WASHINGTON — President Bush yesterday bowed his head in silence before the flag-draped casket of President Ford — a man the president said used a calm, steady hand to guide the nation after the tumultuous Watergate years.

On a rainy, gloomy afternoon, Mr. Bush and first lady Laura Bush joined thousands of other mourners in paying their respects to the 38th president lying in state at the Capitol.

Silence fell under the Capitol dome when the president walked toward the casket, illuminated by spotlights and guarded at each corner by members of the military honor guard. He and Mrs. Bush lowered their heads for a few moments, as if in prayer, then turned and walked away across the Rotunda’s polished stone floor, which reflected the flag’s red and white stripes.

Later yesterday, shortly before the three-day public viewing ended, Ford’s widow, Betty, returned to the Capitol and sat in the Rotunda for about 20 minutes with her three sons and daughter and their spouses. She clutched the hand of her son Michael. Her son Steven helped her up when she walked over to the casket, touching it one last time.

Mr. Bush is to eulogize Ford today at his funeral at the National Cathedral. After Ford died last Tuesday, Mr. Bush called him a “true gentleman” and recounted how Ford stepped into the Oval Office after President Nixon resigned in disgrace after the Watergate scandal.

“President Ford was a great American who gave many years of dedicated service to our country,” Mr. Bush said in a statement. “With his quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency.”

Mr. Bush visited the casket today, his first public event of the new year, after returning from a week-long stay at his Texas ranch. Afterward, the Bushes drove to Blair House, across the street from the White House, to visit for a half-hour with Mrs. Ford. The Bushes then walked down Pennsylvania Avenue back to the Executive Mansion.

Mr. Bush went to the Capitol, where a changing military guard kept a watchful vigil throughout the night, on the third day of mourning there for Ford, who died at 93.

Among the other dignitaries to pay their respects yesterday were Mr. Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush, and his wife, Barbara; President Bill and his wife, Senator Clinton, a Democrat of New York; Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat of California, who this week becomes the first woman speaker of the House; Senator Kennedy, a Democrat of Massachusetts; a former defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld; Vice President Quayle, and a former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani.