Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-06
RECo1hECr1oNsoFofR CHInDs.
Personal Habits OF Gen. Grant De-
seribed by an Intimate Friend.

George w. ChIlds sat IN ms coy pTi-
vate office in the LedQer building yester-
day afternoon and chatted long and
pleasantly about the characteristics.
habits and personal attributes Of his be-
loved friend, Gen. Grant. He recalled,
always with a touch Of sadness in his
voice, the many years they had spent to-
gether living side by SIDE at Long Branch,
and spoke with evident satisfaction OF
Grants attachment for Philadelphia.
'sThe General was such a simple
hearted, sympathetic, whole-souled, gen
erous man that it was hard to be less than
a friend Of his. We who knew him best
ard most intimately loved him-our at
tachment for him could be called by no
other uame than love. AS his next door
neighbor and intimate friend | saw him
ri times and IN moods when none Others
save his family saw him-When he had
thrown of the cares OF the world and WAS
beat on the quiet enjoyment with his
family in which he so delighted. lie used
10 say, when he came to Long Branch, he
felt Ike boy gust tree from school He
had left all of his cares behind him. He
was one Of the most thoroughly unselfish
and modest men / have ever known. No
amount of nattery spoiled him. In re-
l8ting incidents Of the great struggle he
never said 4 did this or Il did that The
prououn we was invariably used, and he
never openly took full credit 10 himself
for any OF his achievements. To say that
fwe'torced Lee to surrender perfectly salts
fed hun, and he was seldom more grAtifed
than when hearing the praises Of Sheridan
and Sherman sounded"
Speaking of cigars, how many did the
General smoke in day before dc broke OH
the habitY'
81 should say about dozen. Until Of
late years he always smoked very strong
tobacco. and his cigars were always OF
most expensive character. | have seen
the statement published frequently that
he did not know bad cigar from good
one. That is not true. There were GER
tain brands that he always liked, and /
have often heard him speak Of them. He
was not at ali slow IN detecting good to
baeco. The cigars he got in Mexico he
appreciated very highly. Grant was
very easy guest to entertain. He never
wanted aEy body to 70 to any trouble for
him, anG was very much averse to caus-
ing Inconvenience. Why, when he first
began coming TO my house." went on Mr..
Chids, raising his eyebrows in a half
amused way, "muCh as he liked his
cigar, he would not smoke because j
didn't. Ii was only after great persua-
sion that he consented TO indulge in his
fayoTite habit. But I do not think that
the General was a slave to that or any
other habit. He was TOO great man for
that. He had complete mastery of him.
self and his appCtites, AS soon as he
Found he was smoking too much be ia
pered of, using milder cigars and fewer
of them. Finally he stopped altogether.
/ have 8 letter here from him"-as be
said this Mr.. Childs produced a letter
IL 4 l. t1F.
was sitting-''in which he says he smoked
bis last cigar on Nov. 30 last. He also
says that he missed the tobacco for the
first two or three days, but after that he
did not feel the loss OF it.
cit was the same way with his drink
Ing continued Mr.. Childs, earnestly.
as'Some n wspapers have been saying that
he used 70 drink and swear terribly. Now,
Know that during my many years OF IN
Innate acquaintanceship and association
] never heard him swear. He was OPP
posed to il. He did not like profane peo-
pie, and objected to the use Of profanity
IN Bis presence. As TO the use OF liquor
IBeXer knew him to drink to excess He
used 10 drink at public dinners, but he
did not drink alone. During his second
term as President he even stopped drink
Ing at public dinners, and always turned
down his glass. he bad no more difficulty
In doing this than he had when be stopped
smoking.
81 believe that Philadelphia seemed
more like home TO Gen. Grant than almost
anywhere else. He was ve.y fond or COM
Ing here 20 rest. He seemed to think he
could rest here better than anywhere else,
and whenever he grew tired he came ire
quently without any warning"
''How did he pass his time during those
visits:"
Generally in walking about the city.
That was his chief amusement. AS fond
as he was Of horses he did not seem to
care TO ride, although my carriage was
always AT his disposal. He usually
dropped into Mr.. DfeXe's banking house
about noon and took lunch there, after
whice be would get on car and 20 UP to
my house. In the evening he preferred
T. sit about, smoking and chatting with
his friends. After returning from the trip
arouud the world he talked a great deal
about his experiences, and expressed the
highest delight at the way he had been
entertained. Yet. with all the oVations
given him and ali the honOrs paid him as
the greatest General OF his time and the
first citizen OF his country, he came back
UNCHANGED in the slightest degree. He
was the same simple, esTnest man, pleased
10 be home again and glad TO see his
friends. BY the way, there is A picture
he had taken while abroad. He sent that
70 me from China" Mr.. Childs pOin ted
70 photograph in plain wooden frame.
Gen. Grant is seen seated in an armchair
on one side Of a square table, on o slightly
raised platform. On the other side Of the
table, IN similar chair, sits the Emperor
OF China. The likeness of the General is
an excellent one.
"Wbat became OF the horses he rode
during the warp was the next question.
Il think he kept them all. aud they
were on the farm near 81. Louis. His
faYorite horse WAS one he used during the
war and brought home with him. He
called him JEFF Davis He drove JEFF
for a long time"
~Dtd he never ride him?~
'sNot aiier the war. | have seen elabo-
rate newspaper descriptions Of the long
horseback rid, the General used 10 take
al Long Branch, but ] never knew him TO
get on horses back during the whole
period that we lived there as neighbors
He preferred 20 drive, and owned some
very fast horses. Grant was = born horse
man, and j was wonderful the way he
could manage unruly animals. ! remem-
Der his telling me that while he was at
West Point as cadet whenever a par
ticularly wild or vicious horse was Sc
cured they always sent for young Grant
70 do the breaking. There IL one thing la
connection with this subject about which
the majority OF people are entirely misin-