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LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 General Grant: 
 
 A COMPLETE LIFE OF THE GREAT HERO, FOLLOWING HIS CA- 
 REER FROM THE CRADLE TO ITS CLOSE; WITH THE FULLEST 
 PARTICULARS OF HIS SHARE IN THE MEXICAN WAR AND 
 THE CIVIL CONFLICT OF 1861-65; HIS CAREER AS PRES- 
 IDENT OF THE UNITED STA TES FOR EIGHT YEARS; 
 HIS NOTABLE JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD; 
 HIS TRIP TO MEXICO ; HIS LIFE IN NE W YORK, 
 AND THE SAD SCENES OF HIS LAST HO URS. 
 
 BY 
 
 ^ 
 
 "WILLIAM RALSTON BALCH 
 
 II 
 Author of " Lives of Gurfii-Id and Artliur," " GarfieM's Words," " Life of Winfleld Scott Haucock,' 
 " Lives <if Bluiiin and Logan," " The Red Jleii of America," "A Message from 
 the Sea," "The Battle of Gettysburg," etc., etc. 
 
 Ctopionsln Sllnstratcb. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA- 
 
 ^TNA PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
 
 188S. 
 
COPYP.IQHT BY WlI.I.IAM I'lALSTON BaLCH, 1885. 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 praise. Success, power, fame, are the beacon liglits of ambition — 
 no one so humble as not to wish to wear them. And when each 
 and all of these are combined in the thread of one man's life, who 
 can tire of the story ? 
 
 It is this that makes Grant's life-history ever fresh and foscinat- 
 ing. It is the profound and universal interest awakened in him 
 because of the sorrows and shadows of his closing days that makes 
 it appropriate to tell the story now. 
 
 WILLIAM RALSTON BALCH. 
 
 Philadelphia, Summer of 1885. 
 

 PREFACE 
 
 rpiTE humblest citizen of the American nation needs no intro- 
 -^ (hiction to Ulysses S. Grant. His name, high graven on 
 tlie tablets of his country's honor, ranks inseparably with those 
 of Washington and Lincoln. It stands out far in the front, alone, 
 conspicuous, like some distant star of the first magnitude, so great 
 in itself as to overshadow and make commonplace its fellows. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, who more than any monarch that ever wore 
 a crown deserved the title of " God-sent," found in the hour of his 
 country's greatest peril the instrument for his purpose — a soldier 
 equal for liis work, a warrior-leader able to save the State for which 
 he fought, able to direct to victory the mightiest armies the world 
 ever saw. Patient, unswerving, determined, Avise, Grant led the 
 liosts of the Union in the long and bloody road that led to the 
 altar of human liberty. No one opposed him successfully — none 
 detained liitu eventually ; destiny shaped his courage to the end 
 in view, and it was accomplished. He was the man for the crisis 
 —an instrumentality of the Divine purpose. 
 
 Grant's life combines every element of picturesque interest. 
 Valor and merit on the field of battle cannot fail to attract all men 
 —human courage is ever to be admired. Sagacity, gentleness, 
 generosity, determination, military genius, are qualities all can 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 General Grant's ancestry — His father goes West — Marries— Ulysses born — The story 
 of the changed name — " Fick it again" — The school-boy — "Can't" not in the 
 dictionary — A load of logs — Home influences — The horse trade — Defending 
 Washington — " There's nothing like leather " — Enters West Point — A letter home 
 to mother — Impressions of Arnold's treason — Progress in studies — Offers to tan 
 hides — Graduates — A reminiscence — Enters the regular army — Is sent up Red 
 river — His modesty — A letter to Mrs. Bailey 25 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Mexican war — Grant goes to Mexico — Palo Alto — Grant commended for 
 bravery — Resaca de la Palma— Monterey—General Scott enters the field — Vera 
 Cruz — Grant placed on the commander's staff — A letter home — Impressions of 
 Mexico — Mexican productions — Minerals — Birds — Battle of Molino del Rey — 
 Chapultepec — Brevet captain — A night of terror in the Mexican capital— Santa 
 Anna flees from the city — Scott takes possession — Peace 44 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Grant returns North — Is applauded in New York — Is sent to Detroit — Sackett's Har- 
 bor — Grant's love story — Meets Miss Dent — Engaged^Mnrried — Is .sent to Ore- 
 gon — Admiral Schenck speaks — Grant resigns — Becomes a farmer — An incident 
 — His attachment for his family — Words from a Southern clergyman — His library 
 — Turns collector — Wliy he failed to be a good one — His estimate of money — 
 Makes application for an engineer's oftlce — Becomes attached to the Custom 
 House — Removes to Galena — Politics — A pork story 55 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Rumors of war — Votes against Lincoln — The fall of Sumter — Grant visits Mc- 
 Clellan — Is placed on the Governor's staff" — Is recommended for Brigadier-Gen- 
 
 (7) 
 
8 CONTENTS. 
 
 cnl. but declines— Becomes Colonel of Twenty-first regiment— Becomes Brig- 
 adicr-Gcneral — Sent to southern Missouri — Takes possession of Paducah, Ken- 
 tucky — Advances against Belmont — Before Columbus — The " Cairo Expedition " 
 — (}rant protects property — Attack upon Columbus — Victory — On to Fort Donel- 
 son— A terrible fight— Floyd and Pillow make iheir escape — The surrender. 69 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Results of victory — Shiloh — A day of discouragements — A hard night's work — 
 IJeauregard retreats to Corinth — Victory for Grant — Slanderous reports — Halleck 
 shows his teeth — Advance against Corinth — Halleck snubs Grant — Halleck makes 
 a blunder — Grant establishes his head-quarters at Corinth — Suppression of the 
 Avitlanchf — Moves his head-quarters to Jackson — The struggle for luka — A Con- 
 federate letter — Grant thanks his soldiers — Hatchie river — Peace for western 
 Tennessee — A telegram from Lincoln 83 
 
 CHAPTER VI, 
 
 On to Vicksburg— The story of an important struggle — The defences of Vicksburg 
 —Base of supplfes at Holly Springs— Grant falls back to Grand Junction— Sher- 
 man and Porter proceed against Vicksburg— Unsuccessful attempts— Grant's de- 
 termination—An interview wi'ih Uncle Jesse— The man who wanted to see 
 Grant— A " brobosal "—Down the Mississippi— Badeau's description of a night 
 —Jackson captured— The siege of Vicksburg— The enemy in distress— Blowing 
 up the enemy's works— A flag of truce— Pemberton asks for Grant's terms of 
 surrender- Grant's reply— Pemberton offers an amendment— " Unconditional 
 •urrendcr " the only terms— Pemberton accepts— His treatment of Grant— The 
 surrender— Results of the victory— A tribute from Halleck 95 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 MisMssippi opened to trade— Grant wants to attack Mobile, but is not permitted— 
 kcmforces Rosccran/.-An incident—" You may stop awhile, captain"— Grant in- 
 jured-Chick amauga-The Secretary of War telegraphs for Grant-Is given a 
 new comman.l— The struggle for Chattanooga— Pemberton's opinion— Battle of 
 l>«koul Mountain-" We've whipped 'em, general "-Congress presents Grant 
 with a gold mcdal-Is made Lieutenant-General— Recollections of Grant. . 113 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 ne -rcnRlh of ,hc army-Grant states the strength of the Confederates-Position 
 of the Confederate army-In the Wilderness-Grant's proposed line of warfare 
 -Tb. Monrof a severe struggle-Advancing and retreating-Moving toward 
 
CO^'TENTS. 9 
 
 Richmond — Some shrewd engineering — On the banks of the Chickahominy — A 
 terrible battle — Lee proceeds to Richmond — Grant proposes to lay siege to Peters- 
 burg — Mining the enemy's works^Grant receives a visitor — " No sanitary folks 
 wanted" — The expedition to Deep Bottom — The sympathy of Grant — His letter 
 to a lonely heart — Butler attacks Fort Harrison — A letter from the President — A 
 tribute from Scott — Philadelphia presents him with a home 128 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 {Preparing for a final movement — Lee attacks Grant — Jeff Davis receives a dispatch 
 — " Richmond must be evacuated to-night " — An exciting scene — Richmond oc- 
 cupied by Union troops — Lincoln visits Richmond — " Glory ! glory ! " — Grant pur- 
 sues Lee — Sheridan intercepts Lee — The latter flees — Grant pursues — His letter 
 to Lee — Lee's reply — Daring Custer — Appomattox — Lee's surrender — What 
 General Mahone said of the surrender — Lee's last order — A Union soldier's de- 
 scription of the closing scene of the war 145 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Grant's farewell to his soldiers — Makes a tour through the Northern States — His re- 
 ception at Galena — Makes a tour through the South — His view of its condition — 
 "General Orders No. 3" — Suppression of the Richmond Examiner — A recep- 
 tion by the leather dealers of New York — Is presented with ;$ioo,ooo — Recep 
 tion at Brooklyn Academy of Music — Is made General in the regular army — His 
 letter to General Ord 104 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Grant's opinion on the parole question — Grant appointed Secretary of War ad 
 interim — He opposes the removal of Stanton — Flis tribute to Sheridan — He re- 
 signs the position as Secretary of War — President Johnson scolds 173 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Grant a President — The causes which led to his being nominated — His election and 
 votes — A summary of his political career — Some of the greater incidents of his 
 White House life — San DonungOT-^Finance-^The Alabama arbitration — The 
 Centennial Exhibition — The close of his public service — The third term — His 
 last message to the nation 181 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 General Grant leaves Philadelphia — Entlnisiastic ovations — Across the ocean — In- 
 teresting incidents — Welcome to England — At Liverpool — Sights and scenes in 
 the great city — A tribute from the press — An incident — Departure for Manchester — 
 Grand reception — Arrives in London — Epsom races— Pierrepont gives a reception 
 
10 CONTENTS. 
 
 —The freedom of the city of London— Reception by the corporation of London 
 —Grant at Kensington— A visit to the Queen— Off for Belgium 211 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Arrival at Brussels— Lucerne, Switzerland— Geneva — The Mer de Glace — Edin- 
 burgh— Tay Bridge— At the home of Sir Walter Scott— Glasgow— Brighton- 
 Paris " Palais d' Industrie" — McMahon gives a dinner — Grant at the tomb of 
 
 Thiers — The Mackey dinner and reception 228 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The party reach Naples — Young's letter — Vesuvius as seen from the city — The road 
 to the mountain — The ascent — Overlooking Pompeii — A romantic picnic on the 
 lava — Glimpses of social and political life in Naples — A day among the ruins of 
 Pompeii — The city of Hannibal and Cxsar — The museum — The excavation — 
 Bronze Ornaments 245 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Off for Malta — Scylla and Charybdis — Among the scenes of Paul's travels — En 
 route for Alexandria — The Marquis— Alexandria — Henry M. Stanley — A call on 
 the Khedive — Meeting old friends 260 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Cairo and the Nile — Life on the river — Domestic scenes — Friends on the way — 
 Assiout — Tomb of the Kings — The home of Wasip el Hayat — Girgel — The 
 Libyan Desert — Grand old ruins — Isis and Osiris 276 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 Thebes — Luxor— The home of Rameses — Temples and statues — A Theban dinner 
 — Karnak and its wonderful sights — The Sacred Lake — Who was Rameses ? — 
 Resemblance to Lord Beaconsfie.d — Marks of the races 293 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Still ascending the Nile— Keneh— Eastern pottery— Domestic life — A visit to the 
 Pach.!— Assonan— The bazaars— Making purchases— Philre— On board a daha- 
 bceah— Memphis— The Serapcum— .\Iariette Bay— Among the tombs— Farewell 
 to Memphis oqq 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Tlio Holy Liiid— Its sacred associations— General Grant's visit— Landing at Jaffa 
 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 Ramleh — Ride to Jerusalem — Triumphal entry into the Holy City — In and 
 
 around Terusalem — Walk over the Via Dolorosa — The garden of Gethsemane — 
 Damascus — Smyrna — Constantinople — A vLsit to the Sultan — A princely gift — 
 The slave market — The Mosque of the Sultan — Athens and the Acropolis — 
 Mars' Hill— Corinth 321 
 
 CHATTER XXI. 
 
 The Eternal City — Roman honors — Genoa — They return to Paris — Holland — Dutch 
 festivities — Berlin — An interview with Prince Gortschakoff — A visit to Bismarck 
 — Reviewing the troops — Copenhagen — Through the Black Forest — Sweden and 
 Norway — St. Petersburg — An interview with the Czar — Moscow — Warsaw — En 
 route for Spain ... 34-i 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A message from the King of Sjiain — San Sebastian — Vittoiia — Meeting the Spanish 
 King — The dead Queen — Madrid — The Escurial — The library — Tlirough the 
 royal apartments — Disappointed expectations — The tomb — Pliilip 361 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Grant visits Toledo — The Cathedral — The work of the Moors — Pau — Fox-hunting 
 — An exciting occasion — The start — The meet — The finish — Lislxsn — Meeting 
 the King of Portugal — Literary efforts — Cintra — Montserrat — Portugal 7.'s. 
 Spain 370 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Cordova-^The Mosque — They reach Seville — Grant visits the Duke of Montpensier 
 — The run from Cadiz — Gil:)raltar — Trafalgar — Doing Grant honors — Ireland — 
 Dublin — Reception by the Lord JLayor — Grant becomes an Ulster Irishman — 
 Ovations all along the line — Belfast — Off for India 379 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 From Marseilles to Bombay — The Suez Canal — Alexandria again — On board the 
 Venelia — Landing at Apollo Bunder — The caves of Elephanta — Brahma, Vi>hnu 
 and Siva — The entertainment at Malabar Point — 'Visit to Jeypoor— Reception at 
 the palace — The Palace of Amber— The Taj — Beautiful scenes — Bhurtpoor. 387 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 rhey reach Delhi — Visit to the Kutab — Amid the scenes of the Sepoy rel)eIlion — 
 The sacred city of the Hindoos — Benares and its priests — Calcutta — At the Gov- 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 crnmcnt House— The University — The Viceroy's country-seat — The King of 
 Oude — Rangoon — Hindoo customs and society — The Pagoda 400 
 
 CHAPTER XXVH. 
 
 Down tlie straits of Malacca — Burmah — A letter from the King of Siam — They 
 reach Siam — A visit to the ex-Regent — The state dinner — An interesting occasion 
 — Canton — Dining with the Viceroy — The Menu — A pecuHar feast — Macao, 
 Swatow, and Amoy — Camocus — Hong Kong 41 1 
 
 CHAPTER XXVHI. 
 
 Shanghai — A glad welcome — A quiet Sabbath — An imposing scene — Li Hung 
 Chang — The Viceroy visits Grant — The fete at the French Consul's — Pekin — A 
 young emperor 424 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Chefoo — Departure from China — Japan — Nagasaki — Prince Dati — A grand dinner 
 — The musicians — Yokohama — The palace — Reviewing the troops — Taking 
 leave of the emperor — Farewell speeches — Homeward bound 433 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 General Grant and his party en route for San Francisco — Preparations for Grant's 
 reception— The first glimpse of tlie steamer — The entrance of the " City of Tokio " 
 — The landing — .A. grand procession — A magnificent scene — At the Palace Hotel 
 — A grand chorus — A clamoring people — General Grant speaks — Reception at 
 Tubb's hotel 45I 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 General Grant's party visit Yosemite Valley— In Oregon— Back to San Francisco— 
 The farewell banquet— In Nevada— A visit to the consolidated Virginia mine- 
 Souvenirs— Sutro Tunnel— Eastw*d— At Burlington, Iowa— At home in Galena, 
 111— A hcaity welcome— At Chicago— Indianapolis— Louisville— Cincinnati- 
 Columbus— pitisburgh—Harrisburg— Philadelphia— The journey complete— A 
 hcarly wclcyoie home— A rejoicing people— Childs' reception— Many other 
 ''"""'* : 458 
 
 CHAPTER XXXH. 
 ■n. t.ur— Start from Washington— The party— Columbia— Savannah— 
 ' ■' -l^ivana— San Diego Los Banos— A native ball— Cuban slave 
 
 - ■''■^^^•^".^val—BulI.tighiing—Progresso— Vera Cruz— City of Mex- 
 
CONTENTS. 13 
 
 ico — President Diaz — Mexican railroad schemes — San Antonio — Cherubusco — 
 Home again 47-" 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Grant settles in New York — He enters the mazes of business — The firm of Grant 
 & Ward — How the General was drawn into the whirlpool of disaster — An over- 
 whelming trouble — Vanderbilt's generosity — The astounding wonders of Ward's 
 rascality — A tale of turbulent trouble 505 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. /^ 
 
 Grant's desperate illness — How the disease developed — His trouble a cancer in the 
 throat — The vigils of the doctors and a history of the case — The hero is bap- 
 tized — The love of the people — How he was watched and tended — The removal 
 to Mount McGregor — The sympathy of the world 527 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Resting-place of the illustrious dead — Several spots proposed : West Point ; the 
 capital of the nation— Riverside Park, New York, chosen — Telegrams of sym- 
 pathy to the bereaved family — Sermon by Rev. Dr. Newman at the cottage at 
 Mt. McGregor — The funeral train on its way to New York — Scenes along the 
 way — The whole country in mourning — Arrival at Albany — Lying in state in the 
 Capitol — Arrival at New York— City Hall, New York City — The magnitic^.u 
 funeral cortege — The temporary tomb 557 
 
f^ 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 U. S. Grant (Steel) Frontispiece. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Grant's early Home at Point Pleasant, Ohio (Full page) .... 27 
 
 View from Military Academy at West Point ...... 36 
 
 Battle of Resaca de la Palma (Full page) . 45 
 
 Castle of Chapultepec (Full page) ....,..• 51 
 
 Scott's Entry into the City of Mexico (Full page) ..... 53 
 
 The Dent Homestead near St. Louis (Full page) 57 
 
 Grant's Home at Galena .......... 65 
 
 Grant's Departure for the War (Full page) ...... 68 
 
 Fort Sumter 70 
 
 Interior of Fort Henry .......... 75 
 
 Water Battery at Fort Donelson ........ 76 
 
 Commodore A. H. Foote ......... 77 
 
 Vicksburg — The Gibraltar of the Mississippi (Full page) .... 81 
 
 Pittsburg Landing ........... 84 
 
 Grant and Sherman at the Battle of Shiloh (Full page) .... 87 
 
 The Start for Vicksburg (Full page) 97 
 
 Grant Entering the Capital of Mississippi (Full page) .... 101 
 
 Surrender of Vicksburg (Full page) ....... 107 
 
 Cave Life in Vicksburg during its Siege 109 
 
 General George H. Thomas ......••• 116 
 
 (15) 
 
IG LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Battle of Lookout Mountain (Full page) 119 
 
 Grant Receiving his Commission as Lieutenant-General (Full page) . 123 
 
 In the Wilderness (Full page) 133 
 
 Portrait of Lincoln • 136 
 
 General Winfield Scott 142 
 
 Sheridan's Final Dash to the Front (Full page) 147 
 
 View of Richmond 150 
 
 Surrender of General Lee (Full page) 155 
 
 View of Charleston 166 
 
 Capitol at Raleigh 167 
 
 Grant at the Close of the War (Full page) 172 
 
 War and Navy Departments (Full page) ...... 175 
 
 National Cajjitol at Washington (Full page) ...... 183 
 
 Senator Joseph R. Ilawley 185 
 
 Grant's Start for his Second Inauguration 188 
 
 North Front of the White House ........ 195 
 
 Great Corliss Engine of the Centennial Exhibition (Full page) . . . £03 
 
 Main Exhibition BuiUling ......... 204 
 
 Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil 205 
 
 American Line Steamer Indiana ........ 211 
 
 ,^rrival of the Indiana at Queenstown 213 
 
 Scene on the Mersey near Liverpool . 215 
 
 Green Park 224 
 
 Furtification near Edinburgh ......... 232 
 
 Trafalgar Square ........... 234 
 
 The Tuileries and Louvre 238 
 
 DiMant View of Vesuvius , . . 246 
 
 Battle of Mount Vesuvius 249 
 
 The llcmiitnge 2-53 
 
 Ruin* at Pomjjcii "58 
 
 Kuin* at Malta 263 
 
 nou>ci.,i, and Batllcmei'ts at Malta ....... 266 
 
 View .f Alexandria . oen 
 
18 LIST OF illitstratio:ns. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Catlicilral of St. Basil, Moscow 359 
 
 Mosque of Cordova 380 
 
 The Suez Caual 388 
 
 General Grant En-route for India (Full page) 389 
 
 Red Sea Entrance to the Suez Canal 390 
 
 Tlie Taj—" The most Beautiful Building in the World " (Full page) . 397 
 
 King's Palace at Delhi (Full page) 403 
 
 Pagoda of Rangoon (Full page) 409 
 
 Dancing-women of Siam ........•• 415 
 
 Sending Written Prayers to Heaven (Full page) 421 
 
 Tea Gardens of Shanghai (Full page) 427 
 
 Bridge at Pekin (Full page) 431 
 
 Japanese House of the better class (Full page) . ..... 439 
 
 Temple at Yokohama (Full page) 445 
 
 Nearing the Golden Gate, California (Full page) 453 
 
 General Grant and Party in a Nevada Mine (Full page) .... 461 
 
 Medal Struck in the Grant Parade at Philadelphia 472 
 
 Reception at Philadelphia (Full page) 473 
 
 Interior of Palace Car " President " 476 
 
 Pulaski Monument at Savannah (Full page) 479 
 
 En -route for San Diego 
 
 482 
 
 Travelling by Volante in Cuba (Full page) 487 
 
 Dancing the "Zapnteo" (Full page) 489 
 
 "A Leading Occupation" ...-••••• ^"^^ 
 
 Progresso (Full page) ....-••••• ^"^ 
 
 Grant's Residence in New York ^"" 
 
 Tender Care of the Dying Hero (Full page) 533 
 
 Cottage at Mount McGregor ....'•••• ^'^' 
 
 Rev. J. P. Newman, D. D ^^^ 
 
 Grand Central Depot, New York (Full page) 601 
 
 Front Entrance City Hall, New York (Full page) 6i 5 
 
 Maior-General Winfield Scott Hancock 607 
 
 :Mourning Decorations on Broadway, New York (Full page) . . . 609 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 17 
 
 Pack. 
 
 977 
 Oriental Bazanv 
 
 079 
 Eastern Donkeys 
 
 View of the Nile (Full page) 281 
 
 Tomb of the Kmgs -''^ 
 
 I'asha Villa, occupied by General Grant (Full page) .... 285 
 
 'N7 
 
 Group of Bedouins '"^' 
 
 Ruins at Thebes (Full page) . . * -89 
 
 00 1 
 
 Ruins at Thebes ■^"^■* 
 
 The Plains of Thebes (Full page) 297 
 
 Kgvpiian Architecture -^^ 
 
 Karnak '"^1 
 
 Hieroglyphics— a Battle-scene -^^^3 
 
 Hieroglyphics — Storming a City . . • 305 
 
 Totter at work ^^8 
 
 Arch near Keneh ........••• ^^1" 
 
 The Plains of Memphis (Full page) ........ 310 
 
 JitTa • 322 
 
 Peasant W'Dinan of the East ......... 323 
 
 Ramlch 324 
 
 .\n Ea-tern Dining-room .......... 328 
 
 \'ia D..lorosa 329 
 
 David's Tomb, Mount Zion C31 
 
 Valley of Jehoshaphat 333 
 
 Scene on the River Jordan 335 
 
 A Dancing-girl of Damascus 236 
 
 Constanlinople (Full page) 337 
 
 Exterior View of a Turkish House 339 
 
 Interiur View of a Turkish House 340 
 
 Tlic Acropolis at Athens 342 
 
 Venice (Full page) 347 
 
 Florence (I'ull page) 349 
 
 Ca»tlc in Germany (Full page) 355 
 
 Mountain Pass in Norway 357 
 
LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 OP 
 
 GENERAL U. S. GRANT. 
 
 (23) 
 
Yanqiiisf^ES. 
 
 I. 
 
 Not by the ball or brand 
 Sped by a mortal hand, 
 Not by the lightning stroke 
 Wlien fiery tempests broke— 
 Not 'mid the ranks of war 
 Fell the great conqueror. 
 
 II. 
 
 Unmoved, undismayed, 
 
 In the crash and carnage of the cannonade — 
 
 Eye that dimmed not, hand that failed not, 
 
 Brain that swerved not, heart that quailed not, 
 
 Steel nerve, iron form — 
 
 The dauntless spirit that o'erruled the storm. 
 
 III. 
 
 While the hero peaceful slept 
 A foeman to his chamber crept, 
 Lightly to the slumberer came, 
 Touched his brow and breathed his name. 
 O'er the stricken brow there passed 
 Suddenly an icy blast. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The hero rose, undismayed, 
 
 Saluted death, and sheathed his blade. 
 
 V. 
 
 The conqueror of a hundred fields 
 To a mightier conqueror yields; 
 No mortal foeman's l>low 
 Laid the great soldier low ; 
 Victor in his latest breatli — 
 Vaniiuishcd but by death. 
 
 Francis T. Browne. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENERAL GRANT'S ANCESTRY — HIS FATHER GOES WEST 
 
 MARRIES ULYSSES BORN THE STORY OF THE CHANGED 
 
 NAME — " FICK IT AGAIN " THE SCHOOL-BOY " CAN't " 
 
 NOT IN THE DICTIONARY A LOAD OF LOGS HOME 
 
 INFLUENCES THE HORSE TRADE DEFENDING WASH- 
 INGTON " there's nothing LIKE LEATHER " ENTERS 
 
 WEST POINT A LETTER HOME TO MOTHER IMPRES- 
 SIONS OF Arnold's treason — progress in studies — 
 
 OFFERS TO TAN HIDES — GRADUATES — A REMINISCENCE 
 
 enters THE REGULAR ARMY IS SENT UP RED RIVER 
 
 HIS MODESTY A LETTER TO MRS. BAILEY. 
 
 That branch of the Grant family from which the 
 famous General came was represented in Mathew Grant, 
 who landed on these shores in 1630. In the sixth gener- 
 ation from Mathew was Noah Grant, grandfather of the 
 General, who after the Revolutionary War migrated to 
 Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where, in January, 
 1794, Jesse R. Grant, father of the lamented General, was 
 born. Five years later, in 1799, the family began to be 
 agitated by the fever of unrest, following the star of em- 
 pire, moved to the great and distant valley of the West. 
 At this time not a single State had been formed out of 
 that large district known as the Northwestern Territory, 
 lying between the Allegheny and Rocky Mountains. 
 The journey was long and wearying. After days of trav- 
 
 (25) 
 
26 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 elling along rough roads, through dark forests and across 
 rapid streams, they at last made a final halt in Ohio. 
 
 About the same time another Pennsylvanian, a farmer 
 by the name of John Simpson, removed his household to 
 Clermont county, on the Ohio river, near Cincinnati. 
 The two families were but a few miles apart. The 
 country being sparsely settled at that time, it was not long 
 before the Grants and the Simpsons came to be well ac- 
 quainted. The friendship thus established culminated in 
 the marriage of Jesse Grant and Hannah Simpson. This 
 event occurred in June, 1821. Jesse was a quiet, cautious, 
 earnest young man, possessed of an abundance of resolu- 
 tion and perseverance. He was very fond of business, 
 and soon resolved to add a tannery to his f\irm. His wife 
 was a young woman of exceptional good sense, possessing 
 also a calm, serious and domestic temperament. She was 
 warmly attached to her home, and endeavored to make it 
 sunshiny and pleasant. She entered into her husband's 
 enterprise with all the energy of character peculiar to 
 successful Western pioneers, and by so doing aided much 
 in his material prosperity. In the humble dwelling which 
 they called home their first child was born on the twenty- 
 Beventh day of April, 1822. This child, a son, was named 
 Hiram Ulysses Grant. The story of the subsequent 
 change of name is thus told by the father : 
 
 "The maternal grandmother was quite a reader of 
 history, and had taken a great fancy to Ulysses, the great 
 Crcciiin general, who defeated the Trojans by his strategy 
 of the wooden horse. She wished the child named Ulys- 
 Bos. His grandfather wanted to have him njimed Hiram. 
 S. l,.,th were gratified by naming him Hiram Ulysses. 
 ^\ ii.-n 1 wrote to Mr. Hamer, then a member of Congress 
 l'"ni our district, to procure the appointment of cadet, he 
 wrote to the War Department and gave his name ' Ulysses 
 
2S LIFE OF GENEEAL GEAKT. 
 
 S. Grant.' And we could not get it altered. Simpson 
 was his mother's maiden name. We had a son named 
 Simpson, and Mr. Hamer confounded the two names. We 
 re"-arded it a matter of but little consequence, and so let 
 it stand." 
 
 Early in life absence of fear became characteristic of 
 the voung Ulysses. When but two years of age, while 
 l)eing carried in the arms of his father on a public occa- 
 sion through the village, a young man expressed a desire 
 to try the efiect of a pistol report on the child. The father 
 consented, remarking : " The child has never seen a pistol 
 or gun in his life." The baby hand was placed on the 
 trigger and pressed until it snapped and the pistol went 
 oir with a loud report. The child scarcely stirred ; but in 
 a moment afterward pushed away the pistol, exclaiming 
 in childish glee: ^' Fick it again! fick it again!"" 
 One who stood by remarked : '' That boy will make a 
 general ; for he neither winked nor dodged." 
 
 Placed in the village school, Ulysses was faithful and 
 studious. Whatever was undertaken he was sure to 
 master. His progress was not as rapid as that made by 
 others, but it was thorough. His motto seems to have been 
 " slow but sure." Although he gave no striking evidence 
 of genius, still there was a beautiful resemblance to the 
 boyhood of Washington in a peculiarity well expressed by 
 one well qualified to give an opinion : " There was cer- 
 tainly a manly, dignified modesty in his deportment which 
 made him at least an uncommon lad." 
 
 The persistency with which Grant pursued his studies 
 was certainly remarkable. Where many another would 
 liave given up discouraged, he toiled on until he had won 
 tlic victory. One day, as he was wrestling with a very 
 difTicMli problem, one of his companions happening in at 
 the time said to him : 
 
ANCESTRY. 29 
 
 " You can't master that." 
 
 Ulysses replied : " Can't ! What does it mean ? " 
 
 " Why," stammered the other, " Why, it means that — 
 that you can't. There !" 
 
 Grant wa% not satisfied with the answer. In order to 
 settle the exact meaning of the word, he turned to the 
 dictionary. He found the word can very easily, but there 
 was no cant. Whenever he was baffled in his search for 
 knowledge, he was wont to take the matter to his teacher; 
 and so he appealed to him in this instance. " What is 
 the meaning of can't ? The word is not in the dictionary." 
 The teacher soon informed him, and seeing that a grand 
 opportunity was presented to impress upon the minds of 
 the scholars the great truth that perseverance in well 
 doing is the secret of success, presented the matter in a 
 very forcible manner. He said : " If in the struggles of 
 life any person should assert that you can't do a thing 
 you had determined to accomplish, let your answer be, 
 " The word can't is not in the dictionary.'" 
 
 His father also relates another amusing little incident: 
 " When he was about ten years old, a distinguished phren- 
 ologist came along and stayed several days in the place. 
 He was frequently asked to examine heads, blindfolded. 
 The phrenologist, among others, examined the boy Grant. 
 He felt his head for several minutes without saying any- 
 thing. Then he was asked if the boy had a capacity for 
 mathematics. The phrenologist, after some further ex- 
 aminations, said : ' You need not be surprised if you see 
 this boy fill the Presidential chair some time.' " 
 
 It was about this time that Grant showed unmistakably 
 his Scotch blood. That is to say, he had the substantial, 
 strong qualities of character for which the men of Scotland 
 are remarkable — self-reliance and manliness, combined 
 with the ability to manage difficult undertakings. 
 
.10 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 " Ulysses," said his father to the boy one day, " T want 
 you to drive the team down to the woods, where the hands 
 arc ready to load up some logs." 
 
 The boy M-as soon on the way, whip and "lines" in his 
 hands. When he reached the forest, however, the men 
 were not to be found. " Ah !" he said to himself, " I see 
 h.)\v it is. These logs have got to be loaded; for father 
 wants them. I must make up in wit what I lack in 
 ^strength." 
 
 But how to get the heavy logs upon the wagon was a 
 serious question. Just at that moment his eye rested 
 on a tree that had fallen over, and rested against another. 
 This made the trunk an inclined plane, rising gradually 
 from the ground. The boy saw at a glance how to make 
 the liorses do tb.e work which the missing men were to 
 have done. Unhitching his team, he drew the log nearest 
 to him up on the side of the tree, and then another and so 
 on until he had them jiU in proper position. He then 
 backed his cart under the load, drew each log over the 
 tree and fastened it with a chain to the wagon, and in tri- 
 umph drove homev/ard. His father met him at the door, 
 and not seeing the men, who had been expected to return 
 witli him, exclaimed: 
 
 "Why, Ulysses! where are the men? Didn't they 
 help you?" 
 
 •' I don't know where they are," was the answer, " and 
 I don't care either; for I got the load without them." 
 
 The time of Jesse Grant was so occupied with the cares 
 of pioneer life that the training of the son was left almost 
 wholly to the mother. Mrs. Grant was one of those 
 wom.'u who believed that a child's education should not 
 I- left wholly witli the teachers in the common school. 
 Mm- believed that home influence left an indelible mark 
 ui>on the pla.stic mind of the young. She therefore sought 
 
ANCESTRY. 31 
 
 to impress upon her son the noblest lessons which one can 
 learn. Having made the Bible her text-book, she reared 
 her boy to love that dear old volume, and to prize its 
 immortal teachings. Although possessed of strong re- 
 ligious traits, Mrs. Grant had, nevertheless, a quaint 
 humor. It often manifested itself in the quiet ripples of 
 her handsome mouth, even though it did not betray itself 
 by words. 
 
 " Ulysses," she said to her boy one day, " I mean you 
 shall not come to a bad name, if you can help it. Your 
 father has called you by a great one, and if you will fol- 
 low the advice of your mother, as well as that of your 
 father, no one will ever call you Useless Grant." And no 
 stronger summons was needed to start the boy to duty 
 than the short call of the woman pioneer: 
 
 " Quick, my lad ! They shan't call you Useless ! " 
 
 Thus the inspiration to diligence, to obedience, to per- 
 severance and success came to the boy Grant in the 
 charmed circle of home. He saw that his father was suc- 
 cessful; he also saw that his mother greatly aided his 
 father in his efforts. And with these two examples be- 
 fore him he often put the question to himself: " What 
 reason is there that I should not succeed?" 
 
 In those early days in Ohio it was absolutely necessary 
 for a successful farmer to have in his possession one or 
 more of the best horses obtainable. The business of 
 Jesse Grant having increased, he desired to purchase 
 another horse. He sent Ulysses, who was at that time 
 assisting him in the tan-yard, to make the purchase. The 
 animal wanted was the property of a neighbor. The boy, 
 though young, had acquired some knowledge of horses, 
 and was, therefore, delighted with the mission. 
 
 " Go to neighbor Ralston, my son," said Mr. Grant, 
 " and tell him I have sent you to buy the horse we talked 
 
no . J.IFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 about. You may offer him fifty dollars at first. If he 
 says he Avon't take that, offer him fifty-five. If that 
 won't bring the creature, you might go as high as sixty." 
 The boy at once started on his errand, and soon 
 reached tlie neighbor's house, and make known his 
 
 errand. 
 
 •• Your father sent you to buy this mare of me, did 
 ho?" inquired Mr. Ralston. 
 
 '• Yes, sir, he did," answered young Grant, looking the 
 animal over carefully. 
 
 " Did he tell you how much you were to pay for him ?" 
 continued Ralston, with his sharp eye fastened upon the 
 thirteen-year-old customer. 
 
 •• Yes, sir," frankly responded the boy. " Father told 
 me to offer you fifty dollars for the horse ; and then he 
 said, if you wouldn't take that, I might raise to fifty-five, 
 but I nmstn't go above sixty." 
 
 Neighbor Ralston thought that he had a very easy case 
 to manage. " Oh, that's it," he said. " Well, sixty dol- 
 lars is my price for the mare." 
 
 •• Father said I might give sixty dollars," answered the 
 boy, •• but, after seeing the horse again, I don't think she's 
 worth more than fifty to us; so you may take that or it 
 is no trade." The little fellow got the horse. 
 
 Early in life patriotism developed as an important ele- 
 ment in the character of the young Ulysses. It seems to 
 have been born in him, and, as year by year rolled on, its 
 nacred fire burned brighter and brighter. A single inci- 
 (l<'nt will serve to show how strong it was when he was 
 lait a small lad. He had a cousin who had been born in 
 <':ina(la, and, of course, it was but natural that he should 
 liavc learned something from his ancestors prejudicial to 
 Americans and to their institutions. This cousin regarded 
 the American people as being far beneath those of Eng- 
 
ANCESTRY. 33 
 
 lish birth, and, having been sent into the States to be 
 educated, he did not hesitate to give his opinions in very 
 plain language. To hear his country and its founders 
 ridiculed was too much for Ulysses, and he rej)lied to his 
 cousin with no small degree of earnestness. 
 
 " Speaking of Washington," said the cousin, " it seems 
 to me, Ulysses, you appear to think a great deal of him." 
 
 " And why shouldn't I ? " was the reply. " He is the 
 father of my country, and was raised up by the Almighty 
 to lead it to independence." 
 
 " That's all very fine," retorted the other ; " but he was 
 a traitor to his king." 
 
 " A what ? " demanded Ulysses, raising his voice. 
 
 "Washington was a traitor, a rebel!" continued the 
 other, in an insolent and authoritative manner. 
 
 "Cousin John," calmly replied Ulysses, "would you 
 like to hear your sovereign called hard names ? " 
 
 " Why, no ; I can't say that I should." 
 
 " Well, then, let me tell you plainly that I will not al- 
 low you or any one to insult the name of Washington ! " 
 
 "Pray, what are you going to do about it?" asked 
 John, with a sneer. 
 
 " Do? " exclaimed Ulysses. "Do ? I shall resent it, as I 
 have a right to do. You may take advantage of me ; for 
 you are older than I am. My mother has told me not to 
 quarrel with my schoolmates, and I intend to obey her, 
 and shall not attack them on my own account. But when 
 Washington is assailed, and especially by an English boy, I 
 shall defend him, cousin or no cousin. I'm ready to fight 
 for Washington." 
 
 And with these words Ulysses threw off his jacket and 
 was not long in convincing this Canadian friend that he 
 meant full as much as he had said. Blow followed blow 
 in quick succession, until the cousin was thrashed into an 
 apology. 
 
34 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 m 
 
 When Ulysses returned home his parents were not long 
 ... discovering that he had been in a fight. There was 
 no attempt to evade or conceal anything ; but with frank- 
 ness he told them the whole story. He had not been 
 fighting for self, or from a purely selfish motive. Rather 
 ^^°ls it°a contest for principle ; for his beloved country ; 
 for one whom his father and mother had ever taught him 
 
 to honor. 
 
 For a moment or two not a word was spoken after 
 Ulysses had finished his story. The mother looked at 
 her darling boy, her heart filled with the mingled emo- 
 tions of patriotism, love and maternal duty. What step 
 sh(3uld she take ? The boy had often been told that he 
 must not fight, but still he had by his own confession 
 been engaged in such an act. And then she thought of 
 the holy impulse which had led him to do so, and as she 
 thouglit she asked herself the question, " Would it be 
 right for me to punish him because actuated by such a 
 principle?" While she was debating the matter, the hus- 
 band and father broke the silence : 
 
 '' Mother," said he, adopting a familiar form of expres- 
 sion. *• I don't think you ought to punish the boy. He 
 has come straight home after the difficulty and told us the 
 ^vllole story. You see, he didn't fight from malice or re- 
 venge, or the love of fighting. In my judgment he did 
 exactly right; for the boy who would not fight to defend 
 Wasliington is not worthy to be the son of Jesse and 
 llanunh Grant." 
 
 And so tlie question was settled, and rightly, too. 
 Siicli a decision did not set aside paternal discipline, 
 ratlier did it honor that spirit of patriotism which had 
 laid the foundation of a great and good government, 
 riynses was taught to be a patriot, even though to be one 
 Hliould cause him to receive many a blow. 
 
ANCESTRY. 3S 
 
 "It is the purpose of the Ahnighty," continued Mr. 
 Grant, after a short pause, " to redress all human wrongs. 
 It is Christian to take up arms in defence of right, if 
 right cannot be defended in any other way. Ulysses has 
 but done his duty in standing up for his country. Should 
 we not have been ashamed of our boy if he had done any 
 differently ? In my opinion, it marks the manhood in 
 him; and, if his life is spared, he may yet do a great 
 work in the world." 
 
 Patriotism was not only thus early taught, but faith- 
 fulness in every undertaking in life. Mr. Grant was one 
 of those men who believe that if a thing is worth doing 
 at all, it is worth doing well. And so he early impressed 
 upon the mind of his boy the importance of being faith- 
 ful in all the undertakings of life, however humble the 
 station held. 
 
 " Ulysses," he said to his son one day, " remember this 
 as long as you live, that it is honorable for a boy to learn 
 any trade that is an honest one. Washington learned a 
 trade and was not ashamed to follow it for a living. Let 
 it be your constant aim, my son, to do what you com- 
 mence to do, that is right, with all your heart. When 
 you begin a good thing, go through with it. Don't leave 
 your leather only half-tanned : if you do, it will spoil and 
 be a dead loss on your hands. Plenty of lime, plenty of 
 clean water, plenty of tan, plenty of oil, plenty of hard 
 work, and your leather is made ; and when it is made, it 
 is a good thing. Remember the old saying, ' There is 
 nothing like leather.' Resolve in your youth that it shall 
 be so with you in everything. Never begin a work unless 
 you intend to go through with it. You know that the 
 best leather is that which sometimes looks the worst in 
 the hide, and that the most elegant and durable specimens 
 are frequenth^ found at the bottom of the vat." 
 
86 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 At the age of seventeen Ulysses was admitted as a 
 cadet into the United States Military Academy at West 
 Point. The appointment was secured through the in- 
 fluence of a friend of his father, General T. L. Hamer, a 
 UKMnbor of Congress at that time from Ohio. Grant en- 
 tered upon the duties with that spirit of earnestness and 
 (k'tcrniiiiation which had ever characterized him. He re- 
 
 VIKW FUUM MIHTAIIY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT. 
 
 Holved tliat he would succeed— that, however difficult the 
 undertaking he would overcome all its obstacles. 
 
 '•How did 3-ou pass the examination ?" inquired the 
 ^•'^'•"•'•- in a l<-tter, soon after his son's entrance to the 
 ucadfiiiv. 
 
 Tlie n-ply was at once modest and truthful : " I passed 
 exanunation on ,what I had learned by hard study; and, 
 
ANCESTRY. 37 
 
 let me tell you, father," he added, '' I don't think I shall 
 forget it very soon, if ever I do. I don't expect to make 
 very fast progress ; but I shall try tc hold on to what I 
 
 get. 
 
 And with this determination in his heart he devoted 
 himself to liis studies. Soon after his entrance he wrote 
 to his mother : 
 
 " U. S. West Point Military Academy, 
 "June 4:th, 1839. 
 
 " My Dear Mother : I have occasionally been called to be sep- 
 arated from you ; but never did I feel the full force and effect of 
 this separation as I do now. I seem alone in the world, without 
 my mother. There have been so many ways in which you have 
 advised me, when in the quiet of home I have been pursuing my 
 studies, that you cannot tell how much I miss you. When I was 
 busy with father in the tannery and on the farm we were both 
 more or less surrounded by others who took up our attention and 
 occupied our time. But I was so often alone with you, and you 
 spoke to me so frequently in private, that the solitude of my sit- 
 uation here at the Academy, among my silent books and in my 
 lonely room, is all the more striking: it reminds me all the 
 more forcibly of home, and, most of all, my dear mother, of you. 
 But, in the midst of all this, your kind instructions and admoni- 
 tions are ever present with me. I trust they may never be absent 
 from me as long as I live. How often I think of them ! and how 
 well do they strengthen me in every good word and work. 
 
 "My dear mother, should I progress well with my studies at West 
 Point and become a soldier for my country, I am looking forward 
 with liope to have you spared to share with me in any advance- 
 ment I may make. I see now, in looking over the records here, 
 how much American soldiers of the right stamp are indebted to 
 good American mothers. When they go to the field, what prayers 
 go with them ! what tender testimonials of maternal affection and 
 counsel are in their knapsacks ! I am struck, in looking over the 
 history of tlie noble struggle of our fathers for national independ- 
 ence, at the evidence of the good influence exerted upon them by 
 the women of the Revolution. Ah ! my beloved friend, how can 
 the present generation ever repay the debt it owes the patriots of 
 the past for the sacrifices they have so freely and richly made for 
 
38 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 us? Wc mav well ask, ' Would our countn^ be what it is now if 
 it had not l»cen for the greatness of our patriotic ancestors?' 
 
 " Let me hear from you by letter as often as convenient, and 
 send me such books as you think will help me. They can be for- 
 warded throu.uli the courtesy of our member of Congress. 
 '• Faithfully and most lovingly your son, 
 
 " Ulysses." 
 
 West Point is the spot where Benedict Arnold, the 
 Revolutionary tnaitor, attempted to betray his country 
 into the hands of the English. Concerning this fact, 
 }oung Grant expressed himself to his father : 
 
 '• I am rendered serious by the impressions that crowd 
 upon me here at West Point. My thoughts are fre- 
 quently occupied with the hatred I am made to feel 
 toward traitors to my country, as I look around me on 
 the memorials that remain of the black-hearted treason 
 of Arnold. I am full of a conviction of scorn and con- 
 tempt, which my young and inexperienced pen is unable 
 to write in this letter, toward the conduct of any man 
 who, at any time, could strike at the liberties of such a 
 nation as ours. If ever men should be found in our Union 
 base enough to make the attempt to do this; if, like 
 Arncjld. they should secretly seek to sell our national in-.-* 
 heritance for the mess of pottage of wealth, or power, or 
 section — West Point sternly reminds me what you, my 
 father, would have your son do. As I stand here in this 
 national fort, a student of arms under our country's flag, 
 I know full well how you would have me act in such an 
 emergency. I trust my future conduct, in such an hour, 
 would prove worthy the patriotic instructions you have 
 given." 
 
 Ill tlic spring of 1840, having been at West Point one 
 v'-ar. his rapid i)rogress so pleased the authorities that 
 tli«-y i-roinoted him without hesitation to a place in the 
 
ANCESTKY. ' 39 
 
 third class, and gave him the rank in the battaUon of 
 corporal. In the following year, having been admitted 
 to the second class, he was made a sergeant. And yet, 
 though thus honored, he was the same quiet, unassuming 
 youth that he was when he came from the old tannery. 
 His modesty and faithfulness won respect from his 
 teachers, and his companions loved him for his unre- 
 stramed and friendly manner. 
 
 While at West Point an incident occurred which serves 
 to show that, although he had left the tannery and its 
 work, he, nevertheless, did not look upon labor as a thing 
 to be ridiculed. Coming, as he did, from the West, the 
 son of a tanner and farmer, he was, as all new-comers are 
 at first, the subject of many a joke from the older students. 
 One of them one day sneeringiy alluded to the fact of his 
 having worked m a tannery. 
 
 " Sir ! " exclaimed the indignant Ulysses, drawing him- 
 self to his utmost height, " am I to understand your re- 
 mark as intended for an insult ? " 
 
 " AYhy, no. Grant; it was a thoughtless thing to say, 
 and I regret it." 
 
 " Oh I very well," added Grant ; " I accept the apology. 
 But let me tell you, for your information as well as that of 
 others here, that I consider the calling of a tanner as honor- 
 able as any other in the world, and I shall defend it. I 
 had made up my mind, if occasion required it, to prove 
 to those who insulted me on account of my business, that 
 I had learned it well, and I should thoroughly tan their 
 hides on the spot ! " 
 
 On June 30th, 1843, Grant's class graduated. Of the 
 hundred who had donned the cadet gray four years before, 
 thirty-nine graduated. In his class Grant ranked twenty- 
 one. The tanner's son who had come from a district 
 school outranked seventy-nine of his classmates, some of 
 
40 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 whom were the sons of Congressmen and of professional 
 men. Not a few of them had passed through college, and 
 lience had received advantages which circumstances had 
 denied to Grant. The secret of Grant's success lay in the 
 fact that he was painstaking and faithful. He had fixed 
 his eve upon a certain goal, and to reach that goal he 
 bent all his energies. Fixedness of purpose is the secret 
 of success. "A rolling stone gathers no moss" is a trite 
 saving, and we have an abundant illustration of its truth 
 everv day. Many a failure in life is attributable to the 
 simple fact that the person so failing had no settled pur- 
 pose in life. Had Grant acted upon this plan, then cer- 
 tainly he would have lived in obscurity, and his last hours 
 would not have been the object of the w^orld's solicitude. 
 
 Among those who graduated with Grant w^ere many 
 men who afterwards became distinguished officers in the 
 Mexican war, and also those who later still became iden- 
 tified as prominent leaders in the Rebellion. At the head 
 of the class stood Major-General W. B. Franklin, who 
 afterwards led the Nineteenth army corps under General 
 Banks. Generals Ingalls, Steele and Judali graduated in 
 the same class. 
 
 An oflicer who was connected with the Academy at the 
 time Grant was there thus speaks of him : 
 
 '• 1 remember him well. He was a small, tiny-looking 
 little fellow with an independent air about him and a 
 f:oo(l deal of quiet determination. It is long ago, but 
 when 1 recall old scenes I can still see Grant with his 
 ovi-ralls strapped down on his boots, standing in front of 
 his quarters. It seems as though it were yesterday that 
 I s;iw him going to the riding hall with his spurs clanging 
 iMi the ground and his great cavalry sabre dangling by 
 ills side. It is thirty-eight years since, and I must be 
 growing old, but it is wonderful what a short time it seems 
 
ANCESTRY. 41 
 
 since I was a young man and saw the famous soldier a 
 mere stripling at the Point." 
 
 Another, speaking of hiin during this same period, says: 
 
 "• He was a plain, straightforward, common-sense youth; 
 quiet, rather of the old-head-on-the-young-shoulders order, 
 shunning notoriety, quite contented while others were 
 grumbling; taking to his military duties in a very busi- 
 ness-like manner — not a prominent man in the corps, but 
 respected by all and ^^ery popular with his friends. His 
 sobriquet of 'Uncle Sam' where every good fellow has a 
 nickname came from these very qualities ; indeed, he was 
 a very Uncle-Sam-like sort of youth. He was then and 
 always an excellent horseman, and his picture rises before 
 me still of Grant in an old torn coat, obsolescent leather 
 gig-tops loose riding pantaloons." 
 
 At the time of Grant's graduation the work of the 
 United States army was confined almost wholly to occu- 
 pying forts as garrisons, guarding the frontier wherever 
 threatened by the Indians, and having the oversight of 
 the opening of military roads through the wilderness. 
 Grant was breveted Second Lieutenant of the Fourth reg- 
 ular infantry, stationed at Jefferson Barracks, near St. 
 Louis. He took part in the many expeditions which were 
 sent into that wild country which lay back of the settle- 
 ments for the purpose of protecting the defenceless inhab- 
 itants from the attacks of the savages. Early in 1844 
 the regiment was sent up the Red river, in Louisiana, to 
 protect the scattered settlers. While thus engaged the 
 country called him to a higher and a more active service. 
 
 While attached to the Louisiana expedition Grant sent 
 a daguerreotype of himself to Mrs. G. B. Bailey, of 
 Georgetown, Ohio, who had been warmly attached to him 
 in his early days. Accompanying the picture was the 
 letter given below, which illustrates the modesty of the 
 
42 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 jouiig Irto. There was no desire to make a parade of 
 his position, or a big flourish with the title which had 
 been conferred upon him. And this fact has been true 
 of him all through his public life. 
 
 ' " Camp Salubrity, near Natchitoches, La., 
 
 ''June m, 1844. 
 
 " Mrs. Bah^ey : My journey, fortunately, is at an end, and agree- 
 ably to your request and my own pleasure I hasten to notify you 
 of niy safe arrival here. It always affords me pleasure to write to 
 old acquaintances, and much more to hear from them ; so I would 
 be pleased if the correspondence would not stop here. As long as 
 my letters are answered, if agreeable to you, I wall continue to 
 write. 
 
 " My trip to this place, ' forty days' journey in the wilderness,' 
 was marked with no incident, save one, worth relating, and that 
 one is laughable, curious, important, surprising, etc., etc., but I can't 
 tell it now. It is for the present a secret, but I will tell it to you 
 some time. You must not guess what it is, for you will go wrong. 
 On my route I called around by the way of St. Louis and Jef- 
 ferson Barracks, where I spent four or five days very pleasantly 
 among newly-made acquaintances. From St. Louis to New Or- 
 leans I had a very pleasant trip on a large and splendid boat, with 
 pleasant passengers and not much crowded. As we approached 
 tlie Soutli the sun became sensibly warmer and the mosquitoes 
 decidedly more numerous. By the time we got to New Orleans 
 my hands and face bore the strongest evidence of the number and 
 size of this insect in a Southern climate. I was but one day in 
 Orleans, which was spent in running over the city just fast enough 
 lo tire myself out and get but little good of my visit. But from 
 what I saw I think it would be a pleasant place to live, and it is 
 \u>w contemplated that my regiment will go in that neighborhood 
 ill cast; Texas sliould not be annexed to the United States; but in 
 cii.se of the annexation we will probably have to go much farther 
 w«-Ht than we are now— i)robably to the Rio Colorado. From New 
 ( )rlounH to Natcliitoches I had the bad fortune to travel on a small 
 lM)iil, conHid('nd)ly crowded, through a hot country, with gambhng 
 (^'»iii^; on day and night. Some of the passengers had very cut-throat 
 appejirances. From Natchitoches I had to walk (or pay an extrav- 
 u^,'aiit piic- for ;i conveyance) three miles through the hottest sun I 
 
ANCESTRY. 48 
 
 think I ever felt. I found my regiment camping out in small linen 
 tents on the top of a high sandy ridge and in the midst of a pine for- 
 est. The great elevation of our situation, and the fact that one of the 
 best springs of water in the State puts out here, are the only recom- 
 mendations the place' has. We are about three miles from any 
 place; there is no conveyance to take us from one place to 
 another, and everything is so high that we can't afford to keep a 
 horse or other conveyance of our own. I could walk myself but 
 for the intensity of the heat. As for lodgings, I have a small tent 
 that the rain runs through as it would through a sieve. For a bed- 
 stead I have four short pine sticks set upright, and plank running 
 from the two at one end to the other. For chairs I use my trunk 
 and bed, and as to a floor, we have no such luxury, yet our meals 
 are cooked in the woods by servants that know no more about cul- 
 inary matters than I do myself But with all these disadvantages 
 my appetite is becoming extravagant. I would like to have our 
 old West Point board again that you may have heard so much 
 about. As for the troublesome insects of creation, they abound 
 here. The swamps are full of alligators and the woods full of bed- 
 bugs and ticks, insects that you are not troubled with in Ohio, but 
 are the plague of this country. They crawl entirely under the 
 skin when they get on a person, and it is impossible to keep them 
 off. So much for Camp Salubrity. 
 
 " I should be happy to get an answer from this as early as possi- 
 ble, and, if nothing more, a postscript from the young ladies. 
 Ladies are always so much better at giving the news than others, 
 and then there is nothing done or said about Georgetown that I 
 would not like to hear. They could tell me of all the weddings, 
 etc., etc., that are talked of Give my love to everybody in George- 
 town. " Lieutenant U. S. Grant, Fourth Infantry, 
 " To Mrs. G. B. Bailey, Georgetown, Ohio. 
 
 " P. S. — I give my title in signing this, not because I wish people 
 to know what it is, but because I want to get an answer to this, 
 and put it there that a letter may be directed so as to get to me. 
 
 " U. S. G." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE MEXICAN WAR — GRANT GOES TO MEXICO — PALO ALTO 
 
 GRANT COMMENDED FOR BRAVERY — RESACA DE LA PALMA 
 
 — MONTEREY GENERAL SCOTT ENTERS THE FIELD VERA 
 
 CRUZ — GRANT PLACED ON THE COMMANDER'S STAFF A 
 
 LETTER HOME — IMPRESSIONS OF MEXICO — MEXICAN PRO- 
 DUCTIONS MINERALS BIRDS BATTLE OF MOLINO DEL 
 
 REY — CIIAPULTEPEC — BREVET CAPTAIN A NIGHT OF TER- 
 ROR IN THE MEXICAN CAPITAL SANTA ANNA FLEES FR03I 
 
 THE CITY — SCOTT TAKES POSSESSION PEACE. 
 
 In the year 1845, as the reader knows, war was threat- 
 ened between the United States and Mexico. The cause 
 was a dispute about the boundary line of Texas, which 
 had ah'ead}' become a State, for which more territory was 
 chiiiucd than Mexico was willing to concede. This led 
 to liDt disputes, and to many acts of injustice on the part 
 of Mexico. The United States government determined 
 to .SLMid an '•'army of occupation," for the purpose of 
 securing tlie observance of what she considered the true 
 l^oundary of Texas. General Taylor was the commander 
 ol tliese ibrces, among which was the regiment with 
 which (irant was connected. The troops were for a time 
 Htationed at Corpus Christi, and here, soon after his arri- 
 val, C.rant received his full commission as Second Lieu- 
 t'-iKiiit. He was then transferred from the Fourth to the 
 S.-vcMth rp-iinent of regular infantry. A few weeks later 
 
 44 
 

 ) 'Xj 
 
46 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 ho was returned to the old Fourth, where he retained the 
 8am e rank. 
 
 The winter of 1845-46 passed away without any deci- 
 sive action. On the 23d of May, 1846, Mexico declared 
 war on the grounds that the United States troops had in- 
 vaded her territory. General Taylor was still stationed 
 on the banks of the Rio Grande, opposite Matamoras. 
 At Matamoras there was a large body of Mexicans sta- 
 tioned. Taylor having heard that the enemy were be- 
 tween him and Point Isabel, and that they were also 
 threatening Fort Brown, further up the stream, he re- 
 solved to dispatch troops to both points. When the 
 American forces were preparing to move, the Mexicans, 
 who had been closely watching them, believing that they 
 were about to give up the struggle, manifested their de- 
 light in the ringing of bells and in other ways. Between 
 the original headquarters of General Taylor and Fort 
 Bnjwn lay Point Isabel, Palo Alto, and Resaca de la 
 Palma. While marching to the relief of Fort Brown, 
 General Taylor met the enemy at Palo Alto, where a 
 Fliarp and bloody engagement ensued. Here Grant showed 
 tlie material of which he was made. The coolness and 
 self-possession for which he was remarkable in his earlier 
 years, now appeared in a stronger, brighter form. The 
 discipline of West Point had served to develop all the 
 grand qualities of his military nature. In the course of 
 tlic battle it became necessary for him to give a few com- 
 mands, and they were given in few words, and with a 
 calmness well worthy of an older campaigner. The 
 l''ourth regiment was well spoken of for the work which 
 >t [K'rformed that day. Grant was commended for his 
 bravery. 
 
 On the following day, as the army continued its line 
 ul march, Taylor met the enemy and fought the battle 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 47 
 
 at Resaca de la Palma. But the Mexicans could not 
 stand before the American army. Their ranks were 
 thinned, and they reeled before the deadly fire which 
 was poured into their faces and at last they fled from the 
 battle-field, although they outnumbered the Americans 
 three to one. The Fourth regiment was again distin- 
 guished, and Lieutenant Grant was again commended for 
 gallantry. 
 
 The victorious army then swept on, driving the Mexi- 
 cans before them, like autumn leaves before a wind. 
 Down the river the troops marched until they agam 
 encountered the enemy at Monterey, some 10,000 strong, 
 under the command of General Ampudia. The attack 
 was made by General Taylor, on the 21st of September. 
 Several days fighting ensued, and on the 24th Ampudia 
 surrendered the city and garrison. It was at this point 
 that Grant had his first opportunity of learning in battle 
 the nature of intrenchments, the best manner of approach- 
 ing them, and the means most likely to dislodge an 
 enemy. The knowledge which he learned while here, 
 unquestionably became of great use to him in after 
 years. 
 
 In the meantime the Congress of tlie United States 
 had made a regular declaration of war. In the fall of 
 1846 General Scott entered the field as commander-in- 
 chief of the entire American force. It was now deter- 
 mined to proceed without delay against the magnificent 
 Mexican capital. The fleet bearing General Scott and 
 his troops entered Vera Cruz bay on March 9th, 1847. 
 Scott landed at Sacrificios, three miles from Vera Cruz, 
 at the head of 12,000 men. General Taylor's forces were 
 to unite with those of Scott, in the siege of Vera Cruz, 
 which was a strong and well-defended city, with its cele- 
 brated castle San Juan de Ulloa. 
 
48 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 A few days later the two armies united, and an attack 
 upon the city was made at once. Again the Mexicans 
 were defeated, and the victorious troops pushed on toward 
 the city of Mexico. As a reward for his bravery. Grant 
 was now given the position of quartermaster and a pLace 
 upon the commander's staff. 
 
 While the troops were pressing on to Mexico, Grant 
 found time to write an occasional letter home. One of 
 them reads as follows : ^ 
 
 I In Camp, En Route to Mexico, 
 1 May 10th, 1847. 
 
 My Dear Parents: We are progressing steadily toward the 
 Mexican capital. Since I last wrote you my position has been 
 rendered more responsible and laborious. You may learn the 
 progress of the old Fourth by the papers ; and I do not mean that 
 you shall ever hear of my shirking my duty in battle. My new 
 post of quartermaster is considered to afford an officer an oppor- 
 tunity to be relieved from fighting; but I do not and cannot see 
 it in that light. You have always taught me that the post of 
 danger is tlie post of duty. That is the way Warren looked at it, 
 you rumcmber, when he asked General Putnam where he would 
 send him, in the battle of Bunker Hill. " I shall send you, Mr. 
 President," replied Putnam (for you recollect that Warren was the 
 President of the Continental Congress at that time), " to a place 
 of safety." " No, general," said Warren, quickly, " send me where 
 tlu- light may be the hottest; for there I can do the most good for 
 my country." 
 
 So I feel in my position as quartermaster. I do not intend it 
 shall keep me from fighting for our dear old flag when the hour 
 of battle comes. 
 
 Hut 1 must not talk all the time about the war. I shall try to 
 ^ivf you a few deserij^tions of what I see in this country. It has 
 wi it many wonderful things, you are aware, so different from 
 Ohio, West Point, and the Indian territories of Missouri. 
 
 Mexico is ill many parts very mountainous. Its hillsides are 
 crowned with tall palms, whose waving leaves present a splendid 
 appearance. They toss to and fro in the winds like plumes in a 
 helmet; their deep green ghstening in the sunshine or glittering 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 49 
 
 in the moonbeams in the most beautiful manner. The table-land 
 is high and pleasant, interspersed with many verdant valleys. 
 Some of tlie mountains near the coast of the Pacific Ocean are 
 very lofty, and volcanic in their character. One of these, on tlie 
 extreme northern border, is over 10,000 feet high above the plain, 
 and the plain is supposed to be 8,000 feet above the level of the 
 sea. 
 
 The more central part of the country, through which we are 
 passing, does not have so many high mountains, but it is very 
 much broken, and some of the cliffs are very steep and the gorges 
 below very deep. As we pass along from the seaboard to the in- 
 terior, we cannot but be struck with the influence produced on 
 the atmosphere by this mountain air. Mexico, you recollect, is 
 located in the torrid zone, where the weather is supposed to be 
 always warm ; but here we find it temperate and healthy to a 
 remarkable degree. The soil abounds with grain, such as wheat 
 and maize, and vegetables, sugar-cane, roots, and fruits of various 
 kinds. With proper cultivation, cotton can be produced in large 
 quantities. The number of plants that yield balsams, gums, 
 resins, and oils is very great. Below the surface of the earth are 
 to be found gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, tin, zinc, sulphur, alum, 
 vitriol, cinnibar, ochre, quicksilver, and other mineral productions. 
 In some places are to be found diamonds, amethysts, cornelians, 
 and precious stones. There are in the hills, sometimes, great 
 masses of loadstones — as large as the largest houses, and quarries 
 of jasper, porphyry, and most beautiful green and golden marble. 
 The manufectures are earthen and stone ware, glass, spirits, 
 sugars, tissues of cotton, paper, woollen, and silk fabrics. Very 
 large supplies of medical minerals and herbs are constantly pro- 
 duced from the interior. 
 
 All kinds of horned cattle abound in these parts of Mexico. 
 They range over the immense plains in droves, occasionally num- 
 bering 40,000. Their meat is not always the most desirable, but 
 their hides are sent in great quantities to England, France, and 
 the United States. Over 10,000,000 of hides of cattle and skins 
 of smaller animals are at times sent away from Mexico in a single 
 year. 
 
 I have been much delighted with the Mexican birds. They are 
 found here in immense numbers. There are over 200 different 
 kinds peculiar to the country. Many of these have a plumage 
 that is superlatively splendid, but the display of their music does 
 
60 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 net (.Miual that of their colors. The singing of the Mexican birds, 
 as a general thing, is not as clear, nor as strong, nor as varied as 
 that of the birds of the United States. They beat ours in show, 
 but they do not equal them in harmony. 
 
 Tl)e City of Mexico, to which we are now marching, and which 
 we expect to possess in a few weeks, is, as you know, one of the 
 most beautifully located in the world. It was originally built with 
 great care. The streets are wide, and as the cooling winds come 
 down from the neighboring mountains, sweeping over fields of 
 clover, groves of magnolias, orchards of oranges, and gardens of 
 flowers, they fill the air with a delightful and healthful fragrance. 
 The city is built at riglit angles, with perfect regularity. In this 
 respect it will compare favorably with any other capital or metrop- 
 olis in either of the four quarters of the earth. 
 
 But I hear the taps as I write, and must be on the move. I 
 have written this letter with my sword fastened on my side and 
 my pistol within reach, not knowing but that the next moment I 
 may be called into battle again. 
 
 With remembrance to all our friends, I remain, 
 
 Dear parents, your son, 
 U. S. Grant. 
 
 Mr. ./e.s.sc R. Grant, Georgetown, Broivn County, 0. 
 
 In the autumn of 1847 occurred the terrible slaughter 
 of Molino del Rey. The Mexicans were again defeated, 
 and as they fled from the scene of the conflict they left 
 nion- than a thousand men upon the field, beside those 
 that had been wounded. In this battle Grant took an 
 active part. For the conduct displayed on this occasion, 
 It was proposed to give him a brevet appointment as first 
 H('Utonaiit. This empty title Grant refused to accept. 
 Five days later, Chapultepec, a frowning, formidable 
 Htron-hold, was stormed. Up to the battlements, in spite 
 of tlie leaden storm, the brave troops moved steadily on. 
 Among those brave men there were none more brave than 
 Grant. His gallant conduct was highly commended. 
 
 -Did you see young Grant ? " inquired one officer of 
 .-.nuth.T, on the morning following the battle. 
 
52 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 ••Yes : I saw him in the right spot just in the nick of 
 time," was the response. 
 
 "How was it?" asked another, who had been in a dif- 
 lerent part of the field. 
 
 •• Why," answered the first speaker, "it was a splendid 
 tiling in Grant. I had just succeeded in reaching the 
 fort with a mere handful of men. We were all tired out 
 climbing up the steep bank, and our ammunition was 
 nearly exhausted. Grant dashed in with a squad of 
 brave fellows from his Fourth infantry. We joined our 
 forces together, and divided ammunition. We then pushed 
 forward in the face of a furious fire, carried the stronsi; 
 field-work of the enemy, and completely turned his 
 right." 
 
 ** I saw Lieutenant Grant at the first barrier," said a 
 soldier of the gallant Fourth to a fellow-soldier, as they 
 rested together beneath the shade of the chaparral. 
 " The enem}' w-as in strong force, and stood his ground 
 well. We had to be very cautious how we came up under 
 his ridding fire; for, you see, he enfiladed us the wdiole 
 length of the line. So up we went slowly, creeping along, 
 •until the head of the battalion was within short musket 
 range of the barrier. At this point, Lieutenant Grant 
 came up handsomely, pushed forwvard with our men, and 
 drove in the enemy's flank." 
 
 " I knew the command the moment it came up," added 
 the other. " The rear of the enemy had made a good 
 stand, the breastwork was strong, and the conflict was a 
 slmr|) one. One of our howitzers was mounted on the top 
 ol a ccnvent near by, and Lieutenant Grant helped to 
 nianage it. His aim was splendid, and every shot told. 
 I iM'ver saw nobler conduct in any battle." 
 
 Thus his conn-ades bore united testimony concerning 
 his conduct upon that memorable occasion. Nor was he 
 
64 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 overlooked at the head-quarters. He was singled for 
 honorable mention, and he with one other officer were the 
 onlv ones who were thus distinguished. This meritorious 
 conduct at once secured him the rank of brevet Captain in 
 the regular army. The commission bore the date of 
 Sept. 13, 1847 — the very daj^ of the battle at Chapulte- 
 })ec. This commission was confirmed by Congress at the 
 subsequent session of 1849. 
 
 The fall of Chapultepec was really the end of the war. 
 "Whi'ii the Mexicans came to understand that the United 
 States troops were again victorious, terror reigned at the 
 capital. The night which followed defies descrij)tion. 
 Santa Anna, thoroughly alarmed, seeing that his army 
 had been hopelessly shattered, fled from the city with the 
 fragment that remained (some 2,000 only), accompanied 
 by the officers of the civil government of the Republic. 
 Scott at once prepared to enter the city. Early on the 
 morning following the evacuation, the American troops 
 took possession of the city, and unfurled the starry flag 
 from the top of the national palace. Scott rode into the 
 city mounted upon his powerful white charger. As he 
 l)assed along the streets the bands played "Yankee 
 Doodle." Dismounting, he took ofl* his hat, and drawing 
 Ills sword and raising it high above his head, he pro- 
 claimed in a loud voice that the American troops had 
 taken possession of the city, and of the Republic. At that 
 inoiiii-nt those Mexicans who were still in the houses 
 opriiL'd fire upon the Americans from windows and house- 
 tops. Although this attack was without the approval of 
 the Mexican authorities, it continued nearly all day, and 
 many AiiK-rican officers were killed or wounded. 
 
 In the battles in the vicinity of the City of Mexico the 
 Americans lost in killed, wounded and missing, 2,713, 
 wiulc the Mexicans' total loss was 10,730. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 GRANT RETURNS NORTH IS APPLAUDED IN NEW YORK — IS 
 
 SENT TO DETROIT SACKETT's HARBOR GRANT's LOYE- 
 
 STORY MEETS MISS DENT ENGAGED MARRIED IS SENT 
 
 TO OREGON ADMIRAL SCHENGK SPEAKS GRANT RESIGNS 
 
 BECOMES A FARMER-j-AN INCIDENT HIS ATTACHMENT 
 
 FOR HIS FAMILY WORDS FROM A SOUTHERN CLERGYMAN 
 
 HIS LIBRARY TURNS COLLECTOR WHY HE FAILED TO 
 
 BE A GOOD ONE HIS ESTIMATE OF MONEY MAKES APPLI- 
 CATION FOR AN engineer's OFFICE BECOMES ATTACHED 
 
 TO THE CUSTOM HOUSE REMOVES TO GALENA POLITICS 
 
 A PORK STORY. 
 
 With the return of peace the volunteer troops of tlie 
 United States army disbanded and returned to their sev- 
 eral homes. The portion of the regular army that had 
 been employed in the struggle was ordered back in a 
 body to different military posts. Grant's regiment landed 
 in New York, where they were warmly received by the 
 citizens. How little people thought, as they spoke of his 
 gallant conduct, that in a few years this same brevet 
 Captain would receive the homage and applause of the 
 learned and the titled throughout the world ! 
 
 The old Fourth regiment was broken up into compa- 
 nies, and ordered to detached service. Grant was again 
 sent to the frontiers ; but this time it was to the North 
 rather than to the South. He was first stationed at 
 Detroit, Michigan, and afterwards at Sackett's Harbor, a 
 post on Lake Ontario, in northern New York. 
 
 4 (55) 
 
.56 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Wliilo a cadet at West Point, Grant had a friend or 
 
 "biinkv" as such persons were called at the academy — 
 
 for whom he formed a strong attachment. Wiien leaving 
 West Point in 1843 this friend invited him to pay him a 
 visit. Soon after he was given a three months' leave of 
 absence. He paid his promised visit to liis friend Fred 
 Dent, the son of Judge Dent, of St. Louis. Here he re- 
 ceived a glad welcome, not only from his old comrade but 
 from the other members of his family. The Judge had 
 a daughter, who was both young and agreeable, and it 
 was not long before Grant found himself greatly in love 
 witii her. He laid siege to her heart, and won her con- 
 sent to become his wife. The Dents lived some four 
 miles from Jefferson Barracks, and soon after the two 
 were thus engaged, much to the surprise and delight of 
 botli, Grant was transferred to this point. While here 
 1k' was enabled to visit the Dents often. Both families 
 were pleased with the attachment which had been formed, 
 and so the days at Jefferson Barracks passed pleasantly. 
 When the dark cloud gathered upon the southern horizon, 
 and Grant's regiment was ordered to Mexico, there was a 
 tender scene in the parlor of the old Judge's home, 
 (jood-byes were being exchanged between the lovers. 
 Vows of faithfulness were exchanged, and then they 
 parted. During the din and the smoke of the battle- 
 field, the busy life in the camp and on the march, he 
 never forgot that one who, with tears in her eyes, had 
 bidden him good-bye. And although separated by sev- 
 ••ral hundred miles, still her affection for him remained 
 unchanged. Often would she direct her cry to heaven, 
 "()h! my Father, keep him, protect him, and bring him 
 safely back to me again." When the war was over, and 
 '■rant liiid returned home, he found a glad welcome in 
 lliat home which contained a treasure indeed. In Au«:ust, 
 
58 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 1848, Miss Julia Dont became Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant. 
 And during the thirty-seven years of married life which 
 followed that happy day she ever brought ;<unlight into 
 
 liis home. 
 
 In 1852 Grant's regiment was ordered to Oregon. The 
 journey thither was by way of the Isthmus, and Admiral 
 Schcnol<:, who commanded the transport ship, has recalled 
 his impressions of the young subaltern. 
 
 ''In IS'32," said the admiral, "I took a regiment on 
 my ship from New York to the Isthmus. Major Bonne- 
 ville, whose exploits and adventurous trip through the 
 Hocky Mountains were afterward related by Washington 
 Irving, was in command of the regiment, and Lieutenant 
 Grant was acting as quartermaster. For the first week 
 or so out I did not have much to say to Grant. He was 
 then a quiet, undemonstrative man, and took matters 
 just as they came along with little comment, though 
 when culled upon he never seemed at loss for an opinion, 
 and a good reason to back it. I noticed this first in the 
 little differences that frequently arose between the officers. 
 Bonneville was hasty and uncertain in his manners and 
 often gave cause for disagreements, and it was a customary 
 ])ractice to make Lieutenant Grant the arbitrator at such 
 times, and his rulings were distinguished, I remember to 
 liave noted, by particular good sense. lie never went to 
 iicd before three or four o'clock in the morning, but would 
 w ilk up and down the deck smoking a cigar. I usually 
 tu -ned in abo\it midnight, and as we became better ac- 
 (piainted it was a frequent thing for us to walk up and 
 down the deck together, discussing such matters as came 
 up iVom time to tiuie. Tliese conversations recurred to 
 luc in later years when he came prominently belbre the 
 i:ountry. and they were what chietiy left a remembrance 
 ul the nuui in my niemory." 
 
AS A CITIZEN. 59 
 
 The service of Captain Grant in his new surroundings 
 was characterized with that faithfulness and energy which 
 had been so prominent in his previous career. He earned 
 the respect and confidence of all in his command ; indeed, 
 of all those with whom he was associated. During all this 
 time the prayers of a godly mother followed him, in the 
 earnest desire that he might ever seek to follow the ex- 
 ample of the perfect man. The faithful counsels of his 
 father continued to be pressed upon him in letters from 
 home. 
 
 After two years of service at this distant post, it ap- 
 pearing that a long period of inactivity would follow, 
 Captain Grant resigned his commission and returned to 
 private life. 
 
 He rejoined his family close to St. Louis, near which 
 place he lived for several years as a farmer. In his new 
 calling he sought to be earnest, knowing that earnestness 
 was the key to success. He did not believe that he had 
 in any sense lowered himself by exchanging his regi- 
 mentals for the blouse of the farmer. Many anecdotes 
 are recorded of him during this period of his life. We 
 have space for but one or two : 
 
 " Who's that coming down the street there with that 
 load of wood?" inquired a gentleman of one of his 
 neighbors in one of the streets of Carondelet, Missouri. 
 
 "Ask him, and he will tell you," was the ready but 
 respectful reply. 
 
 When the woodman had reached them, the first speaker 
 said to him : 
 
 " May I inquire of you how far you have brought 
 your wood ? " 
 
 " Certainly, you may ask me, sir ; and I will tell you 
 with pleasure. I brought the load from a few miles to 
 the southwest of St. Louis." 
 
&.! 
 
 LIFE OF GENEUAL G11A:N'T. 
 
 " Did yon cut it yourself? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 '' Wliat is your jDrice?" 
 
 •• I ;isk only the market price — four dollars a cord," 
 was the reply. 
 
 '* 1 will take it. You may drive your load to my 
 cellar-door, and dump it there." 
 
 The purchaser walked beside the team, and pointed out 
 the place where he desired the wood put. The driver 
 was clad in a blue blouse ; his pants were tucked in at 
 the top of his strong boots, and his head was surmounted 
 with a plain felt hat. 
 
 As the gentleman was about to pay him he inquired — 
 
 '■ I am aboat to enter my jDurchase, and may want 
 more wood ; will you be kind enough to give me your 
 name ?" 
 
 '• My name is Grant, sir — U. S. Grant." 
 
 " Are you from Ohio ? " 
 
 '' Yes, sir : I was born in Clermont county, about 
 twenty-five miles above Cincinnati." 
 
 '' I thought so. It struck me that I knew you, when 
 I first saw you up the street. Y^our father is Jesse R. 
 Grant, the tanner, of Brown county?" 
 
 '' Yes, sir ; the same." 
 
 '' Captain Grant, allow me to take your hand. Some 
 of us have heard of you in Texas and Mexico. Y^our 
 coming here, sir, is a pleasure to us." 
 
 l'].\pressions like these were often repeated. Whenever 
 Grant ai)peared in market with either wood or produce, 
 tlu? i)C()i.lc invariably showed great respect for him. 
 
 His liomc here, as elsewhere, was a thing in which he 
 delight.'d. When the toil of the day had been completed 
 lie loved to sit with his fiimily, and entered heartily into 
 everything iu which they took pleasure. An idea of his 
 
AS A CITIZEN. 61 
 
 attachment for lii.s family may be gained from the follow- 
 ing circumstance related hy a southern clergyman, soon 
 after the surrender of Lee : 
 
 "■ I was badly deceived in my view of General Grant, 
 My house was full of your generals last night. There was 
 Sheridan, Humphrey^;, Meade, Custer, Ord and quite a 
 number of others, and they were a lively set and full of 
 fun, and all were quite jolly with the exception of one 
 officer whom I noticed sitting in a corner smoking and 
 taking but little part in the sports in which the rest were 
 engaged. They all went out of the house but this solitary, 
 silent man, and as I was going out he asked me where the 
 pump was, as he would like to get a drink. On offering 
 to get him some water, he said : ' No, sir, I am younger 
 than you, I will go myself,' and as I passed out he came 
 up behind me. When in about the middle of the hall my 
 little granddaughter came running towards me, but the 
 silent man spreading out both arms caught her, taking 
 her up, fairly smothered her with kisses, and said : ' This 
 reminds me of my little girl at home and makes me home- 
 sick.' To the question wdiere is your home he replied : 
 'Galena, 111., but I have my family at City Point and am 
 anxious to get back to them.' I said, ' Will you permit 
 me to ask your name, sir?' 'Certainly; my name is 
 Grant.' 'Grant!' exclaimed I, 'General Grant?' and I 
 stood there awe-stricken and paralyzed with astonishment, 
 whilst my heart went out after this man. I thought to 
 myself, here is a man whose name is now in the mouth 
 of man, woman and child throughout the civilized world, 
 and yet withal he exhibits no emotion and seems uncon- 
 cerned and unmoved until the little child reminds him of 
 his loved ones at home, and I fairly broke down, as Gen- 
 eral Grant had been pictured out to us as a bloody 
 butcher, looking as savage as a Comanche Indian." 
 
ti2 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 II1.S library, though small, was composed of select vol- 
 umes. Prominent among them might have been seen the 
 Holy Bible, and by the side of that was the Constitution 
 of the United States. Then followed the History of 
 America, and the Life of Washington. There stood also 
 the Memoirs of La Fayette, Barons de Kalb and Steuben, 
 and tiie brave Kosciusko, whose monument he ever de- 
 li'dited to visit, when a student at West Point. Li mili- 
 tarv works those of a strictly scientific character were his 
 choice. Beside these there was also a good assortment of 
 miscellaneous works. 
 
 Being noted for his uprightness and integrity, his neigh- 
 bors often employed him to collect bills for them. The 
 lul lowing incident serves to show that he never lost sight 
 of those sterling principles which were early instilled into 
 his mind by his mother. 
 
 It was winter, and for a long time the ground had been 
 covered with a deep snow. Added to tliis it became in- 
 tensely cold, and hence the suffering of the poorer poj)u- 
 lation was indeed great. One morning one of his towns- 
 men handed him a bill, saying, 
 
 '• You will oblige me b}^ collecting this bill for me to-day. 
 Are you ready ? " 
 
 '• Yes, sir," was the quiet reply. " I am ready, if it's all 
 right." 
 
 '* Wliat do you mean by all right? You don't intend 
 to imply. I presume, that I would hand you an unjust bill 
 to collect?" 
 
 '' Not at all, sir," returned Captain Grant. " I meant 
 nolhing of the kind." 
 
 '• What then ?" 
 
 " Why, sir, the winter is upon us, and the weather is 
 l>itt(TC()l(l." 
 
 "True, Captain Grant. I admit that, sir. But you've 
 
AS A CITIZEN. 63 
 
 been in the army several years ; you have seen some hard 
 service. I hope you don't mean to shrink back on account 
 of the weather ? " 
 
 '• By no means, sir ! " quickly responded Grant, raising 
 his voice a little. "' You entirely misunderstand me, sir. 
 I am not in the habit of shrinking any duty, however 
 irksome. What I mean is this, sir. The present is a 
 time of suffering among the poor, from various causes, 
 which some of them cannot help. May I ask you if these 
 persons who owe you this bill are sober, industrious 
 people, who are doing the best they can ? " 
 
 " Why — ^yes — I believe they are." 
 
 " Do you learn that they are in distress for money ? " 
 continued Grant. 
 
 '• Yes, sir ; I understand they are rather hard up," was 
 the reply. 
 
 " And that is the reason why you wish me to press 
 them to pay your bill ? " 
 
 " Yes, Captain ; that is my object in coming to you,' 
 answered the other, wondering what Grant was driving at. 
 
 '' Then, sir, allow me to say, with all due respect, that 
 you may collect your bill yourself; for I cannot do it." 
 
 The neighbor folded the bill and placed it in his pocket, 
 and as he watched the form of Grant as he walked away 
 from him, he could but admire the spirit which he had 
 manifested upon this occasion. 
 
 Says one of him during that portion of his life which 
 was spent near St. Louis : — " He put a right estimate on 
 money, as one of the means of promoting usefulness and 
 happiness in human society. But he did not fall down 
 and worship, nor exalt those who had it merely because 
 they had it, nor despise those who had it not. He set a 
 good example of industry by being always at work at 
 something honorable. His personal habits were simple, 
 
.;4 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 lru<^al, economical. When he contracted debts, he made 
 every efibrt in his power to pay them ; and always repaid, 
 as promptly as possible, every dollar of borrowed money. 
 Temperate, indefatigable, persevering, he was ever ready, 
 while he worked hard for himself and family, to share 
 his wood and other products of his little farm w^ith the 
 worthy poor." 
 
 While living at St. Louis, Grant made an application 
 to the authorities for a local office. The letter, addressed 
 to the Honorable County Commissioners, in which he pre- 
 sented his claims was as follows : 
 
 "Gknti-emen: I beg leave to sul)mit myself as an applicaiit for 
 the oflice of County Engineer sliould tlie office be rendered vacant, 
 and at the same time to submit the names of a few citizens who 
 liave been kind enough to recommend me for the office. I liave 
 made no effort to get a large number of names, nor the names of 
 persons with wliom I am not personally acquainted. I enclose 
 lierewith also a statement from Prof. J." J. Reynolds, who was a 
 classmate of mine at ^^'est Point, as to qualifications. 
 
 " Sliould your honorable body see proper to give me the appoint- 
 ment, I i)ledge myself to give the office my entire attention, and 
 shall hope to give general satisfaction. 
 
 " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 " U. S. Grant." 
 
 Although this application was indorsed by a large num- 
 hcr of his business friends, still Grant did not obtain the 
 j)ositi()n. " There was no other special objection to him," 
 remarks a writer, "than his supposed Democratic pro- 
 clivities from his political antecedents. His ability as an 
 {•ngineer was accorded. He was not much known, though 
 the commissioners had occasionally seen him about town,' 
 a tnll<- ,><hahl)y in dress, with his pantaloons tucked in his 
 lxM)ts. Th(y sup|)()sed him to be a good office man, but 
 hardly ccpial to the high responsibility of keeping the 
 roads ill order. He might answer for a clerk, but in this, 
 engincership, talent and efficiency were needed." 
 
AS A CITIZEN". 
 
 66 
 
 He soon after accepted a position in the custom house 
 at St. Louis, but held the phice only a short time, on 
 account of the death of his superior. After this a second 
 application was made for the position of county engineer, 
 but of course nothing came of it. 
 
 After a few years' residence near St. Louis Grant re- 
 moved to Galena, and engaged with his father in the 
 
 GRANT'S n03IE AT GALENA. 
 
 tanning of hides under the firm-name of ''Grant & Son." 
 The productions of this firm led those of every other. 
 They were well known for honest, square dealing. 
 Although greatly interested in the circumstances which 
 were daily occurring, still he took no active part in party 
 politics. Every attempt to enlist him in petty political 
 squabbles invariably failed. 
 
•6 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 " Good-morning, sir," said one of his neighbors one day, 
 a gentleman who was quite prominent in politics, " have 
 you hoard the news ? " 
 
 '' What news? " asked Grant. 
 
 '' Why, the news of the election down in Egypt." 
 
 "No, sir; I have not heard it; and to tell you the 
 truth I don't care to hear it." 
 
 " But you have your opinion about such matters ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir," responded Grant. "I have a firm con- 
 viction with regard to our national affairs. Above every- 
 tliing else I agree with Washington and Jackson, that 
 our Union should be preserved. But, sir, as to mere party 
 politics, I don't know anything about them; and what 
 is more, I don't want to. I am not in the habit of 
 associating with mere politicians, and I am rather in- 
 clhied to think I never shall be. Those who consult my 
 wishes will never broach party politics to me. Excuse 
 me, sir; but there is one subject on which I feel per- 
 fectly at home. Talk to me about that, my friend, and 
 I shall be happy to hear you." 
 
 " What is that. Captain ? " 
 
 " Tanning leather," was the characteristic reply. 
 
 About 1859, Bellevue, Iowa, a little town on the Mis- 
 sissippi river, twelve miles south of Galena, 111., where 
 General, then known as Captain, Grant then lived, was 
 somewhat noted for its pork-packing industry. There 
 were three or four houses engaged in the business and 
 usually tlie competition between them was pretty sharp. 
 One winter, however, the pork packers pooled their issues, 
 by which means one of the houses was to be closed for 
 the wiuu-r. Captain Grant, hearing of the unused pack- 
 nig house, came down and rented it for the season, in- 
 tending to engage in the pork-packing business. Of 
 course the other houses formed a combination against 
 llie new-comer. 
 
AS A crTizp:x. 67 
 
 General Grant found he was losing money, and, receiving 
 some propositions, sold out bis lease and stock to the 
 opposition at a considerable los3 and retired ingloriously 
 from the field. 
 
 During the Vicksburg campaign, while the army lay 
 at Youug's Point, opposite Yicksburg, and before General 
 Grant had personally arrived to take command, a long, 
 lank Indianian belonging to an Iowa regiment was noisy 
 in declaring his belief that General Grant could not be 
 the same Grant who had made so much of a failure as 
 pork packer. The Indianian had been one of the team- 
 sters who had hauled pork for the opposition packers. 
 He was terribly cut up when General Grant arrived, and 
 he had no further doubt of the General's identity with 
 the unsuccessful pork packer. He wanted to desert, and 
 doubtless would have done so could he have gotten back 
 to Iowa. He actually became ill over the matter, and 
 was barely able to go on the campaign when it actively 
 commenced. After its rapid marches and brilliant battles 
 were over, and while the Confederate army, in a starving 
 condition, were closely shut up within their fortifications, 
 and a few days after a small boat loaded with salt had 
 been captured in attempting to run into the city, a num- 
 ber of soldiers were gathered around a camp-fire, when 
 some one asked the Indianian what he thought of Gen- 
 eral Grant now. 
 
 " Wall," he drawled out, " the denied fool tuk sich a 
 disgust over pork at Bellevue that he won't let the 
 Johnnies have salt enough to save their bacon." 
 
OKANT'S DEl'AUTUKK FOK TIIK AVAli. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RUMORS OF WAR — VOTES AGAINST LINCOLN — THE FALL OF 
 
 SUMTER GRANT VISITS McCLELLAN IS PLACED ON THE 
 
 governor's STAFF IS RECOMMENDED FOR BRIGADIER- 
 GENERAL, BUT DECLINES BECOMES COLONEL OF TWENTY- 
 FIRST REGIMENT BECOMES BRIGADIER-GENERAL SENT 
 
 TO SOUTHERN MISSOURI TAKES POSSESSION OF PADUCAH, 
 
 KENTUCKY ADVANCES AGAINST BELMONT BEFORE 
 
 COLUMBUS — THE "CAIRO EXPEDITION" — GRANT PROTECTS 
 
 PROPERTY ATTACK UPON COLUMBUS — VICTORY — ON TO 
 
 FORT DONELSON A TERRIBLE FIGHT FLOYD AND PILLOW 
 
 MAKE THEIR ESCAPE — THE SURRENDER. 
 
 The bitter battle of words which had been waged hotly 
 between the North and South during the winter of 1859 
 culminated, as every one knows, in the civil war. For a 
 long time clouds dark and portentous had been seen hang- 
 ing upon the horizon, but many fondly but vainly hoped 
 they would not rise higher. But rise they did, and with 
 their fierce blackness overspread the heavens and down 
 upon the nation they poured their rain of mingled shot 
 and shell. With hearts inspired with true love of coun- 
 try, fathers and sons rushed to the defence of the old flag, 
 and upon their country's altar poured out their life blood 
 freely. 
 
 Although he had taken no part in the politics of the 
 day, Grant had nevertheless been a close observer of that 
 growing hostility which was destined to have so great an 
 
 (69) 
 
7,, LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 iiilliieiico upon the future of the country. He watched 
 these signs with regret as it became evident to him what 
 tlie result must be. He saw that it would plunge the 
 country into bloodshed and mourning. Believing that the 
 election of Lincoln would cau.se the breach between the 
 North and South to become much wider, he cast his vote 
 against him. He acted in accordance with his convic- 
 tions; he sought to do that which would produce the 
 
 J' 
 
 FORT SUMTER. 
 
 best result for the country which he loved so well. This 
 done, with an anxious heart he awaited the result. 
 
 At last the storm burst. The booming cannon was 
 heard, and over the wires soon after went the message : 
 •• Sumter has fallen ! " From its position, where it had 
 h»'<'n wont to unfold itself in the breeze, the old flag had 
 Uen hauled down. This fact caused the patriotism in 
 
THE CIVIL WAE. 71 
 
 the heart of Grant to burn more fiercely than ever. At 
 once he tendered his services to the adjutant-general, 
 but no reply was returned to his communication. Soon 
 after this McClellan was appointed to the position of 
 major-general of the Ohio Volunteers, and Grant visited 
 him at Cincinnati for the purpose of getting an appoint- 
 ment upon his staff. He did not state this fact to Mc- 
 Clellan at that time, owing to the fact that the head- 
 quarters was crowded with eager applicants, seeing whom 
 Grant retired. He was, however, soon after placed upon 
 the staff of Governor Yates, with the rank of Adjutant. 
 He performed the duties of his position so faithfully that 
 when Lincoln sent to the governor, desiring him to name 
 two persons for the position of brigadier-general, the 
 name of Grant was forwarded. With that modesty which 
 has ever been characteristic of the man, he declined the 
 position, saying that he wished to receive nothing that he 
 had not earned. The colonel of the Twenty-first regi- 
 ment being unable to manage his troops. Grant accepted 
 the position made vacant, and became attached to Pope's 
 Department of Northern Missouri. This was in 1861. 
 In August of the same year he was appointed Brigadier- 
 General. He was then sent to Southern Missouri to re- 
 pel an invasion threatened by Jeff Thompson. 
 
 Grant established his head-quarters at Cairo. The po- 
 sition in which he was now placed was by no means an 
 easy one. Although Kentucky had declared that she 
 held a neutral position in relation to all questions bearing 
 upon the war, and in relation to the war itself, yet she 
 had suffered the Southern troops to occupy three im- 
 portant points in the State. Under these circumstances 
 Grant felt warranted in taking possession of Paducah, at 
 the mouth of the Tennessee. This point commanded the 
 
 navigation of not only that river, but also that of the 
 5 
 
72 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Ohio. Grant was well aware that if he did not at once 
 occupy it the enemy would do so. In order to allay any 
 misapprehension which may have arisen in the minds of 
 the peoi^le he issued the following order: 
 
 " Paducah, Ky., September Bth, 1861. 
 " To the Citizens of Padumh : 
 
 " I am come among you, not as an enemy, but as your fellow- 
 citizen. Not to maltreat you, nor annoy you, but to respect and 
 enforce the rights of all loyal citizens. An enemy in rebellion 
 against our common government has taken possession of, and 
 planted his guns upon the soil of Kentucky, and fired upon you. 
 Columbus and Hickman are in his hands. He is moving upon 
 your city. I am here to defend you against this enemy, to assist 
 the authority and sovereignty of your government. / have noth- 
 ing to do xolth opinions, and shall deal only with armed rebellion, 
 and its aiders and abettors. You can pursue your usual avoca- 
 tions witliout fear. The strong arm of the government is here to 
 protect its friends and punish its enemies. Whenever it is mani- 
 fest that you are able to defend yourselves, and maintain the 
 autliority of the government, and protect the rights of loyal 
 citizens, I shall withdraw the forces under my command. 
 
 " U. S. Grant, 
 ^^ Brigadier- General Commanding.''^ 
 
 To this occupancy by the Union troops the State Legis- 
 lature objected on the ground that it was an invasion of 
 State rights. A correspondence between the Governor 
 and Grant followed, but the latter defended his position 
 so ably that he was suffered to remain. 
 
 The city of Columbus was at this time in the hands of 
 the enemy, and was indeed, the highest point held by 
 them on the Mississippi. Grant was directed by Fremont 
 to threaten this point, thinking by such an action to pre- 
 vent the advance of Price who was to bring relief to the 
 enemy. Grant's forces were not stronsr enouo;h to make 
 an attack upon the place ; but he believed that he could 
 break up the enemies' camp at Belmont, which lay upon 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 73 
 
 the opposite side of the river. He therefore sent two 
 small parties to this latter place, who were to approach it 
 from different directions, while he embarked with nearly 
 three thousand men in transports, and, in company with 
 the gunboats Tyler and Lexington, proceeded down the 
 river until within about ten miles of Columbus, where 
 they cast anchor. On the following day they got under 
 way again, and very soon after the troops were landed on 
 the Missouri shore. In the fight which followed, Grant 
 and McClernand led the volunteers in person. While 
 this advance was being made, the enemy hurled volley 
 after volley into Grant's troops. The troops, under fire 
 for the first time, soon began to show signs of discourage- 
 ment. Buford, in the meantime, had been sent to charge 
 upon the right, and as the disheartened troops heard the 
 volley which his men poured in upon the foe, they took 
 fresh courage. Realizing that they were being attacked 
 upon all sides, the enemy broke for the woods, leaving 
 everything behind. Then the garrison across the river, 
 in Columbus, opened fire upon them. Grant then ordered 
 his men to fall back to the boats. The enemy threw a 
 heavy force before him. When informed of the fact, he 
 answered : " Well, if that is so, we must cut our way out 
 as we cut our way in." And he did. His troops behaved 
 nobly. Grant was greatly pleased as is evident from the 
 following order, issued soon after : 
 
 f Head-quarters District S. C, Mo., 
 1 Cairo, November 8th, 1861. 
 The General commanding this military district returns his 
 thanks to the troops under his command at the battle of Belmont, 
 on yesterday. 
 
 It has been his fortune to have been in all the battles fought in 
 Mexico by Generals Scott and Taylor, except Buena Vista, and he 
 never saw one more hotly contested, or where the troops behaved 
 with more gallantry. 
 
.,4 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Such courage will insure victory wherever our flag may be borne 
 and protected by such a class of men. To the brave men who fell, 
 the sympathy of the country is due, and will be manifested in a 
 manner unmistakable. U. S. Grant, 
 
 Brigadier- General Commanding. 
 
 This order, though brief, is a. key to the character of 
 the man. He was ever thus. Not only brave himself, 
 but was an ardent admirer of true bravery. And ever, 
 also, this feeling of sympathy was manifest. 
 
 Four days later, Fremont was succeeded by General 
 Halleck, and Grant's field of operations became enlarged. 
 It became known as the Cairo district, and embraced 
 Southern Illinois, Southern Missouri, and that part of 
 Kentucky which lay west of the Cumberland river. A 
 season of inactivity followed. From November until mid- 
 winter the army remained in camp. Then, under orders 
 from General Halleck, the " Cairo Expedition " occurred. 
 But little was known at the time regarding its design. 
 It was composed of nineteen regiments of infantry and 
 six of cavalry, with five batteries. These advanced 
 toward the interior of the State, with the intention, as 
 many supposed, of attacking Columbus. But such, how- 
 ever, was not the design, as it afterward appeared. The 
 movement was made for the purpose of preventing the 
 enemy from sending troops to relieve those already at 
 Bowling Green. During this expedition. Grant issued an 
 order which contained the following declaration : 
 
 " It is ordered that the severest punishment be inflicted 
 upon every soldier who is guilty of taking or destroying 
 ])rivate property, and any conunissioned officer guilty of 
 like conduct, or of countenancing it, shall be deprived of 
 his sword and expelled from the army, not permitted to 
 return," etc. 
 
 This exhibits the manner in which he respected the 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 75 
 
 rights of citizens, and his efibrt for the protection of their 
 property. 
 
 Soon after this, having learned that Fort Henry, on the 
 Tennessee, was in the hands of a weak garrison, Grant 
 asked permission of Halleck to make an attack upon it. 
 But that officer refused to entertain the proposition. It, 
 however, soon after appeared that the Government had 
 determined not only to advance upon that point, but also 
 upon Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland. By capturing 
 which latter place they would be able to establish a road 
 to Nashville, and also destroy the enemy's line of defences 
 
 INTERIOR OF FORT HENRY. 
 
 extending from Columbus to Richmond ; they would also 
 be able to completely flank Columbus. It was the inten- 
 tion to have Commodore Foote, who had been building a 
 flotilla on the Ohio, move against Columbus in the early 
 spring. That plan was abandoned, and Foote was ordered 
 to proceed at once against the city, and make an attack 
 in front. At the same time Grant was to make a land 
 attack in the rear. 
 
 The expedition started on the 6th of February. Foote 
 was soon alongside the fort and opened fire upon it. In 
 the meantime. Grant was urging his forces alono; the 
 
76 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 roads, rendered almost impassable by recent rains. The 
 l)rogress of the land forces was indeed slow. The boom- 
 in <'■ of the "uns of the flotilla, as it came to the ears of 
 Grant, filled him with anxiety, lest he should fail to ren- 
 der the necessary assistance. By-and-by the cannonading 
 ceased, and he began to fear that the gunboats had been 
 beaten off. To ascertain the truth regarding the matter, 
 he sent one of the officers forward. The messenger was 
 absent but a short time, and then came galloping back 
 
 
 lYATER BATTERY AT FORT DONELSON. 
 
 With the glad intelligence that the Stars and Stripes were 
 floating above the fort. As the troops learned this tliey 
 gave vent to their feelings in a series of loud and hearty 
 cheers. Grant, accompanied by his staff, hastened for- 
 ward, and were soon within the fort. Learning that the 
 mam body of the men had gone over to reinforce Fort 
 Donelson, Grant at once proposed to move against that 
 point. 
 
 It was a bold movement on his part. The enemy, con- 
 
THE CIVIL WAE. 
 
 77 
 
 sisting of over 20,000 men, were strongly intrenched. In 
 the effort proposed, the co-operation of the gunboats was ex- 
 pected. The enemy were favorably located. Their heavy 
 guns commanded the river for a long way. In their rear 
 there arose a series of hills, some of them rising to the 
 distance of one hundred feet, and were very steep. Upon 
 their summit there were strong fortifications very difficult 
 to be reached. Added to the natural difficulties of the 
 situation, it was largely increased by the fact that long 
 rows of trees had been cut and piled one upon another 
 before the fort. Contrary to expectation, Foote did not 
 reach the scene of the con- 
 flict until after Grant had 
 appeared. The soldiers 
 being without tents or 
 blankets, suffered very much 
 from the intense coldness of 
 the weather. There had 
 been skirmishing between 
 the advance hosts, and sev- 
 eral of the soldiers had 
 been killed and wounded. 
 
 The sufferings of the latter commodore a. h. foote. 
 
 were indeed great. 
 
 On the following morning Foote made an advance and 
 opened fire upon the enemy. In the conflict which fol- 
 lowed several of the vessels were damaged. The com- 
 modore was wounded and fifty-four of his men were 
 killed. The flotilla was thus forced to withdraw from the 
 fight. Thus Grant was left to carry on the struggle with 
 his land force. Difficult as the position seemed to be, 
 he was determined to be satisfied with nothing short of 
 success. And with this determination he entered into 
 the struggle. 
 
78 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 McClernand was despatched with three brigades to the 
 south, with instructions to prevent the escape of the enemy 
 in that direction. General Smith was stationed below the 
 fort. The main body of the army formed a line two 
 miles in length, and was placed between the two divis- 
 ions, extending around the works in the form of a half- 
 circle. Fort Donelson was in command of General Floyd, 
 who was supported by Generals Buckner and Pillow. 
 
 Finding themselves thus hemmed in, the enemy deter- 
 mined to make an attack upon McClernand for the pur- 
 pose of cutting their way out and making it possible to 
 retreat to Nashville. Accordingly Pillow, at the head of 
 several thousand troops, with three batteries in the ad- 
 vance, left the fort, and without warning fell upon the 
 Union forces. Wallace had been stationed near McCler- 
 nand, on a high ridge. To him McClernand appealed for 
 assistance. Wallace sent a messenger to Grant for in- 
 structions. Grant, however, was away holding counsel 
 with Foote. The relief not coming up,. McClernand 
 despatched a second messenger to Wallace. Wallace was 
 at a loss what to do. No communication had been re- 
 ceived from Grant, but when the din of the conflict told 
 him that McClernand's right flank had been turned, he 
 hesitated no longer, but at once despatched Croft to relieve 
 that oflicer. Croft moved forward and threw his line of 
 troops between the enemy and the flying forces. The 
 enemy fell upon him, but he resisted them in a truly 
 gallant manner. A terrible battle followed. 
 
 Grant, hearing the noise of the conflict, at once left 
 Foote's flag-vessel, and rapidly drove toward the scene of 
 tin- battle. He was met by an oflicer who informed him 
 ol the sad state of afiairs. Grant was by no means dis- 
 C(jncerted. He at once directed General Smith to make 
 an assault upon the works of the enemy. He then gal- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 79 
 
 loped to the battle-field. His eye at once took in the situa- 
 tion. The enemy's weak point was quickly discovered. 
 McClernand was ordered to reorganize his columns and 
 move en masse against the enemy's works. Wallace was 
 given the command of the assaulting columns. Smith 
 moved against an isolated hill upon which had been 
 located a heavy battery, and which from its position ren- 
 dered the taking of the fort very difficult. It was evident 
 that could this point be taken the capture of the fort 
 would be assured. So carefully was the expedition planned 
 and executed, that after a short engagement the foe was 
 sent flying into the fort below, and the American flag was 
 flying to the breeze where but a little before another had 
 so proudly floated. Darkness now settled down upon the 
 field of battle. Smith and his gallant followers slept upon 
 the frozen ground, while Grant sought repose in a negro 
 hut near at hand. With no little anxiety they awaited 
 the dawning of the morning. 
 
 In the meantime a council of war had been called in 
 Fort Donelson. Buckner declared that he could not hold 
 out against Smith. Floyd declared that he should at once 
 abandon his troops and flee. To do this the command 
 would fall upon Pillow. That officer declared that he 
 should follow the example of his superior. Floyd, accom- 
 panied by as many men as could be crowded upon two 
 steamers, left the fort amid the jeers and curses of their 
 associates. Pillow made his escape on a hand-flat. Owing 
 to the severity of the weather, many of the men were 
 frozen to death. Something like three thousand of the 
 troops escaped. 
 
 On the following morning the Union forces prepared to 
 make a final assault. Just before the time for the bugle 
 to sound the advance, there was to be seen a white flag 
 floating above the fort. Its appearance was heralded 
 
80 
 
 THE CIYIL WAR. 
 
 with joy. Cheer after cheer rang out upon the frosty air. 
 It was the Sabbath, and many a church bell was ringing 
 its gladsome peals when these shouts echoed over that 
 bloody field at Fort Donelson. A messenger soon after 
 arrived from Buckner for the purpose of arranging the 
 terms of capitulation. To his propositions Grant's only 
 reply was : " No terms but unconditional and immediate 
 surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately 
 upon your 2V0J'ks" 
 
 Buckner appreciated the situation in which he was 
 placed. He saw that it was useless to delay in a matter 
 of so great importance, and particularly in dealing with 
 such a man as Grant. He therefore returned the follow- 
 ing reply : 
 
 " The disposition of the forces under my command, in- 
 cident to the change of commanders, and the overwhelm- 
 ing force under your command, notwithstanding the 
 brilliant success of the Confederate arms yesterday, com- 
 pel me to accept the ungenerous and unchivalric terms 
 you propose." 
 
 Grant immediately rode to Buckner's head-quarters, 
 where the surrender was formally made. By this act 
 nearl}^ fifteen thousand prisoners fell into the hands of 
 the Union forces. As soon as the surrender was a fact, 
 Grant issued the following order to the army : 
 
 f Head-quarters District of West Tennessee, 
 1 Fort Donelson, February 17th, 1862. 
 
 The General commanding takes great pleasure in congratulating 
 tile trooi)s of this command for the triumph over rebellion gained 
 by tlieir valor, on the 13th, 14th and 15th instants. 
 
 For four successive niglits, without shelter, during the most in- 
 clcMient weather known in this latitude, they faced an enemy in 
 large^ force, in a position chosen by himself. Though strongly 
 fortified by nature, all the additional safeguards suggested by 
 science were added. Without a murmur this was borne, prepared 
 

 81 
 
82 LIFE OF GEXEEAL GRANT. 
 
 at all times to receive an attack, and with continuous skirmishing 
 by day, resulting ultimately in forcing the enemy to surrender 
 without condition. 
 
 The victory achieved is not only great in the effect it will have 
 in breaking down rebellion, but has secured the greatest number 
 of jirisoners of war ever taken in any battle on this continent. 
 
 Fort Donelson will hereafter be marked in capitals on the map 
 of our united country, and the men who fought the battle will live 
 in the memory of a grateful people. By order 
 
 U. S. Grant, 
 Brigadier- General Commanding. 
 
 By this decisive victory an important step was taken 
 toward opening the southwestern rivers, especially toward 
 the great objective point, Vicksburg, which was boast- 
 fully called " The Gibraltar of the Mississippi." - 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 RESULTS OF VICTORY SHILOH — A DAY OF DISCOURAGE- 
 MENTS A HARD night's WORK BEAUREGARD RETREATS 
 
 TO CORINTH VICTORY FOR GRANT SLANDEROUS RE- 
 PORTS HALLECK SHOWS HIS TEETH ADVANCE AGAINST 
 
 CORINTH HALLECK SNUBS GRANT HALLECK MAKES A 
 
 BLUNDER — GRANT ESTABLISHES HIS HEAD-QUARTERS AT 
 
 CORINTH — SUPPRESSION OF THE Avalanche MOVES HIS 
 
 HEAD-QUARTERS TO JACKSON — THE STRUGGLE FOR lUKA 
 
 A CONFEDERATE LETTER — GRANT THANKS HIS SOLDIERS 
 
 HATCHIE RIVER PEACE FOR WESTERN TENNESSEE A 
 
 TELEGRAM FROM LINCOLN. 
 
 The capture of Fort Donelson opened the road to Nash- 
 ville, and the intelligence filled the people with consterna- 
 tion. In the morning the bells of the churches had rung 
 in happy anticipation of victory, but at sunset a fearful 
 gloom seemed to overspread the city. Many regarded the 
 approach of the Union forces as being the worst thing 
 which could have happened. So great a panic was pro- 
 duced that during the night carts and wagons loaded with 
 furniture and accompanied by a panic-stricken people, 
 might have been seen flying southward. 
 
 The victory thus gained not only gave Nashville and 
 Bowling Green into the hands of the Union forces, but 
 left Columbus uncovered. By this means a long line of 
 defences, reaching from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, 
 was broken through, and a series of conquests inaugurated 
 which culminated in the capture of Vicksburg, and the 
 complete routing of the enemy west of the Alleghenies. 
 
 (83) 
 
84 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The Southern forces were concentrated at Corinth, and 
 the Union forces established at Pittsburg Landing. 
 Their position was such that either could open the battle 
 in a short time. Halleck ordered Buell to join Grant, 
 and bade the latter wait until this union had been effected. 
 And so Grant waited. The arrival of the troops was 
 looked for anj hour, and so the different divisions, that 
 were located some three miles from the river, did not 
 
 
 >^^J: ^ V • 
 
 
 PITTSr.UHG LANDING. 
 
 throw up any breastworks. The position, with a suitable 
 hue of defences, was a grand one, and with them could 
 iiave been held against a much larger force. There are 
 two creeks, something like three miles apart, which run 
 at about right-angles with the river. These two streams 
 protected tlie two wings of the army. Separated from 
 this by a distance of three miles is another, known as 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 86 
 
 Owl creek, which, flowing in a northerly direction, 
 empties its waters into a fourth stream called Snake 
 creek. This protected the right flank, and behind this 
 by far the greater part of the army was established. The 
 streams were much swollen at this time, and hence fur- 
 nished an admirable defence in front. The other streams 
 were also swollen, and rendered it almost impossible for a 
 flank movement to be made. Of the forces, Sherman was 
 established the farthest out, in the vicinity of a log 
 church, known as the " Shiloh Meeting-House." Beyond 
 him were McClernand, Prentiss, Hurlburt and Wallace 
 in regular order. The entire force amounted to 35,000 
 men. 
 
 On Sunday, April 6th, General A. S. Johnston, at the 
 head of 40,000 men, made an attack upon the Union 
 forces. Prentiss was the first to receive the onset. He 
 was soon surrounded, and forced to surrender with 3,000 
 men. The blow next fell upon Sherman's forces. His 
 ill-drilled troops recoiled from the contact. Other divisions 
 coming up,, they made a noble stand. But they could not 
 hold their position, and so the whole line was forced to 
 fall back, suffering great slaughter. 
 
 When the battle began Grant was at Savannah, some 
 seven miles away. As he heard the distant roar of the 
 battle he at first thought that it w^as only between some 
 skirmishing parties. But as the din of the conflict in- 
 creased, and there came the sound of the heavy firing 
 of the artillery, he at once understood its meaning, and 
 promptly hastened to the scene of action. When the 
 boat which had brought him thither reached the Landing, 
 he spurred up the bank, anxious to be on the scene of 
 the conflict. He was soon met by a large number of 
 fugitives, w^ho confirmed his worst fears — the army was 
 being driven back. He despatched a messenger to Crump's 
 
86 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Landing, some five miles away, with orders for Wallace 
 to advance. Another was also sent to Nelson, who was 
 commanding Buell's advance, with instructions for him to 
 hurry without delay to the relief of the discouraged troops. 
 This done, he rode into the thick of the fray. The enemy 
 were confident of success. And certainly they had a right 
 to be. The main line was falling back ; jt large number 
 of prisoners, beside three batteries and three encamp- 
 ments, had fallen into their hands. It was very evident 
 to Grant that his troops could not long stand against such 
 an overwhelming tide. He, therefore, despatched an 
 order to Buell for him to come to his relief. Wallace, 
 who should have early come to their assistance, failed to 
 do so, having lost his way in the woods. Mid-day passed, 
 but no reinforcements had come. Grant and his officers 
 exerted themselves to hold the foe in check. In the 
 meantime Johnston had fallen, and his place had been 
 filled by Beauregard, who declared that ere the sun should 
 set his horse should drink of the waters of the Tennessee. 
 In the meantime Buell had reached Savannah, at which 
 point Grant's head-quarters were at that time established. 
 On learning the condition of affairs at Pittsburg Landing, 
 he at once proceeded thither. When he beheld the con- 
 dition of the army he asked Grant what provision he had 
 made for the transportation of his forces across the river. 
 '• None," was the reply; " I don't despair of whipping them 
 yet." And still he fought and urged on his men. As 
 the sun sank behind the western hills, it seemed as if the 
 lust liope of the scattered Union forces had been destroyed. 
 Buell had become disheartened, and it did seem as though 
 it needed but one more onset from the enemy to drive him 
 from the field. Night now set in. Soon after dark the 
 gunboats began throwing their heavy shells into the ranks 
 of the enemy. Webster also gathered several heavy 
 
88 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 guns, and ranging them in a semicircle, opened a terrible 
 fire upon Beauregard's forces. The latter were thoroughly 
 exhausted, having fought without rest since the break of 
 day. When this new order of things was inaugurated, 
 Beauregard ordered his troops to cease firing until day- 
 light. This respite was gladly welcomed by both armies, 
 which were, indeed, worn out. The wounded were suf- 
 fered to lie uncared for upon the field of battle. All 
 through the night their groans and cries for relief might 
 be heard, except when drowned by the louder noise made 
 by the bursting of the shells from the gunboats. During 
 the night a fierce storm set in, drenching alike the dead 
 and the living. Through this storm Grant urged his 
 horse, visiting ihe several commanders and giving orders 
 for them to recommence the battle at daybreak. Mid- 
 night found him again at the Landing, thoroughly drenched. 
 Throwing himself upon the ground, with a stump for a 
 pillow, he was soon asleep. 
 
 Nelson's troops had reached the field of battle before 
 dark, and during the night Buell's men, which hitherto 
 had taken no part in the action, were ferried across 
 the river. Thus at daybreak General Grant had at his 
 command at least 20,000 fresh troops. During the battle 
 of the preceding day Beauregard had lost half his men, 
 so that he had but 20,000 exhausted men to bring into 
 the field. With the dawning of the morning hostilities 
 again commenced. It was soon very evident that victory 
 would at last be given to the Union troops. Beauregard 
 was slowly driven back. He hotly contended for the 
 possession of the ground which he had gained the pre- 
 ceding day. He was, however, forced to retire, until at 
 length he retreated to Corinth. Grant would have pur- 
 sued him had his own troops been in a condition to do so. 
 
 An attempt was soon after made to rob Grant of the 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 89 
 
 glory of the victory which he had so honestly won. It 
 was affirmed by some that he was so badly intoxicated 
 that he was unfit for the position of commander of the 
 troops on that occasion. The West was particularly 
 bitter in its denunciation. The President was asked to 
 remove him from command. The request would have 
 been granted, but for the timely defence of Hon. E. B. 
 Washburne, formerly his fellow-townsman. He was thus 
 suffered to retain the position of commander, although he 
 was in reality but a nominal commander. The army be- 
 came broken up in the right wing and placed under tlie 
 command of Tliomas and McClernand, and hence it fol- 
 lowed that their orders were frequently sent to Grant's 
 under officers rather than to him. And thus they suc- 
 ceeded in ignoring him altogether. The injured man 
 made no complaint, believing that time would justify him 
 and his position. 
 
 Halleck, who for a long time had felt unfavorably in- 
 clined toward Grant, now entered the field in person, 
 seemingly with the determination to show Grant the 
 proper method of conducting the war. The first step 
 was taken toward Corinth. He had a force of 120,000 
 men at his connnand, and yet with this large army it took 
 him six weeks to go the distance of fifteen miles. Had 
 Grant been given the force, with his superior qualities as 
 commander and engineer, he would have reached Corinth, 
 and put the enemy to rout in one-quarter the time. 
 
 The position which Grant now held was far from being 
 desirable. He knew full well the manner in which he 
 was regarded by his fellow-officers and the country at 
 large. Still he uttered no complaint, but performed his 
 every duty with that fidelity with which he has ever 
 been noted. To him it was painfully evident that the 
 method pursued by Halleck was a false one. He, how- 
 
90 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 ever, said nothing save in one instance, and that was at 
 one time when the question of Beauregard's evacuating 
 Corinth was raised in Halleck's head-quarters. He had 
 closely watched the movements of the Confederate army, 
 and thoroughly understood its position. And hence, in 
 this single instance, ventured to give an opinion. He 
 stated it to be his opinion that should a vigorous attack 
 be made on the right wing of the enemy, it could be 
 forced from its position, thus enabling the Union forces to 
 wheel to the left and sweep the whole works. Halleck 
 received the opinion with scorn, and gave him to under- 
 stand that when his opinion was asked it would be time 
 enough for him to give it. Grant made no reply, fully 
 believinsx that time would show that he had not been 
 mistaken, and also would reveal to the world the Mse 
 methods of Halleck. On the 30th of May the latter an- 
 nounced that the enemy was preparing for an immediate 
 attack upon the left. He therefore drew up his entire 
 force in battle-line, and waited for the appearance of the 
 enemy. But no enemy was to be seen, and an inspection 
 of their works revealed that they contained neither men 
 nor guns. Halleck at once led his troops into the city, 
 and took possession of it. Grant soon after visited the 
 spot where he advised Halleck to attack the enemy, and 
 found that he had been right in his opinion. Thus for a 
 long time had Halleck been preparing to resist an attack 
 which Beauregard never intended to make. 
 
 In July Halleck was called to Washington to take the 
 l)osition of commander-in-chief of all the armies. Before 
 departing for Washington he offered the command of the 
 Army of Tennessee to Colonel Allen, then a quarter- 
 master. Thus his last effort in connection with that 
 arin}^ was devoted to that purpose which he seems never 
 to have forgotten — to disgrace Grant. In his short-sight- 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 91 
 
 ediiess he did not or would not see that the very man 
 whom he was seeking to injure was the one who had 
 really saved him from an open disgrace. He failed, how- 
 ever, to accomplish his purpose, and Grant still retained 
 his position as commander, and established his head- 
 quarters at Corinth. For two months he mainly devoted 
 himself to the work of protecting the railroad connecting 
 Bolivar with Columbus. 
 
 Memphis, having fallen into the hands of the Union 
 army, came under his supervision. The inhabitants, 
 being thoroughly in sympathy with the Southern army, 
 kept them informed concerning all of General Grant's 
 movements. This, of course, could not pass unnoticed. 
 Grant therefore issued the following order : 
 
 " The families now residing in the city of Memphis of the fol- 
 lowing persons are required to move south beyond the lines within 
 five days of the date hereof: 
 
 ^^First — All persons holding commissions in the so-called Con- 
 federate army, or who would have voluntarily enlisted in said 
 army, or who accompany and are connected with the same. 
 
 ''Second — All persons holding office mider or in the employ of 
 the so-called Confederate Government. 
 
 " Third — All persons holding State, county or municipal offices, 
 who claim allegiance to said co-called Confederate Government, 
 and who have abandoned their families and gone south. 
 
 " Safe conduct will be given to the parties hereby required to 
 leave upon aj^plication to the Provost Marshal of Memphis. 
 
 " By command of " U. S. Grant, 
 
 "'Major-General Commanding.''^ 
 
 In order that he might do no act of injustice to the 
 innocent General Grant gave directions to the effect that 
 such as would sign a paper stating that they had never 
 given, and never would give, while he occupied the city, 
 aid to the Confederate army in any way whatever, should 
 be exempt from the sweeping effect of the above order. 
 
92 LIFE OF GENERAT. GKANT. 
 
 The Avalanche, a paper published in the city, having 
 published many treasonable statements, was promptly 
 suppressed. This order awakened the deepest indigna- 
 tion, and all sorts of threats were made against General 
 Grant, of which the following is a fair sample : 
 
 U.S. Grant: S^r—^Ye have seen your infamous and fiendish 
 proclamation. It is characteristic of your infernal policy. ... 
 We had hoped that this war would be conducted upon the princi- 
 ples recognized by civilized nations. But you have seen fit to 
 ignore all the rules of civilized warfare, and resort to means which 
 ought to and would make half-civilized nations blush. If you 
 attempt to carry out your threat against the property of citizens, 
 we will make you rue the day you issued your dastardly procla- 
 mation. If we can't act on the principle of lex talionis, in regard 
 to private property, we will visit summary vengeance upon your 
 men. You call us guerillas, which you know is false. We are 
 recognized hy our Government, and it was us who attacked your 
 wagons at Morning Sun. We have twenty-three men of yours, 
 and, as soon as you carry out your threat against the citizens of 
 the vicinity of Morning Sun, your Hessians will pay for it. You 
 shall conduct this war upon proper principles. We intend to force 
 you to do it. If you intend to make this a war of extermination, 
 you will please inform us of it at the earliest convenience. We 
 are ready, and more than willing, to raise the " black flag." There 
 are 2,000 partisans who have sworn to retaliate. If you do not 
 retract your proclamation, you may expect to have scenes of the 
 most bloody character. We all remember the manner in which 
 your vandal soldiers put to death Mr. Owens, of Missouri. Hence- 
 forth our motto shall be, Blood for blood, and blood for property. 
 We intend, by the help of God, to hang on the outskirts of your 
 raljble like liglitning around the edge of a cloud. 
 
 We don't intend this as a threat, but simply as a warning of 
 what we intend to do in case you pursue your disgraceful and 
 nefarious policy toward our citizens, as marked out in your letter 
 of recent date. Kespectfully, 
 
 Geo. R. Merritt. 
 
 During the time in which he made Corinth his head- 
 
THE CIVIL WAK. 03 
 
 quarters General Grant greatly strengthened the works 
 around that city. This act afterward prevented the city 
 from falling into the hands of the enemy when occupied 
 by General Rosecranz. Grant, upon removing from 
 Corinth, established his head-quarters at Jackson. In the 
 meantime the enemy, commanded by Price and Van 
 Dorn, were at work. Without any warning the former 
 fell upon luka, which had been placed in the connnand 
 of Murphy, and obtained possession of it. Rosecranz 
 and Ord were at once sent against them with some eight 
 thousand men. The expedition failed to damage the 
 enemy to that extent which had been anticipated, on 
 account of the information imparted to the Southern 
 leaders by those who were in sympathy with them. 
 Price's army, which Grant confidently believed he could 
 destroy, got away with little loss. A letter written by a 
 Confederate soldier will give something of an idea of the 
 battle at this point : 
 
 " We held peaceable possession of luka for one 
 day, and on the next were alarmed by the booming of 
 cannon, and were called out to spend the evening in 
 battle array in the woods. On the evening of the 19th, 
 when we supposed we were going back to camp to rest 
 awhile, the sharp crack of musketry on the right of our 
 former lines told us that the enemy was much nearer 
 than we imagined. In fact, they had almost penetrated 
 the town itself. How on earth, with the woods full of 
 our cavalry, they could have approached so near our 
 lines is a mystery. They had planted a battery suffi- 
 ciently near to shell General Price's head-quarters, and 
 were cracking away at the Third brigade when the 
 Fourth came up at double-quick, and then for two hours 
 and fifteen minutes was kept up the most terrific fire of 
 musketry that ever dinned my ears. There was one 
 
!J4 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 continuous roar of small arms, while grape and canister 
 liowU'd in rearlul concert above our heads and through 
 our ranks. General Little was shot dead early in the 
 action. ... It was a terrible struggle and we lost 
 heavily. All night could be heard the groans of the 
 dying, forming a sequel of horror and agony to the deadly 
 •struggle over which night had kindly thrown its mantle." 
 
 General Grant was proud of the brave fellows who had 
 driven out eighteen thousand Confederates and taken 
 possession of their quarters. As evidence of his pleasure 
 he said to them : 
 
 *' The General commanding takes great pleasure in 
 congratulating the two wings of the army commanded, 
 respectively, by Major-General Ord and Major-General 
 Rosecranz, upon the energy, alacrity and bravery dis- 
 played by them. . . . And, while congratulating the 
 noble living, it is meet to offer our condolence to the 
 friends of the heroic dead, who offered their lives a sac- 
 rifice in defence of constitutional liberty, and in their fall 
 rendered memorable the field of luka." 
 
 The enemy were again encountered at Ilatchie river 
 and defeated. General Ord was wounded and General 
 Ilackleman, of the Union forces, was killed. This vic- 
 tory secured peace to Western Tennessee. No sooner 
 had the good news reached Washington than the Presi- 
 dent telegraphed Grant as follows : 
 
 "AVashington, D. C, October Sth, 1862. 
 "Majou-General Grant: I congratulate you and all con- 
 ctTiRMl iu your recent battles and victories. How does it all 
 '^"'"^'P'? "A.Lincoln.' 
 
 ^, » 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ON TO VICKSBURG-^THE STORY OF AN IMPORTANT STRUGGLE 
 
 THE DEFENCES OF VICKSBURG BASE OF SUPPLIES AT 
 
 HOLLY SPRINGS GRANT FALLS BACK TO GRAND JUNCTION 
 
 SHERMAN AND PORTER PROCEED AGAINST VICKSBURG 
 
 UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS GRANT'S DETERMINATION AN 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH UNCLE JESSE THE MAN WHO WANTED 
 
 TO SEE GRANT A '' BROBOSAL " DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI 
 
 BADEAU'S DESCRIPTION OF A NIGHT JACKSON CAP- 
 TURED THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG THE ENEMY IN DIS- 
 TRESS — BLOWING UP THE ENEMY's WORKS A FLAG OF 
 
 TRUCE — PEMBERTON ASKS FOR GRANT's TERMS OF SUR- 
 RENDER grant's reply PEMBERTON OFFERS AN 
 
 AMENDMENT '^ UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" THE ONLY 
 
 TERMS PEMBERTON ACCEPTS HIS TREATMENT OF GRANT 
 
 THE SURRENDER RESULTS OF THE VICTORY A TRIB- 
 UTE FROM HALLECK. 
 
 Having defeated the Confederate army at the points 
 ah^eady stated, Grant proceeded to march against Vicks- 
 burg. This point not only prevented our vessels from 
 ascending the Mississippi, but also afforded the enemy 
 a means of receiving their supplies. Vicksburg was pro- 
 tected by heavy batteries established on the bluffs. To 
 open the Mississippi to the Union gunboats, and de- 
 stroy the power of the enemy along its banks, General 
 Grant concentrated his forces near the Tallahatchie 
 river in northern Mississippi, where Generals Hovey and 
 Washburn had been operating with troops which they 
 
 (95) 
 
9G 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Imd led from Helena, Arkansas. Grant established a 
 secondary base of supplies at Holly Springs. This place 
 was captured by the enemy with all its stores, and for a 
 time Grant was shut up in the enemy's country. He was 
 forced to fall back to Grand Junction in order to save his 
 army. Taking advantage of this movement, the Con- 
 federates under Lieutenant-General J. C. Pemberton had 
 gathered at Vicksburg for the purpose of protecting that 
 point. On the same day when the enemy seized Grant's 
 supplies, General Sherman left Memphis with transports 
 bearing siege guns, intending to make an attack upon 
 Vicksburg. Their numbers were increased by the union 
 of troops from Hatteras, and by Commodore Porter, whose 
 fleet of gunboats was at the mouth of the Yazoo river, 
 just above Vicksburg. 
 
 After consultation the two commanders deemed it ad- 
 visable to attack the city in the rear, and proceeded at 
 once to execute their plan. The boats and the troops 
 proceeded up the Yazoo, intending to capture some bat- 
 teries that blocked the way, but, being unsuccessful, 
 abandoned the project. Early in the succeeding January 
 General McClernand arrived, and, taking the command 
 of Sherman's troops, proceeded up the Arkansas river to 
 attack Confederate posts. In the meantime Grant had 
 nrrnugcd his army into four corps, and wdth it descended 
 the river to Memphis, determined to prosecute the siege 
 of Vicksburg with vigor. He soon became convinced 
 that the place could not be taken by direct assault. He 
 next tried to perfect the canal which Farragut had en- 
 deavored to build around Vicksburg, but failed to do so. 
 His next move was to send a land and naval force up the 
 Yazoo to gain the rear of Vicksburg, but was defeated in 
 tlie attempt. Still he would not give up the fight. He 
 had resolved to gain possession of the city, and he deter- 
 
97 
 
gg LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 mined not to abandon the struggle until the flag he loved 
 so well was Hoating over the enemy's intrenclmients. 
 
 One day an old friend of Grant's, Jesse R. Dubois, of 
 Illinois, went down to Vicksburg to see him. Jesse said 
 to Grant : 
 
 '' Now, Ulysses, how do you expect to take Vicks- 
 burg?" 
 
 " I don't know. Uncle Jesse," replied Grant. " I am 
 somewhat embarrassed and at times in doubt. I have 
 tried a good many things and failed, and I don't know 
 just what I shall do next. Some want me to go back to 
 Mc'ni[)his and commence an overland march from that 
 point, but I don't want to do it if I can help it." 
 
 " Don't do that, Ulysses," said Uncle Jesse, " for if you 
 were to take this army back to Memphis, with all its 
 array of gunboats, transports and materials of war, it 
 would have a most disastrous effect on the country. We 
 have just got through one election by the skin of our 
 teeth, and will soon have another one upon us. The fact 
 is, the whole Northwest is on the verge of revolution. If 
 you go back you will strengthen the hands of the rebels 
 in the South and the Knights of the Golden Circle in the 
 North. They will call your movement a retreat, and 
 more loudly than ever assert that the South cannot be 
 whipped. If you can do no better, storm Vicksburg and 
 take it if it costs the country the lives of 40,000 men. 
 Such a loss is a terrible thing to think of, but it cannot 
 be helped. Ulysses, Vicksburg must be taken." 
 
 Grant made no reply. The hour being late, he retired 
 soon after. He arose early the next morning, and, calling 
 Dubois to him, said, with a cheerful countenance : "Uncle 
 Jesse, I have thought it all over. Go home to-day and 
 tell (iovernor Yates and the people of Illinois that I will 
 take Vicksburg in sixty days." 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 99 
 
 He kept his promise, jind almost to a day Vicksburg 
 surrendered, and the iieart of Uncle Jesse, as well as that 
 of many another, was made glad. 
 
 Another incident which occurred during this campaign 
 will serve to show the purity of Grant's character. 
 
 One day, as he was busy in his tent, engaged with his 
 military plans, he heard his orderly engaged in conversa- 
 tion with a visitor, as follows: 
 
 " Is ze slieneral in ze tent?" 
 
 " Yes, sir ; but he is busy with his maps, and can't see 
 you." 
 
 "Oh, den he is goin' to adwance? My goodness 
 gracious, my vriend, I must zee ze slieneral for a few little 
 moments." 
 
 " Can't be done, sir. I liave orders to admit no one." 
 
 " But is he goin' to adwance ?" 
 
 " How should I know ? General Grant does not 2:en- 
 erally tell his orderlies his jolans." 
 
 " But if lie vood advance, vare vood he go — ^into ze 
 cotton region, vood he not?" 
 
 " How should I know ? " 
 
 " My vrend, I haf a most important brobosal to make 
 to ze sheneral — a brobosal, mind you, my young vriend." 
 
 '' Can't hear your proposal, sir. Please to step out 
 and go on." 
 
 " Sthop von little moment, my young vriend. Sthop 
 von little moment. Vill you blease say to Sheneral 
 Grant I haf von gran' object for him, von rich specula- 
 tion on ze cotton — do you see ? " 
 
 General Grant, who had heard the conversation from 
 the beginning, recognized the speaker as one of those 
 vampires who were wont to follow the army. Suddenly 
 arising from his chair, he stepped to the door of the tent, 
 and seizing the fellow by the collar, lifted him from the 
 
100 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 o-rouiid and hurled him into a mud-puddle clo.se by. Be- 
 fore the orderly could recover from his surprise, or the vic- 
 tim exactly comprehend what had occurred, Grant had 
 returned to his tent and was busily engaged with his maps 
 and plans as though nothing had happened. It is scarcely 
 necessary to add that this man did not make any further 
 proposals. 
 
 Grant's next move was to send a strong land force 
 down the western side of the Mississippi, while Porter 
 ran by the batteries at Vicksburg in the night with nearly 
 his whole fleet. Of that memorable night Badeau says: 
 
 "The night of the IGth of April was selected for the 
 undertaking. There was no moon, and by ten o'clock all 
 was ready. One after another, and as silently as possible, 
 the venturous fleet steamed down the river to the bend. 
 From this point they proceeded more leisurely, drifting 
 with the current, the gunboats in advance. Porter led 
 the way, on the ' Benton,' and reached the first batteries 
 without being discovered ; but, at sixteen minutes past 
 eleven, the artillery opened from the bluffs; the admiral 
 responding with a heavy fire." 
 
 As they proceeded on their way the storm of shot and 
 shell continued with unabated fury. For two hours and 
 forty minutes this continued, at the end of which time all 
 the gunboats had got out of range. 
 
 Grant then prepared for vigorous operation in the rear 
 of Vicksburg, on the line of the Black river. On the 
 27tli of April, Porter ran by the Confederate batteries at 
 (I rand Gulf, at which time also Grant's army crossed a 
 little below, and defeated the enemy near Port Gibson. 
 Grant then sent word to Sherman to proceed at once 
 down the western side of the Mississippi and join him. 
 This was done, and the united forces proceeded against 
 Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, and captured it. 
 
 I 
 

102 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Then the victorious troops pushed westward toward 
 Vicksburg. Having defeated the enemy in two engage- 
 ments, the army swept on, and closely invested the 
 strongly fortified city in the rear. Porter had established 
 a station on the Yazoo, and from this the army obtained 
 its supplies. After a short rest, Grant began the siege of 
 Vicksburg. Sherman had been located at Walnut Hills, 
 near Chickasaw Bayou, thus cutting off the force of the 
 enemy at Haines' Bluff. In the meantime, McClernand, 
 advancing on the left, had taken possession of Mount 
 Albans, so as to cover the roads proceeding from it. Por- 
 ter, with his fleet of gunboats, was just above Vicksburg 
 and was preparing to fully carry out Grant's plans. Thus 
 established, Grant was holding a line almost twenty miles 
 in length, extending from the Yazoo to the Mississippi, at 
 Warren ton. On the day following the arrival of his 
 troops before them. Grant prepared to make an attack 
 upon the Confederate batteries. Sherman began the 
 attack on the afternoon of May 19th, Blair's division 
 taking the lead. Throughout the morning there had 
 been artillery firing, but now there was closer work. 
 After a severe engagement the Union forces were repulsed. 
 Grant then engaged Porter to assist in another assault on 
 the 22d. All through the night of the 21st, Porter kept 
 SIX mortars playing upon the city and the works, and 
 sent three gunboats to make an attack ujDon the water- 
 batteries. 
 
 That night was a terrible one for Vicksburg. But 
 (Ircadl'iil as it was, the day which followed was more 
 dreadful still. At ten o'clock on the 22d, Grant's whole 
 hue pressed on to the attack. As on a previous occasion, 
 151an- led the van, and soon the battle was general all 
 »l'>ng the line. They were repulsed at two different 
 points, but still they fought on. Finally the cheering 
 
 
THE CIVIL WAIl. 103 
 
 ntelligence was received that McCleriiand, who was on 
 he left, had taken two forts. Sherman's troops then 
 nade another charge upon the enemy's works, but with- 
 )ut success. The centre, led by McPherson, met with 
 10 better success and were meeting with heavy losses. 
 it soon became evident that McClernand could not hold 
 ,vhat he had won from the enemy. Up to this time the 
 Jnion forces had lost something like 3,000 men. 
 
 Grant now determined upon a regular siege, and im- 
 nediately began to unite lines. Reinforcements coming 
 n, his forces soon numbered 70,000 men. The orders 
 i:iven to the enemy by General Pemberton forbade the 
 ivaste of ammunition, and hence General Grant was able 
 to throw up his works within a short distance of the 
 breastworks of the enemy. Porter kept up a steady 
 stream of fire upon the city, during the day only, for 
 forty days. Supplies having been cut off, the besieged 
 found their provisions running short. Says Badeau : 
 
 " The price of food in the town had by this time risen 
 enormously. Flour was .five dollars a pound, or a thou- 
 sand dollars a barrel (rebel money) ; meal was one hun- 
 dred and forty dollars a bushel ; molasses, ten and twelve 
 dollars a gallon ; and beef (very often oxen killed by the 
 national shells and picked up by the butchers) was sold 
 at two dollars and two dollars and a half by the pound. 
 Mule-meat sold at a dollar a pound, and was in great 
 demand. Many families had eaten the last mouthful of 
 food they possessed, and the poorer classes of non-com- 
 batants were on the verge of starvation. There was 
 scarcely a building that had not been struck by shells, 
 and many were entirely demolished. A number of 
 women and children had been killed or wounded by 
 mortar-shells or balls, and all who did not remain in the 
 damp caves of the hillsides were in danger. Even the 
 
j„j LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 hospitals where the wounded lay were sometimes struck, 
 for it was found impossible to prevent occasional shells 
 from falling on the buildings, which of course would have 
 been sacred from an intentional fire. Fodder was ex- 
 hausted, and the horses were compelled to subsist wholly 
 on corn-tops, the corn being all ground into meal for the 
 
 soldiers." 
 
 The progress of the mining operations was such that 
 on the 25th of June a fort which the Confederates had 
 established on the immediate right of the Jackson road, 
 and occupied by the Third Louisiana regiment, was 
 blown up. The enemy had anticipated this movement, 
 and had withdrawn to an inner line of intrenchments, so 
 that it followed that only a few men were injured by the 
 explosion. As soon as the fort had been blown up a 
 strong column advanced to storm the line. They were 
 met l)y the Sixth Missouri, and a bloody contest ensued, 
 in which there was a heavy loss on both sides. The 
 Federal force then retired. 
 
 Four days later the same portion of the enemy's line 
 was again blown up, but no attempt to charge was made. 
 The enemy made several attempts to countermine, but 
 were unsuccessful. On the 3d of July, about half-past 
 seven in tlio morning, a flag of truce was seen on the 
 crest of a hill above the camp of General Burridge. An 
 officer was at once despatched to escort the bearers of it 
 (who were two Confederate officers), blindfolded, to the 
 tent of General A. J. Smith. These officers were Major- 
 General Bowen and Colonel Montgomery, of Virginia. 
 They bore the following despatch from General Pem- 
 berton to General Grant : 
 
 " Head-quarters, Vicksburg, July od, 1863. 
 ■" Miij.-(jcn. U. H. Grant, commanding U. S. Forces: 
 
 "Gknkj{al : I have the honor to propose to you an armistice for 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 105 
 
 hours, with a view of arranging for the capitulation of 
 
 Vicksburg. To this end, if agreeable to you, I will appoint three 
 commissioners to meet a like number named by yourself, at such 
 place and hour as you may find convenient. I make this proposi- 
 tion to save further effusion of blood, which must otherwise be 
 shed to a frightful extent, feeling myself fully able to maintain my 
 position a yet indefinite period. This communication will be 
 handed you, under a flag of truce, by Major-General James Bowen. 
 " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 " John C. Pembertox." 
 
 To this despatch General Grant replied as follows : 
 
 Head-quarters Department of Tenni<:ssee, 
 " In the Field near Vicksburg, July ^d, 1863. 
 "'Lieut.- Gen. J. C. Pemberton, commanding Confederate Forces, etc. : 
 
 " General : Your note of this date, just received, proposes an 
 armistice for several hours, for the purpose of arranging terms of 
 capitulation, through commissioners to be appointed, etc. The 
 effusion of blood you propose stopping by this course can be ended 
 at any time you may choose by an unconditional surrender of the 
 city and garrison. Men who have shown so much endurance and 
 courage as those now in Vicksburg will always challenge the re- 
 spect of an adversary, and, I can assure you, will be treated with 
 all the respect due them as prisoners of war. I do not favor the 
 proposition of appointing commissioners to arrange terms of 
 capitulation, because I have no other terms than those indicated 
 above. 
 
 " I am, General, ver}- respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 ''U. S. Grant, Major- GeneraV 
 
 In a subsequent communication Grant stated the terms 
 upon which he would accept the surrender of Vicksburg : 
 ^' As soon as paroles can be made out and signed by officers 
 and men you will be allowed to march out of our lines — 
 the officers taking with them regimental clothing, and staff, 
 field and cavalry officers one horse each. The rank and 
 file will be allowed all their clothing, but no other prop- 
 erty. If the conditions are accepted, any amount of 
 
106 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRAXT. 
 
 rations you may deem necessary can be taken from the 
 stores you now have, and also cooking utensils for pre- 
 paring them. Thirty wagons also— counting two two- 
 horse or mule teams as one— will be allowed you to 
 transport such articles as cannot be carried along. The 
 same conditions will be allowed to all sick and wounded 
 officers and privates as fast as they become able to travel. 
 The paroles for these latter must be signed, however, 
 whilst officers are present authorized to sign the roll of 
 prisoners." 
 
 To the proposal Pemberton objected on the ground 
 that it was unjust in its treatment of his soldiers. He 
 proposed the following amendment : 
 
 " At ten o'clock to-morrow I propose to evacuate the 
 works in and around Vicksburg, and to surrender the 
 city and garrison under my command by marching out 
 with my colors and arms, and stacking them in front of 
 my present lines, after which you will take possession. 
 Officers to retain their side arms and personal property, 
 and the rights and property of citizens to be respected." 
 
 To this letter General Grant immediately replied as. 
 follows : 
 
 J " Head-quarters Department of the Tennessee, 
 1 "'■Before Vicksburg^ July Ath, 1863. 
 
 " Lieut.-Gen. J. C. Pemberton, commanding forces in Vicksburg : 
 
 "General: I have the honor to acknowledge your communi- 
 cation of 3d July. The amendments proposed by you cannot be 
 acceded to in full. It will be necessary to furnish every officer 
 and man with a parole, signed by himself, which, with completion 
 of the rolls of prisoners, will necessarily take some time. Again, 
 I can make no stipulation in regard to the treatment of citizens 
 and their private property. While I do not propose to cause 
 any of them any undue annoyance or loss, I cannot consent to 
 liavc myself under restraint by stipulations. The property wliich 
 officers can be allowed to take with them will be the same as stated 
 in jiropositiou of last evening If you mean by your propo- 
 
'7 IJT*> 
 
 107 
 
JOS LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 sition for each brigade to march to the front of the lines now oc- 
 cupied by it, and stack tlieir arras at ten o'clock a. m., and then 
 return inside and remain as prisoners until properly paroled, I 
 ^vill make no objections to it. Should no modification be made 
 of your acceptance of my terms by nine o'clock a. m., I shall re- 
 gard them as having been rejected, and act accordingly. Should 
 these terms l)e accepted, white flags will be displayed along your 
 lines to prevent such of my troops as may not have been notified 
 from firing upon your men. 
 
 " I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 "U. S. Grant, Major-General U. S. Army." 
 
 This arrangement was at once accepted by General 
 Peniberton, and at ten o'clock on the same day the Con- 
 federate forces marched out and stacked arms in front of 
 tlieir works, while General Pemberton and staff appeared 
 for a moment upon the parapet of the central front. 
 The meeting between General Grant and General Pem- 
 berton the former described as follows : 
 
 "• While one of the Illinois regiments," he said, "was 
 raising its flag upon the court house at Vicksburg, I 
 deemed it but an act of courtesy to pay my respects to 
 Pemberton, and went in search of his head-quarters. I 
 found him seated on the piazza of a house, surrounded 
 by his officers and staff. No one advanced to receive me 
 or recognized my j)resence in any way. I dismounted 
 my horse and joined the party on the porch, when Pem- 
 IxTtou acknowledged the acquaintance by a slight nod. 
 Hl' offered me no seat, and I remained standing while he 
 and his subordinates were sitting. A Mississippi general 
 linally arose and pushed toward me his chair. 
 
 " Tiie day was oppressively warm and cloudy, and to 
 relieve the constraint of the interview I asked for a glass 
 of water. Pemberton pointed to the interior of the 
 house, and I groped my way through it to a well in the 
 rr:ir, wlicrc 1 Ibund a negro, who drew up a bucket and 
 
THE CIVIL WAE. 
 
 109 
 
 tendered me a drink from a gourd. I returned to the 
 party on the piazza and found my chair reoccupied, and 
 although I remained standing for twenty minutes I was 
 not offered a seat again ; and I left Pemberton and went 
 on my way. Our sole conversation was about the supply 
 of rations for his troops, and I learned then, for the first 
 time, the number of men who had surrendered, having 
 presumed all along that there were but 15,000 to 20,000 
 men in the garrison." 
 
 The result of his operations is thus summed up by 
 General Grant: 
 
 CAVE LIFE IN VICKSBURG DURING ITS SIEGE. 
 
 " The result of this campaign has been the defeat of 
 the enemy in five battles outside of Vicksburg, the 
 occupation of Jackson, the capital of the State of Mis- 
 sissippi, and the capture of Vicksburg and its garrison 
 and munitions of war ; a loss to the enemy of 30,000 
 prisoners, among whom were fifteen general officers ; at 
 least 10,000 killed and wounded, and among the killed 
 Generals Tracy, Tilghman and Green ; and hundreds, 
 and perhaps thousands, of stragglers, who can never be 
 reorganized. Arms and munitions of war for an army 
 of 60,000 men have fallen into our hands, besides a large 
 
nn LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 amount of other public property, consisting of railroads, 
 locouiotives, cars, steamboats, cotton, etc. ; and much was 
 destroyed to prevent our capturing it. 
 
 '• Our loss in the series of battles may be summed up 
 as ibllows : 1,243 killed, 7,095 wounded and 537 missing. 
 01" the wounded, many were but slightly wounded, and 
 continued on duty; many more required but a few days 
 or weeks for their recovery. Not more than one-half of 
 the wounded were permanently disabled." 
 
 On Saturday, the 11th of July, the paroles were com- 
 pleted, and at half an hour before noon the rebel garrison 
 took up its line of march from Vicksburg and proceeded 
 to ]5ig Black river. As they reached the fortifications, 
 each man's name was called and checked off on the rolls. 
 National troops were placed as guards on both sides of the 
 road, for some distance beyond the intrenchments ; and, 
 in all the bitterness of defeat, the prisoners inarched by. 
 Ail that had heretofore passed was as nothing to this. 
 Amid the thickest storm of battle there had always been 
 the expectation of succor or success; while they lay on 
 the weary picket, or in the hot trenches, they had still 
 hoped on, though hope was long deferred. But now all 
 hope was gone ; the rebel yell of defiance, so often raised 
 in battle, opposed to the national cheer, might not be 
 heard; their willing hands no longer grasped familiar 
 weapons; the standards, under which they had fought 
 so proudly, were in the keeping of their conquerors. 
 Large tear-drops fell on many a weather-beaten face, 
 :ind ever and anon they paused, and, turning back, 
 toolv one last look at the city they had striven so hard 
 to retain. The national army gazed on in silence; 
 proud as was the sight to them, exultant as were the 
 '•"lotions with which they contemplated a spectacle that 
 ivpaid (li.Mii a thousand-fold for all their toils, and 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. Ill 
 
 wounds, and sufferings, they yet could not but pity the 
 humiliation of their foes. No insulting taunt was heard, 
 no cheer of triumph nor mocking cannon saluted the ears 
 of the prisoners. Silently and sadly they moved on, and 
 in a few hours were free from the taint of treason. 
 
 On the 13th the President addressed the following 
 letter to General Grant ; 
 
 "Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C, July 13^/i, 18G3. 
 
 " My dear General : I do not remember that you and I ever 
 met personally. I write this now as a grateful acknowledgment 
 for the almost inestimable service you have done the country. I 
 wish to say a word further. When you first reached the vicinity 
 of Vicksburg I thought you should do what you finally did — 
 march the troops across the neck, run the batteries with the trans- 
 ports and thus go below, and I never had any faith, except a gen- 
 eral liope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expe- 
 dition and tlie like could succeed. When you got below and took 
 Port Gibson, Grand Gulf and vicinity, I thought you sliould go 
 down the river and join General Banks ; and when you turned 
 northward, east of the Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I 
 now wish to make a personal acknowledgment that you were right 
 .and I was wrong. "Yours very truly, 
 
 ^^ Major- General Grant. "A. Lincoln." 
 
 General Halleck, who had never acted very friendly 
 toward General Grant, in a letter acknowledging Grant's 
 modest account of the capitulation, says : " Your report, 
 dated July 6th, of your campaign in Mississippi, ending 
 in the capitulation of Vicksburg, was received last even- 
 ing. Your narration of the campaign, like the operations 
 themselves, is brief, soldierly and in every respect cred- 
 itable and satisfactory. In boldness of plan, rapidity of 
 execution and brilliancy of routes, those operations will 
 compare favorably with those of Napoleon about Ulm. 
 You and your army have well deserved the gratitude of 
 your country, and it will be the boast of our children 
 
112 THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 that their fathers were of the heroic army which reopened 
 the Mississippi river." 
 
 In his annual report General Halleck also says : 
 " When we consider the character of the country in 
 wliich this army operated, the formidable obstacles to be 
 overcome, the number of forces and the strength of the 
 enemy's works, we cannot fail to admire the courage and 
 endurance of the troops and the skill and daring of their 
 commander. No more brilliant exploit can be found in 
 militar}^ history. It has been alleged, and the allegation 
 has been widely circulated by the press, that General 
 Grant, in the conduct of his campaign, positively dis- 
 obeyed the instructions of his superiors. It is hardly 
 necessary to remark that General Grant never disobeyed 
 an order or instruction, but always carried out to the 
 best of his ability every wish or suggestion made to him 
 by the Government. Moreover, he has never comjDlained 
 that the Government did not furnish him all the means 
 and assistance in its power to facilitate the execution of 
 any plan he saw fit to adopt." 
 
 These statements, coming as they did from General 
 Halleck, served to correct many false impressions which 
 had gone out concerning General Grant and his move- 
 ments. In appreciation of the services thus rendered, 
 Congress made him a Major-General in the regular army.. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MISSISSIPPI OPENED TO TRADE GRANT WANTS TO ATTACK 
 
 MOBILE, BUT IS NOT PERMITTED REINFORCES ROSECRANZ 
 
 AN INCIDENT — " YOU MAY STOP AWHILE, CAPTAIN " 
 
 GRANT INJURED CHICKAMAUGA THE SECRETARY OF 
 
 WAR TELEGRAPHS FOR GRANT IS GIVEN A NEW COM- 
 MAND — THE STRUGGLE FOR CHATTANOOGA PEMBERTON's 
 
 OPINION BATTLE OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN " WE'vE 
 
 WHIPPED 'em, general" CONGRESS PRESENTS GRANT 
 
 WITH A GOLD MEDAL IS MADE LIEUTENANT-GENERAL 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF GRANT. 
 
 For a long time the Mississippi had been closed to the 
 northwestern trade, and the people now began to clamor 
 for the re-establishment of business with the South. In 
 this desire they met a ready support from Chase, at that 
 time Secretary of the Treasury. Grant, however, looked 
 at the matter in a different light. He believed to do so 
 would be to open the South to an army of adventurers. 
 Subsequent events clearly showed that he had not been 
 mistaken in his opinion. 
 
 About this time Grant expressed a desire to move on 
 Mobile, but notwithstanding he urged this step upon the 
 Government, still he was not permitted to take the step. 
 
 " I am confident," he wrote, " that Mobile could now 
 be taken with a comparatively small force. At least a 
 demonstration in that direction would either result in the 
 
 (113) 
 
114 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 abandonment of the city or force the enemy to weaken 
 Bragg's army to hold it." 
 
 To have carried out his j)lan of action would have been 
 to continue the series of victories which had been inau- 
 gurated. Instead of being permitted to do so, however, 
 liis troops were taken from him to reinforce Banks and 
 Eosecranz — the latter being established at that time at 
 Chattanooga. 
 
 While Grant was at Vicksburg, an incident occurred 
 which is well worthy of note just here. The Mississippi 
 had been opened for navigation, and steamers, as they left 
 the wharf at Vicksburg, often bore with them soldiers to 
 whom furloughs had been granted. One day Grant ap- 
 proached a person standing on a wheel-house at the levee, 
 and asked : 
 
 " Are you captain of this steamer ? " 
 
 " I am. General," was the reply. 
 
 "Are you about going off?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " How many officers and soldiers have you on board ? " 
 
 "About twelve hundred and fifty, sir." 
 
 " What is the average price you charge them from 
 Vicksburg to Cairo, captain ? " 
 
 " From ten to twenty-five dollars each. General." 
 
 " Is that all ? Very moderate — very moderate, indeed ! 
 From ten to twenty-five dollars each for United States 
 officers and soldiers, from Vicksburg to Cairo. See here, 
 captain," continued Grant, somewhat warmly, " you may 
 tie up your steamer a little while. It seems a great pity 
 you should have to transport the boys at such extrava- 
 gantly low prices. You may stop awhile, captain." 
 
 And with these words Grant quietly walked to his 
 head-quarters. Seating himself before his table, he wrote 
 an (jrder bidding the captain of the steamer pay back all 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 115 
 
 that he had received over seven dollars from the officers 
 and five dollars from the men, on the pain of having his 
 boat and cargo confiscated to the Government. This 
 order was at once carried into effect. 
 
 In the meantime the passengers were wondering why 
 the steamer did not start, but wdien they learned the 
 reason, then a glad chorus of cheers arose as an evidence 
 that they appreciated this kindness on his part. 
 
 "A pretty piece of business, this, as it stands," re- 
 marked Grant to one of his staff. " I will teach a lesson 
 to these steam-pirates; plundering the men who have 
 opened the river for them of their hard-earned wages. 
 The old Mississippi is all free to honorable navigation, 
 but not to imposition. No, sir, not to imposition, sir, 
 while I am in command at Vicksburg." 
 
 While on a visit to New Orleans to see General Banks 
 before the latter departed for Texas, General Grant was 
 thrown from his horse and badly injured. So severe was 
 the injury that for twenty days he was forced to lie in one 
 position. He did not return until September 16th. He had 
 to be moved on his couch, and it was not until the 25th 
 that he was able to get around with the aid of crutches. 
 
 During this time Rosecranz had concentrated his force 
 near the Chickamauga river. Here he gave battle to the 
 enemy, and was badly beaten, and had it not been for 
 Thomas, would have lost nearly, if not quite, all of his 
 army. It became at once evident that it needed some 
 one having Grant's make-up to take hold of the matter. 
 The Secretary of War telegraphed as follows : 
 
 " It is the wish of the Secretary of War that as soon 
 as General. Grant is able to take the field he will come to 
 Cairo and report by telegraph." 
 
 To this Grant replied from Columbus, Kentucky, as 
 follows : 
 
116 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT 
 
 " Your despatch from Cairo, of the 3d, directing me to 
 report at Cairo, was received at 11.30 on the 10th. Left 
 tlie same day with staff and head-quarters, and am here, 
 < /; route for Cairo." 
 
 The Secretary of War met General Grant at Indian- 
 apohs, and gave him an order estabUshing for him a new 
 command, afterwards known as the Military Division of 
 the Mississippi. This was to embrace all the territory 
 between the Alleghenies and the Mississippi river, except- 
 ing only that occupied by Banks' Division. 
 
 Grant then proceeded to Nashville, and was here given 
 permission to decide whether Thomas or Rosecranz should 
 
 take charge of the army 
 under him. He decided 
 in favor of Thomas, and 
 immediately sent an or- 
 der to Chattanooga in- 
 forming that officer of 
 his appointment. Grant 
 hastened on as fast as 
 possible. Having re- 
 ceived from Washino^- 
 ton the intelligence that 
 there was some danger 
 of the Union troops not 
 being able to maintain 
 their existing position, he telegraphed Thomas : 
 
 " Hold Ghattamoija at all hazards. I will U there soon 
 as j)ossihle" 
 
 Thomas replied: 
 
 ''/ iclll hold tlie town till I starve ! " 
 
 From Nashville Grant and his staff" proceeded on horse- 
 back. Grant was still obliged to use crutches, and of 
 course tins mode of travelling was somewhat severe. But 
 
 GEORGE H. THOMAS. 
 
THE CIVIL WAIi. 117 
 
 under the circumstances it seemed to be the best thing to 
 be done. The recent rains had rendered the roads ahnost 
 impassable. At some points the horses were led by the 
 €scort, and Grant was tenderly carried in the arms of the 
 soldiers over the most difficult places. 
 
 Having reached Chattanooga, Grant at once proceeded 
 to the head-quarters of General Thomas and telegraphed 
 his arrival to the Department at Washington. The pres- 
 ence of Grant at Chattanooga infused new life into the 
 " boys in blue." The enemy, on the contrary, regarded 
 it as meaning ill to them. 
 
 It is stated that one day Jefferson Davis visited the 
 army at this point, and while here said, with a sneer, to 
 General Bragg, who was standing beside him : 
 
 "All right; we have the Federals now. This is the 
 right spot of all others where we should wish them to be. 
 Now let them come on ! " 
 
 General Pemberton, who had given up his sword to 
 Grant at Vicksburg, chanced to hear the remark. He 
 very quietly said : 
 
 " Mr. President, excuse me. I have been blamed for 
 not ordering an attack on Grant at Vicksburg ; but allow 
 me to say, sir, that if you order an attack on him here 
 in Chattanooga, the result will be that he will soon stand 
 where we are standing now." 
 
 Davis made no reply, but subsequent events proved the 
 correctness of Pemberton's prediction. 
 
 Early in November it became evident that the two 
 armies would meet in decisive conflict. Burnside had 
 been stationed at Knoxville, and it was decided by the 
 Confederate authorities that he must be driven from his 
 position. The distance from Chattanooga to Knoxville 
 is something like eighty miles. Several causes delayed 
 the advance of Longstreet, who had been detailed to do 
 
118 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 this work. He, however, did appear before the place on 
 the 17th, and was repulsed. He then decided to starve 
 the troops into a surrender. Grant despatched troops to 
 the relief of the besieged general, and the enemy were 
 forced to quit the field. 
 
 In the meantime a decisive action had occurred else- 
 where. On the 16th Grant issued orders for an attack 
 upon the enemy at Chattanooga. On the right was 
 Hooker, liis division extending to the west side of Look- 
 out Mountain. Thomas occupied the centre, looking 
 toward Missionary Ridge. Sherman held the extreme 
 left, and at the time was on the north side of the river, 
 creeping cautiously toward Missionarj- Ridge behind the 
 shelter of a range of hills. 
 
 On the 23d Thomas moved forward in such close and 
 well-ordered lines that the enemy, as they watched him, 
 supposed that he was preparing for a review and a drill. 
 As they continued to approach, the Confederates became 
 alarmed and sprang to their guns. The Union forces still 
 continued to press forw^ard, and notwithstanding the fierce 
 fire of the enemy, succeeded in reaching the fort of 
 Orchard Knob. This is a prominent peak, and it was 
 deemed important to take it. Without an instant's halt 
 the troops rushed up the hill and routed the enemy. 
 During the succeeding night a heavy battery was planted 
 on the hill, and the whole line was strongly intrenched. 
 
 Karly in the morning of the 24th (a dark, disagree- 
 al)le day it was, with rain and mist falling alternately), 
 with Sherman at the head, 3,000 men were on the 
 move with pontoons, and at daylight had succeeded in 
 driving the enemy from a desirable position, and at noon 
 had laid two pontoon bridges. One of these was fourteen 
 hundred feet long, spanning the Tennessee; the other two 
 lii'iulred feet, extending over the South Chickamau^a, 
 
I|l/tf 'l,!|,,,,,,, 
 
 m i 
 
 l.ii 
 
 »i'''MPI 
 
 ill ' *l. 
 
 119 
 
120 LIFE OF ge:n^ekal graxt. 
 
 opening up a route for the cavalry. At one o'clock Sher- 
 man led his troops over these bridges. It was his inten- 
 tion to fall at once on Bragg's right. But on reaching the 
 summit of the hill he found that he could not carry out 
 his original plan. Moving on he began the ascent of 
 Lookout Mountain. A fierce conflict followed which has 
 since become celebrated as " the battle above the clouds." 
 It was a fierce struggle, but it ended in victory for the 
 Union forces. 
 
 The sun on the following day arose in a cloudless sky. 
 The attack upon the enemy was renewed. Eagerly the 
 soldiers pressed on, and throughout the day poured an un- 
 ceasing storm of lead into the ranks of the enemy. Like 
 brave men the latter stood their ground, determined not 
 to yield. But the odds were too great for them. Like an 
 unchecked avalanche the hosts of Grant swept down upon 
 them. Just as the sun sank behind the western hills, 
 painting the skies with the beauties of an autumnal sun- 
 set, the shout of victory rose from the lips of the patriots 
 of the North. The enemy threw down their arms in regi- 
 ments, and a few cannoneers, who still stood defiantly 
 by their guns, were bayoneted in the battle-frenzy that 
 had carried the victorious army up that murderous steep, 
 and the guns themselves were promptly turned upon the 
 now already fleeing foe. After the second line of rifle 
 pits had been taken, Grant could no longer remain at 
 Orchard Knob, but at once proceeded to the front. As 
 he rode over the battle-field some of the soldiers recognized 
 him. He was greeted with cheers, some of the men also 
 slioutino; : 
 
 '• We've whipped 'em. General ! — all we wanted was a 
 leader ! The Army of the Cumberland ain't filled with 
 cowards ! We are even ivith 'em now for Cliicha7nauga! " 
 
 By midnight Bragg, seeing the hopelessness of the 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 12i 
 
 situation, had abandoned all his positions on Lookout 
 Mountain, Chattanooga Valley, and Missionary Ridge. 
 The enemy were pursued as far as circumstances would 
 permit. 
 
 Grant issued the following address of congratulation to 
 his troops : 
 
 " Head-quarters Military Division of the Mississippi. 
 ''In the Field, Chattanooga, Tenn., December 10th, 1863. 
 "The Genenil commanding takes this opportunity of returning 
 his sincere thanks and congratulations to the brave Armies of the 
 ■Cumberland, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and their comrades from 
 the Potomac, for the recent splendid and decisive successes 
 achieved over the enemy. In a short time you have recovered 
 from them the control of the Tennessee river from Bridgeport to 
 Knoxville. You dislodged him from Chattanooga Valley, wrested 
 from his determined grasp the possession of Missionary Ridge, 
 repelled with heavy loss to him his repeated assaults upon Knox- 
 ville, forcing him to raise the siege there, driving him at all points, 
 utterly routed and discomfited, beyond the limits of the State. 
 By your noble heroism and determined courage you have eflfect- 
 iially defeated the plans of the enemy for regaining possession of 
 the States of Kentucky and Tennessee. You have secured posi- 
 tions from which no rebellious power can drive or dislodge you. 
 For all this the General commanding thanks you collectively and 
 individually. The loyal people of the United States thank and 
 bless you. Their hopes and prayers for your success against this 
 unholy rebeUion are with you daily. Their faith in you will not 
 be in vain. Their hopes will not be blasted. Their prayers to 
 Almighty God will be answered. You will yet go to other fields 
 of strife, and with the invincible bravery and unflinching loyalty 
 to justice and right which have characterized you in the past you 
 will prove that no enemy can withstand you, and that no defences, 
 however formidable, can check your onward march. 
 
 " By order Major-General U. S. Grant. 
 
 " T. S. Boioers, A. A. G^ 
 
 The United States Congress, which was sitting at that 
 time, promptly showed its appreciation of the services thus 
 
122 LIFE OF GEXERAL GRAXT. 
 
 rendered by General Grant. A gold medal was ordered 
 to be struck and presented to him as an evidence of the 
 national appreciation of his services. It was decided to 
 revive the office of Lieutenant-Goneral, and to offer that 
 position to Grant. When the proposition was presented 
 to Lincoln, the latter said : " I have never seen Grant. 
 Before I appoint him I want to learn all about him that 
 is possible. Who of his friends knows him best?" A 
 gentleman named Russell Jones was named, and it was 
 not lono- before the President was in conversation with 
 him. The result was the appointment was confirmed, and 
 Grant was summoned at once to Washington. 
 
 Grant reached the national capital at about five o'clock 
 in the afternoon, and so unpretentious was his appearance 
 that he had taken his seat at the table of Willard's Hotel 
 before his presence was known. Among those present 
 was a gentleman who had previously met Grant, and it 
 was not long before his presence was made known. " The 
 hero of Vicksburg is here," was the whispered expression 
 which passed from one to another, and in the next instant 
 a perfect storm of cheers burst forth from the lips of an 
 admiring people. 
 
 At one o'clock on the following day, the 9th of March, 
 accompanied by his staff and his son Fred, he was received 
 by the President and his Cabinet. After the introduc- 
 tion which followed, the President stepped forward and 
 said : 
 
 " General Grant : The nation's appreciation of what 
 you have done, and its reliance upon you for what re- 
 mains to be done in the existing great struggle, are now 
 presented with this commission, constituting you Lieu- 
 tenant-General in the Army of the United States. With 
 this high honor devolves upon you also a corresponding 
 responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so. 
 
VJ4 THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to add 
 that with what I here speak for the nation goes my own 
 hearty personal concurrence." 
 
 General Grant replied as follows : 
 
 '• Mr. President : I accept the commission^ with grati- 
 tude for the high honor conferred. With the aid of the 
 noble armies that have fought on so many fields for our 
 common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to 
 disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of 
 the responsibilities now devolving on me, and I know that 
 if they are to be met, it will be due to those armies, and, 
 above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads both 
 nations and men." 
 
 Despite a general confidence in the final success of the 
 national cause at this time, there were contingencies and 
 anxieties that President Lincoln felt should be known to 
 and shared by the military leader in whom the hopes of 
 the country were now placed. Secretary Seward had con- 
 vincino: reasons for knowins: that the dan2;er of foreign 
 intervention had not passed away, and that any serious 
 check to the Federal arms might bring it upon us so sud- 
 denly and effectively as to completely turn the tide of 
 events. Secretary Chase was holding gloomy views con- 
 cerning the financial future, owing to the enormous and 
 steadily growing cost of the Federal armaments. Secre- 
 tary Stanton, who never permitted himself to think of 
 but one end, had begun to doubt whether the means to 
 tliat end would hold out in sufficient measure and dura- 
 lion. President 'Lincoln embodied in his own person the 
 di.s(pjieting knowledge and the fears of all his heads of 
 departments. General Grant, away off in the West, hold- 
 ing little official connnunication with Washington, and 
 IK'rsonally a stranger to the members of the administration, 
 had cuini)aratively little knowledge of the general situa- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 125 
 
 tion, and was of that mental habit that concentrates a 
 man's thoughts upon the thing of the moment. 
 
 " It needed the visit to Washington and contact with 
 the President and Cabinet to bear in upon him the su- 
 preme importance, from the stand-point of both domestic 
 and foreign pohtics, of successfully assailing the army of 
 Lee and the capital of the Confederacy. So long as both 
 remained defiantly almost within the shadow of the 
 national capital, victories in the West in large part failed 
 of their proper immediate effect, and in truth served to 
 quicken the desperate efforts which Secretary Seward 
 knew the Emperor Napoleon to be making to gain mate- 
 rial or at least moral support in Europe for an interven- 
 tion. In the eyes of the Administration General Lee's 
 army was the indispensable objective point of any opera- 
 tion designed to aftect public opinion at home or abroad, 
 and hence the conclusion that General Grant should take 
 charge of the Army of the Potomac and conduct a move- 
 ment against Richmond and the army under Lee. 
 
 " He went out to General Meade's head-quarters, and as 
 the result of a prolonged conference with that commander, 
 in which he gained some new views of a new situation, he 
 resolved not to displace Meade, either by assuming the 
 immediate conmiand himself, or by procuring the assign- 
 ment of another to the command. It was characteristic 
 of Grant that, having made up his mind on this important 
 matter, his decision was full and final. In spite of assu- 
 rances from friends at Washington, in the West and in 
 Meade's own army, that the removal of that officer was 
 little short of a necessity, he never entertained the 
 thought of displacing him from first to last; and so little 
 did he interfere with the internal administration of the 
 Army of the Potomac that he did not propose Sheridan 
 for the command of the cavalry until he learned that 
 
1.2,; THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Moado wished a change, and altliough he repeatedly made 
 known to Meade his wisli to displace Warren from the 
 command of the Fifth Corps, he yielded to the tenacity 
 Avith which Meade clung to that officer, until Sheridan 
 took the matter into his own hands in an emergency. 
 
 " Upon joining the Army of the Potomac, General Grant 
 established for himself a little camp four miles distant from 
 the general head-quarters, and here he received and 
 listened to such officers of that army as chose to call upon 
 him, but quietly kept off" intrigue and insubordination, 
 and this course he steadily pursued to the close, 
 
 " Before opening the campaign, he startled the authori- 
 ties at Washington b}' asking that General McClellan 
 might be restored to active duty, and became so urgent 
 about it, taking such a high view of McClellan's military 
 abilities, that the President and Mr. Sew\ard supported 
 him, and even Secretary Chase stood neutral. But the 
 passionate and fiery invective of Secretary Stanton pre- 
 vailed over all, and the Lieutenant-General w^as firmly 
 informed that General McClellan was an impossibility in 
 any military situation. The Secretary of War was not 
 so unyielding as to General Buell, but that stubborn sol- 
 dier refused all overtures unless the injustice done him by 
 the War Department should be formally as well as sub- 
 stantially expiated, and in this pursuit of a shadow lost 
 ins last chance of crowning a military career full of merit, 
 but also full of misfortune." 
 
 Grant's first object was to get the military affairs out of 
 the entanglement into which Halleck had plunged them. 
 The two men were as opposite in their ideas of how the 
 war should be carried on as they were in how a battle 
 should be fought. One was for cutting off the tail first, 
 and then the claws, and so work by regular, safe 
 up.nnM.lw.s up to the head— the other, for a close and 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 127 
 
 deadly interlock, in which the life of one or the other 
 should go out before it should unloose. One wished to 
 carry on the war by operating with different armies on 
 separate points — the other, for concentrating them all on 
 one vital point. Like Napoleon, Grant had no idea of 
 winter quarters, or the proper season for carrying on a 
 campaign. When once his blows began to fall, he pro- 
 jDOsed they should never cease falling until the object was 
 ground to powder. His aim was, as he said, " To hammer 
 continuously against the armed force of the enemy until 
 by the mere attrition of the lesser with the larger body, 
 the former should be worn out." Such was the policy 
 with which he assumed command of the entire army. 
 He further said, "The armies in the East and West acted 
 independently and without concert, like a balky team, 
 no two ever pulling together, enabling the enemy to use 
 to great advantage his interior lines of communication 
 for transporting troops from east to west, reinforcing the 
 army most vigorously pressed, and to furlough large 
 numbers during seasons of inactivity on our part, to go 
 to their homes and do the work of providing for the 
 support of their armies, so that it was a question whether 
 our numerical strength and resources were not more than 
 balanced by these disadvantages and the enemy's superior 
 position." His decision was to compel united action. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE STRENGTH OF THE ARMY — GRANT STATES THE STRENGTH 
 OF THE CONFEDERATES — POSITION OF THE CONFEDERATE 
 
 AR^y — IN THE WILDERNESS GRANT'S PROPOSED LINE OF 
 
 WARFARE — THE STORY OF A SEVERE STRUGGLE ADVANC- 
 ING AND RETREATING MOVING TOWARD RICHMOND SOME 
 
 SHREWD ENGINEERING — ON THE BANKS OF THE CHICKA- 
 HOMINY A TERRIBLE BATTLE LEE PROCEEDS TO RICH- 
 MOND — GRANT PROPOSES TO LAY SIEGE TO PETERSBURG 
 
 MINING THE ENEMY's WORKS — GRANT RECEIVES A VISITOR 
 
 '• NO SANITARY FOLKS WANTED " THE EXPEDITION TO 
 
 DEEP BOTTOM — THE SYMPATHY OF GRANT HIS LETTER TO 
 
 A LONELY HEART BUTLER ATTACKS FORT HARRISON A 
 
 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT A TRIBUTE FROM SCOTT 
 
 PHILADELPHIA PRESENTS HIM WITH A HOME. 
 
 The plans adopted for the spring campaign of 1864 
 were formed upon the assumption that the Federal armies 
 were not to consist, at the opening of the campaign, of 
 less than a million men. On the 1st of May they nom- 
 inally came within 30,000 of that number, but of these only 
 000,000 men were reported as " present for duty." Three 
 hundred and ten thousand of this force were in Virginia 
 and the Carolinas. The Confederate army had something 
 like 125,000 men in the same field. Grant's idea of the 
 artual condition of the Confederate array was stated in a 
 letter to the Hon. E, B. Washburne, as follows : 
 
 "They have in their ranks their last man. The little 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 129 
 
 boys and old men are guarding prisoners, guarding rail- 
 road bridges, and forming a good part of their garrisons 
 for intrenched positions. A man lost by them cannot be 
 replaced. Tltey have robbed the cradle and the grave 
 equally to get their present force. Besides what they lose 
 in frequent skirmishes and battles, they are now losing 
 from desertions and other causes at least one regiment 
 per day. 
 
 " With this drain upon them, the end is not far dis- 
 tant, if we will only be true to ourselves. Their only 
 hope now is in a divided North. This might give them 
 reinforcements from Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, and 
 Missouri, while it would weaken us. With the draft 
 quickly enforced, the enemy would become despondent, 
 and would make but little resistance. I have no doubt 
 but the enemy are exceedingly anxious to hold out until 
 after the Presidential election. They have many hopes 
 from its effects. 
 
 " They hope a counter revolution; they hope the election 
 of the peace candidate. In fact, like ' Micawber,' they 
 hope for something to ' turn up.' Our peace friends, if 
 they expect peace from separation, are much mistaken. 
 It would be but the beginning of war, with thousands of 
 Northern men joining the South because of their disgrace 
 in allowing separation. To have 'peace on any terms, 
 the South would demand the restoration of their slaves 
 already freed ; they would demand indemnity for losses 
 sustained ; and they would demand a treaty which would 
 make the North slave-hunters for the South. They would 
 demand pay for or the restoration of every slave escaping 
 to the North." 
 
 At this time there were two great Confederate armies 
 to be met and crushed — that of Lee, in Virginia, and that 
 of Johnston, in Georgia. Sherman was commissioned to 
 
130 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 undertake the latter task. His instructions from Grant 
 were : 
 
 " To move against Johnston's army, break it up, and 
 go into the interior of the enemy's country, as far as pos- 
 sible, inflicting all the damage that can be done upon their 
 war resources." 
 
 To General Meade he said : 
 
 " Lee's army is to be your objective point ; wherever 
 that goes, you must go." 
 
 The series of operations thus contemplated were to be 
 commenced simultaneously, and, as nearly as possible, on 
 the 1st of May. 
 
 During the winter the Confederate army of Northern 
 Virginia had lain in winter-quarters, occupying a distance 
 of some twenty miles on the south side of the Rapidan. 
 Although the position was naturally strong, yet they had 
 skilfully fortified it. In their front, every ford was com- 
 manded by rifle-pits, and intrenchments crowned every 
 hill-top. Lee, supposing that an attack would be made 
 upon his left, had massed the greater part of his forces at 
 that point. The corps commanded by Ewell and Hill 
 had taken position behind the defences of the Rapidan, 
 their centre being at Orange Court House. Longstreet 
 was at Gordonsville, some thirteen miles farther to the 
 southwest. 
 
 Rut Grant had decided to attack, not the leftj as Lee 
 had supposed, but the right wing of the army. His plan 
 was to force the enemy from his position, thinking that 
 could he do so, he might engage him in battle nearer 
 Richmond. 
 
 Rflbre daylight, on the morning of May 4th, the Army 
 of the Potomac were on the move. They proceeded in 
 two columns to the lower fords of the Rapidan. The 
 crossing was effected some ten miles from the nearest 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 131 
 
 camp of the enemy, so that Lee was unable, had he been 
 disposed, to prevent the passage. Lee thought that once 
 in the Wilderness he would certainly have Grant at a 
 disadvantage. During the preceding winter Lee had 
 caused accurate surveys to be made of the whole region, 
 and hence was familiar with all of it. Knowing that 
 Grant knew little or nothing concerning it, he believed 
 that with his 65,000 men he could easily defeat twice 
 that number, should they be brought against him. 
 
 On the evening of the 4th of May, Grant and Meade 
 had established their head-quarters at a roadside inn, near 
 the centre of the Wilderness. Early on the following 
 morning Warren was on the move, and was soon engaged 
 in battle with the enemy. Sedgwick and Hancock were 
 ordered to support him. The fighting was close and 
 furious, neither seeming to gain the advantage. At four 
 o'clock in the afternoon both armies drew back and in- 
 trenched themselves. During the night both commanders 
 laid their plans for an early attack on the following day. 
 Lee, however, made the first movement, throwing Ewell 
 against the Federal right. They were repelled, and Han- 
 cock at once proceeded to make an attack upon the Con- 
 federate right, by which movement Hill was forced a mile 
 and a half from his position. Longstreet coming to the 
 rescue, prevented further flight. The latter had been 
 ordered to make a flank movement, but while seeking to 
 carry out this order, he was severely wounded through a 
 mistake made by his own men, and his command fell 
 upon R. H. Anderson. The enemy then made an attack 
 upon Hancock, who succeeded in driving them back to 
 their own lines. The fighting thus far had been done 
 wholly with muskets, the nature of the ground rendering 
 it impossible to make use of either cavalry or artillery. 
 The loss which the Federal forces had sustained was 
 
132 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 about 15,000 killed and wounded, besides 5,000 prisoners. 
 The Confederates lost about 10,000 killed and wounded, 
 and a lew prisoners. Still the real advantage was on the 
 side of the former. 
 
 Dav after day the battle was renewed, each commander 
 lirndy resolved to force the other from his position. On 
 the 11th Grant sent the following despatch to the War 
 Department : 
 
 " We have now ended the sixth day of hard fighting. 
 The result to this day is much in our favor. Our losses 
 have been very heavy, as well as those of the enemy. / 
 l^ropose to fi'jlit it out on this line if it takes all simi- 
 vier." 
 
 Notwithstanding this determination. Grant was com- 
 pelled to fight it out on quite a different line, and it took 
 not only all sunnner, but until the following spring. 
 
 This assault upon Lee's left had showed that point to 
 be impregnable. There appeared, however, to be a weak 
 point in his centre, and accordingly a strong assault was 
 made upon it. Early in the morning, and under cover 
 of a dense fog, Hancock made the attack. Without firing 
 a shot the enemy's pickets were driven back, and ere long 
 the breastworks were carried. The defences had been 
 occupied by Johnson's division of Ewell's corps, num- 
 bering 4,000 men, three-quarters of whom were made 
 prisoners. Something like half a mile beyond this first 
 line of breastworks, a second had been laid out and partly 
 lortified. Here Ewell took a firm stand, being at once 
 reinforced by Hill and Anderson. The position thus 
 occupied was an important one to the Confederate army, 
 for if they were driven from it their whole line would be 
 severed. 
 
 Against this point the Federals threw themselves. A 
 severe battle followed, which continued all day and far 
 
133 
 
1.S4 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 into the night. In this struggle the greater part of both 
 armies engaged. Both were repeatedly driven from their 
 position, but at the end of the struggle they occupied 
 much the same ground that they did at the outset. The 
 Federal losses were very near 10,000 in killed and 
 wounded. The Confederate loss was much less. The 
 blow which had thus been struck, while it was indeed a 
 iieavy one, was not crushing. During the week which 
 followed. Grant endeavored to find some weak point in 
 the line of the enemy, but in vain. 
 
 On the morning of the 22d Lee was not a little sur- 
 prised to see no trace of the great army which for days 
 he had been fighting. He was not long in deciding whither 
 it had gone. He knew that they were already sweeping 
 on toward Richmond. He therefore at once broke up his 
 camps and hastened to throw himself across its line of 
 advance. After two days of marching. Grant reached 
 the North Anna, but Lee was there before him. Grant 
 immediately sent the commands of Hancock and Warren 
 across the river, at points four miles apart. Between 
 these two divisions Lee thrust his troops, thus preventing 
 them from co-operating. Seeing this movement. Grant 
 withdrew his troops. 
 
 The last of May beheld the Union forces on the banks 
 oi' tiie Chickaliominy, not far from the place where the 
 battle of Cold Harbor had been fought two years before. 
 Lee was there before him, and had strongly intrenched 
 himself Grant now determined to make an attack upon 
 tlie Confederates. Preliminary operations were com- 
 menced on the last day of May, but the real battle did 
 not commence until the 3d of June. The first blow was 
 struck by F. C. Barlow's division of Hancock's troops. 
 I'or a (piarter of an hour they fought, and then were 
 iorced to fall back, leaving half their number behind 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 135 
 
 them. Gibbon's division and Smith's division of the 
 Army of the James met with no better success. The 
 battle continued for nearly an hour, and then the attack 
 was abandoned. The loss of the Union forces was more 
 than double that of the Confederates. 
 
 The battle led to one important decision — that the 
 campaign must take the form of a siege of Richmond. 
 Two courses were now open to Grant : he might invest 
 the city from the north, or, crossing the Chickahominy 
 and the James, might besiege it from the south. He 
 adopted the latter plan. It was not really put into effect 
 until the 12th of June, at which time Warren's corps 
 crossed the Chickahominy by the Long Bridge, thus 
 masking the movements of the other corps, which 
 marched by longer routes. Smith's division proceeded 
 to the Pamunkey, and from thence sailed down the York 
 and up the James, uniting with Butler at Bermuda 
 Hundreds on the 14th. Lee, supposing ihat it was 
 Grant's purpose to advance upon Richmond by the north 
 bank of the James, crossed the Chickahominy and fell 
 back to the strong intrenchments in front of Richmond. 
 Lee's entire force numbered about 70,000 men, while 
 Grant's troops numbered 150,000. On the evening of 
 the loth the Union forces came in sight of the James, 
 A pontoon bridge had been laid partly across the river^ 
 by which and with the aid of boats the army crossed 
 over. Three days were occupied by the troops in cross- 
 ing. When this had been accomplished the army was 
 then in a position from which Grant proposed to proceed 
 against Richmond, although it took the form of the siege 
 of Petersburg, which lay some eighteen miles distant on 
 the opposite side of the James river. 
 
 The regular siege of Petersburg began in July, 1864. 
 
 General Grant had caused strong works to be built in the 
 9 
 
136 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GEANT. 
 
 front of those of the enemy. On the 25th of June a 
 series of mining operations were begun under the Con- 
 federate forts for the purpose of blowing them up. Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Pleasants was placed in charge of one of 
 these, and it was completed on the 22d of July. When 
 everything had been made ready Grant despatched Han- 
 cock to assist Foster in flanking the enemy at Deep 
 Bottom, and, pushing on to Chapin's Bluff, to threaten 
 Lee's line of communication across the river. This was 
 done. Lee, beholding that the danger which threatened 
 Richmond had greatly increased, withdrew five of his 
 
 eight remaining divisions to the 
 south side of the James. This 
 act presented Grant with a grand 
 opportunity for making an as- 
 sault. The first mine was ex- 
 ploded early on the morning of 
 July 30th, with terrible effect. 
 Where the fort had formed}^ 
 stood there was a crater of loose 
 earth, 200 feet in length, full 50 
 feet in width, and from 20 to 30 
 feet in depth. The fort, together 
 with its guns and other munitions of war and a garrison 
 of 300, were thrown into the air and destroyed. This 
 was followed by a heavy cannonading on the part of the 
 UiHon forces all along the line. Owing to some misun- 
 derstanding on the part of those to whom this work had 
 been intrusted, the result looked for was not accom- 
 ])hshed. The loss to the Union forces was indeed great. 
 One day, while Grant was encamped before Petersburg, 
 llio hostler observed a gaunt, spare-looking man, dressed 
 HH a civilian, approaching the rear of Grant's quarters. 
 This functionary, tliinking it to be some intermeddler, 
 called I,) Inm in a rather unceremonious way: 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 137 
 
 *'Hey, there!" 
 
 " Well ? " was the rejoinder. 
 
 " Keep out of there ! " 
 
 " Isn't this General Grant's tent?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 '^ Then I guess he'll see me." And he coolly walked 
 on while the hostler remarked under his breath some- 
 thing about " them Sanitary chaps being a confounded 
 nuisance." 
 
 Although General Grant had ever treated the repre- 
 sentatives of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions in 
 &. proper manner, yet there were those who did not regard 
 them with favor. Approaching the guard before the 
 I tent, the visitor was greeted with : 
 ! "No Sanitary folks allowed to go in there." 
 " I o;uess General Grant will see me." 
 " No, he won't." 
 " I mean to try." 
 
 " Well, I tell you he won't," growled the guard. " But 
 ^ if you want me to take in your name, I'll do it, I suppose." 
 " Very well ; you may do so." 
 "What's the name, then?" 
 " Abraham Lincoln !" 
 
 Had the whole Confederate army appeared that guard 
 ■could not have been more astonished than at the an- 
 nouncement of that name. As he stepped aside and 
 gave the military salute to the President as he passed, he 
 said : 
 
 " Yes, I reckon he'll see you.'' 
 
 A fortnight subsequent to the firing of the first mine 
 Grant sent an expedition, composed of the divisions of 
 Birney and Hancock, with cavalry under Gregg, to the 
 north side of the James, to a point known as Deep Bot- 
 tom. Here sharp engagements followed on the 13th, 
 
138 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 16th and 18th of August. By this movement the Union 
 forces lost 5,000 men, without gaining any special advan- 
 tage excepting the incidental one of giving assistance to 
 troops sent to seize the Weldon Railway, south of Peters- 
 burg. This was accomplished by General Warren on the 
 18th. Three days later he succeeded in repulsing a force 
 of the enemy which attempted to recapture that portion 
 of the road which they had lost. On the same day 
 (August 21st), General Hancock, having returned from 
 the north side of the James, struck the Weldon road 
 near Ream's station, and destroyed the track for some 
 distance. A short time after this the Union forces were 
 driven from the road, suffering considerable loss. For 
 more than a month following this both armies remained 
 comparatively quiet. The Union forces were then moved 
 simultaneously toward Petersburg and Richmond. 
 
 Some time previous to this. General McPherson, who 
 had been attached to General Sherman's army, was 
 killed near Atlanta, Georgia. The following correspond- 
 ence, which grew out of his death, will serve to give the 
 reader an idea of the sympathetic feeling which shone 
 ever in the life of General Grant : 
 
 " Clyde, Ohio, Aiujust M, 1864. 
 " To General Gh-ant : 
 
 " Dear Sir : I hope you will pardon me for troubling you with 
 the perusal of these few lines from the trembling hand of the 
 aged grandma of our beloved General James B. McPherson, who 
 fell in battle. When it was announced at his funeral, from the 
 public print, that when General Grant heard of his death, he went 
 into his tent and wept like a child, my heart went out in thanks 
 to you for the interest you manifested in him while he was with 
 you. I have watched his progress from infancy up. In child- 
 hood he was obedient and kind; in manhood, interesting, noble 
 and persevering, looking to the wants of others. Since he entered 
 the war others can appreciate his worth more than I can. When 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 1S9 
 
 it was announced to lis by telegraph that our loved one had fallen, 
 our hearts were almost rent asunder; but when we heard the 
 Commander-in-Chief could weep with us, too, we felt, sir, that you 
 have been a father to him, and this whole nation is mourning his 
 early death. I wish to inform you that his remains were con- 
 ducted by a kind guard to the very parlor where he spent a cheer- 
 ful evening in 1861 with his widowed mother, two brothers, an 
 only sister and his aged grandmother, who is now tr3nng to write. 
 In the morning he took leave at six o'clock, little dreaming he 
 should fall by a ball from the enem}^ His funeral services were 
 attended in his mother's orchard, where his youthful feet had 
 often pressed the soil to gather the falling fruit; and his remains 
 are resting in the silent grave scarce half a mile from the place of 
 his birth. His grave is on an eminence but a few rods from where 
 the funeral services were attended and near the grave of his father. 
 
 " The grave, no doubt, will be marked, so that passers-by will 
 often stop and drop a tear over the dear departed. And now, dear 
 friend, a few lines from you would be gratefully received by the 
 afflicted friends. I pray that the God of battles may be with 
 you and go forth with your arms till rebellion shall cease, the 
 Union be restored and the old flag wave over our entire land. 
 
 "With much respect, I remain your friend, 
 
 " Lydia S locum, 
 "Aged eighty-seven years and four months." 
 
 To this communication General Grant replied as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 f " Head-quarters Armies of the U. S., 
 1 " City Point, Va., Aicgust lOth, 1864. 
 "Mrs. Lydia Slocum : 
 
 " My Dear Madam : Your very welcome letter of the 3d instant 
 has reached me. I am glad to know that the relatives of the 
 lamented Major-General McPherson are aware of the more than 
 friendship existing between him and myself. A nation grieves at 
 the loss of one so dear to our nation's cause. It is a selfish grief, 
 because the nation had more to expect from him than from almost 
 any one living. I join in this selfish grief, and add the grief of 
 personal love for the departed. He formed, for some time, one of 
 my military family. I knew him well ; to know him was to love. 
 It may be some consolation to you, his aged grandmother, to know 
 
140 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 that every ofl&cer and every soldier who served under your grand- 
 son felt the highest reverence for his patriotism, his zeal, his 
 great, almost unequalled ability, his amiability and all the manly 
 virtues that can adorn a commander. Your bereavement is great, 
 but cannot exceed mine. 
 
 " Yours truly, " U. S. Grant." 
 
 
 On the 29th of September, General Butler, at the head 
 of the corps commanded by Birney and Ord, moved upon 
 and captured Fort Harrison. The troops also charged 
 upon another fort near by, but were repulsed with heavy 
 loss. In this attack General Burnham was killed and 
 Ord was severely wounded. In honor of General Burn- 
 ham, the captured works were named Fort Burnham. In 
 these assaults the bravery of the colored troops was con- 
 spicuous. In the meantime Meade had sent Generals 
 Warren and Parker, with two divisions of troops each, to 
 attempt the extension of the Union left to the Weldon 
 road and beyond. It was a feint intended to aid Butler's 
 movement on the north side of the James, but resulted 
 in severe fighting on the 1st and 2d of October, with 
 varying fortunes for both armies. This effort was fol- 
 lowed by another pause, although not what might be 
 termed a settled rest, for the period of nearly two months. 
 In the meantime Sheridan had performed that wonderful 
 feat known as '• the ride to Winchester," and Sherman 
 was engaged in his " march to the sea." Both these ef- 
 forts served to weaken the strength of the enemy in their 
 respective fields and the army as a whole. On the 27th 
 of October the Union forces assailed Lee's works on 
 Hatcher's Run, which lay to the west of the Weldon road. 
 The battle was a severe one, and the Union army was re- 
 pulsed, and two days later withdrew to their intrench- 
 nicnts before Petersburg. Very little was done by the 
 Army of the Potomac until the opening of the spring 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 141 
 
 campaign in 1865. While these events were transpiring 
 General Grant received the following communication from 
 the President : 
 
 " Lieutenant-General Grant : Not expecting to see you be- 
 fore the spring campaign opens, I wish to express, in this way, my 
 entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, so 
 far as I understand it. The particulars of your plans I neither 
 know nor seek to know. You are vigilant and self-reliant, and, 
 pleased with this, I Avish not to obtrude any restraints or con- 
 straints upon you. While I am very anxious that any great dis- 
 aster or capture of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I 
 know that these points arc less likely to escape your attention 
 than they would be mine. If there be anything which is within 
 my power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And now, with 
 a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain you. 
 
 "Yours very truly, "A. Lincoln." 
 
 The following was Grant's reply : 
 
 " The President : Your very kind letter of yesterday is just re- 
 ceived. The confidence you express for the future, and satisfaction 
 for the past, in my military administration is acknowledged with 
 pride. It shall be my earnest endeavor that you and the country 
 shall notbe disappointed. From my first entrance into the volunteer 
 service of the country to the present day I have never had cause of 
 complaint, have never expressed or implied a complaint against 
 the Administration or the Secretary of War for throwing any em- 
 barrassment in the way of my vigorously prosecuting what ap- 
 l^eared to be my duty. Indeed, since the promotion which placed 
 me in command of all the armies, and in view of the great re- 
 sponsibility and importance of success, I have been astonished at 
 the readiness with which everything asked for has been yielded, 
 without even an explanation being asked. 
 
 "Should my success be less than I desire and expect, the least 
 I can say is, the fault is not with you. 
 
 " Very truly, your obedient servant, 
 
 "U. S. Grant, Lieutenant- GeneraV 
 
 During the winter of 1864-65 Grant paid a visit to 
 
142 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GEAXT. 
 
 Washington during the session of Congress and received 
 a most flattering reception from both the House and the 
 Senate. A visit was also paid to New York, where he 
 was received with great enthusiasm. Calling on General 
 Scott, the old hero presented Grant with a copy of his 
 autobiography, on the fly-leaf of which was written: 
 
 ''From the oldest to the ahlest (jeneral in the world, 
 " WiNFiELD Scott." 
 
 Philadelphia was also visited. Although the visit was 
 
 a brief one, still it was 
 one of marked interest. 
 Throughout the time in 
 which he was connected 
 with the army, and particu- 
 larly during the time in 
 whicli he held the position 
 of L i e u t o n a n t-Ge n e r a 1, 
 General Grant was deeply 
 interested in every move- 
 ment which was designed 
 GKXKUAL WINFIELD SCOTT. to aid and relieve the sol- 
 diers. One of the most powerful organizations for this pur- 
 pose was the Cliristian Commission. It performed a grand 
 work, and General Grant gave its officers and representa- 
 tives from time to time such assistance as lay in his power. 
 Sucli service was greatly appreciated by those who were 
 the leaders of the movement, and it became an almost 
 universal desire upon the part of Christian workers con- 
 nected with the work to show their appreciation of such 
 service in some substantial way. To George H. Stuart, of 
 Philadelphia, is to be given the honor of conceiving the 
 idea of purchasing a home for the General and his family. 
 
THE CIVIL WAK. 143 
 
 "It is really too bead," said Mr. Stuart upon one occa- 
 sion, "that one who has served his country so faithfully 
 should not possess some substantial gift from the people." 
 
 The proposition advanced met with ready supporters, 
 and a committee was soon appointed for tlie purpose of 
 collecting funds for this purpose. The committee was 
 composed of the following gentlemen, residents of Phila- 
 delphia : A. E. Borie, of McKean, Borie & Co. ; William 
 C. Kent, of James, Kent, Santee & Co. ; Davis Pierson ; 
 Edward C. Knight, of E. C. Knight & Co. ; George Whit- 
 ney, of Asa Whitney & Sons; and James Graham, of 
 James Graham & Co. 
 
 It was a much easier task to raise the money than to 
 find a suitable building. At length that at 2009 Chest- 
 nut street was selected. It was a four-storied, thirteen- 
 roomed building, substantially built of brick, with brown- 
 stone dressings, with balcony beneath the windows of the 
 first floor. The building cost $32,000. The entire cost, 
 including furniture, etc., was $53,000. The purchase 
 having been made, a letter informing General Grant was 
 at once sent him. To this the General returned the fol- 
 lowing reply : 
 
 f Head-quarters Armies of the U. S. 
 1 City Point, Va., Jan. Ath, 1865. 
 Messrs. Geo. H. Stuart, A. E. Borie, William 0. Kent, E. 0. Knight, 
 Davis Pierson, George }Vhitney and James Graham, Committee : 
 Gentlemen : Through you the loyal citizens of Philadelphia 
 have seen fit to present me with a house, lot and furniture in your 
 beautiful city. The letter notifying me of this is just received. 
 
 It is with feelings of gratitude and pride that I accept this sub- 
 stantial testimonial of the esteem of your loyal citizens. Grati- 
 tude, because it is evidence of a deep-set determination on the 
 part of a large number of citizens that this war shall go on until 
 the Union is restored. Pride, that my humble efforts in so great 
 •a cause should attract such a token from a city of strangers to me. 
 I will not predict the day when we will be at peace again, with 
 
144 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the Union restored. But that that day will come is as sure as the 
 rising of to-morrow's sun, I have never doubted this in the 
 darkest days of this dark and terrible rebellion. 
 
 Until this happy day of peace does come my family will occupy 
 and enjoy your magnificent present. But until that I do not ex- 
 pect nor desire to see much of the enjoyments of a home fireside. 
 I have the honor to be, with great respect, 
 
 Your obedient servant, U. S. Grant, 
 
 Lieutenant- General U. S. A. 
 
 As soon as opportunity offered, therefore, Grant, ac- 
 companied by his family, proceeded to Philadelphia to 
 take possession of their new home. They were met by 
 Messrs. Stuart and Borie, and at once driven to 2009 
 Chestnut street. Here everything had been provided to 
 give them a hearty welcome. An elaborately carved box 
 containing the deed of the place was presented by Mr. 
 Stuart with these words : 
 
 " General Grant, as you are a man of deeds and not of 
 words, I have great pleasure as chairman of a committee 
 on behalf of the loyal citizens of Philadelphia to present 
 you with this deed, which conveys to you the right, title 
 to this property and all it contains. I hope that you 
 may live long to enjoy it and that the blessings of God 
 may rest upon you and your family through life." 
 
 When the General rose to reply he was too much af- 
 fected to give utterance to his feelings. Said Mr. Stuart : 
 " I never saw him cry but that once. His eyes were suf- 
 fused with tears. All that I can remember of what he 
 said after he had sufficiently mastered his emotion is : 
 ' Gentlemen, I am unable to give expression to my feelings 
 for this most unexpected and undeserved gift of your 
 citizens.' " 
 
 Alter this luncheon was served in the dining-hall. For 
 three weeks General Grant made his home here until 
 called elsewhere by important duties. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PREPARING FOR A FINAL MOVEMENT LEE ATTACKS GRANT 
 
 JEFF DAVIS RECEIVES A DISPATCH " RICHMOND MUST 
 
 BE EVACUATED TO-NIGHT " AN EXCITING SCENE RICH- 
 MOND OCCUPIED BY UNION TROOPS — LINCOLN VISITS RICH- 
 MOND "glory! glory!" grant pursues LEE SHER- 
 IDAN INTERCEPTS LEE THE LATTER FLEES GRANT 
 
 PURSUES — HIS LETTER TO LEE LEE's REPLY DARING 
 
 CUSTER APPOMATTOX — LEE's SURRENDER WHAT GEN- 
 ERAL MAHONE said of the SURRENDER LEE's LAST 
 
 ORDER A UNION SOLDIER's DESCRIPTION OF THE CLOSING 
 
 SCENE OF THE WAR. 
 
 On the 24th of March General Grant prepared for 
 a grand final movement, and a general attack was ar- 
 ranged for the 29th. On the 25th, General Lee made 
 an attack upon Fort Steadman, hoping to capture it, 
 and afterward to cut Grant's line of supplies, or if he 
 failed in the latter attempt, to escape from Petersburg 
 and unite his army with that of Johnston. It was cer- 
 tainly a bold move to make, and one which Lee never 
 would have entertained had he not been driven to do so 
 by sheer desperation. At daylight the attack was made. 
 The Union forces were taken by surprise, and hence were 
 unprepared to resist the onset. Several batteries were 
 captured, and for a time the enemy were victorious. But 
 the " Boys in Blue" soon rallied and were on the enemy's 
 flank, and not only recaptured their guns, but succeeded 
 in taking some nineteen hundred prisoners. This was 
 
 (145) 
 
146 LIFE OF GENERAL GEAXT. 
 
 promptly followed up by an assault upon the works of the 
 enemy, which were carried, and successfully held, not- 
 withstanding the effort made to recover the lost ground. 
 
 After having partaken of his breakfast at City Point, 
 on the 29th of March, Grant, accompanied by his staff, 
 set out for the front, which was some eighteen miles dis- 
 tant. The party reached Dinwiddle Court House at about 
 five in the afternoon. The expected supplies not having 
 arrived on account of the wagons having become stuck in 
 the mud, the soldiers v/ent supperless to sleep upon the 
 ground, wiiile the General and his staff found repose on 
 the floor of the tavern, which, for the time being, was used 
 for his head-quarters. Throughout the following day the 
 rain fell in torrents, rendering an advance impossible. 
 Sheridan, however, a little distance away, led his lines to 
 Five Forks, which point he held the next day. Warren 
 advanced to co-operate with him, but was driven back by 
 a heavy infantry force against which it was impossible to 
 stand. A severe cavalry attack was made at the same 
 time upon Sheridan, and he too was forced to fall back. 
 On the following morning Sheridan advanced from Din- 
 widdie and made an attack upon the Confederate line of 
 infantry. There was a large force in front of him, and at 
 one time it seemed as if he must be defeated. But at that 
 moment Sheridan spurred to the front, and inspiring a 
 fresh courage, led the wavering troops again forward. 
 For a time the enemy fought like madmen, and then the 
 nerve which hitherto had sustained them disappeared. In 
 the midst of their exertions they suddenly realized that 
 they were surrounded. More than five thousand of them 
 threw down their arms, and thus a signal victory was 
 gained for the Union forces. 
 
 Oil tlie following Sunday, as Jefferson Davis sat in 
 chiu-cli, the I'ollowiug dispatch was handed him : 
 
i 
 
 ~^~7^ ^^T'^w- 
 
 
 
 tji—- 
 
 (147 
 
14S LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 " The enemy has broken my line in three places. Rich- 
 mond must he evacuated to-night^ 
 
 As he read the words his cheek blanched. Nothing 
 could have surprised him more than this. He at once 
 left the church, and began to take measures for his per- 
 gonal safety. At eight o'clock that night he was seen 
 boarding the cars, taking his horse and carriage in case 
 an emergency should arise, and was soon whirling away 
 from Richmond, 
 
 Although none of the people knew the purport of the 
 intelligence which Davis had received at the time of his 
 leaving the church, it was not long before it began to be 
 whispered abroad. Every moment tlie excitement in- 
 creased until the streets of the city were literally packed 
 with a frightened populace, and the Sabbath, which opened 
 so quietly, closed in the wildest excitement and terror. 
 Says one, speaking of the scene : 
 
 " Army wagons, loaded with boxes and trunks, drove 
 furiously toward the Danville depot ; pale women and 
 ragged children streamed after, going they knew not 
 whither; excited men filled the air with blasphemies, 
 while the more desperate surged up around the commissary 
 depots, awaiting the signal for pillage. There was no 
 order — no attempt on the part of any one to enforce it." 
 
 The Virginia legislature took passage on a canal-boat 
 for Lynchburg. Workmen took the advantage of the 
 excitement and demanded fabulous prices for services ren- 
 dered. As high as one hundred dollars in gold an hour 
 were demanded. All through the night the work of 
 destruction was carried on in Richmond. Government 
 ]ir()i)erty was destroyed, shipping burned, iron-clads and 
 fortifications blown up, and finally the torch was applied 
 to the city itself 
 
 The fire was raging furiously, when, at eight o'clock on 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 149 
 
 the following day, General Weitzel entered the city with 
 some forty Union cavalrymen. No opposition being 
 made, he at once proceeded to take possession of the city. 
 The Palmetto flag of the Confederacy, which had floated 
 from the dome of the capitol, was hauled down, and in its 
 place there floated the grand old flag of the Republic. 
 The infantry was not far behind, and marching to the 
 State House, stacked their arms, ran out the fire-engines, 
 and endeavored to extinguish the flames. General Weit- 
 zel at once telegraphed Secretary Stanton as follows : 
 
 " We took Richmond at 8.15 this morning. I captured 
 many guns. Tiie enemy left in great haste. The city is 
 on fire in one place ; am making every efibrt to put it 
 out. General Grant started early this morning with the 
 army towards the Danville road, to cut off Lee's retreating 
 army if possible. President Lincoln has gone to the front." 
 
 When President Lincoln heard of the fall of Richmond 
 he was at City Point, and at once started for that city, 
 wdiere he arrived on the morning following its occupa- 
 tion. He entered the city with his son, Commodore Por- 
 ter, and a few sailors who rowed him to the wharf. They 
 all started on foot, the President as well as the others. 
 There were but few who knew him, but soon his presence 
 became widely known, and as he passed along the streets 
 the negroes, old and young, gathered around him, some 
 shouting and laughing, and giving expression to their 
 delight in many ways. Exclamations like the following 
 came from that joyous people : " Glory to God ! glory to 
 God ! glory, glory ! " "I thank you, dear Jesus, dat I be- 
 hold President Linkum." " Bress de Lor'! Bress de 
 Lor' ! " " May de good Lor' bress you, President Linkum! " 
 Mr. Lincoln raised his hat in silence, and, as if much 
 affected, passed on. He returned to Washington that 
 afternoon, but in a few days went back to Richmond, ac- 
 
mo 
 
 LIFE or GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 I 
 
 companied by his wife, several Senators and other friends. 
 The Confederate forces were now fleeing. Grant took 
 one brief stroll through Petersburg, and then pushed on 
 after the retreating Lee. It was Lee's purpose to reach 
 
 Dauvil 
 To pre 
 fantrv 
 
 le, and ihnn thence join Johnston, near Raleigh 
 vent this. Grant dispatched Sheridan with both in- 
 and cavah-y. Leaving the former to follow, Slier 
 
THE CIVIL WAK. 161 
 
 idan dashed on with his brave horsemen. At five o'clock 
 on Tuesday, April 4th, Sheridan had reached Jetersville, 
 and Lee was at Amelia Court House. When Sheridan 
 learned this fact he knew that the plan he had been fol- 
 lowing had succeeded — that Lee had been intercepted. 
 
 When he discovered this fact, he at once set his troops 
 to work throwing up intrenchments, and also despatched 
 a messenger to the head-quarters for assistance. This was 
 given him promptly, and at two o'clock the men who had 
 gone to bed tired and supperless were roused and ordered 
 to march at once. Sheridan was awake with the day, 
 expecting to be thus early attacked. But no attack was 
 made, and Sheridan began to fear lest Lee was seeking to 
 escape in a northerly direction. He therefore sent out a 
 detachment for reconnoissance, under Davis, to prevent 
 such a movement should it be made. In carrying out 
 this order Davis fell upon a Confederate train, destroyed 
 nearly two hundred wagons and took a thousand prisoners, 
 although such a result was only secured by hard fighting. 
 Sheridan at once informed Grant of the result. When the 
 soldiers heard the order read cheer after cheer arose from 
 the regiments. The brave fellows seized their muskets 
 and prepared to march at once. At eleven o'clock that 
 night Grant entered Sheridan's head-quarters. Although 
 Sheridan had retired, he at once arose, and, while supper 
 was being prepared, explained to Grant the exact position 
 of the enemy. 
 
 Early on the following morning the troops were on the 
 move. It was found that Lee was pushing northward, 
 seeking to escape the threatened attack. To prevent this 
 General Ord had advanced to Farmville, from which place 
 he had sent out a cavalry force to burn the bridges. 
 Encountering the head of Lee's army, they received a 
 severe blow. Reinforcements coming up, the enemy were 
 
 10 
 
152 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 repulsed. Sheridan pressed hard after Lee, and came 
 upon him near Sailor's creek, and, by making a sudden 
 charge, succeeded in capturing sixteen guns and some 
 four hundred wagons. Later, when a more general attack 
 was made, he succeeded in taking six or seven thousand 
 prisoners, including a large number of general officers. 
 
 Early the next day Sheridan pushed on after the still 
 fleeing army. The Confederate troops were now all on 
 the north side of the Appomattox. In despair of ever 
 getting through the enhxrgement of Union forces, which 
 appeared on every hand, they at once went into camp, 
 and proceeded to intrench themselves about five miles 
 north of Farniville. On the same day Grant sent Lee 
 the following letter by General Seth Williams, under flag 
 
 of truce : 
 
 April 1th, 1865. 
 General R. E. Lee, Commanding Confederate States Armies: 
 
 General : The result of the last week must convince you of the 
 hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of 
 Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard 
 it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further 
 effusion of blood, by asking of you the surrender of that portion 
 of the Confederate States Army known as the Army of Northern 
 Virginia. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 U. S. Grant, 
 Lieutenant-Gaieral, Commanding Armies of the United States. 
 
 Just before daylight on the following day General Wil- 
 liams returned with the followinc; reply : 
 
 April 7th, 1865. 
 Td biEUTENANT-GENEKAL U. S. Grant, Commanding Armies of the 
 United States : 
 Genej{al: I have received your note of this date. Though not 
 entirely of the opinion you express of the hopelessness of further 
 resistance on the part of the Amry of Northern Virginia, I recipro- 
 cate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and therefore, 
 before considering your proposition, ask the terms you offer, on 
 coiidiiioii of ii.s surrender. R. E. Lee, General. 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 158 
 
 To this General Grant at once replied as follows: 
 
 April 8th, 1865. 
 To General R. E. Lee, Commanding Confederate States Army: 
 
 General : Your note of last evening, in reply to mine of same 
 date, asking the conditions on which I will accept the surrender 
 of the Army of Northern Virginia, is just received. In reply, I 
 would say, that peace being my first desire, there is but one con- 
 dition that I insist upon, viz. : 
 
 That the men surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up 
 arms against the Government of the United States until properly 
 exchanged. 
 
 I will meet you, or designate officers to meet any officers you 
 may name, for the purpose of arranging definitely the terms upon 
 which the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia will be 
 received. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 U. S. Grant, 
 Lieutenant- General, Commanding A^^mies of the United States. 
 
 In the meantime Grant did not consider anything as 
 settled, and was still pushing hard after the fleeing foe. 
 Sheridan, who was stationed at Prospect Station, learned 
 that several trains of supplies had reached Appomattox 
 Station, which was some twenty-five miles away, and were 
 there awaiting the arrival of Lee. Custer was at once 
 despatched to capture the trains, and he soon had the 
 entire group surrounded and captured. The trains were 
 then sent duly guarded to Farmville. This done, an 
 attack was made upon a battery which had been estab- 
 lished in the woods near by, and this, being unable to 
 resist the furious onset made by Custer's brave troops, 
 soon passed into the hands of the victorious forces. By 
 this movement twenty-five guns and over a thousand 
 prisoners were captured. Those who succeeded in making 
 their escape rushed in the direction of Appomattox Court 
 House. On the evening of the 8th General Grant re- 
 ceived the following communication from General Lee : 
 
1,54 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Ajiril Sth, 1865. 
 
 To Lieutenant-General Grant, Commanding Armies of the United 
 States. 
 General: I received, at a late hour, your note of to-day. In 
 mine of yesterday I did not intend to propose the surrender of the 
 Army of Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of your proposi- 
 tion. To be frank, I do not think the emergenc}^ has risen to 
 call for the surrender of this army ; but as the restoration of peace 
 should be the sole object of all, I desired to know whether your 
 proposals would lead to that end. I cannot, therefore, meet you 
 with a view to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia ; but as 
 far as your proposal may affect the Confederate States forces under 
 my connnand, and tend to the restoration of peace, I should be 
 pleased to meet you at 10 a. m. to-morrow on the old stage road 
 to Richmond, between the picket lines of the two armies. 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 R. E. Lee, 
 General, Commanding Confederate States Armies. 
 
 To this Grant at once made answer : 
 
 April 9th, 1865. 
 General R. E. Lee, Commanding, etc. : 
 
 General : Your note of yesterday is received. As I have nO' 
 authority to treat on the subject of peace, the meeting proposed 
 for 10 A. M. to-day could lead to no good. I will state, however, 
 General, that I am equally anxious for peace with yourself, and 
 the whole North entertains the same feeling. The terms upon 
 Avhich peace can be had are well understood. By the South lay- 
 ing down their arms they will hasten that most desirable event^ 
 save thousands of human lives and hundreds of milHons of 
 proi)erty not yet destroyed. Sincerely hoping that all our difh- 
 culties may be settled without the loss of another life, I subscribe 
 myself, etc., U. S. Grant, 
 
 Lieutenant- General, U. S. A. 
 
 The end of a long and bloody conflict was now rapidly 
 approaching. General Mahone, who was a prominent actor 
 m the closing scenes of the Rebellion, gives the following 
 account of the last struggles of a dying Confederacy : 
 
 " Our next move was to cross the Appomattox. I took 
 
THE SUKllEXDEll OF GENERAL LEE- 
 
 155 
 
156 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 my command to High Bridge, three miles from Farmville^ 
 where there were two bridges, one the high railroad bridge 
 and another an improvised wagon bridge. I met Gen- 
 erals Gordon and Anderson near High Bridge, after mov- 
 ing my men over, and had a talk with them. They 
 believed that the defeat at Sailor's creek had settled the 
 fate of the Confederacy. I agreed with them that our 
 army was ruined. I told them that I thought the officer 
 next in command to General Lee should see him quickly, 
 and inform him that it was the judgment of his officers 
 that we were beaten. It was agreed that General Ander- 
 son should go immediately to General Longstreet and 
 have him tell Lee our views. About two o'clock on the 
 morning of the 7th I left the conference and went over 
 the river to look after my division. All that was known 
 of Lee's movements was that he would cross over to 
 Farmville and unite with us not far from that place, and 
 we would continue the retreat toward Lynchburg. I 
 made a reconnoissance of the roads in the dark and re- 
 turned to High Bridge about daylight. The enemy's 
 skirmish lines w^ere advancing toward the bridge, which, 
 contrary to orders, had been burned. 
 
 •■A brigade was sent out to check the advance of the 
 Federal skirmishers. I had found a road leading to 
 Cumberland Church, ^vhich joined the main road over 
 which Lee was expected to approach. I formed my divis- 
 ion in line of battle and received an order from General 
 Lee to hold the enemy back. General Miles commanded 
 the advance of the Union forces, and he attacked me and 
 we repulsed him ; but this temporary victory closed our 
 short line of battle, and he manoeuvred with his superior 
 force to turn our flank. I ran out a battery of artillery 
 on the flank I saw he was endeavoring to turn, and in a 
 sliort time he had captured our guns. Just then, fortu- 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 157 
 
 nately, the advance of Lee's forces came up, and a North 
 Carolina division, containing about a full regiment of 
 men, charged the Federals and recaptured the guns. 
 
 " Lee and Longstreet soon came up in force. During 
 the afternoon General Miles marched a brigade around 
 our flank and got in my rear. While he was executing 
 that movement I marched two brigades in the rear of 
 Miles' men and attacked them savagely. We nearly an- 
 nihilated the brigade, killing over 700 men in the action. 
 In the meantime Anderson had communicated with Long- 
 street, and, while I knew nothing of what had taken 
 place, it was evident from the action of Longstreet and 
 Lee that the former had broached the subject of sur- 
 render, and that the latter would not entertain the prop- 
 osition. 
 
 " That night, while I was preparing to cover the retreat 
 of our army, about ten o'clock, I saw a ball of fire sus- 
 pended over the head-quarters of the Union forces, which 
 meant a flag of truce. I obtained j)ermission to receive 
 the flag, and sent a detachment with my provost marshal 
 to meet the truce party. When the provost returned I 
 was resting myself in a negro cabin in the church. 
 
 " * I have a letter for General Lee,' he said. 
 
 " ' Yes, and I know what that means,' was my answer. 
 
 " ' It is a demand for the surrender of the Confederate 
 army.' 
 
 " I subsequently learned from General Grant himself 
 that this letter, demanding the surrender, was written on 
 the hotel porch in Farmville. 
 
 " We marched all night and the next day until about 
 four o'clock in the afternoon, when we went into camp 
 three miles south of ApjDomattox Court House. Long- 
 street and Gordon were in front, and my division and 
 General Fields' division were drawn in line of battle to 
 
158 LIFE OF GENERAL GRAXT. 
 
 cover the rear. At daylight we moved to Appomattox 
 and then halted. I received a message from Lee to come 
 to the front. I found him just this side of the court 
 house, with Longstreet and his staff, warming themselves 
 by a fire. Lee asked his staff to retire, and then he said 
 that he had sent for me because he was in trouble. 
 
 " ' Well, what is the matter now ? ' I asked. 
 
 " ' I suppose you know that Grant has demanded our 
 surrender,' he replied. 
 
 " ' No, I do not know it, but I suspected it,' was my 
 answer. 
 
 " ' Well, he has demanded our surrender, and I want 
 to know what you think about it. We have only 8,000 
 muskets and two organized bodies — yours and Fields'.' 
 
 " ' I take your purpose, General Lee, to be to effect a 
 junction with Johnston in West North Carolina?' 
 
 " ' Yes, sir,' said the general. 
 
 "'Li my judgment,' said I, 'this junction can be 
 formed only in one of two ways — first to cut through the 
 enemy's lines and fight our way out, and that can only 
 be done at a great cost of life. If successful we will only 
 have a mere remnant of the army left, and that remnant 
 cannot be recruited and equipped by a government in a 
 wagon. I cannot see how you could supply an army with 
 munitions and rations. We have another chance to get 
 to Lynchburg, but we will certainly be harassed every 
 step of the way, and when we get there we will be still 
 farther away from Johnston.' I told him that the time 
 had come when I thought he was called upon to perform 
 the highest duty that could devolve upon an individual, to 
 iiii-lergo a test of the highest degree of manhood; that the 
 tmu' had come when, in my judgment, it was his duty to 
 siiiTciider the army; that I believed it would be a crime 
 under the circumstances to sacrifice the life of another man. 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 159 
 
 I told him that if the terms offered by General Grant 
 were such as we were entitled to receive I should surren- 
 der immediately. If not I would fight it out here. He 
 then handed me General Grant's letter containing the 
 proposed terms of surrender. 1 read it and told him 
 that I thought the terms were as honorable as could be 
 asked by a defeated army. Lee turned questioningly to 
 Longstreet, who simply said : ' I agree with Mahone.' 
 
 "^ What will the country say?' asked Lee. 
 
 " ' You are the country now,' I answered. ' Our people 
 will approve.' He said he did not know where to find 
 Grant. I told him to get on his horse and hunt him up. 
 He left Longstreet in command of the army and rode away 
 in search of the Federal commander, accompanied only 
 by a courier. I went back to my division, which Fields 
 had put in line of battle, and told him what had occurred 
 at the front. 
 
 " To avoid another engagement we sent out a flag of 
 truce. When the men formed in line they began digging 
 trenches and otherwise arranging for what they supposed 
 to be an impending battle. They were ordered to stop 
 work. It was the first order of the kind they had 
 ever received under such circumstances. The soldiers 
 seemed to understand what it meant without knowing 
 anything of the events of the past twenty-four hours. 
 As by instinct they realized that the war had come to an 
 end. Some of the men began to cry, others threw their 
 arms in joy around the necks of their comrades. Many 
 of them broke their sword blades and threw away their 
 bayonets. I hastened out of sight of this affecting scene 
 ■and rejoined General Lee at a little stream near Appo- 
 mattox Court House. Colonels Taylor and Stevens and 
 several other officers were with him. I had scarcely 
 reached the general's side when I saw a Union officer 
 
160 LIFE or GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 riding down the road from the court house, accompanied 
 by a courier. He approached within a hundred feet of 
 General Lee, at the same time saluting him, removing his 
 hat, and took a note from his pocket, which General Tay- 
 lor received and carried to General Lee. He read the 
 note and answered it, and the Union officer rode back to 
 the Federal head-quarters. General Lee stood in the dirt 
 road. He took the note, tore it up in little pieces and 
 threw them upon the ground and with his heel stamped 
 them under the dirt and out of sight. I mounted my 
 horse and rode away, and General Lee went to meet 
 General Grant. That is all I saw of the surrender." 
 The answer to the communication which Lee received 
 
 was as follows : 
 
 I Head-quarters Army of Northern Va. 
 
 1 April 9th, 1865. 
 
 Lieut- General U.S. Grant, Commanding U. S. Armies: 
 
 General : I have received your letter of this date, containing 
 the terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, as pro- 
 posed by you ; as they are substantially the same as those ex- 
 pressed m your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I 
 will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipula- 
 tions into effect. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 R. E. L., General. 
 
 At two o'clock on Sunday, April 9th, the two com* 
 manders met in a house owned by one McLean, and there 
 discussed the terms upon which the proposed surrender 
 was to be made. At half-past three the articles of cap- 
 itulation were signed and Lee's army received as prisoners 
 of war. Lee's last order to his faithful soldiers was as 
 follows : 
 
 I Head-quarters Army Northern Virginia. 
 ( April 10th, 1865. 
 
 General Order No. 9 
 
 After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 161 
 
 courage and fortitude, tlio Army of Northern Virginia has been 
 compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I 
 need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard-fought battles, 
 who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to 
 the result from no distrust of them. But, feeling that valor and 
 devotion could accomplish nothing that would compensate for the 
 loss that must have attended the continuance of the contest, I de- 
 termined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services 
 have endeared them to their countrymen. By the terms of the 
 agreement, officers and men can return to their home and remain 
 until they are exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction 
 that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, 
 and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you this 
 mercy and protection. 
 
 With an increasing admiration of your constancy and devotion 
 to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and 
 generous considerations for myself, I bid you all an affectionate 
 farewell. R. E. Lee, General. 
 
 One of the " Boys in Blue " thus describes the closing 
 scenes of the war as he saw it : 
 
 " General Custer is now the most conspicuous man on 
 the field. He rides out from the charging column, ob- 
 served by all. He meets a Confederate. A white flag is 
 triumphantly waved in his right hand as he dashes back 
 to his command; the halt is sounded and a wild shout of 
 joy went out from the throats of thousands of brave men 
 that filled the air for many minutes. Huzzah after huz- 
 zah, cheer after cheer rolled back to and was quickly 
 caught up by the thirty thousand infantry — Fifth, Twenty- 
 fourth and one division of the Twenty-fifth Army Corps, 
 who justly shared the honors of the hour, as they doubt- 
 less did the delight of all, which was simply boundless 
 and indescribable. It was the surrender of Lee and the 
 end of the war. 
 
