I 4mfi^ mmmm 'V.iiimm^-i:^>'^S;^SmiWSm^.^.mmi!!:i^^ ■s-., './^zif'y^f '>^f'i-^'«o LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 ' founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER MMJIU^ ENOWNED •CHICAGO- THE MADISON BOOK CO' •PublisKcr** Copyright, I'iXj'S BY L. G. STAHL. l(cU F^J^^si^ I. GEORGE WASHINGTON THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY Broad-minded, higher-souled, there is but one Who was all this and ours, and all men's — Washington. — Lowell. i ^•j OING down the Potomac river by steamer from Washington I '^TT to Norfolk, the most interesting sight by the way, if you V_-J~- have a gleam of historical imagination, is Mount Vernon, associated as it is with so much that is tender and beautiful in the domestic life of Washington, and hallowed as the place of his burial. Though he spent many sorrowful years away from it in the service of his country, this was the home to which his heart fondly turned through all the years of his manhood. A few miles below Mount Vernon you will begin to strain your eyes for another spot, dear to every American, the place where Washington was born. It is now more than a century and a half since it ceased to be his home, and the house has entirely disap- peared, but a few old-fashioned garden shrubs and one or two leafless fig-trees suggest the spot where Washington was once a child and enable us to rebuild in fancy the home in which the greatest of Amer- icans found birth. The house was a low, one-story frame building with four rooms below and an old-fashioned attic under the steep roof. The site is marked by a small stone tablet. Here George Washington was born, February 22, 1732, one year before Georgia, the youngest of the thirteen colonies which he was to unite into a nation, was settled. GEORGE WASHINGTON He showed his characteristic good judgment in his choice of parents. His father, Augustine Washington, was a man of high character. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary Ball, was an ,T-T 'fi- \ _, / jH ^% t\ *«"ffc- intelligent and "" beautiful woman, worthy in every respect of the honor which George Washington paid her ;;-= when he became her son. George was his mother's eldest boy, but there were two older half-brothers, mount vernon and the tomb of Washington. Lawrence and Au- gustine, Mary Ball having been a second wife. Three younger brothers and two sisters came in the course of a few years to com- plete the family. -k^ THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY. When George was still a very young child, the Washington family removed to an estate near Fredericksburg, on the Rappahan- nock river. The house, like the one on the Potomac, has long since tumbled to ruins. Here his father died when George was about eleven years old. It is probable that the training which he had given his son had done much to start him in the right direction and make him the great man ^ he came to be. The ^^^^ ^j- '' story of the cherry tree and others of its kind are not now generally believed by scholars. It would be a great pity to give them up, but it would be a still greater pity to make sport of them, as some peo- ple are fond of doing; for if they are not literally true, still they are true in a very high and noble sense, much as the para- bles of the Bible are true, although the actual events which they record may never have taken place. The story of the cherry tree proves the belief of Augustine Washington's neigh- bors that he was a man who placed a high regard upon truth and truth-telling. It shows that, in the opinion of those who knew him best, he trained his son to that high ideal, and that the son, even at that tender age, had begun to show the results of his training. Mary Ball had been a beauty and a belle in her girlhood. She GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE HATCHET. GEORGE WASHINGTON became a woman fit to be trusted with the education of a boy whom the country would need for high uses by and by. Augustine Washington was a rich man, according to the ideas of his time. He willed the farm on the Rappahannock to his son George. Mount Vernon he left to his eldest son, Lawrence, who died young, and, after the early death of his daughter, Mount Vernon passed to George. The farm on the Rappahannock remained the family home during all of George's boyhood. It often seems as if it were an advantage to a boy to be born poor. Many of our Presidents and other famous men and women have begun life under very hard circumstances and have had to fight poverty through many weary years. This sometimes makes it seem as if it required poverty and hardship to make a great man. This advantage George Washington did not have, and it was given him to prove that a rich boy as well as a poor one may rise to high places and fill them nobly. ' ' A man may live nobly though in a palace, " said the old Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Washington's opportunities were of a very different kind from those of Lincoln, but no one can find much fault with the result in either case. Perhaps any kind of circumstances may be an advantage to a boy if he is only the right kind of boy to begin with. There were few schools in those early days in Virginia, and the Washington children were taught mainly at home. We read of a number of different tutors who had charge of George's education at different times. He seems to have been careful and painstaking in all his work, as is shown by his copybooks and other exercises, many of which have been preserved. When he was about thirteen he wrote out a hundred and ten sayings, which he called ' ' Rules of Courtesy and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation." Where he obtained these rules is not known. Many of them are written in boyish language, and some have therefore thought them his own composition ; but, on the other hand, others seem over wise and old for a boy of his age. This, however, might have been due to the character of his reading and companions. His mother often read to him from a serious and thoughtful book called ' ' Contempla- tions, Moral and Divine, by Sir Matthew Hale. " He spent a great deal of his time with Lord Fairfax, a distant relative, a man of fine THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY. education, who wrote well and had been the friend of Addison, a great master of the Enghsh language. He was very fond of George, and took a deep interest in his education. Perhaps it was from this GOOD BYE MY SON, GOD BLESS YOU. friend that Washington learned that exact use of English which enabled him in later life to express whatever he had in mind in the clearest way. It seems a httle strange that he was not given the GEORGE WASHINGTON advantages of a college training. He never became a man of great learning. But he was thoroughly at home in the branches of a com- mon English education, and read many of the best books. It was early settled in the Washington family that George was to make his own way in life just as if he had no property. Indeed, neither he nor any one else seems ever to have thought of anything different. When he was about fourteen years of age he began to have a longing for a sailor's life, and for a time his mother thought seriously of permitting him to go to sea. There is a pretty story to the effect that he was about to start, and that his trunk had been sent on board ship, when, finding his mother in tears, he resolved to abandon his plan and ordered his trunk recalled. The truth is that Mrs. Wash- ington was advised by her brother against this course, and withdrew her consent. This again does not destroy the tradition, but simply gives it point. The story would never have been thought of in con- nection with a boy who was not kind and obedient to his mother, and it would not have been believed and repeated if it had not fitted the character of the boy. Whenever in the interest of truth we have to throw a story away, it will be worth while to look behind it and see if it does not mean something that is really worth saving. It was not more than a year after this that he became acquainted with a young lady whom he called ' ' The Lowland Beauty, " to whom he addressed some rather poor poetry. Here are some sample lines chosen at random, and copied exactly, capitals and all : *' Oh, ye Gods why should my Poor Resistless Heart Stand to oppose thy might and Power At Last surrender to cupid's feather'd Dart, And now lays Bleeding every Hour." If you would like to see the rest of it, you will find it in Edward Everett Hale's Life of George Washington. He was very wretched about this time, and thought he should never be happy again. It is surprising to find that he afterwards met several other young ladies whom he greatly admired, and that he at a still later period became very much attached to another beautiful woman and married her. But, of course, George Washington was different from other young THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY. men. A young person of our day would never recover from such a blow. Besides, the poetry helped to make him less "miserable. The writing of poetry is a kind of lightning-rod, a harmless conductor of emotions which might otherwise rend and torture the young soul. It is not certainly known who "The Lowland Beauty" was, but it is believed that she was the lady who afterwards married Richard Henry Lee, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. If this is true, she had the good fortune to become the mother of the gallant and dashing "Light-Horse Harry," of Revolutionary fame, and now still further famous as the father of General Robert E. Lee. Washington had still other resources in his trouble, hard work and hard fare, for he began soon after this to study and practice surveying. He learned his business so well that he was made sur- veyor of Culpepper County, Virginia, when he was only seventeen years old. He did his work of surveying the county so well that later surveyors have not had to do it over again. And now we begin to come upon stirring times. The French and English both claimed the land west of the Alle- ghany