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Show Gen. Grant as Loyer and Husband. j 1 J The Widow of the Great Hero Oivce Some Now Stories of the Octicral Illustrating Ilia h( Clmruetor. ble . It llcw Grant Treated Women and Babies He Did Sit Like the Latter, Especially in Times of Colic He Was Sever Slangy Sor trofane-His Lack of (1 Musical Ability An incident of His Travels on the Mediterranean Mrs, l0 Grant Tettt Hvw the General Profited to Her and Describes the Trtmhle let He Had in Getting bathe Dent to Consent His Long Engagement and Hit Hundreds of Love Letters Slot iet of Grant's Extreme Poverty Before the Har Sot TrueHe Was Sever a Teamster, But He Did Hani HoodSome-thing HoodSome-thing About Grant's AeHgious Belief, I ! Bpr1i1 rrrMtotnict of tbsN iwi, j (CuvyriKbUd, lliS by 1 ana U. Oaipsntar.) Washington, February 19, lb-A & . if RECEIVKD A L -yv'JffJ n0t ,rm r rH Central Grant I U" 'fAifketJm tiii week asking ' th3 lom ol lhe many A-V4 krX ridiculous tofea ",',. which are now be "V'V' inK printed con cernina; General ('.rant. Soma of these stories are pub-li-hed by the very best magaines and new-papers. They are given out by parties who pretend to have bad a close Association with the general and Mrs. ' Grant, but who, on the contrary, hardly knew them, or, If so, only In the most distant way. 1 called on Mrs. Grant t her home on Massachusetts avenue h e other afternoon, and had a long chat with her, in which she spoke ot such matters, and told a number of new and unking things about General Grant's -haracter. 1.1NKKAL OK ANT AND TIIR COLICKV riAuv. "Mere,' said Mrs. Grant, as she hand d me a paper, is a story about General ;irnt and a sick baby, which, I am sure, tas no foundation whatever. The story describes how the general during one of fits earlier campaigns called upon a Union doctor, a Mr. Goodier, in one of the southern towns. According to Una story, while the doctor's wile waa en-Cjgcd en-Cjgcd in frying the chicken, and the general was taiking to lite husband, the )aby of the family, a three months-old JMant, began to squall with the colic, i whereupon General Grant went to the j crib, and, taking the baby in his arm, walked up and down the room with him, singing and whistling till the little fellow quite forgot his pain and.in words of the narrator, 'lell last asleep in the arms ol the man who was to become America's greatest military leader.' "Now,'' said Mrs. Grant, "this is all very nice, but any one who knew General Gene-ral Grant would not have made such a statement, lit the first place, he was not fond ol babies. He was, in I act, a little afraid of children until they gut to bo at least as high as his waist, and the idea, that he would voluntarily take up a colicky baby and nurse it is prepostcr ous. One of his greatest trials while he was In the White House waa the children child-ren brought In by young mothers and oil jred to him to kiss. He would per haps see them be lore they got near him and would turn around in a helpless way so that you could see he was uneaty, When the dolirg mothers at Inst reached reach-ed him and held up their children lor htm to salute, he sometimes blushed to the root ol his hair before he kissed them, and did it in such an awkwurd way that you could see be was nut enjoying the operation. CLNKRAL GRANT'S Ml'MCAL Allll.tTY. "And then, this man says that Grant took the baby and walked up and down the room, singing and whistling until he soothed H to sleep Now, it is a well-known fact that General Grnnt could neither sing nor win tie. The truth is, he could not learn a tune, and he had no great appreciation mutic. "During our trip abroad," continued Mrs. Grant, "we sailed through the Mediterranean on the United Slates nian-ul-war Vandaha, visiting Italy, 1-gypt and the Holy I-and. While on this voyMjce we passed the island which la so celebrated in Homer as being the filace upon which the beautiful sirens ived and where Ulysses landed and was brought to grief by their singing. As we ncared this I land a number of he naval officers came to me and warned me to put cotton wool Into the general's ears Irst be be aliened by the sirens of the past I told them that there was no danger ol General Grant being influenced influenc-ed by music, as he did not know one note from another, and that the singing of a thousand .irena csuld not charm him. The officer then said that the danger was not altogether in the voices tut also in the faces ol the sirem. They were so hrautilui th it il the gcnrral heard thrm he would be drawn to the shore- and lust, and they anm urd me to use the cotton wool. 1 told them that the I'ly-se of Homer had been deluded de-luded because he was alone and had lelt I'tnelope, his wife, at home. I said I learned a lesson from old 1'enetope and i had accompanied my Ulysses, and with m- 1 ilid nut think he was in danger. OKA.Nl TkkAIMkNI Ut- LAtifc3. "And there is another thing about which I would like to say a word," continued con-tinued Mrs Grant. "Hint is as to the part of this article which purports to gne the general's conversation with some young ladu-s who were visiting Ins camp. Ine doctor who owned the baby introduced the young lailies to General Grant and asked him il he did not think be ought to arrest them. To tins, according to the story, the general replied: 'I am very fond ol Indies' society, so-ciety, and I miss their refining imlucnce in the camp. Don't you think, girls, 1 ought to make you my prisoners?'' "iNow, the truth is, that the gen-rat was never familiar with ladie. T don't think he would have aildrcsned those young women as 'girl-,' and 1 am sure he would nut have tilked as he is hi re reported a doing. Ha was must courteous cour-teous and respectful to my cs, but he was never farm iar. The general was, you know, rathtr dignified and reserved than eliusive. He was not what you call a hail-lellowwell-met kind ol a man. He was fond ol his friends, but he did not make much fuss over any one. CHANT DID NOT fcWKAK. "Resides," continued Mrs. Grant, "from the way this article is worded, you might think the gcnerul was rather slangy in his talk. He was not. He never used anything but the purest and choicest of language. I have seen stories, in which he has been reported as profane. 1 never heard him usee word ol slang or prulamty during all the years that I knew him- l or instance, in-stance, I never heard him use the word 'damn.' He did not use the milder expletives, ex-pletives, such as 'confound it,' or 'the devil,' which you know are often used by people who do not swear. It was the same with his thoughts. General Grant had the bighct ideas ol purity and virtue. He never rtlcrrcd to wo ! men except in terms of the highest rei-pecl.and rei-pecl.and he did not gosiip nor tell stories aliout them. On tne utuer hand, he liked to hear a good story, and he some tunes repented innocent oucs he had heard, to us at borne." "lie was veiy domestic in his tastes, was he not'" I "Yes,' rqdled Mrs. Grant, "he spent all ol his leisure at home. He always , cared more for his home than fur 1 society.' TUB TORY OP flRNFRAL GRANT, ' couRTsmr. I here referred to a story which 1 had heard concerning the general's courtship. court-ship. It described how Mr. Grant, who was then a young lieub'nnt, had met Miss Julia Dent at a wedding, and, according ac-cording to a custom which the wiiter said was prevalent in Missouri, had taken her home on his horse behind bun, she holding on as bc-t she cunld. During the jotiiucy the two had to cross a stream, and while in the water and fiKhnng their way through the waves, as the writer stated, Lieutenant Gr-Mit projKwed and was accepted '1 he couplo then went on to the Dent farm, where l.inilcnaiit Grant found Mss Dent's hither, a roughduokiug old farmer, sitting sit-ting on a wood pile and whittling a s licit. He was akcd to sanction the . match, an J in rustic language consen led. 1 knew this sloty could nut be , true, for I was always aware that Colo net Dent was oneol the wealthiest plan I ters of Mistuuri, and that Mrs. Urant ! had been as well educated, perhaps, as , any girl in tue United State- at the tune ((rant proposed to her. When 1 a ked luras to t-ie truth ol it, however, Mrs. Grant replied! "Of cure the story is not tru. I was very indignant when I first heard it, and especially so as it put my lather in the light ot an uneducated man. This he was not. He was one ol the prominent pro-minent cni.ens of the stair. He had a plantation ol eleven hundred acres v ry near St. Louis, upon which we lived, and he owned Und in different parts ol Missouri. Tina story