proved  insanity,  should  be  sent  to  a  lunatic 
asylum,  as  the  hanging  of  such  a  man  would  not  deter 
others  from  following  his  example. 

Dr.  Sayre  said  the  experts  should  have  made  the  ex- 
amination of  Guiteau  before  the  trial  came  off,  and  if 
found  insane  by  a  body  of  expert  doctors  he  should  be 
sent  for  life  to  a  lunatic  asylum,  and  the  Government 
would  be  spared  expense  and  scandal,  and  it  would  not 
go  forth  to  the  world  that  a  sane  man  had  murdered  the 
President. 

My  mail  is  received  daily.  I  herewith  attach  some 
letters.     I  withhold  the  names  and  sometimes  the  place. 

FKOM  MASSACHUSETTS— STICK  TO  GOD. 

Boston,  Jan.  23,  1882. 
Sir  :  Pardon  me  if  I  send  you  a  few  words  of  greeting, 
as  the  hour  draws  near  in  which  your  fate  is  to  be  sealed. 
I  have  listened  to  the  oratory  and  eloquence  of  Davidge 
and  Porter,  as  well  as  the  plea  of  your  own  counsel,  and 
I  can  find  nothing  so  logical  in  all  those  ],000  pages  of 
words,  as  I  find  in  your  few  words  to  the  honorable 
court,  as  follows :  "  If  the  jury  believes  that  I  believed 
it  was  right  for  me  to  remove  the  President,  because  I 
bad  special  divine  authority  so  to  do,  they  will  acquit  on 
the  ground  of  transitory  mania."  You  have  the  whole 
thing  in  a  uut-shell.     It  don't  make  any  difference  how 


170 

sane  you  are  to-daj' .  or  was  a  year  ago  or  less.  Was 
you  faitbful  to  yourself  the  2d  of  July  ?  For  fidelity  to 
cue's  self  is  all  the  standard  there  is  to  right  and  wrong. 
Right  as  you  see  it,  truth  as  you  see  it,  duty  as  you  see 
it,  though  not  perhaps  as  others  see  it.  We  do  not  all 
see  God  alike.  We  do  not  all  hear  Him  alike.  We  do  not 
all  worship  Him  alike. 

I  am  looking  out  from  my  window  upon  the  scraggy 
lines  of  an  elm  tree,  surrounded  by  the  statues  of  Charles 
Sumner,  Edward  Everett,  Daniel  Webster,  and  Horace 
Mann.  This  tree  was  the  chosen  one  for  the  judicial 
murder  of  four  persons.  Yv'hat  had  they  done  ?  They 
were  exiled  Quakers  who  had  returned  to  Boston.  Mary 
Dyer,  a  woman,  when  led  up  to  this  tree,  was  offered  her 
life  if  she  would  go  away ;  or,  in  other  words,  if  she 
would  hear  that  still  small  voice  as  her  persecutors  did. 
But  no.  She  said,  "I  hear  a  voice  you  cannot  hear, 
that  says  I  must  not  stay  away.  I  see  a  finger  you  can- 
not see,  that  points  me  the  way.  Which  shall  I  obey  1 
Nay ;  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  the  Lord  I  came,  and 
in  His  will  I  will  abide  faithful  to.  death."  And  she  of- 
fered her  neck  to  the  rope.  What  Christian  minister 
to-day  commends  that  fiendish  act  ?  Is  God  dead  ?  Can 
no  one  see  or  hear  Him  to-day,  only  in  just  such  a  way 
as  may  be  pointed  out  to  him  by  some  melaucholj'  fel- 
low? Now,  if  God  told  you  to  shoot  the  President, 
stick  to  it.  Who  should  know  better  than  you  ?  You 
touched  the  key-note  in  those  few  words  you  used  in 
your  plea.  And  if  God  be  with  you,  who  shall  be  against 
you?  Though  the  American  States  may  hang  your 
body,  and  the  American  church  may  damn  your  soul, 
whoever  believes  in  progress  will  find  a  friend  in 
Charles  Guiteau. 


171 


FROM  INDIANA— THE  SAVIOUR  OF  TOUR  COUNTRY. 

FoKT  Wayne,  Indiana,  Dec.  30,  1881. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  feel  it  my  duty  as  a  Christian  to  address 
you  a  few  words  of  sympathy  in  your  present  unhappy 
situation.  I  do  not  see  why  this  Government  should  put 
on  its  whole  armor  of  power  and  use  the  whole  U.  S. 
Treasury  in  the  attempt  to  convict  you  of  a  crime  of 
which  you  are  not  guilty.  You,  nothing  but  the  humble 
instrument  of  the  "  God  who  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform,"  to  save  our  blessed  land  from 
destruction  by  the  removal  of  Garfield,  and  by  putting 
Arthur  in  his  stead.  You  were  the  chosen  one  from 
among  the  faithful  to  do  the  will  of  the  ever  living  God,  and 
for  you  goes  up  prayers  at  early  morn,  noon,  and  night, 
to  the  throne  of  Him  who  doeth  all  things  well,  and  who 
had  predestined  you  from  the  cradle  to  be  the  second 
saviour  of  your  country  ;  and  every  presbyter  and  their 
hearers  will  swell  the  prayers  to  Him  who  sent  you. 
Fear  not  what  the  ungodly  Corkhill  and  Porter  may  do, 
because  the  Lord  is  your  shield  and  your  strength,  and 
His  will  be  done  as  it  was  from  the  beginning.  You 
were  selected  to  save  our  party  and  through  our  party 
our  country,  and  through  our  country  our  religion.  The 
religion  that  was  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock. 

FROM    WISCONSIN— THE    DEITY    WILL    KEEP    YOU 
HARMLESS. 

Eau  Claire,  Wis.;  Jan.  29,  1882. 
You  will  please  pardon  the  liberty  I  am  taking  in  thus 
addressing  you.  I  have  been  greatly  interested  in  your 
trial  throughout.  You  claim  that  your  removing  the  Presi- 
dent was  by  Divine  inspiration.  Do  you  not  feet  that 
the  same  power  which  inspired  you  to  do  the  act  will 
still  watch  over  you  and  save  you  from   harm  ?     If  you 


172 

were  only  the  instrument  or  means  used  to  carry  out  a 
plan  of  Deity,  then  you  are  not  responsible  for  the  act. 
He  who  knoweth  all  things  surely  must  have  seen  the 
end  and  have  provided  for  all  emergencies. 

FROM  OHIO— KING  OF  THE  STALWARTS. 

Hon.  Charles  Guiteatj  : 

I  am  ouly  a  maid  of  Ohio's  parts, 
And  you  are  Kiug  of  the  Stalwarts ; 
But  will  you  be  so  kind  iu  my  behalf, 
As  to  favor  me  with  your  autograph  ? 

FROM  TENNESSEE— WANTS  ME  FOR  PRESIDENT. 

Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  30,  1881. 

Dear  Sir  :  Allow  us  to  express  onr  unbounded  admi- 
ration for  you.  We  second  the  motion  to  nominate  you 
for  President. 

FROM  THE  OLD  DOMINION— STAND  TO  YOUR  COLORS. 

Norfolk,  Jan.  13,  1882. 
Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  : 

The  Stalwarts  of  the  Old  Dominion  send  you  greeting 
and  wish  you  the  best  future.  Stand  to  your  colors. 
Warm  up  old  Corkhill.  Let  the  world  know  that  true 
patriotism  is  not  dead  in  America  yet. 

In  the  envelope  containing  the  above  letter  this  was 
enclosed : 

Jan.  13,  1882. 
Mr.  Guiteau  : 

You  have  the  fullest  sympathy  of  our  community  and 
we  consider  you  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  intellectual 
men  of  the  day,  and  think  you  have  treated  Corkhill  ex- 
actly right  for  the  sneaking  way  he  has  treated  you,  and 


173 

we  are  confident  of  your   ability  to  come  out  all  right, 
as  we  are  fully  confident  of  your  inspiration. 

FROM  ILLINOIS— SUSTAINED  BY  DIVINITY. 

I  deeply  deplore  your  pending  doom.  Will  money  as- 
sist you  any  now  ?  Being  a  widow  left  with  much  prop- 
erty, I  would  willingly  help  you.  There  surely  could  be 
no  better  way  to  invest  a  thousand,  or  two,  than  to  help  a 
fellow  mortal  condemned  by  man  but  sustained  by  di- 
vinity. 

Please  send  me  a  lock  of  your  hair  as  a  memento  of 
the  man  who  was  brave  enough  to  sacrifice  his  life  for  his 
beloved  party. 

FROM  NEW  YORK— FINAL  SUCCESS  SURE. 

New  York,  Feb.  1,  1882. 
The  Honorable  Charles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir  :  Will  you  kindly  grant  me  the  favor  of  pos- 
sessing your  autograph,  and  adding  it  to  those  of  other 
illustrious  men.  I  have  been  a  close  observer  of  your 
struggle  with  Porter,  and  although  victory  appears  now 
with  the  Government,  I  think  your  final  success  is  be- 
yond all  question.  With  profound  respect  for  the  manly 
course  j^our  have  pursued,  I  remain 

Faithfully  yours, 


HANG  THE  DEITY  IF  ANYBODY. 
Charles  Guiteau  : 

Your  inspiration  is  characterized  by  the  prosecution  as 
irreverent  and  blasphemous.  That  repudiates  the  idea 
of  inspiration.  If  the  jury  concurs  in  that  view,  they 
then  declare  that  there  is  no  Divine  inspiration.  If  that 
be  their  verdict  it  repudiates  the  Bible,  "  believed  to  be 
the  inspired  book  of  men." 


174 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  decide  that  you  were  in- 
spired by  God,  you  cau  only  have  been  the  instrument  in 
His  hands,  ''  an  accessoi*y  to  the  killing,  and  the  princi- 
pal being  known  He  should  be  held  responsible."  Let 
them  hang  the  Deity  if  anybody. 

FROM  DELAWARE— EYES  FILLED  WITH  TEARS. 

Frederica,  Jan.  9,  1882. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  have  been  reading  the  papers  and  very 
truly  sympathize  with  you.  There  were  great  arguments 
on  the  subject  from  the  people  of  this  town,  but  now, 
when  the  news  is  a  little  contrary,  their  eyes  fill  with  tears. 
They  will  be  happy  to  hear  of  your  acquittal,  but  be  of 
good  cheer ;  the  Saviour  will  be  with  you. 

A  FRENCH-CANADIAN— TO  ADMIRE  YOU  I  DO  NOT 
LEAVE  OFF. 

Eepentigny,  Jan.  3c?,  1882. 
Dear  Sir  :  As  a  French-Canadian,  I  must  tell  you  that 
I  sympathize  very  much  with  you,  and  that  to  admire  you 
I  do  not  leave  off. 

FROM     CANADA— A     NEW     TRIAL    WILL     GIVE     AN    AC- 
QUITTAL. 

Toronto,  10  Feb.,  1882. 
Dear  Sir  :  If  you  think  there  is  any  likelihood  of  the 
court  granting  a  new  trial,  and  you  are  in  need  of  funds 
to  employ  good  counsel,  I  shall  be  glad  to  forward  you  a 
draft  for  a  substantial  amount  upon  hearing  from  you. 
I  heartily  sympathize  with  you,  and  consider  that  another 
trial  would  convince  the  jury  of  your  innocence. 


175 

FHOil  A  PENNSYLVANIA  STALWART. 

Hareisburg,  Dec.  31,  1881. 
To  the  Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  : 

When  on  the  2d  daj*  of  July  I  heard  of  the  assassina- 
tion of  "President  Garfield,''  I  thought  the  crime  horri- 
ble, and  also  thought  the  hangman's  noose  too  good  for 
you,  but  now,  since  the  trial  has  thrown  light  on  the 
case,  I,  too,  believe  in  your  much-talked-of  "inspiration." 

I  have  consulted  with  manv  of  my  brother  "  Stalwarts," 
and  they,  too,  believe  that  the  removal  of  "  President 
Garfield  '  was  committed  by  \o\\.  through  a  direct  in- 
spiration. We  earnestly  hope  that  the  "court"  will  see 
it  in  the  same  light  that  you  and  ourselves  see  it,  because 
if  the  jury  should  render  a  verdict  of  "guilty,  "  it  would 
be  a  stigma  on  the  rights  of  justice  and  libei'ty. 

The  prophecies  you  made  at  the  time  of  the  assassina- 
tion have  all  come  true.  Peace  and  harmony  reigns 
within  the  party.  Keep  up  good  cheer,  and  you  will 
come  through  safe. 

FROM  MASSACHUSETTS— MIRACLES  ARE  NOT  YET 
ENDED. 

Don't  despair,  even  if  you  are  brought  to  the  very  foot 
of  the  gallows.  A  thunderbolt  will  crush  your  enemies 
and  release  you.  Miracles  are  not  yet  ended,  and  such 
a  man  as  you  will  be  preserved,  even  if  the  very  heavens 
should  fall  to  do  it. 

FROM  BOSTON— DENOUNCING  THE  GALLOWS. 

Boston,  Dec.  30,  1881. 
Charles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir  :  The  most  hateful  and  damnable  of  all  crimes 
and  cruelties  ever  perpetrated  upon  the  face  of  the  earth 
or  in   the  regions  of  hell  is  that  of  capital  punishment ; 


176 

and  the  man  who  takes  the  life  of  a  fellow-man  in  the 
cold  blood  of  the  law  must  have  the  germ  of  the  very 
devil  in  his  heart,  or  he  would  revolt  from  it.  It  is  a 
Christian  impulse  and  a  Christian's  duty  to  abhor  such  a 
monster  as  one  would  the  very  arch-fiend  himself. 

FROM  MINNESOTA— HOPING  I  WILL  BE  PARDONED. 

Charles  Guiteau,  Esq., 

Washinc/tou : 
Enclosed  find  check  for  fifty  dollars.     Rest  assured  I 
sympathize  with  you,  and    only  trust  you  may  be  par- 
doned by  our  good  President. 

And  this  moves  me  to  say,  should  I  desire  President 
Arthur  to  pardon  me,  I  will  make  a  formal  requisition  on 
him  under  my  own  hand.  I  make  this  announcement 
that  irresponsible  persons  may  not  annoy  the  President 
or  me. 

FROM  A  MINISTER. 

Boston,  3Iarch  2,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  long  admired  you  for  your  honesty 
of  purpose  and  your  true  Christian  character.  I  am  an 
earnest  believer  in  your  innocence  ;  that  is,  that  you 
were  not  responsible  for  the  shot  that  killed  President 
Garfield.  I  wish  that  I  could  have  your  autograph,  that 
it  might  be  handed  down  to  my  children  and  my 
children's  children. 

Yours,  with  great  respect. 


FROM  MARYLAND. 

Baltimore,  February  8,  1882. 
My  Dear  Sir  :  The  news  of  your  misfortune  has  deeply 


1*77 

afflicted  many.  Who  can  foretell  what  may  happen  the 
next  moment?  But  it  is  not  my  intentions  to  increase 
your  painful  feelings  hj  my  lamentations.  Your  misfor- 
tune is  no  fault  of  your  own.  This  should  mitigate  your 
grief  and  keep  up  your  spirits.  Take  courage ;  when 
night  is  darkest  dawn  is  nearest. 

FROM  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Boston,  Jem.  30,  1882. 
Mr.  GuiTEAu : 

Dear  Sir  :  Having  been  found  among  the  most  ardent 
admirers  of  your  courage,  fortitude,  and  self-reliance  dur- 
ing the  days  of  the  recent  trial,  we  (my  sister  and  my- 
self) have  at  last  found  courage  to  pen  these  few  lines, 
begging  the  honor  and  pleasure  of  your  correspondence, 
or  at  least  a  few  lines  from  you  as  a  memento  of  one  who 
was  willing  to  risk  his  life  or  liberty  for  the  benefit  of  his 
loved  but  ungrateful  country. 

From  your  sympathizing  friends, 

LAURA  AND  EVA. 

FROM  KANSAS— "GUITEAU  THE  GREAT." 

Charles  Guiteau  : 

My  Dear  Sir  :  Being  a  poor  boy,  and  knowing  (as  but 
few  seem  to  appi-eciate)  your  kind  and  benevolent  disposi- 
tion, I  beg  of  you  to  send  me  your  photograph  and  auto- 
graph, and  I  promise  you  that  this  Western  country  will 
hear  from  your  good  deeds.  Yes,  and  it  will  help  to  bring 
to  light  your  real  character.  T  know,  though  you  be 
"  Guiteau  the  Great,"  you  will  ever  be  generous  and  not 
forget  the  poor. 

Believe  me  your  humble  servant. 


P.  S. — The  reason  I  want  your  photo  is  to  remember 


178 

the  greatest  of  Americans  and  to  let  the  people  here  see 
your  good  face. 

FROM  NEW  YORK— KEEP  UP  COURAGE. 

Sik:  We  have  watched  with  intense  interest  the  course 
of  the  great  trial  in  which  you  have  borne  so  important 
a  part,  and  must  congratulate  you  upon  your  heroic  be- 
havior through  it  all ;  and,  although  our  sympathies  are 
with  you  in  your  defeat  this  time,  yet  success  may  attend 
your  efforts,  if  the  Lord  be  with  you,  in  gaining  a  new 
trial ;  and  all  may  yet  be  well  if  you  keep  up  good  cour- 
age, as  you  certainly  must,  as  herein  lies  the  victory. 

FROM  OHIO. 

