Connecticut western news., 1885-08-05

great. Popular applause IS not an evl dence of greatness, yet it is one test o
 greatness. Men will applaud anythin, and everything that wins whether tn,
 fighting-cock, the trotting horse or tn,
 walking man. Greatness is not found
 here, but the one who conquers the ap
 plause of the world displays an element O
 greatness which few possess. A man car
 generally stand the frowns of the worlc
 but let it smile and he is undone but
 the world has been smiling and cheer.
 ing for years, yet Grant dies great.
 have searched history in vain to find an
 other who has received such unbound
 ed demonstrations of recognition. Wher
 Lafayette, that noble Frenchman who
 gave his money and risked his life in
 the cause of American liberty, came
 back to us in 1924 he was everywhere
 received with distinguished honors.
 These ovations were national but Grants
 were cosmopolitan. can see how one
 may stand so high that it is easy to ap-
 pear modest and humble. When man
 becomes so popular that he has no rivals
 many of the petty temptations of life
 are removed but if there is littleness in
 his nature it will crop out somewhere,
 but the hero of Vicksburg and Appo-
 mattox and Mt McGregor was compara-
 lively free from traits of ittleness.
 When the war closed and the grand
 review took place i9 Washington all
 looked for General Grant but he was not there. Upon the platform i'm front
 of the White House sat President John son and his cabinet and other national dignitaries but Grant was away attend ing to the details of his work. Some years after one of the members of our conference met him on the Hudson and said: General, you were not at the grand review; why was this ?" He replied, "Well, I would liked to have been there first rate but couldn't very we'll" This may seem trifing to relate but it shows the simplicity and frank ness of the man. In child-like man. ner he expressed his desire to have been there, and who else under the circum- stances would not have been there It was the proudest day of his life and had there been an undue amount of vanity in his nature it was the day of all days to have fed it.
 He had few of the conventionalisms and formalisms which cling to cast and rank. Some called him unpublished loose in his manners. A man in the rough-was there any looseness in his will ? was his judgment in the rough He had nature which took hold of men and drew the popular heart. Grant was not man of words but of thoughts and deeds. Ruskin says : The greatest thing human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what it saw in plain way; hundreds of peo- pie can talk for one who can think but thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion" General Grant could see, think and act and let other men do the talking. In his letter accepting his nomination for president he said, "Let | us have peace /" It was about all there was to the letter and was used as a cam paign document against him but those four words meant volumes of what some men say. He believed the only way to have peace was to have war. Washing ton and Lincoln believed this. Moses believed it. Grant proUed it.
 His struggle with the last great ene- my has challenged the admiration of | the world. To read the story of his courage and fortitude will do more, per haps, to reach humanity than all his other victories. Like Samson of old he has slain more enemies in his death than in his life. Many began to call him great | when they saw the old warrier battling with that invincible foe which had the | grip of death upon his throat In this last struggle he displayed that moral courage which is the very keystone of | true greatness.
 General Grant was brave enough to | repent. There are some things we re- gret and he regretted. We are sorry he ever puffed the cigar. Could he have said with William Cullen Bryant, CT never meddle with tobacco except to quarrel with its use," I have little doubt of the results. He made mistake in not giving his heart to Christ earlier. Some of you are making the same mis- take. He delayed too long but not too 'ate, and his "Let us have peace" has come in the victory of his last war.
 Moses never looked quite so grand as when ascending Mt Nebo to die in obe- 1ience to the dictates of Jehovah. His eye was not dim nor his natural force abated, but when God commaned him to sheathe his sword and pass over his command into the hands of Joshua he nncomplainingly obeyed, and so our Moses never seemed greater than when Mt McGregor to yield up his ife He knew this was the end of his journey and he went up to receive the summons. It came and the world knows how he received it. Shall we not say his work was finished work He made it such by an energy which has no parallel in our history. His work was not done till he had recorded with ais pen the triumphs of his sword. In April when his death was hourly expect ed why did he so mysteriously rally 1