Connecticut western news., 1885-04-15
LATEST NEWS NOTES.
Happenings of Interest to All,
 At Home and Abroad.
The Illness of Gen. Grant.


 The Illness of Gen. Grant.
 During the last week the death of General Grant was expected daily, and every bulletin issued by the physicians gave the sufferer only @ few hours longer to live. He clung tena- ciously to life, sleeping only as draughts were given him and then his dreams were 80 full of trouble that he was glad to awake. One of his dreams was that he was travelling somewhere with single satchel, partly undressed and without money. The latter fact worried him, but he thought he would get used to it. Before he did so he came to fence, and there being stils on only one side he got over it awkwardly, leaving his satchel behind. Then he could not get it without paying duty on each side of the fence. This determined him to go home and borrow the money of Mrs. Grant, but she had only $17 and that was not enough, so he was very glad to wake up.
 On Saturday Dr. Fordyce Barker said: The General is in better condition than he has been for a week. The mucus is less adhesive and therefore more easily removed, and this par tially accounts for the apparent improvement in his condition"
 During Saturday afternoon Senator Chaffee called on the General. When he entered the room he sat down, and the General walked to him aru -rested his maud on the back of his chair, exclaiming at the same time:
 "This is hard"
 "Yes," said the Senator, "it is hard, but suppose we must all come to it.
 The General then told him that he knew he must die, that they all knew it, and the doc tors knew it. He said he wanted to die, for each hour seemed 8 week of agony. The General, Mir. Chaffee said, seemed indifferent to everything and seemed very despondent- more so than on the morning when all ex- pected he was dying-at that timo Mrs. Grant broke down. He then said to her, Don't make me feel bad; am going away soon."
 From midnight on Saturday to dawn on Sunday there was absolute quiet in the Grant household. The General slept peacefully, under the influence of the anodynes, until shortly after midnight, when he awoke.
 Between 10 and Il o'clock Sunday, many prominent gentlemen called at the house to make inquiries. At this time the physicians said that the General was in such condition that he might die in half an hour or might live week. The trouble was not with the local disease, but with the constitutional debility produced by the cancer. The General was anxious to die and end it all, for he suffered too much to care to live any longer.
 At the consultation at 3 p. n. Drs. Barker, | Sands, Shrady, and Douglas were present. The throat was examined by strong reflected sunlight. It was agreed that there was an inn provement in the local condition. --
 'Say that I'm very comfortable" said Gen. Grant. q am grateful for the sympathy that has been expressed for me. .. Then he thought a moment, and said that | he was grateful for the prayerful sympathy | and interest manifested for him by bis friends | and by those who had not heretofore been re- | garded as such. ..# ..
 At one o'clock Monday morning Gen. Grant | slept quietly.
 Gen. Grant passed comfortable day Monday, | and, not being in pain, was cheerful. In con | Yersation with his physicians he spoke Of @ | strong impression he felt that he would re- cover, although he said he knew the chances were ninety-nine in hundred against him. arlv q on | that tho cancer was eating away his life, and | that he could not recover. He said nothing about it at the time, because he did not wish to worry his wife.
 General Grant had been gaining strenaEl, steadily in the forty-eight hours prior to Tues- day morning. but at 4:30 o'clock the General, | who had been sleeping quietly, awoke and took nourishment Almost instantly afterward | he was seized with paroxysm of coughing, which ended in 8 sudden flow of blood from 1 the mouth. The accident that all along the | physicians had feared had arrived. The rav- ages of the disease had 80 weakened the walls of an artery of the throat that the strain of coughing burst it The physicians were | sent for, as well as the absent ones of the | family. It was believed that the end had come. Gen. Grant was the only person that was calm and collected. In the early forenoon of Tuesday General | Grant slowly recovered, and the bulletins were again forsaken. At Il o'clock, while there had been no recurrence of the hemorrhage, the patient was found to have grown weaker, with pulse 80 and temperature 101.
 At o'clock Dr. Newman who was present said: 'The people all seem to be your friends I''Yes," said Gen. Grant, "snd have many friends on the other side"
 "Yes," repeated Dr. Newman, land they are waiting for you.
 "So they are, returned the General. Then he paused moment, and added:
 "I wish they may not have long to wait"
 At o'clock Dr. Douglas came down into the reception room after the bulletin went out.
 "The end is near," he said. ''There is little doubt of it now. don't think that stimulants will be used to any great extent, for though we may possibly tide him over another night the end, as I say, is undoubtedly very near, and, besides, the General wants to go. He feels a weariness ct the trouble which has been taken in his behalf, and he would be glad to be free Of course, we cannot with certainty predict, but, as have said, the end is not fa1 away"
 At 80 Tuesday night the pulse had in- creased to 8A.
 A bulletin came out at 12:sO on Wednesday as follows:-
 "Gen. Grant has been comparatively com fortable during the morning. He has seldom coughed. Some temporary pain in the throat necessitated the application of cocaine. He has taken his nourishment and has had no pain in swallowing. His pulse is now 66 and temper ature 99.5 degrees"
 Gen. Grant became so well Thursday that all of the doctors withdrew from the house for time and left him, for the first time in many days, in the sole care of his family He ate heartily and with appetite, and felt so well that he walked about the room for exercise The nurse Henry was the only one who had remained with him during Wednes- day night.
 The chief incident of Thursday was the cable message from Queen Victoria. It was received at the house late on Wednesday night, but was not made public until Thursday because it was desired that the message and the answer should go out together. These read as follows
 "AIx-LEs BANS, 8th April, 1885, ''Mrs. GRANT General GRANT, New York;
 The Queen, who feels deeply foryou in your anxleties, commands me to inquire after General Grant. DowAaER MARcHIoNEss OF ELY.o
 ...za ..... "April g, 1885. ''MARcHIoNEss OF ELY Aix-les-Bains
 "Mrs. Grant thanks the Queen for her sym- pathy, and directs me to say General Grant is no better. FRED. D. GRANT,"
 On Friday morning physician said: sTt will surprise Gen. G ants physicians very much if he dies within week. The chances are that he will live two weeks longer, and would not give much odds that he will not live until May"
 Thursday night the patients sleep was not so sound and uninterrupted as the night before, but he secured several hours invigorating rest nevertheless. He slept upon his reclining chair as usual. Dr. Douglas remained at bis side. There was no anxiety in the house and all the family secured an undisturbed nights repose. The general impression seems to be that, barring unforeseen circumstances