Hamilton,  O.,  Fd).  4,  1882. 
Chaeles  Guiteau, 

Washington,  D.  C : 

Dear  Sir  :  Accept  my  sympathy  with  you  in  your  hour 
of  misfortune.     The  darkest  cloud  has  its  "  silver  lining." 

FROM  PENNSYLVANIA. 

West  Chester,  Pa.,  Dec  31,  1881. 
Charles  Guiteau,  Esq.: 

Dear  Sir  :  The  people  here  are  all  reading  your  trial 
proceeding  with  much  interest.  Glad  that  you  keep  up 
such  courage.  We  all  wish  you  success  in  '84.  And  if 
you  should  run,  look  out  for  a  big  vote  from  this  section. 
People  of  West  Chester  sympathize  with  you. 

FROM  VIRGINIA. 

Lexington,  Va.,  Jan.  2,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau  : 

The  whole  town  is  in  sympathy  with  you.  We  pro- 
pose to  run  you  in  the  convention  of  1884  for  President, 


179 

and  think  that  you  are  a  smart  man,  and  always  have 
thought  that  you  ought  to  be  President. 

FROM  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Belchertown,  Mass.,  Dec.  31,  1881. 
Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  : 

Reahzing  the  fact  that  the  name  of  Charles  Guiteau 
will  stand  as  one  of  the  great  names  in  American  history, 
I  should  consider  it  an  honor  to  be  the  possessor  of  his 
autograph. 

FEOM  DAKOTA. 

Vermillion,  Dakota,  Jan.  28,  1882. 
Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  : 

I  am  a  little  girl  living  on  the  wild  prairies  of  Dakota. 
I  am  making  a  collection  of  autographs  for  my  album. 
Will  you  favor  me  with  yours  ?     I  should  prize  it  highly. 

FROM  CALIFORNIA. 

San  Francisco,  Jan.  27,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir  :  I  take  this  method  of  offering  to  you  my 
sympathy,  and  desire  to  extend  to  you  any  courtesy  that 
I  can.  The  people  of  San  Francisco  are  with  you,  and 
desire  you  to  write  to  our  press.  I  ask  you  most  hum- 
bly to  give  me  as  a  memento  (of  so  great  a  man)  your 
autograph. 

FROM  MASSACHUSETTS— TRUST  IN  GOD. 

Charles  Guiteau,  Esq. : 

Dear  Sir  :  I  should  be  very  much  pleased  if  you  would 
be  kind  enough  to  send  me  your  autograph,  which  I 
should  prize  highly.  I  have  much  sympathy  for  you  in 
your  unfortunate  position,  and  beg  you  to  place  your 
trust  in  God,  who  doeth  all  things  well. 


180 

FKOM  OHIO. 

Charles  Guiteau  : 

My  friend  in  Jesus  Christ :  I  am  praying  to  God  that 
this  nation  will  absolve  you  for  shooting  President  Gar- 
field, when  you  were  a  lunatic.  You  have  been  a  madman 
on  religion ;  that  is  a  fact  Avhich  cannot  be  disputed. 

FROM  BUFFALO,  NEW  YORK. 

Charles  Guiteau,  Esq'r : 

Sir  :  I  have  watched  the  trial  ever  since  it  commenced, 
and  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  not  an- 
other man  in  America  that  could  fill  your  boots.  I  want 
your  handwriting  to  put  into  my  collection,  as  I  have 
letters  from  the  following  great  men  : 

John  Wesley. 

Duke  of  Wellington. 

Lord  Brougham. 

Lord  Aberdeen. 

Lord  Dungannon. 

Daniel  O'Connell. 

Adam  Clark. 

And  many  other  great  men. 

FROM  KENTUCKY— A  FOOLISH  VERDICT. 

Charles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir:  I,  with  many  others,  have  watched  with  in- 
tense anxiety  your  recent  trial,  and  sincerely  deplore  the 
unexpected  and  foolish  verdict  that  has  been  rendered. 
We  admire  you  for  the  pluck  displayed  during  your 
severe  ordeal,  and  beg  of  you  to  be  of  good  cheer  as  you 
will  surely  receive  a  new  trial,  when  your  true  character 
will  be  shown  and  you  will  be  vindicated,  not  only  before 
the  eyes  of  the  American  people,  but  of  the  whole 
world.     This  nation  will   yet   bless   you  for  the    noble 


I 


181 

deed  you  have  performed.     With  many  wishes  for  your 
long  Hfe  and  prosperity,  I  remain  yours  truly, 


FROM  ALABAMA. 

Selma,  Ala.,  Jan.  10,  1882. 
Chakles  Guiteau  : 

Tour  time  has  not  come.  The  Lord  is  with  you  as 
well  as  are  all  liberal-minded  men  outside  the  court-room. 
Do  not  despair. 

You  have  well  succeeded  in  entertaining  the  world  for 
the  last  few  weeks.  May  your  wit  never  grow  dull,  nor 
your  shadow  less. 

FROM   INDIANA— SHALL   MAN  OPPOSE   HIMSELF   TO 
GOD'S  WILL  ? 

These  sentiments  are  from  an  Indiana  paper.  It  was 
sent  me  in  a  letter  : 

"  Brother  Arthur  says  his  illustrious  predecessor  was 
removed  by  the  mysterious  will  of  the  Almighty.  In  this 
he  agrees  with  Guiteau.  And  why,  if  Guiteau  is  insane, 
isn't  Brother  Arthur  insane  ?  They  agree  that  it  was 
God's  will  that  Garfield  should  be  '  removed.'  And 
shall  we  oppose  ourselves  to  God's  '  will  V  Shall  man 
set  himself  up  against  God  ?  Shall  man  set  himself  up 
against  the  humble  instrument  employed  by  God  to  exe- 
cute His  will  ?  Are  we  not  laying  the  hand  of  the  law 
upon  Guiteau  at  our  peril"?  Shouldn't  he  rather  be  canon- 
ized as  a  saint  than  hung  as  an  assassin  "?  Short-sighted 
man !  be  careful  how  you  raise  your  puny  hand  against 
the  will  of  God." 


182 
FROM  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  IOWA  ASSEMBLY. 

January  4,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau  : 

Washington,  D.  C: 
Dear  Sir  :  The  people  of  this  vicinity  earnestly  hope 
that  the  fact  of  your  inspiration  will  be  proven. 

The  American  people  are  fast  seeing  that  your  act  is 
proving  itself  to  be  the  most  beneficial  to  the  Republican 
party. 

FROM  COLORADO— A  MAN  OF  BRAINS. 

Colorado  Springs,  Jan.  9,  1882. 
Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir  :  I  was  much  surprised  to  hear  that  you  were 
placed  in  the  prisoner's  dock.  I  think  it  an  act  of  tyr- 
rany  on  the  part  of  the  court,  as  you  were  acting  as  your 
own  counsel. 

Your  trial  is  eagerly  read,  and  people  are  looking  for 
your  release,  believing  that  you  have  the  best  side  of  the 
case.  No  one  believes  you  to  be  a  crank.  Your  remarks 
in  court  show  that  you  are  a  man  of  good  brains,  and 
you  would  stand  a  good  show  as  candidate  for  senator- 
ship  of  Colorado,  or  even  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States.  You  are  spoken  of  a  great  deal  here, 
and  many  have  expressed  a  desire  to  read  your  book  on 
"Truth." 

FROM  MAINE— ''TO  THE  PLUCKIEST  MAN  IN  AMERICA." 

West  Paris,  Jan.  1,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau,  Esq. : 

The  pluckiest  man  in  America!  I  would  like  your  au- 
tograph for  my  album  with  such  a  sentiment  as  you 
might  be  pleased  to  write. 


183 

T  send  envelope,  stamped  addressed,  with  New  Year's 
greetings. 

From  your  little  friend, 

Miss  , 

A  IS-year-old  School  Girl. 

I  would  send  you  money  for  your  photograph  if  you 
had  any  to  spare. 

FROM  INDIANA— CAN  MEN  OVERPOWER  GOD? 

Albany,  Indiana,  Jayi.  31,  1882. 

Hon.  Charles  Guiteau, 

Washington,  D.  C  : 
In  response  to  your  appeal  to  the  ladies  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, of  which  you  are  the  deliverer,  I  humbly  beg 
you  to  accept  all  I  am  able  to  offer — a  letter  of 
sympathy  and  a  woman's  love.  It  was  with  the  highest 
degree  of  fervor  I  read  your  appeal  for  aid,  and  I  sin- 
cerely regret  that  I  cannot  offer  even  a  small  sum ;  but 
I  hope  and  firmly  believe  that  your  call  will  be  answered 
and  abundant  means  furnished  to  employ  for  you  an 
army  of  legal  talent.  I  was  truly  surprised  to  learn  that 
a  body  of  twelve  men  selected  from  an  enlightened  (?) 
city  should  return  such  an  unwarranted  verdict.  Did 
they  not  counteract  God's  will  ?  Do  they  not  oppose 
divine  rule  ?  Will  not  the  meagre  district  court  be  held 
accountable  for  countermanding  the  order  of  that  Judge 
whose  bench  Judge  Cox,  the  jur}',  and  prosecution  may 
never  see?  All  these  things  are  being  considered  by 
the  thinking  world.  It  is  true  that  the  judge  on  the 
bench  and  the  jury  in  the  box,  influenced  by  the  merce- 
nary efforts  of  the  unprincipled  Corkhill  and  the  trucu- 
lent Porter,  hold  that  you  are  a  guilty  murderer,  and  claim 
the  authority  to  deprive  you  of  your  valuable  life  ;  but  was 
it  murder  ?     Are  you  to  be  held  accountable  for  an  act 


184 

planned  by  the  Deity,  who  only  made  you  a  helpless  in- 
strument to  save  the  nation  ?  Is  it  not  a  supreme  honor 
to  be  God's  agent  1  Think  not  for  a  moment  that  this 
murderous  decision  will  be  executed.  Can  men  over- 
power God?  Have  they  not  tried  it  and  failed?  Has 
not  God  protected  you  in  the  past  and  given  assui'ance 
that  he  would  in  future  ?  Besides,  public  opinion  is  so 
rapidly  favoring  you  that  ere  the  sentence  can  be  exe- 
cuted the  people  will  demand  your  release,  and  your 
honors  will  be  unprecedented.  I  know  what  I  say,  and 
am  now  only  expressing  what  myriads  of  people  (espe- 
cially my  sex)  endorse. 

To  the  future  nation's  pride,  Charles  Guiteau. 

FROM  DENMAKK. 

CoPENHAGUE,  Denmahk,  the  15  J^eb.,  1882. 

Sir  :  I  am  a  Danish  student,  but  as  I  fear  that  yoii 
don't  understand  the  language  of  my  country,  I  shall  try 
to  express  my  thoughts  in  the  English  language. 

In  the  last  year  every  man  in  the  world  has  known  Sir 
Charles  Guiteau  ;  even  in  my  little  beautiful  country  your 
name  has  been  upon  all  lips  ;  some  admire  you,  some  fear 
you. 

As  I  am  a  collector  of  autographies,  I  should  be  very 
happy  if  you  would  do  me  the  favor  to  send  me  a  few 
words  from  your  own  hand. 

FROM  ENGLAND. 

I'eb.  21,  1882. 
Dear  Sir  :  You  would  confer  a  great  favor  upon  me  if 
you  would  only  be  so  kind  as  to  send  me  your  autograph, 
a  writing  I  should  value  above  all  things.  If  you  sliould 
be  kind  enough  to  grant  my  request,  would  you  only  write 
your  name  on  a  shp  of  paper  and  put  it  in  the  envelope 
which  I  enclose,  and  send  it  to  me. 


185 

Hoping  that  you  will  look  with  favor  upon  my  demand, 
and  with  kindest  wishes,  believe  me — 

FROM  NEW  YORK— A  GREAT  POLITICAL  WRONG. 

Brooklyn,  Feb.  17,  1882. 
The  Honorable  Charles  Guiteau: 

As  an  admirer  of  your  character,  and  as  a  sympathizer 
with  you  under  the  great  injustice  you  have  suffered,  I 
should  esteem  it  a  great  favor  to  possess  some  slight  me- 
morial of  you.  Will  you  kindly  favor  me  with  a  verse  or 
line  on  the  enclosed,  authenticated  by  your  autograph, 
which  it  will  be  my  pride  and  pleasure  to  religiousl}' keep 
all  my  life  and  hand  to  my  children  as  a  memento  of  a 
great  political  wrong. 

Wishing  you  every  happiness  and  the  support  of  that 
God  on  whom  you  ever  relied  in  your  hour  of  great  afflict- 
ion, I  am,  dear  sii',  your  sincere  well  wisher  and  admirer. 

FROM     WISCONSIN— I     DID    RIGHT     TO     REMOVE    THE 
PRESIDENT. 

Eau  Claire,  Feb.  15,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau  : 

Dear  Sir  :  You  do  not  know  how  many  ladies  there  are 
here  who  believe  that  you  did  right  to  remove  the  Presi- 
dent. I  am  one  of  them,  and  I  believe  your  name  will 
be  one  of  the  brightest  in  our  history  or  in  the  history 
of  any  other  nation.  I  hope  you  will  have  a  new  trial 
and  the  court  in  banc  will  reverse  the  decision.  I  hope 
you  will  answer  this  in  your  own  hand  as  I  wish  to  pre- 
serve your  autograph  as  a  memento  of  a  great  man. 

FROM    MINNESOTA— THINKS    I    WILL    COME    OUT    ALL 
RIGHT. 

Minneapolis,  Minn.,  2-18,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau: 

Dear  Sir  :  Allow  me   to   express   my  most   heartfelt 


186 

sympathy  for  you.  I  hope  you  have  the  confidence  in 
God  the  papers  claim  you  have.  I  think  you  will  come 
out  all  right  yet. 

FKOM  MAINE— SAYS  I   OUGHT  TO  BE  KELEASED. 
Chakles  Guiteau,  Esq.: 

There  is  a  strong  feeling  here  in  the  Eastvi^ard  among 
nearly  all  classes  in  favor  of  your  release.  Wishing  that 
your  name,  which  must  live  centuries  after  the  names  of 
your  accusers  have  been  forgotten,  and  yourself  may  long 
be  spared  the  country  you  have  really  saved,  I  am  yours 
respectfully, 


FROM  MISSOURI. 
Hon.  Charles  Guiteau  : 

Please  accept  the  heart-felt  sympathy  of  friends  in  Mis- 
souri. From  the  first  you  have  claimed  the  sympathy  of 
some  friends  at  least.  Our  nation  mourns  the  loss  of  a 
good  President,  but  our  sympathy  for  him  and  his  family 
must  not  cause  us  to  forget  that  there  are  others  who 
need  our  sympathizing  prayers. 

FROM  MICHIGAN— "A  STALWART  OF  THE  STALWARTS." 
Hon.  Chas.  Guiteau,   Washington,  D.  (J.: 

Those  fellows  are  not  doing  right  by  you.  You 
are  a  stalwart  of  the  Stalwarts,  and  anything  I  can  do  in 
my  power  to  help  you,  I  will  be  pleased  to  do.  Let  me 
know  if  you  need  any  help  in  the  way  of  money  or  politi- 
cal influence. 

FROM   TEN   SCHOOL   CHILDREN— BOYS  AND    GIRLS— IN 

MICHIGAN. 
Mr.  Guiteau  : 

We,  the  scholars  of  a  school  in  the  interior  of  Michi- 
gan, which  to  express  by  letter  our  sympathy  for  you. 


187 

Your  name  has  become  familiar  to  every  child,  and  when 
it  goes  down  in  history  you  will  appear  in  a  different  light 
than  that  in  which  you  are  now  represented  to  the  pub- 
lic. The  minds  of  the  people,  cleared  of  prejudice  or 
passion,  will  then  consider  you  in  your  true  charac- 
ter. As  it  is  now,  the  press  of  the  United  States  has  so 
involved  and  misconstrued  your  actions  that  your  life  pre- 
sents one  continued  mesh  of  contradictions.  Hoping 
that  one  day  or  other  you  will  stand  on  your  merits  in  the 
estimation  of  the  people,  we  very  respectfully  solicit  an 
answer  to  this  expression  of  sympathy. 

FEOM  ILLINOIS— THINKS  I  AM  "A  GREATER  MAN  THAN 
GRANT,  LINCOLN,  OR  WASHINGTON." 

Chicago,  Jan.  2,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau,  Esq.: 

Honored  Sir  :  The  majority  of  the  American  people 
are  beginning  to  see  your  case  in  its  true  light.  I  would 
buy  your  photograph  in  preference  to  Garfield's  any  day, 
and  so  would  a  great  many  other  people.  They  are  be- 
ginning to  think  of  you  as  a  greater  man  than  Grant, 
Lincoln,  or  Washington. 

FROM  A  DISTINGUISHED  MINISTER  OF  NEW  YORK. 

New  York,  Jan.  14,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau, 

Washington,  D.  C: 

Dear  Sir  :  Put  your  trust  in  God  and  you  will  come 
out  triumphantly  in  the  end.  I  am  satisfied  that  you  are 
an  innocent  and  much  abused  man,  but  don't  let  your 
courage  fail  you.  Everything  will  be  all  right.  Keep 
up  good  cheer. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

Kev.  , 


188 

FROM  ENGLAND. 

England,  Jan.  23,  1882. 
Dear  Sir:  The  world  at  large — Eugland  especially — 
looks  first  with  longing  eyes  each  morning  for  the  latest 
words  which  have  fallen  from  your  mouth.  Your  name 
will  be  handed  down  to  posterity.  By  sending  me  two 
separate  autographs  of  yours,  which,  when  obtained,  will 
be  placed  amongst  those  of  other  great  men,  you  will 
confer  a  great  favor  upon  yours,  truly. 

