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RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE W. CHILD S. 
 
 *' So runs the round of life from hour to hour." 
 
 Tennyson. 
 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 
 1890. 
 
7 5 C^5 3 
 
 Copyright, 1890, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 
 
 tilUkM^l^RRKED 
 
) 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 THE STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 
 
 MEMORIAI^ FOUNTAIN. 
 
 THE MEMORIAE WINDOWS TO 
 
 HERBERT, COWPER, AND MIETON. 
 
 THE ANDREWES AND KEN 
 
 REREDOS. 
 
 THE PRINTERS' BANQUET. 
 
PEEFAOE. 
 
 When Mr. Chilcls consented, with un- 
 feigned reluctance, to tell the story of his 
 tranquil life, he was not at all persuaded of 
 the propriety of sitting down before the 
 public and chatting familiarly of himself 
 and his friends. He had been asked to do 
 this many times before, but neither the 
 persistent importunity of enterprising pub- 
 lishers, nor, of course, the tender of gold, 
 could move him. Finally the temptation 
 to do a friendly act overcame his scruples, 
 and the readers of Lippincoifs Magazine were 
 given the series of four entertaining papers* 
 embodied in the present volume. However 
 stubborn the resistance of Mr. Childs may 
 have been, and whatever doubts he may 
 have entertained as to the wisdom of the 
 
 * Published in the issues of June, July, August, and 
 September, 1889, 
 
 1* 5 
 
6 In Explanation. 
 
 undertaking, he could not liave been other 
 than deeply gratified by the flattering recep- 
 tion of his Recollections by press and people. 
 Perliaps no magazine articles of the year — 
 certainly none of the multitudinous volumes 
 of reminiscences — were so loudly heralded, 
 so extensively quoted, so unanimously ap- 
 proved. Extracts are still current in the 
 country papers ; rare and cordial words of 
 appreciation still come from the four quar- 
 ters of the world. Sir Edwin Arnold was 
 kind enough to say that he had read the 
 personal memoirs of Mr. Childs with profit 
 and pleasure ; and General Sherman avowed 
 that they would have " fifty times their 
 value fifty years hence." Without exception 
 known to me, the newspapers of this coun- 
 try and England extolled the interest of the 
 articles, the Boston Herald'^ saying that 
 *' Mr. Childs's recollections are so good that 
 he ought to publish everything he knows 
 about Grant;" and the Chicago News-\ 
 uro^ino^ that " when these reminiscences are 
 concluded they should be published in book 
 form," making this suggestion, as it went 
 on to say, " in behalf of the very many who 
 wish to preserve Mr. Childs's interesting 
 
 * July 17, 1889. f August 8, 1889. 
 
In Explanation, 7 
 
 and valuable contributions in a convenient 
 and handsome shape." 
 
 The suggestion had been made before; 
 it was made repeatedly, and by many whose 
 disinterested and critical judgment had 
 naturallv so much Aveio-ht with Mr. Childs 
 that this book is the happy result. To the 
 text of the four original papers have been 
 added the story of the Memorial to Shake- 
 speare at Stratford-upon-Avon ; an account 
 of the AVindow in Westminster Abbey to the 
 memory of the Christian poets Herbert and 
 Cowper; the Window commemorative of 
 the virtues and genius of the poet Milton, in 
 St. Margaret's Church, Westminster; and of 
 the Reredos erected in St. Thomas's Church, 
 Winchester, England, as a memorial to 
 Bishop Ken of that ancient cathedral city; 
 toijether with a sketch of the celebration of 
 the birthday of Mr. Childs by the printers 
 of Philadelphia, with an introduction by 
 Professor Richard T. Ely, of Johns Hopkins 
 University. 
 
 Melville Philips. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A HOST OF 3IEM0IIIES. 
 
 Early Life — Publishing Experiences — Purchase of the 
 Ledger — Irving, Hawthorne, Lowell, Holmes — Dis- 
 tinguished Guests. 
 
 I WAXT to set out bv savino; that I am sure 
 vou ill kindness exaii^scerate the interest the 
 world takes in me and my affiiirs. You say 
 I am a successful man. Perhaps I am ; and 
 if so, I owe my success to industry, temper- 
 ance, and frugality. I suppose I had always 
 a rather remarkable aptitude for business. 
 James Parton, at aiiv rate, was ria^ht in 
 speaking of me in his biographical sketch 
 as " bartering at school my boyish treasures, 
 — knives for pigeons, marbles for pop-guns, 
 a bird-cao;e for a book." 
 
 I was self-supporting at a very early age. 
 
 9 
 
10 Recollections. 
 
 In my twelfth year, when school was dis- 
 missed for the summer, I took the place of 
 errand-boy in a book-store in Baltimore, at 
 a salary of two dollars a week, and spent 
 the vacation in hard work. And I enjoyed 
 it. I have never been out of employment ; 
 always found something to do, and was 
 alwavs easier to do it, and think I earned 
 every cent of my first money. When first 
 at work in Philadelphia I would get up very 
 early in the morning, go down to the store, 
 and wash the pavement and put things in 
 order before breakfast, and in the winter- 
 time would make the fire and sweep out the 
 store. In the same spirit, when books were 
 bought at night at auction, I would early 
 the next morning go for them with a wheel- 
 barrow. And I have never outgrown this 
 wholesome habit of doing things directly 
 and in order. I would to-day as lief carry a 
 bundle up Chestnut Street from the Ledger 
 office as I would then. As a matter of fact, I 
 carry bundles very often. But I understand 
 that certain 3'oung men of the period would 
 scorn to do as much. 
 
 At the age of thirteen I entered the 
 United States navy, and passed fifteen 
 months at Norfolk; but I didn't like it. 
 Returning to Baltimore, I attended school 
 
A Host of Memories. 11 
 
 for a time. Then I came to Philadelphia, 
 and entered a book-store kept by Mr. 
 Thomson at the corner of Sixth and Arch 
 Streets. I was both clerk and errand-boy, 
 worked from early in the morning until late 
 at night, and received a salary of three 
 dollars a week. Gradually I began to at- 
 tend the evening auctions, which at that 
 time were frequently held in this city; I 
 became familiar with the titles and prices 
 of valuable books, and was soon able to buy 
 them cheaply. In this way I assisted Mr. 
 Thomson for four years ; his business kept 
 increasinoc ; and at leno-th he sent me to 
 represent him at the book-trade sales held 
 every six months in [tTew York and Boston. 
 Here, of course, I made the acquaintance of 
 many book-buyers and publishers, — excel- 
 lent men, whom I have never forgotten, and 
 who, I am sflad to sav, have not foro'otten 
 me. Those still living often visit me, and 
 whenever thev do the old life and the old 
 faces are very vivid in my memory, — the 
 Harpers, Lippincotts, Putnams, Ticknors, 
 Fields, Appletons, Little & Browns. 
 
 I had saved enough money when about 
 ei«:hteen vears old to 2:0 into business for 
 myself; so I set up a modest store in a 
 small room in the old Public Ledger build- 
 
1 2 Recollections. 
 
 mg. It was a success : I made money 
 slowl}' but surely. Meanwhile, it is said of 
 me that I aspired to higher things; that I 
 Avas even heard to say, " I shall yet be the 
 owner of the Public Ledger.'^ If this is true, 
 and doubtless it is, I do not seem to have 
 overreached myself at that early age. 
 
 I was twenty-one years old when I entered 
 into the book-publishing business under the 
 firm name of R. E. Peterson & Co., after- 
 wards Childs & Peterson. One of our first 
 books, Dr. Kane's " Arctic Explorations," 
 was a 2:reat hit. It did not look at first as 
 thousfh we had made a wise venture. When 
 the work was ready to be issued, I took a 
 sample copy and went over to l^ew York to 
 solicit orders from the leading booksellers. 
 The largest house would only give me a 
 small order. " Mr. Childs," they said, " you 
 won't sell more than a thousand altogether." 
 They ordered at first only one hundred 
 copies, but soon after sent for five thousand 
 more to meet the demand. Within one 
 year after the publication w^e paid Dr. Kane 
 a copyright of nearly seventy thousand 
 dollars. It was the Doctor's original inten- 
 tion to write only a scientific account of the 
 expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, 
 bat I persuaded him to make of it the popu- 
 
A Host of Memories. 13 
 
 lar narrative he did, and he afterwards ad- 
 mitted to me that I was right in my sugges- 
 tion. When the manuscript was finished 
 he sent me a pathetic note, in which he said, 
 " Here you have the book complete, and, 
 poor as it is, it has been my coffin." I^o 
 doubt he had then some premonition of the 
 beginning of the end of his remarkable 
 career. He died in Cuba within a year 
 after receiving his copyright money ; and 
 doubtless man}^ people remember well the 
 splendid tribute arranged for him : that 
 funeral was one of the most remarkable in 
 history. 
 
 We made another hit with Parson Brown- 
 low's book, of which fifty thousand copies 
 were ordered in advance of publication. 
 Other successful works issued by us were 
 '^ Peterson's Familiar Science," of which a 
 quarter of a million copies have been sold ; 
 Bouvier's Law Dictionary; Sharswood's 
 Blackstone; and Dr. Allibone's great " Dic- 
 tionary of British and American Authors." 
 It cost over sixty thousand dollars to publish 
 this last-named important book in its three 
 large volumes, and a great deal of the credit 
 for the successful completion of the under- 
 taking is due to the enterprise of the late 
 'J J. B. Lippincott, who brought out the last 
 
 2 
 
1 4 Recollections. 
 
 two volumes upon my retirement from the 
 book-publishing business in 1863. 
 
 The following year I purchased the Public 
 Ledger. And I want to say just here that 
 much of the success of the paper has been 
 due to the cordial and intelligent co-opera- 
 tion of my friend, A. J. Drexel. 
 
 The war, by greatly increasing the cost 
 of labor and material, chiefly the white 
 paper, had made it impossible to continue, 
 save at a loss, the publication of the Ledger 
 as a penny paper. It had been sold at a 
 cent ever since it was started in 1836, and 
 Messrs. Swain & Abell, then the proprietors, 
 though they had lost over one hundred 
 thousand dollars by kee23ing the rate at " six 
 and a quarter cents per week,'' were averse 
 to a change. There they made their great 
 mistake. They seemed to regard the past 
 prosperity of the Ledger as due alone to its 
 selling for a penny. They forgot that in 
 1864 the purchasing power of a penny was 
 not what it was before the war. Cheapness, 
 indeed, was a vital- feature of the journal; 
 but to sell the Public Ledger for a penny was 
 to give it half away. Thus the proprietors, 
 unable to agree to increase the price of the 
 paper or the rates of advertising, determined 
 to dispose of their property. The Ledger 
 
A Host of Memories. 15 
 
 was for sale, and I bouo-lit it — the whole of 
 it, just as it was — for a sum slightly in ex- 
 cess of the amount of its annual loss. 
 
 It was not generally known, of course, 
 that the establishment was then losing about 
 four hundred and eighty dollars upon every 
 number of tlie paper which it issued. To 
 all appearances it was as prosperous as ever; 
 the circulation was great, the columns were 
 crowded with advertisements. Yet, as a 
 matter of fact, there was a weekly loss of 
 three thousand dollars, or a hundred and 
 fifty thousand dollars a year. 
 
 The Ledger was purchased on the 3d of 
 December, 1864. A week later I announced 
 two simple but radical changes. I doubled 
 the price of the paper and advanced the 
 advertising rates to a profitable figure. Of 
 course there was an instant and not incon- 
 siderable falling oft' of patronage. But the 
 Ledger was already an '' institution" of the 
 city : for twenty years it had been the estab- 
 lished medium of communication between 
 employers and employed, between buyers 
 and sellers, landlords and tenants, bereaved 
 families and their friends. To very many 
 people it was a necessity. So, although at 
 first I lost some subscribers and advertisers, 
 they were soon won back again. At the 
 
1 6 Recollections, 
 
 end of a month the price of the Ledger was 
 reduced from twelv^e to ten cents a week, 
 and from that day to this the circulation and 
 advertising have increased. 
 
 I worked hard to make the paper a suc- 
 cess ; for several years I seldom left the ed- 
 itorial rooms hefore midnight, averaging 
 from twelve to fourteen hours a day at the 
 office. I strove to elevate its tone, and think 
 I succeeded. If asked w^hat I mean by this, 
 perhaps I had better quote the friendly 
 words of the late Rev. Dr. Prime : " Mr. 
 Childs excluded from the paper all details 
 of disgusting crime ; all reports of such vice 
 as may not be with propriety read aloud in 
 the family; that poison the minds of young 
 men, inflame the passions and corrupt the 
 heart; all scandal and slang, and that whole 
 class of news which constitutes the staple 
 of many daily papers. The same rule was 
 applied to the advertising columns, and 
 from them was excluded all that, in any 
 shape or form, might be offensive to good 
 morals. The friends of the new publisher 
 predicted an early and total failure, and the 
 more speedy because he doubled the price 
 of the paper and increased the rates of 
 advertising. But he was governed in his 
 course by two considerations : first, he had 
 
A Host of Memories, 17 
 
 his own strong convictions of what is right, 
 and, secondly, as strons; convictions of what 
 would pay; and it has heen well said that 
 when one's views of dutv coincide with his 
 pecuniary interests, all the faculties work 
 in perfect harmony. The effect of this sud- 
 den chancre was at first to sink the sinkinoj 
 concern still lower. A class of readers and 
 advertisers fell off". A less conscientious 
 and a less couras^eous man would have stas:- 
 gered in the path he had marked out. Kot 
 so with Mr. Childs. He employed the best 
 talent, and paid fair wages for good work. 
 He published six days in the week only, and 
 on the seventh day he rested from his labors. 
 His paper and his principles began to obtain 
 recognition in the city. He made it a family 
 journal. It gained the confidence of the 
 best people, who became its daily readers, 
 and therefore it was sought as the best 
 medium of advertising." It is not for me 
 to add to or comment upon these compli- 
 mentary w^ords. On the 20th of June, 1867, 
 the present Ledger building was completed 
 and formally opened. The ceremonies were 
 followed by a banquet attended by mauy 
 distinguished men from different parts of 
 the country. 
 
 I look back with genuine pleasure upon 
 
 b 2* 
 
18 Recollections. 
 
 my experiences as a publisher. I was more 
 than prosperous in acquiring the friendsliip 
 of so many worthy men among the pub- 
 lishers, booksellers, and authors with whom 
 I came in contact. If I were to enumerate 
 them, their names would fill a page of Lip- 
 2nncotCs Magazine. 
 
 I can recall, as though it were yesterday, 
 a solemn conversation in the office of the 
 Harpers, then on Cliff Street. The four 
 founders of the great firm were present. 
 I was one of a group of Philadelphians, 
 and we were discussino^ the first number of 
 Harpers New ^lonthly 3Iagazine. It seemed 
 so certain to us that the publication would 
 be a failure. " It can't," said one Phila- 
 delphian, emphatically, — " it can't last very 
 long." The only successful magazines then 
 published in the United States were those 
 issued in Philadelphia, — Graham'' Sj Godei/s^ 
 SartairCs, and Feier son's. 
 
 I have personally known and corresponded 
 with Longfellow, Emerson, Lowell, Holmes, 
 Whittier, John Lothrop Motley, William 
 CuUen Bryant, George Bancroft, W. H. 
 Prescott, Fitz-Greene Halleck, !N"athaniel 
 Hawthorne, Washington Irving, and a score 
 of other writers who have given us an Amer- 
 ican literature. 
 
A Host of 3Iemorics. 19 
 
 Washino'ton Irvino^ I remember well. His 
 TTcXs not a face one readily forgot. A kindly 
 humorous man, of big brain and heart. I 
 visited him several times at " Sunnyside :" 
 he would go to sleep at dinner, but his 
 guests understood his physical weakness and 
 respected it. He was a very sensitive and 
 nervous man. I saw his desk piled up with 
 papers, the last time I was there, and re- 
 marked that he seemed to have a heavy mail. 
 It was shortly after the publication of the 
 first volume of his Life of Washino^ton. 
 " Yes," he said, " I haven't the courage to 
 look at it. I'm afraid to learn what the 
 critics are saying of my book." 
 
 Hawthorne was another sensitive man 
 and extremely shy. The last time we met 
 was under very distressing circumstances. 
 He was travelling South for the benefit of 
 his health, accompanied by his friend W. D. 
 Ticknor, the publisher. They stopped at 
 the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia, and 
 both came down to the Ledger office to call 
 on me. They were in excellent spirits ; and 
 that was on Frida3\ It was agreed that they 
 should attend a party to be given the next 
 evening b}^ Mr. Joseph Harrison. These 
 Saturday evening parties were then a feature 
 of social life in Philadelphia. Neither 
 
20 Ilecolledions. 
 
 Ticknor nor Hawthorne came, greatly to 
 our disappointment. As no explanation of 
 their absence was sent me, I called on Sun- 
 da}^ morning at the hotel and went directly 
 to their rooms. I knocked on the door, and 
 receiving no answer, opened it and walked 
 in. There I found Hawthorne pacing up 
 and down the room, apparently dazed. 
 
 " Hawthorne," I said, " how are you ? 
 Where is Ticknor?" 
 
 " They have taken him away," said he. 
 
 " What do you mean ?" I asked. " I don't 
 understand you." 
 
 " Well," he said, " it is too had. He was 
 my best friend ; I depended on him ; and he 
 came here to please me." 
 
 I could make nothing out of it at all : he 
 seemed to me bewildered. I feared for his 
 mind, and, going down to the office, asked 
 the clerk, Mr. Duffy, what it all meant. He 
 then staggered me with the information that 
 Ticknor had died that mornins:. 
 
 '' Where is his body ?" I asked. 
 
 " It was taken early this morning to the 
 undertaker's," he said. 
 
 I was astounded, but, hastening back to 
 Hawthorne, comforted him as much as I 
 could, implored him to keep quiet, and at 
 last succeeded somewhat in calming him. 
 
A Host of Memories, 2 1 
 
 I then went to the undertaker's, took charge 
 of Ticknor's body, saw that it was properly 
 cared for and embalmed, and telegraphed 
 to his partner, my old friend James T. 
 Fields. One of Ticknor's sons at once came 
 on to Philadelphia and took his father's 
 remains to Boston. 
 
 It was a deplorable and distressing event ; 
 a fatal journey. Hawthorne lingered here 
 in Philadelphia with me for a few days, and 
 then I placed him in the keeping of the 
 good Bishop Howe, of Pennsylvania, a com- 
 mon friend, who accompanied him to Boston. 
 There he passed the night with James T. 
 Fields, who says that they sat up late talking 
 about Ticknor, and that Hawthorne was in 
 a very excited and nervous state, recalling 
 incessantly the sad scenes he had been pass- 
 ing through in Philadelphia. In the morn- 
 ing he returned to his old home in Concord, 
 and shortly after he died at Plymouth, New 
 Hampshire, whither he had gone under the 
 charge of his life-long friend, Ex-President 
 Franklin Pierce. 
 
 I have still in my possession the touching 
 letter written by President Pierce to Mr. 
 Fields in which he describes the peaceful 
 death of Hawthorne. It was plainly penned 
 under the greatest excitement and distress 
 
22 Recolledions. 
 
 of mind. It contained a note announcinsf 
 to Mrs. Hawthorne her bereavement, and 
 was carried to Mr. Fields by Colonel Hib- 
 bard. " Oh, how will she bear this shock?" 
 the note says. " Dear mother ! dear chil- 
 dren ! When I met Hawthorne at Boston a 
 week ago, it was apparent that he was much 
 more feeble and more seriously diseased than 
 I had supposed him to be. We came from 
 Senter Harbor yesterday afternoon, and I 
 thought he was, on the whole, brighter than 
 he was the day before. He retired last 
 night soon after nine o'clock, and soon fell 
 into a quiet slumber. In less than half an 
 hour he changed his position, but continued 
 to sleep. I left the door open between his 
 bedroom and mine, our beds being opposite 
 to each other. I was asleep myself before 
 eleven o'clock. The light continued to burn 
 in my room. At two o'clock I went to H.'s 
 bedside. He was apparently in a sou;id 
 sleep. I did not place my hand upon him. 
 At four o'clock I went into his room again, 
 and, as his position was unchanged, I placed 
 my hand upon him, and found that life was 
 extinct. I sent immediately for a physician, 
 and called Judge Bell and Colonel Hibbard, 
 who occupied rooms upon the same floor 
 and near me. He lies upon his side, his 
 
A Host of Memories. 23 
 
 position so perfectly natural and easy, his 
 eyes closed, that it is difficult to realize, 
 while looking upon his noble face, that this 
 is death. He must have passed from natural 
 slumber to that from which there is no wak- 
 ing, without the slighest movement. I can- 
 not write to dear Mrs. Hawthorne, and you 
 must exercise your judgment with regard to 
 sending this and the unfinished note enclosed 
 to her." 
 
 It was a beautiful death, but a sad event. 
 Hawthorne I shall always hold vividly in 
 remembrance. I have the oris^inal manu- 
 script of his " Consular Experiences," and 
 the copy of the first edition of the " Scarlet 
 Letter," brought to light so wonderfully by 
 Mr. Fields. Hawthorne wrote me, soon 
 after its publication in 1851, that he was 
 much gratified by my favorable opinion of 
 the charming romance, and that I might 
 be interested to know " that it was so far 
 founded on fact that such a symbol as the 
 Scarlet Letter was actually worn by at least 
 one woman in the early times of i!Tew Eng- 
 land." Whether this personage, he added, 
 resembled Hester Prynne in any other 
 circumstances of her character, he could 
 not say ; nor whether this mode of igno- 
 minious punishment was brought from be- 
 
24 RecoUedioiis. 
 
 yond the Atlantic or originated with the 
 'New Ens^hand Puritans. At anv rate, he 
 said, the idea was so worthy of them that 
 he felt " piously inclined" to allow them all 
 the credit of it. 
 
 Longfellow I knew well and entertained 
 at my home. He was a quiet, gentle, ad- 
 mirable man ; a poet in all his moods. We 
 often corresponded, and I remember how 
 glad he was when he heard that I had bought 
 an estate near the historic church of St. 
 David's, Radnor, the resting-place of General 
 Anthony Wayne, celebrated by Longfellow 
 in exquisite verse. " The Eadnor Church 
 poem,'*' he wrote me from l^ahant in 1880, 
 " shall be copied for you when I return home 
 in August or September. Here by the sea- 
 side I have no paper tit for the purpose. 
 You shall have it all in due time for the 
 honor to be conferred on it. I cons^ratulate 
 you on having a country-place in the beau- 
 tiful region round Eadnor. I am sure you 
 will all enjoy it extremeh\" 
 
 I prize very much the tender note he sent 
 me, March 13, 1877, aiJropos of his seventieth 
 birthday. " You do not know yet," it reads, 
 " what it is to be seventy years old. I will 
 tell you, so that you may not be taken by 
 surprise when your turn comes. It is like 
 
A Host of 3Iemories. 25 
 
 climbing the Alps. You reach a snow- 
 crowned summit, and see behind you the 
 deep valley stretching miles and miles away, 
 and before you other summits higher and 
 whiter, which you may have strength to 
 climb, or may not. Then you sit down and 
 meditate, and w^onder which it will be. That 
 is the whole story, amplify it as you may. 
 All that one can say is, that life is oppor- 
 tunity.^' How very true this is I know full 
 well. My experience enables me to perceive 
 the wisdom of the poet's words. 
 
 There is a curious incident in my ac- 
 quaintance with James Russell Lowell. It 
 happened lately that he was in Philadel- 
 phia while I was confined to the house with 
 a slight attack of sickness, and he came 
 promptly and kindly to call upon me and 
 pass the afternoon. One of the treasures 
 of my library is the manuscript of Lowell's 
 poem '' Under the Willows," which, accord- 
 ing to a marginal note, was begun in 1850 
 and finished in 1868. We spent a quiet, 
 pleasant afternoon together, and he seemed 
 to be much interested in my collection of 
 original manuscripts, which includes " Our 
 Mutual Friend," by Dickens, Poe's " Mur- 
 ders in the Kue Morgue," and many other 
 precious writings. Finally I surprised him 
 
 B 3 
 
2G Recolledioiis. 
 
 with a glimpse of his own poem. lie had 
 half forgotten it, and at my request took the 
 volume away with him, returning it in a few 
 days with the following explanatory note : 
 "A part of this poem (as the note on the 
 margin opposite says) was written in 1850 as 
 an introduction to the ' Nooning,' a projected 
 volume of tales in verse. By changes and 
 additions I tried to make a self-suhsident 
 poem out of material already prepared for 
 another purpose. Old and new are so inter- 
 woven that I cannot now, after an interval 
 of twenty years, distinguish between them." 
 About twenty-five years ago, on a wretched, 
 rainy, sloppy, and muddy day, I was in a 
 book-store in Boston, when I saw the striking 
 figure of a little man, wearing a slouched 
 hat, his pantaloons rolled up, dashing along 
 the street. He looked as little like a poet 
 as a man could. I turned to the bookseller 
 and asked him who that was. " That is 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes," he said. " Well, 
 I want to know that man;" and I got to 
 know him, and we have been the best of 
 friends ever since. A more genial, genuine, 
 delightful man, and a finer conversationalist, 
 I never knew. A copy of " The Autocrat 
 of the Breakfast-Table," which he sent me, 
 contains an interesting letter giving me his 
 
A Host of Memories. 27 
 
 reasons for beginning the papers in the At- 
 lantic Monthly J a name which he says he gave 
 to the masrazine. 
 
 As I speak, a thousand faces pass before 
 me. Xone more gentle and kind than that 
 of Emerson. He visited me with his daugh- 
 ter ; a tranquil, lovable man; and he wrote 
 me letters. It is a pity, by the way, that I 
 failed to preserve my correspondence; much 
 of it, doubtless, would be now of consider- 
 able interest. 
 
 John Lothrop Motley, W. H. Prescott, 
 and Georo^e Bancroft were valued friends. 
 I remember Motley writing me that he 
 thought no history of our great civil war 
 should be written within fifty years of its 
 close. Prescott had the last photograph of 
 himself taken for me. He wrote to tell me 
 so, and said, " I shall never sit again for 
 another picture, unless it is taken from the 
 back of my head." Bancroft I am still 
 enabled to honor as one of mv oldest and 
 most precious friends. 
 
 With the novelist G. P. P. James I was 
 quite intimate. While he held the post of 
 British Consul at liichmond, Virginia, he 
 would often come up to Philadelphia to see 
 me ; and he told me once that he dictated all 
 liis books. Then there were T. Buchanan 
 
28 Recollections. 
 
 Read, who painted LongfelloAv's portrait for 
 me, and who was present at the dinner I 
 gave Longfellow in Rome, W. W. Story, 
 Fitz-Greene Ilalleck, Jared Sparks, William 
 Gilmore Simms, William Cullen Bryant, 
 Professors E. A. Freeman and Bryce, of 
 Oxford, Henry C. Care}^ Paul B. Dii Chaillu 
 (he brought me from Africa the wood for 
 the ebony table now in ray library), Thomas 
 Hughes, Joaquin Miller, Wilkie Collins, — 
 a whole troop of them, my honored friends 
 and guests. Above all, I should not forget 
 to note one of my earliest and most intimate 
 friends, the elder James Gordon Bennett. 
 He was a quiet, unobtrusive, forcible man. 
 For years, he told me, he had his office a 
 few doors from the Brooks's, — Erastus and 
 James, of the Evening JSxjyress, — and yet had 
 never met them. We often talked together 
 in reflective moods. He was eminently 
 practical. " Childs," he once said, " how un- 
 fortunate it is for a boy to have rich parents ! 
 If you and I had been born that way, per- 
 haps we wouldn't have amounted to much." 
 I might, indeed, go on recalling names 
 until you wearied of hearing me. It has 
 been my good fortune to possess the friend- 
 ship or acquaintance of a very large number 
 of the men and women who have distin- 
 
A Host of Memories. 29 
 
 giiisbed themselves iu the politics, science, 
 arts, literature, and commerce of this coun- 
 tr}^ and Europe during the last thirty years. 
 There was Edward Everett, for instance, 
 who used to spend much of his time in 
 this city, the guest of his friend Charles 
 Macalester. I have a notable letter from 
 him, written under date of Boston, July 9, 
 1862, in which he remarks, " I ought to say 
 that, though I think the arrest of Mason 
 and Slidell was authorized by the Law of 
 JS'ations, I think it was expedient to give 
 them up. I therefore approved of their sur- 
 render by Mr. Seward, and rejoiced that he 
 was able to find grounds for it, though not 
 concurring with him in all his views." 
 
 I have been on friendly terms with men 
 of all parties and creeds. I accompanied 
 Thomas H. Benton to Boston when he 
 delivered his f^^reat oration there. Setting; 
 aside General Winfield Scott (who sent me 
 an early copy of his book, of which he had 
 estimated the hundreds of thousands of 
 people in the United States who would pur- 
 chase copies), Benton was beyond com2:)arison 
 the most kindly and agreeably egotistical 
 man I ever met. 
 
 Thurlow Weed, an extraordinary man in 
 
 many ways, I knew very well. lie once 
 
 3* 
 
30 Rccolledioiis. 
 
 gave mc an illustration of the great variety 
 and curious character of his wonderful stock 
 of information. He told me that there was 
 an old Roman well on such and such a spot 
 on the Strand in London. I went to John 
 Murray while in London and asked him 
 ahout it, as Murray's guide-hook made no 
 mention of the fact. Murray was in utter 
 ignorance of the well, hut it was really where 
 Thurlow Weed had said it was. 
 
 It is a pleasure for me to recall the myriad 
 faces of my guests during many years, here 
 in Philadelphia, at Wootton, and at Long 
 Branch. Besides those I have mentioned, 
 there was the great and good George Pea- 
 hody. We were very close to each other. 
 He had his portrait painted for me hy the 
 Queen's artist, and there it hangs on the 
 wall, one of the most valued of my pos- 
 sessions. His name recalls that of Peter 
 Cooper. These two were considerate and 
 broad-minded philanthropists. I went with 
 Mr. Cooper on his ninetieth birthday to Bal- 
 timore during the sesqui-centennial celebra- 
 tion. He there told me an interesting story 
 of his early life in that city when he had be- 
 come manager of the iron-works at Canton. 
 The Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad Company 
 had built their road beyond Point of Bocks, 
 
A Hod of Memories. 31 
 
 bat no engine could get round the curve. 
 Cooper then, with fifty gentlemen, eni- 
 bracini]: the directors and others interested 
 in the road, improvised an engine built of 
 o;uu-barrels, and successful! v rounded the 
 curve. When we were in Baltimore to- 
 gether, only one man, J. H. B. Latrobe, be- 
 sides himself, was left of the original fifty. 
 
 [It is a brave array of names, the guests of Mr. 
 Childs, — Generals Grant, Sherman, Meade, Sheridan, 
 Hancock, McDowell, and Patterson, Edmund Quincy, 
 Chief Justice Waite, A. J. Drexel, Asa Packer, the 
 Astors, Cadwaladers, Prof. Joseph Henry, Hamilton 
 Fish, Robert C. Winthrop, Charles Francis Adams, 
 Presidents Hayes, Arthur, and Cleveland, Chauncey 
 M. Depew, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Thomas A. Edison, 
 Simon Cameron, Henry Wilson, William M. Evarts, 
 James G. Blaine, John Welsh, J. B. Lippincott, Morton 
 McMichael, August Belmont, Alex. H. Stephens, Sam- 
 uel J. Tilden (one of his last requests was to have Mr. 
 Childs visit him at Greystone), Cyrus W. Field, B. J. 
 Lossing, Mrs. Grover Cleveland, Charlotte Cushman, 
 Christine Nilsson, Harriet Hosmer, John Bigelow, 
 Thomas A. Bayard, Parke Godwin, Andrew Carne- 
 gie, and many others. Mr. Childs does not hesitate 
 to say that one of the chief pleasures of his life has 
 been the keeping of an open house to worthy and 
 distinguished people. The reception he gave to the 
 Emperor and Empress of Brazil w^as perhaps the most 
 notable gathering of people ever assembled in any 
 private house in America. There were over six hun- 
 dred guests ; and Mr. Childs's was the first private 
 house at which the Emperor and Empress had ever 
 
32 Recollections, 
 
 been entertained. But one must not overlook in this 
 incomplete list of visitors the names of the Duke and 
 Duchess of Buckingham, the Duke of Sutherland, the 
 Duke of Newcastle, Lords Duffcrin, Rosebery, Hough- 
 ton, Ilchester, Ross, Iddesleigh, Rayleigh, Herschell, 
 Caithness, and Dunraven, Sir Stafford Northcote, 
 Lady Franklin, Dean Stanley, Canon Kingsley, 
 Charles Dickens, George Augustus Sala, Joseph 
 Chamberlain, M.P., J. Anthony Froude, Prof. Tyn- 
 dall, Prof. Bonamy Price, Admiral Lord Clarence 
 Paget, Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen, Colonel Sir Herbert 
 Sandford, Charles Kean, Marquis de Rochambeau, John 
 AV alter, M.P., Sir Richard Temple, Herbert Spencer 
 (who was sadly afflicted with insomnia while visiting 
 Mr. Childs), Thomas Hughes, M.P., Sir John Rose, 
 Sir Edward Thornton, and Robert Chambers, D.C.L. 
 There are countless souvenirs of these and other 
 guests in Mr. Childs's home, — a photograph of the 
 Emperor of Brazil, with his autograph, painted por- 
 traits, a chair embroidered by the Duchess of Buck- 
 ingham for Mrs. Childs. The library is full of pre- 
 sentation copies of books from many authors ; some of 
 them have dedicated volumes to him. But no doubt 
 the most interesting souvenir is Mrs. Childs's album ; 
 it contains the signatures and sentiments of a host of 
 distinguished men and women in all professions who 
 have been her guests. Thomas Nast, for example, 
 sketches himself in it ; Oscar Wilde, Bishop Doane, 
 George Bancroft, Goldwin Smith, Walt Whitman, 
 Lord Houghton, and Lord Dufferin contribute poems ; 
 and Charlotte Cushman, Modjeska, and Henry Irving 
 each an appropriate Shakspearian sentiment. Dean 
 Stanley, Matthew Arnold, Sir Edwin Arnold, Bishop 
 Potter, and Archdeacon Farrar write sentiments 
 appreciative of their hospitable entertainment.] 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 A TRIP ABROAD. 
 
 Dickens — The Duke of Buckingham — Lady Franklin — ■ 
 Lono-fellow — Dom Pedro. 
 
 Late in the autumn of 1868 I went 
 
 abroad, and one of the first letters that 
 
 reached me at the Langham Hotel in 
 
 Regent Street, London, bore, under date 
 
 of [November 4, a genial greeting from 
 
 Charles Dickens. " Welcome to England !" 
 
 it said. " Dolby will have told you that I 
 
 am reading again, — on a very fatiguing 
 
 scale, — but that after the end of next week 
 
 I shall be free for a fortnight as to country 
 
 readings. On ^londay next I shall be in 
 
 town, and shall come straight to pay my 
 
 respects to Mrs. Childs and you. In the 
 
 mean time, will you, if you can, so arrange 
 
 your engagements as to give me a day or 
 
 two here in the latter half of this month ? 
 
 My housekeeper-daughter is away hunting 
 
 in Hampshire, but my sister-in-law is al- 
 c 33 
 
34 liccolledions. 
 
 ways in charge, and my married daughter 
 would be charmed to come from London to 
 receive Mrs. Childs. You cannot be quieter 
 anywhere than here, and you certainly can- 
 not have from any one a heartier welcome 
 than from me." We certainly could not : 
 to Gad's Hill Place we went, and passed a 
 quiet, delightful time. I had corresponded 
 with Dickens for a number of years : in my 
 library there is a set of the Osgood edition 
 of his works in fifty-six volumes, in each of 
 which is inserted an autograph letter of the 
 author to me, the first being dated 1855. 
 During this visit we Avere much together : 
 he accompanied us to London, and when we 
 parted he clasped my hands and said, 
 "Good-by; God bless you!" and the tears 
 were in his eyes. 
 
 He told me that before beginning anyone 
 of his works he thought out the plot fully, and 
 then made a skeleton from which he elab- 
 orated it. The most interesting and valu- 
 able memento I have of him is the original 
 manuscript of " Our Mutual Friend." It is 
 the only complete manuscript of any of 
 Dickens's novels outside of the South Ken- 
 sington Museum ; though one or two of his 
 short Christmas stories, I believe, are to be 
 found in this country and in England. A 
 
A Trip Abroad. 35 
 
 skeleton of the story is prefixed to each 
 volume, the first covering sixteen, the sec- 
 ond eighteen pages of quarto paper. These 
 skeletons show how Dickens constructed his 
 stories. They are very curious. Here is a 
 sample page : 
 
 OUK MUTUAL FEIEND, :N^0. 1. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ox THE LOOKOUT. 
 
 The Man, in his boat, watcliing the tides. 
 The GafFer, — Gaifer — Gaffer Hexam — • 
 Hexam. 
 His daughter rowing. Jen, or Lizzie. 
 Taking the body in tow. 
 His dissipated partner, who 
 
 has " Robbed a live man !" 
 Riderhood — this fellow's name. 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 THE MAX FROM SOMEWHERE. 
 
 The entirely new people. 
 
 Everything new — Grandfather new — if they 
 had one. 
 
 Dinner Party — Twemlow, Podsnap, Lady Tip- 
 pins, Alfred Lighthouse, also Eugene — Mor- 
 timer, languid and tells of Harmon the Dust 
 Contractor, 
 
36 Recollections. 
 
 Then follow sentences, written everywhere 
 on the page, like this : " Work in the girl 
 \vho was to have been married and made 
 rich," etc. There is also this outline head- 
 ing : 
 
 FOUK BOOKS. 
 
 I. The Cup and the Lip. 
 II. Birds of a Feather. 
 
 III. A Long Lane. 
 
 IV. A Turning. 
 
 The story is written in small, oddly- 
 formed letters, with frequent erasures, on 
 heavj^, light-blue paper in dark-blue ink. 
 It is marked as completed September 2, 
 1865, and has a postscript in lieu of a pref- 
 ace, under which is given this date. The 
 manuscript is just as it came finally from 
 Dickens's hands, even the names of the 
 compositors in the printing-ofiice remaining 
 at the head of each " take." 
 
 It was through Dickens that I became 
 acquainted with Wilkie Collins, one of the 
 most agreeable men I ever met, and whom 
 I have since entertained in this country. 
 The two families were very intimate, as Mr. 
 Collins's brother had married Mr. Dickens's 
 daughter. 
 
 From Gad's Hill Place we went to Stowe, 
 
A Trip Abroad. 37 
 
 one of the estates of the late Duke of Buck- 
 in o-ham, the last of the Plantao-enets. I had 
 first met the Duke a few years before, when, 
 as Marquis of Chanclos, he came to this 
 country in the suite of the Prince of Wales 
 and was entertained by me while in Phila- 
 delphia. I found him always an unaffected, 
 able, and agreeable man. It may be said of 
 him that he was the first English nobleman 
 who broke an entail to pay his father's debts. 
 He was one of the most hospitable of men. 
 I gave many Americans letters of introduc- 
 tion to him, and he entertained them royally. 
 He was a man of much ability, — an astute 
 politician and a successful railroad manager. 
 He knew the name and the place of every bolt 
 in an engine ; and it was he who invented the 
 ingenious trough arrangement by means of 
 which engines in motion can replenish their 
 tanks with water. Stowe is a vast building, 
 some twelve hundred feet in length. One 
 of its attractions was a unique chapel, built 
 of cedar and gold, brought by the Duke's 
 ancestors from Spain. He told me that one 
 day in Spain he was talking with a priest 
 who described a beautiful little church that 
 had once stood on the spot where they were 
 conversing. The priest mourned its loss, 
 saying that it had been actually plucked 
 
38 Rc'collcdions. 
 
 from tlie soil and transported to England. 
 lie never suspected that the l^uke owned it. 
 StoAve was connected by the Dake with 
 his other residence of Wootton by means of 
 a railroad. At this latter place, which had 
 been in his family over seven hundred years, 
 and after which I named my own country- 
 seat near Bryn Mawr, we also passed some 
 pleasant days. There was a notable oak-tree 
 there that had been planted by Queen Eliza- 
 beth. While at Stowe we slept in the same 
 rooms that had been occupied by Queen 
 Victoria Avhen the Duke of Buckingham's 
 father entertained her majesty one week at a 
 cost of seventv-five thousand dollars. Later 
 on, when w^e were stopping at the Langham 
 Hotel, near the Duke's residence on Chandos 
 Street, I had an amusing adventure. The 
 Duke had asked me to visit his church, sit- 
 uated in that street, and one morning I 
 strolled there, and, entering, requested the 
 pew^-opener to show me to the ducal pew. 
 " The servants' pew ?" he asked. When I 
 related this experience to the Duke he 
 laughed, and said it w^as not so amusing 
 as one of his own. He had gone one day, 
 he said, w^hile chairman of the London and 
 JSTorthwestern Railw^av, to the office of the 
 company and requested one of the attend- 
 
A Trip Abroad. 39 
 
 ants to show him to the room of a certain 
 official, the head of a department. The 
 man eyed the Duke critically, and observed, 
 "You won't do: you're too light w^eight." 
 It then transpired that the official had ad- 
 vertised for a porter, and the attendant 
 mistook the Duke for an applicant for the 
 situation. 
 
 The first wife of the Duke of Buckingham 
 was a lovely woman, a Miss Harvey, and 
 their marriasre had been one of love. Mrs. 
 Childs has still an embroidered chair pre- 
 sented to her by the Duchess, who had 
 worked it for her. One of the most inter- 
 estino^ mementos I have of the Duke is a set 
 of photographs of his governmental col- 
 leagues. They were hospitality itself to us. 
 One dav we were asked whether we cared 
 to visit Fountain Abbey, the picturesque 
 property of Lord Ripon (Earl de Grey), 
 whom I knew when he was in this countrv 
 as one of the High Joint Commission, and, 
 availing ourselves of the invitation, special 
 permission was accorded our party to drive 
 in the grounds and view the private build- 
 in 2:s. We drove over from Harroscate in 
 carriages, and enjoyed the jaunt immensely. 
 The duchess lingered outside the abbey for 
 a time, sketching, and when we rejoined 
 
40 Recollections, 
 
 her she told us that she had overheard a 
 party of visitors discussing our entrance into 
 the private precinct, and one of them, glan- 
 cing at the carriages, had said, " Well, I'll 
 wager they're Americans : those people are 
 admitted evervwhere." 
 
 Altogether, our stay in England was very 
 delightful, made largely so by the number 
 of interesting and agreeable people with 
 wdiom we came in contact, as at " Bear- 
 w^ood," the splendid home of Mr. Walter, 
 of the London Times, where we met Charles 
 Kingsley, Archdeacon Benson, now Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, Lord Houghton, and 
 many other distinguished personages. As 
 miorht be imas^ined from the circumstance 
 of my publication of Dr. Kane's hook, I had 
 a peculiar pleasure in making the acquaint- 
 ance of Lady Franklin. She was afterwards 
 my guest for a week at Long Branch. She 
 was on a journey round the world, and she 
 came with her niece, a man- and a maid- 
 servant, her cooking-utensils, and a whole 
 baggage- wagon -full of traps. I can dis- 
 tinctly recall her standing upon the lawn 
 and lookino; out over the sea. " What is it 
 across there ?" she asked, pointing straight 
 ahead. " Portugal," I told her. " I've just 
 come from there," she said. 
 
A Trip Abroad. 41 
 
 Xot only in England bat on the Conti- 
 nent our trip abroad was made very pleasant 
 by the acquaintanceship and hospitality of 
 many agreeable people. Here and there we 
 met old friends and fellows-countrymen. In 
 Rome, for instance, we passed some delight- 
 ful weeks with Lono^fellow, who had resided 
 there for a lengthy period in earlier years, 
 and bv livins: in Italian families had be- 
 come very well known and very popular. 
 lie was much feted. I gave him a dinner 
 at which some of the Roman dignitaries, 
 artists, and writers were present. T. Bu- 
 chanan Read, the artist-poet, was at that 
 time in the Eternal City, and one of my 
 guests. At dinner. Read's famous paint- 
 ins: of Lono'fellow's three daus-hters was dis- 
 cussed, and Lono-fellow observed that the 
 picture was a good one save in one particu- 
 lar ; Read, he said, had painted one of his 
 children to look as if she had no arms. He 
 illustrated his criticism with a story, saying 
 that the daughter in question and himself 
 had heard a boy at a watering-place cry- 
 ing photographs for sale of " Longfellow's 
 daughters, — one without arms !" 
 
 As I make no other pretension in these 
 chats than idly to recall some salient or 
 diverting incidents in my career or acquaint- 
 
 4^ 
 
42 liccollcetions. 
 
 mice with notable meti, I may take advan- 
 tage of this second alhision to Longfellow 
 to say a word or two about a man of exalted 
 station and intellect, — that modest ex-mon- 
 arch, Doni Pedro, late Emperor of Brazil. 
 Speaking of Longfellow reminded me of 
 the time when Dom Pedro, gazing at the 
 portrait of Longfellow which hangs in my 
 librar}^ exclaimed, '^ That is your great 
 American poet. I have translated his works 
 into Portuguese, and made known the 
 beauty of his verse to all Brazil." 
 
 This was in 1876, w^hen, during the Cen- 
 tennial Exhibition, the Emperor was my 
 guest and I naturally arranged for him to 
 visit the various places of interest in Phila- 
 delphia. At my house I presented to him 
 the late James L. Claghorn, President of 
 the Academy of Fine Arts, who invited him 
 to visit the Academy, and on his expressing 
 a desire to go, inquired ^vhat hour would 
 be most agreeable to his majest}^ " Six 
 o'clock," he said. It was a favorite hour 
 with him ; but Mr. Claghorn, not knowing 
 this, was aghast. However, promptly at the 
 appointed time he had the directors of the 
 Academy on hand to greet the Emperor, 
 who exhibited an unfeigned and very intel- 
 lio^ent interest in the art treasures of the 
 
A Trip Abroad. 43 
 
 buildinof. When introduced to Dr. Rusch- 
 enberger, President of the Academy of 
 l^atural Sciences, he surprised the doctor 
 and those about him by saying, *' I know 
 you as an author;" and he proceeded to 
 name the books the doctor had written, some 
 of them being out of print. 
 
 ne accepted an invitation for the next day 
 to visit the coal-regions, and set again his 
 favorite hour of six o'clock as the time to 
 start. We went in Judge Packer's private 
 car, and visited various coal-mines and iron- 
 works, the Emperor's interest never flag- 
 ging. He seemed to understand all the 
 details of manufacture, and paid particu- 
 lar attention to the Bessemer and Siemens 
 processes of steel-making. A curious inci- 
 dent happened while we were at the Thomas 
 Iron-Works. Mr. Thomas (who introduced 
 the process of making iron with anthracite 
 coal) came to me and said tliat his grand- 
 daughter would like to be presented to the 
 Emperor, as she had previously met him in 
 Egypt. So we turned to his majesty, and I 
 had hardly named the young lady, when he 
 exclaimed, " Oh, I met you at the Pyramids, 
 and gave you my photograph, did I not?" 
 
 We were fourteen hours on that jour- 
 ney, returning to Philadelphia at eight p.m. 
 
44 BccoUcctioiw. 
 
 I was quite worn out, and went to bed. 
 Rising early, I picked up the Ledger, and 
 about the first thing tliat caught my eye 
 was an account of the Emperor's attend- 
 ance the niglit before at a meetins: of the 
 Academy of JSTatural Sciences, where, it ap- 
 peared, he had taken part in the discussions 
 of the evening. I mention all this to shoAv 
 that one monarch in the world, at least, is 
 a man of energy and broadest intelligence 
 and kindest sympathy. He seemed to 
 know all about Professor Henry of the 
 Smithsonian Institution when I made the 
 two acquainted, and spoke of his original 
 and practical application of the telegraph. 
 By invitation of the professor he visited 
 Washington and the Smithsonian Institution. 
 Again, when I introduced him to Joaquin 
 Miller, he instantly spoke in praise of the 
 Siei-ra IN'evada poems. Indeed, there was 
 apparently nothing notable in literature, art, 
 or science that had not eno-ao^ed his atten- 
 tion. In women's medical colle<res he w^as 
 much interested. I broached the subject 
 during our trip to the coal-regions, and he 
 amazed me with the breadth of his informa- 
 tion, dwelling, as he did, upon the labors of 
 those women who were sent out as mission- 
 aries. 
 
A Trip Abroach 45 
 
 I cannot help holding the unfortunate 
 Dom Pedro in the kindest remembrance ; 
 and it is gratifying to know that I have him 
 as a loyal friend. He presented me with a 
 large photograph likeness bearing an auto- 
 graph inscription, and witli a copy of his 
 book of travels in which he wrote some 
 kindly words. It was one of the pleasing 
 methods he employed to show me I was not 
 foro:otten, that I have been honored with 
 an earl}^ and welcome visit from each new 
 Brazilian minister to the United States. 
 And perhaps I may be pardoned for quoting 
 at this appropriate place the following ex- 
 tract from a letter which the Hon. Thomas 
 A. Osborn, late American Minister to Bra- 
 zil, recently wrote to a friend, describing 
 his presentation to the Emperor : " I have 
 thought," he says, " that you might not be 
 uninterested in learning that the Emperor, 
 in an informal conversation which followed 
 the presentation of my letter of credence, 
 inquired quite feelingly after Mr. George 
 W. Childs, and manifested a deep concern in 
 his welfare. The Emperor spoke of the hos- 
 pitalities extended to him in Philadelphia, 
 and was especially warm in his expressions 
 touching Mr. Childs." 
 
 Senhor J. G. do Amaral Yalente, Brazilian 
 
4Q liccollcciions. 
 
 Minister to tbe United States, had delivered 
 to me in October, 1889, a cup and saucer 
 of beautiful design and exquisite finish, a 
 present from the Emperor. Tlie following 
 letter gives an account of the presentation. 
 
 "Brazilian Legation, 
 " Washington, October 15, 1889. 
 
 " Mr. George W. Guilds : 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I take pleasure in for- 
 warding by express to your address a small 
 box containing a cup and saucer which the 
 Emperor has been pleased to send you as a 
 souvenir. 
 
 " Perhaps you would be interested in 
 learnino: the circumstances that oris^inated 
 His Majesty's special mark of kindness to 
 you, and therefore I think myself justified 
 in saying a few words in this connection. 
 
 " As you well know, the Emperor has 
 always kept the most pleasant recollections 
 of his visit to this country, as well as a 
 grateful and cordial remembrance of you, 
 after whom he never fails to inquire when- 
 ever an opportunity presents itself. Lately, 
 before my departure from Rio de Janeiro to 
 the States, I had the honor to call to receive 
 His Majesty's orders. At the close of the 
 interview I was instructed to give his aftec- 
 
A Trip Abroad. 47 
 
 tioiuite regards to some of his friends, your 
 name being mentioned in the first place. I 
 then took the liberty of suggesting that you 
 had a very curious collection of china, and 
 that I believed a cup and saucer coming from 
 His Majesty would be very much appreciated 
 by you and considered a great addition to 
 the same collection. The Emperor said that 
 if that was the case he would be very much 
 pleased to send you one, and added, ' Well, 
 I shall send Mr. Childs the same cup and 
 saucer I use to-morrow at my breakfast,' 
 and immediately gave his chamberlain the 
 instructions to that effect. 
 
 " I need not say how^ glad I feel at the 
 acquisition you are going to make. I trust 
 that you wdll receive the said souvenir in 
 perfect order. 
 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 " J. Gr. DO Amaral Yalente." 
 
 The following self-explanatory letter from 
 Captain Luiz Philippe de Saldanha da Gama, 
 of the Brazilian navy, a very close friend 
 of the Emperor, will doubtless prove inter- 
 esting in view of the recent revolution in 
 Brazil : 
 
48 Recollections. 
 
 " Washington, November 22, 1889. 
 
 *' Dear Sir, — When I came from Brazil 
 about a month ago to join the Maritime 
 Internationa] Conference as a delegate, I had 
 the honor to be the bearer of an autograph 
 letter of His Majesty Dom Pedro II., ad- 
 dressed to you. Unable, however, to move 
 away from this city on the days following 
 my arrival, and at the same time unwilling 
 to forward such a letter to you by mail, I 
 was still awaiting the leisure that should 
 permit me to go to Philadelphia, and deliver 
 myself, into your own hands, so expressive a 
 mark of His Majesty's kind recollection and 
 cordial feelings towards you. But now, in 
 the face of the grave events which have just 
 occurred in Brazil, I consider it my duty to 
 delaj^ no longer the fulfilment of the charge 
 His Majesty imposed upon me, and, there- 
 fore, I take the liberty to send you his letter, 
 herewith enclosed. 
 
 " Allow me to thank you for your edi- 
 torial of the 20th instant in reference to 
 the Emperor's personality and to the revo- 
 lution which has just dethroned him. As 
 a patriotic Brazilian, as well as a most de- 
 voted and faithful personal friend to His 
 Majesty, I must say I felt extremely gratified 
 in reading the enlightened views expressed 
 
A Dip Abroad. 49 
 
 by a republican journal like the Public Ledger 
 on the Emperor's character, his learning, his 
 correct behavior, his unselfishness, ^his good 
 intentions, and his patriotic feelings. 
 
 " However, the revolution in Brazil seems 
 to be at present an accomplished fact; and 
 he, who never condemned any of his fellow- 
 countrymen to expatriation, is now on his 
 way to a strange shore, — be, who really was, 
 during fifty years of reign, the firm guar- 
 antee of the rights and prerogatives of all 
 Brazilians, has been compelled to leave his 
 country in an hour's time, and by nigbt, like 
 a wretched criminal. I dare hope he will 
 reach in safety the land of exile, and meet 
 yet with marks of love and afi:ection from 
 those wbo knew bim well and from tbose 
 who are indebted to him for many favors. 
 
 ''Pray, therefore, accept once more my 
 most grateful thanks for what you have 
 written of Dom Pedro de Alcantara, botb 
 as a man and as Emperor of Brazil, 
 " And believe me, etc., 
 " L. P. DE Saldanha da Gama, 
 
 " Captain. 
 
 " To Mr. George W. Childs." 
 
 The following is a translation of the letter 
 sent by Dom Pedro : 
 
 Q d 5 
 
50 Recollections. 
 
 " Mr. G. W. Childs, — In recalling your 
 kindness and the splendid evening that you 
 gave me in Philadelphia, I recommend to 
 you the captain of the Brazilian navy, Mr. 
 Luiz Philippe de Saldanha da Gama, and I 
 am sure that you will make his second visit 
 to you in Philadelphia as agreeable as the 
 first, and that he will give me news of your 
 beautiful collections. 
 
 "Affectionately yours, 
 "D.Pedro d' Alcantara." 
 
 "Rio de Janeiro, October 4, 1889." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 LIBRARY TREASURES. 
 
 Precious Manuscripts — Poe's Murders in the Kue Morgue 
 — A Collection of Valuable Autographs — Andrew 
 Johnson's Letters. 
 
 You would like to see " the treasures" of 
 mj library ? There they are, — several thou- 
 sand of them; many of them "notable books 
 indeed. The presentation copies alone, I 
 suppose, contain enough interesting auto- 
 graph inscriptions of their authors to amuse 
 you. There are many curios in the collec- 
 tion, — many valuable manuscripts. Here, 
 bearing the date of May 17, 1703, written 
 in a small, compact, but legible hand, is the 
 original of a sermon by Cotton Mather. To 
 set it off, here are two volumes that were 
 once in the library of Charles Dickens, — one 
 the Poetical Works of Leigh Hunt, with an 
 autograph inscription to " Charles Dickens, 
 from his constant admirer and obliged friend, 
 Leigh Hunt," the other a copy of Hood's 
 
 51 
 
52 Itecolledions. 
 
 " Comic Animal" for 1842. It contains 
 these characteristic lines in Hood's hand- 
 
 wntino^: 
 
 Pshaw ! away with leaf and berry 
 
 And the sober-sided cup I 
 Bring a goblet, and bright sherry I 
 
 ^nd a bumper fill me up. 
 Tho' I had a pledge to shiver, 
 
 And the longest ever was, 
 Ere his vessel leaves our river, 
 
 I will drink a health to Boz! 
 
 Here's success to all his antics, 
 
 Since it pleases him to roam, 
 And to paddle o'er Atlantics, 
 
 After such a sale at home ! — 
 May he shun all rocks whatever, 
 
 And the shallow sand that lurks. 
 And his passage be as clever 
 
 As the best among his works ! 
 
 A manuscript I prize is the translation 
 of the first book of the Iliad by my friend 
 IVilliam Cullen Bryant. J^ot less interest- 
 ing is the manuscript of Edgar A. Poe's 
 remarkable story of " The Murders in the 
 Rue Morgue." It is written in a fine close 
 hand on seventeen pages of large legal-cap 
 paper, and has quite a history. The late Mr. 
 J. W. Johnston, from whom I secured it, 
 wrote me that it was in the spring of 1841, 
 
Library Treasures. 53 
 
 at the time he was an apprentice in the office 
 ot* Barrett & Thrasher, printers, in Phila- 
 delphia, that the manuscript came into his 
 possession. It was at this office that Gra- 
 ham's Magazine, in which the story first ap- 
 peared, was printed. After the tale had 
 been put in type and the proof-read, the 
 manuscript found its way into the waste- 
 basket; but Mr. Johnston picked it up, 
 and, obtaining permission to keep it, took 
 it home to the residence of his father. He 
 then, it seems, lost sight of the manuscript 
 for years. His father removed from Phil- 
 adelphia to York County, Pennsylvania, 
 thence to Maryland, and thence to Virginia, 
 and in these several pilgrimages, unknown 
 to himself, carried the Poe manuscript along 
 with him, folded up in one of the books of 
 his library. Determining to return to Penn- 
 sylvania, he made sale of his personal effects, 
 and amons^ a lot of old books offered was 
 found the Poe manuscript. It was at once 
 recognized, rescued from the rubbish among 
 which it had so nearly been lost, and for- 
 warded to Mr. Johnston the son, who in the 
 mean time (1847) had removed to Lancaster, 
 Pennsylvania, and begun business as a da- 
 guerrotypist. Twice his daguerrean rooms 
 took fire, and once (March 8, 1850) almost 
 
 5* 
 
54 Recollections. 
 
 all bis books, papers, pictures, and apparatus 
 were consumed ; but tlie Poe manuscript, 
 folded witliin tlie leaves of an old music- 
 book, escaped the wreck. 
 
 "About the year 1857," he goes on to 
 say, in his letter to me, " a grocery-store, 
 occupying the lirst floor of the building in 
 whicb were mv rooms, took fire and burned 
 furiously. The flames did not reacb my 
 rooms, but the smoke did, and the firemen 
 drenched them with water, destroying books, 
 papers, and other property ; but, by rare good 
 fortune, the Poe manuscript again escaped all 
 injury, except a slight discoloration. From 
 1861 to 1864 I was in the army, but on my 
 return therefrom I found the Poe manuscript 
 in the old music-book where I had left it on 
 leaving home. In the spring of 1865 I took 
 charge of the Swan Hotel, Lancaster, lie- 
 moving therefrom in 1869, a great deal of 
 rubbish was consigned to the ash-pile, the 
 old music-book sharing the fate of many 
 worthless articles. The next-door neighbor, 
 thinking it had been inadvertently thrown 
 away, picked it from the ash-pile and handed 
 it to me. On opening the book, I again be- 
 held the much-neglected manuscript. Pe- 
 solved that it should not again be subjected 
 to so man}' risks, I at once had it bound." 
 
Library Treasures. 55 
 
 I have a very interesting letter written 
 under date of August 13, 1841, by Poe to 
 the Philadelphia publishers Lea & Blanchard. 
 " I wish," he says, " to publish a new collec- 
 tion of my prose tales, with some such title 
 as this : ' The Prvse Tales of Edgar A. Poe, in- 
 cluding " The Murders in the Rue Morgue,^' the 
 " Descent into the Maelstrom.,^' and all his later 
 jrieces, with a second edition of the " Tales of the 
 Grotesque and Arabesque.'^ ' 
 
 " The later pieces will be eight in number, 
 making the entire collection thirty-three, 
 which would occupy two thick novel volumes. 
 
 " I am anxious that your firm should con- 
 tinue to be my publishers, and, if you would 
 be willing to bring out the book, I should be 
 glad to accept the terms which you allowed 
 me before, — that is, you receive all profits, 
 and allow me twenty copies for distribution 
 to friends." 
 
 I possess an interesting relic of Lord By- 
 ron, — his writing-desk, on which he wrote 
 " Don Juan" and other poems. It bears his 
 crest and monosfram. Bvron's works are 
 represented in my library by Murraj^'s sump- 
 tuous six- volume edition (1855), inscribed to 
 me *' In testimony of kind remembrance, 
 from John Murray." The first volume con- 
 tains portions of the manuscript of " The 
 
66 Recollections. 
 
 Bride of Abydos.'' It also gives a curious 
 illustration of Byron's dislike of Words- 
 worth. When " Peter Bell" appeared, By- 
 ron cut it out, placed it in the beginning of 
 a copy of his own works, and on the margin 
 of the page wrote a parody of the poem. 
 It will be remembered that " Peter Bell" 
 ran in this way : 
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 
 There's something in a flying horse, 
 And something in a huge balloon ; 
 
 But through the clouds I'll never float 
 
 Until I get a little Boat 
 
 Whose shape is like the crescent moon. 
 
 And now I have a little Boat, 
 
 In shape a very crescent moon : — etc. 
 
 Byron's parody is as follows : 
 
 EPILOGUE. 
 
 There's something in a stupid ass, 
 And something in a heavy dunce ; 
 
 But never since I went to school 
 
 I heard or saw so damned a fool 
 As William Wordsworth is for once. 
 
 And now I've seen so great a fool 
 
 As William Wordsworth is for once, 
 I really wish that Peter Bell 
 And he who wrote it were in hell, 
 For writing nonsense for the nonce. 
 
Library Treasures. 57 
 
 " I saw the light in ninety-eight," 
 Sweet Babe of one-and-twenty years I 
 
 And then he gives it to the nation, 
 
 And deems himself of Shakespeare's peers. 
 
 He gives the perfect work to light ! 
 
 Will Wordsworth, if I might advise, 
 Content you with the praise you get 
 From Sir George Beaumont, Baronet, 
 
 And with your place in the Excise. 
 Ravenna, March 22, 1820. 
 
 Here is the original manuscript of "Wil- 
 liam Godwin's " Cloucleslej : a ISTovel." It 
 is written on both sides of the sheets of 
 old parchment paper, but in a strikingly 
 clear and smooth hand. Shakespearian 
 scholars, I suppose, would be particularly 
 interested in my copy of Mrs. Mary Cowden 
 Clarke's " Complete Concordance to Shake- 
 speare." It contains a selection of fifty 
 closely-written pages of the original manu- 
 script, together with a long and exceedingly 
 interesting autograph letter, which gives a 
 detailed account of the progress of the work 
 from its inception, through the twelve years 
 occupied in its compilation, and four more 
 of press-corrections, to its final publication ; 
 also copies of a congratulatory letter from 
 Douglas Jerrold, the author's application for 
 the privilege of dedicating the work to the 
 
58 Recollections. 
 
 Queen, and the Queen's reply, besides sev- 
 eral portraits, a large number of newspaper 
 cuttings, etc. In a letter to me, written from 
 Villa ISTovello, Genoa, February 8, 1879, Mrs. 
 Clarke says, " The notice in your paper was 
 read through tears of proud emotion at the 
 way in which your reviewer recognized the 
 admirable characters of my Parents : It was 
 enjoyed in concert by our family party, then 
 assembled around our breakfast-table here ; 
 which included my brother Alfred, my sister 
 Sabilla, and our two charming Italian nieces, 
 Portia and Valeria Gis^liucci — to whom I 
 read aloud, as well as my streaming eyes 
 would allow me, this American warmth of 
 tribute to Vincent and Mary Kovello's moral 
 and intellectual excellence." 
 
 From the late Anna Maria Hall and her 
 husband, S. C. Hall,* I procured a valu- 
 
 * I received, early in the year 1889, a long letter from 
 Mr. Hall. It was written December 8, 1888, but delayed 
 many weeks in transmission by the correspondent with 
 whom it was designed to make me acquainted. This 
 was no doubt one of the last letters written by the 
 venerable author, and its concluding lines are full of 
 pathos. " My dear, much-honored, and greatly loved 
 friend," it reads. " This may be the last letter of con- 
 sequence I shall write. It is high time I left earlh. I 
 think my work is very nearly done, — and I shall soon 
 meet my beloved at the Golden Gate. We shall meet 
 
Library Treasures, 59 
 
 able collection of letters, manuscripts, and 
 sketches of many celebrated people of the 
 past fifty years. Mrs. Hall presented me 
 with the Bible of Tom Moore, in which 
 the poet entered the names and birth- and 
 death-dates of his children. I have also an 
 original score signed b}- Tom Moore, and 
 the poet's famous Irish harp. 
 
 I have perhaps the only complete manu- 
 script of any of Thackeray's works in ex- 
 istence. It is his " Lectures on the Four 
 Georges," and is entirely in his own hand- 
 writing. The volume is illustrated by nu- 
 merous original drawings by Thackeray, 
 some of which are colored by himself. I 
 have also the original manuscript of Walter 
 Scott's " Chronicles of the Canongate," 
 which he presented from his Abbotsford 
 library to his publishers, with a kind and 
 appreciative note. 
 
 Among many other original manuscripts 
 in my possession are " The ITeed of Two 
 Loves," by ^. P. Willis ; James Fenimore 
 
 there, I am very sure ! Yet I am in fair health, my 
 friends do not neglect me, and I am well taken care of 
 by an excellent nurse-attendant." 
 
 A postscript reads : "I write this letter in the eighty- 
 ninth year of my age. And if I say farewell, you will 
 not be astounded." 
 
60 Recollections. 
 
 Cooper's " Life of Captain Richard Som- 
 ers ;" Mary Howitt's translation of Frederika 
 Bremer's "Hertha;" Bulwer's "Pilgrims 
 of the Ehine" and " Godolphin ;" Gray's 
 " Habitations of our Kings ;" Harriet Mar- 
 tineau's " Retrospect of Western Travel ;" 
 the Dickens manuscripts to which I have 
 previously alluded ; and " The Italian Bride," 
 an original tragedy by John Howard Payne, 
 author of "Home, Sweet Home." This 
 tragedy by Payne is in four acts, and 
 was written for Charlotte Cushman ; but it 
 was never produced, and it has never been 
 printed. Payne left two manuscript copies 
 of his play. One was given to his friend 
 Mr. James Rees, a well-known literary 
 man of Philadelphia, from whom it passed 
 directly to me. It consists of ninety-six 
 pages entirely in the handwriting of Payne 
 himself, with only a few pencil-marks and 
 some stage-directions on the alternate blank 
 pages. 
 
 The manuscript of " The Cow-Chase" 
 must not be overlooked. This satirical 
 poem, written by Major Andre, was founded 
 upon an unsuccessful attempt of a party 
 under General Anthony Wayne to capture 
 a block-house upon the Hudson, a short 
 distance from New York City, on the 21st 
 
Library Treasures, 61 
 
 of July, 1780. It is said to have beeu the 
 last literary effort of the ill-fated young 
 Englishman, and, singularly enough, the 
 last canto was published in New York, in 
 Rivington's Royal Gazette, on the same day 
 upon which he was arrested. The poem 
 was afterwards printed, with full notes, for 
 private circulation, and this with the original 
 manuscript was the property of the Rev. 
 "Wm. B. Sprague, of Albany, ITew York, 
 an extensive collector of autographs, who 
 prized it as probably the most valuable 
 article in his collection. The manuscript 
 has been admirably illustrated by my friend 
 Mr. Ferdinand J. Dreer, of Philadelphia, 
 with portraits of the generals of the Revo- 
 lution, both Continental and English, well- 
 known and historical landscapes, charac- 
 ters, and buildings. The closing stanza of 
 Andre's epic, which is complete in three 
 cantos, runs as follows : 
 
 And now I've closed my epic strain, 
 
 I tremble as I show it, 
 Lest this same warrior-drover Wayne 
 
 Should ever catch the poet. 
 
 Soon afterwards Andre was caught, and 
 some unkind hand thus continues the poem : 
 
 6 
 
62 llccoUedions*. 
 
 And when the epic strain was sung, 
 The poet by the neck was hung, 
 And to his cost he finds too late 
 The "dung-born tribe" decides his fate. 
 
 It would not be interesting merely to cat- 
 alogue my collection, which includes poems, 
 letters, and manuscripts of Burns, Swift, 
 Longfellow, Bryant, Holmes, Tennyson, 
 Pepys, Pope, Thomson, Shelley, Keats, 
 William Penn, Voltaire, Goethe, Irving, 
 Lamb, Gibbon, Hume, Lord Clarendon, and 
 others. Coleridge is represented by a long 
 letter, in which he states that he would be 
 glad to go to London if he could be assured 
 of a guinea a week. Here is a noteworthy 
 manuscript of Schiller, — his dramatic poem 
 entitled " Demetrius." It occupies two folio 
 pages, and was secured for me through the 
 kindness of Longfellow. There is also the 
 original manuscript draught of Tennyson's 
 dedicatory poem to the Queen, which is 
 prefixed to the last collected edition of his 
 poems. 
 
 I will do no more than enumerate a letter 
 of Lord I^elson, written four days before his 
 death; a number of presentation-volumes 
 from the brothers Chambers, Robert, Wil- 
 liam, and David ; many curiously illustrated, 
 inlaid, and arranged works, especially Tick- 
 
Library Treasurer. 63 
 
 nor's Life of Prescott, two volumes quarto, 
 with several hundred illustrations; Life of 
 Everett, quarto; Rogers's Italy and Poems, 
 inlaid with three hundred en£:ravino:s, all 
 first impressions ; a work on the empire of 
 Brazil, presented hy Dom Pedro in 1876, 
 and containing his autograph ; a copy of 
 Chambers's " English Literature," which has 
 autograph letters, about seven hundred extra 
 plates, and numerous newspaper cuttings 
 and references, the work being extended to 
 eight volumes; many books upon the l^orth 
 American Indians; quite a large collection 
 of Americana; Lamb's Works, with auto- 
 graph letters of Lamb ; Talfourd's Life of 
 Lamb, with a manuscript poem by Talfourd, 
 and a letter written to myself; Shakespeare's 
 Works in many editions ; a Collection of 
 the Illustrations of H. K. Browne, better 
 known as " Phiz," which contains all the 
 sketches, several hundred in number, that 
 can be obtained, and is enriched by memo- 
 randa and notes in the artist's ow-n hand; 
 and three large volumes of photographs, 
 many bearing also the autographs, of inter- 
 esting and well-known people I have met at 
 home and abroad. 
 
 One of the most unique works in my 
 library is "A Collection of Autographs, 
 
64 Recollections. 
 
 made by a Scrivener." Mr. W. G. Latham, 
 a lawyer of New Orleans, compiled the 
 book. As a notary public he had access to 
 many original documents, and he presently 
 began to make accurate copies of the notable 
 signatures which came under his notice. He 
 thus employed the leisure hours of twenty- 
 five years, and made at least one trip to 
 Europe to complete his remarkable collec- 
 tion. If lost it could never be replaced. 
 There are about four thousand names in 
 the book, and they embrace distinguished 
 Americans of all professions from the be- 
 ginning of our history ; British authors from 
 before Shakespeare until within a few years ; 
 men of renown in authorship, medicine, 
 theology, natural history, botany, music, the 
 drama, and the fine arts; a complete list of 
 the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence ; Washington and his generals ; Na- 
 poleon and leading men of his time and 
 nation; and the royalty, nobility, and mili- 
 tary and naval celebrities of Europe for 
 the past three centuries. Appended to al- 
 most every signature is a brief biographical 
 sketch. 
 
 I have reserved for final mention a vol- 
 ume in my library that no doubt exceeds all 
 others in historical interest. It is a large 
 
Library Treasures. 65 
 
 folio containing portraits and autograph let- 
 ters of every President of the United States 
 from Washino-ton to Harrison. Eis^ht of the 
 letters are personal ones from the various 
 Presidents to myself. 
 
 The first letter is one of the most inter- 
 esting. It was written by Washington to 
 Colonel Clement Biddle, of Philadelphia, 
 under date of Mount Vernon, December 8, 
 1799, — that is to say, only six days before 
 Washington's death. It was the last letter 
 he wrote. There is not the slightest in- 
 dication of approaching dissolution in the 
 firm handwriting; the letters are carefully 
 formed, the words carefully chosen ; and, 
 though he spells cabin with two b's, his 
 shrewdness in business dealing is illustrated 
 in the stately announcement to Colonel Bid- 
 die that he has it in mind to send him ^' a 
 hundred or two barrels of flour to dispose 
 of for me in the Philadelphia market, as it 
 commands a better price there than in Alex- 
 andria, and some barrels of fish also, — on 
 commission." He also instructs his corre- 
 spondent about the purchase of various kinds 
 of seeds. 
 
 John Adams's letter is addressed to Com- 
 modore Bainbridge; he declines an invita- 
 tion to visit the latter, on the ground that " an 
 e 6* 
 
66 Recollections. 
 
 octogenariiin gentleman and a septnagena- 
 riau lady (his wife) cannot be too cautious 
 of engaging in bold, daring, and hazardous 
 enterprises without an object of public good." 
 The letters are all of a private and entertain- 
 ins: character : Piercers letter is the touchinof 
 one to James T. Fields to which I have 
 already referred in connection with the death 
 of Hawthorne; the Lincoln letter is the 
 famous one of April 9, 1862, containing in- 
 structions to General McClellan and con- 
 cluding with the underscored words, ^' But 
 you must act ;'^ and General Grant is repre- 
 sented by the noted letter he wrote me, June 
 6, 1877, from London. This is the letter, 
 fourteen pages in length, which I telegraphed 
 to the London Times. 
 
 Autograph letters of Andrew Johnson are 
 very hard to obtain, — harder than the letters 
 of any other President. Letters written by 
 his secretary and merely signed by himself 
 are common enough. I have been enabled, 
 however, to secure quite a store of Johnson's 
 original manuscripts, including the account- 
 books he kept while a tailor. They are full 
 of droll expressions. The letter I have 
 selected to represent him in the volume of 
 the Presidents is an interestins^ communica- 
 tion to his friend Major (afterwards General) 
 
Library Treasures. 67 
 
 Sam Milligan. It is ill written, and notable 
 for its odd misspelling and its frank political 
 gossip. It breathes a feverish anxiety for 
 the action of the Southern leaders, and hopes 
 "there is still intellis^ence enono^h and virtue 
 in the country sufficient to save it." " As 
 you say," he writes, " they" (meaning the 
 "treasonable men") " have given me 'thun- 
 der' in some places." 
 
 Perhaps his nearest friend was the Hon. 
 Samuel J. Eandall, who fairly lived at the 
 White House during Johnson's stormy 
 administration. Yet, as illustrating the 
 scarcity of Johnson's autograph letters, 
 even Mr. Randall has none in his possession. 
 I have three addressed to Major Milligan 
 which are full of entertainino* chat about 
 politics. 
 
 But haven't I talked enough about my 
 friends ? For these books and manuscripts 
 are as much my friends as human beings. 
 And I had almost forgotten the clocks. I 
 have a collection of nearly fift}' in various 
 places, and it has been said that a whole 
 history of clock- and watchmaking might 
 be written from a studv of them. The most 
 important clock in my possession is the one 
 constructed by David Rittenhouse, the great 
 astronomer, for a rich citizen of colonial 
 
68 Recollections. 
 
 Philadelpliia. It now stands in my office. 
 Barton, in Lis Life of Rittenbouse, gives its 
 interesting pedigree. Tliere is attached to 
 it the mechanism of a musical clock, besides 
 an accurate little planetarium, placed on its 
 face above the dial-plate. It was made for 
 Mr. Joseph Potts, who paid six bundred and 
 forty dollars for it; in the spring of 1774 it 
 was purchased by Mr. Thomas Prior, who 
 refused General Sir William Howe's ofter 
 of one hundred and twenty guineas for it, 
 shortly before the evacuation of Philadelphia 
 in 1778, and another offer of the Spanish 
 Minister of eight hundred dollars, made wdth 
 a view of presenting it to his sovereign. 
 After Mr. Prior's death, in 1801, it became 
 the property of Professor Barton, the biog- 
 rapher of Bittenhouse, and from him passed 
 into the possession of the late James Swain, 
 at the sale of whose effects I bought it in 
 October, 1879. 
 
 But the mention of that office of mine, 
 about which so much has been written, must 
 not tempt me into further talking. What- 
 ever it may be to others, it is hallowed for 
 me by a thousand associations. Look any 
 way I will, a familiar face confronts me : on 
 this side Bishop Simpson, on that Dean 
 Stanley and Dickens; over there my old 
 
Library Treasures, 60 
 
 friends Eobert C. Winthrop and General 
 Grant; faces of men and women, — of Mis- 
 son and Modjeska; of Mme. Bernhardt, — 
 a portrait painted by herself. 
 
 This is a fitting place to stop. Just one 
 parting reflection. If asked what, as the 
 result of my experience, is the greatest 
 pleasure in life, I should say, doing good to 
 others. ITot a strikingly original remark, 
 perhaps; but seemingly the most difficult 
 thing in the world is to be prosperous and 
 generous at the same time. During the war 
 I asked a very rich man to contribute some 
 money to a certain relief fund. He shook his 
 head. " Childs," he said, " I can't give you 
 anj'thing. I have worked too hard for my 
 money." That is just it. Being generous 
 grows on one just as being mean does. The 
 disposition to give and to be kind to others 
 should be inculcated and fostered in children. 
 It seems to me that is the way to improve 
 the world and make happy the people who 
 are in it. 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 Personal Characteristics — The Electoral Commission— 
 His Simplicity — Domestic Life. 
 
 General Grant was one of the truest and 
 most cono^enial friends I ever had. We first 
 met in 1863, after the victory of Yicksburg. 
 The general and Mrs. Grant had come to 
 Philadelphia to make arrangements to put 
 their children at school in Burlington, ]^ew 
 Jersey. Prom that time until his death our 
 intimacy grew. In his life three qualities 
 were conspicuously revealed, — justice, kind- 
 ness, and firmness. 
 
 Seeing GeneralGrant frequently for more 
 than twenty years, I had abundant oppor- 
 tunity to notice these qualities. We lived 
 at Long Branch on adjoining properties, on 
 the same land, without any division, and 
 I may say there never was a day when we 
 were tosrether there on which either I was 
 not in his house or he in mine. He would 
 70 
 
General Grant. 71 
 
 often come over and breakfast or dine with 
 me. I never saw him in the field, thousrh I 
 corresponded with him during the war, and 
 whenever an opportunity presented itself he 
 would come to Philadelphia for the purpose 
 of seeing his family at Burlington, and w^ould 
 often stay with me, and in that way he made 
 a great many friends. That was as early 
 as 1863. He always seemed to enjoy his 
 visits here, as they gave him rest during the 
 time he was in the army. These visits to 
 Philadelphia were continued after he became 
 President, and he always found recreation 
 and pleasure in them. 
 
 Much has been published about General 
 Grant, but there are many things I have not 
 seen stated, and one is that he had consid- 
 erable artistic taste and talent. lie painted 
 very well. One of his paintings, twelve by 
 eighteen inches, he gave to his friend the 
 late Hon. A. E. Borie, of Philadelphia, wdio 
 was the Secretary of the is'avy in his first 
 Cabinet. That picture is, I believe, one of 
 the two that he is known to have painted. 
 On the death of Mr. Borie it was presented 
 by his family to Mrs. Grant, and the engrav- 
 ing of it was made from the original sent 
 to me for the purpose by Colonel Fred. D. 
 Grant. Of the other painting there is no 
 
72 Recollections. 
 
 trace. Geneml Grant stood very higli with 
 his professor of drawing at West Point, and 
 if he had persevered in that line might, it 
 has always seemed to me, have made a good 
 artist. He was througliout his cadetship apt 
 in mathematics and drawing. Tlie picture 
 alluded to is that of an Indian chief, at a 
 trading-post in the N^orthw^est, exchanging 
 skins and furs with a group of traders and 
 trappers. The Indian stands in the foregound 
 and is the central object, — a noble figure, 
 well painted, and in full and characteristic 
 costume. I have often seen the painting, 
 which has been very much admired. The 
 general took a good deal of pride in it 
 himself. 
 
 General Grant was not an ardent student. 
 Early in life he was somewhat of a novel- 
 reader, but latterly he read history, biog- 
 raphy, and travels. He w^as a careful reader, 
 and remembered everything he read. He 
 was a great reader of newspapers. I recall 
 an incident which happened while we were 
 at Long Branch, just after General Sher- 
 man's Memoirs had been published. Re- 
 ferring to the work, I asked him if he had 
 read it. He said he had not had time to do 
 so. One of the persons present observed, 
 " Why, general, you won't find much in it 
 
General Grant 73 
 
 about yourself. Sherman doesn't seem to 
 think you were in the war." The general 
 said, " I don't know ; I have seen some ad- 
 verse criticisms, but I am going to read it 
 and judge the book for myself." 
 
 After he had perused the work carefully 
 and attentively, I asked him what he thought 
 of it. ''Well," he said, "it has done me 
 full justice. It has given me more credit 
 than I deserve. Any criticism I might make 
 would be that I think Sherman has not done 
 justice to Logan, Blair, and other volunteer 
 generals, whom he calls political generals. 
 These men did their duty faithfully, and 
 I never believe in imputing motives to 
 people." 
 
 General Sherman had sent to me the 
 proof-sheets of that portion of the Memoirs 
 relating to General Grant before the book 
 was published, and asked if I had any sug- 
 gestions to make, and if I thought he had 
 been just to the general. I informed Gen- 
 eral Grant that I had read these proof-sheets, 
 and that I thought, as he did, that General 
 Sherman had done him full justice. General 
 Grant had the highest opinion of General 
 Sherman as a military man, and always en- 
 tertained a great personal regard for him. 
 lie was always magnanimous, particularly 
 
 D 7 
 
74 Recollebdons. 
 
 to his army associates. He was a man who 
 rarely used the pronoun I in conversation 
 when speaking of his battles. 
 
 There is an amusing little incident I re- 
 call, a propos of a large painting of General 
 Sherman on his " March to the Sea," which 
 hangs in the hall of my Long Branch house, 
 and which was pain ted by Kauffmann . Sher- 
 man sits in front of the tent, in a w^hite 
 shirt, without coat or vest. The picture 
 shows a camp-fire in front, and the moon- 
 lio-ht in the rear of the tents. The criticism 
 of General Grant when he first saw it was, 
 *' That is all very fine ; it looks like Sher- 
 man ; but he never wore a boiled shirt there, 
 I am sure." 
 
 While livins: at Lons^ Branch few Confed- 
 erate ofiicers who visited the place failed to 
 call upon General Grant. He was always 
 glad to see them, and he invariably talked 
 over with them the incidents and results of 
 the war. The general held in high estima- 
 tion General Joseph E. Johnston, and always 
 spoke of him as one of the very best of the 
 Southern generals. At one of my dinners 
 I had the pleasure of getting Johnston, 
 Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan together. 
 
 With reo^ard to election matters General 
 Grant was a close observer, and had a won- 
 
General Grant lb 
 
 derful judgment respecting results. One 
 particular case may be cited. During the 
 canvass of his second term (towards the 
 latter part of it) there began to be doubts 
 throuo^hout the country of his election. 
 Senator Wilson, who was then running on 
 the ticket for Vice-President, and who was 
 a man of the people and had had a good 
 deal of experience in election matters for 
 forty years, made an extensive tour through 
 the country, and came to my house, just 
 afterwards, very despondent. He went over 
 the ground and said that the result was in 
 a great deal of doubt. I hastened to see 
 General Grant, and told him of this feeling, 
 particularly as it impressed Senator Wilson. 
 The general said nothing, but sent for a 
 map of the United States. He laid the map 
 on the table, went over it with a pencil, and 
 said, " We will carry this State, that State, 
 and that State," until he nearlj^ covered the 
 whole United States. It occurred to me he 
 might as well put them all in, and I ventured 
 the remonstrance, "I think it would not be 
 policy to talk that way; the election now is 
 pretty near at hand.'' When the election 
 came, the result was that Grant carried every 
 State that he had said he would, — a predic- 
 tion made in the face of the feeling through- 
 
76 Recollections. 
 
 out the country that the Republican cause 
 was growing weaker, and in spite of the fact 
 that the candidate for Vice-President on the 
 ticket with Grant, who was deeply interested 
 in the election, had visited various parts of 
 the country, South and West, and had come 
 back apprehensive and dispirited. 
 
 This mention of Henry Wilson reminds 
 me that when Lord Houghton (Richard 
 Monckton Milnes) was my guest in Philadel- 
 phia, he asked me to show^ him a " typical 
 American." I told him that Vice-President 
 Wilson was the man he was seeking, — that 
 he illustrated most admirably, in his astonish- 
 in 2^ career from a shoemaker's bench to the 
 presiding chair of the Senate, the possibili- 
 ties of American citizenship. I sent for Mr. 
 Wilson, and the two men spent some days 
 together at my house. Shortly after, Wilson 
 was stricken down with illness, and died in 
 the room of the Vice-President in the Capitol 
 building at Washington. 
 
 General Grant was staying with me in 
 Philadelphia at the time of the Tilden and 
 Hayes campaign, and on the morning of the 
 momentous day after the election, when the 
 returns gave Tilden a majority of all the 
 electors, he accompanied me to my office. 
 After a few moments an eminent Republican 
 
General Grant, 77 
 
 Senator and one or two other leading Repub- 
 licans walked in, and they went over the 
 returns. One of these leaders, notwithstand- 
 ing the returns, said, -^ Hayes is elected," 
 an opinion in which the others coincided. 
 General Grant listened to them, but said 
 nothing. After they had settled the matter 
 in their own minds, he said, '' Gentlemen, it 
 looks to me as if Mr. Tilden is elected." 
 
 When the contention on this point took 
 such bitter and angry form and excited so 
 much hot blood, the more conservative and 
 the wiser men in Congress, like Eandall, 
 Garfield, Abram S. Hewitt, and Kasson in 
 the House, and Edmunds, Bayard, and 
 Conkling in the Senate, seeing the necessity 
 of adopting some quieting and reassuring 
 measures, began to consider what ultimately 
 took form in the Electoral Commission. 
 About this time General Grant asked me 
 to make him a visit. He had patriotically 
 espoused the proposal for an amicable adjust- 
 ment of the threatening dispute in any prac- 
 tical form, and warmly favored the idea of 
 an Electoral Commission. When I got to 
 the White House he said, " This matter is 
 very complicated, and the people will not be 
 satisfied unless something is done in regard 
 
 to it which will appeal to their sense of 
 
 7* 
 
78 Recollections, 
 
 justice. Now," he continued, "I have 
 thought of an Electoral Commission, but 
 the leaders of the party are opposed to it, 
 Avhich I am sorry to see. They say that if 
 an Electoral Commission is appointed we 
 mis^ht as well count in Mr. Tilden. I would 
 rather have Mr. Tilden than that the Repub- 
 licans should have a President who could be 
 stigmatized as a fraud. If I w^ere Mr. Hayes, 
 I would not have the ofl3.ce unless my claim 
 to it were settled in some w^ay outside the 
 Senate. This-matter is opposed by the lead- 
 ing Republicans in the House and Senate 
 and throughout the country." 
 
 President Grant invited several leading 
 Republican Senators to dine with him to 
 meet me and to get their views. He said to 
 me, " You see the feeling here. I find them 
 almost universally opposed to anything like 
 an Electoral Commission." I named a lead- 
 ing Democrat in the House (Hon. Samuel J. 
 Randall), who was one of the most promi- 
 nent men in the country, a man of large 
 influence and of great integrity of character, 
 and whom it would be v/ell to see. I sent 
 for Mr. Randall to come to the White House 
 to see me, and put the dilemma to him, as 
 follows: "It is very hard for the President 
 and very embarrassing to men on his own 
 
General Grant. 79 
 
 side that this matter does not seem to find 
 favor with them, besides hav-ing Democratic 
 opposition. Republicans think they might 
 as well count Tilden in as to agree to an 
 Electoral Commission ; but as the feeling 
 tbrouo'hout the country demands as honest 
 a count of the vote as possible, this Electoral 
 Commission ought to be appointed." There 
 was every prospect that the great majority 
 of the Democrats would ultimately support 
 the measure, though chafing and angry 
 under what they appeared to regard as a 
 great wrong to them and to the country. 
 
 Mr. Randall was Speaker of the House at 
 the time. His language in reply made it 
 manifest that he felt it his duty to exert in 
 all proper ways his powerful infiuence for 
 a peaceful adjustment. He was careful in 
 speech, for he evidently realized if an Elec- 
 toral Commission was created by law that 
 he, as presiding officer of the House of 
 Representatives, would have to see, in part 
 at least, that such law was faithfully carried 
 out, — a task which he executed with firmness 
 amid an excited assembly. 
 
 General Grant, however, did send for Sen- 
 ator Conkling, and said, with deep earnest- 
 ness, " This matter is a serious one, and the 
 people feel it very deeply. I think this Elec- 
 
80 Recollections. 
 
 toral Commission ought to be appointed." 
 Conkling answered, " Mr. President, Sen- 
 ator Morton" (who was then the acknowl- 
 edged leader of the Senate) " is opposed to 
 it and opposed to your efforts ; but if you 
 wish the Commission carried, I can help 
 to do it." Grant said, " I wish it done." 
 Thereupon Mr. Conkling took hold of the 
 measure and contributed his powerful aid 
 in putting it through the Senate. 
 
 Few persons not in public life understood 
 fully at the time how near the country was to 
 another civil war, and of course had no ade- 
 quate appreciation of the vital service done 
 by the statesmen named above, and by those 
 of both parties who patriotically stood up in 
 their support. But the peril was imminent, 
 and the people of the country owe to all of 
 them a great debt of gratitude, — and espe- 
 cially to Messrs. Randall, Edmunds, Conk- 
 ling, and General Grant. 
 
 General Patterson, of Philadelphia, who 
 had been an intimate friend of President 
 Jackson, and a life-long Democrat, was 
 also sent for at that time by President 
 Grant. General Patterson had large es- 
 tates in the South, and a great deal of in- 
 fluence with the Democrats, and particularly 
 with Southern Democrats. He was then up- 
 
General Grant. 81 
 
 wards of eighty, but he went to Washington 
 and remained one or two weeks with Presi- 
 dent Grant, working hard to accomplish the 
 purpose in view. After the bill had passed 
 and while it was awaiting his signature. 
 General Grant went to a State Fair in 
 Maryland upon the day it should have 
 been signed, and there was much perturba- 
 tion about it. I was telegraphed by those in- 
 terested that General Grant was absent, and 
 that they were anxious about the signing. I 
 replied that they might consider the bill as 
 good as signed. The President returned to 
 Washington that night and put his name to 
 the document. 
 
 Just before General Grant started on his 
 journey around the world he was spending 
 some days with me, and at a dinner with Mr. 
 A. J. Drexel, Colonel A. K. McClure, and my- 
 self, he reviewed the contest over the creation 
 of the Electoral Commission very fully and 
 with rare candor. The chief significance of 
 his view lay in the fact, as he stated it, that he 
 expected from the beginning until the final 
 judgment that the electoral vote of Louisiana 
 would be awarded to Tilden. He spoke 
 of South Carolina and Oregon as justly be- 
 longing to Hayes, of Florida as reasonably 
 doubtful, and of Louisiana as for Tilden. 
 / 
 
82 Recollections. 
 
 General Grant acted in ijood faith through- 
 out the whole affair. It has been said that 
 the changing of the complexion of the court 
 threw the office into Ha^-es's hands, and that 
 if the court had remained as it was, Tilden 
 would have been declared President. Gen- 
 eral Grant was the soul of honor in this 
 matter, and no one ever hinted that he was 
 unfair or untruthful in any way. I, for one, 
 do not believe that he could possibly tell a 
 lie or act deceitfully. 
 
 There is another point in politics not gen- 
 erally known. General Garfield, during his 
 canvass, became very much demoralized. 
 He was fearful that the Republicans would 
 not carry Indiana, and was doubtful whether 
 they would carry Ohio. In that emergency 
 urgent appeals were made to General Grant, 
 and he at once threw himself into the breach. 
 He saw his strong personal friends and told 
 them they must help. There was one very 
 influential man, Senator Conkling, whom 
 General Grant sent for and informed that 
 he must turn in and assist. He at first de- 
 clined, being hard pressed with professional 
 engagements, but at General Grant's urgent 
 solicitation finally entered the field and con- 
 tributed handsomely to the victory. In order 
 to do so he was compelled to return to clients 
 
General Grant. 83 
 
 seventeen thousand five hundred dollars, 
 which bad been paid him as retaining fees 
 in cases to be tried in October durins^ his 
 absence. General Grant went into the can- 
 vass with might and main. The tide was 
 turned, and it was through General Grant's 
 individual efforts, seconded by those of his 
 strong personal friends, who did not feel any 
 particular interest in the election, that Gar- 
 field was successful. 
 
 General Grant never by word or by letter 
 suggested to any one that he would like to 
 he nominated for a third terra. Neither Mr. 
 Conkling nor General Logan nor Senator 
 Cameron had anv assurance from him in 
 any way that he wished the nomination, 
 and they proceeded in their contest for it 
 without any authority from him whatever. 
 His heart was not on a third term at all. 
 He had had enough of politics. After his 
 second term he told me, " I feel like a boy 
 out of school." At first General Grant in- 
 tended to decline. In conversation with me 
 he said, " It is very difficult to decline a thing 
 which has never been oftered;" and before 
 he left this country for the "West Indies, I 
 said, " General, you leave this matter in the 
 hands of your friends." He knew I was op- 
 posed to a third term. His political friends, 
 
84 Recolledions. 
 
 however, were in favor of it, not merely as 
 friends, but because they thought he was the 
 only man who could be elected by the Re- 
 publicans. There is not a line of his in ex- 
 istence in which he expresses any desire to 
 have that nomination. Towards the last, 
 when the canvass became very hot, I sup- 
 pose his natural feeling was that he would 
 like to win. But he never laid any plans. 
 He never encouraged or abetted anything 
 lookino: towards a third-term movement. 
 
 General Grant was very magnanimous to 
 those who diifered with him, and when I 
 asked him what distressed him most in his 
 political life he said, " To be deceived by 
 those I trusted." He had a great many 
 distresses. 
 
 Of his quick perception in financial mat- 
 ters I remember a striking instance. On 
 one of the great financial questions — the 
 Inflation Bill, pending before Congress — he 
 was consulting with Mr. A. J. Drexel, of 
 Philadelphia, whom he regarded as one of 
 his strongest personal friends. In Septem- 
 ber, 1873, the general had gone to New 
 York, and had listened for a day to appeals 
 from inflationists to expand the currency by 
 issuing the forty-four millions of greenbacks 
 then in the Treasury. He patiently heard 
 
General Grant, 85 
 
 their arguments, but refused their request. 
 Still, he was so strongly impressed with cer- 
 tain views held by many of the ablest men 
 in the country who had opinions on the sub- 
 ject different from his own, that he stated 
 them to Mr. Drexel. Mr. Drexel combated 
 these opinions, and as the result of that dis- 
 cussion the general adopted his views ; and 
 when the measure to which I allude was 
 laid before him, he returned it to Cono-ress 
 with his disapproval. Here was a subject 
 he had considered, as he thought, fully, but 
 when new light was given to him by Mr. 
 Drexel, whom he knew to be a well-in- 
 formed, conservative, unselfish, and relial)le 
 man, and an experienced and able financier, 
 and who possessed the public confidence, he 
 changed his opinions, and wrote the veto 
 message of April 22, 1874. Congratulations 
 immediately poured in upon him from all 
 parts of the country, and even the strongest 
 advocates of the bill acknowledged that the 
 President's final judgment was right, and 
 that in this matter especially he was im- 
 measurably superior in statesmanship to the 
 Congressional majority. 
 
 A great man}^ people had an idea that 
 General Grant was very much set in his 
 opinions; but, while he had decided opin- 
 
 8 
 
86 RecoUeciions. 
 
 ions, at the stinie time he was always open 
 to conviction. Very often in talking with 
 liini lie would make no observation, and 
 when one had i^cot throui>:h it would be diffi- 
 cult to tell exactly whether he had grasped 
 the subject or not, but in a very short time, 
 if the matter was alluded to again, it would 
 be found that he had comprehended it 
 thoroughly. His power of observation and 
 mental assimilation was remarkable. 
 
 Of his simplicity and unpretentiousness I 
 will give. an illustration. During one of his 
 drives with me through Fairmount Park, 
 Philadelphia, I called his attention to the 
 little log cabin which we were passing on 
 one of the main avenues, and which was his 
 headquarters during the war. With a merry 
 twinkle of his eye he said, " I can tell you 
 a little story connected with that cabin. For 
 a long time my officers were urging me to 
 let them put up a building for my headquar- 
 ters. My headquarters had previously been 
 on the field and in the saddle, and I had 
 never thought of any other. I begun to 
 suspect that their solicitude for my comfort 
 was not altogether disinterested, and told 
 them they might put up a small affair. Al- 
 most instantly, as if by magic, headquarters 
 grew up in every direction. So it turned 
 
General Grant. 87 
 
 out that they were partly thinking of their 
 own comfort." There was no " nonsense" 
 ahout him. He was always neat in dress, 
 but not fastidious. He said he got cured of 
 his pride in regimentals when he came home 
 from West Point. 
 
 There was a slight tinge of superstition 
 in his composition. I remember hearing 
 him say that he never would turn back if he 
 could possibly avoid it, and he illustrated 
 the remark by telling me of an incident that 
 occurred when he was a boy living in the 
 country. He had started on horseback to 
 go to the mill, and while musing he had 
 passed the road that led to it; instead of re- 
 tracing his steps, he drove a long distance 
 around, so that he could reach the mill with- 
 out going back. Was not this trait one of 
 the secrets of his success in the war ? When 
 I spoke to my old friend, Paul Du Chaillu, 
 in regard to this peculiarity of General 
 Grant, he replied that it was an old super- 
 stition, and that he could trace it to the 
 Vikings of the ninth and tenth centuries, 
 many of their great warriors believing in it. 
 
 General Grant, surrounded by those he 
 knew well, always did two-thirds of the talk- 
 ing. He was a reticent and diffident man in 
 general company, and it was not until ho 
 
88 Recollections. 
 
 was out of the Presidency that he became a 
 public speaker. He told a story that he was 
 once notified that he was expected to make a 
 speech in reply to a sentiment given him, and 
 he looked it over and wrote his answer care- 
 fully, but when he got up he was stricken 
 dumb. He utterly lost himself, and could not 
 say a w^ord. After that he did not want to 
 hear what was going to be said, and never 
 prepared anything. Hon. Levi P. Morton 
 told me that, in going to Liverpool and Man- 
 chester with General Grant, a committee 
 came down to meet the general and brought 
 a report of what they intended to say, for his 
 inspection. He said, " ^N'o, I have had one 
 experience in that line. I don't want to see 
 it." The Hon. Robert C. Winthrop writes 
 to me, " What you say of his early reticence 
 reminds me that I had to make two speeches 
 for him in the early days of the Peabody 
 Education Trust. One of them was in the 
 tobacco-factory at Baltimore, and the other 
 on my door-steps here at Brookline, when 
 our village band came up to serenade him. 
 He would not go to the door unless I would 
 promise to acknowledge the compliment for 
 him." 
 
 The last speech he ever made was at Ocean 
 Grove. Governor Oglesby, of Illinois, was 
 
General Grant. 89 
 
 staying with him at his cottage at Long 
 Branch. George H. Stuart, who was one 
 of his earliest and clearest friends, came up 
 to ask him if he would go down to Ocean 
 Grove. Prior to this invitation he had not 
 appeared in public since his misfortunes. He 
 was then lame, from a fall on the ice as he 
 was leavinof his carrias^e at his residence in 
 Xew York on Christmas-eve, and was com- 
 pelled to use crutches until his death. Upon 
 reachino;: Ocean Grove he found ten thou- 
 sand people assembled. They rose en masse 
 and cheered with a vigor and unanimity very 
 uncommon in a relio:ious assemblao:e. This 
 touched him profoundly, for it was evidence 
 that the popular heart was still with him. 
 He arose to make acknowledgment, but after 
 saying a few words he utterly broke down, 
 and the tears trickled down his cheeks. 
 That was the last time he ever appeared in 
 public. 
 
 Speaking of Ocean Grove, General Grant 
 always evinced great interest in its progress 
 and success, and often took part in the re- 
 lio^ious exercises there. While at Lone: 
 Branch he and his family attended the Meth- 
 odist church in the village, and since his 
 death a large memorial window of stained 
 
 glass has been placed in the chancel. He 
 
 8* 
 
90- Recollections. 
 
 sometimes went to the Episcopal chapel at 
 Elberon, in which a brass memorial tablet 
 has been placed. It bears the following 
 inscription, prepared, at my request, by the 
 Hon. Eobert C. Winthrop : 
 
 IN MEMOKY OF 
 
 The Virtues and Valor 
 of 
 ULYSSES S. GRANT, 
 General of the Union Army, 
 and 
 President of the United States. 
 Born 27th April, 1822. 
 Died 23d July, 1885. 
 A few of his friends erect this tablet, as a token of 
 their affection, while the whole country does homage 
 to his career and character. 
 
 I remember that in 1884 I was notified 
 that a number of scientists would meet in 
 Montreal from all parts of the world to at- 
 tend a convention. Sir William Thomson, 
 Lord Rayleigh, and others, who were to be 
 my guests, asked whether I would present 
 them to General Grant. Some of them had 
 met him. Of course I was vQvy glad to 
 introduce them. I said to him in the morn- 
 ing, " General, the scientists from Canada 
 are coming down here, and they are very 
 anxious to pay their respects to you. " *' Oh," 
 
General Grant 91 
 
 he replied, " I have met some of these people 
 abroad : I will be very glad to see them." 
 They came to my house, and we walked 
 across the lawn to the general's. He sat on 
 the piazza, not being able to stand alone 
 without the use of crutches, and was pre- 
 sented to every one of them, shaking hands 
 with each. He would say to one gentleman, 
 "• How are you, professor ? I met you in 
 Liverpool ;" and to another, " Why, how 
 are you? I met you in London;" and, "I 
 am glad to see you ; I met you in Manches- 
 ter." So he recognized each of these visitors 
 as soon as he laid eyes on him. Many of 
 them said to me afterwards, in speaking of 
 the incident, " Why, I only met him casually 
 with a party of people." 
 
 This power of recognition was remarkable. 
 I subsequently asked him whether he had 
 lost the power; he answered, " ^o, I have 
 not lost the power. If I fix my mind on a 
 person, I never forget him; but I see so many 
 that I don't always do it." I can give a re- 
 markable instance of his memory of persons. 
 During one of the times that he was staying 
 with me in Philadelphia we were walking 
 down Chestnut Street together, and just as 
 we arrived in front of a large jeweller's 
 establishment a lady came out of the store 
 
92 , Recollections. 
 
 and was about to enter her carriage. General 
 Grant walked up to her, shook hands with 
 her, and put her in the carriage. " General, 
 did you know that lady?" "Oh, yes," he 
 replied; "I know her." "Where did you 
 see her ?" " Well, I saw her a good many 
 years ago out in Ohio at a hoarding-school. 
 She was one of the girls there." " Did you 
 never see her before or since?" He said, 
 *'E'o." The lady was the daughter of a 
 very prominent Ohio man, Judge Jewett, 
 and the next time we met she said, " I sup- 
 pose you told General Grant who I was." I 
 replied, "I did not." "Why, that is very 
 remarkable," she answered, in a tone of sur- 
 prise; "I was one of two or three hundred 
 girls, and only saw him at school. I have 
 never seen him since." 
 
 I remember an amusing incident which 
 occurred v»^hen the English banker Mr. 
 Hope, with his wife and three children, w^as 
 visiting me at Long Branch. The children 
 wanted to see the general, so one day they 
 were taken over and presented to him. 
 When they came back and were asked 
 whether they had seen him, one of them 
 replied, in a rather disappointed tone, " Yes ; 
 but he had no crown." 
 
 During one of his visits at Wootton, my 
 
General Grant. 93 
 
 country-seat, lie planted, on October 16, 
 1882, an oak, and always held it in remem- 
 brance. Just before his death he asked me 
 if the tree was flourishing. One day when 
 we were at Wootton together he remarked 
 what a beautiful place it was, adding that it 
 seemed a pity to him that its beauty should 
 be spoiled by bad roads. Acting on this 
 hint, the roads round about the neighbor- 
 hood were Telforded. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 GENERAL GRANT. — (CONTINUED.) 
 
 Fondness for Horses — The "Personal Memoirs" — The 
 Indian Commission — Generals Halleck and Fitz-John 
 Porter — Grant's Fatal Disease. 
 
 General Grant was very fond of horses, 
 and was a thorouo^h horseman. While a 
 cadet at West Point he was always called 
 upon whenever a horse was unmanageable, 
 and he never failed to subdue the most 
 vicious or fractious animal. In earlv life 
 he rode a great deal, but after he left the 
 army he generally drove a pair of spirited 
 horses ; sometimes, when he had a favorite 
 fast horse, he drove singly. With all his 
 liking for horses, he could never be induced 
 to attend a race, or to bet on a horse. At 
 aojricultural fairs of course he witnessed and 
 enjoyed seeing horses trotting or running. 
 The last horse General Grant owned and 
 drove was the mare " Silver," now twenty 
 years old and in good condition. I have her 
 at Wootton, with her two colts, Julia and 
 
 94 
 
General Grant. 95 
 
 Ida, sired by " Kentucky Prince," the horse 
 for which lifty thousand dollars were ofi'ered. 
 On his sick-bed the general longed to see 
 them. 
 
 As to General Grant's power of thinking 
 and of expressing his thoughts, he wrote 
 with great facility and clearness. His Cen- 
 tennial Address, at the opening of the Ex- 
 hibition in 1876, was prepared at my house, 
 and there were only two or three corrections 
 in the whole manuscript. Soon after his 
 arrival in Encrland he wrote me a letter of 
 fourteen pages, giving an account of his 
 reception in that country. The same post 
 that brought the letter contained another 
 from Mr. John Walter, proprietor of the 
 London Times, saying that he had seen our 
 mutual friend General Grant on several oc- 
 casions, and wondered how he was pleased 
 with his reception in England. The letter 
 which I had received was so a projpos that I 
 telegraphed it over that very day to the 
 London Times, — fourteen pages of manu- 
 script, — without one word of alteration, and 
 that journal next morning published this 
 letter with an editorial on it. It happened 
 that the cablegram arrived in London the 
 very night the general was going through 
 the London Times office to view the establish- 
 
96 Recollections. 
 
 meat. In the letter he said he thought the 
 English people admirable, and he was deeply 
 sensible of the unexpected attention and 
 kindness shown him. The letter contained 
 these lines, " It has always been my desire 
 to see all jealousy between England and the 
 United States abated, and all sores healed 
 up. Together they are more powerful for 
 the spread of commerce and civilization 
 than all others combined, and can do more 
 to remove the cause of wars by creating 
 mutual interests that would be so much dis- 
 turbed by war, than all other nations." The 
 letter was written privately to me, he not 
 supposing that it would ever be put in print, 
 and not one word, as I have said, had to be 
 altered. I cite this to show General Grant's 
 facility in writing. 
 
 The necessity of earning some money in- 
 duced him to write the series of admirable 
 articles for the Century Magazine. Upon 
 their appearance I urged him, as did other 
 friends of his, to expand them into a sym- 
 metrical and continuous narrative. Thus, 
 had it not been for his financial reverses, 
 it is doubtful whether American litera- 
 ture would have been enriched with his 
 " Personal Memoirs," a book of surpassing 
 interest, which has enjoj-ed the largest cir- 
 
General Grant. 97 
 
 culation and 3'ielcled the largest copyright 
 (over four hundred and fifteen thousand 
 dollars) of any work issued in modern times. 
 Just hefore his death the general requested 
 Mrs. Grant to send me his " Memoirs," and 
 as soon as the work was published Colonel 
 Grant sent me a handsomely bound copy 
 with a very kind note. 
 
 The man wlio was perhaps nearer to him 
 than any other in his Cabinet was Hon. 
 Hamilton Fish. Grant had the greatest re- 
 gard, for his judgment. It was more than 
 friendship — it was genuine afiection which 
 existed between them, and General Grant 
 always appreciated Mr. Fish's remaining in 
 his Cabinet, because Mr. Fish, had he been 
 governed by his personal interests, would 
 not have done so. I know that it Avas 
 General Grant's desire to have him his 
 successor in the Presidency. Mrs. Fish's 
 influence and example were very great in 
 Washington, and she left an impress on 
 society there which is felt to this day. She 
 was a typical American woman. A strong 
 friendship existed between Mrs. Grant and 
 Mrs. Fish, and their united kind acts, and 
 many good deeds, will be long remembered 
 in Washino^ton. 
 
 "When, in 1865, after the surrender of 
 
 E <7 9 
 
98 liecollectlons. 
 
 General Lee at Appomattox, General Grant 
 went to Washington to superintend the dis- 
 bandment of the army, he found the national 
 capital, as it always had been, a city of mag- 
 nificent distances. Its long, broad avenues 
 and streets seemed by their rough condition 
 to increase and render more conspicuous 
 these distances. The tramp of cavalry, the 
 almost continuous movement of trains of 
 heavy artillery and ammunition- and bag- 
 gage-wagons had, assisted by the recurring 
 winters' alternate freezings and thawings, 
 reduced them to a condition little better 
 than that of the rough, rude trails left by 
 the Arm}' of the Potomac on its march 
 upon the Confederate capital. 
 
 They were still in this neglected state in 
 1868 when General Grant was elected Presi- 
 dent, and when, in the following year, he 
 was inaugurated, he manifested the strongest 
 public interest in designs for their improve- 
 ment, and spoke to me very strongly on the 
 subject. Indeed, it may justly be said, that 
 the concern he evinced reccardino^ the noble 
 avenues and spacious streets of Washington 
 was the inspiring cause which eventually led 
 to their improvement. The subject was an 
 eno-rossino^ one to him, and he made it the 
 frequent tlieme of his conversation. Gen- 
 
General Grant. 99 
 
 eral Grant's far-seeing wisdom was conspic- 
 uously demonstrated in this matter. He 
 maintained that the national capital should, 
 and under favorable conditions would, be- 
 come the winter Saratoga — the social centre 
 — of the entire country. He felt so strong!}^ 
 and spoke with such earnestness regarding 
 the necessity of improving the city as to 
 finally impress the importance of it upon 
 the minds of those who had the authority 
 to give practical realization to his sugges- 
 tions. 
 
 Inspired by his public spirit and the inter- 
 est he showed in its consummation, the work 
 of improvement was begun, and when it was 
 finished, upon the intelligent, generous plan 
 Avhich was adopted, the avenues and streets 
 which had been as country roads, ploughed 
 into deep ruts by artillery, and roughened 
 by the action of innumerable frosts and suns, 
 were so well graded and paved as to vie with 
 those of the noblest highways of Old World 
 capitals. Washington is still a city of mag- 
 nificent distances, but so great and many 
 were the improvements made during Presi- 
 dent Grant's administration as to susrorest not 
 so much distance as magnificence, for as its 
 noble highways were extended, broadened, 
 made smooth and pleasant to the sight, 
 
100 RecoUedions. 
 
 noble maTisions were built upon them, and 
 General Grant's prediction of the capital 
 becoming the winter social centre of the 
 country was realized. The imposing im- 
 provements which were made, and which 
 were largely inspired by him, render Wash- 
 ington a particularly attractive city to which 
 the representatives of the nation's wealth and 
 refinement are drawn. There was nothinir 
 more characteristic of General Grant than 
 his public spirit, which was so strongly dis- 
 played in the transformation from incon- 
 venience and ugliness to comfort and beauty 
 of the avenues and streets of Washincrton. 
 
 With regard to the treatment of the 
 Indians, he informed me that, as a young 
 lieutenant, he had been thrown amonor- them, 
 and had seen the unjust treatment they re- 
 ceived at the hands of the white men. He 
 then made up his mind that if he ever had 
 any influence or power it should be exercised 
 to try to ameliorate their condition. The 
 Indian Commission was his own idea. He 
 wished to appoint the very best men in the 
 United States. He selected William Welsh, 
 of Philadelphia, William E. Dodge, of ^ew 
 York, Felix Brunot, of Pittsburgh, Colonel 
 Robert Campbell, of St. Louis, and George 
 H. Stuart, of Philadelphia. They composed 
 
General Grant. 101 
 
 the Indian Commission which he had worked 
 hard to establish, and thej always could 
 count upon him to aid them in every pos- 
 sible way. He always took the greatest 
 interest in the Commission. Even to his 
 last moments he attentively watched its 
 progress. It was, at all times, a very diffi- 
 cult affair to handle, especially as there was 
 a powerful Indian ring to break up. 
 
 He was of a very kindly nature, generous 
 to a fault. I would often remonstrate with 
 him, and say, " General, you can't afford to 
 do this," and would try to keep people away 
 from him. On one occasion, when certain 
 persons wanted him to contribute to an im- 
 portant matter, which I did not think he 
 was able to do, I would not let them go 
 near him. He was reached, however, by 
 some injudicious person, and he subscribed 
 a thousand dollars. 
 
 General Grant venerated his mother, and 
 loved his family. He seemed happiest in 
 his home circle, surrounded by his devoted 
 and loving wife and his children and grand- 
 children. I have never seen an instance of 
 greater domestic happiness than that which 
 existed in the Grant familv. Perfect love 
 had indeed " cast out fear," and it was 
 delightful to see his grandchildren romping 
 
 9* 
 
1 02 Recollections, 
 
 with him, and saying just what came up- 
 permost in their thoughts in their childish 
 innocence. 
 
 General Grant always felt that he had 
 been badly treated by General Ilalleck, but 
 he rarely spoke harshly of any one. During 
 one of my last visits to him he showed me 
 his army orders, which he had kept in books. 
 He had a copy of everything he ever did or 
 said in regard to army matters. He w^as 
 very careful about that, and had written all 
 the orders with his own hand. He pointed 
 to one of this large series of books, and said 
 that it was fortunate that he had kept these 
 things, because several of the orders could 
 not be found on any record in the War 
 Department. During our long friendship I 
 never heard him more than two or three 
 times speak unkindly of Halleck, although 
 he had been very unjustly treated by him, 
 — as is borne out by the records. 
 
 I told him of somethino^ that I had learned 
 in connection with the officer in charge of 
 the war records at Washington. That offi- 
 cer had been a strong friend of Halleck, 
 and was prejudiced against General Grant, 
 and was in the office where all these things 
 passed through his hands. But after twenty 
 years of examination, he said that there was 
 
General Grant. 103 
 
 not a line relating: to Grant which would not 
 
 CD 
 
 elevate him in the minds of thinking people. 
 
 It was throuo:h me that General Grant 
 first went to Long Branch. He always en- 
 joyed being there, and said that he had 
 never seen a place in all his travels w^hich 
 was better suited for a summer residence. 
 He drove out twice a day, and knew every 
 by-w^ay within twenty miles. It was his 
 habit to drive out every morning after 
 breakfast for a long distance, and then he 
 would come home and read the papers or 
 any books he might have on hand. He was 
 one of the most companionable of men ; to- 
 tally unspoiled by all the honors conferred 
 upon him. He was simple, unaffected, and 
 attached everybody to him. He was very 
 careful in answering his correspondence. 
 Most of the letters received were beo^o^ino: 
 letters of some kind or other, and I remem- 
 ber an incident showing his justness and 
 tenderness of heart. 
 
 Once he had two cases of petition. He 
 said, " I did a thing to-day that gave me 
 great pleasure. There was a poor Irish- 
 woman who had a boy in the army, and she 
 came down from ^N^ew York and spent all 
 her money. She had lost several of her 
 boys in the war, and this one she wished 
 
104 Recollections. 
 
 to get out of the service to help support her. 
 I gave her an order, and was very glad to 
 do it." But he did not add that he gave her 
 also some money, which was the case. " In 
 contrast to that there was a lady of a very 
 distinguished family of New York, who came 
 here and wanted me to remove her son from 
 Texas. He was an officer in the army, and 
 I told her I could not do that. My rich peti- 
 tioner then said, ' Well, could you not remove 
 his resriment ?' This would have involved a 
 cost of over one hundred thousand dollars." 
 General Grant did not hesitate a moment to 
 refuse a rich woman's unreasonable request, 
 but it gave him pleasure to grant the petition 
 of a poor friendless Irishwoman. 
 
 He was very kind to the poor, and, in fact, 
 to everybody, especially to widows and chil- 
 dren of army officers. I gave him the names 
 of quite a number of army and navy officers' 
 sons for appointment in the navy or army. 
 He said, " I am glad to have these. I like 
 to appoint army and navy men's children, 
 because they have no political influence." 
 IN'early all his appointments to the Military 
 and I^aval Academies were the children of 
 deceased army or navy officers, young men 
 without influence to get in at West Point or 
 Annapolis. There was hardly an army man. 
 
General Grant. 105 
 
 Confederate or Union, who was not a friend 
 of General Grant. 
 
 For General Sheridan he had an affection- 
 ate reo^ard, and I have often heard him sav 
 that he thought Sheridan the greatest fighter 
 that ever lived, and if there should be an- 
 other war he would be the leader. I knew 
 that General Sheridan had carefully pre- 
 served all the letters he had received from 
 General Grant, and I asked Mrs. Sheridan 
 to let me have them arrano;ed and bound for 
 
 CD 
 
 her, which she did. They make a volume 
 of great historical value and interest. 
 
 General Grant was so just that he never 
 excited the jealousy or enmity of army men. 
 When mistaken there was no man more 
 ready to acknowledge himself in error. He 
 was always accessible and courteous. He 
 showed great tenacity in sticking to friends 
 lono^er than he ouscht to have done. When- 
 ever I spoke to him. about this he would 
 answer, " Well, if I believed all I hear, I 
 would believe nearly everybody was bad." 
 General Grant would say there was hardly 
 anybody who came in contact with him who 
 was not traduced, and that he very often had 
 to depend upon his own judgment in such 
 cases. One of his expressions was, " I^ever 
 desert a friend under fire." 
 
106 Recollections. 
 
 He rarely alluded to those who had abused 
 Ills confidence, even in conversation with his 
 most intimate friends. No matter how much 
 a man had injured him, he was wont to say 
 that he felt at the end what he niii^ht have 
 felt at the outset. 
 
 General Grant had the greatest admiration 
 for General Joseph E. Johnston, and Johns- 
 ton for him ; and when it was first proposed 
 to bring up the retiring bill, Johnston, who 
 was then in Congress, was to take the initia- 
 tive in the matter. The passage of that bill 
 gave great gratification to the general. I 
 happened to be with him on the 4th of 
 March, and said, " General, that bill of 
 yours will pass to-day." " Mr. Childs," he 
 said, " you know that during the last day of 
 a session everything is in a turmoil. Such a 
 bill cannot possibly be passed." ^' Well," I 
 said, " Mr. Randall assured me that measure 
 would be passed." He answered, " If any- 
 body in the world could pass that bill, I think 
 Mr. Randall could. But I don't think it is 
 at all likely, and I have given up all expec- 
 tation." While I was talking (this was about 
 11.30 A.M.), I got a telegram from Mr. A. J. 
 Drexel, saying that the bill had passed, and 
 the general seemed exceedingly gratified. 
 
 I remarked, " General, the part that some 
 
General Grant 107 
 
 of the members took in the matter was not 
 justified." " Oh, perhaps they thought they 
 were ris^ht. I have no feelinc^ at all : I am 
 only grateful that the measure has been 
 passed," he answered. Mrs. Grant came in, 
 and I said, " We have got good ne^vs : the 
 bill is passed." She cried out, " Hurrah ! 
 our old commander is back." In answer to 
 a remark that it would be very good if it 
 could be dated from the time of going out, 
 he said, '' Oh, no; the law is to date from 
 the time one accepts. In the early part of 
 the war I saw in the newspapers that I was 
 appointed to a higher rank, and wrote on at 
 once and accepted on the strength of the 
 newspaper report. In about two months' 
 time, through red tape, I got my appoint- 
 ment, but received my pay from the time I 
 wrote accepting the newspaper announce- 
 ment. I saved a month's pay by that." 
 
 As to General Fitz-John Porter's case, I 
 spoke to him during the early stage of it, at 
 a time when his mind had been prejudiced 
 by some around him, and when he was very 
 busv. Afterwards, when he looked into the 
 matter, he said he was only sorry that he 
 had so long delayed making the examina- 
 tion he should have made. He felt that if 
 ever a man had been treated badly Porter 
 
108 Recollections. 
 
 was. Ho liad examined the case most care- 
 fully, gone over every detail, and was per- 
 fectly satisfied that Porter was right. lie 
 wanted to do everything in his power to 
 have him righted, and his only regret was 
 that he had neglected the case so long and 
 allowed Porter to rest under injustice. I 
 had General Porter to meet General Grant 
 at dinner, and placed them together, so that 
 they could talk over the matter for the first 
 time. 
 
 There are few men who would have taken 
 a hack track as General Grant did so pub- 
 licly, so determinedly, and so consistently 
 rio-ht throuo^h. I had several talks with him 
 in resrard to General Porter, and he was con- 
 tinually reiterating his regrets that he had 
 not done justice to him when he had the op- 
 portunity, lie ran counter to a great many 
 of his political friends in this matter, but his 
 mind was absolutely clear about it. Not one 
 man in a thousand would go back on his 
 record in such an affair, especially when he 
 was not in accord with the Grand Army or 
 his strong political friends. General Grant 
 went into the question most carefully, and 
 liis publications show how thoroughly he 
 examined the subject, and he never wavered 
 after his mind was settled. Then he set to 
 
General Grant. 109 
 
 work to repair the injury clone Porter. It' 
 General Grant had had time to examine the 
 case while he was President, he w^ould have 
 carried through a measure for the relief of 
 Porter. That he had not done so was his 
 2:reat reo;ret. He felt that while he had 
 power he could have passed it and ought to 
 have done so. "When General Grant took 
 pains and time to look into a subject, no 
 amount of personal feeling or friendship for 
 others would keep him from doing the right 
 thino^. He could not be swerved from the 
 right in any case. 
 
 Another marked trait of his character was 
 his purity in every way. I never heard him 
 express an impure thought or make an in- 
 delicate allusion. There is nothing I ever 
 heard him say that could not be repeated 
 in the presence of Avomen. He never used 
 profane language. He was very temperate 
 in eatino^ and drinkiuii:. In his own fam- 
 ily, unless guests were present, he seldom 
 drank wine. If while he was President 
 a man were urged for an appointment, 
 and it was shown that he was an immoral 
 man, he would not appoint him, no matter 
 how great the pressure brought to bear by 
 friends. 
 
 He had no fondness for music, nor could 
 
 10 
 
110 Recollections. 
 
 he remember a tune or note, with perhaps 
 the single exception of " Hail to the Chief," 
 which he had heard so often during* and after 
 the war. Ilis old friend, Hon. Hamilton 
 Fish, writes to me, " I do not think that 
 the general knew ' Hail to the Chief;' he 
 did know, or thought that he knew, ' Yankee 
 Doodle.' " My friend, Mr. Robert C. Win- 
 throp, says in a recent letter, " Your allusion 
 to his insensibility to music, and to the saying 
 of Governor Fish, recalls General Grant's 
 remark to me, when I was sitting next to 
 him at a concert in Baltimore at the Pea- 
 body Institute : ' Why, Mr. Winthrop, I only 
 know two tunes. One is Yankee Doodle, 
 and the other isn''t.' " 
 
 General Grant was robust, blessed with 
 general good health, and great powers of 
 endurance. He was a small eater, and could 
 sleep more or less at any time, or could do 
 without sleep and food, for a long period, 
 without inconvenience. He never ate any- 
 thing rare ; everything had to be thoroughly 
 cooked. Some time after the war he told me 
 that he thought he was failing physically. 
 I asked him why. He answered by saying 
 he could no longer do without eating or 
 sleeping for forty-eight hours without feel- 
 ing it. During the war he often passed two 
 
General Grant. Ill 
 
 days and nights without tasting food or lying 
 down to sleep. 
 
 General Grant would sit in my library 
 w^ith four or five others chatting freely, and 
 doing perhaps two-thirds of the talking. 
 Let a stranger enter whora he did not know, 
 and he w^ould say nothing more while the 
 stranger remained. That was one peculiar- 
 ity of his. He wouldn't talk to people un- 
 less he understood them. He possessed a 
 great deal of quiet humor, was an excellent 
 story-teller, was full of anecdote, and en- 
 joyed a good joke. He was always refined, 
 and would not tolerate coarseness in others. 
 At a dinner-party among intimate friends he 
 would lead in the conversation, but any alien 
 element would seal his tons^ue. This o^reat 
 shyness or reticence sometimes caused him 
 to be misunderstood. 
 
 When his attention was first directed to his 
 fatal disease, he told me that he had a dry- 
 ness in his throat, which seemed to trouble 
 him, and that whenever he ate a peach, a 
 fruit of which he was very fond, he always 
 suftered pain. I said that Dr. Da Costa, of 
 Philadelphia, one of the most eminent physi- 
 cians of the country, was coming to Long 
 Branch to spend a few days with me ; that he 
 was an old friend ; and that he would be 
 
112 Rccollccticms, 
 
 glad to look into the matter. Dr. Da Costa, 
 on arriving, went over with me to the gen- 
 eral's house, examined his throat carefully, 
 gave a prescription, and asked the general 
 who his family physician was. He replied. 
 Dr. Fordyce Barker, of I^ew York, and he 
 was advised to see him at once. I could see 
 that the general was suffering a good deal, 
 though he was uncomplaining. During the 
 summer he several times asked me if I had 
 seen Dr. Da Costa, and seemed anxious to 
 know exactly what was the matter with him. 
 Dr. Da Costa knew at once the disease was 
 cancer, and when Dr. Barker came to confer 
 with him in regard to General Grant he so 
 told him. General Grant, after he got worse, 
 said to me, " I want to go to Philadelphia 
 and stay a few days with you, and have a 
 talk with Dr. Da Costa." He was not afraid 
 of the disease after he knew all about it, 
 and the last time I saw him, just before he 
 went to Mount McGregor, he said, " ;N"ow, 
 Mr. Childs, I have been twice within half 
 a minute of death. I realize it fully, and 
 my life was only preserved by the skill and 
 attention of my physicians. I have told 
 them the next time to let me oro." 
 
 The general had great will-power, and the 
 determination to finish his book kept him 
 
General Grant. 113 
 
 up. He quickly made up his mind that his 
 disease would prove fatal, but he was reso- 
 lute to live until his work was done. He 
 said, " If I had been an ordinary man, I 
 would have been dead long ago." 
 
 In o-ood health General Grant would 
 smoke a dozen very large, strong cigars a 
 day ; but he could stop smoking at any time. 
 He told me that towards the latter part of 
 the summer of 1884 he was smoking fewer 
 and milder cigars, perhaps two or three a 
 day. In February of 1885 he expected to 
 pay me a visit. He wrote, saying, " The 
 doctor will not allow me to leave until the 
 weather gets warmer. I am now quite well 
 in every way, except a swelling of the tongue 
 above the root, and the same thing in the 
 tonsils just over it. It is very difficult for me 
 to swallow enough to maintain my strength, 
 and nothing gives me so much pain as to 
 swallow water." I asked him about that, 
 and he said, " If you could imagine what 
 molten lead would be going down your 
 throat, that is what I feel when I am swal- 
 lowing." In that letter he further said, "I 
 have not smoked a cis^ar since about the 20th 
 of IN'ovember; for a day or two I felt as 
 though I would like to smoke, but after that 
 
 I never thought of it." 
 h " 10* 
 
114 Recollections. 
 
 General Grant always retained a warm 
 interest in West Point, and favored it greatly 
 while President. He left a written memo- 
 randum requesting that his grandson, Ulysses 
 Grant, son of Colonel Fred. D. Grant, should 
 be educated at West Point, provided he could 
 secure an appointment to enter the Academy 
 as a cadet. Speaking on one or two occa- 
 sions of the burial of soldiers, he observed 
 that his old chief. General Scott, was buried 
 at West Point, and that he would like to be 
 buried there also. This was some years be- 
 fore his death, and mentioned merely in 
 casual conversation. I think it might have 
 been alluded to incidentally once or twice 
 afterwards. 
 
 His wishes in re2:ard to his final restins^- 
 place may be gathered from the subjoined 
 interesting correspondence taken from the 
 ITew York World of September 29, 1889. 
 
 " The World has received the following 
 letter from Colonel Frederick D. Grant, 
 United States Minister to Austria, relative 
 to recent suggestions that the body of his 
 father be removed from Riverside Park. It 
 will be read with great interest by all the 
 friends of the great general, and gives new 
 and pathetic facts concerning General Grant's 
 wishes as to his burial-place : 
 
General Grant. 115 
 
 " U. S. Legation, Vienna, Austria, 
 
 "September 13, 1889. 
 
 " To THE Editor of Tee AVorld : 
 
 " Two evenings ago I received your mes- 
 sage by cable, which was as follows : 
 
 " ' Press agitating question of removing 
 General Grant's remains to WashinsTton or 
 Illinois. What is the sentiment of the widow 
 and family ? The World.' 
 
 " I have answered you by cable that I 
 would write to you in reply. I carried your 
 cablegram home with me and read it to my 
 mother, who is now visiting me. She and 
 I unite in expressing appreciation of the 
 interest which is shown by the American 
 people in the tomb of General Grant, which 
 is now in the city of Xew York, owing to 
 the following circumstances, viz. : 
 
 " About a week before General Grant's 
 death he handed me a paper which he indi- 
 cated that he would like me to read. I 
 found its contents were directions in res^ard 
 to his own burial, the note being in about 
 the following words, which I quote from 
 memory : ' I have given you directions about 
 all of my affairs except my burial. AVe own 
 a burial-lot in the cemetery at St. Louis, and 
 I like that city, as it w^as there I was married 
 
116 Recollections. 
 
 and lived for many years, and there three 
 of my children were born. We also have a 
 burial-lot in Galena, and I am fond of Illi- 
 nois, from which State I entered the army at 
 the beo^innino^ of the war. I am also much 
 attached to IS'ew York, where I have made 
 my home for several years past, and through 
 the generosity of whose citizens I have been 
 enabled to pass my last days without experi- 
 encing the pains of pinching want' The 
 last sentence seemed to indicate that a burial- 
 lot mip^ht be purchased in Kew York City. 
 
 '• After readino; this little note I said, * It 
 is most distressing to me, father, that you 
 think of this matter, but if we must discuss 
 this subject and you desire to have my opin- 
 ion, I should say that in case of your death 
 Washington would probably be selected for 
 the place of your burial.' Father then took 
 back the paper he had written me, which he 
 tore up. He then retired to his own room, 
 but soon returned and handed me another 
 little note (at that time he could not speak 
 without great pain), which was in substance 
 as follows : ^ It is possible that my funeral 
 may become one of public demonstration, 
 in which event I have no particular choice 
 of burial-place ; but there is one thing which 
 I would wish you and the family to insist 
 
Genet^al Grant, 117 
 
 upon, and that is that, wherever my tomb 
 may be, a pUice shall be reserved for your 
 mother at my side.' My own mention of 
 Washino^ton seemed to have reminded Gen- 
 eral Grant that the nation might Vv'ish to take 
 part in his funeral. 
 
 " Upon the death of General Grant, July 
 23, 1885, many telegrams were immediately 
 received, containing offers from various 
 places of ground for his last resting-place. 
 These telegrams being considered by the 
 widow and family, it was soon decided that 
 the offer made by iTew York was the most 
 desirable one, as it included the guarantee 
 which General Grant had desired before his 
 death, — that his wife should be provided 
 with a last resting-place by his side, — there- 
 fore this offer was accepted. 
 
 " A little later I received a letter from 
 General Robert Macfeeley, of Washington, 
 containing an authoritative offer of a site in 
 the ' Soldiers' Home,' near Washington, as 
 the burial-place of my father, at the same 
 time promising that my mother and family 
 might also be buried there. But already 
 the matter had been settled, and my mother 
 held the written guarantee of iTew York's 
 mayor that upon her death she should be 
 placed beside her husband. General Grant. 
 
118 Recollections. 
 
 " In a parting letter left to my mother by 
 the general he reiterated what he had said 
 to me, mentioned several places which might 
 be available for his burial, but expressed as 
 his one and only desire that she, upon her 
 death, should rest at his side. 
 
 " My mother, myself, and all our family 
 feel deep gratitude for the delicate and touch- 
 ing attentions paid to General Grant's mem- 
 ory and to his tomb at ' Riverside' by the 
 citizens of Kew York, as well as bv the citi- 
 zens of other States, and since the nation 
 made his great funeral, and wishes to build 
 his tomb, they were and are ready to accede 
 to any plan for his tomb which the nation 
 may decide is best, provided, of course, that 
 his expressed wish be carried out. 
 
 " Most touching of all to my mother are 
 the loving tributes which are annually placed 
 upon my father's tomb by his old comrades 
 of the Grand Army of the Republic and by 
 many others from all parts of the country 
 which he served durins: his life. 
 
 " Yours, very sincerely, 
 
 '^F. D. Grant." 
 
 On May 17, 1877, General Grant began 
 a tour of the world in company with Mrs. 
 Grant, that had long been one of their cher- 
 
General Grant 1 1 
 
 ished schemes. From the day of his depart- 
 ure from Philadelphia until his return in the 
 autumn of 1879, it was an unceasing ovation 
 from people, emperors, and kings and rulers 
 of all countries and nationalities. The best 
 record of this triumphal progress is to be 
 found in the two beautiful volumes, " Around 
 the World with General Grant," by John 
 Russell Young, who was his companion from 
 the start until General Grant returned to the 
 Pacific slope. In making his preparations 
 for this tour General Grant had no idea of 
 the reception that awaited him, and it was 
 only on the eve of his departure, while he 
 and Mrs. Grant were my guests, that I sug- 
 gested the necessity of his taking his uni- 
 form and sword. Uniform General Grant 
 no longer owned, but one was soon got at 
 Wanamaker's, and his swords were all de- 
 posited in Washington, but one was hastily 
 sent to him. Simple in this as in all his 
 tastes and habits. General Grant meant to 
 travel as an American citizen. The splendid 
 popular demonstration given him by way 
 of farewell by the people of Philadelphia 
 was, however, significant of the reception 
 that awaited him at every stage of his jour- 
 ney around the world. When the steamer 
 "Indiana" brought him to Liverpool, the 
 
1 20 Recollections, 
 
 mayor of that great commercial city formally 
 extended its civic hospitalities to the gen- 
 eral; the city of London conferred upon him 
 its highest honor, the freedom of the city, 
 and this example was followed by several of 
 the other chief towns; the Queen and the 
 Prince of Wales entertained him and his 
 wife, and they were in succession the guests 
 of ever}^ crowned head through whose do- 
 minions they passed. In France and Switz- 
 erland, our sister republics, he was heartily 
 welcomed, and, although he travelled as a 
 private citizen, everywhere he was welcomed 
 with distinguished honor. All of this he 
 quietly accepted as an evidence of respect 
 to his country, for, as he wrote to me, he 
 ''loved to see our country honored and re- 
 spected abroad," and he had helped to make 
 it so. In many of the letters which I re- 
 ceived from him during his trip around the 
 world, the sense of General Grant and of 
 Mrs. Grant that the honors and compliments 
 paid him were regarded simply as a tribute 
 to his native country was emphasized with 
 rare modesty and delicacy. In the East 
 especially General Grant was made the re- 
 cipient of the most marked attention. In 
 China the highest authorities of the empire 
 showed him every personal and official cour- 
 
General Grant 121 
 
 tesy, and just as Bismarck and the other 
 great European statesmen united in honor- 
 ing him, so in India the native princes, in 
 China the viceroy, Li Hung Chang, and 
 Prince Kung, and in Japan from the Em- 
 peror down, all welcomed General Grant as 
 the greatest American citizen. Indeed, the 
 Chinese and Japanese authorities asked him 
 to act as arbitrator in the settlement of 
 their disputes. To this day his visit is re- 
 ferred to as one of the historical events in 
 Japan, and recent travellers are shown tem- 
 ples and sacred shrines that were opened to 
 General Grant, hut, as before, are again 
 closed to the rest of the world. The Fourth 
 of July was the day on which the Emperor 
 received him. 
 
 That his foreign tour is still affectionately 
 remembered abroad is shown by the hearty 
 welcome 2:1 ven to Colonel Fred. D. Grant in 
 Vienna, where his appointment as United 
 States Minister by President Harrison was 
 received as a special mark of honor. The 
 Austrian authorities and the o^reat world of 
 Vienna join in doing honor to the son as 
 the national representative, just as they did 
 to the father in his capacity of private 
 citizen. 
 
 General Grant was again received on his 
 V 11 
 
122 Recollections. 
 
 return home by the strongest demonstration 
 of popular affection, but his nature remained 
 simple and unspoiled as ever, and his one 
 constant wish was to be permitted to live a 
 quiet, unostentatious life. Most of the won- 
 derful and unusual gifts which all the coun- 
 tries bestowed on him were sent to me from 
 time to time to be cared for, and finally they 
 Avere deposited by him for safe-keeping in 
 the National Museum at Washington, where 
 they are still an object of interest to thou- 
 sands of his countrymen. General Grant's 
 journey around the world was not only a 
 source of great pleasure to him, but it did a 
 real service to his country in making for- 
 eigners of all nationalities better acquainted 
 with it. 
 
 He was very fortunate in his travelling 
 companions, for at one time he was joined 
 by his old friend, Mr. Adolph E. Borie, Sec- 
 retary of the I^Tavy in his first Cabinet, and 
 his nephew. Dr. J. M. Keating, an able young 
 physician, of Philadelphia, who printed a 
 very graphic account of their visit to India. 
 Colonel Fred. D. Grant, too, made one of 
 the party in the East, and thus had an oppor- 
 tunity to make that preparation which fitted 
 him so well for his present ofiice of Minister 
 to Austria. Mr. John Russell Youns^ was 
 
General Grant. 123 
 
 with tlie general through the whole journey, 
 and he was a very welcome addition to the 
 party, for as a journalist he had a large 
 knowledge of men and things, and the gen- 
 eral appreciated his great merit and ability, 
 an appreciation shown by his appointment 
 as Minister to China, wdiere Mr. Young 
 showed that a good newspaper man was 
 good for nearly everything, even for difficult 
 and delicate diplomatic duties, l^o man ever 
 saw so much, was so honored, feted, and en- 
 tertained as General Grant in this journey, 
 and none ever came home a more thoroughly 
 good citizen, proud of his country and happy 
 to be able to live and die under its flag. 
 
 GENERAL GRANT IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 General Grant's reception in Philadelphia 
 on his return from his tour was thus noticed 
 in Harper's Weekly of January 10, 1880 : 
 
 *' The departure of General Grant on his 
 tour around the w^orld w^as marked by a 
 splendid ovation in Philadelphia. His re- 
 turn to that city was the occasion for a re- 
 ception which exceeded even that splendid 
 celebration in every w^ay, and was a fitting 
 close to a round of honors seldom equalled 
 in the history of any other hero the world 
 has ever known. On both these occasions 
 
124 Recollections, 
 
 General Grant was the guest of Mr. George 
 W. Childs, and naturally people are curious 
 to know something of the home thus hon- 
 ored. It is a stately white marhle building 
 at the corner of Walnut and Twenty-second 
 Streets, built in 1872, and iirst thrown open 
 to the world by a reception given to General 
 and Mrs. Grant, where his Cabinet and many 
 of the men and women of note in the Quaker 
 City were gathered, together with many dis- 
 tinguished persons from other places. The 
 hospitality thus begun has been continued 
 from that time onward, and the house is full 
 of the memories of great assemblies that 
 have met within its walls. 
 
 " Passing through a vestibule richly orna- 
 mented with fine marble, the visitor enters a 
 broad hall of highly-polished mahogany and 
 satin-wood, the walls enriched with rare Chi- 
 nese cloisonne plaques and vases, and finds 
 on his rio^ht a librarv, with a wealth of rare 
 and curious books and manuscripts that have 
 given bibliographers material for many de- 
 scriptions. On the walls hang portraits of 
 Georo-e Peabodv, A. J. Drexel, Ilenrv W. 
 Longfellow, and the Emperor of Brazil ; on 
 the book-shelves are choice editions of the 
 great authors, many of them enriched with 
 autographs and notes, while within its al- 
 
General Grant 125 
 
 coves are manuscripts of inestimable value. 
 The collection of letters bv the Presidents 
 of the United States is unequalled, while 
 amono^ its other treasures are such rarities 
 as an original sermon by Cotton Mather, 
 complete manuscripts of Sir Walter Scott, 
 Dickens, Thackeray, and Hawthorne, Bry- 
 ant's First Book of the Iliad, and letters of 
 Byron, and Moore, and Gray, and Burns, 
 and Pope, and Coleridge, and Schiller, and 
 Lamb. On the other side of the hall is a 
 large drawing-room, opening into a music- 
 room, both decorated with exquisite taste, 
 and full of memorials of guests who have 
 gathered there in rapid succession. 
 
 " Bevond is the dinins^-room. On its walls 
 there are cabinets filled with rare china, glass, 
 and silver-ware ; and a wonderful carving 
 from the Black Forest, representing the 
 conversion of the Germans, is appropriately 
 mated with modern French bronzes of un- 
 usual splendor. Around the hospitable table 
 have gathered some of the best people who 
 have visited Philadelphia. General Grant 
 has been a frequent guest, and around him 
 have sat the generals who helped him to save 
 the Union, — Sherman and Sheridan, Meade 
 and Hancock, McDowell and McClellan. 
 
 Brazil was represented there by its Emperor 
 
 11* 
 
126 Recollections. 
 
 and Empress, whose presence gave the Cen- 
 tennial Exhibition at least a continental if 
 not a universal character. England has been 
 welcomed there in its ambassadors, and 
 noblemen whose titles are the least of their 
 honors, such as Lord DufFerin, Lord Rose- 
 bery, Lord Houghton, the Earl of Caithness, 
 and Lord Dunraven; and Dean Stanley, 
 Archdeacon Farrar, Matthew Arnold, and 
 Charles Kingsley, Froude and Goldwin 
 Smith, Tyndall and Herbert Spencer, Henry 
 Irving and Christine Nilsson, John Walter 
 and Sir Edward Thornton, have shared and 
 appreciated the generous greeting given them 
 in this country. Lideed, Lord Houghton in 
 his article describins; his visit to America, 
 and Stanley in his, George Augustus Sala 
 in his racy letters to the London Telegraph, 
 and Dickens in his letters, and Kingsley in 
 his, have made all the world witness of their 
 enjoyment of Mr. Childs's hospitality. Our 
 own best American men and women have 
 been familiar guests around the well-spread 
 table, and Longfellow^ and Holmes, Bancroft, 
 Russell Lowell, and Emerson, George Pea- 
 body and his successor J. S. Morgan, of 
 London; Chauncey M. Depew and George 
 B. Roberts, Asa Packer and Austin Corbin; 
 Cornelius Yanderbilt and William Waldorf 
 
General Grant. 127 
 
 Astor; James G. Blaine, James A. Bayard, 
 and Samuel J. Randall; Bishop Simpson, 
 Bishop Potter, and Cardinal Gibbons ; E,ev. 
 Dr. McCosh, of Princeton College, Andrew 
 D. White, of Cornell University, and D. C. 
 Gilman, of Johns Hopkins University ; Paul 
 B. Du Chaillu ; J. II. B. Latrobe and Bev- 
 erd}^ Johnson, of Baltimore; Joseph H. 
 Choate and J. Pierpont Morgan ; Anthony 
 J. Drexel and Francis A. Drexel ; Henry 
 Wilson and Hamilton Fish ; Professor Jo- 
 seph Henry and T. A. Edison, have led the 
 long list of the representatives of American 
 genius and distinction that have shared in 
 Mr. Childs's inexhaustible hospitality. 
 
 ^' A broad staircase, with noble marble 
 wainscot and ebony rail, leads to the upper 
 floors. One room above, the family sitting- 
 room, is rich in photographs, signed by the 
 originals, representing many of the guests 
 who have shared the hearty welcome of the 
 house. One of the paintings is by Ernest 
 Longfellow, the son of our great poet, and 
 an artist who gives promise of making a 
 name for himself. In three cabinets there 
 is such a collection of rare and beautiful 
 carvings in ivory as might well make an 
 observer suppose that Mr. Childs had de- 
 voted all his time to the study of this curious 
 
128 Recollect ions. 
 
 » 
 
 branch of art. Throughout the house there 
 is a wealth of clocks, each with its own 
 special merit of artistic beauty, historical 
 rarity, famous associations, or intrinsic value, 
 and at every step there is something note- 
 worthy. A working library is comfortably 
 housed in a quiet nook on the top floor of 
 the house, and there the student might find 
 the best books of the best writers, and 
 material for almost any direction of literary 
 investigation. Here, too, there is an organ 
 and a musical library of the great masters, 
 showing that the heavenly art is diligently 
 pursued in its highest form, just as the two 
 grand pianos in the alcove opening out of 
 and making part of the great drawing-room 
 •bear evidence to the fact that not all the en- 
 grossing cares of the host and hostess, nor 
 the manifold charitable claims upon their 
 time and purse, deprive them of the solace 
 of o^ood music. It was to this house that Gen- 
 eral Grant returned to receive the hearty wel- 
 come of his Philadelphia friends, who came 
 to pay their respects to Mr. Childs's guest in 
 quiet, unostentatious, friendly fashion. 
 
 " In this same house General Grant wrote 
 his memorable address on the opening of 
 the Exposition, and he was the chief at a 
 famous gathering, met on Mr. Childs's in- 
 
General Grant, 129 
 
 vitation, on the evening of the 10th of May, 
 1876, to celehrate the opening of the Cen- 
 tennial Exhibition. The President of the 
 United States and Mrs. Grant, all the mem- 
 bers of his Cabinet, the Supreme Court of 
 the United States, the leaders of Congress, 
 the governors of ten or a dozen States, the 
 chiefs of our army and navy, the diplomatic 
 representatives of all the foreign countries 
 in this country, the Emperor and Empress 
 of Brazil, the numerous and distinguished 
 foreign Commissioners to the Centennial, 
 and as many famous men from all parts of 
 this country and all its varied interests and 
 pursuits, filled the great halls of Mr. Childs's 
 house, and lent to the Centennial that social 
 side which went so far to make its success, 
 and to secure the hearty approval of its thou- 
 sands of visitors. On a different occasion 
 Mr. Childs brought together all the Centen- 
 nial Commissioners, — their name was legion, 
 — and their wonderful costumes, striking 
 decorations, and delightful incongruity of 
 tongues made a gathering not easily de- 
 scribed or forgotten. Chinamen in heavy 
 stuffs, and with the pigtail, the peacock's 
 feather, and the mandarin's mvsterious but- 
 
 7 \J 
 
 ton ; Japanese in uniform that showed the 
 baneful effect of civilization in banishing 
 
1 30 Recollections. 
 
 their own comfortable and easy costumes; 
 Egyptians in court dresses and fez; Euro- 
 peans rich in orders ; and Americans whose 
 names were their best passports both at 
 home and abroad, crowded the mansion. 
 
 "But there have been gatherings there, 
 fit though few, which have had even greater 
 interest for the fortunate guest. Sir Edwin 
 Arnold, as well as Lord Houghton's anxiety 
 to meet Walt Whitman was gratified, and 
 the English poet-peer there sat by the side 
 of the American poet whose wood-note wild 
 had sounded so attractively in the ear of his 
 far-ofl* reader. Dean Stanley held high con- 
 verse with the liberal clergymen of all types 
 and schools of theology, and shared with 
 them in discussing the methods and the hope 
 of making the world wiser and better by set- 
 ting it the example of a religion broad enough 
 to take in all who seek to make life purer 
 and nobler. The Marquis de Rochambeau 
 was welcomed there as the representative 
 of a name dear to every American, for his 
 ancestor was the leader of the French allied 
 force that helped to make the Revolution and 
 to establish the independence of this country, 
 Charles Francis Adams and Edmund Quincy, 
 both for their own sakes as indefatio^able 
 workers and as the representatives of the 
 
General Grant. 131 
 
 Loiiored historic names of our own earliest 
 days, were received with hearty welcome ; 
 and Eobert C. Winthrop, with a lineage that 
 goes back to the earliest of iTew England's 
 leaders, and Hamilton Fish, with the double 
 claim of ancestral merit and of his own 
 services to the State, Chief Justice Waite, 
 and William M. Evarts, as the leader of the 
 American bar, were glad to meet around Mr. 
 Childs's hospitable table the Philadelphia 
 lawyers whose names recall their ancestors, 
 — Rawles and Cadwaladers, IngersoUs, Dal- 
 las's, Tilghmans, Biddies, and Whartons." 
 
 General Grant was made a member of the 
 Grand Army of the Eepublic in my private 
 office, in the Ledger Building, on the morn- 
 ing of May 16, 1877. On his consenting to 
 join General George G. Meade Post, No. 1, 
 of Philadelphia, arrangements were made 
 for the usual muster in the post-room, but 
 in preparing for his proposed tour around 
 the world General Grant w^as delaj^ed in 
 reaching the city, and then the engagements 
 made for his entertainment, both public and 
 private, occupied every moment of his time. 
 It became necessary to change the plans, and 
 Colonel Beath, then Adjutant-General of the 
 Grand Army of the Re[>ublic, and Samuel 
 
132 Recollections. 
 
 Worthington, Adjutant of Post 1, called on 
 me to fix the hour that would best suit Gen- 
 eral Grant for the Grand Army service. 
 
 Accordingly, at the time fixed, the officers 
 and members of Meade Post met in my 
 office, and there General Grant assumed the 
 obligations of the order, and received the 
 badge of membership, which he wore fre- 
 quently during his tour abroad, and at home 
 on public occasions. 
 
 At noon of the same day a public recep- 
 tion was held in Independence Hall, and 
 thousands of veterans, with other citizens, 
 shook hands with General Grant, bade him 
 good-by, and wished him a prosperous voy- 
 age. 
 
 Upon his return from this remarkable 
 tour, Philadelphia, of course, welcomed him 
 with unstinted liberality. 
 
 The evening of December 12, 1879, was 
 devoted to the Grand Army of the Republic, 
 the Academy of Music being packed with an 
 audience of over ffve thousand enthusiastic 
 veterans. Only a few personal friends could 
 be admitted on that occasion, Bishop Simp- 
 son, A. J. Drexel, George H. Stuart, and 
 "myself being of the number. 
 
 The escort of General Grant from the 
 Continental Hotel to the Academy of Music 
 
General Grant. 133 
 
 was probably one of the most thrilling and 
 touching scenes ever witnessed in Philadel- 
 phia. A guard composed of members of 
 Post 1 and representatives from all the city 
 posts acted as escort, and grouped around 
 General Grant's carriao:e were a larsre num- 
 ber of color-bearers carrying tattered and 
 battle-stained flags. Fireworks blazed at 
 every point along the route. The streets 
 were densely packed with an enthusiastic 
 throng, and altogether the scene was one 
 never to be forgotten by those who wit- 
 nessed it. 
 
 General Hartranft, Commander-in-Chief 
 of the Grand Army of the Republic, presided 
 at the meeting, and Governor Henry M. 
 Hoyt made an eloquent address of welcome. 
 General Grant's reply was made in a clear 
 and distinct tone, that was plainly heard all 
 over the building, and was listened to with 
 the closest attention. He said, — 
 
 " It is a matter of very deep regret with 
 
 me that I had not thought of something or 
 
 prepared something to say in response to the 
 
 welcome which I am receiving at your hands 
 
 this evening, but really since my arrival I 
 
 have not had the time, and before that I 
 
 scarcely thought of it. But I can say to you 
 
 all that in the two years and seven months 
 
 12 
 
131: Recollections, 
 
 since I left this city to make a circuit of the 
 globe, I have visited every capital in Europe 
 and most of the Eastern nations, but there 
 has not been a country which I have visited 
 in that circuit where I have not found some 
 of our members. In crossing our own land 
 from the Pacific to the Atlantic side, there 
 is scarcely a new settlement, a cattle-range 
 or collection of pioneers, that is not largely 
 composed of veterans of the late war. It 
 calls to my mind the fact that while wars 
 are to be deplored, and unjust wars always 
 to be avoided, yet they are not an unmixed 
 evil. The boy who is brought up in his 
 country home, or his village home, or his 
 city home, without any exciting cause, is 
 apt to remain there and follow the pursuits 
 of his parent, and not develop beyond it, 
 and in the majority of cases not come up 
 to it ; but being carried away in the great 
 struggle, and particularly one where so much 
 principle is involved as in our late conflict, 
 it brinsrs to his view a wider field than he 
 contemplated at his home, and although in 
 his field service he longs for the home he 
 left behind him, yet when he gets there he 
 finds that a disappointment, and has struck 
 out for new fields, and has developed the 
 vast dominions which are given to us for 
 
General Grant. 135 
 
 our keeping, — for the thousands of liberty- 
 seeking people. The ex-solclier has become 
 the pioneer, not only of our land, but has 
 extended our commerce and trade, and 
 knowledge of us and our institutions, to 
 all other lands, and when brio:hter days 
 dawn upon other nations — particularly those 
 nations of the East — America will steu in 
 for her share of the trade which will be 
 opened, and through the exertions of the 
 ex-soldiers — the comrades, veterans — and, I 
 might say, members of the Grand Army of 
 the Republic. 
 
 " Comrades, having been compelled, as 
 often as I have been since my arrival in San 
 Francisco, to utter a few words not only to 
 ex-soldiers, but to all other classes of citizens 
 of our great country, and always speaking 
 without any preparation, I have necessarily- 
 been obliged to repeat, possibly in not the 
 same words, but the same ideas. But the 
 one thing I want to impress on you is that 
 we have a country to be proud of, to fight 
 for and die for if necessarj^ While many 
 of the countries of Europe give practical 
 protection and freedom to the citizen, yet 
 there is no European country that compares 
 in its resources with our own. There is no 
 country where the energetic man can, by his 
 
136 Recollections. 
 
 own labor, and by his own industry, ingenu- 
 ity, and frugality, acquire competency as he 
 can in America. 
 
 " A trip abroad, and a study of the insti- 
 tutions and difficulties of a poor man making 
 his way in the world, is all that is necessary 
 to make us better citizens and happier with 
 our lot here. 
 
 " Comrades, I thank you for the very cor- 
 dial welcome you have given me." 
 
 General Grant retained his membership 
 with Post 1 until his death, and when he 
 died at Mount McGregor, Post ^o. 327, of 
 Brooklyn, through associations with Colonel 
 Fred. D. Grant, tendered their services as a 
 guard of honor, and they so acted at the cot- 
 tage and during the funeral ceremonies 
 with a similar detail from Post 32, of Sara- 
 tof]:a. 
 
 The Grand Army of the Republic cere- 
 monies at the grave at Riverside Park, 
 ]S'ew York Citj^, were exceedingly solemn 
 and appropriate, and were conducted by the 
 officers and members of Meade Post. 
 
 On the first Memorial Day after the burial 
 of General Grant, General John A. Logan, 
 who had the distino^uished honor of directins: 
 the observance of May 30, as a memorial 
 day for the Union dead, delivered a most 
 
Gener^al Grant. 137 
 
 eloquent eulogy over the grave of his dead 
 comrade. 
 
 I may say here that the growth of the 
 Grand Army has been somewhat phenom- 
 enal in view of the time that has elapsed 
 since the war. The order was instituted in 
 April, 1866, by Dr. D. F. Stephenson, of 
 Springfield, Illinois, and for some years had 
 a somewhat precarious existence. It did not 
 seem to have the confidence of the veterans 
 of the country, and after the first start it de- 
 clined very rapidly. It reached its lowest 
 point in 1876. When General Grant joined 
 Post 1 in 1877 it w^as a very small post, and 
 the whole order only numbered twenty-six 
 thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine in 
 twenty-two departments. Each year there- 
 after, however, the advance was marked. 
 Over eighty thousand were mustered in a 
 single year, and now the membership is over 
 four hundred thousand in forty-three depart- 
 ments. 
 
 The amount of relief directly disbursed 
 by the posts has reached nearly two million 
 dollars. 
 
 The following, written at the time of the 
 general's death by his devoted and valued 
 friend, General E. F. Beale, of Washington, 
 
 12* 
 
138 Recollections. 
 
 is so accurate and just that I am glad to 
 quote it liere : 
 
 '' He was so truthful, so serene, so frank 
 and of such simplicity, that it was impossi- 
 ble to know and not to love him. I feel that 
 the w^orld is better that he has lived. Many 
 a one thinking of his patience will suffer 
 with more fortitude trials and misfortunes, 
 and, knowing how beautiful virtue made his 
 life, endeavor to imitate it. History wHll tell 
 how he w^on great battles, and how the most 
 occult problems of state-craft were dealt with 
 in his masterly w^ay, but it would be better 
 if the world knew more of the sweetness and 
 purity of his private life. I had the high 
 honor of his friendship, and saw him in his 
 familiar hour when the mask which all pub- 
 lic men must wear in public w^as laid aside 
 ^vith the reserve w^hich accompanies it. I 
 was his companion in his walks and rides, 
 and saw and heard him talk in his quiet, 
 reposeful manner on all gentle themes. He 
 loved to ride throusch w^oods and note the 
 different trees, and he knew them all, and 
 speak of their growth and habits. He loved 
 the growing grain and the means and pro- 
 cesses of quickening it. He loved horses and 
 farm animals, and a quiet, contemplative life 
 mixed w^ith the activity of out-door work." 
 
West Point 139 
 
 I never heard General Grant say, nor did 
 I ever know him to do, a mean thing. His 
 entire truthfuhiess, his perfect honesty, were 
 beyond question. I think of him, now that 
 he is dead, with ever-increasing admiration ; 
 I can recall no instance of vanity, of bom- 
 bast, or of self-laudation. He was one of the 
 greatest, noblest, and most modest of men, 
 — equally great in civil and military life. 
 
 CHAPTER YL 
 
 WEST POINT. 
 
 Gift of the Portraits of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan 
 — Presentation Ceremonies. 
 
 In June, 1887, I was in attendance at 
 West Point as President of the Board of 
 Visitors. On a certain important occasion 
 both Generals Sherman and Sheridan were 
 present, and the latter remarked to me that 
 he had heard of the portrait of General 
 Grant which I had presented to the Military 
 Academy, and desired to see it. I told him 
 that it was hung in " Mess Hall," the name 
 of which building, upon the presentation 
 
140 Recollections, 
 
 of the painting, was changed at my sugges- 
 tion to Grant Hall. So we went down and 
 saw the portrait, one nearly of full length. 
 Sheridan admired it very much; and I 
 turned to him and said, " Kow, general, 
 if I outlive you I will have your portrait 
 painted to hang alongside of Grant's." 
 
 So it came about. The portraits of Sheri- 
 dan and Sherman were painted, and along 
 with Grant's were placed in Grant Hall, and 
 were formally presented to the government 
 on October 3, 1889. 
 
 The following is from Harper^s Weekly, 
 :N'ew York, Saturday, October 19, 1889 : 
 
 MR. CHILDS AT WEST POINT. 
 
 " The gift of the portraits of Grant, Sher- 
 man, and Sheridan is not the only bene- 
 faction of Mr. Childs to the West Point 
 Academy, as the following letter shows : 
 
 " ' The visitor to the beautiful cemetery of 
 the Military Academy, on the hill-side over- 
 looking the Hudson at West Point, will see 
 there, above the graves of officers and cadets, 
 a number of monuments, which are all of 
 the same original and striking design. The 
 massive base of each is of gray unpolished 
 granite ; on that rests a block of red granite, 
 
West Point. 141 
 
 polished, and on that a bronze cannon-ball 
 of fifteen inches in diameter; on one side of 
 that is placed a large bronze shield, at the 
 top of which is the insignia of the rank of 
 him to whose memory it was erected ; below 
 that are the name, dates of birth and of 
 death, and an appropriate epitaph. These 
 monuments are all the gift of Mr. George 
 AY. Childs, of Philadelphia, and how they 
 came there is told by Colonel Wilson, the 
 present Superintendent of the Military Acad- 
 emy. 
 
 '"In 1887 Mr. Childs was appointed by 
 President Cleveland a member of the Board 
 of Visitors to West Point, and during his 
 extended visit there, in the discharge of his 
 duties as President of the Board, he saw in 
 the cemetery of the Academy several graves 
 above which no memorials were erected. 
 Mr. Childs suggested to General Merritt, 
 the then superintendent, who entirely sym- 
 Dathized with his srenerous desio:n, that ef- 
 forts should be made to ascertain from the 
 friends of those whose graves were marked 
 by no stone if it was their purpose to erect 
 monuments above them, and if not, to ob- 
 tain their consent to Mr. Childs doins: so. 
 The result was that the above-described 
 monuments were placed in the cemetery, 
 
142 Recollections. 
 
 Mr. Chikls liaving had the design of them 
 especially made, and paying the entire cost 
 of their construction and erection. Mr. 
 Chikls is the author of many good gifts, 
 but we know of no other which so much as 
 this denotes the gentle, kindly nature of the 
 man.' " 
 
 The following editorial is from the New 
 York World, October 5, 1889: 
 
 " Mr. George W. Childs's gift of portraits 
 of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan to the 
 Military Academy at West Point illustrates 
 anew that gentleman's rare gift of doing 
 the right thing at the right time, in the 
 right way. Not many men have the im- 
 pulse to give and to do public-spirited things 
 in so large a measure as he, and still rarer 
 are those who share his genius for seeing 
 what may be best done and how it may be 
 most fitly accomplished. Now that he has 
 hung upon the walls of the Military Acad- 
 emy these portraits of the thnee great leaders 
 of the Union armies from 1861 to 1865, it 
 is obvious to every intelligence that this was 
 a peculiarly fit and excellent thing to do. 
 But nobody else had the gift to recognize 
 the need and the generosity to supply it. 
 This peculiar grace and quickness of per- 
 
West PQint. 143 
 
 ception have distinguished all of the liberal 
 Philadelphiaii's benefactions and greatly en- 
 hanced their value and their influence. He 
 is a consummate artist in well doing, and 
 the accomplishment is an exceedingly rare 
 one." 
 
 The Secretary of War, in his annual report 
 for the year 1889, says, — 
 
 " Through the patriotic generosity of 
 Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, the 
 Academy was enriched, through interesting 
 ceremonies on the 3d of October last, by 
 the presentation of iine oil-paintings of the 
 three oreuerals of the armv whose names 
 
 O t/ 
 
 will remain indissolubly connected with the 
 war for the preservation of the Union, — 
 Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan." 
 
 LETTER FROM PRESIDENT HARRISON. 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, 
 September 30, 1889. 
 
 George W. Childs, Esq., Philadelphia. 
 
 My dear Sir, — I am just in receipt of 
 your kind invitation to attend the exercises 
 at West Point on the 3d proximo in con- 
 nection with the presentation by you to the 
 Academy of the portraits of Generals Grant, 
 Sherman, and Slieridan. 
 
144 JRecoUcdlons, 
 
 Let me assure you that I decline the in- 
 vitation with regret. But my engagements 
 here are such as to make an acceptance 
 impossible. The observation by the cadets 
 of the portraits of these great captains and 
 patriots cannot fail to be a source of in- 
 spiration and encouragement. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 Benj. Harrison. 
 
 LETTER FROM GENERAL HOWARD. 
 
 Headquarters Division of the Atlantic, 
 
 Governor's Island, N. Y., 
 October 1, 1889. 
 
 George W. Childs, Esq., Ledger Building, 
 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 
 My dear Sir, — Nothing but a positive 
 engagement of long standing and one of 
 great importance could have kept me from 
 being with you at the presentation on the 
 3d inst. Allow me to thank you for these 
 ever-increasing evidences of your large- 
 heartedness and patriotic devotion. 
 Sincerely your friend, 
 
 0. 0. Howard, 
 Maj,-Gen. U. S. Army. 
 
 The ITew York Tribune gave the follow- 
 ing account of the formal presentation of 
 the portraits : 
 
West Point. 145 
 
 " West Point, K Y., October 3, 1889.— 
 Many interests were happily woven into 
 one to give distinction to a memorable clay 
 at this place. Memorable indeed it must in 
 any case have been. So much the occasion 
 assured. But it was a happy circumstance, 
 and added greatly to heighten the interest 
 and impressiveness of the ceremonies, that 
 the presentation to the corps of cadets by a 
 liberal citizen of the portraits of our three 
 great patriotic commanders should not only 
 have drawn to2:ether so distinscuished a com- 
 pany of our own people, but should also 
 have been witnessed and honored by the 
 presence of the International American Con- 
 gress, the official representatives of nearly 
 all the republics of the three Americas. 
 And in all this remarkable audience none 
 looked on and listened with greater interest 
 and attention than the dignified men whose 
 whole demeanor to-day showed that they 
 have come here not as foreigners, but as 
 friends. They seemed to feel that the name 
 of America mii^-ht be broad enou2:h to 
 embrace and unite a hemisphere. . . . 
 
 "After a national salute from the field 
 batterv on the plain, in honor of the Con- 
 gress of the Americas, the battalion of cadets 
 
 formed in line, under the orders of the com- 
 Q k 13 
 
146 Ixcoollection!^. 
 
 mandantjLieuteniint-Coloiiel J. P. Hawkins, 
 and, after passing in review in common and 
 double time before the superintendent, Col- 
 onel Jolin M. Wilson, and the Secretary of 
 War, marched in a body to Grant Hall, and 
 stood at parade rest at the south end while 
 the company seated itself in the body of the 
 hall and on the platform at the north end. 
 Here, on the walls, concealed by handsome 
 silk flags, hung the three large paintings 
 of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, w'hich 
 George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, was 
 about to present to the Academy. Beneath 
 them, besides the members of the Congress, 
 sat General Sherman himself, witli Mr. 
 Childs on his right; Colonel Wilson, with 
 Secretary Proctor on his left, and Chaplain 
 Postlethwaite on his right; Generals Van 
 Vliet, Fitz-John Porter, Horace Porter, 
 Michael Y. Sheridan, Adjutant-General Kel- 
 ton, Hon. John Bigelow, Hon. Hamilton 
 Fish, Jr., Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, Alex- 
 ander Hamilton, Seiior Pomero, Mexican 
 Minister (a devoted friend of General Grant), 
 J. G. do Amaral Valente, Brazilian Minis- 
 ter, and many noted soldiers and citizens, 
 together wuth the officers of the academic 
 staff and the ladies of their families. 
 . " After a short and earnest prayer by the 
 
West Point. 147 
 
 Rev. W. M. Postlethwaite, the chaplain of 
 the Academy, the three flags fell simultaue- 
 ously at a signal from Colonel Wilson, and 
 the portraits stood revealed. They are all 
 tlie work of Mrs. Darragh, of Philadelphia. 
 Grant, which naturally hangs in the middle, 
 was painted from Gutekunst's photograph 
 of 1865, and represents him in an easy atti- 
 tude in full general's uniform, without sword 
 or epaulets, the frock-coat unbuttoned, the 
 right hand thrust in the trousers-pocket, and 
 the left resting in the folds of the breast. 
 Sherman, on Grant's left, is from Hunting- 
 ton's portrait of 1874; while Sheridan, on 
 the opposite side, was taken from life, shortly 
 before his death. They are all extremely 
 lifelike, as the men looked at the time. Gen- 
 eral Sherman naturally looked older than 
 his counterfeit, but a startling resemblance 
 to Sheridan was seen and remarked in the 
 person of his brother, who survives him, and 
 who sat there as if to invite the verification. 
 The audience stood while the band played 
 ' Hail, Columbia.' Then General Horace 
 Porter made an eloquent, scholarly, and 
 even masterly, presentation speech in behalf 
 of Mr. Childs. He was well received and 
 heartily applauded throughout, as well as at 
 the close." 
 
148 Recollections. 
 
 The l^Qw York World, of October 4, re- 
 cords the presentation as follows : 
 
 " The ceremonies of the unveiling of the 
 portraits quickly followed the review in 
 Grant Hall, and as the assemblage took their 
 seats the appearance of General Sherman 
 and Mr. Childs on the platform brought 
 about a storm of applause. The old hero 
 bowed and smiled good-naturedly, and Mr. 
 Childs modestly, seated beside Colonel Wil- 
 son, who presided as the chairman of the 
 meeting, blushed as though some one had 
 asked him to take command of the army. 
 It was military throughout, the way the 
 ceremonies began. The Post-chaplain said 
 a short prayer. At its close Colonel Wilson 
 raised his hand, and silence prevailed. Be- 
 hind the platform there were three American 
 flags hanging against the wall, and all eyes 
 were fixed upon them. The colonel's hand 
 came down on the table in front of him, 
 there was one beat of the drum, and the 
 three flags disappeared as if wiped out by 
 electricity, and the three portraits of the 
 great generals were revealed. Round upon 
 round of applause followed, the cadets 
 marched in the hall behind the audience, 
 presented arms, and the band struck up 
 ' Hail, Columbia.' As Mr. Childs stood up 
 
West Point 149 
 
 like the others on the platform to gaze upon 
 the portraits, he was applauded to the echo, 
 the ladi,es waving their handkerchiefs, and 
 the cadets heatino* the floor with the but- 
 ends of their muskets. What Mr. Chikls 
 had promised General Sheridan in 1887, 
 when he said, 'General, if I outlive jou I 
 will have your portrait painted and hung 
 there beside that of Grant; I think it would 
 be a good idea to paint Sherman also, and 
 to hano; him on the one side of Grant and 
 you on the other,' was an accomplished fact. 
 Mr. Childs looked towards General Sherman 
 as he took his seat, and the old hero clasped 
 him warmly by the hand. 
 
 " General Horace Porter's address was 
 listened to with great attention and loudly 
 applauded. When Mr. Childs's name was 
 mentioned as well as General Sherman's, the 
 applause was loud and long-continued. 
 
 COLONEL WILSON'S KEMARKS. 
 
 " Colonel Wilson's reply to General Por- 
 ter, accepting the portraits for the Academy, 
 was a rins^ino; one and astonished his fellow- 
 soldiers by its oratorical delivery. Even 
 Secretary of War Proctor remarked, in the 
 few words he said to the audience on be- 
 ing called for, that ' West Point evidently 
 
 I Oi 
 
150 ItccoUectio)is. 
 
 brought out not only good soldiers but 
 splendid orators.' 
 
 '"Mr. Childs,' said Colonel Wilson, 'in 
 the name of the United States Military 
 Academy I accept these splendid portraits 
 of the trio of heroes to whom our country 
 is so much indebted for its grandeur and its 
 unity. It is particularly appropriate that 
 you, one of the ablest leaders in that profes- 
 sion which is surely kindred to that of arms, 
 the press of the nation, should present to 
 this, their Alma Hater, the portraits of these 
 eminent men. The power of the press is 
 to-day felt throughout the civilized world. 
 It is the press that urges us to " do noble 
 deeds, not dream them all day long." It is 
 men like you who are leading these magnifi- 
 cent armies of the press in peace, that are 
 reducincr the MalakofFs of vice and Redans 
 of evil. In the name of the Military Acad- 
 emy I thank you for this generous and noble 
 gift, and may I not express the hope that, 
 to prove to those who come after us " that 
 peace hath its victories as well as war," we 
 ere long may see upon these walls, among 
 the portraits of these eminent soldiers, that 
 of the able, upright, philanthropic, con- 
 scientious Christian citizen, that generous, 
 true-hearted man, Mr. George W. Childs V 
 
West Point. 151 
 
 " The Secretary of War then made a few 
 remarks, which were well received. 
 
 *' General Sherman, who, during all these 
 ceremonies, had sat on the platform with 
 folded hands and tear-dimmed and down- 
 cast e3^es, in response to many calls, was 
 next introduced. As the general arose the 
 assemblage broke forth into wild cheering. 
 
 " The applause was persistent as General 
 Sherman stood upon his feet, after repeated 
 calls. He spoke with feeling, and his deeply- 
 lined face, closely watched by those who 
 never before had seen him, was moved by 
 intense earnestness. The light of clustered 
 lamps fell upon his silvered head as he spoke, 
 and his strons; face was tremulous with emo- 
 tion as he referred to the fact that by a 
 strange accident of nature he was the only 
 one living now of the three whose portraits 
 were before his hearers, and there was a sad 
 quality in his voice when he said, ' I was 
 older than either Grant or Sheridan.' 
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN'S REMARKS. 
 
 " ' Ladies and Gentlemen and those 
 Cadets behind : I fear that West Point is 
 losing that good old reputation for doing 
 and not speaking. I have done more talk- 
 ing than I should have done, and I believe 
 
152 RecoUcdlons. 
 
 I have done some good, tliough not sueh 
 as I thought of doing. It is one of those 
 strange incidents of my life that I am per- 
 mitted to stand before you to-night the sole 
 survivor of the trio, or trinity, of the gen- 
 erals of the army of the United States. I 
 was older than Grant or Sheridan. No three 
 men ever lived on the earth's surface so 
 diverse in mental and physical attributes as 
 the three men whose portraits you now look 
 upon. Different in every respect except one, 
 — we had a guiding star ; we had an emblem 
 of nationality in our minds implanted at 
 West Point, which made us come together 
 for the common purpose like the rays of the 
 sun coming together make them burn. This, 
 my young friends in gray, I want you to re- 
 member, that men may differ much, but that 
 by coming together in harmony and friend- 
 ship and love they may move mountains. 
 
 " ' I knew these men from the soles of 
 their feet to the tops of their heads. They 
 breathed the same feelings with me. We 
 were soldiers to obey the orders of our coun- 
 try's government and csLVvy them out what- 
 ever the peril that threatened us. Having 
 done so, we laid down our arms, like good 
 citizens that we hope to have been, giving the 
 example to all of the world that war is for 
 
West Point 153 
 
 one purpose, — to produce peace. A just war 
 will produce peace; an unjust war has am- 
 bition or some other had motive. Our war 
 was pureh' patriotic, to help the government 
 in its peril. We were taught to idolize that 
 flag on the flag-statf, obeying the common 
 law, and working to a common purpose. 
 ^o jealousies, nothing of the kind; work- 
 ing together like soldiers, the lieutenant 
 obeying the captain, the captain his colonel, 
 the briscadier the o-eneral. and all subordinate 
 to the President of the United States, — the 
 commander-in-chief. There is no need to 
 prophesy ; it is as plain as mathematics. 
 You can look in the heavens and read it. 
 It is the lesson of life. When war comes 
 you can have but one purpose — your country, 
 — and by your country I mean the whole 
 country, not part of it.' " 
 
 At the close of the remarks of General 
 Sherman immense cheers rang through the 
 hall.* 
 
 * In a letter to me, dated New York, November 3, 
 1889, General Sherman, speaking of my " Eecollections 
 of General Grant," which had been sent to him in con- 
 venient pamphlet form, says, " The substance of the 
 contents of this pamphlet I had read before, but it is 
 mere valuable in being thus arranged for safe-keeping, 
 thougii I would prefer it in octavo instead of duodecimo, 
 because my habit is to collect such pamplilets and once 
 
154 Recollect Ion .•?. 
 
 GENERAL HORACE TORTER'S ADDRESS. 
 
 General Horace Porter was General Grant's 
 trusted and tried friend for the last twentj- 
 five years of his life. He was one of his staff 
 officers throughout the war, and his military 
 secretary while he was President of the 
 United States. The foUowino: is the touch- 
 ino: and eles^ant address which he delivered 
 on this occasion : 
 
 " The only representatives of royalty recog- 
 nized in this land are our merchant princes. 
 We are indebted for the occasion which 
 brings us together to-day to the princely act 
 of a public-spirited and patriotic citizen who 
 has conferred upon the Military Academy 
 souvenirs of her three most distin squished 
 graduates whose historic features have been 
 transferred to canvas by the limner's art. 
 One dwelling in our midst, two dwelling in 
 our memories. One bearing the laurel upon 
 a living brow, two wearing the laurel inter- 
 twined with the cypress. The history of 
 
 a year to overhaul them, select enough each year to 
 make a book of about five hundred pages, and have 
 , them indexed and bound for future reference. In this 
 way I collect much valuable matter. I am sure this 
 little 'primer' of yours will have fifty times its value 
 fifiv years hence." 
 
WeM Point 155 
 
 their lives is tlie most brilliant chapter in 
 the history of their country. It savors more 
 of romance than realitv; it is more like a 
 fabled tale of ancient clays than the story of 
 American soldiers of the nineteenth centurv. 
 " Most of the conspicuous characters in 
 history have risen to prominence by gradual 
 steps, but the senior of the triumvirate, 
 whose features are recalled to us to-dav, 
 came before the people with a sudden bound. 
 Almost the first sis-ht caus^ht of him was in 
 the blaze of his camp-fires and the flashes 
 of his guns those wintry days and nights in 
 front of Donelson. From that time until 
 the closing triumph at Appomattox the 
 great central figure of the war was Ulysses 
 S. Grant. As light and shade produce the 
 most attractive effects in a picture, so the 
 singular contrasts, the strange vicissitudes 
 of his eventful life surround him with an 
 interest which attaches to few characters in 
 history. His rise from an obscure lieu- 
 tenant to the command of the veteran ar- 
 mies of the great republic; his transition 
 from a frontier post of the untrodden West 
 to the Executive Mansion of the nation ; 
 his sitting at one time in a little store in 
 Galena, not even known to the Congress- 
 man from his district; at another time strid- 
 
156 Recollcdions. 
 
 \\\g^ tlirougli the palaces of the Old World, 
 with the descendants of a line of kings 
 rising and standing uncovered in his pres- 
 ence, — these are some of the features of his 
 marvellous career which appeal to the imag- 
 ination, excite men's wonder, and fascinate 
 all who make a study of his life. 
 
 " He was created for great emergencies. 
 It was the very magnitude of the task which 
 called forth the powers that mastered it. 
 In ordinary matters he was an ordinary 
 man ; in momentous affairs he towered as a 
 giant. When performing the routine duties 
 of a company post, there was no act to 
 make him conspicuous above his fellow- 
 officers, but when he wielded corps and 
 armies the great qualities of the commander 
 flashed forth, and his master-strokes of 
 genius stamped him as the foremost soldier 
 of his a^e. When he hauled wood from 
 his little farm and sold it in St. Louis his 
 financiering was hardly equal to that of the 
 small farmers about him, but when a mes- 
 sage was to be sent by a President to Con- 
 gress that would puncture the fallacies of 
 the inflationists and throttle by a veto the 
 attempt of unwise legislators to cripple the 
 finances of the nation, a state paper Avas 
 produced which has ever since commanded 
 
West Point 157 
 
 the wonder and admiration of every believer 
 in a sound currency. He was made for 
 great things, not for Kttle. He could collect 
 fifteen millions from Great Britain in settle- 
 ment of the Alabama claims ; he could not 
 protect his own personal savings from the 
 miscreants who robbed him in Wall Street. 
 '' If there is one word which describes 
 better than any other the predominating 
 characteristic of his nature, that word is 
 loyalty. He was loyal to his friends, loyal 
 to his family, loyal to his country, and loyal 
 to his God. This trait naturally produced 
 a reciprocal effect upon those who were 
 brought into relations with him, and was 
 one of the chief reasons whv men became 
 so loyally attached to him. Many a public 
 man has had troops of adherents who clung 
 to him only for the patronage dispensed at 
 his hands, or being dazzled by his power 
 became blind partisans in a cause he repre- 
 sented; but perhaps no other man than 
 General Grant ever had so many personal 
 friends who loved him for his own sake, 
 whose affection only strengthened with time, 
 whose attachment never varied in its devo- 
 tion, whether he was general or President, 
 or simply private citizen. 
 
 " He was generous alike to friends and 
 
 14 
 
158 RccoUectioiis. 
 
 foes. So magnanimous was lie to liis enemy 
 that we find him after the close of the war 
 risking his commission in saving from pros- 
 ecution in the civil courts his great military 
 antagonist upon the battle-fields of Virginia. 
 
 " Even the valor of his martial deeds was 
 surpassed by the superb heroism he dis- 
 played when fell disease attacked him, when 
 the hand which had seized the surrendered 
 swords of countless thousands was no longer 
 able to return the pressure of a comrade's 
 grasp, when he met in death the first enemy 
 to whom he ever surrendered. But with 
 him death brought eternal rest, and he was 
 permitted to enjoy what he had pleaded for 
 in behalf of others, for the Lord had let him 
 have peace. 
 
 " Turn we now to Grant's immediate suc- 
 cessor in the office of general-in-chief, his 
 illustrious lieutenant with whom he divided 
 a field of military operations which covered 
 half a continent, the skilful strategist, the 
 brilliant writer, the commander whose or- 
 ders spoke with the true bluntness of the 
 soldier, who fought from valley's depth to 
 mountain hei2:ht, who marched from inland 
 rivers to the sea, — William T. Sherman. 
 
 " He has shown himself possessed of the 
 higliest characteristics of the soldier. Bold 
 
West Point. 159 
 
 in conception, self-reliant, demonstrating by 
 his acts that ' much clanger makes great 
 hearts most resolute,' prompt in decision, 
 unshrinking under grave responsibilities, 
 fertile in resources, quick to adapt the 
 means at hand to the accomplishment of 
 an end, possessing an intuitive knowledge 
 of topography, combining the restlessness 
 of a Hotspur with the patience of a Fabius, 
 unswerving in patriotism, of unimpeachable 
 personal character, with a physical constitu- 
 tion which enabled him to undergo every 
 hardship incident to an active campaign, it 
 is no wonder that he has filled so large a 
 measure of military greatness, that he stands 
 in the front rank of the world's great cap- 
 tains. 
 
 " ^o name connected with American war- 
 fare inspires more genuine enthusiasm, ap- 
 peals more to our sentiments, or more ex- 
 cites our fancy than that of the wizard of 
 the battle-field, Philip H. Sheridan. The 
 personification of chivalry, the incarnation 
 of battle; cheering, threatening, inciting, 
 beseeching, inspiring all men by his acts, 
 he roused his troops to deeds of individual 
 heroism unparalleled in the history of mod- 
 ern warfare, and his unconquerable columns 
 rushed to victory with all the confidence of 
 
1 60 HccoUcdions. 
 
 Ccesar's Tentli Legion. Generous of his 
 life, gifted with the ingenuity of a Hanni- 
 bal, the dash of a Murat, the courage of a 
 Ney, the magnetism of his presence trans- 
 formed routed squadrons into charging col- 
 umns, and snatched victory from defesit. 
 He preferred shot and shell to flags of truce ; 
 he would rather lead forlorn hopes than 
 follow in the wake of charges. 
 
 " His standard rose above all others on 
 the field ; wherever blows fell thickest his 
 crest was in their midst; despite the daring 
 valor of the defence, opposing ranks went 
 down before the fierceness of his onsets 
 never to rise again ; he paused not till the 
 folds of his banners waved over the strong- 
 holds he had wrested from the foe. While 
 his achievements in actual battle eclipse, 
 by their brilliancy, the strategy and grand 
 tactics employed in his campaigns, yet the 
 skill and boldness exhibited in moving large 
 bodies of men into position entitle him, per- 
 haps, to as much credit as the marvellous 
 qualities he displayed in the face of the 
 enemy. 
 
 " Brave Sheridan ! Methinks I see your 
 silent clay again quickened into life, once 
 more riding Rienzi through a fire of hell, 
 leaping opposing earthworks at a single 
 
WestPohit. IGl 
 
 bound, and leaving nothing of those who 
 barred your way except the fragments scat- 
 tered in your path. 
 
 "Matchless leader! Harbinger of vic- 
 tory, we salute you ! 
 
 " As long as manly courage is talked of or 
 heroic deeds are honored, there will remain 
 green in the hearts of men the talismanic 
 name of Sheridan. 
 
 " Nearly every great war has given birth 
 to one o;reat 2:eneral; no other war than our 
 own has produced three such eminent com- 
 manders. In their portraits future graduates 
 will gaze upon the features of three soldiers 
 who were heroes, comrades, friends. As 
 iron is welded in the heat of the forge, so 
 was their friendship welded in the heat of 
 battles. With hearts untouched by jealousy, 
 with souls too great for rivalry, they saved 
 us from the spectacle presented by a Marius 
 and a Sulla, a Caesar and a Pompey, a Charles 
 the First and a Cromwell. They placed 
 above all personal ends the safety of the 
 state, and, like the men in the Koman pha- 
 lanx of old, stood shoulder to shoulder 
 and linked their shields against a common 
 foe. 
 
 " In this life little is learned from precept, 
 something from experience, much from ex- 
 
 l 14* 
 
1G2 Rccollcdions. 
 
 ample. It is said that for three hundred 
 years after Thermopylae every school child 
 ill Greece was required each day to repeat 
 from memory the names of the three hun- 
 dred immortal heroes who fell in the defence 
 of that pass. It would be in itself a liberal 
 education to the future defenders of the 
 republic who bear diplomas from this his- 
 toric spot, where patriotism early found a 
 stronghold and treason's plots were baffled, 
 if the}' could daily utter the names and con- 
 template the exalted characters of the trio 
 whose faces will henceforth look down upon 
 them from the artist's canvas. As we gaze 
 upon the features of each one of them we 
 may fittingly apply the words of Milton, — 
 
 H I 
 
 Thither shall all the valiant youth resort, 
 And from his memory inflame their breasts 
 To matchless valor.' 
 
 " The imperishable scroll on which the 
 record of their deeds is written has been se- 
 curely lodged in the highest niche of Fame's 
 temple, ^o one can pluck a single laurel 
 from their brow ; no man can lessen the 
 measure of their renown. 
 
 "It is an auspicious circumstance which 
 permits these ceremonies to take place be- 
 fore so distinguished and influential a body 
 
West Point. 163 
 
 as that of the International American Con- 
 gress. The presence of its delegates upon 
 this Post dedicated to war is an augury that 
 states may be saved without the sword ; 
 that henceforth our differences in the J^ew 
 World may be settled without resorting to 
 the • last argument of kings/ and that con- 
 gresses, bearing in their hands the olive- 
 branch, will labor to avoid war, which 
 wastes a nation's substance, to foster com- 
 merce, which is a nation's life, and to pre- 
 serve that peace and good-will which should 
 everywhere prevail among men. 
 
 " Three years ago there was selected as 
 President of your Board of Visitors a citi- 
 zen of Philadelphia, whose heart is as large' 
 as his purse, and whose generosity dwells 
 in a land which knows no frontiers, — Mr. 
 George W. Childs. His thoughtfulness 
 prompted his liberality to procure for the 
 Academy these gifts which are to grace its 
 walls. 
 
 " The likeness of General Grant was exe- 
 cuted by Mrs. Darragh, of Philadelphia. 
 It was made from a photograph taken by 
 Gutekunst, of that city, in 1865, which Mrs. 
 Grant and a number of the general's friends 
 considered the best of the many pictures 
 taken of him just after the war. Repre- 
 
16-1 Recollections. 
 
 senting him as he appeared nearly thirty 
 years ago, his features do not seem so famil- 
 iar to those who saw him only in later years. 
 Mrs. Darraii:h was also commissioned to exe- 
 cute the portraits of Sheridan and Sherman. 
 In the preparation of General Sherman's 
 picture her chief guide was the famous por- 
 trait of him painted by Huntington, fifteen 
 years ago, and her aim was to represent the 
 general as of that period. General Sheri- 
 dan sat for his portrait, and she painted it 
 from life, representing the general as he ap- 
 peared but a short time before his lamented 
 death. 
 
 "It now becomes my agreeable duty, in 
 the name of Mi*. Childs, to present to you. 
 Colonel "Wilson, as Superintendent of the 
 Military Academy, the portraits of three of 
 her sons who have borne the highest mili- 
 tary titles, as an offering from an untitled 
 citizen, who, in his living, has verified the 
 adage that the post of honor is the private 
 station. 
 
 " His good works have made him honored 
 in other lands as well as this, where his 
 name is held in grateful recollection by the 
 many who have been the recipients of his 
 practical philanthropy; and not only the 
 graduates of West Point, but the people at 
 
West Point 165 
 
 large, ^vill, I am sure, make grateful ac- 
 knowledgment of the means he has taken, 
 in those testimonials, to manifest his appre- 
 ciation of the Military Academy and the 
 three distinguished sons she trained to battle 
 for the integrity of our common country.' 
 
 .' " 
 
 There were loud cheers as the general 
 sat down, and then the band struck up 
 "Yankee Doodle," the ladies and guests gen- 
 erally rushed from their seats, and as they 
 filed out into the dark after the cadet corps 
 Mr. Childs was surrounded bv the officers 
 and the American delegates, who shook him 
 bv the hand heartily and cons^ratulated him 
 upon the grand success of his patriotic plan 
 of 1887. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PORTRAITS. 
 
 Major John M. Carson, chief of the Phila- 
 delphia Ledger Bureau at Washington, has 
 furnished the following account of the paint- 
 ing of the portraits of Generals Grant, 
 Sherman, and Sheridan for the Military 
 Academy : 
 
 " The creation of portraits of Generals 
 Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, now hung 
 in the Cadet Mess Hall — to be hereafter 
 known as Grant Ilall — at the United States 
 
1G6 Recollections. 
 
 Military Academy, West Point, was begun 
 about three years ago. The original pur- 
 pose was confined to a portrait of Grant. 
 The portraits of Sherman and Sheridan 
 sprang from this purpose, and, considering 
 the relations of Mr. George W. Childs, to 
 whose patriotism and liberality the Military 
 Academy is indebted for the portraits, with 
 those three military chieftains, the Sherman 
 and Sheridan paintings were an easy and 
 log-ical out2:rowth. The scheme from which 
 these three large valuable paintings ema- 
 nated was evolved from a comparatively 
 unimportant incident. About four years 
 ago, with that skill and ingenuity which 
 have made him famous in the management 
 of the Cadet Mess, Captain William F. 
 Spurgin, treasurer, quartermaster, and com- 
 missary of cadets, succeeded in giving the 
 Mess Hall a new floor and having its walls 
 brightened. 
 
 " Captain Spurgin next conceived the 
 idea of makincr the Hall still more attrac- 
 tive by hanging pictures and portraits upon 
 the walls. This was approved by General 
 Wesley Merritt, then superintendent of the 
 Academv, who authorized the transfer from 
 the library of several portraits for this pur- 
 pose. When these were hung in the Mess 
 
West Point 167 
 
 Hall a now idea was suggested to Captain 
 Spurgin, and he concluded that it would be 
 most appropriate to collect for the Hall por- 
 traits and photographs of the distinguished 
 graduates of the Academy. It was naturally 
 thought that the daily presence with the 
 cadets of these exemplars of the Academy 
 could not fail to exercise a wholesome influ- 
 ence upon the corps. They would furnish 
 cadets when at meals suo^srestions for thous^ht 
 and conversation, and those who occupied 
 seats at tables once occupied by Grant, Sher- 
 man, Sheridan, Meade, Thomas, Hancock, 
 and other eminent o-raduates, as thev looked 
 upon the portraits, would be encouraged to 
 emulate the lives of those great chieftains. 
 In addition to this, it was thought that such 
 a gallery might be collected through relatives 
 and friends, without expense to the govern- 
 ment or the Acad em V. 
 
 "During one of my periodical visits to 
 the Academy Captain Spurgin outlined his 
 scheme, and said he would like to obtain a 
 good picture of General Grant. It was sug- 
 gested that Mr. George W. Childs had sev- 
 eral good large-size photographs of Grant, 
 and w^ould doubtless be glad to contribute 
 one of them for this use. Captain Spurgin 
 wrote to Mr. Childs, who agreed to comply 
 
1 68 Recollections. 
 
 witlj the request made. Shortly thereafter 
 Mr. Childs mentioned this matter to Mrs. 
 U. S. Grant, who said that she would like, 
 above all things, to have a good likeness of 
 her husband at the Military Academy, for 
 which he always entertained a feeling of 
 admiration and love. Some years prior to 
 this Mr. Childs had Leutze, who painted 
 ' Westward the Course of Empire' upon the 
 wall of the west stairway to the galkry of 
 the House of Representatives at Washington, 
 paint a portrait of General Grant, and sug- 
 gested that the Leutze painting be trans- 
 ferred from the library to the Cadet Mess 
 Hall. The Leutze portrait was not liked 
 by Mrs. Grant, and she did not, therefore, 
 care to have it used for this purpose. Mr. 
 Childs then said he would have a portrait 
 of the Gieneral made for West Point from 
 any picture Mrs. Grant might select. The 
 photograph made by Gutekunst, of Phil- 
 adelphia, in 1865, was selected by Mrs. 
 Grant, and Mrs. Darragh, of Philadelphia, 
 was commissioned to paint a portrait from 
 it. The general stood for this photograph. 
 It is regarded by his famil}^, and those who 
 were his associates, as a correct likeness of 
 the general as he appeared at the close of 
 the war. When the photograph was taken 
 
West Point 169 
 
 General Grant wore upon his left arm a 
 badge of mourning for President Lincoln. 
 This emblem of mourning does not appear 
 in the painting. To many of those who 
 knew General Grant after he became Presi- 
 dent, the Darragh portrait is not considered 
 good, but by the family of the general, and 
 by those who were intimate with him during 
 and imniediately after the war, it is regarded 
 as a faithful likeness and an excellent por- 
 trait. It was sent to the Academy in May, 
 1887, and hung on the north wall of the 
 Cadet Mess Hail. General Merritt, ' in 
 honor of the great graduate of the Academy, 
 whose portrait, a present to the Academy 
 from Mr. George W. Childs, sanctifies the 
 hall as a gallery for the portraits of gradu- 
 ates,' issued an order directing that there- 
 after the cadet dinincr-hall should be known 
 officially as Grant Hall. 
 
 " In June, 1887, a few days after the 
 Grant yjortrait had been hung, Mr. Childs 
 visited the Military Academy as a member 
 of the Board of Visitors, upon which occa- 
 sion I accompanied him. General Sheridan 
 also visited the Academy at that time in his 
 official capacity as lieutenant-general com- 
 manding the army, and it proved to be his 
 
 last visit to the institution. In company 
 H 15 
 
1 70 Recollections. 
 
 witli Mr. Cliilds General Sheridan visited 
 the dining-hall to inspect the Grant portrait, 
 and during this inspection Mr. Childs said 
 to the general, in his quick but cheerful 
 manner in conversation, — 
 
 '"General, if I outlive you I will have 
 your portrait painted and hung there beside 
 that of Grant.' 
 
 "Sheridan responded, 'Mr. Childs, if you 
 intend to have painted a portrait of me I 
 would like to see it before it is hung in this 
 hall.' 
 
 " ' All right,' said Mr. Childs ; ' you shall 
 see it. I would prefer to have you painted 
 while living.' 
 
 " After further conversation about the 
 Grant portrait, the two gentlemen left the 
 hall and walked to the house of the superin- 
 tendent, General ^lerritt, at w^hich General 
 Sheridan was a guest. Mr. Childs proceeded 
 to the West Point Hotel. Sheridan arrived 
 at the Point that morning, and was to review 
 the corps of cadets in the afternoon, and, as 
 it was near the hour fixed for the parade 
 when General Merritt's house was reached, 
 he went directly to his room to don his 
 uniform. "While thus ens^ao-ed he sent a 
 messenger to Mr. Childs, asking that gentle- 
 man to join him before ' parade,' and, at the 
 
West Point. 171 
 
 same time, invited the Board of Visitors, 
 throiio:h Mr. Childs, who was President of 
 the Board, to attend him during the cere- 
 monies of parade and review. 
 
 '' When Mr. Childs joined the general on 
 the porch of the superintendent's house, the 
 latter said, — 
 
 " ' Mr. Childs, while putting on my uni- 
 form, I could not help musing about our 
 conversation in the Mess Hall. If you are 
 in earnest about painting my portrait for the 
 Academy, I want to be painted from life.' 
 
 " ' I am in earnest,' replied Mr, Childs. 
 ' The portrait shall be painted, upon one 
 condition, — it must please Mrs. Sheridan. 
 I think it would be a good idea to paint 
 Sherman also, and to hang him on the one 
 side of Grant and you on the other.' 
 
 " ' That certainly would be a generous 
 act upon your part,' said Sheridan, ^ and one 
 which would be appreciated by Sherman 
 and myself I would rather have you do 
 this service than anv other man, because no 
 one could do it with so much propriety. 
 The relations between Grant and vou were 
 bound by strong ties of mutual affection. 
 Those between you, Sherman, and myself 
 have been most intimate. We have all 
 been guests at the same time, and many 
 
172 Recollections, 
 
 times, at your house. You have come to 
 know us better than other men know us. 
 Grant, Sherman, and myself were closely 
 connected with the suppression of the re- 
 bellion. United thus in our lives, we should 
 be placed together here, returned as it were 
 to the Academy from which we started out 
 in the morning of life as second lieutenants. 
 Associated as 3^ou have been with us, you are 
 the very man to keep us united after death.' 
 
 "^AU right, general,' said Mr. Childs. 
 ' The portraits shall be painted and hung in 
 the Mess Hall. Now select your artist.' 
 
 " When Mr. Childs spoke to General 
 Sheridan in the Mess Hall about painting 
 his portrait, the latter did not think that 
 Mr. Childs was serious. I happen to loiow 
 that Mr. Childs formed the determination 
 to add the portraits of Sherman and Sheri- 
 dan to his contribution prior to his visit to 
 the Acadeni}', and informed General Sheri- 
 dan of this fact upon his return to Wash- 
 ington from West Point during a conversa- 
 tion in which he related to me what I have 
 stated touching the conversation with Mr. 
 Cliilds at West Point, and also the conver- 
 sation between Childs, Sheridan, and Sher- 
 man in relation to painting a portrait of the 
 general last named. 
 
West Point 173 
 
 " Sliortly after the conversation between 
 Childs and Sheridan on the porch of the 
 superintendent's house, the battalion was 
 formed on the parade-ground. General 
 Sheridan, accompanied by the superinten- 
 dent and staff and the Board of Visitors, 
 had passed down the front and up the rear 
 of the battalion, with its well-aligned and 
 rigid ranks, in which he had once stood as 
 a cadet, and had taken his place at the 
 point designated for the reviewing officer, 
 when General Sherman rode up from Crans- 
 ton's Hotel, located about a mile south of 
 the reservation. Sherman remained in his 
 carriage, which was drawn up in front of 
 the parade-ground and directly in rear of 
 the reviewing officer. As the corps passed 
 in common, and subsequently in double 
 time, Sherman stood up and watched, with 
 old-time eagerness and pride, the columns 
 of gray and white until they wheeled into 
 a faultless line, tendered the final salute 
 to the reviewing officer, heard the cadet 
 adjutant announce ' Parade is dismissed,' 
 and saw the companies move, to lively mu- 
 sic, from the parade-ground to the cadet bar- 
 racks. Then he alighted from the carriage, 
 pushed through the crowd that always 
 fringes the parade-ground upon occasions 
 
 15* 
 
17-1 Ilecollectioiis. 
 
 of parade and review, and joined Sheridan 
 and the other officials who still lingered on 
 the ground. When the usual salutations 
 and introductions had been concluded, 
 Sheridan drew Sherman and Childs apart 
 from the crowd and said, — 
 
 " ' Sherman, Mr. Childs informs me that 
 he intends to have portraits of you and me 
 painted, to hang beside that of General 
 Grant in the Mess Hall. He proposes to 
 wait until we die, but I insisted that the 
 paintings be made before we die, so we may 
 see how the artist executes us. He has 
 agreed to do this, and I told him he is the 
 one man who can and should do it.' 
 
