Mr. Raaslöff to the President

[Translation.]

President: I have the honor, in conformity with instructions from my government which have just reached me, to tender you, in the name and on behalf of his Majesty, the King, my august sovereign, the assurances of profound grief with which his Majesty has learned the death of the late lamented President Lincoln by the hand of an assassin, and the murderous attempt made to take the life of the honorable Secretary of State.

His Majesty, the King, as well as the whole people of Denmark, sincerely and earnestly sympathize with the people of the United States in their affliction and their mourning over the loss of a ruler whose great qualities and many virtues were fully appreciated by my countrymen.

Be pleased to accept the expression of the warm and earnest wishes for your prosperity, and for the welfare of the United States, which it is my pleasant duty to offer to you in the name of my sovereign, who will have learned with sincere gratification that the great trial through which this country has had to pass, in consequence of the sad events to which I have alluded, has served to prove once more the strength of its institutions and the patriotism of its people; and that the prospects of this great nation were never more promising or inspiring [Page 44] greater and more general confidence than at this present moment, when peace and concord are rapidly being restored under the auspices of a wise and magnanimous Chief Magistrate.

I have the honor to be, President, with the highest respect, your obedient, humble servant,

W. RAASLÖFF.