Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-08-19

Ing IcLDluIsCcuEco VI tuS Ai4c Va oSh' o'~N";
but here is an incident which 1 believe has
never been in print 1t will be remembered
that at the time of the Confederate surrender,
the officers and men were placed under q
parole of honor, and also generously conceded
the use of their side arms and horses. The
General was great lover OF Billiards and
remarkably fine player. Shortly after the
war, while at the National Hotel one day.
engaged in a game with his chief of staff,
| Gen Rawlins. a MAJOR in the regular army,
entered, and quickly advancing to Grant.
whispered a message in his ear. "All right,
was the simple rejoinder, overheard by the
| two gentlemen at a neighboring table, one of
whom is nv informant, ''I'll go at once"
Laying down his cue, he said; "Rawlins,
please wait until my return; I'm going to
the War Department" Accompanied by the
officer referred to. the General in a moment
afterwards was riding rapidly up Pennsylva-
MIA avenue On arriving at the department,
he went straight to the Office of Secretary
Stanton, and brushing brusquely by the
porter in attendance, opened the door. Two
or three persons were present, but not heed
ing them, he advanced directly to the desk at
which Mr. Stanton was sitting, and said, ''Mr.
Secretary, l understand that you are about to
Johnston, and other officers of the late Con-
federate army is that so, sir Z"
Eyes, sir; l am preparing those orders
now, and shall send them out at once"
"You will do nothing of the kind, Mr..
Stanton. When those officers surrendered 1t
was under parole, and SO far as know it has
been religiously observed, and they must not
be disturbed" Grant looked the Secretary
squarely in the eye, and his lips were fixed as
if he meant every word. Stanton seemed
thunderstruck at the audacity of the man who
stood before him so mpurtably, and with the
color rising in his face, snapped OUT 500
you know who you are talking to sir am
the Secretary of War, and my orders are to
be obeyed." "And sir" replied Grant, with
an emphasis not to be misunderstood, IAN
the General of the Army, and that order shall
not be obeyed while l am in command"
Then, turning on his heel, he left the room.
1t is unnecessary to add that Stanton took on
further steps in the matter and was content
to let it drop. He probably remembered
what Senator Wigfall once said to Jefferson
Drvis when there was some talk of suspend
ing Beauregard: "Don't touch him, sir;
when the women of the cOuntry name their
babies and the men their race horses and
steamboats, after a popular General. let him
alone. its dangerous to meddle with him"
What may have been the result If Stanton had
persisted in his mad design, can only be con-
jectured, but it is safe to say that single
word to the army from its idol would have
rendered the position of the famous War
Secretary extremely preCarious, and he
doubtless knew it.
recently heard another incident that may
prove a lesson to somebody A well to do
citizen of New York. who is hard drinking
man, had sweet little daughter to whom,
" hen sober. he was devotedly attached, but
when drunk he was inclined to be ugly. In
the latter condition. he was frequently in the
habit of calling her to him for kiss. If she
hesitated, the maudlin beast would rap her
on the head with his cane, knuckles, or what
ever came handy. The result was that after
while his mere approach served to throw
the little one almost into commissions in anti
| cipation of the blows she expected to receive.
All this appeared to please the brute while
he PLAYED upon her fears and the shyer she
grew, the severer became the punishment that
followed the enforced caress. Finally she
was taken ill, and the physician who was
summoned pronounced it a case of brain fever
On examining her head, he found it full of
| knots and bruises. 1t was unnecessary to
make a further diagnosis, and the father was
informed that his child must die. The intel
| ligence sobered HIM, and ne insisted on being
present at her bedside continuously. Just
before the child breathed her last, she looked
at him YEARLY while the little head tossed
from side to side in pain and said Papa, |
amt afraid of co. now: 90 may tbs me now
as much 90 peaZe, an 90 may knock my
poor head too if 90 wants, papa, for | amt
| gon' to trouble you any more" and with
that she turned her baby face to the wall and
slept the sleep that knows no waking. The
| father recognizing at last what he had done,
uttered cry and fell insensible to the floor
| The physician who described the scene says
he has in the father another patient who will
never recover, for his mind is gone and he
wonders hopelessly around the house moan
ing and weeping for his murdered child.
There's good news for the hotel servants,
and better news for the guests. No more
running up and down stairs to find out what's
wanted. A young Hebrew of inventive pro-
clivities has just completed simple device
which enable the occupant of room to make
his wishes known and obtain an immediate
response. 1t consists of a dial SIX or eight
inches in diameter, similar to clock face,
on which is inscribed the names of all the
needs that one can possibly think of in con-
nection with hotel, from the bar to the
office. but the call remains in sight until it is
answered. The same arrangement is also ap-
plicable to the telephone in such a manner
that when party addressed is absent, the an
nouncement is left standing that he is wanted
on his return. The principal hotel people of
the city regard the invention as important,
and will introduce it in their houses whenever
it is ready, the cost of the service being not
more than two or three dollars a room per
month. The young fellow wants a half million
dollars and the control of the stock and, like
most inventors, that's where he is "off his
base" The device is operated by electricity
The ingenuity which some people display in
these poverty stricken times is worthy OF ad-
miration. A broken down old merchant, who
has been living from hand to mouth for the
last ten years, has recently struck bonanza
by inducing the importers and wholesale deal
ers in sugar to allow him to sell their samples.
Heretofore these have been retained and dis
posed by the Government appraisers, and the
sales have amounted to the pretty plum of
fifteen or twenty thousand dollars a year,
which was divided among the officials as part
of their legitimate perquisites, but in the
gross it was so much out of the pockets of the
importers. Now the control of these SAM
pies, which sometimes amount to one or two
hundred pounds per invoice, being vested in
a single person and sold for common account,
the principals derive fair share OF the profits,
while the retailers are protected from being
| T. - has old