 " General Sherman expressed great grati- 
 fication at this. ' Childs,' said he, ' that is 
 a good idea. I think it will be admitted, 
 and I can say it without suspicion of ego- 
 tism, that Grant, Sheridan, and myself were 
 the three central military figures of the war, 
 and I would like that we should go down 
 to posterity together. I like the idea of 
 hanging our portraits in the Mess Hall here, 
 and I agree with Sheridan that the scheme 
 can be better, and with greater propriety, 
 carried out by you than by any other man.' 
 
 " 'Well, it is all understood and settled,' 
 said Mr. Childs. 'I have told Sheridan to 
 
West Point. 175 
 
 select his artist, and I now repeat that order 
 to you.' 
 
 " When it was publicly announced that 
 Mr. Chilcls was to have the portraits painted, 
 the two o:enerals were overrun with letters 
 from artists solicitins^ the work. In Sheri- 
 dan's case the applications were so numer- 
 ous as to become annoying, and upon his 
 request a paragraph was published in the 
 newspapers announcing that he had selected 
 an artist. It was Mr. Cliilds's desire to 
 have the two portraits finished in time for 
 the annual commencement in June, 1888, 
 and by his direction I several times urged 
 Sheridan to select an artist and have the 
 work begun. This was not an easy matter 
 for him to do, but he finally succeeded in 
 finding an artist in l^ew York with whom 
 he partially arranged to paint his portrait. 
 In the mean time he sent to Mr. Childs a 
 large photograph, taken about the time he 
 left Chicago to succeed Sherman in command 
 of the armv. It shows Sheridan in the full 
 uniform of his rank, and was his favorite 
 picture. Supposing, upon receipt of the 
 photograph, that the general intended that 
 he should select an artist, Mr. Childs com- 
 missioned Mrs. Darragh to paint the portrait, 
 and she proceeded with the preliminary 
 
176 Recoiled ions. 
 
 work, using the photograph referred to. 
 Some time thereafter I receiv^ed a letter 
 from Mr. Childs informing me that Mrs. 
 Darragh would visit Washington to consult 
 General Sheridan about giving her ' sittings/ 
 and requesting me to arrange with the gen- 
 eral for an interview. He Avas very much 
 displeased upon being informed of the se- 
 lection of Mrs. Darragh, and declared, with 
 an exhibition of temper, that he would not 
 see her. He did not believe a woman could 
 paint a man's portrait. Finally he cooled 
 down and said the woman should have a 
 fair chance. Upon her arrival in Washing- 
 ton I accompanied Mrs. Darragh to the War 
 Department and presented her to the gen- 
 eral. The lady went to the Department 
 with fear and trembling. She had been 
 informed that Sheridan was not pleased 
 with her selection, that he was a choleric, ill- 
 mannered man, and she therefore imagined 
 that he would be frigid, turbulent, and dis- 
 agreeable. I assured the lady that she had 
 received a wrong impression about Sheridan, 
 — that he was quiet and gentlemanly in de- 
 portment, and that she would be given a 
 kind reception and respectful hearing. It 
 was plain, however, that she was not im- 
 pressed w^ith my estimate of the general, 
 
West Point 177 
 
 and entered his office with nervous appre- 
 hension which she vainly strove to conceal. 
 The o^eneral received Mrs. Darracrh witli 
 the utmost kindness. A cadet of the first 
 class could not have exhibited greater 
 suavity. The lady was made to feel at per- 
 fect ease. After considerable talk about 
 the work in hand, Sheridan said to Mrs. 
 Darragh, — 
 
 " ' I have an idea you artists get 3^our 
 own individuality into your work. I have 
 been painted by artists of several nationali- 
 ties, but never by a woman. The Italian 
 artist made me look like a brigand; the 
 Frenchman made me resemble iN^apoleon, 
 between whom and myself there is no physi- 
 cal resemblance, except, perhaps, in height; 
 the Spaniard made me look like two or three 
 Mexican generals whom I have met. E^ow, 
 madam,' he continued, with a twinkle in his 
 eye, and a smile that illuminated his bronzed 
 features, ' I am confident you will make a 
 good piicture, but I beg you will not make 
 me look like a woman.' 
 
 '' Mrs. Darragh brought her canvas to 
 Washington, where the general gave her 
 several sittings. He saw the portrait com- 
 pleted in every detail except the sabre, and 
 was well pleased with it. A few weeks prior 
 
 7n 
 
1 78 llecoUections. 
 
 to his fatal sickness he sent for me, and after 
 a general talk about the portrait, which I 
 had recently seen while visiting Philadelphia, 
 said he desired to have the old sabre which 
 he carried through the war painted in the 
 picture, and he related to me its history. 
 The scabbard is covered on both sides with 
 the names of the ensrao^ements in which the 
 general participated, and their dates. The 
 original scabbard, however, had to be dis- 
 carded during the war,, on account of inju- 
 ries received in action. It had been struck 
 several times by musket-balls and bruised 
 in three or four places by being kicked or 
 trampled by horses. Finally a new scabbard 
 had to be procured, and this shows signs of 
 hard usage. I had the sabre forwarded to 
 Mr. Childs. After he was struck down by 
 disease, and before his removal from Wash- 
 ington to I^onquitt, the general sent me an 
 inquiry about the sabre, and received the 
 assurance that it was in Mr. Childs's posses- 
 sion and would be carefully guarded. Its 
 next and final duty was to rest on Sheridan's 
 coffin. After his death the artist changed 
 the uniform in the portrait from that of lieu- 
 tenant-general to that of general, to which 
 rank he succeeded by act of Congress while 
 on his death-bed. 
 
West Point. 179 
 
 *' The same artist was selected to paint 
 General Sherman, but before it was finished 
 members of the general's family expressed 
 a desire to have the portrait made to repre- 
 sent him as he looked fifteen years ago. The 
 general yielded to this desire, and the artist 
 changed the face, using for a guide the por- 
 trait of Sherman by Huntington, painted in 
 1874, which now hangs in the War Depart- 
 ment, and which General Sherman regards 
 as the best portrait ever made of him, in 
 which judgment Mrs. Sherman and the 
 familv concurred."* 
 
 From the ]^ew York Sun, February 14, 
 1888: 
 
 THE WEST POINT ''REPORT." 
 
 '' Washington, February 13. — The Mili- 
 tary Academy Appropriation Bill is expected 
 to go through both Houses this year without 
 
 * Writing to me, under date of New York, Septem- 
 ber 18, 1889, Sir Edwin Arnold speaks flattering!}' of 
 my Recollections of Grant, " which," he says, "I have 
 read with all the more profit and pleasure because I 
 have met General Sherman here, and we talked much 
 about Grant, whom you knew so well. He shows in 
 your most interesting paragraphs all that I believed him, 
 — a noble, grand, and beautiful hero, raised up to save 
 his country in her dark hour." 
 
1 80 Recollections, 
 
 opposition, and possibly even without dis- 
 cussion, unless with a view to giving some 
 members an opportunity to pay a compli- 
 ment like that which was so pleasantly in- 
 troduced by General Wheeler recently, when 
 he presented to the House the Report of the 
 Board of Visitors for the past year. The 
 distinguished Alabama cavalryman and Con- 
 gressman is a graduate of West Point, a 
 soldier of renown, and qualified to discuss 
 with professional intelligence the important 
 subject-matter of the report, which is that 
 of military science and education. Never- 
 theless, representing no doubt the judgment 
 of his colleagues on the Board of Visitors, 
 as well as his own, he committed the fortunes 
 of the report exclusively to the weight it 
 would carry as the utterances of Mr. George 
 W. Childs, the President of the visitins: bodv. 
 General Wheeler's address, as reported in 
 full in the Congressional Record, was as 
 follows : 
 
 " ^ Mr. Speaker, in piresenting the report 
 of the President of the Board of Visitors to 
 the Military Acadeni}-, I desire to ask present 
 action on the resolution which I send to the 
 Clerk's desk. 
 
 " ' The hi2:h character of the distino^uished 
 President of the Board must add much 
 
West Point 181 
 
 weiii:ht to the siio:iJ:estions contained in the 
 report. 
 
 " ' They are made by a man whose phil- 
 anthropic generosity is not limited by the 
 boundaries of municipalities, States, sections, 
 or peoples, but extends beyond oceans, to 
 races foreis^n to us in lancruao-e, customs, and 
 ideas; a man whose purpose in life is to do 
 good to mankind, and to help the weak and 
 the lowly. 
 
 " ' The recommendations of such a man 
 upon the subject treated of in the report 
 cannot be too widely disseminated.' 
 
 " On examination the report, which is now 
 distributed to the public, is really found to 
 be signed not only by Mr. Childs as Presi- 
 dent, but by General Wheeler, as Vice-Presi- 
 dent, by W. A. Courtney, Secretary, and by 
 eisrht other srentlemen, beo-inninoc with Gen- 
 eral P. H. Anderson, of Georgia, and ending 
 with the Hon. Ben. Butterworth, of Ohio. 
 There is also a minority report signed by Mr. 
 George H. Bates, of Delaware. It is further 
 observable that the plural verb is always used 
 with the word Board as a subject in the main 
 report, in such phrases as ' the Board are,' 
 * the Board think,' 'the Board feel,' and so 
 on. This does not appear to be a mere ex- 
 tension of the editorial we ; yet, as will be 
 
 16 
 
182 Recolledio ) w. 
 
 seen by the speech of General Wheeler, that 
 gentleman preferred to efface not only him- 
 self, but all his colleagues, and to present 
 the report as that of President Childs. It 
 is doubtful, also, whether any preceding 
 instance could be quoted of so direct and 
 high a compliment as his, accompanying 
 any similar occasion of presenting an annual 
 report of a Board of Visitors. 
 
 " The resolution submitted by General 
 Wheeler was for the printing of the usual 
 five thousand extra copies of the report, but 
 it was accompanied w^ith the unusual pro- 
 posal to consider the resolution at once, in- 
 stead of referring it to the Committee on 
 Printing. General Wheeler politely pointed 
 out that there was a peculiar reason for 
 departing, on this occasion, from the ordi- 
 nary course : 
 
 " ' It is not often that we have reports from 
 a gentleman like Mr. George W. Childs, 
 whose grand sympathetic heart and bank 
 account are always tuned to the same 
 music; but as the gentleman from Georgia 
 [Mr. Blount] insists that the resolution be 
 referred to the Committee on Printing, and 
 as the Chairman of that committee assures 
 me it shall be reported back very promptly, 
 I will interpose no objection.' 
 
West Point. 183 
 
 " The House Committee on Military Af- 
 fairs adopted without a moment's hesitation 
 or a single change the report prepared by 
 the sub-committee for the Military Academy, 
 which exceeds that of last year, items being 
 introduced for improving the wharf and 
 building a new laundry. Probably still 
 larger appropriations might have been se- 
 cured under the general good-will felt for 
 President Childs, as expressed by General 
 Wheeler. 
 
 ^' The annual report of the Board is an 
 unusually full and elaborate document, com- 
 prising one hundred and thirty-three printed 
 pages, 'and rather a gala aftair is made of it 
 by the innovation of some full-page illustra- 
 tions of landscape and interior views at 
 "West Point." 
 
MEMORIALS 
 
 TO 
 
 SHAKESPEARE, 
 HERBERT AND COWPER, MILTON, 
 
 BISHOPS 
 
 ANDREWES AND KEN. 
 
 IG* 185 
 
EXPLAWATOET. 
 
 As there is nothing, however remote or in- 
 significant, connected with Shakespeare that 
 is without value to those who, with Ben Jon- 
 son, "• love the man," or " do reverence his 
 memory," I have thought that the *' story" 
 of The Memorial Fountain erected at Strat- 
 ford-upon-Avon by Mr. George W. Childs 
 would be neither valueless nor uninteresting. 
 
 For the compiling of this Story of the 
 Stratford Fountain, which is but a gathering 
 and putting together of what has been else- 
 where said and written, I have no better 
 warrant than that, not only have I found 
 therein a pleasant occupation for some leis- 
 ure hours, but to me the subject seemed 
 worthy of being revived from the newspapers 
 — in which, through patient delving, I mainly 
 found it — and of receiving a more permanent 
 form. Whatever value this sketch may have 
 
 187 
 
188 Explanatory. 
 
 lies, I know, solely in the fact that it tells, 
 with more or less completeness, the Story 
 of the Origin, Building, and Dedication of 
 the most imposing architectural monument 
 erected in any country to the genius of 
 Shakespeare. There must be both pride and 
 pleasure to every American in the reflection 
 that this Stratford Memorial is the gift of 
 a fellow-citizen who in i^ivino^ and buildins: 
 neither gave unwittingly, nor builded better 
 than he knew; he did both in the confident 
 hope and faith, I am convinced, that his gift 
 would add another link — however slis^ht — 
 to that chain of brotherhood between Eng- 
 lishmen and Americans which so many of 
 the leading minds in Religion, in Politics, 
 in Literature, and on the Stage on either 
 side of the Atlantic have been, during late 
 3^ears, so earnestly engaged in welding 
 firmer, and closer, and stronger. 
 
 In selecting that which is herein presented 
 from the great mass of material in the pub- 
 lic journals of the day, both English and 
 American, I rejected all that did not seem 
 pertinent to the objects I had in view, where- 
 of the first is to give permanency to the his- 
 tory of the Stratford Fountain, and whereof 
 the other is to let the story bear record to 
 
Explanatory. 189 
 
 the general recognition of the fine motive 
 which inspired the gift. If I have retained 
 anything which may not seem germane to 
 these objects, and which should, perhaps, 
 have been rejected, I have erred only through 
 a zealous wish to present as much evidence 
 as possible of the sincerity and universality 
 of that international spirit of fraternity to 
 the existence of which the newspapers of 
 the Old Country and of the ]!^ew testified so 
 strongly in their remarks upon Mr. Childs's 
 Shakespeare Memorial. 
 
 To the Storv of the Fountain >I have 
 deemed it not inappropriate to add brief 
 accounts of certain other gifts which, in 
 the interest of the same broad spirit of in- 
 ternational brotherhood, Mr. Childs, as a 
 representative American, has presented, at 
 diflPerent times, to England and to the Eng- 
 lish people. 
 
 L. C. D. 
 
SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN, 
 Stratford-upon-Avon. 
 
THE 
 
 STRATF0RD-UP0N-4V0N FOUNTAIN. 
 
 THE INCEPTION AND ERECTION OF THE 
 
 MEMORIAL. 
 
 In the autumn of 1878 the Very Reverend 
 Arthur P. Stanle}^ D.D., Dean of Westmin- 
 ster, visited the United States, and during 
 his sojourn in PhiLidelphia was, as so many 
 distinguished foreigners previously were and 
 have since been, the guest of Mr. George 
 W. Childs. In the course of an after-din- 
 ner talk the venerable Dean, whose love of 
 the literature of his country was not less 
 sincere than his knowledge of it was pro- 
 found, spoke feelingly of the absence of any 
 suitable memorial of some of those who had 
 laid so broad and deep the foundations of 
 English poetry. Especially he spoke of 
 Shakespeare, and of the strange neglect of 
 the British-speaking people to erect an ap- 
 propriate monument to him even in the 
 place of his birth. The Dean of Westmin- 
 
 191 
 
192 The Straff ord-upon- Avon Fuuntaln. 
 
 eter was greatly impressed by what he had 
 seen and heard in America, and particularly 
 was he moved by the noble hospitality of 
 which he was everywhere the recipient, and 
 which he was modestly pleased to think 
 emanated not so much from personal regard 
 for himself as from the common feeling of 
 kinship which he felt bound the peoples of 
 the two countries together. For his cousins 
 across the sea he was inspired with admira- 
 tion, respect, and affection, and his broad and 
 generous sympathies induced him to think 
 that no better thing could be done by Eng- 
 lishmen or Americans than to streno-then the 
 belief that w^as surely growing up among 
 their leaders of thought in the reality of 
 their mutual feeling of fraternity and fellows- 
 ship. 
 
 The gift of Mr. Childs of the Herbert and 
 Cowper Window to Westminster Abbey had 
 been suggested by Dean Stanlej^ and it was 
 on the occasion to which reference is above 
 made that this eminent divine ventured to 
 state to his host that a memorial of similar 
 or other character of Shakespeare set up in 
 the Church at Stratford-upon-Avon by an 
 American would have a certain influence 
 for ffood throuo-hout Eno^land and America. 
 Subsequently, after the Dean's return to his 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 193 
 
 own country, Mr. Cliikls wrote to liim to 
 sav that he had considered the susforestiou 
 of placing a memorial window to Shake- 
 speare in the Church by the Avon, which is 
 the Poet's tomb, and that he would be pleased 
 to make the gift upon tlie sole condition that 
 Dean Stanley would himself not only de- 
 termine what form it should assume, but 
 personally undertake the execution of the 
 donor's purpose. 
 
 In a letter dated December 3, 1878, Dean 
 Stanley said, in reply to Mr. Childs, — 
 
 ''With regard to jour generous offer of the window, 
 will you let me delay my complete answer till the week 
 after next, when I shall hope to have seen the Church ? 
 I am inclined to think that Stratford being, next to 
 Westminster Abbey, the place (I believe) most fre- 
 quently visited by Americans, might be considered 
 an exceptional locality." 
 
 Subsequently, on December 18, 1878, Dean 
 Stanley wrote, from Stratford-upon-Avon, — 
 
 "My dear Mr. Childs, — In pursuance of my 
 promise I have come here to look at the Church and 
 see what place there would be for the window which, 
 in accordance with my suggestion, you so kindly 
 offered to give. 
 
 " I find that on one side of the chancel there is a 
 place for windows containing subjects from the Old 
 Testament, of which one has already been erected 
 I n 17 
 
194 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 by the collective contributions of Americans, and two 
 others remain to be supplied. It would, I think, be 
 very suitable that the one next in order should come 
 from Philadelphia. It consists of seven or eight com- 
 partments, and 1 would suggest that as the window 
 alongside contains The Seven Ages of Man, taken from 
 different characters of the Old Testament, so the next 
 should contain some other Shakespearian subject also 
 taken from the Old Testament. If you will allow me 
 to think over this, I will do my best for your generous 
 intentions. You will be interested in learning that the 
 last visitor to Shakespeare's home before my arrival 
 here was a Philadelphian ; also the last guest whom I 
 entertained in London before I left to deliver my ad- 
 dress in Birmingham (which was on the History of the 
 United States) was your excellent Minister, Mr. John 
 Welsh. 
 
 " We have been much gratified in England by the 
 sympathy shown in America for our Queen. 
 
 '' Yours, with all kind remembrances, 
 
 " A. P. Stanley." 
 
 This was the last communication which 
 Mr. Childs received from the Very Rever- 
 end Dean of Westminster on the subject of 
 the Shakespearian Memorial Window, it be- 
 ing understood between them that a window 
 such as recommended should be placed in 
 the Church of Holy Trinity, Dean Stanley 
 undertaking to have it designed and exe- 
 cuted. 
 
 The onerous and exacting character of his 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 195 
 
 public duties prevented the Dean proceeding 
 immediately with the work, and it was not 
 lono^ afterwards that failino^ health interfered 
 with his purpose, and his death, which oc- 
 curred in mid-July of 1881, brought to a 
 close for the time beins; the intention of Mr. 
 Childs to carry out his reverend and vener- 
 able friend's su2:2:e3tion. 
 
 In 1886, however, it was proposed, and a 
 Committee was appointed by some of the 
 most distinguished lovers of Shakespeare in 
 England, to restore the church at Stratford- 
 upon-Avon in which the bones of Shake- 
 speare lie. Appeals for contributions to se- 
 cure the execution of this object were made, 
 not only to the cultivated people of Great 
 Britain, but to those of the United States 
 as well. Among others who were greatly 
 interested in the plan of restoration was 
 James Macaulay, M.D., an honored and es- 
 teemed British scholar, editor of The Leisure 
 Hour. Dr. Macaulav, who is one of the old- 
 est friends of Mr. Childs, personally appealed 
 to him to contribute to the Restoration Fund. 
 To this appeal Mr. Childs promptly replied 
 that he would o-ive whatever sum Dr. Ma- 
 caulay should sucrsrest as desirable and befit- 
 ting; but before an answer was received to 
 this generous offer the Restoration Commit- 
 
196 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 tee disagreed in respect to the character and 
 extent of the work to be done, and the 
 entire scheme failed of accomplishment. 
 Subsequently, on September 9, 1886, Dr. 
 Macaulaj wrote to Mr. Childs, acquainting 
 him with the failure of the Committee to 
 carry out the contemplated alteration or 
 restoration of Holy Trinity Church, and 
 advising him that the request for a contri- 
 bution to that object was withdrawn. In 
 this letter Dr. Macaulav, however, su2:o:ested 
 that, if his friend had vet a desire as an 
 American to pay tribute to the genius of 
 Shakespeare in his own town, he could do it 
 in no better way than by erecting a drinking- 
 fountain to his memory, " to be placed in 
 the Market Square, where there is none, 
 and which would be a handsome thing from 
 an American." Dr. ATacaulay added, '' I 
 think I once suggested this to you, and that 
 it might be associated with Shakespeare by 
 a motto taken from his works. It would be 
 a useful gift both to man and beast." 
 
 Mr. Childs, it appears, accepted tliis sug- 
 gestion readily, it being in happy accord 
 with the spirit in which he had previously 
 contributed the Memorial Window to the 
 genius of the Christian poets, Herbert and 
 Cowper, in Westminster Abbey, and subse- 
 
The Straff ord-iipon- A von Fountain. 197 
 
 quently, the ^lilton Window, in St. Mar- 
 garet's, Westminster. It evidently seemed 
 to him to afford another opportunity to add 
 to the ties of fraternity and friendship be- 
 tween Engkmd and America, an object which 
 appeared most desirable, and which being 
 accomplished in the Queen's Jubilee Year 
 would have the greater significance as be- 
 ing a recognition by Americans of Victoria's 
 brilliant and useful reis^n of half a centurv. 
 Mr. Cliilds's hearty compliance with Dr. 
 Macaulay's suggestion was commmiicated by 
 the latter o:entleman to Sir Arthur Ilodfrson, 
 Mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon, who, on the 
 loth of December, wrote to the editor of 
 The Leisure Hour the subjoined letter: 
 
 " My dear Sir, — Many thanks for your kind letter: 
 the name of Mr. Childs is no great surprise to me, and 
 I shall he delighted to announce his most generous offer, 
 which will supply a much and long needed want in this 
 horough, and to move the acceptance of Mr. Childs's 
 offer at the meeting of my Council on the 21st instant." 
 
 On the next dav notification was sent bv 
 the Town Clerk to the members of the Cor- 
 poration Council : 
 
 '' The Mayor requests your attendance at a special 
 meeting of the Council to he holden at the Town Hall, 
 on Tuesday, the 21st day of December, instant, at 11.30 
 
 17* 
 
198 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 o' the clock in the forenoon precisely, where the follow- 
 ing business is proposed to be enacted : . . . 
 
 "The Mayor to read a letter, dated December 8, 
 1886, from James Macaulay, Esq., M.D., the editor of 
 The Leisure Hour, London, conveying an offer from 
 George "NV. Childs, Esq., of Philadelphia, to the Mayor 
 and Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon of a Public 
 Drinking-Fountain as ' the gift of an American citizen 
 to the town of Shakespeare in the Jubilee Year of 
 Queen Victoria.' 
 
 "The Mayor to move that Mr. Childs's kind and 
 generous offer be accepted, with grateful thanks, by 
 this Corporation." 
 
 On the 22d of December Sir Arthur Hodo:- 
 son wrote to Dr. Macaulay : 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I have much pleasure in enclosing 
 copy of a resolution unanimously and with acclamation 
 adopted yesterday at a full and special meeting of the 
 Council of the Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon." 
 
 The following is the resolution above re- 
 feiTed to : 
 
 "That Mr. George W. Childs's (of Philadelphia) 
 kind and generous offer of a Public Drinking-Fountain, 
 ' a gift to the Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon of 
 an American citizen in the Jubilee Year of Queen 
 Victoria,' be accepted by the Corporation with grateful 
 thanks." 
 
 The London Times of the 22d of Decem- 
 ber, under the caption of the " Queen's Ju- 
 
The Sir atford-ujwn- Avon Fountain. 199 
 
 bilee," 2:ave tliis account of tlie Council's 
 proceedings : 
 
 "At a meeting of the Stratford-upon-Avon Town 
 Council yesterday afternoon, a letter Avas read from 
 Dr. Macaulay, editor of The Leisure Hour, stating 
 that he was authorized by Mr. George W. Childs, of 
 Philadelphia, to offer for the acceptance of the Corpo- 
 ration a handsome Drinking-Fountain as the gift of an 
 American citizen to the town of Shakespeare in the 
 Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria. Mr. Childs expressed 
 the hope that the fountain would be evidence of the 
 good-will of the two nations who have the fame and 
 works of the poet as their common heritage. Dr. 
 Macaulay added that Mr. Samuel Timmins, of Bir- 
 mingham, had kindly undertaken to obtain from an 
 eminent architect designs of the proposed structure for 
 the approval of the Town Council. The Corporation 
 passed a hearty resolution of thanks to Mr. Childs for 
 his munificent gift." 
 
 On the day after the passage of this reso- 
 lution the Xew York Herald published from 
 its London correspondent this special de- 
 spatch : 
 
 "The Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon has voted 
 the heartiest thanks of the town to Mr. George W. 
 Childs, of Philadelphia, for his gift of a Drinking- 
 Fountain to the place. In his letter presenting the 
 gift Mr. Childs expresses the hope that the fountain 
 will prove an evidence of good-will between the two 
 nations having the fame and works of Shakespeare as 
 a common heritage." 
 
200 Tlie Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 Witli reference to this despatch, on its 
 editorial page the Herald, in its issue of the 
 same date, said, — 
 
 "Mr. Georue W. Childs has given a Drinking-Foun- 
 tain to Stratford-upon-Avon, 'as evidence of good-will 
 between the two nations having the fame and VForks 
 of Shakespeare as a common heritage.' 
 
 " It was a graceful act on the part of Mr. Childs, 
 and is gracefully acknowledged by the Corporation 
 of Stratford-upon-Avon, as will be seen in our foreign 
 despatches. Such little acts of courtesy are not the 
 least effective of incidents in sustaining pleasant inter- 
 national relations." 
 
 On December 24, 1886, the same journal 
 published the subjoined special despatch 
 from its Stratford correspondent : 
 
 " Stratford-upox-Avon, December 23, 1886. — The 
 name of the great American philanthropist, George W. 
 Childs, will henceforth be associated here with the 
 name of Shakespeare. 
 
 " At the meeting of the Town Council on Tuesday 
 the Mayor, Sir Arthur Hodgson, while stating that 
 Mr. Childs had offered to present Shakespeare's birth- 
 place with a magnificent Drinking-Fountain in honor 
 of the Queen's Jubilee, referring to a letter which he 
 held in his hand, added, 'The donor simply asks the 
 Corporation to furnish water, and at night lights. Mr. 
 Childs would submit to the Corporation several designs 
 for their choice, and he suggested that the fountain 
 should be dedicated either on the next birthday of the 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 201 
 
 poet, or on June 20, the anniversary of the Queen's 
 accession to the throne fifty years before.' 
 
 "Alderman Bird, amid renewed cheers for America 
 and Mr. Childs, seconded the Mayor's motion of ac- 
 ceptance and thanks. In the course of some vei-y 
 euloiristic remarks concernino; the donor the Alderman 
 said, 'The hitter's generosities are widely known to 
 the civilized world. Especially Englishmen remem- 
 bered Mr. Childs's gift of an American Window to 
 Westminster Abbey in memory of the poets Herbert 
 and Cowper, which had an additional interest from the 
 fact that the late Dean Stanley furnished the inscription 
 to it." 
 
 After a conference the Council ao:reed 
 to devote Jubilee Day to the ceremonies of 
 receiving the gift. 
 
 The Illustrated London News of Febrnarv 
 26 contained the ensuins: reference to the 
 gift by the eminent author, George Augustus 
 Sala : 
 
 "Mr. G. W. Childs, of Philadelphia, U.S.A., well 
 known not only for his enterprise as a newspaper pro- 
 prietor, but for the splendid hospitality which he has 
 so long dispensed to travellers in the States, — he was 
 the friend of Dickens and of Thackeray, — has made a 
 graceful and generous Jubilee gift to the town of Strat- 
 ford-upon-Avon. Some time since, Mr. Childs offered 
 through Dr. Macaulay, the editor of The Leisure Hour, 
 to present a Drinking-Fountain to Stratford, as the 
 offering of an American citizen to the town of Shake- 
 
202 The Straff ord-upon- Avon Fountain. 
 
 speare in tlie Jubilee Year of the good Queen Victoria. 
 The offer was gratefully accepted hy the Corporation ; 
 and a few days since the site for the fountain was fixed 
 upon hy a committee of taste, including the Mayor, Dr. 
 Macaulay, Mr. Samuel Tim m ins, Mr. Charles Flower, 
 and several members of the Town Council, accom- 
 panied by the Borough Surveyor. It was finally de- 
 cided to erect the fountain in the large open space in 
 Rother Street, which is midway between the Great 
 AVestern Railway Station and the central part of the 
 town. 
 
 " Mr. G. W. Childs has already won golden opinions 
 of the English people by his munificence in placing in 
 Westminster Abbey a noble window of stained glass 
 in memory of two English poets and w'orthies, George 
 Herbert and AVilliam Cowper. 
 
 "G.A. Sala." 
 
 On February 17, 1887, the New York 
 Herald's special correspondent at Stratford- 
 upon-Avon cabled these particulars with 
 regard to the proposed gift : 
 
 " Sir Arthur Hodgson, the Mayor, Dr. Macaulay, 
 editor of The Leisure Ho^ir, the friend and corresp»ond- 
 ent of Mr. George W. Childs, with members of the local 
 Town Council, met here to-day and decided upon the 
 site and the design for a Drinking-Fountain, which is 
 the Jubilee gift of Mr. Childs to Shakespeare's tOAvn. 
 As hitherto cabled to the Herald, the design is by the 
 architect Cossins, of Birmingham. The structure will 
 be of granite, sixty feet high, the base being twenty- 
 eight feet in diameter, and in the upper part four. It 
 is to be faced by an antique clock, with an archway 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 203 
 
 under the centre cut through the base and wide enoucrh 
 for one vehicle. Underneath, beside a drinkincr-trouirh 
 for horses, is a smaller one for dogs. At the entrances 
 are cups. 
 
 "Upon the panel of the base is the inscription, 'The 
 gift of an American citizen, George William Childs, of 
 Philadelphia, to the town of Shakespeare, in the Jubi- 
 lee Year of Queen Victoria.' There are to be four mot- 
 toes cast. One will be from Washington Irving" s de- 
 scription of Stratford-upon-Avon ; another will be this 
 Shakespearian line from Timon : ' Honest water that 
 ne'er left any man in the mire.' The remaining two 
 are not yet known. They are probably to be selected 
 by Mr. Childs. 
 
 " The design harmonizes well with the principal 
 tower of the Shakespearian memorial buildings. The 
 site is in the open market-place, near Rother Street, 
 midway between the centre of the town and the great 
 railway station, and within five minutes' walk of 
 Shakespeare's house and the church-yard." 
 
 The Council of Stratford proceeded with 
 the work with commendable enero^y. In its 
 mid-month issue of the ensuing June the 
 Illustrated London News published a sketch 
 of the fountain, with the accompanj'ing in- 
 teresting description of it, which the I^ew 
 York World published subsequently : 
 
 "A lofty, spire-like, and highly ornamental Drink- 
 ing-Fountain, with clock tower, is now being built in 
 the Rother Market, Stratford-upon-Avon, at the cost 
 of Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, an Ameri- 
 
204 The Stratford-ui^on-Avon Fountain. 
 
 can citizen, who, by this munificent and noljle ^ift to 
 the birthplace of Shakespeare, supplies the inhabitants 
 of the town with what has long been felt to be one of 
 its most pressing needs. It will be a durable and 
 beautiful memorial of the friendly feeling existing 
 between the two nations in this Jubilee Year of our 
 Queen. The base of the tower is square on plan, with 
 the addition of boldly projecting buttresses placed 
 diagonally at the four corners, terminating with acutely 
 pointed gablets surmounted by a lion bearing the arms 
 of Great Britain alternately with the American eagle 
 associated with the Stars and Stripes. On the north 
 face is a polished granite basin, having the outline of 
 a large segment of a circle, into which a stream of 
 water is to flow constantly from a bronze spout ; on 
 the east and west sides are large troughs, of the same 
 general outline and material, for the use of horses and 
 cattle, and beneath these smaller troughs for sheep and 
 dogs. On the south side is a door affording admission 
 to the interior, flanked by two shallow niches, in one 
 of which will be placed a barometer and in the other 
 a thermometer, both of the best construction. Imme- 
 diately over the basins and the door are moulded 
 pointed arches, springing from dwarf columns, wnth 
 carved capitals. The tympanum of each arch is filled 
 by geometric tracery, profusely enriched with carvings 
 of foliage. 
 
 " The next story of the tower has on each face a 
 triple arcade with moulded pointed trefoiled arches on 
 slender shafts. The arches are glazed, and light a 
 small chamber, in which the clock is to be placed. At 
 the corners are cylindrical turrets, terminating in con- 
 ical spirelets in two stages, the surfaces of the cones 
 enriched with scale-like ornament. In the next story 
 are the four dials of the clock, under crocketed gables, 
 
The Straff oixl-upon- Avon Fountain. 205 
 
 with finials representing ' Puck,' ' Mustard-seed,' ' Peas- 
 blossom,' and ' Cobweb.' The clock-faces project 
 slightly from a cylindrical tower flanked by four other 
 smaller three-quarter attached turrets of the same 
 plan ; from the main central cylinder springs a spire 
 of a slightly concave outline, and the four turrets 
 have similar but much smaller spirelets, all five spring- 
 ing from the same level, and all terminating in lofty 
 gilded vanes. Immediately below the line of spring- 
 ing is a band of panelling formed of narrow trefoiled 
 arches. The central spire has on four opposite sides 
 gableted spire-lights, and, at about one-third of its 
 height, a continuous band of narrow lights to spread 
 the sound of the clock-bells. The height from the road 
 to the top of the vane is sixty feet. The clock will be 
 illuminated at night. 
 
 " The materials of which the monument is being 
 constructed are of the most durable kind, — Peterhead 
 granite for the base and troughs, and for the super- 
 structure a very hard and durable stone of a delicate 
 gray color from Bolton Wood, in Yorkshire." 
 
 Mr. Childs, iiaturallv desirins: that the 
 name of an American poet should be asso- 
 ciated Avith the dedication of the memorial, 
 suofsrested to Dr. Oliver AVendell Holmes, 
 whose sympathies for the great master of 
 the English Drama are known to lie so broad 
 and deep, that he should write a poem ap- 
 propriate to the occasion. The good and 
 genial poet at first stoutly demurred, plead- 
 ing that his muse, like himself, was growing 
 
 18 
 
20G The Siratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 old, and delighted most in restful, inactive 
 ease by the sea. But, being further urged. 
 Dr. Holmes, on the 17th day of August, 
 1887, ^Yrote, from Beverly Farms, Massa- 
 chusetts, to his old friend in these words : 
 
 " Dear Mr. Childs, — I have written a poem for the 
 celebration of the opening of the fountain. 
 
 " There are nine verses, each of nine lines, as it now 
 stands. I mean to revise it carefully, transcribe it, 
 and send you the copy in the course of this week. 
 
 " I have taken pains with it and I hope you will like 
 it. Please do not take the trouble of replying before 
 you get the poem. 
 
 " Always truly yours, 
 
 " 0. W. Holmes." 
 
 Two days later the poem as it appears 
 in the subsequent accounts of the celebra- 
 tion was received by Mr. Childs. Its many 
 classical allusions testify as much to the 
 generous culture of the author's mind as 
 does the rare beauty of his verse to his 
 poetic genius. 
 
 In the Brooklyn Earfle there appeared while 
 the fountain was still building, under the 
 caption of " Childs at Avon," an article as 
 brilliant in manner as it was scholarly in 
 matter. The Avriter, who modestly hid his 
 identitv under the initial H., and of wdiose 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 207 
 
 paper we make this free, brief abstract, 
 said, — 
 
 " If no Shakespeare had been born and lived and 
 died at Stratford-upon-Avon, I should still remember 
 it as one of the most charming spots in Warwickshire. 
 Often when staying at Leamiagton have I set out early 
 on a summer morning and spent my day by the banks 
 of Avon and visited the house where he was born, in- 
 cluding the low-ceiling bedroom in which he first saw 
 the light when Mary Arden brought him into the 
 world in which, after his death, he was to be the most 
 mysterious and inspired of teachers. Many an hour 
 have I spent in the beautiful parish church of Holy 
 Trinity at Stratford, reading the epitaph upon his 
 grave, and feeling, with a much-sneered-at poet, ' Satan' 
 Montgomery, whom Macaulay so pitilessly criticised, 
 that I, for once, could 
 
 * Tread tte ground by genius often trod, 
 Nor feel a nature more akin to God.' 
 
 '' The gift of Mr. George W. Ciiilds, of Philadelphia, 
 of a public drinking-fountain in honor of Shakespeare, 
 to the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, is memorable as 
 being a tribute to the Queen of Shakespeare's nation 
 on her Jubilee. 
 
 " The first thought that strikes me — for I leave the 
 noble benefactions of Mr. Childs for the latter part of 
 this article — is how the immortal Shakespeare would 
 have stood amazed had he beheld this errand water- 
 fountain erected to his memory. Although he praises 
 water in the words ' Honest water that ne'er left any 
 man in the mire,' which is to be one of the inscrip- 
 tions on Mr. Childs's memorial drinking-fountain, the 
 habits of his time were certainly not in favor of water 
 
208 The StratJord-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 as a beverage. There were many in that a'^G, like Sir 
 Walter Raleifrh, avIio abhorred drunkenness and de- 
 nounced it witli as much cnn)liasis as Kin<]; James I. 
 did th& tobacco which Raleigh extolled with enthusi- 
 asm. But it would have taken a long journey, I think, 
 to have found a teetotaler in England in the days of 
 Shakespeare. ' Good Queen Bess' drank ale at break- 
 fast. King James rolled drunk from his throne. 
 Shakespeare himself was thoroughly convivial, though 
 not a drinker to excess. He lived like the men of his 
 time, enjoyed his social glass of sack or canary with 
 Ben Jonson, or Burbage and other authors or actors, 
 and. no doubt, sometimes woke with a headache next 
 morning. There is nothing disrespectful to his memory 
 to say that his early death at the age of fifty-two has 
 been generally attributed to the effects of a convivial 
 evening. A recent Shakespearian enthusiast, I\Irs. Dall, 
 says, in her ' Handbook to Shakespeare,' ' The pleasant 
 days went on for a few weeks. Jonson and Drayton 
 came to see Shakespeare, and very likely went to the 
 old inn where he had been accustomed to watch the 
 antics of a "fool," that he might immortalize him in 
 the company of Sly, Naps, Turf, and Pimpernell. The 
 hilarity of the party had attracted the attention of the 
 villagers, for when, in March, 1616, the poet was 
 stricken with fever, the rumor ran that it came from 
 too much drinking with his friends.' He died on the 
 23d of April. 
 
 " But if, as I have ventured to suggest, Shakespeare 
 would have been amazed at a water-fountain erected to 
 his memory, hewould probably have been still more 
 avstonished at such poor relations as dogs and horses 
 participating with his fellow-citizens in the benefit of 
 it. Such is Mr. Childs's arrangement, and I think it 
 indicates the true humanity of his nature. The dog 
 
Tiie Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 209 
 
 is the only animal that will forsake his own kind for 
 the sake of man and will die upon his master's grave. 
 There are miscreants and scoundrels in all races, and 
 the canine is not an exception. But there are as many 
 virtuous dogs as virtuous men, and from them we may 
 learn affection, patience, long-suffering, unselfishness, 
 and friendship and fidelity till death. No wonder 
 that the poor Indian of Pope's ' Essay on Man,' 
 
 * Whose soul proud Science never taught to stray 
 
 Far as the solar walk or milky way, 
 « » «- * * * 
 
 Yet thinks, admitted to that equal sky, 
 His faithful dog shall bear him company.' 
 
 " Let us hope that if the great soul of Shakespeare 
 looks down on Queen Victoria's Jubilee at Stratford- 
 upon-Avon he will approve of Mr. Childs's munificent 
 gift to the corporation of which his family, especially 
 his father, John Shakespeare, were ancient and honor- 
 able members, even though it has embraced the thirsty 
 souls of dogs and horses as well as of men, women, 
 and children. 
 
 " Of Mr. Childs, whom I have never seen, it is im- 
 possible for any public-spirited mind of any nationality 
 to think too highly. He is not a flatterer of English 
 noblemen, but a benefactor, first to his own people and 
 then a hospitable host to distinguished foreigners. In 
 fact, Mr. Childs is away ahead in wealth and respecta- 
 bility of most of the notables to whom he has extended 
 his hospitality. Beginning as an errand-boy, when he 
 went from Baltimore to Philadelphia, in mere child- 
 hood, he became printer, bookseller, publisher, and 
 newspaper proprietor by that resolute virtue of perse- 
 verance and honesty which overcomes the world, and^ 
 while some may envy his prosperity, no one can dis- 
 o 18* 
 
210 The Stratford-upon-Avon Founta'ni. 
 
 pute that he has earned it Ijy a life of integrity and 
 industry such as few even in America have equalled. 
 Upon the fountain in honor of Shakespeare at Strat- 
 ford-upon-Avon will stand the words, 'The gift of an 
 American citizen;' and this reminds me of the words 
 of the late Dean Stanley, when he visited this country 
 for the first and only time in 1878, referring to Mr. 
 Childs's Memorial Window in his abbey to George 
 Herbert and William Cowper: ' There is in Westmin- 
 ster Abbey a window dear to American hearts because 
 erected by an honored citizen of Philadelphia.' It 
 miirht seem stransfe that the gift should be made in the 
 Centennial Year of American Independence, but Mr. 
 Childs has the right idea of the commonwealth of 
 letters, and believes that the great writers of the Eng- 
 lish tongue belong to the Anglo-Saxon and English- 
 speaking races, wherever they may be ; and as he did 
 honor to George Herbert and William Cowper, so now 
 he has done honor to the greater name of Shakespeare, 
 who belongs to no country, but is the admiration of all 
 civilized races, 
 
 "Mr. George W. Childs's fountain completes the 
 homage which Americans have paid to Shakespeare. 
 Years ag-o, when I talked to an old woman who showed 
 me over the house he was born in, she said, in answer 
 to a question, that Americans seemed to take most 
 interest in it. The case of Miss Delia Bacon is most 
 pathetic, although I believe it was not her Baconian 
 theory which made her so unhappy. She was a woman 
 of singular talent, coming from one of the most big- 
 brained families of New England. An early disap- 
 pointment had made her feel the need of an eccentric 
 enthusiasm, and by the kind and very unusual permis- 
 sion of the Vicar of Stratford she was allowed to pass 
 whole niffihts in the church wherein the bones were 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 211 
 
 laid which he forbade strangers to remove, but not 
 to keep their vigils by. Although Miss Bacon was 
 hallucinated, her ' Philosophy of Shakespeare's PLays,' 
 introduced by Hawthorne, elicited the praise of Ralph 
 Waldo Emerson. Her special vagary was that Shake- 
 speare had not been Shakespeare and that Francis 
 Bacon was the real Shakespeare, and so the idol of her 
 mind was destroyed by her own imagination. As I 
 said, she was not alone in this ridiculous theory, bat it 
 is sad to think of the lonely, enthusiastic woman wor- 
 shipping night and day at the shrine of a god whom 
 she would end by disbelieving in altogether. Yet 
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge was not much wiser when he 
 said of Shakespeare, ' Does God inspire an idiot?' 
 
 "Mr. Childs's gift and its acceptance by the corpo- 
 ration of Stratford set the seal, at any rate, to our 
 American belief in the identity as well as the great- 
 ness of Shakespeare. His will more than ever be the 
 shrine which American travellers, with Washington 
 Irving's description of Stratford in tiieir hands, will 
 visit. It is said tliat in Virginia, in a church-yard 
 sheltered by southern foliage, there is a tombstone 
 with the inscription commemorative of a man who 
 died in the seventeenth century: 'One of the pall- 
 bearers of William Shakespeare,' The only relic of the 
 man I have read of is a pair of gauntlets possessed by 
 an American, one of the most eminent and honored of 
 Shakespearian scholars and critics, Dr. Horace Howard 
 Furness, of Philadelphia. If it be so, it only confirms 
 the fact that the Americans have been his greatest and 
 most dispassionate admirers, even if the Germans were 
 the first to discern his singular yet universal genius, 
 and are still the most enthusiastic witnesses of his 
 plays. In France, also, M. Taine and other great 
 writers, including Victor Hugo, have been earnest 
 
212 The Siraiford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 lovers of Shakespeare ; but when Eniflish or American 
 tragic actors have phiyed his principal characters in 
 Paris, they have found far less appreciative audiences 
 than they have in Berlin or Frankfort or any other 
 German city. At any rate, Mr. Clnlds has helped to 
 make one picturesque little town by a beautiful river 
 in England more famous than even Shakespeare's 
 name had made it before, and henceforward no one 
 who visits England will leave it without spending a 
 few hours, at least, in the quiet town of Stratford- 
 upon-Avon." 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE FOUNTAIN. 
 
 On October 17, 1887, the fountain was 
 dedicated with imposing ceremony, an ex- 
 haustive report of which was published on 
 the following Frida}^ in the Stratford-upon- 
 Avon Herald, and which is here presented 
 anew from that journal : 
 
 " All things combined to give ^clclt to the important 
 event of Monday last, — the inauguration of the hand- 
 some fountain given by Mr. Childs, of Philadelphia. 
 It was a happy thought of that prominent and re- 
 spected citizen to arrange that this splendid memorial 
 of American admiration for and sympathy with Eng- 
 land's greatest poet should take place in the Jubilee 
 Year of Queen Victoria's reign ; and it was also a 
 happy idea to secure the greatest of English actors to 
 carry out the important function. So distinguished an 
 assemblage of gentlemen has rarely come together in 
 Stratford-upon-Avon. Art, literature, and the drama 
 were well represented, and the ceremonial was one of 
 international interest. The fountain forms both a 
 
The StratJord-upon-Ai'on Fountain. 213 
 
 welcome and substantial benefit to the town, and a 
 graceful addition to its many points of natural and 
 historic interest. Stratford accepted the bequest with 
 a lieartiness at once aoireeable to the driver, and illus- 
 trative of the friendly feeling of Warwickshire for the 
 people of the great llepublic of the West. 
 
 " Preparations for the celebration of the event were 
 made on Saturday. The scaffolding, which so long 
 impeded a full view of the fountain, was removed, the 
 final touches were put to the stonework of the elegant 
 erection, and a tent was erected in which the ceremony 
 was to take place in the event of the weather proving 
 unpropitious. Mr. Irving, -who performed the inau- 
 gural ceremony, arrived in Stratford the previous day, 
 and was the guest of Mr. Charles E. Flower at Avon- 
 bank. The distinguished actor only finished his Liver- 
 pool engagement on Saturday night, this being the last 
 place on his provincial tour before his departure for 
 America. On Sunday morning he travelled to Ells- 
 worth, via Rugby, a special train on the East and 
 West Junction Railway meeting him at the former 
 place. On his arrival at Stratford he received a very 
 cordial welcome. A large number of people had as- 
 sembled on the platform and outside the building, and, 
 as soon as he emerged from the railway carriage and 
 was recognized, a very vigorous cheer was given. He 
 was met by Mr. Flower, and proceeded at once to 
 Avonbank. 
 
 " Monday morning, as we have said, opened most 
 auspiciously. The sun soon dispersed the early mist, 
 and at noon, the time fixed for the ceremony, there 
 was almost an unclouded sky, and in the splendid 
 autumn light the fountain showed itself to perfection. 
 The rich light gray stone seemed to reflect the sun's 
 rays, and the vane, which caps the edifice, shone with 
 
214 The Straff ord-npon- Avon Fountam. 
 
 great brilliancy. The fountain was complete, with 
 one exception, — tiie clock-ftices were there, but not the 
 hands. Sir Arthur Hodgson (the Mayor), in accept- 
 ing Mr. Childs's munificent gift, arranged for an in- 
 augural ceremonial befitting its international as well 
 as its practical character. Sir Arthur issued invita- 
 tions on a scale of imposing hospitality, and the Clop- 
 ton House was filled with a number of distinguished 
 guests. Shortly before twelve o'clock a procession was 
 arrancred at the Town Hall, the local volunteers with 
 their drum-and-fife band forming the lead, and followed 
 by the Snitterfield brass band. Then came the Mayor, 
 on each side of whom AWilked the Lord High Steward 
 (Earl de La Warr) and his Excellency the American 
 Minister (Mr. Phelps). Mr. Henry Irving, accom- 
 panied by his secretary, Mr. Bram Stoker, came next, 
 and then succeeded the Mayors of Leamington, War- 
 wick, Coventry, and Lichfield, wearing their gold chains 
 of ofi&ee. The members of the corporation and their 
 officers brought up the rear, those present being Alder- 
 men Bird, Cox, Newton, R. Gibbs, E. Gibbs, and Col- 
 bourne ; Councillors Flower, Cole, Eaves, Rogers, 
 Birch, C. Green, Hawkes, L. Greene, Maries, Kemp, 
 and Morris. The streets during the moving of the 
 procession presented a very animated appearance, there 
 being a liberal display of bunting throughout the route. 
 Arriving at the site of the Memorial, they found as- 
 sembled a very large concourse of persons, all anxious 
 to witness the proceedings, and to listen to the elo- 
 quence of the great English actor. His address was 
 delivered in the silvery tones so familiar to those who 
 have seen and heard Mr. Irving on the stage. He was 
 studiously brief, but what a large amount of feeling 
 and meaning his few words contained ! The inaugural 
 speech over, the water was turned on, and the fountain 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 215 
 
 was dedicated to the public forever. Cheers followed 
 the announcement, and the formal ceremony soon came 
 to an end. Everything had been happily done, and 
 the fraternal relations of the tvro great nations vrhich 
 regard the works of Shakespeare as a common heritage 
 were thus increasingly cemented. There were mutual 
 congratulations : common praise of Mr. Childs's mag- 
 nificent gift, of the architect's skill and taste, of the 
 builder's sound workmanship. The whole proceedings 
 were happily conceived and successfully carried out. 
 
 " The speeches at the fountain and at the luncheon 
 which followed are fully recorded below. 
 
 " The Mayor announced that he had received letters 
 explaining inability to attend from the High Sheriff, 
 the Lord Lieutenant, Lord and Lady Hertford, his 
 Excellency the American Minister at Paris, the Secre- 
 tary of Legation of the United States, Sir StaflTord 
 Northcote, the Dean of Queen's College, Oxford, and 
 Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps. His Worship afterwards read 
 the following letters from Mr. James Russell Lowell 
 and Mr. J. G. Whittier : 
 
 LETTER OF JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 " ' Dear Sir Arthur Hodgson, — I should more 
 deeply regret my inability to be present at the interest- 
 ing ceremonial of the 17th were it not that my country- 
 men will be more fitly and adequately represented there 
 by our accomplished Minister, Mr. Phelps. 
 
 " ' The occasion is certainly most interesting. The 
 monument which you accept to-day in behalf of your 
 townsmen commemorates at once the most marvellous 
 of Englishmen and the Jubilee Year of the august 
 lady whose name is honored wherever the language 
 is spoken of wliich he was the greatest master. No 
 
216 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 symbol could more aptly serve this double purpose 
 thcan a fountain ; for surely no poet ever " poured forth 
 so broad a river of speech" as he, — whether he was the 
 author of the Novum Oi'<!;anum also or not, — nor could 
 the purity of her character and example be better 
 typified than by the current that shall flow forever 
 from the sources opened here to-day. 
 
 "'It was Washington Irving who first embodied in 
 his delightful Enojlish the emotion which Stratford- 
 upon-Avon awakens in the heart of the pilgrim, and 
 especially of the American pilgrim, who visits it. I 
 am glad to think that this Memorial should be the gift 
 of an American, and thus serve to recall the kindred 
 blood of two great nations, joint heirs of the same 
 noble language and of the genius that has given it a 
 cosmopolitan significance. I am glad of it because it 
 is one of the multiplying signs that these two nations 
 are beginning to think more and more of the things in 
 which they sympathize, less and less of those in which 
 they differ. 
 
 "'A common language is not, indeed, the surest 
 bond of amity, for this enables each country to under- 
 stand whatever unpleasant thing the other may chance 
 to say about it. As I am one of those who believe that 
 an honest friendship between England and America is 
 a most desirable thing, I trust that we shall on both 
 sides think it equally desirable, in our intercourse one 
 with another, to make our mother-tongue search her 
 cofi'ers round for the polished rather than the sharp- 
 cornered epithets she has stored there. Let us by all 
 means speak the truth to each other, for there is no 
 one else who can speak it to either of us with such a 
 fraternal instinct for the weak point of the other 5 but 
 let us do it in such wise as to show that it is the truth 
 we love, and not the discomfort we can inflict by means 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 217 
 
 of it. Let us say agreeable things to each other and 
 of each other Avhenever Ave conscientiously can. My 
 friend, Mr. Childs, has said one of these agreeable 
 things in a very solid and durable way. A common 
 literature and a common respect for certain qualities 
 of character and ways of thinking supply a neutral 
 ground where we may meet in the assurance that we 
 shall find something amiable in each other, and from 
 being less than kind become more than kin. 
 
 " ' In old maps the line which outlined the British 
 Possessions in America included the greater part of 
 what is now the territory of the United States. The 
 possessions of the American in England are laid down 
 on no map, yet he holds them of memory and imagina- 
 tion by a title such as no conquest ever established and 
 no revolution can ever overthrow. The dust that is 
 sacred to you is sacred to him. The annals which 
 Shakespeare makes walk before us in flesh and blood 
 are his no less than yours. These are the ties which 
 we recognize, and are glad to recognize, on occasions 
 like this. They will be yearly drawn closer as Science 
 goes on with her work of abolishing Time and Space, 
 and thus renders more easy that " peaceful commerce 
 'twixt dividable shores" which is so potent to clear 
 away whatever is exclusive in nationality or savors of 
 barbarism in patriotism. 
 
 " 'I remain, dear Mr. Mayor, faithfully yours, 
 
 " ' J. K. Lowell.' 
 
 LETTER FROM JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 
 
 '"Oak Knoll, Daxveus, Mass., 6th Mo. 30th, 1887. 
 "'Mr.G.W. Childs: 
 
 " ' Dear Friend, — I have just read of thy noble and 
 appropriate gift to the birthplace of Shakespeare. It 
 K 19 
 
218 The Sir atjord-upon- Avon Fountain. 
 
 was a hnppy thought to connect it with the Queen's 
 Jubilee. It will make for peace between the two great 
 kindred nations, and will go far to atone for the foolish 
 abuse of England by too many of our party orators 
 and papers. As an American, and proud of the name, 
 I thank thee for expressing in this munificent way the 
 true feeling of our people. 
 
 " ' I am very truly, thy friend, 
 
 "'John G. Wuittier.' 
 
 the address of mayor hodgson. 
 
 " The letters having been read, the Mayor said 
 he must say a few words about the origin of the 
 fountain. It came about in this way. It had been 
 first suggested to Mr. Childs, of Philadelphia, by an 
 eminent English divine and scholar (the late Dean 
 Stanley), that it would be a good and graceful thing 
 for an American to leave his mark in the historic 
 borough wherein Shakespeare was born, and lived, and 
 died, and was buried. After the death of the Dean 
 nothing more was said of the project until Mr. Childs's 
 friend. Dr. Macaulay, wrote to him expressing the 
 same idea which had been four years before presented 
 to the giver of the Herbert and Cowper AVindow to 
 Westminster Abbey ; but Dr. Macaulay urged that the 
 best gift would be a drinking-fountain, of which Strat- 
 fordians stood very much in want. All of Mr. Childs's 
 several letters respecting the fountain, extending over 
 twelve months, evinced a spirit of affection for dear 
 old England, and a feeling of deep regard for our 
 most gracious Queen. Therefore we chose the Jubilee 
 Year for the presentation. In all this Mr. Childs has 
 proved that blood is stronger than water. Yes, in this 
 case blood is stronger than water. Mr. Childs had 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 219 
 
 imbued his feelings, English and American, — mixed 
 them up together, as it were. Then, of course, ar- 
 rangements had to be made. He did not hesitate to 
 say that, if it had not been for Di-. ]Macaulay, and 
 the valuable assistance he gave, they could not have 
 proved the fountain, as he believed they intended to 
 do that day, a success. Dr. Macaulay helped them 
 heartily, and he felt deeply grateful for his valuable 
 assistance. Then came the question, who should in- 
 augurate the stately Memorial; and Dr. Macaulay and 
 himself both agreed that they could not choose a better 
 man than their celebrated Encrlish tragedian, Mr. 
 Henry Irving. They were not at all sure of securing 
 the valuable presence of his Excellency, Mr. Phelps, 
 the American Minister in this country, and thought it 
 better to be sure of their ground. However, he was 
 there, and Mr. Irving, and, on behalf of the borough 
 of Stratford-upon-Avon and the corporation, of v.'hich 
 he had the honor to be Mayor, he returned to them 
 their most grateful thanks for havincr come amon<:' them 
 on that auspicious occasion. He knew very well that 
 Mr. Phelps had travelled night and day from the north 
 of Scotland to be present, not only to lend his counte- 
 nance to the gathering, but to endorse the munificent 
 act of his noble countryman. It was, again, a great 
 satisfaction to the people of Stratford to be able to 
 secure the services of the great tragedian, who, they 
 were glad to know, was one of the trustees of Shake- 
 speare's Birthplace. They thanked iMr. Irving for 
 coming among them, and he would conclude his re- 
 marks by asking Mr. Irving to dedicate the noble 
 fountain to the borough of Stratford-upon-Avon for- 
 ever. 
 
 "Mr. Irving, on stepping forward, was received with 
 great cheering. He said he had been requested to read 
 
220 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 a poem which had been dedicated to the fountain at 
 Stratford-upon-Avon, — a poem written by a man who 
 was loved wherever the English language was spoken." 
 
 Mr. Irving then read the following poem 
 by Oliver Wendell Holmes : 
 
 Welcome, thrice Avelcome, is thy silvery gleam, 
 
 Thou long-imprisoned stream ! 
 Welcome the tinkle of thy crystal beads 
 As plashing raindrops to the flowery meads, 
 As summer's breath to Avon's whispering reeds! 
 From rock-walled channels, drowned in rayless night, 
 
 Leap forth to life and light ; 
 Wake from the darkness of thv troulded dream, 
 And greet with answering smile the morning's beam! 
 
 No purer lymph the white-limbed Naiad knows 
 
 Than from thy chalice flows ; 
 Not the bright spring of Afric's sunny shores, 
 Starry with spangles washed from golden ores, 
 Nor glassy stream Blandusia's fountain pours, 
 Nor wave translucent where Sabrina fair 
 
 Braids her loose-flowing hair, 
 Nor the swift current, stainless as it rose 
 Where chill Arveiron steals from Alpine snows. 
 
 Here shall the traveller stay his weary feet 
 
 To seek thy calm retreat ; 
 Here at high noon the brown-armed reaper rest; 
 Here, when the shadows, lengthening from the west, 
 Call the mute song-bird to his leafy nest, 
 Matron and maid shall chat the cares away 
 
 That brooded o'er the day, 
 While flocking round them troops of children meet, 
 And all the arches ring with laughter sweet. 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 221 
 
 Here shall the steed, his patient life who spends 
 
 In toil that never ends, 
 Hot from his thirsty tramp o'er hill and plain, 
 Plunge his red nostrils, while the torturing rein 
 Drops in loose loops beside his floating mane ; 
 Nor the poor brute that shares his master's lot 
 
 Find his small needs forgot, — ■ 
 Truest of humble, long-enduring friends, 
 Whose presence cheers, wdiose guardian care defends 1 
 
 Here lark and thrush and nightingale shall sip. 
 
 And skimming swallows dip. 
 And strange shy wanderers fold their lustrous plumes 
 Fragrant from bowers that lent their sweet perfumes 
 "Where Pgestum's rose or Persia's lilac blooms ; 
 Here from his cloud the eagle stoop to drink 
 
 At the full basin's brink, 
 And whet his beak against its rounded lip, 
 Ilis glossy feathers glistening as they drip. 
 
 Here shall the dreaming poet linger long, 
 
 Far from his listening throng, — 
 Nor lute nor Ivre iiis trembling hand shall bring ; 
 Here no frail Muse shall imp her crippled wing. 
 No faltering minstrel strain his throat to sing I 
 These hallowed echoes who shall dare to claim 
 
 AVhose tuneless voice would shame, 
 AVhose jangling chords with jarring notes would wrong 
 The nymphs that heard the Swan of Avon's song? 
 
 "What visions greet the pilgrim's raptured eyes I 
 
 "What ghosts made real rise ! 
 The dead return, — they breathe, — they live again. 
 Joined by the host of Fancy's airy train. 
 Fresh from the springs of Shakespeare's quickening 
 brain 1 
 
 19* 
 
222 The Straffonl-uj)on-Avon Fountain, 
 
 The stream that slakes the soul's diviner thirst 
 
 Here found the sunbeams first; 
 Rich Avith his fame, not less shall memory prize 
 The gracious gift that humbler wants supplies. 
 
 O'er the wide waters reached the hand that g.ave 
 
 To all this bounteous wave, 
 With health and strength and joyous beauty fraught j 
 Blest be the generous pledge of friendship, brought 
 From the far home of brothers' love, unboughtl 
 Long may fair Avon's fountain flow, enrolled 
 
 With storied shrines of old, — 
 Castalia's spring, Egeria's dewy cave, 
 And Iloreb's rock the God of Israel clave 1 
 
 Land of our Fathers, ocean makes us two. 
 
 But heart to heart is true 1 
 Proud is your towering daughter in the West, 
 Yet in her burning life-blood reign confessed 
 Her mother s pulses beating in her breast. 
 This holy fount, whose rills from heaven descend, 
 
 Its gracious drops shall lend 
 Both foreheads bathed in that baptismal dew, 
 And love make one the old home and the new 1 
 
 MR. IRVING'S address. 
 
 "Mr. Irving then spoke as follows: 'The occa- 
 sion which has drawn us here to-day has an excep- 
 tional interest and a special significance. We have 
 met to celebrate a tribute which has been paid to 
 the memory of Shakespeare by an American citizen, 
 and which is associated with the Jubilee Year of our 
 Queen. The donor of this beautiful monument I am 
 happy to claim as a personal friend. Mr. George W. 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 223 
 
 Childs is not only an admirable specimen of tlie public 
 spirit and enterprising energy of Philadelphia, but he 
 is also a man who has endeared himself to a very wide 
 circle by many generous deeds. I do not wonder at 
 his munificence, fur to men like him it is a second 
 nature ; but I rejoice in the happy inspiration which 
 prompted a gift that so worthily represents the common 
 homage of two great peoples to the most famous man of 
 their common race. We are honored to-day by the pres- 
 ence of a distinguished American, the political represen- 
 tative of his country in England. But it would do far 
 less than justice to Mr. Phelps to affirm that he is with 
 us in any formal and diplomatic sense. On this spot, 
 of all others, Americans cease to be aliens, for here 
 they claim our kinship with the great master of Eng- 
 lish speech. It is not for me to say in Mr. Phelps's 
 presence how responsive American life and literature 
 are to the influence which has done more than the work 
 of any other man to mould the thought and character 
 of generations. The simplest records of Stratford show 
 that this is the Mecca of American pilgrims, and that 
 the place which gave birth to Shakespeare is regarded 
 as the fountain of the mightiest and most enduring 
 inspiration of our mother-tongue. It is not difficult 
 to believe that among the strangers who write those 
 imposing letters U.S.A. in the visitors' book in the his- 
 toric house hard by there are some whose colloquial 
 speech still preserves many phrases Avhich have come 
 down from Shakespeare's time. Some idioms, which 
 are supposed to be of American invention, can be 
 traced back to Shakespeare. And we can imagine that 
 in the audience at the old Globe Theatre there were 
 ignorant and unlettered men who treasured up some- 
 thing of Shakespeare's imagery and vivid portraiture, 
 and carried with them across the ocean thoughts and 
 
224 TJie Straff ord-ujwn- Avon Fountain. 
 
 words, "solemn vision and l^riglit silver dream," 
 which helped to nurture their transplanted stock. 
 For it is above all things as the poet of the peoj)le 
 that Shakespeare is supreme. lie wrote in days when 
 literature made no appeal to the multitude. Books 
 were for a limited class, but tlie theatre was open to 
 all. How many Englishmen, to whom reading was a 
 labor or an impossibility, must have drawn from the 
 stage which Shakespeare had enriched some of the 
 most priceless je\vels of the human mind! One of 
 the inscriptions on this fountain is, perhaps, the most 
 expressive tribute to Shakespeare which the people's 
 heart can pay: "Ten thousand honors and blessings 
 on the bard who has gilded the dull realities of life 
 with innocent illusions." Those simple words speak 
 a gratitude fiir more eloquent and enduring than whole 
 volumes of criticism. It is not only because Shake- 
 speare is the delight of scholars, or because he has 
 infinite charms for the refined, that he wields the un- 
 broken staff of Prospero over the imagination of man- 
 kind. It is because his spell is woven from the truth 
 and simplicity of Nature herself. There lies the heart 
 of the mystery. Without an effort the simplest mind 
 passes into the realms of Shakespeare's fancy. Learned 
 and simple, gentle and humble, all may drink from the 
 inexhaustible wisdom of this supreme sage. And so 
 it seems to me that no happier emblem of Shakespeare's 
 genius in his native place could have been chosen than 
 this Memorial Fountain. I suppose we shall never 
 be content with what little we know of Shakespeare's 
 personal history. Yet we can see him in his home-life 
 here, the man of genial manners and persuasive speech, 
 unassuming and serene, and perhaps unconscious that 
 he had created in the world of letters as great a marvel 
 as his contemporary Galileo's discovery in the world 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 225 
 
 of science. And we may conjure other fancies. We 
 can picture Shakespeare returning from his bourne to 
 find upon the throne a queen who rules with gentler 
 sway than the great sovereign that he knew ; and yet 
 whose reign has glories more beneficent than those of 
 Elizabeth? We can try to imogine his emotion wlien 
 he finds " this dear England" he loved so well ex- 
 panded beyond the seas ; and we can at least be happy 
 in the thought that when he had mastered the lessons 
 of the conflict which divided us from our kinsmen in 
 America, he would be proud to see in Stratford the gift 
 of a distinguished American citizen, — this memorial 
 of our reunion under the shadow of his undying 
 
 name.' 
 
