National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-07-25
LuLIA DENT GRANT.


tion of the blow that had fallen on the
heart of the nation in the demise Of its
most illustrious hero and best beloved
citizen, President Cleveland, tenderly
mindful Of the delicate proprieties of
the occasion, indited and dispatched
these lines to the bereaved wife at Mount
McGregori
Accept this expression OF my heartfelt SYM
pathy In this hour OF your great afiiiction. The
people Of the nation mourn with you, and would
reach II they could with kindly comfort the depths
OF the sorrow which Is yours alone, and which
only the pity Of God can heal.
These are words ftly chosen, simple,
direct, and manly--the natural express
sion of the nations great sorrow and sim
cere sympathy. There is not word too
much, nor one that should have been
omitted. They state the simple truth
that, in the hour of her great affliction,
the heart of the nation mourns with
Mrs. Grant, and longs to comfort her.
Although penned without thought Of the
future or of anything beyond the pres.
ent kindly purpose of the writer, they
will live longer than the most pretentious
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, indissolubly likened
to the undying story of the hero's life
and death. This story will be told in
schools and homes, in the pulpit and on
the stage, 80 long as the memory Of no.
BILE deeds is valued; AMI whenever and
wherever ii is repeated it will be said
that. when the sad news Of Gen. Grants
death was flashed into his old home in
Washington, his then successor in the
Presidential office bore him as became
the successor Of such o man and the
chief magistrate Of the greatest of all
republics.
There are tines when something Of the
paternal in our governmental system is
demanded. There are occasions when
the people of the nation become brothers
and sisters and the President of tn
United States is the head Of the family
Such time is with us now. The voice
of the partisan is hushed. the strife of
factions is stilled; with bowed heads and
fearful eyes, the nation stands beside the
bier of him who gained and held the first
place in its love. How gratefully ON the
ears of the sorrowing people fall the
words of the President, voicing their grief
and sympathy to her whose rightful in
heritance is the loving, watchful care of
the country to whom God gave, AM
from whom He has taken, her noble hus-
band.
II was the happy fortune of him whom
the nation mourns to love and be loved
by Julia Dent-the model daughter who
became the ideal wife and mother.
Who can estimate the Indebtedness of
the republic to this lady2 Who can say
who will venture to say-that less
fortunate marriage might not have pre-
vented the development and fruition of
all the great possibilities of Grants ma
ture?
The story of the welded life Of this
couple is q benefaction to humanity,
teaching lessons of the purest domes-
ticity, commencing mutual love and con
fidence as the only sure foundation of a
happy home and the best equipment for
worthy career.
There were dark days in the early
years of this couple they trod narrow,
rugged path, but they made it wide
enough to go side by side, hand in hand,
heart to heart, for they clung close to
each other. There were times when,
had the wife been respondent, fretful,
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 wayside,
his high destiny unsupported, his name
almost unknown. Amid the storms
and sorrows of life the affections of man
may veer, but unchanged and unchang.
ing is the true heart of woman-she
loves and loves forever" The storms
thick as to cause any change or shadow
of veeripg in the affection of U. s.
Grant for his young wife, and her
deathless love was the light of fixed
star.
There were years of poverty in the
ante-bellum life of the Grants, and the
wife was called, by stern necessity, to
forego many of the luxuries which lend O
charm to home and mitigate the cares
and troubles Of existence. But poverty
did not chill the heart, dim the eye
sadden the voice, or weaken the conf
dence of the wife. And the husband,
cheered and solaced by hopeful sympa
thy, kept his troubles from the world
and quietly pursued the path of duty,
although it is scarcely possible that he
could have been entirely ignorant of his
own great capacities.
From the time when Grant entered the
volunteer army, called out to serve the
republic, until the collapse of the rebel
lion at Appomattox there was scarcely al
hour when his reputation was secure
The world can never know how much he
was made to suffer by cruel misrepresen
tations. But when envy, malice, and
detraction were doing their worst he had
one safe refuge the love, the trust
the unwavering faith of his wife, And
when the war was ended and the world
was paying tribute to the genius of Grant
there was one person who felt no surprise
at his achievements, for he had accom-
plished just what she had expected He
faith had anticipated all, and may we no
say that her faith, her love, her consoln