mountains, and the French were beginning to build forts in the valley of the Ohio. The English regarded this as trespassing on their property, and Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, decided to send a messenger to find out what the French intended to do. He wanted the bravest and wisest man he could find for this expedition. He chose Gecrrge Washington, then a youth of twenty-one years, who was afterwards ^spoken of by Thomas Carlyle in his ' ' Life of Frederick the Great, " as "a steady-going, considerate, close-mouthed young gentleman, who came to great distinction in the end." It was a dangerous journey of eight or nine hundred miles, through a wilder- ness full of hostile Indians, in the depth of winter. He started out with seven companions, accomplished his mission and returned home in safety after three months of terrible hardship. "From that moment, " says Washington Irving, who has written a charming life of Washington, "he was the rising boy of Virginia." The time had now come when the question whether the French or the English were to rule this continent must be settled. It took the " Seven Years' War " to decide it. In this war George Washing- GEORGE WASHINGTON ton gave the first command and fired the first bullet. In writing an account of a skirmish in which he had been engaged, he said, "The whistle of bullets was like music." This account reached England, and the king was inclined to make sport of it, saying, "If he had heard more he would not have thought so. " Years after, when some- n e asked him if he had ever made such a remark, Washington replied, "If 1 did so, it must have been when I was very voung. " He bore an active and honor- able part throughout the entire vvar. Before it ended he _^^ .-^ .^^^,^ -^ had met WASHINGTON AND HIS MEN HUNTING INDIAN TRACKS. MrS, Martha C u s 1 1 s, a young Virginian widow of much beauty and many accompHshments, and had engaged himself to marry her. The marriage took place as soon as peace was restored and the French had gone over the sea, and Washington settled down at Mt. Vernon, which had now become ^ / * 1 THE FATHER OP HIS COUNTRY, his property, to the quiet hfe of a southern planter. This was to last until the next great war. But his state could not give up his services entirely during those years of peace. Every year for fifteen years he was sent to the Virginia assembly to help make the laws. At the MARTHA WASHINGTON. first meeting of the assembly after peace had been made, Mr. Robin- son, the Speaker of the House, made a speech in which he* thanked Washington for his services during the war. It was unexpected, and the young soldier was embarrassed. He stammered and blushed, but GEORGE WASHINGTON said nothing. ' ^ ' ,i I do not admit fail- ure; I admit success to be incomplete. — Gladstone, ^ m&sA ^^ HE year 1809 would be memorable '13-. enough in the rec- ords of the English-speak- ing race if it had given to the world only Abraham Lincoln among those who should live in history. It gave also William Ewart Gladstone, one of the greatest statesmen of his own or any other time. He was born in Liverpool on the 29th of December. Many generations back, it is recorded that the family name was Gledstanes. It was later changed to Gladstones, and two or three generations back of the subject of the sketch, it dropped the s and became Gladstone. WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE William E. Gladstone was a Scotch Englishman. His father, Sir John Gladstone, was a Lowland Scotchman, his mother a High- GLADSTONE'S ANCESTORS WERE GRAIN MERCHANTS. lander. Sir John was a man of great energy, as might have been expected of the father of William Ewart. He was a wealthy and thriving grain merchant of Liverpool, as was his father before him. THE GRAND OLD MAN. His wife, the mother of William, was a woman of many accomplish- ments. She is said to have been a descendant of Robert Bruce of Scotland. GI.ADSTONE; SERVING THE UPPER FORM BOYS AT ETON. Four sons and two daughters came into the Gladstone home. One son besides William became a member of Parhament, and an- WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE other was at one time mayor of Liverpool. The daughters died young. William outlived all the others many years. The father seems to have known how to whet his children's minds for knowledge. No question was ever looked upon as settled until it had been well discussed and the boys put on their mettle in the debate. It was here when a very young lad that William Gladstone began his career as an orator. ETON COLLEGE. For a short time he attended a private school near Liverpool. When he was eleven years old, the great world began to open to him through the gates of Eton, a quaint old school for boys, which was founded in the fifteenth century by King Henry VI. Eton is twenty-two miles southwest of London and just across the Thames from Windsor Castle. It is one of the most interesting places in all England. The chapel is very beautiful. A great many distinguished THE GRAND OLD MAN, men began their education here, and many now famous names are carved with jack-knives on the desks and walls — among them that of Gladstone. There he became acquainted with the curious custom of fagging, which in all the great English schools has come down from a time so long ago that no one knows how it began. Its main feature is that the lower class, or lower form boys, as they are called there, shall wait upon the upper form boys, cooking their breakfasts, brushing their clothes and doing everything which the upper boys would have to do for themselves if they had no one to take the place of a servant. The wealthiest boys in the kingdom are educated at these schools and take the part of fags like the others. A grandson of Queen Vic- toria is now at Eton and blacks the boots of his superior as cheerfully as if he had always been accustomed to such service. William Gladstone was called the prettiest little boy that ever went to Eton, and the description must have been a true one, for a recent writer who has known him well for many years says he was the handsomest old man that ever went to Eton or anywhere else. He is not remembered by his Eton mates as having been a great athlete in those days. He cared little for games, but was fond of rowing and walking. He preferred such studies as history and languages to mathematics and science. He took a prominent part in the debates of the Eton society and edited the Eton ' ' Miscellany. " Here is one stanza of a poem which he wrote in Eton days to the memory of Wat Tyler, a labor agitator of the time of Richard II. : " Shade of him whose valiant tongue On high the song of freedom sung ! Shade of him whose mighty soul Would pay no taxes on his poll! " He wrote some creditable Latin verses, a long poem on Richard Coeur de Lion, and a paper on "Eloquence," in which occurred the following almost prophetic words : "A successful debut, an offer from the minister, a Secretaryship of State, and even the Premiership itself, are the objects which form the vista along which a young visionary loves to look." The future was already stirring in the young man's heart. WILLIAM B. GLADSTONE After leaving Eton he studied for some time with a private tutor and entered Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1829. Oxford is one of the two great universities of England, Cam- bridge being the other one. It is very old and it has been said that one of its colleges was built by King Alfred. That, however, is only a tradition. Many curious old customs are still kept up here, as at Eton. One is that of bringing in the boar's head on a platter at Christmas time, while the old noels, or Christmas carols, are sung. . CHRIST CHURCH COLLEGE — OXFORD. Young Gladstone soon took high rank in Oxford. He took plenty of recreation, mingled freely in the social life of the students, and spent more time in athletics than he had in Eton. But during his study hours his door was locked and no one ever saw him. The future was calling him for great matters and he was beating out the answer in the silence of his chamber. He became Secretary and afterwards President of the Union Debating Society. Some one has said that the members of this club THE GRAND OLD MAN. were conceited enough to think that the Prime Minister was watching them for members of the Cabinet. It would not have been great presumption on the part of the young men if they had beHeved so, for, during the century, Christ Church College alone has given eight Prime Ministers to England, including Gladstone himself. Young Gladstone must have already begun to give promise of the greatness within him, for Bishop Wordsworth declared that he knew Gladstone would be Prime Minister when he heard him deliver his maiden speech in the Union Debating Society, though it is perhaps a little unfortunate for the Bishop's reputation as a seer that he did not make his prophecy public until after it was fulfilled. DINING HALL — CHRIST CHURCH COLLEGE, OXFORD. Not content with such societies as were already existing, and longing, like Alexander, for more worlds to conquer, Gladstone established a society of his own, which used to meet regularly in the rooms of the students. It was at first named the Oxford Essay Club, but in time it adopted the initials of its founder and became the Weg. It would be interesting if we could find out just what influence Oxford had on this young man. This old university was then, and is to-day a little old-fashioned in its ideas. It thinks the old-time people, from Aristotle down to King James, knew pretty much all WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE that was worth knowing, and that all that has been found out since is of comparatively small consequence. Now there is a great deal of good in this spirit that preserves the wisdom of the past. Our forefathers did know a great deal that it is very well for us to hold fast to. And Oxford has often shown a splendid loyalty to the kings of Great Britain and has been magnifi- cently faithful to the Church of England. This is good, but there is always danger of standing still or