Herold and Surratt

[Pamela]

I just never read of Mary ever sending a telegraph and Booth did it a lot, but I guess she could have. Is there any reason really to think it was something she wouldn't or couldn't do, or would prefer not to do herself? So without any more information, Mary sending the telegraph has to be considered. Maybe even Annie Ward since she was willing to receive and deliver letters from John to his mother as well as reserve the room at the Herndon House for Lewis Powell, I guess at John's request. Although, maybe Booth gave her that assignment. She was chummy enough with Booth to play a little deception game with him against Weichmann on April 10th involving a letter from John Surratt. I got the idea that Booth changed his plans at least by the time he, or he got (was it Atzerodt or Spangler?) someone to sell his carriage. I'm not sure of the exact date of that, but obviously after the failed kidnapping, at least the failed attempt that we know about, because Brophy mentioned 3 attempts, and I guess he was told that by Surratt unless he just made it up.

On P.131, A True History, Weichmann related a conversation with Booth at the boarding house on April 10th. At one point (the inquisitive!) Weichmann asked Booth why he was not playing. "He answered he was done playing; that the only play he cared to present was Venice Preserved. I had never read the play. Years after, however, when I did read it, I found that the whole gist of the play was to assassinate the officers of the Venetian Cabinet in order to save Venice."

I wondered about how easily Weichmann could take off work, too. I don't recall an explanation for that. He had been working there for about a year and maybe there was a policy for taking a day off if needed? Another slightly curious event was that Mary Surratt went to Surrattsville on April 1 which was a Saturday, in a rented buggy. Weichmann left after breakfast and found her gone when he returned in the afternoon. She returned that day with her brother and he never knew if she took herself or found somebody else to take her.

It's kind of amazing how many factors muddy up the picture of where Surratt was on the 14th. Was Booth telling the truth to Herold and Atzerodt or manipulating them to strengthen their resolve? And then there is the statement that Betty found about a witness seeing Herold with Surratt on the 14th. P. 173, A True History, Weichmann thought there was a purpose in Mary's showing him the letter from John on the evening of the 14th but didn't speculate as to what it could be. Did she know that John had returned from Canada and wanted Weichmann to be sure to say, if asked, that he was in Canada, which is what happened? And why did the letter disappear?