The Montana post., 1868-03-07


General Grant. Hthe certain-to-be Presi-
dent of the United States" and as we
have always been among his most ar
i dent admirers. we attended. 1t<would
take too much space to even attempt
to give an outline pen picture of it,
bat suffice by saying that it was a sue
cess. Our party started there about 9
o'clock, thinking that the rush would
be over by that hour, but you can
imagine our surprise when we found
that it had not yet reached its zenith. A
solid phalanx of carriages, coaches and
carryall's stretched for hundreds OF yards
up and down the street his residence
fronts. quietly waiting like Saturday
night train in a barber shop for the
command, "next'-to empty their oc-
cupants upon a sidewalk already deDsely
crowded with pedestrians. From the
doorway to the gateway, a distance OF
over one hundred feet, were serried
ranks of men and women, patiently
awaiting their turn for admission, while
dense masses Aanked them on either
side of the pavement The prospect for
an immediate admission was very poor
indeed, but we determined, inasmuch as
we were not encumbered with ladies, to
flight it out on that line lift took all'-
night, and we did. So, taking our pos
ition in the line we slowly advanced
toward the General-much slower than
we ever advanced under, him-and in
the course of a halfhour we reached the
doorway and in about fifteen minutes
more were presented to him and by him
to Mrs. Grant, and then took our places
amid the vast concourse that thronged
the four great parlols of his house.
Once inside, and through with the
ceremony, we were at liberty to look
about and take notes. The General was
the central figure, and having a conven-
lent position Immediately y in front of him
('several PAGES retired" of course,) we
devoted a portion of our time to noticing |
him. As he stood there, in foil dress,we |
fancied that we detected radical change |
in his appearance since the last time we |
saw him, which was at the fall of Vicks- |
burg in '63. He looks much older and |
careworn, although hale and vigorous,
and apparently in the prime of life; and |
looking on him, remembering the great
part he bore in the history of the past
eventful years, and considering the i'm
portant position he now occupies and
that he will be raised to by the patriotic
people of the land, memory recalled
most vividly a singularly applicable
description of the hero, in a lately writ
ten dramatic work:
ga mind Just fitted to his history,
An equal balance 'twixt desert and fame.
u r. - zs-rs- Il. IN 4 =
HIS fame outran his merits or his merit
Halted behind some adverse circumstances,
And never won the glory it deserved.
My love might weary you if / rehearsed
The simple beauty of his character;
His grandeur and his gentleness of heart,
His warlike fire and peaceful love, his faith,
His courtesy, his truth. I'll not deny
Some human weakness TO attract our love,
Harbon in him, as in the rest of US.
Sometimes against our country's enemies
He thunders in the distance, and devotes
Their homes to ruin. When the brand has /
fallen, 4... .....
He ever follows with healing rain,
And In his pity shoulders byrevenge.
1t was highly interesting to watch his
reception Of the persons an
nounced, making few distinctions in his ]
towards any of them and then ,
only of the slightest kind. To us he i
to feel exactly as we do when {
about to have a tooth drawn or sit for a
negative-desirous of getting through
with it at the earliest possible moment. (
The throng busted themselves in many i
ways, some elbowing their way out as |
soon as they possibly could, others fore {
ing their way through barricades of s
crinoline to some convenient corner, or
toward some especial fayorite-regard-
less of consequences-while many, our
selves included, saw pleasure in gazing
at the long line of visitors as they pour
ed in upon the poor martyr (as he ap-
peared to us) alias the Great Captain. :
a dark-colored "Freedman's Bureau"
dressed in broadcloth, wearing white q
kid gloves, and looking as prim and neat 6
as a New York exquisite, announced =
the visitors in a clear, distinct voice, so
that their names could be heard above
The noise of the rooms. Mr.. Tompkins,
Of Maryland, Mr.. Toodlekins, of Miss '
ouri, or Mr.. Blifkins of some other State, /
would scarcely receive a notice from the 7
masses inside, but when Gov. Sharkey Il
ind ladies, of Mississippi" were announ- n
Led, there was a momentary lull in the l
and the time given TO a b
glance at the tall venerable u
ooking ex-Provisional Governor, and {,
Senator elect, and the two beautiful il
lark-eyed Southrons accompanying him.
4 similar sensation was caused at the a
of different Senators or
Representatives and the n
lifferent army and navy officers; but S
when the name of "Phil. Sheridan - p
,ealed out above the din and noise ot,l b
he rooms, the sensation created was L
greater than all the rest combined. A t
cordial greeting from the General and a
lis wife, warmly reciprocated by him :.
iiffering from the conventional cere- v
monies extended to and from the rest q
'lainly shows the affection they have for p