even of going backwards, like the cray-fish, if you once make up your mind that the old institutions are as good as they can be made. The Stuart kings, and even some of the kings of the House of Hanover, to which Queen Victoria belongs, have made some mistakes in governing. They believed in the ' ' divine right of kings " to rule the people in their own way, and they thought that all the people should have to do with the government was to be governed by it and say nothing. The professors and students of Oxford have usually stood for the "divine right of kings," and have generally thought that nothing in the Church of England could be improved, from an article of the creed to the pattern of a Bishop's gown. Now if everybody had always believed that the old things were as good as they could be made, and the old ways as good as could be found out, we should still be living in caves with the cave bear, like our far-away ancestors of some thousands of years ago; and the caves would have no electric lighting, or hot and cold water connections, or steam heating, or anything that we in these days think comfortable. The spirit of Cambridge is somewhat different. The faculty there have more often stood for the rights of the people against the kings, and perhaps a little more often for the people's privilege to think for themselves in matters of religion. But there is no danger that even Cambridge will turn the world upside down with new notions. In England the party which supported the king against the people whenever there were differences between them, has for many years been called the Tory party; while those who stood for the claims of the people have been called the Whigs. At the present day the Tories are usually called Conservatives, and the Whigs are called Liberals. I have taken some time to explain the use of these %HB GRAND OLD MAN. WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE terms because we come across them often in reading the later life of Gladstone. The color worn by the members of Oxford University is dark blue, while the Cambridge color is light blue. Now if you were watching a boat race on the Thames between the Oxford and Cam- bridge crews, and if I were to tell you that everybody whom you saw wearing the Oxford dark blue was a Tory in political matters, or a Conservative, as we say now, and that they also belonged to the English church, while every one wearing the light blue was a Whig, or Liberal, and believed that the state and the church ought to be independent of each other, I should not be telling you the truth; and it would be a very shameful business, for a great many Oxford people are Liberals and a great many Cambridge people are Conservatives. But it would be considerably truer than if I were to say just the opposite. Now this Conservative or pre-servative spirit as we might call it, in Oxford as elsewhere, while it often acted to preserve the best things, was sometimes concerned to preserve things not so good. When William Gladstone was in college, slaves were still held in the British colonies. The Tory element, which we have seen prevailed in Oxford, did not indeed believe that human slavery was right, but it thought the time had not yet come for freeing the slaves, and there was an old law still on the statute books which forbade either Catholics or Jews to sit in Parliament. The Whigs were trying to do away with these unjust laws. The Tories upheld them. We scarcely need to be told that Oxford stood by the old laws. As yet young Gladstone showed no tendencies to disagree with his Oxford training. He made speeches in college on all these questions and always on the Conservative side. Says Justin McCarthy, one of his latest biog- raphers, "His mind would appear to have been a sort of mirror of the general mind of Oxford — a veneration for the past, a love of tradition, a romantic sentiment of reverence for the ancient institu- tions of the country, and yet a mind open to see the inevitable tendencies of the future. " Many years later, looking back upon his youthful attitude towards these great questions, Mr. Gladstone said: " I trace in the education of Oxford of my own time one great defect. Perhaps it THE GRAND OLD MAN. was my fault; but I must admit that I did not learn, when at Oxford, that which I have learned since, namely, to set a due value on the imperishable principles of human hberty .... I can only assure you, gentlemen, that now I am in front of extended popular privileges, I have no fear of those enlargements of the constitution that seem to be approaching. On the contrary, I hail them with desire." He was destined before many years to throw all the weight of his splendid intellect and all the force of his giant character into the other side of the scale. He graduated with the highest honors in 1831 and went to Italy, expecting to spend some time in study and travel, but was called back in the course of a few months at the invitation of the Duke of New- castle, to become a candidate for the House of Commons. In England the election of members is managed quite differently from the way it is done in our Congressional elections. In the first place, a candidate need not be elected by the district in which he happens to live, but may be sent by any community that is entitled to a member by law. I am speaking of the lower House, or House of Commons. The upper House of Parliament is of course filled by Lords and Bishops, whose office is either inherited or subject to appointment by the queen or prime minister. And in the days of which I am writing, the people of the borough, as a town entitled to a representative was called, had in many places scarcely any claim to elect the members themselves. Often all or nearly all the land in a borough would be owned by one man or family, who generally claimed the right to require his tenants to vote as he wished. This often left the election of a candidate practically in the hands of one man. Such boroughs were called pocket boroughs. Before 1832, also, there had been ' ' rotten boroughs, " as they were called, where the population was so small that they were not rightfully entitled to representation. An instance of this was Old Sarum, which had not a house in its borders, but sent two representatives to Parliament every year, while Birmingham, a large and industrious city, had no representative at all. The Reform Bill of 1832 did much to remedy these evils, and consequently a great many Liberals were chosen for the Parliament WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE of 1833. It was called the Reformed Parliament, and was the first in which William Gladstone sat. In the Duke of Newcastle's borough he openly claimed the right to control the votes of his tenants. * ' Have I not a right to do what I like with my own? " he asked. And it is an open secret that he chose Gladstone for the position because he believed the young man from Oxford was ' ' against any and every reform. " His son had been a college mate of Gladstone's and had heard him make a speech which gave that impression. It sounds very strange to us, who have thought of him as the leader in all great reforms in England for many years. At the time of taking his seat in the first Parliament, Gladstone was a handsome young man of twenty-four, with a fine physique, a pale face, splendid eyes, and hair black as night; and he grew hand- somer as the years went on. Says Mr. Justin McCarthy, who knew him intimately for many years: "I do not believe I ever saw a more magnificent human face than that of Mr. Gladstone after he had grown old. Of course the eyes were always superb. Many a stranger, looking at Gladstone for the first time, saw the eyes and only the eyes, and could think for the moment of nothing else. Age never dimmed the fire of those eyes. " There were several names in that first Parliament that have since become renowned names of history. Among these were Sir Robert Peel, Lord Macaulay, now so famous in literature, Grote, the historian of Greece, and, last but not least, the great Irish orator, Daniel O'Connell, for whom Gladstone soon formed a strong and lifelong attachment. Gladstone was for many years a consistent follower of that Tory policy which he had inherited from his beloved Oxford. His father owned property and held slaves in the West Indies. He made a speech in which he defended his father's course in regard to slavery. He believed in emancipation, but thought it should be gradual and that the slaves should be educated before being freed. He said: " Let fitness be made a condition for emancipation; and let us strive to bring him to that fitness by the shortest possible course." He did not then see that the best and oftentimes the only preparation for freedom is freedom itself. THE GRAND OLD MAN. o < to o w o w w < w Q WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE Fortunately, there were those who saw farther; and this same Parliament, through the efforts of Wilberforce and certain others, passed a bill for immediate emancipation and appropriated twenty million pounds to pay the slave owners for their property. It seems a pity that Gladstone had not a nobler part in this. On another of the great questions of the day he took at this time the side that was opposed to liberty. This was the Irish church question. The great majority of the Irish people were Catholic, then as now. Yet the Enghsh Parliament maintained a Protestant church in that island and levied taxes to support it. This compelled the Catholic majority to support a church which they hated. The law was not changed until 1869, giving Mr. Gladstone time to change his mind and vote on the side of religious freedom. He was never ashamed or afraid to change sides when he found that he had been in the wrong. About the time he entered Parliament he began to study law. This he continued for six years, and then gave up the desire to practice at the bar. But his legal training was not lost. It helped to clear his mind for those great political questions with which he was to grapple for so many years. In 1834 Gladstone was appointed Junior Lord of the