 REMARKS OF SIR PHILIP CUXLIFFE OWEN. 
 
 " In response to a call from the Mayor, Sir Philip 
 Cunliffe Owen, who was originally associated with the 
 British Commission of the Centennial Exhibition of 
 1876, in Philadelphia, said that, as an old personal 
 friend of Mr. Childs, he was gratified at being per- 
 mitted to say a few words on that interesting occasion, 
 and to express the gratitude of a large number of 
 English people who had received Mr. Childs's hospi- 
 tality. That hospitality was well known in that ' City 
 of Brotherly Love,' — Philadelphia, — and Mr. Childs 
 was beloved both over there and in this country. He 
 was very much pleased indeed that he should have 
 been allowed, in the name of those who loved Mr. 
 Childs, — as all who had met him in America did, — to 
 join with the orator who had just charmed them by 
 his eloquence in expressing their gratitude for that 
 noble gift. 
 
 "The water was then turned on, and, filling a cup, 
 Mr. Irving drank ' To the Immortal Memory of Shake- 
 V 
 
226 The Stvatford-^ipon- Avon Fountain. 
 
 speare,' while the Mayor announced to the company 
 that the water had been pronounced by authority to be 
 clear, palatable, and good. The band in the mean time 
 played tiie National Anthem and 'Hail, Columbia,' 
 while hearty cheers were afterwards given for the 
 Queen, for the President of the United States, for the 
 American Minister (Mr. Phelps), for Mr. Childs, the 
 munificent donor of the fountain, for the Mayor and 
 Lady Hodgson, and for Mr. Irving. This part of the 
 proceedings then terminated." 
 
 THE MAYOR'S BANQUET. 
 
 At one o'clock the Mayor entertained a 
 large and distinguished company at lunch- 
 eon, in the upper room of the Town Hall, 
 concernino; which the Herald continues: 
 
 U T 
 
 The Mayor, in giving the toast of ' The Queen,' 
 said it was one which, in this ancient, loyal, and his- 
 toric borough, was always well received. This year 
 Stratford had done its best to honor the Jubilee. By 
 a happy coincidence, the foundation-stone of the hand- 
 some fountain they had inaugurated that morning was 
 laid on Jubilee Day by the Mayoress. They all felt 
 that the Queen sat enthroned in the hearts of her sub- 
 jects. He thought they might truly say that she was 
 the most constitutional sovereii^n who had ever reisrned 
 over them. Throuirhout her lono; and glorious reiirn 
 we had had a government of the people by the people 
 for the people. Of Victoria it might be said, as by 
 Cranmer (in 'Henry VIII.') of another Queen, 'She 
 shall be to the happiness of England an aged princess. 
 Many days shall see her, yet not a day without a deed 
 to crown it.' 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 227 
 
 " The toast was received with hearty cheers, after 
 which the Mayor proposed, ' The Prince and Princess 
 of Wales and the rest of the Royal Family,' which met 
 with an equally cordial reception. 
 
 REMARKS OF EARL DE LA WARR. 
 
 "Earl de La ^V'arr said he had great pleasure in 
 proposing the next toast, ' The President of the United 
 States.' They had that day witnessed a ceremony 
 which had excited the liveliest interest of all who had 
 the pleasure of being present. The function at which 
 they had assisted that morning was more than a mere 
 ceremony : it was an indication of the sympathy exist- 
 ing between England and America. He thought he 
 was speaking the sentiments of the nation as well as 
 of the borough when he said that they viewed that 
 auspicious occasion, not only as a proof of the great 
 interest which was felt in America in the memory of 
 the immortal poet, but also as drawing more closely 
 the bonds of unity and friendly feeling between the 
 United States and this country. 
 
 " The toast was very cordially received. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. PHELPS, THE AMERICAN MINISTER. 
 
 " Ilis Excellency the American Minister, Mr. Phelps, 
 who experienced a hearty greeting, said, in response, — 
 
 " * It is certainly a very grateful duty to respond to 
 a sentiment honored by Ainericans everywhere and 
 under all circumstances, which has been proposed in 
 such felicitous terms by Lord de La Warr, and received 
 so cordially by you all. And for the kind allusions to 
 myself which I have heard to-day and for your more 
 than kind reception, I can only offer you my thanks 
 and my wish that they were better deserved. The 
 manner in wiiich the name of the President of the 
 
228 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 United States is always received when it is brou.2;hfc 
 forward in an English company, and the kindness 
 which everywhere is made to surround tlie path of his 
 representative in this country, are exceedingly gratify- 
 ing, because they are the expression, and the more 
 significant because they are often the spontaneous ex- 
 pression, of the cordial, friendly feeling which animates 
 the heart of the people of this country towards their 
 kinsmen across that sea which used to divide but which 
 now unites them. The relations between these two 
 countries are not the property of themselves alone ; 
 they are the property of the civilized world. It would 
 be a calamity too great to be anticipated, and which I 
 trust may never be realized, to all the civilized world 
 if these relations were to be severed. But it is to be 
 borne in mind that they depend far less upon govern- 
 ments and public men than upon the spirit w^hich 
 animates the people on either side. Mr. Irving happily 
 remarked this morning that I was not here in a diplo- 
 matic capacity. Diplomacy, that black art as it used 
 to be known in the w^orld, and I hope has ceased to be 
 known, has very little place among the straightforward 
 Saxon race. It cannot be too strongly borne in mind, 
 I think, that it is on the cultivation of a friendly spirit 
 on both sides that our cordial relations depend. So 
 far as I have observed, people do not quarrel unless 
 they desire it. When they are hostile, provocation is 
 not far to seek •, when they are friendly, there are very 
 few provocations that will not somehow be patched up 
 and adjusted. It is in the intercourse so admirably 
 depicted in the letter of my predecessor, Mr. Lowell, 
 by which the people of the two countries come to know 
 each other and understand and appreciate each other, 
 to partake of each other's hospitality, to enjoy with 
 each other the amenities of social, personal, individual 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 229 
 
 life, that the spirit arises that will always make these 
 people friends. And it may he usefully rememhered 
 by those philanthropists and humanitarians who are 
 anxious to preserve the peace of the world, that it is 
 much better maintained by justice and kindness in the 
 treatment of each other internationally than it is by 
 obtaining paper promises that injustice and unkindness 
 shall not be resented. Such promises are either worth- 
 less or needless. They are needless Avhile nations are 
 friendly ; they are worthless while nations are hostile. 
 It is one of the amenities to which I have alluded that 
 brings us together here to-day. I must say a word, 
 before I sit down, about the gift of my warm-hearted 
 and distinguished countryman which has been inaugu- 
 rated this morning. I should rather mar what you 
 have already heard if I were to attempt to add much 
 to what has been said, and so well said, by the Mayor, 
 Mr. Irving, and Mr. Lowell. It seems to me that in 
 every possible way all the proprieties and all the 
 unities have attended it. It seems to be a graceful 
 offering, modest, unobtrusive, unheralded, accepted in 
 the spirit in which it is given. I wish Mr. Childs 
 might have been present here to-day. I wish he 
 might have observed for himself the spirit in which 
 his gift was received. It is appropriately erected on 
 the place where the memory of Shakespeare has extin- 
 guished all other memories, a place to which Ameri- 
 cans, by the pilgrimage of successive generations, have 
 established a title as tenants in common with Eng;- 
 lishmen by right of possession, — one of those posses- 
 sions described by Mr. Lowell, not laid down on the 
 map, but of which the title is just as strong as if it 
 were marked by geographical boundaries. I have 
 sometimes thought that there is no bond of union be- 
 tween Americans and Englishmen that is stronijrer 
 
 20 
 
230 The Straff onl-uj^on- Avon Fountain. 
 
 tlmn that of a common literature : I mean the litera- 
 ture that pervades and influences the general intelli- 
 gence of the country 5 the literature that was so ably 
 protrayed by Mr. Irving this morning in his observa- 
 tions on the character of Shakespeare's writings; a 
 literature which is not the property of a class, but for 
 all mankind and for all time; and, therefore, this 
 birthplace of Shakespeare, where almost all the me- 
 morials which remain to him are gradually being 
 gathered together, here, if anywhere in England, is 
 the appropriate place for a permanent gift from an 
 American. It is appropriate also in the time of offer- 
 ing, — the Jubilee Year of your sovereign, the Jubilee 
 of which I was a most interested spectator in all its 
 progress from beginning to end. And the impression 
 which it made upon me was that its success and its 
 distinction did not arise from its pageantry or its core- 
 monies or the distinguished concourse which attended 
 it from afar. It has been in the manifestation of that 
 deep and universal loyalty of this people towards their 
 Queen and their government. That, as it appears to 
 me, is the lesson, the significance, the glory, and the 
 success of the Jubilee. The loyalty of Americans is 
 to their own government; they appreciate the loyalty 
 of your people to yours, and they understand and feel, 
 I am sure, through the whole length and breadth of 
 that country, what was so well expressed by the Mayor, 
 when he said that the throne of the Queen is in the 
 hearts of her people. And, therefore, a gift which, 
 though it comes from one citizen only in America, 
 will be applauded by thousands, and to which thou- 
 sands would have gladly contributed if it had been 
 requisite, may well come in the year when you are 
 celebrating an event so rare in the history of nations. 
 The gift, too, in its inauguration has been fortunate in 
 
The Straiford-npon-Avon Fountain. 231 
 
 the ceremonies that attended it. It is fortunate that it 
 should have been inaugurated in an address so fittincr 
 and so elegant by a gentleman who interprets Sliake- 
 speare to both the nations in whom we claim a share 
 and always shall, whom we always welcome heartily, 
 and always unwillingly let go. I cannot wish him a 
 speedy return, in justice to my countrymen, in the 
 voyage he is about to undertake. I hope he may have 
 a safe and happy one. I hope that, when the curtain 
 falls in America upon some representation of the great 
 master which has entranced a theatre crowded with the 
 best intelligence of my countrymen, and when the call 
 not unfamiliar to his ear compels him to say something 
 for himself, he will tell them what he has seen and 
 li.eard to-day. He may be too modest to tell them how 
 much he has contributed to it ; but I hope he will tell 
 them something of the manner and the spirit in which 
 the gift to his country was received, and I am sure it 
 will not make his welcome the less cordial. Long may 
 this fountain stand, sir, and flow, an emblem, a monu- 
 ment, a landmark — not the only one by many, I hope 
 — of the permanent, intimate, cordial friendship of my 
 countrymen and yours ! May many generations of 
 Englishmen and Americans drink together of its 
 waters ! May many a school-boy, creeping unwillingly 
 to school, or rushing joyously away from it, when lie 
 pauses to slake his thirst at its current, take in with 
 the water a kindly thought of his kinsmen beyond the 
 sea, — kinsmen who have so much in common, whose 
 history, whose religion, whose literature, whose lan- 
 guage are all in common, and who are to share in 
 common hereafter, beyond all and above all, in that 
 limitless American future which opens its magnificent 
 doors free and wide to you and your children as well 
 as to ours !' 
 
232 The Straff ord-upon- Avon Fountain. 
 
 THE queen's telegram. 
 
 "At the conclusion of the address of the American 
 Minister, which was received with the most enthusi- 
 astic manifestation of good-will, the Mayor announced, 
 amid great cheering, that he had just received a tele- 
 gram from her Majesty. It was as follows : 
 
 " ' The Queen is much gratified by the kind and loyal 
 expressions contained in your telegram, and is pleased 
 to hear of the handsome gift from Mr. Childs to Strat- 
 ford-upon-Avon. 
 
 " ' (Signed) Henry Ponsonby.' 
 
 " It may be stated that a few minutes earlier the 
 Mayor had wired, — 
 
 " ' To Sir Henry Ponsonby, Balmoral Castle. 
 
 "'The toast of her Majesty's health most enthusi- 
 astically received on the occasion of the inauguration 
 of the drinking fountain by Mr. Childs, a distinguished 
 citizen of Philadelphia. 
 
 " ' (Signed) Arthur Hodgson, 
 
 " ' Mayor of Stratford.'' 
 
 remarks of MR. WALTER, OF THE LONDON " TIMES." 
 
 " Mr. Walter, the proprietor of the London Times, 
 proposed the next toast, which he said might truly be 
 described as the toast of the dav, the health of the 
 honored donor of the gift which they had assembled to 
 inaugurate. He had no claim whatever to be selected 
 for so high an honor as that of proposing Mr. Childs's 
 health, except from the circumstance that he had had 
 the privilege of being intimately acquainted with Mr. 
 Childs for more than twenty years, and that he and his 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 233 
 
 family had, when visiting the United States, received 
 unbounded proofs of his hospitality and affectionate 
 feeling towards them, which had always made him 
 (Mr. Walter) feel when within the States as a free cit- 
 izen of that community. Only those who had had the 
 good fortune to know America intimately could form 
 any adequate idea of the feelings of veneration and 
 attachment which most educated Americans entertained 
 towards this country, and especially to those localities 
 which were identified with noble, historic, and other 
 glorious associations. And of all the counties of Eng- 
 land, the county of Warwick, perhaps, from the his- 
 toric associations connected with such places as Kenil- 
 worth, Warwick, and, above all, Stratford-upon-Avon, 
 appealed most to the hearts of Americans, to make 
 them feel that they were of one kindred and one race 
 with ourselves. Sometimes, indeed, it had happened 
 that the feelino; had manifested itself in a somewhat 
 
 CD 
 
 extraordinary and not altogether acceptable manner. 
 He remembered one instance of this which brought to 
 his mind the feeling which Henry Y. expressed towards 
 Catherine when he said that he loved France so weli 
 that he would keep it all to himself. About thirty 
 years ago — it might be more ; it was when he was a 
 young man — it occurred to an enterprising American 
 that there was not suflBcient feeling in Stratford-upon- 
 Avon towards the memory of her immortal poet, and 
 that it would be far better for the good, at all events 
 of America, if the Americans put in practice the art 
 for which they were known to be so eminently distin- 
 guished, — the art of transplanting houses. It actually 
 occurred to an enterprising dweller in the States to 
 purchase and remove to America Shakespeare's house. 
 Whether or not this was intended as a scare to compel 
 that which was afterwards done — the purchase and the 
 
 20* 
 
234 Tlie Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 public guardianship f»r that wonderful treasure — it "was 
 not for him to say, but the impression it made on his 
 mind was perfectly fresh, and he had no doubt it was 
 familiar to most Americans. It had produced beneficial 
 results to them in making them more highly and more 
 thoroughly appreciate the honor of being the custodians 
 of Shakespeare's house. 
 
 " With regard to Mr. Childs himself he must say a 
 few words, though, as the American Minister had said, 
 that was a subject on which there was little more to 
 say. Mr. Childs was probably personally unknown to 
 most of those now present. He was a man with a 
 very remarkable history, — one of those examples of 
 self-made men of which the American soil seemed to 
 be prolific; men who, by an early career of great in- 
 dustry, energy, shrewdness, and perseverance, acquired 
 large fortunes and employed them for the public good. 
 Mr. Childs began life in a very humble capacity, 
 making what few dollars he could in the best way he 
 could find to his hand. He became a publisher, and 
 amassed in that business a considerable sum. But he 
 was an instance of a man who, like the Mayor, in- 
 stinctively obeyed the wise teaching of their great poet 
 by remembering that ' there is a tide in the affairs of 
 men which taken at the flood leads on to fortune.' He 
 took his chance at the flood, and became the purchaser 
 of the Public Ledger, which he had made a most lucra- 
 tive and highly honorable paper, and upon that he had 
 built a fortune which had enabled him to perform those 
 acts of public and private generosity and unbounded 
 hospitality to all Englishmen who had the good fortune 
 to be introduced to his acquaintance, and of which 
 the occasion of their present gathering was one of the 
 most conspicuous examples. The other day, in reading 
 a book which Mr. Childs gave him many years ago, — 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 23-3 
 
 a remarkable book, by an American, — he came across 
 a passage which seemed to him singularly appropriate 
 to the present occasion, Avliich he hoped would 1)0 
 sufficient excuse for his quoting a couple of stanzas 
 from it. The poet was apostrophizing Shakespeare, 
 and said, — 
 
 * Deep in the West, as Independence moves, 
 His banners planting round the land he loves, 
 Where Nature sleeps in Eden's infiint grace, 
 In Time's full hour shall spring a glorious race. 
 Thy name, thy verse, thy language shall they bear, 
 And deck for thee the vaulted temple there ! 
 
 'Our Roman-hearted fathers broke 
 Thy parent empire's galling yoke; 
 But thou, harmonious master of the mind, 
 Around their sons a gentler chain shall bind ! 
 Once more in thee shall Albion's sceptre wave, 
 And what her monarch lost her monarch-bard shall save !' 
 
 " One word to give some idea of Mr. Childs. At the 
 present moment it was about a quarter-past nine by 
 Philadelphia time, and Mr. Childs was sitting at his 
 breakfast, — a piece of dry bread and a cup of milk, — 
 and wondering what sort of a day it was going to be 
 in England, and how the most interesting ceremony 
 at Stratford was about to pass off, and possibly even 
 thinking in what terras his own health might be pro- 
 posed. The news would probably have reached him 
 before he had drunk his last cup of milk. Now, if he 
 had to describe the character of Mr. Childs in a single 
 word, he should do so in a word which was impressed 
 upon his mind by very early avssociations, and which 
 the Mayor would forgive him for mentioning on tiie 
 present occasion. Fifty-eight years ago he knew a little 
 boy at school, with rosy cheeks, genial, beaming coun- 
 
236 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 tenance, and such delightful qualities of civility, good- 
 humor, and readiness to oblige, that his school -fellows 
 applied to him the epithet of ' trump.' Most school-boy 
 epithets were not complimentary, and he had never 
 known of the application of that particular epithet to 
 any other boy than that one, whom he remembered as 
 Trump Hodgson. He had developed, in the course of 
 his interesting history, into the Worshipful Mayor of 
 Stratford-upon-Avon. The Mayor would excuse him 
 for mentioning the circumstance, and not think he was 
 guilty of wishing to infringe upon his monopoly of the 
 title, but if he had to apply one epithet rather than 
 another to Mr. Childs he should say he was a trump. 
 lie was a man of guileless habits, unselfish disposition, 
 a readiness to do good in any way, and who could not 
 possibly do an ill turn to any one. They were all 
 indebted to Mr. Childs for having performed an act 
 which more than anything else would help to impress 
 upon their minds the duty they owed to preserve the 
 memory of their immortal bard always fresh in their 
 minds, lie ardently wished the rising generation could 
 be persuaded to read more and more of Shakespeare 
 and less of the trash which they daily devoured. He 
 commended to them the health of their distinguished 
 absent friend, Mr. Childs, and asked them, not only to 
 drink to his present health, but also to wish him a long 
 continuance of prosperity and happiness. 
 " The toast was drunk amid loud applause. 
 
 REMARKS OF DR. MACAULAY. 
 
 "Dr. Macaulay, who, as an old friend of Mr. Childs, 
 was asked to reply in his behalf, said he had been told 
 by many persons that this gift of Mr. Childs to Strat- 
 ford was creating an impression in America perhaps 
 even beyond the value of the gift. And why? For 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 237 
 
 the same reason as in England, that it was regarded as 
 a pledge of the good feeling between the two nations. 
 At the present time there Avas a very unusual deputa- 
 tion in America, — many members of Parliament, with 
 others, — having an interview with the President of the 
 United States, trying to get from him a contract that 
 there should be no more war between the two nations, 
 and that every question in dispute should be submitted 
 to arbitration. But Mr. Phelps had very wisely told 
 them contracts were of no avail unless they were sup- 
 ported by public opinion, and he (Dr. Macaulay) was 
 sure that nothing would do more to create the desired 
 state of public opinion than this generous act of Mr. 
 Childs. It was a happy thought, this gift to the town 
 of Shakespeare in the Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria, 
 and he believed it would strengthen public opinion and 
 make any diplomatic arrangement the more easy by 
 making the two peoples feel that they had a common 
 origin, a common feeling, and a common sympathy in 
 all things, and when England and America were joined 
 there was good hope for the security of the freedom and 
 progress of the civilized world. 
 
 MR. IRVING* S REMARKS. 
 
 *' Mr. C. E. Flower said he was sure that the Mayor 
 had allotted to him a most pleasing as well as a most 
 honorable duty in asking him to propose the health of 
 their friend, Mr. Henry Irving. 
 
 •' Mr. Irving, who was greeted with cheers again 
 and again renewed, said : ' I thank you most heartily 
 for your most kind welcome. An actor can crave 
 no higher distinction than that of being prominently 
 associated with some public work in connection with 
 Shakespeare's memory in Shakespeare's native town. 
 
238 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 It is the lasting honor of the actor's calling that the 
 poet of all time was a player, and that he achieved im- 
 mortality hy writing for the stage. Of all the elo- 
 quent tributes which have been paid to Shakespeare 
 one ever recalls the words of his fellow-actors, to whose 
 loving care we owe the first edition of his works, and 
 who tell us that " as he was a happy imitator of Nature, 
 he w^as a most gentle expresserof it." All we can desire 
 in the artistic embodiment of life this " most gentle 
 expresser of Nature" has given us. I would like to 
 quote a few words on this sul)ject which seem to me to 
 embrace a very great deal, — a few words written by your 
 Excellency's famous countryman Emerson, in which he 
 pays Shakespeare a tribute which it would be very 
 difficult to excel. lie says, "We can discern, by his 
 ample pictures of the gentleman and the king, what 
 forms and humanities pleased him ; his delight in troops 
 of friends, in large hospitality, in cheerful giving. Let 
 Timon, let "Warwick, let Antonio the merchant answer 
 for his great heart. So far from Shakespeare being the 
 least known, he is the one person in all modern history 
 known to us. AVhat point of morals, of manners, of 
 economy, of philosophy, of religion, of taste, of the 
 conduct of life, has he not settled ? What mystery 
 has he not signified his knowledge of? What offices, 
 or functions, or district of man's work has he not re- 
 membered? What king has he not taught state, as 
 Talma taught Napoleon? What maiden has not found 
 him finer than her delicacy ? What lover has he not 
 outloved? What sage has he not outseen? What 
 gentleman has he not instructed in the rudeness of his 
 behavior ?" These are things which the actor treasures 
 to the full as dearly as the student, and the actors art 
 to-day comes much nearer Shakespeare's estimate of 
 its importance in the intellectual life of the community 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 239 
 
 than in the times when the corporation of Stratford 
 refused to permit the performance of Shakespeare's 
 plays. I don't intend that reminder to touch any 
 tender spot in your municipal pride now, for the 
 phiyers were not treated with contumely in Stratford 
 at all, and perhaps it was the influence of Shakespeare's 
 memory which induced the corporation on one occasion 
 to pay them the handsome sum of forty shillings to 
 keep away. But times are better now, and I am quite 
 sure that when a troop of Lyceum players come to 
 Stratford they will settle down under the wing of the 
 Worshipful Mayor. In a few days I shall sail for the 
 great country where any worthy representation of 
 Shakespeare on the stage commands as stanch support 
 from the public as in our own, and I cannot help thank- 
 ing Mr. Phelps for his most genial words, which repre- 
 sent the more than cordial — I may say affectionate — 
 welcome which we have always received from his 
 countrymen. I shall act as your ambassador to Mr. 
 Childs, and I hope that in the course of the next fort- 
 night I may convey to him your enthusiastic appre- 
 ciation of his generous gift. I shall remember, Mr. 
 Walter, your kind wishes and the affectionate tribute 
 you have paid him, and I shall be the happy person to 
 convey, I hope, to him my impressions of to-day. The 
 ceremonial of to-day must have given the greatest 
 pleasure to all, fm* it has renewed our hallowed asso- 
 ciations with the mighty dead, and it has reminded 
 two great nations of a bond which no calamity can 
 dissolve. And, believe me, I am sure it will make 
 every English-speaking actor in the world prouder 
 than ever of the calling which I have the privilege of 
 representing here to-day.' 
 
 " The Mayor, in the course of the afternoon, re- 
 
240 Tlie Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 ceived the following telegraphic despatch from the 
 donor of the fountain : 
 
 '"Philadelphia. 
 " ' To Sir Arthur Hodgson" : 
 
 " 'You have my warmest thanks for the enlightened 
 attention you gave to everything relating to the Shake- 
 speare Fountain, and its successful dedication, which 
 is a personal courtesy superadded to the official duty so 
 well performed, and which it was certainly very gra- 
 cious in you to bestow. 
 
 " ' George W. Childs.' 
 
 *' An occasional poem, written by Mrs. R. S. de C. 
 Laflfiin, on the opening of the fountain, was read by 
 Mr. Henry Irving to the company assembled at Avon 
 Bank on the eve of the ceremony : 
 
 " * Brothers yet, though ocean sever 
 
 Your free hind that fronts the west 
 From the church-yard by the river, 
 Where our common fathers rest : 
 
 " ' Brothers, by the twin rills flowing 
 From one fount of English speech, 
 By the common memories glowing 
 Deep within the heart of each : 
 
 " ' It is yours, as it is ours, 
 
 This most favored spot of earth. 
 Where the spring-time crowned with flowers 
 Gave our gentle Shakespeare birth. 
 
 "'Here, where every stone reminds us 
 Of the name that each reveres. 
 Symbol of the love that binds us. 
 
 Changeless through the changing years. 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 241 
 
 " * Rear the fountain : let the chiming 
 Of its peal of silver bells 
 Thrill like some sweet singer's rhyming 
 Every heart in Avon's dells. 
 
 " ' Let its waters, softly plashing, 
 Woo the weary and the worn, 
 Brightly through the gloaming flashing, 
 Brightly through the summer morn. 
 
 " * So the wanderer onward pressing, 
 Thirsty, way-worn, weak of knee, 
 Halting here shall drink a blessing 
 To a Friend beyond the Sea.' " 
 
 VOICE OF THE PRESS. 
 
 The London Times, on the next day, 
 October 18, published an account of the 
 dedication ceremonies, including the poem 
 of Dr. Holmes, the addresses, and letters 
 above given, filling four of its broad long 
 columns, which it prefaced as follows, under 
 the caption of " Shakespeare and America 
 
 55 
 
 " For all English-speakino; people there is a pecu- 
 liar and almost romantic charm about the town in 
 which the opening and closing scenes in the life of 
 Shakespeare were enacted. So inseparably, indeed, 
 are most of the scanty personal records of the poet 
 associated with Stratford-upon-Avon that the place 
 itself has lono- since been invested with a character 
 not far removed from that attaching to the shrine of 
 a saint in the Middle Ages. Thousands of pilgrims 
 annually resort to the quaint little midland town to 
 examine with an interest akin to reverence the relics 
 •L q 21 
 
242 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 it contains, to look on scenes which must have been 
 familiar to the poet, and to stand on the ground for- 
 ever sacred to his name and memory. Since the days 
 of Washino-ton Irvinir, American faces have been as 
 numerous in Stratford as those of English people, and 
 a handsome Memorial Window in the church where 
 Shakespeare's dust reposes bears testimony to Ameri- 
 can appreciation of the poet and his work. Another 
 evidence of transatlantic veneration for the memory of 
 Shakespeare was seen yesterday at Stratford. This time 
 the Memorial has assumed the form of a public drinking 
 fountain and clock-tower, which an American citizen, 
 Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, has presented 
 to the town. The ceremony connected with the dedi- 
 cation of this new monument was one which can hardly 
 fail to be of general and almost world-wide interest. 
 The representative company which had assembled to 
 witness the event, together with the international char- 
 acter of the gift itself, conspired to lend a more than 
 ordinary importance to the proceedings on this occasion. 
 " The ceremony of inaugurating the fountain was 
 performed yesterday at noon by Mr. Henry Irving, in 
 the presence of the Mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon (Sir 
 Arthur Hodgson, K.C.M.G.), the Corporation, and a 
 very numerous assemblage of visitors and townspeople. 
 In the main streets of Stratford the Union Jack and 
 the Stars and Stripes were conspicuously displayed, 
 and the town wore an air of festivity and gayety 
 throughout the day." 
 
 On the same day the London Dally Tele- 
 graph published an account of the celebra- 
 tion as extended as that of the Times, with 
 the subjoined introduction : 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 243 
 
 "Stratford-upon-Avon — supremely lovely at all 
 times ; hallowed with its immortal memory of Shake- 
 speare ; consecrated to literary men and all lovers of 
 the stage by anniversaries, and jubilees, and kindly 
 ceremonies without number — was never lovelier than 
 on the sunny October morning when, under the happy 
 auspices of sunshine and good-fellowsliip, the leading 
 actor of England dedicated, inaugurated, and conse- 
 crated the gift of an American citizen to the home and 
 the birthplace of the poet of all time. All the hospi- 
 table houses in the neighborhood were full of distin- 
 guished guests. The genial and popular Mayor, Sir 
 Arthur Hodgson, had invited his Excellency the 
 American Minister, who appeared not in any diplo- 
 matic capacity, but as the mouthpiece and representa- 
 tive of his fellow-countryman, Mr. George W. Childs, 
 of Philadelphia, whose handsome present of a drinking 
 fountain now stands unveiled and flowing with fresh 
 water in the old Rother Market, and Sir Theodore 
 Martin, who was selected to propose in his own grace- 
 ful and felicitous manner the solemn toast of the ' Im- 
 mortal Memory of Shakespeare.' 
 
 " There was the imposing new fountain, the im- 
 mediate object of attention to the countless pilgrims, 
 the beautiful and costly gift of Mr. Childs ; the monu- 
 ment all pinnacles and stone tracery, the handsome 
 combination of drinking-trough and clock-tower that 
 stood uncovered in the bright October sunshine, attract- 
 ing innumerable visitors to admire its proportions, to 
 discuss its style of architecture, and to read the Shake- 
 speare texts engraved on every available panel. 
 
 " Monday broke over Stratford even warmer, sunnier, 
 and more genial than the day before, and at a very early 
 hour the visitors scattered about in various directions. 
 The greater part naturally betook themselves to the 
 
244 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 Shakespeare Memorial Buildings, on the Avon bank, 
 already mello-wing down with age, and containing the 
 fruit of the anxious and devoted labors of the Flower 
 family and their friends. The handsome and insulated 
 theatre, standing at the lovely bend of the silent river 
 close to the old church, is now supplemented by a library 
 and a picture-gallery of ample proportions, and addi- 
 tions to both are earnestly asked by those who have by 
 degrees made the old town one of the show-places of 
 England, and directed thither the footsteps of countless 
 American pilgrims, who recite Washington Irving in 
 the cosey parlors of the celebrated Red Horse, and 
 quote Shakespeare in the busy market-place or the 
 quiet church-yard. There was clearly much to be done 
 before mid-day arrived, the hour fixed for dedicating 
 Mr. Childs's fountain to the use and benefit of Shake- 
 speare's native home. No one, for instance, could 
 neglect to pay a visit to the old house in Henley Street, 
 which Mr. Walter, in the course of the day, pleasantly 
 reminded us was, once upon a time, threatened with 
 annihilation by an enterprising American, who pro- 
 posed to carry it bodily away and transplant it on the 
 other side of the Atlantic. The old custodian's bell at 
 the Shakespeare House was constantly set ringing, 
 and those charming and courteous ladies, the Miss 
 Chattaways, were continually repeating the well-known 
 lecture in the same pleasant and cheerful terms. 
 
 '' Shortly before mid-day a procession was formed 
 at the Town Hall, headed by Sir Arthur Hodgson, 
 K.C.M.G., the Mayor of Stratford, who was preceded 
 by the beadle and mace-bearers of the ancient cor- 
 poration, and followed by the Mayors of Worcester, 
 Lichfield, Coventry, Warwick, Leamington, and other 
 distinguished guests. There was only one sad disap- 
 pointment. The worthy Mayor had received a letter 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 245 
 
 from Mr. James Russell Lowell regretting his inability 
 to be present, and the letter of apology was so eloquent 
 that he did not hesitate to read it to the assembled 
 people at the commencement of the ceremony." 
 
 Succeeding this was a report of the im- 
 posing ceremony, the poem, letters, and ad- 
 dresses; and on the editorial page of this 
 great journal there appeared a striking lead- 
 ing article, the style of which will readily 
 be recognized as that of the great Oriental 
 scholar and poet. Sir Edwin Arnold : 
 
 " The handsome fountain and clock-tower just erected 
 in Shakespeare's town, and inaugurated by Mr. Henry 
 Irving, are the gift of an American citizen, Mr. George 
 "W. Childs, of Philadelphia, well known already in his 
 own country for an enlightened mind and munificent 
 deeds. Such a tribute to the memory of the greatest 
 of English poets is one that can be heartily hailed, 
 and for which, in this Jubilee Year of our Queen, 
 there was place and propriety. Equally appropriate it 
 ■was that the dedication of this graceful gift to the town 
 of Stratford should have been made by the first among 
 living interpreters of the text of Shakespeare upon the 
 stage. No actor would dispute this title with the ac- 
 complished and scholarly gentleman who has done so 
 much to revive popular delight in the works of the 
 chief of dramatists, and by this and other examples 
 has so notably elevated the status of his profession. 
 In the excellent speech which Mr. Irving delivered at 
 the foot of the 'Jubilee Memorial,' he touched the cen- 
 tral point of the ceremony at once by remarking that 
 in that spot, of all spots, Americans and Englishmen 
 
 21* 
 
246 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 ceased to be other than fellow-countrymen. "NVe might, 
 indeed, almost call Stratford-upon-Avon the joint cap- 
 ital of the British England and of the American Eng- 
 land, as tlie Greeks looked upon Delphi as the true 
 centre of the habitable globe, American life and lit- 
 erature, as Mr. Irving remarked, are as much stamped 
 with the influence of the Bard of Avon as are our own ; 
 and it is at once the most satisfactory and the most 
 natural thing in the world that half the names of the 
 visitors inscribed in the book kept at the ' historic cot- 
 tage' should have after them ' those imposing letters, 
 U.S.A.' "We rejoice to think that every American beyond 
 the Atlantic longs to visit the birthplace of Shakespeare, 
 and almost every one who comes over to our shores goes 
 thither first of all if he can. They are quite right. 
 Shakespeare belongs to them as much as to us, and the 
 fountain of Mr. Childs is an impressive and accepta- 
 ble way of emphasizing their sense of property in the 
 memorable name. Nor was Mr. Irving otherwise than 
 happily inspired in praising the character of the gift 
 to the little town. It is simple, natural, homely, and 
 for universal use — is a fountain — like the genius of the 
 poet. As he remarked, 'Learned and unlearned, gen- 
 tle and humble, may all alike drink from it; and so it 
 seems to me,' said the speaker, ' that no happier emblem 
 of Shakespeare's work in his native place could have 
 been chosen.' Possibly we English might have been a 
 little jealous if Mr. Childs had proposed to erect by the 
 silver Avon a colossal statue, or a prodigious pyramid, 
 or something which would have made British devotion 
 look small; but the fountain and clock-tower are as 
 becoming as they are significant of the feelings so de- 
 lightfully conveyed in the letter of Mr. James Russell 
 Lowell. ' I am glad to think,' he wrote, ' that this 
 memorial should be the gift of an American, and thus 
 
The Stratford-uj^on-Avon Fountain. 247 
 
 serve to recall the kindred blood of the two jzreat na- 
 tions, joint heirs of the same noble language and of 
 the genius that has given it a cosmopolitan significance. 
 I am glad of it because it is one of the multiplying 
 signs that those two nations are beginning to think 
 more and more of the things in which they sympathize, 
 less and less of those in which they differ.' 
 
 " Thus, then, even from his ashes our great English- 
 man renders us all a splendid new service, drawing 
 closer together those portions of the English-speaking 
 race which must never again be enemies. The key- 
 note which had been so well and justly struck by Z>Ir. 
 Irving and taken up by Mr. James Russell Lowell was 
 harmoniously utilized by the American Minister, who 
 in a most genial and friendly speech said a great many 
 happy and handsome things about our Queen, our coun- 
 try, and the relations between Englishmen and Ameri- 
 cans. Mr. Phelps did, indeed, actually charge Mr. 
 Henry Irving with a regular diplomatic mission, for 
 he bade the universally popular actor not to lose an op- 
 portunity, the next time he was called upon for a speech 
 before the curtain in the States, of relating what had 
 been said and done at Stratford-upon-Avon in the 
 inauguration of the Childs' Memorial. ' I am sure,' 
 said the American Minister, ' it will not make his wel- 
 come less cordial ; and long may this fountain stand 
 and flow, an emblem, a monument, a landmark — not 
 the only one by many, I trust — of the permanent, en- 
 during, hearty, cordial friendship between my country- 
 men and yours ! May many generations of English- 
 men and Americans drink together of its waters !' 
 Nothing but good all round can result from so per- 
 fectly well-conceived a ceremony ; nor could any 
 words more fitly express this than those with which 
 Mr. Irving closed his speech of thanks, observing: 
 
248 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 
 
 ' To-day's ceremonial has given infinite pleasure to all, 
 for it has renewed our hallowed associations with the 
 mighty dead, and it has reminded two great nations of 
 a bond which no calamity can dissolve. And, believe 
 me, it will make every actor in the world-wide sphere 
 of Shakespeare's influence prouder than ever of the 
 calling which I have the privilege of representing 
 here.' " 
 
 The London Glohe of the 18th of October 
 said in introducins; an attractive account of 
 the dedicatory ceremonies : 
 
 " There was general rejoicing at Stratford-upon- 
 Avon yesterday, the occasion being the inauguration 
 of a splendid drinking-fountain, which has been pre- 
 sented to the town as a Jubilee Memorial of the 
 Queen's reign by Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadel- 
 phia, the donor of the American "Window in "West- 
 minster Abbey to the genius of Herbert and Cowper. 
 The ancient borough accepted the gift with enthusiasm, 
 and the Mayor and corporation issued invitations to 
 one hundred guests. The American Minister (Mr. 
 Phelps), Sir Philip CunliflFe Owen, and Mr. John 
 "Walter were the guests of the Mayor, Sir Arthur 
 Hodgson ; Sir P. Cunliife Owen, and Mr. Walter, pro- 
 prietor of the Times, being personal friends of Mr. 
 Childs. Mr. Henry Irving, who had accepted the task 
 of making the dedication, was among the distinguished 
 guests. The early trains brought the Lord Lieutenant 
 of "Warwickshire and the Mayors of the surrounding 
 towns. The weather was beautifully fine, and the 
 town was decorated with bunting. At half-past eleven 
 o'clock the Mayor and the members of the corporation 
 met at the Town Hall, and shortly before noon marched 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 249 
 
 in procession to the site of the memorial, accompanies^ 
 by Mr. Irving and the numerous representatives of 
 literature, art, and the drama Avho had been invited. 
 Mr. Irving, in making the dedication, spoke of Mr. 
 Childs as not only an admirable representative of the 
 public spirit and enterprising energy of Philadelphia, 
 but also as a man who had endeared himself to a very 
 wide circle by many generous deeds. 
 
 " A telegram was received from the Queen, in which 
 Her Majesty stated that she was much gratified by the 
 kind and loyal expressions conveyed, and was pleased 
 to hear of the handsome gift by Mr. Childs to Stratford- 
 upon-Avon. Great cheering acknowledged the receipt 
 of this telegram. Mr. Phelps's speech, in which he 
 spoke of the loyal feeling towards the Queen enter- 
 tained by Americans, was also received with loud 
 cheers." 
 
 The thorough and geiiuiDe appreciation 
 of Mr. Childs's gift hy the English people 
 is thus finely expressed by the Warwick 
 Adceriiser, a journal of influence published 
 near to the home of Shakespeare : 
 
 " The opening of the Childs Memorial Fountain at 
 Stratford-upon-Avon was an event of international 
 importance. The spirit in which the gift was proffered 
 and received will tend to cement the bond which unites 
 us with our kinsmen beyond the sea in that great 
 republic of the West, which has such boundless pos- 
 sibilities in store for the Anglo-Saxon race." 
 
 In the issue of October 18, the London 
 Pall Mall Gazette published a very effective 
 
250 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 pictorial sketch of the fountain, with the 
 accompanying account of the ceremonies : 
 
 " The handsome clock-tower and fountain which Mr. 
 Cliilds, of Philadelpliia, has presented to the town of 
 Stratford-upon-Avon, were inaugurated to-day by Mr. 
 Henry Irving. It is fitting tliat a memorial to the 
 greatest English dramatic poet should be inaugurated 
 by that poet's greatest living interpreter on the stage. 
 Mr. Irving is, moreover, a personal friend of the donor, 
 Mr. Childs, to whom in a few days he will carry the 
 enthusiastic thanks of the town for his generous gift. 
 Mr. Irving eulogized Mr. Childs as being not only an 
 admirable representative of the public spirit and enter- 
 prise of Philadelphia, but also as a man who had en- 
 deared himself to a very wide circle by many generous 
 deeds." 
 
 The editorial comment of the Pall 3Iall 
 Gazette was as follows : 
 
 "It is not often that an inauguration goes off Avith 
 such unclouded iclat as yesterday's function at Strat- 
 ford-upon-Avon. The day was of October's best, and 
 the ceremony was one of unique interest, — the open- 
 ing, namely, by the first actor in England, of the 
 drinklng-fountain and clock-tower which have just 
 been erected in the Rother Market as a tribute by an 
 American citizen to the genius of Shakespeare and to 
 the virtues of Queen Victoria. Mr. Childs makes the 
 Jubilee Year the occasion of his gift. But it was per- 
 haps not so much either the fountain, or its cost, or 
 even the international character of the gift, which col- 
 lected from all parts of England the distinguished com- 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 251 
 
 pany which assembled yesterday in the Rother Market, 
 Few Eno;lishmen have travelled in America who have 
 not, like Sir Philip C. Owen, Mr. Walter, Mr. Irvini;, 
 and Dr. Macaulay, been acquainted with Mr. Childs 
 and enjoyed his sumptuous hospitality. He has been 
 to them a sort of British proxenos in Philadelphia, and 
 it was a desire to testify their gratitude and friendship 
 for a very lovable man which brought many to Strat- 
 ford yesterday. There was, moreover, a certain appro- 
 priateness in the selection at the subsequent lunch of 
 Mr. Walter, the owner of the London Times, to pro- 
 pose the health of Mr. Childs, the owner of the Phila- 
 delphia Ledger. In their respective cities those two 
 papers represent, and have now for many years repre- 
 sented in a remarkable degree, the sober traditions and 
 stereotyped proprieties of long-established journalism. 
 But if the Times represents what is sober and solid, the 
 Ledger is the very essence of sobriety and solidity. It 
 has never yet condescended to attract readers by the 
 exhibition of posters; no map or plan, still less any 
 portrait or engraving, has ever variegated the uniform- 
 ity of its pages. Indeed, many people go so far as to 
 say that the thousands of persons who peruse the 
 Ledger read it from pure affection and regard for Mr. 
 Childs. One of its most distinctive peculiarities is 
 that it never says an ill word of any one, not even of 
 a mother-in-law. But perhaps the real secret of Mr. 
 Childs's popularity is not so much his abstinence from 
 ill words as the abundance of his good deeds. The 
 Stratford fountain is one of many public benefactions, 
 but his public benefactions, as any one acquainted with 
 Philadelphia will bear witness, are far outnumbered 
 by a multitude of acts of private charity and kindness 
 of which the public never hears at all. 'I intend,' 
 said Mr. Childs to a friend on last New Year's day, 
 
252 TJie Sirafford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 * to be kinder this year than ever I was before ;' and 
 the saying and tlie fact that he said it are very char- 
 acteristic of Mr. Childs. 
 
 " Perhaps, however, of all said and M'ritten, tlie 
 sentence that will last longest is one of those selected 
 by Dr. Macaulay and engraved on the fountain, which, 
 for appropriateness, was never surpassed and deserves 
 to appear on other fountains : ' Honest water, which 
 ne'er left man i' the mire.' ('Timon of Athens,' Act 
 1, Scene 2.) A bottle filled with this 'honest water,' 
 and carefully sealed up, was delivered to Mr. Irving, 
 and will be duly conveyed by him to America next 
 Thursday for presentation to Mr. Childs in Philadel- 
 phia." 
 
 In its issue of October 18, the Birming- 
 liam Daily Post, a journal which in character 
 and influence is to England's provincial press 
 Avhat the London Times is to metropolitan 
 journalism, gave the subjoined introduction 
 to an account of the memorial ceremony, 
 which occupied the larger part of one of its 
 spacious pages : 
 
 *' Stratford-upon-Avon arrayed herself in a festival 
 garment of sunshine yesterday, for a function which, 
 if not quite, as the Mayor enthusiastically called it, 
 ' the crowning event of the Jubilee Year,' was of 
 striking internal and literary significance. Mr. Henry 
 Irving inaugurated the memorial fountain and clock- 
 toAver which Mr. G. W. Childs, a citizen of Philadel- 
 phia, has presented to the town. The function was a 
 singularly quiet one, as all functions in such an old- 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 253 
 
 world place as Stratford must necessaril}' be ; but it 
 was not the less significant and interesting on that 
 account. Mr. Childs's beautiful gift is remarkable 
 alike as a reverent tribute to the memory of Shake- 
 speare from a distant member of the English-speaking 
 race, and as a token of the good-will which subsists 
 between the British and the American nations. More- 
 over, the little crowd which gathered to assist at the 
 ceremony was representative in some degree of the 
 whole race, of all the learned professions, and of all 
 estates of the realm." 
 
 In the same number of the Dailj Post, the 
 followino: editorial comment was made : 
 
 " Literature and Art, the Press and the Stage, Eng- 
 land and America, joined hands yesterday at Stratford- 
 upon-Avon, in doing honor to one of the most illustri- 
 ous representatives of our common stock, and in doing 
 so it is scarcely necessary to add that they did honor 
 to themselves and contributed in no mean degree to 
 draw closer the bonds of union between the great two 
 branches of the English-speaking race. The memorial 
 fountain and clock-tower, which were formally pre- 
 sented to Sliakespeare's native town on this occasion 
 on behalf of Mr, Childs, the well-known newspaper 
 proprietor and editor of Philadelphia, are not by any 
 means the first tribute of the kind whicli has been 
 offered up by American citizens at that beloved shrine, 
 which is every year the Mecca for so many troops of 
 reverent pilgrims from beyond the Atlantic ; but Mr. 
 Childs' s gift possesses a special international signifi- 
 cance from the expressed desire of the donor that it 
 should be construed as a token of good-will towards us 
 
 22 
 
254 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 in this year of the Jubilee, and should serve to cement 
 the union of two great nations * that have the fame 
 and works of the poet Shakespeare as their common 
 heritage.' And that nothing might be vs'anting to the 
 completeness of yesterday's function, the dedication 
 was graced by characteristic contributions from some 
 of the most renowned men of letters in the great 
 republic of the West, including Mr. James Russell 
 Lowell, the ex- American Minister ; Mr. John Green- 
 leaf Whittier, the venerable Quaker poet ; and Dr. 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose poem, specially written 
 for the occasion, so happily and eloquently expresses 
 the aspirations to which the gift naturally lends itself. 
 On the English side, the stage, which is under so deep 
 and special a debt of gratitude to the great dramatist, 
 was not unworthily represented by Mr. Irving, on 
 whom devolved the proud task of inaugurating the 
 memorial ; whilst the English newspaper press, in the 
 person of Mr. Walter, the chief proprietor of the Times, 
 cordially acknowledged and welcomed this substantial 
 token of good-will from a brother journalist of the 
 New World. The Queen's message of congratulation 
 was a happy thought, wdiicli cannot but assist the 
 working of the charm ; and the proceedings altogether 
 were of an order to entitle the day to a red-letter mark 
 in the calendar, not only of Stratford, but of England 
 and the United States." 
 
 Oil the same day the Liverpool Fosi, 
 another provincial journal of high char- 
 acter, prefaced the long and interesting re- 
 port of the proceedings at Stratford with 
 these friendly remarks : 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 255 
 
 " The fraternal relations of the two great nations 
 which regard the works of Shakespeare as a common 
 heritage were shown in a happy manner at Stratford- 
 upon-Avon to day. Some time ago a prominent and 
 respected citizen of the United States, Mr. George W. 
 Childs, of Philadelphia, determined to celebrate the 
 Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria's reign by a memorial 
 of American sympathy to be erected in the birthplace 
 of England's greatest poet. Mr. Childs, it may be 
 recollected, is the donor of the American window 
 placed in Westminster Abbey to the memory of George 
 Herbert and William Cowper. Mr. Childs' s gift to 
 Stratford has taken the form of a drinking-fountain 
 and clock-tower, and their inauguration to-day was 
 made the occasion of a ceremonial of international in- 
 terest, forming both a welcome and substantial bene- 
 fit to the town and a graceful addition to its many 
 points of natural and historic interest. Stratford ac- 
 cepted the bequest with a heartiness at once agreeable 
 to its author, and illustrative of the friendly feeling of 
 the Warwickshire people for those of the great republic 
 of the West." 
 
 The American newspaper press demon- 
 strated, b}^ the publication of special cable 
 despatches, by letters from special corre- 
 spondents, and by editorial expressions of 
 approval and admiration, that the interest 
 in and sympathy with the spirit of Mr. 
 Childs's gift were not less strong among 
 the people of this country than among 
 those of England. The despatches from 
 Stratford to the I^ew York World filled 
 
25G The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 
 
 four and a half colurons of tliat journal, of 
 which the accompanying abstract is made : 
 
 " George W. Childs's memorial to Shakespeare was 
 inaugurated to-day with much imposing ceremony. 
 Stratford-upon-Avon has never before held so many 
 strangers within its walls as to-day. Hundreds of 
 Americans ran down from London last night and by 
 the early morning trains, taxing to the utmost the some- 
 what limited facilities of the quiet old town for harbor- 
 ing transient guests. The new Shakespeare House was 
 packed with transatlantic pilgrims, and some amuse- 
 ment was created by the boniface shouting out, as the 
 weary wayfarers arrived, ' Take this young couple up 
 to Romeo and Juliet.' The chambers in the old inn bear 
 the names of the works written by the immortal Will 
 — or somebody else. A melancholy American trage- 
 dian, lately crushed by the English critics, seemed 
 somewhat put out when shown up to ' Hamlet,' and 
 an elderly couple from Chicago did not like their 
 quarters in ' Love's Labor's Lost.' For the first time 
 in two weeks, according to the local weather man, the 
 sun shone in Stratford this morning, setting off the 
 handsome gift of the philanthropic Philadelphian to its 
 best advantage. From dawn until mid-day the roads 
 from the surrounding country were thronged with 
 every sort of vehicle, from the dog-cart of the gentry 
 to the ox-team of the yokel. The local and neighbor- 
 ing dignitaries, bearing up proudly under their massive 
 gold chains and other weighty insignia of oflBce, strode 
 through the broad streets lined with quaint old-fash- 
 ioned houses, making a truly old-world picture. 
 
 "When the time came Ma3^or Hodgson wound up 
 the clock in the stone spire, and Henry Irving turned 
 on the first flow of the precious liquid. But the arrival 
 
Tlie Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 257 
 
 of the Queen's telegram was the sensation of the day, 
 not being on the card and being quite unexpected. The 
 telegraph-operator rushed headlong from the office down 
 to the square. Mr. Phelps's speech was interrupted, 
 and the precious despatch was read. It was the first 
 time that Stratford has heard from the Queen tele- 
 graphically for thirty-five years. 
 
 " Graceful in its inception, the generous gift of Mr 
 Childs was gracefully received, and the ceremonies 
 concluded in the most graceful manner possible by a 
 banquet, which was as excellent in the material way as 
 had been the preceding flow of wit and wisdom. The 
 Stratford folk do not seem to be imbued in the least 
 with any belief in the Baconian theory. In fact, they 
 look upon it as a base attempt to rob their town of one 
 of its chief claims to revenue and repute, and regard 
 it as being inspired by an invidious neighbor." 
 
 The account of the day and its ceremonies 
 telegraphed to the ISTew York Herald was 
 only less extended than that published by its 
 neighbor the World, but it was still lengthy 
 enough to serve as a brief epitome and chron- 
 icle of the notable celebration, its author 
 being Hon. A. Oakey Hall, formerly Mayor 
 of iSTew York Citv, but at the time of the 
 dedication he was, as he now is, an eminent 
 London journalist, representing in the great 
 metropolis with scholarly ability the Herald, 
 Mr. Hall's account is so admirably written, 
 and presents so attractive a view of Stratford 
 on the da}' of the fountain's dedication, as to 
 
 r 22* 
 
258 Tlie St raff ord-upon- Avon Fountain. 
 
 render its introduction here more tlian par- 
 donable. Mr. Oakoj Hall said, — 
 
 " The names of William Shakespeare and George 
 William Childs will be indissolubly united after this 
 day in this city, where the editor's fountain and clock- 
 tower were added to the bard's memorials to glorify 
 this historic spot. The Phihidelphian's gift was long 
 ago described in the Herald when the designs were 
 adopted. As completed and this morning dedicated, 
 the gift is doubtless one of the most artistic fountains 
 in the world, as will be seen when some of the several 
 thousand photos now multiplying reach New York. 
 
 " At noon a procession left the Town Ilall to march 
 a quarter of a mile to the fountain, which fronts a 
 square formed by the junction of several streets and 
 is looked upon by Shakespeare's house. The procession, 
 headed by the Mayor and aldermen in full regalia, es- 
 corting Mr. Irving and thirty guests, was preceded by 
 a band playing British patriotic airs. On arriving at 
 the variegated granite gift, Mayor Hodgson, in gorgeous 
 robes and chain, presenting a decidedly classic face and 
 figure, took his stand at the foot of the steps leading 
 up to the fountain. 
 
 " After reading a quaint letter from the poet Whittier 
 and another from James Russell Lowell, he briefly ex- 
 plained the object of the gathering, with eulogistic and 
 AvcU-expressed references to Mr. Childs, and compli- 
 mentary allusions to America, ' the adopted country 
 of Shakespeare,' and introduced Minister Phelps as 
 the representative of the United States. The latter's 
 speech, given with diplomatic skill, was short but full 
 of meaning. 
 
 " Mr. Irving stood within the dry basin in dedicating 
 the gift, and, with fine elocution, made an address last- 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 2-39 
 
 ing a quarter of an hour, in the course of which he 
 said, as a part of the peroration, — 
 
 " ' The donor of this beautiful monument I am happy 
 to claim as a personal friend. 3Ir. George W. Childs 
 is not only an admirable representative of the public 
 spirit and enterprising energy of Philadelphia, but he 
 is also a man who has endeared himself to a very wide 
 circle by many generous deeds. 
 
 " ' I do not wonder at his munificence, for to men 
 like him it is second nature ; but I rejoice in the happy 
 inspiration which prompted a gift which so worthily 
 represents the common homage of two great peoples to 
 the most famous man of tiieir common race. 
 
 " 'The simplest records of Stratford show that this 
 is the Mecca of American pilgrims, and that the place 
 which gave birth to Shakespeare is regarded as the 
 fountain of the mightiest and most enduring inspira- 
 tion of our mother tonijue.' 
 
 " The following was his epilogue : ' Let me conjure 
 fancies. Let me picture Shakespeare to-day returning 
 from his bourne to find upon the throne one who rules 
 with gentler sway than the great sovereign that he 
 knew, and yet whose reign has glories more beneficent 
 than those of Elizabeth. We can try to imagine his 
 emotion when he finds this dear England he loved so 
 well expanded beyond seas. 
 
 "'We can at least be happy in the thought that 
 when he had mastered the lessons of the conflict which 
 divided us from our kinsmen in America, he would be 
 proud to see in Stratford this gift of a distinguished 
 American citizen — this memorial of our reunion — • 
 under the shadow of his undj'ing name.' 
 
 " During his speech Mr. Irving referred to the manu- 
 script ode which he had previously read, and which 
 was written for the occasion by Dr. Holmes. 
 
2G0 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 
 
 " Then Dr. Macaulay, as a personal friend of Mr. 
 Childs, and Mr. Irving, representing the authorities, 
 lointlv turned on the water into the larsre drinkinic- 
 fountain for horses and cattle, the smaller one for 
 dogs, and the interior one for thirsty pedestrians, while 
 simultaneously invisible hands inside the clock-tower 
 set the hour and started the works. The first flow, 
 however, was caught in a flat glass jar, bought at the 
 bar of the Shakespeare Inn, hard by, and was handed 
 by Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen to Mr. Irving, to be by 
 him presented in person to Mr. Childs. 
 
 " The royal toasts were fully honored. Minister 
 Phelps eulogized President Cleveland and gallantly 
 referred to Mrs. Cleveland. Dr. Macaulay and then 
 Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen responded to the health of 
 Mr. Childs ; but the best speech was by Mr. Irving, 
 responding to the memory of Shakespeare, and con- 
 cludinir thus : 
 
 " ' In a few days I shall sail for the great country 
 where any worthy representation of Shakespeare on 
 the stage commands as stanch a support from the pub- 
 lic as in our own land. I shall carry, as your ambas- 
 sador to Mr. Childs, your enthusiastic appreciation of 
 his generous gift.' 
 
 " In response to a call, John Walter, of the London 
 Times, made a few off-hand remarks about Mr. Childs's 
 hospitality to himself when in America, applying to 
 Mr. Childs the line about taking the tide at flood which 
 led him on to fortune. 
 
 "Next, turning towards Mayor Hodgson, he said, 
 'We were boys at Eton. Until to-day we have not 
 met in half a century. He was known at school as 
 "Trump Hodgson." When I saw him to-day, my 
 salutation was, "How d'ye do. Trump?" And cer- 
 tainly, along with Mr. Childs, as I turn from the 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 2G1 
 
 fountain to the banquet, he has proven himself a very 
 trump.' 
 
 " This was heartily received by all the guests, and 
 all separated with the line aptly chosen at the end 
 of the meim from 'All's ^Yell That Ends Well:' 'A 
 good traveller is something at the latter end of a 
 dinner.' " 
 
 With no known exception the leading 
 newspapers of the United States printed 
 special or Associated Press despatches from 
 Stratford, which were generally accompanied 
 by editorial remarks referring to the cele- 
 bration of the previous day. Of the several 
 hundred appreciative editorial articles which 
 were kindly sent me by their writers I have 
 thoui^ht it not unlit to use a few to round 
 out this history of the Shakespeare Memorial 
 on the Avon- side. That w^hich so attrac- 
 tively characterized all the elaborate reports 
 and remarks of both the English and Amer- 
 ican journals was the common recognition 
 and fine appreciation of the spirit of inter- 
 national good-will which inspired Mr. Childs 
 to set up there, near by the poet's home, an 
 endurino; memorial of the love and reverence 
 of all English-speaking people for that sub- 
 lime genius who filled not only the spacious 
 times of Great Elizabeth but all times since 
 with the wondrous wisdom and beauty of 
 his thought and feeling. 
 
2G2 The Straff ord-uj)on- Avon Fountain. 
 
 The 'Hew York Times referred editorially, 
 on October 18, to the dedication of the 
 fountain, as follows : 
 
 " The proceedings at Stratford-upon-Avon on Monday 
 in dedicating to the memory of Shakespeare the me- 
 morial fountain presented to the town by Mr. George 
 W. Childs, of Phihidelphia, afforded one of those oc- 
 casions upon which Englishmen and Americans, espe- 
 cially the latter, delight to recognize the common ties 
 of tradition and literature which unite the two peoples 
 in a relationship made too strong by natural kinship 
 to be severed by oft-recurring conflicts of interest. It 
 is doubtful if, even in England, there is such a universal 
 reading and understanding of the works of Shakespeare 
 among the mass of the people as in this country, or 
 such a general appreciation of the grand heritage of 
 English literature. The sympathy produced by this 
 common possession of a language and literature is 
 stronger than is generally acknowledged, and it is the 
 basis of a mutual understanding that ought to be a 
 guarantee of perpetual friendly relations. Incidents 
 like that of yesterday, brought about by a generous 
 and public-spirited American, are of value in remind- 
 ing the two nations of what they have in common, and 
 in teaching them to be tolerant in those things in 
 which they differ." 
 
 The Daily News, of Baltimore, referring 
 to the universal interest which everything 
 of moment relating to Shakespeare creates, 
 said, — 
 
 " The description of the dedication of Mr. Childs's 
 fountain has been given as much space by the press^ 
 
Tlie Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 263 
 
 British and American — as some great political event 
 might have been. 
 
 " The Stratford ceremonies were in every way in- 
 teresting. Mr. Childs, in presenting the beautiful 
 fountain to the town, only did what many others 
 would like to have done. Some other object he might 
 have offered, — there are many ways in which his ad- 
 miration for the poet might have expressed itself; but, 
 after all, as Mr. Irving remarked, there seems some- 
 thing particularly appropriate in the fountain which 
 has been erected in the middle of the quaint old town, 
 for the use of all, and for beast as well as man. 
 
 " The occasion was altogether one of which Amer- 
 icans may be as proud as Mr. Childs must be. Aa 
 Irving remarked, it is the Americans who have always 
 been foremost in making pilgrimages and paying 
 tributes to the Stratford poet. Mr. Childs has done 
 many things to show the exalted character of his mind 
 and his goodness of heart, and it seems that he could 
 not rest until he had made a gift of this beautiful foun- 
 tain — according to all accounts, one of the most artistic 
 in the world — to the memory of Shakespeare." 
 
 'No one has more pleasantly told the story 
 of the fountain than has Mr. William Win- 
 ter, the poet, journalist, and critic. His 
 sympathy with the purpose of the giver of 
 the memorial is as hroad as his reverent love 
 for Shakespeare is profound, and to both 
 which sympathy and love he has borne tes- 
 timony in books, essays, poems, letters, and 
 criticisms. He is one of the most brilliant of 
 American writers, and one whose audience, 
 
264 The Strafford-upon-Avon Fomitain. 
 
 wliile always large, is always fit. Harper's 
 Weekly of October 22, 1887, published an 
 excellent illustration of the Stratford Foun- 
 tain, accompanied by a characteristic sketch 
 by Mr. Winter, from which are taken the 
 following extracts : 
 
 " American interest in Stratford-upon-Avon spring;s 
 out of a love for the works of Sliakespeare as profound 
 and passionate as that of the most sensitive and rev- 
 erent of the poet's own countrymen. It was the father 
 of American literature — Washington Irving — who in 
 modern times made the first pilgrimage to that Holy 
 Land, and set the good example, which since has been 
 followed by thousands, of worship at the shrine of 
 Shakespeare. Wherever in Stratford you come upon 
 anything that was ever associated, even remotely, with 
 the name and fame of Shakespeare, there you will 
 surely find the gracious tokens of American homage. 
 
 " A noble token of this American sentiment and a 
 permanent object of patriotic interest to the pilgrim in 
 Stratford is supplied by the Jubilee gift of a drinking- 
 fountain, made to that city by George W. Childs, of 
 Philadelphia. It never is a surprise to hear of some 
 new instance of that good man's constant activity and 
 splendid generosity in good works : it is only an ac- 
 customed pleasure. With fine-art testimonials in the 
 Old World as well as at home his name will always be 
 honorably associated. A few years ago he presented a 
 superb window of stained glass to AVestminster Abbey, 
 to commemorate in the Poet's Corner George Herbert 
 and William Cowper. He has since given to St. Mar- 
 garet's Church, Westminster, where Skelton and Sir 
 James Harrington (1611-1G77) were entombed, and 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 2G5 
 
 where was buried the headless body of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, a pictorial window commemorative of John 
 Milton. His fountain at Stratford was dedicated on 
 October 17, 1887, with appropriate ceremonies con- 
 ducted by the city's Mayor, Sir Arthur Hodgson, of 
 Clopton Hall, and amid general rejoicing. The coun- 
 trymen of Mr. Childs are not less interested in this 
 structure than the community that it was intended to 
 honor and benefit. They observe with satisfaction and 
 pride that he has made this beneficent, beautiful, and 
 opulent offering to a town which for all of them is 
 hallowed by exalted associations, and for many of them 
 is endeared by delightful memories. They sympathize 
 also with the motive and feeling that prompted him to 
 offer his gift as one among many memorials of the 
 fiftieth year of the reign of Queen Victoria. It is not 
 every man who knows how to give with grace, and the 
 good deed is ' done double' that is done at the right 
 time. Stratford had long been in need of such a foun- 
 tain as Mr. Childs has given, and therefore it satisfies 
 a public want, at the same time that it serves a purpose 
 of ornamentation and bespeaks and strengthens a bond 
 of international sympathy. Rother Square, in which 
 the structure stands, is the most considerable open 
 tract in Stratford, and is situated near the centre of 
 the town, on the west side. There, as also at the in- 
 tersection of High and Bridge streets, which are the 
 principal thorouglifares of the city, the farmers, at 
 stated intervals, range their beasts and wagons and 
 hold a market. It is easv to foresee that Rother 
 Square, as now embellished with this superb monu- 
 ment, which combines a convenient clock-tower, a 
 place of rest and refreshment for man, commodious 
 drinking-troughs for horses, cattle, dogs, and sheep, 
 will become the agricultural centre of the rc(;;ion. 
 M 23 
 
266 The Sir aijord-upon- Avon Fountain. 
 
 "The base of the monument is made of Peterhciid 
 
 granite ; the superstructure is of gray stone — from 
 
 Bolton, Yorkshire. The inscriptions at the base are 
 
 these : 
 
 I. 
 
 *Thc gift of an American citizen, Geohge W. Childs, of 
 
 Philadelphia, to the town of Shakespeare, in the 
 
 Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria.' 
 