FROM   A    PHILADELPHIA  LAWYER— NO    MALICE    IN 
THIS  CASE;  THEREFORE  NO  CRIME. 

January  1,  1882. 

Sir  :  If  you  don't  hang  the  jury  someway  it  Avill  be 
apt  to  hang  you.  You  would  be  in  no  danger  if  the 
jurymen  and  the  judge  were  all  thinkers  and  philoso- 
phers, but  they  are  not.  They  are  frail  mortals,  and  will 
be  apt  to  fall  in  with  the  morbid  clamor  for  your  blood. 
Corkhill  is  an  ass  and  cannot  appreciate  the  fine  point  on 
which  your  case  turns.  Porter  is  a  brute,  and  cares 
for  nothing  but  his  fee.  Davidge  is  playing  soupe  in  the 
farce  of  a  prosecution,  and  like  all  who  play  subordinate 
parts  falls  in  with  any  nonsense  the  others  adopt.  Judge 
Cox  is  a  good  kind  of  a  creature,  but  with  no  ability  or 
learning.  Scoville  is  doing  as  well  for  your  defence  as 
a  routine  attorney  could  be  expected,  but  he  has  been 
stumbling  along  where  angels  fear  to  tread,  and  where 
he  has  hit  the  essential  matter  in  your  case  it  has  been 
by  accident  rather  than  design. 

You  have  made  the  only  point  and  stuck  to  it  all 
through  this  long  trial,  that  can  be  made,  and  that  is 
where  there  is  no  malice  there  can  be  no  crime.  Every 
murder  is  a  killing  ;  but  every  killing  is  not  murder.  If 
you  were  sane  on  the  2d  of  July  last  you  had  no  con- 
ceivable   motive  of    malice  for    shootincf  the  President. 


189 

If  you  were  not  saue,  of  course  you  are  not  responsible  in 
law.  If  you  have  that  total  depravity  of  heart,  fatally 
bent  on  mischief,  which  Blackstone  describes  as  implied 
malice  in  law,  it  is  strange  that  it  should  never  before 
have  been  exhibited  in  your  life.  The  facts  brought  out 
by  the  prosecution  about  your  supposed  dishonest  trans- 
actions in  business  affairs  do  not  establish  the  wicked- 
ness of  heart  which  produces  malice  in  law  to  convict  of 
murder.  If  you  have  that  kind  of  malice  it  would  have  ap- 
peared long  ago  in  murdering  other  people,  or  in  attempts 
to  murder  them.  There  was  no  actual  malice,  for  this 
must  have  a  motive,  on  which  mankind  usually  acts  in 
such  cases.  They  can't  call  it  revenge  for  refusing  to  ap- 
point you  to  office  for  you  had  not  been  finally  refused, 
but  only  put  off,  as  many  are  who  are  finally  appointed. 
Hayes  used  to  reject  men  whom  he  finally  appointed,  and 
appointed  men  whom  he  told  he  never  could  appoint. 
Garfield  and  Blaine  were  counterparts  of  Hayes  in  promi- 
nent traits  of  character.  People  have  wondered  how 
Hayes  ever  got  through  his  term  of  lying  and  hypocrisy 
without  meeting  a  Guiteau  who  had  a  real  motive  for 
personal  violence.  Garfield,  if  he  possessed  the  same 
traits  of  character  as  most  people  who  were  acquainted 
with  him  believe,  had  not  so  far  developed  it  when  you 
shot  him  as  to  afford  the  slightest  justification  for  your 
act.  Garfield  had  a  better  heart  than  Hayes,  but  he  was 
weak  and  vacillating.  He  had  ability  of  high  order  and 
much  book-learning,  but  no  balance  and  no  common 
sense.  He  would  have  proved  a  perfect  failure  as  Presi- 
dent, but  that  was  no  reason  why  he  should  have  been 
killed  either  by  you  or  the  doctors.  And  if  all  they  claim 
to  have  proved  about  you  were  true,  Garfield  would  have 
been  as  apt  to  appoint  you  as  anybody.  He  made  some 
appointments  no  less  amazing  ;  so  that  you  had  as  much 
right  to  anticipate  honors  from  him,  cranky  arid  dishon- 


190 

est  as  they  claim  you  are,  as  many  others  who  succeeded 
in  their  importunities.  I  think,  therefore,  you  tell  the 
truth  when  you  say  that  it  was  not  from  ill  will,  growing 
out  of  disappointment,  that  caused  you  to  shoot  the  Presi- 
dent. 

Your  lawyers  call  it  insanity ;  yon  call  it  a  "  pressure  " 
from  the  Deity  to  do  an  act  which  the  Divine  wisdom 
thought  ought  to  be  done  for  the  good  of  the  country  ; 
of  which  of  course  you  must  be  the  judge  in  the  first  in- 
stance, as  no  other  man  could  be  a  judge  for  you  ;  I 
mean  as  to  the  "  inspiration."  When  Moses  had  an  in- 
spiration to  retire  to  the  smoking  mountain  of  Sinai  to 
write  the  tables  for  the  Israelites,  he  didn't  receive  an  in- 
timation of  it  from  anybody  else,  and  he  didn't  have  to 
"  prove  "  it  to  the  satisfaction  of  any  captive  Jews.  He 
felt  it  and  acted  upon  it,  and  the  result  showed  he  was 
not  an  imposter.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Apostles. 
Paul's  own  statement  has  always  been  taken,  and  the 
Scripture  is  based  on  it  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  w-hen 
he  told  how  he  became  converted  and  what  ■■'  pressure  " 
was  brought  on  him  to  change  his  course  of  life,  and  how 
God  inspired  his  writing  and  preaching.  If  there  is  a 
God  and  our  religion  is  not  a  lie,  as  the  crank  lugersoll 
declares,  that  same  Deity  which  knows  no  variableness  or 
shadow  of  turning  can  select  His  instruments,  now  as 
well  as  then. 

But  it  makes  no  practical  difference  whether  you  are  right 
or  Scoville  is  right  in  the  pith  of  the  matter.  It  is  not 
murder  in  any  case.  If  it  was  a  real  inspiration,  there 
was  no  more  reason  to  call  you  insane  than  to  call  Moses, 
the  Prophets,  and  the  Apostles  insane.  But  as  we  must 
have  civil  administration  as  well  as  divine  in  human  gov- 
ernments, all  sons  of  men  must  in  the  first  instance  be  held 
responsible  for  their  acts  which  are  forbidden  by  law  and 
let  the  Almighty  take  care  of  the  rest.     When  God  moves 


191 

in  one  direction  and  man  in  another,  conflicts  become 
mysterious  and  irreconcilable  to  our  narrow  views.  In- 
dividuals must  perish  in  this  seeming-  conflict,  but  God's 
wisdom  will  be  vindicated  at  last.  And  as  a  matter  of 
fact  we  find  there  never  lias  been  any  punishment  in  such 
cases  as  yours.  Christ  had  to  be  crucified  according  to 
the  divine  economy,  and  the  irresponsible  mob  of  Jews 
who  crucified  him  were  technically  guilty  of  homicide 
under  the  law  of  the  land,  but  as  a  fact  they  were  never 
punished.  When  Stephen  was  stoned  to  death  it  was 
murder,  but  not  only  did  the  murderer  escape,  but 
Stephen  himself  asked  that  he  be  forgiven,  as  Christ  had 
said  of  his  murderers,  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do."  Supposing  you  to  have  been 
sane,  your  act  will  stand  out  in  history  in  the  same  cate- 
gory, and  roll  down  the  ages  for  a  divine  purpose.  If  it 
was  an  "insane  delusion ''  of  your  own,  without  an  inspira- 
tion, of  course  you  cannot  be  convicted.  Still  less,  if  you, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  have  never  been  a  sane  man.  But  if 
your  act  has  more  of  the  ingredients  of  murder,  as  you 
can  demonstrate  if  j'ou  understood  your  own  case,  it 
makes  no  difference,  as  I  have  said,  what  defence  is  put  in. 
Garfield  fell  a  victim  to  influences  and  circumstances 
which  he  helped  to  bring  about.  The  moral  world  is 
governed  by  laws  as  certain  as  those  of  the  physical.  You 
might  as  well  say  God  is  guilty  of  murder  when  His  light- 
ening strikes  and  kills  as  to  say  you  are  guilty,  when 
you  conducted  against  the  person  of  the  President  the 
fatal  surcharge  of  the  political  atmosphere  on  the  2d  of 
July.  Brutus  committed  technical  homicide  when  he 
stabbed  Caesar  in  the  senate-house  instead  of  a  railroad 
depot,  but  his  act  was  never  regarded  as  criminal,  but 
historical,  for  which  we  of  America  applaud  him.  He 
didn't  love  Csesar  less,  but  Rome  jnore.  Charlotte  Cor- 
day  committed  assassination  when   she  slew  Murat  in  a 


192 

bath-tub,  but  she  was  not  punished  because  she  executed, 
if  not  the  will  of  God,  the  known  will  of  the  people  of 
France.  Killing  a  king  or  soverign  is  treason,  not  mur- 
der, in  the  old  world  ;  and  the  truth  is  tve  have  no  Icno 
on  the  subject.  If  they  convict  you  for  killing  the  man 
Garfield  they  will  do  so  without  showing  the  least  mo- 
tive for  the  act,  and  by  upsetting  the  whole  theory  and 
precedents  of  the  common  law. 

FROM  IOWA— AN  OFFER  OF  MARRIAGE. 
I  am  in  receipt  of  this  letter  dated  March  10,  1882 : 

Mr.  GuiTEAu: 

Dear  Friend  :  I  have  read  all  about  you  in  the  papers. 
We  all  sympathize  with  you  out  in  this  country,  and  hope 
you  will  get  out  all  right.  I  don't  believe  you  will  be 
hung.  Now,  will  you  please  send  me  your  photograph  ? 
I  would  like  to  have  it  very  much.  Enclosed  you  will 
find  mine.  I  am  19  years  old,  and  very  good  looking. 
I  am  rich  and  want  a  husband.  If  you  think  I  would 
suit  you,  please  let  me  know. 

THRICE  SAVED  FROM  DEATH. 

I  hereby  record  that  I  adore  the  Almighty  Father  and 
the  Saviour  for  the  kind  providence  that  has  been  with 
me  all  my  life,  and  especially  since  I  have  been  in  jail. 
Thrice  I  have  been  shot  at  and  missed  since  July  2.  The 
most  providential  escape  from  death  was  by  Mason's 
bullet.  It  passed  within  an  inch  of  my  head  and  left  my 
pi'ofile  on  the  lead.  Jones'  bullet  grazed  my  arm,  but  it 
did  me  no  harm.  A  guard  in  the  jail  placed  his  pistol 
within  six  inches  of  my  head  in  August,  and  I  clinched 
him  and  held  him  until  relieved  by  friendly  guards.     In 


193 

the  scuffle  he  fired  his  pistol  at  my  head,  but  it  missed 

me.     I  record  this  experience  as  acts  of  the  Deity  in  my 

favor. 

MASON. 

From  the  Washington  Post  March  14,  1882  : 

From  being-over  loquacious  Guiteau  has  gravitated  to 
the  other  extreme,  and  now  opens  his  mouth  only  at  rare 
and  stated  intervals.  He  heard  of  Mason's  sentence  late 
Sunday  afternoon.  Strange  to  say  he  made  no  com- 
ment upon  it,  not  even  showing  by  any  act  that  he  felt 
the  slightest  interest  in  Mason  or  any  of  his  kin.  He 
has  since  steadily  refused  to  talk  about  the  sentence,  con- 
tenting himself  with  remarking,  when  pressed  for  his 
opinion  :  "  O,  well,  I  suppose  if  he  intended  to  kill  me,  the 
sentence  was  all  right " — a  certainly  intensely  non-com- 
mital  phrase.  It  is  the  opinion  of  those  who  have  most 
closely  observed  him  that  he  really  casts  no  thoughts 
upon  Mason,  regai-ding  him  only  as  a  wicked  reed  which 
was  broken  by  divine  power. 

A  New  York  paper,  in  discussing  Mason's  sentence, 
uses  these  words,  which  I  endorse : 

This  artilleryman  struck  a  blow  at  the  reputation  of 
the  regular  troops  for  obedience  to  orders  under  all  cir- 
cumstances. To  have  punished  him  more  lightly  would 
have  helped  to  spread  the  conviction  that  the  troops 
could  not  be  relied  upon  to  perform  disagreeable  duty  in 
moments  of  great  public  excitement,  and  it  would  have 
half  condoned  one  of  the  greatest  offences  which  a  sol- 
dier can  be  guilty  of  in  time  of  peace. 

My  Life  in  Jail. 

[From  the  Baltimore  Sun,  March  6.] 

■  Through  the  courtesy  of  Gen.  Crockei",  warden  of  the 


194 

jail,  a  representative  of  The  Sun  was  admitted  to 
Guiteau's  cell  on  Saturday.  The  prisoner  has  improved 
in  appearance  remarkably  since  his  trial.  His  complex- 
ion is  clear,  and  shows  the  glow  of  health  and  good  liv- 
ing without  excess.  While  upon  close  view  there  is  a 
peculiarity  in  the  expression  of  Guiteau's  eye,  it  is  not 
suflSciently  noticeable  to  attract  attention  under  ordinary 
circumstances.  He  wears  a  new  suit  of  dark  clothing, 
fresh  linen,  and  a  wide-brimmed  soft  hat,  keeping  the 
latter  constantly  upon  his  head,  even  in  the  presence  of 
lady  visitors.  Two  cells  are  at  his  disposal,  one  of  which 
he  uses  as  an  office  and  the  other  as  a  sleeping  apart- 
ment. The  office  is  furnished  with  several  chairs,  a  desk, 
and  writing  materials.  The  prisoner  said  he  was  well 
treated  by  everybody.  He  had  numerous  visitors,  from 
whom  he  realized  $25  to  $30  per  day  by  the  sale  of  au- 
tographs and  photographs.  He  exhibited  four  pictures 
in  different  positions,  recently  taken,  saying  he  preferred 
those  in  which  the  face  was  turned  to  the  side.  These 
give  the  countenance  an  expression  of  severity'  not  nat- 
ural to  it.  The  proceeds  of  this  traffic  afford  him  the 
means  of  supplying  various  comforts  and  the  daily  new- 
papers.  Judging  by  the  testimony  on  his  trial  of  the 
shifts  he  has  employed  to  get  along  in  the  past,  he  is  in 
easier  circumstances  now  than  he  has  been  for  a  long 
while.  He  reads  pretty  much  all  that  is  published  about 
himself,  and  is  very  fond  of  fruit  and  buys  a  great  deal 
of  it.  He  disapproves  of  Mrs.  Scoville's  letters  to  Mrs. 
Garfield  and  President  Arthur,  and  has  notified  her  not 
to  write  any  more  letters  in  his  behalf.  In  reference  to 
his  prospects,  Guiteau  said  confidently :  "  We  expect  relief 
from  the  court  in  banc."  He  hoped  Mr.  Conkling  would 
accept  the  seat  on  the  Supreme  Bench  for  the  good  of 
the  country.  Guiteau  is  anxious  to  have  a  new  book 
published,  which  will  contain  a  revision  of  his  work  on 


195 

the  Bible,  a  sketch  of  his  life,  and  an  abstract  of  the 
trial.  He  is  desirous  that  a  Baltimore  house  should  pub- 
lish it,  and  says  he  is  losing  $50  a  day  while  it  remains 
unprinted.  At  parting  the  prisoner  said :  "  I  will  give 
you  a  sentiment,"  and  he  wrote  on  a  slip  of  paper  the 
words,  "  The  Republican  Party — wrecked  by  Garfield ; 
saved  by  Guiteau's  inspiration  and  Arthur's  statesman- 
ship. Tell  the  readers  of  7'Ae  Smi  that  I  am  well  and 
happy,  and  have  no  apprehensions  of  any  other  condition 
either  here  or  hereafter."  His  manner  is  entirely  free 
from  anything  that  would  indicate  that  he  did  not  feel 
as  he  spoke.  He  replies  to  all  interrogations  with 
promptness  and  decision,  and  speaks  freely  upon  any 
topic  introduced.  When  visitors  appear  at  the  door  of 
his  cell  he  invites  them  to  entei',  encouraging  the  timid 
with  the  assurance  that  he  will  not  hurt  them.  He  dis- 
plays the  air  of  a  busy  man  of  affairs,  much  in  earnest 
and  entirely  sane,  entertaining  visitors  as  would  become 
a  man  in  the  position  of  a  host  perfectly  at  ease. 

PEKSONAL. 

As  I  have  been  terribly  vilified  by  certain  disreputable 
newspapers,  and  have  had  diabolical-looking  pictui'es 
printed  in  some  illustrated  newspapers,  pretending  to 
represent  my  profile,  I  herewith  give  my  personal  appear- 
ance :  Age,  forty — am  often  taken  for  thirty ;  height,  5  feet 
5f  inches ;  weight,  140  pounds.  Body  compact  and  well 
built.  Head,  round  and  plump.  Brains,  let  the  public 
pass  on  that.  Complexion,  clear,  light,  and  bright.  Eyes, 
the  same.  Hair,  brown ;  worn  short.  Face,  clean,  with 
a  slight  moustache.  Manners,  those  of  a  high-toned 
Christian  gentleman.  Habits,  I  do  not  dissipate  in  any 
way.     Health,  excellent. 


196 

My  time  is  pleasantly  spent  in  reading,  writing,  and 
entertaining  company.  I  have  no  anxiety  about  myself 
for  this  world  or  the  next.  The  Lord  always  takes  care 
of  His  man. 

To  Newspapers. 

Certain  newspaper  cranks  delight  in  the  use  of  the 
words  "  Guiteau  the  Assassin."  The  word  assassin  is 
getting  to  be  a  high-toned  word.  Applied  to  me  it 
sounds  as  well  as  the  word  "  patriot." 

Guiteau,  the  Patriot. 

Guiteau,  the  Assassin. 

Cranks  can  take  their  choice. 

The  most  venomous  men  on  the  American  press  on 
this  Guiteau-Garfield  business  are  "Josef"  Medill,  of  the 
Chicago  Tribune ;  W.  Reid,  of  the  N'etc  York  Tribune ; 
M.  Halstead,  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial ;  and  Cur- 
tis, the  man-milliner  of  Harper  s  Weekly.  These  fellows 
are  so  badly  cranked  they  will  be  in  a  lunatic  asylum  if 
they  do  not  have  a  care.  They  should  remember  that 
Grant,  Conkling,  and  Arthur  elected  Garfield  and  not 
they.  I  hereby  invite  them  to  join  the  Gi'ant-Guiteau- 
Arthur  Combination  and  behave  themselves.  I  hereby 
notify  them  to  hold  their  venom.  Let  them  stop  cursing 
God's  man.  If  they  cannot,  let  them  follow  the  advice 
of  Job's  wife  :  "  Curse  God  and  die."  Then  the  Al- 
mighty will  get  even  with  them  for  their  diabolical  spirit 
in  this  matter.  The  poodle  dogs,  of  "  the  minor  press," 
as  Horace  Greeley  called  the  two-cent  dailies,  are  hardly 
worth  my  notice.  I  pass  them  as  a  Fifth  avenue  gentle- 
man would  the  bark  of  a  cur. 


197 

This  Book  is  Copyrighted. 

By  the  statement  in  the  preface,  "  that  editors,  not 
newspaper  devils,  may  review  this  book,"  I  mean 
that  they  will  only  be  allowed  to  review  it  generally.  I 
do  not  mean  to  destroy  the  copyright.  No  one  has  a 
right  to  copy  any  part  of  this  book  without  special  per- 
mission from  me,  as  it  is  copyrighted.  The  pubHc  can 
buy  it  if  they  want  it. 

THE  PRESIDENCY— J.  A.  G.,  C.  A.  A.,  AND  C.  J.  G. 

Aj^ropos  to  the  Presidency,  it  has  been  discovered 
that  the  initials  of  Garfield,  J.  A.  G.,  and  Arthur,  C.  A. 
A.,  and  Guiteau,  C  J.  G  ,  intermingle  mysteriously. 
Eliminate  the  letters  common  to  each,  i.  e.,  the  A's,  and  it 
leaves  C.  J.  G.  To  lovers  of  the  mysterious  this  cer- 
tainly is  striking.  These  initials  may,  and  probably  do, 
indicate  three  Presidents,  i.  e.,  three  acts  of  the  Deity. 

MY  SENTIMENT. 

I  close  this  book  with  this  sentiment :  The  Republican 
party,  wrecked  by  Garfield,  saved  by  Guiteau's  inspira- 
tion and  Arthur's  statesmanship. 

The  political,  financial,  and  social  tranquillity  this 
nation  to-day  enjoys,  all  come  from  my  inspiration  in  re- 
moving Garfield.  Where  would  the  Republican  Party 
have  been  to-day,  and  what  the  condition  of  this  nation 
had  Garfield  continued  to  run  politics  as  he  was  doing 
last  June  ?  Let  the  cranks  tell.  They  had  better  stop 
cursing  God's  man  and  commence  to  praise  him. 

I  see  the  Lord  is  after  Dr.  Gray.     He  will   probably 


1 


198 

send  for  the  rest  of  my  enemies  soon.  Beware,  ye  min- 
ions of  the  law,^  how  ye  treat  me,  lest  ye  kindle  the 
wrath  of  the  Deity  and  perish  from  the  way  !  "  Be  in- 
structed," says  the'  Psalmist,  "ye  judges  of  the  earth. 
Serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice  with  trembling. 
Kiss  the  Son  lest  He  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  from  the 
way. " 


/O^/^  f^a^  -'si^S^^t/g,^^ 


I  I  HELL  (  ^s^-^ 


"iMway  Tvith  Corkhill  andtheEicperts.''' 


4 


APPENDIX. 


GARFIELD. 

I  INSERT  the  following  from  the  Washington  Post 
March  10,  1882.  It  is  high  time  this  Garfield 
gush  was  over.  It  is  sickening  to  see  what  fools  there 
are  in  this  world.  How  some  fools  will  curse  a  man  liv- 
ing and  deifj'  him  dead.  If  the  men  that  were  cursing 
Garfield  last  spring  had  any  honor  they  would  think  of 
him  now,  as  they  did  when  he  was  wrecking  the  Eepubli- 
can  party  and  imperiling  the  life  of  the  Republic.  Let 
Garfield  go  into  history  with  his  true  record,  to  wit: 
the  President  who  wrecked  the  Republican  party  and 
imperiled   the   happiness  and  life  of   this  Nation  : 

To  THE  Editor  of  the  Post  :  I  read  with  great  inter- 
est the  Garfield-Chase  letter  in  your  paper  to-day.  I  will 
take  an  oath  it  is  genuine,  for  I  saw  the  original  in  Mr. 
Chase's  house  in  1867,  when  he  resided  on  the  corner  of 
Sixth  and  E  streets.  What  became  of  it,  and  how  it 
turns  up  now,  I  do  not  know.  To  one  who  knew  Gar- 
field well  this  letter  is  no  surprise.  He  was  a  treacher- 
ous, a  cowardly,  a  hypocritical  man,  selfish  to  the  extreme, 
and  not  caring  what  happened,  so  it  did  not  happen  to 
himself.  Gen.  Rosecrans  was  and  is  worth  to  this  coun- 
try a  thousand  Garfields.  When  the  fighting  that  Gar- 
field was  craving  for  came  on  he  took  good  care  to  keep 
out  of  danger.  It  is  high  time,  for  the  sake  of  our  na- 
tional common  sense,  the  truth  of  history  and  justice 
alike  to  the  living  and  the  dead,  that  all  this  gush  over 


202 

Garfield  should  end.  He  was  nothing  but  a  professional 
office-seeker  and  politician  !  No  one  can  point  to  an 
original  thought  he  ever  uttered.  He  betrayed  John 
Sherman  at  Chicago  as  treacherouslj'^  as  Brutus  did  Csesar 
or  Judas  did  Christ.  No  one  wants  to  do  injustice  to  a 
dead  man,  but  they  are  worth  no  more  than  living  ones, 
and  living  or  dead  the  reputation  of  a  brave,  patriotic, 
and  useful  soldier  like  Gen.  Rosecrans  should  not  suffer 
in  the  eyes  or  thoughts  of  our  people  by  the  words  of 
such  a  man  as  Garfield. 

LETTERS  FROM  THE  DAUGHTER  OF  A  NEW  YORK 
LAWYER. 

I  am  in  receipt  of  the  following  letters  which  I  print 
as  a  part  of  my  history.  The  author  is  the  daughter  of 
a  New  York  lawj-er.  I  withhold  her  name,  as  I  print 
them  withoat  her  knowledge  : 

New  York,  Bee.  26,  1881. 
Charles  Guiteau,  Esq.: 

Dear  Sir  :  The  expressed  wish  of  a  stranger  that  you 
have  spent  a  "Merry,"  or  a  "Happy  Christmas,"  would 
perhaps  sound  like  a  sarcasm.  At  the  same  time  there 
are  circumstances  under  which — 

"Stone  walls  do  not  a  prison  make, 
Nor  iron  bars  a  cage ; 
Minds  innocent  and  quiet  take 
That  for  a  hermitage" — 

and  I  most  sincerely  hope  you  have  been  able  to  look 
upon  your  surroundings  with  complacency  on  this 
Christian  anniversary. 

In  no  heart  did  the  assassination  of  President  Garfield 
arouse  more  intense  horror  than  in  mine  ;  yet  there  are 
few,  if  any,  who  can,  to-day,  sympathize  with  j^ou  more 
profoundly  than  I  do. 


203 

This  sympathy  has  its  origin  in  a  realization  and  ap- 
preciation, impossible  to  most  persons,  of  the  mysterious, 
subtle,  and  irresistible  power  of  the  delusion — as  I  must 
interpret  your  claim  to  "  inspiration  '' — by  which  you 
were  impelled,  as  I  verily  believe,  to  the  dreadful  deed, 
that  will  send  the  name  of  Garfield  down  to  posterity  as 
a  martyr,  and  the  name  of  Guiteau  as  a  murderer,  when, 
in  fact  and  in  truth,  the  one  as  little  deserves  the  glory 
as  the  other  the  ignominy. 

A  Case  of  Insane   Delusion. 

I  am  only  a  woman,  a  Miss,  and  not  very  ancient ;  but 
I  am  certain  there  is  no  delusion  so  insidous,  inciting, 
and  propulsive  as  one  arising  from  supposed  inspiration. 
I  speak  from  knowledge  from  having  been  the  confidante, 
the  close  observer,  and  the  custodian  of  a  young  lady 
whose  "  inspiration ''  nearly  culminated  in  a  sacrifice 
more  unnatural  and  abhoi'ent  than  your  attack  upon  the 
President. 

This  lady  was,  and  is  still,  my  dearest  friend,  an  inti- 
mate from  early  childhood.  Her  father  was  a  worthy  and 
distinguished  clergyman  ;  her  mother  a  devotee.  She 
has  three  brothers  and  one  sister,  all  of  whom,  excepting 
the  younger  brother,  were  noted,  from  their  earliest 
adolescence  for  their  exemplary  conduct  and  Christian 
character.  But  no  imputation  or  suspicion  of  fanaticism 
or  bigotry  was  ever  heard  against  any  of  the  family,  who, 
with  their  fervent  piety,  believed  it  to  be  the  privilege  and 
the  duty  of  mankind  to  indulge  their  faculties  and  in- 
clinations in  every  way,  consistently  with  morality  and 
religion,  calculated  to  produce  the  greatest  amount  of 
enjoyment  and  happiness.  In  the  lives  of  none  were  the 
principles  and  teachings  of  this  creed  more  conspicuous 
than  in  the  every-day  conduct  of  my  friend. 

Her  younger  brother,  as  intimated  a  moment  ago,  is 


204 

excepted  from  this  complimentary  description.  Before 
he  attained  bis  majority  be  conceived  a  repugnance  to 
Cbristian  restraint  and  religious  observances.  He  began 
by  absenting  himself  from  family  prayers,  smirking  over 
grace  at  meals,  inventing  frivolous  and  false  excuses  for 
remaining  from  church,  and  in  meeting  the  remonstrances 
and  loving  appeals  of  his.  parents  with  anger  and  de- 
fiance. Next,  he  fell  into  keeping  late  hours,  and,  as  a 
little  later  discovered,  bad  company.  In  short,  he  went 
on  de  mal  en  pis  until  a  chronique  scanclaletise  of  his  ex- 
cesses and  shortcoming?  would  have  included  nearly  all 
the  sins  and  vices  known  to  the  decalogue. 

From  the  first  the  faults  of  her  brother  lay  heavily  at 
the  heart  of  my  friend.  To  her  he  was  more  than  a 
brother;  he  seemed  to  her  the  better  part  of  herself,  for 
the  two  were  twins.  She  loved,  most  fondly,  the  other 
members  of  the  family,  but  this  scapegrace  she  fairly 
idolized.  It  is  but  justice  to  him  to  say  that  he  likewise 
adored  her.  Of  this  she  was  fully  conscious,  and  it  al- 
most broke  her  heart  because  she  could  not  reclaim  him 
from  his  evil  ways.  His  delinquencies  and  her  solicitude 
for  his  future  finally  absorbed  all  her  interest  and 
thoughts.  In  her  meditations  and  reflections,  the  mun- 
dane welfare  of  her  brother  found  no  place.  His  spirit- 
ual welfare  and  the  danger  to  which  he  was  exposing  his 
soul,  were  her  sole  concern.  In  a  word,  she  so  pestered, 
pondered,  prayed,  and  pined  over  his  presumed  peril  that 
she  became  a  monomaniac  on  that  snbject. 

The  condition  of  her  intellect  was  discovered  in  this 
way :  Her  delusion,  like  that  under  which  you  labored, 
being  a  supposed  inspiration  from  on  high.  One  day 
she  called  at  my  home,  and,  after  a  brief  chat  in  the  par- 
lor, requested  to  be  conducted  to  my  private  room,  say- 
ing she  had  an  important  communication  to  make  in 
strict  confidence.     She  appeared  to  be  in   the  frame  of 


205 

mind  that  for  some  months  had  been  usual  with  her,  and, 
although  I  thought  the  request  an  odd  one,  as  there  was 
no  one  besides  ourselves  in  the  parlors,  I  readily  acceded 
to  it.  As  soon  as  she  entered  my  room  she  went  to  the 
book-case,  and,  taking  down  the  Bible,  said,  as  she  placed 
it  on  a  table  :  "  Put  your  hand  on  the  Word  of  God 
and  swear  that  you  will  never,  without  my  permission, 
divulge  the  secret  I  am  about  to  confide  to  you."  There 
was  in  her  face  and  carriage  at  this  time  an  appearance 
of  hopefulness  and  elation  that  I  had  not  seen  about  her 
for  several  months ;  but  this  only  served  to  make  her  de- 
mand the  more  startling.  I  told  her  I  could  not  swear, 
as  the  Bible  bids  us  "  swear  not  at  all."  After  consider- 
able argument  and  persuasion  she  broke  into  a  hearty 
laugh,  and  exclaimed :  "  How  absurd  in  me  to  ask  you  to 
swear — just  as  if  I  didn't  know  you  would  never  betray 
a  secret.     Well,  it  is  this,"  she  went  on  after  a  moment's 

re'flectiou,  "I  can   save  W ,  my   brother.     God  has 

promised  to  take  him  to  His  bosom  and  to  pardon  all  his 
sins,  and  has  commanded  me  to  release  him  from  the 
flesh,  by  the  least  painful  means,  as  soon  as  possible." 

I  was  astounded ;  almost  stupefied.  I  knew  that  it 
was  not  possible  for  my  friend  to  jest  on  so  serious  and 
sacred  a  subject,  and  besides  I  could  see,  under  her  san- 
guine, joyous  air,  that  she  was  in  dead  earnest.  Before 
I  could  recover  sufficiently  to  express  my  astonishment 
she  went  on  :  "I  must  do  it  before  Ash  Wednesday,  or 
he  will  worship  Comus  all  through  Lent,  and  then  God 
might  withdraw  His  promise  to  me.  You  see,  I  have  only 
a  fortnight  to  save  him  in,  and  I  have  no  one  but  you  to 
help  me,  you  know." 

"  Help  you !  Great  heaven,  what  are  you  talking 
about !  "  I  fairly  shrieked.  In  the  most  easy,  business- 
like way  she  proceeded :  "  Well,  you  see  God,  as  well  as 
my  own  heart,  demands  that  I   shall   deliver  him  only 


206 

through  fin  euthanasia,  and  I  don't  know  which  of  the 
many  ways  to  choose.  In  a  book  of  trials  that  we  were 
once  reading  in  your  pa's  study,  there  was  something 
mentioned  that  released  the  soul  from  the  body  without 
any  pain  whatever ;  what  was  that  ?  " 

She  alluded  to  a  volume  of  Causes  Celebres  belonging 
to  my  father,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  but  for  some  years 
retired  from  practice.  Then  she  told  me  of  the  various 
implements  and  instruments  of  death  that  had  occurred 
to  her  as  a  means  of  "  translating  "  (using  the  word  in 
the  sense  you  employ  "  removing  ")  her  brother  from  the 
the  temptations  of  Satan  to  the  abode  of  bliss.  Fearing 
she  might  act  on  her  "  inspiration  "  before  proper  steps 
could  be  devised  to  restrain  her,  or  cure  her  malady,  I 
pretended  to  humor  her  determination  and  scheme,  and 
told  her  that  I  believed  morphia  would  be  the  most  mer- 
ciful thing  to  use,  as  it  would  confer  on  her  brother 
pleasant  dreams,  from  which  he  would  awake  in  the 
pleasanter  realities  of  heaven. 

She  said  she  had  thought  of  this,  but  that  on  applying 
to  several  druggists  they  had  refused  to  sell  her  any. 
I  told  her  that  on  the  following  day  I  should  go  to  New 
York,  and  that  I  would  purchase  a  whole  bottle  full  at  a 
wholesale  store.  This  pleased  her,  and  she  promised  to 
wait. 

When  she  was  ready  to  return  home  I  accompanied 
her,  and  made  known  her  monomania  to  her  parents. 
Several  physicians  were  immediately  consulted,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  author  or  cause  of  her  derangement 
was  informed  of  the  mischief  his  deliqueucies  had  wrought. 
His  remorse  was  excruciating  and  terrible.  After  threat- 
ening to  take  his  own  life,  in  order  that  his  sister's  de- 
lusion might  be  brought  to  an  end,  he  was  asked,  and 
eagerly  consented,  to  co  operate  with  the  physicians  in  a 
scheme  which  they  believed  would  result  in  her  cure. 