Treasury, and the next year he became Under-Secretary for the colonies. In 1838 he published his first book, "The State in its Relations with the Church. " This made him many admirers and some enemies. The same year he made a second visit to Italy. While in Rome he met Miss Catherine Glynne, who was spending the winter there with her sister Mary and her mother, Lady Glynne, of Hawarden Castle, Wales. The sisters were charming girls and were known as ' ' the handsome Miss Glynnes. " He had known them before in Wales, and his friendship for Catherine now made rapid progress. They became engaged, and were married the next year. Since that time Hawarden Castle has been his home whenever his exacting political life has allowed him to escape from London. The old Hawarden Castle is now a picturesque ruin, covered with ivy. It was used as a fort in the wars of the Saxons and Danes. The present castle is a handsome structure built of gray stone. " Every- thing is old-fashioned, quiet and comfortable," says a writer in a THE GRAND OLD MAN. w Q < < < f4 w t-t ULYSSES S. GRANT Nothing could be tamer or more dispiriting than Grant's career up to this time. At the age of thirty-eight he had Httle behind him but disappointment, and, to all appearances, nothing before him but failure. He had not even succeeded in the most common-place of attempts, that of providing comfortably for his family. To add to his humiliation, he was dependent upon his brother for his new position in the tannery at Galena. He felt himself a drawback to their success. When he left his home in St. Louis to enter again upon the employment so hated in his boyhood, it was with a crushing sense of discouragement. But the trying Scenes of '6i to '65 were at hand, and Grant was destined to be one of the chief actors. He was to command a mill- ion men. He was to be an instrument in working out the salvation of a race. He was probably the only man on the American con- tinent who united the skill, the foresight and the nerve to accomplish that tremendous work in the wilderness of Virginia. When the great commander had again become a simple citizen, he was to be elected to the highest office the country had to give. He was to receive the highest honors that the royalty of the world could bestow. And he was to be followed to his grave by the loving memories of a gratefui people. But even after the war had begun, his destiny seemed to halt, and it was some time before he found a place where his talents could make themselves felt. In 1 86 1 the Civil War broke out, and President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand volunteers. Captain Grant, though a stranger, was called upon to preside at the first war meeting in Galena. He was soon asked to fill a clerkship in the office of the Adjutant-General of Illinois for a time. In May following he wrote to the Adjutant-General of the army, at Washington, offering his services for the army. He never received an answer to his letter. He made two attempts to see General McClellan, whom he had known in Mexico, and who he hoped would offer him a position in his army. He was unable to find General McClellan, and so carried home another disappointment. It was a disappointment which led to success. When the Presi- dent issued his next call for volunteers, the Governor of Illinois THE MAN OF SILENCE. GENERAL MCCLELLAN. appointed Captain Grant colonel of the 21st regiment. From this time on success awaited the man whom failure had followed like a shadow since the close of the Mexican war. He was made l/LVSSBS S. GRANT Brigadier-General before he had fought his first battle in the Civil War. In the spring of 1862 the country began to hear of his success. In April he took Ft. Henry. In a few days more he sent his famous message to General Buckner: " No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender will be received. I propose to move immedi- ately upon your works." Ft. Donelson with 15,000 prisoners fell into his hands, and "Unconditional Surrender Grant" became the hero of the North. His initials suggested a new name, and "Uncon- ditional Surrender Grant " became the hero of the North. RECRUITS TO THE FRONT. The desperate battle of Shiloh followed in April and success again perched upon his banners. In October he began his campaign against Vicksburg, which held out against him until July of 1863. The people of the city dug caves in the earth where they lived to avoid the shells and bullets that were pouring in upon them. Food in Vicksburg was scarce and supplies of all kinds ran very low. During all this time the Yankee and Rebel soldiers were on the best of terms whenever they happened to meet in a personal way. They THE MAN OF SILENCE. ULYSSES S. GRANT would often ' ' swap " stories with one another across the trenches and the Union soldiers sometimes divided their rations with the hungry "Johnnies." "Well, Yank, when are you coming into town?" the Con- federates would ask. " We will celebrate the Fourth of July there, Johnny," and they did. The Vicksburg paper, after quoting this boast, added: "The best recipe for cooking a rabbit is, 'first ketch your rabbit. ' " The morning paper of the Fourth of July, which was printed on the plain side of wall-paper, admitted, ' ' The Yankees have caught the rabbit." Five days later, Port Hudson surrendered, and four hundred miles of the Mississippi river was set free. In November of the same year. General Grant again led the army to a brilliant success in the great battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. All this time the great Union army under General McClellan and others in Virginia was accomplishing nothing. The nation began to turn to Grant as its only resource. In March, 1864, President Lincoln appointed him Lieutenant-General and made him practically commander-in-chief of all the armies. He at once set about plan- ning the two great campaigns which ended the war. He was himself to lead the Army of the Potomac through Virginia to Richmond, the Confederate capital. General Sherman was to ' ' march through Georgia " to the sea and then northward to meet General Grant at Richmond. We know how well that plan was carried out. On the 4th of May, General Grant started his army across the Rapidan toward Richmond, and, seated on a log, penciled a telegram to Sherman to start at once. General Lee, with the worn-out and hungry but resolute Army of Virginia, was ready to dispute every inch of the way to Richmond. At the battle of the Wilderness the brave General Lee stopped the Union army with terrible slaughter and thought General Grant would turn back. Grant thought differently. He issued the order which became famous during that campaign, " Forward by the right flank,'' and moved on. At Spottsylvania Court House another terrible battle was fought. The bullets fliew so thick that a tree a foot and a half in diameter was cut down by them. It was at this time that Grant i/LYSSBS S. GRANT' BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS. sent his famous message, ' ' I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." North Anna, Cold Harbor and other terrible ULYSSES S. GRANT UNITED STATES SOLDIERS MARCHING TO THE FRONT. battles followed, and before General Grant reached Richmond the remnants of Lee's army were in a pitiful condition. It is a tale of terrible bloodshed, but it was the only way. An incident following the battle of Shiloh shows that Grant had a tender heart, and did not THE MAN OF SILENCE. love fighting for its own sake. The night after the battle, a pouring rain came down upon the army. General Grant was attempting to sleep under a tree near the banks of the river. ' ' Some time after midnight, " he writes, ' ' growing restive under the storm and the con- tinuous rain, I moved back to the log-house under the bank. This had been taken as a hospital, and all night wounded men were brought in, their wounds dressed, a leg or an arm amputated, as the case might require, and everything being done to save life or alleviate suffering. The sight was more unendurable than encountering the enemy's fire, and I returned to my tree in the rain. " Yet this man who was so sensitive to the sight of pain, had the courage to fight it out to the end, because he believed the bloody road was the only way to peace. On the 9th of April, the two Generals met at Appomattox Court House and made arrangements for the surrender of the Southern army. The interview was courteous and kindly throughout. After the agreement had been written out. General Lee said he had forgotten to mention that most of his men rode their own horses. General Grant said at once that they might keep them, for they would need them on their farms. The Southern army was out of food and General Grant ordered full rations to be sent them. When the news of the surrender reached the Union army, they began firing guns to show their joy. This Grant forbade at once, saying the Southern army had been already sufficiently humbled. The other Southern armies surrendered in a short time, and the war was soon ended. The next year a new rank was created for the great commander and he was made General of the Army. In 1868, and again in 1872, he was elected President of the United States. He filled this position as he did all others, honestly and nobly, though, perhaps, not wisely in all cases. He was so honest and simple-minded that he was sometimes deceived by villain- ous office-seekers. In 1877 General Grant made a tour of the world with his family and other friends, meeting ever^'where with distinguished attention, as befitted the brave, modest man who had wrought so heroically for his kind. The crowned heads of Europe vied with one another in ULYSSES S. GRANT. honoring themselves by paying honor to this plain, unassuming citizen- soldier of the West. On his return he bought a home in New York city, where he and his family lived for the rest of his life, spending the summers generally at Long Branch. About this time General Grant invested everything he had saved in a New York banking house, with one of his sons to look after the business. Through the villainy of two of the