National Republican., 1885-08-09
JULIA DENT GRANT.

nVWfl Ol lilc nuIlOll III lIl' 'ClllSt VI IT.
most illustrious hero and best beloved
citizen. President Cleveland, tCndcrly
mindful of the delicate proprictics of the
occasion. inditcd and dispatched these
lines to the bcrcaycd wife ut Mount Me
GrCgor
"Acccpt this expression of my heartfelt
sympathy in this hour Of your great alllic-
tion. The people Of the nation mourn
with YOU, and would reach if they could
with kindly comfort the depths Of the
SORROW which is yours alone, and which
only the pity of iod can heal"
These are words ftly chosen, simple,
direct, and manly-thc natural express
sion of the nations great sorrow and sim
core sympathy. There is not Il word too
much, nor one that should have been
omitted. They state the simple truth
that in the hour of her great atllictiOn,
the heart of the nation mourns with
Mrs. Grant, and longs to comfort her.
Although pcnncd without thought of the
| future or of anything beyond the pres
cnt kindly purpose of the writer, they
will live Ongrrthnn the most prctcntiOus
Of state papers, for they have the one
touch of nature that makes the whole
world kin. They will pass, not from lip
to lip, but from heart to heart through
coming generations, mdisSulubly linked
to the undying story of the hcro's life
and death. This story will he told in
[ schools and homes, in the pulpit and on
the stage, 80 long us the memory of noble
deeds is valued: and whenever and
wherever it is repeated it will be said
that. when the sud news of Gen. Grants
death was flashed into his old home in
| Washington, his then successor in the
Presidential office bore himself Us be-
came the successor of such Il man and
the chief magistrate of the greatest of all
republics.
There are times when something of the
patcrnal in our governmental system is
demanded There are occasions when
the people Of the nation become brothers
and sisters and the President of the
United States is the head Of the family.
Such time is with us now. The voice
of the partisan is huShcd, the strife of
factions is stillcd with bowed heads and
fearful eyes, the nation stands beside the
bier of him who gained and held the first
,1 IL r,ll .
ears of the sorrowng people fall the
words of the President, voicing their grief
and sympathy to her whose rightful in
hcritancc is the loving, watchful care of
the country to whom God gave, and from
whom He has taken. her noble husband.
1t was the happy fortune Of him whom
| the nation mourns to love and be loved
I by Julia Dcnt-thc model daughter who
! became the ideal wife and mother.
/ Who can estimate the Indebtedness of
the Republic to this lady? Who can say
/ who will venture to say-that Il less
fortunate marriage might not have pre-
/ vented the development and fruition ofall
the great possibilities Of Grants nature ?
/ The story of the welded life of this
/ couple is bcncfaction to humanity,
i teaching lessons of the purcst domcs-
tit eapS,lepdi'.& ul.ss.s.psI y. leye AID COL
fidcncc as the only sure foundation of Il
happy home and the best equipment for
II worthy career.
There were dark days in the early
years of this couple; they troa narrow,
rugged path, but they made it wide
enough to 90 side by side, hand in hand
heart to heart for they clung close to
each other. There were times when
had the wife been dcspondcnt, frctful
complaining; when had she been any.
thing but the tender, true, loving, bright
hopeful woman that she was, her hus.
band might have fallen by the waysidc
his high destiny unSrspcctcd, his name
almost unknown "Amid the storms and
sOrrows of life the affections of man may
vccr but unchanged and unchanging is
the true heart of womun-Shc loves and
hlNtS l'h'NtI, u llf Sl'hlllS were not 50
dark nor the sorrows 50 thick as to cause
any change or shadow of vccrng in the
affection of L. :. Grant for his Young
wife, and her dcuthlcss love was the light
of fixed star.
There were years of poverty in tn,
antc-bcllum life of the Grants, and the
wife was called, by stern necessity, tC
forcgo many of the luXurics which lend /;
charm to home and mitigate the care,
and troubles of existence. But povcrt,
did not chill the heart, dim the eyes, sad.
den the voice, or weaken the confidence
of the wife. And the husband, chccrct
and Solaccd by hopeful sympathy, KEEP
his troubles from the world and quietly
pursued the path of duty, although it i,
scarcely possible that hc could have beer
entirely ignorant Of his own great capaci
ties.
From the time when Grant entered tn,
volunteer army, called ont to serve tn,
Republic, until the collapse of the rebel
lion ut AppOmattON there was scarcely IN
hour when his reputation was secure
The world can never know how much h,
was made to suffer by cruel miSrcprcscn
tations, But when envy, malice, and dc
traction were doing their worst he huC
one safe rcfugc--thc love, the trust tho
unWuVrrinp Glith Of his wife And whnt