 " The culmination of hopes long deferred through years 
 of defeats and drawn battles burst upon grim-visaged vet- 
 
162 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 erans, whose hearts throbbed with a joy that honorable 
 pride, the absence of further peril, a speedy return to 
 homes, waiting loved ones, and the triumphant unity of 
 our country alone could give. The crisis of the stupen- 
 dous reality reached and passed, the reaction was sudden 
 and profoundly emotional. The scenes and incidents re- 
 sulting from the suspension of hostilities between lines of 
 hostile troops, while waiting several hours for the arrange- 
 ment of terms and details between Grant and Lee, were 
 of the most memorable character. None seemed more 
 deeply affected than the trained officers and old veterans 
 of the regular army. We recall with distinctness the emo- 
 tions and tearful jo\' of General Alfred Gibbs, then in 
 command of the Reguhir Brigade First, Second, Fifth and 
 Sixth United States Cavalry. The noble man was wholly 
 broken up, choked with every word and finally wept like 
 a child. The conduct of this officer was by no means ex- 
 ceptional ; the eyes of tiie best and bravest moistened, and 
 the strongest and stoniest hearts were moved by generous 
 impulses that went out to and sought opportunities to 
 fraternize with the rank and file of the equally brave men, 
 whose cause — a cause for which they had made such 
 frightful sacrifices — had gone out forever in smoke and 
 flame now ended. 
 
 "The visible dividing line between ecstatic joy and 
 nameless grief separated the blue and gray for the hours 
 we waited in arms the announcement of the surrender, 
 and when this was accomplished both armies went into 
 camp side by side. The line was crossed ; intercourse 
 between all was free and cordial. Food was given to the 
 hungry, drink to the thirsty and comfort to those oppressed 
 with the natural chagrin felt by the surrendered men 
 and officers, one of whom said to the writer and others, 
 *You can return to your Northern homes of peace in 
 
THE CIVIL WAR 165 
 
 honor beneath the flag you fought under. We now have 
 no Confederate flag; it is lost; our pride is grievously 
 wounded and our homes are full of sorrow,' and, over- 
 come with suppressed emotions that seemed, as he thought, 
 to unman him for the moment, he turned away from us 
 to recover his self-possession. 
 
 "The terms of surrender, the 'only terms' other than 
 that of ' unconditional ' surrender, then made by Grant 
 were of the most considerate and honorable character. 
 No formal surrender of the sword of Lee was exacted, no 
 parade of captives through the open ranks of victorious 
 troops ; the retention of side arms by officers, with the 
 horses of the whole command and all material that could 
 be converted to the utilities of peaceful pursuits were con- 
 ceded them. The arms and munitions of war only were 
 required to be turned in ; and with simple paroles of 
 honor all were hastened to their homes, with thousands 
 of merry • Good-byes to you, Johnnies,' and as many re- 
 turns of ' God bless you, Yanks ! ' 
 
 " We turned homeward on the 11th. The command 
 was well on the road in the morning, with Burksville 
 Junction as our objective point, when Grant and Lee, 
 riding side by side, the former accompanied by a few 
 members of his staff", passed our head-quarters at a brisk 
 trot. Both were in uniform ; neither wore swords. Both 
 were superbly mounted on bay horses. In appearance 
 and elegance of figure and horsemanship Lee had the ad- 
 vantage. Both were enthusiastically admired, and better 
 than this, all the cavalry were heartily glad to follow both 
 to Richmond, with Grant in command." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 grant's farewell to his soldiers MAKES A TOUR THROUGH 
 
 THE NORTHERN STATES HIS RECEPTION AT GALENA 
 
 MAKES A TOUR THROUGH THE SOUTH HIS VIEW OF ITS 
 
 CONDITION "GENERAL ORDERS, NO. 3." SUPPRESSION 
 
 OF THE RICHMOND Examiner — A reception by the 
 
 LEATHER DEALERS OF NEW YORK IS PRESENTED WITH 
 
 $100,000 — RECEPTION AT BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC 
 
 IS MADE GENERAL IN THE REGULAR ARMY HIS LETTER 
 
 TO GENERAL ORD. 
 
 On the loth of April General Grant reached Washing- 
 ton, where he was received with great enthusiasm. The 
 city was illuminated in a manner never before known in 
 its annals. On the following day General Grant attended 
 a meeting of the President's cabinet, and during a con- 
 versation with the President was invited by that officer to 
 attend Ford's Theatre with him that eveninsf. Grant had 
 business which demanded his presence in Philadelphia, 
 and therefore could not attend. Lincoln attended and 
 lell under the assassin's bullet. 
 
 The war being over, and the moment having arrived 
 when it became necessary to discharge the brave boys 
 who had so earnestly followed him to victory, General 
 (irant issued the following address : 
 
 *' SohHers of the Armies of the United States — By your 
 patriotic devotion to your country in the hour of danger 
 and alarm, your magnificent fighting, bravery and en- 
 
 (104) 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 165 
 
 durance, joii have maintained the supremacy of the Union 
 and the Constitution, overthrown all armed opposition to 
 the enforcement of the laws and of the proclamation for- 
 ever abolishing slavery — the cause and pretext of the 
 Rebellion — and opened the way to the rightful authorities 
 to restore order and inaugurate peace on a permanent and 
 enduring basis on every foot of American soil. Your 
 marches, sieges and battles, in distance, duration, resolu- 
 tion and brilliancy of results, dim the lustre of the world's 
 past military achievements, and will be the patriot's pre- 
 cedent in defence of liberty and right in all time to come. 
 In obedience to your country's call you left your homes 
 and families in her defence. Victory has crowned your 
 valor and secured the purpose of your patriotic hearts ; 
 and, with the gratitude of your countrymen and the 
 highest honors a great and free nation can accord, you 
 will soon be permitted to return to your homes and fami- 
 lies, conscious of having discharged the highest duty of 
 American citizens. To achieve these glorious triumphs, 
 and secure to yourselves, your fellow-countrymen and 
 posterity the blessings of free institutions, tens of thou- 
 sands of your gallant comrades have fallen and sealed the 
 priceless legacy with their blood. The graves of these a 
 grateful nation bedews with tears, honors their memory, 
 and will ever cherish and support their stricken families." 
 During the summer which followed General Grant 
 made a tour through the Northern States, and was every- 
 where received with enthusiasm. From thence he pro- 
 ceeded westward, visiting the tomb of Lincoln at Spring- 
 field, 111. Subsequently he visited his old home at 
 Galena, 111. Here he was tendered a grand reception, 
 and the citizens of that place manifested their apprecia- 
 tion of his services by presenting him with a furnished 
 house, situated just out of the town, and commanding a 
 
IfiR J AYE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 fine view of the river and surronnding country. At New 
 Yorlv a grand banquet was tendered him at the Fifth 
 Avenue Hotel. Concerning it one has observed : " The 
 enthusiasm with which his entrance was greeted was such 
 as rarely finds genuine expression in fashionable society, 
 where the conventional restraints of good breeding deny 
 the expression of every natural feeling on the supposition 
 that such conduct is vulgar. Though he was the centre 
 
 %-p'' 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 CUAliLE.-^iU^. 
 
 of attraction, Grant remained as impassive and apparently 
 unconcerned as he always does. Such ovations he re- 
 ceives, as he gains his victories, without surprise and 
 without elation." 
 
 In the fall General Grant made a tour through the 
 South in the interest of the Government. On the 1st of 
 December he entered Charleston, S. C. The Union 
 League, composed of colored citizens, gave him a torch- 
 
THE CIVIL WAK. 
 
 167 
 
 light procession and serenade. Other points were also 
 visited, and among them Richmond, Raleigh and Savan- 
 nah. One of the objects — and perhaps we should say 
 tJie object — of Grant's tour at this time was to obtain in- 
 formation concerning the workings of the military gov- 
 ernment and also of the Freedman's Bureau, and to 
 ascertain the moral and physical condition of the people. 
 
 
 
 « ' \-i^wf 
 
 CAPITOL, AT RALEIGU. 
 
 The results of his investigations are given in his report 
 made to the President soon after his return. In this re- 
 port he says : 
 
 " It seems to me that this could be corrected by regard- 
 ing every officer on duty with troops in the Southern 
 States as an agent of the Freedman's Bureau, and then 
 have all orders from the head of the Bureau sent through 
 11 
 
168 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the department commanders. This would create a re- 
 sponsibility that would cause uniformity of action through- 
 out the South, and cause the orders and instructions from 
 the head of the Bureau being carried out, and would 
 relieve from duty and pay a large number of employes 
 of the Government." 
 
 It would seem that had these measures been carried 
 out they would have secured the results which were 
 desired. It is well known what followed the failure to 
 adopt theui. On the Tith of January. 1866, the follow- 
 ing order was issued from the War Department : 
 
 General Orders, No. 3. 
 f War Department, Adjutant-General's Office. 
 1 Washington, January 12th, 1866, 
 
 Military division and department commanders whose commands 
 embrace or are composed of any of the late rebellious States, and 
 who have not already done so, will at once issue and enforce orders 
 protecting from prosecution or suits, in the State or municipal 
 courts of such States, all officers and soldiers of tlie armies of the 
 United States, and all persons thereto attaclied, or in any way 
 thereto belonging, subject to military authority, charged with of- 
 fences for acts done in their military capacity, or pursuant to 
 orders from military authority, and to protect from suit or prosecu- 
 tion all loyal citizens or persons charged with offences done against 
 the rebel forces, directl}^ or indirectly, during the existence of the 
 Rebellion, and all persons, their agents or employes, charged with 
 the occupancy of abandoned lands or plantations, or the possession 
 or custody of any kind of property whatever, who occupied, used, 
 po.ssessed or controlled the same, pursuant to the order of the 
 President or any of the civil or military departments of the Govern- 
 ment, and to jjrotect them from any penalty or damages that may 
 have been, or may be, pronounced or adjudged in said courts in 
 any ot such cases, and also protecting colored persons from prose- 
 cutions in any of said States, charged with offences for which 
 white persons are not prosecuted or punished in the same manner 
 or degree. By command of 
 
 Likutknaxt-Genkkai- GkanT: 
 
 K. 1). TowNsKM), A.s.-iidant Adjutant- General. 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 169 
 
 T'l Febniarv General Grant issued an order for the sup- 
 pression of the Richmond Examiner, on account of the 
 unpatriotic utterances of tliat paper. On the 19th of the 
 same month, however, it was permitted to resume its 
 issue. During the same month, General Grant visited 
 New York, and was given a grand reception by the leather 
 dealers of that city, in the warerooms of Messrs. Arm- 
 strong & Sons, in Ferry street. Upon Grant's appearance 
 he was loudly cheered. In response to the oft-repeated 
 call for a speech, he said : " Gentlemen, you know I never 
 make speeches. I am happy to meet my old friends of 
 the leather trade." Before leaving the city, a purse of 
 ^100,000 was presented him by the citizens of that city. 
 During this visit, also, he visited the rooms of the Union 
 Relief Connnittee and inspected specimens of writing exe- 
 cuted by soldiers who had lost their right arms in the 
 Rebellion. There were two hundred and seventy speci- 
 mens exhibited. After the General had examined them, 
 he said, " These boys write better with their left hands 
 thnn I do with my right." He then made the following 
 entry upon the visitors' book : 
 
 New York, February 24th, 1866. 
 I have examined the large and exceedingly interesting collec- 
 tion of the left-hand manuscripts written by our disabled soldiers 
 who have lost their right arms. They are eminently lionorable to 
 the authors, and from the excellence of the penmanship it would 
 require a task I should be sorry to accept to decide on the merits 
 of the competitors. U- S. Grant, 
 
 Lieutenant- General U. S. Army. 
 
 Two days later he was given a splendid reception at the 
 Brooklyn Academy of Music, after which, on the same 
 night, he left for Washington on a special train. In April 
 he paid a second visit to Richmond, and was received with 
 great cordiality. In July, the grade of General was 
 
170 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 created. For that position Grant was nominated, which 
 nomination was confirmed on the 25th of the same 
 month. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that there was a disagreement 
 between the President and the Congress which met in 
 1867, and we need not dwell upon the particulars relating 
 thereto, only so far as they are calculated to throw light 
 on the life and character of General Grant. And such a 
 consideration, we are confident, will show that his sympa- 
 thies were ever on the side of justice and right. On the 
 12th of July, in response to a call from Congress, there 
 was laid before that body a circular which had been issued 
 on the 22d of the May previous, by the secretary of war, 
 addressed to General Grant. It was as follows : 
 
 " General : Recent occurrences in some of the military 
 districts indicate a necessity of great vigilance, on the 
 part of military commanders, to be prepared for the pre- 
 vention and prompt suppression of riots and breaches of 
 the public peace, especially in towns and cities ; and they 
 should have their forces in hand, and so posted, on all 
 occasions where disturbances may be apprehended, as to 
 promptly check, and if possible to prevent, outbreaks and 
 violence endangering public and private safety. You 
 will, therefore, call tlie attention of commanders of mili- 
 tary districts to this subject, and issue such precautionary 
 orders as may be found necessary for the purpose in- 
 dicated." 
 
 To this General Grant added the following indorse- 
 ment : 
 
 " The above conveys all the instructions deemed neces- 
 sary, and will be acted on by district commanders making 
 special reports of precautionary orders issued by them to 
 prevent the recurrence of mobs or other unlawful via- 
 Icnce." 
 
THE CIVIL WAll. 171 
 
 He also sent the following letter to General Ord, Com- 
 mander of the Fourth District, which will indicate the 
 course of action which he felt it his duty to pursue in 
 reference to the matter of reconstruction : 
 
 Washington, June 23c?, 1867. 
 Brevet Major- General E. 0. Orel, Commanding Fourth District: 
 
 General : A copy of your final instructions to the Board of 
 Registration of June 10th, 1867, is just received. I entirely dis- 
 sent from tho views contained in paragraph 4. Your views as to 
 the duties of registers to register every man who will take the re- 
 quired oath, though they may know tlie applicant perjures 
 himself, is sustained by the attorney -general. My opinion is that 
 it is the duty of the Board of Registration to see, as far as lies in 
 their power, that no unauthorized person is allowed to register. 
 To secure this end registers should be allowed to administer oaths 
 and examine witnesses. The law, however, makes district com- 
 manders their own interpreters of their power and duty under it, 
 and, in m}' opinion, the attorney-general or myself can no more 
 than give our opinion as to the meaning of the law. Neither can 
 enforce their views against the judgment of those made respon- 
 sible for the faithful execution of the law — the district com- 
 manders. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 U. y. Geant, General. 
 

 172 
 
 OK ANT AT THK CT.OSK OF TIIK WAR. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 grant's opinion on the parole question GRANT AP- 
 POINTED SECRETARY OF WAR acl interim — he opposes 
 
 THE REMOVAL OF STANTON HIS TRIBUTE TO SHERIDAN 
 
 HE RESIGNS THE POSITION AS SECRETARY OF WAR 
 
 WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHED PRESIDENT JOHNSON SCOLDS. 
 
 On the Ttli of April General Pope, then in command 
 of the Third District, addressed a letter to General 
 Grant, desirino- to know his views of the status of Con- 
 federate officers which had been paroled at the close of 
 the war. He was desirous of knowing whether the 
 paroles, which were issued in good faith at that time, still 
 held good, or had been made of no effect by the procla- 
 mation of the President. Pope's reason for desiring 
 information was that he might know what course of 
 action he ought to pursue in regard to those vrlio had 
 been paroled and j^et counselled the people to resist the 
 action of the Reconstruction measures passed by Congress. 
 He stated it to be his opinion that the paroles issued 
 demanded that all those to whom they had been granted 
 should return to their homes and faithfully observe the 
 laws, and, further, that the}' were to refrain from seeking 
 to lead others to disregard them also. He also declared 
 it to be his opinion that those who attempted to keep up 
 the difficulty, and to prevent its adjustment in accordance 
 with the action of Congress, violated their parole. Grant 
 responded : 
 
 ar6) 
 
174 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 '•' Your views on the obligation of a parole are in strict 
 accoidance with my own." 
 
 On the 6th of August, 1867, President Johnson noti- 
 fied Secretary of War Stanton that he was dismissed 
 from office. Stanton refused to yield his position, claim- 
 ing that a bill recently passed by Congress, entitled 
 Tenure of Office Bill, provided that he could not be dis- 
 missed from office without the concurrence of the Senate, 
 and that body was not in session at that time. On the 12th 
 of August Johnson addressed a second letter to Stanton, 
 stating that he must at once " cease to exercise all the 
 functions pertaining" to the office of secretary of war, 
 and "transfer to General U. S. Grant, who has this day 
 been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of 
 War ad interim, all records, books, papers and other 
 public property now in your custody and charge." 
 
 On the same day Grant received notice of his appoint- 
 ment, and he at once addressed the following letter to 
 Stanton : 
 
 f " Head-quarters Armies of the U. S., 
 I " Washington, August 12th, 1867. 
 "77(c Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 
 
 " Sir : Enclosed herewith I have to transmit to you a copy of a 
 letter just received from the President of the United States, notify- 
 ing me of my assignment as acting Secretary of War, and direct- 
 ing mc to assume those duties at once. In notifying you of my 
 acceptance, I cannot let the opportunity pass without expressing 
 to you my appreciation of the zeal, patriotism, firmness and ability 
 with wliich you have ever discharged the duty of Secretary of 
 War. 
 
 " With great respect, your obedient servant, 
 
 " U. S. Grant, General'' 
 
 Stanton at once surrendered his olTice to Grant, and 
 addressed the President as follows : '• Under a sense of 
 ])ul)lic duty I am compelled to deny your right, under 
 tlie coikstitution and laws of the United States, without 
 
175 
 
,76 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the .advice and consent of the Senate, to suspend me 
 from office as secretary of war, or the exercise of any or 
 all functions pertaining to the same. But inasmuch as 
 the General connnanding the armies of the United States 
 has been appointed Secretary of War ad interim, and has 
 notified me that he has accepted the appointment, I have 
 no alternative but to submit, under protest, to superior 
 force." 
 
 The acceptance by General Grant of the position thus 
 tendered him subjected him to many an unjust criticism. 
 Still Grant had acted, as he ever did, from a conviction 
 of duty, and the removal of Stanton was in direct oppo- 
 sition to his wishes, as expressed in the following extract 
 from a letter addressed to the President : " His removal 
 cannot be effected against his will without the consent of 
 the Senate. It was but a short time since the United 
 States Senate was in session^ and why not then have 
 asked for his removal, if it is desired ? It certainly was 
 the intention of the legislative branch of the government 
 to place a cabinet minister beyond the power of execu- 
 tive removal, and it is pretty well understood that, so far 
 as cabinet ministers are affected by the Tenure of Office 
 Bill, it was intended specially to protect the secretary of 
 war, whom the country felt great confidence in. The 
 meaning of the law may be explained away by an astute 
 lawyer, but the common sense and the views of loyal 
 people will give it the effect intended by its framers." 
 
 At the same time he remonstrated agrainst the removal 
 of General Sheridan from the Fifth Military District in 
 the following language : " Let me ask you to consider the 
 effect it would have upon the public. He is universally 
 and deservedly beloved by the people who sustained this 
 govcrniiuMit through its trials, and feared by those who 
 would be still the enemies of the government. It fell to 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 177 
 
 tlie lot of but few men to do as mucli against an armed 
 enemy as General Sheridan did during the Rebellion, and 
 it is within the scope of the ability of but few, in this or 
 in any other country, to do what he has done. His civil 
 administration has given equal satisfaction. He has had 
 difficulties to contend with which no other district com- 
 mander has encountered. Almost, if not quite, from the 
 day he was appointed district commander to the present 
 time the press has given out that he Avas to be removed, 
 that the administration was not satisfied with him. This 
 has emboldened the opponents of the laws of Congress 
 within his command to oppose him in every way in their 
 power, and has rendered necessary measures which other- 
 wise might never have been necessary. In conclusion, 
 allow me to say as a friend, desiring peace and quiet, the 
 welfare of the whole country, north and south, that it is, 
 in my opinion, more than the loyal people of this country 
 (I mean those who supported the government during the 
 great Rebellion) will quieth^ submit to, to see the very 
 man, of all others, in whom they have expressed their 
 confidence, removed." 
 
 The removal of General Sheridan was not effected 
 until after General Grant entered upon his duties as Sec- 
 retary of War ad interim. Having been directed by the 
 President to transfer General Sheridan to the Department 
 of the Missouri, he replied as follows: "It is unmis- 
 takably the expressed wish of the country that General 
 Sheridan should not be removed from his present com- 
 mand. This is a republic where the will of the people is 
 the law of the land. I beg leave that their voice may be 
 heard. General Sheridan has performed his civil duties 
 faithfully and intelligently. His removal will only be 
 regarded as an effort to defeat the laws of Con<:;ress. It 
 will be interpreted by the unreconstructed element in the 
 
178 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 South — those who did all they could to break up this 
 government by arms, and now wish to be the only 
 element consulted as to the method of restoring order — 
 as a triumph. It will embolden them to renewed oppo- 
 sition to the will of the loyal masses, believing that they 
 have the Executive with them." But, in spite of this 
 remonstrance, Sheridan was removed. 
 
 For five months Grant held the position to which he 
 had been appointed. When Congress reassembled, it 
 refused to sanction the removal of Stanton, whereupon 
 Grant at once resigned. The results of that five months' 
 service is thus stated by General John L. Swift : 
 
 " By his direction, while Secretary of War ad intei'im, 
 the duties of the Bureaus of Rebel Archives and of Ex- 
 change of Prisoners were transferred to the adjutant- 
 general's office, thus dispensing with the services of a 
 great number of officers and clerks. He reduced the 
 number of agents and subordinates in the Freedmen's 
 Bureau, and largely curtailed its expenses ; closed useless 
 hospitals and dispensaries; discontinued a long list of 
 superfluous mustering and disbursing offices, discharging 
 their numerous incumbents and attendants, and thus 
 stopping the needless expenditure of considerable sums. 
 He sold surplus animals, ambulances, wagons, etc., to 
 the amount of $33,535, and superfluous and useless 
 stores and war material of various kinds amounting to 
 $208,000, and 1,000 temporary buildings used by quar- 
 termasters throughout the country, to make every prac- 
 ticable reduction in the number of employes on duty 
 under their direction. The result was that in a short 
 time the monthly expenses of that department, arising 
 from the hire of civilians, had been reduced by $407,065, 
 making an annual i saving in this item alone of nearly 
 $5,000,000. Besides the class of employes just mentioned, 
 
THE CIVIL WAR. 179 
 
 the number of mechanics, laborers and others in various 
 branches of service were so reduced that the monthly 
 expenditures in this particular were curtailed full $100,000, 
 making an annual saving of more than $1,200,000." 
 
 General Grant's resignation of the office of Secretary of 
 War ad interim was the result of an honest conviction of 
 duty. When the Senate refused to concur in the reasons for 
 the suspension of Mr. Stanton, Grant at once regarded his 
 duties as terminated by that resolution, and that he could 
 not lawfully exercise such duties for a moment after the 
 adoption of the resolution by the Senate. That resolution 
 reached him on the evening of the 18th of January. He 
 at once proceeded to his room in the War Department, 
 bolted one door on the inside, locked the other on the 
 outside, delivered the key to the adjutant-general, and 
 proceeded to the headquarters of the army and addressed 
 a note to the President, informing him that he (General 
 Grant) was no longer Secretary of War ad interim. 
 
 This resolution by no means pleased the President, 
 and he at once charged him with having violated his 
 word, saying that he had promised to hold the position 
 until the Supreme Court should decide the merits of the 
 question. In his reply Grant denied that he had made 
 such statement, saying that he never intended to hold the 
 position in opposition to the action of the Senate. The 
 controversy soon assumed a personal nature, in which the 
 President assailed the character of Grant in no gentle 
 manner. On the other hand. Grant's replies, while he 
 endeavored to show the right of his position, treated the 
 President with great respect. Johnson appealed to the 
 members of his cabinet for support in the matter, but 
 even in this direction failed to secure the desired end. In 
 a letter addressed to the President General Grant con- 
 cludes as follows : 
 
180 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 "The course you would have it understood I agreed to 
 pursue was in violation of law and without orders from 
 you, while the course I did pursue, and which I never 
 doubted you fully understood, was in accordance with law, 
 and not in disobedience of any orders of my superior. 
 
 " And now, Mr. President, when my honor as a soldier 
 and integrity as a man have been so violently assailed, 
 pardon me for saying that I can but regard this whole 
 matter from the beginning to the end as an attempt to 
 involve me in the resistance of law, for which you hesi- 
 tated to assume the responsibility in orders, and thus to 
 destroy my character before the country. I am in a 
 measure confirmed in this conclusion by your recent 
 orders directing me to disobey orders from the secretary 
 of war — my superior and your subordinate — without 
 having countermanded his authority to issue the orders I 
 am to disobey. With the assurance, Mr. President, that 
 nothing less than a vindication of my personal honor and 
 character could have induced this correspondence on my 
 part, I. have tiie honor," etc. 
 
 With his withdrawal from this office closes, practically, 
 definitely, the military chapter of General Grant's life. 
 Henceforth the honors he was to win and wear were to 
 be those of the civic crown, the rewards of the distin- 
 guished citizen, the crown of the presidency. 
 
 The simple story just concluded of his military life is 
 one that no one can read without a stirring sense of 
 admiration. As a commander he outranks any general 
 of modern times. He lost more men in one battle than 
 Wellington ever commanded, and through all the momen- 
 tous, monstrous struggles of the great Rebellion his crest 
 was ever in the thickest of the battle, was ever on the 
 s|)ot that bred victory lor the Union arms. His name was 
 the synonym of victory, his arm the guide-post of glory ! 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ORANT A PRESIDENT — THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO HIS BEING 
 
 NOMINATED — HIS ELECTION AND VOTES A SUMMARY OF 
 
 HIS POLITICAL CAREER SOME OF THE GREATER INCIDENTS 
 
 OF HIS WHITE HOUSE LIFE SAN DOMINGO FINANCE — 
 
 THE ALABAMA ARBITRATION THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBI. 
 
 TION THE CLOSE OF HIS PUBLIC SERVICE THE THIRD 
 
 TERM — HIS LAST MESSAGE TO THE NATION. 
 
 The natural ladder of fame when it has led a hero to 
 the topmost round of military leadership offers next the 
 laurels of civic honor. It was therefore inevitable that 
 succeeding Grant's triumph as a warrior were to come 
 his years as an administrator. 
 
 Yet Grant was not a politician. He was not seeking 
 office nor the prizes politics bestowed. His platform 
 politically may be gathered from a speech delivered at 
 Des Moines: 
 
 " Let us labor for security of free thought, free speech, 
 free press, pure morals, unfettered religious sentiments, 
 and equal rights and privileges for all men, irrespective 
 of nationality, color or religion ; encourage free schools ; 
 resolve that not one dollar appropriated to them shall go 
 to the support of any sectarian school ; resolve that 
 neither State nor nation shall support any institution, 
 save those where every child may get common-school 
 education unmixed with atheistic, pagan or sectarian 
 teaching." 
 
 Nor could Grant be considered a good Republican in a 
 
 (181) 
 / 
 
 r 
 } 
 
182 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 part}' sense. His leanings, had he ever analyzed them 
 or proclaimed them to himself, would have possibly led 
 him into the Democratic camp. But his patriotism was 
 sterling, the Republican party had made and conducted 
 the war to a successful conclusion ; Grant was a part of 
 that success. 
 
 Then, too, the acts of omission and commission of 
 Andrew Johnson had well nigh discouraged as well as 
 dismantled the Republican party. It needed a strong 
 leader to unite the scattered forces under one banner, it 
 needed some great popular sentiment to make all efforts 
 for victory. It was to be found in the name of Grant — 
 Grant was the word to conjure with. Himself, one 
 of the war's successes, no one could better lead the 
 banner of victory. He was unanimously nominated for 
 the Presidency by the Republican National Convention 
 which convened at Chicago, May 21st, 1868. Senator 
 Hawley thus tells the story of that event : 
 
 "At the Republican National Convention of 1868, all 
 who were present will remember the absolute unanimity 
 and enthusiasm with which General Grant received his 
 first nomination for the Presidency. It was with difficulty 
 that the convention could be restrained and confined to 
 the regular orderly proceedings, for the great multitude 
 seemed determined to anticipate the proceedings and 
 nominate the General with one great shout, while those 
 who desired a more impressive and effective proceeding 
 restrained all irregularities, and in due course of things 
 the names of every State and Territory were called, and 
 the leader of each delegation formally gave its full vote 
 lor Ulysses S. Grant, each successive announcement being 
 received with a roll of applause, and at the summing of 
 tli«' whole, the convention breaking into a tremendous 
 and overwhelming demonstration that died away and 
 
12 
 
 1S3 
 
184 LIFE OF GENERAL GRA]^T. 
 
 rose again for many minutes. It was but recording the 
 unanimous wish of the party ; it was a result which no 
 man contrived, and which no man could have prevented. 
 As president of the convention, it became my duty to 
 lead the committee that was instructed to proceed to 
 Washington and formally notify the General. 
 
 "Arriving in Washington the committee requested me 
 to call upon the General and ask him for his wishes con- 
 cerning the more formal proceedings. The late Senator 
 Ferry, of Connecticut, accompanied me. General Grant 
 received us with his usual quiet and simple cordiality, 
 and we sat with him for possibly an hour in his library. 
 The arrangements for the next day were easily made, 
 but the General seemed inclined to talk, and, of course, 
 we were only too glad to listen. Some of his expressions 
 I remember with exactness ; others I can give correctly 
 in substance. 
 
 " He said, ' If this were simply a matter of personal 
 preference and satisfaction, I would not wish to be Presi- 
 dent. I have now arrived at the extreme limit of the 
 ambition of a soldier. I was at the head of the Army of 
 the United States during the great decisive war. I remain 
 the head of the army, with the country reunited and at 
 peace, as I believe it is to be for many years — I hope for- 
 ever. The people speak kindly of me, even our fellow 
 citizens of the South, many of them. If I remain where 
 I am, as time passes and the animosities of the war die 
 away, I do not see why I should not be at peace with all 
 men. The pay of the position abundantly provides for 
 myself and my family. What more could a man wish ? 
 To go into the Presidency opens altogether a new field 
 to me, in which there is to be a new strife, to which I am 
 not trained. It may be that I should fail in giving 
 satisfaction to the country. Then I should go out at the 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 
 
 186 
 
 end of my political service having reduced the number 
 of my friends and lost my position as a soldier. That is 
 a very disagreeable possibility. But there is nothing to 
 be said ; there is no choice left for me ; there is nothing 
 else to do.' 
 
 SENATOK JOSEPH R. HAWLEY. 
 
 " This he repeated several times : ' I have no choice 
 whatever but submission.' He spoke with a serious 
 respect for the great place, and a sense of its responsi- 
 bilities. It is not possible that the gratitude of the people 
 
186 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 and the unanimity with which he was sought should 
 have been otherwise than agreeable to any man. But at 
 that moment he seemed to be dwelling upon the pleasant 
 things which he surrendered in accepting the nomination, 
 and yet to go forward with the simple obedience of a 
 thorough soldier. 
 
 •' When the committee called upon General Grant the 
 next day, I held in my hand the manuscript of a few re- 
 marks in which I made the formal announcement. The 
 General replied without notes and without hesitation. 
 The accurate stenographic report show^s that he replied 
 with as much aptness as though he had taken a day to 
 prepare. 
 
 '' Tlie most precious autograph in my collections is the 
 letter of acceptance, which was addressed to me as the 
 president of the convention, and in which occurs the 
 famous expression, ' Let us have peace.' It is all in his 
 own hand, was his first draft, and contains onl}' one cor- 
 rection, the change of a word, at the suggestion of 
 Schuyler Colfax." 
 
 An active canvass followed, in which the brief expres- 
 sion — " let us have peace " — in Grant's letter of accept- 
 ance, was liberally employed by Republican journals and 
 orators to tone down what were regarded as rapidly 
 growing race and sectional differences, and with such 
 effect that Grant carried all of the States save eisht, re- 
 ceiving an electoral vote of 214 against 80. 
 
 Four years later Grant came face to face with the 
 Liberal Republican party. That party was founded 
 through an issue raised in Missouri, though the course 
 of Horace (Jreeley had long pointed toward the organiza- 
 Liou of something of the kind, and with equal plainness it 
 pointed to his desire to be its champion and candidate for 
 the Presidency. In 1870 the Republican party, then in 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 187 
 
 control of the Legislature of Missouri, split into two parts 
 on the question of the removal of the disqualifications 
 imposed upon rebels by the State Constitution during the 
 war. Those favoring the removal of disabilities were 
 headed by B. Gratz Brown and Carl Schurz, and they 
 ^called themselves Liberal Republicans; those opposed 
 were called and accepted the name of Radical Republicans. 
 The former quickly allied themselves with the Demo- 
 crats, and thus carried the State, though Grant's admin- 
 istration " stood in " with the Radicals. As a result the 
 disabilities were quickly removed, and those who believed 
 with Greeley now sought to promote a reaction in Repub- 
 lican sentiment all over the country. Greeley was the 
 recognized head of this movement, and he was ably aided 
 by ex-Governor Curtin and Cobnel A. K. McClure in 
 Pennsylvania; Charles Francis Adams, Massachusetts; 
 Judge Trumbull, in Illinois; Reuben E. Fenton, in New 
 York ; Brown and Schurz, in Missouri, and in fact by 
 leading Republicans in nearly all of the States, who at 
 once began to lay plans to carry the next presidential 
 election. 
 
 They charged that the Enforcement Acts of Congress 
 were designed more for the political advancement of 
 Grant's adherents than for the benefit of the country ; that 
 instead of suppressing they were calculated to promote a 
 war of races in the South ; that Grant was seeking the 
 establishment of a military despotism, etc. These leaders 
 were, as a rule, brilliant men. They had tired of unap- 
 preciated and unrewarded service in the Republican 
 party, or had a natural fondness for ^'pastures new," 
 and, in the language of the day, they quickly succeeded 
 in making political movements "lively." 
 
 In the spring of 1871 the Liberal Republicans and 
 Democrats of Ohio — and Ohio seems to be the most fertile 
 
188 
 
 LIFE OF GENEllAL GRANT. 
 
 soil for new ideas — prepared for a fusion, and after fre- 
 quent consultations of the various leaders with Mr. 
 Greeley in New York, a call was issued from Missouri on 
 the 24th of January, 1872, for a National Convention of 
 
 GRANT'S STAKT FOR HIS SECOND INAUGURATION. 
 
 the Liberal Republican party to be held at Cincinnati, 
 May 1st. The well-matured plans of the leaders were 
 carried out in the nomination of Hon. Horace Greeley for 
 President and B. Gratz Brown for Vice-President, thouo-h 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 189 
 
 not without a serious struggle over the chief nomination, 
 which was warmly contested by the friends of Charles 
 Francis Adams. Indeed he led in most of the six ballots, 
 but finally all the friends of other candidates voted for 
 Greeley, and he received 482 to 187 for Adams. Dissatis- 
 fiction followed, and a later effort was made to substitute 
 Adams for Greeley, but it failed. The original leaders 
 now prepared to capture the Democratic Convention, 
 which met at Baltimore, June 9th. By nearly an unan- 
 imous vote it was induced to indorse the Cincinnati 
 platform, and it likewise finally indorsed Greeley and 
 Brown — though not without many bitter protests. A few 
 straight-out Democrats met later at Louisville, Ky., Sep- 
 tember 3d, and nominated Charles O'Conor, of New York, 
 for President, and John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, 
 for Vice-President, and these were kept in the race to the 
 end, receiving a popular vote of about 30,000. 
 
 The regular Republican National Convention was held 
 at Philadelphia, June 5th. It renominated Grant for 
 President unanimously. At the succeeding election 
 Grant carried enough States to give him 286 votes in the 
 Electoral College, as against eighty for all others — though 
 seventeen of those cast for Greeley, who had in the mean- 
 time died from disappointment, were not voted. 
 
 Eight years later — 1880 — a desperate attempt was 
 made by the stalwart leaders of the Republican party to 
 nominate Grant for "a third term." Grant's three power- 
 ful Senatorial friends, in the face of bitter protests, had 
 secured the instructions of their respective State Con- 
 ventions for Grant. Conklins: had done this in New 
 York, Cameron in Pennsylvania, Logan in Illinois, but in 
 each of the three States the opposition was so impressive 
 that no serious attempts were made to substitute other 
 delegates for those which had previously been selected by 
 
190- LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 their Congressional districts. As a result there was a 
 large ininoritj in the delegations of these States opposed 
 to the nomination of General Grant, and the votes of them 
 could only be controlled by the enforcement of the unit 
 rule. Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, the president of 
 the convention, decided against its enforcement, and as a 
 result all of the delegates were free to vote upon either 
 State or District instructions, or as they chose. This 
 ended Grant's candidacy, for although Senator Conkling 
 made a brilliant battle for his leader, the result was 
 adverse. In nominating General Grant, Senator Conk- 
 ling spoke as follows, delivering his words passionately 
 and with desperate emphasis, from which may be inferred 
 the partisan bitterness with which the conflict was carried 
 on: 
 
 "'And when asked what State.he hails from, 
 
 Our sole reply shall be, 
 He hails from Appomattox, 
 
 And its famous apple tree.'' 
 
 " In obedience to instructions which I should never 
 dare to disregard, expressing also my own firm convic- 
 tions, I rise, Mr. President, in behalf of the State of New 
 York, to propose a nomination with which the country 
 and the Republican party can grandly win. The election 
 before us is the Austerlitz of American politics. It will 
 decide, for many years, whether the country shall be Re- 
 publican or Cossack. The supreme need of the hour is 
 not a candidate who can carry Michigan. All Republi- 
 can candidates can do that. Tlie need is not of a candi- 
 date popular in the Territories, because the Territories 
 have no vote. The need is of a candidate who can carry 
 doubtful States. Not the doubtful States of the North 
 aloue, but also doubtful States of the South, which we 
 have heard, if I understand ariojht, ou^ht to take little or 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 191 
 
 no part here, because the South has nothing to give, but 
 everything to receive. The need which urges itself on 
 the conscience and reason of the convention is of a candi- 
 date who can carry doubtful States, both North and 
 South. And believing that he, more surely than any 
 other man, can carry New York against any opponent, 
 and can carry not only the North, but several States of 
 the South, New York is for Ulysses S. Grant. 
 
 *•' Never defeated — in peace or in war — his name is the 
 most illustrious borne by living man. 
 
 " His services attest his greatness, and the country — 
 nay, the world — know them by heart. His fame was 
 earned not alone by things written and said, but by the 
 arduous greatness of things done ; and perils and emergen- 
 cies will search in vain in the future, as they have searched 
 in vain in the past, for any other on whom the nation 
 leans with such confidence and trust. Never having had 
 a policy to enforce against the will of the people, he never 
 betrayed a cause or a friend, and the people will never 
 desert or betray him. Standing on the highest eminence 
 of human distinction, modest, firm, simple and self-poised, 
 having filled all lands with his renown, he has seen not 
 only the high-born and the titled, but the poor and the 
 lowly, in the uttermost ends of the earth, rise and uncover 
 before him. He has studied the needs and the defects of 
 many systems of government ; and he has returned a 
 better American than ever, with a wealth of knowledge 
 and experience added to the hard common sense which 
 shone so conspicuously in all the fierce light that beat 
 upon him during sixteen years, the most trying, the most 
 portentous, the most perilous in the nation's history. 
 
 '' Villified and reviled, ruthlessly aspersed by unnum- 
 bered presses, not in other lands, but in his own, assaults 
 upon him have seasoned and strengthened his hold on the 
 
192 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 public heart. Calumny's ammunition has all been ex- 
 ploded ; the powder has all been burned once — its force is 
 spent — and the name of Grant will glitter a bright and 
 imperishable star in the diadem of the Republic when 
 those who have tried to tarnish it have mouldered in for- 
 o'otten sraves : and when their memories and their epi- 
 taphs have vanished utterly. 
 
 '' Never elated by success, never depressed by adversity, 
 he has ever, in peace as in war, shown the very genius of 
 common sense. The terms he presented for Lee's surren- 
 der foreshadowed the wisest prophecies and principles of 
 true reconstruction. Victor in the greatest war of modern 
 times, he quickly signalized his aversion to war and his 
 love of peace by an arbitration of international disputes 
 which stands the wisest, the most majestic example of its 
 kind in the world's diplomacy. 
 
 " When inflation, at the height of its popularity and 
 frenzy, had swept both Houses of Congress, it was the 
 veto of Grant, single and alone, which overthrew expan- 
 sion, and cleared the way for specie resumption. To 
 him, immeasurably more than to any other man, is due 
 the fact that every paper dollar is at last as good as 
 gold. 
 
 " With him as our leader, we shall have no defensive 
 campaign. We shall have nothing to explain away. 
 We shall have no apologies to make. The shafts and 
 arrows have all been aimed at him, and they lie broken 
 and harmless at his feet.' 
 
 " Life, liberty and property will find a safeguard in 
 him. When he said of the colored men in Florida, 
 ' Wherever I am, they may come also,' he meant that, 
 had he the power, the poor dwellers in the cabins of the 
 South should no longer be driven in terror from the homes 
 of their childhood and the graves of their murdered dead. 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 193 
 
 When he refused to receive Dennis Kearney in California, 
 he meant that communism, hiwlessness and disorder, 
 although it might stalk high-headed and dictate law to a 
 whole city, would always find a foe in him. He meant 
 that, popular or unpopular, he would hew to the line of 
 right, let the chips tly where they may. 
 
 " His integrity, his common sense, his courage, his un- 
 equalled experience, are the qualities offered to his coun- 
 try. The only argument — the only one — that the wit of 
 man or the stress of politics has devised, is one which 
 would dumbfounder Solomon, because Solomon thought 
 there was nothing new under the sun. Having tried 
 Grant twice and found him faithful, we are told that we 
 mast not, even after an interval of years, trust him again. 
 My countrymen ! my countrymen ! what stultification 
 does such a falhicy involve. The American people ex- 
 clude Jefferson Davis from public trust. Why ? Because 
 he was the arch-traitor and would-be destroyer. And now 
 the same people is asked to ostracise Grant, and not to 
 trust /u'w?. Why? Why ? I repeat. Because he was the 
 arch-preserver of his country, and because, not only in 
 war, but twice as Civil Magistrate, he gave his highest, 
 noblest efforts to the Republic. Is this an electioneering 
 juggle, or is it hypocrisy's masquerade ? There is no field 
 of human activity, responsibility or reason in which 
 rational beings object to an agent because he has been 
 weighed in the balance and not found wanting. There is, 
 1 say, no department of human reason in which sane men 
 reject an agent because he has had experience, making him 
 exceptionally competent and fit. From the man who 
 shoes your horse to the lawyer who tries your cause, the 
 officer who manages your railway or your mill, the doctor 
 into whose hands you give your life, or the minister who 
 seeks to save your soul — what man do you reject because 
 
104 LIFE or GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 by his works you have known him, and found him faith- 
 ful and fit." 
 
 The issue of that convention the reader well knows. 
 Four years later — one year ago — if there had been any 
 intention to attempt to nominate General Grant, the 
 movement was killed outright by the overwhelming mis- 
 fortune that overtook the great hero in the shadows and 
 perils of Wall street. 
 
 Grant's Vice-President during his first term was Schuy- 
 ler Colfax, of Indiana; during his second, Henry Wilson, 
 of Massachusetts. His cabinet officers were as follows : 
 Secretary of State, E. B. Washburne', Illinois, March 5tli, 
 1869; Hamilton Fish, New York, March 11th, 1869. 
 Secretary of Treasury, George S. Boutwell, Massachusetts, 
 March 11th, 1869; William A. Richardson, Massachu- 
 setts, March 17th, 1873 ; Benjamin H. Bristow, Kentucky, 
 June 2d, 1874; Lot M. Morrill, Maine, June 21st, 1876. 
 Secretary of War, John A. Rawlins, Illinois, March 11th, 
 1869; William T. Sherman, Ohio, September 9th, 1869; 
 William W. Belknap, Iowa, October 25th, 1869 ; Alphonso 
 Taft, Ohio, March 8th, 1876; J. D. Cameron, Pennsyl- 
 vania, May 22d, 1876. Secretary of Navy, Adolph E. 
 Borie, Pennsylvania, March 5th, 1869; George M. Robe- 
 son, New Jersey, June 25th, 1869. Secretary of Interior, 
 Jacob D. Cox, Ohio, March 5th, 1869 ; Columbus Delano, 
 Ohio, November 1st, 1870; Zachariah Chandler, Michi- 
 gan, October 19th, 1875. Attorney-General, E. R. Hoar, 
 Massachusetts, March 5th, 1869; Amos T. Akerman, 
 Georgia, June 23d, 1870; George H. Williams, Oregon, 
 December 14th, 1871; Edwards Pierrepont, New York, 
 April 26th, 1875; Alphonso Taft, Ohio, May 22d, 1876. 
 Postmaster-General, J. A. J. Creswell, Maryland, March 
 •)lh, 1869; Marshall Jewell, Connecticut, August 24th, 
 1874 ; James M. Tyner, Indiana, July 12th, 1876. 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 
 
 195 
 
 Grant was President eight years. These years have 
 been summed up by General John L. Swift thus : 
 
 " Grant made mistakes in war : his virtue consisted in 
 never defending or repeating them. He erred in civil 
 administration : it is but to acknowledge his humanity to 
 admit his liability to stumble. He had the military con- 
 tempi, not always sound, for doctrinaires and politicians. 
 He did not, as it would have been better for him to have 
 done, consult familiarly public men who had done much 
 to make true public sentiment. His method of selecting 
 
 TIIK XOKTII FROXT OF TJIY. -WIITTK IIOTTSE. 
 
 his cabinet and of making appointments will not stand 
 the test of rigid criticism. There is a better way to 
 choose ministers and high officials than because of their 
 genial qualities or good fellowship. As ninety per cent, 
 of the civil list to-day were officers under Grant, and as 
 no complaint is now made in that direction, it is apparent 
 in the man that his appointments were judicious. . . , 
 The motive was always good and true, whatever may 
 have been the mistake. Coming into civil life unpre- 
 pared, save by natural excellence of judgment, purity of 
 
196 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 intention and firnniess of resolve, his administration- 
 brought the country each year nearer to that consumma- 
 tion of reduced expenses, lessened public debt, unques- 
 tioned public credit and peace at home and abroad, to 
 which he stood pledged in assuming his responsibilities. 
 If those in whom he placed confidence were unfaithful, 
 no one of his bitterest maligners has ever yet dared to 
 impugn his individual integrity or refuse to him the qual- 
 ification Aristides said ' became a general/ and that is 'to 
 have clean hands.' " 
 
 Nor, too, should we forget, in summing up Grant's 
 career as President of the United States, the difficulties 
 which he encountered from the onset in the numberless 
 difficulties arising from the condition of things in the re- 
 cently conquered States of the South. Remembering there 
 our charity with them throws a broad mantle over the 
 acts that our judgment would hasten to condemn. 
 
 A glimpse of the state of affairs that the President was 
 called on to construe and manage may well be cited in 
 the matter of the Enforcement Acts. 
 
 In all of the Southern States those who then prided 
 themselves in being "unreconstructed" and "irreconcila- 
 ble " bitterly opposed both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth 
 Amendments, and on these issues excited new feelings of 
 hostility to the "carpet baggers" and negroes of the 
 South. With the close of the war thousands of Northern 
 men had settled in the South. All of them were de- 
 nounced as political adventurers by the rebels, who 
 opposed the amendments, reconstruction and Freedman's 
 Bureau acts. ^Ihis gave rise to the Ku Klux Klans, 
 secret societies organized with a view to affright negroes 
 from participating in the elections, and to force white men 
 of Republican leanings to leave the country. It is almost 
 needless to add that as the organization grew its objects 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 197 
 
 broadened, until midnight assaults, horrible whippings, 
 outrages and murders were of nightly occurrence. To 
 repress these outrages Congress passed an act, on May 
 31st, 1870, authorizing the President to use all authority 
 necessary to suppress the perpetration of these political 
 ci'imes. It was amended by other acts, and President 
 Grant acted with great wisdom in carrying out his new 
 powers. These have little force now, although some of 
 them still stand. They became a dead letter after the 
 defeat of the " carpet-bag" governments. 
 
 The enforcement of the Ku Klux Act led to the dis- 
 banding of that organization after the trial, arrest and 
 conviction of many of the leaders. These trials brought 
 out the facts and awakened many Southern minds, there- 
 tofore incredulous, to the enormity of the secret political 
 crimes which had been conmiitted in all the Southern 
 States, and for a time popular sentiment even in the 
 South, and amongst former rebel soldiers, ran strongly 
 against the Klan. With fresh political excitements, 
 however, fresh means of intimidation were employed at 
 elections. Rifle clubs were formed, notably in South Car- 
 olina and Mississippi, while in Louisiana the " White 
 League" sprang into existence, and was organized in all 
 of the neighboring States. These were more difficult to 
 deal with. They were open organizations, created under 
 the semblance of State militia acts. They became very 
 popular, especially among the younger men, and from 
 this time until the close of the presidential election in 
 1876 were potent factors in several Southern States. 
 
 For an inexperienced man Grant met this issue most 
 ably. 
 
 The Act of Congress of 1862 had made "greenback" 
 notes a legal tender, and they passed as such until 1869, 
 against the protests of the Democrats in Congress, who 
 
198 LIFE OF GE:N^ERAL GRANT. 
 
 had questioned the right of Congress to issue paper 
 money. It wais on this issue that Thaddeus Stevens ad- 
 mitted the RepubHcans were travelling "outside of the 
 Constitution" with a view to preserve the Government, 
 and this soon became one of his favorite ways of meetino; 
 partisan objections to war measures. At the December 
 term of the Supreme Court, in 1869, a decision was ren- 
 dered that the action of Congress was unconstitutional, 
 the court then being accidentally Democratic in its com- 
 position. The Republicans, believing that they could not 
 afford to have their favorite, and it must be admitted 
 most useful, financial measure questioned, secured an in- 
 crease of two in the number of supreme justices— one 
 under a law creating an additional justiceship, the other 
 in place of a justice who had resigned— and in March. 
 1870, after the complexion of the court had been changed 
 through Republican appointments made by President 
 Grant, the constitutionality of the legal tender act was 
 again raised, and, with Chief-Justice Chase (who had 
 been Secretary of the Treasury in 1862) presiding, the 
 previous decision was reversed. This was clearly a parti- 
 san struggle before the court, and on the part of the Repub- 
 licans an abandonment of old landmarks impressed on the 
 country by the Jackson Democrats; but it is plain that 
 without the greenbacks the war could not have been 
 pressed with half the vigor, if at all. Neither party was 
 consistent in this struggle, for Southern Democrats, who 
 sided with their Northern colleagues in the plea of un- 
 constitutionality, had, when " out of the Union," witnessed 
 and advocated the issue of the same class of money bv 
 the Confederate Congress. The difference was only In 
 the ability to redeem, and this ability depended upon suc- 
 cess m arms-the very thing the issue was designed to 
 Pi-oniote. The last decision, despite its partisan surround- 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 199 
 
 ings and opposition, soon won popularity, and the right- 
 eousness of the decision is to-da^^ ahiiost universally 
 admitted. 
 
 Grant was always sound in the statesmanship of 
 finance. The war currency, as shown above, had no 
 support from him so long as it was unredeemed. Con- 
 cerning it he said : 
 
 " Fluctuation in the paper value of the measure of all 
 values (gold) is detrimental to the interests of trade. It 
 makes the man of business an involuntary gambler, for 
 in the sales where future payment is to be made both 
 parties speculate as to what will be the value of the cur- 
 rency to be paid and received. I earnestly recommend 
 to you, then, such legislation as will insure a gradual 
 return to specie payments, and put an immediate stop to 
 fluctuations in the value of currency." 
 
 In his first message he called attention to the fact that 
 '" among the evils growing out of the Rebellion is that of 
 an irredeemable currency. It is an evil which I hope 
 will receive your earliest attention. It is a duty, and 
 one of the highest duties of government, to secure to the 
 citizen a medium of exchange of fixed, unvarying value. 
 This implies a return to specie basis, and no substitute 
 for it can be devised." 
 
 During 1875 a law was passed which contained the 
 following clause : 
 
 "On and after the first day of January, Aiuio Domini 
 eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, the Secretary of the 
 Treasury shall redeem, in coin, the United States legal 
 tender notes then outstanding, on their presentation for 
 redemption at the office of the Assistant Treasurer of the 
 United States, in the city of New York, in sums of not 
 less than fifty dollars." 
 
 Great pressure was brought to bear upon the President, 
 
 13 
 
200 LIFE OF GENERAL GEAI^T. 
 
 to induce him to withhold his signature from the Resump- 
 tion Bill Not a few of Grant's warmest personal friends 
 were ardent inflationists. Eminent bankers, prominent 
 merchants, capitalists engaged in every kind of lousiness, 
 sent in to him their remonstrance against the adoption 
 of the measure. By petition, by personal appeal, by 
 letter and also by telegraph, came the warning that the 
 proposed policy would be the ruin of the country. 
 
 "Prominent Republicans," says Swift, "doubted the' 
 policy of naming a day when we should redeem. It was 
 derided as a party dodge and a visionary scheme. Not 
 for one moment did Grant waver. Pie felt that if the 
 occasion slipped hy it might not come again. The bill 
 was right. The vital interests of the country demanded 
 
 that we should come back to financial sanity 
 
 By his act the bill became law, and because of that act 
 resumption is now an accomplished fact. It was among 
 the last acts of special importance in his administration, 
 and was the consummation of a recommendation made by 
 him in his first state paper. . . . We are to-da}^ — 
 because we had Grant lor President — regarded by the 
 world as an honest nation." 
 
 In these very essential matters General Grant was 
 right, his policy was clear and determined, and history 
 in sununing up his career will adjudge him much merit 
 for the stand he took in the financial cause of this 
 country. 
 
 His career as President was signalized by many events 
 that will serve to bring him substantial renown when the 
 historian of the future bestows the laurels of renown. I 
 have now but to mention a few of them. 
 
 The second session of the 41st Congress began Decem- 
 ber 5th, 1870. With all of the States represented, recon- 
 Btruction being complete, the body was now divided 
 
 I 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 201 
 
 politically as follows: Senate, 61 Republicans, 13 Demo- 
 crats; House, 172 Republicans, 71 Democrats. Presi- 
 dent Grant's annual message discussed a new question, 
 and advocated the annexation of San Domingo to the 
 United States. A treaty had been negotiated between 
 President Grant and the President of the Republic of San 
 Domingo as early as September 4th, 1869, looking to 
 annexation, but it had been rejected b}' the Senate, 
 Charles Sumner being prominent in his opposition to the 
 measure. He and Grant experienced a growing personal 
 unpleasantness, because of the President's attempt to 
 negotiate a treaty without consulting Mr. Sumner, who 
 was chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
 it was charged that through the influence of the President 
 he was removed by the Republican caucus from this chair- 
 manship, and Senator Simon Cameron put in his place. 
 Whether this was true or not, the differences, between 
 Grant and Sumner were universally remarked, and 
 Sumner's imperious pride led hir/ into a very vindictive 
 assault upon the proposition. "Grant gave few other 
 reasons for annexation than military ones; suggested that 
 as a naval station it would facilitate all home operations 
 in the gulf, while in the hands of a foreign power, in the 
 event of war, it would prove the depot for many and dan- 
 gerous warlike preparations. The question had little 
 political significance, if it was ever designed to have any, 
 and this second attempt to bring the scheme to the atten- 
 tion of Congress, was that a joint resolution (as in the 
 annexation of Texas) might be passed. This would re- 
 quire but a majority, but the objection was met that no 
 territory could be annexed Mathout a treaty, and this 
 must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. A middle 
 course was taken, and the President was authorized to 
 appoint three commissioners to visit San Domingo and 
 
202 LIFE or GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 ascertain the desires of its people. These reported favor- 
 ably, but the subject was finally dropped, probably be- 
 cause the proposition could not command a two-thirds 
 vote, and has not since attracted attention. 
 
 In 1871 General Grant's administration achieved a 
 brilliant record in the settlement of the long-disputed 
 Alabama claims of the United States against Great 
 Britain, arising from the depredations of the Anglo-rebel 
 privateers, built and fitted out in British waters. These 
 claims were referred by the Treaty of Washington, dated 
 May 8th, 1871, to arbitrators, and this was the first and 
 most signal triumph in the plan of arbitration, so far as 
 the Government of the United States was concerned. 
 The arbitrators were appointed, at the invitation of the 
 Governments of Great Britain and the United States, 
 from these poworc, and from Brazil, Italy and Switzerland. 
 On September llth, 1872, they gave to the United States 
 gross damages to the amount of $15,500,000, an amount 
 which has subsequently proved to be really in excess of 
 the demands of merchants and others claiming the loss of 
 property through the depredations of the rebel ram 
 Alabama and other rebel privateers. We append a list 
 of the representatives of the several governments : 
 
 Arbitrator on the part of the United States — Charles 
 Francis Adams. 
 
 Arbitrator on the part of Great Britain — The Right 
 Honorable Sir Alexander Cockburn, Baronet, Lord Chief- 
 Justice of England. 
 
 Arbitrator on the part of Italy — His Excellency Senator 
 Count Sclopis. 
 
 Arbitrator on the part of Switzerland — Mr. Jacob 
 Stamplli. 
 
 Arbitrator on the part of Brazil — Baron D'ltajuba. 
 
 Agent on the part of the United States — J. C. Bancroft 
 Davis. 
 

 THE GREAT CORLISS ENaiNE, STARTED T.Y GENKUAL GRANT. 
 
 (203) 
 
204 LIFE OF GEKERAL GRANT. 
 
 Agent on the part of Great Britain — Right Honorable 
 Lord Tenterden. 
 
 Counsel for the United States — Caleb Cashing, William 
 M, Evarts, Morrison R. Waite. 
 
 Counsel for Great Britain —Sir Roundell Palmer. 
 
 Solicitor for the United States — Charles C. Beaman, Jr. 
 
 During 1873 occurred the Cuban Rebellion. The 
 steamship Virffinius, flying the United States flag, was 
 suspected of carrying men and supplies to the insurgent 
 Cubans, was captured by a Spanish cruiser off the coast 
 of Cuba, taken into port, and many of her passengers, 
 her captain and some of her crew, were publicly shot by 
 the local military authorities. Of course the affair pro- 
 
 MAIN BUILDING OF THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. 
 
 duced intense excitement in the United States, and for a 
 time war between Spain and the United States seemed 
 inevitable. But wisdom prevailed in the councils of the 
 nation. Through the efforts of General Grant the war 
 was prevented, and the difficulty amicably settled. 
 
 In 1876 the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia 
 took place. When everything was ready General Grant 
 opened the valve through which the steam was to pass 
 which was to set the gigantic Corliss engine and there- 
 fore all tlie machinery in connection in motion. Dom 
 Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, stood beside him at the time. 
 He closed his term of service honored by the people whom 
 
A8 IMIESIDENT. 
 
 205 
 
 he liad so faithfully served. We use the word faithfully 
 advisedly. We do not mean that there were no mistakes, 
 no errors of judgment, but simply that in every act 
 he acted conscientiously and upon honor. Many of his 
 friends were anxious that he should serve the country as 
 President for the third term. To this Grant pleasantly 
 but firmly refused, saying that to do so would be to estab- 
 lish a bad precedent, and that it would be an unwise 
 thing for both himself and country. 
 
 A popular writer thus refers to General Grant and his 
 abilities: 
 
 " By common consent, 
 General Grant to-day is 
 one of the ablest rulers in 
 the world. He is one of 
 the few men that occasion- 
 ally come to the surface, in 
 spite of all adverse sur- 
 roundings. The opinion of 
 politicians and demagogues 
 is one thing ; that of the 
 world is another. (^,^3y com- 
 mon consent, Grant stands 
 among the great military 
 captains of the earth. He 
 won his way by his own 
 sword. He built on no man's foundation, 
 into no man's labor. The hour that connected his name with 
 our armies was the blackest. Public confidence had well- 
 nigh died out. No plan succeeded. Defeat and disaster 
 attended our arms everywhere. Grant had no patron ; 
 no great friend ; no one politically to lend him a helping 
 hand ; no eminent relations to speak a good word for him. 
 His manner did not win confidence, nor promise success. 
 
 DOM PEDRO, 
 EMPEROR OF BRAZIL. 
 
 He entered 
 
206 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 He began at the foot and won his ascent by dogged 
 obstinacy. Thousands would have left the army and 
 cursed the ingratitude of Kepublics. But Grant knew 
 that he had ability ; knew that the time would come when 
 that ability would be needed and acknowledged. He 
 fought more battles, commanded more men, took more 
 spoils, gained more victories, captured more prisoners, in 
 six years, than Napoleon did in twenty. 
 ^ - " Grant will live beside Washington. And when the 
 animosity of political life shall be forgotten, and the great 
 services he has rendered to his country in the field and 
 in the cabinet shall be fully recognized, he will be an 
 example to young men in all coming time. A young 
 man without money, without a patron, with no opening, 
 wholly unknown to fame, he has carved his name in 
 imperishable letters on the facade of the Republic. His 
 old commander at West Point, when Grant was a cadet, 
 waited for his orders. The greatest generals of modern 
 times were proud to have fought under him. He wrote 
 dispatches on his saddle-cloth that all Europe waited in 
 breathless silence to read, — disj)atches that rank with the 
 ablest that Monk or Wellington ever penned ; granting 
 to a fallen foe terms of surrender so honorable and so 
 humane that the world wondered ; making for himself a 
 name as well known to European courts as that of Fred- 
 eric the Great, or Moltke. 
 
 " He is one of the few men born to command. Cool, 
 sagacious, clear-headed ; his few words, and those right to 
 the ])oint, brought him to the front everywhere. From 
 the moment he first apjDcared in the war, his views differed 
 fr(jm those of all other generals. Halleck reproved him, 
 and telegram after telegram followed him from the War 
 Hepartment, censuring him for his mode of doing things. 
 Committees, generals and secretaries opposed his plans. 
 
AS PRESIDENT. 207 
 
 But self-reliant and defiant, lie pursued his own course. 
 During the whole campaign, he called but one council oi 
 war. In that council every officer but one opposed his 
 plan. He carried out his own views, and won. His 
 famous expression, 'I shall fight it out on this line,' 
 was drawn out in consequence of an attempt in high 
 quarters to make him change his j^lans. He was interfered 
 with on every side. More than once he came up from 
 his cam]) to protest against the perpetual annoyance. 
 Once he said to Mr. Lincoln, 'If the oj^inion of these 
 civil and military gentlemen is of so much importance, 
 why did you not follow their advice before you called 
 meV 
 
 " That Grant has marked executive ability is proved by 
 the fact that he is an able general. The elements that 
 make a great general, make a great ruler. An army is a 
 state, and a man who can rule that well, can rule a nation 
 well. The history of military men in all ages proves this 
 The great captains of the Old World have been the 
 mightiest rulers. The most po2:>ular Presidents, from 
 Washington to Grant, have been military Presidents. A 
 thousand men can lead a column, make a brilliant dash, 
 fight a battle, and win a victory. Not ten men out of 
 that thousand can plan a campaign, move half a million 
 Crf men, cover an area of a thousand miles, and make no 
 mistake in a single movement. We had brilliant men, 
 patriotic men, earnest men, but all were failures till Grant 
 appeared, for none of them could plan a campaign. As 
 Grant conducted his army, so he did his administration. 
 Whether people liked it or not, in the Cabinet as in the 
 field. Grant carried out his own plans. He was the head 
 of the nation, as Washington was. Everywhere he took 
 the initiatory steps, and assumed the responsibility. 
 When he presented a matter to the Cabinet, he did so 
 
^08 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 with his own views, saying, ' Gentlemen, I propose to do 
 so and so.' 
 
 "On the Black Friday, when unscrupulous men came 
 near ruining the whole country. General Grant walked 
 quietly into the Treasury Buildino-, and gave a simple 
 order, and moved on the conspirators, as his custom is. 
 His courage and patriotism were tried during the short 
 period he held the portfolio of the War Department. 
 While lieutenant-general, a United States Senator rode 
 with General Grant to New York. The Senator found 
 the General of the army as familiar with finance as if he 
 had made it the study of his life. He sketched a plan by 
 which the great debt of our country could be managed, 
 gradually reduced, and the business of the country not be 
 harmed. That plan, hastily developed on the iron path- 
 way, has been persistently adhered to, as the General 
 would adhere to the plan of his campaign. 
 
 " The self-reliance and individuality of Grant are 
 among his marked characteristics. He has a plan in all 
 that he does, and adheres to it with sullen obstinacy. 
 When his plans for the campaign were completed, he 
 presented them to the President. They included Sher- 
 man's famous march to the sea. Grant was to remain in 
 the Wilderness, keeping Lee busy. ' Do you understand 
 the plan, Mr. President ? ' said the commanding general. 
 'Perfectly. You are to stay here and hold the legs of 
 the "Kebellion, while Sherman comes through to skin 'em.' 
 When his vigorous campaign began to open in the West, 
 Sherman offered his sword, and told Grant that he would 
 not raise the question of rank. Grant's orders to St. 
 Louis were not obeyed, and he went down to see what was 
 the matter. Halleck reproved him. ' Pemove me at 
 once, if I don't obey orders,' was the response. 
 
 " His perfect knowledge of men is another trait of 
 
A8 rit ESI DENT. 209 
 
 Grant's character. He seldom makes a mistake. Meade 
 was a2Jpointed at his personal solicitation, and the praise 
 that he bestowed upon that general and other associates in 
 armies, was unstinted and manly. While he was in the 
 Wilderness, an official of the War Department came down 
 and spent some time in the camp. Grant took his 
 measure at once, for he seemed to understand war better 
 than the General. When this man applied for az" 
 important commission under the government. Grant 
 refused the appointment, and has been heartily hated 
 by that gentleman ever since. 
 
 " He is a thoroughly domestic man. His quiet, unos- 
 tentatious style of life is in harmony with the genius of 
 the great country over which he rules. At Washington, 
 all the time not required by public service is spent in the 
 bosom of his family. After office hours, the Presidei?t 
 can be found in his elegant parlors, surrounded by his 
 household. Mrs. Grant knows — what a great many 
 wives do not know, but would be glad to know — where 
 her husband spends his evenings. At Long Branch the 
 Presidential cottage, unpretentious but attractive, is two 
 miles away from the hotels. He is away from the noise, 
 turmoil, and confusion of the public. Any one who 
 wishes to make the President a social call, will find him 
 at home any time after the drive is over. No letters of 
 introduction are needed, for the President is accessible to 
 every one. All who call will find him a quiet, genial, 
 intelligent, unostentatious gentleman; a man of very 
 decided opinions on matters and things in general, and 
 quite able to express them when he desires so to do. His 
 JDcrsonal recreations and pleasures are of his own type, 
 and he knows how to enjoy them. He worships in the 
 Methodist Church, and though not a communicant, he is 
 an official member of the Church. He usually drives a 
 
210 LIFE or GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 pair of spanking bays in a high Englisli carriage, known 
 as a dao-cart. He cakes his seat in church without 
 parade, hstens with sharp attention, keeping his keen 
 eyes on the preacher, seldom changing his position through 
 the service." 
 
 Let us end his civil career with the advice he gave the 
 nation when he took leave of it. In his message he 
 urged : 
 
 1st. That the States should be required to furnish good 
 common school education to all, and that the attendance 
 of children should be compulsory. 
 
 2d. No sectarian tenets should be taught in any school, 
 and, after 1890, all persons that cannot read and write 
 shall cease to be voters. 
 
 3d. Church and State should be declared forever sepa- 
 rate and distinct, while perfect freedom should be secured 
 to all sects. 
 
 4th. Laws should be enacted to return to sound cur- 
 rency. 
 
 Much is embraced in these few short sentences — they 
 furnish the very foundation of a firm and prosperous 
 state, and should be engraved on the heart of a nation. 
 
 The Roman Senate when it wished to do honor to 
 one of the benefactors of the nation, voted that he " de- 
 serves well of his country.''^ It is high praise, and no man 
 of any party could refuse to indorse this vote for General 
 Grant. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 GENERAL GRANT LEAVES PHILADELPHIA ACROSS THE OCEAN 
 
 WELCOME TO ENGLAND LIVERPOOL MANCHESTER 
 
 LONDON PIERREPONT GIVES A RECEPTION THE FREEDOM 
 
 OF THE CITY OF LONDON RECEPTION BY THE CORPORATION 
 
 A VISIT TO THE QUEEN OFF FOR BELGIUM. 
 
 On the 17th of May, 1877, ex-President Grant, with 
 his wife and son Jesse, sailed for Europe, from Phila- 
 delphia, in the American line steamship Indiana. His 
 departure was made the occasion of a great partii^g 
 demonstration, in which all classes of the community 
 seemed to have taken a hearty and enthusiastic share. 
 
 AMERICAN LINE STEAMER INDIANA. 
 
 The steamer Twilight carried the ex-President, the late 
 members of his Cabinet, with other distinguished persons, 
 and the invited guests from this city, to the number 
 altogether of about five hundred persons. The United 
 States revenue cutter Hamilton bore Mrs. Grant, under 
 the care of Mr. Cliilds, and a few other leading citizens of 
 
 (211) 
 
812 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Philadelphia. Both steamers accompanied the "Indiana'* 
 down the river as far as Newcastle, Del., some thirty miles 
 from the city, where, with many " God speeds," and much 
 cheering^ and blowing of steam-whistles, the honored 
 guest and his family were, at half-past three, bid farev/eli 
 and transferred to the steamer which was to carry them 
 across the ocean. Before this occurred, however, a very 
 interesting ceremony took place on board the " Twilight." 
 Friends who had come to bid farewell to the General 
 gathered in the ladies' cabin, where a private table had 
 been spread. After having partaken of the refreshments, 
 Mayor Stokley arose and offered as a toast '' The honored 
 guest of to-day," and in a brief speech referred to the 
 fact that their guest was about to depart on a long jour- 
 ney. To this General Grant briefly responded. The 
 reply was received with cheers. Shortly after this the 
 General was transferred to the " Indiana," last good-byes 
 were said and the steamer proceeded on her way to Eng- 
 land. Previous to their departure a telegram was re- 
 ceived from President Hayes and wife conveying to the 
 General and Mrs. Grant their wishes for a prosperous 
 journey and a safe return. To this the following reply 
 was sent : 
 
 j Steamer " Twilight," Delaware River. 
 
 1 May 17th, 11a. m. 
 
 President Hayes, Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C. : 
 
 Mrs. Grant joins me in thanks to you and Mrs. Hayes for your 
 kind wishes in your message received on board this boat after 
 pusliing out from the wliarf. We unite in returning our cordial 
 greetings and in expressing our best wishes for your health, happi- 
 ness and success in your most responsible position. Hoping to 
 return to my country to find it prosperous in business and with 
 cordial feelings renewed between all sections, 
 
 I am very truly yours, U. S. Grant. 
 
 Although the General was very free in his conversation j 
 
TOUR AR0U:ND the world. 218 
 
 there were certain subjects wliicli lie persistently avoided. 
 One of these was American politics. 
 
 As they drew near Queenstown, a heavy north-north- 
 west gale, which had been predicted, met the steamer. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF THE INDIANA AT QUEENSTOWN. 
 
 which caused the sea to run very high. A deputation 
 from Cork came alongside the Indiana in a steam-tug. 
 Grant at that moment was leaning over the taffrail, 
 quietly smoking his cigar ; upon his head he wore a plain 
 black silk hat. When the deputation saw him, they gave 
 him three rousing Irish cheers. They offered him the 
 hospitalities of Queenstown, remarking that every village 
 and hamlet in Ireland had resounded with the praises of 
 his name, and would welcome him with all the warmth 
 and candor characteristic of the Irish people. 
 
 A little ex tempore reception was held in the captain's 
 cabin, when the ex-President replied to the citizens of 
 Queenstown, regretting that he could not then avail him- 
 self of their hospitality, but promising to return to 
 
OJ4 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Ireland within a short time. His letters and cable 
 dispatches were then delivered to him, the deputation 
 withdrew, and the Indiana proceeded to Liver230ol; hearty 
 cheers being exchanged between the two vessels as long as 
 they were w^ithin hearing distance. 
 
 There was a fair yachting breeze all the way uj) the 
 Channel, the sun emerging occasionally and permitting a 
 clear view of the Welsh coast. The Indiana reached 
 Liverpool at half-past two, p. m., gaily dressed all over 
 with flags. In honor of the arrival of the distinguished 
 American, all the shipping in the Liverpool docks also 
 exhibited a jDrofuse display of bunting, the flags of all 
 nations waving along the seven miles of water-front, 
 presenting a magnificent coup cFoeiL 
 
 General Badeau, the United States Consul-General at 
 London ; the Vice-Consul at Liverpool, representing Mr. 
 Fairchild, and a number of prominent London and 
 Liverpool merchants, doing business with the United 
 States, went out in three tenders and met the steamer a 
 short distance down the Mersey. As the Indiana neared 
 the docks, General Grant was seen standing on the bridge 
 with the captain, acknowledging the cheers of the immense 
 crowds which lined the water-front and every pier and 
 vessel along the river. 
 
 General Grant and friends left the steamer in the tug, 
 on which were the consuls and a few intimate friends. 
 The Mayor of Liver]30ol, members of Common Council, a 
 deputation of merchants, surrounded by an immense 
 throng of people of both sexes, anxious to see the "great 
 Yankee general," awaited the arrival of the tenders at 
 tlie landing stage. As General Badeau's boat ran along- 
 side the Custom House wharf, a tremendous, deafening 
 clieer went up. The weather was truly delightful. A 
 britrht sunshine brightened the appearance of the thous- 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 215 
 
 ands of many-colored flags, and the smootli water in the 
 river reflected the beaming rays. 
 
 General Grant landed with Madame Badeau leaning 
 on his arm, Mrs. Grant following with General Badean 
 and her son, forming a most interesting group. As the 
 party stepped on to the wharf, a cordon of police formed 
 around them and the Mayor and Councilmen, as the 
 thousands of people had begun to crush and crowd in 
 
 
 SCENE ON THE MERSEY NEAR LIVERPOOL. 
 
 their eagerness to get a sight of the visitors. Now the 
 
 cheering from the crowd on shore was taken up by the 
 
 passengers of the Indiana, who thus bade adieu to their 
 
 famous fellow j)assenger. 
 
 A speech welcoming the distinguished visitor was read 
 
 by the Mayor, to which the General brietiy replied, after 
 
 ivhich the official entertainment was carried out. 
 14 • 
 
216 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The reception of General Grant in England was not | 
 unlike the ovations which monarchs receive from other " 
 nations. Everything and everybody seemed to be in the 
 best possible spirits. There was nothing to mar the 
 grandeur of the scene. General Grant w^as the hero of 
 the hour, and every one seemed determined to make the 
 visit one of international importance. The press were 
 unanimous in sounding his praise. His career as a 
 soldier and statesman was reviewed, and the record pro- 
 nounced perfect. One of them declared that he was 
 "worthy of every possible attention. His name is so 
 closely interwoven with recent events in the history of 
 the United States, that not only in America, but through- 
 out Europe, he is entitled to respectful treatment in a 
 degree which it is the lot of but very few to command. 
 It urges, therefore, free and generous receptions every- 
 where." 
 
 When the Aldermen at Queenstown wished to present 
 him with an address, some opposed the idea for the reason 
 that Grant had declined to receive the address of the 
 Irish nation. This act upon the part of General Grant 
 provoked the ire of some of the members of the Catholic 
 Church at that point ; and on the Sunday following his 
 arrival, a parish priest preached a sermon against him 
 because he had shown himself the persistent enemy of the 
 Catholic Church. This solitary instance of bigotry which 
 has been unduly magnified, would not in the least have 
 interfered with the popular demonstration had he landed,, 
 and a corporation address would have been presented. 
 
 On the 30th of May, General Grant, accompanied by 
 his wife, Mrs. Fairchild, General Badeau, Mr. Galloway, 
 tlie American Consular Commissioner, and Mr. Crane, 
 United States Consul at Manchester, left Liverpool en 
 route for Manchester. As they passed along, immense 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 2X7 
 
 crowds gathered at every station and loudly cheered them. 
 All the stations were beautifully decorated, the American 
 flag being everywhere prominent. 
 
 At eleven o'clock they reached Manchester. They 
 were received by the Mayor and Aldermen, and a very 
 large assemblage of citizens, who manifested their enthu- 
 siasm by continued cheering. Accompanied by these 
 dignitaries, General Grant visited the Victories which 
 have made Manchester famous, the new Town Assizes 
 Court and the Royal Exchange. 
 
 At the new Town *Hall the distinguished visitor was 
 received by the Dean of Manchester, Mr. Birley, M. P. ; 
 Jacob Bright, and the Mayors of Talford and Wigan. 
 The address of the Mayor and Corporation was presented 
 in the drawing-room. A congratulatory address was de- 
 livered by Sir Joseph Heron. After General Grant had 
 responded, lunch was served in the large banquet hall. 
 
 On the following day the General departed for London, 
 stopping at Leicester and Bedford on the way. 
 
 At the terminus of the Midland Railway the travellers 
 were given another enthusiastic welcome. They were 
 met at this point by Minister Pierrepont, on behalf of the 
 United States, and Lord Vernon. The entrance of the 
 station was thronged with huge crowds which cheered 
 loudly. There was no time for speech-making. General 
 and Mrs. Grant and General Badeau entered the carriage 
 of Mr. Pierrepont, and were driven thence to the residence 
 of the American minister. 
 
 On the 2d of June the General paid a visit to the 
 Prince of Wales, and was invited to visit Epsom in com- 
 pany with the heir-apparent. The invitation was ac- 
 cepted, and his royal host discharged his duty as enter- 
 tainer in a truly royal style. The visit was not a long 
 one, but it v/as rich in pleasant entertainment. 
 
21 S 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GEANT. 
 
 On the evening of the 5th of June a grand reception 
 was given by Hon. Edward Pierrei3ont, United States 
 Minister to the Court of St. James. It was a magnificent 
 afiair, and was in every way a grand success. 
 
 Three days Later a visit was paid to the agricultural 
 exhibition at Bath. Here he met with a cordial recep- 
 tion. After this he dined with the Duke of Devonshire, 
 at whose table he met about fifty members of the House 
 of Lords and otiiers. Later he was given a reception at 
 the residence of General Badeau. 
 
 The freedom of the City of London was bestowed upon. 
 General Grant upon the loth of June. This is no com • 
 mon honor. The greatest heroes and the jDrcud-fist mon- 
 archs have been reckoned among the " freemeno" Georgo 
 ni., who always expressed a supreme contempt for ordi- 
 nary matters and mortals, had to acknowledg(? that thf. 
 City of London could bestow a franchise more vrluabh? 
 than all the knighthoods and baubles of the crown. Sinct^ 
 his day hundreds of men, whose works will ever be re- 
 garded as the gems of history — statesmen, scientists, law- 
 yers, merchants, princes, have been recorded in the grand 
 old book, which is prized by the Corporation of London 
 more than all the privileges and immunities granted by 
 the government. George Peabody, the noble and benevo-^ 
 lent American merchant, whose name is ever uttered by the 
 poor of the English metropolis with affectionate reverence, 
 was made a freeman. General Garibaldi, the liberator of 
 Italy and the father of Italian unity, received the same 
 ])rivilege. The Shah of Persia, the Sultan of Turkey, the 
 Czar of Russia, Prince Leopold of Belgium, Napoleon III., 
 General Blucher and M. Thiers were also presented with 
 the rights, privileges and immunities of the dwellers within 
 " ye Bishopgate " and Temple Bar. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 219 
 
 It has often been asked, What is the freedom of the 
 City of London? It is simply this — a small slip of 
 parchment, inscribed with the name and titles of the per- 
 son to whom it is to be presented, guarantees to the holder 
 and his children after him, forever, the right to live and 
 trade within the city prescribed by St. Clements in the 
 west, Bishopgate in the east, Pentonville on the north and 
 the shores of the Thames on the south, without having to 
 pay a tax on the goods as they are brought through the 
 gates. It exempts them from naval and military service 
 and toils and duties throughout the United Kingdom. It 
 insures to his children the care of the Chamberlain, who, 
 in case they are left orphans, takes charge of their property 
 and administers it in their interest until they arrive at 
 years of maturity. The parchment bears the seal and 
 signature of the Lord Mayor and Chamberlain and is 
 generally ornamented with libbon, and illuminated. It is 
 always enclosed in a long, thin gold box, and is intended, 
 of course, as an heirloom. 
 
 When the Corporation have decided to confer the 
 parchment upon any distinguished individual, he is noti- 
 fied in the old-fashioned style by the City Chamberlain, 
 whose missive begins, "You are hereby commanded to 
 appear in the Common Hall," &c., naming the date when 
 the City Fathers will be present. He is met in the 
 Common Hall by the Mayor and Councillors. The City 
 Chamberlain informs him that the city has decided to 
 confer upon him the privileges of a free citizen, and 
 makes an address, usually applaudatory of the special 
 services or merits of the individual. The recipient signs 
 his name in the Clerk's Book, and this official and the 
 City Chamberlain then sign their names beneath as 
 guarantors or "compurgators," becoming, according to 
 the rule, responsible for his acts as a citizen. The recipi- 
 
•j-o LIFE OF GENERAL GRAKT. 
 
 ent tlieii steps forward, the oath is administered by the 
 Chamberlain, who demands that he shall be in all and 
 every resj^ect, true and loyal to the interests of the city ; 
 he shakes hands with the Mayor, Chamberlain, Clerk and 
 Councillors, and the gold box is committed to his care. 
 This is the method usually adopted toward all who are 
 not within the category of royalty. 
 
 Jealous of their power and prestige, and Avith the view of 
 checking the arrogance of former kings and queens, the 
 Corporation of London would not allow the crowned 
 heads to pass beneath Temple Bar without permission. 
 Whenever the royalty desired to enter the city the "gra- 
 ciousness" came from the Lord Mayor. He would meet 
 majesty with the keys of the city in his hand, and when 
 he had unlocked the gates, in imagination, he led the way 
 into town. Thus in presenting the freedom of the city to 
 monarchs the Lord Mayor meets them in state at Temple 
 Bar. The royal cortege, with an escort of the Horse 
 Guards, usually leaves Buckingham Palace, passes into 
 Trafalgar square, thence to Charing Cross, along the 
 Strand to St. Clement's boundary, on the west side of 
 Temple Bar. The Mayor, attended by the Chamberlain, 
 advances to the carriage of the royal guest, makes a brief 
 address and ofiers the keys of the city, which are simply 
 touched and handed back. The Mayor returns to his 
 state coach, and, preceded by a strong detatchment of 
 police, passes down Fleet street, past Chancery lane and 
 the principal courts to Farringdon, across Farringdon to 
 Ludgate Hill, up Ludgate Hill to St. Paul's, passing 
 round the cathedral to the south, thence to Cheapside, east- 
 ward along Cheapside to King street and down King street 
 to the Guildhall. The militia of the city and the sergeant- 
 at-arms (mace bearer) receives the guest at the door, and he 
 is received by llic peers and the company j^resent standing. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD 221 
 
 The reception given by the Corporation of London to 
 Oeneral Grant was a complete success. The event excited 
 nnusiud interest even in cynical London. The day was 
 unusually sunny and clear, being what many of the spec- 
 tators called " Queen's weather." At an early hour the 
 streets in the vicinity of the Guildhall were barricaded and 
 all traffic prohibited that might interfere with the free ar- 
 rival and departure of carriages through King street and 
 the Old Jewry. Traffic was suspended east to the Bank 
 of England, the Stock Exchange, Lombard street, and 
 King William and Moorgate streets, and west as far as St, 
 Martin's-le-Grand and St. Paul's, 
 
 As Grant alighted he was met by a deputation of Lon- 
 don Aldermen, arrayed in their gorgeous crimson robes 
 and with the gold chains of office glittering in the sun- 
 light. As he passed on into the corridor a company of the 
 City Guards and Yeomen presented arms, and the crowd 
 again gave a loud cheer. The distinguished party were 
 then escorted nito the library. 
 
 General Grant walked in a dignified and self-possessed 
 manner toward the Lord Mayor's chair and took a seat to 
 the left of the dais, amid the most cordial cheering. The 
 City Chamberlain arose and read the formal address on 
 behalf of the Mayor, tendering to the General the right 
 hand of fellowship, and referring at length to the fact 
 that he was the first President of the American Republic 
 who had been elevated to the dignity of citizenship of the 
 city of London. 
 
 At the close of the Mayor's speech General Grant arose 
 and l^riefly and appropriately thanked the Court for the 
 distinguished honor, and then signed his name to the roll 
 of honor, with the Clerk and Chamberlain as compurga- 
 tors. The company then proceeded to the banqueting 
 hall, where the Lord Mayor presided. 
 
22-2 LIFE OF GENERAL GRAXT. 
 
 The room was decorated with miniature English and 
 American flags and the tables presented an interesting and 
 artistic appearance. 
 
 After the dejeuner the toastmaster, dressed in a gor- 
 geous silk sash formed of stars and stripes, arose, and the 
 bugle sounded. The first toast was "The Queen," the 
 second was " The health of General Grant," which was 
 received by the guests standing and amid great cheering. 
 The Lord Mayor then said : 
 
 " I, as Chief Magistrate of the City of London, and on the 
 part of the Corporation, offer you as hearty a welcome as the sin- 
 cerity of language can convey. Your presence here, as the late 
 President of the United States, is specially gratifying to all 
 classes of the community, and we feel that, although this is your 
 first visit to England, it is not a stranger we greet, but a tried 
 and honored friend. Twice occupying, as you did, the exalted 
 position of President of the United States, and therefore one of 
 the foremost representatives of that country, we confer honor 
 upon ourselves by honoring you. Let me express both the 
 hope and belief that when you take your departure you will feel 
 that many true friends of yours personally, and also of your 
 countrymen, have been left behind. I have the distinguished 
 honor to propose your health. May you long live to enjoy the 
 best of health and unqualified happiness." 
 
 The gold casket, containing the freedom of the city, is 
 in the cinque cento style, oblong, the corners mounted by 
 American eagles and beautifully decorated. On the re- 
 verse side is a view of the entrance to the Guildhall, and 
 an appropriate inscription. At the ends are two figures, 
 also in gold, finely modelled and chased, representing the 
 city of London and the United States, and bearing their 
 respective shields, the latter executed in rich enamel. 
 At the corners are double columns laurel wreathed with 
 coi-n and cotton, and on the cover a cornucopia, emblem- 
 atic of the fertility and prosperity of the United States. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 223 
 
 The rose, shamrock and thistle are also introduced. The 
 cover is surmounted by the arms of the city of London. 
 The casket is supported by American eagles, modelled 
 and chased in gold, the whole standing on a velvet plinth 
 decorated with stars and stripes. 
 
 General Grant's reply was made with deep emotion, 
 and was simply to return his thanks for the unexpected 
 honor paid him, and his desire to say much more for their 
 brilliant reception than he could express. 
 
 In the evening of the following day, the 18th, he was 
 the guest of the Reform Club. 
 
 The dinner itself was among the finest ever given in 
 London, the cuisine of this association of Liberal gentle- 
 men being celebrated all over the world, and free from all 
 danger of its chef ever being called on to fight for his 
 reputation in the courts, as the Napoleon of the soup tureen 
 who composes banquets for a rival club was obliged to do 
 of late. The table was a picture in itself, not to speak of 
 the good things between the top and bottom of the menu. 
 
 Earl Granville, as soon as the cloth was removed, pro- 
 posed the health of Her Majesty the Queen. To this the 
 Right Hon. WiUiam E. Foster responded in a singularly 
 eloquent speech. In the course of his remarks he re- 
 ferred to the great service of General Grant in the cause 
 of human freedom. He dwelt with particular emphasis 
 upon the importance to civilization of the cultivation of 
 amicable relations between the two great countries, Eng- 
 land and the United States. With great felicity he 
 pictured the results of such a state of friendliness, and 
 elicited continued cheering. 
 
 In replying General Grant said : " I am overwhelmed 
 with the kindness shown by Englishmen to me and ex- 
 pressed to America." He spoke under the pressure 
 of unwonted feeling and with unusual eloquence. 
 
224 
 
 LIFE OF GEXERAL GRANT. 
 
 The gathering was a j^leasant one, and served to cement 
 the two countries represented more closely together. 
 
 An event of great importance occurred on Tuesday, 
 June 26th. It was nothing less than the visit of General 
 Grant and suite to the Queen. They left London by the 
 five P. M. from Paddington, and arrived at Windsor at 
 thirty-five minutes past five. The train on which they 
 left was in charge of a special superintendent, and the 
 journey w^as through the lovely scenery of Middlesex, 
 Surrey and Berks. The guests arrived before the expected 
 hour, and consequently Sir Thomas Biddulph, who had 
 been delegated to receive them, was not at the station, and 
 therefore their arrival was unceremonious. 
 
 GREEN PARK. 
 
 When they arrived at the castle, they found that Her 
 Majesty and Princess Beatrice were out riding in the 
 Green Park, they not expecting their guests until a latei 
 
TOUll AROUND TTTE WOULD. 225 
 
 hour. General Grant did not express any disappoint- 
 ment, but seemed desirous of utilizing the time he would 
 have to wait by examining the grand pile of buildings, 
 especially the first fortress of the group, which was built 
 by William the Conquerer. After waiting a few minutes, 
 the party entered the celebrated Lancaster Tower and 
 repaired to the apartments where they were to await the 
 return of the Queen. While so waiting, they amused 
 themselves with descriptions of the lovely views from the 
 windows of the tower. It was a view replete with beauty 
 and variety. Away to the west was the silvery-looking 
 Thames, winding through the level country far away. 
 At half-past eight the Queen, surrounded by the members 
 of the household, received the Americans in the magnifi- 
 cent corridor at the door leading to her private apartments 
 in the quadrangle. This quadrangle is formed by the 
 state apartments- on the north, by the historic Round 
 Tower on the west, and the private apartments of the 
 Queen and of the royal household on the south and east. 
 At the west end of the square stands the equestrian statue 
 oi' the martyr King Charles I., who was executed in 1649. 
 T'his was the gift of an old servant to the crown at Hamp- 
 Um Court. The pedestal of this statue is a perfect marvel 
 of the sculptor's art. On the north, west and south sides 
 are fish, implements of commerce, fruits and arms in basso 
 relievo by the celebrated Gibbon. The statue and horse 
 have for years been the butt of carping critics. The mag- 
 nificent 'gateway of the quadrangle, leading direct from 
 the Long Walk, is one of the principal features, the arch- 
 way being some twenty-four feet high, and is surmounted 
 by machiolated embrasures and apartments for gatekeepers 
 and attendants. At the eastern corner stands York Tower, 
 on the west the Lancaster Tourer, which corresjDonds to 
 the York Tower. The tower in honor of the House of 
 
226 LIFE OF GENERAL GKANT. 
 
 Lancaster was built by George IV., in 1824, from, plans 
 by Jeffery Wyatville. The principal entrance to the state 
 apartments is directly opposite to this gateway. A small 
 clock house surmounts the tower at the entrance to the 
 corridor. Above the base of the arch, under which the 
 carriages pass to the door, is a fine, richly ornamented 
 apartment, (lighted by tall Gothic windows, and contain- 
 ing luxuriously canopied niches, containing figures of the 
 Black Prince and Edward III.,) which forms a communi- 
 cation with the front rooms, reserved for state receptions. 
 At the northeast corner of the courtyard is the small 
 tower, beneath which the visitors approached Her Majesty 
 in the corridor. This double corridor is 520 feet long, and 
 extends around the south and east sides of the quadrangle. 
 In rough weather it is used as a promenade. Entrance 
 to the principal rooms is had through folding doors. The 
 ceiling, which is very lofty, is divided into large squares, 
 the centres bearing a variety of ornamental and beautifully 
 gilded devices, representing numerous epochs and events 
 known to ancient, modern and biblical history. The pri- 
 vate entrance used by the Queen is at the southeast angle, 
 a grand structure standing about thirty feet from the face 
 of the main building, forming a portico flanked by octan- 
 gular towers. In a panel in the centre, between the 
 battlements, are sculptured the royal arms in bas-relief 
 by the renowned Kosi. Above the portico is the Oak 
 Room, so called from the extravagant oak wainscoting and 
 the delightful color of the walls and ceiling. This is used 
 as a morning or breakfast room. Three immense arched 
 windows command a view of the entire quadrangle. The 
 entrance is truly magnificent, being triangular, with stone 
 facing, ornamented , with canopied niches, highly sculp- 
 tured, communicating with the corridor by a landing, 
 above which is a huge, elaborately embellished lantern. 
 
TUUll AKOUNl) THE WORLD. 2:^7 
 
 A despatch was handed to General Grant, and was 
 shown to the Queen while at dinner. It read thus : 
 
 " YouT comrades, in annual encampment assembled at Provi- 
 dence, E,. I., send heartiest greetings to their old commander, and 
 desire through England's Queen to thank England for Grant's 
 reception." 
 
 Most of the ladies were dressed in black with white 
 trimmings, owing to the deaths recently of the Queen of 
 Holland and the Duke of Hesse Darmstadt. The Queen 
 was attired in a similar style, but her toilet comprised a 
 very magniticent array of diamonds. After dinner the 
 Queen's party proceeded to the corridor for the purj)ose of 
 enabling the visitors to examine it more closely. Here 
 they met another party from the Octagon and a lively 
 conversation ensued, during which Her Majesty talked 
 with every person present. About ten o'clock Her Majesty 
 shook hands with her lady guests, bowed to the gentlemen 
 .and retired, followed by other members of the royal family. 
 On the following morning General and Mrs. Grant 
 were driven in the Great Park in a carriage usually used 
 by the Queen at half-past ten. He, with Americauh, 
 accompanied by Mr. Ward Hunt, First Lord of the Ad- 
 miralty, and Colonel Gardiner, went to the station and 
 took the train for Bishop's road (Paddington). 
 
 In the evening a state concert was given at Buckingham 
 Palace. General Grant and Mrs. Grant, the Emperor and 
 Empress of Brazil, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the 
 Duke and Duchess of Teck, Prince Christian and the 
 Princess Helena, the Princess Louise and the Marquis of 
 Lome, and the Duke of Cambridge, were present. 
 
 Having, for the time being, fulfilled all his engage- 
 ments in Endand, he started for the Continent July otli. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ARRIVAL AT BRUSSELS — LUZERNE, SWITZERLAND — GENEVA 
 
 THE MER DE GLACE EDINBURGH TAY BRIDGE AT 
 
 THE HOME OF SIR WALTER SCOTT — GLASGOW BRIGHTON 
 
 — PARIS " PALAIS d' INDUSTRIE "' m'mAHON GIVES A 
 
 DINNER — GRANT AT THE TOMB OF THIERS — THE MACKEY 
 DINNER AND RECEPTION. 
 
 General Grant and his companions readied Brussels, 
 the capital of Belgium, at about six o'clock in the evening 
 of the 6th of July, and at once proceeded to the Bellevue 
 Hotel. No official reception was given them, as the Gen- 
 eral desired to travel for a time incognito. 
 
 Shortly after his arrival, however, an aide-de-camp of 
 King Leopold visited the General, bearing from his royal 
 master an invitation to dinner, and placed at the disposal 
 of his visitor his aides and carriage of state. 
 
 In the evening following his arrival, General Grant 
 dined with Mr. Sandford, ex-Minister of the United 
 States. Several Belgian functionaries occuj)ied seats at 
 the table. 
 
 On the following day the ex-President and his suite 
 visited the Hotel de Ville, where the Burgomaster did the 
 honors of the Communal Palace. The General perused 
 with much interest the details of the telegraph and water 
 supply. 
 
 On the 8th, General Grant was visited by King Leo- 
 pold, which being entirely out of the usual course, is con- 
 
 (2ii8) 
 
TOUR AKOUNJD THE WORLD. 2:^9 
 
 sidered as being a great honor. Later in the day, General 
 and Mrs. Grant paid a visit to the King and Queen. A 
 gala dinner was given at the palace in the evening, and 
 quite a distinguished company sat down to the table. All 
 the high officials of the State and the foreign Ministers 
 were present. King Leopold took Mrs. Grant to dinner, 
 and the ex-President had the honor of escorting the 
 Queen. 
 
 On the following morning all the foreign ministers in 
 Brussels called upon the General. Throughout his stay 
 in the Belgian capital, he was treated with the greatest 
 distinction. 
 
 On Saturday, the 14th, a grand reception was given 
 at the Gesellschaftshaus of the Zoological Garden, the 
 Chief Burgomaster joresenting the guests. A grand con- 
 cert was afterwards given, which was attended by several 
 thousands of persons. Stassy's famous band and the 
 musicians of the Thirteenth Hussars were engaged for the 
 occasion. 
 
 The next day General Grant and his party left Frank- 
 fort for Lucerne, Switzerland. A brief stop was made at 
 this point, and then they passed on to Interlaken. The 
 scenery at this point is exceedingly beautiful, and General 
 Grant made several excursions into the surrounding 
 country for the purpose of beholding its splendor. 
 
 On the 24th the party arrived at Berne, and on the 
 following day were received by the President of the Swiss 
 Confederation. On the 27th they proceeded to Geneva to 
 attend the laying of the corner stone of a new American 
 Protestant Church in that city. Large crowds were pre- 
 sent and hundreds of American flags were displayed from 
 the windows of citizens' houses. 
 
 On Monday, the 30th, General Grant was received by 
 the President of the Cantonal Council of Geneva, and in- 
 
230 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 sjDected the Town Hall, where the Joint High Commission 
 sat during the arbitration of the Alabama claims. The 
 General expressed his gratification at the happy visit to a 
 spot consecrated by the amicable settlement of difficulties 
 between two powerful nations. He said he was especially 
 glad that the adjustment of these international difficulties 
 occurred in a republic. 
 
 On Tuesday the General went to Chamouni. On his 
 departure from Geneva, a salute of artillery was fired in 
 his honor, and the city was illuminated. At Pierre Pointue, 
 on Mont Blanc, a number of Swiss bands gave him a 
 grand serenade, and on Wednesday he visited the Mer 
 de Glace and Montanvert. 
 
 The Mer de Glace seems to be the gorgeous result of 
 three great glaciers, all discharging their frozen contents 
 into one immense basin. The three are the Glacier du 
 Lechand, from the Jorasses ; the Glacier du Tacul, whose 
 long, unbroken surface seems to fall from the summit of 
 Mont Blanc ; and the Glacier du Talefre, which is a suc- 
 cession of beautiful Avhite pyramids that descend from the 
 sparkling heights around. The Tacul, from its line of descent 
 and great breadth, is the most important of the three, and 
 gives the others a supplemental apjDcarance, when viewed 
 apart. It is after they have completely united, however, 
 that the grandeur may have fairly said to have begun. The 
 point of union, from the mighty force of the ojiposite 
 powers, each pressing against the other, causes a desolate 
 display of confusion — an immense caldron of ice, in which 
 huge masses of rock are split and scattered about like 
 grains of coffee in a hand-mill. 
 
 When General Grant left Geneva, he departed by way 
 of Simplon for the north Italian lakes. A brief stay in 
 this picturesque region, and he and his party returned by 
 way of Splugen Pass to Bagatz, at which latter point he 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 231 
 
 met his brother-in-law, M. J. Cramer, American Minister 
 to Denmark. A few days spent here, and he departed 
 for Palanza, on Lake Maggiore, where he arrived Sunday, 
 August 5th. A few days later he visited Bellagio, where 
 a grand fete was given in his honor. Several American 
 residents in Rome sent congratulations to the ex-Presi- 
 dent. The evening following his arrival he was serenaded 
 at his hotel, after which a concert was given in his honor, 
 followed by a display of fireworks. Addresses were made 
 by the Mayor and an officer who had served under General 
 Garibaldi. General Grant in his reply referred to the 
 exceeding hospitality he had received, praised the general 
 •conduct of the people so far as he had seen them, expressed 
 his dehght at the grand and lovely scenes that had met 
 his eye at every turn since he had crossed the Alps, and 
 <;oncluded by saying : " There is one Italian whose hand 
 I wish especially to shake, a^nd that man is General Gari- 
 baldi." This allusion was greeted with great applause. 
 
 After enjoying several days' visit, General Grant and 
 his party set out on their return to Edinburgh. A special 
 Pullman car was chartered for the purpose, and was placed 
 in charge of Mr. Roberts, the Pullman agent in London. 
 
 All along the route great enthusiasm was manifested. 
 The reception given to General Grant as each station was 
 reached was whole-souled and fully-meant hospitality. 
 It seemed as though the people knew him perfectly — his 
 face as well as his history — for they recognized him every- 
 where and demanded as much handshaking as could be 
 ■done in the limited time allowed by the train time. Cheers 
 and hurrahs always speeded him on his way. 
 
 Soon after their arrival in Edinburgh, the freedom of 
 
 the city was presented to General Grant by Lord Provost 
 
 Sir James Fanshaw, in Free Assembly Hall. It was a 
 
 .grand affair, not only in fact but in its significance. It 
 15 
 
232 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 was hearty and whole-souled. Everything of the grandeur 
 that surrounded the scene was meant. It was rather 
 amusing to note, however, that General Grant did not give 
 them a chance to speak. Eighteen hundred people, the 
 highest toned of Edinburgh, were there — no boys or girls, 
 but the heads of families — with tickets of admission sent 
 to them out of six thousand apiDlications. The city digni- 
 taries in robes, the soldiers in kilts, the insigna of office 
 dotting the place, and the gravity of the ceremony re- 
 minded one of the Queen's visit to the House of Lords. 
 That speeches were, as we say, *' Fired off," till, with a 
 wave of the hand, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh deliv- 
 ered the silver casket — big enough for a sarcophagus — to 
 
 A FORTIFICATION NEAR EDIiNBURGII 
 
 the " Soldier, President, fellow Scot." Then came cheers, 
 and the collision of applauding hands shook the Gothic 
 structure from base to roof. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORL]:). 233 
 
 In reply to the Lord Provost's speed), General Grant 
 spoke just three-quarters of a minute. Then it was sud- 
 denly discovered that the ceremony of half an hour was 
 finished, and a dozen brawny Scots of the first families in 
 the realm went home with a dozen written or thought-out 
 speeches unspoken. Said a disappointed Scot : " He 
 made no speech." " Nau, mon, but he kippit a deal o' 
 thinkin'." Then came shaking of hands, and the Gen- 
 eral had to reach for them in every direction. One man 
 — it was so funny, and the General was puzzling over the 
 meaning afterwards — said : " Gineral, I'm glod to see ye. 
 I'm a Scotchman, but me fayther and mither are baith bir- 
 ried in America." Several such strange episodes occurred. 
 
 After this reception General Grant visited the famous 
 Tay bridge, then nearing completion. He also visited 
 the training ship for boys, which was moored near the 
 bridge. Dundee, Melrose and Abbotsford came in for 
 visits also, the General and his companions receiving 
 marked attention and honor everywhere. 
 
 On the loth of September, 1877, General Grant was 
 honored with the freedom of the city of Glasgow, The 
 parchment was contained in a gold casket. The cere- 
 mony was witnessed by a large crowd, and the General 
 was enthusiastically cheered. A banquet in his honor 
 was given in the evening, but was of a private character. 
 
 A few days later he paid a visit to Brighton, and was 
 the guest of Commodore Ashbury, the well-known yacht- 
 man. After an interesting visit he returned to London 
 and began preparation for his departure for Paris. 
 
 On the 24th of October, accompanied by his wife and 
 son, General Grant left London for Paris. On the arrival 
 of the party at the railway station in Charing Cross, 
 to take the train for Folkestone, he was greeted by a 
 large crowd cf Americans and Englishmen, who gave 
 
234 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 him {I liearty cheer as he stepped out of his carriage. Sir 
 Edward Watkin, the Chairman of the Southeastern Rail- 
 way Company, w^as in attendance, and a special train was 
 in waiting to convey the distinguished party. 
 
 TRAFALGAR SQUARE. 
 
 The large space in front of the hotel and station ex- 
 tending through the gates in the direction of Trafalgar 
 square was filled with vehicles and j^edestrians. After 
 considerable hand shaking in the waiting room and lively 
 greetings on the platform Sir Edward Watkin and his 
 guests boarded the train, wdiich moved off precisely at ten 
 o'clock. 
 
 After a pleasant run of one hour and forty-five min- 
 utes the train arrived at Folkstone. General Grant was 
 met by the Mayor of the town, accompanied by members 
 of the Common Cauncil. About two thousand of the in- 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 235 
 
 habitants of the old Kentish town welcomed tlie ex-Presi- 
 dent with loud cheers. This crowd lined the wharves and 
 raised cheer after cheer as he descended from the train. 
 
 The General at once went on board the special yacht 
 Victoria, accompanied by the New Yorh Herald corres- 
 pondent, Sergeant Gazelee and one or two other officials, 
 these being the only guests. As the trim looking yacht 
 with the American flag flying at the fore, left the chalk 
 cliffs of Old England, the General stood upon the bridge 
 and waved his hat responsive to the cheers and adieux from 
 the shore. 
 
 The sea w^as calm, with only a gentle swell, and a flne 
 summer yachting breeze prevailed. The General paced 
 the deck, enjoying his cigar and studying the interesting 
 points and scenery along the majestic cliff's on the south- 
 eastern coast, where William the Conqueror landed and 
 fought the battle of Hastings. On nearing the French 
 coast he beheld the sunny hills and shores of the memor- 
 able site of Napoleon's Boulogne camp, wdiere the Austerlitz 
 army so long prepared for the invasion of England. 
 
 The Victoria arrived at the Boulogne wharf at 
 about two o'clock. A large crowd of Frenchmen, wdio 
 had been advised of the arrival of the grand guerrier Anur- 
 icain, was in attendance and received the guests with a 
 hearty greeting. On entering the special train the sub- 
 l.-^refect of the Department met and was introduced to the 
 (xeneral. In the name of the Marshal-President and of 
 the French people, he welcomed him to the shores of France. 
 
 The General expressed his warm acknowledgments, 
 saying he had long cherished the wish to visit France, and 
 he was delighted with the present opportunity. M. 
 Hoguet-Grandsire, the Senator representing the Depart- 
 ment of the Pas de Calais, also bade him welcome in a 
 brief address, full of sympathy and kindly feeling. 
 
236 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 A long conversation now ensued between General 
 Grant and the Senator, the latter speaking at considerable 
 length on the curious and interesting phases of French 
 politics. General Grant listened attentively, but making 
 no response beyond asking how the dej^artment had voted 
 in the late elections. 
 
 After a long delay, somewhat in contrast to the j)rompt- 
 ness of the English railroads, the trains started for Paris. 
 On the way the General studied closely the scenery of the 
 lovely country along the route, noted the principal indus- 
 trial sections and especially observed the wonderful agri- 
 cultural resources of the country. 
 
 General Grant spoke a great deal about the financial 
 policy at home, declaring emj^hatically on the silver 
 question, saying he was bitterly oj^posed to the demone- 
 tization scheme, which was only another phase of repu- 
 diation. He next talked about the war, the relations of 
 the United States with Mexico, and St. Domingo. 
 
 He said his reception in England had been unvarying 
 in warmth, and as to the hospitality of the people there, 
 nothing could be more kind, considerate and gracious. 
 Everywhere he had experienced, both in official and pri- 
 vate circles, courtesy and respect. 
 
 At Amiens General Grant quietly partook of a dish 
 of consoinme. As the train neared Paris, the moon rose, 
 and the General curiously studied the prominent features 
 of the great French capital. They reached the station at 
 a quarter to eight o'clock. Generals Noyes and Torbert 
 entered the car, accompanied by the Marquis d'Abzac, 
 first aide-de-camp of the Marshal-President, the official 
 wliose duty it was to introduce ambassadors. 
 
 In the name of the President of the French Republic 
 the aide-de-camp tendered General Grant a cordial wel- 
 come. In rei)ly the General thanked the Marshal, saving 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 237 
 
 he anticipated great pleasure and interest from his visit to 
 Prance. Generals Noyes and Torbert greeted him warm- 
 ly. The party had borne the journey splendidly, none of 
 them showing the least fatigue. 
 
 Among the Americans awaiting the arrival of General 
 Grant at the station in the company of the Minister were 
 General Meredith Head, from Greece ; ex-Minister Part- 
 ridge, Admiral Worden, the bankers Seligman, Winthrop 
 and Dr. Johnson, Dr. Warren and the representatives of 
 the leading New York journals. 
 
 A richly carpeted salon was prepared at the station for 
 the reception of the distinguished party. The ladies of 
 the party, conducted by General Torbert, passed through 
 this salon on their way to the carriages. A splendid bou- 
 quet was presented to Mrs. Grant by a French journalist 
 on the way. General Grant followed, leaning on the arm 
 of Minister Noyes. As soon as he appeared in the crowded 
 salon several rounds of hearty cheers were given and a 
 number of people were presented to him. 
 
 The party then entered carriages, in company with 
 General Noyes and the Marshal's aid-de-camp and intro- 
 ducer of ambassadors. They drove to the Hotel Bristol, 
 where a handsome suite of rooms had been engaged for 
 them. After a quiet dinner General Grant smoked a cigar 
 and retired early. 
 
 In anticipation of this visit. Marshal McMahon had 
 delayed appointing the time for a grand dinner at the 
 Elysee. 
 
 The morning of the 25th opened dismally. Rain fell 
 in torrents, and there seemed no prospect of cessation. 
 During the morning General Grant called upon his bank- 
 ers, Messrs. Drexel, Harjes & Co., 31 Boulevard Hauss- 
 mann. Upon his return a multitude of visitors, including 
 diplomatists, ambassadors and Americans, began to arrive 
 
.'38 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 239 
 
 and continued to come until noon. The most eminent 
 men of France were among the callers. At two o'clock 
 General Grant, Mrs. Grant and Jesse Grant, with Minister 
 Xoyes and the Secretary of Legation, drove to the Elysee 
 through a pouring rain. President McMahon, the Duchess 
 of Magenta and the Duke Decazes received the General 
 most cordially. The Duchess did everything in her power 
 to render the occasion agreeable. General Grant wore 
 plain evening dress, calling upon the official head of the 
 people simply as any American citizen, properly intro- 
 duced, might. President McMahon said that he was 
 truly glad to welcome so eminent a soldier and citizen to 
 France. In brief, the ex-President of the United States 
 replied that the opportunity of expressing to the Chief 
 Magistrate of France, the friendly sentiments entertained 
 throughout the length and breadth of America toward 
 the French people was equally pleasing to him. The in- 
 terview was entirely informal and exceedingly cordial. 
 President McMahon extended and General Grant accepted 
 an invitation to dine at the Elysee, on Thursday, when 
 the party re-entered their carriage and reached the Hotel 
 Bristol about three. 
 
 At four o'clock the committee of resident Americans, 
 composed of Consul General Torbet, Dr. T. W. Evans, 
 bankers Seligman, Munroe and Winthroy, Dr. Johnson, 
 Mr. John J. Kyan and the Pev. Dr. Hitchcock called to 
 invite General Grant and family to a grand banquet in his 
 honor by the American residents of Paris, upon any date 
 that the General might see fit to appoint. General Grant 
 named Thursday, November 6, thanking the committee 
 for the honor conferred upon him by his own countrymen 
 in a foreign land. Much agreeable conversation followed. 
 In the evening General Grant accomjDauied by a personal 
 friend took a long walk around the Tuileries, Palais Koyal, 
 Place de la Concord, and the boulevards for two hours. 
 
240 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 On the next day he visited the studio of Mr. Healy, 
 the American artist, and gave a sitting for a portrait. He 
 afterwards strolled about Montmartre and climbed the hill, 
 which affords a fine view of Paris, and the General 
 expressed his admiration of the magnificent scene. After 
 enjoying himself for some hours, he returned to his hotel, 
 and in the evening was honored by visits from several dis- 
 tinguished persons. Among the visitors were the Comte 
 de Paris, head of the Orleans family, and the Duchess of 
 Magenta, wife of the Marshal-President of the Republic. 
 
 Among the many fetes given in honor of General and 
 Mrs. Grant, in Paris, the most brilliant was the official 
 banquet and reception given them by the United States 
 minister Noyes. The banquet was a superb effort of 
 Parisian culinary skill, which can work such gastronomic 
 wonders when given carte blanche, and when there is a 
 cellar of Monte Christo to draw upon. It was regretted 
 on every hand that Marshal McMahon was not present at 
 dinner. He had been invited but declined on the ground 
 of having recently refused to be present at several diplo- 
 matic dinners, particularly that given by the Russian 
 Ambassador. He promised, however, to attend the recep- 
 tion in the evening. 
 
 Several representatives of the French press called 
 upon him, but found him very reticent. He declined to 
 express an opinion concerning the political situation in 
 America, but stated that his first impression of France 
 was, that it wore a prosperous, well-ordered and happy 
 aspect. 
 
 The banquet passed off without any special incident 
 worthy of note. That charming flow of polite and witty 
 or at least pleasantly pointed conversation which character- 
 izes French dinners kept time to the melody of the repast 
 itself There was no English reserve to be thawed. The 
 
TOUR AEOUXD THE WORLD. 241 
 
 French and Americans fraternize without difficulty, and 
 hence they make the best neighbors around the snowy 
 damask. 
 
 At about nine o'clock the general reception began. A 
 heavy rain had been falling all the afternoon and evening, 
 the meteoric visitation being a remnant of the storm which 
 had been previously predicted. It of course had no deter- 
 rent effect on the invited, although it gave a dreariness to 
 the streets without, which, out of the selfishness of human 
 nature, imparted an additional air of warmth to the spa- 
 cious and splendid apartments of General Noyes. It was 
 not long before the salons were filled with guests. Out in 
 the rain a long line of carriages extended far up the 
 Avenue Josephine toward the Arc de Triomphe. The 
 police arrangements were, as usual in Paris, and above all 
 where the Prefect dines and the Marshal-President visits, 
 perfect. The guests were received by General Grant, 
 Mrs. Grant and their son, General and Mrs. Noyes, Con- 
 sul General Torbert and Secretary Vignaux making the 
 introductions. 
 
 Mrs. Grant was dressed in a costume of heavy white 
 satin, Mrs. Noyes appearing in a similar dress. General 
 Grant and Minister Noyes wore plain evening dress, Gen- 
 -eral Torbert, however, ajipearing in the uniform of a 
 major general. The rooms as the guests arrived became 
 perfect gardens of lively colors. Brilliant uniforms, diplo- 
 matic orders and decorations mingling with the sheen of 
 silks and satins made up a wonderful picture. 
 
 Marshal McMahon arrived early. He wore a plain 
 evening dress with the ribbon of the Legion and a breast 
 covered with orders. He seemed in excellent health and 
 spirits, not showing the slightest trace of the long parlia- 
 mentary struggle he had been engaged in. 
 
 The Marshal stood for nearly an hour beside General 
 
242 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Grant, occasionally joining in the conversation and re- 
 ceiving the congratulations of the members of the diplomatic 
 corps and the numerous brilliantly uniformed officials who 
 thronged the apartments. As the two renowned soldiers 
 stood side by side, one could not help contrasting them. 
 Marshal McMahon's ruddy, honest Celtic face, white mus- 
 tache and white hair recalled the poet's figure of " a rose 
 in snow." Grant, calm, massive and reserved, wore the 
 same imperturbable face so well-known at home. McMa- 
 hon seemed all nerve and restlessness ; Grant looked all 
 patience and repose. The contrast in person was indeed 
 remarkable, although each had come to the Presidency of 
 a powerful republic over the same red road. The passion 
 of arms commanding two great nations, had led each to 
 choose its foremost soldier as Executive head. One hfks 
 laid down his power at the feet of the people who conferred 
 it, and the march of events would doubtless so serve the 
 other. Meantime two great warlike careers touched in 
 friendship in the parlors of General Noj^es. 
 
 On the next day he visited the Palais d'Industrie and 
 the works where the magnificent statue of " Liberty " 
 for New York harbor was being constructed. He was 
 received there by the Marquis de Rochambeau, the Mar- 
 quis de Lafayette, M. Laboulaye, and other friends of 
 America. The sculptor, M. Bartholdi, presented him 
 with a miniature model of the statue. The General 
 several times expressed his satisfaction at the work. Li 
 the evening he attended the opera, where he was well 
 received by the audience, and treated with great respect 
 by the officials. 
 
 On Thursday, November 1st, President McMahon 
 gave a grand dinner to General Grant at the Elysee,. 
 where many distinguished persons were present. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 243 
 
 During the day, the General visited Mnie. Thiers, and 
 presented her with a crown of flowers for her husband's 
 grave. A visit was also made to the Palais du Corps 
 Legislatif. Two days later he visited the Parisian ceme- 
 teries and spent some time in examining them. He was 
 greatly struck with the exquisite taste displayed in deco- 
 rating the graves, and as the day was the "Jour des 
 Mortes," he had an opportunity of seeing the Parisians 
 in one of their best moods. On that day business and 
 politics are forgotten, and thousands of citizens, clad in 
 holiday attire, throng the cemeteries to strew flowers on 
 the graves of departed relatives and friends. The heart 
 of many a rabid foe of "clericalism," too, is softened on 
 that day, and heartfelt prayers are offered for the souls of 
 the "faithful" dead ones. 
 
 On the evening of November 6th, a banquet was given 
 in honor of General Grant by the American residents of 
 Paris. It was a splendid affair. It began at eight 
 o'clock, and the guests, to the number of three hundred 
 and fifty, filled seven tables. 
 
 The banqueting hall was splendidly decorated a«nd 
 illuminated. The Franco- American Union contributed a 
 portrait of General Grant, which, adorned w' ith flags, was 
 hung over the principal table. A band stationed in the 
 gallery played at intervals, and vocal music was given by 
 a chorus furnished by the director of the Italian Opera. 
 General Grant, Minister Noyes and General Torbet were 
 in full uniform. Toasts to the Presidents of the United 
 States and of the French Republic were responded to by 
 music onl}^ Then came the toast of the evening, " Our 
 guest, General Grant," which was offered by Mr. Noyes 
 in a brilliant speech and responded to by the General, 
 after which, in the drawing-room, an entertainment of 
 rare delight was enjoyed. 
 
244 LIFE OF GENERAL GEANT. 
 
 Oil the 15tli he visited the tomb of Thiers, and placed 
 upon it a beautiful wreath of immortelles. On the 19th 
 he visited, in company with his wife, the chocolate man- 
 ufactory of M. Menier, the radical republican deputy 
 from the arrondisseinent of Meaux, at Noisiel. They 
 were entertained with a splendid lunch at the chateau. 
 On the 21st he called upon Prince Oi'loff, the Russian 
 ambassador, and passed three-quarters of an hour in con- 
 versation with him, the prince doing the greater part of 
 the talking. Later in the day he attended a fete, con- 
 sisting of dinner and ball, given by Mrs. Mackey, wife 
 of Bonanza Mackey, at her splendid mansion in Rue 
 Tilsit. It was the great sensational event of the season, 
 and for the time being overshadowed in importance, as 
 far as the American colony and fashionable society were 
 concerned, the existing political crisis. 
 
 There were covers for twenty-four, and the guests were 
 General Grant and familj^ and the members of the 
 American Legation and Consulate and their families. 
 There were no unofficial Americans present at the dinner. 
 The menu was inscribed on small silver tahlettes, as in 
 the case of the famous dinner to Senator Sharon at San 
 Francisco. After the dinner a grand reception and ball 
 took place, at which three hundred guests were present. 
 Among the guests were the Marquis de Lafayette, MM. 
 de Rochambeau and other distinguished guests. 
 
 The American colony was largely represented, and the 
 number of beautiful women was very remarkable. The 
 hidies' costumes displayed extraordinary taste, elegance 
 and richness. The dancing commenced early and con- 
 tinued till four o'clock in the morning. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 NAPLES young's LETTER VESUVIUS THE ROAD TO THE 
 
 MOUNTAIN THE ASCENT A ROMANTIC PICNIC ON THE 
 
 LAVA GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE IN NAPLES 
 
 A DAY AT POMPEII THE CITY OF HANNIBAL AND 
 
 CJESAR THE MUSEUM THE EXCAVATION PALERMO. 
 
 General Grant and his party reached Naples on the 
 17th of December. Mr. Young thus describes what thej 
 saw and what they did : 
 
 We came to Naples hoping to find sunshine, but the 
 consul tells us that there has been no -such weather for 
 many seasons. It would be even cold in our inclement 
 New York. I rejoice in the possession of a capacious uk- 
 ter, which I brought into the Mediterranean against many 
 protests, but which has been a useful companion. Poca* 
 Naples looks especially cold. These poor souls need suik- 
 shine, and they are almost too cold to beg. So much has 
 been written about Naples that I may be spared a catalogue 
 of its attractions. On entering the harbor the General and 
 wife landed, and made a tour of the city. There was the 
 summer palace, in which royal persons live for a few weeks 
 every year, and whose grounds are open only by permis- 
 sion. There is the castle of San Martin, an old monastery, 
 now turned into a museum and a barracks. We spent a 
 good hour in looking at its curiosities, which did not im- 
 press us either as curious or startling. "This," said the 
 guide, "is the picture of Mr. So-and-So, who generously 
 gave this museum to Naples." "Well," said the General, in 
 an aside tone, "if I had a museum like this, I would give 
 
 (245) 
 
246 
 
 LIFE OF GENEIIAI. GRANT. 
 
 it to Naples, or whoever would take it." There was a beau- 
 tiful chapel, in which the Lord is no longer worshipped, 
 but which was a gem of elaborate decoration. There was 
 a burial-ground of the monks, surrounded by marble pil- 
 lars, upon which skulls were engraved. In the centre was 
 one larger skull, grinning, and over the temples a wither- 
 ing laurel wreath. Around this cemetery were the cloisters 
 uuder whose arches our friends, the monks, used to read 
 
 
 A DISTANT VIEW OF VESUVIUS. 
 
 and walk and meditate, with such suggestions as the skulls 
 would inspire . It was ghostly enough, and there was a 
 comfort in turning from it to the balcony, a few steps off, 
 which overh.ioked the brow of a hill, showing Naples beneath 
 us and Yesu\'ius beyond — an overpowering picture of life 
 and beauty and nature. We stood on the balcony and I 
 looked down from our dizzy height, and thought how much 
 more in consonance with true religion it was to worship 
 God as "vve saw Him here in His majesty and glory, and 
 not over stones and bones, and sights of evil omens. 
 
 There, far above, was Vesuvius, and we were impa- 
 
TOUll AKOUNJ) TIIK WOULD. 247 
 
 tient for the ascent. It was too late when we arrived, but 
 the General, with military promptness, gave orders for the 
 march next morning. We stood on the deck and studied 
 the stern old mountain, and picked out the various objects 
 with a telescope, and did an immense amount of reading 
 on the subject. The volcano was in a lazy mood, and not 
 alive to the honor of a visit from the ex-President of the 
 ITnited States, for all he deigned to give us was a lazy puff 
 of smoke, not a spark, or a flame, or a cinder. I suj^pose 
 the old monster is an aristocrat, and a conservative, and 
 said : " What do I care for Presidents, or your new Pe- 
 publics ? I have scattered my ashes over a Roman Pepub- 
 lic. I have lighted Csesar's triumphs, and thrown my 
 clouds over Prutus fresh from Csesar's corpse. Why should 
 I set my forces in motion to please a party of Yankee sight- 
 seers, even if one of them should be a famous general and 
 ex-ruler of a Republic? I have looked upon Hannibal 
 and Caesar, Charlemagne and Ponaparte. I have seen the 
 rise and fall of empires. I have admonished generations 
 who worshipped Jupiter, as I have admonished generations 
 who worshipped the Cross. I am the home of the gods, 
 and if you would see my power look at my base and ask 
 of the ashes that cumber Herculaneum and Pompeii." So 
 tJlie stubborn old monster never gave us a flash of welcome, 
 only a smoky puff now and then to tell us that he was a 
 monster all the time, if he only chose to manifest his awful 
 will. So we stood upon the deck in speculation, and some 
 of us hoped there would be an eruption, or something worth 
 describing. The General was bent on climbing to the very 
 summit, and looking into the crater, and with that purpose 
 we started in the morning. 
 
 We should have gone earlier, but many high people 
 in uniforms, commanding one thing or another, had to 
 come on board and pay their respects. It was ten before 
 16 
 
248 LIFE OF GENERAL (UiANT. 
 
 we were under way, the General and party in tlie advance, 
 with our driver, whom we have called the Marquis, on the 
 box, and Mrs. Grant's maid bringing up the rear. We 
 drove all the way. You will understand our route wdien 
 I remind you that the Bay of Xajiles is something like a 
 horseshoe. On one side of the shoe is the city, on the 
 other is Vesuvius. Therefore, to reach the mountain, we 
 have to drive around the upper circle of the shoe. Tlic 
 shores of tliis bay are so populous that our route seemed to 
 be one continuous town. We only knew that we were 
 l)assing the city limits, when the guard stopped our car- 
 riage to ask if there was anything on which we were 
 anxious to pay duty. As there was nothing but a very 
 modest luncheon, we kept on, rattling through narrow, 
 stony streets. Beggars kept us company, although from 
 some cause or another there were not as many as we sup- 
 posed. Perha})s it was the good government which we 
 are told is dealing severely with beggars, or more likelv 
 it was the weather, which, as I remarked, is very coldi 
 and seems to have taken all ambition out of the people. Stil] 
 we were not without attention in this way, and from 
 streets and by-roads a woman or a man, or sometimes a 
 blind man led by a boy, would start up and follow us 
 with appeals for money. They were starving or their 
 children were starving, and lest we might not understand 
 their tongue, they would pat their mouths or their breasts 
 to show how empty they were. For starving persons 
 they showed great courage and endurance in following 
 our carriage. The General had an assortment of coins, 
 and, although w^arned in the most judicious manner 
 against encouraging j)au2)erism, he did encourage it, and 
 with so much success that before he w^as half way up the 
 mountain he was a pauper himself to the extent of bor- 
 rowing jiennies from some of his companions to keep up 
 the demands upon his generosity. 
 
250 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 What we observed in this long ride around the horse- 
 shoe was that Naples was a very dirty, a very happy and 
 a very picturesque town. We learned that the supply of 
 rags was inexhaustible. I never knew what could be 
 done with rags until I saw these lazzaroni. They seem to 
 have grown rags, as a sheep grows his fleece, and yet there 
 was no misery in their faces — happy, dirty, idle, light- 
 eyed, skipping, sunny — you looked in vain for those 
 terrible faces of misery and woe, which one sees so often 
 in London. I take it, therefore, that begging is an 
 amusement, an industry, and not a necessity — that the 
 Naples beggar goes out to his work like any other laborer. 
 He is not driven to it by the gaunt wolves hunger and 
 disease. One scamp, a gray-bearded scamp, too, who 
 followed us, was a baker, who made and sold loaves. He 
 was standing at his counter trading when our carriage 
 hove in sight. At once he threw down his loaves and 
 started after us in full chase, moaning and showing his 
 tongue and beating his breast and telling us he was 
 starving. Well, when he received his coin he went to his 
 store, and I presume began to naggle over his bread. 
 That coin was clear gain. He was not a beggar, but a 
 s[)eculator. He went into the street and made a little 
 raise, just as brokers and merchants at home go into the 
 ''street" and try an adventure in stocks. The Neapolitan 
 speculator was a wiser man than his New York brother. 
 He ran no risk. Even if he did not gain his coin the run 
 did him good, and his zeal gave him the reputation of an 
 active business man. I learned also on this trip to repress 
 my appetite for maccaroni. We saw maccaroni in all 
 forms and under all circumstances, dangling in the wind 
 catching the dust. Give me a dish with the most suspi- 
 cious antecedents rather than this maccaroni from Naples. 
 
 In the monntime our horses begin to moderate their 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WOULD. 251 
 
 })ace, and the streets to show an angle, and horsemen sur- 
 round our carriage and tell us in a variety of tongues that 
 they are guides, and, if we require it, will go to the sum- 
 mit. Women come to cabin doors and hold up bottles of 
 white wine — the wine called Lachrymse Christi by some 
 horrible irreverence — and ask us to stop and drink. And 
 already the houses begin to thin, and we have fields 
 around us and glimpses of the sea; and although the 
 lazy volcano, with its puffs of smoke, looks as far distant 
 as when we were on the deck of the Vandalia, miles 
 away, we know that the ascent has begun, and that we are 
 really climbing the sides of Mount Vesuvius. 
 
 Its height varies. In 1868 it was four thousand two 
 hundred and fiftj^-five feet, but since 1872 it has slightly 
 diminished. ^Btna is 10,870 feet in heiglit, but its ap- 
 pearance is not so impressive as that of Vesuvius. 
 
 In the meantime we are going up steadily. The 
 horses go slower and slower. Some of us get out and help 
 tliem by walking part of the way and taking short cuts. 
 1 he few houses that we see on the roadside have evidently 
 been built with a view to eruptions, for the roofs are 
 made of heavy stone and cement. General Grant notes 
 that where the lava and stones have been allowed to rest 
 and to mingle with the soil good crops spring up, and 
 tliere we note a flourishing bit of vineyard. Soon, how- 
 ever, vineyards disappear, and after the vineyards the 
 houses, except an occasional house of shelter, into 
 which we are all invited to enter and drink of the Tears 
 of Christ. Our convoy of horsemen, who have been fol- 
 lowing us for a mile or two, begin to drop off. The Mar- 
 quis has been preaching to them from the box in various 
 languages upon their folly in wasting time, and they 
 heed his warning. There are no beggars. It is remarked 
 that beggars always prefer a dead level. One bright- 
 
252 LIFE OF C;E^•^:RAL (iUAXT. 
 
 eyed boy keeps at our side, a lad with about as dirty a 
 suit of clothes and as pretty a pair of eyes as you could 
 see even in squalid, smiling Naples. Well, there is some- 
 thing ill the eyes, or it may be in the boyishness of their 
 possessor, which quite wins one of the party, for when 
 the Marquis insists that he shall join his fellow mendi- 
 cants in the valley belov/, a gracious protection is thrown 
 over him, and he followed us up the road. I think the 
 patronage must have pleased him, for he gathered a hand- 
 ful of wild flowers and presented them, and refused a coin 
 which was offered in return ; but the refusal of this coin 
 did not prevent the acceptance of two or three others and 
 a good dinner included an hour or two later in the day. 
 Still we climb the hill, going steadily up. Those of 
 us who thought we could make the way on foot repent, 
 for the way is steep and the road is hard. All around us 
 is an ocean of chaos and death. There, in all forms and 
 shapes, lie the lava streams that did their work in other 
 days, black and cold and forbidding. You can trace the 
 path of each eruption as distinctly as the windings of the 
 stream from the mountain top. We are now high up on 
 the mountain, and beneath us is the valley and the bay 
 of Naples, with Ischia and Caj^ri, and on the other 
 horizon a range of mountains tinged and tij^ped with 
 snow. In one direction we see the erui^tion of 1872 ; 
 the black lava stream bordered with green. What forms 
 and shapes ! What fantastic, horril)le shapes the fire as- 
 sumes in the hours of its triumph ! I can well see how 
 Martial and Virgil, and the early poets saw in these phe- 
 nomena the stripes and anger of the gods. Virgil describes 
 I^nceladus trasfixed by Jove, and the mountain thrown 
 upon him, which shakes and trembles whenever he turns 
 his weary sides. This is the scene, the very scene of his 
 immortal agony. There are no two forms alike ; all is 
 
TOUR A110U24D THE WOULD. 
 
 i'")!} 
 
 black, cold and pitiless. If avg could only see oiu living 
 thing in tliLs mass of destruction ; l)ut all is death, all deso- 
 lation. Here and there, where the rains have washed the 
 clay, and the birds, perhaps, may have carried seed, the 
 grass begins to grow ; but the whole scene is desolation. 
 I thought of the earlier ages, when the earth was black 
 and void, and fancied that it was just such an earth as 
 this when Divinity looked upon it and said, " Let there be 
 light." I thought of the end of all things, of our eailh, 
 our fair, sweet and blooming earth, again a mass of lava, 
 rock and ashes, life all gone out of it, rolling througli 
 space. 
 
 THE HERMITAGE. 
 
 The presence of a phenomenon like this and right 
 above us the everseething crater is in itself a solemn and 
 beautiful sight. We all left repaid with our journey ; for 
 by this time we had come to the journey's end, musings 
 upon eternity and chaos did not forbid tlioughts of lunch- 
 
254 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 eon. For the wind was cold and we were hungry. So 
 when our illustrious captain intimated that we might seek 
 a })lace of refuge and entertainment a light gleamed in the 
 eyes of the Marquis, and he reined us uj3 at a hostelry 
 called the Hermitage. This is the last resting place before 
 we reach the ascent of the crater. Here the roads stop, 
 and the remainder of the journey must be made on foot. 
 Just beyond the Hermitage is a government institution 
 known as the Observatory, a point where information for 
 weather reports is gained. We thought when we came 
 into these upper regions that we were in an atmosjDhere too 
 j)ure for the beggars. We were congratulating ourselves 
 upon this circumstance coming up the mountain side, but 
 on descending we had a beggar or two to await us. I suj)- 
 pose they belong to the hostehy and were simply speculating 
 upon us like our friend, the baker, whom we had left hag- 
 gling over his loaves far down in Naples. Some of us, the 
 General certainly, had come this distance meaniug to climb 
 the crater. But it was very cold, and we had delayed our 
 departure from the ship, so that the day w^as well on. So, 
 instead of climbing the rocks and looking into a sulphurous 
 crater, we organized a kind of picnic in the Hermitage. 
 The house seemed to have been an inquisition or a dungeon 
 — the rooms were so large, the walls were so thick, there 
 were such mysterious, narrow passages and chambers. But 
 peoj^le who build houses under the run of Vesuvius must 
 build for fire and flame and showers of ashes and stones, 
 and the Hermitage could stand a severe eruption before it 
 became untenable. A slight cracklmg fire of twigs was 
 made on the hearth and a brazier of burning coals was 
 brought into the room. We were some time in compre- 
 1 lending the brazier, but when its uses became apparent it 
 was comforting enough. There, in quite a primitive %sh- 
 ion, Ave had our luncheon, helping ourselves and each 
 
TOUR AROUND THE AVORLD. 255 
 
 other ill good, homely American fashion, for we were as 
 far from the amenities of civilization as though we were in 
 Montana. Then after luncheon we walked about, looking 
 at the crater, where fumes were quite apparent; at the 
 world of desolation around us, some of it centuries old, l)ut 
 as fresh and terrible as when it burst from the world of 
 fire beneath us. But there was still another picture — one 
 of sublime and marvellous beauty. There beneath us, in 
 clear, sunny air — there was Naples, queen among cities, 
 and her villages clustering about her. Beautiful, won- 
 drously beautiful, that panorama of hill and field and sea 
 that rolled before us thousands of feet below ! We could 
 count twenty villages in the plain, their white roofs massed 
 together and spangling the green plain like gems. There 
 were Capii and Ischia — their rugged outlines softened by 
 the purple-golden glow of the passing day — lying at the 
 mouth of the bay as if to guard this rich valley. 
 There was Naples, her rags and dirt quite veiled and only 
 her beauty to be seen. There was Misenum, where Pliny 
 watched the destruction of Pompeii. There was Nisita, 
 where Brutus took refuge when he fled from the murder 
 oP Csesar. There was Sorrento, where Tasso lived. Every 
 village has its history and associations, for these plains and 
 islands and promontories have been for ages the seats of a 
 brilliant and glorious civilization — a civilization which even 
 now only shows the beauty of decay. The splendor of a 
 Roman imperial civilization has gone from Italy. Ages of 
 darkness and superstition and despotism have rested upon 
 her like the ashes which cover Pompeii. Let us lioj)e that 
 a new era is coming, which, based upon freedom and patri- 
 otism, will far excel even that of the Caesars. These were 
 our thoughts as we stood in the cold winds studying the 
 magnificent seene. And thinking of the living, we thought 
 of the dead — of the cities of the jilains which perished 
 
256 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 1,700 years ago. The romance that surrounds Naples only 
 deepens the tragedy of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and we 
 found our thoughts ever turning from the glory and majesty 
 of all we saw to those buried cities of the plains. These 
 were the burden of many words and thoughts as we were 
 hurried home again — home to our graceful vessel whose 
 lights awaited us in the harbor. 
 
 Pindar's description of ^tna applies equally well to 
 Vesuvius. 
 
 " Forth from whose nitrous caverns issuing rise, 
 
 Pure liquid fountains of tempestous fire, 
 And vail in ruddy mists the noonday skies, 
 
 While wrapt in smoke the eddying flames aspire ; 
 Or gleaming through the night with hideous roar, 
 
 Far o'er the red'ning main huge rocky fragments pour." 
 
 On the day following the ascent of Mount Vesuvius, 
 General Grant and family, accompanied by Mr. B. Odell 
 Duncan, United States Consul, Commander Pobinson, of 
 the Vandalia, Lieutenants Strong, Kush and Miller, and 
 Engineer Baird, visited the ruins of Pompeii. Says Mr. 
 Young : 
 
 We arrived at Pompeii early, considering that we had 
 to ride fourteen or fifteen miles, but the morning was cold 
 enough to be grateful to our Northern habits, and there 
 was sunshine. Our coming had been expected, and we 
 were welcomed by a handsome young guide, who talked a 
 form of English in a rather high key, as though w^e were 
 all a little hard of hearing. This guide informed us that 
 he had waited on General Sheridan when he visited Pom- 
 peii. He was a soldier, and we learned that the guides 
 are all soldiers, who receive duty here as a reward for me- 
 ritorious service. There was some comfort in seeing Pom- 
 I)eii accompanied by a soldier, and a brave one. This 
 especial guide was intelligent, bright, and well up in all 
 concerning Pompeii. We entered the town at once through 
 
TOUU AROUND THE WOULD. 207 
 
 a gate leading through an embankment. Although Pom- 
 peii, so far as excavated, is as open to the air as New York, 
 it is surrounded by an earthen mound resembling some of 
 our railway embankments in America. Looking at it froui 
 the outside you might imagine it an embankment, and ex- 
 pect to see a train of cars whirling along the surface. It 
 is only when you pass up a stone-paved slope a few paces 
 that the truth comes upon you, and you see that you are 
 in the City of Death. You see before you a long, narrow 
 street, running into other narrow streets. You see quaint, 
 curious houses in ruins. You see fragments, statues, mounds, 
 walls. You see curiously painted walls. You see where 
 men and women lived, and how they lived — all silent and 
 all dead — and there comes over you that appalling story 
 which has fascinated so many generations of men — the 
 story of the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 
 
 This was in the latter part of October, 79, and Pom- 
 peii slept in peace. Ashes twenty feet deep covered the 
 town, and it is believed that ten thousand persons perished. 
 In 1748 the first excavations were made by the Bourbon 
 Charles III. The villa of Diomedes was opened in 1771. 
 It was in this villa that a group of eighteen skeletons were 
 found. It was not until 1806, when the French took 
 Naples, that the work was pursued with any intelligence. 
 About one-third of the town has already been opened, and 
 the excavation goes on under intelligent and judicious 
 superintendence. 
 
 Our first visit was to the Museum, a carefully arranged 
 museum. Here you may see windows and doors as they 
 came from the ruins. There are also casts of eight human 
 bodies, the faces and forms expressing the agony of the last 
 moment. One form is that of a finely formed women, her 
 brow resting upon her arm, lying in an easy attitude of 
 repose. Some had their clothing, others scarcely a vestige 
 
258 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 of clothing. Some were in attitudes of despair and com- 
 bat, as though they would resist Death when he came. 
 There were skeletons of animals and skulls. There were 
 vases as they came from the opened chambers, rainspouts 
 in terra cotta, helmets, bucklers and swords that belonged 
 to the gladiators. There was bread as found in the oven, 
 and a dish in which the meat was roasting. There was a 
 pot in which were the remnants of a sucking pig, the skele- 
 ton of the pig clearly traceable. There were barley and 
 olives and all kinds of food. Almonds, pears and figs, 
 
 RUINS AT POMPEII. 
 
 pouches of coin, sandals, garments, rings and trinkets, 
 amulets that were to keep off the evil eye. All was here 
 arranged as found in the ashes of the buried city. And 
 all was so real — so horribly real. The Italian authorities 
 did General Grant special honor on his visit to Pompeii by 
 directing that a house shoidd be excavated. The director 
 
TOUU AllOUNI> THE WOKJ.D. 259 
 
 of excavations led the way to the proposed work, there were 
 the General and his party, and a group of our gallant and 
 courteous friends from the Vandalia. The quarter selected 
 was near the Forum. Chairs were arranged for the General, 
 Mrs. Grant, and some of us, and there quietly, in a room 
 that had known Pompeiian life seventeen centuries ago, 
 we awaited the signal that was to dig up the ashes that had 
 fallen from Vesuvius that terrible night in August. Our 
 group was composed of the General, his wife and son ; Mr. 
 Duncan, the American Consul in Naples ; Commander 
 Robeson, of the Vandalia ; Lieutenants Strong, Miller an-l 
 Kush, of the same shiji. We formed a group about the 
 General while the director gave the workmen the signal. 
 The spades dived into the ashes, while with eager eyes we 
 looked on. What story would be revealed of that day of 
 agony and death ! Perhai^s a mother, almost in the 
 fruition of a proud mother's hopes, lying in the calm re- 
 pose of centuries, like the figure we had seen only an hour 
 ago, dug from these very ruins. Perhaps a miser hurry- 
 ing with his coin only to fall in his doorway, there to rest 
 in peace while seventeen centuries of the mighty world 
 rolled over him, and to end at last in a museum. Perhaps 
 a soldier fallen at his post, or a reveller stricken at the 
 feast. All these things have been given us from Pompeii, 
 and w^e stood watching the nimble spades and the tumbling- 
 ashes, watching with the greedy eyes of gamblers to see 
 what chance would send. Nothing came of any startling 
 import. There were two or three bronze ornaments, a 
 loaf of bread wrapped in cloth, the grain of the bread and 
 the fibre of the cloth as clearly marked as when this pro- 
 l)able remnant of a humble meal was put aside by the 
 careful housewife's hands. Beyond this, and some frag- 
 ments we could not understand, this was all that came 
 from the excavation of Pomj^eii. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 OFF FOR MALTA SCYLLA AND CIIARYBDIS AMONG THE 
 
 SCENES OF SAINT PAUL'S TRAVELS EN ROUTE FOR ALEX- 
 ANDRIA THE MARQUIS — ALEXANDRIA HENRY M. STAN- 
 LEY A CALL ON THE KHEDIVE IN THE LAND OF THE 
 
 PHARAOHS AND OF THE PYRAMIDS PLEASANT MEETING 
 
 WITH OLD FRIENDS. 
 
 A FEW days later tlie party sailed for Malta, belong- 
 ing to Great Britain, where they arrived on the 28th. 
 Says the correspondent ot" tlie party : " I arose early in 
 the morning to see Stromboli. This island has an obliging 
 volcano, which never pauses in its entertainment. But 
 when we came to Stromboli, although we were near enongli 
 to be under its shadow, there was only the rain. Captain 
 Kobeson pointed it out to me and I fancied I saw it, but 1 
 am afraid it was only a cloud. If there was any danger 
 of the sirens enchanting our Ulysses the weather saved 
 him. All we saw of the islands was a mass in the mist. 
 The night became angry and the day brought a heavy sea. 
 and I could well understand the anxious look of the cap- 
 tain when, about six in the morning, he came out of his 
 (•al>in in his oilcloth coat and glass in hand. We were 
 driving rapidly upon the Calabrian coasts, and there Avas 
 a rock he desired to see. The rock had its place on the 
 chart as the signpost sliowing the way into the Straits of 
 Messina. But it had a far more important i)lace in our 
 
 ,.260) 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 261 
 
 imagination, for it was the rock of Scylla, and the straits 
 into which we were entering were the straits tormented by 
 the whirlpool of Charybdis. 
 
 We passed the rock of Scylla about eight in the 
 morning. It was an ordinary rock, not very large or im- 
 posing. As for Charybdis, if such a whirlpool existed, its 
 turmoil is over, for we ploughed through the waves un- 
 disturbed by its emotion. This part of our trip was through 
 the Straits of Messina. The straits are narrow, not much 
 wider than the Hudson opposite New York, and as we 
 sailed through we had a fine view of one of the most 
 beautiful prospects in Euroj)e. On one side was Sicily, on 
 the other Calabria. We passed Messina — now a city of 
 70,000 people — her domes white and shining in the sun- 
 shine. Messina has suffered from . conquerors since the 
 days of Hannibal, from the plague and from earthquakes. 
 It was early in 1783 that the earthquake threw down the 
 campanile and transept of her cathedral. Passing Messina 
 we next saw on the Italian coast the town of Reggio, now 
 a flourishing settlement of 16,000 souls. Reggio has had 
 its own troubles with earthquakes and in 1783 was almost 
 destroyed. It was here that Garibaldi landed when crossed 
 from Sicily. It was also in the hills behind Reggio — those 
 dark brown hills that we see clearly in the morning sun — 
 that he made his fatal fight of Aspromonte and was 
 wounded and taken prisoner by Pallavicini in 1862, the 
 same General Pallavicini who was so polite to General 
 Grant the other day in Naples, when he marched his 
 troops in review before us. Reggio, however, has a deeper 
 interest to us than even attaches to the fame and fortunes of 
 the illustrious Garibaldi. It is the Rhegium of the New 
 Testament. " And landing at Syracuse," saith the Gospel, 
 " we tarried there three days. And from thence we fetched 
 a compass and came to Rhegium." 
 
262 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 As we passed along, the majestic mountain of iEtna 
 was to be seen on our right. It is a quiet volcano, or at 
 least we could see nothing like fire or smoke ; nothing, 
 indeed, Init a cloudless sky above it. 
 
 Its crater is an immense chasm two or three miles wide, 
 and the circumference of its base is more than a hundred 
 miles. Tlie last demonstration of the volcano was in 
 August, 1874. When the sun went down ^tna was still 
 watching us. The sea was high, and our course was 
 directly south to the famous island of Malta, where tradi- 
 tion has it the great Apostle Paul was wrecked. Here he 
 spent several months, teaching and working among the 
 people, and from here started on fiis final voyage to the 
 Eternal City. 
 
 We arrived at Malta about one in the afternoon. The 
 gale continued to be severe. We thought of the ancient 
 tunes when Paul was thrown on the islands. You will find 
 the story in the two last chapters of the Acts of the 
 Apostles. How Paul was fourteen days driven up and 
 down in Adria ; how the a2)ostle bade the centurions and 
 soldiers be of good cheer and stand by the ship ; how the 
 angel of God appeared to Paul, and told him to have no 
 fear ; how the ship, with its 276 souls, was cast on the 
 rocks ; liovr they came to a place where two seas met and 
 " when they were escaped, then they knew the island was 
 called Malta." You will remember also they were a 
 barbarous people, who were kind and kindled a fire, and 
 how the viper came out of the fire and hung upon Paul's 
 hand. You will remember also that Paul shook the viper, 
 which is a wise thing to do Avitli venomous beasts, and that 
 the people were amazed because Paul did not swell and 
 fall dead, and "sjiid he was a god," and treated him 
 courteously and honored him with many honors, and on 
 his departure laded him with such things as were necessary. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE AVORLD. 
 
 2G3 
 
 If there were no other historical attractions in Malta 
 but what is thus written in the New Testament it would 
 be well worth a visit. But Malta now, one of the strong- 
 holds of the British Empire, one of the citadels on her 
 Indian higliAvay, has had more than her share of the 
 mutations of human fortune. It is supposed to have been 
 
 KLINb -Vr M VLTA 
 
 the Island of Ogygia, where Homer gave a home to 
 Calypso. It fell in the hard hands of the Carthagenians. 
 Then the Romans came and threw it into their empire. 
 Then came the Vandals, the Goths and Arabs in fierce 
 succession. Afterward came the unique dominion of the 
 Knights of St. John, who came from Rhodes when the 
 Turks pulled down the cross. In 1800 Napoleon, then on 
 his way to Egypt, took the Island ; but in 1802 it came 
 into the hands of the English, who have made it as strong 
 as Gibraltar; strong enough to be regarded as impregnable. 
 We had made fast to our anchorage and had fired the 
 
 17 
 
ll 
 
 264 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 salute of twenty-one guns, by which a vessel of war does 
 honor to a foreign port, when an officer reported to General 
 Grant that the Duke of Edinburgh was coming on board. 
 The ship next to the Vandalia was the Sultan, a noble 
 Enslish iron-clad under the command of His Koval 
 Highness. The General was standino; on the deck study- 
 ing the town when the caj^tain's boat of the Sultan, with 
 the Duke steering, whirled around the stern. His Royal 
 Highness was received at the gang-way by Captain Robe- 
 son. He was dressed in his uniform as captain, wearing 
 on his breast the star of .the Garter. The General advanced 
 and greeted the Duke, and presented the gentlemen with 
 him, and they retired to the cabin. They remained in 
 conversation for the best part of an hour, talking about 
 Malta, its antiquities, its history, England, education, the 
 Eastern question, the weather and Besika Bay. His 
 Royal Highness said he had orders to sail, and supposed 
 his destination was Smyrna. He had had his time at 
 Besika Bay and did not regard the return with any en- 
 thusiasm. He spoke of the visit of his brother-in-law, the 
 Grand Duke Alexis, to America, and of the gratification 
 of the family at the reception by our peoj^le. The Duke 
 is the pattern of a sailor, and has all the ease and ofP-hand 
 grace of his family. On taking his leave his Royal 
 Highness asked the General and family to visit him at his 
 palace of San Antonio and take luncheon. The j^alace of 
 San Antonio is about four miles from the town. It is sur- 
 rounded by orange groves and walls, and is noted as the 
 only large garden on the island. The drive was through 
 an uninteresting, glaring country, the perpetual glare almost 
 dimming our eyes. When we reached the palace, the Duke 
 and Duchess received General and ]\Irs. Grant and their 
 son in the most gracious manner. After luncheon His 
 Royal Highness escorted them through the orange groves. 
 
TOUR AROUXD THE WORLD. 265 
 
 At noon General Grant visited the Governor General of 
 Malta. On leaving the General was saluted with twenty- 
 one guns. A regiment was drawn up in front of the palace 
 as a guard of honor. The Governor, a famous old English 
 General, Van Straubeuzee, wore the Order of the Grand 
 Cross of the Bath. He received the General and party at 
 the door of the palace surrounded by his council and a 
 group of Maltese noblemen. 
 
 On the following day a verj' pleasant visit was paid to 
 the Duke of Edinburgh's ship, the "Sultan." On Monday, 
 the 31st, the party sailed for Alexandria. 
 
 There were many temptations, writes Mr. Young, to 
 remain in Malta. Hospitalities showered upon us. All 
 the great ones of the place, beginning with His Royal 
 Highness the Duke of Echnburgh, vied with one another 
 in making our visit a jileasant one. I think if our mail 
 had been ordered to Malta instead of Alexandria, we 
 should have remained anyhow. At the last moment there 
 was a disposition to stay, but the General had taken his 
 leave and sent his cards, and he is not apt to change his 
 mind. In the morning of the last day of the year, he 
 pushed ashore and roamed about an hour or two through 
 the quaint streets of the strange, old town. I have called 
 the town Malta, but it is really named Valletta, after John 
 de la Valette, who was Grand Master of the Order of St. 
 John, and built the town in the middle part of the six- 
 teenth century. The knights held Malta for nearly two 
 hundred and fifty years, and remained until the French 
 and then the English drove them out. The people have a 
 peculiar dialect, based on the Arabic, with plenty of 
 Italian, French and English thrown in. The j^revailing 
 industry seems to be following officers and strangers around 
 all day and begging. The town has many beautiful 
 views, and I could see very easily how life might be toler- 
 
266 
 
 LIFE OF GENEKAL GRANT, 
 
 ated here for tlie warm, genial air. It was the last day of 
 tlie year when we pushed out into the l)ay, and turned our 
 prow toward the Mediterranean. There was quite a group 
 of officers on deck surrounding the General and his party. 
 As we neared the Sultan the band played our national 
 airs, winding up with "Auld Lang Syne." We exchanged 
 greetings with them, and with our comj^atriots of the 
 
 IIULbLlOP AM) B\TTLE^^E^T■- AT MALTA. 
 
 Gettysburg, who had gathered on the quarterdeck to say 
 goodby. So our last remembrance of jNIalta is the music 
 that came from the Sultan, the hurrah that came from the 
 Gettysburg and the lowering of one solitary flag, far up 
 the cliff, which indicated that our consular agent was on 
 the watch and Avas bidding us good speed. 
 
 Our General fell into his sea life quite readily. He 
 seemed to welcome the sea with the rapture of a boy going 
 home for a holiday. I can well imagine what a holiday it 
 must be to one who has doiie in sixteen years the work 
 
TOUR AIIOUND THE WORLD. 267 
 
 imposed upon General Grant. He is not an early riser, 
 but keeps up the American custom of a breakfast at ten. 
 After breakfast he takes up a newspaper, if he can find 
 one, and a cigar. My friend, Mark Twain, will be glad 
 to know that the General read with delight and apprecia- 
 tion his "Innocents Abroad." In Naj^les one of us dis- 
 covered an English version of the "Nasby Papers," which 
 was a boon. About noon, if the weather is calm, the 
 General comes on deck and converses, or studies the sea 
 and the scenery. Dinner comes at six o'clock, and after 
 dinner there is talk. When the General is in the mood, 
 or when some subject arises which interests him, he is not 
 only a good, but a remarkably good talker. His manner 
 is clear and terse. He narrates a story as clearly as he 
 w^ould demonstrate a problem in geometry. His mind is 
 singularly accurate and perspicacious. He has few, very 
 few, resentments, and this was a surprising feature, re- 
 membering the battles, civil and military, in which he has 
 been engaged. I have heard him refer to most of the 
 men, civil and military, who have flourished with him, 
 and there is only one about whom I have seen him 
 show feeling. But it was feeling like that of the 
 farmer in the schoolbook who saw the viper which he had 
 w^armed to life about to sting him, I do not mention names, 
 because I have no wish to excite controversies, such, for in- 
 stance, as the controversy over Sumner. I wdll culy allude 
 to the Sumner business so far as to say that I think General 
 Grant has been rather severely used in the matter. I have 
 never heard General Grant speak with bitterness of Mr. 
 Sumner. He told his story of the removal of Mr. Motley, 
 and only told it, if I may quote his own words, when he liad 
 been charged by the friends of Mr. Sumner with having 
 killed Mr. Motley. It seems to me that if history is to be 
 written both sides should be heard, and in a transaction 
 
268 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 in which General Grant bore a conspicuous part, he is cer- 
 tainly entitled to be heard as a witness. As I have said, I 
 have never heard General Grant speak with bitterness of 
 Mr. Sumner, which leads me to repeat the observation I 
 made a moment or two ago — that he shows no resentment. 
 I had known General Grant fairly well before I became 
 the companion of his travels, and had formed my own 
 opinion of his services and character. A closer relation 
 strengthens that opinion. The impression that the General 
 makes upon you is, that he has immense resources in re- 
 serve. He has in eminent degree that "two o'clock in the 
 morning courage," which Napoleon said he alone possessed 
 among his marshals and generals. You are also impressed 
 with his good feeling and magnanimity in speaking of 
 comrades and rivals in the war. In some cases — especially 
 in the cases of Sherman and Sheridan, MacPherson and 
 Lincoln — it becomes an enthusiasm quite beautiful to wit- 
 ness. Cadet days are a favorite theme of conversation, 
 and after cadet life the events of the war. I wish I con VI 
 dare to send you some of these conversations, some of the 
 General's estimates of men and narratives of events. But 
 for the present the very nature of my mission forbids it. 
 Among our company is a gentleman who attends the 
 General as a courier or secretary in foreign tongues. I 
 call our friend "secretary" because the title is the one of 
 his own choosing. His name is Jacques Hartog, native of 
 Holland, educated in Paris and citizen of the world. We 
 call him the " Marquis." The title expresses Mr. Hartog's 
 address and accomplishments, and I am proud to publish 
 the renown that the Vandalia mess has conferred upon 
 him. He has an aristocratic air, and it is almost like a 
 breeze from land — a breeze from the Sicilian shores laden 
 with the odor of the orange blossoms — to see the Marquis 
 c-omo to breakfast in the vrardroom, with the sea rolling 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 269 
 
 heavily, having passed a bad night. We are all fuzzy and 
 ragged ; we have taken refuge in flannels and old clothes ; 
 we have that uneasy feeling which verges on illness. The 
 Marquis comes with the manner of a lord of the ante- 
 chamber in the days of Louis Quatorze. Every hair is in 
 its place, the curl is posed on the brow, the face is clean as 
 a parchment, the full, brown moustache has the faintest 
 suspicion, of brillantine, the scarf-pin is adjusted. There is 
 not a crease in his garments. If the Marquis were a good 
 sailor there would be no sj^ecial merit in this, but our noble 
 friend is a bad sailor and hates the sea, every motion of 
 the ship being a misery to him. For a nobleman in the 
 agonies of seasickness, of a constant seasickness, to array 
 himself as though he were about to promenade the Champs 
 Ely sees, shows a power of self-control Avhich is worthy of 
 admiration. 
 
 ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 On the 5th of January the party reached Alexandria. 
 The writer continues: — Our reception was most enthusi- 
 astic. The Vandalia had hardly anchored when the 
 Governor of the district, the admiral and the generals, 
 pachas and beys, the Consul General, Mr. Farman; the 
 
270 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Vice-Consul, Mr. Salvage ; Judges Barringer and Morgan, 
 and the missionaries all came on board. The reception 
 lasted an hour, and as each officer was saluted according to 
 his rank, and the salutes were returned, there was smoke 
 enough in the air for a naval engagement, and w^e could 
 ahnost fancy another battle of the Nile like that fought, 
 only a step or two up the coast, one eventful day nearly 
 eighty years ago. The Governor, in the name of the 
 Khedive, welcomed General Grant to Egypt, and offered 
 him a palace in Cairo and a special steamer up the Nile. 
 It is Oriental etiquette to return calls as soon as possible, 
 and accordingly in the afternoon the General, accom})anied 
 by his son. Commander Kobeson, Chief Engineer Trillay 
 and Lieutenant Handy, of the navy, landed in the official 
 barge. As this was an official visit, the Vandalia manned 
 the yards and fired twenty-one guns. These salutes were 
 responded to by the Egyptian vessels. A guard of honor 
 received the General at the palace, and the reception was 
 after the manner of the Orientals. We enter a spacious 
 chamber and are seated on a cushioned seat or divan, ac- 
 cording to rank. The Pacha — who has a Greek face and, 
 I presume, is a Greek — offers the company cigarettes. 
 Then compliments are exchanged, the Pacha saymg how 
 proud Egypt is to see the illustrious stranger, and the 
 General answering that he anticipates great pleasure in 
 visiting Egypt. The Pacha gives a signal, and servants 
 enter bearing little porcelain cups about as large as an egg, 
 in filagree cases. This is the beverage — coffee — or, as was 
 the case with this special pacha, a hot drink spiced with 
 cinnamon. Then the conversation continues with judi- 
 cious pauses, the Orientals being slow in speech and our 
 General not apt to diffuse his opinions. In about five 
 minutes we arise and file down stairs in slow, solemn fash- 
 ion, servants and guards saluting, and the visit is over. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 271 
 
 The General and Mrs. Grant went to dine, and in the 
 evening we had a ball and a dinner at the house of our 
 Vice-Consul, Mr. Salvage. This was an exceedingly bril- 
 liant entertainment, and interesting in one respect, 
 es23ecially because it was here that the General met my 
 renowned friend and colleague, Henry M. Stanley, just 
 fresh from the African wilderness. The General had heard 
 of Stanley's being in town, and had charged me to seek 
 him out and ask him to come on board and dine. 
 My letter missed Stanley, and we met at the Con- 
 sul's. Stanley sat on the right of the General, and 
 they had a long conversation upon African matters and the 
 practical results of the work done by our intrepid friend. 
 The Consul General proposed the health of General Grant, 
 and Judge Barringer proposed that of Mrs. Grant, who, 
 by the way, was prevented by fatigue from coming. Then 
 a toast was proposed in honor of Stanley, who made a 
 grateful response, saying it was one of the ]3roudest 
 moments in his life to find himself seated by our guest. 
 Stanley looks quite gray and somewhat thinner than when 
 I saw him in New York, just before his departure, three 
 years ago. I gave him all the news I could remember 
 about friends in New York and elsewhere. Next morning 
 jNIr. Farman, our Consul-General, and myself, saw him on 
 board the Brindisi steamer, which was to carry him to 
 Europe — to new honors and the enjoyment of a well earned 
 and enviable renown. The entertainment at Mr. Salvage's 
 at an end, we retmmed on board. The next day was Sun- 
 day. The General, accompanied by a friend, landed, 
 meaning to stroll about the town. Walking is one of the 
 General's occupations, and he never sees a town until he 
 has gone ashore and lost himself His eye for topography 
 is remarkable ; but that is a military quality, after all, and 
 in Alexandria, one of the most huddled up and bewildering 
 
272 LIFE OF GENERAL GiiANT. 
 
 towns, he had a fine opportunity for the exercise of his 
 skill We strolled as far as Cleopatra's Needle, which is 
 said to be going to New York. Then there was an in- 
 formal luncheon, as became the Sabbath, with Mr. Gibbs, 
 the director of the telegraph. Commander Robeson and 
 Lieutenant Commander Caldwell forming the other mem- 
 bers of the party. The event of Monday was that we 
 formed a group on the quarterdeck and had our photo- 
 graphs taken, the General and family in the the centre, 
 and around them the wardroom, steerage and warrant 
 officers of the Vandalia. 
 
 This event closed our life on the Vandalia for a month 
 at least. It was only au revoir and not good- by, but there 
 was just enough of the feeling of parting to give a tinge of 
 sadness to the mass of trunks and bundles, which the sail- 
 ors, under the orders of the Marquis, were arranging on 
 deck. We were to do Cairo and the Nile, we were to be 
 gone three weeks, and were to return. But the only one 
 of the party who really wanted to leave was our noble 
 friend, the Marquis, whose spirits have been steadily rising 
 since he came to land and heard the rumor of the Khe- 
 dive's hospitality. As he takes command of the baggage 
 and directs the sailors in their handling of it, you see in his 
 eye the enthusiasm of one born to command when in his 
 own element. When he pushes off in the tug, trailing the 
 luggage in a boat behind him, there is a disposition to fire 
 a salute, but the regulations are not elastic, and the 
 Marquis, with his important command, has only a silent 
 adieu. We are not long in following him. We have a 
 special train at our command, and the captain and a group 
 of the officers are going up to attend the presentation to 
 the Khedive. The Governor of the province, with his 
 retinue, met the General, and at eleven the train, a special 
 one, started. Judge Barringer and wife were of the 
 
TOUR AEOUND THE WORLD. 273 
 
 company, and the run to Cairo was made in four liours. 
 The General studied the scenery closely and noted tlie 
 resemblance in some portions to prairie land in Illinois. 
 Mrs. Grant was more impressed with the poetry of the 
 scene — with the biblical associations that cluster about this 
 strange land. The officers formed a merry company in 
 their compartments, Avhile the Marquis was in an advance 
 section, holding guard over a lunch basket. The Marquis 
 is a great admirer of the Khedive, and expresses himself 
 earnestly in favor of a government which welcomes its 
 guests to a palace. He takes no interest in the ruins, 
 believing Cairo to be more interesting because of the cafes, 
 which remind him of Paris, than the Pyramids, which 
 he regards as entirely useless. At three o'clock we come 
 to Cairo. There is a guard, a carpet-way, and a group of 
 officers and civilians. The General, looking at the group, 
 recognizes old friends. " Why," he says, " there's Loring, 
 whom I have not seen for thirty years ; " and " There's 
 Stone, who must have been dyeing his hair to make it so 
 white." The cars stop and General Stone enters, present- 
 ing the representative of the Khedive. This officer 
 extends the welcome of His Highness, which General 
 (jrant accepts with thanks. General Loring comes in and 
 receives a hearty greeting from his old friend in early days 
 and his enemy during the war. General Stone and Gen- 
 eral Grant were at West Point, and are old friends, and 
 their meeting is quite enthusiastic. The General asks 
 General Loring to ride with him, while General Stone 
 accompanies Mrs. Grant, and so we drive off to the Palace 
 of Kassrel-Doussa — the palace placed at General Grant's 
 disposal by the Khedive. Commander Robeson and 
 Lieutenant Kush accept the General's invitation to reside 
 in the palace while they are in Cairo, and the remainder 
 of the party find homes in the hotel. 
 
274 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The General dined quietly with his family, and next 
 day called on the Khedive. The hour fixed for the re- 
 ception was eleven, and a few minutes before that hour 
 the state carriages called at the palace. The General 
 wore a plain evening dress, and was accompanied by the 
 following officers: — Commander H. B. Robeson, comman- 
 ding the Vandalia; Joseph Trilley, chief engineer ; George 
 H. Cooke, surgeon; Lieutenant E. T. Strong, Lieutenant 
 J. W.Miller, Paymaster J. P. Loomis; G. W. Baird, en- 
 gineer; H.L. Hoskinson, ensign; B. F. Walling and E. S. 
 Hotchkin, midshipmen ; E. B. Freeman, engineer. Jesse 
 B. Grant and Consul-General Farman accompanied the 
 General. We reached the palace shortly after eleven. 
 There was a guard of honor, and the officers of the house- 
 hold were ranged on the stairs. The General entered 
 and was met by His Highness, the Khedive, at the foot of 
 the stairs. The General, his son, and Mr. Farman went 
 into an inner room, where the ceremonies of the formal 
 presentation took place. The officers then entered and 
 were received by His Highness, who expressed his 
 gratification at seeing so many representatives of the navy. 
 This reception lasted about half an hour, the Khedive 
 shoAving the General the pictures on his walls painted in 
 commemoration of the opening of the Suez Canal. We 
 then returned to the palace. We had scarcely entered 
 when the carriage of the Khedive was announced. The 
 General received the Khedive, who was accompanied by 
 his Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and welcomed him in 
 the grand saloon, where Mrs. Grant also received His 
 Highness. The officers of the Vandalia were present, 
 and their striking uniforms, picturesque costume of the 
 Khedive and his attendants, and the splendid, stately 
 decorations of the room in which they assembled, made 
 the group imposing. In the course of this conversatioii 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 275 
 
 General Grant spoke of General Stone, now chief of staff 
 to the Khedive. He said he had known General Stone 
 from boyhood, and did not think he had a superior in our 
 army ; that he was a loyal and able man, and he was 
 pleased to see him holding so important a command. The 
 Khedive said he was very much pleased with General Stone ; 
 that he found him a most useful, and a most able, man, 
 especially fitted to organize troops, and had made him a 
 member of his jmvy council. At the close of the inter- 
 view. General Grant escorted the Khedive to his carriage ; 
 official calls were then made upon the two sons of the 
 Khedive, who at once returned the calls, and so ended ouv 
 official duties. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CAIRO AND THE NILE LIFE ON THE RIVER DOMESTIC 
 
 SCENES FRIENDS ON THE 'W^AY ASSIOUT TOMB OF THE 
 
 KINGS THE HOME OF WASIP EL HAYAT GIRGEL THE 
 
 LIBYAN DESERT — GRAND OLD RUINS ISIS AND OSIRIS. 
 
 The Khedive, writes Mr. Young, lias placed at the dis- 
 posal of the General one of his steam vessels, and she 
 swings out into the stream with the American flag at the 
 fore. We have all been in a bustle and a hurry to get 
 away. There was the leaving the place, the massing of 
 bundles, the command of the impedimenta. We were 
 alert for the trip, and we had been feeding our imagina- 
 tions with visions of Eastern life, with visions of the faded 
 but glorious remnants of the ancient civilization. Cairo 
 was French. The infidel had gilded and wall-papered the 
 city of the faithful, and it was hard to realize you were in 
 an Oriental land where everybody spoke Italian and 
 French, and Vienna beer was among the principal articles 
 of merchandise. But now we were really to throw behind 
 us the tawdry French manners and customs which invaded 
 us in our palace, and to go for days and days upon the 
 waters of the Nile. We bought each a fez, and some of 
 us ventured upon the luxury of an Indian hat. Others 
 went into colored spectacles, and the marquis, a far seeing 
 man, who had been on the Nile, and who was not in the 
 best of spirits at leaving a palace to float for weeks between 
 Arab villages, appeared with an astonishing umbrella. 
 We had many friends to see us off. General Stone, Judge 
 Batcheller and Judge Barringer, with their wives ; General 
 Loring, and others. There were radiant mounds of flow- 
 
 (276) 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 277 
 
 ers as remembrances to Mrs. Grant, and as much leave- 
 taking as though we were bound from New York to Liver- 
 pool. Some one makes this suggestion when the observa- 
 tion is made that we are about to undertake a journey as 
 long as from New York to Liverpool and return. The 
 General sits in a corner with Stone and Lorins:, talkine: 
 about old days in the army and making comments upon 
 famed and illustrious names that the historian would wel- 
 come if I could only dare to gather up crumbs of this inter- 
 esting conversation. At noon the signal for our journey is 
 given and farewells are spoken, and we head under full 
 steam for the Equator. 
 
 AN ORIENTAL BAZAAR. 
 
 Our party .is thus composed — we have the General, his 
 wife, and his son, Jesse. The Khedive has assigned us an 
 officer of his household (Sami Bey), a Circassian gentle- 
 man educated in England. Sami Bey is one of the heroes 
 
278 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT, 
 
 of our tri]^, and we soon came to like him, Moslem as he 
 is, for his quaint, cordial, kindly ways. I suj^pose wfe 
 should call Sami Bey the executive officer of the expedi- 
 tion, as to him all responsibility is given. We have also 
 with us, thanks to the kindness of the Khedive, Emile 
 Brugsch, one of the directors of the Egyptian Museum. 
 Mr. Brugsch is a German, brother to the chief director, 
 who has made the antiquities of Egypt a study. Mr, 
 Brugsch knows every tomb and column in the land. He 
 has lived for weeks in the temples and ruins, superintend- 
 ing excavations, copying inscriptions, deciphering hiero- 
 glyphics, and his j^resence with us is an advantage that 
 cannot be over-estimated, for it is given to him to point 
 with his cane and unravel mystery after mystery of the 
 marvels engraved on the stones and rocks, while we stand 
 by in humble and listening wonder. ''What a blank our 
 trip would be without Brugsch!" said the General one 
 day, as we were coming back from a ruin — a ruin as abso- 
 lute and meaningless as the Aztec mounds in New Mex- 
 ico, but which our fine young friend had made as lumin- 
 ous as a page in Herodotus. The Consul General, E. E, 
 Farman, formerly editor of the Western Netv Yorker, is 
 also of our party, and I have already spoken of the 
 })leasant impression he made upon General Grant in 
 Cairo, The General had so agreeable a time with the 
 good boys of the Vandalia that he asked Commander 
 Bobeson to come and bring with him as many of his of- 
 ficers as could be spared. He was anxious to have Bobe- 
 son, and all kinds of schemes and persuasions were in- 
 vented to secure him. When the gracious commands of 
 the lady of our expedition were put upon him the Com- 
 mander paused, and I think for one whole evening he had 
 resolved to go up the Nile. But the morning came, and it 
 brought the cold fact that the Commander had a ship to 
 
TOUll AllOUND THE WORLD. 
 
 27r, 
 
 command, and that it was his duty to command it, and the 
 Nile was in no sense a navigable water. So Robeson gave 
 up the Nile and sent three of his officers to accept the 
 General's invitation — the Chief Surgeon, George H. Cooke; 
 Lieutenant W. A. Hadden and Ensisn F. A. Wilner. 
 
 EASTERN DONKEYS. 
 
 Our boat is called Zinet el Boliren, or as my omniscient 
 friend translates it, the Light of Two Rivers. It is a long, 
 narrow steamer, with two cabins, drawing only a few feet 
 of water, with a flat bottomed keel. The Nile is a river 
 of sand and mud, and as the bottom is always changing 
 you must expect to run aground every little while and to 
 run off again. This in fact we do, and the announcement 
 ihat we are aground makes about as much impression upon 
 ns as if a passenger in a Broadway omnibus heard the 
 wheel of his coach interlock with another. The Nile boats 
 seem arranged to meet any emergency in the way of land 
 — for this river is sprawling, eccentric, comprehensive, 
 
 J8 
 
280 LIFE OF GENERAL caLVNT. 
 
 without any special channel — running one way to-day, 
 another next day. To know the river, therefore, must be 
 something like knowing the temper of a whimsical woman 
 — you must court and woo her and wait upon her humors. 
 Navigation is a constant seeking after knowledge. We 
 have a captain in a comely uniform, with a clear cut Arab 
 face, who stands in the middle of the boat and shouts. 
 We have two men with poles who lean over the prow and 
 sink their poles in the water, and now and then shout. 
 Then at the wheel we have one, or perhaps two, steersmen, 
 generally fine, grave, swarthy fellows, who do not sliout 
 much, but, knowing the river's coquettish ways, do as 
 they please, unmindful of the shouting. For an hour, for 
 two or three hours, we hum along with an easy, trembling 
 motion, the smooth, shining river lapping our sides, and 
 the low, green banks falling behind us. Then we have a 
 tremor, a sidling to one side, and the engines stop. This 
 was so serious a business, especially to our seafaring friends, 
 that for the first or second time they regarded it as a call 
 to quarters or a fire alarm, but we soon became used to it, 
 and running aground hardly interrupted the idlest conver- 
 sation. When evening comes, our captain .picks out the 
 best point that can be found after sunset, and runs up to 
 the land. The crew are sent ashore with torches and 
 hammers, posts are driven into the soft clay and we are 
 tied to the shore. There, as if out of the earth they come, 
 we have a group of Bedouins in their turbans, who gather 
 on the river bank and make a bonfire of dried sugar cane 
 or cornstalks and keep watch over us during the night. 
 There can be no more interesting and, I am afraid, 
 perilous experiment than to put ten human beings on a 
 boat for three weeks and bid them enjoy themselves. I 
 looked around the boat with a little curiosity as we came 
 
THK SK \ 
 
 
 Sir r >tVlife«s.«-'' ^c * ~ k 
 
 ^..— l en r fife:> 
 
 VIEW OF THE RIVER NILE. 
 Showing the Places Visited bv General Grant. 
 
 281 
 
282 LIFE or GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 in and began to adjust ourselves to the conditions of our 
 trip. Tliere are two things that try friendship — getting 
 married and traveling together. You have to dovetail 
 each other, to make and receive compromises. Questions 
 of coffee and tea and chocolate, of breakfast and luncheon^ 
 of amusement and conversation, enter into travel. There 
 is the passenger who is never quite well, the passenger 
 whose health is a reflection upon others, the passenger 
 who worries about the engines and the mails, the passen- 
 ger who cannot stand the sea cooking, and compares every 
 meal with a famous dinner he once enjoyed at Delmon- 
 ico's. Then there is the exasperating passenger, who 
 contradicts everybody and is ready to wager. Our little 
 party developed none of these eccentricities. So far as th e 
 daily and hourly rubbing together was concerned nothing 
 came to mar our harmony. We adjusted ourselves to the 
 General's modes of life ; and as those were of the simple^!, 
 and most considerate character, it involved no sacrifice. 
 On the 19th of January, the third day of our journey, 
 we came to the town of Sioiit, or Assiout, as some call it. 
 Upon arriving the Vice Consul and his son came on boar J 
 and were presented to the General. Congratulations were 
 exchanged, and we offered our friends coffee and cigars in 
 the true Oriental style. The name of our Consul here is 
 AVasif el Hay at.. He is a Syrian and a large landed 
 ])r<)])rietor. He is a grave elderly person, who spoke only 
 Arabic, but his son had been educated in Bey rout, at the 
 mission schools, and knew English. We all drove to the 
 town. It was over parched fields, through a country that 
 in more favorable years would, bloom like a garden. But 
 the Nile is bad this year, and a bad Nile is a calamity 
 second only to a famine in Egypt. We rode into the town 
 and through the bazaars. All the town seemed to know of 
 our coming, for wherever we went crowds swarmed around 
 
TOUR AllOUND TiiE WORLD. 
 
 283 
 
 US, and we had to force our donkeys through masses of 
 Arabs and Egyptians of all ages and conditions, some al- 
 most naked — crowds crying for baksheesh or pressing arti- 
 cles of merchandise upon us. The bazaars are narrow cov- 
 ered ways, covered with matting or loose boards, enough 
 
 TOMB OF THE KINGS. 
 
 to break the force of the sun. The stores are little cubby 
 holes of rooms, in front of which the trader sits and calls 
 upon you to buy. As these avenues are not more than 
 six feet wide at best, you can imagine what a time we had 
 in making our progress. The town had some fine houses 
 and mosques, but in the main it was like all tow^is in 
 Upper Egypt, a collection of mud hovels. We rode 
 beyond the town to the toml)s built in the sand and climb- 
 ed the limestone rock on our donkeys. This was our first 
 evidence of the manner of sepulture in the olden time. 
 These desert rocks of limestone were tunnelled and made 
 into rooms, and here the mummied dead found rest. The 
 
284 LIFE OF GENERAL (tUANT. 
 
 chambers appointed for them were large and spacious, 
 according to the means of the deceased. In some that we 
 entered there was a chamber, an ante-chamber, and some- 
 times connecting chambers. There were inscriptions on 
 the walls, but they had been defa3ed. The early Christians 
 had deemed it their duty to obey the first commandment 
 by removing the representatives of the gods that came in 
 their way. The ceilings of the tombs had been once 
 d'corated, but modern Christians have deemed it their 
 duty to deface them by firing pistol shots. When you 
 visit a tomb and note the blue stars and astronomical 
 forms that the ancients painted with so much care, it is so 
 cunning to try the echo by firing your pistol. Consequent- 
 ly the roofs are spotted with bullet marks. Here also 
 came the wanderers for shelter, and you see what the fires 
 have done. What the tombs may have been in the past, 
 when they came fresh from pious, loving hands, you can 
 imagine. But what with ancient Christian iconoclasts, 
 modern Christian wanderers, Bedouins, Arabs, selling the 
 graves for ornaments, nothing remains but empty lime- 
 stone rooms filling with sand and a few heiroglyphic 
 memorials on the walls. 
 
 We were bidden to an entertainment at the home of 
 Wasif el Hayat, and seven being the hour, we set forth. 
 We were all anxious about our first Arab entertainment, 
 and after some deliberation our naval men concluded to go 
 in their uniforms. The Doctor rode ahead in the carriage 
 with General and Mrs. Grant and the Consul-General. 
 As the Doctor wore his uniform and the others, were in 
 plain dress he was welcomed by the awe-stricken Moslems 
 as the King of America. Hadden and the rest of us rode 
 behind on our trusty and well-beloved donkeys, Hadden 
 in uniform, followed by wondering crowds. I suppose he 
 was taken for a minor potentate, as in the Oriental eyes 
 
285 
 
286 uiFK OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 all that lace and gold could not ])e wasted on anything less 
 than princely rank. But we all had more or less attention, 
 although we could feel that the uniforms were the centre 
 of glory, and that we shone with borrowed splendor. As 
 we came to the house of Wasif el Hayat, we found a real 
 transformation scene. Lanterns lined the street, servants 
 stood on the road, holding blazing torches, a transparency 
 was over the gate with the words, "Welcome, General 
 Grant." The "N" was turned upside down, but that 
 made no difference, for the welcome here in far Africa 
 made the heart throb quicker. As we rode up, torches 
 blamed, rockets went up into the air, various colored lights 
 were burned, and we passed into the court3^ard glowing 
 with light and color, passed into the house over carpets 
 and rugs of heavy texture and gorgeous pattern. Our 
 host met us at the gates of his house and welcomed us in 
 the stately Oriental way, kissing the General's hand as he 
 clasped it in his two hands, and then touching his own 
 heart, lips and brow. Here we met the Governor, and, 
 more welcome still, the Rev. I. R. Alexander and his wife. 
 Mr. Alexander is one of the professors in the missionary 
 college and is under the direction of the United Presbyterian 
 Church. The dinner came, and it was regal in its profu- 
 sion and splendor. I should say there were at least twenty 
 courses, all well served. When it was concluded, the son 
 of the host arose, and in remarkably clear and correct 
 English, proposed the General's health. You will allow 
 me, I am sure, to give you a fragment of this speech. 
 "Long have we heard and wondered," said the speaker, 
 "at the strange progress which America has made during 
 this past century, by which she has taken the first position 
 among the most widely civilized nations. She has so 
 quickly improved in sciences, morals and arts, that the 
 world stands amazed at this extraordinary progress which 
 
TOUll AROUND THE WUUI.D. 
 
 287 
 
 surpasses? the swiftness of lightning. It is to the hard 
 work of her great and wise men that all this advance is 
 imputed, those who have shown to the world what wise, 
 courageous, patriotic men can do. Let all the Avorld look 
 to America and follow her example — that nation which 
 
 GROUP OF BEDOUINS. 
 
 has taken as the basis of her laws and the object of her 
 undertakings to maintain freedom and equality among her 
 own people and secure them for others, avoiding all am- 
 bitious schemes which would draw her into bloody and 
 disastrous wars, and trying by all means to maintain peace 
 internally and externally. The only two great wars upon 
 which she has engaged were entered upon for pure and 
 just purposes — tbe first for releasing herself from the 
 
288 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 English yoke and erecting her independence, and the 
 other for stopping slavery and strengthening the union of 
 the States ; and well we know that it was mainly under 
 God due to the talent, courage and wisdom of His Excel- 
 lency General Grant, that the latter of the two enterprises 
 was brought to a successful issue." The sj^eech closed by a 
 tribute to the General and the Khedive. General Grant said 
 in response that nothing in his whole trip had so im23ressed 
 him as this unexiDected, this generous welcome in the heart 
 of Egypt. He had anticij)ated great pleasure m his visit 
 to Egypt, and the anticipation had been more than realized. 
 He thanked his host and especially the young man who 
 had spoken of him with so high praise for their reception. 
 The dinner dissolved into coffee, conversation and cigars. 
 
 It was ratlier a long distance to our next place of note, 
 Abydos, and Sami Bey had given orders that we should be 
 ready at eight for our journey. I am afraid it was quite 
 an effort for some of the party whose names shall be with- 
 held to heed this command. But the General was first on 
 deck and very soon came Mrs. Grant eager and smihng, 
 after whom the full company hurried. 
 
 " Here," said Brugsch, as we dismounted and followed 
 him into the ruins of the temples, " here we should all 
 take off our hats, for here is the cradle, the fountain-head 
 of all the civilization of the world." This was a startling 
 statement, but Brugsch is a serious gentleman and does 
 not make extravagant speeches. Then he told us about 
 Abydos, which lay around us in ruins. Abydos is a 
 temple which the Khedive is rescuing from the sand. 
 The city was in its time of considerable importance, 
 but this was ages ago, ages and ages; so that its glory 
 was dead even before Tiiebes began to reign. Thebes 
 is an old city, and yet I suppose, compared with Thebes, 
 Abydos is as much older as one of the buried Aztec towns 
 
28d 
 
290 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 in Central America is older than New York. When the 
 temple is all dug out we shall find it to have been a stu- 
 pendous affair ; but there are other temj^les, too, in better 
 condition, and what interests us at Abydos is the city. 
 Here, according to tradition — a tradition which Plutarch 
 partly confirms — was buried the god Ostris. The discov- 
 ery of that tomb will be an event as important in EgyjDtol- 
 ogy as even the discovery of America by Columbus in 
 his day. In the earliest times it was believed Osiris was 
 buried here. To the ancient Egyj^tians the burial place 
 of that god was as sacred as Mecca is to the Moslems or 
 the Holy Sepulchre to the Mediaeval Christians. The 
 government has, therefore, been digging in all directions, 
 and we started after Brugsch to see the work. Mrs. Grant 
 rode along on her donkey, and the rest of us went in dif- 
 ferent directions on foot. There had been troubles in the 
 neighborhood — riots arising out of the bad Nile and taxes. 
 So we had a guide who hovered around us — one soldier, 
 whom we called, in obedience to the law of physical coin- 
 cidences. Boss Tweed — keeping watch over the General. 
 He was a fat and ragged fellow, with a jolly face. It*was 
 quite a walk to the ruins, and the walk was over hills and 
 ridges of burning sand. So the Marquis went to the 
 village to see if the camels had come bearing the 
 luncheon — a subject that was of more value to his practi- 
 cal mind than the tomb of a dethroned deity. It was 
 an interesting walk, to us especially, as it was our first 
 real glimpse of the desert and of an ancient city. The 
 General and the writer found themselves together climbing 
 the highest of the mounds. It was rather an effort to 
 keep our footing on the slippery sand. Beneath us was 
 one excavation forty or fifty feet deep. You could see the 
 remnants of an old house or old tomb ; millions of frag- 
 ments of broken pottery all around. You could see the 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 291 
 
 strata that age after age had heaped upon the buried city. 
 The desert had slowly been creeping over it, and in some 
 of the strata were marks of the Nile. For years, for 
 thousands of years, this mass, which the workmen had 
 torn with their S|)ades, had been gathering. The city was 
 really a city of tombs. In. the ancient days the devout 
 Egyptian craved burial near the tomb of Osiris, and so, 
 for centuries, I supj^ose, their remains were brought to 
 Abydos from all parts of Egypt. This fact gives special 
 value to the excavations, as it gave a special solemnity to 
 our view. As we stood on the elevation, talking about 
 Egypt and the impressions made upon us by our journey, 
 the scene was very striking. There was the ruined tem- 
 23le ; here were the gaping excavations filled with bricks 
 and pottery. Here were our party, some gathering beads 
 and skulls and stones; others having a lark with SauM 
 Bey ; others following Mrs. Grant as a body guard, as hei' 
 donkey plodded his way along the slopes. Beyond, junfi 
 beyond, were rolling plains of shining sand — shining, 
 burning sand — and as the shrinking eye followed the plaiiA 
 and searched the hills, there was no sign of life ; nothing 
 except, perhaps, some careering hawk hurrying to the 
 river. It was the apotheosis of death and ruin, a fit man- 
 tle for the sepulchred city below. I have seen no scene in 
 Egypt more striking than this view from the mounds of 
 Abydos. 
 
 The sun was beating with continued fierceness, and we 
 kept our way to the cluster of trees and the village. The 
 Marquis, with illuminated eyes, informed us that the cam- 
 els had come and the luncheon was ready. We sat around 
 our modest table and feasted — feasted in the temple sacred 
 to the memory of Osiris, and built by the pious munifi- 
 cence of Sethi, the king who rests with God. The walk 
 had given us an appetite and put us all in high spirits, 
 
292 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 and we lunched in merry mood. There were toasts to the 
 Khedive, to Sami Bey, to the General, and the invariable 
 toast which comes from gracious womanly lips — to friends 
 and dear ones at home. Then Brugsch told us of Salib, an 
 Arabian who had been for twenty years working at the ex- 
 cavation. He worked with so much diligence that he had 
 become entirely blind, and it was now his only comfort to 
 wander about the ruins, direct the workmen, and perhaps 
 trace with his finger many a loved inscription that his zeal 
 had brought to light. Salib lived near the ruins, on a 
 pension allowed by the Khedive, and after luncheon we 
 called on him and took our coffee in his house. The 
 coffee was served on the roof, while some of us, weary with 
 the sun, lay under the shadow of the wall and the date 
 trees, and others sat about the courtyard, smoking, and 
 Brugsch, who never misses his chance, improved the shin- 
 ing hour to coj^y a hieroglyphic inscription. After an 
 hour's rest, we went back again, very much as we came. 
 But the journey was long, the road was dusty, and when 
 we saw the flag flying from our boat, we were, some of us 
 at least, a weary, very weary, party. We had ridden fif- 
 teen miles on donkeys and walked two or three on the sand, 
 and the shelter and repose of the cabin was grateful when 
 at last it came. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THEBES LUXOR THE HOME OF RAMESES TEMPLES AND 
 
 STATUES A THEBAN DINNER KARNAK AND ITS WON- 
 DERS THE SACRED LAKE WHO WAS RAMESES ? RESEM- 
 BLANCE TO LORD BEACON SrrELD MARKS OF THE RACES. 
 
 Our imaginations, as might liave been expected, 
 had been dwelling all these days on Thebes. We read it 
 up and talked about it, and said, "When we see Thebes, we 
 shall see one of the wonders of the world." We learned 
 that Thebes was once a city that covered both banks of the 
 Nile ; that it was known to Homer as the city of the Hun- 
 dred Gates ; that it must have had 300,000 inhabitants, 
 and that it sent out 20,000 armed chariots. It was famed 
 for its riches and splendor until it was besieged. There 
 Avas a temple of Memnon and the colossal statue which used 
 to sino- its oracles when the sun rose. Here was to be found 
 the palace temple of the great Kameses, the only ruin in 
 Egypt known to have been the home of a king. Here 
 we would see the columns of Luxor, the twin obelisk to the 
 one now in Paris, the stupendous ruins of Karnak and the 
 tombs of the kings. Thebes alone would repay us for our long 
 journeyings; and we talked about Sesostris and the Phara- 
 ohs in a familiar manner, as though they knew we were com- 
 ing, and would be at home. And when we became a little 
 hazy on our history and could not get our kings exactly 
 straight, and were not sure whether Sesostris was in the 
 nineteenth or the twenty-ninth dynasty, we always fell 
 back on Brugsch, who knew all the dynasties and was an 
 ever-running spring of information, and always as gentle 
 
 (293) 
 
294 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 and willing as he was learned. By the time we approached 
 Thebes we were well out of that stage and were well up in 
 our Rameses, and knew all about Thebes, the mighty, 
 the magnificent Thebes, the city of a world's renown, of 
 which we had been reading and dreaming all these years. 
 And as Brugsch, leaning over the rail, talked about 
 
 KUINS AT THEBES 
 
 Thebes, we listened and watched through the clear air for 
 the first sign of its glory. There were the mountains 
 beyond, the very mountains of which we had read, and 
 there was the plain. But where was Thebes ? We looked 
 through our gUisses and saw at first only the brown caver- 
 ned hills, the parched fields and the shining sand. We 
 looked again, and there, sure enough, were the colossal 
 statues ofMemnon, two broken pillars so they seemed, 
 with a clump of trees near them. Only the field, the sand 
 and the hills beyond, only the same cluster of hovels on 
 on the shore and the two distant columns. This was all 
 that remained of the glory of the city that was the glory 
 of the ancient world. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 293 
 
 There was one, at least, in that small company whose 
 imagination fell, and who could scarcely believe that so 
 much splendor could only be this barren plain. 
 
 The town of Luxor, as it is called, is really a collection 
 of houses that have fastened upon the ruins of the old 
 temple. This temple is near the river, and has a fine 
 fa§ade. It was built by Amunoph III. and Rameses IL, 
 
 In the morning we made ready for our trip to 
 Memnon and the temple home of Eameses. We set out 
 early in the morning — early, at least, for a party of idle 
 voyagers who did not crave a reputation for rising. We 
 had to cross the river, our boatmen singing their Arab 
 music. And when we landed on the other shore, we had, 
 thanks to the forethought of our consul at Thebes, a col- 
 lection of stable donkeys, with a well mounted horse for 
 the General. We were a little time getting underway. 
 There was the escort of serving men with the luncheons 
 on camels, who pushed ahead. Then came the General 
 and his party. The party was composed of fifteen, as we 
 had with us the Consul, the Governor of the province, 
 the Marquis and Hassan. But as every donkey had two 
 donkey boys, with a couple of girls, carrying water on 
 their heads, running at your side — as there was a sheik, in 
 stately turban, and five or six soldiers on guard — and a 
 crowd crying for baksheesh and offering antiquities for 
 sale, our tourists' group grew to be quite an army, and as 
 we trailed over the plain we looked like a caravan. The 
 antiquity dealers and water girls swarmed around us so 
 that it was difficult to ride with comfort, and Hassan, who 
 has practical ways of settling problems, went among them 
 with a stick. Hassan's energy, however, brought his good 
 name into peril, for the idea of beating the nimble, ragged 
 maidens who flocked about us and filled the air with dust 
 was revolting to the lady of the expedition, who summoned 
 
 19 
 
296 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Hassan before her aud forbade him to beat the children. 
 Hassan, who is as kindly a being as ever carried a scimeter, 
 explained that he only wanted to frighten them and did 
 not beat anybody. I quite believed him, for in the race 
 the water girls, who were as nimble as a gazelle, would leave 
 Hassan, who is stout and slow, far behind in no time. So, as 
 a preventive measure, Hassan was instructed to make public 
 announcement that unless the water girls and donkey boys 
 and antiquity peddlers remained far behind where they 
 would not raise the- dust, they should have no baksheesh, 
 Hassan made this terrible proclamation from his donkey 
 with many gesticulations and shaking of his stick ; and so 
 we kept on with moderate comfort and peace. But every 
 now and then some one of the damsels would steal up to 
 your side under pretense of offering you water and coax 
 you with the large black wondering eyes, so that resistance 
 was impossible, and in this way we came to Memnon. 
 
 All that is left of IMemnonism are the two colossal statues, 
 the one to the north being the statue that, according to the 
 historians and j)riests, used to utter a sound every morning 
 when the sun rose. The statue is silent enough now, and is a 
 monolith about fifty feet high . A good part oft he base is bu r- 
 ied in the earth, but they loom up over the plain and may 
 be seen — as, in fact, we did see them— miles and miles 
 away. You may have an idea of the size when you know 
 that the statue measures 18 feet 3 inches across the shoul- 
 ders, 16 feet G mches from the top of the shoulder to the 
 elbow, and the other portions of the body in due projDor- 
 tion. No* trace can be found of the cause of the vocal 
 sunrise phenomenon. One theory is that the priests used 
 to climb into a recess in the body of the statue and perform 
 a juggler's trick. I do not think so badly of thp. Egyptian 
 priests, who, I suppose, were good men in their way, and 
 not charlatans. You might find one j^riest in a multitude 
 

 ■ 
 
 297 
 
298 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 capable of climbing into a recess and calling upon the 
 peo[)le to pay pew rent or tithes or something of the kind. 
 But this sound continued for generations, and I do not 
 believe you could find generations of priests carrying on 
 the deception for years and years; so I dismiss that theory 
 and take another which Brugsch explains to us. The 
 statue would be moist with dew at sunrise, and the sun's 
 rays acting upon the dew w^ould cause it to emit a sound 
 like an interrupted chord of music; just such a sound as 
 you hear from a sea shell if you hold it to your ear. As 
 
 EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 the sun is sure to shine every morning on these plains you 
 could be certain that such a phenomenon would recur 
 daily. I can well imagine how a freak of nature might 
 be taken as the voice of the gods, and how humble priests 
 would bow down to it and not enter into scientific specula- 
 tions. After the statue had been tossed by an earthquake 
 and riven the music ceased, which only confii-m me in 
 doing justice to the poor priests. After we had ridden 
 around the Memnon statue and its companion — around 
 and around them, so as to see them from all sides and have 
 a full sense of their immensity — after we had rested a half 
 hour in the grateful shade of the column, for the day was 
 
TOUR AEOUND THE WORLD. 299 
 
 warm and severe, we made our way to the neighboring 
 temple of Medeenet Habro. Our ride to this temple was 
 over a mass of sand and rubbish. But near it was a shel- 
 tering grove of date palms, and the INIarquis, whose prac- 
 tical mind is never disturbed by any ruins, however 
 ancient, quietly informed us, as an encouragement under 
 the beating sun, that we were to have luncheon. 
 
 We had seen Thebes, we had even begun to grow 
 weary of it. There was a dinner in State which had to be 
 eaten. The General was tired and concluded he would 
 not go. He had been riding all day to Memnon, the 
 temple, and back again, and we were all dusty and tired, 
 But when the General's regret was sent, our Arab host 
 was so sad about it and so apprehensive lest his fellow 
 consuls, who knew the General had dined with other 
 consuls on the way, might misconstrue his absence. So 
 the General went in state or in as much state as we can as- 
 sume in this region, our naval friends in full uniform. 
 When we went to our Theban dinner, the Doctor was il I, 
 and the honor fell upon Hadden, who blazed in gold, and 
 whom the waiters were with the utmost difficulty prevented 
 from helj^ing as the honored guest. Our dinner w^as served 
 in the upper chamber of the house, and the host sat on 
 one side of the table in a state of constant alarm, that 
 made us quite sympathize with him. He was an Egyptian, 
 with a keen, kind, swarthy face, with a slight gray beard, 
 who had never been north of Thebes in his life, and had 
 never drank anything but Nile water. I suppose the 
 honor of entertaining the Chief Magistrate of the United 
 States, and the fear lest he might not do us all the honor 
 he wished, opj^ressed him, and he sat in anxiety and alarm. 
 The dinner was a stupendous affair, course after course in 
 Oriental profusion, until we could not even pay the dishes 
 the compliment of tasting them. Then came the coffee 
 
300 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 and the pipes. During the dinner, which was composed of 
 the host and our own party, we had music. A group of 
 Arab minstrels came in and squatted on the floor. The 
 leader of the band — I should say about a half dozen — was 
 blind, but his skill in handling his instrument was notable. 
 It was a rude instrument, of the violin class, the body of it 
 a cocoanut shell. He held it on the ground and played 
 with a bow, very much as one would play a violoncello. 
 He played love songs and narratives, and under the 
 promptings of Sami Bey went through all the grades of 
 his art. But whether the theme was love or war, there 
 came that sad refrain, that motive of despair, that seemed 
 to speak from the soul and to tell of the unending misery 
 of their race. Mr. Jesse Grant, who has a taste for music, 
 was quite interested in the performance, and sought to 
 teach the minstrels some of our European and American 
 airs. One of them was the " Marsellaise." The Arab 
 listened to it and tried again and again to follow the notes. 
 He would follow for a few bars and break down, break 
 into the same mournful cadence which had been the bun- 
 den of his melody. It seemed strange, this burdened and 
 beaten slave trying to grasp that wild, brave, bold anthem 
 which spoke the resolve of a nation to be free. It was 
 beyond and above him. The music of the Marsellaise was 
 aever intended for the Lybian desert. If these people, 
 oppressed and driven as they are, should ever come to 
 know it, there will be hope for this land of promise, which 
 has so long been the land of sorrow and servitude. 
 
 We Avere to see the wonder of the world in Karnak, 
 The journey to Karnak is only about forty minutes' ride 
 from Luxor, and does not involve crossing the river. I 
 was grateful to the Vice Consul for sending us the same 
 group of donkeys who had borne us to Memnon. And 
 when I ivscended the hill, there was my friend Mohammed 
 
TOUll AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 301 
 
 AH jumping, and calling and pushing liis donkey toward 
 me. A good donkey has much to do with the pleasure of 
 your journey, and Mohammed All's was a patient, sure- 
 footed little thing that it made me almost ashamed to ride. 
 We set out early, because it was commanded by Sami Bey 
 that we should return to the boat and breakfast, and while 
 at breakfast steam up the river. 
 
 JHSSESZ 
 
 KARNAK. 
 
 I cannot tell you when the Temple of Karnak was 
 built. You see, in this matter of chronology authorities as 
 high as Wilkinson, Bunsen and Mariette differ sometimes 
 as much as a thousand years in a single date. But my 
 own opinion is that Brugsch knows all about it, and he 
 places the first builduag three thousand years before Christ. 
 Karnak, which was not only a temple, but one in the 
 series of temples which constituted Thebes, is about a half 
 mile from the river, a mile or two from the Temple of 
 
302 LIFE OF GENERAL GPtA]S^T. 
 
 Luxor. The front wall or propylon in 370 feet broad, 50 
 feet deep, and tlie standing tower 140 feet high. Leading 
 up to this main entrance is an avenue, lined with statues 
 and sphinxes, 200 feet long. When you enter this gate, 
 you enter an open courtyard, 275 feet by 329. There is a 
 corridor or cloister on either side ; in the middle a double 
 line of columns, of which one only remains. You now 
 come to another wall, or propylon, as large as the entrance, 
 and enter the great hall — the most magnificent ruin in 
 Egypt. The steps of the door are 40 feet by 10. The 
 room is 170 feet by 329, and the roof was supported by 
 134 columns. These columns are all or nearly all stand- 
 ing, but the roof has gone. Twelve are 62 feet high with- 
 out the plinth, and 11 feet 6 inches in diameter. One 
 hundred and twenty-two are 42 feet 5 inches in height and 
 28 feet in circumference. They were all brilliantly col- 
 ored and some of them retain the colors still ; and you can 
 well imagine what must have been the blaze of light and 
 color when the kings and priests passed through in solemn 
 procession. We pass through another gate into an open 
 court. Here is an obelisk in granite seventy-five feet high, 
 and the fragments of another, its companion. The inscrij^- 
 tions on them are as clear as though they had been cut 
 yesterday, so gentle is this climate in its dealings with 
 Time. They celebrate the victories and virtues of the 
 kings who reigned 1700 years before Christ, and promise 
 the kings, in the names of the immortal gods, that their 
 glory shall live for ages. We pass into another chamber 
 very much in ruins and see another obelisk, ninety-two 
 feet high and eight square — the largest in the world. This 
 monument commemorates the virtues of the kino-'s dau^h- 
 
 o o 
 
 ter, womanly and queenly virtues which met their reward, 
 let us hope, thirty-five centuries ago. You may form some 
 idea of what the Egyptians could do in the way of median- 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 303 
 
 ics and engineering when you know tliat thin obelisk is a 
 single block of granite, that it was brought from the quarry 
 miles and miles away, erected and inscribed in seven 
 months. The next room was the sanctuary, the holy of 
 holies, and is now a mass of rubbish requiring nimble feet 
 to climb. You scramble over stones and sand until you 
 come to what was the room where King Thothmes III., 
 who lived sixteen centuries before Christ, was rej^resented 
 as giving offerings to fifty-six of his royal predecessors. 
 The hall is a ruin, and some French Vandals carried of! 
 the tablet — one of the most valuable in Egypt — to Paris. 
 Altogether the building stone was 1,108 feet long and 
 about 300 wide, the circuit around the outside, according 
 to a Eoman historian who saw it in its glory, being about 
 a mile and a half. 
 
 EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHIC INSCRIPTION— EGYPTIAN WARRIORS HASTENING! 
 
 TO BATTLE. 
 
 This is the temple, but the temple was only a part. 
 There were three avenues leading from it to the other 
 temples. These avenues were lined with statues, large and 
 small, generally of the Sphinx. I saw numbers of them 
 sitting in their ancient places slowly crumbling to ruin. 
 There were two colossal statues at the door, now lying on 
 
304 LIFE OF GEXERAL GlIAXT. 
 
 the earth an uncouth mass of granite. One of them was 
 ahnost buried in the sand, the ear being exposed. You can 
 fancy how large it must have been when you know this 
 ear was a foot long at least. Near the obelisk, some dis- 
 tance from the temple, is a pool of water, on the banks of 
 which black children are scampering and shouting " Bak- 
 sheesh, howadji." This was the Sacred Lake. This lake 
 had an important office in the religion of the old Egypt- 
 ians. When an Egyptian died and was embalmed, his 
 body was brought to the lake. The procession was a sol- 
 emn one — mourners throwing dust on their heads, a priest 
 sprinkling water from a brush dipped in a vase, very much 
 as Catholic priests sj^rinkle holy w^ater; attendants throw- 
 ing palms on the ground, others carrying fruits and meats, 
 incense and ostrich feathers. The coffin w^as borne on a 
 sledge until it came to this lake. Here were forty-two 
 judges, men who had known the deceased. Here w^as the 
 boat, the sacred boat that was to carry the body to the 
 other shore. If it could be shown to these judges that the 
 deceased had been an ungodly man, that his life had been 
 a scandal, then he was denied sepulture. If it was shown 
 that he had lived worthily, and the judges so decided, then 
 all weeping ceased, eulogies were pronounced upon his 
 memory, the body was carried to the other shore, and from 
 thence removed to the catacombs to rest in honor and 
 peace — in peace, at least, until Arab peasants rummaged 
 their graves and made merchandise of their coffins and 
 grave clothes, their ornaments and tokens, their very 
 bones, just as these greasy Arabs who swarm about our 
 donkeys are doing at this very hour. 
 
 Wherever we find walls, we have inscrij^tions. The 
 inscriptions are in hieroglyphic language — a language as 
 clear to scholars now as the Latin or the Sanscrit. Brugsch 
 reads them off to us as glibly as though he were reading 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 305 
 
 signs from a Bowery store. The stories will hardly bear 
 repetition, for they are the same that we saw at Denclerah, 
 at Abydos, all through Egypt. They tell of battles and 
 the glory of the King, Kameses, who is supposed to be the 
 Sesostris of the Greeks. We have him leading his men to 
 attack a fortified place. Again we see him leading foot 
 soldiers and putting an enemy to the sword. We have him 
 leading his captives as an offering to the gods — and offer- 
 
 EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHIC INSCRIPTION— STORMING A CITY, 
 
 ing not only prisoners, but booty of great value. The 
 groups of prisoners are rudely done, but you see the type 
 of race clearly outlined. AVe know the Hebrew by the 
 unmistakable cast of features — as marked as the face of 
 Lord Beaconsfield. We trace the Phoenician, the Estruscan, 
 as well as the negro types from Ethiojiia, and thus learn 
 of the warlike achievements of this thirty century mon- 
 arch, whose fame is carved all over Egypt, and about whose 
 name there is an interesting debate. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 STILL ASCENDING THE NILE — KENEH — EASTERN POTTERY — 
 
 DOMESTIC LIFE A VISIT TO THE PACHA ASSONAN THE 
 
 BAZAARS MAKING PURCHASES PHIL^ — ON BOARD A 
 
 DAIIABEEAH MEMPHIS THE SERAPEUM MARIETTE BAY 
 
 AMONG THE TOMBS FAREWELL TO THE CITY OF 
 
 MEMPHIS. 
 
 Continuing their journey up the Nile, one of the party 
 writes, on tlie 31st of January, as follows: — 
 
 One visit worth noting was made to the town of 
 Keneh. AYe tied up to the bank in our summary way, just 
 as the wayfaring horseman dismounts and ties his horse to 
 a tree. There is no question of wharves or quays or per- 
 mission. When we tied, we all went ashore and picked out 
 oar donkeys. The boys had seen our smoke far down the 
 river, and were there to meet us. The town was a mile or 
 so off, and we rode over the plain. It was a sad sight, and 
 Sami Bey told us what a calamity this bad Nile meant to 
 Egypt. When the Nile rises in its season and floods the 
 fields, only departing when it leaves the richness that it 
 brought all the way from Central Africa, then Egypt is 
 rich. The ground teems with fatness, and I could well 
 believe Sami Bey when he told us how he had ridden from 
 the river bank to the town through fields of corn and 
 sugar cane, through fields of waving, living, joyous green. 
 To-day the fields are parched and brown and cracked. 
 The irrigating ditches are dry. You see the stalk stumps 
 of the last season's crop. But with the exception of a few 
 
 (306) 
 
TOUR ABOUND THE WORLD. 307 
 
 clusters of the castor bean and some weary, drooping date 
 palms, the earth gives forth no fruit. A gust of sand blows 
 over the plain and adds to the sombreness of the scene. 
 Here are hundreds of thousands of acres which, in a good 
 year, would give generous crops. Now they give nothing, 
 and the people who till them must be fed. A bad Nile, 
 therefore, means bad times for the people and bad times 
 for the Government. For when there are no crops there 
 are no taxes, and even an Egyptian taskmaster could not 
 force barren fields to j^ay revenue to the Khedive's treas- 
 ury. It is safe to say that a bad Nile costs Egypt millions 
 and millions of dollars. The people must live on last 
 year's grain, and instead of helping the Government, must 
 be helped by the Government. When you remember that 
 the Khedive is under many burdens — the burden of an 
 enormous debt, the interest of which is in default; a 
 burden of a contingent in the Turkish army which he 
 must support, the burden of the annual tribute to the 
 Sultan, over $3,500,000 a year, you can understand the 
 calamity of a bad Nile and why it is that most of the civil 
 and military officers are in arrears for their salary — some 
 of them for a year. Happily such a calamity as a bad 
 Nile does not often occur. If it hapj^ened for two or three 
 continuous years a famine would be the result. If the 
 Nile ceased its office Egypt would have to be abandoned 
 and these fertile plains given over to the desert. In fact, 
 Egypt is only an annual struggle between the river and 
 the desert. If ever the river surrenders, Egypt will be- 
 come a barren, treeless plain of rocks and sand. 
 
 The sand was blowing heavily as we entered Keneli. 
 We had not been expected, so there were no ceremonies, 
 and we could wander as we pleased. We dismounted 
 under a grove of trees and went on foot into the town, our 
 donkeys and donkey boys following after. We strolled 
 
308 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GEAN'T. 
 
 through the bazaars, which meant that we crowded our 
 way through narrow, dusty passages where the tradesman 
 sold his wares. The assortment was not varied — beads, 
 grain, cloths, dates, pipes and trinkets. We went into one 
 house where the potter was busy over his wheel. In Keneh 
 pottery is an industry. The clay makes a fragile, porous 
 vessel, through which the water evaporates in summer, 
 acting as a filter and a water cooler. These vessels are 
 
 POTTEK AT WUKK. 
 
 grateful in the summer days, and there is quite a trade in 
 them between Keneh and Lower Egypt. We had observed 
 coming up rafts of stone jars, bound together with 
 boughs, floating down the stream, very much as the old 
 flatboats used to float down the Mississippi to New Orleans, 
 laden with AVestern produce. The jars kept their own 
 Inioyancy, and one raft would require not more than three 
 or four men to ply it. The potter was very skilful. His 
 child moistened the clay, and with deft fingers he fashioned 
 it into form — into graceful lines and curving shapes, show- 
 ing artistic sense. The cheaj^ness of the work when done 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 809 
 
 was amazing. The retail price was about eighty cents a 
 hundred for small jars useful for the table. We went into 
 a mill where the corn was grinding. It was the same 
 process that we read about in the Bible — the horse going 
 round and round, the grain crushing between an ui3j)er 
 and nether stone and running into a pail. We went into 
 one of the houses of the common people. Hassan led the 
 way, and there was evidently no intrusion. A morsel of 
 backsheesh would atone for any invasion of domestic 
 privacy. 
 
 The house was a collection of rooms ; the walls made 
 of dried mud and bricks. It was one story high, thatched 
 with straw. The floor was the ground. The walls were 
 clay. In one room was the donkey, in another the cow — 
 a queer kind of buffalo cow, that looked up at us as we 
 went in. In another room slept the members of the family. 
 There was neither bed nor chair nor table. They slept on 
 the ground or on palm leaves, like the donkey. They sat 
 on the ground for meals and ate out of the same dish. 
 The woman was sitting over a fire on which she was roast- 
 ing some kind of grain. The children were sj^rawling 
 about her. The woman was a Copt and not doomed to 
 Moslem seclusion. The father stood at the door grinning 
 and waiting for baksheesh. The welcome was as cordial 
 as possible, but I suj^pose there were not a thousand slaves 
 in the South who Avere not better housed than these free 
 Egyptian citizens. Their life was virtually that of a 
 savage, but they all seemed happy and cheerful enough. 
 In this land Nature is the friend of the poor. You can 
 sleep on the ground every night of the year secure from 
 rain. You can array yourself in the scantiest of raiment 
 free from the cold. You can live on dates and sugar cane, 
 and, as far as the real ailments that come from want and 
 misery with us are concerned, they are not known in 
 
310 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Egypt. The people are well made, well formed, with 
 unusual powers of endurance, and naturally light. I 
 would like to see any of our laboring men at home run up 
 and down the Pyramid of Cheops in eight minutes, as I 
 saw an Arab do for a franc. And we have no dam.sels 
 among our own dear, tender, lovely maidens at home who 
 could run at your donkey's side for miles and miles, bal- 
 ancing a pitcher of water on their heads and showing no 
 signs of fatigue. 
 
 AN ARCH NEAR KENEH. 
 
 We thought we had the town to ourselves to stroll and 
 wander where we listed, when there came one to us in 
 haste to say that the Pacha who governed this province 
 had heard of our coming and would like to see us at the 
 palace. And the General, who is as obliging a soul as 
 one of the laden camels we are constantly passing, said he 
 would call on the Pacha. We threaded our way to the 
 palace, which was a low brick building, like a barracks. 
 The messenger evidently did not expect so prompt an 
 answer to his summons, as we saw him running ahead to 
 tell his lord that we were coming — coming almost on his 
 heels. We passed under a grateful row of trees, through 
 
TOUR AUOUND THE WORLD. 311 
 
 an open space where soldiers were lounging about, and into 
 the cool, open rooms of the palace. We were shown into 
 the reception chamber and ranged on the divan. There 
 was a long pause. The Governor was no doubt enjoying 
 a siesta, and had to rub the sleep out of his eyes or don 
 his uniform. In time he came, a stout, pleasant-looking, 
 gray moustached soldier, in his full uniform as general. 
 We had surprised him, of course, and he had to dress. 
 He received the General with grave courtesy, and there 
 was the usual exchange of com23liments and talk about 
 the weather. The General varied the conversation by 
 expressing his regret that the bad Nile was on the people, 
 and hoping for a good Nile. When this was translated, 
 as the Pacha only spoke Arabic, he threw up his eyes 
 ¥rith a gesture of devotion, saying, " If Ood wills it, and 
 may He will it." Then came the coffee and the pipes, and 
 we set forth. The Governor said he would accompany us 
 in our walk, which he did. He directed that the state 
 donkeys should be saddled, and they came after us. We 
 then called upon the German Consul, who waylaid us and 
 begged that we should honor his house. This officer lived 
 in a style approaching splendor, and when we were served 
 with pipes and coffee we noticed that the pipe stems were 
 of amber, garnished with diamonds, and the coffee cups 
 were of the finest porcelain, in cases of silver and gold. 
 These ceremonies over, we came back to the boat through 
 a gust of sand. The General rode one of the Pacha's 
 donkeys. 
 
 Assouan was to be the end of our journey, the turning 
 point of our Nile trip. Assouan is the frontier station of 
 old Egypt, on the boundary of Nubia. All these days 
 we had been pressing toward the Equator, and we began 
 to see the change. Assouan is a pretty town — to my mind 
 prettier than any I had seen on the Nile. 
 
 20 
 
312 LIFE OF GENERAL GliANT. 
 
 Of Assouan, in the way of useful information, it Is 
 sufficient to say that it is a town of 4,000 inhabitants, 580 
 miles south of Cairo, 730 south of the Mediterranean. It 
 used to be supposed that the town lay directly under the 
 Equator. In the ancient days Assouan was a quarry, and 
 here were found the stones which became obelisks, temples 
 and tombs. Assouan's history is associated more with 
 Arabian than Egyptian history. AVhen Islam was march- 
 ing to conquer the world, the Saracens made a town here 
 and an outpost. 
 
 In these days Assouan flourishes as one of the depots 
 of the desert trade. Here the caravans came from Ethi(i- 
 pia, and you find traces of desert merchandise among the 
 bazaars. We visited the bazaars, ]\Irs. Grant and the 
 writer doing some shopping, and Hassan going ahead with 
 his stick, commanding all loyal subjects of the Khedive f.o 
 fall back and make way for the pilgrims. There were no 
 bones and no antiquities for sale at Assouan, a fact that I 
 note with gratitude. But there was honest merchandise of 
 a humble sort — ostrich feathers, ivory, gum arable, skins, 
 ebony clubs, silver rings, lances and crockery. What 
 carried us to the bazaars was the ostrich feather. This con- 
 summate plume of our modern civilization is brought here 
 in caravans from the desert. The best feathers are those 
 which come from wild birds — those trained and tamed, as 
 in Southern Africa giving our a flimsier and coarser fibred 
 feather. I never knew there was so much in an ostrich 
 feather until I found myself the silent partner of Mrs. 
 Grant in the markets of Assouan. I also learned some 
 valuable hints as to the way of doing business. In our 
 prosy country you walk into a store, you pay your money, 
 you pick up your handkerchief or New Testament, or 
 whatever it may be, and walk away. You ask no ques- 
 tions, and it is very probable if you did you would have nc 
 
TOUR AEOUND THE WORLD. 313 
 
 answers. The Arab sits in his cubbyliole smokmg his 
 ])ipe. His cubbyhole is about six feet square and two feet 
 from the ground. He sits with his legs crossed, and some- 
 times he is reading the Koran. Here he sits for hours 
 and hours, unconscious of the world, perhaps sustained by 
 that fine Moslem precept which I submit to friends at home 
 as a panacea for bankruptcy, that whatever is is the will 
 of God, and if it is His holy will that no one comes and 
 buys, then blessed be God, the only God, and Mohammed, 
 the prophet of God. 
 
 You come and turn over his goods. He studies you 
 over and over. He calculates your power of resistance as 
 though you were a mechanical force. If you are alone you 
 become an easy prey. The people were all so poor, so 
 ragged, so naked, and what they asked was, after all, so 
 small that she was always disposed to pay more than w?is 
 asked. But -in our bargains here we are thrown back 
 upon Hassan's Arabic. You turn over your feathers arid 
 hold them to the light and turn them over and over again. 
 Finally, you select a bunch and bid Hassan buy them. 
 Hassan picks them up, layg them down and picks them up 
 again, as though there might be worse feathers, but he 
 had never seen them; that he was selecting a feather 
 museum and wanted a few specimens of the worst in the 
 world. The dealer calmly looked on at this pantomime. 
 Hassan asks in a contemptuous tone the price. He mur- 
 murs the price — five or six Napoleons, let us say. " Five 
 or six Napoleons ! " cries Hassan, throwing up his hands 
 and eyes, tossing the feathers at the feet of the cross-legged 
 Moslem and turning towards us with an expression of 
 rage and wonder at the exorbitance of the price, and call- 
 ing upon all around to witness that he was being swindled. 
 " Well, but, Hassan," says our lady, as she takes up the 
 rejected feathers, New York price lists running in her 
 
314 LIFE OF GENERAL GllANT. 
 
 mind, " I don't think five or six Napoleons such an exor- 
 bitant price, for the feathers are good feathers." You see 
 the poor merchant does look so poor, and he cannot sell 
 many feathers in Assouan, and, of couse, he has children 
 and so — and so. 
 
 But this is the way trade is ruined, Hassan evidently 
 thinks, but is too dutiful to say. So he explains that they 
 always ask two prices, sometimes three or four, and that if 
 we would all grow angry and throw down the feathers and 
 walk aAvay after him the merchant would follow us even to 
 the boat and ask us to name our price. Well, we appre- 
 ciate Hassan's motives, but we want to buy the feathers 
 and not perform a comedy, and the trade goes on, Hassan 
 laboring under the disadvantage of our not having acted 
 as a proper chorus to his rage. I have do doubt that lack 
 of proper support cost us in the end, for our Moslem 
 tradesman evidently saw that it was God'» will that we 
 sliould buy the feathers. The trade proceeds. Hassan 
 talks louder and louder and appeals to the crowd. As he 
 talks in Arabic we only understand him as we would a 
 pantomime. Finally the son of Islam asks what would 
 the gracious lady give? "Well," says Mrs. Grant, "I want 
 to give what is right." We name a price, say four Napo- 
 leons. Then the merchant breaks into a pantomime. He 
 takes the feathers angrily out of our hands. He, too, ad- 
 dresses the audience — and by this time there is an audi- 
 ence — upon the feathers. He holds them up and droops 
 them into a waving, dainty plume. "Look at them! See 
 liow they shine! Look at their tints — white and gray and 
 black! Such feathers were never seen in Assouan; they 
 came from the far desert; they would be cheap at a hun- 
 dred Napoleons." We suggest to Hassan^after this address 
 that we might as well go elsewhere ; that a faith so firmly 
 fixed would not move. "Wait a little," Hassan says; "he 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 315 
 
 will take the four Napoleons, and would take three if we 
 had offered them." So the debate goes on in fury, the 
 ano-er increasing, until Hassan says four Napoleons will 
 buy the feathers. We pay the money and go to the boat 
 with our plumes. When we thank Hassan for his services, 
 he intimates that if we had let him alone, he would have 
 bought them for two Napoleons. 
 
 It was very warm wdien we gathered under the trees to 
 make ready for our journey. Sami Bey had hurried us, 
 and the General was, as he always is, the first at his post. 
 The Governor was there, and there was a suspicion, his 
 clothes looked so neat and without wrinkles, that he had 
 sat up all night to keep them nice. He brought the Gen- 
 eral a despatch from Gordon Pacha, the famous English 
 officer who has been made Governor-General of the Pro- 
 vinces of the Equator by the Khedive, and wdio is now at 
 Khartoum. But we are just within his provinces, and he 
 sends his message of welcome, one great soldier greeting 
 another. The General returns his thanks and we mount. 
 The General is in luck this morning. The Governor has 
 provided him-with an Arabian steed — one of the animals 
 about which poets write. This horse was worthy of a 
 poem, and the General expresses his admiration at its lines 
 and paces, saying he had never seen a better horse. Its 
 trappings are regal, and a smile of satisfaction breaks over 
 the General's face as he gathers the reins in his hand and 
 feels the beatings of his animal's flanks. Sami Bey sug- 
 gests that perhaps the General should pace the horse up 
 and down, with an attendant to hold him, to see if he is 
 perfectly safe and comfortable. 
 
 Now, Sami Bey is as good a soul as ever lived, and 
 always trying to make everything pleasant, and while he 
 is sure about donkeys, has doubts about this splendid 
 prancing steed. But our General is famous as a horseman 
 
316 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT 
 
 in a land flimous for liorsemanshij), and smilingly says, 
 " If I can mount a horse, I can ride him, and all the at- 
 tendants can do is to keep away." We set out in proces- 
 sion, our little trailing army in the usual order of march, 
 the General ahead, Mrs. Grant at his side or near him, 
 securely mounted on her donkey, the Marquis and Hassan 
 near her, should, evil fall . 
 
