The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-09-29
A Photograph Of the President.
BY JOAQUIN MILLER.
"That's Grants race track"

''Thats Grants race track
The man who said this-the tall. bony sover-
egu whom we had picked up somewhere out
OF the sands of New Jersey that morning in the
down trip-jerked his bead over his left Shout
der toward high board fence to the right and
then, STOPPING little, spurted a stream of am.
ber or tobacco. juice, at the blinking eyes of a
little woody dog that had climbed upon the
platform and was smelling us a welcome to
Long Branch. After that, this tall and angu-
lar citizen, who seemed TO be perfectly at home
and to know just what he was talking about,
took his carpet bag by its two ears, swung it
over his shoulder, and again jerking his head
toward the tall board fence, started away on the
edge OF the crowd toward the hotel.
had gone to Long Branch almost solely to
see.the President of the Great Republic-the
great man whom my people had placed at the
head of my country. Even the board fence,
you see, under the circumstances, had to me a
great interest. l stopped, stood there, contem-
plated it, and wondered if the coat of white
washing and the singular advertisements had
any possible Significance suppose had as
well stood in the sands of Africa and looked in
the face of the Sphynx With my intense inn
aginatlon, which is curse, always picture
men and scenes go wildly that even after
have seen the real, the picture which [ had in
my mind stands out the clearer of the two L
could now see the President perfectly well in
my mind. back there behind the high board
fence, horses, dogs, Whlskey- bottles and all.
And then had I not seen all these in the
glorious wood-cuts of the patriotic and refined
az prints of America always during my years
of travel in strange lands? Have not these en-
ergetic illustrated journals with noble desire
to dignity their country in the eyes of the CIV
ilized world, sent their artistic wood.cuts into
every bank add hotel of the Continent? Have
they not thus set up the man whom the people
have chosen to stand at the head of the Great
Republic, before all the world duringe all the
years of my wandering, as sort idiotic adjunct
to a fevee of bull pups?
Why. them could not see this second fd-
dler who reveled and made merry while the
people groaned under accumulated debts and
disasters? There he was, in my minds eye:
Nero with his catgut, Caligula with his horse
and other senator's sitting back there between
his two bulldogs on the high platform, with
his legs crossed, and chewing away in a sort of
satisfied drunken cannbalism at the corpse of
ci : ar that had just died from the fumes of
whiskey!
That is truly the picture which 1 had of the
President of the noblest and most ennobng
land upon earth, as took my way to the no.
tel and turned my head now and then to take
look at Grants race-track."
wonder if it ever occurred to certain disap.
pointed and dsaffected men that right here in
this connection lies one of the finest points of
honor in or outside of the books.
''The Queen. God bless herr The first
time heard that expression and saw the per-
feet and manly respect which those Britons
as they lifted the first g.ass at dinner, was on
the waters OF Oregon, in little British man
of-war, aud years and years ago. Yet l shah
never forget it: And whenever and wherever
see true ,Euglishman and gentleman
Abroad, too, teel like rising to my feet and
saying THE Queen. God bless ber!' for L
know that L am in good company, with quiet
and brave and patriotic gentlemen, and men
who would not for the world, in my presnce, at
least, say one word against my country or its
representative.
70 stick a pin here and stop and think a mo-
ment, do not believe one cen really recall a
single great act OF expression IN the lie of the
Queen OF England. In truth, she seems to me
to have always been sort of negative and
helpless. though, no doubt, most 6ind-hearted
and well-disposed woman. But in all the grdle
of the earth you will not find one lady SO uni
versally respected and beloved as she. And all
that love and respect means a whole line-of-
battle ships 1t is Nelson and Wellington in
one. 1t is Gibraltar. II is one of the strong
est towers in the British battlement.
Yet all this love and respect, out of which
comes this strength, is owing not so much to
the simple virtues Of Her Majesty, but to the
manly, decent bearing and respect of her sub
1ects toward the common country.
L might urge second reason for behaving
with, at least, tolerable decency toward the un-
fortunate man who happens to be set up as a
mark for mnd-balIs, whOsoever he may be. And
that reason is-though l fear this argument
will not be of much force or practical use in po-
litical Amerca-that reason is, l say, we
ought to have in this land, protesting Chris
tianity, some little regard for the truth.
And, finally, did you never reflect that 1t is
hardly manly to throw mud at man who can
not stoop to throw mud back at you? You see
that sort of practice, under such circumst an ces
IS very much like striking woman.
was an utter stranger and alone, and did
not at all know where was to begin or how
TO crafty what deemed laudable desire to
see the President OF my country; but, aft II be-
ing brushed down by the African, descended
from my room and confronted the clerk of the
hotel with an interrogation.
Mr.. Clerk walked up and down behind his
battlement, bristing at the mouth with tooth
picks. He was the true non-eommitlal Amer.
can hotel clerk, and did not answer me for a
,oog time: He had two wooden tooth-picks in
his mouth already, and was eating away at
them as II he was a sort of centaur and they
were kind of long oats that he was very fond
Of. knew perfectly well he was wondering
and wondering as he walked up and down, and
now aud then dipped down into the little
trough and took another nibble of oats, wheth-
erl was Democrat or Republican and really
believed in the third term.
At last the oracle spoke. $50, so!'' said the
oracle, and took another nibb1e of oats. He
peeked at me mysteriously; and l, to he socia-
BILE, peeked back. Then he turned to his led
ger, looked up and down the lines, as clerk
always will when he does not want to tiud
anything; and, at last, having fully made up
his mind that it was all right and that my nod
said
he always drives by 10 the afternoon
when he is sober enough"
Armed with newspaper and cigar, lay i'll
ambush for the President in one of the little
canvas shades oy the roadside, along with a
crowd OF pleasure seekers, until nearly five
o'clock, when some one at my side said quiet
ly: There goes the President" Perhaps it
was an old affair with the others; but there
was no commoton, no expression of goud or
ill-will whatever, if may except the little boy
on the grass at the outside of the awning who
a aDut-Shpll a ter tba litt h
open carriage as it whirled at good pace up
the long, level road.
He bad passed within a few PAGES of us. In
fact, had been looking at him for half min-
ute before Iiknew that this was the President of
the mighty Republic and the great captain that
the world was in roar of admiration over only a
few years ago. The face is a great face. There
is no doubt of that whatever. 1t is made up
of savage strength and gentleness together
Afterward, when / came to know and con-
verse with this man, kept all the time think
ing of a favorite and famous lion in the gar
dans of London. This splendid beast was in
the habit of licking my hand wherever could
get the cross and cruel keepers back turned,
and he would put his paw through the bars,
and let me stroke it and fondle with it till he
saw the keeper about to turn round, and then
ne would draw back and wrinkle up his hrows
and look like a thunder storm that was ready
10 BURST In fact, to finish the story about the
lion, ne did burst out ON that cross old keeper
one Jay, and with single paw through the
Dars sealped him to the shou ders-took head
and ALL ~
To get back to the subject The President
was DRIVING L alone, holding the rens in safe
Careless fashion, as if he was used TO them.
and now and then lifting his hat n tbe V riohtt
and left whenever there was any recognition or
demonstration whatever, and / believe invari-
ably to the ladies whom he met driving down
the beach. In the little knot of peonIa with
whom happened to be sitting saw but one
hat touched. l afterward discovered that this
only gentleman of our group was the French
barber
Perhaps l had as well say it here as any,
where, that do think the 'Amercan has less
of Ipoiteness 10 his makeup save, perhaps on
the Pacific coast and the further South, where
there IL q snrinkIno nf latin hlaod--than anu