Vice President Chester A. Arthur was not in Washington at the time of the shooting of President Garfield. He had been to Albany, and was horror stricken upon landing in New York to be greeted at the dock with the news. He left immediately for Washington, going directly to the Ben Butler house south of the Capitol, occupied at the time by Senator Jones, of Nevada, where he remained until the injured President was taken to Elberon, N. J. Although the White House patient was conscious a large part of the time, his condition grew more critical, and his sufferings were increased by the midsummer heat, and on July 4th his death was predicted hourly. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, called upon the Vice President to acquaint him with the fact that the President’s death was imminent and to prepare him to assume control. Mr. Blaine said: “The President is dying! You must prepare to assume the responsibilities which the Constitution places upon you in such an event.” Vice President Arthur was greatly distressed over the situation. He believed the prediction and stated that, when the Cabinet would call upon him, he would be ready to take the oath of office. The pall of approaching death and the depression of the great calamity had the entire nation bowed in sorrow and anxiety. While Mr. Arthur thus waited with his friends in great suspense, expecting every moment the worst, they were notified by an orderly sent by Secretary Blaine to the effect that the change in the weather, bringing relief from the exhausting heat, had brought a decided improvement in the President’s condition, and immediate death was not anticipated. Mr. Arthur was fervent in his expressions of relief and joy. Already papers were carrying stories connecting the names of Arthur and Conkling with Guiteau’s crime. This was a severe shock to Mr. Arthur’s sensibilities, and caused him such profound distress over the injustice and cruelty of such a slander that he never quite recovered from it. Throughout his administration, this barbed shaft was often flung at him and never failed to wound him. When his attention was first called to the statements, he exclaimed: “No one deplores the calamity more than Senator Conkling and myself. These reports are so base and unfounded I cannot believe that they will be credited. They do not affect Senator Conkling and myself as much as they do the entire country. They are a slur upon our institutions, an attack upon the integrity of Republican government! Good God! If such a thing were possible, then liberty is impossible! Such a calamity as this should be treated as national, not only by every citizen, but by the entire press of the country. Party and faction should be forgotten in the general grief. All personal considerations and political views must be merged in the national sorrow. I am an American among millions of Americans grieving for their wounded chief!”