Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session Thirty-eighth Congress, Part IV, Appendix to diplomatic correspondence of 1865; the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late president of the United States of America, and the attempted assassination of William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and Frederick W. Seward, Assistant Secretary, on the evening of the 14th of April, 1865; expressions of condolence and sympathy inspired by these events

Mars and Arts Lodge

[Translation.]

Orient of Paris,
May 11, 1865, (common era.)

To the glory of the Great Architect of the Universe. In the name and under the auspices of the Grand Order of France. Chapter of Mars and the Arts. Union, strength, wisdom.

To the Minister of the United States of America, greeting:

Sir: The sad misfortune which has recently happened to the great American republic has vividly impressed us, and we meet, for the first time since the horrid crime of the 14th of April, to protest most sincerely against the flagitious tendencies of that monstrous moral aberration, suggested by some sinister doctrine, which would make an act of heroism and devotion out of a political assassination. But, for the honor of humanity, we behold with pride that energetic expressions of condemnation have arisen from all quarters against this insane act, this revolting doctrine.

And now, sir, suffer us to express the profound sympathy we feel for a people that have destroyed slavery, the great social evil, and for the illustrious citizen who, amidst the hardest trials, has ever been true to the regenerative mission he accepted.

Happy the country that gives birth to such men, and glory to the institutions in which such powerful individualities can be developed without danger to the nation. They are the true representatives of God upon the earth, who have such a comprehension of his justice; and of them it may be said, they are sent by Providence, the messiahs of civilization and progress. The work which they accomplish exalts them so high that they cannot be termed citizens of any particular country, for they are citizens of all; and though one single nation may claim them, their name belongs to all humanity and their death becomes an universal mourning. For this reason every lover of liberty has the right to weep with you over the premature death of Abraham Lincoln. But a stronger bond, a more intimate union, than the common tie united us particularly to his great heart.

Abraham Lincoln was our brother. Let us not be astonished then that he persevered so courageously in that moral work, the emancipation of the blacks, in the name of the grand principle of human dignity, which he understood so well. Like us, he knew that all men are equal, all brothers, whatever their race; and that there is nothing true but liberty, equality, fraternity, and justice.

Be then, dear sir, our interpreter with the people of the Union. Tell them that we share their grief, that we participate in their hopes, and that we pray for peace over the entire land of America.

Bear our condolence to the bereaved family that has purchased the freedom of your beautiful and great country with the blood of such a mighty sacrifice. May the testimony of respect and sincere sympathy which reaches her from so many alleviate the heaviness of her incomparable sorrow.

The Lodge of Mars and the Arts, in solemn meditation, fired a funeral salute in honor of the illustrious dead, and decreed that the lodge banner should be draped in mourning of crape for the space of three months.

Accept the assurance of our distinguished sentiments.

LEON RICHER.

Adopted in solemn session, the 11th of May, 1865.
FELIX GUILLON, Secretary.