 So we rode along the bank and dismounted, and em- 
 barked on a dahabeeah, which was to ferry us over. This 
 dahabeeah is under the control of a sheik, whose duty is 
 to carry vessels up and down the cataracts. For seventy 
 years, man and boy, he has done this work, and as he 
 stood by the rail looking on, his turbaned head, his swarthy 
 face tinged with gray, and his flowing robes, he looked 
 quite handsome and venerable. He had a crew of twenty- 
 five, including the children. There was a minor charac- 
 ter in baggy clothes who gave orders, but the old man was 
 a moral influence, and he watched every jDhase and rij^ple 
 of the stream. I should like to have interviewed the sheik. 
 A man who has spent seventy years in these Nubian soli- 
 tudes, striving with a mad, eccentric river, must have 
 thought well on many grave problems. But my resources 
 in strange tongues do not include Arabic ; and so I am 
 debarred. But we are now moving along the stream and 
 wayward currents encompass us, and the sheik is no longer 
 a mere moral influence, but an active power. He shouts 
 and gesticulates and the crew all shout in a chorus, ending 
 with an odd refrain, something like a prolonged moan. It 
 is quite stirring, this strife with the currents ; and, although 
 the sun beats with all of his power upon us, we stand upon 
 the deck and watch. The General greatly admired 
 the seamanship of the Arabs — an admiration which 
 is justified by the manner in which, surging through 
 the perils of the stream, we nestle under the temple walls 
 of Philse. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 317 
 
 We land, not without an effort, and climb into the 
 ruin. Philae is not specially interesting as a temple after 
 you have seen Thebes and Abydos. I can think of noth- 
 ing useful to say about it except that as a ruin it is pictur- 
 esque. Nature comes as an aid. The temples we have 
 been visiting have been mainly in the sand, on the desert. 
 But here we are in volcanic regions. Around us are piles 
 of granite rock. The island is green and the date palms 
 salute us as we pass. There are flowers, and, instead of 
 bulging and sliding through sand, step trippingly over 
 stones and turf. In the sanctuary we note three young 
 Germans eating lunch. We pass to the other bank to see 
 the cataract. This is one of the features of the Nile. The 
 river here spreads into various channels and runs over 
 recks. One channel is used for vessels ascending the 
 stream, the other for vessels descending the stream. The 
 one before us is not more than a (Quarter of a mile long. 
 The river is narrow, the banks are steep, and the stream 
 rolls and dashes like a sea, the waves lashing the banks 
 and roaring. I should call the cataract simply a narrow, 
 heavy sea. The danger in navigating is from the rocks 
 and being dashed against the banks. It is a relief, fresh 
 from five hundred miles of easy, placid sailing, the river 
 as smooth as a pond, to see it in this angry mood. While 
 we are here we note men swimming toward us, each man 
 on a log, with a garment tied to the head. They are na- 
 tives who propose to run the rapids for our amusement. 
 They swim, or rather hold on to a log and propel them- 
 selves into the current. It is hazardous enough, for the 
 current sweeps like a torrent, and the least want of nerve 
 would dash the swimmer against the rocks. But they go 
 through bravely enough and come out into the smooth 
 water below. Each swimmer, carrying his log on his 
 shoulder, then approaches for his customary baksheesh. 
 
518 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 We next mounted for our last sight-seeing on the Nile. 
 Our ride to Memphis was a pleasant one, a part of it being 
 through the desert. We passed close to the pyramid of 
 Memphis, which is only an irregular, zig-zag mass of 
 stones. Brugsch tells us it is very old, but with no 
 especial historical virtue. The ruins of Memphis are two 
 or three tombs and the serapeum or mausoleum of the 
 sacred bulls. One of the tombs w^as open, and we went 
 through it, noting, as we had so often before, the minute- 
 ness and care of the decoration. There were other tombs, 
 but to prevent the modern travelers from breaking them 
 to pieces they were covered with sand. What a comment 
 upon our civilization that Egypt can only preserve her 
 tombs and monuments from Christian Vandals by burying 
 them ! 
 
 We then made our way to the Serapeum. While on 
 our journey we heard the story of the discovery of this 
 remarkable monument. Mariette Bey, who still serves 
 the Khedive, was directing excavations, and especially at 
 Memphis. He had long believed that the tomb of the 
 bulls could be found. So here he came and lived, working 
 in the sand for two or three years, with a blind faith in 
 his theory. You cannot imagine anything more unsatis- 
 factory or discouraging than this digging in the sand. In 
 an hour or a day a wind may come up and undo the work 
 of months. Mariette Bey had his own discouragements, 
 but he kept courageously on and was rewarded by the dis- 
 covery of the most important of the Egyptian monuments. 
 We heard this story as we groped our w^ay dow^n to the 
 tombs. We entered a long arched passage with parallel 
 passages. Candles had been placed at various points. 
 On each side of this passage were the tombs. Each tomb 
 wiis in its alcove. The bull was placed in a huge granite 
 aarcophagus, the surface finely polished and covered with 
 
319 
 
320 I^IFE OF GENEllAL GRANT. 
 
 inscriptions. These coffins were stupendous, and it is a 
 marvel how such a mass of granite could have been moved 
 through this narrow channel and into these arches. We 
 lit a magnesium wire and examined one or two very care- 
 fully. The tombs had all been violated by the early con- 
 querors, Persians and Arabs, to find gold and silver. In 
 most cases the cover had been shoved aside enough to 
 allow a man to enter. In others the sides had been broken 
 in. The inside was so large that four of our party climbed 
 up a ladder and descended. There was room for three 
 or four more. There were tombs enough to show that the 
 bull had been worshipped for centuries. When w^e finished 
 this study we rode back to our boat. The sun was going 
 down as we set out on our return, and as we were passing 
 through a fertile bit of Egypt — a part not affected by the 
 bad Nile — the journey was unusually pleasant. After the 
 parched fields and sandy stretches of the Upper Nile, it 
 was grateful to bathe in the greenery of this Memphis 
 plain, to see the minarets of Cairo in the distance, to feel 
 that we were coming back to our old civilization. The sky, 
 lit up with the rosiest tints, one mass of the softest rose 
 and pink — a vast dome glowing with color. Starless, 
 cloudless, sunless it was that brief twilight hour, which 
 we have seen so often on the Nile and the memory of 
 which becomes a dream. I have seen no sky so beautiful 
 as that which came to us when we bade farewell to Mem- 
 phis. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE HOLT LAND ITS SACRED ASSOCIATIONS GENERAL 
 
 grant's visit LANDING AT JAFFA RAMLEH RIDE TO 
 
 JERUSALEM TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO THE HOLY CITY — 
 
 IN AND AROUND JERUSALEM WALK OVER THE VIA DOLOR- 
 OSA THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE DAMASCUS 
 
 SMYRNA — CONSTANTINOPLE A VISIT TO THE SULTAN 
 
 A PRINCELY GIFT THE SLAVE MARKET THE MOSQUE OF 
 
 THE SULTAN — ATHENS AND THE ACROPOLIS — MARS' HILL 
 — CORINTH. 
 
 Any journey in the East would be incomplete should 
 the traveller forget or neglect to visit Jerusalem and its ad- 
 joining villages. The City of David, emblem of the New 
 Jerusalem, and the places made sacred by the feet of Him 
 who " spake as never man spake," are surely worthy of a 
 visit by one journeying either for pleasure or profit. What 
 hallowed, sacred memories cluster around the spot where 
 once the Redeemer trod. Surely, if there be such a thing 
 as " Hallowed Ground," it is here. Writes Mr. Young : 
 Of course, to feel Jerusalem, one must come with faith. 
 And if there be doubts and questionings in any of our 
 company, for this day at least we give ourselves up to 
 the enjoyments of perfect trust in the Holy Record. 
 
 We came to Jaffa on Sunday morning, the 10th of Feb- 
 ruary. The "Vandalia" was waiting for us at Port Said, and 
 as soon as we embarked she put out to sea. We had been 
 absent just one month on Nile and other excursions, and 
 it was something like coming home to find ourselves 
 on the old deck among the familiar faces of our navy 
 
 (321) 
 
322 
 
 I.IFE OF GENERAL GRAXT. 
 
 friends. The sea had been stormy, but the General is a 
 fortunate traveller and it went down in honor of his coming. 
 We ran over to Jaffa on a calm sea, and when we came to 
 the town the sea was like a mill pond. This had not been 
 before during the winter, and it was with a feeling of relief, 
 amounting, perhaj^s, to thankfulness, that we shot through 
 the jagged rocks, scrambled up the side into a crowd of 
 greasy, howling Arabs, and walked into one of the dirtiest 
 streets in the world. We were at last in the Holy Land. 
 We went to our Vice Consul's (Mr. Hardegg), and there 
 we found welcome and entertainment. There was a little 
 
 JAFFA 
 
 archway of flowers and branches over the road, surmounted 
 by the inscription, "Welcome, General Grant," and all the 
 town was out to do us honor. The General, who moves im- 
 mediately upon every point of interest, went to the house 
 of Simon, the tanner, the house by the seaside, to which 
 Peter came when he raised Tabitha from the dead, and 
 preached that fine Gospel truth — the finest of all political 
 truths — that God is no respecter of persons. The raiu was 
 
TOUil xVROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 823 
 
 falling, but the wind was from the shore and kept down 
 the sea. Our party for Jerusalem included four of the 
 Vandalia's officers — Lieutenant Commander A. G. Cald- 
 
 PEASANT WOMAN OF THE EAST, 
 
 well, Lieutenant T. W. Miller, Engineer D. M. Fulmer 
 and Midshipman William S. Hogg. All that Jaffa con- 
 tained worthy of interest had been seen, and Ave prepared 
 for the Holy City. We had three clumsy open wagons, 
 each drawn by three horses, and we drove out of the town 
 into the plain of Sharon, at about four in the afternoon. 
 
 It was too early in the season to see Palestine in its 
 glory; but the plain was rich and fertile, sparkling with 
 lilies and scarlet anemones, witli groves of orange trees 
 
324 
 
 J.IFE OF GENERAL GRANT 
 
 bending under their yellow fruitage, with almond trees 
 coming into bloom. We had been tliese many days in 
 Egypt with no forest comj^anions but the drooping date 
 palms, and we had been lamenting the parched and barren 
 fields that came from the bad Nile. It was grateful to see 
 Palestine, therefore, in its greenness, and even the rain was 
 so homelike that we welcomed it and drove steadily 
 through it until, when the sun went down, we were in the 
 town of Ramleh, where we remained for the night. Our 
 first lodging in the Holy Land was humble enough, and 
 by the time we reached Kamleh the rain was pouring. Still 
 
 -"'■/>>'/*""*. 
 
 RAMLEH. 
 
 we were in the most cheerful humor, ready only to see the 
 bright side. Even Caldwell — who had to put on his uni- 
 form and sword and go out into the mud, with an Arab, 
 carrying a lantern, v/alking ahead, and two soldiers behind, 
 and various dogs howling in escort — even Caldwell, who 
 had to call on the Governor, seemed to think that there 
 never was so jolly an errand. None of us volunteered to 
 go along. We preferred to sit in the shelter of the hotel. 
 
TOUK AUOU:XD THE WOULD. 325 
 
 We have our first biblical view when we pass the ruins 
 of Gezer, whicli Mr. Hardegg tells us was once a royal 
 city of the land of Canaan — that an Egyptian monarch 
 captured it and gave it to Solomon, when that wise king 
 but Avidely disseminated husband married the conqueror's 
 daughter. There is nothing worth pausing to see, especiallv 
 in the rain, and Solomon somehow does not interest us, for 
 our thoughts are all on Jerusalem and one greater than 
 Solomon. At certain intervals we see a square stone guard- 
 house, where soldiers once lived to watch the roads. But 
 the houses are abandoned and the soldiers have gone to 
 war upon the Muscovite, and the road must take care of 
 itself. We stop about eleven at the only place of entei'- 
 tainment on the way and are shown into a gloomy, damp 
 upper chamber. There we make our luncheon on a pine 
 table in primitive fashion, the Marquis unburdening the 
 baskets and each one helj^ing the other. Some of us walk 
 over the hills for a short tramp while the horses munch 
 their grain, and come back bearing anemones and butter- 
 cups and daisies, which we lay at the feet of the lady of 
 the expedition as an offering from the Holy Land. We ai'e 
 off an hour ahead of time, thanks to our illustrious com- 
 mander. It had been calculated by experts that we should 
 reach Jerusalem about sundown ; but our captain had 
 planned an earlier arrival and that we should enter the 
 sacred city while the sun shone. So we went over hills 
 that kept growing higher and over roads growing worse 
 and worse. Some of us walked ahead and made short 
 cuts to avoid the sinuous path. We pass a village some 
 way off, which in latter years was the home of a bandit 
 sheik. We are told that this is the village of Kirjath 
 Jearim, about which you may read in the Bible, where, as 
 Samuel informs us, the ark remained twenty years. If we 
 stopped long enough we might see an interesting church, 
 
326 LIFE OF GENP:RAL GRANT. 
 
 but we are just now running a limited express to Jerusa- 
 L^ni. We see beyond us Joshua's Valley of Ajalon, 
 almost hidden in the mist, and remember how the Lord 
 answered his prayer. We come to the scene of the great 
 Ijattle between David and Goliath. There were stones 
 enough for the strijDling's sling, as we can well see. The 
 valley is deep and the brook sdll runs a swift course. We 
 could well imao;ine the armies of the Jews on one side of 
 the valley, and the armies of the Philistines on the other. 
 It was the last ravine this side of the heights of Jerusalem, 
 and one of the strongest natural defences of the Holy City. 
 W^e expected to enter Jerusalem in our quiet, plain 
 Avay, pilgrims really coming to see the Holy City, filled 
 with its renowned memories. But, lo and behold! here is 
 an army with banners, and we are commanded to enter as 
 conquerers, in a triumphal manner ! Well, I know of one 
 in that company who looked with sorrow U2:>on the 
 l)ageant, and he it was for wdiom it was intended. But 
 there was no help for it. So w^e assembled and were in 
 due form presented, and there were coffee and cigars. More 
 than all, there were horses — for the General, the Pacha's 
 own white Arab steed in housings of gold. It was well 
 that this courtesy had been prompted, for the bridge over 
 the brook was gone and our carts would have had a sorry 
 business crossing. We set out, the General thinking, no 
 doubt, that his campaign to enter Jerusalem at four had 
 been frustrated by an enemy upon whom he had not 
 counted. He had considered the weather, the roads, the 
 endurance of the horses; but he had not considered that 
 the Pacha meant to honor him as though he were another 
 Alexander coming into a conquered town. So we trailed 
 up the winding ways of the hill — the hill which sheltered 
 Jerusalem from the Canaanite and Philistine. Jerusalem 
 is two thousand five hundred feet above the sea, and even 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WOULD. 327 
 
 then it lies beyond a hill that must be passed. !So we wind 
 around and around, up and around, steadily, patiently 
 strainmg toward the summit. The mist and the clouds 
 that had been hovering over our path finally enveloped 
 us, and we could trace with difficulty the path over which 
 we came. The view on a clear day must be wonderful for 
 breadth and beauty, and even now, with the gray clouds 
 about us and the rain falling in a mist, we looked down 
 the mountain's dizzy side and saw hill after hill sweeping 
 like billows on toward the sea. As a glimpse of nature 
 there was beauty in the scene to be remembered in many a 
 dream. But we were thinking of the valley below, as 
 scenes of events which have stirred the souls of Christian 
 men for centuries, as the path of conquering armies — of 
 Joshua and David — of Alexander and Vespasian — of God- 
 frey and Saladin. And here we were coming with banners 
 and armed men, and at our head, riding side by side with 
 the Pacha's Turkish lieutenant, is one whose name will 
 live with that of the greatest commander who ever pre- 
 ceded him over this rocky way. The valley passes away. 
 We ride about a mile through a suburb, the highway 
 lined with people. The General passes on, with bared 
 head, for on both sides the assembled multitude do him 
 honor. We see through the mist a mass of domes and 
 towers, and the heart beats quickly, for Ave know they are 
 the domes and towers of Jerusalem. There are ranks of 
 soldiers drawn in line, the soldiers presenting arms, the 
 band playing, the colors falling. We pass through a nar- 
 row gate, the gate that Tancred forced with his crusaders. 
 We pass under the walls of the tower of David, and the 
 flag that floats from the pole on the consulate tells us that 
 our journey is at an end, and that ayc are within the walls 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 There w^ere ceremonies to be paid and returned, which 
 i will sum up and dismiss at once. The Pacha called in 
 
 21 
 
328 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 state and spoke of the honor conferred upon Palestine by 
 the coming of the General The consuls came with com- 
 pliments. The bishops and patriarchs all came and blessed 
 the General and his house. The Pacha offered to send 
 his band of fif.y pieces and a guard to be in constant 
 attendance. But visiting the holy places with a band of 
 music and a military escort was so appalling an honor that 
 it was declined with as much skill as possible to avoid 
 offense. As a compromise, the General accepted the band 
 for the hour in the evening when we dined. He could 
 not avoid it, and it would be a pleasure to the people, who 
 swarmed at his gates, and lay in wait for him with peti- 
 tions. The Pacha gave a state dinner to which we all 
 went — a dinner marked with the kindest hospitality. 
 These ceremonies, or portions of them, quite used u]) our 
 little time. The General intended to spend tbree days 
 
 AN EASTERN DINING-ROOM. 
 
 only in Jerusalem, for already his eyes turn toward Rome, 
 where he expects in March to meet some of his family, and 
 we must in the meantime see Damascus, Beyrout, Smyrna, 
 
TOUil AlKJUNn THE WOULD, 
 
 32« 
 
 Constantinople, Athens, C'orintli and Syracuse. We set 
 out in the afternoon to walk over the sacred jilaces, and 
 our first walk was along the Via Dolorosa. 
 
 Some of us had stolen away in the morning before the 
 ceremonies began, to walk over the street consecrated to 
 Christianity, — the street over which Jesus Christ carried 
 His cross. I am living within five minutes' walk of Cal- 
 vary. I look at it in the morning from the terrace near 
 my chamber door — a fair rounded dome, high in the air, 
 
 VIA DOLOROSA 
 
 covering the spot upon which our Saviour suffered. I do 
 not enter into the question as to whether or not this was 
 the real Calvary. Somehow one thinks it nuist have been 
 
3bO J.TFE OF GENERAL GKANT. 
 
 one of the hills beyond the city, of which there are many ; 
 that the cross would have been more im^^osing on the toj) 
 of the Mount of Olives, for instance, than here within the 
 walls near the market places, under a dome. But execu- 
 tions, we must remember, are not j)ageants, and it would 
 have been a weary road over the valley and up the hill for 
 any careful centurion to send his soldiers. It is known 
 that in the time of Christ, Calvary was without any city 
 walls, that it was about sixty feet above the lower streets 
 of the city, as high as Mount Moriah and Mount Zion. 
 So that any condition of place and convenience is satisfied. 
 We pa^ss from our hotel on Mount Zion through a narrow, 
 dingy street paved with jagged cobble-stones. We make 
 our way with some difficulty. We stumble and slide 
 rather than walk. We pass beggars who cry for alms, 
 workmen at various industries, merchants selling their 
 wares, camels and asses and beasts of burden. We turn 
 into a covered way and slide and stumble along, and we 
 are on the Via Dolorosa. The first place pointed out is 
 the Coptic Monastery. Here Christ sank under the weight 
 of the cross. We are going down the hill which He 
 ascended. We come to the ruins of the Hosj^ice of the 
 Knights of St. John, Here is where Jesus addressed the 
 women who followed Him. We wind around the corner 
 and follow the narrow, slippery way — beggars crawling 
 about us for alms, and Alexander, of the Legation, fair 
 young Syrian in Oriental costume, bearing a sword, lead- 
 ing the way. Alexander is in something of a hurry, the 
 Via Dolorosa being of about as much interest to him as 
 Broadway to a New York policeman. Here we are at the 
 house where Jesus fell for the second time. A few steps 
 further, and we are at the house and tomb of Veronica, 
 who wiped the blood from His holy brow and left His 
 image on her napkin. We descend a slippery path, and 
 
TOUK AROUND TIIP: WOULD. 
 
 331 
 
 at the corner is the house against which Christ leaned 
 overcome by agony. You see a dent in the stone. This 
 dent was made by the hand of our Lord as He stretched 
 it out to support his burden. It is smooth and dark 
 with the kisses of millions of believing lips. The 
 next house is that of Dives, the rich man. At the cor- 
 
 DAVID'S TOMB, MOUNT ZION. 
 
 ner, Simon of Cyrene took the cross and carried it a part 
 of the way, for which good deed his name became immor- 
 tal. In front of the house of Dives is a stone, and over 
 it a hovel. The hovel was the house of the beggar, the 
 stone is where he sat in quest of alms, and under this 
 archway where we now stand and look at the rich man's 
 house Jesus stood and pronounced the parable which you 
 will find in the sixteenth chapter of Luke. Here the road 
 makes another bend, and we pass a broken column that 
 
332 LIFE OF (lENEllAL GlwVNT. 
 
 must at one time have been a stately ornament. The col- 
 umn broke where Jesus sank upon it, and the fissure is 
 clear and deep. We keep on until we come to a church, a 
 bright new church, with an arch overhanging the street. 
 This is the Church of Ecce Homo. It was here or here- 
 abouts that the road to the cross began. There is a bar- 
 racks on the site of Pilate's 'judgment hall. We go into 
 the church, a sweet-faced sister opening the way. Behind 
 the altar is an arch, and under this arch Pilate stood when 
 he delivered over Jesus to the Jews and washed his hands 
 of innocent blood. Here, in an enclosure, was the whip- 
 ping, the crowning with thorns, the decoration with the 
 purple robes, and here also Jesus took up the cross which 
 He carried to Calvary. We can readily see, as we retrace 
 our way up the Via Dolorosa, that it must have been a 
 rough and weary road to one rent and torn and bleeding 
 and crushed under the cruel burden of the cross. Even 
 to us — free as we are — wayfarers, in full possession of our 
 fiiculties, it is a tedious task to climb the hill of Calvary. 
 
 We descended the hill and ascended it again before we 
 found ourselves in the company of the General. Mrs. 
 Grant was vouchsafed the dispensation of a donkey, and 
 we all followed after on foot. When we finished the Via 
 Dolorosa, we kept on outside the gates and over the valley 
 of Jehoshaphat. The brook below is the brook Kedron, 
 of which it is written that Jesus, on the night before His 
 betrayal, "went forth with His disciples over the brook 
 Kedron, where there was a garden, to the which He 
 entered, and His disciples." This is written in the eigh- 
 teenth chapter of John, and we cross the very brook 
 hallowed by His holy and sorrowful footsteps. We 
 {iscend the hill a short distance and come to a walled 
 gai'den. A monk opens the gate and we descend. The 
 garden blooms with flowers. The paths are neatly swept. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 33:^ 
 
 Around the walls are the pictures by which the Catholic 
 represents the way to the cross. Over the flower-beds 
 droops a cluster of olive trees, ancient, and gnarled, and 
 bending. It is not chfficult to believe, knowing what we 
 do about trees in California, that these are twenty centuries 
 old. The General says he does not doubt it, even from 
 the random evidence of his own eyes. Under this tree 
 Jesus Christ knelt and prayed, and made holy forever the 
 Garden of Gethsemane. We looked at the tree called 
 "The Tree of Agony." We pressed its knotted bark with 
 
 VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT. 
 
 reverence and love, and though we were an idle, worldly 
 group, fresh out of a busy, worldly world, there were few 
 words spoken, and all thoughts turned to the sacred and 
 sorrowful scenes which Christian men believe here took 
 place. And if one could know the hearts of those who 
 were about the tree, who stood around in silence, I have 
 no doubt that he would know of many a silent prayer 
 breathed to Heaven for the Sufferers aid. 
 
334 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 We passed on over the hill to the village of Bethany. It 
 was here that Jesus lived when He preached in Jerusalem. 
 Here was Lazarus, His friend, whom He called from the 
 tomb. Here lived Martha and Mary, whom Jesus loved — 
 Martha, who served Him at supper, and Mary, who chose 
 the better part. We ride under the overhanging ruins of 
 the dwelling in which Jesus found home, shelter, friend- 
 ship, love ; where He came for peace after the hard day's 
 work in Jerusalem. We walked around Bethany — which 
 is only a collection of ruins and hovels — passing over the 
 graveyard where Lazarus was buried. We continue along 
 the road that leads to Jerusalem again, not over mountain, 
 but the one sloping near its base, and so returned to our 
 abode. 
 
 General Grant and his party next proceeded to the city 
 of Damascus. This city lies on the east of anti-Lebanon, 
 about 2,200 feet above the level of the sea, in a fertile 
 plain near the desert. It is the oldest city known in his- 
 tory. The Barada River passes through it, giving it addi- 
 tional beauty. We find this city first mentioned in Gene- 
 sis xiv. 15, where it is referred to as being the city of 
 Abraham's steward. It was here that Naaman, the leper, 
 lived. At the time of the Apostle Paul, the city was under 
 the rule of the Romans, and Aretas, the Arabian, was its 
 ruler. 
 
 As early as 800 b. c, the fine fabrics of Damascus had 
 become famous. The damask-silk and sword-blades are 
 still so. There are certain points pointed out to travellers 
 as being historically connected with Paul and his time. The 
 " street called Straight " now bears the name of Bazaars ; 
 there is also the house of Judas ; the house of Ananias ; the 
 spot where Paul was converted, which is an open, green place, 
 surrounded by trees, and at present used as a Christian 
 burial-ground ; the place where Paul was let down by the 
 
335 
 
336 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 wall in a basket ; and also several spots connected with tlie 
 life of the prophet Elisha. The city is surrounded by a 
 ruinous wall of ancient Roman foundations, " and a patch- 
 work of all succeeding ages." Viewed from a distance, the 
 city has a splendid appearance, which is not well sustained 
 upon near approach. The houses are rudely constructed, the 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 A DANCING-GIRL OF DAMASCUS. 
 
 streets narrow, and paved with big, rough stones, or not 
 at all, and portions of them are covered over with mats or 
 withered branches. The bazaars are covered ways with a 
 few stalls upon each side, and the different trades are 
 placed by themselves. Although the streets 23resent a 
 somewhat rough appearance, yet the interior of the j)rivate 
 

338 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 houses are very neat, the rooms opening from the court 
 being decorated with carving, gilding, and all the adorn- 
 ments that wealth and taste can provide. The courts are 
 neatly paved, and are ornamented with costly fountains and 
 beautiful shade-trees. The modern name of the city is 
 Esh Shaum. It has at present a population of 150,000 
 people, of whom 15,000 are Christians and 6,000 are Jews. 
 The people are very fond of amusements, among which 
 dancing occupies a prominent position. 
 
 From Damascus the party proceeded to Beyrout. Here 
 a very pleasant time was past. A few days later they de- 
 parted for Smyrna. In entering the harbor of Smyrna, 
 the travellers passed very close to Mytilene, the ancient 
 Lesbos. 
 
 The antiquities of Smyrna are few and uninteresting. 
 A little stream, the Meles, flows back of the town ; upon 
 * its banks Homer is said to have been born. The country 
 around Smyrna is very poorly cultivated, and large por- 
 tions of it are entirely neglected. The city contains a 
 number of delightful gardens, in which the fig and orange 
 grow with great luxuriance. 
 
 The next point visited by the travellers was Constan- 
 tinople. The steamer rounded the Seraglio Point, and 
 swee})ing- into the bold expanse which the Bosphorus forms 
 opposite the city, dropped anchor off the mouth of the 
 Golden Horn. The first step ujion the shore reminds one 
 that he is in the East. The costume is oriental, the lan- 
 guage has nothing in its syllables or sounds that resemble 
 the proven9al tongues, and there appears to be an air of 
 luxurious enjoyment and repose in all around, that con- 
 trasts strikingly with the anxious air of the busy popula- 
 tions of the cities of Western Europe. 
 
 Almost touching the water was a cafe, cooled by a foun- 
 tain, and the umbrageous boughs of the wide-spreading 
 
TOUU AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 i:i9 
 
 platamis tree. Lounging on divans were a number of 
 Turks, with white turbans and long beards, smoking the 
 nargile, or water-pipe, and seeking nervous excitement 
 in frequent draughts q^ coffee, or in the inhalation of the 
 intoxicating fumes of hashish. Near by was a beautiful 
 fountain, erected by some kind Turk who was seeking en- 
 trance into the Mussulman heaven by doing good to man, 
 and a mosque from the minarets of which the muezzin was 
 calling the faithful to prayer. " There is no god but God, 
 and Mohammed is His prophet," was the cry that was float- 
 ino- on the air as the travellers landed. 
 
 EXTLRIOR VIEW OF A TURKISH HOLSE. 
 
 The interior of Constantinople by no means corresponds 
 with the expectations which one is led to entertain from 
 the splendor of its appearance as seen from the Bosj^horus. 
 The streets are narrow, and paved with stones which appear 
 as though they had been scattered at random, simply to cover 
 the nakedness of the earth. The houses are of wood, and 
 so wretchedly built, that they afford but little shelter 
 against the elements. Fires at Constantinople, where the 
 
340 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 buildings are of frame, are, of course, very destructive,, 
 sometimes sweeping away squares of houses at a time. 
 There are two lofty towers w^hicli overlook the city, where 
 the watchmen are stationed night and day to sound the 
 alarm of fire ; but a conflagration rarely breaks out which 
 does not destroy a square of buildings. The Turks will 
 sometimes make an effort to arrest the flames, but if over- 
 mastered, they will quietly fold their arms, and exclaiming 
 
 INTERIOR VIKW <»K A il KKISll ll()l>ir: 
 
 '^ Allah kerlm,'' "God is oreat," leave thinns to their course. 
 When General Grant reached Constantinople his first 
 visit was paid to the Sultan, who immediately ordered Mu- 
 nir Bey, the Master of Ceremonies, to present to the Gen- 
 eral an Arab horse from the imperial stables. One was 
 chosen and set aside for him, but, owing to some misunder- 
 standing, the gift horse was not sent, and the " VandaHa" 
 sailed without him. Afterwards, the steed in question 
 was found, and, accompanied by a second horse, was trans- 
 ferred to the care of the oflficers of the American Leo-ation. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 341 
 
 They were shipped on board the " Norman Monarch." They 
 were housed between the decks, provided with canvas belts 
 to swing in in rough weather, and in every way treated as 
 cabin passengers, a man being detailed to care for them. 
 They are said to have endured the long voyage without 
 showing any signs of discomfort or fatigue, and were de- 
 scribed by one of the prominent horsemen at Suffolk Park 
 as being in perfect trim and models of beauty. They are 
 in many important respects very unlike the blooded 
 xVmerican horse. 
 
 Our next visit was to the bazaars. These consist of a 
 long range of shops running parallel with each other, with 
 an intervening paved avenue dividing the two rows ; the 
 avenue is covered over. There are numerous bazaars, each, 
 division being aj^propriated to the sale of different objects. 
 There is the silk bazaar, the provision bazaar, the arm ba- 
 zaar, etc. The purchaser is not, therefore, obliged to wan- 
 der through the whole range of bazaars to seek the object 
 of his wants, but at once goes to a particular bazaar and 
 finds it. The shops are very small, and contain but scanty 
 stocks ; but there is a great number of them, which may, 
 in some degree, compensate for the lack of quantity in their 
 stock. 
 
 The next point visited was the Mosque of the Sultan 
 Ahmed. The exterior walls of this, as the walls of all 
 other mosques, are painted white. From the centre rises 
 a hemispherical dome, and at the four corners of the build- 
 ing shoot up tall minarets, the points of which, tipped with 
 gold, appear lost in the air. Passing through an open 
 court-yard, we came to the portal of the mosque. AVe 
 pulled off our boots, slid our feet into yellow slippers, the 
 color worn only by the faithful, removed our hats, and en- 
 tered. The interior was very plain ; the floor was spread 
 with rich carpets, and variously-colored glass lamps, like 
 

 342 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 those in public gardens, were suspended around the walls, 
 with here and there an ostrich-egg, the offering of some 
 pious devotee. A j^ulpit of carved wood faced the east. 
 Several Turks were prostrating themselves in prayer upon 
 the carpets, the countenance turned to the sacred east. 
 From the floor to the ceili7ig the breadth and width of the 
 great space beneath the roof was unbroken by a gallery or 
 any other object. The roof rested upon arches which 
 sprang from the walls. Tins great void, with the over- 
 hanging roof unsustained by a single pillar, had a most 
 majestic effect, and I have rarely seen boldness and sim- 
 plicity of architecture so happily combined as in this 
 mosque. The walls were naked of ornaments, with the 
 exception of a rude drawing of the Caaba at Mecca. 
 
 THE ACROPOLIS AT ATHENS. 
 
 In the centre of the court-yard of the mosque was a 
 beautiful fountain, ornamented with that light tracery work 
 which is characteristic of Saracenic architecture. An im- 
 mense number of pigeons had assembled there at that time 
 to be fed, as some kind Mussulman had left a legacy to 
 procure grain for the daily feeding of the pigeons which 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 343 
 
 belonged to the mosque. They nearly covered the yard, 
 and children were walking about in the midst of them, 
 without causing them the least alarm. Such is the friend- 
 ship between man and the brute creation in Mussulman 
 countries. 
 
 The next point of interest was the city of Athens. 
 Among the points visited by the travellers was the Acrop- 
 olis, on whose summit the ruins of the Parthenon even 
 now command the admiration of every beholder. At its 
 foot is the theatre of Bacchus, where Demosthenes was 
 crowned. 
 
 A visit was also j^aid to Mars' Hill, where Paul ^^reached to 
 the people, declaring " unto them Him whom they ignorantly 
 worshipped, the Lord of heaven and earth, who dwelleth 
 not in temples made with hands, and whose Godhead was 
 not like gold, or silver, or stone graven by art and man's 
 device." 
 
 From Athens the j^arty proceeded to Corinth. The 
 city is surrounded by a wall with embrasures for cannon. 
 There were but few pieces of cannon on the walls. We 
 observed, however, some long twenty-four-pounders, richl3r 
 ornamented with the Venetian arms, which had remained in 
 the fortress since its capture by the Turks. After a few 
 days spent in rambling over the old historic grounds in the 
 vicinity of the city, and viewing all places of interest iu 
 the city itself, the travellers departed for Syracuse. A 
 short visit was made at the latter point, after which they 
 proceeded to Rome, where they expected to meet certain 
 friends who had promised to be there, 
 
 22 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 THE ETEKNAL CITY ROMAN HONORS VENICE GENOA THEY 
 
 RETURN TO PARIS HOLLAND DUTCH FESTIVITIES BER- 
 LIN A VISIT TO BISMARCK REVIEWING THE TROOPS — 
 
 COPENHAGEN — THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN PASSES OF THE 
 
 BLACK FOREST SWEDEN AND NORWAY PETERHOF, THE 
 
 VERSAILLES OF ST. PETERSBURG AN INTERVIEW WITH 
 
 PRINCE GORTSCHAKOFF ST. PETERSBURG KRONSTADT, 
 
 THE PORT OF ST. PETERSBURG AN INTERVIEW WITH THE 
 
 CZAR OF ALL THE RUSSIAS MOSCOW WARSAW EN 
 
 ROUTE FOR SPAIN. 
 
 Continuing liis journey along the shores of the Medi- 
 terranean, General Grant visited the beautiful cities which 
 dot the coast, beholding the beautiful works of art, and 
 receiving honors from the high and the low. During his 
 stay in Rome, King Humbert gave him a magnificent 
 dinner, at which all the Italian Ministers were present. 
 Speeches were made, toasts drank, and every one seemed 
 determined that the General should enjoy himself. Flor- 
 ence was reached on the 16th of April. The party were 
 received at the station by the municipal authorities, the 
 American Consul, Mr. J. Schuyler Crosby, deputations of 
 the Italian army, and the American residents. Here they 
 remained several days, visiting j^laces of interest and 
 greatly enjoying themselves. During their stay they 
 visited the art galleries of the Uffizi and Pitti palaces, and 
 also attended the religious ceremonies of Holy Saturday. 
 
 (344) 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 345 
 
 The distinguished party reached Venice on the 22d of 
 April. At the station Mr. John Harris, several American 
 residents, and the officials of the city met them and ex- 
 tended the same courteous welcome that had greeted them 
 everywhere. Several days were spent enjoying the 
 honors and seeing the sights of this strange city. 
 
 Leaving Venice the party proceeded to Milan, where 
 they arrived on the 27th. The customary welcome 
 awaited them, and the many sights which cluster here 
 were seen to the best advantage. 
 
 The Cathedral is still the public, commercial, social, 
 and religious nucleus of Milan, though the Piazza is very 
 different now from the former surroundings of the Church, 
 where the merchants of old gathered, and the nobles mar- 
 shalled themselves, and the people fought for bread during 
 the famines that succeeded the plague in the sixteenth cen~ 
 tury, as is told in Manzour's novel of " The Betrothed." 
 
 Despite the first impression — some one has called 
 this white-marble Cathedral a church of lace-work — the 
 Church strikes the eye as defective after a few moments' 
 observation, and I never could admire it so unreservedly 
 as most travellers think themselves bound to do. It lacks 
 height, as even its highest pinnacle is not worthy to be 
 called a spire ; and its heavy, square-topped, Kenaissance 
 portals, and indeed the whole fa9ade, are distressingly out 
 of keeping with the rest of the florid Gothic design. The 
 ceiling is also another blemish and disappointment, being 
 painted in imitation of stone-work, and the sham is very 
 transparent. 
 
 Setting aside these details, there is much that is inter- 
 esting, both in the way of monuments and pictures ; but 
 two of the most curious specialties, neither of which is men- 
 tioned in the latest guide-books, are the seven-branched, 
 gilt-bronzed candelabrum, standing in the right transept 
 
34(, LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 on a sculptured pedestal of Sienna marbb, with the Virgin 
 and Child carved on the shaft, and the branches adorned 
 with foliage and miniature statues ; and the colossal statue 
 of St. Bartholomew in the rear of the choir and high altar, 
 representing the apostle as flayed alive. The sculptor, 
 Marco Agrato, was so proud of his work, that he recorded 
 his satisfaction in Latin inscription to this effect: "Not 
 Praxiteles, but Marcus Agratus, designed and executed 
 
 me. 
 
 Immediately in front of the choir-railings is a round 
 opening, with lamps perpetually burning, an artistic rail- 
 ing encircling it ; and through this we catch a glimpse of 
 the subterranean shrine of St. Charles Borromeo, Arch- 
 bishop of Milan in 1557. The plague broke out in the 
 city during his lifetime, and he exposed himself personally 
 in the most fearless way, encouraging the clergy to do 
 their duty likewise. His nephew, Cardinal Frederick 
 Borromeo, was his successor in the See, and inherited the 
 same virtues. Manzoni gives an admirable portrait of him 
 in "The Betrothed," as a contrast to the wretched Don 
 Abbondio, the country parish priest ; both portraits being 
 historical. 
 
 The body of St. Charles lies in a glass case — the face 
 uncovered, the flesh dried and brown like a mummy's ; the 
 hands encased in episcopal embroidered gloves, and the 
 body clothed in episcopal robes. The mitre and pillow 
 under the head are one mass of gold and jewels, while 
 scenes of the saint's life are chiselled on the silver lining 
 of the walls, blackened by the torches constantly applied 
 to them for the benefit of curious strangers. 
 
 From Milan the party proceeded to Genoa. Here they 
 received glad ovations. Its name was once the synonym of 
 all that was haughty in politics, aristocratic in association, 
 domineering in conunerce; but it has sadly fallen off*. 
 
^ii:iiSi'}!i!iiiiiliii 
 
 347 
 
348 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The old city, however, contains many gorgeous, compar- 
 atively modern fanes, where gilding and show are quite in 
 keeping with the original design of the builder. For 
 instance, there is the dazzling Church of the Annunziata, 
 about two hundred and fifty years old, with variegated 
 marble floor ; forests of columns, all of different marbles ; 
 chapels full of rich golden lamps, hanging from jewelled 
 chains ; a roof, or rather ceiling, of great richness, divided 
 into numberless panels by the costliest of carved and gilt 
 work, each panel being a fresco representing a scene in the 
 life of the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 One of the modern — indeed, one might say recent — 
 glories of Genoa, is the beautiful monument to Columbus, 
 at the western extremity of the town, in a piazza by the 
 railroad-station and the gardens of the Villa Doria. This 
 has existed upwards of ten or fifteen years, and is the work 
 of Genoese artists. The great discoverer is represented 
 standing in the costume of a scholar of his day, leaning 
 with one hand on an anchor, and his other hand on the 
 shoulder of a kneeling Indian, crowned with feathers, and 
 carrying a cross in his hand. At the four corners of 
 the pedestal are several allegorical figures, life-size, and 
 above them a circle of ships' prows and laurel wreaths, 
 set alternately. Four bassi-relievi give scenes from his 
 life, and on the lowest base of the monument, two flying 
 genii uphold the simple inscrij^tion, "A Cristoforo Co- 
 lombo, La Patria " — " His Country to Christopher Colum- 
 bus." 
 
 One cannot help thinking of what might have been 
 the present position of Genoa, had she, as an independent 
 State, listened to Columbus, and fitted out a fleet for him 
 to explore the New World and conquer it in her name. 
 The Italians of those days stood in the first rank among 
 the nations of the world ; by their side the Spaniards, the 
 
349 
 
350 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Portuguese, tlie Germans, and the English were but unlet- 
 tered barbarians. Her statesmen were acknowledged to be 
 the masters of diplomacy ; her merchants were wealthier 
 and more enterprising than any, and, at the same time, they 
 were not mere traders, but men of culture and education ; 
 generous patrons of art, competent critics of letters. 
 
 Among the wealthy and public-spirited men who have 
 lately died, was the Duke of Galliera, who left the city 
 $4,000,000 for the imj^rovement of the harbor, on condition 
 that the municipal government should advance the rest of 
 the sum required to carry out the improvements. A large 
 new mole is being built, and the present new mole length- 
 ened, so that it will still continue to be the outer pier. In 
 addition to this, quays by rails with the main line are pro- 
 jected, with a view to enable the largest slii23s to unload 
 without lighters. 
 
 Leaving Genoa, General Grant and his party returned 
 to Paris, which point was reached on the 7tli of May. At 
 that time the Paris Exhibition was the uppermost topic 
 of the city. On the 1 1th, General Grant accompanied by 
 his wife and son visited the Exposition. He was received 
 by Chief Commissioner McCormick and staff and by the 
 Commissioners from the various States of the Union, Min- 
 ister Noyes, Consul-General Torbert and wife, and the lead- 
 ing ladies and gentlemen of the American colony in Paris. 
 The American marines were drawn up in military array 
 and gave the party a military salute on their arrival at the 
 American section. The General and his party then ex- 
 amined the whole American department in detail. 
 
 Having remained in Paris little more than a month, 
 General Grant and his party left the city for Holland, " to 
 recuperate in a series of mild Dutch festivities from the 
 mad whirl of festive Paris." Before his departure from 
 Paris, General Grant took leave of President MacMahon. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 361 
 
 The meeting between the two soldiers was most interesting. 
 The Marshal was very cordial, saying " France was hon- 
 ored by the presence of so illustrious a general." The 
 Marshal further stated that he had arranged to give a din- 
 ner arndfete in honor of General Grant on the following 
 Monday. This the General was compelled to decline be- 
 cause of his engagements at the Hague. The Marshal 
 hoped that General Grant would return in September, 
 when he would give a special fete for him. The interview 
 throughout was marked by the kindliest of feeling. 
 
 When he was about to leave Paris, Mr. Young wrote : — 
 He will tarry seven days in the land of the Dutch, and 
 study it with uncommon interest. He will look for the 
 children of the race of the Knickerbockers in their native 
 wilds, and catch them smoking as only a contemplative 
 Dutchman can smoke. 
 
 The Dutch government, which had made extensive 
 arrangements for his recej^tion, warmly welcomed him to 
 the land of Schiedam Schnapps, and the visit was a very 
 pleasant one. From Holland the party went to Germany. 
 
 Berlin was reached Wednesday, the 26th of June. The 
 late Bayard Taylor, at that time our Minister to Germany, 
 met them at Stendahl, which was sixty miles distant, and 
 escorted them to the German capital. 
 
 Concerning the visit, a correspondent of the New York 
 Herald says : — On the evening of his coming he walked 
 along the Unter den Linden, and his Berlin visit may be 
 summed up in this sentence — that he walked the greater 
 part of each day. I do not think there is a quarter of Ber- 
 lin which he has not explored on foot with an energy as 
 sight-seer which no amount of exertion seems to diminish. 
 
 There was an interview with Prince Gortschakoff, the 
 General, in company with Mr. Taylor, calling at the 
 Prince's request, as the gout prevented the Prince calling 
 
352 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 on the General. Gortseliakoff said that Russia would be 
 glad to see and welcome the General, and he seemed de- 
 lighted with the visit. Of the members of the Congress, 
 Lord Beaconsfield, Lord Salisbury, M. Waddington, and 
 Count Corti were known to the General. Mehemet Ali he 
 had met in Turkey. Visits were exchanged with these 
 gentlemen, and with the other members of the Congress. 
 
 Among the first cards left on the General was that of 
 Prince Bismarck, and as it did not find him at home it was 
 left again. As the General was anxious to see the Prince, 
 for whose character and services he had so high an admi- 
 ration, he returned these calls at once, and sent His High- 
 ness a message, saying that he would make his visit at any 
 time that would suit the Prince, whom he knew to be a 
 busy and an ill man. 
 
 The afternoon at four was the hour named for the visit, 
 and as the General lives within a few moments' walk of the 
 Bismarck palace, at five minutes to four he slowly sauntered 
 through the Frederick place into the court-yard. The sen- 
 tinels eye him a moment curiously and then present arms. 
 His visit had been expected, but certainly an ex-President 
 of the United States would come in a carriage and six and 
 not quietly on foot. Throwing away a half-smoked cigar as 
 he raises his hat in honor of the salute, he advances to the 
 door, but before he has time to ring, two servants throw 
 them open, and he passes into an open marble hall. Of 
 all princes now living this is, perhaps, the most renowned 
 — this of Bismarck-Schonhausen — who comes with a 
 swinging, bending gait through the opened and opening 
 doors with both hands extended to meet the General. You 
 note that time has borne heavily on the Prince these past 
 few years. The Prince wears an officer's uniform, and on 
 taking the General's hand, he says, "Glad to welcome 
 General Grant to Germany." 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 353 
 
 During the remainder of Grant's stay in Berlin he was 
 constantly the recipient of distinguished honors. Prince 
 Bismarck called on him and entertained him at a most 
 sumptuous dinner. The Crown Prince ordered a general 
 military review and sham hattle in his honor, which was 
 a magnificent display, though a terrible rain-storm pelted 
 the troops and the visitors during the entire time. Thus 
 day after day the resources of the capital were taxed to do 
 him service. The Emperor's health was in so precarious 
 a condition that his physicians forbade him the pleasure 
 of meeting the General, but all royal attentions other than 
 this were bestowed lavishly by the highest officials of the 
 Empire. 
 
 Leaving Berlin, General Grant and his party set out for 
 Copenhagen by the way of Hamburg. The latter place 
 was reached on July 2d. A correspondent writing from 
 this place says: There were strong temptations to re- 
 main in Berlin, especially as Mr. Taylor seemed to make 
 each hour of the stay more and more pleasant. But 
 rumors were in the air of an unusual Fourth of July cele- 
 bration, in which all the Americans were to take part, and 
 the eagle was to have a glorious time screaming. I am 
 afraid these rumors, and the apprehension on the General's 
 part that he would be called upon to do his part in the 
 glorification of our venerable bird, alarmed him, and he 
 fled, to the disappointment of the orators, who were in 
 severe training to entertain their guest. Hamburg was 
 reached in due season, and the General dined quietly with 
 the Consul, Mr. J. M. Wilson. There was the usual even- 
 ing tramp about the city, and next morning a deputation 
 of the Hamburg Senate called and welcomed the General. 
 You know Hamburg, as one of the members of the old 
 Hanseatic Confederation, is a free city, and governed by a 
 Senate and a Burgomaster. Although a part of the mod- 
 
354 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 ern machine of the German Empire, it retains its munic- 
 ipal 251'ivileges, being, to all intents and purposes, a rej^ub- 
 lic, as it has been for a thousand years. Hamburg is a 
 very beautiful city, in some respects one of the most beau- 
 tiful and best governed in Europe. There did not seem to 
 be a stone out of place or a tree untrimmed. 
 
 Hamburg gave itself up to the entertainment of the 
 General with hearty good- will. On the morning after his 
 arrival, he Avas taken by the Senators on board a small 
 steamer, and made a tour of the docks and basins, and a 
 small run into the Elbe. The ships had their bunting up 
 in the friendliest manner, some English and American 
 shi2:>s showing all their flags. The trip was 2:)leasant, not- 
 withstanding the rain, which came and went like the tem- 
 per of a capricious woman. In the evening there was a 
 dinner given by the Senate, at the Zoological Gardens, the 
 Burgomaster, Dr. Kirchenssauer, in the chair. Among 
 the Senators present were Senators Oswald, Stamer, Mo- 
 ring, and Hertze. The Burgomaster proposed the Gener- 
 al's health in the kindest terms, speaking of the honor 
 Hamburg received from his visit. The next day, being 
 the Fourth of July, the General went down to the shoot- 
 ing-box of James B. McDonald, the Vice-Consul, and 
 sj^ent the afternoon walking about the woods and talking 
 with American friends. Then came a dinner at a country 
 hotel near by, about thirty Americans, ladies and gentle- 
 men, present, and the Consul presiding. Mr. Wilson ])yo- 
 posed the General's health as " the man who had saved 
 the country." This toast was drank with cheers. The 
 General made a speech in answer. 
 
 Among other incidents of the visit was the appearance 
 of a Prussian military band in front of the General's hotel 
 window, at eight o'clock on the morning of the Fourth, 
 and a serenade. 
 
A CASTLE IN GERMANY. 
 
 355 
 
356 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 A few clays' stay in Copenhagen, and lie embarked for 
 Sweden and Norway. His first touching-place was Goth- 
 enburg, Sweden, and here, after a short trip across the Cat- 
 tegat, he made his first acquaintance with the fiords of the 
 old Norse peninsula. When he landed he was met by a 
 crowd of over five thousand people, who cheered loudly 
 for him of whom they had heard so much. The Swedes, 
 who have emigrated in such large numbers to the United 
 States, have spread his fame among their countrymen at 
 home. The ships in the harbor were all decorated in his 
 honor. He passed the day in Gothenburg, and then con- 
 tinued his journey to Christiania. All the villages along 
 the route were decorated, and his coming was made the 
 occasion of a gala-day. 
 
 He landed at Christiania on the 13th, and was received 
 with great ceremony. Ten thousand people flocked to greet 
 him. King Oscar II. came to Christiania from Stockholm 
 to meet the General, and gave him a hearty welcome. The 
 General set out sight-seeing, and was conducted to the old 
 castle of Aggershuus, with its citadel and church, on the 
 brow of a point jutting out into the fiord, over whose wind- 
 ing shore-line and smooth waters, broken by wooded islands, 
 it gives a fine view. 
 
 He accompanied the King to Stockholm, where he was 
 received with enthusiastic orations. Here he was tendered 
 with a grand dinner at the Embassy, and in the evening 
 was serenaded. Shortly after he started by way of the 
 Baltic for St. Petersburg. A large crowd assembled and 
 cheered him as he embarked. 
 
 He reached St. Petersburg on the morning of July 
 30th. On arriving in the Russian capital he was met 
 by Minister Stoughton, whose wonderful coronal of snowy 
 locks never shone more magnificently over his rosy cheeks. 
 
 The Emperor's aide-de-camp, Prince Gortschakoff', and 
 
TOUli AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 351 
 
 other high officials of the Imperial Court, called immedi- 
 ately, welcoming the ex-President in the name of the Czar. 
 On the following day General Grant had an audience with 
 the Emperor Alexander, which was of a pleasant nature. 
 The imperial yacht conveyed the General to Peterhof, the 
 Versailles of St. Petersburg. It is fifteen miles from the 
 
 A MOUNTAIN-PASS IN NORWAY. 
 
 capital, but it has one advantage over the old French royal 
 extra-mural residence in that the imperial palace there has 
 almost unrivalled views over Cronstadt and the Gulf of 
 Finland, and of the capital itself The fountains were 
 played in honor of the visit. Subsequently, General Grant 
 visited the great Russian man-of-war Peter the Great. 
 The band played American airs and a royal salute of 
 twenty-one guns was fired. The imperial yacht then 
 steamed slowly among the Russian fleet lying off Cron- 
 stadt, the ships running out American colors and the 
 sailors cheering. 
 
 During his visit to St. Petersburg, General Grant had 
 an interview with the Czar. The Emperor manifested 
 
358 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 great cordiality. The General was presented by Prince 
 Gortscliakoft'. His Majesty talked of his health and the 
 General's travels. He seemed greatly interested in our 
 national wards, the Indians, and made several inquiries as 
 to their mode of warfare. At the close of the interview the 
 Emperor accompanied General Grant to the door, saying : 
 
 " Since tlie foundation of your government, the relations 
 between Kussia and America have been of the friendliest char- 
 acter, and as long as I live nothing shall be spared to continue 
 that friendship," 
 
 The General answered that, although the two govern- 
 ments were directly o]3posite in character, the great major- 
 ity of the American people were in sympathy with Russia, 
 and would, he hoped, so continue. 
 
 At the station General Grant met the Grand Duke 
 Alexis, who was very cordial, recalling with pleasure his 
 visits to America. A visit was also made to the great 
 Chancellor, Prince GortschakofP, with whom the General 
 spent some hours smoking and discussing American and 
 European affairs. 
 
 The Czarowitz also received General Grant at special 
 audience. The French Ambassador gave a dinner to the 
 General, and there was a special review of the fire-brigade 
 in his honor. The attentions of the Emperor and the 
 authorities were so marked, that he j^rolonged his stay 
 several days. 
 
 On the 8th, he left for Moscow, and reached the an- 
 cient capital on the 9th. He dined with Prince DogorofP 
 on the 10th. A visit was paid to the Cathedral of St. 
 Basil, which is said to be the nicest " building the ingenuity 
 of man could devote to the service of his Maker. There 
 are no less than twenty towers and domes, all of different 
 shapes and sizes, and painted in every possible color; 
 some are covered with a network of green over a surface 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 of yellow, another dome is a bright red with broad white 
 stripes, and a third is gilded ! Some historians affirm that 
 it was built to commemorate the capture of Kazan ; others, 
 that it was a whim of Ivan the Terrible, to try how many 
 distinct chapels could be erected under one roof, on a given 
 extent of ground, in such a manner that Divine service 
 could be ^lerformed in all simultyiieously without any in- 
 
 CATHEDEAL OF ST. BASIL, MOSCOW. 
 
 terference one with another. It is also said that the Czar 
 was so delighted with the architect, an Italian, who had 
 thus admirably gratified his wishes, that when the edifice 
 was finished he sent for him, pronounced a warm 2:)ane- 
 gyric on his work, and then had his eyes j^ut out, in order 
 that he might never build such another! A strange 
 caprice of cruelty, if true — punishing the man, not for 
 failing, but succeeding, in gratifying his emj^loyer. 
 
 23 
 
360 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 General Grant reached Warsaw on the loth. After a 
 brief vStay here, he passed on to Vienna, where lie arrived 
 on Sunday, August 18th. At the railroad station he was 
 met by Minister Kasson, the secretaries and members of 
 the American Legation, and a large number of the Amer- 
 ican residents. He was loudly cheered as he stepj)ed out 
 of the railway-carriage. 
 
 On the 19th, the General was visited at the Legation 
 of the United States by Count Andrassy, the First Minister 
 of the Council, and several colleagues. In the evening, he 
 dined Avith the Countess and Mrs. Grant at Post's. On 
 the 20th, he had an audience of His Imperial Majesty 
 Francis Joseph at the lovely palace of Schoenbrunn. 
 
 On the 22d, Minister Kasson gave a diplomatic dinner 
 in honor of our ex-President, at which nearly all the foreign 
 Ambassadors were present. The members of the Austro- 
 Hungarian Cabinet attended the reception in the evening, 
 and added to the attractiveness and brilliancy of the occa- 
 sion. The General expressed himself greatly 23leased with 
 Vienna ; thinks it a charming city. He was gratified also 
 at the marked attentions of the Emperor's household, and 
 the earnest endeavor shown to honor him as a citizen of 
 the United States. 
 
 On the following Monday he left for Steirmart. After 
 a short stop here, and a ramble through other Austrian 
 cities and towns, he returned to Paris on the 25th of Sep- 
 tember. He was met at the station by Minister Noyes, 
 ex-Governor Fairchild, ex-Governor McCormick, and 
 other American officials. The General was in excellent 
 health and spirits, and had experienced so little fatigue 
 during his journey that, after dining en famille, he strolled 
 along the boulevards for more than two hours. 
 
CHAPTER XXTI. 
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE KING OF SPAIN — SAN SEBASTIAN — 
 
 VITTORIA MEETING BETWEEN GENERAL GRANT AND THE 
 
 SPANISH KING THE DEAD QUEEN OF SPAIN MADRID, 
 
 THE CAPITAL THE ESCURIAL, THE PALACE OF THE KINGS 
 
 OF SPAIN THE LIBRARY THROUGH THE ROYAL APART- 
 MENTS DISAPPOINTED EXPECTATIONS THE TOMB — 
 
 PHILIP. 
 
 It was the intention of General Grant, wlien he left 
 Paris, to make a short visit to the Pyrenees, and especially 
 Pan. Bnt when he came to Borcleanx he was met hy a 
 message from the King of Spain, who was at the time at 
 Vittoria, directing the manoeuvres of his troops, and wl]o 
 especially requested that the General would honor him with 
 a visit. If there is one thing the General dislikes it is re- 
 viewing troops; but the message from the King was so 
 cordial that it could hardly be declined. Accordingly Pan 
 was postponed, and the General went on as far as Biarritz, 
 meanino; to rest over nio;ht and cross the frontier next day. 
 Resuming their journey, the little town of Irun, which is 
 just over the frontier, afforded the first glimpse of Spanish 
 life and character. Its neat railway-station was dra])ed 
 with flags and bunting, and on the platform wtis a group 
 of ofiicers of the Royal Guard, standing apart from those 
 privileged citizens who had been admitted within the bar- 
 riers. Beyond, clearly seen through the gates and station 
 windows, struggling for a view of the distinguished visitor, 
 were the villagers and the country people, who, denied 
 
 (361) 
 
362 LIFE OF GENERAL GRx\NT. 
 
 admission to the yard, were none the less active in their 
 demonstrations of curiosity. 
 
 As the train drew up at the platform, General Grant 
 alighted from his carriage. The ranking officer of the 
 delegation, a general on the staft' of Alfonso XII., advanced 
 and, saluting the visitor, welcomed him, in the King's 
 name, to the Iberian peninsula. He stated that he was 
 directed by His Majesty to place at the General's disposal 
 the special railway-carriage of the King, and to beg an 
 acceptance of the same. General Grant exj^ressed his 
 thanks in a few words and accepted the proffered courtesy. 
 The train moved out of the little village towards the war- 
 begrimed city of San Sebastian — the last stronghold of the 
 Carlists. 
 
 At San Sebastian General Grant was received by Emilio 
 Castelar, ex-President of the Spanish Rej^ublic. To the 
 well-known statesman and journalist, General Grant was 
 exceedingly cordial. He concluded his remarks by say- 
 ing : " Believe me, sir, the name of Castelar is especially 
 honored in America." Here, as at Irun, were gathered 
 many jieople to see General Grant, and he was j^resented 
 to the town officials and the distinguished citizens. The 
 contracted harbor reflected the green of the tree-covered 
 hills that encircle it so nearly, and beyond the cone-like 
 isle at its mouth was the sheen of the noonday sun on the 
 Bay of Biscay. 
 
 Leaving this place the road leads southward towards 
 Tolosa and Vergara. At both of these stations a squad of 
 soldiers was stationed. The usual military guard had been 
 doubled in honor of the American General. After wind- 
 ing about the hills beyond the station of Tolosa the train 
 suddenly leaves the defiles behind and smoothly skirts the 
 side of a great hill, giving the occupants of the carriages a 
 grand view to the southward. Near at hand are seeu the 
 
TOUR AROUND THE AVOHLD. £63 
 
 peaks of the Pyrenees — only the extreme western t^pur 
 of the range, however. 
 
 When General Grant reached Vittoria, there were all 
 the authoxities out to see him, and he was informed that in 
 the morning the King would meet him. Ten o'clock was 
 the hour, and the place was a small city hall or jndace, 
 where the King resides when he comes into his capital. 
 At ten the General called, and was escorted into an ante- 
 room, where were several aids and generals in attendance. 
 He passed into a small room, and wa*s greeted by the King. 
 The room was a library, with books, and a writing-table 
 covered with jiapers, as though His Majesty had been hard 
 at work. His Majesty is a young man, twenty j^ast, with 
 a frank, open face, side whiskers and moustache like down. 
 He was in the undress uniform of a captain-general, and 
 had a buoyant, boyish way about him which made one 
 sorrow to think that on these young shoulders should rest 
 the burdens of sovereignty. How much lie would have 
 given to liave gone into the green fields for a romp and a 
 ramble — those green fields that look so winsome from the 
 window. It was only yesterday that he was among his 
 toys and velocipedes, and here he is a real king, with a 
 uniform showing that he ranks with the great generals of 
 the world, heavily braided with bullion. Alfonso speaks 
 French as though it was his own tongue, German and 
 Spanish fluently, but not so well, and English with good 
 accent, but a limited vocabulary. When the General 
 entered, the King gave him a seat, and they entered into 
 conversation, which was of the most friendly character. 
 The King was lavish in his praises of the General's mili- 
 tary career, and the General was tenderness itself in speak- 
 ing of the King's recent loss of his charming young wife. 
 
 Leaving Vittoria, General Grant proceeded to Madrid, 
 where the General was welcomed on behalf of the King by 
 
864 IJFE OF GENERAL GKANT. 
 
 the civil authorities, and especially by Colonel Noeli, a 
 Spanish officer of distinction, who was detailed to attend 
 him. The King had not arrived, but w^as in the north 
 visiting Espartero, and reviewing his conscripts. Mr. 
 Lowell gave the General a dinner and a reception, where 
 men of all parties came to pay their respects to the ex^ 
 President. 
 
 A visit to Spain without seeing the Escurial would cer- 
 tainly be incomplete. Regarding it thus, General Grant 
 resolved to pay it a visit. The road from Madrid to the 
 Escurial is somewhat dreary and desolate. It is described 
 as follows : — Rocks rise above rocks in broken, fissured 
 masses over a barren, stony plain. Stones, mountains 
 of stones, break and fall in the most fantastic, gloomy 
 sliajies. In all directions they rise and sweep and fall, and 
 y<)u seem to be tugging through a world of desolation — a 
 world of silence and death. Rocks, granite rocks, ridge 
 heaped on ridge, corrugated, flowing irregular, stern. Deep 
 fissures show now and then a shapeless shrub, craving the 
 dew and the sunshine, striving to justify its forlorn exist- 
 ence. No life, no sign of life, no beast, or bird, or buzzing 
 insect — only the rocks that tumble over the horizon — 
 only the rocks and a cold wind that blows from the snow- 
 wreathed hills. Suddenly there is a vast gray building, 
 with a high dome and turrets — a prodigious building that 
 frowns upon you, as it were, it is so cold and vast. 
 
 There, m its vastness and grandness, its solitude and 
 loneliness, stands the Escurial. It seems, he continues, 
 to leap out of the desolation and array itself against the 
 rano-e of cruel towerins; cra2;s which hover over it — a child 
 of the nature which surrounds it, an epitome of the wild, 
 harsh, lonely land through which we have been tugging — 
 a gigantic hill, severe, without beauty or majesty, with 
 strength and purpose. 
 
TOUPt AROUND THE WORLD. 3R5 
 
 Tlie joarty visiting the building at this time consisted of 
 General and Mrs. Grant, James Russell Lowell, our jNIinis- 
 ter, and his wife ; Colonel Noeli, the Spanish soldier and 
 gentleman-in-waiting on the General, and Mr. Young. 
 
 A visitor describes the visit to the Escurial in the fol- 
 lowing words : — You come to the Escurial station, and de- 
 scend. We come under the shadow of the monastery, and 
 walk over a stony esj^lanade to the gate. A courteous offi- 
 cer of the royal household awaits us, and attendants in a 
 portentous royal livery — grave, elderly men, with staves 
 — greet us as we enter. The door clangs back, and we are 
 in a w^ide, square court-yard of stone. Walls, window- 
 facings, arches, eaves, pavements, columns, all stone. 
 
 We were escorted into the royal apartments, for kings 
 have lived here, although not as in Philip's day. What 
 we see are a series of rooms, rooms running into rooms, 
 plainly furnished, with some exceptions. The tapestry is 
 worth studying, and perhaps we should study it, but Gen- 
 eral Grant, who has no eye for tapestry, w^ould be quite as 
 well pleased with wall-23aper, and ^^ushes on to the win- 
 dows, where he can see something growing, and beyond 
 wdiich you may not only see the rocky hills, but a garden 
 that has been ravaged from the rocks. As you look from 
 the window, up against the hill, you are shown a re- 
 cess — two or three rocks formed like a chair — where 
 Philip was wont to sit and brood over his gridiron as it 
 grew into shape. We are reminded that it would be well 
 worth climbing up the hill and sitting in Philip's seat. 
 But the way is long and the ascent is rough, and a cold 
 wind is blowing, and one can see as much of the Escurial 
 as he Avants without encountering pneumonia. The tapes- 
 try represents *pictures of Goya and Teniers, and goes back 
 to the time of Charles III. and Charles IV. Charles III. 
 was almost good enough, as king, to have been a President 
 
SG6 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 of the United States, and lie is, perhaps, the only one since 
 Charles V. who could have stood the tests of a candidature, 
 and he did many things to improve Spain, to restore her 
 palaces, and add to her prosperity. The only rooms that 
 rise to royal value are a suite of four chambers in a corner, 
 which were occupied by Isabella. I do not think there are 
 four more beautiful rooms in the world. The walls are in- 
 laid with rare woods ; the floors, the window-sills, every 
 portion, has been as carefully decorated as though they 
 had been the masterpieces of Cellini. There was a table, 
 on which Isabella was wont to write her letters and procla- 
 mations, a gem of decoration, as perfect as a picture. The 
 whole is in exquisite taste, and shows lavish exj^ense and 
 extreme care in workmanship. The cost of the rooms 
 alone is set down at $1,400,000. I did not learn under 
 which king this was done, but presume it was Charles IV. 
 Philip never sj)ent so much money on wood-carving. He 
 ke]3t it for relics and stone. 
 
 AYe were then taken to the library. A polite attendant 
 escorted us into the room, which looked warm and cosy, 
 really the only living room in the Escurial. There were 
 pictures — Philip with his snake eyes, Charles with his 
 drooling, drooping jowl ; Charles I. in armor, and one of 
 the third Philip, almost as great a fool as Charles 11. , 
 with a weak but human face. The floors of this library 
 are marble, and the walls are gayly colored, and you ob- 
 serve that the edges of the books are turned towards you, 
 and not the backs. There seemed to be no reason for this, 
 but it had always been the custom in the Escurial. You 
 observed, however, that the names of the books were 
 printed on the edges in light letters, and so for all useful 
 purposes the books are as accessible as if the backs were 
 towards you. The library has shifted backward and for- 
 ward, and during one of the shiftings, when the later Fer- 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 307 
 
 dinand was king, about ten thousand volumos were lost. 
 What became of them no one knows. It is not polite to 
 ask questions of a king. It must have ])een a rare library 
 in its day, especially in works of chivalry and theology. 
 I ran along some of the shelves, as our party was pattering 
 about the room, but they seemed mostly works of fathers' 
 and commentaries on the faith. We were shown some 
 prayer-books and missals — the real book from which 
 Philip sang and prayed — well thumbed, and the prayer- 
 books of others of the family. There were also some 
 Arabic manuscripts, said to be of great value, but not at- 
 tractive to any of our party. 
 
 Somehow the church is not what we expected. It is 
 only space. We note as we are standing on the altar step 
 that above us, on the right and the left, are two groups of 
 statues, effigies in bronze and gilt, which look so precious 
 that we wonder the Frenchmen did not try their hammers 
 upon them. On the left side, looking towards the altar, 
 kneeling, with hands clasped in prayer and eyes fixed on 
 the crucifix, is Charles V. His wife, daughter, and two 
 sisters kneel with him. Opposite is Philip IL, also kneel- 
 ing, his hands clasped in prayer. Philip has three of his 
 wives with him and one of his children, the unhappy Don 
 Carlos. One wife is missing — Mary of England. After 
 the Armada and the strange lapses that England was then 
 making from the holy faith, I presume jNIary was not wor- 
 thy, even though she had been the spouse of so mighty a 
 king, to be admitted into these holy precincts. This is the 
 nearest approach that the makers of the Escurial permitted 
 in the way of human pride. I suppose it is hardly fair to 
 call it pride, for certainly there is a moral in these effigies, 
 a moral to all Avho worship — that no king is so mighty 
 but that he must kneel before God ; kneel and plead for 
 his soul's salvation like the meanest beggar. 
 
368 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 You will remember that this gracious King, who now 
 rests with God, and whose bones are now mouldering in 
 the vaults beneath our feet, had a passion for relics. The 
 bone of a saint delighted him more than the capture of a 
 citadel, and he felt more joy over the possession of a rem- 
 nant of the cross than over the victory of Lepanto. Kings 
 must have their whims, and Philip had his. 
 
 The Escnrial is something more than a palace. It is 
 a school, a church, and a tomb. When Charles V. was 
 about to leave his throne, he charged his son to build a 
 royal tomb worthy of the kings of Spain. So Philip com- 
 bined two vows, one to his father and the other to St. Law- 
 rence of the Gridiron, and the result is the Escurial. Under 
 the church — directly under the altar, so that when the 
 priest raises the host, at the moment of elevation, he stands 
 immediately over the sepulchre — this tomb was built. 
 Our way down was over smooth steps of marble and jasper, 
 so smooth that we were warned to walk warily. The room 
 is dark, and the attendants carry tapers, which throw a 
 glimmering light. It was Philip's idea to have the tomb 
 severely plain, in keeping with the Escurial, but his son 
 added marbles and bronzes and other decorations, and you 
 note that the room is one of splendor. It is an octagon, 
 thirty-six feet in diameter and thirty-eight feet high. 
 There is a chandelier, bronze angels, a large crucifix, quite 
 life-size, and an altar before which a lamp burns. The 
 monarchs rest in shelves, four shelves in a row one over 
 the other, each range separated from the other by double 
 columns in bass-relief, with Corinthian caps. The decora- 
 tions are elaborate, out of keej^ing with the Escurial, and 
 not seemly in a tomb. There were twenty-six compart- 
 ments, all of them filled with coffins, but many of the coffins 
 wanting in occupants. The coffins are ready, and if the 
 monarchy lasts there are enough for generations of kings. 
 
TO UK AIIOUND THE WOULD. 369 
 
 But before we say farewell to the Escurial, let us pay a 
 A'isit to the home of the great King who founded it. AVe 
 pass up a stairway and enter a small cell paved with brick. 
 There is a larger room adjoining. In one of the cells 
 Philip lived and died, in the other attendants awaited his 
 will. A window of the cell opens into the church, and 
 the King, as he lay on his pallet, could fix his eyes on the 
 priest at mass, on the Sacred Host as it typified the act of 
 expiation, on the kneeling statue of his father. This is 
 what it all came to — this ruler of many continents — 
 nothing but this dingy cell, into which no light comes, an 
 old man, in agony and fear and self-reproach, dreading, 
 wondering, trembling, over the brink of his fate, hoping 
 that prayer and song and sorrow and priestly intercessions 
 may save his soul. The rooms are as Philip left them, if 
 we except the necessary cleaning and scrubbing. There 
 is a faded tapestry on the wall, in which you trace the 
 royal arms of Austria — his father's arms. There is a 
 monk's chair on which Philip sat to receive ambassadors 
 and ministers ; two j)lain, stuffed, wooden chairs, where they 
 could sit in his royal presence if he so willed. The floors 
 are of plain brick, trampled and worn. Here was the end 
 of his royalty and pomp. Here he died in misery, and 
 with him the greatness of Spain, if it can be called great- 
 ness, which I much question. Philip was the last of the 
 Spanish kings. In him was embodied all that went to 
 make a king — divine right, absolute power, indifference 
 to human suffering, fanaticism, bigotry, subserviency to 
 the darkest forms of mediseval superstition. He was the 
 last of the kings, and it seems j^oetic in its justice tliat he 
 should die as he did — that he should leave behind him 
 this stupendous trophy of his character and his name. 
 Grateful is the sunshine, grateful the growing elms under 
 which we walk back to our stopping-place. It is like 
 coming out of the seventeenth into the nineteenth century. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 GRANT VISITS TOLEDO THE CATHEDRAL THE WORK OF THE 
 
 MOORS PAU FOX-HUNTING AN EXCITING OCCASION 
 
 THE START THE MEET THE FINISH LISBON MEETING 
 
 THE KING OF PORTUGAL — LITERARY EFFORTS — CINTRA 
 
 MONTSERRAT PORTUGAL VS. SPAIN. 
 
 During their sojourn in Spain, General Grant and bis 
 party visited Toledo. Toledo is a graveyard, where are 
 funeral monuments of all the civilizations of Spain. You 
 walk through its streets with the melancholy interest 
 which death inspires. All about you is so still and dead 
 and bushed. 
 
 Clinging to its rocky steep, looking out over the stripped 
 hills of Castile, its turrets seen from afar, it seems to have 
 been forgotten by the world, to be a decoration or a gem 
 fastened to the world's bosom, and not a tangible, living part 
 of earth. It is on the banks of a river whose waters might 
 carry merchandise to the sea. It is the centre of a rich dis- 
 trict. 
 
 Madrid lying on one side, however, and Seville on the 
 other, have drained the currents of its prosperity, and it lies 
 stranded, interesting only because of the memorable events 
 tliat have occurred within its walls. At their famous cathe- 
 dral the General was shown an accumulation of silver and 
 gold altar ornaments. Since an attempted robbery in 1868, 
 the Virgin, with all valuable things, is kept guarded, and 
 it was a special honor to General Grant that we were 
 allowed to see them. Even then we were admitted into the 
 
 (370) 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 371 
 
 room with the utmost precaution, and attendant priests 
 kept watchful eyes, lest the temptation to walk off with a 
 handful of pearls would be too strong. There were vest- 
 ments which we looked at until we grew weary and yearned 
 for the sunshine. Nothing is more grateful than to wander 
 into a cathedral, to lose yourself as it were in its recesses, 
 to study out the old inscriptions, to drink in the inspiration 
 of the pious men who reared it ; to think of the eternity it 
 represents, standing for ages — unchanged, unchanging — 
 the^ temple of the same God, the home of the same undy- 
 ino- faith. How the world sinks from you, and you are in 
 the presence of God! Nothing could be more grateful. 
 But to be shown a cathedral, to be handed about by ])riests 
 and vergers, poking a braid or a bone or a faded cloth at 
 you, mumbling legend after legend, in a mechanical, auc- 
 tioneer fashion — nothing can be more distressing. And it 
 was with something of the spirit of men in flight that we 
 escaped into the grateful air. 
 
 From this point the journey was continued to Pau, 
 where a snow-storm greeted the arrival. 
 
 Pau is so much an English colony that fox-hunting 
 has become an institution. The Pau hunt is under the 
 mastership of the Earl of Howth. This gentleman conies 
 to Pau for reasons of health, and has taken the master- 
 ship, to the great satisfaction of all the residents. Lord 
 Howth has presented two packs of hounds to the hunt, 
 and oives o-reat attention to all the details of the meeting. 
 The presence in Pau of so distinguished a nobk>man, 
 famous for his intelligent interest in manly sports, has 
 added greatly to the value of the hunt. A good deal had 
 been heard of the General's horsemanship, and people were 
 curious to see how he would follow the hounds, but he had 
 little interest in the sport, which the bad condition of the 
 ground seriously hindered. 
 
372 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 From Pau ihey v>eui to Lisbon, arriving on the last 
 day of October. Says Mr. Young of the King : 
 
 The King of Portugal, Don Luis I., is a young man in 
 the fortieth year of his age, second cousin to the Prince of 
 Wales, who is three years his junior, and between whom 
 there is a marked resemblance. The Queen is the youngest 
 sister of the present King of Italy. The King's father is 
 Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg, cousin of the late Prince 
 Consort of England. His first wife, the mother of the 
 King, died many years since. His second wife, now liv- 
 ing, is an American lady from Boston, named Henzler, and 
 is called the Countess d'Edla. One of the King's sisters 
 is wife to the second son of the King of Saxony, the other, 
 wife to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, 
 whose election to the throne of Spain by Prim was one of 
 the causes of the war between Germany and France. In 
 the way of revenue the King is paid $405,000 a year and 
 the Queen $66,600. The eldest son, heir-apparent, is now 
 fifteen years old, and $22,200 is his salary. The second 
 son is only thirteen years old, and receives $11,100. The 
 King's father is paid $111,000 annually, and his brother, 
 a young man of thirty-one, is general in the army and has 
 a salary of $17,750 per annum. When you add the King's 
 great aunt, an old lady of seventy-seven, who is paid $22,- 
 200, you have the whole royal family, with their incomes, 
 amounting in the aggregate to something over $650,000 a 
 year. 
 
 The King, on learning that General Grant had arrived 
 in Lisbon, came to the city to meet him. There was an 
 audience at the palace, the General and his wife meeting 
 the King and Queen. The King, after greeting the Gen- 
 eral in the splendid audience chamber, led him into an 
 inner apartment, away from the Ministers and courtiers 
 who were in attendance on the ceremony. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WOULD. 373 
 
 The day after the palace reception was the King's birth- 
 day, and there was a gala-night at the opera. The King 
 and royal femily came in state, and during the interludes 
 the General had a long conversation with His jMajesty. 
 The next evening there was a dinner at the palace in honor 
 of the General, the Ministry and the leading men of the 
 court in attendance. The King conversed with the Gen- 
 eral about other themes — wanted him to go with him and 
 shoot. It seems the King is a famous shot. But the Gen- 
 eral's arrangements left him no time to accept this cour- 
 tesy. 
 
 It seems the King is a literary man, and having trans- 
 lated "Hamlet" into Portuguese, the conversation ran into 
 literary themes. The King said he hoped to finish Shake- 
 speare, and make a complete translation into Portuguese. 
 He had finished four of the plays — " Hamlet," "Mer- 
 chant of Venice," " Macbeth," and " Kichard III." " Othel- 
 lo " was under way, and already he had finished the first 
 act. The question was asked as to whether His JMajesty 
 •did not find it difficult to translate such scenes as that be- 
 tween Hamlet and the grave-diggers — almost dialect con- 
 versations — into Portuguese. The King said he thought 
 this was, perhaps, the easiest part. It was more difficult 
 to render into Portuguese the grander portions, where the 
 poetry attained its highest flight. "The Merchant of 
 Venice " he liked extremely, and " Richard III." was, in 
 some respects, as fine as any of Shakespeare's plays. 
 "What political insight !" said the King; "what insight 
 into motives and character this play contains! " 
 
 Finally, Don Fernando gave us a pressing invitation to 
 visit his palace at Cintra. A visit to Cintra was down in 
 our programme, but the King's invitation put the palace 
 at our disposal, a privilege rarely given. Cintra is about 
 fifteen miles from Lisbon, and we were compelled to go 
 
374 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 early in the morning. Our party included tlie General 
 and his wife, Mr. Dimon, our Consul ; Viscount Pernes 
 and Mr. Cunha de Maier, formerly Portuguese Consul- 
 General in the United States, and author of a history of 
 the United States in Portuguese. Mr. Moran, our Minis- 
 ter, was unable to join us on account of indisposition. The 
 drive was attractive, through a rolling, picturesque country, 
 with cool breezes coming in from the sea that made over- 
 coats pleasant. Cintra is one of the famous spots in Europe, 
 but when one speaks of it he turns almost by instinct to 
 " Childe Harold." You will find Byron's majestic stanzas 
 describing Cintra in the first canto : — 
 
 The horrid crags, by toppling convent crowned, 
 The cork-trees hoar that clothe the shaggy steep. 
 
 The mountain moss by scorching skies imbrowned, 
 The sunken glen, whose sunless shrubs must creep, 
 
 The tender azure of the unruffled deep, 
 
 The orange tints that gild the greenest bough, 
 
 The torrents that from clifi' to valley leap. 
 The vine on high, the willow branch below. 
 Mixed in one mighty scene, with varied beauty glow. 
 
 Then slowly climb the many-winding way, 
 
 And frequent turn to linger as you go. 
 From loftier rocks new loveliness survey. 
 
 And rest ye at " Our Lady's House of Woe," 
 "Where frugal monks their little relics show, 
 
 And sundry legends to the stranger tell ; 
 Here impious men have punished been, and lo ! 
 
 Deep in yon cave Honorias long did dwell. 
 
 In hope to merit heaven by making earth a hell. 
 
 Nearly seventy years have passed since Byron visited 
 Cintra, and the picture is as perfect now as when drawn. 
 It seemed odd indeed to find a place as you had imag- 
 ined it! 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 275 
 
 Montserrat, the former home of Beckford, whom Byron 
 calls " England's wealthiest son," was visited also. Beck- 
 ford's most elegant and costly house came into the pos- 
 session of a wealthy English merchant named Cook, but 
 upon whom the King has lately conferred the title of Vis- 
 count of Montserrat. Mr. Cook has spent a vast sum of 
 money upon the house and grounds. The house is in the 
 Oriental style — a long parallelogram in the centre, with 
 two oval wings, and all surrounded with columns and bal- 
 conies from which you can look out upon the valley, the 
 plains that sweep towards the sea, the sea alone breaking 
 the horizon. The grounds, however, are among the finest 
 in Europe for the value and rarity of the plants, and the 
 care with which all is preserved. Notwithstanding its 
 beauty Mr. Cook only spends two months of the year at 
 Montserrat. His other months are spent in England man- 
 aging his affairs. There is an old royal palace to be seen, 
 which was the Alhambra of the Moors in their day of 
 triumph. The kings of Portugal lived here before the 
 discovery of America, and one of the legends goes back 
 to a century before that time. The palace is a large, 
 straggling building, with many chambers, and as it is no 
 longer used as a royal residence, the General was curious 
 to know why it could not be rented as a summer boarding- 
 house, and made to contribute to the revenues of the King. 
 In its day it was, no doubt, a pleasant home ; but with the 
 three or four vast palaces in Lisbon and its suburbs, pal- 
 aces with modern comforts, the old Moorish castle can Avell 
 be kept as one of the monuments of the nation. 
 
 We walked and drove around Cintra village. General 
 Grant was so charmed with the place that he regretted he 
 could not remain longer. There was a royal engagement 
 bidding him to Lisbon. So we dined at Victor's Hotel, 
 and as the night shadows came down bundled into our 
 
 24 
 
376 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 carriages for the long drive home. The air was clear, the 
 skies were bright, and it was pleasant to bound over the 
 stony roads and watch the brown fields ; to pass the tav- 
 erns, where peasants were laughing and chatting over their 
 wine ; to roll into the city and feel the breezes from the 
 river as we came to our hotel. We had made a long jour- 
 ney, and the hills we climbed made it fatiguing. But no 
 one spoke of fatigue, only of the rapturous beauty which 
 we had seen. Cintra itself is Avorth a long journey to see, 
 and to be remembered, when seen, as a dream of Paradise. 
 Contrasting Portugal with Spain, one of the traveliers 
 says : — The contrasts between the Portuguese and Spanish 
 character are more marked than would be supposed. And 
 yet it is difficult to select a type of the Spanish character 
 as described in the romances. There is no such thing as 
 Spain. The differences between the provinces of Spain, in 
 language, character, tradition, origin, are greater than be- 
 tween the Spaniard and the Englishman. Spain is com- 
 posed of various provinces — Biscay, Galicia, Navarre, the 
 Asturias, Leon, Castile, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Mur- 
 cia, La Mancha, Estramadura, and Andalusia. The Basque 
 is a type totally distinct from every other in SjDain — (Us- 
 tinct in every sense. The difference between the blue- 
 eyed, industrious Catalan, and the dark-eyed, luxurious, 
 sun-craving Andalusian is almost as great. The effect of 
 a central government and one language has been to break 
 down most of the barriers and bring the j^eople together 
 under the generic name of Spanish. But although for 
 centuries this process has been at work, the differences are 
 great. The Basque does not assimilate, and a very ordin- 
 ary knowledge of Spanish types and character would 
 enable you to designate, in a body like the Cortes, for 
 instance, the province from which most of the members 
 spring. 
 
TOUIl AllOUND THE WORLD. 377 
 
 In reference to the freedom of the two countries, lie 
 says: — There is every hope that the Federal Republic 
 will revive. Even the demagogues will see that the idea, 
 of weakening the body because you strengthen the limbs, 
 of disintegrating a State by reviving its provinces and giv- 
 ing each section a strong government, is absurd. As to 
 the differences of character between the Spanish and Port- 
 uguese, they are not nearly so great as between Biscay and 
 Andalusia. At the same time, there are differences which 
 you can attribute partly to the government and partly to 
 the communication with the outside world through her sea- 
 ports. No influence is so decisive and salutary. Sj^ain, so 
 far as the outer world is concerned, is hidden by a stoii e 
 wall. She has the Mediterranean, but the breezes thsit 
 come from the Mediterranean are enervating compared wit li 
 what come from the Atlantic. Cervantes speaks of tlte 
 Portuguese as a thick-witted, dull people, and in the com- 
 edies you find frequent jokes at their expense, as in our 
 comedies you find jokes about the Yankee and the Cana- 
 dian. But it seemed to me, coming to Portugal from 
 Spain, that a freer air was blowing. The manners of the 
 people were gentler. That reserve which never leaves the 
 Spaniard — their conscious, published, pride — had van- 
 ished. There is a higher standard in Portugal. The 
 press has complete freedom, and the editors have pride in 
 their work. Take the visit of General Grant to the Pen- 
 insula as an example. Few events in Spain have appar- 
 ently attracted more attention than the coming of the ex- 
 President. Yet the Spanish journals seem not to have 
 heard of his presence, or they dismissed his movements in 
 a paragraph announcing his arrival in a town, as a general 
 thing, about the time he was leaving. In Portugal, the 
 journals snuffed his coming, and published wood engrav- 
 ings and biographies. The w^ood engravings might have 
 
378 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 done for many other persons, but tlie biographies were as 
 accurate as such accounts generally are. Here in Lisbon 
 we came upon that beneficent influence of modern journal- 
 ism — the reporter. I don't think a Spanish newsj^aper ever 
 heard of a reporter. As soon as the General arrived in 
 Lisbon, the rejDorters appeared and took possession of the 
 approaches to the hotel and opened relations with the serv- 
 ants, and every morning we had columns of choice infor- 
 mation in the good, old-fashioned, homely style. Our re- 
 porter was not quite u]) to the New York style, which 
 heaven forbid, and did not interview the General as to what 
 he thought of the world. We cannot expect everything in 
 a strange land. But he did well, and told Lisbon how the 
 General looked, and when he walked, and what he had for 
 breakfast, and how he liked his eggs cooked, and the hour 
 of his rising and retiring — all in the old-fashioned style. 
 In Madrid, if a newspaper neglected to say in any issue, 
 " God save the King and guard His Majesty many years," 
 it would be constructive disloyalty, and would incur sup- 
 pression. In Lisbon, there are journals of the Miguelite 
 faith, who will not speak of the King except as a private 
 prince, and who write of Don Miguel as though he were 
 on the throne. Such an idea as suppressing these journals 
 never occurs to the authorities. They do as they please, 
 and do no harm. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CORDOVA THE MOSQUE THEY REACH SEVILLE — GRANT 
 
 VISITS THE DUKE OF MONTPENSIER THE RUN FROM 
 
 CADIZ GIBRALTAR TRAFALGAR DOING GRANT HONOR 
 
 IRELAND DUBLIN RECEPTION BY THE LORD MAYOR 
 
 GRANT BECOMES AN ULSTER IRISHMAN — OVATIONS ALL 
 ALONG THE LINE — BELFAST — OFF FOR INDIA. 
 
 From Portugal General Grant and his party returned 
 to Spain. The first place visited was Cordova. A corre- 
 spondent to the New York Herald writes : — It was late in 
 the evening, and a heavy rain was falling, when General 
 Grant and his j^arty reached Cordova. The Governor of 
 the city and the authorities were waiting at the station. 
 After the long ride from Lisbon it was pleasant to rest, 
 even in the indifferent condition of comfort provided in a 
 Spanish inn. There was a visit to the theatre, a ramble 
 about the streets, which is General Grant's modern fashion 
 of taking possession of a town ; there was a stroll up the 
 Roman bridge, the arches of which are as stout and fresh 
 as if the workmen had just laid down their tools. There 
 was a visit to a Moorish mill in which the millers were 
 grinding wheat. There was the casino, and the ascent of 
 a tower from which Andalusia is seen spreading out before 
 us green and smiling. And this sums up Cordova. Wliat 
 you read of its ancient Roman and Moorish splendor, all 
 traces of it have vanished, and you feel, as you wind and 
 unwind yourself through the tortuous streets, that you are 
 in a forgotten remnant of Spain; that civilization has 
 changed its course, as rivers at home sometimes do, and 
 
 (379) 
 
38U 
 
 hlFE OF GENERAL GltANT. 
 
 run into a new channel, leaving Cordova to one side. The 
 only evidence of modern life is the railway-station. 
 
 It was j^leasant while at Cordova to meet Mr. Hett, 
 the American Secretary of Legation at Paris, and his wife, 
 who were returning to France from a holiday in the Penin- 
 sula. In the morning the mosque was visited. We had 
 thought that it might be better to visit the mosque alone, 
 without state or ceremony, but the authorities of Cordova 
 were in an advanced stage of courtesy, and our visit was 
 in state. It seemed almost like a desecration — this dress 
 
 MUbQLL Ul CORDO\A. 
 
 and parade within these unique and venerable walls. The 
 mosque is even now among the wonders of Europe. It 
 stands on the site of an ancient tem2:>le of Janus. Eleven 
 centuries ago, the Moors resolved to l^uild a temj^le to the 
 worship of God and Mohammed His prophet, which 
 should surpass all otlier temples in the world. Out of this 
 resolution came this building. You can see even now the 
 mosque in its day justified the extravagant commendations 
 
TOUK AROUND TIIK WORV.D. 381 
 
 of the Arabian historians. There was an enclosed court- 
 yard, in which orange-trees were growing, and priests walk- 
 ing up and down, taking the morning air. This enclosure 
 seemed to be a bit out of Islam, and it looked almost like 
 a jirofanation of Moslem rites to see men in attendance 
 I wearing the garb of Rome — so cool, so quiet, so retired, so 
 \ sheltered from the outer world they had indeed found rest. 
 It is difficult to give an exact description of the mosque. 
 Its value lies in the impression it makes on you, and in the 
 fact that it is an almost perfect monument of ]\Ioslem civ- 
 ilization in Spain. There is the ever-recurring Oriental 
 arch, the inventor of which you sometimes think must 
 j have found his type in the orange. There are elaborate 
 ' ^nd gorgeous decorations of the sacred places of the mosque, 
 where the Koran was kept, where the guilty ones sought 
 refuge and unfortunate ones succor, where justice was ad- 
 ministered and the laws of the Koran expounded. It all 
 seems as clear and fresh — so genial is this Andalusian 
 atmosphere — as it came from the hand of the faithful 
 kings who built it. As one strolls through the arches, 
 studying each varying phase of Oriental taste, the voices 
 of the priests chanting the morning service and the odor 
 of incense are borne upon the air. It is startling to find 
 Christians in the performance of their sacred office within 
 the walls of a building consecrated by the patience and de- 
 votion of the unfortunate Moors. The lesson you always 
 learn in Spain is what you see to-day, and what you ad- 
 mire as the work of destiny, are only phases of changing 
 and vanishing civilizations. The Moor may have mused 
 over the ruins of Roman splendor even as we are musing 
 over the monuments of the Moor's pride ; and even after 
 we are gone others may look with wondering eyes ujwn 
 that monument of Christian art and fanaticism — the Es- 
 curial. 
 
S82 LIFE OF GE:N'ERAT. GRAKT. 
 
 Seville was the next noteworthy stop of the party. 
 The day after General Grant arrived the Duke of Mont- 
 pensier called, and the next day was spent by the Gen- 
 eral and his party in the hospitable halls and gardens of 
 St. Telmo. The Duke regretted that, his house being in 
 mourning on account of the death of his daughter, Queen 
 Mercedes, he could not give General Grant a more formal 
 welcome than a quiet luncheon party. The Duke, the 
 Duchess and their daughter were present, and after 
 luncheon the General and Duke spent an hour or two 
 strolling through the gardens, which are among the most 
 beautiful in Europe. The Duke spoke a great deal of his 
 relations with America, and especially of the part which 
 his nephews had played in the war against the South. 
 At the close of the reception the General drove back to 
 the hotel and the next morning left for Cadiz, where a 
 short visit was made. 
 
 On November 17th the party left Cadiz in the early 
 morning, Gibraltar being their next stop. General 
 Duffie, our gallant and genial Consul, was with us. The 
 run froui Gibraltar carries you past some of the famous 
 cities of the world. It is the thin line that divides two 
 continents, the barrier over which civilizations have dashed 
 and fallen. So much of the romance of European travel 
 is embraced in these historic memories, that you find your- 
 self, even in the presence of Nature in her most gracious 
 and resplendent moods, diverted from the contemplation 
 of her beauty into a re very upon forgotten ages and the 
 great men who lived then. This city we are leaving, for 
 instance, whose towers are glowing in the morning sun, 
 was founded by Hercules. The city we left the other day — 
 Lisbon — was founded by Ulysses. The city to which we 
 are steering was the Calpe of the classic age. And so Cadiz 
 fades away. It was a long time before we lost sight of her. 
 
TOUR AllOU2^D THE WOULD. 383 
 
 It is not a long journey from Cadiz to Gibraltar, and 
 after passing Trafalgar all eyes look for the teeming rock 
 on which England holds guard over the highway to India. 
 Gibraltar is one in a line of posts which English policy is 
 compelled to retain for the defence of her empire. Oddly 
 enough, the impartial observer cannot help noting that this 
 England, the most inoffensive of nations, always craving 
 peace, wishing to molest no one, always selects for these 
 posts a position of menace to other Powers. From Aden 
 she menaces Egypt ; Hong Kong is a guard upon China ; 
 from Heligoland she observes Germany ; Malta is the out- 
 post of Italy and France and Austria, and to draw nearer 
 to Russia she took Cyj^rus. Rather than surrender Malta 
 she went to war w^ith Napoleon. 
 
 The sea was very calm as we came from Cadiz, but as 
 we entered Gibraltar Bay it began to roughen. The first 
 thing to welcome us was the American flag flying from one 
 of our men-of-war. There was some difficulty in distin- 
 guishing the vessel until we came nearer, when we recog- 
 nized Captain Robeson and several other officers, our old 
 friends and shipmates of the steamship Vandalia. The 
 General directed his vessel to steam around the Yandalia, 
 and cordial greetings were exchanged between the two 
 ships. As we headed into port the Vandalia mounted the 
 yards, and Captain Robeson came in his barge to take the 
 General on shore. The American Consul, Mv. Sprague, 
 and two officers of Lord Napier's staff, met the General 
 and welcomed him to Gibraltar in the name of the general 
 commanding. Amid a high sea, which threw its spray 
 over most of the party, we pulled ashore. On landing, a 
 guard of honor presented arms, and the General drove at 
 once to the house of Mr. Sprague, on the hill. 
 
 Mr. Sprague has lived many years at Gibraltar, and, I 
 believe, is the oldest consular officer in the service of the 
 
384 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 United States. General Grant is the third ex-President 
 he has entertained at his house. Lord Napier of Magdala, 
 the commander at Gibraltar, had telegraphed to Cadiz, 
 asking the General to dinner on the evening of his arrival. 
 At seven o'clock the General and Mrs. Grant, accomj^anied 
 by the Consul, went to the palace of the Governor, called 
 the Convent, and were received in the most hospitable 
 manner by Lord Napier. His lordship had expressed a 
 great desire to meet General Grant, and relations of cour- 
 tesy had passed between them before. Lord Napier, who 
 commanded the expeditionary force in Abyssinia, having 
 sent General Grant King Theodore's Bible. The visit to 
 Gibraltar may be summed up in a series of dinners — first, 
 at the Governor's palace ; second, with the mess of the 
 Koyal Artillery ; again, at the Consul's. Then there were 
 private and informal dinners at Lord Napier's, with whom, 
 indeed, the General spent most of his time. 
 
 From Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, General Grant 
 and his party proceeded to Ireland, and reached Dublin 
 on the 3d of January. Upon landing they were met by 
 representatives of the city corporation, by whom they were 
 warmly welcomed. They were at once driven to the Shel- 
 bourne Hotel, where the General prej)ared to meet the 
 Lord Mayor at the City Hall. The city was full of stran- 
 gers, and much enthusiasm was manifested when the Gen- 
 eral and his party left their hotel to drive to the Mansion 
 House. On arriving at the Mayor's official residence, they 
 were cheered by a large crowd that had gathered to greet 
 the illustrious ex-President. The Lord Mayor, in j^re- 
 senting the freedom of the city, referred to the cordiality 
 always existing between America and Ireland, and hoped 
 that in America General Grant would do everything he 
 could to help a people who sympathize with every Ameri- 
 can movement. 
 
TOUR AUOU^'L) THE WOULD. 3 SI 
 
 On Moiulay, January 8tli, General Grant and liis party 
 left Dublin for Londonderry and Belfast. The Lord Mayor 
 accompanied them to the railway-station, and bade them 
 farewell. The morning was cold, and as the train 2:)ro- 
 gressed northward ice, snow, cold winds, and, finally, rain, 
 were encountered. At Dundalk, Omagh, Strabane, and 
 other stations, large crowds were assembled, and the people 
 •cheered the ex-President, putting their hands into the cars 
 and shaking hands with him whenever possible. The ex- 
 pressions of ill-feeling towards General Grant in Cork had 
 aroused the Protestant sentiments of the Irish people of 
 Ulster in his favor. 
 
 At two o'clock the train reached Derry. A heavy rain 
 had covered the ground with ice, rendering the view of the 
 city and surroundings most charming, as seen through the 
 mists and gossamer of falling snow. At the station an 
 immense crowd, apparently the whole town and neighbor- 
 hood, had assembled. The multitude was held in check 
 by the police. The Mayor welcomed General Grant cor- 
 dially, and he left the station amid great cheering. 
 
 The great majority of the crowd cheered madly, and 
 followed General Grant's carriage to the hotel. The ships 
 in the harbor were decorated with flags and streamers, and 
 the town was en fete. A remarkably cold, driving rain set 
 in at three o'clock, just as General Grant and his party 
 drove in state to the ancient town hall. The crowd ^y^ 
 so dense near the hall that progress through it was made 
 with great difiiculty. At the entrance of the building the 
 Mayor and Council, in their robes of office, received the 
 ex-President. Amid many expressions of enthusiasm from 
 the people of Londonderry, an address was read extolling 
 the military and civil career of General Grant, which was 
 pronounced second in honor only to that of Washington. 
 
 General Grant signed the roll, thus making himself an 
 Ulster Irishman. 
 
386 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The train reached Belfast station at half-past two 
 o'clock. The reception accorded General Grant was im- 
 posing and extraordinary. The linen and other mills had 
 stopped work, and the workmen stood out in the rain in 
 thousands. From the train-window, Grant saw a perfect 
 sea of heads, which showed the eagerness of the people 
 to honor the distinguished traveller. The platform of the 
 • Btation was covered with scarlet carpet. The Mayor and 
 members of the City Council welcomed the General, who 
 descended from the car amid tremendous cheers. Crowds 
 ran after the carriages containing the city authorities and 
 their illustrious guest, and afterwards surrounded the hotel 
 where the General was entertained. 
 
 Upon reaching Dublin, Lord Mayor Barrington and a 
 considerable number of persons were on the platform at the 
 railway-station, and cordially welcomed the General. As 
 soon as all the party had descended, the Lord Mayor in- 
 vited the General into his carriage and drove him to West- 
 ward Row, where the Irish mail-train was ready to depart, 
 having been detained eight minutes for the ex-President. 
 
 There was a most cordial farewell, and a great shaking 
 of hands. The Mayor and his friends begged Grant to 
 return soon and make a longer stay. Soon Kingston was 
 reached, and in a few minutes the party were in the special 
 cabin which had been provided for them on board the mail- 
 steamer. Special attention was paid to the General by the 
 officers of the vessel. Grant left the Irish shores at twenty 
 minutes past seven o'clock. 
 
 London was duly reached, and tlie travellers became the 
 guests of the American Minister, Mr. Welsh, From Lon- 
 don the party went to Marseilles, whence, at noon on the 
 day following, they embarked on the French steamship 
 " Labourdonais " for India via Suez. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 FROM MARSEILLES TO BOMBAY THE SUEZ CANAL ALEX 
 
 ANDRIA AGAIN ON BOARD THE VENETIA LANDING AT 
 
 APOLLO BUNDER THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA BRAHMA, 
 
 VISHNU AND SIVA THE ENTERTAINMENT AT MALABAR 
 
 POINT — VISIT TO JEYPOOR RECEPTION AT THE PALACE 
 
 — THE PALACE OF AMBER — THE TAJ — BEAUTIFUL SCENES 
 — BHURTPOOR. 
 
 The voyage from Marseilles to Bombay was a pleasant 
 one. Like a thing of life the vessel bearing the travellers 
 danced upon the crested waves of the Mediterranean. As 
 they passed along, Etna was seen towering in the distance, 
 with villages nestling at its base. After skirting along the 
 African coast, they disembarked near Alexandria. A short 
 ride by rail brought them to the Suez Canal, where they 
 took passage on another boat, called the Venetia, and pro- 
 ceeded on their way down the Eed Sea. The journey at 
 this point is one of great interest, since the banks of that 
 Sea are hallowed by the footsteps of the Israelites. Many 
 points of historic interest were pointed out, among which 
 Mount Sinai was, perhaps, the most important. 
 
 The vessel touched at Aden just long enough to allow 
 the travellers to mail their letters, and then quietly passed 
 on towards Bombay. Their arrival at the latter point is 
 thus narrated : — Our departure from Europe had been so 
 sudden that we had no idea that even our Consul at Bom- 
 bay knew of our coming. All arrangements were made to 
 go to a hotel, and from thence make our journey ; but the 
 
 (387) 
 
388 
 
 LIFE OF GENEllxVL GRANT, 
 
 Venetia had scarcely entered the harbor before we saw evi- 
 dences that the General was exj^ected. Ships in the harbor 
 were dressed with flags, and at the wharf was a large crowd 
 — soldiers, natives, Europeans. As we passed the English 
 flag-ship, a boat came alongside with an oflicer represent- 
 ing Admiral Corbett, welcoming the General to India. In 
 a few minutes came another boat bearing Caj)tain Frith, 
 the military aid to Sir Richard Temple, Governor of the 
 
 THE SUEZ CANAL. 
 
 Presidency of Bombay. Captain Frith bore a letter from 
 the Governor, welcoming the General to Bombay, and 
 offering him the use of the Government House at Malabar 
 Point. Captain Frith expressed the regret of Sir Pichard, 
 that he could not be in Bombay to meet General Grant, but 
 duties connected with the Afghan war kept him in Sind. 
 The Consul, Mr. Farnham, also came with a delegation of 
 American residents and welcomed the General and party. 
 
390 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 At nine o'clock in the morning the last farewells were 
 spoken, we took our leave of the many kind and pleasant 
 friends we had made on the Venetia, and went on board 
 the Government yacht. Our landing was at the Apollo 
 Bunder — the spot where the Prince of AVales landed. 
 The tides in the harbor are high, and there were stone 
 steps over which the sea had been washing. As we drew 
 near the shore, there was an immense crowd lining the 
 
 THE RED SEA ENTRANCE TO THE SUEZ CANAL. 
 
 wharf and a company of Bombay volunteers in line. As 
 the General ascended the steps he was met by Brigadier- 
 General Aitcheson, commanding the forces ; Sir Francis 
 Souter, Commissioner of Police ; Mr. Grant, the Municijoal 
 Commissioner, and Colonel Sexton, commanding the Bom- 
 bay volunteers, all of whom gave him a hearty welcome 
 to India. The volunteers presented arms, the band played 
 our national air, and the General was loudly cheered. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE AVORLD. 891 
 
 In Bombay the General's party made their home at the 
 Government House, on Mahibar Point, in the city's suburbs. 
 MaUibar Point is an edge of the ishuid of Bombay jutting 
 out into the Indian Ocean. Where the bhifi' overlooivs tlie 
 waters it is one hundred feet high. This remnant of tlie 
 rock has been rescued from the sea and storm and deco- 
 rated with trees and shrubbery, the mango and the palm. 
 Overlooking the sea is a battery with five large guns, shin- 
 ing and black, looking out upon the ocean and keeping 
 watch over the Empire of England. It is difficult to de- 
 scribe a residence like the Government House on Malabar 
 Point. Architecture is simply a battle with the sun. The 
 house is a group of houses. As you drive in the grounds, 
 through stone gates that remind you of the porters' lodges 
 at some stately English mansions, you pass through an 
 avenue of mango trees, past beds of flowers throwing out 
 their delicate fragrance on the warm morning air. You 
 come to a one-storied house surrounded with spacious 
 verandas. There is a wide state entrance covered with 
 red cloth. ' A guard is at the foot, a native guard wearing 
 che English scarlet, on his shoulders the number indicating 
 the regiment. You pass up the stairs, a line of servants 
 on either side. The servants are all Mohammedans ; they 
 wear long scarlet gowns, with white turbans ; on the breast 
 is a belt with an imperial crown for an escutcheon. They 
 salute you with the grave, submissive grace of the East, 
 touching the forehead and bending low the head, in token 
 of welcome and duty. You enter a hall and pass between 
 two rooms — large, high, decorated in blue and white, and 
 look out upon the gardens below, the sea beyond, and the 
 towers of Bombay. One of these rooms is the state dining- 
 room, large enough to dine fifty people. The other is the 
 state drawing-room. This house is only used for ceremo- 
 nies, meals, and receptions. 
 
 25 
 
892 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 You pass for one hundred paces under a covered way 
 over a path made of cement and stone, through flower-beds 
 and palm-trees, and come to another house. Here are the 
 principal bedrooms and private chambers. This also is 
 one story high and runs down to the sea, so that you Can 
 stand on a balcony and throw a biscuit into the white surf 
 as it combs the shore. These are the apartments assigned 
 to General Grant and his wife. There are drawing-rooms, 
 anterooms, chambers, the walls high, the floors covered 
 with rugs and cool matting. As you pass in, servants, 
 who are sitting crouched around on the floors, rise up and 
 bend the head. You . note a little group of shoes at the 
 door, and learn that in the East custom requires those in 
 service to unslipper themselves before entering the house 
 of a master. Another hundred paces and you come to 
 another house, with wide verandas, somewhat larger than " 
 the General's. These are the guest chambers, and here a . 
 part of our party reside. 
 
 On Friday evening, the General visited the ball of the 
 Volunteer Corps, and was received by Colonel Sexton. 
 The ballroom was profusely decorated with flags — the 
 American flag predominating. On Saturday, at two, he 
 visited Dossabhoy Merwanjee, a Parsee merchant. The 
 reception was most cordial, the ladies of the family deco- ''^. 
 rating the General and party with wreaths of jessamine 
 flowers. In the afternoon he drove to the Byculla Club, 
 lunched, and looked at the races. In the evening there 
 was a state dinner at the Government House, with forty- 
 eight guests. The Government band played during dinner. 
 The member of Council, Hon. James Gibbs, who repre- 
 sents the Governor, was in the chair. At the close of the 
 dinner he proposed the health of the General, who arose 
 amid loud cheering, and said a few pleasant words. His 
 reception in Bombay had been most gratifying. 
 
 i 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORUD. 393 
 
 During their stay at Bombay, the party visited the cele- 
 brated caves of Elephaiita. The corresi)ondent thus de- 
 scribes the visit : — We have a cooUno- breeze coniiny; in 
 from the Indian Ocean, and as we slowly climb easy flights 
 of steps we have an almost naked retinue of Hindoos, in 
 various stages of squalor, asking alms and offering to sell 
 us gold beetles. The temples are reached in time, and we 
 stroll about studying out the figures, noting the columns 
 and the curious architecture, full, rude, massive, unlike any 
 forms of architectural art familiar to us. The main temple 
 is 125 feet long, and the same in width. The idols are 
 hewn out of the rock. The faces of some are comely, and 
 there is a European expression in the features that startles 
 you. The type is a higher one than those we saw in Egypt. 
 One of the idols is supposed to be the Hindoo Trinity — 
 Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. 
 
 On Monday the General was entertained in state at the 
 Government House, at Malabar Point. Hon. James Gibbs, 
 the member of the Council who acted as Governor in the 
 absence of Sir Richard Temple, presided, and at the close 
 of the dinner a splendid social time was enjoyed. This 
 entertainment closed the visit at Bombay. 
 
 From Bombay they went to Jeypoor. One of the party 
 writes : — Our ride was through a low, uninteresting country, 
 broken by ranges of hills. The railway is narrow gauge, 
 and, as I learned from one of the managers who accom- 
 panied us, has proved a success, and strengthens the argu- 
 ments in favor of the narrow gauge system. It was night 
 before we reached Jeypoor. On arriving at the station, 
 the Maharajah was present with his Ministers, and the 
 English Resident, Dr. Hendley, who acted in place of 
 Colonel Beynon. As the General descended, the Maha- 
 rajah, who wore the ribbon and star of the Order of India, 
 advanced and shook hands, welcoming him to his realm. 
 
394 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The next day after our arrival there was a reception 
 at the royal palace. We drove to the palace at four 
 o'clock, and were shown the royal stables. There were 
 some fine horses and exhibitions of horsemanship, which 
 astonished even the General. We were shown the astro- 
 nomical buildings of Jai Singh II., which were on a large 
 scale and accurately graded. We climbed to the top of 
 the palace and had a fine view of Jeypoor. It embraces 
 one-sixth of the city. At five o'clock we entered the court- 
 yard leading to the reception hall. The Maharajah came 
 slowly down the steps with a serious, preoccupied air ; not 
 as an old man, but as one who was too weary with a day's 
 labors to make any effort, and shook hands with the Gen- 
 eral and Mrs. Grant. He accompanied the General to a 
 seat of honor and sat down at his side. We all ranged 
 ourselves in the chairs. On the side of the General sat 
 the members of his j)arty ; on the side of the Maharajah, 
 the members of his cabinet. Dr. Hendley acted as inter- 
 l^reter. The Prince said Jeypoor was honored in seeing 
 the face of the great American ruler, whose fame had 
 reached Hindostan. 
 
 His Highness then made a gesture, and a troop of danc- 
 ing-girls came into the court-yard. One of the features of 
 a visit to JeyjDoor is what is called the Nautch. The Nautch 
 is a sacred affair, danced by Hindoo girls of a low caste, in 
 the presence of the idols in the palace temple. A group 
 of girls came trooping in, under the leadership of an old 
 fellow with a long beard and a hard expression of face, 
 who might have been the original of Dickens' Fagin. The 
 girls wore heavy garments embroidered, the skirts com- 
 posed of many folds, covered with gold braid. They had 
 ornaments on their heads, and jewels in the side of the nose. 
 They had plain faces, and their dance had no value either 
 as an expression of harmony, grace, or motion. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 In a trip to the Palace of Amber, Mrs. Grant rode in a 
 sedan chair, which is carried in a short, measured quick- 
 step, so that there is no uneasiness to the rider. The rest 
 of us rode elephants. 
 
 Of the Palace of Amber the most one can say is that 
 it is curious and interesting as the home of an Indian king- 
 in the days when India was ruled by her kings and a 
 Hastings and a Clive had not come to rend and destroy. 
 The Maharajah has not quite abandoned it. He comes 
 sometimes to the great feasts of the faith, and a few apart- 
 ments are kept for him. His rooms were ornamented with 
 looking-glass decorations, with carved marble which the 
 artisan had fashioned into tracery so delicate that it looked 
 like lacework. What strikes you in this Oriental decora- 
 tion is its tendency to light, bright, lacelike gossamer work, 
 showing infinite pains and patience in the doing, but with- 
 out any special value as a real work of art. The general 
 effect of these decorations is agreeable, but all is done for 
 effect. There is no such honest, serious work as you see 
 in the Gothic cathedrals, or even in the Alhambra. One 
 is the expression of a facile, sprightly race, fond of the 
 sunshine, delighting to repeat the caprice of nature in the 
 curious and quaint ; the other has a deep, earnest purpose. 
 This is an imagination which sees its gods in every form — 
 in stones and trees and beasts and creeping things, in the 
 stars above, in the snake wriggling through the hedges — 
 the other sees only one God, even the Lord God Jehovah, 
 who made the heavens and the earth, and will come to 
 judge the world at the last day. As you wander through 
 the court-yards and chambers of Amber, the fancy is 
 amused by the character of all that surrounds you. There 
 is no luxury. All these kings wanted was air and sun- 
 shine. They slept on the floor. The chambers of their 
 wives were little more than cells built in stone. Here are 
 the walls that surrounded their section of the palace. 
 
396 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 There are no windows looking into the outer world, only 
 a thick stone wall pierced with holes slanting upward, so 
 that if a curious spouse looked out she would see nothing 
 lower than the stars. Amber is an immense palace, and 
 could quite accommodate a rajah with a court of a thousand 
 attendants 
 
 There were some beautiful views from the terrace, and 
 we sat in the shade between the columns and looked into 
 the valley beyond, over which the sun was streaming in 
 midday splendor. We should like to have remained, but 
 our elephants had been down to the water to lap them- 
 selves about, and were now returning, refreshed, to bear 
 us back to Jeypoor. We had only given ourselves a day 
 for the town, and we had to return the call of the Prince, 
 which is a serious task in Eastern etiquette. Mr. Borie 
 was quite beaten down and used up by the sun and the 
 wabbling, wearisome elephant ride, but we succeeded in 
 persuading him to make the descent in a chair as Mrs. 
 Grant had done. While Mr. Borie and Mrs. Grant were 
 off swinging and lolling down the hill, the rest of us took 
 a short cut among the ruins, leaping from stone to stone, 
 watching the ground carefully as we went, to see that we 
 disturbed no coiled and sleeping cobra, until we came upon 
 our huge and tawny brutes, and were wabbled back to our 
 carriages and in our carriages to town. 
 
 Leaving Jeypoor the party went to Agra. At Agra they 
 visited the Taj. Mr. Young writes: "The gardens are 
 the perfection of horticulture, and you see here, as in no 
 part of India that I have visited, the wealth and beauty of 
 nature in Hindostan. The landscape seems to be flushed 
 with roses, with all varieties of the rose, and that most sunny 
 and queenly of flowers seems to strew your path, and bid 
 you welcome, as you saunter down the avenues and up the 
 ascending slope that leads to the shrine of a husband's love 
 
397 
 
398 LIFE OF GENERAL (UtANT. 
 
 and a mother's consecration. There is a row of fountains 
 which throw ont a spray and cool the air, and when you 
 pass the trees and come to the door of the buikUng, its great- 
 ness comes upon you — its greatness and its beauty. Mr. 
 Keene took us to various parts of the garden, that we might 
 see it from different points of view. I coukl see no value 
 in one view beyond the other. And wdien our friend, in 
 the spirit of courteous kindness, pointed out the defects of 
 the building — that it was too much this, or too much that, 
 or would have been perfect if it had been a little less of 
 something else — there was just the least disposition to re- 
 sent criticism, and to echo the opinion of Mr. Borie, who, 
 as he stood looking at the exquisite towers and solemn 
 marble walls, said, " It was worth coming to India to see 
 the Taj." I value that criticism, because it is that of a 
 practical business man, concerned with affairs, and not dis- 
 posed to see a poetic side to any subject. What he saw in 
 the Taj was the idea that its founder meant to convey — the 
 idea of solemn, overj^owering, and unapproachable beauty. 
 As you enter, you see a vast dome, every inch of w^hich 
 is enriched with inscriptions in Arabic, verses from the 
 Koran, engraved marble, mosaics, decorations in agate and 
 jasper. In the centre are two small tombs of white marble, 
 modestly carved. These cover the resting-place of the 
 Emperor and his wife, whose bodies are in the vault under- 
 neath. In other days the Turkish priests read the Koran 
 from the gallery, and you can imagine how solemn must 
 have been the eftect of the words chanted in a priestly 
 cadence by the echo that answers and again answers the 
 chanting of some tune by one of the party. The more 
 closely you examine the Taj, the more you are perplexed 
 to decide whether its beauty is to be found in the general 
 effect of the design as seen from afar, or the minute and 
 finished decorations which cover every wall. The general 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 399 
 
 idea of the building is never lost. There is nothing trivial 
 about the Taj, no grotesque Gothic moulding or flowering 
 Corinthian columns — all is cold and white and chaste and 
 pure. You may form an idea of the size of the Taj from 
 the figures of the measurement of the royal engineers. 
 From the base to the top of the centre dome is 139^ feet; 
 to the summit of the pinnacle, 243 i feet. It stands on the 
 banks of the River Jumna, and it is said that Shah Jehan 
 intended to build a counterpart in black marble, in which 
 his own ashes should rest. But misfortunes came to Shah 
 Jehan — ungrateful children, strife, deposition — and when 
 he died, his son felt that the Taj was large enough for both 
 father and mother. One is almost glad that the black 
 marble idea never germinated. The Taj, by itself alone, 
 is unapproachable. A duplicate would have detracted from 
 its peerless beauty. 
 
 We remained in the gardens until the sun went down, 
 and we had to hurry to our carriages not to be caught in 
 the swiftly descending night. The gardener came to Mrs. 
 Grant with an offering of roses. Some of us, on our return 
 from Jeypoor, took advantage of the new moon to make 
 another visit. We had been told that the moonlight gave 
 a new glory even to the Taj. It was the night before we 
 left Agra, and we could not resist the temptation, even at 
 the risk of keeping some friends waiting who had asked us 
 to dinner, of a moonlight view. It was a new moon, which 
 made our view imperfect. But such a view as was given 
 added to the beauty of the Taj. The cold lines of the 
 marble were softened by the shimmering silver light. The 
 minarets seemed to have a new height, and the dome had a 
 solemnity as became the canopy of the mother and queen. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THEY REACH DELHI VISIT TO THE KUTAB AMID THE SCENES 
 
 OF THE SEPOY REBELLION THE SACRED CITY OF THE 
 
 HINDOOS BENARES AND ITS PRIESTS CALCUTTA AT 
 
 THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE THE UNIVERSITY THE VICE- 
 ROY'S COUNTRY-SEAT THE KING OF OUDE RANGOON 
 
 HINDOO CUSTOMS AND SOCIETY THE PAGODA. 
 
 The correspondent of General Grant's party writes as 
 follows : " We came into Delhi early in the afternoon in a 
 worn-out, fagged condition. There was a recej^tion by the 
 troops, and the General with Mrs. Grant drove to Ludlow 
 Castle, the home of Gordon Young, the chief officer. 
 The others found quarters in a comfortable hotel — com- 
 fortable for India — near the railway-station. 
 
 The first impression Delhi makes upon you is that it is 
 a beautiful town. But I am afraid that the word town, as 
 ^e understand it at home, will give you no idea of a town 
 in India. We think of houses built closely together, of 
 avenues and streets, and people living as neighbors and 
 friends. In India, a town is built for the air. The natives 
 in some of the native sections, in the bazaars, live closely 
 together, huddle into small cubby-holes of houses or rude 
 caves, in huts of mud and straw, but natives of wealth 
 and Englishmen build their houses where they may have 
 space. A drive through Delhi is like a drive through the 
 lower part of Westchester county or any of our country 
 suburbs. The officials have their bungalows in the finest 
 localities, near wood and water when possible, surrounded 
 
 400 
 
TOUR AEOUND THE AVORLD. 401 
 
 * 
 
 by gardens. What strikes you in India is the excellence 
 of the roads and the beauty of the gardens. This was 
 especially true of Delhi. As you drove from the dusty 
 station, with the strains of welcoming music and the clang 
 of presenting arms in your ears, you passed through a 
 section that might have been an English country town 
 with gentlemen's seats all around. 
 
 There are few cities in the world which have had a 
 more varied and more splendid career than Delhi. It is 
 the Rome of India, and the history of India centres 
 around Delhi. It has no such place as Benares in the re- 
 ligion of the people, but to the Indians it is what Eome in 
 the ancient days was to the Roman Empire. One of its 
 authentic monuments goes back to the fourth century 
 before Christ. Its splendor began with the rise ot the 
 Moo-ul empire, and as you ride around the suburbs you 
 see the splendor of the Moguls in what they built and the 
 severity of their creed in what they destroyed. After you 
 pass from the English section, a ride through Delhi is sad. 
 You go through miles of ruins — the ruins of many wars 
 and dynasties, from what was destroyed by the Turk m 
 the twelfth century to what was destroyed by the English- 
 man in the nineteenth. From the Cashmere gate to the 
 Kutab, eleven miles, your road is through rums. Tombs, 
 temples, mausoleums, mosques, in all directions. 
 
 Among the sights to be beheld in Delhi is the palace ot 
 the Grand Mogul, concerning which our correspondent 
 says: In wandering about Delhi your mind is attracted 
 to these sad scenes. What it must have been when the 
 Moo-uls reigned vou may see in the old palace, the great 
 mo°que of Shah Ishan, and the Kutab. On the afternoon 
 of our arrival we were taken to the palace, which is now 
 used as a fort for the defence of the city. We ha^'e an 
 idea of what the palace must have been in its palmy days. 
 
402 LIFE OF GENERAL GllAXT. 
 
 An interesting visit, worthy of remembrance, was our 
 drive to the Kutab. We drove out in the early morning, 
 and our course was for eleven miles through the ruins of 
 the ancient city. 
 
 The Kutab, or tower, was for a long time looming over 
 the horizon before we came to its base. This tower ranks 
 among the wonders of India. It is 238 feet high, sloping 
 from the base, which is forty-seven feet in diameter, to the 
 summit, which is nine feet. It is composed of five sections 
 or stories, and Avith each story there is a change in the design. 
 The lower section has twenty-four sides, in the form of 
 convex flutings, alternately semicircular and rectangular. 
 In the second section they are circular, the third angular, 
 the fourth a plain cylinder, the fifth partly fluted and 
 partly plain. At each basement is a balcony. On the 
 lower sections are inscriptions in scroll work, reciting in 
 Arabic characters the glory of God, verses from the Koran, 
 and the name and achievements of the conqueror who built 
 the tower. It is believed that when really comj)lete, with 
 the cuj)ola, it must have been twenty feet higher. The 
 work goes back to the fourteenth century, and with the 
 exception of the cupola, which, we think, some British 
 government might restore, it is in a good state of preser- 
 vation. Everything in the neighborhood is a ruin. 
 
 From Delhi the party proceeded to Lucknow, where, 
 during the famous Sepoy rebellion, a handful of English 
 residents defended themselves against overwhelming forces, 
 until relieved by Havelock and Sir Colin Campbell. 
 
 Benares, the sacred city of the Hindoos, was the next 
 point visited. It is a city of Buddhist priests, full of 
 temples, mosques and shrines, and it is estimated that 
 there are a half million of idols in the city. The city 
 abounds in paupers and beggars, however, and in tew 
 places do extremes meet so remarkably. 
 
f 
 
 m K^A^^n^^ 
 
404 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 After visiting Benares the party proceeded to Cal- 
 cutta, where they arrived early on the morning of March 
 10th. Their arrival is thus detailed : — The American 
 Consul-General, General Litchfield, was present at the 
 station, with a guard of honor from the Viceroy and an 
 aid. The General drove off in the state carriages, with a 
 small escort of cavalry, to the Government House, where 
 preparations had been made by Lord Lytton for the recep- 
 tion of himself and party. The streets had been watered, 
 and there was just the suspicion of a cool breeze from the 
 Hoogly, which, after the distress of a long night ride, 
 made our morning drive pleasant. A line of native police- 
 men was formed for a distance of about two miles, from 
 the railway-station to the door of the Government House, 
 who saluted the General as he drove along. The Govern- 
 ment House is a large, ornate building, standing in a park 
 or open square, and was built in 1804. The corner-stone 
 was laid about the time that Washington laid the founda- 
 tion of the Capitol. The cost of the building was $750,000. 
 
 Of the public buildings, the Fort is, perhaps, the most 
 important. It was begun by Clive, after the battle of Plas- 
 sey, and cost $10,000,000. It mounts 600 guns, and is a 
 strong work in good preservation. This is the home of the 
 Commander-in-Chief of the army. There is a town hall 
 in the Doric style, with some large rooms for public enter- 
 tainments. The Court-House is a Gothic j)ile, with a mas- 
 sive tower. In Dalhousie Square is the Currency Ofiice, a 
 large building in the Indian style of architecture. The 
 Mint stands on the river-bank. It is composed of two 
 buildings, which, with the grounds, cover a space of eigh- 
 teen and one-half acres, and is said to be the largest mint 
 in the world. There is a Custom House, a bonded ware- 
 house, and a block known as the Writers' Buildings, where 
 young men find homes when they come to India. 
 
TOUK AROUND THE WUilJ.D. 405 
 
 The Viceroy received General Grant with great kind- 
 ness. Lord Lytton said he Avas honored in having as his 
 guest a gentleman whose career he had so long followed 
 with interest and respect, and that it was especially agree- 
 able to him to meet one who had been chief magistrate of 
 a country in which he had spent three of the happiest 
 years of his life. Lord Lytton had reference to his resi- 
 dence in Washington as a member of the British Lega- 
 tion, during the time when his uncle, Sir Henry Bulwer, 
 was Minister to the United States. The Viceroy regretted 
 that the duties of his office, which, on account of Burmese 
 and Afghan complications and his departure for Simla, 
 were unusually pressing, prevented his seeing as much of 
 the members of the General's party as he wished. Tn the 
 afternoon we drove around the city and listened to the 
 band. All the English world o^ Calcutta spend the cool 
 of the day in the gardens, and the General and the Vice- 
 roy had a long stroll. 
 
 The next day was given to an excursion up the Hoogly, 
 to the Viceroy's country-seat at Barrackpoor. At the last 
 moment, Lord Lytton found he could not go, and the honors 
 of the day were done in his name by Sir Ashley Eden. 
 Barrackpoor is about twelve miles U23 the river, and the 
 hour for our departure was noon. We drove to the dock 
 under a beating sun, and embarked on the Viceroy's 
 yacht. The party was a small one, comprising the lead- 
 ing members of the government, with their families. 
 
 The native gentlemen and jmnces of high rank were 
 presented by the Viceroy to General Grant. Some of 
 these names were the foremost in India. Some are de- 
 posed princes, or descendants of deposed princes. Others 
 were Brahmins of high caste ; some rich bankers and 
 merchants. The son of the King of Oude came with his 
 son. He has an effeminate, weak face. On his head he 
 wore a headdress shaped like a crow^n and covered with 
 gold foil and lace. The King of Oude lives in Calcutta, 
 on an allowance of $600,000 a year. 
 
406 LIFE OF GENERAL GliANT. 
 
 We left Calcutta at midnight, in order to catch the 
 tides in the Hoogly, on board the steamer Simla, of the 
 British-India Navigation Company, commanded by Cajitain 
 Franks, a young and able officer. The Simla was as pleas- 
 ant and comfortable as though it had been our own yacht, 
 and our run across the Bay of Bengal was over a summer 
 sea. 
 
 We sailed up the river to Rangoon and arrived at the 
 wharf about noon. A fierce sun was blazing, and the 
 wdiole landscaj^e seemed baked, so stern was the heat. 
 Rangoon is the princij^al city of Burmah, and seen from 
 the wharf is a low-lying, straggling town. Two British 
 men-of-war were in the harbor, who manned their yards 
 in honor of the General. All the vessels in the stream 
 were dressed, and the jaunty little Simla streamed with 
 flags. The landing was Covered with scarlet cloth, and the 
 American and British standards were l)lended. All the 
 town seemed to be out, and the river-bank was lined with 
 the multitude, who looked on in their passive Oriental 
 fashion at the pageant. As soon as our boat came to the 
 wharf, Mr. Aitcheson, the Commissioner, came on board, 
 accompanied by Mr. Leishmann, the American Vice-Con- 
 sul, and bade the General welcome to Burmah. On land- 
 ing, the General was presented to the leading citizens and 
 officials and the officers of the men-of-war. The guard 
 of honor j^resented arms and we all drove away to the 
 Government House, a pretty, commodious bungalow in the 
 suburbs, buried among trees. Mr. Aitcheson, our host, is 
 one of the most distinguished officers in the Indian service. 
 He was for some time Foreign Secretary at Calcutta. 
 Burmah, however, is already one of the most important 
 of the British colonies in Asia, and this importance is not 
 diminished by the critical relations between British Burmah 
 and the court of the King. Consequently, England re- 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 407 
 
 quires the best service possible in Burmab, and, as a result 
 of her policy of sending her wisest men to the most useful 
 places, Mr. Aitcheson finds himself in Rangoon. AVe may 
 be said, in fact, to have arrived in Burniah during a crisis, 
 and we had read in the Calcutta papers of the deej^ feeling 
 created throughout Burmah by the atrocities of the new 
 Kino-, who had murdered most of his relatives and was 
 talking about taking off the head of the British Resident 
 at Mandalay. We also read that there was excitement 
 among the people, commotion, a universal desire for the 
 punishment of this worthless king, and the annexation of 
 Upper Burmah. I expected to find the streets of Rangoon 
 lined with people, as at home during an exciting election 
 canvass, clamoring against the King, demanding the benef- 
 icent rule of England. I only saw the patient, dreamy, 
 plodding Asiatic bearing his burdens like his brethren in 
 India, content if he can assure a mess of rice for his food 
 and a scrap of muslin for his loins. As to the rest, accept 
 it as an axiom, that when the moral sensibilities of the 
 English statesmen in India become so outraged as to become 
 uncontrollable it means more territory. 
 
 Our days in Rangoon were pleasant. The town is in- 
 teresting. It is Asiatic, and at the same time not Indian. 
 You have left Hindostan, and all the forms of that vivid 
 and extraordinary civilization, and you come upon a new 
 people. Here you meet John, the inscrutable John, who 
 troubles you so much in California, and whose fate is the 
 gravest problem of our day. You see Chinese signs on the 
 houses, Chinese workmen on the streets, shops where you 
 can drink toddy and smoke opium. This is the first ripple 
 we have seen of that teeming empire towards which we 
 are steering. Politically, Burmah is a part of the British 
 Empire, but it is really one of the outposts of China, and 
 from now until we leave Japan we shall be under the in- 
 
 26 
 
408 LIFE OF GENERAL GRAKT. 
 
 fluence of China. The Hindoos you meet are from Madras, 
 a different type from those we saw on our tour. The Bur- 
 mese look like Chinese to our unskilled eyes, and it is pleas- 
 ant to see women on the streets and in society. The streets 
 are wide and rectangular, like those of Philadelphia, and 
 the shade-trees are grateful. Over the city, on a height, 
 which you can see from afar, is a pagoda, one of the most 
 famous in Asia. It is covered with gilt, and in the even- 
 ing, when we first saw it, the sun's rays made it dazzling. 
 We knew from the j^agoda that in leaving India, and 
 coming to Burmah, we leave the land of Brahma, and come 
 to the land of Buddha, and that remarkable religion called 
 Buddhism. 
 
 The institution of caste, ujDon which the Hindoo faith 
 and the whole structure of Hindoo society rests, is not 
 known in Buddhism. There is no priestly class like the 
 Brahmins, claiming grotesque, selfish, and extraordinary 
 privileges, descending from father to son, claiming honors 
 almost divine, and teaching that all the good things of the 
 world are especially intended for the Brahmins. The 
 priests, like those in the Catholic Church, are taken from 
 any rank in life. They do not marry. They deny them- 
 selves all pleasures of the sense, live a monastic life, dress 
 in yellow gowns (yellow being a sacred color), shave their 
 heads and beards, and walk barefooted. They live in 
 common, eat in common. When they sieej), it is in a 
 sitting posture. They go to church, pray, chant hymns, 
 make offerings to their gods, — princi2:)al among them a 
 statue of Buddha, — sometimes alone, sometimes with his 
 disciples. The statue of Buddha holds the same position 
 in the temples of his faith that the statue of our Saviour 
 holds in the Catholic churches. As you go into these 
 temples you are impressed with other forms of resemblance 
 between the two systems of worship. 
 
I 
 
 409 
 
410 LIFE OF GENERAL GllANT 
 
 Our first visit was to the famous pagoda, which rests 
 upon Kangoon like a crown of gold, its burnished splendor 
 seen from afar. The jDagoda is in the centre of a park of 
 about two acres, around which are fortifications. These 
 fortifications were defended by the Burmese during their 
 war with the English, and in the event of a sudden out- 
 break, or a mutiny, or a war, would at once be occupied. 
 During the Burmese wars the pagoda was always used as a 
 fort, and now, in the event of an alarm, or an invasion, or 
 a mutiny, the troops and people would at once take posses- 
 sion. Ever since that horrible Sunday afternoon in Meerut, 
 when the Sepoys broke out of their barracks, burned every 
 house, and butchered every woman and child in the European 
 quarter, all these Asiatic settlements have a place of refuge 
 to which the population can fly. A small guard was on 
 duty as we passed up tlie ragged steps that led to the pagoda. 
 There was an ascent of seventy-five feet up a series of steps 
 — a gentle and not a tiresome ascent, if you looked care- 
 fully and did not stumble among the jagged and crumbling 
 etones. On either side of the way were devotees at prayers, 
 or beggars waiting for their rice, or booths where you could 
 buy false pearls, imitation diamonds, beads, packages of 
 gold-leaf, flowers and cakes. The trinkets and flowers are 
 given as offerings to Buddha. The gold-leaf is sold for 
 acts of piety. If the devout Buddhist has a little money, 
 he lays it out on the pagoda. He buys a package of the 
 gold-leaf and covers with it some dingy spot on the pagoda, 
 and adds his mite to the glory of the temple. No one is 
 so poor that he cannot make some offering. We observed 
 several devout Buddhists at work patching the temple with 
 their gold foil. On the top of the temple is an umbrella or 
 cap covered with precious stones. This was a royal offer- 
 ing, and was placed here some years since with great pomp. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 DOWN THE STRAITS OF MALACCA BURMAH — A LETTER FROM 
 
 THE KING OF SIAM — THEY REACH SIAM — A VISIT TO THE 
 EX-REGENT THE STATE DINNER AN INTERESTING OC- 
 CASION CANTON DINING WITH THE VICEROY THE 
 
 Menu A PECULIAR FEAST MACAO, SWATOW, AND AMOY 
 
 — CAMOCUS — HONG KONG. 
 
 It was pleasant, writes one of the travellers, to sail down 
 the Straits of Malacca and along the coast of Biirmah in a 
 comfortable and swift steamer called the Simla, commanded 
 by Captain Franks. After leaving Rangoon we ran across 
 to the little town of Maulmain. Here General Grant and 
 party were received by Colonel Duff, the British Commis- 
 sioner. There was a guard of honor at the wharf, and a 
 gathering of what appeared to be the whole town. The 
 evening after we arrived there was a dinner given by the 
 Maulmain Volunteer Rifles — a militia organization com- 
 posed of the merchants of Maulmain and young men in 
 the service of the Government. This dinner was given in 
 the messroom of the company — a little bungalow in th 3 
 outskirts of the town. The next morning there was a visit 
 to the wood-yards, where teak-wood is sawed and sent as 
 an article of commerce into various countries. The teak- 
 tree is a feature in the commerce and the industry of the 
 peninsula, and is said to be the most durable timber in 
 Asia. The Javanese name for teak illustrates its char- 
 acter, meaning true, real, genuine. It is only found in 
 
 (411) 
 
412 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 a few places, being quite unknown in parts of India and 
 the adjoining islands. 
 
 The question of General Grant's visit to Siam was for 
 some days in abeyance. It was out of our way to China 
 and the means of communication were irregular, and none 
 of us took any special interest in Siam — our available 
 knowledge of the country being that there were once 
 famous Siamese twins. Moreover, and this fact I cannot 
 as a conscientious historian conceal, there is a feeling of 
 homesickness among some of the party, which finds relief 
 in looking at the map and drawing the shortest lines of 
 travel between Singapore and San Francisco, and any sug- 
 gestion of departure from these lines is unwelcome. But 
 in Singapore we met many merchants and prominent au- 
 thorities who had been in Siam, and the universal testimony 
 was that a visit around the world would be incomplete un- 
 less it included that most interesting country. Then on 
 landing at Singapore our Consul, Major Struder, met the 
 General with a letter from the King of Siam — a letter en- 
 closed in an envelope made of blue satin. The text of the 
 letter was as follows: — 
 
 The Grand Palace, Bangkok, 4th Feb., 1879. 
 My Dear Sir : — Having heard from my Minister for For- 
 eign Affairs, on the authority of the United States Consul, that 
 you are expected in Singapore on your way to Bangkok, I beg 
 to express the pleasure I shall have in making your acquaintance. 
 Possibly you may arrive in Bangkok during my absence at my 
 country residence. Bang Pa In. In which case a steamer will be 
 placed at your disposal to bring you to me. On arrival, I beg you 
 to communicate with His Excellency, my Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs, who will arrange for your reception and entertainment. 
 Yours, very truly, ^ CHULAHLONGKOEN, E. S. 
 To General Grant, late President of the United States. 
 
 The letter of the King, which he had taken the trouble 
 to send all the way to Singapore, added to the opinion ex- 
 
TOUR AllOUND THE WORLD. 413 
 
 pressed by the General that when people really go around 
 the world they might as well see what is to be seen, decided 
 the visit to Siam. A despatch had been received from Cap- 
 tain Benliam, commanding the Richmond, that he would 
 1)8 at Galle on the 12th, which would enable him to reach 
 KSingapore about the time that we returned from Siam. 
 This was a consideration, especially to the homesick people, 
 who felt that there would be compensation in meeting Amer-' 
 icans — in being once more among citizens of the greatest 
 country of the world, with whom we could talk intelligently 
 on sensible themes. So a letter was addressed to Captain 
 Benham, asking him to await us by stopping at Singapore, 
 and our party prepared for Siam. 
 
 On the morning of the 14th of April, land was around 
 us, and there w^as a calm, smooth sea. At ten we came 
 to the bar, where we were to expect a steamer or a tug. 
 We all doifed our ship garments, and came out in ceremoni- 
 ous attires to meet our friends, the Siamese. But there was 
 no crossing the bar, and for hours and hours we waited, and 
 no steamer came. It seems that we had made so rapid a 
 trip that no one was expecting us, and there we were in the 
 mud, on a bar, and Siam before us, within an hour's sail 
 of Paknam. The day passed and the night came, and at 
 ten the tides would be high, and we would slip over the 
 mud and be at our anchorage at eleven, and up to Bang- 
 kok in the cool of the morning, always so precious an ad- 
 vantage in Eastern travel. At nine we began to move 
 under the guidance of a pilot, and after moving about for 
 an hour or so, to the disappointment of those of us on 
 deck, who watched the lights on shore and were impatient 
 for Paknam, we heard the engines reverse, we felt the ship 
 back with throbbing speed, and in a few minutes the 
 grumbling of the cable as the anchor leaped into^ the 
 water. There was no Paknam, no Siam, for that night, 
 
in LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The pilot had lost his way, and instead of a channel, we 
 were rapidly going on the shore, when the captain discov- 
 ered the error, and stopped the ship. Well, this was a 
 disappointment, and largely confirmatory of the views 
 shared by some of us that Providence never would smile 
 on our trip to Siam ; but the rain came, and the sea be- 
 came angry and chopping, and rain and sea came into the 
 berths, and all we could do was to cluster in the small cabin. 
 AVe found, then, that our foolish pilot had taken us away 
 out of our course, that we were on a mud bank, that it was 
 a mercy we had not gone ashore, and that unless the royal 
 yacht came for us there we would remain another day. 
 About nine in the morning the news was passed that the 
 royal yacht was coming, and about ten she anchored within 
 a cable length, a long, stately craft, with the American colors 
 at the fore, and the royal colors of Siam at the main. 
 
 At four o'clock the General embarked on a royal gon- 
 dola, seven fathoms long. He was slowly pulled to shore. 
 The guard presented arms, the cavalry escort wheeled into 
 line, the band played "Hail Columbia." On ascending 
 the stairs, Mr. Alabaster, the royal interpreter ; Captain 
 Bush, an English officer commanding the Siamese Navy, 
 and a brilliant retinue were in waitino-. The Foreign ]Min- 
 ister advanced and welcomed the General to Siam, and pre- 
 sented him to the other members of the suite. Then enter- 
 ing carriages the General and party were driven to the 
 Palace of Hwang Saranrom, the home of His Royal High- 
 ness the Celestial Prince Bhanurangsi Swangwongse. As 
 we drove past the barracks the artillery were drawn up in 
 battery and the cannon rolled out a salute of twenty-one 
 guns. On reaching the palace a guard was drawn up and 
 another band played the American national air. At the 
 gate of the palace Phra Sri Dhammason, of the foreign 
 office, met the General and escorted him to the door. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 415 
 
 On the 19th the General attended a state dinner at the 
 palace of the King of Siarn. It was an occasion of great 
 display and utmost friendliness. The Siamese all wore 
 state dresses, and the King wore the family decoration, 
 a star of nine points, the centre a diamond, and the other 
 points with a rich jewel of different character, embracing 
 the precious stones found in Siam. The General was re- 
 ceived in the audience-hall, and the dinner was sers^ed in 
 
 the lower hall or dining-room. There were forty guests 
 present, and the service of the table was silver, the pre- 
 vailing design being the three-headed elephant, which 
 belongs to the arms of Siam. This service alone cost 
 £10,000 in England. There were two bands in attendance, 
 one playing Siamese, the other European music, alternately. 
 The Celestial Prince escorted Mrs. Grant to dinner, and 
 sat opposite the King at the centre of the table. General 
 
416 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Grant sat next the King. The dinner was long, elaborate, 
 and in the European style, with the exception of some 
 dishes of curry dressed in Siamese fashion, which we were 
 not brave enough to do more than taste. The night was 
 warm, but the room was kej^t moderately cool by a system 
 of i^enekahs, or large fans, swinging from the ceiling, which 
 kept the air in circulation. 
 
 After we had been at the table about three hours, there 
 was a pause and a signal. The fans stopped, the music 
 paused, and Mr. Alabaster, as inter2:)reter, took his place 
 behind the King. His Majesty then arose, and the com- 
 pany with him, and, in a clear accent heard all over the 
 saloon, addressed the General. In response General Grant 
 proposed the health of the King. 
 
 This toast was drunk with cheers, the comj^any rising 
 and the band playing the national air of Siam. The King 
 then led the way to the upper audience-chamber, the saloon 
 of the statues. Here ensued a long conversation between the 
 King and the General and the various members of the 
 party. Mrs. Grant, in the inner room, had a conversa- 
 tion with the Queen, who had not been at table. In con- 
 versing with the General, the King became warm and 
 almost affectionate. He was proud of having made the 
 acquaintance of the General, and he wanted to know more 
 of the American people. He wished Americans to know 
 that he was a friend of the country. As to the General 
 himself, the King hoped when the General returned to 
 the United States that he would write the King and allow 
 the King to write to him, and always be his friend and 
 correspondent. The General said he would always re^ 
 member his visit to Siam; that it would afford him 
 pleasure to know that he was the friend of the King; 
 that he would write to the King and always be glad to 
 hear from him, and if he ever could be of service to the 
 King it would be a j^leasure. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 417 
 
 Leaving Siam they proceeded to Canton, at the mouth 
 of the Hoang-Ho river. The day next following the arrival 
 of the honored party the Viceroy gave a dinner in iionor 
 of General Grant. Our correspondent describes it as fol- 
 lows : — The hour fixed by the Viceroy for the dinner was 
 six, and it was necessary for us to be under way at five. 
 Those who went to the dinner were General Grant and 
 party, Commodore Perkins, Engineer McEwin, Lieutenant 
 Deering, Dr. Fitzsimons, and A. Ludlow Case, of the Ash- 
 uelot. Our journey to the Viceroy was in the same state 
 as when Ave made our official call. The hour was later, 
 and it was more pleasant to ride in the cool evening than 
 in the warm, sweltering day. Although the crowd was 
 immense, it was not so large as on the day before. There 
 were the same ceremonies, the same parade, the same firing 
 of guns, and if anything even more splendor when we 
 came to the viceregal mansion. The Viceroy, the Tartar 
 -General and their splendidly embroidered retinues were all 
 in waiting, and we were shown into the audience-chamber 
 and given tea. The hall was illuminated and the gardens 
 were dazzling with light. After the tea and the exchange 
 of compliments between the Chinese and the members of 
 our party, a signal was given by the ringing of silver 
 chimes, and we marched in procession to the dining-hall. 
 
 It was something of a march, because in these Oriental 
 palaces sj)ace is well considered, and if you dine in one 
 house you sleep in another and bathe in a third. The 
 dining-room was open on the gardens, apparently open on 
 three sides. Around the open sides was a wall of servants, 
 attendants, soldiers, mandarins, and if you looked beyond 
 into the gardens, under the corruscating foliage, burdened 
 with variegated lanterns, you saw groups and lines, all star- 
 ing in upon us. 
 
 I had always heard of a Chinese dinner as among the 
 
418 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 eccentric features of their civilization. Our table was a 
 series of tables, forming three sides of a square. The sides 
 of the tables that formed the interior of the square were 
 not occupied. Here the servants moved about. At each 
 table were six persons, with the exception of the principal 
 table, which was given up to General Grant, the Viceroy, 
 the Tartar General, Mr. Borie, and Mr. Holcombe. Be- 
 hind the Viceroy stood his interpreter and other personal 
 servants. Attendants stood over the other tables with large 
 peacock fans, which was a comfort, the night was so warm. 
 The dinner was entirely Chinese, with the exception of the 
 knives, forks, and glasses. But in addition to the knives 
 and forks we had chopsticks, with which some of the party 
 made interesting experiments in the way of searching out 
 ragout and soup dishes. At each of the tables were one or 
 two of our Chinese friends, and we were especially fortu- 
 nate at having with us a Chinese officer who spoke English 
 well, having learned it at the mission-school of Dr. Hopper. 
 The custom in China is not to give you a bill of fa^-e 
 over which you can meditate, and if the dinner has any 
 resources whatever, compose a minor dinner of your own. 
 A servant comes to each table and lays down a slip of r<^d 
 tea-box paper inscribed with Chinese characters. This is 
 the name of the dish. Each table was covered with dishes, 
 which remained there during the dinner — dishes of every- 
 thing except bread — sweetmeats and cakes j^redominating. 
 The courses are brought in bowls and set down in the 
 middle of the table. Your Chinese friend, whose polite- 
 ness is unvarying, always helps you before he helps him- 
 self. He dives his two chopsticks into the smoking bowl 
 and lugs out a savory morsel and drops it on your j)hite. 
 Then he helps himself frequently, not troubling the plate, 
 but eating directly from the bowl. If the dish is a dainty 
 shark's fins or bird's-nest soup, all the Chinese go to work 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 419 
 
 at the same bowl and with the same chopsticks, silver and 
 ivory, which were not changed during the entire dinner, 
 but did service for fish and fowl and sweetmeats. Between 
 each course were cigars or jDipes. The high Cliinamen had 
 pipe-bearers with them, and as each course was ended they 
 would take a whiff. But the cigars came as a relief to the 
 smoking members of the party ; for they could sit and look 
 on and enjoy the spectacle, and have the opera sensation 
 of looking at something new and strange. The cigars, too, 
 were an excuse for not eating, and at a Chinese dinner an 
 excuse for not eating is welcome. There is no reason in 
 the world why you should not eat a Chinese dinner, ex- 
 ce2:)t that you are not accustomed to it. 
 
 The one thing which gave the dinner a touch of poetry 
 was the bird's-nest soup. The fact that the Chinese have 
 found a soup in the nest of a bird is one of the achieve- 
 ments of their civilization. So when our Chinese General 
 told us, as he read the cabalistic letters on red tea-chest 
 paper, that the next dish was to be bird's-nest soup, we 
 awakened to it as to the realization of a new mystery. One 
 of the disadvantages of getting on in life is that you have 
 fewer and fewer sensations, that you know everything. 
 
 Canton and its sights are described : — One notable 
 sight was the Hall of the Five Hundred Disciples of 
 Buddha. The street boys, divining our intention, ran 
 ahead, and after some knocking, the gate was opened, 
 and we entered under a covered way into a penstyle, at- 
 tendants and priests personally giving us welcome. We 
 passed through granite cloisters, and into the hall where 
 there are 504 statues of clay, gilded, to the memory of cer- 
 tain disciples of the Lord Buddha, famous in the religious 
 history of China. There are images of Buddha, or rather 
 of three Buddhas ; also of the Emperor Kienlung, a highly- 
 beloved monarch, who sits on the dragon throne. 
 
420 LIFE OF GENEEAL GRANT. 
 
 The narrow, dirty streets are paved with long, narrow 
 slabs of stone ; no sidewalks. Every house that we passed 
 on our way was a bazaar, and consisted of one oj^en door, 
 that led into a spacious room. In some of these there were 
 spiral stairways that led to storerooms or dwelling cham- 
 bers. We found some idea of the wealth of Canton, and 
 of the wants of the country which it sup^Dlies, when we 
 remembered how vast a trade these bazaars represented. 
 In looking over a jDlan of the city I had been struck with 
 the names of the streets, the poetical and devotional spirit 
 they expressed. There was no glorification of mere human 
 kings, and you could almost fancy that you were reading 
 of some allegorical city, like what Bunyan saw in his 
 dream. There was Peace street, and the street of Benev- 
 olence and Love. Another, by some violent wrench of 
 the imagination, was the street of Kefreshing Breezes. 
 Some contented mind had given a name to the street of 
 Early Bestowed Blessings. The paternal sentiment, so 
 sacred to the Chinamen, found exj^ression in the street of 
 One Hundred Grandsons, and the street of One Thousand 
 Grandsons. There was the street of a Thousand Beati- 
 tudes, which, let us pray, were enjoyed by its founder. 
 There were streets consecrated to Everlasting Love, to a 
 Thousand-fold Peace, to Ninefold Brightness, to Accumu- 
 lated Blessings, while a practical soul, who knew the value 
 of advertising, named his avenue the Market of Golden 
 Profits. Chinese mythology gave the names of the As- 
 cending Dragons, the Saluting Dragon, and the Beposing 
 Dragon. Other streets are named after trades and avoca- 
 tions, and it is noticeable that in Canton, as in modern 
 towns, the workers in various callings cluster together. 
 There is Betel-nut street, where you can buy the betel-nut, 
 of which we saw so much in Siam, and tlie cocoanut, and 
 drink tea. There is where the Chinese hats are sold, and 
 
SENDING WRITTEN PRAYERS TO HEAVEN BY BURNING THEM. 
 
 421 
 
422 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 wliere you can buy the finery of a mandarin for a dollar 
 or two. There is Eyeglass street, where the compass is 
 sold, and if you choose to buy a compass, there is no harm 
 in remembering that we owe the invention of that subtle 
 instrument to China. Another street is given to the manu- 
 facture of bows and arrows, another to Prussian blue, a 
 third to the j^reparation of furs. The stores have signs in 
 Chinese characters, gold letters on a red or black ground, 
 which are hung in front, a foot or two from the wall, and 
 droop before you as you pass under them, producing a j^e- 
 culiar eftect, as of an excess of ornamentation, like Paris 
 on a fete day. The habit to which you are accustomed in 
 Paris of giving the store a fanciful or poetic name prevails 
 in Canton. One merchant calls his house " Honest Gains." 
 Another, more ambitious, names his house " Great Gains." 
 One satisfied soul proclaims his store to be a " Never End- 
 ing Success," while his neighbor's is " Ten Thousand Times 
 Successful." There is the store called " Ever Enduring," 
 and others adopt a spirit not common in trade by speaking 
 of their shops as " Heavenly Happiness " and " By Heaven 
 Made Prosperous." Others more j^ractical signify by some 
 image the nature of their trade, and over their stores you 
 see representations of a shoe, a fan, a hat, a boot, a collar, 
 and a pair of spectacles. 
 
 Canton, next to Pekin, the most celebrated of Chinese 
 cities, the one at least best known to foreigners, goes back 
 to the fourth century before Christ, and is among the most 
 ancient cities of the world. It was supposed to have been 
 a muddy stockade surrounded with bamboo defences. 
 
 Our visit to Hong Kong at this time was to be present 
 at a garden-party which had been arranged by the citizens ; 
 but the weather interfered, and the General was compelled 
 to leave on Monday, to keep engagements which had been 
 made for him in the north. While in Hong Kong, we 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WOULD. 423 
 
 witnessed a strange ceremony. It was strange; to u^, al- 
 though so common here. It was the sending of written 
 prayers to heaven by burning them. He spent Sunday 
 quietly with the Governor, and on Monday morning took 
 leave of his brilliant and hospitable host. Before leaving, 
 the General, accompanied by the Governor and our Con- 
 sul, Colonel John S. Moseby, received a deputation of Chi- 
 nese who wished to present him with an address. The 
 presentation took place in the parlors of the Government 
 House. General Grant made a very pleasing response to 
 the address, in which he thanked them for their kindness, 
 and expressed the wish that harmony might continue be- 
 tween their country and his own. 
 
 After giving the address, the General and party, ac- 
 companied by Governor Hennessy and wife and Colonel 
 Moseby, took chairs and proceeded to the landing to embark 
 for the north. There was a guard of honor at the wharf, 
 and all the foreign residents Avere present. As the General 
 went on board the launch, hearty cheers were given, which 
 were again and again repeated as he steamed into the bay. 
 The Governor took his leave of General Grant on board 
 the Ashuelot, and as he left the vessel fired a salute of 
 seventeen guns in his honor, with the British flag at the 
 fore. 
 
 27 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 SHANGHAI A GLAD WELCOME A QUIET SABBATH AN IM- 
 POSING SCENE — LI HUNG CHANG THE VICEROY VISITS 
 
 GRANT — THE FETE AT THE FRENCH CONSUL' S — PEKIN A 
 
 TOUNG EMPEROR. 
 
 After leaving Hong Kong General Grant's trip along 
 the coast of China was exceptionally pleasant, so far as 
 winds and waves were concerned. There was a monsoon 
 blowing, but it was just enough to help us along without 
 disturbing the sea. On the morning of the 13th we came 
 to Swatow, one of the treaty ports open to foreigners. 
 The stay here was short, but the Chinese Governor called 
 in state and extended all possible hospitality. This is 
 one of the ports now open to foreigners- It is })leasantly 
 situated on the river Flan, and the view on approaching 
 it is beautiful and striking. At Amoy a brief stop was 
 made, and then they steamed on to Shanghai. 
 
 On the morning of the 17th the "Ashnelot," commanded 
 by Commander Johnson, who relieved Commander Per- 
 kins in Hong Kong, came in sight of the Woosung forts, 
 which fired twenty-one guns. We had had a pleasant run 
 from Amoy, a stiff breeze helping us along. As soon as 
 the firing of the Chinese forts ceased, the batteries of the 
 "Iron Duke," the flagship of the Admiral commanding 
 the British fleet in China, ran up the American flag to 
 the fore and fired twenty-one guns. The Chinese gunboats 
 
 (4l'4J 
 
TOUR AIIOUND THE WOULD. 42o 
 
 joined in the chorus, and the Ashiielot returned the salutes. 
 There was so much cannonading and so much smoke, that 
 it seemed as if a naval battle were raging. As the smoke 
 lifted, the American man-of-war Monocaey was seen steam- 
 ing towards us, dressed from stem to stern. As she a]i- 
 proached a salute was fired. We were a little ahead of 
 the time appointed for our reception in Shanghai, and 
 ■when the Monocaey came within a cable length both 
 Tessels came to an anchor. A boat came from the Monoc- 
 aey, carrying the committee of citizens who were to meet 
 the General — Messrs. R. W. Little, F. B. Forbes, Helland, 
 Purden, and Hiibbe. The committee was accompanied by 
 Mr. D. W. Bailey, the American Consul-General for 
 China, wdio joresented the members to General Grant, and 
 by Mrs. Little and Mrs. Holcombe, who came to meet INIr.s. 
 Crrant. The committee lunched with the General, and 
 '•about half-past one the Ashuelot slowly steamed up to tl'je 
 ■city. As we came in sight of the shipping the sight was 
 very beautiful. The different men-of-war all fired salut^?s 
 •and manned yards, the merchantmen at anchor weve 
 dressed, and as the Ashuelot passed the crews cheered. 
 The General stood on the quarter-deck and bowed his 
 thanks. As we came to the spot selected for landing, the 
 banks of the river were thronged with Chinamen. It is 
 •estimated that at least one hundred thousand lined the 
 banks, but figures are, after all, guesses, and fail to give 
 you an idea of the vast, fiir-extending, patient, and silent 
 multitude. It was Saturday afternoon, the holiday, and 
 <ionsequently every one could come, and every one did in 
 -holiday attire. One of the committee said to me, as we 
 «tood on the deck of the Ashuelot looking out upon the 
 wonderful panorama of life and movement, that he sup- 
 posed that every man, woman, and child in Shanghai who 
 could come was on the river-bank. The landing was in 
 
426 LIFE OF GENERAL GEANT. 
 
 the French concession. A large "go down," or storehouse^ 
 had been decorated with flags, flowers, and greenery. This 
 building was large enough to hold all the foreign residents 
 in Shanghai, and long before the hour of landing every 
 seat was occu23ied. 
 
 At three o'clock precisely the barge of the Ashuelot 
 was manned, the American flag was hoisted at the bow, 
 and General Grant, accompanied by Mrs. Grant, Mr. Borie,. 
 Colonel Grant, Mr. Holcombe, acting Minister at Pekin ; 
 Mrs. Holcombe, Consul-General Bailey, and Dr. Keating, 
 embarked. As the boat slowly pulled towards the shore, 
 the guns of the Ashuelot thundered out a national salute, 
 while the other men-of-war manned the yards. In a few 
 minutes the boat came to the landing, Avhicli was covered 
 with scarlet cloth. Mr. Little, chairman of the Municipal 
 Council, and the committee shook hands with the General, 
 and the procession marched into the building. As General 
 Grant entered, the audience rose and cheered heartily. On 
 reaching the seats prepared for him, he was presented to 
 the Chinese Governor, who had come to do his part in the 
 reception. The Governor was accompanied by a delega- 
 tion of mandarins of high rank. The band played " Hail 
 Columbia ! " and after the music and cheering ceased, Mr. 
 Little advanced and read the address of the committee. 
 
 After a moment's pause, General Grant, speaking in a 
 low, conversational tone of voice, thanked them for their 
 kind welcome. 
 
 The speech over there were other presentations, and 
 General Grant was escorted to his carriage. There was a 
 guard of honor composed of sailors and marines from the 
 American and French men-of-war and the Volunteer Rifles 
 of Shano'hai. It was the intention of the British naval 
 commander to have sent a hundred men on shore to take 
 part in the reception, but there was some misunderstanding 
 
428 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 as to the time, and the British tars did not land until it 
 was too late. The Captain was mortified at the blunder, 
 and sent a message to the General to explain his absence 
 and his regret that he had not been able to do his part 
 in honoring the General. The General rode in a carriage 
 with Mrs. Grant, Mr, Bailey, and Mr. Holcombe. The 
 volunteers formed on either side, and walked as a guard 
 of honor. There was an infantry battalion and a battery 
 of artillery. Horses are not j^lentiful in Shanghai, and 
 the General's carriage was drawn by a pair of Australian 
 horses. The animals, however, did not have military ex- 
 perience, and grew so impatient with the guns, the music,, 
 and the cheering, that they became unmanageable, and the 
 procession came to a halt. Lieutenant Cowles, of the Mo- 
 nocacy, who was in command of the escort, suggested a 
 remedy. The horses were taken out, and the volunteer 
 guard, taking hold of the carriage, drew it along the em- 
 bankment to the consulate, a distance of more than a mile. 
 On arriving at the consulate, the General reviewed the es- 
 cort. The evening was spent quietly, the General dining 
 with Mr. Bailey and a few of the leading citizens of the 
 settlement. 
 
 Sunday was passed quietly. General Grant attending 
 service in the Cathedral. On JMonday morning he visited 
 a dairy farm, and afterwards made a few calls. In the 
 evening he dined with K. W. Little, and after dinner went 
 to the house of Mr. Cameron, the manager of the Hong 
 Kong and Shanghai Bank, to visit the torchlight j^roces- 
 sion and the illumination. The whole town had been ago^ 
 all day preparing for the illumination, and as we strolled 
 along the parade, every house was in the hands of work- 
 men and Chinese artists. The tea-gardens were especially 
 attractive. There was a threat of bad weather, but as the 
 sun went down the ominous winds went with it, and the. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. I1.I) 
 
 evening was perfect for all the purposes of tlio (lis[)ljiy. 
 The two occasions when Shanghai had cxertetl herself to 
 welcome and honor a guest, were on the visits of the Duke 
 of Edinburgh and the Grand Duke Alexis. The dispUiy 
 in honor of General Grant far surpassed these, and what 
 made it so agreeable was the heartiness with which Eng- 
 lish, Americans, French, Germans, and Chinese all united. 
 I had heard a good deal during the day of what Shanghai 
 would do. But with the memory of many fetes in many 
 lands, fresh from the stupendous demonstration in Canton, 
 I felt sceptical as to what a little European colony clinging 
 to the fringe of the Chinese Empire could really do in th*e 
 way of a display. The dinner at Mr. Little's was over ;it 
 half-past nine, and in company with Mr. Little and the 
 General I drove along the whole river front. The scene 
 as we drove out into the open street was bewildering in ils 
 beauty. Wherever you looked was a blaze of light and 
 fire, of rockets careering in the air, of Koman lights, anil 
 every variety of fire. The ships in the harbor were a bla:^e 
 of color, and looked as if they were pieces of fireworks. 
 The lines of the masts, the rigging, and the hulls wei e 
 traced in flames. The Monocacy was very beautiful, every 
 line from the bow^ to the topmast and anchor-chain hung 
 with Japanese lanterns. This graceful, blending nui-ss of 
 color thrown upon the black evening sky was majestic, and 
 gave you an idea of a beauty in fire hitherto unknown to 
 us. "Never before," says the morning journal — for I 
 prefer to take other authority than my own in reeording 
 this dazzling scene — "never before has there been such a 
 blaze of gas and candles seen in Shanghai." 
 
 Every day of the stay in Shanghai was a day of sight- 
 seeing and honors. Decorations, demonstrations and 
 dinners abounded. The Viceroy of Cliina paid him an 
 official visit when about to leave. 
 
430 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 After an elaborate entertainment by the Viceroy, and 
 a grand fete at the French Consul's, at both of which 
 superb assemblages were gathered, the party proceeded on 
 their journey, and in due time reached Pekin. Here Gen- 
 eral Grant was waited upon by members of the Cabinet, who 
 came in a body, accompanied by the military and civil gov- 
 ernors of the city. These are the highest officials in China. 
 
 General Grant did not ask an audience of the Em- 
 peror. The Emperor is a child seven years of age, at his 
 books, not in good health, and under the care of two old 
 ladies called the empresses. When the Chinese Minister 
 in Paris spoke to the General about audience, and his re- 
 gret that the sovereign of China was not of age, that he 
 might personally entertain the ex-President, the General 
 said he hoi:)ed no question of audience would be raised. 
 He had no personal curiosity to see the Emperor. 
 
 As soon as General Grant arrived at Pekin he w^as met 
 by the Secretary of State, who brought the card of Prince 
 Kung, and said His Imperial Highness would be glad to 
 see General Grant at any time. The General named the 
 succeeding day, at three. The General and party left the 
 legation at half-past two, the party embracing Mr. Hol- 
 combe, the acting Minister ; Colonel Grant, Lieutenant 
 Charles Belknap, C. W. Deering, and A. Ludlow Case, 
 Jr., of the Ashuelot. The w^ay to the Yamen w\as over 
 dirty roads and through a disagreeable part of the town, 
 the day being unusually warm, the thermometer marking 
 101 degrees in the shade. This is a trying temperature 
 under the best circumstances, but in Pekin there w^as every 
 possible condition of discomfort in addition. When we 
 came to the court-yard of the Yamen, the secretaries and 
 a group of mandarins received the General and his party, 
 and escorted them into the inner court. Prince Kung, 
 who was standing at the door, with a group of high officers, 
 

 431 
 
432 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 advanced and saluted the General, and said a few words 
 of welcome, which were translated by Mr. Holcombe. 
 
 On the evening of our arrival, the American residents 
 in Pekin called in a body on the General, to welcome him 
 and read an address. Dinner over, our jDarty entered the 
 legation parlors, and were presented to the small colony 
 of the favored people who have i^itched their tents in 
 Pekin. The members of this colony are missionaries,, 
 members of the customs staff, diplomatists, and one or two 
 who have claims or schemes for the consideration of the 
 Chinese Government. After being introduced to the Gen- 
 eral and his party, Dr. Martin, the President of the Chi- 
 nese English University, stepped forward and read an ad- 
 dress welcoming General Grant to the city. 
 
 In reply, the General said he was always glad to meet 
 his fellow-countrymen, and the kind words in which he 
 had been welcomed added to the pleasure which such a 
 meeting afforded in Pekin. The Americans were a won- 
 derful people, he said, smiling, for you found them every- 
 where, even here in this distant and inaccessible capital. 
 He was esj^ecially pleased with the allusion, in the address, 
 to the fact that in America a career was possible to the 
 humblest station in life. His own career was one of the 
 best examples of the possibilities oj^en to any man and 
 every man at home. That feature in America he was 
 proud to recognize, for it was one of the golden principles 
 in our government. The General again thanked the dele- 
 gation for their kindness, wished them all prosperity in 
 their labors in China, and a happy return to their homes,, 
 where he hoped some day to meet them. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM CHINA CHEFOO — JAPAN — NAGASAKI — 
 
 PRINCE DATI A GRAND DINNER THE MUSICIANS 
 
 YOKOHAMA THE PALACE — REVIEWING THE TROOPS 
 
 TAKING LEAVE OF THE EMPEROR FAREWELL SPEECHES 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND, 
 
 The departure from China was made after a visit to the 
 point where the historic "Great Wall" reaches the sea. 
 Chefoo also received a brief call. It is the summer resort 
 of English residents of Shanghai and Tientsin. Here the 
 General received a rousing welcome as usual. 
 
 At midnight General Grant and party, accompanied 
 by Captain Benham, returned on board the Richmond. 
 There was one incident on the return of a novel and pic- 
 turesque character. According to the regulations of the 
 American navy, no salutes can be fired by men-of-war after 
 the sun goes down. But the Richmond was to sail as soon 
 as the General embarked, and before the sun arose would 
 be out at sea. So the Chinese gun-boats sent w^ord that 
 they would fire twenty-one guns as General Grant passed 
 in his barge. The announcement caused some consterna- 
 tion in the well-ordered minds of our naval friends, and 
 there was a grave discussion as to what regulations per- 
 mitted under the circumstances. It would be rude to 
 China not to return her salute. There were especial rea- 
 sons for going out of the way to recognize any honor shown 
 us by the Chinese. Our mission in those lands, so fiir as 
 
 (433) 
 
434 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 it was a mission, was one of peace and courtesy and good- 
 will. Captain Benliam, with the ready ability and com- 
 mon sense which, as a naval officer, he possesses in an 
 eminent degree, decided that the courtesy should be hon- 
 ored and answered, gun for gun, and that, in so doing, he 
 would carry out, in spirit at least, the regulations which 
 sliould govern a naval commander. So it came to pass that 
 Lieutenant-Commander Clarke found himself performing a 
 duty which I supjwse never before devolved uj^on a naval 
 officer, holding a midnight watch, with the gun-crew at 
 quarters ready for the signal which was to justify him in 
 startling the repose of nature on sea and shore with the 
 hoarse and lurid menace of his guns. General Grant's 
 launch had hardly moved before the Chinese gun-boats 
 thundered forth, gun after gun, their terrifying compli- 
 ment. These boats have no saluting batteries, and as the 
 guns fired were of heavy calibre, the effect of the fire was 
 startling and sublime. The General's launch slowly 
 steamed on, the smoke of the guns rolling along the sur- 
 face of the waves and clouding the stars. When the last 
 gun was fired there was a pause, and far off in the dark- 
 ness our vessel, like a phantom ship, silent and brooding, 
 suddenly took life, and a bolt of fire came from her bows, 
 followed swiftly by the sullen roar of the guns. 
 
 So it came to pass that at midnight, in fire and flame — 
 the angry echoes leaj)ing from shore to shore and from hill 
 to liill, and over the tranquil waters of a whisj)ering sea — 
 we said farewell to China and sailed towards Japan. 
 
 There was no special incident in our run from China. 
 On the morning of the 21st of June, we found ourselves 
 threading our way through beautiful islands and rocks rich 
 with green, that stood like sentinels in the sea, and hills on 
 which were trees and gardens, and high, commanding cliffs 
 covered with green, and smooth, tranquil waters, into the 
 
TOUR AllOUND THE WOULD. 436 
 
 Bay of Nagasaki. Nagasaki ranks among the beautiful 
 harbors in the workl. But the beauty that welcomed us 
 had the endearing quality that it reminded us of home. 
 All these weeks we had been in the land of the palm, and 
 we were now again in the land of the pine. 
 
 The Bichmond steamed between the hills and came to 
 an anchorage. It was the early morning, and over the 
 water were shadows of cool, inviting green. Nagasaki, 
 nestling on her hillsides, looked cosy and beautiful, and, it 
 being our first glimpse of a JajDanese town, we studied it 
 through our glasses, studied every feature — the scenery, 
 the picturesque attributes of the city, the terraced hills that 
 rose beyond, every rood under cultivation ; the quaint, 
 curious houses ; the multitudes of flags which showed that 
 the town knew of our coming and was preparing to do us 
 honor. We noted also that the wharves were lined with a 
 multitude, and that the available population were waiting 
 to see the guest whom their nation honors, and who is known 
 in common speech as the American Mikado. Then the 
 Bichmond ran up the Japanese standard and fired twenty- 
 one guns in honor of Japan. The forts answered the 
 salute. Then the Japanese gun-boats and the forts dis- 
 played the American ensign and fired a salute of twenty- 
 one guns in honor of General Grant. Mr. W. P. Man- 
 gum, our Consul, and his wife came on board. In a short 
 time the Japanese barge was seen coming, with Prince 
 Dati and Mr. Yoshida and the Governor, all in the splen- 
 dor of court uniforms. These ofiicials were received with 
 due honors and escorted to the cabin. Prince Dati said 
 that he had been commanded by the Emperor to meet 
 General Grant on his landing, to welcome him in the name 
 of His Majesty, and to attend upon him as the Emperor's 
 personal representative so long as the General remained in 
 Japan. The value of this compliment can be understood 
 
436 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 when you know that Prince Dati is one of the highest 
 noblemen in Japan. He was one of the leading daimios, 
 one of the old feudal barons who, before the revolution, 
 ruled Japan and had j^owers of life and death in his own 
 dominions. The old daimios were not only barons, l)ut 
 heads of clans, like the clans of Scotland, and in the feudal 
 days he could march an army into the field. When the 
 revolution came Dati accepted it, not sullenly and seeking 
 retirement, like Satsuma and other princes, but as the best 
 thing for the country. He gave his adhesion to the Em- 
 peror, and is now one of the great noblemen around the 
 throne. The sending of a man of the rank of the Prince 
 was the highest compliment that the Emperor could j^a}- 
 any guest. Mr. Yoshida you know as the present Jajianese 
 Minister to the United States, a discreet and accomplishe(i 
 man, and among the rising statesmen in the Empire. Hav • 
 ing been accredited to America during the General's ad' 
 ministration, and knowing the General, the Government 
 called him home so that he might attend General Grant 
 and look after the recei^tion. So when General Grant ar- 
 rived, he had the j^leasure of meeting not only a distin- 
 guished representative of the Emperor, but an old personal 
 friend. 
 
 At one o'clock on the 21st of June, General Grant, ac- 
 companied by Prince Dati, INIr. Yoshida, and the Gov- 
 ernor, landed in Nagasaki. The Japanese man-of-war 
 Kango, commanded by Caj)tain Zto, had been sent down 
 to Nagasaki to welcome the General. The landing took 
 place in the Japanese barge. From the time that General 
 Grant came into the waters of Japan, it was the intention 
 of the Government that he should be the nation's guest. 
 As soon as the General stepped into the barge, the Japanese 
 vessels and the batteries on shore thundered out their wel- 
 come, the yards of the vessels were maniied ; and as the 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 437 
 
 barge moved slowly along, the crews of the ships in the 
 harbor cheered. It was over a mile from the Richmond to 
 the shore. The landing-place had been arranged not in 
 the foreign section nor the Dntch concession, carrying out 
 the intention of having the rece23tion entirely Japanese. 
 Lines of troops were formed, the steps were covered with 
 red cloth, and every space and standing spot and coigne 
 of vantage was covered with people. The General's boat 
 touched the shore, and with Mrs. Grant on his arm, and 
 followed by the Colonel, the Japanese officials, and the 
 members of his party, he slowly walked up the platform, 
 bowing to the multitude who made this obeisance in his 
 honor. There is something strange in the grave decorum 
 of an Oriental crowd ; strange to us who remember the 
 ringing cheer and the electric hurrah of Saxon lands. The 
 principal citizens of Nagasaki came forward and were 2:>re- 
 «ented, and, after a few minutes' pause, our j^arty stepped 
 into jinrickshaws and were taken to our quarters. 
 
 The jinrickshaw is the common vehicle of Jaj^an. It 
 is built on the principle of a child's perambulator or an in- 
 valid's chair, except that it is much lighter. Two men go 
 ahead and pull, and one behind pushes ; but this only on 
 occasions of ceremony. One man is quite able to manage 
 a jinrickshaw. • Those used by the General had been sent 
 down from Tokio, from the palace. Our quarters in Na- 
 gasaki had been prepared in the Japanese town. A build- 
 ing used for a female normal school had been prepared. It 
 was a half mile from the landing, and the whole road had 
 been decorated with flags, American and Japanese entwined, 
 with arches of green boughs and flowers. Both sides of 
 the road were lined with people, who bowed low to the 
 General as he passed. On reaching our residence, tlie 
 Japanese officials of the town were all presented. Then 
 -came the foreign Consuls in a body, who were presented by 
 
438 LIFE OF GE:NFliAL GKANT. 
 
 the American Consul, Mr. Mangiim, After this came the 
 officers of the Japanese vessels, all in uniform. Then came 
 a delegation representing the foreign residents of all nation- 
 alties in Nagasaki, who asked to j^resent an address. This 
 address was read by Mr. Farber, one of the oldest foreign 
 residents in Japan. The General responded in his usual 
 quiet and agreeable manner. 
 
 On the evening of June 22d, Mr. Bingham, the Amer- 
 ican Minister to Japan, came to Nagasaki in the mail- 
 steamer, and was met on landing by General Grant. The 
 Minister was fresh from home. And it w^as pleasant, not 
 only to meet an old friend, but one who could tell us of 
 the tides and currents in home affairs. There were dinners 
 and fetes innumerable during our stay in Nagasaki. 
 
 On the 24th, a grand dinner was given the visitors. 
 The bill of fare was almost a volume, and embraced over 
 fifty courses. The wine was served in unglazed 2:)orcelain 
 wine-cups, on white wooden stands. The appetite wi\s 
 pampered in the beginning with dried fish, edible seaweeds, 
 and isinglass, in something of the Scandinavian style, e:?v- 
 cept that the attempt did not take the form of brandy and 
 raw fish. The first serious dish was composed of crane, 
 seaweed, moss, rice, bread, and potatoes, which we picked 
 over in a curious way as thougli we were at an auction sale 
 of remnants, anxious to rummage out a bargain. The 
 soup, when it first came, — for it came many times, — was 
 an honest soup of fish, like a delicate fish-chowder. Then 
 came strange dishes, as ragout and as soup in bew^ildering 
 confusion. The first was called namasu and embodied fish, 
 clams, chestnuts, rock-mushrooms, and ginger. Then, in 
 various combinations, the following : — Duck, truffles, tur- 
 nips, dried bonito, melons, pressed salt, aromatic shrubs, 
 snipe, egg-plant, jelly, boiled rice, snapper, shrimp, pota- 
 toes, mushroom, cabbage, lassfish, orange flowers, powdered 
 
440 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 fish, flavored with plum-juice and walnuts, raw carp sliced, 
 mashed fish, baked fish, isinglass, fish boiled with pickled 
 beans, wine, and rice again. This all came in the first 
 course, and as a finale to the course, there was a sweetmeat 
 composed of white and red bean jelly-cake, and boiled black 
 mushroom. With this came jDowdered tea, which had a 
 green, monitory look, and suggested your early exjjeriences 
 in medicine. 
 
 While our hosts are passing around the strange dishes, 
 a signal is made, and the musicians enter. They are maid- 
 ens, with fair, pale faces and small, dark, serious eyes. You 
 are pleased to see that their teeth have not been blackened, 
 as was the custom in past days, and is even now almost a 
 prevalent custom among the lower classes. We are told 
 that the maidens who have come to grace our feast are not 
 of the common singing-class, but the daughters of the mer- 
 chants and leading citizens of Nagasaki. The first group 
 is composed of three. They enter, sit down on the floor 
 and bow their heads in salutation. One of the instruments 
 is shaped like a guitar, another is something between a 
 banjo and a drum. They wear the costume of the country, 
 the costume that was known before the new days came upon 
 Japan. They have blue silk gowns, white collars, and 
 heavily brocaded pearl-colored sashes. The principal in- 
 strument was long and narrow, shaped like a coffin-lid, and 
 sounding like a harpsichord. After they had played an 
 overture, another group entered, fourteen maidens similarly 
 dressed, each carrying the small banjo-like instrument, and 
 ranging themselves on a bench against the wall, the tapestry 
 and silks suspended over them. Then the genius of the 
 artist was apparent, and the rich depending tapestry, blended 
 with the blue and white and pearl, and animated with the 
 faces of the maidens, their music, and their songs, made a 
 picture of Japanese life which an artist might envy. 
 
TOUR APtOUND THE WORLD. 441 
 
 The strange dinner came to an end after a struggle 
 of six or seven hours, and as we drove home through tli(i 
 ilhiminated town, brilliant with lanterns and fireworks, and 
 arches and bonfires, it was felt that we had been honored 
 by an entertainment such as we may never again exj)ect 
 to see. 
 
 A visit was also made to Yokohama. Here too the 
 distinguished visitor was received with glad ovations. 
 Civic and military authorities sought to do him honor, and 
 there was really no end to the round of festivities and 
 fetes that were showered upon the illustrious General. 
 Concerning the visit to the Emperor at Tokio, Mr. Young 
 writes : 
 
 We drove through the daimios' quarter and tbrough 
 the gates of the city. The first impression of Tokio is 
 that it is a city of walls and canals. The walls are crude 
 and solid, protected by moats. We j^assed under the walls 
 of an enclosure which was called the castle. Here we are 
 told the Emperor will build his new palace. We crossed 
 another bridge — I think there were a dozen altogether in 
 the course of the drive — and came to a modest arched gate- 
 way which did not look very imposing. Soldiers were drawn 
 up and the band played Hail Columbia. Our carriages 
 drove on past one or two modest buildings and drew up in 
 front of another modest building, on the steps of which 
 the Minister Iwakura was standing. The General and 
 party descended and were cordially welcomed and escorted 
 up a narrow stairway into an anteroom. 
 
 When you have seen most of the available palaces in 
 the world, from the glorious home of Anrungzebe to the 
 depressing mighty cloister of the Escurial, you are sure to 
 have preconceived notions of what a palace should be, and 
 to expect something unique and grand in the home of the 
 long hidden and sacred ]\Iajesty of Japan. The home of 
 
442 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the Emperor was as simple as that of a country gentleman 
 at home. What marked the house was its simplicity and 
 taste ; qualities for which my j^alace education had not pre- 
 pared me. Here we are in a suite of plain rooms, the ceil- 
 ings of wood, the walls decorated with natural scenery — 
 the furniture sufficient but not crowded — and exquisite in 
 style and finish. There is no pretence of architectural 
 emotion. The rooms are large, airy, with a sense of sum- 
 mer about them which grows stronger as you look out of 
 the window and down the avenues of trees. We are told 
 that the grounds are spacious and fine, even for Japan, and 
 that His Majesty, who rarely goes outside of his palace 
 grounds, takes what recreation he needs within the walls. 
 
 The palace is a low building, one or at most two stories 
 in height. They do not build high walls in Japan, and 
 especially in Tokio, where earthquakes are ordinary inci- 
 dents, and the first question to consider in building up is 
 how far you can fall. We enter a room where all the 
 Ministers are assembled. The Japanese Cabinet is a fa- 
 mous body, and tested by laws of physiognomy would com- 
 pare with that of any Cabinet I have seen. The Prime 
 Minister is a striking character. He is small, slender, 
 with an almost girl-like figure, delicate, clean-cut, winning 
 features, a face that might be that of a boy of twenty or a 
 man of fifty. The other Ministers looked like strong, able 
 men. Iwakura has a striking face, with lines showing 
 firmness and decision, and you saw the scar which marked 
 the attempt of the assassin to cut him down and slay him, 
 as Okubo, the greatest of Japanese statesmen, was slain not 
 many months ago. That assassination made as deep an im- 
 pression in Japan as the killing of Lincoln did in Amer- 
 ica. We saw the spot where the murder was done on our 
 way to the palace, and my Japanese friend who pointed it 
 out spoke in low tones of sorrow and affection, tind said 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 448 
 
 the crime there committed had been an irreparable loss to 
 Japan. 
 
 A lord in waiting, heavily braided, with a nniform that 
 Louis XIV. would not have disliked in Versailles, comes 
 softly in and makes a signal, leading the way. The Gen- 
 eral and Mrs. Grant escorted by Mr. Bingham, and our 
 retinue followed. The General and the Minister were in 
 evening dress. The naval officers were in full uniform, 
 Colonel Grant wearing the uniform of lieutenant-colonel. 
 We walked along a short passage and entered another room, 
 at the flirther end of which were standing the Emperor 
 and the Empress. Two hidies in waiting were near them 
 in a sitting, what appeared to be a crouching, attitude. 
 Two other princesses were standing. These were the only 
 occupants of the room. Our party slowly advanced, the 
 Japanese making a profound obeisance, bending the head 
 almost to a right angle with the body. The royal princes 
 formed in line near the Emperor, along with the princesses. 
 The Emperor stood quite motionless, apparently unobserv- 
 ant or unconscious of the homage that was paid him. He 
 is a young man with a slender figure, taller than the aver- 
 age Japanese, and of about the middle height, according to 
 our ideas. The Empress, at his side, wore the Japanese 
 costume, rich and plain. Her face was very white and her 
 form slender and almost childlike. Her hair was combed 
 plainly and braided with a gold arrow. The Emperor and 
 Empress have agreeable faces, the Emperor es])ecially 
 showing firmness and kindness. The solemn etiquette that 
 pervaded the audience-chamber was peculiar, and might 
 appear strange to those familiar with the stately but cordial 
 manners of a European Court. But one must remember 
 that the Emperor holds so high and so sacred a place in the 
 traditions, the religion, and the political system of Japan, 
 that even the ceremony of to-day is so far in advance of 
 
444 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 anything of the kind ever known in Japan, that it might 
 be called a revolution. The Emperor, for instance, as our 
 group was formed, advanced and shook hands with the 
 General. 
 
 After he had shaken hands with the General, he re- 
 turned to his place, and stood with his hand resting on 
 his sword, looking on at the brilliant, embroidered, gilded 
 company as though unconscious of their presence. Mr. 
 Bingham advanced and bowed, and received just the faint- 
 est nod in recognition. The other members of the party 
 were each presented by the Minister, and each one stand- 
 ing about a dozen feet from the Emperor, stood and bowed . 
 Then the General and Mrs. Grant were presented to the 
 princesses, eacli party bowing to the other in silence. The 
 Emperor then made a signal to one of the noblemen, who 
 advanced. The Emperor spoke to him for a few moments, 
 in a low tone, the nobleman standing with bowed head. 
 
 The morning of the 7th of July was set apart by the 
 Emperor for a review of the troops. The Emperor of 
 Japan is fond of his army, and was more anxious to show 
 it to General Grant than any other institution in the Em- 
 pire. Great preparations had been made to have it in 
 readiness, and all Tokio was out to see the j^ageant. The 
 review of the army by the Emperor in itself is an event 
 that causes a sensation. But the review of the army by 
 the Emperor and the General was an event which had no 
 precedent in Japanese history. The hour for the review 
 was nine, and at half-past eight the clatter of horsemen 
 and the sound of bugles were heard in the palace grounds. 
 In a few moments the Emperor's state carriage drove up, 
 the drivers in scarlet livery and the panels decorated with 
 the imperial flower, the chrysanthemum. General Grant 
 entered, accompanied by Prince Dati, and the cavalry 
 formed a hollow square, and our procession moved on to 
 

 "-' ^ t ' . *..' '^Ht^ ^ '^ / A-,V5^* 
 
 445 
 
446 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the field at a slow pace. A drive of twenty minutes 
 brought us to the parade-ground, a large open plain, the 
 soldiers in line, and behind the soldiers a dense mass of 
 people — men, women, and children. As the General's 
 procession slowly turned into the parade-ground a group 
 of Japanese officers rode up and saluted, the band j)layed 
 "Hail Columbia," and the soldiers presented arms. Two 
 tents had been arranged for the reception of the guests. 
 In the larger of the two we found assembled officers of 
 state, representatives of foreign Powers, Governor Hen- 
 nessy, of Hong Kong, all in bright, glowing uniforms. 
 The smaller tent was for the Emperor. When the Gen- 
 eral dismounted he was met by the Minister of War and 
 escorted into the smaller tent. In a few minutes the trum- 
 pets gave token that the Emperor was coming, and the 
 band played the Japanese national air. His Majesty was 
 in a state carriage, surrounded with horsemen and accom- 
 panied by one of his Cabinet. As the Emperor drove uj) 
 to the tent, General Grant advanced to the carriage-steps 
 and shook hands with him, and they entered and remained 
 a few minutes in conversation. 
 
 At the close of the review General Grant and party 
 drove off" the ground in state, and were taken to the Shila 
 palace. This palace is near the sea, and as the grounds 
 are beautiful and attractive, it was thought best that the 
 breakfast to be given to General Grant by His Majesty 
 should take place here. The Emperor received the Gen- 
 eral and party in a large, plainly furnished room, and led 
 the way to another room where the table was set. The 
 decorations of the table were sumptuous and royal. Gen- 
 eral Grant sat on one side of the Emperor, whose place was 
 in the centre. Opposite was Mrs. Grant, who sat next to 
 Prince Arinagawa, the nearest relative to the Emperor, and 
 the commander-in-chief of the army. 
 
 I 
 
TOUR AROUND THE AVORLD. 447 
 
 The Emperor conversed a great deal with General 
 Grant through Mr. Yoshida, and also Governor Ilennessy. 
 His Majesty expressed a desire to have a private and 
 friendly conference with the General, which it was ar- 
 ranged should take place after the General's return from 
 Nikko. The feast lasted for a couple of hours, and the 
 view from the table was charming. 
 
 At the time appointed the General and the Emperor 
 met for their personal interview. General Grant said he 
 was entirely at the service of the Emperor, and was glad, 
 indeed, to see him and thank His Majesty for all the 
 kindness he had received in Japan. He might say that 
 no one outside of Japan had a higher interest in the 
 country, or a more sincere friendship for its people. An 
 interesting conversation followed, during which General 
 Grant used his good offices with the Japanese Govern- 
 ment on the question of Loochoo. 
 
 The sojourn of the travellers in the East had already 
 extended beyond the time which they had originally set 
 for their return, and they began to cast their eyes ocean- 
 ward and sigh for their native land. It was, therefore, 
 decided that they should return ; but even when that 
 conclusion had been reached, several days were required 
 for preparation. Of these last days and hours in Tokio, 
 Mr. Young writes : Our last days in Japan were crowded 
 with incidents of a personal and public character. I use 
 the word personal to describe events that did not find their 
 way into the newspapers nor belong to public receptions. 
 There w^ere constant visits to the General from members 
 of the Cabinet ; from Mr. Iwakura, especially, who came 
 to talk about public affairs. There were conferences on 
 the Loochoo question, when General Grant used his best 
 ef!brts to bring China and Japan to a good understanding. 
 The effect of these conversations history alone can tell. 
 
448 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 After a further round of regal entertainments the day 
 at length arrived for General Grant to take his formal 
 farewell of the Emperor. An audience of leave-taking 
 under any circumstances is apt to be a solemn ceremony, 
 and the Court of Japan pays due respect to splendor and 
 state. A farewell to the Mikado meant more in the eyes 
 of General Grant than if it had been the ordinary leave- 
 taking of a monarch who had shown him hospitality. He 
 had received attentions from the sovereign and people such 
 as had never been given. He had been honored not alone 
 in his own person, but as the representative of his country. 
 His visit had this political significance, that the Japanese 
 government intended by the honors they paid him to show 
 the value they gave to American friendship and their grat- 
 itude. In many ways the visit of the General had taken 
 a wide range, and what he would say to the Emperor would 
 have great importance, because every word he uttered would 
 be weighed in every Japanese household. General Grant's 
 habit in answering speeches and addresses is to speak at the 
 moment, without previous thought or preparation. On sev- 
 eral occasions, when bodies of people made addresses to him, 
 they sent copies in advance, so that he might read them and 
 prepare a response. But he always declined these courte- 
 sies, saying that he would wait until he heard the address 
 in public, and his best response would be what came to him 
 on the instant. The farewell to the Emperor was so im- 
 portant, however, that the General did what he had not done 
 before during our journey — he wrote out in advance the 
 speech he proposed making to His Majesty. I mention this 
 circumstance simply because the incident is an exceptional 
 one, and because it showed General Grant's anxiety to say 
 to the Emperor and the people of Japan what would be 
 most becoming in return for their kindness, and what would 
 best conduce to good relations between the two nations. 
 
TOUR AEOUND THE WORLD. 449 
 
 The warmest words could only give faint expression to 
 the feelings with which we took leave of many of those who 
 had come to the steamer to pay us parting courtesy. These 
 gentlemen were not alone princes — rulers of an Empire, 
 noblemen of rank and lineage, Ministers of a sovereign 
 whose guests we had been — but friends. And in saying 
 farewell to them we said farewell to so many and so much, 
 to a country where every hour of our stay had a special value, 
 to a civilization which had profoundly impressed us and 
 which awakened new ideas of what Japan had been, of her 
 Teal place in the world and of what her place might be, if 
 stronger nations shared her generosity or justice. We had 
 been strangely won by Japan, and our last view of it was 
 a scene of beauty. Yokohama nestled on her shore, against 
 which the waters of the sea were idly rolling. Her hills 
 were dowered with foliage, and here and there were houses 
 and groves and flagstaffs, sentinels of the outside world 
 which had made this city their encampment. In the far 
 distance, breaking through the clouds, so faint at first that 
 you had to look closely to make sure that you were not 
 deceived by the mists, Fusiyama towered into the blue and 
 bending skies. Around us w^ere men-of-war shimmering 
 in the sunshine, so it seemed, with their multitudinous flags. 
 There was the hurry, the nervous bustle and excitement, 
 the glow of energy and reeling which always mark the last 
 moments of a steamer about to sail. Our naval friends 
 went back to their ships. Our Yokohama friends went off 
 in their tugs, and the last we saw of General Van Buren 
 was a distant and vanishing figure in a state of pantomime, 
 as though he were delivering a Fourth of July oration. I 
 presume he was cheering. Then our Japanese friends took 
 leave, and went on board their steam-launch to accompany 
 us a part of our journey. The Japanese man-of-war has 
 her anchor up, slowly steaming, ready to carry us out to 
 
450 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 sea. The last line that binds us to our anchorage is thrown 
 off, and the huge steamer moves slowly through the ship- 
 ping. We 2^ass the Kichmond near enough to recognize 
 our friends on the quarter-deck — the Admiral and his 
 officers. You hear a shrill word of command, and seamen 
 go scampering up the rigging to man the yards. The guns 
 roll out a salute. Vie pass the Ashuelot, and her guns take 
 up the iron chorus. We pass the Monongahela, so close 
 almost that we could converse with Captain Fitzhugh and 
 the gentlemen who are waving us/ farewell. Her guns 
 thunder good-by, and over the bay the smoke floats in waves 
 — floats on toward Fusiyama. We hear the cheers from 
 the Ranger. Very soon all that we see of our vessels are 
 faint and distant phantoms, and all tliat we see of Yoko- 
 hama is a line of gray and green. We are fast speeding 
 on toward California. For an hour or so, the Japanese 
 man-of-war, the same which met us at Nagasaki and came 
 with us through the Inland Sea, keeps us company. The 
 Japanese Cabinet are on board. We see the smoke break 
 from her ports, and we hurry to the Stide of our vessel to 
 wave farewell — farewell to so many friends, so many 
 friends kind and true. This is farewell at last, our final 
 token of good-will, from Japan. The man-of-war fires 
 twenty-one guns. The Japanese sailors swarm on the rig- 
 ging and give hearty cheers. Our steamer answers by 
 blowing her steam-whistle. The man-of-war turns slowly 
 around and steams back to Yokohama. Very soon she 
 also becomes a phantom, vanishing over the horizon. 
 Then, gathering herself like one who knows of a long and 
 stern task to do, our steamer breasts the sea with an earnest 
 will — for California and for home. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 OENERAL GRANT AND HIS PARTY EN ROUTE FOR SAN FRAN- 
 CISCO PREPARATIONS FOR GRANT's RECEPTION THE 
 
 FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE STEAMER — THE ENTRANCE OF THE 
 
 " CITY OF TOKIO " THE LANDING A GRAND PROCESSION 
 
 A MAGNIFICENT SCENE AT THE PALACE HOTEL — A GRAND 
 
 CHORUS^A CLAMORING PEOPLE GENERAL GRANT SPEAKS 
 
 RECEPTION AT TUBB's HOTEL. 
 
 The voyage across the Pacific was a pleasant one. 
 General Grant passed the greater part of the time in 
 reading, occasionally joining briefly in social conversation 
 with his fellow-passengers. As the end of the journey 
 drew near, all eyes were strained to catch a glimpse of the 
 land so dear to them — their own, their native land. 
 
 Meanwhile, extensive preparations were being made in 
 San Francisco for the reception of the distinguished trav- 
 eller. Although the City of Tokio was not due until the 
 21st, the people began to look for its arrival as early as 
 the 18th. The whole city was on the qui vive. A lookout 
 was established to announce the first appearance of the in- 
 coming steamer. At about mid-day, Saturday, September 
 20th, ihe steamer was sighted ofi' " the Heads." The ftict 
 was at once telegraphed to the city. 
 
 The first tap of the bell and the hoisting of the flag on 
 the Merchants' Exchange, announcing the approach of the 
 steamer City of Tokio, startled the city from the spell of 
 suspense that had prevailed for three days, and transformed 
 idle throngs that were lounging about the streets into ex- 
 
 (451) 
 
452 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 cited and hurrying crowds. Bells began to ring, steam-l 
 whistles to scream, and the thunder of cannon to reverber- ■ 
 ate over the hills and harbor. Thousands of men, women, 
 and children, on foot, in carriages and on horseback, began 
 to pour out in the dii action of Presidio Heights, Point 
 Lobos, Telegraph Hill, and every other eminence in the 
 vicinity, eager to catch the first glance of the incoming 
 ship bearing the guest for whose reception so great prepa- 
 rations had been made and whose arrival had been so anx- 
 iously anticipated. Crowds hurried towards the wharves 
 where the steamers and yachts that were to take part in 
 the nautical pageant were lying. 
 
 Immediately on receipt of xhe intelligence that the 
 steamer was nearing port, the Reception Committee re- 
 paired to the tug Millen Griffith, lying, with steam up, 
 at the Pacific mail-dock, and at once started to meet the 
 incoming steamer. The Millen Griffith stood well out to 
 sea, and several miles outside the Heads met the City of 
 Tokio coming in. The tug drew alongside, and the first 
 one who went on board the steamer was Ulysses S. Grants 
 Jr., who affectionately received his j)arents, and soon after 
 the staid and handsome son, with his arm around his 
 mother, was pointing out to her the principal features of 
 the landscape. 
 
 The General and his suite were on the bridge of the 
 steamer, and the committee, hurrying on board, were con- 
 ducted immediately to him. About the same time, the 
 government steamer McPherson, with General McDowell 
 and staff, ranged alongside, and the party came on board. 
 No formalities were indulged in ; but crowding around 
 General Grant, the committee and the General and officers 
 were greeted with hearty shakes of the hand, the band on 
 Dne of the steamers playing " Home Again." General 
 Grant was then welcomed to the Pacific coast. 
 
454 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 While this was transpiring, the General Committee of 
 Arrmigements, with several thousand invited guests, as- 
 sembled on board the large, sidewheel Pacific maii-steamer 
 China and a number of smaller steamers, while tugs took 
 squadrons of the San Francisco and Pacific j^acht clubs 
 in tow and started down the channel. 
 
 In the meantime, it seemed as though the whole j^opu- 
 lation of the city — men, women, and children — had sought 
 positions from which a view of the naval pageant could be 
 obtained. Every eminence commanding the channel was 
 black with assembled thousands. Telegraph Hill was a 
 living mass of human bodies, and the heights beyond 
 Presidio, the Clay Street Hill, the sea wall at North Point, 
 and every pier-head were covered with spectators. 
 
 The sun was declining in the wTst as the steamers and 
 yachts, gay with bunting, moved down the channel. Low 
 clouds hung along the western horizon. Mount Tamau- 
 lipas and the distant mountains north of the Bay were 
 veiled in a mist, and Mission Hill and the seaward heiohts 
 of the Peninsula were shrouded in a fog, but the channel 
 was unobstructed, and the bold outlines of the Golden 
 Gate rose sharjjly against the sky, while the Bay itself, with 
 the islands and shores of Alameda and Contra Costa, were 
 bathed in sunlight. From every flagstaff in the city flags 
 were flying, and the shipping along the city front was 
 brilliantly decked with ensigns, festooned flags and stream- 
 ers. The impatient crowds that covered the hilltops stood 
 straining their eyes to catch the first glimpse of the Tokio. 
 A hundred times the cry was raised, "There she comes!" 
 as chance arrivals came in view between the Heads. 
 
 It was half-past five o'clock when a puff of white smoke 
 from seaward, from off the earthworks back of and above 
 Fort Point, and the booming of a heavy gun announced 
 that the steamer was near at hand. Another and another 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 45o 
 
 followed in rapid succession. Fort Point next joined in 
 the cannonade, firing with both casemate and barbette guns, 
 and the battery at Lime Point added its thunders to the 
 voice of welcome. In a few moments the entrance to the 
 harbor was veiled in wreaths of smoke, and as the batteries 
 of Angel Island, Black Point and Alcatraz opened fire in 
 succession, the whole channel was soon shrouded in clouds 
 from their raj^id discharges. For some time the position 
 of the approaching ship could not be discovered, but 
 shortly before six o'clock the outlines of the huge hull of 
 the City of Tokio loomed through the obscurity of smoke 
 and ra|:)idly ai^proaching shades of evening lit up by the 
 flashes of guns, and in a few moments she glided into full 
 view, surrounded by a fleet of steamers and tugs, gay with 
 flags and crowded with guests, while the yacht squadron 
 brought up the rear, festooned from deck to truck with 
 brilliant bunting. Cheer after cheer burst from the assem- 
 bled thousands as the vessels slowly rounded Telegrajih 
 Hill, and were taken up by the crowds on the wharves and 
 rolled around the city front, hats and handkerchiefs being 
 waved in the air. The United States steamer Monterey, 
 lying in the stream, added the roar of her guns to the 
 general welcome, and the screaming of hundreds of steam- 
 whistles announced that the City of Tokio had reached her 
 anchorage. 
 
 The landing was made at the foot of Market street, 
 where the most cordial greetings were extended officially 
 and by the popular voice, and then began the march of 
 triumph to the Palace Hotel on Montgomery street. 
 Night had come on, but fireworks and artificial illumina- 
 tions made the scene brilliant as noondciy. Under arches 
 and amid flags, festoons, music, huzzas, waving of hats and 
 handkerchiefs, and the hearty cheering of the multitude, 
 the destination was finally reached. 
 
 29 
 
456 LIFE or GENERAL GllANT. 
 
 The scene within the immense court of the Palace Ho- 
 tel wa^ of surpassing beauty. Electric lights of 500 gas- 
 jets lit up the vast interior with a brilliant glow, and the 
 dense throngs that packed the court and filled the spacious 
 balconies and corridors surged to and fro in anxious ex- 
 pectancy of the coming guest, whom the packed streets had 
 detained. 
 
 At ten o'clock the wide doors were thrown open, and a 
 barouche containing General Grant was driven within the 
 building. He immediately dismounted, and, crowding his. 
 way through the packed mass of human beings, was hur- 
 ried to his room. As he alighted, Mme Fabbri and a 
 chorus of 500 voices opened from one of the balconies 
 with an ode of welcome. 
 
 The crowd rushed after General Grant when he dis- 
 mounted, leaving the singers for a moment almost without 
 an audience, but being stopped in their mad course by a 
 force of police who blocked the way, they returned to the 
 court, being reassured by the announcement that the Gen- 
 eral would appear oh one of the balconies after he had time 
 to take off his overcoat. 
 
 After a chorus was rendered, General Grant, in response 
 to repeated calls, appeared on the balcony of the fourth 
 floor, and bowed to the shouting crowd, immediately retir- 
 ing. Still, the enthusiastic jjopulace thronged the court, 
 and refused to leave. Finally, Mayor Bryant appeared, 
 and announced that as soon as the General had finished 
 his dinner he would show himself In a few minutes Gen- 
 eral Grant appeared amid deafening and long-continued 
 shouts. Mayor Bryant called the crowd to order, and the 
 General, mounting a chair which was passed over the heads 
 of the surrounding crowd, was again greeted with a succes- 
 sion of cheers. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE AVORLD. 467 
 
 When the noise subsided, he addressed them as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 Fellow-Citizens of San Francisco. — After twenty-five 
 years' absence, I am glad to meet you, and assure you of my cor- 
 dial thanks for the kind greeting you have given me. I shall 
 stay in your city long enough to greet you more i'ully. 
 
 The General then withdrew amid prolonged and tre- 
 mendous cheering, and the crowd at length reluetantlv 
 scattered. 
 
 During his stay in San Francisco the General was feted 
 and honored by citizens of all nationalities and classes. 
 The veterans paraded, and receptions of various kinds, at 
 Mayor's office and other places, were held. The Chinese 
 consulate and residents also called and paid the General 
 their respects. Oakland, across the bay from San Fran- 
 cisco, also gave the General a welcome, 5,000 school- 
 children participating with the military and civic bodies. 
 Mrs. Grant received the ladies at Tubb's Hotel, where the 
 General finally dined, so closing this eventful day in Oak- 
 land. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 GENERAL GRANT'S PARTY VISIT YOSEMITE VALLEY OREGON 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO FAREWELL BANQUET NEVADA THE 
 
 CONSOLIDATED VIRGINIA MINE SOUVENIRS SUTRO 
 
 TUNNEL BURLINGTON, IOWA GALENA CHICAGO 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS LOUISVILLE CINCINNATI COLUMBUS 
 
 PITTSBURGH HARRISBURG PHILADELPHIA WELCOME 
 
 HOME CHILDS' RECEPTION MANY OTHER HONORS. 
 
 On the 1st of November, General Grant, accompan- 
 ied by Mrs. Grant, U. S. Grant, Jr., J. W. Dent, General 
 John F. Miller, wife and daughter. Miss Flora Sharon, and 
 Miss Jennie Flood, started for Yosemite Valley, to view 
 its beautiful scenery. A special drawing-room car was 
 placed at their disposal, and after a pleasant ride they ar- 
 rived at the great National Park, in which the valley is 
 located. Several days were spent in examining its rare 
 beauty. 
 
 Yosemite Valley is one hundred and eighty-two miles 
 east of San Francisco, and is, indeed, one of the most jdIc- 
 turesque spots in the world. It is about seven miles long, 
 and averaging, perhaps, one mile wide, and sunk from 
 three-quarters to one mile below the surrounding country. 
 It is irregular in its outlines, taking the direction of the 
 five branches of the Merced Kiver, which put into it. The 
 number of mountains whose vertical fronts wall this valley 
 on nearly every side, and reach to heights varying from 
 1800 to 6034 feet, are seventeen. Mount Starr King is 
 5600 feet, or 320 feet more than one mile high. Cloud's 
 Hest is 6034 feet, or 754 feet more than one mile high, 
 
 (458) 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 459 
 
 Beyond this is seen the top of South Dome. This is oik; 
 of the grandest mountains in the valley, when viewed from 
 a proper point. Looking upon it from the south, its top 
 appears a complete dome, and, polished by the Almighty 
 hand, it stands defiantly glistening and glimmering against 
 the sky. Between North and South Domes lies ]\Iirror 
 Lake ; and, untouched by the fierce storms, it refiects the 
 mountains standing around, which look more beautiful in 
 their inverted appearance. Beyond and in the distance are 
 seen mountains rolling higher and still higher, furnishing 
 one of the most sublime prospectives ever produced. While 
 still further away in the far distance are seen the highest 
 summits of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, whose sacred 
 tops are ever robed in white. 
 
 Over these rugged heights streams of water fall, making 
 some of the grandest cataracts in the world ; of these. Sen- 
 tinel Falls falls the greatest distance, plunging downward 
 from a height of 2634 feet. The Upper Yosemite Falls 
 is an unbroken sheet of more than a quarter of a. mile in 
 height. Boaring and rustling in its downward fiiglit, it 
 shoots its watery rockets to the basin below, while the sun 
 points its bright lights on the rolling, fleecy spray. Twice 
 more the waters leap before reaching the valley. The 
 second fall is 600 feet ; the third fall is 434 feet. Nevada 
 Fall is terrible. For 700 feet it leaps from point to point, 
 roaring, and breaking, and bursting, as if sent from the in- 
 fernal regions. Its breaking, crackling, and pealing sound 
 is like Niagara. The spray rolls out into the valley, so 
 dense, at times, as to hide from view the fall itself Tn 
 this spray you stand shut out from the entire world, hear- 
 ing only the water's wild and terrible roar, while the sun 
 surrounds you in a halo of its own glory. 
 
 Here, amidst Nature's most beautiful handiwork, tlu> 
 travellers sought rest. But even here they were greeted by 
 
460 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 " Hail to the Chief," from a brass band which had found 
 its way thither. Leaving the valley, they visited the other 
 points of interest in the Park, and, after having seen the 
 " big trees," they started for Oregon. At Portland every- 
 body turned out to see the distinguished visitor, and a feat- 
 ure of his reception was a ball by the Grand Army. A 
 visit was paid to Salem, which tendered him an enthusi- 
 astic reception. They then returned to San Francisco. 
 
 The General was warmly welcomed "back to the city. 
 He had met with kind words everywhere. In San Fran- 
 cisco his receptions had not been confined to one political 
 party or social class. In the evening of the same day he 
 was given a farewell banquet at the Palace Hotel. It Avas 
 an occasion to be remembered. The company consisted 
 of about 250 of the most prominent gentlemen of the city. 
 The decorations of the banqueting-hall were of the most 
 elaborate description. The tables presented an elegant 
 appearance, and the menu was engraved on solid silver, 
 intended to serve the guests as souvenirs of the occa- 
 sion, while that prepared for General Grant was of mas- 
 sive gold. At midnight the General, his wife, and son 
 Ulysses started for the silver-mines of Nevada. At noon 
 of the 26th they arrived at Truckee Station, and, leaving 
 the cars, drove in an old-style, long-spiing, brace wagon, 
 six in hand, to see the beauties of Nature by the dark 
 waters of Lake Tahoe, one of the most beautiful j^laces on 
 the Pacific coast, or, indeed, anywhere in the United States. 
 They had a sail on the lake, and drove into Carson in the 
 evening b}^ the light of bonfires. The next day the party 
 went to Virginia City. The General was greatly moved 
 by the demonstration with which he was confronted six 
 thousand feet above the level of the sea. Messrs. Sharon, 
 Jones, and Fair met the General, and the reception was an 
 imposing one. 
 
462 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 On the following Wednesday, General Grant, accom- 
 panied by Governor Kinkead, of Nevada, Colonel James 
 G. Fair, U. S. Grant, Jr., Philip Deidesheimer, and some 
 dozen invited guests, visited Sutro Tunnel, and safely re- 
 turned to Virginia City via the Savage mine. 
 
 The General then bade adieu to Virginia City, and a 
 special train bore him eastward. As the train stopped at 
 Reno and Winnemucca, Nevada, he was loudly cheered, 
 the train being surrounded in each instance by a large 
 crowd. The next point reached was Ogden, Utah, where 
 he was warmly welcomed. From there he went to Chey- 
 enne, where a reception was given him by the Grand 
 Army ; and on the next day they reached Omaha, Ne- 
 braska. This was on Saturday, November 1st, and he re- 
 mained here until the following ]\Ionday, when a special 
 train bore him to Burlington, Iowa. Upon his arrival, an 
 immense crowd thronged the streets, and the city presented 
 a gay, holiday appearance, nearly every building being pro- 
 fusely decorated with national emblems and with flowers. 
 The princij)al streets were liberally arched, the arches hav- 
 ing appropriate pictures and mottoes. The Fire Depart- 
 ment paraded the streets all the morning, while a carriage 
 drawn by four white horses, containing General Grant, 
 Governor Gear, and Mayor Adams, was driven about the 
 city, escorted by the Grand Army Corps, and followed by 
 other carriages. The enthusiasm was general. At noon 
 a reception for the members of the j)ress was held at the 
 Hawkeye office, and a copy of the morning's Hawkeye, 
 printed on white silk, was presented to the General. Lunch 
 was served at the Mayor's house, and at half-past one 
 o'clock there was a general reception at the hotel, where 
 there was a dense crowd eager to shake hands with the 
 guest. Mrs. Grant also had a reception at the Mayor's 
 house. 
 
 I 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 468 
 
 From Burlington General Grant moved on Galena. 
 As the train came in numerous salutes were fired, and the 
 vicinity of the station was literally })acked with enthusiastic 
 and delighted people. Militia from Galena and neighhor- 
 ing towns was in line at the depot, and the band played 
 "Auld Lang Syne " as General Grant descended from the 
 carriage, with the Mayor of Galena, Governor Cullom^ 
 Mrs. Grant and the rest of the party following. The pro- 
 cession formed in the following order : 
 
 Police. 
 
 Galena, Freeport, and Dubuque Militia. 
 
 Old Soldiers of Galena. 
 
 Dubuque Veteran Corps. 
 
 General Grant and party in carriages, and distinguished 
 
 citizens of Galena. 
 
 Every building was decorated, and elaborate arches 
 were erected in several streets. The procession made a 
 circuit of the town. The school children sang "America " 
 in front of General Grant's family church. Finally, the 
 procession stopped at a platform, wliere a formal greeting 
 was extended by State Senator McClellan, in answer to 
 which the ex-President said : 
 
 Citizens of Galena. — It is with some embarrassment 
 that I reply that your welcome is exceedingly gratifying to me ; 
 but it is difficult for me to reply to what I have just heard, to 
 what I have seen. Siuce I first left here, eighteen years ago, it 
 has always been the greatest pleasure for me to return to Galena ; 
 and now, after an absence of two and a half years from your 
 city, during which time I have visited almost every country in 
 the world, it is a pleasure to be greeted in this manner hy you. 
 During my travels I received princely honors, but they were all 
 due to" this country, and to you as citizens and as sovereigns of 
 so great a country. When I saw during my absence, especially 
 in the far East, how hard the inhabitants had to toil, even for a 
 maintenance, I realized more than ever the greatness of our 
 
464 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 country, where want is scarcely ever known and where the ques- 
 tion of sustenance is not daily considered. I will only add that 
 I thank you again for your reception. 
 
 It was fully five minutes before the cheers, which 
 greeted the General's speech, had subsided. The crowd 
 then called in turn for Cullom, Gear, Smith, Logan, Alli- 
 son, and Washburne, who each made a speech eulogizing 
 General Grant. The General then held a reception at the 
 De Soto House. 
 
 There was a perfect jam in the afternoon at the recep- 
 tion, which lasted until about six o'clock. In the evening 
 the town presented a brilliant and beautiful spectacle. The 
 main streets and buildings were bright with the illumina- 
 tion, and the houses on the surrounding hills with the light 
 streaming from their windows, while the rockets and Eto- 
 nian candles, which were continually being set off from 
 them, added greatly to the brilliancy of the scene. The 
 church- and fire-bells rang, and the streets were crowded 
 with people eagerly discussing the General's return and 
 reception, the like of whicli Galena will scarcely see again. 
 
 General Grant and his family dined quietly at their 
 residence, which they found nicely fitted up for their re- 
 ception. From half-jjast eight until ten o'clock there was 
 a continuous stream of people on foot and in carriages, all 
 intent upon paying their respects to the General and Mrs. 
 Grant, who received them in a most hospitable manner. 
 
 • But General Grant was not allowed to remain long at 
 his house. Yielding to a pressing invitation, he visited 
 Chicago on the 12th of November. The morning, which 
 had long been looked for as the inauguration-day of un- 
 usual festivities attending the annual meeting of the Army 
 of the Tennessee, opened with a dull sky, and up to eight 
 o'clock the rain fell in brisk showers. Toward nine o'clock, 
 however, the sky became brighter and the sun came out at 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 465 
 
 times, making the prospect more favorable for the proces- 
 sion and for decorating. At ten o'clock the Army of the 
 Tennessee began its annual meeting at the headquarters in 
 the Palmer House. General W. T. Sherman presided. 
 General William E. Strong informed the 450 members 
 present that they were to act as a guard of honor to Gen- 
 eral Grant, and to follow him when he left the line of the 
 procession. Owing to the short time left for arrangements, 
 the business meeting was adjourned until four o'clock, and 
 the rest of the session was taken up in arranging the de- 
 tails of the procession. The principal feature of the day 
 was the reception of General Grant by the citizens of 
 Chicago and the Army of the Tennessee. 
 
 The train from Galena, containing General Grant, ar- 
 rived at Park Row, on the south side, promptly at one 
 o'clock. At this time the rain was falling heavily, but in 
 a few minutes the clouds lifted and the sun shone brightly. 
 General Grant alighted with his party from the special car 
 of President Ackerman, of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 and took a seat in the carriage provided for him. The 
 procession at once formed, and moved from Park Row 
 north through Michigan Avenue and other streets. 
 
 The reception given by the Society of the Army of the 
 Tennessee to General Grant took place in the evening, at 
 Haverly's Theatre. The auditorium was beautifully deco- 
 rated with flags, festoons of flowers, and wreaths. On 
 either side of the stage was the inscription in evergreens, 
 " Welcome to the Society of the Army of the Tennessee," 
 and above the centre of the stage was " Welcome, Com- 
 mander." There was also upon the stage a representation 
 of the battle-ground back of Vicksburg, in charge of boys 
 in blue, who guarded the approaches, doing regular sentry 
 duty. The ground was strewn with munitions of war, 
 fascines, etc. There were also arranged on each side of 
 
466 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 tlie stage and facing the audience life-size portraits of 
 President Lincoln and General Thomas. High above all, 
 on large banners, were inscribed the names of the battle- 
 fields with which the Army of the Tennessee are so well 
 acquainted. Loesche's military band sujDplied the music. 
 The immense building was crowded with an audience 
 which, upon the arrival of General Grant and staff, broke 
 into hearty applause. Upon the stage were seated many of 
 his prominent officers, including Generals Sherman and 
 Sheridan. Governor Cullom, Mayor Harrison, and other 
 dignitaries, were also present. Rev. Dr. Thomas opened 
 the exercises with prayer. 
 
 On Dec. 9th, General Grant and wife left Chicago by a 
 special train for Indianapolis and their subsequent journey 
 east. They were accomjianied, in an elegant private car, by 
 Assistant Postmaster-General Tyner and wife, Kev. and 
 Mrs. W. Alvin Bartlett, Colonel and Mrs. W. R. Hollo- 
 way, and Colonel and Mrs. J. Hill. 
 
 At Logansport, a committee from Indianapolis, con- 
 sisting of Governor Williams, Mayor Caven, General John 
 C. New, General C. O. Woods, General J. P. Slack, and 
 others, met General Grant and party, and escorted them to 
 the latter city, where they arrived at half-j^ast two. The 
 procession, which had been formed ^^revious to the arrival 
 of the train, at once moved forward, under command of 
 General Daniel McAuley. The streets along which they 
 passed were profusely decorated, and immense crowds 
 greeted General Grant at every point. Arriving at the 
 Grand Hotel, the party j^roceeded to the balcony, where 
 General Grant was formally welcomed by General Fred. 
 Krefler. In replying, the General said that the honors 
 which he had received abroad had been paid to his coun- 
 try rather than to him. 
 
 After the reception, the party were driven to the resi- 
 
TOUR AROUXD THE WORLD. 4)j7 
 
 dence of General John C. New, where General Grant 
 dined with a few intimate friends. At quarter to eight, 
 p. M., the General received the soldiers and citizens at the 
 Court-House. This recej)tion continued until ten o'clock, 
 after which the General attended a concert given by the 
 Choral Union at the Robert's Park Church. General 
 Grant then returned to General New's residence for the 
 night. On the following day the party left by special 
 train for Louisville, where he was escorted by an enthusi- 
 astic procession to the Court-House, where he was officially 
 "welcomed by both Mayor and Governor. 
 
 General Grant and his party left Louisville in a spe- 
 cial train at twenty-three minutes after nine o'clock, a. m., 
 -on the following day; and at thirty-five minutes past 
 twelve, p. M., the booming of cannon, shrieking of whistles, 
 clanging of bells, and ringing cheers, announced that they 
 had reached Gncinnati. The special train ran into the 
 heart of the city to the public landing, where General 
 Grant alighted in front of a grand triumphal arch and 
 gateway bearing the words, " The gates of our city open to 
 General U. S. Grant." Here Mr. Benjamin Eggleston 
 received the party, and in a speech, as representative of all 
 classes of citizens, welcomed him to Cincinnati. 
 
 General Grant briefly responded, after which he took 
 his place in the procession, moved on to Music Hall, where 
 the General was heartily welcomed by the Mayor. Gen- 
 eral Grant's response was received with loud cheers. Then 
 followed a concert by the Thomas Orchestra. After about 
 half an hour devoted to handshaking. General Grant re- 
 tired, and was driven to the Gibson House for dinner. 
 Later, he joined Mrs. Grant at the reception given by :\lr. 
 and Mrs. Washington McLean in his honor. Mr. McLean's 
 residence was elegantly decorated. Five hundred invita- 
 tions to the elite of the city had been issued. 
 
468 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 On the following day General Grant and his party 
 visited Columbus, where they were warmly received. At 
 the Capitol Governor Bishop delivered an address of wel- 
 come on behalf of the State, greeting him as a native of 
 Ohio, in whom the citizens of the State were proud to 
 recognize a native " Buckeye." General Grant's reply was 
 very brief, simply acknowledging the welcome. He then 
 shook hands with the citizens and school-children. 
 
 General Grant and part}^ left Columbus at one o'clock 
 on the morning of the 1 3th, and arrived at Pittsburgh 
 shortly after nine o'clock. A committee from the State 
 Legislature and a citizens' committee met the train at 
 Mansfield, and welcomed the General to the State. To 
 avoid the crowd at the Union depot, the train was stopped 
 at Fourth avenue and Try street, where carriages were 
 waiting, and the party were quietly conducted to the 
 Monongahela House. 
 
 The Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce, 
 representing the business interests of the city, called on 
 General Grant at half-past ten o'clock, and Major Wil- 
 liam Frew, on behalf of the Board, made an address of 
 welcome, in which he referred to the various manufactur- 
 ing interests of the city and of the benefits of resumption, 
 to which General Grant responded appropriately, after 
 which came the procession and welcome. 
 
 At twelve o'clock the procession moved, the column 
 being composed of the city police; Eighteenth, Nineteenth, 
 Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Thirteenth regiments National 
 Guard ; Grand Army of the Republic ; General Grant in 
 a carriage with Mayor Liddell and Judge Agnew ; legis- 
 lative committee, in carriages; fire departments of the 
 two cities, etc. Upon arriving at Library Hall, the formal 
 address of welcome was delivered by Hon. Daniel Agnew, 
 ex-Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 469 
 
 Shortly after six o'clock the principals of the Pitts- 
 burgh schools called upon him in a body, and Professor 
 George P. Fulton delivered an address, to which the Gen- 
 eral responded in approjoriate terms. Shortly after the 
 Central Grant Club also called in a body to pay their re- 
 spects. Major Gus Braun acting as spokesman. In his 
 reply, General Grant declared that he had never voted or 
 publicly supported the man whom they favored for Presi- 
 dent. Different other organizations called, occupying time 
 VLp till shortly before nine, when the General and two hun- 
 dred citizens sat down to a banquet at the Monongahela 
 House. 
 
 The banquet was one of the most brilliant and success- 
 ful social events in the history of the city. There were 
 two hundred guests present. The banquet closed five min- 
 utes before twelve, with three cheers for Grant. One 
 peculiar feature was the fact that the Women's Christian 
 Temperance Union, in solemn conclave, ado23ted a resolu- 
 tion calling upon the managers of the banquet to discard 
 I all wine at the banquet. The management at first seriously 
 entertained the request, but subsequently decided on wine, 
 and five brands were poured into glasses. General Grant 
 refused to taste either brand. 
 
 The next day being Sunday, the General passed the 
 day very quietly. He attended Christ's Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church in the morning, accompanied by General 
 Kane, an old friend, and colonel of the Pennsylvania 
 Bucktail regiment during the war. During the remainder 
 of the day General Grant remained in the hotel. 
 
 On Monday morning, the General and his party set 
 out for Harrisburg, where they arrived at half-past one, 
 p. M. They were welcomed to the city in a speech by 
 Mayor Patterson. Immediately after alighting from the 
 cars the distinguished visitors entered carriages, and were 
 
I 
 
 470 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 escorted to the Governor's residence by a procession, com- 
 posed of military, posts of tlie Grand Army of the Repub- 
 lic, civic societies, and citizens. The line of march was 
 handsomely decorated. Upon arriving at the Executive 
 Mansion, Governor Hoyt welcomed General Grant in a 
 speech of considerable length, to which the General re- 
 plied as follows : 
 
 Governor. — I thank you for your cordial welcome, and 
 through you also thank the Mayor and the people of Harrisburg 
 and of Pennsylvania for the reception given me to-day at the 
 capital of your State. Since I left Philadelphia for my journey 
 abroad, and since I landed at San Francisco to travel across the 
 continent of North America, I have received no more cordial 
 welcome than that given me by the people of Harrisburg. My 
 reception abroad was full of honor, Avhich I attributed to the 
 reputation of my country and the grandeur of its institutions, 
 not to any deservings of my own. I again thank you, Governor, 
 for your cordial greeting. 
 
 The i^rocession was then reviewed by the General, after 
 which a reception for ladies and gentlemen, which lasted 
 several hours, was held in the Executive Mansion. 
 