 II. 
 
 *In her days every man shall eat, in safety 
 Under his own vine, what he plants ; and sing 
 The merry songs of peace to all his neighbors. 
 God shall be truly known : and those about her 
 From her shall read the perfect ways of honor, 
 And by those claim their greatness, not by blood. 
 
 Henry VIIL, Act V., Scene IV/ 
 
 III. 
 
 * Honest water, which ne'er left man i' the mire. 
 
 Timon of Athens, Act I., Scene II.' 
 
 IV. 
 
 * Ten thousand honors and blessings on the bard who 
 has gilded the dull realities of life with innocent illu- 
 sions. — Washington Irving'a Stratford-upon-Avon* 
 
 " Stratford-upon-Avon, fortunate in many things, is 
 especially fortunate in being situated at a considerable 
 distance from the main line of any railway. Two 
 railroads indeed skirt the town, but both are branches, 
 and travel upon them has not yet become too frequent. 
 Stratford, therefore, still retains a measure of its ancient 
 isolation and consequently of its quaintness. Antique 
 customs are still prevalent there, and odd characters 
 may still be encountered. The current of village gos- 
 sip flows with incessant vigor, and nothing happens in 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 267 
 
 the place that is not thoroughly discussed. An event 
 so important as the establishment of this American 
 fountain has, of course, excited great interest through- 
 out Warwickshire. It would be pleasant to hear the 
 talk of those old cronies who drift into the bar-parlor 
 of the Red Horse Hotel, on a Saturday evening, — the 
 learned Guppy, resting from the labors of Her Majesty's 
 Post-office ; the genial Cole, fresh from his auctioneer's 
 pulpit ; the aristocratic Yet, whose visage so plainly 
 manifests his noble origin ; and Kichard Savage, scholar 
 and antiquary, — as they comment on the liberal Amer- 
 ican whose generosity has thus enriched and beautified 
 their town. This Red Horse circle is but one of many 
 in which the name of George W. Childs is spoken with 
 esteem and cherished with aflFection. The present 
 writer has made many visits to Stratford and has 
 passed much time there, and he has observed on many 
 occasions the admiration and gratitude of the War- 
 wickshire people for the American philanthropist. la 
 the library of Charles Edward Flower at Avonbank, in 
 the gardens of Edgar Flower on the Hill, in the lovely 
 home of Alderman Bird, at the hospitable table of Sir 
 Arthur Hodgson in Clopton Hall, and in many other 
 representative places, he has heard that name spoken, 
 and always with delight and honor. Time will only 
 deepen and widen the loving respect with which it is 
 hallowed. In England, more than anywhere else on 
 earth, the record of good deeds is made permanent, not 
 alone with imperishable symbols, but in the hearts of 
 the people. The inhabitants of Warwickshire, guard- 
 ing and maintaining their Stratford Fountain, wnll 
 never forget by whom it was given. Wherever you 
 go in the British islands you find memorials of the 
 poet and of individuals who have done good in their 
 time, and you find that these memorials are respected 
 
268 The StndJord-upon-Avon Fountain. 
 
 and preserved. "Warwickshire abounds with them. 
 Many such memorials might be indicated. Each one 
 of them takes its place in the regard, and gradually 
 becomes entwined with the experience, of the whole 
 community. So it will be with the Childs Fountain 
 at Stratford. The children trooping home from school 
 will drink of it and sport in its shadow, and reading 
 upon its base the name of its founder will think with 
 pleasure of a good man's gift. It lies directly in the 
 track of travel between Banbury and Birmingham, and 
 many weary men and horses will pause beside it every 
 day for a moment of rest and refreshment. On festival 
 days it will be hung with garlands, while all around it 
 the air is glad with music. And often in the long, 
 sweet gloaming of the summer times to come the row-er 
 on the limpid river Avon that murmurs by the ancient 
 town of Shakespeare will pause with suspended oar to 
 hear its silver chimes. If the founder of this fountain 
 had been capable of a selfish thought, he could have 
 taken no way better or more certain than this for the 
 perpetuation of his own name in the affectionate esteem 
 of one of the loveliest places and one of the most re- 
 fined communities in the world. 
 
 " All the country-side is full of storied resorts and 
 cosey nooks and comfortable inns. But neither now 
 nor hereafter will it be otherwise than grateful and 
 touching to such an explorer of haunted Warwickshire 
 to see, among the emblems of poetry and romance 
 which are its chief glory, this new token of American 
 sentiment and friendship, the Drinking-Fountain of 
 Stratford, the gift of George AV. Childs." 
 
 I know of no words which have been 
 spoken to show the reason for the good-will 
 
The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 269 
 
 that should forever be maintained by the 
 people of England and America, each for 
 the other, which more clearly exhibit it, 
 than those of " Honest John Bright," who, 
 in the dark days of the republic's stuggle for 
 life, speaking in 1864 to a great multitude 
 of his countrymen in the cit}" of London, 
 asked them, — 
 
 " Can we forget that, after all, we are one nation, 
 having two governments ; that we are the same noble 
 and heroic race ; that half the English family is on this 
 side of the Atlantic, in its ancient home, and the other 
 half — there being no room for them here — is settled on 
 the American continent?" 
 
 The spirit of the question asked by the 
 Great Commoner, and which inspired him 
 to sympathize with this government of the 
 people, for the people, and by the people, is 
 the very sentient one which inspired Mr. 
 Childs to erect on Avon's bank the fountain 
 to Shakespeare, and to set up elsewhere in 
 Enscland's sacred shrines other fit memorials 
 to venerable British w^orthies, the story of 
 which is herein told. 
 
THE HERBERT AND COWPER MEMORIAL 
 IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 That which came next in his love for his 
 holy office to Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, D.D., 
 Dean of Westminster, was the Abbey, the 
 story of which he has so fully and pleasantly 
 told in his " Historical Memorials." The 
 first chapter of this scholarly w^ork, which 
 he wrought out to so noble a conclusion, has 
 the following introduction, copied from a 
 contemporaneous biography of Edward the 
 Confessor in a Harleian manuscript : 
 
 " The foundation of AYestminster Abbey. The devout 
 King destined to God that place, both for that it was 
 near unto the famous and wealthy City of London, and 
 also had a pleasant situation among fruitful fields lying 
 round it, with the principal river running hard by, 
 bringing it from all parts of the world great variety 
 of wares and merchandise of all sorts to the city ad- 
 joining; but chiefly for the love of the Chief Apostle, 
 whom he reverenced with a special and singular aflfec- 
 tion." 
 
 271 
 
272 The Herbert and Cowper Memorial 
 
 Dean Stanley never spoke of the Abbey- 
 save ^vith the tenderest, most reverential 
 feeling. He knew all that could be known 
 about it, — its foundation, its growth, its leg- 
 endary and historical origin ; its relics, its 
 tombs, its shrines, its chapels, its transepts, 
 its cloisters, and its illustrious dead. For 
 years he had moved and had his being 
 among them. Through them he lived in 
 all times of England's triumphs and defeats. 
 To his broad and all-embracing mind there 
 was no difference between the ashes lying 
 there of the courtly nobles of Charles I. and 
 those of the rude Titans of the Common- 
 wealth. It was this feeling which enabled 
 him to say, in Chapter lY. of his " Me- 
 morials," — 
 
 "Of all the characteristics of Westminster Abbey 
 that which most endears it to the nation and gives 
 most force to its name — which has, more than any- 
 thing else, made it the home of the people of England 
 and the most venerated fabric of the Enirlish Church — 
 
 CD 
 
 is not so much its glory as the seat of the coronations 
 or as the sepulchre of the Kings ; not so much its 
 school, or its monastery, or its chapter, or its sanctuary, 
 as the fact that it is the resting-place of famous Eng- 
 lishmen, from every rank and creed and every form of 
 mind and genius. It is not only Ptheims Cathedral and 
 St. Denys both in one, but it is also what the Pan- 
 theon was intended to be to France — what the Valhalla 
 
in Westminster Abbey. 273 
 
 is to Germany — what Sauta Croce is to Italy. It is 
 this aspect which, more than any other, won for it the 
 delightful visits of Addison in the ' Spectator,' of Steele 
 in the ' Tatler,' of Goldsmith in ' The Citizen of the 
 World,' of Charles Lamb in 'Elia,' of Washington Ir- 
 ving in ' The Sketch-Book.' It is this which inspired the 
 saying of Nelson, ' a Peerage — or Westminster Abbey !' 
 and which has intertwined it with so many eloquent 
 passages of Macaulay. It is this Avhich gives point 
 to the allusions of recent statesmen least inclined 
 to draw illustrations from ecclesiastical buildings. 
 It is this which gives most promise of vitality to 
 the whole institution. Kings are no longer buried 
 within its walls ; even the splendor of pageants has 
 ceased to attract ; but the desire to be interred in AYest- 
 minster Abbey is still as strong as ever." 
 
 Xowhere in liis story of the famous Abbey 
 does the venerable Dean exhibit so much 
 feeling in the telling of it as in that part 
 which has to do with the great dead poets 
 of En2:land. The historian lins^ers Ions; and 
 fondly in the " Poet's Corner," for, though 
 they all lie not there, monuments are therein 
 erected to the memory of Chaucer, Spenser, 
 Shakespeare, Drayton, Ben Jonson, Ay ton, 
 Davenant, Cowley, Dryden, Milton, Butler, 
 Bowe, Steele, Addison, Congreve, Prior, 
 Gay, Pope, Thomson, and Gray. 
 
 Dean Stanley's cultivated and refined 
 mind sympathized profoundly with the men 
 
 8 
 
274 The Herbert and Cowper Mernorial 
 
 of genius who, through recurring ages, have 
 by their so potent art made glorious the lit- 
 erature of England, and probably with no 
 others more than with these two, among the 
 greatest and sweetest singers of them all, — 
 the Christian poets, Herbert and Cowper, — 
 to whose o^enius there had been no memorials 
 set up in the Abbey, though it was long his 
 most ardent wish there should be. Among 
 those to whom Dean Stanley communicated 
 his desire was his friend, Mr. George W. 
 Childs, of Philadelphia, and with what se- 
 quence is thus briefly told by the Rev. Alex- 
 ander B. Grosart, in a note to his complete 
 works of George Herbert, printed for private 
 circulation only : " To the praise of George 
 W. Childs, Esq., of Philadelphia, U.S.A., be 
 it recorded that, on learning the wish of the 
 Dean of Westminster and others to place a 
 memorial window in our great Abbey in 
 honor of George Herbert and William Cow- 
 per, as Westminster school boys, he spon- 
 taneously and large-heartedly expressed his 
 readiness to furnish such a window at his 
 own cost. The generous offer was cordially 
 accepted." 
 
 Mr. Childs was almost as well known in 
 Enccland as in America. His " House Beau- 
 tiful" in Philadelphia had long been famed 
 
in Westminster Abbey. 275 
 
 as the borne of the most splendid and refined 
 hospitality which had been gratefully enjoyed 
 by many of the most distinguished English- 
 men visiting America. Among them was 
 the venerable, learned, and good Dr. Stanley, 
 Dean of Westminster. In a sermon preached 
 in St. James's P. E. Church, Philadelphia, 
 on the morning of September 29, 1878, the 
 Dean, then the guest of Mr. Childs, said, — 
 
 " It has been one happy characteristic of the Church 
 of England that it has retained both sides of the Chris- 
 tian character within its pale. There is in Westmin- 
 ster Abbey a window dear to American hearts because 
 erected by an honored citizen of Philadelphia, in which 
 these two elements are presented side by side. On the 
 one hand, the sacred poet most cherished by the eccle- 
 siastical, royalist, priest-like phase of the Church, 
 George Herbert : on the other hand, the sacred poet 
 most cherished by the puritan, austere, lay phase of 
 the Church, William Cowper. That diversity is an ex- 
 ample of the way in which God's will is wrought on 
 earth as it is in heaven. I have said that we do not 
 speculate on the names or natures of angels, yet as 
 symbols and outlines of the divine operations they may 
 be most useful to us. In the rabbinical and mediaeval 
 theology this diversity used to be represented by the 
 manifold titles of the various principalities and powers. 
 Most of these have now dropped out of use; but there 
 are some few which, either from their mention in the 
 l)iblical or the apocryphal books, or from the trans- 
 figuring hand of artistic or poetic genius, have sur- 
 vived." 
 
276 The Herbert and Cowper Memorial 
 
 The Window dedicated to Herbert and 
 Cowper, which has become one of tlie con- 
 spicuous memorials of Westminster Abbey, 
 owes its place there to the strong and abid- 
 ing love which this great English prelate had 
 for this country, and to Mr. Childs's recog- 
 nition of the fraternity of feeling which 
 nature has planted deep in the hearts of 
 Englishmen and Americans. 
 
 In concluding an appreciative and grace- 
 ful tribute to the character of Dean Stanley, 
 then lately gone to his reward, the Pahlic 
 Ledger^ on the 20th of July, 1881, said, — 
 
 " He believed in a national church, but his Angli- 
 canism reached across the water, and he was fonder and 
 more apprecnative of this country than many a citizen 
 of the United States. Freedom and reverence, peace 
 born of struggle, and faith in justice worth hard knocks, 
 the charity that comes of knowledge, not of indifference, 
 a prayer ' that we may not be persecutors,' a creed like 
 the rainbow, that spanned from the horizon to the zenith, 
 — these were the rich gifts of Stanley's mind, and his 
 legacy to the world are his twin beliefs in unswerving 
 law and all-surrounding love." 
 
 It was out of his love for the people of 
 the United States — and of his perception of 
 the common bonds that bound and made 
 them one with Englishmen — that the Her- 
 bert and Cowper Memorial grew. There 
 
in Westminster Abbey. 277 
 
 was, at the time the request for the "Window 
 was made and freely responded to, the same 
 thought in the minds of both Dean Stanley 
 and Mr. George W. Childs, — the thought 
 that, if there were set up in the venerable 
 Abbey, tlie last resting-place of so many 
 eminent Englishmen, a memorial to those 
 great worthies, Herbert and Cowper, by an 
 American citizen, who was indisputably a 
 representative of American thought and 
 feeling, it would be, so long as time spared 
 that ancient edifice, a token of the cordial 
 sympathy existing between the two coun- 
 tries. 
 
 When in 1867 Sir Charles Wentworth 
 Dilke had finished the story of his travels 
 through the British Colonies and the United 
 States, he could find no title so fit for his 
 attractive work as that of " Greater Britain." 
 He saw, during his protracted visit to this 
 country, only his own country magnified in 
 area, population, wealth, and greatness. He 
 found here the same manners and customs 
 as those of his own land ; here he also found 
 the same language, the same political insti- 
 tutions, the same literature, the same art, the 
 same science, the same religion. He was 
 quick to perceive that they of Old England 
 and of New Enghand, of Great Britain and 
 
 24 
 
278 TJie Herbert and Coivper 3Iemo)ial 
 
 the United States, were one people in their 
 love of virtue, freedom, intelligence, courage, 
 and in their vast, far-reaching enterprise. 
 The broad ocean separated them ; prejudices, 
 growing out of misunderstandings, had some- 
 times caused them often to look askance at 
 each other, to regard each other with distrust. 
 But, despite all prejudices and misunder- 
 standings, they were and are as one in all 
 that proclaims the identity of the same 
 people, though living apart. 
 
 This thought or sentiment, it need not be 
 said, is not a new one, but as old, at least, in 
 the minds of Englishmen and Americans as 
 was the Mayflower on the day there passed 
 over her side to Plymouth Rock the Pilgrim 
 Fathers. But again, and a thousand times 
 again, has it been newly formulated, and 
 most eloquently, by that learned and devout 
 scholar, F. W. Farrar, D.D., Archdeacon of 
 Westminster, in a paper of great inter- 
 national interest and attractiveness contribu- 
 ted by him to Harper^ s 3Iagazine of January, 
 1888, which bears the title of '' The Share 
 of America in Westminster Abbey." 
 
 The Venerable Archdeacon, whose fame 
 for piety and learning is as great in this 
 country as in his own, begins his brilliant 
 paper with the words following : 
 
in Westminster Abbey. 279 
 
 " Westminster Abbey is most frequently entered by 
 the great northern door, usually known as Solomon's 
 Porch, now in course of a splendid restoration, Avhich 
 will soon be completed. I will, however, ask the cour- 
 teous American visitor to walk through St. Margaret's 
 Church-yard, and round the western faqade of the 
 Abbey, and to enter by the door under Sir Christopher 
 Wren's towers, opposite the memorial raised by West- 
 minster scholars to their school-fellows Avho died in the 
 Crimean war. Pass through the western door, and 
 pause for a moment 
 
 * Where bubbles burst, and folly's dancing foam 
 Melts if it cross the threshold.' 
 
 Of all the glory of this symbolic architecture, of the 
 awe-inspiring grandeur and beauty of this great min- 
 ster, which makes us feel at once that 
 
 ■? 
 
 'They dreamt not of a perishable home 
 Who thus could build,' 
 
 how much may be claimed in part by America? 
 
 " In one sense all of it w^hich belongs to the epoch 
 which elapsed between the age of Edward the Con- 
 fessor and the disastrous days of Charles I. and Arch- 
 bishop Laud. An English writer who lives in America 
 has said that ' in signing away his own empire George 
 III. did not sign away the empire of English liberty, 
 of English law, of English literature, of English blood, 
 of English religion, or of the English tongue.' Amer- 
 icans enjoy, no less than we, the benefit of the great 
 Charter, the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act. 
 They need not go back for their history to Indian 
 annals or Icelandic sagas. Theirs are the palaces of 
 
280 TJie Herbert and Cowper Memorial 
 
 the Phmtagenets, the cathedrals which enshrine our 
 old religion, the illustrious Hall in which the long line 
 of our great judges reared by their decisions the fabric 
 of our law, the gray colleges in which our intellect and 
 science found their earliest home, the graves where our 
 heroes and sages and poets sleep. Indeed, I have under- 
 stated their share in the Abbey. It reaches down not 
 only to the days of the Pilgrim Fathers, but to the 
 War of Independence. Chatham and Burke and Barr6 
 as well as Patrick Henry advocated the American 
 cause, which engaged the sympathy of the great mass 
 of Englishmen, if not that of Grenville and North." 
 
 The recognition both by Dean Stanley 
 and by Mr. Childs of the truth of that which 
 Archdeacon Farrar so eloquently said had 
 been previously demonstrated by the setting 
 up in the ancient Abbey of the Memorial to 
 Herbert and Cowper, of which, in the above- 
 quoted paper. Archdeacon Farrar says, after 
 referring to the monuments to Kingsley and 
 Craggs, — 
 
 " There are two other memorials which combine with 
 these to give to this spot in the Abbey the name of the 
 'Little Poets' Corner.' They are the stained glass 
 Windows in memory of George Herbert and William 
 Cowper. They belong entirely to America, for they 
 are the gift of an American citizen, my honored friend, 
 Mr. George William Childs, of Philadelphia. In the 
 stained glass are the effigies of the two poets. Both 
 of them were Westminster boys, and the most beautiful 
 representatives of all that is holy in two very opposite 
 
in Wedminster Abbey. 281 
 
 schools of religious thought. It was a happy inspira- 
 tion which suggested the erection of this Window. 
 George Herbert and William Cowper were well deserv- 
 ing of Memorials in the Abbey, apart from the fact 
 that they had so often played in its cloisters and 
 worshipped in its choir. The combination of the two 
 suggests the higher unity which reconciles all minor 
 points of ecclesiastical difference." 
 
 HERBERT. 
 
 Gentle Izaak Walton concluded the re- 
 markable sketch of the life of the pious 
 scholar and poet, George Herbert, which is 
 one of the noblest ornaments of our litera- 
 ture, in these words : 
 
 " Thus he lived, and thus he died like a saint, un- 
 spotted of the world, full of alms-deeds, full of humil- 
 ity, and all the examples of a virtuous life ; which I 
 cannot conclude better than with this borrowed ob- 
 servation : 
 
 " ' All must to their cold graves ; 
 But the religious actions of the just 
 Smell sweet in death, and blossom in the dust.' 
 
 " Mr. George Herbert's have done so to this, and 
 will doubtless do so to succeeding generations. I have 
 but this to say more of him, that if Andrew Melville 
 died before him, then George Herbert died without an 
 enemy. I wish (if God be so pleased) that I may be 
 80 happy as to die like him." 
 
 In the estimation of those of wisest censure 
 there are none of the old English divines or 
 
282 TJie Herbert and Cowper Memoiial 
 
 sacred poets whose fame is more deserved, 
 or who are more reverenced by those who 
 speak the hinguage in which the " holy 
 Herbert" gave liis writings, in prose and 
 verse, to the world. 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 On the long roll of England's distinguished 
 men of letters there are few names which 
 shine with so strong, steady, and enduring 
 a light as that of William Cowper. There 
 has been no lessenius; of his o^reat fame with 
 the passing of time ; it was long ago con- 
 ceded that by his poems he had not only 
 raised " to himself an imperishable name," 
 but that he had added enduring beauty to 
 the En owlish lano^uaoce. His is a name w^hich 
 
 o o o 
 
 is not only reverently cherished in the affec- 
 tions, but which appeals to the best thought, 
 high conscience, and lofty sentiment of all 
 men of noble mind. 
 
 When Mr. Childs undertook the fufil- 
 ment of the desire of his friend, the vener- 
 able Dean of Westminster, to set up the 
 Memorial Window in the Abbey to Her- 
 bert and Cowper, the same thought inspired 
 them both, — the thought that if the object 
 were accomplished by an American it would 
 be accepted by every Englishman as a tribute 
 
in Westminster Abbey. 283 
 
 of brothers to brothers. The works of these 
 sacred sioijers live after them in the love and 
 admiration of all English-speaking peoples, 
 and nowhere more truly than among the 
 people of this broad land. The Window in 
 Westminster, though the munificent gift of 
 but one of them, represents the common 
 reverence for the great poet of all Ameri- 
 cans of gentle, pious feeling, as his songs 
 were sun 2^ for those of all lands of refined 
 natures and devout aspirations. 
 
 In Sunday at Home, a magazine of high 
 character, published in London (in the num- 
 ber for June, 1877), there appeared, as a 
 frontispiece, a colored illustration of the 
 Herbert and Cowper Memorial Window, 
 with reference to which Dean Stanley con- 
 tributed the following explanatory note : 
 
 " The southwest corner of the Abbey — once the 
 Abbot's private chapel, then the Baptistery, and now 
 the Lay Clerks' vestry — was selected some twenty 
 years ago as the place for the erection of the statue 
 of the poet Wordsworth, probably in connection with 
 the font. Within the last ten years the present Dean 
 resolved to make it a second poet's corner — chiefly for 
 sacred poets — in order to relieve the great pressure on 
 the south transept. 
 
 " When Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, with 
 truly American generosity, most generously complied 
 with my request that he should give a window of stained 
 
284 TJie Ilei'bcrt and Cowpcr Memorial 
 
 glass, it was suggested to liim that it should be placed 
 in this chapel, and commemorate George Herbert and 
 William Cowper, — both religious poets, both Westmin- 
 ster scholars, — and especially two opposite poles of the 
 English Church, — George Herbert, the 'ecclesiastical,' 
 and William Cowper, the ' evangelical,' tendency. In 
 the Window, Herbert is represented in his clerical vest- 
 ure, standing by his church porch, and the lines under- 
 neath are taken from the introduction to his poems, and 
 (in reference to the Baptistery, or the entrance to the 
 Abbey) touch at the start on the Christian life. Cowper, 
 on the other side, is in his well-known cap and dressing- 
 gown, in the neighborhood of Olney, with his hares 
 in the garden, looking at his 'Mothers Picture,' from 
 which poem are taken the lines which are also appro- 
 priate to the associations of the Baptistery. The her- 
 aldic devices above represent their respective families, — 
 both, as it happens, great in the English aristocracy." 
 The editor of Sunday at Home added to the good 
 Dean's note that " it was a happy thought of Dean 
 Stanley to associate the names in the Memorial, and 
 the gift of the Window was a fitting and graceful trib- 
 ute from an American citizen in the Centennial Year 
 of Independence." 
 
 In a private letter to Mr. Cliilds written 
 by a distinguished man of letters in England, 
 and referring to the death of Dean Stanley, 
 the writer said, — 
 
 " The good Dean valued your friendship deeply, and 
 I have often heard him speak with enthusiasm of your 
 affection for England and the Abbey, and the munifi- 
 cently splendid way in which you showed it. I have 
 
in Westminster Abbey. 285 
 
 no doubt that the recollection by you of the truly kind 
 and genial reception which you gave him in Philadel- 
 phia will remain with you as one of the brightest inci- 
 dents of your life." 
 
 la W. W. ^N'eviu's entertainino; '' Vii>:iiette3 
 of Travel" there occurs this reference to Mr. 
 Childs's i>:ift to the Abbey : 
 
 " Passing from the ancient abbot's palace, now the 
 dwelling of the Dean, by private entrance to the church, 
 just before we entered the transept of the main build- 
 ing, Dean Stanley, to whom my presence started recol- 
 lections of Philadelphia, said, ' Stop a moment ; I want 
 to show you something that will remind you of home,' 
 and ascending by a side entry three narrow steps, into 
 a little chapel shut off by an open railing from public 
 entrance, we stood suddenly before the handsome Me- 
 morial Window of Mr. Childs to the two English poets, 
 — a grand blaze of illumination, covering almost an 
 entire wall of the chapel. It is a beautiful and costly 
 work of art, in the conventional ecclesiastical style of 
 glass-painting, rich and impressive. 
 
 " It is the usage of the Abbey to inscribe on all mon- 
 uments the incidents of their erection, but the story 
 of this one is very simply and frankly told in a single 
 line : ' D. D.* Georgius Gulielmus Guilds. Civis 
 Americanus.' 
 
 "This is the first appearance of our country in the 
 historic Abbey. There are a few other American names, 
 — some Roval refugees in the War of 1776-83, some 
 colonial worthies, some British soldiers killed in the 
 
 * Donuin dedit. 
 
286 The Herbert and Cowpcr Memorial. 
 
 Revolution and French Wars ; but this is the only 
 description which distinctly places the new nation of 
 ' The United States of America' in the monumental 
 archives of AVestrainster." 
 
 Mr. Joel Cook, in his entertaining book 
 entitled " A Holiday Tour in Europe," says, 
 regarding the gift of Mr. Childs 
 
 i«,- 
 
 " The Memorial Window erected bv Mr. George W. 
 Childs is eagerly sought for by Americans visiting 
 the Abbey. . . . Mr. Childs's gift is in two parts, or, 
 as it were, two complete windows, one in memory of 
 Herbert and the other of Cowper. It is the extreme 
 western window on the south side of the nave, and is 
 in the Baptistery, somewhat secluded on account of the 
 high tombs standing in front of it, and the stone arched 
 railing separates the Baptistery from the nave, but pour- 
 ing a rich flood of mellow light over them." 
 
THE MILTON WINDOW. 
 
 The gift by Mr. George W. Childs to St. 
 Margaret's Church, "Westminster, of the 
 Memorial Window to Milton was made 
 subsequently to that of the Fountain, com- 
 memorative of Shakespeare, at Stratford- 
 upon-Avon, and was inspired by a letter to 
 him from his friend Archdeacon Farrar, in 
 which was regretfully recited the absence 
 of any appropriate memorial in Enghand to 
 the great Cromwellian poet, except that 
 erected in 1737 by Auditor Benson in West- 
 minster Abbey. To this letter its recipient 
 at once replied by offering to place in St. 
 Margaret's Church, of which the Venerable 
 Doctor Farrar is Rector, a window, the de- 
 sign of which should be determined wholly 
 by the judgment of the latter, Mr. Childs's 
 only request to his friend being that he 
 should undertake the setting up of a monu- 
 ment which should appropriately commem- 
 orate the virtues and genius of Milton, whose 
 
 287 
 
288 The Milton Window. 
 
 works arc held in as great esteem, and whose 
 memory is as profoundly reverenced in this 
 country, as in that of his birth. The sug- 
 ircstion which came to Mr. Childs was in 
 harmony with the sentiment which had in- 
 duced the presentation of the Memorial to 
 Herbert and Cowper in Westminster Abbey, 
 and the Fountain at Stratford-upon-Avon to 
 Shakespeare, which were to serve as a sign 
 of the appreciation in Americaof the genius 
 of the poets to whom they were dedicated, 
 and to srive assurance to the w^orld of the 
 
 CD 
 
 warmth of the affection and tlie sincerity of 
 the esteem existing in the United States for 
 these great masters of English literature, 
 who embellished and ennobled our common 
 language b}^ their contributions to it. 
 
 ''London and Westminster," says old 
 Hey wood, " are two twin-sister cities, as 
 joined by one street, so watered by one 
 stream; the first a breeder of grave magis- 
 trates; the second the burial-place of great 
 monarchs." St. Margaret's Church is in 
 Westminster, standing hard by the stately 
 Abbev. The present sacred edifice indicates 
 no earlier period of its existence than that 
 of the reign of the Plantagenets; but Mr. 
 Mackenzie Walcott says of it : *' There is, 
 with the exception of the Abbey of St. Peter 
 
The 3niton Window. 289 
 
 and St. PauFo Cathedral, no other ecclesi- 
 astical edifice throughout London and West- 
 minster which can boast of a greater an- 
 tiquity, or more interesting foundation," the 
 original structure dating, it is stated, from 
 a few years before the Conquest. One story 
 of its origin is to the effect that, " Ed•^vard, 
 the Confessor, finding, as was natural, that 
 a population was growing up around the 
 Abbey walls, and was continually increased 
 further by a miscellaneous crowd of persons, 
 who, for good or for bad reasons, sought the 
 shelter of the Sanctuarv, raised here a church 
 in the round-arched Saxon style, and dedi- 
 cated it to St. Margaret." 
 
 In the reign of Edward the First the edi- 
 fice was almost wholly taken down and re- 
 built. There are some notable tombs in St. 
 Margaret's Church, among others that to 
 William Caxton, " who, as early as the year 
 1477, set up a printing-press in the Abbey ; 
 there is also a mural tablet set up within 
 which recites that Sir Walter Kaleigli's body 
 was buried here on the day of his execution 
 in Palace Yard." 
 
 Until very recently the Speaker and the 
 House of Commons were wont to attend at 
 St. Margaret's Church upon the days of what 
 were known as the " State Services." In 
 
 N t 25 
 
290 The Milton Window. 
 
 1858 these were, by an order in Council, 
 stricken out of tlie Book of Common Prayer, 
 and since then the Speaker has not appeared 
 in St. Margaret's in liis ofiicial wig and 
 robes. 
 
 In the year 1656 John Milton was married 
 to his second wife, Catherine Woodcock, in 
 St. Margaret's Church, and there he subse- 
 quently worshipped. 
 
 It may be proper to note here that, as a 
 token of the high appreciation of Mr. 
 Childs's gift to St. Margaret's, there has 
 been set apart in perpetuity in that sacred 
 temple a pew for the exclusive use of Amer- 
 icans. 
 
 It was in the latter part of 1886 that 
 Archdeacon Farrar originally referred to the 
 pitiful lack of imposing monuments to the 
 poet Milton in England. It was then that 
 he wrote the following lines, with which he 
 concluded his interestins; article entitled 
 *' The Share of America in Westminster 
 Abbey," before referred to in these pages, 
 and which were published in Harpefs 3Iaga- 
 zine more than a year afterwards : 
 
 " There are, perhaps, fewer memorials of Milton 
 than of any Englishman of the same transcendent 
 greatness. I am extremely desirous to erect a worthy 
 Window in his honor in the Church of St. Margaret's, 
 
The Milton Window. 291 
 
 close beside the Abbey. Our register contains the 
 
 record of his marriage to Catherine Woodcock, his 
 
 second wife, in 1656, and also records, in the following 
 
 year, her death and that of her infant daughter. It 
 
 was to her that he addressed the noble sonnet which 
 
 begins — 
 
 'Methought I saw my late espoused saint 
 
 Come to me like Alcestis from the grave.' 
 
 Milton's connection with the Church of St. Margaret's 
 was therefore very close, and if any of his American 
 admirers are willing to assist me in my design, I shall 
 on public grounds most heartily welcome their munifi- 
 cence. They have already beautified this fine old his- 
 toric Church by their splendid gift of a Window in 
 honor of Sir Walter Raleigh, whose headless body lies 
 under the altar. Milton has even higher claims on 
 their gratitude and admiration." 
 
 This, in effect, was the text of the letter 
 which was written by the Venerable Arch- 
 deacon to Mr. Childs in IsTovember, 1886, 
 and to which the latter replied by offering 
 to contribute such a memorial as his friend 
 should deem appropriate. 
 
 The other letters which have come into 
 the Editor's possession having reference to 
 the Milton Window are the following : the 
 first is from Archdeacon Farrar to Mr. Childs, 
 dated at Dean's Yard, Westminster, London, 
 February 4, 1887 : 
 
 " My dear Mr. Cuilds, — I did not write at once to 
 express my delight and heartfelt gratitude for your 
 
292 The Milton Window. 
 
 splendidly munificent offer in compliance with my sug- 
 gestion of a Memorial to John Milton, because I wanted 
 to give you full particulars. I did not say that Milton 
 liimself was buried at St. Margaret's, but that he was 
 married in the Church, was closelv connected with it 
 through the Parliament (for it is and always has been 
 the Church of the House of Commons), and that his 
 dearest wife, the one to whom he wrote the immortal 
 sonnet which begins — 
 
 * Methought I saw my late espoused saint' — 
 
 was l)uried in the Church, as was his child, wholly 
 without memorial. The fact is that no man of his 
 pure and noble genius is so wholly uncomniemorated 
 in England. There is a poor bust to him in the Abbey ; 
 that is all. For one hundred and fifty years after his 
 death the Stuart reaction against Puritanism and the 
 adoration of ' King Charles the Martyr' caused INIilton's 
 name to be execrated. But America is the glorious 
 child of Puritanism ; and it is to me a most touching 
 and significant fact that a Memorial to Milton in the 
 Church of the House of Commons for which he so 
 greatly labored should now be given l)y a descendant 
 of the Pilgrim Fathers after I had tried in vain to get 
 it from Englishmen. 
 
 " But I could not write till I was able to inform you 
 what the cost would be, nor shall I. formally accept 
 your generous offer until you have been informed of 
 the cost and character of the proposed window. The 
 central compartments would illustrate scenes in the 
 Life of Milton, the side compartments Avould contain 
 scenes from the ' Paradise Lost.' The Window would 
 be worthy of Milton, worthy of the church, and worthy 
 of your munificence. 
 
 *' I shall not set the artist to work till I receive your 
 
The Milton Windoio. 293 
 
 sanction in another letter. If you approve, I will have 
 a fine design of the Window executed and sent to you. 
 Mr. J. R. Lowell wrote the lines under the Kaleigh 
 "Window in my church, and Lord Tennyson those under 
 the Caxton Window. I would get some great poet to 
 write the lines under the inscription which would 
 record, to all future time, your honor of the illustrious 
 dead. 
 
 " I have of course not mentioned the matter publicly, 
 nor will I do so till I receive the final notification of 
 your gift. 
 
 "Most gratefully and sincerely yours, 
 
 " F. W. Farrar. 
 
 " P.S. — Immediately after writing this letter I went 
 to read prayers, and the lesson was the message to the 
 Angel of the Church of Philadelphia." 
 
 The following is Mr. Childs's reply to the 
 foresroiDo:: 
 
 " Philadelphia^ February 16, 188V. 
 
 " My dear Archdeacon Farrar, — Your kind note is 
 just received, and is most satisfactory. I have but one 
 thought with regard to the Memorial, which is that I 
 am particularly anxious you should write the inscrip- 
 tion. All other matters I leave to your taste and good 
 judgment, but this one request I hope you will grant 
 me. 
 
 " With cordial regards, sincerely your friend, 
 
 " Geo. W. Childs." 
 
 Enclosed in the above letter from Mr. 
 Childs was a draft for an amount covorinof 
 the entire cost of the w^ork. 
 
 25- 
 
294 The Milton Window. 
 
 Writing to bis friend from Dean's Yard, 
 Westminster, London, on tlie 5th day of 
 March following, Archdeacon Farrar said, — 
 
 " Mr DEAR Mr. Guilds, — How can I thank you 
 
 warmly enout^h ? Your order for £ has reached 
 
 me safely, and the "Window, which will be a very beau- 
 tiful one, will be at once proceeded with. Before lonj; 
 I hope to send you a painting of it which will show 
 you how very beautiful it is likely to be. I need hardly 
 say that, as you wish it, I will myself writg the inscrip- 
 tion, and, further, I shall record that it is the gift of 
 the same noble munificence which has already enriched 
 AVestminster Abbey and Stratford-upon-Avon. 
 
 ■' I wish that there were some chance of your seeing 
 it ! Of course, it will take some months to finish, and 
 may be you will have to come over to England some 
 day, before or after the Memorial is set up. 
 
 "You cannot tell how much I am pleased by the 
 thought that one of the greatest, purest, and least com- 
 memorated of English poets should receive one more 
 testimony to the immortal gratitude which is his due, 
 and that the Memorial to this mighty Puritan should 
 come from the land of the Pilgrim Fathers, and be 
 placed in the Church of the House of Commons, with 
 which he was so closely connected. 
 
 " Believe me to be, dear Mr. Childs, sincerely and 
 gratefully, your friend, 
 
 '' F. W. Farrar." 
 
 On the 19th day of the same month Arch- 
 deacon Farrar ao^ain wrote to Mr. Childs, 
 from Dean's Yard, Westminster, regarding 
 the Window, as follows: 
 
The Milton Window. 295 
 
 " Mv DEAR Mr. CniLDS, — I hope, in the course of 
 a few weeks, to send you a beautifully painted copy of 
 the desijrn for the great Milton Window which we owe 
 to your munificence. When the design is completed, I 
 shall publicly announce your gift to the old historic 
 church. The enclosed outline will give you a general 
 conception of the mode of treatment. In the centre is 
 Milton dictating to his daughters the ' Paradise Lost ;' 
 underneath is a scene from his student-life, and his visit 
 to Galileo. All around are scenes from ' Paradise 
 Lost' and ' Paradise Regained.' Above are the re- 
 joicing angels, and figures of Adam and of our Lord. 
 It will be a very beautiful work of art, and an eternal 
 monument to Milton's genius and your generosity. 
 
 "Believe me to be, dear Mr. Childs, sincerely and 
 
 gratefully your friend, 
 
 "F. W. Farrar." 
 
 The gift of Mr. Childs was formally un- 
 veiled on the eighteenth day of February, 
 1888, an account of which was furnished by 
 Archdeacon Farrar himself in the following 
 letter to the donor : 
 
 "17 Deax's Yard, Westminster, S. W., 
 "February 18, 1888. 
 
 "My DEAR Mr. Childs, — I have just returned from 
 the unveiling of the ^Milton Window. I only invited 
 a select number of friends. Among those present were 
 the poets Mr. Robert Browning and Mr. Lewis Morris, 
 among others Mr. Lecky, Mr. Courtney Herbert, Mr. 
 and the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, the Speaker's family, 
 the United States Minister and Mrs. Phelps, Professor 
 and Mrs. Flower, Lord Stanley of Alderly, General Sir 
 
206 The Milton Wlndoio, 
 
 Edward Stavcley, and other distinguished personages. 
 Mr. Matthew Arnold read a very fine paper on Milton, 
 which is to be published in the Century^ and which 
 will, I am sure, please you very much. After the paper 
 had been read in the Vestry we went into the Church 
 and unveiled the Window. It is very fine in color and 
 execution. In the centre is Milton dictating to his 
 daughters the ' Paradise Lost ;' below is Milton as a boy 
 at St. Paul's school, and Milton visiting Galileo. All 
 round are scenes from the 'Paradise Lost,' — Satan 
 awaking his legion, Satan entering Paradise, the fall, 
 and the expulsion from Eden. Above are four scenes 
 from the ' Paradise Ilegained,' — the nativity, the an- 
 nunciation, the baptism of Christ, and the temptation 
 in the wilderness. At the top are jubilant angels, and 
 Adam and our Lord, — the first and the second Adam. 
 In the course of next week I hope to send you the 
 picture (colored) of the Window. Underneath is the 
 inscription : 
 
 'To the glory of God, and in memory of the Immortal Poet, 
 John Milton, whose wife and child lie buried here, this Win- 
 dow is dedicated by George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, 
 
 MDCCCLXXXVIII.' 
 
 " On the other side are Mr. Whittier's four fine lines. 
 
 " So that now, my dear Mr. Childs, your noble gift 
 has come to fruitful completion, and in the Church of 
 the House of Commons will be a lasting and beautiful 
 Memorial both of the great poet and of your munifi- 
 cence. 
 
 " It has carried out a wish which I long cherished. 
 Heartfelt thanks ! 
 
 " I shall preach on Milton to-morrow, and I shall 
 ask you to accept the MS. of the sermon. Pray give 
 
The Milton Window. 297 
 
 my kindest remembrances to Mrs. Childs, and believe 
 me to be, 
 
 "Yours, very sincerely and gratefully, 
 
 " F. W. Farrar." 
 
 The selection of St. Margaret's Church 
 was probably due to the fact mentioned in 
 this letter, that Milton's wife and child are 
 buried there ; and what more fitting memo- 
 rial could there be than this of him who in 
 his " 11 Penseroso" wrote of — 
 
 " Storied windows richly dight 
 Castincr a dim religious lifiht'' ? 
 
 The following recognition of the gift by 
 Mr. Childs of the Milton Memorial Window 
 is part of the eloquent and learned address 
 delivered by tlie late Matthew Arnold in St. 
 Margaret's Church, Westminster, on the 
 18th day of February, 1888, on the occasion 
 of the unveiling of the Memorial Window, 
 being the same which is referred to by Arch- 
 deacon Farrar in the foregoing letter to Mr. 
 Childs : 
 
 "We have met here to-day to witness the unveiling 
 of a gift in Milton's honor, and a gift bestowed by an 
 American, Mr. Childs, of Philadelphia, whose cordial 
 hospitality so many Englishmen, I myself among the 
 number, have experienced in America. It was only 
 last autumn that Stratford-upon-Avon celebrated the 
 
298 The IlUton Wimlow. 
 
 reception of a <i;ift from the same generous donor in 
 honor of Shakespeare. Shakespeare and IMilton, — he 
 wlio wishes to keep his standard of excellence high 
 cannot choose two better objects of regard and honor. 
 And it is an American who has chosen them, and 
 whose beautiful gift in honor of one of them, Milton, 
 with Mr. Whittier's simple and true lines inscribed 
 upon it, is unveiled to-day. Perhaps this gift in honor 
 of Milton, of which I am asked to speak, is, even more 
 than the gift in honor of Shakespeare, one to suggest 
 edifying reflections to us. 
 
 " Like Mr. AVhittier, I treat the gift of Mr. Childs 
 as a gift in honor of Milton, although the Window 
 given is in memory of the second wife, Catherine 
 Woodcock, the ' late espoused saint' of the famous 
 sonnet, who died in childbed at the end of the first 
 year of her marriage with Milton, and who lies buried 
 here with her infant. Milton is buried in Cripplegate, 
 but he lived for a good while in this parish of St. 
 Margaret's, Westminster, and here he composed part 
 of ' Paradise Lost,' and the whole of ' Paradise Re- 
 gained' and ' Samson Agonistes.' AVhen death de- 
 prived him of the Catherine whom the new Window 
 commemorates, Milton had still some eighteen years 
 to live, and Cromwell, his 'chief of men,' was yet 
 ruling England. 
 
 " The English race overspreads the world, and at 
 the same time the ideal of an excellence the most 
 high and the most rare abides a possession with it 
 forever." 
 
 The full text of tins eloquent address was 
 published in the Ceiitury Magazine for May, 
 
 1888. 
 
The Miltoti Window. 299 
 
 This noble tribute to Milton was the last 
 work which this learned and o-raceful scholar 
 lived to do. A short time after its delivery 
 Mr. Arnold died. The following letter from 
 Archdeacon Farrar to Mr. Childs will be 
 found interestino' in its reference to the final 
 literary effort of the great scholar and 
 divine : 
 
 " Athen.eum Club, Pall Mall, S. W., 
 "May 1,1888. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Childs, — I felt Mr. Matthew Arnold's 
 death deeply. He died on a Sunday, and only the 
 Friday before he had been talkino- to me here at the 
 Athenaeum in the very highest spirits. He had alluded 
 to the Milton Article (which has since appeared, a post- 
 humous work). It will be interesting to you to know 
 that it was called forth by your noble gift, and that it 
 was the last thing which came from that brilliant intel- 
 lect. I took part in his funeral at the quiet little vil- 
 lage church of Lateham, where we laid him beside his 
 three boys, — two of whom had been my pupils at 
 Harrow. 
 
 *' The Window is beautiful. It will be a permanent 
 and historic ornament to the Church, which will noAV 
 have a record of your generosity as well as Westminster 
 Abbey, where only yesterday I was reading the plate 
 which commemorates your gift of the Cowper and 
 Herbert AVindow. 
 
 " Cordially and sincerely yours, 
 
 " F. W. Farrar." 
 
 The Window is remarkable for its fulness 
 of detail and richness of color. Both in 
 
300 The Milton Window. 
 
 artistic design and execution it is worthy of 
 high praise. It is divided by its stone work 
 into four lights with trncery openings, and 
 is of fifteenth-century character, known as 
 the " perpendicular" style, which is that of 
 the church generally. The design of the 
 stained fi^lass fillins; the Window in memorv 
 of the author of " Paradrse Lost" is planned 
 on three lines of panels in horizontal order, 
 the middle tier beins; of somewhat larg-er 
 depth than those above and below it. In 
 the two divisions of the central portions of 
 the whole, four panels — viz., those of the 
 central and lower tiers respectively of these 
 lights — are devoted to the personal history 
 of the poet. In one of the bottom panels 
 the boy Milton is shown at St. Paul's school 
 anion 0^ his fellow-schoolmates. In the next 
 panel Milton's visit to Galileo is depicted. 
 Above these are two of the larger panels 
 combined to make one central subject repre- 
 senting the poet dictating " Paradise Lost" 
 to his daughters. Around these panels are 
 eight others illustrative of ''Paradise Lost" 
 and "Paradise Retrained." 
 
 In reference to the former are represented 
 the incidents of: 1. Satan's summons to-his 
 legions. 2. Adam and Eve at prayer in. 
 Paradise, Satan looking on. 3. The temp- 
 
The Milton Window. 301 
 
 tation. 4. The expulsion. In the upper 
 tier the four panels are devoted to the illus- 
 tration respectively of : 1. The annunciation. 
 2. The nativity of our Lord. 3. T]ie bap- 
 tism of our Lord. 4. The defeat of Satan 
 in his temptations of our Lord. Li the 
 tracery openings are jubilant angels and at 
 the apex of the whole iigures of Adam on 
 the left and our Lord on the right, repre- 
 sentino; thus the first and second Adam re- 
 spectively. At the base of the window is 
 the following inscription : 
 
 "To the Glory of God: and in memory of the im- 
 mortal poet, John Milton: whose wife and child lie 
 buried here : this window is dedicated by George W. 
 Childs, of Philadelphia, mdccclxxxviii." 
 
 Occupying a corresponding space and 
 position in the Window is the following 
 fine verse thereon emblazoned, which was 
 especially written for the Memorial by the 
 American Quaker poet, John Greenleaf 
 Whittier, as a tribute to his brother poet of 
 long ago : 
 
 " The New AVorld honors him whose lofty plea 
 
 For England's freedom made her own more sure, 
 Whose song, immortal as its theme, shall be 
 
 Their common freehold while both worlds endure." 
 
 26 
 
302 Tlie Milton Window. 
 
 Reirardiiior these lines Mr. Whittier wrote 
 to Mr. Cliilds : 
 
 " My dear Friend, — I am glad to comply with thy 
 request and that of our friend Archdeacon Farrar. I 
 hope the lines may be satisfactory. It is difficult to 
 put all that could be said of Milton in four lines. How 
 very beautiful and noble thy benefactions are ! Every 
 one is a testimony of peace and good-will. 
 
 " T am, with high respect and esteem, thy aged 
 friend, 
 
 "John G. Whittier. 
 
 " I think even such a scholar as Dr. Farrar will not 
 object to my use of the word ' freehold.' Milton him- 
 self uses it in the same way in his prose writings, viz. : 
 
 " ' I too have my chapter imdi freeJiold of rejoicing.' " 
 
 The rehgious services were the ordinary 
 Lenten ones, except that the hymn pre- 
 ceding" the sermon was Milton's — 
 
 o 
 
 "Let us with a gladsome mind 
 Praise the Lord, for he is kind." 
 
 Canon Farrar, who preached from La- 
 mentations iv. 7, further emphasized the 
 occasion in his opening remarks. As the 
 discourse proceeded and the congregation 
 warmed in sympathy with the impassioned 
 but well-weighed elo'quence of the preacher, 
 the gloomy weather without cleared, and 
 
The IMon Windoiv. 303 
 
 the wintry sun gleamed through the richly- 
 staiued windows with which St. Alaro^aret's 
 is general!}' adorned and glinted on the Mil- 
 ton Memorial, relieving the semi-obscurity 
 of the interior and illuming the impressive 
 scene in which the worshippers mingled 
 with devotion to the Almighty the full meed 
 of admiration of Milton's inspired genius 
 which the preacher's fervency demanded. 
 
 On the Sunday following the unveiling of 
 the memorial to the poet, Archdeacon Farrar, 
 in order to give greater impressiveness to the 
 event, preached a special sermon in St. Mar- 
 garet's. The day was bitterly cold, the wind 
 blowing sharply from the northeast, and the 
 snow falling intermittently during the morn- 
 ing ; but, undeterred by the churlish weather, 
 a vast multitude, including many of the most 
 distinguished religious, social, political, and 
 literary leaders of England, met to listen 
 to the eloquent words of the venerable 
 Archdeacon. The pews were all filled, and 
 chairs were placed in the aisles to accom- 
 modate the great concourse assembled to 
 testify by their presence their interest in 
 tlie impressive ceremony. Among those 
 who were in attendance were Mr. Phelps, 
 the American Minister, and his wife ; Mat- 
 thew Arnold; the poet, Robert Browning; 
 
304 The Milton Window. 
 
 the Baroness Burdctt-Coutts; the Eev. 
 Phillips Brooks, of Boston; and many 
 prominent American residents of London, 
 as well as distinguished representatives of 
 the nobility. 
 
 In the occasional sermon preached by Dr. 
 Farrar, he said, — 
 
 " It has been my desire during twelve years to sur- 
 round this ancient and famous church with noble asso- 
 ciations ; to revive the memories of those great men with 
 which it has been connected, and thus to indicate the 
 relation in which it stands to the history of England. 
 
 " This church may claim its special interest in the 
 mighty name of Milton. That name is recorded in our 
 marriage register; and here lies buried, with Milton's 
 infant daughter, that beloved wife — ' my late espoused 
 saint' — whose love flung one brief gleam of happiness 
 over the poet's troubled later years. Once more we are 
 indebted to an American citizen for the beautiful Mil- 
 ton Window which was yesterday unveiled. The well- 
 counselled munificence of Mr. Childs, of Philadelphia, 
 who has already enriched Stratford-upon-Avon with 
 a memorial of Shakespeare, and "Westminster Abbey 
 with the Window in memory of Herbert and Cowper, 
 has now erected this abiding memorial to the great 
 Puritan Poet. Myself the debtor to American friends 
 for great kindness, I cannot but rejoice that the Church 
 of St. Margaret's should furnish yet one more illustra- 
 tion of those bonds of common traditions and blood 
 and language and affection which unite England to 
 the great Republic of the West ; and I am glad that 
 the public spirit of the church-wardens has assigned 
 from henceforth the use of one special pew in this 
 
The Milton Window. 305 
 
 church to our friends and visitors from the other side 
 of the Atlantic. 
 
 " There was somethincr specially appropriate in the 
 Milton Window being the gift of an American. For 
 the United States represent much that Milton most 
 deeply loved; tlie Commonwealth which, happily fail- 
 ing in England, in America gloriously succeeded ; the 
 Puritanism which, crushed in England, inspired vigor 
 and nobleness into our kin beyond the sea. 
 
 '• The venerable poet, Mr. AYhittier, who has written 
 the lines for yonder window, most justly says, — 
 
 " ' The New "World honors him whose lofty plea 
 
 For England's freedom made her own more sure, 
 Whose song, immortal as its theme, shall be 
 
 Their common freehold while both worlds endure.'" 
 
 The sermon was subsequently published 
 in full in The Churchman, of New York, with 
 the accompanying note : 
 
 "St. Margaret's, Westminster, 
 " February 19, 1888. 
 " This manuscript of a sermon preached at St. Mar- 
 garet's, Westminster, — the Church of the House of 
 Commons, — on the occasion of the unveiling of the 
 Window in memory of Milton, presented to the church 
 by George W. Childs, Esq., of Philadelphia, is pre- 
 sented to Mr. Childs, Avith grateful regard, by 
 
 " Frederick AV. Farrar, 
 " Archdeacon of Westminster.'''' 
 
 The subjoined editorial reference to the 
 Window was printed in the same number 
 of The Churchman : 
 
 u 26* 
 
PM The Milton Window. 
 
 " Under the shadow almost of the northern transept 
 of Westminster Abbey and within a stone's throw of 
 Westminster Hall and the Houses of Parliament stands 
 a church which is probably known to every American 
 who has visited London, — the Church of St. Marfi;aret's. 
 Interesting as it is because of its monuments and its 
 beino; the Church of the House of Commons, it has 
 just now gained an added attraction in the Memorial 
 Window to Milton, which has been placed there by the 
 munificence of Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia." 
 
 AMERICAN COxMMENT. 
 
 The leading newspapers of tlie United 
 States very generally published interesting 
 accounts by cable of the dedicatory cere- 
 monies, with appropriate comments there- 
 upon. From the mass of such accounts or 
 comments which were collected by the Edi- 
 tor he has selected the followino: onlv, from 
 the Brooklyn Eagle of February 19, 1888, as 
 susrsrestive of the character of them all : 
 
 " Yesterday the ceremony of unveiling the Milton 
 Memorial Window presented to St. Margaret's Church, 
 Westminster, by George W. Childs, Esq., of Philadel- 
 phia, attracted one of the largest congregations ever 
 gathered within the walls of the venerable edifice. 
 Archdeacon Farrar preached the sermon, postponing 
 his usual Lenten exhortation and confining his remarks 
 to the lessons of Christianity as exemplified by the 
 noble life of the great English poet and moralist. The 
 brief extracts communicated by cable indicate that the 
 
The Milton Windoiv. 307 
 
 effort was worthy of the speaker and the occasion. He 
 confessed the satisfaction it gave him that the Church 
 of St. Margaret's should furnish another illustration 
 of those bonds of common blood, traditions, language, 
 and affection which unite the mother-country with her 
 marvellous offspring, the giant Republic of the AV'est, 
 and alluded to the peculiar fitness of the honor done 
 by an American to the memory of one who represented 
 much that was most deeply loved in the Commonwealth, 
 which, failing in England, inspired vigor and nobleness 
 in the Commonwealth to which it gave birth beyond 
 the sea. 
 
 "Need it be said that the countrymen of Mr. Childs 
 participate with him in the reciprocation of the feeling 
 which inspired these utterances of Archdeacon Farrar? 
 The motive that prompted the Philadelphia philanthro- 
 pist is a motive which challenges the approval and 
 sympathy of every enlightened xVmerican. There is, 
 in his gift of the Milton Window, a teaching larger 
 than that of any sect, class, or faction. It has even a 
 nobler sis-nificance than that to which the archdeacon 
 adverted. It means more than a recognition of the ties 
 that unite the two leading nations of the Anglo-Saxon 
 race. It is an expression of the veneration which fills 
 every elevated mind for one of the most extraordinary 
 examples in the history of genius and virtue. In con- 
 ceiving this honor to the memory of Milton, Mr. Childs 
 revealed not only the benevolence of his nature, but 
 his appreciation of the truly great and good. Like his 
 Shakespeare Memorial and the beautiful AVindows in 
 the ancient Abbey that recall the genius of Herbert 
 and Cowper, it bespeaks the lofty ideals not less than 
 the kindly impulses of the donor. 
 
 "Of the author of ' Paradise Lost,' it has been said 
 that he is withdrawn from the ordinary world as an 
 
308 The Milton Window. 
 
 Alp is witlidrawn, — by vastness, by solitariness of 
 snows, and by commerce with heaven. Mr. Childs has 
 shown that the ordinary world may venture to invade 
 this isolation and to mitigate the grandeur of the poet's 
 solitude by the proofs that his genius cannot thus 
 divorce him from the great heart of humanity. If the 
 sublimity of his intellect and the austerity of his morals 
 lift him far above his kind, the pathos of his life and 
 those passages in which he confesses his heritage of 
 weakness and sorrow, make him our brother and equal. 
 Wisely has Mr. Childs chosen this last object of his 
 generosity and munificence. Fittingly have the Eng- 
 lish people, speaking by the tongue of Archdeacon 
 Farrar, accepted the offering as at once a tribute to the 
 mighty dead and as a pledge of the fraternity of the 
 race that boasts his ashes as a consecrated legacy." 
 
THE REREDOS OF ST. THOMAS'S CHURCH, 
 
 WINCHESTER. 
 
 Among the shifts which Mr. Childs has 
 made to Eno^land is that of the Reredos 
 which is no^Y one of the most striking 
 adornments of St. Tliomas's Church, Win- 
 chester. 
 
 The inception of this gift is to be found 
 in a letter written October 11, 1887, to Mr. 
 Childs by his friend, the Reverend Arthur 
 B. Sole, Rector of St. Thomas's Church. 
 
 Referring to the Herbert and Cowper 
 Memorial in Westminster Abbey, and to 
 the Shakespeare Fountain at Stratford, Mr. 
 Sole said, — 
 
 " Now that you have shown the midland counties and 
 the metropolis an American citizen's appreciation of 
 England's great poets, you must not leave out in the 
 cold the ancient city of the country, Winchester, the 
 one centre to which every American is attracted. 
 
 " Could you not give us a monument or memorial to 
 Bishop Ken, who lived close under the shadow of St. 
 
 309 
 
310 The Ilcrcdos of St. IViomas^s Church. 
 
 Thomas's old Cliurcli ? We sorely need a new Reredos, 
 and, coming from a well-known citizen of that Greater 
 Britain beyond the sea, the gift would be highly esteemed 
 by Englishmen." 
 
 AVitli this request Mr. Childs complied 
 with characteristic generosity. 
 
 On December 6, 1887, the liev. Mr. Sole 
 wrote to his friend : 
 
 " We feel very grateful to you for your ready com- 
 pliance with my request, and for choosing our Church 
 us the recipient of your gift which shall show respect 
 and veneration for the good Bishop Ken. The church 
 is a very noble one, and the largest in Winchester, so 
 that it is fittini; his monument shall be in it. 
 
 " It has been suggested that you might like to have 
 good Bishop Andrewes's name connected with Bishop 
 Ken's in the work, since he was very often with us in 
 Winchester, and the Church of the seventeenth century 
 owes much to him." 
 
 A year later, December 28, 1888, the Rev. 
 Mr. Sole communicated with Mr. Childs, 
 saying,— 
 
 *' The following resolution was passed at a special 
 and influential Vestry that was called last week to dis- 
 cuss the Reredos : 
 
 " ' Parish of St. TnoifAS and St. Clement, 
 "Winchester. 
 " ' At a Vestry meeting held according to due notice 
 on Thursday, the 20th day of December, 1888, to con- 
 
The Beredos of St. Thomases Church, 311 
 
 aider the subject of the gift of a Reredos to the Church 
 bj an American citizen, and to record a vote of thanks 
 to the donor^ — 
 
 " * Proposed by Captain Budden, and seconded by 
 Mr. Alfred King, that this meeting of the Rector, 
 Church-wardens, and parishioners in Yestrj assembled, 
 do hereby offer to George William Childs, Esquire, of 
 Philadelphia, U.S.A., their most cordial thanks for his 
 very handsome gift towards the beautifying of their 
 parish Church, and to which they would beg to add the 
 hope that, should Mr. Childs ever visit England, they 
 may have the pleasure of seeing him in Winchester, 
 and thanking him in person for the kindly interest he 
 has shown in this ancient city and parish of the old 
 mother-country. 
 
 " ' Alfred King, 
 
 " 'J. A. MoRRAH (Colonel), 
 
 " ' Church- Wardens. 
 " ' Arthur D. Sole, Sector.^ " 
 
 On February 15, 1889, the Rector of St. 
 iomas 
 morial : 
 
 Thomas's ao^aiu wrote reo-arcling: the Me 
 
 " The Reredos is growing rapidly, and will be un- 
 veiled at 4.30 on Friday afternoon, March 1, by the Very 
 Reverend the Dean of Worcester. 
 
 "He is a most eloquent preacher, and I have no 
 doubt will say some helpful words concerning the cir- 
 cumstances under which the erection is made, and your 
 very sympathetic kindness and good-will toward the old 
 city of your fathers. 
 
 The inscription I have not yet prepared. I have 
 
 (( T 
 
312 TIlc Reredos of St. Thomases Church, 
 
 •waited to take counsel with the Bishop. I should like 
 it to take such a form as this : 
 
 " ' To the glory of God, this Reredos has been erected by 
 George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, U.S.A., and to record the 
 undying esteem that is shared by the Church of the New World, 
 reciprocally with the ancient city of Winchester, in the saintly 
 lives of two of her sons and citizens, Bishop Andrewes and 
 Bishop Ken.' 
 
 " The Reredos was unveiled last Friday before a large 
 concourse of worshippers. It looked very beautiful, 
 and was spoken of by many as a munificent gift of love 
 from you." 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE DEDICATION. 
 
 Under the caption of " The 'New Reredos 
 at St. Thomas's, Winchester," the Hampshire 
 Gazette, in its issue of March 2, 1889, of that 
 ancient metropolis said, — 
 
 "An interesting and historical Reredos has been 
 placed in the Church of Sts. Thomas and Clement, 
 Winchester, under unusually pleasing circumstances, 
 connecting Old and New England. A friend of the 
 Rector's (the Rev. A. B. Sole), Mr. Childs, of Phila- 
 delphia, presented him with a check to defray the 
 cost of a Reredos to commemorate Bishops Lancelot 
 Andrewes and Ken, prelates certainly of saintly re- 
 nown, whose names and fame are revered wherever 
 Enflishmen are, for both were stanch Churchmen: 
 both have left writings which are yet prized as manuals 
 of devotion and aids to religion ; and both have an his- 
 toric interest, for Andrewes administered the Diocese 
 of Canterbury whilst the Primate from an accident to 
 
The Reredos of St. Thomas's Church. 313 
 
 his keeper was held to be incapacitated, and Ken was 
 one of the ' Seven Bishops.' Both are to be remem- 
 bered for their learning, and Ken especially to be 
 honored for his firmness of purpose against William 
 III. (when Prince of Orange), Charles II., and James, 
 when he considered morality and honor were jeopard- 
 ized. The Reredos is a very handsome work, although 
 it includes the arcade of the former one, which consisted 
 of panels with the Commandments, etc. These are 
 now removed to another place close by, and the span- 
 drils of the arches have been carved with conventional 
 foliage and fruit, and an angel in the north and south 
 spandrils. Above this arcade is another of five panels, 
 forming, with its cornice and cross, a pediment or finish 
 to the Reredos. The cross, with the Agnus Dei painted 
 in colors, surmounts the whole, and the hand-mould- 
 ings and other ornaments of the shafts of the panels 
 are in the best style of work. In the panels are fixed 
 as many paintings by ladies of Winchester. In the 
 centre is Christ ascending and blessing ; on either side 
 are angels with the chalice and 'golden crown;' and 
 on the outer panels are, on the south. Saints Thomas, 
 the apostle, and Clement, the third Bishop of Rome, 
 martyred in the time of Trajan, each with emblems, — 
 the spear and the anchor ; in the north are representa- 
 tions of Andrewes standing with his pastoral staff, and 
 Ken kneeling, both vested in Reformation robes, and 
 w^ith mitres at their feet. The pastoral staff indicates 
 that Andrewes died in office, whereas Ken, from scru- 
 ples of conscience, died out of office, being a non-juror. 
 Close to this panel is another in the wall over the 
 credence-table, which bears, under a cross-surmounted 
 globe delineating England and America, the following 
 w^ords, — ^ Stat Crux dum evolvit orhis,^ followed by this 
 
 inscription : 
 
 o 27 
 
314 The Reredos of St. Thomases Church. 
 
 " * In token of the unity of spirit and bond of peace between 
 the Churches of the Old and New World, this Reredos is dcili- 
 cated by George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, to the memory of 
 two Bishops of the Chureli universal, both connected with this 
 Cathedral city — Bishop Lancelot Andrewes and Bishop Ken. — 
 
 MDCCCLXXXIX.' 
 
 w 
 
 '•The Reredos was unveiled yesterday (St. David's 
 Day), at Choral Evensonfi;. There was a numerous 
 congregation. The service opened with the Old Hun- 
 dredth Psalm. The anthem was ' IIow amiable are 
 Thy tabernacles,' and it was well sung by the choir. 
 The hymn before the sermon was ' We love the place, 
 God.' The preacher was the Very Rev. Dr. Gott, 
 Dean of Worcester, who chose for his text the words 
 ' From strength to strength,' from the seventh verse of 
 the Eighty-fourth Psalm. In the course of an eloquent 
 sermon he said they Avere met together that afternoon 
 to worship God, not only in spirit but in truth, and to 
 give a blessing in God's name to the new addition to the 
 altar which graced their church, and indicated their 
 devotion. Concluding, he asked what was the strength 
 added to their Church since the days of Ken? He did 
 not think he could put it in words, — he could not hold 
 the world in his hands, he could not express the mighty 
 strength which had come over the Church of God from 
 those days till now ! How wide the Church had spread, 
 how fertile had been her daughter Churches within 
 the last century, how rich she was in founding new 
 branches of the old Church, how strong in infusing the 
 spirit of the one true religion — the religion of Christ 
 — into the old religions of the East! How wonderful 
 had been the strength of the Church in the country of 
 the donor who sent the offering to the city whence these 
 two saintly men came ! Were tliey personally going 
 
The Reredos of St. Thomas's Church. 315 
 
 from strens^th to strength ? As years passed over them, 
 and as the troubles — perhaps the pleasures — of life 
 thickened around them, were they going from strength 
 to strength? Let the faith be handed on pure and 
 untarnished to their children, and their children's 
 children, until at last they appeared before Him who 
 was their Almighty strength, and more than conquer- 
 ors received from Ilim the power which Eternity would 
 bring. The hymn ' Lift the strain of high thanks- 
 giving' was sung during the offertory." 
 