207 

This  scheme,  briefly  stated,  was  as  follows :  I  was  to 
procure,  or  rather  there  was  to  be  procured  for  me,  a 
bottle  of  sulphate  of  morphia,  aud  to  assist  her  in  pre- 
paring a  sufficient  quantity  to  produce  the  effect  desired. 
After  measuring  and  spreading  out  a  sufficient  quantity, 
I  was,  at  a  proper  moment,  to  exchange  it,  without  her 
knowledge,  for  an  equal  quantity  of  quinine. 

Next,  her  brother,  who  frequently  suffered  from  ma- 
laria, was  to  feign  illness,  and  was  to  have  quinine  pre- 
scribed for  him.  Then  I  was  to  suggest,  in  case  she 
failed  to  perceive  it,  that  this  would  be  an  excellent  op- 
portunity for  the  execution  of  her  project,  since  she 
could  attend  her  brother  and  substitute  morphine  for 
quinine,  and,  as  both  were  bitter,  he  would  swallow  the 
former  without  the  least  suspicion. 

Further,  the  brother  was  to  pretend,  after  taking  the 
supposed  narcotic,  to  fall  into  a  profound  slumber,  and 
was  to  continue  to  appear  in  this  state  for  at  least  two 
days.  On  "  reviving  "  he  was  to  pretend  to  have  been 
in  a  trance — to  have  seen  the  angel  of  death,  a  pano- 
rama of  his  own  sins,  and  also  a  glimpse  of  heaven  and 
hell.  He  was  to  supplement  this  with  the  announce- 
ment that,  having  seen  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  the 
erratic  life  he  had  been  leading,. he  was  determined  to 
reform  aud  devote  the  remainder  of  his  days  to  honor- 
able, noble,  and  Christian  pursuits. 

The  whole  programme,  of  which  T  have  given  you  only 
a  vague  epitome,  was  successfully  carried  out.  The 
"  trance  "  continued  upwards  of  three  days,  aud  though 
my  friend  repeatedly  saw  her  brother,  and  believed  him 
on  the  verge  of  dissolution,  she  never  once  betrayed  the 
least  compunction.  When  her  brother  "  awoke "  and 
described  his  "  visions,"  which  were  as  picturesque  as 
Dante's  Visions  of  Hell,  Purgatory,  and  Paradise,  and 
expressed  contrition — as  pathetic  as  the  confessions  of 


208 

Rousseau — at  the  sinful  and  scandalous  course  he  had 
followed,  the  sister  listened  with  a  wistful,  disappointed 
air,  and  evidently  regretted  that  her  purpose  had  mis- 
carried. But  when,  later  on,  he  proceeded  to  explain 
that  he  had  also  experienced  a  change  of  heart,  and  that 
thenceforth  he  was  determined  to  lead  a  Christian  and 
useful  life,  she  threw  herself  on  his  neck  and,  weeping 
for  joy,  frantically  thanked  God  that  her  brother's  life 
as  well  as  his  soul  had  been  spared.  Her  "inspiration," 
her  delusion,  ended  with  the  cause  that  produced  it. 
She  frankly  stated  to  her  family  her  intention,  and  at- 
tempt to  remove  her  brother  from  vices  and  sins  that 
threatened  to  destroy  his  soul.  At  the  same  time  she 
was  told  how  her  scheme  had  been  circumvented. 

My  Case. 

I  have  given  this  narrative,  Mr.  Guiteau,  because  the 
case  of  my  friend  bears,  in  numerous  ways,  a  striking  re- 
semblance to  your  own,  and  because  I  have  indulged  the 
hope  that  it  may  be  some  gratification  to  you  to  learn 
that,  notwithstanding  the  clamor  of  the  newspapers, 
there  are  people  in  the  world  who,  whilst  they  regret  Mr. 
Garfield's  violent  taking  off,  can  understand  the  character 
of  the  impulse  that  forced  you  to  the  commission  of 
the  deed,  and  see  in  you  something  better  than  a 
murderer.  There  are  a  greater  number  of  people  of  this 
kind  than  the  men,  who,  for  lucre  and  fame  are  clamor- 
ing for  your  blood,  appear  to  think.  As  a  matter  of  in- 
terest, my  friend,  who  under  a  delusion  similar  to  that 
affecting  you,  came  so  near  to  committing  fratricide,  and 
myself,  resolved  a  few  days  ago  to  call  on  one  hundred 
lady  friends  and  get  their  opinions  as  to  whether  you 
were  at  the  time  of  shooting  Garfield  responsible  to  God 
or  man  for   the  act.     Our  calls  were  made    promiscu- 


209 

ously  on  the  wives  and  daughters  of  lawyers,  doctors, 
clergyinen,  bankers,  merchants,  and  other  respectable 
laymen,  and  out  of  the  one  hundred  opinions — only  one 
lady  in  each  family  being  called  on  to- express  one — there 
were  but  seven  who  believed  you  to  have  been  actuated 
by  a  malignant  and  murderous  spirit,  and  one  of  these 
was  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Garfield,  and  another  was 
too  ignorant  to  know  the  difference  between  a  sane  and 
insane  delusion. 

From  this  test  it  is  obvious  that  if  you  were  to  be  tried 
before  a  jury  composed  of  ladies  you  would  be  promptly 
acquitted ;  and  yet,  previous  to  the  commencement  of 
your  trial,  my  sex  in  this  section  were  unanimously  con- 
vinced of  your  guilt,  and  would  have  voted,  if  called  upon, 
that  the  extreme  penalty  should  be  inflicted  upon  you. 
I  can  also  assure  you  that  since  your  trial  began  there 
has  also  been  a  great  change  among  members  of  your 
own  sex  in  their  views  as  to  your  moral  and  legal  account- 
ability ;  but  the  change  is  not  so  great  by  perhaps  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  as  among  mothers  and  daughters. 

Ingratitude  of   the   Stalwarts. 

But  there  is  one  point  in  which  you  have  concern,  in 
which  a  vast  majority  of  my  male  acquaintances  agree 
with  the  unanimous  opinion  of  women,  and  that  is,  that 
the  treatment,  the  neglect,  you  have  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  President  Arthur  and  other  Stalwart  Eepublicans,  who 
owe  their  elevation  to  you,  is  simply  infamous  !  There  is 
a  proverb  that  Republics  are  ungrateful,  but  henceforth 
it  should  be  specially  applied  to  Republicans  of  the 
Arthur-Conkling-Cameron  stripe. 

"  If  there  be  a  crime 
Of  deeper  die  than  all  the  guilty  train 
Of  human  vices,  'tis  ingratitude  " — 


210 

the  poet  has  well  iiud  truly  said,  so  truly  that  a  later 
poet  has  more  briefly  put  it — 

"  Ingratitude  is  treason  to  mankind." 

The  political  history  of  the  world  may  be  searched  in 
vain  for  an  example  or  iu stance  of  ingratitude  so  base, 
black,  and  brutal  as  that  of  the  men  you  have  elevated  to 
power  and  fortune.  Whether  you  were  sane  or  insane 
when  you  fired  the  fatal  shot  they  were  bound  to  gain, 
and  you  to  lose;  and,  sane  or  insane,  you  have  claim 
upon  their  moral  and  material  support.  The  pretended 
sympathy,  the  crocodile  tears,  some  of  them  shed  over 
Garfield,  need  not  prevent  their  seeing  even-handed  jus- 
tice done  by  you.  If  they  lack  the  courage  to  aid  you 
openly  they  should  have  done  it  stealthily.  They  should, 
at  the  very  least,  have  provided  you  with  counsel,  whose 
ability  and  experience  would  enable  them  to  cope  with 
prosecuting  array.  A  legal  gentleman  told  me  a  'few 
evenings  ago  that  he  knew,  as  a  fact,  that  a  single  intima- 
tion by  word  or  look  from  President  Arthur  would  (some 
time  ago  when  the  trial  was  being  talked  over  by  a  num- 
ber of  friends  in  New  York)  have  secured  you  the  services 
of  John  Graham,  the  greatest  lawyer  in  criminal 
practice  living  at  this  time.  He  was  one  of  the  leading 
counsel  for  Sickles,  was  couusel-in-chief  for  McFarland, 
and  for  scores  of  other  defendants  in  criminal  cases,  and 
his  record  of  successes  eclipse  that  of  any  other  Ameri- 
can advocate.  The  gentleman  I  mentioned  and  my  father, 
also  a  lawyer,  are  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Graham  would 
have  been  able  to  acquit  you,  and  (for  him)  quite  easily. 

I  am  sure  you  will,  in  consideration  of  my  sex,  and  my 
solicitude  for  your  future,  and  in  consideration  of  my 
assurance  that  there  are  thousands  upon  thousands  who 
sympathize  and  pray  for  your  speedy  deliverance,  favor 
me  with  at  least  so  much  of  an  acknowledgment  of  the  re- 


I 


211 

ceipt  of  this  as  will  ensure  me  your  autograph.  If  you 
will  enclose  half  a  dozen  more,  that  I  may  distribute 
among  your  most  ardent  friends,  they  will  be  immensely 
esteemed.  Aud  now,  an  revoir.  May  God  protect  and 
deliver  you,  is  the  sincare  prayer  of  your  stranger  friend. 

Sunday  Evening,  Jan.  1,  1882. 
Mr.  GuiTEAu : 

From  the  bottom  of  my  heart  I  am  wishing  you  "  A 
Happy  New  Year.''  Most  sincerely  do  I  wish  that  you 
could  be  one  of  the  many  who  will  call  upon  me  to-mor- 
row. I  mean  that  I  wish  you  were  free  to  call  on  every- 
body, wherever  inclination  might  lead  you.  Doubtless 
you  will  receive,  youself,  calls  enough ;  for  there  is  not, 
I  presume,  living  a  human  being,  not  excepting  Victoria 
the  virtuous,  or  Alexander  the  autocrat,  whom  the  peo- 
ple of  every  class  would  take  so  much  interest  in  seeing, 
as  yourself;  but  many  of  these,  I  fear,  will  have  as  little 
sympathy  with  you  as  the  masses  are  said  to  have  had 
with  the  great  king  remover,  or  "king  maker,"  of  four 
centuries  ago,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  Still  he,  like  your- 
self, had  his  friends,  and  posterity  appreciates,  if  it  does 
not  applaud  his  conduct. 

I  penned  my  letter  of  Christmas  without  consulting 
anybody,  but  when  I  showed  it  to  my  mother  she  objected 
to  my  sending  it  without  leave  of  my  father,  who  was 
absent  on  business  in  St.  Louis,  and  was  not  expected 
home  until  the  end  of  the  year.  He  returned  yesterday, 
and  although  he  did  not  quite  approve  of  my  writing 
you,  he  at  length,  to  get  rid  of  my  importunity  I  sup- 
pose, gave  me  permission  to  send  my  letter. 

He  also  gave  me  permission  to  report  some  things  he 
said  last  evening,  in  conversation  with  our  family  physic- 
ian, who  had  made  a  neighborly  call.  He  says  he  thinks 
your  counsel  could  have  educed,  on  the  cross-examina- 


212 

tion  of  the  Government  experts,  certain  admissions 
whicb  would  go  far  towards  sustaining  the  theory  of  the 
defence.  He  thinks  these  witnesses,  if  still  at  the  capi- 
tal, should  be  called  back  to  the  stand  for  further  cross- 
examination,  which,  he  says  the  court  would  permit  as 
matter  of  favor,  if  not  of  right.  Should  it  refuse,  be 
says,  he  would,  if  he  were  counsel,  call  these  witnesses 
to  the  stand  at  the  risk  of  making  them  witnesses  as  to 
the  matters  to  be  inquired  into  for  the  defence. 

Views  of  a  Lawyer. 

Father  claims,  if  I  understand  his  views,  which  I  can- 
not persuade  him  to  indite,  or  even  dictate  to  me,  though 
he  has  twice  orally  repeated  them,  that  the  pi'osecution 
has  through  a  myopisra  that  nothing  but  passion  could 
produce,  stultified  itself  in  a  vital  matter.  He  declares 
that  in  their  obvious  endeavor  to  give  you,  Mr.  Guiteau, 
a  character,  and  fasten  on  you  a  disposition  and  propen- 
sities in  keeping  with,  and  calculated  to  suggest  and 
prompt  the  motive  and  considerations  that  they  claim  in- 
duced you  to  shoot  Garfield  have  adduced  a  mass  of  evi- 
dence intended  to  present  you  to  the  jury  as  the  incarna- 
tion of  vanity,  egotism,  and  ambition  ;  and  that  if  half 
this  evidence  is  true  it  is  overwhelmingly  conclusive,  un- 
fortunate for  the  prosecution,  that  you  have  been  a  mono- 
maniac, or  more  still,  a  duomaniac  for  years.  This  evi- 
dence of  the  prosecution,  he  claims,  is  more  than  suf- 
ficient to  prove  that  you  have,  for  a  long  time,  been  the 
victim  of  two  distinct  species  or  varieties  of  monomania. 
One  he  calls  the  monomania  of  pride  and  ambition  ;  that 
is,  a  malady  born  of  the  exaltation  of  self-esteem  and 
egotism ;  the  other  a  monomania  of  vanity  ;  an  unnatu- 
ral, irrational  cravingfor  applause,  notoriety  or  grandeur. 
He  mentioned  other  names  (of  techincal  character,  I  sup- 
pose)   for  these  monomanics,   but  for  my  life,  though 


213 

I  tried  to  fix  them  in  my  mind,  I  cannot  recall  them,  nor 
can  it  matter. 

Perhaps  I  ought  to  explain  that  pa  did  not  mean  to 
say,  and  that  T  do  not  believe,  you  have  the  mental  de- 
rangements mentioned,  but  only  that,  assuming  the 
State's  evidence  to  be  true,  you  must  have  been,  as  he  ex- 
presses" it,  no7i  cotnjyos  mentis  for  at  least  a  decade ;  and 
he  thinks  the  prosecutors  deserve  for  their  malignant,  un- 
conscionable blind  rage,  to  be  hoist  with,  their  own  petard, 
or  floored  with  their  own  heathenish  bommerang. 

These  monomanies,  pa  says,  are  recognized  by  the 
best  authorities  as  well  defined  species  of  insanity,  and 
that,  considering  the  political  situation  at  the  time,  the 
tendencies  of  these  maladies,  or  either  of  them,  might 
well  have  precipitated  their  victim  on  the  President, 
under  the  delusion  that  he  would  win  the  world's  ap- 
plause, or  realize  his  ambitious  aspirations. 

Although  pa  believes  you  might — thanks  to  the  testi- 
mony for  the  people — have  been  successfully  defended 
under  these  varieties  of  insanity,  it  is  not  with  this  view 
that  he  suggests  that  your  counsel  should  further  cross- 
examine  the  experts. 

He  would  merely  have  them  admit  before  the  jury  that 
the  best  authorities  on  insanity  recognize  a  monomania 
of  vanity  and  .self-esteem  ;  and,  as  a  distinct  variety  of 
insanity,  a  monomania  of  pride  and  ambition.  Then  he 
would  have  them  asked  whether  a  person  afflicted  with 
both,  or  either,  of  these  maladies  would  not  be  more 
susceptible  to  an  insane  delusion — a  supposed  divine  in- 
spiration— than  orne  who  had  betrayed  no  symptoms  of 
insanity,  and  who  was  perfectly  sane  until  the  manifes- 
tation of  such  delusion. 

Next,  whether  an  inspiration  or  delusion,  such  as  it  is 
claimed  impelled  you  to  the  shooting,  would  not  be 
more  likely  to  enter  into  and  control  a  victim  to  the  mo- 


214 

nomanies  specified  tban  to  take  possession  of  a  person 
hitherto  in  good  mental  health. 

I  cannot  get  the  questions  in  the  phraseology  pa  used, 
but  I  think  I  caught  his  ideas,  and  your  lawyers  can  do 
the  rest  if  the  suggestions  are  worth  anything. 

He  also  said  he  would  call ;  no,  I  am  not  sure,  but  that  he 
said  he  would  venture  to  ask  the  Government  experts  still 
further  whether  one  afflicted  with  the  monomanies  indi- 
cated would  not  (your  circumstances  and  surroundings 
all  considered)  be  more  likely  to  become  a  victim  of  the 
delusion  that  led  to  the  shooting,  than  would  one  af- 
fected by  the  monomania  of  fear,  of  kleptomania,  or 
dipsomania. 

And  now,  Mr.  Guiteau,  I  am  done.  I  have  written 
you,  not  that  I  sympathize  in  your  deed,  but  because 
I  believe  you,  honestly  believed,  that  you  were  doing 
God's  bidding,  and  if  the  worst  must  come  that  you  will 
feel  and  be  able  to  say  with  Charlotte  Corday  when  she 
killed  Murat,  '■'■C'estle  crime  qui  fait  la  honte,  et  nonpas 
Vechafaxid.''  But  if  my  prayers  will  avail,  a  better  fate 
is  in  reserve  for  you.     God's  will  will  be  done. 

(Postscript.) 
Mr.  Guiteau  : 

I  was  pleased  to  read  in  the  Herald  thi&  morning  that 
on  Sunday  and  yesterday  you  received  quite  an  ovation 
from  the  people  of  Washington.  If  you  did  not  have  "A 
Happy  New  Year,"  you  certainly  could  have  had  little  time 
to  brood  over  your  unfortunate  situation,  or  to  feel 
miserable. 