 In the afternoon, the committee of the City Councils 
 of Philadelphia arrived, and after holding a meeting at the 
 Lochiel House, they proceeded to the Executive Mansion, 
 where they were cordially received by General and Mrs. 
 Grant. Governor and Mrs. Hoyt and ladies of the Gov- 
 ernor's family were also present. The parlors of the man- 
 sion were decorated and festooned with flowers and ferns 
 and laurels. George S. Graham, on behalf of the city 
 of Philadelphia, read an address of welcome, with a for- 
 mal invitation to the General to visit Philadelphia to-mor- 
 row, and so complete his circuit of the world. To this 
 General Grant replied, accepting the invitation. 
 
TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 471 
 
 Pursuant to arrangement the party was escorted to the 
 depot, where they took up their quarters in a sleeping-car, 
 preparatory to leaving for Philadelphia at six o'clock A. m. 
 The train which bore General Grant and his party to 
 Philadelphia was made up of five Pullman coaches. In 
 the first car were the members of Governor Hoyt's staff*. 
 The second car was devoted to the newspaper correspond- 
 ents, the third to the City Council, the fourth was the 
 coach in which the General had crossed the continent, and 
 the last was occupied by General Grant's party. In the 
 latter were comprised Senator J. Donald Cameron and Mrs. 
 Cameron, General A. T. Goshorn, Governor Hoyt, and W. 
 M. Smith, a relative of Mrs. Grant. Lancaster was passed 
 at ten minutes past seven. It was bright daylight — a 
 clear, cold, raw morning. The train did not stop, although 
 a large crowd had assembled in the hope of seeing the 
 General at the car window. The party breakfasted on the 
 train. At Mantua the rear palace car, containing Mrs. 
 Grant and her lady companions, was detached and taken 
 at once to the West Philadelphia Depot, where the ladies 
 were received by Mr. and Mrs. George W. Childs, and 
 conducted to carriages in waiting. The party drove direct 
 to the Continental Hotel. The remaining four cars were 
 taken by way of the New York junction to the intersection 
 of Broad and Somerset Streets. 
 
 The point at which Mayor Stokley was waiting to re- 
 ceive General Grant was reached at twenty minutes past 
 nine. General Grant and his friends had moved into the 
 fourth car when the fifth was taken into West Philadel- 
 phia, and in this car he received the Mayor. j\Ir. Stokley 
 was accompanied by Presidents Caven and Smith, of the 
 Common and Select Councils ; Colonel Charles T. Jones, 
 and a few other city officials. Upon entering the car, 
 Mayor Stokley cordially greeted his guest. 
 
 30 
 
472 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Then followed the procession of welcome, which for ex- 
 tent and enthusiasm equalled any greeting ever given the 
 great hero. 
 
 Much might be written about this triumphal journey, 
 whose itinerary led down Broad to the new public build- 
 ings, thence around into Market, jjassing under an arch 
 bearing the legend, " All honor to the hero of the Nine- 
 teenth Century ; " down Market to Fourth, through which 
 the column passed to Chestnut. The old Indej^endence 
 Hall was decorated and festooned from the pavement to 
 the roof, and in front was the grand triumphal arch span- 
 ning Chestnut Street, decorated with exquisite taste, and 
 showing the motto, "Philadelphia's Welcome to the Pa- 
 triot and Soldier." Turning westward, the grand ovation 
 
 IVIEDAL STRUCK IN THE PARADE. 
 
 of the day was received during the progress of the j^roces- 
 sion up this fashionable thoroughfare. First, the city's 
 arch, a glittering bower of flowers and flags, was passed ; 
 then the magnificent archway, stretching from house to 
 house, and far outshining the former in beauty and massive- 
 ness, built by Mr. Wanamaker. Upon this archway were 
 500 ladies. Far as the perspective effect permitted the 
 eye to see, up the street was a fluttering forest of flags and 
 streamers. The route led down through Thirteenth Street 
 for a few squares, so that the column could be brought to 
 pass before the Union League Club's building, on the cor- 
 ner of Broad and Sansorn Streets. Opposite that point 
 a reviewing stand was erected for the General's occupancy. 
 
474 LIFE OF GE:\EUAL (UlANT. 
 
 In the evening the city was brilliantly illuminated, and 
 Independence Hall, by the aid of calcium lights, shone 
 forth with a splendor never before witnessed. Private 
 dwellings were lighted from the first stories to the roofs, 
 and the hotels were illuminated by calcium lights. A din- 
 ner and reception to General and Mrs. Grant were held at 
 the house of Mr. George W. Childs. 
 
 The following persons sat down to the dinner : General 
 and Mrs. U. S. Grant, Mr. Hamilton Fish, Miss Stanley, 
 Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Drexel, Mr. and Mrs. J. AV. Paul, 
 Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Borie, General and Mrs. Sheridan, Mr. 
 and Mrs. George Augustus Sala, Hon. and Mrs. J. Donald 
 Cameron, Dr. and Mrs. J. M. DaCosta, Mr. J. S. Morgan 
 (of London), Mr. EdAvards Pierrepont, Mr. George 8. Boui- 
 well, Mr. John Welsh, Mr. George M. Kobeson, and Mr. 
 U. S. Grant, Jr. 
 
 Many other honors were showered upon the city's guest 
 by private and public bands. The Grand Army, the 
 school-children, the leading citizens — all, in short, showed 
 their most brotherly love to him whom Philadelphia and 
 all the world delighted to honor. 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 A. SOUTHERN TOUR — START FROM WASHINGTON — THE PARTY 
 
 COLUMBIA SAVANNAH FLORIDA CUBA — HAVANA 
 
 SAN DIEGO LOS BANCS A NATIVE BALL — CUBAN 
 
 SLAVES — MATANZAS THE CARNIVAL — BULL-FIGllTING 
 
 PROGRESSO VERA CRUZ CITY OF MEXICO — PRESI- 
 DENT DIAZ — MEXICAN RAILROAD SCHEMES — SAN ANTONIO 
 — CHERUBUSCO — HOME AGAIN. 
 
 General Grant's famous '' Tour Around the World " 
 was completed with his return to Philadelphia in the fall 
 of 1879, from which city he had started two 3'ears before 
 on that memorable journey. After having received and 
 greatly enjoyed th« congratulations of his countrymen 
 upon his safe return, certain business reasons presented 
 themselves which rendered such a step necessary, and he 
 ^t once resolved to leave his home again for the purpose 
 of visiting various points of interest in southern United 
 States, the West Indies, Mexico and Central America, 
 and perfecting certain business schemes in those sections. 
 Arrangements were quickly made, for with the General 
 to decide has always been to do, and soon he and a little 
 •company of select and appreciative friends were ready for 
 the departure. 
 
 Washington, which for eight years had been the home 
 of General Grant while he was President, was the rendez- 
 vous and starting point for this second journey into foreign 
 lands. Christmas was spent at home, and on the 30th 
 •of December, 1879, General Grant and his happy party 
 
 (•475) 
 
476 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 left Washington for Richmond in Colonel Thuiiins Scott's 
 private car '" President." The party consisted of the ex- 
 President and wife, General and Mrs. Sheridan, Colonel 
 and Mrs. Grant, Miss Kitty Felt, of Galena, 111., and 
 Byron Andrews, correspondent of the Chicago Inter-Oceun. 
 
 INTERIOR OF THE PALACE CAR " PRESIDENT. 
 
 At half past five p. m. the train moved out of the depot. 
 Owing to the lateness of the hour of the departure from 
 Washington, only small crowds, mostly colored, were at 
 the various places along the route to greet the distin- 
 guished traveller. 
 
TRAVELS IX- THE TROPICS. 477 
 
 Kichmond was reached at 10,15 that eveniiiii, and the 
 special car in which the travellers had taken pa^;.sage was 
 immediately switched off and taken across the river to 
 the Richmond and Danville Railroad, where the ti-ucks 
 were changed, and the party proceeded on their journey. 
 
 The ex-President entered the State of South Carolina, 
 via Charlotte, N. C, at twelve o'clock on the following 
 day, and was the first ex-President who had visited the 
 upper section of this State since Washington passed 
 through in his private carriage in the year 1707, at 
 Chester, sixty-five miles above Columbia. There was a 
 large gathering of whites and blacks, who assembled to 
 give him a welcome hurrah as the train entered the 
 depot. Judge T. J. Mackey, being en route to his court 
 in Columbia, boarded the train, and, being cordially 
 recognized by the ex-President, introduced him to a 
 number of citizens, who warmly welcomed him, without 
 regard to party. In a military aspect his character has a 
 warm place in the hearts of thousands of Confederate 
 soldiers, who, though bitterly hostile to his party, remem- 
 ber him gratefully as the magnanimous victor at Appo- 
 mattox. While en route to Columbia the ex-President 
 expressed his admiration of the splendid climate and ag- 
 ricultural and manufacturing resources of the State, and 
 the attractions that it offers to Northern capitalists, 
 stating that here the great water powers may be utilized 
 for twelve months in the year, while in the North such 
 motors can only be used for seven or eight months. 
 When near Columbia, the ex-President, observing a tall 
 chimney, black with the fire of internecine war, remarked 
 to General Sheridan and Judge Mackey, '' There is one 
 of Sherman's monuments." To which Judge Mackey re- 
 plied : " You, General, did not permit your line of march 
 
478 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 to be marked by any such ghostly columns of victory." 
 " No," said the ex-President, " there were several hundred 
 dwelling-houses belonging to Confederates within my 
 lines around Richmond, and they were undisturbed, and 
 I presume that they are there yet. There was but one 
 house burned near Richmond, and that was against 
 orders." 
 
 General Grant and party reached Augusta, Ga., that 
 evening, and were received by a large crowd at the 
 depot, notwithstanding rumors that they would not reach 
 the city that night. They were escorted to their hotel by 
 President Wilson, of the Port Royal Railroad Company, 
 and the Mayor and Council men of the city. A reception 
 was held which continued until a late hour. 
 
 On the day following the arrival of General Grant and 
 his party, they left Augusta for Beaufort and Savannah. 
 The day was beautiful, and the visitors were waited 
 upon by the Mayor and Councilmen, after which they 
 were driven to the Union Depot, escorted by a band of 
 music and colored military in procession, celebrating the 
 emancipation proclamation. 
 
 Savannah was reached at 10 p. m., and waiting were the 
 Mayor, the Board of Aldermen and the Collector of the 
 Port. There was no demonstration as the General left 
 the carriage and ascended the hotel steps, with the ex- 
 ception of three cheers given by the colored military. 
 
 On the following morning, January 2d, the ex-President 
 held a reception at the City Exchange. A number of old 
 West Pointers, citizens and colored people, called. The 
 cit}^ authorities gave the party an excursion down the 
 river to a point below Fort Jackson, so that the visitors 
 were enabled to get a good view of the city and its 
 surroundings. 
 
 Savannah is the largest and most important city in the 
 
PULASKI MONUMENT, SAVANNAH. 
 
 •ITi) 
 
480 LIFE OF GE^^EEAL GKAXT. 
 
 State of Georgia. It is situated on the southern side of 
 the Savannah river, some eighteen miles from its mouth. 
 Its streets run nearly in a north and soiithj east and west 
 direction, crossing one another at right angles. Their 
 width is irregular, and they are generally shaded with 
 trees. At every alternate corner is a public square, which 
 is beautifully adorned with shade trees. These squares 
 or plazas, which are circular in form, are laid out in 
 walks, and being well ornamented add greatly to the at- 
 tractions and healthfulness of the city. Its beautiful 
 streets and squares have gained for Savannah the name 
 of " The Forest City of the South." In Johnson's Square 
 stands a handsome monument erected to the memory of 
 Generals Greene and Pulaski. It is of pure white marble, 
 and stands on the spot where the latter fell in the attack 
 made upon the city by the American army in 1779. The 
 monument cost $22,000 in gold. 
 
 In the afternoon the party were taken to Bonaventure 
 Thunderbolt. In the evening the ex-President, with 
 General Sheridan and Fred Grant, dined at the residence 
 of General H. R. Jackson, and met Generals McLaws, 
 Wayne, Lawton and other former Confederate officers. 
 At night the Aldermen gave a serenade at the Screven 
 House. The ex-President responded briefly, acknowl- 
 edging the compliment, and regretting his short stay in 
 Savannah. 
 
 On the following day the representatives of the various 
 industries of the city called upon the General, in company 
 with the Mayor and Collector of the Port. In the after- 
 noon the party left the city, having taken passage on 
 board the '' City of Bridgeton " for Florida, the land of 
 genial temperature, the home of the orange tree, and the 
 popular refuge of northern invalids and aristocrats. 
 
TRAVELS IX THE TROPICS. 481 
 
 At eleven o'clock on the morning of January 4tli. after 
 a delightful trip, the steamer reached Fern and in a, Florida. 
 This place is located on the northern part of Amelia Is- 
 land, in the extreme northeastern part of the State. 
 From here the party proceeded to Jacksonville, where, 
 as everywhere else, the reception was cordial and enthu- 
 siastic. 
 
 From Jacksonville, General Grant and his friends made 
 an excursion up the St. John's and Ocklawaha rivers, 
 and thence back to Tocoi and on to St. Augustine. At 
 the departure from Jacksonville on the morning of the 
 8th inst., the same ceremony was, observed that had 
 marked the General's arrival, and the steamer '' Kelsey " 
 left the wharf amid salvos of artillery and strains of 
 patriotic music. General Grant stood bowing in response 
 to the cheers and farewells till the sound of the voices 
 died away in the distance. The party on the journey 
 from Jacksonville was the same with which General 
 Grant set out from Washington, with the addition of Mr. 
 Joseph Seligman, the New York banker, his wife and his 
 son, Mr. George Seligman. The first stop was made at 
 Orange Park, a new town, started three years ago. 
 Across the river, at Mandarin, is the residence of Mrs. 
 Harriet Beecher Stowe. There was a large crowd gath- 
 ered here to welcome the General, and long before the 
 pier was reached there was a constant booming of cannon 
 in honor of the event. Mr. Benedict, of Orange Park, 
 had spread out on tables under great live oak trees a lit- 
 tle agricultural exhibition of the products of the planta- 
 tion. There were fine Indian corn, long sea island cotton, 
 oranges, shattucks, lemons, strawberries and vegetables 
 in profusion. Another landing was made a few nnles 
 further up, at Green Cove. Palatka was reached at sun- 
 set, and there the travellers found a brief rest. 
 
482 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Hurrying through the sights of this section, Tocoi was 
 reached, where a committee of citizens of St. Augustine 
 met General Grant, and acted as an escort to the distin- 
 guished guests the rest of their way to that city of vener- 
 able renown. 
 
 After thoroughly, but somewhat hurriedly, seeing this 
 quaint old town, being welcomed and given a reception 
 
 and ball, the General and his 
 party, on January 19th, re- 
 turned to Jacksonville, and on 
 the following day started for 
 Cedar Keys. Here he embarked 
 in the "Admiral," and after a 
 stop at Key West for a day, 
 sailed for Havana. The trip 
 
 was uneventful, and at ten 
 
 o'clock on the morning of the 
 22d of January, the passengers 
 on board the ''Admiral " could 
 distinguish Morro Castle, with 
 its gray bastions and towers, 
 guarding the entrance to the 
 harbor of Havana. The city 
 stands upon a small bay which 
 makes up from the Gulf of Mexi- 
 co. Its harbor, which at its 
 widest part does not exceed a 
 mile and a half in width, is one 
 of the finest in the world, being 
 deep enough for vessels of the largest class, and large 
 enough to accommodate a thousand ships of war, and so 
 safe that vessels ride securely without cable or anchor. 
 The entrance is by a channel half a mile in length, so 
 narrow as to admit the passing of but a single vessel 
 
 EN ROUTE TO SAN DIEGO 
 
TRAVELS IN THE TROPICS. 483 
 
 at a time, and fortified throughout the whole distance 
 with military works and artillery. 
 
 As the "Admiral " neared the city, steam launches 
 were seen standing out from the harbor. They proved 
 to contain Americans who had come off to salute the 
 travellers, but they did not board the steamer, and it soon 
 became evident that everything was to be done with 
 stately leisure and in due form. The wharves were cov- 
 ered with a curious crowd, but there was no noisy enthu- 
 siasm, such as an American throng always manifests. 
 
 In about ten minutes a pompous fellow in epaulets and 
 plumes was rowed alongside, and, after shaking hands 
 with General Grant and others, withdrew. This was the 
 officer of the flagship, Seiior D. Ismael Warleteta. A few 
 minutes passed again, and then a very grand party came 
 up the side out of a steam launch. This was the Civil 
 Governor of the province, Seiior Cuesta, Colonel Cerero, 
 Chief Engineer, and other gentlemen of various ranks 
 and order. The Governor announced that Captain-Gen- 
 eral Blanco was absent, but had prepared for the use of 
 General Grant quarters at his palace. The American 
 Consul, Mr. Hall, also came and was warmly greeted by 
 General Grant. The visitors were taken ashore in the 
 launch, and carriages were in waiting on the wharf A 
 guard of honor was in front of the entrance to the palace, 
 flanking the driveway, and extending in diverging lines 
 out into the street. At the foot of the stairs stood Gen- 
 eral Collejos and the Alcalde Municipal of the city, to re- 
 ceive the visitors, who were escorted to magnificent 
 quarters in the north wing of the palace. They passed 
 through the parlors, where General Grant tarried a 
 moment to look at the portraits of Martinez Campos, 
 Jovellar, and others. Then they were informed that a 
 
484 LIFE OF GEXERAL GRAXT. 
 
 lunch was ready to be served. The afternoon was spent 
 in a drive about the city. Next day a grand official ban- 
 quet was p;iven in honor of General Grant at the palace, 
 beginning at half past six o'clock. About eighty persons 
 were present, including General Callejas, the Vice-Gover- 
 nor-General, the intendants of the treasury and army, Gen- 
 eral Arias, Governor of the Province of Havana, members 
 of the municipality, the Bishop of Havana, and other divS- 
 tinguished persons. Those of the guests who were married 
 were accompanied by their ladies. The ex-President 
 occupied the centre of the table, having on his right the 
 wife of General Callejas, and on his left Mr. Mendoza, 
 the Mayor of Havana. Opposite to the ex-President sat 
 General Callejas. General Sheridan was in uniform. 
 The ladies were plainly but elegantly attired. The 
 dining-hall and table were profusely and tastefully orna- 
 mented. Music was furnished by the Marine Band, 
 stationed in the court-yard of the Palace, and the band 
 of the Engineer Corps, outside, on the square, playing 
 alternately. The Palace was appropriately illuminated. 
 No speeches were made, but cordiality reigned and the 
 visitors expressed much satisfaction. The banquet was 
 concluded at nine o'clock. Afterward the party assisted 
 at a performance at the Tacon theatre, where the Spanish 
 zarzuela (comic opera) of the " Barbero de Lava-pies," 
 and the national Spanish dance were performed. The 
 portraits of the King and Queen of Spain were suspended 
 in front of the stage curtain. 
 
 " Havana is a city embracing all the Moorish and Co- 
 rinthian peculiarities of construction found in Spain and 
 Mexico, while in the habits of life and general spirit of 
 its inhabitants it indulges in all the characteristic aban- 
 don of Paris. 
 
 " Let me sketch the outline of a day as ordinarily 
 
TEAVELS IN THE TKOPICS 4ft5 
 
 spent by the visitor. Rise at six, Cal'e con leche and a 
 hard biscuit with an orange or so before leaving the room. 
 The sunrise hour is delicious. The volunteers are already 
 assembling upon the prado in front of the hotel. Tiiey 
 are inspected by battalions every morning. By seven 
 o'clock the street swarms with them ; the band gives us 
 strange and martial Spanish airs ; then they all march 
 away 'to come again another day.' There are plenty of 
 novel features of life to attract the attention until break- 
 fast time, which is, say 1 0.30 A. m. Your waiter is a 
 leisurely tyrant. He brings endless courses of meats and 
 strange compounds of flesh and vegetables, and lastly, 
 your cofiee and fruits. Claret is served in abundance. 
 
 " From breakfast until about four P. M. you are engaged 
 much in the same way as the boy who kept a diary and 
 wrote every day that he 'didn't do nothin' much.' 
 Choose, then, if you will take a coach to the Cerro, the 
 palatial suburb, or continue in the foregoing pleasing oc- 
 cupation. Dinner is partaken between six and eight 
 p. M. New arrivals are discussed and plans laid for the 
 evening. 
 
 " Now Havana is seen at its best. The super-heated 
 pavements of the day are bathed in the cool light of the 
 moon. Every cafe is thronged; the parks are festive 
 with laughter and music. All are as eager as children 
 loosed from school. The theatres are packed. A reflex 
 of the Jardin Mabile, a Chinese theatre and an American 
 circus all claim and get their share of trade. Bull fights 
 are a semi-occasional. My chief desire thus fiir has been 
 to see the poor but gamey old bull gore a few of the mis- 
 erable Dagos, who convert the unhappy beast into an an- 
 imated pin-cushion with their spangled darts. 
 
 "It may interest some of the 'boys' who glean the 
 
486 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 daily modicum of news items for the papers at home to 
 iiear somewiiat of the mode in which Cuban journals are 
 conducted. The two leading papers are JBl Trlum/o and the 
 Diario de la Marina. There are several other sheets of 
 lesser weight, some being specialists. The publication 
 office is usually in some arched building as picturesque 
 as the interior of a morgue. The editorial rooms are 
 above, and will contrast favorably with those of our 
 metropolitan papers. The sheets are struck off direct 
 from the type upon a flat bed-press one side at a time. 
 The two papers named are morning sheets, but have a 
 post-meridian edition also. 
 
 "Reporters are neither numerous, ubiquitous or cheek}^ 
 EnterjDrise and sensation have no habitation witli them. 
 I stood with one (of a morning sheet) the other night 
 upon the curb while a very unusually destructive fire 
 illuminated the whole city. The lights upon the watch- 
 towers gleamed redly, and heavy steamers dragged noisily 
 along. I said : ' Well, I suppose you will be busy now 
 getting the points?'' 'Oh, no,' was the reply, ' we will 
 learn all about it from the police to-morrow.' The 
 ' facts ' were set forth in the second issue thereafter. 
 The guild, however, is just the same here as in other 
 parts of the world, and stray Bohemians are welcomed 
 in the traditional style." 
 
 On the morning of the 28th General Grant and his 
 party left Havana for San Diego Los Banos, which is cele- 
 brated for its thermal baths. Senor Manuel F. Bramodis, 
 General Manager of the Western Railroad, Dr. Daniel 
 M. Burgess, an officer of the United States Sanitary Com- 
 mission, Mr. R. 0. Williams, United States Vice-Consiil- 
 General, Senor Julio Durege, proprietor of the baths, and 
 Colonel Cuesta were added to the party. 
 
488 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The travellers arrived at Paso Real, a station on the 
 road about 100 miles west of Havana, at two o'clock, 
 having made a short stop at San Crestobal, the scene of 
 greatest destruction by the recent earthquake. After a 
 lunch the journey was resumed in volantes. This volante 
 must be seen to be appreciated. It is in appearance like 
 a balloon on wheels, in its proclivity to upset like an 
 Irish jaunting car, and in its general convenience and the 
 ease with which the traveller rides in its capacious inte- 
 rior like a phaeton. The procession of volantes was a 
 quarter of a mile long. One of them was painted red, 
 and in this were placed General and Mrs. Grant. Aside 
 from the color, all seemed to be the same, and of equally 
 doubtful character and wonderful construction. There 
 was a great deal of loud talking, good-natured and other- 
 wise, of cracking of whips, and backing and twisting of 
 unruly mules and horses and unwieldy vehicles. Finally 
 they set off at a merry pace. The road from Paso Real 
 to San Diego has probably never been repaired since the 
 original settlers took possession of the island. As long as 
 it led across the level plain, all was well. Soon a succes- 
 sion of hills was reached, and the fun began. The rock- 
 ing volantes rolled and swung until the occupants had to 
 hold on for their lives. It made no difference to the 
 drivers. They had only one object in view — to reach 
 San Diego — and did not seem to care how the travellers 
 endured the journey. So they fell over ditches, washed 
 out during the rainy season, and up hills and down to 
 San Diego of the Oastes. 
 
 The mayor of the town showed good taste in giving 
 General Grant an unusual treat. He divined rightly that 
 a ball in the style of the rustics would be interesting. He 
 accordingly sent out invitations to the Cuban planters of 
 
490 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the district to a " boile " in honor of the distinguished 
 guests. At half-past eight o'clock the visitors repuii-ed to 
 the scene of festivities. The ball-room was a large apart- 
 ment on the ground floor. The creole belles sat in chairs 
 in a row along one side, and the cavaliers were similarly 
 ranged on the opposite side of the room. The band was 
 composed of three negroes playing a guitar, a mandolia 
 and a guira. The last was a long gourd hollowed out 
 and very dry. Upon the convex side were a succession 
 of parallel grooves, over which the musician scraped 
 another piece of gourd shell, making a sharp rasping 
 accompaniment to the stringed instruments. The prin- 
 cipal dance was much like the first movement of an Irish 
 jig^ and went on indefinitely without much change, the 
 dancers keeping up a perpetual shuffle back and forth, 
 toward and away from each other until they or the 
 musicians tired of the step, when a quick kind of walse 
 took its place. The attire of these olive-skinned dam- 
 sels was in nowise remarkable. It consisted of a white 
 or figured linen dress, trimmed with pink or blue ribbons. 
 But the costume of the Guajiro (pronounced Washero), 
 as the rustic is called in Cuba, was peculiar. All of them 
 wore palm-leaf hats with broad brims, which were re- 
 moved from the head only when raised for an instant 
 when a partner w^as asked for the dance. The upper 
 garment looked like a shirt of white or figured cotton or 
 linen^ that floated and fluttered half way to the knees. 
 The trousers were gray linen. A bright-colored cotton 
 handkerchief was folded and passed over the right 
 shoulder, the ends being brought together and tied closely 
 under the left arm. At the side hung the wachita, held 
 by both hands behind the back when it happened to be 
 m the way of the dancer. The heel of each caballero 
 
TRAVELS IN THE TROPICS. }:.l 
 
 was armed with a long spur. General Grant and his 
 fellow-travellers watched the dance for an hour and 
 returned to the hotel; but the '-Ijoile" lasted until 
 morning. 
 
 From San Diego Los Banos General (J rant and part\- 
 journeyed to Consolacion del Sur, one of the chief towns 
 in the Province of Pinos del Rio, lying west of Havana. 
 It may be explained that this is one of the six provinces 
 into which the island was divided after the peace of Mar- 
 tinez Campos. The road to this place from San Diego 
 takes the traveller into a new land. It is not so tropical 
 as the rest of Cuba, although the palm tree in its many 
 varieties abounds. The pine is also found in extensive 
 groves, and from this the province takes its name. The 
 red soil of the sugar country changes here to a light 
 straw color or ashy hue, very sandy and not so rich as 
 the other in vecretable arowths. There is an undulating 
 plateau of this kind of land sloping from the mountain 
 chain to the Caribbean sea, and extending from the vicin- 
 ity of Paso Pteal to the western extremity of the island, 
 which produces the finest tobacco in the world. The 
 railroad has not yet penetrated the heart of this region, 
 so the journey to Consolacion was by volantes and a 
 coach. This coach was the only drawback to the trip, 
 its frequent disasters causing the procession to halt so 
 frequently that the trip was thereby considerably pro- 
 tracted. 
 
 At one of these plantations the slaves were called up 
 for examination. Such a woe-begone company was never 
 seen. The women were of small stature, poorly clad, 
 and without the first ray of intelligence beaming in 
 their faces. The children were likewise exhibited. The 
 i^overnor took a little fellow playfully by the ear and 
 
492 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 said : " You are the bad boy that rides the sheep." He 
 repUed, " No, sir ; I stay with the pigs," and he looked 
 as though he spoke the truth. All the slaves, 130 in 
 number, were then summoned together, and the Governor 
 made them a brief address, in which he told them their 
 
 "a leading occupation." 
 
 lot was a good one, and to be envied, and more of such 
 mockery. Every black face in front of him seemed to 
 give the lie to his words. By the acknowledgements of all 
 who knew, these people knew nothing of true domestic life. 
 
TEAVELS IN THE TROPICS. 498 
 
 General Grant left Havana for Matan/as on the after- 
 noon of the 5th, accompanied by Colonels Cerero and 
 Cuesta and several other officers of the Government, be- 
 side members of his own party. The route taken was 
 the Bay Railroad, Matanzas being sixty-two miles dis- 
 tant, through a diversified country of rough hills and 
 broad, flat valleys. This is one of the best sugar regions of 
 Cuba, and some persons believe that Matanzas will yet 
 be the chief port of the island on this account, and be- 
 cause the bay is broader than that of Havana. 
 
 Upon arriving at the depot, General Grant was met by 
 the Alcalde, accompanied by the adjutant representing 
 the Governor of the Province and members of the coun- 
 cil, and a speech of welcome was made. When the Gen- 
 eral had been formally offered the hospitalities of the 
 city„ the party were shown to carriages and driven to the 
 palace. Here the Governor of the Province received 
 General Grant in the most cordial manner at the foot of 
 the staircase, and showed him and his companions to the 
 parlors. 
 
 After the presentation at the Palace the travellers 
 were driven to the hill to the northwest of the city, over- 
 looking one of the most celebrated valleys in the world, 
 that of the Yumuri. The visitors saw a great bowl 
 where once a vast lake lay, now green with the grass and 
 cane of the plantations that are spread over its bottom. 
 It dips down several hundred feet at once at this ])onit, 
 and stretches away for miles to the range of hills on the 
 other side. Through the centre wind two small streams, 
 but there is no valley along their banks to break the 
 symmetry of the smooth bowl. They are oidy like 
 ditches put in the surface, and they thread their way 
 down to the ravine which opens into the bay. 
 
494 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 On Saturday, February 7th, the final social entertain- 
 ment in honor of General Grant was given at the Arsenal. 
 
 The carnival began on Sunday, the 8th, and closed on 
 the evening of the 10th. On the following Sunday the 
 same scenes were re-enacted, with greater and more 
 desperate gayety. A special feature of the season was a 
 brutal bull-fight. On the previous day the newspapers 
 announced that the great Mexican matador had at last 
 arrived, together with the lasso-throwers, etc., and that 
 they would positively appear in the arena at Regla, 
 where eight bulls would be killed. Regla is the Brooklyn 
 of Havana, and a ferry crosses the bay every few min- 
 utes. In order to finish in time for the procession the 
 fight began at two o'clock, instead of four as usual. Sev- 
 eral thousand people attended, and the scenes of the pre- 
 vious Sunday were re-enacted, except that they were more 
 hideous in brutality. The Mexicans were very old men 
 for such business. Two of tliem must have been over 
 fifty, yet they were as wiry as boys and very strong, 
 though slight in build. Two of the Mexicans before 
 the fight were mounted upon trained horses, brought 
 wath them from their own country. Their lariats were 
 caught around the horn of their saddles. In a little cup- 
 board-like affair was a youth busily cutting tissue paper 
 into rosettes to trim the darts that are thrust into the 
 bull's neck. The horsemen were putting on heavy leather 
 overalls to protect their legs from the horns of the bull, 
 and were tightening the saddle-girths. On the other side 
 of the entrance to the arena w^ere the bull-pens, where a 
 dozen fat and sleepy fellows lay chewing their cuds. 
 
 The fight was the same as on all occasions, except that 
 there was less bungling and more dextrous stabbing and 
 carving of the victims. Most of the bulls had sharp 
 
\ 
 
 TRAVELS IN THE TROPICS. 495 
 
 horns, and gored the poor jaded horses till the arena was 
 covered with pools of blood. Only one of the bulls was 
 killed outright by the sword of the matador; the rest 
 being stabbed repeatedly till they quietly laid down from 
 loss of blood, when a blow at the base of the skull with 
 a dagger killed them instantly. The performances of 
 these men were greeted continually with such applause 
 as a New York audience bestows upon a favorite prima 
 donna. The lassoing was scarcely less brutal than the 
 rest. A rope would be thrown over the animal's horns 
 or around his neck, and another around a foot. Tlu-n 
 the ropes were given a turn about the horns of the saddle, 
 and the riders would dash at a gallop in opposite direc- 
 tions. Of course the bull was thrown, and he usually 
 gave up and could scarcely be made to rise. When 
 tortured and goaded the animal w^ould fight to the last, 
 but when once he felt himself securely roped he lost 
 heart. One or two of them had to be released to save 
 them from dying at once from sheer vexation. 
 
 The procession started at the Punta, opposite Morro 
 Castle, proceeded along the Prado, in the new part of the 
 town, through the Campo Marte, over the Paseo Tacon 
 to the Castle on the hill at the outskirts of the city, and 
 back a^ain, a distance of six miles. There was no 
 reo-ular formation. Each vehicle fell in where it hap- 
 pened. The only semblance of order was that the teams 
 in tandem, with four or six-in-hand, were placed in single 
 file in the centre. There were about 2,500 vehicles, 
 and the parade lasted from 4.30 to 7 o'clock. The day's 
 ceremonies concluded with the ball at the Tacon theatre. 
 Most of those in the procession were not masked, but 
 siuiply drove out, as on any other occasion, in the best 
 style they could command. The carriages of the Captain- 
 
496 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 General, in which General Grant and the members of his 
 party rode, were extremely elegant. While the great 
 majority of the carriages were rather shabby, the number 
 of fine imported horses was surprising. There was noth- 
 ing imposing about the costumes. Groups of maskers 
 rode in express-wagons, trimmed for the occasion with 
 the Spanish flag. A favorite device was to cover the 
 wagon with drooping palm branches and then label it, 
 " Moses in the bulrushes." All were very decorous, and 
 most of the maskers sat in their places as still as scare- 
 crows in a corn-field. 
 
 After a satisfactory visit to Cuba, and three weeks 
 spent in observation of its people and institutions, 
 General Grant sailed for Mexico, February loth, by the 
 "City of Alexandria." This steamship came with a large 
 passenger list, and after General Grant's party em- 
 barked at Havana the cabin was nearly full. Mr. John 
 Alexandre was aboard, and left nothing undone to insure 
 the comfort and enjoyment of all. Many old travellers 
 said they had never before experienced so agreeable a 
 voyage across this treacherous Gulf at this uncertain sea- 
 son of the year. 
 
 The second morning found the steamer anchored in the 
 Gulf of Progresso. Progresso, the new port of the prov- 
 ince by the same name, is only about seven years old and 
 succeeds Sisal as the shipping point for hemp, which is 
 the leading and almost exclusive product of the country. 
 All kinds of tropical fruits are grown, but they are des- 
 tined only for local consumption. The houses are one 
 story and roofs of thatch. The people are of Toltec 
 origin, a race boasting a greater anticpiity than the Az- 
 tecs. They dress chiefly in thin light-colored goods, and 
 betray the universal tropical weakness for ornament. 
 
498 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 
 The travellers wished to go ashore, but it was impo& 
 sible. The wind could not be relied upon, and the 
 lighters could not come out as long as the wind blew. 
 At three o'clock in the afternoon a sail boat appeared 
 under the bow. She brought a committee of citizensiii" 
 from Merida, the capital of Yucatan, who had been sent' 
 to the coast the day before to escort General Grant to 
 the city. They came simply to pay their respects, and I 
 to explain what they would have done had the wind 
 been favorable. It had been the intention to take the 
 General up to Merida (twenty-six miles) and back that 
 afternoon, a banquet and a reception being also on the 
 programme. Later in the day the lighter came off with 
 a few more passengers for Vera Cruz, and at dark the 
 " City of Alexandria " steamed gayly away on her course 
 for Campeche. 
 
 The city of Merida boasts of a population of from 
 40,000 to 50,000 people. The city was founded in 1542, 
 on the site of a city previously ruined by the Spaniards, 
 and is regularly laid out and well built of stone. It pos- 
 sesses several good squares, the principal and most central 
 one containing the Cathedral, a rich edifice of the 16th 
 century, the Bishop's residence, and the Government 
 House. Of its three convents, two are now in ruins ; a 
 remaining portion of the Jesuit's Convent is now occupied 
 by the State Legislature. The manufactures and trade 
 are inconsiderable. 
 
 On the following morning the steamer lay to again, 
 and another committee came out with a complimentary 
 address to General Grant. The latter conversed for 
 some time with the gentlemen, asking questions as to 
 the productions of the country, after which he returned 
 quietly to the perusal of his book, and they retired. 
 
TRAVELS IN THE TROPICS. 499 
 
 At a very early hour on the following morning all the 
 travellers were on deck to get a first look at Vera Cruz and 
 the famous peak of Orizaba. A norther was predicted,which 
 should keep them on board any number of days, lor Vera 
 Cruz has no harbor to speak of; but the sea was as un- 
 ruffled as the face of a Madonna. Orizaba, seventy miles 
 mland, stood up against the western sky, with its cap of 
 eternal snow, seemingly less than a day's walk distant. 
 The walled "City of the True Cross" stretched along the 
 shore, compactly set within its gates. That famous fort- 
 ress. San Juan de Ulua, which Humboldt says cost $50,- 
 000,000, seemed a part of the town. As they looked, a 
 cannon and another and another boomed a welcome 
 across to them. 
 
 Presently a trim man-of-war, dipping its tri-color of 
 red, white and green, came up and lay to on the port 
 side of the " City of Alexandria." A boat was lowered, 
 and ex-Secretary Romero and wife (an American lady), 
 General Mejia and several naval officers stepped on board 
 the "Alexandria." General Grant and General Mejia 
 greeted each other as old friends, the latter having rep- 
 resented his government in Washington during the ex- 
 President's administration. After a few moments' con- 
 versation, ex-Secretary Romero, who with General Mejia 
 had been sent by the Mexican President to receive Gen- 
 eral Grant, read a brief address of welcome. 
 
 General Grant thanked the commander in a few words, 
 and all sat down to coffee together. At eight o'clock 
 two barges of the Naval Commandant came alongside, 
 and the General and his party were taken ashore. 
 
 A reception was held at the United States Consulate 
 under the direction of Dr. Trowbridge, the Consul. Gene- 
 ral Teran on behalf of the citizens welcomed General Grant 
 
500 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 most cordially, closing his address by saying, "Vera Cruz is 
 proud to be the first Mexican city which welcomes such a 
 distinguished guest, such a great soldier and patriot." 
 
 General Grant said in reply : 
 
 "General Teran — I am very glad to come to Mexico, 
 and to land at Vera Cruz. It has long been a wish of 
 mine to come to this country, and I am pleased to find it, 
 at the moment of my arrival, at peace with all the world. 
 I hope that the relations between the United States and 
 Mexico will grow closer every day. The development of 
 this country will be a great advantage to the United 
 States. Many Americans are watching with interest 
 your progress and manifesting a lively satisfaction in it. 
 No one can be more gratified than myself at your im- 
 provement. 
 
 At ten o'clock on the 21st, the party started for the 
 Mexican capital, which was reached in the evening of the 
 same day. The station and surrounding grounds were 
 brilliantly illuminated. The band of the Zapadores was 
 in attendance ; also a commission appointed by the gov- 
 ernment, one by the municipalit}^, and another by the 
 American residents, were present. The concourse of 
 citizens was immense, numbering over ten thousand, and 
 the main street leading from the station was blocked with 
 coaches for a mile in length. The streets along the line 
 to the Casa de Mineria were lined with double files of 
 mounted troops, and the Rural Guards, eight hundred 
 strong, each bearing a torch, through which the ex-Presi- 
 dent passed. The effect was most brilliant, especially 
 when the Guards closed in by platoons and galloped be- 
 hind the visitors. At the station the committee of the 
 government met the ex-President. The chairman ex- 
 
TKAVELS IN THE TROPICS 601 
 
 tended to him the welcome of the government, and then 
 presented the committee of the municipaUty, who ten- 
 dered him the hospitalities of the capital. Attended by 
 the committees the ex-President and party then proceeded 
 to the Mineria, the building prepared for them during 
 their stay in the city. Upon arrival at the Mineria, the 
 band of the Zapadores played the national hymn. As 
 the military marched by the house the ex-President went 
 on the balcony, when he was greeted by cheers from the 
 multitude. 
 
 While the party were in Florida, it was rumored that 
 the old palace at Chapultepec was being refitted for the 
 occupancy of the travellers during their sojourn in 
 the Mexican capital. This seems to have had no foun- 
 dation in fact. To have banished the Americans to this 
 lovely but lonely rock would have been folly indeed. A 
 drive of three miles through clouds of dust would have 
 discouraged any frequency of visitation to the city, and 
 the impressions of Mexico naturally resulting would have 
 consisted of broad perspectives rather than of close de- 
 tails. The Mexicans very sensibly devoted one wing of 
 the School of Mines (hi Minered), a vacant but imposing 
 building, centrally situated, to the purpose. It was in 
 the main court of this structure that the International 
 Exhibition was held last year, and which was made the 
 Mecca of about one hundred and twenty pilgrims from 
 Chicago. 
 
 Upon Monday, at 11 A. M., Generals Grant and 
 Sheridan, with Colonel Fred Grant and their respective 
 ladies, repaired to the national palace for the purpose of 
 an official call upon President Diaz. They were received 
 in a saloon of sumptuous fittings, guarded by a large and 
 brilliant retinue of attaches. After a few words of formal 
 
502 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 welcome, a general conversation ensued, Senor Romero 
 acting as interpreter. Tiie Mexican Executive appears 
 to be a man rather of deeds than words, and such is his 
 reputation. He has won his seat by years of hard 
 fighting. 
 
 In the evening of the same day the ex-President dined 
 with Minister Foster. Assisting were President Diaz, 
 several members of the Cabinet, and other distinguished 
 persons. After the dinner was over the company re- 
 paired to the drawing-room, where the ex-President 
 received a large concourse of callers who retired and 
 were continually succeeded by others till after midnight. 
 The callers numbered nearly a thousand persons. 
 
 On the 29th of February General Grant and his party, 
 attended by commissioners appointed by the govern- 
 ment of the city, visited the different departments in 
 the National Palace. On the next day a grand review 
 took place in honor of the ex-President. Six coaches 
 from the Presidential residence conveyed President Diaz 
 and General Pacheco, Secretary of War, ex-President 
 Grant, General Sheridan, Seilors Matias Romero and 
 Ygnatio Marescal, Colonel Frederick Grant and other 
 officers, to the place of review. After the review, the 
 bod}^ of the army marched through the principal streets, 
 falling into a column of honor in front of the National 
 Palace, on the balconies of w^hich were President Diaz 
 and General Grant, and others. General Carrillo com- 
 manded the troops. 
 
 In the evening the party dined with President Diaz, 
 the dinner being followed by a grand concert and illumi- 
 nation on the Plaza. 
 
 One of the chief points of interest, yet difficult for the 
 traveller to reach in Mexico, is Pachuca and the Regla, 
 
TRAVELS IN THE TROPICS. 503 
 
 whither General Grant and his party went on March 3d. 
 He visited the mines at Pachuca, Ometusco, the village of 
 Zem Joala, Choluslo, and other places. He was much 
 interested in the remains and ruins of Aztec civilization, 
 which generally invite the traveller to linger in the most 
 picturesque dalliance. Some bones of men, earthenware 
 used in domestic labors, and warlike arms of the Aztecs 
 were found. 
 
 After rambling among the quaint old Mexican towns, 
 General Grant and his party returned to the City of 
 Mexico. The last days of General Grant's stay in this 
 tiity were very busy ones. He had frequent talks with 
 leading men from all parts of the Republic, at their solici- 
 tation, about the best means of developing the waste places 
 of Mexico. The General thinks that railroads alone will 
 solve the problem. Several prominent Mexicans, after 
 talking with him, decided to form a syndicate to soHcit 
 the necessary grants from the Mexican Congress, and 
 then to transfer the enterprise for execution to American 
 -capitalists. Afterward some important correspondence 
 passed between them and General Grant, in which the 
 entire subject was discussed. In closing the correspond- 
 ence, General Grant made use of the following lan- 
 iguage: 
 
 " I wish your project every success. Anything I can 
 •do to advance it I will do. There is no doubt in my 
 mind but that the great Northern RepubHc, now pressing 
 upon your borders so closely, will find it to their interest 
 to penetrate this vast and rich empire, if they can do so 
 on fair terms, and with assurance of protection. That 
 these conditions can and will be secured by Mexico, I 
 fully believe. I will lend the project my aid in every 
 way possible, both as an American citizen, wishing the 
 greatest good to my own country, and as a friend to 
 
 32 
 
.504 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Mexico, desiring her advancement in wealth and pros- 
 perity, and all good. Very truly, your obedient servant, 
 
 •^ U. S. Grant." 
 
 At San Antonio they stopped for a short time, and as 
 usual General Grant had a reminiscence of the place. 
 "Here," he said, "I lay with my regiment waiting for 
 the battle of Contreras to be fought. We threatened the 
 enemy who lay at Cherubusco, so that he could not rein- 
 force the army that was to be attacked. When at length 
 Contreras was won and we moved upon Cherubusco, we 
 found that the enemy was not willing to make much of 
 a fight, but soon withdrew. 
 
 Cherubusco was near by in plain view, with its towers 
 and gray roofs rising among the poplars that line the 
 streets. 
 
 Shortly after this the party departed for Vera Cruz, from 
 which place passage had some time 23reviously been engaged 
 for the United States in the steamer "' City of Mexico." 
 For a fortnight and more the weather in the Gulf and 
 throughout the West Indies had been uncertain, so that 
 the vessel encountered a very severe storm, but made 
 Galveston Harbor on March 2.3d. A reception was fol- 
 lowed by a trip to San Antonio and Houston; then New 
 Orleans was reached. 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 GRANT SETTLES IN NEW YORK HE ENTERS THE MAZES OF 
 
 BUSINESS THE FIRM OF GRANT & WARD HOW THE GEN- 
 ERAL WAS DRAWN INTO THE WHIRLPOOL OF DISASTER 
 
 AN OVERWHELMING TROUBLE VANDERBILT's GENEROSITY 
 
 THE ASTOUNDING WONDERS OF WARD's RASCALITY A 
 
 TALE OF TURBULENT TROUBLE. 
 
 Following the career of our hero, we reach now iiis 
 days of sorrow and shadow. The bright picture of his 
 triumphal progress round the world draws to its glittering 
 close amid the beams of coming twilight. The defeat of 
 his ambition amid the clamors of Chicago was but the 
 preliminary of a world of business troubles, and then the 
 final fatal illness. 
 
 Galena could not be considered for a moment a place 
 of pleasure for a man so well travelled, so widely known 
 as General Grant. Many of his old-time friends had by 
 this time removed to scenes of greater activity, and Grant 
 determined to follow them. 
 
 New York attracted him more than other cities of the 
 Union, and two of his sons, who had already settled tliere 
 in business, made his preference a fact. Thither tlie 
 General removed and took up his residence in a mansion 
 on Sixty-sixth street east of Fifth avenue, from which 
 pleasant home he was removed to Mount McCregor, a 
 sore-stricken and sorrowing man. 
 
 It is not easy to detail very clearly the story of tlie ex- 
 President's misfortunes in Wall street. Ferdinand Ward, 
 
 (505) 
 
5(16 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the execrable author of them all, is now behind prison 
 bars. This adventurer — who was the actual head of the 
 firm of Grant & Ward, of which Buck Grant was the <;en- 
 eral partner, and General Grant the special partner — was 
 a shrewd, shar[y Wall street operator who knew that if he 
 could only obtain a name to conjure with, he could float 
 himself to fortune. Unhappily he fell in with the Grant 
 boys, and he saw his opportunity to utilize the name of the 
 
 / 
 
 W^ 
 
 f 
 
 ^^^gffli^l^J.^ 
 
 GUAXT'S residence in new YORK. 
 
 hero of Appomattox. The firm of Grant & Ward was 
 put in operation in the autumn of 1880. Everything pros- 
 pered until the spring of 1884, when the crash came and 
 the world was suddenly startled to learn that General 
 Grant was bankrupted. 
 
 At first the current of popular opinion inclined to blame 
 the General for having allowed himself to be brought to 
 
FINANCIAL TROUBLES. 5<)7 
 
 beggary by a swindler. But as the niontiis succeeding 
 the crash rolled away, the sober second thought of the 
 people was enabled to see that the General was simply 
 the victim of misfortune, and a victim of misplaced confi- 
 dence. He had, with the common American carelessness, 
 trusted too easily, too readily to the silver-tongued Ward, 
 to whom the whirlpools of speculation were a delight, the 
 dangers of reckless investment a pleasure. 
 
 The story of the old hero's connection with the firm of 
 Grant & Ward is best told in the General's words taken 
 from a deposition made March 27th, 1885, during the trial 
 of James D. Fish, the swindling president of the Marine 
 Bank. Grant said in answer to questions that he sup- 
 posed he was a member of the firm of Grant & Ward, as 
 the books showed him such, though up to the time of the 
 failure he supposed that he was simply a special partner. 
 His connection dated from about November 1st, 1880. He 
 then paid in $50,000 and shortly after $50,000 more, though 
 he did not recall the date. That was all he had paid in. 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1884, General Grant supposed he 
 was worth •* well on to a million." He could not recall 
 whether he knew James D. Fish before the co-partnership 
 or not. '' I had no suspicion of any rascality, and, therefore, 
 there was nothing to confine my mind to any such dates." 
 
 When asked through whose introduction he became 
 acquainted with Fish, General Grant said : 
 
 •' I suppose it was by my son and Mr. Ward. 1 sup- 
 ' pose if you should go clear back that it was my son who 
 got acquainted with Mr. Ferdinand Ward through Mr. 
 Ward's brother, and that the acquaintance was led on to 
 in that way. The man was supposed, so far as I ever 
 knew, to be a reputable banker until after the fiiilure, and 
 it was not astonishing that a person should uiake his ac- 
 quaintance." 
 
508 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 " General Grant said he had a dim recollection of re- 
 ceiving a letter from Fish while living at Long Branch. 
 It might have been the letter of July 6th, 1883. He did 
 not know where the letter was. ' I suppose/ said he, 
 ' Mr. Ward took very good pains that I should not have 
 it. I don't suppose that I ever saw the one that was 
 published.' 
 
 " The General recalled answering the letter, and saying 
 that he believed the matter the firm was engaged in was 
 all right, or something like that. He had no recollection 
 as to what became of the letter, and did not believe it 
 was the one published. He had searched in vain for the 
 letter. 
 
 " '^ I have never been in the habit of preserving private 
 letters, and if I was to try I suppose I should make a poor 
 record. My business in life has been such that somebody 
 else has always taken care of letters that had to be saved, 
 and the only way that I have now of preserving a letter 
 that I wish to preserve until I do something with it is to 
 put it in my side coat pocket, or put it in the drawer 
 where I write, and then when I want to look for a letter 
 it is about the last one I find.' 
 
 " The deponent identified a letter shown him as being 
 in his own handwriting. It was dated July 6th, 1882, and 
 addressed to Mr. Fish. It referred to a letter received 
 from Mr. Fish the day before, but General Grant did not 
 recall whether or not the letter referred to had been 
 shown to him by Ferdinand Ward. Mr. Ward transacted 
 all the business, and General Grant supposed that Ward 
 brought the other letter to him, got the answer, and de- 
 livered it to Mr. Fish, 
 
 " General Grant volunteered the information that at the 
 time he went into the firm he had a very small income, 
 saved for him by his son during his trip around the 
 
FINANCIAL TROUBLES. 509 
 
 world. His son proposed to let him have a half interest 
 in the firm, so that the General should have an income to 
 live upon. Afterward an income was raised for him, 
 and the firm generously, as he then thought, concluded to 
 let him in as a half partner, and, later, as a whole partner 
 — special, not general. 
 
 ^ In answer to a question of Mr. Root, counsel for the 
 Government, as to the time at which he was accustomed 
 to reach his ofiice when staying at Long Branch in the 
 summer of 1882, General Grant said he had forgotten the 
 exact time of leaving Long Branch in the morning, but 
 he usually reached the office about 10 A. m. 
 
 "The deponent recalled no reference to Government 
 contracts in Mr. Fish's letter, to which the letter just 
 identified was an answer. ' I had told Mr. Ward, when 
 it was mentioned, that there must never be any Govern- 
 ment contracts there. There is nothing wrong in being 
 engaged in Government contracts more than in anything 
 else unless made wrong by the acts of the individual, but 
 I had been President of the United States, and I did not 
 think it was suitable for me to have my name connected 
 with Government contracts, and I knew that there was 
 no large profit in them, except by dishonest measures. 
 There are some men wdio got Government contracts year 
 in and year out, and whether they managed their affiiirs 
 dishonestly or not, to make a profit, they are sometimes 
 supposed to, and I did not think it was any place for 
 me.' 
 
 " Li answer to a further question, General Grant said 
 that, had he found any reference to Government contracts 
 in the letter, he would have stopped, but, as a matter of 
 fact, he might never have seen that letter, as Ward might 
 simply have given him a statement of its contents. 
 
 " The deponent knew Ward to be a director of the 
 
510 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Marine Bank, and to be there a great deal, but suspected 
 nothing wrong. He knew of but one Government con- 
 tract in which Ward professed to be interested, and in 
 that case, Ward said that he had just bought 350,000 
 bushels of oats, and that there was a further large quan- 
 tity to be purchased, all for delivery to a third party, who. 
 had the contract. General Gi'ant saw nothino; wrono; in 
 this, as the firm had not taken the Government contract. 
 Afterward he began to fear. It was near the failure, and 
 there were whispers that Grant & Ward had Government 
 contracts. He questioned Ward, and the latter said that 
 he was not going to do anything that would injure the 
 General, or anything that the General requested him not 
 to do. He denied that he had contracts anywhere. He 
 intimated that his acquaintance with city officers enabled 
 him to get municipal contracts, and General Grant told 
 him he saw no great difference between city, and Govern- 
 ment contracts. Ward then said that he never had a 
 contract with either the city of New York or the Govern- 
 ment of the United States. 
 
 "Ward illustrated the nature of his contracts, by citing 
 the case of a man having a contract for a section of rail- 
 road connecting Pittsburgh with the Reading system. The 
 contractor, being unable to obtain horses, supplies, and 
 the like, came to Grant & Ward for money with which to- 
 prosecute this contract. When General Grant had ob- 
 jected to such a transaction as unsafe, Ward had replied 
 that the firm kept the contract in its possession, and the- 
 money was all paid into the firm's office. General Grant 
 supposed Ward was more of a business man than he, and 
 accepted the explanation. 
 
 " Mr. Fish had never questioned him about Government 
 contracts, and General Grant would have repudiated them 
 had he done so. Fish did not consult with him about 
 
FINANCIAL TROUBLES. 
 
 Grant & Ward's aftairs after July 5th, 1882. Some time in 
 the Avinter of 1883, General Grant, Mr. Fish, Colonel 
 Grant, Mr. Ward, James R. Smith, Mayor Edson, Cit} 
 Comptroller J. Nelson Tappan, and Treasurer Spencer, 
 of the railroad, were four days together in a special car, 
 in Western Pennsylvania, but Mr. Fish did not speak of 
 business, though they spoke of Ward, and agreed that he 
 was a man of great energy and ability. Fish said, that 
 he had never in his life before got anything so good. 
 
 " When asked whether he had drawn from the firm the 
 profits he was led to suppose had been made. General 
 Grant said : ' No, I did not. 1 left them with the con- 
 cern, and everything that I had beside, and I haven't got 
 it out. I had some little items, but I don't know what 
 amount, that were purchased, some of them for me, with 
 the money of the firm, that were profits of the firm ; they 
 never were purchased, but then they were supposed to be, 
 and 1 was charged with the purchase of them.' 
 
 '' He drew from the firm at the rate of $2,000 per 
 month in 1883, and $3,000 per month in the early part 
 of 1884, up to the failure. That was the limit of his 
 drafts. 
 
 " ' Everything that I had in the world went,' said Gen- 
 eral Grant. ' Ward came up here on Sunday night before 
 the failure, and asked me to go down with him to see 
 Mr. Newcomb, to see if he couldn't get $150,000 from 
 him ; that he had himself raised $230,000, and if he could 
 raise $150,000 more, it would carry the Marine Bank 
 through ; that we had $660,000 in the Marine Bank, be- 
 sides $1,300,000 of securities in our vaults ; that we 
 should be inconvenienced very much if we couldn't carr>- 
 the bank through, and he said that the Marine Bank was 
 all sound and solid, if it had time to collect in, or draw 
 little of its time loans, and I went down there with 
 
 m a 
 
.512 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 him, and Mr. Newcomb was not at home, and he asked 
 me if I knew Wm. H. Vanderbilt well enough to ask him, 
 and I, after some httle hesitation, said I did, and Mr. 
 Vanderbilt loaned it to me without hesitation at all. He 
 said at the time he gave it to me, that he was lending 
 this to me, and that he had no recollection of ever hav- 
 ing done such a thing before, but that he would do it for 
 me. Well, that has taken all the remaining property that 
 I had.' 
 
 " Ward said nothing of the firm's indebtedness to the 
 bank. He said the firm had seven hundred and odd 
 thousand in the bank, and so the books of Grant & Ward 
 showed. Mr. Fish had expressed no distrust of Ward in 
 the spring of 1884. General Grant was sorry to say that 
 he had not the slightest distrust of Ward the night before 
 the failure, and his son, U. S. Grant, Jr., after the failure, 
 said that Ward would come out all right. He had such 
 friendship for Ward's brother William, that he did not 
 believe Ferdinand could do a dishonest act. It took the 
 General a day or two to realize that Ward had acted so. 
 He had never heard of Mr. Fish's apprehension that 
 Ward had run away a week before the failure. He under- 
 stood from Ward, the Sunday before the failure, that the 
 firm had $750,000 in cash in the bank. Ward was in 
 the habit of making statements as to their business, but 
 General Grant could recall no recent statements, except 
 that Ward would show certain calculations, and name the 
 profits figured up. General Grant looked at them later, 
 and his recollection was that they showed the nature of 
 the profits. He had none of those statements in his 
 possession. He never read one of them until after the 
 failure. They showed from month to month the profits 
 of the firm." 
 
 The next day Ward wrote to U. S. Grant, Jr., giving 
 
FINANCIAL TROUBLES. 513 
 
 an elaborate fictitious statement of the condition of the 
 firm, and enumerating a list of securities amounting to 
 $1,323,700. Then he went on : 
 
 " We must get $500,000 on them, and have the clieck 
 dated to-day. Now go to Mr. Vanderbilt and tell him 
 just how we stand, and that if he will do this for us we 
 will send him $800,000 or $900,000 of the securities in 
 the morning, whichever he may select of them. . . . 
 Go right at it, Buck, and remember that if it is not done 
 it will be the end of our business career." 
 
 It is needless to state that this remarkable suggestion 
 was not complied with, as these " securities" existed only 
 in the fertile brain of Ward. On Tuesday, May 6th, 
 New York was startled by the announcement of the 
 failure of the Marine Bank, and also of the firm of Grant 
 & Ward. 
 
 General Grant was completely overwhelmed by the 
 collapse of the firm. But for several days the extent of 
 the disaster was not known, and the realization of the 
 gigantic proportions of the swindle came with a merciful 
 slowness. Mr. Fish bore an unstained reputation for 
 probity, and the officers of the Marine Bank refused to 
 ■credit any of the terrible rumors with which the atmos- 
 phere of Wall street was charged. The news of the fail- 
 ures was coupled with an assurance that the embarrass- 
 ment was only temporary. 
 
 General Grant's first thought was for his individual 
 liability to Mr. Vanderbilt for the $150,000 loan. The 
 morning before the suspension, the General's son had 
 gone to Mr. Vanderbilt and given him the check of Grant 
 & Ward for $150,000. And now the General's feeling 
 was one of deep thankfulness that, whatever losses he 
 might be called upon to bear, this loan, which he had 
 hesitated to ask, and which he regarded as in the highest 
 
514 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 degree a debt of honor, had been repaid. Alas ! he did 
 not then know that the check was worthless, and that the 
 scoundrel who had prevailed upon him, by his plausible 
 lies, to solicit the loan, knew the check to be valueless 
 when he signed it. When this was revealed to the 
 stricken hero, he staggered under the blow. But he 
 hesitated not a moment as to the course to be pursued. 
 This debt must be satisfied, even at the sacrifice of all his 
 earthly possessions. His wife, who had faithfully stood 
 by him in all the vicissitudes of his wonderful career, did 
 not flinch on this occasion. Of course the property which 
 stood in her name could have been preserved from legal 
 process, but no advantage was taken of this fact. On the 
 9 th of May, before the full extent of the terrible calamity 
 had been realized, the proper papers were executed, and 
 the real estate and personal property of Ulysses S. Grant 
 and Julia Dent Grant was transferred to William H. 
 Vanderbilt. Nothing was withheld, all of the mementoes 
 and presents even, every thing that had value was made 
 over. 
 
 Mr. Vanderbilt returned the deeds to General Grant 
 immediately upon their receipt, refusing positively to ac- 
 cept them. In the meantime, in order to protect the 
 property from other creditors to whom General Grant was 
 not bound in honor, the General begged Mr. Vanderbilt 
 to institute legal proceedings to recover the amount of 
 the loan. The General confessed judgment, and this 
 judgment stood as a lien upon the property, thus prevent- 
 ing its seizure by other creditors. 
 
 The failure of Grant & Ward was a monstrous matter. 
 When the failure was announced the liabilities were sup- 
 posed to be $2,500,000, But investigation developed a 
 most astounding state of affairs. Railroad bonds and 
 other securities taken as collateral, and which were sup- 
 
FINANCIAL TROUBLES. 51.-, 
 
 posed to be in the vaults of the firm, had entirely disap- 
 peared, and it was ascertained that they had been nscd 
 by Ward precisely as if they were his own property, and 
 had been transferred to other parties as security for mon('\- 
 borrowed by him, that is, in the language of Wall strei't. 
 they had been " rehypothecated." 
 
 After a thorough investigation the assignee of the Hrm 
 stated that the liabilities reached the enormous sum of 
 ^14,000,000, to meet which he found no assets whatever. 
 Everything had been swallowed up by the reckless specu- 
 lations and personal prodigality of Fish and Ward. Gen- 
 eral Grant and his sons had become involved far beyond 
 the amount of their investments, as during a temporary 
 embarrassment of the firm in 1881, the crisis had been 
 averted by giving personal notes, which were indorsed by 
 the firm. 
 
 As soon as it came to be generally known that the 
 Grants had so acted, a disposition was manifested to raise 
 a fund to take from the last days of his career the damning 
 pinch of poverty. General W. T. Sherman led the move- 
 ment, to which Mr. Vanderbilt liberally contributed. 
 Mr. Cyrus W. Field, who was actively pushing the matter, 
 received at this juncture a letter from General Grant, re- 
 questing that a stop be put to the matter, declining the 
 kind work of his friends. 
 
 The next move in the settlement of the troubles came 
 from Mr. Vanderbilt. Shortly after that gentleman re- 
 turned the deeds sent him by General Grant, he sailed for 
 Europe. The General and his wife inunediately took 
 advantage of his absence, and made formal transfer ot 
 the property in another wa}-. They executed mortgages 
 of all the property in favor of Mr. Vanderbilt. and placed 
 these mortgages in the hands of Mr. Vanderbilt's attor- 
 neys. The general public had been led, by various re- 
 
516 LIFE OF GENEKAL GEANT. 
 
 ports in the public prints, to form a very unfavorable idea 
 of Mr. Vanderbilt's character, and he had come to be re- 
 garded as utterly selfish and grasping. But his conduct 
 in connection with the loan to General Grant was marked 
 by a generosity and delicacy which did him infinite honor. 
 The concluding events in connection with this transaction 
 cannot better be told than by reprinting the following 
 correspondence : 
 
 640 Fifth AvExNUE, January 10th, 1885, 
 Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant — Dear Madam: So many misrepresenta- 
 tions have appeared in regard to the loan made by me to General 
 Grant, reflecting unjustly upon him and myself, that it seems 
 proper to briefly recite the facts. 
 
 On Sunday, the 4th of May last, General Grant called at my 
 house and asked me to lend him one hundred and fifty thousand 
 dollars for one day. I gave him my check without question, not 
 because the transaction was business-like, but simply because the 
 request came from General Grant. The misfortunes which over- 
 whelmed him in the next twenty -four hours aroused the sympathy 
 and regret of the whole country. You and he sent me within a 
 few days of the time the deeds of your joint properties to cover 
 this obligation, and urged my acceptance on the ground that this 
 was the only debt of honor which the General had personally in- 
 curred, and these deeds I returned. During my absence in Europe 
 the General delivered to my attorney mortgages upon all his own 
 real estate, household effects, and the swords, medals and works 
 of art which were the memorials of liis victories and the presents 
 from governments all over the world. These securities were in 
 his judgment worth the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
 At his solicitation the necessary steps were taken by judgment^ 
 etc., to reduce these properties to possession, and the articles men- 
 tioned have this day been bought in by me, and the amount bid 
 applied in reduction of the debt. Now that I am at liberty to 
 treat these things as my own, the disposition of the Avhole matter 
 most in accord with my feelings is this : 
 
 I present to you as your separate estate the debt and judgment 
 I hold against General Grunt; also the mortgages upon his real 
 estate and all the household furniture and ornaments, coupled 
 only with the condition that the swords, commissions, medals, 
 
 I 
 
FINANCIAL TROUBLES. oiT 
 
 gifts from the United States, States, cities and foreign govcnuiui its 
 and all articles of historic interest and value shall, at the (Jen- 
 eral's death, or, if you desire it, sooner, be presented to tlie gov- 
 ernment at Washington, where they will remain as perpetual 
 memorials of his fame and of the history of his time. 1 enclose 
 herewith assignments to you of the mortgages and judgments, a 
 bill of sale of the personal property and a deed of trust, in wiiicli 
 the articles of historical interest are enumerated. A copy of this 
 trust deed will, witli your approval, be forwarded to the President 
 of the United States, for deposit in the proper department. 
 
 Trusting that this action will meet with your acceptance and 
 approval, and with kindest regards to your husband, I am, 
 
 Yours respectfully, W. H. Vandekbilt. 
 
 General Grant replied as follows : 
 
 New York City, January 10(h, 1885. 
 
 Dear Sir : Mrs. Grant wishes me to answer your letter of this 
 evening, to say that while she appreciates your great generosity in 
 transferring to her the mortgages given to secure my debt of 
 $150,000, she cannot accept it in whole. She accepts with jilens- 
 ure the trust which applies to articles enumerated in your letter 
 to go to the government of the United States at my death, or 
 sooner, at her option. In this matter you have anticipated the 
 disposition wdiich I had contemplated making of the articles. 
 They will be delivered to the government as soon as arrangements 
 can be made for their reception. Papers relating to all other 
 property will be returned, with the request that you have it sold 
 and the proceeds applied to the liquidation of the debt which I so 
 justly owe you. You have stated in your letter with the minutest 
 accuracy the history of the transaction which brought me in your 
 debt. I have only to add that your giving me your check for tiie 
 amount without inquiry was an act of marked and unusual 
 friendship. The loan was to me ])ersonally. I got the money, as 
 I believed, to carry the Marine National Bank over a day, being 
 assured that the bank was solvent, but, owing to unusual calls, 
 needed assistance until it could call in its loans. I was assured 
 by Ferdinand Ward that the firm of Grant & Ward had over 
 3,000 to their credit at that time in the Marine Bank, besides 
 
 L,300,000 of unpledged securities in their own vault*. 
 
 I cannot conclude without assuring you that Mrs. Grant'.s in- 
 
518 LIFE or GENEEAL GRANT. 
 
 ability to avail herself of your great kindness in no way lessens 
 ■either her sense of obligation or my own. 
 
 Yours very truly, U. S. Grant. 
 
 W. H. Vanderbilt, Esq. 
 
 Mr. Vanderbilt still persisted in his generous purpose, 
 as will be seen from the next letter in the correspondence: 
 
 640 Fifth Avenue, January llth, 1885. 
 General U. S. Grant — My dear Sir: On my return home last 
 night I found your letter in answer to mine to Mrs. Grant. I ap- 
 preciate fully the sentiments which actuate both Mrs. Grant and 
 yourself in declining the part of my proposition relating to the 
 real estate. I greatly regret that she feels it her duty to make 
 this decision, as I earnestly hoped that the spirit in which the 
 offer was made would overcome any scruples in accepting it. But 
 I must insist that I shall not be defeated in a purpose to which 
 I have given so much thought, and which I have so much at 
 heart. I will, therefore, as fast as the mone}^ is received from the 
 sales of the real estate, deposit it in the Union Trust Company. 
 With the money thus realized I will at once create with that com- 
 pany a trust, with proper provisions for the income to be paid to 
 Mrs. Grant during her life, and giving the power to her to make 
 such disposition of the principal by her will as she may elect. 
 Very truly yours, W. H. Vanderbilt. 
 
 The first impulse of the General and his wife, on read- 
 ing this reiteration of Mr. Vanderbilt's generous inten- 
 tions, was to accept, and the following answer was re- 
 turned : 
 
 New York City, January 11th, 1885. 
 Dear Sir : Your letter of this date is received. Mrs. Grant and 
 I regret that you cannot accept our proposition to retain the prop- 
 erty which was mortgaged in good faith to secure a debt of honor. 
 But your generous determination compels us to no longer resist. 
 
 Y'ours truly, U. S. Grant. 
 
 To W. H. Vanderbilt. 
 
 Upon further reflection, however, Mrs. Grant felt that 
 aiie could not honorably accept the proposition, and she 
 
FIKANCIAL TROUBLES. 619 
 
 accordingly closed the correspondence with the following 
 note : 
 
 New York, January IMh, ISSo. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Vanderbtlt : Upon reading your letter of this 
 afternoon, General Grant and myself felt that it would be un- 
 gracious to refuse your princely and generous offer. Hence his 
 note to you. But upon reflection I find that I cannot, I will not 
 accept your munificence in any form. I beg that you Avill pardon 
 this apparent vacillation, and consider this answer definite and 
 final. 
 
 With great regard, and sense of obligation that will always re- 
 main, I am, Yours very gratefully, 
 
 Julia D. Grant. 
 
 When Mr. Vanderbilt opened the foregoing correspon- 
 dence he had already drawn up a deed of trust, convey- 
 ing the various trophies and presents which had become 
 his property to Mrs. Grant, under the condition men- 
 tioned in the correspondence. This deed of trust, which 
 explains itself, reads as follows : 
 
 Whereas, I, William H. Vanderbilt, of the city of New York, 
 Toy virtue of a sale made under a judgment in a suit to foreclose 
 a chattel mortgage in the Supreme Court of this State, in which I 
 •was plaintiff and Ulysses S. Grant defendant, which judgment was 
 entered on the 6th day of December, 1884, have become the owner 
 of the property and the articles described in the schedule here- 
 unto annexed, formerly the property of the said Ulysses S. Grant, 
 
 Now, therefore, to carry out a purpose formed by me, and in 
 -consideration of $1 to me paid, I do hereby transfer and convey 
 each and every one of the articles mentioned and itemized in tlic 
 said schedule to Julia Dent Grant, 
 
 To have and to hold the same to her, her executors and adminis- 
 trators, upon the trust and agreement, nevertheless, hereby ac- 
 cepted and made by her, that, upon the death of the said Ulysses 
 •S. Grant, or previously thereto, at her or their option, the same 
 shall become and be the property of the nation, and shall be taken 
 to Washington and transferred and conveyed by her and them to 
 .the United States of America. 
 33 
 
520 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 In witness whereof the said William H. Vanderbilt and Jnlia 
 Dent Grant have executed tliese presents this 10th day of January, 
 1885, W. H. Vanderbilt, 
 
 Julia Dent Grant. 
 
 The following is the list of personal property turned 
 over under this deed by Mr. Vanderbilt to the United 
 States, forever to be the property of the nation and for- 
 ever the record of the nation's distinguished son. The 
 relics were turned over to Colonel R. N. Batchelder, of 
 the War Department, on June 11th, 1885. The list was 
 prepared by Colonel Fred Grant : 
 
 Mexican onyx cabinet, presented to General Grant by 
 the people ,of Pueblo, Mexico. 
 
 Aerolite, part of which passed over Mexico in 1871. 
 
 Bronze vases, presented to General Grant by the people 
 of Yokohama, Japan. 
 
 Marble bust on pedestal, presented by workingmen of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Large elephant tusks, presented by the King of Siam. 
 
 Small elephant tusks, presented by the Maharajah of 
 Joharie. 
 
 Picture of General Scott, by Page, presented by gen- 
 tlemen of New York. 
 
 Crackleware bowls (very old), presented by Prince 
 Kaon of China. 
 
 Cloisonne jars (old), presented by Li-Hung-Chang of 
 China. 
 
 Chinese porcelain jars (old), presented by Prince Kaon 
 of China. 
 
 Arabian Bible. 
 
 Coptic Bible, presented by Lord Napier, who captured 
 it from King Theodore of Abyssinia. 
 
 Sporting rifle. 
 
 Sword of Donelson, presented to General Grant after 
 
FINANCIAL TROUBLES. •'-,21 
 
 the fall of Fort Donelson by officers of the army, and 
 used by him to the end of the war 
 
 New York sword, voted to General Grant at a New 
 York fair. 
 
 Roman mug and pitcher. 
 
 Silver menu and card, farewell dinner of San Fran- 
 cisco, Cal. 
 
 Silver menu of Paris dinner. 
 
 Horn and silver snuff-box. 
 
 Silver match-box used by General Grant. 
 
 Gold table, modelled after the table in Mr. McLean's 
 house, on which General R. E. Lee signed the articles of 
 surrender, and presented to General Grant by ex-Confed- 
 erate soldierSo 
 
 j Gold cigar-cases from the celestial and second Kings 
 of Siam. 
 
 Gold-handled knife, presented by the miners of Idalio. 
 
 Silver trowel, used by General Grant in laying the 
 corner-stone of the Museum of Natural History, New 
 York. 
 
 Knife made at Sheffield for General Grant. 
 
 General Grant's gold pen. 
 
 Embroidered picture (cock and hen), presented by citi- 
 zens of Japan, 
 . Field-glasses used by General Grant during the war. 
 
 L'on-headed cane made from the rebel ram Merrimac. 
 
 Silver-headed cane from wood used in defence of Fort 
 Sumter. 
 
 Gold-headed cane made out of wood from old Fort 
 Duquesne, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Gold-headed cane, presented in token of General 
 Grant's humanity during the war. 
 
 Gold-headed cane used by Lafayette and presented by 
 the ladies of Baltimore. 
 
522 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Carved wood cane from estate of Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 Uniform as General of the United States army. 
 
 Fifteen buttons cut from coats during the war by Mrs.5 
 Grant after various battles. 
 
 Hat ornaments used at Belmont and Fort Donelson. 
 
 Shoulder-straps (Brigadier-General), worn by General 
 Grant at Belmont, Fort Donelson and Shiloh, and straps 
 of Lieutenant-General, cut from the coat used by General 
 Grant in the campaigns against Richmond, Petersburg; 
 and Lee's army. 
 
 Medal (gold) from the American Congress for opening 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 Gold medal from Philadelphia. 
 
 Forty-five medals in gold, silver and bronze. 
 
 Silk papers printed for General Grant. 
 
 Collection of coins, Japanese. This is the only com- 
 plete set, except one in the Japanese Treasury. Seven i 
 of these pieces cost $5,000. Presented by Ihe govern 
 ment of Japan. 
 
 Warrant as cadet at West Point and army commissions ] 
 from Brevet Second Lieutenant to that of General. 
 
 Papers and mementoes, comprising addresses, honorary 
 society commissions and resolutions of respect, as well as 
 the freedom of cities presented abroad. 
 
 Just at this time there came one ray of sunshine to 
 break the dark shadows. Congress, animated by the 
 sentiment that pulsed through the public heart, took 
 action on the question of the General's restoration to the 
 army list. Several attempts had previously been made to 
 place General Grant upon the retired list, but they were 
 not successful owing to personal and party jealousies that 
 reigned supreme so long as Grant was prosperous. The 
 hour of his misfortune disarmed his enemies. The record 
 of Congress shows how the bill was finally passed : 
 
 i 
 
FINANCIAL TEOUBLES. rm 
 
 Washington, March 4. — Mr. Randall asked unanimous 
 consent to take from the Speaker's table and pass the 
 iGrant retirement bill. [Applause.] 
 
 I Mr. Bennett, of North Carolina, and Mr. Weller, of 
 Iowa, objected. 
 
 I Mr. Randall then moved to suspend the rules and 
 Iplace the bill on its passage, but the Speaker ruled the 
 motion was not in order, pending a decision of the elec- 
 tion case. 
 
 Mr. Randall then endeavored to secure his point by 
 movmg to suspend the rules and lay the election case on 
 the table, but the Speaker decided this was equally out 
 of order. 
 
 The confusion and excitement in the chamber was in- 
 tense. Dozens of members were on their feet demanding 
 recognition, but above the babel of voices rang out Ran- 
 dall's voice appealing to Mr. Bennett, of North Carolina, 
 to withdraw the election case. Finally, when he could 
 be heard, Mr. Bennett said that if the house would con- 
 sent to vote on the Fredericks- Wilson case, all objection 
 to Mr. Randall's motion would be withdrawn. 
 
 This declaration was greeted by a storm of consents 
 from the Republican side, and the confusion was so great 
 that it required five minutes' diligent work by the ser- 
 geant-at-arms with his mace in hand before comparative 
 order was restored. 
 
 Then Mr. Wilson, of Iowa, contesting in the election 
 case, rose, and amid a storm of cheers on the Republican 
 side, said that if the house would put General Grant on 
 the retired list, he was willing to be sacrificed. 
 
 Mr. Miller, of Pennsylvania, who has been leading the 
 filibustering against the election case, said that if the 
 house would permit a vote on Mr. Randall's motion the 
 opposition to the election case would be withdrawn. 
 
524 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 This was greeted by shouts of objection from the Demo 
 cratic side, and Mr. Randall, rushing down to the space 
 in front of the clerk's desk, cried out, '^ Don't let anything, 
 stand ni the way. Agree to anything." 
 
 " Then," said Mr. Miller, " in order that there may be no 
 excuse, I withdraw and permit a vote on the proposition! 
 of the gentleman from North Carolina, and I ask the 
 house to treat us fairly on both votes." 
 
 After another scene of confusion, Mr. Bennett de- 
 manded the previous question on the resolution of thei 
 committee on elections declaring Fredericks entitled to 
 the seat. 
 
 The resolution was adopted without any oppositioni 
 from the Republican side, and instantly upon Fredericks 
 taking the oath of office, Mr. Randall was on his feet with 
 his motion to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill 
 for the retirement of General Grant, without specifically 
 naming him. | 
 
 McMillen demanded a -second, while shouts of 
 ^' Shame," and "Oh, don't go back on your word," and 
 " That's fair," went up. Nearly every member was on ' 
 his feet, adding to the tumult, and prominent among 
 them wore Cassidy and Robertson, of Kentucky, demand- 
 ing fair play. Again did the services of the sergeant-at- 
 arnis and his mace become necessary to seat the members, 
 and then, a second having been considered as ordered, 
 McMillen, Stockslager and Watson briefly opposed the 
 bill as inaugurating a system of civil pensions, 
 
 Mr, Randall, who, under the rules, was entitled to 
 fifteen minutes debate, waived the right, and the yeas 
 and nays were immediately taken on the motion to 
 suspend the rules and pass the bill. When the name 
 of Mr. Fredericks, the newly-seated member was called, 
 he arose and voted in the affirmative, and the friends of 
 
FINANCIAL TROUBLES. 625 
 
 the bill treated him to a round of applause. The motion 
 to suspend the rules and pass the bill was agreed to — yeas 
 108, nays 78. 
 
 The announcement of the result was hailed with three 
 cheers, and with long and continued applause. 
 
 Mr. Skinner asked unanimous consent that the Speaker 
 be authorized to send a telegraphic dispatch to General 
 Grant announcing to him the result. At first objection 
 , was made by Mr. Cobbe, but it was subsequently with- 
 drawn, and the Speaker was authorized to send the des- 
 patch as proposed. 
 
 Mr. Randall was warmly congratulated on his success 
 by a number of members on both sides of the house. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Morrill the Chair appointed a com- 
 mittee ot two Senators to act with such committee as the 
 house may appoint to notify the President of the United 
 Statec that Congress, having finished its business, was now 
 ready to adjourn. 
 
 The Senators appointed were Messrs. Morrill and Har- 
 ris. At 11.35 a messenger from the house announced the 
 passage of a bill authorizing the President to place one 
 person on the retired list of the army. [Applause.] The 
 bill was read at length. 
 
 Mr. Ingalls then said : " Mr. President, the Nation 
 knows who that one person is. I ask unanimous consent 
 that the reference of this bill to the committee be waived, 
 and that it be now considered by the Senate." 
 
 The presiding officer (Mr. Garland), stated the bill was 
 a Senate bill, and nothing further was necessary to make 
 it a law, except the proper signatures. [Applause.] 
 
 Mr. Edmunds, resuming the chair, stated he had re- 
 ceived a communication which would now be read. He 
 handed the communication to Chief Clerk Jolin.son, who 
 read as follows : 
 
526 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 To the Hon. George F. Edmunds, President pro tempore United States 
 Senate : The accompanying communication, although an executive 
 message, may be read in open session. 
 
 Chester A. Arthur. 
 
 [Applause.] 
 
 The President pro tempore of the Senate. — Manifesta- 
 tions of applause are not in order. 
 The clerk read as follows : 
 
 Executive Mansion, March ith, 1885. 
 To the Senate of the United States : I nominate Ulysses S. Grant,, 
 formerly commanding the armies of the United States, to be Gen- 
 eral on the retired list of the army, with the full pay of such rank. 
 
 Chester A. Arthur. 
 
 The president pro tem. of the Senate then announced 
 that the nomination would be considered in open session. 
 " The question now is. Will the Senate advise and consent 
 to this appointment ? All Senators in favor will say aye. 
 [A storm of ayes.] All opposed, no. [Dead silence.] 
 The ayes have it unanimously." 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 grant's desperate illness — HOW THE DISEASE DEVELOPED 
 
 HIS TROUBLE A CANCER IN THE THROAT THE Vl(;iLS 
 
 OF THE DOCTORS AND A HISTORY OF THE CASE THE 
 
 HERO IS BAPTIZED THE LOVE OF THE PEOPLE HOW 
 
 HE WAS WATCHED AND TENDED THE REMOVAL TO 
 
 MOUNT MCGREGOR-DEATH-SYMPATHY OF THE WORLD. 
 
 The course of our story brings us now to its painful 
 close; to the weary days of watching beside a sufferer 
 who is so close to the shore of the endless river that he 
 longs to cross its silent tide and enter the peace of the lii'e 
 beyond. 
 
 Stonewall Jackson, weary, weak and dying, said to his 
 surviving friends, " Let us cross over the river and rest 
 beneath the trees." Grant often, in the hour of his agony, 
 wished for the same peace — a peace that a brave man 
 longs for. That he should so wish is easily understood 
 when the reader remembers that in all Grant's long 
 career he was a stranger to sickness. The ills and terrors 
 of war, the thousand bodily dangers to which a com- 
 mander is subjected, never seemed to harm him; he came 
 out of it all unscathed. 
 
 How his terrible disease came about is thus related by 
 a member of his family: "Early last autumn, 1884, 
 General Grant was visiting at the house of Mr. George 
 W. Childs, at Long Branch, and with his family and 
 friends was sitting on the piazza one bright afternoon. 
 In the course of conversation the General said : '1 ate a 
 
 (527) 
 
528 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 peach the other day, and ever since I have had a sore 
 throat.' Thereupon he coughed considerably, and Mr. 
 Childs suggested that he should allow Dr. Da Costa, of 
 Philadelphia, who was also visiting at the house, to 
 examine his throat. The doctor did so, and decided in 
 his own mind at that time that the case was one of epi- 
 thelioma. He at once advised the General to see his 
 family physician as soon as he arrived in New York. 
 
 " ' Who is your family physician ? ' asked Dr. Da 
 Costa. 
 
 " ' Dr Fordyce Barker,* answered the General. 
 
 " 'Ah ! I am glad to hear that ; you could not be in 
 better hands," replied the doctor. 
 
 " The General's throat continued to get sorer, and trou- 
 bled him not a little. When he returned to New York 
 he called upon Dr. Barker and asked him to look at it, 
 which the doctor did, and after prescribing for him, asked 
 him to call upon Dr. J. H. Douglas, of Twenty-sixth 
 street. 
 
 " In a few days the General and Mrs. Grant called upon 
 Dr. Douglas. This was early last October, and since 
 that time the doctor has been his attending physician. 
 Dr. Douglas is a specialist in throat diseases. 
 
 ''As far back as that time each of these physicians 
 agreed that the General had epithelioma, or cancer of the 
 throat." 
 
 During the months of November, December and Janu- 
 ary there was no appreciable change for the worse, except 
 that one day the General would feel very well and the 
 next day very much depressed. About the middle of 
 February an alarming change was noticed. 
 
 Drs. Barker and Douglas, being unwilling to shoulder 
 the entire responsibility of such an important case, decided 
 to call some one else in. Dr. Barker had met in consulta- 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. 629 
 
 tion a few days before, in another case, Dr. Markoo; Dr. 
 Douglas, in a similar way, had met Dr. Sands, and it 
 was agreed to ask these two physicians to come in. 
 
 On the 19th of February all four physicians met at the 
 residence of General Grant and looked at his tlu'oat. 
 They also decided that the case was epithelioma. The 
 result of this consultation was suppressed until February 
 22d, when the newspapers gave a full account of it. 
 Previously Drs. Elliott and Satterthwaite had examined 
 pieces of the throat under a microscojDe, and they, too, had 
 decided that the case was epithelioma. 
 
 The next consultation was held on March 8th. Dr. Mar- 
 koe did not attend this consultation, but Dr. George F. 
 Shrady was substituted in his place. His opinion coin- 
 cided with that of the others. As the case went on, Drs. 
 Barker and Sands attended only in consultation, the actual 
 work devolving upon Drs. Douglas and Shrady. In a few 
 days the General grew much worse. Besides the large 
 ulcer in the throat, his system generally became very 
 much depressed and wasted. 
 
 By this time the whole nation watched by the bed of 
 the sufterer. The world was aware that it must lose its 
 great General, and the waiting millions held their breath. 
 The medical diagnosis of his disease at this time — which 
 will interest our medical readers — is thus given b\- Dr. 
 Shrady, on May 7th: 
 
 " The condition still involves the right and posterior parts 
 of the pharynx, the right tonsillar region and the right 
 side of the base of the tongue. The palatal curtain is 
 still considerably infiltrated, although all signs of acute 
 inflammatory trouble have disappeared. At the base of 
 the uvula, on the right side, a small fungoid excrescence 
 has developed, which has shown a disposition to extend. 
 
 " On the free margin of the palatal curtain, midway 
 
530 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 between the uvula and right tonsillar region, a similar 
 growth of very small size has also appeared. The ulcera- 
 tion at the base of the right anterior faucial pillar, and 
 alongside of the tongue, presents a worm-eaten surface, 
 indicating an extension of the destructive process. The 
 breathing is free and the voice is clear, but the movements 
 of the tongue are somewhat restricted, affecting articula- 
 tion accordingly. The enlarged glands under and around 
 the right angle of the lower jaw are somewhat harder, 
 and, in consequence of surrounding inflammatory infiltra- 
 tion, are quite firmly fixed. There is, however, less pain 
 in the diseased parts than formerly, and the secretion of 
 mucus is less abundant. The patient obtains a full 
 night's sleep with a minimum amount of morphine, and 
 awakes in the morning feeling much refreshed." 
 
 The doctors, when this diagnosis was made, were firmly 
 convinced that the disease was cancer of the tongue only, 
 and all that they could do was to ease the General along 
 until his inevitable death. They remained in the house 
 day and night. At times the General gave up all hope. 
 On that eventful evening when he was expected to die at 
 any moment, the forms of all the newspapers were held 
 in readiness to issue a special edition. There were in the 
 house Drs. Shrady and Douglas. The family were up all 
 night, and with them were Dr. Newman and General 
 Badeau. General Grant was very low, and in the early 
 morning had an alarming hemorrhage. The family were 
 gathered around him, every member crying. The Gen- 
 eral reclined in one chair, with his pillow behind him, 
 and rested his feet on another chair. Dr. Shrady was 
 sleeping in another room. In rushed Dr. Douglas and 
 roused him with the words, " It's all over." 
 
 " What ! " said Shrady, " do you mean to say that the 
 man is dead ? " 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. 631 
 
 " No ; not dead, but he will be in a lew minutes. Notii- 
 ing can save him." 
 
 Dr. Shrady jumped up and ran into the room wliere tlie 
 General was. Mrs. Grant, weeping, reached out her hand 
 and said : " Ulysses, do you know me ? " 
 
 The General's chin was resting upon his breast. He 
 slowly raised his head and said : " Yes." 
 
 Dr. Newman exclaimed : " It is all over ; I will baptize 
 him." He went quickly into another room, got a silver 
 bowl, filled it with water, came back, dipped his iiand 
 into it, and said : " I baptize thee, Ulysses Simpson 
 Grant, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 
 
 The General slowly raised his head and remarked : 
 " I thank you." Then, turning to his family, he raised 
 one hand and uttered the words : " I bless you all." 
 
 To Dr. Newman he observed : " Doctor, I intended to 
 attend to this myself" 
 
 Meanwhile Drs. Shrady and Douglas were consulting 
 with each other in the corner. The strain was intense. 
 
 Dr. Douglas said : " He will die sure. He has gone ; 
 the pulse has left the wrist." 
 
 Dr. Shrady, as if struck by inspiration, replied : " I will 
 give him brandy." 
 
 " You cannot do it ; he cannot swallow." s:iid Dr. 
 Douglas. 
 
 " I will give it hypodermically," answered Dr. Shrady. 
 
 " How much ? " asked Dr. Douglas. 
 
 " A barrelful if necessary," retorted Dr. Shrady. 
 
 Dr. Shrady rushed into another room. " Harrison," 
 «aid he to the man-servant, "have you any brandy?" 
 Harrison answered " Yes," and handed him some. Dr. 
 Shrady rushed back and gave Grant a syringeful in each 
 arm. The General revived, the pulse returned to his 
 wrist, and his life, for the time, was saved. 
 
532 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The manifestations of interest in the dying hero were 
 world-wide and profound. Kings and queens and empe- 
 rors, ambassadors and ministers, senators and congress- 
 men, judges and divines, soldiers and citizens, o;rown 
 people and children, every one everywhere expressed their 
 tender sympathy for the dying hero. Notably so on the 
 occasion of his sixty-third birthday — April 27th. Early 
 in the morning his neighbors showed their gratitude that 
 the old hero's life had been spared by throwing their 
 country's flag to the breeze. Telegrams and letters of 
 congratulation began to pour in on the General from all 
 parts of the country. Soon after he arose and continued 
 up throughout the day. By noon Fred Grant had an- 
 swered nearly two hundred and fifty inquiries from people 
 in this city and elsewhere. Messenger boys, with huge 
 boxes or bouquets of flowers, darted in and out, and many 
 ladies drove up in their carriages and handed in their 
 floral tributes themselves. It was a day of joy in the 
 Grant household, and the patient himself was the happiest 
 of all. Birthday cards were sent by the basketful, of the 
 most expensive and costly finish, from all over the United 
 States, several of which were most unique. General 
 Grant sent the following for publication : 
 
 " To the various army Posts, societies, cities, public 
 schools. States, corporations and individuals, North and 
 South, who have been so kind as to send me congratula- 
 tions on my sixty-third birthday, I wish to offer my grate- 
 ful acknowledgments. The despatches have been so 
 numerous and so touching in tone that it would have 
 been impossible to answer them if I had been in perfect 
 health." 
 
 As the hot weather of summer approached it became a 
 question of where to take the patient. The General's 
 preferences were for the seaside ; his doctors' orders for 
 

 
 TEKDEli CARE OF THE DYING IlEKO. 
 
 533 
 
534 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 mountain air. Mr. Joseph W. Drexel, a wealthy New 
 Yorker, owned a very pleasant summer residence on 
 Mount McGregor, not far from Saratoga. This residence 
 was tendered General Grant for his use, and on June 10th 
 the patient was successfully moved. Every precaution 
 was taken to render the journey safe and comfortable. 
 Mr. Vanderbilt tendered the use of his private car and a 
 special train. The train arrived at Mount McGregor at 
 2 p. M. General Grant was unable to walk to the cbttage, 
 he had suffered so much on the journey. When he 
 reached the house his speech had utterly failed him, and 
 though Dr. Douglas, who accompanied the sick man, con- 
 sidered that he had borne up wonderfully well, he saw it 
 was an effort of will, not a result of physical strength. 
 
 The change was well planned, for the patient soon 
 began to improve and to gain somewhat on the disease. 
 For a couple of weeks after General Grant was removed 
 to Mount McGregor the bulletins issued from there were 
 of a reassuring character. The general sympathies of the 
 masses were gratified in the hope that perhaps the sufferer 
 would get well. It was not to be. The Angel of Death 
 was a patient watcher beside that soldier's bed. 
 
 A premonition of the end came on the 22d of July. 
 The special correspondents who for weeks had maintained 
 their ceaseless death-watch, on that morning telegraphed 
 as follows : 
 
 "General Grant is dying. There has been an alarming 
 change for the worse in his condition, and death may come 
 at any moment. The physician in charge will be sur- 
 prised if the General should live more than a day longer. 
 The General slept a good portion of Monday night from 
 sheer exhaustion. He began the day feeling very weak. 
 He was nervous and at times lost consciousness. He 
 •could retain but little liquid nourishment. Throughout 
 
 11 
 
SICKXESS AND DEATH. .V..t 
 
 the day he seemed to grow weaker, and when iii^lit set- 
 tled down upon the mountains there wa.s no one in the 
 cottage who did not reahze that the end was near. 'J'lie 
 famil}- gathered about the sick man. The}- feared at one 
 time that he might not live out the night, hut a shght 
 rally for the better gave promise that he might see the 
 light of another day. Dr. Douglas has telegraphed all the 
 absent memljers of General Grant's family that if they 
 wish to see the General alive tliey nmst come imniediatelv, 
 as he does not think life can be prolonged hiter tliaii 
 Wednesday evening. The doctor has also summoned 
 all the other physicians to come at once to Mount Mc- 
 Gregor." 
 
 Though the General was greatly exhausted by the jolt- 
 ing ride in his Bath chair on Monday afternoon, it v.aa 
 beheved yesterday morning that the eight hours of natural 
 gleep obtained the night before had restored a portion uf 
 the energy lost during his outing. The belief that the Gen- 
 eral bad in a measure recovered from his fatigue was su[)- 
 ported by a refreshed and somewhat brighter appearance. 
 His pulse had scai-cely the volume it had at eleven o'clock 
 Monday night, and as the morning wore on the doctor 
 thought he detected evidences of a feverish condition of 
 the patient; but the forenoon was passing so quietly as 
 to give strength to a belief that the General was resting 
 and further recuperating from the fatigue of the outing, 
 which had been uiidertaken at his solicitation, b^- liis ex- 
 pressed desire and after an assurance by liiinself that liis 
 strength was equal to the accomplishment of liis purpose. 
 But towards noon there grew in the physician's mnnl :i 
 I conviction, at the time unex^Dected, that the dozing 
 quietude of his patient was more that of extreme and 
 growing lassitude than of restful repose. 
 
 At midday there was a slight change in the siek man's 
 34 
 
5.S6 LIFE OF GEXERAL GRANT. 
 
 condition, which was marked hy increased weakness and 
 less cognizance of wliat was going on about him. Tliis 
 change was so slightly marked, however, that no unusual 
 alarm was felt hy the family, thougli it was deemed ad- 
 visable to report the same to Dr. Douglas, who at the 
 time was at the hotel. Accordingly Mr. Jesse Grant 
 walked up to the slope to speak to the doctor, who then 
 went down to the cottage. 
 
 The General was less quiet, though he desired rest. He 
 informed the physician that he had declined alcoholic 
 stimulants because he believed thev served onlv to heat 
 his sj-stem without imparting any strength. He expressed 
 himself as feeling that he could endure his condition of 
 weakness but a short time longer, and then requested the 
 physician to administer a hypodermic injection of moi-- 
 phine. Dr. Douglas was not much inclined to grant this 
 request, because he believed that sleep and rest produced 
 by artificial means would too rapidly drain the vitality of 
 the patient. Besides this, a lethargic tendency was de- 
 veloping in the case, which also influenced the doctor 
 against giving morphine, and, more than tiiis. Dr. Doug- 
 las preferred that his patient should take food rather than 
 opiates, and requested the General to do so. 
 
 The sick man, however, declined, and insisted on the 
 administration of morphine. At length, to satisfy him. 
 Dr. Douglas administered a portion of morphine, which 
 General Grant believed to contain tliree minims of the 
 drug. As a ftict, that quantity was not administered, but 
 a slight portion diluted in the usual three drops of liquid 
 was injected into the General's arm. Then the sick man 
 grew quieter and seemed to sleep, and then it was that 
 tlie physician left the cottage and reported his patient ex- 
 ceedingly weak. 
 
 The quietude, however, was not protracted. It has 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 .531 
 
 since been made known that the Geneial was attackccl 
 yesterday forenoon with hiccough, and this disturbing and 
 rapidly weakening, as well as significant factor, was presi-nt 
 in the afternoon and with added frequency. The sleep 
 which followed the giving of morphine, as stated, was 
 followed hy renewed hiccoughing. Attempts were made 
 as the afternoon was waning to give the General food. 
 He joined in the endeavor, but the amount was sninll. 
 
 
 
 THE COTTAGE AT MOUNT M'GREGOU. 
 
 A half hour might elapse aijd again the sick man would 
 ghmce up, as though having forgotten something he would 
 have remembered, and ejaculate the question, " When 
 are you going to give me the food you spoke of?" and 
 when told that he had just received food, but that more 
 would be given if desired, t4ie General would again fdl 
 into a half-unconscious doze and mutter, " Never mind, 
 never mind." 
 
 The afternoon was sultry and almost breathless, with 
 the thermometer registering as high as eighty-five de- 
 grees. There were no reviving elements in the atmos- 
 
538 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 phere, and the sun went down after a day of stilling dis- 
 comfort, even to persons in good health. The ex-Presi- 
 dent remained in his room and was not dressed during the 
 remainder of the day. lie did not move except, to rise 
 when the pillows, kept constantly beneath him to prevent 
 bed sores, were beaten up and aired. Several times he 
 walked feebly to his cot in the sick room while his rest- 
 ing-place was being thus aired and freshened. 
 
 So the afternoon wore on, and at six o'clock Dr. Douglas 
 went to the hotel to dinner. The Grant family were then 
 dining. Rev. Dr. Newman came up the mountain on the 
 train arriving at G.15 P. M. He joined the General's fam- 
 ily at their table, and there Dr. Douglas reported the Gen- 
 eral's condition. He said the patient was in a critical 
 condition, and would hazard no prediction of the future — 
 not even of the night. 
 
 Dinner concluded. Dr. Newman and Dr, Douglas re- 
 turned to the cottage. A light breeze had sprung up with 
 the going down of the sun, and hope was expressed that 
 the cooling air of the evening might revive the patient. 
 Colonel Fred Grant had been at the cottage but a little 
 while after his return from dinner, when he was said to 
 have expressed the belief that his father would not sur- 
 vive the night. The servants, as well as the l^imily, were 
 conscious that a critical season was near, and suspense 
 and illy-suppressed anxiety prevailed in and about the 
 cottage. The critical condition of the patient was not 
 generally known at the hotel, and merry groups of guests 
 were scattered about the piazzas. 
 
 Twilight settled down on the mountain and the electric 
 lights Hashed up about the hotel grounds and in the cot- 
 tage. Colonel Grant gave orders that all manuscripts and 
 literary effects at the cottage office should be at once 
 packed up and made safe, as no more work on the Gen- 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. 539 
 
 eral's meimoirs would probably be done there. Mrs. 
 Grant, Mrs. Sartoris, Mr. Jesse Grant and wife, and Col- 
 onel Grant's wife were sitting on the piazza or walking in 
 and out of the cottage. Twilight was deepening into 
 dusk when hurried movements were observed within the 
 cottage. Servants flitted from room to room, and Colonel 
 Fred Grant moved nervously about. Dr. Douglas was 
 with the patient and family at alternate intervals, and 
 some event seemed imminent. Ilenr}-, the nurse, was 
 seen to wheel one of the General's large chairs from the 
 sick room to the cottage parlor. Dr. Douglas and Colonel 
 Grant soon supported the sick man from his apartment 
 and settled him in the great chair that the nurse had 
 cushioned with pillows. The General's face was turned 
 towards the cottage door, through which, if he noted 
 surroundings, he could have seen the brilliantly-lighted 
 hotel as a vista through the native pine trees, that stood 
 up dark and whispering with the evening breeze on the 
 slope above the cottage. Mrs. Grant then took a place 
 beside her husband and fanned him almost incessantly. 
 
 Dr. Douglas, when questioned, said the General had 
 been brought into the parlor so that he might benefit In- 
 freer air; but though the sick man was coherent when he 
 spoke in whispers, he spoke but little and was sinking 
 surely. Members of the family passed througli tlie room 
 and gathered at the doors and windows ; then were seated 
 on the piazza, but for short periods, and then passed from 
 room to room. The dusk had given way to daikness. 
 •The General, seeming to take little note of occurrences 
 about him, still sat with his face to the door, while the 
 nurse and Mrs. Grant waved fans before his face. Critical 
 moments were passing. 
 
 Mrs. Grant whispered to Dr. Newman shortly before 
 nine o'clock and asked him to offer prayer. The clergy- 
 
540 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 mfin knelt beside the General and offered prayer, while 
 the family and the physician stood with bowed heads. It 
 was an impressive scene. 
 
 Dr. Newman remarked that the critical change was 
 evident in the face finally. That had been last to show 
 the nearness of the end and the eyes seemed larger and 
 wore a wistful and changed expression. The intellect, 
 however, remained supreme. 
 
 At midnight the cottage was quiet, though the electric 
 lights gleamed bright on the piazzas. 
 
 For an hour the patient's pulse had been fluttering and 
 weak, but soon after nine o'clock it steadied and grew a 
 shade firmer. Then he lowered his feet and crossed his 
 knees; next he raised his hand to his face and rested his 
 cheek against it. Dr. Douglas was beside the man he 
 had so long watched, and as these changes took place he 
 glanced up significantly into the faces of the family 
 grouped around the chair. Finally, as the hour of ten 
 o'clock drew near. General Grant looked up and spoke to 
 his daughter Nellie. Then he indicated a purpose to 
 write and did so. There were instructions for his family. 
 Handing one note to Colonel Fred, the General looked up 
 into his face with large eyes that had in them a pitiful 
 expression. 
 
 " I have already attended to that, father," returned the 
 colonel, as he bent over the General. 
 
 The General addressed other members of the family. 
 The pulse was growing steadier, and the night had passed 
 beyond eleven o'clock, and a half hour later the sick man 
 demonstrated that he was General to the last. The family 
 were sitting on the piazza or standing near the windows and 
 entrances. The General beckoned Dr. Douglas to his side. 
 
 " Tell them all to go to bed," he whispered, and then 
 added : '• There is no earthly use of sitting up longer." 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. 541 
 
 Dr. Douglas walked out on the piazza and delivered 
 this message of command. It was obeyed by all except 
 Colonel Grant, who remained during the night witli Dr. 
 Douglas. Dr. Newman and Stenographer Dawson re- 
 paired to the hotel and the various members ol" the llunily 
 retired to their rooms in the cottaGfc. 
 
 o 
 
 At times the General received a hypodermic injectin of 
 brandy. This brightened him. His pulse becatne quite 
 regular and showed some firmness. He was awake and 
 perfectly conscious. The rally, however, was made with- 
 out any stimulants; indeed, he refused them when ollered. 
 
 The day following, Thursday, July 23d, was to be the 
 last on earth. The w^atching, patient correspondents thus 
 described the scenes : 
 
 " MocNT McGregor, July 23d, 9 a. m. 
 "The early morning hours of yesterday at the Grant 
 cottage were cool and refreshing. On the veranda, where 
 the incandescent electric lamps were burning all night, 
 the thermometer at two o'clock this morning marked 
 seventy-two degrees. This was the equable temperature 
 maintained in the sick-room while General Grant remained 
 in New York, and to it was added this morning the sweet 
 smell from the pine trees that bend over the cottage roof. 
 A gentle breeze, soft and delicious, swept miles and miles 
 down the valley and from the mountains. It stirred the 
 curtains at the window near which sat the sick man, iind 
 it fanned his face more gratefully than could the careful 
 hands that were watching near. Between two and three 
 o'clock this morning the gray tint of another day crept up 
 the horizon beyond the Green Mountains. xVround the 
 cottage all was quiet, except for the occasional twitter of 
 a bird in the birches or pines. Occasionally Hemy, the 
 nurse, walked out upon the piazza for fresher air and a 
 
542 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 glimpse of the night. Once, at nearly three o'clock, Mrs. 
 Grant, attired in a loose gown of white, came out upon 
 the veranda and seated herself in one of the many deserted 
 willow chairs that were scattered in groups about the 
 piazza. For ten minutes she sat motionless and gazed 
 away to the east, where the gray tint of another day had 
 grown to a fuller promise. Her face rested on her hand, 
 and she was evidently wrapt in thought. 
 
 " Suddenly there came the sound of coughing from 
 within the cottage. The General was clearing his throat 
 of mucus. Mrs. Grant left the piazza quickly and seated 
 herself by the General's side, slowly fanning his face. 
 The cou(]rhin2: was not severe. Colonel Fred Grant entered 
 the room while the nurse was aidim? his father and took 
 a seat at the side and behind the General. It was time 
 to administer food. The nurse touched the shoulder of 
 Dr. Douglas as he lay asleep on a couch in the same room. 
 He arose fully dressed, as he was all night, and seated 
 himself beside the patient. The food was given from a 
 cup and the mouth and throat were cleared by the 
 doctor. 
 
 " It was nearly four o'clock and the gray of the east had 
 changed to pale orange tints. AVhen the physician laid 
 aside his appliances General Grant leaned forward in his 
 chair and signified a desire that a lamp should be brought. 
 The nurse brought a candle and held it at the sick man's 
 shoulder, and at the moment the General turned his face 
 toward the light and upward to bid the nurse bring his 
 pad and pencil. His wish was not at the moment under- 
 stood, and turning a trifle further the General repeated 
 his wish. 
 
 " The scene at this moment was a picture in shadows. 
 As the flickering candle rays fell across the face of Gen- 
 eral Grant it became a grim Rembrandt, with strong, 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. i548 
 
 rugged lines broken down by suflering and p.-iin. On his 
 head was the skidl cap that at all times lent a startling 
 effect to his appearance, and from beneath it struggled 
 the hair that clung in sweat-moistened locks about the 
 emaciated neck. A crimson scarf had been thi'own over 
 the back of the General's chair, but as he leaned forward 
 it drew across his shoulders, one end being gatiiered uiidcr 
 his arm. A dark dressing-gown covered the patient's 
 attenuated form, and a handkerchief encircled his neck. 
 The gray of the close-cut beard seemed white, and the 
 lines on cheeks and forehead were deep indeed, and when 
 the face was turned upward to speak the eyes seemed 
 grayer, too, and abnormally larger. They w'ere clear and 
 steady, showing that the General's reason was clearly at 
 his command ; but there was that wistful and yearning 
 expression in them that makes women weep and men 
 grow sympathetic. The General's face as he spoke ap- 
 peared strained and drawn, but its color and fulness were 
 not such as would be expected after such suffering and 
 care. The lips moved heavily and the whisper was husky 
 and low, but the nurse understood and the pad and pencil 
 were brought. Then, while the red light of the candle 
 fell on his downcast face, he wrote, but only brielly. 
 
 "The slip was handed to Dr. Douglas, who at once turned 
 it over to Colonel Grant, who had arrived and stood beside 
 his mother at the General's side. It was a private family 
 communication, and when finished the sick man resumed 
 his half-reclining position, with his head slightly inclined 
 forward and his elbows on the sides of the chair, while 
 the fingers of either hand were interlocked each with the 
 other beneath his chin. 
 
 " It was 4.30 A. M., and the peaks of the mountains 
 eastward were darkly outlined against the reddening 
 •dawn. The fiint glow crept between the pines and 
 
544 LIFE OF GE]S^ERAL GllANT. 
 
 birches through the cottage windows and tinged the sick 
 man's cheek with the dawn of what was believed by the 
 doctors to be his Last day. At five o'clock Dr. Doughas 
 M-as aroused to send a summons for Dr. Sands. It was 
 sent onl}^ that the responsibility of the case at the close 
 of the night should be shared by the members of the 
 medical staff, and not with the thought that an}- aid could 
 be rendered by any person at that time or through the 
 opening day. 
 
 " The General moved restlessly and his eyes for a few 
 minutes gazed intently away through the trees, where a 
 new day was beginning. Then he settled down in his 
 chair and dozed." 
 
 " As the morning advanced the General was given 
 stimulants, but he grew weaker hour by liour. The 
 morning was clear, and the mercur}^ registered 80 degrees 
 at eleven o'clock. All visitors were kept from the cottage, 
 and the quiet of a Sabbath day prevailed about the 
 spot. Dr. Douglas and Rev. Dr. Newman remained with 
 the family, and the morning was one of quiet waiting. 
 The General sat as he did last night. His eyes were 
 closed most of the time, but his mind was clear whenever 
 he spoke. The only one necessary to make the family 
 complete was U. S. Grant, Jr., who had been telegraphed 
 to last night. The doors of the General's room were shut 
 and the blinds closed, but the cool breeze of the early 
 afternoon found a passage through the blinds. At 2.15 
 o'clock the members of the family and Dr. Newman were 
 grouped in the darkened room near General Grant. Ob- 
 serving their evidences of feeling, the General said : * I 
 do not want anybody to be distressed on my account.' 
 
 " A singular occurrence at the cottage was related by 
 Dr. Newman as taking'place at one o'clock. At five min- 
 utes of one the General asked the hour of the day. 
 
SICKNESS AND DKATII. 645 
 
 "'One o'clock,' spoke one of tlioso near tlic Clcncral. 
 Soon afterward the cottage clock chimed twelve strokes, 
 and the General counted them. Then he wrote on his 
 pad that he observed the clock was wrong, ajid indicatecl 
 a desire to have it struck to the right hour, wliich was 
 done, and the incident passed as one more of the remark- 
 able episodes of the General's later sickness, 
 
 "Dr. Sands and Dr. Shrady arrived at quarter past tlireo 
 o'clock, on a special train, -svliich also brought U. S. Grant, 
 Jr., and his wife. The new-comers retired at once to the 
 cottage, when the phj-sicians met immediately with Dr. 
 Doudas in consultation. Having left the cottage, it was 
 stated that Drs. Shrady and Sands had found General 
 Grant in the critically low condition already stated by 
 Dr. Douglas. No one of the staff was willing to make 
 any prediction beyond twenty-four hours, whicli period it 
 was then deemed possible that the General miglit survive. 
 The doctors found the pulse to be 100 beats a minute. 
 The pulse was said, unofficially, to have been as high as 
 130 degrees. 
 