 The Story of ^Ir. Childs's Memorials to 
 some of the noblest of Old England's wor- 
 thies, which is here brought to an end, has 
 grown under the hands of the Editor, despite 
 his efforts to keep it within more modest 
 limits. But lono^ as it is, he induls^es. at 
 least, the hope that it will be found inter- 
 esting: to those who ao:ree with him that it is 
 permitted to no one to do better work in 
 this world than that of fostering fraternal 
 feeling between peoples who are akin, but 
 who are separated by the broad ocean, and 
 who have been sometimes estranged by mis- 
 understandings, conflicting interests, or un- 
 toward circumstances. This is the work 
 which ]Mr. Childs appears to the Editor to 
 have had a mind to do in the makins: of 
 every one of those gifts to our cousins across 
 the sea with whom Americans can claim 
 even a closer degree of consanguinity than 
 
31 G The Rcredos of St. Thomases Church, 
 
 that of cousins! lip, — their just claim is that 
 of Common Brotherliood. 
 
 Tlie sacred poets, Herbert and Cowper; 
 Milton, the sublime singer of the Cromwell- 
 ian epoch; and Shakespeare, whose genius 
 illuminates the present not less effulgently 
 than it glorified the age of Elizabeth, spoke 
 in no strange tongue, but in our very own, 
 — in that of our mother-country. In these 
 great masters of the English language, in 
 their work and their fame, Americans have 
 also their full share and part, and whoso 
 giveth recognition to that which they did 
 and reverence to their memories in noble, 
 impressive monuments does that which 
 strengthens the feeling of fraternity which 
 nature itself demands should exist between 
 the two countries. This, as it seems to the 
 Editor, is what Mr. Childs has done, and 
 for doing which he deserves the sincerest 
 respect and the warmest gratitude of Eng- 
 land and America. 
 
MR. CHILDS 
 
 AND THE 
 
 WORKINQMAN 
 
 BY 
 
 RICHARD T. ELY, Ph.D., 
 
 ASSOCIATE IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, JOHNS HOPKINS 
 UNIVERSITY, BALTIMORE. 
 
 27* 317 
 
GEORGE W. CHILDS 
 
 IN HIS 
 
 RELATIONS TO HIS EMPLOYEES. 
 
 It is with sincere pleasure that I accept 
 the invitation which has been extended to 
 me by Mr. Phillips, the editor, to contribute 
 a few pages to the present volume on the 
 relations of Mr. Childs to his employees. I 
 shall do something more than this, because 
 in treating these relations I almost of ne- 
 cessity touch upon his relations to the labor 
 movement in general. It was, in fact, while 
 writing my work on " The Labor Movement 
 in America" that I first came to know the 
 affectionate nature of the relations existino- 
 between Mr. Childs and his employees. 
 
 It occurs frequently that an industrial 
 leader makes himself an object of love and 
 admiration to his own employees, although 
 even this does not happen so often as one 
 
 319 
 
o 
 
 20 Geovfje W. Childs in his 
 
 could desire. Mr. Childs has, however, done 
 far more than this. lie has made himself 
 beloved by an entire craft — namely, that to 
 which the most of those employed upon his 
 great newspaper, the Public Ledger, belong, 
 the compositors — throughout the United 
 States. The reader may travel south to 
 Texas, north to Minnesota, east to Maine, 
 or west to the shores of the Pacific, and 
 wherever he mentions the name of Mr. 
 Childs he touches a warm spot in the heart 
 of the compositor. I was studying the labor 
 question in Richmond, Virginia, a few years 
 ago, when I happened to mention the name 
 of Mr. Childs to the president of the local 
 organization of compositors. " Oh, sir," said 
 he, as his face brightened with loving grati- 
 tude, *' if all employers were like Mr. George 
 W. Childs there would be no labor ques- 
 tion." Similar expressions are often heard 
 at gatherings of printers everywhere. 
 
 The following words are taken from an 
 address delivered on the occasion of a ban- 
 quet, by one of the employees in the Ledger 
 office, and will bring to the reader some idea 
 of their appreciation of the character of 
 their benefactor : " My recollection of the 
 gentleman who is being honored by this 
 banquet dates back to boyhood. To use a 
 
Relations to his Employees. 321 
 
 quoted expression, Mr. Chilcls is ' an Israelite 
 without o^uile.' The thin or in him that is 
 plainest to me is that there is less of evil in 
 him than in any man I ever knew. ISTo 
 one can say that he went to him with a tale 
 of true sorrow and went away empty-handed. 
 lie overlooks our shortcomings in the Ledger 
 office, and many of us have done that which 
 might be cause for dismissal from other 
 establishments. But we are all there, still 
 at work, because he could not frame his 
 lips to say the word that would cause our 
 departure." 
 
 At this banquet a letter was read from 
 a Boston printer, in which these words 
 occur : " To George W. Childs, more than 
 to any other man living, are we indebted for 
 the present era of good feeling existing be- 
 tween employers and members of our craft, 
 which has taken the place of the antagonistic 
 spirit of former years." 
 
 And it was but a few days since that I 
 received a letter from a Washinsfton com- 
 positor, in which Mr. Childs was alluded to 
 as " the Patron Saint of the printers." 
 
 Here we have testimonies from Boston, 
 Philadelphia, Washington, and Richmond, 
 and they might without trouble be gathered 
 from every quarter. Is not this remarkable ? 
 
322 George W. Childs in his 
 
 The newspapers are full of bitter quarrels 
 between employers and emplo3'e(l, and bere 
 is a man who bus estal)lislied sueb wbolly 
 satisfactory relations between bimself and 
 bis employees that an entire craft look upon 
 him with enthusiastic admiration, and re- 
 gard him as an ideal character. Surely it is 
 worth while to reflect for a few moments on 
 these relations; surely it is worth while that 
 the facts should be pul)lished to the world, 
 as an incitement to others to " 2:0 and do 
 likewise." 
 
 Mr. Childs is called a philanthropist, and 
 no man can have a nobler title. One who 
 is a lover of his kind partakes in so far of 
 the divine nature. God is love, and Christ, 
 who came to manifest to us the love of God, 
 said that the second of the two great com- 
 mandments, which bids us to love our fel- 
 lows, was of the same nature as the first, 
 which bids us to love God. Moreover, when 
 men professed to love God, Christ and the 
 apostles always put their professions to the 
 proof in testing this love for their fellow- 
 men. 'No one can be a Christian without at 
 the same time being a philanthropist. 
 
 While all this is true, the word philan- 
 thropist does not alwaj's convey to us such 
 impressions of exalted goodness as it should. 
 
Relations to his Employees. 323 
 
 One reason is, doubtless, that we are not 
 sufficiently Christian ourselves to appreciate 
 philanthropy at its value; and another is that 
 there is in this world much more spurious 
 than genuine philanthropj'. Mere giving is 
 not philanthropy. A man may give millions 
 of dollars in alms, and yet be a contemptible 
 fellow. St. Paul tells us, indeed, that a man 
 may give his body to be burned, but that 
 without love this is nothing. Philanthropy 
 is first of all a state of the heart, — a loving 
 heart, — and, when it is giving, it is loving 
 giving directed by intelligence : all of the 
 giver's powers are placed at the service of 
 his fellows. 
 
 But this is not all. Love is not weakness. 
 Love is o^entle firmness and at times is even 
 severity. Charles Kingsley, indeed, has said 
 that there is no severity so terrible as the 
 severitv of love. 
 
 Georo:e Eliot is celebrated for her insis-ht 
 into character, and in one of her letters I 
 find these words : " I prefer a country where 
 I don't make bad blood by having to see one 
 public house to every six dwellings, — which 
 is literally the case in many spots around us. 
 My gall rises at the rich brewers in Parlia- 
 ment and out of it, who plant these poison- 
 shops for their million-making trade, while 
 
324 Gcovfje W. Ch'ilds in Juh 
 
 probably their families are figuring some- 
 where as refined philanthropists or devout 
 Evangelicals and Kitualists." 
 
 We must go back of the giving and know 
 something about methods of acquisition be- 
 fore we can pass judgment on the giver. 
 Thieves, pirates, gamblers, have often been 
 generous, as is well known, but no one would 
 think of calling them on that account phi- 
 lanthropists. It is quite as improper to call 
 a generous railroad-wrecker a philanthropist, 
 or any one who, even in conformity with 
 legal forms, coaxes other people's money 
 into his pockets without a fair equivalent. 
 
 The recipients of Mr. Childs's bounty may 
 enjoy it without any feelings of compunction, 
 as thev well know that his fortune has been 
 honestly gained in a legitimate business con- 
 ducted according to high principles. It is 
 a source of proper satisfaction to Mr. Childs 
 to be able to say of the Public Ledger, " This 
 propert}^ was built up without breaking 
 other people down." 
 
 When Mr. Childs acquired the Public 
 Ledger in 1864, he made a distinction in 
 the manao;ement of his business which too 
 many overlook, although it is fundamental. 
 " Meanness," said he, " is not necessary to 
 success in business, but economy is." 
 
Relations to his Employees. 325 
 
 As early as 1867 ^Ir. Childs had acquired 
 a reputation as '' a just and liberal employer, 
 and a kind-hearted, charitable man," and 
 had been made an honorary member of " the 
 Philadelphia Typographical Society." This 
 society was in the following year the recipi- 
 ent of a lar2:e and valuable tract of orround 
 in Woodlands Cemetery, near Philadelphia, 
 which was beautifully enclosed and orna- 
 mented, and which has since been known 
 as " The Printers' Cemetery." The ex- 
 penses connected with its maintenance have 
 been met by the donor for over twenty years. 
 
 The good deeds of Mr. Childs, which are 
 unknown to any one but himself, are so 
 numerous that thev could not be described 
 in a brief sketch. I have in mind onl v those 
 which are known ; but there is every reason 
 to believe that a larger proportion of them 
 never become known, although aifection 
 prompts many to let the world know what 
 he has quietly and unostentatiously done for 
 them. The individual cases of distress re- 
 lieved by him are simply innumerable, and 
 among those relieved are naturally many 
 present or past employees : but now we are 
 concerned chieflv with his resjular relations 
 with his employees. One form which his 
 beneficence takes is to place insurance on 
 
 28 
 
326 George W. Childs in his 
 
 their lives, which in case of death will pro- 
 vide for those who are dependent on them. 
 Another form of Mr. Childs's philanthropy 
 is seen in his pension system which places 
 all those who have served him long and 
 faithfully heyond want in their old age. I 
 wish to call particular attention to this, be- 
 cause I believe there is perhaps no single 
 measure likely to add so much to human 
 happiness as a judicious pension system, 
 well developed and placed on a secure finan- 
 cial basis. I believe, too, that it is practi- 
 cable to develop such a system both for 
 public and private employees. It has never 
 been clear why a pension system should be 
 confined to the army, because if it is good 
 for the army it is also good, as other coun- 
 tries have found out, for the civil servants 
 of city, state, and nation. The abuses which 
 have been connected ^vith pensions are no 
 argument against this position, because the 
 abuses are accidental rather than essential 
 parts of the s^'stem. It should be under- 
 stood that the pension system which obtains 
 in Mr. Childs's oflice is a regular part of the 
 remuneration received by all employees, and 
 not simply a gift to the poor and need}^ 
 Mr. Childs sees no reason why a man who 
 has been prudent, thrifty, and fortunate 
 
Bclations to Ids Employees. 327 
 
 should be deprived of his pension; and it is 
 said that recently a pensioner of the Public 
 Ledger was worth a quarter of a million 
 dollars. 
 
 The proper aim of life has often been de- 
 scribed to be the full and harmonious devel- 
 opment of all our faculties; but it has been 
 too often tacitly, if not explicitly, assumed, 
 that this full and harmonious development 
 is for the few only, and not for the many. 
 This is not, however, the belief of Mr. Childs. 
 He furnishes the most cheerful, wholesome, 
 often luxurious rooms for the entire working 
 force of the Ledger, and in the printers' 
 apartment he has not even forgotten to use 
 those colors on the walls which are least 
 trying to their heavily-taxed eyes. Vaca- 
 tions interrupt regularly the hard work of 
 the Ledger employees, and with the vacation 
 there comes a present of means for a trip, 
 sometimes even across the continent or to 
 Europe. On each Christmas-eve every em- 
 ployee receives a present in money, the total 
 amount being many thousands of dollars 
 annually. This is what Mr. Childs modestly 
 calls profit-sharing. It is, in truth, however, 
 the noblest form of genuine philanthropy. 
 
 There are three events in the relations 
 of Mr. Childs to his employees which are 
 
328 George W. Childs in his 
 
 peculiarly pleasing. The first concerns the 
 rate [)aid for type-setting. This rate is for 
 Union offices fixed hy the " International 
 Typographical Union," and most employers 
 think they are doing well if they pay with- 
 out nmrnmring all that is asked. [N^ot so 
 Mr. Childs. In 1876 a delegation of his 
 employees came to him with tlie announce- 
 ment that they were willing to have their 
 wages reduced from forty-five cents a thou- 
 sand ems to forty cents, which had become 
 the Union rate. Mr. Childs, however, re- 
 plied that he saw no reason why he should 
 reduce their washes. He received the same 
 price as formerly for his advertisements, the 
 Public Ledger sold for the same price; in 
 short, his business was prosperous, and he 
 saw no good reason why his employees 
 should not share in his prosperity. lie was 
 satisfied if they did. The result has been 
 that for over thirteen years Mr. Childs has 
 been paying his printers in the aggregate 
 over ten thousand dollars a year more than 
 the Union rate required, or more than he 
 need have paid. This, too, is an expression 
 of his philanthropy disguised by him as 
 profit-sharing. 
 
 The second noteworthy event to which I 
 have referred occurred ten years later, iii 
 
delations to his Employees. 329 
 
 1886. It was during the annual meeting of 
 the International Typographical Union, and 
 consisted in the presentation of a check for 
 ten thousand dollars to that body, one-half 
 given by ^Ir. Childs and the other half by 
 his life-long friend, the well-known banker, 
 Mr. Anthony J. Drexel. The gift was made 
 without conditions of any sort, and its final 
 use has not yet, I believe, been precisely de- 
 termined. It was, however, gratefully ac- 
 cepted, and it was decided to employ it for 
 the construction of some kind of a perma- 
 nent memorial, probably a building in Phil- 
 adelphia to serve as the headquarters of the 
 organization. It was at once resolved to in- 
 crease the fund by a beautiful arrangement. 
 It was voted that the printers east of the Mis- 
 sissippi should set a thousand ems for the fund 
 on each of Mr. Childs's recurrins; birthdavs. 
 May 12, and that those west of the Missis- 
 sippi should set a thousand ems for the fund 
 on every September 13, which is Mr. Drexel's 
 birthday. Accordingly, every time these an- 
 niversaries occur the printers send to the 
 trustees of the Childs-Drexel fund whatever 
 is received for setting a thousand ems, and 
 thus it grows at the rate of several thousand 
 dollars a year, and now amounts to twenty- 
 five thousand dollars. 
 
 28* 
 
330 George W. Childs in his 
 
 It 18 seen from this that Mr. Childs is not 
 liostile to labor organizations; indeed, he 
 openly says that he favors them, and he be- 
 lieves that had no organization existed among 
 the printers their rate of remuneration would 
 hardly be one-half what it is at present. 
 Mr. Childs holds to the doctrines of equal 
 rights for all classes, and cannot understand 
 why employees have not as much right to 
 organize as their employers. A man who 
 is able to take so broad and srenerous a 
 view of much-maligned labor organizations 
 deserves the highest commendation. 
 
 There is scarcely room for more than one 
 opinion about labor organizations on the 
 part of intelligent and impartial men who 
 have investigated their claims, and that is 
 favorable to them. This does not mean that 
 they are free from faults. What human or- 
 ganization is free from faults ? Has the his- 
 tory of that organization which we call the 
 Christian Church been such that her mem- 
 bers can contemplate it with unmingled sat- 
 isfaction ? By no means. Yet it is safe to 
 say that that organization is a good thing, 
 and that the world is to-day a thousand times 
 happier and better than it would be had the 
 Christian Church never existed. 
 
 Labor organizations doubtless have their 
 
Relations to his Employees. 331 
 
 faults, although most of the ohjectious 
 brouo'ht ao-aiust them are slanders. The 
 true course would then seem to be to con- 
 tend only against their bad features, and 
 to give them, as a whole, encouragement. 
 This is the policy which Mr. Childs has 
 pursued, and it is safe to say that the In- 
 ternational Typographical Union is on his 
 account to-day animated with a far more 
 conservative, conciliatory spirit than would 
 otherwise be the case. 
 
 Labor organizations are not merely eco- 
 nomic organizations in a narrow sense. They 
 are that, and, well conducted, can within 
 certain limits raise wages or keep wages 
 from falling. They enable labor to make 
 the best of the existing situation, and this 
 can be as clearly proved, perhaps, as any- 
 thing in political economy. But labor or- 
 ganizations are generally active temperance 
 organizations, many of their members being 
 total abstainers and prohibitionists. Fur- 
 thermore, they are educational societies, 
 training their members in speaking, writing, 
 and discussion, out of all of which proceeds a 
 better understanding of the questions of the 
 day. They are, finally, social organizations, 
 where the social side of the nature of their 
 
 members is cultivated, and in the crowded 
 
332 Gcor(je W. Childs in his 
 
 modern city this is of special importance. 
 All this makes it plain how good a deed is 
 done by any one who helps to develop the 
 be^t features of labor organizations. 
 
 The experience of Professor Thorold 
 Rogers, of the University of Oxford, is so 
 typical that it is worth while to quote it 
 here. I may say in this place that it is quite 
 similar to my experience, although I presume 
 I do not expect so much from the organiza- 
 tion of labor alone as does Professor Rogers. 
 " These institutions," says Professor Rogers, 
 " were repressed with passionate violence 
 and malignant watchfulness as long as it was 
 possible to do so. When it was necessary 
 to relax the severities of the older laws, they 
 were still persecuted by legal chicanery, 
 whenever oppression could on any pretence 
 be justified. As they were slowly emanci- 
 pated, they have constantly been the object 
 of alarmist calumnies and sinister predic- 
 tions. I do not speak of the language of 
 newspapers and reviews. . . . Far graver 
 were the allegations of Senior and Thorn- 
 ton. . . . Even my friend Mr. Mill treated 
 these forces of industrial life with a strano:e 
 indifference. I confess to having at one 
 time viewed them suspiciously- ; but a long 
 study of the history of labor has convinced 
 
Relations to his Employees, 333 
 
 me that they are not only the best friends 
 of workmen, but the best agency for the 
 employer and the public, and that to the 
 extension of these associations poUtical econ- 
 omists and statesmen must look for the solu- 
 tion of some among the most pressing and 
 the most difficult problems of our time." 
 
 Another illustration will show how far 
 Mr. Childs carries his friendly interest in 
 whatever concerns his employees. A few 
 years ago there appeared in Philadelphia a 
 new labor paper. It was stated that Mr. 
 Childs had presented every workingman in 
 his establishment with a year's subscription. 
 What a contrast this is to the conduct of 
 those employers who are willing to discharge 
 men for reading labor papers ! 
 
 The third event to which I alluded was 
 the attempt to bring forward Mr. Childs as 
 a candidate for the Presidency. His name, 
 it is said, was first mentioned for this posi- 
 tion by the Washington w^eekly, The Crafts- 
 man, long the official organ of the Inter- 
 national Typographical Union. The pro- 
 posal was greeted with enthusiasm in many 
 c^uarters, and in its issue of February 25, 
 1888, The Craftsman voiced the sentiment of 
 many printers when it said, " George W. 
 Childs before the people ! It is too good to 
 
334 George W. CJiilds in his 
 
 be true." Yet many tried to make it true, 
 and it was not merely in labor quarters that 
 the proposal was favorably received. The 
 more people turned the idea over in their 
 minds, the stronger did it become, and vol- 
 untary otters of influential sup[)ort began to 
 pour in from every side. Democrats, Re- 
 publicans, capitalists, and wage-earners w^ere 
 eager to unite in the Presidential campaign 
 with Mr. Childs as leader. The proprie- 
 tor of a Democratic newspaper in the East 
 pledged the support of his influential journal, 
 and oflered himself to subscribe one hundred 
 thousand dollars for campaign expenses. A 
 proprietor of a leading Democratic journal of 
 the West made a similar pledge, with an offer 
 of a personal subscription of fifty thousand 
 dollars. Proprietors of leading Republican 
 newspapers likewise promised to rally around 
 Mr. Childs as Presidential candidate. Mr. 
 Childs, however, never could see his way 
 clear to an acceptance of all this unsought 
 and enthusiastically-pledged support, and, in 
 spite of all entreaties, positively declined to 
 allow his name to be used, going so far as to 
 say that he would feel compelled to refuse 
 the ofiice even if he should be elected to it. 
 This declination was doubtless a bitter dis- 
 appointment to many printers who had 
 
Relations to his Employees, 335 
 
 hoped to see their true friend occupying the 
 highest office in the gift of the people. Yet 
 they acquiesced in his decision, and their 
 admiration and affection suffered no abate- 
 ment. 
 
 Those printers and pressmen who have rep- 
 resented Philadelphia at the annual meetings 
 of the International Typographical Union 
 have formed an orcranization called " The 
 Association of Ex-Delegates of Philadelphia 
 Typographical Union ^o. 2 and of Press- 
 men's Union Xo. 4 to the International Ty- 
 pographical Union," and they determined 
 in 1888 to hold a grand celebration on May 
 12 in honor of Mr. Childs's birthday. A 
 banquet v^^as provided at which many 
 speeches were made eulogizing Mr. Childs, 
 and from one of them I have already quoted. 
 Several visitors from Washins^ton, includiuo: 
 Congressmen who had once been composi- 
 tors, attended this memorable banquet. It 
 was proposed that they should each set up a 
 thousand ems and donate the proceeds to the 
 Childs-Drexel fund, but at the close of the 
 banquet it was too late. The intention was 
 mentioned by Congressman James O'Don- 
 nell, of Michigan, and naturally it was vo- 
 ciferously applauded. As a matter of fact, 
 Mr. O'Donnell, and his printer colleagues, 
 
336 George W. Cliilda in 1m 
 
 eight in nil, after their return to Washington, 
 (lid on May 19 set up a thousand ems each, 
 and contribute the amount received to the 
 fund mentioned. 
 
 Remembering the hostile feelings existing 
 so often between large employers and labor 
 organizations, it is well to make extracts from 
 two of the letters of leading officers of the 
 International Typographical Union which 
 were read on that occasion. The following 
 is from the letter of Wm. Aimison, the 
 President of that body : 
 
 " I regret my inability to be present, owing to the 
 nearness of the meeting of the International Typo- 
 graphical Union and the rush of business incident 
 thereto. There is no one to-day within the jurisdic- 
 tion of the I. T. U. whom the printers of the country 
 would delight to honor more than Mr. Childs. May 
 his birthdays be continued, and when the Avarm heart 
 and charitable hand are stilled in death, may his mem- 
 ory be as a refreshing draught to strengthen and to 
 re-encouraire us in the battle of life." 
 
 The following extract is from the letter of 
 David P. Boyer, the chief organizer : 
 
 " I hereby send my regrets at not being able to at- 
 tend. No other labor organization in this or any otiier 
 country lias ever received such consideration at the 
 hands of any one man as did the International Typo- 
 graphical Union in June. 1886, from George W. Childs, 
 
Relations to his Employees. 337 
 
 whose name is revered and honored throughout the 
 entire jurisdiction of the grand body. . . . Long life 
 and happiness to the friends of Union printers, George 
 W. Childs and Anthony J. Drexel." 
 
 It onsfht to be mentioned in this connec- 
 tion that in the local headquarters of the 
 printers of Washington and several other 
 cities a handsome portrait of Mr. Childs 
 adorns the walls and is res^arded as one of 
 their most cherished possessions. 
 
 I think I can in no way more fitly con- 
 clude this paper on Mr. Childs's Relations 
 to his Employees than by quoting the ad- 
 ditional testimony given by Harper's Weekly 
 of January 11, 1890, in the following just 
 tribute to that generous consideration which 
 Mr. Childs shows in so practical a manner 
 for all those in his employ : 
 
 " It was long ago said of Mr. George W. Childs, the 
 publisher of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, that he 
 was the two ' Cheery ble Brothers' rolled into one ; but 
 probably a more appropriate name for him would be 
 the Santa Claus of the newspaper world. On this last 
 Christmas day Mr. Childs, it is said, gave presents 
 amounting to many thousands of dollars in hard cash 
 to the editors, reporters, compositors, pressmen, and 
 other employees of the Ledger. When it is considered 
 that the salaries and wages paid by Mr. Childs are as 
 large as the largest paid by other Philadelphia publish- 
 ers, it will be recognized that any one associated with 
 T w 29 
 
338 George W. Childs in his 
 
 him in his work has cause to be satisfied witii his em- 
 ployer. It is said by his employees, however, that they 
 have even greater cause for satisfaction with him be- 
 cause of his daily consideration for them than for his 
 Christmas bounty. It is represented to be pretty much 
 of the same admirable sort as that of Mr. Fezziwig for 
 his employees, which was so Avarmly described by 
 Scrooge. ' He has the power,' said old Jacob Marley's 
 partner, ' to render us happy or unhappy ; to make our 
 service light or burdensome, a pleasure or a toil. Say 
 that his power lies in w^ords and looks, in things so 
 slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and 
 count 'em up; what then? The happiness he gives is 
 quite as great as if it cost a fortune.' That is said to 
 describe with wondrous accuracy Mr. Childs's relations 
 with his employees, who say he is a man who honors 
 Christmas in his heart, and keeps it always." 
 
 The Philadelphia Record prefaced the 
 above, in republishing it, with the caption, 
 "True — Every Word of it;" to which the 
 New York San^ in its republication, added, 
 " And Hundreds of Men in all Parts of the 
 Country will Confirm it." 
 
 All that I have written reads more like a 
 fairy story than a description of real life, 
 and it is refreshing to a political economist 
 who is so continually concerned with clash- 
 ing social interests, occasionally to find a 
 great industrial establishment where such 
 peace and harmony prevail as to make it 
 seem like a veritable happy family. 
 
Relations to his Employees. 339 
 
 We often hear the expression that the 
 interests of labor and capital are harmoni- 
 ous; that they are allies, not enemies : but, 
 curiously enough, the practical conclusion 
 which seems to be drawn from this is that 
 labor should always submit to the commands 
 of capital, although it is not clear why it is 
 not just as logical to expect capital always 
 to accede to the demands of labor if their 
 interests are identical. I have never been 
 able to reconcile this beautiful sentiment 
 with the hard facts of life. At the same 
 time, I think that any one who will study 
 the experience of Mr. Childs and other em- 
 ployers who might be mentioned, — some of 
 them, indeed, in the same line of business, — 
 will be convinced that, if the interests of 
 employers and employed are not always pre- 
 cisely identical, there is, at any rate, not that 
 diversitv of interests which mi ofht be inferred 
 from the too frequent conduct of both parties. 
 A more conciliatory spirit on both sides 
 would certainly be mutually advantageous. 
 
 Philanthropy is of two sorts, — positive 
 and preventive. Positive philanthropy tries 
 to mitigate or remedy evils. It builds hos- 
 pitals for the sick and relieves paupers. This 
 is all very well in its way, but there is a 
 far higher kind of philanthropy, though it 
 
34.0 Relations to Employees. 
 
 attracts less attention. It is preventive. It 
 looks ahead and takes measnres to lessen the 
 need of almshouses and hospitals. The 
 philanthropy of a model employer is of this 
 latter sort. lie pays good wages and de- 
 serves to rank higher than a capitalist who 
 cuts wages and who contributes largely to 
 ordinary charitable institutions. He helps 
 men to help themselves, and lifts them to a 
 higher plane of thought and life. 
 
 Richard T. Ely. 
 
 January, 1890. 
 
CELEBRATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BIRTHDAY OF GEORGE W. CHILDS. 
 
 The following account of the Banquet of 
 *' The Association of Ex-Deles^ates of Phil- 
 adelphia Typographical Union, ]S"o. 2, and 
 of Pressmen's Union, 'No. 4, to the Inter- 
 national Typographical Union," May 12, 
 1888, is taken from the Printers^ Circular, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 May 12, 1888, will long be remembered by the 
 printers of Philadelphia and vicinity for the celebra- 
 tion by them of the birthday of their steadfast friend 
 and distinguished fellow-citizen, George W. Childs, 
 publisher of the Public Ledger. 
 
 The Association of Ex-Delegates of Philadelphia 
 Typographical Union, No. 2, and of Pressmen's Union, 
 No. 4, to the International Typographical Union, hav- 
 ing resolved that some fitting celebration of the day 
 should be held, it was decided that a Testimonial Ban- 
 quet should be given at Dooner's Hotel, to which should 
 
 29* 341 
 
342 . Celebration of the 
 
 be invited the eight printers who were members of the 
 United States House of Representatives, together with 
 many distinguished members of the printing and pub- 
 lishing fraternities throughout the country. 
 
 When in 1886 Messrs. Childs and Drexel sent their 
 respective checks for five thousand dolhirs to the Con- 
 vention of the International Typographial Union, then 
 in session at Pittsburgh, provision was made that the in- 
 dividual members should have the opportunity to assist 
 in au^mentinc:; the fund until such time as it was seen 
 fit to make disposition of it. It was then arranged that 
 the printers east of the Mississippi should, for this pur- 
 pose, contribute the price paid for setting one thousand 
 ems on Mr. Childs's birthday. May 12, of each year, and 
 that those west of the Mississippi should do likewise on 
 the annual recurrence of Mr. Drexel's birthday, Septem- 
 ber 13. Following out this plan of mutual assistance, the 
 printers Avest of the Mississippi have made two annual 
 contributions to the fund, and on Saturday, May 12, 
 the second contributions of printers this side of the 
 great river were made. Excluding these last contri- 
 butions, of which but meagre returns have yet been 
 received, the fund has already increased to over sixteen 
 thousand dollars. 
 
 The earnest efforts of the Ex-Delegates to appropri- 
 ately observe Mr. Childs's natal day, and the sponta- 
 neous and hearty responses of distinguished men who 
 had graduated from the printing-ofiice, resulted in a 
 celebration as memorable as it was successful and 
 enjoyable to all who participated in it. 
 
 The handsome dining-hall was decorated with the 
 national colors, and behind the President's chair was 
 placed a magnificent painting of the Public Ledgei- 
 building, in a massive frame, on one side of which 
 hung a life-size portrait of Mr. Childs, and on the other 
 
Bhihday of George W. Childs. 343 
 
 a corresponding portrait of Mr. Drexel, elegantly framed 
 and decorated. Over these were the stars and stripes, 
 and below a bank of flowers, the gift of the employees 
 of the ''Ledger Job office." To the left of Mr. Childs's 
 portrait was displayed the silken banner of Typograpli- 
 ibal Union, No. 2, of Philadelphia, and to the right of 
 Mr. Drexel's portrait hung the beautiful banner of 
 Pressmen's Union, No. 4, of this city. 
 
 On the table and about the banquet-hall flowers and 
 flowering plants were profusely distributed, producing, 
 with the other elaborate and tasteful decorations, a most 
 pleasing and graceful effect. In front of each plate was 
 placed a menu card, noticeable for its typographical 
 beauty, and, in addition, before the plate of each Con- 
 gressional guest was a remembrance from Mr. Childs 
 in the shape of a fragrant bouquet. Besides these, 
 numerous bouquets and plateaus were sent as birthday 
 gifts to Mr. Childs, with the compliments of warm per- 
 sonal friends and invited guests who could not be pres- 
 ent, among whom was William M. Singerly, Esq., pro- 
 prietor and editor of the Philadelphia Becord, who sent 
 as a token of his friendship and esteem a floral gift of 
 great natural beauty and elegance of design. During 
 the evening, and between the speeches, music was dis- 
 coursed by Simon Hassler's orchestra. 
 
 THE BANQUET. 
 
 At half-past seven o'clock Mr. John A. Dardis, Presi- 
 dent of the Ex-Delegates' Association, called the com- 
 pany to order, and the one hundred members and guests 
 were seated. Mr. Dardis said, — • 
 
 Gentlemen', — As President of the Ex-Delegates' As- 
 sociation of Philadelphia, it becomes my pleasant duty 
 to welcome you, and to ask your hearty co-operation 
 
344 Celebration of the 
 
 in this effort fittingly to celebrate the birthday of onr 
 distinguished fellow-citizen and benefactor, George W. 
 Childs, publisher of the Public Ledger. 
 
 While the printers east of the Mississippi are cele- 
 brating the day by each setting a thousand ems of type 
 as a contribution to the Childs-Drexel fund, it seemcU 
 to us that the printers of Philadelphia should, in addi- 
 tion to their contribution, publicly bear testimony to 
 their appreciation of Mr. Childs's noble, unselfish, and 
 long-continued generosity to the entire printing fra- 
 ternity. 
 
 Hence this Testimonial Banquet in his honor, to 
 which you are cordially invited ; and, with your assist- 
 ance, we hope to make it one of the most memorable 
 events in the history of the art preservative. 
 
 I now take great pleasure in introducing to you 
 Mr. James J. Dailey, Chairman of the Committee of 
 Arrangements. 
 
 Mr. Dailey, upon being introduced, briefly ac- 
 knowledged the applause with which he was greeted, 
 and introduced the Rev. John R. Moses, Rector of St. 
 Jude's Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, who 
 invoked the Divine blessing. 
 
 The announcement was made that letters and tele- 
 grams, expressing their regret, because of their ina- 
 bility to be present, had been received from Hon. Simon 
 Cameron, who is probably the oldest printer in the 
 United States ; Hon. John Russell Young, late U. S. 
 Minister to China ; Hon. John H. Oberly, ex-President 
 of the International Typographical Union and Civil- 
 Service Commissioner, and the following printers or 
 ex-printers : 
 
 Congressman J. H. Gallinger, of Concord, N. H. 
 Congressman Thos. L. Thompson, of California. 
 
Birthday of George W. Chllds. 345 
 
 Harper & Bros., Publishers, New York. 
 
 E. M. Paxson, Chief Justice Supreme Court of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 Hon. A. K. McClure, Editor Philadelphia Times. 
 
 Thomas MacKellar, of MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan, 
 type-founders, Philadelphia. 
 
 Wm. Aimison, President International Typograph- 
 ical Union. 
 
 David P. Boyer, Chief Organizer of the I. T. U. 
 
 Ex-President "Witter, of St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 John O'Donnell, of Boston, ex-Secretary-Treasurer 
 I. T. U. 
 
 AVm. Bodwell, New York Sun, ex-President I. T. U. 
 
 Dr. Egle, State Librarian of Pennsylvania. 
 
 R. P. Boss, of the Boston Globe. 
 
 John Vincent, of the Boston Globe. 
 
 After the more material part of the banquet had been 
 discussed by the members and guests, the feast of rea- 
 son and flow of sentiment and wit were begun by 
 Chairman and Toastmaster Dailey announcing the 
 first regular toast, " The International Typographical 
 Union," and introducino; Congressman John M. Far- 
 quhar, the "War President of the International Typo- 
 graphical Union," to respond to it. 
 
 CONGRESSMAN FARQUHAr's SPEECH. 
 
 Mr. Farquhar, of Buffalo, New York, arose, amid an 
 outburst of applause, and after paying a compliment to 
 Typographical Union, No. 2, of Philadelphia, for its 
 steadfastness and reliability, said that his feeling of 
 gratification was divided between meeting and congrat- 
 ulating Mr. Ciiilds and meeting and congratulating his 
 old comrades of the composing-room. He said, — 
 
34G Celebration of the 
 
 Thirty seven years ago there was cradled in the city 
 of New York an organization which, by its wise con- 
 stitution and sensible deliberations upon matters of 
 interest to the printers' fraternity, placed itself in th§ 
 van of labor organizations and made itself first — the 
 leader — the exponent of every individual man's right 
 to the full value of the labor of his hands, as w^ell as 
 his brain. 
 
 lie referred to the International Typographical 
 Union, the high honor of which he vindicated, and to 
 the great satisfaction he entertained, personally, in the 
 recollection of the early days of the Union. Strange 
 as it may seem, this was the first time that the toast, 
 " The International Typographical Union," had been 
 assigned to hira, and on such an occasion he was proud 
 to refer to it, and to the way he had won his spurs, 
 "stick"' in hand, at the journeyman's case. He then 
 said, — 
 
 It is germane that I should say a word, as a journey- 
 man printer, about the gentleman whose birthday we 
 celebrate. I never knew one act of a public or private 
 citizen of this country that struck me with more mean- 
 ing in it than the present of Messrs. Childs and Drexel 
 of five thousand dollars each to this organization. It 
 was not a restricted donation, but a present — a free 
 and absolute gift. No association has ever before been 
 placed in the position of receiving a gift wjthout some 
 hesitancy, whether it was intended as a tribute to merit 
 or not. But from these men it came and was accepted 
 as an acknowledgment of merit, urging us to step 
 higher. It was a gift unconditional, and with it went 
 the message of encouragement: "We acknowledo-e 
 your work, and here we show, by our hands and our 
 hearts, that you are an organization we love." 
 
 Mr. Farquhar proceeded to eulogize Mr. Childs and 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 347 
 
 Mr. Drexel, growing very earnest in his praises of their 
 generous act, which he regarded as of great significance 
 to workingmen. Raising his voice, he exclaimed, 
 " Every Union printer in America will say, ' God bless 
 
 George W. Childs and Anthony J. Drexel ' *' The 
 
 remainder of the sentence was drowned in applause, 
 for at that moment Mr. Childs, to the surprise of every- 
 body in the banquet-hall, made his appearance. Mr. 
 Farquhar took his seat, Messrs. Chairman Dailey and 
 Joel Cook welcomed Mr. Childs, and the orchestra 
 played Ilasslers waltz, " Wootton." The effect was 
 strikingly dramatic, and Mr. Farquhar was congratu- 
 lated on the appropriateness of his closing remarks. 
 
 As soon as the applause subsided, Mr. Dailey intro- 
 duced Mr. Childs as the first citizen of Philadelphia, 
 and, " in the hearts of the printers, the first citizen of 
 America." Mr. Childs bowed his acknowledgments. 
 On behalf of Mr. Joseph Pulitzer, proprietor and editor 
 of the New York World, Mr. Dailey then presented 
 Mr. Childs with a magnificent bouquet. This token 
 of good feeling on the part of the distinguished Xew 
 York publisher was also warmly recognized. Mr. 
 Childs remained for about half an hour, and was then 
 escorted around the table to enable him to shake hands 
 with the men who had met to do him honor, and to 
 receive their congratulations. This pleasant duty being 
 over, he retired. 
 
 The next toast, 
 
 " THE DAY WE CELEBRATE," 
 
 was responded to by Mr. Eugene H. Munday (the well- 
 known printer-poet and prose writer of Philadelphia), 
 who said, — 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen, — 1 have not felt at 
 
348 Celebration of the 
 
 liberty to decline the invitation to respond to this toast, 
 thou^^h most sincerely do I wish that the honorable 
 duty had been assigned to some one better qualified to 
 treat the theme as it deserves. I have not felt free to 
 decline the invitation, because it comes from the valued 
 friends of my whole life; and if it shall appear that 
 kind resrard for me has caused the committee to err in 
 choosing a spokesman for this occasion, I hope that you 
 will all emulate that spirit of kindness and excuse the 
 shortcomings that may be too obvious in what I shall 
 say. 
 
 On the twelfth day of May, 1829, George W. Childs 
 was born in the city of Baltimore, and this body of 
 printers assembles here to-night to celebrate that event. 
 A small body of men we are, of no special importance 
 in the great world, or even within the limits of our 
 own city ; and shallow ill-nature might carp at our 
 action as savoring of presumptuous forwardness. But 
 there is, I venture to assert, eminent propriety in such 
 a meeting of just such men for just this purpose. 
 
 This modest Association, having no object but social 
 intercourse and the cultivation of friendly relations, 
 is composed of men who at different times have been 
 selected to represent the journeymen printers of Phila- 
 delphia in National and International Conventions. 
 We cannot be sure that they at all times adequately 
 represented their constituents ; but who can doubt that 
 they will represent the feelings, not only of the printers 
 of this city, but of the -workingmen of the whole 
 country, if they shall in any measure acceptably com- 
 memorate the birth of a man who — untainted by dem- 
 agogism — is preeminent as the intelligent and powerful 
 friend of all legitimate efforts to assert and maintain 
 the rights of organized labor ; who, in his use of wealth, 
 and in the conduct of his business, daily typifies the 
 
Birthday of George W. Cliilds. 349 
 
 highest functions of capital ; and who stands ever ready 
 personally and in the columns of his influential journal 
 — by generous acts and cheering words — to forward 
 every well-considered movement that promises to benefit 
 the toilino; masses. And if our little celebration seems 
 to be not worthy of the occasion, we at least mark out 
 the course that larger and more influential bodies may 
 follow in coming vears. 
 
 There is, I say, an eminent fitness in the inaugura- 
 tion of such celebrations by a body of practical printers. 
 Far-reaching as has been the beneficence of Mr. Childs, 
 it has been most direct, most constant — closest — to the 
 craft of which we are members, and which hails him 
 as chief among its honored chiefs. And the striking 
 fact must be noticed that the regard and honor that 
 wait on him are borne alike by the most prominent and 
 the most obscure of all classes in the printing frater- 
 nity. Successful publishers and struggling beginners ; 
 authors whose fame is part of their country's, and 
 those who languish unrecognized 5 editors of command- 
 ing influence, and unknown hack-writers ; master 
 mechanics who conceive, construct, put into motion, 
 and control the vast machinery now necessary to the 
 life of a great daily newspaper, and the veriest tyro 
 that blunders in the shop ; the patient, alert proof- 
 reader, and the careless, sleepy copy-holder ; the skil- 
 ful, self-respecting compositor, and the poor fellow 
 who borrows a quarter on the curb, — all these varieties 
 and grades of men unite in respect, bordering on ven- 
 eration, for the proprietor of the Public Ledger. He 
 has achieved the triumph of commanding the admira- 
 tion of all, while exciting the jealousy of none. 
 
 Nor is this respect confined to the circle that feels 
 
 most directly the action of his impulses and the force 
 
 of his character. 
 
 30 
 
350 Celebration of the 
 
 Throu<rhout our Ijroiid land — vea, and far across the 
 seas — there is felt for George W. Childs a degree of 
 active and warm personal regard which has never be- 
 fore, I believe, been accorded to a private citizen, and 
 which waits only for his consent (wisely withheld) to 
 take him from the private station and clothe him with 
 the highest honor that a free people can bestow. 
 
 Abreast of Mr. Childs in public esteem — so closely 
 identified witli him in good works that it is difficult to 
 think or speak of them apart — stands the great Amer- 
 ican banker, Anthony J. Drexel. Great, I say, not 
 because of his wealth and his commanding position, 
 but because of the wise and liberal use that he makes 
 of the rich fruits of his industry and business acumen ; 
 great not merely in the power that he wields, but in 
 the goodness that directs that power ; great in the fine 
 qualities of his brain, greatest in the generous impulses 
 of his heart. Happy if all possessors of great wealth 
 and power had the wisdom and grace to follow the lead 
 of Drexel and Childs. Then might the clouds that 
 overhang and threaten our social fabric bo dispelled ; 
 then might we hope for the realization of the dream 
 of the poets of all ages ; then might we look for the 
 crowning fruition of Christ's precepts, and hail the 
 establishment of the brotherhood of man. 
 
 Many admiraljle sketches of Mr. Childs's career have 
 been written, notably that by James Parton ; that by 
 Col. John AV. Forney ; and that by J. W. Huff, which 
 appeared in the Printers' Circular^ and which has the 
 grace of thorough and genial appreciation. But it 
 must be said that they are all unsatisfying, and mainly, 
 I fancy, to their authors. I have experimented in that 
 direction myself. Certainly they fail to develop the 
 occult philosophy which Hamlet longed for, and which 
 alone might fully explain a truly unique character. 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 351 
 
 This is not strange when we know that a man so emi- 
 nent, so conscientious, and with so careful a habit of 
 mind as the late Professor Joseph Henry, of the Smith- 
 sonian Institution at Washington, deliberately wrote, 
 " Mr. Childs is a wonderful man. . . . Like man in the 
 classification of animals, he forms a genus in himself. 
 He stands alone ; there is not another in the wide 
 world like him." And Hon. John Russell Young, in 
 a late number of the Star^ gives prominence to a 
 quality that is often overlooked in estimating the 
 make-up of this distinguished man. He says, " Far 
 and away above any man with whose career I am at 
 all familiar, I place Mr. Childs as the best business 
 man in American journalism.'' 
 
 These, bear in mind, are the well-considered opinions 
 of men who knew the weio-ht of words. 
 
 Thus let me close. This is not the time to attempt 
 anything like an analysis of the elements that go to 
 make up the singularly beautiful and interesting char- 
 acter of " the best-loved man of our land ;" nor should 
 I, at any time, assume a task that much abler men 
 have but imperfectly performed. 
 
 My purpose is fairly accomplished if, without weary- 
 ing you, I have given good reasons why we — printers 
 — should thus meet and honor " The Day We Cele- 
 brate." It is the one that, fifty-nine years ago, noted 
 the advent into this life of a rare spirit, which, in its full 
 and gracious development, comiuands the unstinted ad- 
 miration of the brightest and worthiest men of our time. 
 
 o 
 
 After the applause with which Mr. Munday's cordial, 
 graceful efibrt was greeted had subsided, 
 
 CONGRESSMAN THOMAS R. HUDD, 
 
 of Wisconsin, responded to the toast " Our Guests." 
 After humorously alluding to his personal experience, 
 
352 Celebration of the 
 
 Mr. Iludd turned his attention to " the celebration of the 
 natal day of that gentleman known, respected and ven- 
 erated in the "West, that honored Philadelphian, George 
 W. Childs." Touching upon the presentation of the 
 Stratford-upon-Avon drinking-fountain in memory of 
 Shakespeare, Mr. Iludd said that the AVcst also re- 
 vered that man, and "took no stock in Donnelly, who 
 forced Bacon in what he wrote." He then lauded Mr. 
 Childs for his beneficence and unselfishness. " Taken 
 all in all,"' he said, "we may never see his like again." 
 Mr. Hudd then drew a beautiful picture of the purity 
 of Mr. Childs" s character as likened to the spotless 
 flowers in the bouquet before him, and closed with the 
 following quotation as applicable to the honored guest 
 of the evening : 
 
 "You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will. 
 But the scent of the roses will hang round it still." 
 
 GENERAL XEILSON's SPEECH. 
 
 To the toast " Philadelphia Typographical Union" 
 Gen. Wm. H. Neilsou, President of No. 2, responded. 
 
 He said that he had been astounded, in the course 
 of his interviews with employing printers, at the igno- 
 rance many of them displayed regarding the rules and 
 regulations of the Union. lie dwelt upon the value 
 of the Union, which recognizes the futility of strikes, 
 as a medium for placing employees upon an equality 
 and in a position where they may be able to protect 
 themselves against the unscrupulous. lie touched upon 
 the principles underlying the organization, and the effi- 
 cacy of the ballot to redress the grievances of working- 
 men, and said, — 
 
 At the same time, the workingmen have been de- 
 ceived by concentrating their support upon candidates 
 
Birthday of George W. CJiilds. 353 
 
 for Congress who have forgotten their promises and 
 turned in with corporations and monopolies. Phila- 
 delphia is the only city that has ever produced a man 
 that did seem properly to recognize what the working- 
 man was worth and to Avhat he was entitled. When 
 the Typographical Union reduced the price of compo- 
 sition from forty-five to forty cents per thousand ems, 
 Mr. Childs refused to accept the reduction. He said 
 that he was making money enough to pay the old rate, 
 and he continued to pay it, and has done so until this 
 day. I would to God there more of such men in this 
 country ; then the workingmen would say, " We are 
 perfectly satisfied : we are perfectly contented."' 
 
 SPEECH OF CONGRESSMAN CUMMINGS. 
 
 " The Printer as a Journalist" was responded to in 
 an inimitahle way by Hon. Amos J. Cummings, of 
 New York, late managing editor New York Sun^ who 
 WHS frequently interrupted by applause. He said, — 
 
 Mr. Chairmax and Brothers of the Typograph- 
 ical Union, — It is with sincere pleasure that I join 
 you in honoring the birthday of George W. Childs. 
 You honor yourselves in honoring ]Mr. Childs. I honor 
 him for the substantial testimonial of his esteem for 
 Union printers : I honor him for his manifold public 
 charities; but I honor him most for his love for his 
 fellow-men. He is the only man whom I have ever 
 known, or of M'hom I have ever heard, who has gone 
 clear through the Golden Rule in his love for mankind, 
 and landed on the other side. He is not only good, but 
 great — and all the greater because he is good. 
 
 I find that I am to respond to the toast of " The 
 
 Printer as a Journalist." I have carefully studied the 
 
 art of speech-making in Congress. The first requisite, 
 
 X 3( 
 
 30* 
 
or 
 
 54 Celebration of the 
 
 as exeinjtlificd by our brother, Congressman Iliidd, of 
 Wisconsin, this evening, seems to be a plentiful supply 
 of poetry. The only poem applicable to this occasion 
 is that beautiful effusion of Clarence Cook, written more 
 than fifty years ago, entitled " Abram and Zimri." A 
 second requisite for Congressional speeches appears to 
 be a pile of Congressional Records as a foundation on 
 "vvhich to place a written speech. The Records, alas, 
 are not here, and I must perforce enter upon my duty 
 without them. 
 
 The type-setter and proof-reader become editors un- 
 consciously. The evolution from the case into editorial 
 life is as natural as the evolution of a butterfly from a 
 chrysalis. There is nothing marvellous about it. The 
 true typo will develop into the true editor, if time and 
 opportunity serve. No careless or incompetent printer 
 ever became a competent editor. No plodding black- 
 smith can ever become a skilled machinist. I have 
 seen many men taken from the case and thrown into an 
 editorial room, and all but one became successful and 
 accomplished reporters, editors, and correspondents. 
 
 The one exception was thus delineated by the tongue 
 of an old journeyman : '' I don't wonder that he failed 
 as an editor, for he had the dirtiest proofs of any man 
 in the office."' 
 
 The qualities that make a man an efficient compositor 
 are the very qualities requisite to make him an influ- 
 ential editor. 
 
 Who ever knew of a country printing-office that was 
 not haunted by some quaint urchin eager to learn the 
 mysteries of the case ? 
 
 Sometimes he is awkward and uncouth. Oftentimes 
 he is barefooted. Frequently his hands are so dirty 
 that they look like toads' backs. Occasionally he has a 
 freckled face and a red head. Again he develops a 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 355 
 
 peculiar reticence that betokens restlessness and am- 
 bition. 
 
 Whether retiring and reserved, or whether talkative 
 and full of life, the printing-office has a peculiar charm 
 for him. 
 
 You will find him picking type from the sweepings 
 of the office Avhile on his Avay to school. You will see 
 him forcing an imprint from the type upon the blank 
 pages of his school-books. The country editor is, in 
 his eyes, a greater man than the rural parson. The 
 boy has a longing look as he gazes at the office. It is 
 indicative of the one desire of his heart, — that of pre- 
 siding over the hell-box and reaching the mighty and 
 exalted post of printer's devil. Horace Greeley walked 
 twelve miles through the snow to Poultney to secure 
 such a place. Such boys are the germs of editorial 
 life. Watered by the dews of opportunity, and warmed 
 by the sun of prosperity, they eventually rule on the 
 editorial tripod. 
 
 Let us see how they are developed. The true printer's 
 devil is something more than an imp. In the fermen- 
 tation of his nature he presents many curious contrasts. 
 His deviltry may throw the whole town into hysterics, 
 but it quickly passes from a physical to an intellectual 
 stage. lie mounts a candle-box and learns the alpha- 
 bet at the case. The calibre of the boy is quickly seen. 
 The types have opened a new world to him. They 
 attract him by night and by day. His " stent" is 
 hardly done before he is at work for himself. Fugitive 
 sketches and local sarcasms are printed on slips and 
 circulated by his eager hands. He drinks in the com- 
 ments of his acquaintances on the emanations of his 
 brain, and is spurred to renewed effiDrts. 
 
 There are probably few compositors within the sound 
 of my voice who cannot recall some such experience. 
 
356 Celebration of tlic 
 
 The boy sets the town agog anew by his intellectual 
 efforts. Gradually he becomes a journeyman, lie 
 learns the art of punctuation and the use of capital 
 letters and italics, lie unconsciously develops a liter- 
 ary taste, and becomes a critic. IMie rules of composi- 
 tion set themselves in his mind without effort. Tiie 
 marks of the proof-reader annoy him, and many a 
 wordy dispute follows, but always inuring to the 
 mental benefit of the typo. 
 
 The news of the day is ever before his eyes, lie 
 gets it in scraps known as " takes,'' and these scraps 
 incite a thirst for information that is only satiated by 
 a careful perusal of the daily newspapers. Standard 
 works flow into the editor's sanctum, and magazines 
 and exchanges. Some of them fall under the eyes of 
 the apprentice. lie may devote a few of his nights to 
 dissipation, but there will be much burning of mid- 
 night oil. Dickens, Bulwer, Thackeray, Marryat, 
 Cooper, Scott, Hawthorne, and even Ned Buntline 
 may be digested. Macaulay, Rollin, Gibbon, Bancroft, 
 and Motley may be read. The life of Napoleon and 
 Lamartine's descriptions of scenes in the Reign of 
 Terror will ever fascinate such young compositors. 
 The poems of Tom Moore, Walter Scott, Robert Burns, 
 Byron, Shakespeare, and other great bards will pass 
 through his mental hopper. The aphorisms of Ben 
 Franklin will radiate in his atmosphere. While at 
 work distributing type and correcting proofs, he will 
 find himself unwittingly discussing the news of the 
 day and entering into political controversies. If he 
 has any originality in the field of thought, it is sure to 
 be developed and strengthened day by day, hour by 
 hour, minute by minute. He is ever working in the 
 domain of intellectuality, and is ever drawing inspira- 
 tion from the fertility of his surroundings. 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 357 
 
 When a journeyman printer, his mind is broadened 
 anew. He deserts the home newspaper and wanders 
 from city to city. If true to his craft, he seeks admis- 
 sion to a Typographical Union, and in course of time 
 gains a sure knowledge of the labor problem. He 
 verifies by travel what he has read. His knowledge is 
 no longer theoretical, but practical. He becomes self- 
 reliant and politic in his dealings. He gains a knowl- 
 edge of the country surpassed only by his knowledge 
 of human nature. At times he suffers penury and bitter 
 disappointments ; but anon fortune gleams anew on his 
 pathway, and, strengthened by his adversity, he again 
 lopes over the trail of life with all the freshness of 
 
 TOUth. 
 
 The rambling propensity dies away with the weight 
 of years, and a desire for the comforts of life supplants 
 it. The newspaper has not lost its glamour for the 
 wanderer. He is now a seasoned printer, with a 
 seasoned mind, seasoned habits, and a seasoned ambi- 
 tion. 
 
 Where could a better editor be found? Where one 
 more efficient? No school of training could be more 
 thorough. All the elements that make up a great 
 editor have been exercised and knit firmly in the hey- 
 day of life. The successful editor is the one who col- 
 lects the news of the day and presents it to his readers 
 in the most concise and attractive form. He must be 
 sure of his facts, and he must clothe them conscien- 
 tiously^. But it is essential that he should know what 
 news is before he essays to collect it. 
 
 Who is there so competent to select news as the 
 careful compositor, — the man who has been sifting it 
 all his life? Who is so able to satisfy the newspaper 
 demands of the people? He has been among them 
 and of them in his wanderings, and in his character as 
 
358 Celebration of the 
 
 editor he is still of and among tliem. He moulds his 
 editorial expression of thought from an experience 
 born from a direct association with those interested. 
 lie speaks by the card alone. His ticket to newspaper 
 prosperity is unpunched by collegiate education, but it 
 is a ticket readily recognized by the people, and one 
 that frequently passes its owner into the realm of 
 wealth and the fiine of fame. The born printer, Mr. 
 Chairman, is the born editor. 
 
 Some say that a new era is dawning in journalism -, 
 that men educated in collegiate schools are assuming 
 the helm ; that aesthetic methods are to be applied to 
 the columns of the new newspapers dotting the land 
 like mushrooms in a sheep pasture ; that a web of 
 newspaper trusts is to cover the country and secure the 
 patronage of the people, and that all the old journals 
 must follow suit or go to the wall. 
 
 All this may go for what it is worth. The past 
 shows that the people have recognized the printing- 
 office as the true school of journalism, and I fancy that 
 it will hold good in the future and as long as a Typo- 
 graphical Union lives and flourishes on the free soil of 
 this Republic. 
 
 " pressmen's UNION", NO. 4," 
 
 the next toast, was responded to by Charles W. Miller, 
 who said, — 
 
 When the International Typographical Union began 
 its work of organizing the pressmen into separate 
 bodies, it seems to me, they must have been convinced 
 that we were rapidly drifting towards what might be 
 termed an age of specialties, and that such were the 
 multiplied devices of human genius that success was 
 now to be attained in almost any enterprise or pursuit 
 of an honorable character. 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 359 
 
 The printers of to-day are more distinctly divided 
 into two classes than in former times, — that is to say, 
 they ranked as compositors and pressmen, known to 
 the mass of the people simply as printers, but still 
 quite distinct in their labors. Each has a well-defined 
 line of operation to pursue, although the art of print- 
 ing cannot be developed without due attention to both, 
 nor excellency attained in either without the skilful 
 manipulation of types and the intelligent management 
 of presses, which in the hands of pressmen clearly 
 define the '* rules" and make '' impressions" that are 
 in keeping with a full knowledge of the times in which 
 we live. 
 
 As is well known, our branch of typography has its 
 local organizations, but we are all subordinate to one 
 spirit prevailing over all, because there is one object in 
 view, — the happy result and development of individual 
 labor. For it is a fact that when one spirit has infused 
 itself into other spirits and there is one spirit pervading 
 all, then the best results are accomplished. Unity is 
 that power which, like a subtle force streaming from 
 mind to mind, produces harmony of thought and action. 
 It is a silver cord thrown by one member around an- 
 other so as to bind the two together. It is an influence 
 which clothes the feeblest arm with strength. 
 
 Pressmen's Union, No. 4, is largely composed of 
 competent pressmen, — such pressmen as are found in 
 Philadelphia, the home of George W. Childs, — press- 
 men who appreciate the blessed results of unity ; press- 
 men, the light from whose presses flashes in all direc- 
 tions ; pressmen who possess the ability so to ornament 
 the pages of a book that they become as pleasing and 
 attractive to the eye as the contents are interesting to 
 the mind and heart; pressmen to whose care is com- 
 mitted machinery of intricate and costly workmanship. 
 
360 Celebration of the 
 
 And still the pressman is a co-operator with the 
 compositor in joint eiForts to promote the same end. 
 If we had type, but no presses, of what avail are they 
 to any considerable extent? If we had presses in 
 abundance, but no type, nor intelligent compositors to 
 set the same in order, where the pressman's calling? 
 An editor writes hurried lines; they are given to the 
 compositor; by him transmitted to the pressman; in 
 the morning the sheets fly abroad ; before night they 
 have carried their weight of influence over space 
 enough for an empire. Neither the editor, compositor, 
 nor pressman is visible to the multitudes; but from 
 the pen that writes a volume and the press that sends 
 it forth to the world there flows a current of intellectual 
 power that can shape the aff'airs of a nation. As the 
 sun is not conscious of the overflowing light which he 
 pours upon the world, so the pressman is not aware of 
 the widely extended influence of his work. But he is 
 always making " impressions'' while fulfilling his daily 
 task. Again, as the light of the sun is not the least 
 abated by shining upon two continents instead of one, 
 so the work of a pressman will be admired and ap- 
 preciated in any part of the globe where there are in- 
 telligent minds, with hearts to feel and eyes to read. 
 
 I referred a few moments ago to the happy results 
 of union in the development of individual labor. Let 
 me say that there is at this day no brighter example 
 of the happy results of a steady aim and singleness of 
 purpose than that afforded by the life and beneficent 
 acts of George W. Childs. To him, as a Philadelphian, 
 we maj' point with just pride. He is the printer's un- 
 wavering friend, and yet the unselfish advocate and 
 helper of all pursuits that have a tendency to elevate 
 the human race. Over and over again I say, honor to 
 the name and praise to the deeds of George W. Childs h 
 
Birthdmj of George W. Childs. 361 
 
 "the childs-drexel fund" 
 
 was ably responded to Ly Mr. August Donath, one of 
 the trustees of that fund, who, in the course of his re- 
 marks, said, — 
 
 One thing the Pittel)urgh convention did not expect 
 was the ten-thousand-doUar gift. The confidence re- 
 posed in the I. T. U. and the craft, which was implied 
 by that gift, was keenly appreciated all over the land. 
 That confidence kept inviolate, and the fund increased 
 in so graceful a manner, made all the Union printers 
 feel proud of their profession. It was a token of good- 
 will and encouragement to workino-men. 
 
 "the phlladelphia tvpographical society" 
 
 was responded to by Mr. William C. Bleloch, who 
 said, — 
 
 The Philadelphia Typographical Society is the 
 printers' beneficial society, organized in 1803 for the 
 purpose of relieving distress among its members and 
 their families, occasioned by sickness and death. From 
 the date of organization to the present time — a period 
 of eighty-five years — it has not failed in its sacred 
 mission. The sick have been visited, the dead buried, 
 and the widows and orphans cared for, to the best 
 alility of the officers in charge, and to the greatest ex- 
 tent that the limited means at their disposal would 
 permit. 
 
 Its active membership has at all times included the 
 best men of the crafc in Philadelphia ; and among its 
 honorary members have been many who, as printers, 
 publishers, and autiiors, have shed lustre upon their 
 several callings, and dignified and honored the Society 
 by their membership. Among these names, enrolled 
 Q 31 
 
362 Celebration of the 
 
 in 18G7, is that of George W. OliilJs, who, at th.it early 
 date, had endeared himself to the printing fraternity 
 as a just and liberal employer, and a kind-hearted, 
 charitable man. 
 
 In October, 1868, Mr. Childs donated to the Society, 
 without restriction or incumbrance, a large and beauti- 
 fully enclosed lot in the Woodlands Cemetery, valued 
 at eight thousand dollars, as a Printers' Cemetery. 
 Tliis noble benefaction — free to all printers — excited 
 the wonder and admiration of the country. It was 
 gratefully received by the Society, and has frequently 
 been used for the purpose intended. For nearly twenty 
 years all expenses connected with its keeping have been 
 defrayed by its generous donor; and in addition, hun- 
 dreds of dollars have been contributed by him to the 
 Society's general relief work. 
 
 The incident referred to by General Neilson is an- 
 other instance of Mr. Childs's continuous generosity. 
 He not only knows how to do a good thing, but he 
 does not weary in well-doing. Taking an average com- 
 positor's day's Avork, the money paid by him to the 
 Ledger compositors, over and above the Union scale of 
 prices, amounts to the large sum of over ten thousand 
 dollars per annum, and this has been going on un- 
 grudgingly for twelve years. Is it any wonder that 
 the piinters of Philadelphia and the country love and 
 esteem such a man ? 
 
 As disciples of Franklin, we must also thank George 
 W. Childs for displaying in front of the Public Ledger 
 building the only statue of the Printer-Philosopher of 
 which Philadelphia can boast. 
 
 To quote the elegant language of the late Chief 
 Justice Ellis Lewis (an old printer), " Mr. Childs has 
 planted himself in the human heart, and there he will 
 have his habitation while man shall dwell upon earth. 
 
Blrthdaij of George ]V. Cldlds. 363 
 
 He has built liis monument upon the broad base of 
 universal benevolence ; its superstructure is composed 
 of good and noble deeds : its spire is the love of God, 
 and points to Heaven." 
 
 He stands out among men — 
 
 ** Like some tall cliff, tliat lifts its awful form, 
 Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm ; 
 Though round its base the rolling clouds may spread, 
 Eternal sunshine settles on its head." 
 
 " THE UNION PRINTER." 
 
 The address of Mr. George Chance, of the Philadel- 
 phia Record^ and late President of Typographical Union, 
 in answer to the toast " The Union Printer," was 
 probably the most humorous and entertaining of the 
 evening. He said, — 
 
 ^Ir. Chairman, — I hardly know how to respond to 
 the sentiment just given without, to a certain extent, 
 appearing in the light of praising myself as well as 
 those around me. " The Union Printer" may be viewed 
 from two stand-points. The employer who desires to 
 buy his labor in the cheapest market can see nothing 
 in him that is commendable or necessary. He sees 
 only a man who bands himself with others of a like 
 ilk to control his employer's business ; who, by joining 
 a Union, commits an act which is destructive of the 
 individual freedom of the workman by taking away 
 from him the natural right to the control of his labor. 
 Of course, the non-Union employing printer recognizes 
 and praises the freedom of action which allows him 
 to dictate terms to each person he employs. He soon 
 finds the weakness and necessities of each, and gener- 
 ally uses his knowledge for all it is worth. The Union 
 employer views "The Union Printer" in a different 
 
364 Celebration of the 
 
 light. lie recognizes the right of his employees to a 
 voice in regulating the price of their labor. They meet 
 and agree upon a scale of wages, which the employer 
 pays willingly. In return the Union printer gives his 
 best recompense in the way of honest work. He is 
 ever watchful of his duty to his employer, and equally 
 vigilant over his own rights. He is true not only to 
 himself but to his fellow-unionists in all that the word 
 implies, lie is a necessit}'^ in every community. By 
 his unionism he secures tlie nearest approach to that 
 text w4iich says, "The laborer is worthy of his hire." 
 By his unionism he helps to make the State and Nation 
 prosperous. A city or State may be wealthy and 
 powerful while its people may be poor and unhappy. 
 It is part of the duty of the Union printer to see that 
 the people partake of the general prosperity. He 
 believes in principles before men, and would make any 
 sacrifice to preserve his connection with the Union. 
 He is a believer in the rights of man ; believes that his 
 handicraft should receive the highest possible reward, 
 and that he has the right, by organization, to obtain 
 what he could not get singly, — a just recompense for 
 his labor. 
 
