The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-04-23
THE GREAT AMERICAN
DEAD HEAD.
How HE was Kept Knocking
ON that Outside Gate-A HW-
initiating Scene at she Grand
Central Depot I'm New Work.
I New YORK sun, April IA

ON that Outside Gate-A HW.
initiating Scene at she Gran
Central Depot I'm New York.
New York sun, April Ill
Col. Hackett alighted first, and, having
assisted the President to alight, drew his
arm through his own and marched
straight for the entrance to the cars.
The hundreds of persons in the depot
turned their eyes at once toward Col
Hackett and his convoy. There's the
President was passed from mouth to
mouth with electric rapidly. The two
eibowed their way through the throng
and reached the railing around the door
Of entrance to the cars. A door master
stood there punching the tickets.
To him Col. Hackett waved his hand
loftily saying. "the President" and he
would have passed through without any
further ceremony.
Tickets, gents" said the doormaster,
stepping in front of the would-be dead.
heads
The President of the United States
President Grant," Col. Hackett repeated
pointing to that individual, whose eyes
and face up to this time had been as
expressionless as ever.
II cant hel p who you are. You cam
pass through this gate without-showing
your tickets, said the doOrmaster duti-
| fully, but with rocky frmness of tone
and manner.
The President cast upon the official a
| look of such concentrated contempt and
scorn as might have Withered one who
stood in awe of him.
Stand back and don't block the pas
sage, gents,' said the impervious door
| master.
THE wILKEsoNIAN DIALECT.
The corner of the Presidential mouth
drew down at this unexpected obstacle.
HIS eyes flashed as he turned to his fdus
Achates. His lips moved and uttered
the solitary word, Damn"
1t would require pages to describe the
| intensity of bitterness with which that
| single Wilkesonian syllable was uttered.
1t spoke of wounded dignity, of disap-
pointed avsrice, and last, but not least
of consciousness of being in a most ludi-
crous fix. His features ", re imperturbable,
| but the situation was taken in by every
one, and their audible liter and amused
chances showed how keenly most of the
the colossal dead-head
Vice President Wilson. who had been
| elbowing his way With Secor Robesou s
arm in his own just to the rear of the
President, was keenly alive to the shame
| fitness Of the situation. With a hasty
| glance he saw how it was to end, and SO
| he dropped back far enough TO be out of
| the focus of eyes. Even Seoor Robson S
| rubicund visage grew redder, and be look
| ed as though he would have stood some
thing handsome TO be a mile away from
there.
This was the picture that a hasty
glance around the depot building re-
vealed. But the President stood it all
with a calm Yisage. AS before reported,
he calculated Damn" Then after a few
seconds, pause he Kissed into Hackett' S
ear, Whats to be done" That resource
full individual pulled a rueful counte-
nance. and said, Il guess there's nothing
for it but to pay
Buttoned right on the vest pocket in
which Col Hackett carried his money
was his military coat, and over that was
belt, from which dangled his sword and
side arms. He could not reach his
purse, and this unwelcome fact empress
| ed itself upon the Presidential mind so
| disagreoably that he lit up his counte-
nance with another witheripg glance and
| shot it at the doormaster. It was useless,
and he saw it. With hasty movement
| bis hand went down into his brooches
pocket, and came ont clasping a little
wallet. A hundred-dollar bank note was
| fshed out and thrust into Hackett' hand
The two then yacted the passage, and
| the gorge of blocked travellers with tick
cts were given an opportunity to enter
! the cars.
GRETNESS OFFENDED.
The President stood off to one side,
| nd Soanr RnhnSnn nnrnuPhod him wi h
| comforting words. Whether the service
was acceptably performed was not indi-
Gated by the august face the features
whereof were set in their old immoVable,
selfconcentrated, stony stare.
Gen. Belknap thought he d try to fix
things, and, acting upon the old saw,
"Molasses catces more flies than vinegar"
approached Cerberus with silken tone:
The tickets are being bought Surely
you can have no objection to perpitting
the President to seat himself in the cars?
The doormaster glanced at the tower
ing form of Col. HaoFett, who was buys
ing the tickets, thought a moment, and
then said, politely: 81 pI esume no fault
could be found with me for permitting
that"
He says we can go into the cars with
out waiting for the tickets" the Secreta-
~ of War SAID in pleased tones to the
| President.
well, we dent do it," the Executive
replied, with surely positiveness.
By this time Col. Hackett had returned
with the tickets. IN stand here and
check you off as you 20 through" said
be to the President at the same time ia
king aposition alongside the doormaster.
do nothing of the sort Give a ticket
to each one,' President Grant comman-
ded, in a voice sharp with unappeased
anger. So, the President, Secretary Rob
esOn and Gen. Belknsp were furnished
with tieket2, and the former presented his
to the doormaster with a sHaVIty of man
ner that was evidently intended to be full
of pen chant satire.
A glance at the tickets showed that the
fertile brain of Col. Hackett had not fail
ed him in the great emergency of getting
to Concord without paying out money.
The train and the party were to 90 to
Boston wjthrut change of cars. NeVeTthe
less, the willy Colonel had bought tickets
as far as Springfield only.
At Springfield, Mass, The train roll.
led from the track of the sordid New
York and New Haven Rsilro6d to those
as the Boston and Albany, and once
more the Presidential party was dead
heading its way to its nations birth
place. There was nothing to pay any
where. The individuals did rot have to
pay; the State did not have TO pay. 1t
was pure and simple deadheading, and
there was more animation than had at
any time been seen in the Presidential
eye, and he greeted cordially an English
clergyman who was on his way to take
charge of parish in Brookline, Mass.