partners, the business failed in 1884 and the General was robbed of nearly everything he possessed. During the same year a fatal cancerous trouble began to develop in his throat, and he saw death at the door with his family unprovided for. Up to this time he had refused several tempting offers to do literary work. In February, 1885, he engaged to write the two volumes of his Memoirs, from which we have several times quoted in this little sketch. Again he seemed to be animated by the same spirit of determination which had possessed him in the Wilder- ness of Virginia. He completed the work four days before his death, which took place at Mt. McGregor, near Saratoga, New York, much of it having been written under pressure of great pain, as he sat propped up in bed or in a reclining chair. The sale of the book was enormous and the proceeds made an abundant provision for Mrs. Grant and her children. It was a simple, straight-forward story of a modest, noble life. A few characteristic, and, let us hope, prophetic lines from his last pages are fitting words to end this record: " I feel that we are on the eve of a new era, when there is to be great har- mony between the Federal and Confederate. I cannot stay to be a living witness to the correctness of this prophecy ; but I feel it within me that it is to be so. The universally kind feeling expressed for me at a time when it was supposed that each day would prove my last, seemed to me the beginning of the answer to ' Let us have peace. GEORGE DEWEY THE MAN WHO "STEAMED AHEAD" VERY child contains within him in embryo the quahties that he displays in maturity. Environment and training will develop certain latent qualities more than others, but it is to be doubted if they can create in a man a capacity for any one thing "i which was not born in him. Any study of mankind which fails to take notice of both environment and heredity will fail in complete- ness. In America we feel that an- -1 cestry has little influence in Xjfixing a man's station among his ■" fellows, each must be judged by his works, yet we cannot ignore the factor of family in discovering the source of the qualities which gain any special prominence for their possessor. The ancestors of George Dewey, the subject of this sketch, came to America from England. History tells us that they were immi- grants to England some generations earlier, and family was of French extraction. In its form the name was spelled Deueua. Tiecords of the family show one of the j^ - that the f^2f~^ original Early dewey's first cruise GEORGE DSWEY ancestors as a successful general in the French armies. George Dewey, the hero of Manila Bay, is of the ninth generation from the first Dewey who came to America. The first Dewey emigrated from Sandwich, England, in 1633, and settled in the Massachusetts Bay colony at Dorchester. From here the family scattered, one branch locating in New York and one in Vermont. It is from the latter that the great admiral is descended. The Deweys were keen business men, able to figure out the chances in enterprises involving great risk, and willing to take any risk necessary when the chances had been once satisfactorily calculated. Another characteristic was their ex- ceeding great independence. They were not even clannish with their relatives, seeming to choose their friendships within or without the family, as was most congenial to them. Simeon Dewey, the grandfather of George Dewey, was born in Hanover, New Hampshire. In early manhood he bought a farm in Berlin, Vermont, only four miles from Montpelier, the capital of the Green Mountain State, and there the admiral's father was born in 1 80 1. This grandfather, Simeon Dewey, was one of the long-lived members of the long-lived family. One anecdote relates that the admiral's brother, when in England some time ago, happened to hear a Britisher say, ' 'Americans are undersized and die early because they live upon pork and ice-water. " Mr. Dewey dryly replied that it had been a mystery to him why his grandfather Simeon had been prematurely cut off at the early age of ninety-three. To him pork and ice-water were essentials. When the admiral's father, Julius Yeman's Dewey, was twenty- one years old, he moved to Montpelier, and there married Miss Mary Perrin three years later. Of this union four children were born, Charles, Edward, George and Mary. The mother died when George was but five years old, but the father was married twice more before his death at the age of seventy-six years. Here in Montpelier, George Dewey was born on December 26, 1837. The house of his birth still stands almost as it was then, a modest, neat New England home, like thousands of others out of which have come strong men and women to do their part in the battles of life. The father of the family was a man of the highest New England type. As a school- teacher in Montpelier he earned money to study medicine and take THE MAN WHO ''STEAMED AHEAD'' CAPT. SIMEON DEWEY (grandfather). FOUR GENERATIONS. GEORGE DEWEY (at age of 30). GEORGE GODWIN DEWEY (son; DR. JULIUS YEMANS DEWEY (father). GEORGE DEWEY his degree. He was an early riser and taught his children to follow his example. He was a man of deep religious convictions and active in the practical work of the church. Family prayers and grace before meals were the practice of the Dewey home. Hymns were sung on Sunday evenings, the doctor leading the singing. He loved not only his own children but all children and this trait the admiral inherited from him. He told stories and carried sunshine with him wherever he went and he was a welcome visitor all over the surround- ing country. The Montpelier into which George Dewey was born on the day after Christmas, 1837, was not immensely different from the Montpe- lier of to-day. There were the same white cottages with green blinds, the same picket fences, the same river and the same New England hills. The people were prosperous and thrifty as they are now. Fine elms lined the streets as they do to-day, and the town was clean and well-kept. In former days the Onion river, now called the Winooski, ran just behind the house, and many of the tales of Dewey's child- hood are connected with this river. One old friend recalls his first introduction to little George when he was brought from the river, a barefoot boy, to meet the stranger in the parlor. His sister Mary, two years younger than himself, admired his prowess and imperson- ated whatever character was necessary to make his own play com- plete. They fished together and took mountain tramps together as other children do to-day. George was not a great reader, but "Robinson Crusoe" won his favor and suggested new games. Then when he was ten, his brother Charles gave him a ' ' Life of Hannibal." A big snow-drift answered for the Alps, and the two 3'ounger children set to work to emulate the Carthaginian leader. Mary suffered a week's sickness in bed thereby, but George escaped unscathed from his adventure. By the older people of Montpelier, George Dewey is remembered as a good deal of a rogue. He was a harum-scarum lad, always in mischief, and more than one of his pranks are remembered to this day. He was the best swimmer among all the boys of his age and nothing was too reckless for him to undertake. At winter sports he was regarded as one of the best in the village. In the summer one of his chief pleasures was climbing such trees as contained the earliest THE MAN WHO ''STEAMED AHEAD'' apples and the choicest cherries, and it was never observed that he was over particular whose orchard he visited. He was something of a fighter, too, and while details are lacking, it is said that George always was the victor. A favorite amusement of the youngsters was the giving of cir- cuses, dramas and minstrel shows in the Dewey barn. George was impressario, director, prompter, business and stage manager and usually star of the performances. The same kind sister was at his service there as elsewhere, though she did not enjoy participating in the shows. On one occasion, however, she relates, the ten-year-old leading lady was missing and George drew her into service as an understudy to play the part at a moment's notice. To her protest that she did not know all the lines, he answered that that made no difference, as he would fire his pistol at any place where she stumbled and that would conceal her difficulty. The solution was a happy one. The audience was delighted at the interpolation, failing to discover the depth of the scheme, and the affair passed off without a hitch. Then the neighbors made a protest on the pis- tol feature of the play, and Dewey's father forbade further shows of the sort. One day when he was not more than eleven, says the Review of Reviews, he started out in his father's buggy, accompanied by his friend, Will Redfield, bent upon an overland trip of adventure. But when they came to the Dog river, which enters the Winooski some dis- tance from the town, they found it higher than the oldest inhabitant ever had seen it, the ford impassable from recent rains. William prudently counseled turning back, but to this the future admiral would not listen. ' ' What man has done, man can do, " he said, and went at the ford "four bells." Needless to say, he found no bottom ; the buggy body went adrift and floated swiftly away toward Lake Champlain, while the admiral, serene as ever, and the thoroughly frightened William, clambered on board the horse and managed to land in safety. When the boy reached home, the doctor was away, and George went directly te bed, without waiting for supper. The father found him, and began to chide him for his rashness, when his son rephed: " You ought to be thankful that my life wath thpared ! " GEORGE DEWEY When the time came for George Dewey to begin his school days, he was sent first to the Washington county grammar school in Mont- pelier. It had a bad reputation for order and more than one teacher had been compelled to give it up. Young Dewey was not backward in the troubles. There seems no doubt that he was a "sassy," obstinate schoolboy and that he deserved the punishment that came to him at