puts me in the light l an uneducated farmer's dauh ter. The truth is that I had spent seven cars at I'rolcssur Morc.U s hool in St. Loins, which was one of the most famous lumhing school- of the south and wcht. I was eighteen years old at the time and had just come home trout school. "The slory Is only correct in that Mr. Grant proposed to me the day wo attended at-tended a wedding together. Oneol my friends w-aa about to be married and the wedding took place in the morning, j Lieutenant Grant was anion; the guents i invited, and he came to the plantation to accompany us to the wedding. He , came to our house- on horsehjt ic, but, belure we lelt lor the scene of the festivt , ties he asked my brother to take his horse and to allow him to use the buy and drive wtth me. To this my brother consented. 1 remember that the day i was a beautiful one. The sun shone out n all its splendor, but the roads were rather heavy from a previous rai.i. It was some distauce Irum our house to that of my friend, and ft going there we had to cross a bridge that spanned a little river. When we came tu it 1 was surprised and somewhat alarmed to hud that the stream had risen and ttut the gulch was lined with a running curri t the water reaching almost to the bridge. Lieutenant Orant waa very imiet, and it seemed to me that he was an aid oi the bridge. It was an old one, and t was oy no means certain that it wuuld stand the strain. As we ncared ,. bridge 1 a.kedMr. Grant several times u he thought it would be dangerous for us lo cross, and 1 told him that I would r.ith-r go bark than tnke any risk. He assured me, however, that it was perfectly safe, and he said it so quietly th.. I believed 1 him. As we rame to the I 'um, how- I scr, 1 said, 'Now Mr. Grant, it anything happens, remember, 1 shall cling to you, I no matter what you may say to the contrary.' con-trary.' Mr. (.rant simply said all rint, J Hn gave the horse the whip, and we weie over the planks in Ir than a mm ute. Shortly alter we left the bridge he asaed me la be his wife, referring to my threat to cling to him to break the way. That name alternoon he wanted me lo set the day, but to this 1 would not consent. con-sent. I told him th. t it would be much nicer to be engaged for a time than to be married, but he did not seem o approve ot this sentiment. We decided, however, how-ever, that it was best not to sav anthinj about our engagement that evening. Mr Grant was rather afraid to speak to my lather, for he leared that father would refuse. He lelt the house late in the evening logo back to his regiment, and a few days later General Taylor sent him to Camp Salubrity in Louisiana. Iteloru ha went, however, he wrot to my father, asking his consent to the mar tiage. My lather was not willing to give this, and he did i.ot answer the letter. let-ter. He told me that he did net think I ought to marry an army of beer. He said my husoand wuuld be away most ot the time, and that he did not consider the marriage a desirable one. He told me that 1 was too young and that Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Grant was too poor, and that Lieutenant Grant hadn't anything togive me. 1 then told father that 1 was poor, too, and that 1 hadn't anything to give him." GttNHKAL liKAST AS A LOVKR. "How long was it before you saw the General ag.nn.'' 1 asked. 'lt was uearly a year," replied Mrs. Grant. "He was luck then uu have ul absence, and it was at; tins time that hi asked father in person as to the marriage and got his consent. I ran remember now tust how Lieutenant Grant looked as he rode up tu our house in his new uniform. It was one Sunday evening, and we were all silting out on the porch, l-ather was going to Washington the next day. It was a great trip tu go from Si. Loins to the east m thote da, and a number of our friends, perhaps twenty of them, from the Kuriuumhnx plantations, planta-tions, had gathered theru to bid him good-bye. I remember I was sittiui; on the porch when Lieutenant Grant t ame up. 1 gac I i n my hand and he shook hands with the ret ot the party, lhe n it day, when father went into St Louis, Mr. Grant went with him, and it was during tins trip that he akd l.nher's pi nnUsion to marry me. My fattier consented, but he said Hint he did not think the wedding ouht to lake place very