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Show ffitnrnln 311 men Dickens' Letter Tells of President's Concern on Assassination Day PCS Charles Dickens visited America on Lecture Tours in 1842 and 1868, visited Washington on each occasion. On the second visit he was received by President Andrew Johnson. On the anniversary of Lincoln's birthday this personal letter of Charles Dickens to his closest friend and biographer, John Forster, then in London, is of unusual un-usual interest. It has been sent to The Post by Professor Otto Torney Simon. Washington, February 4, 1868. I am going tomorrow to see the President, who has sent for me twice. I dined with Charles Summer last Sunday against my rule ; and as I stipulated for no party, Mr. ' Secretary Stanton was the only other guest, besides my own secretary. We fell into a very interesting conversation con-versation after dinner. Then Mr. Stanton told me a curious curi-ous little story which will form the remainder of this short letter. On the afternoon of the day on which the President was shot, there was a Cabinet Council, at which he arrived late. Mr. Stanton then noticed with great surprise that the President sat with an air of dignity in his chair, instead in-stead of lolling about in it, and that instead of telling irrelevant ir-relevant stories, he was grave and calm. Mr. Stanton, on leaving the Council with the Attorney General, said to him : "That is the most satisfactory cabinet cab-inet meeting I have attended for many a long day. What an extraordinary in Mr. Lincoln." The Attorney General replied: "Wc all saw it before you came in. While we were waiting for you, he said, with his chin down on his breast, "Gentlemen, something vcry extraordinary is going to happen, and that very soon." To which the Attorney General had observed : "Something "Some-thing good, Sir, I hope?" when the President answered very gravelv : "I don't know, I don't know. P)Ut it will happen, and shortly too." As thev were all impressed .by his manner, the .Attorney .Attor-ney General took him up again ! "Have you received any information, Sir. not yet disclosed to us?" "No," answered the President, "but I have had a dream. And I have now had the same dream three times. Once, on the night preceding pre-ceding the P.attle of Bull Run. Once, on the night preceding preced-ing the battle (naming a battle also not favorable to the Xorth)." His chin sank on his breast again, and he sat reflecting. "Might we ask the nature of this dream, Sir?" said the Attorney General. "Well," replied the President without with-out lifting his head or changing his attitude, "I am mi a great broad rolling river and I am in a boat and I drift and I drift but this is not business" suddenly raising his face and looking around the table, as Mr. Stanton entered, en-tered, "let us proceed to business, gentlemen." . Mr. Stanton and the Attorney General said, as they talked on together, it would be curious to notice whether anything ensued on this: and they agreed to notice. He was shot that night. |