last. The person who ' ' licked " him was a weak, under- sized school teacher, weighing ninety pounds, now Major Z. K. Pang- born, editor of the Jersey City Journal, and this is the story he tells: ' ' I took charge and for the first week there was no outbreak. George Dewey was one of the boldest and brightest of the younger lads, and above all things loved to fight. While there was nothing you could call bad about him, he resented authority and evinced a sturdy determination not to submit to it unless it suited him. "After the usual afternoon recess one Monday, Dewey did not return to the schoolroom. I sent for him, but the messenger returned saying that George had declared that he wasn't coming, and that I might go to he devil. After school that day, George, who had climbed into the cupola of the old statehouse, amused himself by pelting the children with snowballs, and when I went out and com- manded him to come down, he again advised me to go to the devil. I was mad, and when I got home I spent the evening perfecting a plan of campaign for the next day. I first of all provided myself with a very substantial rawhide, took it to the schoolroom and placed it over the ledge of the entrance door where it would be ready next day. I also secured two or three round sticks of cord wood and placed them on top of the wood-box ir^ the schoolroom where I could reach them easily. "Dewey came to school next day as if nothing had happened. His smile was both childlike and bland. I wasted no time in pre- liminaries, but as soon as the scholars were in their places, I sum- moned Dewey to the platform in a terrible voice. He came with a * sassy ' twinkle in his eyes, and seemed to survey my slender pro- portions with contempt. Then I began to talk, and wound up by saying that he must forthwith say he was sorry for having misbehaved himself, apologize both to me and to the school for what he had done and promise to be obedient and orderly in the future. I told him if THE MAN WHO ''STEAMED AHEAD'' he did not do this I should punish him then and there. Dewey laughed and once more invited me in quick, merry sentences to go to the devil. The next instant, I and the rawhide were winding and tossing around Dewey. I was little and slender, but so also was the rawhide and the two of us so demoralized Dewey that almost before I was aware of it he was lying in a heap on the floor, con- quered, while I glared over his prostrate form at the other rebel- lious spirits in the school." Then Mr. Pangborn told Dewey to go home, and went along with him. Mr. Dewey took culprit and dominie into his study and asked for the story, which was related. His father was a just man and told the boy that he had no one to blame but himself for the punishment, and that if it was not enough to teach him a lesson, another would be added to the one al- ready given him. Young Dewey was too big- hearted to harbor resentment against the school-master who did not fiinch from his duty, and they became great friends. A year later, when Mr. Pangborn went to the neighboring town of Johnson to establish an academy, George went there at his own request and entered the school. In 1852, when George was fifteen years of age, he went to the military school at Norwich, Vermont. It was there that he formed his admiration for military life and a wish to enter the Naval Academy at Annapolis. With his departure from Mont- pelier to enter the Naval Academy, young Dewey's actual residence in that town was at an end. The townspeople, however, never have lost sight of his career nor have they failed in pride at his success. When the news of his great victory came to that little city in Ver- GEORGE DEWEY WAS THE LAST MAN ON THE BURNING SHIP. GEORGE DEIVEY mont there was a celebration which in heartiness could not be ex- celled anywhere, however much it may have been outdone in volume. There has been no period in the career of George Dewey in which he has failed to make his mark. At the Annapolis Naval Academy he made a distinct impress by his clear individuality, and prepared the way for the distinctions he won in the war between the states. Dewey entered the Naval Academy in 1854, at the age of seventeen. His active, energetic life had brought him strength, endur- ance, and medium height. He needed not to retire before any of his classmates in outdoor exercises. When the Naval Academy class of 1858 was graduated, fourteen received diplomas out of the sixty-five boys who had begun the course together. Of the fourteen, George Dewey, then not twenty-one years old, stood fifth in rank. He had not proved himself an exceptional student, but in seamanship and other technical branches he excelled. The midshipmen of that day were taught not only how to hand, reef, and steer, but also the higher branches of mathematics, the modern languages, and, of course, gunnery and navigation. Each student was required to stand upon his own merits. No favoritism was shown, and no one but himself was to blame if he could not pass. Discipline was rigid. A high sense of honor was inculcated. It is no surprise that such men as Dewey come out of such ancestry and such environment. The young midshipman's first cruise after graduation was aboard the old steam frigate "Wabash," under the command of Captain Barron. The "Wabash" was on the European station, most of the time in the Mediterranean, and Dewey saw those southern shores to good advantage. In i860 Dewey returned to Annapolis for his final examination. The two years had been fruitful of valuable experience. This time he led his fellows, a standing which, combined with his former one, gave him a final rating of third in his class and the rank of Passed Midshipman. He obtained a furlough and journeyed to his home in Vermont to visit his father before beginning another cruise. Six days after Fort Sumter was fired on his furlough ended. April 18, 1 86 1, Dewey received his commission as lieutenant and was assigned to duty aboard the ' ' Mississippi, " then lying in Boston harbor, a steamer of twelve guns, commanded by Captain Melanc- THE MAN WHO ''STEAMED AHEAD'' ton Smith. In the organization of the United States Navy for the Civil War she was made a part of the West Gulf Blockading Squad- ron, under command of Captain David G. Farragut, and on January 20, 1862, the fleet sailed for the Gulf of Mexico, for the purpose of capturing the Confederate stronghold, the city of New Orleans. Of the young lieutenant's services in the capture of New Orleans too much cannot be said. Courageous, quick to see and quick to act, cool, cautious and alert, he quickly won the respect of his supe- rior officers and the love of the men under him. After the capture of the city, for several months the "Mississippi," in conjunction with other vessels of the fleet, patrolled the river between New Or- leans and Vicksburg, frequently ascending the bayous, and doing good work for the Federal cause, with Lieutenant Dewey still second in rank. From January, 1863, the " Alississippi " was employed in assist- ing General Banks to force his way into the interior of Lousiana, and bringing all of the country that could be secured under subjection. This was a difficult task, for the enemy opposed the Federal forces at every step with a courage and determination very difficult to over- come. In March it was decided by Rear-Admiral Farragut and General Banks that the former should move with his fleet past Port Hudson, which was at that time well fortified with nineteen heavy guns bearing on the water approaches. In the desperate engagement which followed, the ' ' Mississippi " grounded hard and fast, and it was found necessary to abandon her. Her engines were destroyed, small arms thrown overboard, the sick and wounded landed on the shore, and fires kindled in several parts of the ship. When these were well under way the captain left the ship, and with his crew in open boats went past the batteries to the fleet below. The task of getting the men to safety devolved on Lieutenant Dewey. Twice he went to the "Richmond" and twice came back, until at last he and Captain Smith stood alone on the deck. "Are you sure she will burn, Dewey? " the captain asked as he paused at the gangway. Dewey risked his life to go to the ward- room for a last look, and together they left the ship, sorrowfully, with the shot splashing all around them. Captain Smith, in his report of the catastrophe, said of our GEORGE DEWEY hero: " I consider that I should be neglecting a most important duty should I omit to mention the coolness of my executive officer, Mr. Dewey, and the steady, fearless and gallant manner in which the offi- cers and men of the • Mississippi ' defended her, and the orderly and quiet manner in which she was abandoned after being thirty-five minutes aground under fire of the enemy's batteries." Dewey is next found in the capacity of first lieutenant of a gunboat used by the admiral as a dispatch boat. This established closer relations between the two men, and Farragut formed a sincere regard for the young lieutenant. The Confederates had a trick of suddenly ap- pearing on the high banks of the river with a field piece, firing point blank at any boat that might be within range, and disappearing as quickly as they came. Upon one of these occasions a shot came within a hair's-breadth of Dewey, and involuntarily he jumped aside trying to escape it. The admiral happened to be near at the time, and said: "Why don't you stand firm. Lieutenant? Don't you know you can't jump quick enough? " Soon after, Farragut dodged a shot under similar circumstances. The lieutenant smiled but held his tongue. But the admiral had a guilty conscience. He cleared his throat, shifted his position, and finally said: "Why, sir, you can't help it, sir. It's human nature, and there's an end to it ! " Dewey was afterwards given the command of the ' ' Mononga- hela, " a post made vacant by the death of her commander, Abner Reed. This appointment was only temporary, however, and he was shortly afterwards transferred to the steam gunboat "Agawam," which was attached to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron under command of Rear-Admiral Porter. At the time of the two attacks on Fort Fisher he was first lieutenant of the " Colorado," Commo- dore Henry Knox Thatcher commanding, where he won new laurels. Towards the end of the second attack on Fort Fisher, Admiral Por- ter signaled to Commodore Thatcher, of the " Colorado," to close in and silence a certain part of the works. The ship had already been struck several times by the shells of the enemy, and Dewey saw instantly the advantage to be gained by the move. "We shall be safer in there," he remarked, " and the works can be taken in fifteen minutes." The signal was obeyed and Dewey's prediction proved a correct one. When Admiral Porter came to congratulate Commo- THE MAN WHO ''STEAMED AHEAD'' dore Thatcher, the latter disclaimed any credit for the success of maneuver, but generously said: "You must thank Lieutenant Dewey, sir. Immediately after the Fort Fisher engagement Commodore Thatcher was named as acting rear-admiral, and a few weeks latej -•!v>j».is!s?pr> *.'