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It was imperative, that he should be removed to the White House, where he could receive every attention. An ambulance was speedily summoned. The President was gently borne down stairs by loving hands, and laid within it. His friends, who had been at the station, were already at the White House. As he was lifted out of the ambulance, with the pallor of death stamped upon his face, he glanced upward to the windows, where his friends were waiting sadly and silently, fearing that he would be borne home to them dead. As he recognized them, he raised his right hand, and with a smile, which those, who saw it, will never forget, gave the military salute. He was carried carefully to an upper chamber in the southwest corner of the Mansion. Soon afterward, came Mrs. Hunt, Mrs. James, Mrs. Windom, Mrs. Blaine and Mrs. W. T. Sherman. Other friends of Mrs. Garfield quickly arrived, but were denied admittance. The ponderous gates, which lead to the Executive Mansion, were guarded by policemen ; and armed military sentinels, as if by some fearful magic, silently took their places about the grounds. These troops were ordered from the Washington Barracks to relieve the regular police, whose services were needed in the city, where the excited crowds were rapidly increasing. Their bayonets, flashing in the sunlight, seemed portentous of an awful fate hanging over the Republic, and recalled the last hours of President Lincoln,

when the same horror was reflected from the faces of the people, who surged about the Executive Mansion, and watched similar silent sentries pacing under the trees.

In his sick-room lay the President, surrounded by the most eminent physicians in Washington. He at first complained of numbness, then of pain, in his feet. The bullet, which entered the back, did not pass through the body. The wound was situated on the right side, four inches from the spine, and passed downwards and to the left, between the tenth and the eleventh rib. An examination was made with the fingers, but it was deemed advisable not to attempt to ascertain by probing what direction the ball had taken, or where it had lodged. He had but slightly reacted from the shock, and his physicians had little hope that he would live to see his wife. He was conscious however. Early in the afternoon, he inquired of Secretary Blaine the name of the assassin, and what motive he could have had in committing the deed. Secretary Blaine replied that he was, doubtless, a disappointed office-seeker. Directions were given that he should see as few persons as possible, and that he should be kept from conversation, or from any effort whatever. After consultation, it was determined by the surgeons that at three o'clock, if his condition would permit, they would probe for the ball. When this hour arrived, it was found that he was not in con

CRITICAL CONDITION.

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dition to undergo the operation, and it was again postponed. At this consultation, however, Dr. Wales (Surgeon-General of the Navy), examined the wound with his fingers, and detected the rough edges of the fractured ribs.

The situation became more critical every hour; and his physicitns could offer only the slightest hope. They sought in vain for signs of increasing reaction. The patient vomited frequently, and his prostration was extreme. His attendants longed for the coming of his wife, but feared that she would arrive too late. His own anxiety for the arrival of his wife increased with every hour. On that eventful morning, General Swaim announced to her, as gently as he could, that the President had been shot. She immediately began preparations for her departure for Washington. Before she started, General Swaim received the following dispatch:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., July 2d, 1881. General Swaim, E beron, New Jersey:

We have the President safely and comfortably settled in his room at the Executive Mansion. His pulse is strong and nearly normal. So far as I can detect from what the surgeons say, and from his general condition, I feel very hopeful. Come on, as soon as you can get special. Advise me of the movements of your train, and when you can be expected. As the President said on a similar occasion, sixteen years ago: "God reigns, and the government at Washington still lives." A. F. ROCKWELL.

At 12.45 p. m. the special train, furnished by