But  I  was  pained  to  see  in  the  same  paper  a  report  that 
you  are  to  be  deprived  of  the  few  comforts  you  have  been, 
of  late,  permitted  to  enjoy  ;  namely,  your  mail  and  palatable 
meals.  I  can  hardly  believe  this  report.  To  deprive  you 
of  the  first  would  be  an  outrage  upon  your  personal  rights ; 


215 

to  deny  you  the  second  would  be  a  piece  of  cruelty  that 
would  bring  discredit  and  reproach  on  all  responsible  for 
the  deprivation  or  neglect. 

Knowing  how  busy  you  must  be  at  the  present  time, 
I  enclose  an  envelope  already  superscribed  and  stamped, 
in  which  you  can,  with  little  loss  of  time,  enclose  your 
autograph,  or  still  better,  such  reply  as  your  feelings  may 
dictate. 

Father  goes  to  Washington  Friday  evening.  I  have 
extorted  a  promise  that  I  may  accompany  him  and  that 
he  will  take  me  to  court;  but  he  refuses  to  take 
me  to  the  jail.  Unless  I  can  coax  him  before  his 
departure  to  do  this,  or  let  some  friends  take  me 
to  the  jail,  I  shall  pout  and  be  disagreeable  and  stay  at 
home.  I  would,  I  know,  be  very  glad  to  go  to  the  capi- 
tal with  him  for  a  few  weeks'  visit,  as  we  have  many  friends 
there  ;  but  I  will  not  go  unless  I  can  be  free  to  have 
my  own  way.  Whether  I  go  or  stay,  I  shall  hope  to 
receive,  at  least,  a  word,  though  I  hope  for  several, 
at  your  first  convenience. 

And  now  once  more,  au  revolre — for  I  hate  the  words 
"  farewell,"  and  "  adieu,"  and  "  good  bye,"  as  I  do  death. 

New  York,  Wednesday  Evening,  Jan.  11,  1882. 
Charles  Guiteau,  Esq.: 

My  Dear  Sir  :  Your  letter  of  the  7th  inst.  came 
promptly  to  hand.  It  is  needless  to  assure  you,  after  what 
I  said  in  my  former  letter,  that  it  is  highly  appreciated. 
It  will  be  esteemed  and  preserved  as  long  as  I  live,  and 
I  doubt  not,  for  many  generations  when  we  are  no  more, 
as  a  most  interesting  and  solemn  souvenir  of  the  most 
important  drama  in  the  history  of  the  Republic,  and  of 
yourself,  the  principal  actor,  and  now  central  figure.  I  do 
not  prize  it,  as  a  gentleman  acquaintance  was  rude  enough 
last  evening  to  intimate,  as  a  memento  of  the  political  an- 


216 

nihilation  of  President  Garfield,  for  although  I  had  freely 
indulged  my  right,  (as  most  young  ladies  in  my  social 
circle  do,  in  accordance  with  their  predelictious  or  pre- 
judices) to  criticise  and  condemn  some  of  the  acts  of  Mr. 
Garfield,  I  can  asseverate,  from  the  inmost  recess  of  my 
heart,  that  no  one  unconnected  with  him  by  consangui- 
neal  or  hymenal  ties,  could  have  felt  more  sincere  and 
profound  sorrow  than  I  did  at  his  death.  I  prize  it  be- 
cause I  believe,  or  rather  know,  that  you  will  either  be 
acquitted  and  come  forth  a  free  man,  whose  claims  upon 
his  party  and  country  will  then  be  recognized,  or  you 
will  fall  a  victim  to  an  unjust  administration  of  the  law, 
and  take  an  honored  place  in  glory  beside  St.  Paul  and  a 
host  of  lesser  martyrs  ;  and  in  either  case  I  shall  prize 
your  letter  as  the  most  precious  souvenir  that  I  could 
possess. 

The  four  autographs  you  were  kind  enough  to  enclose 
were  all  begged  away  by  lady  friends,  who,  like  myself, 
sympathize  deeply  with  you.  Although  I  had  intended 
to  preserve  one  for  my  album  I  could  not,  in  face  of  my 
good  fortune  in  having  your  letter,' be  so  selfish. 

I  had  hoped  to  see  you,  and  I  still  indulge  the  hope  of 
meeting  you  at  no  remote  day,  but  pa,  who,  dear  soul,  is 
the  most  indulgent  of  parents,  felt  constrained  to  refuse 
my  petition  to  visit  you  at  the  jail.  He  desired  that  I 
should  accompany  him  to  Washington  where  he  now  is, 
and  promised  to  take  me  to  the  court  that  I  might  see 
you,  but  I  declined  the  offer.  I  wished  to  speak  to  you  as 
well  as  to  see  you.  Morever,  I  knew  it  would  cost  me  more 
patience  and  pain  than  I  could  well  endure  to  sit  quietly 
and  hear  those  cold-blooded  men  clamor  for  your  immo- 
lation. Pa  would  sacrifice  much  of  his  own  feelings,  not 
involving  what  he  regards  the  proprieties  of  society, 
to  gratify  me  ;  but  we  are  so  well  known  in  Washington 
that  he   thinks  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  for  me  to 


217 

call,  even  with  himself  and  friends,  at  the  jail  to  see  you, 
without  provoking  unpleasant  criticism  and  notoriety ; 
especially  as  he,  although  not  a  politician,  strictly  speak- 
ing, is  a  very  pronounced  Stalwart.  But  I  know  from  his 
remarks  that  should  you,  unfortunately  be  convicted,  he 
will  see  less  objection  to  my  visiting  you  with  friends  be- 
fore you  should  be  granted  a  new  trial.  In  such  case, 
he  stijs,  there  would  be  far  less  danger  of  our  motives 
being  misunderstood  and  misrepresented  ;  that  the  act, 
which  might  now  be  interpreted  as  an  approval  of  Gar- 
field's taking-oflf,  would  then  be  ascribed  to  Christian 
charity.  Pa,  I  have  no  doubt  is  right,  but,  at  the  same- 
time,  I  think  with  the  Sartor  Resartus  that  our  true  in- 
wardness and  best  motives,  as  well  as  the  worst,  are  hid- 
den too  much  "in  clothes." 

Then  should  you  (which  God  forbid)  be  condemned  I 
shall  see  you  ;  and  if  you  are  vindicated  and  set  free  I 
hope  to  see  you,  though  in  the  latter  contingency  the 
realization  of  my  wish  will  depend  upon  yourself.  You 
request  me  to  send  you  my  photograph,  and  I  shall  do 
so,  although  T  have  with  great  difficulty  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining mamma's  consent.  Pa  had  left  for  Washington  be- 
fore joiw  letter  arrived,  and  ma  has  feared  that  some 
of  the  keepers  might  find  the  photograph  and  give  it  to 
some  of  the  enterprising  artists  of  the  illustrated  papers, 
who  would  give  it  publicity.  But  I  have  at  length  suc- 
ceeded in  convincing  her  that  you  will  not,  especially 
after  having  your  attention  drawn  to  the  danger,  allow 
such  an  accident  to  happen.  I  will  endeavor  to  send  one 
with  this  epistle,  but  if  I  do  not  I  will  send  one  in  a  day 
or  two.  On  looking  around  the  house  I  have  not  able  to 
find  one  of  dimensions  that  will  accomodate  themselves 
to  a  letter  ;  that  is,  none  recently  taken,  though  I  have 
several  of  larger  size,  8  by  12  inches,  but  I  think  I  may 
get  one  from  some  of  my  friends,  near  by,  who  have  com- 


218 

plimented  me  by  pilfering  mj  image — not  for  its  beauty 
— but  for — I  don't  know  what.  (After  that  punctation  I 
ought  to  have  added,  "I'll  be  dashed  ( — )  if  I  do.'')  But 
it  makes  me  so  fidgety  when  I  think  of  your  situation,  of 
which  I  had  a  partial  illustration  in  the  mania  of  my 
friend,  that  I  can  scarcely  write  intelligibly  much  less  look 
to  the  rules  of  prosedy.  But,  as  I  was  saying,  if  I  do 
not,  after  closing  my  letter,  find  a  photo  among  my  near 
friends,  I  will  go  over  to  the  city  and  get  some  taken, 
and  send  one  to-morrow  or  the  next  day. 

You  will  not  imagine,  I  am  sure,  that  I  could  miscon- 
ceive your  wish  and  request  to  have  my  picture.  I  can 
easily  understand  that  in  your  confined  and  isolated  sit- 
uation you  would,  or  might,  derive  some  little  solace  and 
comfort  from  glancing  over  the  miniatures — since  you 
cannot  have  present  the  originals — of  those  who  sympa- 
thize and  are  praj'ing  for  your  deliverance. 

I  suppose  it  would  be  useless  to  ask  for  a  photograph 
of  yourself,  as  you  are  situated.  I  have  all  the  illustrated 
papers  that  gave  a  picture  of  you,  and  had  in  my  mind's 
eye  formed  a  satisfactory  likeness  of  you ;  but  father,  who 
saw  you  in  court,  in  a  letter  received  yesterday,  declares 
that  none  of  these  pictures  closely  resemble  you,  and 
that  most  of  them  are  caricatures.  He  adds,  however, 
that  the  tonsorial  operation  performed  on  you  previous 
to  the  taking  a  cast  of  your  head  must  have  made  some 
change  in  your  facial  appearance,  yet  that  he  is  assured 
by  Judge  Porter  that  the  pictures  never  gave  a  striking 
or  faithful  representation  of  you. 

You  must  have  seen  pa,  as  his  conversation  with  Porter 
was  in  court.  They  are  old  friends,  and  pa  says  he  is 
confident  that  if  Porter — though  he  has  many  superiors — 
had  defended,  he  could  have  brought  you  out  in  triumph. 
His  forte  is  well  understood  to  lie  rather  in  defending 
than  in  prosecuting. 


I 


I 


219 

I  am  glad  you  are  to  make  the  closing  speech  in  your 
defence,  and  I  hope  and  believe  the  eifort  will  be  worthy 
of  the  occasion  and  of  yourself.  As  Porter  is  to  follow 
you  in  closing  for  the  prosecution,  I  pray  that,  apart  from 
the  merits,  you  will  do  and  say  everything  possible  to 
neutralize,  in  advance,  the  effect  of  his  euphonistic  decla- 
mationrand  rhetoric.  If  you  will  bear  in  mind  that  I  am 
a  lawyer's  daughter,  and  one  who  has  always,  for  years 
at  least,  taken  a  great  interest  in  legal  controversies  and 
forensic  warfare,  (often  wishing  myself  a  man,)  you  will, 
I  am  certain,  take  in  good  part  the  suggestions  I  may 
make  for  combatting  Porter  and  Davidge. 

Porter  and  Davidge. 

I  do  not  think  you  could  give  Porter  a  harder  blow 
than  by  likening  him  and  his  grandiloquent  periods  to 
Sergeant  Buzfuz,  in  the  great  case  of  Mrs.  Bardell  versus 
Pickwick.  You  doubtless  remember  how  that  great  disci- 
ple of  Themis  undertook  to  prove  a  breach  of  promise 
from  Pickwick's  notes,  the  first  of  which,  pertaining  to  a 
dinner   to    be   provided,    was    as   follows :    "  Garrawa's, 

twelve  o'clock.     Dear   Mrs.  B :  Chops   and  tomato 

sauce.  Yours,  Pickwick."  Buzfuz,  you  know,  endeav- 
ored to  make  this  note — the  viand  and  vegetable  men- 
tioned being  claimed  to  be  terms  of  endearment — with 
other  like  evidence,  prove  the  courtship,  breach  of  prom- 
ise, and  all  If  you  do  not  remember  the  case  well  and 
clearly  borrow  Pickwick  Papers,  and  you  will  soon  see 
how  you  can  hit  Porter  severely,  and  at  the  same  time 
recommend  yourself  to  the  jury  and  the  country.  No 
more  telling  illustration  of  Porter's  style  and  pretensions 
here  could  be  given. 

Another  good  hit  you  can  give  Porter  is  this:  He  lays 
claim  to  excellence,  not  only  as  a  lawyer,  but  as  a  litera- 
tus — a  dilettant,  or  rather  a  cognoscente.    Arraign  Porter 


220 

for  his  assurance,  his  egotism,  fluency,  and  euphonism, 
and  then  quote  from  the  Spectator,  No.  484,  against  him. 
The  article  shows  how  men  with  conceit  rise  to  eminence 
by  wordy  noise,  where  men  of  talent,  with  modesty,  i*e- 
main  below ;  and  you  have  only  to  give  this  quotation 
from  the  Spectator  to  cut  him  deeply. 

"  I  must  confess  when  I  have  seen  Charles  Frankair 
rise  up  with  a  commanding  mien,  and  torrent  of  hand- 
some words,  talk  a  mile  off  the  purpose,  and  drive  down 
boobies  of  ten  times  his  sense,  who  at  the  same  time  were 
envying  his  impudence  and  despising  his  understanding, 
it  has  been  matter  of  great  mirth  to  me." 

This  I  take  it  would  be  a  nut-shell  view  of  the  interior 
of  the  court-room.  You  can  make  a  good  point  of  this 
with  the  jury  if  you  take  time  to  elaborate  it.  Get  the 
book  if  you  can,  though  my  introduction  is  accurate  and 
the  quotation  verhathn. 

And  now,  a  word  about  Mr.  Davidge.  Pa  laughed  a 
good  deal  about  Mr.  Davidge's  employment  by  the  Gov- 
ernment now,  when  only  a  few  year  ago  he  appeared  in 
court  against  the  Government ;  not  as  counsel,  but  as  a 
witness — an  expert  witness.  He  was  called  as  a  legal 
expert,  and  expert  as  to  the  law  of  the  United  States  re- 
lating to  treason,  in  the  proceedings  at  Montreal  for  the 
extradition  of  the  St.  Albans  raiders.  Mr.  Davidge  was 
called  to  prove  that  the  acts  of  robbery  and  murder  com- 
mitted by  this  predatory  gang  at  St.  Albans  would  con- 
stitute treason  under  the  laws  and  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  Mr.  "Expert"  Davidge,  pa  (who  was 
present  on  the  occasion)  says,  swore  it  all,  without  blush- 
ing. It  was  his  testimony,  mainly,  upon  which  the  rob- 
bers and  murderers  were  discharged. 

Now,  I  think  from  my  observation  of  the  trial — your 
trial — as  it  has  been  presented  by  the  newspapers,  that 
Mr.  Davidge  will  be  the  counsel  appointed  to  have  most 


221 

to  say  about  "  experts."  You  will  therefore  have  an  op- 
portunity to  set  him  out  nicely,  and  I  believe  yours  is 
one  of  that  numeroiis  class  of  cases  in  which  it  is  only 
necessary  to  knock  down  (figuratively,  of  course)  the 
prosecuting  attorneys  to  destroy  their  cause.  You  may, 
then,  on  the  "  expert "  line,  hang  up  Mr.  Davidge  like  a 
green  goose,  and  make  him  feel  that  "  the  goose  hangs 
high  "  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  mouth.  O,  I  would  I 
were  a  man  ;  how  I  would  like  to  get  my  tongue  on  that 
pretentious,  inflated  old  Copperhead  ! 

I  had  thought  only  to  give  you  a  manuscript  copy  of 
Davidge's  testimony  referred  to,  but,  Mr.  Gniteau,  to 
prevent  the  old  rebel  from  disputing  you,  I  shall  cut  a 
leaf  containing  his  testimony  from  the  printed  report  of 
the  St.  Albans  case.  The  book  is  a  large  one,  and  at 
this  time  it  would,  I  suppose,  be  impossible  to  purchase 
a  copy  at  any  price,  in  any  store  in  Canada  or  the  United 
States.  Pa,  I  know,  thinks  it  contains  the  best  and  most 
exhaustive  arguments  on  various  points  of  international 
law  that  have  ever  been  delivered  and  published.  You 
can,  therefore,  understand  how  much  above  money's  worth 
he  values  this  book  which  contains  evei'y  woi'd  of  the  testi- 
mony and  a  word-for-word  copy  of  the  arguments  of  the 
distinguished  counsel. 

Now  I  shall  venture  without  father's  leave — as  he  is 
still  in  Washington — to  cut  out  the  leaf  containing 
Davidge's  testimony  and  send  it  to  you  that  you  may  con- 
front him  should  he — good  Government  man  as  he  now 
is — attempt  to  dispute  your  arraignment  of  his  record  as 
a  patriot,  a  citizen,  and  an  expert.  Perhaps  it  would  be 
better  in  "  pitching  into  him,''  to  have  the  leaf,  the  proof 
of  his  Copperheadism  or  disloyalty,  at  hand,  and  shake 
it  in  his  face  at  the  first  moment  of  arraigning  him.  This 
if  dramatically  done  would  confound  him  and  extort  from 
his  face  and  manner  a  confession  of  guilt.     Davidge's 


222 

testimony,  as  legal  expert,  was  short,  (it  was  on  a  hypo- 
thetical question,  too,)  because  the  counsel  for  the  U.  S. 
refused,  as  they  did  as  to  most  witnesses,  to  cross-examine. 
But  it  should  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Davidge  was  the 
only  "expert"  on  the  law  that  was  called.  He  did  all 
that  was  required  on  that  branch  of  the  case  ;  and  you 
can,  if  you  assail  him  heartily,  drive  him  in  shame  from 
the  court. 