•?: BATTLE OF MANILA BAY. was ordered to Mobile Bay, where he relieved Farragut. He recom- mended Dewey for his fleet captaincy, but the department did not see fit to follow the suggestion. However, March 3, 1865, his ability was recognized and his bravery rewarded by a commision as lieutenant-commander. Dewey thus reached in eleven years from the time he entered the academy a rank to attain which in time of peace frequently requires a service of thirty years. His association with Farragut, Porter, Thatcher, Smith, and many other naval heroes of the times did much to give him a practical knowledge of GEORGE DEWEY warfare on river and sea; and his natural ability, his fertility of resource, and his quickness of comprehension under trying circum- stances, were qualities which he was then developing, and which brought him the praise of a world in after years. The qualities which Dewey demonstrated in the Civil War, and the reputation which he brought out of that conflict, gave him high standing among his superior officers, and many creditable assignments fell to him. Immediately following the war Lieutenant-Commander Dewey served for two years on the European station, on the "Kearsarge. " Next he was assigned to the frigate " Colorado," the flagship of the squadron, under command of Rear-Admiral Goldsborough. J. C Watson, who was then a lieutenant-commander like Dewey, and who is now a rear-admiral, was one of Dewey's messmates in the same vessel. W. W. Stone, who was ship's writer on board the flag- ship, relates an incident which involves not only the two lieutenant- commanders but the admiral as well. Admiral Goldsborough's valet, John, who at one time had been a servant of President Lin- coln in the White House, was a witty but bungling Irishman. One morning the admiral sent word down to John that he wanted his glass, meaning, of course, his spyglass. John, as usual, however, misunderstood, and came tramping up to the bridge with a goblet in his hand. ' ' John, you are the devil's own valet, " growled the admiral when he saw him coming. "Faith, sor, I didn't think I'd come to that same when I took service wid ye, sor. " ' ' Throw that blamed goblet overboard and go and get me my spyglass as I told you, you infernal idiot." "Yes, sor, " said John, calmly tossing the glass over the side. In doing so he narrowly escaped dashing it upon the upturned face of the executive officer, Lieutenant-Commander George Dewey, who was on a tour of inspection, circling the frigate in one of the cutters of the ' ' Colorado, " which had just arrived from Trieste. ' ' Go below, you blundering Irishman, before I have you tossed over after the glass, " said the admiral. The man disappeared with just the suspicion of a smirk on his innocent-looking face. "Mr. Dewey would like to have you find out, sir, who is heaving crockery over the side of the ship, sir, " one of the crew of the cutter said to Lieutenant-Commander Watson, at the time officer of the deck. The admiral overheard the message of the angry executive and THE MAN WHO ''STEAMED AHEAD n laughed quietly. ' ' Tell Mr. Dewey that it was the admiral, my man, " said he soberly; then, turning to Mr. Watson, he remarked, "He can't very well put the admiral in the brig, though I may deserve it." "He may look around for a substitute, admiral," answered Mr. Watson, smihng. "Oh, no, Dewey has too keen a sense of justice for that. Besides, I remember him saying once that he had no use for substitutes. " ' ' A few moments after this Mr. Dewey himself came over the starboard gangway, saluting the admiral with rather a haughty air. You see, a 3 2 -pounder may spin merrily past a fellow's head aboard a man-o'-war and serve merely as a hook on which to hang the old-time jest about a 'miss being as good as a mile,' but when a plain matter-of-fact plebeian tumbler shoots past you, your dignity has been very violently assulted. The Admiral looked down and took in the situation. Descending to the quarter-deck, he approached Dcvvey and said, with a friendly air, ' I say, Dewey, did you ever read Handy Andy?' 'Yes, sir, ' rather shortly. 'Well, now, I must have his cousin aboard, ' and the admiral related the glass incident. The two laughed over the blunder, Mr. Dewey having recovered his usual good nature by this time. As John returned with the glass Mr. Dewey said severely: 'I want you to remember, John, that it is strictly against the rules of the ship to throw anything over the sides. You came very near striking me in the head with your glass toss- ing. ' 'That wor a pity, sor. ' 'A pity!' exclaimed Dewey, savagely. 'By Jim, I'd have come up and had you put in double irons.' ' No, sor, axin' yer pardon, I hope not.' ' What's that?' roared the future admiral, angrily. ' Truth, sor, d'ye mind the mornin' tellin' me that ve wor to do the thinkin' an' I wor to obey orders, even if I bruk ADMIRAL DEWEY. GEORGE DEWEY owners?' The two laughed heartily at this hit, and John went below with colors flying. " Returning to the United States, Dewey was sent to duty at the Kittery Navy Yard, just across the river from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was a handsome and popular fellow, and a wel- come visitor in the homes of the citizens of Portsmouth. Here it was that he met the young woman who became his wife, and whose death a few years later was the greatest grief that has come into his life. She was the daughter of Governor Goodwin of New Hampshire, himself a popular hero of the times. "George is sort of reckless sometimes," the governor once remarked, " but hang me if I can help liking him. He's honest and full of grit, and he'll be heard from one of these days. " In 1868 and 1869 Dewey was detailed for service at the Annapo- lis Naval Academy' as an instructor, and at the end of that duty he obtained command of the " Narragansett, " which was nearly all the time on special service of various sorts for five years. His commis- sion as "commander" came on April 13, 1872. It seemed a promis- ing, happy year of his life. A son was born on December 23, but the young mother lived but one week after that date. The child was christened George Goodwin Dewey. The father has never re-married. Commander Dewey's service on the "Narragansett" included an inspection of torpedo stations and then some years in making surveys of the Pacific coast. In 1876 he was made a lighthouse inspector, performing the duties attached to such a post for two years, after which he became secretary of the lighthouse board, a position which he filled for more than four years. Dewey's first service in Asiatic waters was in 1882, when he was assigned to the command of the "Juniata," on the Asiatic station. The events of 1898 proved that he used the two years allott<;d to him in the Orient at that time to good advantage by learning ill that he could of the people and the ports of the West Pacific. When the four vessels which formed the original "White Squad- ron" were completed, the smallest of them, the "Dolphin," was placed under the command of Dewey and he was given his commis- sion as captain September 27, 1884. "Itwas, " says a writer in a THE MAN WHO ''STEAMED AHEAD'' recent magazine, "while in the 'Dolphin' that Captain Dewey showed how thoroughly he knew human nature as well as the principles of good discipline. At any rate, the admiral has always been noted for his ability to deal with 'Jack.' The 'Jack' in ques- tion had refused to obey an order of the first lieutenant, because, he said, it was outside the line of his duty. The lieutenant reported the matter to Captain Dewey, who sauntered out on deck and looked his man through and through, which made the sailor exceedingly uncom- fortable. Nevertheless, he remained stubborn. ' What, ' said the captain, 'you refuse! Do you know that that is mutiny? When you entered the service you swore to obey your superior officers.' The man was silent and made no move, whereupon the captain very quietly told the corporal to call the guard, stood the obdurate sailor on the far side of the deck, and bade the mariners load. Then he took out his watch. 