_The evening of April_ 14, 1865. _The small lounge of a theatre. On
the far side are the doors of three private boxes. There is silence
for a few moments. Then the sound of applause comes from the
auditorium beyond. The box doors are opened. In the centre box can
be seen_ LINCOLN _and_ STANTON, MRS. LINCOLN, _another lady, and an
officer, talking together.
The occupants come out from the other boxes into the lounge, where
small knots of people have gathered from different directions, and
stand or sit talking busily_.
_A Lady_: Very amusing, don't you think?
_Her Companion_: Oh, yes. But it's hardly true to life, is it?
_Another Lady_: Isn't that dark girl clever? What's her name?
_A Gentleman (consulting his programme_:) Eleanor Crowne.
_Another Gentleman_: There's a terrible draught, isn't there? I shall
have a stiff neck.
_His Wife_: You should keep your scarf on.
_The Gentleman_: It looks so odd.
_Another Lady_: The President looks very happy this evening, doesn't
he?
_Another_: No wonder, is it? He must be a proud man.
_A young man, dressed in black, passes among the people, glancing
furtively into_ LINCOLN'S _box, and disappears. It is_ JOHN WILKES
BOOTH.
_A Lady (greeting another_): Ah, Mrs. Bennington. When do you expect
your husband back?
_They drift away_. SUSAN, _carrying cloaks and wraps, comes in. She
goes to the box, and speaks to_ MRS. LINCOLN. _Then she comes away,
and sits down apart from the crowd to wait.
A Young Man_: I rather think of going on the stage myself. My friends
tell me I'm uncommon good. Only I don't think my health would stand
it.
_A Girl_: Oh, it must be a very easy life. Just acting--that's easy
enough.
_A cry of_ "Lincoln" _comes through the auditorium. It is taken up,
with shouts of_ "The President," "Speech," "Abraham Lincoln," "Father
Abraham," _and so on. The conversation in the lounge stops as the
talkers turn to listen. After a few moments_, LINCOLN _is seen to
rise. There is a burst of cheering. The people in the lounge stand
round the box door_. LINCOLN _holds up his hand, and there is a sudden
silence_.
_Lincoln_: My friends, I am touched, deeply touched, by this mark of
your good-will. After four dark and difficult years, we have achieved
the great purpose for which we set out. General Lee's surrender to
General Grant leaves but one Confederate force in the field, and the
end is immediate and certain. _(Cheers_.) I have but little to say
at this moment. I claim not to have controlled events, but confess
plainly that events have controlled me. But as events have come before
me, I have seen them always with one faith. We have preserved the
American Union, and we have abolished a great wrong. _(Cheers_.) The
task of reconciliation, of setting order where there is now confusion,
of bringing about a settlement at once just and merciful, and of
directing the life of a reunited country into prosperous channels of
good-will and generosity, will demand all our wisdom, all our loyalty.
It is the proudest hope of my life that I may be of some service in
this work. _(Cheers_.) Whatever it may be, it can be but little in
return for all the kindness and forbearance that I have received. With
malice toward none, with charity for all, it is for us to resolve that
this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that
government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish from the earth.
_There is a great sound of cheering. It dies down, and a boy passes
through the lounge and calls out_ "Last act, ladies and gentlemen."
_The people disperse, and the box doors are closed_. SUSAN _is left
alone and there is silence_.
_After a few moments_, BOOTH _appears. He watches_ SUSAN _and sees
that her gaze is fixed away from him. He creeps along to the centre
box and disengages a hand from under his cloak. It holds a revolver.
Poising himself, he opens the door with a swift movement, fires,
flings the door to again, and rushes away. The door is thrown open
again, and the_ OFFICER _follows in pursuit. Inside the box_, MRS.
LINCOLN _is kneeling by her husband, who is supported by_ STANTON.
A DOCTOR _runs across the lounge and goes into the box. There is
complete silence in the theatre. The door closes again.
Susan (who has run to the box door, and is kneeling there, sobbing_):
Master, master! No, no, not my master!
_The other box doors have opened, and the occupants with others have
collected in little terror-struck groups in the lounge. Then the
centre door opens, and_ STANTON _comes out, closing it behind him.
_Stanton_: Now he belongs to the ages.
THE CHRONICLERS _speak._
_First Chronicler_: Events go by. And upon circumstance Disaster
strikes with the blind sweep of chance. And this our mimic action was
a theme, Kinsmen, as life is, clouded as a dream.
_Second Chronicler_: But, as we spoke, presiding everywhere Upon event
was one man's character. And that endures; it is the token sent Always
to man for man's own government.
THE CURTAIN FALLS.
THE END