Keene Insight

History is at best a guess. The last of the four gospels reminds us, Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:25). History’s blurred edges and fudged facts were corralled by God’s breath (2 Timothy 3:16) and His divine intervention so that which is important might be preserved. I grew up hearing Will Rodgers sardonic quip, “I only believe what I read in the papers.” But then again, do we really know that it was Will Rodgers that said it? Yes, we all lament with Dragnet’s creator and star, Jack Webb, as Sergeant Joe Friday saying, “Just the facts, Ma’am.” However, history has a way of making facts and artifacts specious and speculative when all the puzzle pieces worn by time seem not to fit anymore. For example let me offer a Keene insight.

If you know who Laura Keene is then you probably are somewhat a history buff or Lincoln devotee. This mid-nineteenth century actress and business woman was the star of the play, Our American Cousin, that Abraham Lincoln and party was watching the fatal evening that John Wilkes Booth both shot and stab the 16th president of the United States. Miss Keene made her way from the stage up to Lincoln’s box and convinced the doctor to cradle the fallen president’s head in her lap. It was and will be an historical oddity that the usually hyper-jealous Mary Todd Lincoln allowed this spectacle. But Miss Keene’s blood soaked dress, now just fragments, has survived the ages and secured the actress’ place in history. But there is a Keene insight to this story.

Historians debate whether or not Keene actually was in the box or made up the story and if she was in the presidential box was it Lincoln’s blood she contacted or Henry Rathbone whom Booth inflicted deeply with a stab wound. Additionally, the fragments of Miss Keene’s dress that have been collected don’t all match. You see the Keene insight is that history at best is a guess. Just the facts ma’am are skewed by time and prejudice. Which leads me to this insight… I’m glad God didn’t leave His last will and testament up to historians but rather trustworthy men and women who testified of their faith. I’m elated that God saw fit to preserve the text by His providence and His servants that assure us that there is no other body of literature, no other recounting of history that is as sound as the library that came to be known as “The” book… the Bible! Now that’s keen! -DAN