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

Cradle of Henry IV Lodge

Order of Pau, May 18, 1865.

A. L. G. D. G. A. D. L. U.

[Translation.]

To His Excellency Ambassador of the United States:

The regrets of the whole world accompanied Abraham Lincoln when he fell, triumphant, from the murderer’s bullet. His admirable good sense, his inviolable respect for the laws, his regard for the liberty and dignity of the people who had trusted their destiny to him, his unwavering faith in justice and truth, have made him one of the most noble characters of modern times. In the first rank of great men, history will point him out as one of those rare modern examples of true patriotism, placing its strength in the practice of civil virtues. By this murder the assassin has not gained his end. He has taken a precious life, but he has not destroyed the existence of the American people; they, by their institutions and the practice of liberty, are beyond the reach of such human events.

This lodge, the cradle of Henry the Fourth, at Pau, under the sad circumstances, regrets the great citizen, and has the greatest confidence in the great republic of the United States.

• A. LACOSTE.
• FELIX ARRIA.
• A. BIVOT.
• A. DUMOULON.
• A. VERRIN.
• E. GENERSE.
• P. ETCHEBARTER.