St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-11-21
Letter from California.


Ed. CaIed0niQn 1t is difficult to
conceive of Il more enthusiastic out
burst of popular interest than that which
was awakened in Californians over the
arrival of General Grant. That mex
plicable sympathetic influence which
extends even to those who have no in
telligent comprehension of the causes
of great popular excitement, seemed, in
this case, to have its perfect work. The
very Indians caught the inspiration OF
the event, and small boys were literally
beside themselves.
The week following his arrival, Oak
land gave him a reception. The pret-
tiest city of the coast was made espe-
cially attractive on this occasion. A
striking feature of this ovation was the
review by General Grant of about six
thousand school children who were as
scmbled in Il street set apart for theil
special use. AS he passed along in
front of the lines, treading upon the
flowers with which the children had
literally covered the ground, it was
evident that the hero, who could stand
the shot and shell of the battlefield
without flinching, was deeply moved by
this juvenile demonstration. After par
taking of a collation. at Tubb's hotel, he
proceeded to the camp fire in Badgers
park. Here he addressed the soldiers
of the "Blue and Gray" urging them
to loyalty and union, and forecasting Il
long period of peace and prosperity fol
the United States.
The most noteworthy private recep-
ton in honor of General Grant, was
that given by Senator Sharon, at his
residence in Belmont, a few miles be-
low San Francisco. Twenty hun
dred invitations were issued-Of which
about fourteen hundred were accepted.
Three special trains were run from the
city to carry the guests.
Upon Grants return from the Yo-
semitic, he was received at Sacramento
in the usual way. In San Francisco he
was toasted and feted and received and
entertained with a variety of entertain
ments.
The day preceding the night of his
departure was devoted to grand
equine display at the Oakland park, in
honor of the General, who is known to
be an admirer of horse flesh. As though
conscious of the peculiar interest at
taching to the occasion, the horse ST.
Julian, eclipsed all other efforts of a
similar character, and beat the best
time on record, trOtting a mile i'll 2.12S
On Saturday evening, at banquet
held at the Palace Hotel, response to
toast was broken short off out of re-
spect to the Generals desire to catcl
the last boat and set out upon his jour
ney homeward. Thus from the time
he entered the Golden Gate, to the last
moment of his stay in California-one
mOnth-he was in one constant whirl OF
busy entertainment, either subjective
or objective, displaying, in his quiet
way, the qualities of martyr-a mar
tyr to the whims and eccentricities of &
people gone mad with adulatiOn. He
has now turned his steps eastward
whether or not to walk third time
into the White House, remains to bt
seen. The demonstrations in his be-
half, on this coast have no SAVIOR O
politics about them. How much these
things could be made to add to Gran
'bOom" should he conclude to '.boom'
for the Presidency, political manager
can best prognosticate. There is a kline
of modest sagacity about General Gran
that would naturally suggest to him the
old and hOmely maxim 'Let wei
enough alone"
My letter would be incomplete,
suppose, without word or two upoI
our social and political affairs, whicl
have excited so much interest through
ont the country.
We have Denis Kearney we hav,
the Rev. Kalloch we have the D,
YOungs. We wish that some one els,
had them all. They could not fiourisl
a great while in some parts of old New
! England, for two reasons, which l vii