He went out, and within a few minutes fell from the high beams down to the floor and was instantly killed.
The other story is that a little while before this happened he said that he thought he saw the dim and misty figure of a ship pass slowly from one side of the barn to the other, under the roof.
A like story is told of Abraham Lincoln; that he used to see a vision of a ship before any great event, and that it came to him the night before he died.
I asked Mr.Secretary Hay about the Lincoln anecdote and give his reply.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, April 18, 1903.
_Dear Senator Hoar:_ You will find on page 281 of Volume 10 of "The Life of Lincoln," by Nicolay and Hay, all I know about the story.
General Grant, in an interview with the President, on the 14th of April--the day he was shot--expressed some anxiety as to the news from Sherman.

"The President answered him in that singular vein of poetic mysticism, which, though constantly held in check by his strong common sense, formed a remarkable element in his character.

He assured Grant that the news would come soon and come favorable, for he had last night had his usual dream which preceded great events.

He seemed to be, he said, in a singular and indescribable vessel, but always the same, moving with great rapidity towards a dark and indefinite shore.

He had had this dream before Antietam, Murfreesboro, Gettysburg and Vicksburg." The story is also found in George Eliot's Life (Vol.