Mrs. Surratt, being at the tavern on the eleventh, warned Lloyd
to have the "shooting-irons" in readiness, and, visiting the place again
on the fourteenth, told him they would probably be called for that
night.
The preparations for the final blow were made with feverish haste. It
was only about noon of the fourteenth that Booth learned that the
President was to go to Ford's Theater that night to see the play "Our
American Cousin." It has always been a matter of surprise in Europe that
he should have been at a place of amusement on Good Friday; but the day
was not kept sacred in America, except by the members of certain
churches. The President was fond of the theater. It was one of his few
means of recreation. Besides, the town was thronged with soldiers and
officers, all eager to see him; by appearing in public he would gratify
many people whom he could not otherwise meet. Mrs. Lincoln had asked
General and Mrs. Grant to accompany her; they had accepted, and the
announcement that they would be present had been made in the evening
papers; but they changed their plans, and went north by an afternoon
train. Mrs. Lincoln then invited in their stead Miss Harris and Major
Rathbone, the daughter and the stepson of Senator Ira Harris. Being
detained by visitors, the play had made some progress when the President
appeared.
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