Existing comment:
The Nation Mourns:
"Hastily and reverently the people approached... to seize an impression of the honored features. To those who had not seen Mr. Lincoln in life, the view may be satisfactory; but to those who were familiar with his features, it is far otherwise. The color is leaden, almost brown; the forehead recedes sharp and clearly marked; the eyes deep sunk and close held upon the sockets; the cheek bones, always high are unusually prominent; the cheeks hallowed and deep-pitted; the unnaturally thin lips shut tight and firm as it glued together, and the small chin, covered with slight beard, seemed pointed and sharp..."
-- New York Times, April 25, 1865
This letter, written by SS Elder, recounts his summons to the State House in Springfield on May 4, 1864, to seal Lincoln's casket for the last time.
Elder never used his sealing tools again. Instead, he writes that he "guarded them... as a precious memento of the sadest [sic] moment in American History. The moment when so far as the world is concerned the face of Abraham Lincoln was covered to be sean [sic] no more on Earth." |