Señor B. Bruzual to Mr. Hunter
[Translation.]
New York, 35 West 33d street,
2d year of the Constitution and 7th of Independence,
April 16, 1865.
Sir: I was lulled by the most flattering hopes for the termination of the civil war that threatened to sever this great republic, when the echo of the people’s lamentation brought to my ears the sad news of the most horrid crime that perverse humanity ever committed upon earth.
The assassination of the President of the United States and of his Prime Secretary, at a time when the cabinet was applying the balm of generosity and clemency to the wounds that perverted reason had inflicted upon the bosom of the country, is a crime unheard of and unexampled in the history of the world.
The grief which that crime has caused my heart is as intense as the affliction of the American people for the loss of their second benefactor, the eminent magistrate who has guided the ship of state through the most critical storm of its national existence, with so much patriotism, intelligence, and abnegation.
And the sorrow of the government and people I represent will be equally as great when they receive the news of the horrid event that has just cast the gloom of mourning over the nation to which I have the honor to be accredited.
Please receive for yourself, and communicate to his Excellency the President, Mr. Andrew Johnson, my most sincere condolence for the death of that excellent man, Abraham Lincoln, whose great virtues have enshrined him in the hearts of his countrymen by the side of the father of his country.
With sentiments of the most high consideration, I have the honor to remain you attentive and most obedient servant,
Hon. William Hunter,
Acting Secretary of State.