You  will,  I  am  sure,  remembering  how  I  have  taken 
the  responsibility  to  cut  out  this  leaf,  take  good  care  to 
preserve  and  return  it  to  me.  I  have  removed  it  with 
care  so  that  I  can  replace  it  without  leaving  any  sign  of 
mutilation  visible.  I  should  have  sent  the  book  entire, 
but  that  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  would  never  reach  you 
or  return  to  me.  Mr.  Davidge,  I  know,  would  take  pleas- 
ure in  giving  it  over  to  the  devouring  element.  Then  as 
soon  as  you  have  made  use  of  the  extract,  please  enclose  it 
to  me  for  replacement. 

I  pray  to  heaven  that  you  will  not  spare  these  men. 
Show  the  inconsistency  of  Davidge's  attitude  as  an  expert 
eighteen  years  ago  against  his  Government,  and  now,  in 
a  spirit  of  repentance^  raking  up  experts  for  the  purposes 
of  a  Government  prosecution.  This,  with  a  bit  of  good 
mimicry,  with  Bazfuz  as  an  illustration,  which  will  disarm 
the  polished  rhetoric  of  Porter  in  a  great  degree,  will,  I 
do  believe,  have  more  effect  on  the  chances  of  the  trial 
than  all  the  evidence  introduced ;  all  the  logic,  solid 
reasoning,  and  law  that  the  case  has  called  forth.  Fre- 
quent ejaculations  during  Porter's  speeish  of  "Chops  and 
tomato  sauce," — or,  as  Buzfuz  in  one  place  exclaims  to 
the  jury,  "Chops!  Gracious  heavens!  and  tomato 
sauce  !" — would  bring  down  the  house  and  destroy  the 
effect  of  Porter's  magniloquent  periods. 

You  could  make  your  comparison  of  Porter  to  Buzfuz 
the  more  neat  and  effective  if  you  had  the  Pickwick  Papers 


223 

to  refer  to  and  read  from  in  making  your  illustration.  At 
any  rate,  you  ought  to  have  the  book  in  jail  to  glance  over 
the  Buzfuz  argument,  and  I  would  mail  it  to  you  but  that 
I  am  assured  it  would  never  be  permitted  to  reach  you. 
So,  borrow  a  copy,  or,  as  bi'other  tells  me  that  it  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Seaside  Series,  under  the  title  of  Pickwick 
Papers,  you  could  make  your  brother  get  it  for  you. 
The  Buzfuz  argument,  &c.,  will  be  found  in  chapter  34. 
By  means  of  this  case,  pa  once  so  ridiculed  an  argument 
of  Mr.  O'Conor,  which  he  could  not  have  met  with  the 
logic  of  facts  or  the  law,  that  he  achieved  an  unexpected 
and  undeserved  victory.  It  will  stand  you  in  equally 
good  stead. 

Thursday,  Jan.  12,  1882. 
Mr.  GuiTEAU : 

T  abstained  from  closing  my  letter  last  evening,  think- 
ing I  might  wish  to  add  something  to-day.  I  observed 
in  this  morning's  Herald,  that  you  had  a  call  yesterday 
from  a  photographer,  and  that  you  will  set  to  him  after 
you  have  made  your  closing  speech.  Perhaps,  then,  it 
will  be  possible  for  me,  after  all,  to  get  a  faithful  likeness 
of  you.  It  may  not  be  convenient  for  you  to  send  me 
one — though  it  would  be  the  more  prized  if  received  from 
your  own  hand — but  if  you  will  inform  me  of  the  name 
and  address  of  the  artist,  or  how  I  can  obtain  the  picture, 
I  will  send  for  one  before  they  are  all  gone.  If  I  do  not 
send  you  mine  with  this  letter,  I  will  enclose  it  to-morrow 
or  next  day.  I  am  going  over  to  New  York  as  soon  as  I 
close,  and  on  my  way  shall  drive  around  to  two  or  three 
friends  who  may  have  small  pictures  of  me. 

And  now,  Mr.  Guiteau,  I  must  say  an  revoir.  I  am 
compelled  to  conclude  rather  abruptly,  as  I  had  coaxed 
brother,  who  is  attending  Columbia  College,  to  wait  and 
take  the  carriage  with  me,  just  as  he  was  about  to  take  a 
car ;  and  he  has  just  sent  up  word  to  hurry  me.     I  pray 


224 

God  may  give  you  strength,  wisdom,  and  skill  to  make  a 
successful  defence.  May  He  inspire  you  with  the  grand- 
est and  loftiest  ideas  and  fancies,  and  give  you  a  preter- 
natural command  of  the  most  solemn  and  sublime  words 
in  our  language,  with  which  to  impress  on  the  jury  your 
irresponsibility  and  guiltlessness — to  make  them  feel 
that — 

'•  Truth  crush'd  to  earth,  shall  never  rise  again  ; 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers," 

and  that  it  will  be  better  for  their  peace  of  mind  and  for 
their  future,  if  they  uphold  it  now,  rather  than  have  it 
rise  before  them  hereafter  ;  that  if  they  crush  it  to  earth 
now  it  will  be  recorded  against  them  and  crush  them 
when  they  are  judged  by  a  court  that  cannot  err.  And, 
oh !  may  you  soon  be  restored  to  liberty,  to  the  world, 
where  you  will  find  more  numerous  and  appreciative 
friends  than  you  have  ever  before  known. 

Prayfully  yours. 


New  York,  Friday  Evening,  Jan.  20,  1882. 
Mr.  GuiTEAu  : 

My  Dear  Persecuted  Friend  :  When  I  closed  my  latest 
letter  to  you  I  expected  ere  this  to  have  sent  you,  as  a 
token  of  sympathy  and  of  confidence  in  your  honor,  my 
photograph.  With  that  letter  in  hand  I  left  home  intend- 
ing— with  a  view  of  complying  with  your  request  the 
sooner — if  possible  to  procure  one  of  my  pictures  from  a 
near  friend,  and  in  case  of  failure,  to  immediately  have 
some  new  copies  taken.  After  sealing  and  mailing  my 
letter,  I  dropped  brother  up  town  and  drove  at  once  to 
the  home  of  a  lady  cousin  in  Twenty-third  street,  whom 
I  had  thought  to  make  accompany  me  to  a  photographer's. 
She  is  one  of  the  very  few  friends  I  have  to  whom  I  could 
willingl}'  explain  the  reason  of  my  being  so  pressed  for  a 


225 

picture  as  to  seek  it  in  such  disagreeable  weather ;  and 
reaching  the  house  I  found  her  ill — sick  enough  to  be  in 
bed — although  she  had  retired  the  night  before  in  the 
best  of  spirits,  and  apparently  in  excellent  health. 

Of  course  I  could  not  ask  my  poor  cousin  to  accom- 
pany 7ne  ;  but  she  did  ask  me  to  remain  with  her,  which 
I  should  have  done  unasked ;  and  there  I  have  been  ever 
since  until  noon  to-day,  when  I  left  my  patient  rapidly 
convalescing.  To-moiTow,  unless  the  state  of  the  weather 
forbids,  I  will  either  find  or  sit  for  a  photograph.  If 
prevented  to-morrow,  I  will  take  advantage  of  the  next 
available  day.  You  shall  not,  my  friend,  be  disappointed, 
though  I  cannot  flatter  myself  that  your  disappointment 
would  be  as  intense  as  mine  would  be  at  not  receiving  a 
picture  of  you. 

Your  last  two  letters  post-marked  respectively  the  13th 
and  17th  insts.,  (which  for  some  inexplicable  cause  were 
delivered  simultaneously,)  were  delivered  to  me  by  brother 
yesterday  morning.  I  would  have  replied  at  once,  but  I 
could  not  compose  my  mind  sufficiently  to  do  so.  Pleased, 
thankful,  as  I  was  to  receive  your  letters,  I  cannot,  even 
yet,  tell  whether  they  gave  me  more  pleasure,  or  pain. 
As  I  read  the  latest,  penned  in  jail,  giving  expression  to 
the  noble  sentiments,  aspirations,  and  hopes  animating 
your  bosom,  my  heart  swelled  with  sympathetic  rapture  ; 
when  I  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  paragraph,  when  I  came 
to  your  observations  on  the  realities  of  your  situation,  I 
seemingly  felt,  as  a  cold  perspiration  burst  from  my  fore- 
head, the  frigid  touch  of  prison  walls,  and  heard  the 
clanging  of  bolts  and  chains. 

O,  my  poor  friend,  how  can  you  in  such  surroundings,  so 
implicitly  indulge  anticipations  of  justice !  I  own  that  this 
faith,  this  sublime  faith,  in  one  sense  pleases  me.  To  my 
mind  it  is  irrefragable  evidence  that  you  sincerely  believe 
in  your  claim  of  inspiration.     But,   my  dear  friend,  is  it 


220 

wise  that  you  should  so  confidently  look  forward  to  life 
and  liberty  ?  God  knows  I  would  not  have  you  give  way 
to  disappointment  and  despair ;  would  not  have  you 
cower  or  cry — 

"  Miue  after-life  !  what  is  mine  after-life  ? 
My  day  is  closed  !  the  gloom  of  night  is  come ! 
A  hopeless  darkness  settles  o'er  my  fate  !" 

No ;  I  would  have  you  hold  no  commerce  with  despair. 
I  would  have  you  hope  atrtl  draw  from  that  celestial  pas- 
sion all  the  comfort  and  strength  that  the  consciousness 
of  innocence  will  reasonably  justify  one,  persecuted  by 
popular  malice  and  the  utmost  power  of  governing  poli- 
ticians. I  would  have  you  hope,  but  would  have  you 
at  the  same  time  remember,  that  "  hope  is  for- 
tune's cheating  lottery,"  where  for  one  prize  there 
are  a  hundred  blanks.  I  would  have  you  remem- 
ber that  you  are  being  tried  (most  unfairly  tried)  under 
human  (not  divine)  law,  and  would  have  you  not  forget 
that  a  host  of  men  and  woman,  inspired  of  God,  have,  in 
His  inscrutable  wisdom,  been  allowed,  whilst  devoting 
their  best  energies  to  His  service,  to  perish  by  the  most 
cruel  and  ignominious  contrivances  that  human  ingenuity 
could  invent.  I  would  have  you,  whilst  never  doubting 
the  genuineness  of  your  inspiration  to  remove  Gai'field, 
bear  in  mind  that  it  may  have  been  a  part  of  the  divine 
dispensation  that  your  own  mortal  part  should  build  still 
higher  the  hecatomb  of  martyrs  that  has  been  reared  by 
that  Christian  Moloch,  that  profane  trinity,  passion,  preju- 
dice, and  perversive  power. 

"  The  ways  of  heaven  are  dark  and  intricate  ; 
Puzzled  with  mazes  and  perplexed  with  error, 
Our  understanding  searches  them  in  vain." 

We  only  know  that  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way  His 
wonders  to  perform.    And  I  would  have  you,  dear  friend, 


227 

pepared  to  smile  with  complacency  on  any  freak  of  fickler 
fortune  ;  to  meet  with  courage  and  fortitude  the  worst 
possibility  that  can  lie  in  the  future  ;  to  face  death,  if  con- 
demned by  the  court  and  jury,  like  a  martyr,  without  fal- 
tering, flinching,  or  fear.  I  would  have  you,  whilst  feel- 
ing that  human  justice  had  been  denied  you,  believe  that, 
like  Peter,  Paul,  and  many  others,  you  are  as  an  instru- 
ment of  God  on  earth,  left  to  suffer  in  fulfilment  of  a 
preordained  destiny.     I  would  have  realize  now,  that — 

"  Alas  !  there  is  no  stay  in  human  state, 
No  one  can  shun  inevitable  fate  ; 
The  doom  was  written,  the  decree  was  past. 
Ere  the  foundations  of  the  world  were  cast." 

No  ;  I  would  not  have  you ;  it  would  be  too  terrible. 

Sunday  Evening,  9.25  o'clock. 
At  the  above  point  I  was  interrupted  by  a  call  from  a 
gentleman  acquaintance.  I  had  twice  within  a  half  hour 
been  "  not  at  home  "  to  callers,  but  the  third  call  was  from 
a  gentleman  who  is  to  sail  by  the  Parthia  on  Wednesday, 
to  finish  his  universit}'  career  at  Heidelberg,  and  I  could 
not  refuse  to  say  au  revoir ;  the  more  especially  as  he 
once  saved  my  life  at  the  risk  of  his  own.  It  was  too 
late  to  resume  my  letter  when  he  departed  and  yesterday, 
O  !  what  a  miserable  Saturday  it  was.  I  had  the  ennui 
from  morning  till  night.  I  couldn't  have  touched  a  pen, 
pencil,  brush,  book,  or  needle,  to  have  won  a  new  com- 
pliment. After  reading  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Scoville's 
argument  I  challenged  brother,  who,  on  account  of  the 
weather  had  remained  at  home,  to  contend  at  chess;  then 
at  billiards,  and  finally  at  target-shooting  with  both  bow 
and  pistol ;  and  though  I  was  defeated  in  all  these  for 
the  first  time  by  this  adversary,  it  failed  to  set  my  slug- 
gish blood  in  circulation  and  throw  off  the  depression. 
It  would   have   looked   absurd,    and   would  have    been 


228 

cruelty  to  horses  to  have  driven  around  in  quest  of  one 
of  my  pictures,  and  would  have  been  an  unfit  day  to  sit  for 
one.  This  last  was  the  reason  I  did  not  attempt  to  finish 
my  letter.  I  thought  that  as  I  must  wait  for  the  photo, 
I  would  wait  to  finish  writing.  So,  after  failing  to  get 
clear  of  the  blues,  I  unconditionally  surrendered  myself 
to  laziness  and  languor,  and  drooped  and  moped — now 
playing  a  selection  from  Rienzi  backwards,  and  singing 
the  Marseillaise  to  the  air  of  Yankee  Doodle  ;  now  spin- 
ning around  on  the  piano-stool  and  imagining  myself  a 
top  ;  then,  with  my  nose  flattened  against  the  window- 
pane,  watching  the  rain,  the  boats  plying  the  river,  and 
the  elevated  trains  (or  the  long  lines  of  smoke  from  them) 
as  they  bowled  like  ten-pin  balls,  along  the  streets  of  New 
York.  Finally,  when  almost  sun-set,  I  clipped  a  few 
flowers  for  the  dinner-table,  thinking  the  while  how  I 
would  like  to  make  up  a  bouquet,  which  should,  in  the 
language  of  flowers,  express  some  of  my  thoughts  and 
feelings,  to  place  on  your  table,  or  iu  the  window  beside 
the  potted  plants  provided  by  the  tender  hands  and 
thoughtful  care  of  your  sister.  Little  did  I  think — nor 
would  any  one  be  likely  to  suppose — that  this  thought  or 
wish  would  lead  me  to  the  commission  of  a  criminal  act ; 
nevertheless  such  was  the  case.  When  dinner  was  half 
over,  brother,  whom  I  had  noticed  from  time  to  time  eye- 
ing me  critically,  suddenly  exclaimed  '•  Good  heavens, 
Gus,  are  you  out  of  your  head  ?"  "  No,  but  I  think  you 
must  be,"  I  replied ;"  what  in  the  world  are  you  staring 
at  me  in  that  absurd  way  forf  I  very  soon  learned  the 
"why"  and  the  "wherefore."  It  was  all  on  account  of 
a  camelia  that  I  wore  in  my  bosom,  and  which.  Eve-like, 
I  had  plucked  from  a  forbidden  tree  or  shrub. 

Last  autumn  when  we  returned  from  abroad,  brother, 
who  from  a  child  has  shown  a  passion  for  flowers  and 
floriculture,  almost  amounting  to  a  mania,  brought  home 


229 

with  him,  besides  a  box  of  cuttings  and  layings,  a  potted 
camelia — the  gift  of  one  of  the  greatest  florists  in  France — 
the  result  of  fifteen  year's  hybridization  of  camelia  Ja^on- 
ica,  reticulata,  and  the  oleifera,  in  all  their  varieties,  the 
like  of  which  has  never  yet  been  seen  in  any  private  con- 
servatory in  Europe,  still  less  in  this  country.  Well,  a  few 
days  ago  this  priceless  plant  put  foi'th  a  bud  which,  un- 
folding itself,  threw  brother  into  estacies.  It  was  a  fine 
flower,  truly,  as  all  camelias  are,  but,  to  my  notion,  was 
not  the  bell  of  the  conservatory.  In  making  up  a  dinner 
vase  I  had.  with  other  exotics,  clipped  quite  a  number  of 
Camelias  of  various  sorts,  and  I  do  not  think  anything  led 
me  to  pluck  the  new  foreigner  for  my  bosom  but  the  cir- 
cumstance of  its  standing  alone.  All  camelias,  in  the 
language  of  flowers,  alike  mean  ''  pity,"  you  know,  and 
it  must  have  been  its  forlorn  condition  ;  its  emblematic 
character,  coinciding  with  the  thoughts  and  sympathy 
excited  by  your  solitary  and  desclate  situation,  which 
had  been  uppermost  in  my  mind  all  day,  that  impelled 
me,  mechanically,  to  commit  the  awful  crime.  But  didn't 
I  catch  it  ?  Such  a  scolding  !  I  offered  to  tie  or  glue  the 
flower  back  on  the  plant,  but  even  that  did  not  appease 
brother's  wrath.  After  getting  nearly  out  of  breath  he 
wound  up,  "  By  gracious,  it  is  worse  than  Guiteau  pull- 
ing up  turnips  for  weeds.  I  tell  you,  mother,  that  ever 
since  you  let  Gus  correspond  with  that  lunatic  she  has 
been  as  crazy  as  he  is" — quite  a  compliment  to  you  as 
well  as  to  myself.  But  when  I  said  demurely,  "  I  hope 
you  will  forgive  me,  Livy,  for  I  do  assure  you  the  poor 
flower  appeared  so  isolated  and  lonely  that  I  heard  it,  as 
I  passed,  exclaim  '  pity,'  and  in  pity  I  took  it  to  my 
bosom;"  as  I  said  this  he  fell  to  laughing,  and  I  really 
believe  he  forgave  me. 

I  have  told  all  this  about  myself,  Mr.  Guiteau,  that  you 
may  see  what  a  foolish,  cranky  sort  of  person  your  cor- 


230 

respondent  is.  And  having  done  this  I  shall  put  my 
letter  aside  until  Monday  afternoon  or  evening,  when  I 
shall  know  whether  I  can  send  you  a  photagraph  without 
having,  in  this  disagreeable  weather,  to  go  and  sit  for  one. 
Though  the  picture  will  hardly  repay  the  interest  you 
take  in  it,  you  shall  surely  have  it. 

Monday  Evening,  8^  P.  M. 
Mr.  Guiteau  : 

"When  on  Friday  evening  I  was  interrupted,  I  was 
speaking  in  regard  to  your  confident  expectation  of  an 
acquittal.  I  do  not  know  precisely  what  more  I  would 
have  said,  had  I  been  left  undisturbed,  but  my  principal 
purpose  was  to  caution  you  against  permitting  your  con- 
sciousness of  innocence,  your  natural  desire,  and  san- 
guine temperament  to  elevate  your  faith  and  anticipa- 
tions to  such  a  height  that  disappointment  would  prove, 
if  not  insupportable,  -too  intense  for  dignified  conceal- 
ment. "Blessed  are  they  that  expect  nothing,"  says  the 
divine  word,  "for  they  shall  not  be  disappointed.''  I 
would  not  have  you  indulge  in 

"  Those  high-built  hopes  that  crush  us  by  their  fall." 

I  would  not  have  you  die  from  excessive  joy  on  the  one 
hand,  or  from  disappointment  on  the  other.  A  convic- 
tion would  be  hard  enough  to  bear,  even  if  you  are  well 
prepared  for  it.  It  would  be  a  thousand  times  harder  to 
bear  if  you  are  over-confideutly  expecting  an  acquittal. 
O,  if  a  thought  or  suggestion  from  me  should,  in  case 
yoii  are  condemned,  serve  to  mitigate  the  immediate  force 
of  the  terrible  blow,  how  thankful  I  should  be ! 

But  I  have  in  mind  not  only  your  feelings  but  your 
fame,  your  character  for  courage.  If  the  foreman  of  that 
jury  pronounces  the  word  "guilty,"  I  would  have  you 
prepared  to  swallow  the  verdict  as  the  ancient  boxer, 


231 

whose  incisors  bad  been  knocked  from  the  sockets  by  his 
adversary,  swallowed  bis  teeth  with  a  smile  and  with  a 
composure  that  shall  disappoint  the  rabble  and  vindic- 
tive, who  hope  to  be  regaled  with  reports  of  yonr  trepi- 
dation and  agony.  It  is  certain  that  your  doom  will  not 
be  decided  by  this  trial  even  should  the  verdict  be  against 
you,  and  a  modest  exhibition  of  fortitude  and  mild  de- 
fiance will  go  far  to  aid  you  in  public  opinion  and  other- 
wise in  the  future. 

"  The  truly  brave, 
When  they  behold  the  brave  assail'd  by  odds. 
Are  touched  with  a  desire  to  shield  or  save." 

And  if,  finally,  the  law  fails  to  do  you  justice — or  I 
should  say  if  the  instruments  of  the  law,  judges  and  ju- 
rors, fail  to  try  you  impartially  and  deal  out  equity — or, 
in  other  words,  if  the  persistent  clamor  of  the  press  (and 
with  a  blush  be  it  said,  of  the  pulpit)  and  the  consequent 
howls  of  the  hollow-headed  masses,  are  to  override  law 
and  justice — if  you  are  to  be  pushed,  persecuted,  and 
pursued  to  death,  like  a  mad  bull  in  the  Plaza  de  Toros, 
may  your  courage  and  fortitude  be  such  that  the  pica- 
dores,  cbulos,  matador,  and  spectators — that  is  to  say, 
the  counsel,  court,  executioner,  and  public  shall  be  com- 
pelled to  declare,  with  Cbilde  Harold's  description  of  the 
brave  bull  in  the  arena — 

"  Slowly  he  falls,  amidst  triumphing  cries, 
Without  a  groan,  without  a  struggle,  dies." 

Bennett,  of  the  "Herald." 

There  are  many  who  predict  that  in  the  event  of  your 
final  condemnation  and  execution,  you  will  break  down 
and  die  a  craven  and  dastard.  This  is  a  vaticination  of 
that  miserable  Herald,  whose  owner's  pusillanimity  and 
cowardice  has  made  him  a  notorious  laughing-stock  both 


232 

in  this  country  and  Europe.  I  have  more  than  once  seen 
in  drawing-rooms  in  London  and  Paris  sly  winks  and 
contemptuous  smiles,  and  heard  derisive  remarks,  not  a 
yard  from  his  elbow,  concerning  the  horse- whipping  he 
received  and  avenged  with  blank  cartridges.  I  would  have 
the  prediction  false,  if  only  to  disappoint  that  wretched 
poltroon.  I  would  have  him  and  others  like  him  con- 
demned, like  those  damned  souls  of  Dante,  who,  for  their 
predictions,  had  their  faces  turned  behind,  and  were  com- 
pelled for  all  eternity  to  walk  backwards.  No  one  but  a 
beastly  coward  at  heart,  though  believing  you  guilty, 
would  anticipate  and  comment  with  satisfaction  on  the 
probability,  born  of  his  wishes,  that  you  would  meet  an 
ignominious  and  inhuman  death,  with  manifestations  of 
agony,  despair,  weakness,  and  fear. 

I  cannot  believe,  my  friend,  that  such  a  fate  is  in  store 
for  you.  I  cannot  believe  that  any  honest  jury  would 
convict  you  in  the  absence  of  any  adequate  personal  mo- 
tive for  the  deed.  But  still  I  beg  you  to  be  not  too  confi- 
dent of  an  acquittal,  but  to  be  fully  prepared  to  accept  with 
stoicism  and  nonchalance  any  verdict  that  may  come. 
Should  you  be  convicted  many  good  lawyers  are  of  opin- 
ion that  you  will  receive  a  new  trial,  and  in  that  case  I 
promise  you  that  you  shall  not  be  convicted  again.  I, 
with  other  ladies  of  my  acquaintance,  have  vowed  to  find 
you  counsel  able  to  cope  with  and  vanquish  Mr.  Porter 
and  his  associates. 

Tuesday  Evening,  8  o'clock. 
My  Dear  Poor  Friend  : 

You  Beemed  to  have  received  the  impression  that  pa's 
refusal  to  let  me  visit  you  at  the  jail  was  prompted  by 
pride  or  loftiness,  or  repugnance  or  aversion.  This  is 
not  by  any  means  the  case.  Pa,  although  not  a  politician, 
is  a  Stalwart  of  the  first  water,  and  he  feared  that  the 
circumstance  of  his  visiting  you  in  jail,  or  of  permitting 


233 

me  to  do  so,  would,  should  it  become  known,  be  inter- 
preted as  an  approval  of  your  course.  This  considera- 
tion has  without  doubt  kept  hundreds  of  persons  who 
sympathize  with  you  from  calling  at  the  jail.  But,  for 
my  part,  I  do  not  at  all  believe  in  this  caution  or  circum- 
spection.    It  smacks  of  timidity  and  hypocrisy. 

Ingratitude  of  the  Stalwarts. 

So  far  as  Stalwart  politicians  who  have  been  benefited  by 
Garfield's  death  are  concerned,  I  think  their  conduct  has 
been  in  the  last  degree  heartless  and  infamous.  Arthur, 
Conkling,  Grant,  and  others  were  glad,  were  delighted, 
when  the  news  of  Garfield's  fall  was  flashed  over  the  wires. 
When  it  was  believed  he  would  recover  they  prayed  that 
he  might  die.  When  death  came  they  pretended  to 
grieve,  whilst  their  hearts  were  overflowing  with  exulta- 
tion ;  and  by  his  bier  wept  crocodile  tears.  There  is  not 
one  of  them  who  does  not  believe  that  the  Republican 
party  has  been  saved  and  the  country  benefited  by  your 
act.  And  yet  not  one  of  them  has  had  the  heart  or  man- 
liness to  do  one  thing  to  save  you  from  the  gallows,  or 
ensure  you  even-handed  justice.  I  would  not,  of  course, 
expect  them  to  fly  openly  to  your  assistance,  but  they 
could  have  aided  you,  and  if  they  had  a  grain  of  grati- 
tude in  their  souls  they  would  have  done  so  stealthily. 
But  on  the  contrary,  they  have  all  of  them.  Senator 
Logan  excepted,  been  helping  to  immolate  you.  Should 
you  be  convicted  and  sentenced  I  am  certain  that  Presi- 
dent Arthur,  who  owes  his  elevation  entirely  to  you,  would 
allow  you  to  be  hanged  like  a  dog.  O,  Mr.  Guiteau,  I 
implore  you  that  in  case  the  worst  should  come,  as  I 
imagine  such  a  climax,  in  spite  of  all  endeavor  to  drive 
it  from  my  thoughts.  Sometimes  I  see  you  resisting 
your  executioners,  fighting  with  the  desperation  of  despair 
for  your  life.     At  others,  I  see  you  walk  to  the  fatal  trap 


234 

with  manly  dignity  and  composure,  and  submit  your 
head  to  the  murderous  rope.  O,  horror  of  horrors !  I 
feel  at  such  times  that  I  must  fly  to  you  to  save  you.  I 
can  hardly  suppress  my  shrieks,  while  I  tremble  and 
shudder  like  an  aspen,  as  tears  and  cold  sweat  pour  from 
me  like  rain. 

But  I  cannot  and  will  not  believe  that  the  court  will 
be  so  deaf  to  the  appeals  of  justice  and  mercy  as  to  con- 
sign you,  in  defiance  of  law,  human  and  divine,  to  so 
terrible  an  end.  God  has  said  "  A  tree  shall  be  judged 
by  its  fruit."  Tour  tree,  the  tree  that  Porter  and  his  as- 
sociates are  denouncing,  brought  forth  fruit  that  reunited 
and  saved  from  dissolution  the  Republican  party,  and 
saved  the  country  as  well,  and  for  this  you  are,  they  in- 
sist, to  be  hewn  down  ;  I  do  not  and  will  not  believe  it. 
And  when,  within  five  minutes  I  shall  close  my  letter,  I 
shall  fall  on  my  knees  and  pray,  as  I  have  for  weeks  done 
every  night,  that  God  may  spare  your  life  and  restore  you 
to  liberty. 

And  now,  my  poor  friend,  good-night.  I  have  written 
you  a  long  letter  ;  but  have  not  said  one  of  the  many 
things  I  would,  if  circumstances  permitted,  most  like  to 
say.  I  trust,  indeed — "  I  feel  it  in  my  bones,"  to  use  a 
common  expression  of  brother's — that  we  shall  some  time 
meet,  and  meet  outside  of  prison  walls.  Good-night, 
and  may  the  just  and  merciful  God  protect  and  bless  you. 

Thursday  Morning, 
(The  day  after  my  conviction.) 
Poor  soul,  and  so  it  is  all  over.  But  despair  not.  You 
shall  yet  be  saved.  I  am  too  wild  and  nervous  to  write 
more.  Do  let  me  hear  from  you  soon,  and  tell  me  just 
how  you  are  treated  now.  Keep  in  good  spirits,  for  all 
will  yet  be  well.  Miserable  as  I  feel  and  bad  as  the 
weather  is  T  have  ordered  the  carriage  and  am  going  to 


235 

talk  with  some  lady  sympathizers  as  to  what  can  be  done. 
Be  brave  and  patient  and  you  shall  be  saved. 

Gen.  Crocker  : 

Dear  Sir  :  Will  yon  have  the  kindness  to  deliver  the  ac- 
companying letter  to  Mr.  Guiteau  ? 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  any  one,  especially  for  one  of 
my  sex,  to  disclaim  any  sympathy  with  Guiteau's  act.  If  I 
believed  he  was  sane  at  the  time  of  the  shooting  of  the 
President  I  could  bear  to  see  him  burnt. 

But  I  do  not  believe  that  Mr.  Guiteau  was  of  sound 
mind  when  he  committed  the  act.  It  has  been  my 
fortune  to  see  one  of  the  most  gentle  and  tenderest 
of  creatures,  a  young  girl,  a  clergyman's  daughter,  who  had 
always  so  loved  God  as  to  be  not  only  immaculate,  but 
almost  impeccable,  so  far  carried  away  by  a  supposed  divine 
inspiration  as  to  contemplate  and  contrive  a  crime  more 
heinous,  under  the  laws  of  nature,  than  that  perpetrated 
by  Guiteau.  No  one,  no  expert,  though  he  had  been  for 
years  in  daily  intercourse  with  her,  would  have  suspected 
her  of  having  a  monomania,  or  an  insane  delusion  of  any 
kind.  It  was  reserved  for  me  to  learn  from  her  own  lips 
that  she  was  a  victim  of  a  delusion  that  she  had  been 
commanded  by  God  to  take  the  life  of  the  being,  whom, 
next  to  her  mother  and  father,  she  loved  best  on  earth — 
her  twin  brother. 

Many  phases  and  features  in  her  case  and  Guiteau's 
are  analogous,  and  convince  me  that  Garfields  death  was 
not  compassed  by  a  sane,  responsible  mind.  No  ade- 
quate motive  for  the  terrible  deed  has  been  shown.  En- 
tertaining this  belief,  as  I  do  in  common  with  thousands, 
I  cannot  help  sympathizing  with  your  prisoner.  I  think 
it  would  be  a  horrible  crime  to  hang  him. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 


236 


Conclusion. 

My  name  will  be  remembered  as  the  author  of  this 
book. 

Whatever  this  generation  may  think  of  me,  future 
generations  will  see  my  work  and  record  from  this  book. 
It  was  sown  in  dishonor,  but  the  Almighty  will  see  that 
it  is  raised  in  power.  "  Ye  are  honorable,  but  I  am  de- 
spised " — by  fools  and  devils.  But  the  Almighty  will 
reckon  with  these  fellows.  It  is  a  small  thing  that  I 
should  be  judged  of  man's  judgment.  For  men  curse 
you  to-day  and  bless  you  to-morrow. 

It  matters  little  to  me  whether  I  live  three  months  or 
twenty  years.  Life  is  a  flimsy  dream,  and  it  matters 
little  when  one  goes.  Paradise  is  a  great  improvement 
on  this  sin-cursed  world,  and  I  shall  be  far  better  off 
there  than  here. 

If  my  case  had  been  well  tried  I  should  not  be 
in  danger  of  being  murdered  on  the  gallows  for  exe- 
cuting the  divine  will.  But  what  can  you  expect  of 
a  real  estate  lawyer  ? — a  man  without  means  or  ex- 
perience in  the  conduct  of  criminal  causes.  For  these 
reasons,  if  for  no  other,  I  ought  to  have  another  chance. 
But  it  does  not  make  much  difference.  My  life  has 
been  a  sad  one  and  the  sooner  I  get  out  of  this  world 
the  better  it  will  be  for  me.  There  is  nothing  in  this 
world  I  want. 

This  book  will  fix  my  historical  position,  and  I  am  con- 
tent to  go  if  the  Lord  wants  me.  But  my  blood  will  be 
on  this  nation  and  the  officials  that   murder  me   on  the 


237 

gallows.  If  I  were  in  the  White  House  and  General 
Arthur  were  in  my  place,  I  would  pardon  him  though 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  America  cursed  me  for 
it.  I  would  do  it  on  the  ground  that  I  believed  him  in- 
sane at  the  time  he  fired  the  shot,  and  I  would  let  the 
future  decide  whether  I  was  right  or  wrong. 

FROM  A  BOSTON  LADY. 
To  Chaeles  Guitkau. 

To-day  before  your  God  you  stand, 

He  claims  you  as  a  valiant  son  ; 
Enough  ;  'tis  done  at  His  command, 

Repress  your  fears,  the  victory's  won. 

O,  who  should  strive  to  learn  His  ways, 
Profound  through  all  the  ages  passed ; 

Enough  that  we  obey  and  praise. 
In  these  we  win  the  crown  at  last. 

Servant  of  Him  who  rules  the  sky, 
The  crown  on  earth  shall  yet  be  thine. 

Hold  up  thy  head ;  thy  dimless  eye 
Yet  shall  behold  a  crown  divine. 

Down  the  dark  vale  thy  foeman  flies. 
Over  the  lords,  the  wise  and  grand, 

Over  the  host  thou  shalt  arise. 

Millions  shall  bow  at  thy  command. 


,\'P 


HI;- 7     Y^ 


M^V-^  r  V 


^     ,.    .'.^Sl^-.  t^^^/  ,v<^V^'  ^-^    ,^i^-   ^ 


:^^ 


O     Zi^iMllIF: 


.  ^  %^^     N.  MANCHESTER, 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS 


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