 " The development of weakness during the afternoon 
 was not particularly noticeable from hou;' to hour, but 
 between three o'clock and six o'clock there was a clearly, 
 if not violently, marked increase of weakness. At tliree 
 o'clock it was possible to measure the pulse beats, but at 
 six o'clock one of the physicians stated that the pulse 
 could not be counted. There were two reasons existent 
 for the inability of the doctors to catch tlie pulse l)eats— 
 they were so frequent and so feeble. During the at'ter- 
 noon the blood-tide had so quickened that it more rapidly 
 wore the system and exhausted the frail ))asis. if any 
 existed, upon which might be placed a hope that the 
 General would rally. The point was reached at six 
 o'clock, when there was little to be exf>c^cted frotn at- 
 
546 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 tempts to administer food. Soon after six o'clock Har- 
 rison came up from the cottage and told Drs. Sands and 
 Shrady that Dr. Douglas desired to see them at the cot- 
 tage. Thither went the doctors. They remained, how- 
 ever, but a short time. While the temperature of General 
 Grant was nearly, if not quite, normal, the respirations 
 were nearly thirty per minute. The family, beginning 
 at six o'clock, came to the hotel to dinner in twos, the 
 others remaining at the cottage. The family dined in a 
 private room set apart for their use at the hotel, in order 
 that sit this critical time they might be secluded from the 
 curious. The closed and silent cottage had all day sug- 
 gested the enactment of the last scene in General Grant's 
 earthly existence. 
 
 " While the physicians were at dinner Harrison came to 
 the hotel and called Dr. Douglas, who went at once and 
 alone to the cottage. Soon afterward another messenger 
 summoned Drs. Shrady and Sands, and they repaired to 
 the cottage, closely followed by Rev. Dr. Newman. The 
 exits of the doctors and clergyman from the hotel were, 
 however, so quietly effected that few knew that they had 
 been summoned to the cottage. After arriving there they 
 found General Grant again evidently sinking. The Gen- 
 eral seemed restless. 
 
 " ' Would you like to lie down, father?' asked Colonel 
 Fred Grant, who noticed his father's restlessness. 
 
 " The General nodded and at the same moment tried to 
 rise unassisted, but the effort was too great and he sank 
 back into the chair, and the colonel and nurse aided him 
 to arise and then supported him to the bed, where he was 
 carefully lowered to a reclining position and partly on his 
 face. Dr. Douglas then rolled the chair back, and one of 
 the phj^sicians remarked that the General had now left 
 his chair for the last time. The belief was that General 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. 647 
 
 Grant had at length Liin down to die. Tlio family were 
 all gathered around the sick man, and ajrain Dr. New- 
 man, at about the same hour as last night, and ;;t .Mrs. 
 Grant's request, knelt beside the General and })ra3ed. 
 Heads were bow^d and tears were on the cheeks of men 
 as well as of women. 
 
 "As the sun went down a cool breeze, as last night, 
 sprang up, and all thought that the cool night would 
 help General Grant to rally. The doctors, however, were 
 prepared to attend the General's death-bed at a moment's 
 notice. The doctors stood somewhat apart, and the 
 family was near its fast-sinking head, and then, after an 
 hour, death seemed a little less rapidly gaining on the 
 man it had pursued just nine months to-day, for it w:\sjust 
 nine months ago to-day that General Grant walked into 
 Dr. Douglas' office to seek his professional aid for the 
 cancer that has done what war could not do. Then the 
 doctors and clergyman strolled out upon the piazza and 
 sat near the parlor window, and Jesse Grant joined them 
 at times ; but the other members of the fomily remained 
 in the sick-room and watched and w^aited, while the Gen- 
 eral answered 'yes' and 'no' to several questions. 
 
 " Time there passed slowly indeed, and at length, at 
 8.15 o'clock, Dr. Douglas left the cottage. 
 
 " ' How is it, doctor?' w^as asked him. 
 
 " ' He is dying,' said the gray-haired physician. 
 
 " ' Will he live an hour ? ' was asked again. 
 
 " ' Oh, yes, and possibly more, but he is passing away/ 
 was the response; and, after a little time at the hotel, 
 Dr. Douglas returned to the cottage. 
 
 "At nine o'clock the General's pulse had reacluMl the 
 point of 165 beats to the minute and was {jiittering. 
 About nine o'clock General Grant sank into a sleep 
 that was described by a witness as the peacrfnl and 
 
548 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 beautiful sleep of ii cliikl. This condition, however, was 
 not one to command confidence, for the pulse beats were 
 still rapidly fluttering, and the respiration, which nor- 
 mally is fourteen to the minute, was now forty-four. At 
 10.30, however, it was stated by reliable authority that 
 the General was in slightly better condition than two 
 hours before, and quieter, but as against any hopeful in- 
 ference that might be drawn from this fact was the other 
 fact that from this condition, which bordered upon the 
 lethargic state, the patient might quietly drift into final 
 unconsciousness. 
 
 " During the evening the extremities of the sick man 
 had been cold, and in the visible symptoms were the 
 signs that nature puts out when death is chilling the 
 powers. The General, as the night passed, seemed to be 
 suffering no pain, though the lines of his face were 
 drawn and the furrows of the brow were knitted as he 
 lay upon the cot, beside which the family were constantly 
 watching. 
 
 " At eleven o'clock the General was not asleep. The 
 hands and forearms were colder than two hours before, 
 but the feet not so nmch so. The pulse and respiration 
 had not changed. The patient's mind was yet clear and 
 comprehensive of events and utterances about him. Be- 
 tween ten and eleven o'clock Dr. Shrady had accosted the 
 General, and he answered in a husky voice and promptly. 
 Siinudants were being used sparingly. There was ex- 
 pressed by medical authority about eleven o'clock a belief 
 that the closing crisis might occur either at one or four 
 o'clock in the morning. 
 
 "At midnight General Grant remained quiet, though 
 he was not asleep, the coming hour being looked for with 
 great anxiety. 
 
 " Bottles of hot water were placed at the General'^ 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. 549 
 
 feet to induce warmth, uiul mustard ijlastcrs wore apnlicd 
 [over the stomach and breast to preserve the Ihigt^Mii-: 
 circulation. 
 
 '' 1 A. M. — General Grant remains in the same condi- 
 tion. Pulse and respiration are unchanged, and tlKM-u is 
 a feeling that he may tide over the weakness until 
 4 A. M. Hypodermics of brandy are being usimI. 
 
 '' 2 A. M. — The family is astir at the cottage, tijough 
 there are no visible indications that point to other cmdi- 
 tions than at the time of the last bulletin. 
 
 "3 A. M. — General Grant is in a somnolent condition. 
 The respirations have grown shallow and the General is 
 no longer able to expectorate, because of weakness, which 
 is increasing. There seems little possibility that the 
 patient will survive the night. 
 
 "4 A. M. — The respirations are fifty, the pulse so rai)id 
 as not to be counted, and hypodermics, which have been 
 quite freely administered through the night, have no 
 longer any marked effect. The family are still astir. 
 
 ''At six o'clock the ladies of the family were seated on 
 the veranda wdth Drs. Douglas and Shrady. Dr. New- 
 man paced up and down the paths about the cottage. 
 Through the open door and windows the quick breatiiing 
 of the General was distinctly audible. Dr. Douglas came 
 out, but could give no suggestion of adefniite limit ot the 
 General's life. 
 
 " ' His brain, his heart and his lungs are alive, and that 
 is all I can say of either or all,' said the doctor. 
 
 " With the coming of lidit the doctors urged the fauiily 
 so strongly to take some rest, telling theui that they 
 would be called in case of a crisis, that they reluctantly 
 complied. Dr. Sands had gone to the hotel at eight 
 o'clock the evening before, and took no share ui tht- vigil. 
 Drs. Shrady and Douglas were M\ on the watch, with 
 
550 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the assistance of Henry, the nurse. At about five o'clock 
 Dr. Douglas walked up to the lawn in front of the hotel 
 and stood for a few moments admiring the beautiful sun- 
 rise that was bringing out into sharp relief the peaks and 
 shoulders of the distant eastern hills. He soon joined 
 Dr. Shrady again. Dr. Newman came up to the hotel 
 also about half an hour after, and remained ten or fifteen 
 minutes. He said the General was dying by inches, just 
 as Dr. Dousflas had said a few minutes before. Dr. New- 
 man then returned and paced slowly up and down before 
 the cottage for half an hour, while Drs. Douglas and 
 Shrady sat on the veranda. Henry was in the sick room, 
 never taking his eyes off the dying man. Occasionally 
 he applied to the General's lips a cambric wet with cool 
 water, as had been done at intervals durins; the niiiht. 
 The lips moved in response to the touch, but it was only 
 mechanical. 
 
 " The doctors were seated on the porch at 7.45, when 
 Henry, the nurse, came out and summoned them to the 
 bedside of the dying man. All the family were in the 
 room at the time, excepting the grandchildren, who were 
 asleep in the nursery. Mrs. Grant was by the General's 
 side, looking; into his face. Mrs. Sartoris was immedi- 
 ately behind her mother, looking over her shoulder. 
 Colonel Fred Grant was at the head of the bed. 
 
 " On the opposite side of the bed from his mother, and 
 directly before her, stood Jesse Grant and U. S. Grant, 
 Jr., and near the corner of the cot, on the same side as 
 Jesse, and near to each, was Mr. N. E. Dawson, the Gen- 
 eral's confidential secretary. At the foot of the bed, and 
 gazing directly down into the Genenil's fice, were Mrs. 
 Fred Grant, Mrs. U. S. Grant, Jr., and Mrs. Jesse Grant, 
 while somewhat removed from the family circle were 
 Henry, the nurse, and Harrison Tyrrel, the General's body 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. r^l 
 
 servant. Dr. Newman had gone to the hotel to hn-ak- 
 fiist, and was not present. Mrs. Grant controlled Iins.lf 
 remark abl3^ 
 
 "The doctors noted that already the purplish tin,ize whicii 
 is a signal of final dissolution had settled beneath the 
 patient's finger nails. The hand that Dr. Douglas lifted 
 was fast growing cold. The pulse had llutteretl heyond 
 the point where the physician could distinguish it from 
 the pulse beats in his own finger tips. The respii-ation 
 was very rapid, but so weak that its painful sound was 
 gone, and it was scarcely audible at all. 
 
 " Mrs. Grant almost constantly stroked the face, forehead, 
 and hands of the dying General, and at times pressed both 
 his hands, and, leaning forward, kissed his face. 
 
 "Thus twenty minutes or so passed, the General lying 
 with his eyes closed. Mrs. Sartoris eagerly sought to bo 
 recognized by her dying father. At last he opened his 
 eyes and they met those of his daughter. Hers was the 
 last face he saw. In a moment more the tense and weary 
 look went out of his face, his eyes closed, and with one 
 faint breath his life left him. The watchers waited for 
 another breath in a silence so complete that the singing 
 of the birds outside the cottage sounded loud and clear. 
 The doctors in a low voice announced that the end had 
 come, and they withdrew. The nurse closed down the 
 dead man's eyelids, and the family group pressed to the 
 bedside, one after the other, and touched their li[)s u[>on 
 the quiet face." 
 
 Being dead, let us think an instant of the man and his 
 career. Colonel McClure, the editor of the Philadelphia 
 Times, and the man who, with Andrew Curtin, led the 
 Liberal Republican movement in Pennsylvania in IS « 2, 
 thus ably sums him up : 
 
 "Ulysses S. Grant is dead. 
 
 35 
 
.r,2 LIFE OF GENEKAL GRANT. 
 
 " The shadows of his distressing malady were visible on 
 every side, as they called up the echoes of the universal 
 sorrow of his countrymen; and in the lands of strangers. 
 of every civilization and clime there were sincere re- 
 sponses of sympatliy and homage as the light of his great 
 life flickered fitfully in the socket, lie had fullv outlived 
 the asperities which distinction provokes, and the errors 
 of his own career, the common inheritance of even the 
 wisest, had been as freely forgotten by the world as they 
 had been frankly regretted by himself While eminent 
 usefulness could have resulted for yet many j-ears from 
 such a life, so ripened in honors and experience, his great 
 work was accomplished and he left nothing unfinished ; 
 and the profound devotion of the nation that noted with 
 ceaseless anxiety the ebb and flow of the life currents in 
 the battle with disease, sorrowed as it saw the end at 
 hand, and yet sorrowfully welcomed the end when it 
 came. It was the only relief from the terrible malady 
 that mingled no ray of hope with its fearful agonies, and 
 death was peace, 
 
 " In all the more than century of American greatness, 
 no man has more impressed his individuality upon the 
 country and the world than has General Grant. AYa'sh- 
 ington was wiser than Grant; Jefierson was vastly abler 
 and more philosophical; Jackson was more despotic and 
 3'et more the man of sentiment; Lincoln was more saga- 
 cious, more patient and more tolerant, and Garfield was 
 more scholarlj^ and broader in statesmanship; but no one 
 man of our history so distinctively emphasized his indi- 
 viduality in war and in peace, in the field and in states- 
 manship, as did General Grant. He had none of the 
 ornate characteristics of Clay ; none of the ostentation of 
 Scott ; none of the impetuous qualities of Sherman. 
 What he was, he was of himself and by himself; a self 
 
SICKXESS AND DEATIL 
 
 creation whoso history puzzles the reckoning of the world 
 imcl makes romance pale before it. Tlic thoughtless would 
 scan the surface of his record, from the multiplied ill- 
 fortune of early life to the highest stepping in the round 
 of fame, and call it accident; but accidents buih] no such 
 structures of imperishable renown. 
 
 "A new and supreme occasion came npon the Tiepublic 
 a quarter of a century ago, and it presented new and 
 entirely exceptional duties. The country turned to those 
 who had gathered its greenest chaplets in heroism and 
 trusted them ; but one by one they fell by the wayside 
 in attempting the full measure of their calling. The 
 Chieftain of two wars, the acknowledged Captain of the 
 Age, was dw\arfed into pitiable failure, and the fame of 
 Scott was dimmed in its long-unrivalled lustre by the sad 
 story of Manassas. McClellan came as the heralded 
 Young Napoleon, and the country gave him unbounded 
 trust and homage ; but his star flxded in bitter parti^nm 
 strife on the Peninsula, and he redeemed at Antietam the 
 disgraceful bombast and failure of Pope, without making 
 himself the master that only an indispensable leader could 
 achieve. Ilalleck, esteemed the ablest soldier of the land, 
 the trained strategist and standard authority in the science 
 of war, rose over McClellan only to fade out in forgetful- 
 ness. The Army of the Potomac, justly pronounced by 
 one of its commanders 'the finest on the phuiet.' worshij)- 
 ped chieftain after chieftain, but the names of McDowell, 
 McClellan, Pope, Burnside and Iloolver repeated the same 
 lesson of disappointment, and even the historic field ol 
 Gettysburg, althouo-h the death-blow of rebellion, liiiled 
 I to grasp the sceptre of supreme connnand for its victor. 
 
 "It was after these bitter pages had been written in 
 the history of the war that the country turned to one who 
 had escaped partisan complications by golden silence, and 
 
554 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 who bad fought and fought; who even when blunderinol 
 fought again, and when defeated fought with greater des^ 
 peration. He had wooed ficl^le fortune in multipHed faili! 
 ures, and until fortj winters had fled with the vigor oft 
 his youth, he had no past that ranked him above the com-i 
 nion of the commonplace of his callings, either as soldier 
 or civilian. He was the cheaply-employed assistant in a 
 Galena tannery when rebellion sounded the call to fraternal' 
 conflict. He njarched to the capital of his State at the 
 head of a company of volunteers, was long denied his' 
 coveted colonelcy, and in four brief years he coinmanded 
 more men, fought more battles and won more decisive 
 victories than any warrior of modern history. His first! 
 failure at Belmont caused no surprise, but as he electrified i 
 the country by the victories of Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, 
 and Nashville, his name and his stubborn qualities and 
 tireless energies as a commander won him the enthusiastic 
 homage of the people. Shiloh clouded his fiime for a i 
 season, and but for his one distinguisliing characteristic as 
 a persistent and never-whipped fighter, Shiloh would have 
 been to Grant what Manassas was to McDowell, the Pen- 
 insula to McClellan, the second Manassas to Pope, Fred- 
 ericksburg to Burnside and Chancellorsville to Plooker. 
 'I cannot spare this man ; he fights,' was the answer of 
 Abraham Lincoln when the people, the press and Congress ■ 
 clamored for his dismissal after Shiloh, and that one 
 quality made him the man for the new occasion and the 
 new duties that had broken a score of embryo chieftains 
 on the wheel of cruel fate, 
 
 " The stubborn struggle for Vicksburg ; the heroic 
 strategy of the whirl through Jackson to make the surer 
 investment of the city ; its capture on the natal day of 
 the Republic that also recorded the memorable retreat of 
 Lee from Gettysburg, and the later conflict of Lookout 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH. .V>-j 
 
 [Mountain fought abov^e the clouds, made the hleedin;.' and 
 sorrowing nation turn to General Grant as with one voice 
 to be its leader of leaders, and he obeyed the call to hi.i'ki' 
 the thrilling history of the Wilderness and the battles ou 
 ithe James. ' I propose to move innnediately uj)on y<Mir 
 works' was his notice to the commander of Fort Doiul- 
 gon, when quibbling over the terms of" surrender; and "I 
 propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all suunner' 
 was ihe eloquent echo of his indomitable prowess that 
 came up from the flame and tempest of the sanguinary 
 conflict of the Wilderness. He was then the ci^uutry'.s 
 commander, and unfaltering popular trust followed him in 
 his bloody march from the Rapidan to Petersburg. Mili- 
 tary critics questioned his methods and disputed his 
 strategy, but the nation took no pause in its unijualili* d 
 faith in its chosen chieftain. He might err; but he was 
 wisest, safest, best to attain the grand consunnnation ; 
 treasure, lives and faith answered to his will, and in the 
 fulness of time, the terrible reapers in the harvest of 
 death rested at Ap^wmattox. There, liero of heroes iu 
 war, he was equally hero of heroes in peace, and the con- 
 quered insurg-ent retired from the field made lustrous l)y 
 the matchless valor of both blue and gray, not a captive, 
 but as citizen, charged with the fulfilment of the great 
 mission of restored brotherhood, Wlieii the Great Cai)taiu 
 iiad issued his last order for the charge of battle, his next 
 order to the whole nation was : ' Let us have peace. 
 
 Thus the confessed Captain of the Age, General G rant, 
 was called to the Presidency. Looking only at tlie innue- 
 diate record of his eight yeare of civil administration, thi-y 
 did not brighten or enlarge his fame; but looking at his 
 khole career, in the field and in statesmanship, from the 
 standpoint of the present, with the homage of the many 
 peoples that encircle the earth interwoven in our national 
 
 pec 
 
5.56 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 history, the grandeur of his achievement is heightened bja 
 having filled the full measure of earthly honors as hero 
 and civil ruler. He was untrained in and unfitted fo: 
 statesmanship, and the man who had ruled a million men 
 in the field by arbitrary orders, was slow to learn the true 
 and practical theory of popular government. His civili' 
 reign impressed his exceptional individuality in the com^ 
 pleteness of personal administration, and one unschooled 
 in the intricacies of politics and hardly a student of states 
 manship, could not but leave grave errors as landmarks 
 of his political authority. He was ambitious, as all men 
 of his attainments and opportunities are ambitious, and 
 cupidity, ambition and jealousy surrounded him as it everil 
 surrounds power. Himself truthful, simple and honest, 
 not until four vears after his retirement from the Presi- 
 dency did he learn the lesson that power has few honest 
 advisers, and ho hud to learn in popular resentment what 
 he could not learn as soldier or as civil administrator. 
 He would gladly have secured the unprecedented honor 
 of a third Presidential term, and who would not, with the 
 vigor and faith in himself that General Grant possessed? 
 But when the country and the world estimate him as 
 hero and statesman, his infirmiiies, so common to great- 
 ness and the more conspicuous in the pre-eminently great, 
 fade into foraret fulness as the rounded-out measure of his 
 fame commands the pride and affection of the country he 
 saved from dismemberment, and the respect and adoration 
 of every nation of the earth. Nor will the beneficent les- 
 sons of his life cease with his death. As years shall speed 
 in their flight and bring new heroes and new statesmen 
 to meet the new occasions of the future — his achievements, 
 brightened by the test of time and the forgetfulness of 
 errors — no name from Washington to Cleveland will be 
 more lustrous or impressive than that of Ulj^sses S. Grant." 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 RESTING-PLACE OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD SEVERAL 
 
 SPOTS PROPOSED: WEST POINT; THE CAPITAL OF THE 
 NATION RIVERSIDE PARK, NE\7 YORK, CHOSEN — TELE- 
 GRAMS OF SYMPATHY TO THE BEREAVED FAMILY SER- 
 MON BY REV. DR. NEWMAN AT THE COTTAGE AT 
 
 MT. m'gREGOR THE FUNERAL TRAIN ON ITS WAV TO 
 
 NEW YORK SCENES ALONG THE WAY — THE M'HOLK 
 
 COUNTRY IN MOURNING ARRIVAL AT" ALBANY — LYING 
 
 IN STATE IN THE CAPITOL ARRIVAL AT NEW YOKK — 
 
 CITY HALL, NEAY YORK CITY THE MAGNIFICENT FLN- 
 
 ERAL CORTEGE THE TEMPORARY TOMB. 
 
 Where shall the illustrious chieftain be laid to rest, and 
 what shall be the nation's part in the funeral obsequies? 
 These questions naturally sprang to every mind, and the 
 officials of city after city tendered their tearl'ul hospitali- 
 ties in the case. It was understood that the General had 
 expressed a desire that should he die on the moiuitain 
 during the summer, his remains be kept there lor a time 
 and the burial occur when it became cooler. It was un- 
 derstood from the first, however, that the funeral obsequies 
 would not be hurried. The remains were therefore care- 
 fully embalmed, in the best-known method, so that their 
 preservation for the period desired might be assure.l. 
 
 Amonn- the many private instructions to his family, it 
 is understood that he made substantially the following 
 wmmunication concerning his burial-place : 
 
 (557) 
 
558 LIFE OF GENERAL GRAXT. 
 
 " There are three places from which I wish a choice of 
 burial-phice to be made : 
 
 " West Point. — I would prefer this above others but for 
 the fact that my wife could not be placed beside me there. 
 
 " Galena, or some place in Illinois. — Because from that 
 State I received my tirst General's commission. 
 
 " New York. — Because the people of that city be- 
 friended me in my need." 
 
 The popular sentiment clearly demanded his burial at 
 some site near Washington. There he had won his im- 
 perishable renown ; there was the nation's governmental 
 centre. Indeed, in anticipation of the selection of the 
 capital of the nation as the place of sepulture of the re- 
 mains of General Grant, at a meeting of the Commission- 
 ers of the Soldiers' Home, held during the General's 
 alarming illness last spring, it was unanimously decided 
 to tender a commanding site within the grounds of that 
 institution. The suggestion of the Soldiers' Home was 
 made by ex-Senator Conkling in a letter written to Lieu- 
 tenant-General Sheridan. This letter was brought to the 
 attention of the Board of Commissioners of the home, and 
 the request was complied with. There was some diver- 
 sity of views, however, not as to complying with the re- 
 quest, but as to the appropriateness of the place as com- 
 pared with Arlington. 
 
 In support of the latter spot it was said that the old 
 hero would rest amonsi: the brave men who had died in 
 defence of their country. Also, being a national ceme- 
 tery, Congress would make suitable provisions for the 
 final entombment of the remains. In support of the Sol- 
 diers' Home it was claimed that it was easy of access — 
 that Arlington was across the broad Potomac, and per- 
 sons who would desire to visit the tomb of Grant, as they 
 do the tomb of Washington, would be greatly incon- 
 
FUNERAL OBSE(iUIES. r>-,0 
 
 venienced. Besides, the old soldiers at the lioino woidd 
 form a perpetual guard of honor over the remains of tlieir 
 old commander. 
 
 The Lieutenant-General, in the name of the Tomniis- 
 sioners, was at that time authorized to address a letter to 
 Mrs. Grant, tendering a site within their grounds. This 
 letter was sent to General Badeau, who was to delivi-r it 
 to Mrs. Grant after the General's death. The tem|i.>r:irv 
 convalescence of the General led to the retiu'n of the let- 
 ter to General Sheridan for change of date. T\\o latter 
 left the letter with his aide, Colonel G. W. Davis, with the 
 necessary directions. The letter was sent to Mrs. (!raut 
 on the day the General died. 
 
 General Sheridan also prepared a memorandum, which 
 he left with his aide, suo;gestin2: the form of ceremonial, 
 and that General Hancock be placed in charge. This 
 memorandum was submitted by Adjutant-General Drum 
 for the use of the President. A prominent officer, speak- 
 ing on the place of burial, said : "The Soldiers' Home 
 would be a perpetual resting-place. Like Washington, 
 Grant belongs to the country and should be buried where 
 the pilgrims of all ages can visit his tomb, as the}- have 
 for nearly a hundred years the tomb of Washington." 
 
 On the day of the death, Mayor Grace, of New York, 
 by direction of the Board of Aldermen, sent the foUow- 
 ino; telecrram to the Grant family : 
 
 "In advance of official action, I am instructed to ten- 
 der to yourself and family the deep sympathy of the Com- 
 mon Council of the municipal authorities of the city of 
 New York in your bereavement. I am also authorized 
 by informal action of the authorities, which will be made 
 official to-morrow% to tender to you a last resting-place for 
 the remains of General Grant in any one of the p:irks of 
 this city which you may select. I am also authorized to 
 
560 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 offer the Governor's room at the City Hall for the pur- 
 pose of allowuig the body to lie in state." 
 
 In answer to tiiis offer, Colonel Grant requested a mes- 
 senger to be sent for conference on the subject. Mean- 
 while both Washington and New York as burial-places 
 were strongly urged by various influential parties, inter- 
 ested and disinterested. A messenger from the President 
 visited the family to confer as to details for the funeral. 
 
 In response to the telegram, the undertaker, Mr. 
 Stephen Merritt, of New York, repaired immediately to 
 Mount McGregor, and personally superintended all ar- 
 rangements pertaining to the remains. 
 
 Guards of honor from the Grand Army of the Repub- 
 lic, and also from the Regulars at Governor's Island, were 
 promptly sent to the mount and assumed control of the 
 cottage and its surroundings. 
 
 Immediately following the death President Cleveland 
 issued the following proclamation : 
 
 The President of the United States has just received the sad 
 tidings of the death of that illustrious citizen and ex-President of 
 the United States, General Ulysses S. Grant, at Mount McGregor, 
 in the State of New York, to which place he had lately been re- 
 moved in the endeavor to })rolong his life. 
 
 In making this announcement to the people of the United 
 States the President is impressed with the magnitude of the pub- 
 lic loss of a great military leader, who was, in the hour of vic- 
 tory, magnanimous; amid disaster, serene and self-sustained; 
 who, in every station, whether as a soldier or a Chief Magistrate, 
 twice called to power by his fellow-countr^-men, trod unswervingly 
 the pathway of duty, undeterred by doubts, single-minded and 
 straightforward. The entire country has witnessed with deep 
 emotion- his prolonged and patient struggle with painful disease, 
 and has watched by his couch of suffering with tearful sympathy. 
 The destined end has come at last, and his spirit has returned to 
 tlie Creator wlio sent it forth. The great heart of the nation that 
 followed him when living with love and jjride bows now in sor- 
 
\ 
 
 FUNERAL ODSKl^UIES. :.. I 
 
 row above him dead, tenderly mindful of his virtius, his ;;p :n 
 patriotic services and of the loss occasioned by his (K-atii. 
 
 In testimony of resi)ect to the memory of General (Iraiit it is 
 ordered that the Executive Mansion and the several d(.-i):irUn»-iit.s 
 at Washington be draped in mourning for a period ul' thirty <lay>», 
 and that all public business shall, on the day of the funcrt'.l, he 
 suspended, and the Secretaries of War and of the Navy will 
 cause orders to be issued for appropriate njilitary ami naval honors 
 to be rendered on that day. 
 
 In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
 the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city c»r 
 Washington this twenty-third day of July, one thousand ei;:ht 
 hundred and eighty-five, and of the independence of the United 
 States one hundred and ten. Ghoveu Ci.lvki.a.M). 
 
 B}^ the President : 
 
 T. F. Bayard, Sccretarij uj >>lnU\ 
 
 By order of Lieuteiiant-General Sheridan, Adjtitaut- 
 General Drum issued the following order : 
 
 In compliance with the instructions of the President, on tl.o 
 day of the funeral, at each military post, the troops and ca<iets 
 will be paraded and the order read to them, after which all labors 
 for the day will cease. The national flag will be displayed at 
 half-staff. At dawn of day thirteen guns will be tired, and after- 
 Avard, at intervals of thirty minutes between tlie rising and setting 
 of the sun, a single gun, and at tiie close of the day a national 
 salute of thirty-eight guns. The officers of the army will wear 
 cra])e on the left arm and on their swords, and the colors of the 
 Battalion of Engineers, of the several regiments and of the United 
 States Corps of Cadets will be put in mourning for the period of 
 six months. 
 
 The date and hour of the funeral will br comnnmicated to 
 department commanders by telegraph and by them to tlu-ir sub- 
 ordinate commanders. 
 
 Following the proclamation of the President came 
 similar messages from governors of various States, all ol 
 them recognizing the worth of the deceased in nn.st eido- 
 gistic term\ and at the same time expressing the mc.^t 
 
562 LIFE OF GENERAL GRAXT. 
 
 profound sympathy with his bereaved family. Governor 
 Jlill, of New York, thus expressed his -views: 
 
 " Ulysses S. Grant, twice President of the United 
 States, the defender of the Union, tlie victorious leader 
 of our soldiers and General on the retired list of the army, 
 is dead. To the last he was the true soldier, strono; in 
 spirit, patient in suffering, brave in death. His warfare 
 is ended. 
 
 " After the close of his official life, and following that 
 notable journey around the world, when tributes of esteem 
 from all nations were paid, he chose his home among the 
 citizens of our State. He died upon our soil, in the 
 county of Saratoga, overlooking scenes made glorious by 
 revolutionary memories. It is fitting that the State 
 which he chose as his home should especially honor his 
 memory. 
 
 '' The words of grief and the tokens of sorrow by 
 which we mark his death shall honor, too, the offices 
 which he held, and proclaim that praise which shall ever 
 be accorded to those who served the Eepubllc. Therefore, 
 it is hereby directed that flags on the public buildings of 
 the State be placed at half-mast until his burial, and on 
 that day, yet to be appointed, all ordinary business in the 
 Executive Chamber and the departments of the State 
 government will be suspended. The people of the State 
 are called upon to display, until his funeral, emblems of 
 mourning, and it is requested that at that hour they cease 
 f^om their business and pay respect to the distinguished 
 dead." 
 
 Numerous telegrams of sympathy poured in upon the 
 family, the following being among the more noteworthy : 
 
 President Cleveland telegraphed : " Accept this expres- 
 sion of my heartfelt sympathy in this hour of your great 
 affliction. The people of the nation mourn with you and 
 
FUNERAL Or.SECjriE^;. fiC3 
 
 would reach, if they could, with kindly coinfoit tin- 
 depths of the sorrow which is yours idouc and which oulv 
 the pity of God can heal." 
 
 Ex-President Hayes telegraphed : " Please assure Mrs. 
 Grant and the sorrowing family that tluy have tin- 
 deepest sympathy of Mrs. Hayes and myself," 
 
 Ex-President Arthur promptly telegraphed as follows: 
 "I am greatly grieved to get the sad news of the Gt-n- 
 eral's death. Pray accept my most sincere syiin);ithy," 
 
 Governor Pattison, of Pennsylvania, sent this incsMVirc 
 from Harrisburg: "The people of Pennsylvania d('ci)ly 
 sympathize with you and your family in a bereavenu-nt 
 which produces profound sorrow throughout tlie nation. 
 They deplore the death of the great American soldier who 
 has fallen before that universal enemy wdiose sword is 
 never sheathed, and to whom the bravest and best nuist 
 surrender," 
 
 Lieutenant-General Sheridan telegraphed from Fort 
 Eeno : " Will you please express to Mrs, Grant my griof 
 at the loss of my dearest friend and comrade, and my 
 sincere sympathy and condolence with her in this hour 
 of her great distress?" 
 
 General Sherman telegraphed from ^linnesota : "Do- 
 spatch received. Will start at once for Fifth Ave-m.e 
 Hotel, New York." 
 
 Senator John A. Logan telegraphed: "The painful 
 news to me of your fither's death has just been r.-oc-iv.'d. 
 The sympathy of myself and family goes out from the 
 depth of our hearts to your mother and all of you in 
 your great bereavement. The country is (ilU-d witii 
 sympathy and grief at this news, but^ its loss must grow 
 upon it as the future unfolds the coming years." 
 
 General George B. McClellan sent this message : - A\ dl 
 you convey to your mother and family and accept lor 
 
564 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 yourself my profound and heartfelt sympathy for j'our 
 loss?" 
 
 General S. S. Burdett, Commander-in-Chief of the 
 Grand Army of the Republic, telegraphed thus : '- Ex- 
 pressing the profound grief of the Grand Army of the 
 Republic upon the death of the greatest of our comrades, 
 on behalf of its three hundred thousand members, I ten- 
 der to your honored mother and to all the afflicted family 
 their heartfelt sympathy. I pray you have me advised 
 so soon as arranGrements for the last sad rites are deter- 
 mined upon." 
 
 General Fitz Ilutili Lee, of Virginia, sent a tele2;ram to 
 Mrs. Grant, in which he said : " As the son of Genenil 
 Robert E. Lee, I send my most profound sympathy. The 
 whole South mourns the nation's loss." 
 
 James G. Blaine telegraphed from Augusta : " Please 
 accept my profoundest sympathy in your great bereave- 
 ment. The entire nation mourns the loss of its first sol- 
 dier and first citizen." 
 
 William M. Evarts : " I shall wish to attend the funeral. 
 Please telegraph when time is fixed." Later he added : 
 " I hope sincerely that the universal and earnest wish of 
 the people of the State and city of New York may lead 
 the family to approve of the great city as the Ijurial- 
 place." 
 
 General P. G. T. Beauregard telegraphed : " I sympathize 
 deeply with your family. General Grant was a brave 
 and successful soldier and a a;enerous adversarv." 
 
 Grant's classmate and friend, General Rufus Ligalls, 
 telegraphed from Hot Springs, Arkansas, saying : " My 
 own grief is overwhelming for the loss of my truest 
 friend, beloved classmate and noble comrade." 
 
 Representatives of foreign nations were deeply im- 
 pressed with their loss also. Among the first expressions 
 
rUNEEAL OBSEQUIES. 5«5 
 
 of sj'inpathy was tlmt of S. K. TakaliMshi, Consul (.rJ;ii.;ui. 
 who telegraphed for himself thus : " I tender \oii mid the 
 members of the sorrowing family of (K'neiid (irant my 
 profound sympathj^ and sincere condolence in this the 
 hour of great affliction." 
 
 Not being content with this expression of his personal 
 sorrow, Consul Takahashi afterwards s[)()ke thus for the 
 small colony of his countrymen who dwell in tliis city : 
 " The Japanese residents of New York city wish to ex- 
 press through me their deepest sympathy for and con- 
 dolence to the members of the bereaved family of 
 General Grant." 
 
 The English ex-Premier personally wrote and s(Mit the 
 following: "Mr. Gladstone has heard with regret the 
 sad news of General Grant's death. He ventures to 
 assure the bereaved family of the sympathj- he feels with 
 them in their affliction at the loss of one who had 
 rendered his country such signal service as a general and 
 a statesman." 
 
 Through the British Minister came the following: 
 
 "Her Majesty the Queen requests me to convey to 
 yourself and f^imily her sincere condolence on the death 
 of General Grant. 
 
 "The Prince and Princess of Wales express their 
 deepest sympathy in the loss of your distinguished hus- 
 band. We shall always look back with gratification at 
 having had the advantage of knowing him personally. ' 
 
 To Mrs. Sartoris the minister personally added: 
 "Accept our sincere condolence." 
 
 Senor Romero, the Mexican Minister, telegraphed: 
 " I feel it myself very deeply, not only because a tru.-. kind 
 friend of mine is gone, but also in behalf of my country, 
 as he was a strong and ardent friend of Mexico, and did 
 all he could to develop the good-will between our two 
 
563 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 countries. I believe that I express the feeling of Mexico 
 in saying that his loss will be as much regretted and as 
 keenly felt there as in his own country," 
 
 President Diaz, of Mexico, sent a telegram expressing 
 his sorrow at the loss of so distinguished a soldier and 
 statesman. Maceo Marisal, the Mexican Premier, sent 
 the following : " By instructions of President Diaz, I send 
 you the most sincere condolence of the Mexican Govern- 
 ment for the loss of our great friend, the illustrious Gen- 
 eral Grant, and personally I tender my own and my 
 family's heartfelt sympathy in your bereavement." 
 
 Among the messages of special interest received are 
 these : 
 
 From Lord Ripon, Metherington : "xVllow me to offer 
 sincere sympathy on your great loss." 
 
 From Mrs. Mackey, London : " Heartfelt sj'mpathy for 
 sad affliction befallen you." 
 
 From Prince Towhito, Tokio, Japan : "I learned with 
 much sorrow of the death of your husband. I tender 
 you my sincere condolence and deep sympathy." 
 
 From Comte de Paris : " I offer my expression of deep 
 sympathy to the widow of the great leader of the Union 
 armies." 
 
 From Brazilian Minister, New York : " Li the name of 
 the Imperial Government and my own pray accept the 
 expression of the deepest sympathy." 
 
 From Ito Hiroburne, Japanese Imperial Household 
 Minister, Tokio : " By command I present to you the 
 condolence and sympathy of their majesties, the Emperor 
 and Empress, in the sad death of the illustrious and 
 honored friend of their majesties." 
 
 The press of Europe was prompt and hearty in its 
 recognitions of the deceased General's great worth. Tlie 
 following extracts which appeared on the morning follow- 
 
§ FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. M7 
 
 ing his death may be taken as samples of the univrsal 
 feeling. 
 
 The Post said : " The American Republic has l„st one 
 of its most illustrious citizens. General Grant will be 
 best remembered as the able soldier who prevented the 
 final severance of the great Republic. It is thus that he 
 will be known to posterity. Though not a Napoleon ur 
 a Wellington, he handled large armies and led them to 
 victorj^" 
 
 The Standard s^idi-. "Although the death of General 
 Grant was long expected, the event is not the less de- 
 plored. We can only share with his mourning country- 
 men in a sense of the loss of one wiiose career was so 
 notable, so honorable to himself, and so useful to his 
 native land." 
 
 The Da ill/ News said: "There have been few braver 
 men than Grant. England will sincerely regret hi.s 
 death. It is as a soldier that he will be remembered. 
 It is on his military services that his fame will rest. 
 After Lincoln's death Grant was decidedly the most 
 popular man in the United States." 
 
 The Daily Telegrajih devoted two columns to a review 
 of General Grant's military career. Editorially it said : 
 " Yesterday the greatest and most successful soldier that 
 the United States has produced breathed his last. In no 
 portion of the United States have the financial disasters 
 marking the close of General Grant's career been regarded 
 with more sympathy and regret than in England. Be- 
 yond all others he was best fitted to cope witli the 
 tremendous crisis which made him, and when tlie grave 
 \ closes over all that is mortal of Ulysses Simpson Grant, 
 it will be felt that he leaves behind him no man cast in 
 a simpler, sincerer or more heroic mould." 
 
 American or2;anizations and residents abroad all felt 
 
 36 
 
568 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 themselves bereaved and promptly took steps to express 
 their sorrow. Mourning emblems appeared at the legation 
 and the minister's residence, and meetings for appropriate 
 action were promptly called. 
 
 Additional telegrams came from governors of States, 
 mayors of cities, military and civil officials the world 
 over, as well as from hosts of personal friends. Space 
 forbids a fuller showing of these, even did it seem 
 desirable. 
 
 On Saturday, July 25th, it was officially announced 
 when and where the last rites would be performed. 
 Concerning these points General Drum, the President's 
 messenger, telegraphed the Secretary of War as follows : 
 
 " Immediately on arrival here this afternoon, I called 
 on Mrs. Grant, by her request, and presented the Presi- 
 dent's letter. The family have decided to have a mili- 
 tary funeral and wish it to be under the authority and 
 control of the National Government, New York city has 
 been agreed upon as the place of interment, and the 
 Mayor has been so notified. The funeral services here 
 will take place on August 4th, and the remains will then 
 be taken to Albany, where they will lie in state one day. 
 They will then be taken to New York city and be laid in 
 state in the City Hall until Saturday, August 8th, the day 
 fixed for the funeral. The f imily have expressed a wish 
 that the U. S. Grant Post, G. A. R., of Brooklyn, should 
 act as the guard of honor. I will telegraph General 
 Hancock this evening, saying that you have designated 
 him to take charge of the body here, that being the wish 
 of the family, and to see that it is properly conducted to 
 New York, and to have charge of the ceremonies con- 
 nected with the funeral and to command the escort 
 thereof, with such minor instructions as to details as the 
 case requires." 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. 560 
 
 General Hancock also telcgraplu'd to tlio mountain tlml 
 he Ihid received the instructions of the Secretary of War 
 and the details of the military pageant would he attcndc-d 
 to as per orders. President Clevehmd was rtMjucstcd hy 
 the family to name the pall-bcarers to act at the closin<'* 
 obsequies. 
 
 It was at this time announced also that Central Park 
 was to be the place of burial in New York. At what 
 spot in this beautiful ground the interment should be 
 made was not determined. It was understood that Col- 
 onel Grant preferred a spot north of the mall and near the 
 lake, but the whole question was deferred until he should 
 personally inspect the grounds and make a choice. 
 
 Nowhere was this conclusion received with less favor 
 than at Washington. One of the leading men of the 
 Capital city thus voiced the popular sentiment: 
 
 "The people of Washington are indignant. at the very 
 idea of burying the hero of Appomattox in this pleasure- 
 ground of New York, and assert that they might as well 
 entomb him in Jerome Park or at Coney Island, so far as 
 appropriateness is concerned. This is not altogether self- 
 ishness, since the friends of Grant here and his old com- 
 rades would prefer, next to Washington, the quiet town 
 of Galena, 111. The feeling that he should be buried 
 here, however, is general. From every direction this sen- 
 timent comes to those who advocated this point This is 
 national ground. Here citizens from every State and 
 Territory meet on common footing. An average of from 
 seventy-five to one hundred thousand visitors annually 
 make this their Mecca. This is the hub of government, 
 wdiile New Y^ork presents only the hul)l)ub of trade and 
 commerce. His connection with the business uf New 
 York was the saddest incident of his career, for it was an 
 incident which plundered him of his wealth and home 
 
670 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 and soiled his national renown. No one can think of him 
 in connection with New York without feeling a repug- 
 nance arising from the remembrance of his misfortunes 
 there — misfortunes under which he sank rapidly to the 
 grave. This is the way people think here and this is 
 what they say, that of all places to claim his remains, 
 New York should be the last, and of all sites in and 
 about that city Central Park is the most inappropriate," 
 
 If any hope of a change of plan remained at Washing- 
 ton, Galena, or elsewhere, it was dispelled by the following 
 correspondence. Mayor Grace telegraphed his private secre- 
 tary, Mr. Turner, who was at Mount McGregor, saying : 
 
 "Your two telegrams just to hand, and I understand 
 the matter to be now definitely settled that General 
 Grant's body is to be interred here. We cannot take any 
 more definite action in regard to the matter of Mrs. Grant 
 until a later date. The faith of the President of the 
 Board of Aldermen and my own is pledged that we will 
 see, when a little time has passed away, that the wishes 
 of the family are gratified by formal resolution of the 
 Board. Answer immediately, so I may appoint commit- 
 tee to make my quota for a grand national monument." 
 
 Upon the receipt of Mr. Grace's telegram Mr. Turner 
 repaired at once to the cottage, where a conference was 
 had with Colonel Fred Grant. The colonel read the 
 mayor's despatch and retained it. At the close of the 
 conference Colonel Grant assured the mayor's representa- 
 tive that he and the family thus formally accepted the 
 tender of a burial-place for General Grant and Mrs. 
 Grant in Central Park, in the city of New York, and 
 that he and the family would now proceed with all tlie 
 funeral arrangements with reference to the above conclu- 
 sion. The mayor's messenger then telegraphed to Mayor 
 Grace the result of his mission. 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. 'Tl 
 
 These proceedings were followed in New York l^y siudi 
 official action as would give definite eUl'ct to these phms. 
 
 At eight o'clock on Monday morning, July 27lli, Col- 
 onel Fred Grant and his brother Jesse, accompanied hy 
 General Horace Porter, arrived in Xew York. Tln-v 
 went at once to the Fifth Avenue Hotel, wliere they 
 held a conference with General Sherman. Tlie latter, 
 after receiving several callers, went to Governor's Lslan 1 
 to confer with General Hancock. Jesse Grant left the 
 hotel to attend to some private business matters, and 
 Fred Grant went to the City Hall, where he was cordially 
 received by Mayor Grace. Tlie mayor said that liis time 
 was wholly at the disposal of Colonel Grant and that 
 plans had been made with the Park Commissioners to go 
 at once to Central Park to consider the best site for Gen- 
 eral Grant's grave. Colonel Grant said in reply that his 
 mother and all the members of the family felt deeply the 
 kind attention which Mayor Grace, on the part of the 
 people of New York, had shov/n them. It was liis 
 mother's wish that he should select the burial-place of his 
 father, but he would not decide on the site until he had 
 consulted with her after looking over the park. 
 
 President Sanger, of the Board of Aldermen, joined 
 them, and they started at once for Central Park. The 
 Commissioners w^ere in waiting at the Fifth avenue and 
 Fifty-ninth street gate. In th^ course of conversation 
 President Crimmins, of the Commissioners, informed Col- 
 onel Grant that the board had this morning adopted a 
 resolution granting the right of burial with the General 
 in any of the parks to his widow. 
 
 The party then took a glance at the plaza at the Fifty- 
 ninth street entrance. This entrance, known as tlie 
 ^'scholars'" gate, is the most spacious of any to the park, 
 comprising nearly two acres of ground, adorned with 
 
572 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 flower-beds and lawns. It is the most frequented en- 
 trance, and the party all agreed that it might be too pub- 
 lic. Taking carriages, they then drove northward. Said 
 Colonel Grant during the drive : " I do not think that it 
 ever occurred to father that his burial-place was likely to 
 be in any of the parks of New York. My mother's idea, 
 after his death, was that Washington would be the pleas- 
 antest place, but since then she has felt that New York 
 would have pleased him best. He greatly enjoyed driving 
 in Central Park during his early illness. I do not know 
 that he had a preference for any special part of it." 
 
 The party drove beyond the lake to the west of the 
 reservoir, where the ground rises in a series of hills, on 
 one of which is the bronze equestrian statue of Bolivar, 
 while east of the reservoir is the obelisk and the Metro- 
 politan Art Museum. They went to the highest of the 
 hills opposite One-hundred-and-fifth street, which com- 
 mands a view of the entire park and of the west side of 
 the city and of the Hudson river. This site had been 
 thought very favorable. 
 
 '* What building is that under way on the avenue yon- 
 der ? " asked Colonel Grant. 
 
 " It is the new Cancer Hospital, at One-hundred-and- 
 sixth street and Eighth avenue," he was told. 
 
 '' My father's tomb might not be pleasant for the 
 patients," said the colonel, thoughtfully, and the others 
 agreed with him. 
 
 Thence the party drove to Riverside Park, which ex- 
 tends three miles northward from Seventy-second street, 
 curving along the bank of the Hudson thirty feet above 
 the water, and which is likely, though now unimproved, 
 to be the most beautiful park in New York ten years 
 hence. The view up the river extends over Forts Lee 
 and Washington to the Tappan Zee. At the highest 
 
FUNERAL OJiSKi^UIES. ATI 
 
 point, at One-hundred-iiml-twenty-firili strui't, is :in oM 
 mansion built by Lord Courtney belbrc the lie volution, 
 and now a resort for bicycle riders and horsemen. Col- 
 onel Grant was pleased with this location. At least twmty 
 acres surrounding it could be developed to accord with 
 the monument, but Colonel Grant did not express him- 
 self more positively in its favor than to say that he would 
 present its advantages to his mother. After dining at 
 this spot the party drove back to Central Park and 
 stopped at the Belvidere, which stands like an old Nor- 
 man castle at the southeastern end of the reservoir. It 
 has been proposed to use the Belvidere as a temporary 
 tomb. 
 
 Thence Colonel Grant returned to the Fifth Avenue 
 Hotel, where he spent several hours in talking with Gen- 
 eral Sherman. The colonel returned to Mount Mc- 
 Gregor in the evening. Just before his departure he said : 
 "I cannot regard anything as settled until I have seen 
 my mother. I have talked over many plans to-day, both 
 during the drive and with General Sherman, but it is iin- 
 jwssible that any final decision should be reached until 
 all plans have been submitted to my mother." 
 
 There has been some discussion as to where the body 
 should lie in state. Lincoln's body lay in the Governor's 
 room in the City Hall. This is at the head of a tliudit of 
 stone stairs so arranged that spectators could ascend in one 
 direction and descend in another. AVhen Colonel Grant 
 looked at the stone staircase to-day he expressed some 
 fear that it might give way if thronged and ad.l.-d : 
 '' Nothing could distress us more than to have any a.vi- 
 dent happen, especially if it could have been avoided." 
 The staircase, however, is regarded as obsolutely sale 
 under four times the weight that can be put on it. 
 
 While these matters were under consideration m New 
 
574 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 York other plans were maturing at Mt. McGregor. It 
 was decided to use the observation car for transporting 
 the remains of Grant down the mountain to Sarato2;a. 
 Tliis is an open car, not unlilve a street car, except tliat 
 it is boarded lialf-way up the sides. The seats would be 
 taken out half through the car from the rear end, and 
 the casket would rest in this space. In the front end 
 would be the guard from the U. S. Grant G. A. R, Post, 
 No. 327, of Brooklyn, who would remain immediately 
 around the body until the interment. The observation 
 car would be entirely covered with black cloth, relieved by 
 white stripes and rosettes, so that it would be wholly en- 
 closed. On the casket would rest the American flan: and 
 floral tributes. The train would be in charge of General 
 Manafi;er D. H. Fonda, and the enirine would be driven 
 by the master mechanic of the road, Mr, Thomas Todd. 
 
 The funeral car would be immediately back of the en- 
 gine, and back of the funeral car would .come the most 
 elegant coach belonging to the road, in which the family 
 and intimate friends would ride. There would be a car 
 behind this for the press, probably. The funeral train 
 would be immediately followed by another, to bring the 
 people down who had been at the funeral. Both the 
 railroad and the hotel would undoubtedly be swamped, as 
 neither had accommodations for the deluge of people who 
 would surely come there, but the railroad officials would 
 spare no pains to perfect every detail of the arrangements 
 for the funeral. The road had been reballasted over its 
 entire length and was now remarkably smooth for a 
 mountain road. When the train arrived at Saratoga it 
 would stop at the same point where it stopped when 
 Grant came here — that is, a point about two blocks from 
 the depot, where the Delaware and Hudson and the Mt. 
 McGregor lines are parallel and only about a rod apart. 
 
FUNERAL OBSE(iUlE,S. CT5 
 
 There would be as little delay as possible in Saratt)"ft, 
 much to the regret of the Saratogans, wlio wouKl doiibtli'ss 
 feel keenly disappointed at the refusal to k't tlie loiiiaina 
 of the General lie in state in Congress Park. 
 
 The private cars of William H. Vanderbilt and Presi- 
 dent Webb and one baggage car would await tin* moun- 
 tain train at Saratoga upon the tracks of the Delaware 
 and Hudson Canal Company's road. The remains would 
 be placed in Mr. Vanderbilt's car, in which tlic family 
 would accompany the remains. The other car would be 
 occupied by others of those closely interested in the ol> 
 sequies. At Albany the ladies would be transferred to 
 another special train, in which they would be taken to 
 New York, the funeral train waiting in Albany until 
 Wednesday afternoon to continue the journey witli the 
 remains to New York. 
 
 For the obsequies at Albany it was settled in a confer- 
 ence between Governor Hill and Colonel Jones that the 
 more impressive open court of the capitol be abandoned 
 as the place where General Grant's remains would lie in 
 state and the executive chamber substituted. Tiu^ furni- 
 ture would all be removed and the chandelier taken from 
 the centre of the ceiling. The catafalque would l)e set 
 in the centre of the large apartment. The design wa.s 
 for a handsome canopy of black supported by four pillars. 
 This would be ten feet in height, and woidd be lighted 
 with electric lights placed in the vault. The iq)rigl.t.s 
 would be trimmed with American flags in festoons. The 
 catafalque would be nine feet wide an<l quite as long. 
 The pedestal on which the casket would rest in tl.<- centre 
 was to be three feet wide and two feet six inches tall at 
 the head, having a pitch of eighteen inch(>s. This was 
 arrancred so that children could view the features. 
 
 The walls would be decked with the battle-Oags of 
 
576 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 New York regiments, now deposited in the capitol, and 
 the catafalque with flowers from the hothouses of the ex- 
 ecutive mansion. On the arrival of the remains there a 
 salute of thirty-eight guns would be fired and the body 
 placed on a funeral car. On a wide platform of black 
 would be a pedestal to place the casket upon. About it 
 would be a canopy of black supported by four pillars 
 twined with silk flags. This would be drawn by four or 
 six white or black horses. Arriving at the capitol, the 
 Brooklj'n Grand Army Post would convey the casket 
 through the State street doorway, up the senate staircase 
 and into the executive chamber, depositing it on the 
 catafalque. About one hundred military and civic bodies 
 had already announced their intention to take part in the 
 ceremonies there. The funeral procession, under com- 
 mand of General Hancock and mounted staff, would pro- 
 ceed through several of the principal streets before 
 reaching the capitol. 
 
 Meanwhile General Hancock and a corps of officials were 
 enoaGfed from seven o'clock in the mornimi: until eleven or 
 twelve at night at the head-quarters on Governor's Island, 
 preparing for the funeral parade. Letters and despatches 
 were received from every portion of the country for places 
 in the line. Adjutant-General Snowden, of General Han- 
 cock's staff, said that the only trouble was to keep the appli- 
 cations within such bounds as would permit of the services 
 being held within one day. The commander of the 
 Grand Army alone said he could furnish 10,000 men, and 
 if this were done there would, with the State and national 
 troops, be a far greater mass of men at hand than could 
 be handled in a reasonable time. 
 
 On Colonel Grant's arrival at Mount McGregor a family 
 conference was held, and its conclusion was given to the 
 world in the following despatches : 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. 677 
 
 Mount McfiitKcou, Jh},j 2K/A. 
 W. R. Grace: Mother takes Riverside. Teniponiry tomb ha.l 
 better be at the same place. F. I). (iitA.NT. 
 
 Mount McGuF.r.ou, July -l^th. 
 General R. McFeely, Washington, D. C: Mother to-day ac- 
 cepted Riverside Park. She wishes me to tlumk you fur the tender 
 of the Soldiers' Home. F. I). Gijant. 
 
 On the same train with Colonel Grant came a d»'tach- 
 ment of regular troops. They brought tlieir tent.s and all 
 camp accoutrements and wore the uniiorm of the regular 
 army. There were thirty-eight men in all. The com- 
 mandant was Major Brown, with Lieutenant.s Wood and 
 Barr. The detail was made up from Company K of tiie 
 Twelfth Infantry, located at Fort Niagara, thirty-.^evon 
 miles from Buffalo. The men were formed in line, under 
 arms, at the little mountain depot and marched up the 
 path General Grant attempted to climb to the cottage 
 just six weeks ago, through the grove in front of the 
 cottage and up the slope to a ridge covered witii pine 
 trees and beeches. The spot where a halt was made is 
 beneath the trees near the Ea.stern Outlook, and here the 
 white tents were pitched, and about the cottage where 
 the dead commander lay was a scene of bivouac and 
 camp life, with veterans and regulars side by side. Colonel 
 Roger Jones, to whom all the military here were ordered 
 to report, came with the regulars and assumed control 
 and direction, under orders from General Hancock. >ix 
 hundred or seven hundred troops had been ordered to 
 Saratoga to meet the remains of General Grant on their 
 arrival" from the mountain. A battery of artillery had 
 been ordered there also, that salutes might be find durmg 
 the transfer of the body from the mountain tram to the 
 funeral train on the tracks of the Delaware and Hudson 
 Canal Company's road. 
 
578 LIFE OF GENEEAL GRANT. 
 
 Immediately on the receipt of Colonel Grant's final 
 telegram the New York Board of Aldermen convened 
 and took the following action : 
 
 Whereas, The family of General U. S. Grant have accepted the 
 offer of the corporation of the city of New York for sepulture 
 in one of the public parks of the city, and have selected a site in 
 Riverside Park for that purpose; be it therefore 
 
 Resolved, That the right of sei3ulture in said Riverside Park be 
 and is hereb}^ given to General U. S. Grant and his wife upon her 
 demise; and be it further 
 
 Resolved, That a proper deed of cession for the purpose desig- 
 nated be prepared by the counsel to the corporation when the 
 exact locality and dimensions of the ground are fixed, and the 
 said deed be duly executed by the city authorities. 
 
 Something more about this resting-place of the great 
 General should be tohl. Riverside Park is a narrow and 
 irregular strip of land lying between Riverside avenue 
 and the Hudson river, from Seventy-second street to 
 One-hundred-and-thirtieth street. Between the western 
 limit and the river, however, passes the road-bed of the 
 Hudson River Railway. The general width of the park 
 is about five hundred feet, while its entire length is some 
 three miles, the area being about one hundred and seventy- 
 eight acres, only a portion of which has been laid out in 
 walks and drives, while the rest still retains the wild 
 picturesqueness of nature. 
 
 The surroundings of this park are so lovely that it is 
 believed it will ultimately become the most aristocratic 
 residence region of New York. The ground rises to a 
 bold bluff above the Hudson river and the views from 
 the river drive-way are very charming, giving glimpses 
 of the undulating, tree-covered park, the shining stretches 
 of the river dimpled into innumerable wavelets and the 
 Weehawken heights opposite. The drives of Riverside 
 
PUXERAL OBSK( >ri r-:s. 
 
 670 
 
 begin at Seventy-second street and cxt.-iid tliiv.. uiWon to 
 One-liundivd-and-twenty-ninth street. Tliciv are wv- 
 eral of these drives curving gracefully along tli.- bank of 
 the Hudson, in some places three hundred feet above the 
 water. The baidv slopes gradually to tin.' shore and tho 
 intervening space between the drives and the river is 
 filled with groves of tall trees. 
 
 Little has yet been done to inipi-ove this purk, which 
 in its primitive state is a favorite resort for pienie parties 
 and promenades of people living in the western portion 
 of the city. The drives are broad, level and macadamized 
 so as to be smooth as a floor. A heavy stone parai>et 
 runs along the brink of the hill, with recesses for seat.**, 
 passages and steps down into the groves along the river 
 bank. Workmen are now engaged in the improvement 
 of the park. At the Seventy-second street entrance is a 
 handsome bronze statue of Washington, which wa.s sulx- 
 scribed for largely by the public school children of New 
 York and was unveiled by them last year on the Fourtii 
 of July. The hills continue to rise in an easy grade to 
 One-hundred-and-twenty-fifth street, and at One-lnni- 
 dred-and-twenty-ninth street a deep cut separates them 
 from the range known as Washington Heights, on the 
 northern end of Manhattan Island. 
 
 At One-hundred-and-twenty-fifth street, the highest 
 point, is what used to bo known as the Clareinont Hou.se. 
 It was built by Lord Courtney, an eccentric Knglishman, 
 before the Revolution, and was occupied by Ijim for many 
 ye^rs. It is at this point that the burial site lias been 
 fixed. The monument, when erected, can be seen for a 
 
 long distance. 
 
 In a letter that Mayor Grace sent to Colonel Grant 
 suggesting Riverside Park as the best place for the Gen- 
 erS's tom^b the writer made the following points in favor 
 
580 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 of that site : " Because of the peculiar beauty of the place 
 in its location on the river and the fact that a monument 
 in it would be visible far and wide. It w^ould give a dis- 
 tinct characteristic to this quiet and beautiful park, and 
 such a monument as would probably be erected there 
 would vie in beauty and fitness of location with the 
 famous statue of Germania on the Rhine. The entire 
 park would become peculiarly, in a sense that Central 
 Park never can become, sacred and devoted to the memory 
 of your father. The park is so young that the character 
 of its development would be largely determined and its 
 whole future dominated by this fact. Tlie monument 
 ■would be visible from two States and for miles, both up 
 and down the Hudson river, and would not only borrow 
 from but lend beauty to the noble stream, and at no time 
 could your father's remains be regarded as lying remote 
 from nature. In the heart of a great busy city, in the 
 rush and hurry of the life in which death and its sacred- 
 ness may be forgotten, the remains of even the great dead 
 may be passed in thoughtlessness." 
 
 Architect Mold, of the Department of Public Parks, at 
 once set about the plans for the temporary vault which 
 is to contain the body of General Grant until the erection 
 of a permanent tomb. It is to be made entirely of brick. 
 Within it will measure twelve by seven feet. It will be 
 four feet under ground and will be surmounted by a barrel 
 arch, w^ith two rims of brick. In front rises a cross. A 
 large iron door will give access to the plain cemented 
 interior. On each side will be four cross-shaped openings 
 for ventilation. The front will face the river. The vault 
 will be seen as far up the river as Haverstraw. 
 
 At 5.15 on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 20th, a 
 train of three cars, pulled by one engine and pushed by 
 another, hauled into and stopped at the depot on Mount 
 
FUNERAL OBSE(>UIES. 5g] 
 
 McGregor. From the rear alighted thu'ty-oight nu'ii of 
 Battery A, Fifth Artillery. They had been sent l)y (\vn- 
 eral Hancock from Governor's Island to form i)arL of tljc 
 guard about the cottage. The car next the engine was 
 the observation car, in which the remains of General Grant 
 will be borne to Saratoga. From this car stepped Under- 
 taker Merritt, his son, and a representative of the linn 
 that made the casket in which General Grant is to be in- 
 terred. The casket was then removed from the car and 
 placed on a light lumber wagon and taken to the south 
 steps of the cottage. The casket, in its heavy oaken 
 shipping box, was carried up the steps and into the rear 
 parlor of the cottage, which is divided from the room in 
 which the dead General lay by heavy curtain.^. 
 
 The heavy nickel-bound box was opened and the casket 
 removed and borne into the uext room, where it was 
 ,placed beside the remains. Undertakers Ilarrigan, of 
 Albany; Sullivan, of New York, and C. E. Bonnison. of 
 Boston, the two latter being the embalmers. then attended 
 to the practical details of transferring the remains to tiie 
 final receptacle. The New York undertakers. Harrison, 
 the General's servant, and Henry, the nurse, were present. 
 It was found that the hardening process that results from 
 embalming had begun, and the embalmers expres.sed the 
 belief, established by precedent, that the body would re- 
 main in its present condition, without change, for at least 
 six months. Harrison was permitted to aid in the fmal 
 preparation of the remains as far as possible. 
 
 A suit of black broadcloth was placed upon the re- 
 mains, the coat being a Prince Albert. A white hnen 
 standing collar circled the neck and a black sdk scarf tied 
 in a plain bow at the throat. The tie was arranged by 
 Harrison, and he also adjusted a pair of low-cut patent 
 leather slippers on the dead General's feet when they had 
 
582 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 been encased ia white stockings. The act of tying the 
 silk bows of the slippers was the last personal service 
 Harrison did for his late master. Gold studs were fixed 
 in the shirt front and plain gold buttons in the cuffs. 
 AVhen the remains had been finally attired and placed 
 within the casket, the double-breasted Prince Albert coat 
 was buttoned closely from top to bottom. The right hand 
 was folded across the breast, and the left hand was dis- 
 posed in an easy position by the side. 
 
 Colonel Fred Grant at this point entered the apartment. 
 He approached the casket where it rested beneath the 
 black-draped canopy, and. leaning above it some moments, 
 studied the face of his fixther in silence. Then, taking in 
 his own the right hand of the General, Colonel Grant 
 placed upon the third finger a plain gold ring and then 
 replaced upon the breast the still, thin hand. Before 
 turning away, the colonel drew forth a small packet of 
 mementos and placed them in the breast-pocket of the 
 coat. Having performed these last direct personal offices, 
 Colonel Grant retired, and those in charge dropped the 
 heavy plate-glass top of the casket in place and the casket 
 was sealed by the turning down of sixty screws that press 
 the glass down into its fitting and render the casket air- 
 tight. And so the General's remains lay covered with an 
 American flag. An incandescent lamp shed a mellow 
 light about the heavy canopy, and the flag-covered casket 
 beneath was in shadow and rest until the day of removal. 
 
 While the body lay in the casket at the cottage, many 
 visitors were admitted to gaze upon the remains. The 
 family, too, enjoyed the sad privilege frequently. With 
 each day's train from Saratoga came many to avail them- 
 selves of this opportunity. So the days passed until 
 Tuesday, August 4th, the day set for the commencement 
 of the funeral obsequies. 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. 681 
 
 The first train up left Saratoga at six o'clock, liaving 
 among other passengers the Rev, Bisliop Harris, of tlio 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and Rev. J. E. C. Sawyer, 
 of Troy. Generals Horace Porter and Fred T. Dent, 
 Senor Romero and Mrs. M. J. Cramer had arrived tiie 
 
 ~'"-^-: 
 
 #" 
 
 
 
 ^f^H^^^j; 
 
 REV. J. P. NEWMAN, D. D. 
 
 night before. The second train brought up General Han- 
 cock and party. He was accompanied by his stall, as he 
 had been the day before, and with them came Gent-rul 
 Sherman, Vice- Admiral Rowan, Senator Evarts, SenaK.r 
 Warner Miller, Mrs. Drexel and three guests of Mi's, 
 37 
 
584 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Drexel. Tliej- went directly to the cottage and paid their 
 respects to the family. 
 
 The services, conducted at the open door so that the 
 speaker could be heard by those within and without, be- 
 gan by the reading of the 90th Psalm; prayer by Bishop 
 Harris ; singing " My Faith Looks up to Thee," led by a 
 chorister and joined in by the audience ; address by Rev. 
 Dr. J. P. Newman ; reading of Scriptures and final 
 prayer. The address was very full and elaborate. 
 
 Dr. Newman took as his text Matthew xxv. 21 : 
 
 " Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou 
 into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 He began by saying : 
 
 " Such, my brethren, is the eulogy that God shall pro- 
 nounce upon human goodness and fidelity wherever found 
 among the sons of men. The accidental distinction be- 
 tween prince and peasant, millionaire and pfvuper, com- 
 manding general and private soldier, are but as the dust 
 in the balance in His estimation of personal worth ; He 
 regards not the person of any man ; He looks upon the 
 heart. 
 
 '• Tell me not what a man possesses — the beauty of Ab- 
 salom, the glory of Solomon, the wealth of Dives, the elo- 
 quence of ApoUos, the learning of Paul, but rather tell 
 me what he is, in his modes of thought, in his emotional 
 being, in the trend of his passions, in the temper of his 
 mind, in the tenor of his life, out of which comes the to- 
 tality of his existence and the finality of his destiny. 
 This is the man as he is, and by it let him be judged. Li 
 the intensity of this divine light let us to-day recall the 
 character of the illustrious man whose death a nation so 
 tenderly mourns. 
 
 " For forty years he was hidden in comparative 
 obscurity, giving no indications of his wondrous capacity; 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. rxi 
 
 but in those four decades he was luatminij. and at tl:o 
 appointed time God lifted the veil dI' ol.^.-urif \ . rail..! 
 upon hini to save a nation and givr a new din-nit »n to 
 the civilization of the world. How cahn liis jiiduMiu-nt. 
 how clear and quick and accurate his imaginatinn. hnw 
 vast and tenacious his memory! reason was his (loininant 
 faculty. lie was a natural logician. lie could di'scond 
 to the smallest details and rise to the highest gtMicraliza- 
 tions. His wonderful understanding was like the tciit in 
 story; fold it and it was a toy in the hand of a cliiM, 
 spread it and the mighty armies of a republic could roposc 
 in its shade. He could comprehend a continent with 
 greater ease than others could master an island. I'nd'T 
 his vast and comprehensive plans a continent shook with 
 the tramp of advancing armies. As out of some immense 
 mental reservoir there came a fertility of resources di.-*- 
 played in a hundred battles, in the greatest emerg«Micies 
 and in a threefold campaign, carried forward at the 
 same time without confusion, and each the part v( one 
 stupendous whole. 
 
 "When he rose to supreme connnand, the nation ih^- 
 manded one dominant spirit, mighty to grasp, strong 
 to execute, powerful to inspire. The country was one, 
 the rebellion was one, and the armies of the Union should 
 be one, and the general who could mould, contn»l, in- 
 spire an army of a million strong and make them think, 
 feel and fight as one man was the desire of the Republic. 
 Such a one was he around whose bier a nation weep.s 
 to-day. He fought for the right, to end the war; h.' con- 
 quered a peace. He hated war. He looked upon it ns a 
 ghastly monster whose march is to th<' music <>! tin- 
 widow's sigh and the orphan's cry. He loved p<'a<'e and 
 pursued it. * Blessed are the peace-makers, for they 
 shall be called the children of God,' was his beatitude. 
 
586 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 In his London speech in 1877 he said: ^Although a sol- 
 dier by education and profession, I have never felt any 
 sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it 
 except as a means of peace.' This was the energy of his 
 courage. 
 
 " He would not waste life and treasure to gain advan- 
 tages, while the means were left to the enemy to regain 
 them. He understood the necessity of sacrifice to achieve 
 a greater advantage. He surrendered the less to obtain 
 the greater. He was not indifferent to the preciousness 
 of human life. Did he expose his troops ? He protected 
 them by shortening the time of the war and by the greater 
 vigor of his attacks. His was the arithmetic of blood. 
 Some Quintus Fabius Maximus would have sacrificed a 
 hundred thousand more men and $350,000,000 more 
 treasure by the slowness of his movements and the feeble- 
 ness of his efforts. ' Plow can I save my country and 
 prevent the greater effusion of blood ? ' was his supreme 
 question ; and his supreme answer was : ' By an energy 
 that knows no defeat.' Thus he reasoned ; and to-day 
 the people bless him. 
 
 " From this better nature and higher mission as a war- 
 rior sprang his conduct toward the vanquished. He had 
 no hatred in his heart. His heart was as tender as a 
 woman's. He was not vindictive. His holy evangel to 
 the nation was, ' Let us have peace.' Hence, toward the 
 close of the war, those who had fought against him saw 
 that there was no safety but in the arms of their con- 
 queror. In his dying chamber he grasped the hand of 
 him whose sword was the first he had won, and said : ' I 
 have witnessed since my sickness just what I wished to 
 see ever since the war, harmony and good feeling between 
 the sections.' On Holy Easter lie sent forth his tender 
 ' I desire the good-will of all, whether hitherto 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. 887 
 
 my friends or not.' His was the sung of the angels : 'On 
 earth peace, good-will toward men.' 
 
 " Life in the camp has proved ruinous to the morals of 
 the greatest of warriors. The excitement of a lif«.' de- 
 voted to arms, the scenes of excess and plunder to which 
 a soldier is exposed, the absence of the restraints of iiume 
 and church, tend to the worst of passions and to the 
 corruption of the best morals. But here in the presence 
 of the dead, whose ears are forever deaf to our praise or 
 censure, let it be our grateful duty to record thai alit-r 
 five years in camp and field he returned to his iion»e 
 without a stain upon his character. Among ancient or 
 modern warriors where shall we find his superior in moral 
 elevation ? Given to no excess himself, he sternly re- 
 buked it in others. He could speak to every one aceoi'd- 
 ing to his station — to generals of their battles, to statesmen 
 of their measures, to travellers of their discoveries, to 
 artisans of their inventions, to Christians of thrir hopes; 
 and he could be the delightful companion of kings and 
 queens, of courtiers and chosen friends. He never took the 
 name of his Creator in vain, and an impure story never 
 polluted his lips. He assured me, as his pastor, that 
 were he disposed to swear he would be compelled to 
 phrase the sentence. 
 
 "His sense of justice was equalled only by his love of 
 truth. He preferred honor to wealth and poverty to 
 riches not his own. 0, Americans, think of the pride of 
 your nation, the glory of your age and the object of the 
 world's admiration having nothing to bequeatii to those 
 he loved, save his good name, and that heaven admitted 
 to the probate without the whisper of contention. 
 
 "He loved life and enjoyed it; he loved children and 
 caressed them; he loved his family and found therem 
 his chief delight. He had not taste ibr music, but he had 
 
f,88 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT, 
 
 melody in his heart; he despised pretence and show, but 
 admired the real and beautiful. He was not fond of 
 books, yet by carefulness of observation, by thoroughness 
 of reflection, by attentiveness to the conversation of the 
 well-informed, by extensive travels in many lands, by the 
 daily study of current events, he was the most intelligent 
 citizen in our Republic. He was the most diligent news- 
 paper reader in the land. He was a living encyclopccdia 
 of facts, figures and men, and his forthcoming memoirs 
 will astonish the reader with his accurate estimate of per- 
 sons, the keenness of his observations and the vastnessof 
 his information. 
 
 " Such a solid, sturdy character becomes our geography 
 and institutions and our destiny. Self-government calls 
 upon the judgment to control the imagination; to 
 ambition to submit to queenly modesty ; to adventure to 
 bow to prudence ; to justice to hold in subjection political 
 wrong; to virtue to dominate every vice; itseems to be 
 with us a national tradition that only men of solid viitues 
 shall be raised to supreme position in our Republic. 
 
 " ' Our greatest yet with least pretence, 
 Great in council and great in war, 
 Foremost captain of his time, 
 Ilich in saving common-sense, 
 And, as the greatest only are. 
 In his simplicity sublime.' 
 
 '''As he was the typical American, should we be sur- 
 prised to find that his was the typical American home? 
 May we lift the curtain and look upon the holy privacy 
 of that once unbroken household ? On the mutual and 
 reciprocal love of wedded life within those sacred pre- 
 cincts ? Husband and wife the happy supplement of each 
 other, their characters blending in sweetest harmony liko 
 
FUXERAL OBSEQUIES. 000 
 
 the blended colors in the bow ol" i.roiiiisc. IK', Htivn-'ili. 
 dioiiitj and courage; she, gentleness, grace and puritw 
 He, the Doric column to sustain; slie, the Curintliian 
 column to beautify. He, the oak to support ; she, ivy lo 
 entwine. In their life of deathless love, their happinoHs 
 lay like an ocean of pearls and diamonds in the cui brace 
 of the future. He, unhappy without her presence; siie, 
 desolate without his society. She, pure, high-niindi-d, 
 discriminating, ardent, loving, intelligent- he confided to 
 her his innermost soul and blessed her with his U-A and 
 unfailing love. She shared his trials and his triuini)hs; 
 his sorrows and his joys ; his toils and his rewards. How 
 tender was that scene, in the early dawn of that April 
 day, when all thought the long-expected end had come, 
 he gave her his watch and tenderly caressed her hand. 
 It was all the great soldier had to give to the wife of his 
 youth. And the dying hero whispered : • I did not have 
 you wait upon me, because I knew it would distress you ; 
 but now the end draws nigh.' And out from the ' swell- 
 inirs of Jordan ' he rushed back to the shore of life to write 
 this tender message to his son: ^ Vriierever I am buried, 
 promise me that your mother shall be buried by my side.' 
 It is all a wife could ask; it is all a husband could 
 wi.sh. 
 
 '' ' Lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death 
 they shall not be divided.' 
 
 " Side by side they shall sleep in the same tomb, and 
 she shall share with him whatever homage future ages 
 shall pay at his national shrine. 
 
 '•And how tender was his care. He thought not of 
 himself, but of her. To his son he said : ' I hoi^e mother 
 will bear up bravely.' To quiet her anxiety he wrote : 
 'Do as I do ; take i't quietly. I give myself not the lea.«t 
 concern. If I knew the end was to be to moirow, I would 
 
oeo LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 try just as hard to get rest in the meantime.' Would she 
 keep holy vigils through the livelong night? He wrote: 
 'Go to sleep and feel happy; that is what I want to do, 
 and am going to try for. I am happy when out of pain. 
 Consider how happy you ought to be. Good-night!' 
 
 '•And such was the tenderness of his love and solicitude 
 for her and hers, he surprised her by a letter found after 
 his death. It came as a message to her from him after 
 he had gone. When his spirit had returned to the God 
 who gave it there was found secreted in his robe his last 
 letter to her, enveloped, sealed and addressed. He had 
 written it betimes — written it secretly — and carried the 
 sacred missive day after day during the fourteen days, 
 knowing that she would find it at last. In it he poured 
 forth his soul in love for her and solicitude for their chil- 
 dren : 
 
 " ' Look after our dear children and direct them in the 
 paths of rectitude. It would distress me far more to 
 think that one of them could depart from an honorable, 
 upright and virtuous life than it would to know that they 
 were prostrated on a bed of sickness from which they 
 were never to arise alive. They have never given us any 
 cause for alarm on their account, and I earnestly pray 
 they never will. With these few injunctions and the 
 knowledge I have of your love and affection, and of the 
 dutiful affection of all our children, I bid you a final 
 farewell until we meet in another and>, I trust, a better 
 world. Yoii will find this on my person after my demise.' 
 
 "And who should marvel that in a home of such 
 parentage parental love and filial affection should reign 
 supreme ? 
 
 *•' If such was his character, such his home, what were 
 the consolations which sustained him in sickness and 
 cheered him in death ? Reared in the Methodist Episco- 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. mi 
 
 • pal Church, and baptized in liis last ilhioss l)v oik' (»r her 
 ministers, his religious nature was sincere, cahn and stead- 
 fast. The principles of Christianity were deeplv en- 
 grafted upon his spirit. Firm, but never demonstrative, 
 he was not a man of religious pretence. His hfc was liis 
 profession. He knew that Christianity had nothing to 
 gain from him beyond the influence of a ' well-ordored 
 life and a godly conversation,' but tliat ho liad everything 
 to gain from the power and promises of our Lord. .'^lore 
 than in all things else he was taciturn touching his re- 
 ligious faith and experience — not, however, from doubt 
 and fear, but from mental characteristics. The keenest, 
 closest, broadest of all observers, he was the most silent 
 of men. He lived within himself His thouglit-life wa.s 
 most intense. His memory and imagination were picture- 
 galleries of the world and libraries of treasured tiiouglit. 
 He was a world to himself Plis most intimate friends 
 knew him only in part. He was fully and best known 
 only to the wife of his bosom and the children of his 
 loins. To them the man of iron will and nerve of steel 
 was gentle, tender and confiding, and to them he un- 
 folded his beautiful religious life. 
 
 "On the 18th of April he said to me: 'I bcli.'ve in 
 the holy Scriptures, and whoso lives by them will be 
 benefited thereby. Men may diffl-r as to the intei-prc- 
 tation, which is human, but the Scriptures are man's 
 best guide.' He revered their source, recognized their 
 influence, responded to their requisitions, trusted ni their 
 promises and found consolation in their hopes. His laith 
 in God as the Sovereign Ruler and the Father Almighty 
 was as simple as a child's and niigiity as a propht-l s. 
 
 "And where in the annals of the church shall we find 
 a dying hour so full of divine repose? His calm faith 
 in a future state was undisturbed by anxious doubt. Un 
 
592 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 suffering and wasted body was but the casket for the 
 resplendent jewel of his soul, and when death ruthlessly 
 broke that precious casket an angel carried the jewel to 
 the skies to lay it at the Saviour's feet. In the early light 
 of April 1st, when all thought the end was come, the suf- 
 ferer said to me : ' Doctor, I am going.' 
 
 " ' I hope the prospect of the future is clear and bright,' 
 was my response, and the answer came : ' Yes; oh, yes!' 
 Then followed a scene of infinite tenderness. The hon- 
 ored wife, the precious daughter, the devoted sons and 
 their wives, each in turn approaclied, and he tenderly 
 kissed them. ' Do you know me, darling?' was the lov- 
 ing wife's inquirj^, and he whispered back : ' Certainly I 
 do, and bless you all in my heart.' 
 
 " Such love melted the marble heart of death, and the 
 ' King of Terrors' fled affrighted. The sufferer revived. 
 Heaven added months to a life so dear to us all. When 
 he had recovered sufficiently I asked him : ' What was 
 the supreme thought on your mind when Eternity seemed 
 so near?' 
 
 " ' The comfort of the consciousness that I had tried to 
 live a good and honorable life,' was the response, which 
 revealed the hidden life of his soul. Again the angel of 
 death cast his shadow over the one a nation loved. Amid 
 the gathering gloom I said : ' You have many awaiting 
 you on the other side.' 
 
 " ' I wish they would come and not linger long,' was 
 the answer of his Christian faith and hope. 
 
 "They came at last. They came to greet him with the 
 kiss of immortality. They came to escort the conqueror 
 over the 'last enemv' to a coronation never seen on 
 thrones of earthly power and glory. Who came ? His 
 martyred friend, Lincoln ? His companion in arms, 
 McPherson ? His faithful chief of staff, Rawlins ? His 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIKS. MS 
 
 great predecessor in oain[) and cahinct. WashinL'ton ? 
 And did not all who have died lor liberty eoiui'".' O 
 calm, brave, heroic soul, sing thou the song of Christiuii 
 triumph ; ' death, where is thy sting? grave, where 
 is thy victory? Thanks be to (loil. which -^Ivelh us the 
 victory, through Jesus Christ, our Lord." 
 
 '• And that victory w^as at hand. From his vii-w on 
 Monday at the eastern outlook he was to ascend to U-hold 
 a grander vision. Tuesday came and went. Niuiit drew 
 on apace and death seemed innninent. Around his chair 
 we knelt in prayer for some divine manifestation of com- 
 fort. Our prayer was heard. The sufferer revived. 
 Again he wrote messages of love and wisdom. The night 
 wore away. Wednesday dawned on hill and dale. Hoikj 
 revived. Ilis intellect was clear and his consciousness 
 was supreme. Again he wrote, and again he whispered 
 the wishes of his heart. 
 
 " As came the eventide, so came his last night. Frotn 
 out of that chair wherein he had sat and sulTered, and 
 wrote and prayed, tenderly he was carried to that coucli 
 from which he was never to rise. Around him we gatli- 
 ered and bowed in prayer to commend his departing 
 spirit to the mercy of Him who gave it. He answered 
 in monosyllables to questions for his comfort. The braiu 
 was the last to die. All were watchers on that memor- 
 able night. Recognitions were exchanged. A peacelu 
 death and consciousness to the last breath were grant.^1 
 unto him. The last night had passed. 
 
 " 'Tis morning. The stars have melted into the coming 
 licht. The rosy-fingered morn lifts the drapery of the 
 nic^ht. The distant mountains stand forth aglow. he 
 soft, pure light of dawn covers earth and sky. 1 - 
 dew-drop sparkles on the grass and m the <^-.- "l ' 
 The birds from their sylvan coverts carol the melodv of 
 
594 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 a thousand songs. The world rejoices, and its many 
 minstrels challenge the harpers of the sky. In a humble 
 cottage, prone upon his couch, lies ' our old commander.' 
 He is dying ! 
 
 ''Tis morning, and in the light of that day thousands 
 of earnest faces flush with renewed concern. From many 
 a shaded lane and mountain slope, from many a farm- 
 house and splendid mansion, eager eyes look toward the 
 mount of suffering and breathe a prayer to God for the 
 one we loved. Alas ! he is dead. 
 
 "'Tis morning. It is the promise of a brighter day. 
 The trumpeters of the sky are sounding the reveUle. 
 Their notes have reached the earth. Their notes have 
 reached our General's ear. He has gone to join the 
 triumphant host. 'Tis morning in Heaven ! " 
 
 At the conclusion of the services arrangements for 
 the removal of the remains were promptly made. 
 
 Two buglers playing the "Dead March" preceded 
 Company A, of the Fifth, after whom marched Under- 
 taker Merritt. Then came, two by two, Dr. Newman 
 and Bishop Harris and Drs. Douglas and Agnew. The 
 rich velvet of the heavy casket gleamed and the polished 
 silver glittered in the bright sunshine, as it was borne by 
 twelve"" members of U. S. Grant Post of Brooklyn— Col- 
 onel W. H. Barker, Major B. R. Corwin, Dr. George W. 
 Brush, Reese B. Twillem, J. P. Howatt, Commander 
 John H. Johnson, Henry W. Knight, R. F. Mackellar, 
 George J. Collins, Noah Tibbetts and George B. Squires. 
 The sons, Colonel Fred, Ulysses, and Jesse, followed the 
 coffin, and General Sherman came as a friend of the 
 family, without attention to his military rank. General 
 Hancock followed with Admiral Rowan; Admiral Timo- 
 thy H. Stevens with General Rufus Ingalls ; the staff 
 officers; Senators Evarts and Miller; M. J. Cramer, ex- 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES AM 
 
 minister to Denmark; Mrs. Corbin, a sister of General 
 Grant; U. S. Grant, second son of Orville Grant; Pay- 
 master Sliarpe, U. S. A., and wife, Mrs. Grant's sisti-r; 
 ex-Postmaster-General Creswell and wile; e.\-Si,"crctarv 
 of State Hamilton Fish; General Horace Porter, and 
 others. 
 
 The escort drew up in line. The casket was canii-d 
 into the centre of the observation car, the outside of wliicli 
 was entirely covered with bhick cloth. The engine, the 
 '•J. W. Drexel," was also hung with black cambric. The 
 escort filed in, the rest of the party followed, and tiie train 
 started promptly on time, nothing having occurn'il to 
 cause any change of the carefully-arranged i)rogrannne. 
 
 The train proceeded slowly down the mountain, and 
 it was 1.48 p. M. when its arrival at Saratoga was an- 
 nounced by the firing of a gun by a detail sent from tin- 
 Watervliet Arsenal at Troy. 
 
 The funeral train of the New York Central was in 
 waiting. Every one of the nine cars was completely 
 covered with black, leaving not an inch of the woodwork 
 above the wheels visible. After the baggage car came 
 the funeral car of the road, the *' Woodlawn," with «'very 
 provision for the casket and the guard. The rest of the 
 train was occupied by the party in the same order as 
 down the mountain, with the exception that the guard 
 was placed in the rear car. Three or four thousand 
 people witnessed the transfer. Members (.f Wht'.-lrr 
 Post presented arms as the train slowly moved tlin.unh 
 their line, while a company of the Twenty-second regi- 
 ment was posted a few paces oil' on the other side of tlie 
 track. The train moved slowly through the town. an<l 
 shortly after two o'clock quickened its speed and ^^ as ..iT 
 
 for Albany. 
 
 The train took more than the u.^ual time for tin- run 
 
596 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 from Saratoga to Albany, using an hour and a half, and 
 passing through the towns on the way at half speed. 
 Superintendent Voorhees had placed a man at every 
 switch or crossing on the line, and rode in the cab of the 
 engine himself The time of the train was known, and 
 all along the whole forty miles people had gathered to 
 see it pass. At Ballston many flags were draped, and a 
 thousand people lined the tracks. The school and church 
 bells tolled sixty-three, the age of the General, and a sa- 
 lute of thirteen guns was fired as the train passed through. 
 At Round Lake another thousand were in waiting, and 
 the train was slowed up enough to permit those on board 
 to witness a striking tableau — a lady dressed in mourn- 
 ing, leaning upon a flagstaff, with the flag draped and 
 holding out a victor's wreath, while two veterans of the 
 Grand Army of the Republic stood on either side. 
 
 At Mechanicsville emblems of mourning were seen, 
 and the crowd was even greater. A gun was fired to 
 mark the departure of the train, and when it reached 
 Waterford it seemed as if there was danger of loss of life, 
 so closely did the crowd press upon the tracks. At 
 Cohocs, where the road runs for a long distance through 
 the thickest part of the town, it appeared as if there 
 were fully ten thousand people pushing each other for a 
 glimpse of the cortege, crowding the freight cars along- 
 side, and filling the windows of the mills. Looms were 
 stopped and spindles ceased to revolve as the operators 
 with one accord rushed to the doors and windows. 
 
 As the train rolled into the depot at Albany at 3.40 
 o'clock, Mr. Voorhees stepped down from the cab of the 
 engine. " From the first movement of the train from 
 Saratoga to this instant," he remarked to one who had 
 ridden on the train, " you have heard no sound from bell 
 or whistle." 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. 697 
 
 r 
 
 ■ There was little time lost in formin^^ tiic line as s<hjii 
 as the casket had been transferred to the rimcral coIimhh, 
 which was in motion in less than hall" an hour. thuii;:h it 
 was necessary for General Hancock and all his .>^ta^' to 
 mount horses strange to them and go to the head of the 
 line. 
 
 The procession was pronounced by all the fniest tiiat liad 
 ever been seen in this city. It was strong in nuinlx'i-s, 
 brilliant in its personnel, and impressive in movt'inent. 
 General Hancock, with his stafi', at the hrad, followed 
 immediately by Major-General Joini G. Farns worth, tlie 
 chief marshal, and his aides, and then Major-General 
 Joseph B. Carr, connnanding the First Division of the 
 National Guard, with his full staff, made a most imposing 
 appearance, all being well mounted and equipi)ed with 
 uniforms glittering with gold braid. The funeral car wa.s 
 thirteen feet in height, and through its sides the gorgeous 
 casket could be plainly seen, even by those pressed so f ir 
 back on the sidewalks that they could see oidy the head-3 
 of the marching column. The body-guard marcln-d in 
 double file on either side, followed by the Senate and 
 House of Assembly. 
 
 At 5.30 the capitol was reached, and in perfect order 
 every movement was made until the casket was in plaox; 
 and the features of the hero were ready for obsi-rvation. 
 During the first four hours it is estimated that 27.IH>0 
 persons viewed the remains. Shortly after i-k-vcn <> clock 
 A. M., on Wednesday, August oth, the funeral proiv.sMon 
 was reformed in Albany, and the march was taken up to 
 the New York Central Depot amid the booming of cann.)n 
 and through densely-packed streets. The casket was 
 placed in the funeral car, and the train started at pre- 
 cisely 12.30 o'clock to carry General Grant on his last 
 journey. On the roofs of the houses in the vicnuty 
 
598 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 hundreds witnessed the start, and as the black trahi 
 rumbled across the long bridge of the Hudson, it was be- 
 tween two dense lines of people who filled the footpaths 
 on either side. There was no clang of bell, no scream of 
 whistle — only the dull rumble of the wheels beneath the 
 memorable train. Across the river were crowds of people. 
 The shops and stores and factories had closed their doors 
 to business. All who work and those of leisure seemed 
 to have come out to stand with uncovered heads to be 
 part of a scene never again to be enacted. The long, 
 sweeping curve was rounded, and the black train straight- 
 ened out level with the Hudson on its way to the me- 
 tropolis. 
 
 On down the splendid river that sparkled in the sun- 
 light the train rumbled at twenty miles an hour. At 
 every rural road-crossing groups of plain, sad-faced people 
 stood and watched. Hudson's iron furnaces sent up 
 black columns of smoke ahead in the distance. Hudson 
 then came closer and was reached at 1.27 p. m., just fifty- 
 seven minutes from the start. It, too, paid its respects 
 to the passing dead, with hundreds of persons at the sta- 
 tion, which was draped with mourning, and the report of 
 a gun was heard somewhere back on the hills. The 
 Catskills w^ere whirling nearer and nearer as the train 
 rolled onward. The ^jurple sliadows under the brow of 
 the mountains to which the illustrious dead had thought 
 to journey this very month were deepening as the clouds 
 sailed higher into the blue sky. Away across the river, 
 on the foothills of the Catskills, a hotel, heavy with flags 
 and dense with forms of people, grew into view. . 
 
 The station of Catskill w\as just ahead. A gun boomed 
 a salute and a white puff of smoke floated out over the 
 river. There were many people along the tracks on 
 either side. The little station with mourning tokens 
 
FUNERAL OBSEC^UIKS. SB 
 
 hurried by ; the speed was increasing, but the long, dark 
 train swept around curves and over levels steadily and 
 smoothly. Out on the river there were many little'lxialM 
 and launches and some yachts with ensiirns tipjR'd with 
 black. Each bore people with heads uncovered, and all 
 these tokens of respect were not unheeded by the mourniTH 
 of the dead, while most of the time they sat in .silence with 
 their eyes upon the river and the mountain p<-ak.s 
 beyond. 
 
 Poughkeepsie was coming in view around the curven, 
 where the little pilot engine occasionally could \xi seen 
 with its ten minutes' headway. Rhinobeck had gone bv 
 at 2.13 p. M., Staattsburg at 2.22 i>. m., Hyde Park at \iM 
 P. M., and when the train rolled through the throngs at 
 Poughkeepsie the dial marked 2.45 p. m., and the funeral 
 train was on time. 
 
 A little later, as Newburg was passed, the nionii tains 
 westward were enveloped by clouds tiiat poun-d ijdwn 
 rain. At Fishkill, which was passed on time at .').l I. a 
 black-bordered banner was seen near tlte tracks, and u|m.l 
 it the words: ''The great Captain is dead." Just in the 
 shadows of the old Storm King, at Cornwall, a steandxjat 
 from New York, loaded with people, was seen following 
 the train. Cold Spring had been passed at o.21. and 
 West Point was only six minute away. Colonel (Jrant. 
 General Porter and other persons in the car took seats on 
 the river side. The river was being ruflled as the train 
 bore down among the highlands, and soon cuiling crests 
 of white foam rode the increasing waves. Filmy .^carfs 
 of mist trailed down the mountain side above We.st Point. 
 Deep reverberations of thunder echoed among the nu.un- 
 tains. The storm had centred directly above the military 
 post, but the river was not yet touched by the rain that 
 had obscured the tops of the mountains and was sweeping 
 down their sides. 
 
 3R 
 
600 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The train rolled on and was passing through the deep 
 cut just north of Garrison's, which is the railway station 
 for West Point. Suddenly the report of a cannon shook 
 the heavy atmosphere. The train's speed lessened grad- 
 ually as it emerged from the cut, and hundreds of people 
 were seen lining the way on either side. Then, at 3.27, 
 the train rolled slowly past the little station at Garrison's, 
 and there was shown the tribute from his old student 
 home to the dead soldier. Along the line of the railway 
 before the station the cadets from West Point were drawn 
 up in line at " present arms." All the officers of the post 
 were near with uncovered heads, and the band from the 
 post, with muffled drums, was playing " Sweet Spirit, 
 hear my Prayer." The strains were not loud, but sub- 
 dued, and they blended with the muttering thunder over 
 the. river, on the mountains, where the storm had swept 
 down to the Hagstaff tip that shot up from the trees, and 
 all the while, at intervals of five seconds, came the sound 
 of a gun. As the little station passed out of sight and 
 the strains from the band had died away, a view across 
 the river disclosed bright Hashes, quick belching of smoke, 
 and then, as soon as sound could travel, the booming 
 sound of another gun smote the ear. The salute was 
 being fired from the river shore at the foot of the bluff 
 which is crowned by the garrison. 
 
 The funeral train had again quickened speed, but it 
 was overtaken by the storm, which prevailed with much 
 force for ten minutes. Then the clouds broke, the rain 
 ceased and the sunlight was again on the mountains. 
 The Palisades were passed, and at 4.37 the black train 
 swept around the curve and left the Hudson behind. 
 Rain was again falling on the Harlem river. At High 
 Bridge, a splendid vantage ground for observation, there 
 were few people. When the train passed the Atalanta 
 
601 
 
602 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Boat Club's house on the river the flag was dipped. The 
 junction was rounded at 4.48, and the funeral train had 
 made its last curve. Down through Harlem and the tun- 
 nel the heavy train rumbled toward the city. Emerging 
 from the tunnel, the train made a flying switch and rolled 
 on to its stopping point. Slowly it stopped, but at length, 
 as the Grand Central clock dial marked five o'clock, it 
 was still and on time. General Grant's last journey was 
 ended, and from the start there had been no clang of bell 
 nor sound of whistle of the locomotive. 
 
 The depot had been cleared of all save a dozen or two 
 reporters, a brigade of policemen and the railroad offi- 
 cials, who stood at the lower end of the building awaiting 
 the train's arrival. Overhead, underneath the gilded 
 letters naming the Central Railroad directors, a long bal- 
 cony was filled with ladies and gentlemen, many of the 
 former being clad in the brightest apparel, giving the 
 somewhat sombre scene just the color required. There 
 were ten cars to the funeral train, each completely envel- 
 oped in mourning, the heavy drapings caught up at the 
 windows with black rosettes, the funeral car " Woodlawn'* 
 distinguished by its single broad door and the heavy 
 panels of crape which lined its sides. The party had the 
 station completely to themselves as the long train came 
 to a standstill, and General Horace Porter, wearing a 
 military slouch hat, with a Grand Army badge in the left 
 lappel of his coat, was the first to alight. He was accom- 
 panied by Quartermaster-General Hodges, who had charge 
 of the transportation, and Captain Ward, of General Han- 
 cock's staff*. It was not a moment before the members of 
 the Citizens' Committee of One Hundred, all wearing dark 
 suits, with crape on their arms and black bands about 
 their tall white hats, were pouring out of one of the rear 
 cars and forming in line for the procession. Then Gov- 
 
FUNERAL OBSEQUIKS. ^ 
 
 ernor Hill and his staff, coven-d with ;:old l^rr, tlicir 
 showy uniforms standing out in marked rcli(>f a-aiii^t tlif 
 black train, and the regular army troops, tli(Mr hri-hl. 
 polished rifle barrels shining in tlio weltM.mc snnjijrl.t] 
 filed out upon the platform, while the guard ..f ]„u,„r 
 was busy opening the doors for the egress of tlu- c.niM. 
 There was no occasion for word of command as tlir rich 
 purple casket, with its silver trimmings, was handed out 
 on to the shoulders of the twelve stalwart soldiers await- 
 ing its reception. Every head was mieovcred as, with 
 solemn step, the coffni bearers marched tin-ough the 
 throng down the long lines of policemen and across the 
 long platform to the station doors. The huge black cata- 
 fiilque, with its twelve black horses, stood in Torty-third 
 street just opposite the main entrance. The coffin wjus 
 borne through the long line of troops and placed securely 
 in its position, while the great mass of people whicJi lined 
 the sidewalks back of the well-preserved i)olice lines 
 spontaneously uncovered their heads and waitecl for the 
 procession to start. General Hancock and liis staff gal- 
 loped forward at the headof tlie line; regiment after reg- 
 iment of the National Guard, their arms at reverse and 
 their colors in mourning, fell regularly into lin<', ami. 
 amid the rolling of mufllcd drums and tlie tolling of i>ellrt, 
 the great pageant moved slowly down the aveinie. 
 
 It was nearly seven o'clock when the head of the pnn 
 cession reached City Hall Square. Then (Icneral Il.in- 
 cock, with his gilded staff cantering behind, rode into 
 the plaza and to the front of the City Hall. There he 
 dismounted, his staff saluted and drew up iu line opj)o«<it'i 
 the main entrance. Then came a troop of regular art illery, 
 without guns, their red plumes noddimi bright airainst the 
 wet green of the trees, as they, too, «]rove up in line. 
 The white coats and helmets of the Twenty-.second n\gi- 
 
604 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 ment next swung across the plaza with arms reversed, 
 and were drawn up to receive the honored dead. A car- 
 riage next arrived, from which Dr. Douglas, Rev. New- 
 man and General Horace Porter alighted. The twelve 
 black horses drawing the funeral car were then led in 
 front of the City Hall. The undertaker's assistants 
 placed a black stairway against it and the Grand Army 
 guard of honor from Grant Post of Brooklyn ascended to 
 the car, reverently lifted the sacred burden and bore it 
 into the building. During their progress the Twenty- 
 second regiment presented arms, a band played a dirge 
 and a bugle rang out from the steps with mournful note. 
 
 As soon as the casket had been placed beneath the 
 canopy thirteen members of U. S. Grant Post took their 
 stations, six at each side and one at the head. They stood 
 like statues, their gaze concentrated on their charge. 
 Sharing their watch were seven members of the Loyal 
 Legion, of whom the ranking officer was Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral J. S. Mallaw. General Hancock had now delivered 
 the remains to the municipal authorities, in whose charge 
 they were to remain initil ten o'clock on Saturday morning. 
 
 Before opening the gates for the public view the body 
 was prepared in a private room, and when in position the 
 Mayor and a few other special guests viewed it in silence. 
 At 9 p. M. the public was admitted until 1 A. M., when 
 the gates were closed for the night. 
 
 The decorations at the City Hall were very elaborate 
 and yet in most excellent taste. The effect was richly 
 sombre. The corridor into which the iron front gates 
 ojien was completely shrouded in black, which was fluted 
 across the ceiling and drawn over the walls and about 
 the pillars to the floor. Over the marble pavement rub- 
 ber matting was laid, and was covered with black varnish, 
 and thus the corridor looked like the interior of a black 
 
806 
 
606 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 cube. In the centre tlie canopy which was to cover the 
 remains was placed. Four carved posts of mahogany 
 supported an arched roof of black silk, lined with white. 
 Curtains of black silk, heavily fringed, hung from the 
 top, and were drawn toward the posts by heavy silk 
 cords. The platform supporting the canopy, and on 
 which the casket was to rest, was covered with black. 
 At its foot was a heavily-framed bronze medalHon of the 
 dead General. A line of purple within its black frame 
 was the only other color to be detected in the whole cor- 
 ridor. Two rows of massive square columns, also swathed 
 in black, were back of the corridor, and between them 
 one passed to the space beneath the dome and before the 
 circular stairway. Here, too, all was black. 
 
 In the centre of all, upon the first landing of the stair- 
 way, a black pedestal supported a bronze bust of Grant. 
 A golden eagle just beneath his bosom was covered with 
 black illusion, and a golden wreath had been placed across 
 its outstretched wings. Two electric lights depending 
 from the dome cast their white glare upon the bust. 
 Directly above, standing in an open corridor which runs 
 around the dome, was placed the beautiful floral tribute 
 of the Women's Relief Corps of New York and Brooklyn. 
 This is a tall clock composed of white and purple im- 
 mortelles, smilax and roses. The hands on the dial in- 
 dicate the hour at which the General died — eight minutes 
 past eight. Beneath the dial are the dates 1822-1885. 
 This floral clock and the bronze bust were here, too, the 
 only objects not black. Sable cloth covered everything, 
 but ceased where the arch of the dome began above, and 
 the white marble thus exposed afforded a beautiful con- 
 trast. Back of the stairway were two passages, also 
 covered with black, which led to the rear of the hall. 
 
 All day Thursday and all day Friday unbroken throngs 
 
FUNERAL OIlSIX^riKS. 0^^ 
 
 passed the casket and gazed on tlie honored face of thr 
 dead chieftain. Tiieir double lino at one time extended up 
 Broadway a mile and a half, reaching to Grand htrt't-t and 
 moving at lock-step. It is estimated that on Tliurwluv 
 alone 150,000 persons viewed the remains. 
 
 As the day of burial drew near it became more iiixi 
 more evident that the chief management of the itnjM)sinir 
 obsequies had been rightly placed in the hands of the 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD S. TIAXrOCK. 
 
 illustrious soldier, General Hancock. Kvery detail wm* 
 attended to with masterly precision. His aides were all 
 military men, thoroughly competent to do tlieir jut.signed 
 duties. There was no uncertainty or dallying at any 
 point. Everything was clear and decisive. The confi- 
 dent expectations of a successful pageant were ivnlized. 
 
608 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Early on Saturday morning, August 8th, New York 
 and its surroundings were astir. Throngs of people 
 crowded into Broadway, Fourteenth street, Fifth avenue. 
 Fifty-seventh street and the Boulevard, making a dense 
 and continuous mass from the City Hall to the Riverside 
 Park, a distance of nine miles. The dark clouds of the 
 early morning broke a.way and sunshine flooded the 
 scene. The start was made promptly and every move- 
 ment was with most perfect precision. 
 
 The passing pageant, as seen from an eligible point on 
 Fifth avenue, was thus pictured by an accomplished jour- 
 nalist of the New York Times : 
 
 " A murmur ran through the gathered multitude and 
 every head bent forward. The captains spoke sharply 
 and a thousand lifted muskets glittered together. A 
 guide is posted to the rear and the long line moves 
 steadily back to a new position, the file closers touching 
 the front of the crowd. 
 
 " There he came — Hancock — a gallant figure of war, 
 proud and unbending as on that deadly day at Spottsyl- 
 vania. With him Lee, Rodgers, Gordon, Stevens, Bar- 
 num. Porter — what a lot of glories they summoned — and 
 twenty other heroes in his train. Then the soldiery of 
 our State, of which every heart is proud, swept by in 
 broad platoons to the solemn rhythm of the ' March in 
 Saul.' From Fourteenth street into the avenue poured a 
 ceaseless river of light, whose ripf)les rose and fell and 
 caught the sun again, now shadowed, now glorious ; the 
 gleam of button and breastplate, the shimmer of cross- 
 belt and plume, the radiance that poured from the line 
 of steel — crimson and azure and gold in masses ever 
 nearing and brighter; the glint of the musket and flash 
 of the scabbard, the splendor that rested on the howit- 
 zer's burnish, the Gatling's cold gleam, the soft sheen of 
 

 MOURNING DECORATIONS OX r.KOADU A V, M.\S V 
 
 609 
 
610 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 the guidon and the regiments' colors. In the distance the 
 streaming glory was as soft as the silver of moonlight 
 upon wind-swept waters, but as wave after wave of the 
 music swelled upward and louder it broadened and grew 
 till a sunburst rolled by in that pageant of war. 
 
 " It was the solemnity of homage that moved in that 
 stately array. The scarlet of the flag was dimmed in its 
 veihng, the drums were shrouded, the arms reversed and 
 the saucy marker a flutter of crape. White, red, gray and 
 blue, the battalions passed, but not an eye sought the be- 
 holders and not a hand was raised to acclaim them. 
 Sturdy young ranks they were, the best material a country 
 could boast as defenders. But few have seen the field 
 with its glories and horrors — they have yet to face its ter- 
 rible flame — but they have the records of Grant and Lee, 
 Sherman and Jackson, Sheridan and Johnston, Thomas 
 and Longstreet, Hancock and Buckner to tell them, when 
 occasion comes, what the American soldier can do. And 
 so they passed, the legions of New York, Pennsylvania, 
 Massachusetts, Virginia, Connecticut, Georgia. Minnesota. 
 New Jersey and the District of Columbia — all martial and 
 reliant; for east or w^est, north or south, the soldier of 
 this flag is the same. The van passed upward and over 
 the hill and beyond ; for two hours the platoons, in close 
 order, had gone rapidly by, and yet from Fourteenth 
 street up was the same harmonious flowing of sparkle and 
 color. The assembly that watched had not moved. It 
 was not satisfied. It saw in this tide of splendor only the 
 glory of a recollection of the past, the reflection from an 
 achievement that would still burn like a sun when these 
 accoutrements were rust. And so thev stood in the glare 
 and gazed on the passing. It had been one unbroken 
 current of melody and gorgeous columns. Band suc- 
 ceeded band and regiment regiment in quick succession,. 
 
FUJMEKAL OB.SKQUIKS. 
 
 611 
 
 but the pulse of the drums beat to the .same sa.l Htnui.. 
 and the downward weapons and trailin- standards told 
 the same solemn story. But now a l.rigade tHnl hy and 
 there was emptiness and a hush. 
 
 " The dead Conqueror. 
 
 " There, under a canopy as of night, where the sun 
 kissed the purple and silver that hid him, he came— nut 
 leading, but led; not victorious, but himself surrendered. 
 From the throats of flute and clarionet and tuba the sigh.s 
 and sobbings of the nation were voiced in softest, saddest 
 music, but no heart could be struck deeper than by the 
 sight of that reverent blackness that bore him ;ls a cloud. 
 Around him the men who had shared his suffering and 
 his honors from Palo Alto to Appomattox; the Chief 
 Magistrate and the honored of the people were in his 
 train; the great captains he had launched like thunder- 
 bolts against the foe were with him again ; the hero wlio 
 gave him the sword of Donelson, the victor at Seven 
 Pines, the strong chief who yielded only with Virginia's 
 knightliest son, these accompanied him too; statesmen, 
 orators, men of power whose lives are history, followed; 
 but the eye only saw that place of rest under the shadowB 
 of the flag he loved so well. The place of teeming thou- 
 sands was stilled as by the awe of a tem})le as this greatest 
 of the great went onward to his grave. The universal 
 gaze was drawn at the first herald of his coming; it fol- 
 lowed steadftistly until distance had shut its gates ujmju 
 the view; even after all had gone it still lingen-d. Then 
 the rattle of many wheels, as the mourners and delegates, 
 ambassadors and companions, joined the line. Half a mile 
 of these and then strode tlie comrades of his camps and 
 battles. 
 
 "Of the thousands whose dearest ^vish was to U' with 
 him this day these had been chosen. They came from 
 
612 LIFE OF GENERAJ. GRANT. 
 
 a hundred glowing fields. That white-haired man's once 
 strong shoulder helped lift that howitzer trained by the 
 young Lieutenant from the belfry at Chapultepec ; that 
 veteran behind was among the first under the walls of 
 Henry ; the limp of the next is a remembrance of 
 Huger's last shell at Manasses ; his companion pulled the 
 lanyard of Ricketts first gun ; that sleeve has been empty 
 since the recoil of the gray billows hurled upon Thomas 
 at Chickamauga ; yonder a red scar burns in proud mem- 
 ory of the hour at Aldie when Kilpatrick rode down with 
 a whirlwind of death ; six there, shoulder to shoulder, are 
 marching as steadily as they marched under the thunders 
 of Lookout; the one hand of that proud-eyed giant 
 planted the color at Mission Ridge; that drummer beat 
 the rally on the river banks at Shiloh. All heroes — all 
 worthy of the man they obeyed and followed. 
 
 " Onward to the old Commander's grave. His last 
 march was nearing the final camp. At last came the 
 halt, and through the ranks of his resting soldiers, as 
 many a time before when he had approved them for their 
 valor, he passed to his couch. For the last time the light 
 of earth rested upon his coffin ; then he was shut away. 
 
 " Now in the hush was the murmur of ascending invo- 
 cation to the God of Battles and the God of Peace that 
 after his toil and pain, his long vigil and patient en- 
 durance, this sentinel might find rest. 
 
 " Hark ! through the stillness the low, sweet notes 
 of the soldier's good-night. Put out the lights — the great 
 doors were closed and no eye beheld him but that of his 
 God. Now leaped from the mouths of a hundred guns 
 the red gleam and the thunder and cloud of the salute. 
 From the hill the angry muzzles shot their clamors and 
 the battle-cloud billowed and rolled above the pennons 
 and spars of the answering river. Land and sea spoke 
 their highest tribute. The soldier was at rost." 
 
FUNERAL <)J5S|.:(^i;||,:s. y,j 
 
 The pall-bearers on this great occasion, Melccted hy 
 the President on request of General (nant's fainih , u.-iv 
 the following distinguished soldiers and citizens: 
 
 General W. T. Sherman, 
 
 General P. H. Sheridan, 
 
 Admiral D. D. Porter, 
 
 Vice-Admiral S. C. Rowan, 
 
 General S. B. Buckner, 
 
 General J. E. Johnston, 
 
 *Hon. Hamilton Fish, 
 
 Hon. George S. Boutwell, 
 
 Senator John A. Logan, 
 
 George W. Childs, 
 
 Oliver Hoyt, 
 
 George Jones, 
 
 A. J. Drexel. 
 
 *Mr. Fish being unable to serve on account of sickncjiti, Mr. A. 
 J. Drexel was appointed iu his place. 
 
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