soon. Lieutenant Grant of-leied of-leied to resign from the army il lather insisted uputi it. This was just about the lime ol the opening ol the Mexican war, and Lieutenant iirant asked my lather it he had any objections lo bis writing to me. He said no. and during the next lour years, while Lieutenant Grant was absent in Mexico, 1 received letters from htm every mail. 1 have those latter now. There are hundred of them, hv.uy one ol them is full of altection, ol love nd war. Some ol them have pressed (lowers ttetwecn the pages, some were written on the head of drums which our troops captured from the Mexican, a.id many ol them were sealed with red wafers. I can remember re-member still 1;ga I used to watch for 'he mail, and how ' read my last letter over day alter day until the next one came.' GRANT fc POVERTY. "Mrs. Grant," said I, "I have often wondered w hether the stories are true as to the hard times which you and General Gen-eral Grant are said to have undergone just before the civil war." "We did not have hard times," replied re-plied Mrs. Grunt. "A great many people peo-ple seem to want to reduce the general duriiiK his early life to the dregs of poverty pov-erty in ordrr that they may 'xalt him the more by his rise. This fart used to annoy him considerably, as it rather belittled be-littled his relatives. General Grant was never very poor. His lamily were what was called rich a generation ago. His father was a mm ol const Jerable means. He had property in Ohio and the leather store at Galena uf which so murli has been made by onie was a branch store, which was afterward moved lo ( hicatfo and burned up it, the great Chicago tire. While we were in Galena we lived very nicely indeed. We were among the best people of the town and rud alt of the coiulurts that one could wish. 1 see a ridiculous statement now going the rounds nl the press iu winch Gcmral Grant is published as havim; been a teamster 1 1 Galena, and from il you would imagine that his business waj that of a coachman or cab driver. J don't know whence this story comes, hut I pronounce it nn entire fabrication, i as are also many other sloncj now be I ing published, Ihetruih is, the only! hordes that Mr. Grant drove while he was m Gnltiu were our own. We had a very nice little wagon, something like a surrey or a park phaeton, and a team ol guod horses. This belonged to the mure, but it was used as a carriage team by us and by Mr. Grant's brother, Mr. Giant ultcn took myself and the babies out ol an alternoou for a drive.' (iKANTONTHK FARM NKAH HT. I.Ol'tK. "And then, again, the stories of Mr. Grant's poverty at St. Louis," Mrs. (.rant went on. "A great deal has been made ol his having hauled wood Irorn our farm lo the cuv. It is true that he ultcn took a load of wood with him when he went into the city. We lived, you know, not tar from St. Louis, and a load of wood was worth front five to six dollars. e had no money to throw away at that time, but still we had plenty to Ive upon very comfortably. I Sly l.dbcr had given me the farm, and wehadav -ry good home and all we really needed.'' j "Did General (Want care for money?" "No," replied Mrs. Grant ;'l think not. He was very charitable, and he otten wanted me to give away more than 1 did.' He must have been a good husband," 1 smd. "He was the perfection ol a husband," replied Mis. Grant. "He was kind, true and loving. Ifcwss, I believe, cue ol the best husbands th-it ever lived.' GRANT'S RRLtf'.lOUS BSUKR. "I have often wondered, Mrs. Grant, as to whether the general w a Christian, Chris-tian, and as to what he thought about a future stste." Yes, he helieveJ In Christianity," le p'"id Mrs Grant. "He went to church regular!.. I re memoir he always liked to be? at church on time, and would be muc'.i annoyed If I was not i rvly. Du-riur; Du-riur; his stay in the White House he at tended I Kewman's Churrh, the M-thod'st Church, though he sometimes wc; to I -. Sunderland s, which is, yoj kii- w, i Presbyterian Church." "Did Grant ever think that the war p!l to the other wayi" . "I think he realized that It might," re ' plied Mrs. Grant, "but he did not worry about 'he hiitirr. He did what he had to do. He laid out his plans, and worked with all his might to carry Ihem cut, borrowing no trouhio as tu what possibly might occur later on.'' |