'Now, my man, ' said he, 'you have just five minutes in which to obey that order, ' and began to call the minutes. At the fourth count the sailor moved off with considerable alacrity, and has since been one of the strongest opponents of the policy of tampering with 'the old man,' as the admiral has been for some time affectionately called in the forecastle. " In 1885 Captain Dewey was placed in command of the " Pensa- cola," the flagship of the Europern squadron, remaining on that station for three years. In this time he visited all the principal European ports, and gained familiarity with many of the European naval conditions, officers and fleets. A blue-jacket who made a cruise with him tells this characteristic story: "We hadn't been to sea with him long before we knew how he despised a liar. One of the petty officers went ashore at Gibraltar, and came off to the ship drunk. He appeared the next morning and gave Dewey the ' two- beers and sun-struck ' yarn. ' ' ' You're lying, my man, ' said Dewey. ' You were very drunk. I myself heard you aft in my cabin. I will not have my men lie to me. I don't expect to find total abstinence in a man-o'-war crew. But I do expect them to tell me the truth, and I am going to have them tell me the truth. For lying you get ten days in irons. Let me have the truth hereafter. I am told you are a good seaman. A good seaman has no business lying. ' After that there were few men GEORGE DEWEY aboard who didn't throw themselves on the mercy of the court when they came before Dewey, and no one ever lost anything by it." In 1889, Captain Dewey was made chief of the Bureau of Equip- ment and Recruiting, with rank of commodore. Four years later he was made a member of the Lighthouse Board, of which he '^^•^^ had been secretary in 1877. In 1896 he got his com- mission as commodore and was made president of the Board of Inspection and Survey. This is the place that he held when or- dered to sea duty in the late fall of 1897, with instructions to assume command of the Asiatic station, where he hoisted his flag on the ' ' Olympia " on January 3, 1898. Shortly stroyed the ' 'Maine," Com- t o concentrate the Accordingly the fiag- " Raleigh," and boat " Petrel," as- fore the middle of : 111. - after the explosion that de- modore Dewey received orders Asiatic squadron at Hong Kong ship " Olympia, " the "Boston, "the the " Concord, " cruisers, and the gun sembled in the harbor of Hong Kong be March, 1898. Commodore Dewey was too well versed in all the technical questions involved to have any doubt about the real cause of the explosion. He made all his plans upon the probability that there would be war between the United States and Spain. To be ready for that emergency he made every preparation that skill and experience could suggest. His ships were docked, that their bottoms might be cleaned; their bunkers were kept filled with coal; provisions were ordered in ample quantities, so that they might leave port at any time with supplies sufficient to feed the crews for three months, and every piece of m e c h a n - ism, wheth- er in the prop elling sword and belt presented to admiral dewey mac hinery by congress. 777^ MAN WHO ''STEAMED AHEAD'' or at the guns, was overhauled and put in complete order for effective and continuous work. How thoroughly he made his preparations may he understood by a comparison of the dates of his movements. War was declared on Monday, April 25th, and on Wednesday, April 27th, he sailed for Manila. Dewey's orders when he sailed for Manila were brief but explicit. He was instructed to proceed to the Philippine Islands and do his utmost to ' ' capture or destroy the Spanish naval force " in those waters. During the battle he kept those orders so literally in mind that he refused to turn any of his fire upon the shore batteries. "We'll sink the ships first," he said, " and then we'll finish off the shore guns." When the fleet arrived off Subig Bay the final prepa- rations for battle were made. All woodwork that could be removed without injury to the working of the vessels was thrown overboard; tables, chairs, doors and bulkheads were pitched into the sea. In fact, the seamen were glad to get rid of everything that might endanger their lives by fire. In the " Olympia" the men had a number of board tables, made to swing from the beams above the berth deck, upon which they served their meals. The executive officer gave an order that these mess-tables should be "put over the side," meaning that they should be hung outside the ship by ropes in a position where, even if they should catch on fire, they would endanger nothing else. But the seamen chose to interpret the order to mean that the tables should go overboard, and the result was that, after the battle, the jackies had to eat either standing or lying down, since they had no tables. A few miles north of the entrance to Manila Bay, Dewey stopped his flaghip and made signal for the commanding officers to repair on board. The war council was of short duration. Commodore Dewey had decided on his plans before it met, and he took little time in giving to each captain his duties for the night and next day. The Commodore decided to waste no time in useless delay ; but, regardless of hidden mines and shore batteries, led the way into the harbor. With all lights out, and the crews at the guns, the warships in their gray war paint turned silently toward the entrance to the bay, the flagship ' ' Olympia" leading. Following closely, in the order that was retained during the battle, came the "Baltimore," GEORGE DEWEY the "Raleigh," the "Petrel," the "Concord," and the "Boston." As the fleet approached the entrance it moved as slowly as was com- patible with keeping the formation of the line. Half of the crew of each gun were allowed to sleep alongside their stations in order that they might be better fitted for what was to come. Except for the sleepless eye on the bridge of the "Olympia, " and the alert gaze of the officers on watch, the ships seemed to slumber, as did the city and the forts. On, on, crept the mighty engines of war, but the batteries on shore gave no sign. Suddenly, when the flagship had passed a mile beyond Corregidor Island, a gun boomed out, and a shell went screaming over the "Raleigh" and the "Olympia," soon followed by a second. Three ships, the "Raleigh," the "Concord," and the "Boston, " replied, apparently with effect, for the firing ceased, and again the batteries lay silent. As Commodore Dewey had planned, the fleet arrived within five miles of Manila at daybreak. What must have been the astonishment in the Spanish lines when the sun rose, and they looked out on the American ships that had come in during the night! With the American flag flying from all mastheads, the ships moved on. No excitement was visible ; the quiet man on the bridge of the "Olympia" was as unmoved, apparently, as though he were sailing into a peaceful harbor. For the first time in many years the stars and stripes were being borne aggressively into a foreign port. It was an epoch in history. Nineteenth century civilization and fifteenth century mediaevalism lay confronting each other. As he approached, all the Spanish vessels were aflame with rapid gun fire. Shell after shell flew close over the superstructure or skimmed past the head of the commodore and his staff on the for- ward bridge. Still the commodore made no sign. In the usual service white uniform, wearing, however, a gray traveling cap on his head, having been unable to find his uniform cap after the guns in his cabin had been cleared for action, the commodore paced the bridge, watching the enemy's hot fire as if he were a disinterested spectator of an unusual display of fireworks. All this time, with the exception of the shots from the Concord, the guns of the American fleet had remained inactive. The strain on the men was fearful THE MAN WHO ''STEAMED A HE AH' but they had confidence in their commodore. The heat was intense, and stripped of all clothing except their trousers, the gunners stood silent and obedient at their posts. The Olympia might have been empty if the whirr of the blowers and the throb of the engines had not told of pulsating human life. On the forward bridge of the Olympia stood Commodore Dewey, surrounded by his staff. In this little group were Commander Lamberton, fleet captain; the executive officer, Lieutenant Rees; Lieutenant Calkins, and Mr. Joseph L. Stickney, the commodore's aide. Suddenly a shell burst directly over the center of the ship. As the projectile flashed over the head of the man who held the destiny of the fleet in his grasp, it became evident that the moment of activity had come. ' ' You may fire when you are ready, Captain Gridley," said the Commodore. This order sufficed, and at 5:41 o'clock in the morning, at a distance of three miles, America roared forth her first battle cry to Spain from the starboard 8-inch gun in the forward turret of the Olympia. The story of the battle need not be told here. It is known to every one as the most remarkable naval battle of all time. The Spanish fleet was destroyed; Dewey had obeyed orders. Although the Spanish fleet was destroyed on May i, yet it was not until August that the city of Manila surrendered to the United States. During this period the Commodore refrained from bombarding the city, though greatly provoked. When the victory of Manila bay fully dawned upon the minds of the American people, there was a unanimous call for some prompt and official recognition for George Dewey and his gallant associates. President McKinley, in a special message to Congress, recommended that Dewey and his brave men receive the thanks of that body. The suggestion was enthusiastically acted upon, but his honors did not stop here. The number of rear-admirals in the navy was increased from six to seven by Congress, and the President at once promoted Dewey to that rank. The Senate also proposed that a jeweled sword be given Dewey for his services and that a bronze medal be given each of his men, and appropriated |i 0,000 for this purpose. A most elaborately decorated sword was prepared, and with the resolutions of Congress most handsomely embossed was pre- sented him, accompanied by a letter from the Department of State, GEORGE DEWEY commending him for his good judgment and prudence in directing affairs at Manila after the battle. Congress in December, 1898, passed a bill reviving the grade of Admiral, which the President gladly signed and in accordance there- with commissioned Dewey as admiral. No greater honors can be shown him. He is to-day the cherished idol of a nation, occupying the summit of glory and renown, the recipient of honors and plaudits from every nation, yet the same cool, just, courageous, loyal and obedient servant of the nation that he has been for many years. How well the people love him is attested by the magnificent ovation tendered him on his return home. All honor to Admiral Dewey! May the closing years of his life be full of peace and joy, and may his example inspire our youth. (Cop> righted, 1899. by Joseph L. Stickney.) AFTER DEWEY'S GUNS FIRED. w^ .^.