 Mr. Chance facetiously alluded to the ability of the 
 printer to edit a newspaper far better than the man- 
 aging editor, to make the local column more interest- 
 ing than the city editor, and to a knowledge of finance 
 superior to that of the editor in charge of the financial 
 column. He was surprised that any good Union printer, 
 with all these bright prospects before him, should ever 
 descend to go to Congress. 
 
 It might be true, as Junius Henri Browme suggested, 
 that " printers do not keep all the commandments ;" 
 but, in all seriousness, the Union printer is an honor- 
 able man. who believes in doing right by his employer 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 365 
 
 and living up to those principles of loyalty which his 
 Union instilled into his mind. 
 
 The Hon. Mr. Farquhar has stated that, thirty-seven 
 years ago, the Typographical Union was organized in 
 New York. I have in my possession a copy of a con- 
 stitution of the Philadelphia Typographical Union, or- 
 ganized in 1850, and the President of that Union still 
 lives in this city, and, although unable to make his 
 living by the pursuit of his trade, he has been placed 
 by Mr. Childs in a position where he will never want. 
 
 [Mr. Chance referred to John L, Henderson, one of 
 the oldest Ledger compositors, who has been retired 
 many years by Mr. Childs on full pay.] 
 
 There was an employer who, in the goodness of his 
 heart, sent five thousand dollars to the International 
 Typographical Union. There was another who did the 
 same. Never were printers more taken by surprise. 
 At Pittsburgh it was made possible to meet here to- 
 night, and on successive twelfths of May to commemo- 
 rate the gift of this gentleman, and, when he shall have 
 passed away, for the Union printers to erect a monu- 
 ment to his memorv. A monument whose foundation 
 would be built on strong man's love : the shaft of 
 which would be stronger than steel and more lasting 
 than brass : whose polished sides would be inlaid with 
 diamonds and pearls, — the diamonds representing 
 widows' grateful tears ; the pearls, orplians' prayers 
 offered up in grateful thanks for the good deeds done 
 by this man during his life. 
 
 JOEL cook's speech. 
 
 In a pleasant way, Mr. Joel Cook responded to " The 
 Press," and paid his compliments to the Congressjnen 
 and the printers. " Although the editors and the 
 printers differ about many things, they can shake 
 
 01- 
 
^(j6 Cdebraiion of the 
 
 hands over the chasm of one thing, and that is the 
 annihihition of the proof-reader." 
 
 When the laughter following this pleasantry had 
 subsided, Mr. Cook turned his attention to the New 
 York Sun, for which the obituary poetry of tlie Ledget^ 
 had a peculiar ftiscination. " One great redeeming 
 trait of that paper, however, is that it always gives 
 credit to the journal from which it makes extracts. In 
 pursuing this policy it charged Mr. ChiUls with putting 
 this poetry in the paper. In this it made a mistake, 
 for the man who really did it was 'Jim' Dailey, the 
 foreman."' 
 
 Growing serious, Mr. Cook said, — 
 
 My recollection of the gentleman who is being hon- 
 ored by this banquet dates back to boyhood. To use a 
 quoted expression, Mr. Childs is " an Israelite without 
 guile." The thing in him that is plainest to me is that 
 there is less of evil in him than in any man I ever knew. 
 No man can say that he went to him wnth a tale of true 
 sorrow and came away empty-handed. He overlooks 
 our shortcomings in the Ledger office, and many of us 
 have done that which might be cause for dismissal from 
 other establishments. But we are all there, still serv- 
 ing, because he could not frame his lips to say the word 
 that would cause our departure. 
 
 Mr. Cook then seconded a suggestion of Mr. Munday 
 that, if Mr. Childs could preside so well over the Ledger 
 office, he could preside equally well over the nation. 
 He spoke of Mr. Childs's pronounced and outspoken 
 views on the labor question, and said that he recog- 
 nized the value of organization, and the recompense 
 of honest toil, believing that to be the very foundation- 
 stone upon which the nation rests. Mr. Cook touched 
 upon the International Union, which he regarded as 
 the greatest labor organization on the face of the globe, 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 367 
 
 and urged that, by wise counsel and adherence to honest 
 principles, it might continue doing a beneficent work 
 for the whole country. 
 
 CONGRESSMAN JAMES g'dONNELL, 
 
 of Michigan, was the next speaker, but, owing to the 
 lateness of the hour, his remarks were brief. He was 
 received witii a very hearty demonstration of regard. 
 He said that, a long time ago, when he was contem- 
 plating the number of railroad ties between his West- 
 ern home and Philadelphia, he sent ahead of him a 
 letter addressed to the Public Ledger^ asking employ- 
 ment. The letter had not been answered to date, but 
 he had no complaints to make. Mr. O'Donnell enter- 
 tained his hearers with some humorous suggestions, 
 and then passed to the honored guest of the evening. 
 "Have you ever thought," he asked, "of the chaplet 
 above in reward for the good deeds that he has done?"' 
 He then passed rapidly over what he regarded as note- 
 worthy points in Mr. Childs's career, and closed with 
 a reference to the flag of the Union and to the typical 
 flag of strength in the Union, the flag of the Interna- 
 tional Typographical Union. Mr. O'Donnell said that 
 it had been the intention of the printer-Congressmen 
 and the other visiting ex-printers to go to some office 
 in the evening and set up a thousand ems as a contri- 
 bution to the Childs-Drexel Fund. Owing to the late- 
 ness of the hour, however, they would not be able to 
 fulfil the intention. The spirit of the suggestion was 
 warmly applauded.* 
 
 * Mr. O'Donnell and his printer colleagues, eight in all, after 
 their return to AVashington, on May 19, did set up one thousand 
 ems each, and handed the amount to Mr. August Donath, one 
 of the Trustees of the Childs-Drexel Fund, who forwarded it 
 to Treasurer Dailey. 
 
3()8 Celebration of the 
 
 CONGRESSMAN JOHN NICHOLS, 
 
 of Nortli Carolina, spoke as follows : 
 
 Beautiful deeds, like beautiful thoughts, whether in- 
 scribed on the printed page, or transferred to the artist's 
 canvas by the hand of genius, will live forever. 
 
 It is not the most bountiful benefactions nor the 
 grandest displays of honor or admiration that make the 
 most pleasing and lasting impressions on the human 
 mind. It is the spirit, the manner, and the motive that 
 actuated their performance. 
 
 The assemblage here this evening is for the purpose 
 of doing honor, in a humble way, to one of our most 
 distinguished and most honored citizens. 
 
 But nothing that we can do, nothing that we can say, 
 will add a single laurel to his crown or make him more 
 honored in the estimation of the American people. It 
 would be like an effort to paint the rainbow or to gild 
 the beams of a noonday sun. He stands forth without 
 a rival as the great American editor. 
 
 There is nothing that discloses real character more 
 thoroughly than the grand position of editor of an 
 influential public journal. Perhaps there is not an 
 instance in the history of journalism in this country 
 where self has been so thoroughly subordinated to the 
 public welfare and the happiness of his fellow-man as 
 has been exhibited in the person of the gentleman who 
 does us all honor by his presence this evening. 
 
 It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people 
 can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a 
 man really is, give him power and influence. This is 
 the supreme test. 
 
 Your distinguished guest occupies a position to-day 
 far more honorable than if he sat in the highest councils 
 of his country, and can and does wdeld more influence 
 than the bedecked marshal of a nation. 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 369 
 
 One of the highest compliments ever paid an editor 
 is contained in a single line. A contemporary, speak- 
 ing of the newspaper over vrhich your honored guest 
 presides with such distinguished ability, .says, "Noth- 
 ing false is printed in the Ledger.'^ 
 
 While no compliments that we can bestow, no honors 
 we can confer, will elevate him in the estimation of 
 his countrymen, yet this large and intelligent gather- 
 ing of American printers is not an unmeaning occasion. 
 It is to do honor and manifest our appreciation of his 
 worth as a citizen and a journalist, and to pay homage, 
 if that be the correct expression, to the great printer- 
 philanthropist. 
 
 It is with that spirit that I accepted your kind invi- 
 tation to be with you this evening, and I thank the 
 Committee on Invitations for the opportunity of being 
 present. 
 
 This meeting, as I understand it, is one of Ex- 
 Delegates to the International Typographical Union. 
 Strictly speaking, I do not know that I can claim that 
 distin2;uished designation. In 1861 I had the honor 
 of being elected a delegate to the National Union by 
 Raleigh (N. C.) Typographical Union, No. 54, of which 
 I was then an active, and of which I am now an hon- 
 orary member. 
 
 It will be remembered, however, that about that time 
 there was a strike on the south side of the Potomac, 
 and the furm of the Union was slightly p/e^. A press 
 of circumstances rendered useless for a while all the 
 implements known to the profession, except the shoot- 
 iiKj-sticJc. With positive instructions to follow copy, in- 
 stead of going to the National Union, I Avent elsewhere. 
 
 This change of situation did not secure any very fat 
 iakes, but as we were on by time, and not by tha piece, 
 no question was raised about pay. 
 3/ 
 
370 Celebration of the 
 
 During the conflict that resulted from this ill-advised 
 and unfortunate strike, which we now look back upon 
 with emotions of wonder and astonishment, there were 
 many columns of live matter knocked into pi, and some 
 of the best ti/jies of livinf<; manhood wholly destroyed. 
 
 After a long and fearful struggle, however, the form 
 of the Union was reset and stereotyped, and an impres- 
 sion made on the hearts of the American people that 
 time can never blot or obliterate. 
 
 Now, with duty plainer, let us stand up to the rack, 
 and leave no stone unturned to upbuild the waste places 
 of our country, but press on in setting good examples 
 to the world, and present clean proofs that henceforth 
 and forever we are solid for the American Union. 
 
 CONGRESSMAN ROBERT J. VANCE, 
 
 of Connecticut, was then introduced. After telling a 
 story, he said that in his rounds during the day he had 
 seen the statue of one of the first American printers in 
 front of the Ledger building. That printer came from 
 New England. His name was Franklin, and he had a 
 loaf of bread with him. "The only fi^ult that I have 
 to find with the statue of this printer," said Mr. Vance, 
 "is that it does not represent the original with a loaf 
 of bread under his arm." 
 
 Growing earnest, ]Mr. Vance said that if there were 
 any among historic men who had won fame, they were 
 George Peabody, Peter Cooper, and George W. Childs. 
 Peabody scattered his money abroad for the benefit 
 of mankind ; Cooper invested in monuments in New 
 York 5 and Childs constructed monuments in this city. 
 
 The last was the greatest of all philanthropists. His 
 every impulse was good. There were none of the 
 vile ingredients in him. He was " a man, take him all 
 in all." 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 371 
 
 REMARKS BY MAJOR J. J. XOAH. 
 
 " The Printer as a Washington Correspondent" was 
 the next toast proposed, and Major Jacob J. Noah, 
 Washington correspondent of the Denver Netcs and 
 Kansas City Times, was called upon to respond. Major 
 Noah said, — 
 
 He deemed it a high privilege to be present on this 
 occasion, and join with his fellow-craftsmen in doing 
 honor to that eminent citizen and philanthropist, George 
 W. Childs, whose name was a sjnonyme throughout the 
 civilized world for all that was upright, honorable, and 
 beneficent. The orbit of his good deeds had not been 
 restricted to the limits of his own country, but his 
 name was justly honored among the men of other 
 lands. While all that he is and all that he possesses 
 were the legitimate fruits of his own indomitable 
 energy and illimitable enterprise, yet had he always 
 reached out the helping hand to the needy, and, to the 
 extent of more than his ability, relieved the distresses 
 of his fellow-man. That this had been the great 
 pleasure and solace of his busy life was more than 
 apparent. The quality of his long line of mercies had 
 not been strained, for truly had it " blessed him that 
 gives and him that takes," and Shakespeare's tribute 
 to Mercy's great virtues found substantial echo in the 
 hearts of the sturdy members of the Typographical 
 and Pressmen's Unions, and the many friends gathered 
 here to honor and celebrate the anniversary of his 
 birth. 
 
 Mnjor Noah stated that when he called upon Mr. 
 Childs that morning and was presented by his friend 
 and colleague. Major John M. Carson, his hand was 
 grasped and he received warm welcome. " I knew 
 your father before you," said Mr. Childs. "He was 
 
372 Celebration of the 
 
 the leading editor of his day and time, and, I think, 
 was born in Phih'idelphia." 
 
 Major Noah added that he "was taken by surprise, 
 from the fact that thirty-seven years had passed since 
 the death of his father, the late Mordecai M. Noah. 
 lie was dead, but evidently not forgotten. The fact 
 was then recalled that Messrs. Swain, Abell, and Sim- 
 mons, the original founders of the Philadelphia Ledger, 
 worked as journeyman printers in his father's news- 
 paper office at New York, in the halcyon days of the 
 " sixpenny press," and that their subsequent successes 
 in establishing the " penny press" had been a measure 
 of great satisfaction to their old employer. 
 
 Major Noah then narrated various interesting remi- 
 niscences of leading journalists who were at the fore 
 when he first came upon the newspaper scene, among 
 them James Watson AVebb, James Gordon Bennett, Sr., 
 William L. Stone, Horace Greeley, Park Benjamin, 
 Nathaniel P. AVillis, Gen. George P. Morris, Evert A. 
 Duyckinck, Cornelius Mathews, Casper C. Childs, 
 Thaddeus W. Meighan, Henry J. Raymond, Charles 
 A. Dana, David M. Stone, and others. 
 
 He closed his remarks by observing that George W. 
 Childs was worthy the title given the late Gen. George 
 H. Thomas by Col. H. M. Duffield, the orator at the 
 late reunion of the Army of the Cumberland, " omnium 
 gentium facile princeps.'''' Thomas, as a soldier, was 
 of all soldiers the " recognized chief." George W. 
 Childs, as citizen and philanthropist, was of all citizens 
 equally the "recognized chief." 
 
 REMARKS BY MAJOR JOHN M. CARSON. 
 
 When the applause ceased which followed the con- 
 clusion of Major Noah's remarks, Major John M. Car- 
 
Birthday of George W. Chllds. 373 
 
 son, Chief of the Public Ledge?' Bureau at Washington, 
 was called upon. 
 
 He said it was a peculiar gratification to him that he 
 could claim membership with the fraternity represented 
 upon this occasion. The men present to-night did not 
 receive a parchment certificate when they were gradu- 
 ated, yet they were constituents of alumni in whose 
 ranks have been found many men of the highest intel- 
 lectual force, of great moral worth, and great practical 
 usefulness. In none of the vocations could there be 
 found a greater degree of intelligence than was found 
 among printers, and to that fact might be ascribed 
 their strength and their influence when united. No 
 other vocation could send forth a class of representa- 
 tives such as were here to-night, every one of whom 
 had started in life as a journeyman printer. The 
 printing-office was a continuation of the public school, 
 and its opportunities rightfully improved almost in- 
 variably led men to higher walks of usefulness and 
 kept its graduates untainted by those meretricious 
 influences that so often attended and remained with 
 graduates of colleges. 
 
 There were present to-night gentlemen who had 
 reached the halls of Congress through the printing- 
 office. They were among the most able and useful men 
 in that body, and there was no doubt that the knowl- 
 edge and experience acquired in the printing-office had 
 mainly contributed to their success in life. 
 
 Many years ago, when working at "case" in this 
 city as an apprentice, with James J. Dailey occupying 
 an adjoining '' alley," and Joel Cook learning to set type 
 with the aid of a discarded " font," he did not dream 
 he would ever be associated with those two boys on the 
 Public Ledrjer, which was then, as it now is, the repre- 
 eentative newspaper of the city and State. 
 
 32 
 
374 Celebration of the 
 
 Referring to the special object of" the gathering to- 
 night, Major Carson said he was particularly delighted 
 at the privilege of joining the Association in doing 
 honor to George W. Childs. There was a comprehen- 
 siveness and sii^nificance in the irathering which was 
 only limited by the boundaries of the American conti- 
 nent; which represented and which reached to the 
 very bottom of the hearts of men who labor ; which 
 commanded the admiration and approval of the friends 
 of those who labor, and which was an enigma to that 
 selfish and merciless class of men who use their fellows 
 only to ]iromote their own personal aims and ambitions. 
 It must be a gratifying reflection to Mr. Childs that 
 he has Avon not alone the love of those with whom he 
 has been brought in frequent personal contact, and the 
 gratitude of the many who have been relieved by his 
 charity and gladdened by his liberality, but the esteem 
 and good-will of the people of the United States. AVas 
 it to be wondered at that the American people, coming 
 to know this man through his unselfish and benevolent 
 works, — tired of the hypocrisy of political parties, 
 the masquerading of partisan propagandists, and the 
 treachery of partisan leaders, — should naturally turn 
 to and ask him to become their ruler as well as their 
 guide and friend? 
 
 "And yet," continued Major Carson, with earnest- 
 ness, "this simple citizen, this unostentatious man, 
 who has won the hearts of the people by kind acts, has 
 recently given an exhibition of self-abnegation, an 
 illustration of patriotic fervor, an example of sublime 
 courage that has excited public wonder, and challenged 
 universal respect ; he has positively, deliberately re- 
 fused to be even considered in connection with the 
 bestowal of the highest reward that can come from a 
 free people, and the most honorable office that can 
 
Birthday of George W. ChiMs. 375 
 
 be conferred upon mortal m;in, — in short, Georire W, 
 Childs has refused to become President of the United 
 States. 
 
 " The horde of speculating politicians who fasten 
 themselves upon successful parties, \\'ith ravenous 
 appetites for distinction and provender; who, like Bj- 
 Ends, in ' Pilgrim's Progress,' followed Religio'n for 
 the silver slippers she wore, affect to make light of the 
 spontaneous popular movement which manifested itself 
 for Mr. Childs. It is not the first time that camp- 
 followers were mistaken in the real purpose of those 
 who move grand armies in the field, and grander armies 
 in the realm of healthful thought. This movement 
 was not superficial and ephemeral ; it was deep and 
 deliberate and earnest, and was frustrated only by Mr. 
 Childs's honest determination and direct outspoken 
 refusal. 
 
 " My position in Washington affords opportunities 
 for meeting representative men, and studying popular 
 sentiment on national questions, and my observation 
 has enabled me to form an estimate of the extent and 
 sincerity of the movement for Mr. Childs, among the 
 representative men of the whole country and to which 
 reference has been made to-night by different speakers. 
 To show its extent and sincerity, let me say that' the 
 publisher of one of the strongest and most influential 
 Democratic daily newspapers in the East begged Mr. 
 Childs to permit himself to be nominated for President 
 of the United States, and gave force to his entreaty by 
 the assurance that Mr. Childs should have the earnest 
 support of his newspaper, and pledged himself to sub- 
 scribe one hundred thousand dollars, the day Mr. 
 Childs should be nominated, towards defraying the 
 necessary expenses of the election. Another distin- 
 guished man, the proprietor of one of the leading 
 
t376 Celebration of the 
 
 Democratic newspapers of the West, made similar 
 appeals to Mr. Childs, and ofTcred to subscribe fifty 
 thousand dollars to elect him. Requests and offers of 
 like character were made by men who control powerful 
 Republican journals. Leading men of the two political 
 parties recognized the depth of this popular feeling, 
 and The more sagacious of them admitted if it were 
 not interfered with it would result in the nomination 
 and election of Mr. Childs to the Presidency of the 
 United States. These facts are personally known to 
 me, and many others to the same effect might be cited. 
 They are mentioned here to show that the movement 
 to make Mr. Childs President of the United States was 
 real and substantial, and extended to all classes of 
 people. But the production of corroborating testimony 
 upon this point is not necessary in this assembly, w^here 
 Mr. Childs is so well known and so thoroughly ap- 
 preciated." 
 
 Major Carson concluded with an appropriate tribute 
 to the character and virtues of Mr. Childs ; a man 
 whose every-day life furnished a lesson for emulation ; 
 a man who was moved by the spirit of an unbounded 
 benevolence ; whose charity was not restricted by par- 
 tisan or sectarian lines; who "w^ould not follow Nep- 
 tune for his trident, or Jove for his power to thunder ;"' 
 who carried sunshine to the homes and hearts of a 
 greater number of people, and who represented a 
 broader and deeper and purer humanity than any man 
 with whom he had been brought in contact. "You 
 do well," he said, in conclusion, "as individuals and 
 as an association to honor this man, and in doing honor 
 to him you most do honor yourselves." 
 
 After singing " Auld Lang Syne," in which all 
 present joined, the pleasant assemblage slowly dis- 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 377 
 
 persed from what was a remarkably successful celebra- 
 tion. 
 
 We insert a few out of the laro^e number 
 of letters and telegrams received from prom- 
 inent persons who were unable to be present. 
 
 LETTER FROM HOX. SIMON CAMERON. 
 
 Brookfield Farm, May 12, 1888. 
 
 I am sorry, beyond my power to express, that I will 
 not be able to meet my fellow-craftsmen at dinner this 
 evening, as I had so hoped to do. 
 
 To do Mr. Ciiilds honor is always a real pleasure to 
 me. but I find myself in such condition that it is far 
 easier for me to go home than to take the risk of at- 
 tending the banquet. 
 
 My life as a printer is one of the periods of it to 
 which I look back with great satisfaction, and I know 
 very well that the good men and true who will celebrate 
 Mr. Childs's birthday to-night are keeping undimmed 
 the glorious record of their noble and useful calling. 
 
 Sincerely your friend, 
 
 SiMOx Cameron. 
 
 LETTER FROM HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS. 
 
 Fraxklin Square, Xew York, May 15, 1888. 
 Dear Mr. Childs, — We regret that we were unable 
 to join with our brethren of the craft in their dinner of 
 the 12th inst., commemorating your birthday. AVhile, 
 however, it would have been an honor to honor you 
 on that occasion, there is left to us the abiding pleasure 
 of honoring you on all occasions, and of assuring you 
 of our faithful friendship. 
 
 ?>2* 
 
378 Celebration of the 
 
 It is a satisfaction to us to believe that we of the 
 second and third generation of our house retain the 
 cordial regard shown to our fathers by you, our illus- 
 trious fellow-printer and countryman, who by your 
 kind and worthy acts have won the grateful love of the 
 world. 
 
 Yours always, very sincerely. 
 
 Harper & Brothers. 
 
 LETTER FROM COL. A. K. M CLURE, EDITOR 
 PHILADELPHIA TIMES. 
 
 Philadelphia, May 12, 1888. 
 
 A pressure of engagements compels me to deny 
 myself the pleasure of joining in the appropriate cel- 
 ebration of the birthday of George W. Childs ; but I 
 cannot let the occasion pass without expressing my 
 appreciation of the foremost of publishers and em- 
 ployers in all that attaches the highest honors to those 
 vocations. 
 
 There is not a publisher in Philadelphia w^ho does 
 not heartily join in the highest tribute to Mr. Childs 
 whose distinction is above the reach of jealousies, and 
 who has justly won the trust and affection of the 
 printers of the whole land. He is the one man of ex- 
 ceptional success who is beloved by all, and his name 
 will be crystallized in history as the benefactor of his 
 age. 
 
 The world will honor the man above all others who 
 can sincerely decline its highest honors of public trust : 
 and the celebration of his birthday is commemorating 
 the noblest qualities of American citizenship. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 A. K. McClure. 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 379 
 
 LETTER FROM THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME 
 COURT OF PENXSYLVANIA. 
 
 Philadelphia, May 12,1888. 
 
 My DEAR Mr. Childs, — I regret that my official en-, 
 gagements will prevent my presence at the dinner this 
 evening in your honor. I have, as you well know, a 
 warm feeling for the craft. In my boyhood days I 
 became fired with the ambition to edit and publish a 
 country newspaper, and in order to enable me to do so 
 successfully I acquired a practical knowledge of the 
 business. I look back upon those days as among the 
 happiest of my life, and the associations then formed 
 will long be cherished. The late Bayard Taylor and 
 Hon. Wm. Butler, our admirable Judge of the United 
 States Court, were among my companions in the 
 printing-office. You will understand, therefore, why 
 my heart always warms to the craft, and especially 
 does it warm to yourself and my noble friend, Mr. 
 Drexel, who have done so much to contribute to the 
 happiness and prosperity of the order, by your broad 
 and intelligent charity. May the Lord bless you both, 
 and increase your prosperity, that you may have the 
 means to bless others. 
 
 I am sincerely your friend, 
 
 Edward M. Paxsox. 
 Mr. Geo. W. Childs, 
 
 letter from thomas mackellar, of mackellar, 
 smiths & jordan, type-founders. 
 
 Philadelphia, May 12, 1S8S. 
 
 During the very many years of my acquaintance with 
 my much-esteemed friend Mr. George W. Childs, he has 
 always manifested the admirable traits of character and 
 
380 Celebration of the 
 
 demeanor which still characterize him as a man among 
 men, — the same kindness, urbanity, generosity, benev- 
 olence, public spirit, and business enterprise, that impel 
 the printing craft (among whom I am proud of having 
 been reared) to remember and celebrate his birthday. 
 
 Aware, as I am, of his private l)enevolences to weary 
 and worn-out printers and their families which are un- 
 known to the world, as well as of his well-known pub- 
 lic good doings, I often say. Would there were many 
 more George W. Childs's in this world to lessen the suui 
 of human sorrow in it! God bless him 1 
 
 So prays 
 
 TnoMAS MacKellar. 
 
 LETTER FROM HOX. JOHX RUSSELL YOUNG, LATE 
 U. S. MINISTER TO CHINA. 
 
 Herald Office, New York, May 12, 1888. 
 
 I am much honored by your kind invitation to attend 
 the banquet to be given by the Ex-Delegates to the In- 
 ternational Typographical Union on the occasion of the 
 birthday of George W. Childs. 
 
 I have known Mr. Childs intimately since my boy- 
 hood, and under circumstances which have enabled me 
 to know his character and career. I know of no char- 
 acter that may be better studied, for the good that will 
 come, by the young men of the nation, who in their 
 entrance upon life seek the example of the wise and 
 true men that have gone before. In him they will see 
 absolute rectitude, a command of himself above the 
 allurements and temptations of the day amounting to 
 asceticism ; patient, persevering, knowing his own 
 mind, and ever going to his purpose with a Napoleonic 
 clearness and alertness of vision ; believing in himself 
 and in the work he has to do : with the genius of com- 
 mon sense; with perfect courage; a judgment that 
 
Birthday of George W. Cldlds. 381 
 
 wastes no time on illusions or dreams ; the best busi- 
 ness head I have ever known ; in poverty and in wealtli, 
 in obscurity and in fame, always found by me to 
 be the considerate, courteous, ever-thoughtful, high- 
 minded gentleman and friend. The instinct which 
 prompts you to honor such a man is an honest one, and 
 to be commended in all ways as your due and loyal 
 tribute to him. 
 
 I am sorry that I cannot be with you. I send you 
 my good wishes and best thanks for your remembrance. 
 I trust that I may be permitted to unite with you in 
 the hope that our noble friend may live for many and 
 many a happy year to enjoy the day you celebrate. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 JoHx Russell Young. 
 
 LETTER FROM CONGRESSMAN GALLINGER. 
 
 CoKCORD, N. H., May 11, 18S8. 
 
 When I left Washington for my New England home 
 a few days ago, it was my purpose to plan my return 
 trip so as to be in attendance upon the banquet on 
 Saturday evening.. Unfortunately, business matters, 
 which can neither be transacted before that time nor 
 permanently neglected, render it utterly impossible for 
 me to be with you on the interesting occasion. 
 
 It has never been my privilege personally to meet 
 the great, good man whom you are to honor, but to me, 
 in common with all true printers in the country, his 
 name is a household word and a synonyme for every- 
 tliing that is honorable, true, and philanthropic. When 
 earning my living as a printer I knew of George W. 
 Childs, and learned to revere his name as an ideal 
 member of the craft, and in later years, with my 
 energies and purposes directed in other channels of 
 honorable effort, I have never forgotten to do honor, in 
 
382 Celebration of the 
 
 thought at least, to the noble man whose birthday you 
 
 are to celebrate to-morrow evening. 
 
 I can only add that I sincerely trust that Mr. Childs 
 
 may live to enjoy many more birthday anniversaries, 
 
 and that the occasion from which I am unavoidably kept 
 
 may be one of rare pleasure and profit to those who 
 
 may attend. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 J. II. Gallinger. 
 
 TELEGRAM FROM CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON. 
 
 Washingtox, D. C, May 12, 18S8. 
 I am unavoidably obliged to forego the anticipated 
 pleasure of banqueting with the Ex-Delegates' Associ- 
 ation in lionor of the birthday of Mr. Childs, who so 
 eminently fills, in your city of friends, the place of the 
 great preceptor of our craft. My hearty congratula- 
 tions to Mr. Childs and your Association! 
 
 Thos. L. Thompson. 
 
 telegram from civil-service commissioner 
 j. n. oberly, ex-president i. t. u. 
 
 Washington, D. C, May 12, 1888. 
 Much to my disappointment, I find myself unable 
 to be present at the birthday dinner of Mr. George W. 
 Childs. I send my hearty wishes for the entire success 
 of the occasion, and my personal congratulations to Mr. 
 Childs on the recurrence of the day which the craft of 
 the whole country honors in your celebration. 
 
 John H. Oberlt. 
 
 letter from wm. aimison, president i. t. u. 
 
 Nashville, Tenn., May 5, 1888. 
 ... I regret my inability to be present, owing to the 
 nearness of the meeting of the International TypO' 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 383 
 
 graphical Union, and the rush of business incident 
 thereto. There is no one to-day, within the jurisdic- 
 tion of the I. T. U., whom the printers of the country 
 would delight to honor more than Mr. Childs. May 
 his birthdays be continued, and when the warm heart 
 and charitable hand are stilled in death, may his 
 memory be as a refreshing draught to strengthen and 
 to re-encourage us in the battle of life ! 
 
 Yery respectfully, 
 
 Wm. Aimisox. 
 
 letter from ex-president witter. 
 
 St. Louis, Mo., May 9, 1S8S. 
 
 ... I desire to assure you of my hearty sympathy 
 with your efforts to do honor to the birthday of Mr. 
 Childs. Our craft has especial cause for gratitude to 
 Mr. Childs ; not merely because of his generous recog- 
 nition of our oriranization, and the good-will which 
 has always characterized his conduct towards us, but 
 because the day when fair-dealing shall be the rule in 
 every printing-oflBce is hastened by his conspicuous 
 example. Such examples are to us a guarantee for 
 the future. Justice between men is the simple solution 
 for the perplexing "problem." Mr. Childs has not 
 only been wise enough to see the truth, but unselfish 
 enough to practise it. 
 
 Fraternally yours, 
 
 M. R. H. Witter. 
 
 LETTER FROM CUIEF ORGANIZER BOYER. 
 
 Columbus, 0., May 8, 1S8S. 
 
 ... I hereby send my regrets at not being able to 
 attend. No other labor organization in this or any 
 other country has ever received such consideration at 
 
384 Cdebratlon of the 
 
 the hands of any one man as did the International 
 IVpographical Union, in June, 188G, from George AV. 
 Childs, whose name is revered and honored throughout 
 the entire jurisdiction of the f^rand body. . . . Lon<5 
 life and happiness to the friends of Union printers, — 
 George W. Childs and Anthony J. Drexel ! 
 
 Faithfully vours, 
 
 David P. Bover. 
 
 LETTER FROM JOUX VINCENT. 
 
 Globe Office, Boston, April 30, 1888. 
 
 . . . Permit me to unite with you in expressing to 
 your honorable guest the wish for his long-continued 
 health and happiness. Though confident of the reward 
 that awaits him in eternity, may it be many years 
 before he is called from a field in which, by his gen- 
 erous, unselfish nature, he has proved himself so useful 
 and valuable ! 
 
 To George W. Childs, more than to any other man 
 jiving, are we indebted for the present era of good 
 feeling existing between employers and members of our 
 craft, which has taken the place of the antagonistic 
 spirit of former years. 
 
 In conclusion, allow me to suggest for your consid- 
 eration, as a slight recognition of his many acts of 
 kindness to the craft, and of his munificent donation 
 to the I. T. U., that steps be taken to have the likeness 
 of George W. Childs placed on the face of the Union 
 travelling card; for he of all men, living or dead, is 
 entitled to this honor. And in this sugo-estion I am 
 confident of being seconded by every member in our 
 ranks. 
 
 Sincerely and fraternally, 
 
 John Vincent. 
 
Bhihday of George W. Cliilds. 385 
 
 LETTER FROM STATE LIBRARIAN EGLE. 
 
 Harrisburg, Pa., May 10, 1888. 
 
 ... I need not assure you how I would appreciate 
 being in the goodly company of so many disciples of the 
 typographic art, who meet to do honor to that great 
 warm-hearted American gentleman, George W. Childs. 
 
 He who has done so much good for mankind well 
 merits the love and reverence of his fellow-citizens : 
 and, as a token of my high esteem, and as a member 
 of the royal craft, I would be delighted to add my meed 
 of praise to him who is deserving of the grandest tes- 
 timonial that the printers or the press can bestow. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 William IT. Egle. 
 
 EDITORIALS. 
 
 As a fittiiis: close we introduce a fe\y edi- 
 torials from various journals relative to the 
 Banquet. 
 
 From The Craftsman, Washington, Saturday, May 
 
 19, 1888. 
 
 (Official Paper of the International Typographical Union.) 
 THE TWELFTH OF MAY. 
 
 Right royally did the Ex-Delegates' Association of 
 Philadelphia celebrate this red-letter day in the Union 
 Printers' calendar. From near and far were craftsmen 
 gathered around the social board, and " the Day we 
 Celebrate" was marked by a tribute to the noble man 
 whose name was on every tongue, which proved how 
 thoroughly the many kindly deeds of George W. Childs 
 R 2 33 
 
386 Celebration of the 
 
 are appreciated by a craft which is, perhaps, less prone 
 to hero worship than any other. The gathering was 
 a notable one, embracing as it did a number of Union 
 printers who, though their names arc now inscribed 
 high on the roll of fame, are yet proud and happy to 
 acknowledge allegiance to th-e International Typo- 
 graphical Union, and to unite with their less promi- 
 nent brothers in doing honor to one who has so con- 
 spicuously, again and again, been pleased to honor the 
 craft and its organization. 
 
 No man occupying the position of Mr. George "W. 
 Childs has ever shown his good-Avill, his regard, his 
 genuine respect for us so nobly. When bad men would 
 throw suspicion on our endeavors, when unfair jour- 
 nals would present us to the world as conspirators 
 whose association was a menace to the peace of the land, 
 this nobleman of God's own making showed his good 
 opinion of us, before the world, in his own practical 
 and masnificent manner. Is it a wonder that we sneak 
 his name as one near and dear to us ? Is it a wonder 
 that on the anniversarv of his birth we feel glad and 
 happy and joyous tliat so good, so great a friend was 
 given us? 
 
 The career of Mr. Childs is marked by good deeds, 
 by kindly acts, so continuous that it really seems as if 
 his thoughts were ever occupied, not in devising how 
 to make money, but rather how to disburse his princely 
 income so as to make the largest number of deserving 
 persons happy and comfortable. He is not of those 
 who, having made a munificent donation, takes comfort 
 in the thought that he has given to the cause of human- 
 ity a goodly and sufficient share. Much as Mr. Childs 
 has done to lighten the burdens and gladden the hearts 
 of his fellow-men, he never wearies of the blessed work, 
 but every day he marks by deeds which to him have 
 
Birthday of Gecyrge W. Chihh. 387 
 
 become part of his existence. The craft will imitate 
 our Philadelphia brothers, we are sure, by similar cele- 
 brations as the years bring anniversaries of the glad 
 day; and thus the name of Childs will live in the 
 printers' hearts, year after year, more enduring by far 
 than monuments of bronze or marble. 
 
 From The Union Printei^, New York, May 12, 1888. 
 
 . . . While George AV. Childs needs no encomium 
 from us — his life and deeds being a lasting euloG-ium — 
 we feel an irresistible impulse to linger over his exalted 
 interest in the welfare of printers. His example is an 
 inspiration, and in doing him honor we thereby attest 
 our appreciation of those noble qualities of mind and 
 heart which have been the guiding principles of his 
 career. 
 
 From Tlie Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia, May 24, 
 
 1889. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. CHILDS. 
 
 It is a customary thing for the people of every 
 European nation ruled by an hereditary monarch to 
 celebrate the sovereign's birthday. In fact it is a 
 popular function, prescribed by the State, and the 
 community that neglects the pei-functory performance 
 is suspected of disloyalty. The real honor of birthday 
 congratulations, however, consists in their being spon- 
 taneous and heartfelt. Mr. George \V. Childs had a 
 birthday anniversary lately, and it would be good for 
 the world if he could have thousands of them. He 
 is not an hereditary sovereign, or even a temporary 
 holder of a high office. But he received congratula- 
 tions more numerous and more sincere than any that 
 were ever offered to the greatest of rulers or heroes. 
 
388 Celebration of the 
 
 Thousands of newspapers, and perhaps as many letters 
 and telegrams, bore greetings and good wishes to him. 
 Good men and good women wrote to him, not mere 
 formal words of compliment, but honest, fervent ex- 
 pressions of sincere admiration and affection, united 
 with prayerful invocations for all possible blessings. 
 If Mr. Childs were to collect these .and edit them for 
 the public eye, they would astonish that public. But 
 such things are sacred in his estimation. He cannot, 
 however, muzzle the press, or prevent such a writer as 
 Mr. George William Curtis from printing this para- 
 graph in the last number of Harpefs Weekly : 
 
 " The universal kindly greeting to Mr. George AV. 
 Childs upon his late birthday is a pleasant illustration 
 of the esteem in which he is held. Especially agree- 
 able to him probably was the hearty tribute of the 
 printers, who have more than once testified their regard 
 for him. His heart and hand are always open to good 
 causes, and his Ledger^ a journal of great circulation, 
 is directed with a candor and courtesy and ability 
 which give it a distinctive character. The smiles of 
 Fortune upon this, one of her favorites, are certainly 
 justified by the spirit and manner in which he shares 
 his favors with others." 
 
 This and similar words only faintly express the 
 popular love for Mr. Childs. Still more faintly do they 
 suggest his incessant, untiring generosity, which is 
 beyond description. An example of it, Avhich will 
 reach hundreds of thousands of magazine readers, is 
 seen in a series of articles begun in the June Lippin- 
 cott^ the writer of which frankly says that he obtained 
 the information contained in them from Mr. Childs, 
 who, when appealed to for some " Recollections" of his 
 life, was " proof against every temptation save that of 
 doing a friendly act." To this he yielded, because it 
 
Birthday of George W. Childs. 389 
 
 would help the writer, who, in turn, gives to the public 
 some very entertaining and equally instructive pictures 
 of the private life, from boyhood upward, of a man in 
 whose career every one takes a peculiar interest. When 
 completed these papers will make an autobiography 
 that will be better worth regarding as a classic than 
 those of many celebrated men of past times, who, 
 unlike Mr. Childs, had sins to conceal or shames to 
 confess. Such a life as his teaches a lesson to the 
 youth of America that will help them much more than 
 any to be found in the most famous books of auto- 
 biography or the most brilliant of the kind called 
 Confessions. For this and coming generations these 
 " Recollections" are better than Franklin's autobiog- 
 raphy, and it is a happy circumstance that they have 
 been put on paper and placed before the public. 
 
IliDEX. 
 
 Adams, John, President of United vState?, letter of, 65, 66. 
 Aimison, William, President of International Typographical 
 
 Union, letter from, 336. 
 Album belonging to Mrs. George W. Childs, 32. 
 Allibone, Samuel Austin, author of "Dictionary of British and 
 
 American Authors," 13. 
 Amaral Valente, do, J. G., Brazilian Minister to United States, 
 letter from, to Mr. Childs, 46, 47. 
 attends presentation ceremonies at West Point, 146. 
 Andre, Major John, manuscript of his poem "The Cow- 
 Chase," 61. 
 Andrewes, Lancelot, Bishop, 310, 312, 313. 
 "Arctic Explorations," by Dr. Kane, publication of, 12, 13. 
 Arden, Mary, mother of Shakespeare, 207. 
 Arnold^ Sir Edwin, poet, visits Mr. Childs, 130. 
 extract from letter of, 179 (note), 
 editorial of, in London Daily Telegrajih, 245-248. 
 Arnold, Matthew, poet, address of, 297, 298. 
 
 death of, 299. 
 "Around the World with General Grant," by John Eussell 
 Young, 119. 
 
 Bacon, Delia, theory of, 211, 257. 
 Baltimore Dailg News, extract from, 263. 
 Bancroft, George, historian, 27. 
 
 391 
 
392 Index. 
 
 Barnura, P. T., proposal of, to remove Shakespeare's house to 
 
 America, 233, 244. 
 Beale, E. F., General, expresses his admiration of General 
 
 Grant, 138. 
 Bennett, James Gordon, Sr., journalist, personal characteristics 
 
 of, 28. 
 Benton, Thomas H., 29. 
 Biographical sketch of Mr. Childs, by Eugene U. Munday, 
 
 347-351. 
 Birmingham Daily Post, extract from, 252-254. 
 Boyer, David P., letter from, to printers' banquet, 336, 337. 
 Bright, John, quotation from, 269. 
 Brooklyn Eagle, extracts from, 207-212 ; 306-308. 
 Browne, H. K., artist, collection of the illustrations of, 63. 
 Bryant, "William Cullen, poet, his translation of first book of 
 
 the Iliad, 52, 125. 
 Buckingham, Duke of, personal characteristics of, 37. 
 
 entertains Mr. and Mrs. Childs at Stowe and Wootton, 37. 
 anecdotes of, 38, 39. 
 Byron, George G. N., Lord, poet, writing-desk of, 55. 
 his parody of Wordsworth's " Peter Bell," 56, 57. 
 
 Cameron, Simon, letter of, 377. 
 
 Carson, John M., journalist, his account of the painting of 
 portraits of Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, 
 167-179. 
 
 remarks of, at printers' banquet, 372-376. 
 Century Magazine, 298. 
 Chair embroidered by Duchess of Buckingham for Mrs. Childs, 
 
 32, 39. 
 Childs, George W., incidents in early life of, 9-14, 209, 234. 
 
 enters United States navy, 10. 
 
 goes into business for himself, 11. 
 
 becomes member of the firm of R. E. Peterson & Co., 12. 
 
 purchases Public Ledger, 14, 234, 324. 
 
 letters to, from H. W. Longfellow, 24, 25. 
 
 purchases country-seat near Bryn Mawr, 24. 
 
 names it " Wootton," 38. 
 
 guests of, list of, 31, 32. 
 
Index, 393 
 
 Chikls, George W., letters to, 33, 34, 46-50, 143, 144, 284, 285. 
 his trip abroad, 33-41. 
 visits Charles Dickens, 34. 
 
 Duke of Buckingham, 37, 38. 
 Fountain Abbey, 39, 40. 
 
 Mr. John Walter, proprietor London Times, 40. 
 gives dinner to Longfellow at Rome, 41. 
 letter from General Grant, 95. 
 
 " Personal Memoirs" presented to, by Colonel Grant, 97. 
 description of Philadelphia residence, 124-128, 131. 
 appointed President of Board of Visitors at West Point, 
 
 139, 141, 163, 171. 
 presents portraits of Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheri- 
 dan to Military Academy, 140, 142, 143, 146, 164. 
 letter to, from President Harrison, 143, 144. 
 is present at presentation ceremonies, 146, 148, 149, 165. 
 letter to, from General Sherman, 153, 154 (note), 
 water from Shakespeare Fountain sent to, 252, 260. 
 letter from, to Archdeacon Farrar, 293. 
 sketch of his life by Eugene H. Munday, 347-351. 
 relations of, to his employees, 319-338. 
 is made honorary member of the Philadelphia Typograph- 
 ical Society, 325. 
 presents burial lot to Typographical Society, 325. 
 philanthropy of, 325-329. 
 pension system of, 326, 327. 
 his profit-sharing, 327, 328. 
 extra wages paid by him to type-setters, 328. 
 gift of, to International Typographical Union, 329. 
 policy of, towards labor organizations, 331. 
 proposal to make him Presidential candidate in 1888, 333^ 
 
 334, 374, 376. 
 celebration in honor of his birthday, 335. 
 tribute to, from the press, on his birthday, 337, 338. 
 "Chronicles of the Canongate," by Sir Walter Scott, manu- 
 script of, 59. 
 Churchman, The, New York, extract from, 306. 
 Claghorn, James L., invites Dom Pedro to visit Academy of 
 Fine Arts, 42. 
 
394 Index, 
 
 Clock, Rittenhouse, history of, 67, 6S. 
 
 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, poet, autograph letter of, 62, 
 
 125. 
 "Collection of Four Thousand Autographs, A, made by a 
 
 Scrivener," by W. G. Latham, 64. 
 Collins, William Wilkie, novelist, 36. 
 ** Comic Annual," by Thomas Hood, 62. 
 "Complete Concordance to Shakespeare," by Mary Cowden 
 
 Clarke, original manuscript of, and letters concerning, 57. 
 Congressman Farquhar, of New York, speech at the printers' 
 banquet, 345-347. 
 Cummings, of New York, speech at the printers' banquet, 
 
 O'Donnell, of Michigan, speech at the printers' banquet, 
 
 367. 
 Nichols, of North Carolina, speech at the printers' ban- 
 quet, 368-370. 
 Vance, of Connecticut, speech at the printers' banquet, 370. 
 Iludd, of Wisconsin, speech at the printers' banquet, 351. 
 Gallinger, of New Hampshire, letter to the printers' 
 banquet, 381, 382. 
 Conkling, Roscoe, Senator, favors Electoral Commission, and 
 his influence to hasten its appointment by the Senate, 
 80. 
 assists in Garfield campaign, 82, 83. 
 " Consular Experiences," Hawthorne's, original manuscript, 23. 
 Cook, Joel, account of the Herbert-Cowper Window in West- 
 minster Abbey, 286 ; speech at printers' banquet, 335. 
 Cooper, Peter, philanthropist, incident of his early life, 30, 31. 
 Cossins, J. A., architect of Shakespeare Fountain, 202. 
 "Cow-Chase, The," by Major John Andre, manuscript of, 60. 
 Cowper, William, poet, 275, 281, 282, 2S4, 316. 
 Craftsman, The, Washington, editorial on Mr. Childs's birth- 
 day, 385-387. 
 
 Darragh, Mrs., artist, paints portraits of Generals Grant, Sher- 
 man, and Sheridan, 147, 163, 164, 168, 175, 177, 179. 
 
 Davis L. Clarke, account of Mr. Childs's gifts to England : 
 Shakespeare Fountain at Stratford-upon-Avon, Memorial 
 
Index. 395 
 
 Windows in "Westminster Ahhcj, St. Margaret's, Westminster, 
 etc., 187, 31G. 
 Dedication of Shakespeare Fountain, account of, 212-226, 242, 
 
 248, 249, 250, 252, 254, 255-257, 259-262, 2G5. 
 De La Warr, Earl, Lord High Steward, 214. 
 
 proposes toast to President of the United States, 227. 
 " Demetrius," by Schiller, manuscript of, 62. 
 Description of Shaliespeare Fountain, 202-205. 
 Dickens, Charles, novelist, invites Mr. Childs to visit him, 33. 
 
 his manner of constructing his stories, 34-36. 
 "Dictionary of British and American Authors," by Dr. S. A. 
 
 Allibone, 13, 14. 
 Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth, 277. 
 Drexel, A. J., banker, 14. 
 
 is consulted by President Grant, 84, 85, 106. 
 gift of, to International Typographical Union, 329, 346, 
 347-350. 
 
 Electoral Commission proposed, 77-80. 
 
 bill passed appointing it, 81. 
 Ely, Prof. Richard T., Mr. Childs and the Workingman, his 
 
 Connection with his Employees, 319, 340. 
 Emerson, Ptalph Waldo, essayist, visits Mr. Childs, 27. 
 
 quotation from, 238. 
 Everett, Edward, orator and statesman, letter from, 29. 
 
 Farrar, Rev. F. W., Archdeacon of Westminster, 287, 305. 
 
 quotations from, 279-281, 291, 304, 305. 
 
 letters from, 291-297, 299, 305. 
 Fields, James T., publisher, 21. 
 
 letter to, from Ex-President Franklin Pierce, 22, 23, 66. 
 Fish, Hamilton, Hon., 31, 127, 131. 
 
 made member of Grant's Cabinet, 97. 
 Flower, Charles E., Councillor, 202, 213, 214, 267. 
 
 proposes toast to Mr. Henry Irving, 237. 
 Franklin, Lady, visits Mr. Childs, 40. 
 
 Garfield, General James A., President of United States, 82. 
 ** Godolphin," by Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, manuscript of, 60. 
 
396 Index. 
 
 Gott, Rev. Dr., Dean of Worcester, sermon of, 314, 315. 
 
 Grand Army of the Kepublic, growth of, 137. 
 
 Grant, Frederick D., Colonel, letter of, to New York World, 
 
 115-118. 
 appointment as Minister to Austria, 121. 
 accompanies General Grant on his tour around the world, 
 
 122. 
 Grant, General Ulysses S., President of United States, letter 
 
 of, 66. 
 recollections of, 70-139. 
 personal characteristics of, 70-75. 
 artistic tastes and paintings of, 71, 72. 
 counsels appointment of Electoral Commission, 78. 
 assists in Garfield's campaign, S3. 
 opposed to a third term, 83. 
 vetoes Inflation Bill, 85, 156. 
 some experiences in speech-making, 88. 
 his last speech, 89. 
 incidents showing his remarkable power of recognition 
 
 of persons, 91, 92, 
 plants oak-tree at Wootton, 93. 
 his fondness for horses, 94. 
 
 extract from letter of, in regard to England, 96. 
 his "Personal Memoirs," 96, 97. 
 his friendship for Hon. Hamilton Fish, 97. 
 elected President, 1868, 98. 
 avenues and streets of Washington improved during his 
 
 administration, 99, 100. 
 establishes Indian Commission, 100. 
 generosity of, 101. 
 domestic happiness of, 101. 
 unjustly treated by General Halleek, 102. 
 his manner of life at Long Branch, 103. 
 his regard for General Sherman, 73. 
 his regard for General Sheridan, 105. 
 passage of his retiring bill, 106, 107. 
 justifies General Fitz-John Porter, 108, 109. 
 purity of his character, 109, 111. 
 his insensibility to music, 110. 
 
Index. 397 
 
 Grant, General Ulysses S., first symptoms of cancer, 111. 
 Dr. Da Costa examines him and prescribes, 112. 
 goes to Mount McGregor, 112. 
 extracts from letter to Mr. Childs, 113. 
 his wishes regarding place of burial, 114-118. 
 his tour around the world, 118-123. 
 
 is treated by all countries with great honors, 119-121, 156. 
 farewell receptions in Philadelphia, 119, 123, 132. 
 gifts presented during tour, 122. 
 
 receptions in Philadelphia upon his return, 123, 132, 133. 
 made a member of the Grand Army of the Republic in 
 
 Mr. Childs's private office, 132. 
 speech of, before the members of the Grand Army of the 
 
 Republic, 133-136. 
 portrait of, presented to Military Academy, West Point, 
 
 140, 142, 143, 146, 154. 
 eulogy of, by General Horace Porter, 155-158. 
 Guests of Mr. Childs, names of, 31-32. 
 
 " Habitations of our Kings," by Thomas Gray, manuscript of, 
 
 60. 
 Hall, Hon. A. Oakey, journalist, 257. 
 Hall, S. C, letter from, 58, 59 (note). 
 Halleck, Henry Wager, General, 102. 
 Hanqishire Gazette, extract from, 312-315. 
 Harper & Brothers' letter on Mr. Childs's birthday, 377. 
 Harper's New Monthly Magazine, first number of, 18. 
 
 extracts from, 279-281, 290, 291. 
 Harper's Weeldij, extracts from, 123-131, 140-142, 264-268, 
 
 337, 388. 
 Harrison, Benjamin, President of United States, his letter to 
 
 Mr. Childs, 143, 144. 
 Hawkins, J. P., Lieutenant-Colonel, commandant of Military 
 
 Academy, 146. 
 Hawthorne, Nathaniel, poet, 21. 
 death of, 22. 
 
 extract from letter of, 23. 
 Henry, Professor Joseph, invites Dom Pedro to visit Smith- 
 sonian Institution, 44. 
 
 34 
 
398 Index, 
 
 Henry, Professor Joseph, opinion of Mr. Childs, 351. 
 Herbert, George, poet, 275, 281, 284, 316. 
 quotations from Walton's life of, 2S1. 
 Hkrbkrt and Cowper MKMoniAL in Westminster Abbey, 271- 
 
 286. 
 " Ilertha," by Fredrika Bremer, manuscript of Mary Hewitt's 
 
 translation of, 60. 
 " Historical Memorials," of Westminster Abbey, quotations 
 
 from, 271-273. 
 Hodgson, Sir Arthur, Mayor of Stratford, 202, 214, 226, 229, 
 242, 243, 248, 258, 260, 265, 267. 
 letters from, 197, 198. 
 address of, 218,219. 
 proposes toasts to Queen and the rest of the Royal family^ 
 
 226, 227. 
 receives message of thanks from Mr. Childs, 240. 
 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, poet, memories of, 26, 27. 
 letter from, 206, 254. 
 
 poem of, on Shakespeare Fountain, 220-222, 254, 259. 
 Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, 207. 
 
 memorial window proposed for, 193, 194. 
 proposed restoration of, 195. 
 Houghton, Lord, Pachard Monckton Milnes, visits Mr. Childs, 
 
 130. 
 Howard, 0. 0., General, letter from, 144. 
 
 Illustrated London News, extract from, 203-205. 
 Indian Commission, organization of, 100, 101. 
 Inscriptions upon Shakespeare Fountain, 266. 
 Irving, Henry, actor, 213, 214, 219, 228-231, 242, 245-250, 
 252, 254, 263. 
 address of, 222-225, 248, 259. 
 reads Dr. Holmes's poem, 220. 
 
 drinks to Shakespeare in first water that flows from Foun- 
 tain, 225. 
 response to Mr. Flower's toast, 237-239, 260. 
 Irving, Washington, author, 19, 211, 216, 244, 264, 266. 
 " Italian Bride, The," by John Howard Payne, manuscript of, 
 60. 
 
Index. 399 
 
 James, G. P. R., novelist, visits Mr. Childs, 27. 
 Johnson, Andrew, President of United States, letters of, 66. 
 Johnston, Joseph E., General, dines with General Grant at Mr. 
 Childs's house, 74. 
 aids in passage of Grant's retiring bill, 106. 
 Jonson, Ben, 208, 273. 
 
 Kane, Dr. Elisha K., "Arctic Explorations" of, 12, 1.3. 
 Ken, Thomas, Bishop, 310, 312-314. 
 
 LaflFan, Mrs. R. S. de C, poem by, 240, 241. 
 
 Zec?grer building formally opened, 1867, 17. 
 
 Library Treasures of Mr. Childs, 51-69. 
 
 " Life of Captain Piichard Somers," by James Fenimore Cooper, 
 
 manuscript of, 60. 
 Lincoln, Abraham, President of United States, letter of, 66. 
 Lippincott, J. B., publisher, 13. 
 Liverpool Post, extract from, 255. 
 
 Logan, John A., General, delivers eulogy over grave of Gen- 
 eral Grant, 137. 
 London Daily Telegraph, extracts from, 242-248. 
 London Globe, extract from, 248, 249. 
 London Pall Mall Gazette, extract from, 250-252. 
 London Times, extracts from, 199, 241, 242. 
 Longfellow, Henry W., poet, letters from, 24, 25. 
 
 dines with Mr. Childs in Rome, 28, 41. 
 Lowell, James Russell, poet, visits Mr. Childs, 25-126. 
 
 manuscript of his poem " Under the Willows" in Mr. 
 
 Childs's possession, 25. 
 letter from, on Shakespeare Fountain, 215-217, 228, 229, 
 
 245, 246, 254, 258. 
 lines of, under Raleigh Window in St. Margaret's, 293. 
 
 Macaulay, James, M.D., editor, 195, 197, 199, 202, 218, 219, 251. 
 
 suggests erection of drinking-fountain to Mr. Childs, 196. 
 
 replies to toast to Mr. Childs, 236, 237, 260. 
 Mackellar, Thomas, letter to the printers' banquet, 379. 
 Martin, Sir Theodore, proposes toast to Shakespeare, 243. 
 Mather, Cotton, sermon of, 51, 125. 
 
400 Index. 
 
 McClure, Colonel A. K., conversation with General Grant, 81. 
 
 letter to the printers' banquet, 378. 
 Milton, John, poet, 290-292, 294, 295, 297, 298, 302, 305, 316. 
 MiLTox Window in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, 287- 
 
 308. 
 Moore, Thomas, poet, his Bible and Irish harp, 59. 
 Motley, John Lothrop, historian, 27. 
 Munclay, Eugene II., printer-poet, sketch of Mr. Childs at 
 
 printers' banquet, 347-351. 
 " Murders in the Rue Morgue," by Edgar A. Poe, manuscript 
 of, 25. 
 history of, 52-54. 
 
 " Need of Two Loves, The,*' by N. P. Willis, manuscript of, 59. 
 
 Neilson, General, speech at printers' banquet, 352. 
 
 Nelson, Horatio, Lord, letter of, 62. 
 
 Nevin, W. W., account of Herbert-Cowper Window in West- 
 minster Abbey, 285. 
 
 New York Herald, extracts from, 199, 202, 203, 258-261. 
 
 New York Sun, extract from, 179-183. 
 
 New York Times, extract from, 262. 
 
 New York Tribune, extract from, 145-147. 
 
 New York World, extracts from, 114-118, 142,143, 148-165, 
 203-205, 256, 257. 
 
 Noah, Major J. J., remarks at the printers' banquet, 371. 
 
 Osborn, Thomas A., American Minister to Brazil, extract from 
 
 letter of, 45. 
 "Our Mutual Friend," by Charles Dickens, manuscript of, 25, 
 
 34. 
 Owen, Sir Philip Cunliffe, remarks of, 225, 260. 
 
 Patterson, Robert, General, sent for by President Grant, SO. 
 
 Paxson, Chief-Justice, letter from, 379. 
 
 Peabody, George, philanthropist, presents his portrait to Mr. 
 
 Childs, 30. 
 Pedro, Dom, de Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil, incidents during 
 his visit to the United States, 42-44. 
 his letter to Mr. Childs, 50. 
 
Index. 401 
 
 Pedro, Dom, de Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil, sends cup and 
 saucer to Mr. Childs, 46. 
 presents photograph and book of travels to Mr. Childs, 45. 
 is present at Centennial Exhibition, 42, 126. 
 Pew in St. Margaret's Church, London, appropriated to Ameri- 
 cans, 290. 
 Phelps, Hon. Edward J., American Minister to England, 214, 
 215, 219, 223, 239, 243, 247, 248, 200, 295, 303. 
 address of, 227-231, 249, 257, 258. 
 Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, editorial on Mr. Childs's birth- 
 day, 387-389. 
 Pierce, Franklin, President of United States, letter of, 22, 23, 66. 
 ''Pilgrims of the Rhine," by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, man- 
 uscript of, 60. 
 Poe, Edgar A., poet, extract from letter of, 55. 
 Poetical Works of Leigh Hunt, with autograph inscription to 
 
 Charles Dickens, 51. 
 Porter, Fitz-John, General, Grant's justification of, 107, 108. 
 Porter, Horace, General, presentation speech of, portraits of 
 Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, 147, 149, 154-165. 
 Prescott, William H., historian, his last photograph taken for 
 
 Mr. Childs, 27. 
 Prime, Piev. Dr., commends Mr. Childs for improvement in the 
 
 character of Public Ledger, 16, 17. 
 Printers' banquet on Mr. Childs's birthday, 341, 389. 
 Proctor, Redfield, Secretary of War, present at presentation 
 ceremonies, 146. 
 remarks of, 149, 151. 
 Public Ledger, purchased by Mr. Childs, 14, 15, 234, 
 
 price of, doubled, and advertising rates increased, 15. 
 character of, changed, 16. 
 criticism of, 251. 
 extract from, 276. 
 
 Randall, Hon. Samuel J., Speaker of House of Representatives, 
 
 78, 79, 80, 106. 
 Read, T. Buchanan, artist, paints portrait of Longfellow for 
 Mr. Childs, 28. 
 dines with Mr. Childs in Rome, 28, 41. 
 aa 34* 
 
402 Index. 
 
 Recollections by Mr. Childs, 9-183. 
 
 Relations to nis Employees, George W. Childs in his, 319-340. 
 
 Reuedos of St. ThoDias's Church, "Winchester, 309-316. 
 
 Resohition of Council of Stratford accepting Fountain, 198. 
 
 Resolution of thanks to Mr. Childs, from Vestrj of St. Thomas's 
 Church, AVinchester, England, 311. 
 
 " Retrospect of Western Travel," by Harriet Martineau, man- 
 uscript of, 60. 
 
 Rochambeau, Marquis de, entertained by Mr. Childs, 130. 
 
 Rogers, Professor Thorold, his opinion of labor organizations, 
 332, 333. 
 
 Roman well in London, 30. 
 
 Saint Margaret's Church, Westminster, origin of, 289. 
 
 Milton Window in, 197, 265, 287, 294, 295, 299, 304, 305. 
 description of, 295, 296, 300, 301. 
 unveiling of, 295, 296. 
 Saint Thomas's Church, Winchester, reredos in, 310-314. 
 description of, 313, 314. 
 unveiling of, 312, 314. 
 Sala, George Augustus, journalist, 126, 202. 
 Saldanha da Gama, de, Luiz Philippe, Captain, letter from, to 
 
 Mr. Childs, 48, 49. 
 "Scarlet Letter," Hawthorne's, some facts concerning, 23. 
 Scott, Winfield, General, sends copy of his book to Mr. Childs, 
 
 29. 
 Shakespeare, John, father of Shakespeare, 209. 
 Shakespeare, AVilliam, poet, 187, 191, 195, 196, 207-209, 211, 
 224, 225, 238, 239, 243-246, 250, 253, 259, 262, 264, 273, 
 316. 
 pall-bearer of, 211. 
 Sheridan, Philip Henry, General, portrait of, presented to Mil- 
 itary Academy, 140, 142, 143, 14C, 154, 164. 
 eulogy of, by General Horace Porter, 159-161. 
 sabre of, history of, 178. 
 Sherman, William T,, General, memoirs of, 72, 73. 
 
 portrait of, presented to Military Academy, 140, 142, 143, 
 
 146, 154, 164. 
 present at presentation ceremonies, 146, 148, 149, 151. 
 
Index. 403 
 
 Sherman, William T., General, remarks of, 151-153. 
 
 eulogy of, by General Horace Porter, 15S, 159. 
 Site of Shakespeare Fountain chosen, 202. 
 Sole, Rev. Arthur B., letters from, 309-312. 
 Stanley, Rev. Arthur P., Dean of Westminster, 271-276, 282. 
 
 is a guest of Mr. Childs, 130, 191, 210, 218, 275. 
 
 letters from, 193, 194. 
 
 extract from sermon of, 275. 
 
 note by, 2S3, 284. 
 " State Services" in St. Margaret's Church, 289, 290. 
 Stowe and Wootton, residences of Duke of Buckingham, some 
 
 interesting features of, 37, 38. 
 Stratford-upon-Ayon FotrsTAix, 191-269. 
 Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, extract from, 212-241. 
 Sunday at Home, London, extract from, 283, 284. 
 
 Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, poet, manuscript draught of his dedi- 
 catory poem to the Queen, 62. 
 lines of, under Caxton Window in St. Margaret's, 293. 
 Thackeray, William Makepeace, manuscript of his " Lectures 
 
 on the Four Georges," 59. 
 Ticknor, W. D., publisher, visits Philadelphia, 19. 
 
 death of, 20, 21. 
 Tilden and Hayes campaign, 76-81. 
 
 Union Printer, The, Xew York, editorial on Mr. Childs's birth- 
 day, 387. 
 
 Victoria, Queen, Jubilee Year of, 197-199, 202-204, 207, 209, 
 212, 215, 218, 230, 237, 248, 250, 255, 265. 
 
 message from, 232, 249, 257. 
 
 toast to, 226, 232. 
 "Vignettes of Travel," quotation from, 285, 286. 
 
 Walter, John, proprietor of London Times, entertains Mr. 
 
 Childs at " Bearwood," 40. 
 writes to Mr. Childs, 95. 
 
 present at dedication of Shakespeare Fountain, 2-18. 
 proposes toast to Mr. Childs and gives short sketch of his 
 
 life, 232-236, 251, 254, 260. 
 
404 ' Index. 
 
 Walton, Izaak, author, 281. * 
 
 Warwick Advertiser, extract from, 249. 
 
 Washington, George, President of United States, letter of, 66. 
 Weed, Thurlow, journalist, 29, 30. 
 
 Westminster Abbey, Herbert and Cowper Window in, 192, 196, 
 202, 210, 218, 255, 264, 274-277, 280, 282, 2S3, 299, 304, 
 307. 
 description of, 284-286. 
 West Point Military Academy, 139-183. 
 monuments in cemetery at, 140, 141. 
 
 portraits of Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan pre- 
 sented to Military Academy, and ceremonies attending, 
 140, 145-165. 
 description of portraits, 147, 163, 164, 169, 175. 
 West Point Report, 179, 183. 
 
 Wheeler, General, introduces West Point Bill, ISO, 181. 
 Whitman, Walt, poet, visits Mr. Childs, 130. 
 Whittier, John G., poet, letters from, 217, 218, 254, 258, 302. 
 lines of, under Milton Window in St. Margaret's, 296, 298, 
 301, 305. 
 Wilson, Henry, Vice-President of United States, visits Mr. 
 Childs, 75, 76, 127. 
 death of, 76. 
 Wilson, John M., Colonel, superintendent of Military Acad- 
 emy, 146, 148, 164. 
 accepts portraits for Academy, 150. 
 Winter, William, journalist, description of Shakespeare Foun- 
 tain, 263. 
 Winthrop, Hon. Robert C, extract from letter of, 110. 
 is a guest of Mr. Childs, 131. 
 
 inscription in church at Elberon, New Jersey, on General 
 Grant, 90. 
 Woodcock, Catherine, wife of Milton, 290-292, 297, 298, 304. 
 Wordsworth, William, poet, 56. 
 
 Young, John Russell, journalist, accompanies General Grant 
 on his tour around the world, 119. 
 appointment as Minister to China, 123. 
 letter from, 380. - 
 
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